Post by X-23 on Jul 17, 2013 5:52:51 GMT -5
Origin
X-23 was the direct result of 22 failed attempts of a top secret program designed to clone the original Weapon X. Doctor Martin Sutter, who had hoped to create another mutant capable of surviving the intense adamantium bonding process, eventually hired the renowned mutant geneticist Doctor Sarah Kinney. Although she initially wanted to create a female clone of Wolverine due to the damaged Y chromosome of the genetic sample they had acquired, her request was denied, as Doctor Zander Rice, Sutters protege, still desired the original mutant. Convinced that her option was the only viable solution, Kinney went ahead with the process of cloning Wolverine's X chromosome to create a female Weapon X, keeping it secret from her superiors. After 22 failed attempts, she was able to create a stable embryo. Upon revealing the results, both Sutter and Rice were angry but after Sarah explained that to have the original mutant it would take 10 years and that they can wait for that long or take what they have so Sutter decided to go ahead with the project, seeing this as an opportunity not to be thrown away. As punishment for her transgression, Dr. Kinney was forced to act as the surrogate mother of the embryo and for nine months, her every move was monitored until she finally gave birth to Laura.
Raised in captivity and officially labeled as X-23 (as she was the first viable embryo after 22 failures), the mutant was rigorously trained to be the perfect weapon. Although Kinney tried her best to help her surrogate daughter retain some of her humanity, her efforts were futile, for at the age of seven, X-23 was exposed to extreme levels of radiation in order to accelerate the onset of her mutant genes. Next, Rice had her claws forcibly removed and coated with adamantium before they were painfully put back in place. While continuing her training, Rice created a "trigger scent" that would cause X-23 to enter into a berserker rage that would send her on a murderous rampage once her heightened senses picked up the smell. In order to make sure the "trigger scent" worked, Rice used it on her Sensei because he was nice to her.
After knowing what a successful killing machine they had created, Rice sent X-23 on numerous assassination missions, selling her talents to the highest bidder and leaving her emotionally stunted in the process. Ultimately, the power hungry Rice sought to gain full control over the project and had X-23 kill Doctor Sutter and his family. Later, Doctor Kinney's niece, Megan, is abducted by a serial killer, causing her to secretly send X-23 to rescue Megan. When Kinney discovers numerous incubation pods containing more female clones, she has X-23 perform one last mission; kill Doctor Rice and destroy the other clones. Unfortunately, Rice managed to plant X-23's trigger sent on Doctor Kinney, forcing the mutant to savagely murder her mother. While dying, Kinney refers to X-23 as Laura before giving her a letter containing information on Wolverine, Charles Xavier, and the X-men.
Target X
While on the run, X-23 locates Dr. Kinney's sister, Debbie, and her , who she had secretly rescued earlier. Although she seemed to eventually learn to accept them as her family, Laura's peace was interrupted when Debbie's boyfriend turned out to be an agent for X-23's creators. He informs Laura's old field handler, Kimura, of her whereabouts, causing the abusive woman to lead a number agents in a mission to recapture X-23. After escaping to safety, Laura sends Megan and Debbie away to the Canadien/US border where they can escape to a place where they will not be bothered. Before she tracks down Wolverine at the Xavier Institute. When she finally confronts the man she was designed to kill, she immediately attacks him and seems to actually gain the upper hand. Using her intimate knowlege of their shared healing factor, X devises an attack strategy where each attack is followed by a handful of dirt rubbed into the wound to retard Wolverine's healing abilities. Just as he seems to succumb to blood loss, Wolverine reveals he already knew of her existence thanks to a detailed note from her mother. Unfortunately, their talk is interrupted when X-23 is captured by Captain America and taken into S.H.I.E.L.D. custody due to her involvement in a number of brutal murders. Here she reveals her past and how she came to be a living weapon to her interrogators, Matt Murdock and Captain America. Although the blind lawyer is sympathetic to Laura's predicament (to the point where he appointed himself as her defense attorney), Captain America is still unsure of her innocence. However he eventually sets her free (not sure if she can make a new life after what hapened to her), so that she is not used as a weapon for a second time by S.H.I.E.L.D.
NYX
Before returning to Xavier's Institute, X-23 returns to New York City where she was taken in by a pimp named Zebra Daddy. Here she worked as a prostitute and began to cut herself with her own claws whenever she was in a precarious situation. Confused, and choosing to remain mute, Laura was unable to free herself from this lifestyle until she befriended fellow mutant Kiden Nixon, who had the ability to freeze time when in danger. After escaping from Zebra Daddy, X-23 kills him in order to save her friends.
X-Men
After taking a job as a waitress at a club in the district of Mutant Town, Laura protects Jade Parisi, daughter of a mob boss, by killing a gang of thugs who were harassing the young woman. Unfortunately this implicates Wolverine in the murders, forcing the X-Men to investigate. In this she runs into an X Men Squad complied of Storm, Cable, Marvel Girl, Nightcrawler and Wolverine. On discovering Wolverine was present she swiftly took action to take him out. After slicing his eye, Nightcrawler is sent after her in an attempt to incapacitate her. While watching Logan and Laura fight once more, he comments on how similar X-23 looks to Wolverine. Marvel Girl knocks her out for a time, and when she awakens Logan calms her. After helping the X-Men to resolve the situation, Laura returns with Wolverine to the Xavier Institute. With little in the way of appropriate social skills, Laura has a difficult time adjusting to life with the X-Men. Initially she is over-protective of her new found guardian, Wolverine, going so far as to attack their teammate Bishop during a training session.
After helping Spider Man, Iron Man, and the Black Widow to save a young mutant from danger, X-23 tracks Wolverine while he investigates the Canadian Rockies. After being ambushed evolved by Suarians from the Savage Land, Laura works with Psylocke, who quickly befriends her, and Ka-Zar, in taking back the Savage Land while freeing Storm from the Saurians in the process.
Decimation
After the events of the House of M, X-23 was one of the few mutants who retained her powers after the decimation. Much to the behest of Emma Frost, Laura is one of the few students who qualified for a spot on the New X-Men's team of young mutants. After a bus full of depowered students leaving the mansion is bombed by William Stryker, X-23 assists her teammates in defeating the Purifiers who had infiltrated the mansion. After nearly being killed by Nimrod, Laura is rescued by a recovered Hellion whom she later becomes very protective over.
Laura and Hellion later team up to rescue their teammate Mercury after she is kidnapped by Kimura. After securing information on Cessily's location, Laura shoots her informant in the head. It was at this time that Hellion claims killing will no longer be used in their interrogation techniques. After infiltrating the facility where Kimura held Cessily, Laura tells Julian that he has the chance to kill Kimura with his abilities, however Julian spares Kimura and tells Laura that they are X-Men and they have to be better than her. They are soon after attacked by multiple Predator Xs. The young mutants are saved by the combined forces of both the Astonishing and New X-Men teams, although one Predator escapes from the battle.
Quest for Magik
While searching for his old protege, Magik, Belasco brought the young X-men to his realm in Limbo, including X-23. After attempting to attack the demon lord, Belasco kills her, burning her to a pile of ash and bone. He then resurrects her and after being aided by Elixir and David, she assists the other students in escaping from this hellish realm. In the aftermath, Surge grabs Hellion and pulls him into a passionate embrace (in order to make David jealous). Having witnessed this, Laura runs off to the bathroom. When Cessily enters to check on her, she finds the entire bathroom and Laura, herself, damaged from adamantium claws. Laura explains that she is afraid of what she is feeling.
World War Hulk
X-23, along with a number of her fellow students, attack the Hulk as he rampages through the Xavier Institute. Although she manages to blind him with one of her claws, she is quickly hurled through the mansion, taking her out of the fight.
Messiah Complex
During the Messiah Complex, X-23 is placed on a new X-Force team with Wolverine, Wolfsbane, Caliban, Warpath, and Hepzibah in order to track down the newborn mutant. During their pursuit of Cable, X-Force is pitted against Lady Deathstrike and her new Reavers. Laura quickly attacks Deathstrike out of revenge for previously injuring Hellion, but after suffering serious injuries of her own, her body goes limp and she stops attacking. Once Deathstrike closes in for the kill, Laura, who was only playing possum, severely damages her cybernetic systems and healing factor. After continuing their battle, X-23 appears to kill Deathstrike before traveling with the rest of the X-Men to Muir Island in order to face the Marauders where she also kills Scrambler in defense of Wolverine.
X-Force
After the events of the Messiah Complex, Cyclops decides to continue using this new incarnation of X-Force in order to send them on missions that would be too dangerous or unsavory for the X-Men to publicly handle. X-23 is the first member of the team to agree to continue performing black-ops missions. Although Logan warns her that doing what is necessary to remain on the team would only be a step backwards for her, forcing her to become the weapon she was originally trained to be. The team's first assignment is to infiltrate and destroy the Purifiers, however Wolfsbane (after being turned away from the team by Wolverine) had attempted to gain access to one of their hideouts on her own in order to learn about the involvement of her father Reverend Craig. This caused her to become captured by the Purifier Matthew Rissman. X-23 attempts to kill Rissman by setting off a number of bombs she had previously planted around the base, claiming that rescuing Rahne was not her mission. Although Laura pursues Rissman, she fails in killing him. After regrouping, the rest of X-Force, including Wolverine and Warpath, go on a rampage across the U.S., torturing information out of a number of Purifiers before learning where Wolfsbane is being held.
After rescuing Rahne, Laura condemns her actions, claiming that she should have known better, although Wolverine brutally scolds her, and claims that people like Rahne are the types of people you die for. Confused by this statement, Laura is shown running into the nearby woods, eventually stopping to cut herself. Upon catching the scent of both Elixir and Angel's blood, Laura follows the trail to investigate. When Laura arrives on the scene, she sees that they have been brutally attacked by a manipulated Wolfsbane. She allows Rahne to attack her as well rather than defend herself. After she is healed, Laura witnesses Warren's transformation back into Apocalypse's Angel of Death. X-23 stays by Elixir's side, telling him to stay back before he is wounded by Archangel's attacks.
Being told that clones like her aren't real.She later joins her teammates in following Warren as he flees in search of his stolen wings, leading them directly back to Rissman. After massacring what was left of Rissman's Purifiers, Laura manages to finally kill her target, but she is then attacked by the mysterious Eli Bard before being rescued by Warpath.
Back at Angel's home, X-23 informs Elixir that he knows too much and hints that Cyclops' only course of action is to kill him, although she fails to inform him that she is already aware the Cuckoos were already enlisted to erase Josh's memory so he could return to the X-Men without risk of exposing the secret of X-Force. This does not go according to plan as X-Force is sent on another mission to retrieve the Vanisher, who had supposedly stolen a sample of the Legacy Virus. Although Laura insists that Warren's current state deems him too unstable to participate in the mission, they take him along, ultimately causing them to lose Vanisher, but gain a valuable ally in Domino. She informs them of the locations of three of Vanisher's safe houses. X-Force then ambushes him in all three locations before giving him an inoperable brain tumor in order to gain his cooperation in destroying the Legacy Virus. After Vanisher takes them to the lab, he loses the vial. The team is ambushed by clones of the Marauders, and X-23 is contaminated with the Virus. Although she attempts to commit suicide to destroy it, Elixir stops her and assists her healing factor in burning the virus from her system.
After investigating the explosive deaths of Beautiful Dreamer and Feverpitch, X-Force learns of a plot by the Leper Queen to create anti-mutant hysteria by injecting a sample of an advanced version of the Legacy Virus into mutants before unleashing them into crowded areas of humans. After Donald Pierce purposely leaks information to the X-Men, the team is informed by Cyclops that the Leper Queen is also holding their former teammates captive, including Hellion, Surge, and Boom Boom, all of whom are to be injected with the virus at the hands of the Sapien League. Unfortunately, just as the team is set to rescue their comrades, Cyclops locates both Cable and Hope in the future and forces X-Force to their time and location with experimental devices that had been created for them by Beast. Once the team arrives, Laura specifically marks the location that she needs to return to in order to rescue Boom Boom from the Leper Queen when her time device runs out.
During their initial encounter with Cable, Stryfe appears and takes Hope to his citadel. The team notices that a chronal field is surrounding Stryfe's fortress and will ultimately deny them the ability to travel back to the present. Domino, Laura, and Vanisher attempt to deal with this problem, hoping to find a machine to destroy, but instead find Laura's old friend, Kiden, who has been kept painfully alive for years to power Stryfe's chronal machine. Although Kiden begs Laura to kill her, Domino ultimately is the one pulls the trigger after Laura hesitates. With the temporal distortion down, Vanisher rips off his time device and returns to the future, whereas Laura and Domino assist the rest of their team in defeating Stryfe with the aid of a revived Apocalypse.
In order to save their friends, X-Force chooses to position themselves at key points before manually bringing themselves back to the present. Domino, Warpath, and Laura attempt to move to the location where Boom Boom was left behind, but Domino, lacking a healing factor, is dying at a more rapid pace. Laura forces her to return to safety before struggling to reach the marker she had previously made and only once she is there does she finally allow herself to be restored to the present time.
As she emerges from the time stream moments before the Leper Queen shoots Boom-Boom, Laura shoots and kills the Leper Queen with the last of her strength before collapsing to the ground. Although she still attempts to get up, mumbling that Surge and Hellion are still in danger, she finally loses consciousness. Moments later, HAMMER agents burst onto the scene and apprehend both Laura and Boom Boom.
In transit, Agent Morales, once a SHIELD agent, wonders why they're treating a kid like Laura in this manner. Agent Young tells his female partner that X-23 is a weapon. Agent Morales still has her doubts, and her anxiety increases when they take Laura to a secret facility that even she doesn't recognize. Laura wakes up as they arrive, and despairs when she sees that they are at a newly built Facility, and that her longtime tormentor, Kimura, is one of the people waiting for her.
She loses consciousness, and when she awakens from pain some time later, she discovers that she's chained up, and that Kimura is standing in front of her, gloating, and holding a chainsaw. Having already brutally cut off one of Laura's arms, Kimura then proceeds to bring the chainsaw to bear once more on the weakened and helpless mutant.
But before Kimura is able to do any more damage, Agent Morales enters the sceneand stops her, quickly unchaining X-23. She grabs her arm and the two are about to leave when Kimura gets back up. Laura informs Morales that Kimura is "Bullet proof" and the two take off running. On the way, X-23 is able to slow down her previous care taker by using her foot claw to jam one of the large bulk doors, causing it to close on Kimura.
Agent Morales and X-23 take off running, but are soon found by facility guards. The two are able to shut themselves in one of the many testing bays filled with vials. After taking a look around, Laura discovers that each one of these tubes contain the trigger scent that the Facility intends to use on her. X-23 gets edgy and asks the agent if she works for the Facility. Getting nervous she drops the vial that she was looking at and Laura quickly grabs it, along with informing Morales about what the Trigger scent could actually do. With that they turn around and see that the facility have produced massive amounts of the trigger scent and intend to use it.
While inside the room, Laura cuts the claws out of her severed arm and gives them to Morales for safe-keeping. She lights a Molotov cocktail of sorts which sets the sprinkler system off. The Facility soldiers finish cutting through to Laura just as Kimura realizes the sprinklers are spraying the Trigger Scent everywhere. X-23 goes feral and kills all the soldiers in her way. She gets to the Facility head's office just as the sprinklers start spraying water, washing away the scent. Kimura manages to club Laura from behind and then kills the Facility head, planning on framing Laura for it. Agent Morales arrives and sets Kimura on fire to distract her while she and Laura make her escape. Morales reveals she rigged the place to explode and they get out in time, but as Kimura is burning, she manages radio contact with Laura, promising her that she will find and kill everyone she loves, and that Megan is the first person on her list. The rest of X-Force arrives and takes Laura and her severed claws home.
Necrosha
As Selene and her army of the dead attack Utopia, X-23 and the rest of X Force are caught in the cross fire. Laura is instantly put on her guard as Hrimhari appears, holding a dying Wolfsbane. The man beside Laura raises his weapon and prepares to kill them both, but Laura stops him, telling him that they are alive and that she knows one of them. Hrimhari asks for Elixir, and is devastated when he realizes that the boy won't be of any service. At the same time, the Vanisher appears, looking for Elixir as well. Later on, we see Laura and Dr. Nemesis attempting to save Rahne. When he says there is no hope, Laura instructs him to "Try harder", her tone implying a threat should he fail. It is then that the goddess Hela appears and confronts the Wolf Prince, asking which life to save. Reluctantly, he tells her to save Elixir.
As Utopia lies in ruin, Cyclops tells Wolverine that the X-Men will defend Utopia from any other attack from Selene's forces while X-Force will go to Necrosha to find Warpath and stop Selene. Emma changes Cyclops' orders and tells Logan that they must kill Selene.
X-Force teleport just outside of Selene's castle, and Vanisher demands Elixir gets rid of his brain tumor. Elixer informs him that he already removed the tumor, sometime during the events of the Messiah War.
As the rest of X-Force prepares to attack, Vanisher leaves them. Meanwhile, Warpath is being tortured his brother (Thunderbird) and Blink. Vanisher teleports in and saves Warpath but loses his arm in the process. As the ritual to turn Selene into a god commences, a wave of energy destroys every living thing in Necrosha.
Before the energy wave hits X-Force, Vanisher teleports the whole team to safety. Warpath confirms that Selene has become a god and that he knows how to defeat her. Warpath paints X-Force and teaches them the Ghost Dance that Ghost Rider taught him to defeat the Demon Bear. The X-Force then teleports inside Selene's castle and each member goes after a member of Selene's Inner Circle.
Wolverine and X-23 dismember Senyaka, Archangel wounds Blink, Wolfsbane cuts Mortis' throat, Elixir kills Wither, and Warpath snaps Thunderbird's neck. While Blink and Mortis escape, X-Force are confronted by a giant Selene, who attacks them, but Warpath is able to turn her own demon blade against her, stabbing her in chest and causing her to explode.
Two days later, Cyclops debriefs Wolverine on the status of X-Force, Wolverine informs Cyclops that Laura is out.
Second Coming
X-23 is part of the Alpha Roster initially sent to retrieve Cable and Hope. The Alpha team are ambushed by members of The Right, whom they easily take down. When attempting to interrogate some of the conscious ones, X-23 brutally executes one of them, to the horror of Psylocke, Nightcrawler and Colossus, Nightcrawler was so horified that he pushed Laura away after exclaiming 'WHAT DID YOU DO!" Laura then replies " What needed to be done." This reveals to them that Warren, Laura and Logan might be hiding something from them, prompting Wolverine to confess about X-Force's existence. She then goes with the Alpha Roster again to take down Stryker, whom is killed (again) by Archangel. Subsequently, she is in a car together with Wolverine and Ariel when it is ambushed by a missile. While burnt beyond recognition, both Laura and Logan survive due to their healing factors. Ariel, however, isn't so lucky.
She offers her powers to Rogue, when Rogue comes looking for them and then, helps her Roster fight off an ambush by being telekinetically lifted courtesy of Psylocke. She is next seen standing around Nightcrawler's body, looking distraught.
When Donald Pierce makes his move to disable Utopia, Laura briefly engages him in battle, with the assistance of Namor and severely damages him but it is ultimately Cyclops who delivers the killing blow.
.Laura accompanies several of the X-Men out to the Golden Gate Bridge to investigate the anomaly that had formed on the bridge. When the Nimrods came out she and the others did their best to keep them at bay. She watched as Hellion's hands blew up, and when the battle was over Laura, Psylocke and Surge grieved for their comrade.
While Cyclops planned to send X-Force along with Cypher to the future to stop the Nimrods, Laura visited Hellion in the sick bay and put her hand on the part of the bed where his hand would be. After that she joined Cable, Cypher, Wolverine, Domino and Archangel and headed to the future.
In the future, X-Force appears in front of a giant wall with all of the mutants listed on it as deceased. This visibly infuriates Archangel while Laura takes charge and says that this is what needs to be prevented. Cable and X-Force come up with a plan to kill their way inside while Cypher deals with the Master Mold and the controls to shut down the Sentinels on Utopia. Eventually, after a long internal struggle with the Master Mold, Cypher is successful but X-Force remains trapped in the future. X-Force notices the portal that the Nimrods went through to get to Utopia and X-23 attempts to walk through it to see if it would work. However, the portal turns out to be only for inorganic matter and Laura is mortally wounded, having to put her healing factor in overdrive in order to stay alive. With little alternative, Cable sacrifices himself and lets the T.O. Virus take over his body in order to get all of the X-Force members back to the present. Laura is one of the first out of the portal, being dragged by Domino, and she ends up in the water, still slightly charred from when she attempted to cross the portal.
In the aftermath, X-23 waits outside for Logan and asks him what her mission is, to which he responds "That's for you to figure out."
Powers and Abilities
Because X-23 was created from Wolverine's DNA, she possesses very similar mutant abilities including an extremely accelerated healing factor, enhanced senses, as well as heightened strength, stamina, agility, and reflexes. Her senses are so heightened that she is able to successfully track and identify objects and/or people with superhuman accuracy, even if they are hidden from her. Like Wolverine, X-23 also possesses three retractable claws, however she only has two claws sheathed within each of her forearms, and another claw within both of her feet. All six of these claws are extremely durable, naturally sharp, and were made nearly indestructible after being coated with adamantium.
X-23's healing factor allows her to regenerate damaged or destroyed cellular structures with superhuman efficiency, even allowing her to re-attach dismembered limbs. Although her healing factor has saved her life on numerous occasions, X-23 can still be killed if she loses too many vital organs, or suffers from losing copious amounts of blood. Her healing factor also allows her some degree of immunity to diseases and infections, however, drugs in large enough doses can still affect her.
Unlike her genetic donor, X-23 was able to escape her facility before the entirety of her skeleton was fused with adamantium.
Special skills
X-23 was trained from an early age to become a living weapon. This has made her adept in numerous armed and unarmed fighting techniques, while also making her an expert assassin, having been trained with a number of long distance weapons. X-23 has had extensive training in espionage and black ops tactics and has also demonstrated that she is fluent in both French and Japanese. In X-Force #7, X-23 claims that she is skilled when it comes to racquetball.
Statistics
¡Height: 5'6"
¡Weight: 147 lbs
¡Eyes: Green
¡Hair: Black
Laura Kinney¡Known Relatives: Sarah Kinney (surrogate mother, deceased), James Howlett (Wolverine, genetic progenitor) Megan Kinney (cousin), Debbie Kinney (aunt) Daken (genetic nephew), Erista (genetic nephew)
¡Citizenship: None
¡Place of Birth: The Facility, location unrevealed
¡Marital Status: Single
¡Occupation: Adventurer; (former) student, assassin, (former) prostitute
¡Education: Schooled by the Facility and the Xavier Institute
Personality & Relationships
Since X-23 was raised in captivity to serve as only a weapon, her personality was somewhat stunted. It is revealed that she is very taciturn and speaks with almost perfect grammar. X-23 is also able to kill a number of individuals with little or no remorse, although she has been shown to spare some of her targets. Because X-23's training is so ingrained, she often turns to self mutilation when she experiences unusual or intense feelings, after being presented with options that she did not even know where considerable. Although X-23 still retains a cold demeanor, she has learned to comprehend and express a number of new emotions after joining with similar aged students of the X-Men. She has also experienced a number of new friendships and close relationships since escaping from the Facility. This includes a close relationship with her cousin Megan Kinney and her aunt, Debbie Kinney, and as well as a number of growing friends with her fellow X-Men besides Wolverine, such as; Kitty Pryde, Rachel Summers, Psylocke, Dust, Mercury, Elixir, and Hellion, whom she may have a romantic interest in, ever since he helped to save her life after Nimrod's attack on the New X-Men.
It became apparent that she had feeling toward a student named Julian Keller, former member of the Hellions. Through out their time together it became slight apparent that she was feeling something even she did not know. Though her feelings are not shown and Julian does not know, she still is very protective of him even during X Force. For Logan stated once "The moment I mentioned Keller's name her body lit up like a light bulb." Before she passed out after returning to the Present after Messiah War her exact words were "Have to get...United Nations...get to... Julian". There is also the previously mentioned seen during Second Coming where Laura is at Julian's bedside.
-Stalik-
X-23 was the direct result of 22 failed attempts of a top secret program designed to clone the original Weapon X. Doctor Martin Sutter, who had hoped to create another mutant capable of surviving the intense adamantium bonding process, eventually hired the renowned mutant geneticist Doctor Sarah Kinney. Although she initially wanted to create a female clone of Wolverine due to the damaged Y chromosome of the genetic sample they had acquired, her request was denied, as Doctor Zander Rice, Sutters protege, still desired the original mutant. Convinced that her option was the only viable solution, Kinney went ahead with the process of cloning Wolverine's X chromosome to create a female Weapon X, keeping it secret from her superiors. After 22 failed attempts, she was able to create a stable embryo. Upon revealing the results, both Sutter and Rice were angry but after Sarah explained that to have the original mutant it would take 10 years and that they can wait for that long or take what they have so Sutter decided to go ahead with the project, seeing this as an opportunity not to be thrown away. As punishment for her transgression, Dr. Kinney was forced to act as the surrogate mother of the embryo and for nine months, her every move was monitored until she finally gave birth to Laura.
Raised in captivity and officially labeled as X-23 (as she was the first viable embryo after 22 failures), the mutant was rigorously trained to be the perfect weapon. Although Kinney tried her best to help her surrogate daughter retain some of her humanity, her efforts were futile, for at the age of seven, X-23 was exposed to extreme levels of radiation in order to accelerate the onset of her mutant genes. Next, Rice had her claws forcibly removed and coated with adamantium before they were painfully put back in place. While continuing her training, Rice created a "trigger scent" that would cause X-23 to enter into a berserker rage that would send her on a murderous rampage once her heightened senses picked up the smell. In order to make sure the "trigger scent" worked, Rice used it on her Sensei because he was nice to her.
After knowing what a successful killing machine they had created, Rice sent X-23 on numerous assassination missions, selling her talents to the highest bidder and leaving her emotionally stunted in the process. Ultimately, the power hungry Rice sought to gain full control over the project and had X-23 kill Doctor Sutter and his family. Later, Doctor Kinney's niece, Megan, is abducted by a serial killer, causing her to secretly send X-23 to rescue Megan. When Kinney discovers numerous incubation pods containing more female clones, she has X-23 perform one last mission; kill Doctor Rice and destroy the other clones. Unfortunately, Rice managed to plant X-23's trigger sent on Doctor Kinney, forcing the mutant to savagely murder her mother. While dying, Kinney refers to X-23 as Laura before giving her a letter containing information on Wolverine, Charles Xavier, and the X-men.
Target X
While on the run, X-23 locates Dr. Kinney's sister, Debbie, and her , who she had secretly rescued earlier. Although she seemed to eventually learn to accept them as her family, Laura's peace was interrupted when Debbie's boyfriend turned out to be an agent for X-23's creators. He informs Laura's old field handler, Kimura, of her whereabouts, causing the abusive woman to lead a number agents in a mission to recapture X-23. After escaping to safety, Laura sends Megan and Debbie away to the Canadien/US border where they can escape to a place where they will not be bothered. Before she tracks down Wolverine at the Xavier Institute. When she finally confronts the man she was designed to kill, she immediately attacks him and seems to actually gain the upper hand. Using her intimate knowlege of their shared healing factor, X devises an attack strategy where each attack is followed by a handful of dirt rubbed into the wound to retard Wolverine's healing abilities. Just as he seems to succumb to blood loss, Wolverine reveals he already knew of her existence thanks to a detailed note from her mother. Unfortunately, their talk is interrupted when X-23 is captured by Captain America and taken into S.H.I.E.L.D. custody due to her involvement in a number of brutal murders. Here she reveals her past and how she came to be a living weapon to her interrogators, Matt Murdock and Captain America. Although the blind lawyer is sympathetic to Laura's predicament (to the point where he appointed himself as her defense attorney), Captain America is still unsure of her innocence. However he eventually sets her free (not sure if she can make a new life after what hapened to her), so that she is not used as a weapon for a second time by S.H.I.E.L.D.
NYX
Before returning to Xavier's Institute, X-23 returns to New York City where she was taken in by a pimp named Zebra Daddy. Here she worked as a prostitute and began to cut herself with her own claws whenever she was in a precarious situation. Confused, and choosing to remain mute, Laura was unable to free herself from this lifestyle until she befriended fellow mutant Kiden Nixon, who had the ability to freeze time when in danger. After escaping from Zebra Daddy, X-23 kills him in order to save her friends.
X-Men
After taking a job as a waitress at a club in the district of Mutant Town, Laura protects Jade Parisi, daughter of a mob boss, by killing a gang of thugs who were harassing the young woman. Unfortunately this implicates Wolverine in the murders, forcing the X-Men to investigate. In this she runs into an X Men Squad complied of Storm, Cable, Marvel Girl, Nightcrawler and Wolverine. On discovering Wolverine was present she swiftly took action to take him out. After slicing his eye, Nightcrawler is sent after her in an attempt to incapacitate her. While watching Logan and Laura fight once more, he comments on how similar X-23 looks to Wolverine. Marvel Girl knocks her out for a time, and when she awakens Logan calms her. After helping the X-Men to resolve the situation, Laura returns with Wolverine to the Xavier Institute. With little in the way of appropriate social skills, Laura has a difficult time adjusting to life with the X-Men. Initially she is over-protective of her new found guardian, Wolverine, going so far as to attack their teammate Bishop during a training session.
After helping Spider Man, Iron Man, and the Black Widow to save a young mutant from danger, X-23 tracks Wolverine while he investigates the Canadian Rockies. After being ambushed evolved by Suarians from the Savage Land, Laura works with Psylocke, who quickly befriends her, and Ka-Zar, in taking back the Savage Land while freeing Storm from the Saurians in the process.
Decimation
After the events of the House of M, X-23 was one of the few mutants who retained her powers after the decimation. Much to the behest of Emma Frost, Laura is one of the few students who qualified for a spot on the New X-Men's team of young mutants. After a bus full of depowered students leaving the mansion is bombed by William Stryker, X-23 assists her teammates in defeating the Purifiers who had infiltrated the mansion. After nearly being killed by Nimrod, Laura is rescued by a recovered Hellion whom she later becomes very protective over.
Laura and Hellion later team up to rescue their teammate Mercury after she is kidnapped by Kimura. After securing information on Cessily's location, Laura shoots her informant in the head. It was at this time that Hellion claims killing will no longer be used in their interrogation techniques. After infiltrating the facility where Kimura held Cessily, Laura tells Julian that he has the chance to kill Kimura with his abilities, however Julian spares Kimura and tells Laura that they are X-Men and they have to be better than her. They are soon after attacked by multiple Predator Xs. The young mutants are saved by the combined forces of both the Astonishing and New X-Men teams, although one Predator escapes from the battle.
Quest for Magik
While searching for his old protege, Magik, Belasco brought the young X-men to his realm in Limbo, including X-23. After attempting to attack the demon lord, Belasco kills her, burning her to a pile of ash and bone. He then resurrects her and after being aided by Elixir and David, she assists the other students in escaping from this hellish realm. In the aftermath, Surge grabs Hellion and pulls him into a passionate embrace (in order to make David jealous). Having witnessed this, Laura runs off to the bathroom. When Cessily enters to check on her, she finds the entire bathroom and Laura, herself, damaged from adamantium claws. Laura explains that she is afraid of what she is feeling.
World War Hulk
X-23, along with a number of her fellow students, attack the Hulk as he rampages through the Xavier Institute. Although she manages to blind him with one of her claws, she is quickly hurled through the mansion, taking her out of the fight.
Messiah Complex
During the Messiah Complex, X-23 is placed on a new X-Force team with Wolverine, Wolfsbane, Caliban, Warpath, and Hepzibah in order to track down the newborn mutant. During their pursuit of Cable, X-Force is pitted against Lady Deathstrike and her new Reavers. Laura quickly attacks Deathstrike out of revenge for previously injuring Hellion, but after suffering serious injuries of her own, her body goes limp and she stops attacking. Once Deathstrike closes in for the kill, Laura, who was only playing possum, severely damages her cybernetic systems and healing factor. After continuing their battle, X-23 appears to kill Deathstrike before traveling with the rest of the X-Men to Muir Island in order to face the Marauders where she also kills Scrambler in defense of Wolverine.
X-Force
After the events of the Messiah Complex, Cyclops decides to continue using this new incarnation of X-Force in order to send them on missions that would be too dangerous or unsavory for the X-Men to publicly handle. X-23 is the first member of the team to agree to continue performing black-ops missions. Although Logan warns her that doing what is necessary to remain on the team would only be a step backwards for her, forcing her to become the weapon she was originally trained to be. The team's first assignment is to infiltrate and destroy the Purifiers, however Wolfsbane (after being turned away from the team by Wolverine) had attempted to gain access to one of their hideouts on her own in order to learn about the involvement of her father Reverend Craig. This caused her to become captured by the Purifier Matthew Rissman. X-23 attempts to kill Rissman by setting off a number of bombs she had previously planted around the base, claiming that rescuing Rahne was not her mission. Although Laura pursues Rissman, she fails in killing him. After regrouping, the rest of X-Force, including Wolverine and Warpath, go on a rampage across the U.S., torturing information out of a number of Purifiers before learning where Wolfsbane is being held.
After rescuing Rahne, Laura condemns her actions, claiming that she should have known better, although Wolverine brutally scolds her, and claims that people like Rahne are the types of people you die for. Confused by this statement, Laura is shown running into the nearby woods, eventually stopping to cut herself. Upon catching the scent of both Elixir and Angel's blood, Laura follows the trail to investigate. When Laura arrives on the scene, she sees that they have been brutally attacked by a manipulated Wolfsbane. She allows Rahne to attack her as well rather than defend herself. After she is healed, Laura witnesses Warren's transformation back into Apocalypse's Angel of Death. X-23 stays by Elixir's side, telling him to stay back before he is wounded by Archangel's attacks.
Being told that clones like her aren't real.She later joins her teammates in following Warren as he flees in search of his stolen wings, leading them directly back to Rissman. After massacring what was left of Rissman's Purifiers, Laura manages to finally kill her target, but she is then attacked by the mysterious Eli Bard before being rescued by Warpath.
Back at Angel's home, X-23 informs Elixir that he knows too much and hints that Cyclops' only course of action is to kill him, although she fails to inform him that she is already aware the Cuckoos were already enlisted to erase Josh's memory so he could return to the X-Men without risk of exposing the secret of X-Force. This does not go according to plan as X-Force is sent on another mission to retrieve the Vanisher, who had supposedly stolen a sample of the Legacy Virus. Although Laura insists that Warren's current state deems him too unstable to participate in the mission, they take him along, ultimately causing them to lose Vanisher, but gain a valuable ally in Domino. She informs them of the locations of three of Vanisher's safe houses. X-Force then ambushes him in all three locations before giving him an inoperable brain tumor in order to gain his cooperation in destroying the Legacy Virus. After Vanisher takes them to the lab, he loses the vial. The team is ambushed by clones of the Marauders, and X-23 is contaminated with the Virus. Although she attempts to commit suicide to destroy it, Elixir stops her and assists her healing factor in burning the virus from her system.
After investigating the explosive deaths of Beautiful Dreamer and Feverpitch, X-Force learns of a plot by the Leper Queen to create anti-mutant hysteria by injecting a sample of an advanced version of the Legacy Virus into mutants before unleashing them into crowded areas of humans. After Donald Pierce purposely leaks information to the X-Men, the team is informed by Cyclops that the Leper Queen is also holding their former teammates captive, including Hellion, Surge, and Boom Boom, all of whom are to be injected with the virus at the hands of the Sapien League. Unfortunately, just as the team is set to rescue their comrades, Cyclops locates both Cable and Hope in the future and forces X-Force to their time and location with experimental devices that had been created for them by Beast. Once the team arrives, Laura specifically marks the location that she needs to return to in order to rescue Boom Boom from the Leper Queen when her time device runs out.
During their initial encounter with Cable, Stryfe appears and takes Hope to his citadel. The team notices that a chronal field is surrounding Stryfe's fortress and will ultimately deny them the ability to travel back to the present. Domino, Laura, and Vanisher attempt to deal with this problem, hoping to find a machine to destroy, but instead find Laura's old friend, Kiden, who has been kept painfully alive for years to power Stryfe's chronal machine. Although Kiden begs Laura to kill her, Domino ultimately is the one pulls the trigger after Laura hesitates. With the temporal distortion down, Vanisher rips off his time device and returns to the future, whereas Laura and Domino assist the rest of their team in defeating Stryfe with the aid of a revived Apocalypse.
In order to save their friends, X-Force chooses to position themselves at key points before manually bringing themselves back to the present. Domino, Warpath, and Laura attempt to move to the location where Boom Boom was left behind, but Domino, lacking a healing factor, is dying at a more rapid pace. Laura forces her to return to safety before struggling to reach the marker she had previously made and only once she is there does she finally allow herself to be restored to the present time.
As she emerges from the time stream moments before the Leper Queen shoots Boom-Boom, Laura shoots and kills the Leper Queen with the last of her strength before collapsing to the ground. Although she still attempts to get up, mumbling that Surge and Hellion are still in danger, she finally loses consciousness. Moments later, HAMMER agents burst onto the scene and apprehend both Laura and Boom Boom.
In transit, Agent Morales, once a SHIELD agent, wonders why they're treating a kid like Laura in this manner. Agent Young tells his female partner that X-23 is a weapon. Agent Morales still has her doubts, and her anxiety increases when they take Laura to a secret facility that even she doesn't recognize. Laura wakes up as they arrive, and despairs when she sees that they are at a newly built Facility, and that her longtime tormentor, Kimura, is one of the people waiting for her.
She loses consciousness, and when she awakens from pain some time later, she discovers that she's chained up, and that Kimura is standing in front of her, gloating, and holding a chainsaw. Having already brutally cut off one of Laura's arms, Kimura then proceeds to bring the chainsaw to bear once more on the weakened and helpless mutant.
But before Kimura is able to do any more damage, Agent Morales enters the sceneand stops her, quickly unchaining X-23. She grabs her arm and the two are about to leave when Kimura gets back up. Laura informs Morales that Kimura is "Bullet proof" and the two take off running. On the way, X-23 is able to slow down her previous care taker by using her foot claw to jam one of the large bulk doors, causing it to close on Kimura.
Agent Morales and X-23 take off running, but are soon found by facility guards. The two are able to shut themselves in one of the many testing bays filled with vials. After taking a look around, Laura discovers that each one of these tubes contain the trigger scent that the Facility intends to use on her. X-23 gets edgy and asks the agent if she works for the Facility. Getting nervous she drops the vial that she was looking at and Laura quickly grabs it, along with informing Morales about what the Trigger scent could actually do. With that they turn around and see that the facility have produced massive amounts of the trigger scent and intend to use it.
While inside the room, Laura cuts the claws out of her severed arm and gives them to Morales for safe-keeping. She lights a Molotov cocktail of sorts which sets the sprinkler system off. The Facility soldiers finish cutting through to Laura just as Kimura realizes the sprinklers are spraying the Trigger Scent everywhere. X-23 goes feral and kills all the soldiers in her way. She gets to the Facility head's office just as the sprinklers start spraying water, washing away the scent. Kimura manages to club Laura from behind and then kills the Facility head, planning on framing Laura for it. Agent Morales arrives and sets Kimura on fire to distract her while she and Laura make her escape. Morales reveals she rigged the place to explode and they get out in time, but as Kimura is burning, she manages radio contact with Laura, promising her that she will find and kill everyone she loves, and that Megan is the first person on her list. The rest of X-Force arrives and takes Laura and her severed claws home.
Necrosha
As Selene and her army of the dead attack Utopia, X-23 and the rest of X Force are caught in the cross fire. Laura is instantly put on her guard as Hrimhari appears, holding a dying Wolfsbane. The man beside Laura raises his weapon and prepares to kill them both, but Laura stops him, telling him that they are alive and that she knows one of them. Hrimhari asks for Elixir, and is devastated when he realizes that the boy won't be of any service. At the same time, the Vanisher appears, looking for Elixir as well. Later on, we see Laura and Dr. Nemesis attempting to save Rahne. When he says there is no hope, Laura instructs him to "Try harder", her tone implying a threat should he fail. It is then that the goddess Hela appears and confronts the Wolf Prince, asking which life to save. Reluctantly, he tells her to save Elixir.
As Utopia lies in ruin, Cyclops tells Wolverine that the X-Men will defend Utopia from any other attack from Selene's forces while X-Force will go to Necrosha to find Warpath and stop Selene. Emma changes Cyclops' orders and tells Logan that they must kill Selene.
X-Force teleport just outside of Selene's castle, and Vanisher demands Elixir gets rid of his brain tumor. Elixer informs him that he already removed the tumor, sometime during the events of the Messiah War.
As the rest of X-Force prepares to attack, Vanisher leaves them. Meanwhile, Warpath is being tortured his brother (Thunderbird) and Blink. Vanisher teleports in and saves Warpath but loses his arm in the process. As the ritual to turn Selene into a god commences, a wave of energy destroys every living thing in Necrosha.
Before the energy wave hits X-Force, Vanisher teleports the whole team to safety. Warpath confirms that Selene has become a god and that he knows how to defeat her. Warpath paints X-Force and teaches them the Ghost Dance that Ghost Rider taught him to defeat the Demon Bear. The X-Force then teleports inside Selene's castle and each member goes after a member of Selene's Inner Circle.
Wolverine and X-23 dismember Senyaka, Archangel wounds Blink, Wolfsbane cuts Mortis' throat, Elixir kills Wither, and Warpath snaps Thunderbird's neck. While Blink and Mortis escape, X-Force are confronted by a giant Selene, who attacks them, but Warpath is able to turn her own demon blade against her, stabbing her in chest and causing her to explode.
Two days later, Cyclops debriefs Wolverine on the status of X-Force, Wolverine informs Cyclops that Laura is out.
Second Coming
X-23 is part of the Alpha Roster initially sent to retrieve Cable and Hope. The Alpha team are ambushed by members of The Right, whom they easily take down. When attempting to interrogate some of the conscious ones, X-23 brutally executes one of them, to the horror of Psylocke, Nightcrawler and Colossus, Nightcrawler was so horified that he pushed Laura away after exclaiming 'WHAT DID YOU DO!" Laura then replies " What needed to be done." This reveals to them that Warren, Laura and Logan might be hiding something from them, prompting Wolverine to confess about X-Force's existence. She then goes with the Alpha Roster again to take down Stryker, whom is killed (again) by Archangel. Subsequently, she is in a car together with Wolverine and Ariel when it is ambushed by a missile. While burnt beyond recognition, both Laura and Logan survive due to their healing factors. Ariel, however, isn't so lucky.
She offers her powers to Rogue, when Rogue comes looking for them and then, helps her Roster fight off an ambush by being telekinetically lifted courtesy of Psylocke. She is next seen standing around Nightcrawler's body, looking distraught.
When Donald Pierce makes his move to disable Utopia, Laura briefly engages him in battle, with the assistance of Namor and severely damages him but it is ultimately Cyclops who delivers the killing blow.
.Laura accompanies several of the X-Men out to the Golden Gate Bridge to investigate the anomaly that had formed on the bridge. When the Nimrods came out she and the others did their best to keep them at bay. She watched as Hellion's hands blew up, and when the battle was over Laura, Psylocke and Surge grieved for their comrade.
While Cyclops planned to send X-Force along with Cypher to the future to stop the Nimrods, Laura visited Hellion in the sick bay and put her hand on the part of the bed where his hand would be. After that she joined Cable, Cypher, Wolverine, Domino and Archangel and headed to the future.
In the future, X-Force appears in front of a giant wall with all of the mutants listed on it as deceased. This visibly infuriates Archangel while Laura takes charge and says that this is what needs to be prevented. Cable and X-Force come up with a plan to kill their way inside while Cypher deals with the Master Mold and the controls to shut down the Sentinels on Utopia. Eventually, after a long internal struggle with the Master Mold, Cypher is successful but X-Force remains trapped in the future. X-Force notices the portal that the Nimrods went through to get to Utopia and X-23 attempts to walk through it to see if it would work. However, the portal turns out to be only for inorganic matter and Laura is mortally wounded, having to put her healing factor in overdrive in order to stay alive. With little alternative, Cable sacrifices himself and lets the T.O. Virus take over his body in order to get all of the X-Force members back to the present. Laura is one of the first out of the portal, being dragged by Domino, and she ends up in the water, still slightly charred from when she attempted to cross the portal.
In the aftermath, X-23 waits outside for Logan and asks him what her mission is, to which he responds "That's for you to figure out."
Powers and Abilities
Because X-23 was created from Wolverine's DNA, she possesses very similar mutant abilities including an extremely accelerated healing factor, enhanced senses, as well as heightened strength, stamina, agility, and reflexes. Her senses are so heightened that she is able to successfully track and identify objects and/or people with superhuman accuracy, even if they are hidden from her. Like Wolverine, X-23 also possesses three retractable claws, however she only has two claws sheathed within each of her forearms, and another claw within both of her feet. All six of these claws are extremely durable, naturally sharp, and were made nearly indestructible after being coated with adamantium.
X-23's healing factor allows her to regenerate damaged or destroyed cellular structures with superhuman efficiency, even allowing her to re-attach dismembered limbs. Although her healing factor has saved her life on numerous occasions, X-23 can still be killed if she loses too many vital organs, or suffers from losing copious amounts of blood. Her healing factor also allows her some degree of immunity to diseases and infections, however, drugs in large enough doses can still affect her.
Unlike her genetic donor, X-23 was able to escape her facility before the entirety of her skeleton was fused with adamantium.
Special skills
X-23 was trained from an early age to become a living weapon. This has made her adept in numerous armed and unarmed fighting techniques, while also making her an expert assassin, having been trained with a number of long distance weapons. X-23 has had extensive training in espionage and black ops tactics and has also demonstrated that she is fluent in both French and Japanese. In X-Force #7, X-23 claims that she is skilled when it comes to racquetball.
Statistics
¡Height: 5'6"
¡Weight: 147 lbs
¡Eyes: Green
¡Hair: Black
Laura Kinney¡Known Relatives: Sarah Kinney (surrogate mother, deceased), James Howlett (Wolverine, genetic progenitor) Megan Kinney (cousin), Debbie Kinney (aunt) Daken (genetic nephew), Erista (genetic nephew)
¡Citizenship: None
¡Place of Birth: The Facility, location unrevealed
¡Marital Status: Single
¡Occupation: Adventurer; (former) student, assassin, (former) prostitute
¡Education: Schooled by the Facility and the Xavier Institute
Personality & Relationships
Since X-23 was raised in captivity to serve as only a weapon, her personality was somewhat stunted. It is revealed that she is very taciturn and speaks with almost perfect grammar. X-23 is also able to kill a number of individuals with little or no remorse, although she has been shown to spare some of her targets. Because X-23's training is so ingrained, she often turns to self mutilation when she experiences unusual or intense feelings, after being presented with options that she did not even know where considerable. Although X-23 still retains a cold demeanor, she has learned to comprehend and express a number of new emotions after joining with similar aged students of the X-Men. She has also experienced a number of new friendships and close relationships since escaping from the Facility. This includes a close relationship with her cousin Megan Kinney and her aunt, Debbie Kinney, and as well as a number of growing friends with her fellow X-Men besides Wolverine, such as; Kitty Pryde, Rachel Summers, Psylocke, Dust, Mercury, Elixir, and Hellion, whom she may have a romantic interest in, ever since he helped to save her life after Nimrod's attack on the New X-Men.
It became apparent that she had feeling toward a student named Julian Keller, former member of the Hellions. Through out their time together it became slight apparent that she was feeling something even she did not know. Though her feelings are not shown and Julian does not know, she still is very protective of him even during X Force. For Logan stated once "The moment I mentioned Keller's name her body lit up like a light bulb." Before she passed out after returning to the Present after Messiah War her exact words were "Have to get...United Nations...get to... Julian". There is also the previously mentioned seen during Second Coming where Laura is at Julian's bedside.
-Stalik-
