14569/The Wrong Kind of Lust

The Wrong Kind of Lust
Date of Scene:	31 March 2023
Location:	One of X-23's Many Safehouses
Synopsis:	Fearing that she'll soon fall victim to her vampire bloodlust, Jubilation Lee travels to Gotham City and seeks out the mysterious X-23 to help her get through it. Jubes doesn't make it in time, but Laura's help keeps the bloodshed to a minimum. After spending a couple nights in one of Laura's safe-houses, the two exchange words about keeping things under control. Jubilation learns a little more about Laura and, as a result, decides that a mall trip is in her future.
Cast of Characters:	Jubilation Lee, Laura Kinney

---

Jubilation Lee has posed:
    Bloodlust. Frenzy. The Beast. It goes by many names and, try as they might to avoid it, even the most careful vampires will experience this at some point in their un-lives. For those with little regard for their food source, it's a dangerous flare-up that risks exposing the world to the existence of vampires. Though rare, some vampires keep strong ties with the mortal world. For them, a frenzy presents a harsh truth: try as they might to deny it, they are every bit a monster as any other and are a very real threat to the people they keep close to.

    While the mainstream news media has not yet reported on the event for reasons unknown, anyone with the means to peel back the layers that hide the truth has likely caught wind of a strange event two nights ago. A passenger train that services the regions between Boston and Norfolk, Virginia stopped in Gotham City and was immediately boarded by GCPD, the FBI, and perhaps even one or two other agencies of origins unknown. Three passengers could not be accounted for and one of the private compartments had been sealed off by crime scene investigators. No one goes in or out under the order of <REDACTED>. Rumor has it, though, that at least one crime scene investigator -- a blood splatter analysis specialist -- had to be removed from the train, as he was showing signs of extreme stress, insisting that it was the worst thing he has ever seen.

    Some time later, an unusual communication was received by Laura Kinney from Jubilation Lee. The text simply read: NEED HELP

            ---

    "Thanks for letting me crash," Jubilation mutters, breaking the silence inside X-23's Safehouse. She's seated with her back against the wall, legs bent at the knee, arms tightly wrapped around her shins. Unlike her typical snap-crackle-and-pop, Jubilation's entire demeanor is somber. Though Jubilee wakes from her coffin each evening with a fresh face, she somehow looks tired. Several plastic pouches that have been sucked dry of whatever they once contained are scattered on the floor surrounding her.

Laura Kinney has posed:
Laura has a lot of safe houses. Some for dedicated tasks, usually places to stockpile supplies, and others are just spaces she can crash when she needs.

This particular location... It's best not to think too hard about what it's used for. A foreclosed factory site outside of populated areas. It's not really kitted out for comfort. Shipping containers tucked in between the remains of industrial machinery make up the 'bedrooms' on offer. While the power mostly comes from portable solar panels and some car batteries.

It's off the grid in a very literal sense. And far enough away from people that it'd be perfectly safe (to civilians that is) to trigger enough explosives to reduce the whole place to a smouldering pit.

A drastic containment plan but then Laura Kinney is very thorough....

"It's no big deal," she replies with a shrug. Leaning against a crate that passes for furniture. "It's hardly a five star hotel."

Jubilation Lee has posed:
    "I'm not picky," is her response. The years since Jubilee's death have been hard ones. Though she and Laura have not had a ton of interaction over the years, it's no doubt obvious that this is not the same girl she might remember skating through the X-Mansion halls, annoying people with her ukulele. Jubilee remains motionless and statuesque, staring forward at the floor. She's avoiding Laura entirely. Though Jubilation wears dark Ray Ban's to hide her eyes and prevent any accidental glamours, she's really just trying not to see Laura, her body language, or any of her reactions.

    Some time passes -- long awkward seconds -- before Jubilation opens her mouth again. Her fangs are obvious, unhidden, and sharp. "...And, like, thanks for not..." She tries to find the words.

    "Thanks for not saying anything."

    She hasn't been forced to talk about it. Yet.

Laura Kinney has posed:
On her crate perch X-23, who seems largely indifferent to being avoided, is watching what passes for entertainment in this particular safe house. A jury-rigged wall of CCTV monitors showing the approaches to the location. She's been careful to avoid any traces which would allow people to find them. But there are always tricks she can't account for. Targeted teleporting, magic tracking, and of course the ever present risk of random people just blundering into the area.

The combination of her enhanced sense of smell and superb hearing mean she doesn't really need to see Jubilation to know roughly where she is. And it's pretty meaningless in a way. There's nowhere in this entire location which is safe if she hits the kill switch.

"You probably won't want to come back to Gotham anytime soon," she points out. "The Bats tends to have long memories."

And there's only so much she's willing to keep from the Outsiders. One incident might be all anyone gets. "If you do wish to talk." A shrug. "You can. But if not." Her tone is flat. Unconcerned or indifferent.

Jubilation Lee has posed:
    "Oh no, I'm not welcome in Stink Town," Jubilation replies with a tone equivalent to rolling her eyes. Gotham City, like any city, has its highs and lows, but it just happens to be famous for its lows. "Yeah...I..." It's hard to avoid it, so there's no reason to keep trying.

    "I only came to see you," she admits as she idly reaches for one of the emptied plastic pouches on the ground. It has curled inwards on itself as whatever it once contained was forcibly sucked out. The Hermes staff iconography usually associated with the medical field can be seen on a wrinkled label.

    "I just..." Jubilation lowers her head again, resting her brow against her knees. "...I thought you might understand."

    The logic is flawed. There might be no one at Xavier's who 'gets it' but surely there are other vampires?

Laura Kinney has posed:
Perhaps a little strangely. But this particular safehouse is... unusually well stocked with Human blood and medical tools & supplies. And the sole chair is metal and welded inside on of the shipping containers.

The place probably raises a lot of questions for which the answers are best not thought about in too much detail. Nor will such answers be confirmed or denied.

"I was going to say Gotham smells better than Bludhaven," she starts. "But it'd be a lie. Just a different kind of foulness." She pauses. "But I assume it's not the enhanced sense of smell you are talking about."

Jubilation Lee has posed:
    Jubilation's head shakes a little, face still pressed into her legs. No, it's not an enhanced sense of smell Jubilation is talking about. Gotham has a reputation and Jubes hasn't spent enough time in the city to peel back the outer layers of grime.

    Another long silence.

    "Laura..." Jubilation tries, stopping short again as her words get caught in her throat. The two haven't spent much time together, but the question that comes perhaps reveals Jubilation Lee's impression of Laura Kinney -- the living weapon formally classified as X-23.

    "How do you deal with this?"

    The question, by its very existence, illustrates Jubilation's flawed, limited understanding of Laura. Of course Laura has been in her shoes. Of course Laura has lost control. Of course Laura has...

    "...Is this why you don't stay at the mansion?"

    This.

Laura Kinney has posed:
X-23 doesn't mind long silences. If Jubilation didn't speak again it seems she'd be content to sit in silence.

Her head turns from the CCTV monitors when her name is called. An eyebrow raising.

She blinks a few times. Considering her reply for a long while. "It's /a/ reason. Not the only one," she finally responds. "There are groups out there who are hunting me. People with the resources to do something foolish like attack the school. If I stay there it could put everyone at risk." She flexes her arm. Not quite popping her claws but seeming to test the motion. "The people who created me have a unique chemical scent weapon. It turns me into an unstoppable killing machine."

Normally she'd leave it at that. Already more of an answer than she'd typically give. But having watched a Jubilee hurling herself bodily into the door, screeching and hissing, like a mindless beast. She adds "The last time someone used it I nearly killed an Avenger. Did kill a lot more people too. Guests at a mutant fight club. Probably mostly bad people."

"But that doesn't make it better. Anyone who says it's okay you killed someone. That they deserved it. It's really not that simple. It still eats at you. You'll still remember them."

Jubilation Lee has posed:
    Both women have similar problems that follow them. Problems that others are unable or unwilling to understand. Both can be transformed into mindless killing machines, though only one of them is a weapon. A tool to be taken out, used, and put away. And now, Jubilee knows the truth behind Laura Kinney.

    She finally looks up from her knees, revealing for X-23 that vampires -- at least this one -- can cry. From behind her sunglasses, each eye has a single red trail of blood that travels down her cheeks, past her mouth, and terminates at her jaw line. There was no sound or indication that Jubilee had been 'crying' except, perhaps, for the faint smell of blood to those who could pick up on it.

    "They can just turn it on and there's nothing you can do about it?" Jubilation wonders sadly. She turns to face Laura, waiting for the response. Empathy is not natural for vampires, but what started off as a woe-is-me conversation has transformed into something else entirely. Laura, perhaps, understands more than Jubilee originally thought. Different, but the same in some ways.

    Though it wasn't from the barrel of a chemical scent weapon, mere hours earlier, Jubilation was not herself. Something else -- her dark passenger -- broke free and revealed exactly what she holds back each and every evening. Now, she's just a scared, young woman holding on for dear un-life.

    "I don't. I don't remember them," Jubilation answers. She doesn't remember the people she's killed. "...But I try to."

    A different kind of struggle entirely.

Laura Kinney has posed:
"Anything marked with trigger scent I will kill," Laura clarifies. "And it's a gas. It's not really easy to mark just the one thing." There's something distant in her eyes. "Doesn't make me forget and I guess a strong enough telepath could keep me in check. But they'd be putting their life at risk trying."

She lets out a short sigh.

"That's still only a secondary reason though. My training means that everyone I meet is reduced to a logic puzzle. How efficiently can I kill them. Even now I know. Sixteen paces that way, trigger the self destruct, every move needed to ensure I leave and you don't."

"They train to fight but not to kill people. Train teenagers too. Seems... hypocritical to me. Naive. If you train kids to fight they'll fight. And they'll die. Not really what I picture when I think of how a school should be."

Jubilation Lee has posed:
    "You think you know," Jubilee replies automatically. Killing a vampire, especially the start of an entire bloodline, is a tricky matter. It's difficult in some ways, easier in others. Jubilation's mouth opens, perhaps to share her own version of the sixteen-paces, but she doesn't make a sound. She came to Laura, at least in part, because she knew that Laura could do what was necessary if it becomes necessary. There's no point in arguing about the outcome of a struggle between them.

    Laura's description of Xavier's in such unflattering, myopic terms shifts Jubilation's display of sadness into an unmistakable frown. Voted Most School Spirit twice. She was the RA in the dorms until her final moments in life. If there was a promotional video for the school, Jubilee would be in it. If someone was going to stand up for the school, fists clutched at her sides, it would be Jubilee. But, thinking about the school triggers something from Jubilation. A clue to the root cause of her visit.

    "Everyone hates me," she admits. "They're always laughing and whispering about me, like, they think I don't know. They're like..." Her tone is not defiant. She's not sharing these details as a matter of record. She's not one soldier comparing war stories with another. She's sad. Devastated, perhaps, as her entire social scene has been flipped upside-down. Her voice is shuddery.

    "...And, like, the boys have been daring each other to bang on my door and run away before I open it... And, like, 'don't go down the hall at night or Jubilee'll get you!' And...Well, you saw the paper, I guess."

    Jubilee's personal effects were minimal for someone taking a trip across state lines, but one item was out of place and most certainly what she's guessing that Laura saw. It was a piece of printer paper, folded up to go into a pocket, with a drawing done in black marker. A stick-figure drawing of Jubilation Lee burning while a group of stick-figure students happily play volleyball under a cartoon sun. The piece of tape still stuck to the top of it smells a bit like the finish that gets applied to the wooden doors in Xavier's.

    The differences between Laura and Jubilee and how they have compartmentalized their respective situations is now clear.

Laura Kinney has posed:
Laura Kinney shrugs another little shrug. No plans are certain it's true.

"It can be tough knowing they fear you," she agrees. "Especially because so many of the students are there precisely because Humans fear them the same way." Her eyes flick back to the CCTV. Checking for threats again. "But it sounds like you only really have three options. Leave, learn to live with it, or change things. I chose not to care. I've got things I need to achieve. People I chose to protect."

She looks back up at where she estimates Jubilee is.

"And I use that to focus the urges. Harness them for my goals."

Jubilation Lee has posed:
    Running away is actually a reasonable plan, but could she really leave? Jubilation lowers her forehead back down to her knees, defeated.

    Instead of fighting with Laura, refuting her ideas, declaring that Xavier's is her home, insisting that she can handle it, Jubilation just falls quiet, a true picture of silence amongst the sounds of the bunker, the city, Laura's voice.

    Jubilee rises to her feet. It's an unusual motion -- oddly graceful in a way that shouldn't be possible. The movement is like a poem, briefly demonstrating the most perfect way to stand up. The silky, sensual movements of a vampire. Unnerving.

    "I'm going to blow this popsicle stand," Jubilee announces. There's still enough moonlight to get back in time. "Can I get a road bag?" Jubes hooks her thumb to indicate the emptied pouches of blood.

    Her demeanor changes so swiftly, so abruptly, that there's little doubt that it's all an act. Just like when she was alive.

    "Lookit, you gotta come up to Westchester some time. In like a week the mall is doing one of those stupid open-all-night charity thing for a radio station, so, like, I can go," Jubilation explains as she wipes away the red streaks on her face. "I gotta get you into some new clothes, like, yesterday. Hair too. Look like a million bucks, feel like a million bucks."

    "Not takin' no for an answer!" she adds, holding her hand out for -- hopefully -- a bag of blood to take back with her.

Laura Kinney has posed:
"Not literally I hope," Laura says with a smirk. "It would be hard to explain the crater."

Kinney humour.

She seems more concerned by the talk of mall shopping than she has done throughout all the talk of the supernatural and slaughtering. "I have other things you know," she states. "They could even be considered nice things. Except shoes. No point, claws ruin them too often." It is however not a no.

"As for the blood no-one else is likely to need it. And I will source more of the appropriate type before anyone else needs to stay here again." She gestures at the portable refrigerator. Oddly out of place with pristine medical white where everything else is tarnished and rusty.

Jubilation Lee has posed:
    "Well, I don't see any popsicles," Jubes replies. After a series of simple gestures, Jubilation has a fresh 'Capri Sun' in her hand. She scoops up her things, including the folded up poster of the stick-figure inquisition, and lets out a sigh. It's a careful, deliberate act of communication, as Jubilation does not breathe and, therefore, is not going to sigh unless it's an affectation. The blush of life.

    "Thanks again for letting me crash," Jubes repeats, smiling a simple, non-fangy, closed-mouth smile. "I really appreciate it..." There are plenty of safe-houses, including Jubilee's very own at the Midnight Mission, but only this one comes with an insurance policy. Laura Kinney may have saved a few lives these last couple nights.

    Just before slipping out into the night, Jubilee fires back with one last parting shot. "No, you still gotta come," she insists. It's an old-fashioned kind of insist. No vampire tricks. No glamouring. Just the subtle indication that, perhaps, Jubilee sees a missing puzzle piece.