Everything Old is New Again - Part Four

by Khaki, Loki, and Lateo


The Blackbird flew overhead, landing at the nearest clear spot in the forest.

The X-Men had an easy time finding Jubilee and Logan. They, nonetheless, kept at a secure distance before they had an update on the situation.

~Professor?~ Jean Grey asked telepathically.

~Hold on, Jean.~

~Jubilee, what is the situation now? The X-Men are a few feet away from you, ready to move.~

~I dunno... he's like, strugglin'. It's weird... lemme try somethin?~

~Be careful, Jubilee.~

Jubilee crawled to the struggling Wolverine, her hands spread to counteract any hostile move from him.

"Logan?"

No answer, but his thrashing around.

"Logan!" she kinda yelled. "Calm down!"

No effect.

"Logan!!!! Marie is nearby, and she's worried abou you!!"

Logan seemed to finally calm down a bit.

'Marie. Oh, Marie. I have to protect you,' screamed his mind. He visciously tugged at his hair in a desperate move or struggle to get back to his Marie.

"Marie..." he tried.

"Yes, Marie is nearby. Do you want to see her?" asked Jubilee, full of hope.

Logan's mind fell into a hell of memories. This Magneto guy, trying to use Marie for his evil scheme. Poor Marie... He had to help her.....

Logan struggled. "Marie?" he asked, out of despair.

Jubes froze. Ok. Now he thought SHE was Marie. 'Get a grip, Jubes.'

"I'm here, Logan. Everything's gonna be all right. Lemme help you."

"Oh... Marie.... Since the day I met you..." His mind rambled. "Protect you.... love you..."

Jubilee couldn't go down that road. Wow, the guy really had a crush on Rogue. Who'd believe it? 'Save it for blackmail later,' she thought.

"Logan? Listen to me..." she begged.

"..."

"People are coming to help us. You trust me, right?" she asked.

"..."

"They will help us out of here. Hold on to me."

Jubilee did hold on to him. She didn't really need to, though. Logan was holding her so tight, she was barely able to breathe.

"I'm tired," complained Logan.

~Move it, prof.!!~ she mentally yelled. ~NOW!!!!!!!!~

~Now, Jean.~

"The professor says it's ok," Jean said to her teammates. "But let's take it slow."

As they moved closer, they saw an exhausted Logan clutching a tattered Jubilee. The fear and confusion in his eyes broke Marie's heart.

"Logan," she said calmly, crouching down beside them.

Logan looked up at her, then at Jubilee, then back at her. Reaching out a hand to her, he asked, "Marie?"

"Yeah, sugar, it's me."

"Magneto?"

"He's gone, Logan," Jubilee jumped in. "You stopped him, remember?"

"You saved my life," Marie added.

"So tired," he mumbled. "Don't wanna fight anymore."

"It's ok, Logan," Jean said, kneeling by her patient. "It's over. No one's going to hurt you. We're taking you home."

**********

It'd been a struggle to get him to the clearing where the jet rested. The adrenaline, anger, and fear that had kept him going was gone now, and it was hard for him just to put one foot in front of the other. Jean and Rogue, on either side, helped him along, but the metal skeleton he had lived with for so long, weighed heavily on their shoulders, slowing them down.

Scott, sniffling from his cold as well as the weather, carried Jubilee. She had tried to walk out on her own, but every few steps, her heels caused her to stumble. She finally conceded to being carried after Jean warned her that she was bound to twist an ankle if she insisted on walking.

As soon as they entered the jet, Rogue, Jean, Logan, and Jubilee headed to the small medical area in the back. Jubilee instantly grabbed one of the extra Xavier sweat suits, peeling off her wet and ruined dress, and pulling on the warm cotton outfit. She'd wrapped a few thick blankets around herself and settled in for the ride home, swearing that as soon as they got back, she was taking a hot bath for hours.

Rogue and Jean laid Logan down on the small cot and he instantly fell asleep.

**********

It'd been more than 24 hours since they got back at the Mansion. But no matter how hard they asked, pleaded, even begged — threatening was out of question — Logan refused to eat or talk. Not a bite, not a word since they came back.

He stayed curled in his bed. They kept coming in and talking to him. Rogue sat for long hours by his bed, talking to him, trying to get him to eat something. She was the one who begged the most. She cried, too.

Those were the most painful moments for him, when she cried. But it would only be a few moments, a few days. Then, he would be free.

Yeah, free at last. Free from these nightmares, these dreaful memories. *A few days*, he kept chanting in his confused mind. They say you could die of thirst after 2 days. Even with his healing factor, it would go fast.

**********

"I'll have him sedated, and put him on I.V. nutrients," planned Jean Grey, readying the necessary items in the med lab.

Jean, Scott, and the professor were indeed planning on helping Logan against his will. Xavier would not intrude in Logan's mind without his consent, and he hadn't succeeded in getting it from him. Under sedation, Xavier felt more at ease to probe his mental state.

"Jubilee, did he say something out there that could help us?" asked Jean, visibly concerned.

Jubes was sitting on a medical bed for a 24 hour check-up. She hadn't suffered from hypotermia — a miracle given the ordeal. She didn't seem to have to deal with any trauma either. She came out of the events relatively well, both physically and emotionally. She really was strong for her age.

Jubilee pondered. "Y'know, he didn't say much. But when he came back... I mean... Anyway, he sure looked lost to me."

"I must find out what the problem is," said Xavier. "Jean, when you're ready."

"Hey! Are you, like, goin' to..."

"Sedate him? Yes, Jubes. You shouldn't be concerned," answered Jean, holding the necessary items for the delicate procedure. Delicate indeed! Sedate Logan against his will. But will was the problem right now: he seemed to have lost it all.

"Guys!!!!!! Wake up!!!!" cried out Jubilee.

"Jubilation, calm down," ordered Scott. "It's for the best."

"Let her speak, Scott," cut in the professor.

"Yeah, it's about time someone listens to me! Ok. Look, the guy's screwed up in his head. You want to sedate him, wow. Then what? Get a little joy ride in his brain, like a mental roller coaster, and when he wakes up, then what?"

"Your point, Jubilee?" asked Jean, growing impatient.

"I think what Jubilee is trying to explain is that we must deal with him, not with his subconscience," explained the professor.

"But we tried everything else already, Professor," pointed out Jean.

"No, you didn't! Lemme talk to him. Hey, I'm sure I'll get to him," proposed a petulant Jubes.

"Rogue tried. I fear that if he doesn't even talk to her..." said Scott, shaking his head.

"Yeah, like, he's gonna talk to HER! Gee, guys, you weren't there when he said..." Jubilee blushed. OOPS!

"Said what, Jubilee?" pressed on Jean, frowning.

"Huh... nothin' really..."

"Jubilee. Tell us," gently asked the professor.

"Well, not much... Somethin' about protecting.... and loving..." she stumbled on the words. 'Hey Jubes, get a grip.' "Anyway, he has a reason to act this way. Gee, I know for me, if I acted like a loony in the woods, OK, like a total psycho even, I wouldn't like to share it with anybody. He sure didn't like it a bit. Maybe he's afraid it can happen again..."

"And you think you can talk him out of it?" asked Scott.

"Yeah, I can try. That's better than sedating the guy, y'know."

**********

Jubilee walked into Logan's bedroom.

"Hey," she said as she sat in the chair next to the bedside. The lump under the covers didn't move.

"It's Jubilee, one of Rogue's, well Marie's, friends. Ya know, one of the chattering horde you try to avoid? Well, I heard that you weren't talking, and I'm a champion talker, not that you could tell in the woods, but it's rare that I get a chance to talk without someone telling me to shut up. I mean, I could go on for hours and hours about school, boys, movies…"

Jubilee proceeded to prove to Logan that she could do just that, chatting for hours about nothing. She loved a captive audience for her musings. Kitty and Rogue would never put up with her for this long, but Logan was stubborn. Of course, Jubilee was stubborn, too.

"I used to like Leonardo DiCaprio, ah Titanic, but he hasn't been in anything good recently, and now I'm kinda leaning towards Ioan Gruffudd. Ya know, from 102 Dalmations? Did you see Horatio Hornblower on A&E? He was in that. Anyway,…"

"Shut up."

"What?" Jubilee had been so used to talking that his gruff, low voice surprised her. She looked at the lump on the bed. The comforter had been pulled down a bit, so now she could see an eye peeking out. It's gaze looked sharp and a little angry, but focused. More focused than she'd seen him in days. She quickly switched the subject, "You ready to talk about what's bothering ya?"

A negative grunt came from the blob.

"I know what you're doing, ya know. I think I know why you're doing it, too."

A doubtful grunt answered her statement.

"If you think they're gonna just sit around and let you kill yourself, you don't know them. They're do-gooders, goodie-two-shoes, they know what's right for you whether you agree or not, and they're gonna do something about it."

"Like to see 'em try."

Ah, that was sounding more like the gruff Logan she'd seen stalking down the halls of her school.

"Ya didn't hurt me, ya know. Ya scared me, maybe bumped me around a bit, but even when you were completely out of it, and you coulda killed me easy, you didn't."

"Luck," he grunted.

"Nah, I think it's more than that. You're a better person than you give yourself credit for."

The comforter flew off and now she could see an angry Logan, claws unsheathed, growling at her.

"Would a better person have these? Would he use them the way I do?"

He was trying to scare her, but she could see in his eyes that he was still there, still with her. "It's not your fault that they gave you those. It's not your fault that they hurt you. You used those claws to save Rogue's life. I'd say that's putting them to good use. You don't have to be what they were trying to turn you into."

The claws resheathed and he held his head in his hands. "What if it happens again?" he whispered. "What if I hurt Mar… someone?"

"If it does, we'll deal with it, and I told ya, you didn't hurt me. It'll be ok." Jubilee said in a confident voice. Then, lower, "It doesn't have to happen, ya know. The professor can get ya help…"

"I'm NOT crazy!"

"Whoa, didn't say you were. It's just sometimes ya need to talk. I did after I came here. Had ta deal with some pretty heavy stuff, but it's ok, ya know. It can help."

Logan nodded. "I'll think about it."

"Good enough." Jubilee paused, then asked. "Ya hungry?"

"… Maybe."

"Feel like going downstairs?"

"No!" he replied quickly.

"Ok, no prob. I'll bring ya something. Any requests?"

He shook his head, with a touch of sadness.

"Hey," Jubes said, catching his face and pulling his chin up to look in his eyes. "It'll be ok. Trust me."

He nodded and then looked back down.

"Hey, do me a favor?"

"What?" he asked, quietly.

"Take a shower while I'm gone. You're beyond ripe."

He smiled, a real smile, and threw a pillow at her as she slipped through the door.


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