Disclaimer – I don't own the X-men. Marvel does. So don't sue.

Author's Note:

This was originally meant to all be part of Chapter 19. But I ended up writing so much, I had to break it into two chapters. I ended up having to fix a lot of the bold and italics, so hopefully I got everything. If not, it's 4:00 in the morning my time, so cut me some slack.

Song Suggestions:

Part One: Best of You – Foo Fighters

Part Two: Rise Above – Reeve Carney feat. U2

Part Three: Stand Together – Nickelback

Bold – Emphasis

Italic – Telepathic or Inner Thoughts

Part One: Is Someone Getting The Best of You?

Although her former pupil's panicking train of thought was amusing, Emma took no pleasure in it. The situation was far too serious for that. Collecting herself, she prepared to treat the little thorn in her side just like the adult she had truly become.

"I trust you are feeling better." The White Queen conceded, telepathically waving a white flag. "However, I suppose the fact that you are still in one piece is proof enough of that. Or rather, it will have to do considering we much have much to discuss."

Jubilee's mouth fell open so wide you could see her tonsils. Emma's commanding tone was so matter of fact that she should have been addressing the President of the United States. Not a twenty-something year old with a death wish.

Yeah, she was definitely gonna need that straight jacket alright…For Emma! You'd think the woman would start to show signs of distress from holding back all of those perfectly polished threats and expletives. But she wasn't even breaking a sweat!

Looking around fearfully, Jubilee took note of any sharp objects that were still within the telepath's reach. Just in case Emma decided to finish the job she had been foolish enough to start.

With Jubilee's shields operating at a lesser capacity in her current state, Emma was able to pick up just enough of her thoughts to be thoroughly insulted.

"Will you please calm down! Don't think for a minute I'll be doing you any such favors! The very idea– " She muttered, unable to endure the callousness with which the girl viewed her own life.

As if on cue, that "girl's" mouth rediscovered a mind of its own. Something that usually happened whenever anyone had the nerve to use calm and down in the same breath. "What exactly do we have to discuss Emma?" Jubilee demanded. "I'm not your foster problem anymore."

"Not our problem? Is that really how you see yourself?" the White Queen asked incredulously.

"How could I not? All you've done is bounce me back and forth between Xavier and X-Factor. Which is really insulting considering nobody seems to know how to deal with their own teams. Let alone me."

Sean intervened before Emma could. He knew the lass was going to need to hear more than just the same old excuses for why things had happened the way they did. So when he saw the opportunity to set the record straight between the three of them, he took it. While Emma looked on in guilt.

"Lass, tha only problem is that we didn' really try te get te know ye. Not since after ye were taken. If we werenae so busy tryin' te force ye te open up and move on like tha others, maebe we would have noticed tha trouble ye were havin' sooner. 'Tis true, we had no idea what tha X-men were puttin' ye through. But we didnae try te find out either. Instead of addressin' tha problem, we tried to work with Charles te put limits on ye. Te keep ye safe. Only we had no idea it would come te this. Aye! We still want what's best for ye lass. But we've given ye no reason te believe it."

"After all the things you've been through it's a wonder you're still talking with us at all." Emma mused.

"Yeah, well. I'm still here aren't I?" Jubilee offered grudgingly.

"Do tell." Emma deadpanned. "Is that why you decided to kill yourself? Because you thought we didn't want you? That we wouldn't understand what you were going through?"

The sparkler was still trying hard to see past the bias she held towards them. But that didn't stop her from going postal at such a ridiculous suggestion. "Get real Frosty! You really think I'm gonna jab a needle in my arm because nobody 'gets' me? I think my problems are a little more complex than your regularly scheduled teenage angst thank you very much. But hey! You should know right? I mean you broke into my head enough times trying to figure me out! Well congratulations. I decided to throw you a fuckin' bone."

"And indeed you have!" Though I'd be more inclined to call it a fossil considering how long you've been sitting on it! "Consequently, I've learned more about you in the past 48 hours than I have in the entire time since your ordeal with Bastian. And while that clearly gives you every reason to put your trust elsewhere…" Emma's eyes flicked to the Cajun, looking as though she'd been force fed a bottle of vinegar before darting back to Jubilee's. "You have also shown me that you still hold both of us in enough regard to put me in a very precarious position. One which I fully intend to exploit as the sole executor of your 'will' "

Jubilee flinched. Finally Emma had struck a nerve that mattered. Even now, she didn't regret a lick of what she'd allowed the telepath to see. But that didn't mean she was anywhere near ready to deal with the aftermath. With a disparaging sigh, the exhausted Asian flung herself back on the pillows, wishing she could just slip back into unconsciousness and avoid the issue altogether.

The White Queen didn't have to be a mind reader to know what her protégé was thinking. But that didn't stop her from pressing the issue. "They have to know Jubilee."

Squeezing her eyes shut in an attempt to avoid some tear-eyed response, the firecracker replied in tandem. "Look, just save yourself the trouble, okay? It won't work as long as I'm still breathin'. All they're gonna do is lock me up here and blame me for causing all the problems they started."

"Not if I have anything to say about it." Emma vowed. The certainty of that promise being one she intended to honor with every fiber of her being.

Jubilee, however, wasn't phased. Suddenly her eyes shot back open, and she had to fight to get the words out past the gasping breaths she was forced to take. "Don't you get it? The only reason I let you see what you did is because Xavier won't listen! The only way he'd hear anything I had to say is if I wasn't the one saying it. And even then he wouldn't do anything about it. He says he wants what's best for his X-men, but it ends up being about what's best for the dream. What happens under his own roof doesn't matter! It's all about coming together for the "greater good". Focusing on some lofty goal to keep us from killing each other!"

"Are you saying that you no longer place your trust in Charles?" Emma inquired with a raised brow.

"I'm saying I don't believe in his bullshit anymore! Humans don't want to live in peace with me. Or each other. And neither do mutants! It's all just one big stupid war brought on because people like to sides isn't going to change that! I just wanted to do something that would friggin' help me for once! Not the humans who want to murder me or the mutants who – family or not – treat me like I don't even fucking matter!"

For the first time, Emma caught a glimpse of the darker implications behind her words, and wondered what exactly the woman before her was really hiding. Wisely, however, she sidestepped that issue, focusing instead on the more important one. "I still don't understand how you thought death would, in any way, shape, or form, help you."

"I tried to stay with the X-men – to prove that I was one of them. But they didn't want me. All I wanted was to be treated as a valuable member of the team. But they turned me into the fucking black sheep."

Emma watched with concern as her ward's lids grew heavy under the weight of all the emotion she was trying to hold back. Her lack of comment betrayed nothing of her determination to make the others see what she was now a witness to.

Drawing a hate filled breath, Jubilee continued with the most superficial explanation she could possibly come up with. "I can't keep going back to them like some needy little kid. I needed to get as far away from them as I could! For my own sanity! It was the only way to leave them behind. The only way to make them see what they were doing while allowing myself to forget."

"Your explanation leaves much to be desired." Emma maintained. "But I won't try and force you to entrust me with a more satisfying answer. It is a method that has failed me in the past, and I won't let my own frustration come between you and your right to privacy." Emma relented. "So long as your actions don't have terminal consequences, you don't have to justify them to me. Or to the X-men. Nor anyone except those whom you see fit to."

"Does this mean this little Q&A is over?" Jubilee asked expectantly.

Emma and Sean both stared her down. "Hardly. Your breach of contract has rendered any hope of that null and void."

Should have seen that one coming… The girl 'pathed miserably.

Part Two: Rise Above

Emma ignored her comment. Choosing instead to acknowledge the cry for help that the unsuspecting firecracker laid out before her. "What you are asking for, dear, is the chance to be selfish. And rightfully so. I don't think any of us are in a position to deny that to you. Hence, what you decide to do from this point is entirely up to you. I, however, will not stand idly by and let such injustice prevail. Whether you choose to involve yourself or not, the X-men will be confronted. One way or another."

Any hope Jubilee had held out at being able to decide her own fate was crushed under Emma's reasoning. All she wanted was to be left alone. But it didn't look like that was ever going to be an option. Not if Emma wanted to blow this whole stupid thing wide open.

The young woman fought back against the despair that threatened to overpower her. It was bad enough to have to deal with her own mess. Let alone having to deal with everyone's reactions to what was probably, right this second, being deemed an overblown hissy fit. Or atleast it would be until they saw her last will and testament.

"Just forget it Emma." Jubilee's tone was so dull and listless, it was like all the feeling had been sucked right out of her. "Showing them all that stuff now would just put me back in the spotlight. Which is the one place I never wanted to be. Besides, I doubt even you could convince Xavier and the others that their problem is an internal one."

Up until now, Emma had let the adult before her have some semblance of control over her own situation. But such blatant despondency from one of the most promising students she'd ever had the pleasure of butting heads was beyond unacceptable. She would not allow this impudent brat, who had never backed down for any reason, to simply give up without acknowledging the fight that was still buried somewhere deep inside of her.

Narrowing her eyes, Emma Frost drew herself up to her full height, fixating on Jubilee with such intensity that the young woman unconsciously shrank away. "You may severely underestimate yourself Jubilation. But you shall not do the same with me. I may not be the 'low-down, back-stabbing, money-grubbing corporate shark' I once was. But let me assure you, when it comes to my students, I am far more dangerous. I needn't remind you that you are talking to the woman who once held the Hellfire Club in the palm of her fist! Xavier is a mere trifle comparably. I do not answer to him. Neither do I answer to anyone on that team. But they will answer to me. I don't plan on letting this go just as easily as you have. Still, if you think me so incapable, why don't you try actually doing something about it!"

"Damn it Emma! I'm not letting this go because I want to. I'm letting it go because I have no choice! The others will use me as a scapegoat. Xavier will use me as a scapegoat. Even if you hide me away on this godforsaken island, they'll still find a way to get to me! They already treat me like I'm crazy! What's gonna happen when they figure out I can't be salvaged by their warped delusions?"

"Do you honestly think I would let the others anywhere near you? That Gambit would allow them to have that kind of influence after he went through all that trouble of bringing you back from the dead? You have a voice Jubilee. And it deserves to be heard."

"Yeah, that's kind of why I want to stay off the radar. So I actually get to keep it without being disowned and discredited!"

"So this is what you've allowed your life to be reduced to?" Emma challenged. "You would rather commit suicide to spare yourself the rejection rather than stand firm in your own heartfelt convictions with the people who truly care about you?"

"That's not what this is about!" She hissed.

"Then what is it about? You're telling me you went through all this trouble to bring about change. Well you've made your points loud and clear. Points which your so-called family needs to hear. They need to see where they have failed you. And failed themselves. Just as Sean and I have. Or are you too much of a coward to make them see what they've done without using your own life as bait?"

The Asian's gut wrenched painfully. She wouldn't tell Emma that no matter what the X-men had done to her, she was still afraid of being responsible for their deaths. Of being caught and tortured for information she no longer wanted to possess. How much easier would it be for her to crack under pressure if she had no more motivation to keep her family's secrets? She had no intention of being tortured again for the sake of her family. Nor raped for the sake of her origin.

Tears fell as Jubilee's shoulders began to shake. Sean had long since let go of her, content to sit quietly beside her on the bed. Now he grasped her hand tightly in his, willing her to open herself to the pain, since her life, quite literally, depended on it.

"What are ye so afraid of lass? Ye have ta tell us yer reasonin'. We arenae the ones who want te keep ye in the dark. But we'll do everythin' we can in order te help ye. Tha way we shouldave te begin with."

Jubilee could feel his sincerity in her bones. And she could hear how much Emma echoed that sentiment in her own mind. So, in a moment of weakness – or perhaps wisdom – she relented just enough to explain a part of herself to the people who truly deserved to know.

"Look, all I wanted to do was make the X-men think twice about how they treat their own. So I tried to confront them with a truth they couldn't just brush off or send away. My death should have been a catalyst – making them change the way they saw me and what I'd been trying to tell them all along. Figured nobody could really shut me up or ship me out if I was dead, ya know? I thought it would make more of an impact."

Emma pursed her lips, trying to keep the creeping shriek out of her voice. "Let me get this straight Jubilee. You attempted to commit suicide because you thought death was the only way anyone would take you seriously."

"Well it sounds kinda stupid when you say it like that."

"Good!" Emma all but shouted.

"You know it's true though!" Jubilee yelled right back. "The others think I'm some crackpot emo teenage wannabe who can't hold her own! They have no idea what I've gone through to protect their ungrateful asses!"

"I guarantee that while the others will be reminded of those mistakes at every possible opportunity, what they choose to learn from them is virtually irrelevent compared to what you learn."

"Oh no! I am NOT going out there and starting some counter movement just because I have a couple of issues with Xavier. Don't turn this into something that doesn't even have to fucking do with me!"

"I'm not talking about changing the world Jubilee. I'm talking about changing yourself. What you need to do is take what you've being given; learn from what you've been denied; and use them both to make the necessary changes that will ensure your own resiliency. Rather than allowing yourself to be destroyed by such resentment."

Jubilee opened her mouth to argue, but Emma kept on. Not allowing her the chance to sway any further in a direction that was pointless. "Yes. Resentment. If you wish to talk about someone defying the very laws of the universe, perhaps we should start with how despondent you've allowed yourself to become. You've created this void simply because you fear the limitlessness of your own anger, and the power that it creates within you. All of those years we've spent at each other throats, you've been without direction. So afraid of your own power, that instead of accepting and dealing with it, you channeled it towards safer outlets." Such as my limited patience. "It's been building all these years, growing without a target."

"That is until tahnight when ye decided that all yer anger was so deadly ye had te take it out on yerself rather than settlin' tha score with tha people an' things that caused ya harm."

"Naturally, instead of owning up to your own potential, you sought to destroy yourself. Hoping it would take away your own responsibility in the matter."

"Well, assuming that's even true…how the hell do you expect me to fix something like that?"

"Fight. Back. Jubilation." Emma commanded, more fearsome in her reproach than Sean could ever hope to be. "Don't be deceived into thinking that you'd be better off dead than temporarily out of control."

"How can you possibly know if that's true?" The chastened young woman finally whispered. "I could fucking kill people. I could kill my family. And the worst part is I don't even know if I have it in me to care anymore."

"There are ways to work around that. Ways to harness your aggression so that it doesn't destroy you and everything in your path. If that sacred cow knew anything about what I can teach you, perhaps she wouldn't feel the need to upset the balance of the universe quite so often."

"What if I become just like her?" Jubilee whispered, almost inaudibly.

"A possibility perhaps. But one that would never happen. For one thing, darling, you have taste. But more than that, you have a conscience. One that isn't ruled by the selfish desires or foolish ambitions of any entity. Though whether you choose to believe that is on your head."

"Really? I'm getting lectured on the fact that I have a heart by the Tin Man?"

"Yes, well I won't be so blind as to say had you simply come to me, this whole ridiculous plan of yours could have been circumvented earlier."

Jubilee stared at her former mentor as if she'd grown two heads. "Woah! Woah! Woah! Hold the phone! All those times you tried to play mother hen and break into my head for info…and now you're telling me I was actually right not to trust you?"

"You needn't sound so incredulous about it..." Emma grumbled, even though she realized that her admission was nothing short of a miracle. "While it's not an easy thing to admit defeat, even I can see the error of my ways. One of which was assuming Xavier would take care of you when we left you behind to look for the others. Not to mention our trying to make up for it in all the wrong ways, and letting ourselves be ruled by guilt rather than what was best for you."

Repressing the urge to pinch herself, Jubilee looked up in awe before Sean piped in. "It's nae everyday that ye get Emma ta grovel. Best enjoy it while ye can."

Jubilee almost laughed. Almost. But the shock of seeing a smile on her face was enough to satisfy him.

"Aye lass. I'm jest happy te see ye safe. I know I kin go overboard on followin' tha rules because I dunnae want ye ta be hurt. But I failed te see that keepin' ye under house arrest was actually hurtin' ye more than helpin'."

"Is that why didn't you let me train? Because you were afraid I'd get hurt? Do you think you could freakin' trust me enough to tell me what's going on with my own powers now that you know I'm not gonna keel over?"

"Well..."

"Well what?"

"See Ay'd love te tell ye lass. But as of today, it's nae in our jurisdiction ta do so."

"What do you mean 'not in your jurisdiction?'" The sparkler exploded.

"Starting today Jubilee, you are no longer under our care." The white queen clarified, delivering the shock with an air of precision.

Part Three: We Must Stand Together

Stumbling over all the whys, whens, and what the fucks, Jubilee took a few minutes to get actual words out.

With a crafty smile, Emma watched as her prized pupil choked on her own spit. "You've got what you wanted Jubilee. You're going to be training with Monsieur (and I use that term loosely) Lebeau. You've made the decision to take your life in your own hands. Which I can only assume must imply that you're now ready to take control of your powers. It's past time we stopped holding you back for fear of what you can do."

"Fear of what I – ?"

"Your powers are evolving Jubilee. Some due in part to Bastian's experimentation, and some due to your own evolution. In short, we are training you as an Alpha class."

"With Gambit?" She asked weakly. Almost skeptically.

Emma sighed wearily. "Yes. Against my better judgment."

"But why? Don't tell me you guys are all buddy buddy just cuz you all decided to gang up on me."

"Give us some credit Jubilation. Such an alliance would simply be profane!" Emma sniffed. "Still, who else would you suggest? He has a shared experience with you that we cannot hope to imitate. And we can't ignore that your pasts and powers are both incredibly…similar. He certainly would not have been my first choice. But due to your reliance on him," which I still don't fully understand, "you practically chose him for us. Given how difficult your trust is to earn, we respect your decision. You are, after all, an adult."

"Now just hold on a damn minute here."

"Yes dear?" Emma asked, practically gloating now.

"Let me get this perfectly straight. You're passing up the chance to yell at me. You're basically telling me I'm the victim in all this. Which, loosely translated means that you aren't gonna lock me up here for life or send me to another team? And you're entrusting me to the hands of someone who would otherwise be your sworn enemy?"

"Yes I believe that sums it up."

"Have you lost your mind?"

Jubilee could scarcely believe the hearty laugh that bubbled up and out of Emma's chest.

"On the contrary! I believe I'm rather going to enjoy this arrangement." She chortled. "Oh, don't think I've gone soft just because I haven't threatened you or given you the dressing down you most humbly deserve. Such punishments are reserved for children. And that is one thing you have proven yourself not to be." Despite your track record. "Now that you are ready to take on the full responsibility of your powers, you should know that whatever you imagine me putting you through pales in comparison to what you new ami has in store for you once you can move without injuring yourself."

A sinking feeling plagued the Asian as she tentatively looked over across the room to where the Cajun still lay, snoring away. Though just a little bit lighter than before. Jubilee would have been willing to bet her whole life savings he'd been eavesdropping the entire flippin' time. She still didn't know whether to greet the jackass with a huge hug or a hard right hook. But that last one was starting to look pretty fucking good.

If only it had a prayer of actually saving her! Despite all his charm and good looks, the man had anger issues second only to Wolverine's. Jubilee would have snorted at the stupid nickname Logan had pegged him with years back. At least, she would have if she weren't so ridiculously scared of what the "Ragin' Cajun" was gonna do once he had her physical body close enough to pummel.

"Does Xavier know anything about this?" Jubilee ventured, trying to gauge exactly what sort of deal had been struck.

Emma was impressed at her astuteness, deciding it was finally safe to let in her in on their little secret. "As far as Charles knows, recruiting Remy to train you was his idea. Though you should know Lebeau sought us out long before the actual thought was planted by yours truly."

"So…Gambit's really not getting anything out of this? You didn't bribe him or anything?"

"His desire to help us investigate Xavier was bribe enough. The only thing he's getting out of Charles is a promise to stop making the mistake of leaving behind valuable team members. As well as a favor to be determined by the three of us, when the time is right. Though, as far as Charles knows, he is acting on his own on that account."

"And I'm assuming you told him about my powers?" Jubilee was still seething at the fact that everyone knew about what was going on with them except her. But bitching them out would have to wait for a time when she didn't feel so damned drained.

"Xavier did that for us." Emma clarified. "There was no need to let Remy know any earlier than necessary. He knew the risks involved, and abided by them. Consequently, he was more worried about upsetting you unnecessarily. We all thought it was best to let things progress naturally. And had that sacred cow not gotten wind of your condition...perhaps things would have gone differently. Coup d'etat my foot! If Gambit hadn't been keeping us informed, I don't know what could have happened."

"Oh." Was all Jubilee could think to say. Her eyelids were growing heavy again. This time with shame. All she felt able to do was sleep away the guilt that now plagued her worse than ever. It was easier than facing up to it awake.

Emma and Sean sensed it was time to go. Clasping Moira (who had come back to relieve them) by the hand, Sean dropped a quick kiss on top of the appendage, thanking her for all she'd done.

Jubilee's eyes were already closing by the time the two left their place on either side of her bed. Right before she passed out, Emma's sweet dreams echoed throughout her strangely emptied head.

C'oup d'etat - A takeover (Literally an overthrow of government, but in this case it applies to the X-men ganging up on Jubilee)