Chapter Text
Tokyo was crowded- no, packed. I could hardly move through the people, but I kept pushing until I saw a pet store. Then, I teleported into the store, thankful that I’d met a teleporting mutant five years ago, when I’d first gained my powers. Kurt, I think his name was.
Pet food was easy to find, thanks to the ability of the Polyglot mutant I’d met before. My brain automatically learned any language I heard more than three words in. I was already invisible, so I touched four bags of dog food, levitated them above me, and grabbed five bags of treats, along with bird seed, toys, and the three remaining food bowls I liked. Then, I teleported back home.
Seventeen dogs greeted me, all wagging tails and grins. My albino macaw was already with me. He’d been perched on my shoulder from the start. I was an animal empath too- that was how I communicated with my dogs and bird. They understood what I wanted, the same way I understood what they wanted. I was the Alpha in our pack of nineteen.
We didn’t have a real house, just the abandoned building in the worst part of town that we called home. The walls bore graffiti, ivy crawled up all four sides, and parts of the brick had been knocked out, but the fridge in the basement still worked, and I had running water (from several neighbors) and electricity (hijacked from the county lines). A steel door locked the basement off from the rest of the world. It was hidden from everyone, no matter how mutated. My pack and I teleported in and out if we needed to.
It was cozy, in a way. Our basement was large enough for all of us to comfortable fit. Nights were spent curled in the back corner, where there were five tempurpedic mattresses (stolen from the factory) and at least fifteen warm, soft blankets. (Also stolen.) Days were fun-filled. I had archery set up by the door, weights by the left wall (along with a complex ‘machine’), there was a working kitchen, and even an original Pac-man machine. Anything we wanted or needed was easily obtained through my powers.
The world knew me as Shadow. In official terms, I was a class five mutant, labeled as a criminal, and considered lethal.
They didn’t know the half of it.
I fed the dogs and took them out to go to the bathroom in Arizona, where no one could see my massive pack. Once we were back home, I fixed myself a gourmet meal and plopped down on one of several bean bag chairs that faced my flat screen TV. The dogs curled around me, some playing, some asleep while I watched the news. Terror attack in France. Politics. Nothing new.
The whole time, my eyes kept straying to my wrist, where there were two sets of numbers.
One was the age I would be when I met my soulmate. The other was how long I would spend with them.
My only problem was that I didn’t know which was which. One read 15y:08m:17d:16h:32m:56s, and the other was 97y:11m:30d:23h:59m:59s.
I could only hope that I’d already met him or her. At seventeen, I couldn’t fathom the idea of waiting another eighty years. I may have been (in lame terms,) a badass criminal vigilante, but even I needed someone to fall back on.
Someone who knew me inside and out, but still loved me for it.
~
I stared at the ceiling above me, mind blank, unblinking. What if Peter had been right? What if I would have to wait another seventy-two years to meet my soulmate? My numbers taunted me, even though I couldn’t see them at the moment.
Peter knew. He’d found his soulmate already. He was twenty, and his numbers were 20 and 83. Two months ago, he’d met a girl whose numbers were 19 and 83- their second numbers matched to the second. I groaned and rolled onto my other side, ignoring the way my wings protested when I was on my back for a few seconds.
Maybe I’d already met her? One of my numbers was 17. It was possible that we had been going opposite directions, maybe made eye contact, and moved on.
The door to my room slammed against the wall, and suddenly Peter was bending over me, removing his goggles.
“Angel, guess what? Hank just found a way to use everyone’s birth records to track whose number matches whose, and he wants to do a trial run of the school, try to see if he can match any of us up! Come on! This is your chance to find your mystery girl!” With that, I blinked and found myself in Hank’s lab, dizzy and disoriented from the sudden change. I steadied myself with a hand on the nearest lab table and fought to keep my breakfast down, even as Peter zipped around, nothing more than a silver blur.
“Oh, Warren. Can’t say I’m surprised. I already had your name and numbers plugged in. It’s searching now.”
“Great,” I managed past my stomach’s acrobatics. “Peter, a little warning next time would be awesome.” The speedster sped behind me, oblivious to the growl in my voice.
There was a bleep sound from the computer, and Hank’s eyes lit up. He looked at the screen, and then frowned.
I peered over his shoulder. There was an ID for a girl named Adelaide Melody Forester with a picture of a young girl, no more than ten. She had raven black hair and light green eyes. Then I saw the blinking red exclamation point. She was missing, presumed dead.
“Warren, I’m so sorry.” Hank murmured. I stared at her young face on the screen. How could she be dead? I had my two numbers. They weren’t red, which meant that my soulmate was dead. They were black. She was alive. She had to be.
My eyes scanned the ID. I memorized her last address, and then asked Hank a question that was already bugging me. “How old was she when she went missing?”
“-Twelve, but I don’t think-“
I was already out the door.
~
A man opened the door. He had a predominant beer gut, a month’s worth of ragged beard, unkempt (brown?) hair and half-lidded eyes. His grey tank top was sweat and drink stained. In his hand was a half-empty dark bottle.
I took a deep breath, which I regretted as soon as the smell of cheap booze and drugs filled my chest, and gave him a serious look.
“Do you know a girl named Adelaide Forester?”
He staggered forward, caught the doorframe, bent over. I jumped back with just enough time before he hurled. Disgusted, I watched him straighten up and wipe his mouth with the entirety of his arm.
“Who, Addie?” He slurred. “Yeah, she was my-“He hiccupped. “-daughter.” His eye brows scrunched together and he took another swig of beer. “But she was one of those mutant freaks, so I kicked her slut ass to the curb.”
My eyes darkened. Mutant freak? His own daughter? Before I knew it, I had him against the wall.
“Watch who you call a mutant freak, you drunk bastard.” I warned. A gust of wind brought more of the awful scent of the house to me and I dropped him and flew off.
Adelaide was alive. I just knew it. Now, I just had to find her.
Time to ask for a favor from the professor.
~
“Who?” Professor Charles Xavier asked, staring at me like I was crazy.
I took a deep breath, still trying to rid myself of the memory of that house. “Her name is Adelaide Forester. She’s my soul mate. I have to find her, Charles, please!”
He blinked, obviously thinking. I suppressed a groan of frustration. “Professor, you know I wouldn’t ask if it wasn’t important. She’s a mutant. If you find her, we can bring her here, see what she can do, and then it’s a win-win. We both get what we want.”
“Warren.” Charles cut me off. “If I do this, you must swear not to tell anyone else. I can’t do this for every student. You may be the exception, because I have a feeling she’ll be your better half, maybe calm some of your more-“He cleared his throat. “reckless decisions.”
“Thank you Professor.” I released the breath I hadn’t realized I’d been holding and followed Charles to Cerebro. Once inside, he put on an odd looking helmet, and with the help of Hank, the machine started. There was an odd feeling that made my feathers stand on end, and then Charles was groaning in pain.
“Adelaide!” He yelled, suddenly. There was a beat of calm, and then his face twisted in pain. “Stop!” He screamed, and then, like a wave, Hank and I got caught in the tide. Searing pain ripped through my mind. My vision went black, and I felt the cold ground beneath me.
“Stay out of my mind, Xavier.” A voice growled. “Or I will be forced to come into yours.”
“Adelaide, please, I only want to help you-“
“I don’t need your help.” It was her, I could tell.
“I have your soulmate with me, Adelaide. He wants to find you.”
There was an image, then, just a brief flash across my mind. I saw it through her eyes- her wrist and the two sets of numbers written in black there. Beneath it was a wood floor and the paw of an animal. Then it was gone.
“That’s not my name.” She snarled. “It hasn’t been for a long time. I suggest you mind your own business, Charles.”
She was gone, just like that. I opened my eyes and groaned when I found myself staring at the wall of Cerebro- from the ground. Hank was also splayed on the ground, all blue fur and white lab coat. I managed to get to my hands and knees, but my head was spinning with my soulmate’s strength. I couldn’t tell what was up and what was down.
“Looks like she doesn’t want to be found.” Charles deadpanned, the first to gather his thoughts.
“No shit.” I growled, still trying to get the world back into focus.
~
My heart was beating wildly. Now telepathy was added to my list of abilities. Was the professor serious when he said he had my soulmate with him? I was staring at my numbers, utterly unconvinced. With a sigh, I wrestled my mind into submission and put up a new barrier to guard my thoughts. One thing was for sure. Charles wouldn’t be getting in any time soon.
~
“Thank you, Dave. In other news, police were called to a crime scene earlier today. A witness said that ‘a black-clad figure suddenly appeared in the middle of a dog-fighting pit and broke the two Pitbulls apart. Then, they kept appearing around the pit, where they killed everyone there.’ When police came to the scene, all of the dogs were gone, and the Rogue Mutant had left seventy-two bodies in their wake. Video surveillance confirmed that the suspect is Shadow, a class five mutant. Officials warn that they are to be considered armed and dangerous.” The blonde on the news paused, took a breath, and then exhaled. “Shadow has been on the FBI’s most wanted list for three years now. They mostly target criminal activities and have been the suspect in several cases involving missing animals. Caution is advised.”
I huffed and ignored the rest of the woman’s speech. Of the thirteen dogs I’d rescued, only seven had made it so far. The other six had been too far gone for me to save. I was still working to bandage the last of those seven. There had to be a mutant out there with the ability to heal animals, right? Because I needed that power. Badly.
An idea came to me. I teleported to my bedroom, where I slipped into my cape. Then, I studied the TV screen, and teleported on set. Several screams greeted me.
“Keep it rolling, or I’ll kill everyone here.” I yelled at the camera men, who hesitantly turned the cameras toward me. I walked forward, knowing that all eyes were on me. Jessica, the news anchor, was staring at me with wide eyes. They couldn’t see anything about me- my cape made sure of that. I was still Shadow, the unidentified rogue mutant- even as I stood in front of the cameras and placed a bundle of blood and fur on the table. Jessica turned and puked at the sight of the mangled ex-fighting dog.
“This.” I growled. “This is what I fight. You, America, all of you think I’m some vigilante mutant who needs to be stopped. I’m here to tell you that you couldn’t be more wrong. I don’t kill innocent people. I kill those who abuse those without a voice, or rights. I kill to free the animals whose lives have been comprised of fear.” Even under the dark cowl of my hood, I saw the red lights flash, meaning that the police had been notified. I stared into the camera lens closest to me and pushed.
Images flew through my mind and into the minds of all Americans. I saw all of the dogs I’d lost to dog fights. I saw the abuse, the terrified state of dogs I’d rehabilitated. I saw the fear, the loneliness in their eyes, the pleading.
Then, I saw my pack. Seventeen strong, all from some sort of abusive background. I saw each of their pasts, and I spread my consciousness over every mind I touched, warning them.
I pulled back after a memory of the most recent kills- the seventy-two dog fighters.
“Now you know. This has been a warning to any abuser out there. I am the hand of justice that will fall on you if you dare to harm another innocent life. I will not be merciful. I will not be lenient. I am Shadow.”
I sent out an electric pulse that destroyed all of the cameras around me, and then I teleported back to my house, settling back on the couch to watch the media explode over my statements.
~
“The mission is simple; we need to bring Shadow to our side. I am going to warn you, though. Shadow is a class five mutant with the ability to learn other mutations by touch. Do not let them touch you. At any cost.”
“So why are we going after them?” I asked. Storm shot a glare my direction. I ignored her.
It was Peter who finally answered me. “Shadow is too dangerous to be walking around free. They are already on the government’s watch list.” His dark eyes cut to me. “Didn’t you see what happened on the news?”
“We don’t even know anything about them! Hell, we don’t even know if we are dealing with a guy or a girl!” I protested. Peter nodded.
“Either way,” Charles said, “We need to contain this threat before the public does something about it. This is for the safety of all mutants, like it or not.”
~
I was busy that night. While America floundered for a sense of control, I took down criminal after criminal. The FBI’s list of convicted rapists helped. I dragged a confession out of each one before I killed them, teleporting the body to the foot of the Supreme Court’s steps. The videos were posted to YouTube via an untraceable source. I spray painted the steps with three words; “This is justice.”
Rapists weren’t the only ones, though. Repeat animal abusers who’d slipped through the fingers of the justice system found themselves lying before the Court, dead.
Suffice to say I didn’t get any sleep.