ISSUE #65

" All right let's go. I'll introduce you to the other students first, and I have to speak with Scott." Logan told Laura as the three walked into the mansion.

Laura nodded quietly and continued walking with Logan and Ian as they walked the empty halls of the institute.

Ian looked around and felt sorrow by how empty and quiet the halls were at the time. They used to be filled with so much laughter and joy. Yeah, there were tough times. Hard times. But everyone here was loved by someone and loved being here. That's what Ian thought as he looked on.

Laura noticed how somber his gaze seemed but said nothing as they continued onwards.

As the group walked, they noticed Sofia running out of the TV room crying.

" Sofia, what'-" Ian asked, but the girl ignored him and kept on going. " Wrong?"

" What was that about?" Logan asked.

" We're not finished yet, Keller!" The group heard Noriko yell from the next room over.

" I'm not sure. But i think I might have a clue." Ian told the man.

Logan sighed and the group walked towards the room just to hear Julian yelling.

" You just picked the worst time to me mess with me, Little girl." Julian yelled.

" Am I interrupting something?" Logan asked Noriko and Julian as he, Laura, and Ian walked into the room.

The students in the room all turned towards the three wide-eyed and immediately stopped in their tracks.

" No? Good. Then listen up." Logan spoke. " This is Laura, my sister. She's a genetic clone created from my DNA and... You know what it doesn't matter." Logan explained. " The bottom line is, she has my claws and, yes. She could kill you if she wanted. So, don't make her want to. Consider yourselves introduced." Logan explained. " Run, I need to speak with you for a moment. Oh, and my money's on Nori by the way." Logan said as he turned to leave the room.

Ian shook his head and followed Logan out of the room and into the hallway.

" Look, I know yer okay, kid. But I need you to look after Laura, alright? She's still new to this and so far, you're the only one I trust to make sure she gets a chance to interact with others." Logan told the boy.

" Logan, don't worry. I'll look after her, I promise I'll make sure she fits right in. I'll take care of her Logan, I promise ya." Ian told the man.

Logan relaxed a bit and sighed.

" Thanks kid. Just make sure to keep an eye on her. She's still learning and she's defenseless. I don't want her to get hurt, that's all." Logan explained.

" I know, Logan. Don't worry, I'll always be there for her. Just like I will you. She'll never be alone again." Ian told the man.

" Thanks kid. Now, get in there and make sure she doesn't gut Julian for me." Logan stated.

The thought quickly crept into Ian's mind. He knew how much of a loudmouth that Julian was, and he didn't want to leave him alone with Laura for more than a minute until he was sure that Julian wouldn't mess with her like he used to do him.

Ian turned and walked back into the room, where it seemed that everyone was already gearing up to leave.

" What are you looking at, clone?" Julian asked Laura as he walked past her.

Ian grabbed Julian and pulled him close.

" Dude, what the hell?" Julian exclaimed.

" Listen, Julian. I love you man, but you she has a name, use it. She hasn't done anything to you at all. So, treat her with some respect okay. If you want to be angry at anyone, it should be yourself." Ian told the boy.

" Dude, are you taking up for a clone, now? Is that it?" Julian asked.

" I'm taking up for a friend, Julian. Times are tough on everyone right now. She's not here to be bullied man. Just give her some damn room. And all I asked you to do is call her by her name." Ian told the boy. He let him go and Julian huffed.

" Look man, if you want to play rebound with the clone, go ahead. I ain't judging. But don't grab me like that again. Not today." Julian said to Ian as walked with the rest of the group.

Ian watched as the group left and then turned towards Laura and placed his hand on her shoulder.

" Hey, don't worry about Julian, okay. His normal setting is jack ass. It might not seem like it. But he really is a good guy. Once you get to know him that is.... If you can get to know him." Ian explained to the girl.

" It is... Okay." Laura replied.

" No, it isn't. You didn't do anything to make him mad. He had no right to yell at you. And you shouldn't have just let him either, Laura." Ian explained to the girl. " You don't have to let anyone talk down to you or call you anything you don't want to be called."

" But he wasn't wrong. I am a clone." Laura replied.

" No, Laura. You're a living, breathing person. And you have a right to be called whatever you want. And you also have a right to not be called mean things like that." Ian explained.

Laura flinched a little.

" Hey, I'm just telling you what it is, Laura. You are a person. Not a doormat. You don't have to let him walk all over you. But let's not worry about that anymore. How about we follow them and see what's up?" Ian asked the girl. Ian could see that Laura was getting uncomfortable with the conversation and changed the subject.

" Okay." Laura replied.

Ian nodded, not wanting to press the situation any further, and he and Laura both left to join the others.

' This is going to be hard. She has no kind of backbone. I know Logan said she had it rough, but I never imagined it would be this bad. Even a slight raise of my tone made her flinch. Like I was going to hit her or something. I know how that feels. But I was only down bad for a month. How long has Laura had to go through things like I did? If I'm going to help her, then I need to learn more about her.' Ian thought to himself. " Hey, Laura."

" Yes?" Laura asked.

" You know, it should go without saying, but I just wanted to let you know that if you need anything, anything at all. You can come to me. If you need help with anything no matter how small it might be, be it training or maybe if you just need to talk or someone to just sit with, my door is always open to you. Always. I promise, I'll have your back no matter what." Ian told the girl.

Laura had keen senses and could tell when someone was lying. But not Ian. She could tell from the way his heartbeat that he was speaking the truth, word for word.

" Thank you, Ian." Laura told the boy.

Ian placed his hand on the girl's shoulder and smiled.

" No worries, Laura. You're welcome."