by Paul Tran

Disclaimer and Note: Not my characters. Not your characters. AreMarvel's charcters. Now, I'm not sure as to a title. Any suggestions? Anything I tend to think up tends to come about as one-worded, unrelated nonsense. Golly, I'm actually posting this. I wonder how people will take it. Should be interesting. School starts today! I'm so gee golly thrilled. There's that bunch of kids I'll no longer have to see. Send me feedback! Send me feedback even if you don't think I want it! Send me feedback even if you don't think Easter bunnies are evil. Several months ago, this story was written when I was asked to write a serious fanfic by some dear friends who felt it couldn't be done. :P Now, serious fanfics are my fear to write, generally since I usually put myself into a depression while writing it. However, I'm in such a good, hyped mood, I'm sending this to the list! Hope you folk enjoy! Smile,hear? As always, Have fun, Impar

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"Done yet, Lee?"

Jubilation Lee stopped trying to economize the red and greenplaid shirt into her bag. Her dark brown eyes glanced to the gray-skinned man standing in the doorway. Dressed in beige slacks and a loose, white dress shirt, Angelo Espinosa stood respectfully outside in the hallway as the school marm was sure to drill into his habits. His hair, however, lightly lopped over his earlobes in its rebellious state of disarray. The young woman stood upright from her efforts over the ancient blue suitcase. Her hand lightly touched her hip where a single long, pale-green sleeveless dress cascaded to her knees as the other rested upon her chin where one finger lightly tap-tapped her lips. She looked from his brown dress shoes to the tip of his chin, nodding appreciatively.

"I'll be done in a mo,' 'lo. You always did look good in yourformals."

"Chica," the young mutant grinned. "You always had taste."

Jubilee turned toward her baggage, forced the clamps in thehandle to shut, and twirled to her friend, the breeze slightly liftingher skirt. Her nimble legs quickly crossed the floor, and she pushed at Angelo from the doorway as she stepped outside with him, closing the door behind her. "As the most vocal female here, I have to give all the encouragement I can...even if I don't mean it." She grabbed his hand as he allowed her to pull him over the light checkered carpet, through polished hallways, and past decorative antiques.

As they came to Skin's room, Jubilee kicked open the door andmischievously grinned to those inside.

"Guess what guys? Today's the day!"

On Skin's bed, Jonothon Starsmore had managed to prop himselfagainst some packed baggage, dressed in his usual black leather andsilvery framework to keep his deteriorated body together. From his bed, Everett Thomas rubbed his shaved head in thought.

"I know J. Believe me, I know."

Dropping Angelo's hand, she playfully hopped onto Everett's knee. "C'mon. We graduate into the X-Men, I get my high school diploma, and you get your Bachelor's degree party before you actually get it at Harvard. What can possibly happen? We're X-Men now." Sadly, her mutant friend grasped her hands, intertwining his fingers with her.

"Not 'we,' Jube. I'm going to be a teacher." Alarm flashedthrough the girl's eyes.

"What? No! You...why...us......why?"

"I want to be near my family, J. I didn't stay here to be anX-Man. I stayed for..." His eyes turned away from her. The palm of her hand pressed against her forehead then rested on the brown-skinned hand on her knee.

"For what, Ev?"

"I wanted to learn to use my powers. Remember when we first met? I had synched to Mr. Cassidy and immediately broke every neighbors' window. I like kids, J, and I want to teach."

*You better get off 'im before Miss Frost catches you again.*

"Shut up, Jono. What's she gonna do? Expel me? Does she know, Ev?"

"Yeah. Both she and the Banshee know."

Skin patted the ravaged mutant's shoulder. "S'okay, 'migo. She's just tense." Starsmore's sad, bloodshot blue eyes thanked hisfriend and he remembered. Husk. Paige Guthrie. He remembered her and was almost glad he could not physically cry.

"Come with me."

"What?!"

"Come with me, Jubilee."

"Ev..."

"I checked. You can be the gymnastics coach."

"I can't." Her voice scratched in the whisper. "You know that."

Moisture welled in Synch's eyes while his arms returned herembrace about her body. "I know...I know."

She slipped from his lab and stood as tall as she could for her Asian height, absently brushing at the straight, short, black hairalready in its place with a flowered hair clip.

*Well, I'll have a plane to catch.*

Jubilee's regal stance faltered for a moment. "You also, Jono?"

*I'm going home*

"What about the Good fight?"

"There is no fight, Jubecita. Not for us."

"Ange?" Jubilee's voice faded with the question before rising in a crescendo of indignity. "Why didn't anyone tell me?"

*You would have stopped us.*

"So?!? You're my friends. My pals."

*So we'll be pen pals.*

"Where are you going, Angelo? L.A.?"

"No, I'm going with Chamber. I want to see the world."

"Oh."

"Monet left us when her papi died because she could. She always knew the limits to her powers. She left because she could and had to. I had to learn how to control my powers. Now? I want to see the _world_. I want to travel to those places Mr. McCoy chanted about. I want to see the planes Ms. Munroe used to be a goddess over. I want to experience and understand what these books and webpages can only show me. I can't see that in a hood back home in Los Angeles."

"You can do that with the X-Men."

"I don't want to die doing it."

*Stop it, mate. Don't need to bring Her up again.*

Everett shook his head. "She died, 'thon. She believed in aDream by a man none of us but J here has met."

"Please Mr. Ivy League. We know all that." Jubilee grinned from behind the glisten of tears she wiped from her cheeks. "C'mon! Tonight, WE PARTY!" Angelo reflected the Asian's infectious smile as his skin seeped through the threading in his clothes, instantly becoming of a living sea of gray tentacles reaching for each member of Generation X. The four friends left to join the celebration held for them by the X-Men and friends in the Proudstar Hall, never to forget the times behind or the road ahead.

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Aboard a starcraft, a brown-skinned, sleeping man suddenlylurched from his slumber. The silky sheet slid from his bare torso ashis arms propped him up, blinking the sleep from his eyes. Beside him, a feather-haired woman woke and rubbed a muscular forearm. "What is it, Bishop?"

"Ah, Deathbird. I...had a feeling."

The sister of Lilandra, queen of the Shi'ar Empire, yawned but did not dare antagonize him. "What kind of feeling, mutant?"

"It's nothing. For a moment, I was sure I felt Jubilee go through The ascension."

She grimaced. "What ascension?"

"Her ascension to being the Last X-Man. It's an impossible notion, though. That shouldn't come for years. Sorry to wake you." His arms bent and he drew the sheet to his neck, grasping the woman under the sheet. Deathbird gave way to his confidence hi strong arms brought. He had been with her for several months, however, she wouldn't be the one to tell him time passed slower in hyperspace.

"Do you want to go home?"

"Perhaps. Allow me sleep, woman."

As the two laid still, the lights again dimmed. In the dark, her smirk darkened into the shadows.