Well, that went pretty well!
Explaining the situation was a mentally exhausting task... Which was exactly why he delegated it to Sarah. Andrew felt quite conflicted with himself. Getting kidnapped, being in a sorta-kinda-but-not-really-coma, it was weird. Something that he couldn't quite process. Three years, that was a fifth of his entire life before coming here, hell that was twice as long as he had started his second life!
Ororo was now in her early-20s, but she didn't seem to have changed much in terms of appearances. Even her hairstyle was still the same. Hank was quite frankly impossible for Andrew to tell what with being covered in fur, and Wolverine might as well be the damn poster boy for the terms "aging gracefully". All of which meant that he could deal with them and act fine even if he knew things weren't the same.
But what about his school friends? What about Scott? Peter and Jean? The two of them were geniuses for God's sake. They could be damn well in university or even graduated. Would they even remember him, would anyone for that matter? How would they react if he just strolled back into their lives? Was there even a place for him anymore?
He wasn't a mutant after all and- No, that was nonsense he knew. It wasn't real, just all in his head, and he had a couple dozen 'voices' in his head and decades of medical school knowledge from those he Consumed to back him up on it. Yet the fear persisted and the grip on his heart was so very real.
His head knew, but he still felt queasy at the thought of confronting them. He wasn't ready. It was cowardly but he couldn't bring himself to even so much as give them a call. Logan had been surprisingly understanding, not even showing any annoyance at the fact Andrew was using him as a middleman to pass messages to the others.
He couldn't deal with it, so he did what every teenager did. Postponing. Shove it somewhere else and deal with it later. Bottling things up wasn't healthy as people liked to say. Well fuck 'em. At least this way he could still function as a "human" and it wasn't like he was going to ignore it forever. Just... Until things got better. Yeah, that's it.
It was a good thing he also had decades of memories of throwing himself into work and distracting himself from other issues.
Andrew needed some time and the others understood that even if they didn't know how long it would take. They had a lot of catching up to do, but there would be plenty of that once he finished his current mission. Saving Laura's aunt and cousin from Desmond Alexander, the sleeper agent that integrated himself into their lives.
The Facility had placed many such agents around the family and friends of important members of their staff as insurance for their ensured obedience if it were ever needed. In typical evil mastermind fashion, the man would be on the lookout in case Sarah or Laura went to make contact with them, and it was likely they would be in grave danger and could potentially be used as hostages to force compliance from the escapees.
He and Laura may have physically escaped the Facility, but its ghost still haunted them both.
Which was why he, Logan, Sarah, and Laura were currently in a decked-out trailer heading cross country to San Francisco. There were at the edge of Quebec so it would take a couple of days to reach California. It was better to deal with the matter now rather than be caught off guard in the future.
"So, mind telling me why we couldn't have just taken the Blackbird, kid?"
Andrew was currently sitting next to Logan as the gruff mutant drove down the empty highway. He occupied himself with listening in to the story Sarah was reading Laura rather than watching the scenery pass by. The wonders of the "great outdoors" quickly wore off after seeing nothing but trees for the 3rd hour in a row.
It seems that today was Rapunzel.
"Huh? Sorry, I didn't quite catch that, mind repeating?"
The man gave a small grunt and took a long sip of his beer before replying.
"If you're just worried about the Short-Stack's family," Andrew almost couldn't hold back his chuckles at hearing the 5'3 tall man calling someone else short, but a quick glare silenced him well enough. They were practically the same height and Laura still had a lot of room to grow, especially since her skeleton wasn't coated in Adamantium unlike her "father". "Then we could've easily had S.H.I.E.L.D take care of Desmond, or placed them into protective services. I know you're smart enough to think of that yourself. So, what gives?"
"You know, it's not good to be drinking and driving."
Wolverine didn't bother replying to that, they both knew with his healing factor that the stereotype of Russian being able to drink Vodka like water was quite literal in his case. Andrew really couldn't get the appeal of it. The smell burned his nose, and it tasted like sand sanitizer to him, in other words, absolutely disgusting. The older man knew that he needed time to gather his thoughts.
His golden eyes stared into the horizon, observing the clouds floating carelessly pass.
"I... I wanted her to get a chance to get to meet her family. A normal family, away from all the fighting. Sorry, I'm not good with words, so bear with me for a minute..."
He took a deep breath to center himself, sneaking a glance to make sure he didn't catch the attention of the girls.
"Ok, alright, I think I got it. Look, Logan, I'm proud to be an X-men, honest. You're all like the friends and second family I always longed for in my childhood. I love the mansion and everyone in it, even your grumpy pants. I loved helping people, being a hero, being special, being needed. If it was just me I wouldn't have much issue against going back there. I miss everyone, I can't wait to catch up with my friends again, and I'm sure that our ragtag group has only grown in my absence."
Andrew raised his hands in front of his face, blocking out the sun's rays as he stared at his fingers. Once, all the members of the X-men could be counted on one hand.
"But I'm not alone, not anymore... Laura, she needs this. She's never met her family, never had a chance to live her life. I want to give her a taste of a life outside of the Facility. Outside of the constant conflict, because once we get back to the big apple that's exactly what's going to happen, Logan. There'll always be a villain, a racist bigot, an asshole, a battle to be fought. I'm under no delusion we'll be able to live a peaceful life even if we walked away now, something will always happen, someone out to get us just because we're different, but... I still want to give her something, even something as simple as a good memory to help her through the trials ahead."
Wolverine didn't say anything, but after another 15 minutes, Andrew noticed that he took a seemingly wrong turn.
"..? Erm, we're supposed to stay on I-90 for another 5 miles before any turns..?"
"There's more than one way to get to any destination kiddo, we're in no rush, so why not take the scenic route."
He saw the large green signs flash by Niagara Falls 25 miles West
"By the way, how'd you get your hands on this thing anyway? It drives like a dream, must've cost a pretty penny."
"Eh, I mean for 3.2 Mil, I would sure hope so-"
The two-story luxury motorhome swerved suddenly, causing one teen to face plant into the window and two girls to tumbling and shout in the back.
"What the hell, dude?!"
"I- Sorry, you... You took me a little off guard there, bud. Wait, how the hell does a scrawny kid like you come up with three million bucks since I last saw you?!"
"Hey! I am not scrawny! We can't all be built like brick shit houses like you, besides I happen to like how I look. Also, apparently, highly illegal government projects pay quite a lot. I emptied out the bank accounts and live savings of like... 50 people? I also sold whatever property they had for dirt cheap."
He decided not to admit that he also took out a few loans in their name. They were dead, they didn't need their stuff anyways. Thanks to that they got a sweet-ass ride for their family road trip and he had all the money he would need to pay for everything. His girl deserved to be spoiled, they were no staying in any shitty motel for this cross country journey.
Ac, heating, sound system, games, soundproofing, brand name furniture, fully stocked kitchen, a cozy fireplace, minifridges and a decked out bar, even a jacuzzi on the roof!
This thing was actually better than his house back home, stylish too, best of all he had gotten custom bulletproof windows and the entire thing was cased in an armored shell. Oh, and about enough illegally gained weaponry stashed inside to arm a small army. It was a wonder how well things go when you had money to burn.
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How strange...
Freedom
Such an odd concept. Ever since she was born Laura had never been outside the walls of the Facility except for when she was sent on missions, and those were few and far in between. Her days were simple and so were her tasks.
People were either a handler to be obeyed, an obstacle to her tasks, or a target to be eliminated.
The only difference was their threat level and the best method to take them down, but in the outside world, things seemed so much more complicated. Suddenly she had choices, so much so that it almost overwhelmed her. Even something as mundane as sustenance was suddenly a colorful and awfully involved task. When would she eat, how would she eat, what time, with whom, everything was left up to her and she was honestly a bit lost at it all.
Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website.
She never imagined that her meals would end up having more colors in it than a country's flag.
Nor that there were apparently over 50 flavors of ice cream, and Andrew was insistent that she tried them all, just to find her favorite. Ironically it ended up being the first one she tried. A bit boring in his words perhaps, but she really liked vanilla.
"Can't sleep?"
His voice whispered behind her, his hot breath tickled her ears and sent a shiver down her spine. She leaned back into his chest and felt his arms wrap around her waist. It was strange how his seemingly thin frame managed to support all of her weight with such ease she noted. This small, lanky, almost effeminate who looked like he was barely in his teens looked like he couldn't fight his way out of a wet paper bag, yet she never felt safer than she did now.
As she curled up against him, his hands trailed their way towards her bare shoulders and slowly caressed her forearms, warming them up, and banishing the chill and dull pain in them. She was so used to the constant ache from having metal bones in her arms that she almost didn't register it anymore, but the sudden relief was comforting.
Laura gave a small hum in appreciation at his ministrations as she stared outside the starry sky. Vast. Seemingly endless. Empty. Just like her future.
Honestly, she didn't know what to do with her life, not the life she had been given by her mother and the Facility as X-23 the trained ruthless assassin, nor her second as "Laura", the confused girl who was recently given the reins of her life but couldn't read the map.
It seemed like she was going to join the X-men, but she didn't really care about their cause, about mutants or humans. The only difference between them to her not even a week ago was that one was marginally more difficult to kill. Another training facility, and another mission.
But this time she was going to be there of her own choice, and she wasn't going to be alone, and that made all the difference.
They spent a long time simply sitting as they were, there was no need for words as they found comfort in each other, basking in the warmth.
Perhaps it wouldn't be so bad. She didn't think she could ever "shine" like other kids. She wasn't a star, but maybe... Just maybe she could be a moon? It might not be as bright or warm, but she found it beautiful nonetheless. Even it's cold silvery light once came from the sun, did it not?
She folded her hands and rested it on her toned stomach as she was in thought.
"Hungry? Want me to heat up some leftover pizza..?"
Laura didn't know why she found that so hilarious, but laughing felt good. She laughed so hard tears came out of her eyes. She laughed so much at the stupid cartoon Andrew turned on after hopping back in bed with two entire pizzas even if she didn't understand half of what was going on.
She just laughed for the sake of it and even if she didn't understand it, she felt as if a heavy burden had slipped off her back that night.
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It was barely past 7:30 in the morning, Andrew and Laura had just rolled out of their bed. Personally, he would've preferred to just stay inside and sleep the day away, but a hungry and grumpy assassin, no matter how cute, was the last thing he wanted to lay in bed with.
It was still on the list thou, no lie.
Nobody had a right to be that gorgeous with dried and crusty tomato sauce smeared on her lips and sandy gunk plastered on her eyes and a trail of drool on the side of her face. At some point, they had both fallen asleep and Laura had decided to use the pizza box as a pillow while half of her body was sprawled over him. He literally didn't know how they got tangled up like that and he was sure if he was a normal person he would be waking up with some major back pain... Or some dislocated joints.
Humans weren't meant to be that way.
Still, like a kid being told he could have cake and dessert for all his meals, Andrew indulged in Laura's presence as much as he could. Seeing her face, hearing her voice, feeling her familiar weight against him. He felt as if he needed her more than he needed to breathe as if she would suddenly disappear if he turned away for too long. Like one day he would suddenly wake up alone in that dark cell once more and realize it was all a cruel prank by Kimura.
It actual terrified him on some level the effect she had on him.
"... Oh, shut up."
They had just gotten dressed and left their shared room to do downstairs where the kitchen was, and already Andrew knew Wolverine was going to give him shit. He just knew.
"I didn't say anything." The man quickly said in his defense, sounding far too smug to sound remotely sincere. He hid behind some newspaper as the teenage boy went to make some breakfast. The old man liked the feeling of paper and holding the physical article it seems as he often went out of his way to purchase the things even though they had access to Wi-Fi and a T.V
"Good morning."
Laura didn't have a concept of "shame" and therefore couldn't be embarrassed, he wasn't sure if it was a blessing or a curse, Andrew sadly couldn't say the same. He had made a gross oversight thinking that simply soundproofing the walls would be enough to hide their late-night activities. The man's nose was better than a darn bloodhound and his shit-eating grin as he drank his morning coffee said it all. Maybe he should start spraying Frebeeze or something?
"Late night, eh, brats? Well, it's fine to have fun, you're both still young and all, but don't forget to get enough shut eyes. Kids need sleep to grow up big and strong."
Andrew felt a throbbing on his temple as he listened to the gruff man, and as he saw the elder's shoulder shake in silent laughter, he was torn between burying his face in his hands... Or burying Logan in the sand somewhere. He glanced out the window and did a quick calculation.
They were going... What... 45 mph? 55 tops.
Logan could definitely survive that if Andrew punted him outside the trailer, and with the man's tracking ability he'll manage to catch up to them soon enough.
"Yes, we were awake until-" Like a cobra, Andrew's hand quickly snapped forward and covered the clueless clone's mouth before she could say anything more and give him an aneurysm via sheer embarrassment. Seriously, all this blood flowing to his head couldn't be good for his health, super sentient virus biology or not.
"I said shut up old man!" He pointed directed at the clearly amused mutant before bringing Laura close to whisper into her ears. "And you, don't go around telling others that!"
"...? But why not? I see no reason to hide it, it's true after all. You kept me up until the crack of dawn." She clearly didn't get the memo on the whole "whispering" thing as she simply tilted her head a smidge before speaking at her normal previous levels.
"WATCHING ANIME! NOT HAVING SE- I SAID SHUT THE HELL UP LOGAN, I SWEAR TO GOD I'LL TOSS YOUR ASS OUTTA THIS THING!"
That only served to egg the older X-men all the more as he couldn't even make an attempt to hold in his laughter anymore, it seems their antics didn't escape Sarah's notice either as her voice soon joined in.
"But we did copulate, quite frequently, in fact. I don't understand why I should make an attempt to hide such a fact with an obvious lie when both my mother and Wolverine could easily our physical intimacy?"
Thankfully the older woman actually had some tact and pulled her daughter upstairs for some "girl talk". This gave him and Wolverine some time to make some plans of their own, mostly about planning their route and next stop. After the asshole had time to catch his breath that was. Andrew made a mental note to look up and order some odorless and tasteless laxatives on his phone later. Maybe some industrial-grade pipe cleaners? Not like the man could actually die.
Potentially lethal and petty "pranks" aside, he made sure to gather plenty of info on all the sights or see and attractions on their way.
Hopefully, the carnival would be more interesting to his not-quite-but-hopefully-yes-girlfriend than a giant waterfall. She didn't really seem that impressed by the Niagara Falls, merely curious about why so many people were gathering, dicking around, and so amazed by what was essentially a giant rocky bowl of water.
After a couple of minutes, the two ladies rejoined them, although Sarah had decided to take the wheels and get them moving again. Things between the males of the group and Sarah had been rather... Tense so to speak, and she knew full well that her presence was only tolerated because of her daughter. She had been trying her best to make amends and making herself scarce, helping out here and there as she could.
They were willing to give her a shot, although the younger X-men couldn't say he was trying all that hard to connect with her. He didn't outright avoid her, but Andrew knew he would much rather occupy his time with Laura or catching up with Wolverine.
Fun fact, avoiding one of the only adults in the motorhome was pretty easy when you're a male teenager with a rather beautiful girl. They generally think you're just being horny teenagers when you shut yourself away.
It didn't take long before the two girls came back downstairs. Laura didn't quite seem to get what the fuss was about, while her mother was actually the one looking like a little girl getting "The Talk" for the first time with how red and flustered she seemed. The woman ignored the questioning look from Logan and Andrew before plopping herself in the driver's seat and starting the engine, grabbing the map off the dining room table on her way.
Laura decided to pop a leftover order of Wendy's, her favorite of the many many fast food places they've taken her too, into the microwave for breakfast. Well, besides maybe Mcdonalds. They got collectively banned from the last one they went too when a poor naive fool of an employee questioned the legitimacy of someone of Laura's age getting a Happy Meal. Long story short, after a series of questioning back and forth, a quasi-philosophical debate of happiness and existentialism, she ended up giving a lesson in biology and demonstrating on an unfortunate Ronald McDonald statue.
Apparently showing kids how to best stab a man to ensure quick, if not rather painful, death was enough to warrant a lifetime ban. Who knew? Andrew felt so bad for the poor scared shitless sap that he gave the kid a handful of hundreds as a tip after paying for the statue.
He settled for a dozen eggs, a bowl of Apple Jacks, two towering stacks waffles drowned in strawberry syrup and swiping some bacon off of Logan's plate every now and then despite his animated protest. To be fair, the small man had a small mountain of the stuff on his plate, and healing factor or not that much fat and grease couldn't possibly be good for you. He was practically doing the man a favor, really!
Suddenly, the unlikely trio hears a series of beeping. Laura hopped over the couch and tossed him the remote. Finding the blinking button he pressed it and from the back wall the 72-inch flatscreen T.V slide down from the roof before flickering to life.
"Hey, what's up guys?" He hopped onto the couch and pulled Laura down with him. She gave a small awkward wave to the screen, not used to the social interaction. They both ignored Wolverine's indignant cry about how he turned around for one minute to pour some coffee and someone punk stole half of his damn bacon.
How odd, maybe some invisible mutant was running around stealing people's breakfast, they'd have to keep an eye out for the dastardly fiend!
"Yo, what's good, Andrew, Laura? You ready to kill some Zombies?"
"Yeah man, I've been waiting all day for you slowpokes to log on. Let's aim for level 13 today!"
She may have been a close combat expert in real life, but her talent in sharpshooting wasn't anything to scoff at as she had been trained extensively in the use of multiple firearms and military vehicles. Which meant teaching her how to play pretend Black Ops online was hilarious even if her fumbling with the controls only lasted all of 30 minutes before she was pulling off Rambo-esque stunts.
"Ironman-69, Go with A$$man and secure the perimeter, I will go with xNinjaXMasterx while the rest of you go around and flank them from behind..." Watching his girl bark actual military worthy tactics to a bunch of middle and high school nerds to demolish competitive gaming tournaments was the highlight of his week. They absolutely slaughtered the enemy team every time. He actually felt a bit bad for them...
Seriously, who the hell comes up with kamikaze attacks like that? Even as she made herself snug in his lap her game avatar was currently running through a crowd of zombies, leading them the enemy team's position, before prompting pulling out a rocket launcher to blow everyone up. Fun fact, the rocket launcher in the game was slow and hard to aim, but this didn't matter when you were literally in someone's face to use it for close-range combat.
He was pretty sure she was making a new meta as a lot of people recently started attempting to copy her even if far less effective.