In the caves below the institute, Jubilee was leading a group of children through the caverns.
The young mutant was reading from a book about the details of this place. "The limestone is easily dissolved by water containing small amounts of carbonic acid, creating caverns which form..."
"Incrementally over millions of years!" One kid finished for her.
Jubilee looked at the book and nodded. "Yeah. Right again, Spencer."
"Did you know that Carlsbad Caverns is as big as fourteen football fields?" Spencer asked her.
"Er, no." Jubilee answered, surprised by how smart this kid was.
"I'm going to be a geologist." Spencer explained.
"That's because you like playing in the dirt." One girl insulted.
"Do not!" Spencer cried.
"Do too!" The girl shot back.
"Hey, time out!" Jubilee stopped the argument. "These caves go under all of Professor Xavier's school, so we've got a lot of exploring to do."
"What kind of school does Professor Xavier run?" A girl asked as they explored further into the caves.
"Well, it's kind of experimental." Jubilee answered, not knowing how else to explain it.
"I bet you get to do some really rad things!" Spencer said.
"Some of us do." Jubilee said bitterly as she remembered how the others left her in charge of the kids.
"Why do I have to do it?" Jubilee whined as the X-Men were getting on the Blackbird.
"Jubilee, surely you've learned by now that there is no more important work than teaching the young." Xavier told her.
Jubilee pointed at the others. "Then let one of them do it!"
"But, petite, I'm not as patient as you or as wise." Gambit said.
"You know how I go to pieces around kids." Wolverine added.
Danny nodded. "Yeah, we would essentially be ruining their field trip if we stuck them with Wolverine."
"Then why don't you do it?" Jubilee asked Danny, who turned around and pretended he didn't hear her. "I know you heard me, Danny!"
"These students were promised this field trip months ago." Xavier said. "If the president hadn't called, you know I would have happily taken them."
"Yeah, how hard could it be?" Wolverine said as they all got on the Blackbird.
"That's not the point!" Jubilee yelled as the Blackbird left the hanger. "You all get to talk to the president while I get to babysit!" She kicked a nearby rock into the wall.
"Miss Lee?" The girl asked, interrupting her flashback. "Miss Lee?"
"Sorry, I guess I kind of drifted off." Jubilee apologized. "Let's go this way. I bet there are even more rocks to see."
They then came across several stalactites, which excited Spencer.
"Wow! Look at the cool stalactites!" He exclaimed.
An earthquake happened as the caves shook.
"Everybody, get against the wall." Jubilee ordered the kids, who obeyed her.
"Will it hurt us?" One kid asked in fear.
"No, it won't last long." Jubilee assured him.
"This is awesome!" Spencer said.
When the earthquake ended, Jubilee made sure everyone was all right. "Everyone okay?"
The kids responded in several different ways.
"I'm okay."
"I want to go home."
"Wow!"
They were interrupted as they heard something start to cave in.
"It came from behind us." Jubilee muttered to herself. She turned to the kids. "Stay here; I'll be right back." She headed to where they came from, only to find the exit blocked by several rocks. "Uh-oh."
Heading back to the kids, she informed them of the situation as she pulled out a beeper to contact the X-Men.
Spencer recognized the object. "Wow! Is that a Sat-Com 2000 Digital Beeper?"
"Yeah, I'm telling my friends where to find us when we're done." Jubilee replied.
"Can it get through all these rocks?" Spencer asked.
"Sure, no problem." Jubilee answered.
"Miss Lee, is it dangerous down here?" A girl asked.
"Heck, no!" Jubilee assured her. "These caves have been here a zillion years. Hey, I've got an idea. Forget the rocks. Everybody gather around. Until my friends show up, I'm going to tell you a story."
She knew the perfect story to tell as she remembered the last mission she was on. She could tell that story, but give it a more medieval fantasy twist.
"A scary one?" Spencer asked. "With lots of fighting and monsters?"
"Bad guys getting stomped!" Two other boys said in unison.
"Is it about a handsome prince?" A girl asked.
"And true love?" Another girl added.
"Love? Yuck!" The two boys said in disgust.
"It's all about that and a whole lot more." Jubilee said as she told her story.
Two peasants were riding their wagon back home when the horses stopped moving as they became petrified by the sight in front of them. There were two men. The bigger of the two was dressed up as an executioner, while the other was a typical archer.
"Hand the wagon over!" The executioner demanded as the two peasants scrambled out.
As the two fugitives were about to make off, a girl landed on the trail. She was dressed in a green tunic and sported elf-like ears. She was the warrior known as Jubilee.
"How come you get to be the hero?" Spencer whined.
"Because it's my story." Jubilee retorted.
"But that's cheating." Spencer said before they all heard more noises in the cave.
"I don't like that noise." One boy said.
"It's okay." Jubilee comforted him. "Caves always do stuff like this. Hey! You guys want to hear what happens with the bad guys?"
All the kids responded enthusiastically.
"Yeah!"
"Finish the story!"
"What happened with the bad guys?"
"Yeah, what's next?"
Jubilee smiled as she continued the story.
"It's her!" The executioner said in surprise.
"It can't be!" The archer snarled. "She is just a fable that peasants tell to give hope."
Jubilee smirked. "If she is real, then why are you so nervous?" She released a beam of light from her hands, knocking out the executioner. Her magic and aerobatics truly made Jubilee a person for evildoers to fear.
The archer grabbed hold of one of the peasants and threatened to stab them in the throat with an arrow.
"Stay back, hero, or this one gets it!" The archer threatened.
"Going somewhere, cretin?" A voice asked. The archer then gasped as a large, green, ogre-like creature tackled the man to the ground and started to beat him.
The peasants looked at the creature with fear.
"What manner of creature is this?" One of the peasants asked.
The troll glared at the peasants for their fear. "What's it to you, you ungrateful..."
"Hey, cool it!" Jubilee interrupted him, wanting to prevent a fight. She turned to the peasants. "This is Logan, my right-hand troll. He may look disgusting, but his heart is brave and true."
"We thought we were doomed." The other peasant said. "Thank goodness you showed up when you did."
The peasants then got back on their wagon and headed home as they waved farewell to their rescuers.
"What do we do with them?" Logan asked Jubilee, pointing to the two men who were tied up in rope.
"I'm wondering why they stole that wagon." Jubilee said as she inspected them. "They seemed to be in a hurry. As if they were running away from something, but what?"
"Maybe it's him?" Logan pointed to a nearby knight riding toward them on a horse.
"It's him!" Jubilee cried in excitement. She knew this man. This was Sir Daniel, the one who took her and trained her in everything he knew, making her an unbeatable opponent to her enemies.
"Jubilee." Sir Daniel said in surprise. "I didn't expect I would be running into you."
"Likewise, brother." Jubilee replied. "What brings you to this part of the kingdom?"
Sir Daniel glared at the two crooks. "Those two. They were with the one who had kidnapped my beloved."
Jubilee and Logan's eyes widened. They knew who Sir Daniel's beloved was. She was the Rogue Barbarian. A member of a tribe of barbarians before she turned on them, tired of their wickedness. She was a legendary fighter, so good that no one could land a hit on her. It was said that she longed for a strong fighter to take as a husband. So she had a tournament for several men across the kingdom to fight her in combat. Anyone who could land one hit on her could claim her hand in marriage.
But sadly, no one could ever touch her, as she was so skilled in fighting that she beat all the challengers. She grew saddened that she would not find the perfect husband. In her sorrow, she visited a nearby pub, where she saw Sir Daniel. Enamored with his handsomeness, she challenged him on the spot.
Not willing to turn down a challenge, Sir Daniel agreed. The two fought before Sir Daniel managed to beat her.
Happy that she had met a man who managed to touch her in battle, she asked for Sir Daniel's hand in marriage. But Sir Daniel wasn't one to marry someone he just met. The Rogue Barbarian then decided to spend her time courting Sir Daniel as the two became close.
"The Rogue Barbarian was kidnapped?" Logan said in disbelief. "Who could be stupid enough to do that?"
Sir Daniel had a look of bewilderment on his face as he gave the answer, as if even he couldn't believe it. "It was a dragon."
"A dragon." Jubilee gasped.
Sir Daniel nodded. "I had tried to slay it with my sword, but the strangest thing happened. I simply fell through it, as if it were a ghost."
"A ghost?" Logan scoffed. "That's ridiculous."
"That's what it felt like to me. The dragon then scooped up my beloved and disappeared through some portal, but it left these two behind." He pointed to the two lowlifes.
Jubilee prepared to fire a spell at the two. "What was the dragon, and where did it take her?"
Then something unbelievable happened. The two men's appearance faded as they were revealed to be ghosts in disguise as well.
"They're ghosts as well!" Sir Daniel snarled. He pointed his sword at them. "Where did you take my beloved?"
"Have mercy!" The executioner pleaded.
"We were forced to go along with the plan. Prince Aragon ordered us." The archer added.
"Prince Aragon?" Jubilee asked.
"He was the dragon." The executioner. "He has a medallion that transforms him into that creature. He is the ruler of a kingdom in the spirit realm."
"The spirit realm?" Jubilee said. "Is that where he has taken her?"
"Yes!" The executioner cried. "We were supposed to go back with him, but he abandoned us. Please, we told you everything; now let us go."
"Take us to the spirit realm." Sir Daniel ordered. "Open a portal like Aragon did."
"We can't!" The archer explained. "We do not have that ability."
The three heroes looked at each other. How were they going to rescue the Rogue Barbarian?
"How are we gonna do it?" Logan asked.
Jubilee thought for a moment before it came to her. "Count Plasmius. He may have some knowledge of the spirit realm. After all, he's a supernatural being as well."
Count Plasmius was a vampire who was a frequent enemy of Sir Daniel before the two made peace with each other.
"Jubilee, you are brilliant." Sir Daniel praised. "He may know how to get to the spirit realm. Let us make haste and head towards his domain!"
The three heroes raced off to find Count Plasmius, leaving the two ghosts behind as they phased through the rope and flew away. As they were flying, they heard Prince Aragon's voice in their heads.
"You two have betrayed me. You shall pay!" Prince Aragon stated as he watched them from a crystal ball back in his castle. He snapped his fingers, and the two ghosts exploded into green goo.
Prince Aragon snarled, but he realized that there was no point in getting angry. Even if those three reached his kingdom, they would never be able to take away his queen. Prince Aragon yearned for a mortal wife, believing it to be something that would put him above the other kingdoms in the spirit realm. He turned to his sister, Princess Dorathea.
"Sister, check on my bride. Make sure she hasn't escaped." He demanded as if she were a servant.
Princess Dorathea nodded. She had been used to her brother's cruelty for centuries and had learned to take the brunt of his wrath. She headed to the dungeons where the prisoner was being held.
The Rogue Barbarian was pulling at her chains. This was not how she wanted to spend her day. Earlier, she and her beloved were enjoying a spar as she tried another attempt to convince Sir Daniel to marry her. She was about to succeed when they were attacked by a ghostly dragon, which dragged her to this realm and locked her up in this dungeon.
"Please do not struggle." Princess Dorathea worried her. "My brother doesn't like it when people resist his will."
"Your brother is an unjust fiend that needs to learn a lesson on how to treat a lady." The Rogue Barbarian snarled.
"Prince Aragon believes a lady's destiny is as a servant for a man." Princess Dorathea said sadly.
The Rogue Barbarian was disgusted by this. "How barbaric. I feel sorry for whoever is forced to marry that evil egg-sucking son of a snake."
"That poor woman is you." Princess Dorathea informed her, making the Rogue Barbarian pull at her chains even harder.
"Absolutely not!" She roared. "I'm already in the process of courting another man, and I believe I've managed to get him to agree. I won't let some overgrown lizard take that away from me."
"I'm sorry for this inconvenience. I truly am." Princess Dorathea apologized. "But what my brother wants, my brother gets. That amulet he wears, which transforms him into a dragon whenever he gets angry, has made him a spirit to truly be feared in the spirit realm. None can stop him."
The Rogue Barbarian glared. "Then I will be the first."
The three heroes stood outside an old castle.
"This is where Count Plasmius lives?" Logan asked fearfully.
"He's a vampire." Jubilee said. "What else do you expect?"
The three entered the castle as they made their way to the lower levels. In a private room, they found a coffin lying in the center.
"This is where Count Plasmius slumbers." Sir Daniel informed them as he walked up to the coffin and opened it.
Count Plasmius woke up as he glared at the intruders. "For years I have laid dormant; who has disturbed my rest..." He stopped when he realized it was Sir Daniel. "Oh, it's you. What do you desire?"
"We need to figure out how to get to the spirit realm." Jubilee told him. "Do you know a way?"
Count Plasmius nodded. "I do. As a vampire, I have the ability to make my own portals." He waved a hand, and before them, a portal opened up.
"Step through here, and you will find yourself in the spirit realm." Count Plasmius said. "But do be careful, for it is dangerous in there. You wouldn't want to join them in death now, would you?"
"You sure we should go through here?" Logan asked.
"There is no other way, Logan." Jubilee told him. "Now come on, let's go save the Rogue Barbarian."
The trio entered the portal and found themselves in the spirit realm as they gazed at their surroundings in awe. As they proceeded to walk around the landscape, they realized they had no idea where to find Prince Aragon.
"How will we find them?" Sir Daniel asked.
Jubilee had another idea. "Logan, you have the scent of those two previous ghosts we encountered, right?"
Logan nodded. "Yeah, why?"
"Can you smell their scent here?" Jubilee asked. "Because if you do, then that means wherever they've been is where Prince Aragon is."
Logan started to sniff. "Yeah, I got their scent. Follow me."
The group was now in a kingdom with no life whatsoever, just dead trees and grass. At the center was a large castle.
"This is a kingdom?" Sir Daniel exclaimed. "How pathetic."
The ground then rumbled as skeletons rose from the ground, wielding swords and axes, as they surrounded the heroes.
"Come on, boneheads!" Logan roared. "You think you are a match for me?" He grabbed two of them and swung them around before throwing them aside as they crashed into their comrades.
Jubilee was firing her spells at the undead warriors, while Sir Daniel was striking them down with his trusty sword.
"You cannot beat me, not with my sword." Sir Daniel blasted a beam of green light out of the sword at the skeletons. "This is the legendary sword known as Phantom, the blade of evil's bane."
Working together, the three made short work of the small army as they were greeted by Prince Aragon, who stepped out of the doors of his castle.
"You fools!" He insulted them. "You dare try to take away what is mine!"
"The Rogue Barbarian does not belong to anyone, least of all a vile creature such as yourself." Sir Daniel fired back.
"You are truly stupid if you believe you can defeat me." Prince Aragon said as his anger activated his amulet and his eyes turned reptilian. His neck elongated as claws appeared on his hands and feet. Leathery wings appeared on his arms as he grew in size, with his skin becoming replaced by scales.
Once he was finished transforming, the three were confronted with a giant dragon.
"It is hopeless!" Prince Aragon boasted. "No one can defeat me in this form!"
Jubilee stopped as she heard more noises.
"Why'd you stop?" One girl asked. "This is so cool!"
"You guys sit tight. I want to check something." Jubilee left the group to see what was going on.
"No way the bad guy is going to stop them!" Spencer said to the other kids.
Jubilee saw that they were still caved in, so she shrugged and went to head back when she saw that water was starting to flood the caves.
"This could be a problem." Jubilee said. "I've got to get us away from here."
"Is everything okay?" One kid asked as Jubilee returned.
"Sure." Jubilee replied. "I just think we ought to see more of the cave."
"Well, why do we have to move?" A girl asked. "What's wrong?"
"Nothing." Jubilee ushered them deeper into the cave. "This tunnel kind of goes uphill. It will make it easier for my friends to find us."
"Can we hear the rest of the story?" Spencer asked.
"Sure." Jubilee said as they headed into the tunnel while water flooded the place they used to be sitting.
"Keep moving, guys." Jubilee told them as they kept moving further.
"Miss Lee, the cave stops!" Spencer told her as they came to a dead end.
"Oh, I know." Jubilee said. "This chamber's kind of my favorite. Hang loose for a sec." She headed back to see if the flooding had gotten worse. She gasped as she saw that the cave had gotten a new pool that was growing bigger. "Man! I just can't catch a break today."
As the water got closer, Jubilee unleashed a few pyrotechnics at the ceiling, causing it to cave in, separating her and the students from the water. "Please let that hold for a little while." She then headed back to where the kids were.
"What happened?" A boy asked.
"In the cave?" Jubilee replied.
"In the story, Miss Lee!" A girl clarified.
"Oh, yeah, the story." Jubilee said as she went back to telling the story.
The three heroes tried to attack Aragon, but their attacks went right through him.
Aragon chuckled at their futile attempts. "You can't touch me. But I can touch you." He then let loose a stream of fire from his mouth, prompting the heroes to move out of its path.
"What do we do?" Logan asked as Sir Daniel fired more beams of energy from his sword.
"I do not know." Sir Daniel answered. "He seems to be invincible."
"Nothing is truly invincible, brother." Jubilee reminded him. "You taught me that."
Sir Daniel grinned. "You're right. Everything has to have a weakness, but what's his?"
"I saw his amulet glowing when he transformed." Jubilee pointed out. "Perhaps that's the source of his power."
Sir Daniel nodded. "If we can get rid of it, then he may turn back to normal."
"Well, what are we waiting for? Let's go!"
Logan went to rip off the amulet when Aragon swiped him with his tail.
Sir Daniel fired beams from his sword, and Jubilee fired off spells, but Aragon blocked their attacks with his wing.
"Drat!" Sir Daniel cried in frustration. "He won't expose the medallion. We need to distract him."
"With what?" Jubilee asked.
The Rogue Barbarian stopped struggling as she tried to form a plan to get out. She noticed that Princess Dorathea was wearing an amulet like her brother.
"Does your amulet work just like your brother's?" She asked.
Princess Dorathea nodded. "Yes. But he is still stronger than me."
"Interesting." The Rogue Barbarian said as an idea came to her. "My nose is itchy, but I can't reach it. Could you scratch it for me?"
"Sure." Princess Dorathea went up to the Rogue Barbarian, only for the warrior woman to rip off her amulet with her teeth. Her righteous anger fueled the amulet as the Rogue Barbarian's eyes turned reptilian.
Meanwhile, the heroes were struggling to get Aragon to expose his weak spot when he swiped them with his tail.
The three lay on the ground, bruised and exhausted from the battle.
"You three were truly mindless to think that you could defeat me." Aragon said. "And now you will become ghosts just like me." He raised his massive foot to stomp them when another dragon tackled him as the two beasts fought.
"Sister!" Aragon shouted in rage. "You dare to strike me?"
The other dragon roared as the two beasts fought. With Aragon distracted, Jubilee fired a spell at his amulet, destroying it and forcing him back into his regular form. He was then stomped on by the other dragon as he moaned in pain.
The dragon then turned to the heroes as they stepped back in fear. The dragon got closer to them as it leaned its head down and nuzzled Sir Daniel, who was surprised by this action. Seeing that the monster wasn't paying attention to her, Jubilee ripped off the medallion as the beast turned back into the Rogue Barbarian.
She smiled at the astonished look on her lover's face. She gave him a kiss.
"I missed you." She said.
Jubilee then stopped as she heard an explosion and saw that the X-Men had broken through the tunnel.
"Watch where you're aiming those things." Wolverine said to Scott.
"We picked up your signal and got here as soon as we could." Scott said to Jubilee.
"Is everyone all right?" Danny asked.
"Yeah." Jubilee said. "You guys have a great sense of timing." She turned to the kids. "Okay, gang, last one is a troll!"
The kids came out as Logan introduced himself.
"Hi, kid. I'm..." He was cut off by Spencer.
"Logan!" Spencer said. "Yeah, I know, the troll."
Wolverine frowned in confusion while Danny snickered. "I like this kid already."
The kids were waiting on the steps of the institute as Jubilee came out with cocoa for them. "Who wants more hot cocoa?"
"It's odd, professor, but I don't sense the fear that I should from children who have been through this trauma." Jean said to Xavier.
The bus then arrived to pick up the kids.
"Time to go." Jubilee said to the kids.
"You haven't told us what happened, Jubilee!" A girl pointed out.
"Finish the story!" Spencer said.
"Please!" The kids begged.
"Story?" Xavier asked.
"I just thought we needed something fun to think about down there." Jubilee explained as she finished the story.
The four then stood in front of Princess Dorathea, who was wearing her amulet as she sat on her throne.
"I want to thank all of you." She thanked them before looking at the Rogue Barbarian specifically. "Especially you. You taught me that no matter what happens, you can always fight back against your oppressors. I will remember these teachings as I lead this kingdom into a more prosperous age."
Princess Dorathea then snapped her fingers as a portal opened up.
"This should take you back home." She told them. "I thank you again, and you will always be welcome here. Farewell heroes."
The heroes then returned home, where they lived happily ever after.
"Can we come back and hear another story sometime, Miss Lee?" Spencer asked as he got on the bus, with the other kids agreeing.
"Yeah!"
"Can we?"
"Please?"
Jubilee smiled. "It's a promise!" She waved goodbye as the bus left.
"Jubilee, did those children know how much danger they were in?" Jean asked.
"What danger?" Jubilee replied. "We all knew we were going to be saved by Sir Daniel, a yellow troll, and the fearless Jubilee. Got to go wash up!" She headed into the institute.
"You know, I think our young lady has always been ready for all the adventures to have in this world." Xavier said.
Danny chuckled. "Yeah, but is the world ready for her?"
