Disclaimer : Marvel owns the X-men, I'm just borrowing them.
Explosive Combination
Chapter Eleven : The Abyss
Darkness, complete and utter, enveloping and stifling, drowning out all sense of reality as she groped about as she tried to find her way out of the abysmal void. The only thing more unnerving than the darkness was the silence, but then it was never truly silent if she listened, for the sound of her own breath was faint as it was swallowed by the void. The walls of wherever Jubilee found herself were cold and precise, feeling like worked marble or granite. Even her paffs did little for the darkness, swallowed and absorbed with only leaving her form expose with the faintest glow against the ebony floor. She didn't know where she was, nor what happened after Remy and her had left with Ororo to find the other X-men. All she knew was that there were three powers working against the Empress Lilandra, and if nothing could be done soon, a future as dark as the void she found herself in would be forged from the ashes of the rightful timeline.
Remy awoke with his head throbbing, and as he tried to raise a hand to ease the pain, he found that they were shackled. Looking about, he found himself in a dungeon not unlike the one he had eavesdropped on when the revelation of the Skrull plot was exposed. Ororo too had found out, and along with Jubilee they had hoped to find the other X-men to warn them. But it came too little too late as Psyloke attacked with Imperial guards. Off in the corner he could see Ororo laying limply upon a mat, her hair matted with blood and dirt from the fight. Looking further he couldn't see Jubilee anywhere, his fears catching the better of him as the thoughts of what Ororo had told them of the Skrull came back to him.
"Merde, if dey hurt her, dey going to have de devil ta deal with." Remy growled as he charged the chain on his shackles, destroying it and freeing his arms from behind his back.
Walking over to Ororo, he gave her a gentle nudge to bring her back to the conscious world. A groan came as her eyes fluttered open, drawing tight against the little light that the cell had. Rising to a sitting position, she looked about and leveled her gaze on Remy.
"I would take it we did not win the battle?" Ororo asked in a rhetorical tone, merely earning a nod from Remy.
Ororo looked about the cell further, looking for weaknesses and other things that might be useful to their escape, then she noticed the lack of something that nagged at her throbbing mind. Focusing past the pain of the headache she was suffering from, she realized that the girl was missing, Spark he had called her. As she opened her mouth, Remy merely gave a shake of his head as he caught her train of thought.
"Gone. Don know where too. If dey hurt her, dey have da devil ta deal with, I promised dat." Remy said in a tired voice as he rose from his sitting position and helped Ororo to her feet.
"I fear that Betsy has been taken by the Skrull, for I have never seen such rage and anger in her, nor would she double-cross us in this manner." Ororo stated, clearing her friends actions from the battle prior.
"Der was a reason I wasn't showing dem what I 'ad in de battle, fearing dis might happen." Remy said with a sly grin as he walked up to the cell door and charge the lock.
With a fizzle and a loud snap, the lock was blown. Repeating the trick on the hinges, the door soon fell from the frame, caught by Remy to stop the loud clattering smash that would have echoed down the corridors. Taking Ororo by her hand, the two figures stalked out into the darkness of the dungeons, intent on finding out what had become of Jubilee, while too the X-men.
Stairs now, rising for lord knows how high into the void. Jubilee crawled along them, fearing a tumble from the height she had climbed since finding them, each step forward taken tentatively as she groped about in the darkness to ensure no pitfalls. A faint glow flickered off in the farthest point of the void, infinitely small against the vastness of the darkness that surrounded her. As the only guidance in the otherwise featureless void, she pressed on and hoped for either rescue or release from this place.
"Eh Stormy, as de P'tite would say, what has about fifty feet, bad breath, and 'n even worse temperament?" Remy inquired as he peeked about the corner.
"I haven't a clue, 'Ace'." Ororo replied, annoyance in her voice with the new pet name she had just acquired.
Remy gave his head a nod for her to look over the corner, and as she peeked over, she saw twenty-five guards standing about a vast door rising eighty feet into the vaulted ceiling of the dungeon.
"What you t'inking dey keeping in der?" Remy asked as he looked to Ororo.
"Shall we find out 'Ace'?" Ororo asked, receiving a nod from Remy.
Stepping out into the hallway, Ororo raised her arms high into the sky, calling down the fury of gale force winds and the freezing depths of the Artic Tundra. The guards ran at her, weapons drawn, but as a barrage of charged rocks flew into them they fell back and tumbled against the wind. Frost and snow covered their metal armor, all of them now either unconscious or bordering on hypothermia. Remy and Ororo walked up to the door and pushed it open, finding the ease of the task strange for the size of the door. Looking up to the behemoth before them, they suddenly wished they hadn't let their curiosity guide their actions.
Jubilee had lost track of time as she climbed the stairs, having long since broken into a mad dash towards the light as her mind tittered on despair. Her paffs guided the way, keeping watch for every change in the direction of the stairs. The light grew closer with every step, and finally as she found the landing of the stairs, it was almost blinding in the intensity of it. It stood like a portal in the darkness, with the landing ending in a perilous edge at which the light sat. Too pass through it, merely to find out it was nothing but a ball of light would mean death, but if the risk taken proved it was a portal, freedom could be awaiting her on the other side. If there was one thing Remy had taught her over their time together, it was patience, and this would require time to decide the risk fully.
The behemoth looked down to the pair, straining against the shackles that held it about the wrists, ankles and throat. Furred and fanged, it looked like a creature out of mythology, yet here it stood imprisoned on the Imperial Throne-world.
"You know anyt'ing about dis t'ing?" Remy asked as he turned to Ororo.
"I have not the faintest idea my friend. Goddess forgive me, but at this moment we do need a distraction for the guards that we might be able to find the others and warn them of the plot." Ororo remarked as she raised her hands skyward, sending lightning bolts shattering through the skylight of the prison, destroying the shackles about the behemoth.
The giant creature looked down to them gratefully, but then a snarl fell over his face as a squad of guards advanced upon the cell. Panic clear on their expressions, the beast lunged at them from the cell as it attacked his oppressors.
"I feel sorry for dem Stormy, dey don know dat dey working for de Skrull. But alas, dey too don know we be on de same side. Lets get out of here." Remy said as he looked skyward and gave a smile to Ororo.
With a nod of her head and a chanting to the elements, the pair soon rose upon winds beckoned by Ororo, rising through the skylight and to freedom. They had to find the other X-men and warn them, and they also had to find their respective better halves. Logan was still missing and comatose, while Jubilee was missing entirely with no idea of her whereabouts.
Jubilee stood upon the edge, looking to the light hovering perilously over the edge of the landing. If she were to leap into it, she would have to do it right the first time as only one attempt could be made. Then suddenly the hairs on the back of her neck rose, as a feeling of someone watching her overtook her. Spinning about, she saw a menacing figure in the flicking light of the orb of pure white light. In her haste and shock, a misstep cost Jubilee her footing as she began to tumble over the edge. A shrill scream was swallowed by the darkness, cut short as a strong hand grabbed her by the arm. Looking up with tears in her eye, despair having finally washed over her; gray eyes peered at her through the darkness with concern in their depths. As the figure pulled her back to the edge, she could see a familiar silhouette about this figure, and as her eyes adjusted to the dim light she found Logan to be sitting with her on the edge.
"You okay kid?" Logan asked in a gruff tone.
"Peachy, only on the other side of the universe in some abysmal void that you nearly had me fall into by sneaking up on me!" Jubilee screamed in the darkness that consumed the noise.
"Sorry kid. Just about as lost as you are. One minute I'm tracking down Deathbird, next thing I know it feels like I was turned inside out, finding myself in this damn place." Logan said as he waved his arm about the void.
"Whoa, back up. Last thing you remember is chasing Deathbird and then waking up here?" Jubilee asked only to receive a nod from a curious Logan.
"Dude, someone fried your brain. Oh man oh man. That mind-witch biatch was with those guards. One minute I'm fighting with Re…err…Ace and Storm, next minute it feels like I was coming down from a four week sugar high." Jubilee remarked as she glanced back to the light.
"So fur ball, you thinking what I'm thinking?" Jubilee asked as she looked back to Logan.
"Hell Darlin', anything is better than this place." Logan said as he rose to his feet, offering a hand to Jubilee.
"Damn skippy." Jubilee said as she took the hand and hefted herself to her feet.
The pair ran back to the edge of the landing, slipping off their shoes for better grip on the otherwise featureless surface. Breaking into an all out dash for the edge, they leapt through the void like falling angels, clearing the void and passing through the light.
Disorientation passed over them as light filled their eyes. Looking about, they awoke to the shocked faces of Betsy and Professor Charles Xavier, while an alien dignitary that Jubilee recalled from her time at the grand ball stood next to Lilandra. A second glance about their surroundings soon alerted them to the fact that they both were quite naked, while in webbing Charles and Betsy hung like prey captured by a spider.
Turning back to the group standing before her, Jubilee threw a volley of plasmoids at the doppelgangers, charged by the anger and embarrassment of the current situation. The Skrulls fell back from the attack, only to be attacked close quarters by an enraged Logan. Leaving the man to do what he appeared to be so good at, Jubilee took to freeing the captives from the webbing. As Charles fell from the webbing, the Skrull who had taken his form reverted to its original state.
"Behind you child!" Xavier yelled as he pointed behind her.
Jubilee spun to see the alien dignitary charging at her, and with a swift kick Jubilee floored him and spun about. A second barrage of plasmoids freed the imprisoned dignitary along with Betsy, leaving the Skrull reverting back to their original forms.
"Impertinent Youngling! You shall pay for this!" The largest of the Skrulls yelled as he got to his feet and charged at her once more.
But this time a bolt of purple psonic energy found home with his temple as he toppled to the ground in a screaming heap. From behind him, Betsy, likely nude, glared down to the man with much anger in her eyes. Betsy then walked over and helped her one time and once more mentor to his feet.
"Whoa, like, aren't you a cripple?" Jubilee asked as Xavier stood before her, all in the room doing their utmost best to keep their eyes firmly locked on the faces of the others.
"A bit of Shi'ar technology child." Charles said as he walked over to Lilandra, probing her mind and undoing the damage the Skrull had done.
"Beloved?" Lilandra asked as she looked about, casting disgusted looks to the Skrull.
"A long story my love, shall you call your ship and have us teleported, we must return to the Throne-world to stop the unrest which must be erupting in your absence." Charles remarked, giving his love a kiss.
"Whoa, I'm not getting teleported anywhere until I get some clothing!" Jubilee shrieked, covering herself, finally having time for such modesties with the battle finished.
"Patience child, all shall be taken care of upon the Flag ship. Guardsmen, stay here and ensure that these ones do not impose a further threat upon the Empire" Lilandra remarked.
Their forms slowly dissolved from sight at the command of Lilandra, their forms reappearing within the private quarters of the Empress of the Shi'ar Empire. Servants quickly brought dress and clothing to the guests and consort of the Empress, finding Jubilee to be stubborn as they attempted to dress her in the dress of a noble.
"I can dress myself! I'm not three years old!" Jubilee shrieked as she tore a dress away from one of the servants and stormed off to another room.
Charles gave Logan and Betsy a glance as Jubilee left, while Lilandra held a smile upon her lips at the finicky behavior.
"Might you explain to me the child Logan?" Charles asked while a servant dressed him in the style of clothing he had taken to liking while in the Empire.
"Wish I could Chuck. Her and some Cajun fella fell outta a portal when Deathbird had us all trapped after we got sent here by Lilna Cheney. I chased after Deathbird only to get turn inside out and get lost in some mind landscape ya would know more about than I would. Found the kid in there, got out, and found ourselves where we found ya. End o' story." Logan explained while a woman clothed him.
"Hmm, I shall have to speak with these two later, but now we must get to the Throne-world. There may be more Skrull imposters there working the Empire as a puppet." Charles said as he followed Lilandra to the bridge of the Flagship.
Meanwhile back upon the Throne-world the X-men and Remy found themselves surrounded by a rather large force of Imperial forces. Several more lay upon the ground unconscious and beaten, having been the last force to have had attacked the X-men in the corner they had taken refuge in.
"Ach, they just keep coming. Maybe we best surrender and await Charles's return." Sean suggested a moment before letting lose a sonic blast on an advancing troop.
"What good is dat gonna do mon ami? Charles is a Skrull, we'd be finding ourselves in de dungeon in no time." Remy remarked as he threw a fistful of charged pebbles at another advancing troop.
"Well laddie, we're risking life and limb with our backs in this corner. Unless ye have any better ideas, it does neah look too promising." Sean quipped back.
"Wind! Scatter these offenders like the fallen leaves!" Storm yelled as she beckoned the winds to repel the advancing forces.
Suddenly out of the cloud-enshrouded sky, a large ship emerged like a whale surfacing. The troops stopped their attack, while the X-men looked to the ship in all it's might, hovering over the battlefield like the hand of a Greek god. Then suddenly a light flickered between the forces, with familiar silhouettes flickering into existence. Charles stood with Lilandra, while Jubilee and Logan stood next to one another with Betsy at their side.
"X-men, cease your attack. The Skrull threat has been dealt with thanks to the aid of young Spark and Logan." Charles called out.
"Imperial Guards, cease fire! Do you wish it be said that this is how the Empire treats its guests and allies?" Lilandra yelled out, earning compliance from the troops.
Remy and Ororo exchanged glances of disbelief, all too ready to believe it to be another plot in the Skrull arsenal. Locking eyes with Jubilee, he walked forward until he could look into their sapphire depths. She exchanged a quizzical look at first, until she recognized the look that Remy held in his own demon eyes. It was a look she had seen when he didn't believe what it was before him, doubt and fear swirling within them.
"Remy, it's me." Jubilee said as she took his hands, looking into his eyes with all the love she had grown for him over their time together.
Remy cracked a smile as he looked into her eyes, gently rubbing his thumb over her hands a moment before he pulled her into a warm hug.
"Remy was worried dat dey might 'ave hurt ya girl." Remy whispered into her ear as either held the other tightly.
"I can't say the last thing I remember was all that pleasant, but I'm here now and that's all that matters." Jubilee whispered back as she pulled away.
Across from them, the scene was acted out anew, with a flare of the romantic as Logan and Ororo embraced one another. Charles blinked as he looked at the pair, not having known how close they had grown as of recent. A smile fell across his face at the act, finding a warm feeling at the sight of two of his friends finding love and peace with one another.
A banquet and ball later, Charles found himself sitting in the private study he had gained for himself with his time on the Throne-world with the two enigmatic guests that had come to their rescue. Jubilee still a little lightheaded from the wine she had been allowed, a treat from Remy, sat with her head resting against Remy's shoulder while they sat on a sofa. Charles took to a leather armchair, his hands arched together as he considered the pair.
"Firstly I must say I am eternally grateful for the aid you have provided." Charles said while pausing as he looked to the pair.
"T'ink not'ing of it. Just somet'ing de P'tite and I 'ad to do." Remy said as he brushed a stray lock of hair from Jubilee's face.
"What he said." Jubilee whispered, finding it tasking to remain awake.
"Might I inquire of the true motives behind your aid?" Charles asked.
Remy looked to Charles, then down to Jubilee. He could only wonder what the outcome of the future be if the X-men knew of them that night when they fled from the mansion. Letting out a sigh, he could feel his mind growing fatigued and longing for a good rest after all the action.
"Lets just say dat you'll be meeting up wit us in a few years. Be best if you do dat mind control t'ing and 'ave all de other X-men forget about us. I'm sure Jahf is having a laugh at us right, eh P'tite?" Remy remarked, looking down to the now slumbering Jubilee.
"Jahf? The Guardian of the M'Kraan Crystal?" Charles inquired.
"Merde, let de cat outta de bag on dat one. Oui, Jahf boy had us helping out another person you'll be meeting soon enough. We still 'ave some loose ends to take care of. Anyway you can get your amour to let de P'tite and I have a look at de Crystal?" Remy asked as he slouched down in the sofa.
"Of course. But I think that can wait for the morning, don't you? I'll have some servants come about to arrange your quarters for you. Good might Mr. Ace is it?" Charles asked with a chuckle.
"Eh? Well, as I'm sure you can keep a secret. Remy LeBeau at your service, while dis is Jubilee, Jubilation Lee by birth but if ya call her dat you be asking for a face-full of sparks." Remy chuckled as he gave a nod.
"I will speak with the X-men and gain their consent to lock the memories of this day until we meet again. But for now Mr. LeBeau, I bid you a good night." Charles said as he rose, walking across and giving the other man a shake of the hand before he left to retire for the evening.
Looking down to Jubilee, Remy smiled fondly at her as she slumbered like an angel. While awake she was often a fury to no end, excitable and irritable. But as she slept, all that faded away to the petite child she was, innocent and caring.
"Good night my P'tite Ange. Pleasant dreams." Remy whispered as he waited for the servants.
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