LAURA KINNEY

   “I was actually against that training but I can’t dabble in everything can I?” He was smug beyond belief and he didn’t truly believe his words. Nathaniel could dabble in everything if he wanted to but things like torture training was a waste of his time and resources. “What I am curious about it how you’ve done nothing with supes. They hunt your kind and you sit back and do nothing?”

Laura raised an eyebrow and shook her head. “For someone that keeps claiming as his creation you seem to forget an awful lot about me, I was made smart enough to know that is bullshit.” She replied, Laura was smart and had a photographic memory, she had been trained in different kind of fighting styles, weaponry, tactics, strategy, logistics, she wasn’t some traumatized naive child that would believe bullshit like that. Logan had commented that it seemed like her mind healed just as good as her body and lamented that maybe the bullet in his head kept him from that, or that maybe he was just that stubborn.

Give the girl her due, she was one hell of a swimmer. The Deep didn’t care that the girl was a mutant and honestly, he didn’t give mutants a second thought but they were Vought’s target for now. He loved spending time in the water, just swimming with the fishes without being on mission. When he came up for air, they were at Tottenville Shore Park. It was under the radar and was at the very southern border of the city, practically in Staten Island. “I take it you’re not a water mutant?” The deep asked, laughing a little. The coastline is surrounded by lush green trees for miles, making it the perfect spot to avoid the crowds and the photographers that he wanted to avoid.

Laura was thankful when they came up for air and she swam towards the pier and laid down panting heavily, it was all psychological she knew, she was fine and would be even better in a couple of seconds once she was no longer exhausted but that still didn’t make it a fun experience. As expected it only took around five seconds for her to catch her breath and feel energized once again and she jumped to her feet. “No, I’m not,” She said and then raised an eyebrow. “But I’m not telling you about my mutation or ability, whatever you want to call it, you might not be calling the Sentinels right now but you’re still Vought.” She said with a frown but softened her expression, he could be a good in to get information on Vought. “Though to be fair you’re less... mind-washed than Homelander.”

“Job hunting this late?” Homelander looked around and knew the area wasn’t exactly desirable. “This place doesn’t look like there is much in the way of job opportunities. Or legal ones. You sure there isn’t something else here?”

"My last job was as a bartender and before that, I used to get paid for sex, so sketchy, not so legal Jobs are actually right up my alley. What are you doing here though?"

All the heroes and staff of Vought had been given a packet that outlined everything the Sentinel Services would do to help them but The Deep didn’t read it. It was all a waste of his time. Flicking through pages of useless crap for what? “I’ll be honest I’ve no idea what the Sentinels do but you’re safe with me around.” Even now he was trying to play the hero. “Kind of, being a hero sells but you need to know what the people want. I was eighteen and young so my demographic was a wide range.” Everyone wanted to be with the Seven’s heartthrob and every company wanted his smile and the adverts but now it was all different. “Don’t worry, I’ll go slow but you’ll get the pacing soon enough.” With her nod, The Deep did one of his signature dives. All for show and to impress an audience, even if it was just an audience of one. Under the water he was at home. The fish came swimming around them as he dove deeper, embracing the currents and for a moment he almost forgot he had a partner for now.

Laura rolled her eyes at his words part of her wanted to show him his pretty much indestructible, capable of cutting through almost everything claws, (so far nothing had stopped them but she was told vibranium might), and also her healing factor, she didn't need him to be safe, she was a weapon but refrained, the less information Vought and the Supes had on her, the better. Laura took a deep breath, she could survive without oxygen but the unconscious part of her brain, primitive brain, didn't know that her training at the facility had covered drowning and waterboarding. Still, keeping your body from breathing even if you survived wasn't a fun experience.

Laura jumped after The Deep but it was pretty clear she wasn't a match speed-wise, but she pushed herself knowing that the exhaustion was just going to be temporary.

Lexi nods, letting her guard down slightly. “Oh… and… yeah, they do.” She chews her lip slightly as she thinks of all of the people that she had seen passing by ready to get what was theirs due to damages done by Vought’s heroes only to be defeated. She scoffs. “Don’t do it, kid.” She looks over at Laura. “It changes you and not in a good way. Trust me, it’s not something you want to get involved in.” 

Laura was surprised by the honesty but still doubtful, she studied the woman for a moment before speaking, "then why do you work for them? If they are that bad?"

    “I never kid about my work but thank you for noticing my sense of humor.” He was sarcastic and reveling in their verbal sparring. Everything at Vought was run of the mill, he got what he wanted with no push back. “One day the sentinels will catch you and though you are hard to kill, that doesn’t mean they’ll make you wish you were dead.” Just like her father did when he extracted his DNA to create the mutant before him, it would be torture.

Laura raised an eyebrow "Lucky for me when I was in the Facility I was trained vigorously in the art of being tortured." They wanted a weapon and before they ever sent her out to kill the Senator, her first mark, they made sure she wouldn't be a liability of captured, electricity was her least favorite the metal in her body made it way worse, waterboarding was the less painful.

People coming into the compound uninvited was something that Wanda would never find herself being okay with, especially when she was one of the few still living there. The rest of her team were scattered, the important ones staying around for a little bit. but if she knew who was coming in and out it made things easier. Narrowing her eyes, Wanda looked the girl up and down. “That’s me. What are you doing here?”

Laura considered escaping for a very very small moment, it wouldn't do any good considering the Witch's abilities, so she just shrugged, "stealing supplies." She answered honestly and took a deep breath, she didn’t hope it didn’t come down to that but she still prepared for a fight.

“I was invited,” Warren said, sipping his own glass of champagne a little quicker than was usually considered to be acceptable. “I am the current owner and executive officer of Worthington Industries, after all, it can only be expected that I can attend this kind of event.” And he didn’t need to scam his way in to get into here and see what was going on.”

"So you are working with... actually working with people that would sooner kill you or throw you in a cell than sit at a table with you if they knew what you were?" She asked with a frown.

Yelena left a bored sigh before leaning back against the couch, taking a quick glance at the dead target. They were all the same in the end. They talk a big game and wave their little knife around but before you know it, they’re begging on their knees for their mercy. It was boring for Yelena but a job is a job.

After waiting for a few minutes, Yelena heard a bunch of yelling and maybe a shot. With nothing better to do, Yelena thought it would be a good idea to check it out. She tried wiping the little blood dots off her face, only smearing it. It didn’t take long for Yelena to find the problem, she soon found herself on the ground with a pain in her body.

Hearing someone asked a question, Yelena slowly lifted her head up before coming face-to-face with a girl. “Beside the pain, I think I’m okay but I’m a little confused on why you ran into me”

"I... wasn't looking where I was going," Laura replied shrugging. "I was distracted." She asked and blinked at the blonde woman "You are covered in blood..." but it wasn't her own that much she could tell. “Who are you?”

    “I never kid X-23, you of all people should know that I am a serious man.” The good old days when his company prospered not only in wealth but in mutant dna collection. The Wolverine was their biggest get given the result in X-23 but everything else had fallen short. “That depends if you can stand the yellow and black.” He smirked. “We have a mutual interest you know.” Nathaniel waited to see if he caught her attention. “I’ve heard of a mutant killing Sentinels and Reavers. Now, the Reavers are mostly mine but the Sentinels have been interfering with my work. We find ourselves on the cusp on an alliance.” 

Laura burst out laughing. “For someone claiming to be a serious person you seem to have jokes.” She shook her head. “Wanting to take out the Sentinels is about the extent of our mutual interest but I think I’ve said before that I’d rather die before working for you or with you, maybe you should consider doing your dirty work for once.”

“I’m not following a script. I don’t do that sort of thing and haven’t for a long time.” He tried to think back when the last time that was. “I’ve answered yours so you answer mine. What are you doing here?”

“Oh, is that so? Well, I apologize then, it sounds like you are.” Laura shrugged. “I’m job hunting.” Laura replied with a shrug. “Used to be a bartender but I got tired of it and there’s only so many things I can steal before I get into trouble.”

Warren had to force himself to keep his smile when he saw her familiar face. Of all of the people he was expecting to see while he was here, she certainly wasn’t one of them. Sneaking around into Vought parties was one thing for her, but talking to him like this, while he was on his best behaviour and definitely wasn’t supposed to be interacting with other mutants.

“Laura… what are you doing here?” he asked, trying to suppress the shock in his voice.

Laura raised an eyebrow at his reaction and shook her head. “Recon.” She replied with a smile looking around. “And relax, they don’t know who I am.” She shrugged. “What are you doing here?” 

Lexi raises an eyebrow and nods. “Yeah, I remember. You said you lost something?” She tilts her head slightly as the woman asks about her work. “I do… why? Don’t tell me they fucked you over….” Her eyes widen slightly, bracing for the worst. She keeps her tone soft, but she was sure the woman could hear her as she speaks. “Did you need some help or something?” She runs a hand through her hair. 

Laura raised an eyebrow, curious at that reaction and shook her head in reply. “No, I’ve just thought I saw you at a couple of their parties that I’ve attended to, why? Do they fuck over a lot of people?” She asked with an amused tone in her voice. “I was just curious about it, I’ve considered applying for a job there and I would like to know more about it before deciding.”

Just by her reaction, The Deep could tell she was a mutant if it was anything. A supe was proud and would showcase it to the world, mutants just hid all the damn time. “So you’re a mutant then, don’t worry I won’t report you.” The water was nice and quiet, he didn’t need the Sentinels disturbing that. “I know, Vought thought it sounded good and the focus group agreed so that’s what I am.” He shrugged. Nothing about it was real and they even had a backstory for Maeve. “You don’t have to go. Do you want to see how deep we can dive?” There wasn’t many supes that could do this and they were missing out. The dolphins were playful but even just swimming with the school’s of fish was an incredible sight.

Laura raised an eyebrow at his words and shrugged. “It’d be worse for them and you than me,” She replied seriously. “Oh, so it’s all, what? A marketing strategy?” Laura asked and she was a little caught off guard by his invitation and she studied him for a while. He was the outcast of the seven for what she had heard and considering what he did rightfully so, still, this was a good opportunity to learn more about Vought and The Seven. “I can hold my breath for a long time but I’m not a very... fast swimmer.” She had less adamantium than Logan, a lot less, just the claws in her hands and feet but still, it was enough to make swimming a little harder than it was when she was a child and still had her bone claws. “Alright.” She nodded. “Let’s go.”