2013.10.18 - Breaking Bad News

Really, word hadn't gotten around much yet that Jocelyn was back in the mansion. For being so tall, Jocelyn was good at keeping a low profile. However, she had news for Jubilee, and it wasn't news that the tall girl was looking forward to giving. She'd waited until after classes had let out, and had made her way over to Jubilee's dorm room. Jocelyn was dressed casually in a pair of jeans and a green t-shirt. And it felt good to actually be able to dress casually for a change. Her cover hadn't really allowed for it.

She was not looking forward to this conversation, and had been playing it through in her mind for a good hunk of the day. She'd waited until she was sure Jubilee was in her room and alone. Her sight allowed her to verify that, at the very least. Steeling herself, Jocelyn walks up to Jubilee's door and knocks on it a few times before speaking. "Jubilee? Don't suppose you have a minute?" Yes, that was Jocelyn's voice, having been missing for quite some time from the mansion.

Actually, it wouldn't be that hard for Jocelyn to pass unnoticed, considering the sheer number of red-haired young women at Xavier's. If she never opened her mouth and walked stooped over to hide her height, she wouldn't stand out at all.

Jubilee, on the other hand, can't help but do so, though she spends so much time in motion unless she's in class that tracking her down would be tricky. But she does have to come back to her room once in a while, to sleep, to study (some), and occasionally to change clothes after classes, Danger Room, etc.

Apparently Jocelyn timed her visit well, because there's an exclamation of surprise from inside the second after she speaks up, then the door flies open and the tall redhead finds herself being hugged tightly! "Joce! Oh. Em. GEE! Where've you /been/? Oh, it's so good to see you again!" This must've been clothes-changing time, as Jubilee's clad in purple undies, white socks, and an unfastened pink hoodie.

Jocelyn laughs, and is glad to see the young girl. She returns the hug. "It's good to see you, Jubes. I've been off on a mission. Actually only in town for a little bit before I have to go back. Undercover and all that sort of thing," Jocelyn tells Jubilee with a wink. There is a bit of irony in the idea of the particularly noticable woman being undercover, but so far, she'd been able to make it work.

"Mind if I come in?" Jocelyn asks, attempting to lift the girl off her after a few seconds and set her down. "Actually have a little bit of news for you, too, and it isn't something I should probably share out in the hall," she admits to Jubilee. While she's glad to see the girl, there is a small bit of seriousness that slips through her voice. Whatever it was, it was important news.

"Aw... going back so soon? You just got here!" Jubilee protests, almost passing it off as a joke but for the hint of disappointment in her tone. She gives Joce an extra little squeeze as those hands close around her and try to lift her off, playfully resisting, but eventually lets herself be removed and set down. "Sure, come on in. There's plenty of room." She steps back and holds the door for her friend.

Jocelyn steps in and closes the door behind her. "Don't worry about it too much. I've got some more freedom of movement now, and I suspect things will be taken care of soon," Jocelyn tells Jubilee. She finds herself a seat on the bed. "So. Did you get the message Ben sent out over the YAL communicator the other day?" Jocelyn asks. This is why she wanted to be somewhere private, such as Jubilee's dorm, to speak of this. She figures she'd find out if Jubilee had heard the initial message about Ben requesting some help from the other Allies, as it had gone out to everyone.

Jubilee's mouth falls open in surprise. "No... no, I didn't," she says after a moment, whirling and digging into a backpack that rests next to her bed. After a moment she emerges with the communicator, frowning thoughtfully at it. "It won't turn on. Maybe... yes," she says, flipping the device over and opening a panel on the back. "Power cell's dead. I guess it got bumped in there and turned on accidentally. No telling how long it's been like this."

She sets the device down on her nightstand and turns back to Jocelyn. "What did the message say?"

"Here, let me give it a fix," Jocelyn says. She pulls in a small bit of energy and zaps the power cell, recharging it. It's a small, but handy, use of her power. And a small distraction. "Well, he was asking for assistance and that we should see something. Xavin, Hawkeye, Axiom, Zenith and I showed up, along with Sue Storm". Yes, one of the Fantastic Four got the message. Maybe not surprising given the job Ben had. "Turns out it was an imposter though. Some sort of creepy shapeshifting thing. Axiom said it was like 'Venom'. Something that could take over a host and take on different forms. The host wasn't Ben, but did a good job of imitating him," Jocelyn explains.

She takes a breath before continuing. "Turns out there's some guy who wants to pit his 'team' against the Allies. Some sort of sick game to him. And he's captured Ben and is using him as the prize. Allies win, we get Ben. Allies lose...". And really, Jocelyn probably doesn't have to say the rest.

Jubilee's eyes widen as Jocelyn suddenly recharges her dead communicator. "Joce, love ya, but do you /always/ have to make me jealous of your incredibly useful powers?" she teases gently, accepting the device back and setting it on the nightstand again.

But her jovial mood fades as Joce fills in the blanks, her eyes and mouth growing round with horror. "Oh, no... oh, no no no no no," she moans, covering her face and shaking her head slowly back and forth. "No, not Ben..."

Jocelyn had taken something Nightcrawler had told her once to heart. It summarized as one should learn to be creative with their powers, whatever they were. However, now isn't really the time to offer that little lesson to Jubilee, given the circumstances.

Jocelyn reaches over to put her arm around Jubilee, pulling her into a hug. "We're going to find him, Jubes. Nobody has any intention of playing this game. Pretty much everyone there was flat out angry about it. Even Sue Storm". And she wasn't the type to show anger very much. "I know Lor-Zod was going to fly around and check the city, but chances are they've got him holed up somewhere his sight can't penetrate, or they've moved him out of the city. I haven't heard that he's been found yet," Jocelyn says. "We will find him, Jubilee". And they'd deal with the kidnappers. That much was certain.

Pulled into the hug, Jubilee just nestles in close to Jocelyn, drawing comfort from her friend's presence. She slowly wraps her arms around the redhead and hugs her back. "I know better than to doubt /you/," she says after a moment, smiling weakly. "If you say we'll find him, we'll find him. I just wish I had more freedom to help." The school keeps her pretty bottled up these days. "Please, if you find him, call me as soon as you can? I'll answer, even in class."

"I'm working on setting something up to help with any operations to help him. I'm going to be pretty far away, but by riding the Lor-Zod Express, I suspect I can be recalled pretty quickly. While I'm here, I'll work my contacts, and I'll pass what contacts I'm not able to talk with over to Hawkeye to hunt down," Jocelyn assures Jubilee. While Jocelyn might be stuck on a sensitive mission, she knows that Lor-Zod can pick her up fast.

"Soon as we find him, if you're not with us at the time, we'll let you know," Jocelyn tells Jubilee. "I figured you'd want to know. I'm rather sure Ben would want to know if the situation was reversed," she tells her. She smiles. "I actually saw him briefly the other day. He was kind of pissed at the crappy note I left about how I'd be gone for awhile and to not follow. Can't say I blame him, to be honest. Not my best note," she admits with a small smile.

"That sounds like him, all right," Jubilee says, smiling fondly, though her voice catches in mid-sentence. She brushes her hand across her eyes, looking away. "Something in my eye... good luck, Joce. On this and on your mission, wherever you're going."

"Jubes, Ben is a tough guy. He puts up with me helping to train him, so he's able to handle quite a bit," Jocelyn tells her. "He'll hold on long enough for us to find him. Talk with Hawkeye and the others, see where you might be able to help out," Jocelyn tells her. "You're pretty good at getting people to open up and talk, so maybe you can find something that way," Jocelyn suggests. Never underestimate the power of just talking with people. "You've got a lot of connections to people, not unlike myself. Someone might have heard something. One of them used magic to teleport someone out, so if you know any magic users, you might talk with them?" Jocelyn knew that she'd want to be doing something, if she were in Jubilee's shoes.

"And if I happen to find them before you, I'll make sure to give them a few good kicks on your behalf," Jocelyn adds.

"I know he is," Jubilee says softly, blinking hard. "I know... but somehow, knowing that doesn't help. Not one little bit." She sniffles. "I'm sorry. I want to be useful, but I think of him and..." She's interrupted by a sob that's so hard and sudden that it sounds almost like a cough. It's a second before she can speak again. "I'll try and get in touch with them. I suspect they'll be plenty surprised to see me." Another weak smile. As hard as it is, she's definitely trying to keep it together. "I'll call you if I hear something useful. Surely somebody knows /something/." It's New York, not only the City That Never Sleeps, but the City That Never Shuts Up.

There's a quiet smile from Jocelyn, and she reaches over once more to put her arm around the younger girl's shoulder. "I know you will," Jocelyn agrees. "And Jubilee? If you need to let it out, you can let it out around me. I won't tell anyone". She didn't want Jubilee to just bottle it all up. That wouldn't be good for her or anyone else. But it was the younger girl's choice, too.

"I dunno if I can," Jubilee whispers. "But thanks, Joce. For the offer and everything else. It's just good to have you home, even for just a little while. Maybe we can talk about it later. I'm just not sure I can talk right now."

"Well then, since I'm home for a bit, I think perhaps at least at some point, we need to head out if you're up for it. You'll need a chaperone, you know, and lucky for you, I qualify as a chaperone," Jocelyn tells Jubilee, grinning. "I'm a responsible adult and everything". Riiight. That's exactly what Jocelyn was. And if Jubilee wanted to talk, she'd be there for the girl. But there was something to be said for trying to find a way to relax, at least for a little bit.

Jubilee stifles a laugh. Chaperone? She's always done fine without one! But an offer of company is an offer of company, and she's not about to pass that up. "Not now. But soon. For now, I think I should stay right here." She gives Jocelyn a quick hug around the middle.

And if Jocelyn's not alert enough to stop her, Jubilee also quickly pulls open the fastenings of the redhead's jeans and tugs them down around her shoes. "And this is so /you/ have to stay here, too."

Jocelyn's jeans do get pulled down, revealing blue undies today. "Ahh, the classic manuever. I suppose I'll just have to stay a bit, won't I?" Jocelyn offers. And she'll stay and hang out with Jubilee for awhile, until the younger girl no longer cares for company or something comes up to pull her away. Though it would probably take a fair bit to pull her away at this point.