Penance and New Beginnings: Chapters 3-4

by Verthril

Jubilee awoke to the whimpered cries of another girl. Looking about she found herself in a small, cramped room with a small kitchen and two beds. On the other bed was the girl that Victor had brought in, she realized, and she seemed in the grips of a nightmare. Jubilee quietly slid from her bed and walked to the girl, gently shaking her shoulder where the blanket had covered it, recalling what Walter had said about her being a Touch-Empath. The girl slowly stirred from her nightmare, terror and sadness filling her eyes.

"Who¡¦who are you?" Clarice asked of Jubilee, who only returned a small smile.

"Friend of that big brute, name¡¦s Jubilee." Jubilee replied, turning away from the girl and making her way to the kitchen and pouring a glass of water for the girl.

Returning, Jubilee found her in a sitting position on the bed, looking scared and confused. Clarice graciously accepted the water and finished it off quickly. Then after setting the glass down on a nightstand, she looked to Jubilee.

"Next question. What¡¦re you doing in Em¡¦s and my bedroom?" Clarice inquired, looking to Jubilee.

"They probably put us in here to rest. I kinda overexerted myself by ¡¦paffing¡¦ the Doc. Time was short and we didn¡¦t need a battle royal between him and Vic. You weren¡¦t in all that kinda good shape when we found you." Jubilee explained.

"Oh¡¦yeah¡¦when I touched that man¡¦I¡¦I¡¦it was horrible¡¦." Clarice stuttered out, remembering the horrors that were slowly fading from her mind, of the world where Apocalypse ruled, and of the horrors Victor had committed even before then, and too the pain and suffering ever since he had found regret for it all, and the need to make amends for the blood he had on his hands.

"So¡¦like¡¦you can¡¦t shut off your power?" Jubilee asked of Clarice, who only shook her head.

"Normally isn¡¦t a problem. Just now and again people who have suffered or seen very immense things that leave emotional scars, they kinda overwhelm me." Clarice explained, looking Jubilee in the eyes.

Jubilee averted her gaze, and soon found an interest in the pattern of wallpaper that the room had been done in. Clarice reached out a hand, noticing the sadness the younger girl before her was fighting with, and at the last moment Jubilee pulled her hand away in a shock.

"Don¡¦t¡¦please¡¦I don¡¦t want you having another episode." Jubilee said flatly as she looked to the Clarice.

"How much could you have seen, that could compare to what he has seen. My power also braces me for what I seen, using the extreme¡¦s as shields." Clarice explained, tentatively reaching her hand out.

"Don¡¦t say I didn¡¦t want you." Jubilee said flatly, and took Clarice¡¦s hand in her own.

First the feelings Jubilee was toiling with washed over Clarice, sadness and anger, violation and fear, hope and futility. Clarice felt herself frown, wondering what could have happened to this girl who looked to be at least four years her junior, but then the memories invaded. Memories of mortals she touched almost never came, just mutants, with the rare cases nothing more than a faded glimpse of the mortal¡¦s memories. But now the memories of Jubilee flashed before her. Her departure from the Weapon X program only to be saved by a man, a man she thoughts was her mortal enemy. The Weapon X project itself and the horrific things that had done to her and forced her to do. The pain of the Adamantium bonding process, the genetic splicing, and the holographic battle sequences, leaving her kind and tender soul scarred. A whirlwind of other memories threatened to overtake her, but she pulled her hand free, using the strength she had gained from her touch with Victor¡¦s scarred psyche to shield her.

Jubilee looked to Clarice, the other girl¡¦s eyes glazed over and blinking as if she were in a dream. Suddenly she jerked her hand away, and opened her eyes, locked in a memory not her own. She stared at Jubilee with eyes that reflected all that Jubilee was feeling or had felt up until this point, and then it faded away as Clarice returned.

"Next time you say don¡¦t, remind me to listen to you¡¦" Clarice said with fatigue in her voice as she crawled from the bed and made her way to the washroom.

"You okay?" Jubilee asked with her voice filled with concern for the other g

"Will be. Who¡¦who did that to you?" Clarice replied.

"Cold war leftovers. Probably want assassins nowadays. Who knows, I¡¦m just glad their track record for keeping their captives is Captives 2¡¦Looser bad guys 0." Jubilee explained, letting a bit of the old firecracker back into her voice.

"Oh." Clarice replied as she turned on the water of sink and splashed cold water on her face.

Just then a light knocking came from the door. Jubilee peeked into the washroom, and Clarice waved her on.

"Answer that could you?" Clarice asked while towel drying her face.

"Sure." Jubilee replied, walking to the door and opening it.

Jubilee opened the door to see the girl who had been in medical scrubs, who was now wearing jeans and a U of T sweatshirt, and to her side a young man stood dressed similarly, except the sweatshirt spoke of how he was from the Biology department.

"Hi! Good to see your up, is Clarice awake?" Emily asked, walking in.

"Right in the washroom Em, be out in a sec." Clarice called out.

Jubilee found herself staring at the man who was waiting out in the hall, tall, with shaggy brown hair, a few days growth of beard on his face, and dark hazel eyes. Worn blue jeans, and a faded University of Toronto sweat set on a lithe figure.

"Hello?" The man asked of Jubilee, looking down to her.

"Hi." Jubilee replied softly, lost in her appreciation for the guy before her.

"Can I come in?" The man asked, looking to Jubilee.

Jubilee shook her head, getting past the butterflies in her stomach.

"Umm, yeah. Like you¡¦re a friend of the people that live here and I am just the guest." Jubilee remarked as she stepped out of the way.

He walked in and made his way to the bathroom, from which Clarice had just emerged. The two hugged and then parted.

"You okay sis?" The man asked of Clarice.

"Yeah. Just had a start is all." Clarice replied, looking to Jubilee who was admiring her brother.

"Jubilee, this is Jake. My brother." Clarice said as she turned her brother to Jubilee.

"Hello." Jake said, holding out his hand.

"He¡¦like¡¦doesn¡¦t have any Touch-Empathy going on does he?" Jubilee asked, looking to the hand.

Jake blinked, and then looked to his sister.

"You told her you¡¦re a mutant!" Jake cried out, worried for his and his sister¡¦s secret that they kept at the University.

"Chill Jake. She was in Walter¡¦s lab when I had an episode after touching a friend of hers. They¡¦re mutants too." Clarice explained, calming her brother.

"Oh¡¦" Jake replied, as his face flushed red with embarrassment.

"No, Jubilee. He isn¡¦t a Touch-Empath, you can shake his hand." Clarice assured Jubilee as she punched her brother in the shoulder.

Jubilee took his hand and shook it, feeling the warmth of his flesh against her cold, pale hands. Jake looked down to her, worry in his eyes and took his other hand and started to rub them over her hands as he pulled them together.

"Your hands are freezing! Poor circulation?" Jake asked.

"Nope. Bones laced with metal. Still adjusting to it." Jubilee replied sheepishly, looking up to Jake and trying to keep from staring.

"Oh! So you¡¦re the girl Walter was talking about!" Jake exclaimed, looking down to her with concern.

"Yup. Just little old lab rat Jubilee." She remarked dryly, before switching the subject of inquiry.

"So, what is your mutation?" Jubilee asked, looking up to Jake.

Taking a step back, Jake morphed into the form of a wolf and looked up to Jubilee. His coat was mixed with silver and black fur, while dark feral eyes greeted her gaze.

"He can morph into animals he has a genetic sample of. He carries a wolf tooth pendant and feathers of various birds, as well as a lock of tiger fur." Clarice explained to an amazed Jubilee.

"Wow. That¡¦s cool." Jubilee finally exclaimed.

As Jake shifted back, he looked to Jubilee.

"So, what is your mutation?" Jake asked.

"Well, a untrustworthy stealth power, and the ability to detonate matter on a sub-molecular level." Jubilee said as she held out hand and let the plasmoids dance in the air.

"I can control them, direct them, and when I need to, make them go boom." Jubilee went on further to explain.

"But recently, the jokers spliced a friends mutant healing factor into my X-factor and for now, and maybe forever, I have can heal wounds as well as other stuff." Jubilee said to an amazed trio.

Jubilee then turned her gaze to Emily, wondering if she too was a mutant, yet too feeling awkward to ask.

Emily looked to Jubilee, catching the look of wonder mixed with reservations, and then held out her hands as Jubilee started to float from the ground.

"I¡¦ve got some control over gravity, though as I must overcome the earth¡¦s own gravity and whatever it is I¡¦m affecting, I can¡¦t do anything really big. Though you should see the fuel economy my car gets." Emily remarked as she let Jubilee float to the ground.

"Wow again." Jubilee chuckled out.

"Oh, Heather said to give this to you." Emily said as she handed her a credit card, to which Jubilee¡¦s eyes grew large at as she looked at it.

"A credit card! She gave me a credit card! A former California Mall Rat of all people, and she gives me a credit card!" Jubilee exclaimed.

"Yeah. She said to give that to you first. Here, some fake id too. She said it should help you guys in your journey. And also that you need to get some new clothing." Emily explained, smiling at the younger girl¡¦s joy.

"Clothing! Oh¡¦that only means one thing¡¦Shopping!" Jubilee exclaimed.

"Sure thing! Lets go guys!" Emily chimed in, grabbing her car keys.

Back in the lab, Victor now sat at the seat that Jubilee had earlier that day, looking at the holographic table, with the Hudson¡¦s and Walter at his side. On the table were two images of Victor Creed, with various screens noting the differences between the two.

"Well. Other than various minor differences that would be caused by environmental causes, the major difference is in brain activity." Walter explained.

"Hey Walt. Where did you get these scans? Well, not mine or the kids, but this world¡¦s Creed¡¦s and Logan¡¦s?" Victor inquired.

"Ah, that was thanks to my associate Henry McCoy. He gave me some updated records for my files a couple years ago. Though I¡¦ve collected a few on my own means and with the help of the Canadian government." Walter explained.

"Anyways, as I was saying, the major difference is in the brain activity. I¡¦ll not bore you with the technical details, but you see this highlighted section here? You can see a difference in the two. While your section is more akin to that of a normal person, our Victor¡¦s was much more developed and active. The ¡¦Glow¡¦ he talked about, the pleasure after a kill. He grew dependant on it, and thus I believe his body as well as his psyche adapted to this dependency. Perhaps it came with the adrenaline rush initially, who knows for sure." Walter explained to the trio.

"So, what? Your saying I¡¦m cured of that homicidal rage I knew?" Victor asked.

"No more than a reformed drug addict. You always run the risk of becoming addicted again. Though I must say, without this addiction, you are a far more sociable and pleasant person." Walter explained.

"Anyways, so where is the pup?" Victor asked, looking to the Hudson¡¦s.

"Left with the students. I¡¦ve called in a few favors and had some identification and a line of credit set up for you and her both. You¡¦ll be her adopted father. I hope you don¡¦t mind." Heather explained.

"I¡¦ve no problem with it. Pup is the one who might take offense." Victor remarked as he got up from his chair and walked to the coffee machine.

"Oh, don¡¦t worry about her. I¡¦ve sent her on a shopping spree. Logan told us of the dents in his pocketbook that girl has done when he did that to cheer her up." Heather said as she dropped a package beside the coffee machine.

"And you let her go on a shopping spree with a line of credit?" Victor asked as he looked at the identification. "Victor Creed? You used my real name?" He then asked.

"Yeah. With two of you running around, most people will think it¡¦s a coincidence or a person with the same name. Those that actually know about you won¡¦t be stupid enough to attack without an entire armed assault team, and with this being black ops, all you have to do is lead a normal life and stay in the public eye." Heather reasoned.

"What name did you give the pup?" Victor then asked.

"Leslie Creed, though I¡¦m sure people can call her Lee for short as to avoid any slip ups of your identities." Heather replied.

"Good thinking. I think I¡¦ll have to have the pup take me out shopping. I might not be a homicidal maniac, but I still don¡¦t care for crowds of humans surrounding me." Victor remarked.

"Oh, one last thing. Here¡¦s a cell phone. It¡¦s the kind you buy minutes for. Disposable if need be. The kids had been given one for Lee to use, her number is in the speed dial." Heather added, tossing the cell phone to Victor.

"So, any ideas on where we should head from here?" Victor asked.

"Well, I¡¦ve got a hotel room in the downtown paid for a week, relax for a bit and let the girl enjoy a bit of a break. From there I would suggest the states, maybe eventually seek the X-men out. We¡¦ll tag along for that trip, just so they don¡¦t shoot first and ask questions later. The shock of seeing us should be enough to distract them." James said while digging for the cigars he had in his pocket.

"Smoke break?" Victor asked, noticing the cigars James pulled out.

"Yeah. We¡¦ll let the good doctor get back to work. I¡¦m sure we¡¦ve given him enough to brood over after this day." James remarked, giving his old friend a pat on the back.

Back in the Eaton¡¦s Center, Jubilee and the two girls dragged along Jake who was on bag detail.

"Gorilla fur. I have to find a lock of Gorilla fur. And one of those image inducers you were telling me about when you were telling me about the X-men and Hank McCoy in particular. Walter might be able to arrange that." Jake mused, totally ignored by the women.

The sudden sound of an explosion ripped though the Eaton¡¦s center, and time seemed to freeze as Jubilee looked around. Above flames ripped though one of the office buildings high above the joined shopping center, sending large chunks of debris to the ground beneath.

"Em! Get on that now!" Jubilee cried out, focusing her attention to the larger chucks as she detonated them, breaking them up into fine soot that fell harmlessly to the ground.

Emily in turn was forcing herself to her limits, slowing and halting the largest of the chunks and setting them gently on the ground away from the panicked shoppers. Jake dropped the bags and morphed into an owl and flew high into the sky, giving a shriek.

"He says there¡¦s injured up there!" Clarice cried out.

"How did you understand him?" Jubilee asked as she looked around.

"We share a common telepathic link due to being siblings. Handy for when he goes into animal form." Clarice called out.

"Lee! Get ready; we¡¦re going air born. Clarice stay down here and get these people out of here. Time to see how far you can quell emotions with that Touch-Empathy of yours!" Emily cried out as she sent herself and Jubilee rocketing skyward with a sudden reversal of gravity.

The two landed in the ruins of an office, finding Jake digging through the rubble in Wolf form, using the animal senses to his advantage. Emily began lifting the rubble from the room, uncovering the injured and shocked office workers. Suddenly paramedics burst though the door and looked to the scene before them.

"We got injured people!" Emily yelled at them as she sent the rubble to the shopping center below.

Jubilee broke off from the group, looking around and ensuring there weren¡¦t any other threats. Suddenly a groaning could be heard under a collapsed wall.

"Hey! We got injured here!" Jubilee yelled back to the others, and was soon joined by a paramedic.

"We need to get her out from under here." The paramedic rhetorically stated as he began to clear away rubble, joined immediately by Jubilee.

Once the rubble was cleared away, the paramedic set to work on stabilizing the woman they uncovered.

"It was¡¦a mail bomb. They opened it during the meeting. A¡¦timer triggered¡¦only ten seconds. We¡¦got away from it as fast as we could. Jeffery stayed to¡¦try¡¦and get it away." The woman whispered out in a raspy voice between stabs of pain as the paramedic set to work.

"Where is the meeting room?" Jubilee asked the woman she was crouched beside.

"Down¡¦the hall." The woman whispered once more, and Jubilee was off.

The hall was nothing more than scorched walls and buckled cement floors. Overhead lights hung from their chains with broken bulbs. Jubilee retrained from using her power here, as the smell of gas hung in the air. Finding her way to the office, she saw nothing more than a hole in the ground, with debris settled on the next office floor underneath. Giving a high-pitched whistle, Jake soon came running to her side in wolf form.

"I figured you¡¦d hear that. Anyone alive down there?" Jubilee asked, looking to the debris beneath her.

Jake took a sniff and then jumped down, digging at a hunk of rubble after morphing into a tiger form. Jubilee took the hint and joined, lifting a large chunk of rubble off of a man.

"Jeffery?" Jubilee asked, looking to the man, who seemed to perk up at mention of his name.

"Bomb¡¦" Jeffery called out.

"Yeah¡¦it was a bomb. We got to get you to the paramedics." Jubilee said, clearing away the rest of the rubble.

"No¡¦another¡¦bomb¡¦" Jeffery cried out in a tired, panicked voice.

Jake morphed back into a wolf and soon started sniffing around the room, his ears perked up until he came to a pile of rubble and howled. Jubilee ran to the pile and pulled of the largest chunk of rubble, looking to Jake.

"Yeah, you¡¦re right. Gorilla fur." Jubilee muttered as she looked down at yet another chunk of rubble, from which a faint beeping could be heard.

Jake then morphed back into his human form and looked to her.

"You were listening to me?" He asked, surprised.

"Duh. Hot University student. You could read off the phone book and I¡¦d listen attentively." Jubilee retorted as she looked at the cement slab beneath them.

"So, any ideas?" Jake asked trying to hid the redness of his cheeks.

"Get Emily? Maybe she can lift it?" Jubilee asked.

"Nope, she could barely lift a person on a stretcher after the exertion. Can you blast it like you did the rest of the rubble?" Jake asked back.

"Nope. Gas main is burst. Slightest spark and we¡¦re toasty critters." Jubilee answered.

"And there is no way we¡¦re getting these people out of here post haste with these injuries. Let alone evacuating the mall. Crap!" Jake growled out, a hint of wolf in his voice.

"Jake, get that guy to the paramedics. I¡¦ll think of something." Jubilee said, clearing away more rubble.

Jake pulled the man out and then morphed into the form of a Tiger and dragged him off to the paramedics.

Jubilee soon found an opening and looked under, finding another bomb, slightly charred, but working. The timer read twenty seconds. Letting out a sigh, she pulled it out and ran from the office. Once she arrived back into the main section of the office she then realized the damage didn¡¦t match, the detonation was supposed to have happened in the office, yet the brunt of the damage was out above the mall she had been shopping in.

"It¡¦s a trap!" Jubilee screamed out, tossing the bomb off the edge and finding it didn¡¦t explode.

Turning, she saw one of the paramedics pull a gun and leveling his aim at her.

"You¡¦re coming with us Miss Lee, including your friends. Now don¡¦t make me shoot you." The man said coolly.

"Em! Jake! Jump!" Jubilee cried as she tackled the man.

As Emily and Jake jumped from the office building, Jake turned into the form of an owl and Emily found in her panic, the last bit of strength for her mutant power. Above them a gunshot ran though, followed by another explosion as the spark ignited the gas. Jake did a circle and flew back up. The office was another pile of rubble with flames burning everywhere. Landing he morphed into the form of a wolf and started to sniff though the rubble until he stopped and started digging. Slowly he uncovered Jubilee, her body covered in blood and burns. Pulling her free he slid under her and morphed into a tiger clenched her calf in his mouth as he climbed back to the floor beneath.

Clarice and Emily stared up to the floors above, almost holding their breath as their minds worked out horrific scenes. Finally they could see a tiger come to the edge, climbing down the elevator until he made it to the ground. Clarice and Emily ran to his side, watching as he morphed into his human form and began mouth-to-mouth on the burned and battered form of Jubilee. A sputtered cough greeted them as they dropped to her side, and stared in awe as the burns and cuts healed before their eyes.

"You¡¦tell¡¦a¡¦guy he¡¦s cute¡¦and he starts kissing you¡¦" Jubilee sputtered out as she looked up to Jake.

"Had I known that¡¦I¡¦d have done it ages ago¡¦" Jubilee then finished as she closed her eyes and took in a deep, troubled breath.

"Easy there Lee. I don¡¦t care if you got a spliced healing factor or not, you just were trapped in an explosion and got shot." Jake said as he checked her over.

"Just¡¦get me to the Hudson¡¦s. Need rest. And new clothing." Jubilee remarked, casting a glance to the bags that sat on the floor off in the distance.

"Sure thing Lee." Jake said, picking her up and cradling her in his arms. As he did so, scabs broke off exposing pink scar tissue, showing the fight her healing factor was having repairing the damage.

Back at the Hudson¡¦s, Victor sat in the living room watching television until he flicked onto a news channel and saw the horrific sight of the explosion at the mall. Not knowing which mall Jubilee had gone too, he picked up the phone and hit the speed dial. Just as he did so, a ringing down the hall could be heard as the door opened. Victor burst to his feet and ran towards the door, where Emily and Clarice emerged and pushed him aside. Next Jake came in with Jubilee in his arms, wrapped in her leather trench coat.

"What happened!" Victor snarled out, looking to the sleeping form of Jubilee.

"Explosion at the Eaton¡¦s Center. Was a trap and the idiot with a gun blew the gas main and made another explosion. She was caught in it, giving us the time we needed to get clear. She¡¦d doing better, most of the cuts are nothing more than scar tissue." Jake explained as he walked off to the first bedroom he found, gently placing Jubilee on the bed.

Heather and the other girls burst into the room and soon took over caring for Jubilee, while Clarice shooed her older brother from the room. Back in the living room Jake emerged and found James and Victor sitting uneasily on the sofa.

"She¡¦ll be fine. Just tired. Her healing factor was even working on the scar tissue before I got booted out." Jake informed, taking a seat in the lazy boy.

"Good. Though not good that they tracked us." Victor remarked, earning a nod from James.

"Not all. They want Emily, Clarice and myself. Whoever these guys are, they play for keeps." Jake said before getting up and walking out to the kitchen.

"Mr. Hudson, mind if I help my self to a Canadian?" Jake called out from the kitchen.

"Not at all, bring out two more." James called back.

"Was nothing else in there other than some odd herbal drinks. They your wife¡¦s?" Jake asked as he handed James and Victor a beer.

"Yeah. Normally have cola and what not, but haven¡¦t been shopping yet." James replied as he twisted off the cap.

"So, what do you think we should do? They¡¦re going to be after us too." Jake asked of the two men.

"Welcome to come with us. Though I think that week break just went out the window. I¡¦m sure Heather can get you three some fake identification." Victor remarked, looking to James who gave a nod.

"You better start pulling some strings to get that place shut down, and get people looking for stragglers." Victor then added.

"I¡¦ll make a call in the morning. I going to be hitting the sack once I have this beer. You three can stay here. Bed here is a pull out and the sofa in Jubilee¡¦s room is the same. I¡¦m sure Emily and Clarice can share." James informed and then took his last swallow of his beer.

"Night Mr. Hudson." Jake said as he reclined in the chair.

After a few minutes, Clarice emerged and sat down beside her brother on the floor, resting her head against the chair.

"She¡¦s fine. Was asking where her ¡¦Shining Knight¡¦ was too." Clarice giggled out, to which Jake only blushed.

"She likes you. I can feel it every time I touched her as I helped clean the soot and scabs from her." Clarice then added, looking up to her older brother.

Emily was next to emerge, followed by Heather who went up to her bedroom.

"So, what are we going to do? They¡¦re after us now." Emily asked, setting on the sofa with Victor.

"Mr. Creed made an offered to us to go with him and Lee." Jake mentioned, picking away some scab from his sisters hair.

"Really?" Clarice asked, looking to Victor, who merely nodded.

"Where are you going to take us?" Emily chimed in, looking to Victor.

"Wherever Lee thinks it¡¦s safest while this Weapon X program gets reigned in by the government up here. From what he was telling me, they have been keeping Weapon X a secret for some years and aren¡¦t about to let it get restarted, national Pride or something. More like National Shame that something like that happened here." Victor explained.

"Anyways, you pups should get to bed. See you in the morning." Victor said, earning a look of ire from them all at the term ¡¦Pup¡¦.

Slowly the trio of teens made their way to bed, letting their weary bodies recover from the trials of the day and letting their minds drift though the revelations they had found out about their own nation.

Chapter Four: Hide and Seek

"Do you have anything to declare?" The border crossing guard asked, his voice tired and fatigue showing in his stance as the day neared to an end.

"Only if you let me whisper it to you." Emily said, leaning out of the Bronco.

Slowly the guard leaned closer and put his ear towards Emily, who cupped her hand over his ear and whispered something, after which a sputtered gasp was then made by the guard with his face turning beat red. Waving on the Bronco across the border, the guard quickly made a retreat into the guard station. Inside the car, all eyes turned on Emily who had a smile on her face like the cat that just ate the pet canary.

"What did you say?" Jubilee asked, leaning on the back of the seat and looking to Emily.

"Oh, nothing." Emily said coyly, keeping her eyes on the road as she sped up.

"Nothing eh? Would that be sweet nothings to the guard back there?" Jubilee asked, looking to her new friend.

"Spill Em." Clarice added from the back seat.

"Fine! I told him I wanted his body for hot monkey loving! You happy!" Emily shrieked out, her face turning a bright red as she tried not to look her friends in the face.

"You didn¡¦t!" Jubilee shrieked out, followed by a burst of giggles from herself and Clarice.

"She did. I heard her." Victor remarked flatly, looking through the window at the passing trees.

Much to the dismay of the men in the truck, a shrill girly scream rang out, and Emily tried hard to keep from swerving the truck.

"Hey Vic, you want to head back and take our chances with Weapon X?" Jake asked sarcastically, getting a snorted chuckle from the older man and a sharp punch in his shoulder from Jubilee.

"Not funny." Jubilee muttered out, pulling her legs up onto the seat and turning away from Jake.

"Sorry, I should have known better." Jake replied, pulling Jubilee up against himself and looking down into her sapphire eyes.

Jubilee looked up to his hazel eyes and let out a growl, her face turning into a mock scowl.

"You know I can¡¦t stay mad at you when you do that ¡¦Just had your dog run over¡¦ look. Now quit it, or I¡¦ll get Vic to gut ya." Jubilee grumbled out.

"Leave me outta your fight pup." Victor remarked, giving her a look over his shoulder.

Jake kept the look going, and followed up by giving her a quick kiss on her forehead, to which Jubilee melted against him.

"Now I know how Wolvie feels." Jubilee muttered as she snuggled up against Jake.

"So, where we headed Lee?" Emily asked, as she set the cruise control and relaxed her control of the gravity surrounding the car.

"Dunno. Any places you guys have been wanting to see?" Jubilee asked.

"I¡¦ve always wanted to see New York." Clarice replied, looking up from her sketchpad.

"Any objections to New York? Going once, twice, sold to the brunette sister of this hottie I¡¦m leaning against." Jubilee remarked, letting out a giggle.

"Next stop New York!" Emily cried out, as the rest of the carload aside from Victor joined her in their cheers.

"Oh, one question. Which way is New York?" Emily asked, receiving a snorted chuckle from Victor.

"Sure you don¡¦t want me to drive pup?" Victor asked finally.

"Fine, you can drive. Just watch out for pedestrians, animals, and imports." Emily said with a sigh as she pulled over.

Twenty hours later, with all but Victor asleep, they finally pulled into New York. The skyline rose up from the horizon, with the night sky a contrast to the light of the skyscrapers. Looking to the slumbering passengers, Victor let a smile grace his face as a sense of belonging and need filled him for the first time in all the years he had been on this Earth that was not his own.

Jubilee was resting against Jake, who had morphed into his wolf form, giving her a warm place to rest her head. Clarice was resting her head on the blanket that had been folded and thrown on Jubilee. Emily was up in the front, her head resting against the doorframe with a slight line of drool running down the window. To the casual observer, it looked like nothing more than a road trip of college or university students, albeit with an unusual pet, though the truth was anything but.

Driving up to a hotel, he put the Bronco in park and shook Jake away.

"Hey pup. Get your act together, I¡¦m going to get us two rooms, you can decide if you want to wake up the others while I¡¦m gone." Victor explained, quietly exiting the truck afterwards.

Jake looked around and noticed the sleeping girls in the truck, smiling fondly at them all. Knowing Emily to be the tomboy of the lot, he gave her a gentle shake to wake her, and tried not to smirk as she wiped the drool from her lip.

"One word and I¡¦ll find a vet and neuter ya, ya hear me?" Emily grumbled as she stretched out her weary bones.

"Mr. Creed is getting us two rooms. I think he can handle Clarice and I¡¦ll carry Lee. Figured you¡¦d wallop me one if I tried to do the chivalrous thing." Jake explained, fighting the urge to yawn.

"Nah. Wallop is when you annoy me, neuter is when you wake me up from a dream involving that border guard, death is when you try that macho medieval stuff on this modern day girl." Emily explained to Jake, her face expressionless.

"Gotcha." Jake replied.

Inside the hotel, Victor was having problems of his own.

"Look, the sign says you have a Vacancy. And I see four unused keys sitting there. Now how come your telling me you can¡¦t rent me a room for the night?" Victor asked, keeping a reign on his temper.

"Umm¡¦sir¡¦we¡¦have¡¦a policy¡¦about renting to previous guests¡¦who happened to cause several thousand dollars worth of damage with their last stay¡¦sir¡¦" The night clerk stammered out.

"Previous guests? First time I¡¦ve been here." Victor remarked.

"Well Mr. Creed, the system says you stayed here four years ago, and caused a total bill of seven thousand dollars and fifty nine cents worth of damage. If you would like to speak to the manager, I could have him come in." The night clerk explained, showing Victor the computer screen.

Realization dawned on Victor, and he waved off the night clerk.

"Whatever, probably some computer glitch or something. I¡¦m not in the mood to deal with it, and I don¡¦t think your manager would like being woken up to deal with me. I¡¦ll take my business elsewhere ya halfpint." Victor grumbled, leaving the shaking night clerk alone as he strode off to the Bronco.

Inside the Bronco, Emily and Jake watched the approaching form of Victor, and saw the expression on his face.

"Didn¡¦t get the vacancy. Think they found out he was a mutant or were just too scared to rent to a guy that looks like he eats half a cow for breakfast, still kicking?" Emily inquired.

Victor entered the car, forgetting about the sleeping occupants and slammed the door as hard as he could.

"Counterpart of this world left an eight grand damage bill at this place. Need to find somewhere else to crash for the night." Victor grumbled, not noticing the bewildered look on Clarice¡¦s face and the sleep ridden glare Jubilee was giving him.

"So where too?" Clarice asked as she stretched in the back seat, accidentally elbowing Jubilee in the jaw.

"Ow!" Clarice and Jubilee cried out as one.

"You Okay sis, Lee?" Jake asked of the two, both who were being overly pouty over the matter, then bursting into giggles.

"Yeah, we¡¦re fine. I hurt my elbow on her jaw, and she hurt her jaw on my elbow." Clarice said as she snuggled down in her blanket and curled back up into her sleeping position.

"What she said." Jubilee commented, snuggling up against Jake.

Emily made an evil grin and snuggled up to Victor, who just looked down to the girl and groaned.

"Fine pup, you can use me as a pillow, though if ya drool on me I ain¡¦t gonna be happy." Victor remarked.

"Sure thing Vic. Night Night." Emily said as she closed her eyes and awaited sleep to return.

Pulling out of the hotel, Victor set on the quest to find lodging for the night. In the back seat, Jake was struggling to find a comfortable position with Jubilee snuggled against him and his sister on the other side of the seat. Finally giving up, he contented himself with staring out the window. Meanwhile, Victor admired the unmarred cityscape of New York, without the citadel of Apocalypse rising high into the night sky around the ruins of the metropolis.

"Ya know kid. In my world, a nutjob by the name of Apocalypse ruled most of North America. His capital was in this very city, with his overcompensation for not having any balls rising high into the sky. It¡¦s good to see it without his filth here. Kinda glad yer sis suggested it." Victor remarked, lost in the memory of another time.

Casting a glance to the rear view mirror, Victor saw the sleeping form of Jake resting his head against the window of the Bronco with Jubilee snuggled in his arms.

"Sleep well pups." Victor whispered, returning his attention to the road ahead.

The next morning, the troupe found themselves in a posh hotel room, with a large glass window overlooking the New York skyline. They all exchanged confused glances, shrugging to one another.

"Victor!" They cried out in unison, knowing only he could explain what had happened in the night.

A grumble came from the washroom as a robe clad Victor burst out, toothbrush in one hand and razor in the other.

"What!" He snarled, spitting toothpaste on the floor.

"Like¡¦where are we?" Jubilee asked, looking around the room.

"Some damn expensive hotel! After finding every place I¡¦d go having yet another tale of this worlds me, I went to the last place I¡¦d ever hole myself up in!" Victor grumbled out, and then walked back into the bathroom.

"Moody or what. Like, someone needs to switch to the decaf." Emily snorted.

"I heard that!" Victor yelled from the bathroom.

~ Being around someone who can hear a pin drop a mile away has its disadvantages. Good thing we can use our link, eh Jake? ~ Clarice sent with a giggle, to which Jake merely nodded.

After a few more minutes in the washroom, Victor emerged in a pair of jeans with a t-shirt thrown over his shoulder along with a pair of socks. Emily ogled openly, and just admired the built physique of Victor.

"How old are you again Vic?" Emily asked, staring at Victor as he put on his socks.

"Too old." Victor replied with a sigh, catching the young woman¡¦s scent.

"Oh come on, you don¡¦t look a day over thirty. I¡¦m twenty four. That¡¦s only six years difference." Emily reasoned, nodding to herself.

"Healing factor and Weapon X mucking. I¡¦m old enough to be your grandmother¡¦s mother¡¦s father." Victor replied, pulling his t-shirt on.

"Really? Even better! There are men who only get hotter with age! Harrison Ford, Sean Conery, umm¡¦you!" Emily started babbling, swooning over the sight of Victor.

Back on the bed, Jubilee and Clarice just looked to their friend with raised eyebrows, while Jake was dialing for room service.

A knocking came at the door moments later, and a voice called out room service. Victor perked up his ears at the sound, but was too late as the gang of ¡¦kids¡¦ ran to the door and opened it, their stomachs growling for food. As the door opened, a scared maid was running down the hall with a food service cart in her stead. But it was what was behind the cart that caught their attention as Bishop stood with his plasma rifle leveled on Victor. Like a flash though, Jubilee had grabbed the barrel and had it pointed at her chest, tears welling in her eyes.

"Bish¡¦" Jubilee asked weakly, looking to the mutant who had saved her life more than once.

"Jubilation. Tell me what you are doing in a hotel under the name of Leslie Creed, with Victor Creed as your adopted father, while all intelligence says Victor is down south." Bishop said coldly, pulling his rifle away from her chest as he asked his question.

"Come in Bish¡¦long¡¦long oh god damn long story¡¦" Jubilee muttered out, while Jake and the other¡¦s backed away from the built black man before them.

Bishop walked in, pulling the food trolley behind them and shut the door with a kick of his foot. All but Jubilee shied away from Bishop, and Victor just stood off in the corner with a smug smile on his face. The one man in this world that he knew from the world he was from, the one man who had seen the horrors he had seen, and held some of the honor that he held, stood before him.

"Bishop guys. Time lost X-man and personal body guard to the X-men." Jubilee said with a dry chuckle.

"Bishop, I believe you¡¦ve met Victor already. Not our Victor¡¦but¡¦the Victor you met¡¦when¡¦when¡¦Apocalypse ruled¡¦" Jubilee then stuttered out, looking up to her friend with teary eyes.

Bishop looked down to Jubilee, realizing the pain she was feeling was not her own, but a pain of having a friend suffering something that should not have happened. Taking her into his arms, he gave her a gruff hug as she cried on about how sorry she was and all the things that she felt that she had to be sorry for, but never had to be. Even a confession came forth, for the day she had replaced his gun oil with a clever subsitute.

Jake and the others watched in awe as a man who looked to be career military broke down and became the world¡¦s biggest softy.

"Slowly told the pup bits and pieces of the world I came from. Kept out the fact that her counter was part of the band of thieves that stole the key to the whole damn thing and got us piece of the M¡¦Kraan crystal." Victor finally remarked.

"How did you two meet up?" Bishop asked, not even bothering to ask how he had escaped the fate of that doomed world.

"Saved her from the new and improved Weapon X. Go ahead and tell him pup." Victor replied, walking over and taking a chunk of Canadian bacon from the cart.

"What is he talking about Jubilee?" Bishop asked, looking down to her.

Slowly Jubilee stepped away and looked up to Bishop.

"Weapon X got a hold of me. Don¡¦t know why, maybe to lure Logan back to their fold, who knows. But then they started putting me through these tests. And then training sessions, forcing me to max out my powers. Finally they¡¦did some really weird stuff to me before they bonded Adamantium to my bones. Turns out they spliced Logan¡¦s healing factor into my X-factor." Jubilee explained slowly, looking up to the stunned expression on Bishop.

"Let me guess, you tried to find me?" Jubilee asked.

"Unlike the others, after you broke away from Generation X, I kept a bead on you. Then almost three months ago you just vanished. I used everything at my disposal that could find a flea on a dog in Mongolia, and yet I couldn¡¦t find you." Bishop replied somberly.

"Looks like that Stealth power of mine has finally worked out its glitch and gone into permanent stealth mode." Jubilee said, actually impressed.

"So how did you track me down to here?" Jubilee asked.

"Victor Creed was trying to rent a hotel room for five. I was given a cryptic heads up by the Hudson¡¦s who called and asked for me personally." Bishop remarked.

"What?" Jubilee asked.

"They wanted an extra body guard for the kids she had said. Said to look for a Victor and Leslie Creed, as well as a Jake and Clarice McArthur and Emily Carlson. Said they needed it as a favor. I didn¡¦t realize you were Leslie Creed, but fear of Victor made me not question it and track you down." Bishop explained.

"Oh. Figured you would have just used a PCU or something." Jubilee remarked, remembering the Portable Cerebro Unit¡¦s Hank had created before her departure to Generation X.

Bishop then pulled out of the aforementioned units and showed it to her, the screen blank.

"Tell me, would this have made it any easier?" Bishop asked with a rare humor to his voice.

On the screen, a radius of ten feet showed no life signs whatsoever, no mutant signatures, not so much as a speck of bacteria.

"What¡¦" Jubilee asked in her amazement.

"It seems now, when you don¡¦t want to be found, you won¡¦t be. Nor will anything in a ten foot radius of you." Bishop explained slowly.

"Wow." Jubilee said silently as she looked up to Bishop.

"Nor will any telepath be able to find you if you don¡¦t wish to be found. You needn¡¦t even bother with psi shields again while you are around them, you will just have to think that you don¡¦t want them to find you and your power will activate." Bishop explained once more.

"How¡¦do you know all this¡¦" Jubilee asked tentatively.

"From the files the XSE had on you before your death. There were two schools of thought on you. You were still alive and just hiding, or you were dead. But without a body or proof of your existence, neither could claim to know the truth." Bishop revealed, looking down to Jubilee.

"Wow." Jubilee exclaimed.

"But enough of this, your breakfast is growing cold." Bishop remarked and then headed for the balcony, where soon after Victor joined him in enjoying the morning air.

"Ya were lying about something back in there pup." Victor remarked.

"I¡¦ll hold you to your honor that you don¡¦t let it pass what I tell you now." Bishop remarked coldly.

"Deal." Victor replied.

"Everything I said was the truth. But I did know the truth. She was alive. Even saved my life from an Emplate. I was alone on that mission, Shard had been wounded and was in the infirmary and no one else could be called in. I was young and foolish, and I let it get too close. Stealing my strength as it fed on me, I noticed a small form come from the shadows. The emplate died quickly, as most of it¡¦s lower half was blown open by a plasma blast." Bishop went on to explain, and paused to collect his thoughts.

"I thought it had been another XSE at first. As she came into the light, I saw her face, and it was Jubilee, not the girl we see in there, but a grown woman. She saw that I recognized her, and raised a finger to her lips as to silence me. I thought I was dreaming, until she raised her hands to the air and let forth a joyful display of fireworks. She then said something to me." Bishop said, turning to Victor.

"What¡¦s that pup?" Victor replied.

"I owed ya one." Bishop said with his voice filled with a mixture of joy and sadness, as he finally understood what she had said.