#101268

©2000 Deb

Genre: Romance/Action/Drama

Sex Content: PG

Violence Content: PG

Language Content: PG

Characters: Original Characters, X-MEN Characters

Chapter 1

"What am I going to do?"

That's the thought that had been with Sharon for the past few hours. Looking the way she did she was easy to spot, even in a crowded mall of shoppers. He was definitely going to find her. She thought that she had lost him by going into the mall, but she should have known that he would find her. "Will he never leave me alone?" Sharon knew the answer even before she asked herself the question. Not until she was dead.

Sharon knew she had to change clothes. The mechanics jumpsuit she took from the gas station she stopped at was not what you would wear to the mall. It was too big, oily and worst of all; it smelled. It was time for a change, but where and with what would she pay for her new ensemble? Then it came to her -- "of course" -- and she stuck her hand into the pocket of the jumpsuit. Presto. "At least some things are in my favor today, " she thought as she pulled out the brown leather wallet. After a quick count, approximately $40 and some change, she decided that she could get a shirt and a pair of pants, at least, and that's all she would need to be able to blend in with the rest of the shoppers.

She quickly stepped into the nearest clothing store. As she searched through the racks of shirts, skirts, pants and other miscellaneous accessories to make any outfit complete, Sharon sensed she was definitely not alone. As she glanced around, she realized every patron of the store was watching her rummage through the racks and talking to herself. "They must think I'm loony," she thought. Gaining her composure a little more, she quietly found her size in a pair of jeans and a shirt and slipped into a nearby dressing room. Amazingly enough as soon as she left the sight of the customers, regular store noise arose again.

As Sharon closed the door to the tiny room, she caught a glimpse of herself in the full-length mirror and almost jumped right out of her skin. Standing there she realized why the rest of the customers were staring at her like she was from another planet. Besides the jumpsuit looking like it was made for a giant, her hair which was normally nicely kept -- black, straight, shoulder length and shiny -- looked as if she had walked through a wind tunnel and didn't bother to comb it out afterwards. On closer inspection, in fact, there were even bits of leaves and twigs from her trek through the forest. "The forest." As the thought came to her, a chill ran up Sharon's spine and the room started to spin. Luckily, the dressing room had a small stool in it as Sharon suddenly felt the need to sit down. As she continued to stare at the now strange reflection of the person she thought she knew staring back at her; dark eyes with even darker circles under them against skin, which was now paler than she thought ever could be, she began to remember.

"I'm gonna get you, Sharon!" William yelled as he ran through the trees, jumping over fallen trunks and around thick brush. William always yelled that, but he could never catch Sharon. Not until she let him, anyway. William and Sharon had known each other since they were kids. Through the 'cooties', hair pulling, shoulder hitting, best friends, love/hate years. Now, six months out of high school, and still inseparable, they had been dating seriously for the past two-and-a-half years.

As Sharon heard William's oft-spoken threat, she picked up the pace and sped through the trees with the agility of a jungle cat. Sharon had always been athletic. Very much a tomboy growing up, what with three brothers, Sharon third in line, it was inevitable that she would get into scraps and be a very physical person. It was no surprise to her parents that she would become interested in sports. Soccer, softball, volleyball, whatever sport was in season there was Sharon. And then it happened.

It was the day of the soccer playoff finals. Sharon had been feeling tense all morning. "It's just pre-game jitters, sweetie." Her Mom had said, but deep down Sharon had always knew it was something else. Standing on the soccer field, adrenaline coursing through her veins, Sharon was playing the game of her life. The game was tied 2-2 when the ball headed toward her. Sharon trotted forward to pass the ball to a fellow teammate when next she knew she was at the other end of the field scoring the winning point. In seconds, she had taken the ball from one end of the field to the other, leaving not only her opponents, but also the rest of her team behind. Her mutation had revealed itself. The goalie stood in shock, the other players were in shock, the coaches were in shock. Then the shouting started.

"Rigged!!!" The opposing team's coach was yelling. "No Mutants are allowed to play! You know it makes the teams unbalanced!" He was running towards the ref who was standing in the middle of the field looking as shocked as everyone else. Sharon didn't wait around for the ref's decision. She ran off the field crying to the waiting arms of her mother and father. Needless to say, Sharon's budding sports career was over.

Having speed as a mutation really wasn't that bad. Physically, Sharon's appearance was the same -- save for the more muscular legs. It was the heightened senses that sometimes threw her for a loop. Her hearing became more honed, eyesight sharper, earning her the nickname Panther. And now as she slowed her pace, she could sense William nearby. "It's time to let him catch me," Sharon thought happily. This was her favorite part of their time together. William hadn't developed a mutation and Sharon was grateful of that. He was a bit of a nerd, quiet, but alone with Sharon, he showed a strength that she knew had greatly helped her through those early days of dealing with her mutation. She loved him and knew one day that they would be married.

Just then, a new scent wafted in on the breeze. Sharon stood immediately.

"Sharon!" William called, panting. "Enough is enough. Let me catch you now!"

William was too far away for Sharon to call to him and not reveal herself. She crouched low and stealthy headed toward the new scent, which had itself turned and headed towards William. As Sharon peeked over a fallen tree she spotted William walking in her direction, but no one else -- and no scent. Sharon began to stand to get William's attention when the breeze changed direction and that new scent caught in her nostrils. By the time Sharon realized where the stranger was it was too late. Sharon swung around to face the owner of the scent who had snuck up behind her only to meet the stranger's large fist as it struck her jaw.

Chapter 2

The blow took Sharon by surprise. Falling backwards over the fallen tree, she tumbled down the small hill sliding to a halt at William's feet. William, not witnessing the initial attack, knelt at Sharon's side and tried to revive her.

"Sharon!" William shouted in astonishment. He turned Sharon over revealing the already reddening bruise on the left side of her face. "Sharon, what happened? Are you all right? Speak to me!" William began to panic. Sharon's eyelids fluttered open, "William…" But before she could issue a warning, the massive attacker loomed behind William grabbing him by the shirt collar and flinging him aside. The bone-cracking sound that came as he hit a nearby tree and William's cry of pain was deafening in Sharon's ears.

"William!" Sharon screamed as she sprung to her feet. She quickly ran to his side, kneeling and cradling his head in her arms. "William," Sharon began to sob. "Please, don't¦" She could say no more. Even before she had reached him, Sharon knew already that William was dead. Her love, her friend, her life, killed for no reason bye, bye. Then Sharon realized the attacker was still with her. Sharon gathered herself, stood and turned.

He was massive. All hair, fangs, claw-like fingernails and big. He had eyes that were as black as night and when he spoke it was with a growl. "Enough! You are to come with me." As he approached Sharon, she took one last glance at William lying lifeless at the bottom of the tree and whispered, "I love you." And then she ran.

Sharon ran like never before, between trees, over trees and around brush. Just like when her and William played their 'hide & seek' game. Now, William was dead and this was not a game. As she headed toward the direction where they had parked the car, Sharon could sense her attacker not too far away. "He doesn't look fast, but he must have the same cat-like agility as me," Sharon thought as she ran. The trees began to clear and Sharon could see the outline of William's car. Abruptly, Sharon was grabbed by the ankles and soon found she was spitting dead leaves and dirt from her mouth. She quickly flipped over and reached down at her feet to untangle them from whatever she tripped on, only to find that what she thought was some ivy was actually a long, green, sticky tongue.

As Sharon stared horrified at the frog-like mutant, his companion -- her original attacker -- emerged from the trees. "I had her, Toad!" The large mutant bellowed at the smaller one and smacked him. Momentarily forgetting about his prisoner and unable to speak with his tongue sticking out, Toad reeled back the sticky appendage and spoke with a slight English accent, "You weren't supposed to kill the other one, Sabertooth! He wanted both of them for the test."

Sharon took their quarreling as a cue and cautiously began to back away. As she reached the black VW Jetta, Sharon made a grave discovery. The car was locked. William had the keys in his pants pocket. Sharon had the spare in her purse -- back at the picnic site. Suddenly, she heard a loud howl and knew that the pair had realized their prey had escaped them and were closing in. Not knowing what else to do, Sharon started up the road which would lead her to the main highway.

"Crowds. I have to get to a place where there are crowds," Sharon thought to herself. When Sharon reached the main highway, the City's mall loomed in front of her. For the first time in what seemed like forever, a small smile appeared on Sharon's face. And then she looked down at herself. The fight, fall and running through trees had taken their toll on her clothes. Tears and rips in her jeans were apparent; most of one shirtsleeve was missing along with more rips. Sharon also had scraps and scratches she didn't even realize were there. "Well, we'll have to remedy this." And Sharon headed for the service station she spotted across the road.

As Sharon reached the station she once again got the sense that her attackers -- this Toad and Sabertooth - were nearby. She rounded the building and came to a service bay. Draped across a smog-testing machine was a mechanics jumpsuit. "Not exactly my style," Sharon mused. "But, under the circumstances…" She grabbed the jumpsuit and ran back behind the building, pulling it on as she went. Looking up as she zipped the front up, Sharon spotted her pursuers as they came into view from the trees. Seeing Sharon the pair began to run across the highway, and Sharon was gone.

"Miss? Miss? Is everything all right in there?" The voice of the sales clerk brought Sharon back to the present. Sitting in the small dressing room, Sharon became conscious of the fact that she was shivering. "I'm fine." Sharon replied, noting that her voice was trembling. "What am I going to do?" Sharon thought as she looked in the mirror again. That hit to the face had turned nice and purple now. She stood and unzipped the jumpsuit revealing her ripped and torn clothing. Quickly, Sharon removed them and replaced them with new ones. Yanking off the tags and giving her hair a quick shake to loosen the plant life from their resting place, and taking one last look at herself in the mirror, she came out of the room, leaving behind her old clothes and the jumpsuit.

"I'll take these," Sharon told the cashier as she handed over the price tags. "And this." She reached into one of the impulse bins and pulled out a brush.

"Are you all right, Miss? Do you want me to call someone? Security?" The concerned look on the cashier's face and in her voice almost brought Sharon to tears.

"No, I'm fine." Sharon replied and put on her best smile. "I just had a small tumble." And with that Sharon paid for her new duds.

Sharon headed for the store's entrance but stopped short. Her senses kicked in and she new that he was close. Turning abruptly and almost running into another customer, Sharon proceeded to the back of the store, through the 'employees only' door and out the back exit into the malls inner corridors.

As Sharon rounded what seemed to be the umpteenth corner in mall's back hallways she was met by Toad. She turned to run the opposite way only to be caught around the torso, pinning her arms to her sides, by his huge tongue. Toad reeled Sharon towards him, smiling ear to ear, as she struggled against the stickiness. Coming up behind Sharon, Sabertooth reached the pair shortly. He wrapped his enormous hand around Sharon's throat and growled, "Like I said before, you are to come with me."

to be continued...