Good riddance
Logan was really hating his life right now, first he had been swept in a fight between two old men with too much power and time on their hands when he had decided to do his first good action in years and accepted to take a lost teenage girl toward Canada but said teenager had to be a mutant that was hunted by a madman wearing a metal bucket who had the brilliant idea to turn half of New York population into mutant.
Yes, the girl was nice and he hadn't mind helping her and the X-men as Xavier's called them weren't as insufferable as he pretended, even Summers despite the stick that was shoved in his ass.
And it wasn't like there was no reward, Xavier was one of the best telepath on the planet and had access to unimaginable tech and had helped him remake bits of his mind that he wasn't sure he wished, Weapon-X, Alkali Lake, the Adamantium tank, the pain but not who he was, what he liked ir even his name.
And while he had been searching trail of the Weapon-X team on the North Dakota/Canada border when he had received a telepathic call of Xavier who told him that they had found a mutant around the place he was and from what the X-men had managed to hack it was highly probable that someone was continuing the Weapon-X legacy.
So he had rushed in and busted through the hidden lab all claws out at least he planned to because the lab was already getting attacked but from the inside, a small army was fighting a fifteen year old girl, a fifteen year old girl with claws on her hands her feet, a fifteen year old girl with claws on her hands her feet that could heal bullets wound and he realised horrified what had happened, the white coat leading that place somehow found a way to clone him.
The sound of automatic riffle got his attention back to what was happening outside and he decided that answer could wait, he joined in.
His claws pierced their protective gear like butter, he slashed and hacked like a wild beast, tearing appart everything on his path with six razor sharp indestructible blades but as his body and mutation took over the part of his mind that retained logic watched the girl fight and he was awed by what he saw, the girl moved like nothing he had ever seen, killing isn't supposed to be so gracefull, he was fury and blade incarnate, she was death and acrobatics, he was stabbed and shot, she was untouchable always moving, linking up death defying acrobatics like it was easy, he also noted that the girl wasn't as strong as he was but she was faster, sharper, deadlier, no movement was wasted, she was surgical and for the first time since long ago, he was a bit scared.
Ten minutes, that's the time it took the two of them to reduce a 50 person army of trained and equipped pro to a pile of dead bodies.
He turned toward the girl about to ask the questions that nearly burned his tongue but she was running away at full speed toward where the lab was and he picked up the scent of a woman and blood, a lot of it "Shit" escaped his lip before he followed the girl and found her crying over the dying body of a scientist, Dr Sarah Kinney he read on her blood stained badge.
"Please don't go, please wake up..." each word the girl spoke was filled with pain and despair "mom, wake up" and now he understood why this was the girl mother "What's my mission mom, please don't go"
Logan didn't knew how long he stood behind her as she cried every tear she had, he had slipped his jacket over her shoulder at some time but he mostly kept quiet as he knew nothing he could say would help, death was not fair, more to their kind than anyone.
While the girl wept her dead mother he had gathered he belongings, a bag with some file in it and a letter for who he supposed was the girl as it was named to Laura with no address or anything, a will in case what had happened was to happen.
Finally the girl rose to her feet and slowly turned toward him, her emerald green eyes boring into his but none of them moved she took off his jacket carefully and extended it toward him, he nodded and took it back.
"I have my car not far behind, how about we go to a warmer place to discuss whatever that happened, I didn't even know they could do stuff like what they did with you, so I didn't even check" he apologised as he gestured vaguely to the pile of dead soldiers but the girl was looking at her mother body not wanting to part with it "She'll come with us, so she can get a real resting place" he said and she nodded before walking back to the lab and came back ten minutes later with a backpack and a body bag, she carefully placed her mother in the body bag before placing her belongings in the bagpack, three book, around 40 thousands dollars, a wallet and she also took the pistol of one of the dead soldier and did a quick check of it and he was a bit surprised by the way she expertly handled it and once satisfied with her check up she grabbed three full cartridges and put it all in the bag before shouldering it.
She was about to lift her mother body as well but he beat her to it lifting it carefully before leading her to his pick up, they hiked silently through the woods for forty minutes until they finally reached his car were he placed Sarah's body and the kid bag before closing the trunk so no one would see it's content.
Their forty six minutes drive until they reached a dinner was silent as well and if she hadn't heard the girl cry over her mother body he would have thought her mute.
And that's how he found himself in front of his clone in an empty dinner in North Dakota.
"Look kid, I won't say I know what it's like or tell you that it'll be better, I'm no fortune teller but I know people who can help, they helped me and other kid, you're not forced to be alone, I've been there, done that and it doesn't help, your mother had this for you" and he extended the letter he had found "I suppose you're Laura right" and she nodded taking the letter very carefully.
She read the letter once letting every word sink in it was a confession letter that described everything the facility did, she knew what they did better than anyone but reading how her mother was involved and all the thing she did in her own point of view, learning that her mother view herself as a monster and Laura as the innocent left her shocked, ot was the opposite, she was the monster, she had killed her own mother but it was Sarah parting word that broke the dam holding her emotions, she asked Laura to find Weapon-X, to give him this letter and if possible try to live as Laura not X-23 and that she'll always love her, no matter what.
Laura swallowed back her sob and extended the letter to Logan who took it a read it, once he was done Logan knew what he had to do, he didn't knew how but he needed to help that girl not end up like him and so he made his offer "You could come with me, as I said earlier I know a place that's made for mutant, they helped me find you and they can help you with your mother wish" and he watched as the girl stoic face morphed into a more thoughtful one and after a big internal debate she seemed to come to a descision and nodded.
"What about my mother body" she asked speaking for the first time since her death.
"Xavier's got a really big resting place for the students familly member that are in a similar situation" answered Logan as he knew Ororo and Summers had their parents gravestones in Chuck's backyard, the answer seemed like enough to get the girl to agree to come.
"Then I need to call our ride, ask for whatever you wanna eat" he said sliding his credit card toward her before leaving the dinner.
Once out he pulled out the phone Xavier had gave to call reinforcement or needed extraction, the call was immediately answered by Storm "Your intel was right, I found a lab but that's beside the point, I need a ride to the school, I found a fifteen year old girl in the labs and her mother need a place in the graveyard" he detailed quickly as he was never one to beat around the bushes, Storm answer was quick she was coming immediately with the X-jet and would ask Hank to prepare the tomb "Thanks Ro, see you there" and the woman hang up to ready the jet.
When he came back he saw that Laura was fully immersed in the menu looking totally bemused at the possibilty of so much different option and was totaly oblivious the waitress looked ready to go berserk at being kept waiting.
"We'll take two cheeseburgers with fries" said Logan as he sat and the waitress shot him a thankful nod, the kid was shooting daggers at him as she was clearly not okay with him choosing in her place "believe me you'll like it and we gotta hurry as our ride we'll be here soon" and that seem to placate her anger.
The waitress placed their food in front of them and left and he watched as Laura scrutinised each elements of her plate and sniffed to check if it wasn't poisoned and once the check up of her food yield acceptable result in her eyes she took a tentative bite, then ate the whole thing like a starved beast.
But halfway through her burger she perked her head as she heard something outside and 3 seconds he heard it as well the hum of the blackbird thruster, judging on the decibels level she would arrive in less than a minute "Don't worry kid that's our ride" smirked Logan as he saw her tense up before relaxing slightly still expecting an hostile.
And then the X-jet landed on the parking lot of the dinner but it was too big as one of the wing was blocking the road but no one ever used those kind of road.
Logan smirked has he saw the look of marvel on the girl face as she watched the plane, even from the not so long time he had knew her Logan had been able to get that it was really rare for her to break her stoic persona but the now open awe on her face was a refreshing change, he watched as Storm walked out of the jet and he felt the girl tense sightly before relaxing, like he had done not so long ago, Storm was like her name indicated the embodiment of her name and his and now Laura mutation made them closer to the animal side of humanity and if there was one thing that every animal feared it was storm every cells in the Laura body's must be screaming in terror but none of it showed on her face.
Storm walked in the dinner in her black, white and gold X-men suit nodding to the waitress as she watched the goddess of weather walk in with grace and Logan scooted on the left to let the woman seat next to her.
"I'm Ororo Munroe, pleased to meet you" said the weather goddess looking at Laura as she sat, Laura simply stared back with her stoic face, scrutinising the woman in front of her and assessing her threat level and once she was satisfied she nodded "X...Laura Kinney" she caught herself before saying her designation name, her mother wished for her to be Laura Kinney and it started with considering herself as Laura and not X-23.
"Well, I'm glad to meet you Laura, I'm one of Logan's colleagues and I'm here to escort you to the school" at this the girl interest was piqued as she raise an eyebrow while finishing what was left of her fries, Storm used the occasion to turn toward Logan and asked "Is my help needed in the destruction of what remain of this lab"
"No" said Logan.
"Agreed" said Laura wich caused the two feral to glare at each other and Ororo watched the two with amusement as she saw the similarities between them.
"Her file indicate that she is a class Alpha mutant, the total obliteration of the building in addition to assuring that all of the data inside the Facility are destroyed will also help hid our track, not using such a tactical advantage would be utter stupidity" stated Laura calmly as if reading and not explaining an analysis she had made in less than a minute with next to no data on Storm.
" 'Kay, we'll follow your call on it" answered Logan taking out a cigar that made the two woman nose wrinkle in distate at the smell.
And the moment he was about to lit it the cigar was cut in two by the adamantium claw that extended from the girl hand who snatched the other half of the air and retracted as fast as it had appeared and Ororo eyes widened a bit at what had happened, Wolverine was the mutant with the fastest reflexes she knew of and he had been caught off guard by the girl speed.
That was frightening.
"As for your offer to join this school, I must refuse, at least now" stated the girl to her genetic donor "My mother has a sister and a niece and I want to meet them, they deserve to know that she is dead and where her grave is" she explained and the two adults looked at each other not sure of the girl plan "We can come with you" said Ororo but yhe girl shook her head "No, I am trained to travel without leaving any trail, you are not and so would risk alerting them of my location" summarised Laura "Beside I'm strong and skilled enough to fight or retreat, bigger number would be a tactical disadvantage" detailed the young clone in a clipped analytic tone like a military brief.
"Back up right here bub, if you..." started Logan rising up but Ororo saw the girl muscles tense as her body instinctively readied itself to fight and quickly difused the situation "How about a middle ground, you take one of this with you" she said sliding one of the X-men emergency phone toward her "It's one of the most secure line on the planet, we expect you to give us a call each week until you're ready to get to the school, if not we'll start tracking you and we're quite good at it" said Storm in her teacher voice, the girl nodded and took the ohone agreeing to the deal.
Once their next move was planned Storm and Logan went back to the Blackbird and flew Logan and herself above the facility before punching a bunch of button that engaged the stationary flight and she left her seat walking calmly toward the ramp who opened for her, Logan''s senses were immediately assaulted by the outdoor noise and smell as it entered the sealed environment of the jet, He watched the weather goddess walk out of the jet totaly unbothered by the winds that was whipping inside.
She overlooked what remained of the massive hidden base with nothing but comptent in her eyes "Normally I find pity for the thing I destroy in such fashion, today I do not, the only thing your demise inspire me would be, good riddance" and as she spoke the sky above them darkened and Logan could smell the ozone in the air before a bright white lightning bolt hitted the facility, the shock and heat of such power hitting right on the power plant resulted in a massive that even from were they were it rattled the jet but Storm simply stabilised it by commanding the wind before walking back to her seat.
"Let's get out of here" growled Logan a second before the jet thrusters launched it forward, while Logan was left thinking about whatever had happened today.