Wow! I didn't think I was going to reach 100 chapters of Marémon, but here we are! Thank you all for your support!
Episode 100: Jubilee's Jubli!
Once Ororo showed Peter, MJ, Quill, and Gwen the spare rooms they would be staying in at the school, she left to go teach her next class. After assigning rooms with the boys staying in one and the girls in the other, the four of them let their Marémon out of their PDBs. Much to their surprise, the Marémon didn't wander off and preferred to stay with their respective Wielders. So they continued to explore the school until they heard a bell ring.
"That must be the lunch bell since it's almost noon," MJ speculated looking at the time on her smartphone. "Do you think they'll let us eat in the dining hall?"
"I don't see why not," Quill said. "We are guests, right?"
"But we're also outsiders," Gwen reminded Quill. "These Mutant kids might not be so receptive of us — no offense, Peter."
Peter said nothing to that comment from Gwen.
"Well, I think we should go check out the dining hall anyway," MJ said. "I'm starving!"
Upon entering the dining hall, many of the kids who were already eating stopped and starred at Peter and the others along with their multitude of Marémon. Then from a back table, a small Chinese girl wearing a yellow jacket stood up and waved.
"Hey, guys!" the Chinese girl said. "You must be the visitors everyone's talking about. Come sit with us!"
Reluctantly, Peter, the others, and their Marémon walked over to the Chinese girl's table. The other kids seated there seemed slightly annoyed, but didn't speak up.
"Wow," the Chinese girl said, looking at all the Marémon that followed Peter, MJ, Gwen, and Quill. "You have so many Marémon! We Mutants usually bond with only one Marémon, though there are some exceptions. Oh, sorry I didn't introduce myself! I'm Jubilee."
"Jubilee?" Peter said as he shook the Chinese girl's hand. "That's an unusual name."
"Her full name is Jubilation Lee, but she prefers to be called Jubilee because it's shorter," said a girl at the table with chestnut-brown hair. "I'm Katherine Pryde, but you can call me Kitty."
"Kurt Wagner," spoke a German boy with blue skin with a forked tail swinging behind his back.
"Anna Marie," muttered a girl with a Southern accent and short dark-brown hair that had a white streak in it. Her hands were covered by green gloves which she occasionally fidgeted with.
"Nice to meet you all," MJ said. "I'm Michelle Jones, though I prefer to be called MJ. This is Peter Parker, Gwen Stacy, and Peter Quill."
"Two Peters, huh?" Kitty remarked. "How do you differentiate yourselves?"
"I just go by Quill," Quill said. "And I sometimes call Peter 'Pete.'"
"Pete," Jubilee repeated. "I like that!"
Afterwards, Peter and the others introduced their Marémon while Jubilee and the kids she was sitting with introduced theirs. One was a hamster-looking creature called Jubli which had yellow-and-pink fur arranged in zigzags along its body, another was called Tabirog which resembled a bipedal cat with dark-green fur that had white highlights, while another called Shadocatt looked more like a typical cat that was on all-fours with dark blue-and-yellow fur, and the fourth was a blue monkey-like creature called Nighcrawl with patches of red fur and a forked tail with black mist trailing from it.
"So what brought you guys here?" Jubilee asked Peter once everyone got their food. "The X-Men told us they found you all in the woods near the school."
"We were attacked by a mercenary named Kraven," Peter answered nervously.
Kitty's eyes widened. "Kraven? As in Kraven the Hunter?"
Peter nodded. "He was working for Team HYDRA, who've been frequently attacking me and MJ since we started our journey from Yortown."
"But why would Team HYDRA attack you two?" Kurt wondered. "Your Marémon aren't that rare species-wise, except for maybe the Hamder."
"I think we just happen to keep getting in Team HYDRA's way," MJ speculated.
Just then, the pig-like Hamder started eating food from Jubli's bowl. Seeing this, Jubli's eyes suddenly went from brown to blood-red and its pink fur turned to a light purple color. She then attacked Hamder, who used his Spidey-Sense to dodge Jubli.
"Hey, cut that out!" MJ grabbed the back of Hamder's neck and picked him up. "You know better than to take food from other Marémon."
While Hamder squealed in protest, Jubli tried to nibble Hamder's hoofed feet. Seeing this, Jubilee got up and hugged Jubli.
"It's okay," Jubilee said in a comforting manner. "Just relax."
The more Jubilee squeezed, the less fidgety Jubli became as its eyes changed back to brown and light purple fur turned pink again.
"Can someone explained what just happened?" Quill said, looking at Jubli nervously.
"When Jubli gets hungry or angered, her Vampire Mood activates," Jubilee explained as she continued to cuddle Jubli in her arms.
"Vampire Mood?" Gwen was confused. "Like the mythical creature that sucks blood?"
"Sort of," Peter responded. "It's a temporary ability that Jublis gain when they experience strong emotions like anger or hunger, which causes them to behave and exhibit powers similar to that of vampires from myth."
"Does that mean they can turn other Marémon into vampire-like creatures like them?" MJ questioned, checking Hamder's feet for any bite marks.
"Only if Jubli bites a Marémon in the neck," Jubilee said. "But a shot of Healing Factor Juice will get rid of the infection instantly."
"You're so smart," Kitty said as she smiled at Peter. "Did you go to the Marémon Academy?"
"We both did," MJ answered, trying to hide her unease at Kitty's smile. "Professor Banner even gave us these new MarGuides to record new Marémon along our journey."
"That's so cool!" Kurt remarked as MJ held up her MarGuide. "Where are you two going?"
"I'm participating in the Avengers League, and MJ is getting Affection Ribbons," replied Peter.
"Yet you're both here instead of moving on to the next town," Anna pointed out. "Unless…your arrival at this school is somehow tied with the Anomaly that happened in Sokovia City recently. Is that why you guys showed up with a SHIELD agent?"
To be continued…
