Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction / Fan Fiction ❯ The Uncanny Dragonball Z! ❯ Rivals! ( Chapter 6 )

Jubilee heard voices, muffled and distance, as she slowly began to awaken. Rubbing the sleep from her eyes, she looked around, (noticing right away that she tucked into bed, for a moment she thought she was back at the mansion and everything that had happened...meeting those anime character...she smiled...was all a weird dream), saw the table next to the bed and the wooden bowl filled with water, wet washclothes beside it.

She realized that she wasn't in her room in Xavier's school after all, that what she'd just experienced had not, in face, been just a fever dream. She reached up to touch her head, the fever was gone but her head still ached.

Her nose was stuffed up horribly and she looked around for something to use as a kleenex. She spotted a box on the table behind the bowl of water and pulled a few tissues from it, blowing her noise loudly.

"Hey, Petite Bebe," Gambit was in the doorway, shuffling a deck of cards, not his regular deck, she noticed, smiling at her, "How are you this morning?"

"Good, I guess," She said, trying to stand and suffering vertigo, she had to grab the side of the bed to keep from toppling over, "If I could just get my balance..." She laughed, "Where are the others?"

"In the livingroom, Bebe," Remy said, walking over and helping her back to the bed, "Are you hungry?"

"I don't know," She said, it was true, she didn't. She looked down at her stomach and shrugged, looking back at Remy, "Maybe. Are they okay? Are you okay?"

"Everyone is fine, Jubilee," Remy said, "There was a little problem at first...from what Jean told me...but everything is fine now. I'll go get you something to eat. One of Gambit`s cajun specials, that ought to kick that flu outta your system, no?"

"Remy! Wait!" She called, as he turned toward the door, "I want...can you send Wolvie in, please?"

"Sure I will," He smiled and left her. Jubilee waited, her stomach starting to rumble now as if it were only waiting for an aknowlegement to begin complaining. A few moments later, Logan was at her bedside.

"How are ya feelin', Darlin'?" He asked, his voice rough, but tender, he smoothed the dark hair off her forehead, "Yer not hot anymore, I guess that means your gettin' better."

"She broke into a sweat late last night, Logan-san," Chi Chi appeared in the doorway, "After Bulma and Vegeta went home with thier son. After that, well, it was just a matter of keeping it down."

Standing, Logan bowed in front of Chi Chi, "I...don't know how to thank you for...for taking care of her."

"If any of my children were far from home and sick," Chi Chi replied, "I'd want someone to come along and take care of them."

"Hey, what's this?" Gohan asked, peering through the doorway, smiling when he saw Jubilee was awake, "Jubilee, your awake! That's great! You were out for a long time!"

"H-how long?" Jubilee asked, dreading the answer, suddenly realizing her bladder felt extremely full, "Wolvie?"

"About two days, give or take a few hours, kiddo," Logan said, "Cajun's gettin' you some grub so you can build up your strength and fight the rest o' this sickness off."

~*~*~

In two very different parts of the universe, in two very different dimensions, two very different men sit alone.

His silver hair free of the helm, the man known to his few and far between friends as Eric, and Magneto to everyone else, stands at his open picture window gazing down upon New York city spread out and below him. Lights from the buildings twinkling against the night like a million diamonds against the smog-filled night.

His crimson cloak blows against him in the wind as his grey-blue eyes trail towards the massive statue in the island farther out from the mainland. A statue whose very existance was meant to represent tolerance and peace, a welcome to those persons of other countries, other races, color, creed.

He narrowed his eyes, fists clenching at his sides. What a jest! He thought, thinking of all those mutants who had been persecuted and killed for the crime of just being born differently, Raising his hands; the metal upon the window latch shivered, moved to the side and the window slung down, closing with a loud thumping sound.

Magneto wasn't worried, his window glass was always shatterproof. Just as he was turning, one of his lackies, Serice was her name, a pretty young mutant he'd brought into his charge some eight months ago, came rushing into the room.

"Sir! Forgive me, sir..." She gasped for breath, holding a stack of papers in her arms, "But, you really need to see this, sir!"

"Set them on my desk, Serice," He said, nodding at her, arms folded across his chest, "Thank you."

Nervously, she lifted her hand, then noticed the window and an inner fear seized her and she lowered it, turning towards the door to leave. Magneto stopped her with a raised hand, all the metal in her clothing freezing her in place due to his power. "Serice, come here."

Timidly, the girl, who had large blue-green eyes and cropped blue-black hair, she could pass for human if she wished, he thought, his throat tightening at such beauty, but alas, she was old enough to be his great-granddaughter and such...romantic...notions were obsence.

"Why did you stay your power just now, dear one?" He asked, cocking one silver brow, "You were about to teleport out, were you not?"

She bit her bottom lip, nodding and glancing quickly towards the window, "Y-yes sir..."

"Ah, I see," He said, looking towards the window, "The fear of being seen by humans while using your god-given abilities frightens you...Serice!"

He said, his tone suddenly angery as he turned to her, grabbed her face between gloved fingers and forced her to look at him, "Never be afraid to use your powers in my presence, Never be ashamed of who you are; A mutant! One day, you know, we shall take our place as leaders of his world!"

She nodded, she had heard such talk before, but the humans, those without mutant power, were so many...she wondered if there would ever be enough of her kind to battle them and win. "I...I am sorry, sir..."

Stroking her cheek, Magneto smiled, "No, Dear one, you don't need to be sorry for anything."

She swallowed and he let her go, turning from her towards the window once more, "Go now, leave me in peace."

"With a flick of her wrist a cold flame enveloped her body, swiftly she disapaited into nothingness, leaving behind the slight scent of lilacs in summer. Magento inhaled sharply, he had gotten used to that smell and enjoyed it quite a bit.

He turned from the window and walked to the large oak desk set in the corner of the room, not bothering to sit down, he lifted the first sheet of white paper from the pile and scanned the contents upon it, his brows going up as he read, a smile spreading across his distiguished features.

"So," He said to himself, "It seems my old friend has...lost...some of his students, how unfortunate..."

He was glad that the expenisive spy equiptment and those persons he'd hired to act in such a manner, had paid off. He spent the rest of the evening reading the report, finally ending the last page which came with a selection of photos paperclipped to the back of the pile.

Gazing at one particarly photo, the lightning striking the television set, the cartoon upon it's screen seemed of little import. He looked at another and saw a portal begining to open, the next showed the portal had grown bigger and...he gasped...seemed to be coming from the animated background of the cartoon upon the screen, he thought he even saw gravel and dust being moved.

The next photo showed the televison completely gone, exploded and a gaping back hole with what seemed to be the cartoon background beyond.

"But, that's crazy!" He said, shaking his head, rubbing his temples, it had gotten light out and the early morning light seemed to lend a sort of surrealness to the surroundings, "How can one be transported into an animation?"

He reached into his desk drawer and brought out a magnefying glass, bringing it to the photo, leaning down to study the picture closer. Making a split decision, he pushed the buzzer upon his desk and in moments, Serice, looking like she just woke up, teleported into the room, the scent of lilacs accompanying her.

"Serice, sorry to wake you at such an ungodly hour," He said by way of greeting, "But, I wish you to begin research on this...animated series, come take a closer look."

Serice walked over to his desk, where he held out a photo, adjusting the desk-lamp so she could see better. Squinting at the picture, Serice smiled slightly and handed it back. "It's called Dragonball Z, sir." She said, still smiling, "My nephew, Andrew, watches it."

"Find out all you can about it and report back to me." Magneto ordered, turning his back on her.

"But, Sir," Serice said, "It's a car..."

"Now, Serice!"

"Y-yes sir!"

The scent of lilacs filled the room, along with a very powerful aura of fear. Magneto smiled.

~*~*~

Professor Charles Xavier, founder of the "Xavier Insitute for Gifted Children", also father in a more than symoblic way to the group of renegade fighters for peace of justice known as the "X-Men", and a very skilled telepath, one of the most powerful in the world, sat in the large odd-looking chair, wires cris-crossing from all angles from the helmet completely hiding his face.

The helmet had been designed and created for the sole purpose of locating other mutant lifeforms in the world. He knew his students were missing. He had felt it the day they'd disapeared, but when he'd wheeled his chair up to the door, peering into the room of the den, all he'd found was a smoldering area in front of the sofa where the televison set used to be.

He was trying to use the helmet's inner computer and tracking device, as it inhances his own telepathic powers, to locate his missing students. So far, he'd been met with disapointment. Frustrated, he reached up and removed the helm, turning his hoverchair around and exiting the room. His head was aching and he was in need of a hot cup of tea to loosen his nerves.

Just as he was rounding the corner to his office, a gaggle of reporters, armed with microphones and notepads blocked his path. A pretty young woman with curling blonde hair and light blue eyes blurted out; "Proffessor Xavier! Proffessor Xavier! Is it true that a handful of your students have been kidnapped by Magento?"

"That's completely untrue and ridicious!" He barked, "Please, let me pass, I have no comment for your questions at this time."

** A better story is in the making just three blocks away, a large fire in an apartment building with a public official...** Charles cleverly placed the thought into the reporter's and her comrades minds, making them all believe the thought was thier own to begin with and watched as they all ran down the hall and out the front door. He turned his hoverchair towards this office, needing a break to regain his thoughts, trying to figure out what to do next...

** Proffessor!** The voice in his head was strong and familar, only one being he knew had such telepathic powers, ** Proffessor! **

"Jean!" He gasped, holding his head, talking aloud and sending his thought out at the same time, trying to reach her, ** Jean! Where are you? Where are the others!?**

She was in the bathroom, sitting on the lowered toliet seat, it was a very crude place to be for a little privacy, but she didn't want to be disturbed and the door had a lock on it. Not that she couldn't have just used her powers to keep the door from opening, but she needed all her strength and abilities to try and reach Proffessor X...if she could. She'd been trying to reach him ever since they had been brought to this place...Goku and Chi Chi's home, those nice people who had taken care of Jubilee...

Her red hair falling over her face, her hands and face sweating with consentration, Jean nearly yelled aloud when she finally felt the tiny flicker in her mind that told her she'd been successful. ** Proffessor, please listen! We're trapped in other dimension! An anime...cartoon series...Dragonball Z...Proffessor...Proffessor! **

She pounded her fist on her thigh, tears coming to her eyes, she'd gotten through to him, but lost him once more. The range was just too far...too much strain...She felt as weak as a newborn kitten and sunk to the floor, her head atop the cold porcelain toliet seat, weeping in aggravation.

Charles cursed under his breath, What was she talking about? He wondered, Trapped? Dragonball Z? He shook his head, rubbing the area between his brows, it made little sence...