Daddy's
Girl
Chapter
1: Escape
AN: This is my first movie fic, so bear with me. I got the idea from the X-men Evolution episode, X23. Her name, Laura, comes from the comics. I've taken a few liberties with the movie and X23 comics, so please keep that in mind while you read. Please help me make this good. Read and review this fic. Otherwise, enjoy!
Summery: Take place along the lines of X1. After being abducted by a shady group called Hydra, Logan finds himself in the care of an infant child who he comes to raise as his daughter. But 15 years later, Logan and his daughter, former weapon X23, are caught in the middle of the struggle for mutant liberation. Now, they father/daughter duo must rely on the help of the X-men and the bonds that they share to stop the Magneto and his Brotherhood before he makes his dream of a mutant/human war into a reality.
Ages: Basically whatever they are in the movie, but Laura (X23) is, or will be, 15.
Pairings: Not much, but maybe a few hints of Scott/Jean and Bobby/Rogue.
Disclaimer: I don't own the X-men or any part of the movie. They are the exclusive property of Marvel and 20th Century Fox, so please don't sue. I have nothing.
Again, don't forget to REVIEW! Send them to me via email or post them on the fanfiction website. I hope you all enjoy this first venture into the movieverse. Thanks again and enjoy.
Life is a fickle beast. It can change in the blink of an eye. And to those who aren't prepared, life can be an endless struggle. There are those who succumb to this strife and there are those who overcome it. And right now, a mysterious man known only as Logan is caught in the middle of the two.
He wasn't sure whether or not he was conscious or dreaming. It felt like a mixture between the two. His mind was reeling as if he had been pumped with a gallon of sedatives. And with his luck that was actually a possibility.
Trying to get a feel for his surroundings, he felt as though he was lying on some sort of al gurney. He couldn't move any of his limbs, bound by shackles and feeling as though they had lead weights on them. The air around him was sterile and clean, the distinct smell of a laboratory or hospital. And Logan absolutely despised both.
He tried to remember what happened. One minute he was riding his motorcycle down the back roads of Canada and next he's being pursued by strange black vans. He remembered trying to get away, but then something hit him and now he was here.
That encompassed the story of his life in many ways, but as his thoughts became more coherent, his acute senses picked up a couple of ominous voices.
"Are you sure he's sedated, Dr. Cornelius?" asked a tall, ominous man who was hovering over Logan's prone form.
"Don't worry, Zander. He's got enough sedatives in him to down an elephant," replied the man beside him, "We've managed to keep him contained for this long, so try not to worry too much."
"That is not my nature, Doctor," replied the man known as Zander in an irritated tone, "I've read up on this beast's history. He has a knack for cursing any project that attempts to use his potential."
"Well Hydra is different, my friend," replied Cornelius, "I know because I worked with General William Stryker at Weapon X and the hardware you've thrown into this makes him look like a cheapskate."
"I don't like to leave loose ends," said Zander in a somewhat snide tone.
Upon hearing the term Weapon X, something stirred within the sedated Logan. Sedatives or no sedatives, hearing this triggered a rage inside him. While he could barely move, he started to grit his teeth in anger as he fought to overcome his bound state.
"Well then you'll be happy to know that we're almost done with this thing," said Dr. Cornelius as he looked down at Logan with a distasteful glare, "We've taken samples and we've confirmed that your little specimen has all his traits. She's a full 90 percent match."
"And her powers?" asked Zander in a more serious tone.
"All present," answered the Doctor, "She's got his healing, his senses, and his claws. She even has a few extra in her feet which may come in handy down the line."
"Not bad considering that it took twenty three attempts. What about the bonding process? Did it work?"
"Well thanks to biological data from original Weapon X, we were successful. But I'm afraid that we had to make a few compromises in bonding her entire skeletal structure. She's still and infant and if we want her to grow, then her bones must be allowed to grow as well."
"Spare me the technicalities, Cornelius," scoffed Zander, "Does she have the same structure as the original?"
"In some ways, yes. But unlike the original, we had to use a weaker version of adamantium on her. Now rest assured, it's every bit as resilient as its indestructible cousin, but it's designed to stretch and grow at the expense of some of that strength."
"A minor trade off," said Zander confidently, "As long as our little specimen has the proper attributes, I could care less about the specifics. Now we can look forward to molding her and training her. And given her tender age, I'm confident she'll eclipse her predecessor in every way."
"I wish I had your confidence, Zander," said Dr. Cornelius in an anxious tone, "Working with Weapon X has always been a cursed existence. And the quicker we terminate this thing, the easier we'll all sleep at night."
Logan had heard enough. That name, Cornelius, and that talk of the adamantium bonding process fueled his inner rage. Unclear memories of being in a bio tank surrounded by scientists were coming back to him and the more he recalled, the more enraged he became.
And at the center of it all were these two men.
"Patience Cornelius…Patience," said Zander confidently, "I know how you feel about this monstrous freak of nature. And don't worry. When the time comes, I'll let you finish the job."
"Well for all our sake, I hope that time comes soon," said Dr. Cornelius, "I've been looking over my shoulder every damn day since this thing came into my life. I'll feel a hell of a lot better when he's finally dead."
"As will I. And besides, it's not like anybody will miss him. From what you've told me, there are no traces of family and he's never been the friendly type."
"You don't know the half of it, Zander," said Cornelius as he began to do something with the IVs going into Logan's arm, "Now let's hurry up and finish the final test on X23. Once she's given the green like, I can dispose of this…"
Then, before Dr. Cornelius could finish, Logan's eyes shot open and he quickly went into full berserker mode.
"Rrrrrrahhhhhhhhhhhh!" he yelled, ripping the shackles, unleashing three adamantium claws from his knuckles, and plunging them into the chest of Dr. Cornelius.
Immediately, the doomed doctor's eyes filled with horror as he looked into the raging eyes of the beast that he helped create.
"Weapon X…NO!" he gasped, his lungs filling up with blood as the claws punctured completely through him.
"YOU!" growled the raging Wildman from within.
"Hit the alarm!" yelled Zander as he dashed out of the room.
Suddenly, the whole area was blaring with sirens. Going into full survival mode, Logan withdrew his claws from the body of Dr. Cornelius and let him fall limply to the floor where he could die in agony.
With his hands free, was able to slice through all the shackles and bounds. The effects of the sedatives were still making him feel disoriented, but the raging adrenaline of his anger fought it as he got up off the gurney and scrambled out into the hallway.
There, he was met with some unwelcome company.
"There he is!" yelled a fully armored soldier, packing a high powered MP5, "Get him! Neutralize that freak!"
In a hail of gunfire, he and the rest of his fellow soldiers fired upon the lone mutant. However, his rage proved to be too great. Even bullets couldn't stop him as he took numerous rounds before pouncing upon the hapless guards.
"Get him! Get him!" one of them yelled, but that proved to be his undoing as three adamantium claws plunged through his face.
Other guards tried to shoot him, but Logan's speed was too great as he tore through them like a tissue paper, spilling their blood in a cascade of carnage, driven by the desire for revenge.
Once the last of the guards was disemboweled, Logan sniffed the air in full predatory mode, seeking out the son of a bitch who was behind all this…Zander. His trail was still fresh, but he'd have to go through quite a few guards to get him.
But that didn't bother him in the slightest. It just meant this was going to be much messier.
"Attention all Hydra patrol!" came Zander's voice over the intercom, "This is a code red! I repeat, this is a code red! Weapon X is on the loose! Neutralize him before he gets to the main lab!"
The sound of Zander's voice enraged Logan further as he followed his scent through the twisting corridors of the facility. All around him, he saw the trademark signs of a high tech military project. He knew them than anybody and the more he saw, the more he wanted to tear this place to pieces.
"There he is! Kill him!" yelled another platoon of guards.
However, despite their organization and firepower, Logan was able to get the best of them through surprise and speed. Any bullets that hit him just slowed him down as he quickly healed and kept on fighting. Blood flowed down the sterile halls like a river as each guard that dared to stop Logan was torn to bits.
All he could see was red. All he could feel was rage. Damn all those who got in his way, for he was the Wolverine. And nothing was going to stand in his way.
"He's breached security level 5!" yelled one of the guards who was frantically trying to fall back, "Stop him before he…AHHHHHHHH!"
Those were his last words as his head was almost completely taken off by a single swipe of his Logan's claws. Other horrified guards tried to counter, but they met with the same fate as the waves of heavily armed guards fell before the rage of the Wolverine.
Finally, after disemboweling three more guards, Logan stood in front of a large, heavy door. It was definitely one of the more expensive kinds, designed to stop an RPG if necessary. But it couldn't stop Logan. He knew Zander was on the other side and he wasn't about to let some reinforced door stop him.
Using his super sharp claws, Logan sliced through the heavily reinforced hinges with ease and kicked the heavy structure down. Now he was in the main laboratory area. There, he saw Zander behind a platoon of guards.
"Damn it you fools! Shoot him! I want that beast DEAD!" yelled Zander.
But before the guards could open fire, Logan used the discarded door to his advantage and lifted it up with ease before heaving it at the bewildered platoon.
"Scramble!" yelled one of the platoon leaders.
Unfortunately, there were a few unlucky ones who couldn't move fast enough and were crushed like insects. And those that were fast enough would die by another fate as Logan's predatory senses kicked into overdrive and took out each guard one by one.
"Zander! He's not going…AHHHHHHHH!" yelled the platoon leader as an adamantium claw plunged through his throat.
"You lousy rent-a-cop pricks! What am I paying you for!" yelled Zander as he tried to get away.
Two more guards tried to stop Logan, but they too fell as their weapons were sliced into scrap metal and their torsos were used as human pin cushions.
With no more guards in his way, that left only one more person to take care of.
"YOU!" yelled Logan as he tore through the lab.
"Stay back! Stay back!" yelled Zander, cowering in the central area near what looked like a containment tube.
He trembled as he watched the angry Wolverine approach him. His body was covered with blood from his wounds and from the guards. And clearly, he had one thing on his mind…Vengeance.
"I'm warning you!" said Zander as he fell to the floor, "Don't take a step closer!"
His words didn't even register. Logan was still running on his full berserker mode. The rational side of his brain was completely off and all that was left was pure rage.
Then, in a last desperate effort to make this monster pay, Zander pulled out a small remote device from his pocket and held it up.
"Don't make me use this!" he yelled, "I push this button and this whole facility will blow sky high and take you with it! You'll only have a minute to get out. You may make it, you may not. Are you really willing to take that chance? All for your precious vengeance!"
But before Zander's words could even begin to enter Logan's mind, the raging mutant plunged his claws directly into his gut, lifting him completely off the ground while blood quickly filled his lungs and spilled out of his mouth.
"I'll take that chance," growled Logan.
"You…Monster!"
Zander's body soon went limp, but as the life was drained out of him, he dropped the small remote control and the button activating the self destruct sequence was initiated.
"Warning. Self destruct sequence initiated. All personnel evacuate. This is not a drill," came a computerized voice over the speakers.
Finally, the rational part of Logan's mind kicked in and survival was now on his mind. But as he dropped Zander's lifeless body off to the side, he noticed something about the tank that he had been cowering behind.
Flashes of his fragmented memory surged through his mind. In looking at this strange apparatus, he identified it as something he had been seen before. It was all too familiar to him. It was the source of countless nightmares and unparalleled rage.
But as he saw what was inside this horrific creation of mad science, something within him began to change.
"X23…" he found himself saying as he looked at the readout taped to the side of the tank.
From what he heard from Zander and Cornelius, he was expecting to find an inhuman beast. But no, in fact it was the exact opposite. It was an infant child of no more than six months.
She was completely unconscious, hovering in a pool of greenish fluid similar to the kind he recalled in his dreams. And as he stared back at her, he noticed some small groves in her hands. They looked like mere scratches, but as he looked back down at the claws protruding from his hand, it quickly dawned on him.
"No…NO!"
They cloned him. They took his own blood and cloned him. There was no other way it could have been done. And not only did they clone him, they put this child through the same horrific process that he had endured. And when that thought entered his mind, he found himself doing something he never thought he'd have done.
Taking his claws to the tank, he shattered the glass, causing the greenish fluid to pour out. Withdrawing his claws, he reached in and took the small child in his arms and cradled it near his body.
Then, much to his horror, he sensed weak life signs within the infant girl. He could barely feel a pulse or sense any breathing. Not knowing what to do, he tore off a piece of Zander's lab coat, wrapped it around the little girl, and made a dash for the exit.
Sirens echoed all throughout the dark Canadian night. Only a handful of lucky guards made it out, but unfortunately they took almost all of the vehicles with them, leaving Logan to take a small, poorly maintained jeep.
With a child still in his arms and no other guards in sight, the raging mutant used one of his claws to start the engine. With less than ten seconds to get away, he stepped on the gas and sped away from the structure out into the frigid Canadian air. He was just clear of the perimeter when the silence of the night was shattered by a deafening bang, illuminating the night sky in a fiery plume.
Hydra was gone. The facility was destroyed. But Logan didn't look back. He just kept driving ahead, keeping the infant little girl in his arms, trying to protect her from the cold air. And as his berserker rage subsided, the effects of the sedatives began to catch up with him.
His vision blurred, his limbs felt heavy, and he could hardly keep himself conscious. But in feeling the weak life signs from the child, he kept fighting as he followed the narrow roads.
Eventually, he made it off the rugged back roads and onto a narrow stretch of highway. But to make matters worse, it started to snow. Logan was wearing only a pair of tattered jeans, most likely the only thing they kept on him from when he was abducted. It was cold…Very cold. But he couldn't stop now, not with the life of a baby on the line.
As if the cold wasn't enough, the old jeep soon gave out on him. Apparently, he had been unlucky enough to get a vehicle with only half a tank of gas and in this weather, there was no telling how much longer he or the baby could last.
Yet despite the blistering cold, Logan took the baby in his arms, held it close to his body, and began running barefoot down the road. According to one of the signs, there was a small hospital about two miles up ahead outside of a small Canadian town. He would have to act fast before frostbite set in and with the life signs of the baby fading fast, he would have to run.
He wasn't sure why he was doing this. His brain was still not functioning completely on logic. Part of him was still relying on the principle of fight or flight. But apparently, this primal mindset seemed to activate other instincts as well.
Even if this child was merely his clone, she was his flesh and blood. And while he wasn't quite sure why, he was determined to save her. He would consider the reasons only after she was safe.
It was a long hard trek through the frigid cold and Logan was on the verge of collapse. It felt as though his whole body was going to give out, but he kept pushing forward, hugging the baby close to his body in order to keep it warm. The snow was piling up and his extremities felt numb with cold. But eventually, he saw structures in the distance. And through the blinding white out, he could see the hospital just up ahead.
"Almost…There," he grunted, struggling to resist the intense fatigue.
Thankfully, there were still lights visible on the inside, hinting there was still an active staff on duty. He didn't know how late it was, but it was the dead of night. He was so exhausted, feeling completely and utterly spent as a result of rage, anger, and fatigue.
Finally, as he stormed through the front doors of the hospital, he fell to his knees and let out a desperate plea.
"SOMEBODY HELP ME!"
What happened next was all a blur. Apparently, one of the nurses had been half asleep when he barged in and when she heard his cries for help, she nearly had a heart attack. Other nurses and a couple of doctors working the night shift took notice as well, quickly identifying the presence of the nearly frozen baby girl in his arms.
Detecting only faint traces of life, one of the nurses took the child and brought her to the emergency room while the others tried to talk to Logan. But he was too out of it and couldn't answer anything at this point.
Wearing only a pair of tattered jeans, they tried to take him back to the emergency room as well, but he shook them off in an angry fit, telling them to leave him alone and work on the girl. They kept trying to protest, but he stubbornly ignored them and shooed them away before collapsing in the waiting room.
"Nnn…So tired," he groaned, trying to get the feeling back into his limbs, "Hydra…Zander…X23."
Finally, he collapsed on one of the chairs, his thoughts still dwelling on the little girl he had just saved. And every time he thought back to what those damned scientists said, there was one thing that stood out above them all…She was his flesh and blood.
"Sir? Sir, are you alright?" came a female voice, abruptly jolting Logan out of his unconscious state.
"Hnn…" he groaned as he opened his eyes to see the nurse who had first seen him earlier.
"Sir…It's okay. You're in a hospital now," she told him, talking calmly to the disoriented man before her, "Can you tell me what day it is? How many fingers am I holding up?"
His vision still blurry, Logan almost went into another rage. But without sensing any danger, he stayed calm.
"The girl…" he found himself saying as he shook off his exhaustion.
"Yes, you were the one who brought in the infant girl earlier," the nurse told him, "Can you tell me what happened? Were you in an accident?"
Thinking fast, Logan said the first thing that came to mind.
"Jeep accident," he got out.
"Do you need medical attention, sir? Are you hurt at all?" she asked him, thinking that it must have been an awful wreck for him to look like he did.
Logan didn't say anything, still too disoriented after everything that had happened.
"Sir, you've just been through a traumatic experience. Take a few deep breaths and listen to my voice," said the nurse, going through the standard procedures of trauma patient care, "Do you need to see a staff psychologist? Were there any others who were injured in the wreck?"
Logan was still hesitant, but he managed to get some words out this time.
"No…" he answered.
"Can you tell me your name?" she went on to ask, "Do you remember who you are?"
It was a simple question, but for Logan it was many times more complicated. He didn't know who he was. Hell, that was a question he had been trying to answer for years. His mind was reeling, but he remained focused on the little girl. He'd worry about his own sanity later.
"The girl…How's the girl?"
"Sir, I need your information if we're going to…"
"Just tell me how she is!" shot Logan, taking the nurse by surprise.
She fell back in shock, but managed to regain her composure as she looked at one of her charts.
"She…She's fine for the most part," she answered in a nervous tone, "Her vitals were weak, but we warmed her body and provided her with the necessary means to get her metabolism going."
"So…She's going to be okay?" said Logan, forcing himself to be calmer since he was no longer in the wilderness.
"Yes. She just needs time to get her metabolism back up. It was a bit strange though. Any other baby should have died in that state. But I suppose this little girl was lucky."
Logan let out a sigh of relief. None of the doctors knew she was a mutant, which would make things a hell of a lot easier. Besides, he had plenty of other things to worry about for the moment.
"Can I see her?" he found himself asking for reasons he couldn't quite ascertain.
"The girl? Well I suppose so, but I think it would be best if we got you some…"
"Just take me to see her!" he grunted, not even letting her finish.
The nurse, taken aback by this strange man's demeanor, didn't dare argue further. He looked unstable and common sense dictated that it was not a good idea to do anything to further upset someone who had just had a traumatic experience.
"O-Okay," said the nurse nervously, "Come, she's this way."
Now that the sedatives were finally wearing off, Logan could walk with a greater sense of balance. He still felt like shit, but he set that aside for now. He had something much more important to take care of at the moment.
As he made his way through the Emergency Room, Logan tensed up, his hatred for hospitals flaring up. Even though this wasn't the same as the one he had just broken out of, he still didn't like them. But such thoughts melted away as he entered the infant care sector and his eyes fell upon the sleeping little girl.
"The doctor says she'll have to stay here for another twelve hours just to be safe," explained the nurse, "But after that, she should be healthy enough to leave."
Her words barely registered as Logan stood fixated on this little bundle of flesh that was created out of greed, hatred, and blood. As he took a seat besides the small bed, he gazed into the innocent face of the sleeping child. And when he looked at her, he felt something strange arise within him.
The nurse seemed to notice this and didn't say another word. In her eyes, it was just the result of a traumatized man wanting to know if his child was okay. But in retrospect, she didn't know how right she was.
"Sir, are you going to be okay?" she finally asked.
Not tearing his gaze away from the baby, he answered in the same blunt tone.
"I'll be fine."
"I'll leave you, then," she said as she then took a piece of paper from her clip board and set it off to the side of the bed, "But when you find the time, we'll need you to fill out some paperwork. It's nothing major, but the sooner it's done the sooner you and your daughter can be out of here."
With those ominous words, the nurse left, leaving the dazed and confused Logan to make sense out of what was happening.
Did he just hear her right? Did she just say that this girl was his daughter? Sure, it was only natural she would assume that, but it still hit Logan in a strange way. This was his clone. 90 percent of her flesh and blood was his. Did that not make her his daughter by definition? Could a guy like him even have a daughter?
He was an angry, ill-tempered brute with no past and no future. He fought in bars for money, drank frequently, and lived out of a truck. How the hell could he be a father?
He couldn't even remember his own parents, less alone know what it was like to be one. It was impossible. He should have been the last person on Earth to be left in the care of a baby girl.
Yet here he was, left at a crossroads with the life of an innocent child in his hands.
"My daughter," he found himself saying, just so he could hear those words come out of his mouth.
It felt good. He wasn't sure why, but saying that actually made him feel warm on the inside. Reaching forth to put his hand on the little girl's frail young body, something inside him jumped as he felt her warmth
She was his own flesh and blood, a little girl who created in a Petri dish to suffer through all the same agony he had been through. And as he felt her warmth resonate so strongly in his cold, burly demeanor, he found himself making a silent vow.
No one…Not Weapon X, not Hydra, not anybody…Was ever going to hurt this little girl again. She would never go through the same agony that he had suffered. He would protect her. No matter who came after her or who tried to use her, he would tear through them for the sake of this child.
"Its okay, darlin'," he said in a soft tone, "You're gonna be okay. I promise ya."
Taking that promise to heart, Logan was now bound to this little girl. She was his responsibility. He had no idea what the hell he was doing, but he was going to see it through.
Looking over towards the foot of the bed, he saw the piece of paper that the nurse had left and picked it up. And the first lines he noticed were the lines for name and caregiver. Taking the black pen she had left, Logan stared at those words for a brief moment, not knowing what he was going to do or how he was going to do this.
But uncertainty or not, he had a promise to keep and he started off by signing the line for caregiver, Logan. Then, up above, he saw the line for name. And as he looked back at the little girl, he felt something happen that hadn't happened in a long time…He smiled.
And with the stroke of a pen, a little girl named Laura was born. And the man they called Logan was officially a father.
LOGAN IS A DADDY! STAY TUNED AND REVIEW!