For a while, Li went back to eating the free ice cream. We were sitting on one of the countless benches on the Battery Park waterfront. I was just staring blankly at the vast water, trying to figure out what to do with my new acquaintance.
I didn't want her to stay on the streets. Yes, in the future, the X-Men should find her and take her in, but when would that happen? Was I really supposed to just leave her and go about my own business? Hm, maybe I should just call up the mansion of the bald professor, Charlene Xavier? Damn, then she might start getting interested in me, and do I want that? It's not that I have anything against the X-Men, but I'm just not drawn to it. What would I be doing in a school for gifted kids? Exactly, I don't know either.
For now, I just want to wander around the city for a couple of days, see how people live, feel the local atmosphere, and then decide what to do next. Alright, I think I can put off that decision for now. I'll hang out with Jubilee for a while, and once I figure out what to do, I'll call Charlene.
"I still don't get it," Li said, finishing her waffle cone with ice cream.
"Get what?"
"Why you ended up on the streets. Just because you found out you were a mutant?"
"Hm, imagine the following picture. I'm a young, pure guy who has just started getting interested in girls. I meet a particularly cute girl, invite her over to my place. We're sitting on my bed, talking about all sorts of silly things, and then I go in for a kiss."
"Maybe she was the one going for it?" Jubilee interrupted.
"No! It was me! I went for the kiss! So, I'm about to press my dry lips to hers, and she starts shaking like she's having a seizure, curling up like a dried-out sponge, wilting like a picked flower… Anyway, I got scared. And when I found out that the girl fainted just from a simple kiss, I packed my things and left home. I didn't want to see how my parents looked at me. I didn't want to see the fear in their eyes."
I shut up, clenched my jaw, and tried to hold back the tears. It seemed like the words I'd said out loud triggered a strong surge of memories left behind by the previous owner of this body. It was like I was seeing everything I had just described. I must say, Marius truly went through a real nightmare back then. Even I could feel the remnants of those memories shaking me up!
"Poor thing…"
"Ai, what are you doing?!"
Jubilee clearly wanted to comfort me and pat me on the head, but after I gave her a painful poke in the arm, she screamed in indignation.
"There was a bug on you," I lied without even blinking.
"Really?"
"Yep."
She stared at me suspiciously for a while, but I'm an experienced "otherworlder," and the first thing we learn at school is the art of lying and deception, heh-heh!
"Alright, let's go," Li finally gave in.
"Where to?" I asked lazily, not really wanting to get up from the bench and do anything.
"I promised to pay you for the glasses and ice cream," she said, decisively cutting her hand across her other arm. "People will start coming back from work soon, and I can make a little money."
"And how exactly are you planning to do that?" I asked suspiciously.
Jubilee opened her mouth to say something but immediately shut it. She hesitated for a moment, clearly unsure whether to tell me anything.
"You'll see," she said briefly, grabbing my hand and forcing me to get up from the bench.
About an hour later, we arrived at Times Square – the square in the central part of Manhattan. It's hard to describe this place; perhaps you need to experience it yourself at least once to understand it. A neon anthill – that's how I saw it.
The bright advertisements that just jumped out at you could literally trigger an epileptic seizure, and the number of people walking around, having fun, dining in local fast-food joints, or even working, was off the charts!
After another suspicious glance at Jubilee, I confirmed that she was still calmly walking beside me, her hands in her pockets. This place seemed perfect for pickpockets. I think if I trained my sleight of hand a little, I could make a steady income here, rifling through other people's pockets and wallets. And believe me, I'm not the best thief on the Wild West!
After some time, Jubilee nodded with satisfaction and moved slightly away from the main flow of pedestrians.
"You probably thought I made money by stealing?" she asked, pulling large blue gloves from behind her waistband on her denim shorts.
"Hm, I won't hide the obvious," I shrugged.
Li wasn't offended, and she honestly admitted:
"When I first ended up on the streets, I had to learn that profession. But I never liked stealing from others. It's dishonest. I think my parents were bankrupted unfairly, at least that's what I think. So, I found another way to earn some money. Just watch, okay?"
She put on the gloves, walked over to a balloon vendor, and had a quick chat with her. Jubilee then took an old, worn-out felt hat with wide brims from the vendor.
She came back, set the hat upside down in front of her, and loudly shouted:
"Hey, people! How about a little fire show?!"
A few passersby stopped, interested, and came closer. Li smiled brightly at the audience, and then, raising her hands, sent a burst of bright, colorful sparks into the air! People gasped in amazement, and I raised my eyebrows in surprise. She lowered her hands and, with the gesture of a magician, showed how a shimmering ball appeared in her empty hand. Passersby began to gather around the Asian girl juggling and sending bursts of sparks into the air.
"How is she doing that?" people asked.
"Magic?"
"No, it's magic!"
"She must have a projector somewhere! I saw something like that in Europe!"
"Maybe it's all in the gloves?"
People excitedly whispered to each other, but no one mentioned that it was a mutant's ability. Apparently, Jubilee had done such performances before and knew exactly what she was doing. She probably could do more, but deliberately didn't show anything too "magical" or beyond belief.
I think she could easily explain everything as pyrotechnics hidden in her gloves or something like that. Even so, she was attracting quite a bit of attention because her performance was unlike anything people had seen before. And surely by the end of the show, her hat would be filled with money.
To my surprise, she quickly wrapped up the performance and, thanking the audience for their support, put the stand away.
"I don't want to stay in one place for too long," she explained. "When you live on the streets, your first rule is not to attract attention! Wait here, I'll give the hat and a couple of bucks to Melinda, and we'll leave."
Melinda was the woman selling balloons nearby, and apparently, she and Li had some sort of arrangement. Maybe the woman kept a spot for Li, and in return, she got a share of the profits. It made sense when you thought about it. Times Square is such a busy place that it's really hard to find a free spot to set up for a performance, so this arrangement probably worked out for them.