DRAWING A BLANK

Rated: R for language and violence

Disclaimer - I do not own any of the Mutant X characters in this story, they belong to Tribune Entertainment Company. No copyright infringement is intended. All other characters in the story are mine.

Thank you to the other authors for their inspiration. Please read and review!

Shalimar couldn't fall asleep so she decided to go out for a bike ride. The night air was warm and calm - the perfect night for a bike ride.

She'd been driving around for a while and started making her way back home. But on her way back, she noticed a group of people up ahead. There were about six people and they formed a circle. It appeared as if they were cheering at the action going on inside their circle.

As she drew closer she saw someone in the middle of the circle beating on a young boy. She parked her bike and walked towards the group. She stood on the outside of the circle with her arms folded across her chest. "Excuse me, boys."

They all turned around and looked at her, including the one beating on the boy.

"Why don't you pick on someone your own size?" she said as she arched her eyebrow.

The boy lying on the ground looked up at her and shook his head, trying to signal her not to get involved. But Shalimar nodded at him, assuring him that everything would be okay.

The man beating on the boy stood up and faced Shalimar, "Why don't you mind your own damn business, little lady. It would be a shame if you were to get hurt because you stuck your nose where it didn't belong."

"Tell ya what, you let him come with me and I'll be on my way."

The man laughed and then looked at the men surrounding him, causing them to laugh as well. "That's a good one! I don't think so. He's OUR catch. Go find your own new mutant."

Shalimar felt those words hit her like a brick. Anger bubbled inside her body and she clenched her fists by her sides.

The man turned his attention back to the boy, kicking him in the ribs and spitting on him.

"Excuse me," she said once more. "The boy is coming with me."

The man whipped his head up towards her, "He is like hell!" He looked at two of the men that were standing around in the circle, "Take care of her please."

The two men charged at Shalimar but she jumped into the air and kicked out towards them, striking them each in the face. They fell to the ground as she came back down on her feet. She readied herself for another attack and this time two other men came at her. She grabbed one by the neck and used him as a shield as the other man tried punching her. He knocked the man unconscious so she dropped him to the ground in order to fight off the other man.

He twirled around and kicked out towards her head but she grabbed his leg and bent it at an odd angle, sending him to the ground in pain.

The last two men that were in the circle decided to try their luck at subduing her so they both came at her at once. She dodged one of them and then kicked out towards the other man, wrapping her leg around his neck and dragging him to the ground. He hit the ground hard and grunted in pain as his head smacked the pavement.

The man she had dodged came back at her again. They fought hand to hand, equally. He let his guard down for a moment so she grabbed him and flipped him onto the hood of a nearby car. He smashed into the windshield and slid off the hood, unconscious.

Shalimar looked around, waiting for someone else to come at her but all she heard was someone clapping.

"Very impressive," the man from inside the circle said as he stood with his boot on the boy's neck, pinning him to the ground.

Shalimar dusted off her jacket and walked towards him. "We'll be going now." She bent down towards the boy and placed her hand on his shoulder. Just as she did so, she felt something poke her in the shoulder and she heard the cocking of a gun.

"I don't think so...mutant," he said through clenched teeth.

She looked up at him, "What are you talking about? I'm not..."

"Shut up," he said as he dug the barrel of the gun into her left shoulder. "No normal human being fights like that."

Shalimar felt the boy take her hand so she looked down at him. His eyes were filled with tears. "Ju-just leave me," he pleaded.

"Aww, isn't that fucking touching," the man said, pretending to cry.

Shalimar continued to look at the boy and made her eyes turn yellow for a brief moment. When they turned brown again she quickly brought her right hand over and grabbed the man's wrist, pointing the gun away from her body. The gun went off and the bullet sped off into the air. She elbowed the man in the stomach, trying to get him to let go of the gun but he continued to hang onto it.

He swept his arm around and caught her on the side of the head with the butt of the gun. It stunned her for a moment but she shook it off and continued the fight.

The man raised the gun at her but he soon found himself on the ground. The boy had grabbed his leg and pulled him down. The gun fell from the man's grip and slid across the pavement near where he lay.

Shalimar tried to get the boy to his feet but he struggled to stand on his own. "Go! I want you to get out of here as fast as you can."

The boy did the best he could and managed to stand and begin limping away. "Who are you?" he asked.

"Shalimar."

"Thank you, Shalimar," he whispered to her.

Shalimar turned her attention back to the man and just as she did she felt a burning pain in her left shoulder. She fell to the ground on her back, immediately realizing she'd been shot.

The man hovered over her and pressed his boot to her neck as he pointed his gun at her, cocking it. "You're a feisty bitch, I'll give you that."

Shalimar clutched the wound and could feel her warm, sticky blood dripping all over her hand and down her side. She kicked at the man's legs and knocked him to the ground again. "You think you would have learned by now," she said as she got up and got on top of him, punching him in the face, trying to put her pain in the back of her mind.

The man blocked her punches and tossed her off of him. He got up and kicked her in the ribs, causing her to curl into a ball, gasping for the air that had been knocked out of her lungs. Then he reached down and grabbed her by the front of her shirt, hauling her to her knees. He pointed the gun at her chest as he held her close to his face, "Good-bye, Mutant." She closed her eyes and braced herself for the bullet's entrance as he pulled the trigger.