Three Lessons (open)

[laura]

X-23’s sight turned a hazy red as the battle escalated into a bloody nightmare. The second presence remained a empty mystery since the experiment’s mutant abilities had all but drained her, leaving the weapon as a complete useless human. But a human with military training. The bloodbath was a waste at best now the ruby liquid splattered everywhere and everything. The spray painted walls littered with graffiti were soaked with blood, but it was highly impossible to tell whose it belonged to. Laura’s gazed blurred, but the kiss of death lessened and she instantly knew freedom was close by. She pushed herself away from her opponent’s lips, removing her nails from his drenched body.

All the girl could hear was a voice and the gasping of her own breath. Just a few inches away another man took an unusual interest in her victim. Not that X-23 knew at the time as her scarred, decrepit hand scratched at the cold hard bricks. The concrete felt rough against her cheek, but the bleeding female welcomed the cool sensation it left. Her thoughts tried to focus on her battle, but every time she pushed herself up with a great deal of strength, it only added stress to her open wounds. Between the immense pains, she slipped between consciousnesses in failed attempts to asset the situation. Her critical green eyes observed two obscured shadows and for a few seconds more the killing instrument frowned at the interference.

When her vision cleared, lingering on the fine line between life and death, X-23 was not impressed to find another fighter was claiming killing rights on her victim. A fierce, yet weak growl emitted from her bruised throat as annoyance flashed across her deadly eyes. The muscular intruder was physically more enabled than she was as she cursed at the pool around the three. Immediately, she scanned the Japanese man’s face and engraved it in her mind for future references. He had no scent, his claws reminded her great deal of her own, minus the ones her boy dared to copy. She instantly loathed the large creature in front of her and as if the hatred loosened her last bit of sanity, X-23 snarled with anguish and violently tried to release the Japanese man’s claws from the younger boy’s torso.

"He will die by my claws only!" X-23 roared rather possessively, the bloodlust in her eyes increasing dramatically. She would dislodge the man’s familiar claws if he proceeded to meddle, even if it cost her last strength of will. He had the information she needed and a sadistic mutant wasn’t going to steal the only chance she had.

Lashing out at the force that probably save her life for the time being was not an act of charity. The metallic gleam of her adamantium claws sliced through the midnight air in desperate attempts to land a sky-uppercut at the Mohawk-guy’s arms. Cutting off his appendages would be a great deal of desire, but with little fighting spirit the outcome was too much to hope for. Retreating her claws would have been a stupid task since she knew healing was out of the question at the moment. The murder in her eyes focused directly on the man with no scent, as the humanity was slowly disappearing and her ability to strategize was lessening dramatically.

[roflcopterpaul]

Daken had successfully impaled the man who obviously had the upper hand in this fight that he knew nothing about. Most people would stay out of such dangerous interactions, especially when they had no idea why it was happening, who was at fault, and the capabilities of either participant. Daken was unlike most people, though, and having the opportunity to witness one death while stealing the life of the winner would just make his day. Of course, only a few moments after he stabbed the man, he noticed his previous wounds healing over. He would mentally sigh at the sight, realizing that this man was probably just like him and would not be killed so easily.

This suspicion was practically confirmed for his personal opinion from the familiar scent that this man had. It was one that Daken had a difficult time placing, although he knew that it was one he remembered and had caught before. However, he remembered at the very second that the girl pushed away only to scream and attack him, the one that could have appeared to be her savior.

"He will die by my claws only!"

Claws popped out of her hands as she lunged at him, and it all became clear. The smell, the healing, the claws coated in metal just like his own. Daken smirked a grin ten miles wide as a million different ideas of how to twist this situation for his own benefit played out in his head, though the smirk remained in the darkest corners of his mind, while his face was blank, not displaying any hint of emotion. When she attacked, he pulled his claws out of the man as he brought his right leg up, kicking him away before catching the weakened girls wrists, kicking her away in the opposite direction.

Here he was, standing in a dark alley without any witnesses or law enforcement, standing between two trained murderers like a mediator willing to throw his life away to prevent these two from killing each other. One one side of him, a girl with claws coated in metal, and the other side, a man who could survive two fatal stabbings, thus it was safe to assume that both of these people were just like him. Yet fear did not touch upon him in the slightest degree, and he wanted to ensure it did not provoke either of them also. He had plans for both of them, despite them being enemies on opposite ends of the spectrum.

Daken lifted his arms out to his sides just after the claws retracted back into his arms to show them that he wished to be unarmed, an open palm facing each of them. It was natural body language that he was trying to break up the fight, even if it meant him standing in the middle of it. Previously without a smell, there was now a scent that flowed from his body, but it was not naturally his own. Instead, the pheromones that would be caught by both of them, more quickly affecting the one with superhuman senses, would serve to calm them down. He was creating an aura of a calming sensation meant to relax the two and remove all anger and fear from them. He wanted to talk this situation out. Granted, the feeling would probably feel misplaced, especially for the rage with the girl, so Daken decided to speak to make more sense of the feeling so that there would hopefully be no suspicion as to why they would suddenly feel so peaceful.

"You can both kill me and then go at each other again in just a few minutes, okay? So, seeing as I am about to die... Would someone mind letting me know why this alley stinks of Weapon X?"

Daken said, his voice unusually calm despite the seriousness of the situation at hand, his tone lacking of any and all emotion. His words would let them know not only that he realized that they were both participants of the Weapon X programs in some way, but he was one of the few who actually knew what Weapon X was. He wanted to know why two of them were here, trying to kill each other. That was all he wanted to know.

[adam]

When Laura pulled away from the kiss and removed her claws from his shoulder, he couldn't help but wonder how long they maintained physical contact. It looks like we maintained contact for one to two minutes tops. So I will lose these powers in one or two hours assessed the young mutant knowing full well there would be no way for him to get away from these two alive without powers. Laura would then look at the man who stabbed him and lashed out at him with one of her sets of metal claws claiming that Adam will die from her claws.

The man would remove his claws from the young Weapon X agent before he kicked him away which sent him to the ground. He would then look up at the two adimantium clawed mutants and saw Daken with Laura's wrist in his hand before sending a kick to send her in the opposite direction. Adam slowly got up as Daken lifted his arms up to his sides with his claws retracted into his skin. The wounds Adam received from Daken were almost 100% healed and the next thing Adam knew, he smelt something that flowed from the man's body. For some reason, Adam couldn't help but become calm as he took a whiff of the scent.

"You can both kill me and then go at each other again in just a few minutes, okay? So, seeing as I am about to die... Would someone mind letting me know why this alley stinks of Weapon X?"

Looks like I can't hide that fact from them anymore thought Adam who could tell just by the way Daken spoke to them that he knew that they were both from Weapon X.

"That's because I'm a Weapon X agent and she's a former one. Funny thing is that I just happened to be here at the wrong place at the wrong time when she killed that guy." explained Adam as he pointed to the corps belonging to the man X-23 killed.

[laura]

The sadistic claws failed to impale her vicious target. Laura was filled with hatred and unbelievable lack of control. HYDRA would have tortured her if they saw the pathetic example of her tactless and miserable attempts at assassination. This was her forte, the weapon lived on the deaths of others and there was nothing else she desired more than destruction. Strategic methods were burned into her skull, they trashed her around until she got every single detail to perfection. Tonight was a failure and X-23 knew that. The battle did more than just physical damage once X-23 staggered backwards on the harsh ground after receiving the kick from her second opponent. Her spirit was crushed, bruised, and lifeless despite the overwhelming rage she felt. The perfect killing machine was devoid of the pleasure and for the very first time in her life, she felt complete lack of purpose.

The grotesque corpse of her earlier victim was only a pitiful reminder of a short lived victory. His physical remains, crooked and disgustingly maimed, were askew in the garbage. The hatred of all their lies, cruelty and control caused severe emotional pain and Target X wished with her entire fiber of being that every single agent of Weapon X and HYDRA lived their immortal lives in the garbage of their own despicable waste. Tearing her demonic eyes from the unidentifiable carcass, the ancestral animal she no doubtable inherited instantly cleared and focused directly upon the unearthly male. It was if she was seeing him for the first time without the ideas of him being a threat to the end of her massacre. In wicked spite of his unwanted arrival, X-23 felt nothing but savaged hunger to destroy him.

"Shut up! You do not know anything!" X-23 commanded so loud, her lungs filled with foreign blood at the energy it took. One knee to the ground, battered hands supporting her weaken state, Laura’s dead-lock gaze sneer past the bulky man and were forced onto the young boy with mimicking abilities. Her vision was impaired by the scarlet substance splattered across her face as it invaded her sight. But staring past the mass amount of blood; the female was demanding him to keep quiet about her own heritage.

Before she could finish, an alien emotion fell over her. There was a frightened resistance battling against the peace that demanded to erase her unstable persona. It was a feeling Laura had not once experienced, but a rush of happy memories attacked her mind. The city disappeared; the simple desire to wipe out government personal completely vanished. She was back at HYDRA, counting the seconds until she got to see Dr. Kinney again. The woman was her escape, the only person in existence that cared if she came back alive on a mission. X-23 yearned for those short moments when she did not have to dig her wretched claws into another life or push past her physical limitation only to please the greedy eyes that examined her every day of her pitiful life.

"Get out of my head!" Her body tensed, unaware why this was happening to her. X-23 already lost her powers, for who knows how long, she refused to let go of the anger that drove her. She despised the feeling that was forced upon her. Screaming wasn’t enough, but glaring at the man only made her fight more difficult. Nothing, but everything seemed familiar about the man whom continued to torment her. How did he know about weapon X? Why did he possess claws such as her own? And above all else, why the hell did he care about any of this? Her, the boy, their fight. None of it concerned him and in Laura’s mind, he was pushing his welcome.

"You can not die. You are at the peak of physical strength. Do not hinder our battle and demand answers. I will not provide the information you seek. Drag your curious mind to the gutter and I do hope you die an agonizing death. "

X-23 calmly spoke, apparently affected by this unusual change. It did not seem so unfamiliar after all because Laura became used to being drugged into submission. A normal human would have fainted, or died, losing the great amount of blood she did. Her clothes were tattered, her wounds did not heal and X-23 could not care less. She would lift herself, ignore the fresh coat of blood, the tension of pain desperately trying to tell her this was her limit. No, with those dark green eyes trained ahead on the agent of Weapon X, she would try and push the oriental man out of her path. X-23 wanted nothing more than to end the boy’s life and as if the tranquility calmed the brutal beast, the clear-headed woman could only do what she was created to do: kill until she died.

[roflcopterpaul]

Daken arched a brow high as the man answered his question immediately. He did not expect the man to answer him, let alone tell him the truth. Never in his life had he met anyone that worked for a top secret government agency, especially one as extra classified as Weapon X, who was willing to admit exactly who they were just because someone asked curiously. He remained silent for a moment, blinking several times before he smiled slightly, a soft chuckle escaping as he spoke with a humored tone.

"Well, Weapon X certainly doesn't pressure secrecy in their pawns as much as they use to."

Daken then turned his head back to look at the girl who was on the ground. She was bleeding, hurting, obviously in a world of pain. However, the physical pain was only the tip of the iceberg under the emotional angst that he could tell she was feeling, watching her with great interest as his nostrils flared, taking in the scents that hung heavy in the air around her. Rarely did he feel so many mixed emotions fighting one another simultaneously in someone, though this girl obviously had some problems that she was trying to deal with. Despite the fact that she had obviously lost this fight and would fail miserably if she continued, she stood up and walked forward, attempting to brush right past Daken so that she could commit suicide on the end of the other mans bone claws.

Sighing heavily as she walked forward, Daken brought a hand up to his scalp, shaking his head as he saw first hand what a fool this girl was. Granted, he sincerely admired her determination and resilience, but there were times when feigning death were just more efficient from every angle. As soon as she stepped past him, attempting to brush him aside and make her way toward the younger male, Daken swung his left out arm to backhand her shoulder, an act that would make her stop and stumble back a second. That second was enough time to stop her as Daken's right hand swung downward in the opposite direction to plant the side of his hand hard against the young girl where her neck met her shoulder. If she moved just as slowly as she was doing, the hard strike to her vital pressure point would instantly knock her unconscious.

He would let her collapse to the ground like a rag doll before he turned his attention toward the man that she wanted to kill. He would then interrogate the man with stern demand that let him know death would be awaiting him if he did not answer promptly and properly. However, he was unusually calm right now, which would only prove how incredibly confident he was in his own skill, looking down at this other man and not being intimidated in the slightest.

"I have a goal I must achieve, one that you and your fellow goons can assist with. I am keeping the girl. You can have her back when my goal is complete. I can't just walk away, or let you leave, because if you are anything like most of Weapon X's freak shows, you can probably smell her. So..."

Daken paused as he pondered the situation. He considered killing the man to ensure he was not followed, but then that would eliminate the great bargaining chip that he currently had.

"How about you and I strike a deal. You help me out, and I will personally fetch every one of these feral outcasts that Weapon X is looking for. Think about what kind of promotion you would get if you show up with a handful of escapee's that you alone could claim credit for."

Daken said, outstretching his right arm to hold his hand out, obviously a gesture that he wanted the younger male to approach and shake his hand in agreement to the terms. Naturally, if he did not, Daken's only option would be to murder the man, however, such a thought would never cross the other mans mind. Not only was Daken flawless at hiding any and all emotion, but the pheromones lofting off of him were no longer forcing a calm and peaceful state, since the more psychotic of the two was out for now. Instead, they were forcing an even more useful sensation... Trust. This other man would be forced to feel as if he could trust Daken, though only slightly, knowing that anything too much would be caught onto. Only a small fraction of the powerful pheromone control he was capable of would be used, allowing the feeling of trust to hint at every inch of the mans mind and body, but not truly forcing it onto him, meaning that it would be far less suspicious, hopefully preventing the man from assuming that it was trust against his own will.

[adam]

Then again, I'm not exactly a willing loyal member thought Adam after the mysterious oriental man said that it appeared that Weapon X didn't pressure pressure secrecy on their members like they used to. But in Adam's case, he really wasn't loyal to the program. After all, not only did they take him away from the good life he was living, but they also killed his grandparents and gave him a power that prevented him from making physical contact with a human being. Hell, he wasn't even going to tell Weapon X about his X-23 sighting if his original plan of fooling her worked.

Laura would then stand up and and mentioned something about someone in her head. Due to all of the blood loss, Adam assumed that she was going delirious. She would then tell herself that she was at the peak of physical strength and that she can't die before telling man that she won't tell him what he wanted. She would then attempt to walk past Daken, but Daken responded by attempting to knock her out.

Daken would then face Adam and told him that he has a goal that he must achieve and that Adam and his fellow Weapon X members can assist with. He also said that Weapon X could have her back if the goal was completed. He would then mention that he can't let Adam leave since he could track her with by following her scent. But then he paused for a moment before offering to make a deal, one that involved him capturing every feral outcasts that Weapon X is looking for. He also attempted to sweeten up the deal by saying that Adam could get promoted if he brought all of them back.

However, Adam wasn't exactly loyal to Weapon X and he didn't care about promotions. Sure he would do whatever mission they gave him, but that was it. He won't go the extra mile to capture any former Weapon X agents that he might encounter and somewhat envious of them being able to escape living a somewhat normal life. A life Adam knew that he could never partake in due to the nature of his abilities. When Daken extended his hand, Adam realized that he could absorb this man's power and quickly finish him off just by touching him.

So with no apparent sign of ill will, Adam reached out to Daken's hand to shake it.

[laura]

X-23 wasn’t expecting another assault much less from the curious foreigner. It was too late once her eyes caught the briefest flash of a hand. The brute force alone was enough to cause her to stumble backward. Her eyes motioned from her desired victim to man standing well above her height. He was ruining everything; she knew without a doubt her death would have been an inevitable result. But she was willing to pay the price. She was a weapon and she had to be stopped, she would have lived and died a weapon. Eliminating every Weapon personnel was only a bonus and now there was no end. There was never an end, not for her.

Less than a second later, her body slammed against the cold concrete. The girl was instantly knocked out before she came into contact with the ground. Her last thought returned to her days of Weapon X. Then she didn’t understand the meaning of control. Escaping proved she was better than her creators. But now she wasn’t so sure, even from her captives, X-23 still felt like a tool. What was the point of anything when you circled back to where you started?

[ooc: yay, short post.]

[roflcopterpaul]

"Hold on."

Daken said suddenly as his raised the arm further, so that instead of it being down and waiting for a hand shake, it was straight out, the two claws of his right hand popping out. He was aiming his claws toward the mans head, as if he was able to shoot them out, though it was just a warning sign. Sniffing the air again, just as he was constantly doing, especially around other people, his eyes narrowed at the younger man.

"Why do I smell hesitation and envy?"

Daken said, standing completely still with his new pose, eyeing the man carefully as he continued sniffing the air, trying to figure everything out. For someone who he thought would be feeling greed or joy, or even anger and killing intent, this man was quite the opposite, unlike any Weapon X member he had know before. Most would have either hopped on the deal for their own selfish desires, or tried to kill him for getting in their way in the first place.

[adam]

He can smell my emotions?! thought Adam as his eyes widened in surprise for a very brief second. Something that he had a feeling that Daken would notice right away. As he looked at the metal claws pointed at his head, he thought for a second on how to explain himself to the oriental man. Might as well tell the truth thought Adam as he got the distinct feeling that he might be able to smell deception and lethal intent.

"That's because I was going to absorb your abilities with that handshake you wanted to have with me and then kill you. As for the envy, that's none of your god damn business" said Adam as he withdrew his hand. The young Weapon X agent didn't feel that he needed to explain his feeling mostly because Daken seemed to be more concerned more about the deal. But more importantly, what was the point of telling his feelings to a man that was considering killing him?

"I'll do your job, but the terms of the deal are going to change. Instead of capturing all of the escaped feral mutants, I want you to patch X-23 up and let her go. It really shouldn't take too long since she'll regain her powers in an hour or two anyway" demanded Adam figuring if he was going to strike a deal, he should determine what he wants from the man, not the other way around.

[roflcopterpaul]

Daken was glaring dangerously and suspiciously at the man until he answered him, and his sensitive ears were able to tell that the man was telling the absolute truth. Blinking, he slowly lowered his arm and retracted the claws back into it, surprised yet again at how quickly this man revealed all of his secrets at the slightest hint of pressuring. However, he did decide to hide on aspect of it, though that seemed more for personal reasons than anything else. Daken listened closely as the man stated his new part of the deal, his nostrils twitching as he sniffed the man from a distance, realizing that he was being sincere in his request. After a few moments of thinking, Daken brought his hand up to rub his head as if to be in shock, smiling slightly.

"Well, you sure are different from the rest of the Weapon X scum, I will give you that much."

He said before looking down at the girl who was still laying unconscious at her feet. For a good full minute he just stared at her, trying to figure out what to do, then slowly lifted his head to look up at the man. He spoke now with a calm, relaxed, peaceful tone, and the mild expression upon his face shared the seemingly harmless display, that was, until the words were actually heard.

"I am not too skilled in first aid, so you can patch her up as you please. Meet me in the alley behind O'Shea's in two days at oh-three-hundred hours. One little thing is all I need, so after that, consider yourself and the girl free. Just know that if you try to betray me or you do not show up... I will hunt you down... And kill you."

Daken said with a nod, his face unusually calm despite the death threat, proving his unmatched confidence in his claim. He then turned his back to the man and started walking off, raising his left hand to wave goodbye to the man behind him as he spoke his last words before he would turn the corner, pick up his shoes, then vanish into the night as his scent once again disappeared to ensure he would not be followed.

"I suggest bringing your friends, and some clothes you do not mind getting dirty."

[Laura said to skip her for now since she is unconscious]

[adam]

"I may be a member, but that doesn't mean I'm loyal to them" said Adam after Daken told him that he was different from the rest of the Weapon X scum. Daken would then tell Adam to meet him at the alley behind O'Shea's at 2300 hours and that after doing this, he and X-23 would be free. But when Daken threatened him, a cold chill went down his spine as he couldn't help but notice how calm he was as he threatened him. After threatening him, Daken walked away and before he left the alley, he suggested Adam to bring some friends and some clothes he didn't mind getting dirty.

Adam would then quickly run towards the the now unconscious former Weapon X agent taking off his hoodie once he got close enough to the body. He took out the gun that was in the hoodie and crouched down. He gently placed the gun on his left side before pressing the hoodie against her wound to apply pressure in order to stop the bleeding. As Adam did this, he thought about what he should do next and figured that calling 9-11 would be a bad idea since it could raise some flags that Weapon X might pick up on.

She's got to have some sort of place she's staying at thought Adam as he searched through the memories he absorbed from Laura.

[laura]

-Memories inside Laura’s sick head…-

Inside Laura’s memories, Adam saw a group of memories all coming at him at once. No of them were related to one another. The first image was of her dead mother as she held the cold corpse in the middle of winter. It was the first time X-23 opened her eyes. Before, the Facility was her eyes who told her how and when to act. But shouting for Dr. Sarah Kinney to give her a mission forced her heart to understand pain. There was no one telling her what she needed to do and where to go. Nothing was the same since as Laura lived day by day lost in her own self-will, trying to communicate what needed to be done now.

X-23 lashed her confusion and anger on Weapon X. Half of her didn’t understand why, the other dark side lust for the taste of revenge. Something primal and misguided laughed every time her claws were thrust through the fragile flesh of every personnel she failed to massacre during her escape. Her desire to shut down Weapon X triggered the sadistic nature which drove most of her being. Sad to say, there was nothing else but memories of X-23 hunting down her victims one by one and slaughtering them without a second thought. HYDRA ensured her in their webs of greed and hunger for power. Now the predator, no longer the pawn, the living weapon felt the animistic need to do what they done unto her.

The final image was a blank motel room in a questionable neighborhood. It belonged to the House of Daddy Zebra. When X-23 was living off the streets malnourished and fatigued, surviving only because of her healing factor, a pimp hired her for reasons left to the imagination. Laura was no knowledgeable about the world than a two year old and when Daddy Zebra offered her place to live, she obeyed without a second thought when instinctively she didn’t think twice about following an order. Inside, Laura was empty and withdrawn. Eliminating HYDRA was never enough and when the numbers became lower, she didn’t know what to feel without the hatred burning inside of her. The girl allowed others do what they want and when they needed it, X-23 was locked inside her mind clinging onto the Weapon that made her survive.

And that was the place X-23 currently resigned, in a shady and criminal-infected neighborhood. She barely had any thoughts of her own and until recently failed to have any awareness of self other than the need to obey. Adam was going to be her last chance, the final opponent before death. Without Weapon X groupies to destroy, what else could she do? For the first time before the Japanese man knocked her out completely, Laura realized her death meant nothing. She dealt with her problems through cutting, but one touch from Adam and dying was nothing she feared. Exterminating him would have been the last deed she done, but once she accepted death the first act of self-awareness, X-23 for some strange reason failed to even fulfill that.

[ooc: I’m sorry about the emo-ness. I had to say, it was fun to write, though ^^;]

[adam]

As the images ran through Adams mind, he felt sad that she had to live such a horrible life where her experiences most likely scared her for life. But sadness wasn't the only feeling he felt, he felt the primal rage to kill every every member of both Weapon X and Hydra. He also felt a very strong desire to shut down Weapon X, and even started contemplating what he should do to take them down. The most obvious choice would be to team up with Laura seeing how he could simply rip the information from their minds with just a simple touch. The last thing Adam saw was a blank motel in a shady neighborhood, and how she obeyed this pimp that took her in.

After the rush of images ended, Adam started to become more practical with his thinking and couldn't believe that he was actually planing to take out Weapon X. After all, doing this was practically a suicide mission, and he's pretty much useless without some kind of ability to absorb. Adam would then place his gun in his pocket and lifted up the living weapon. The young Weapon X agent made sure not to physically touch her as he carried the young woman in her arms. After lifting her up, Adam left the alley way and headed to a near by car that appeared to have been made in the 80's. Adam placed Laura on the hood of the car and walked over to where his gloves were. He would then put his gloves on before rushing back to the car. After that, he slammed his elbow into the driver's window causing it to shatter. Shortly after he broke the window, he unlocked the car door and placed Laura in the back seat with her body lying on both seats.

Adam would then sit on the driver's seat and drove off towards the motel.

(sorry for the crummy post)

[laura]

Laura felt a little unease with the faint memory of a boy in the distance of her mind. She silently cursed as she slipped between consciousnesses and desperately clawed to regain mobility, but she always failed as she slipped back into darkness. It was a sad day for X-23 to be easily taken down by an agent no older than her. Weapon X would have freaked to know someone managed to humiliate their precious Target X with a single touch. Hell, scientist X-23 killed during her escape was probably tossing in their graves. She no longer gave a damn the male striped her of the healing factor, heck easier to die without, but what annoyed her was the fact he was still walking. This was one mission she failed and not by choice.

It wouldn’t be long before the two found themselves in a run-down neighborhood with shady figures walking the streets. Boards were nailed to the windows and to question the citizen’s intentions, some even contained bars to give the false sense of security. The roads were covered in potholes, the street lights no longer worked and most buildings had long since been abandoned. But there were street vendors selling things the government considered illegal. People were pushing carts full of items you know were 99 percent stolen and that wasn’t including black-hooded robbers running the opposite way of far-away sirens. Despite everything seen, the motel seemed to be the focal point of business and trade.

In the backseat, the experiment nailed at the sweatshirt given to her in her moment of nothingness. It was a strange habit to observe her clothing, but to notice something new alerted X-23’s mind. Although beyond difficult trying to stay awake enough to survey her surroundings, Laura did notice she was somehow moving. In an agonizing attempt, feeling her wounds re-open and taking note she wasn’t healing, Target X forced her eyes to concentrate on the man in front. Crap, did that familiar head belong to the Weapon X agent she blindly tried to eliminate? A normal person would have cried or laugh at their bad luck, but X-23 sighed emotionlessly as she was too helpless and too impassive to care.

"Will you bring me back to Weapon X now?" Laura asked the guy up front, no longer concerned he now possessed everything that made her, her. For some strange and phenomenal reason, whatever the Japanese intruder dished out to make her calm did wonders. Now that she wasn’t unstable and filled with dangerous rage, X-23 returned to the indifferent and emotionally-unattached clone Weapon X created her to be. But feeling mortal like the average human on earth, the Wolverine clone longed for days when she felt nothing, so at that moment feeling emptiness seemed right to her.

[adam]

Could she have picked a s***tier place to live? thought Adam as his car went up and down as it went into the pot holes that cluttered the street. As he continued to drive, he couldn't help but notice all of crime and prostitution taking place in the streets. Eventually, he saw a motel that appeared to be the source of this wretched hive of scum and villainy. What is this? The real life version of the Mos Eisley spaceport thought Adam as he couldn't help but think back fondly on how he used to watch Star Wars with his parents when he was little. Like the Back to the Future movies, it reminded of him of a better period of his life before Weapon X took it all away.

Adam would then look at the rear view mirror that reflected Laura's appearance after hearing her voice. Sure it was safe to have rear view mirror reflect the back window, but it was far safer to keep it on someone who might actually attack you the second they wake up. Laura seemed to be surprisingly calm, instead of that woman full of hate and rage.

"I'm taking you back to your motel room so that you can heal. You still have a good hour until your powers come back, so as long as we can stop the bleeding, you will be okay. After that, your free to do whatever you like" explained Adam as he entered the motel parking lot.