This takes place after my other stories (note from Archivist: they're located on the 'comedy' page), which means it¡¦s probably a good idea to go and read them first. Unless you don¡¦t wanna. Oh, and thanks to all those nice, lovely wonderful people who¡¦ve been sending me love mail for my other stories. You have no idea how good happy-with-a-story feedback can make someone feel.

"Ow ow ow ow OW!" Jubilee¡¦s yells were echoing through the medlab as her fellow students tried to hold her down.

"What the hell is going on in here?" Sean growled as he entered. He grabbed Paige by the arm. "What happened?"

"We, um, we had a little accident." She kept glancing over her shoulder at Jubilee. The team had just returned from yet another fight with rogue Prime Sentinels. It was the second time within the past few days, and no one had a clue yet as to where they were coming from. "We were on the offensive, and then Ange got thrown against a wall, so Jubes ran in to help, and the next thing we knew, one of the Sentinels was getting ready to blast her. So Monet grabbed her and threw her out of the way, and, uh, well, see, Monet might¡¦ve tossed her a little bit harder than she meant to." Paige stopped for breath.

"Well? What¡¦s wrong, then? She¡¦s thrashing around too much to be seriously hurt."

The other members of the team had managed to grab a hold of Jubilee¡¦s arms and were holding her down on a bed. Angelo grabbed her uniform top and started trying to yank it off. She yelled even louder.

"Well, she didn¡¦t exactly break anything, no."

"Look, lass, would ye just---" He stopped as Angelo finally managed to divest Jubilee of her shirt. "Oh, crap." Sean muttered. He didn¡¦t need Paige to tell him what had happened. It was painfully obvious by the various abrasions, cuts, and scrapes that covered the young girl¡¦s back and side.

"How far did she slide?" He whispered.

Paige winced. "A couple hundred feet." She chewed worriedly on a fingernail. "It would probably have been a lot worse if she was in street clothes. I guess it was a good thing we were wearing our uniforms."

Monet rushed in from the adjoining room, carrying bottles of antiseptic and several rolls of gauze. She was crying so badly that she could hardly see where she was going. "I¡¦m sorry, Jubie, I didn¡¦t mean to do it!" She wailed, setting her load onto a nearby table. She uncapped a bottle of fluid and poured a generous helping onto a gauze pad.

Jubilee sniffled and wiped some tears from her eyes. "I¡¦m not mad at you, M, I know you didn¡¦t. Could ya just let me get up now---" She finally got a good look at what Monet was approaching with. "Oh, no. No way. Uh-uh, sorry, I don¡¦t think so!" She stared to thrash around again, causing Sean to leap forward and help pin her down. "Monet, please, no!"

Monet wavered. Her face crumpled. She let go and burst out crying again, dropping the bottle on the floor.

Paige steeled herself. Grabbing the pad from Monet she walked over and quickly pressed the iodine-soaked cloth against Jubilee¡¦s back.

"Eeeeeeeeeaaaaaauuuuugggggghhhhh!" Jubilee screamed and started sobbing.

Paige flinched but continued to clean out the scrapes. "I¡¦m sorry, J, I¡¦m doing this as fast as I can."

"It¡¦s not fast enough." Jubilee whimpered. She couldn¡¦t remember ever hurting this much. The scrapes she got from rollerblading weren¡¦t nearly as bad as this. After all, they covered a couple inches, at most. From what she could see reflected in a nearby cabinet, this covered most of her torso. Thank goodness I didn¡¦t slide on my front, instead, she thought.

Paige finished with the iodine and motioned for the guys to let Jubilee sit up. She quickly wrapped the bandages around, then hugged her carefully. "All done." She sniffled, before moving to put away the medical supplies. Even when one of her siblings had fallen out of a tree and broken their leg, she hadn¡¦t been scared. But that was different. That didn¡¦t have blood. Blood somehow made it worse than a broken bone, because you couldn¡¦t see the broken part. She suddenly realized that she was close to becoming hysterical. Pull yourself together, girl, Don¡¦t freak out now. Everyone else is crying, someone has to be stable. Paige relaxed her body and arranged her ¡¦big sister¡¦ look on her face. But why does it haveta be me? She railed silently. "Okay, Monet, you take Jubilee to her room. Ange and Jono, help me clean up. Sean, go get ice cream. Lots of it." Everyone moved off to do their tasks, Monet picking Jubilee up gently and carrying her upstairs.

* * * * *

"Ouch. Ouch ouch ouch. And, just in case ya didn¡¦t get it the first time, OUCH!"

Monet smiled as she dug through Jubilee¡¦s dresser looking for a shirt that wouldn¡¦t be too tight on the wrappings. She finally settled on an old flannel button up and walked back to the bed.

"Okay, this should be fun." She commented as they began the daunting task of getting arms into sleeves while not causing pain. Since this was pretty much impossible, it took a couple of tries to get it right.

"Interesting choice of shirt." Jubilee said as Monet began buttoning it up for her.

Monet looked closer. Hmmm...rips, tears, dirt, blood, various man-smells of cologne, cigars, and whiskey..."Let me guess. Wolverine¡¦s?" She grinned when she heard Jubilee laugh.

"Yeah. I don¡¦t think I¡¦ve washed it since I got it."

"Dare I ask how long that¡¦s been?"

Jubilee smiled. "You could ask, but I don¡¦t think the answer would make it any less yucky." She wrapped her arms around herself. "Besides, I like this shirt the way it is."

Monet sat next to her on the bed. "I guess this means we won¡¦t be going motorcycle riding with him this weekend."

Jubilee¡¦s face fell. "Oh. I hadn¡¦t thought of that." She looked pensive for a moment before slugging Monet on the arm. "This is all yer fault!" She huffed and turned her back to Monet.

"I-I¡¦m sorry. We can still go see him, we¡¦ll just have to take the car instead." When no answer was forthcoming, she sighed and slumped down against the headboard.

Jubilee sat for a few minutes more before carefully laying back. Her head landed in Monet¡¦s lap and she looked up at her beseechingly. "Can we take the limo?"

Monet giggled. Leaning down, she kissed Jubilee¡¦s forehead. "Yup. I¡¦ll talk to Emma. In the meantime, however---" She looked at the door just as Angelo popped his head around. He held out two pints of Ben & Jerry¡¦s.

"In the meantime, there¡¦s ice cream to be had."

* * * * *

"So when¡¦re ya leavin¡¦ fer Westchester?" Angelo asked, rooting around in the fridge for something, anything, that looked edible. Unfortunately, it looked like Paige had done the shopping again, resulting in a fat and cholesterol free larder. He sighed and grabbed a box of Air Crisps. At least they had flavor. Sorta.

"As soon as Jubilee finishes packing. She was bound and determined to bring a present for everyone, so..." Monet shrugged.

"Y¡¦know, ya might wanna consider that. Bringing gifts fer people, I mean."

"Huh? Why? I hardly know the people."

"Exactly. Now add to that the fact that you got their little baby hurt, and you¡¦re gonna have some pretty pissed off super-powered people looking fer ya." He grinned. "Speaking of which, what were ya plannin¡¦ to tell Wolverine?"

Monet blanched. "Oh, crap." She squeaked. She looked over at Angelo frantically. "He¡¦s going to skin me alive, isn¡¦t he?"

"No, he¡¦s not. At least, not if I¡¦ve got anything to say about it." Jubilee walked into the kitchen and kicked Angelo in the shin. He yelled and dropped the crackers. "What¡¦s wrong with you, Ange? Like she wasn¡¦t nervous about meeting them in the first place."

Angelo blinked, then looked at Monet. "Hey, that¡¦s right. There¡¦s gonna be a lot- a lot- of X-types that haven¡¦t met you yet." He chortled. "Man, what a great way to make a first impression. I can see it now. ¡¦Uh, hello, I¡¦m Monet, I broke your Jubie-toy, please don¡¦t kill me!¡¦"

Monet got up. "You know, maybe this wasn¡¦t such a good idea. Um, I think I¡¦ll just stay home and brood with Jono." She moved towards the exit.

"No, you won¡¦t." Jubilee glared at Angelo. "Ignore him. He¡¦s just jealous that we¡¦re leaving him here while we get to go have fun. Now come on, I need yer help carrying stuff. And don¡¦t worry, nobody is gonna hurt ya. I promise." She hugged Monet and patted her face on her way back to her bedroom to get her things.

Monet looked at Angelo.

"Yeah, well, don¡¦t say I didn¡¦t warn ya, M."

* * * * *

"Ouchie."

Jubilee pulled back and looked at Monet. "¡¦Ouchie¡¦?"

"Well, it hurts." She sniffed. "A surprising amount, actually."

Jubilee went back to dabbing at Monet¡¦s nose. "Well, I don¡¦t think it¡¦s broken."

"Is that supposed to make me feel better?"

"Hey." Hank poked his head in the door. "And how is our poor mistreated misfit?"

"I¡¦m fine, thanks, but I think M¡¦s gonna have a sore nose fer a few days."

Hank rolled his eyes and came into the room. "Ha ha. I guess this means Wolverine wasn¡¦t happy to find out about your little incident."

Jubilee looked at Monet, who glanced in the other direction. "Uh, actually, Wolvie just glared at her in his ¡¦I-don¡¦t-like-you¡¦ kinda way."

Hank frowned. "Then who hit her? Remy?"

"Nope." She grinned and laughed. "Sorry, Fuzzboy, but you¡¦re wrong on all accounts."

There was a knock on the door. "Hey, is it all right if I come in?" Bobby asked.

Monet scrambled to her feet. "Nuh-uh, get him away from me!" She yelled while Jubilee tried to get her to calm down.

Hank looked at Bobby. "Would I be correct in assuming that you¡¦re the one who reacted in such a violent manner?"

"Yes! Yes, you would! That little twerp jus---" Any further outbursts were stifled as Jubilee shoved a pillow over Monet¡¦s face.

"I think she¡¦s a little mad because Bobby was the one who did it. I get the feeling that she feels it¡¦s embarrassing to be smacked around by an accountant. She probably woulda preferred it if Wolvie or Remy had been the one to do it. Snob." She let Monet up for air. "Ya do realize that it woulda hurt a lot more, now, don¡¦t ya?"

Bobby waved his hand for attention. "Uh, hello, sorry person here? Anyone want to accept this apology, or should I just hit ya some more?" He gulped and stepped back when Monet jerked her head up and stared at him with murder in her eyes.

"Um, Bobby, I don¡¦t think this is the best time. Could you and Hank go somewhere else fer a minute?"

"Sure, Jubes." Hank hurried out the door, grabbing Bobby by the arm as he went. He stifled his friend¡¦s protests. "Come on. We have to have a little talk." He shut the door as he went out.

Jubilee folded her arms and looked at Monet. Monet scowled and looked the other way. "Sorry."

"No yer not. You¡¦ve always liked being proved right, and this is no different. I¡¦m ashamed of you."

"Me? Excuse me, but I¡¦m the one who got beat up here!" She started pacing. "You know, Angelo was right, they hate me. I mean, look at this, I go and take full responsibility for accidentally scraping off half the skin on your back, and do they say, ¡¦Oh, that¡¦s all right, could of happened to anyone, it¡¦s not your fault?¡¦ No, your friend-" She waved angrily in a vague direction. "- Your friend has to go and punch me. Like that¡¦s gonna make your back feel better. He¡¦s not even a very loyal friend, I mean, it¡¦s not like he writes to you all the time like Wolverine does, I could have taken this behavior from him, but not from Robert Drake, of all people. I can¡¦t believe these are the people you keep wanting to talk to!" She suddenly realized that she¡¦d been ranting and clammed up. She looked over at Jubilee. "Um..." She hung her head.

Jubilee didn't say anything.

She left.

* * * * *

"Hey, darlin¡¦."

Jubilee didn¡¦t bother looking up. "Whaddya want." She mumbled.

"Nothin¡¦." He sat down beside her, leaning his back against the bole of the tree. It was the same one they had sat under so long ago, when he had known that he was going to leave. Seems the only times they¡¦d sat here was when one or the other was upset.

He waited a good while before asking, "Ya gonna talk t¡¦me?"

"Dunno yet." She smiled slightly. "I just don¡¦t understand, Wolvie." She drew up her knees and rested her head on them, trying to ignore the scabs pulling on her back. Jeez, was that a nasty feeling. "I just can¡¦t figure out if she¡¦s the way she is because she¡¦s sad, or angry, or just in a bad mood. She hides everything so well."

"Ya mean today?"

"I mean every day!" Exasperated, Jubilee threw her hands in the air. "Like, she¡¦ll stay out with me to all hours, doing all sorts of things that we probably shouldn¡¦t-" Logan turned to look at her and she hurried on. "- but, gods forbid that I should do the same thing with Ange or even Jono, no, she¡¦ll pitch a fit about how worried she was and everything! The same thing¡¦ll happen in fights, or if some guy looks at me the wrong way, and like today, she complains about the X-Men like she thinks I prefer them over her, even though we were hardly even friends a month ago! She actually accused Bobby of being a bad friend!" Jubilee gulped. Bobby was a good friend. Just cus he forgot to write sometimes, and he kept losing her number and not thinking to get it from Wolvie or someone else, and even though it really had been a long time since they communicated...she decided she didn¡¦t like the turn her thoughts were taking and looked at Logan, hoping he had something to say.

"Well, he did kinda hit her. And it musta been a good hit, if it hurt her even with that near-invulnerability thing she¡¦s got going." He reached out an arm and pulled her in to cuddle up at his side. "Besides, me ¡¦n¡¦ Remy were about to do it anyway. He just beat us to the punch, so t¡¦speak." He looked away a little guiltily at his admission. "Y¡¦know how protective we are o¡¦ ya, darlin¡¦."

Jubilee snorted. "Yeah, I know."

"Okay, so maybe we¡¦re overdoing it sometimes. And I know she¡¦s yer friend. So I promise, I¡¦ll talk it out with everyone and make sure nothin¡¦ else happens. In the meantime, I want you t¡¦ go up and talk to her. Trust me, she¡¦ll be needing it."

"¡¦Kay." She hugged him before getting up to go in the house.

Logan stayed where he was, watching her as she walked away.

His eyes narrowed in thought. Then he shook his head and got up to follow her in.

* * * * *

"Hey."

Monet looked up before quickly looking away. "Hi."

Jubilee fidgeted. "I¡¦m sorry."

"Me too."

Silence reigned for a few moments more.

"So are we friends again?"

Monet sniffled. "Only if you promise that no more of your friends are planning on beating me up." She smiled at Jubilee, who laughed.

"Okay, but first, we need to go down and accept Bobby¡¦s apology." Monet started to protest and Jubilee raised a finger. "Nuh-uh. You wanna argue, I¡¦ll just pull a Dr. Evil* on your ass. Now git." Monet smiled and left.

*Okay, just in case ya didn¡¦t get it, think "¡¦Zip it!¡¦" and all the lovely variations thereof.

* * * * *

Hank was patting a disconsolate Bobby on the shoulder when Monet ran into the medlab. She threw her arms around him and kissed him on the cheek before running out again just as quickly as she¡¦d entered.

"Hank? What was that?"

"I¡¦m not sure, but I think it means you¡¦re off the hook."

"Woohoo!"

* * * * *

Remy tossed Logan a beer. "So, did y¡¦ talk t¡¦ de petite?"

"Yup. I don¡¦t think we have to worry about Monet. Spread the word around, will ya?"

"Oui." He paused. "Jus¡¦ curious here, but does dat gal seem t¡¦ be a bit-"

"Yeah." Logan chugged the rest of his beer and tossed the can in the recycle bin. "She¡¦s jealous. Try not to get between her and J, all right? I have the feeling she could kick yer ass to the moon if she felt like it."

Remy made a wry face. "I ain¡¦t got a doubt about dat." He said. "D¡¦ya t¡¦ink Jub¡¦lee knows?"

"I don¡¦t know." Logan grabbed his hat off a counter and stalked out.

* * * * *

"Hello? Emma! No, everything¡¦s fine." A pause. "No, Monet¡¦s fitting in just fine, no incidents at all, why?"

Several people sitting at the table choked.

"Okay, I guess that means I¡¦m not the only one that just heard Jean utter a totally bald-faced lie." Jubilee laughed and took another bite. Jean glared at hem before moving to another room with the phone. Her voice lifted once with what sounded like surprise and concern before she hung up and re-entered the kitchen.

"Whassup, Jean?" Jubilee asked.

"Kind of strange, actually. She said that they¡¦ve had a break-in at the school."

Everyone promptly turned their attention to this new topic.

"Was anything taken?" Monet asked. "Like the TV, or one of the computers, or a large, expensive bottle of Chanel #5 that someone might¡¦ve forgotten to put away?" Heads turned to look at her. "What?"

"No. In fact, they couldn¡¦t find anything wrong at all. It looks like they might have tried to get into one of the computer systems, but they were blocked out before they could get into any sensitive files."

"Well, I guess that¡¦s a good thing, then."

"The odd thing is, none of the security cameras picked up anything; they turned off by themselves five minutes before the intruders entered. And before you ask, yes, they knew the security code to get in."

"Okay, I guess maybe I spoke too soon." Jubilee looked nervous. "She didn¡¦t happen to say which files were broken into, did she?"

"No." Jean looked at Jubilee. She seemed a little edgy. "Why? Do you know something?"

"Oh, uh, no, I just don¡¦t like the idea of someone traipsing through my stuff, that¡¦s all." She hurriedly turned her attention back to her food.

Logan looked at her sharply. She was lying, he could smell it. But why would she lie about something like this?

His thoughts were abruptly broken off by the alarm.

>>>INTRUDERS ON PREMISES<<<

"Nooo..." Jubilee moaned and bolted out of the room.

"Jubilee! Where-"

"I¡¦ll follow her!" Bobby ran after her.

The phone chose that wonderfully opportune moment to ring.

* * * * *

Jubilee ran down the hall hat led to the back of the house. She was sobbing uncontrollably now, not even sure where it was she was running to, only sure that she had to get away, and now.

* * * * *

"What?!" Jean yelled into the phone. A look of alarm spread across her face as she listened to the voice at the other end. "Thanks. Now send us backup, and hurry." She hung up and turned to face the others.

* * * * *

Jubilee pelted down a corridor. She had somehow gotten lost in a mansion that she had spent a great deal of her time in, which only served to add to her panic.

Why me? Why me Why me Why me Why me?

* * * * *

Jean looked at the others. "That was Nick Fury. They¡¦ve had a breakout."

"So? Why does that concern us?" Monet asked angrily. Then her face cleared. "Oh, no. No no no no." She turned and ran after Jubilee and Bobby already knowing that it was too late, but not caring. The X-Men figured it out a second later, but realized that there was nothing they could do.

Logan sank to the floor, numb.

* * * * *

Jubilee ran a few more steps in her headlong flight, slowing slightly to round a corner, but it wasn¡¦t slow enough, and she slid, but she didn¡¦t even feel the pain when her ankle twisted under her, or when her new wounds slammed into the floor, all she could do was look up, up at the monster who stood above her, up at the man who had taken her freedom once and had somehow managed to come after her again, and she somehow found the breath to scream in anger and defiance and despair as Bastion picked her up and gestured at his accompanying Prime Sentinels to guard him as he carried her away.

*To Be Continued*

I could be really mean and stop writing now, but I¡¦m a nice person.

That and I really hate open-ended stories.

(hint hint, Dyce, Miss I¡¦m-too-bored-to-finish-Maturity in B-Minor!)

So, expect the next part soon.

And send me feedback. Lots of it.