"You stupid girl—do you even realise what you've done?"
Cecilia's voice snapped through the sterile lab, raw with fury as she clutched her trembling hand. The calm, collected doctor's mask she always wore was gone.
Jubilee flinched, the metallic cuffs strapping her to the bed, biting into her wrists, the cold weight of a new collar pressing against her throat.
She had blacked out after the chaos earlier, and when she came to, Dr. Cecilia had already stormed in—eyes blazing, face twisted in a rage Jubilee had never seen before.
The woman who once spoke softly about "helping mutants heal" now looked ready to tear her apart.
"I—what?" Jubilee stammered, her voice trembling as confusion and fear tangled in her chest.
"Every effort I made—all these years—all of this!" Cecilia gestured wildly at the lab, monitors flashing behind her. "You destroyed everything, you stupid child! Do you even understand what you did?"
Jubilee swallowed hard, then shot back, defiance flickering through her fear. "I saved my friend from a monster like you! I did the right thing! So go screw yourself, lady!"
"You saved her?" Cecilia's laughter came out sharp, almost mad. "You really think that? You're so naive it's almost tragic."
She stepped closer, eyes wide with a hollow gleam. "Your friend, Katrin—she could only teleport to places she has seen, within range. You forced her to jump outside the facility. Even if she succeeded, we're surrounded by the ocean for miles. You didn't save her—you drowned her."
Jubilee's breath hitched. "N-no… that's not true—you're lying!" she screamed, yanking against her restraints.
"Why would I lie?" Cecilia snapped, her voice cracking with emotion. "You think I enjoy this? You think I wanted it to come to this?" Her hand trembled as she pressed it to her forehead. "I begged them—for years—to let me help you children. To find a cure. To make the sickness stop. And now… it's all ruined!"
"Stop calling it a sickness!" Jubilee shouted back, tears in her eyes. "You used that… that force-field thing on us! You're one of us—you're a mutant too! Don't you dare talk about us like that!"
Cecilia froze. Then, slowly, she smiled—a thin, broken smile that didn't reach her eyes.
"Yes… I am a mutant," she said quietly. "I have the same disease. I never denied that. But I was shown the light. I was healed."
Her voice deepened, trembling with fervor. "My Master revealed the truth to me. Our mutation—it isn't a curse, nor a blessing. It's evolution gone astray… power without purpose. But under His will, it can be refined—controlled—perfected."
Jubilee's stomach turned. "You're insane," she whispered.
"No," Cecilia said, eyes blazing with devotion. "I am free. And I wanted the same freedom for you… if only you'd accepted His gift."
"Master? Blessing? Have you gone completely mad?" Jubilee snapped, trying to sit up despite the restraints. "What is this—some kind of cult? You lied to us—this was never a healing facility, was it?!"
Cecilia's eyes flashed. "How dare you call it a cult," she hissed, stepping closer. "It's through Master's benevolence that pitiful mutants like us were even shown kindness. His gift is salvation, Jubilee—His blessing, our cure."
For a brief moment, her tone softened, almost tender—like she truly believed every word. Then it hardened again, voice rising with fervent zeal.
"The process of accepting His grace… it isn't easy. Many die, yes. Some lose their minds before they can understand" She paused, staring off into nothing. "I've seen it happen. Again and again. And I… I couldn't stand it any longer."
Her voice trembled—not from fear, but from conviction. "So I begged Him. I pleaded with Master to let me prove there was another way. A softer path. That mutants could be nurtured toward enlightenment instead of being broken by it. That His perfection could be achieved without endless pain… without so many needless deaths."
She spread her arms wide, motioning to the lab around her. "And He listened. He gave me one of His Gardens—this Garden. My sanctuary. My experiment." Her words fell to a whisper, trembling with mad pride. "I became its caretaker. Here, I would guide you all—to bloom into beautiful, deadly flowers touched by His grace. It would take time, yes—but I knew it would work."
Then, in an instant, her expression snapped—her voice lashing out like a whip. "And you, ungrateful little fool—you destroyed it all!"
"You're delusional," Jubilee muttered, turning away, refusing to meet the doctor's fanatical gaze.
"It doesn't matter anymore," Cecilia said quietly, her voice trembling between sorrow and rage. "Master had such high hopes for Katrin. She was to become His most radiant creation… but you destroyed her before she could even bloom. Now He's furious. He has declared me a failure—and ordered that this Garden be shut down."
Jubilee blinked, startled. "Wait… shut down? So—so we're free? We can go home?"
Cecilia let out a broken laugh. "Home?" Her smile twisted. "Do you really think sick little children like you could ever live among normal people without Master's grace? No, Jubilee. You can't."
Her voice hardened again. "The other children will be moved tomorrow to another Garden. I don't know where. I only pray that one or two survive long enough to earn His favor."
Jubilee pulled against her cuffs, panic creeping into her voice. "No! You can't just send us away again—just let us go home!"
"There is no us anymore, Jubilee," Cecilia said softly, her expression almost pitying. "You won't be going anywhere with them."
"W-what?" Jubilee's throat tightened. "What do you mean?"
"You see… Master was very angry about what you did. He decided you should be punished." Cecilia stepped closer, her shadow falling over Jubilee's bed.
"Punished?" Jubilee whispered, fear twisting in her gut.
"I pleaded for mercy," Cecilia said, her tone suddenly gentle again. "I begged them to spare you—to let you live, even if only as a lab subject. But Master…" she trailed off, almost reverent. "He said your sparks were a nuisance. Too wild. Too dangerous."
She brushed a hand along Jubilee's cheek, her touch oddly affectionate.
"So," Cecilia said softly, with pity, "He has decided to offer you… to the Monster."
"Monster?" Jubilee whispered, her voice trembling. The image of a hulking pale figure flashed in her mind—the one she had glimpsed on her first day here.
"Yes… him," Cecilia muttered, her tone heavy. "Even I wouldn't wish that kind of fate on my worst enemy."
She turned away, exhaling shakily, and placed a small surgical knife on the metal tray beside Jubilee's bed.
"So I'm giving you a way out," she said softly. "Consider this… mercy. I'll take whatever punishment comes my way. But before he comes for you, end it yourself, Jubilee. Because what he'll do to you…" Cecilia's voice faltered, her eyes glassy. "It will be beyond pain."
Jubilee's breath quickened, tears filling her eyes. "N-no… Doctor, please—don't do this! I—I don't wanna die!" she begged, struggling against the cuffs. "Please, I'll behave! I'll do whatever you say! You can fix this—please, you can save me!"
Cecilia's face hardened. "I'm sorry. Master has already proclaimed your death."
She hesitated, her voice trembling again. "This is the gentler option, Jubilee. You don't have much time. I suggest you… make peace with it."
She gave the girl one last look—something between pity and resignation—then pressed a button on the wall. The reinforced door hissed open, and without another word, Cecilia walked out.
"Doctor! Please!" Jubilee cried, sobbing. "I'm sorry! Don't leave me here! Please—come back!" Her voice broke into desperate hiccups as she thrashed against the restraints, the knife gleaming at her side.
Then—amid her panicked gasps—a calm, unfamiliar male voice whispered from somewhere close by.
"There's no need to be sad, Jubilee. This isn't game over for you."
Her breath hitched. She froze, eyes darting around the dim lab. The only sounds were the hum of machinery and her own heartbeat pounding in her ears. "Wh-who's there?" she whispered shakily. "Am I… am I going crazy?"
"No, Jubilee," the voice said softly, steady but urgent. "You're not. I'm real—and I'm here with a team called the X-Men. We're coming to get you out. Just stay quiet and stay strong."
She blinked, stunned. The voice wasn't in her head—it was coming from beside her, faint but clear, whispering in her ear.
Jubilee opened her mouth to respond, but the door hissed open again. Another guard stepped inside, standing silently by the wall.
The voice vanished.
Jubilee's heart hammered against her ribs. She bit her lip to keep from crying out, forcing herself to stay still. Maybe she had imagined it. Maybe it was one of Dr. Cecilia's sick mind games.
But deep down—she didn't want to believe that.
Her hands trembled as she clasped them together, whispering under her breath,
"Please… let that voice be real."
Because she didn't want to die. Not here. Not like this.
---
Leaving the lab — and Jubilee's terrified form — behind, I drifted silently through the walls, scanning for signs, guards, other mutants and power nodes.
Right now, I was in my Astral Form, completely detached from my physical body aboard the Ghostwing. To the guards, cameras, and sensors below, I was nothing — invisible, intangible, undetectable. Their tech wasn't even close to advanced enough to perceive something like this. Carina's ship could have seen me easily, but this facility? Not a chance.
Still, my invisibility came with limits. I couldn't interact physically — not yet. I could touch objects now, thanks to this power's recent evolution, but the effect was faint, like pressing through water. If I had tried to fully manifest near Jubilee, the cameras might have caught the psychic distortion. Not to mention… I was completely naked in this form. Not exactly ideal for a heroic rescue.
Still, I had to speak to her. I wasn't sure if there were hidden mics in that cell or not, but I couldn't just let her give up. Even if it was risky, letting her believe someone was coming for her mattered more.
The spell that allowed a battle-capable astral body — the one my Master, Sorcerer Supreme had used on me during my Path's journey — was still far beyond my reach. So for now, reconnaissance was all I could do.
Luckily, my astral ability's evolution gave me a useful perk. I could now maintain two independent astral forms, both fully aware and synchronized with my mind — each acting autonomously, sharing my vision and thought seamlessly.
Seeing through two sets of eyes at once was still strange — like watching two different movies on split screens in my head. If I hadn't spent countless hours mastering this dual-focus technique, I would have been dizzy or disoriented by now.
My body, secured safely in the Ghostwing hovering above the island, acted as the anchor. As long as I stayed within a kilometer radius, my movement was unrestricted. That's why I had moved the ship close to the surface of the island before diving in.
This place was huge — sprawling halls, dozens of chambers, sublevels stretching like an ant nest beneath the island. Both my forms split off in opposite directions, phasing through walls, cataloguing every hallway and containment cell. Most of it was empty… until one of me floated into that lab — and overheard Dr. Cecilia's twisted conversation with Jubilee.
I already knew from Katrin that both of them were here. In fact, most of the names she had mentioned — mutants who had vanished over the past year — were already on D.A.I.S.Y.'s surveillance list. Every one of them had simply disappeared, leaving behind locked doors, half-eaten meals, and dead-end trails.
Jubilee, in fact, had been on a high priority in the list. I had planned to recommend inviting her to the X-Mansion before she suddenly vanished off the map. When I retraced her steps, all I had found was her bike—locked in the basement of a mall. No signs of struggle, no witnesses, no energy traces. Nothing.
I had connected dozens of similar mutant disappearances, but every trail went cold in the exact same way—clean, silent, deliberate. Dr. Cecilia Reyes had disappeared under equally strange circumstances years ago.
Now, hearing her speak of this "Master," I finally knew one thing for certain.
All of it—every missing mutant, every erased trail—was connected to this Master of hers.
Just as that thought crossed my mind, my second astral form drifted down another corridor — and froze.
A sign marked CONTROL ROOM glowed faintly above a reinforced door.
Bingo.
Smirking at my luck, I phased straight through the wall and into the control room.
The space was small, packed tight with humming machinery and rows of monitors casting an eerie blue glow across the dim interior. Three guards sat inside—same uniforms as the others I had seen patrolling earlier—but there was something off about them. They stared at the screens with glassy eyes, completely motionless, their faces hidden behind tinted visors.
Even the lab techs I had passed had given off that same unsettling feeling. There was no awareness in them, no spark of thought—just the faintest flicker of life, like the bodies were running on autopilot while their minds were somewhere else entirely.
The monitors displayed mostly empty corridors and sealed rooms, a few feeds showing the barren island surface above. Only one screen stood out—a feed showing Jubilee, still strapped to a medical bed, motionless under the harsh lab lights.
I had hoped to confirm the conditions of the other missing mutants from here, but this complicated things. Either this wasn't the main control hub, or the others were being kept somewhere deeper—perhaps even transferred to another "Garden," just like Dr. Reyes had mentioned.
But if what she said was true, that transfer wouldn't happen until tomorrow.
For now, this room was enough. The systems here were connected to most of the facility's networks. From this point, I could access the surveillance grid, power management, and maybe even find the root of that psychic-dampening field.
Satisfied, I let both my astral forms drift upward, phasing effortlessly through layers of reinforced concrete and steel until my consciousness returned to my body aboard the Ghostwing.
***
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