The battlefield seemed to pause for a moment as Lucan's calm demeanor returned. Jubilee, balancing precariously on her unicycle, grinned at him with unbridled mischief, her multicolored hair catching the flickering light of her whimsical creations.
"Oh, my handsome hero," she teased, her voice dripping with playful sarcasm, "is that all you've got? You're starting to bore me. I thought you were more than just a good-looking punching bag!"
Lucan ignored her taunts, his expression unreadable. Inside, his mind was racing.
With a steady breath, he spoke his first word. "Slip."
Jubilee's grin widened. "Slip? What kind of—"
Her sentence was cut short as her unicycle suddenly wobbled. The once-perfectly balanced contraption veered wildly to the side, and Jubilee flailed her arms for balance. "Whoa! Hey, that's not fair!" she squealed, leaping off just before the unicycle tipped over and exploded into a puff of confetti.
