Lamentation: Part 2

by Shaianne K. PeriHawk

Don't look at me like that. Regardless of what you think, Lament is not a thinly disguised version of me. All you have to do is look at my other stories to see that. Those are thinly disguised perfected versions of myself. Don't judge her yet. Wait a couple chapters, and if you have any suggestions to make sure she stays original, be my guest. And hey, I may yet kill off Wolverine. He was an a$$ when he left to lick his wounds. Jubes is better off without him. Hey, I could get Sabretoothe to host it!
Disclaimer: I like the X teams and all, but I'm not quite creative enough to make them all up. So, yeah, they're not mine. I have my own crazy universe to deal with. So if you want to sue me, *rummages around in her jeans pockets, and pulls out a ball of lint, a student ID and 26 cents* there you go. That's about all I'm worth. As for Lament, use her all you want, all I need is another personality in my head.

Lament, Shadow Cat, and Wolverine flowed through the shadows of the GenX school. Though the team was as silent as death, Jubilee woke the moment Wolverine appeared in her window. Though her eyes blinked sleepil, he coul sense the tension in every fiber fo her body.

"It's me Jubilee," he spoke quietly, stepping down from the windowsill.

"I know, I woulda paffed ya otherwise." She pulled her sheet up over her thighs. She didn't quite sleep in the buff. "What are you doing here?" Her eyes unfocused for barely half a second. "With guests?"<> Wolverine blinked. "Damn, kid, yer gettin' good."

"Don't call her kid," Lament said from the window. "And she's really good, Logan, you'd be surprised." Now uncomfortable, Lament nearly tripped as she dropped out of the window frame.

Jubilee's face turned white. "La-me?"

"Ju-be, yes, it's me."

Jubilee leapt out of bed and crushed Lament into a bear hug. "I can't believe you're alive! After you disappeared, then Mom and Dad died-" Tears flowed down both girl's faces as they held on to eachother.

"Some person found out we were mutants, and he took me. I'm kinda fuzzy on the details, but he took me as far as Phoenix, Arizona b'fore the doc picked me up." Lament's voice was muffled in Jubilee's shoulder. "Then I started hearin' all about you 'cause of the doc's obsession with your partner here. I was so happy you were still alive!"

Neither sister noticed Wolverine's reaction to the word "partner".

Finally, the girls separated.

"If you k- two are done, we need to get back to blue-boy's lab," Wolverine grumbled.

Jubilee's eyebrows drew together. "Huh?"

Lament looked up into her sister's face. She swallowed several times. "I have the cure to the Legacy Virus," she explained quietly.

Jubilee gaped. "How?"

"My mutant power, they're the key. I'm like a boost to almost anyone's powers."

Jubilee turned fearful blue eyes to Wolverine. Bith Lament and Wolverine nodded silently. "We figured Em would give you permission to be at the mansion," Wolverine said quietly. Jubilee fell into Wolverine's arms.

"This better work," she mumbled. Neither Wolverine nor Lament responded. Jubilee backed away from Wolverine. "I'd better go tell Frosty."

"Ahem, 'Frosty' knows," said Emma Frost, the White Queen, from the now-open doorway. "I woul like to speak to you, Logan, while Jubilee packs." Wolverine followed Emma out the door and down the stairs.

"What is it?"

Emma's cool demeanor melted a bit. "Other than the usual death threats, nothing." She went to the kitchen and poured a drink. "The Legacy Virus, do you think you can do it, Logan? Does this girl know what she's trying to do?"

Wolverine stared at the headmistress with ancient eyes. "I think she'll kill herself before she let's me die. And I think she's pretty sure that's what it will take, but she is positive that it will work."

"Do you know why she hasn't contacted Jubilee at any point over the years?"

"The scars on her wrists might be the reason. According to the k- Lament, the doc was a genuis, but not at all nice, if you take my meaning." Wolverine flexed his hand. "He gave her a nice hole in her gut for a going away present."

"I take it he died before she escaped?"

"What makes you think that?"

"You're here, so he's dead. You're mad, so you didn't do it."

Logan's mouth quirked at one corner. "Heh."

__________________________________________________________________

Upstairs . . .

"What's happened these last five years?" Jubilee asked as she folded her shirt and placed it in her travel worn duffel bag.

Lament sat with her head bowed on Jubilee's newly made bed. "The doc had me follow yer partner whenever you weren't with him. He made sure I wasn't t-tempted to leave." Though her eyes were dry, her voice quavered.

She felt her twin's arms wrap around her. "I'm sorry. I thought you were dead. That's what Mom and Dad told me, before they died."

"I don't blame you at all! I was terrified for you. The doc threatened you whenever I thought about escape. I was really afraid that you would hate me for not trying to contact you-"

"No!" Jubilee grabbed Lament's hands. "We were so close as kids, I know you would have contacted me if you coulda!"

Identical tears streamed down identical faces from identical blue eyes. Love and understanding passed between them.

Lament laughed weakly. "C'mon, I'll help you finish packing."