Why couldn't he spare me any of his precious time?

Jubilee still wasn't sure, to be honest. Their awkward interactions had finally come to a head when Cyke started nagging her to be assessed in the Danger Room. The memory was still fresh, as it had only been a month ago.

She hadn't had a formal test of her powers in over three years, and Hank had been itching to try out some new programs to collect his data. She had smiled complacently at Scott and shrugged when he had cornered her one morning, marching her into the locker room to change for the test. Walking calmly into the high-tech simulation, she nodded towards the observation room as a signal to start the program.

The lights dimmed dramatically and she was standing in an urban jungle, a dark alleyway to be exact. She heard three figures approaching, and scanned the area telepathically with the briefest of touches. She only found one thought pattern, Wolverine's by the familiarity, but he was there to observe for the moment. Which meant Scott was serious about putting her through the wringer to see exactly what was in her arsenal. Grinning wickedly, she felt the rush of air as two figures launched towards her from the overhead fire escape. Gathering the energy around her, she promptly disappeared.

Jubilee could feel the surprise of her teammates in the observation room, although Logan just leaned against the wall puffing at his cigar. It had taken her months to master the ability to control the light waves around her body, which for all means and purposes shielded her in invisibility. She was also able to suppress the heat from her body to a certain degree, therefore allowing her to avoid heat detection. But she knew that she could only maintain the shield if she was still or moved very slowly.

Taking advantage of her assailants' confusion, she ducked and twisted causing them to tumble over her head, hitting the ground hard. She surveyed them quietly from the shadows, noting their dark attire and weapons.

The Hand...how droll. Do they still think I'm a gawky thirteen year-old?

Tensing her body, she grabbed the bottom rail of the fire escape and swung upwards to somersault above their heads. Landing a flying kick followed by a roundhouse punch at the first figure's face, he staggered back. The second figure used the opportunity to slice a long blade at her stomach.

Throwing herself into a back flip she landed on a nearby dumpster and tossed rapid-fire plasma blasts at the first figure who had tried to sneak up behind her with a garrote. The small blasts hit his shoulder much like bullets…except for the part where liquid plasma melted his skin and muscle. The second figure yelped and screamed in pain as she increased the molecular excitement within his blade, turning it red with heat to burn the flesh of his hand.

Furious at her trickery, he threw a handful of shiny stars with deadly accuracy towards her. Meep! These aren't normal Hand. Hank must have programmed them with enhanced intelligence and tactics.

Phasing the molecules of her body, she fell through the lid of the dumpster, the stars bouncing against the brick wall where she had been standing. Quickly phasing out of the dumpster and through the wall, she edged around the figures as they pulled out dart guns from their belts. She circled behind them carefully and then took a running jump against the alley wall, throwing herself at the first figure's legs to knock him unconscious with a concussive paf to the head. His body faded away as soon as she had incapacitated him.

Turning on her guard towards the second figure, she saw three darts flying towards her. With a quick gesture they exploded in mid-air, disappearing before they reached her. Blinding him with bright sparkles directly in front of his eyes, she grinned in nostalgia. Sometimes the oldest tricks are the best ones. She swung a sharp left hook and then another percussive paf that knocked him backwards, unbalanced. He too faded against the pavement as he fell with a hard thud.

Not wasting a moment she blinked out of sight again into her refractive field, moving as quietly as possible when she noticed that Logan was no longer in view. She caught a glimpse of him above her on the rooftop, knowing that he had let her see him so that she would come to him. She scaled the fire escape in a few leaps, landing as quietly as possible in the shadows. But before she could attack, three hundred pounds of muscle and claws came flying towards her hiding space. Barely dodging out of the way in time, she flickered into sight, gazing at Wolverine with a confused look.

He just shrugged and grinned slowly, "I'd know your scent anywhere, darlin'."

Scowling in grudging admiration, Jubilee took on a readied stance.

Logan grunted approvingly at her no-nonsense approach. "Let's show them what you're made of, Jubes."

Nodding slightly, she launched an attack of spinning kicks at his face to distract him, while melting the cheap roofing tar beneath his feet. Not one to be fooled so easily, he leapt aside before the tar had caught his boots, wrinkling his nose in distaste at the acrid smell.

"Did I bruise your delicate sensibilities, Wolvie?" Jubilee teased.

Growling playfully at the old nickname, he launched an attack of his own, throwing hard punches accented with the whooshing sound of his claws meeting thin air as she dodged and tumbled on the defensive. Leaping and twisting through the air with the ease of a natural gymnast, she rolled to the ground and then counter-attacked. It continued for half an hour between them, a deadly but playful game of cat and mouse, although who was who was anyone's guess. They held no punches, but they knew each other's moves so well that it was a draw.

Sweating and panting from the exertion, Jubilee made her mistake by dodging a little too slowly, and Wolverine ruthlessly pinned her to the ground with his body. Drawing his hand back in a blur he moved to slash at her throat in the mock "killing" move. Jubilee smiled smugly as a shocked look passed over his face, and he paused mid-swing.

Concentrating intently, she had leeched the heat from his adamantium skeleton at the last moment, chilling him literally to the bone. With a less delicate touch she could force his body into shock as the cold seeped through his spine towards his brain. Pushing lightly against his chest, she rolled him over and in turn pinned him as his body shook with convulsions.

Straddling his chest with her petite frame she leaned over and kissed him lightly on the nose, and whispered "Tag…..you're it."

Logan gazed up at her with a hungry look, and suddenly he wasn't the only one shivering. As she released the cold from his bones, he stopped shaking and she offered him a hand up. She could only imagine the hell he would get for being bested by the "firecracker", but he didn't seem very concerned.

He didn't release her hand either.

Stroking her palm gently with his thumb, Jubilee was breathing hard from the exertion….but she flushed for a different reason altogether.

"You're good, darlin'. Damned good. Cyke's probably got his panties in a twist trying to figure out a way to talk you into joining his team right now."

He seemed mesmerized by her crystal blue gaze, unable to move. Then glancing down at their hands in realization, he dropped hers as though scalded. When the doors opened with Hank rushing in to check for injuries, Logan had quietly slipped out as Cyke and Storm debriefed her on her performance.

She had smiled coyly when they expressed their amazement at her display of powers, and she was quickly classified as an official Alpha class mutant. Insisting that she preferred to continue her research full-time and fill in on the team when needed, she had hurried off to let them to argue about whose team she would be assigned to. She wanted nothing more than to get back to her room to shower, change, and find Logan. No way was that infuriating man getting off without them talking about what had just happened between them!

But there had been no sign of Logan, his room empty from an obviously quick packing and his scoot was missing. A quick telepathic sweep of the area had confirmed that he was long gone.

Typical Wolverine behavior, get too close to the man and he runs. He was the one who had asked me to return!

She'd just have to corner him when he got back.

But a week had passed. Two. Then three.

There was no word from Logan, which was very unusual even with his typical escapism routine. They had corresponded every day for six years, and had never gone so long without checking in with her. Her worry quickly replaced the anger and frustration at his behavior. Even the Professor and the rest of the team were starting to get concerned. They had tried Cerebro and various contacts around the world but it was as if he had disappeared, and no one had any leads.

Worst of all, Jubilee couldn't ignore the sinking feeling in her gut that told her Logan was in trouble. The Wolverine she knew might go on a drinking binge when his emotions overwhelmed him, he might even go for a trip to Canada, but he wouldn't have gone this long without sending word to someone that he was ok. His absence was gnawing a hole in her heart, and for the first time she sought to actively use her prescience powers instead of just reacting to them.

It wasn't an exact art by any means, trying to go with her instincts. She had rummaged through his closet, grabbing an old flannel shirt of his to stir her memories. Inhaling deeply, she felt like a psychic bloodhound as the smell of cigars, whiskey, and a musky scent all his own brought back memories. With the Professor's permission she had used Cerebro, despite the fact it creeped her out.

Using her telepathy and memories she let her mind wander on the psychic plane, trying to get an idea of where to start searching. Half an hour passed and she had been ready to call it quits, when she felt a gentle tugging at her mind. Following the direction of the beacon she watched the psychic plane fly overhead in map form, the lights representing people's minds a blur of color. Finally, the map halted in France, refusing to be more specific.

Hrm...I was invited to that physics conference next week in Paris, but I hadn't planned on going. Perhaps its time for a little shopping and mayhem, after all?

She decided not to tell the team what she had learned until she had more solid proof. She was still uneasy with how her prescience worked. Plus she had a feeling that she was meant to go alone, silly as that may seem. So she had said that the conference had slipped her mind, and took a huge shopping list for all the girls with promises to bring back goodies.

They had all discussed Logan's disappearance before she left, agreeing that when she returned from Paris they would formulate a plan of action to find him. Saying her goodbyes, she had taken the next plane to France from La Guardia Airport and was soon on her way.

When she had arrived in Paris earlier that week she had visited old friends and acquaintances, putting out a subtle message on the streets that she was looking for Logan. The mutant community was by no means one big happy family, but the X-men had friends everywhere and they were now on watch.

The conference hadn't started until yesterday, and she wasn't sure what she could really learn from the sort of people attending. They were a quirky breed, physicists. Major corporations tried to woo prominent physicists to their projects by sponsoring conferences such as this one. Lodging was complimentary, as was food and entertainment. The five-star hotel had beautiful suites and restaurants, and was situated at the hub of Paris, near all the nightlife one could hope for. Lectures and topical meetings filled the days, and elaborate entertainment and dining was organized for the nights.

Well, I'm not accomplishing anything moping around the hotel like this.

She had plenty of time to try and understand her relationship with Logan later; after she knew he was safe...and had given him a piece of her mind. Her powers had led this far, and she knew in her gut that it had been the right decision. Breathing deeply, she released control of her mental shields and focused on finding Logan.

Its time to trust yourself, Lee. Let's see what these powers can do.