Disclaimer: Again, I own nothing.
A/N: Sorry it took me so long to post anything. I've not given up on any of my X-23 stories. I've just been really, really busy. I plan to post the next chapter to my other story soon. Anyways, enjoy.
Laura scanned the room she was in. Logan and Remy spoke in hushed tones in the corner. They spoke of how they should go about quietly removing the students so as to keep them safe. The windows were blocked by children staring outside at the angry mob below. Some people outside had even lit torches, and in the distance of the mansion she could hear people beating on the plexi-glass windows and the solid doors. The rest of the room was filled with people, and they loudly discussed their fear and panic. Laura heard the buzz of white noise in her head that usually accompanied her trying to understand situations and emotions. She pushed a single claw out only enough so that the tip showed just under her skin, and she dragged it along her wrist. Blood dripped off her claw and rolled off her arm onto her boot. Logan was too enraptured in his urgent discussion to notice the odor enter the air, and Laura cut herself once more before drawing her claw back in. She looked to the door of the room, and she glanced one last time to Logan, Remy, and the others, and she slipped out into the hall.
The sounds of people clambering to enter the building grew louder as she ran down the halls. She pushed open the door to the room she'd always borrowed when visiting, and she grabbed a black hooded jacket from her armoire. She pulled the jacket on over her black cropped top, and she pulled out the back panel of the armoire, revealing a stash of various weapons. She secured a holster around the waist of her black leather pants, and she loaded it up with two guns and as much ammunition as she could carry. She strapped two knives to the inside of her wrists and two more to the inside of her calves and thighs so that the black sheaths and handles blended with her pants. She stuffed another gun inside her jacket pocket, and then she closed the armoire and pulled the hood of her jacket over her head. Laura pushed open the window to her room, and looked down. The room she'd chosen was on the back side of the school facing away from the street for this very reason. If she ever needed to escape, she'd be able to.
Laura glanced back to the door standing open to her room, and she could hear the shouts and beating on the doors and windows growing louder. No more hesitation. She climbed onto the ledge of the window and grabbed onto the drainpipe only inches away. She leapt free from the window and allowed herself to slide down the pipe and onto the yard below. She ran around the side of the building and was faced with the crowd of people filling the street. Laura kept the hood over her head and pushed through the crowd, mumbling "excuse me" as she moved with her eyes locked on the ground. No one spoke to her. They were so focused in their bloodthirsty drive, that she might as well have been a ghost. Once out of the crowd, she continued walking. She counted each footstep, each second, each breath, and each heartbeat. 163 footsteps, 67 seconds, 42 breaths, and 217 heartbeats. She stopped and turned around. The crowd was still focused on the school. With one final look to the window above where she could see Logan and Remy staring over the street, she put a finger in each side of her mouth and belted out a loud, piercing whistle.
Everyone looked at her, and she felt as though time froze as she dropped her hood, revealing her identity. At once, the crowd turned away from the school and shouted at her. Just as they began to charge, she turned and ran with every intention of distancing herself from the school to keep everyone inside safe. Safe from the mob. Safe from the world. Safe from her.