Experiment number 232 grimaced inwardly as her stomach rumbled loudly, complaining about the 3 day fast. She sat huddled against the wall with her head in her hands, refusing to look up despite the cramping in her back as she knew her captors would take this as submission and send in another. Another person to heal, or maybe even an animal. That was her mutation. To heal others. Not herself though, as the researchers had found out when they flogged her two days ago. At least she thought it was two days. It was hard to be sure when she hadn't seen natural light for so long. She wasn't even sure how long she had been in this place. All she knew was that her name was Experiment 232 and her only possessions in the world were a set of dog tags around her neck and a well-used book of human anatomy.
The girl looked up in alarm as the room shook wildly and the red light on the security camera winked out. 232 stood up and went to the door, hesitantly reaching out to touch it. The last time she had tried this she had received a huge electric shock. Her hand shook as she came into contact with the door and she jumped back only to realise nothing had happened. She reached out again, this time with both arms and pulled. The door swung open silently, revealing the dark corridor outside. Quickly, 232 ran back into the cell to grab her precious book and then returned to the corridor without as much as a backward glance. Turning left, the opposite way to the experimentation labs (the way she had never been), 232 arrived at a fork. Coming to a halt she looked first left, then right, seeing no difference in the two routes. Then she realised that her hair was blowing off her face, towards the left corridor. She turned right, running now she was so close to freedom, her bare feet sounding loud in the silence, and eventually came to a door. Panting she pushed the door open to reveal the outside world. 232 smiled as she stepped into the snow. The feeling of happiness felt strange to such a sad and lonely girl, and she found herself hoping that she would experience this feeling a lot more from now on. She ran away from the ugly building behind her, making towards the trees she could see in the distance, instinctively knowing she would be safer there.
By the time she reached the trees she was exhausted. Days of not eating and years of no exercise had made the 10 minute jog feel more like a 10 mile run. Looking behind her, 232 could see that the heavily falling snow was already hiding her trail but she knew the researchers would guess she had come here. So, breathing heavily and shivering violently against the assaulting cold, 232 staggered deeper into the woods, her numb feet starting to cut on the many sharp objects that lay on the floor.
Logan was on his way back to Xavier's school for mutants after another trip to Canada to finally say goodbye to his past when he picked up a mental call from Xavier himself.
"Logan, there is someone who needs help in the woods to your left. Her need is so great that I heard her telepathic cry. Please can you bring her back to the school with you?"
"How do you know I'm coming back to the school?" Logan growled as he stopped the motorbike and wheeled it off the road and hid it in the woods. There was no answer.
"Damn telepaths" he grumbled as he sniffed the air. Smelling nothing he tried again and was suddenly blasted with the scent of female and of blood as the wind changed direction. Running towards the smell, he came across a small, naked body a few hundred yards into the forest. Grimacing at the angry red marks all over her back, he turned her over to find she was in her late teens and very malnourished with long blonde hair. There was blood on her feet and she was freezing cold. Taking off his jacket, Logan wrapped the girl in it and picked her up gently. Cradling the girl in his arms, he heard something metallic. Frowning, he pulled the jacket apart enough to just see something around her neck. Pulling the end of the necklace to see what it was, Logan growled. O the end of the necklace were two dog tags, identical to his except they said "232. Sky" .
When he got back to the motorbike, Logan put the girl down while he rummaged around in his bag for some spare clothes. Finding some drawstring trousers, a t-shirt and a pair of socks, he quickly dressed her before wrapping her up in his coat again. Logan sat on the motorbike and pulled the girl into his arms. Arranging her so that she was in front of him on the bike, but facing him, he wrapped her arms and legs around himself. He started the bike and drove away, keeping an arm around the still unconscious girl, unaware of the frenzied activity at the laboratories on the other side of the woods.