Ok guys...... same disclaimer from the past parts apply here. :)
X-treme Circumstances Part 8
Mystique watched as four figures walked out of the compound. Raising binoculars to her eyes, she studied the newcomers and immediately recognized the first three Jubilee, Sarah, and James. Not at all interested with them, she studied the fourth figure. She smiled. Jareth was well.
Her blue skin reshaped to disguise herself. They weren't taking that jet so it should be easy to follow them. Keeping a safe distance, Mystique followed the four into the train station. how convenient It will be easy to follow them without being noticed.
*************************************
Wolverine came into the room where Xavier was watching some news monitors.
"Professor, where did Jareth go?," he asked quickly, not allowing the proper formalities.
"He went to see James' parents along with James, Sarah, and Jubilee.", Xavier answered, "Why?"
"There is reason to believe he's in danger."
*************************************
As the train made it's way to its destination, Mystique, who was still in disguise, watched the four closely. Mainly the blonde guy. She smiled, possible ally or not the one thing she really was interested in was his pleasing looks. too bad he was wearing a coat over his revealing getup. Making him join up with Magneto and herself will certainly be a fun task.
*************************************
Jareth sat in the seat next to Sarah and right across from James and Jubilee. He originally was going to have Jubilee sit next to Sarah and James next to him but James and Jubilee wanted to sit next to each other.
Jareth looked at Sarah and sighed. It wasn't that he hated Sarah's company. In fact, he treasured it but it felt awkward and confusing. She had rejected him so many years ago and even said that she didn't want to see him again when he got shot. But after he got the crystal, she kissed him! How could anyone have a change of heart in such a small amount of time? Even he didn't think himself capable of such things. With Sarah, his love for her hand grown before the Labyrinth situation. The baby was just an excuse to talk to her.
Jareth sighed, "He was still in love with her. Till time ended, he would always love her.
*************************************
Mystique noticed the loving gaze Jareth gave Sarah. A feeling of jealousy welled up inside of her.
"Stupid man," Mystique thought as she glared at the two, "She doesn't even acknowledge that you exist. Besides, she's not even a mutant!"
Mystique glared at Sarah, who at that moment snuck a glance at Jareth. Jareth didn't see Sarah do that but Mystique sure as hell did.
"Ok, so maybe she does know you exist," Mystique corrected her thoughts, "But soon you will realize misplaced affection can prove to be a hinderance."
She calmed down and smile. Oh she was going to enjoy using Sarah to get to Jareth and if in the process of Jareth joining, Sarah should get hurt, she wouldn't lose sleep over it.
*************************************
James waited as the train pulled in the station.
"We're here.," he said to his friends as the train came to a stop, "Hope county!"
Jubilee looked at Jareth and Sarah.
"Oh how cute.", she thought as she noticed Sarah asleep, her head resting on Jareth's lap. Jareth was looking down at her with his arms draped over her shoulder protectively.
Jareths, who was awake at the time, looked at Sarah and gently nudged her. When Sarah opened her eyes, Jareth looked down at her and smiled, "We're here."
Sarah got up slowly and stood in the aisle, waiting for Jareth to get up.
He mind was going a mile a minute. Did she just do what she thought she did? Did she just cuddle up to Jareth. Oh gosh, what would Jareth think?
Sarah thought about how Jareth's arm had rested on her shoulder. It had made her feel nice and safe.
"I hope Jareth still has feelings for me," Sarah thought, "Because I certainly have feelings for him now."
Sarah fell forward as something caused her to lose her balance.
Jareth stopped Sarah's fall by grabbing her by her shoulder holding her still.
Jubilee walked up to Sarah, "Are you ok?"
"Yeah.... what happened?"
Jubilee frowned, "That blonde just shoved you out of her way! Some people are so rude!
Sarah smiled. Looking at Jareth, she realized that he was still holding her.
Jareth realized why Sarah was looking at him and apologized. He let go of her shoulders.
Sarah began to follow Jubilee and James off of the train. All the while, Sarah felt disapointed that Jareth had to let go.
*************************************
Wolverine walked up to where Gambit was listening to Scott.
"Come on Gumbo, get in the jet."
Gambit looked at Wolverine, "Where are we going?"
"Hope County. Jareth, Sarah, Jubile, and James went to meet with James parents.
"Oh this is not good," Gambit commented, "They will be like sitting ducks there."
Scott looked at the two, "Why?"
Gambit and Wolverine both glared at Scott.
"And HE'S the leader?," Gambit asked.
Wolverine sneered, "Don't blame me. I was never happy with the idea of 'one eye' here in charge of our lives on the field. If he were to lead something, I would figure it to be a troop of boy scouts."
Before Scott could retort with a 'witty' comment, Wolverine turned to Gambit, "Let's get going."
*************************************
Sarah studied the house that James had them stop at. In the two years she had known him, she had never set eyes upon his house. That streak ended today.
Looking at the brown building gave her the feeling of dread. What if Jareth's parents didn't understand?
James opened the gate to the front yard and walked to the small house. The three followed with Jareth in tow.
James knocked on the door and waited. After a minute, the door opened to reveal a small woman with light gray hair. Other than the hair she seemed young for her age.
The woman smiled, "Son!," she ran out the door and gave James a big hug, "If we had known you were coming, your dad surely would have postponed his business trip."
Jareth caught a glimpse of the woman and stepped back in surprise, "Faith?"
The woman let go of James when she heard her name. Looking to see who said the name, she turned and saw Jareth. she too stepped back, "Jareth?"
*************************************
A blonde girl walked cautiously to a phone booth avoiding the rif raf that begged for money in the station. Without incidence, she takes the phone of the hook and begins to dial.
Looking at the beggars, who were returning her stare, she sighed and started to count the rings.
one....two.....three..
Finally she heard the satisfying sound of a phone being lifted out of its cradle and brought to someone's ear.
She smiled and spoke into the reciever, "I know where they are...."
*************************************
Jareth stared disbelieving at the woman before her, "Faith, you've changed," he observed.
A wry grin formed on her face, "Well, it has been twenty years..."
James looked at his mother in curiousity, "How do you know Jareth?"
His mom frowned, "Its a long story... How do you know him?"
Her grin grew larger as she looked at the two girls, "Ok, which one of you wished someone away?"
Sarah blushed, "That would be me."
"So did you enjoy his Labyrinth?"
"It was a pleasure to solve."
Faith laughed and turned to Jareth, "Someone finally beat you? That's funny."
Jubilee interrupted, "Buts that's not why we are here.....James wants to tell you something."
Faith looked at her son, "What is it? What's wrong?"
James took a deep breath, "I am not normal. I am starting to get powers."
Faith frowned, "I think you may want to know about me and your father's background so you know what's going on with you....I don't know how to say it without messing it up, but I'm sure I could show you."
She led the four into the family room. When they were seated, Faith walked over to a Chest and opened it. Carefully pulling a cloth covered object out, she proceeded to cautiously unwrap the object.
James looked at the object and was in awe. In her hand was a crystal that seemed to have a gray cloud stuck inside.
"This was your father's," his mother explained, "In order to be with me, he gave a lot. But one thing he was allowed to have is this crystal."
She held the crystal closer to James, "This will tell you some stuff that you may find useful...It is a history of how your father and I met."
When she handed the crystal to James, the crystal began to glow intensely.
As Sarah, Jubilee, and James watched the crystal play out a scene, Jareth went to talk to Faith.
*************************************
A young woman with chestnut hair wandered the Labyrinth with a look of bewilderment on her face.
"There was and opening her a minute ago! What happened?!", she said as she looked at the hedge before her.
She looked at her watch, "One hour left?!"
She fell to her knees and put her hands to her face, "There's no way I'll get there on time. Derick is sure to become a Goblin now!"
She wept.
Footsteps could be heard coming towards her.
"Why are you crying miss?," a voice asked from behind.
The woman stopped her tears and looked behind her and saw a young man who seemed the same age of the Goblin King she had met earlier.
The man smiled
*************************************
Jareth looked over at the others and saw them enthralled with the crystal.
Turning back to Faith he smiled, "It's been a long time, Faith."
Faith smiled, "Yes it has. The last time you saw me and Gavin was at our wedding."
Jareth smiled and tilted looked over at James, "If I had know you were his mother earlier today, I wouldn't have been so confused about what he was."
"Jareth! You couldn't tell? I thought you were good at determining things like that."
"Well sorry. His energy seemed too strong to be mutant but too weak to be Faye. I didn't even take into consideration that he could be a half-breed. He's the first one I've encountered outside of the Underground."
"First time for everything.," Faith answered.
*************************************
James was startled to see his father in the image. He had assumed that the woman was his mom but she looked so much younger than his dad in the image. He turned to ask his mom about that detail but found her to be involved in a discussion with Jareth. He turned back to the Crystal.
*************************************
Faith looked at the older man, "I am trying to win my brother back from the Goblin king but I've only come half the distance and I have one hour left."
The man frowned, "I see... so you wished your brother away huh?... why?"
"I was angry at him. He kept crying and......well I just wished him away. I'd never had done that if I knew this would happen!"
"Haven't you ever heard of the saying, 'Be careful what you wish for'?"
"Yes. And I wish I could take back what I said. I didn't even mean it. I love him so much. I would never want to hurt him."
She started to cry again, "It's too late now..."
The man felt sorry for the girl, "Don't give up. I'll help you."
"You will?," she sniffed.
"Yes. Although I can't just fly you there, I can guide you there. It will take longer than the 13 hour time limit but you can bring your case to him."
"But I tried that already."
"But that was at the beginning," he explained, "he will listen to you now."
"Why?"
"Because that's the way it is done."
"Oh." She started to follow the man, "By the way, my name's Faith."
He smiled, "I'm Gavin."
*************************************
Sarah watched as the image went to another scene. She couldn't believe it. James's dad once lived in the Labyrinth. He couldn't be Faye though. James's dad lived in the real world for over twenty years at least. Had he been a faye, he would have aged quickly and died. Granted, he did age but it was a gradual aging process, not the rapid one Jareth had gone through.
She snuck a look at Jareth and then back at the crystal.
*************************************
Faith and Gavin stood before Jareth in the throne room. Jareth held a baby in his hands.
"Your time is up. Why did you still continue through the maze?," Jareth asked, "Surely it couldn't have been for such a small thing that you wished away in the first place."
Faith gathered her wits and stepped closer to the Goblin king, "It is why I come here."
"But you had already lost. Why do you show such determination?"
"Because I love my brother. I never meant for this to happen. Please give him back."
Jareth studied her face looking to see if she was lying or not. He turned to Gavin, "Gavin, Is she sincere in what she said?"
"Yes Sir."
Jareth smiled, "Very well." He handed Faith the child, "I hope you'll appreciate your brother more and watch what you wish for."
He looked at Gavin, "Take them back home."
"Yes sir"
*************************************
The lights in the crystal faded and finally died. When no more images showed up, the three looked at Jareth and Faith questionably.
"So my dad lived in this place?," James asked.
Faith nodded, "He was a Faye like Jareth. Although his powers weren't as strong as Jareth's."
"So am I a Faye?," James asked.
Jareth shook his head, "No. You are not Entirely Faye. You are a crossbreed. You are mainly human but you have a little bit of Faye in your blood. That's why I couldn't tell what you were before."
"Oh.," James said.
"The only thing I don't understand is how you got some Faye magic in you. Before your mom and dad got married, your dad had to give up his powers and attributes of a Faye in order to live in the real world. In order for you to get you power, your dad would have to have some magic in him when you were first conceived.
Faith blushed...."ummm....Jareth?..."
Jareth noticed Faith's red face and a bad feeling came from within. Thinking of when James was most likely born, he counted back the months.......9.......8.....7.....6......5.......4.......3.....2...
Jareth groaned.
"Aww Faith!," he thought, "You couldn't wait a month before doing that? No wonder Gavin was in such a hurry to set up the wedding."
Jubilee caught on ho what Jareth was thinking and something else troubled her when she remembered the image in the crystal.
"Mrs. Caldwell, how long had you been seeing Mr. Caldwell before he proposed?"
Faith thought about it, "I was 22 when he proposed so about 4 years...... why?"
"Nothing."
*************************************
Wolverine looked at Gambit, "We're almost in Hope County."
Gambit nodded, "And where exactly in Hope county is James' family?"
"Don't know.... We'll have to look."
"Why didn't James just tell us where his parents were before he left?"
"Hmmm....Geee....see if this is plausible..... Because he didn't know that some mutants, that are known for violence, have taken some interest in the guy traveling with him."
"Sorry for asking. Man, you are MEAN when you are grumpy!"
"Or around visorboy," Wolverine added, "Well, as soon as we land, we'll check the University records. on second thought, check Jubilee's room first. The way she and he are getting along, I wouldn't be surprised if she knew his social security number. She'll probably have it listed in her address book."
"Ok.... to the college we go!"
*************************************
In the alley, Mystique waited. When she heard the familiar sound of Magneto landing, she smiled and looked at him.
"They are over at the house of that James kid," Mystique said, "The only E-man there is Jubilee."
Magneto smiled, "Good. That will make it easier when we go through with our plan."
Mystique looked at her boss, "So do we start it soon?"
Magneto chuckled, "Have patience Mystique. One of our business partners would not appreciate it if we just jumped into action without his consent."
Mystique frowned, "You mean he hasn't approved of the idea yet?"
"Don't worry. He's just gotten the information. When he's made a decision, he will call on us. Until then, keep an eye on the group."
"But what if he's not interested in Jareth? Then we'll have wasted all this time for nothing!"
"Trust me...... he will approve of this guy. And when he does, we'll strike."
-To be continued.
X-treme Circumstances Part 8
Mystique watched as four figures walked out of the compound. Raising binoculars to her eyes, she studied the newcomers and immediately recognized the first three Jubilee, Sarah, and James. Not at all interested with them, she studied the fourth figure. She smiled. Jareth was well.
Her blue skin reshaped to disguise herself. They weren't taking that jet so it should be easy to follow them. Keeping a safe distance, Mystique followed the four into the train station. how convenient It will be easy to follow them without being noticed.
*************************************
Wolverine came into the room where Xavier was watching some news monitors.
"Professor, where did Jareth go?," he asked quickly, not allowing the proper formalities.
"He went to see James' parents along with James, Sarah, and Jubilee.", Xavier answered, "Why?"
"There is reason to believe he's in danger."
*************************************
As the train made it's way to its destination, Mystique, who was still in disguise, watched the four closely. Mainly the blonde guy. She smiled, possible ally or not the one thing she really was interested in was his pleasing looks. too bad he was wearing a coat over his revealing getup. Making him join up with Magneto and herself will certainly be a fun task.
*************************************
Jareth sat in the seat next to Sarah and right across from James and Jubilee. He originally was going to have Jubilee sit next to Sarah and James next to him but James and Jubilee wanted to sit next to each other.
Jareth looked at Sarah and sighed. It wasn't that he hated Sarah's company. In fact, he treasured it but it felt awkward and confusing. She had rejected him so many years ago and even said that she didn't want to see him again when he got shot. But after he got the crystal, she kissed him! How could anyone have a change of heart in such a small amount of time? Even he didn't think himself capable of such things. With Sarah, his love for her hand grown before the Labyrinth situation. The baby was just an excuse to talk to her.
Jareth sighed, "He was still in love with her. Till time ended, he would always love her.
*************************************
Mystique noticed the loving gaze Jareth gave Sarah. A feeling of jealousy welled up inside of her.
"Stupid man," Mystique thought as she glared at the two, "She doesn't even acknowledge that you exist. Besides, she's not even a mutant!"
Mystique glared at Sarah, who at that moment snuck a glance at Jareth. Jareth didn't see Sarah do that but Mystique sure as hell did.
"Ok, so maybe she does know you exist," Mystique corrected her thoughts, "But soon you will realize misplaced affection can prove to be a hinderance."
She calmed down and smile. Oh she was going to enjoy using Sarah to get to Jareth and if in the process of Jareth joining, Sarah should get hurt, she wouldn't lose sleep over it.
*************************************
James waited as the train pulled in the station.
"We're here.," he said to his friends as the train came to a stop, "Hope county!"
Jubilee looked at Jareth and Sarah.
"Oh how cute.", she thought as she noticed Sarah asleep, her head resting on Jareth's lap. Jareth was looking down at her with his arms draped over her shoulder protectively.
Jareths, who was awake at the time, looked at Sarah and gently nudged her. When Sarah opened her eyes, Jareth looked down at her and smiled, "We're here."
Sarah got up slowly and stood in the aisle, waiting for Jareth to get up.
He mind was going a mile a minute. Did she just do what she thought she did? Did she just cuddle up to Jareth. Oh gosh, what would Jareth think?
Sarah thought about how Jareth's arm had rested on her shoulder. It had made her feel nice and safe.
"I hope Jareth still has feelings for me," Sarah thought, "Because I certainly have feelings for him now."
Sarah fell forward as something caused her to lose her balance.
Jareth stopped Sarah's fall by grabbing her by her shoulder holding her still.
Jubilee walked up to Sarah, "Are you ok?"
"Yeah.... what happened?"
Jubilee frowned, "That blonde just shoved you out of her way! Some people are so rude!
Sarah smiled. Looking at Jareth, she realized that he was still holding her.
Jareth realized why Sarah was looking at him and apologized. He let go of her shoulders.
Sarah began to follow Jubilee and James off of the train. All the while, Sarah felt disapointed that Jareth had to let go.
*************************************
Wolverine walked up to where Gambit was listening to Scott.
"Come on Gumbo, get in the jet."
Gambit looked at Wolverine, "Where are we going?"
"Hope County. Jareth, Sarah, Jubile, and James went to meet with James parents.
"Oh this is not good," Gambit commented, "They will be like sitting ducks there."
Scott looked at the two, "Why?"
Gambit and Wolverine both glared at Scott.
"And HE'S the leader?," Gambit asked.
Wolverine sneered, "Don't blame me. I was never happy with the idea of 'one eye' here in charge of our lives on the field. If he were to lead something, I would figure it to be a troop of boy scouts."
Before Scott could retort with a 'witty' comment, Wolverine turned to Gambit, "Let's get going."
*************************************
Sarah studied the house that James had them stop at. In the two years she had known him, she had never set eyes upon his house. That streak ended today.
Looking at the brown building gave her the feeling of dread. What if Jareth's parents didn't understand?
James opened the gate to the front yard and walked to the small house. The three followed with Jareth in tow.
James knocked on the door and waited. After a minute, the door opened to reveal a small woman with light gray hair. Other than the hair she seemed young for her age.
The woman smiled, "Son!," she ran out the door and gave James a big hug, "If we had known you were coming, your dad surely would have postponed his business trip."
Jareth caught a glimpse of the woman and stepped back in surprise, "Faith?"
The woman let go of James when she heard her name. Looking to see who said the name, she turned and saw Jareth. she too stepped back, "Jareth?"
*************************************
A blonde girl walked cautiously to a phone booth avoiding the rif raf that begged for money in the station. Without incidence, she takes the phone of the hook and begins to dial.
Looking at the beggars, who were returning her stare, she sighed and started to count the rings.
one....two.....three..
Finally she heard the satisfying sound of a phone being lifted out of its cradle and brought to someone's ear.
She smiled and spoke into the reciever, "I know where they are...."
*************************************
Jareth stared disbelieving at the woman before her, "Faith, you've changed," he observed.
A wry grin formed on her face, "Well, it has been twenty years..."
James looked at his mother in curiousity, "How do you know Jareth?"
His mom frowned, "Its a long story... How do you know him?"
Her grin grew larger as she looked at the two girls, "Ok, which one of you wished someone away?"
Sarah blushed, "That would be me."
"So did you enjoy his Labyrinth?"
"It was a pleasure to solve."
Faith laughed and turned to Jareth, "Someone finally beat you? That's funny."
Jubilee interrupted, "Buts that's not why we are here.....James wants to tell you something."
Faith looked at her son, "What is it? What's wrong?"
James took a deep breath, "I am not normal. I am starting to get powers."
Faith frowned, "I think you may want to know about me and your father's background so you know what's going on with you....I don't know how to say it without messing it up, but I'm sure I could show you."
She led the four into the family room. When they were seated, Faith walked over to a Chest and opened it. Carefully pulling a cloth covered object out, she proceeded to cautiously unwrap the object.
James looked at the object and was in awe. In her hand was a crystal that seemed to have a gray cloud stuck inside.
"This was your father's," his mother explained, "In order to be with me, he gave a lot. But one thing he was allowed to have is this crystal."
She held the crystal closer to James, "This will tell you some stuff that you may find useful...It is a history of how your father and I met."
When she handed the crystal to James, the crystal began to glow intensely.
As Sarah, Jubilee, and James watched the crystal play out a scene, Jareth went to talk to Faith.
*************************************
A young woman with chestnut hair wandered the Labyrinth with a look of bewilderment on her face.
"There was and opening her a minute ago! What happened?!", she said as she looked at the hedge before her.
She looked at her watch, "One hour left?!"
She fell to her knees and put her hands to her face, "There's no way I'll get there on time. Derick is sure to become a Goblin now!"
She wept.
Footsteps could be heard coming towards her.
"Why are you crying miss?," a voice asked from behind.
The woman stopped her tears and looked behind her and saw a young man who seemed the same age of the Goblin King she had met earlier.
The man smiled
*************************************
Jareth looked over at the others and saw them enthralled with the crystal.
Turning back to Faith he smiled, "It's been a long time, Faith."
Faith smiled, "Yes it has. The last time you saw me and Gavin was at our wedding."
Jareth smiled and tilted looked over at James, "If I had know you were his mother earlier today, I wouldn't have been so confused about what he was."
"Jareth! You couldn't tell? I thought you were good at determining things like that."
"Well sorry. His energy seemed too strong to be mutant but too weak to be Faye. I didn't even take into consideration that he could be a half-breed. He's the first one I've encountered outside of the Underground."
"First time for everything.," Faith answered.
*************************************
James was startled to see his father in the image. He had assumed that the woman was his mom but she looked so much younger than his dad in the image. He turned to ask his mom about that detail but found her to be involved in a discussion with Jareth. He turned back to the Crystal.
*************************************
Faith looked at the older man, "I am trying to win my brother back from the Goblin king but I've only come half the distance and I have one hour left."
The man frowned, "I see... so you wished your brother away huh?... why?"
"I was angry at him. He kept crying and......well I just wished him away. I'd never had done that if I knew this would happen!"
"Haven't you ever heard of the saying, 'Be careful what you wish for'?"
"Yes. And I wish I could take back what I said. I didn't even mean it. I love him so much. I would never want to hurt him."
She started to cry again, "It's too late now..."
The man felt sorry for the girl, "Don't give up. I'll help you."
"You will?," she sniffed.
"Yes. Although I can't just fly you there, I can guide you there. It will take longer than the 13 hour time limit but you can bring your case to him."
"But I tried that already."
"But that was at the beginning," he explained, "he will listen to you now."
"Why?"
"Because that's the way it is done."
"Oh." She started to follow the man, "By the way, my name's Faith."
He smiled, "I'm Gavin."
*************************************
Sarah watched as the image went to another scene. She couldn't believe it. James's dad once lived in the Labyrinth. He couldn't be Faye though. James's dad lived in the real world for over twenty years at least. Had he been a faye, he would have aged quickly and died. Granted, he did age but it was a gradual aging process, not the rapid one Jareth had gone through.
She snuck a look at Jareth and then back at the crystal.
*************************************
Faith and Gavin stood before Jareth in the throne room. Jareth held a baby in his hands.
"Your time is up. Why did you still continue through the maze?," Jareth asked, "Surely it couldn't have been for such a small thing that you wished away in the first place."
Faith gathered her wits and stepped closer to the Goblin king, "It is why I come here."
"But you had already lost. Why do you show such determination?"
"Because I love my brother. I never meant for this to happen. Please give him back."
Jareth studied her face looking to see if she was lying or not. He turned to Gavin, "Gavin, Is she sincere in what she said?"
"Yes Sir."
Jareth smiled, "Very well." He handed Faith the child, "I hope you'll appreciate your brother more and watch what you wish for."
He looked at Gavin, "Take them back home."
"Yes sir"
*************************************
The lights in the crystal faded and finally died. When no more images showed up, the three looked at Jareth and Faith questionably.
"So my dad lived in this place?," James asked.
Faith nodded, "He was a Faye like Jareth. Although his powers weren't as strong as Jareth's."
"So am I a Faye?," James asked.
Jareth shook his head, "No. You are not Entirely Faye. You are a crossbreed. You are mainly human but you have a little bit of Faye in your blood. That's why I couldn't tell what you were before."
"Oh.," James said.
"The only thing I don't understand is how you got some Faye magic in you. Before your mom and dad got married, your dad had to give up his powers and attributes of a Faye in order to live in the real world. In order for you to get you power, your dad would have to have some magic in him when you were first conceived.
Faith blushed...."ummm....Jareth?..."
Jareth noticed Faith's red face and a bad feeling came from within. Thinking of when James was most likely born, he counted back the months.......9.......8.....7.....6......5.......4.......3.....2...
Jareth groaned.
"Aww Faith!," he thought, "You couldn't wait a month before doing that? No wonder Gavin was in such a hurry to set up the wedding."
Jubilee caught on ho what Jareth was thinking and something else troubled her when she remembered the image in the crystal.
"Mrs. Caldwell, how long had you been seeing Mr. Caldwell before he proposed?"
Faith thought about it, "I was 22 when he proposed so about 4 years...... why?"
"Nothing."
*************************************
Wolverine looked at Gambit, "We're almost in Hope County."
Gambit nodded, "And where exactly in Hope county is James' family?"
"Don't know.... We'll have to look."
"Why didn't James just tell us where his parents were before he left?"
"Hmmm....Geee....see if this is plausible..... Because he didn't know that some mutants, that are known for violence, have taken some interest in the guy traveling with him."
"Sorry for asking. Man, you are MEAN when you are grumpy!"
"Or around visorboy," Wolverine added, "Well, as soon as we land, we'll check the University records. on second thought, check Jubilee's room first. The way she and he are getting along, I wouldn't be surprised if she knew his social security number. She'll probably have it listed in her address book."
"Ok.... to the college we go!"
*************************************
In the alley, Mystique waited. When she heard the familiar sound of Magneto landing, she smiled and looked at him.
"They are over at the house of that James kid," Mystique said, "The only E-man there is Jubilee."
Magneto smiled, "Good. That will make it easier when we go through with our plan."
Mystique looked at her boss, "So do we start it soon?"
Magneto chuckled, "Have patience Mystique. One of our business partners would not appreciate it if we just jumped into action without his consent."
Mystique frowned, "You mean he hasn't approved of the idea yet?"
"Don't worry. He's just gotten the information. When he's made a decision, he will call on us. Until then, keep an eye on the group."
"But what if he's not interested in Jareth? Then we'll have wasted all this time for nothing!"
"Trust me...... he will approve of this guy. And when he does, we'll strike."
-To be continued.