I DO NOT OWN LOGAN.
Laura's P.O.V.
"I will be born in the year twenty-eighteen," I tell Dad. "In Mexico City." Dad winces as the vet pulls a bullet out of one of his wounds.
"I don't see myself going to Mexico," he says.
"You don't go to Mexico. And I feel like it'd be appropriate to mention that I wasn't...conceived the normal way. Do you remember when you were captured by William Stryker in nineteen seventy-seven?" Dad frowns, but nods. I can tell that he's wondering where this is going.
"Well, while you were there, Alkali got ahold of your DNA. And they stored it. After a while, a new company known as Transigen—which was founded by Stryker—started to create the children of powerful mutants, using the DNA that they had taken. They were able to easily create most of the kids, but they had trouble creating me."
"Why?" I sigh.
"Because they had originally wanted to create a boy from your DNA. But somehow the Y-chromosome in your DNA was damaged, but they tried. They tried and failed twenty-two times before my mother suggested that they try to make a girl. Transigen didn't like that—they wanted a boy. But my mother went behind their backs and created me anyway. And, as punishment, they forced her to carry the fetus."
"Yeah. About that: who is your mother?" I look at the already stitched wounds in his torso and chest and become lost in thought for a moment.
"I don't know a lot about her. After I was born she was never seen again. But one of the nurses that raised me, Gabriela, told me that she was a geneticist for Transigen. Oh, and that her name was Sofia." Dad looks away from me and at the ceiling.
"Sofia," he whispers. I nod in conformation, and Dad looks back at me. "Tell me more." At that moment, the vet and his mother finish stitching Dad's wounds and leave. At the same time Mariko walks in carrying a tray filled with food—thankfully no sushi. She hands me a steaming mug filled with some kind of noodles, vegetables, and broth that smells absolutely mouthwatering. I forget about the conversation and practically inhale the food. I haven't eaten anything in two days, and I honestly thought that I'd never get to eat.
After I try to use the chopsticks a couple of times, and failing, I throw the chopsticks on the bed, bring the bowl to my lips, and just eat it that way. I finish the soup within three minutes, and when I finish, I look up and see that both Dad and Mariko are staring at me.
"Sorry," I apologize. "I haven't eaten in two days." I put the bowl down and sigh.
"What were you guys talking about when I was away?" Mariko asks, trying to change the subject. I hesitate only for a moment before I quickly recount the information to her.
"So… you're Logan's daughter… from the future?" I shrug and nod. Dad and Mariko share a look.
"So, why did you come to the past, exactly?" Mariko asks. Realization crosses over Dad's face a moment later.
"Last night, you said that you came to the past to prevent your father from dying in the future," he states. I look him in the eyes and nod.
"I guess now's the time to tell you how you and I met," I whisper.
Logan's P.O.V.
I give up on my soup and turn my attention to Laura. Blood splatters stain her face and clothes, making her fair skin look sickly. Her dark eyes look exhausted and sadness is written on her face.
"You and I met when I was eleven," she begins. "Gabriela and I had been on the run for a couple of weeks at that point, and we were hiding out at an old motel by the border. We were on our way to North Dakota, to meet up with anybody who had survived the escape from Transigen. But soon enough, Gabriela realized that we couldn't get there by ourselves. Not with Transigen after us. So, she tracked you down." Laura looks at me. I frown in confusion.
"But why me? Surely there were other mutants that could have heled you out." She looks down at her clenched fists and anger crosses her face.
"In the future I come from, mutants are next to extinct. Transigen started to put some sort of chemical in all of the processed foods. The chemical suppresses the mutant X-gene, and prevents any humans or other mutants from having mutant babies. This has been the cause of the lack of mutant births since about two thousand four." I sit up in the bed and nearly knock my soup over.
"They have been killing mutants off?" I growl at Laura. Normally, when I get angry and use that tone of voice, people tend to flinch away or look frightened. But not Laura. She doesn't even look fazed in the least… and I have to say, I find it really interesting. For the first time in almost two centuries, this one, ninety-pound girl is not scared of me. But then again, that shouldn't surprise me considering she can decapitate a dozen men without blinking an eye. Laura shrugs.
"As far as I know, yes. They wanted to create a new generation of mutants that they would raise to be killing machines. They wanted to use my friends and I to take over the world."
"So, what went wrong?" Mariko asks.
"The thing that Doctor Rice didn't predict—but should have—is that my friends and I have souls. We have a conscience." Laura looks sad for a long moment. "At eight years old, I was exposed to radiation… so that my mutation would manifest. Then, they put me under anesthesia and coated the claws on my hands and feet with adamantium." Jesus Christ. I can't even imagine being put through that at such a young age. Especially having to undergo the procedure to put adamantium on your bones, which is extremely painful.
"Do you have adamantium on your whole skeleton?" I ask, truly curious. She shakes her head.
"No, just my claws. I guess they wanted me to be "quick on my feet", and I couldn't be fast with a shit load of adamantium on my bones."
"Okay," Mariko says. "Continue the story, please." Over the next half-hour Laura tells us the rest of the story, and all I have to say is that it's fucked up. It's fucked up how Charles dies, how I die. How my story supposedly ends. And, for some unknown reason, the thing that fucks me up the most is the fact that—in the future—I leave Laura alone. How she is most likely destined to have everyone she will ever know and love die in front of her. I wouldn't wish that on anybody, least of all my supposed daughter.
"And I have never felt more alone than I had in that moment. The moment I watched you die," Laura tells Mariko and I. "Because even though we had only known each other for a short time, I loved you. I still do love you, Dad. And it's for that reason why I'm willing to jeopardize my existence to save you." I'm now sitting on the edge of the bed, leaning towards her.
"But why?" I ask. "Why do you love me?" In the nearly two centuries of my life, I have never had anybody who truly loves me. Loves me enough to cry if I were to die, like Laura did.
"Because you understand me more than anyone else ever will." Her gaze is intense and serious. "You understand what it's like to know that you will outlive everyone you know and love. You understand what it's like to be used and abused." She looks away from me. "Look, I'm tired and we have a long day ahead of us. I wouldn't blame you if you don't believe me, but I do have this letter for you." She hands me an envelope with Logan written on it, in Jean's handwriting.
"Like I told you, in the future Jean is still alive. And right before I traveled through time she told me to give this to you." I then watch as Laura curls up into a small ball in one of the armchairs in the room and, before we could protest, she closes her eyes. Seconds later she is snoring softly. I look at the letter for a moment before standing and placing it on the nightstand. I look at Mariko.
"I know you want the bed but…" I look over at Laura. She looks like she's very uncomfortable. Like she could use a good night's sleep. And she deserves it more than Mariko and I. Mariko nods.
"Of course," she says. "You didn't even have to ask."
I walk over, and very gently lift Laura into my arms. And—just like when she first touched me when she ordered me to pay attention to my wounds—my heart flutters for a moment. A jolt of electricity runs through me. I try to shake it off, but it has a lingering effect on me.
I gently lay her onto the bed, take her shoes off, and pull the blanket over her. For a moment, I just stand there and look down at her. In sleep, Laura looks so peaceful. Like all of the horrible things that she's been through didn't happen.
But then, as quickly as I let my guard down, I put it back up. I can't get close to her. Every time I become close to someone they die. And for some reason, I don't want her to die.
The room becomes quiet then, as Mariko and I stand there doing nothing. Mariko looks kind of awkward, like she doesn't know what to do next.
"What are you going to do?" she asks. "About Laura, I mean." What am I going to do? I feel like from now on I'll be doing everything blindfolded.
"I dunno. I've never had a daughter before." I let out a breath. "I guess I just have to see how it goes."
"Well, she's from the future. She can't stay here forever." That's true, at least. But I can't help feeling that my work is far from being done. Like once she goes back to the future, I'll still be on a mission. "Are you going to stop Transigen once you get back to America and your friends?"
"I'm gonna have to—" I start to say, but I cut off. I cut off because I realize something. I shake my head. "If I stop Transigen any time soon… then Laura will never be born." Mariko's face drops as soon as I mention this.
"Do you think Laura knew that when she came back to save you? That she could possibly erase her existence by telling you about Transigen?" I look at the little girl laying in the bed, and there's no doubt in my mind that she knew the risks of coming back to save me. She's more like me than I can even begin to imagine. I then look to the letter that Jean supposedly wrote me. "Yeah." I pick up the letter and go out to the hall so I can read it in peace.
Logan, it begins.
I just found out that you're dead. It sounds so surreal to my ears. I can't believe it. I can't get it through my mind that you're no longer walking this earth, but you're walking whatever plane of existence that comes after this life. Knowing that I'll never get to see you again makes my heart hurt, because I'll never get to know what might have been. But I know that after two centuries of pain and war and suffering, you're finally able to rest. Something that you deserve more than anybody on this earth, and I don't mean that in a bad way. From what I've been told, your last few years were the worst of your life. And for that I'm so sorry.
I'm especially sorry that you didn't get more time with your girl. Speaking of which, I met her. Your daughter. Can you believe I lived under the same roof as her for three years without knowing who she is? I should have seen it the moment I laid eyes on her. She's like you in so many ways. When I see her, it hurts me because it's like looking at your carbon copy, which—I guess—she is.
Now, as I'm finishing this letter, I'm about to send her to the past to see you. And I need to tell you something important. Laura is in a vulnerable place right now. I wish you could have seen her face when she told Hank and I that you were dead. It's like she wanted to die just so she could be with you. I truly believe that she loves you. Most likely more than anybody has ever loved you. So, I can only hope and pray that you say the right thing to her when you find out her identity. Because, if you were to deny her as your daughter, I think it'd truly break her.
I know that you will take care of her while she's with you. And I hope that you will think that Miss Laura Cristine Kinney is as beautiful and giving as I do.
Love, Jean
A/N: What did you guys think? I know that Laura doesn't have a middle name—as far as I know, anyway—but I figured that she's such a great and badass character, so she deserves a middle name. Please review!
~Gina