Author's note: I've been trying to finish up this story before I posted the next few chapters. Sorry it has taken so very long, but I promise at least two new chapters within a week or else you can hand me over to sinister for experimentation.

A Madman's Heart

Part 14

They were suppose to be leaving tonight. A simple five minute escape from the X-mansion before anyone noticed. That was how Jubilee figured it anyway, but the truth be told, fate had it hard for this girl. First her so called bag had a rip in the side, so she had to sneak into Bobby's room to borrow his. After ten minutes of searching for a tracer, she finally transferred her stuff. Then as she left the room through the window, her raincoat got torn on the ledge. Now, here she was, waiting for Lebeau to show up, when he was probably giving his Rogue a good night kiss or something along those lines.

Looking at her watch she was thinking up several ways to hurt the Cajun, of course hurt went to murder when she heard a twig snap behind her. Frowning, she turned around about to chew out the Cajun when she saw a face she hadn't seen for a while.

"David…" Jubilee whispered almost silently as she looked at the man she had considered a friend and something more during her time at Sinister's. He looked worse for wear and as thought hell had dragged him here on his high horse. His eye's seemed to have lost the ever changing momentum she had grown to love. His eyes were set on a smoky green color while he looked at her. That tipped her off that something was wrong.

~~~~~~~~~~

"Shut up, I'm so not in the mood for this." Jubilee stated from her bedroom to David who was on the other side of the door. She was sitting on her bed hugging her legs. Her first real life test, all she had to do was kill a person. No big deal right, it's just a person. A woman who had done nothing more then been picked randomly. Jubilee was fine until she had seen the little boy walking with her with a smile on his little face. Jubilee had froze while watching the woman smile to the little boy. She knew in that second she couldn't kill the women. Not because of the woman herself, but because she couldn't bare to leave another kid with out a parent. To many thoughts had flashed through her mind at her own experience as an orphan.

"Come on Jubes, I don't have time for this. Either open the door or I'm taking it off the hinges." David yelled through the door. The majority of people in the area had cleared out when Jubilee stalked to her room, but Jubilee was sure some had stayed behind to see what had got the two so riled up. Probably taking bets on who would win a fight or what had gotten her to the point where she was glaring at every thing that moved.

"Fuck you." Jubilee stated and already was throwing paffs at the door as David broke the lock and swung the door open. He side stepped the paffs, but they puffed out of existence before they even hit him. "Great job, sparky, now I have to fix it."

"I warned you." David stated and crossed his arms while leaning against the wall. Jubilee glared at him from her bed and rested her head on top of her knees. He had that cocky look in his eyes that made her want to hit him or break down in tears at the stupid way he was standing. His were crossed, something he didn't do unless he wanted to seem harmless or deadly depending on the person. For her, it was a harmless gesture, but one that made her want to cry and in turn she wanted to hit him even more.

"Leave me alone." Jubilee stated and David sighed. He walked across the room with ease and sat down on the bed next to her.

"You got further then most did. Just because you couldn't get a good shot off doesn't mean you did bad. " David said softly and ran a hand over her back trying to comfort the young woman.

"I couldn't do it." Jubilee whispered so softly that David almost didn't hear it. He paused for a moment then continued to rub her back.

"Why?" He asked softly and Jubilee looked him in the eye and he could see the display of emotions flow through her eyes before she covered them. She was getting good at masking her emotions, better then most people he had ever seen in his time here.

"I got two words for you. Go. Away." Jubilee stated as she pulled away from him. She made her way off the bed and to the other side of the room. David frowned as he watched her find an interesting letter on her desk. She was avoiding the topic and he needed to know what threw her off.

"It was the boy." David stated and Jubilee nodded. She nodded and hugged herself slightly. David could see her body shaking slightly.

"I couldn't be the reason he wouldn't have a mom to see his games or take him to movies." Jubilee whispered and David stood up of the bed, but made no motion to go over to her.

"It gets easier, after the first few times. If you didn't do it, then some one else would have." David stated and jubilee let out a bark of laughter.

"I asked Creed once what it was like to kill someone." David stiffened at the name and narrowed his eyes, but Jubilee continued as if she never seen the action. "He told me that after a while he couldn't feel it. Said that it eventually stops hurting. It shouldn't stop hurting, David. These are people, they don't deserve to die for doing nothing wrong. I can't kill another person because I have an order too. It'll kill something in me every time and eventually it will kill me."

"It won't kill you, you will learn how to block it out. These people are on Sinister's list for a reason, they would be killed eventually." David stated and walked over to Jubilee who was shaking her head. She turned and looked at him. He felt like a real jerk in that moment. He wanted nothing then to wrap her up and tell her everything would be fine, but if he did that then they would get no where at all.

"Like me. I was on his damned list because of my stupid powers. Well if he wants them so bad them he can take them." Jubilee shouted at him and David frowned. "It's not right. No one should live for this." David sighed and closed the distance between them. He hugged Jubilee to him and felt her fight him for a few moments before finally she let the tears come. First soft sobs, then the harsh ones, the ones that rocked her entire body. David had no clue what to say to stop the tears, so he only held her and rested his head on hers.

After a while her tears subsided and Jubilee pulled away slightly. David tightened his hold on her and she looked up into his eyes. David watched the blue eyes search his face before he slowly bent down to kiss her. He meant it to be a chaste kiss, but it gain more depth when she kissed back.

~~~~~~~~~

"Jubilee." David stated back and reached out to touch her arm, but his knocked back by Remy staff as it connected with is chin. Jubilee blinked a few times trying to get the memory away from her mind. That was the night same night she had escaped from Sinister with Creed. The same night she had realized she liked David more then a friend, but never knew how much. Now, she looked at him sprawled out on the grass and Jubilee could feel tears welling up in her eyes. Pushing them back, not wanting to show the weakness, Jubilee narrowed her eyes at David.

"What, Sinny decided that he could get you to talk me into coming back. I'm not going back David. I'm not handing them over." Jubilee whispered, trying to keep the emotions from pouring out.

"Jubilee, what…" Remy asked as David propped himself up on one elbow while rubbing his sore chin.

"No, I don't give a shit about what Sinister wants." David states while trailing his eyes back and forth between Remy and Jubilee. His eyes fell on Jubilee as she looked around the rest of the woods in search of something.

"Where's Shawn?" Jubilee asked in a firm voice and looked David straight in the eye. The two brothers were rarely separate outside of Sinister's base of operations and even then they were generally always together. Not because they got along, but because David didn't trust his twin brother's safety to anyone.

"Dead." The word was spat rather then spoken by David. Jubilee paused for a moment and looked closer at David. He narrowed his eyes in return and stood up. "Sinister killed him as punishment for allowing you to escape."

"What? Vic got me out not you. Why the hell would Sinister punish you?" Jubilee asked feeling anger pour into her overriding everything else.

"Sure, that's what it was suppose to look like. I helped Victor in that night. I knew you couldn't last there, not and still be you." David said and watched Jubilee.

"So you found it right to let de Petit' one go? I don' dink so. Petit', He playing us for a fool. We need be going before his friends arrive." Remy stated and jubilee jumped slightly. She had almost forgot Remy was there with him being so quiet. Well almost, Remy was never a person you could forget was around, he had too much power and life in him to forget easily.

"Shut up Cajun. Why would you care wither I could make it through Sinister's little mind games or not." Jubilee yelled and took a step away from both of them.

"I cared because I couldn't be the one who had to pick up the damned pieces again, Jubes. I won't do it again, I did it for Shawn and I refuse to do it for you, that's why you have to get the hell out of here. Now. Sinister's crew isn't to far away." David whispered and walked towards jubilee. He ignored the fact that she was stepping backwards as he came and that Remy was already in motion to stop him. He rested his hands on Jubilee's upper arms and squeezed slightly, not enough to hurt.

"Damn it David. How can I trust you. You work for him." Jubilee stated as she pushed away from him and backed up towards Remy.

"Because you know I wouldn't lie to you. Because I don't care any more Jubes. Because I'm tired. Tired of taking care of people, tired of death, tired of life. I was never strong enough to take care of Shawn, he always took care of me." David stated and Jubilee paused for a moment in shock. She always had an idea that one of them was stronger, but she always placed it on David not Shawn. Jubilee wanted to comfort him. The emotion came up faster then she had ever known, but she pushed it away. David wouldn't allow it right now. He would push her away, not because he didn't want the comfort, but because he wouldn't be able to fight it if he took it.

"Get her out of here. Sinister's about 20 miles away. If they get here and you're not at least ten miles away then he can track you." David stated and Jubilee shook her head.

"You can't fight them. You're not even strong enough. David, it's suicide." Jubilee stated with tears beginning to spill down her cheeks. David gave a mournful face at the sight of her tears, but only hardened his features.

"You know, you're face really was meant for a smile not tears. I'll fight'em, but I'll try not to get myself killed. I still owe you that Cheese burger and chili fries." David stated and walked over to her. He smiled slightly and rested a hand on the side of her face tenderly, almost afraid she would pull away. When she didn't move, he ran his thumb over her cheek, erasing some of the tears. "You really do have something special Jubilee, something that nothing can destroy. Now get out of here, things will only be worse if you stay."

"Mon Ami, you do know dat Sinister's goons aren't something to laugh off, dey don' give up easy." Remy stated while watching the two of them. David laughed a bit before backing away from Jubilee.

"I don't know you, but if you get Jubilee out of here I can forgive the chin jab earlier." David stated, never looking at Remy, who in turn let out a short laugh and grinned.

"Chere, I was going to do dat before you even came. Come, Petit, Victor non be happy if we late." Remy stated and held out his arm for Jubilee to take. Jubilee only snorted slightly at him in laughter before taking one last look at David and walked through the woods towards a road where Remy hid a car. "Good luck Mon Ami." Remy stated before following Jubilee.

~~~~~~~~

Floating, Creed rubbed his eyes as he slowly came too. It took him a few minutes for his sight to clear enough to get a good idea where he was. The heat and lack of food were beginning to take a toll on his body and healing factor. He turned his head to look around the ocean in hopes of some sight of land. His head spinned at the movement and he passed out.

He woke up eventually in the middle of the night. Could have been a day or a week after the crash, all he knew was there was no sight of land for miles and he only had enough energy to grab onto on the last pieces of wreckage. It was a large piece, only still afloat due to it's bowl shape that kept any water out. Using the last bits of his energy, Creed pulled himself onto the wreckage and then let the darkness sweep him into harsh sleep.

~~~~~~~~

Screaming, that was what Creed heard when he walked out of the room. Jubilee screaming as Sinister injected his dose of power inducers into her. The screams were tearing at his heart and he had to fight to keep a passive look on his face. This shouldn't bother him, she was just some girl he was to watch over till sinister wanted her. But if that was true then why did he wanted to rip down the door and save her. Creed snorted at himself and smiled a blood chilling grin as one of the medical assistants walked passed him and opened the door to help out.

The girl didn't make it into the door before the wall crumbled from an explosion. The force of the blast sent Creed across the hall and halfway through another room. Creed slowly stood up as his healing factor took affect in healing the burns, bruises, and scratches from the explosion. Crouching down in a fighting stance, Creed looked towards the room where the blast had come from.

Creed's eyes softened at the sight of the small Asian girl curled up in a ball on the only piece of untouched ground. She was unconscious, but shaking in her sleep from the release of so much power. He hid the amount of pride he felt for her in the back of his mind, not wanting to acknowledge that he felt anything fatherly for the pup.

His glance went back to emotionless when he saw Sinister standing up from the other side of the room with Jubilee in it. He wiped some of the blood from his slightly burnt face as he looked at Jubilee with a smirk. Creed narrowed his eyes at the smirk and growled lowly in his chest at the meaning behind it before turning and leaving the area behind. Picking a fight now would be use less, not that he wanted to fight over her anyways. The Pup was just that a pup.

~~~~~~~~~~~

"Pull'em in the ship and be quick about it, Cap won't like us being spotted in this area." A voice called and Creed shifted slightly as he began to wake up. Arms grabbed his shoulders and began to roll him off towards the water. He slashed at the hands blindly, rage fuelling his exhausted body. He heard a satisfying scream as a pair of hands with drew from under his shoulders.

"Pep, the man's coming to." one of the voices by him yelled and slide off the piece of wreckage. A large amount of water rushed to where Creed was and he rolled himself over to keep from drowning in it.

"Well, what are ye waiting for, grab him and bring him aboard." Pep yelled back and said something else that Creed couldn't quite pick up. The message was clear when he heard a gun being cocked from afar. He used the rest of his strength to push the men away from him and rolled into the water. It was a quick wake up, adrenaline pumping through his veins to make it easier to ignore the pain of moving his slowly healing body. He swam until he was close to the ship and came up for air on the over side as a stronger voice was yelling at the crew.

"Asshole, put the gun away, we're getting him out of the water, not mounting him on some damn wall." Creed grabbed onto a ladder that was lower so that the divers could get back to the ship. He knew the voice, some where he had heard it before, a rich and commanding voice that demanded attention. He would have been able to put a name or at least a face to the voice, but his mind was to far gone in the need for self survival to even try.

"Victor Creed, this is the S. S. Verdi. This is Captain Mitch Brathes. We are here to pull your sorry ass out of the water." Mitch stated with a laugh that carried past the waves of the ocean. Creed felt some tension leave his body, but adrenaline pumping through his body demanded to be used. He took a deep breath and began to climb the later. He made it half way up before the adrenaline decided to burn out. He felt a pair of arms slide around his waist gently and, from the size of the arms, the person holding him up slightly was a female. Inhaling quickly confirmed the thought and he pushed down the urge to slice the arms away. He rolled his eyes up to look at her face.

She had soft skin, a mocha color that made most men worship a woman. Her face held laugh lines on the corner of her lips and eyes, something she didn't seem to hide as most women would. She had very soft hands and a curvy body

, he could tell that even though his skin was numb from being in the water so long. It wasn't the body that Creed was shocked by, it was her soft purple eyes that stood out like ice daggers waiting for the perfect moment to strike

"Sir, if you don't let go of the latter I can't pull out up." The woman whispered in a voice that was more husky then soft. Creed snarled at her and held the latter tighter as he felt himself slipping into a rage.

"I can pull myself up." Creed snarled at the woman and he felt her arms tense around him. He caught wind of another scent. A man, late 40s, heavy smell of cigarettes and a subtle tone of alcohol. The woman's arms lost their tension as she trailed her eyes up towards the man.

"Let him go love, he's more stubborn then most men I have met." Mitch stated with a half laugh, but keep a close watch on them both.

"You don't have enough strength to pull…. Fine, but if you fall I will not catch you." the woman stated as Creed snarled at her trying to push the rage out of his body. She let go of him and Creed swayed on the latter for a moment before starting to climb. It took him longer then normal to make it to the top, but, by will and pride, Creed climbed over the last railing of the ship and took a look at Mitch. He was definitely in his late 40's but looked older from the gray hairs on his head and slight beard. He was well built, though had the makings of a beer belly.

"Welcome aboard Victor." Mitch stated and Creed only snarled back, to lost in the "glow" of his animal side to decide what was a verbal threat or not. Creed smiled viciously at Mitch before launching himself at the man. The woman grabbed him before he could get to far and Creed slashed at her. The woman feel back slightly, but didn't loosen her grip on him as blood began to trickle down her chest. He felt something enter his body as he turned his head towards Mitch.

"Your fault." Mitch whispered as Creed snarled once more before passing out from the heavy dose of the tranquilizer dart.