Notes: The opinions you see expressed in this chapter won't be the
least bit objective. Don't like it? Too bad. Also, the issue of who's the
baby's father is, (if the baby even has a father) will be left up in the
air for a while, so don't hold your breath waiting for the answer
On the road
The first six hours of the drive to Seattle was rather quite. Rahne silently listened to the radio while X-23 navigated their stolen car thru traffic. But finally, Rahne had had enough. She wanted, no, needed human conversation. So she asked an obvious question of her savior.
"What's yuir name?" Rahne asked.
X-23 looked at Rahne confused, "X-23."
"That's nae a name. It's a number with a letter."
X-23 shrugged, "It's gotten me by so far."
"So ye want me to call in public? X-23? Might raise suspicions, ye ken."
"Fine, fine. If you gotta call me anything, call me Jesse."
"Jessica?"
X-23 glared at Rahne, "No, Jesse."
A pause.
"Since you're so talkative, tell me about yourself kid. You're Irish, right?"
"Scottish." Rahne quickly corrected, with a bit of pride.
"Eh, what's the difference? Both sound funny."
"I'm from Ullapool." Rahne continued, ignoring the comment, "and if I ne'er see it again, well, that might nae be a bad thing."
"Why's that? They freak out about your powers?" X-23 asked, rather surprised to hear the anger underlining Rahne's statement.
"They...they tried to burn me at the stake when my powers manifested." Rahne shuddered at the memory.
"Ouch. Yeah, I think understand why you don't want to go back."
"It's nae that jus' that." Rahne sighed remorsefully, "ye ken how e'ery now and then, ye might come across a homeless dog?"
"Most animals are scared of me on general principle."
"But ye ken what I'm talking aboot?" Rahne asked, "How it's sooo cute and you'll feed it some scraps but never give it a home?"
"Yeah, I guess." X-23 said.
"Well, as an orphan that's all I really was tae the people o' Ullapool." Rahne said heatedly as her eyes started to water, "some quaint little addition to the scenery, nothin' more. Nae a little girl, jus' some lawn ornament. Other children were never allowed to play with me because they might ask their parents an awkward question aboot muh lack o' parents. Only Moira...mum e'er talked tae me before muh powers developed."
"That's...pretty crappy." X-23 said honestly. She found, much to her surprise, that she felt sorry for Rahne. Sure, Hydra raised X-23 in one of the most horrible ways possible, but at least they were honest in their treatment of her. To them, she was a weapon to be honed. So long as she stabbed those they wanted stabbed and killed those they wanted killed, they treated her alright. It wasn't until she learned that she could be more than they started trying to kill her.
By now, X-23 had taken an exit off the high way and turned into a busy off ramp into the city.
"Do ye have any place in mind tae where we're goin'?" Rahne asked.
"'Course. We're going to get a hotel in the city. Something nicer than that dingy hotel, I promise."
"I'll repay the money I've cost ye." Rahne said softly. She knew Moira was wealthy, and while she didn't feel comfortable making promises for her adoptive mother, Rahne hated being a burden even more.
"Heh, you're too cute, kid." X-23 smirked, "Don't sweat it one bit. All my money comes from stolen Hydra slush funds. I figure the enemies of the free world should pay me to tear them a new one."
They drove thru heavy traffic for a few minutes before X-23 pulled the car to one corner and looked at Rahne, "Get out, and wait for me. I need to ditch the car get changed before we get to the hotel."
Rahne looked at X-23 nervously, "Are ye sure that's such a good idea? Hydra..."
"Won't pull anything in broad daylight. Can't really." A car honked it's horn at X-23 from behind, and she gave the driver a single finger salute in response. She then tossed an old Rolex watch into Rahne's hands, "stay here and give me fifteen minutes."
Rahne stepped out cautiously, and watched X-23 peel away. It was then she realized that she failed to ask what she should do after fifteen minutes had passed and no X-23.
The next fifteen minutes were the longest fifteen minutes of young Rahne's life. She stood out in front of a bookstore, her back to a red brick wall. The city block seemed to bustle with more life than Rahne had ever seen back home in Ullapool in a week, and it was somewhat disconcerting and in a very real way terrifying for the young girl, but Rahne endured as always.
"Miss me kid?" The familiar voice of X-23 asked. Rahne, startled looked at X-23 and suddenly saw that her voice was the only thing that was familiar.
X-23 was wearing a black tank top, tight leather pants, high heel shoes that were entirely too high, dark sunglasses with makeup and lipstick liberally applied. X-23 was carrying a large suitcase in one hand with while she had a backpack slung over her shoulder.
"Jesse?"
"Who else? Anyone asks, you're my cousin and we're on vacation." X-23 explained. Rahne wanted to say something, but bit her tongue. It could wait.
When they reached the hotel, three blocks down the street, Rahne found herself in complete awe of the building. It was far, far taller than the bell tower that dominated the skyline of her hometown. The 'St. Croix Hotel' seemed to touch the sky and was immaculate despite it's large size. Rahne imagined that the large hotel could hold her entire town with little effort. And though she ashamed to think it, Rahne thought this hotel was simply too good for the likes of her, a poor orphan.
Thankfully, Rahne was required to do very little talking. X-23 strolled provocatively thru the lobby and walked straight up to the front desk where a balding man in a cheap, poorly washed uniform was waiting.
"Hello sweet thing, I need a room for two." X-23 purred, nodding back to indicate Rahne. The man, somewhat startled, stammered out a reply.
"Just...just you two young ladies?"
X-23 smiled seductively and discreetly pushed three hundred dollar bills forward, "Is there a law here against twosomes? I sure hope not."
"No! I mean, we have plenty of open rooms. What position do you prefer? I mean, what kind of room package would you like?"
X-23 shrugged, "Most expensive one ya got. Only live once, right?"
"Of course, of course."
The arrangements were quickly, and the two girls were given directions up to their room. The room was far more spacious than almost anything Rahne had ever seen before, with two queen-sized beds, a T.V twice the size of most small children and a mini bar stocked with fruits that Rahne had to admit looked incredibly tempting. X-23 set the bags down she'd been carrying as soon she stepped thru the door and made a beeline towards the bathroom. Rahne slowly followed her and said thru the door, "Jesse, if it's all right, may I ask ye a question?"
"Why did I dress and act like a cheap whore just now?" X-23 inquired as she splashed some water on her face, removing the majority of her makeup.
"Aye! I mean nae, umm..."
X-23 opened the bathroom door so that she could look at Rahne in the face. She had an oddly humored look on her face, "I'm not an idiot Rahne. I know I looked like a cheap two bit floozy back there."
X-23 closed the door as she continued, "Men have two major organs, but not enough blood to operate both at the same time. If I hadn't distracted him like that, he likely wouldn't have let two seemingly under age girls rent a room, and this place is a whole lot safer for you than some hourly hotel."
"Oh." Rahne thought about it for a moment, and realized that it did make perfect sense in retrospect, "Jesse, is this how ye always live yuir life?"
X-23 emerged from the bathroom, devoid any makeup and wearing her combat black leather uniform, "Like what?"
"Every little detail jus' planned oot." Rahne explained.
X-23 paused for a moment, "Yeah, I guess so. Way of life for me."
Rahne then looked at X-23's uniform, "Are...are ye goin' out somewhere?"
"I need to do some scouting, find out a few things, make some travel plans and get you some decent clothes. No offense kid, but you'd just be dead w...you'd slow me down."
"Umm, ye jus' want me tae stay here?" Rahne asked, rubbing the back of her neck nervously.
"Yeah. Order some room service, watch some T.V, take a shower, but don't you dare touch that phone." X-23 warned, deadly serious.
"But mum...!"
X-23 glared at Rahne, who found she wanted to wither away under her gaze, "You touch that phone to call anyone, and Hydra will find you. And who ever you call will die. Understand?"
Rahne lowered her head in defeat, "Aye."
"Good. Try to enjoy yourself kid. You got free cable and all you can eat food. Could be worse."
***
Rahne tried to take X-23's advise to heart as best she could. Over the course of three hours, Rahne ordered four trays of food, devoured them all (while trying not to think about why she was so hungry), and enjoyed a nice short shower. Rahne was currently wearing an oversized football shirt laying on her stomach on one bed and watching the Cartoon Network's Roadrunner marathon. For only a little while, Rahne lost herself in the cartoons and felt halfway normal. When she heard the door open and close, indicating X-23 had returned. Rahne swiftly grabbed the remote and changed the channel to some News station.
"Damn, where's the army hiding at?" X-23 joked as she surveyed all the spent food trays, "and why'd you change the channel?"
"I...don' know what yuir talking about." Rahne said unconvincingly.
X-23 swiped the remote from Rahne and clicked on the 'previous channel' feature, which returned the T.V to the Roadrunner marathon, "I can hear a T.V from down the hall. What, you can trust me to save your life but can't tell me what you watch on T.V?"
Rahne cast her eyes down, deeply embarrassed, "Because it's childish, tae like cartoons so much. But I ne'er even knew they existed growing up."
"Yeah, you're right. Lets go get drunk, have some sex and then get high." X- 23 proposed casually.
Rahne was aghast at the comment.
"See kid?" X-23 grabbed an apple that escaped Rahne's hunger and took a bite, "your vices are pretty damn tame. Nothin' to be ashamed of. Besides, Roadrunner is cool."
Rahne thought about it for a moment and was surprised to found she agreed with X-23. She certainly never thought of it like that.
"You can watch this a little bit more, then you need to get to bed. I got you a doctors appointment tomorrow."
***
When Rahne awoke the next day, she found herself actually relieved to have an appointment with a doctor. She needed someone to tell her what was happening to her body, what was the situation with the child growing inside her.
So she got dressed as quickly as possible, both her and X-23 wearing casual clothes that one might expect teenagers their age to wear. Rahne was slightly confused as to why X-23 insisted that they both wear hats and large sunglasses, but wasn't concerned with it too much. Rahne knew, after all, they needed to maintain their anonymity.
The ride was relatively quite, neither girl knowing quite what to say until,
"We're almost at the clinic, Rahne. I'm gonna park down the block and we'll walk up to the clinic."
"Alright."
X-23 parked the car, and once the engine stopped, Rahne heard something that made her blood run cold. X-23 could hear Rahne's heart as it began to pound like a jackhammer.
"What's wrong?"
"There's a bloody mob at the clinic!" Rahne exclaimed.
X-23 inwardly winced, "Don't worry, they're not going to touch you. But we're going to have to get past them for your appointment. Trust me, okay?"
Rahne nodded. It wasn't like she had any other choice other than to trust X- 23. She stepped out of the car and followed X-23's lead. Once they were within eyeshot of the mob, close enough for them to see the mob but not close enough to be identified as heading into the clinic itself. Rahne couldn't read the name of the clinic itself, as her eyes were transfixed on the protestors and their signs.
Abortion is murder.
It's a life, not a choice.
Babykillers.
The crowd was fairly light as far as protestors were concerned, but Rahne didn't care. She knew what this clinic was for and why those people were there. She began backpedaling in horror and outrage, but X-23 grabbed her in a grip of steel.
"I won' do it!" Rahne snarled, "ye can't make me!"
"Rahne..."
"It's wrong! Ye lied tae me!" Rahne struggled to break free of X-23's grip without attracting the attention of the mob, but it was an exercise in futility.
"Rahne, listen to me!" X-23 grabbed the sides of Rahne's shoulders and fiercely shook her once, forcing Rahne to stop her struggles, "I'm not going to force you to have an abortion, I promise. But you need to consider all your options. You don't even know who or even what the baby's father is!"
That struck a nerve more raw than even X-23 imagined. Rahne felt like she'd suddenly had a thousand glass shards stab into her lungs and she glared daggers at X-23, looking oddly like she was going either break down crying or tear out X-23's throat. Perhaps even both.
"This is your future, kid and I'm sorry but you need to make some hard choices." X-23 continued. She took Rahne's hand, "I won't make you do anything you don't want to, but I will make you at least consider it. Is that too much to ask?"
Rahne shook her head no, but remained silent and swallowed hard. The two girls walked up the sidewalk towards the clinic. Police who were on hand kept the crowd at a distance while X-23 and Rahne walked up the stone steps.
Rahne once thought having the entirety of her hometown, people who by all rights should have known her for the good and decent person she truly was, was the most painful and traumatic thing that could ever happen to her. She now discovered just how wrong she was. The looks, the shouts about how she was going to become a murderer, about how immoral she was, they were all like a million hot needles in her heart. At least with the mob back home Rahne could run away.
X-23 felt Rahne's hand grip hers even strong for support, which X-23 offered freely. X-23 glared at anyone foolish enough to try to talk to Rahne directly, warding them off one and all. Instinctively no one would challenge X-23 directly and as far as X-23 was concerned, this decision was Rahne's and Rahne's alone.
Much to her surprise, Rahne didn't immediately burst into flames when she stepped thru the doors of the clinic. The lobby looked like the lobby of any other non-emergency medical facility. It barely registered Rahne's mind when she and X-23 approached the receptionist and X-23 informed the lady behind the desk that they had an appointment. Rahne was too busy begging for forgiveness and wondering what she'd done that was so wrong that she had to make such a difficult choice so early in her life.
Rahne was lost in her own little world of self-doubt, loathing and just plain confusion until X-23 nudged her on the shoulder, "The doctor's ready to see us."
A nurse led them down the hall to where the Doctor had his office. As they walked down the hall, Rahne's nose (and X-23, though she didn't really care) was assaulted with a powerful mix of odors. Rahne's inexperienced nose couldn't identify a single one other than the fact that she hated the smell and wondered morbidly if the scents wouldn't follow her her whole life if she did what X-23 wanted.
The doctor who greeted them was an elderly gentleman with a white beard who identified himself as a one Dr. Anderson. He motioned for Rahne and X-23 to sit down in the chairs in front of his desk. Rahne was surprised at all the medical degrees and accolades she saw and cynically wondered how many of them were forged.
Dr. Anderson sat down behind his desk and steepled his hands together in front of himself, "Your cousin tells me you have some concerns regarding the procedure."
"Abortion." Rahne said softly.
"Excuse me?"
"It's nae a procedure. It's abortion. Lets use the correct euphemism, doctor." Rahne said, her eyes never meeting Dr. Anderson's but steel in her voice nonetheless. X-23 looked at Rahne with a raised eye brow as the doctor continued,
"Very well. An abortion is safe and valid medical option in instances of unwanted pregnancies. The procedure is quick and safe, and is completely painless with, ideally, no long term physical effects."
"How painless is it f'r the child?" Rahne asked sharply.
"The fetus isn't a baby yet. And it feels nothing."
"It?" Rahne asked, all the while never once looking at the doctor, "So when does 'it' stop bein' an it and become a child?"
Dr. Anderson sighed inwardly. As much as he tried to remain objective, he couldn't miss the judgment in Rahne's tone, the exact same tone Dr. Anderson had heard in his friends who would often ask how he could do what, in the voice of his son who'd long since disowned him and a thousand others who were opposed to what he did. Dr. Anderson leaned forward on his desk and said, "Ms. Sinclair, if you haven't figured that out for yourself, then you shouldn't be here."
Rahne looked at X-23, who shrugged, and then finally back at the doctor, "Yuir absolutely right."
Rahne stood up and left the room.
"Sorry about that doc." Stated X-23 as she stood up, "I kinda hoped she'd undergo the procedure, make this easier for herself but I didn't expect it."
"She simply should have been more careful to begin with." Dr. Anderson stated.
"Excuse me?" X-23 growled.
"I said she should have been more careful. I've seen it a thousand times. She was careless, either with herself or at a party, and she became pregnant and now won't have an abortion because of what her parents droned into her about it." Dr. Anderson explained matter of factly.
X-23 let out a bitter laugh, "You're a real piece of work, doc. You can't stand being judged by others but more than willing to judge them. Just so you know, asshole? Rahne's not pregnant because of anything she did wrong."
X-23 then walked out of the office and joined up with the waiting Rahne. The two were escorted to a backdoor of the clinic that led away from the protestors and pointed towards a nearby park.
"Thanks f'r stickin' up for me." Rahne muttered softly.
"What? With the doc? Guy was a prick." X-23 said, "Still Rahne, I gotta say you're being too close minded about this whole thing. Hydra forced this thing on you."
"Her." Rahne corrected, "the child growing inside me isnae a 'thing' or 'it'."
By now they had reached the park and were strolling through it.
"Her?"
"If I have to be a mum, I'd like a daughter." Rahne explained.
"Okay, her. She was forced on you by Hydra, terrorists who want to overthrow every current government, in an attempt to breed a perfect and ruthless killer. I doubt she's going to grow up to be Mother Theresa."
Rahne sat down on an unoccupied bench, and X-23 took a seat beside her.
"If we're goin' tae talk aboot the sins of the child, what about mine?"
"Umm, you lost me kid." X-23 confessed.
"I killed me own mum."
X-23 looked at Rahne, more than a little confused, "What?"
"Me mum, biological mother, was a lady o' the night."
"Prostitute."
Rahne glared at X-23, tears forming in her eyes, "Lady o' the night. A real wildcat, accordin' tae Reverend Craig. Eventually, she became pregnant wit' me, how I'm nae sure beyond the obvious. She died in childbirth," Rahne sniffled a little, and blinked back a tear, "muh first act in this world was murder."
X-23 rolled her eyes dismissively, "Rahne, your mom died because she was an idiot, offense. I doubt she gave birth to you in a hospital, or she'd still be here. And newsflash kid, you were a baby, you didn't have any control over how you were brought into this world."
X-23 paused, realized what she'd just said and then looked at Rahne.
"And you're a whole lot smarter than I give you credit for, aren't you?"
Rahne smiled at X-23 weakly, "How do ye know how tae hotwire a car? How tae use a gun, or fight as well as ye do?"
"I learned it." X-23 sighed, "Okay, I see what you're saying, and I'm surprised that I actually agree with you. But there are other concerns too."
"I ken what's growing inside isnae some oversized doll that I can dress-up an' play with." Rahne stated, "she's a responsibility. A full time one. I know that, but ye know what else?"
"What?"
Rahne lightly touched her stomach, "I ken she's a life. An innocent life and I could ne'er live with muhself if I dinnae do everything in my power to bring her into this world an' protect her. Maybe if someone did that fer me before Moira, I wouldnae be here. I'm...I'm sorry if I disappointed ye."
"Why would you being doing that?" X-23 asked, "Yeah, I don't agree with your choice, but you're sticking up for what you believe in and not taking an easy out. Gotta respect that."
"I guess," Rahne admitted, "Still, I cannae thank ye enough. I would still be in some bloody lab if it weren't f'r ye."
"Rahne, I'll jump into a pool full of piranhas for you if I have to, but I ain't doing this for you." X-23 stated, "As far as I'm concerned, Hydra needs to be stopped. Stopped because I want revenge, stopped because they're evil and stopped from bring more monsters and killers into the world. No more X-23s, world's got more than enough already."
Rahne was about to say something in response, when suddenly she heard a noise much like a cell phone and saw X-23's face become a mask of rage. X- 23 reached into her back pocket and pulled out a cell phone all the while eying the surrounding area with suspicion.
"What's wrong?"
"I rigged this phone to ring if it picked up any Hydra radio frequencies." X-23 explained. She glanced at the readout, "Only one. But damned if it's not an annoying one."
"Who?"
X-23 placed her arm across Rahne's chest to prevent her from standing up, "No one you know. Just trust me and stay calm."
An instant after X-23 said that, the surrounding area seemingly exploded in a hail of bullets, falling from the sky like rain. Chunks of dirt flew into the air, scrubs were sliced in half and people ran like the wind to escape. Rahne's first instinct was to run as well, but X-23's arm prevented that. Rahne in a panic looked at X-23, and saw her expression was that of general indifference. Allowing herself to trust X-23, Rahne didn't try to break free though she sweated like a caged animal as the barrage from above continued for a full minute. It stopped in an instant, and Rahne heard what sounded like a rocket getting closer and closer. She looked up to see a green skinned man covered in all kinds of high tech attachments and weapons poorly concealed with a heavy cloak covering most of his body, his arms pure silver and with sharp, uneven pointy teeth. Strapped to the creature's back was a roaring jetpack that spit out a stream of flame to keep the monster aloft. The mutant cyborg touched down about twenty in front of the two girls.
"Gauntlet, your aim is just getting worse and worse." X-23 stated as she placed her hands behind her head and started to lean back on the bench like she was relaxing at the beach, "I see me kicking seven shades of crap out of you didn't teach you a damn thing. But how'd you find me?"
"It was easy. You're so predictably unpredictable. Everyone expects you to go east, so you go north. And I knew you'd be interested in abortion clinics. Tell me, you fix the bitch?"
X-23 rubbed the bridge of her nose in annoyance at Gauntlet's lack of tact, "Rahne's decided to keep the cub, actually. Tell me, do you honestly think you'll take me down? You and what army?"
"I don't need any help dealing with you. I'll flay the flesh from your body, drag the kid and her whelp back to Hydra and call it a day." Gauntlet said confidently
X-23 inwardly smiled. Gauntlet had just admitted he didn't have any backup. And if Hydra knew that he'd found them, they'd have sent at least twenty fully armed agents at least. So obviously, Gauntlet was the only member of Hydra she needed to worry about. X-23 stood up and fished her wallet out of her pocket.
"Rahne, I'm going to be busy for the next ten minutes. Go get something to eat, or see a movie. Don't head back to the hotel, don't touch a phone and stay in public."
Rahne looked at X-23, and then at Gauntlet, "Jesse..."
"You're pregnant and no offense, I doubt you're that great a fighter even if you weren't. Your codename was a flower, after all. Trust me, kiddo. You can't do anything here."
"Yes, enjoy these last moments of freedom." Gauntlet hissed, "once I kill your defender, I'll take you back to Hydra so you can continue spitting out whelps for them."
Rahne shot Gauntlet the most venomous look of her and his life, and slowly started walking away. Once it became apparent that Gauntlet would allow her to leave unmolested, Rahne broke into a full sprint away from the two combatants. X-23 and Gauntlet watched her leave, and then looked at one another.
"She won't get far. I'll find her." Gauntlet boasted.
"Oh, she's already far enough." X-23 smirked, "she's not here to see me disembowel you."
"Even if you kill me, you'll never be able to stop Hydra. We'll get her and kill you."
X-23 laughed loudly at the statement, "Talking like a loser already! You guys keep saying that you'll kill me," X-23 continued chuckling, "that you'll make me suffer for what I've done, that Hydra is unstoppable. But you know what? After all your efforts and traps..."
X-23 stopped laughing and her face and body language became deadly serious.
-Snickt!-
-Snickt!-
"I'm still here!"
Gauntlet threw back his cloak to reveal a large, futuristic plasma rifle, "Easily remedied."
X-23 crouched down, and leaped high into the air at the cyborg, her silver claws flashing in the sunlight. And then...!
Next chapter: Anyone mind if I splurge? Well, too bad. Next chapter is all action with X-23 vs. Gauntlet as the two try to paint the town read in each other's blood.
On the road
The first six hours of the drive to Seattle was rather quite. Rahne silently listened to the radio while X-23 navigated their stolen car thru traffic. But finally, Rahne had had enough. She wanted, no, needed human conversation. So she asked an obvious question of her savior.
"What's yuir name?" Rahne asked.
X-23 looked at Rahne confused, "X-23."
"That's nae a name. It's a number with a letter."
X-23 shrugged, "It's gotten me by so far."
"So ye want me to call in public? X-23? Might raise suspicions, ye ken."
"Fine, fine. If you gotta call me anything, call me Jesse."
"Jessica?"
X-23 glared at Rahne, "No, Jesse."
A pause.
"Since you're so talkative, tell me about yourself kid. You're Irish, right?"
"Scottish." Rahne quickly corrected, with a bit of pride.
"Eh, what's the difference? Both sound funny."
"I'm from Ullapool." Rahne continued, ignoring the comment, "and if I ne'er see it again, well, that might nae be a bad thing."
"Why's that? They freak out about your powers?" X-23 asked, rather surprised to hear the anger underlining Rahne's statement.
"They...they tried to burn me at the stake when my powers manifested." Rahne shuddered at the memory.
"Ouch. Yeah, I think understand why you don't want to go back."
"It's nae that jus' that." Rahne sighed remorsefully, "ye ken how e'ery now and then, ye might come across a homeless dog?"
"Most animals are scared of me on general principle."
"But ye ken what I'm talking aboot?" Rahne asked, "How it's sooo cute and you'll feed it some scraps but never give it a home?"
"Yeah, I guess." X-23 said.
"Well, as an orphan that's all I really was tae the people o' Ullapool." Rahne said heatedly as her eyes started to water, "some quaint little addition to the scenery, nothin' more. Nae a little girl, jus' some lawn ornament. Other children were never allowed to play with me because they might ask their parents an awkward question aboot muh lack o' parents. Only Moira...mum e'er talked tae me before muh powers developed."
"That's...pretty crappy." X-23 said honestly. She found, much to her surprise, that she felt sorry for Rahne. Sure, Hydra raised X-23 in one of the most horrible ways possible, but at least they were honest in their treatment of her. To them, she was a weapon to be honed. So long as she stabbed those they wanted stabbed and killed those they wanted killed, they treated her alright. It wasn't until she learned that she could be more than they started trying to kill her.
By now, X-23 had taken an exit off the high way and turned into a busy off ramp into the city.
"Do ye have any place in mind tae where we're goin'?" Rahne asked.
"'Course. We're going to get a hotel in the city. Something nicer than that dingy hotel, I promise."
"I'll repay the money I've cost ye." Rahne said softly. She knew Moira was wealthy, and while she didn't feel comfortable making promises for her adoptive mother, Rahne hated being a burden even more.
"Heh, you're too cute, kid." X-23 smirked, "Don't sweat it one bit. All my money comes from stolen Hydra slush funds. I figure the enemies of the free world should pay me to tear them a new one."
They drove thru heavy traffic for a few minutes before X-23 pulled the car to one corner and looked at Rahne, "Get out, and wait for me. I need to ditch the car get changed before we get to the hotel."
Rahne looked at X-23 nervously, "Are ye sure that's such a good idea? Hydra..."
"Won't pull anything in broad daylight. Can't really." A car honked it's horn at X-23 from behind, and she gave the driver a single finger salute in response. She then tossed an old Rolex watch into Rahne's hands, "stay here and give me fifteen minutes."
Rahne stepped out cautiously, and watched X-23 peel away. It was then she realized that she failed to ask what she should do after fifteen minutes had passed and no X-23.
The next fifteen minutes were the longest fifteen minutes of young Rahne's life. She stood out in front of a bookstore, her back to a red brick wall. The city block seemed to bustle with more life than Rahne had ever seen back home in Ullapool in a week, and it was somewhat disconcerting and in a very real way terrifying for the young girl, but Rahne endured as always.
"Miss me kid?" The familiar voice of X-23 asked. Rahne, startled looked at X-23 and suddenly saw that her voice was the only thing that was familiar.
X-23 was wearing a black tank top, tight leather pants, high heel shoes that were entirely too high, dark sunglasses with makeup and lipstick liberally applied. X-23 was carrying a large suitcase in one hand with while she had a backpack slung over her shoulder.
"Jesse?"
"Who else? Anyone asks, you're my cousin and we're on vacation." X-23 explained. Rahne wanted to say something, but bit her tongue. It could wait.
When they reached the hotel, three blocks down the street, Rahne found herself in complete awe of the building. It was far, far taller than the bell tower that dominated the skyline of her hometown. The 'St. Croix Hotel' seemed to touch the sky and was immaculate despite it's large size. Rahne imagined that the large hotel could hold her entire town with little effort. And though she ashamed to think it, Rahne thought this hotel was simply too good for the likes of her, a poor orphan.
Thankfully, Rahne was required to do very little talking. X-23 strolled provocatively thru the lobby and walked straight up to the front desk where a balding man in a cheap, poorly washed uniform was waiting.
"Hello sweet thing, I need a room for two." X-23 purred, nodding back to indicate Rahne. The man, somewhat startled, stammered out a reply.
"Just...just you two young ladies?"
X-23 smiled seductively and discreetly pushed three hundred dollar bills forward, "Is there a law here against twosomes? I sure hope not."
"No! I mean, we have plenty of open rooms. What position do you prefer? I mean, what kind of room package would you like?"
X-23 shrugged, "Most expensive one ya got. Only live once, right?"
"Of course, of course."
The arrangements were quickly, and the two girls were given directions up to their room. The room was far more spacious than almost anything Rahne had ever seen before, with two queen-sized beds, a T.V twice the size of most small children and a mini bar stocked with fruits that Rahne had to admit looked incredibly tempting. X-23 set the bags down she'd been carrying as soon she stepped thru the door and made a beeline towards the bathroom. Rahne slowly followed her and said thru the door, "Jesse, if it's all right, may I ask ye a question?"
"Why did I dress and act like a cheap whore just now?" X-23 inquired as she splashed some water on her face, removing the majority of her makeup.
"Aye! I mean nae, umm..."
X-23 opened the bathroom door so that she could look at Rahne in the face. She had an oddly humored look on her face, "I'm not an idiot Rahne. I know I looked like a cheap two bit floozy back there."
X-23 closed the door as she continued, "Men have two major organs, but not enough blood to operate both at the same time. If I hadn't distracted him like that, he likely wouldn't have let two seemingly under age girls rent a room, and this place is a whole lot safer for you than some hourly hotel."
"Oh." Rahne thought about it for a moment, and realized that it did make perfect sense in retrospect, "Jesse, is this how ye always live yuir life?"
X-23 emerged from the bathroom, devoid any makeup and wearing her combat black leather uniform, "Like what?"
"Every little detail jus' planned oot." Rahne explained.
X-23 paused for a moment, "Yeah, I guess so. Way of life for me."
Rahne then looked at X-23's uniform, "Are...are ye goin' out somewhere?"
"I need to do some scouting, find out a few things, make some travel plans and get you some decent clothes. No offense kid, but you'd just be dead w...you'd slow me down."
"Umm, ye jus' want me tae stay here?" Rahne asked, rubbing the back of her neck nervously.
"Yeah. Order some room service, watch some T.V, take a shower, but don't you dare touch that phone." X-23 warned, deadly serious.
"But mum...!"
X-23 glared at Rahne, who found she wanted to wither away under her gaze, "You touch that phone to call anyone, and Hydra will find you. And who ever you call will die. Understand?"
Rahne lowered her head in defeat, "Aye."
"Good. Try to enjoy yourself kid. You got free cable and all you can eat food. Could be worse."
***
Rahne tried to take X-23's advise to heart as best she could. Over the course of three hours, Rahne ordered four trays of food, devoured them all (while trying not to think about why she was so hungry), and enjoyed a nice short shower. Rahne was currently wearing an oversized football shirt laying on her stomach on one bed and watching the Cartoon Network's Roadrunner marathon. For only a little while, Rahne lost herself in the cartoons and felt halfway normal. When she heard the door open and close, indicating X-23 had returned. Rahne swiftly grabbed the remote and changed the channel to some News station.
"Damn, where's the army hiding at?" X-23 joked as she surveyed all the spent food trays, "and why'd you change the channel?"
"I...don' know what yuir talking about." Rahne said unconvincingly.
X-23 swiped the remote from Rahne and clicked on the 'previous channel' feature, which returned the T.V to the Roadrunner marathon, "I can hear a T.V from down the hall. What, you can trust me to save your life but can't tell me what you watch on T.V?"
Rahne cast her eyes down, deeply embarrassed, "Because it's childish, tae like cartoons so much. But I ne'er even knew they existed growing up."
"Yeah, you're right. Lets go get drunk, have some sex and then get high." X- 23 proposed casually.
Rahne was aghast at the comment.
"See kid?" X-23 grabbed an apple that escaped Rahne's hunger and took a bite, "your vices are pretty damn tame. Nothin' to be ashamed of. Besides, Roadrunner is cool."
Rahne thought about it for a moment and was surprised to found she agreed with X-23. She certainly never thought of it like that.
"You can watch this a little bit more, then you need to get to bed. I got you a doctors appointment tomorrow."
***
When Rahne awoke the next day, she found herself actually relieved to have an appointment with a doctor. She needed someone to tell her what was happening to her body, what was the situation with the child growing inside her.
So she got dressed as quickly as possible, both her and X-23 wearing casual clothes that one might expect teenagers their age to wear. Rahne was slightly confused as to why X-23 insisted that they both wear hats and large sunglasses, but wasn't concerned with it too much. Rahne knew, after all, they needed to maintain their anonymity.
The ride was relatively quite, neither girl knowing quite what to say until,
"We're almost at the clinic, Rahne. I'm gonna park down the block and we'll walk up to the clinic."
"Alright."
X-23 parked the car, and once the engine stopped, Rahne heard something that made her blood run cold. X-23 could hear Rahne's heart as it began to pound like a jackhammer.
"What's wrong?"
"There's a bloody mob at the clinic!" Rahne exclaimed.
X-23 inwardly winced, "Don't worry, they're not going to touch you. But we're going to have to get past them for your appointment. Trust me, okay?"
Rahne nodded. It wasn't like she had any other choice other than to trust X- 23. She stepped out of the car and followed X-23's lead. Once they were within eyeshot of the mob, close enough for them to see the mob but not close enough to be identified as heading into the clinic itself. Rahne couldn't read the name of the clinic itself, as her eyes were transfixed on the protestors and their signs.
Abortion is murder.
It's a life, not a choice.
Babykillers.
The crowd was fairly light as far as protestors were concerned, but Rahne didn't care. She knew what this clinic was for and why those people were there. She began backpedaling in horror and outrage, but X-23 grabbed her in a grip of steel.
"I won' do it!" Rahne snarled, "ye can't make me!"
"Rahne..."
"It's wrong! Ye lied tae me!" Rahne struggled to break free of X-23's grip without attracting the attention of the mob, but it was an exercise in futility.
"Rahne, listen to me!" X-23 grabbed the sides of Rahne's shoulders and fiercely shook her once, forcing Rahne to stop her struggles, "I'm not going to force you to have an abortion, I promise. But you need to consider all your options. You don't even know who or even what the baby's father is!"
That struck a nerve more raw than even X-23 imagined. Rahne felt like she'd suddenly had a thousand glass shards stab into her lungs and she glared daggers at X-23, looking oddly like she was going either break down crying or tear out X-23's throat. Perhaps even both.
"This is your future, kid and I'm sorry but you need to make some hard choices." X-23 continued. She took Rahne's hand, "I won't make you do anything you don't want to, but I will make you at least consider it. Is that too much to ask?"
Rahne shook her head no, but remained silent and swallowed hard. The two girls walked up the sidewalk towards the clinic. Police who were on hand kept the crowd at a distance while X-23 and Rahne walked up the stone steps.
Rahne once thought having the entirety of her hometown, people who by all rights should have known her for the good and decent person she truly was, was the most painful and traumatic thing that could ever happen to her. She now discovered just how wrong she was. The looks, the shouts about how she was going to become a murderer, about how immoral she was, they were all like a million hot needles in her heart. At least with the mob back home Rahne could run away.
X-23 felt Rahne's hand grip hers even strong for support, which X-23 offered freely. X-23 glared at anyone foolish enough to try to talk to Rahne directly, warding them off one and all. Instinctively no one would challenge X-23 directly and as far as X-23 was concerned, this decision was Rahne's and Rahne's alone.
Much to her surprise, Rahne didn't immediately burst into flames when she stepped thru the doors of the clinic. The lobby looked like the lobby of any other non-emergency medical facility. It barely registered Rahne's mind when she and X-23 approached the receptionist and X-23 informed the lady behind the desk that they had an appointment. Rahne was too busy begging for forgiveness and wondering what she'd done that was so wrong that she had to make such a difficult choice so early in her life.
Rahne was lost in her own little world of self-doubt, loathing and just plain confusion until X-23 nudged her on the shoulder, "The doctor's ready to see us."
A nurse led them down the hall to where the Doctor had his office. As they walked down the hall, Rahne's nose (and X-23, though she didn't really care) was assaulted with a powerful mix of odors. Rahne's inexperienced nose couldn't identify a single one other than the fact that she hated the smell and wondered morbidly if the scents wouldn't follow her her whole life if she did what X-23 wanted.
The doctor who greeted them was an elderly gentleman with a white beard who identified himself as a one Dr. Anderson. He motioned for Rahne and X-23 to sit down in the chairs in front of his desk. Rahne was surprised at all the medical degrees and accolades she saw and cynically wondered how many of them were forged.
Dr. Anderson sat down behind his desk and steepled his hands together in front of himself, "Your cousin tells me you have some concerns regarding the procedure."
"Abortion." Rahne said softly.
"Excuse me?"
"It's nae a procedure. It's abortion. Lets use the correct euphemism, doctor." Rahne said, her eyes never meeting Dr. Anderson's but steel in her voice nonetheless. X-23 looked at Rahne with a raised eye brow as the doctor continued,
"Very well. An abortion is safe and valid medical option in instances of unwanted pregnancies. The procedure is quick and safe, and is completely painless with, ideally, no long term physical effects."
"How painless is it f'r the child?" Rahne asked sharply.
"The fetus isn't a baby yet. And it feels nothing."
"It?" Rahne asked, all the while never once looking at the doctor, "So when does 'it' stop bein' an it and become a child?"
Dr. Anderson sighed inwardly. As much as he tried to remain objective, he couldn't miss the judgment in Rahne's tone, the exact same tone Dr. Anderson had heard in his friends who would often ask how he could do what, in the voice of his son who'd long since disowned him and a thousand others who were opposed to what he did. Dr. Anderson leaned forward on his desk and said, "Ms. Sinclair, if you haven't figured that out for yourself, then you shouldn't be here."
Rahne looked at X-23, who shrugged, and then finally back at the doctor, "Yuir absolutely right."
Rahne stood up and left the room.
"Sorry about that doc." Stated X-23 as she stood up, "I kinda hoped she'd undergo the procedure, make this easier for herself but I didn't expect it."
"She simply should have been more careful to begin with." Dr. Anderson stated.
"Excuse me?" X-23 growled.
"I said she should have been more careful. I've seen it a thousand times. She was careless, either with herself or at a party, and she became pregnant and now won't have an abortion because of what her parents droned into her about it." Dr. Anderson explained matter of factly.
X-23 let out a bitter laugh, "You're a real piece of work, doc. You can't stand being judged by others but more than willing to judge them. Just so you know, asshole? Rahne's not pregnant because of anything she did wrong."
X-23 then walked out of the office and joined up with the waiting Rahne. The two were escorted to a backdoor of the clinic that led away from the protestors and pointed towards a nearby park.
"Thanks f'r stickin' up for me." Rahne muttered softly.
"What? With the doc? Guy was a prick." X-23 said, "Still Rahne, I gotta say you're being too close minded about this whole thing. Hydra forced this thing on you."
"Her." Rahne corrected, "the child growing inside me isnae a 'thing' or 'it'."
By now they had reached the park and were strolling through it.
"Her?"
"If I have to be a mum, I'd like a daughter." Rahne explained.
"Okay, her. She was forced on you by Hydra, terrorists who want to overthrow every current government, in an attempt to breed a perfect and ruthless killer. I doubt she's going to grow up to be Mother Theresa."
Rahne sat down on an unoccupied bench, and X-23 took a seat beside her.
"If we're goin' tae talk aboot the sins of the child, what about mine?"
"Umm, you lost me kid." X-23 confessed.
"I killed me own mum."
X-23 looked at Rahne, more than a little confused, "What?"
"Me mum, biological mother, was a lady o' the night."
"Prostitute."
Rahne glared at X-23, tears forming in her eyes, "Lady o' the night. A real wildcat, accordin' tae Reverend Craig. Eventually, she became pregnant wit' me, how I'm nae sure beyond the obvious. She died in childbirth," Rahne sniffled a little, and blinked back a tear, "muh first act in this world was murder."
X-23 rolled her eyes dismissively, "Rahne, your mom died because she was an idiot, offense. I doubt she gave birth to you in a hospital, or she'd still be here. And newsflash kid, you were a baby, you didn't have any control over how you were brought into this world."
X-23 paused, realized what she'd just said and then looked at Rahne.
"And you're a whole lot smarter than I give you credit for, aren't you?"
Rahne smiled at X-23 weakly, "How do ye know how tae hotwire a car? How tae use a gun, or fight as well as ye do?"
"I learned it." X-23 sighed, "Okay, I see what you're saying, and I'm surprised that I actually agree with you. But there are other concerns too."
"I ken what's growing inside isnae some oversized doll that I can dress-up an' play with." Rahne stated, "she's a responsibility. A full time one. I know that, but ye know what else?"
"What?"
Rahne lightly touched her stomach, "I ken she's a life. An innocent life and I could ne'er live with muhself if I dinnae do everything in my power to bring her into this world an' protect her. Maybe if someone did that fer me before Moira, I wouldnae be here. I'm...I'm sorry if I disappointed ye."
"Why would you being doing that?" X-23 asked, "Yeah, I don't agree with your choice, but you're sticking up for what you believe in and not taking an easy out. Gotta respect that."
"I guess," Rahne admitted, "Still, I cannae thank ye enough. I would still be in some bloody lab if it weren't f'r ye."
"Rahne, I'll jump into a pool full of piranhas for you if I have to, but I ain't doing this for you." X-23 stated, "As far as I'm concerned, Hydra needs to be stopped. Stopped because I want revenge, stopped because they're evil and stopped from bring more monsters and killers into the world. No more X-23s, world's got more than enough already."
Rahne was about to say something in response, when suddenly she heard a noise much like a cell phone and saw X-23's face become a mask of rage. X- 23 reached into her back pocket and pulled out a cell phone all the while eying the surrounding area with suspicion.
"What's wrong?"
"I rigged this phone to ring if it picked up any Hydra radio frequencies." X-23 explained. She glanced at the readout, "Only one. But damned if it's not an annoying one."
"Who?"
X-23 placed her arm across Rahne's chest to prevent her from standing up, "No one you know. Just trust me and stay calm."
An instant after X-23 said that, the surrounding area seemingly exploded in a hail of bullets, falling from the sky like rain. Chunks of dirt flew into the air, scrubs were sliced in half and people ran like the wind to escape. Rahne's first instinct was to run as well, but X-23's arm prevented that. Rahne in a panic looked at X-23, and saw her expression was that of general indifference. Allowing herself to trust X-23, Rahne didn't try to break free though she sweated like a caged animal as the barrage from above continued for a full minute. It stopped in an instant, and Rahne heard what sounded like a rocket getting closer and closer. She looked up to see a green skinned man covered in all kinds of high tech attachments and weapons poorly concealed with a heavy cloak covering most of his body, his arms pure silver and with sharp, uneven pointy teeth. Strapped to the creature's back was a roaring jetpack that spit out a stream of flame to keep the monster aloft. The mutant cyborg touched down about twenty in front of the two girls.
"Gauntlet, your aim is just getting worse and worse." X-23 stated as she placed her hands behind her head and started to lean back on the bench like she was relaxing at the beach, "I see me kicking seven shades of crap out of you didn't teach you a damn thing. But how'd you find me?"
"It was easy. You're so predictably unpredictable. Everyone expects you to go east, so you go north. And I knew you'd be interested in abortion clinics. Tell me, you fix the bitch?"
X-23 rubbed the bridge of her nose in annoyance at Gauntlet's lack of tact, "Rahne's decided to keep the cub, actually. Tell me, do you honestly think you'll take me down? You and what army?"
"I don't need any help dealing with you. I'll flay the flesh from your body, drag the kid and her whelp back to Hydra and call it a day." Gauntlet said confidently
X-23 inwardly smiled. Gauntlet had just admitted he didn't have any backup. And if Hydra knew that he'd found them, they'd have sent at least twenty fully armed agents at least. So obviously, Gauntlet was the only member of Hydra she needed to worry about. X-23 stood up and fished her wallet out of her pocket.
"Rahne, I'm going to be busy for the next ten minutes. Go get something to eat, or see a movie. Don't head back to the hotel, don't touch a phone and stay in public."
Rahne looked at X-23, and then at Gauntlet, "Jesse..."
"You're pregnant and no offense, I doubt you're that great a fighter even if you weren't. Your codename was a flower, after all. Trust me, kiddo. You can't do anything here."
"Yes, enjoy these last moments of freedom." Gauntlet hissed, "once I kill your defender, I'll take you back to Hydra so you can continue spitting out whelps for them."
Rahne shot Gauntlet the most venomous look of her and his life, and slowly started walking away. Once it became apparent that Gauntlet would allow her to leave unmolested, Rahne broke into a full sprint away from the two combatants. X-23 and Gauntlet watched her leave, and then looked at one another.
"She won't get far. I'll find her." Gauntlet boasted.
"Oh, she's already far enough." X-23 smirked, "she's not here to see me disembowel you."
"Even if you kill me, you'll never be able to stop Hydra. We'll get her and kill you."
X-23 laughed loudly at the statement, "Talking like a loser already! You guys keep saying that you'll kill me," X-23 continued chuckling, "that you'll make me suffer for what I've done, that Hydra is unstoppable. But you know what? After all your efforts and traps..."
X-23 stopped laughing and her face and body language became deadly serious.
-Snickt!-
-Snickt!-
"I'm still here!"
Gauntlet threw back his cloak to reveal a large, futuristic plasma rifle, "Easily remedied."
X-23 crouched down, and leaped high into the air at the cyborg, her silver claws flashing in the sunlight. And then...!
Next chapter: Anyone mind if I splurge? Well, too bad. Next chapter is all action with X-23 vs. Gauntlet as the two try to paint the town read in each other's blood.