What Doesn't Kill You Only Makes You Stronger

A/N: Thanks for reading! Just to let you know, the naughty stuff is coming shortly. Thanks : )


To say that Colonel William Stryker was livid to hear that both Hostiles 17 and 315 had escaped was an understatement. The man ached to shoot something after the phone call he had received from Doctor Maggie Walsh, the head scientist for the Initiative. The worst part of it was that there was no one to blame. According to the report, the vampire had bit into 315’s skin and ripped out the inhibitor that suppressed her mutant powers. Stryker hadn’t realized that his daughter would go to such lengths to escape.

That meant one of the most powerful mutants in the world was roaming free on the Hellmouth. The woman had been a telekinetic and a telepath when she had entered the program. With the technology taken from a previous mutant experimentation project, he had been able to further mutate her DNA to give her immense strength, enhanced senses, and an unheard of healing factor. It was Doctor Walsh who had been able to give her the gift of pyrokinesis. She was to be the ultimate soldier, but that was before the incident with Deathstrike.

Hostile 17 had been Walsh’s pet project. It was an attempt to harness the strength of a demon for military use. The vampire had been implanted with a microchip that sent crippling pain through his skull whenever he tried to harm a human being. Unfortunately, it had the same effect when attacking mutants. That had to be changed. But none of that mattered at that moment. He had to get his ass to the Hellmouth and capture his daughter before Xavier and his X-Men found her, if they hadn’t already.

The Colonel looked over at his wheelchair bound son who had been staring at him throughout the entire conversation with Walsh. “Your little sister has been a very naughty girl, Jason,” he stated to assuage the mutant’s curiosity. “She and her cellmate, Hostile 17, escaped the compound a couple of hours ago. We’re gone for one day and look what happens.”

Jason wasn’t able to speak, but he sent an image into his father’s mind of Chandra and Spike returning to the Initiative and wiping out the compound. He couldn’t keep the smirk off of his face. His father was less than amused and backha him him before hitting the switch on his wheelchair that slowed his brainwaves, turning him into little more than a vegetable.

“Yuriko, arrange for a flight to the installation in Sunnydale,” he bellowed into his intercom after crippling his son. “Jason will be joining us.”

Stryker knew that she would do anything for her brother. He was the key to bringing her back. In the mean time, he had issued orders for a thorough search of Sunnydale and the surrounding communities and to avoid any hostiles that may come their way. There was no time for Walsh’s trivial experiments. He had a far greater vision.

~*~*~

Logan charged back into the house with Spike and Rogue in tow. Willow had just left Chandra’s side to check on the others and nearly collided with Logan in his haste to get to the professor. Noticing his harried state, he quickly got out of his way.

The older mutant was trying to calm himself, but to no avail. With his chest heaving in anger and claws ready to strike once more, he stood before Xavier. “Who is she, Charles?” he asked quietly with closed eyes as he struggled to control his breathing and violent urges. “You know her. How?”

~Calm down, Logan. I’ll tell you what you want, but you need to calm yourself.~

~Believe me, I’m trying.~

He did back off, stalking to the back of the room next to the stairs. He knew that all eyes were on him, but that wasn’t new. After all, his rages were well known around the Institute. What were a few more people to be scared of him? But if he had been paying attention, he wouldn’t have seen fear in the eyes of Xander, Giles, and Buffy. He would have seen sadness. Anyone could sense that this situation terribly disturbed him.

Relieved to see that Logan hadn’t frightened any of their new acquaintances, Xavier began to tell them everything he knew about the damaged girl upstairs.

“Chandra’s older brother, Jason, was a student of mine years before I started the Institute as you now know it. He was mute and spoke through images he could broadcast in one’s mind. Their parents brought him to me in hopes that I could cure him. Even though I had explained to them that there was no cure for mutation, they agreed to let him stay with me for a month to see if I could help him control his impulses, to keep him from projecting every thought and image that ran through his head.

“Their father was working at the Pentagon during that time and Chandra would often come and visit Jason. They were incredibly close--that boy loved her more than anything else. She was eleven years old then.”

“It’s safe to assume that she hadn’t manifested yet, correct Charles?” Giles asked and the Professor answered with a sad smile. “Yes and no, Rupert. She was what we call a flatscan mutant. She had no powers, per se. It was only her appearance that indicated that she was a mutant. According to her mother, her hair and eyes took their current form when she was two years old. Her formerly black hair fell out to be replaced with this pink and her dark blue eyes shifted to their tricolor violet. From that time on they dyed her hair and made her wear dark glasses. I have no idea when her telepathy manifested.”

“Like me,” Rogue stated softly. “I got the streaks when I was six years old. I didn’t manifest until last year.” The young woman felt all eyes on her and she continued. “My skin is my mutation. When I touch someone, skin to skin, their life force flows into me. It knocks the other person out and can kill if I hold on too long. With mutants I take on their powers for a small amount of time. Hence the gloves,” she finished, holding up her perpetually gloved hands. Logan took her hand in his and squeezed gently with a smile. It was a smile that she gratefully returned.

“Exactly, Rogue,” the Professor added with a soft smile thanking her for her openness with these strangers. “When my month with Jason was over, his parents were not happy. When I said I had taught hontrontrol, they assumed that I had stopped his visions all together. Of course that wasn’t the case. It was the boy’s only way of communication. How could I take that away even if I could? Nonetheless, the Strykers took Chandra and Jason back home to Virginia and I haven’t seen them since.”

The name Stryker brought several images to mind for Logan--none of them pretty. He could feel the searing pain as his bones were laid bare and the liquid metal poured into his flesh, the agony as the claws escaped his knuckles for the first time. At that moment, he knew who had taken him and turned him into the Wolverine. The mutant hadn’t even realized that his claws had indeed slid out and he was growling until he heard the Sunnydale kids gasp. Not meeting the eyes of anyone in the room, he did as Spike had earlier and stormed out of the house into the backyard. And as Rogue had done for Spike, she moved to go after him. She was stopped by a discreet shake of the head from Xavier.

~Leave him be for now, child. He’ll be back.~

~Yes, Professor.~

Xavier smiled his thanks anved ved to continue, but was halted by Buffy. “What’s the deal with those claws, Prof? There’s no way they’re natural, mutant or not.”

“Logan was also a victim of biomedical experimentation--those claws are made of adamantium, an indestructible metal. It is also grafted to his entire skeleton. But he had no ideare ore or when it was done. But with that reaction, I now have reason to believe that it was Chandra’s father. I knew he was a man of science, I just never thought he would go to these extremes.”

“He was in the Pentagon because he’s a military scientist,” Buffy realized. “And he’s continuing whatever he did with Logan, but this time with demons too.”

~*~*~

“Weapon X. That‘s what Daddy‘s first project was called.”

No one had noticed Chandra descend the stairs, not even the Professor as he had been so wrapped up in his thoughts. She was now at his side and he looked up at those striking violet eyes and frowned at the sadness that radiated from her entire being. “Logan, also known as Wolverine, was the first test subject.” she whispered. “This time, I was, with the organization known as the Initiative. The call me Hostile 315, but I‘ve also been known as Kali, because I was their goddess of destruction.” There was dead silence, everyone afraid that if they spoke, Chandra would withdraw into herself again. “I was given everything that Logan has--the strength, the senses, the regenerative power. One of his colleagues managed to fuck my DNA up even more to make me pyrokinetic. My telekinesis and telepathy manifested the year before I was drafted. The adamantium was supposed to come next, but--” She choked up, remembering the pain she went through as the preliminary testing began and Charles immediately offered his hand. Spike saw her clutching the older man's hand and continued for her.

“The bastards had an arena set up to test all of the subjects in combat. Chandra here was the best. Her strength and healing factor put yours to shame, Slayer,” he said seriously. “And mine. Only two of her opponents were able to best her. Out of all of her opponents, there were only two that took her down. The first was Stryker’s personal assistant. She had been augmented with adamantium spikes that slid from beneath her fingernails. Despite all of her strength and healing, the first strike with the nails put Chandra out of the fight. The bitch caught her in the eye and she went down. I remember all of the blood--it had happened the day after I was captured and I was ravenous.” Buffy narrowed her eyes at him, but he shrugged it off and continued.

“She wouldn’t stop bleeding. The doctors had to fight to save her eye. In the end, she was only left with the scar--she was bloody blessed for that. But the doctors got to use that an excuse for further testing. That metal slices through her skin like butter and her healing factor does fuck all for it. They called the bitch Deathstrike after that, because she was the only one to take Chandra down.”

“Who was the other?” Xander wondered aloud as everyone absorbed Chandra’s story. He was met with a grin that held none of Spike’s usual arrogance. “Me, mate. They pit her against me the day after the situation with Deathstrike. She was still weak--that’s the only reason I bested her.” The Scoobies couldn’t believe that the vampire would admit that this damaged woman could beat his ass any day of the week. Their reaction didn‘t slide past him. “Yeah, I know what you’re thinking, Slayer. But it’s true.” He sobered once he took another look at his fellow captive. She was practically shaking as Spike relayed the details of their confinement. “They were punishing her because she wouldn’t survive the procedure that would graft the metal to her skeleton. After that fight, we shared the same cell and her blood was given to me as my prize.”

“You fed from her?!” Buffy demanded to know. “How could you do that?”

Before Spike could answer, Chandra did so in his defense. “Spike is the reason we made it out. Yesterday they pit us against each other again. They were still testing chip that they implanted in me a month before Spike came. It was right above my left breast. It suppressed my various mutations at their command. They could make itI coI could heal, but I couldn’t use my telepathy, or create fire but not use my telekinesis, etc. Tonight, they had it set for battle--I was free to use my strength and regenerative powers. It’s the same with the chip in Spike’s brain. They can turn if anf and on. Today it was on. Only a few seconds passed after our inhibitors were set to fight He pinned me and, um, gnawed the chip out of my chest. After that all it took was a little telepathic projection of my pain to the soldiers and we were out.”

“Gnawed?” Xander repeated in distaste. “That makes for a horrible metal pic.”
.”

“Oh, it *was* nasty. Hence me bleeding all over Spike earlier, but it got us out. That’s our story--short version.”

“I don’t think that I want ear ear the long version,” Willow shuddered.

Rogue was chilled to the bone. They had only heard the horror storied of mutant experimentation labs. To see its effects on someone who had been through it was terrible. She had incredible respect for the woman before her and her respect for Logan grew, now having more insight to his situation.

Feeling some weight lift from her chest after sharing her tale, without a word she stood and left the living room for the kitchen. Smelling the sweet scent of a very fine Cuban cigar, she followed it to find Logan sitting on the back porch with a stogie. Of course, he didn’t need to turn around in order to know she was there. Her scent was very distinct underneath the stench of blood and fear and the vampire. It was sandalwood and cigarette smoke, spice and a gentle musk that could only belong to a woman. His thoughts were interrupted when he heard her soft voice.

“I’m sorry for what he did to you, Logan.”

That was the last thing he expected to hear from her. His eyes flashed with anger as he stood and turned to meet her very expressive violet eyes. It disgusted to him to know that the bastard tortured his own daughter. And that she felt that she had to apologize for it. “Don’t you ever apologize for him, darlin.’” he growled. “He’s the one that’s going to be held responsible for what he did.”

Chandra remained silent and lifted a hand to the other mutant’s face. Gently stroking his cheek with this thumb, she opened hind ind so she could feel what he did. She felt the fear and searing pain as he relived the experiments. Sadly, it was nothing new to her.

“I don’t apologize for my father. I’m merely sorry that someone else has to feel the same way that I do.” She couldn‘t stop the tears as she cried for the both of them.

Those words broke his heart. He didn’t stop himself from taking her into his arms and holding her while she cried. Strong arms wrappeoundound her tightly, he stroked her soft hair. “You’re safe now, darlin.’ Charles, well, he’s gonna take care of you, help you get through this. We all are. We’re all a family, this X-gene kinda unites us. You and me especially ya know.”

“He’s going to come back for me,” Chandra stated wher her tears subsided but left her head on Logan’s shoulder.

“But he isn’t going to take you back. I promise you that.”

His heart began to put itself back together when she graced him with a beautiful smile. Without a word, she brushed a feather light kiss against his lips and went back inside. After that simple gesture he knew he would never let her out of his sight. He was absolutely taken with this woman child who, despite her emotional turmoil could still find strength.

~*~*~

When Logan and Chandra returned, it was decided that she would accompany the X-Men back to Bayville and so would Willow. She nonchalantly mentioned her witchy status along with her super-hacker skills and presented the case that having someone well versed in the supernatural working with the mutants would help. To Chandra’s dismay, Spike was to remain in Sunnydale and help the Slayer learn more about the Initiative, for example, where the installation was. Even though they had made their escape, it was from an underground tunnel in an in descript part of the woods just outside the city limits.

It was agreed that the dismantling of the Initiative would be a joint effort. Eventually, some of the X-Men would be sent to Sunnydale for reconnaissance. Rogue was secretly hoping that she would be one of them. She felt a kinship with Spike and looked forward to seeing him again. The vampire thing, that didn’t matter to her. Her time at the Institute had taught her that there was always more than meets to eye. Always.

After many thank you’s and farewells, a slightly more than platonic hug and kiss from Spike to Chandra that had both Logan and Rogue suppressing growls, and the promise that if Spike came anywhere near the pointy ef a f a stake, there would be hell to pay, courtesy of Chandra, the mutants plus Willow were on their way to the Blackbird.

~*~*~