Repost of the second chapter,

Chapter 2

Nightmares and Deception.

It was a long and silent ride before Sabertooth finally pulled into the motel of a small town a day or so north of the USA boarder. He left her in the car, since she was now sound asleep, and went to get a room.

When he came back to the car he had the dilemma of having to wake the girl up, to get her into the room. Carefully he opened the back door of the jeep and jumped back as a paff shot out at him.

"It's just me!" There was a confused/wary scent and then humour coming from the small figure still raped up in his old blanket.

"Never thought I'd hear ya say that…dude, I can't get out until you move." Creed obligingly shifted away from the door and wondered if all this was worth the trouble, just so he could find those Weapon X scientists he'd been looking for since he'd heard the rumours a month ago. He wasn't even sure if this kid had left any of them alive. Well, even if they were dead, he was sure he could get something fun out of this kid, even if it was just a fight with the runt, or using her as a hostage against the X-men.

With quick, always moving eyes, she slid out and grabbed the room key from his claws. By the time he had the jeep locked and his bag over his shoulder, she was already in the room and cleaning herself up in the bathroom. Creed could understand the feeling. She was dirty, cold and tired. But since it was apparent that Weapon X had used feline DNA as well as wolf genes to heighten her senses, she was responding like a cat. Which meant a good cleaning was in order. No doubt next in the order would be food…hmm…good thing there was a little Chinese place around the corner. Unusual for such a tiny Canadian town, but welcome.

By the time Jubilee was out of the shower, the smells of Chinese and beer permeated the motel room. She realised she'd been in the bathroom for at least half an hour or more, if Creed had already gotten food.

The man himself was lounging on one of the beds, scanning the channels for any news about explosions or slaughters in the mountains. Not that there was likely to be anything, but it was worth a look.

With an embarrassed yelp, as she passed the mirror on the motel wall, Jubilee grabbed Creed's old blanket and dived back into the bathroom. Utterly confused, Creed listened and heard ripping sounds coming from her direction and the usual snick as she popped and withdrew her claws. Finally a few minutes later she walked back out, wearing the bottom of the jumpsuit she'd been wearing all day, and a sort of poncho made from the old blanket. Considering the blanket had at one time been a bright blue, it had belonged to Mystique at one time, and was now faded to a soft light blue, it looked fine as a poncho. She'd used her claws to trim away any ragged bits.

At Creed's raised eyebrow she bared her teeth in what once would have been a friendly/silly grin but now looked like a snarl.

"I just realised how little was left of that jumpsuit top. No way I'm hanging around you looking like a skank at a Hooker's Ball." The reference to the single's party left Creed even more confused, but he didn't say anything about it.

"I'll get ya some clothes tomorrow. You eat, get some sleep." Jubilee gave him a considering look and then shrugged and grabbed for the chopsticks. "What?"

She stuffed a rice ball in her mouth and gave him another look.

"Jus' wonderin' how you gonna use me this time." She picked up a plastic box of noodles and began to eat them with the rice balls, while he gaped at her in surprise.

"You know-"

"That, mrm yum, that you're going to use me some how? Please, Creed, I've been fighting you since I was thirteen. I know how you think. My memories are trickling back in, but most of them seem to be focused on you. Doesn't matter to me. I'm using you as well, so I can get back to the mansion without having to hike my way across Canada to do it."

"You…huh?" Creed's jaw was still hanging low in surprise. Jubilee eyed him again, this time in wonder.

"So how are you going to use me? I mean, I'm pretty sure I didn't leave anyone alive, at least, no one you'd be able to get more information from about the higher ups of the Weapon X program. And I know for a fact I'd maybe be able to beat you in a fight or at least hold out against you. After all, I've got a healing factor, senses, claws telepathically upgraded fighting prowess, and my fireworks, which got slightly upgraded." She pointed at him and a paff exploded above his head. She had generated it from the air above him, instead of from her fingers like she had used to.

"Huh…Guess that leaves me with getting Cueball to pay me, and rilin' up the runt. For now, anyway."

"Whatever. I'm gonna sleep. You slit my throat while I'm sleepin', I'll haunt you for the rest of your life." She finished the noodles, threw the rubbish with good accuracy into the room's little bin and tucked in under the blankets of her bed.

Creed pretended to watch the TV again, but he was really keeping an eye on the lump on the lumpy motel bed. He had been slightly surprised when she'd boasted about keeping up with him in a fight. The kid normally knew her limitations, but then he'd realised that the kid could probably light a paff inside his lungs as easily as she'd lit one over his head. Not that he wouldn't have healed up right away, but in the middle of a fight, it would have given her enough advantage to make them equals. Which means holding her hostage or trying to kill her wasn't an option. And he didn't doubt she'd killed everyone in that compound. He'd found the smoking remains a day before he'd found her near his cabin. The compound had been only a few hours drive from his place, and that had been a rather frightening discovery. Not that anything really frightened him any more. He'd wondered if anyone had managed to make it out, but according to what the kid said, it wasn't likely. And from his own memories of the Weapon X days, he wasn't inclined to argue with what she said.

So, that left him with money and the runt. Besides, he didn't really want to kill her anyway.

'Ah, it'll do. The runt's always fun ta get riled. 'Sides. It'll be interestin' ta see 'em all freak out over the kid.'

Their hands were cold. That was the most memorable thing about it. And that was what transmitted most in her dreams. That and the damn chemical smell. She'd never be able to talk with Hank and Bobby again, because of those two factors. It was a painful thought, and even though she knew it was just a dream, it was something she couldn't alter. And that scared her even more.

For a long time, ever since she'd first seen Gateway, she'd had a remarkable ability to control her dreams. The only one she'd ever told about it was a telepath she'd met during her trip with Wolvie around the Orient. The 'path had suggested it was a manifestation of her latent telepathic powers. Jubilee hadn't really cared about it, except for the fact that when she said she'd sleep on something, like a practical joke, or an attack strategy for the next days training, she could run it through her dreams and see how well it would work. She'd always had that kind of control. But now she couldn't alter one little memory about a smell or a temperature.

That's how she ended up having a full-blown nightmare, and slicing the sheets of her bed in two. The pain of her claws popping woke her up and she sat there panting for a while. Responding to cat instincts, she got out of the bed and paced for a bit, then curled up in her blanket poncho under the window on the other side of Creed's bed. She didn't even wonder if she'd woken him, she knew for certain that she had, and that he knew she was moving around, but if he didn't want to acknowledge her unease, she wasn't about to say anything.

A pillow hit her in the face as she sat there thinking.

"Go ta sleep kid." Okay, so maybe he was going to acknowledge it.

"Can't. Pumped." She threw the pillow back at him and stood up again. She started pacing and he finally sat up. For a while they just watched each other, as she paced and he tried not to fall asleep again. Finally he sighed.

"Nightmares, frail?"

"Sorta…hey, you don't have to answer, but when they had you…were their hands cold?" The question brought an unexpected flinch, and she stopped pacing to watch him.

"Yeah." It was more a growl then an actual English word, but in her current state of mind, it said a lot of things. He was upset, he was remembering, he was being somewhat sympathetic. Which was unheard of, but considering he was one of the few people who had been through what she had, it was also understandable. Jubilee purred back a reassurance and a sympathy that he understood instantly. "You gonna sleep?"

"Maybe…my hands are just hurting. Sorry I woke you. I'll…I'm gonna go for a walk. I'll sleep on the ride tomorrow." She was out the door before he could speak, not that he had anything to say. It was her choice, after all.

The next day she was still wide awake, and not showing any signs of lack of sleep. Creed had gotten her breakfast, and clothes, with some rather weird looks from the lady at the counter when she scanned the women's underwear across the pricer. Jubilee had promised him an extra two thousand out of her own personal account for that humiliation. Glad to finally be back in proper clothes, even if they were just a pair of jeans and a flannel shirt, Jubilee sipped her coffee and watched the landscapes fly past. Certain memories were streaming into her head, as the caffeine unlocked some of the buried parts of her brain. She wasn't so sure she should trust all of these new memories, but she'd wait until the Prof could have a look before she decided.

"Hey Vic? Why didn't ya try to kill me back at your cabin? I mean, I was so disoriented then, it wouldn't have been too hard."

"Like I said, frail. Curiosity."

"Bullshit. And will you cut it with the frail thing? I ain't a little kid any more. 'Case it escaped your notice, I'm nineteen years old. And I ain't one of your normal female companions so just cut it already."

"Sure, Cat." She glared at him. "Hey, it's Cat or frail, cause there just ain't no way yer gonna get me to call ya Jubilee. Yer parents musta been hippy's ta call you that."

"That's what Wolvie said the first time he heard it. I think that's why he started calling me darlin' all the time." Creed snorted and nearly ran the jeep off the road.

"You call him Wolvie? I gotta remember that, next time we fight."

"Uhuh. So really, other then curiosity, why not kill me then. A couple of years ago, you wouldn't have hesitated."

"A couple of years ago, I didn't know you all that well. You were jus' a punk kid that hung around with the runt and made a nuisance of herself."

"An' now?" Creed gave her a look that had something akin to recollection or recognition in it.

"Now yer a kid who just got thrown into the mix of lifers by a buncha geneticists who should have their throats ripped out. 'Cept you probably already blew 'em up."

"Lifer?" Jubilee's voice was a snarl of confusion.

"You've got a healing factor kid. A strong one judging by how easy you healed up from the adamantium bonding, the cold and the frostbite. If you don't overtax it, you'll stay alive for a very long time." She gave him a look that said get on with it. "You're not scared by that?"

"Creed, I practically grew up with the X-men. Hello, how many resurrections, alternate dimensions and other shit have I seen in the last few years? Like I would worry about staying alive for…oh…well, that explains why Bish-man said I was gonna be the last Xer. But you still haven't explained yet. Curiosity is not a reason."

Creed didn't say anything for nearly ten minutes, and still Jubilee's gaze never wavered from his face. Finally he let out an explosive breath and glared at her, while he kept one eye on the traffic in front of them, which seemed to consist of one old Volvo that was going to get very dead if it didn't let Creed overtake it real soon.

"I didn't attack because it was you, okay!" He shrugged uneasily and continued to glare at her. The Volvo wavered uncertainly as he speed up behind it. "Look, you said it yourself, last night, we've been fighting each other since you were thirteen. Six damn years, Cat! You think I can carry an impersonal fight against you, jus' cause ya hung around the runt all that time?" Jubilee's expression got very suddenly confounded, as she sampled the scents in the jeep.

Anger, rage, and…embarrassment? She wasn't established enough with her senses to understand all the smells yet.

"So the fight got personal? That doesn't explain anything."

He growled. She kept looking at him.

"There never was a fight against you." The Volvo was swerving slightly, trying to keep ahead of him. With sharp eyes, they could see that the driver was scared.

"Okay…then what was it? Cause trying to kill me sounds either like a fight or an impersonal warfare."

He didn't answer, and she knew she wasn't going to get an answer, at least not at the moment. With a snort of annoyance she flicked the radio on and surfed the channels till she found some good old rock and roll. If there was one thing she knew about travelling with feral old men, it was that they did not like her kind of music, and this was the closest to good listening she was going to get.

Creed responded by finally over taking the Volvo. The driver had his head on the steering wheel, and appeared to be fervently praying.

Crossing the boarder had been an interesting experience, since Jubilee obviously did not have her passport, and Creed was a well-known mutant terrorist.

She looked back at the devastated boarder posts and winced.

"Does this always happen when you want to go somewhere?"

"'Pends on where I'm goin'. We should be in ta Mass by this afternoon, you gonna finally grab some sleep?"

The question was a good one, since they'd had to stay two more nights in motels and the most sleep she'd gotten was an hour, before the nightmares woke her up. Even now, with the help of her healing factor, she was only vibrating slightly.

"Nope." Even so, she climbed over the seat and landed in the back with a gracefulness that sprung more from her gymnastic roots then her feral ones. It was merely a search for space, rather then a search for sleep, however.

They'd gone another three hours drive, and were almost to Massachusetts when a strange thought invaded her mind.

"Frosty? Prof?"

Jean, honey. Are you alright?!

"Oh, hey, Red. Yeah, I'm fine, yes that is Sabertooth driving, and yes, my memories are messed up. Where are you?" There was a moment of silence and then an astonished mental gasp and a growl from Creed. A clear indication that Jean had just tried to get something from his mind.

Good god! Weapon X?! Oh, god, Jubilee!

"Jean! I'm fine, calm down. Look, where's the Prof, I need to talk to him. I'd rather have him or Cable scan my head. They've both already seen stuff like what has happened to me, an' I don't want you and Frosty freaking out over it."

The X-men, most of us anyway, are all in Massachusetts. There was news that a laboratory compound in Canada was destroyed, and then Sabertooth crossed the boarder rather destructively a few hours ago…well, I guess you were there.

Jubilation? Ah…Mr Creed. I take it Jubilee has…hired you…to bring her home safely?

"Somethin' like that Cueball. I expect ta get paid for this."

Of course. But may I suggest that Jean or Scott meet you on the road somewhere, instead of the two of you driving straight into the White Queen's home?

"It's cool Prof. He'll drop me off a few miles away, and I'll run the rest. Not like it's hard for me now. Is Wolvie there?"

Yes. Are you sure you don't want one of the X-men to pick you up? Why didn't you call us? It would have been less destructive then crossing the boarder.

"My own reasons Prof. Look, just get some money together to pay Creed, will ya? I'll deliver it myself." Jubilee threw her shields up around the car, and that was the last they heard from Xavier. "I'll, like, meet you some where and pay you, 'kay?"

"Sure, Cat." Again she noticed the slight emotion he showed whenever he spoke her nickname. She wasn't sure what emotion it was, but it wasn't natural to him. But, as with the first day she'd questioned him about why he hadn't killed her, wouldn't say anything about it.

Another hours drive, and they had finally come up to a place just five miles from the school.

"This'll do." The jeep was pulled over, and she got out, taking only the few clothes and things he had bought her. "Where do you want to meet, to get your money?"

"How 'bout here? You can run that far in one night, pretty easy, right? So I'll meet you back here in a couple of days." Jubilee nodded, looked around, put the landmarks in to her memory and then turned back to him.

She looked at him with eyes that had to squint slightly, thanks to the sun that glinted off the snow the valley was named after. "Hey Vic? Thanks." With that she bounded off into the woods that surrounded this area of the highway, not minding that she still had bare feet, and the ground still had snow everywhere.

The man commonly known as Sabertooth to the world at large watched her run off with eyes that drank in every detail. He for one was glad that she couldn't see the…well…it really only could be described as longing, in his eyes. He had to wonder if she knew about the effect she had on him.

Well…maybe he could find that out when she came back with Cueball's money. If there was one thing about the little Cat, she was honest. She'd be back.