Fate

Nathan followed after Laura's captors all the way to their base.

" This is it." Nathan said as he looked at the base, he took a deep breath and placed his old mask on and removed the brown cloak he had been using to hide himself revealing his old Strife armor. " It's been so long since I've worn this. Glad I kept it though. It's reserved for bastards like you Colcord." Nathan explained.

[ Song insert Vengeful one. Disturbed.]

Nathan felt the wind blowing against his face and as the car passed through the security gates Nathan took a dive and fell towards the earth face first. Just before landing Nathan moved the sound around him and ran through just before the gates closed and then disappeared into the shadows of the building to hide from any cameras. Nathan followed the transport close as the transport cleared each floor, Nathan would kill the guards. Dragging them up into the rafters where he was hiding and then using his wrist hidden blades on his wrist to kill them quickly.

' If they hurt you, I swear to the lord I'll kill them all painfully.' Nathan thought as he watched Laura's cage getting further away.

Nathan continued following and killing until the time finally came for Malcolm and Daken's plan to go forward.

" Here we go." One of the soldiers spoke as he opened Laura's cage. " Phew someone needs a bath." The man spoke as he smelled Laura's stench.

" Sir, please away from the door." Another solider spoke as the rest of the guards raised their weapons at Laura.

" Honestly, there's no need to be so twitchy. Look. Right now, she's the most harmless killing machine in the world." One of the scientists said to the soldier as he used his machine to lay Laura down on the table on her stomach.

" If that's what you think." Daken said to the man He then leaned down to Laura and whispered in her ear. " But you and I, Laura, both know different." Daken whispered to the girl as he slightly cut Laura's restraints, loosening them.

Up in the rafters of the room, Nathan was waiting to attack when Daken suddenly looked up and winked.

' This bastard planned this.' Nathan realized as Daken looked up.

" I've been wanting to use this thing since I first saw it. Get it saw?" The scientist asked as he held a chainsaw in his hands.

The second Daken was out of the room and that Chainsaw touched her back, Nathan jumped down on top of the man and drove his blade through his neck. Nathan quickly got to his feet and and jabbed his blade in the next doctors throat before grabbing the chainsaw and throwing it at the last doctor bisecting him from the waist up.

Nathan then turned and started cutting through the bindings holding Laura down allowing her to sit up. " Laura?" Nathan called out to the shaking girl.

" I have been on other tables. But this felt worse. Because I know better now. I am not a thing." Laura said to the man. " Why? Why did no one ever see that? How could they look at me and hurt me like they do? How was that possible? How?" Laura asked. " What was wrong with them? How could they? How could they?" Laura asked. She looked up at Nate with tears in her eyes. " How could I?"

Nathan grabbed Laura and held her as gently as he could. " They were monster, Laura. That's how. But you you're different. You are no monster Laura." Nathan explained to the girl.

" How can you be so sure? How can you say for certain that I'm not a monster?" Laura asked the man.

" I know you aren't a monster. Because I'm one. When I fight I find thrill in battle. When I kill I enjoy the rush of it. I've sworn only to kill those who have harmed the innocent. But that doesn't change the fact that I have killed for the fun of it." You have only ever killed to defend yourself or those you wish to protect." Nathan explained to the woman.

" What does that mean for us?" Laura asked.

" That is for us to find out. And we will together." Nathan replied.

* CLAP CLAP CLAP! " Impressive. I hate to break up such a touching moment. But wow! You really give the term wet works a whole new meaning." Daken stated as he looked around at the bloody bodies.

" You!" Laura growled in anger. She punched Daken in his face once and then in his chest causing him to drop the file he had with him. When Laura looked down she saw her mother's picture and realized it was her file.

" Deadliest assassin in the world, stopped by a paper. I'm not impressed." Daken said to the young girl.

" This file. These photos. this is my life. Everything that the facility documented about my existence." Laura exclaimed.

" Why free her? Why free her after betraying her?" Nathan asked.

" Betray is such a strong word. I prefer to think of it as borrowing your presences." Daken explained to the two.

" No games. You knew from the beginning Colcord had my file. And that he was starting a new weapon X project." Laura accused.

" No. I did not." Daken replied.

" But when I began to suspect, I knew he would want you to be part of the program. You're like catnip for mad scientists." Daken explained to Laura. " I wanted to see where he took you. What I could learn." Daken explained as Laura and Nathan walked through the facility

" There's nothing to learn." Laura replied. " Not in places like this."

" But that's where you are wrong, Laura. I learned what your friend could do. And I have to say to kill more than half the guards in the facility without anyone else knowing. You are very impressive. If I didn't have my senses, I wouldn't have known myself." Daken praised Strife.

Larua and Nathan scoffed, and Laura opened one of the room doors.

" Charming. Does it make you homesick?" Daken asked.

" No. But you. Maybe you feel homesick for Romulus." Laura said to the man.

" What did you say?" Daken asked

" Wolverine told me how you were raised. Romulus made you just as I was made. Me in a lab. You by a man. We are constructs." Laura explained to the man.

Nathan looked back at the frustrated Daken and felt sorry for the man.

" No, I own my fate. I own my life." Daken declared.

" Do you?" Laura asked. " I may not understand much of what it means to be human... but I know when someone is trying to prove something." Laura explained to the man.

" I know somethings about you too. No adamantium skeleton. I could saw your head off right now; would it grow back?" Daken asked threatening the woman.

Laura and Nathan both frowned. Laura popped her claws and Nathan drew his blade.

" I do not know. Will yours?" Laura asked.

" Let's not do this right now." Nathan said as he sheathed his sword again. " We have a monster to put to bed." Nathan stated.

" Right, let's go." Laura replied as she and Nathan continued down the halls." I smell blood." Laura said to the two men.

" Maybe you smell yourself. You stink." Daken said to the woman as the walked down a flight of stairs.

" Do you know what is on the other side?" Laura asked as she approached the doors at the end of the stairs.

" We're about to find out." Daken replied as he opened the doors.

On the inside were three doctors who upon seeing Daken, Laura and Nathan all turned and started running and screaming.

" Yes just scurry away as we walk very menacingly after you." Daken said sarcastically.

" Look around. These are cells." Nathan told the two. " I can hear heartbeats. I hear crying."

" Who cares? What the hell has Colcord been doing here?" Daken asked.

Suddenly the alarms went off and the room turned red. The doors to the cells all clicked open and out came a horde of abominable creatures.

" He's been doing that." Laura said to Daken.

" Oh." Daken replied. " Well damn."

Daken, Laura and Nathan began cutting through the hordes of creatures. Fighting close together so that the winged beasts couldn't take their backs. Nathan used his smaller blades to slice through the beasts as his sword was too long for the amount of space, they had to fight in.

" Ughh!" Daken growled in pain.

Seeing that Daken was slowing down and becoming overwhelmed. Nathan opened a door for the man.

" Move Daken." Laura said as she pushed Daken towards the room. " Get in there."

" No! What are you doing?" Daken asked.

" You are too wounded to keep fighting. They will rip you apart." Laura explained.

" You are out of your minds" Daken yelled as Nathan slammed the door back.

" I got you love. But you do realize what it is we're fighting right now right?" Nathan asked the girl.

" Yes, and when we're done, I will kill Colcord for this." Laura replied.

The two continued fighting and slicing until finally there was no one left to fight. Once it was over, Laura leaned down and held one of the creature hands as it took its last breaths and Nathan said a prayer.

" X-23! What are you guys doing?" Daken asked.

" These were children." Laura replied. " We killed children."

" So?" Daken asked.

" It matters. No matter what happens in the world. Children are the last ones who should be punished by the actions of us adults and yet. That monster. Took everything from them. He took their innocence. Their minds. And now we have taken their lives." Nathan explained to the man.

" That's what pretending to be a hero does to you. It makes you soft." Daken replied. " Besides they were all mindless monsters. Less than a child than even you are Laura."

" Perhaps that was what it became. But that was not its fault." Laura argued. " Look at the red. I have seen something like this before. In my eyes after a trigger scent was used to induce a mindless, killing rage." Laura explained. " I think all these... people were exposed to something similar. it was not enough to alter their bodies. Their minds had to be controlled as well. The same could be done to you. You know the power a simple scent can have over someone. You become a puppet. You lose all control. You lose your identity. And your power" Laura explained to Daken.

Daken popped his claws and pulled his mask on.

" Where are you going?" Laura asked.

" To find Malcolm Colcord." Daken replied.

" Good." Laura and Nathan replied.

The trio made their way through the remaining halls of the facility. And thanks to Nathan's earlier action of taking out more than half the guards. There was barely anyone left standing to protect Malcolm.

" Did you set the bomb?" Malcolm asked his soldiers as they ran through the halls.

" Yes, sir. We've only got a few minutes. We set enough explosives to destroy." The soldier was explaining when the three mutants dropped down in front of them. " Everything." Were the last words out of his mouth before Nathan and Laura severed both his and the other remaining guards heads.

Malcolm looked at the three in absolute terror.

" This must be Deja Vu for you Colcord." Daken said to the man. He then grabbed him by his throat and lifted him up against the wall. " If I didn't know any better, I'd think you like being cut by my family." Daken said to the man.

" Are there any other experiments in the facility?" Laura asked the man.

" You killed them all. Thank you, by the way for saving me the trouble of having to do that myself. They were all defective" Malcolm replied.

" They were not!" Nathan yelled as he punched Nathan in his face. " Property."

" I want to find the bomb." Laura said to Nathan.

" Surely, you don't want to disable it." Daken asked the girl.

" No, I do not." Laura replied.

" Ah." Daken breathed as he realized what Laura meant. " You heard her. Let's go find the bomb." Daken said to Malcolm as he pushed him down the hall.

Malcolm stumbled through the base until the four of them finally arrived at the bomb site

" Well, look. With time to spare." Daken spoke as he looked at the few minutes left on the device.

" Remove the blue wire to disable the device." Malcolm explained.

" What's the hurry?" Daken asked he then turned to the other two and asked. " Do you have some place to be?"

" No." Both Nathan and Laura replied.

" Are you sure? Cuz, I mean I don't recall you having a healing factor." Daken asked Nathan

" Oh, Fire... I mean it won't burn me. It'll still hurt like a bitch. But it won't kill me. My body's gotten strong enough to resist most explosives. Still gonna hurt though." Nathan explained.

" Wait? You're not gonna shut it down?" Malcolm asked in a panic.

" Alright fine. But I want to ask you something Laura. I want to know why?" Daken asked the girl.

" Why what?" Laura asked.

" Why do you limit yourself?" Daken asked.

" I do not understand your question." Laura replied.

" I suppose that answers it. You were raised a killer and you are. It's in your genes. Your good at it. By all accounts that's all you should aspire to be. And yet, you care. You have... A heart. I don't know why." Daken explained to the woman.

" What does that have to do with limiting myself?" Laura asked.

" Because caring is weakness. All these people? They are beneath you. You could take any life in an instant. Your power could be absolute and breathtaking." Daken explained.

" Yes. I know." Larua said as she took Daken and Nate's hands and started walking.

" Then what is holding you back?" Daken asked again.

" What I have to prove has nothing to do with power." Laura explained. " And caring is not a weakness. Because it is my care for him that pushes me to try and be better."

" And I the same." Nathan said as he pulled Laura close and kissed her.

" Huh?" Daken asked in confusion as he watched the two.

However, before another word could be spoken the bomb finally went off and the entire facility went up in a massive explosion.

Outside Gambit and Tyger had finally caught up with the three just as the building exploded.

" Non!" Gambit yelled.

" Oh god." Tyger whispered.

"Are you sure they're in there?" Gambit asked the woman.

" That's what my sources told me." Tyger replied.

" Wait. There in the smoke." Tyger pointed to the three figures.

Emerging from the smoke were Daken and Nathan and Laura, who despite not having any skin. Despite only being a walking pile of Muscle, Nathan still held Laura close to him as the two kissed each other passionately.

" Daken you idiot." Tyger said to the burned man.

" What? You thought you were coming to my funeral?" Daken asked the woman.

" No, I figure that's a miracle I'll have to earn." Tyger replied.

Laura and Nathan finally separated and smiled at one another. Laura then turned to Daken and approached him. " You, I have a question." Laura asked the man.

" Colcord is dead." Daken replied.

" That is not the question." Laura said to the man. " Why do you limit yourself?" Laura asked.

" What... What do you mean? I don't." Daken replied.

" You care about power. But that is something you already have. Power comes easy to you. But you choose not to care. You limit your heart. I do not know why. Unless you think caring for others is more dangerous than seeking power." Laura asked the man.

" Maybe I don't have a heart, Laura." Daken replied as he got to his feet.

Laura tried to approach him once more but was stopped by gambit. " Let him go."

" Maybe power is all I have. Or all I need." Daken said to the girl as he walked away. Leaving behind the burning ruins of his machinations.

The next day at the harbor.

" The city is still beautiful. And I wasn't directly responsible for blowing half of it up this time." Nathan cheered as he looked out at the sunny waters.

" It is beautiful." Laura stated.

" It takes its knocks and keeps on fighting. Like you, Laura. It was good to meet you I wish it could have been under different circumstances." Tyger said to the girl.

" We are alive, aren't we? I'd say the circumstances are fine." Nathan replied.

" Sure, whatever." Tyger rolled her eyes and smiled at the boy before turning to Gambit. " Where will you go?" Tyger asked the man.

" Paris." Gambit replied. " Come with us." Gambit asked the woman.

" You mean give up? No. Daken isn't going to beat me. Madripoor is still mine." Tyger explained.

" Next time I come back I expect to be reminded of that." Gambit told the woman.

" That's a promise." Tyger said to Remy as she grabbed his collar. She leaned up and planted a kiss firmly on his lips.

" Chere." Gambit spoke to the woman.

" I've always wanted to taste you." Tyger said to the man.

Gambit bid his farewells and joined Laura and Nathan on their ship and started sailing away from the Island.

" What are you thinking about?" Nathan looked up and asked Laura who appeared to be in deep thought.

" Blood." Laura replied. " Daken is Wolverine's son and he's a killer. I am Wolverine's clone. I am a killer." Laura explained.

Nathan walked up and wrapped his arms around Laura's waist. " That is not all you are." Nathan told the woman.

" I know." Laura replied. " I make my own fate." Laura said to the man as she hung onto the ships sail. The trio of mutants sailing further into the sunset towards their next destination.

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