Pairing: X23/Madelyne Pryor
Summary: When one woman finds her way back to our world, someone else finds her way home. Pre-slash, Multiverse AU loosely based on NYX #3. This story assumes that Comics!X23 has the same origins as Evo!X23. Big thanks to my beta reader, Helen.
Disclaimer: X23, Madelyne Pryor, and everything else that is X-Men related belongs to Marvel and a bunch of other peeps - not me.

Despite it being a world that was already doomed when she arrived, Madelyne remained simply because the woman she was derived from did not exist here and never had. Her life had been in danger everyday, but in this dimension it was hers alone. Unfortunately, the state of society went from bad to worse as the years passed by. Senator Kelly became President Kelly. The Sentinel program had been put into place. Her mind reached out beyond the earth's atmosphere one morning, only to find that Magneto was planning to send an asteroid crashing into it. The end of this world was inevitable. With this knowledge, she made the decision to teleport back to the dimension she originated from.

Originated. Not born, Madelyne thought to herself. To say that she was born here would mean that she had a mother or a father. It would imply that she was a real person. At one point in her life, she believed that to be so. Now she knew better. But I can still pretend. I've had lots of practice.

The last time Madelyne lived in this version of New York, she wreaked havoc in Manhattan while under the influence of a demon, and attempted to kill the woman who was ultimately responsible for her existence. Aware that she wasn't welcome here, she decided to keep her presence a secret. The neighborhood she chose to live in was certainly not one of the best, but it allowed her to keep a low profile. Nightly walks were a routine that was unsafe for most people, but for a telepath such as herself there was only minor risk involved. She could lightly scan the minds of the people around her. If she sensed trouble, she could simply fool them into thinking that she wasn't there.

Less than two months after Madelyne's return, one of these midnight strolls brought her into contact with someone who was truly baffling. An unexpected downpour forced the woman to hurry home. On the way, she saw a young prostitute standing under a streetlight on a corner. Mascara stained her cheeks as she cried. In this part of town, such a scene was not unusual. Normally, she wouldn't have thought anything of it. Her mind was different somehow though; familiar to her in a way that didn't make sense. Her pace slowed. Studying her face carefully, she fully expected to recognize her at any second.

A yellow Cadillac pulled up in front of the prostitute. Their eyes met for a brief moment before she got into the car and closed the door. On impulse, Madelyne created a psychic link with the girl's mind.

I'll find you again, I promise.

A dark-haired girl sat on a couch next to her pimp while he snorted a line of cocaine. Zebra Daddy was what he called himself. She on the other hand avoided calling herself anything if she could. This was a girl with many enviable skills. Communication wasn't one of them. She did her best never to speak unless absolutely necessary. Nobody seemed to care.

Walking the streets in the clothes her line of work required, receiving odd looks from those passing by was nothing out of the ordinary. Right before her pimp came to pick her up, some redhead had spent nearly a full minute staring at her from down the street. Upon closing the door of his ugly yellow car, it felt as if the woman had come along for the ride. Even now, over two hours later, the redhead seemed to stick in her mind almost literally.

I'll find you again, I promise.

She knew it wasn't real, but she could hear the words falling from the woman's lips as they drove off. They continued echoing in her ears.

The night went on. Zebra Daddy had caught her cutting herself. Laughably, he wanted her to hand over whatever she'd been doing it with. A phone call distracted him. Minutes later, he was beating up another prostitute named Jade. Turning her eyes away, she'd gone back to slashing her arm. The girl blinked, recognizing the figure approaching her from the other side of the room. It was the same redhead she saw when she was standing on the corner earlier. The woman's pristine appearance was out of place here, yet nobody else noticed her. The room seemed to grow quiet, yet everyone was still going about their business.

Now the woman was only standing about five feet away from where she was sitting. "Come on," she said, holding out her hand.

"Who are you?" she spoke barely above a whisper, fearing that any minute someone would see the woman and make her leave.

"My name is Madelyne Pryor."

"I'm-" Her name was an inhuman label to be compared with a serial number: X23. She couldn't bring herself to say it.

"It's alright," she assured the girl. "I know who you are."

"How?" she asked suspiciously.

"I'm telepathic."

"Oh." Being a mutant herself, she wasn't terribly surprised by this. Still, she wondered why the woman had followed her here.

"Come on," Madelyne repeated, gesturing with her hand.

X23 wasn't sure if she could trust her. As her eyes darted around the room, taking in the sight of all the pimps, prostitutes, and johns, she then wondered, How much worse off could I be?

Wolverine.

As the yellow Cadillac disappeared from her line of vision the night before, Madelyne had finally recognized X23's psychic signature. At that point, she dove further into the girl's mind than even she herself could travel. It was then that everything came together. She was a clone of Wolverine. Obviously, her genetic make-up had been altered, but she was a clone nonetheless.

What are the chances that she and I would just happen to run into each other like this? I'll bet that Wolverine hasn't even met her.

As tempting as it was to search X23's mind for the answers, Madelyne refrained from doing so. Initially, she had used her telepathic abilities on the girl for the sake of helping her. She no longer felt it was necessary. However, she did maintain the psychic link with her mind. Madelyne told herself this was only a safety precaution for when she was "working" throughout the day. If you can even call this work, she snorted to herself.

Madelyne was no longer able to get legitimate employment under her real name. In order to obtain a fake identity, she'd have to get in touch with someone from her past. One person knowing of her return would lead to others knowing of it, and she didn't want that. Her current day job was petty theft; picking pockets mostly. Now swimming through the ocean of people drifting up and down the busy streets of New York City, she used her telepathic abilities to determine which ones were carrying the most cash. In the event that anyone noticed what she was doing, she'd perform a mild mind wipe to prevent the individual from remembering her appearance. This wasn't something she planned on keeping up forever, but for the moment she felt it was her best option.

Summoning the image of X23 emerging from the bathroom not long after she had brought her home, Madelyne smiled to herself. A shower and a pair of baby blue flannel pajamas made a world of difference. The heavy make-up had been washed away, revealing naturally long, dark eyelashes and two rosy cheeks. The girl wasn't conventionally attractive, but pretty in her own way. Mentally, she checked in on her new roommate.

The woman breathed a small sigh of relief. Safe and sound.

Madelyne and X23 hadn't spoken much the night before. By time she woke up, Madelyne was on her way out the door to go to work. Less than an hour after the woman's departure, X23 had decided to do some snooping. There wasn't very much to snoop through though.

Clothes and linens in the bedroom.

Hygiene products in the bathroom.

Some food in the kitchen.

A couple newspapers and magazines stacked on the living room floor next to her ratty looking sofa. X23 flung the remote down on the floor next to the pile. No cable, she thought to herself, feeling mild frustration mixed with sympathy. I've known crack whores better off than she is. The girl swallowed hard as tears filled her eyes.

I have to go back.

X23 was briefly startled by the sound of the door unlocking. Madelyne entered with a grin on her face and a huge plastic shopping bag in her arms. "Good," she said as soon as she saw her sitting on the couch in the pajamas she'd given her. "I'm glad you didn't put those other clothes back on. I'm driving to the laundromat later. I'll wash them then." The redhead sat down beside her and placed the bag between them. "Open it up," she nudged the girl's arm with the back of her hand.

Madelyne's enthusiasm was contagious. X23 caught herself grinning just as widely as she was, as she removed the contents of the bag. It held a white bra and pantie set, hair brush, black socks, black shoes, a black pair of slacks, and a tunic. "It's baby blue, like the PJs," Madelyne commented, gesturing to the tunic. "You look good in that color."

The girl felt a twinge of guilt as she mentally calculated how much each item must have cost. She probably needed that money for something else.

"Go try them on," Madelyne urged. "If they don't fit right, I'll still have time to exchange them before the mall closes."

"Ok," X23 murmured nervously. Placing the items back in the bag, she then took it into the bathroom so she could change privately.

After putting the last of the new clothing on, the girl smiled at her reflection in the full length mirror on the bathroom wall. She thought she looked a little like one of those pretty girls in the fashion magazines for a minute and it made her feel normal. Giggling at herself, she struck a silly fashion model pose. As she continued to examine her ensemble in the mirror, her mood began to shift.

Black and blue.

X23 imagined what Jade's face was looking like right now. Her feelings of normalcy retreated to some far off place in the back of her mind.

Returning to the living room, X23 forced herself to smile. Madelyne was sitting on the floor, sorting her dirty clothes into three drawstring laundry sacks. When she looked up to see the girl, her eyes brightened. "Aawww, you look adorable."

"Thanks," she replied just barely above a whisper, embarrassed by Madelyne's choice of words. "And thanks for the clothes. I like them a lot."

"Great," she said. "You and I can go to the mall together tomorrow to get the rest. Does that sound like a good idea to you?"

"The rest?" X23 questioned hesitantly.

The woman stood up from the floor. "Unless you want to wear that outfit everyday for the rest of your life, yes," she teased.

X23 opened her mouth, but couldn't find the words she wanted to say.

I have to go back.

Madelyne walked across the room to where she stood. X23's eyes locked with hers.

Tell me I don't have to go back.

Wrapping her arms around the girl, Madelyne responded to her inner plea. "You don't have to go back." She paused, then continued. "I think I need you to be here just as much as you need to be here."

Resting her head on the woman's shoulder, X23 smiled contently.