Series Title: X-23: No Way Back
. Story & Chapter Title: Playing Hero – Chapter Two: Of Right And Wrong
. Author: ChickRockGuitar
. Date Written: March 2009 - (words written: 3198)
. Fiction Group: X-Men Comics
. Story Rating: T (some mild language)
. Summary Of Story: Part Two of "Playing Hero". Logan confronts Laura on her actions of the previous night, and struggles to teach Laura that what she did was wrong. Meanwhile Nick Fury visits the school.
. Auther's Notes: This is the second chapter to the second story arc of a fanfictional serial of stories written by chickrockguitar. These stories are set in a slightly alternate Marvel universe - set with a new spin on the character of X-23.
. Disclaimer: Marvel/X-Men characters, established concepts and previous storylines full credit goes to Marvel, Stan Lee, Craig Kyle, Chris Yost, and Co. Original storylines credit goes to me.
Chapter Two: Of Right And Wrong
Laura wasn't in when Logan arrived at his apartment an hour or so after speaking to Hank. Instead of going out to track her down, he decided to sit and wait. He spent ages mulling over what the hell he was going to say to her. But in the end, he figured, what he would say really depended on Laura's reaction to the whole situation. He'd been waiting about thirty minutes when Laura walked though the front door, dressed mostly in black, and carrying a large fully loaded brown grocery bag.
"Logan", said Laura, with a slight smile, "I thought you said you were not coming today?". Logan rose from the Sofa and turned to face her. "Hadn't planed to" was the only answer he gave. "Where the hell yer been?" he asked. It was then Laura noticed his scent. He was angry. Placing the grocery bag on the nearest kitchen counter, she replied, "To get food". She walked a few steps closer to him, then asked, "What is wrong?". Logan paused for a moment or two before answering her, "You have fun last night?". Laura gave him a confused look, "I... I do not understand". "Pretty simple question, kid" bit back Logan. "You made mornin' TV". He slammed a newspaper down on the coffee table, "And the early edition of the Bugle!". Laura picked up the newspaper and read the headline: Three Murdered in Brutal Attack. Now she understood. "Oh..." was all she managed.
"What the hell were yer doin'?!" asked Logan, his anger slowly rising. "Helping" answered Laura, in an almost innocent tone. Logan was thrown by her answer. Trying to keep his cool, he asked, "Helpin' who?". "Innocent people" she answered, "I have watched those men, Logan. They hurt people, women, for their pleasure. It is not right". Logan sighed. He was beginning to understand the situation. He walked a few steps closer to her, and spoke understandingly. "Kid, I get why yer did it, a'right? But understand, yer can't run around New York playin' superhero". "Why not? Are you afraid I'll get hurt?". "No!" shot back Logan, "I'm afraid yer'll get caught!" he told her.
"Kid, yer supposed to be layin' low. There's enough people out there lookin' for yer, without yer bringin' more attention to yerself", he took a breath before adding, "Geez, I know they trained good and proper in covert operations. So I know yer know this!". "Yes, I do. I know how to stay hidden" Laura told him. "Right. So then tell me why the hell yer'd risk yer cover?!". "Because I... I just want to be like you!" she blurted out. This shocked Logan. Those words were the last thing he ever wanted to hear from Laura. "Like... me?", he shook his head, "No. Kid, that's the one thing I don't want yer to be. The world don't need two of me. Hell, it ain't copin' well with one of me". Laura ignored that, but spoke in a calm tone, "You and the X-Men help people. You stop the bad guys. I want to help, I want to stop the bad guys. I have hurt so many people, Logan. People who did not deserve to die. I know that now. And I want to make up for it. I want to make things right".
Logan sighed. In away he was touched by Laura's effort to, in her mind, "put things right", but he also knew there was no way of doing that, she'd gone too far, years ago, just like he had. For a few moments, he just looked at the young girl, her green eyes looking back at him. He wondered how he would explain what Laura need to know, without sounding like one hell of a hypocrite. Seconds later, he came to the decision to go for it, hypocrite or not, Laura needed hear this.
Logan shock his head slightly, he spoke in a slow, low, but calm tone. "Kid... Yer can't make things right... not really", he paused for a moments, letting that sink in. "People like us… we done too much damage, hurt too many people. And yeah, maybe it weren't always our fault. The blood on our hands weren't always our own, sometimes it was theirs", he paused slightly, before adding, "But sometimes it weren't". Logan watched the teen listening to his words. He tried to get inside her head, he couldn't. "We can't fix what we done. But that's what it is, kid. Done" he told her.
"The only way to ever make things right, is to take away all the damage, and bring back all those innocent lives we took", he carried on, "and there's just no way do to that". Logan watched Laura stand in silence, she was no longer looking at him, but at the ground. He could see the girl understood his words - how much she understood and took in, he didn't know. But it was a start. And although his intention wasn't to make her feel bad, he felt it was a lesson he needed to give.
Logan watched the dejected teen move to the old sofa, and sit. He remained standing. After a few moments, she looked up at him questioningly. "If what you are saying is true, then why are you with the X-Men? If you can not make up for what you have done by helping others... then why do you do it?". Logan sighed and slumped down on the sofa next Laura. "Its complicated". he said.
The Office of Dr Zander Rice was almost completely dark, the room was windowless, as most of The Facility's building was. The dirty blond haired man lent back in his leather chair, staring at his computer screen. He was intently watching an old black and while video of Laura, or X-23 as he knew her, in a training session. The video was taken a few weeks before she escaped, back then she was thirteen years old. He watched the child mirror the hologram of Weapon X's movements. Every attack the Weapon X hologram made, she followed, even turn he gave, she coped exactly.
Just then, there was a knock on the door. Rice briefly looked up from the screen, towards the door, then quickly pressed a button on his keyboard, minimizing the video footage from the computer screen, leaving only his desktop showing. "Enter" he told his visitor. The door opened, and Kirkman entered, carrying a paper file. "Morning, Sir" said Kirkman as he moved across the room, towards his boss, sitting at his desk. "I have some new information on X-23, I thought you'd like to know asap". "Yes indeed" answered Rice. Kirkman opened the file and handed across the desk to Rice.
"It appears that X-23 had an encounter with A.I.M a few weeks back". "What?!" said Rice angrily, glancing at the file. "It actually appears to be on the night she left the school", Kirkman carried on, "According to A.I.M's records, they somehow managed to track her - and shoot her to hell - the bullets laced in Chemical VH206". Rice looked up at his employee, for a second, Krikman thought he detected a hint of worry on his boss's face, "That, mixed with her own blood-", "Would have shut her healing factor down and proved Fatal", finished Rice. Krikman nodded. There was a few moments silence between the two men. "Any idea's how A.I.M would have known to use VH206 on a target such as X-23?". Kirkman shook his head "All I can think, is they grabbed samples her DNA when she hit their base four years ago". Rice thought about this. "Yes... you could be correct".
"So, why didn't it? Prove fatal? Did A.I.M's records show what went wrong?" asked Rice. "According to the records. Nothing went wrong. The virus, once in her blood stream, would have incapacitated her. Which was their plan of course - obviously enabling safe capture". "However, weeks later, X-23 is still in New York, alive and well" said Rice. "Yes, it appears so. She must of had help" replied Krikman. "Which begs the question, now isolated form the school, and from those who care, who would be helping her?". "I do not know, sir". Rice sighed. "Okay, thank you, Kirkman. Anymore information, come to me immediately". "Yes, sir" replied Kirkman, and with that he left the room. Rice took a last look at the file, then closed it and placed it to one side. He turned back to the computer screen, and pressed a button on the keyboard, the video popped back up and resumed. Rice watched the screen once again, "Where are you X-23" he said to himself, "Who's helping you".
Laura sat on Logan's balcony porch-swing, looking out at the city below. She watched traffic pass by in the distance. Lost in her own thoughts, she didn't sense Logan as he stepped though the glass doors and onto the balcony. "There yer are" he said, bringing her out of her thoughts. She looked up at him for a second before staring back out at the city. "What yer doin' out here?". "Thinking" was the only answer Laura gave. There was a moments silence between them, then Laura broke it.
"What you said before... Are you saying people like those men do not deserve to be punished?". With a slight sigh, Logan sat down next to her. "No, I ain't sayin' that. But, kid, it's not your job to punish 'em" Logan told her. "It is not your job either, but you still do it" shot back Laura. Logan sighed, "Kid, Right now, yer gotta worry about yerself, not others. A'right?". Laura nodded. "Look-" began Logan, but just then his cell rang. He pulled an annoyed expression, and then answered it, "Yeah?". Laura heard Scott's voice on the other end of the line. After a few moments, Logan spoke again, "A'right, I'll be there soon". The line disconnected and Logan put his cell back into his pocket. Turning back to Laura he said, "Listen, kid, I gotta get back to the school. Scott seems kinda-", "Concerned" finished Laura. "I could hear it in his voice" she explained. "Right" muttered Logan. He stood up, "So, yer'll be okay, here?". "Yes" she answered. Logan gave her a nod and he walked back into the apartment. Moments later Laura heard the apartment door close.
Roughly twenty fives minutes later, Logan pulled into the Xavier Institute. He brought his motorbike to a stop, and killed the engine. Just then, Scott opened the oak front doors. "Geez, Summers," said Logan, as he got off the bike, "yer either got impeccable timin', or-", "Emma told me you'd arrived" interrupted Scott. "Right. 'Course she did" muttered Logan as the two of them headed inside.
Scott closed the doors, and he and Logan continued down the hall. "So, what's the emergency?" asked Logan. "We have a guest. He wants to see you, and refuses to leave until he does" answered Scott. Logan stopped and sniffed. Annoyed, he tuned back to Scott. "Fury?!" he growled. Scott nodded. "What's he want?!" Logan demanded. "I don't know. You're the man he wants to see. Not me" replied Scott. "You coulda told me he was here" said Logan in a pissed off tone. "And would you have came?" questioned Scott. Logan sighed. He hated when Scott was right about him.
As Scott's office door opened, Colonel Nick Fury, dressed complete in his army gear, got up from his seat. "Ah, Logan. Good" said the older man. "Fury" growled Logan - which was his best attempt at a civil greeting. Scott walked into the room behind Logan and closed the door. "So, what's this about, 'cause yer know, I really got better things to do" said Logan, as he crossed his arms. Scott moved around the room, and sat behind his desk. Fury glanced at Scott, then directed his attention to Logan. "What is this about? I'm sure you can guess, Logan" answered Fury. Logan had indeed guessed why he was here, and if he had to put money on it, he'd say his guess was right. But playing dumb was favourite a pastime when it came to Fury. It pissed him off, and that was Logan's idea of funny. Logan just looked at the Colonel, pulling the expression that he had no idea as to why he was here. "Okay, let me make it simple for you" offered Fury, as he opened a paper file, which lay on Scott's desk. On the first page was a large printed black and white photo of Laura. "X-23".
"And?" said Logan still playing dumb. Fury began to get frustrated. "Quit playing games, Logan" he growled. "Three men were murdered last night". Fury then pulled a out a handful of black and white photos from the file. "Jack Morley" said Fury, as he placed the first photo on the desk. "Edward Bellard" he continued, as he placed another photo down next to it, "And, Tyler Kain" he finished as he placed the a third photo down. Fury watched Scott and Logan looking at the three images. "Recognize the brushwork?" Fury asked Logan. They showed morgue shots of Laura's three victims from the alley. "And what makes you think Laura did this?" growled Logan. "A girl fitting X-23's appearance was put at the scene. And, the weapon? Twin blades - or claws" he told Logan. "But here's the big clue - Traces of Adamantium were found in the victims wounds".
Scott glanced at Logan, who registered it, but ignored him. Logan thought Scott looked surprised, which meant Hank had kept his promise. He'd not told anyone what he had found out this morning. Fury turned back to Logan, "Where is she?" he demanded, "I know you're in contact with her". Logan ignored him. Scott, who had kept quiet until now, not looking at his teem mate, his gaze firmly fixed on the images, asked in a serious tone "Did she do it, Logan?". Logan didn't need to say anything, from his expressionboth Scott and Fury had their answer. Scott shock his head in disbelief, while Fury sat back down on his chair, lost in thought for a few moments. "I'll have to take her in, Logan. You know that" said Fury. "Yer'll have to find her first" shot back Logan in anger.
"Logan-" began Scott, calmly, but was interrupted by Logan himself, "No! I don't wanna hear it, a'right, Summers? Whatever it is, I don't wanna hear it!". Fury stood up. "She's killing!" snapped Fury, jumping to his feet. "Again!" he added. Logan gave Fury a dangerous look. He spoke in a low, but pissed off tone, "I told you. She weren't responsible for what happened here a few weeks ago". "Yes. So you say. Upon smelling that, uh, 'Trigger Scent', she looses control" replied Fury. "But, Logan. I'm betting there was no Trigger Scent in that alley". Logan couldn't answer. Fury was right.
Logan sighed. "She's just a kid" he said, almost sadly, "She don't know any different. She's had nobody to teach her different". "I'm sorry it's worked out this way" said Fury, not un-kindly, "But at some point, Logan, that excuse, just stops working" he finished. "I agree. Logan, I'm sorry, but I think it would be best if you cooperated here" said Scott. "Look!" bit back Logan, "Yer got no idea what she's been though, Summers!" he shouted angrily. He turned to Fury, "Either of yer! Yer got no idea what they did to her, what they forced her to do. What screwed up concepts they put into her head of Right and wrong", he turned back to Scott, "So don't tell me what I should be doin'!"
"Logan, calmdown" requested Fury. "Yer know what? I ain't gotta listen to this crap!" spat Logan, and with that he opened the door, walked out and slammed it shut behind him. Fury turned to Scott, "What know?". "You do whatever it is you have to do. This has nothing to do with the X-Men" replied Scott. "The girl's a mutant!" argued Fury. "It's between you can Logan" said Scott, "I have a missing student to find" he sighed, getting to his feet. "Missing?" asked Fury. "Oh, I can assure you, nothing sinister, Colonel" smiled Scott, "The boy took off of his own accord. We just need to find him and make sure that he's alright. Now, if you'll excuse me" said Scott, holding the door open, indicating he was asking Fury to leave. Fury picked up his file, and left the room.
Logan had almost made it to the oak front doors when he heard Fury call his name. He stopped, sighed and turned to face the other man. Fury caught up to him, "Your not doing her any favours by keeping her from us. She will be caught. Sooner or later". "Is that right?" said Logan in a matter of fact tone. "I'm not the enemy here" protested Fury. "Well, yer sure as hell actin' like it" retorted Logan. Fury sighed, "I just want to help the girl. Just like you". Logan let out a laugh, "Yeah, but yer see, yer idea of helpin' her, is a damn site different to mine!". Logan paused briefly before adding, "The last thing the kid needs is to be locked up in a cage! So, I'm tellin' yer - come after her, and it's gonna get messy". "I have no choice", replied Fury. "Then we're done", said Logan, before turning and continuing across the hall. He'd just made it to the front doors when Fury said, "Logan, I know you know where she is". Logan stopped and turned to face him, he gave the Colonel a smirk, "Yeah?" he said, "Prove it". And with that he opened the left oak front door and walked out.
Fury waited until he heard Logan start his bike's engine, then he took his cell from his pocket, flipped it open and hit a speed dial number. "It's Fury. I'm pretty sure he's making contact with the girl. Follow him. And, do not be seen. Update me as soon as you have a location". Now standing in the open doorway, Fury closed his cell and watched Logan ride down the drive and out of sight.
Logan had ridden ten miles before coming to a stop at the side of the road. He wasn't stupid. He knew he was being followed. He waited for just under a minute, and sure enough a dark looking car came into view. It had no choice but to carry on past him. Logan reached for his cell and dialled the required number. "It's me" he said into the speaker, "get out of the apartment. Wait for me in the park near the fountain. Stay hidden". "What is wrong?" asked Laura on the other end of the line. She could tell by his voice that this was serious. "Just do it, kid" said Logan. With that, he hung up. He took a few moments to think, before starting the engine once again and carrying on his way.
I am currently working on the third Chapter to this arc, please stay tuned.