If anybody would have told you where I would’ve been in life 30 years ago, well, I guess that they really couldn’t say much.
30 years go so quick just like that of a snap of a finger.
It’s sometimes even tough for me to realize it myself.
It was exactly 30 years ago when I woke up in the middle of nowhere.
I was surrounded by woods and trees. There was fresh snow that had just fallen on the ground.
I kept wondering to myself where I was and what had happened when it became all too clear. I could not remember a damn thing.
I got up and felt heavy. I was naked too which was strange since I also realized that I couldn’t feel the cold.
Something was wrong but I just couldn’t figure out what.
Then the darnest thing happened. I sensed something. I really sensed it. My nose was picking up a scent of another living creature that wasn’t far away. My ears perked up and I heard the sound of a howl in the distance.
What a sight I reckon I must’ve been.
Here I was a staled naked man, sniffing the air, with ears perked up high like a dog.
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw something shift and I turned around to see it.
Sensing I was in danger, I kept looking until I saw it.
It was a wolf.
There it was, just staring at me in wonder. I just couldn’t help but look into its two deep dark intense black eyes that were so alike to what is known as coal.
I don’t know how long I stood there but I do know that during the time I was looking at that wolf, something inside me changed.
To this day I’ll never know what but something did.
It was like a sign or something.
What caused me to move from my standing position was when the wolf whimpered and turned away.
It surprised me that after it took a few steps up ahead, it’s head turned back to me as if it was telling me to follow.
And follow is what I did.
Also, just like a human, every once in a while it would turn its head back to make sure that I was there. And of course, I always was.
We walked until it was almost sunset.
I didn’t know what I was getting myself into but I sorta knew that one way or another, this was alright.
I even was starting to enjoy the company of this animal.
It was almost like it was my friend.
She led me to a cabin that seemed very abandoned to me like history had stood still and this was the result.
I knew the wolf was a girl by its scent. My intuition told me that so that’s what I came to believe.
She whimpered once she stepped up a few steps onto the porch and began pawing at the door like she was trying to get in.
I went up and opened the door.
Hearing a huge “creak”, it was obvious that it was unlocked.
Carefully, I walked in realized I was right.
It had been abandoned.
My senses started again and I got a feeling that this place was all too familiar.
I turned around when I heard more whimpering to find that the wolf was now looking and trying to open a drawer.
Once I came up to it, and opened it, I found that there were clothes.
“Thanks girl,” I mumbled under my breath.
Okay…this was strange for a couple of reasons. 1.) I had made a friend with a wolf. 2.) This wolf was helping me to get shelter and clothes and 3.) I still remembered how to speak.
I put on the clothes and looked at myself in a dusty mirror.
Problem was I couldn’t see a damn thing.
I wiped off the dust and took a real good look at myself for the first time since I had woken up.
I was gruff looking. Not handsome whatsoever. I had really rough skin, I had muscles built, pointy hair…
Holy hell!!
It was obvious that I was in need of a good shave…
I was wearing a checkered red and black coat over a black shirt and faded farming jeans.
I looked closer and noticed something hanging around my neck that I hadn’t noticed before.
I looked at it and saw it was a tag of some sort. I unhooked it and placed it in my hand. I ran my fingers over the word that was left on it.
Wolverine.
It was then followed by some numbers,
458 25 243
What was this? I asked myself.
Was this my name?
I put it back around my neck and rolled up my sleeves.
I noticed that there was some writing sown on it.
Property of Logan.
Logan must’ve been the owner of this place---or was, I figured.
“What do you say?” I asked the wolf who was now lying on the ground, “Should I be Logan or Wolverine?”
A slow whimper came as a response.
“You’re right. I don’t know either, I guess It’ll just have to be both.”
I took the liberty to settle down a bit by looking around. I was rummaging through a desk when I came through some old letters. They mentioned various names like James, Rose, and Sally and a few others. One bothered me a lot and I still understand what it meant.
Dear Sally,
I hear that Rose and James are alright. Give them my regards. Hah!! That so unlike me. I rather just rip out his throat for stealing my girl. Lousy, son of a…Anyway, anything else new that doesn’t involve James? Big scumbag thinks he’s a big shot. I’ll show him. See you next time I’m in town.
Yours truly,
Logan
It turned back to the wolf and said, “You should have a name too. What do you say to Rose?”
A tired sarcastic whimper was made.
“Yeah. That doesn’t really suite you but I think that Sally will.”
She finally poked her head up, hanged out her tongue, and wagged her tail.
“Alright, Sally it is. Guess we should get acquainted. Hello Sally, my name’s Logan.”
Sally moved forward to where I was sitting and placed its head on my leg.
I patted her head and said, “I guess it’s just you and me girl.”
I then noticed on the wall there was a shotgun.
“You know, we should eat something. Let’s go hunting.”
We left and soon after came back with a deer that we cooked over a fire I made with wood outside. I gave Sally a good share and ate myself but saved some for the next upcoming days.
I went to sleep that night with her curled up in the floor by my bed.
I kept thinking to myself of what was going on and what happened to me in the past. How did I get here? How could I not remember anything about my life but I could remember basic skills like reading, hunting, talking, cooking, and making a fire? Who was this Logan guy? And why did I have a tag around me with numbers and the name “Wolverine” on it?
I fell asleep that night holding the tag and staring at it until my eyes closed shut.
For the next few months, Sally and I remained near the cabin area hunting and fishing.
During all that time, I remained thinking and wondering about my past.
Were the dogtags some kind of clue? Was there a reason I woke up in this area?
I finally decided to go to the nearest town and see if I could dish up the dirt on anybody who knew anything about me. I also decided to take Sally along.
Not one single soul was helpful. Many people just pot on a scared face by the look of me. When I did manage to ask someone, they said they had no clue who I was. They must’ve thought I was really stupid or something.
After talking to everyone I could, I gave up and went to a bar for a couple of drinks. I was so depressed that I must’ve drank bottle after bottle of Molson but somehow it didn’t affect me and I was wide awake. I wasn’t anywhere near drunk.
There I noticed that not only was there a bar and a pool playing area, but there was also a fighting ring.
A person told me to leave Sally outside so I took her out back where the man said was okay.
When I went back in, I went up to the ring and noticed a crowd cheering on.
An announcer came out and said, “Ladies and Gentleman, whoever is willing to fight our champion here can win a prize of up to $30,000 dollars!”
$30,000!
How and what were these people thinking?
That was a lot of money!
How could anyone turn that down?
How could I turn that offer down?
Should I have fought? I don’t know. All I know is that I really needed the money.
“I’ll fight him,” I said.
There was a gasp in the audience and a man dropped his cigarette out from his mouth.
Soon the audience was filled with laughter.
“Come up here,.” The announcer said, “You got a name?”
I went up and took off my shirt prepared to fight. I also heard a few girls scream back in the distance and whistle.
I was going to rub my neck when I felt the tags.
“Well? Speak up!”
“Wolverine,” I mumbled.
“Speak into the mic. We can’t here you.”
“My name is WOLVERINE,” I said grumbling loudly.
“Wolverine,” the announcer asked bringing the mic back to him, “Are you willing and ready to defeat the most feared of them all.”
“I am.”
“What?!”
“I AM!!”
“Then, Ladies and gentlemen, through all my years I haven’t seen anyone fight as good as this man. Put your hands together for our very own MYSTIC MANGLER!”
The crowd cheered as a man much taller than me stepped up onto the stage.
The announcer walked off the stage and the bell rang to begin.
He glared his teeth and ran towards me.
I couldn’t do anything. Soon I was lifted off the mat, picked up, and thrown to the steel bars that surrounded the cage. He punched and kicked me just as I lay there, bleeding.
All of the sudden, my senses acted up and I felt that he was ready to punch me.
With no control I lifted my fist and smashed it into his face.
Just like that, he was thrown back and fell, leaving me standing there looking over him.
He was shielding his face and I couldn’t see from what.
“I-” he started before he passed out and a few workers from the bar lifted and carried him off into another room off-stage.
The audience booed and the announcer came back and said, “Ladies and Gentlemen, I am proud to announce our own brand new champion…WOLVERINE!”
From the corner of my eye, I saw the man’s face. It was scared with 3 sharp razor marks all across his face.
What the hell?
I looked at my fist where I swear was bleeding before and saw nothing.
There was absolutely no blood on me whatsoever.
What happened?
I got off stage, put my shirt back on, and headed for the bar.
There were all these girl workers all over trying to flirt with me. I just growled and ignored them. That made them walk away.
I also watched a bit on the news playing on the TV. Some case was on about this group of mutants attacking some small town.
Attacking?
I thought they were saving them. There were giant robots blasting homes. The so-called “Mutants” were trying to destroy them so the people would be safe.
Soon, it was early morning and I needed to leave to go back home.
I was going to get my winnings when I saw the man I had beaten up earlier give me a strange look. I did so back and I heard him growl. He walked out the back door and I looked away.
I got my money and as I was leaving, the bar manager asked me, “You plan to fight again Wolverine?”
“We’ll see, bub,” I replied back.
Once I was out the door and on my way to retrieve Sally, I heard an angry voice yelling, “Hey, you mutt!! You aren’t suppose to be out here!!!”
I headed towards the sound and saw the man from before yelling at Sally.
He kicked her and out of an angry outburst I grabbed him from behind as I heard Sally whimper.
“Leave her alone, bub!”
“Her? She’s your mutt?! Would make a very good piece of fur.”
“She’s not for sale!” I said throwing him into a pile of carts.
Suddenly I felt an itch in my hands and then a sharp pain throughout my fists.
I looked at my hands and stared in shock as I saw 3 metal claw-like things come out of my fists. The blood scurried out and I screamed in pain.
I then heard Sally’s bark and looked up to see that the man had gotten up and was pointing a gun at me.
“I don’t know what or who you are man, but don’t come near or I swear that I’ll shoot you.”
“Don’t make me hurt you,” I said very threateningly.
He got his gun ready and then I saw from the corner of my eye Sally jump up onto him and the gun went off.
“NOOO!!!” I yelled as I saw Sally fall and lie still.
Without any control, I pushed my claws into his stomach and he screamed.
I released him and he fell into a poll of his own blood.
I managed to retract my claws and ran to Sally despite the blood on my hands.
“C’mon girl, wake up. You gotta stay awake. C’mon,” I said.
There was no hope. She didn’t move at all.
She was gone.
My one and only friend at the time was dead.
“No…” I whispered.
“Hey!” I heard someone yell.
I looked up and saw the manager run towards me.
I took Sally in my arms and turned to run.
“COME BACK HERE! I’LL TURN YOU INTO THE POLICE! NEVER COME BACK HERE, YOU MURDERER! NEVER!”
I don’t remember much of what happened then but the next thing I knew was that I was in the woods, under a tree, with Sally in my arms, and I was crying,
I must’ve cried for ages and not have remembered about it.
Finally I was somehow able to dig a grave and bury her.
I wept some more as I carved her name on the tree that hung over her and kneeled in front of her resting place.
I picked up some dirt left over from my digging and dropped it.
“Goodbye. Thank you for being there for me and being a good friend. I’ll see you again someday.”
I walked away and went back to the cabin where I spent most of the time just fearing that I’d be alone for the rest of my days.
My mind then remembered the events of earlier.
What happened to me?
What were those things that came out of me?
Claws?
I looked down at my hands and couldn’t understand why there wasn’t a single drop of blood on there.
What was wrong with me?
Had I lost it?
Was this related to anything from my past?
Were those claws metal?
Too tired to think anymore, I decided to got to sleep and look forward to another tragic day in the morning.
That’s when the nightmares began.
I was lying in a cage-like or see-though box filled with water. Crazy colors of green, yellow, blue, and red were circling around me. Some needles and other wires were connected to me. Everything was still and then I felt a struggle like I couldn’t breathe.
Someone broke a chain resembling the one I had and called out, “Wolverine…Wolverine…”
Then everything became a blur and those claws came out.
I woke up.
I looked down and noticed that I had shredded my pillow.
Great.
Just what I needed.
More tragedy.
I rolled over and in my heap of seat wondered if those were memories of my past?
I didn’t get much sleep so I had a lot of time to think.
That night I made a decision. I had to get out of there no matter what. This place brought too many memories of something that I just couldn’t understand. It would only hurt me more.
The next morning I packed up my bags and left. I had no clue where I was going but I needed to get out.
I came across a store that had trailers for sale. I looked at the price and was surprised it was actually low.
“You want it?” a man asked from behind.
“Yeah,” I said gruffly.
I paid him a good amount of my winnings from the cage fight and some extra. “You need a car, you know, or something to hold it.”
“Got anything?”
“I’ve got an old truck. Black. A Toyota. Very old. You can have it. I don’t want it.”
“Thanks.”
“Don’t mention it.”
I went and took a look it.
Just what I needed.
I made my rounds on the road to nowhere and only stopped for food, gas, and to drink.
What surprised me was the amount of fighting bars there were.
Yes, I did continue to fight.
And yes…I always won.
Another thing that happened was my one-night stand with women.
That was something I never I was quite too proud of.
The nightmares didn’t stop either.
That’s why I always seemed to leave before the night was over.
I didn’t want anyone to get hurt.
This wasn’t a cage. It was real life.
22 years went by since I had woken up and it happened too quick. I just happened to be in Alberta when something happened that would change my life forever.
I was fighting and didn’t notice the girl that had just walked in.
It wasn’t until later, when I went to the bar, that I saw her.
She was too young to be here. Far too young. This was too dangerous of a spot. She also looked so scared.
Soon enough, the man who I was fighting with earlier came to piss off some more.
I heard the girl, “LOOK OUT!!” when I extended the old claws and backed him towards the wall.
The owner then came with the gun.
Should’ve thought better, I told myself.
Of course, the little gun didn’t stop me.
After giving everyone a little scare, I left. Took my winnings that were on the table and left.
I drove away until about 30 minutes later where I noticed something was different.
I sniffed the air and I realized I wasn’t alone.
I stopped the truck went out and discovered that the girl was hidden with some of my stuff.
I told her to get out and she told me she had nowhere to go.
I though to myself, Then how the hell did she get this far?
I left her but I couldn’t help but feel sorry I stopped the car.
So much for my bad-boy image.
We talked and I found out her name was Marie. That’s nice. The whole conversation was nice until he came.
Sabretooth.
Well, I didn’t know that was his name at the time.
We were attacked and I was hurt. The trailer was on fire, but most importantly, the girl was stuck inside and needed help or she would die.
I was about to come to help her when everything blacked out and the next thing I knew was that I was at Xavier’s Institute for Gifted Youngsters.
A mutie school.
I soon met the gang.
There was “Chuck” or “Wheels”, “Cyclops”, “Storm”, and then there was Jean Grey.
Now I don’t know what everyone else thought but I didn’t “like her, like her” like “Scott the Pansy” but I was attracted. Attracted in the way of a one-night stand. So that’s why I flirted. I even wonder if I just felt that way of the pure joy of seeing that little wimp get mad.
That night I had had some more nightmares. It was too late before I realized what I had done and I accidentally gutted the girl. She then touched me and I passed out to wake up hours later realizing, “So that was her power.”
She ran away and something inside me said I had to get her. I don’t care if that “Sabretooth” or “Magneto” guy was out there that the Professor and his buddies were talking about. It was a chance I was willing to take.
It wasn’t the poor girl’s fault that all this happened.
It was mine.
My senses led me to the train station and sure enough there she was.
She cried and confessed to me the hell she went through with her “Mutant Crisis”. I could only hug her and make an unbreakable promise.
I would take care of her.
The look on her face was priceless.
Too bad the mushy moment didn’t last quite long enough.
Magneto attacked and managed to kidnap her. I couldn’t do anything since he screwed with all the “adamantium skeleton” that I had in my body.
I was recruited by Cyclops and Storm and brought back to the mansion where I found out Magneto was going to use her for an experiment on the Statue of Liberty to turn everyone into a mutant.
We got there and I had a one-on-one confrontation with both Mystique and Sabretooth before I could get back to Magneto and get to Marie.
I got him and got him good and he fell.
Only problem was Marie wouldn’t wake up.
She’s dead, is what I thought to myself.
My brand new friend was dead.
Why did this keep happening to me?
I soon remembered the skin thing and held onto her.
I blacked out.
I woke up the next morning to find out that she was okay and the Professor had an idea of a location where I could find more detail about my past.
Alkali Lake.
I was going to leave when I saw her acting all happy with her new friends. She noticed me and left them. She didn’t want me to go, she said. I couldn’t say anything right then and there so I gave her my tags.
“I’ll be back for this,” I said before turning to leave.
I left to and got to Alkali Lake. There was nothing but a wolf that looked like Sally who showed me the way before running away itself.
I took some time off and 2 years later I came back to the mansion.
Who was the first to greet me?
Marie.
My lord, did she grow.
She no longer was a funny looking little kid but a full grown pretty woman.
She gave me a hug and then my heart sank as I was introduced to Bobby.
Her new boyfriend.
There was just something about him I didn’t like but I didn’t say anything.
We went on a mission against this so-called “Stryker” guy and I didn’t spend as much time as I wanted with her.
Supposedly, the “Stryker” Guy had answers to my past, but I had seen enough. After what he had done with his son Jason and other innocents like that lady called “Deathstrike”, it disgusted me.
Some things were just better left unsaid.
I left him and I went away with my friends that really cared.
The X-Men.
We came home and this time I stayed for good.
I taught a little bit of fighting skills to some of the kids in what the Professor called the, “Danger Room.”
3 years passed.
About 27 years after I found myself in the wilderness, Marie came into my room crying.
The Bobby kid had broken up with her.
There was somebody else he was with, she said.
He cheated on her?!
How dare he?
I knew he wasn’t any good!
I let her cry a little bit and then she told me that there was something else she needed to tell me.
She took off her gloves and held my hands.
She could touch.
Marie could actually touch.
I was so happy that I gave her another hug and before we knew we were kissing. She broke it off and, disappointed with herself, she tried to leave but I wouldn’t let her.
Right then and there we confessed the deepest of feelings we ever had.
We had loved each other.
A year later we were married and a year later she found out she was pregnant. 9 months later, we had a baby girl.
Now I look down at my 3 month old baby girl, Alisha, and notice that she’s sleeping soundly with her little eyes closed.
I softly kissed her forehead and placed her in her crib.
“Sweet dreams,” I said.
I turned around to see a smiling Marie at the door.
“Coming?” she asked.
I nodded my head as I took her hand and we headed to our room to get some good night sleep.
30 years have passed since I woke up in the middle of nowhere. Now I’m here. Who knows what the next 30 years could possibly hold?
End Note: I am so sorry if I offended anyone by what happened to Sally. I didn’t mean for there to be any cruelty towards animals. I just wanted to show how Wolverine felt when he finally had a friend and suffered a loss. Please don’t hurt me! *puppy eyes*
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Author's Chapter Notes:
This takes place post X-2. It contains an appearance by a dog named Sally that I created as well as a guy named the “Mystic Mangler” but it is somewhat of a cameo.