Seasoned: Part 11

by Yezra

All this, and Remy had heard nothing from Jubilee. He was beginning to panic. Professor Xavier and Jean were no help, as she wasn't responding psychically, either. No one was really sure what to do about her situation. She was no longer an 'official' X-Man, and her work was not part of any X-Team endeavors. Plus, as everyone had been made aware, she had her own people to help her, and her own agenda to carry out.

But that was not good enough for Remy anymore. Jubilee may as well have been his own flesh and blood, and as much as they had discussed how limited her contact was going to be before she left, he felt sure something had gone wrong. And Logan wasn't the only one that had pull with powerful people.

"Whaddya want, LeBeau?"

"Nah, it's me! Hey, Sugah!"

"Well, well, well… If it ain't Mrs. Rogue LeBeau. To what do I owe the pleasure? That thief husband of yours break yer pretty heart yet? Ya want I should shoot 'im?"

Fury chuckled into the receiver. Rogue rolled her eyes, grinning. He always knew how to open a conversation. "No, he has not. But we need ta talk to you about somethin'… s'kinda important." She heard the clinking of glasses in the background and the sound of several conversations going at once. "Nicholas, Ah interrupt a party or somethin'?"

"Nah, nothin' like that, I'm in a bar."

Rogue heard a woman announce she was going to get refills on their drinks, and Fury acknowledged, calling the woman 'sweetheart' at the end. The southern beauty smiled. "Why Colonel Fury – are yah'll onna date?! You dawg!" She giggled.

"Yeah, it just so happens I am, but never you mind that young lady." He paused, shifting the cell phone from one ear to the other. "Look, Rogue… This line probably ain't secure. Where you at?"

"We're by the boats, Sugah."

"I'll call ya back."

Rogue ended the call and handed the phone to Remy. "He's goin' to a pay phone, Ah'll wager. Make it short, Cajun."

"Oui, Ma Chere."

The boathouse phone rang and Remy answered.

"Ello?"

"What's the situation, LeBeau?"

"I know dat you know where Logan's lil' femme went. She not been checkin' in wit Gambit for way too long now. I startin' to t'ink dere's a problem, Colonel."

"Yeah? Well, what's Logan got ta say about that?"

"Not much. Logan and de priest been in Europe since de riot. We got to do sometin'."

"Well, as a matter o' fact, I got me a phone call the other mornin'. Yer resident redheaded scanner told me 'bout a lil' dream she had. Logan's tryin' ta get ta Moscow. Seems he's goin' after his lady."

"Yeah, but how we know dat de petite even know 'bout de conference? Gambit don' even know if she met up wit her contacts! She's just too close to Kazakstan for comfort, mon ami."

"Logan knows enough to go around Kazakstan to get to Moscow, and she will too. He won't jump into this blind. If he meets up with Carter, I can guarantee him, the brat, and the good blue father a ride home."

"You willing to bet dat she's on her way to de conference? Gambit not. I know she won' pick up an' leave dere if she got people dat need her help. I don' t'ink she gon' make dat conference. I t'ink de petite be in trouble, and Logan pro'bly goin' outta his head wit worryin' 'bout her. He won' wan' come home, Colonel. He'll wan' go to Mongolia to get de firecracker." Remy heard Fury pause, and the smile was evident in the old soldier's voice.

"Yeah, okay… I guess I figgered that, too, Cajun. Hang up."

Remy put the phone back in its recharging cradle and stared at it. He looked up at Rogue, eyebrows knitting together.

"Now he's switchin' pay phones, Sugah." She grinned, combing out her hair.

He rolled his demon eyes. "Gambit know dat, Chere." Less than a minute later it rang again. Remy grabbed it and didn't wait to start talking.

From the old wooden phone booth he was sitting in, Fury narrowed his eyes at the crowd, watching for any odd behavior out of habit. "De conference is too far away. I wan' go get her, right now."

Fury sighed. "I figgered that, too. But, you been to Mongolia lately, Cajun? You got contacts there? You speak any form of Mandarin at all? If you go there is no guarantee yer gonna find her. I got a much better chance." Remy didn't answer. "What – don’t you think the old man can handle it? Besides, I owe Logan one."

LeBeau chewed the inside of his lip. "I t'ought dat he owed you one, mon ami."

"It's all the same difference, trust me."

"Okay, den… What do you need from Gambit?"

"Just tell me what you know about where she went and who she was supposed to have met. Me'n SHIELD's resources will do the rest."

The conversation went fast, with Remy telling Nick about David Heisler and Summeta Karamshi, the cargo ship, the semi truck, and the city she was supposed to have met them in. Nick switched phones one last time, and they finished up business. He told Remy that he would leave tomorrow, but it was going to have to be under the radar and outside of any professional jurisdiction, SHIELD's included.

"How you gon' do dis wit'out SHIELD?"

"I said I'm doin' it without SHIELD's jurisdiction, not her resources. I'm still the damn Director." Fury glanced over at Jane as she returned to their table. "I can do whatever the hell I want. I can take anything I want out of the armory," he said, pausing to think about that statement in terms of Jane. "An' I don’t gotta return it, neither."

Remy laughed softly. "Someday you gon' get de book t'rown at you Colonel. Gambit just wan' you know… I got your back when dat day comes."

"Yeah, well… Let 'em fire me. But until then, no yakkin' about this, ya got me?"

"D'Accord, Colonel. You t'ink it possible dat Logan beat you to de lil' femme?"

Nick sneered. "With him, anything can happen. But he's probably got a long way to go on foot. And you know how attracted to trouble that hairball is. Maybe him'n his blue buddy will show up in Moscow just in time fer another riot."

"Dat wasn't funny."

"Doya hear me laughin', thief? I wasn't buddies with Worthington… but it made me sick, the way he was murdered."

Remy paused. "What's happenin' to dis planet, mon ami? We got to go in hidin' soon, neh?"

Fury frowned at his choice of words. "I don't wanna say yes to that, Cajun… But it's concernin' me lately, the fate of some of my friends."

Remy said his thanks to the SHIELD agent, and hung up.

Nick finally came back to the table, where Jane was sitting with their drinks and some fresh popcorn. She leaned back in her chair and grinned up at him as he passed behind her. "Geez… I thought you ditched me for a moment."

He smiled tightly, leaning over and kissing her on the forehead before he sat back down. "Not a chance."

Jane handed Nick a shot of whiskey and a beer from the bar. "You don't look very happy. Dare I ask?"

He downed the shot in one gulp. Nick sighed, looking over her face. Things were going very well between them, despite the obvious physical hurdles. He didn't relish the idea of leaving her to run off on some damn fool mission, official or otherwise… but he also knew that with his job, this day would have come for them sooner or later. With an expression caught between confusion and curiosity, Jane tilted her head at him. He reached across the table to squeeze her hand gently.

"I gotta go help a friend out tomorrow. I'll be away for a while. And we better talk about this now before we get back to my place… while we're still out of range."

***

It was five-thirty am, and Jane handed Nick his second cup of coffee while she stood at the sink nursing her first. She didn't look very happy. He watched her eyes as he finished pulling down his sweatshirt over his t-shirt. She was avoiding looking at him directly, and she turned around slowly to face the kitchen wall. Nick frowned, straightening out the hem of his shirt. He stepped forward to put a hand at the small of back. "Sweetheart, I can't ignore this. I gotta go help her. You okay with that?" She turned, right into his arms, but was still avoiding eye contact with him.

Jane reached up to finger the ribbed collar of his sweatshirt. "Yeah, um… it's not that you're going away…" She pursed her lips, pausing, clearly in thought. Then she blurted out, "Jesus, Nick, I don't want to bring this up now…"

"C'mon, babe. Just tell me."

She sighed, pulling out of his embrace gently, and picked up her coffee. She fingered the edge of the mug absentmindedly, enjoying the comforting feel of warm ceramic. "Okay," she sighed, her voice tired, "So I've lost count. How many times have we tried so far?"

He eyed her while swallowing a mouthful of coffee, and then answered her casually. "A few times."

"Nicholas…"

"Okay, okay! Several times. Lots o' times in more'n a few weeks. I ain't countin' and neither should you." Jane groaned and rubbed her temples. She was already stressed out about their sex life, and they had barely gotten started.

Since the night of the Hockey game she'd been living at his penthouse apartment. They'd even made it public information. Friends like Sharon Carter and Steve Rogers were thrilled for them, but the SHIELD medstaff wasn't too happy about it. Nick succinctly told them to kiss his ass. He even sent them a memo for posterity.

He and Jane did some careful experimentation, even though she was resistant after the first few tries and quickly wanted to forget about the whole thing. Jane even made the suggestion that they continue living together, because it seemed to be good for them both. But that he should 'date other women… or even find a few call girls. As long as they aren’t better looking than me'.

They had a good laugh about that, even though she was totally serious. Nick told her to forget about it, and he insisted they weed out a few variables for the time being. What they learned was that Jane's emotions had a lot more to do with the control of her empathy than she realized. Where a link was once was established solely through the laying on of her hands, it was no longer the same when she was intimate with Nick. In the throes of passion any flesh-to-flesh contact created a link between them. It left very few choices - all involving extreme tactile restraint and various forms of latex products. The few attempts where she hadn't stolen the sensation of his climax were achieved with such clinically impassive means that it actually made her ill. And if that was all they were left with…

Nick could tell that if he added to her stress now, Jane would probably bolt on him while he was off finding Jubilee - whether he actually felt the way she assumed he was feeling, or not. She'd run, especially if SHIELD pushed her too hard while he was gone. And if she did that, they'd go after her for sure. They wouldn't be so nice about letting her live outside the medlab a second time, if – when - they found her.

"This isn't gonna work…" She shook her head and turned away from him, staring down into the sink of his immaculate kitchen.

"Hey… hey now… You just hold on a minute," his voice grew softer as he set down his mug, took hers away from her hands, and pulled her close against him. "I won't accept that nothin's ever gonna change for us in that department. You better not give up either." She frowned, refusing to look him in the eye. He crooked a finger under her chin and forced her to look at him. "Janie … are you upset cuz I'm leavin' and we haven't had the chance ta really talk about what's been happenin' in the sack yet? Or just over what's been happenin'?" He stroked the side of her cheek with a rough knuckle.

She exhaled, pushing away from him a little. Her face became serious. "You have to go. I understand that Nick, I want you to help that woman. But it's…" Jane looked up at him for a moment; the words failed her. She bit her lower lip and re-tied her robe belt, just for something to do with her hands. She looked backed at him with a very un-amused expression. "It's what isn't happening. Don't mince words. You come, I steal it, just like I always have, with every guy I've been with." Nick shrugged as if it was no big deal. She knew better. "Oh, sure… it's fine now. But that won't last. And then neither will we."

Fury smirked at her. He'd been around too long to just give up on things like she was suggesting. He spoke to her quietly, even though he was already revved up about Jubilee. "Have a little faith in me, Sweetheart. If all I was lookin' for was an easy fuck, I got some numbers in my black book fer that, trust me." She smiled sadly, still not completely convinced. "Janie… I'm not lookin' at this like it's some fling, you know that. An' unless I'm mistakin' things here, yer feelin' the same way?" She smiled shyly and nodded at him. "I want more for us than what we got. An' I ain't blind to what it's gonna take, but you gotta have some faith in my patience."

She looked away and smiled, and her face filled up with a nice warm blush. "Not a fling, huh?" When she looked back at him, he was smiling too. So she decided to tease him. "Well, if it's any consolation, Nicholas… this, um, thing you're not feeling…? It feels really good to me."

Nick sneered at her. "Gee, thanks so much fer sharin'." He gave her a crooked smile. "In the meantime," he reached over to a pack of sticky notes on the fridge and peeled one off, "Here." He scrawled a phone number on a note and handed it to Jane. "A sweet little southern dish should answer - she'd be the wife of that Cajun punk I was talkin' with last night? The two o' you should get together and compare notes about all this touchy-feely-stealy stuff. She's got some personal experience that's comparable."

She fingered the note. He could tell she felt better because there was a certain sarcasm in her eyes that matched her tone. "Heh… touchy-feely-stealy stuff? That's cute, Colonel. But you want me to discuss … um, our sex life… with a complete stranger?"

"Don't be shy, baby," Nick teased, slipping on his SHIELD jacket and pulling her towards him by the belt on her robe. He kissed her urgently, gently holding her chin with one hand. He could tell her knees were giving out and he broke the kiss all too soon, just to torture her. "Life's too short ta be shy."

"Life is short? That's rich, coming from you." She pouted.

Nick gave her a seductive smile and let her go. When he looked back at her, she frowned the slightest amount and looked away from him. "What is it?" She looked back up at him, biting her lower lip. "Janie?"

Jane shook her head and reached for the pack of sticky notes on the fridge. She grabbed the pen, and said brightly, "Nothing's wrong," while writing him a note. He took it and read it.

'I'm scared of what Shield will do while you're gone.'

He looked back down at her face, and she wore a pained expression. "Sorry, I know it's lame," she whispered. Nick knew she was right, and he wasn't about to take that chance. He shook his head and grabbed the note pad from her, writing as fast as he could. He handed the note to her, and she read it quickly.

'Pack a bag. Rogue will pick you up at Martin's tonight. You'll be safe at Xavier's til I get back.'

She read it, then a grin slowly spread across her face. She scribbled another note.

'Xavier's as in the X-Mansion? THE X-MEN?!?!'

Nick laughed lightly at her earnest expression and whispered, "Yes."

Jane looked down at the note with the LeBeau's phone number on it, and her grin became very cheesy. "Wow… cool…"

Nick took the other sticky notes and stuffed them in his pocket. He winked at her and opened the door, letting himself out. She gave him a dazed look right before stopping him.

"Hey!"

She tugged on his sleeve. She was about to open her mouth when he put a finger to her lips. "Uh-uh, don't you dare say that word, Janie. I hate that word."

"I know that," she chided, pulling his hand away. "I was just gonna tell you to have a good day is all."

Nick grinned. "I'll see you soon. Be a good girl." He gave her a peck on the cheek and shut the door.

Jane sighed, and bolted the locks to his apartment door. She smiled, thinking about the way he had looked at her when he told her it wasn’t a fling, and leaning on the back of his door.

To hell with SHIELD and whatever they know about us living together…

***

Of course, they already did know about it. Congressmen Donald Wentworth digested the information as soon as it was brought to him by Agent 148. She maintained her outward cool fairly well, despite the fact that her heart was ready to beat its way out of her chest.

"How far along is he?"

148 cleared her throat. "He'll be in Mongolia in just over two days. Estimated."

Wentworth eyed her for a moment. He pursed his thick lips and closed the file. "For now, we have to accept that we have lost Karamshi. Lee is still of no consideration to our plans. But Fury cannot be made suspicious at this point. He is too valuable. Abort the operation and allow her to be broken out."

"And of the FOH agents there?"

He sneered at the agent. "You were debriefed, yes?" She tried not to react. "The only FOH there is the team leader, and he is a SHIELD double. Inform him to expect Fury's arrival. He can arrange it so that the security behaves loose, thereby increasing Fury's ease of rescue. The rest of that group are Pro-Human Party members; they are expendable. Including that female doctor."

148 felt a chill go up her spine, knowing that it could just as easily have been her in charge of Jubilee's incarceration. She took back the folder from the Congressman and excused herself, shutting the door behind her. Wentworth sighed to himself, dialing up one of his contacts in California for an update.

"Snags… I fucking hate snags."

***

Rogue wasted no time in getting Jane into the air and back to the boathouse when she met her at Martin's Lounge. The pleasantries were dispensed with quickly, as both women had easy smiles and confident handshakes. Jane's bag was tossed over Rogue's shoulder, then she picked up the small towhead in her arms, and they were off. Jane yelped at first, as she was treated to the aerial spectacle of New York City at night while flown to Xavier's mansion. But within a few moments she was yelling with glee. Several dives and rolls later, she made Rogue promise her a daytime flight in the future. Rogue nearly mentioned how much better Warren's flights were, what with his strong arms, handsome face and his beautiful wings to stare at… but she sadly swallowed her words.

They landed on the steps of the boathouse, and were greeted by Remy. He bowed and kissed Jane's hand, casually telling her that she was far too nice a 'chere for de likes of Colonel Fury'. Jane already knew that empathy was among Remy's mutant powers, although it was not the same kind as hers. As she knew what it was and where it came from, she also felt it. It was practically tangible. Even though she knew Remy was 'working' her, she allowed herself to be wooed by his reassurance anyway, because it felt too damn good. She was amazed at how smoothly he wielded it.

Rogue swatted him away and rolled her eyes. "Why don’t you go up and play pool with Bobby? Or better yet, go tell Nat a bedtime story. Lemme get Jane some dinner. Us gals will get to know each other, and then Ah'll bring her an' her things up to the mansion. Emma said she'd have a room made up."

Remy pouted at his wife. "But, Roguey… Gambit wan' stay and listen to de girl talk." He raised his eyebrows suggestively and smiled at Jane. She smiled back, suddenly realizing why Nick called the suave, handsome X-Man a regular punk. She was definitely going to like it here.

Mimicking Millie's voice pattern, Rogue threatened to flatten him into something she called Two-Dimensional Man. Remy paled slightly, remembering the last time he pissed her off bad enough that she actually did it. While no real harm had come to him, it had been the most terrifying eight seconds of his entire life. He grabbed his jacket and ran out the door.

Jane helped Rogue make some Creole-style dip and cut-up veggies. They re-heated some leftover gumbo, opened two beers, and settled on the couch with the treats. "Ah'll bet Remy was savin' this here gumbo for a midnight snack, but whut he don't know ain't gonna hurt 'im." Jane was enjoying herself. Given all that had happened to her, she had accumulated no female friends over the years, aside from chatting with Sharon Carter once in awhile. Rogue had already made her feel welcome, just by letting her putz in the kitchen like an old friend would have. She leaned back into the couch, nursing her beer.

"Nick said you, um…"

"Ah whut, Sugah?" Rogue smiled at her. The southern woman's obvious charm made Jane feel at ease, but the subject matter was still pretty touchy.

She cleared her throat. "He said that you have some experience in stealing other people's sensations, like me."

Rogue smiled, laughing lightly. "Sensations, huh? Yeah, Ah can take them. Ah can take them an' a whole lotta othah things in the process. You a mutant, Janie?"

She shook her head. "No, not quite. But I am in a fringe population. I'm an Empath, like your husband… but I think I'm supposed to be a healer, like my grandmother…" Her voice faltered, and she frowned. "I never got a handle on the things I can do. It doesn't work the way it should. I'm kind of a cross between you and Remy."

"Ya mean yer abilities are impaired?"

"No. No, they aren’t honed. I can take someone's pain away… and I'm just now learning how to transfer it, which I don’t care for too much."

A shadow passed over Rogue's face. "Doin' that can have it's advantages, Sugah."

Jane nodded. "I guess it can… But my problem is I can't control the power or distinguish between strong sensations when I'm… distracted. I end up stealing good stuff, too. Stuff that, um, a guy would rather feel for himself. If you get my meaning."

Rogue nodded slowly. She looked back at Jane, who was clearly uncomfortable with the turn of the conversation. Rogue put out a gloved hand out to her, patting her on the knee. "C'mon now, Janie. Iffin ya cain't talk about it, yer nevah gonna be able to fix it!" Jane shrugged, smiling weakly. "'Sides, Ah think you an' me gonna get along jus' fine. There ain't too many women in the world that know exactly what it feels like for a man to, well… you know whut Ah mean!" She giggled furiously, and Jane blushed. "An' you're gonna meet at least two more women in that lil' club up at the mansion. How's them fer good odds?!" Jane giggled right along with her. "An' if Ah know Charles Xavier, he's gonna wanna meet you, too. He's had his share of girlfriends and he ain't exactly a slouch when it comes to what us ladies feel. He may be able to help ya as well." Jane's eyes widened, then she laughed and covered her face with her palms. "Whut?" Rogue smiled, confused, "Whut'd Ah say?"

Jane took her hands away, smirking. "Oh, God! I've got enough trouble just talking about it with another woman! I'd turn beet red if I discussed this with a man!"

Rogue laughed with her, remembering when it was that she herself had still been too shy to talk to Charles about the same subject. It felt like a hundred years ago.

***

Nicholas Fury was already in Mongolia, in the same city that Jubilee was being held in, not in 'just over two days, estimated', but in less than twenty-nine hours. No one knew how many contacts and favors a man in his position could call in. Moving from point A to point B while staying under the radar was as easy to him as breathing was to the average man.

While on his way to find Jubilee, he decided to cut the SHIELD transmitter out of his neck himself, so that they - or anyone else - couldn't track him. Using his shaving kit mirror, a number eleven exacto blade, and two steely hands, he avoided any major tissues and ended up with nothing more than a nasty cut. He crushed the chip beneath his combat boot, doused his neck with some peroxide, slapped a piece of coagulating film onto the cut, and moved on.

With nothing more than a small bag and his black body armor under his civvies, he went right to the streets of the city. He dealt with the seedier locals, asking around for a few days. He finally worked his way to Sumeeta's boys, and for a few bottles of beer and some watermelon bubble gum, they led him to her.

He watched her closely, realizing he had no way of doing this without scaring the hell out of her. He only hoped that she wouldn't mimic something rabid and kill him before he got the chance to tell her why he was there. He followed her as she was walking back to her hiding place one day, as a young boy, and yanked her into an alley way. Before he knew it, He was up against a brick wall, with a 132 pound cobra hissing at him, fangs bared and dripping. 132 pounds, less a few ounces that had died weeks previous when she had become the cockroaches.

"Hold up, Karamshi! I'm here ta talk to Heisler. I'm gonna get Jubilation home!" Nick put a hand up, closing his eyes. The snake wavered for a moment. She turned into clear goo, and melted back into Susie. Nick stared at her the whole time, not caring one bit if it was considered rude or not. Morphing was almost always an amazing sight to behold.

Susie stared at him, hard and emotionless. "You'll have to settle for me. David's dead." She crossed her arms and let go a breath. Nick heard the way it shuddered as she released it.

He frowned. "I take it you two were close?"

"We were engaged to be married." Still, no emotions from the woman.

Nick nodded. "I been there, it totally sucks, an' ya have my sympathies. Now tell me where Jubilation is before Wolverine has ta give people that same speech as well."

***

They watched the facility under cover of darkness from across the street. Susie was like a stone, intent on the task at hand no matter how much it actually scared her. Nick watched her now and then; he'd seen young people behave like live wires when they lost someone close. His own demons emerged, fresh and nasty, when he lost his fiancée Pamela Hawley to an air raid in London during World War II. He thought about how vulnerable Sumeeta looked and hoped that this was just some kind of a shell-shock phase… one that she would get out of quickly. He'd rather see her regret her actions and stop, than wallow in them and be lost to anger.

But, for now, she was a determined and valuable ally. She picked up on everything he told her to do with no complaints. In fact, she barely spoke at all.

She told him that FOH had ambushed them, and while they had taken her away, she had no idea who these people holding Jubilee were until she had infiltrated. They waited until she determined that the lab coats had gone to bed and the guards were changing hands. Peach Lab Coat had a staff of four medics, and there were five guards total, working three shifts. Then there was the one in charge. Susie had never seen him personally, but she gleaned that he was in the building at all times. The medics were not a threat - they were always too busy playing with their test tubes to notice anything. Two of the guards would be asleep, and two more would be changing shift with the last one (he had been partnered with the one they sent 'home' due to an opium & hooker scandal). The only wild card was the leader, and that was an acceptable risk.

The plan was for Susie to morph herself under the back door, painful but quick for her, punch in the codes - in the hopes that they were still the same - and let Nick in. Then they were going to disable the security, kill the three guards as silently as possible, and subdue the medstaff if necessary. The only thing left was to open Jubilee's cell and get her out. The sleeping guards and the team leader need never know what was happening until they were long gone. Nick would deal with her inhibitor collar and her condition after they got away.

But as soon as Sumeeta let Nick in, she told him where the cell was, and took off for the rest of the warm bodies in the building. Her intent was to make them all cold. She took off running before he could stop her. He cursed, but moved forward.

The guards were chatting outside the heavy metal door, just at the junction Susie said they would be. Supposedly the keys to the cell were on one of them. He checked his weapon, waited a few beats, and turned into the hall firing.

Three shots, three dead guards.

Nick searched them for the keys, but they were not wearing any. He stood up and leaned close to the door, listening. "Jubilation? Can you hear me?" There was no response. "Shit…"

Nick doubled back and met Susie in the hall. She had Peach Lab Coat by the short hairs. "They changed policy after that guard was disgraced. This one's got the only key to the cell."

"What did you do?" Nick asked the young mutant point blank.

"I eliminated the variables." Her tone was even and unapologetic, made even more eerie by the quiet English accent.

He sighed. What was done, was done. She'd feel guilty about it later… he hoped. "And the wild card?" Peach Lab Coat's nose was bleeding profusely and she looked from one intruder to the other, frantically, not understanding what they were discussing.

"Not to be found."

"It may still be here. Let's get this done."

They ran back to Jubilee's cell. Nick held a gun to Peach Lab Coat's head and she opened the heavy door with shaking fingers.

Nick winced. Susie breathed in sharp at the sight of the young woman. Jubilee was laying on her side, her swollen belly cradled in her hands. Her skin looked yellow in the harsh light, and she seemed very tired. She sat up slowly, disoriented and glaring at the people before her. She blinked a few times before she tried to talk.

"Susie? What are you…? Hey… hiya Colonel Fury…" She grinned, but it did little to help her look better.

"Jesus H. Christmas… Ya said she was pregnant, not ready to pop!" Nick frowned. How in the hell was he going to take care of her until Carter got there?

"You got so big!" Susie grabbed her hands, helping her to her feet, and told her they were leaving. As Jubes walked past the PHP scientist, she yanked the automatic weapon out of Susie's hands and clocked Peach Lab Coat in the head with its metal butt. Susie didn’t react, and Nick stifled a gasp. Jubilee looked down at the body that now lay in the middle of the cell. No one bothered to check it for a pulse.

"That's fer breakin' my body parts, you fucking orange cow," she said, spitting out her words. She looked down at the gun and curled her lip.

"Jubilee…" Nick warned. There was no more time for vengence, they needed to get moving.

The toilet suddenly flushed and Jubilee snarled, pivoting on her heels quickly.

"Goddammit!"

She shrieked and began firing. Nick and Susie winced and backed away as the shiny commode was riddled with metal-piercing bullets. Water began spraying everywhere. Jubilee grinned then, and she handed the gun back to Susie gingerly, as though she no longer wanted to touch it. Her two rescuers looked at her, shocked and confused.

"Oh… just don’t ask. Is anyone left?"

Susie responded. "No, I killed them all. Except for the guy in charge, and that's only because I couldn’t find him."

Nick interjected, gently grasping Jubilee's upper arm in an effort to get her to realize they had to move. "Which is why we gotta leave, girl - he may still be here. And he could call fer help."

"I need to go to the infirmary."

"But Jubes, they’re all dead, except for that one. At least, uh, I think she's breathing." Susie tossed a thumb toward Peach Lab Coat as she clanged the cell door shut on her, locking it from the outside. Nick shook his head. The doctor was liable to starve to death in there.

Jubilee nodded. "Whatever. They have my stuff in a cardboard box in the infirmary. And I'm not leaving without my knife."

Fury conceded for he knew it would do no good to argue; she was as stubborn as Logan. "All right, fine. Just make it snappy."

He had nothing to worry about. No one was coming to the rescue. No additional guards were on their way. Everything had gone according to spec.

***

"Ach, Logan… are you sure Jean said to go to Moscow?" Exhaustion overtaking him, the teleporter plopped down on some hay in the loft of a barn they were crashing in.

Logan growled under his breath. He loved Kurt like a brother, but he was getting more and more antsy with each day that passed. They didn’t have the same agenda, but they had to stick together for now.

"Elf, I told ya, I still don't know if that was really her or just a dream. But it's all I got ta go by. We need to get someplace safe. The Moscow conference is it. If you wanna go back home from there, fine. But my only concern right now is Jubilation. Not the X-Men… Jubes."

"Logan, she probably isn’t even in Moscow."

"Then she ain't safe, is she?" He growled louder. Logan eyed his traveling companion pointedly.

Kurt's voice grew gentle. With everyday that passed he could see the anguish this situation was causing. "She knew ze risks, doing what she is doing. I find it hard to believe zat she is not prepared for de hardships of such a mission."

"Well, that's just it," Logan said, curling up in some hay for the night. " She ain't on a mission. What Jubes does is more along the lines of a service, kinda like the Peace Corps. That means she ain't got no back up. And you said it yerself - the team is too busy with one mutant crisis after another to exhaust their resources lookin' fer us, let alone one woman." Kurt's eyes glowed in the dark as he stared at Logan. He could tell the feral was having trouble talking about Jubilee. Logan settled back and stared at the night sky through some broken slats in the roof. "LeBeau don't know to go looking for her unless she sends him a signal. So bottom line is, she's cut off. And no matter how prepared me or you or anyone else thinks she is for her job, there ain't no way she coulda prepared for the coup that went down in Kazakstan. That's beyond her resources. So if she ain't pushin' wayward mutants out the back door right now, I guarantee ya she's lookin' fer her own way into Russia where it's still relatively safe. An' I ain't willin' ta just sit back and wait fer that chance to come ta her. She's mine, Kurt." Logan paused, thinking. He looked over at the other man. "An' I ain't about to let anyone or anythin' take her away from me now. Not the X-Men's priorities, not the miles, and not the damn FOH."

Kurt sighed. "Vell… far be it from me to turn my back on a fellow man in need," he said quietly. "If you cannot find her in Moscow, I vill go onward with you, wherever zis takes you." He nodded at his teammate, "You have my word."

Logan grinned, finally. It had been days since Kurt had seen him smile.

"Much obliged, Elf. Yer gonna be in the weddin' party, ya know."

"Vedding party?! Ach! Vat is zis, you insult me?!" Kurt laughed. "I am going to conduct ze ceremony, or you are not getting married at all, mein Freund!"

***

Nick had been more than a little bit put off when Sumeeta told him Jubilee's captors had been the Pro-Human Party, not the FOH. If the two groups had worked in tandem to kill David, and then separate and incarcerate the two of them, what other projects were they holding hands on? He knew there was something rotten with the PHP, but he hadn’t realized it gone that far.

"It makes sense, though. The Pro-Humaners are supposed ta be purely political. They'd need military backing fer the kind o' thing they pulled with you, Jubes. The FOH would be the natural choice fer that." He grunted, digging around in his bag for some antiseptic. "So we spoiled their big fuckin' plans, huh? Yer big trial?"

"Yeah, but, my big hanging, ya mean." Jubilee almost said, stuffing her face with rice and some kind of green vegetable soaked in a hot sauce. They were holed up in the same dingy little room that Susie had been hiding in since her own escape. "Dude, they're gonna be majorly ticked off. And you know the FOH is still crawlin' around here. Sooner or later they'll ask for help to," she cleared her throat, "re-acquiring me," she tossed her head and faked an English accent at the big word. "So we better stay hidden for now. Cripes! Lookit me! I'm bottomless freakin' pit!"

Susie watched her and smiled, happy she was able to have any food at all for the young woman. Nick smirked, saying, "Jeez, Jubes, ya act like ya ain't never gone without food before!"

She swallowed, shaking her head. "I haven't, not like this. This was horrible. I mean, I was hungry in Oklahoma and all, but that was a constant state. The food was decent, we just had to ration it. And in Australia, I… heh," she paused, looking over at Nick. He cocked an eyebrow at her expression. Susie just listened; she had no idea what they were talking about. Nick had a part in writing Jubilee's official SHIELD file all those years ago, so he knew what she was referring to.

"Ya what?"

She giggled. "I stole all of Dazzler's pop tarts. She had a whole stash of 'em! In all kinds of flavors. I was in heaven! Man, I never told anyone that! I could hear her bitchin' all the way from my hidey-hole."

"What were they feeding you, Jubes?" Susie asked, clenching her teeth when Nick dabbed at one of her nastier cuts.

"It was gross! Sardines, stale bread and rice, not quite ripe fruit, some of it was moldy… warm water… some of that gross fermented mare's milk the locals like to drink. It made me a bit tipsy. I shouldn’t have drank that, but I took whatever they gave me. Really, I can't believe I didn’t lose the baby." They looked over at her as she stopped stuffing her face for a moment and stroked her stomach. "I just hope I didn’t do any permanent damage…"

Susie smiled. "I don’t know, Jubilee… judging from the way you've grown, I bet that kid's in perfect health."

Nick cleared his throat. "Uh… I'm just wonderin'… Does Logan know he's gonna be a daddy?"

"Nope," Jubilee said between smaller bites. "Goin' by what day you said it was, he hasn't seen me in three and a half months. Which is also how long I've been baking this puppy." She pat her stomach again, and grinned at it.

Nick and Susie looked at each other, then over at her.

"Jubes, that can't be… You look like you're about ready to give birth. How can you only be three months along?" Susie's gentle demeanor was finally resurfacing.

"There ain't no way, Sweetheart."

Jubilee shrugged, smiling. "Dunno… I counted the days, and I'm right. We'll have to let Hank work on that one." She finished the rest of the food that Susie had stashed.

Fury pulled a small piece of hardware out of his bottomless bag of magic, and wagged his finger at Jubilee, grinning evily. "Come'n sit over here, kid. I need ta hotwire this lil' doohickey to that pretty new necklace yer sportin'."

She winced, and sat down next to him on the floor. Sumeeta sat near to Nick, paying close attention to what he was doing. He opened an access panel on the collar that revealed a small circuit board and a port. Nick took the little box, which had a plug of the same size sticking out of it, and clicked it into the port. He pressed a button on the box and waited a few seconds before he heard a beep, and a tiny red light switched over to being green. Jubilee closed her eyes and exhaled. He looked at her face and rubbed her shoulder reassuringly. "I hate ta tell ya this, but that was the easy part." She whined, just a little. "Hey – I'm prepared for this, okay? An' if not… well, I'll die tryin' ta save ya. I promise." Nick smiled sarcastically. Susie swallowed hard.

"Oh, that just makes me feel all better…" Jubilee muttered.

"Good… now lissen' carefully. This," he held up a slender metal rod, about five inches long, that had sharp objects protruding out of its side in various places. "This is a universal key to yer standard inhibitor collars. First you push it in, then ya turn it. It doesn't open the lock so much as it shreds it, with just a quarter-turn. The collar pops right open, but then it explodes, just like it's programmed ta do. An' these things have major fail-safes built into 'em."

"No shit, Sherlock." She attempted to slip a finger in between her neck and the collar, to no avail. She imagined that the gadget that Fury had just attached to the collar had made it even tighter. "I have yet to hear something I like."

Fury grinned at her bravado. "Nothin' can really bypass the security. It's gonna blow up, we got no choice with that. But that box I just hotwired onto the collar's built-in drive will delay the cascade to detonation… for a few seconds. We gotta get you free, and then shove the collar in this containment bag here." He held up a small, very heavy bag that looked like a sophisticated moneybag from a bank. It opened and closed like a woman's purse, but with an extremely sturdy metal latch. "The bag'll contain the explosion." He looked at Susie and nodded. "So I'm gonna need you to hold it open by the latches while I get the thing in there, you latch it shut, then just let go… cuz it'll be too heavy for you, and I'll toss it aside. Then we duck. Got that?"

Susie nodded, nervous. Jubilee winced, swallowing hard. "Collar busted off Jubes, collar shoved in bag, bag gets tossed aside, collar go boom in bag. Got it."

"That's my girl. All ya gotta do is hold still, Jubes." He eyed her. "Perfectly. Still."

Jubilee nodded. Susie actually raised her hand sheepishly, like she was in the back of the classroom.

"What is it, Susie?" Nick tried to sound as gentle as he could, but he was still in Colonel Commando Mode.

"Um… that delay you spoke of? How long is it? You know, er, exactly?" She smiled nervously.

Nick put his fists on his thighs. He eyed the pretty, dark-skinned woman, but sternly. "A little under four seconds. An' it starts just as soon as the collar detects that it's been busted." Susie nodded at him as she took the bag, and her trembling lower lip didn’t escape his notice. "So don’t drop anything, all right?"

"Okee dokee."

Jubilee looked over at Susie. "Hey - you practice opening and closing that thing yet, huh?!"

"Oh, yes, of course… good idea." Jubilee exhaled, feeling the sweat dripping down her back.

"Look, it ain't designed to be difficult ta use, ya know what I mean?" Fury remarked to Jubilee, who smirked sarcastically. Susie maneuvered the latch five or six times. It was heavy, just as he said it would be, but very simple. All she had to do now was to get her hands to stop shaking. Nick put a calloused hand out to her slender brown one, holding it securely. "Look, Susie… I've done this before. It ain't that hard. Let's do a couple trial runs, okay?"

"Oh… Please… let's," muttered Jubilee. "I think my noggin's worth a little practicin'."

Each time Nick counted out the movements, and each time they got faster. When Susie felt confident she could do it in three seconds, they got ready to remove the collar for real.

Jubilee sat with her legs crossed on the floor. She leaned back with her palms flat on the floor for support. Susie kneeled next to Jubilee. Fury kneeled directly in front of Susie, his back to the far wall, which was about fifteen feet behind him. He motioned for her to hold the bag open, with her hands ready on the latch. Nick turned Jubilee's head to the side, so that the keyhole was facing him. He took the key in his hand, and it hovered near the opening. He gave Jubes a wink. "You girls ready?"

"As ever," whispered Jubes.

"Yes." Sumeeta was now more calm and confident.

"Okay, let's do this. I'll turn the key on three, okay?" He spoke gently. He pushed the key in, and held the end firmly in one hand, Jubilee's collar in the other. Nick exhaled. "Here we go. One… Two… Three!"

It happened so quickly, they would have trouble remembering it years later over drinks. The key sliced through the collar's locking mechanism like butter. The collar popped open. Nick wrenched it away from Jubilee's neck. He shoved the collar in the bag, Susie latched it shut. She let go immediately, just as the big man grabbed it, and flung behind him towards the wall. The two of them piled on top of Jubilee, covering their heads. The heavy bag hit the baseboard at the wall, and just stopped. For the briefest of moments, there was nothing. Then they heard what sounded like a muffled burst of air through dense chain links.

For a moment, each one just listened to the other two breathing fast. Then Jubilee finally popped her eyes open, and looked around. Nick got off of her, and Susie came out of the ball she was curled up in. They all looked over at the containment bag. It was in one piece and smoking, but none the worse for wear.

Jubilee sat up with Nick's help. She looked dumbfounded, gaping at the SHIELD agent. "Geez louise! What the hell was that bag made of? Adamantium?"

"Yep," he grinned. "SHIELD gets all the good toys."

She smiled at him with shining, if not tired, eyes. Then she wrapped her little arms around his neck and hugged him with all the strength she had left. "Thank you, Colonel. I feel much better now," she said, her shaking voice the only sign that she had been scared out of her wits.

"That's what I'm paid for, Sweetheart." Nick grinned over Jubilee's shoulder, looking at Susie's very relieved face. He pat her back a few times, noting how physically small Jubilee actually was. Then he helped her to her feet. "Now we got to move further away than this and find you some shelter, and I gotta let Carter know where we are."

"How the heck are ya gonna do that without someone hearin' yer frequencies?"

Fury only smiled, leading them out of the ramshackle tenement, and into the night.