A/N: You know how Marvel has What Ifs and DC has Elseworlds? Well this story is a What If for my other X-Men story "Kozure Kuzuri". What would have happened if Elle didn't escape when Logan had his rampage through the Alkali Lake facility? If that story is Lone Wolf and Cub, this one is more like Kill Bill after the end.

This is mostly a fluff story, so there isn't going to be any violence and it's going to be way shorter. It also has some slight differences with the secondary characters, so assume that the only characters shared between this story and Kozure are Elle and Logan. You don't really need to have read Kozure to understand this.

The mall in Salem Center was busy for April, but that didn't phase the two security guards whose job it was to stop truants from spilling sodas all over the arcade machines. No, instead they were following a peculiar teen they had spotted in a boutique a little earlier.

Teens were their job, but this one was different. A young girl, no more than seventeen, thin as a rail with threadbare clothes. Her dark brown hair was unkempt and shoved back into a haphazard bun, and looked almost as though it hadn't been washed in several days. They'd seen their share of scamps in this mall, it attracted them like a flame attracts moths. What drew them to this one, however, was the little baby the girl carried around.

The girl bounced an infant on her hip as she weaved in an out of several stores. The pattern was rather suspicious- a teenage mother going into shops that were clearly out of her price range, with a cute little distraction in her arms. When the girl emerged from the latest shop with an unbagged baby outfit in her hand, their suspicion was confirmed.

"Hey, you! Hold it right there!" The two guards ran forward and flanked the girl into a corner, making her stop and squeeze her baby tighter to her chest.

"W-what, what did I do?"

"You know what you did, little thief!" the second guard growled, yanking the baby dress out of the girl's hand.

"No, I paid for it!"

"Then why isn't it in a bag?"

The girl trembled. "Cause... I was gonna put it on her. I have a receipt..."

"Yeah, right." The first guard grabbed the girl's arm, but as she struggled to get out of his grip, his faulty watch clasp cut into her skin. The cut immediately healed and disappeared.

"She's a mutie!" The second guard gasped, then moved to grab the baby so the first guard could forcibly restrain her.

Just as the girl started panicking, a woman came up behind the guards and placed a hand over each of their temples. "Gentlemen," she spoke calmly into their ears, "I believe what we have here is a simple misunderstanding. The young lady has shown you her receipt, and you were only seeing things when you scratched her. I suggest you forget this incident, and return to your positions at the arcade."

When the woman released the guards, they turned and left as in a trance. Once they were out of sight, she helped the girl over to a bench and sat with her as she and the baby calmed down. "My, that was quite rude of them. Are you both okay? They didn't hurt you or your baby, did they?"

"Uh, not really," the girl answered, wiping the bit of blood away from her arm. "How did you make them go away?"

"I have telepathic abilities," the woman explained. "I basically made them forget what happened. My name is Jean, what's your name?"

"...I'm Elle, and she's Lilly," she said, pointing to the baby who was currently chewing on her hand. "My daughter."

"There's a strong resemblance," Jean remarked. It was a little hard to tell if they would stay that way, with Lilly being so young, but they both had a thin nose, rounded chin, cute full cheeks, and dark hair. Lilly had pure black hair to her mother's brown, and while Elle had lovely green eyes, Lilly's were a striking cobalt blue. "I love her eye color."

Elle smiled, and rubbed Lilly's head. "Yeah, they're beautiful, aren't they? I wish I knew where she got them from..."

Jean detected a bit of confusion around Elle. "I'm sorry for prying, but..."

"Her father? I don't know, apparently I was already pregnant when I escaped."

"Escaped?!" Jean had to refrain from letting her disturbance show, after all they were in a very public place. She immediately lowered her voice before continuing. "You mean you were held captive?"

"Yes, for many years in some kind of research laboratory. About eleven, I think." The poor girl shrugged, as though it was normal for mutants to be experimented on. "There were many others there, coming and going over the years. My mother and I were both taken when I was four. Unfortunately, she wasn't the same as me, and didn't make it very long."

"Oh my." Jean could only shake her head. "I can only imagine what they planned to do to you, if they were the ones who impregnated you..."

"I must have escaped shortly after they did it, because I didn't figure out what was happening for a while," Elle said with a chuckle. "I just thought I was getting fat."

"Considering the life you've had, I don't blame you for missing your body's clues," Jean hummed in understanding. "Tell me Elle, and be honest, do you have anywhere to stay?"

"...Does 'telepathic' mean you can read minds?"

"I'm guessing that means no," she teased. "I'd like for you and Lilly to come back with me to the school where I live. It's a save haven for people like us, and there are others there that can help you take care of Lilly if you would choose to enroll in classes. The headmaster, Professor Xavier, would not ask any tuition or room and board from you."

Elle was touched. No more running from shelter to shelter, no more worrying someone would come and take Lilly away in the middle of the night. "You... you'd do that for us? You don't care that I'm just another unwed teenage skank with a baby in tow?"

"Elle, that's nonsense," Jean scolded, before urging her up off the bench. "Come on, let's grab you a few things before we head back. You need shoes that close, a car seat, and I don't think there are any diapers at the mansion."

A/N: Don't worry, I'm still working on Kozure. I'm working on the next chapter right now! Just thought I'd share this in the meantime. :)