Chapter 10: Payback
Amanda sighed as she flipped through her mail. More bills, some junk. Nothing from any of the universities she'd applied to.
She dropped the mail, unread, onto her hall table as little toenails clicked on the linoleum of her apartment. Buster rounded the corner from the kitchen and pelted frantically down the hall, barking happily. Amanda once again thanked her lucky stars that she'd been able to find an apartment so close to the hospital that she could afford. "Gotta go out, Buster?" she cooed, ruffling his fur. "Come on." She clipped the leash to his collar and opened her door.
Jubilee stood there, holding a large brown envelope. Amanda gaped for a minute, and then threw her arms around her friend. "You were gone when I got off shift, and because you weren't a patient of mine I couldn't get your address. Wow, you look a lot better!"
"I feel a lot better, too," Jubilee said. "I got something for you, for helping me out. Can I come in?"
"Sure!" Amanda said. "Buster, you have to wait."
"Oh, if you were about to take him for a walk, then I'll join you." Jubilee turned and led the way back out into the hall, Amanda and Buster following close behind. Jubilee didn't say a word until they were outside, and Buster was sniffing around the bushes. Then she took the envelope from under her arm and handed it to Amanda. "Here. This is for you."
Puzzled, Amanda opened it. She stared at the letter stapled on top of the bundle of papers for a moment.
"Read it!" Jubilee urged her.
Amanda read aloud, "Dear Ms. Greene: We are happy to inform you that your application for a position at Columbia University has been accepted…" Her voice trailed off, and her eyes widened. "They accepted my application? I can start there? Oh, wow…." She looked up at Jubilee, tears in her eyes. "This was the best news I could have gotten…Oh, my…" and to her embarrassment she started to cry.
Jubilee grinned and hugged her. "Matthew wanted to mail it, but I told him I'd bring it. I wanted your address anyway. Thank you so much for helping me, Amanda. Dr. McCoy told me how you approached him about Bruce and me, and he decided that the X-Men were better prepared to handle this than the Avengers were. Lucky me, or Logan wouldn't have known I was still alive."
The two women turned to reenter the building. Neither one of them saw the black Mercedes pull into the parking lot, and they had no idea that the driver was watching them go in.
Amanda closed the door and unhooked the leash from Buster's collar. She tossed it absently over the back of a nearby chair and sat down, still staring in disbelief at the paper. "I don't believe it. I still don't believe it. How did you find out—how did you know--"
Jubilee laughed and sat down on a couch. "Professor Matthew Cohen is a very close friend of mine," she said cheerfully. "When you told me that you'd put an application in with Columbia University, I gave him a call. He said that Bruce had called the University and recommended against their hiring you; that's why they didn't consider you. I wrote a letter; and they decided to give you a chance after all."
"Bruce," Amanda sighed. " Aw, jeez, I hate him. I broke off my engagement with him, Jubilee, after I saw what he did to you. I don't know why I stayed with him for so long; having access to his labs wasn't worth what I put up with in him. I'm glad you came along, Jubilee; if you hadn't I'd be married by now to someone I'd end up hating in the long run."
Jubilee hugged her. "I'm glad I could help," she said. "And oh, by the way--" She pulled a long plain white envelope out of her pocket and handed it to Amanda. "For saving my life; and for helping me." Amanda opened the envelope and pulled out its contents. For a moment she stared, speechless. "Jubilee…"
"It's the least I can do, seeing as how you saved my life, fed me, took care of me, and then bought those clothes for me. Please," Jubilee leaned toward the other woman earnestly, "Please, Amanda, take it. I'll feel bad if you don't, especially seeing that you need it now."
Amanda stared at the money in her hands, stunned at her friend's generosity, then put the money back in the envelope. "Jubilee, I--"
The doorbell rang.
Amanda got up and opened the door. The next moment she was sprawled backward on the floor and the door was banging against the wall, and a scowling man was standing in the doorway. Bruce Garrett.
"So this is where you've been hiding," he snarled. "Had enough yet? Ready to come back?"
"Never," Amanda stood up. "Get out of here, Bruce." She stood and went to her purse, slipping the envelope into it. Bruce crossed the room in two swift steps, grabbed her arm in a grip that must have bruised, and yanked the envelope out of her hand. He ripped it apart, and bills scattered all over the floor. He grabbed her other arm.
"Where'd you get this? Huh? You steal it from me, or you steal it from someone else? Should I call the cops and tell them you robbed somebody?"
"She got it from me," Jubilee snapped, standing up from the corner couch where she'd been sitting. "I gave it to her. You, of all people, talking about stealing? You're a real piece of work, Bruce." She took Amanda's arms out of his grasp, and bent to pick up the scattered money.
Bruce struck out at Amanda. His palm connected with her cheek, and sent her stumbling back. Jubilee caught her, lowered her into a chair, then took two quick steps to Bruce and slapped him back.
He stared at her, stunned.
She faced him, hands on her hips. "I swear to God, Bruce," she snapped at him, "I remember what you did to me. I don't like watching my friends get hurt. And I don't like you. Don't piss me off, or you're going to be really sorry."
Bruce apparently had all the brains God gave a cabbage, because as Jubilee turned her back he lashed out with a foot and hooked her ankle. Jubilee reacted with the reflexes honed by years of fighting and dropped to the floor, sweeping her other ankle out and knocking his legs out from under him. He hit the floor with a whump that knocked the wind out of him. When the stars finally cleared out of his vision, he found himself still out of breath because Jubilee's foot was on his neck.
She leaned in. "Didn't I tell you not to piss me off?"
"I'm…sorry…" he choked out around the foot that was crushing his windpipe.
Jubilee shifted her weight onto her other foot. "I'm sorry? I didn't catch that?"
"I…said…I'm…sorry…" To Jubilee's utter disgust, Bruce started to sniffle. "I'm sorry…please don't kill me…"
"What makes you think I'm going to kill you?"
"Not…you…him…" Jubilee turned and saw Logan, leaning casually against the doorframe, casually popping one claw in and out, inspecting it. The snikt sounded loud in the small apartment.
"Oh, hey, Logan," Jubilee sounded nonchalant. "Just getting ready to take care of some garbage. You want to help?"
"Mmm… Looks like ya got things 'bout wrapped up, darlin'," he drawled lazily. "All he needs is a bow wrapped 'round him. Ya want a regular ribbon bow, or one made outta his skin?"
"Skin bows are so messy," Jubilee said, exerting just a bit more pressure with her foot on his windpipe. "Take him outside and do it. Don't want to mess up Amanda's floor." She turned around forty degrees the other way and winked at Amanda. Amanda, who had been tensing visibly, relaxed as she saw the wink. Not that she thought her friend was actually going to kill her ex-fiance, but she wasn't as sure about the guy standing in the door.
Logan bent over and grabbed the back of Bruce's jacket, hauling the man to his feet. Bruce panicked. "Amanda, don't let him kill me, Amanda, call the police, please, I loved you, I really did, please, sweetheart…" And he started to cry.
Jubilee lost it. She couldn't hold back her laughter anymore. "Logan, just toss him out, okay? He's not worth the time it'll take to skin him." She dissolved into laughter, falling into Amanda's kitchen chair and holding her sides as she cracked up.
Bruce was too busy crying to notice as Logan shoved him out of Amanda's apartment, closed her door, and prodded him at the point of his claws down the steps and out to his car. When Bruce started to turn, Logan stopped him with a claw placed delicately on the vein in his throat. "Don't even think about it, bub," he said. "Git in that fancy car an' keep goin', cause if I see you anywhere near Jubes or her friend again, you an' I are goin' to have a problem."
"N-n-no p-p-p-problems, okay? No problems. We're not going to have any problems. I won't look at her again, okay?" The claw increased its pressure, breaking the skin ever so slightly, and a drop of blood rolled down Bruce's neck. His voice climbed another octave. "Either of them! I swear! Either of them! I promise!"
"Keep it." Logan retracted his claw, stared Bruce Garrett in the eye for a few more seconds, then stepped back. Bruce got into his car, jammed his keys in the ignition, and peeled out of the parking lot so fast he lost a rim on the curb coming out. Logan chuckled as he watched him go.
Jubilee came up to him, seconds later, and hugged him as she laughed. "Well, Bruce won't be bothering Amanda anytime soon. And I bet he checks the attendee list at the next convention I go to and doesn't even show his face."
Logan grabbed her in his arms, hugged her back. "Been a long time since I heard ya laugh," he said. "Missed the sound." He led the way over to the pickup.
"Well get used to it, 'cause you're going to be hearing it for, oh, the next sixty years or so? Maybe longer." Jubilee laughed. "Come on. Jean wants to go shopping for dresses today."
Logan growled. "Still don't know why I can't come," he grumbled.
Jubilee punched him in the arm playfully. "It's bad luck to see the bride's dress before the ceremony, Logan," she told him. "Besides, you'd get bored with all the girl talk. You hate shopping, anyway." She kissed him. "Jean's my matron of honor. Ororo, Rogue, and Betsy are my bridesmaids. Who did you pick?"
"Remy for best man, o' course. Hank and Warren for groomsmen…and Scott . Just so Jean'd have someone ta walk with."
"Thank you," Jubilee kissed him again.
* * *
Jean shook her head. "I don't think that's you, Jubilee," she mused.
Jubilee twirled in front of the full length mirror. "You don't think so? I kinda like it."
She was wearing a white sequined sating sheath dress that started at her throat and went all the way down to her ankles. There was a short train trailing out behind her.
"Well…" Rogue hesitated. "Sugah, Ah doan lahk ta be the bearer o' bad news, but the dress kinda makes ya look a li'l…well…chubby."
Jubilee whirled, looked at herself in the mirror. There was a lot of beading and sequins around the dress, and as she looked closer, she saw Rogue was right. Her tiny waist did look a little…wider.
"I see your point," she said. "Okay. Let's put this one back and let me try on the other one."
She came out again, this time in a plainer, less ornamented mermaid-style dress that slimmed down her waist nicely. There was a froth of fabric at the bottom of the dress; it rustled softly as she moved. She turned slowly in front of the mirror.
There was a tinkle of bells at the door of the dress shop, and the three women turned. Ororo and Betsy came in, spotted Jubilee in front of the mirror, and headed for the changing area. Betsy looked at the dress. "Oooh…I don't like that," she said.
"What's wrong with it?" Jubilee said defensively.
Betsy stared at the dress. "It makes you look skinny," she said. "There's all that bunchy fabric around the end of the gown, and there's you rising up out if it. The fabric makes you look sort of…skinny."
Jubilee sighed. "I think I've tried on like a zillion dresses, and all of them either make me look skinny, or fat, of chubby, or short…Maybe I'll just put a bag on and go through the ceremony that way!"
Ororo waited until Jubilee stopped ranting, then said, "Jubilee, I know you didn't want a long full dress, but perhaps you would change your mind if you tried one on."
"I'll try it," Jubilee said doubtfully. "Let me go take this off, and I'll see what they have."
She wandered up and down the racks, looking at the dresses. She didn't really want something with a full skirt, but everything else she'd tried on so far hadn't looked right. At this point she was willing to try anything.
Ororo held up a dress. "Jubilee, look at this one," she said. Jubilee looked it over critically. It was white satin, with a long skirt. Not a full one, though; the material draped downward in long, elegant vertical folds, to trail behind the wearer. "I'll try it," she said.
She slipped into it in the dressing room, her fingers fumbling with the tiny zipper, and walked out. When she saw Jean's face, she knew this was the right dress. "Jubilee!" Jean exclaimed. 'Wow, the dress is…it makes you look taller, somehow," she stopped, unable to say anything else.
Rogue and Betsy both nodded. "Much better, Jubilee."
Ororo looked at the dress as Jubilee twirled in it. "It is beautiful," she said. "The draped skirt gives the illusion that you are taller and slimmer. It will need to be hemmed up, of course, but it is perfect."
Jubilee looked up. "I do like it," she said. "I didn't want one with a skirt like that, but it looks right, somehow." She sighed. "Okay. My dress is chosen, now what color should the bridesmaid dresses be?"
"Not yellow!" Ororo, Rogue, and Betsy chorused, looking at Jean. Jean bristled.
"I thought you guys liked the dresses!" she huffed. "You didn't say anything about it at my wedding."
"We did not wish to offend you," Ororo said, "But the dresses were not in the best taste."
Jubilee snickered at the embarrassed flush on Jean's face. "Okay, okay, I won't torture anyone with yellow dresses," she grinned. "Since the wedding will be in June, maybe a light pastel color will work?"
"I don't like pastels," Betsy said.
Jubilee sighed. "Well, let's take a look at what they have before we decide, okay?" she said.
She looked at the racks. There was a pretty peach color that would look good against Jean and Rogue's fair skins…but it wouldn't be as nice on Ororo and Betsy. Soft pink…but pink didn't look good on Rogue. She was about to give up and tell them to wear whatever they had when she spotted a rack of soft green, full-skirted dresses made of crepe and satin. "Ororo! Jean! Look at these!"
They came over. "They're not bad," Betsy said.
Jean nudged her. "They're pretty. Come on, let's try them on."
Jean looked gorgeous in it. Ororo looked beautiful in it. Even Betsy, although she grumbled that she didn't like the color, looked nice. The girls left the store carrying their dresses.
Logan stared hard at Jubilee as she carried the bag up to their room. Jubilee hung it in the closet and started to go downstairs to eat, realized she'd forgotten to wash her hands, and returned to the bedroom…just in time to see Logan pull the zipper down on the bag.
"Logan!" She grabbed the garment bag with her precious dress in it away from him and glared at him. "You can't see it before the wedding!"
"But I want to know what it looks like, Jubes," he protested.
"Oh, now, Wolvie," she said, shaking her finger at him as if he was a naughty child, "it's bad luck, and I said you couldn't, so you can't." Logan looked at the finger wagging in front of him, growled, and nipped the finger. Jubilee sighed and melted against him. Logan forgot about the dress, dinner, and the wedding. Forgot everything, in fact, but the urgent need to take Jubilee in his arms and hear her pant for him.