Weapon X sniffed at the small blanket held out to him and then looked at the small girl who peered behind Dr. Kinney.
"Do you know who she is to you?"
"Why bother talking to that?" Zander asked from the door, "Keep X-23 behind the yellow line, Sarah. We don't need that monster killing that doll of yours."
"Like I've said, he only kills when threatened," she exasperated.
"The only reason it needs is us standing in front of it."
"Is that why you're practically hugging the wall?" she asked, a hint of amusement in her tone. "Maybe you two could become friends if you came closer."
He scowled, "Not a damn chance."
Sarah motioned for a guard to escort X-23 to her cell before walking with Zander towards Martin's office.
Martin often held meetings between the three of them before he went out to lunch with Rachel, usually about Weapon X's lack of progression and updates on X-23's development. There were other department heads, but they needed her cooperation since she was the only one aside from James Howlett who could contest guardianship over X-23. At least she could report Weapon X didn't seem hostile towards X-23; Sarah was confident the two could eventually work together on missions. She was mildly curious of Zander's contributions during their meetings with Martin, seeing as he wouldn't have a role to play until about a decade from now—at least, that's what she had thought.
Martin looked over at Zander, "You're suggesting X-23 receives the Adamantium in two years?"
"What we need is for X-23 to get onto the field as soon as possible. Once her X-gene is activated, we can start the Adamantium bonding immediately."
"That's insane! Any orthopedist here will tell you it'll stunt her growth. You know her growth plates need to close before undergoing any part of the procedure."
Zander's eyes narrowed at her, "Which is why I'm recommending we just do her claws. At seven, it should be enough to get the job done."
"That's like asking for a dagger when you can get a sword! You'd only be suppressing her potential. She'll go insane from the constant pain, and then we're going to end up with another Weapon X."
Martin may have been short-sighted when it came to recreating Weapon X, but he couldn't seriously be entertaining this conversation? He may have only taken over as director after Weapon X killed the previous one, but he had some sense to him.
"Let's postpone this conversation for another two years. We'll look into a way to make up for lost time with Weapon X."
She resisted the urge to snap her pen in half as Zander leaned back in his chair. Martin might as well have said he agreed with him; this was why she hated meetings with him involved. He was the surrogate son, and it annoyed her to no end that one man's death seemingly united the two.
Sarah did take into account the possibility of X-23's timeline being sped up, but she didn't think Martin would prioritize satisfying Zander's ego over the success of the project. She had to think. If she doesn't do anything now, X-23 will end up exactly like her father. She couldn't lose control to Zander, especially not over something like this. There wasn't enough time: Martin was gathering his things to meet Rachel outside. She needed to regain control of the project; she needed to know what exactly Zander was thinking. The more control she had, the easier she could protect both Laura and James from their negligence.
"We've already been stressing her environments. How would you even go about doing it?"
"Radiation poisoning would be simple enough."
Dammit, she hoped he wouldn't have an answer. It didn't matter now: X-23 was going to end up dead or insane before she even arrived on the field. No, she couldn't overreact. It was incredibly stupid of Zander to want to destroy her work because he couldn't wait another decade, but X-23 having her X-gene activated wasn't necessarily a bad thing if he managed to pull it off. The issue was the Adamantium on her claws this early, which she absolutely couldn't abide by. It'd be a gamble, but she refused to let them waste her time again if they already made up their mind.
"We're not shortening her claws and making her defective," Sarah stated, "If you're able to activate her X-gene with the radiation poisoning tomorrow, we can get started on the martial arts and gymnastics training in a few days. But not the Adamantium, we're not creating a weapon that ends up like Weapon X."
Martin deliberated for a while before speaking, "Fine. But it'll take a few months minimum to get the equipment set up. Everything related to Weapon X must be built on site."
"There isn't a place nearby?"
"Radiation labs don't exactly grow on trees," Zander snapped.
"Martin, you said we have government backing. Wouldn't they give us access? This may be a classified project, but X-23 is a lot easier to transport and handle than Weapon X."
"…I'll ask Rachel to make a few calls."
Sarah nodded, "Alright, let me know the earliest date we can start."
Days later, Sarah saw X-23 strapped to the table of the machine. Her heart twisted in her chest as X-23 looked at her pleadingly. She ran a hand through her hair, trying to soothe the frightened girl.
"It'll hurt, but you'll be alright after."
'You have to be.'
She did all she could that very day in the lab when she confirmed the X-gene within the embryo. Unfortunately, it was out of her hands now. It was better to rip the bandage off now than to wait two years later. Laura, no, X-23 had to be the one to choose to survive.
"If you don't get this right, you'll kill her."
"Just watch, Kinney."
She stood near the observation window, putting on her goggles as dread filled her heart. As she waited for preparations to finish, the familiar face of an acquaintance walked over to her side.
"Are you sure?" he whispered under his breath, "She's young, we can wait like you said."
As always, Sarah internally thanked Kevin for being the only person to express concern for her daughter. Well, as openly as one could. But alas, this was part of science, unfortunately. Sacrifices had to be made. Morality never had a place here.
As the radiation levels rose, X-23 began screaming and crying as she struggled against the secured restraints. Sarah did everything she could to hold herself together. She would not show them the concern of a mother; she needed to show her resolve. Emotions wouldn't be used as a weapon against her. The screaming had to be blocked out like white noise, not unlike how she ignored how her own wrist hurt from clutching it so hard. There was no need to think of failure. She needed to focus on the facts, like how this was inevitable with Zander involved.
It would be detrimental to X-23 and Weapon X if she were blindsided like this again. Sarah turned her head and grimaced: Zander actually seemed to enjoy subjecting her to the radiation. At least with her initiative to do this now, Martin should finally understand that she is part of the decision-making process. He may be the unofficial second-in-command, but she'd make sure to rob Zander of his chance to prove himself worthy of that title.
"Dr. Rice! Dr. Kinney! The radiation was successful!"
To their surprise, the claws were distributed differently, with two in each hand and one in each foot. She dismissed Zander's snide comment of how this wouldn't have happened if X-23 wasn't female; the girl was all the more versatile. Not only was X-23 alive, but she had proven herself as the perfect complement to Weapon X. Later that day, Sarah smiled when she saw X-23 curled up in the corner of the cell.
"Didn't I tell you you'd be fine?"