The day he was told he had a child was the day he cried. Unbeknownst to him, the pretty dark brunette had conceived the last time he'd been with her. Seven months later, she went into premature labor and died giving birth to his daughter. He cried because she'd been such a pretty woman, inside and out, because he had no idea how to raise a child.
Her named her _ Howlett, the name her momma had often told him was her favorite. When she cried, she sounded like a baby cougar. He called her his little Wildcat. The name stuck, especially when she discovered she had a variation of his mutation.
Instead of claws between her knuckles, they came out of the bases of them, sliding over her fingers to rest in sharp, curved points. The first time, she'd been mad at one of the other mutants at Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters (what a mouthful, huh?), and it had hurt, bled and scared her. Charles had immediately informed him that his daughter's mutation had finally showed up. He'd taken her into his arms and rocked her until she calmed down.
She'd grown into them beautifully and was as deadly as him. But she was always careful with them, having heard the tale of when her uncle had broken his when they had still been bone. And they never once broke or fractured. Until that one fateful encounter with a group of men in Canada.
They'd been buying some charcoal pencils for her, what with her being excellent when it came to drawing people, a trait inherited from the pretty, dark haired brunette. They spied her, this lean, curvy young woman with long mahogany waves framing her angular face. Logan was inside, debating on how many pencils she'd broken by gripping them too tight. They cornered her and one vegan to hit her. She fought back and she fought dirty, letting her claws come out.
They got her to the ground, three grown men no match for even her. One of them stepped on her hands and her claws snapped, as well as the bones still inside her flesh. She let out a bloodcurdling, wildcat scream. Logan dropped the box of pencils and ran out. He was savage as he punished each one, then took her to the truck and sat her beside it.
She trembled, sobbing, bones sticking out of her fingers, claws snapped. Blood ran down her wrists as her stomach roiled with pain. His heart broke and he cried silent tears with her. People who had seen most, if not all of it, felt sorrow for the young mutant, unable to comprehend her pain, yet shuddering with sympathy.
"It hurts, Da," she sobbed. "Fuck, it hurts."
"I know, bub, I know," he murmured. "Let's have a doctor set your hands then we'll go to that scientist friend of yours and see what he can do, alright?" She nodded. Once her hands had been reset, they healed in about an hour, but her claws were stuck unsheathed.
Being mutated as they were, they left the truck at home and ran to New York where the scientist currently lived. Logan knocked on the door instead of her, for she was still kind of shell shocked. Instead of it buzzing open like it normally did, the scientist himself opened it.
"What are you doing here?" he frowned.
"Listen, bub," the Wolverine growled, face fiercer that it normally was. "I need to know if you can help Wildcat."
"Most times she refuses help, especially mine," he replied. _ showed him her broken claws, lips trembling. The playboy millionaire genius scrubbed his face.
"I hope the other guy looks worse," he sighed, turning around. The door was open, so both Howletts' took that as an invitation, the elder one closing it. They followed him to his lab, where he had _ sit on a stool and fist her hands before holding them out.
"What do you think, Jarvis?" he asked.
"About an inch in diameter at the base, then narrowing to half an inch, sir," a British disembodied voice replied.
"Alright, _, let me see what I can do." He tinkered with some white liquid metal for a bit, asked for some DNA, then tinkered some more.
"They have to be able to slide in and out without pain, Tony," _ said. He nodded.
"I think I've got it," he replied, putting the now white liquid into a needle. "When I inject you, the serum will act with your body to heal your claws. However, it will take awhile to do so, and the liquid metal of it will encase your bones, if not replacing them."
Logan scowled at how similar the process was to the experimentation he had gone through.
"Will it hurt?" he asked. "And how long will it take?"
"It'll feel like growing pains," Tony replied. "I added special chemicals to the serum so that it does not hurt a whole lot. The process should be finished by tomorrow when she wakes up."
_ studied him, then smiled.
"Do it." He did as he was told. They talked for awhile, watched as the serum took hold and forced _'s claws to retract. He then escorted them to the door once he was sure the young mutant would be fine.
"You may feel a little lighter in the morning," he told _. "The liquid metal I used was a special kind I've been working on. Light weight and as strong as Vibranium."
"Thank you, Tony."
"No problem, kid, but thank me later when your whole body isn't aching."
"No kidding. I owe you. You ever need a big favor just ask."
"Like I said, I was actually happy to help, this time."
"Tony, I don't think you understand. My claws are my pride, my weapons, my tools. I would have been crippled if not for you."
"A woman after my heart... Only, it's already taken." She laughed.
"Bye Tony."
"See ya, Wildcat. Take care."
The next morning, when _'s claws slid out as she stretched, they were a gleaming ivory metal, and her whole body felt lighter, stronger. The serum had replaced her bones with lightweight metal, and she felt closer to her dad more than ever.
They were both just metal skeletons walking around. She showed everyone her shiny new claws, and a certain genius received a picture of himself done in charcoal.