The New Charles Xavier School for Mutants, former home of the Weapon X Project, where four members of the original X-Men brought to the present day – Jean Grey, Bobby Drake, Warren Worthington and Hank McCoy a.k.a. Marvel Girl, Iceman, Angel and the Beast, respectively, stare down from the Danger Room control room into the training room itself, where their teammate X-23 a.k.a. Laura Kinney is engaged in serious combat – Ragnarok setting. 'Do you think I should talk to her, Bobby?' Angel asks. 'Yeah, Warren. Definitely you' Iceman replies as X-23 continues to slash her way through robots. Bobby points into the Danger Room and tells Angel 'There's your opening, bro. Oh, hey – if Laura disembowels you, you cool with me asking her out?' Angel ignores his friend's comment, and decides that he will talk to her, while Marvel Girl tells Bobby that he is a jerk. Angel rushes into the Danger Room. Using his voice command to pause the scenario, he calls out to Laura: 'You just heard some heavy news. Wolverine's dead'.
Angel puts his hand on Laura's shoulder, as Laura has her back turned from him, 'Logan... he was, well...”father” isn't the right word for the guy you're cloned from, but I mean, it's as close as you've ever had! Maybe closer than anyone's ever had!'
Laura ignores the comment and instructs the Danger Room to resume, but Angel immediately pauses it. 'We all know you're not exactly used to opening up. It's probably not really in your genes. But we know you're hurt -' Angel begins. Laura glances back at Angel. 'Danger Room, resume' she instructs it, before asking 'Hurt? One of the constructs in the room shoves a small sword through her body. 'What would be new about that?' Laura asks, blood gushing from her wound.
Later, Kitty Pryde enters Laura's quarters, where Laura is packing a backpack, and she tells the younger woman 'That was uncalled for. That was...' Laura interrupts: 'Very much like Logan, yes, I know, Professor K'.
Kitty asks Laura what she is doing, and Laura points out that she is packing, that she is going to leave, but will be back eventually. 'What? Why?' Kitty asks. 'Because you will all try to comfort me. You will try to talk to me. You will try to share your own pain and feelings of loss with me. You will assure me it's quite normal to feel sad' Laura explains, putting her backpack on, she announces that she does not feel sad. 'What? Don't give me that crap, Laura. We all already know you're not the emotionless killing machine you're made to be!' Kitty exclaims. Laura looks at Kitty and tells her that she misunderstands: 'I do not feel “nothing”. You are sad, Katherine Pryde. I am not sad because I am angry' Laura explains. Memories of Wolverine flash through her mind as she tells Kitty that after she escaped the Facility, she was living on the streets, and that she didn't know what or who she was, so she sold her body to survive and hurt herself to feel anything.
Laura continues, pointing out that when she met Logan, he took her away from that life and brought her to the X-Men, he promised to show her a new way, allowed her guided, self-discovery, always waiting in the shadows to assist her. She admits that he was a flawed, older version of herself who could help her make the choices that would stop her from going down the darkest path. Laura tells Kitty that now Wolverine is gone, her future died with him. 'My teammates here... they are from the past. They share this time period with older versions of themselves. They have history to look to... and now a future, as well' she remarks, asking Kitty how the others could possibly understand, as she has neither a past of her own, nor a future. 'Logan lied to me' Laura declares, to which Kitty tells her that he didn't lie, but Laura interrupts, explaining that Logan told her he would always be there, that she could forever come to him because he alone would understand. 'He said he would always be there to remind me of my true colors'. Laura walks past Kitty and the original X-Men who gather nearby, adding that she believed him, because he was Logan, the Wolverine, he was supposed to be immortal, a legend, eternal, unkillable. As she approaches the exit, Laura calls back 'But he wasn't. He was mortal. Finite. Following his own path inevitably towards death. The “Wolverine” was just a man. A man wearing gold and blue tights'.
Later, amongst the noise and lights of the club known as the Perdition Room, in Tornto. People dance as the music blares. A young scantily clad man dances in a cage suspended above the dance floor, while Laura, dressed appropriately for the scene, is approached by a man who asks her what she is up. 'What? Oh, uh, I do not know' Laura replies. 'Yeah, that makes two of us' the man smiles. He leans against the railing and reveals that he is going through a divorce and thought he might try to meet people. 'But, ah... things have changed' he laments, before pulling out his wallet and adds that it has been few years since he could pull of vinyl pants while dancing to Morrissey, and adds that this isn't his scene anymore. Apparently nervously, he remarks that he doesn't think he has what it takes and asks Laura if she would take some cash to come home with him. 'I have sold myself to men like you before, Mr -?' Laura begins. Wide eyed, the man introduces himself as Gil Brown. 'I sold my body, Gil, back when it was some foreign thing I did not know what to do with' Laura reveals. She pops her claws and holds them low towards Gil's crotch, telling him that she feels sorry for his loneliness.
'But consider what you wanted' she remarks as several masked men enter the club. 'Think about your willingness to exploit someone for your own ends. Consider how it could affect your own... future... I may not know who I will be. But I do know what I am no longer. And to quote you, Gil... this isn't my scene anymore' Laura announces, retracting her claws, while the masked men suddenly push their way through the dancefloor. Suddenly, 'Gil?' Laura calls out, 'Down!' Laura shouts, leaping towards Gil, knocking him backwards as a bullet is shot through her side. 'Goths! Creeps! Spooky freaks! You are guilty of the crime of insincerity!' one of the masked men shouts. He tells them that the claim to be outsiders, and yet they do not accept true outsiders amongst them. 'You claim deep darkness in your soul! But you have never known that. The depths that we, the Happy Clams, know!' he exclaims, revealing the group's name. 'A night on the town ends in gunfire. This must be what they call “The X-Men Luck”' Laura mutters clutching her gushing wound, she turns to Gil and asks him if anyone else got hit. Gil replies that he doesn't think so. 'Good. Let us keep it that way' Laura declares, popping her claws.
X-23 roars as she leaps towards the mercenaries who have opened fire, striking one of the nightclubbers down. 'Ah! Crazy chick!' one of the Happy Clams exclaims. Laura takes more bullets in her body, 'Oh, God man. I emptied my clip...' one of the mercenaries exclaims. 'Not enough. Give me more. Give me all!' Laura declares as she stands up, blood running from several bullet holes, she is underneath the cage where the young man was dancing. 'Ah! Screw this man!' one of the Happy Claims exclaims as he fires his machine gun up at the chain that suspends the cage in the air. One of the bullets strikes the chain, 'Holy!' the dancing boy gasps as the cage drops instantly – right on top of Laura.
'Okay, we got any more heroes in the house?' one of the Happy Claims asks, raising his weapon overhead. 'Just one more!' a voice exclaims as a man in a red and white costume bursts through the ceiling. 'The Chinook!' one of the mercenaries exclaims, as the costumed hero tosses a grenade towards one of them, which releases a burst of energy, knocking them back. Another mercenary tries to punch the Chinook, but he dodges the punch. 'The Chinook. “The Hero of Hogtown” “The Knight Tempest”. Damn, dude, could you be more lame?' the Happy Clam mercenary asks. 'Sure. Could be “Mollusk” themed' Chinook replies. 'The hell -' the dancing boy cries out as Laura suddenly bursts through the underside of the cage. 'Hi. I like your... panties' Laura smiles at the young man. 'Uhh... thanks' the dancing boy replies, before Laura uses her claws to slice open the bars of the cage and tells him to go outside with everyone else. 'Um. Stay warm' she adds, informing him that she has to go. Chinook punches one mercenary to the ground, while another tries to hit Chinook with a baton. 'You just made this more complex. We just wanted to shoot some poseurs and call it a night. Now we have to take hostages' the mercenary exclaims. 'No, now you have to take a deep breath' Chinook replies as he moves his arm towarsd the mercenary and something is emitted from Chinook's costume.
'Ah! I can't see!' the Happy Claim cries out as he falls to the floor, clutching his head. 'Instant hardening expanding foam. Helmet for your helmet' Chinook explains, before turning around and punching the mercenary who attacks him from behind. 'Oh, duuude, watch out!' one of the night clubbers who films the attack on a device calls out, as one of the mercenaries suddenly shoots Chinook in the back. Chinook falls to the ground, 'Oh... geez. Geez, man. What's – what’s your deal? Did you like, claim vengeance in the name of a salmon? Did your parents die or something?' the shooter asks as he moves closer to Chinook, and holds the gun close range. 'Well, screw you, man. You don't know true loneliness! True pain is reserved for the Happy Clams!' he shouts, but before he can fire another bullet, Laura pops her claws beside the man's face.
'You stupid child. You know nothing. You are too damaged to live' Laura tells him, putting her other hand to his back, she tells him that before he dies, she, an expert, can show him true pain. 'No!' Chinook gasps as he looks around, and suddenly fires a concussive air blast, at the two, separating them. 'Haven't thought of a good catchy name yet' he remarks after explaining what the power is. Chinook goes over to Laura and informs her that the police have arrived and that he has a hideout. 'Follow me there, or risk dealing with them' he explains, adding that he would wager she is not particularly interested in explaining to them where she got Wolverine's claws from, and extends a hand to help her up.
Moments later, 'This is very uncomfortable' Laura remarks as she clings to Chinook's back as he swings from building to building on a grappling wire of sorts. 'Uncomfortable for who? I'm the one who just took three slugs in the back. Even with the kevlar and the air tanks, that bloody smarts' he declares. Arms wrapped around Chinook's chest, Laura tells him that he has her temporary gratitude, but that if he does anything she doesn't like, he should know that nothing stops her claws. 'Yes, I saw how much you enjoy popping those lovely nails' Chinook replies, adding that they are almost there. 'That's my airstream just below' he explains, before the enter the small hideout that is atop a skyscraper. Chinook informs Laura that she can lay low a bit if she likes, until this all clears up. 'It's not exactly the Mutant Underground railroad' he admits, grunting a bit when he checks his wound, he adds that it is a fine place to recover from wounds attained from battling boys in barnacle suits. 'Yes. The boys. My curiosity is somewhat piqued. Please explain' Laura remarks. Tapping into sa laptop, Chinook reveals that he has been tracking the movements of the Happy Clams, who are a bunch of displaced, angry kids, recruited off the internet by a local crime lord by the name of Pink Pearl, who runs a number of clubs, legal and illegal. 'Kind of a fatter Canadian Kingpin, I suppose. Bit like Rob Ford in a muumuu' Chinook adds.
Chinook continues, informing X-23 that Pearl gives these geeks armor and guns from the States, and then directs their formerly impotent anger, sends them into competitor's places, to their kids' schools – until they get the message. He adds that when the Clams get busted, authorities can't tie them to Pearl, and she gets the added bonus of spreading fear and mistrust. 'Chinook – you stopped me. That kid should have died. He was useless. Too broken to fix' Laura remarks. 'Yeah? Isn't that what they said about Wolverine?' Chinook replies. 'Isn't that what they said about you, too, X-23?' he asks, back turned to X-23, who rushes towards him and pops her claws, holding them to his face she asks 'Who are you? What is this? Some kind of trap?' Nervously, Chinook reveals that his name is Colin Ashworth Hume, an ex-Canadian armed forces operative, ex-Roxxon security administrator and ex-Chief Administrator of Alpha Flight. 'Alpha Flight? Canada's mutant strike force... but then you're a -' Laura begins, wide-eyed, she pulls away her claws, as Chinook replies 'Not quite. You see, the number of things I used to be is larger than the number of things I am. I'm also an ex-mutant'.
'Code name: Windshear. Born with the innate ability to command the air around me, I could make it dance. I could tell it how to behave. But not well enough to be a proper weapon'. Colin continues, revealing that Roxxon built him a fancy suit to assist him in making the air deadly. 'The great Northern Iron Man, I was' he jokes, before pulling back his maks, informing Kaura that he lost his mutantness on M-Day – his powers went right out the window – which is when things got really crappy. Colin's head is now bald, and he reveals that he has Leukemia, and the doctors think it probably came from extended exposure to the radioactive elements in the Windshear armor. Colin informs Laura that he is just off the chemotherapy, but the doctors say he might have a few extra months. Laura tells Colin that she is sorry, but that she has not mastered the expressions to show sympathy. 'But I assure you I am feeling... confused. Yes, confused' Laura announces, remarking that Colin is sick and dying, yet he puts on this silly costume and wears bright colors and names himself after some kind of dog. 'Tell me, Colin Ashworth Hume... why?' Laura enquires.
'Chinook is a type of wind, not a – it doesn't matter. I tried to get out of it. I did. But I still wanted to leave something behind. Thought I'd make art. Touch people with beauty. But there was something about my time as Windshear. The look of the faces of people when I arrived. The feeling of being...bigger' Colin explains, glancing out the window. He adds that he did question things when he worked at Roxxon, but admits that didn't matter when he put on thr mask, for that “silly costume” makes him a symbol – not a man. Those “bright colors” can't be stained by past mistakes and regret. 'Those colors are a symbol, X-23, for the most uncomplicated, most untainted elements of what truly lies in our souls. In an age of mistrust and divisiveness, we need a few things that are just bloody simple and pure'.
At one of Pink Pearl's facilities, sharks swim in tanks, while Pearl sits in a clam-shell like throne, reading something on a tablet, while her Happy Claims unpack boxes of weapons. 'Hell yeah, man. These'll do the trick!' one of them exclaims. 'Bam! Bam! Critical hit bee-yotch!' another declares as they examine the weapons. 'Quit swinging it around you idiot. This isn't a darn video game!' the obese Pink Pearl orders. She mutters that the Yanks are giving her a pretty crap deal on the border trade, and asks the Happy Clams how they would feel about hitting up a college. 'Lots of poseurs there, eh?' she remarks. A gust of wind suddenly rushes through, 'Damn it, someone find where that draft is coming from...' Pearl snaps, but a gaping hole in a wall reveals X-23 and Chinook leaping towards Pearl. 'That's no draft, Pearl... it's the wind of justice!' Chinook exclaims.
A few days later, back at the New Charles Xavier School for Mutants. 'Bobby! Pay attention!' Marvel Girl exclaims inside the training room. 'Gimme a break, Jeanie-pants!' Bobby replies, adding that he was trying to think of a cool one-liner. Beast and Angel take down their robotic opponents, while up in the observation booth, Kitty wonders if she was like this when she was a teenager, so cocksure and positive she knew everything? She looks at some photos of her and Logan and wonders how he could stand her. Tears streaming down Kitty's face, she suddenly hears another sound, and looking into the training room, sees X-23 slashing her way through the robots.
'Go Laura, it's your Birthday!' Bobby jokes. 'X... Laura. You're back. Is... everything okay?' Kitty asks as she rushes into the training room. Laura stands between Angel and Bobby, decimated robots at her feet, she replies 'Yes, Professor K. I do not feel angry. I do not feel “nothing”. I feel like you, Katherine. I feel sad, but there is something else...' Laura announces, revealing a streak of gold and blue in her hair. She smiles, and declares she feels proud.
