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Taunting Repartee

Chapter Sixty-Three.

Sunday night Charles watched his students and staff sitting around the table eating dinner. Jubilee's return had gone over well. Everyone had been overjoyed to see her and the girl had meshed back into life at the institute in less than a day, which he was glad for. His students needed the good news. He only wished Jubilee hadn't been brought back to them under such unfortunate circumstances.

He raised an eyebrow as he felt the presents of someone entering the grounds, a mind too fast to for him to track. It was then a cell phone rung.

"Excuse me," Rogue said as she stood up, taking her cell phone out of her pocket.

'Rogue?' Charles asked with a raised eyebrow as she answered her cell phone. 'Why is Pietro here?'

"Hold on a second, Joanna," Rogue said into the phone. 'Pietro's right outside?' she asked.

"Yes, he is," Charles answered.

'He's just dropping something off for me,' she said.

'From Magneto?' Charles asked.

"No, I asked him to get this for me. Give me three minutes, Prof and I'll explain, I promise," Rogue said as she rushed out of the room. "Sorry about that Joanna. What did you find out?" he could hear her ask from outside in the hall. He exchanged looks with his staff.

"Who's Joanna?" Hank asked. Charles let out a sigh as he cut into his chicken cutlet.

"One of Magneto's people?" Ororo asked.

"Most likely," Charles agreed.

"And she giving them orders now?" Hank asked.

"Kid's using the resources Magneto's given her. She's already told us that," Logan reminded them.

"Let's give Rogue the three minutes she asked for," Charles said. 'So much for this being a quiet night,' Charles thought to himself.

'Prof?' he heard Rogue call out to him a few minutes later.

'Yes?' he asked.

'Do you wanna hear this now, or wait till after dinner?' Rogue asked him.

'It's important, I take it?' he asked as he took one last bite of food.

'Yeah it is,' Rogue answered.

'What is this about?' he asked.

'Jubilee,' Rogue answered. He raised an eyebrow at her response.

'I will meet you in sub-level seven,' Charles said as he put down his fork and knife

'Okay,' Rogue said.

"Please, excuse me," Charles said out loud as he started to back away from the table.

"Charles? What is it?" Oroo asked.

"I'm not certain, yet. I'll keep you all informed," he said before he made his way out of the room.

Charles glanced up to see Rogue sitting in one of the chairs as he entered sub-level seven. She had two pieces of paper, folded in half in her hands.

"Rogue?" he asked, calling for her attention. Her eyes refocused on him.

"Hey," she said as he moved to sit in front of her.

"What's going on?" he asked.

'Brace yourself,' she said as she took a deep breath. 'I have a contact at Amelia Vought's who found out that Ameilia only found out about Jubilee through an old friend. A telepath named Agatha. My source doesn't know the telepath's last name,' she told him.

"How did you even know Jubilee was at Amelia?" Charles asked confounded.

"I just told you. I have a source. She called us yesterday," Rogue said.

"You and Magneto?" he asked: his didn't manage to keep the disdain out of his voice.

"Yeah, obviously," Rogue answered in a huff as she unfolded the pieces of papers. "And then there's this," she told him as she handed him the pieces of the paper. They were Jubilee's parents death certificates. His eyes widened in shock.

"Rogue, why did you get these?" he asked appalled as he looked up at her.

"Because look at the date," Rogue said insistently as she pointed to the date of death on the certificate. His eyes widened in shock: it read May 28th 2001.

''My god," he muttered before he stop himself as he glanced at both certificates. Jubilee's parents had been murdered months before she had moved into the institute last year. He glanced back up at Rogue.

"So, she's either being blackmailed or works for Irene and Agatha. How do you wanna handle this?" Rogue asked. He took a deep breath as he regained composure of himself.

"I'll- I'll talk to Jubilee myself and get to the bottom of this," he said.

"Okay," Rogue said.

"Please do not say anything to her," Charles stressed: Rogue eye's narrowed at the comment.

"I wasn't going to," Rogue said, her tone slightly annoyed. "Would I have come to you first if I was going to?" she asked irritated.

"Why did you even start looking into this?" Charles asked confused.

"Jubilee and me talked earlier. Both of us were apologizing to the other," Rogue explained.

"What for?" he asked.

"We were both being bitches to each other before the institute was destroyed. I kinda took out some of my anger with Magneto on her. She just shrugged it off: said she did the same thing to me," she said. Charles raised an eyebrow at that.

"Who was she anger with?" Charles asked.

"She didn't say. She got real scared, tensed up, tried to change the subject. Reminded me of my reactions to some very dangerous conversations I've had with you in the past. Made me ask a few questions," Rogue said. "And then I found all this," she finished explaining gesturing to the papers in his hands.

"Are you certain these are genuine?" Charles asked.

"I had Pietro steal them from the states records in California. You sensed his mind when he got here. It was him, right?" she asked.

"Yes, it was most certainly Quicksliver," Charles answered.

"Then they're real," Rogue said. "Unless someone replaced them before Pietro got there. Irene could've pulled that off. But why would she? If anything, wouldn't they be trying to hide the fact that they've been using Jubilee?" she asked.

"I agree. That wouldn't make much sense. But then the question becomes, where was Jubilee between May twenty-eighth and August twenty-second?" he asked mostly to himself

"I've never absorbed Jubilee. I have no idea," Rogue answered regardless.

"Nor do I want you to," Charles said quickly.

"I wasn't planning to," she said annoyed. "I got enough people up here already," she said as she pointed to her head. "I haven't had a nightmare in over a month. I wanna keep it that way. I ain't absorbing anyone new unless I don't have any other choice," Rogue told him.

"That's most likely for the best," Charles agreed. Rogue nodded. "Rogue, thank you very much for bring this to my attention," Charles said earnestly.

"Your welcome," Rogue said as she stood up. "Prof, I just-" she started to say before sighing. "I wish I had been wrong. If ya need my help, you know where to find me," Rogue said as she headed to the door.

"Yes, I do," Charles said. She gave him a sad smile as he watched her leave the room. Charles let out a sigh as he projected a thought: 'Hank, Logan, Ororo, meet me in sub-level seven.'

The doors to the lift opened for Rogue. She exited the lift as she saw Jubilee heading towards her.

"Hey," Jubilee said.

"Hi," Rogue said.

"Hmm, which floor are the gyms on?" Jubilee asked as Rogue turned to look at her. "I haven't been there yet," Jubilee said meeky.

"Come on, I'll show ya," Rogue said with a smile as she headed back towards the lift with Jubilee.

"Thanks," Jubilee smiled.

"Yeah, it's no problem," Rogue said as they entered the lift. Rogue pressed the button for sub level eight: she noticed Jubilee watching her movements. "You got any questions about where anything else is?" Rogue asked.

"Nope, just that," Jubilee said as the lift started to move. "I'll figure out the rest when I need too," she said.

"Alrig-" Rogue started to say before the lights flickered in the elevator. "I guess someone needs ta change th-" Rogue started to say before the lights continued to flicker, faster. on and off. Rogue moved up to the control, but the elevator stopped abruptly: causing her and Jubilee to lose there footing.

"Whoa," Jubilee exclaimed as they two of them grabbed onto each others arms to regain their footing. It was then the elevator started to ascend dangerously fast. "Ahh," Jubilee screamed as they both fell to the floor of the elevator. Rogue lost hold of Jubilee's arm as she turned towards the controls.

'Prof,' Rogue yelled out in her mind as she reached for the emergency stop button. 'Jean,' she screamed out as she was tossed to the floor again, banging into Jubilee. 'Professor,' she screamed out again as the lights turned off completely: it was pitch black. Impossible to see anything as the elevator reversed direction, now falling far faster than the lift was meant to. Rogue felt herself, lifted into the air by the force of the lift's movements.

"Ahhh," Jubilee cried out. "Rogue," she called out as she the other girl's hand brushed against her.

"Jubilee," she screamed as they hit the top of the elevator. Both of them let out a groan in pain. Jubilee let out another scream as Rogue managed to grab Jubilee's hand.

"Professor," Rogue screamed out as they started to fall again, the elevator again switching directions. Rogue felt a hand on her shoulder as they fell. To her surprise they landed on something soft. 'What?' she asked as tried to lift her. The whip lash from being tossed around was still wearing off.

"No," she heard Jubilee whisper. "Not here," she muttered panicked. Rogue finally lift her head to see they were in a bedroom.

"What the fuck?" Rogue muttered in disbelief as she fought to catch her breath. The only light in the room was coming from the moonlight from the window. She still recognized it. They were in her bedroom in Mississippi, in the house she lived in with Irene for all those years. "Why are we he-?" she started to ask. "Not here-" she repeated Jubilee's works to herself as she turned to face Jubilee: who was still on the bed beside her. "You've been here before?" Rogue asked in shock before Jubilee started to hyperventilate. Rogue put her hands on Jubilee's shoulders, rubbing softly. "You gotta breath, deep breaths-" she coached.

"W-why are w-we h-here?" Jubilee cried

"I have no fucking idea," Rogue answered quickly. "But you gotta breath. This isn't gonna help anyone. Deep breaths," Rogue said as she took her own advise. "Okay?" she asked. "Breath with me," she ordered gently: trying to keep her own fear in check.

"Rogue," Jubilee cried as she leaned her head against Rogue's chest.

"I know, sugar. I'm scared too," Rogue said as she hugged her. "Fuck," she muttered as she felt her bare skin brush against Jubilee's. Her eyes widened as she realized she didn't absorb her. "Fuck," she muttered again. "Jubilee, can you use your powers?" she asked.

"I never have powers here," Jubilee cried into her chest. Rogue's eyes widened in shock as she started to hyperventilate, herself.

"Fuck, fuck, fuck..." Rogue muttered to herself as she fought to overcome her fear. 'You can handle this,' she thought as she fought to regain control of her breathing. 'You have to handle this. Jubilee's two years younger than you,' she told herself. 'You gotta hold it together for her. You gotta be the one to take charge here,' she told herself as she took deep breaths.

It took a few minutes but she managed to get her breathing back to normal. Jubilee was still not handling the situation well. She was still crying against her chest.

"Everything's gonna be okay, sugar," Rogue muttered. "I don't know how yet," she added. "But it's gonna," she said as she reached into her pocket. "Fuck," she exclaimed as she realized her cell phone was gone. 'Course, it's gone,' she thought to herself.

"Rogue?" she asked as Jubilee pulled back from her.

"Yeah, sugar?" she asked.

"Do you know why we're here?" she asked.

"I think it might be cause I figured out they've been blackmailing you," Rogue said. "But I don't know for sure," she said as she stood up. She walked over to her bedroom door and kicked it as hard as she could.

"I've tried all of that before," Jubilee said. Rogue turned to look at her. "It won't open unless they want it to," she said. Rogue let out a sigh as she walked over to the window.

"God damn it," she exclaimed as she saw the window was nailed shut. Rogue walked over to her dresser and pulled out a shirt. She wrapped the shirt around her hand. Just as she was about to punch the window- planning to break the glass- a brick layer appeared over the window. "Fuck," she exclaimed as she threw the shirt to the floor.

"I told you. I've tried everything," Jubilee said. Rogue took a deep breath.

'Okay, fuck- … Okay,' she thought before she walked back over to the bed. She turned on the lamp on the nightstand beside her bed. "How long did they keep you here?" Rogue asked as she sat down beside Jubilee.

"I don't- I don't know if I should answer that," Jubilee said.

"I know this woman, Irene," Rogue said as her handed balled by her side. "If they didn't want us to talk they wouldn't have given us time to," Rogue said. "I've been where you are right now. Fuck- I- I am where you are right now. I've had such a huge secret, I didn't even know how to handle it."

"The worst part throughout all of it was-" Rogue started to say. "Is," she corrected herself, "having to pretend that I'm okay, that I ain't in any danger," Rogue said. "Trying to pretend I'm happy like everyone else. It's easier, when I actually have control over where I am," she said bitterly, "to keep myself isolated. The more time I have away from everyone else is one more second I could let my guard down and just let myself feel how fucked up it all is. I'm fighting to keep myself sane when all I wanted to do is-"

"Scream and cry," Jubilee finished angry. "You just wonder why?" Jubilee asked. There were tears all over her face, more flowing freely from her eyes. "Why is all of this is happening to you when everyone else has no idea what your going through? Nothings okay and you feel like nothing is ever going to be okay again. Ever. And all you want to do is scream because there gone. Both of them," she yelled, her voice cracking. Rogue felt tears form in her own eyes. "I will never get to see my parents again, ever," she screamed. "And then they took me and-" she started to say before she cried out again. "I couldn't talk to anyone about it. I had to be happy and carefree," she said bitterly as Rogue cried silence tears.

"But you don't scream and you only cry when no one else is looking," Rogue said. "And you just wanna to have one honest conversation with," Rogue started to say.

"With someone besides the people threatening you," Jubilee cried. Rogue nodded.

"I know. I know," Rogue said as placed her hand on Jubilee's shoulder. "I cried joy of tears first time I talked to Prof about it. It was so nice to just have the fucking option but now. Fuck- I- I just want the past to fucking die so it can just stop hurting already," she said.

"When they moved me to Amelia's," Jubilee started to say. "I thought it would be so nice to be able to talk about it. But everyone else lost their parents too and no one really wanted to talk. And I just- I still couldn't talk about what I really wanted to. I have all this pain and all this- Rogue, I'm scared all the time. They never said they were done with me. They could- they took me again-" she cried. "I can't handle this anymore," Jubilee exclaimed.

"Shh," Rogue hushed as she rubbed the girl back. Jubilee leaned her head against Rogue's chest again, crying. "You can talk about it, right now, if you wanna?" Rogue asked. "I'll listen," she said. Jubilee lifted herself off of Rogue chest a minute later.

"A month," Jubilee answered softly. "They kept me here for about a month," she said.

"Did they bring you here right after you lost them?" Rogue asked.

"No," Jubilee answered. "There was this mall," Jubilee said as a smile graced her face: through the tears. "I used to hang out there all the time with my friends. When they- when they died, I was taken to this orphanage, not Amelia's," she added quickly. "This place was- I just- I couldn't stand it there," she exclaimed. "I ran away and I was living in my mall for about two months," she said.

"How did you get by?" Rogue asked.

"I used to dumper drive, steal food off of people plates. I used to drive this security guard up a wall-" she laughed sadly. Rogue chuckled softly despite herself. Jubilee smiled at her. "But then I got my powers," she smiled. "I started putting on small light shows in the mall. I had a this little cup and people just started giving me money," she said happily. "When I could buy my own food- it was- it was the best hot dog I had ever eaten," Jubilee said with a laugh: Rogue laughed with her.

"I sorry you had to go through all that alone," Rogue said.

"It's okay I- You didn't even know me yet. I really miss my mall- my life. It was hard- but- I'd rather be there. I tried running away from Amelia's once. Miss. Harkness showed up. Said- she said I was supposed to be there. That I couldn't leave. Not until Professor Xavier gave me a choice," she said.

"And that was yesterday," Rogue finished.

"Yeah," Jubilee said with a nod. "Rogue, what are we gonna do?" she asked. As if on cue, the bedroom door started to open. Standing in the door way was Agatha Harkness.

"Irene would like to speak with you both," Agatha said. They looked at each other, both of them knew this was not a request. Jubilee wiped the tears off her face. "Now," Agatha added firmly: Jubilee flinched as Rogue stood up. Jubilee stood up next. She and Rogue linked hands as the turned to face Agatha. "Follow me," Agatha order as she turned away from them. Rogue took a deep breath before she led Jubilee out of the room.

So, yeah it's been less than a week since I updated. Get used to it! At least for the next five months!

You already took the time to read it. You might as well take a minute to tell me if I did a good job or not! Please review!

Speaking of which:

Angelpaint07 and Marigab: Thank you both for reviewing last chapter! So, that's what happened to Jubilee. I'm sure you both noticed how she didn't even really talk about what happened to her while she was Irene and Agatha's captive, but we'll get there! I hope you both enjoyed it and please let me know what you thought! :)