Flashbacks aren't just for the war vets...

[x-juggernaut.livejournal.com]

Jubilee stared at the door in front of her, fidgeting nervously with the origami bull in her hands. She'd been standing here for the last few minutes wondering if she was completely insane.

The Groundskeeper had never really seemed like the type to welcome unannounced visitors but she couldn't concentrate lately and she wasn't sure if it was the sleep deprivation or if she was just insane but it seemed like the perfect time to give him the bull and thank him for finding her that time...and not giving her shit about the scorched furniture.

Shrugging and hoping he was home and awake, she knocked on the door.

Cain looked up from his workbench. Placing his sanding block down on the dust-covered bench, he pushed his goggles up onto his forehead and craned his neck around the corner. He couldn't make out the face of his visitor through the frosted glass of his front door, but that yellow coat was more identifying than a face.

Rolling his eyes, Cain threw a canvas over the coffee table he was putting the finishing touches on. No use reminding the girl of what she'd broken. "C'mon in, Lee." Cain called, sweeping the dust from his workbench into a paper sack.

Jubilee opened the door, and smiled at Cain as she walked in. She looked around, noting the changes to the boathouse since she'd last seen it. It looked a little more lived in now then it had last time, and she noticed the oversized furniture. Jubilee looked over at the workbench and then to the goggles Cain had on his forehead.

"Oh, you're like workin', and stuff. Um, I just kinda wanted to thank you for findin' me that time and um, anyway, here."

Jubilee held out the hand she'd been holding behind her back, the small black Origami bull sitting in the palm of her hand. She'd spent a lot of time on it, wanting it to look just right. She wasn't sure why it was important to thank Cain, only that her mother had always told her that you thank people when they help you. Funny that, that was one of the few things she remembered about her mother.

Puzzled, Cain looked down at the young girl, then gingerly picked the folded paper from her hand. "Er, thanks." he mumbled. Gently, he held the origami construct up to the light, turning it back and forth, then arching an eyebrow and looking down at her. "What is it?"

Jubilee grinned and walked further into the room, closing the door. "It's a bull. See, there's the horns, and the tail. I was gonna make a Crane but then I saw this pattern in a book and it seemed like it'd fit you better. I would have offered, like, a steak dinner or somethin', but I'm kinda forbidden to cook anything beyond pancakes until Lorna has time to teach me proper."

Cain nodded, placing the bull on a nearby shelf. "So, this just a social call," he asked, "or you grounded for something?"

Jubilee shook her head at the mention of being grounded. "Mostly just social. Couldn't sleep and well, I noticed the screen door was open, just wasn't sure if you'd be home or not."

Jubilee was curious to see more of the boathouse, find out how it'd changed since Cain had moved in but she wasn't sure how he'd react to her snooping about.

"So, you get cable out here at all?"

Cain nodded,then shook his head. "Hey, you gotta whole mansion up there, this ain't a hang out. Besides," he added, "I'd think this is the last place you'd want to see any more of after, well, you know."

Jubilee's brow furrowed and she looked up at Cain in confusion. "Huh? What're you talkin' about, Dude?"

Cain paused, arching an eyebrow at Jubilee. "You, upstairs? Hiding out after that whole invasion thing? You probably woulda zapped me if Miles hadn't been around. Remember, I carried your ass down to the doc?"

Jubilee cocked her head to the side in thought, clenching her fingers into tight fists as they began to shake slightly. "Oh. Right. But you did take me back to the mansion, right? So, it turned out okay. Eating cold beans for a few days isn't all that trauma inducing, dude."

Cain shrugged, absently reaching into the sink to scrub his dishes. If he tried to not pay attention to the kid, maybe she'd go away. "I don't know, those beans had been here for a while. But hey," he quipped, "seems you got your licks in before you hid out, so you've got that going for you."

Jubilee watched Cain for a second, her brow furrowing again at the mention of that night. A small film of sweat stood out on her forehead as she seemed to hear screaming and smelt burnt flesh.

She looked up at Cain with wide eyes, fear clear in them. "Dude, don't know what the hell you're on but Mac needs to up the dosage. What licks? I just hid out here soon as I knew something was going down. Seemed better then gettin' in the way of the adults."

Jubilee shook her head, the smell seemed to be getting stronger. She wondered if Cain had been cooking recently.

Cain paused, hand on the dishrag. "What licks? Girl, you blew one of those bastards' damn head clean off his shoulders." He nodded over to the almost-completed coffee table. "Guess we're lucky you didn't go all-out on the furniture there. Regular one-woman artillery battery, you..."

Jubilee backed away slowly, eyes darting to the corners of the room. Where was that smell coming from? She swore she could hear screaming, from somewhere far off. Were they being invaded again? God, not again. What was Cain saying? Blowing someone's head off? No...she wouldn't do that. She wouldn't kill someone, not even an enemy. It wasn't in her to kill, was it?

Unnoticed by her, sparks began to slowly arc between her fingers as her eyes settled desperately back on Cain, looking for him to explain, to save her. "Cain, you been cookin' pork or somethin'?"

Cain blinked as he saw Jubilee's eyes begin flicking back and forth, every action screaming of panic. Then he saw the sparks begin to fly from her fingers.

"Aw, shit."

The look in Jubilee's eyes jarred a memory in Cain. He'd seen it before, in first-tour guys back in 'Nam, usually the kids coming right out of high school and sent into the think of combat. Some got the "thousand yard stare" of catatonia, others became jittering paranoids. Cain had seen one rookie soldier snap under combat stress while manning a machine gun in a guard tower. Killed thirteen of his own platoonmates before someone managed to take him out.

This teenage girl, he thought, don't need no machine gun.

"Just settle down, girl." Cain tried to keep his voice slow and friendly, not making any sudden moves. He knew she wasn't capable of doing him any harm, but he'd moved out here to avoid crap like this. "That's done and past. Do you know where you are?"

Jubilee just kept twitching, huddling in on herself. "I couldn't do that... I didn't do that..." The fireworks drifting from her fingers began popping slowly, leaving small scorch marks on the carpet.

Shit, Cain swore to himself, this ain't happening, goddammit. I ain't these kids' babysitter, I got no idea how to deal with this.

"Hey!" he shouted, causing Jubilee's head to jerk up and meet his gaze. Her eyes were wide with fear as she hyperventilated. "Snap out of it!"

Jubilee recoiled from the man in front of her, memories of terror resurging and overriding recognition. She raised her hands, blinding lights flying from her fingertips.

The fireworks exploded against Cain's arm as he shielded his eyes. "DAMMIT!" he hollered, whipping his other arm around in a sidearm throw worthy of a Cy Young award. The wet dishrag slapped against Jubilee's face, causing her to stumble backwards in confusion.

Stepping forward as he blinked away spots, Cain reached out and grabbed the young girl around the waist, shouldering his front door open and carrying her out into the foggy March morning. Gotta get her to MacTaggart, he thought. AGAIN.

Jubilee struggled with the arms restraining her, screaming raggedly as they moved back toward the mansion. She couldn't go back there, not with the soliders still around. They'd get her for sure, and then what would she do...what had she done? Oh God, what had she done?

Cain's arms tightened around Jubilee as she continued to struggle, feeling sparks crawling against his skin as the girl struggled. Jubilee clawed at the arm holding her around the waste, digging her finger nails in as she bucked. She had to get away, get safe somewhere. "Let me go, God damn you. Fuckin' let me go!"

Terror overwhelmed her as she saw the doors of the mansion in front of them, reaching down inside her, she gripped her power tightly and let loose.

"SHIT!" Cain tucked the small girl into his chest like a football - if a football was blasting out enough energy to tear through concrete. The fireworks that were ricocheting and bouncing off of Cain's invulnerable skin were exploding all around them, leaving small craters in the lawn as they dissipated.

In his mind, Cain rapidly considered his route. He had to get the girl to the med lab, somewhere they could lock her down - The 'safe room', he thought, remembering the reinforced chamber in the medical laboratory built in case of a student being unable to restrain their powers.

Straight through the back door would get him into the house quickest, but the damage Jubilee could do before they got somewhere safe would be immense. The most direct route would be around the house and right through the front door.

"Put me down! If we go back there, they'll kill us! They'll fucking kill all of us!" Jubilee screamed as she struggled in vain, explosive globes of plasma streaming from her fingertips. In response, Cain flipped her over as he rounded the corner like a running back, pinning her hands against his chest and blinking away the sparks that came flying up toward his eyes.

The front door was thankfully open, as some poor student narrowly avoided being trampled on their way out to have a smoke. Cain dive for the stairwell, using his bulk to guide the two of them sliding down the wall in a controlled fall. Crashing through the swinging double doors, Cain looked up and caught Moira's eyes. The doctor, still clad in a bright green "Kiss Me, I'm Bloody Well Scottish" t-shirt, reacted by grabbing her medical bag and stepping away from the computer.

"Cain! Wha's wrong wi'-"

Cain cut her off, "No time!" he interrupted, jerking his head toward the door of the 'safe room'. "Get it open!" Moira suppressed her irritation with the barked order, but bolted for the large metal door once she saw the continual explosion of energy that Jubilee was pouring into Cain's side.

Keying in the code, Moira stepped quickly aside as Cain thrust Jubilee into the metal-lined chamber as soon as the door opened. Slamming it shut with one hand, he leaned against it.

"Cain?" Moira demanded, "Wha' th' bloody 'ell 'appened? Th' wee bairn's terrified!"

"Some kinda flashback," Cain responded, glancing through the reinforced glass window to where Jubilee was thrashing about, throwing sparks against the unyielding walls. "She came to the boathouse, got all twitchy when I mentioned finding her there after the invasion."

Moira's eyes widened. "Shite," she breathed, "I've been tellin' the child t' talk t' someone. Oh, Leonard's aboot t' have a handful. Yer arm's on fire."

"Excuse me?" Cain blinked. Moira pointed to Cain's shirt, which was still ablaze from Jubilee's fireworks.

"Yer shirt. Fire."

Cain struggled out of his overshirt, stomping it out against the floor. Clad in a soot-stained white t-shirt, he looked once more into the restraining room where Jubilee was beginning to slow her panicked motions.

"She gonna be all right?" he asked.

"I dinna know," Moira responded, "but I'll be findin' out."