14657/Interview With The Vampire...About A Speedster

Interview With The Vampire...About A Speedster
Date of Scene:	11 April 2023
Location:	Recreation Room
Synopsis:	Marie-Ange is about to take a big step in her life, so she seeks out someone who has already taken it: Jubilee. The two discuss love, relationships, and the infamous Crocodile Mile.
Cast of Characters:	Jubilation Lee, Marie-Ange Colbert

---

Jubilation Lee has posed:
    It's early in the evening and the recreation room of Xavier's is once again the place to be. Students congregate around the typical activities -- movies, video games, and snacks are the popular ones. It can sometimes be tough to get a seat, especially on the brown couch. It's rumored that the weight of Logan's Adamantium skeleton created the most perfect butt-groove on one of the cushions, but this is a fact that hasn't been proven. Yet.

    Tonight, though, the brown couch has a vacant spot. Students aren't fighting over who can claim it because no one is brave enough to take it. Ever since Jubilation Lee's death and resurrection as a vampire, many students have kept their distance. Jubilation reclines against the back of the couch, having claimed the perfect butt-groove seat for herself, and lies as motionless as a corpse. It appears that she has paid special attention to her appearance this evening. Her hair is pulled into a long, French braid, and her makeup has been expertly applied, though the pallete is dark. Notably, black winglets are drawn in the corners of her eyes and her lipstick is a deep, nearly black shade of purple.

    Despite the apparent attitude around avoiding Jubilee, she is not alone. Samantha Stephens, one of the students active in the various art classes, sits beside Jubilation. She has a large sketchbook in her lap and appears to be sketching the vampiress.

Marie-Ange Colbert has posed:
Marie is generally an early riser. Many mornings, she's the one who starts the coffee going in the kitchen for the rest of the mansion's many residents to enjoy. Lately, she's been sleeping in a little more, or at least, not coming out of her room quite as quickly as she used to... but she still makes time to engage with the fellow residents of the Mansion.

One of which, as it happens, she'd been particularly hoping to catch. A plus(?) side about being the subject of rumors and whisperings? They make a person a little easier to find. One or two students coming from the direction of the rec room had warned the chipper French girl 'not to go in there!' because of their own distrust of the Duchess of Westchester. To Marie, though? She's still seen as one of her very first friends in America.

Hey, when you've been hated and feared for being 'in league with the devil', you tend to be more forgiving of others who get a similar rep.

So in around the corner she steps with a cheery "Mademois--!" ...but cuts herself off as she spies Samantha sketching. Resuming in a much softer tone, "...I am not interrupting something, am I?" Marie's an artist of a kind too, afterall. She can understand the need for no distractions!

Jubilation Lee has posed:
    For her part, Samantha just continues to focus on her sketch. It's done in dark ink with flowing curves and thatched shadows. The only sound she's making is the sound of her pen's nib dragging against the thick paper.

    Jubilee, meanwhile, just lies there, motionless. Her chest does not rise and fall with the breath of life. Her body doesn't micro-twitch with each heartbeat. She doesn't have one. A perfect subject for an artist to sketch.

    "Oh come on, Em Ay," Jubilation replies with a fake roll of her eyes. A corner of her mouth curls upwards, revealing a sharp smile. Very sharp. "How many times? At least a million, easy. Million and a half. It's Jubilee. Jubes. Jubilation. But never..." She stops in another pretend display of aggravation. "Never mind."

    Jubilation tilts her head back and grins up at Marie, upside down. "Just taking a selfie," she explains. When you're a teenage girl -- woman -- and you don't really appear on camera anymore, reliably anyway, one must come up with a plan B. Samantha, the Plan B, keeps sketching and doesn't dare look up.

    "What's up?"

Marie-Ange Colbert has posed:
When she realizes she's /not/ causing a disturbance by her presence alone -- confirmed as Samantha continues drawing unimpeded even with the movements the teen vampire makes, she approaches. There's even an audible gasp as the French girl moves to take the empty spot on the couch. Marie? Marie doesn't even pay it a shred of notice, instead offering her friend a smile.

"Jubiliation, then. You have more than earned it." Marie decides, sounding fond of the other girl. It does take people a while to get the no-honoriffic treatment! ...or to demand it, because she's also easily intimidated. In this case, though? It's been earned over years.

"...but... I thought the selfies were..." Marie pantomimes holding a phone, and posing with a little salute. "...as opposed to..." she shakes her head. "I have so much to learn about how you Americans do things, even now."

It's not Americans, Marie. It's Vampires. Someone has not taken Vampire 101!

When she's asked what's up, though, the confusion gives way to giddiness. "Well. It seems I find myself in need of some advice. Advice which I think you are one of the very few people I can ask... and the one whose answer I would trust the most." ...granted, the /exact/ list probably consists of two people. A few others could probably give more general advice, but... "If you would not mind helping a friend in need?"

Jubilation Lee has posed:
    "Yeah, I mean, like, my parents gave it to me," Jubilation answers with a shrug of a single shoulder. Her casual sensibilities are a stark contrast to Marie's. Though she can no longer go out during their normal business hours, you can't take the mall out of the mallrat.

    "Don't draw that split end," Jubilation suddenly warns, eyes shifting towards Samantha. Every night, Jubilation awakens in her coffin looking just like she did when she was turned. Same hair. Same body. Same split end. Though it would be impossible for Samantha to see it, she still responds with a uh-huh and goes back to her drawing.

    Jubes stares at Marie, watching the girl's head-on collision with the concept of a vampire selfie. Before speaking, she makes a point to break eye contact. No reason to risk an accidental glamouring. "No, like..." Jubilation stops. "Oh, like, yeah, you gotta do it this way. All those phone ones are just practice." Dead as a door nail she may be, but no one could ever say that Jubilee is gone. After all, who could resist the chance to get Marie on a path of looking silly in public trying to take a proper 'selfie.' A good-natured prank if there ever was one.

    Marie's sudden giddiness gets Jubilation to sit up suddenly, drawing out an audible sigh from Samantha as she lifts her pen from the paper. "Just me, huh? Let me guess... "

    Jubes starts counting off on her fingers with each guess. "...Skating? Gymnastics? Ukulele? House of cards? I mean, like, I'm good at so many things..." Her enthusiasm disappears suddenly. "...Aw, you're not gonna ask me to turn you into a vampire, are you? I'm not doing that," she complains. Never mind that she doesn't know how.

Marie-Ange Colbert has posed:
Marie's always been naive about these things. Or maybe it's just because she's too trusting, and willing to go to various lengths to please her friends...

Nonetheless, she's almost certain to attempt a vampire selfie at some point. She'll just have to find the right artist to 'take her picture'! "Oh. Well, I suppose that makes sense, since the phone ones do not give you a physical copy you could hang up somewhere..." she admits. No, those selfies, if she wants to hang on her wall, she'd have to go somewhere to get printed! It's a hassle. This is clearly the better way.

"Okay!" to letting Jubilee guess, smiling brightly the entire time. Each option gets a shake of her head -- and a double shake at the last one. "On, non, non, nothing like that at all." she promises, before starting to blush. "It is just... you and Mademoiselle Noriko are a lovely couple..." What's she asking now? "...and seem to get along so well... and..." she steels herself a bit. Then bounces in her seat, beaming.

"Mary has asked that I move in with her. I wish for it to go well. How do you remain so... well.. /happy/ together?"

Jubilation Lee has posed:
    Jubilation's brow lowers a touch. This is suspicious. Why /is/ Marie asking about Noriko? Dark thoughts begin swirling around in Jubilation's head. These thoughts come with her curse -- her Dark Passenger. Every night is a struggle to hold back what she is and what she wants to do. Being a vampire isn't all moonlight and shooting stars.

    But...it's Marie.

    And it's Nori. If there was ever a panacea that could keep back the horror, it would be the special place that Jubilee keeps her memories of Nori. Locked away where the vampire can't get them.

    "Em Ay, I didn't know you were...!" Jubilee stops right there. Memories from her life appear suddenly. Jubes and Noriko sneaking around, hiding that they weren't just good friends anymore. Jubilee insisting that she 'barely knows that girl.' Paige Guthrie catching them kissing where they thought they had some privacy. Paige asking a question no one ever asked Jubilee before. A question she didn't have an answer to.

    Jubes doesn't ask Marie that question.

    "...in a relationship." Nice save, Jubes.

    "That's awesome, like, I mean, if you like her and all that. Seems like you do. Your cheeks are all red and stuff and, like, your blood is pumping, like--" Jubes adds, pointing her index finger in the direction of Marie's flushed cheeks. She stops mid-sentence. "---Nevermind about that. Lets talk about Nori."

    Jubilation lids her eyes a little as happy memories from her former life trickle back. "Well, like, we were originally roommates, you know. Just, like, forced to share a dorm by the computer in Jean's office," Jubilation explains, pantomiming what it might look like if Jean was Frankenstein's monster trying to type on a computer keyboard. Smash smash smash.

    "They say it's random, but, like, c'mon. School has two Asian kids and they randomly get put in the same room?" Jubilation adds, rolling her eyes a little. She shares this theory conspiratorially out the side of her mouth. "We didn't even really like each other at first," Jubilation adds. "But... Well, Nori didn't like anyone and, back then, she could be a little..." Her voice trails off, suggesting that the next word coming wasn't going to be a compliment.

    Like a switch is flipped, Jubilee's entire demeanor shifts. She leans back into the couch and stares forward, past Marie. "...She was my roommate first. Then my friend. Then my best friend," Jubes explains softly. "...Then..." She lowers her eyes. "Can I tell you something, Marie? Something I haven't told anyone before? Not even Noriko..." Jubilation turns to look for her answer.

Marie-Ange Colbert has posed:
Marie bows her head slightly at the comment, even with the amendment. Head tilting to the side, a demure smile on her lips. "I have always been the type of person who is easily unnoticed, Jubilation. It suits me well enough." She pauses, biting her lip for a moment. "...and in a relationship /again/ might be the better phrase. We had been friends for a while... tried dating, which went well until life pulled us in different directions. Nothing... bad, just..." she sighs. "...our... commitments," Superheroic and otherwise, "didn't allow us to spend the kind of time together a couple needs. We found one another again a while ago... and I think we both realized just what we had been missing all this time. What we will fight tooth and nail to protect." she admits, smiling wider once she gets to the reunion. Talking about Mary is an easy way to bring a smile to her face. "I love her, Jubilee. So very, very much."

...but now it's time for her to shut up and listen for a while, and Marie nods along as she listens to the story of how Norilee became to be. Giggling at the imitation of Jean. Eyes widening a bit as she tells of how they didn't like one another at first.

When things start to shift, though, she leans forward a little herself. Reaching out a hand to try and place comfortingly on her friend's shoulder.

"You can tell me anything you wish. We are friends, it is what they are for, oui?" Marie promises, offering a supportive smile. "...and if it is a secret, I can keep it, too."

Jubilation Lee has posed:
    Jubes grins as Marie elaborates on her affection for this mysterious person. "Mary...Mary... Don't think I know her. Is she a mutant?" Pause. "...Or a vampire?"

    But, then Marie confirms she can keep a secret.

    There's a lot Jubilee doesn't tell people. She usually keeps the dark details of her life and un-life to herself. The bright and bubbly persona that everyone gets to see is part of a defense mechanism, but there are peeks behind the curtain from time to time. Times like now.

    "For a while I ran with this crew," she starts. Pause. "Wait, like, that sounds like some kind of mafia thing." Jubes leans forward and tries her best Don Corleon impression. "...I made him an offer he couldn't refuse," she says, lowering her tone and speaking like her mouth is full of cotton balls.

    Back to reality, Jubes. "Sorry," she jabs, flipping back to the conversation at hand.

    "There was this group, like, in the city. And I had this /job/ there like... part time, bartender." Her eyebrows rise. "/Whole/ lotta tips," she adds. "...But, like, also, the place was a hangout for, like, you know, witches, sorcerers, monster hunters. Best of the best! We're talking... BOOM." She expands her hands outward, mimicking an explosion.

    "...And, like, plus Jean and the Professor..." She lowers her voice. Some of the older students know the truth of what the Mansion is. What the school is. Jubilee does, but she leaves it there. "...So, like, I have people who can do stuff. Big stuff. Like, maybe, the sort of stuff that could /undo this/..." Jubilation drags the back of her fingers down her body, shoulder to hip, to indicate herself. Her condition. Maybe bring her back to life. Maybe un-vampire her.

    "I always said no," Jubes explains quietly, her tone shifting back to a somber one. Her eyes lift to watch Marie's reaction to this and to the next part. "Nori can't electrocute me. She can't kill me if she loses concentration. I'm already dead!" Jubilation turns to look past Marie again.

    "She can finally relax."

Marie-Ange Colbert has posed:
Marie shakes her head a little -- but does reach into her pocket to pull out her phone. Being someone who rather enjoys photographs, there's no surprise when Marie produces a photo of herself and the brunette at the Wakandan Embassy; from the looks of the place, it was likely taken at her recent party. "Non, non. Neither." she admits -- /that/ particular secret is Mary's to tell, not hers. "I met her in the city while trying to meet up with Jenny a long time ago." A pause. "I was /hoping/ to make sure she met all of my dearest friends at the party I threw, but I do not think your paths crossed before she had to help me home." Read: Carry. Marie got absolutely /wasted./ As you do.

"Perhaps now that it is warming I can bring out the Crocodile Mile and invite her over to meet you, oui?" No, she hasn't forgotten her present! She's just been waiting for the right weather to use it. One near bout with hypothermia was enough!

...but then she's listening. Trying her best to keep a serious expression... at least until the Jubefather expression that makes Marie laugh openly, before blushing and shaking her head. "Oui, oui. Go on."

She's back to listening... and... by the time Jubilee is finished with the story, her eyes are wide and mouth is left a little agape for several moments. Processing what's just been said. Rather shocked at the revelation. Not about the school, no. But about what Jubilee's chosen to give up... and the why behind it.

She blinks a few times in silence. Processing everything. Eyes starting to water, free hand absently reaching up to wipe at them. "That..." she sniffles a bit. "Jubilee, I..." she stops herself. Steels herself. Swallows. Then, looks somberly at her friend.

"...you must love her a great deal. I spent my childhood ostracized by everyone in a convent, but..." Vampirism takes it to a whole nother level. It isn't just about the people who hate you. Who'd like to hurt you. It's what it makes you. What it takes. Marie doesn't know the ins and outs, but she knows /enough/ to know it's not a perk.

Jubilation Lee has posed:
    Jubilation leans forward and squints at the phone. She reaches up and plucks an invisible, non-existent pair of glasses off of the bridge of her nose. "Oh yeeeaaaaaaah," is her answer to seeing Mary's face, dragging the word out as long as she can. The mention of the Crocodile Mile is particularly interesting to Jubilation, perking her eyebrows up and brightening her smile. "Yeah? You think she's ready for the 'Mile?" Jubes asks confidently. "Well, she must be someone very special if you're already at the Crocodile Mile stage in your relationship. Bring her bring her bring her!" Back to the point at hand. "Yeah, well, it's easy to do stuff like that for your person," Jubilee explains, shrugging off the sacrifice like it 'ain't no thang.' A moment ago, she presented it with the weight that such a gesture should have but now she's acting like she's letting someone borrow her ukulele.

    "Yeah, I mean, like, being dead would probably be better than this, but, you gotta do what you gotta do," she adds with another shrug. There's that casual attitude back again. By now, it should be clear that it's all just a front. It's always been a front. Being a vampire sucks, there's no doubt about it, but Jubes has worn that casual breezy mask way before she got dead-ed.

    "Besides, it's not just me. Nori's got a...She's just so caring and thoughtful and... I just..." Jubilation is trying to get through the sentence, but the emotions that she's bringing forward are at odds with her vampire nature. "Well, lookit... Every day, Nori gets into that coffin with me, holds me, makes me feel /normal/... Even though, you know, we're in a coffin, but that's besides the point. She gets in that thing with me knowing /exactly/ what I am now. Exactly what I could do to her. I think she's doing more for me than I've ever been able to do for her... But, like, we're not keeping score or anything."

Jubilation Lee has posed:
    (Continued)

    "Plus..." she continues, reaching up to sweep an errant lock of hair away from her face. "She's super hot. Like, maybe more than me. Maaaaaybe....!" Jubilation announces, grinning from ear to ear. "I mean... Marie... I had a boyf. You know, of the guy-variety. I wasn't...I'm not...You know, but... There's just something about her..." Jubilation falls backwards into the couch again, both legs into the air as she gives in to her own whimsy. "Oh, Marie... And that one /night/.... We broke off from the group and she told me she wanted to kiss me and, like, I told her to just do it -- we were drunk, it was New Years -- and then she /did/ and, well, nothing's been the same since that night." Jubilee lets out a noisy breath of air. She doesn't breathe and has no need for oxygen in her dried up lungs, but this one was for effect. Jubilation's new position on the couch lets her see Samantha Stephens again. Poor Samantha Stephens, clearly moved by the conversation she's forced to overhear. Her eyes are now bloodshot with silent tears that stream down her cheeks. Jubilation stares at her. Stares. She points her index finger in the poor girl's face.

    "Don't you be remembering any of that 'I've never told anyone this thing' thing!" she warns sternly. "Don't make me do something neither of us want me to do." The atmosphere suddenly transforms, taking on a vaguely comprehensible undertone of unnerving, otherworldly darkness. Jubilation Lee is suddenly the most compelling thing to look at in the recreation room. Her presence is oppressive. Horrifying. But the moment passes as suddenly as it had arrived and the emotional landscape of the room returns to normal, as though nothing happened at all. Nothing did.

    "So, Marie, I'm sorry I can't be of use to you, like, on the 'how do we live together without wanting to kill each other all the time'...." Jubilation admits, perking up again. "Cuz....A. Nori and I lived together way before we /lived together/....Suddenly, like, around in a towel after taking a shower was an entirely different vibe in room 404, you know?".

    "And B... I do want to kill her. I want to kill everyone," Jubes admits with another shrug that's far too casual for what she's saying. "...But, like, I don't do it."

    Being a vampire sucks.

Marie-Ange Colbert has posed:
"I think she is, oui! Perhaps even moreso than I am. Which is good, because then I can take notes on her form." Then a grin. "I will, and I will make sure you're there for it." the French girl promises. For multiple reasons! She likes to share her joy with others.

"I think I see what you mean, though."

Time for another story of her own. "Do you remember when Brainiac was invading the Earth, and swore to destroy all mutants within twenty-four hours?" she asks, shuddering a bit at the memory. Thankfully, the good guys won that one. "That was the day that I revealed... what I am to Mary. So that she could go far from me, to safety, in case I became a target." Turned out it wasn't necessary for more than one reason! "We had only started dating at the time... but she was very accepting of me. Who I am." In all the ways that matter.

A pause and she adds, "I did not tell her about /us,/ though." The school. Who goes there. Why they go there. It's not her secret to tell.

She does correct, though. "Being dead would not be better than this. Do not say such things." There's a bit of sharpness to her tone. That might have struck a bit of a nerve. While Marie normally presents a very optimistic front of her own... there are old wounds that lie beneath the surface.

The way that Jubilee describes Nori, and that /night/, though... well, that makes her feel all sappy again. It makes her heart race and her smile hard to beat. The optimism isn't fake, it's just not the only part there is to her. It also paints Nori in a very redeeming light, even after the... incident... during fencing club.

Of course, when the vampire does the things that vampires do, Marie can't help but stare at Jubilee. Feel that chill run down along her spine, even if she's not the direct recipient... she's definitely in the blast zone.

...but then it's over, and Marie breathes again. Silent for a couple moments. Letting herself recover.

"I think you did help, though." Marie encourages with a smile. "...you make sacrifices for one another, because you /love/ one another. You put each other first, even when there's risk to yourself. /Love/ is enough to make it work out... even on those days you might /want/ to kill her. So merci beaucoup, mon ami!" Jubilee's helped to confirm the thoughts Marie had all along!

Jubilation Lee has posed:
    "Man, what /is/ it with all these guys and their whole 'destroy all mutants, destroy all mutants' thing? I mean, like, give it a rest. You guys are here to stay," Jubilation replies, shaking her head. "I mean, like, seriously!" It may be on purpose. It may have been a simple slip of the tongue, but Jubilee did not count herself among the mutants just now.

    She falls silent. Only briefly, though. She's still Jubilee.

    "It's important to find someone who lets you be yourself," she concludes, taking her time through the words. It's a heavy idea coming from someone who is often not herself.

    "Yeah, but, like, you want tips on how to not get into fights over the angles you keep your toothbrushes at in the little cup in the bathroom..."

    "Or, like, you get ticked off because Mary swears she didn't eat that piece of garlic bread but then you're like, no, seriously, I can smell it on you -- /why don't you just admit it?/ -- but she's all no-way, and you're like yeah-huh...And then you tell her to open her mouth... And she's like, you think I'd eat garlic? And..."

    She stops. "I guess that last one isn't really that common," Jubilation decides with a shrug. "But, you know, those /kinds/ of things. I mean, I can't tell you how to not have that stuff happen. Like, it's /gonna/ happen... But..." Jubilation smiles just a bit more and shrugs one last time. "It's worth it."

    With that settled, Jubilation stands up. "Welp, I better get going. I think it's time for me to tend to my..." She looks around, noticing that a number of students have focused on her, worried that she stood up. "...Dark bidding..." Jubilation wiggles her fingers at them. "Ooooo ooo oooooooh...."

    Jubilation takes a few non-bouncy, totally-vampire-glidey steps away from the couch, stops, and then turns back around as gracefully as a poem. "You...come with me," she commands, now staring right at Samantha Stephens. As soon as Samantha makes eye contact, she quickly rises to her feet with equal parts helplessness and eagerness to obey.

    "Someone's got some forgettin' to do..." Jubilation announces back at Marie as she leads Samantha out.