I DO NOT OWN LOGAN

I'm sitting on a hard wooden chair with my arms resting on a round table with a floral table cloth. I frown deeply as I look around myself. Where am I? I don't recognize the room I'm in at all. I'm in a small kitchen that is clean, but still looks lived in. Linoleum flooring, yellow cabinets, a white fridge and stove. And a vase filled with yellow sunflowers sits in the middle of the table.

One of the things that throws me off, is the lighting. There's a window over the sink, in which warm summer sunlight shines through. But the rest of the room looks like it's being lit by a dying lightbulb. Am I dreaming? No… it feels too real to be a dream. I can feel it in my chest that this is more than just a dream. But if I'm not dreaming, then what's happening?

At that moment, a beautiful Latina woman walks through the doorframe. She's on the short side, but still taller than me, with brown skin, dark hair, and almond shaped dark eyes. Maybe she's in her early thirties. When she sees me, she smiles widely.

"Hello, querida," she walks over and gives me a kiss on the top of my head. My frown disappears as I realize who she is.

"Mamá?" I whisper, disbelieving. She sits down in the chair beside me.

"Laura." She takes ahold of my hands and squeezes them tightly.

"Is this real?" I ask, shaking my head. Mamá shrugs.

"In a sense. It's not happening in real life, but I'm real. I'm here." That only confuses me further.

"You know what I mean, Mamá," I tell her. She sighs loudly.

"Have you ever heard of people who have had dead loved ones visit them in their dreams?" I nod. "Well… it's kind of like that."

"But why does it feel so real?"

"I tried to make it feel like that, so that you'd be comfortable." I sit back in the chair and sigh loudly. What the fuck? I don't believe in God. I don't believe in heaven or hell. So how is she here? How is she able to do this? Seeing the confused look on my face, she grabs my hand and squeezes it gently.

"What can I say to make you feel better?" I shake my head and try to come up with the words.

"I don't know," I say honestly. "I just…" I take a deep breath. "Do you think I'm doing the right thing? By going back in time to save Dad?" I know this is just a dream, but I feel the need to ask. Maybe my subconscious will have some answers.

"I don't think there is a standard definition of right and wrong," she answers. "Because something that is seen as wrong by one person, might not be seen as wrong by someone else."

"Answer the question."

"Look at it this way: do you think your father would want you to risk your life to save his?" I know the answer to that right away, but I can't bring myself to say it. He wouldn't want me to do this. "When he came after you and your friends in the woods, he knew that he wouldn't make it. He was already dying, and so he figured that he'd use the last of his strength to help you." I shake my head.

"He shouldn't have bothered. He would have lived longer."

"Laura, he wouldn't have live that much longer. Not in the shape he was in. The only thing that was keeping him alive before you came along was Charles. And when Charles died, you were the only thing that kept him going. He cared about you, querida. Love requires sacrifice. Always. And that was his sacrifice for you. He wasn't there for you throughout your life, and so he was trying to atone for that by sacrificing himself to allow you to live."

"I just—" I'm yanked out of the dream by the noise of knives being unsheathed. My heart skips a beat as my eyes fly open and I jolt into a sitting position. I see Dad, bare-chested, next to Mariko, propped up on his elbow while his other fist is pulled back, ready for a fight. But Mariko doesn't look afraid. She's laying too close to him for my liking. And I know what went down.

Annoyance and anger surge through me. We're on the run from people who want to kill Mariko, and they decide to hook up? What the fuck is wrong with them?

Once they notice me, they jump apart, but it's too late. I'm already annoyed as hell. I stand up and march out of the house, ignoring their voices calling out to me. I walk for a few blocks and find a lone bench, sitting on it and sagging. I just want this whole thing to be over already. I want to get back to my own time and be with my friends.

I feel someone sitting next to me on the bench and I don't even have to turn my head to know who it is.

"Um…what you saw back there…" he struggles to find the right words, "I dunno if anybody explained—"

"Don't strain yourself, I know what sex is. I just want to know why you thought it was a good idea to do it with her of all people. The girl you're trying to protect?" I answer.

"Well I think that title has gone to you. She's just someone I have to watch over." I give him a look, annoyed.

"Don't treat me like I'm a bobo, okay? I can protect myself just fine, you've seen that. You're just trying to distract me." I huff. "Why did you think it was a good idea? Whoever's after her could come any second. We don't have the time to be doing that."

"Don't worry. If anyone comes, we'll be prepared." I shake my head, not wanting to talk about this any longer.

"Just promise me…no more distractions." He hesitates for a second before nodding.

"So what's really bothering you?" I look at him, wondering how he could tell. I sigh loudly and shake my head.

"I guess I should just ask, since you're the closest I'm gonna get to the Logan I remember," I say. "Do you think I'm doing the right thing? By coming here? Do you want me to save you?" His eyebrows raise in surprise and he rubs his chin.

"I…I don't know. I've wanted to die for a long time. I still do, if I'm being honest. My life has been filled with crazy shit. People using me. Me having to kill people. It gets tiring after a while." My heart sinks. I knew that I shouldn't have come back. I should have left well enough alone and let my father rest in peace. I look at the watch around my wrist and my fingers hover over the buttons. Maybe if I go now I can avoid changing anything else.

"But…this whole 'father' thing is a new concept to me. Even though I'm technically not one yet. I guess I'd better see how it turns out." I raise an eyebrow.

"So you want to live?"

"Yeah. I can't just leave you to figure this shit out on your own. Since we can basically do the same things, it'd be better if I were there to help you. Plus…it's nice to know that someone I care about won't eventually die of old age."

"Oh, so you care about me, now? Just a few days ago you were ready kick me out of Mariko's car." I had meant it as lighthearted and as a joke.

"Well…I didn't know who you were back then." It's quiet for a moment, and I enjoy the brief moment of silence. "Tell me about your childhood." I look at him for a moment, and he seems truly curious.

"It wasn't much of a childhood," I tell him. I shudder at the memories. "My mother died shortly after giving birth to me. No. She didn't die. She was killed. By Transigen. After that, the people running the facility kept me and the other kids in rooms. Nurses took care of us. They were the best thing about that place. They saw us as their own children. They gave us names. They threw small parties for our birthdays. But once Pierce found out, he shut it down quickly. The last birthday party I remember happening was my sixth.

"Then, when I was seven, he exposed me to radiation so that I'd get my mutation early; at the same time, he put me under anesthesia and covered my claws with adamantium. Basically my entire existence until I was eleven was about training to become the perfect soldier. But what the others don't know is that they had it a lot easier than I did in some ways."

"How so?"

"Because I was made from your DNA. They had wanted to create an exact clone of you for so long. They wanted it more than anything because it would be like have an indestructible, immortal, killing machine at their disposal. They didn't want a girl version of you, but because of my mom, they had to make the best of it. They tried so hard to make me into a ruthless, emotionless, soulless killing machine, but I couldn't meet their demands. As I got older I realized that I didn't want to fight any more. I didn't want to be their soldier. My friends felt the same way, and so when Transigen couldn't get a hold on us, they decided to kill us all and just focus on X-24. That's when we got out.

"They came looking for us, of course. Me more than any of the others. But by then I was a brash eleven-year-old who had major anger problems and wanted to find her friends. I had the years and years of training they gave me to protect me. And so they…took more severe measures to try and capture me. All to no avail, of course."

"How much did Transigen screw you up?" I don't take offence to that question, as I understand what he's trying to say. I am screwed up.

"The last two people I killed before I met up with you and Yukio in Canada were two guys in a car. I got a ride with them and they tried to do stuff. Don't worry, they didn't touch me in that way. They didn't get the chance to. But I killed them and…I didn't feel any remorse over it." I shake my head.

"I can't remember the last time I've ever felt remorse for killing someone. And I can count on one hand the amount of times I've felt sad because someone died. And when I get into this…zone, I start to kill whoever is posing a threat. And I don't stop until they're all dead."

"Look, kid," Dad starts, "I know how you feel. I've gone through that. I'm still going through those feelings. But you…you're just a kid. You shouldn't have to deal with that type of stuff at least until you're older. And I'm sorry that your childhood was taken from you like it was for me. But I promise, if we survive everything…I'll make sure you get the childhood you deserve. That you wont have to worry about who's gonna try to kill you next." I give him a small smile, not really feeling better, but appreciating that he tried. But now I have to say something while we have the chance. I need to make sure he hears this.

"Will you promise me two things?"

"What are they?"

"I'll give you all the information you need to locate Transigen, and the date that you need to attack them so that I'm still born. But I need you to promise me that you'll save my mom. If you go on the date that I give you, you'll be able to, but not a second later. Otherwise they'll kill her as soon as I'm born." He nods his head.

"Of course. And the second thing?"

"I know that it's going to sound crazy, but…I need you to do what Transigen did, and expose me to radiation when I'm seven, and give me the adamantium."

"Are you crazy? You actually want this stuff on you?"

"It's only on my claws, it doesn't cover my entire skeleton. But… I don't know, it's just…my entire life, the only thing that I've ever been able to rely on is my claws. They're what's kept me alive all these years, and so I'd just feel a lot safer if I had them. This way I'd have some sense of safety with me. Okay?" He looks at me for a long moment, trying to decide if I'm being serious. Once he decides that I am, he lets a long breath out.

"Okay, if it means that much to you, I'll do it," he tells me. I sag in relief.

"It is important. My claws, they're a part of who I am and I just don't want to lose them." He nods in understanding.

After that, we decide to go back to the house so that Mariko doesn't think that we've been kidnapped or something, and I find myself laying back down on my "bed" and I slip into a restless sleep.

A/N: Sorry for the delay on this. I've been going through some personal stuff and didn't have the inspiration to write much. But here you go. Please review!

~Gina