Come on, guys, I know the Evangelion Genre isn't as popular as it used to be, but from the Follows I get, I'd really appreciate hearing from all Twenty-two of you...it motivates me to write faster! Also, to the guest that was worried about Rogue being bereft of love in her life, don't worry about that, she'll get a man. After she learns to control her powers. But the main pairing is Shinji/Laura(X23).
3: Fury
Due to his heightened aggression levels from Laura, Shinji was on edge as soon as they entered the jet. Not only that, but Laura still had her claws out. He at least making an effort to control his aggression. They were greeted by a bald man in a wheelchair, but Shinji knew very well that this man was beyond dangerous if push came to shove.
"Are you the one that spoke to us?" Shinji asked peacefully while moving in front of the girl baring her claws.
He nodded, "I am," he said smiling, "Allow me yo introduce myself. My name is Professor Charles Xavier, the headmaster of a school for the gifted."
Laura made to step around the boy, but he managed to place himself in between them once more as the girl from earlier phased through the hull. "I know who you are." She growled out, "I was drilled in ways to take you out, but everything we went through always ended up in failure in the simulations." She said, pointing her claws at him, "You are a level five telepathic mutant with the ability to control the mind and even freeze people in their place for extended periods of time."
Charles nodded sadly at the girl, "And you, my dear, are full of rage and hate," this gained a feral glare from the young teen, "From the time you were able to walk and learn, you were trained to hate your own kind, and kill them whenever you were told...even your own father."
"He's not my father!" Laura snapped, and Shinji couldn't stop the lunge this time as the girl lept over him, her claws drawn up ready to slash down, only for her to be stopped in midair. "Let me go!"
Shinji felt his own anger begin to boil at her capture, dropping the clothes and moving forward, "Don't you dare hurt her!" His claws extended threateningly.
Charles looked at the boy for a moment, his eyes widening for a fraction of a moment before he nodded, and gently set the girl back on her feet, however, not completely releasing his hold on the girl. "If I let you loose, you will have to behave."
Laura growled, but conceded to the greater power, "Understood."
The professor smiled, and let her go, looking back at Shinji, "I have no intention of harming either of you," he said sincerely, "I think others have done quite enough of that." Looking between the pair he said, "In the moments you've been aboard this jet, I've read both of your minds...and I can't help but feel my own anger at what has been done to both of you." He looked at Laura, "Denied what you should have had." He looked at Shinji, "Treated as if you were nothing more than a tool."
"But I promise you both, now, that those days are over, as I plan on helping you both become part of the world as you should have been. No matter how long it takes...if you'll let me, that is."
Shinji didn't trust him...not completely. He could easily tell a lie when he heard one, having become used to them throughout his life. Shadowcat was behind him, watching them curiously. It would be so easy...
He turned around, holding out his hand, "Shinji Ikari, nice to meet you."
Kitty grinned at him, and held up her hands, showing him her gloves, "Nice try, but the professor already warned us that you might be able to absorb our powers."
"And some memories," Shinji added, tapping his head, "I barely know anything about what the hell they did to me, but I know that if I touched you, I'd get some of your power, and see your memories...then I'd know if he was telling the truth."
Laura smirked at him, "Smart thinking, Mimic."
Shinji rolled his eyes at her, "Just thought I'd use what I learned from you before the memories and aggression wore off." He said, placing his hands on his hips, "So?" He said, looking at Charles, "What's it going to be?"
Kitty looked at him sheepishly, "Could you...put those clothes on first?" She said, blushing, "It's kinda distracting."
Shinji looked down at himself, realizing he was still in nothing but the boxers, and blushed a little himself. "Right."
Moments later, Shinji was tapping the toe of his boot against the floor of the jet as he finished dressing. "It's a perfect fit." The boy said, clenching his fists in the new gloves before taking one of them off, "Now, about those memories?"
Kitty shifted nervously, "You know you're gonna take in some of my powers if you're anything like Rogue?"
Shinji cocked his head to the side, "If I only touch a small amount of your skin for a second, I should only take your memories, and your powers will remain intact." He said, then blinked, "How did I know that?" He asked, looking at Laura, who shrugged.
"Latent knowing of your own abilities," Charles said, "Though you don't know it yourself, your instincts do." He said, drawing their attention, "I believe the people that did this to you programmed your abilities to give you the latent knowledge of your own strength when needed, consciously or subconsciously. This could prove useful in controlling your powers."
"Professor," the pilot called out, "We're coming up on Wolverine and Nightcrawler's location. Looks like they're waiting for us."
"Radio Kurt, and let them both know that we have the two children we came for." Charles said, looking at Kitty, "Go ahead, my dear. Shinji is telling the truth."
Shinji nodded once, and held up the tip of his blackened trigger finger as Kitty held up her own. Shinji made the contact, touching her skin for a fraction of a second before pulling back as a wave of foreign memories poured into his mind. He staggered back in a daze as Laura flitted to his side to support him.
Kitty staggered against the wall, "Wow, that was so - "
"Wacko," Shinji supplied, rubbing his head, "Yeah, I know." He said, smiling, and looked at Laura, "It's cool, Laura, he was telling the truth." He then shook his head, "Gah, this whole personality swap is a pain!"
Laura helped him back to his feet, "If you start acting like her, then we might have a problem."
"And what's wrong with the way I act?" Kitty huffed.
A puff of smoke stopped the girl from responding as Nightcrawler and Wolverine appeared. Shinji was too startled to hold back a yelp when he saw the blue-furred teleporter, and missed the chance to restrain Laura the moment she saw the larger man beside him.
"You!"
Logan turned toward the girl in slight surprise, "Yeah, me, Squirt." Logan said, not realizing the girl was ready to fight. "These the kids you were talkin' about, Chuck?"
Before the professor could answer, Laura's claws extended, shocking the man, "What the fu - Hey!" He dodged to the side as the girl launched herself at him, taking a piece of his jacket with her.
"Laura, no!" Shinji snapped, darting after her.
"What's going on back there?!" Scott yelled.
"Some crazy girl's trying to slice up Mister Logan!" Kitty yelled back.
Logan caught Laura's wrist as it came only a few inches from his face, "Alright, that's enough of that!" Logan growled, "Who are you, Squirt?"
"She's your - " Shinji began, only for Laura to snarl at him.
"No he's not!" She roared, swiping at him with her free hand, only for it to be caught, then surprised both of them when a set of new claws sprang from each foot, and kicked him in the stomach. "All that I've been through, all that I am! It's all because of you!" She pushed him back, gutting him in the process. Shinji darted in and grabbed her beneath the shoulders, hauling her back, the girl kicking and screaming.
"That's enough, Laura! Calm down!" Shinji roared as she struggled.
"No! I've finally got him!" She screamed, "You don't know how long I've waited for this!"
Logan looked from one teen to the other, not bothering to hold his stomach as it healed. He then looked over at the professor, "Chuck! You better explain this!" He roared, pointing the two, "Why does she have Adamantium in her?!"
"One moment," Charles sighed, touching his brow, and looking at the thrashing girl. "Laura...sleep."
Shinji felt the girl go rigid for a moment, and then limp in his arms, "Hey!" He picked her up in his arms and glared at the Telepath, "What did you do to her!?" His claws sprang out unconsciously, shocking Logan even further.
Kurt ported next to Kitty, "What's going on? Who are they?" He whispered.
Kitty shook her head and put her finger to her lips, telling him to be quiet while the new mutant held his ground in front of the professor.
Charles turned to face the boy, "She's unharmed, Shinji, I promise you that." He assured the boy who held the girl protectively, "As to what I've done, I've merely put her to sleep for the moment." He turned toward Logan, "As the how they came to be, Logan, the girl is, in essence, your biological daughter."
Logan growled, "The hell are you talking about, Chuck? I only had one child, and you know what happened to him."
"I know," Charles said gently, "I mean that the girl, Laura, is in a way, your child, as she was genetically engineered with your genes, and that of another, Sarah Kinney, a scientist that worked for Stryker, and Bolivar Trask. Two names I believe you're familiar with?"
"Too familiar," the man snarled, looking at the girl knocked out in Shinji's arms, "what the hell did they do to her?"
Charles shook his head, "It's better for the moment that you don't know, old friend." He said, looking at the boy, "The young man is unique as well. Stryker and his men found him, and learned that he had a dormant X-gene, which they used to implement a new project, which involved your genes as well."
Shinji retracted his claws, "They called it Project Mimic," he said, seating himself, carefully positioning Laura in his lap, "They kept me sedated for a month before I was ready to have Adamantium put in me. Laura helped me get as far as we did."
"He's able to absorb the powers and memories of both mutants and humans through touch, much like our Miss Anna Marie." Charles explained, "But his is more subdued then hers is, as it is limited to the space of his finger tips. And he's able to retain any powers he absorbs and make them his own."
Scott came back to check on things, looking from the two new teens, to the older X-men, "Everything alright?"
"Fine," Charles smiled at the young man, "Everything's just fine."
"For now," Shinji growled out. "Trask won't let me go so easily...I've met someone like him before."
=x=
Bolivar paced in his office angrily, "An entire platoon and they get away, with the X-men, no less!" He snapped at Stryker, "And now our location is compromised, our two finest subjects are in the worst possible place for us, and we have nothing, nothing to show for it!"
Stryker sighed and poured them both a drink, "You really think that they'll come after us?" He asked, handing the man his brandy, "Logan is one thing, and we can easily handle him if he comes, but the boy? He doesn't even know what he is anymore. He's a liability to them, as well as himself. And by the time he learns how to use those powers, he'll be in the one place that has more Level 5 mutants in the entire world, a veritable feast of power just waiting for his touch."
Bolivar took the drink and downed it, "That is all very well and good, Bill, but we still have the problem of his loyalties!" He snapped, "He knows we're not who we said we were, and he knows where we are. If he gains anymore power, what's to stop him from coming after us?"
Stryker chuckled, "You remember Weapon-11?"
"Subject Wade Wilson, code name Deadpool," the doctor waved it off, "Also beaten, and killed by Weapon X, and Victor Creed, what about him?"
Stryker chuckled once again, smiling, "Well, you remember I had a chip implanted in him to help control him, right?"
Realization dawned on him, "You put the same chip inside of Project M?"
"I put the same chip inside of him," he nodded, smiling, holding up a small remote, "Once he's gained a bit more strength, and perhaps a bit more powers, we'll not only have the perfect mutant, but the perfect killing machine."
Bolivar began to smile, "That is more than we can hope for!" He set his glass down and clapped the man on the shoulder, "Then, not only S.H.I.E.L.D will fall - "
"But Hydra as well," Stryker smirked, "Now you're starting the think like a military man, Bolivar."
Bolivar shook his head, "We've worked for those narrow minded fools for years, but they only saw what could be attained by humans, and enhanced human abilities. Think of what we'll do when we have our little boy back?"
"I already am," Stryker said, looking over at a portrait on the wall. The portrait was that of the White House, "I already am."
=x=
The blackbird had them back to the United states within hours. Shinji's unease, however, didn't leave him. The professor was one thing, but Logan? The man kept scowling at him throughout the flight. And Laura didn't wake up.
Kitty and Kurt did their best to start conversations, but the young Japanese boy kept his mouth shut for the most part, only speaking when he had to. Katherine Pryde seemed like a good person, but Kurt, he saw from her memories, was a bit nosy, and somewhat of a nuisance when he wanted to be. It was him that Shinji related to the most. In her memories, Shinji had seen the Teleporter with and without his disguising watch activated. He was afraid of being seen as he truly was.
Scott was another thing. The teen was mistrustful of him, and the girl. Understandable, since Laura had not only tried to rip Charles apart, but also Logan as well, and he was her father...sort of.
"Not sort of," Charles said, startling the boy, "She is his daughter."
Shinji scowled, "Do you mind? I'd rather not have someone riffling through my thoughts."
Charles chuckled, and smiled, "I didn't have to, my dear boy, your thoughts are rather loud." He said, "As are Miss Howlett's."
"Chuck," Logan growled.
"Well what else should her name be?" The man asked, "She is family, Logan, and you will have to accept that, sooner or later." He said, "I intend to contact Miss Kinney once we land, she at least deserves to know that the girl she nurtured is still alive."
"Yeah, yeah, some mother," Logan growled, "If she cared about that girl, then why would she let those bastards do what they did to her?"
Charles sighed, rubbing his brow, "Believe me, Logan, she didn't giver her up without a fight. From what I've seen of her more repressed memories, Miss Kinney had to be restrained when Laura was taken from her. You have to understand that she's not a complete clone of you, Logan, she's part of Laura Kinney as well."
Logan sat back with his arms crossed, "As many times as I've gone back to that place, I've never caught her scent, not once." He said, looking at the pair across from him, "If I'd known, I would've gone in and taken her from them. Nothing would've stopped me."
"Did you know her?" Shinji asked, "Her mom, I mean?"
"Sarah?" Logan asked, shrugging, "We'd met a few times before I had a falling out with Stryker, but that was about it." He said, thinking back, "I think she was Brazilian...or African, I couldn't tell. Her accent didn't give anything away, and she had bronze skin."
"She's mixed," Charles put in, "She was raised here in the States, which is why her accent was different that what you're used to, Logan, but through Laura, I can see that she was a kind, gentle woman that only cared about the science behind what she was doing. It was only when she had Laura did she know what was going to happen to her."
"Had her?" Logan asked.
"She was birthed," Charles smiled, "Not grown in a test tube."
Shinji sighed as he sat back with Laura sleeping in his arms, the girl giving a content sigh as she slept. "Hear that, Laura? Your mom was a good person."
"Watch it, Pipsqueak," Logan growled.
"Or what?" Shinji asked, looking at the man with sad expression, "There's nothing that you can do to me now that hasn't already been done."
Logan smirked, "I may be out of practice, but I'm still a parent...just watch your hands, Pipsqueak."
"Hey, be nice to the guy, Mister Logan," Kitty huffed from her seat, "Hasn't he been through enough already with running around half naked in the snow, and being shot at?"
"And stabbed," Shinji put in helpfully, "Laura got me once already, so your really don't have to worry about me trying anything, even while she's sleeping."
Kurt laughed a little, "I don't think you need to be worrying about her, Logan." He said, smiling, "She managed to lay one on you, remember?"
"Squirt's got skills, I'll give her that." Logan smiled. The jet tilted slightly, making the man grab for his seat belt, "Dammit, Cyclops!"
"Sorry!" Scott yelled, "We're coming in for a landing."
Moments later, the jet set down.
The floor began to descend as the ramp let down, "Welcome to my school." Charles said, wheeling his chair down, "Come, I'll show you where you can rest."
Shinji rose, Laura still in his arms, and followed the professor out. Logan came behind them, keeping his eyes on the boy. They walked down a long corridor, and to an elevator, "My school, Mister Ikari, is far more than you can imagine," Charles said as the six of them entered, "Not only do we offer shelter to those with powers, but we also try to mediate damages caused by those that would cause harm, be they human or mutant."
"So you don't have any problems using your powers on normal humans?" Shinji asked, his eyebrow raised.
"I do not, and will not kill, Shinji," Charles said, "I never have, and I never will. I have, however, imposed my will on someone when I felt I had no choice. To change the mind of someone is to change the person themselves and only serves a temporary solution to the problem. What we try to do is make people, human and mutant, see the errors of their ways, and set them on the right path."
"And what if they don't?" Shinji asked.
The elevator stopped, and the door opened, "We stop them." Charles said, "There are many anti-mutant groups that think our kind needs to be exterminated, or that we need to be registered as mutants so that when we come out of our homes, the world knows that we are different. Racial views over the past decades have never been easy to change, as only fifty-five years ago, we had the Germans committing horrible acts against the Jewish by subjecting them to torture, and to the concentration camps of World War II. And we still had racial problems with African Americans a few years later even after they helped in the war efforts. It's only recently things have begun to look up for them, now because of the increase in mutation, mankind now believes it has a common enemy in us mutants."
Shinji couldn't argue with that. He knew enough about mankind to know that it loved war. If there wasn't some sort of conflict going on, then there was nothing for them vent their frustrations on, except each other, which would eventually give rise to a war. With mutants involved, humans could come together, and...
"Your thoughts are correct, Shinji," Charles said, looking up at the boy as they walked, "Man will rise up against threats, or become one if they have to, which is what they have done. Mutants have been dragged from their homes, and put into horrible prisons, or killed outright because they couldn't control their powers. We have no choic but to hide not only what we are, but who we are."
Shinji nodded and looked at the man, "You said your read my mind...do you know - "
"What you've had to do?" Charles asked, "Yes, and I will keep that to myself until I find out how you came to be. Or, you may tell whoever you wish, though I doubt anyone will believe something so far-fetched."
Sometimes I don't believe it myself, Shinji thought.
"I can see why," Charles said, reading his mind again.
Shinji sighed, "That's going to take some getting used to."
"It always does," said a new voice, as a tall African American man stepped out of one of the halls, an eye patch over his left eye, "But then again, I hear the same thing from my own men."
Logan growled and stepped in front of them, his claws out, "What the hell are you doing here, Fury!?"
Fury, as the man was known, stepped forward, not intimidated by the man at all. "You really need to ask me that, Logan, after I hear from my subordinates that Stryker, and Trask have created not one, but two new weaponized mutants?" He said, looking at Laura and Shinji, "I knew you were a simple kind of man, Logan, but I didn't figure you for a fool." He said, "And you can stop trying to read my mind, Charles," he said to the professor, holding a small device, "As long as I've got this, no Telepath can even levitate a hair on my head."
"What hair?" Shinji quipped before he could stop himself, gaining a soft giggle from Kitty.
"Son, you really shouldn't antagonize a man that can put you in a freezer for forty years and not bat an eyelash," Fury said, "Especially when that man happens to be a brother that just flew in at speeds that ought to be illegal when he was just about to enjoy lunch." He pocketed the device out of reach, "Now, I'm going to have to ask you, and Miss Priss there to come with me."
"Over my dead body," Logan growled, "What gives you the right to even be here? You've just broke the law by even stepping onto private property."
"I think you'll find that if a little shrimp has the power to take on the powers of any mutant, keep those powers, and turn them on anyone he wants is on the loose, that the big man that makes the laws may find it a little more important than breaking and entering."
"The boy is safe here, Nick," Charles said, motioning for Logan to back off, "He's not a danger to anyone."
"Says the man that can control the minds of others," Nick said, "I'm afraid I can't let the kid stay here, not when I know that each and every one of your students is a mutant, and from what I've seen this last year, you have another Telepath here, and she's nothing short of powerful, maybe even stronger than you."
Scott stepped up beside Logan, his hand against the side of his visor, but Charles stopped him as well, "You've been keeping tabs on my students, and my school, I can certainly understand that," Charles said, "But you must know that if you force the boy to go, or harm the girl, he won't stand for it." He tapped the side of his head, "I've been inside his mind, Nick, and I'll tell you right now that if you try, you'll have the fight of your life on your hands. He may be timid, but he has heart, and if he's pushed to his limit, with the things they've done to him, you won't survive."
Nick scoffed, "I could almost take that as a threat, Xavier, but I know you better than that." Nick said, "Now the way I see it. I can, and will take that boy and girl into custody, with or without your cooperation," Logan growled at this as Shinji stepped behind Scott, "But that would mean going through two Level Five mutants, yourself aside, and the kid's too green to pose a threat."
"Don't bank on that, Bub," Logan growled, "He's got training under his belt." He sheathed his claws.
"Not enough to give my men trouble," Nick said, "And don't even get me started on Cap, he's been itchin' to see you again, Logan."
Logan smirked, "I'm all for seeing an old war buddy over a few drinks," he said, "But I know Steve a little better than you think I do, and I know he wouldn't hurt this kid."
"Well, I didn't say I didn't have more options," Nick said, walking up to them, "While I'm confident that my men could take down a good number of the mutants here, I'm willing to bet that killing kids isn't high on their to-do list. So, I'm warning you right now," he said, looking both at Charles, and Shinji, "If I so much as hear about you stepping out of line, I won't hesitate to move in on you. And it won't just be me, this time. If I have to get my A team on you, don't think I won't. The kid's a threat, even if he doesn't know it." He said, "We don't know where he came from, or how Stryker got a hold of him, so he is what you'd call a loose canon."
Shinji stared back at the one-eyed man, "All I wanted was to be normal...but a human man wouldn't let me...how are you any different than Stryker or Trask?"
"Really, I'm not," Nick admitted, "But the difference between us is that I want to keep my home turf safe, those two? They want to start a war that'd probably end up killing off half the planet. You, kid, were supposed to be the bullet that set that war off. So you'll understand why I'm trying to make sure that the bullet is a blank before the trigger gets pulled and the hammer goes down."
Shinji shook his head, "I won't be used like that ever again," he said, looking down at Laura, "and I won't let the only friend I've got be used like that either."
"Words don't really mean much to me, kid, so you'll need to do better than that," Nick said, "Prove to me that I can trust you, and I might just lighten up, but if you don't I can assure you that you'll be put away for a long, long time."
"Nicolas, I believe you've over stayed your welcome," Charles ground out in frustration, "It's high time for you to leave, or perhaps you'd rather I have Logan and Scott here show you out?"
"No need," Nick said, and turned around, "Just remember what I said, or else - " POOF "What the - !"
"Auf Wiedersehen!" Kurt laughed before porting away with the man in tow. He reappeared a moment later, "Wow, he sure was angry!" He grinned.
"Maybe because you dropped him in the pool, Mister Wagner," Charles smirked as Logan and Scott let out a laugh. "I'm sorry you all had to endure that." He said, looking at the youngsters.
Kitty poked her head around Scott, "Who the heck was that one-eyed creep?"
Logan crossed his arms, "That, Half-Pint, was Colonel Nick Fury, head honcho of S.H.I.E.L.D."
Shinji shivered, hoping it would be a long time before he had to see Nick Fury again.
Well, Shinji and Laura are safe for the moment, but boy do they have their hands full! Now I know I made Nick Fury out to be an ass, but really that's what he is, paranoid, rude, and downright scary.
Also, the reference to Deadpool was from X-Men Origins: Wolverine. It was more badass, though I did like the Deadpool movie, but then again, I have a warped sense of humor.
Anyway, next chapter is going to be a bit more X 23 centered. Don't forget, she's probably as antisocial as a person can get, and in a school full of super powered kids? Heaven help us all.
Don't forget to review!
