"Wicked

Disclaimer: sigh…Marvel owns the characters…what more do you want? Superman comics are owned by DC comics and I am making nothing off of this…got that? Nada!

A/N: I pre-apologize for this angst fest that is about to occur, I swear this is that last time I listen to Fuel and write fanfic. (By the way I don't own them either!)

Chapter 6

Parodys

"Wicked!" Angelo carefully brushed her hair away from her neck to peek under the bandage. "I still can't believe that Emma actually went along with it."

"You're not the only one, I thought she was going to bail for a few minutes there." Jubilee tied her hair up in a ponytail and then turned to lie on her stomach on Angelo's bed. Angelo was leaning against his headboard, "Thanks for the design by the way."

"Es nada. Like I said, it suited you. Has Wolverine seen it yet?"

Shrugging, Jubilee looked at him. "Nope."

"You're not worried at all?"

"Nope."

Angelo bent down to look her in the eye. "And why is that?"

"He understands me."

"JUBILEE! GET DOWN HERE THIS INSTANT!"

Jubilee rolled her eyes, and got off the bed. "Sean on the other hand…"

Angelo winced sympathetically. "Is going to have a coronary."

"Oh yeah."

The two teenagers went downstairs where Sean was having, to put it mildly, was absolutely furious. His face was a bright tomato red, that it tended to get when he was really angry. At Jubilee's appearance, he latched onto her presence and zoomed towards her.

"Ye got a tattoo? Did ye not even think to ask for my permission?" Little bits of spittle flew from his mouth, and Jubilee took one step to the side.

"I got Emma's."

Sean turned on Emma with the tenacity of a bulldog. "Ye let her get a tattoo? What the hell were ye thinking woman?"

Emma's eye flashed and she stepped up the furious man. "First of all call me woman again, and I won't be the only one here that can sing soprano. Second, if I choose to let her get a tattoo, then it's my business and hers. Third, she's sixteen so get over yourself."

"What kind did the lass get?" Sean muttered.

"666, Sean." The Irishman started the splutter and she skipped down the stairs to show him her bandage. "Please, it's kind of like that yin yang symbol. Chill."

Sean inspected the black outline suspiciously as Wolverine walked in the door.

"What the hell's going on?"

"She's," Sean pointed triumphantly at Jubilee's exposed neck. "Gotten a tattoo."

Wolverine shot a glance at the design and then looked at Jubilee's face. "Ya like it Darlin?"

"Yep."

"Good." Wolverine then turned to Sean who was beginning to squirm. "Lemme get this straight, Jubes got a tattoo…"

"With Emma's permission." Angelo added from his position next to Jubilee.

"Regardless, it's her body to do with as she chooses and if she wants to get a flamin dragon plastered across her back that's her choice."

"She's just a child!"

"She's sixteen and in two years can legally do whatever the hell she wants." Shrugging Wolverine placed a hand protectively on her shoulder. "Lay off."

Sean was furious as he faced Wolverine. "In two years she can do whatever she wants. Today, however, she is under my supervision and I am the one who has to look after her and make sure that she is okay. It's so easy for you to come in and look like the hero one week out of the year and make the rest of us look like the evil guardians. While she is under my care she will have to follow rules just like everyone else."

Jubilee leapt forward just in time to restrain Wolverine from attacking Sean. She turned to Sean. "I can't be this thing that you control Sean, everyone realizes it but you. I've spent my entire life defending myself, surviving on my own and all of a sudden you turn total Mother hen on me and I can't do anything on my own anymore." Jubilee took a ragged breath. "I know that you're worried about me and stuff but I can't be cooped up the rest of my life here, protected by you."

Sean reached out to hold her but she stepped back, he held out his hand and said softly. "Lass, ye died."

Blood rushed in her ears, and Jubilee started shaking. "Whatever happens it always comes down to that doesn't it? You died. You might have died. You should have died. That's what you're all thinking isn't it? I should have died like Sabertooth when I killed him. God, I killed him. Ha! God. God wouldn't let me kill someone and still live to remember it. No matter what, I never wanted to kill anyone and now you're all afraid that I might do it again."

Tears poured down her cheeks as she walked around oblivious to the rest of them. Sparks exploded around her hands as she waved them around. Wolverine made a move to go to her but Emma restrained him. "She needs this."

Wiping her nose and eyes clumsily with the back of her hand, Jubilee started to rock back and forth. "I didn't want him to die, honest. He was going to kill you guys when he was done with me. I could see it in his eyes, he was so angry with me. I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry Wolvie." Her mentor choked as she looked up at him, her eyes swirling with tortured emotions. "I need to go, to think. There are two many people here, too many people judging." she trailed off softly regarding the people surrounding her. Before anyone could say anything, she went over to Angelo and gave him a hug. Her face was still wet from the salty tears, and it left a damp mark on his shoulder.

"Jubecita." he murmured softly. Jubilee smiled at him, grateful that he hadn't given her platitudes on being careful and safe.

"Ange." She replied and without another word, walked out the door and flew off. The four of them stood at the door watching her leave, expressions of amazement on the adults' faces. Emma quickly reached out to scan for the girl but met firm walls that she couldn't breach. Wolverine glanced at her and she shook her head, he turned to Angelo who was watching the sky with a smile on his face.

"Where do ya think she went?"

Angelo shrugged. "No clue, probably where she's sure that no one will bother her."

"And where do ye think that might be?"

"I don't know, and if I did I wouldn't be much of a friend if I told you." With that the teenager walked upstairs to his room, and sat down heavily on his bed. Reaching down to pick a comic off the floor, he noticed what page it was on. Smiling to himself, he settled back and finished reading the Superman comic.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Jubilee breathed in the crisp, pure air with a smile. Her bare feet were buried under a layer of snow, and she wiggled her toes in the soft substance with pleasure. They tingled slightly, but there were no other effects from the artic conditions she was currently in. Instinct had driven her east and higher, and she had ended up at the highest peaks in the Himalayan range just north of India. She had pushed herself to reach these remote summits and now she was just sitting, taking in the panoramic view in front of her. The sun was intense; it felt incredibly right to sit perched on a rock, thousands of feet up in the air. Jubilee sighed deeply, and felt the air shift slightly.

Turning to look at her, Jubilee saw Sabertooth sitting next to her. Acknowledging his presence with a slight nod, she turned back to the view.

"I won't have ya feelin guilty fer beatin me girl."

"Oh, and why not?" Jubilee regarded the large man beside her.

"Fair's fair. It was either you or me. Ya won, fair and square."

"I know, but I never wanted to kill you."

"It was that or die, why are ya beatin yourself up over wanting to live?"

"I'm not."

"Yes, ya are and ya know it. Life's a big game and sometimes people win and sometimes they lose. I lost and you won, don't make it the other way around."

"I don't have to feel good about it either."

Sabertooth shrugged his massive shoulders. "Yeah, but don't spend the rest of yer life punishin yourself either."

Jubilee squinted in the bright sunlight and peered at him. "All this coming from a dream, so are you real or am I?"

"I don't know, but you know all of this anyway."

"Yeah."

"Are you going home?"

"In a little bit, I'm just enjoying the view." Jubilee reached out and tentatively touched his arm. "Will I see you again?"

Snow fell softly, as Sabertooth got up and began to walk away. "I don't think so, I've done what I need to do and you still have a lot left. Fight well, frail." His body disappeared in a blast of wind and snow and Jubilee woke up with a start. She looked around but found that she was alone, smiling she looked out at the world, for the first time at peace.

-fin-

A/N: This actually started as one story and somehow it blossomed into six parts. I'm willing to bet that the next chapter will be the last…so, please r&r and let me know what you thought!