Title: Helix Volume 2: to be named
(NOTE: Helix (Stages) Volume 1: the first try is the first volume of this story.
While this volume can be read alone, I reccomend reading the first, or else you won't get some of the references.

Pairing: Hellion/X-23 (Julian Keller/Laura Kinney)

Story type: Everything under the sun!

A/N: Okay, so the story got so big I've split it up into Volumes. This is now the story that will be updated. All previous chapters are now in
Helix (Stages) Volume 1: the first try and I think this will make it a bit easier to read. With the turn the story has taken, I don't think it
makes sense to keep it with the first volume.

Laura K. Howlett:

Please tell me Julian cheats on Sofia with Laura...
Hahahaha. Ahaha. Ha. Read on ;-)

Who's Laura going to be roommates with? (I know, keep reading)
I actually didn't cover this one initially. Good thing ya said something! I caught it just in time, your answer is in here.

Are you going to drop the X-23, and go with Talon? (I know keep reading)
Yep, keep reading.

Stages into volumes? Well, that would make even more comic like :)...and calling it, Helix? sweet.
Whatabout, "Stages of Helix" or something, as the overall title (chapters
split into vols.) That way when someone looks for "Stages" they'll still find
it?

TAAA DAHHHH!

Really, love the change. And loved the sunspots piece. Oh, and I've been
meaning to ask, are you still planning to do those...NC-17 ones?

You know it! And ty ty. I realized what a geek I was last night when I caught myself reading my own story...and laughing...don't worry,
my boyfriend is a sweetheart and makes an effort to point out what a nerd I can be. Interesting little fact...some of Julian's behaviour

IS modeled after my bf, Harper. SHHHH don't tell him! ;-)

zackslacker18
You got that idea from spiderman one more day/brand new day arc
Haha, actually, I've never read Spiderman in my life, except for Ultimate Spiderman #1-#20. My obsession circles around the X-men...at the moment just
the new X-men, although I like Ultimate X-men too. Any similarities to a Spiderman arc are unintentional, although I'm not surprised this idea has been
done before. If anything, I got influenced by volume 7 of New X-men: here comes tommorow, and it gave me this idea a bit. Of course I worked it in with
Messiah Complex and worked in my own ideas for Hellion and X-23.

SONG CHAPTER!! Smells Like Teen Spirit by Nirvana, worth listening to. Oh, btw, interesting random fact: the Julian of this section of stages is a Nirvana and a NiN fan.
Laura likes the same, but also Tori Amos, Marilyn Mansion, and Björk. I thought assigning them music tastes might elaborate into their characters a bit.

Arc 1: B2S (Back 2 Skewl)

Chapter 30: smells like teen spirit

"Keller, Julian."

"Present," the boy from last week's near-introductory-fight said, his eyes fixed on a tall, slim girl with astoundingly long
brunette hair far to his right. Laura wondered if her hair was her "special gift", and had to look away to prevent herself
from smiling. She didn't know how to control her emotions too well—she either got over bitchy, or over happy, or over
angry. Never anything in moderation.

"Kinney, Laura."

"Here."

Laura hung her head slightly; she hated public attention situations. Everyone was doing it now—staring at her like
she was a museum exhibit.

A few people beside Julian noticed him give a small start, but the rest of the attendance passed without complication.
Cyclops adjusted the clipboard in his hands. "Excellent, we're all present and accounted for, what a strange occurrence.
Welcome to the fall term; those who were here for the summer will find it's a lot more work. Classes start Monday the 10th.
As we did last fall, we will be re-introducing the squads for ability development."

Beside him, the headmistress shifted; she was a lady that Laura had seen before, on TV. She had blazing red hair, green
eyes, and a kind face; at his other elbow was a woman clad in white that looked like she should be in Playboy.

"The squads will be the same. Jean Grey-Summers, headmistress, will advise the New Mutants squad, lead again by
Sofia Mantega (Wind Dancer and David Alleyne, Progeny). Emma Frost will advise the Hellions, lead by Julian Keller
(Hellion). Danielle Moonstar will advise the Alpha Squadron…"

Laura wished she could leave. She crossed her eyes and began to let her mind wander into its many crevices. She was
scared of her own mind sometimes; ordinary functions like trying to remember a date or a face could bring other memories
with it. And they weren't pleasant.

"…adjourned," the dull voice atoned. Laura slipped her hands into her pockets and began to weave her way towards the
entrance stairs. Her fingers encountered a piece of paper in the fabric folds and she pulled it out. An outline of the meeting
the one-eyed man had just gone over. She crumpled it and threw it at the garbage can. It froze in mid-air.

"Aren't you the least bit interested in the shit that happens here?"

Laura closed her eyes. Oh, god, was he irritating. "Please, leave."

"It's a free country," Keller said, opening the paper. In truth, he wanted to talk to Laura—for some odd reason, despite her
obvious dislike of him and her harsh dismissals, his curiosity was peaked. At the same time, she made him feel a bit
awkward and he wanted something to hold while he was talking to her.

"See? This squad here?" He held up the paper over his head with a grin, pointing to his. "You should join it, yeah. You'd
look hot in a suit. And I could boss you around much as I want."

"Grrr!" Laura snatched the paper from him, her face red. "You watch it…"

"Or what?" he taunted.

"I'll report you for sexual harassment," Laura hissed. "That's the kind of thing that just doesn't come off your record.
Believe me." Her aunt Debbie was a lawyer.

"Oh, my god, no!" Keller made a face of horror. "Please don't. Too bad it wouldn't work anyways…me and Frost
are like this." He crossed his fingers.

"Like this?" Laura raised her own fingers, crossed them, then rubbed them together. "You on the bottom, under Summers. With her watching."

"My fuck, you're sick," Keller said, his own face turning hot. Laura laughed derisively and turned to leave. He grabbed
her shoulder. "Hey—I—uh—wait…" his cheeks had actually reddened. "You wanna, um, hang out?"

"Honestly? Not if I can avoid it." Laura said scornfully.

Keller took his hand off her shoulder. "Okay then. Jeez." He stood for a second looking down, then disappeared between some passing
students. Laura stomped upstairs, wondering how much more of this she could tolerate.

…

"You hit on the new girl, didn't you?" Cessily asked, leaning on her elbows.

Julian ignored her, concentrating on his mashed potatoes. They needed to be grooved, for the gravy to run down properly…
he liked to pretend his potatoes were a volcano, and the gravy lava, something that was leftover from his childhood and
he doubted would ever change.

"And she said no?"

"Lay off, Cess," Julian grumbled.

"You're obviously hurt," she said quietly.

"I said, lay off. What part didn't you understand?"

"The 'off' and the 'lay'," Cessily grinned. "Look, tell me. You'll feel better about it once you do. She's obviously a loser to turn
you down without even getting to know you better."

Julian flushed. "Uh, first, I didn't ask her out, or anything, so she didn't say no. Second, I don't even like her. Third…even if I did,
she'd just be a notch on the bedpost, know what I mean?"

"That's a tiny bedpost," the pile of rocks beside him grunted with a big stupid grin. "You use a toothpick to make your notches?"

"Shut up," Julian said, but he didn't seem angry. "I've made my peace with it, Cess…move on. The one I do like, however…"
he looked over at the New Mutant's table, towards the long-haired girl named Sofia.

Laura continued to eat her tortilla at the unassigned table, casually eavesdropping on everything the Hellion's table said, even
though she was about eight tables away. She had superior hearing, just like Wolverine; it didn't even occur to her to avoid listening.

The other table—the new something-or-other—were talking about a danger-room thing, that sounded like a game. They sounded
like they were all full of compliments for each other. Laura wanted to mime vomit, but she was eating, and there was no one there to
see her. She missed Megan intensely at that moment. She missed aunt Debbie. And Sarah, although she was angry at her.

…

"Ah, Miss Kinney. It's nice to meet you," Scott Summers said, reaching across the table for her hand. They both remained in
Laura's lap, folded; her back was ramrod straight. After a moment, he retracted his hand.

Laura tilted her head for a moment. Early 30's, short brown hair, red visor hiding eyes (presumably blue behind them). Weight
approximately 81.6466266 kilograms (180 lbs.), obvious mutate. Snff. He smelled like lime shaving cream.

"It's okay, I understand that you didn't want to come here," he was saying in a kind voice. "Many reactions are common from
people just getting used to being different."

"I've had my powers as long as I can remember," Laura said, unblinking. This was something she liked to do to figures of
authority—stare at them, unwaveringly. For some reason, her eyes did not smart when she held them open for long periods
of time; no one had ever beat her at a staring contest.

"I see." Scott made a note on his pad. Laura also liked to assign first names to people that looked down on her.

"Do you take Viagra every day, or was last night your first time?" Laura asked. The idea that if she did poorly, or got expelled
from the school, her mother Sarah would come and retrieve her, had persisted.

"Mhmm. Wha—Miss Kinney." Scott cleared his throat. "I understand what you're trying to do. You're a brilliant girl—you will be
studying with Mrs. Summers and Dr. McCoy to see what they can do to expand your knowledge, amongst others. Your grades
have always been astoundingly high—100 average is, well, unheard of. However, records indicate that you have a tendency
to get into fights."

Laura shifted. "You actually bother looking at records for this dump?"

"If they are available, yes," Scott said, ignoring her insult of the school.

"This former behavior has been taken into consideration were squad placing is concerned. Miss Kinney, you have been hand-picked
by Emma Frost for her Hellions squad."

"WHAT?" Laura stood up. "You burn that piece of paper, right now. I will not have anything to do with that man-whore Keller."

Scott couldn't help it; a small smile made it past his restraint. "I take it you've met the team's leader, then?"

"He met me," Laura said angrily. "I do not want to participate in this 'squad'. I have perfect control over my powers. I can blend into society."

"Your mother would like us to instruct you in defense, Miss Kinney."

Laura fell silent. Her mother, her mother. Quietly but firmly making decisions behind her back, neatly deconstructing her life.

"That is all for today, Miss Kinney. You will be meeting with Emma this Monday, at four PM, after your first classes. Please be
prepared; you will need to think up a codename that encompasses your powers, and which you will answer to while in uniform."
He gave her a smile. "You're lucky, Emma lets her students choose their own names. Dani and Jean don't."

Laura closed her eyes.

…

"There a Laura Kinney here?" a gruff voice at the door asked.

Laura was sitting in her room—the only space in the school that she could be alone in. At least her mother had shelled out the extra cash to
make sure she didn't have to room with some sickening bubblegum chewing perfume-wearing teeny bopper for the next few years…

She looked over her shoulder at the door. Wolverine. How awkward. He was apparently back from his elaborate, time-consuming mission,
and was here to meet the 'daughter' he'd known about but never cared to check up on.

What does one say in such a situation?

She opened the door pensively. "Yes?"

"'llo." Wolverine was surprisingly short; she'd expected him to tower above her, but he was only about four inches taller than herself. He
looked mean and rough and she wished desperately that she was anywhere but here. She tilted her head.

About mid to late 30's in appearance, though she knew he was older. Messy black hair, blue eyes, weight deceptive—appearance of about
86.1825503 kilograms (190 lbs.), but it had to be more, knowing what she did. Mutate. Snff. Surprisingly, his base scent was like hers; more
so than the usual scent of a parent compared with their child.

Wolverine was doing the same thing to her, for a moment.

"Hi," she said in a small voice, breaking the silence. "Wolverine?"

"You can call me 'Logan', kid. Won't even make you say 'mister'…all things considered." He touched Laura's chin—AWKWARD! she thought,
jerking her head away in irritation.

"You're almost identical to your mom," he said, sounding surprised.

"Yes," Laura said. She didn't feel so talkative.

"Thought you'd look more like me…all things considered."

"Huh?" Laura unfolded her arms.

"Well…you are my clone, after all."

…

"WHAT THE FUCK, MOM?! WHAT THE FUCK?!" Laura pounded her fist into the tabletop, ignoring Wolverine's attempts to calm
her down as she screamed into the mouthpiece of the telephone. "HOW could you not TELL me?! OH MY GOD! I'M JUST A SCIENCE
EXPERIMENT! YOU SICK, FUCKED UP…you know what? I just disowned you. GOODBYE!" Laura hurled the cordless phone, the
receiver, the lamp, and the table the whole display was on at the wall so hard that everything broke.

"Kid…I didn't know she didn't tell you….I…I wouldn't have said anything…" Wolverine looked just the smallest bit disturbed. Laura was
clenching her fists so hard they were shaking. "Leave, now, they're going to come out," she said, just as two points began to slide
under her skin on each hand.

"They don't disturb me," Logan said. "I've got more of 'em than you do."

Laura paused, studying the older man. "Please, leave. I'll…I'll talk to you later, when I'm not so upset. I need to be alone now."

He nodded, and closed the door behind him. Laura let herself plop down behind her bed, turning her forearm over and drawing her
claws slowly up the clean skin of her wrist. Every drop that seeped out eased her anger, like a drug.

…

"Kinney! Hey, Kinney!"

Laura's neck twitched irritably. "I thought I told you I wanted nothing to do with you," she said coldly to the boy as he jogged towards
her, his breath coming in puffs in the cool autumn air.

"Tough. I heard you picked my squad."

"You've been misinformed. I was picked for your squad. I had no choice."

Keller frowned. "You wanted a different one?"

Laura rubbed her fingers in her mitts, something she did when she was angry. "I want to go home. I hate it here, I hate everyone, and
most of all I hate you. I really wish you'd leave me alone so I could be miserable in peace."

He paused. "Laura—look, if we're going to be on the same unit, we at least have to be civil to each other. I don't know what your beef is…
okay, so you don't like it here. But I don't hate you…and maybe you have to see the good in a bad situation?"

Laura stared at him. "Did you really just equate yourself as…oh god. You are to vomit." She ripped her hand out of his attempt to grasp
her wrist so fast that he was left holding her glove. "Leave me alone. Goodbye."

"No! I didn't mean that…damnit Laura! I just said that wrong!" He held her mitt, feeling useless. "Look…I don't just not hate you, I like you.
I want to be your friend. You're more entertaining than three-quarters of the population here."

"You named your squad after yourself. I can't overlook it," Laura said.

"For the love of god. I did not." Keller put his hands on her shoulders. "Emma Frost named her squad the Hellions…and when she asked
me to pick a name, I decided I liked that name…it sounds so cool, and I wanted to prove I was worth her time. I didn't know she was going
to form a squad named that. I was…I was embarrassed." He looked away.

Laura raised her eyebrows. "You, embarrassed? You don't have a cell in your body that's not occupied by ego."

He grinned. "Wanna bet?"

"Spare me." Laura shoved him away and took off across the grounds, not even bothering to retrieve the mitt he still held.

…

"Knock knock."

Laura had scrambled out of her bed, run to the door, and proceeded to tear it open the instant the words left his mouth, her hearing
having alerted her to his presence far before.

"What the—" Laura's enraged eyes searched his. "It's like you're stalking me! I'm going to file complaints!"

Keller held up her mitt. "Thought you might want this back. You know, so you don't have to tell mommy you lost it, and she wouldn't
have to starve to buy you a new pair."

"Har, har," Laura hissed. "You come up with that all by yourself, or did your squad help you?"

Keller grinned. "You're just egging me on, you know. Here." He tried to hand the mitt to her. She stepped back.

"Ugh, I don't want it…it's contaminated now!"

"Jesus, why did I even try to be nice?" he asked, throwing her mitt on the floor. "Like I said, I don't hate you Laura…I like you…
it's rare I like people here, you should be flattered and honored and all that shit."

"Oh, so I'm one of the chosen ones now? Is that it?" Laura leaned out the door to hiss the words at him. "Well, guess what, I don't
think you're all that special. In fact, you're just average. You're weak, you little human."

Keller's eyes widened from the constant squinting leer that seemed to be fixed on his face. "What the—what did you just call me?"

"Human," Laura said, grinning meanly.

Keller fell silent. Then…"This from the clone."

He couldn't have gotten a more spectacular reaction out of Laura if he'd tried. She slapped him so hard the imprint of her hand was
outlined on his cheek, and the hallway echoed with the fleshy sound. "You…" she choked.

"Wow, guess who has a file on who," Keller groaned, rubbing his cheek. "Bitch!" he swung for her side; Laura dodged neatly, bringing
her boot between his legs. She found her foot blocked by an invisible resistance; suddenly she was twisted off balance to the floor.

…

Laura's head finally cleared, and she had the sense to push him away from herself, horrified. They were now separate from their
clothing, and instead coated with a thin sheet of perspiration.

"BARF," she gasped. Her head whipped around; the door was closed, thankfully. He must've had the sense to close it before it had
started to get…she didn't want to think about that.

"Nothing I haven't see before," Keller said, his eyes half-closed. "That was hot. That was fucking awesome! You're not half bad, Kinney."

Laura sat up, holding her discarded shirt to her front. "Just leave. Now. I don't ever, ever want to see you again. However, if this
spreads around the school, I'll kill you in your sleep, you have my word."

"I wouldn't tell anyone, I'm not a jerk…" Keller touched his lips to her knee. She shuddered. "Besides…Sofia...I wouldn't want her to know."

Laura paled. "You're cheating on her, on top of everything. I think I'm going to vomit. I've defiled myself."

"No!—I—Sofia won't…" he looked down.

"A lot of people won't touch it, huh?" she asked, sneering.

"You just did," he pointed out. "Besides…Sofia just has some issues. She's so unsure of things. But if there was a chance for her
and me…I want it more than anything else…well, except for being a real X-man."

"Loser." Laura ignored the earnestness of his tone. "Can we start that disappearing thing now? I think it would be fun."

Keller appeared to pout. She turned away, pulling on her shirt.

"Wait a minute, who said I was done?" he asked, scooping his arm around her waist.

"Go any further and it'll be rape," Laura hissed. "Or death for you. What happened before…that was just pity sex, and there
was only one serving."

"I think it was more like angry sex," he grinned. "But I can promise you, you'll forget the word 'rape' the second I start."

Laura opened her mouth to yell at him more, but the tingling started. Amazed, she stared at the palms of her hands and her feet.
A green light was slowly engulfing her body, causing the feeling her self-bleeding caused…but all over, and without the blood.
Then it hit the point of no return, and the room was filled with an entirely different noise.