SUMMARY: The X-Men attempt to escape the prison...But will they kill each other trying?

RATING: Eh. Some swearing. Little bits of innuendo. Not bad, for me.

AUTHOR: Sorry I didn't post a summary last time (you know, for you nonexistent people who actually read the author's note) Have no fear, the plot will be moving along soon, Jubilee and Logan will hit a landmark in the relationship, and I'll post ASAP. School just makes it so damn hard…So, patience is appreciated. For those who have stuck by so far-- Enjoy! (and review)

"Jubilee." She awoke, aware of a raspy voice in her ear. It was night; the prison was dark. It must be unsheltered, she concluded, because the air was chill and the only light was dim and silvery, from the moon.

He had refused to let her go, although he had let Jean, Storm, and Rogue, and (after some cajoling on Jubilee's part) eventually Gambit to come near without fearing for their lives. Cyclops had to stay backed against the far wall. While against the wall, he attempted plans to escape, but everyone else had waved them off until the next day. Start anew. Jubilee was tired herself-- kidnapping can do that to you sometimes. The light had gone down, and Logan hadn't said a word. When she'd started shivering, he held her, and eventually when they lay down he spooned her and fell asleep.

"What the hell..." The gruff voice again, and his breath ruffled her hair.

"Welcome back to the human race, Logan," She said wryly, letting a smile creep into her voice. She kept it low; the other X-Men were sleeping. Cyclops was snoring. At least, she thought it was Scott. Could be Jean... She felt him shift against her.

"Huh? What's that s'posed to mean?"

He didn't know how he'd gotten in this position, but he'd be damned if it weren't comfortable. From chin to knee, he was curled up into her. Her, his Jubilee. In the near black she looked at him wide eyed.

"You don't remember?"

"Depends. Remember what?"

"They took you away for a while..." She paused as he tensed up at this. She didn't blame him. It had hurt her too, and she hadn't even been the one they...

"...And when they brought you back you went kinda feral on us."

"Really?"

"I seem to recall you trying to slice up Cyke. Then grabbing me, and, uh..."

She heard a surprised laugh behind her, and Logan chuckled for a minute.

"Yer kiddin' me."

"No, I'm not kidding you!" She said, turning to face him.

"In front of god an' everybody, Logan, you woulda taken me there on the floor, I swear!"

"What makes you think I still won't?"

She gaped for a second, then shook her head and couldn't stop herself from laughing.

"You're incorrigible."

"That anything like irresistible?"

"You need to get a dictionary, bub," Jubilee said, and kissed him. He held on, making it last. When he let her go her eyes were shining.

"Logan..."

The soft way she always said his name, almost like a warning, drove him crazy. He moved his body closer to hers, and as they shared another kiss, he felt her clutch up at his shoulders. He ran his hand down her side, pulling her more firmly against him. Jubilee stifled a moan.

"Oh, fo' goodness sake, jus' go to bed! Don' you two ever stop?"

At the annoyed and half-asleep sound of Gambit's voice, they abruptly broke apart, and Jubilee giggled despite herself, quickly muffling it with her hand.

"I swear to god I'm gonna kill that Cajun yet..." Wolverine, comically menacing, muttered under his breath. Jubilee just smiled, tucking her head to fit under his chin. She fell asleep within minutes, but Wolverine, nocturnal as ever, stayed awake awhile listening to her breathing, her heart. Looking through the bars on the skylight and thinking dark thoughts, keeping them carefully separate from the ones he had for the woman he held in his arms.

* * *

Daybreak woke them all up one by one. Dusty beams of sunlight streamed in.

"All right, who's ready to make a plan?" Cyclops pushed himself to his feet asked, rather too cheerily for someone who had slept on a dirt floor all night. He was greeted with a few groans, and Rogue made a halfhearted attempted to slug him. He looked annoyed.

"Come on! We all had sleep, now it's time to get up. Right? Get up!"

"Some of us din' get no sleep last night, homme," Gambit said, voice a bit slurred, "Between de two lovebirds over dere..." Jubilee blushed, Logan rolled his eyes, "and yo' snoring, I couldn' sleep at all."

"That wasn't me snoring! That was Jea--uh..." Too late. Cyclops' looks could kill, but Jean's was downright deadly. Cyclops sighed. He should've listened to his horoscope. It had said, "Beware of unhappy encounters with your spouse; hell hath no fury like a woman scorned." Maybe Jean wasn't scorned, but she sure wasn't very happy, and that spelled bad news for him.

"Cyclops is right," Storm said carefully brushing herself off and stretching like a cat.

"If we do plan on escaping, I would suggest now would be the best time to start."

Cyclops smiled at her. "Thank you, Ororo. I've been thinking, how about the window? I mean, there's enough of us..."

"We ain't acrobats, just X-Men."

"Come on, we've got to try something. I'm guessing we'll only need about three of us to reach it. Logan, you're the sturdiest, you be on the bottom."

"Great." Logan said sarcastically, and with a sigh, moved to stand directly beneath the barred skylight.

"I'm thinking Gambit should probably go next, because he's thin and tall, and then Jubilee, since she's the lightest."
"What are you gonna be doin', Cyke?" Logan asked, looking over at him.

"I'll- uh, supervise."

Logan snorted. Gambit, with an agile leap, jumped up Logan's back, and carefully stood, balancing, on his broad shoulders.

"Okay, Jubilee."

She gulped. She was a gymnast, but it still looked awfully high. Taking a deep breath, she let Logan give her a boost up, then quickly scaled Gambit. She stood shakily.

"I can touch it!" She yelled down to them, relieved she had made it. Her legs wobbled a little on Gambit's shoulders, and her enthusiasm was forgotten.

"I got you, chere."

"See if you can pull them down. See if you can find a weak spot or...see anything." Cyclops called up to her. She grasped the bars.

"They're pretty sturdy, but..." Using all her upper body strength, she yanked at them. The bars didn't budge, but a good size chunk of dirt and a shower of dust fell from the ceiling.

"Ugh--" She turned her face away, but it had already gotten in her mouth and eyes.

"Yuch!"

"You ok up there?"

"Bleah. Yeah, I'm fine."

The dust floated to the ground, making the sunlight momentarily dark. Strained under the weight of two full-grown people on top of him, Logan's sensitive nose twitched. Oh, no. This was not the time.

"Uh--Jubes, maybe you better get down..." Logan said, glancing up.

"Why?" She asked, trying at the bars again.

"I think I'm gonna-- gonna-- ah, ah, ACHOOO"

Logan let out the mother of all sneezes. There was a yell from Gambit as he lost his balance and the pyramid toppled. Jubilee found herself suddenly fifteen feet in the air with nothing beneath her. She screamed and waved her arms, flapping like some large bird, but to no avail.

There was a loud thump as Gambit landed solidly on top of Logan, and Jubilee completed the pile. She quickly got up, rubbing her back. She looked over and laughed at the sight she saw.

"Logan, you're making me jealous!"

"Cajun...If ya wanna see another day I suggest ya get off me...right...now!"

Gambit jumped off Logan and muttered a few curses in French.

"Yeah, yer real funny, darlin'."

Jubilee just laughed harder.

"Ok...Obviously that didn't work." Cyclops said, oblivious to the amusing side of the situation. "What else can we do? What about these walls. They are made of dirt, aren't they? Even without powers, we should be able to--"

"I'm afraid it's not that easy," Storm said, scraping away part of the dirt on the wall to reveal something dull and solid underneath. "There's metal sheeting."

Cyclops frowned in frustration. "They made it deceptively simple...but...there's got to be something. A way out."

"What about tha' collars?" Rogue asked tugging at the ring of metal around her neck.

"I recognize dese models," Gambit replied darkly, shuffling a deck. "You try to mess wit dem, dey kill you. It ain't pretty."

There was silence.

"All right," Cyclops said, slowly, as if he were trying to keep himself calm. "If we can't think of anything that will help towards our escape now, lets look at the more immediate situation. We haven't been given any food or water, so they may be attempting to starve us."

The air in the room seemed heavy as no one spoke and Cyclops' words rang out clearly.

"Also, they seem to have a particular interest in Logan..."

Again the room was left in silence. Jubilee and Rogue were looking in different directions. Storm was staring straight ahead without seeing anything. Cyclops stepped down, and considerably hushed conversation resumed.

* * *

The day, above all else, was boring. They sat talking, dozing, Gambit playing cards, until night began to fall. No one had come in or out; there were so signs of life save them. They were all hungry, and thirsty and tired, but no one dared say a word. Wolverine was sitting off by himself, brooding in a corner. He looked up when he saw Jean approach him.

She seemed to be scrutinizing him. She hadn't gotten used to his younger face, or the fact that there was less muscle mass on his body. His normally hirsute chest was bare; he didn't have any stubble, and only a remnant of side burns. His eyebrows were knitted, his face unconsciously in his perpetual frown, as he seemed to be in deep thought. She sat down next to him.

"Hey." She said softly.

His eyes instantly snapped up, and saw her face dimly lit by the evening light.

"Hey yerself," He murmured. She rubbed the back of her neck, not quite sure how to say this, as he waited for her to speak.

"Logan, I'm...concerned..."

"Ain't we all, Jeannie?"

"...about you and Jubilee."

He looked at her, his eyes cold.

"Ain't none a' your business, Red."

"I think it is, Logan, and you know it. Both of you are part of this team, and I'd hate to see either of you get hurt...again."

He looked into her face at this, almost with an expression of surprise. "Funny. Seems you never cared one way or another 'fore now."

She looked down and swallowed. He was referring to her. He'd loved her, even before Scott, and she'd turned him down. He let her go with his blessings, but sometimes she thought...she knew...she still saw longing in him.

"Logan...I...We settled this a long time ago."

"Don't know what you're talkin' 'bout."

She gave a little sigh of frustration. He was being difficult.

"Us, Logan, I was talking about us."

At this he turned to face her, only inches away. His voice was low and intimidating.

"I said there ain't nothin' to talk about, Red. I love her. I love Jubilee."

But even as he said these words, he leaned in, and their eyes locked. Jean was suddenly left breathless; unaware she was sitting on the ground in a holding cell with her teammates. There was a second of quivering tension as Logan's eyes burned into her.

"Jean..." He said, in a low, warning tone.

She made the last move, tilting her head up so that it met his. There was the first warm contact of her lips against his, when--

"Bitch!" Someone grabbed her hair, and yanked hard. She let out a cry of pain as her head was jerked back.

"Jubilee! What are you doing?" Storm yelled, turning at Jean's cry. Jubilee's eyes were furious; her cheery face twisted as Jean turned to face her.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" Jubilee yelled. "So you don't want him 'till you can't have him, huh?"

Jean's face was white, she was speechless.

"Stay away from my man, you fucking whore!" Jubilee yelled angrily, and Gambit grabbed her as she rushed for him.

"Yah got no right ta speak to Jean like that!" Rogue yelled at Jubilee, taken aback by her language. "It ain't her fault if yo' boyfriend can't keep his hands to himself. Ah never liked you anyways, yoah too damn annoyin'!"

"Now chere!" Gambit said immediately shocked by her words. "Dat ain't a fair t'ing to say!"

"Don't tell me what ta think, Remy!" She yelled.

"Now, all of you, please, can't we calm down and handle this like adults?" Cyclops asked, attempting to intervene.

"Shut up, Scott! Just shut up!"

At this sudden outburst from Jean, Cyclops fell silent. He looked hurt. And at that moment, Jubilee managed to break away from Gambit with an elbow in the groin that left Gambit yelling in French on the ground. Jubilee jumped Jean, who tried to defend herself. Wolverine, who until now had watched silently, tried to intervene, fearing for both their lives.

"Jubes! Phoenix! Break it up! I assure you, I ain't worth it!"

"Male chauvinist pig!" Jean screamed, and both the girls turned their rage towards him. Logan, who couldn't bear to hurt either of them, cowered under their blows. All the rage, the frustration of being caged had built up and finally exploded.

"Get offa me, ya crazy broads!"

"STOP!"

The word was yelled so loudly, with such deep authority, that everyone did. Storm, expression dark beyond recognition, stood untouched above them.

"Look at yourselves. Look what you've let them do to you." The disgust in her tone was enough to make them all cringe.

"You're acting like children."

Jubilee pushed away from Logan, and moved as far away from him as she could, tears brimming in her eyes. Jean, looking dazed above all else, moved quietly away towards Scott, who wouldn't look at her.

Storm still stood above them all, the picture of indignance. This time her voice was quiet, but clear.

"You should all be ashamed of yourselves."

And they were.

* * *

The stillness lasted until the wind started up. The morale was nonexistent. Cyclops wasn't even trying, which to some was more frightening than the fact they had nothing to eat. Even if they didn't like him, even if at times he was annoying beyond belief, he always, always, kept up the team spirit. Now the prison, bleak to begin with, was stark and frigid, like a black hole in the middle of nowhere. The rest were motionless in the pitch black.

Miserable. Jubilee heard someone softly sobbing, and wasn't sure it wasn't herself. It was bone-cold, and goosebumps ran up and down her arms. All she wanted to do now was be with Logan, but she couldn't. That would be saying everything was all right, nothing had happened. But nothing was all right. She rubbed her hands together, attempting to get the feeling back into them and trying to push a picture of him and Jean out of her mind. He hadn't meant it, she knew that.

This was stupid. These men, these mysterious people who had brought them here, had broken the X-Men. Their strength had been in the fact that they were a team.

In a sudden rush, Jubilee knew what she would do.

This can't be it. We're too good for this. We're too strong, and we love each other too much. We're a family. She lifted up her head from her knees.

"When you're not strong, I'll be your friend..."

A thin voice rang out in the blackout, but it was undeniably Jubilee's. It shook a little with the cold, but it was loud and clear.

"I'll help you carry on..."

Suddenly, she heard another voice join hers. Logan, baritone and hopelessly off-key, was singing at the top of his lungs.

"...It won't be long, 'till I'm gonna need, somebody to lean on..."

Gambit's voice, thick with his accent followed, followed by Rogue, and she felt someone touch her in the dark. As the chorus rang out, they unconsciously gathered under the skylight.

"Just call on me brother, when you need a hand, we all need somebody to lean on..."

Jean's melodious voice and Scott's tenor completed the song, and in the near dark it echoed loudly as they held one another's hands.

"I just might have a problem, that you'd understand,"

Storm started up, and Jubilee smiled, singing loudly, her eyes closed, reveling in the strength that made up the core of the X-Men. Suddenly, the walls didn't seem so foreboding; the wind didn't seem so cold anymore.

"We all need somebody to lean on. Just call me. Just call me. We all need somebody to

lean on."

The song, the experience, was almost supernatural. Their voices soared, and as the last note died out, they crowded together like kids at a campfire. Logan's voice suddenly broke out.

"Hey, Gambit."

"What?"

"What'd you say about the collars again?"

"I said you mess wit dem, dey kill you."

"Yeah, but how?"

"Dey give you some kinda shock. It ain't pleasant."

"Then that's it!"

No one could see him, but all turned towards the sound of Logan's voice in the dark.

"Take mine off."

"But..."

"It'll shock me or whatever, but then my healin' factor 'll kick in an'..."

"No!" Jubilee yelled, surprising herself. "It's too dangerous, Logan. What if it kills you before you can heal? Then we'll be stuck with one dead X-Man, and even less hope."

"It's a risk I'm willin' to take, Jubes." He said, secretly relieved that there had been real concern in her voice.

"It's worth it. At least, I think so." Scott could be heard. His voice was steady again.

"We'll try it in the morning."

Leaning against one of her teammates, Jubilee fell into a restless sleep. For the first time in the prison, she relished the night and dreaded the morning.