--1845--

James was walking in the woods, enjoying the scenery, following his daily routine. He enjoyed going there just because it was not far away from home and he can move around easily. It was approximately 5 in the afternoon and he was getting tired. He was sitting by the lake and holding some stones.

Indeed it was hard for him, as several months ago he was cast off by his mother and father with a man called Thomas Logan.

"Why is life so hard?" James thought to himself.

He stood up and threw the stones into the water, experimenting on how far it can go. The sun reflected on the water to make it look like a perfect painting.

He always wondered who Thomas Logan was beyond being the helper of the Howletts. He's always seen him as a father figure, a person he could talk to during hard times.

"It is getting late, I must get home." James said.

He stood up and started to walk home. He wondered if he should ask his helper whether he should make a path to the lake. He touched the trees as he walked, feeling its hardness. Canada was always a quiet country, it was for the rich and the poor. Sadly, he was at the receiving end of it.

After a few minutes, he heard something move. It was a wild animal, nothing he'd ever seen before. He hid behind the bushes and looked around for the animal. There was a bear to his left and he knew if he moved, he would be dead meat.

"What do I do? What do I do?" James continued to think.

He ran straight to the house, without even noticing the bear running towards him. He stopped when he saw a giant log on the ground, as he could not find a way around it. He was cornered with nothing to do.

The bear approached him slowly. It could strike at any given moment. He held a sharp stick and pointed at it, as it attacked. It scratched James left arm, and he screamed as he plunged the stick through the bear's neck and ran away. He had blood on his hands from the bear and he looked at his arm.

It was bleeding too much for him to handle. Suddenly, his skin began coming back together. It felt as if the tissues were forming once more but at a much faster rate. He hurried on his way back home where he caught Thomas drinking.

"Where have you been?" Thomas asked, drinking beer.

"I was in the woods by the lake. The scenery was beautiful." James said, hiding his hands filled with blood.

"Well, that's good. You should save that moment as you will see that once in a lifetime."

"I think I should be getting to bed now. goodnight." James said, making his way to his bedroom.

"Actually, we have something to do tonight."

James had a bad feeling about it. Thomas always had ideas that were out of this world.

"What is it, Thomas?" James asked.

"We will be visiting your mother tonight. I need to talk to her." Thomas said.

"Are we allowed to see them again?"

"I'm sure they will." Thomas said, placing a hand on James' shoulder. "Now, get some new clothes and we'll be going to your mother."

James went to his bed and washed the blood off his hands. He was still looking at his arm, wondering how it was able to mend a scar from a bear that quickly. He got a sweater, pants, and shoes. It was probably freezing outside, considering the fact that it was winter.

In less than 20 minutes, they were already set to visit the Howletts. They made their way across town and near the window of the Howletts. Thomas could remember the window of the bedroom, as he quietly made quick work of it.

"Now, you have to be really quiet, ok?" Thomas said.

James nodded as they went inside. Thomas slowly walked to the bed and tapped on Elizabeth's shoulder, as John was not there.

"Who are you?" Elizabeth asked, frightened.

"It's alright, Elizabeth. It's just me; there's nothing to be worried about."

"Why are you here? John is still smoking outside."

"We can leave, we can start a new life outside Canada."

Now, James started getting worried. A new life meant a new start, and he might get left out again.

"I'm not sure, I'll think about it tomorrow. I'll go to your ho-" Elizabeth stopped when the door opened.

"Thomas Logan, what are you doing here?" John asked.

"I've come to talk with your wife, there was no harm done. I promise." Thomas said.

"Oh, you little son of a bitch." John said, walking towards Thomas.

Suddenly, Thomas drew out a gun at John and shot him. Blood spat out and stained the bed and the floor.

"John!" Elizabeth shouted.

This time, James' senses kicked in. He knew something was coming out, something he couldn't control. He stabbed Thomas in the back with claws coming out of his hands. Blood kept on gushing out his hands as Elizabeth looked on in horror.

"No, not you-- not you too, James..." Elizabeth said as Thomas fell on the floor.

--2012--

Logan woke up in his car wearing his usual white, sleeveless shirt. He checks his watch. It was 4 in the morning. The last few nights had been hard because he had the same type of dream-- it was always about Thomas Logan. All he wanted to do was run away from his past, but it always comes back.

"Motherfucker, who the hell keeps on calling?" Logan checked his phone and called Cable.

"Logan, why haven't you been answering my calls lately?" Cable asked through the phone.

"Probably because I've been drinking and sleeping for the past few hours. Why are you calling me anyways?"

"I've come to tell you great news. Charles told me that we could start the plans for attacking and shutting down the pro-" Logan interrupted Cable before he can continue.

"How many goddamn times do I have to tell you? I'm not doing the damned mission. I'm already tired and finished with these X-Men bullshit. I'm trying to live a simple-ass life."

"Ok then. I just want to remind you that you can go back to New York now. The Avengers just finished their war against those aliens a few months ago."

"I don't want to go back to New York. You know that, Cable. Just, tell Charles I'll visit him in a month or two. All I need is to get a job and earn some money."

"Alright then. See you later, Logan." Cable hung up.

Logan sighed. It's been a while since he's been with the X-Men, doing missions with them, but he decided to live a normal life. He couldn't go back to New York because of what the Avengers did to the city. Now, it was time to wait for Damage Control to respond.

"I should've eaten damn lunch before I came here." Logan muttered.

Logan looked around him for a place to eat and, probably, drink. He saw a bar near him, but there was a police car near the place. Fucking police. He heard that the police weren't very fond of mutants around and were free to arrest anyone who were not following. But who fucking cares.

"I'll just kick their ass if they try and arrest me." Logan thought, getting his coat and walking out of his car.

(Note: As I've said, Days of Future Past never happened in this universe but Mystique never got captured. Although this does not happen, X:Men Apocalypse still does, which means that Logan met the X-Men when he was escaping X-23. But X:Men to X:Men Last Stand didn't happen either.)