Chapter 7
Love Bites
"Dibs on the last cinnamon roll!" Gabby cried, her hand reaching across the table.
*snikt*
She flinched when an adamantium claw released from between her sister's knuckles, but rather than losing the hand like she expected, Laura merely cut the last cinnamon roll in half and skewered the slightly larger of the two like a shish kabob.
Meg and Debbie grinned at the pair, but especially at Laura who had a strong fondness for cinnamon, and would've only shared the last cinnamon roll from her favorite bakery with the people sitting at that table, albeit only reluctantly.
The four as usual found themselves eating their lunch outside The Institute's cafeteria in an enclosed courtyard. Laura, as was her custom, sat with her back facing the brick, allowing her to watch the entire courtyard as well as every entrance without so much as having to turn her head.
Several of the older kids were playing basketball on the court while younger children ran around playing tag, but for the most part, students were content eating their lunch and gossiping in peace. Despite most of the mutants having already faced their fair share of adversity in their short lives, each of them was attempting to make the most of their new lives at The Institute, and Laura couldn't help envying them.
She had tried living the life of a student for a short period, but her classmates had reeked of fear whenever she was around, and were endangered by her very presence. Unfortunately, not much had changed since leaving The Institute and returning three years later.
While Laura didn't necessarily consider herself anti-social, making a rare appearance around The Institute during the day was apparently cause for the entire student body to gossip behind her back, usually within earshot. For the most part it involved her tight jeans and midriff, and arguments whether she and Gabby were actually the daughters of Wolverine, but otherwise they debated who Laura might have killed recently.
Anytime a supervillain was conspicuously absent for an extended period of time, the prevailing theory was that Laura had killed them. She didn't do much to discredit these rumors, but always lied the rare times a student got the nerve to ask. People thinking she was a killer and knowing she was a killer was very different in her eyes.
Gabby on the other hand was on a first name basis with the entire school, if she could remember their names that is, and was a regular sight around The Institute now that the sisters had taken residence there. Their aunt and cousin were their neighbors across the hall and the only non-mutants living on campus, but most students were either unaware of this, or respectful enough not to ask questions or begrudge them, even the mutants with a strong dislike for humans.
"So, what's your next move?" Debbie asked, trying to sound casual and not at all concerned.
Laura turned to her, still amazed to be living with her family again after being separated for so long. While Meg had accepted a lifelong dream of working in the library, her mother had returned to teaching, and claimed to have finally found her true calling there at The Institute.
"We're still trying to figure that out," Gabby said with her mouth full. "We've shown Laura more pictures of that guy from the other night, but her programming isn't activating anymore, and we still don't know who he is, or where he is for that matter."
"Yeah we do," Laura muttered, savoring her dessert. "His name's Malcom Colcord, and he's hiding somewhere in northern Canada." The others raised their brows at her and she shrugged. "Jean Grey and Cerebro can find almost anyone in the world, but I'm a decent tracker myself, especially when I've had a nine month head start and can see the person's face every time I close my eyes.
Gabby blinked. "Have you been plotting behind my back again?"
"Yes," she said matter-of-factly. "Colcord was a researcher that supposedly died sixteen years ago. Obviously he faked his death. I can make a few guesses as to why Kimura wants him dead, but either she doesn't have the means of finding him, or she's too busy playing mad scientist. As for my programming, that's an ongoing issue, and has more to do with the numbers that flashed on screen than the picture itself."
"Which is why we're hiding inside The Institute," Gabby said unenthusiastically. "Everybody wants to keep an eye on Laura."
"Welcome to witness protection," Meg teased. "You'll get used to it. Eventually..."
"You needed to brush up on your classes anyway," Laura muttered, savoring her cinnamon roll, "and spend time with kids your own age. Spending all your time with your clone can't be healthy for you."
Gabby made a sour face. "Why can't I at least still go and play rape bait? Jubilee said she'd babysit me."
"Excuse me, but 'rape bait'?" Debbie asked.
Laura narrowed her eyes. "Gabby, you're not leaving the campus. I don't have to worry about Kimura kidnapping Meg or Debbie again, only killing them, but she didn't make any promises about you. As for Jubilee, she's not at full strength since she mostly drinks pig's blood here at The Institute. Keeps her from associating the kids with food," she added for Meg and Debbie who like the rest of the campus, generally only saw the vampire when she wished to be seen, which was increasingly rare.
After letting slip about her and Gabby's nocturnal activities that were otherwise supposed to remain secret, Laura changed the subject to how Debbie was enjoying her first full semester at The Institute. She taught English and Reading to the younger students, which often gave her an excuse to visit the library with her class and work alongside her daughter, and Laura herself had even substituted for her a couple times with somewhat mixed results.
As the two talked over one another with Gabby constantly interrupting, Laura sighed and leaned back in her seat. For years she had dreamed of reuniting with her extended family, and here they were sitting with her and Gabby at The Institute. She didn't even have to worry about snipers or other assassins since Illyana Rasputina, better known as Magik and the younger sister of Colossus, had created safeguards all around The Institute to protect the students, which Laura herself had thoroughly tested.
Despite the magical wards however, Laura couldn't help tensing when a young boy a few years younger than Gabby approached, carrying some sort of glass bottle in his hands.
Sensing her unease, Gabby turned and watched, followed by Meg and Debbie, both of whom seemed to recognize the boy and smiled fondly at him.
"Uh, Mrs. Kinney?" he stuttered, addressing Debbie despite staring wide-eyed at Laura.
"What is it, Timothy?" she asked.
"Um, well, a man in the park gave me something, and told me to give it to you."
He held up an expensive-looking perfume bottle filled with green liquid, and nearly dropped it when Laura jumped to her feet, fumbling with her utility belt.
"Get that away from me!" she screamed, shoving a rebreather over her nose and mouth.
"Wh-what?"
Gabby moved between them while Meg and Debbie grabbed the boy and hauled him away, their eyes locked on Laura.
"Are you alright?" Meg cried.
"If I weren't, you'd already be dead," she said, her voice muffled, staring at the terrified child that was probably moments away from wetting himself.
Gabby took the bottle from his shaking hand and sniffed it. "It's definitely Trigger Scent," she said, "and it's leaking from the top."
"Which means it's already on your hands and clothes," Laura said, stepping further away.
Debbie squeezed the boy's shoulder and smiled as comfortingly as she could manage. "Tim, you're not in trouble, but I need you to tell me exactly what happened. Who gave this bottle to you, and who told you to give it to me?"
"I-I don't know. I was playing on the playground when a m-man asked if I went to school here. He said his name was Desmond and a f-friend of yours. He had brown hair and-"
"Desmond!" Debbie screamed, shaking him. "He said his name was Desmond!?"
"Desmond's dead," Laura said, referring to Debbie's ex-boyfriend and undercover Weapon X agent. "I killed him myself, Debbie. It's just Kimura messing with you."
Gabby leaned over and sniffed the boy's shoulder. "I've got his scent, Sis. Want me to track him?"
Laura shook her head. "Nobody's leaving the campus. That bottle represents Kimura declaring war." She licked her lips and glanced around them, and discovered she had the entire courtyard's undivided attention. "Jean Grey." she said finally. "Jean will find him, and nobody will have to get hurt."
Debbie nodded. "Tim, everything's alright. I need you to go find Professor Grey and tell her exactly what happened. After that, go back to your room and shower immediately. I'll send a housekeeper to wash your clothes. Now go."
"Wh-why?"
"Because you were holding a bomb that could've gotten the entire school killed," Laura said. "Professor Kinney gave you an order, Tim. Now go."
He nodded and hurried inside, presumably toward Headmistress Grey's office where the telepath would get all the information she needed without Tim having to say a word. Laura doubted she'd find anything useful, but even if she did, it'd only be because Kimura wanted her to.
"What do you want me to do with the perfume bottle?" Gabby asked, inspecting the liquid. "Pour it down the kitchen sink?"
Laura shook her head and retrieved an empty vial from her utility belt which she tossed to her. "Pour it into this vial. It's shatter proof and it won't leak out. WAIT!" She lurched forward before she could do it there. "Do it in Hank's lab. Better yet, ask him to do it for you. All it takes is a whiff from a tiny drop to activate my programming, and then all hell breaks loose."
"You still trying to synthesize a cure?" Meg asked, recalling her talking about it as far back as five years ago.
Again Laura shook her head. Due to her programming, creating a counter chemical to neutralize Trigger Scent hadn't been necessary since she followed the orders of her handlers without question. It'd only been after a year free from Weapon X that she'd been able to resist Kimura's orders when she finally tracked her down. Jubilee believed she had developed some resistance to Trigger Scent when she refused to kill her and Gabby earlier that year, but it hadn't stopped her from butchering them both.
"There isn't a cure," she said bitterly. Reed Richards had tried creating one, but first had needed to know how her brain chemistry changed when she was under the influence of Trigger Scent. The experiment had been an unmitigated disaster, but worse, it had forced Laura to finally accept there wasn't a cure. Perhaps even worse still, Reed and Sue had lost their favorite babysitter, and Laura hadn't spoken to either of them since...
"What do you want us to do, Laura?" Meg asked, hand on her shoulder.
She sighed and looked at each of them. "Gabby, once you're done with the vial, shower and wash your clothes. Twice. Debbie, I'm sorry but you're under house arrest. Go back to your room and stay there. Jean will send someone to keep you company. Meg, we're gonna need a pilot tonight, so make sure both you and Gabby are ready by nine."
Laura turned to leave. "Where are you going?"
"I can't stay here, Gabby. I can't wear a rebreather for the rest of my life. There might be sensors all around the school and magical wards, but I'm not taking any chances. Besides, Kimura has other means of getting to me. I'll be waiting for you in The Blackbird hanger at nine o'clock. I'll have a plan. Until then, stay safe..."
Nestled in the bowels of The Institute was a secret corridor leading to a heavily barred iron door. There was no natural light to speak of, but Laura's eyesight and sense of smell were keen enough that she didn't have to worry about finding her way. She could've found it by memory alone if she so wished.
She unlocked the door and let herself in, not bothering to knock since the resident would've heard her heartbeat down the hall, but at this time of day was probably sleeping too deeply to notice much of anything.
Laura immediately shivered upon entering, and took a moment to adjust to the temperature and also her near pitch black surroundings. The apartment was a mirror of her and Gabby's own across campus, and was what one might expect from a young bachelorette. A large television with plenty of seating for company that never visited. A kitchen that saw little to no use, and dirty clothes lying as far as the eye could see.
Everywhere she looked was an explosion of bright yellow and bubblegum pink décor. Along the far wall were several arcade cabinets that the owner kept in immaculate condition despite the thousands of hours of playtime each of them probably had. On the walls were dozens of framed newspaper articles, magazine covers, and enlarged photos of various members of The X-Men, but none more prominent or numerous than the superhero formerly known as The Wolverine.
In stark contrast, there was also a small collection of ancient-looking tomes on the shelves, with one lying open on the coffee table with a wine glass stained red sitting next to it. Glancing around the room again, Laura couldn't help noticing small contradictions, such as a fine layer of dust covering the arcade machines, more dark colors than she remembered, and the otherwise bubbly apartment smelling like death and resentment.
"This isn't a home," Laura muttered, "it's becoming a tomb..."
Taking a deep breath, she entered what would've otherwise been a normal bedroom except for the freezer lying on its side. Behind the glass door was a young Asian woman lying with her arms folded across her chest. She wasn't breathing, and Laura might've thought she was dead if not for the overwhelming stench of un-death radiating from within.
While corpses smelled like rot and decay, vampires smelled like a combination of blood and an alluring sweetness that always made Laura's stomach uneasy. The scent might've been intoxicating if her instincts didn't scream predator, and also scream for her to either kill the creature or run far, far away while she still could.
And yet, she was Laura's first real friend, and in many ways her only friend. The only one she trusted at a time like this.
She knocked three times, and Jubilee's crimson eyes immediately shot open. Laura took a step back, holding her breath, and the freezer door opened on its own, releasing cold air that chilled her to the bone.
The vampire sat up and regarded her with a lopsided smile. "Dude, it's the middle of the day," she yawned. "I'm all for room service and breakfast in bed, but can't it wait a few more hours?"
Laura shook her head, keeping her eyes averted, and motioned toward the dresser. As with most vampires in Laura's experience, Jubilee slept nude except for her trademark yellow trench coat.
Jubilee sighed and levitated out of the freezer, landing beside her, and Laura again motioned toward the dresser. "Alright, fine," Jubilee grumbled. "Prude..."
She quickly slipped into a pair of black jeans and a matching shirt, a stark contrast to the brightly colored shirts and short-shorts she was known for wearing while she was still alive.
"Must be serious if you want me to put clothes on," she said humorlessly, putting her coat back on. "But hold that thought. Let me drink something before I accidently nibble on your neck. Waking up with you or Gabby outside my freezer is probably the closest thing to a vampire booty call."
"That's alright. It won't take long to explain, and that's partially why I'm here," Laura said. "Kimura sent a student into the school with Trigger Scent hidden inside a perfume bottle. It was meant as a gift for Debbie."
Jubilee's eyes widened. "Is everything-"
"Everybody's still alive, but Jean's put The Institute's under lockdown until further notice. I have an idea where we'll find Colcord, but I won't know for sure until tonight."
She nodded uneasily. "You're not here just to tell me about the mission or a close call with Trigger Scent, are you?"
Laura shook her head. "In the past week I've seen my sister's head explode, had my programming activate just from seeing a picture, and nearly killed my entire family and dozens of kids all because of a perfume bottle. If you don't bite my neck in the next five minutes, I'm going to find a dark place and spend the rest of the day cutting my wrists. Understand?"
"Laura..." Jubilee reached out to lay a hand on her shoulder but quickly withdrew it. "You've already beat this on your own before. You can do it again. Please don't tempt me like this. You can't tempt me like this."
Laura took a step forward, rubbing her wrists as though they itched. "Jubilee, I'm barely holding it together right now. I need this, and I need you at your absolute best. I need someone who can protect my family from Kimura, and maybe even from myself. Most of all right now, I need to feel something. Please, if you don't do this, you'll wish you had. It's going to be bad. I can feel it."
Jubilee took a cautious step forward, doing her best not to look at Laura's neck or listen to the rhythmic sound of her heartbeat. They held each other's gaze for several moments before Laura looked away in shame.
She immediately thought of the men and women she had interrogated recently. Fear was her preferred method of making people talk. Not only because she didn't wish to harm anyone if it wasn't necessary, but because she knew all too well how effective stripping someone of all their dignity was. Nine months after being broken and having her innermost secrets laid bare, she still felt like X-23 playing the role of Laura Kinney.
Perhaps Kimura had programmed X-23 to think she was a real girl, or maybe Dr. Kinney had lied to her all those years ago. Was it possible Laura Kinney was dead and X-23 merely thought she was Laura?
"Please," she said again. "Please prove to me that I'm a real person. Make me feel something. Prove to me that I'm not just Kimura's puppet. Please..."
Jubilee nodded, and stood face to face with her, a couple inches taller even while barefoot. She wrapped her arms around her, their bodies pressed tightly together, and slipped her hands into the back-pockets of Laura's jeans, and forced Laura to look her in the eyes.
"Your breath smells like blood," Laura said coolly.
"And yours smells like cinnamon." Jubilee grinned ear to ear, their lips almost touching. She waited, listening to Laura's heartbeat which remained constant. Her cheeks didn't have even the slightest blush despite her closeness. Even with her supernatural beauty and siren-like voice, Laura's body didn't betray even the slightest interest. It never had, and it probably never would.
She sighed and brushed Laura's hair away from her neck, focusing on the pulsing vein filled with her best friend's life energy. She could hear the blood flowing throughout her entire body, smell it even, and it took all her restraint not to sink her fangs into her flesh there and then and drain her dry.
"Okay, Laura," she whispered. "You win. I'd tell you that I'll do it to protect you and your family, but we both know that's a lie. Follow me."
Jubilee led Laura by the hand into the bedroom across the hall. Conspicuously in the middle of the room was a queen sized bed with lacy pillows and pink sheets. Vampires couldn't sleep in beds, not comfortably anyway, but it'd been there long before Jubilee learned how to regain her humanity. Perhaps it had been wishful thinking at the time, but an apartment without a bed just felt wrong. Besides, sex in a freezer sounded kinkier than it actually was.
She led her in front of a full-length mirror, and Laura even after all this time couldn't help being the least bit unsettled by the fact Jubilee didn't cast a reflection.
The vampire wrapped her arms around Laura's waist and nuzzled her neck, stealing her warmth just from skin contact. In the mirror however, Laura was alone, doing her absolute best to keep her body from shaking. Every instinct told her that she was in grave danger, but there was also a sense of anticipation she couldn't deny herself.
"Are you sure about this?" Jubilee asked. "Once I start, I won't be able to stop myself."
Laura nodded. "This is my choice, and I choose not to be in control right now."
"Trouble is I'm about to lose control and I don't have a choice, and when I'm done, neither of us is gonna be the same people we are right now."
"Good..."
She closed her eyes and returned to that dark place she went to whenever Kimura had her arms around her like this. Jubilee didn't know such a place existed, but it was the safest way to keep her immobilized, otherwise if Laura's claws extended instinctively, the vampire might perceive her as a threat and take what it wanted from her by force.
A pair of pinpricks caused Laura to wince, but not as much as Jubilee licking the blood that trickled out. At that moment she knew her best friend was gone and that she was at the complete mercy of a merciless, unholy and undead creature of the night. Even if she changed her mind now and wanted to escape, Laura wasn't sure if she could.
Jubilee was a predator, and Laura her prey. That was the nature of their relationship now, and perhaps deep down it always had been.
Laura held perfectly still awaiting the inevitable bite, and when it finally came, she escaped into a blissful world of ecstasy and lost herself in moans and whimpers.
The vampire meanwhile gorged itself on the dopamine and endorphins its toxic bite released. Not only was Type E the most irresistible blood type of them all, but vampires generally preferred the blood of women and children, with Laura's being purer than a newborn baby's despite having been deflowered in her youth.
It drank greedily, reliving memories of torture and despair, but not particularly concerning itself with them. They only added to the unique flavor.
It was almost as intoxicating for the vampire as it was the young woman having her life essence sucked out. Laura's body went into shock and suffered organ failure multiple times, and she probably even died once or twice, but her heart continued pumping Type E, and her moans only grew that much louder.
The human body stored roughly ten pints of blood, which was more than twice the amount Jubilee normally drank most nights. She drank more than what should've been possible, slowing only when the insatiable hunger became bearable and finally nonexistent, a sensation practically unknown to a vampire.
At last Jubilee opened her eyes and sighed with relief as what could only be described as sanity returned to her, followed by her long lost humanity.
She smiled bloody lips at the young woman staring back at her in the mirror. Her pale complexion was darkening and redness in her cheeks returning. Her eyes only had the slightest tinge of crimson now, but the most peculiar sensation of coming back alive was her heart beating again, and rapidly at that.
She licked Laura's neck clean, tasting her pleasure, fear, and arousal in both her blood and sweat, and slowly spun Laura around who looked straight through her as if she weren't even there.
Laura Kinney was gone, as was X-23. In their place was a young woman who'd had her dopamine receptors fried during childhood, and had just experienced more pleasure than any human could ever possibly imagine in their wildest, most hedonistic dreams. She was now Jubilee's thrall and at her complete mercy. If she so desired, Laura would've thought nothing of cutting off her sister's head and presenting it to her master. All that mattered was pleasing her master.
She leaned forward to kiss the vampire but Jubilee held a finger between their lips.
"Laura, I'm sorry that I can't promise I'd never take advantage of you as a vampire. It's what we do and what I am, but I swear that I'll never do it so long as I have my humanity."
She kissed her cheek and Laura looked at her pleadingly, squirming in her grasp, trying to remove her clothes to no avail. "I want this," she moaned.
"Maybe you do, deep down, and if so, I'll be here when you wake up. Until then, get some sleep."
Laura nodded, obeying her master, and Jubilee carried her to the bed. Instead of tucking her in, she crawled in herself and laid Laura's head down atop her chest, grinning at the way it rose and fell, and her heart beating underneath Laura's pillow. She wasn't fully alive again, but she also wasn't undead either. What she was Jubilee wasn't entirely sure, but she could feel power at her fingertips returning and emotions she had very nearly forgotten about rushing back, threatening to overwhelm her.
She held Laura close, tears stinging and running down her cheeks. Jubilee was a monster and had long since accepted that fact, but it was by returning alive that she realized just how monstrous she truly was. She enjoyed violence. She often daydreamed about killing children and drinking their blood, especially the annoying ones. She tried her best to hold onto her faith, but she couldn't help thinking of humans as little more than cattle, and their blood as belonging to her. She was a Draculina after all, and it was a vampire's right to take what they wanted.
Always hungry. Always angry. Always on the verge of losing control...
Her thoughts drifted back to the other night and Malik's test subjects. Children, horribly mutilated, but children nonetheless, and Laura allowing their deaths to weigh on her conscience just so that they wouldn't weigh Jubilee's when she eventually regained her humanity.
"Thank you, Laura," she wept, burying her face in Laura's hair. "I owe you my life. Literally, and I love you as much as a vampire can love anybody, or a human for that matter. The things I see when I drink your blood. I'm so sorry..."
Jubilee shook her head, more tears streaming down her face onto Laura's, who grabbed her hand and squeezed.
"I thought I told you to get some sleep?" she sniffled.
"Can't. Too happy..." Laura said, snuggling closer.
Jubilee laughed and played with her hair while Laura dozed in and out of consciousness. "No offense, dude, but you smell like sex."
She nodded, grinning ear to ear. "Jubilee, I don't ask this lightly, but when this is all over, would you consider taking my virginity? Someone took it from me a long time ago, and I'd like you to take it properly."
"If that's what you want, but only when you're ready." She smiled to herself and wiped her eyes. Considering what she saw earlier, it'd probably be another century or two before she was ready, or interested for that matter. "When this is finally over, I'm taking you on vacation. I'm thinking somewhere tropical so I can work on my tan. How's that sound?"
Laura's heavy breathing answered for her, and the vampire snuggled closer and kissed her atop the head, feeling drowsy herself.
"Sweet dreams, dude..."
(A/N: Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoyed. Although I don't necessarily ship Laura and Jubilee, I do think they had incredible chemistry in the 2010 "X-23" series, and in my opinion, had better chemistry than Laura and her various romantic partners over the years. A vampire and a masochist is a really unique relationship, especially when you consider both of them are doing their absolute best not to give into their primal urges and/or programming. Although Laura greatly values her independence, there is a part of her that misses following orders. Life used to be simple, and the more complicated it gets, the more confused and overwhelmed she becomes. As for Jubilee, I really like the concept of a "living vampire", and also her gradually losing her humanity the longer she spends as an undead, only to be remedied by drinking Laura's blood. It's a pairing that I really enjoy, but I'm not sure if its intimacy will ever move beyond this stage due to what was done to Laura in the past. Thankfully they're both immortals and have a couple centuries to figure it out.
All credit goes to my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, who has blessed me with this story and all of you wonderful readers. God bless)