On The Rocks

Wolverine and Jubilee had been carried over the giant mutant's shoulders though a series of tunnels. Blood dribbled from Logan's nose onto the giant mutant's shirt, creating a beautiful contrast of red against white. Jubilee caught sight of it and tried to wake him up by shaking his shoulder.

The giant-sized guard glowered. "Don't try anything stupid, pretty."

The giant's fist was bigger than Wolverine's head - bigger than Juggernaut's own fist - and Jubilee was surprised he didn't do greater damage to him. Jubilee couldn't even see where Wolverine left his mark on the man's body.

So he also had a healing factor. With Wolverine's own supressed, Jubilee lost all hope of escape.

---

The two were dumped in a large cavern that looked more like a quarry. Wolverine had regained conciousness just as the giant slapped a collar and chain on him and Jubilee. "The two of you will mine the cavern with the other prisoners."

He lead them along on their chains as if they were dogs. He lead them to an area full of heavy rocks.

Wolverine assessed his environment. His frown deepened. There was no way in hell he was going to escape from this. There were giant-sized guards everywhere! There were about one-hundred prisoners, and for each prisoner there was a guard on duty! He whistled. "You take your prisoners seriously." He turned to look behind him. Two giant-sized guards kept watch over him. "Aw, I have two. How flattering."

"Shut up, pretty, and cut out the rock," The man said, pointing to the massive wall of what had to be a batholith. "You, pretty," he said, referring to Jubilee, "pick up the mess he makes and put it in the bag. When the bag gets full, dump it in the crate." He pointed to a bag made of an extremely heavy cloth.

Jubilee glanced at it and sighed. "But I have a bad back," She said, and heard Wolverine growl.

"Don't get cute, Jubilee."

"Smartmouth! Move it!" The giant shoved Jubilee at the bag.

She snorted. "Some people have no sense of humor." She grabbed the bag and started picking up the rocks that Wolverine chipped away at.

The heat in the cavern made them sweat bullets. They could tell it was going to be a very long day.

---

Five hours later, the two were left exhausted. There was no lunch break, no water break, and no bathroom break. Just work until you drop, or work until the guards drop. Jubilee and Wolverine worked until the guards called quitting time.

"Wolvie, all the prisoners here are malnourished. I swear I just saw two die out there."

He clenched his jaw. "I know. The guards don't give a rat's ass 'bout you or me or anyone else here. Just work til ya die or work till your execution day, accordin' to the other prisoners."

They were lead back through the tunnels from where they came originally. Logan choose to walk rather than be carried and risk another sucker punch from the giant guard that lead them.

He had looked for any concievable way to escape while he cut away at the batholith, any weak point or flaw in a guard's character, and he had found nothing. The prison was well constructed. Chaotic, but well constructed.

He knew it would be a bad move to break that chain and attempt escape for several reasons.

First, he had to look after Jubilee. She was self-sufficient with her powers, but without them, and against these guys? A few acrobatics from her wasn't going to floor anyone here but the malnourished prisoners. She would have to depend on him. He couldn't look after her and fight one-hundred giants with healing factors.

Second, he had no idea where to go. The walls were several feet thick, so it would take him several hours to cut through it, and someone would notice that fairly quickly. He could barely see two feet in front of him! He could see well enough in the cavern, but everywhere else was too flamin' dark to do anything. Especially in his cell.

Fourth, he had no enhanced healing factor, no smell, and no hearing. He could get by without them under normal circumstances, but starting an escape plan here without them was about as suicidal as sticking a gun to his head and pulling the trigger. All of these reasons came to one, big, ugly conclusion: They were fucked.

They were thrown back into their cell and back into the disgusting puddle. The huge stone door behind them closed. It had an ominous sound to it as it slid shut, a grinding sound that made a final KLACK, like the sealing of a coffin.

Jubilee put her hands on her head and groaned. "We're so dead."


---

The Academy...

It had been three days without any sign from Jubilee, and Emma was growing worried. She had begun to imagine all the things that could have happened to her - Church of humanity, Friends of humanity, Sentinels, Mr. Sinister ...

She hated doing it, but she phoned Xavier to let him know she was missing. Perhaps he could locate her with Cerebra? Truth be known, she loved that girl. She was trouble, but she was also full of life.

When Xavier told her he had given her permission to go to Moscow with Wolverine, Emma's worry turned into fury.

Emma held the phone tightly, knuckles white. "I don't appreciate you giving my student permission to run off with that beast without telling me! I had run myself ragged looking for her!"

"She will be safe," Xavier explained calmly, "She's with Wolverine. He won't let anyone harm her."

"Have you heard from her since she left?"

"Not yet. They missed their scheduled call-in. I imagine they must have located the killer. They could be held up."

Emma slammed the phone. "Great."

---


In the prison...


Right before Jubilee had been kidnapped, her birthday was one week away. Since it was constantly dark, there was no way to tell how many days had gone by, only that quite a few had. The way Wolverine could tell was that his stomach was growling almost contantly - and with his training, he usually didn't feel extreme hunger until a few days had gone by.

With Jubilee living on the streets in her early life, she had very similar training. Her body was used to a few days without food. But neither X-men could run on empty forever and cut out rocks. They both knew this.

She felt Wolverine move next to her and hug her. "Happy birthday, Jubilation."

She chuckled. "Thanks. You wouldn't happen to have a cake in your pocket, would you? I'm so frickin' hungry I could eat the slime off the walls."

"Sorry kid, no cake."

"How long have we been here, Wolvie?"

"I'd say two, maybe three days." He responded, eyes closed. "The pain should go away soon."

Jubilee snorted. "I know. I just don't like going so long without eating, y'know?"

They spent a few moments in silence. For days they had nothing to do but sit in silence. Jubilee was beginning to grow sick of it. Then she got an idea. She searched in the darkness and found his hand. She slapped it.

"What was that for?" He moved his hand away.

She found his hand and slapped it again.

"Come on, Jubilee, knock it off." He moved his hand out of reach again.

She found his hand again. Slap!

She could hear him grin behind her. He slapped her hand before she could slap his. Then she laughed and moved her hand just in time, and he slapped the gross puddle, causing droplets of filth splash against the walls. "Ha-ha! Too slow!"

They spent about half an hour slapping each other's hands. It was a boring game at best, but it kept their minds off the painful rumble in their stomachs. Wolverine won the slapping game seven-to-twenty.

Then they arm-wrestled, which he won, but he didn't particularly like that game since he was stronger, so he didn't find it sportly.

So they played the Pastor's cat for about an hour, going through the alphabet from A to Z as to what kind of a cat the pastor's cat actually was. Wolverine found the pastor's cat to be a loquatious cat, and Jubilee found the cat to be a masochistic cat.

Then Wolverine started teaching her Chinese phrases, and after she learned how to say "shut up" and "leave me alone before I fry your retinas," They both drifted to sleep.

---

Jubilee was dumping her load into the crate when the crate-pusher realized she was female. And a pretty, no less.

"Hey there, pretty-pretty, I got a load for you, too."

She felt a hand rest her on the ass. She shrieked and twirled around, punching her offender in the nose instinctively.

Wolverine glanced up just in time to see justice had been served. He couldn't help but smirk. That's his girl.

Then the worry set in. What if the guards saw her? Would they punish her? He heard a nearby prisoner chuckle. He turned to see that a prisoner had noticed his worried expression. The prisoner was a real ugly son of a bitch, too. He winced at the sight. His face was concave - his nose being the deepest part of his face, as if everything about him was inside-out.

"You gotta take shit from the guards and like it. But you don't have to take shit from no prisoner. No guard would bust her for that stunt."

Jubilee's offender was a dirty, middle-aged, ugly mutant who pushed crates. Now he was back to pushing, rubbing his face and grumbling.

"You just be sure the pretty keeps her assets hidden. Not many pretties, male or female, stay alive down here, and it gets awful lonely. Guards start looking for T and A, she's a dead duck." He jutted his chin out at Jubilee, then went back to chipping away at rocks with his pick. "Name's Rooter, by the way."

"Logan."

"So you two are the newbies. Gotta admit, I'm surprised to see you lived this long."

"Why?"

"Pretties. They don't live long."

Wolverine let a large boulder fall at his feet. He then stabbed the boulder, breaking it into small enough pieces that Jubilee wouldn't have to struggle to get it into the bag. "I hear ya. I can handle my own fine, it's Jubilee I'm worried about. And don't call me pretty."

"I'll call you whatever I wish, pretty. Being called names is the least of your troubles. Ya wanna live, I suggest you stop workin' hard as you are. You'll wear yourself out before they give you any food or water."

Wolverine raised an eyebrow. "'They bust your ass for not workin'?"

"Nah. Just keep moving. Their job is to make sure you work and don't escape. They're just here for the drugs. They don't care bout that frilly performance shit."

"Drugs?"

"Yeah. Why they're so big, heal so fast, real macho. Just a drug that separates us ugly frail muties from them. 'Cept you, pretty-boy."

Logan glanced at his two guards, then slowed his chiseling pace. The rocks fell in smaller pieces, and he used only half his strength to cut them out of the batholith. The guards noticed the change in pace. They eyed him for a moment, shifted their weight, and once they were sure he wasn't going to start anything, they looked away with disinterest.

"How 'bout that." He smirked. "Thanks, Rooter. I owe ya one."


---

Jubilee's movement had awakened him from his light sleep. She had bent down to drink the rancid water when Wolverine forcefully yanked her away. "What the hell you think you're doing?"

Normally, he didn't swear in front of her. But being stuck in this area for three days was wearing him down, and it was wearing Jubilee down, so much that they said things - things they would never say under normal circumstances - some good, some hurtful. They were tired and cranky and sometimes a little too honest.

"I'm thirsty!" She shouted at him, slugging him in the shoulder. She was too weak to even bruise him.

"That water will kill you if you drink it." He pointed to the skeleton, who was obviously a male by the size of the bones and skull, and a very ugly male by the looks of it. "He rotted in that."

"But my back hurts." She cried, burying her face in his chest. Her rubbed her upper back, even though he knew it was her lower back that hurt her. It was her kidneys, more specifically. He knew because his hurt, too. Working for three days without water was murder on their bodies, and they couldn't continue for much longer.

"I know. But ya can't drink that." He stroked her messy hair, frowning. If they didn't get water within the next day or so, they'd be dead. They both leaned back. They slept more than usual - lack of food made them tire easily, and it was a way to reserve energy. Plus, sleep relieved them of the pain they felt in their bodies.

They both drifted to sleep, his and Jubilee's body shaking in cold shock. There was no way that they would survive another day at the Quarry.

---

Wolverine awoke early to the sound of falling liquid, but it certainly wasn't water. He knew the sound. He jumped up just as the offensive liquid splattered on the gross stone ledge. "Move it, kid!" He shoved Jubilee out of the way, waking her from her sleep. His kidneys screamed at him with each movement he made. He ignored the pain and grit his teeth. He looked up and growled.

A man was standing on top of the bars, urinating. The man looked like a swayback, crooked and laughing as he relieved himself. "Wake up, prisoners!" He yelled down to them. "Ya thirsty?"

Wolverine was going to shout some very rude phrases at the sick individual, but shut his mouth as he saw two men carrying a very large bucket cross over the metal bars.

Water. Fresh water.

"Jubilee, I think they're droppin' water. If they are, get ready."

She was more than ready.

And the bucket was indeed filled with water.

As the water rained down, they caught the fresh, clear water in their hands and drank greedily. The men above were gracious enough to pour slowly, allowing the two to get as much of the water as possible.

When the water stopped falling, Jubilee looked up, concerned. She felt as if she didn't get enough. Neither did Wolverine. A question rose in Jubilee's mind that was begging to be asked.

"They called us prisoners, Wolvie. Why? What did we do to get in here?"

He looked back up at the grate. "Not a flamin' clue, Jubilation. I don't remember a flamin' thing."

"Wish someone would tell us." She sighed. "At least we don't have to sleep in a gross puddle," she said, looking down at a now fresh-water puddle.

The men walked away from the grate. The swayback snorted and spat down the chute as he left. Jubilee jumped out of the way as the loogey made its way down, splattering and mixing with the freshwater puddle. "Oh, forget I said anything!"