Notes: Yes, we love having K in this universe, and now that she's met Logan, we all know what that means… ;) After all, we put the OCs where they are desperately needed. This totally qualifies.
Chapter 12: "Hand to Hand Training Doubles"
Jubilee had been working on trying to track down information on this ... person ... for a few days now, and she was pretty well convinced there was just nothing to find when Scott poked his head in to check up on her progress.
"Any luck?" he asked.
"I'm pretty sure this is a fake name. Or letter. Or whatever," Jubilee said with a frown. "Fingerprints are coming back as negative to everything too. She doesn't exist on file."
Scott looked only a little surprised as he shook his head. "I suspected the name might not be helpful, but the fingerprints too?" he muttered.
"Not even the DNA profiles that Dr. Blue ran," Jubilee said as she spun in her chair. "Nothing. So — she's not now and never has been registered anywhere with anyone, and I don't even know how she would be."
"There's got to be something," Scott said thoughtfully, almost leaning over her shoulder. "I doubt she just appeared in the middle of a Wyoming bar."
"Well I tell you what, Oh Fearless Leader," Jubilee said, making a show of scooting her chair out of his way so he could take over on the computer if he wanted. "You come up with something and I'll run it down, but so far — I can't do anything with what I have, and any attempt to even look at a SHIELD anything with any of that information tagged on it? Blue screen of death. More or less."
Scott paused, glanced at the computer, let out a sigh, and then just nodded. "Thanks for trying," he said — before he broke into a small smile and stepped back, jerking his thumb over his shoulder. "How about we get you out of the computer room? I was headed out to run down a lead anyway, just a quick recon. I could use the company."
"Yes, please," she said before she all but bounded out of her chair and wrapped her arms around his neck.
He just grinned right back at her as he returned the hug. "It's the least I can do after making you chase ghosts for days," he told her.
"You didn't make me," Jubilee defended. "It's for everyone's safety, right? And it was more than I could get done over the other thing I was working on anyhow."
"Maybe I can help that that," Scott offered, setting her back down gently.
"Well sure, if you know who in SHIELD is in charge of SWORD," Jubilee said with a little laugh, not expecting an answer at all.
"At the very top?" Scott asked with a light shrug. "Unless something changed recently, it should be the assistant director."
"Wait, what?" Jubilee asked, totally taken off guard. "Are you kidding me right now?"
Scott looked surprised at her reaction. "No," he said quickly. "I dig some digging years back — why?"
"Let me — let me just chew on that for a little bit," Jubilee said, going from wide-eyed surprised to narrowed-eyed suspicion and anger the more she let that new information simmer. "I need to think this over before I say anything." She had a deep frown on her face that looked like it was just fueling her anger.
Scott tilted his head at her curiously but said, "Take your time."
She let out a breath and tried to get back some of her smile as she looked up at him. "Okay. So. What are we doing exactly about this K woman?"
"Just making sure Creed doesn't try and come after her for now," Scott told her frankly. "I found a lead, but I'm not sure it's solid, and I want to check it out."
"I thought Kate was blowing smoke on that," Jubilee said. "He's really after her that hard?"
"Seems like it," Scott agreed. He smiled at her almost sheepishly as he added, "That's part of why I was pushing you to dig deeper. She won't tell anyone why he's after her, and so far, she's been more stubborn than Logan on doing an evaluation. Refuses to even defend herself — and I doubt Victor Creed is on the look out for a pacifist."
"Well. Maybe I need to dig into Creed instead," Jubilee said as they headed for the hangar. "Figure out who he's working for right now, and that might be what we need to break that little mystery open. Though why the heck she won't just spill I'd really like to know."
"That's a good idea," Scott said with a smile. "Rachel tried too — but K just chased her out. I'd like to know what secrets she's hiding that carefully."
"Careful, Scott," Jubilee said. "Starting to sound suspiciously like the Director."
"There's no need for insults," Scott said, shaking his head at her. "I'm just ... curious. And maybe a little concerned."
She bumped his arm with her shoulder. "Well between the two of us, we should be able to figure out one stubborn woman, right?"
"You'd think so," Scott agreed with a laugh as the two of them made their way down to the hangar.
It wasn't too long of a flight out to Scott's coordinates, but even so, Scott didn't waste any time once they were in the air to turn her way with a sideways glance. "So ... this secret project of yours. Anything I can do, beyond telling you who runs SWORD?" he asked carefully.
"Well," Jubilee said as she let out a long breath. "Now? Maybe help me figure out how to trash a control device without burning him." She shook her head and decided she'd have to come clean somehow. She just … needed to figure out how to explain what she knew was going on — and what she suspected.
Scott raised both eyebrows. "What kind? We've had some experience there," he pointed out.
"Yeah, I know," she said quietly. "I'm not sure what it is, exactly. But ... I think it's sonic."
He let out a breath, looking more serious as he leaned back and clearly thought it over. "Alright," he said slowly. "What makes you so sure?"
"I really didn't know until Logan asked me what the noise was," Jubilee replied. "It's gotta be higher than we can hear. But ... Noh has some seriously enhanced hearing."
Scott pressed his lips tightly together for a long moment before he nodded. "He's been gone a lot lately," he said simply. "I know Henry's upset."
"He doesn't want to be," Jubilee defended quickly before she settled back into her chair with her teeth clenched. "But he says he has to."
Scott watched her fume, the frown obvious. He knew what he'd heard from Henry about the kind of risks Noh was taking with his own health, but he also knew that Jubilee wouldn't defend him this strongly without a reason. "Do you know when he'll be back next?" he asked. "Maybe we can pin him down."
"I never know," Jubilee replied, her frustrated tone slipping out in a sigh. "But I told Logan to make sure he's around so he can help me figure it out."
"Smart move," Scott said with a nod. He tipped his head to one side and let out a breath. "How long has this been going on?" he asked. "I know he's been ... off lately. He told me about the comfort bands or whatever they're called."
Jubilee just stared at him for a moment. "He started off with one," she said. "After he did a job for Brand."
"That makes sense," Scott said thoughtfully. "She'd have access to his homeworld, and I know he doesn't."
"But he said it wasn't Brand pushing him around," Jubilee countered.
"No, he seemed to like her okay," Scott agreed. "I think it was a gift, not anything else."
"But Hill...?" Jubilee said, and when Scott raised an eyebrow her way in a silent question, she let out all her breath and crossed her arms over her chest. "That woman has it out for him."
"What for?" Scott asked. "I mean ... I know about the Phoenix debacle…"
"Yeah, I knew you would," Jubilee said. She let out a sigh that seemed to move her entire body. "Logan seems to think she's just ... got an axe to grind on Noh. Logan shoved it in her face pretty hard that she screwed up with him. He was really really mad when he heard they'd put Noh in the Cube."
"I didn't hear about that," Scott said with a frown as he put the blackbird down at the coordinates he'd found.
"We ... well ... they got picked up a while ago?" Jubilee said. "I went with — like always. And all the way to Fury's office, Logan and Hill sniped at each other over it. He was making some pretty rough-sounding accusations that Hill didn't even try to defend. She was trying to reason them away."
"That ... doesn't surprise me. On either count." Scott let out a sigh. "Okay. As soon as we get done here, I'll start digging around what I know about SWORD. I'm sure between the two of us, we can figure it out."
Jubilee relaxed and let out all her breath in a whoosh. "It is so nice to have you back."
He grinned at her. "Honestly — it's nice to be back," he said as they climbed out of the blackbird.
The two of them made their way through the dense trees together carefully and quietly, keeping an eye out for trouble, though of course, they heard it before they saw it when an ear-splitting roar sounded close by.
"Ah, the sound of the dirty rotten …"
"Jubes, don't," Scott said quietly, holding out a hand to try and signal her to keep back.
It wasn't hard to find the fight after that — they just had to follow the sound of the roars and shouts and growling and occasionally breaking tree limbs. But when they finally spotted the fighters, both of them were shocked at just who was trying to take on Sabretooth.
To Noh's credit, he was actually doing Creed some serious damage. It looked like the two of them had been fighting for a while, as both were clearly bloodied, but Noh seemed to be keeping relatively clear of Creed's claws with a speed that the big guy just couldn't match. It was only when Noh moved in to get in a hit of his own that Creed would slash him or — as Scott and Jubilee arrived — grab him by the arm and fling him into the trunk of a tree hard enough to snap the tree in half.
"We are not going to just stand here and watch this happen," Jubilee said, already building up a plasma burst to throw.
"No, we're not," Scott agreed, his hand to his visor just seconds before he sent a blast Creed's way that pushed him back several feet from Noh, who jumped back to his feet like the tree hadn't even touched him and simply dove right back at Creed, hitting him squarely in the chest where Scott had hit him with enough force that it sent Sabretooth flying backward before he hit the ground.
Noh dove forward to attack, his nails extended in claws much like Creed's, and frankly, he would have absolutely won the fight if it wasn't for the fact that the last thing Creed wanted was to be brought in by the X-Men. In a desperate move, he reached up, not to defend himself from Noh's attack but to pull him in closer so that he could reach down and slash through the Kree warrior's legs. He took a solid hit for the move, with Noh practically slicing his chest open in a five-pointed pattern, but he succeeded in tearing out Noh's hamstrings — or whatever the alien equivalent was — making damn sure that Noh was unable to run or chase him down.
With Noh not much of a threat, Creed grabbed the young man by both arms and just whipped him with all of his considerable strength toward Scott before Scott could blast him again.
Scott found himself suddenly torn between trying to ease Noh's landing or dodging out of the way himself, but Jubilee didn't even consider it when she ducked right under him and let loose the plasmoid she'd been building.
The sparks and screaming colors fizzled and caught not only the clothes Creed was wearing but the flesh itself, and Creed was forced to clear out before the two X-Men could manage to re-group and come after him, smoking and bleeding and badly beaten — but still on his feet, at least enough to keep from being taken in.
Scott let out a sigh when he saw that Creed was gone and turned back to ask Noh if he was alright — or what he could do to help — but there simply wasn't any sign of the Kree fighter, and Scott swore under his breath. "Is this what he's been doing this whole time?" Scott asked Jubilee, starting to understand just why she was so upset.
She just glared his way with one hand on her hip as an answer before she turned and started toward the jet.
Kate was half pulling on K's arm as they headed to the Danger Room. "Look, I swear, I'm not Scott — I'm not trying to trick you into an eval."
"Well that's good, because I know I already told you — I don't do evaluations. For anyone," she replied. "Ever."
"Yeah, you sorta made that loud and clear the last two times," Kate said, shaking her head. "I just want a sparring partner for Logan's training. Sometimes it helps to see it."
"I'm not a very good sparring partner either," K replied. "And I don't need any hand-to-hand training."
"Please?" Kate batted her eyelashes.
"Hey. I use that trick," she said as she put her hands on her hips. "So that doesn't work on me."
"What if I bribe you with — I don't know — we'll order in your favorite food or something," Kate offered. "C'mon, I'd ask Jubes, but she's in a mood."
"Tell you what — go riding with me, and I'll go play pattycake with you or whatever."
"Horses or motorcycles or what?" Kate asked.
"Well if there are enough motorcycles, sure, we could imitate the shriners or the Hells Angels — but I was leaning to horses."
Kate stuck her hand out. "It's a deal," she said with a grin. "You help me learn how to kick more butt, and I'll go riding with you."
"Fair enough, I guess," K replied with a little shrug. "Lead the way."
With that, Kate broke into a beaming smile as she threw her arm around K's shoulders and led the way to the Danger Room. "I brought a friend!" she called out to Logan and Kurt once they arrived.
"I'm here under duress," K said flatly as Kate gave her a look.
Logan didn't really react at first more than to give her a second look, not sure yet if she was teasing or picking on Kate. "I guess we're paired up to fight," Logan said. "You girls ready to watch and learn?" K just half snorted at that and gestured to Kate.
"That's sort of the definition of why I'm here?" Kate teased. "I was hoping you'd show me how to escape holds, but if you'd rather just show off for my lovely lady friend, feel free."
"Yes. That one," K said, nodding. "Go ahead. Don't be shy." The two women stood side by side with matching smirks as K just waved at them to carry on, which got Kurt at least to crack a smile.
"What kind of holds did you want to work on?" Logan asked with an ill-hidden smirk of his own. "What are you worried about, I should ask."
Kate just shrugged. "Let's start with arm holds maybe? First time I fought the Marauders — you know, when we were doing our epic world tour? — I got my arm nearly twisted off. And I was thinking — you know, with Scott back in town after the honeymoon? — it's probably good to know how to not make the same mistake." She shrugged again. "I don't know. I was just ... thinking it might be good to mix it up instead of just learning kicks and hits."
"I thought you wanted a sparring partner," K said at a whisper over Kate's shoulder as she crossed her arms over her chest. "Looks like you have two for that kind of thing."
Kate grinned at her brilliantly. "Yeah, but I think Kurt just wants to stretch? He's not entirely healed up yet. So let him play with his best friend. You and I can let them do their thing."
K looked toward the two men for a moment. "Fine, but I'm still not sure what we're doing."
Kate leaned toward her with an embarrassed sort of smile. "Honestly? If you don't want to spar, you can just stick around for the instructions portion? I just ... need someone to hold my arms for the hold bit that's not Kurt, because then I'll never learn, and Logan needs to show me how to get out?"
"Oh," K said quietly. "You want me to be the bumbling bad guy. That ... well. I'll have to just get stupider to do that right."
"Like I said — I'm not Scott. I get you don't like evals. I just need a partner. And we can spar later if you want to."
"Okay, sure," K said, relaxing a bit before she gestured to the three of them. "No one's going to have kittens if I just, you know, don't put on a costume?"
"Do you have a uniform?" Kurt asked politely.
She laughed lightly and shook her head. "They found me tending bar. I have bluejeans and a tank top. Outside of an ID reader, what else do I need to perform my sovereign duty?" K asked with a little self-depreciating smile.
Kurt grinned. "Then that'll do just fine," he assured her.
"I had to ask — tall, dark, and … uptight was pushing for some … outfit. And I'm not down with that on the first date." The guys smirked at the little joke, and both of them relaxed a bit.
"Scott likes rules. He's just like that," Kate said, rolling her eyes.
"Okay then," K said, stepping back with her arms crossed over her middle to see what Kate needed to learn as Logan walked her through the first hold and how to get out of it, though when Kate seemed to be having some trouble breaking the hold, K watched them carefully with her eyes narrowed.
He was trying to show her a way out of a wrist hold to start with, but it was pretty clear to her that Kate was reluctant to try the complicated little twist when a bad move might damage her wrist.
"That ... doesn't always work for girls," K said suddenly, though it looked as if she regretted saying something the moment she opened her mouth. Particularly when the other three occupants of the room all stopped and turned her way with interested expressions. K let her shoulders drop as she sighed. "Women don't usually have as much of a grip to do it that way. Don't pull — don't twist away. Go forward toward him and roll your wrist down. Into the pressure, not away."
Kate looked over at K in surprise, then broke into a grin. "Show me?" she asked.
She paused but walked over and stood behind Kate — Logan's grip still in place — and she held up her arm to just show her how to work the break. But she stopped short of stepping in herself. "Drive forward and twist into his grip — it'll work."
Kate nodded, set her jaw, and let out a surprised little noise of triumph when the break worked. "Ooh, Logan. Watch out. I may start cheating on you with the new girl."
"Breakin' a hold like that leaves you open to all kinds of attacks," Logan pointed out as he let out a bit of a breath and tried to ignore the bouncing Kate. "Your assailant could just grab you higher up."
"I thought you were just doing breaks," K replied as she crossed her arms again. "And that works better for girls."
"Well, I mean, it's sort of comprehensive training?" Kate explained sheepishly. "I asked him to help me get up to snuff to fight the bad guys the X-Men are used to. You know. Since I'm the non-mutant mascot," she teased.
With her head tipped to the side a bit, K took a few steps back. "I'll just stand back and watch," K assured her, putting her hands up in front of her. "Don't let me slow you down."
"No, no. That was super helpful. Feel free to jump in anytime," Kate said quickly. "I like learning. I mean — everything. If it'll help me fight? I want to know it."
Kurt tipped his head at the two women and smirked K's way. "You know," he said thoughtfully. "I've learned from teaching Kate that she does better if she can see a move in action. Why don't you show us how you'd do it?"
"You … are one sneaky little punk. I thought I said I didn't want to do an eval," K said stubbornly. "I don't care how you re-word it."
"It's not an evaluation — it's an example," Kurt reasoned with a little chuckle and a kind smile.
"Yeah, I ... don't know," K answered slowly as she stuck her hands in her back pockets and shrugged one shoulder up a bit.
Logan gave her a little smirk. "Unless you're scared." She narrowed her eyes a little and bit her lip as she met his gaze.
"You know what? Okay, fine. Just don't get mad when I whip you," K replied as she brushed her hands off on her jeans and then smoothed the fabric of her shirt over her stomach. She squared up with Logan with her hands on her hips, and he looked like he was just holding back a smile.
"You're not going to just do the hold, are you?" she asked flatly when she slid her hands into a more ready stance.
The smirk turned into a crooked smile, and he just shook his head before he reached out and took her wrist in the hold. She let out a breath through her lips before she met his gaze and broke loose of the grip in a flash. As soon as she'd taken the step forward to break the grip, he grabbed her other arm and spun her around to hold her arms down in a bear hug from behind.
"Not such a great idea now, is it?" he asked over her shoulder, and she twisted in his arms to try and break loose, but he had her locked in pretty tightly. "I can teach you how to get out."
"I don't need you to teach me. Let go before I get mean," K warned quietly before she looked at him over her shoulder as much as she was able. "I don't like being held down, and I don't want to embarrass you in front of your friends."
"The whole point of this is to show her how to get out," Logan said easily. "So don't worry. If you think you can get out — go ahead and try. You can't hurt me."
K glanced up at Kate and a very amused Kurt before she tipped her head to the side. "If you say so." She took a moment to look over not only how he had her but the general area too.
With a low growl, K stomped down at his foot, but he was waiting for it and moved at the last moment, half chuckling at her approach. Before he could get his feet squared up under his center, she pushed backward hard and knocked him over — even though he took her with him.
She had been trying to pull away from him, but when they hit the mats, she positively threw her head backward and smashed him in the face. The shock was enough that his grip loosened just enough for her to throw an elbow into his stomach and break his grip. Kate was sure that K would rush to get away from him, but before she got to her feet, she spun around to kick him in the head.
Logan just barely got his hand up in time to stop K from nailing him in the side of the head. He just stared at her for a split second before growling at her and pulling her foot under his arm as he got above her and pulled her along with him.
"Hey, give it up before you hurt yourself," he told her — though it was clear to Kurt at least that Logan hadn't been expecting an actual spar out of K. And while it was the kind of thing that Logan usually lived for — it was pretty clear he didn't want it to escalate.
K let out a breath and shot him a little smile, with one eyebrow arched up. "Why? Are you scared?" she almost purred before she drew back with her free leg and swept his legs out from under him. When he hit the ground, he tried to grab her arm and stop her from slipping away, but slipping away had never been in the plan, and as he reached out, she whipped her legs up to lock his head between her knees. "Feel free to tap out any time, tough guy."
"I should've brought popcorn," Kate whispered to Kurt, whose smirk at watching K and Logan fight just kept growing wider by the minute.
Logan shifted to try and catch K in the same leg hold she had him, but she broke the hold he had on her arm and reached up to grab him between the legs. "Are you done?" K asked.
It took another moment or so, but to Kate's surprise — Logan tapped out. "We need to get her a uniform," Kurt said with a little laugh.
"D'you think she'd wear purple?" Kate giggled.
"Not my color," K replied from the ground as she just sat down indian style, and Logan propped himself up on his elbows and just ... stared at her for a moment.
"Well, if you say so," Kate said with a heavy sigh. "But you had some pretty great suggestions for mine."
"I ... don't know that I need anything flashy." She finally shot Logan a little smirk as he offered her his hand to get up. "I'd rather stay under the radar."
"So, yellow and blue?" Kate teased Logan's way.
"Great color combo, but that'd be a no," K said with a little laugh. "Though the stripes are a nice touch."
"Everybody loves the stripes," Kurt laughed, grinning Logan's way.
"Just you, Elf."
"Did … you boys have any other plans tonight, or was it just having us kick your butts?" K asked. "Because ... you know. You don't need an appointment for that."
Kate just laughed and clapped her hand on K's shoulder. "That was beautiful," she said. "Please show me some of that later."
"Might need a volunteer," she said with a little smirk.
"You can't break my Elf," Kate countered. "Break the other one."
"He doesn't seem very breakable," K answered. "And I don't think he wants to play with me again. Mr. Quiet all of a sudden."
Kate just leaned forward with her hands in her pockets and a wide grin on her face. "Not always. Watch this," she whispered with a mischievous giggle. She turned to Logan with a wide smirk. "Look, giant hug magnet, are you gonna teach me things or not?"
"I'll teach you to not call me that," he said with a little growl.
"Oh, but then you would be making me a liar."
"A lie by omission is still a lie," K agreed. "So, is that your official title? Hug Magnet?"
"No," he answered wearily. "Not even close."
"He also answers to Radar O'Reilly and Grandpa," Kate said.
"Ooh, that ... is not good," K said with a little cringe. "Maybe I should leave you three to … whatever this is."
"And miss the picking?" Kurt asked with a smirk.
"I think the picking will happen if I'm here or not," she pointed out as she rolled her shoulder to her ear.
"Yes, but it's so much more fun with an audience," Kurt said. "Because neither of them like to lose publicly."
"Oh. well. Then maybe we should both walk away and let them work it out. Come to terms with it," K suggested.
Kurt broke into a wide grin and pretended to look thoughtful. "Yes, perhaps they just need some time to stop being so stubborn. I'm sure privacy is all it takes to fix that," he teased.
K stopped and spun to face him before she took a few measured steps forward. "You are not subtle. At all." She paused and smirked. "I appreciate that."
He grinned back at her. "I am the drama teacher," he said with a little bow.
"Well that just explains everything," she said. "I'd offer to take you out — all of you," she said toward Kate. "But I'm apparently on house arrest for the time being." She walked over and simply leaned on Logan's shoulder. He paused just a fraction of a second before he put his arm around her back in response, and she just stepped in a hair closer. "So. What's fun around here outside of a little fight — where we won't be watched every second?" She glanced up at the booth where Jubilee had slipped in at some point during the back-and-forth and was just ... glaring her way.
"Well, it's not too cold for a swim in the lake," Kate said with a smirk Logan's way. "But you know, we can go anywhere we want without leaving the room."
She tipped her head to the side and slowly shook it. "No, I think fresh air would be in order — but I doubt swimming is the right thing." She shrugged up to her ears. "I don't have a suit — and even if you all do, I have rules about being the only one naked. And your Elf isn't an exhibitionist. He says."
Kate smirked at Kurt's expression at that and leaned over to kiss him. "Aw, it's okay, sweetheart. She doesn't know you're shy," she teased.
"Die Schatze," K whispered with a little laugh that Logan just smirked at, still watching her out of the corner of his eye as she teased Kurt and Kate.
"Who says you can't go out?" Logan asked suddenly as he turned her way. "Because I don't remember that being a rule that anyone ever gave a damn about."
"Sunglasses," K replied, and Logan just smirked a bit wider.
"Whenever you're ready then — we'll go." Logan told her.
"Are you serious?" K asked and just gave him a smile when he nodded.
"You promised me horseback riding," Kate reminded K with a wide grin.
"Do you all know how to ride? You can try to keep up," K offered. "Or I can show you how if you need coaching."
"If you need to, you can hold onto me," Kate said in a whisper to Kurt, illustrating her point by taking his hands in hers to pull them around her waist.
"Tempting offer," Kurt replied as he gave her a little squeeze. "But we both know how."
"Well, my dad bought my sister a whole riding stable when she was a teenager," Kate said. "Didn't stick with Susan, but it's still well-kept if we want to just pop over. See how many horses there are and how much sharing is necessary," she added with a teasing smirk as she tipped her head back to look up at Kurt.
"I'm game if you are," K said with a little smirk. "Boys?"
Kurt looked to Logan, and when he just shrugged openly, a few of the bamfs latched onto K and Logan as Kurt just held Kate a bit tighter, and in a few poofs of smoke, they were gone.