Author's note: I apologize for how long it is taking me to get this story finished, my school life is eating more and more of my time. Thankfully I have the next chapter finished, just need to fine tune the thing then I will have it out to you by the 23 at the latest. I'm planning some where between 4 to 6 chapters are left in the story.
The Madman's Heart
By Midnight
Jubilee's eyes fluttered open as a wave of nausea came over her. Blinking rapidly to try and get the last remains of sleep from her eyes, Jubilee rolled her head to the side to avoid the sun streaming into the jeep. Looking around her, she noticed that she was in the backseat instead of the front and Remy was watching the road as if it were the only thing that kept him from falling asleep.
"Where we at?" Jubilee asked in a slurred voice. Remy blinked and looked at her through the review mirror.
"Don know for sure. Last sign I remember said Virginia, but dat be a long while ago." Remy stated and Jubilee nodded, sitting up seemed like the hardest thing to do right that minute, but at last it was something she was forced to do. Climbing up front, she slipped on her seat beat and looked at the scenery. Grass covered endless fields of nothingness.
"Looks like bum fucking no where." Jubilee stated and her stomach growled in hunger.
"Two bags of jerky in the glove box and a couple of soda's behind your seat, don't guarantee dey be cold, but you can try." Remy stated and Jubilee dove into the glove box. After a luke warm coke, the fact that it tasted like heaven to her was a clue that she hadn't had anything to drink in a while, and the first bag of jerky was inhaled, Jubilee felt a little more human.
"What happened?" Jubilee asked, last thing she remembered was the restaurant. Remy shot her a glance as if to determine what state of mind she was in.
"After you passed out, I piled you into the jeep and started driving. That was about two days ago. You've been in and out since then." Remy stated and Jubilee raised an eyebrow at him.
"Passed out? Huh?" Jubilee stated and then things flashed in her mind, running from something, cornered, a fight, and finally her powers being used. Jubilee took a deep breath and held back any emotion from coming through. The smell hit her and it took a moment for her to realize that was past and she was here in now.
"Jubes?" Remy asked in a concerned voice, Jubilee's sudden posture startled him. She went from sleepy, yet carefree to nothing and sitting as straight and still in her seat as she could get. She looked at him and smiled, covering up her unease with a face of cheer hood.
"Next town we're stopping. You need sleep cause you look like shit and I need to move around cause I feel like shit and we both need a shower cause it smells in here." Jubilee stated and sat back for a moment looking as they passed a few signs here and there. After a few minutes she gave up watching to plant life and began to fiddle with the radio station.
"Palatka, next town." Jubilee read the sign the looked at Remy. "We're in Florida… is there any reason why were in Florida?"
"Yes, taking a flight out of Orlando day after tomorrow. We can't get a more populated airport, plus it will be easier to fly from there to South America." Remy stated and suppressed a yawn as he pulled off on the exit that led into Palatka.
***********************
"So you're trying to tell me you want to go to South America because you have a girl waiting for you." Mitch stated as he watched the man in front of him devour at least five pounds of meat in minutes.
"Yes." Victor Creed growled out before he took a drink of whiskey. Not the best drink in the world to have when a person was trying to recover from what he had been through, but the thought of water made his sick.
"Your eating to fast, slow down." Zoe stated as she watched him eat. He glared at her and went back to eating. Zoe was the person he had attacked when he first came on board and the bandages were testament to that fact, but his attack did nothing to phase her motherly kick. It was driving him insane. He opened his mouth to tell her to shove it, but Mitch stopped him.
"And exactly why should I take you there?"
"Because you owe me one and you're heading that way." Creed stated. Mitch snorted back a laugh and took a drink from the glass in front of him. Creed still couldn't quite figure out what all was in the drink. A bit of whiskey and bourbon, but he smell something else. "I'm already late, just get me there."
"Brazil is quite a bit further north then Argentina." Mitch stated and Creed narrowed his eyes at the other man.
"Mitch just do it, everyone in this room knows you'll say yes." Zoe stated and smiled before walking out of the room to tell the crew that they would be heading further north then they originally planned.
"How long will it take?" Creed asked watching Mitch with narrowed eyes.
"Two days, if we don't hit any major storms. Should be enough time for you to get fully back on your feet." Mitch stated and went back to enjoying his drink. Two days would put Creed at getting there close to a week after Jubilee and Remy were suppose to leave New York, he groaned at the amount of trouble the two could get into during that time.
************************************
"I told you I don't do good with electronics, but NO we have TO go into the stupid electronics store so you can get some dumb piece of equipment that you aren't even going to use on this little trip." Jubilee said through clenched teeth as they ran down the street avoiding pedestrians. A large group of people were chasing after then with bats and chains, fully intent on turning the mutants into sludge.
"It's a lock bypass and that wasn't an electric store, it was a pawn shop, Petit'." Remy stated as they took a left avoiding the people chasing them.
"Pawn shop my Asian ass, that was more like grim R us the just happen to have a nice little FOH meeting down stairs. Where do you find these places?" Jubilee stated as she and Remy both jumped a fence hoping to put more distance between them and their pursers.
"It's a talent Remy acquired sometime ago." He stated with a grin and pulled her into a store as soon as they rounded a corner back onto a main street. Jubilee's first instinct sent her eyes scanning the room for a way out.
"This is a dead end Gumbo, we're screwed if they see us." Jubilee stated and looked back towards the store window.
"If they see us we can just charm our way out of the store." Remy grinned at her and Jubilee threw her hands up. The man was impossible, one minute he was telling her to keep a low profile now he want to start a fight.
"Remy, we are trying to stay out of public eye, not invite a certain someone while we play chain tag with thugs. God who gave you brains, McDonalds?" Jubilee asked and watched as the FOH members ran past the shop.
"See, everything work out just like planned."
"Yeah, you planned this… and where the heck do they hide all those weapons. It's like running into a Rambo with some of them." Jubilee announced with a laugh.
"We got to head towards the airport, plane leaves in less then two hours." Remy stated as he moved towards the front of the store. Jubilee looked at the place they were in and started laughing so hard she about fell down. A nice little sign stated it all, Pouch Lifting.
"I think we went to the wrong store earlier." Jubilee stated, the man at the front desk giving her a strange look.
***********************************
"So explain again to me why Hank hoards the Twinkies." Jubilee stated as they headed out of the airport. A taxi was so nicely waiting for them and Jubilee hopped in the back seat.
"Some things, Petit', it's best not to ask. Besides, I would rather not think about the X-men right this second." Remy stated as he shut the door behind him and told the driver where to go.
"Why, not like they're gonna get mad at you or anything." Jubilee stated as she found a comfortable way to sit Indian style in the car.
"Mad… I took off with you and left an interesting goodbye card, Rogue's going to be beating me like a piñata when we get back." Remy stated, rubbing his eyes at the image the words conjured up.
"What's the deal between you two anyways, you get cozy and then try to kill each other." Jubilee stated and Remy shot her a 'leave it alone' look and Jubilee couldn't help roll her eyes. "Okay, so she's got the whole can't touch anyone for fear of killing them. But you guys came up with those nifty image things, why not a hand held version of a mutant inhibitor or what ever their called."
"Jubilee, have you ever worn one of those? I'm fairly sure Rogue doesn' wear it cause it would be uncomfortable." Remy stated as they pulled up to the motel. Jubilee climbed out and followed Remy into the place with a slight smile.
"Yeah, I have, when things were messed up at, well, my powers were a little spastic and it kept things from getting too messed up." Jubilee stated, trying to avoid mention anything about Sinister, but luck wasn't on her side. "Anyway, she wouldn't have to wear it all the time, just when she felt like it. It was just a suggestion anyways, would make your life a bit easier."
"Two single rooms, cherie." Remy stated and gave the receptionist a drop-dead grin. Jubilee about threw up by the time they had gotten the two keys, the woman's phone number, and a few complimentary dinners.
"That is so wrong, someone needs to put warning labels on you, 'Warning, subject considered highly flirtatious, can charm devil out of horns.'" Jubilee stated holding her hands up as if showing the big picture.
"'Warning charming personality, explosive style, and smooth.' Is more like it." Remy stated and watched as Jubilee picked up her pace. Sighing inwardly, he let that one slip by.
"What rooms we in." Jubilee asked, keeping a good stride or so in front of him. Remy had learned quickly that one should avoid any word that dealt with this blowing up or being on fire, even in a joking matter.
"190 and 192." Remy stated as he pointed to the door and slide the key into the lock of his room.
"Jesus Remy, since when did MGM build a hotel down here." Jubilee stated as she looked at her room. The single bed was more like a king sized bed. The room was actually two rooms, a living room and bedroom. Two TV's sat in entertainment centers taller then she was and wide enough to cover the wall of the bedroom and living area. "If the bathroom is anything like the rest of this place then you can go out without me."
"And why is that?" Remy asked as he threw her bag on her bed and heard a squeal.
"Turbo jets, hot tub. I'm so going to be spend a few hours soaking in that thing." Jubilee stated from the bathroom and Remy resisted the urge to laugh at her. He straightened as she came into the room and sat down in the chair across from the bed.
"Jubilee, we need to talk." He had his elbows resting on his knees and his fingers resting on his chin as if in deep thought and every one of Jubilee's signals went off. Warning, events from a couple nights ago involved, flashed in her mind as she pulled out pair of jean shorts and shirt.
"No, we don't. I'm fine; I plan on taking a bath. Checking for mail from Creed and then shopping. Maybe even seeing what kind of clubs they have around here." Jubilee stated as she sat her bag on the floor and spread her cloths out on the bed.
"Petit', you're not fine, you been avoiding anything with fire in it." Remy started and Jubilee rolled her eyes.
"Dude, I'm not as pyroish as some people. I just don't like the idea of stuff burning right now. Lots of people in the whole wide world are like that okay." Jubilee stated and slipped her shoes off.
"Den why you been playing with your puffs like they gonna kill you, but at de same time you're fascinated by them." Remy asked and Jubilee sighed.
"Because, I just… Look this is stupid. I'll be all right. I'm coping, you know the part where I analyze everything that went wrong and learn from it. I shouldn't have ended up in the alley. I should have gone somewhere public, can't attack someone in the public eye." Jubilee stated and grabbed her clothes off the bed and took one final look at Remy.
"Just drop it okay, Remster, its not like it's that big a deal, I survived it twice, third time ain't gonna kill me." Jubilee stated and closed the door to the bathroom behind her before Remy could say anything else.
*************************************
"You do realize this is gonna cost you." A voice stated. David reached down and pulled a leather pouch out of his boot. A hand, twisted and wrinkled, reached out and took the pouch. The hand's mate slowly pulled open the string that held the whole thing together, untying the knots one by one. David resisted the urge to just cut the strings the held the damn pouch together. Time was running short; the person in front of him had already announced that fact. Besides, interrupting the proceedings was not allowed.
"There should be more then enough. Where are they?" David asked, resting his hands in his lap as the person turned the pouch upside down. Four objects fell out, giving off a sickening thud as they hit the wooden table.
"Why, Heart, such interesting habits you picked up. Why, I remember a time that you would have slit my throat then pay this sort of fee." The voice let out a bitter chuckle as it sat the leather pouch down and turned up the gas lamp sitting on the table between them. The four objects, eyeballs, green and lavender, sat on the table and the face to match the voice came into view.
One would think that with such a voice, a voice would also be twisted and matching. But the face before him was more lovely then gruesome, but still on the side of horrifying, something he would never let her know. The only thing missing were the eyes, in their place was nothing but a mess of scars.
"Yes, but your price was a little more steep, I don't kill babies." David stated in a calm voice.
"Of course, I can feel your disgust even as you speak, twisting a turning in your belly like some worm. Did you know that with just your intestine I could create the most interesting stew? A stew that could kill a normal man before he even swallowed the poison." The woman smiled and rested her finger on one of the eyeballs before moving to grab a jar from the shelf.
"No, and if I don't play fair I'm sure you will tell me all sorts of interesting things my body parts can do." David stated.
"Ahh, yes, business, you know your place well young one, what shall we do for you, my heroic Heart." The woman let out a small laugh, setting the eyeballs into a jar and closing the lid with a sharp smile.
"I need you to find me a girl…" David started and the woman laughed again.
"Well that shouldn't be to hard."
"No, not just any girl. Asian, petit, young, 17. Her name is Jubilation Lee. She rides by moon with a Cajun in the lead. I need to know where she is." David stated, a serious expression sat firm on his face.
"Ahh, The little cracker, She may ride the moon, but she is far from it's grasp. The sun rules this one. She searches, something is missing and she fears it will never come, a beast." The woman stated as she laced her fingers, her face faced as if she were looking off into nothingness.
"Creed." David stated, the woman smiled. She pulled out a deck of cards and spread them out in a normal pattern, tarot cards to the untrained eye. These cards were close, but far from tarot, the face side of them were blank, no pictures to explain the meaning, only a urge or feeling the woman before him could feel. She flips a few of the cards over and her face twists in pain. The cards shimmer for a second and the woman runs her hand over them.
"But lost to sea he is, but wait, fortune rises in the dark house. A dark presence shows it's face, he searches, like the hounds of hell he draws near, waiting for his moment to feed." The woman whispers softly, her lips in a twisted smile as she spreads sand out on the table over the cards and runs her fingers through it.
"Feed on what?"
"Her power, her life, her energy. She glows of it, so young, she will lead great things. The moon shall rise to take her, but she fights, she will never go silently into the dark's embrace. Many things follow, if she holds out, dark will faultier, she will lead about a new rule of light." The woman stated and gathered the sand.
"And if she loses to Sinister?" David asked his body position changed to one interested. The woman turns her head towards him then looks away as the sand slips through her fingers.
"Sinister, this force could be called that, but it is not who she fights. The man is but a player, dark forces align, and they call for her power. If she is not careful her rule of light will quickly turn to dark and the world will know an everlasting destruction, the light blocked by a grim cloud of hate and death." The woman turns her face towards the sand.
"What is it" David asked, looking at the sand for what has caused her change.
"Beware those who follow her, She is in danger, the hounds of hell are leading her to a trap. The moon is fading into the third quarter and she is lost. Her warrior's have left her, alone she clings to the abyss. Alone she will fall into nothingness." The woman stated and drew in the sand. Salvador, Brazil.
"How long do I have?" David asked, memorizing the way the sand laid. A movement of hands caught his eye and he looked up to the woman in front of him. He expected her to draw something in the sand, or at least say it, but when he looked down the sand was changing, as it the wind was blowing it and smoothing it over.
"Not long. Find her David, then bring her here."
**********************************
The days flew by quickly, almost heavenly for both of the party. No sign of Sinister or his goons, but there wasn't any sign of Creed either. As the days passed, Jubilee's heart became heavy. Doubt crept in, though she hides it well enough. It was the subtle signs that Remy was beginning to pick up on. She played with her food as if something was more interesting then the thought of eating. By the fifth day he was sick of it, she was in a daze when no one was looking, or so she thought, and could only be roused after her name was called several times.
It wasn't that she was depressed, no it was the fact that her happy go lucky attitude became brighter as the days passed, her smiles less freely given and more routine. Where to take a mallrat in order to get her livened up, a mall of sorts.
"Okay, I'm so in heaven right now. Look at this place. There is enough clothes in here to last me a year." Jubilee stated as she looked around at the store.
"You're set den, have fun." Remy stated as he slide on a pair of sunglasses. Jubilee raised an eyebrow at him before grinning.
"And where exactly are you goin'." Jubilee asked picking a dark blue skirt off a rack.
"To go see what's been going on state side." Remy answered as he handed her some money. "Try to leave some for lunch."
"Ummm, nope, you're gonna help me pick out some clothing. I need someone's opinion." Jubilee stated as she put the dress back and went through the rack looking for something she liked.
"Dat, ma petit', is what dat lovely lady over there… we got company." Remy stated as shifted behind one of the taller dress racks. Jubilee raised an eyebrow before looking towards the window.
"Shit, they weren't supposed to be here." Jubilee stated as she looked at the two figures passing slowly by the store. "Blaze and Shasa, Powergeek isn't far behind."
"Must have bugged the jeep, or spotted us in Orlando. I'm thinking the second." Remy stated as he fingered a card watching the two cross the street.
"Okay, so we need to get out of here, dude put the card away." Jubilee stated as she looked at some of the clothes with a grin.
"Remy, ya gotta trust me on this one, okay." Jubilee stated and pulled off a long dress from the rack.
"No, Gambit not going to wear that." Remy stated before Jubilee pushed him towards the dressing room and quickly threw the dress over.
"Just put it on. I don't want to deal with the goons right now, besides if they brought pocket watch with them I'm so not going to have a good day." Jubilee stated as she pulled a scarf off the rack and threw it over as well.
"Pocket Watch?"
"Lady who can hypnotize with her eyes, can't remember her name, so, pocket watch." Jubilee stated before heading over towards the checker.
"Look, um, my friend in there, I was wonder if I could pay for the dress and scarf he went into the dressing room with. As well as that raincoat." Jubilee stated and thumbed through the cash she had.
"Sure, tell him not to worry, I've got a friend who would love to meet him." The lady said and Jubilee bit her tongue to keep from laughing. She sat down the money and smiled as she grabbed the jacket and put it on.
"Thanks, We'll stop by again sometime." Jubilee stated before Remy walked out of the dress room. "Remy I hope you never take up cross dressing as a hobby." Jubilee stated after she was out of the lady's hearing range.
"Are you implying dat I make an ugly woman?" Remy asked and threw the edge of the scarf over his shoulder.
"No, just I've never met a woman with a five o'clock shadow that's leaking over to ten. Come on, they'll be back over this way soon." Jubilee stated as she walked out of the store.
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"Are you sure Jubilee?" Remy asked as he sat on her bed, slipping on his dress coat as Jubilee sat on the bathroom counter brushing her teeth.
"Yes, go, enjoy the night. I'll be fine. Me and Bloom plan on having a long filled night fighting the evils of Middle Earth." Jubilee stated pointing to the rented movies of the first two Lord of the Rings trilogy. "I'll be busy for hours. Besides you're starting to get on my nerves."
"I'm not, prancing out in public isn't the best idea for you. We barely lost those idiots last time." Remy stated and Jubilee rolled her eyes.
"So, you admit it, you, the prince of thieves, can barely out run a few thugs. How tragic." Jubilee joked poking her head out the bathroom door, toothbrush in hand.
"I can out run dem any day of the week, just happens they had an advantage." Remy stated raising an eyebrow at her.
"Okay, okay, I should have made sure the dumb bag had a bug earlier, but it just happened to look fine." Jubilee stated and the sounds of rushing water could be heard as she rinsed her mouth. "Besides, you go out, woo the stupid blond lady, and tomorrow we'll head down to where ever it is you plan on going."
"New hotel." Remy stated firmly as he tied his tie. Jubilee sighed.
"We just changed to this one last night, How is Creed ever gonna find us if we keep jumping around." Jubilee stated, already knowing the answer, but felt like using it as a point anyways. Remy grinned at his image before turning towards her.
"Parfait." Remy stated with a grin and Jubilee laughed slightly.
"No, you look evil, an devil who plans on doing evil things. Go away, I shall not have my room tainted by your evilness." Jubilee joked, waving her hand as she put the first movie in the VCR.
"Good night, Petit, make sure to deadbolt the door behind me." Remy stated and Jubilee nodded as she fast forward through the previews.
Jubilee awoke with a start. Something very cold was on her arm and something was beeping in the background. She opened her eyes expecting to find the dimly light ceiling of her motel room, but instead found bright florescent lighting that almost burned her eyes. She moved her arm to cover her eyes but found she couldn't move, nasty looking metal cuffs bound her.
"Where the hell am I?" Jubilee whispered and tried to release some of her puffs to melt the hinges of the cuffs, but nothing came. She tried again, but only succeeded in giving herself a worse headache.
"What the… let me out of this or I am so gonna kick your ass. You hear me powerhouse." Jubilee screamed, images of someone entering her motel room in the middle of the night flashing through her mind.
"I'm afraid he won't be able to answer you… You'll just have to deal with me for now." A voice stated and Jubilee's eyes went wide as she rolled her head to the side. Sinister stood next to a table of instruments, inspecting each one carefully, before picking up a syringe.
"No…" Jubilee whispered as she struggled harder against the restraints.
"Now, my dear, that's not a way to great an old friend. Besides those are adamantium-enforced cuffs, even Victor couldn't break those. Now this may hurt just a bit." Sinister stated as he injected a blue substance into her left forearm and grinned. "But don't worry, it'll only get worse after a few minutes." Jubilee clenched up, trying to fight back the pain as it began to roll through her in waves, an ocean wave crashing into her and through her, only to return and repeat the process.
"Relax, it's only the beginning. It wouldn't do for you to pass out before I could get adequate results on your stasis." Sinister stated just before Jubilee let out a piercing scream.