Any Marvel owned characters do not belong to me. Crappy plot/storyline does along with that tough cutie Jared and the Jubemeister's new name. ^_~ Other than that, don't sue me 'cause a.) not rich b.) would be pointless and c.) me teenager meaning me have NO money. ;P

Penny For Your Thoughts:

Wow! What do ya know...if you read my profile thing (on fanfiction.net), you'll see how surprising this fic update is! *lol* Anyhoo, I decided to split the chapters into MORE chapters, and instead of the last chapter being 7 then epilogue, this'll probably continue for a few more chapters as I build up more and more on the years that has happened since Wolvie last saw Jubes. ^_^ Hope you liked this one! *lmao* I just love fights! *catcalls* WOOOHOO! FIGHT FIGHT FIGHT! *rotfl*

*cough* Ahem. Anyway, what do ya know. ^^; I'm not a cold-hearted bi--uh...gal after all. Ehehe. ^_^;; After reading some of my chapter 6 reviews (credit goes to bryn really ^_^) I was suddenly inspired to write. ^_^;; Yeah...it takes a certain type of mood to read a review that it'll get me going. ^^; I'm a weird, eccentric teenaged fic writer...what can I say? That's just the way things go. ^_~

The instant she put her foot inside the doorway, she already knew. He was here. Already? She shouldn't be surprised. And she wasn't. She kept telling herself that, kept telling herself that the little beads of sweat weren't running their little itchy fingers down the nape of her neck, kept telling herself that her mouth was dry and her tongue didn't feel as thick as the soles of her boots.

Her footsteps seemed to falter as soon as she neared the bedroom door. He sat there, waiting silently in a shadowy corner of the clean and expansive bedroom.

When he had first arrived, he couldn't smell her. Nothing that showed that she had been there, and for a second he almost walked back out. What if this wasn't the right room? He couldn't smell her anywhere, and it didn't matter that the room had been cleaned and aired just a few hours ago. He should've been able to pick up something. Anything.

It was only the scent of the man she had been with that first time he saw her in the cemetary that made him stay. One way or another, this wa a part of him that he was going to face.

The door opened up slowly, the lights flickered on, and the awkward silence in the air hung thick and heavy between the broad-shouldered, stocky man and the petite, pale young woman who took a seat next to the tall man who wisely stayed silent.

And surprisingly enough, it was he who started it off.

"So. You gonna tell me about what the hell made you disappear off the face of the earth without tellin' none of us?" Logan didn't mean for it to sound harsh, didn't mean to make her flinch, didn't want her to be stung or hurt, and most of all, he didn't want to see the cool mask slip into place so perfectly, her shoulders straightened and the flinch turned into nothing.

"I suppose I should, shouldn't I?" Her voice was soft, high enough to not be a whisper, low enough to seem to roll into the air before fading away. "I guess all things have to start at the point where the most significant change occurs...so I'll just start from the beginning...when I 'disappeared'. Which is what you want, right?"

She didn't wait for him to respond, he didn't need to. Settling back with an air of calmness and relaxation against Jared, he didn't notice the way the hand resting so casually in her lap trembled or slightly, didn't feel what Jared felt, the way she shivered ever so slightly and how tightly her emotions were wound up.

Jubilee shouldered her backpack, which was beginning to feel heavier and heavier the more she walked. At least this time, she wasn't so badly off that anyone who looked at her would be able to tell that she was far from having a home. Her skills, honed with age and even more practice, helped her a TON. Especially in this crappy place. Where the hell was she anyway?

One glance up and immediately she regretted it. Groaning inwardly, she couldn't believe she had been stupid enough to come HERE of all places. Emma Frost was sure to have 'friends' in this place--yeah, THIS place. The great BIG APPLE. The place where Emma Frost probably had dozens of 'friends' to keep a lookout for a certain short, Asian American, black haired 'runaway'. Shit. Why the hell hadn't she paid more attention to the ticket she bought? The bus she boarded?

'Because you were too busy looking down. Didn't move your head left or right girly, that's why you've got yourself outta the proverbial frying pan and into the fire.' She snarled at her mental, bickering voice and stopped herself from banging her head against the side of a nearby lamp post, lest people think she was reeeeaaally crazy.

Crazy? Puh-leaze. You're beyond that point right now. You're talking to a voice in your HEAD girl! Split personalities? Naw. More like she was just bored to death, lonely, scared, and angry at the world. How's THAT for teen drama and angst?

She laughed bitterly, the people nearby bustling about her to get to work, home, school or wherever scarcely noticing.

And as if the world was really turning against her, it gave another twist into her life, the irony of it only hitting her after.

With a soft "oof" she suddenly doubled over in pain, gasping, eyes going wide and her pupils dilating, as if someone had gone and just laid a Juggernut-punch right in the abdomen, knocking all the ari right out of her. And to add even more to the pain, her head began throbbing so fiercely she couldn't SWORN the national marching band was playing right next to her, drums and trumpets blaring at full force.

She moaned softly, tried to straighten, only to have to lean on the lamp post she had been tempted by earlier to bash her head against. The crowd seemed to thicken around her, and she felt smothered. Feeling too cramped for her tastes, her eyes darted about her like a wild doe caught in a clearing, surrounded by wolves.

She shivered against the sudden cold, her body feeling hot and icy all at once, and she stumbled away from the support of the post, pushing and shoving her way through, she clawed through the crowd and into a nearby empty alleyway like one would thrash about through water they couldn't tread.

Teeth chattering and sweat pouring from her brow, she couldn't think clearly, her mind was clouded with the sudden heat and cold, not being able to think out WHY she was feeling so just out of the blue.

She was hunched over, her arms about her head tightly, her backpack pressing against her as she leaned against the brick wall that she didn't notice the shadows that fell upon her.

Senses that were usually sharp enough to detect someone even 20 feet away from her hiding in the shadows were suddenly shut down, and so you couldn't blame her for being more than a little suprised when she was suddenly jerked to her feet, shoved harshly against the brick wall, and having some ugly face thrust into her personal zone.

It took a few seconds for her to snap out of her surprise and instantly cold, burning rage settled in. Her eyes glittered dangerously, and to those who knew her, the sudden darkening of the eyes was both natural and unnatural at the same time. Natural because she was the 'firecracker', her temper able to flare to life in a split second. But unnatural because...even when she was in a blazing hot temper, her eyes didn't change from their usual sapphire blue into black...right?

Th thug, mug, whatever the hell he was, didn't notice though, and why should he? It wasn't like the little China doll could do anything to him.

"Let. Go. Of. Me." she ground the words out, bit by bit and was rewarded with the foul stench of his hot breath on her face as he laughed hoarsely.

"Ohhh. So what now? Little China girl think she's gonna do some Bruce Lee moves? Ha! Ho! Heee-yah!" he and his companions laughed. She scorned the idiotic "kung fu" sounds he was making. Smoothly and swiftly her knee came up in the infamous "groin hit" and down he went.

True to how the movies usually portrayed it, his face twisted up in pain and chortled incomprehensibly. She grinned down at him, and did her eyes suddenly gain a pale blue tint against the black? There was no one to say so.

His companions stared at him before laughing loudly at his demise. "Oh, man girl has got you in CHECK foo'. Ahahaha..." and on went the taunts and hollerings.

Limping to his feet angrily, hands still nursing his "sore" spot, he snarled at her, bloody murder shining in his eyes. She merely smiled at him innocently, not something altogether reassuring. She didn't let the wince show, while she may be in something akin to Wolverine's "beserker rage" that didn't mean she couldn't feel the icy hot prickles on her skin. She felt a little lightheaded too...the world span for a moment, the stupid thug's snarl twisted and blurred before sharpening back to focus.

She blinked slowly, and as if following that action, everything slowed down as well. Everything.

She saw the fist come straight at her. But why was it so slow? She looked at it in confusion, and like one would swat away an annoying fly, she deflected the punch with a flick of her wrist. She looked up to see his face, and again, as if someone had hit the slow-mo button on their tv, his face slowly turned from sadistic grin into one of enraged surprise.

And befre she even thought about it, her own fists moved. Blow after blow was landed on him, he didn't have enough time to react or even cry out before he finally feel to the pavement, unconscious.

Silence blanketed the empty alleyway and she shivered. Nearly a dozen pair of eyes landed on her face and everything happened all at once.

Down went a short in height, and equally short in temper, thug, blood splattered her shirt here and there, she was yanked back by her backpack. She slipped out of it and delivered a leg sweep, and down he went too, an aduible "crack" heard as his head hit the pavement like his other fellow thugs.

One by one they fell, and she couldn't feel anything. Did some idiot cut her? She looked down after one more kissed the ground at her feet. A gash was in her leg, the dark blood staining her faded jeans, turning a more concentrated red in the center where it was still flowing.

She couldn't fee the pain. Why? Puzzled, afraid to know why, confused and suddenly feeling smaller than she had ever felt, she didn't hear the warning cry until it was too late.

She whirled around and was instantly faced with darkness...

Moments later, more like an eternity, she came back to consciousness a bit. She was still lying on the ground, and funny, there were spots swimming around her head. She blinked, and stared at the thug who dropped unconscious right next to her. She musn't have been out for that long then...a few seconds? She couldn't believe it. What had happened?

Uncontrollable racks shook her body, and she convulsed uncontrollably. She felt so cold...and hot. The icy heat was settling back in again, and the last thing she rememebred before slipping into the darkness agains was being lifted gently into thick strong arms...like Wolvie's...she smiled slightly, feeling warmth and security for the first time in a very long time...

Nyssa stopped there. The memories didn't haunt her so much as pained her. How long ago that seemed...how long ago that really was...

Logan remained silent. His heart sinking further and further as her voice echoed softly in his mind. He was sorry. So sorry...'I'm sorry I wasn't there for ya darlin'...ya don't know how much it's hurtin' me...'