Of God and Man

Disclaimers: I don't own the X-Men and am making no money from this story. Thank-you Stan Lee for dreaming up such wonderful characters for us to play with. You're the best!

A/N: This story deals with religious issues. If you have problems with this, please find another story to read.

Archive: Yes please, just tell me where.

Feedback: Praises and criticism gratefully accepted. Flames will be dumped like the garbage they are.

He could feel the tension in the air the moment he entered the house. There was no one in the foyer but he could smell the scents of anger, frustration and sadness as soon as he opened the door. Had someone died? he thought, his heart sinking. Couldn't be, he discarded the thought instantly. Someone would have contacted him. He'd only been in the city for two weeks and had stayed in touch. It wasn't like he had gone to Japan. He was well within Chuck's range the entire two weeks so what the hell happened?

The heavy tread of boots on the wood floor broke into his thoughts rudely. He looked up to see his petite partner thumping dejectedly down the stairs, her expression sad. He let out a breath he hadn't been aware he was holding. She was okay. He immediately felt guilty. Jubilee was the most important person in his life but she wasn't the only person in his life. There were other he should worry about as well.

Her expression bothered him. Jubilee had a knack for recovering from emotional blows like no one else. She tended to be happy and carefree to the point that sometimes, he felt she wasn't dealing with grief the way she should. She rarely cried and got over her sadness quickly. Usually too quickly. She didn't smile when she looked up and saw him. That worried him even more. Even when she was mad at him, she almost always had a smile for him when he returned from one of his soul searching trips.

"Jubes?" he asked, concerned. "You okay?"

"I don't know," she said in a small voice, tears swimming in her eyes.

"What's wrong?" he said as he met her at the bottom on the steps.

"I don't know!" she wailed and threw herself into his arms. "I can't stop feeling like this."

"Did someone die?" he demanded as he picked her up and carried her to the den. She buried her head into his shoulder and shook it.

"Someone sick?"

"That's just it, nothing happened. I don't know why I feel like this. I can't stop crying."

He sat on the sofa in the empty den and pulled her onto his lap. At seventeen, five foot nothing and 109 lbs of solid muscle, she was deceptively tiny. She appeared fragile and helpless. He knew better. She's about as helpless as a cobra. She was a skilled gymnast and, with the training he'd given her over the years, a powerful fighter with near ninja moves and a mutant power that most thought as wimpy. Her paffs were pretty fireworks most of the time but when she needed, they could be deadly. He knew that, when properly motivated, she could level a city block. And if she was angry, she could probably squash a city the size of Albany. There was nothing helpless about this girl.

"When did it start?" he asked.

"About a week ago," she sniffed. "I started feeling kinda blue a coupla days before."

"Anything happen before that?"

"Finals, but I think I did okay."

"Have ya talked ta Chuck or Jean about it?"

"Talked ta Jean but she was too spacey ta listen."

That was bad news. A spaced out telepath was trouble. "Whataya mean 'spacey'?" he growled.

"She wouldn't look at me. I don't think she heard a word I said. I was weird, Wolvie. She stared out the window with a strange look on her face, like she wasn't even there."

"Ya tell Cyke?"

"He yelled at me," she whimpered.

What the hell... Jubilee never backed down from Cyclops. She had the same opinion of the leader of the X-Men he had: Scott Summers had a rod up his ass. She lived to make his life as miserable as possible. He shifted uncomfortably on the sofa.

"Darlin', I need ta talk ta Chuck."

"Don't leave me!" she wailed clutching at his shirt.

"I ain't leaving ya kid," he said as he pealed her hands off his clothes. "I'm gonna take ya to the kitchen and get ya a bowl of ice cream. Ya work on that while I talk ta Chuck."

He carried her into the kitchen and plopped her in a chair and began to dig through the freezer. The ice cream situation was desperate. Most of the remaining cartons were the strange flavors Rogue and Ororo favored. No vanilla or chocolate. He pulled out a carton of rum raisin that Jean had bought last month. No one had been brave enough to try it yet so it was still full. He scooped half the container into a bowl and place it in front of Jubilee.

"Eat slow," he warned. "Ya don't want brain freeze." He armed her with a spoon and kissed the top of her head. "Be back as soon as I can," he told her as he left.

He was very troubled as he made his way to the headmasters office. Jubilee's behavior concerned him. He'd never seen her like this, crying, frightened and clingy. Grabbing his bag, he ran upstairs. His room was in the same hall as Xavier's office so he decided to stop there first and drop off his bag.

The smell of whiskey nearly knocked him over as he approached his room. The door was closed and still locked, he noticed. That could only mean that his other 'daughter' was in there, drinking his stash. Hr fished his keys out of his pocket and unlocked the door.

It opened to reveal Kitty Pryde, standing in the center of his room, a bottle of Jack Daniels to her lips.

"I suppose ya got an explanation," he said as he dropped his bag.

"Shut it Logan," she snapped. "I'm legal." she tipped the bottle to her lips and drank deeply.

"I ain't talkin' 'bout yer drinking Kitty," he said as he took the bottle from her. "I'm talkin' 'bout breakin' and enterin' and stealin'."

"Give it back, runt," she snarled.

"Nothin' doing," he said going to the bath and dumping the whiskey in the sink. "If ya get drunk enough, ya stay phased. You'll end up phasing through the building. Maybe through the planet."

"So fucking what!" she yelled. "It's not as if anyone cares what I do. Storm's busy with Evan and you're petting your little Asian puppy."

He whirled, the empty bottle crashing to the floor as he popped his claws. "Get out," he growled low in his throat. "Get out of here before I kill ya." Anger washed over him, his vision turning red.

"Fine," she screamed. "I'll just go see what your little friend is doing."

"Stay away from her Pryde," he threatened. "Ya touch her, I will kill you."

As she swept past him, he could smell the rage pouring off her, fueling his own. He struggled, trying to keep himself from going after her and gutting her. His fists were clenched, his claws out and trembling. I'm losin' it, he thought. He took several deep breaths in an attempt to control himself and contain the rage.

Stop it, he told himself. Kitty would never hurt Jubilee. They have their differences but Kitty is an X-Man and X-Men don't kill.

You have. So has Kitty, the little voice in the back of his head told him. She's a trained ninja and Ogun made her into a killer.

Ogun made her do it, he told the voice. It wasn't her choice.

Wasn't it? The voice asked slyly.

Shut up, he snarled to the voice.

'Logan,' Xavier's mental voice overpowered the devil in his head. 'I'm going to contain your rage temporarily. I need you clear headed right now.' He felt the rage seep out of him like a deflating balloon and his vision cleared.

'What the hell is going on?' he demanded. 'Kitty's drinking herself to death, Jeannie's spaced out, Cyke's yelling at Jubes and Jubilee's crying constantly.'

'Come to my office. I need your help.'