X-23's Beginning|
Laura was created from a damaged genetic sample of Wolverine and grown in Dr. Kinney's womb in the Facility. Raised to be the perfect weapon after the failed Weapon X program, she was taught only to kill and suffered much abuse to snuff her humanity and make her a remorseless machine. It was only thanks to Dr. Kinney's love that the owners of the Facility did not succeed.
At the age of 16 Laura started showing too many signs of independent thinking, and was made to kill her dog, and then her master, by having her berserker bloodlust activated by the artificial scent known as the trigger. Horrified of the programming, Dr. Kinney tried to get Laura out, but met the same fate of the other people who loved Laura, and was murdered in the snow by her own daughter.
Alone and confused, Laura ran with only Dr. Kinney's letter on her and went to Sarah's family, presenting herself as her daughter. A brief stint of normal life was interrupted by the Facility finding her and killing both Debbie and Megan. Running again, and alone once more, Laura found herself on the streets of NYC. It wasn't hard for her to get by, given her training. Beating drug dealers into pulp for money for food, breaking into buildings, abandoned or not, to find somewhere to sleep. Eventually the Facility managed to track her down though, and after a narrow escape, she decided to try and track down the original Weapon X.
When X-23 found him, at Xavier's, she wasn't met with what she expected, and found herself taken in by the school and given a new home. A home she's still adjusting to.
Anti-social|Laura doesn't really get people. She doesn't even really like people. Being around the same people regularly in a 'free' environment is completely foreign to her, and not really something she's adjusting to terribly well just yet. She's not made any friends yet in her time at Xavier's, and has a knack for saying or doing something incredibly off-putting any time another student tries to make the effort.
Stone Cold Killer|Simply put, Laura is a killer. She may not murder people on a whim without reason, but it is what she was born and bred to do, and she had a decade and a half of being de-sensitized to the violence. If she, or (in a rare instance) someone she cares about is in danger, her immediate response is to end the threat, in the most permanent way possible. She does not think twice before ending lives, something that separates her rather starkly from her peers and associates, and will likely put a very tall wall between herself and them if it ever is made blatantly apparent.
Feral|Laura doesn't give up or quit very easily, be it in terms of a life and death fight, or backing down from a silly argument with another student at Xavier's. Coupled with her defunct interpersonal skills, she does not handle social conflict very well and often resorts to yelling, hitting the wall, and breaking things.
Seeking to Belong|Despite her issues, which she is often objectively fully aware of, an important part of Laura /does/ want to be like everybody else. She wants to be human. She wants friends. She wants to not think of herself as a murderer. She is just horribly, horribly ill-equipped for reaching those goals, and because of it often finds herself taking one step forward and then ninety-seven steps backwards when she has a fit, gets scared and angry, and pops claws on somebody in a panic because she doesn't know how to deal with a situation that might arise in her relationships with others.
Motivation|Laura is driven by the desire to become her own person. To develop her own life and separate herself from her awful past.
Goals|Laura wants to grow, she wants to be able to live a "normal" life. She wants to prove that she can go out and function like a normal human being, out in society, surrounded by other people. She wants to find a place she belongs.
Adamantium Claws|X-23 has natural bone claws, two sheathed in each forearm, and has one in each foot. Courtesy of The Facility and the Weapon X program, these claws have been completely coated in adamantium, a rare metal that is essentially unbreakable, and these claws are able to cut through almost every other known material like a hot knife through butter.
Healing Factor|Much like Weapon X himself, X-23's mutation comes in the form of an incredible healing factor. In truth, this ability has proven to be even more potent than her predecessor's, though the disparity is largely attributed to the fact that her entire skeleton is not covered in adamantium, which means her power is not constantly working overtime every second of every day to keep her alive through that abnormality. Laura is capable of re-attaching severed limbs, or even regrowing them. X-23 is also immune to almost every known disease, toxin, poison, and anything else of the sort.
Superhuman Physique|A side effect of her Healing Factor, spawned by the rigorous, inhumane training The Facility put her through, Laura's body is capable of feats beyond her size, and flat out beyond human capability. Her reflexes, dexterity, and agility have all been honed to the literal breaking point and beyond, only enabled due to her incredible healing forcing her body to permit the feats. She's also far stronger than she appears, due to the healing factor constantly regenerating muscle tissue, and she is able to lift roughly 800 pounds. The rate at which she heals also allows her to endure blows from drastically stronger opponents without being immediately out of the fight. The Hulk might knock her half way across the city, but she's going to get back up pretty quickly. Laura may not be quick enough to dodge a bullet at close range, but anybody (even multiple anybodies) without similarly enhanced reflexes has little to no chance against her in melee combat without some other factor coming into play.
Enhanced Senses|X-23 has increased senses, her sense of smell being the strongest of them, with her sight and hearing and the others not far behind. Most notably, this trait displays itself in her ability to tell who is approaching her just based on their scent, assuming she knows the person.
Xavier's|Laura might often be a bit of an odd duck out when it comes to dealing with her students, but all the same, she has found a home at Xavier's, even if she still struggles to realize and come to terms with that fact. There are people here who'd help, sometimes even if she thinks she doesn't want their help.
Tracking|Aside from actually being trained to track prey, Laura's incredibly keen sense of smell alone makes her one of the world's best trackers.
Expert Operator|Laura was born, bred, and raised to be as great an operative and assassin as possible. Trained as a living weapon, she is incredibly adept at stealth and disguising herself, she is a master martial artist and marksman (even if she rarely uses a weapon other than her claws), and well versed in many brands of assassination. She also has a keen mind for tactics and the flow of combat. She lacks the charisma and skills to lead a team, but she herself can adept to wild fluctuations in tactical situations on the fly.
Athletics|Laura is able to perform at, and above, Olympic level in many forms of athletics. She can form seemingly impossibly acrobatics and gymnastics, as well as run faster and jump higher than humanly possible due to her enhanced physique.
Multilingual|Laura can speak fluent English, French, German, Russian, Chinese, and Japanese.
Kimura|X-23's former handler when she was a tool of the Facility. Laura has undergone extensive torture, both physical and mental under the hands of this woman. Kimura's mutation renders her impervious to even adamantium, which results in a pretty bad day for Laura, and this woman and the Facility would be all too happy to get their hands on X-23 again.
Most Wanted|X-23's stint as a globe-trotting, brainwashed assassin killing off political figures did not go unnoticed by world authorities, and at least some of them, like SHIELD, are aware of X in detail.
Instinctive|There is a very feral quality to Laura, and she often reacts to many things on instinct and like a threatened animal. This makes it both difficult for her to relate to other people, and difficult for them to understand her or get close. Anybody who's spent more than a few days around her would probably not be surprised to learn she stabbed someone "on accident" one day.
Trigger Scent|Trigger 42 is a special pheromone designed by The Facility, and one that Laura has been severely conditioned to. The smallest whiff of this on or near another person will send her into a murderous rage, shredding anything and anyone who gets between her and the target. She has absolutely no control over herself when this comes into play, and the existence of it is one of her greatest fears.
