Jubilee and Freefall
Chapter 2
By Teala373
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Jubilee stretched her legs out in the hot, Louisiana sun while she sipped on her Jack and Coke, minus the Jack. The balcony of the hotel suite that she and Gambit were sharing was a perfect place to sit and do nothing. No training exercises. No stupid drill runs. No tests. No classes. No Emma Frost. She could just lay around and do nothing...
They had just gotten in a few hours ago and Gambit suggested that they check out their accommodations and relax while he made arrangements for the business he had to take care of. Gambit was a sneaky one, but it all sounded legit. This Christophe owned him money for a favor Gambit had done for him. Straight and simple - no room for any of Gambit's sneaky little double-crossing games and dirty little secrets. Nope, this was just going to be a fun vacation in the Big Easy.
Yeah, right.
A little voice from of the back of her mind still nagged her. Could anything with Gambit ever be straight and simple? Could he really just be her friend that was taking her on a trip because they both needed to get away, or was she somehow serving some sort of purpose in this 'business' that he had to take care of?
Taking a deep breath, Jubilee stood up and began to walk back into the room. 'I'll just ask Gambit what he's up to,' she thought to herself as she ever so slowly advanced towards the sliding door. 'If he lies, I'll be able to tell... oh who am I kidding? The man's a professional! He could lie his way out of liking Rogue!'
Trying to think up a new plan, she made her way into the main room of the suite and began to look for Gambit. Maybe he was done with his business and they could start having some fun. She had a fake ID that was ready to hit Bourbon Street.
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Logan's leg jittered up and down in an antsy gesture as he stared out the window of the plane. It hadn't been filled, so he was able to sit alone in the small aisle. That was a good thing because he didn't feel like being around anyone right now. His was so angry that he wasn't even aware what was going around him. All he could think about was killing Gambit...
Suddenly, he came crashing back into reality as a very familiar sweet, intoxicating fragrance drifted towards him. He'd know that scent anywhere...
"Done brooding, or has your hellish plan for revenge only begun?" Jean plopped down in the empty seat next to him.
"I might be a little preoccupied, but there's no way that I would have completely missed noticing you tailing me until now."
Jean gave him a quirky smile. "Unless your distraction over Lee missing gave me an edge with my telepathic shield."
"Why you little..."
"Listen, Logan, let me lay down the facts for you. Jubilee up and ran away with a man that although we love very much, has quite the track record. Let's not forget to mention the track record that Lee and Gambit have with each other. His little cross and double cross maneuvers always have quite the impact on her."
Wolverine grunted in response.
"On top of that, Rogue is tailing you, afraid you're going to kill her lover boy."
"Rogue's here, too?"
"She's not on the plane, but she's somewhere on your tail. The point is..."
"That you, Miss den mother of us all, has come ta babysit."
"Exactly."
"And what does ol' One-eye think of this?"
"He thinks I took my mom to a craft fair in Sodus."
Wolverine laughed.
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Gathering everything she needed for a wild night out on the town, Jubilee made her way through the suite to get Gambit. She heard him in the other sitting room, still on the phone. Not wanting to disturb him, she began to walk back towards her own room. She had just spun on her heel when part of his phone conversation caught her attention.
"Yes, mon ami, I got da lil' one right here... yes, you be sure ta tell da others... Gambit have her back safe an' sound ta you before you know it..."
She covered her mouth to keep a gasp from escaping her lips. Sure, it wasn't as bad as in Genosha when he tricked her into starting a rebellion, ratted her out so he could get in good with ring leaders, save them all, and then still put sneaky little doubts into her mind afterwards, but it was still bad.
So he was just pretending that they were out on an adventure together? He was keeping in touch with the X-Men the whole time and updating them, staging this whole run away vacation they were supposed to be on. Infuriated, Jubilee silently stormed over to Gambit's room. After raiding his wallet and his two bags, she gathered her own things and snuck out of the hotel.
"Guess I'm going to have to find my own adventure..." she mumbled to herself as she hailed a cab over to the airport. As she sunk back into the cab seat, she wondered where she should go, since she wasn't going home. She thought about some of the places she had been and some of the places she'd like to go to. As if a light bulb had gone off in her head, a very appealing idea hit her. Once she got to the airport, she all but flew to the phone.
"Hi! Is Roxy there?"
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"I'm telling you, Petite was right on de balcony..."
"Shut yer mouth ya lousy Cajun!" Wolverine picked Gambit up and slammed him against the wall, pinning him to it with his massive strength. "Whaddidja do with her!"
"Logan! Put him down! He's telling the truth!"
Reluctantly, Gambit was allowed to slide to the floor, but Wolverine continued to tower over him, fixating his most menacing stare on the accused man.
"I can sense that he is telling the truth. Let's hear his side."
Gambit rubbed his sore neck. "Am I ever glad you're here, Jeannie."
"Why don't we start from the beginning and get this all straightened up before Rogue shows up."
At the thought of Rogue getting involved in this mess, Gambit groaned. "Petite and I decided to take a lil' trip - 'ave some fun since we both be unhappy."
"Ya mean you were unhappy an' put thoughts in her head!" Wolverine growled.
"Hey! I find her in Harry's after many milkshakes, mon ami. Petite was upset all on her own!"
"Alright, alright! So, you two decided to come to New Orleans..." Jean was beginning to wish she really was at a craft fair in Sodus.
"Gambit did a favor for an old friend. I come here to finish the favor and collect the money..."
Wolverine snorted. "Now it's all startin' ta make sense! Ya just can't give up that Thieves Guild crap, can you, Gumbo! I heard you and Rogue fighting about it..."
Cursing profusely in French, Gambit picked himself up off the ground. Before Wolverine could slam him back down, he evaded those lethal hands and took off towards the window. Using his swift, agile skills, he dove off into the night, disappearing from view.
"Damn! Now I gotta track him down all over again!"
"Hold it there, buster!" Jean used her telekinesis to restrain Wolverine, who had begun moving towards the window. "Our goal was to find Jubilee, not accuse Gambit of crimes he didn't commit and send him running off."
"Well ain't him runnin' off prove he's got somethin' to hide?"
Jean rolled her eyes. "No, Sherlock! He's frustrated and upset! Listen, I'm going to send Rogue after Gambit, but you and I are going back to the mansion to use Cerebro. I would use straight telepathy, but if Jubilee is in an upset state and running around on her own, she could become more withdrawn from us if she picks up my presence. She has been getting better at it."
Grumbling, Wolverine headed towards the door, taking down several pieces of furniture with him.
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Gambit slammed the flip case of his cel phone shut. After trying to page Jubilee's Talkabout, he had to call Christophe and explain that there was going to be a delay in his visit. He wondered what had made Jubilee take off so suddenly like that. It wasn't like her. He hoped that she wasn't in some sort of trouble. On top of all that, when Jubilee had robbed him (he laughed at the irony of it all), she had taken the jewels he was supposed to be delivering to Christophe for the money he was owed. Not to mention that he expected a certain Southern Belle to pop up any minute. This whole situation was getting worse and worse...
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"Geez! I flew all the way out to Louisiana, just so I could jump right back on a plane to have a real vacation in New York!" Jubilee laughed to herself as she looked around the JFK airport for a familiar face. Of course, the person she was looking for wasn't hard to find. As if on cue, a hand began waving enthusiastically. Jubilee smiled as she sprinted towards the figure. She hadn't changed much since last she had seen her. She still had the same purple hair with pink side bangs, killer make-up, and fab clothes. Nope, Roxy was still the same.
"Hiya Freefall!"
"Jubilee!" the two embraced. "Ready to go raise some hell, babe!!"
"You betcha!"