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X-23
was created to be the ultimate weapon, a cold-blooded
killing machine. Genetically cloned from stolen DNA
samples of the mutant known as Weapon X (aka Logan or
Wolverine), from birth the girl was stripped of almost
all of her humanity, mostly confined to a single
laboratory room and subjected to various inhumane
experiments. Armed with enhanced and heightened
senses, an accelerated healing factor and retractable
bone claws (two housed in each fore arm and a third in
each foot), coated with the unbreakable metal known as
Adamantium, she was moulded to kill on commanded. The
young girl seemed the perfect success for her
creators.
From the age of ten, X-23 was sent on international
assassination "missions". Her creators
sold
her "services"
to the highest bidder.
She successfully assonated Presidential Candidates,
Royalty, Drug Lords, Godfathers and Dictators. She was
sent to assassinate anyone, for a price.
Though the years X-23 was trained and treated as a
Weapon. She was trained in all forms of weapons,
Martial Arts and trained to speak fluent in English,
Spanish and Japanese.
Life inside the walls of "The Facility", was very
cruel on X-23. She was treated less than human by
those around her. Particularly one of her creators,
Surgical Head, Dr. Zander Rice. Rice saw the creation
of X-23 as means to
inflict revenge against her genetic donor, the
original Weapon X, for murdering his father some
twenty five years previous. Through the years, Rice
would take great pleasure in performing extremely
inhumane surgical and medical procedures on the young
girl, while she was awake - with no from of aesthesia
or pain relief. It was also Rice who
created the
chemical compound he called
"Trigger Scent".
Designed to control X-23, the effects of scent would
send her into an involuntary berserker rage, when
smelling its presence.
Another who made X-23's life particularly unpleasant was
a woman known only as Kimura. Not born a Mutant, upon
coming into
contact with the Facility, Kimura soon underwent
procedures which granted her physical invulnerability,
speed and strength. The Facility designed her to
specifically
counter X-23,
and positioned her as her "handler". In this role,
Kimura cruelly found any excuse to torment X-23,
regardless of whether the girl failed in her missions
or not.
However there were a couple of people who, as best
they could, treated X-23 as a person. Her Martial Arts
Sensei was often very kind to the young girl, treating
her with respect. Another of X-23's creators, Generics
Head, Dr. Sarah Kinney treated the girl with kindness.
Over the years, having a mothers love for the child,
Kinney tried to get as close as she could to the girl,
often reading her stories of Pinocchio. - And It was
Kinney who helped X-23 escape.
On
the night of X-23's escape, Kinney gave X-23 one last
"mission": Kill Rice and destroy The Facility. X-23
succeeded and was set to live a new life with Kinney,
but upon meeting at the rendezvous point, X-23 caught
the scent of Rice’s “Trigger Scent”, which he had
placed upon Kinney earlier that day, and went into
“berserker rage”, killing the women she thought of as
her mother. With her dying breath, Kinney told X-23
she that loved her and named her “Laura”.
Some few months later, X-23, now using the name
"Laura", travelled to San Francisco to track down
Kinney's sister and her daughter Megan - effectively
Laura's family. Laura formed a firm friendship with
Megan allowing her to know a little of her past and
Mutant abilities. But soon Kimura and The Facility
caught up with Laura, intent on re-capturing her
and taking her back with them. Kimura and Laura soon engaged into an
all out fight. Eventually Laura managed to momentary
fool Kimura, allowing herself, Megan and Debbie to
escape. Laura then was able to get her cousin and aunt
safe passage out of the
state. However, Megan was crushed when she realised Laura
wouldn't
be going with them. Laura explained that Kimura will
never give up looking for her and that they're safer
without her. The three of them exchanged heartbreaking
farewells (Megan giving her a locket containing a
photo of herself and Sarah) - then Laura tearfully
watched her cousin and aunt, her only family, walk away.
Angry at the loss of Megan and Debbie, and tired of
her life of always on the run, Laura tracked down the
man who made her creation possible - Wolverine aka
Logan. The now fifteen year old girl
held him responsible for her blood soaked life.
Launching into an all out attack, she told him that
they were both weapons, and caused nothing but pain to
those they cared about, thus they both needed to be
stopped, they both need to be destroyed.
Logan told that she could indeed kill him if she
wanted to, but he wasn't going to kill her or let her
kill herself. He told her that everything her creators
made her do, was not her fault. He further reasoned
with her by telling her that her mother (Dr. Sarah
Kinney) had sent him a letter, so he knew of her
existence and what she'd been though, and that he had
came looking for her, but by then she had escaped and
was long gone. Upon handing her that same letter, he told her
she knew what her creators wanted for her, now she'd
know what her mother wanted. Finally convincing her
that he wasn’t the enemy, they parted on almost
friendly terms.
Laura stayed in New York and lived a life on the
streets for the next year or so, struggling to
understand the ways of humanity. She soon found
friends in two young Mutant runaways Kiden and
Tatiana. The girl's helped Laura out and she in turn
helped them. However, problems soon arose, and Laura
was force to flee, once again leaving behind those she
cared about.
A few
months later, Logan tracked her down, convincing her
to stay with him at the
Xavier Institute
- a school for Mutants (also the X-Men’s base), where
she'd be safe and protected. At the School, Logan
helped her to further understand what being human was
all about, and she even formed some friendships along
the way. For the first time ever, Laura was in control
of her own life, almost happy in fact. Until one
afternoon, when it all went tragically wrong...
And
this is where our story starts… |
