(I have a Patreon if you want to read the next 10 chapters of this fanfiction then go to patreon.com/7_Night )
The next day, the dining room buzzed with the usual low chatter of students gathering for breakfast. Trays clattered, silverware scraped plates, and the scent of cafeteria food lingered in the air. At one of the tables near the window, Dante, Owen, and Broo sat together eating.
"So this is Broo… the other non-mutant student here?" Owen asked, tilting his head slightly as he watched the bug-eyed alien chew through his food with surprising gentleness.
"Well, yes, that's right," Broo answered, straightening his uniform with a polite smile. "I'm incredibly grateful the X-Men allowed me to study here, even though I'm not technically one of you."
"Huh," Owen nodded. "So what kind of environment is this school anyway? I'm still new. This is technically my first day."
"Well," Broo replied thoughtfully, "It's technically everyone's second day, so you're not behind on much."
As Owen glanced around the room, Broo motioned subtly to some of the students at nearby tables. "That's Quentin Quire over there," he said, pointing with a tilt of his head. "He's… rebellious, always on the edge of causing trouble, and according to the other students, his fashion sense is as loud as his personality."
Owen squinted at Quentin's shirt and raised an eyebrow. "Yeah, I could've guessed that from just one look."
"And that's Kubark, better known as Kid Gladiator," Broo continued. "Though I think Dante knows him better than I do."
Owen turned to Dante. "What's he talking about?"
Dante scratched the back of his head, looking just a little annoyed. "Kid's a muscle-headed, arrogant type who loves to fight more than he loves breathing. He's cocky, loud, and has the personality of a wrecking ball. But considering that me, you, and a few others are the only close-range fighters in this school—and two of those barely fight—it makes us a rare group."
(correct me if I'm wrong but including Dante and Owen that makes six close range students or maybe I misremembering I'm obviously talking about In Wolverine and the X-Men comic)
He leaned back in his chair. "When I first got here, I was one of the weakest in the whole school. But I've been training every single day for a week. I climbed fast, and now I'm one of the strongest. That got his attention. Since then, he's been on my back nonstop, asking for a fight."
Owen smirked. "And?"
"I told him once I'm strong enough, I'll take him on. But right now? He'd wipe the floor with me."
"Well then," Owen said with a teasing grin, "how about I fight him for you?"
Dante shot him a look. "You can't even fly yet."
"Who said I need to fly?" Owen replied through a mouthful of food. "I'm still working on it. But once I've got the hang of this power, I'm going to take that guy on—and I'm going to kick his ass."
Broo chuckled awkwardly, trying to steer the conversation back to calmer waters. "Let's maybe talk about something else for now. So… you're both eighteen, right? That makes you the oldest students here. Most of the others are fifteen to seventeen."
"Yeah," Dante said, glancing over at Owen. "We would've been heading to college if we hadn't awakened as mutants."
"Honestly, I'm jealous," Broo said, sighing. "I'd love to go to college. But sadly, that's not really an option for me. X-Men education only goes up to high school. There's no higher education here for people like me."
Actually, you could go into space College maybe I don't know if that exists but for us
"It's kind of tragic," Dante said. "Instead of going to college, we're back in high school. Sure, it's more exciting than normal school, but still…"
At that moment, Beast entered the dining hall, adjusting his spectacles as he looked around the room.
"Dante Navarro," he called. "Please come with me to the principal's office."
Dante blinked, then stood and grabbed his tray. "Well, I guess I'll see you guys later."
Owen gave him a casual wave. "Try not to get expelled."
Broo just gave a supportive nod, clearly curious what this was about.
Dante headed off without another word, already bracing himself for whatever surprise was waiting on the other side of the office door.
When Dante entered the office, he saw Logan sitting behind his desk, arms crossed, expression unreadable. Across from him sat a girl— the same age as Dante's with a cold, distant expression. She had long, jet-black hair, green eyes, and a quiet, sharp presence that instantly made the air feel heavier.
Dante's eyes lingered on her for a second before he slowly walked over and sat in the empty seat in front of her. His gaze shifted back to the girl, studying her features.
"Wait a sec… is this who I think it is?" he asked, pointing casually in her direction.
Logan nodded. "Yep. This is Laura. Laura Kinney. She's going to be helping you deal with the remaining two hosts."
Dante gave her a polite nod and held out his hand. "Nice to meet you."
Laura only looked at the hand for a second before giving it a quick, emotionless shake. She didn't say a word. The handshake was brief—practically reflex—and her hand was cool to the touch. Dante glanced at her, then back at his hand, raising a brow.
"Well… nicer than the blonde one," he mumbled under his breath. "Nice to meet you, Laura."
Logan stood and motioned toward the door. "We've already tracked one of the remaining hosts. You two better get moving."
With that, Dante and Laura got up and left the office, walking down the hallway together toward the hangar bay. They were heading for one of the X-Men's smaller aircraft. Dante, of course, didn't know how to pilot it—he was about to ask who they'd be flying with—until he saw Laura move straight to the controls like she'd done it a hundred times before.
The flight was quiet. Awkwardly quiet. Laura sat at the controls, eyes focused, silent as stone. Dante sat beside her, trying to break the silence with small talk—but she only offered short, blunt replies, if she replied at all.
"So…" he started, scratching his head, "Do I just call you Laura, or do you go by something else?"
She answered without looking at him. "X-23."
"That's… a weird codename," he muttered. "I mean, I guess I can't judge. I haven't even decided on mine yet. But it feels weird calling someone by a barcode. Mind if I stick to your name, or should I keep it formal?"
"Stick with the codename," she said flatly.
Dante tilted his head slightly. "Right. Codename it is… That was still nicer than the blonde one."
He tried again. "So, what exactly are your powers? I figured we should probably know each other's abilities before heading into a fight."
Laura, without a word, lifted one hand into view and extended two long, gleaming claws from between her knuckles. The metal shimmered briefly in the light of the aircraft. Then, just as cleanly, they slid back into her hand.
"I have a healing factor," she added.
Dante whistled. "Wow. Just like Wolverine."
"Not exactly. I also have a claw in each foot."
She didn't elaborate, and Dante blinked at her calm, matter-of-fact tone. Before he could comment, she added one more thing.
"And you don't have to explain your powers to me. I've been briefed. I know what you're keeping off the radar."
He chuckled and leaned back in his seat. "Oh, thank God. Would've taken forever to explain all of that."
Despite her silence, he kept the small talk going, bouncing from topic to topic just to keep himself from getting bored—or more awkward. She mostly ignored him, but she didn't shut him down either, which he took as progress.
Eventually, they landed near a crossfield—an open, slightly rocky area marked on the scanner as the possible location of a corrupted host.
Laura stepped off the aircraft first and scanned the environment. "The signal is close. Somewhere around here."
Before Dante could say anything, the ground suddenly shook. A loud explosion ripped through the air. They both turned toward the sound and saw someone erupt from the earth, flying upward with incredible force.
The figure had a clearly demonic right arm, glowing red with jagged veins of energy pulsating through it—nearly identical to Dante's own, except his was left-sided and blue. As the figure landed, something else emerged from the hole—a humanoid creature with dragon-like features, its scales flickering with lightning as electricity crackled around its limbs.
The host turned, summoned a massive axe with a shimmer of light, and shot forward, slashing the dragon-like mutant hard across the chest. The impact sent the creature tumbling to the ground, sparks flying off its body as it let out a pained growl.
It didn't get back up. It was too wounded to move.
The red-armed host looked toward Dante and Laura, clearly aware of their presence. His face was unreadable—but calm. Detached.
"Well," Dante said, voice hollow, "At least this time… it's not someone I know."
(Laura Kinney is the love interest. This story takes place during the period where she begins changing—leading up to her All-New Wolverine era—when she starts becoming a more grounded and emotionally balanced person. So even if it feels like her development happens faster here or the pacing is actually much slower and more gradual than it seems. I still plan for her full maturity to unfold naturally.)