AUTHOR'S NOTE: Here's the next chapter, sorry it took a while. Hope you all enjoy! :)


CHAPTER 29

Nothing


Laura slipped into Cyclops's office, her heart beating very rapidly. Was this about Kimura, finally? She moved to stand beside Logan, trying to ignore the way Julian's heart rate was rising.

"I think we're all here now." Cyclops looked around the room. "Logan, want to share what your team found out?"

Logan folded his arms. "We ran Leper Queen's unit into the ground. She got away, but we managed to catch one of her top pawns."

Laura felt a mild sinking sensation. No, it was more of the team's agenda. She knew that the attacks needed to be stopped, but it meant that much longer that she would live with the knowledge that Kimura could return for her and her clones, at any moment.

"Creepy fucker." Domino shifted. "Total fanatic. Never seen someone just turn off their brain like that."

Logan frowned. "I dunno how reliable the info we squeezed out of him is. I could smell something off the whole time. Couldn't put my finger on it."

Julian raised his eyebrow. "But you're going to gamble our lives on it anyway?"

"Kid, I ain't finished." Logan paused. "I think part of it's reliable. The parts when he was braggin' about watchin' Bastion hand out marchin' orders."

"Why would he brag about that?"

"Givin' us a taste of how much firepower Bastion has under his thumb, I guess." Logan frowned. "It ain't what you'd call good news. But we gotta handle it a piece at a time, and it seems like the next piece is Kimura."

Laura froze.

"She's workin' for Bastion, like you said." Logan's lip curled. "And she's got herself set up in Madripoor. My old turf."

"Which should come in really handy." Domino grinned. "You know that place like the back of your hand."

"Maybe." Logan wrinkled his nose. "Maybe not. She's taken over…and she's got a big operation runnin'."

"Doing what?" Sooraya asked softly.

Laura glanced at her friend. She was wearing a black and grey niqab, which meant she had officially joined this team. This did not surprise her. Sooraya had once told her that she had killed in self-defense and would do so again if needed.

"Collectin' bodies." Logan paused. "And…makin' Laura's trigger scent."

Laura's breath caught and her eyes snapped back to Logan.

"I'm afraid it's a little worse than that." Cyclops paused, looked at Logan. Prompting.

He looked down. "She's been sellin' the stuff. Distributin' it." Pause. "Globally."

"No. No." Laura's voice. She had not meant to speak.

Vanisher raised his hand. In it was a green vial. "Her agent sold me this for a song."

Laura gazed at the small glass tube.

"So is it true if you smell this—" Vanisher was uncapping the vial.

"You stupid—" Logan began to roar, charging toward him.

"AHHGH!" Vanisher dropped the vial in fear. It shattered on the ground.

"NO—" Laura pinched her nose closed, staring at the vial in horror. She was one breath, one molecule away from the worst scenario she could imagine at this moment. But then she saw that the puddle was emitting steam. Boiling.

"I got it all." Julian was looking at her, his expression impassive behind his mask. "You can breathe."

"…" She shook her head.

"I made it chain react. It's gone."

She finally allowed herself one small breath. Nothing happened, so she relaxed slightly and took another. Her eyes were still locked on the puddle of glass and steaming green fluid.

Logan glared at Vanisher. "The hell is wrong with you, Porter? You bring that shit in here, and you open it? It just takes one drop and she could kill everyonein this room. Startin' with you." He paused. "Why you think it's called trigger scent?"

"Damn, really?" Domino glanced at her. "You sure?"

"This ain't funny, Dom."

Cyclops folded his arms. "Laura's a liability until we deal with her trigger scent programming." He glanced at Julian. "Think you can handle it?"

Laura also glanced at him. He was looking at Cyclops, his expression still neutral.

"Nope." He paused. "She has vibranium bonded to her skull. I can't do anything telepathically."

"Great." Logan pinched the mask-covered bridge of his nose.

"Perhaps it does not need to be telepathy." Sooraya looked at Laura. "How were you conditioned to the…trigger scent?"

Laura's eyebrows drew together.

"Torture." Julian said this before she could speak. "They tortured her with it. Drowning…water boarding…so on."

She looked at him, her mouth opening slightly. How did he know this? No one did. Except for Logan, who had read Sarah's letter. Her eyes widened. Had Julian read the letter, too? When he had given her belongings back to her, this thought had not occurred to her. Now, it startled her. How much did he know about her?

"Damn." Domino again. "That sucks. You must've been just a kid, X."

Laura was silent.

"We will find a way." Sooraya's voice was firm.

"Well, whatever it is, we gotta take care of it sooner than later." Logan grunted. "Before one of our many enemies catches wind and dumps it in our water supply or somethin'."

"How…how bad would that be?" Josh.

"She could kill almost everyone at the school." Julian folded his arms. "So, bad."

"Holy shit." Josh stared at her. Everyone was looking at her now.

She lowered her gaze.

"We're going after Kimura afterward, right?" Julian spoke again.

"That's your next task, yes." Cyclops paused. "Kimura, and whatever the heck she's got going in Madripoor. It's our top priority as of now. In fact, Wolverine, Vanisher, Domino, Dust…you're going to scout her base of operations. Find out what she's planning with the bodies, get a head count of her personnel. Strictly reconnaissance." He looked at Julian. "Hellion…Warpath…Elixir…you three will work on breaking X-23's trigger scent conditioning. The school resources will be at your disposal, of course." He paused. "Keep in touch. We don't have a lot of time here, but we don't want to rush in, either."

Laura looked down, her eyebrows drawing together.

Josh touched her shoulder. "Cheer up, Laura. We'll figure it out. We always do."

"Come on." Julian's voice was sharp, as he headed toward the door. "We have a lot of work do to, if we're going to get anywhere with her."


The Danger Room doors opened, and all eyes turned to Julian as he walked in, carrying a metal container. "Guess who had more trigger scent squirreled away."

"Well, gotta hand it to Vanisher." Josh grinned. "Least he's consistent about being as big as slimeball as possible."

"Yep." James looked at Laura. "You okay?"

"Fine." She looked at the container in Julian's hands, then, reluctantly, at him.

Now that he had shifted his mask up, she could detect anger in his expression, but also determination. He put the container down beside him. "Okay, so we have trigger scent, and we have Laura." He looked around the group. "Now, how are we going to stop her from reacting?" He paused. "Talking in soothing tones and crap isn't going to work. She'll keep going till we're dead."

"Damn." Santo frowned at Laura, then shrugged. "Well, just Jules and Josh. All the rest of us are nigh invulnerable, so don't sweat it…no one's gonna miss em that much."

"Right, Santo. How comforting." Cessily looked at Laura apologetically. "I think he missed his calling as a therapist."

Laura glanced at Julian. "I am not participating in…this."

"I don't think we have a choice." He paused. "Either we do it here, in a controlled environment. Now. Or, it happens when you have no choice. And when no one's prepared." He paused. "Maybe when you're with Betty. Or Gabby. Or Alice. Or all of them."

She looked down, closed her eyes. The clones had healing factors, but they had not developed fully yet. It was sufficient to heal minor damage such as paper cuts almost instantly, but she knew that it would not repair damage done by her claws. She nodded, very, very slightly.

"Okay. As someone so delicately put it, Josh and I are the only ones you can actually kill here." Julian glared at Santo for a moment. "And I've held you off before…so we can handle your trigger state. But…we need to figure out how we're going to calm you down."

"Uh, I could make her sleep." Josh paused. "Would that help? Maybe, like…we could implant a hypnotic suggestion?"

Santo glanced at him. "You a hypnotist?"

"Well…not exactly." Josh paused. "I have watched some pretty insane YouTube—"

"Stop right there." Julian closed his eyes. "Next bad idea, go."

"Could we remove the vibranium from her skull somehow?" James.

"Not unless you happen to be friends with Magneto." Julian folded his arms. "Next."

"Hey, what about smell girl?" Santo asked. "She still at the school?"

Julian's forehead wrinkled. "Smell girl?"

"Yeah…you know, that girl we used to mess around with." Santo paused, pointed at Josh. "Weren't you guys datin' or somethin'? Mousey blond chick? Calls herself Wallpaper?"

Cessily closed her eyes. "Wallflower, Santo. Her name is Wallflower."

Santo shrugged. "I was close."

"Wha—Laurie?" Josh looked surprised. "You used to call her smell girl?" He glared at Julian.

"Uh…" Julian raised his eyebrows. "I have no idea what Santo's on about." Pause. His forehead wrinkled. "But that's not a terrible idea. Adjust her response to the trigger scent." He looked at Laura. "Laurie's power is to secrete pheromones. She can make people angry...and calm." Pause. "What do you think?"

Laura hesitated. She remembered Laurie. She had saved her life, once, that night the sniper had snuck onto the school grounds. She nodded slightly.

Julian closed his eyes. "Laurie's on her way. Ten minutes." He paused, glanced at Laura again. "I think we should tie you up. For the first part, anyway."

Her forehead wrinkled, and her hands trembled slightly. "Yes."

"We'll all be right here, Laura." Cessily reached out and squeezed her shoulder. "None of us will let anything happen. And Josh will be right nearby, if we need heals. Okay?"

"O-okay." Laura paused. "Please…do not let me kill anyone."

"I won't." Julian picked up the container. "Computer…start program…Weapon X, scenario 12. Safety off."

The air around them shimmered, giving way to steel corridors. "There's a gurney in here that we can use." He headed down the hall, and Laura followed. She had run most of the Weapon X programs in the Danger Room, but the layout of this one was not familiar.

The others were still entering the program as they approached the room. Laura could hear scuffling noises inside. "Julian—"

He disappeared into the room. CLANG!

Thump!

Laura stepped in after him, her eyebrows raising as she saw the Weapon X hologram spread out on the floor, his neck at an odd angle. "You have found the defect."

"Uh huh." Julian set the container down on a counter. "Start strapping up."

She frowned, but headed toward the gurney and climbed up, her heart pounding in her ears. Was she really allowing this to happen? Deliberately exposing herself to trigger scent, while there were people she did not want dead in her immediate vicinity? "You will…you promise you will—"

"I said I would." He looked at the doorway, as the others entered the room.

Then Laurie arrived. Her blond hair was swept back in a ponytail and she wore glasses now, but she seemed much the same as when Laura had last seen her out on the lawn. Her hand was still wrapped in bandages.

"Hi, guys." She waved slightly with the other hand. "Uh, long time, no see."

Josh stiffened.

Even though Laura was still occupied with tightening her straps, she was aware of the way he was reacting to the new presence. Elevated heart rate, his breathing pattern had altered, and—she glanced up—he was staring at the newcomer

"Hi Laurie." Josh said this quietly.

Julian was also watching him. As if he were noting similar things. Laura realized he could probably sense his thoughts, and she raised an eyebrow. For the most part, she had not noticed signs of his telepathy previously. For a moment, she wondered if things would be different between them if he could sense her thoughts. She looked down, her eyebrows drawing together. Then she reached out and closed a metal cuff around her ankle.

"Josh." Laurie nodded at him. "How's it going?" She had folded her arms around herself.

"Uh—good. Good." Josh paused. "You?"

She smiled stiffly. "Not bad."

"Okay, you clear on what to do, Laurie?" Julian was opening the container. To get the vial. The vial of trigger scent.

For Laura, everything else faded away. There was only the green vial in between his metal fingers. The same vial that had caused those metal fingers. The same vial that had caused countless deaths. Including Sarah's. Her heart pounded in her ears.

"I'll get your arms, Laura." Cessily pressed her hand on her shoulder. "Lie back."

Laura closed her eyes, then allowed her friend to push her back against the table, to close the metal cuffs around her wrists.

Julian appeared over her, holding the vial. "Ready?"

Her eyebrows drew together. She hesitated, then nodded a final time, closed her eyes.

She heard him unscrewing the cap, and then…


Before anyone understood what was happening, Laura had snapped through the bindings like they weren't even there, her claws sweeping through Cessily's midriff, at which point Julian had pinned her down with his mind, his teeth gritted.

Laura's teeth were bared, and her eyes were red. She thrashed on the table, snarling. Yearning to kill them all.

For one brief moment, he wondered if this was who she really was inside. But just a moment. "Laurie!" he ordered.

"I—I know." Laurie had her eyes closed and was breathing deeply. "I'm filling the room with calm. It should hit you all in a moment."

Julian blinked. He could feel it. His heart rate was slowing, his eyelids drooping slightly. He could really go for a nap right now. But there was something he was supposed to do. What was it? He shook his head. Focus. Stay sharp. He'd been pretty pissed off since the club. All he needed to think about was…yep. He adjusted his mental grip on Laura, who was still feral, then he looked at Laurie. "Get closer to her."

"Yeah, okay." Laurie stepped closer to Laura, who snarled in response, her limbs shaking as she sought to free herself. She reached out and laid her unbandaged hand on the other woman's forehead. "Shhhhh."

Laura blinked, rapidly, then a bit slower. Her lip smoothed out slightly. Then the snarl disappeared.

Cessily craned her neck to look down at her friend. "It's working."

"Good." James yawned. "Damn, anyone else feel like they smoked a whole joint?"

"Yeah." Josh was grinning. "This is awesome. I forgot how good it feels."

Julian looked at Laurie. "More." He dipped his metal finger in the trigger scent, then reached over and dabbed it under her nostril. He paused, his finger pressed against the dent in her upper lip. He hadn't touched her there for a while now. Or anywhere. His eyebrows drew together.

"RAAAWWGGHH!"

"AAAHHHHHH!"

Blood spurted everywhere. Julian slammed Laura back against the gurney, but the damage was done. With just a flick of her wrist.

"AHHH! AHHH-AHHHH!" Laurie was curling around her arm, whimpering in pain.

"Laurie!" Josh grabbed her shoulder, and the room glowed golden. Paft!

"…" Laurie looked down at her arm. "You—you healed me."

"I did!" Josh stared at her newly formed hand, amazed. "No more death-claw!"

"Josh!" Laurie glared at him. "It wasn't a—"

"GUYS." Julian looked over his shoulder. "We're in the middle of this still. Focus." His voice was sharp, but mostly because he was irritated with himself for being the one to drop the ball.

"Yes." Laurie pushed her glasses up her nose, and eyed Laura. "Are—are you sure she won't do that again?"

Cessily grabbed Laura's hands and wrapped a glob of mercury around her claws. "There. I should've done this from the start."

Laurie nodded, then laid her newly healed hand on Laura's forehead.

Laura's eyes were shifting, back and forth, her lip curled slightly, but it was clear that Laurie's pheromones were dampening her response. The sclera of her eyes was no longer red, but now a dull pink as the burst vessels began to heal. Her movements were growing slower. Her teeth unclenched. She sighed deeply. And then her eyes cleared.

"Mmm…Julian?" she asked, her eyebrows drawing together.

He frowned. "How are you feeling?"

"Tired." She paused. "Did I fall asleep?"

"No." He reached out and ran his thumb under her nose, the one still covered in trigger scent. "What does that smell like?"

Laura sniffed slightly. "Gasoline…but there is also a sweet scent. And…" her forehead wrinkled. "Citrus?"

Santo grinned. "Smell my finger next, X."

"Heh." James.

"Okay." Julian paused and looked at Laurie. "Stop."

"You sure?" She sounded afraid.

"Yeah, Cess and I have her."

Laurie stepped back. She glanced at the severed, shriveled limb on the ground and shuddered.

Julian swallowed. As confused as he felt about Laura right now, he knew one thing for sure. He wanted this to work.

Everyone stared at Laura, watching anxiously to see if she would lose control.

She stiffened, and her eyes squeezes shut. "Nnngh."

"Come on…" Julian frowned at her. "You're fine. Nothing's going to hurt you."

Laura looked at him again, her eyes half lidded. "I…"

"You can choose not to." He leaned forward. "You're fine."

She said nothing.

"I'm going to let her go." Julian glanced at the others. "Everyone out. Close the door behind you. If she gets me…Laurie, wait at the top of the stairs and have a calming field ready. Cessily, you'll need to catch and restrain her."

He waited until the door slid shut behind them, then held up the vial again.

"No!" Laura's eyes were wide with fear. "Please! Stop—"

He looked up. "Computer—filter the air."

There was a loud rushing sound, and Laura's hair floated around her shoulders for a moment. Then all traces of the pheromones were gone.

He gave her a hard look. "If you want to finish me off, here's your chance. I'm not holding you back anymore." He uncapped the trigger scent vial again.

Laura bowed her head. Her knuckles were on fire. Dark fingers were creeping into the edges of her vision, trying to drag her down. Into the black, the nothing. Then she would wake up, and blood would be smeared everywhere, and…sweat beaded on her forehead. "Nnnngh. Go." This came out as more of a snarl than a word.

"No."

Snkkt! "GO!"

Julian recapped the vial. "I think we're going to have to keep doing this. A couple more times, at least." He then began to destroy the samples they'd used. The particles beneath her nose, and on his thumb. The trigger scent evaporated into a thin grin mist,

"Yes." Laura relaxed, and then slipped off the gurney. Pause. "Thank you."

Julian eyed her for a moment. "Uh huh."

Silence.

"HE'S OKAY!" Cessily shouted, having poked her head into the room. "WE DID IT!"

Julian rubbed his temples, scowling at Cessily. "Did you have to scream it in your head too?"

She shoved him out of the way and wound her arms around Laura several times. "I knew you'd be fine. Didn't I tell you?"

Laura looked down slightly, as she noticed Julian leaving the danger room, out of the corner of her eye. "Yes."


Laura watched her clones as they fell asleep one by one. She still felt tired from earlier, but she knew that she could not sleep in here. As usual, she headed out into the hall, down the stairs, and out the front door. She headed toward her tree, her toes wiggling in the grass.

As she slid down, her back to the trunk, she tried to absorb the fact that she had smelled trigger scent today and had not killed anyone. Or blacked out. She knew that it would take much more practice…but there was hope. Hope that the next time she encountered that green vial in a combat situation, she might have a choice. The choice she had never truly had before. To not go away. To not kill.

But her mind kept going back to her observations of Josh, when he had seen Laurie again. It reminded her of something. Julian. How he had reacted, that night in the snow, before she had killed him. And later, on the rooftop, when he had come to rescue her. Both times, he had stumbled over his words, done foolish things, ignored her warnings not to come near her. His heart had raced, his breathing had quickened. As if his reaction to her was involuntary, as if she was something he needed. Her eyebrows drew together. Why would he need something that was not good for him? Did he not understand that she was not good?

She recalled how Josh had gazed after Laurie, after the session had ended. The other woman had walked away without saying goodbye to him. Josh had looked down for a moment, his forehead wrinkling. That too had been familiar.

She squeezed her eyes closed. Why did this all have to be so confusing? Her knuckles itched, and she slowly popped one claw. Snkkt!


Laura's eyes snapped open as something hard jabbed her in the rib. Three small faces were gathered around her.

"I told you X-23 is not dead!" Gabby hissed. "We can hear a heartbeat, why would you doubt your senses?"

The poke occurred again. "But it…she…is not moving! Why are you not moving, X-23?" Betty.

"…" Laura's forehead wrinkled.

"Poke her again," Alice advised, in a concerned voice.

"Stop." Laura sat up and eyed the clones. She saw that Betty was holding a stick. "Put that down."

The stick was dropped, and Betty shrunk behind Gabby, who raised her chin. "I instructed her to test you for life. Just in case."

"We wondered if we would have to dig a hole for your remains." Betty.

"We were told to always hide the evidence." Alice, in a whisper.

Laura closed her eyes. "I am alive. Please, return to your room. I will be there shortly."

The clones turned on their heels and ran back into the school. She leaned back against the tree trunk and sighed. The feeling from last night was still there. But it was daytime now, and there was work to be done. Her clones needed breakfast, and she then she would need to get someone to watch them while she and the others went hunting for Kimura.

Hopefully this would be the last time she needed to do so.


"You ready for this, kid?" Logan was asking her.

It was several hours later. After feeding her clones cereal and milk that she had found in the kitchen, Laura had set about finding someone to supervise them for the rest of the day. Rogue had been busy, but Frost had overheard the request and offered her assistance. Laura had hesitated, but ultimately accepted the offer. It seemed unlikely that she would harm them. Her clones were not weapons, like she was.

Now, Laura hesitated. No, she did not feel prepared. They had only held three more practice sessions. This was an extremely short amount of time compared to the years it had taken to achieve the trigger scent conditioning in the first place. As is, she was barely able to temper her response in a controlled environment. It would be a struggle if and when Kimura exposed her to even a droplet. Plus, the chaos of a combat environment might make it impossible to avoid blacking out. But she knew that she did not actually have a choice. Time was of the essence. She closed her eyes and nodded.

Logan nodded, too, curtly. Then he looked around the group. "So, Vanisher here can't port us straight into the main compound for some bullshit reason."

"It is not—" Vanisher began.

Logan gave him a hard look.

He fell silent.

"Why's that a problem?" James asked.

"We found out what they were doing with the bodies." Logan wrinkled his nose. "They're recyclin' their goons, usin' the T.O. virus to resurrect 'em."

Domino folded her arms. "The island is just crawling with her people. Like an ant colony."

"Yes." Sooraya, her lips pressed into a line.

Julian frowned. "What kind of people?"

"Most are humans." Logan paused. "But the Cuckoos picked up a bunch of new signatures with Cerebra this mornin'…so I'm guessin' there might be some muties too." He paused. "Anyways, we're gonna split up."

"Isn't that how every horror movie ever starts?" Santo asked.

Domino grinned at him. "Yeah. But a big group of us will attract a hell of a lot of attention. A few of us at a time might be able to stealth."

"I'm with heal boy." Vanisher said this very quickly, stepping over to stand beside Josh.

Logan raised an eyebrow. "Guess we know who's dyin' first."

"I am not useless!" Josh protested.

"Heh." James.

"Alright, down to business." Logan looked around the group again. "Here's the split. Warpath, Elixir, and Domino, south; X-23 and Vanisher, east; Dust, Mercury, Rockslide, west; Hellion, you're with me, and we'll handle north. Look for the quickest way into the main compound. Primary target is Kimura." He looked at Vanisher. "Go for it."

VTT!

Laura crouched slightly as their surroundings changed to the cobblestone street of Madripoor, the air growing heavy with moisture, heat, and the scent of sea salt. And death. Her lip curled in distaste.

"It's about time." Cessily was speaking to her. "Let's go defeat your monster, Laura."

"Yes." Laura pulled her mask down and headed down the street, her eyes fixed straight ahead. Her knuckles were itching again.


Julian watched Laura go, his forehead wrinkling slightly.

The last few days had been almost unbearable. He'd pushed away all his anger, his confusion, forcing himself to help her overcome her last hurdle. But every moment had hurt. He wasn't even ready to be in the same room with her.

Cessily had claimed Laura's feelings were genuine, but he took that with a grain of salt. He couldn't even tell if she had thought about what happened between them. At all. She was so damn unreadable. He still spent every night lying awake in his empty bed, staring at the ceiling, wondering if she'd knock on the door again. Wanting her to, even if she just wanted to use him. But he knew she wouldn't. He had played with the idea of knocking on her door, but he never did. She barely even looked at him now.

Plus, he was half-afraid that someone else would answer. He didn't know what he'd do if that happened.

Once this fight with Kimura was over, would he even see her again? Probably not. She would move on to other things. Maybe leave the school. He didn't even know how to take that. If she was gone, would it hurt less than having to see her every single day? Or more?

"Kid. Focus."

Julian started, looked at Logan, who was looking at him with narrowed eyes. The others were already gone. He swallowed. "Uh—I was just—"

"Mask down." Logan's voice was still sharp.

He pulled the mask over his eyes, frowning. "Sorry."

"Don't." Logan paused. "I know you an' my clone got some kind of problem. But this ain't the time or place."

Julian looked down. "I—"

"Didn't ask, kid. Just asked you to focus. Let's go."

He followed Logan up the street, trying to do as instructed. To focus. They were here to finally get Kimura, for once and for all. It was the thing he wanted most in the world. Well, actually, there was something that he—

Logan grabbed his shoulder and yanked him back. KID! He barked at him mentally.

Julian stared at the group of armed soldiers he had almost walked into, then closed his eyes, angry at himself.

You want to get yourself killed? Cause that's a pretty good way to do it.

Yeah, sorry.

I'll have that carved on your tombstone.

Julian rolled his eyes. I know it was stupid, can you drop it?

Logan's lip curled. Thought you were through bein' a dumbass.

Julian looked down.

God damn it. Logan managed to sound annoyed, even in his head. I didn't wanna get involved. He paused. I know you an' Laura are havin' some sort of fight.

How-

Your vitals spike off the charts when you're in the same room. Logan's nose wrinkled. Both of you. But-you two are adults and you gotta work it out between you. And, you do that on your own time, understand? Leave that shit at home where it belongs, not out in the field where bein' distracted can lead to not just your death, but maybe all of us.

Yeah. Julian looked away. I've got it. Can we go?

Logan considered for a moment, then pinched the bridge of his nose and looked down. No, I ain't done.

You don't have to—Julian began.

Shut up. I'm only sayin' this once. Logan paused. All said…you'll work through it, if it's worth it. But you need to be patient. Laura ain't your average girl.

Julian rolled his eyes. Tell me something I don't—

Don't cut me off, bub. I said, she ain't your average girl. Not because she's my clone, or somethin' special…but because she's had less practice bein' a person than a toddler. Logan paused. What you think Kimura had her doin' all this time, scrap booking?

Julian exhaled. No. This was frustrating. He'd never had a mental conversation with someone who could cut off his thoughts.

Whatever she's doin' that pisses you off, she's gonna keep doin' it till you tell her straight. She ain't gonna get subtle hints.

It's not that. Julian's eyebrows drew together. She, uh, broke up with me. I caught her with—

Logan held up a hand slightly. Spare me the mental image of whatever the hell my clone does on her free time. But…if she wants to play the field a bit, let her.

But—Julian began, his mental voice full of indignation.

Let me put it in kid-friendly terms. Logan paused. How do you know vanilla's your favorite ice cream unless you try the other flavors?

Julian considered this. Yeah, I guess. But…his forehead wrinkled. It's hard to stand by and watch her trying.

Logan shrugged. Better than bein' the other flavor, kid. Trust me. He paused for a moment, his expression thoughtful, as if remembering something. Then he shook his head. Now, you goin' to get your act together, or you want to stay here and cry it out while I take care of these assholes?

Julian gritted his teeth. Shut up.

Logan grinned. Snikt! "Thought so."


Laura ran up the side of a wall and launched herself into the swarm of combatants that should have already died. Twice. But the heartbeats around her would not cease. The death smell was pervasive. The stagnant odor. With an undercurrent of metal. The way Bastion's men had smelled. Not alive, but not dead. Somewhere in between.

They had known their opponents had been resurrected, but not that this would make them almost impossible to fight. She landed in the center of the fray and gritted her teeth as the gunfire started. A spray of bullets shot through her torso and bounced off the pavement below. She shook her head, forced herself up, and started again.

Finally, the last combatant fell to the ground and did not move again, his weapon clattering across the bricks. In several pieces.

VTT!

Vanisher reappeared beside her and wrinkled his nose. "It's going to take forever at this rate." He folded his arms. "Can't you go faster?"

Laura pressed her lips into a line as she gazed at him. For a moment she considered harassing him as the others had, but she knew that would gain her nothing but more complaints. So she retracted her claws and resumed her slow, steady, determined journey toward the central compound.


"Anyone else notice how Logan just lumped all us kids together?" Santo grumbled. WHAM! as he sent a soldier flying backward with one swing of his pillar-like arm. "Like, this ain't even an important area. We just been beatin' on thugs for hours an' hours an' gettin' nowhere." Pause. "Thugs aren't even the good ones. They're just mercs."

Cessily rolled her eyes. "First of all…it's been twenty minutes. And second, we made the mistake of following you. And you led us in a big circle."

"Oh, right." Santo paused. "God dammit."

"My sentiments exactly." Cessily retracted her arm, which she had been using to squeeze two soldiers together in a manner similar to a boa constrictor. "But I don't care about the whole kid thing. We're here to help Laura…not to audition for the team or something."

"I wasn't sayin' that! I'm just tired of bein' out of the loop on stuff, you know?" Santo held up his arm, blocking a spray of bullets from hitting his face.

"Yeah." Cessily snaked along the ground and wound herself around the legs of the man and knocked him over, then crushed his gun with her fingers. "I don't like this team. What they do. I don't trust a bunch of them…like what's her name? Domino? And the teleporting sleezebag." She wrinkled her nose. "I don't care what Julian said. It's never cool to—to take things that far." She paused. "I really think he's lost his way."

There was a wispy noise as a cloud of sand floated down, and Sooraya reformed, her garment fluttering in the wake of her motions.

Cessily stood up. "Sooraya! We've been looking for you everywhere, Santo got us lost and—"

Sooraya closed her eyes. "I could not take it anymore. Watching us die. Brian. Jay. Max." She paused. "We…do not wait. This team. We do what is needed, to make sure we will not lose more innocent lives."

Cessily's eyes slipped past her friend. To the men lying still in the courtyard beyond them. The pools of blood. She looked back at Sooraya again, her eyebrows drawing together.

Santo was staring at the courtyard, too. Finally he cleared his throat. "Yeah. Still somethin' to wrap your head around, y'know?"

"Yes." Sooraya paused, then reached up and pushed back her hood. Her expression was very serious. "I choose to do this because I know that Bastion…and those who work for him…will not hold back either." Pause. "They have already shown me that. They will not stop until we are all dead."

"I'm sorry." Cessily reached out and gave Sooraya a hug. "I wish I would've known."

"You were needed elsewhere." Sooraya drew away. "We cannot leave any of them alive. There is work to be done."

"Dude…" Santo was looking over her shoulder. "I don't think they are."

Sooraya turned and saw what he was looking at. The men in the courtyard, slowly getting to their feet, blood pouring out of the holes she had rendered a few minutes ago.

"Ohhhh boy." Cessily grimaced. "They don't look happy."


"…" Julian had just made the same discovery, as the man who he had just punched a hole in got to his feet, glaring at him. "How the hell do we kill them?" He shielded himself from a wave of bullets.

He had already tried all his usual moves. Aneurysms. Mind freezing. He couldn't even sense the man's thoughts. He thought it might have something to do with their T.O. virus. Or maybe the fact that they weren't really alive.

"Simple. Hole ain't healin." Logan pointed at the man as he lumbered toward them. "Slice and dice."

"Aw, c'mon."

Snikt! SHLUNK! SHLUNK!

"…" Julian made a face. "Ugh."

"Yep." Logan eyed the troop approaching them. "This is gonna take longer than we planned."


"Wait up!" Vanisher was puffing as he jogged after Laura.

"No. Walk faster." She was beginning to be irritated by the teleporter, who was turning out to be a handicap. He had disappeared during the last fight, only to bring a second wave of combatants with him when he returned. It could have been a deliberate attempt to sabotage her, but she doubted it. Vanisher did not seem intelligent enough to attempt to trick her in this fashion. Just careless and incompetent at times.

"I'm going as fast as I can. Unless you changed your mind."

Laura's mouth pressed into a line. She had forbidden further teleporting. "No."

"Whatever." Vanisher paused. "Hey, you're friends with the sand girl, right?"

"Dust?" Laura eyed him. "Yes, she is my friend."

"Hmmm." Vanisher paused again. "I like her style. Classy." He grinned. "I'm into Eastern chicks. I'm starting my own harem. She'd be great."

"…" Her eyebrows drew together, and her lip curled slightly. She was not entirely sure what he had said, but his tone conveyed enough information for her to be mildly disturbed.

"Want to cut another deal?" Vanisher said this enthusiastically.

Laura gazed at him.

"I can port out that big tank of trigger scent this Kimura character is probably planning to use on your team. For a price."

"I…what?" Laura stared at him, alarmed.

"I heard her agents bragging about how much they had brewed up. They said it's enough to fill a swimming pool or two."

Laura hesitated for a moment. "What do you want?"

"Hmm." Vanisher folded his arms. "Money. What can you do?"

She closed her eyes. "Another two million."

"Three." He paused. "And…talk to your friend for me…get her interested in joining my little operation."

Laura hesitated again. What did he mean by "talk to her friend"?

He raised an eyebrow. "Well?"

She decided that she would agree. He had not specified that Sooraya needed to agree to join him, only that she should inform her about the offer. Her lip curled. "Yes."

Vanisher clapped his hands together, looking pleased. "Sounds like we have a deal! Now if you can just hurry up with the fighting…"

Laura glared at him but then moved forward. On with the mission.


"God damn." Logan said this, about an hour later, having finally reached the gate of the main compound.

Laura watched as he peered through the mesh fence. He was as drenched with blood as she was. His ear was cocked as he listened, to the thing she was hoping was not true. To the thing she was hoping was a miscalculation on her part.

That there were thousands of heartbeats in the nearby compound.

The grounds were packed with soldiers. All standing, quietly, waiting for the moment they would be called on to fight.

"Think we're outgunned." Julian said this quietly. He, too, was splattered with red, but less so than herself. "There's no way—"

Laura looked at him, her eyebrows drawing together. "You promised." She had not meant to say this out loud.

He said nothing, but his eyes narrowed behind his mask, and his heart rate rose about ten beats per minute. Her comment had angered him.

"Kid…" Logan glanced at her, frowning. "Don't think there's anything we can do here. We can't port in. An' we don't know where Kimura is. That's a suicide mission. Which I'm not takin' on. Not when you lot are here."

"Thank god." Josh mumbled this.

Laura looked at the ground. Logically speaking, she knew they were correct. Still, she felt frustrated. They were here, so close to Kimura. So close to ending her. Perhaps with this team they could finally achieve it.

"Are they all dead?" Cessily asked, her voice flat. "I mean, like, undead?"

"Yep." Logan paused. "Well, looks like it's back to the drawing board." He caught Laura's angry expression. "Unless you've got a better idea."

She hesitated. "Vanisher said that there are tanks of trigger scent inside." Pause. "The facility will probably have a sprinkler syst—"

"NO!" Julian looked at her, his upper lip curling. "Are you fucking crazy?" Now his heart rate rose by twenty beats per minute.

"I—" Laura's eyebrows drew together. "No. I can disable at least a hundred of them, perhaps two. Those inside the building at least."

"And there are thousands on the grounds, waiting to provide back up." Logan's voice was firm. "Sorry, but I'm with the kid on this one—"

There was a brilliant pink flash of light, and a deep sound. BLINK!

"Kimura's teleporter." Laura's eyebrows drew together, and she looked at Logan, who was sensing the same thing. Most of the heartbeats had disappeared.

"…" Julian's forehead wrinkled. "What the—" he peered through the mesh.

The compound grounds were now empty.

Cessily's forehead wrinkled. "Where'd they all go?"

"Huh." Vanisher's forehead wrinkled. "Uh…possibly related…the barrier is gone."

Domino glanced at him. "The porting barrier?"

"Yeah." He looked at the compound. "It's hard to explain…but I can kind of see inside the building now. Used to just see white." Pause. "Think I could take us in."

"My plan will work. We will reach Kimura much faster this way." Laura's voice was filled with fresh confidence. "Vanisher can teleport the tanks to the water supply room and perform the necessary modifications."

"Probably." Vanisher paused. "I'm no plumber, but I think I can manage an intake pipe."

"No." Julian looked at Laura again. "All of this has been so you can have a choice—"

"And I am choosing this." Laura turned her gaze to Vanisher. "Please. Teleport the tanks. Then return for me."

Logan nodded slightly. "Do it."

VTT!

Julian folded his arms, looked away. He was displeased.

Laura stood in place, waiting for Vanisher to return, her hands shaking slightly as she let herself, momentarily, consider what she was about to do. Purposely expose herself to trigger scent. She closed her eyes, reminded herself that these targets were already dead. It was not the same as the villages, where Kimura had tested her response to the trigger scent mechanism. It is not the same.
About a minute passed.

VTT!

"I got fucking shot on the last pass!" Vanisher shouted, clutching his bleeding arm. "I want a pay raise!"

"…" Laura reached forward and grabbed his collar, her other fist shoving itself under his chin. "Teleport me in. Now."

"What—not you too, Creepy Girl!" Vanisher yelped.

"Teleport me, now, or you will receive nothing."

"…" Vanisher glared at her. "You X-men are all the same."

"I am not an X-man." Laura allowed the tips of her claws to emerge.

"Alright, alright!"

VTT!

She was suddenly in a small room, a large green tank on either side of her. By the doorway was a fire alarm switch. She released Vanisher. "Go back outside and do what the others say."

VTT!

Laura eyed the fire alarm.

What would happen when she pulled it? What if the sprinklers malfunctioned? What if she could not handle this many combatants? What if she could not tolerate this much trigger scent, and she was lost? She had not said goodbye. Not to her clones, not to Logan, not even to Julian. She could die, now, and none of them would know that she had thought of them. But she could smell the death around her. Beyond it, somewhere, scentless but there, was Kimura. Watching. Waiting. She must destroy her, now, once and for all. Kimura must end.

As she passed through the doorway, as the first line of soldiers raised their guns toward her, she reached out and pulled the handle.

BRRRRIIIIINNNGGGG—

The green rain began to fall, drenching her, filling the air with a mist. For just a moment, she was faced with a choice. An option, to clap her hand over her mouth, try to stay conscious, even though it would most likely be futile. Instead, she took a deep sniff.

All went dark.


"Is Vanisher coming back or…?" Cessily asked.

"It's been about ten minutes." Domino wrinkled her nose. "Eleven, now."

"God damn it." Logan closed his eyes. "I am going to hack goddamn Porter into lil itty bitty pieces."

Julian reached out and shoved the compound gate down with his mind. "Never should have let her go in alone."

"Hindsight's twenty-twenty." Logan stomped in after him.

Trading glances, the rest of the team followed.


Telford walked into the bar, still shaking his head slightly. What a crazy ass adventure all that had been. At least he was a hundred G better off than when it had started. Not much, considering how busy it had all kept him, and considering that he could probably make more suing the X-men for psychological trauma, but he didn't feel like dumping more time and money into it. He'd just have to watch the jobs he took carefully from now on, make sure he didn't cross paths with them again.

He held up his fingers as he sat down on the bar stool. "Strawberry margarita."

The bartender gave him a tired look, then pulled out a glass and began to pour him a beer.

Telford wrinkled his nose, but he wasn't about to argue. Alcohol of any type was better than none. The aim was to take the edge off. Then he'd go visit one of his houses, spend time with his girls. He hadn't seen them in a very long time. Already, his expression was beginning to give way to a smile. There was one girl in particular he was eager to see. Almond shaped eyes, smooth, dark skin, mostly hidden by her flowing garment—

"…" Telford blinked, then scowled. He definitely didn't want to think about that stuck-up ice princess. She wouldn't even talk to him. Just seemed vaguely disturbed by his attention when he tried. Even worse than backstabbing Creepy Girl. What was her name again? Soo-something? He probably didn't need to worry long. They'd all be dead soon enough, if what he'd heard on the circuit about Kimura was right.

The bartender plunked down the glass in front of him. "Tab?"

"Yep." Telford took a sip of his beer, drummed his fingers against the glass.


"Jesus." Josh murmured as they entered the compound through the door and took in the spectacle waiting for them.

Cessily covered her mouth, her eyes bulging. She had no words.

"Damn." Santo paused. "This is like…I ain't seen nothin' like this."

Blood was everywhere. Dripping from the concrete walls, the ceiling, coating the unfinished grey floor. Diluted in places by the trigger scent spray. Which was still going. The floor was littered with her handiwork. The walls bore deep gouge marks from her claws.

Julian looked at the fire alarm handle by the door, then reached out and closed his eyes. A moment later, the bell tinkling in the background stopped, and the green droplets ceased. "She did all this?" Domino sounded surprised. "That little girl?"

Logan held up a hand, listening to something in the distance.

Is she nearby? Julian asked. He didn't want to risk drawing her toward them.

Three corridors down, two across. To the east. Logan paused. Think she's still blacked out. Guessin' she won't recognize us?

She'll try to kill anyone who gets near. Julian hesitated. But I can stop her.

Kid—

No one died when you had us recondition her, did we? Julian shielded himself. Wait here, guys. This latter message was to the group. He started down the corridor, trying not to step in anything more substantial than puddles. He heard the squish squish squish of footsteps following, but could sense it was Logan, so he wasn't about to argue.

They had been walking for about a minute, when the noises became apparent to him, too. Gunfire. Metal sounds. Unintelligible shouting. Snarls. He glanced at Logan, who was giving off waves of apprehension. The older man had never seen Laura triggered, and it seemed he didn't want to. He wondered why. Was he afraid? He doubted it, but still it was clear that the Logan didn't want to proceed. Julian couldn't find out more without digging, so he could only make guesses. Maybe he was afraid of seeing the monster that the facility had created?

The noises ceased. Then, scuffling, at the end of their corridor. And then…Laura stepped into view around the corner. She was coated from head to toe in blood, as if she had been dipped in red paint. Even her hair was a dark, slick burgundy. Her claws dripped at her sides. Was she even wearing her uniform anymore? He couldn't tell.

"Christ." Logan.

Laura's lips curled in a snarl.

Julian swallowed, his eyebrows drawing together. "Laura—" he said. More of a whisper. He was hoping, half-heartedly, that she would remember all the work they had done recently, showing her that trigger scent didn't always mean that people were going to hurt her.

She began running at them. Now he could see that her eyes were red too. She leapt the last few feet and brought her claws down toward him. Clearly, she remembered nothing.

WAM! Logan intercepted her in midair, flinging her backward.

Laura landed on her behind. For a moment, there was an expression of surprise across her otherwise blank face. Then she was on her feet again, charging.

Snikt! Logan swung his fist and met her first swipe with his own claws. Clang! Clang!

Laura's eyebrows drew together. Then she was whipping her foot claw through the air.

"Grrr!" Logan's head snapped back. For a moment, among a spray of red, a metal cheekbone was visible. Then he grabbed Laura's foot and sent her spinning across the floor.

She slid to a halt, and was up and charging at them again, teeth bared.

"Kid!" Logan snarled, as he deflected her claws again with his own. Clang! "Grab her!"

Julian dropped his own shield, then reached out and slammed her down against the floor with his mind. She struggled, arcing her back as she sought to escape the hold, but she could not break it.

"Good job." Logan wiped his face on his sleeve. "Quite a handful."

Julian gazed at her as she twisted, thinking. He needed to remove the trigger scent. Could he do that? Maybe if he switched to a bubble hold. But he'd have to find the diameter, since the vibranium in her skull interrupted everything within a certain range. He began to think about the space around her. The bubble flickered as it formed, then died. Too close. He tried again, farther. There! Laura leapt up and slammed her hands against the freshly formed wall, her eyes promising death. He began to think about the molecules around her, finding the trigger scent. Then he focused on moving them out.

"Someone's comin'." Logan paused. "Can't smell em—" he turned around.

Laura inhaled sharply, as if beginning to wake from a deep sleep. Then she looked at them, her eyes clear. They widened.

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Click! Click!

Julian looked over his shoulder, to see Kimura holding a pistol. It was painted red.

Thud! Beside him. Logan hitting the concrete. "Wha…" he twitched, then was still.

"I've got a special gun for you too." Kimura grinned. "But I don't even need it, do I?"

Shlunk!

Julian looked down to see two long metal blades sticking out of his abdomen. Then they retracted. His eyebrows drew together. Of course. He had dropped the field and Laura had been surrounded by trigger scent again. He clapped his hand over the wound, his fingers glowing green as he sealed the edges together. Josh...we need—he began, but then Kimura's fist met his face.

Everything went dark.


Telford gazed down at his beer. The second one. He'd spent the last half hour telling himself to relax. Telling himself that it was all over now. He could just kick his heels up, unwind. Maybe visiting his girls wasn't a good idea right now, but there were always other things he could do. Like plot out what he was going to spend his money on.

A hundred thousand would probably get him the gold bannisters. And he could redo the flooring on his Tokyo hide out. Maybe get stained glass windows installed, but probably not from the artist he'd been thinking of. With two mill, sure. Not on his budget though. His fingers tightened around the glass, and his nose wrinkled.

Maybe he should go back, force Creepy Girl to pay up on the full sum. If she was still alive. He raised an eyebrow. She owed him, that and more, since they'd renegotiated. He drummed his fingers on the counter. The more he thought about it, the more he thought he should go back and get what they owed him. And, bonus, if he came back when he didn't have to, stuck-up princess would probably be impressed. But the money was the important thing.

Telford took a last drink, then... VTT!


"It's a fucking warzone in here." Domino's forehead was wrinkled. "How the hell are we going to find them?"

The group had been searching for Logan and Julian for the last ten minutes with no results. The last they had heard was the latter's cut-off distress message.

"I should've gone with him." Cessily was looking down at the concrete floor, her eyes half-lidded. She had been shocked by all the gore at first, but now it just all looked the same. "I thought he'd be okay with Logan there…but I should've known better."

"Aw." Santo patted her shoulder. "Don't blame yourself. It wasn't your call."

She gave him a miserable look. "But we're his friends."

"Yeah, but we can't stop him from doin' stupid things." Santo grinned. "All it means is we gotta be ready to save his ass when he needs it."

Cessily smiled slightly. "I guess."

VTT!

"I'm back—" Vanisher announced.

James grabbed him by the throat and hoisted him up against the wall, his teeth gritted.

"HEY WHAT THE—"

Josh grabbed Vanisher's hand. "You so much as twitch and it's relapse city for you!"

Domino pointed her gun at Vanisher's head. "Just the piece of shit we could use right now, actually."

Vanisher made a choking noise.

Sooraya's eyebrows drew together. "Let him go."

James hesitated, then released his fingers, letting the teleporter slide down to his feet.

"We have been separated from the others." Sooraya addressed Vanisher, frowning. "Please assist us."

Vanisher glared at them. "I came back to help, you fucktards!" He rubbed his throat, then glanced at her. "Fine. Since you asked nicely. Rest of you all could stand to learn a lesson from this one."

Domino grinned, lowered her gun. "Since when did you become such a stickler for manners, Porter?"

"Since when is not screaming and shoving a gun in my face manners?" Vanisher looked at Josh, who was still holding his wrist. "Get your fucking fingers off of me or I'll port them to the north pole."

Josh rolled his eyes but let go.

Sooraya cleared her throat. "Please hurry."

VTT!


Laura came to on her hands and knees, shaking.

Buckets of water had been sloshed over her. Were still being sloshed over her.

Her arms were shackled together. As were her legs.

There was a pair of boots in front of her. One was tapping against the concrete. There was a green glow somewhere in the distance. What was it?

"Hello, clone." Kimura.

Laura looked up slowly. She felt slow. Something had been done to her. Carbonadium. She had bullets in her body. Two. Three. One in her head. Frontal cortex. Non-vital. Deliberate, to slow her, without completely disable her.

Kimura wanted her to be conscious for whatever she had planned.

"I've been waiting for you." Kimura paused. There seemed to be two of her. No, that was her doubled and blurred vision. "You like the little present I left for you at the old facility, huh?" She crouched down. "Who needs a hundred more of your garbage genes. Clone, I'm not just going to kill you, I'm gonna wipe you off the face of this earth. Every single person who ever shared your DNA."

Laura was silent, trying to follow what she meant? More clones? Debbie and Megan? Her heart grew still.

"But I thought we'd start with a familiar face." Kimura paused. "Get the fuck over here, Sarah."

Footsteps. Approaching. Echoing in the enormous room.

Laura froze. Her eyes rose slowly. "No." This came out as a hoarse whisper.

"Oh, yes." Kimura folded her arms. "You need to do some suffering for that little stunt back in Krasnokamensk."

"Please. Laura. Listen to me." A soft, familiar voice. A voice she had not heard for almost seven years. "You must do whatever she says. Immediately. No matter what it is."

Laura gazed at the blurred figure, trying to resolve the image. Her mother looked just as she remembered her. Without the blood. But her skin was bluish. There was something about her that was not right. She wondered if her abdomen was still covered in claw marks, from when she had eviscerated her. "No." Her voice was very small. "I…I…"

"Such a touching reunion." Kimura sighed. "You guys almost make me feel bad about what comes next."

"Laura." Sarah's voice grew stern. "Promise me you will do what she says."

"NO!" Laura shook her head, her eyes burning.

"Oh come on, clone." Kimura rolled her eyes. "Even you can't be so stupid as to think there's a way out of this one."

"…" Laura gazed up at her. She sprang suddenly, her claws popping with a Snkkt! but then she hit the end of her chain and was yanked to the floor. Her adamantium kneecaps crashed into the concrete, causing it to fracture.

"Right." Kimura paused, looked over at Sarah. "Hmm. I find myself inspired by the Madripoor culture. You ever heard of Lingchi?"

Sarah looked down. "Kimura, I did what you asked. You wouldn't be here without—"

"That was just busy work." Kimura arched her eyebrows. "And don't interrupt me. I asked if either of you know what Lingchi is."

"Death by a thousand cuts." Sarah, quietly.

Kimura clasped her hands behind her back and began to walk around the room slowly, her eyes on Laura. "Madripoor has an interesting variation of Lingchi."

Silence.

"You have to guess it." Kimura paused. "Here's a hint. You might say they have…exotic tastes."

Laura glared at her.

"No. Kimura. She's a child." Sarah was speaking again. Calmly. As if trying to reason. "Please think of what you're asking—"

"That's the PROBLEM!" Kimura shouted at her. "Don't you get it yet? How many times do you have to die at her hands before you understand that that thing is not a child?! It has never been! You're just as insane and fucked up as it is! You both have to die, and this is the most poetic way I can possibly think of." Kimura paused. "And then it's over. Don't you want that, X? Don't you want hell to end?"

Laura shifted her gaze from Kimura to the soft green glow behind her. It had caught her attention several times while she had been speaking, but her vision had been too blurred to comprehend what it was. But now it had come into focus. The same tank from several years ago. Filled with trigger scent. Bubbles. Inside...Julian. And beside it, in another tank, Logan. Both unconscious.

She understood. This was who Kimura would destroy if she did not comply. Her eyebrows drew together.

The former was waking. She could see his eyelids beginning to open. But it would be pointless. There was a ring of metal around his forehead. Vibranium. His arms and legs were bound. Even if she was able to control her response to the trigger scent, she could not free him. She was shackled to the floor. With adamantium. She knew this, even without testing. Kimura would not use anything less.

"CLONE!" Kimura was shouting at her. "Pay ATTENTION!"

"Laura." Sarah was speaking. "I shouldn't be here anyways. Just…just do it. Please." Pause. "It will only hurt for a little while."

"…" Laura squeezed her eyes shut.

BLAM!

"What—" Kimura looked at the tank.

BLAM! Tinkle! The glass on Julian's tank shattered as his metal fist ploughed through it. He ripped off his headgear, and then his eyes began to glow.

Laura scrambled backward, her hands over her nose and mouth as trigger scent poured out of the shattered tube in a wave. She did not want to black out now. But already, fingers of darkness were creeping into the edges of her vision. Snakt! as she forced her claws to retract. Better to keep them hidden.

"Here!" Julian threw his mask at her, then turned to Logan's tube and drew his fist back.

"Absolutely not!" Kimura shouted, outraged. She tore him away and sent him flying across the room. Right into Laura.

She tumbled backward as they collided, trying to keep the mask pressed against her face. She was already suffering from her reaction to the carbonadium bullets. And now he had hit her, and he was soaked in trigger scent, and—she squeezed her eyes shut, breathing into the mask as hard as she could. The end was not attached to the oxygen tank anymore, so she was still breathing in the scent, but it was muted. And it was something for her to focus on. Breathe. Breathe. It helped slightly. The fingers creeping into her vision shortened. She risked opening her eyes.

Julian was sitting up in front of her, reaching out toward Logan's tank. Working on freeing him. The shackles dropped off his hands, but he did not stir.

"You know what?!" Kimura was pulling a gun out of her belt. Probably loaded with vibranium bullets. "Keeping you around was a dumb move on my part. It's time for you to die already." She aimed it at his head and fired with a BANG!

Laura shoved him out of the way, the bullet sinking into her shoulder instead.

"Oh come on clone!" Kimura shook her head, walked toward them and shoved her away with her boot, then pressed it against his forehead. "It's been fun, kid."

Julian glared up at her, his lip curling.

VTT!

"I was wondering when—" Kimura began.

WOOSH! A swarm of sand enveloped her, choking out whatever she had been going to say next. Followed by Santo and Cessily, each yelling something as they charged in to attack.

Julian was getting to his feet, heading toward Logan's tank. A few moments later, he was lifting the older man out with his mind.

Laura watched the commotion, her eyebrows pressed together. Sweat began to bead on her forehead again. So much trigger scent...

"You okay?" Josh, beside her.

"Stay away." She mumbled this into the mask.

Logan was on his feet now. Snikt! He charged toward the sand cloud, which cleared momentarily.

"Careful!" Santo yelled.

BLAM! as Logan rammed his claws into her face, so hard they retracted into his knuckles. "ARRGH!" He rang his hand. "God damn."

"Yeah! Told yah!" Santo raised his arms, to show his missing hands. "Punched her so hard the first time that my fists broke."

The sand cloud condensed, then shot toward Kimura again, and travelled up her nose.

"GNNNH!" Kimura kicked Logan away with one swing of her foot and grabbed Cessily by her arm. "You really think that's going to do anything to me?! I'm invulnerable inside and out, idiots!" She blew the stream of sand into the air, and Sooraya suddenly reformed and fell to her knees, her eyes squeezing shut.

Josh, who had scrambled toward the fight, grabbed Kimura by the wrist, his fingers glowing gold.

Kimura rolled her eyes and made a flicking motion with her fingers. He flew backwards, bumping into Cessily, who formed herself into a net, cushioning his impact.

"Thanks!" Josh gasped.

James had drawn one of his blades and leapt toward Kimura. He jammed it against her back, only to see it bend up to the hilt. "…"

"Damn." Domino was standing against the wall of the room, her forehead wrinkled. She raised her gun hesitantly but did not fire. Vanisher was standing beside her, looking rather queasy.

Laura felt the dark fingers creeping into her vision again. She pressed her face into the mask. No, no…if she attacked them, Kimura would win. But Kimura always won, did they not know that? Why even fight—

"Hey." Julian was kneeling in front of her, doing something. Click! Her shackles opened. Then, clink! as the bullet that had been lodged in her frontal lobe fell to the ground. Her vision corrected itself, the doubled images merging.

He put a hand on her shoulder. ""Any ideas on how we kill her?"

"You can't."

He looked over his shoulder, his eyes narrowing. "You're Sarah, aren't you?"

"Yes." Sarah paused. "I made—"

"I know all about what you made." Julian got to his feet. "How do we break the invulnerability?"'

Sarah shook her head. "She's flawless. Nothing can kill her." She looked down at Laura. "I thought…I hoped she would leave you alone. If I gave her what she wanted…so I completed the invulnerability treatment." Sarah paused. "I'm sorry."

Laura closed her eyes.

Julian gazed at Sarah for a moment, remembering. The words she had written in her letter. I didn't know Sutter was having me design the treatment for her skin. I thought it was for yours. So I made her unbreakable. Flawlessly unbreakable. Even then, so early on, he was planning this. All of this. I thought Rice was the sick one, but at least he was motivated by anger. Sutter by greed. I by curiosity. Kimura by nothing but the sound of your screams.

"Nothing." Julian paused, then looked at Kimura again, as she swung Logan around by his leg, his claws slicing through Cessily's side like a hot knife through butter. "That's it."

"…" Laura scrambled upward. "What—"

Julian was heading toward Kimura, holding out his hand. There was a green flicker of light around her skin, then it died, interrupted by the vibranium.

"Hah!" Kimura grinned at him, made a come-here motion with one hand, as she flicked Logan away again with the other. "For a guy with brain powers, you're really stupid, you know that?"

The green flicker appeared again, a little farther out.

Logan, who was charging again, paused. He was missing an arm, which Kimura had ripped off at the shoulder. "Clear off!" he ordered Santo and James, who were still closing in on her.

Kimura raised an eyebrow. "Poison gas? Go ahead and try."

The field finally formed around her, a bubble about three feet in diameter. Julian had done this earlier, when he had removed the trigger scent from Laura's bubble. He just needed to take out everything this time. Which was trickier, but…he closed his eyes, focused, trying to feel the negative space inside the field. The air. He focused on removing it.

"What are you doing?!" Kimura shouted. "Stop it! I…"

He opened his eyes. She was grasping at her throat, her expression odd as she tried to inhale, but found nothing.

He could stop there. Invulnerable or not, Kimura would die without air, soon. Minutes. His eyes slid to Laura, frozen in place, the mask still pressed against her face. No. That would be too easy. His eyes narrowed as he looked at Kimura again, and then he began to decrease the size of the bubble.

Blood began to pour from her eyes, her ears, the corners of her mouth. She glared at him. Then her eyes slid shut. She was beginning to look odd. Distorted.

BLAM!

The walls of the field were covered in red.

Silence.

Julian let the bubble dissipate, and the smoking remains fell to the ground, a red mist hanging in the air that rushed in.

Clunk! Laura dropped the mask she was holding and approached the area, her eyebrows drawn together. She eyed the body, which was mangled. Unrecognizable. Not definitely Kimura. Something she had never felt before bubbled up in the pit of her stomach.

Snkkt!

"AAHHG!" She yelled, stabbing downward with her fist, her teeth gritted. Shlunk! As her claws passed through this thing. This thing that may or may not have been Kimura. Shlunk! Shlunk! Shlunk!

"Kid." Logan grabbed her with his single arm and dragging her backward. "Stop. She's gone. It's over."

Laura struggled. "THAT IS NOT HER!" She tried to reach behind, to stab Logan. She was almost successful, since he only had the one arm to hold her with. "NOT OVER! LET ME—"

"Here—" Josh grabbed Laura's wrist.

There was a brief golden glow. Paft!

Her head wilted to the side.

Julian gazed at Kimura's remains. He was barely restraining himself from continuing Laura's attack. Just barely. His fists smoked, and he closed his eyes, shook his head. Not now. He had to keep it together.

"So." Logan, bending down and picking up his severed arm. "You who I think you are?" He pressed the limb against his shoulder socket, wincing slightly.

"Yes." Sarah hesitated. "She was right. This isn't over."

"…" Julian looked at Sarah. "That better be followed with an explanation." He wondered if he should be taking her down, too, but Laura might not want her dead. He could wait.

"Kimura was raising an army." Sarah paused. "For Selene."

"Selene…" Logan raised an eyebrow. "Damn, that name's familiar." His lip curled. "I got a feelin' it ain't a good thing."

Julian! Frost's voice was sharp, filled with panic. He tensed as she continued to speak into his mind.

"No." Sarah said this quietly. "Just before you attacked, Kimura had a mutant named Blink teleport that army to—"

"Oh my god." Julian looked at Logan. "The school. Frost just called us in. They went there." Pause. "All of them."

Cessily looked at him sharply. Her eyes had been trained on the floor for the last several minutes, as if she couldn't process what was happening. "We have to go."

"…" Logan looked at Vanisher, who had been lurking on the periphery of the room. "Get us back there, Porter. Now."

"Hey! Creepy girl violated our deal earlier. I'm not taking anyone anywhere. Ever." He paused. "Not until terms are renegotiated."

Josh reached for his wrist again.

Vanisher folded his arms. "Threaten me all you want. Not going to work. I want cash."

Santo frowned at him. "I got a gift card to Red Lobster from my aunt...you take that?"

"…" Vanisher closed his eyes, pinched the bridge of his nose. "No. I don't want your gift card to Red Lobster, kid. I want cash. MONEY. Millions of it."

"I could make you hate money." Julian paused. "I might do it anyway."

"We don't have millions." Cessily looked at Logan, her forehead wrinkled. "Do we?"

"Please…" Sooraya spoke up. "Please do this."

"Okay, okay!" Vanisher glared at them all. "You owe me!"

VTT!