Utopia, inside a secure medical lab reminiscent of a Plexiglas cage stands Jubilee. Angrily, she points at the people outside, says something and hammers against the invisible wall. Frustrated, she sinks down. Is that the improvement they were looking for? Scott Summers asks Dr. Kavita Rao. How long before the blood therapy starts to work? If it works. It’s working all right, Rao tells him.
The White Queen snarks she should get her a dictionary for Christmas. Impatiently, Dr. Rao tells them that Jubilee’s brain activity is clearly showing that the healing factor from Wolverine’s blood is doing its job. The dampening they were hoping for is absolutely under way.
She’s still a vampire though, Emma states. That’s never going to change, Rao insists. But as long as Jubilee’ continues to be transfused with Wolverine’s blood, it’ll keep the edge of her Id.
Jubilee throws her weight against the wall, which slowly cracks. It’s not working, Emma decides. It is! Rao retorts, but the rest is up to Jubilee. And them, Wolverine finally speaks up and asks her to turn the sound on. He wants to speak with her.
He tells Jubilee “hello” and asks what she is doing in there. Jubilee explains she’s really angry and that’s her talking. Not the other part. When he tells her that is a problem, she retorts they can’t stop her from feeling things. She’ll be angry, if she wants to, and she really wants to! They need to know she isn’t going to hurt anybody, he explains, and that includes herself. Oh, she states.
Wolverine orders Rao to let her out. She agrees that they should go ahead. As far as she can tell, this is as normal as Jubilee is ever going to get. What they are doing here is like dialysis. It’s management, not a cure. How often? Cyclops asks. What’s their window? Right now, 24 hours. It may be longer or shorter. It may change over time if she develops immunity or a positive mutation. In the meantime…
They need to get her back in the saddle, Emma spells it out. Logan promises he will look after her. Scott reminds him she is a vampire. Logan hates vampires. She turned him into a vampire. Scott isn’t comfortable with this. Logan tells him to get comfortable. He wasn’t asking! He won’t lose track of her. She stinks. Of what? Emma asks. Of him, and what is it with her and horses?
Sometime later, Jubilee sits in her room staring at a refrigerator full of bottles with Wolverine’s blood. She slams the door shut with her foot. Wolverine enters her room and warns her to be careful with that. He tells her to behave herself or Rao’s gonna tie her down and put that catheter back in her neck. And if the way she draws blood is any indication, he wouldn’t go that route. He suggests she get some exercise. What is she supposed to do? Go outside for a run? Is it a nice sunny day? Jubilee snarks. Catheter, he repeats. Sorry, she mutters.
So later, in the gym, she does her own version of weight lifting, namely by lifting Rockslide, who babbles, not knowing whether or not he should talk with her. He offers someone to talk to. Jubilee points out that they don’t really have much in common. And he doesn’t want to talk to her. She is bad company. She feels like she’s a million years old, she complains. He’s made of rock, Santo points out. So he actually is a million years old. Maybe they have more in common than she thinks.
What does he want from her? she asks annoyed. He just wants to help… Is he a shrink? she asks. Does his dad work in a pharmacy? Is he her boyfriend? When he answers “no” to all, she points out he can only help her by sitting there and being heavy.
Armor tosses a weight at Santo’s head. Aggressively, she asks Jubilee what the hell she is doing with him. Armor hit him in the head, Santo points out. Hisako apologizes, she wasn’t’ aiming at him. But he shouldn’t be alone with Jubilee. He’s a bonehead if he thinks they can all be friends!
Jubilee tells her to settle down. Armoring up, Hisako shouts at her not to tell her what to do. Jubilee points out that Hisako came in throwing her weight around. There’s no problem except her, so get lost! Armor replies she’s just saying what everyone is thinking. Deal with it! Jubilee manifests her fangs.
Wolverine shouts at them both to put their weapons away. Armor complains, what about Jubilee? Nobody believes she can just turn it off. How’s she gonna put her fangs away? Wolverine retorts that Jubilee’s situation is under control. He tells her to go read a book or something and orders Jubilee to go see Emma who wants to talk with her. Then he orders “Sanchez” to get off the equipment before he breaks it. Santo, Rockslide corrects him. How much does he weigh anyhow? Wolverine asks him. A lot, he replies. That’s what he was afraid of.
In her office, Emma asks Jubilee how she is holding up. She is a vampire, Jubilee reminds her sarcastically. She wears white after Labor Day, Emma retorts. Nobody’s perfect. And if they are having a contests of errors in judgment, Emma will win.
She knows Jubilee has done terrible things and that she remembers them all. She will always be responsible for that. In fact, she’d like to make sure of it but… What does she want her to do about it? Jubilee interrupts. Emma continues that Jubilee has people here who believe in her and want to help her make the best of what she is now.
How is she going to help her do that? Jubilee snarls. “Let’s start looking at colleges!” she suggests sarcastically. Emma can help her pick a major. If she wants to go to college, she can go to college, Emma agrees. She doesn’t… Emma tells her to shut up. In case she hasn’t noticed: they’ve been helping people deal with unusual conditions in their lives for quite a while now.
This is not a mutation, Jubilee states simply. Nothing good can come of it. Emma reminds her she has met vampires that have found a way to be at peace with this. What about the Anchorite sect? She doesn’t want to be a $&%* farmer! Jubilee complains and buries her head in her hands. She’s just having a real hard time being nice to people! Well, she knows what that’s like, Emma admits dryly.
Jubilee continues she doesn’t know which part of her that is. She feels like she’s drowning in her own blood and she’s terrified to open her mouth because she doesn’t know whether she’s going to breathe or drink. And she’s looking at everyone through an inch of glass. Like they all know exactly where the line is between them and her. She’s walking around in a fog. And she knows it’s because of Wolverine’s blood. She feels like she’s constantly on the verge of sleep. But she also knows she wouldn’t realize any of this without the blood. It looks like clarity, but doesn’t feel like it. Is this the trade-off? Because she doesn’t think she prefers it. Emma suggests she not go spreading that around.
What difference would it make? They all hate her anyway! she complains. They don’t all hate her, Emma decides and orders Pixie to come in.
Outside, Jubilee remarks he seems to be in charge of everything. Did Wolverine order that sunset the same time he booked Pixie? Megan replies she thinks it’s awesome that having Wolverine’s healing factor also means Jubilee can catch a few weak rays. Jubilee replies she feels like she just got Pixie sparkle romance packaged. What’s next? Moonlight cruise with optional poetry reading? Smiling, Pixie assures her Wolverine didn’t asks her to do this. Yes, he did, Jubilee replies. Pixie admits it, but that doesn’t mean she didn’t want to. Awesome, Jubilee replies and rolls her eyes. Awesome, Pixie agrees unsarcastically.
She should just face the facts and be with her own kind, Jubilee mutters. Pixie assures her mutants are her own kind. Jubilee points out she hasn’t had one minute to herself. They’re worried about her, Megan explains. They are afraid of her, Jubilee corrects her.
Pixie suggests she show them there’s nothing to be afraid of. Show her! She mock fights her. Jubilee tells her to stop it. Catch her first! Pixie replies and teleports a distance away. At super-speed, Jubilee is at her side, lifts a huge boulder and brings it down on Pixie, who teleports away again. She has to get out of here, Jubilee mutters.
Later, Jubilee sits at a San Francisco bar, nursing a drink of water. Can he buy her another drink? a man asks. She’s seventeen, does she look like she drinks alcohol? Jubilee asks, flashing her vampire fangs. Frightened, the man withdraws.
Jubilee remembers the first time she saw the X-Men. A gorgeous strawberry blonde sits down next to her. Does she like what she sees, whatever she’s daydreaming about? Oh sure, Jubilee replies. Being homeless and living in a mall. Turning mutant tricks for change. Good times, good times. Weren’t they? the woman asks.
Jubilee informs her that the guy wasn’t her type and neither is she. Is she sure about that? the woman remarks and, from a small vial, drops some blood into her drink. She knows what they are doing to Jubilee. What who’s doing to her? Jubilee asks.
Continuing the woman states that she knows Jubilee feels like she’s being held down by something she can’t name and she knows what Jubilee saw in the mirror. The world of the X-Men is a very big one and she gives them credit for embracing variation but they will put the breaks on deviation. Emma asked her if she wanted to go to college! Jubilee bursts out. That’s what she’s talking about, the stranger replies and smears a drop of blood on Jubilee’s lips. She asks her to come with her. She has something she wants to show her. Then she can decide for herself…
Later, at the port of Oakland. Rockslide asks Wolverine if he wasn’t supposed to look after her. Sniffing, he replies he was and is. Okay, Santo continues, because it would be really bad if…
They all know it would be really bad if, Wolverine snarls, pointing a claw at him. He doesn’t need him to point it out to him. He needs him to stop talking! Santo states he doesn’t want to interfere with his ability to track her down. He’s not, comes the reply. He’s interfering with Wolverine’s efforts not to kill him! He should never have let him come along.
Does he think this place has dogs? Santo asks. Why did he want to come along? Wolverine asks. He was worried about her, comes the reply. Wolverine replies he believes Rockslide is one of those guys that likes a project. So, he’s going to give him some advice and by that he means an order. Not this one, okay?
He sniffs and turns towards a container, announcing he has her. “Move it, Sanchez!” He’s done talking about his hormones. Stay back! he orders as he claws open the container. What’s that smell? Santo asks. Well it ain’t popcorn, Wolverine replies.
Inside, Jubilee crouches in a corner muttering she didn’t do it. She is surrounded by bloody corpses.
Wolverine grabs her as she protests. He takes away the pendant around her neck. Give that back! she orders. She gave it to Jubilee. Stop taking things away from her!
Wolverine tosses it to Rockslide and orders him to get rid of it. Santo crushes it. He knew this was a mistake, Wolverine announces and takes out a syringe and shoves it in her neck. It’s time to do it his way!
