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Gambit watched dispassionately as his father and his former father-in-law conferred quietly. It had been a hard thing, to leave Jubilee in the care of his Tante Mattie. But he knew that his Tante would do the best she could for the young Chinese girl.

He shook his head. Jubilee had survived the blast for two reasons. One, she had worn her little used Kevlar armor, which had protected her. The other, she had used her pyrokinetic energies to create a shield for herself. The shield had absorbed a great deal of what got around the armor.

But that didn¡¦t mean Jubilee hadn¡¦t escaped unscathed. Nor had he. He could still remember the fury in Cyclops¡¦ voice when he¡¦d called. The first Jeep had been thoroughly destroyed. The second Jeep had immediately fled the scene, with Gambit at the wheel and an unconscious Jubilee in the back. And when Cyclops heard, he had hit the roof.

Gambit had taken a very roundabout way to get to New Orleans, to his father¡¦s home. Jean Luc had taken both of them in without comment, only sending for Marius and Mattie. Which was why he was watching the heads of the two Guilds confer quietly.

"Why de p¡¦tite need de stuff y¡¦ asked f¡¦r, Remy?" Jean Luc finally asked.

Remy hesitated, then shrugged. "She be goin¡¦ t¡¦ China, t¡¦ get revenge for de deaths of her parents. De Red Dragon, dey be de suspects."

"De Red Dragon?" Marius repeated. "Dey be bad news, mon ami. Why dem?"

Remy shrugged. "De Lees be runnin¡¦ from dem, near as we can tell. De Red Dragon no¡¦ hurt Remy. ¡¦N de White Dragon give Remy ¡¦n Jubilee protection in Arizona."

"How y¡¦ do dat, Remy?" Jean Luc inquired, eyeing his son curiously.

"Remy know Clanmaster Chang, Père." Remy shrugged. "Chang give us de protection we need." He studied the older men in turn. "Can y¡¦ get de stuff f¡¦r de p¡¦tite?"

Jean Luc and Marius looked at one another, finally nodding. "Oui."

Remy nodded. "Merci." He rose, and walked out. Tante Mattie had promised he could visit his friend.

*****

Jubilee was a sight, her body wrapped in bandages, her face red and burned. Her blue eyes were filled with pain, but she managed a small and genuine smile when she saw Gambit. "Hi, Gumbo," she said weakly.

He bent over and kissed her forehead carefully. "Bonjour, p¡¦tite. How y¡¦ feel?"

"Like I was in a bomb blast."

"When we get t¡¦ Phoenix, Clanmaster Chang will send f¡¦r a healer."

"Who?"

"Clanmaster Chang. De head of the White Dragon in de States."

"Why does he have a Chinese name, then?" Jubilee eyed him with a measure of suspicion.

Remy shrugged nonchalantly. "Chang¡¦s mother be Japanese, ¡¦n Chang¡¦s father be Chinese. De baby was a product of rape, p¡¦tite. De Red Dragonlord executed Clanmember Chang for his crime. De baby¡¦s mother did not want to keep it, so she turned it over to de White Dragonlord."

Jubilee¡¦s eyes were wide. "Oh." She blinked once. "What happened then?"

"De Red Dragonlord ¡¦n de White Dragonlord are distant cousins. Dat¡¦s why dey don¡¦t mess with each other. Dey ¡¦n dere wives raised de baby together, ¡¦n de baby chose de path of de White Dragon. But Clanmaster Chang is a Clanmember of de Red Dragon, ¡¦n can go between either. Very few have de power ¡¦n immunity dat Chang does." Remy smiled. "Comes from being a bloodmember of both, ¡¦n being raised by both Dragonlords."

Jubilee suddenly frowned, her mind racing. "That makes no sense, Remy. Why would the Dragonlords raise the baby? Why this particular baby?"

He hesitated, then plunged ahead. "Because Clanmember Chang, de father, be de son of de Red Dragonlord. ¡¦N Clanmember Izuka, de mother, be de daughter of de White Dragonlord. Clanmaster Chang be de grandchild of both Dragonlords."

"What happened to Clanmember Izuka?"

"She committed suicide six months after de baby born. She felt she was unclean, ¡¦n had a blot on her honour." Remy shrugged. "She did as she felt she had to, ¡¦n no one looks down on her f¡¦r it."

Jubilee nodded, understanding him. Wolverine had wanted to do the same after Mariko¡¦s death, but Jubilee and Kitty had talked him out of it. And apparently, no one had talked Clanmember Izuka out of it. "Will the Red Dragon try to kill me again?" she finally asked, a hint of laughter in her pained voice.

Remy didn¡¦t laugh, however. Instead, his eyes grew distant. "Non," he said. "Dey be approaching now." He stood and strode out.

Jubilee fought down her panic.

*****

Remy watched from the shadows as a slender Chinese man stopped just beyond the boundaries of Mattie¡¦s home. "Give the Lee girl to me," he called out, his accent thick.

"Non." Remy finally strode forward, his crimson eyes flashing. "De Lee girl going to see Clanmaster Chang."

The other man studied him. "I am Viper," he finally said. "To whom do I have the honour of speaking?"

"Gambit."

"I have heard of you, Gambit," Viper answered. "You are fair, you are honourable. We respect honour. And so I will tell you. The Lee girl is a threat, and we want to execute her. As we did her parents so many years ago."

"Why?"

"Because we do not leave witnesses. We have no quarrel with you, Gambit. Only with Miss Lee."

Gambit frowned, his mind racing. He needed to get Jubilee to Chang, to a healer. But he couldn¡¦t do it unless Viper backed down. "How about a challenge, mon ami?" he replied. "Motorcycle race, like Clanmaster Chang did three years ago."

"What are the rules and the prize?" Viper asked. Behind him, his men shifted silently, growing wary.

"If y¡¦ win, den Gambit step out of de way, ¡¦n y¡¦ can have de p¡¦tite. If Gambit win, den y¡¦ leave de Thieves¡¦ Guild ¡¦n de Assassins¡¦ Guild alone, ¡¦n y¡¦ let Gambit take de p¡¦tite to Clanmaster Chang." Gambit narrowed his eyes. "De rules be dat anything goes."

Viper studied the Cajun carefully, his black eyes assessing all he saw. "And how does the residence here fit into the scheme of things?"

"Mattie be de traiteur of de Thieves¡¦ Guild. Y¡¦ leave her be as well."

There was another silence, then Viper bowed. "Very well, Gambit. Anything goes in this race. If the Red Dragon wins, you will turn the Lee girl over to me. If you win, the Red Dragon will allow you and the Lee girl to reach Clanmaster Chang of the White Dragon, in Phoenix. This race will take place in the same setting as the race that Clanmaster Chang participated in three years ago. Agreed?"

Gambit nodded. "Oui. Gambit be dere at nine o¡¦clock." When he saw the Chinese man nod, he turned and slipped back into Mattie¡¦s house.

*****

This part of the Louisiana bayou was definitely not one of the better places to find entertainment. But then, it hadn¡¦t been designed for that particular task. The Red Dragon had set up the obstacles skillfully, tastefully.

Obstacles that could maim, obstacles that could kill. One false move, and the motorcyclist would be crippled. Or dead. The Red Dragon played no games. Theirs was a game of life and death, of deceit and honour. They worked in shadows, they lived in light. They knew the game.

So did Gambit.

So did Jubilee.

So did Jean Luc and Marius, both of whom had shown as witnesses.

And so there was no need for words when the Chinese motorcyclist, Cheng, and when the Cajun motorcyclist, Gambit, gunned the engines on their respective bikes.

Nor was there a need for words when Viper gave the signal and the two of them shot off into the darkness.

*****

Jubilee jumped when Viper sat next to her calmly. "What do you want?" she demanded, using her attitude to cover her scare.

"Did your parents mark you, Miss Lee?" Viper asked pleasantly. He smiled at her, but she wasn¡¦t fooled. He wasn¡¦t being nice out of concern. He was going to do his job, with or without her help.

"My parents are dead, buster."

"Yes, I know. A pity that your parents¡¦ Clanmaster ordered them executed. Your mother and father were friends of mine."

Jubilee blinked at that, then snorted. "Right."

"Hung and I grew up together, Miss Lee." Viper gave her another pleasant smile. "When Xiu gave birth to you, she named you Jubilation. Because she felt that you offered them a new chance at a new life. I managed to escape notice of our Clanmaster long enough to see them. And you."

"Really." It was apparent that Jubilee didn¡¦t believe a word the Chinese man was telling her. Nor did it appear to faze him.

"At the time, I was still having trouble with the English language. I could not say Jubilation, but I could say Jubi. In time, your parents simply made it Jubee."

Her blood ran cold at that. Jubee had been a private nickname that only her parents had called her. Everyone else had called her Jubilation or Jubilee.

"If my parents were your friends, why did you let them get killed?"

Viper raised a brow slightly. "Miss Lee, I am a bloodmember of the Red Dragon. My loyalties are to my Dragonlord, my Clanmaster, my Emperor, my country, my family, my friends. In that order. My Clanmaster ordered their executions. I could not disobey."

"And that¡¦s why you¡¦re trying to kill me now."

Was that a flicker of regret in his impassive eyes? "It is a pity that you are eighteen, Miss Lee. Were you younger, I could claim guardianship over you, and my Clanmaster would have to abide by that. We do not execute children, Miss Lee."

"Why did the Clanmaster order my parents¡¦ deaths?" she burst out. "What did they ever do to him?"

Viper looked away. "Hung and Xiu left Mother China after she turned down the Clanmaster, Miss Lee. He might have let them be, save for the riots that started in Chinatown when you were ten. My Clanmaster ordered their deaths."

"I¡¦m going to kill that Clanmaster."

Viper gave her an oddly enigmatic smile. "After executing Hung and Xiu, I returned to Mother China and challenged him."

"Why?"

"It was a dishonourable thing he did, sending me to execute my friends. It was cruel, and it was sadistic. I called him into the Blood Ring for that."

"What happened to him?"

Viper looked up, watching as Cheng and Gambit approached, cycles roaring. "The Blood Ring is a fight to the death, Miss Lee," he said distantly. "I am still alive."

*****

The obstacles had been brilliant, Gambit reflected sourly. And it had kept the odds pretty even. He had dodged sprays of bullets, unexpected pits, and a hail of knives. He had even gone through the obligatory wall of flames.

Talk about cliché.

Cheng was starting to finally fall behind, but for no apparent reason. Although that reason came quite apparent when the road exploded in front of him. He had set off a bomb¡¦but how had Cheng known about it?

There was no time to wonder as Gambit righted his motorcycle, thanking all of the Catholic saints that he had missed most of the bomb. In the distance, he could hear Jubilee screaming his name. He could hear Marius and Jean Luc shout at Viper.

Cheng shot past him, pulling a gun out of a holster. "Anything goes, American," he shouted over the roar of the engines. Then he fired.

*****

Viper shot to his feet when Cheng shot Gambit, shouting at his men in Chinese. Jubilee watched in horror as a spray of blood came from Gambit¡¦s shoulder. "How honourable is that?" she screamed at Viper.

Viper didn¡¦t answer. Instead, he watched as Gambit leaned over and snagged a piece of debris. A long pipe. And he remained silent as Gambit caught up to Cheng just prior to the finish line.

Gambit shoved the pipe into the spokes of rear tire, then veered away from Cheng. Cheng¡¦s motorcycle came to a screeching halt, sending Cheng flying over the handlebars, and headfirst into the asphalt.

The motorcyclist had just lifted himself from the pavement when Gambit crossed the finish line. He had just raised his gun again when another gunshot rang out. A stunned look crossed Cheng¡¦s face just before he fell backwards. With a bullet hole in his forehead.

*****

Viper was the center of attention as he lowered his gun. "Cheng violated the unspoken rule, Gambit. He would have killed you for winning."

Jubilee blinked. "Just like that?"

Gambit scowled. "What about de gun de man used earlier?"

"Anything goes, Gambit. I¡¦m surprised he didn¡¦t try it earlier."

"How did he know about de bomb?"

Viper looked over at a young man. "Come here." When the man approached slowly, a dark look gathered over Viper¡¦s features. "Did you lead Cheng through a walkthrough of the obstacles?"

The man trembled slightly. "Yes, my Lord," he said softly.

Viper nodded. Then he raised the gun and shot the man as well. "I do not accept dishonour in my ranks."

"What de score be den?" Jean Luc demanded.

"Miss Lee and Gambit are permitted passage to the home of Clanmaster Chang. From there, I cannot guarantee their safety." Viper took Jubilee¡¦s arm, and pulled her closer. "Miss Lee."

"What?"

"If you can, go to Chinatown. Hung and Xiu still have contacts who may be able to help you. And if you reach Mother China, you will find the answers you seek." Viper gave her a slightly fond look. "I remember when you used to climb onto my knee, wanting songs from my homeland. Don¡¦t give up so easily, Jubee." He turned and walked away.

It was a long moment before Jubilee could close her mouth.

-Finis Chapter Two-