Disclaimer: MARVEL owns the whole X-MEN cast.
Fighting the Enemy Within
by Polka Dot
Jubilee huddled next to the foot of her bed rocking back and
forth and looking at the thick x-ray sheet in her hands. It was
too dark for her to see it, but she knew it was there. Soon Hank
would realize the sheet was missing. She would have to have an
excuse by then. He hadn't figured out what it was yet, but she
knew. He'd want to examine it more closely, she couldn't let that
happen. Blinking back her tears Jubilee concentrated on the sheet
in her hands and watched in a sort of objective fascination as
tiny sparks ate away at it, melting the sheet and forever hiding
her worst fear and her terrible secret.
Logan smelled the burning plastic first. Then he heard the soft
sniffles and crouching down beside Jubilee's door he caught her
scent. It was the scent of fear, her fear. He didn't know what
she was afraid of, but there were no other scents in the room,
well none that he found unusual. He knocked softly on the door.
"Darlin' are you okay?"
"Yes Logan I'm fine."
"Darlin' you know that I can tell when you're lyin' to
me."
"Fine then I'm not okay, but I don't want to talk about it
so go away!"
Logan frowned. There was a time that he would have gone barging
in there to demand the truth. That was not a good idea. Most of
the fights they had been having lately ended with her refusing to
talk to him and holding a grudge for several days afterwords.
Getting the silent treatment from Jubilee was a weird and
unpleasant experience. Besides he was a loner and he knew better
than to intrude, so he decided to give it some time. Maybe he'd
send Bobby up a little later to try to cheer her up. Lately he
was the only one who could get a smile out of Jubilee.
Jubilee listened to Logan walk down the hallway. She felt bad,
but it had to be this way. He wouldn't understand. How could
anyone understand? Jubilee stood up and dumped the remains of the
x-ray sheet into the trash. She caught a quick view of herself in
the mirror. She turned and looked at her reflection. She looked
so normal. She wondered what she would look like after the
transformation took place. Would she be taller? Would she be at
all recognizable or would her face be covered, changed in some
way? She imagined herself in one of Cyclops visors. She ran her
hand through her hair. That would probably go. Daria was bald.
She had always wondered about that. She remembered how scared
Daria had been when she discovered that she wasn't a human being
but a congregation of nanorobots. She had been horrified and so
sad. Jubilee ran a hand down her stomach. Soon she'd be a monster
too.
No! She wouldn't let it go that far. According to the x-ray she
still had time. She would make sure that she joined her parents
and Daria before she let it go that far. She would die. She'd
kill herself if she had to. It was the only way. Jubilee took a
deep breath, resolving it in her mind. She needed to find a way
to do it. It wouldn't be easy. This place was so crowded and
there were several telepaths in the area. Oh sure they said that
they would never pry, but then again they always seem to pick up
on things so quickly, or give you little secretive smiles that
you couldn't figure out until you realized you were thinking
something funny or worse something dirty. She would have to get
away from here, but if she ran away then Logan would go after her
and probably find her before she could complete her task. What
she needed was a reason for leaving. She also needed to go alone.
That was tough. She was still technically a child and so she
really wasn't allowed to travel anywhere by herself. If Logan
couldn't accompany her, it was Bobby or Hank and once they even
stuck Gambit with the job.
She could ditch Bobby. Maybe she'd request his company on her
little trip. It wouldn't seem too suspicious since she had been
fighting a lot with Logan lately. Plus Bobby was always looking
for an excuse to get out of training. Jubilee smiled for the
first time in days. It was perfect. She would come up with some
reason for going to Southern California, it was her old home and
hence the most plausible place for her to have to go, she'd take
Bobby with her and then kill herself when she was alone. Maybe
she'd throw herself in the sea. That'd be poetic. She would have
to write a note though, so Bobby didn't get in trouble. Jubilee
nodded to her reflection. Everything looked good to go.
Bobby stood outside Jubilee's door and pressed his ear up against
it. She wasn't crying at least he couldn't hear her. Logan had
said she was, but that was about an hour ago. Maybe she was was
feeling better. He really hoped so, she'd been so down lately. He
thought that most of the time he was with her, she was just
humoring in and not really interested in his jokes. He knocked on
the door.
"Who is it?"
"It's me Jube. I just wanted to see what you were up to. You
know Blue Seed's on the Action channel right now. You'd better
hurry up if you wanna see what animal Momiji's sporting on her
underwear."
Bobby jumped back as the door swung open. Jubilee had a big,
almost scary smile on her face. "Robert Drake, just the man
I wanted to see!"
'Uh-oh' Bobby thought. That was the way that Hank talked to him
just before he stuck some 3 inch long needle into Bobby's arm.
"Is there something I can do for you Jubes?"
"Well actually..." Jubilee smiled sweetly and batted
her eyes. "I kinda have a big favor to ask you. I need to go
to SoCal and stick some roses on my parents graves. It's like
their wedding anniversary and I made them this promise, but I
forgot last year so I gotta go early this year and do some
penance. I hate to drag you away from your training but you know
that Cyke won't let me go on my own and it's major bad karma if I
don't."
"Well ahh, I would like to help you out Jube, but why don't
you ask Wolverine?"
Jubilee scowled. "Umm me and him aren't getting along so
well right now. I think we need a little break you know. Some
down time."
"Oh ah well I gotta check with Scott you know." Bobby
looked at the ceiling nervously. He didn't want Logan to kill him
for this, but he would so love to get out of his Danger room
sessions for a week.
"I know, but hey don't worry about it. Cyke and I gotta this
orphan kinship sorta thing going. I'm sure I can get him to cut
you loose. Well we'd better motor if we wanna check the
Aragami." Jubilee walked out of her room and linked her arm
with Bobby's as they headed down the hall.
Logan leaned against the wall and looked down the hall as the
pair disappeared. It hurt to know that she wanted to get away
from him, but maybe they did need some down time, as she put it.
She was growing up and he wasn't exactly the model of patience
lately. He had no idea what set her off. Why she was happy one
moment and sad the next. He was happy that Bobby had managed to
cheer her up once again. He used to have that affect on her.
Lately just being there wasn't enough to make her happy though.
Oh well maybe it was just a phase, part of the terrible teens.
Goodness knows Kitty had her moments then too. He'd survived her
mood swings and turbulent emotions. He could survive this too.
________________________________________________________________________________
Jubilee knew that she had to keep her cool, give away nothing. It
was hard though. She wanted to hug her friends good-bye and let
them know how much they all meant to her, but a spontaneous show
of emotion like that would cause suspicions to arise. She wanted
to at least mend things a little with Wolvie. She knew he'd be
forever guilty if she died and the last thing he'd said to her
was out of anger.
She trotted out to the back of the house and nosed around until
she spotted him. "Heya Wolvie weren't you gonna say
good-bye?"
"Off already?"
She nodded. "Mm-hmm."
"Well have fun." He replied gruffly, not really looking
at her.
"I'm sure the sunshine will cheer me up, course it's not
really supposed to be a fun trip." She hung her head, he was
obviously more hurt than she had realized. "I'm sorry I've
been a pill lately."
"It's alright darlin'. I know that you got your reasons. I
would just prefer if you shared them with me before you bit my
head off."
Jubilee frowned. "Well you're not always the most
understanding person ya'know. Sometimes you're gloomier than
Gambit."
Logan's eyebrows shot up and he looked like he was about to say
something really nasty, but bit his tongue instead. "Yeah I
guess I can be a pill too sometimes. I ain't as bad as gumbo
though ya'know." He looked at her and smiled. "We
friends again?"
Jubilee smiled back. "Sure Wolvie, we'll always be
friends."
He nodded and held him arms open. "Well get over here and
give me a hug so you can get outta here. You know you wait too
long and that ice cube'll melt."
Jubilee wrapped her arms around his neck and gave him a big hug.
"I know." She blinked back tears when she realized this
would be the last time she saw him.
Logan noticed but decided to chalk it up to another mood swing.
He patted her on the back and pulled away. "Be good darlin'.
Don't give Bobby too hard of a time."
"I won't!" Jubilee said as she ran to the car waving.
'I'm sorry Wolvie.' She thought.
______________________________________________________________________________________
'I'm sorry Wolvie.' Jean's head shot up off the table as the
stray thought hit her mind. She knew it had come from Jubilee.
She didn't want to intrude, but she decided to do a light scan
just to make sure that nothing was wrong. She sensed Logan in the
backyard, he seemed happier than he had been for days. Jubilee
and Bobby were out front with Hank, preparing to leave. Bobby was
excited, Hank in good spirits but Jubilee was very depressed.
That wasn't a big surprise, she'd been drepressed for several
days now. Jean had tried to talk to her about it, but she wasn't
forthcoming and she was a teenager. They were moody, so Jean
decided to let it go. She sighed, hopefully this trip to
California would do her some good.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________
Jubilee laid out in the Los Angeles sun just relaxing. She
figured if these were her last days on earth she wanted to enjoy
them. She had written letters to her parents, Wolvie, Bobby and
the rest of the X-Men. Her letter to her parents was basically an
update of all that was going on in her life and a promise to see
them soon. She had burned that letter over her parents grave,
willing the ashes to heaven or wherever since she wasn't a
particularly religious person. The other letters she had mailed
today, except Bobby's. She left his in the hotel room. She knew
she could sneak out if she got up early enough. Bobby slept like
a log.
Jubilee took just enough money for the cab ride there. That's all
she needed since she wasn't coming back. She stood up along the
shoreline looking out several hundred feet up from the coastline.
She had been to the Redwood National Forest as a child and was
impressed that she remembered this place. She sat down and
enjoyed a light lunch. There was no need to die on an empty
stomach and it had taken several hours to get here. Looking over
over the crashing waves below she had second thoughts. She didn't
want to die, but there were fates worse than death. She decided
that she was being a coward.
Jubilee stood right on the rocky edge and spread her arms to her
side. She took a deep breath and smiled letting fireworks spill
from her hands. Even though she couldn't see herself she figured
if anyone was looking at her, they would get a pretty decent
show. Jubilee leaned forward and let the wind take her.
The wind turned icy and cold. She hit something hard and slid
down a slide of ice into the waiting arms of the Iceman. With the
sun glinting off his frozen body, Bobby looked fierce. He was
angry and the second that he placed her down on the sandy shore,
he began to shake her.
"What the hell were you thinking Jubilee? Do you know how
lucky you are?! I just got here. If it wasn't for that little
fireworks display I probably would've missed you, you fool!"
"Let go Bobby!" Jubilee pushed away from the frozen
arms and felt a disturbing buzz in her head.
"Are you kidding. No way. I am dragging your ass to Salem
Center today and we are talking to Hank. Did you ever think of
that? You know Hank's a genius, you never even tried."
"I said let go!" Jubilee shot fireworks out of the
palms of her hands as she felt white fire rip through her head
and body. "Mutant Designate: Iceman, you will be
terminated."
Bobby watched in horror as purple and pink metal began encasing
Jubilee's arms and head. Her eyes glowed red and she hit him with
a blinding array of sparks that sent him retreating behind an
outcropping of rocks for safety. He shook his head in disbelief
and prayed for the X-Men to come.
Jubilee lowered her metal gloved hands and howled. "Bobby
I'm so sorry! Why didn't you let me fall? I knew this would
happen, but I'm still in control and I'm putting an end to it
now!" She began to glow brightly as fireworks danced around
her entire body. She filled her hands will paffs and lowered her
tear-stained face directly into the inferno.
"Jubilee No!" Bobby screamed as he saw her trying to
blow her own head off.
Icy tendrils made their way over her skin, dampening the force of
her paffs and chilling her breath. As the cold penetrated deeper,
her heart began to slow down and Jubilee felt the agony in her
head fade along with her conciousness. She fought to finish her
task. She concentrated all of her waning strength onto a final
handful of sparks and sent them shooting up her nose.
Jubilee fell to the ground bleeding badly from the head. The
smell of burnt flesh made Bobby gag for a minute, but he scooped
her up into his arms and waited for the Blackbird to carry them
home.
_____________________________________________________________________
She woke up to the sound of heavy snoring. It was Logan, but he
wasn't beside her bed. He was on the other side of the glass
window. If Jubilee looked really closely she could see glimmering
lines of blue threaded through the glass. She was a prisoner. She
concentrated and tried to call forth her powers. They were
unresponsive: mutant dampers. The word mutant ran through her
mind quickly and she felt angry. She felt like she wanted to
smash something. She knew it was the prime sentinel programming.
Further thoughts fled when the door to her 'room' opened and Hank
walked in followed closely by Logan.
"And how is the patient feeling today?"
"Like a dangerous enemy. Don't trust me?"
"Darlin'."
"I'm sorry Jubilation but after what you did the last time
you woke up..."
"The last time I woke up?"
"Yes when you blew up half the med lab and broke Cecelia's
arm." Hank watched the blood drain from Jubilee's face, the
unbandaged part of it. "You mean you don't remember? I guess
I shouldn't be surprised. You were subdued by a psychic punch
from our resident redhead that overloaded your frontal lobe's
synapses and gave you a mild concusiion whilest inducing
unconciousness."
"No kidding. Did I happen to say anything interesting
'whilest' I was doing all this damage?"
"Yeah you called Jean and Cecelia mutant designates and
threatened them with termination." Logan stepped forward and
tossed a lump of disfigured plastic into her lap. "I'm no
genius but I guess it's got somethin' ta do with this here x-ray
you fried."
"So you got me letter?"
Logan growled. "Yeah."
"I don't get what you're so upset about Wolvie. I'm assuming
with the extra security that Hank can't figure out how to get the
implants outta my head, so what did you expect me ta do, become a
mindless sentinel? Do you want to see me kill everybody that I've
ever cared for?!"
"Damnit Jubilee, you should've said something before you
went off and did somethin' as crazy as trying to kill yourself!
Did you think about what that would do ta all of us? You
should've at least let Hank try. He can't now that you've gone
and fried half the skin on your face off. By the time we got to
you an' Bobby, it was hard enough just to keep you alive."
Logan punched the wall sending cracks up to the ceiling. When he
pulled his hand away Jubilee caught a glint of metal off of his
blades. The image of Logan with those blades sticking out of his
hands sent fire through Jubilee's veins. Before she knew what she
was doing she had jumped off of the bed and tackled him, pushing
him onto the ground and punching him with fist that were covered
in purple metal.
"Die mutant!"
Hank grabbed Jubilee and pulled her off of Logan. He had prepared
a sedative just in case things got violent. He pulled the syringe
out of his pocket and stuck it into Jubilee's neck, careful of
the gleaming line of metal that was emerging from her skin. She
slumped in his arms and he placed her on the bed.
___________________________________________________________
Jubilee flicked her wrist and sent her line back in the water.
She pulled her baseball cap down further on her head, to keep the
sun off of her still healing flesh. She had the urge to dip her
fingers in the water, but she didn't want to get her bandages
wet. She frowned as she noticed that her bag of Robin's eggs was
almost gone. Turning her head in Wolvie's direction she noticed
that he was out again. She'd find it funny, how many hours a day
he slept, if she didn't know about his nights. He never slept
through the night. A lot of that was her fault. She still woke up
screaming and Logan had to calm her down while at the same time
being wary. She could turn at any minute. He never popped his
claws in front of her anymore, but if he got a cut and she saw it
heal, she'd feel the rage within her. She was cutoff from her own
mutant powers too.
She really missed them, but it had to be done. Hank had implanted
something within her so that she couldn't dig it out and complete
her self-lobotomy. For right now she was fine. She liked it here
in Canada with Wolvie. She got to see so little of him before.
Soon though the cold would move in and she wasn't looking forward
to that. She had a hard time coping with winter in Salem and
later in Mass. It would be hell out here in the mountains of
Canada. She couldn't go back into the real world until Hank
figured out how to remove her implants. It could be years. Even
being around normal humans in a towm was too risky. She could
accidently run into a mutant and then she'd become a killing
machine again.
Logan's head shot up and he growled softly.
"Wolvie?"
"Stay here darlin'. Don't leave this boat." He said as
he pulled off his hat and boots and jumped into the water.
"Why? Wolvie what's going on?" He didn't answer her,
instead he just swam to the shore and sprinted off into the
woods.
Jubilee wanted to follow, but she was basically defenseless
without her powers. She would just get in Wolvie's way. Instead
she laid down in the boat looking at the sky and listening the
the water sloush up against the boat's sides. 'Please be okay,
Wolvie.'
________
"Wake up frail. Uncle Vic's come ta visit ya."
Jubilee's eyes shot open at the sound of the gravelly voice that
came across the water. She felt like her heart might explode from
beating so hard. She peered over the edge of the boat and
screamed. Sabertooth stood on the lakeshore holding Wolverine by
his neck. Wolverine was obviously unconcious. Both men were
covered in blood and there were a couple of cuts so deep that
Jubilee could see the sun glinting off of adamantium coated bone.
She felt tears falling from her eyes and anger. She tried to call
forth her powers but of course nothing happened.
Sabertooth tossed Logan's body down into the water. He then began
to walk into the lake. He was coming for her. She didn't know
what to do. He was going to come and kill her. She couldn't run,
he was faster than her. She couldn't fight, he was stronger than
her. All she could do was die. Die at the hands of that monster,
that animal, that mutant.
Jubilee ground her teeth together. The thought popped into her
head again. A mutant was coming to kill her. A dirty, stinking,
filthy mutant! She began to shake from rage and hatred. It ran
through her veins like fire. It exploded from her skin in the
form of liquid metal. She watched in horror and fascination as
her skin was soon sheathed in the pink and purple metal of a
prime sentinel. She looked towards the water. She peered through
the boat. She could see him. She sensed his heat and engaged her
jets before he ripped through the boat. She hoovered in the air
and gazed down at the feral mutant thrashing at her from the
water below.
"Mutant designate: Sabertooth, you will be terminated."
She said as she aimed her palms at him and let a pulse of pure
energy flow from her hands. Sabertooth screamed and the water
around him exploded into a cloud of steam. He threw up his arms
and the flesh burned away from his forearms exposing the metal
bone underneath. He fell down to the lake's bottom but Jubilee's
sensors told her that he wasn't dead. She hit him with a second
blast. This time the mutant inhibitor inside her wasn't enough to
keep her powers at bay. Her paffs, combined with the sentinel's
energy pulsors, ripped Sabertooth into pieces. Flesh and muscle
evaporated leaving only a gleaming skeleton behind.
Jubilee smiled. "Mutant terminated." She sent out a
signal to the GPS and awaited directions to the nearest base for
maintenance and repair. Suddenly pain erupted deep within her
chest and she felt a rush of cool water wash over her. When she
bobbed to the surface of the lake a wet heat erupted from her
mouth and flowed down her chin and neck. She looked down and saw
three bloody metal blades emerging from her chest.
"Wolverine?" Her voice was barely a whisper.
A strong arm encircled her waist and a rough chin scraped against
the side of her face. "I'm so sorry darlin'." His voice
was choked with tears.
"It's okay Wolvie, you did the right thing." Jubilee
said as she sent out a signal requesting backup. "You will
not escape mutant." She powered up for a blast.
"I love ya darlin'." She heard right before she felt
him push his blades higher into her chest, piercing her heart.
She never heard the howl that he gave when he pulled her back to
the shore.
Home X-Men Fics