It was just another Saturday for Jubilee and Storm. They were alike, in that they were both mutants. In every other conceivable way they were nothing alike at all.
There was something carefree about their step, in how they strolled through the mall at their own leisure and pace. Jubilee, the considerably shorter one amongst the two, seemed particularly excited about this particular excursion. She hummed out a ditty to herself as Storm walked not far behind.
"You still have not explained why this trip was so urgent, Jubilee." Storm cast a curiously raised eyebrow in her direction. Seeing the almost childlike glee clear on Jubilee's face, she couldn't help but to smile.
All too happy to respond, Jubilee turned her heels and stopped right in front of Storm.
"There's this new game that's supposed to be coming out. It's got super combos, special moves and everything. I wanna get to it before all the other arcade dweebs do."
Storm responded with a roll of her eyes in mock tiredness. A mind reader she was not, but she could predict exactly what question Jubilee was going to ask. Truth be told, no matter how many mall visits they went on, the question never changed.
"You wish to spend next week's allowance at the arcade?" After a pause, Storm trying to remember all the times that the young mutant had dragged her along while she mashed buttons and inserted coins, she added: "Again?"
"But Stormmmm, this one's special!"
Jubilee pushed out her lip and pouted in an attempt to look angry, which came off as adorable more than anything else. "It's the Ultimate Edition!"
Storm hardly understood what separated different versions from each other, let alone why more versions were needed in the first place. Jubilee's argument was lost on her. "I'm sorry, but this is becoming a bad habit that I can no longer support. Besides, are there not other things more worthwhile for you to spend your money on?"
In a last-ditch effort to sway the mind of a woman worlds apart from her, Jubilee defaulted to an old favourite. Her pupils and irises got larger and larger, showing no sign of stopping.
"I'm afraid that trick won't work again," Storm said, looking down at her in amusement at her desperation to get a few quarters that would immediately be used up. Being part of the X-Men, however, meant her resolve was just a bit stronger than Jubilee seemed to give her credit for.
Or so she liked to believe. Bit by bit, the power in those puppy-dog eyes chipped away at her stance until finally it lost its firmness and Storm broke.
"Oh, alright." She gently shook her head; the mistress of the elements caving in to the demands of a wily teenager. "But I don't want you spending any longer tha-"
Before she could summon up a modicum of order, she found her body being dragged by Jubilee (which somehow did not surprise Storm and instead gave her more evidence of how badly she wanted to play this latest arcade game). Only a few stores away was the local mall arcade, Video Apocalypse.
The duo managed to attract some odd looks from onlookers, and understandably so. Jubilee had the advantage of being able to pass for what humans considered 'normal'. Storm had no such benefit. Her general elegance, and that clash of snow-white hair against ebony skin, meant she stood out and made heads turn in and out of uniform.
Had Storm not been focusing on her arm being yanked off by Jubilee, who had her mind on one place and one place only, she may have noticed what the news reports were saying as they passed the hardware store and its television display.
SENATOR AUTHORISES SENTINEL DEMONSTRATIONS TO TAKE PLACE IN NEW YORK CITY.
Any one of the hordes of children and older teenagers in Video Apocalypse who took the time to look at Jubilee would have most likely mistaken her for a child, the goddess next to her as her adoptive mother. If they did then they wouldn't be too far off.
It was partly due to Storm holding her hand. The idea of losing young Jubilation in the dark neon maze that was Video Apocalypse troubled Storm as much as it would any biological, concerned parent. But Jubilee's height also played a part. In spite of being well into her teenage years, she was still shorter than most girls her age. Her guardian standing proud and tall only made her height more apparent; or rather, a lack of it.
Once Storm let go of her grasp on Jubilee, she dashed over to the rows upon rows of machines. Urban Brawler, Streets of Flame, Khaotic Kombat, and countless others. So many games, so little time.
It took a solid moment for Jubilee to stop drooling over the machines and remember that she didn't have next week's allowance in hand.
"Uhh, Storm?" She sheepishly held her hand out. "Do ya mind?"
Having already obliged, Storm gave her a handful of quarters. With that underway, the fun truly began for the kids.
As for the adults, along with adolescent babysitters, they had their own designated spot. Storm kept a watchful eye on the young girl from the bar, making sure she didn't wander off too far or run into any power-related trouble. Having to control her inner tempest twenty-four hours a day and seven days a week meant she had the remarkable ability to stay calm at all times.
Unfortunately, what were minutes in Jubilee's world passed as hours in Storm's. Even the patience of a goddess did not make her any less bored by Jubilee's display. For all the gung-ho excitement she had about this latest game, the differences between it and the last instalment were few and far between. If there were any at all.
After what seemed like an eternity, she finished the game. That or she had used up her last quarter, with her stomping off making that much more likely. On the one hand Storm was relieved when she came back and thus brought their mall visit to the end, but part of it did touch her heart. For Jubilee to get genuinely emotional, pouting out of anger that wanted to be taken seriously, was a sign that the game had meant a lot – even if the why eluded Storm.
"Did you win, Jubilee?" She feared she knew the answer already, but kept a hopeful tone regardless.
"Totally," Jubilee lied, already leading the way out.
Storm followed and kept by her side. She walked with her head drooped, defeated. Neither goddess nor dispirited teenager had any idea that their trip to the mall would take a turn for the drastic.
A heavy mechanical footstep shook both of them to their very core. Stomping echoed through the mall, ringing out like the bells of Notre Dame. Jubilee was forced to look up. This beast, this monster, whatever this was, it was huge, and it was headed towards Video Apocalypse.
"DO NOT BE ALARMED, HUMANS. I AM ONLY HERE TO SERVE AND PROTECT." Its words convinced no one. Civilians scattered to assure the construct did not crush them. Soon the mall was almost completely vacant, save for those people still running for their lives.
At first, Jubilee had been rendered shocked enough to stumble backwards, falling onto the ground. The fear that clogged her throat made fighting her way towards a sentence a desperate struggle. But the girl managed eventually.
"What is that, t-that thing?" Everyone continued scrambling for the exit. Except for Jubilee, flattening herself against a wall and watching it from there. Storm showed much less fear and was prepared to face the Sentinel.
Alone.
"Jubilation Lee, I want you to stay here and whatever you do, do not make a sound. Am I understood?" Storm glared at her with a focused intensity the likes of which she had never seen before, not in all her years as an X-Man. Without conscious thought the girl nodded, and Storm, calling on the wind to carry her, flew towards the mechanical beast.
Before the Mistress of the Elements stood a golem so tall that its head shot through a hole in the roof. Eyes that could look pierce through souls stared back at her and gave a creature without a heart more human resemblance than it deserved. In an ideal world, Storm would have never faced another one of them in her lifetime; not after what happened to Morph. But hopefulness meant nothing in the face of facts. The fact that Sentinels were programmed to do just one thing: Kill anyone with the X-Gene.
As the mutant-hunting machine scanned the area for its prey, Storm made no effort to run, or appeal to a better half. Her resolve, as she stared her own demise in the face, was as strong as any metal.
The Sentinel turned its head towards Storm. Its already bright eyes glowed a blinding yellow, and then it said, in a voice so cold that it could only come from man's creation:
"TARGET IDENTIFIED AS THE MUTANT ORORO MUNROE, CODENAME STORM. INITIATING CAPTURE."
Storm braced herself for its attack and in quick succession an arm extended, reaching out to snatch her. Much to her advantage it miscalculated the distance which gave her a chance to strafe left and fly up to its shoulder. A giant raincloud appeared above Storm. Electricity coursing through her veins, she struck the Sentinel with everything she had. Bolt of lightning after bolt of lightning, each attempt more relentless than the last. Only when she had used up every drop of energy, when the cloud went away and she could use the weather no longer, did Storm give up. A fighter to her last breath.
And indeed, it would be.
Even with the strength of nature behind her, the Sentinel remained unharmed with not so much as a scratch. The whites of Storm's eyes turned even whiter, widening when it slowly cranked its head in her direction.
All Jubilee heard was a scream. And then...
"TARGET ELIMINATED."
Jubilee sprang out from her hiding spot. She didn't care about the Sentinel, the people running, the possibility of it targeting her. Only Storm, her guardian, and more than that, the closest thing she had to a parent.
"Storm!"
Storm was on the ground, reduced to a mass of charred flesh. Jubilee held the corpse in her tiny little arms and couldn't hold back. Tears fell from the young girl's eyes.
"Storm! Oh god, Storm!"
"I'm here. Whatever is the matter?"
Jubilee turned her head left and there was Storm, still alive and standing cautiously by her bedside. The relief made Jubilee jump out of bed, wrapping Storm with the warmest of hugs. She was there. Real without a doubt.
"I had a dream. A crazy weird one and you were in it, and then there was a Sentinel, and…and…" She couldn't say the words out. Storm understood.
"That sounds much more like a nightmare to me, Jubilation."
"Yeah, well tomato tomato," she said, sniffling. So stand-offish at times, but now clearly vulnerable.
"However vivid your nightmare was, it was only that. A nightmare. There's nothing to be scared of."
In maternal fashion, Storm returned the embrace, arms wrapping around her back with loving tenderness, before she tucked Jubilee back into bed and said goodnight.
But sleep eluded the young girl and it kept plaguing her mind. An image flashing across her memory. Storm and Morph, mere footrests for the Sentinel's heel as it stood against a backdrop of hellfire.
The image, playing over and over again…