X-Force: Beyond Omega-Chapter 152: Jubilee and Natasha

[Genosha – Jubilee's Room, That Night]

The sun had long set, casting Genosha in a warm indigo hue. The stars were out, and a soft ocean breeze rustled the palm trees outside the tower. Most of the residents were relaxing after dinner, laughter echoing through the halls, music playing in the common room, even Logan was unusually calm, smoking a cigar on the balcony like a man who narrowly escaped death by plasma.

But Jubilee?

She was locked in her room, wrapped up in two oversized hoodies, the second one worn backward to help hide her face. A beanie was pulled down so far it nearly covered her nose. She sat cross-legged on her bed, surrounded by the remains of a once very expensive mirror (now broken), and her pride (also broken).

The property damage?

Well, two exploded drones, three melted door handles, and one incinerated hallway carpet. Not bad by Jubilee standards.

Still.

She hadn't come out of her room since.

She'd skipped dinner. And dessert. And movie night. People were laughing out there. Living their lives like she hadn't just been turned into a bald eggplant on social media.

Her fingers picked at the blanket.

She couldn't stop replaying the video.

Pixie had uploaded a follow-up: #GrapeOfWrath2: Bald & Betrayed.

It already had 40,000 views.

Jubilee groaned and buried her head in her arms. "I look like a peeled onion that just lost a fight."

Her voice came out small. "He's gonna laugh. I know it. He's gonna see me and say 'Yo, what's up, Baldilocks' or something dumb like that..."

She remembered how hard she'd roasted Aron during their early training days, back when he'd lost his hair after showing Jubilee her real strength. Well, most of it was in her head, and she was pretty sure he knew what she thought because he reads mind.

And now... karma had turned around, grabbed her by the hoodie, and shaved her clean.

She sniffed quietly.

Not that she was crying.

Okay. Maybe a little.

There was a soft knock at the door.

She froze.

Dead silent.

Another knock. Gentle. Patient.

Then a voice. Low. Familiar.

"...You gonna hide forever?"

Jubilee's eyes widened.

Aron.

She scrambled upright, yanking the blanket over her head like she was trying to transform into furniture.

"No one's home!" she called out.

Silence.

Then:

"I brought mochi."

Jubilee's traitorous stomach growled.

But her pride held strong.

"Mochi can't fix what's been done."

A pause. Then a chuckle. "You sound like you died in a tragic opera."

She heard a soft fwoop, and the door unlocked itself. It creaked open, and he stepped inside.

She buried herself deeper into the hoodie pile, making herself as small as possible.

"Noooo," she muttered. "Don't look at me. I'm hideous."

Aron stood in the middle of the room, hands in his pockets, taking in the blanket blob that was currently radiating shame like a dying sun.

"You literally saved the world yesterday."

"WITH NO HAIR."

He blinked.

"Well," he said, sitting at the edge of her bed, "to be fair, you blasted a god's will out of the sky and vaporized half a demon army before breakfast."

She peeked out from beneath the hoodie. "While looking like a boiled dumpling."

Aron handed her the mochi.

She took it wordlessly.

He let a beat pass.

Then:

"You know... I've been bald before."

Her eyes narrowed. "Yeah, and I made fun of you for it."

"Now you see how I felt?" He slumped beside her with his usual cool expression.

Jubilee stared at the mochi in her hands. It was warm. Soft. Green tea flavor, her favorite. She didn't speak for a long moment. Just held it like it was the only stable thing in her world.

Aron sat next to her, quiet. No teasing. No smug grin.

Just... there.

The silence stretched.

And then...

"...I'm sorry."

It was small. Barely above a whisper. Like the words physically hurt to say. But she said it.

Aron blinked. He turned, slightly surprised.

Jubilee pulled her knees up to her chest, still wrapped in hoodie layers, her chin resting on her knees. Her eyes stared straight ahead.

"I really am," she mumbled. "Back then, when you lost your hair after helping me break my limits... I was a total brat. I laughed, I joked. I even got Kitty to Photoshop your face onto Mr. Clean last week."

Aron raised an eyebrow. "...That was you?"

She winced. "Yeah. That was me."

"No wonder everyone was looking funny at me."

She finally turned her head, just enough to meet his eyes.

"I never thought about how much it might've sucked for you. You were helping me, and I turned it into a joke. I'm really sorry, Aron. For all of it."

There was a long pause.

Then Aron sighed, like it had taken all his willpower not to burst out laughing.

"You Photoshopped me onto Mr. Clean," he repeated.

"I was young and dumb!"

"You still are... And you added a sparkle to my bald head pic."

"I REGRET EVERYTHING!"

Aron finally cracked a grin. He reached out, slowly, and playfully rubbed her shiny, smooth head.

Jubilee let out a dramatic, wounded gasp.

"DON'T TOUCH THE GRAPE!"

He grinned. "It's so smooth. Like a mystical eight-ball of sarcasm."

She flailed her arms weakly. "I swear, I will firework you into orbit..."

But she didn't stop him.

Not really.

And after a moment, her hands dropped. Her expression softened.

She looked at him and said softly, "Thanks... for coming here. I know you didn't have to."

Aron gave a small shrug. "You're important to me, Jubes. Always have been. Just because the world's chaos doesn't mean I won't show up for my girl."

She blinked.

Her ears turned pink.

"Shut up," she muttered, but her smile gave her away. "That was cheesy."

Then he raised his hand.

Reality shifted around his fingers, shimmering like liquid light. A golden thread of energy flowed from his palm, weaving through the air toward her.

"Hold still," he said softly.

Her eyes widened. "Wait! Are you?"

The golden energy wrapped around her head like sunlight caught in a breeze. It shimmered, sparked, then...

WHOOSH.

Her hair exploded back into existence.

Her eyebrows fluttered back in.

Her lashes? Flawless.

Even her cheeks got a subtle blush glow.

Jubilee sat frozen.

Then she launched herself forward and tackled Aron into a hug so hard he nearly hit the floor.

"THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!" she squealed, burying her face in his shoulder.

Aron laughed, wrapping an arm around her. "Okay, okay, easy on the ribs."

She pulled back, hair gleaming under the moonlight streaming through her window. She wiped at her eyes and gave him a look full of affection and mischief.

"You're still not off the hook for the grape jokes, by the way."

"I'm aware."

She smirked. "But... I guess we're even now."

Then she paused.

"...But seriously. If you tell anyone I cried over my hair, I will throw you through a portal and leave you in a dimension full of talking spiders. I got enough blackmail materials on Blink and Wanda. I'm pretty sure they will help me out."

He raised a hand solemnly. "Scout's honor."

A beat passed.

Then...

"...Wait. Did you say talking spiders?"

Jubilee smiled, hair falling over one eye, and whispered:

"Sleep with one eye open, Baldy."

Aron groaned. "I regret everything."

They both laughed.

...[A few minutes later... 10 to be exact]...

Jubilee had finally stormed out of her room, post-hair-regeneration, of course, looking like she had just stepped off a K-pop stage. She was radiant, energized, and dangerously hungry.

After planting a thank-you kiss on Aron that could have melted adamantium, she'd launched herself toward the kitchen screaming, "IF ANYONE TOUCHED MY PIZZA ROLLS, I'M GONNA REWRITE YOUR GENOME!"

Aron had just stood there, lips tingling, slightly dazed.

Now?

He walked barefoot along the shoreline, shoes in one hand, the waves gently kissing his feet. The air was clean, tinged with salt and serenity. Each step felt lighter, less like the weight of galaxies was dragging behind him.

The sound of the ocean wrapped around him like a blanket, the kind of quiet that didn't demand anything. It simply was.

And then he saw her.

Natasha.

She was sitting near the edge of the tide, arms resting on her knees, fingers trailing over the sand. The waves washed up to her ankles every few seconds, but she didn't flinch. Her hair was pulled up in a lazy knot, a loose white shirt fluttering against her frame. She looked... peaceful. And alone.

He hesitated, watching for a moment.

Then, quietly, he walked over.

She didn't look at him, but the corner of her mouth curved up slightly.

"You always walk around barefoot after saving the world?"

Aron sat beside her with a grunt, stretching his legs and digging his toes into the cool, wet sand. "Only when the grass is too far and the sand's this soft."

A few waves rolled in.

For a while, neither of them spoke.

Just the water. The stars. The breeze.

Finally, Natasha tilted her head to glance at him. "How's the grape?"

Aron snorted. "Alive. Fully re-haired. Possibly plotting interdimensional pranks."

"She kissed you?"

"How do you know?"

She pointed at the little stain of lipstick near his collar.

"You jealous?" Aron smirked.

---

**[POWERSTONES & Reviews]***

If you like my work, you can support me on:-

www.patr eon.com/UnknownMaster

[14 advance Chapters] [No double billing]