Present time...

The rumbling and groan of steel was heard and she left the entire structure of the underground facility shook.

X23 closed the book she had been reading to find herself staring back from the mirror. The person which her mother had secretly named as Laura just before her murder.

She did not have a name. Well a proper one. X23 was all who she was a weapon to be used than discarded but he named her Laura, she found herself liking that name. It made her sound human.

She did not tell him who she was but he knew who she was and that brought about more questions. He called her Laura, she found herself liking that name. It made her sound human.

Her new friend’s powers brought about much interest among the scientists of weapon X initially weak, its power lied in his potential to grow. Statistically when he first activated his powers he was stronger than her by a slight margin. Closing her eyes she recalled their first battle she remembered her confidence of an easy battle against him. The pain of his strikes growing stronger the longer the fight progressed. His inexperience with fighting gave her an edge, but even than it was evident the longer the fight dragged on. She barely managed to subdue him, the way she won left a sour taste.

The handlers observing the fight, saw it drag on and grew worried. They filled the hallways with nerve gas that made him pause. Due to her training she had grown resistant to the gas, using the opening provided she stabbed her foot claw into a pressure point in his knee. Anatomy wise he was still human so the nerve system was still the same, jumping upwards she twisted his neck making him pass out.

A containment crew soon carried him away, she was soon called an hour later to recapture him. The second time the nerve gas did nothing to stop him.

Any stimulated pain forced his body to grow armour, accompanied by drastic increase in strength and durability. The day before she had secreted a look at his statistics the scientists had recorded, his durability was estimated to survive C4 blasts point blank. According to their calculations he could have escaped by now. His only complication was... her. For whatever reason he was adamant to escape with her... and that had become his only real weakness besides instant death.

Their relationship was bizarre, she was his jailer and countless time they had battled. Was it stockholm syndrome or was it her female form, men his age are sexually attracted, was that the reason. Could it... No matter, he was very adamant to talk to her despite the fact that she was constantly calling his body apart.

After days of battling, she replied. That was probably when they started to bond.

Sighing she examined the collar around her neck.A prototype device made to deactivate her X gene, the device was a prototype and yet she still felt its effect. When she scratched herself, she saw the noticeable time it took for it to heal. Her claws were unavailable as her oppressors had their scientists plant microscopic radioactive bombs within her nape, designed solely to disable her. The bombs were made to trigger the moment she brought out her claws or on remote which her handler that woman possessed. Passively the bombs radiation bypass and weaken her own healing factor then either kill her, cause cancer or something else.

She was considered a lost cause at this rate. In the beginning their battles were deemed profitable in collecting data on her friend’s powers and to increase her combat capabilities. However each battle he was always talking to her. Eventually on their 4th battle she finally complied to engage in some psychological battle but he simple smiled and he asked about what meal she ate.

A mundane topic but it was the first of many such conversations. Every hour or so of each day he would break out and face her in combat, at times he would even wait for her to appear. After

Over time she became friends with him as he was one of the few close enough to her situation to understand.

Never in her life had she felt so weak physically and emotionally because of her they couldn’t escape. It was her fault. Her fault her only friend suffer every time they failed, and the anger and hopelessness drove her to improve more, and get stronger.

She was envious of him.

Unlike her he grew stronger each time they fought he grew stronger. His armour formed faster and each form stronger each time with additional weapons.

Looking down at her abdomen she rubbed it remembering the phantom pain as his fist extended freshly created blades that pierced her through.

She saw his armour goes through various changes from spikes and claws. Somehow, he made even gotten a drill arm which he used to drill his way down for their 45th attempt before they started to electrocute them, and…

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Shaking her head, she attempted to destroy that trail of thoughts.

The tunnels were collapsed in their escape to cut of their pursuers and they were almost out if only they forgot to think about oxygen.

The pain of suffocation was a horrifying concept but it made her stronger.

Laura simply accepted their failures and looked at him from her side of their shared cell with a nihilistic smile. After various attempts, 90% of the facilities cells were in shambles they were left with the only intact cell left to place them in.

Solitary.

He was submerged in water and stuffed in so many drugs and whatever they could make to keep him asleep.

Despite their bleak situation she could tell he had not given up he was always learning about his powers and their prison everything he could discreetly observe from the scientists and every single the Handler that had come across and she had not forgotten a single face and their numerous attempts.

Each time they failed they would capture them more harshly and added more restraints and made them suffer more, starved them, shocked them but they refused to be broken. The sparks of freedom and rebellion lived on in her friend, it was almost inspirational reminding her of the optimism her mother shared. For she feared that without him she would be nothing more than a drone, silently working day in and out, completing all experiments and missions they would sent her on.

She was certain now, the scientists and facilitators see their escapes as apart of their twisted experiments, each time they gained new data on their powers.

Each time her friend grew in strength and new variants of his armour... 20 attempts ago he grew wings and they flew... flight it was a great feeling. no matter how brief it was.

All their attempts failed thus far and yet he was still hopeful. This filled her with amazement, envy and a whole host of other feelings that he could still believe that they could escape. She would not get past half of the newly installed security measures just to contain him. Unlike him she was still susceptible to the drugs and gas weapons. Their latest attempt had scared everyone... they would have been free…

…if the overseers had not used Adamantium bullets to pierce through his armour and explode to slow his regen and allow the elephant tranquilizers to take hold.

Freedom would have be theirs.

Boom!

Multiple tremors rocked the building, she felt the vibrations reverberate in her room. Deeply concentrating she extended her senses, wondering what was causing all the commotion, could she use this to their advantage.

"-Send more…to the east block," her advanced hearing coming into play. She heard the wailing of sirens, the rushing of the guards. The smell of fear, excitement and desperation was in the air.

"Send more reinforcements…secure…experiments…all scientists and high-ranking personnel…evacuate ASAP."

A full evacuation, her eyes lit up in excitement. This was their golden chance.

"Secure project X23 and project B-001"

Her body moved the moment she heard the words. They were coming for them now, rushing forward she rushed and flipped 270 degrees, tumbling in mid air and using her feet to smash into the glass prison.

Smash!

She got up and body checked it at the point of impact, a few cracks formed as pain wrecked her shoulder. She wished she could use her claws, but they put explosives in her cuffs and ankles if she brought them out, and it would waste time. The explosions were liked to the ones in her neck, the explosions would not be enough to kill her but it will be enough to knock her out. Making her easy picking to be carried away.

"Tobi! Wake up!!"

Shouting as she continued to bash her wounded shoulder into the glass, working through the pain, more cracks formed as she kept bashing. Time was irrelevant as she struggled but the moments seemed to be stretched into hours. She knew less than a few seconds had passed as her adrenaline pumped, these all counted. She was too slow.

Hearing footsteps coming towards their location her kind calculated how long it would take for them to reach their cell.

"Wake up dammit!! YOU PROMISED!"

Screaming her voice hoarse at her sleeping friend, she smashed the glass with all her might. The container shook from the force and cracks lined the surface, droplets of water were leaking out. The liquids pooled down at her bare feet. Just one more, just one more should be enough.

"Project X-23 is planning an escape, activate the shock collars!"

Pain flared from her neck as the shock collar activated, her screams of pain doubled as the liquids at her feet conducted the electricity doubling her pain. Forcing herself to stand as the collar increased in voltage she willed herself to stand.

She refused to let it end like this, if they took her away now she would be alone once more. She was sure to be separated from her friend, the thought of going back to being a tool to be used and discarded gave her the strength to ran towards the container holding her friend.

"YOU PROMISED WE'D ESCAPE TOGETHER!!!"

‘Together’ a foreign word to her, companionship generally ended in murder which was why it was so alien to her, but she cherished it for as long as it would last.

Smashing her into fists into the glass then body, as the water poured out of the broken container. She used her hand restraints to break the edges down before entering the glass container. As arcs of electricity with increasing voltage travelled through her body she hoped it be enough to wake her friend up.

Her arms opened wide and hugged his body electricity transferred from her body to his, giving him a shocking wake up call.

Despite the pain she heard their cell door burst open, the men rushing in with various weapons trained on them. He sluggish thoughts, ‘They brought in a different squad?’ This was not the normal squad they send to capture them, they were not equipped at all. This, this was amazing she felt the percentage of success rising.

Turning to look at her friend she saw red eyes open wide and his body bulged as it reacted to the electricity. Plates of insect armour sprouted from his body and she felt his arms envelop her body.

She felt the shift in momentum as he lunged out of the container bringing his left arm up as it made a kite shield. Protecting them both from the hail of bullets fired upon them.

Before she felt the water dry of her body she looked at his face as it was slowly covered in an insect helmet. Red glowing eyes glared out at their oppressors. Rushing forward he rammed his way through the guards their bullets bouncing of his armour. The bullets sounded different, looking down she saw that indeed they were not the normal rounds used to pierce his armour. What happened to the squads?

"Sorry to keep you waiting Laura"