I’ve got some things for you. You have to promise to hold onto them and never let them go, okay?
Who: Jubilee and little!Laura What: Altering things When: Mid 90s Where: U.S Status: complete Rating: PG-13
Laura hated their new home. She didn’t like the stinky new guy that hung around it all the time, and her mom being around all the time meant she had less time alone to play. She grabbed her barbie and a package of pop tarts from the counter and put them in her pockets. She was going to run away to go live with her grandmother again. At least grandma’s house had Wheel of Fortune and no stinky men yelling all night.
She slipped out the front door and started down the sidewalk, her face set into a determined expression.
Jubilee was over 180 years old by now, including how old she was before she wound up in 1840s Cali. Much of her exuberance and joy of life had been squashed, though she went through periods where she felt more like her old self. She missed certain parts of the 60s and 70s, for that.
She’d lost count. Of the years. Of the lovers she’d taken. Of the people she’d fed on, or even killed. China in the 30s had been bad for that. It had been almost a compulsion of hers to show up in Nanking, to try to do something.
But the brutality faded into the past, and she could feel the clock ticking. She’d have to meet up with J’onn again in a few years. Maybe in time to turn back up and resume her life. Except this time it would be different.
She felt her heart break as she watched little Laura slip outside. It made what she had planned to do a lot easier, but it also meant it was a lot easier. To take Laura away from a mother who would only use her and twist her. To change her future so she wouldn’t dream or know killing or know any man but the ones she wanted to.
She slipped out of the shadows and knelt in front of the girl. “Have you ever wanted to go on an adventure?”
Laura gasped and eyed Jubilee warily. Then she nodded. “Yep! I’m goin’ to grammy’s house! Wanna come? We’ll watch Wheel of Fortune and drink juice.”
“That sounds like a lotta fun,” the vampire replied. She held out her hand. “Wanna go really really fast? It’ll be awesome. We’ll visit your grammy, or we can go anywhere you want! Anywhere!”
Laura thought about that for a minute. She eyed Jubilee incredulously. “Disneyworld. I wanna meet Simba.”
“Okay. We can go to Disney world. I know some people who know some people, and we can meet Simba, and anyone else you want.” She made to pick up Laura. “Simba’s my bro.”
Laura let Jubilee pick her up. “He’s the Lion King.” She said, nodding at Jubilee. “Your brother is a lion?”
“Yeah. My brother is totally a lion.” She hugged Laura gently. She hoped the girl would turn into a strong, happy woman. She’d be beautiful. And safe.
“That’s cool. I wish I had a big brother, then he could kick the stinky man out and help momma work!” She snuggled into Jubilee’s shoulder and stuck her thumb in her mouth. After a second she straightened again and pulled her barbie out of her pocket. “This is my doll.”
“What’s her name?” Jubilee asked. She grinned at Laura. This was right. It had to be. She couldn’t imagine what this girl was going to be put through. Well she could. She’d seen things. It only strengthened her resolve.
“Barbie. She has a car, but it’s at grammy’s.” Laura didn’t mind that Barbie didn’t have a car. She didn’t have a car, either. “You think Mickey will be there?”
“Oh Mickey’ll be there. He hangs with Simba, you know. They have these magical games they play. All with their imaginations.” Jubilee started to jog, until it was almost as though they were flying.
Laura held on tight as they moved faster. “We gonna run there?”
“You want to? I have a car but I parked it far away. Wanna fly?” She looked down at Laura. “Promised you an adventure.”
“Flying would be neat.” Laura said with a nod.
With that, Jubilee lept. She couldn’t fly (not as a human), but she could jump really far, and make it seem like flying! They landed a football field away - she could go farther but didn’t want to hurt Laura. The girl couldn’t heal!
Laura laughed with joy as they jumped. This was so fun! She held on tight to Jubilee’s neck, waving goodbye to her mother’s house.
Jubilee had no intention of ever taking her back there. DisneyWorld first, and then she’d find her a family. A real one. She wished it could be Logan, but that would change everything far too much. She paused for a break. “I’ve got some things for you. You have to promise to hold onto them and never let them go, okay?”
Laura eyed her warily. “Why?”
“They’re important. They’re pieces of a past, and maybe you’ll never know, but your heart’ll understand.”
Laura frowned. That did make much sense. “Okay.” She sounded very uncertain.
Jubilee undid a chain around her neck. A pair of faded, scratched dogtags hung from them. She looked down at a gold ring on her finger, then bit her lip and pulled it off. She added it to the chain, then put it over Laura’s head. “These are your guardian angels. They’ll always watch over you.”
Laura looked at the tags, and the ring, then nodded and put them over her head. They hung down to her belly button, and the coldness made her squeak. “Thank you.”
“Okay cutie. Lets go meet Simba and Mickey Mouse….” She picked her up again, blinking her eyes to dry them. All her plans and hopes and dreams were going to go up in smoke, but it was worth it. It had to be worth it.