The next morning, the early sunlight filtered through the trees surrounding the Jean Grey School. Dante and Laura stood at the main gateway in silence, the cold wind brushing past them. Laura wore her usual stoic expression, arms folded, her bag slung over one shoulder. Dante, meanwhile, had both hands in his jacket pockets, his gaze resting on the familiar building behind them.
"So… I guess you're really leaving," Dante finally said, breaking the quiet.
Laura nodded without hesitation. "Yes. The mission's over."
She spoke simply, but her words carried weight. Dante knew that was just her way.
"You're free from the arm," she continued, glancing briefly at his now-normal left hand. "Owen's free too, and he's adjusting quickly. He's strong. He'll become a proper X-Man sooner than later. The right arm's host was returned to his family, safe and sound."
She paused, her eyes steady on him now.
"And the eyes…"
Her voice trailed off for a second. Then she turned to him directly.
"Do you want to talk about what we did?"
Dante blinked, not expecting that. "Oh—no, no, no," he waved his hands a little. "You don't need to worry about that. It's… not what you think."
He scratched his head awkwardly, then remembered. "Oh—right, yeah. During our run, Ray told me something important. Since Guy fully possessed the host's body, there was nothing left of the original person. The host died the moment Guy took over. So the whole time, he was just puppeteering a corpse."
Laura's eyebrows lowered slightly in thought. "Ray?"
Dante grinned and reached into his back, pulling out the black and silver-hilted sword—Alastor
"Well, you remember Alastor. But his name is Ray now," Dante said with a bit of pride.
The sword pulsed slightly as the familiar voice chimed in, youthful and more expressive than before. "It's nice to properly meet you this time, Laura."
She narrowed her eyes. "Does the name change have something to do with you sounding a lot younger than before? And… feeling alive?"
Her tone was as blunt as ever, and Dante winced slightly.
Dante let out a soft, amused laugh. "You know, Laura, I've known you for a while now. Your directness never bothered me, but… maybe there should be a limit."
"No, it's fine," Ray said, waving off the tension. "She's just being herself."
Ray continued, his tone shifting to something more reflective.
"When I connected with Laura's memories, I saw something in her… something familiar. She was like the old me. Treated like a tool, a weapon. Trained to fight, trained to obey. But someone entered her life—someone who truly cared—and slowly helped her break free. Helped her become more than a tool. Helped her live."
Ray's voice softened.
"I thought… maybe Dante could be that for me. But I wasn't like Laura. My trauma ran too deep. Even though I managed to defy Guy and help you both, I couldn't undo what I had become. So I made a choice."
He paused, letting the words sink in.
"I chose to be reborn."
Reborn, huh?" Laura said quietly, her green eyes narrowing slightly.
"That explains why you sound younger… but how exactly does that help you with your trauma if you're still the same person?"
Ray gave a small chuckle through the sword.
"Well… technically, I'm not the same person. Alastor is… kind of like my father now. But also kind of me. It's complicated. I only carry fragments of his memories, not the full weight of them."
Dante crossed his arms, glancing at Laura.
"Yeah, don't worry, I was just as confused when he first explained it."
Laura, however, didn't even blink. "No. I understand exactly what he means."
Dante looked at her, blinking in surprise. "Wait, seriously?"
Laura nodded. "It's not that strange. It's similar to my situation with Logan."
Ray's voice came out again, sounding amused.
"Exactly. It's like her and Wolverine."
Dante, still confused, raised an eyebrow.
"Okay, hold up—what does that mean exactly?"
"I'll explain it to you later," Ray said lightly, clearly not in a hurry.
Dante sighed, letting it go for now.
"Alright, fine. So… where are you going now?" he asked, glancing at Laura.
Laura shifted her weight slightly, glancing toward the gate.
"No plan. Before this mission, I was just wandering… trying to figure things out. I'll probably just keep doing that for a while."
Dante's expression faltered a little. "So… you're going somewhere far, then?"
"Maybe." Laura answered honestly, her voice low. "Why?"
Dante scratched the back of his head, suddenly a little awkward.
"Well, to be honest with you…" He avoided her gaze. "I liked having you around. I know most of what we did was training the past few days… but honestly, I enjoyed it. Just… hanging out with you."
Laura tilted her head slightly, listening without interrupting.
"I guess I shouldn't worry about it," she said after a moment, her tone softer than usual. "During my journey, I met a lot of people. And this journey won't last forever. Eventually, I'll come back to the X-Men."
She adjusted her bag on her shoulder and turned slightly.
"But for now… I have to go. Goodbye, Dante."
Just as she began walking away, Dante quickly spoke up, voice almost stumbling over itself.
"Wait—! You can call me Dan."
Laura stopped and looked back at him, raising a curious eyebrow.
"The nickname Owen always uses?" Are you using it as a codename she asked.
Dante chuckled awkwardly, a bit of red coloring his cheeks.
"No, not as my codename. That would be awful." He rubbed the back of his neck.
"I already decided my code name's gonna be Diablo. I know, kind of leaning into the whole demonic power thing, but whatever…"
He took a small breath.
"I just meant… you can call me Dan. Y'know… because I thought we got close enough for that."
For a moment, Laura just stared at him — calm, steady, unreadable.
Then, without warning, a small, genuine smile curved her lips.
Not forced, not practiced — real.
Dante froze, staring in complete disbelief.
It was the first time he had ever seen her smile.
"Well… see you later, Dan," Laura said simply, before turning on her heel and walking away.
Dante remained standing there, stunned, still staring after her, the morning sun warming the back of his neck.
(Dante doesn't know anything about Laura's backstory. He just didn't say anything when Ray mentioned her being used those a weapon. Because he knows that the X-Men go through a lot of fucked up shit. But he did react when he heard what they were saying about her and Logan because it was confusing for him, but Ray will explain her backstory to him off screen.)
(sorry it's been awhile but I have been doing Catching up on stuff like one piece I stacked 20 chapters That I'm currently Reading through also, I seriously recommend supermassive Comic universe it's honestly incredible)