I didn't manage to test what Jubilee's powers were like. In the minute or so that she was with me, I just couldn't figure it out. The girl remained semi-unconscious for about ten minutes, maybe a little longer. After laying her down on the bed, I found a bottle of water and gave it to her when she started showing the first signs of waking up.
"What was that?" she asked weakly, pushing the plastic bottle away from her mouth.
"My mutant abilities."
"So you weren't lying?"
"Believe it or not," I sighed heavily.
Some people completely refuse to believe other people's experiences and words. They absolutely need to make their own mistakes to realize how harsh the world can be. I thought Jubilee would be more flexible in this regard, but no, she could be as stubborn as a ram!
"Why didn't you tell me right away?!" she tried to start an argument, but it was weak.
"You might need to clean your ears."
We talked a little more and then went back to bed. Yeah, second time that day. I could probably take off the protective pajamas I had put on against such devious attempts on my virginity, but I didn't risk it. Who knew what this troublemaker might get up to next? At first, she seemed more reasonable to me. And what happened in the end? A teenager will always be a teenager. Sometimes hormones cloud the mind worse than drugs!
Surprisingly, the night passed peacefully. Jubilee didn't try to cuddle anymore, and I managed to get some rest. Morning came for us around noon. I woke up earlier, ran to the shared bathroom down the hall, and crawled back into bed. While I was running around, she didn't move a muscle, showing what a deep, healthy sleep she was having!
After a couple of hours, I finally waited until she decided to wake up. Another half hour for freshening up, and we left her tiny place.
"What are we doing today?" she asked, yawning sleepily.
"I need to sell some extra stuff," I said, yawning myself. "Mainly cosmetics. Do you know any places?"
Jubilee knew the city well, at least Manhattan, so she quickly listed a few options.
Overall, this day wasn't much different from the previous one. We walked around the city a lot; I tried to understand what made the Big Apple tick, eavesdropping on locals' conversations, their tone, their mood. Doing some reconnaissance, so to speak. But I didn't really have any specific goal. I was doing it automatically, my old habits from my past life surfacing.
People seemed content with their lives. There was money in their pockets, work for those who wanted it. The gears of the big city were turning just as the architects intended. Everything spoke of stability and prosperity. A comfortable, measured life. Not perfect, but tolerable.
People also didn't talk much about anything "out of the ordinary." The topic of mutants, superheroes and villains, magicians, aliens, and other strange things was hardly ever raised. Maybe there was no reason to. But there was one thing they talked about endlessly: men and sexual hunger.
On my first day here, I often caught hungry female glances aimed at me. Now, the only change was that those hungry lioness looks shifted from me to my companion. At that moment, the looks of most women became icy cold. It seemed they were ready to tear poor Jubilee apart just to take her place!
The few men I came across, if they could be called men, reminded me of an immortal video game series about great racers. In one of the versions, you could enter a cheat code, and all the nearby women would start following you. The "woman magnet" cheat code, I think it was called. In the game, this feature seemed amusing to me, but seeing it in real life here was downright scary.
Later in the evening, Jubilee put on a small show, but this time she chose a much quieter spot. Surprisingly, I felt safer in Times Square. And as it turned out, I wasn't wrong. In the small crowd watching the fireworks show, two girls immediately stood out to me. They both wore dirty yellow clothes and preferred to hide their faces in the shadows of their baseball caps.
When Jubilee finished her performance and, shoving the money into her shorts pockets, started pulling me away, I didn't look back but I didn't doubt that the two girls would follow us. To her credit, Jubilee seemed to sense something was off. Grabbing my hand, she hurriedly pulled me away from the performance area, weaving through the narrow alleys between buildings.
We emerged into a more open space, a small courtyard between buildings, where there was an old basketball court. The asphalt was cracked, and some greenery had managed to creep out from the corners.
We needed to cross the court and duck into another alley between three-story brick buildings. As soon as we reached the center of the court, one of the women in dirty yellow appeared on the other side of the path.
"Gotcha, prey!" she laughed, raising her eyes to us with dilated pupils.
"Back!" Jubilee commanded and yanked me back.
Of course, we didn't manage to retreat. Our way was blocked by another woman of dubious appearance.
"Quick little bitches, fast," one of them said. "But you don't know this area well, that's your mistake!"
"Bitches?" I wondered. "I'm a purebred dog, you know!"
Honestly, I didn't even know how to feel about being mistaken for a woman. Should I blame it on their altered, drugged perception? Should I be happy that I didn't look like the pathetic men around here? Or should I be offended?
"Marius, no!" Jubilee hissed almost at the same time I did, but it was already too late.
"A man?" one of the robbers hissed, flaring her nostrils. "This is our lucky day, sis!"
"Yeah, you're right!" the second one clapped her hands in delight. "This catch is even better than we expected!"
Oh, it seems they had quickly changed from robbers to possible rapists.
"Stay behind me," Jubilee said, trying to protect me.
But she didn't realize that we were surrounded on both sides, so no matter how much I hid behind the slender back of the Asian girl, it wouldn't help much. Jubilee was clearly very worried about the situation we were in, while I remained outwardly calm.