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Adjusting to a new timeline was… odd, and that would be an understatement. Laura had lived for years in the Void, and for a long time had thought she would never escape. There was nowhere to escape to, after all. Her timeline had been destroyed. Her universe was gone forever. She could not save it, which was a large part of why she was so determined to save Wade’s, and why she had asked to be sent to his universe when she was given the choice.
This universe’s Logan had died in a similar act of sacrifice as her father, protecting a group of children who were escaping from a lab that had created them, but rather than chasing Eden they had been on their way to the X-Mansion. All of the children but one had made it—her own counterpart, who had sacrificed herself in making sure that her friends could make it to the remaining X-Men alive. Laura had always been curious about the X-Men. She had met a number of them in the Void, but never in the context of the school. Never in an environment that was at all stable. In an environment that filled her father with grief.
It was an odd feeling, to have a father again. This Logan could not replace hers. They were so similar, and yet also so different. This Logan was… not softer exactly. He was still fierce, still mean, still prone to drinking to a degree that would kill someone without his regenerative healing abilities. But the longer that they were in this timeline, the more she saw him loosen, saw him show how much he truly cared. Saw how he lived when not being constantly chased down and on the run. It was a good look for him, and was a life she wished that her father could have experienced. It brought her comfort to consider the many ways it was her father experiencing this life, this family that they were building with Wade, and Althea, and all the people who comprised Wade’s world.
Despite the fact that she did not want to become one of the X-Men, Laura was happy to find friends in Ellie and Yukio, and had come to see them and Colossus as an extended family of sorts. What Laura had craved the most, her whole life, was a sense of normalcy, of stability. And that is what this universe had brought her. The TVA’s assistance in integrating her and Logan into the timeline had been near-seamless. Or at least that is how it had seemed to her. They provided them with physical documentation as well as hacked into various government databases to integrate a digital footprint for their existence. They had bank accounts, educational records, everything needed to exist in 2024 (nearly 2025) on Earth-10005.
Between the money and records provided by the TVA Laura was able to do something that had always been a faint dream of hers—enrolling in college. The applications were due January 1st, and she was stressed. She had never been to a proper school before, and she knew it would take some adjusting, certainly, but she was smart and eager to learn, especially regarding all the ways in which this universe was unique from her own. Though she was finding out that deciding she wanted to go to college and making it happen were coming with some unique challenges.
“What’s the problem, badger baby?” Wade asked as he walked into the apartment with Mary Puppins. Laura was staring at the blank word document open on her brand new TVA funded laptop.
Her head swiveled to look at him, and her staring continued. “What was that?”
“I’m wondering what you’ve got on your mind, mini-peanut. The author just typed up a shit ton of exposition, but you haven’t typed anything .”
Laura shook her head and blinked. She had lost track of how long she had been looking at the blank screen, her only other movements being clicking and unclicking her pen as her thoughts circled in her head. “Uh, my college essay. I have no idea what to write.”
“Ah, I don’t know how much I can help you there kiddo. Writing has never been my strong suit. But I could help you brainstorm ideas if you like?”
“It’s not that I don’t have ideas, it’s that if I try to respond to any of these prompts they will think that I either misunderstood the assignment and decided to write self-insert fanfiction or that I am insane.” Laura sighed, and picked up the piece of paper where she had printed out a hard copy of the questions using the printer at the public library. “Like get a load of this one: ‘The lessons we take from obstacles we encounter can be fundamental to later success. Recount a time when you faced a challenge, setback, or failure. How did it affect you, and what did you learn from the experience?’ I mean yes, I have the perfect answer for that, but if I try to tell them about how I was an experiment from birth and once I escaped spent my life on the run, that watched my father get murdered and then I was on the run for several years before my universe was destroyed and then I lived in hell for a nebulous amount of time before I helped save the world and now I’m in a new universe living in a one bedroom apartment with my two dads, my gramma, and an immortal dog. Like who the fuck is actually going to believe that?” Laura ran out of breath and her face began to crumple. “I know I’ll never be normal, I’m a mutant, I was made in a lab and my whole body is a deadly weapon and I have no idea how many people I’ve killed at this point but this universe is supposed to be a new start and—” Laura’s tirade was cut off by Wade pulling her into a strong hug.
“You’re right, you’ll never be normal, which, for the record, there is no such thing. And even if there was, conforming to societal norms is bullshit. You’re unique and wonderful and any college would be incredibly lucky to have you. It would be a privilege for them for you to attend. You’re going to do better than you expect.”
Laura made a small nod of acceptance as she relaxed into his hold. She had met a lot of Deadpools in the Void—they were a dime a dozen. But in less than a month he had become family to her in a way that she had not thought she would ever have. He had been essential in getting herself acclimated to this universe, and alongside Logan had become a person she could rely on—a parent she could rely on—something she had never had before.
“Thanks, Wade.” She replied gruffly. “I’ll figure it out. There’s an open-ended option, like, so that I can just write about whatever. I’ll probably do that, it’s just. These questions have me in my own head a bit I guess. But I’ll be okay.” She shrugged off his hug, even though she secretly wished it could have lasted a little longer. “Where’s Da- Logan? Did he not go on the walk with you?”
“He wanted to do some secret last-minute Christmas shopping. Said I wasn’t allowed to ruin the surprise.”
Right. It was Christmas tomorrow. Holidays weren’t really a thing for her, time didn’t exist in the Void after all, but Wade had been incredibly excited for it. Something that everyone in the apartment had felt, given the enclosed space. She was grateful that come the new year they would be moving to a different apartment down the hall. Still close enough to check in on Althea everyday if they wanted to (and they did) but also meant that she would have her own bedroom, which is something she’s never had before. She would also no longer be sharing a bed with Althea while Wade and Logan slept on (and slept on) the pullout couch.[1]
“It’s about to be a new year mija.” Wade smacked a kiss on the top of her head. “In a new universe. And things are just getting started.”
[1] AKA The Sex Couch