Chapter 9

"Mon Dieu!" exclaimed Aurora as she saw the image on the screen.

"Oh great, she's in for it now," Northstar shook his head. "She forgot that it's no use drawing him into the open…"

"You have to admit she lasted a long time against him…" Puck said.

"He won't hurt her, surely, it's all for show… sooner or later Heather's going to stop it…" Aurora whispered.

"How's she gonna get out of that… he looks like he's gonna pop his claws!" Walter shook his head.

"HE can't do that, can he?" Aurora whispered.

Wolverine's fangs were bared, and his fist was pushed up against the skin of Jubilee's exposed neck. Her own lips were twisted into a gritting defiant expression as she squirmed under him. Those remote cameras had tracked it all, and everyone fell silent as the seconds ticked into two full minutes.

"Look at that…" Northstar pointed. He saw a quick jerk from Jubilee's hand that was snared at her side. He blinked, watching as her hand grabbed the side of Wolverine's masked face.

"What's she doing?" Puck asked.

"Activating her power…" Northstar whispered.

"She won't hurt him will she…" Aurora whispered back.

"I knew she'd pull something… power's building up…" Northstar laughed excitedly. "YES! She's got HIM now…"

"How can you sit there and watch this?" Aurora yelled at him.

"Better question is why the hell Heather hasn't stopped this!" Walter shouted "Guardian! What's going on… they're in a stalemate!"

"Not till I see clearly… it doesn't look like either one's going to yield!" said Heather.

Michael Twoyoungmen's voice cut in, "Both their respiration and heart rates are through the roof. Adrenaline's surging… I think they might kill each other if we don't'…"

"He won't do it, I know he won't…" Heather gritted. "He's just showing her what he's made off…"

"That's the weapon X I remember… damn…" Puck mumbled in awe.

On the screen they saw the two faces fixed in each other's stares. Jubilee's teeth were bared considerably, her eyes glowing white hot behind her visor. The misting around her hand had increased to a steady glow, and Wolverine began to snarl low in his throat as the heat increased.


"Give up, darlin', give up now…" Wolverine gritted. "It's over…"

"You can't stop me like one of them… not before I'd barbecue your brains!" Jubilee hissed.

"Seems we're at a standoff," he breathed.

Wolverine's fist pushed harder into her jaw, and her fingers clamped down on his cheek, her hand increasing in heat on his skin. For five seconds their eyes met, wild and unfettered, Jubilee's body rising and falling under his hips as he pinned her, and he saw himself in her eyes. Her heart pounded audibly, and her scent reeked of violence, and an anger that burned deep. This was not the Jubilee he had reckoned with. Rather the glazed sleepwalker who was about to snap and incinerate him.

"Yeah, how about that… you are the best at what you do, but when it comes to what I do…" she trailed off before Wolverine snared her wrist and pinned it and her other hand behind her head. Why hadn't Heather stopped the test? What was she waiting for?

"I'm still the best at what I do, Jubilee, you have to give up now…" he panted, the animal rage supercharging him as it had so many times. With the adamantium he was now unbeatable.

"I won't give up," she gasped, unable to stop the anger that was growing inside her ever more and more. She was teetering on the edge of something, and couldn't stop the rage that coursed through her stomach. Everything was screaming this was wrong, but why couldn't she stop her powers from heating up? He was groaning from the pain, and some small part of her was glad to see him suffer. What am I doing… and why can't I stop… before I hurt him… I can't hurt him…

"I don't wantcha to, darlin' but you gotta calm down… this isn't about me beating ya… you've gotta stop whatever's building up inside you now, or you'll get worse," he growled. He still leaned over her, and she looked up at him, torn.

"I don't want to hurt you, don't make me…" she gritted.

"Jubilee… stop it… now…" Wolverine growled, retracting his claws and shaking her. "It's over… it's over…"

"I can't stop… I want to… but I can't!" Jubilee cried.

"Jubilee, don't' do this… this isn't about who's better. This is just a test… just you and me… I won't hurt ya… you know I never actually would… it's only a test… please snap outta it!"

Jubilee quivered under him, letting out a startled cry and choked as her hand dropped from the side of his head. She tossed her head back and forth, sniffling, "You almost made me hurt you… what if you WERE trying to hurt me… I wanted to hurt you back… but I can't…"

"Darlin I didn't…" he trailed off as she closed her eyes, and tears steamed down her cheeks as she went limp under her body.

"Logan how could you do this to me… " she sobbed.

"Aww cripes Darlin'… it's over… it's all right… I'm here Darlin…" Wolverine sighed. He tugged off his mask and reached down to stroke her cheek.

"I'll never be as good as you…never be good enough to…" she trailed off. Then he tugged off her mask and she knew he wouldn't have killed her. But what had possessed her to want to harm the one person she cared about most? The anger that he used for his purpose was now inside of her. Although she knew it was for the sake of the test, for an instant of a second she'd wanted to cause him pain. It shamed her. She would never be able to have him trust her again. It was a test, and she was sure she'd flunked it.

"Shh," he urged, kissing her cheek and tasting her salt there. "I've got years o' experience on ya… you're lots more dangerous than I thought… but there's a lot more ya gotta know… you need to be here darlin… this proves that…"

"I failed the test… Logan…" she sobbed. "I almost hurt you… killed you…"

"You'd never do that… That's why they… I'm gonna teach ya so nobody'll be able to hurt you, and you'll never go out of control like I can…"

"Logan…" she sniffled. "I wanted to hurt you… I couldn't help myself…I failed the test…"

"No ya didn't darlin, you didn't, I shouldn't have…" he trailed off.

"No you shouldn't have!" she yelled at him. "How could you put me through this… I thought you cared about me… I thought…"

"Jubilee, what's going on? Is this about me testing ya? Cause if it is… I didn't know… they had to be sure..." he asked her as he shifted his weight on her.

"You big jerk, why didn't you TELL me that this was gonna happen?" she yelled at him.

"Jubilee," Wolverine got out.

"I thought I could trust you, I thought I could…"

"Does that count as a win, lose or a draw?" Aurora asked.

"Logan, you idiot," Puck groaned as he put his hand to his head.

"Took them long enough," Northstar snorted.

"You just met them, how can you possibly have anything to say about this?" asked Snowbird as she sighed in exasperation.

"Come on, Snowbird, you can't deny they wanted to get into each other's pants the second we saw 'em together!" Walter chuckled.

"You have a very eloquent way of putting things, sir," Northstar glanced at him witheringly. "I can see why my sister is drawn to your rapier wit…"

"Don't even start with me, brother," Aurora shook her head. "If I wasn't so happy for Jubilee and Logan, I'd kick your backside all the way to Quebec!"

"You're a lover, not a scrapper, love," Walter smirked. "Don't waste your time on your brother… especially since he's more than hot and bothered…"

"Shaddup Walter," Puck whacked him in the back of the head. "Wolverine just blew his big chance at leadership… doncha get it?"

"I thought you'd be happy about that," said Snowbird.

"Well, I was just starting to get used to having the runt around again," Puck muttered.

"So, it was a draw, big deal… that doesn't mean anything does it?" asked Aurora. "She can still join the team… we saw she could hold her own…"

"But when the chips were down, she still couldn't bring herself to…" Puck said.

"Are you mad, she had that same look in her eye at that moment," Snowbird interrupted. "They are of the same fire…"

"Great, two psychos for the price of one," Walter wisecracked.

"All right people, enough with the MST3K," Heather barked over the intercom. "This observation's over…"

"So do they flunk or not, boss lady?" asked Puck.

"I'm still deciding, Puck," she answered over the intercom.

"You have to admit she almost whipped his backside," Northstar said. "Not bad… for a newbie…"

"Be careful brother, or I'd think you'd switched allegiances," Aurora joked.

"I'm going to pretend I didn't hear that," he glared at her.

"So, who's going to break the lovebirds up?" asked Walter.

"Good question," came Heather's voice over the intercom. "You and Michael will go over the test readings and compare them to her profiles. I hope that one of us will find a way to convince Wolverine that the test is more than over…"

"I'm not gonna volunteer. Especially since he's got six reasons to argue against it…"

"He's co leader of Alpha Flight, I don't think we can pull rank," Puck mumbled. "You're the leader Heather, you cool him off…"

"Good idea actually," said Walter. "You hear that Heather…"

"Michael, perhaps you can pull something out of your medicine pouch to calm their passions?" Heather said.

"As good as done…" came Michael Twoyoungmen's voice. "I'll be waiting for your input Walter…"

"Good as done. But what if he doesn't get the hint…"

"Perhaps I can provide an argument if he doesn't get it," said Puck. "If I have some backup…"

"This is a bad idea," Northstar mumbled.

"Since you idiots are intent on courting suicide, I will attend you," Aurora shook her head. They left the observation area.


"Attention combatants, please get ready to leave the testing area… the trial is over…" came Mac's voice.

"Damn, I went and hurt you, just like I promised I wouldn't," Wolverine cursed as he squeezed his eyes shut. "You've done nothing all these years but trust me, Jubilee, and this is how I thank you… I must be like him…"

"Logan," she sighed as she saw the anguish creasing his face. "No… you aren't like him don't even SAY it!"

"Jubilee, I'm not the person to help you through this, don't you see?" Logan gritted. "The others… they can, but after what I just did…"

"Don't say it," she choked as she raised a finger to his lips. "You're NOT like him… I know you didn't do it deliberately… you didn't know you'd have to fight me… please say you didn't know…"

"I didn't, darlin'," Wolverine whispered, his eyes fixing into hers. "You believe me?"

"Yes," she nodded. "Even though I feel like I want to beat the living daylights out of you… I can't stop what I feel. And maybe I deserve this for what I tried to do… to you… to us…"

"What?"

"What?" Logan asked, sitting up. "How dare you say that! You don't deserve to be jerked around, by anyone… least of all me…"

"I could have killed you as you killed me," she whispered. "That's what you were trying to test me on…"

"It was a test exercise, nothing more Jubilee. You KNOW I'd never do anything to hurt you…" Logan said quickly. "I couldn't… not after all we've been through together…"

"After all we have been through together…" Jubilee choked. "God Wolverine… all these years…"

"Jubilee, this isn't about what I think it is, is it? You're hurting WAY worse than if I…" he said as he saw the grief on her face. "From your scent and body reactions, you're hurting like someone whose hearts been broken…"

"What would you care?"

"Jubilee…" Wolverine said. "Damn... there are not enough words to tell you how sorry I am…"

"Then don't keep saying you're sorry," Jubilee choked. "You don't know what it's like to have someone you thought you could count on suddenly just take everything you ever thought was… and just twist it up and shove it in your face…"

"I do," Wolverine said gruffly, as he stroked her cheek and she flinched from his touch. "More than you'd ever know darlin. I'm not blind, and I'm not stupid. All these years, you've carried it inside."

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"Don't try to hide it. Darlin I know the way you feel about me. I've always known. An that's why I tried to stop things before they started. Because you'd hate yourself and me. I'd end up tearing your heart out cause it's just not something we should do…"

"Dammit to hell Logan!" Jubilee cried. "Just tell me once and for all that you don't feel the same way I do… look me in the eye and tell me…"

"Jubilee, I can't tell you that… because…"

"Why? For nine years I've done nothing but… oh shit, forget it…"

"Forget what? That you've been hurting for me longer than I have been for Jean. That somehow all those years that I've been raising ya, helping ya grow up, that it would turn into something else? I can't forget it. And you can't… and we're both stuck with what to do… I don't want you to hate me Jubilee. Don't you think I figured this might happen…?"

"I can't stop how I feel. You know that!" she shot back at him.

"Darlin', I know. But if something DOES come of this, I couldn't stand to lose you… if I couldn't…"

"Tell me now. Tell me that you could never be with me the way you wanted to be with Heather, and Jean, and the others… because you only see me as some stupid little KID!" she screamed.

"No," Wolverine said quietly as he shifted his weight. "I can't. I won't. This has gone on long enough…"

"You son of a…" she sobbed as she grabbed his face, and pressed her lips to his angrily. Her kiss was furtive and desperate, and she clung to him with all her strength.

However Wolverine pulled her face lightly from his, and moved his lips over to cover hers with a force that stunned her. He turned the desperate angst ridden gesture into something far more. Jubilee trembled as his lips caressed hers with a balance of force and delicacy that spoke of years of experience. "I don't want to lose you, Jubilee… Jubilation," he whispered against her lips.

"You won't lose me, you won't," she sobbed. "I won't let you… I…"

"Shh," he whispered, rubbing her lips with a gloved fingertip.

"Don't push me away Logan, I…"

"I can't… I daren't darlin," he said with his voice deepening.

"Because you feel sorry for me, or what?" Jubilee asked, voice cracking.

"Uh uh, never… I never feel sorry for you," he growled angrily, and she shivered. Lips moved together, and she moaned against the incredible hunger building up in her body at that moment. Jubilee wrapped her arms around his neck, dizzy with the sensation of his kiss burning through her like one of her plasma paffs.

"Jeez Logan," she gasped as she glanced up at him. His fingers brushed her hair from her face as he leaned heavily on her, and she didn't want him to move.

"I didn't want it to happen like this, Jubilation," he growled deeply. "You deserve far better than a burned out ol' soldier with a screwed up mind and a body that won't burn out when it should've decades ago…"

"Shut up Logan, knock it off, okay?" Jubilee scolded him. "Or I'll do it for you!"

Wolverine's last protest died in her next kiss, and his sounds were unintelligible. Jubilee pushed all the desperation and longing into that gesture, pulling up all those years that she wished she'd have this moment. Again he responded, cupping the back of her neck with his hand. Although she was shivering through the insulated uniform, Logan's body heat seeped through her quickly with its force.


"Logan," Jubilee whispered against his lips.

"Hmm what darlin?" he growled softly.

"You weigh a damn ton with those bones… I'd forgotten," Jubilee groaned. "And my back's all wet… you big goon!"

"Sorry darlin," he chuckled. She saw the gleam in his eye as he leaned down and caught her into another kiss. However he slid his hands behind her back and tugged her up so she was sitting in his lap in the snow. It was just too irresistible, and she seized his lips roughly in return, trying to see how far he would take this.

"So, did I flunk?" she chuckled.

"Well, I can't be more proud of ya… for a minute there you looked like you'd polish me off the same instant I would you…"

"That's not funny," Jubilee said soberly.

"No it ain't, darlin'," Wolverine agreed. He stood up with her in his arms, and gently set her on her feet.

"Are you two done?" asked a voice that made her jump, and she moved close to him instinctively.

"So, what took you so flamin' long to come bring us delinquents back?" Wolverine commented mildly as he kept his hand at the small of Jubilee's back.

"Did we flunk out?" Jubilee asked. "Gimmie the bad news now… I can take it…"

"Non, mon ami," said Aurora with a light laugh as she soared up to levitate a few feet about them both, while Northstar approached them from the opposite side.

"I am sorry for the interruption," said Northstar. "But Vindicator is most insistent that you return for a debriefing…"

"So, how annoyed is she?" asked Jubilee, worried.

"The usual amount," Aurora chuckled.

"Recess is over I guess," Logan mumbled to Jubilee.

"Great," she mumbled back, wondering if he'd push her away. He didn't, instead continuing to pull her closer to his hip.

"One of you clowns gonna give us a ride back in style, or shall I take the long way back?" Wolverine asked as he pulled his mask down over his face again.

"Allow us," said Northstar. "Unless you feel the need to…"

"Stop fooling around and let's go… you may be our co leader, but you still have responsibilities," Puck said.

"Oh let him abuse his power, he's earned it," said Aurora.

"Can it, three musketeers. I'll behave…" Wolverine waved them away dismissively.

"Want a ride?" Aurora asked Jubilee.

"Go on, Jubes, I'll catch up…" he said. "I think you could use some hot chocolate and a nice hot shower… since I pushed ya into the snow…"

"I'll be waiting for you," Jubilee said meaningfully as she grabbed Aurora's hands and the two of them rose into the air. A streak of white and black, and they were gone.

"Monsieur?" asked Northstar.

"I'll find my own way back, pal, thanks," Wolverine said.

"You shouldn't keep your lady waiting," Northstar said as he grabbed Logan under the armpits and shot off after his sister.

"Hey!" Puck shouted.

"Consider it a training exercise," Northstar teased.

"You sob," Puck shook his head and laughed as he swung up into the nearest tree, and catapulted himself over the fence. It didn't take long for him to catch up in his own way.


"I did flunk, admit it…" Jubilee groaned as Aurora landed in front of the main entrance to the training complex.

"Oh if you did, you'd have known by now. But let's get you changed and full of something hot… before your beau comes back…"

"Jeez Aurora it just happened so fast," Jubilee whispered.

"You must tell me all about it," Aurora smiled as she whisked her inside, where Snowbird was waiting with the others.

"Nice going Firecracker," Walter said, and Jubilee shot him a withering look.

"This firecracker would whip you into shape in no time flat," Aurora grimaced at him.

"Guestrooms are ready," said Snowbird. "If you'll come this way…"

Heather Hudson entered the room, and looked at Jubilee standing there. "Good, glad to see you back here in one piece…"

"So, what's the bad news?" Jubilee asked.

"You actually passed," said Heather. "Considering the antics at the end… but that will be stricken from the official record…"

"C'mon Heather, you remember what happened when…" Walter said.

"Don't remind me. And just for that, you get the joy of showing Wolverine to his quarters… I'm sure you'll make sure he's settled in…"

"Um, no thanks… from the look on his face, I'm one of his least favorites…" Walter muttered as he saw Northstar drop Wolverine off at the front door.

"What do you have to complain about?" Heather shot back. "I'm the one who interrupted their little…"

"Later!" Walter said as he rushed off towards the medlab. "Gotta help Michael with those test results…"

"So, Red, what's the verdict? In or out?" asked Logan as he strode up to her, his eyes gleaming with something between irritation and anxiety.

"She's in. But I am worried…"

"I figured as much, Red. Do me a favor and let's just say I should've shown better judgement…" he sighed.

"I need your expertise Wolverine. I can't do this alone," Heather said. "Don't start beating yourself up because you abused your power…"

"Heather, knock it off," Wolverine muttered. "I'm already doing a good enough job beatin' myself up over this. It was a royal screw up, and if I'd just thought before I'd jumped into this…"

"No, you knock it off, Logan," Heather said sharply. "You care about the girl. The only screw up you did was denying it to yourself and the rest of us, and causing this mess in the first place. Stop twisting the knives deeper and just…"

"I thought you'd be pissed royally that I…"

"It was bound to happen," Heather said with a wry grin. "And in a way I'm glad. About time you stopped pining over me… just kidding…"

"Well, jokes on me, Red," he chuckled. "But I don't want to mess this up. She's so fragile right now… I just…"

"We're all here for you, trust us."

"How can I think of leading when…"

"We need you, and you promised. So just give yourself a chance to help me, help Mac. What better place for you both than here…" said Heather. "I know she means more than just a casual thing. You're afraid that you'll ruin nine years of friendship with her…"

"I almost raised her," he said softly.

"We almost raised you, if you think about it…" Heather said quietly. "And that didn't stop you from having feelings for me, or me for you… she's not your daughter."

"You don't understand," he said with a sigh. "It's not healthy to fall in love with your parents…"

"Wolverine, from what you've told me, you weren't the only one she reached out to. What of your friends Gambit, and Hank, and the Professor? In more ways he was the father figure to all of you. I can't explain what I'm saying here, except that if this was so wrong, why would you have kissed her then and there?"

"I'm confused as hell. It feel so right, and wrong at the same time," wolverine said.

"Ask yourself this. Is your friendship strong enough to survive if you pursue this, and break up? You give her too little credit. After all, you and Jean Grey…"

"I didn't almost raise her," said Logan. "It's not the same…"

"You could have fallen in love with any number of your young charges, and you didn't," said Heather.

"I never had feelings like this for Kitty," he muttered. "But I guess I always saw Jubilee as an adult on some level… don't know quite how…"

"You're two of the same kind," said Heather. "This I knew from the first few minutes we engaged you two in battle…"

"I need to think," Wolverine muttered.

"Then do so with a hot bath, and some decent food… we've brought your things from the inn… I've made sure your room is ready…"

"Same one?" he raised an eyebrow.

"Mac and I always kept it ready, I guess we had some high hopes," Heather laughed. "Come on…"