AN: This is pretty much my first story I have ever published. It is beta read by a good friend of mine and I hope that you will enjoy reading it. If you liked reading the story (and even if you don't) please let me know, you don't have to write a 500 word review, just maybe a little one sentence that you thought whether it was a good read, a mediocre read or the worst pile of nonsense you have ever seen. I just want to know if this is worth continuing. Thank you.

X-Men: Forced Evolution

Episode I: Prodigal Daughter

Chapter I

X-23

The transport convoy stopped and around X-23 the world erupted into sudden tumult; the steam-like sound of transporters opening, Colonel Fury bellowing orders, a multitude of military thundering over the pavement and suddenly grinding to a halt.

X-23 flinched, didn't these SHIELD people realise how sensitive her accelerated senses made her to noise? Under normal circumstances she would not have been bothered by it, but in her present situation, caged up in this car, every little noise or even sudden movement made her ache to get her claws out. Of course, that was not an option; the agent next to her would just inject her with another dose of that power inhibition serum, so far they did not know that her healing factor had already neutralised the last dose, something X-23 could use to her advantage should a chance for flight present itself.

"Don't worry Laura," said Dr. Risman, who sat opposite of her and put a hand on X-23's knee, "you will love it at Professor Xavier's school. You will find friends here."

X-23 withdrew her knee from underneath Dr. Risman's hand, she did not like it when that woman touched her and she did not like it when anyone called her "Laura". Her designation had always been "X-23" why should it be changed now? Dr. Risman had told her having a "real" name would help her fit in and develop a sense of identity beyond being a weapon, but why should she listen to Dr. Risman? Was that woman not one of the people who created her in the first place? There was a weird sadness in Dr. Risman's face as X-23 drew away from her. X-23 hoped that the woman felt bad for what she had done.

"Colonel Fury has finished the preparations, Ma'am," reported the driver, "you and the transfer have permission to disembark!"

The door opened. That was the moment X-23 had waited for! She could feel the hairs in the back of her neck rising as she, under the watchful eyes of two more SHIELD agents stood up from the car. If she could just slip far enough away from the agent with the power inhibitor…

."Hiya Kid!" The tone of the voice, just like the hand gripping X-23's arm was gruff, but by no means hostile, no, quite the opposite. She looked up at Wolverine and forgot her plans of escape for a moment. The urge to embrace the closest thing she had to a parent was strong in X-23, but she did not want to show that kind of vulnerability in front of the SHIELD people. Instead she greeted him with a barely noticeable smile. A smile he repeated.

"I wanted to make sure to welcome you in person." Something in the way he said that made it clear that part of the reason Wolverine had come was because he foresaw that X-23 would plan to run away and meant to intercept her. X-23 found it a bit disconcerting that the older mutant could look right through her like that, but it was also comforting to have someone who understood her so thoroughly.

The noise of someone suppressing a cough caused X-23 to start up. Only now she could clearly see that her escape attempt would have been fruitless anyway. The convoy had halted only meters from the front porch of Professor Xavier's institute, yet a whole unit of SHIELD paratroopers was crammed into that space. She would not have gotten far without getting another dose of the serum pumped into her, along with some tranquilizer. She looked at Wolverine again, who nodded, once again knowing exactly what went through her head.

Wolverine moved his hand from X-23's arm to her back and addressed Colonel Fury, the director of SHIELD's Meta Human department, who stood on the vanguard of his troops.

"Well Fury, she's in our hands now. We have no need for your soldiers here." With this Wolverine started to lead X-23 towards the building.

"I'm afraid I can't leave yet," Dr. Risman stepped into their path. X-23 glared back at her, why couldn't that woman leave her alone already? Dr. Risman balled her hand at her heart in response to X-23's glare, but nonetheless continued her protest, "I am Laura's legal guardian, I have to settle the details of her enrollment with Professor Xavier personally."

With a low growl and a nod Wolverine gave his approval for that. He had just allowed the woman to join them when this time Colonel Fury held them back.

"I too, still have some business to discuss with the Professor." He did not wait for any sort of admission or approval from Wolverine to enter the house with them, inviting himself in.

The only time X-23 had been inside Professor Xavier's school before was when she had infiltrated it to get her misplaced revenge on Wolverine. The grounds outside looked just like she remembered them, a beautiful and tranquil garden, almost like a tamed forest. The interior of the building, however she had only ever seen at nighttime. Then its old-fashioned architecture, large rooms and long corridors had filled her with a strange mixture of unease and longing. Now however it was bright daylight and the sunlit entrance hall seemed open and breezy to her, akin to a sunny clearing. Back then she had only been able to spy on and envy the lives of the people here, now she was meant to join them. But of course, even a nice cage was a cage and walls still made X-23 feel on the edge. Instinctively she drew closer to Wolverine, his hand now grasping her shoulder.

"The Professor's in his study. I presume he expects you by now," said Wolverine to Dr. Risman and Colonel Fury.

At this point a commotion in one of the corridors leading away from the entrance hall caught the attention of both Wolverine and X-23. In passing she could see a number of figures at the far end of it, who instantly dived behind the walls of the next room as they saw that they had been noticed. X-23 looked at Wolverine who sighed and excused himself and her from the uninvited guests.

As he led X-23 down the corridor she could hear the voice of a male adolescent curse and whisper something about "they're coming this way!" And a girl suggested that they should "get back to the kitchen."

Wolverine ignored the voices and clearly audible sound of running that sounded from the kitchen and instead turned to one of the corridor walls, "Half-Pint! Get outta here!"

A very slender girl with long brown hair stepped right through the wall. She had her hands clasped behind her back and looked up at Wolverine with a very apologetic smile. X-23 recognized her from SHIELD's files as "Shadowcat", a student of this facility.

"Yes, Mr. Logan?"

"I want ya to meet Laura. She's going to join us here, remember?"

For a moment Shadowcat drew closer to the wall again, but then she bit her lip and, with a much more sincere smile she approached them.

"Yes, the Professor told us about you," she stretched her hand out to X-23, "I'm Kitty Pryde, welcome to our school!"

X-23 just stared awkwardly at Shadowcat's hand. She just couldn't get over how surreal this situation was; in front of her stood a girl who offered her acceptance and friendship and all X-23 could think about was how easy Shadowcat had been to eliminate back when she had taken out the X-Men one by one. Were situations like this the norm in her life now?

Wolverine gave X-23 a little shove, prompting her to accept Shadowcat's handshake. The other girl's grip was very light, gentle.

"Well," said Wolverine, "I leave the two of you to get to know each other."

He attempted to return to the entrance hall, but X-23 spun around and held him back.

"Wait!" she called, "please don't leave me alone!."

Wolverine raised an eyebrow, "You're not alone. You're with Kitty."

She grasped his arm tighter, "But I want to stay with you!"

His eyes narrowing Wolverine firmly freed himself from X-23's grip. "Look kid, if you wanna make it here, you have to learn to trust all the people living in this place and not just me. I can't have a child dragging after me all day," he nodded towards the entrance hall "right now the Professor's waiting for me to attend some meeting with SHIELD, and whatever Fury wants, it's not for you to hear about, get it?" With this Wolverine turned around and walked off.

If Shadowcat had not stood beside her X-23 would have most likely broken down and cried. How could Wolverine lash out at her like that after all he was her… She shook her head, chasing those thoughts away. She had already humiliated herself enough in front of the other girl, shown enough weakness.

"Rude!" commented Shadowcat, hands on her hips, then she turned to X-23 and looked at her, bright and smiling, "But don't you mind him, he just gets his moods every now and then. Your name's Laura? Love it!" Before X-23 could correct her on that Kitty had already linked arms with her and had started to drag her deeper into the school's endless maze of corridors.

"First of all, let's get you out of that gravedigger outfit," said Shadowcat, her voice suddenly marked by an unusual excitement, "you can have some of my old clothes! I have an awesome green cardigan that so totally your color!"