Chapter 1

Why Jacklyn chose to stay in Brooklyn she was never quite sure. It could have been the busy streets that amused her. Or the new smell of city air. It could have been that it was a crowded city and made it a great place to hide. Maybe she just wanted to stop running for a while. Stop living her life in constant motion and take a breath.

For a year all Jacklyn did was run. Run, and run until she could no longer stand. She had to get away. The people that had kept her, tortured her would not stop looking for her. She knew that for a fact. That was why she kept going, the reason she had not stopped until she reached a different continent. She still did not feel safe, but the distance between her and Hydra was something she enjoyed immensely.

Now, two years after Jacklyn had stopped running, at the age of seventeen, she has a little apartment to herself (One room with a small washroom) and a small paying job as to afford the shelter and food. She finally feels as if life is looking up and Hydra is no longer controlling her every movement.

Jacklyn always knew that she was not like the other kids her age. While she yearned to play like they did, and to do everything just the same as they did, it was apparent that those normal childhood moments would never be hers. From the moment of her birth, her parents had hidden her away in the attic. They had had a home birth, with one of their friends as the midwife, when their baby came out, purple, with a spade-tipped tail, pointy ears and bright yellow eyes, they had their friends sworn to secrecy. The friend promised to keep their secret but no longer wanted to be involved in a family that would keep such a 'beast' around. Her parents saw letting all their friends go as the only way to keep their daughter safe. They pretended that their child had been stillborn. They would do anything to keep their daughter safe, even if she looked odd. This was something that Jacklyn would never forget, even in her adult life, she would appreciate the lengths that her parents went to too keep her safe. It was too bad that despite all their efforts, Jacklyn would end up running for her life from Hydra.

Up in the attic, Jacklyn had plenty of toys and books, and even a radio, but nothing could replace that empty feeling she would get when she peeked out the window and saw the other neighbourhood children running down the street without a care in the world. She had to keep the windows drawn so that no one saw her, but she figured that a little peak every once in a while would not do anyone harm.

It's not to say that she was ungrateful of her parents, they had kept her safe and as entertained as possible, it's just that no child is meant to be kept locked away in an attic. Her father and mother knew this, but were unsure of how to help their daughter. Her father was a military man, meaning that he was often gone. Many times it was just Jacklyn and her mother in the house. On these occasions, her mother would let her sneak down to the second floor, into her parents' bedroom, and she would snuggle up to her mother as the two fell asleep. While she missed her father, these were some of her favourite memories.

However, as hard as the family tried, their lives as they knew it, came to an end. It was one fateful day, the sun was shining and all the children were out to play. Jacklyn was peeking out her window, that familiar empty feeling filling her chest, feeling jealous that she too could not go out and play. She thought that maybe just today she could open the blinds a little more and let the sun hit her face. However, when one child look directly at her window, his eyes widened when he saw her, she knew that she had made a mistake. She closed the blinds as quickly as possible. Hoping that nothing would come of it if she did not mention the incident. Maybe it would all just go away.

Around two weeks after the incident, Jacklyn had pretty much forgotten about what had happened with that little boy. She felt safe once again in her house, as though nothing could reach her. She was sorely mistaken. Around 2 in the morning Jacklyn was awoken to the muffled yelling of her parents. Her heart racing, she grabbed her favourite stuffed bunny and she slipped out of bed. She stood at the top of the stairs, trying to listen for what was happening.

"You cannot just come into my house and assault my family!" She heard her father yell, only to hear a crack of something metal hitting what she could only assume was her father's head. There was a thump as his body hit the floor. Jacklyn took in a sharp breath, tears welling up in her eyes. What was happening? Why were there people in the house? She had yet to connect that little boy seeing her in the window to these strange people attacking her parents.

"No! Please don't hurt him!" Jacklyn heard her mother cry out. Jacklyn could not stand to hear her parents in pain and rushed down the stairs. She pushed open the door to find six strong and mean looking men, two holding her mother. Her mother was in her pajamas, tears running down her face, her hair, normally up in curlers seemed to have been knocked lose, half of the curlers had fallen out. She looked so frightened, Jacklyn hated to see her this way. Her father was also in his pajamas, passed out on the floor, a large bruise welling up on his head. One of the men raised his hand as though he was going to hit her mother.

"Stop!" Jacklyn yelled, clutching her bunny to her chest, tears streaming down her face. She was shaking in fear, the fear that her parents would die, the fear that she could be taken away from the only safe space she had ever known.

The men looked at her, then at each other, an evil looking grin on their faces.

"Grab 'er. Throw 'er in the truck." One of the men demanded. Two of the men closest two her grabbed her arms, causing Jacklyn to scream. She received a swift backhand to the face, stunning her. One of them picked her up and threw her over his shoulder.

"Please no." Her mother sobbed "Anyone but her, take us. Just please do not take her." The man who had demanded they grab Jacklyn looked at the men holding Jacklyn's mother.

"Kill them." He said, as though he was telling the man an ordinary order, not something that would cause Jacklyn's whole world to crash around her.

"I love you, Jack-" Her mother said, as the man raised a gun to her head. She was cut off by two gunshots. The noise drowning Jacklyn's scream as she watched a man shoot both of her parents in the head. The last thing she saw was her mother's life leave her body, before one of the man smacked her on the head and everything faded to black.

She quickly learned that the men who took her were part of a criminal organization called Hydra. They had taken her so that they could experiment on her. They did so many experiments that they all blurred together and Jacklyn thought they would never end. The food was kept to a minimum and sleep even less so. She felt as though death would be a better option and wished for it almost every day. Unfortunately for her death was not an option. In testing her limits in healing, the Hydra scientists had found that Jacklyn could not die. Not by wound nor illness. At first she would be unconscious for hours when she should have died, then over the years of torture her body started to adapt, she would stay unconscious only for minutes or sometimes seconds when stabbed to death, shot, filled with toxins. Her body would heal itself from anything.

They not only tested her mutant abilities, but trained her physically. They put her in intense simulation activities to hone her physical strength and create her into a soldier. The training was grueling, and as much as Jacklyn tried to fight against it, the pain of failing the simulations was just too much to bear. After months of fighting her training, she realized that if she could gain strength and speed, she could potentially use those abilities to get herself out of the Hydra Facility.

For eight years Jacklyn was put through immense pain. She would shake ever night and hope for someone to come save her. She believed that there was a way out, somewhere nicer outside the bleak, grey walls of the facility. Her hoping came to an end when she was fourteen and had finally figured out a plan to escape.

Hydra had tested a bracelet out, one that covered her entire body and made it look like that of a regular thirteen year old girl. Jacklyn would look in the mirror while wearing the bracelet and see herself, only with her blonde hair being in less contrast to her pale skin, her ears soft and round. However it was not perfect, she had to keep her tail hidden in her pants or it was very obvious; Hydra had plans to use Jacklyn for covert missions, and there was no way she was going to get very far looking as she did. However, this gave Jacklyn the means to escape and get far away from Hydra.

Jacklyn had memorized the guards schedule, knowing when they rotated and who would be on shift. Some of the guards were a little more relaxed and were not quite as vigilante as the others. These guards would be the key to her escape. Over the last few months Jacklyn had secretly grabbed two thin pieces of metal to use as a lock pick. Luckily for her, in her training they had taught her many useful skills, including lock picking, which she was now adept at.

When the guards rotated, it would leave a 1 minute window where a guard was not in place to see Jacklyn's cell. She would have to move quickly, being caught trying to escape would lead to the most severe of punishments. Jacklyn very cautiously slipped her arm between the bars of her cell, using the metal to pick the lock. She heard the clicks of the lock opening under her skillful hand, and the door creaked open. She did not waste any time in rushing out of her cell, and running down the nearest hallway.

Jacklyn knew exactly where she needed to go to get the concealing bracelet, unfortunately for her she was not allowed to keep it on and it was kept in a locked laboratory. The room that contained the bracelet was not far from where Jenny's cell was. The compound itself was relatively small. Jacklyn snuck quietly down the halls, ducking quickly behind corners and around bins whenever she saw anyone. After several agonizing minutes she reached the lab with the bracelet inside. She tried the door handle. It was locked. Jacklyn took out her lock picking metal stick and tried to pick the lock. This one was more difficult than her cell, but after several moments she got the door to unlock. Jacklyn stepped in, closed the door behind her and turned on the lights.

The room was large and blindingly white. There were many drawers filled with devices that Jacklyn knew nothing about. The books that Jacklyn used to read in her parents basement said nothing on what were inside labs. In the middle of the room was a big metal table, used to strap her down for experiments. Jacklyn shivered and looked away. She couldn't see the bracelet from where she was standing and decided to look around. She had to have that bracelet, she had to be able to conceal herself from Hydra. She had to get away.

She travelled to the back of the room, breath increasing in her adrenaline rush.

She found the silver bracelet on a covered stand far away from the door. It was kept on a small stand, no casing. Hydra did not seem to expect that anyone would try to take it. They were wrong. Jacklyn grabbed the bracelet put it on, feeling her form flicker into that of a regular girl, and then she ran. Just as she thought she was going to get out an alarm went off. They must have discovered that she wasn't in her cell. Jacklyn took off as fast as her feet could carry her, Bounding down corridors and going through any door that had an exit sign. She was getting out, she could feel it. She had been running for a couple of minutes when finally, finally she burst through an exit door leading to the outside.

Jacklyn had to shield her eyes as the sun beat down at her. She had not seen the sun since she was a little girl in her parents attic. The fresh air was like heaven too her lungs. She wanted to stand there and take in everything she had missed so dearly, but she could not, she had to go before Hydra caught her.

When Jacklyn's eyes finally adjusted she saw where she was. The Hydra compound was surrounded by a thick, green, forest. It was full of lush plants that seemed to shin in the mid-day sun. The forest was thick blocking out the light, making for good cover. The compound itself was a big, flat-topped brick building with smoke chimneys sticking out the top, spewing all sorts of horrible things into the atmosphere. It was ugly and filled with awful memories. Jacklyn was going to get as far away from it as possible.

Jacklyn ran. She did not stop until her feet ached and her eyelids were heavy. She could finally sleep. In a hole in the ground, in the middle of a big forest, finally free from those trying to hurt her. Though she knew she was not done running yet

"Should we send out the dogs, sir?" A man's voice asked in German. It came through a speaker in the wall of the control room.

"No." An old balding man said, eyes on a screen attached to the wall. "I want to see what our little she-devil can do. She thinks she has gotten away. Consider it an extended experiment."

"Yes, Sir." The first man said.

"Make sure the tracking chip in her and the bracelet are monitored at all times. I want nothing she does to go unseen.

"Yes, Sir." He said again and the speaker turned off. The old man stood close to the screen, a cruel smile twisted on his face.

"You can run, but you can't hide." He said to the moving picture of the girl running on the screen. "Hydra will always find you."