Hey guys, DemonBlade 1410 back with another chapter for this self-glorifying story. For anyone who wants to know, the way I see Laura Kinney is how she looks in X-23 issue 17-19. She really is beautiful in those issues. Nuff said, read on.
Disclaimer: I don't own X-Men, but I really wish I did.
Justin bolted through the school doors, skidding into the classroom just as the bell rang. The teacher eyed him disdainfully.
'Ah, Mr. Li, thank you for joining us right at the moment we start, as per usual. Take your seat please.' She said sarcastically. Justin shrugged and marched over to his seat. He plopped down, pulling his books out from under the table. The teacher rolled her eyes before continuing.
'As I was saying, we have a new student in class. She's from New York, and has come in for a short exchange program. Please my dear, won't you introduce yourself?' The teacher gestured towards the dark haired girl sitting beside Justin. Justin looked up, stunned. He hadn't even noticed she was there. The girl stood silently and introduced herself.
'My name is Laura Kinney. I'm 16 years old and I'm from the Xavier Institute. It's nice to meet you all.' She sat back down. As she did so, she looked over in Justin's direction, and a flicker of recognition passed his face. He leaned closer to her and whispered.
'I know you, I saw you this morning!' He looked her up and down. She was dressed exactly the same. No way this was anyone else. He silently took a mental photo of her, running her picture through every national database in the world. This time, he came up with a birth certificate, driver's license and school record. She'd signed up for school this morning. He turned back to her, but she was looking down at her knuckles silently, fingering the black gloves that covered them.
'How did you know?' He whispered. Laura glanced at him.
'Know what?' She questioned, her face blank.
'About me? My power?' Justin stared intently at her, waiting for an answer. He was mentally monitoring her pulse and hormone levels, his techno eyes scanning her face for telltale signs of lying. Laura stared at him dead in the eye.
'I have no idea what you're talking about. I've never seen you before in my life.' She muttered and turned away. Justin frowned, confused. She was telling the truth. Yet, something tugged at the back of his head, like as though even though his scanners showed him the truth, he had a steady feeling that she was lying.
'Is there a problem Mr. Li?' Justin glanced up at the teacher. He shook his head.
'Then I suggest you get back to your work.' The teacher said. Justin rolled his eyes and turned back down.
After School
Justin jogged to catch up with Laura as she walked down the steps.
'Hey' He greeted her as he stopped in front of her. She eyed him suspiciously.
'What do you want?' She demanded, her eyes narrowing. Justin placed a hand over his heart.
'Come on, you don't have to be so mean. I just wanna get to know you, that's all.' Laura looked unconvinced, and Justin held up his hands.
'Honest!' She looked away.
'This is about me knowing your powers isn't it?' She muttered looking around. Justin snapped up again.
'I thought you said you didn't know anything?' He questioned suspiciously. Laura looked around.
'It's not safe to talk about this here, let's go.' She turned around, grabbing Justin by the hand and marching off, pulling him with her.
A few minutes later
They sat on the steps of small diner near their school, cradling drinks in their hands. Justin munched on a doughnut, drinking a milo, while Laura cradled a coffee in her hands. He looked over at her.
'You haven't explained yourself you know.' Laura glanced at him and raised her hand to his face. Without warning, she clenched her fist, and two tandem claws shot out from between her fingers.
'Whoa!' Justin exclaimed. He eyed the claws, silently drawing a finger across one of them, nicking his finger on the edge. He sucked on his bleeding finger and looked at her for an explanation.
'I'm a mutant.' She said, looking away from him and retracting her claws. Justin chuckled.
'I gathered that. But it still doesn't explain why you're here.' Laura looked at him thoughtfully.
'The Xavier Institute, or actually the Jean Grey Institute of Higher Learning, is a school for mutants. You were detected by a supercomputer we have named Cerebro, which our telepaths use to search for mutants.' She explained.
'It's not 100% foolproof though, so they normally send in a student or teacher to-'
'To check?' Justin interrupted. Laura looked at him.
'Yes, in case Cerebro was wrong, or if they're in danger.' Justin laughed.
'In danger? What danger could I be in?' Laura shrugged.
'I dunno, anything I suppose.' She replied. She stood up suddenly, on alert, scanning the air for scents. Her eyes widened.
'Kimura' She gasped and turned to Justin. 'RUN!'
She dropped to her knees as a crossbow bolt hit her.
'Laura!' Justin exclaimed, running over to her. Laura hissed in pain as she gripped the bolt. They looked up, only to be met by a woman sneering at them, a crossbow in her hand.
'Hey X! Miss me?' She cackled.
'Kimura.' Laura growled, ripping the bolt out of her shoulder. She unsheathed her claws, and with an inhuman roar, charged at Kimura, raking her claws across Kimura's face. They stopped short when they hit Kimura, not even puncturing her skin. Kimura deftly slapped away the claws, grabbing Laura by the neck and slamming her into the wall. She pulled a knife out from a sheath on her belt and held it to Laura's face.
'I'm going to enjoy this.' She sneered. Laura felt Kimura squeezing her neck, and she knew she'd pass out if she didn't free herself. She grabbed at Kimura's fingers, forcing her claws in between them, trying to pry them apart, but to no avail. She grit her teeth as her claws cut into her own throat, but Kimura still wouldn't let go.
Then all at once, the pressure left her throat.
Justin had a supercomputer for a brain, but evidently he still wasn't all that smart. He'd run a scan when he'd touched Laura's claws earlier, so he knew what they were made of. So obviously, kicking a woman who could withstand that in the face wasn't exactly the smartest thing to do. But he did it anyway. Stupid.
Justin grunted as he landed, his muscles still aching from the previous day's workout. He released more endomorphins into his system, numbing the pain. He spun around as Kimura lashed out with the knife. He shifted his head nimbly to the side, grabbing Kimura's hand and disarming her. He leapt into the air, bringing the knife down onto Kimura's head, the blade shattering from sheer force. Kimura grinned and lashed out, forcing him to retreat.
Justin sprung backwards off his hands, dodging the kicks and punches thrown his way. He flipped over her head, kicking off the wall and reverse-elbowing her in the face. Kimura shrugged it off, retaliating with a combination of punches and kicks. Justin grunted as he blocked the blows. He was busy running a full body scan on her, and was trying to keep her within his line of sight. Justin gasped. He'd found her weakness.
Kimura's skin had been toughened to an unbreakable point using an artificial treatment. But it was still skin, and only her skin. Her innards were just as raw and vulnerable as any other person. The key to defeating her was to use attacks that would hurt her internally, like Dim Mak, or Jiujitsu. Justin deftly evaded another punch, grabbing her fist and wrapping it over his arm, pulling her into a modified arm lock. Justin twisted his hand up as he did so, snapping Kimura's wrist easily. Her eyes bulged and she screamed in pain.
'AAAAAAAAAAGH!' She yelled, pushing him away from her, clutching her limp wrist. She retaliated in a fury, throwing punches and kicks at him, all of which he easily avoided. He struck nerve points in her left leg, and she screamed in pain. He quickly disabled the leg, and side stamped her knee, snapping it. Kimura screamed again. He ducked as a gunshot rang out. Spinning around, he spotted the group of armed soldiers charging at them. He snatched a gun from Kimura's belt, firing off several shots at the soldiers. Seizing the opportunity, Justin grabbed Laura by the arm and ran, pulling her along.
'Why are we running? You can kill her!' Laura screamed at him, pulling her arm from his grasp. Justin rounded on her.
'I'm not risking it. There are too many guys and you're hurt.' He stuffed the gun into his pants and pulled aside her bloody jacket, touching her shoulder. He frowned; there was no wound. Laura slapped his hands away.
'I have a healing factor.' She stated, rolling her eyes as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. Justin turned and carried on running. He jumped onto his bike, starting the engine, but Laura pushed him out of the way.
'Hey! What gives?' He yelled. Laura ignored him, kicking the bike into gear and revving off. They hurtled down the streets. They passed the fifth avenue, sixth, seventh, where were they going? Laura pulled the bike to a halt, stopping in a small gas station at the edge of town. She stepped off the bike and started topping off the gas.
'New York City. We have to get there.' She said, fixing him with a look that said no arguing. Justin, unfortunately, did not pick that up.
'New York? That's three thousand miles from here!' He exclaimed, throwing his hands up in frustration. Laura raised an eyebrow.
'Well your tone of voice suggests that you have something better to do. Obviously you don't.' She stated coolly. She shut the gas tank and replaced the hose. She calmly snatched two gas canisters off the wall, strapping them to the side of the bike with an unused hose left lying on the floor.
'What about my family? I can't exactly just get up and move without them knowing. Besides, where the hell are we going?' Justin yelled.
'New York.' Laura stated again.
'That's real helpful.'
'Glad I could help. Now prep the bike while I make a call. If I'm lucky, we won't have to drive all the way.'
Twenty minutes later
Justin grunted as the van bounced again. He stretched across the small makeshift bed he was lying on, resting his hand on his bike secured to the wall of the van. Laura had managed to sweet talk some poor sap into driving them as far down the road as his schedule could manage. Laura was propped up against the side of the van, her eyes fixed on the doors.
'So where you from?' Laura glanced briefly at Justin.
'Around.' She answered shortly, and Justin rolled his eyes. The driver had agreed to take them down the road to the New York City turn off, and that would take four hours, so they had time to kill. He gazed over at her again. She really was beautiful, her lightly tanned skin, long black hair. Her green eyes were mesmerizing. She looked over at him, and their eyes connected.
'Why are you looking at me like that?' She questioned, her eyes narrowing. Justin shrugged as best her could, propping himself on the wall opposite her.
'Because you're beautiful.' He grinned at her. Laura's gaze remained cold and lifeless.
'I know. I've been told.' She muttered, turning away. She shifted over to him, and lay down on the makeshift bed. She turned her back to him, curling into a ball. Justin sighed, laying down next to her.
'Don't you want to talk?' He asked. She didn't respond, and he sighed again.
'I know you're not asleep, I can see your heartbeat.' At this, Laura perked up, rolling over to meet his eyes.
'What exactly is your power?' She questioned. Justin thought for a moment, trying to find a way to explain it.
'My brain is like a biological supercomputer. I don't know how else to explain it. I can connect to anything, hack anything, communicate with anything, as long as it's digital. I can do things with my mind that would take research teams hours to do in a matter of seconds.' Justin looked up at the ceiling.
'Girls are still a mystery though.' He jested, his face breaking into a smile. Laura seemed unimpressed, so he continued.
'I can lift anything from anywhere and download it into my brain. Information, unlock codes, new fighting styles, whatever. If it's out there, I can find it. I can even control my body to a certain extent. Like my eyes.' He turned to her, his eyes glowing a bright blue, a techno pattern surrounding the irises.
'I can scan things and find out any and all information about them. What they're made of, who made them, the way they were made. Even people. Who they are, where they're from, what they've done. Some can be done instantaneously. Others take time. Like you.' Laura frowned.
'Like me?' She asked, and Justin laughed.
'I've been trying to get a read on you since we left the school. I came up with a birth certificate and school record which was fabricated this morning, so I dug deeper.' He looked her dead in the eye.
'I know what you are.' He said, and Laura's gaze hardened.
'I know what they did to you. I know where you've been and what you've done. You can't hide anything from me. I mean they documented everything from your cup size to how many toilet breaks you needed a day. Kinda stalker-ish.' He laughed again, ignoring her death stare.
'But that doesn't matter. None of it does. I can only imagine what you're feeling now. You think of yourself as a murderer, someone who doesn't deserve to be loved. Don't lie to me; I can see your brain impulses. I can read your thoughts. And I'm telling you, it doesn't matter.' He fixed her with a serious look.
'The premises of your birth don't define who you are; past events don't make you a monster. It's what you choose to do now that matters. Sure, most people won't forgive you immediately, but that's how it goes. It's a process, it doesn't happen whenever you like, it just happens. You have to go with the flow, and prove to people that you're not who they think you are.' Justin raised his hand to her face, brushing away some hair that had fallen across her lips.
'If you want people to forgive you, you first have to forgive yourself. Listen to me Laura. You are not a monster. You are not a weapon. You are not evil.' Laura shut her eyes; his words had hit her deep. She felt tears coming, and didn't try to stop them. She slowly opened her eyes, and shifted so that she was sitting. Justin sat up, and Laura leaned forward hesitantly. Justin watched her, his eyes widening.
Their lips brushed against one another, and Justin's head went fuzzy. There were error messages popping up in his head 'Damn computer brain,' he thought, shutting them out, and tried his best to focus on Laura.
He felt her lips leave his briefly, and he instantly reconnected them. Laura gently broke the kiss. It had been only a few seconds long, but to her it felt like hours. She lay back down, and turned away from him, curling up into a ball.
Justin lay down next to her, and she closed her eyes, drifting into sweet slumber. Justin on the other hand, lay awake, wondering what would happen next.
Well, that's the end of this. So anyway, chill out, have some ice cream, and do review/follow.
