X-Men: Dark Mirror (20 page)

"I didn't notice you saying anything," Scott said. "Exactly. Why would I? Any idiot could tell that girl's doing fine."

"She's a mutant."

"Not everyone feels persecuted," Kurt murmured, but he knew that would be difficult for his friend to take as truth. Scott's experiences told him otherwise. Of course, as difficult as it was to be the persecuted, even the hunted could be guilty of the same sin, in another form.

Scott shook his head. "Fine. Let's move."

They walked to a nearby park and sat on the grass where they opened up the bread, dipping it into the peanut butter jar. They did not speak, but dozed in the waning sunlight, waiting for night. Kurt watched children play. No kites, but Frisbees and baseballs. He liked listening to their laughter, which was happy, unrestrained. They were not yet old enough to know about holding back, the disease of self-consciousness. Kurt had experienced it briefly in his teens, but the circus had no patience for shyness. At least not in public.

When it grew dark they went back to the grocery store and sat in the bushes on the edge of the parking lot, watching who went in and out. Ten minutes of doing this, and a beat up little Corolla pulled into a nearby space. The driver, a young man who looked barely out of high school, wore the store uniform. He never noticed his watchers; he had headphones on, and strutted his way into work.

"Bingo," Logan said. "That one's not going to be out for hours."

It did not take him long. The boy had forgotten to lock his door and everyone clambered into the car.

Ten minutes later, they were on the freeway headed east.

The way Logan drank his beer was not the first
indication that something was wrong, but it was the most significant, and Jubilee could not help but consider it a minor sign of the apocalypse when she sat beside him and watched his little pinky lift off the can. It was very slight, barely noticeable, but it was that subtle delicacy that made her antenna go boom-boom. She watched him take a long swallow of beer with the same startled interest reserved for particularly nasty cases of foot fungus, dudes dressed as Klingons, or old white guys who thought it was okay to run around with their shirts off.

She said, "Hey, are you feeling all right?"

"Peachy," he said. "Why do you ask?"

"Nothing. You just seem a little ... different... since you got back from Seattle."

"Just your imagination."

"Right." She scooted a little closer. "So, remember that talk we had before you left?"

He never looked at her, just drank his beer. The sports channel was on, but he switched it to the news.

"Wolvie?"

"I heard you. Remind me."

"Oh," she said, disappointed. "You were going to take me to Japan this year. When you visit Mariko."

Mariko, who was dead and gone. Jubilee still remembered a rainy night, years past, when Logan had huddled over her grave, sobbing his heart out like he could bring her back with tears or pain. Every year he visited her, every year on a special day. He always went alone. He always left without telling anyone. This time, Jubilee wanted to go, too. Not to intrude, but to be that friend she thought he needed.

And besides, traveling with Logan—no matter how sad the circumstances—was always an adventure. She needed one of those right now. Bad.

"Mariko," he finally said. "Sure thing, kid. It'll be nice to see her again."

Jubilee blinked. Logan picked up the remote control and changed the channel. Gunshots filled the air and he grinned.

She stood up and left the room. Logan did not say good-bye.

Jubilee found Remy in the garage, stretched out on the ground beneath his car. She grabbed his ankles and yanked hard. Something thumped, she heard him swear, and then he rolled the rest of the way out, holding his head.

"Make this good or else I'm cuttin' your new jacket."

'You're evil," she said, "but not as evil as Wolverine. Dude is
not
the same."

Remy sat up. "Tell me."

Jubilee resisted the urge to hug him. Things like this were why she liked Gambit second-best only to Wolvie. He took her seriously. He always listened. She scooted close, and in a low voice said, "First of all, he's holding his beer like a girl. Like, not a real girl, 'cause he's not all dainty and stuff, but there was some pinky action going on, like, a real honest-to-God pinky lift, and then he needed me to remind him of this conversation we had, which never happens because Wolvie always remembers everything—no exaggeration—and this was big, Remy, real big, because I asked him to take me to Japan with him this year, you know, when he visits Mariko's grave, and when I said that—when I said that, do you know what he told me? He said, 'It'll be nice to see her again.' And I was like, holy crap.
Nice to see her again?"

Remy frowned. "Maybe he meant to say it a different way. Maybe it just came out wrong."

"It came out wrong like a fifty-pound baby, Remy. Wolvie doesn't do wrong like that. He says what he means."

"Okay, then." Remy briefly shut his eyes. "Okay. So something's different. He's not the same man. You don't mean that literally, do you,
ma petite?"

"Don't ask me!" she said. "Jeez, who's the adult here?"

Remy gave her a dirty look. "We need to talk to 'Ro."

"No kidding. Have you noticed anything weird? Like, with Rogue?"

"I haven't seen her much," Remy confessed. "She's been staying in her room a lot."

"I find that highly suspicious."

"That's not sayin' much. Mood you're in, you'd persecute a kitten."

"Right on, dude. Down with 'em all." She stood up, gesturing for Remy to do the same. "Now move it! We're in the middle of
Invasion of the Body Snatchers,
here. No time to relax."

Remy grumbled something unflattering. They went to find Ororo.

The phone rang as they entered the main hall. There were several public phones placed through the Mansion; easy access for anyone who needed to make a call or answer one. Jubilee was only three steps away from the receiver when Scott came bursting out of a side office. He blocked the phone with his body and picked up the receiver.

"Hey," Jubilee said, smacking him on the shoulder. He ignored her. She
hated
that.

She heard him say the name "Mindy" and then everything else was a garbled mess and he hung up the phone.

"Who's
Mindy?"

"A wrong number," Scott said, turning around to face them.

"We don't usually get wrong numbers," Remy said. "You sure?"

"You think I wouldn't be?" There was a challenge in his voice that didn't sound like him at all, and made Jubilee uneasy. She grabbed Remy's hand and tugged him away.

"S'kay, Cyke," she said. "We believe you."

"That's better," he said, in a self-important tone that for a moment carried the subtle hint of an odd accent. Giving them one last hard look, he returned to his office and shut the door.

"You were sayin' something about Body Snatching?" Remy said.

"Uh-huh," she said, sick.

It went unsaid between them, but as they walked through the Mansion they took care to avoid the rest of the team, those who had gone to Seattle. Jubilee was not quite sure how to hide her suspicions from a psychic like Jean—it was possible, even, that she was already aware that Jubilee was getting Freaked Out. If that was the case, then the game was up. Until she found out for certain, though, her strategy was simple: avoid, avoid, avoid.

And then, if she had to, kick some butt. Yeah, baby.

They found Ororo in Xavier's study, sitting behind his desk like she belonged there. For a moment, Jubilee felt a pang of anxiety, and then Ororo looked up from the paperwork in front of her and smiled. A real smile, genuine and utterly familiar. Jubilee sighed.

"You feel like going out for dinner?" Remy asked, closing the door behind him. "I know a great little spot in town you haven't tried yet."

"I do not think so," Ororo said, looking curiously at him. "One of us has to stay here and watch the students."

"Ah," he said, and looked at Jubilee with a smile tainted by bitterness. 'You just told me all I need to know, 'Ro."

"Excuse me?"

"You don' trust them, either. Scott, and the others."

Ororo s breath caught. Jubilee said, "You didn't even think about it, did you? You completely marked them
off."

"No," Ororo said, but Jubilee shook her head.

"You did. It's like us. You feel that weird vibe."

"More'n a vibe," Remy added. "Something happened on that mission to Seattle. The others came back ... different."

"Rogue's silence can be blamed on trauma," Ororo began, but Remy raised his hand.

"It's not just Rogue. It
's
Kurt, too. Scott and Jean. Wolverine? They're different, 'Ro. I can't tell you how, but it's real. Haven't you noticed?"

"Maybe," Ororo conceded slowly. "I must admit, I turned on the psychic dampeners when I entered this office. I would say, in all likelihood, that this is the only safe place in the Mansion for us to talk."

Jubilee's eyes widened. "You went that far and you're still arguing with us?"

Remy frowned. 'You think Jean's been compromised?"

"Compromised? I don't know if anyone has been 'compromised.' Only, you're right. Something
is
different with them. Something ... not right."

"Duh," Jubilee said. "I think you can leave the understatements at home, Storm. Now is the time for big honkin' gestures."

"Like body snatching," Remy added.

Ororo raised her eyebrows. "I do not think so."

"I
totally
think so," Jubilee said. "Have you been paying attention to the way they're acting? Wolverine is off his rocker. In tiny ways, maybe, but off. So is Scott. I haven't seen Kurt lately, but if he's anything like the others, I'm gonna start sleeping with a knife under my pillow."

"This is ridiculous," Ororo said. "Remy?"

"I'm beginning to agree with her, 'Ro. Considering all the crazy and powerful people we've met over the years, can you really discount the possibility?"

"That five of the most powerful mutants in the world are being possessed by some unknown entity? I don't want to consider the possibility. It makes me sick to my stomach." Ororo closed her eyes, pinching the bridge of her nose. "Let's say you are right. What reason would someone do this?"

"Power, money, out to ruin us ... does it matter? The real question is, has it been done, and if so, how do we reverse it?" Remy reached into his pocket and pulled out a deck of cards. He started shuffling, which was a pure sign of anxiety in Jubilee's book.

"How about Professor X?" Jubilee said. "He could figure this out in no time flat."

"I have been trying to call him," Ororo said. "I keep receiving a busy signal on the other end."

"You sure it's the other end?" Rerny asked. "Maybe there's a reason you can't get ahold of him. A reason that starts here."

Ororo's jaw tightened. "Ever since they returned, I have been trying to convince myself that the differences I sensed were due to some trauma none of them wished to discuss. I was going to respect that, and wait. Now . . . now you have me scared."

"Good," Jubilee said. " 'Cause I'm ready to pee my pants."

"Yes, well." Ororo stood, smoothing out her dress. "I think it is time for a field trip. Every single student here at the Mansion needs to attend, don't you think?"

"Absolument,"
Remy said. "Something overnight? Perhaps in the city?"

"I have a dear friend in New York who might be willing to help chaperone. She has a rather spacious town- house that would accommodate all the children who are here during break. Jubilee, I would also be counting on you to help her."

Jubilee coughed back a laugh. 'You have got to be kidding. No way, Storm. I'm staying here." "No."

'Yes. You need all the help you can get."

"You're only fifteen."

"And who taught me everything I know? What age was I when I first joined the X-Men? You never treated me like a kid, then."

"I do not have time for this," Ororo said, but Remy shook his head.

"Let her stay, 'Ro. She's right. We need help."

"You might as well have me keep all the students here," she muttered, but then shook her head and said, "Fine. You may stay."