A Note From The Author

Just wanted to note before we begin that X-Men: New Class has exceeded 10,000 views! Thank you all so very much for you reading!

Now if only all 10,000 of you would buy my book... ;-P

2x02

Girl's Day Out

Based upon a story by Marjorie Liu

and

Based upon a story by Nunzio DeFillippis and Christina Weir

###

Act I

###

Julian stood back and carefully scrutinized everything laid out on his bed, and rubbed his chin thoughtfully as he considered what to take with him. The sunblock and his swim trunks were a must; New York might be gripped in the harsh cold of a Northeastern winter, but even at this time of year California meant beaches and bikinis. If he had his way that was all he would take, but unfortunately a trip home also meant a trip home, so there would be no avoiding a stay with his parents.

So with a sigh he set aside a couple changes of clothes to go with his beachwear.

"You ready yet?" he asked, his eyes still focused on his packing.

"What do you think? Board shorts, or all natural?" Santo asked from across their room. A messy pile of jeans and t-shirts filled the middle of his suitcase, with no though at all towards how he actually expected to close it.

"I'm really hoping you're not asking me if you should just go naked at the beach."

"What? It's not like there's anything to see. I lost my junk when I got blown up."

Julian sighed and mopped his face. "And thank you oh-so-much for that visual. And while I just know I'm going to regret asking: What's the difference?"

"Well I want to make myself look good for the chicks, right?"

"Santo, you're a walking, talking, pile of gravel. In what way is that going to look good no matter what you're wearing?"

The big rocky mutant shrugged. "What? You never know. Maybe there's some hot chick with like, a rock fetish, or something."

Julian groaned and rolled his eyes. "Oh god. We're going to get lynched the minute you step on the beach, if everybody doesn't run screaming first."

"Dude, you're just jealous. Imma be so up to my armpits with the girls once they see me."

"That's it, I'm totally TKing you into the Bay when we get there."

Santo casually tossed his board shorts into the growing pile of clothes, forced his suitcase shut, and zipped it up. "Hey, you think we'll actually get Cessily out there?" He flashed his stupidest grin. "Maybe she'll actually wear a bikini, too."

"Maybe I won't have to do it myself. Maybe Cess will do it for me ..." Julian finished sorting through his clothes and started packing it neatly away. "Will you promise me to behave yourself? I had to do a lot of sucking up to get my mom and dad to allow the rest of you to come along."

Santo sniffed indignantly. "Humph. You sound like I'm just going to embarrass you."

Julian looked away from his suitcase and gave him the stink eye. "Gee, I wonder why that is."

"I'm just glad to be getting away from here for a bit. The whole being an X-Man thing is gonna be awesome, but it's sucked not being able to go to Salem."

Julian sighed. "I'd rather be staying here than dealing with my parents." He didn't say another word after that, and hurried to finish packing.

###

Jubilee gritted her teeth and ignored the stab of pain ripping through her side as she made her way up the hall, her weight supported on a cane provided by Dr. McCoy. She nodded in greeting to the students she passed, but politely declined their offers of help or support. Getting back into a normal routine wasn't easy, but damned if she was just going to lie about all day.

Normal.

She mused on that to distract her from her discomfort as she turned into the lounge. The fear and anger of November and December was passing into fresh optimism again as the New Year began, and many of those students remaining at the school relaxed (if "relaxed" was the proper sentiment) in anticipation of the resumption of their normal, everyday grind of classwork. Jubilee managed a tight, satisfied smile at the sight of her kids talking and laughing over breakfast, a welcome display of levity interrupting the doldrums of the past few months.

Illyana and Melody — the latter recently back from Kentucky — were leaving the lounge as she entered, and nearly bumped right into her. Jubilee awkwardly hopped to one side, and her body protested the sudden movement with a fresh spike of pain drawing a yelp from her lungs. At once the two girls were on either side to steady her, and keep her from tumbling all the way to the floor.

"Oh my gosh!" Melody cried in embarrassment. "Jubilee! I'm so sorry, I didn't see you ..."

"It's all right, Mel," Jubilee said through gritted teeth as she steadied herself. "I'm just testing out my reflexes."

"Liar," Yana said. "Shouldn't you still be in bed?"

Jubilee leaned her weight on her cane to take some of the stress off the still-mending injuries in her hip and side. "Hey, dude, I've been up for a week now. Anyway, I think Dr. McCoy was getting tired of me complaining about the food down in the med bay, so he kicked me out."

"So you came up here? I'm not sure that's an improvement."

She chuckled softly and grabbed her side. "Please don't make me laugh! Besides, there's been too much to do. How are you guys doing? Mel, how's your mom holding up?"

"She's ok. Holdin' up about as well as the rest of us, considerin'," Mel said, and rubbed one arm self-consciously. Jubilee eyed her closely, and clearly saw her lingering grief over her brother's death. "Relieved I'm all right, kind of scared I wanted to come back, but she understands why I didn't want to give up. She missed seein' Paige, though, an' I think she's plannin' to make a trip up."

Jubilee gave her a reassuring smile, and squeezed her shoulder. "Doc and Josh say she's doing just fine, but she could probably do with some company."

"I know, I was just on my way down to see if she was up yet this mornin'."

"I won't keep you guys, but if you need to talk later I'll be in my office most of the morning."

"Ok," Mel said, and Yana just nodded. "Just want to say it's good seein' you back on your feet."

Jubilee gave her shoulder a parting squeeze. "Thanks. I'll talk to you later," she said, and let the pair continue on their way. Jubilee resumed her course through the lounge, and threaded through the tables. She picked out the face in the crowd she was looking for, huddled on a couch in front of the television between the gleaming silver skin of Cessily Kincaid, and the darker, less-distinct figure of Sooraya Qadir wrapped in her abaya.

Laura balanced a big bowl of oatmeal so heavily spiced with cinnamon Jubilee could smell it from halfway across the lounge on her knees, and watched whatever was on the television with her peculiar child-like interest. Cessily and Sooraya had already finished eating, and all three were so absorbed in their own conversation they didn't seem to notice her approach. All but Laura, of course, whose green eyes briefly flicked in her direction almost as soon as she entered the lounge.

"You are leaving?" Laura asked around a mouthful of her breakfast, her lips pulled down into a frown so faint that anyone who didn't know what to look for would never have even noticed. Her voice, for want of a better phrase, spoke volumes more over what she was feeling, and there was a distinct note of sorrow in her tone.

"Only for the week," Cessily said. "Julian is going home to visit his folks, and he's asked me, Santo, and Victor to come with him."

"Oh."

Jubilee raised an eyebrow at that; if she didn't know better, Laura may have actually sounded disappointed, and for just a moment her delicate features shifted at the mention of Keller's name. She couldn't exactly place what the girl was thinking, but there was more than a hint of confusion in that brief display of emotion.

"When are you all leaving?" Sooraya asked.

"The taxi's picking us up for La Guardia in about an hour," Cessily said, and rolled her eyes. "Eight hours stuck in a tiny metal tube with Santo Vaccaro ..."

"I'm sure the living will envy the dead," Jubilee said as she stopped in front of the couch and leaned on her cane, and craned her neck a bit to check out the TV. The girls were watching a rerun of Animaniacs, and she arrived just in time to watch the Brain's latest scheme to take over the world backfire with spectacularly hilarious results.

"Jubes!" Cessily said, and her silver features lit up as she vaulted off the couch and started towards her to drag her kicking and screaming into one of her bear hugs.

"Whoah! Let's take it easy on the glomping, 'k? Doc Fuzzy took away my happy pills so you wouldn't believe how much pretty much everything hurts right now!"

"Oh, sorry." Had she been capable of it, Jubilee had no doubts Cessily's face would be bright red in embarrassment, and instead she stood awkwardly with her hands clasped in front of her. "It's just so good to see you up and around again."

Jubilee gingerly eased herself into a chair next to the couch, and waved off Sooraya's wordless offer of assistance. "It's good to see me up and around again, too. Doc says I really lucked out." The last bit came out as a wheezing grunt as her body protested the change in orientation. "Fortunately, I had two good doctors, neither of whom are going to let me forget it, either."

"How is Josh doing?" Sooraya asked.

Jubilee slumped in the chair, and walked her cane through her fingers. "He's not talking about things, and is just trying to stay distracted, I think. All I can do is give him time to come around on his own."

Cessily returned to her place on the couch next to Laura, and pulled her legs up until she was sitting cross-legged with her hands in her lap. "I wish there was something we could do."

She sighed. "Unfortunately it's one of those things where there really isn't much, just be there for your friend, y'know? Anyway, I did want to say to have fun before you guys took off. Kinda wish I was going to Cali for a bit, too, but work work work.

"So what about, you, Soo? Any plans for your break?"

"I'll be remaining here, as well," Sooraya said.

"No luck, huh?"

Sooraya shook her head. "No. I've spoken with several aid groups the Professor has recommended, and there's still been nothing." She sighed. "I'm afraid I may have to accept that my mother is, indeed, gone."

Laura looked between the two of them, and something briefly passed across her expression Jubilee couldn't quite put a name to. "I'm sorry," Jubilee said with as sympathetic a smile as she could muster.

"I can't say that it has not been disappointing, but I have placed my faith in Allah that if I'm to see her again in this life that I shall, as is His plan. If not, I will merely see her again in heaven. Still, with everyone else having the chance to go home it would have been nice to have family to go to as well."

"Sometimes family is what you make of it, y'know? I bounced around foster care myself after my parents died, but then I came here."

Sooraya smiled behind her niqab. "Allah provides."

Jubilee smiled back. "Now the reason I'm here, before I become one with this nice, comfy chair and never want to leave it, I know you've all been through a lot, and that I haven't been available because of Dr. McCoy's magic pills. So first I wanted to let you all know that I'll be reopening my office today and am officially back in business."

Cessily smiled broadly. "That's awesome!"

"So yeah, if you guys need to talk about anything that's happened, come and find me. Second ..." and she looked directly at Laura, who stared back with an expression not unlike that of a deer caught on the wrong end of a speeding semi "What have you got going on today?"

Laura froze with a mouthful of oatmeal puffing out her cheeks hamster-style, and regarded her warily.

Cessily quirked a grin, and even Sooraya chuckled in amusement. "Come to think of it, I don't think she has any plans. At least that she's shared with either of us."

Jubilee nodded and smiled mischievously. "Perfect. You and I are going to hit the town this afternoon."

Laura swallowed her breakfast, and frowned slightly. "Is there a problem?"

"Oh, no problem. But y'know, pretty much everyone has come by to talk to me from time to time, but I get the distinct impression that you've been avoiding me since I got here. I think it's time for us to have a girl-to-girl chat."

Laura shrunk away from her, and tried to hide behind her bowl. "I am content to remain here."

"Not this time, babe. I'm pulling rank on you today. Besides, I'm dying to get out of here for a bit and Dr. McCoy won't let me go without someone to keep an eye on me. So you and I are gonna hang today. It'll be fun, I promise!"

Laura just eyed her doubtfully and continued eating.

###

Act II

###

"Jesus Christ, hasn't this part of the country heard of the sun?" Julian grumbled as they stepped from the bitter cold of the winter's morning and into the overcompensating heat of the terminal. The day was clear with a bright and beautiful blue sky, but it was all a cruel illusion to sucker them out of the warm and toasty confines of the school and into the icy wasteland outside.

"God I'm going to be glad when we get there, just so I don't have to listen to you whine about it," Cessily said. "You don't hear me complaining."

"Ha!" Victor laughed. "Give me a break, Cess, the whole way over you were complaining about how you were icing up. I'm the one who's literally cold-blooded."

Santo said nothing. He carried all of their bags perched on his broad, rocky shoulders, and dressed only in a pair of jeans and a t-shirt. He alone of the four of them was smiling. That same, dopey, vacant-headed smile Santo was always smiling. Julian wanted to TK his head off.

"Let's just find our gate and get our bags checked," Julian said, and checked his ticket. The airport was packed with travelers — some arriving, some departing, all of them in as much of a hurry to get where they were going as the four of them — and he ignored the attention they drew out of force of habit.

"Fine, fine. But I am not sitting next to Santo," Cessily said.

"Aw, what'd I do?" Santo asked, and he visibly deflated at that.

"You can sit next to Victor; you take up a lot of space, he doesn't take up any at all."

Victor rolled his eyes. "Gee, thanks, Cess."

"D'aaaaw, don't worry, sweetheart, you can just sit on my lap," Santo said.

"Can't we just make him fly air freight?"

"Are you kidding? At the rates they charge?" Julian said, without ever looking away from his ticket. "Come on, it's this way."

And with that he started off through the terminal, not bothering to check to see if the others followed him.

###

Nori slumped in her chair in the lounge, with her head propped up on one gauntleted hand, and surfed through the thousands of channels available to them. She found absolutely nothing of interest to watch. Voices wrapped up in their own private conversations filled the room with a low background hum, none of it particularly intelligible, and probably none of it particularly interesting, either. She sighed.

There was no way around it; she was bored out of her skull.

"Maybe we should go into town," Rahne said in her distinct brogue. "I heard they're restartin' the normal shuttles again."

"Oh good, that means Luna can start calling me into work again," Nori said.

"Oh come on, Nori," Dani said from the couch next to Rahne. "We've been cooped up in here for weeks! It would be good to actually get out for a change."

"You guys can go ahead, I'm staying right here and vegging out."

Rahne eyed her closely, and Nori did her best to ignore the scrutiny. "Well, ye're a bundle o' joy this mornin', what's gotten into ye?"

Dani smirked. "More like what's not getting into her. David's out of town, you know."

Rahne colored fiercely like any good Catholic School Girl (regardless of her insistence she was Presbyterian) ought to at the innuendo, but Nori just rolled her eyes. "Oh come on," she said, "My whole life doesn't revolve around David!"

"You could fool me. You're a lot more pleasant to be around when he's here or you two aren't fighting."

"This isn't about David!"

"Then what is it?" Rahne asked.

Nori sighed again and mopped her face. "My 'anniversary' is coming up pretty soon. I've been a mutant for almost six years now, and here I am still wearing the stupid Nintendo Power Gloves." She flexed her fingers in her gauntlets for emphasis.

"Oh."

"The worst part is everyone gets to go home on break to see their families. My parents haven't talked to me since I first told them what I was!"

"Not everyone," Rahne said, and scowled. "Or have ye forgotten my father the Reverend?"

"It's not the same!"

"Ye're right, it's not. At least yer father didn't try to purge the 'demon' out o' ye once ye manifested."

Nori buried her face in one hand. "I really don't want to go into this right now ..."

"Rahne's right, Nori," Dani said. "You've actually got it pretty good compared to a few others."

"Oh, yeah, I'm doing great. At least you guys can control your powers."

"Seriously, Nori?" Rahne growled. Actually growled; a low, animalistic rumble in the back of her throat. "Ye know there's bad days when I cannae keep the wolf under control."

"Let me know when you start chasing cars on reflex. I can't even touch my boyfriend without electrocuting him unless I'm wearing these!" She raised her hands again.

Rahne gritted her teeth and tightened her hands into fists. "Oh boo-hoo. Ye have it so hard. At least ye have David, even if ye nearly lost him doin' the same bit of sulkin' ye're doin' now over the Harvard scholarship, when ye should'a been happy fer him. Ye know how long it's been since I had a boy lookin' my way? They're always lookin' fer fangs an' claws, an' expectin' me to sprout fur at a moment's notice. But I can tell ye fer sure the boys don't see yer gauntlets when they look at ye."

"Oh will you two knock it off!" Dani said, and mopped her face. The low background murmur of the other conversations in the lounge tailed off at the outburst. "Everyone's got it bad about something and we can go round and round about it for days and not get anywhere. Let's just get out and do something and not just sit around here sniping at each other!"

Nori leaned her head on her hand again, and just resumed surfing. "Like I said, you guys can go ahead."

Dani threw her hands up in the air and groaned in exasperation. "Come on, Rahne. If Nori wants to sulk she can sulk. I just need to get out of here for a little while."

And with that the two of them left the couch and made their way out of the lounge. Nori didn't watch them go, and just sighed and continued flipping channels.

###

Jubilee grimaced as she levered herself out of the back seat of the cab, and pulled the front of her yellow wool trench coat closed around her throat against the sudden bite of the winter breeze rolling down the street. Laura emerged on the other side of the cab and huddled down into her oversized jacket, her legs clad in a pair of black skinny jeans and knee-high flats. The wind tugged at her hair and set it to flapping around her pale face like a black banner, and Jubilee flipped her Oakleys down as much to shield her eyes from the wind as from the glare of the sun; aside from the cold and the wind it was a beautiful day with a high, clear blue sky.

She leaned on her cane while she waited for Laura to join her on the sidewalk, and took a deep breath, reveling in the myriad scents of the City; particularly the warring vendors and restaurants all competing for their attention. Her mouth immediately started watering and her belly rumbled in an unnecessary reminder it was just about lunch time.

Laura stuffed her hands into her jacket pockets as she stepped up next to her, and the cabbie drove off behind them to look for other fares. She swept her green eyes with uncertainty up and down the streets, a strange expression crossing her features that seemed to be mingled with hints of familiarity and recognition.

"So, where do you want to eat?" she asked. "Got any favorites?" Laura just shrugged and didn't say a word. Jubilee sighed in frustration, and craned her neck. "Where did the cab drop us off, anyway?"

"The corner of East 187th and Arthur," Laura said, almost offhandedly.

"Hum." She considered. "Do you like Italian? I've been wanting to try Zero Otto Nove since I got back to New York. I think that's a block south of here, which is awesome 'cause that's about as far as I'm gonna walk."

Laura considered her closely, and her features briefly twisted in concern. "Are you certain you would not rather return to the mansion?"

Jubilee dismissed the question with a wave. "Absolutely sure. I've been cooped up way too long, dude, I need to get out and stretch my legs! Maybe a little dancing later."

"I do not dance," Laura said as Jubilee hobbled south along Arthur, and she fell into step beside her.

Jubilee laughed. There were a few pedestrians abroad ducking from one building to another to avoid the cold, but here and there they passed small knots gathered alongside the street talking while waiting for cabs or the bus line, or just enjoying the day. "It's a joke! Come on, do you really think anyone's getting me out on the floor right now?"

"Oh," Laura said, and when Jubilee glanced over her shoulder at her was surprised to see embarrassment on her delicate features. "I am not good with humor."

"Well, we'll have to work on that."

"Cessily says that as well."

Jubilee quirked a grin. "Smart girl; she understands you can't take everything too seriously and just have to cut loose and have fun sometimes."

Again, Laura didn't answer, and Jubilee frowned. Wow, tough crowd. "Well, I know so little about you, so why don't we start at the beginning? I heard the Wolverine found you somewhere around here; were you born in the New York area?"

"I do not wish to talk about it," Laura said, her voice growing very quiet, and very definitive.

Jubilee frowned again. "Any family?"

Laura shook her head, and shrunk into her jacket, trying to slip out of sight.

"Pets? Imaginary friends?"

Again, there was no response, and Jubilee sighed. "Look, I'm not trying to pressure you into anything, but we need to find something we can talk about or this is gonna be a very dull and one-sided conversation."

"Why am I here?" Laura asked instead.

"Right now it's to grab some lunch, I'm starved and I'm looking for some real food for a change."

"You are deflecting."

"No, I really am hungry."

Jubilee felt Laura scrutinize her closely, her green eyes almost looking through her. "That is a joke."

She quirked a grin. "Very good, you're learning!"

"If you wished to question me, why come here and not your office?"

"Because I don't think I'd have gotten you to come into my office, and I wanted to talk about what happened the night of the attack." Jubilee paused and leaned her weight on her cane. "I haven't had much chance to get back to work, but I did talk to a couple of the others this morning." She sighed and glanced at Laura, who watched her back like a dog wary of being struck. It bother Jubilee immensely how easily that comparison came to mind. "You may or may not be surprised to know that your name came up quite a lot."

"I see."

"You know I'm here to help you guys. And, well, I just get a sense from you that maybe you need someone to talk to; someone other than one of the kids." She quirked a grin. "Y'know, someone who's been around. Done things. Someone awesome."

Laura didn't so much as blink, and just kept watching her. Whether or not she recognized the joke for what it was this time she didn't say.

"And since you've made a point of avoiding my office, I figured maybe you'd be more comfortable talking in a more casual setting, away from the school."

Laura considered that for a moment, but before she could say another word her head snapped up like a dog whose attention was suddenly grabbed by a nearby squirrel. Her nose twitched, and a low growl escaped her throat as her lips turned downwards into an uncharacteristic scowl.

"Laura ...?" she asked. She studied the younger girl with no small amount of trepidation, and her belly churned nervously when she realized Laura was shifting into a defensive posture.

And then she was moving. "Stay!" she barked over her shoulder, and she rushed off back the way they came like a hound trailing a scent.

"Laura! Damn it!" Jubilee hobbled after her as fast as she could, and her side burned in protest at the effort of forcing her body to respond. "Wait! Will you wait! Come back!"

It was no use; Laura just kept moving, a black streak darting up Arthur and deftly weaving through pedestrian traffic, until she was lost from sight.

###

Act III

###

"Are we there yet?" Santo grumbled for about the fiftieth time, and Julian buried his face in his hands.

"We're not even to the desk yet, knock it off!" Julian said. Ahead of him the line to board the plane seemed to be taking its own sweet time to advance, and Julian had half a mind to TK the crowd ahead of him out of the way if only to shut up Santo's bored complaining. The four of them — that is to say, the three who couldn't even pass for "normal" at a costume party — had garnered a not inconsiderable amount of attention, and even if his hearing wasn't as sharp as Laura's, he couldn't help but hear mutterings of "muties" and "freaks." Julian also had no doubt that was by intent.

He just ignored it as best he could.

"What's the hold-up, anyway?" Cessily asked.

"I don't know," Julian said, and craned his neck around the coat-swaddled body in front of him. "You want to do the Elastigal thing and ask, Ms. Liquid Metal?"

"Are you kidding me? I've already been getting stared at ever since we got inside."

"Maybe they're checking you out," Santo said. "You should start asking for phone numbers."

"Can't we jettison him over Nebraska?" She jerked her thumb over her shoulder at the mountain of rock behind her.

"I wish. I mean it's not like there's actually anything in Nebraska for him to hit on the way down. But he'll probably just follow us on foot, anyway."

"Oh will you guys knock it off," Victor said, his own irritation clearly evident in his voice. "The line is finally moving."

Sure enough the mass of bodies ahead of him were now moving forward again, and in no time they approached the counter and the neat-uniformed American Airlines woman manning a computer terminal behind it. "Good morning! Do you have any carry-on?" she said without taking her eyes away from her computer screen, and her voice just on the ear-splitting side of perky.

"No, just her purse," he said, with a nod at Cessily.

"Ok, please have your tickets ready and oh my ..." She trailed off as she finally turned her attention to them and locked eyes with Santo, who just gazed dumbly down at her.

Julian rolled his eyes. "Look, it's going to be a long eight hours, can we just board?"

"Um, I think we may have a problem ..."

Santo smiled when he noticed her staring. "Hey baby, you working this counter on the return trip, too?"

Julian groaned and mopped his face. "Shut up, Santo. See, that is why we can't take you anywhere."

"What's the problem?" Cessily asked with a frown, and leaned on the counter. The woman's face colored as she took in Cessily and Victor, and Julian might have found the awkward silence amusing were he not in a hurry to get on the plane. And were it not drawing an uncomfortable amount of attention from the equally irritable travelers now grumbling about them holding up the line.

"Your, ahem, big friend, there," she said, and her discomfort was clearly evident as she pointed out Santo. "I, ah, don't believe any of the seats will accommodate him."

Julian sighed. "Look, lady, my father personally arranged these seats and cleared it all with the airline. Now maybe you might not think that means much to you, but believe me when I say that he can make your life incredibly miserable in a hurry."

The woman stiffened indignantly. "I'm sorry, sir, but airline safety regulations are very strict, and our seats just aren't designed to accommodate a passenger of his ..." she trailed off uncomfortably. "Well, girth."

The crack and grinding of stone accompanied the shift of Santo's features as he frowned. "Wait, is she calling me fat?"

"Look, it's genetic, ok? He can't help it," Julian said.

"I'm sorry, sir, but that doesn't change the fact your friend exceeds our safety limits."

"I don't believe it! She's calling me fat!" Santo wailed.

"Oh shut up, rock pile, she's not calling you fat."

Cessily folded her arms and delivered her most withering glare at the woman. "It's because he's a mutant, isn't it," she said, and made it a statement of fact.

"No, not at all!" she said, and her face colored at the insinuation. "But the airline is responsible for the safety and comfort of all our passengers, and we simply can't accommodate someone like him."

"Just load him up as cargo and get on with it!" someone further back in line shouted, eliciting laughter from a few others, though most looked away from the confrontation in embarrassment.

Julian rounded on the source of the remark, and he reflexively balled his hands into fists and called on his power. "Are you calling my friend freight?" he said, his temper getting the better of him. The aura formed around his hands, but he managed to restrain himself from a more overt display. That was still enough to send the front few rows of the line stumbling back from them. Victor grabbed him by the arm. The tightening of his grip on his wrist was enough to bring him back to his senses again, and he released his hold on his power.

"Sir, I need you to calm down!" the woman at the desk said.

"What are you talking about, I am calm!" Julian said, forcing himself to keep from shouting as a larger and larger crowd began to gather. "I just want you to board us, if you can't do it I want to see your supervisor."

"There's no need to get angry!"

Julian gawked at her. "I'm not getting angry! I just want to see your supervisor!"

Cessily grabbed his arm and put him between her and the crowd gathering around them. "Julian I really don't like where this is going ..."

"I'm not getting angry. She's really, really annoying me, but I'm not getting angry."

A sharp plink put an end to any further debate as an empty soda can bounced off Santo's head. "Hey! Who threw that!" he said, and the nearest row of spectators scrambled away as he swept his glowing blue eyes across the crowd. But despite the admirable amount of restraint he was showing, the thought of what he might do all but started a panic among the flatscans.

"Sir! Please step away from the desk, and get your friend under control!" the woman at the desk shouted.

"What the hell are you talking about? He's completely fine. What about the asshole throwing garbage?"

"Sir, I won't tell you again ..."

"Tell me what? We're being persecuted, here!"

"I don't want to call security."

Julian glared. "You go ahead and call security, and get me your damn supervisor while you're at it!"

"Julian," Victor said, "maybe we ought to go."

He turned his glare on Victor, on whom it was lost, as he focused his attention on the people surrounding them who hadn't quite grown enough of a spine to press back in again. "We ought to be boarding this damn plane."

"Back away from the desk, now!" a commanding voice called out, and Julian wheeled to find himself staring at probably half a dozen Tasers as the TSA Enforcer Goon Squad swarmed around them.

"What the hell? We're just standing here!" Julian protested.

"I said back away! Now! Police have been called and are on their way. Get down on the ground and put your hands on your heads!"

"Oh you have got to be kidding me!"

"What's going on?" Santo asked. He folded his arms across his broad chest and glared down at the security dunces. Julian doubted their Tasers would so much as tickle his rocky hide, and from the look on Santo's face he knew it. To say nothing of the fact that all of them together wouldn't be able to subdue him.

"We're being arrested, dumbass," Victor said.

"Oh." Santo considered that for a moment. "For what?"

"Pick a reason, Einstein."

Cessily sighed as she complied with the order. "So now what, Julian?"

Julian glared hellfire at the head rent-a-cop, and made a show of cooperating. "I want my lawyer."

"Uh, I want his lawyer, too," Santo said.

All Julian could think about as they were cuffed one-by-one to be led to a holding area (except for Santo, who just laughed as they helplessly tried to figure out how to actually restrain him), was that his parents were going to kill him.

###

Josh stuffed his hands in the pockets of his lab coat, and made his way up the hall from the elevator leading down to the medbay in the school's subbasement. The dreary mood of the days immediately following the attack were gone, replaced by what sounded like an almost normal, if somewhat subdued, level of chatter and laughter from among the student body. But though the physical damage had been repaired, some scars remained buried deeply beneath the shiny new veneer.

Just as his gleaming golden skin hid the hole where his heart ought to be.

Josh sighed and shrunk into his coat, trying to avoid the stares from his classmates gathered in the hallway. Most looked at him with expressions of deep sympathy, others still filled with awe and wonder at the change to his appearance. All of it attention he didn't want; the words of condolences changed nothing, and the stares just made him more and more self-conscious of who and what he was.

Rahne Sinclair and Dani Moonstar bounded down the stairs from the dormitory hallway ahead of him, the former still threading her arms through the sleeves of her coat, and he caught a glimmer of the cross around her neck. Josh slightly altered his pace so they would pass him by without their paths intersecting in hopes of avoiding a conversation, but Rahne caught sight of him, murmured something to Dani (who rolled her eyes and leaned against the bannister at the landing impatiently) and turned to meet him. Although not particularly desiring company, Josh stopped and offered her a friendly smile of greeting.

"Hey," Rahne said, and finished adjusting her coat.

"Hey," he said. "Heading out?"

"Dani and I are heading to Salem fer a bit since the shuttles are startin' again." She shifted awkwardly, and ran her hand back through her tomboyishly short red hair. "Since ye're here, I thought I'd see if ye'd like to join us."

"Thanks, but I'm just up to grab some lunch for myself and Ms. Guthrie."

"Ah," she said, and her shoulders slumped a bit in disappointment. "How's she doin'? Any better?"

"Physically, I guess. Melody's been down keeping her company most of the day."

"How did she take it? Ye know, about Jay?"

Josh sighed. "As well as you could expect, I guess."

Rahne studied him closely, her green eyes searching him intently — and was it just him, or was there an unusually high percentage of the student body with green eyes? "How are ye doing?"

Josh blinked at her, and it took him a moment to consider his words while under her scrutiny. "You know, I think you're the first person to actually ask me that. All anybody else seems to want to do is stare."

"Well, ye do make for quite the striking sight now, so I suppose ye cannae blame 'em, right?" she asked, and let out a nervous laugh.

She waited expectantly for him to respond, but Josh just stood with his hands thrust into his lab coat pockets and shifting uncomfortably from one foot to the other at the intensity of her gaze. "Well?" she asked, once she realized no answer was immediately forthcoming.

He sighed again and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Surviving," he finally said with finality, wanting nothing more now than for the conversation to be done with so he could slink back to the medbay.

Rahne frowned — clearly his response was not what she was expecting — and nodded. "Look, if ye ever need to talk, ye know, about whatever. Like, if ye need a friend ..."

"Thanks," he said, and motioned with his thumb back the way he came. "I, uh, need to get back to work."

She nodded, and visibly deflated. "Ok. I'm sorry, Josh. About Laurie. I know it may not mean much to ye, but ye both have been in my prayers."

A hollow feeling worked its way through his gut, and Josh clenched his hands into fists and tightened his jaw. He wanted to tell her to keep her prayers to herself, that it was God's name that led a man to walk up and put a bullet in Laurie's brain, but he saw the intense sincerity in Rahne's eyes, the same sort of honest conviction of belief he often saw with Sooraya, and he forced himself to relax. "Thanks," he said, his voice sounding rougher than he liked, and his throat closed around the words. "I, uh, I appreciate that."

Rahne glanced over her shoulder at Dani, who waited with quiet impatience. "I better get goin' before Dani takes off without me," she said with a small laugh. "Ye take care, and tell Ms. Guthrie I said 'hello.'"

Josh nodded. "I will. Have fun."

She smiled, and backed away a few steps before turning to rejoin Dani as she started down the entry hall. Josh thought he saw Rahne glance back over her shoulder at him once or twice, but he lowered his head and continued on his way for the lounge, and ignored the deep pang of loneliness slowly gnawing away at his belly.

###

Sooraya made her way out of the dining room and into the lounge with her lunch, and threaded past the tables and chairs on her way to the couch in front of the television. Nori already sat curled up at one end flipping through channels, her boredom evident from her posture and expression. She circled around the couch and smoothly lowered herself at the opposite end, and arrayed her abaya around her legs so she could sit comfortably. She smiled warmly to Nori behind her niqab.

"Good afternoon, Noriko!" she said.

"Sup?" Nori said, her voice as bored as her features, and she never took her eyes off the television.

"How are you today?"

"Oh, I'm just awesome. Which is totally why I'm going to sit here and endure this conversation."

Sooraya's smile faltered. "Is something the matter?"

"Nope. At least to hear Rahne and Dani tell it."

"What do you mean?"

Nori sat back on the couch and folded her gauntleted arms under her breast in frustration. "Do you know how long it's been since I even talked to my family?"

Sooraya deftly maneuvered a bite of her leftover pasta from last night beneath her niqab. "I'm sorry, I don't."

"Our school has been blown up, and then had an army come down on it trying to kill all of us, and they won't talk to me! Not even to make sure I'm ok. All they have to say is ask when I plan on stopping this pretend mutant foolishness and come home! Pretend!" Nori held her gauntlets up in front of her face and flexed her fingers. The jointed metal plates sheathing her hands articulated with a series of soft clicks. "This is pretend?!"

Sooraya sighed in sympathy. "I'm sorry. I know it must be difficult to have family that cannot accept you for who you are."

Nori folded her arms again and slumped. "See? You get it, why doesn't anyone else?"

She frowned around another bite of her lunch. "Get what?"

"That this sucks! You're lucky, at least you don't have anything to miss."

Sooraya eyed Nori closely. "I beg your pardon?"

"You know, from that godawful hell hole." Nori waved her hands vaguely as if indicating a direction. "I mean nothing but terrorists cutting off heads and stoning girls who god forbid want to speak their minds. I mean it's so much better being here, right?"

Sooraya glared, and she felt her face heat in indignation in spite of herself. "You have no idea what I have lost, Noriko."

"Oh, please. At least here you can say what you want and not have some Taliban ISIS hardcases trying to blow you up. At least you could until Stryker came along."

"I have not seen my mother in years, Nori. I don't even know if she is still alive! At least you can go to bed at night certain that your family is safe."

"She probably just doesn't want to be found. You know that, right? She's probably all happily enslaved to a new husband who keeps her locked away, and hasn't spared a moment's thought for her freak-of-nature abomination daughter. Well believe me you're better off."

"How dare you!" Sooraya shouted, and slammed her lunch platter down on one of the tables as she left the couch. The lounge fell into astonished silence at the outburst, and she was distantly conscious of every eye in the room turning to watch the confrontation. "Are you really so absorbed in your own little problems you would project them on everyone? You ignorant, selfish, and sanctimonious—"

"Me ignorant?" Nori said in disbelief, and jumped to her own feet and stared her down. That she expressed genuine shock at the accusation just made Sooraya even hotter. "And you and your 'Allah' this and 'Allah' that have no business calling out anyone for being self-righteous! You won't even consider what you believe is wrong!"

"It's called faith, Noriko! I have faith in the rightness and goodness of Allah."

"Oh, right, a God who would make you hide your face and tells his followers to blow up children. You know who else thinks God wants him to blow up children?"

"You are not comparing me and my faith to Stryker!"

"You heard him! You saw all of his pamphlets and speeches just like the rest of us!"

The lights in the lounge began to flicker and the television set blinked off as Nori's control over her powers slipped along with her grip on her temper. Electric-blue arcs of energy as bright as her hair rippled down the lengths of her arms, sparking and popping, and filling the lounge with the whiff of ozone. Sooraya was aware of the rest of the students crowding around them, and somewhere among them a childish chant of "Fight! Fight! Fight!" began, accompanied by what sounded like Quentin Quire meowing.

Sooraya's face heated in embarrassment, and she balled her hands into fists in an effort to steady herself. "I do not want to fight you over this, Nori."

"Saint Sooraya as always thinking she's the better person, right? You always have to be bigger than the rest of us!"

"Well when you insist on acting like a spoiled child one of us has to!"

"Oh that is it. It is so on, Sand Girl!"

Nori was just about to free her hands from her gauntlets, when a golden figure appeared between then and bodily forced them apart. Nori let loose a string of Japanese invective as she stumbled backwards, but when she tried to rush in again Josh forced her back.

"Knock it off! Both of you!" he snapped, the anger in his voice catching everyone so off-guard the chanting and egging for them to fight tapered off into stunned silence, and Nori immediately stopped resisting his efforts to separate them. "What the hell is the matter with you two?"

"You heard what she said to me just now!" Nori said, and raised her hands in protest.

"Shut up, Nori! Jesus Christ isn't it enough that Stryker is trying to kill everyone that you two have to be doing his job for him?"

"Josh," Sooraya said, and raised her hands, "that wasn't—"

"I said shut! Up!" He stared them both down, his teeth clenched in anger, and tears welled up in his blue eyes. "Both of you just shut up and listen!

"Do you two think you're the only ones who have problems right now? That you're the only people who have lost someone?" He turned his glare on Nori. "Ever since I've known you you've done nothing but moan about your powers, how you can't control them and you can't go home again. Do you really think you're the only one here whose family won't accept them for who they are? That you're the only one of us who can't control themselves?"

He rounded on Sooraya. "And you! Maybe you don't mean it, but do you really not hear just how condescending you sound whenever you start going on about your faith? It's like you have all the answers and the rest of us just need to listen to you!"

Sooraya hung her head, and felt her face heat in chagrin at Josh's admonishment. She glanced up at Noriko, who mirrored her posture without the benefit of her niqab to help mask the embarrassment etched on her features.

"For most of us this place is all we've got," Josh said. "And you two aren't the only ones who've lost people you cared about. Laurie was murdered right in front of me. Mark and how many others were killed on the bus? Melody lost her brother and one of her best friends, and all you two can do is claw at each other.

"Now we're supposed to be a team helping to keep all that from happening again. So both of you just grow up!"

Josh glared from one to the other, while the crowd looked on in stunned silence. Finally, when he seemed certain his words had sunk in, he spun on his heel and stormed from the lounge in a huff. The ring of students encircling them opened up for him to pass, and even Quentin Quire remained silent as Josh left them to consider his words.

###

Laura's blood boiled. She pursued the scent and followed it unerringly back up Arthur Avenue, not the least bit distracted by the confusing mishmash of other odors dominating the City. It was faint, but clear and familiar. She distantly heard Ms. Lee calling from behind for her to wait, but she ignored the entreaty and wove past pedestrians on her way up the street, and darted across Arthur when she reached a place across from Marie's Coffee Beans & Gifts. She ignored the blaring of horns as she dodged through traffic heading south, reached the far side without incident, and ducked into the alley between Marie's and the building to its north.

There she paused and sampled the air for a moment; the scent was strong, now, and she strained her ears as she slowly proceeded down the alley towards the rear of the space enclosed between the buildings fronting Arthur and Hughes. She heard the sound of voices echoing between the walls rising up on either side, and she tightened her hands into fists at the sound of the confrontation unfolding in the back alley.

"...told you I don't know what you're talking about!" a woman said. Young, likely late teens. Frightened. Too far away to ascertain by scent if she is telling the truth.

"Bitch don't you lie to me!" a man said. Probable African-American. Mid-twenties.

"You've been holding out on the Boss, he knows it!" Another man said. "So bitch you better wise up!" Speaker is urban, but likely Caucasian.

"I'm not! I swear!" the woman said, and the pleading in her voice verged on the edge of panic. Laura ground her teeth and clenched her jaw so tightly at the scenario unfolding in the alley her jaw ached. She paused at the end of the passage she was following and leaned out to gauge the situation.

Two men: One African-American with a shaved head and a gold earring, of average height and build, wearing a light leather jacket. The other Caucasian, dark-haired, and with several piercings and a tattoo across the back of his neck just visible beneath the collar of his heavy coat. He was taller than his companion and heavily built, and Laura scowled in recognition of the tattoo and his stench. The woman was perhaps her age, Hispanic, and of slender build with dark hair pulled back in a neat pony-tail. She appeared to be a habitual drug user, wore an apron for Ceri Beauty Supply under her coat, and stood with her back pressed against the wall of the building behind her.

"Don't you lie to me!" The bigger man snapped, and made an aggressive move towards her. "We've been watching you, and don't you try to tell me you can afford that place you're living in on what you make for the Boss."

"I don't! The rest is coming from working at the store!"

"Bullshit!" the other man said. "The Boss wants his cut, so you can either hand it over now or we take it from you, and you ain't gonna like that."

"Please!" the woman said, and her voice broke as she began to cry. "I swear!"

"Lyin' skank!" the big man said, and reached out to grab her. At that, Laura stepped fully into view and started towards them. The woman looked over her assailant's shoulder at her, and the two thugs took note of this change of focus. They both turned and Laura eyed them closely as she crossed the alley, her face a mask of rage, and her body trembled with lethal energy begging to be released.

"Bitch you better turn right around and walk back the way you came!" the African man said. Her eyes locked on him; there was no obvious sign he was armed, but his right hand hovered over his abdomen in manner that attempted too hard to look casual. Probable concealed weapon in a shoulder holster. Subject is alert, but disregarding me as an overt threat.

"Didn't you hear him?" the bigger man said. "Get lost!"

Laura narrowed her eyes as she approached him, and stopped just out of his reach before taking a big sniff; the stink of the man was all but overpowering in the confines of the alley. "I know you," she said, her voice low and like ice.

The man studied her back for a moment. His features twisted in confusion at first, but then flared in sudden recognition.

"Oh shit!" he said, and leveled a finger at her face. "Shit! I know this ho! That's the skank that shanked Daddy!"

His companion's eyes went wide. "You kidding me? This is the chick who did him? Bro my baby sister is bigger than her."

"Yeah, yeah, it's her! I wasn't there, but I knew her back then!" His features turned hard and he glared. "You should have kept walking, bitch, and not stuck your nose in where it didn't belong. Boss has got a price on your ass so high a man could be set for life bringing you in. It was a big mistake coming down this alley."

Laura narrowed her eyes at him, and tensed to spring. "Yes, it was. For you."

And before either of them could react she was moving. A metallic snikt rang out in the confines of the alley as her claws extended, and she leapt onto the big man and buried all six of her claws in his chest. Her weight drove him to the ground, and she used him as a springboard to fling herself at his companion. He reached inside his coat for his weapon, but his reaction came too slow and Laura landed on his shoulders, hooked an arm around his neck, and effortlessly spun him into the ground. She jammed her claws into his face, and his body jerked and spasmed as they speared through his eye sockets and into his brains.

It was all over in moments.

Laura withdrew her claws with a sick but somehow satisfying wet sound, and retracted them again. She scowled down at the two men sprawled at her feet as their blood cooled in the cold winter air, the one already dead, and the big man's breath rattled in his throat while his body vainly struggled to stave off death. She took and released a shuddering breath and felt...satisfied.

"Oh god! Oh my god! Oh my god!" a tiny voice squeaked nearby, and Laura spun towards the girl. She huddled on the ground and looked up at her with eyes wide with fear.

"Are you all right?" Laura asked.

"You killed them!"

"Yes."

"Laura!" Came another voice from the alley through which she entered, and Laura spared a momentary glance over her shoulder as Jubilee staggered into view. She clutched her side and supported herself on her cane. The pain in her voice was clearly evident, and she labored to catch her breath. "Oh god. Oh shit! What did you do!"

Laura ignored her, and turned back to the girl. "Who is the Boss?" she asked.

The girl gawked at her. "What?"

"The Boss? Who is he?"

"Laura!" Jubilee said, and took hold of her by the shoulder. Laura's body tensed, but she managed to force herself not to spin around and cut her hand off. "What the hell is going on?"

Laura sniffed, the air thick with the cupric scent of blood, the stench of the big man now lying still on the pavement, and the girl's fear. She did not recognize her scent. "Who is the Boss?"

"You're really her, aren't you?" she stammered, and looked at her with a mixture of fear and astonishment. "You're the one who killed Daddy."

"Yes," Laura said. "Who is the Boss?"

She swallowed and looked between her and Jubilee, and the corpses cooling behind her. "He took over Daddy's gang. You need to go, if he knows you're back in his district. He wants you dead!"

Laura scowled, and she felt the rage build again. "He took over the gang?"

"Laura, what's going on?" Jubilee asked, but Laura ignored her.

The girl nodded. "Yeah. The whole territory. A couple of the other lieutenants tried to carve it up, but he ..." She trailed off and her face turned a sickly greenish hue, and Laura needed no explanation for what the Boss did to the dissenters. "After that warning, the rest of them all fell in line."

"Where is he?" Laura asked.

The girl's mouth hung open and her eyes went wide with incredulity. "Are you crazy?"

"Where is he?"

"I can't! He wants to kill you, and if I help you he'll just kill me, too!"

Laura set her jaw resolutely. "No, he will not. Because I will kill him and every one of his men first."

"Laura!" Jubilee said, aghast.

"Where is he?"

"He owns a club on 19th Street between 5th and 6th. As far as I know he runs the whole operation out of there," she said.

"Does he keep any of the girls there?"

"I think so. At least the new girls just starting. He—"

"I know what he does," Laura snapped, and her voice fell into a snarl. "You should go to the police."

"What? I can't! If his people see me—"

"You will be safe there until this is over. You do not have to be afraid of him anymore."

And with that she started away without another word and headed back towards the street. She heard Jubilee scuffle to catch up behind her, but Laura made no effort to check her pace. Her belly churned and her chest burned, and she dug her nails so tightly into her palms they cut into her flesh.

"Laura!" Jubilee called. "Damn it, Laura! Hold up!"

Laura stopped and let out a sigh, and turned to watch Jubilee scrambled after her. She clutched her side and panted heavily, and her features twisted in pain.

"Oof. Damn. All right, what the hell did you do? What was that about back there?"

She cocked her head to one side and blinked. "Those men intended to harm that girl. I intervened."

"Oh no, none of that 'Isn't it obvious' stuff now. You killed two men!"

"Yes, I did. And I will kill more."

Jubilee clapped a hand across her face in exasperation. "Yeah, see, that's problem number two. Problem number three is that you're not being honest with me. Now what the hell was that about?"

Laura gave a heavy sigh and stared at the ground while she momentarily wrestled between expediency, privacy, and disclosure. "The girl is a prostitute. The men work for a local gang who traffic in drugs and women. I killed their leader. Now I intend to kill his replacement."

She spun around and continued on her way again, but Jubilee hurried after her. "What?! Hey! No! We're going back to the school before this turns into an actual street war!"

Laura rounded on her and glared. "This is not a war! This is a mission!" she snapped, and Jubilee stumbled back in surprise. She felt her face heat and her breath came in heaving gasps. She clenched her fists at her side and her whole body trembled. "I failed to prevent this. I intend to correct that mistake."

"What mistake? Will you please talk to me?"

"There is no time! There are others who are in danger and need help. Do not follow me; you do not want to be part of this."

And with that she continued on her way again, and did not care whether Jubilee obeyed or not. The only thing on her mind now was seeing her mission through.

###

Act IV

###

Julian slumped in the chair with his head bowed and his hands wrenched around uncomfortably behind his back. The cold metal of the handcuffs dug into the skin of his wrists. He could have TKed himself out without a problem so he could at least be comfortable, but decided to play nice for the moment. The room was small with only one door leading out and no windows, and the only furniture of note was the table at which he was seated, and an empty chair across from him. Everything else — the walls, the ceiling, and even the carpeting on the floor — was a boringly functional gray. And of course there was the camera in one corner, gazing down remorselessly on him and allowing the guards outside to keep an eye on anyone in what they politely refused to call a holding cell.

He sighed in boredom. That, he decided, was the most annoying part of the whole experience; except for the five-minute call to his father's office to explain the situation (his father, of course, was far too busy to actually speak with him himself, leaving him with the indignity of telling a secretary what happened) there was nothing to do and no one to talk to. Even an interrogation was beginning to sound interesting, if only to break up the monotony.

Finally, after what seemed like hours (or maybe only one. He couldn't look at his phone, and there wasn't even a clock in the stupid room!) the latch clacked and the door swung open, and a man in a nice suit carrying a laptop under one arm strode in. He was tall and dark-skinned, and judging from the fact he was cut like a linebacker Julian doubted he was just an office flunkie. The man set the laptop down on the table and opened it up, and tapped a few buttons after taking the empty seat across from him. Two of the TSA thugs entered with him; one taking up a position beside the exit, the other standing behind his boss and looking thoroughly uncomfortable.

"Mr. Keller," the Suit said, with a voice somewhere just north of James Earl Jones, "You and your friends will be released immediately and are free to go."

The man nodded, and at that, the guard with him circled around the table and went to work unlocking the cuffs. "It's about damn time," Julian grumbled. The restraints came free, and he massaged his wrists to restart the blood flow to his fingers.

"On behalf of the airport I wish to extend to you my sincerest apologies for this terrible misunderstanding."

Julian glared at him. "Oh, I bet you do. I ought to sue your ass for wrongful prosecution under the Mutant Rights Act. It might be fun to own my own airport."

"There will be nothing of the sort," a very annoyed, and very familiar, voice that sent Julian's heart plummeting somewhere around his belly button said from the laptop. The Suit turned the laptop around, and Julian found himself facing the stern and unrelenting glare of his father. Family friends often remarked on how much alike they looked, though Julian never saw a resemblance himself. His hair was stylish and he kept his face clean-shaven, while his father wore a typical dad 'do and a carefully groomed mustache and beard that while once black was now shot through with gray. Maybe they meant their eyes, but the best description he could come up with for his father's was "frosty."

"If you gentlemen will excuse me, I'll see about releasing the others," the big Suit said. He quickly vacated the office and took the two TSAs with him.

Julian envied them immensely.

"Dad ..." he said, and his throat went very dry.

"Your mother and I sent you to that school for you to learn discipline and responsibility. And yet after a word with my secretary I turn on the news to see a report that my son has attacked an airport? What is the matter with you?"

"We didn't do anything! Some desk jockey started causing trouble for one of my friends and those overpaid rent-a-cops overreacted!"

"I don't want to hear any excuses!" his father snapped, and Julian flinched at the rebuke. He felt the heat of his father's temper even over the webcam. "Do you know how embarrassing this is for the family? People are already beginning to talk about our son the freak!"

"Yeah, I don't want to cause the family any embarrassment just by existing," Julian said. "Do you even care what's happened the last couple months? My friends got blown up by a religious crackpot. I got shot! And you and mom didn't so much as call to see that I was all right!"

"We set ground rules, Julian, and you agreed to those rules!"

"No, you gave me an ultimatum! Well I'm here, and you're still blaming me for everything! I didn't do anything!"

His father sat back at his desk and glared at him over the connection. "I had hoped you would have at least expressed some contrition for the trouble you've caused today. You don't leave me any choice."

A hollow feeling filled Julian's gut. "Choice for what?"

"Your mother and I made it very clear there would be consequences if there was any further trouble over your powers, and the papers are already being filed."

Julian felt tears well up as he realized just what was happening. "Dad, you can't do this!"

"I warned you, Julian! We gave you every chance to fall in line and you've squandered them. Now you have to live with the consequences."

"Dad!"

Without another word, his father cut the connection and the video feed went blank. Julian sank into his chair, and for a time could only stare at the screen in disbelief.

And then he buried his face in his hands and began to cry.

###

Laura stopped halfway down 19th Street on its south side, across from a large and ostentatious building with a big neon sign — it was off now in the light of afternoon — and band posters advertising the night's performers plastered across the windows. This was no hole-in-the-wall dive, but a trendy and upscale, from the looks of things quite hot during its hours of operation, and incredibly exclusive club. Jubilee's imagination immediately ran wild with thoughts of celebrities rubbing elbows with New York's elite, and lines circling around the block for admission.

"Woah," she said and she rubbed her throbbing side. "This is it?"

Laura's grim features hardened. "This is it. You should not have come."

"Hey, look, I'm supposed to be keeping an eye on you while we're out. Lotta good that's doing. So what are you going to do, just walk in the front door?"

"Direct approach inadvisable owing to uncertainty over distribution of sentries. Covert entrance preferred."

"Oh-kay. Look, you're taking this whole urban commando thing a bit too far. We shouldn't even be here."

Laura ignored her, and studied the façade across from them more closely. "There is a rear entrance."

Jubilee frowned. "Are you sure? It all seems pretty tightly packed back there ..."

"They need a means of moving contraband without suspicion, and I see a gap. There will be alleys. Stay."

And with that, Laura took off again up the street. "Stay? Like a dog? Really?" she groused and started after her, and grimaced against spike of pain lancing through her side in protest at the strain of keeping up with her.

Laura crossed 19th when they reached the intersection at 5th, and her small frame blended in alarmingly well with the pedestrian traffic. Jubilee nearly lost her entirely until she stopped at a narrow alley between buildings. Jubilee gasped for breath — the cold air burned her lungs and her side was in agony — and she leaned against the wall and waited next to Laura for the crowd to thin out so they could proceed without drawing attention to themselves.

"You should sit down," Laura said, almost casually and without even sparing her a glance. Instead her green eyes carefully swept the street, Jubilee guessed looking for any sign that the traffic around them wasn't as innocent as it looked.

"Really? We're supposed to be having lunch right now, you know."

Laura glanced at her. "A joke?"

Jubilee scowled. "Does it look like I'm laughing? And I'm not exactly satisfied with your story. What we should be doing right now is talking."

She hugged herself tightly and looked at her feet. "I am not good at that."

"Yeah, I've noticed. But unfortunately it's also my job, so one of us is going to end up disappointed, here. I really don't want to go all hardcore disciplinarian on you. I hated that when I was in school, but I'm the faculty, here, and you're the student, so—"

While she spoke the pedestrian traffic thinned out and passed, and before Jubilee could finish Laura took one last survey of the street and spun into the alley. Jubilee let out a growl of exasperation in her throat and rolled her eyes. "Don't paf... Don't paf ..." she grumbled under her breath, and hurried after her.

The alley was narrow, but enough light found its way down into the confines between the buildings rising up on either side she had no difficulties seeing the way ahead. There was little trash here, mostly some debris built up in the angle between the walkway and the walls. Otherwise all there was to see was Laura's back as she quietly hurried along the passage, before stopping at the end of it and waiting for her to catch up.

Jubilee huffed and puffed, and hobbled along on her cane. "Ok, look," she began, but Laura shushed her with a raised finger, and peeked around the corner. Jubilee followed her gaze, and she felt a bit of bile churn in her belly.

As Laura predicted there was indeed an open area behind the club, and a back entrance providing access to what Jubilee suspected would be the kitchens. And guarding it were two very large men whose heavy winter coats made them look even bigger. But Jubilee's eyes were drawn away from their physical bulk to the assault rifles gripped in their meaty, gloved fists.

"Woah."

Laura frowned. "These men are not normal guards," she said in a low voice. At this distance, even with the alley's best efforts at magnifying every sound, their voices didn't carry enough to be heard. "There is something happening here."

"Yeah, trouble. All right, you've had a look, but we really need to be going, now."

Laura rounded on her and her green eyes narrowed. "No."

"Look, you took out two thugs and saved that girl, that's awesome. But even I can see that these guys are hardcore."

"I have dealt with worse."

Jubilee buried her face in the palm of her hand. "Look, even if you can, there's nothing you could do before they could raise an alarm."

Laura considered that a moment, then unzipped her jacket and let it slip down off her shoulders. Almost immediately her fair skin began to pimple, not at all helped by the midriff and cleavage-bearing top underneath. "There will not be an alarm," she said.

And with that, Laura started into the alley, and Jubilee could only watch in amazement while Laura strode right up to the guards with an uncharacteristically sultry swaying of her hips. Even more astonishing: Neither guard so much as raised their weapons on her, and shared smug grins between each other at something Laura said.

And before either of them could even think of reacting, a sharp snikt echoed through the alley, and Laura buried the claws of both hands in their throats. They both collapsed without so much as a whisper.

Jubilee felt her stomach lurch at just how simply it was done, and hurried across the alley to join Laura over the bodies. "What did you do?" she asked.

"They were distracted," Laura said flatly, and dug through their pockets. One of the men had a keycard tucked inside his jacket pocket.

"How—"

"The girls will likely be held in the upper floors" Laura said, waving off the question. "They will be under guard, but only lightly. Stay back until I clear the building."

"What?!" Jubilee reached out to her and took her by the arm, and Laura visibly flinched away from her. "Look, I've gone along with this so far, but you're out of your mind!"

"The men inside will kill you!" Laura said. "You are wounded, I cannot protect you and carry out the mission at the same time."

"To hell with your mission, Laura! Do you realize what you're doing?"

"I do," she said with finality. "Please wait here."

And without another word Laura used the keycard on a reader built into the door frame, and slipped inside.

###

Cessily leaned against the wall, and hugged herself tightly. Traffic flowed into and out of the terminal around them. A few people spared them looks ranging from curiosity to disgust, while outside airport personnel loaded their bags up into a cab called — at the airport's expense, of course, in a transparent attempt to save some face — to take them back to Salem once they received news that their trip was cancelled. Santo slumped his massive rocky shoulders.

"This sucks. I wanted to work on my tan this week," he said.

Victor sighed and mopped his face. "Santo, you're made out of rock. You don't tan!"

"Why couldn't they just put us on another flight?"

"I don't know." Victor frowned and looked around. "And where's Julian, anyway? I'm seriously not looking forward to all the butt-kissing I'm going to have to do for having his lawyer get us all out of this pro bono."

Santo snickered. "Heh. Pro boner?"

Cessily groaned and rolled her eyes. "Shut up, Santo." She spared a moment to sweep her eyes across the concourse, but there was no sign of Julian, only the hundreds of travelers making their way through the terminals either for the gates or the exits. "And I don't know, I thought he'd be right behind us."

"We're not going to get detention, are we?"

"I don't know. It's not like we actually did anything."

Victor shrugged. "Yeah, sure, we only almost caused a riot in the middle of La Guardia."

"Hey, I was being good!" Santo said.

"Exactly. No way will the Professor believe that."

"Look can we just talk about something else? It's bad enough to get singled out to begin with, but then we got arrested on top of that," Cessily said. "I'm more worried about Julian."

Victor frowned. "How come? It's not like he hasn't been in trouble before. Remember that time he tried to TK the buttons on Dr. Grey's blouse?"

Santo grinned. "That was pretty cool, especially when Dr. Grey almost knocked him across the room."

"It was stupid. The point is I'm sure he'll just walk this off like he always does."

Cessily glanced over her shoulder. "Don't be so sure ..." she said, and trailed off when she caught sight of Julian picking his way through the crowd of travelers. Her heart leapt up into her throat when she saw his dejected expression, and he walked with his head lowered, his hands in his pockets, and trying to shrink down into himself. "Uh-oh. Stay here. Victor, make sure Santo doesn't run off and get us into any more trouble."

"But I was being good!" Santo wailed at her back as she left the wall she was leaning against and hurried to meet Julian.

"Julian! Are you ok? What—" He grabbed her into a hug that with anyone else would have forced all the air from their lungs when she reached him. "—happened?" Cessily could only wrap her arms around him while he began to cry into her shoulder. His whole body shook, and she felt her stomach turn itself into knots. "Julian?" she asked, but already knew the answer before she opened her mouth.

"They're doing it," he sobbed. "They're actually doing it."

Cessily would have cried with him were she capable of it, and she hugged him even tighter as he confirmed her fears. "Oh god, Julian. I'm sorry! I'm so, so sorry!"

"Woah! Hey! Get a room!" Santo said, and Cessily glared at him over her shoulder when she saw the big, goofy grin on his rocky features.

"Shut up, Santo!" Victor snapped, and uselessly dug his elbow into Santo's stony flank. His reptilian features were downturned when he saw the tears streaming down Julian's face. "Hey man, are you all right?"

"No, he's not," Cessily said. "His parents are cutting him off. Permanently."

"What?!" Victor said, his mouth dropping open in astonishment. Even Santo seemed taken aback by that, and his eyes widened in surprise.

"Dude, that is so not cool."

"Is there anything we can do?" Victor asked.

"I want to go home," Julian said and sniffled, as miserable as Cessily ever heard him, and the defeat in his voice broke what passed for her heart.

"Come on," she said, and slipped her arm around his waist. "Let's get the hell out of here and go back where we belong."

###

The back door opened onto the kitchen area, and Laura ducked behind an island counter in the middle of its spacious floor and perked her ears for any sound her dispatching of the guards outside had been heard. The distant drone of voices mingled with the background hum of electronics and the rumble of an industrial-sized dishwasher, but otherwise the service areas appeared to be deserted. She swept her eyes across the room; the walls were lined with cabinets, an industrial refrigerator and ovens, and with a large walk-in freezer in one corner. There were no security cameras in sight.

Jubilee, against her objections, followed behind her. Her features were drawn with pain from her aggravated injuries.

"You should stay outside," she said in a whisper.

"Like hell am I letting you do this alone. Just tell me what you need me to do."

"Stay low, and watch my back. I am unfamiliar with the layout of this building and there is no time for thorough reconnaissance. Are you able to use your powers?"

Jubilee shrugged. "I don't know, I haven't tried since I first woke up in the med bay."

Laura frowned. Jubilee presents a potential liability in combat or for reconnaissance-in-force, proceeding inadvisable under current conditions.

She forced down the practical voice, and started for the door leading into the hallway. "I suggest you avoid contact with hostiles."

"Brilliant suggestion, John McClane. What if they don't avoid contact with me?"

Laura looked at her flatly. "Use your powers or die."

Jubilee rolled her eyes. "Thanks, that's reassuring."

Laura started into the hall and crept quietly along it towards the front of the building. Jubilee scuffled along behind her, and she gritted her teeth at the racket her companion was making. Nonetheless, they reached a door leading into the public areas without incident. Laura peeked through a window set in the door, and found herself looking out into the main entry hall; a spacious and luxurious antechamber with a few upholstered chairs and couches arranged in conversation circles, and big screen TVs hung from the walls. Directly opposite them was the main entrance from the street. A staircase on the same wall as the doorway leading to the service corridors provided access to the upper levels, while a large, grand set of double doors on their right provided access to the club itself. Two more of the large bodyguards with guns flanked either side of those doors.

Laura considered that for a moment, and slipped off her jacket and handed it to Jubilee. The club was not active at this time of day, so clearly there must be a reason for such conspicuous guards. It was a demonstration of force for someone's benefit. She looked at Jubilee and motioned for her to remain silent and stay put. Jubilee sighed and rolled her eyes in annoyance, but nodded. And at that Laura slipped through the doors and started towards the guards.

Unlike the men out back, who readily allowed themselves to be distracted by her body, these men immediately tensed their grip on their weapons as she entered the room.

Targets are alert, analyzing all intruders as potential threats. Low probability of distraction. Alternative means of access required.

Laura stepped up to them and stopped. Both of them scrutinized her closely, and though Laura had no doubts their examination was not entirely professional, neither relaxed their guard enough for her to take advantage of it. "Club's closed," one of the men said.

"I am here to see your boss," she said, and tensed her body in preparation to fight if needed.

"They haven't called for any of the girls yet. So get lost."

She clenched her jaw and narrowed her eyes. "I am not one of the girls. Your boss is looking for me, and I am here."

That seemed to surprise them, and they looked between each other for a moment. "You're kidding me."

Laura scowled at him. "I do not 'kid.'"

"Watch her," the guard said to his companion, who lowered the muzzle of his weapon at her, and slipped through the doors. For a moment Laura considered moving in for the kill, but his finger already hovered over the trigger of his weapon, and though she had no doubt she would kill him, it would not be before he set off an alarm.

That was unacceptable. Daddy's successor would likely escape in the confusion once an alarm was raised. If she was to succeed in finishing what she began, she needed to get close to him first.

After a long few minutes of waiting, the guard staring at her, and Laura staring back (and he shifted uncomfortably as he did so, as if recognizing he was living on borrowed time), the second returned.

He lowered his weapon at her. "Let's go," he said, and Laura was directed into the club, with the big guard following her inside. She took a deep breath, and twisted her lip at the mingled stench of bodies, alcohol, and narcotics. A large number of men were crowded into the room, most of them armed, many of them familiar. There were a few others she did not know. Some were likely newcomers to the gang, but several men appeared to be of particular importance, and were encircled by armed men of their own.

Hypothesis: The Boss is meeting with other gang leaders, possibly to exert influence, or negotiate distribution of contraband and girls.

Laura turned her attention to the room itself. There were three exits; the large double doors through which she entered, a smaller emergency exit in the opposite corner, and another door behind the large, full-sized bar occupying much of the wall on her right. There were also doors leading to restrooms on both ends of the bar. The middle of the floor was open, likely for dancing, with spotlights hanging from the ceiling, and large speakers hung from the walls at even intervals with the sound system and a place for a DJ on the far wall. Surrounding the open floor were large circular tables spaced closely together, with chairs picked up off the floor and stacked upside down atop them. The men gathered within were concentrated in the area around the bar, some sipping on drinks, others sampling their host's product.

Key strong points: The bar and DJ's station. Positioning of tables restricts mobility, but provides some cover. Middle of the floor is open; panic may drive hostiles in this direction.

The guard directed her to a tall but slender man in a white button-down shirt, and a khaki-colored blazer and trousers. He was perhaps thirty years of age and of mixed Caucasian and Latin heritage, with dark eyes and slicked-back hair, light olive skin, and a clean-shaven face. Laura saw no obvious traces of a weapon, but she suspected he carried at least one sidearm concealed beneath his jacket. Her lip twisted into a scowl as she caught the scent of his cologne, and her eyes burned with recognition.

And as the man looked her over, Laura knew that he recognized her, too.

"Oh man," he said, in a mild Salvadoran accent mingled with common urban vernacular. He laughed. "Oh man, bitch you have a lot of nerve showing your face here."

The guard stopped Laura at the edge of the dance floor — too far away for her to lunge for the Boss — with the muzzle of his weapon buried in the small of her back. The Boss waved the man away and started towards her.

Laura curled her lip in contempt. "You are the one who replaced Daddy?"

"That's right." He turned to the other men seated or standing around the tables. Those who knew her edged their hands for their weapons, others just looked on her with emotion ranging from astonishment, to confusion, and in some cases lust. Laura balled her fists, and felt the rage smolder in the pit of her belly. "You see," he said to the gathering, "this is the skank who did Daddy. All that money I put up to have her carcass dragged back in, and she comes to me herself? Ain't even my birthday!"

Laura said nothing, and just watched him as he stopped within arm's reach. He took her chin in his hand and leered down at her. "All he did for you, that's how you repay him?"

"Daddy got what he deserved, and so will you," she hissed, and narrowed her eyes to slits. The Boss flinched back at the lethal threat in her voice, but then he laughed, and slowly the rest of his men laughed with him.

Then he dispensed with the show of humor, and seized her roughly by the chin again and put his face in hers. His breath stank of alcohol and tobacco, and his eyes burned. "Daddy was exactly that to me! He was like a father to all of us, and you went and took him away. Well, I'm the daddy here now. This is my territory! And damned if I'm gonna let some two-faced whore bizzo like you run loose in it. Someone give me a knife! I'm gonna cut you apart piece by piece and feed them to you."

He released her head with a shove, but then smiled hungrily at her, and pressed his body close to her. He made a show of running his fingers through her hair, and Laura suppressed a shudder and a feeling of nausea welling up in disgust at his touch. Her whole body was shook, coiled like a spring begging to be released. Her target, however, mistook it for her quaking in fear.

"But you know what I'm gonna do to you first?" He asked, and his tone changed, becoming almost sickeningly sweet, much like she remembered Daddy's when he was trying to butter someone up. "Daddy let me an' all the boys have a go with the girls for cheap whenever they weren't working. But never you. You know that? You were the only one he never let us touch, 'cause you were his favorite." His voice turned nasty again, and he seized her by the neck and squeezed. Laura ignored the pressure of his hand tightening around her throat, and focused all her attention on his eyes. "Well Daddy's gone, now, so I'm gonna get my money's worth out of you before I hang you by your guts from the ceiling."

He released her with another shove, and Laura staggered backwards as she regained her breath. She clenched her fists until her nails cut into her palms, and straightened again in defiance while the Boss closed in on her.

"You will not have me," Laura said, her voice barely more than a low growl. "You will never have me, or any other woman, ever again!"

And with that she released her hold on her anger. The ring of her claws extending echoed across the club, and faster than anyone could react — before even the Boss knew what was happening — she buried then all the way to her knuckles into his groin. All of the air rushed from his lungs in a sick grunt as she twisted her hand and shredded his manhood, and she casually tossed him aside and faced down the rest of the gang with hate in her eyes. For a moment no one, not even the guards, could even think of reacting.

It gave her all the time she needed. She already knew how every single one of them would die.

Laura spun around and with one deft slice of her hand tore open the throat of the big guard behind her while he uselessly scrambled to bring the muzzle of his weapon to bear. Blood sprayed in a brilliant crimson fountain across her face, and her claws tore through the action of his rifle and spilled its inner workings across the floor.

By now the rest of the men were reacting, and the lounge was filled with the sound of many voices all shouting orders over one another. Shots rang out, and Laura spun to face the shooter. With a snarl of rage she charged him, and carved a bloody swath through anyone too slow to dodge out of her way. She danced through them as gunfire tore through the crowd; some shots ripped through her torso and momentarily staggered her, others zipped past her to bury themselves in the walls or ceiling. She dodged and spun through the melee, her claws flashing and wet with blood, and blood soon covered her from head to toe. She tore open bellies and faces, and ripped out throats. She danced around and over and under the tables, and there was nowhere her prey could hide.

The cupric stench of blood filled her nostrils, and a fine red mist hung in the air. Men screamed as they died, and soon Laura was screaming as well; it started as a low growl in the back of her throat, and built to a sustained and inhuman screech at the top of her lungs.

That was when the club vanished, and all she saw was red.

###

At the first report of a gun discharging the guard outside the lounge spun on his heel and started for the door. Jubilee bit out a curse; whatever Laura's plan, things had undoubtedly just gotten ugly.

"Cover her back," she muttered, "Cover her back. Crap, how the hell do I ...?"

Jubilee watched the guard start into the lounge, and panicked cries and the sounds of more gunfire escaped from beyond. Shit! Shit! Shit! Shit! Shit! With no other options, Jubilee rushed as fast as her pain-wracked body would let her into the antechamber. The sound of the door flying open as she burst through got the big man's attention, and he rounded on her faster than Jubilee thought possible given his size.

"Who the hell are—" he began, and Jubilee whipped up her hands and raked him with a small but concentrated burst of shrieking plasma. It exploded in a cascade of sharp pafs! around his face, and he yelped in pain, dropped his gun, and shielded his eyes against the assault. That was all the opening Jubilee needed to close the distance between them and deliver a solid whack to his head with her cane. For all his size and strength the man crumpled up in a heap at her feet.

She quirked a grin at the sight of the man lying motionless on the floor, but before she could see about helping Laura Jubilee heard the heavy tread of boots from the stairs above. She quickly took cover against the wall out of sight next to the landing while several more men, all of them armed, rushed down to respond to the sounds of the fight in the club. As the group neared the landing, Jubilee stuck out her cane and she was rewarded with a cry of alarm when the first man in line tripped and tumbled down the stairs, with the rest losing their footing in a vain attempt to avoid tripping over him. Several more quick blows from her cane put them down for the count as well.

"Ok, that was pretty satisfying. Nightie-night, boys!" she said, and brandished her cane with a flourish.

However just as she was turning back for the club, a large fist-shaped object careened towards her face, and Jubilee's head was snapped around when it struck her hard in the jaw. The rest of her body followed her head and she spun into the floor, and for a moment her vision blacked out. She cried out at the icy shock of pain lancing from her side to her hip, and Jubilee reflexively curled into a ball to shield herself from the large boot connecting with her belly.

"Bitch!" the big guard said, still dazed from her previous attack. The kick drove the air from her lungs, and she fell into a fit of racking coughs. Some part of her mind still functioning through the agony racking her body expressed relief that she had at least gotten him off balance. "What kind of freak are you?"

Jubilee rolled onto her back and propped herself up on her elbows, and watched him stumble after his weapon, which skittered across the antechamber floor when she paf'ed him. And as her mind cleared and she shook off the punch to the face, she became aware of her Oakley's lying on the ground next to her; the frame was broken and one lens was shattered. Jubilee's lip curled and she glared at him. "Son of a bitch! You busted my shades!"

The guard retrieved his gun and swung the muzzle towards her, but Jubilee was faster, and the room lit up under the concentrated blast of plasma. It struck him square in the chest and flung him backwards into a table, and the whole thing collapsed beneath him with a loud crash. For good measure she shifted her aim to the ceiling and unleashed another screaming barrage that tore a gaping hole overhead, and buried him under large chunks of ceiling tile. This time he didn't get up.

Jubilee grimaced and levered herself back to her feet, and limped to retrieve her cane from where it fell during the scrap. A pitiable groan rose from the pile of tangled men lying at the foot of the stairs on her way past, which she silenced with another whack. Jubilee prodded the dazed guards with the end of her cane to make sure that they would be staying down, and started for the lounge.

She paused at the door and listened. All sounds of fighting within had ceased, and a deadly silence hung over the club. Jubilee's stomach churned anxiously and she started inside, but immediately she wished she hadn't.

Bodies lay everywhere, and blood painted the floor and ceiling in thick, gruesome strings. The tables were smashed, clawed, and overturned, and in the midst of it all was Laura, her whole body shaking. She stood over a man in a khaki blazer lying on the floor, who held his bleeding groin and tried to crawl away from her. Jubilee limped across the club, shocked and horrified by the carnage around her.

"Laura!" she called, but Laura ignored her.

"Please don't kill me," the man on the floor weakly begged. "Please don't kill me! Please don't kill me!"

Laura stooped over the man, seized him by the front of his shirt, and snarled in his face. His features were white, but whether due to blood loss or fear Jubilee couldn't tell.

"Laura!" she repeated, and ignored the bite of pain arcing through her side to quicken her pace as Laura raised her claws to the man's throat. "Laura, no!"

She couldn't reach her fast enough, however, and Laura's claws flashed. She cut his neck so deeply she nearly severed his head altogether. The man gurgled sickeningly and blood sprayed from the wound, and almost immediately his body went limp in her grip before she unceremoniously dumped his corpse on the floor. Jubilee hobbled over and took Laura by the shoulder, and immediately regretted that decision; Laura spun around with a scream of rage, twisting out from her grip and raising her claws to strike.

"Woah! woah! woah! woah!" Jubilee said, and hastily backed away with her hands raised. "It's all right! It's me!"

Laura's breaths came in ragged, heaving gasps, and tears streamed down her face, leaving meandering trails through the blood smeared across her cheeks. She had been shot several times, to judge by the holes in her top, but the wounds had already healed over, and her body continued to shake. Slowly she came back to her senses, and her face beneath the mask of blood colored in embarrassment. "Jubilee?" she said, her voice raw from screaming.

"Yeah, it's me," Jubilee said, and kept her voice as even and calm as she could. "It's alright, dude, it's over."

Laura's breathing slowly returned to a normal rate, and she lowered her hands and relaxed. "No, it is not, the girls ..."

Jubilee gently reached out and took her by the shoulder. "The guards are down. At least I think I got all of them, I don't know if there's any more upstairs. We'll take care of the girls, ok?"

She cocked her head and studied Jubilee closely while she finally put up her claws. "You are injured," she said, and Jubilee self-consciously reached up to nurse what was almost certainly a nasty bruise forming across her face. It wasn't quite hurting yet, but she knew it wouldn't be long before she would have to decide whether it distracted her from the pain in her side, or vice-versa.

"It's nothing. Come on, someone on the street is bound to have heard the shooting, so let's hurry up and do what we can here, and make ourselves scarce before someone comes for a closer look."

###

Act V

###

Jubilee slumped in a chair across the desk from the Professor, casually spun her cane through her hands, and awaited the scolding she knew was coming. Xavier's office was more or less back in order again, with a new computer and all-new furnishings, though enough of the old décor survived to lend the office a comforting feeling of familiarity. Especially considering in her days as a student she certainly saw enough of it.

And with the Professor leaning on his elbows with his face buried in his hands in frustration, she certainly felt right at home.

"I thought you were going to be keeping an eye on Laura while you were in New York?" Xavier said into his hands. She could practically hear him rolling his eyes.

"That was the plan, right," she said. "But in my defense, I like, literally don't have a leg to stand on, and there's no way I could stop her from taking off like that. Hell, I don't think I could have stopped her even if I hadn't been turned into Swiss cheese by Stryker's goons."

"That's not the point!" Xavier barked, but Jubilee ignored the anger in his voice. "This is a very, very serious matter. If not for Laura's foresight at destroying the surveillance tapes this school might have had a lot of explaining to do."

Jubilee grimaced as she sat up. She looked Xavier right in the eye and frowned at him. "With all due respects, Professor, I think it still does."

Xavier raised an eyebrow. "Oh, really? And what part would you like us to explain? How the entirety of a major New York gang and the heads of at least five others were slaughtered by a seventeen year-old girl? Or maybe illuminating the anonymous tip that led the police to the rescue of some forty missing women, and one of the largest drug caches in the history of law enforcement."

"Gee, the way you say that it almost makes it sound like Laura was a hero or something. And I don't mean talking to the authorities. Hell, Laura was pretty adamant about destroying all their surveillance just to erase the connection. I mean what the school needs to explain to us."

"To you?"

Jubilee nodded. "Look, Professor, you know I was never a model student. I liked skipping class better than sitting through them, and breaking curfew to go to late-night raves in the City. But I'm smart enough to read between the lines."

She sighed and mopped her face. "I missed what Laura did to Stryker's men seeing as I slept through most of it after I was hit, but I got a good front row seat for what she did to some seriously hardcore dudes today. She tore them apart like they were nothing! And those first two guys in the alley ..." Jubilee trailed off and shook her head. "I don't know, something about them set her off. And I think you know something more about all of this than you're telling me.

"Look, I'm not saying I don't trust you: I've always trusted you. All of us have always trusted you, because for many of us you were the father we didn't get to have growing up. But everything Laura did that night? And then her student file... I mean it may as well be like she doesn't have a file at all. It all makes me think one thing: You're hiding her."

Xavier didn't respond for a moment, and just stared back at her. He sighed, steepled his hands in front of him, and rested his chin on his index fingers in that particular manner he did whenever he was deep in thought. Finally, after a long moment, he spoke. "You know, Jubilation, you never did give yourself enough credit. Had you applied yourself, you may have been one of the best students to have come through those doors."

Jubilee quirked a grin. "Thanks, Professor, but I'm not letting you flatter your way out of this."

He chuckled softly. "Well, it was worth a try." Xavier sighed again and sat back in his chair. "But you're right; I have been hiding something from you, and all I can ask is that you accept my reasoning behind it. It's not just that we're hiding Laura here, but protecting her."

"Protecting her from what? Herself?"

"There are some very, very dangerous people looking for her. People who would give little consideration to harming everyone in the school if it meant getting her back."

"Who is she?"

"That's not my place to say," he said, and Jubilee frowned and folded her arms in frustration. "It's entirely up to Laura to share that when and if she's ever ready. All we can do is try to help her as best we can. Which I do believe is your department."

"Right, right. Well, if you want my opinion, Professor? The sort of help she needs is way out of my league. She needs to talk to someone with some actual degrees." She eyed him closely. "But I get the feeling you've already had that conversation."

He grinned at her. "You know me so well. I wouldn't have made this decision had I not already considered all the options."

She sighed. "All right, I'll do what I can."

"I know that you will. And how, may I ask, are you feeling?"

Jubilee shrugged. "I guess I'm all right. Doc and Josh gave me a good going over when we got back. My face was just a little bruised, and Josh did some touching up after I aggravated some of what Stryker's men did to me, but they're giving me the usual 'You're mending quite nicely' spiel. My Oakleys were a total loss though."

"What a tragedy," Xavier said, with a roll of his eyes. "Now, if you will excuse me, I believe you have a few students looking for you, and I have some work to do as well."

Jubilee levered herself out of her chair with a grunt and a grimace, and nursed her side. "Aw man, I was just getting comfortable, too."

He laughed softly "Go on."

She nodded politely at the dismissal, and hobbled for the door. But as she left Xavier's office an uneasy feeling resumed gnawing at her gut. Jubilee just stamped it down as best she could as she made her way out of the library and headed for her office.

###

Jubilee stopped at Laura's door and leaned on her cane, ignoring the discomfort in her side. She wasn't expecting much in the conversation to come, but she had to at least try. So she took a steadying breath, and knocked.

"Laura?" she said into the door when no response came. "Laura it's Jubilee, can I come in?"

For a few moments there was no response, but before she could knock again she heard a subdued voice beyond. "The door is unlocked," Laura said.

Jubilee turned the handle and stepped inside. The room Laura and Sooraya shared was neat and orderly, and Laura's space was purely functional, missing all of the little personal touches a seventeen year-old girl's room ought to have. Laura herself was seated on her bed, her legs drawn up against her chest and her arms wrapped tightly around them. Her chin rested on her knees, and she just stared at the far wall as if seeing nothing.

"Hey," Jubilee said, and hobbled across the room to sit at the foot of the bed. She eased herself down gingerly and folded one leg beneath her. "I wanted to see how you were doing."

Laura didn't respond, and just rested her brow on her knees to hide her face.

Jubilee sighed. "Look, Laura. It's my job to help you kids. It's what I'm here for. After we got back I talked with some of the others who needed to see me while I was down; I put this off because I wanted to give you some space. You've all been through something traumatic, and I know many of you had fears or questions you needed to get out in the open. 'Why us?' 'What did we do to them?' 'How could this have happened?' I wish I had all the answers for them, but mostly all I could do was listen."

She considered her next words for a moment. "Many of them also talked about you, and what you did that night. Most were supportive, and even grateful. You saved a lot of lives. There are a few who were afraid of what you did, but I think they've come to accept that what happened gave you no other choice. Julian mentioned you told him you felt nothing for the men you killed, and I'd ordinarily find that totally disconcerting if it wasn't for the fact he said how much it was bothering you that you didn't."

Jubilee paused to give Laura a chance to respond, but she said nothing and didn't even move. She just remained where she sat, her black hair falling like a curtain around her to hide her face. "What I saw today," Jubilee continued, "wasn't the same thing. It was something so far beyond rage that I don't even know where to begin imagining where it came from. You hated those men, and you wanted them to die. I'm not sure if I would say you enjoyed it, but you sure weren't cold about it."

Again she paused, but still Laura didn't move. Jubilee sighed. "Laura, I want to help. But, and forgive me for sounding like some sappy, clichéd after school special, I need you to help me do that. Can you please talk to me?"

Jubilee waited several moments to give Laura time to form a response, but once again none was forthcoming. Jubilee hung her head, and levered herself back to her feet and started for the door in defeat.

"I was a prostitute," Laura said quietly as Jubilee reached for the doorknob. She stopped and turned back, and found Laura now sitting cross-legged, with her hands in her lap and her head hung low and staring at them. "The men I killed today used to work for a man called Zebra Daddy. He was my pimp."

Jubilee returned to the bed and eased herself back down. Her side ached in protest and Jubilee casually rubbed the wound. "I'll admit I'm not entirely surprised to hear that after what I saw today. What happened?"

"I ..." Laura's voice broke for a moment, but she quickly regained control of herself. "He found me wandering the streets two years ago. I had nothing and nowhere to go, so he took me in. I was broken when he found me. I did not speak, and could not even tell him my name. But he gave me food and a place to stay, and at first asked nothing in return."

She took a shuddering breath, and shifted a bit to hug herself. "Then he started pressuring me to work for him. He tried to make me take drugs, but they would not affect me."

"Because of your healing factor?" Jubilee asked, and Laura nodded.

"So he got angry and started to hurt me, instead," Laura said, and tears began to well up in her eyes. "He did other things, as well. He should not have been able to. I should not have let him. I could have killed him in a second, but I did not fight back. I do not know why."

She wiped away the tears as they began to stream down her cheeks. "I gave in and started seeing clients. Some liked to be cut, which was my specialty, but others just wanted ..." Laura trailed off, and her face colored a bit in embarrassment. "I was the best at what I did, and the clients paid a lot for me, which made Daddy very happy. But if a girl tried to run away or did not do what he said, he would get very angry. Most of the time he just hurt them, but some girls died. I was numb to all of it."

"How did you get away?"

"A friend found me, and woke me up inside. Then I killed Daddy."

"Logan?" Jubilee asked.

Laura shook her head. "No. After I escaped Daddy I sought him out ..." She trailed off into silence, and Jubilee could see some dark memory passing behind her eyes, but Laura refused to elaborate further. "And he brought me here. I am ashamed of what I was, and I feel sick inside that I did these things and that I let Daddy make me when I could have ended it at any time."

Jubilee reached out and took her by the hand. Laura flinched at the contact, but didn't withdraw from her touch. "Hey, listen to me: You don't have anything to be ashamed of. Men like that are smart. Scary smart. Believe me, when I was working cases back home I saw a lot of girls that were in the same place you were. They were alone and didn't have anyone, then some guy comes along, takes them off the street or otherwise does something to fill that hole, sometimes they get them addicted to drugs, and then they push them into that life."

She sighed in disgust. "I've seen it over and over again, a lot more than I want to remember. The girls get arrested, maybe sent to treatment or counseling, which is where I would come in, but far too many ended up right back where they started again. Eventually if they can't get out it kills them, and the pimps just get richer. It's a sick and disgusting situation, and they know exactly how to work around or with the system. There's not a thing wrong with you or what you did back then. Maybe society is only just figuring out that you and the other girls like you were victims of the problem and not the problem yourselves, but don't let that stigmatize you."

Laura sniffled and wiped the tears from her eyes. "I could not let those girls today suffer as I did," she said. "I killed those men for what they were doing, and I am glad I did it."

The hate in Laura's voice sent a chill down Jubilee's spine. Whatever she was, the thought of how deadly she was when detached from the situation was frightening enough. Seeing what Laura was capable of when she wanted to kill filled her with dread. "The thing is you can't save everyone," Jubilee said, forcing down the ball of ice in her stomach. "You've helped these girls, but this isn't a problem you can solve like this. It's too big." She gave Laura's hand a squeeze. "I'm not going to say you did the wrong thing, but I can't condone it, either. I'm not here to judge you, just to help."

"I do not know that you can help me."

Jubilee quirked a smile. "Hey, give me a little credit, dude. A couple months ago we wouldn't even be having this conversation at all, and look at us now."

Laura seemed to consider that for a moment, and nodded. "I do not want the others to know that I was ..." she trailed off again in embarrassment and hugged herself. Jubilee gave her a sympathetic pat on the knee. She may have talked about it, but she still doesn't want to really open up and deal with it. I guess saying something is some progress, at least.

"See, that's one of the bright sides to talking to me; nothing you say leaves this room. Whatever you want the others to know is entirely up to you. My lips are sealed."

"Thank you."

Jubilee smiled and levered herself back to her feet again. Her side twinged in protest and she clutched the wound. "Oof, next time I sit down I think I'll just stay down. Are you hungry? They're about to serve dinner downstairs, and I think some food will do you some good. Especially since we never did get to check out that restaurant."

Laura didn't respond immediately, and instead mulled over Jubilee's suggestion with the same deliberateness she gave everything, then nodded and slipped gracefully off the bed. Jubilee put an arm around her shoulders and led her out of the room.

A Note From The Author

Happy Saturday! It's August 15th, and that means it's time for another episode of New Class!

I actually started writing elements of this episode — mainly the final conversation between Laura and Jubilee — way back during season 1. It just sort of sprung from the idea of making Jubes the school guidance counselor, and I also knew I wanted to start exploring parts of Laura's background. A few sharp-eyed readers already noticed I was sowing the seeds of this reveal as early as 1x03, and it's a part of Laura's background in the books I wish Marvel would explore in greater detail. Sex trafficking and underaged prostitution are serious problems even in the US, and I think it's something that Laura could be a great means of highlighting the issues around. And NYX is wonderful, underrated book. The B plot was intended to really break Julian down, and start pushing his development from the haughty, superior jerk he began as, and of course follows up on his conversation with Laura in the premier.

I'll be honest I'm not sure how well the moments with Josh, Sooraya, and Nori really work. If this were an actual series, I'm sure those scenes would likely end up on the cutting room floor as they detract from the A and B plots. On the other hand it's a bit of a shame, because Rahne's accent is REALLY fun to write, plus in lays some groundwork for later character development.

There were two main stories which formed the basis of this episode: Girl's Night Out, on which the Laura/Jubilee plot is based, and parts of the Hellions miniseries by DeFillippis and Weir. I've decided that, as the series itself is mainly based on Kyle and Yost's New X-Men I've already got a story credit for them in the main description, but in the future any episodes based on other writers' stories will be noted in this fashion.

Next episode will be posting on September 1, and we'll be resuming the normal monthly update at that time. See you then!