10 billion & 2 - Wolverine, Logan

Oneshot

The dream died...

In fact, it turned into a damn nightmare...

Krakoa didn't become a mutant nation, and contrary to what everyone thought, the mutant race wasn't the next step in evolution; it was just a test from the guy upstairs, that sadist. Like the platypus, the echidna, you know? Something made to delight the humans, the "Homo sapiens sapiens."

The X-Men haven't existed for about 50 years, and despite not seeming like it, I'm nearly 300. This mutation is a pain, as beautiful as it is, it's so sad to see those we love dying...

I've been through the phase of trying to kill myself; there comes a time when we learn to stop. I stopped about 100 years ago. I still wake up in the middle of the night, screaming in pain, with the claws ejected, remembering the human offensive that succeeded.

It would be unfair to say that I only have nightmares... I dream about Arnaaluk (off: a character created by me, in the fanfic: Logan among the Inuit), about Rose and Mariko constantly, sporadically, about Jean... It's tough. That's the worst part of loneliness, the lack of touch, so my subconscious plays these tricks on me. The dreams are so real that I get pissed off when I wake up! But there's no point in trying to go back to sleep. They come when they want, and I make the most of them as I can.

Charles and the Quiet Council were naive. To isolate themselves, to accept all mutants in Krakoa, that was our death sentence.

While we were among humans, at least the X-Men had a purpose: to take care of our own, to deal with mutants who weren't big fans of humans. Despite being tenuous, humans still accepted us. Now, when someone isolates themselves, acts superior, and shows the world they're living in a paradise, oh... that can't end well!

Humans tried isolated attacks a few times, of course, they were not successful, but when they understood that our strength lay in unity and decided to do the same, we didn't stand a chance...

We didn't die in vain, we took a few billion with us, of course, but they extinguished us.

Honestly, I don't know from which piece of me the rest of the body regenerated. I know I'm without adamantium, and so far, I haven't found any doppelganger of mine around. I think it's just me left. So, I left the North. I started descending and ended up in the Amazon. Since then, I've been living here, amidst the jungle, without human contact; indeed, even avoiding it.

I don't expect anyone to remember me after all this time, especially here, but it's better not to risk it.

Charlie was right when he described me as a loner, I can go for years without seeing another human being, and the jungle provides that very well.

Just when I'm almost getting used to it, someone comes to disturb my state of tranquility and isolation and shows me that I'm a nomad, I have to be, because it has never been so clear to me the curse of having all those I love dead. And this time, I even saw those who hated me die.

The complete victory of the humans happened when they launched a kind of atomic bomb, mixed with a lethal virus and wrapped in something mystical, so that no mutant would be born again, and it has been like that. How do I know? From time to time, I dare to go to a nearby village, in the dead of night, to get some radio or means to know some news of the world. I even think that's why they come after me sometimes, but I don't want to be isolated from what's happening in the world.

With that, I learned that the human race, after this venture, prospered. I heard some time ago that now they are 10 billion! I never imagined that the Earth would support so much, but then I realized that they are counting the humans scattered throughout space. They used a lot of technology to finish us off, and part of it returned to the people. One of the news said that only the poorest remained on Earth, which still gives 6 billion souls...