Birds of Prey

Disclaimer: I do not own DC, Marvel, or any other characters outside of OCs.

Chapter Four: X-23

Cold Lake, Alberta – December 31, 14:32 MDT

Deep in the heart of the Weapon Plus Facility, Batgirl, Speedy, and Impulse were trapped in a difficult position On one side of the white-walled prison, X-23 crouched low to the floor with her fists clenched tightly; twin adamantium claws ripping through her knuckles. On the opposite side, Kimura leaned casually against the doorway, effectively cutting off their only means of escape. And in the corner, next to the pile of sharpened bones, Dr. Sarah Kinney stared worriedly between the heroes and her daughter.

"X-23…why don't you 'play' with these three?" Kimura chuckled darkly. "If you're a good girl, I might even give you a break from playtime tomorrow."

"X, please listen to me," said Dr. Kinney pleadingly. "You don't have to listen to her; you don't have to be afraid anymore. These people, they can help you."

"You're already in deep shit, doctor," said Kimura. "The bosses are going to be pissed when they find out you tried to sneak their favorite lab rat out of the Facility with three of the JLB's sidekicks. So try not to make things worse for yourself." She nodded to X-23. "X, get rid of them already."

"Can't we just talk?" Impulse suggested optimistically. Everyone stared at her with odd expressions "What? It was worth a shot."

X-23 lunged forward with her adamantium claws; her teeth bared and her lengthy-black hair flapping. Batgirl, Speedy, and Impulse ducked under her flying claws, scattering to opposite sides of the room. Speedy rolled close to Dr. Kinney into a kneeling position and retrieved an arrow from her quiver, pulling back the drawstring and taking aim on X-23. But just as she eased her fingers, Dr. Kinney jumped in and pushed the bow away, shooting the arrow into the upper corner of the room.

"Whose side are you on?" said Speedy angrily.

"Please, don't hurt her!" Dr. Kinney begged. "She doesn't know what she's doing!"

"Hurt her?" said Speedy exasperatedly. "I'm more worried about her hurting us!"

X-23, who had been slashing at Batgirl moments before, took notice of the arrow and followed it back to Speedy and Dr. Kinney. She quickly forgot about Batgirl and lunged for the two, most likely assuming that they would be easier prey. Speedy finally pulled away from her argument with the doctor to notice X-23 diving at her, fumbling around with her quiver. Unfortunately, her mind was running a mile a minute and she forgot which arrow was which. X-23 was almost on top of Speedy until a gray and white blur passed between them and punched her in the face, throwing her back into the wall.

X-23 shook her head, growling as Impulse zoomed by again, kicked her in the shin, and dashed across the room out of her reach. Impulse curved around, using the wall for support, and ran back toward X-23, sliding against the smooth floor when the experiment stabbed her claws. Impulse slipped through X-23's leg and kicked her in the shin, causing her to buckle under. X-23 hissed from the initial shock and swiped her claws backward, which Impulse hastily dodged, clipping a few of her red hairs. Impulse moved around her and aimed an accurate kick for X-23's kneecap. Unfortunately, X-23 captured Impulse by the ankle at the last second, throwing her into the nearby wall.

Impulse slapped against the white tile, moaning painfully as she flopped on the floor. Soothing the pain in her head, Impulse looked over as X-23 stalked her like a savage animal, baring her claws from both sides. Just as X-23 started to make her approach, Impulse began to vibrate her body, emitting a small humming noise, and leaned forward against the wall. X-23 looked stunned when Impulse passed through the surface of the wall and her adamantium claws stabbed white tile instead of flesh. On the other side of the wall, Impulse emerged in a hallway, untouched.

"Phew, that was a close one," said Impulse, leaning against the wall in relief. Adamantium claws pierced through the stone, inches away from her head. "Aw, slag."

Impulse jumped away as the second pair ripped through o the other side of her head and moved in a circular motion, ripping open a large hole in the wall. X-23 stepped through the new entryway, looking even angrier than she did before. Impulse yelped as she ducked under X-23's swinging claw and took off down the hall, leaving a trail of dust in her wake, with X-23 following close behind. Batgirl jumped through the hole, staring down the corridor Impulse and X-23 disappeared to, and rounded to Speedy.

"I…will follow," said Batgirl, shooting a brief look to Kimura, who was smiling amusingly. "Can you…?"

"We'll be fine," said Speedy, reaching for a new arrow. "Go and help Impulse. I'll take care of tall, dark, and gruesome." Batgirl nodded and took of down the hall as Speedy pulled back the drawstring. "You gonna surrender quietly, big girl? Please say no."

"Go ahead," said Kimura, her arms open wide. "Give me your best shot."

"You don't stand a chance against her," said Dr. Kinney. "Kimura is one of the Facility's earliest attempts in recreating Kryptonian physiology in humans. She has the invulnerability of Superman, but none of his weaknesses. That's why she was assigned to be X-23's handler."

"Don't get your stockings in a twist, doc," said Speedy confidently. "I brought myself a secret weapon. A kinetic-kill side wind arrow tip with a secondary cycloid methylene RDX burst. This baby could bust through the Fortress of Solitude. Ladies, may I present to you…the Ex-Wife."

Kimura raised her brow at the oddly named arrow. Speedy smiled with confidence as she released the drawstring and watched the arrow fly across the room. The arrow hit Kimura's chest and, to Speedy's horror, bounced uselessly on the floor. Speedy, Kimura, and Dr. Kinney stared down at the arrow, which had been bent into an awkward shape.

"Oh, Hammer owes me a huge refund," said Speedy.

While Speedy showed visible disappointment of her failed weapon, Kimura crossed the room and swung around with a right hook. Speedy ducked under her fist and rolled to the side, pulling Dr. Kinney away with her. When Speedy rolled to her feet and looked back at Kimura, she had already driven her fist through the tile and pulled back without even flinching – Speedy had a good idea how strong she was now. She pulled two arrows and released them, watching them explode upon contact. Kimura staggered from the initial shock, but showed no signs of damage other than the burn marks on her shirt.

"You little brat," said Kimura. "That was my favorite shirt."

Kimura stomped across the room, ignoring the arrows that Speedy kept firing one by one. There was a steel net arrow, which Kimura ripped with ease, an electric arrow, which felt like a small twitch, and an arrow filled with liquid nitrogen that exploded over Kimura, covering her in a thick sheet of ice. For a moment, it looked like Kimura had been neutralized, but then the ice began to crack and Speedy knew it wouldn't be long before she broke loose. Speedy started rummaging through her quiver, looking for a specific arrow she thought would finally stop her.

By the time Speedy found the arrow, Kimura shattered the ice prison with a howl reminiscent to the Hulk. Speedy fumbled with the arrow, trying to align it with the drawstring, when Kimura dived after her with a flying tackle. When she finally lined up her arrow, Speedy crouched low and flipped over Kimura, releasing the grip to shoot the arrow between Kimura's shoulders. The arrow connected and hissed as it released a red-rubber foam that quickly consumed Kimura's body before she even touched the ground. The red blob hit the floor with a splat and Speedy landed safely on her feet, leaning against her knees and breathing heavily.

"High-density… polyurethane foam," Speedy panted. "Never…leave home…without it."

"Are you all right?" Dr. Kinney asked concerned, catching the archer before she could fall over. "You look exhausted."

"Forgot…to take my medicine…this morning," said Speedy, wheezing. "I'm just…feeling a little…winded is all. You wouldn't…happen to know…how to make an…AIDS cocktail, would you?" The doctor shook her head. "I didn't…think so. I'll just…have to ask…Artemis to…make some…when I get back."

Speedy, using Dr. Kinney's shoulder for support, started walking towards the door when she heard something that sounded like tearing rubber. Speedy assumed the worst and looked back, confirming her theory as Kimura rampaged across the room, covered in foam particles. Speedy pushed Dr. Kinney away and reached for another arrow, but Kimura had grabbed her by the head and slammed her into the wall, using enough force to break the tiles. Kimura released her grip and watched Speedy slump to the floor, falling in and out of consciousness. The last thing Speedy heard before she blacked out was:

"Don't worry," said Kimura with a dark chuckle. "I'll take care of the good doctor for you."

Impulse dashed into the boiler room, which she guessed was on the opposite side of the Facility from X-23's cell. Impulse quickly hid behind the water heater, peering around toward the entrance of the area. X-23 had done a decent job of tracking Impulse through six levels of the Facility, most likely using her heightened sense of smell and hearing to follow. Impulse needed to stay on her toes. At the times when she thought she lost the clone, X-23 always manages to catch her by surprise.

Impulse stared fixedly at the entrance, waiting for X-23 to come charging in, but after two minutes of silence, Impulse assumed that she had found another way around. If that were the case, she needed to move quickly. Dashing between the boilers, pipes, and water pumps, it looked like Impulse would be able to slip out of the room unnoticed, and that worried her. But unknown to Impulse, X-23 was crawling through the pipework above, following her prey silently from the shadows. She stopped directly above Impulse, who was doing another scan of the area, pulled out her claws, and jumped down.

X-23 landed mutely behind Impulse, edging closer until she was only a foot away. But as she was looking around, Impulse caught sight of her reflection in the glass thermometer and saw X-23 standing above her, pulling her claws back. Impulse curled and tumbled forward just seconds before X-23's claws glided over her head and stabbed into the water heater, releasing clouds of steam into the room. When Impulse stood up and looked back, she put a hand over her mouth to stop herself from laughing. X-23 had apparently got her claws stuck in the machine and was tugging relentlessly to get them back

"Well, this is quite a predicament you're in, huh?" said Impulse teasingly. She leaned against the water heater, just out the reach of X-23's other claws. "I know it's a little late to ask, but how come you only have two claws? Wolverine has three, so why don't you?" At that moment, the missing third claw ripped through the skin between X-23's toes. Impulse didn't have time to be shocked before X-23 swiped her foot across Impulse's chest with enough force to throw her into nearby pipe. "Oh…that's why."

Impulse dropped to her knees and fell forward, losing consciousness. No longer worried about Impulse running offer, X-23 could think straight and used her claws to rip open the machine just enough for her claws to slip out. Slowly stepping over Impulse's form, X-23 crouch down for a better look at her prey. She was just a child – probably not even ten years-old. Some part of X-23 told her that she should just leave her alone, but another part – the part that was scared of Kimura – told her she needed to finish the job.

Acting hesitantly, X-23 pulled back slowly, inwardly wishing that there was another way around this. And then she felt something clip her ear – a batarang clattered on the floor. X-23 felt the wounded flesh close as turned around, locking glares with Batgirl from the opposite side of the room. Somewhat thankful, X-23 kicked Impulse away and stepped closer to face Batgirl, who was undoing the latches of her cape.

"I…will be…your enemy," said Batgirl, throwing her cape to the side.

X-23 narrowed her eyes, though was hesitant to attack, not because she didn't want to her hurt, but because she knew that Batgirl was different from the other two. Batgirl was calm, cool, collected, and left no openings for an attack. But while X-23 refused to attack, Batgirl looked over her opponent. Her body language was wild and angry – anger that went beyond Kimura's abuse and the Facility's experiments. There was a sense of hurt and betrayal in her movements.

After a long minute of empty silence, X-23 finally lunged forward and swiped her claws twice, both of which Batgirl slapped away, and pivoted her talon across the bat's chest. Batgirl expertly caught X-23's foot, careful to avoid the sharp talon, and flipped her to fall on her stomach. X-23 growled and swung her talon around, but Batgirl easily stepped over it and responded with her own kick. X-23 used her forearm to block the kick and pushed back, forcing Batgirl to jump back while X-23 climbed to her feet.

X-23 dived back and forth with both her claws and talons, but Batgirl would easily dodge or block each attack and usually respond with a quick strike of her own, knocking Talon off her feet. X-23's last attack was a wild charge to stab Batgirl through the chest, but Batgirl caught the clone by her wrists, flipped her over, and kicked her in the back. X-23 crashed into wall of pipes and slumped on the floor, glaring up at the bat that was standing over her with a sense of superiority.

"Are you…ready to…give up?" Batgirl asked slowly.

X-23 snarled. She used the pipes to climb back up to her feet and made a desperate swipe at Batgirl, who deftly dodged with a simple sidestep. But as X-23 stumbled, her claws accidentally sliced through several pipes, releasing several clouds of heavy steam with a sharp hiss. Batgirl raised her arms defensively and stumbled back as the steam rolled over, obscuring her vision. When Batgirl lowered her arms and search around X-23, she began to panic. With this thick steam blocking her view, she lost her greatest strength.

As Batgirl stumbled through the haze, her paranoia began to get the best of her. She would jump at the slightest sound and one time when she thought she saw X-23's shadow, she made a quick jab and ended up hurting her fist when it connected with the steel air conditioner. Batgirl shook her hand to relieve the brief bout of pain and walked down the hazy pathway, touching the pipes and machines to guide her.

While Batgirl wandered aimlessly through the boiler room, she heard a quick session of soft footsteps heading her way, but couldn't tell where they were coming from over the hissing pipes. Batgirl waited and waited until X-23 appeared behind Batgirl, slashing both her claws down the bat's back. Batgirl dropped to her knees, wincing as the hot air caressed her four fresh cuts. Batgirl turned sharply, just in time to fall back as X-23 made a swipe for Batgirl's head. The adamantium claws managed to catch the lower half of Batgirl's mask, ripping off the stitches. Batgirl fell on her back, hissing from her wounds, and X-23 straddled her waist, using one hand to pin the bat and the other with her claws ready.

"How…did you…find me?" said Batgirl slowly. X-23 tapped her nose with her claw. "Of course. You have…Wolverine's…sense of…smile." X-23 raised her confused. "That…wasn't right...was it?"

X-23 shook her head. She pulled back and stabbed her claws at Batgirl's head, but Batgirl withdrew a batarang from her wrist compartment and locked it between the adamantium blades. X-23 hissed angrily, pushing all her strength behind her claws. For a moment, X-23's claws were getting closer to the bat's head, until Batgirl pulled her hand to the side and threw a palm strike to X-23's chin. X-23 was thrown off her prey, feeling a small degree blood spill from her broken lip. X-23 groaned as she propped herself by her elbows, wiping the excess blood from her chin. X-23 tried to lift herself up, but Batgirl suddenly appeared and pressed her heel into her chest, pinning her back down.

"Are you…finished?" said Batgirl seriously. "Because…I have…a few…"

The next thing she knew, Batgirl felt something heavy smash against the side of her head and everything went black. X-23 stared in confusion as Batgirl suddenly dropped like a log then looked over as American Dream caught her shield as it made its return trip, carrying Impulse under her arm.

"Well done, American Dream," said Dr. Rice, emerging through the haze escorted by Kimura, who was carrying Speedy over her shoulder. "As usually, we have to pick up after you mess, beast." X-23 glared hard at him. "American Dream, Kimura, please make sure our guests are placed in a security cell and remove their weapons. We don't want them escaping again. As for you, beast, I want you back in your room immediately. If we didn't need you for the finishing procedure, I would have Kimura punish you for your inadequacy."

"We can still have some fun later," said Kimura as X-23 walked past.

"Don't touch her," said Dr. Rice strictly. "We still need her in good condition for the final injection. But right now, I have more…pressing matters to attend to."

Dr. Rice walked into his office with a grimace, sorely wishing he didn't have to contact them. They may have been the ones to provide him with the resources and funds to complete his work, but that didn't make them any less frightening considering he had never seen their faces before. Sighing heavily at his desk, Dr. Rice pressed a few keys on his keyboard and stood in attention as seven holographic figures appeared around the room. Since they were only silhouettes, Dr. Rice couldn't see their faces, but he could tell that at least one of them wasn't human.

"You best have a good reason for this impromptu meeting, Dr. Rice," said the deep-voiced figure. "The Society has more pressing matters to attend to than answering to your every beck and call."

"Forgive me, my masters," said Dr. Rice. "But we have a bit of a situation. Three sidekicks – Batgirl, Speedy, and Impulse – have managed to breach the Facility and attempted to liberate Weapon X-23. Fortunately, Kimura managed to persuade the weapon to turn against them and they have been successfully subdued."

"And how is it…," said the strict male figure, "that they were able to find a research laboratory in the middle of nowhere after I invested millions of my father's corporate dollars to rebuild the Weapon X Project? If you manage to ruin everything I have invested, you filthy little cockroach…"

"Calm down, Alexander," said the sensual female figure. "You're scaring the poor dear. Look, he's shaking like an adorable little rabbit."

"Is it too much to ask you to keep your pants on, Selene," said the short female figure. "Or to wear pants in general."

"There's no need for jealousy…"

"Enough!" The leader shouted, bringing order to the group once more. "Dr. Rice, explain yourself."

"Looking over the hidden security footage," said Dr. Rice, "we've discovered that Dr. Kinney deliberately connected the Facilities private power source to the public grid. She was hoping to signal Wolverine and the Justice League Beyond, but it would seem that the League chose to send their sidekicks instead." He paused for a moment, thinking hard about what to say next. "Masters, if I might make a suggestion, Dr. Kinney has become too emotionally connected to the weapon and I think it would be beneficial if we…"

"Sarah Kinney is one of the most renowned geneticists in the world," said the non-human figure irritably. "She is an instrumental part of the Weapon X-23 Project. You, on the other hand, are easily replaced." Dr. Rice tightened his fist in his coat pocket. "We don't care how you do it, just make sure the weapon is ready for testing or you will lose more than just your job."

"And…what about the heroes?" said Dr. Rice.

"I've always held a fascination for the Speed Force," said the non-human figure. "Perhaps you can collect a few samples from the speed user and transfer any data you find. You can eliminate the rest."

"We have nothing to gain from killing children," said the leader. "If the JLB lost their sidekicks, it would prompt further unwanted investigations. Once the final adamantium bonding process is complete, you are to relocate the Facility and wipe the sidekick's memories clean of everything they've seen. Make certain that no one is aware of our involvement. Do I make myself clear, doctor?"

"Crystal," said Dr. Rice solemnly, cutting the connection.

X-23 sat in her usual corner in her room, which had been repaired after the extensive damage she had been done. She remained silent for the longest time, entertaining herself by drawing and withdrawing the claws from her knuckles. It was boring and tedious, but it was one of the few things she did in her solitary room that didn't involve hair ripping and bloodshed.

X-23 glanced to the opposite corner of the room, fully aware of the presence of her "mother". X-23 made it painfully obvious that she didn't want to talk to Dr. Kinney when she returned to her room, choice to disregard her existence entirely. But the woman was stubborn and refused to leave her daughter, choosing to stay and watch. They spent the better of an hour in silence until…

"They were trying to help you, X," said Dr. Kinney. "I understand that you are scared of Kimura and you might be a little confused of everything going on, but this is your chance for a better life. If you go with them, you could see the world and make friends. If you wanted, you could see your father." X-23 drew her claws again, glaring at Dr. Kinney. "Ok, stay here if you want. But as you are being poked and prodded, think about this: what would Wolverine do?"

X-23 growled softly and turned her body away from her "mother", ending the conversation. How was she supposed to answer such a question? After all, she wasn't Wolverine.

Now with this chapter out of the way, there is only one more until this little arc ends and, as promised, I will post some chapters for Fairy Tail. I'm feeling a little better about this chapter because it displays the various abilities of each hero and proves once and for all that all Bats are hardcore badasses. And a first look at the main villains of the story, the Society. Until next time, please read and review.

Ultimates Profile

Name: American Dream
Real Name: Shannon Carter
Aliases: Captain America, Dream Girl
Designation: none
Age: 25
Relatives: Agent 13(Mother, deceased), Peggy Carter (Great-Aunt)
Mentor/Partner(s): Captain America, Winter Soldier
Affiliation(s): Avengers, Captain America Corps, Dream Team (Former)
Occupation: Tour guide (Former), SHIELD agent
Powers/Abilities:
- Peak Physical Condition
- Disk Launcher
- Captain America's Shield
Notes:
- Thorough knowledge of Avengers history
- Degree in Military Science
- Possible relation to Steve Roger