7830/Six Feet Under

Six Feet Under
Date of Scene:	14 September 2021
Location:	Xavier's Back Yard
Synopsis:	While taking Jeepers for an evening walk, Rogue stumbles upon Jubilee dragging a large garbage bag out to the woods to be buried. She lends a hand and becomes an accessory to...whatever was happening. The two talk about the nature of vampires and what might be done about her situation. Rogue shares an important detail about Coney Island, starting Jubilee on a dark quest for answers.
Cast of Characters:	Jubilation Lee, Rogue

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Jubilation Lee has posed:
    It's a warm September evening. The sun has just gone down and the school is coming off of the natural high of it being sloppy joe day in the dining room. By now, most students have settled into their evening routine of homework or video games. One student, however, has business to attend to. Dark business.

    Seeing Jubilation Lee in the flesh has been a rare treat for some students. She's become a spectacle, surrounded by myth and rumor. Kids have been dared by their friends to ask her to take a selfie just to see if she'd show up in it. She has become a catch-all for every little bump in the night, even if it's just the mansion settling. Somewhere, right now, teen girls are staring at themselves in the mirror and slowly chanting Jubilee's name, expecting that she'll appear and kill them.

    But where is Jubilee while all of this is happening? She's in the back yard of the mansion, walking across the lawn with purpose. In one hand, she drags a large, black garbage bag across the ground. Whatever is inside looks large and heavy. In her other hand? A shovel.

Rogue has posed:
Rogue did not participate in the sloppy joe night, but she did buy the groceries that put them together this afternoon. She's one of those weird light eaters that focuses on stuff like kale and spinach over carbs and greasy beefs. So hoity toity in this Westchester school, she has become!

Here and now, Rogue is walking down one of the forest pathways that come out of the lake area, the solar lights are on and illuminating her legs as she walks, lead by her dog on a leash. Rogue's eyes are down on her phone, she's listening to some video or something where a guy is talking about how there is 'Too many ostridges!' and sounding very concerned about it.

Rogue is laughing softly.

Jeepers sees Jubilee first, and starts to growl at the display with the bag on the lawn up ahead. A moment later and Rogue is looking up, and narrowing her eyes. She turns off her phone and puts it in to the side pocket of her dark green hoodie she's wearing unzipped over a white tshirt. "Jubes?" Rogue calls out, about twenty feet from the girl with the bag.

Jeepers barks once, but Rogue tugs lightly on the leash to stop him.

"What ya doin' there, Midnight Rider?" The Belle asks as she walks ever closer...

Jubilation Lee has posed:
    The black bag is one that might normally be used for yard clippings -- a thicker than usual plastic that won't rip. It seems to contain something that's roughly six feet long with a lot of suspicious lumps. The barking causes her to stop dead in her tracks. Somewhere, deep down, she recalls false memories of villagers holding torches and being led by barking dogs. A remnant, no doubt, of some vampire being run out of town many, many years ago. And now that memory is inside her.

    Jubilation's initial reaction is one born of instinct. Her head snap-turns in the direction of the barking dog. She takes a readied stance, her knees bent and her arms out at her sides. She lets the shovel and bag drop and her mouth opens, allowing a hiss to ring out into the night, fangs clearly out and on display.

    After a moment or two, Jubilation relaxes. She stands up straight and closes her mouth. "Oh, hi, Marie," she replies back. Her voice is lacking its usual enthusiasm. Jubilee reaches into the pocket of her daisy dukes and pulls out a pair of Ray Bans. They go over eyes to keep Rogue from seeing them. It's not likely that Rogue needs to be protected from being glamoured, but Jubes isn't willing to risk it.

    "I'm just... burying," is her answer. "What are you doing?" She glares at Jeepers and sticks her tongue out at him. Vampires and dogs: enemies since the dawn of time.

Rogue has posed:
Naturally that response from Jubilee strikes primal reactions in the dog too, and instead of bearing teeth and barking her down, the young Jeepers has never faced a foe of this fearsome forboding presence. Thusly the pup turns tail and runs around to stand behind Rogue, wrapping his leash around her bare legs. Rogue, glances down at the d"Burying?" Rogue asks. "I assume ya mean working with some of Ororo's gardening supplies?" She isn't very certain of this, and in fact she feels wholy unsettled by whats being displayed here tonight! She tries to hide that though.

She upnods at the bag behind Jubilee. "You got anything in particular in there?" She questions, like a cop might!

Jeepers looks out from around Rogue's right leg to see the skeery vampire sticking her tongue out at him, he growls lowly in the deep of his throat.
og, then looks up to Jubes to see her relaxing and putting on some shades.

"

Jubilation Lee has posed:
    Jubilation stares at Rogue from behind those sunglasses. "No, just... you know, getting rid of something. Burying so no one can find it," she elaborates. Apparently her dark business is secret dark business. "Did they send you out here to spy on me or something?" It seems she's got a chip on her shoulder. It's impossible to not take notice of the scrutiny and suspicion. People are looking at her funny. Students are clearing out of her way in the halls. It sucks, no pun intended.

    When Rogue asks about the contents of the bag, Jubilee's eyes lower. "See for yourself, then," she offers, holding the top of the bag out for Rogue to take if she wants to. Her tone suggests that she's hurt, perhaps offended, and that maybe looking in this bag would be a bad move for their friendship.

Rogue has posed:
Rogue's gaze stares without sunglasses back at the other adorning a pair. She does have sympathy for Jubilee because she's heard the kids talking aobut her, the 'vampire' thing is spreading around the school lately, especially with Halloween creeping closer and closer now.

With the accusatory question sent back her way, Rogue just huffs out a laugh and a single shake of her head in response. "Jeepers had to get rid of something too, that's why we're out here." She shoots back. "Just our evening walk before bedtime." She holds the dog's leash in her right ungloved hand and puts her left gloved in to the pocket of her hoodie.

Her eyes drop to the gardening bag and she frowns at it. "Nah. But I will help ya get rid of it if ya like. Not many people can work a shovel quite like me, ya know?" She says with that trademarked Rogue-cockiness. "Ya... got a shovel?" The Belle then asks as she looks the teen over and around her.

But then she'll know where whatever it is is buried!

Jubilation Lee has posed:
    She did indeed have a shovel. When she was caught by Jeepers, Jubes had ditched the shovel into the darkness, but it's easy enough for her to spot. Since coming back to life, her senses have been finely tuned. Jubilee bends down and picks up a shovel that had become hidden by the shadows of night. "Yes," she says cautiously. With that settled, Jubilee grips the bag again and continues dragging it towards the treeline at the edge of the yard.

    "You can't tell anyone where this is buried, though," Jubilee warns, looking over her shoulder at Rogue as she does. She turns back to the treeline and keeps walking towards it, the black bag dragging lifelessly behind her.

    "So. I guess you've heard some things." Kids have been talking. Teachers have been talking. But, Jubilation's friends, her close ones, are another story entirely.

Rogue has posed:
Rogue watches as the shovel is presented and it makes her tilt her head a bit at it being hidden to begin with, if Jubes has nothing to hide. She walks forward though and moves the leash out from around her legs. "Come on, Jeepness." She urges the dog who suddenly runs away and the leather leash slips out of Rogue's hand! "Jeeps!" Rogue shouts as the dog runs toward the mansion with his tail tucked behind him. "What's gotten in t'him..." She mutters, still adamant that Vampires aren't real... but the school was just attacked by aliens, so...

The Belle looks back to Jubilee then and exhales sharply. "I'm not gonna tell nobody where your browsing history is buried, Jubes. Come on." She says, walking toward the younger girl and reaching out to take the shovel from her. "And yeah, people are saying crazy shit. Nori too for that matter. But, I mean, we're all in this life t'gether. We're here t'help each other, right?" She asks as she walks ahead of Jubilee now and looks back at her dragging the stash of 'whatever'. "So where we dumpin' the goods?" She asks in a 1920s mockery voice... it's not a very good impression.

Jubilation Lee has posed:
    Her head turns as the dog runs back to the mansion. Good riddance! Ha! Jubilee is just about to ask what people are saying, but then... She stops walking and stares at Rogue. "What's Nori saying?" she asks suddenly, as though knowing the answer to that is the most important thing in the world.

    As for where they're burying this, Jubilee points to the treeline, just at the edge of the lawn. "Over there. We need to just bury it somewhere where no kids find it and freak out," she explains. Despite the evening's dark deeds, Jubilee can't let that impression go. She watches Rogue carefully and squints. "What was /that/?" She shakes her head. "Not good, Marie. Not good." Jubes manages a smile. She stops where the grass and trees meet and bends down to tie off the bag.

Rogue has posed:
At the question of Nori, Rogue stammers fora bit. In truth she can't exactly remember what Nori said... it was a couple nights ago and she was waiting on her ride to come get her to go out on the town... She glances toward the house where she sees some of the people on the back patio greeting Jeepers after the dog ran up the stairs to find refuge...

"Uh... she said she's just concerned about ya, like we all are. You've had a pretty crazy summer, ya know?" She states as they arrive at the edge of the trees.

The shovel is twirled in her gloved hand before her eyes go down to the dirt. She steps over to the non-grassy part and just jams the shovel in to the ground one-handed then digs with the one hand like no big deal...

"How ARE you feelin' lately?" She asks the teen tying off the trash bag. "Havin' any issues ya need help with, beyond just... buryin' bags'a stuff in the yard?"

Jubilation Lee has posed:
    "I know what people are saying," Jubilee replies flatly. She fills her lungs pointlessly with air and lets it all out in a demonstrative sigh. Rogue's glance draws Jubilation's attention to the porch, as well, and the gathering of people watching them. When she looks in their direction, most of them suddenly turn away and try to pretend that they're not staring. "That I'm a vampire."

    "Ooh, I hate that word," she growls, staring down at the grass. "Vampires are the absolute worst. You know, Nori and I used to always watch vampire movies, but we both would know it just meant we wanted to make out instead." A smile forms, her eyes lowering to the grass again. Happy memories of a distant time.

    "How am I feeling?" Jubilee repeats. It's a loaded question, for sure. "Well. Where do I even start? I sleep all day, I'm up all night. I'm snapping at people left and right! I've never been so moody." There's just one shovel and Rogue really seems to want to prove how good she is at it. Jubilee lowers herself onto the grass and hugs her legs.

    "Holy shit..." she says, wide-eyed as she watches Rogue work that shovel. Jubes looks up and manages a brief smile. "If I ever need to bury something again, I know who to ask."

    That moment passes as quickly as it arrives. Back to business. "Marie... I haven't eaten food in like a month. Since, well, since I fucking died," she blurts out. "Things, like, don't even make sense to me anymore. It's all so fucking weird." She shakes her head and lets out another pointless, demonstrative sigh. "And, you know, my teeth. And... I just... I'm having all of these weird urges. Everything feels like... It feels like everyone hates me and I hate everyone. Like, everything is a fight...And..." Jubilation stares at her knees.

    "I killed Sergeant. And...I really want to kill you right now," she admits sadly, head hanging low. "And I don't know why..."

Rogue has posed:
Rogue smiles at the bit about vampire movies and the fond memories of Jubes and Nori's love life. She frowns at most all of the rest that the girl, now seated, shares with her. She also just keeps shoveling away with one hand on the shove, her non gloved hand in her hoodie pocket. Since the dirt and everything weighs basically nothing, its easy to shovel up lots of it without even much effort at all, other than to maintain balance.

The last bit has Rogue first responding. "Probably cause ya know I beat ya bad in our waterballoon wars." She chides playfully before she lets the smile fade and glances away. Her head shakes. "I can't explain what is goin' on with ya, but I know we can figure it out. It's what we do here. We all get t'gether and figure crap like this out. Hell, we just rescued Jean from a different galaxy!" She glances up to the sky. "Ya know how far away another galaxy is?" She asks, looking back down at Jubes then.

"A long effing way..." She huffs after saying that. Her eyes glance back to the mansion, then back to Jubilee.

"What we need t'do is get Jean, or the Professah, t'look inside your mind and figure out that night ya 'died'. Find out who did what t'ya, and then go find those fuckers and make'em fix it." She purses her lips and nods her head...

Still shoveling. Scoop scoop scoop.

"I'm gonna make that happen, Jubes. I'll round folks up and ... yeah... we'll go t'another galaxy t'fix this if we gotta. This ain't some damn Dracula thing, it's... fixable. You're not dead. You're still here. Ya still got all your memories. The rest can be fixed, I'm sure of it." She's not. But she has to say it to build her own momentum to try and fix it... for her friend.

"And... Sergeant was a mean fuckin' horse anyway..." Which is mostly true. He bit everyone...

Jubilation Lee has posed:
    "He didn't deserve to die like that," Jubilation points out. "Drained of his blood. It wasn't even /good/." She rolls her eyes at her own inexperience. "What a fucking waste. I mean, look at me, Marie. Just fucking look," she demands. With her mouth wide open, she leans back to catch some of the light cast by the moon. Two of her teeth, her canines, are razor sharp fangs. "What do you fucking call that?"

    The pity party continues.

    "I don't think they want to figure it out, Marie. I think they're going to kick me out of here," Jubilee admits miserably. "Ororo said I'm a danger to all the students and she would protect them from me. I didn't even /do/ anything to anyone. I mean, sure, keep me away from the fucking horses. That at least makes some kind of sense." Jubes squeezes her legs tightly and rests her chin on top of her knees.

    "I thought this year was going to be /my/ year. They made me RA, right? It's like... maybe I could do something good for other mutants. I mean, you know how scary it is when you first get here. You don't know where anything is... You don't know anyone. I thought, you know, I could help. Do my part." She sticks her fingers behind her sunglasses and wipes away some blood that has trickled out of her tear duct.

    "But, they took the room keys from me. And, like, I went to check on the new girl and she wouldn't even let me come in," Jubes complains. This is just an amplified version of the standard teenage misery: everyone's out to get me. Life's unfair. Etc., etc.

    She said her peace, or at least the opening salvo. Calming down, Jubilation stares forward at the mansion, now taking the time to take in what Rogue is saying to her. "I mean, I hope you're right, Marie. I really do. I hope they'll help me. Or at least accept me."

Rogue has posed:
Rogue pauses the digging as Jubilee gets more open about what she is going through. The shovel is used as a hand rest now, the Belle leaning forward on it a bit as she stares down at her friend before her on the lawn. She frowns. How could she not? Its a raw deal...

"Jubes." Rogue says then. "We're all a danger t'the other students around here. I mean hell... I still have people walkin' wide'a me in the hallways, especially in the summah months when I got less clothin' on. It still hurts, but ... I've learned t'cope with it, and I'm also gettin' better at controllin' my danger. You can do the same. If this is somethin' you're stuck with for the long haul, it can be figured out. We're kinda smart folks around here, if ya haven't noticed."

She shows a quick smile at her.

"Storm was probably just meanin' a danger in the immediate moment. I mean... findin' out the most popular kid in school is a Vampire now, is kind've a big reveal. Even for Ororo, world savvy as she is... it's not like there's vampires on every street corner. Hell, I've only heard'a one place that they hang out at and I don't even know if that's true or not..."

She shakes her head side to side, her white bangs waving gently against her face. "I still don't know if this is real vampirism or just some kinda cruel silly ... I dunno... fake out. Maybe a mutant whose powers are 'fuck with people'." She says with a smirk before she goes back to digging now with both hands on the shovel.

Dig dig dig.

Jubilation Lee has posed:
    Jubilation nods her head. "Yeah, you're probably right," she says simply. "Ororo... She's never..." Jubes sighs again. "I said something horrible to her," she admits, her eyes lowering. "I said she was prejudiced. You know." She looks up. "...Towards vampires." She closes her eyes and leans back so she's lying down on the grass. "I...I don't know, I was just so mad. It was like I was being blamed for stuff that didn't even happen yet. I'm like... lashing out at people and I don't mean to."

    "Ew, don't say 'vampirism," Jubilee says, her face scrunched up. Wait. Back up. That's not the most important detail here. Jubilation sits up suddenly, wide-eyed. "...Where? Where do they hang out?" she asks with great interest.

Rogue has posed:
Rogue is whipping her hoodie off now to drop it on the grass because she hadn't known she'd be doing manual labor on her walk tonight and its still summer after all. She sorts out her hair as she listens to Jubilee and smirks at the bit about Storm being prejudice. "I mean, its possible... we're all just people and people are flawed as eff." She mutters as she picks up the shovel and steps down in to the hole she's dug. Its already about two feet deep and two by four width and height.

"How deep we gotta go for this hole?" She asks then, as if she's judging Jubes answer to find out if they're going standard burial depths or what...

She keeps digging though, the hole a perfect rectangular shape... she's way too good at this...


"The Vampires?" She asks about the hangout while scooping dirt. "Coney Island." She answers. "Down below the board walk docks." She says all non-chalantly. She pauses then and looks up at Jubilee with wide eyes. "Do not go down there without backup. I don't mean just Nori... you gotta take like Logan, or me with ya. And it's probably just an ol' wives tale, or whatever...."

Dig dig dig.

Jubilation Lee has posed:
    "Six feet, right?" Jubilee answers, tilting her head to the side like there's a correct answer and she thinks that's it. That's the right depth for most things people bury at night. Jubilation looks at the expertly crafted hole and then back towards the mansion and those watching on the porch. Rumors have traveled that Jubilation can make people do things. The optics of this are not good. Jubes stands up from the grass.

    "Say, uh, Marie," she begins carefully. "You're doing this digging because you want to, right? I mean, you don't feel pressured?"

    "Coney Island," Jubilee repeats, as though doing so would commit it to memory. "Under the docks. Okay, okay, great." Immediately, plans start forming, though there's a brief intermission to fend off Rogue's bad ideas.

    "Are you crazy?" she nearly squeals. "I'm not bringing Logan! How am I supposed to make friends with /him/ at my side. No way!" The point about Noriko as her backup gets a brand of outrage all its own. "And, and, I would never take Nori, Rogue." Her voice has softened. "...Rogue, I'm not just 'in love' with her. I love her. I would...I would do anything to protect her, even from me. There's no fucking way I'd bring her to Coney Island. I'm not going to even tell her about it!" She hesitates. "Is that lying?"

Rogue has posed:
Rogue doesn't know about the whole 'glamour' thing. It's not even remotely on her radar. She's not even very familiar with vampire movies, as she grew up without a television or computer until she was out of her Aunt's house and living with Mystique, and by then they were too busy to really watch movies much.

"Of course I'm doin' this on my own. You'd be out here all night if ya didn't have me here." She says as she digs more, the hole almost up to her own waistline now, so it's probably somewhere between 3 to 4 feet deep now. She keeps going, walking from one side to the other and scooping the dirt out in to a pile that is growing larger itself.

"Well don't go alone either. Take someone... like, well, me, I guess. I dunno." She pauses a moment and smiles at the 'love' bit as she's a huge romantic and that makes her warm and tingly to hear. "That' so sweet. Nori and you got it good. I'm glad."

She mumbles. "Better than my love life, that's for sure." Where the hell is Gambit anyway? His usual...

Rogue returns to digging and sighs, not out of weariness of endruance... no she could dig to the Earth's core probably. More-so she sighs out of the whole of all of this being talked about. "We really just need t'take ya t'a serious doctah type. Like... I dunno, Bruce Banner maybe? He deals with crap like this, right?"

Jubilation Lee has posed:
    "Okay, okay, I'm just... I'm just checking," Jubilee replies nervously. "It's just... Nothing. Thanks." She shakes her head, as though doing so would dismiss the thought entirely. Ever since Logan came down on her for those students doing her hair and nails, this has been a sensitive, touchy issue for Jubilation. It's why she wears the sunglasses. Just in case.

    "I don't know if bringing you is a good idea, is it?" she wonders. "I mean... I don't know vampires. What if it's against the rules? I just... I mean, do you think you can keep an open mind? Like, uh..." Jubes reaches up and idly plays with the pointy end of one of her fangs awkwardly. She's caught between two worlds. "I mean..." She rakes her fingers through her hair. "Do you think it's a good idea for you to go? I mean, what if...."

    The subject of love is a fun one to talk about. And, for once, Jubilation is able to offer insight. "You know, I didn't tell her this. I didn't tell anyone this," she begins. Not that anyone asked. "...So, that whole 'your whole life flashes before your eyes' when you die thing? It's not true. It's bullshit. All I got was gymnastics with my mom. The foster home. The mall. And then Nori." She shrugs her shoulders. "She... She makes me feel like myself. I, you know, don't have to put on a show with her. I just... I sometimes wonder what would've happened if she wasn't forced to be my roommate. I mean, I don't think she would've chosen it."

    "But, she makes me feel alive. Even though I'm dead," Jubes adds, looking down. It sounds like a sad statement, but she's smiling. "I think you'll find that person once you stop looking. I mean, I'm sure Jean thought she was introducing me to my computer assigned roommate, right?"

    "Wait. Was it a computer that did that?" she wonders aloud. Did she owe Jean a massive thank-you? Jubilee waves a hand in the air. "Well, anyway, I...I could talk about Noriko Ashida all day -- er, night -- long." She smiles again, unable to contain it before shaking her head some more.

    "Bruce Banner? He deals with vampires? I mean, Hank took some blood... But I think he's still working on it."

Rogue has posed:
As Jubilee talks, Rogue finishes up the digging and is over her own head in depth now. She looks up to see the other staring off while talking. "Well, the fact that you're that dreamy about Nori tells me you're not completely dead, Jubes." Rogue says back before she suddenly flies up out of the hole and land son ehr feet in the grass.

"And yeah, your fans are nice'n all, but no vampire is gonna bite my skin and get nothin' but a severe tooth ache." She says with a smirk as she plants the shovel in to the grass with a huff, her hands going to her hips now. "Well, there ya go, one man sized hole t'hide a body in." She states with a grin toward Jubilee. "Better not be a body in that bag, or I'll have t'take ya t'Coney Island t'be with your people myself."

She grins at Jubilee, clearly joking at the girl's expense. "I'm kiddin', Sugah." She says before walking toward the bag.

"LEts toss this thing in and go getsomethin' t'drink, yeah?" She says. "Hank's on it?" She asks with a pause. "Well that's good. I figured he was busy, but yeah Banner is a genetics guy too, I think... isn't he? I dunno. They're all the same!" And no, I think the roommates are randomized based on entered parameters, but I dunno! Above my pay grade, Chica!"

Jubilation Lee has posed:
    Jubilee bends down and picks up the black bag by its tied off open end. She holds it out over the hole. The implied weight of the bag looks like it shouldn't be possible to hold it in the air so easily, but she does. She looks at Rogue right in the eyes as she jokes about the possibility of it containing a body and releases it. The bag lands at the bottom of the grave with a deep thud.

    "I want to meet them," Jubilee explains. "Learn about them." ... "Us," she corrects.

    The suggestion to end this dark deed and go get a drink draws a nod from Jubilation. "Okay. But..." She turns her head and looks into the darkness of the trees and where she'd get her drink. Rogue's would likely come from somewhere else. "I can't. And you know that," Jubilee points out. "But, I can fill in the hole while you go get a drink."

Rogue has posed:
Rogue huffs out a sigh as she realizes the error of her words. "You can't drink normal stuff right now either..." She says with a sigh at her faux-paux. "Sorry." She mutters.

She shifts her weight from one foot to the other as she sorts her tanktop out around her waistline. "Let me... tals t'some of the faculty. I'm gonna call a meetin' or somethin'. Jean needs t'be on this too now that she seems t'be somewhat recovered from what she's gone through. If she's not available then I'll go see about the Professah. The memories'a what happened t'ya that night have gotta still be inside'a your head, Jubilee. We just gotta get one'a those 'brain people' to scoop'em out. Uh... So t'speak."

She nods to the hole then and turns back toward the school. "Fillin' the hole in is the easy part." She pauses. "That's what she said!" She quickly adds before grinning and starting back toward where her dog fled.

"We'll figure out Coney Island as a last resort!" She says over her shoulder then.

Jubilation Lee has posed:
    "Oh, it's alright," she says. "I don't care. Just, ugh, keep it to yourself. That stuff is gross." What stuff? Everything.

    Jubilation reaches her hand out so Rogue can hand her the shovel. She can cover up her own hole. The night is young. "Yeah, well, I already spoke to Jean, but I guess it wouldn't hurt to see if she can figure out some stuff." She seems like she doesn't sound convinced, though. Jubilation shrugs her shoulders and looks down at the pile of dirt waiting for her. She sticks the end of the shovel into the mound and pushes some of it into the hole.

    Jubilation turns to watch Rogue leave, resting her chin on top of the shovel's handle. Coney Island isn't a last resort, Jubes thinks. She'll be going there as soon as possible. She has to. With that decided, she jams the end of the shovel into the mound of dirt so it stays in place. After removing her sunglasses, Jubilation turns and begins to slowly walk towards the trees and deeper into the woods so she can get a drink of her own.