2015-07-23 Hiding in Plain Sight

Logan was hanging out in one of the many noodle huts in China Town. Deep down the man wished it was Japan-Town because then he could have spoken the native tongue. Yeah, his mandarin was good, but it wasn't great. His Japanese threw off natives.

Dressed in his brown bomber jacket, jeans, cowboy hat and the bolo tie, the man stuck out like a sore thumb. Logan's eyes were on someone that seemed familiar. Someone that he wasn't sure there name, where he had seen her, but that jacket was unmistakable. The man was eating some noodles as he watched the young woman mulling about. Soon his mind was going to click.

Jubilation tried to blend in. There was nothing at this point that she feared more than being noticed as something…"not quite normal.” And so she wove her way through the shops and kiosks, and booths and stands. Fingering jewelry, elaborately-coloured textiles, and "jade" dragons that sat waggling friendly-fierce heads every three feet throughout the entire block.

Every sound made her jump. Every curious gaze made her blood run cold. She swallowed, caught in the gaze of what appeared to be an American businessman, and ducked behind a wall of embroidered handbags, slipping around the backside and out the other side, to duck into a little noodle shop.

Logan nudged the young woman. "Ya look familiar kid. Ease up I ain't anythin' bad. Trust me," the man sniffed the air a few times. He was trying to figure out where he had seen Jubilee. Maybe there was a faint odor that was familiar to him. That was his hope. The man was still trying to figure out where he had seen her before.

Jubilation nearly jumped out of her skin when he addressed her. She would have backpedaled into the street if she wasn't frozen in fear, her heart pounding wildly in her chest. She lifted a hand and adjusted the faintly-pinked brass goggles holding back her hair, only now remembering that she'd never doffed them for the sunglasses before leaving in such haste. "I don't—I mean, why would you be anything bad?" She finally stumbled backward a step as her muscles gave way to the urge for flight. "I j-just came in for lunch. I eat here all the time." She squinted up at the menu for a moment, realizing it was all written in a script she hadn't identified as writing since she was a child.

Shaking his head Logan pointed at what he was eating, "Do ya want that?" He was happy to order for her. The man wasn't going to outright say it, but Jubilee's poker face was terrible. His gaze went to her, "It's alright. If I was gonna hurt ya it woulda happened by now," the man was being completely honest with her. Again the man sniffed just trying to figure out where she had been, where they had crossed paths before.

"That….was exactly what I was going to order." Jubi steadied herself with a soul-deep breath and looked back at the menu. "I was just trying to remember what number it—" Bloody hell. There weren't any numbers. Well, there probably were, but if so they looked like a sailboat or a little man in a hat. "Why do you keep sniffing at me? I just showered." The clothes, however, would have been the self-same ones she took flight from the mansion in, three nights before.

"Tryin' to find some friends. Make sure they're okay," Logan was being completely honest. It was the truth the man was sniffing the air a lot because it the means of finding them. "There ain't no numbers kid. If there were numbers they'd look kinda like this," he pointed at a few symbols that were similar yet not quite. "What really brings ya here?" he asked honestly.

"Th-there was a man out there. He looked outta place. Eyeballin' me like he knew somethin'—" she cut herself off. "But there's nothin' to know, he just didn't look like a good guy." As Logan sniffed again, she nonchalantly leaned down to sniff her shirt. It smelled like pool chlorine, and bus exhaust. The cropped tee covered her swimsuit top, but the bright pink tie at the back of her neck was a telltale sign of her activities just before she fled. She pulled her heavily buckled yellow jacket around her to cover up what Drake called "jailbait wear."

Logan recognized the combination of the school bus and bathing suit. "The school ya go to match this one," he pulled out his wallet. Taking out a business card it said: Logan. History Teacher. Complete with the logo for Xavier's School for the gifted. His blue eyes watched Jubilee waiting for the reaction.

Jubilation was was floored. She didn't know whether to hug him or flee. She'd never seen him before, but she hadn't been there when class was in session. What if he was one of the hunters? What if was with the sentinels? Something about him rang too true, and for once she hoped her instincts were right. She nodded, slowly, her eyes suddenly touched by the sadness of what had happened there that caused her to leave in the first place. "I don't…want to go back there. It isn't safe…"

Grabbing Jubilee Logan moved in close whispering, "They got hunters after us darlin'. They got people out here that can look like anyone darlin'. So, it's safer there. Criminals don't return to the scene of their crimes darlin'," he said firmly. Moving away from her Logan just let that information process.

If she wasn't convinced of his intentions before, she was now. Jubilee stood, a little stunned, and took another deep breath to stave off the rush of anxiety…and at the same time, the rush of relief. "Wait…so nothing else has happened at the school? Everyone else is all right? Everyone??"

"Lotta stuff happened. Some people died, kid," Logan spoke honestly. He wasn't going to be blunt, but there was going to be no sugar coating here. "We're lickin' our wounds. I heard Stark gave em' a black eye. We're just waitin' to strike back, but we're still standin'," he said and gave a confident nod. "When ya get yer noodles yer comin' with me. It's safer there fer ya than it is here darlin'," she could tell that her choice in this matter was null and void.

"People? More than one??" Her heart sank into the pit of her stomach, and she shook her head. "Who? Can we go? I'm not hungry."

Nodding Logan told them that he wanted the noodles to go. From there the man waited for the noodles, both hers and his, to be put into a container. From there he was moving with her toward his bike. The thing was a custom 2014 Harley Davidson. The paint on it was flat black. Suspension on the beast had been customed to handle his weight plus some. Logan had the engine replaced too so it could have hauled the weight without crapping out.

Handing her a helmet Logan said firmly, "Ain't ridin' without it." The man waited for her to put it on. Straddling the vehicle he waited to turn it on. Once she was on and secure the man revved it up, bringing the beast to life. "Ready?"

A helmeted Jubilee, yellow jacket buckled securely and holding onto Logan's waist, nodded quickly. "I'm Jubilation, by the way. Folks call me Jubilee sometimes. Or Jay." Or Jay…Her heart was in her throat. "Make tracks, let's see what this bad boy can do!"

"Logan," he said knowing she didn't need it due to the card. Revving up he began to move the bike and it could haul. The engine roared like a metal beast that had come to life. People could have easily heard the rumble that emitted from the Machine as Logan went towards West Chester. He did try to ask idle conversation but it was like shouting at a concert. "Tell me more about ya kid!" was one question that managed to make it past the noise of the machine

It was easier for her words to find him, as her face was closer to his ear. Still, she had to shout over the roar of the bike, and she found herself hesitant to say anything too telling, that loudly. "Well I…I was pretty much homeless for a few years there, but the people from the school found me and dragged me back there." On the back of a motorcycle. From California. Why was she always getting hauled somewhere on the back of a bike?? "I guess Drake recognized somethin' I did, and knew I needed to be back there. Been there a couple of months now. But when this happened…I, well I just…ran. I didn't even bring my phone! They don't know where I am. Did you know to look for me? Do they know I'm okay?"

As the scenery changed from the concrete jungle the countryside Logan had to deliver news that wasn't good nor bad. "They know yer gone, but they found yer phone. No one knows where ya were. I was lookin' fer mutants. Any n' all of them to bring back. It was luck or fate that made it so I found ya," that news he wasn't sure how Jubilee was going to take. Looking at her Logan made sure she was okay with this before they made it to the gate.

Jubilee nodded, her heart sinking. She'd hoped that someone there would know…have some way of knowing, at least, where she was. Otherwise they could have just counted her lost. "I guess they'll find out soon enough!" And she sighed, tightening her grip around his waist and resting her cheek against his leather-clad back.

Slowing down the bike made its way through the familiar gate. Getting into the garage he got off the bike then took off the helmet. Knowing she was scared Logan grabbed a pen. Pulling out another card he wrote a number on the back. "Personal cell phone. If ya get in trouble, even here, call it, get on an intercom, I'll come runnin' to help ya." If she gave him a questioning "How?!" look the man held up a forearm. "Shnkt!" three claws protruded through his flesh. They gleamed before her eyes thanks to the overhead lights. Apparently, this was one of Xavier's more competent combatants.

Jubilation watched the claws gleam, and shook her head, dumbfounded, before she finally looked back up to his face as he watched her reaction. She remembered to close her mouth then, and swallowed. "I…what if I'm not in trouble? What if I just…want to see you? I think I could learn a thing or two from you." Her honeyed brown eyes watched him with some mixture of awe and gratitude.

"Ya can still call it," he said as the claws retracted. Logan just wanted her to feel safe deep down. So if that meant giving out his number to some new student than so be it. Then he had done his part as an instructor in this time of crisis.

Jubilee nodded quietly and pocketed the card, pressing it between her fingertips in her jacket pocket. "Thanks, Logan. You're pretty cool. I was…kinda fallin' apart out there." She shifted a little awkwardly, combat-style black boots shuffling slightly against the bare cement floor. "I really do appreciate it."

A shrug came from Logan, "Don't worry 'bout it kid. Yer safe now. That's what matters. Ya should go off n' find yer friends. Let em' know yer okay," right now everyone that could see familiar blessings was a godsend that did not go unnoticed. It was shame in a few months that sensation was going to be dulled. Everyday with someone was a gift, one people often squandered. Logan knew that too well as he had vague memories of people that had long since passed.

A half-smile tugged at Jubilation's lips as she looked toward the entrance, then back to Logan. With a couple of excited bounces, she flew into a quick hug around Logan's waist and squeezed him tight. "I will. But you're one too now. I'm safer cause of you."

Not expecting the hug Logan stood there awkwardly unsure what to do before he eventually hugged her. A nod was given to her, "I know yer safe. The others don't. You should fix that, kid."

"I'm goin!" She ran for the entrance to the mansion to find Drake, giving him a backward glance as she went. "Stay Safe, Logan!!"

After a beat, she added softly, to herself, "Please."

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