Laura Kinney

Love Interest: X-23/Laura Kinney

From: X-Men: Evolution

It's been about a year since Duncan found himself at Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters. He is not a mutant, yet the team was willing to accept him with open arms.

When Prof. X came to the Rosenblatt's with his proposition, his mother was hesitant at first. But she realized that with the knowledge of mutants being out in the open makes it harder for Duncan to remain hidden. Margaret decided that it would be the best way for her son to be able to spend time with kids his own age. Especially kids who are in a similar predicament as him.

Duncan has made many friends with the members of the X-Men. Kurt (Nightcrawler) and Rogue being his best friends out of all of them. Jean is the protective and nurturing sister he never had, and Scott (Cyclops) is the strict older brother he never wanted. Ororo (Storm) has become a second mother to the hybrid. And the Professor is like the Dad he wished he had growing up.

Then there is Wolverine. Nothing is wrong with the guy himself; Duncan thinks he is an awesome dude. Rather harsh when it comes to training and from what the others tell him, Logan has never praised someone after training in the Danger Room.

The problems did not start until the school received yet another new student in the form of Laura, Logan's daughter. Who knew? Apparently, everyone except Duncan.

She just showed up one day at the mansion. At first, Laura kept her distance away from everyone else and would shout or growl at anyone who is not Wolverine that tries to get close. Yup! She is Logan's daughter alright.

Duncan was the first one to refuse to leave her alone. One time he shouted back. She did not expect that. After that, Duncan became Laura's first real friend.

Thanks to the hybrid, Laura eventually opened up to the others and learned to call them friends and perhaps family.

Out of all the X-Men and the other students, Laura spends a good deal of her time with Duncan. And Wolverine took notice.

Everyone just rubs it off, but Duncan swears that Logan is going much harder on him than the others. They just tell him that it is because he is perhaps the strongest here. Sometimes the hybrid accepts their answer but every other time. Duncan just knows that is not the case.

.oOo.

Today, Duncan is walking out of the changing room wearing his uniform. He is wearing the standard uniform for the New Mutants with a couple of changes. The Jumpsuit is missing both of its boots and gloves to make room for his claws and there are two slits in the back for his wings.

Duncan takes notice that all the girls are huddled up in the corner surrounding a very nervous Laura. That's strange he thought to himself. Not the fact that they are huddled together, many of the students tend to do that just before a training exercise. The strange part is the fact that Laura seems nervous. Laura! The infamous X-23, former weapon of Hydra, the daughter of The Wolverine, is nervous.

The students' attention is brought to the attention of a very gruff voice. "All right, pipsqueaks!" Logan calls out. "For today's exercise, we are going to do some simple sparing," he could not help but smirk seeing the kids' shocked expressions. "Settle down. I won't be your partner," Logan lets them cheer for a moment before he continues. "This time, that is," and chuckles as he could practically smell the fear off them.

Wolverine gestures over at Kitty and Jean. "You can actually thank these two for the idea. They insist that one of the best ways to learn how to work together is to learn how to combat one another. So, that's what you're going to do."

The two senior X-Women give a warm smile and Laura glares at them, Duncan can hear her growling as well.

"So, who's up first?" Wolverine asks and looks among his students to see several of the boys hands up, but none of the girls. Except for one. "Laura!" he calls out and sees her tense up. "I can tell that you're eager for a fight," and chuckles. So much about that kid reminds him of, well him. Still undecided whether or not that is a good thing or bad.

Then he looks around at the students and sees that not one of them are willing to participate. "Let me see. If none of you pipsqueaks are willing to be her sparring partner," he hums, "I guess I'll have to pick—"

"Duncan!" Laura speaks up.

"What?"

She looks up at Logan. "I wish to fight Duncan."

Wolverine looks at her then to Duncan and not really sure if it is such a good idea. He knows that she and the hybrid can hold their own, but both Duncan and Laura have the same problem. In the heat of combat, they tend to get emotional and lose focus.

Then the perky voice of Shadowcat buts in. "Think about it, Logan. Like, your two best students going head to head."

Then Jean steps up. "At the very least the two will know where they stand power wise and have an idea of where they can improve," and turns to the other students. "Not to mention the others can learn a thing or two no matter who wins or loses."

This time it was Bobby to speak up. "Not to mention it'll be awesome!" the Iceman flinches as Laura growls at him.

Wolverine nods as he hears them out. "Usually I'm not one to give in to the demands of a bunch of kids. But you've all made a good point." He turns to Duncan. "Hey, dragon boy!"

Duncan growls as he rolls his eyes. "I'm a kaiju. Not a dragon."

"You have scales and breathe fire. Close enough," he glares at the hybrid and gestures to both him and Laura. "Now, both of you down to the Danger Room," and turns to the others. "And as for the rest of you saps. Get to Observation."

.oOo.

Duncan and Laura now stand in the opposite side of the Danger Room.

Laura is wearing a New Mutants uniform as well. Though, she cut the sleeves shorter. Finding them a bit restraining.

The hybrid is doing some stretches as the mutant is popping her knuckles. He smiles at her and says, "You better give it your all or nothing."

She lets her claws out and growls. "I'm giving it my all."

Duncan raises an eyebrow, noticing that she is far more aggressive than usual. He flexes his muscles allowing his kaiju heritage to show.

Then Wolverine's voice sounds throughout the room from the intercom. "Quit the chit chat you two," he tells them. "Now don't go overboard. I want you to fight serious, but this is still just a training exercise. I don't want you to put your opponent in a hospital bed. So, at least hold back a little."

Laura turns to the Observation Room. "I don't want him to hold back!" and faces her opponent.

"What makes you think I was talking to him?" was Wolverine's counter.

That had Laura pause for a moment before shaking it off.

"Your training begins, now!"

Laura did not even hesitate to charge at Duncan. The hybrid narrowly misses getting cut by those adamantium claws. He seen what those can do to Sabertooth and does not want to know what they would do to his own scaled hide. In retaliation he knees her in the stomach sending her up to the ceiling. Instead of falling back down, Laura plunges her claws into the metal ceiling.

Duncan sprouts his wings and flies up to her. "Need a hand?" he smirks. The hybrid only receives a glare from Laura and the next thing he knew is that there is a tear in the uniform's chest. "Hey!" he clutches his chest and is thankful that he is not bleeding. "Why do I always forget about the feet?"

Laura's claw retracts back into her boot, and she drops from the ceiling. Duncan creates two halos of fire and toss them to his opponent.

.oOo.

Up in the Observation Room the Students and Instructors watch as Duncan and Laura combat each other.

Then suddenly Nightcrawler appears in a puff of smoke. "What did I miss?"

Rogue turns to him and says, "Duncan and Laura are sparring."

"Oh!" and leans closer to the glass. "Five bucks on Duncan."

"Don't be ridiculous," Kitty scolds him. "Ten on Laura. No way she can't beat him with her claws."

"Fifteen, for the D-Man," Berserk tells them.

"Ooh, ooh!" Multiple raises his hands as well as three of his duplicates. "Twenty on Laura."

Kitty smiles and turns to them. "Would that be twenty all together or twenty each?"

Rogue snaps at the group. "Knock it off will ya. This is supposed to be a teaching lesson," then faces the window. "Besides, nothin' can stop Duncan. Put me down for fifty."

Wolverine speaks up, "A hundred," and turns to the students. "On Laura."

All the students cheered knowing that their instructor is in on the gambling. Though, several of the girls seem like they are unease about something.

Logan faces his two top students and grins as he pushes some buttons. "Perhaps we should turn it up a notch for them. Don't want things to be too easy."

.oOo.

Duncan has just caught Laura's foot with its claw dangerously close to his face. And then the room starts shaking and the floor beneath them breaks a part, forcing the two to jump away from each other. A jet stream of flames burst out of the floor.

Both face the Observation room and sees the smirk of Wolverines face.

"Why are you looking at me?" he tells them. "I'm not the one you're fighting."

Laura turns back to Duncan and attempts to slash at him only for a buzz saw get in her way.

Duncan flies into the air to avoid a turret but is hit with a massive force falling on top of him, forcing the hybrid back to the ground. He tries to get back up, which is hard when there is giant metal ball sitting on top of him. His eyes become more slit like as he feels his blood boiling, both in a figurative and literal sense. The hybrid manages to find his strength to stand back up and lift the metal ball over his head. He sees Laura dodging several blades being thrown at her. His first instinct is to throw the ball at her. But as he pulls back, Duncan manages to regain his senses and drops the ball as his eyes turn to normal.

The Son of Belloc needs to figure out how to end this fight. Then, he notices some mechanical arms coming out of the floor beneath and tries to wrap around him. Luckily, he can fly and dodges them. That is when an idea hit him.

The former Hydra weapon is getting tired of all these obstacles. She shouts as she slices through yet another blade. Laura feels something grabbing onto her and as per her instincts, she quickly turns and strikes her opponent and hears a shout that was not her own. She struck at Duncan and could have killed him. in her daze, the hybrid manages to grab her and tosses Laura to another part of the Room.

Laura manages to land on her feet. She glares at Duncan but then raises an eyebrow as he only smirks at her. That is when she felt something wrapping itself around her leg. A robotic arm has caught her by the leg. She slices at it only for another one to start doing the same thing around her wrist. The process continued until she ended up being restrained and nearly cocooned in the trap. Duncan sees that the arms were still loose around her as she struggles. So, the hybrid used his fire breath to weld the metal together. In a last, ditch effort, she tries to use clawed foot to against him only for the hybrid to fly out of reach. Laura continues to struggle for a while before giving up. knowing she lost the battle.

That is when the two hear slow clapping. They turn to see Wolverine approaching them followed by their classmates and several of the X-Men. "Well done, the both of you," he looks over to his daughter and brings his own claws out to free Laura from her prison.

Laura seems to find the floor very interesting as she refused to meet anyone's eyes.

Kurt's voice can be heard as he and Rogue were collecting money from some of their friends.

The Hybrid raises a brow at the group. "What's with them."

Wolverine looks back and sighs. "They had a betting pool going on to see who wins," the instructor then pulls out his own wallet. "Which reminds me," and takes out a hundred.

Kurt then poofs right in front of him. "Thank you," and then teleports back with the others.

Logan growls for a moment before turning back to his top students. "Duncan," he calls out. "I noticed you nearly lost control for a moment." Wolverine sees the shame on the hybrids face. "You also managed to regain it and figured away to subdue your opponent."

"Thanks, Logan." Duncan smiles at the man.

"Why are you thanking me for," and he slaps the kaiju kid on the back. "You did all the work." Logan turns to his daughter. "As for you, Laura," his voice gets rougher. "As usual, your skill and execution are near perfection. Until you gave in to those instincts of yours."

Laura growls and shouts. "It's not my fault! I was just doing what I was raised to do!"

"And I suppose that means you were raised to blindly attack your allies," Wolverine shouts back and points at Duncan's arm. Which has two distinct cuts. Laura's eyes widen before turning away. The instructor continues, "just be glade that the kid's fast enough to maneuver the strike. Otherwise I'd have one less student."

Telling that his daughter is in distress, Logan moves over to her and places a comforting hand on Laura's shoulder. "I know it's hard. That instinct is strong within you. More so than it was with me when I first woke up with these," his claws pop out of his other hand as if to emphasize his point and retracked them just as quickly. "But you are younger, and I know you can get a better hold of them. Perhaps better than I could have," he could not help but grin as he sees Laura trying to hide her smirk.

Wolverine then head towards the entrance to the training room. "This ends todays training session. Class dismissed!" with several of the students following suit.

Duncan and Laura just stood there in silence for a moment.

"Sorry," Laura spoke first and stares at the hybrid's arm. "I didn't, I didn't mean—"

Duncan holds up his hand to stop her. "Don't worry about it. I've had worse," he insists. "Remember that time when the Juggernaut threw a garbage truck at me?"

"Not one of your best days," Laura grins.

"No kidding," he laughs. "It took me weeks to get rid of that smell." And Laura laughs a bit to before returning to silence.

Laura turns around to exit the Danger Room. "See ya, Duncan."

The Hybrid just stares at Laura's retreating figure. Wondering why she seems off today

.oOo.

Duncan is now walking out of the mansion wearing his usual attire. He stops for a moment when he sees that the girls are huddled near the fountain once again surrounding Laura, with several of them seeming upset at the adamantium clawed girl. Rogue seems the most ticked off.

He knows that he should not, but Duncan is slightly worried about Laura and needs to know what is wrong with her.

The hybrid closes his eyes and focuses on the group and hears the following conversation.

"That's it!" Rogue shouts. "You're the one who set the terms and we agreed. You lost now do it before I go and do it myself!"

The southern mutant may be Duncan's friend, but she can be scary when angered.

Laura clenches her fists, resisting the urge to let her claws out. And through her clenched teeth replies, "Fine!"

Laura turns and sees Duncan. She seemingly blushes at the Hybrid and tries to look away. But is suddenly pushed forward by Jubilee. The Wolverine clone makes her way towards the kaiju kid.

She stops in front of him and after a moment of silence asks, "So, how much of that did you hear?" even though the group of girls were a good distance away from him, Laura still somehow knew that Duncan was listening in.

"Not much," he shrugs. "I only caught that last part about terms and that Rogue will do something if you don't."

X-23's face seemed to redden a little. "W-we made a bet," she refused to meet his eyes. "They found out about me liking someone."

That hurt Duncan for some reason, and he is not sure why.

Laura continues. "They pestered me about asking him out and I finally snapped and told them alright," she takes a deep breath. "I told them that if I lost to you in the Danger Room then I'll ask him out. But if I won, they would stop bothering me about it."

Duncan could not help but smirk at her. "So, that's why you seemed tensed. Well, more tensed then usual," and chuckles. "Well, who's the lucky guy that has me to thank for such a wonderful date?"

Laura turns back to the group who are motioning for her to go on and then returns her attention to Duncan. "Th-there's this… the school has—" she growls as she struggles with what she is trying to say. "Do you want to go to that stupid school dance… with me!?"

It took the hybrid a few moments to realize exactly what is going on. Perhaps longer than it should as he is brought out of his shock by Laura's voice. "I knew this was dumb," walks away.

"Wait!" Duncan was not necessarily sure what he was doing. He just instinctually reaches out and grabs her arm. Her reflexes kicked in and automatically brings out her claws. After realizing that there is no danger and retracts her claws as Duncan calmly watches her.

"It wasn't dumb," the hybrid tells her. "You just caught me off guard, that's all," he smiles at Laura. "I-I'd love to go to that stupid school dance with you."

The girl's face seems even redder now than when they started. "Th-thanks," and the two stand there in awkward silence as both are unsure what to do now. That is, until it is broken by X-23. "Can I have my arm back?"

Duncan looks down to see that he is in fact still holding onto her and quickly lets go. "Sorry," and starts rubbing the back of his head.

Laura goes back to the group of girls while glancing back at Duncan occasionally. As if she is trying to figure out of that really did happen. Then, she is surrounded once again by them all with a couple of squeals being released from them.

Duncan turns around and suddenly gets the feeling that someone is watching him. He searches the area and sees exactly what is bothering him. Across the yard is none other than Wolverine glaring at him.

"What did I just get myself into?"

End