Disclaimer: I don t own Sabretooth or Storm, they belong to Marvel. Please,
please, PLEASE sue me! I could use the attention, and it might make more
people aware of fanfiction.
No offense to boardwalk security, AND/OR security officers everywhere.
Notes: This story is set in the Ultimate X-Men Universe, just before Ororo meets Jean Grey. You don t need to read Ultimate in order to understand the story.
I ll try to put up new chapters as often as possible (there shouldn t be too many) , but I am having finals this week and I am majorly stressed out. After this week there should be more frequent posts.
*
* *Crossed Paths
*
Ororo strolled along the crowded boardwalk of a beach in Wildwood, New Jersey. This was her current haunt. She would stay here until she got bored with it, or until she got caught doing what she'did.
She slipped into a crowd of people who were waiting to ride the paddleboats.
Always up for a challenge, she avoided the men and women wearing backpacks and went for the ones with wallets in their pockets. Gracefully, and carefully she lifted the leather parcel from the older man's shorts. Her blue eyes appeared to be on the happy people in the boats, but instead she was watching the man's bald spot, and her ears were listening for threats.
Ororo put the beat up brown wallet in the pocket of her cargo pants. 'That is enough for the day.' She thought, and headed for a less crowded area of the boardwalk. She went down the wooden steps and onto the beach making sure no one was watching her she slipped under the boardwalk.
Ororo took the wallets from her various pockets and emptied them. She only wanted the cash and the change. She could care less about the credit cards.
'Almost six-hundred dollars in tens, twenties, fives and fifties.' She left the wallets there.
Some kids would probably find them.
She stepped back onto the boardwalk and dove into the closest fast food line, noticing that the sun was going down.
Victor Creed stood on the balcony of one of the many hotels around the boardwalk. This particular hotel was across the street from the beach. His view of the boardwalk was blocked by the beachfront shops. He could, however see up one of the small side streets that connected the boardwalk to the busy intersection. He flicked the cigarette he had been smoking to the ground below.
A group of loud teenagers hung out in the side street. Victor's sensitive ears picked up everything they said. He listened, but nothing they talked about interested him. They mostly made fun of the tourists and jabbered on and on about things that made him roll his eyes.
He was bored, but he preferred to go out when it was dark.
A black girl who looked to be around the same age as the kids he'd been listening to, rounded the corner and started up the small street. The boys in the group nudged each other. The girls glared enviously. Victor wasn't surprised in the least bit when the boys began to bark, whistle, and yell undecipherable phrases at her all at once.
'How original.' She thought, listening to the local boys behind her. She headed for the hotel she had been staying in for the past few nights. Ororo felt an extra set of eyes on her, which is never good when one is a thief. She looked up and met the small black eyes of a man with muscular tattooed arms. He stood on the balcony of a room
in the hotel in which she was staying.
~~
Ororo let herself into her room, and put the brass security lock on. She'dropped her backpack on the desk, then emptied her pockets. She flopped onto the bed, and fell asleep.
~~
When Ororo woke up it was morning. She hadn't intended to sleep so long. She liked to be up before families staying in the hotel got up. If she wasn't seen, she wasn't there.
It was easier to blend in with the crowds on the boardwalk. She'didn't think too much about it though.
She took a shower and put on clean clothes: cut off shorts and a sky blue
T-shirt.
She grabbed the money from the nightstand along with the key and her backpack and left the room. She never rode in elevators, they were to cramped. She took the stairs instead.
When she got about halfway down the metal staircase, she was surprised to see the man from the day before coming her way.
When she saw him her heart sped up. He moved with the grace of a cat, but didn't exactly give off "Hello Kitty"
vibes. Even though he wore boots, she couldn't hear him coming. He was looking up at her, and as he turned and started up the next flight he didn't take his eyes off her.
His blonde hair was long and wild. His face was serious. She couldn't fathom what he would look like if he smiled. Now that she was closer to him, and she wasn't sure if that was good thing, she could see that his eyes were all black.
He had no visible whites.
She held his stare for a moment longer, but looked away as she passed him. She could feel he heat coming off of his body. She could still see him out of her peripheral vision, and if he made any sudden movements she would make a break for it.
When she was just about to lose complete sight of him, she looked up to see that he was still watching her. He was.
The girl was now out of his field of vision, but not out of his earshot. He listened to her. She put on a good show. When she spotted him she'didn't miss a step. He didn't see the smallest hint of surprise on her face, but he heard her pulse and breathing quicken. He watched her look him over, sizing him up, but little did she know he was sizing her up too. He noticed how she became lighter on her feet, like she was preparing for an attack. He could tell by the way she showed him no fear, and by the length of time she held his glare, then looked away in an unconscious gesture of respect, that she had long been on the streets. He'd known that since yesterday when first he saw her.
She was here alone, and she was staying on the floor above him.
He followed her scent to the last room, on the left side. He opened the door using the key he had gotten from one of the cleaning ladies. She'd slept in one of the beds, but it didn't look like it.
She hadn't even touched the TV.
He went into the bathroom. Beads of water sliding down the shower curtain and into the tub, and a wet sink were the
only visible sign that she had been there.
He figured she'didn't want anyone to know she had been there. She'd probably acquired a key that opened all the rooms like he did. He sniffed the room some more than dropped to his knees by the bed. He reached all the way under and pulled out a medium sized gray duffle bag. He opened it: Clothes, all folded neatly, a pair of black boots, a passport?.
He opened it.
Her name was Ororo Munroe, she hadn't been seventeen for long, and she was from Africa. He put the passport back.
There were a few other things in the bag, among them a knife that he didn't bother to unsheathe, a one-hundred dollar bill, and a gold Rolex.
He put the bag back where he found it, and left.
~~
Back in his own room, he went into the bathroom, and smiled at the cleaning lady in the bathtub. Her head stared back at him from the toilet.
"Sorry, I gotta get rid o' ya, hon, but what will my guest think if she sees you here?"
That evening Ororo sat on a bench eating an apple she'd gotten earlier from the hotel. She watched a woman who'd just bought a hamburger, fold up her money and put it in her pants pocket. Ororo stood up and casually walked by taking the woman's wallet from her pants pocket, and dropped it into her bag.
Heading for the less crowded end of the boardwalk, she paused and looked around.
She gasped when she saw the man from that morning coming out of one of the side streets that she'd just passed.
She quickly ducked under the boardwalk. She'didn't think he saw her.
She sighed, looking out over the beach.
"Put your hands where I can see them."
Ororo cursed herself for getting careless. She put her hands behind her head and turned around to face the officer.
She smiled inwardly realizing that it was only Boardwalk Security.
No gun.
He was probably making his rounds; just a routine check under the boardwalk.
"You came here to smoke or drink?"
"Neither sir."
"You came under here to pee?"
"No sir."
"You meeting some boy down here?"
She thought about that, "Yes sir."
"It's not safe for a pretty girl like you to be here. There's been a drastic rise in missing person reports in the past few week. I don't want to see you down here again. Wait up there for your friend." He said, pointing up with his flashlight.
"Yes sir."
The officer went back to what he was doing.
She laughed to herself, 'A likely story' she thought. 'Perhaps the only way to keep kids from hanging out under the boardwalk is to scare them. There are probably no more missing people than usual here.'
"Young lady?"
She looked back.
"Watch your bag too, there s also been a rise in theft. " ~~
All Victor saw was the girl's white hair disappearing under the walk.
She'd seen him first.
He started to follow her, but was stopped by a sunburned geek, carrying an orange surfboard, "Dude, where'd you get those tats'? I mean, like did you get them here?" The kid said, and then began to babble nervously, when Victor didn't answer. "They're awesome, like, y'know, like, and I was just wondering...I didn't mean to bother you, du-sir. Sorry."
There was a long pause, "C-Can I go?"
Victor bared his teeth at the surfer, and pushed him out of the way.
He headed for the edge of the boardwalk closest to where he thought she was.
He started to jump over the railing, but the girl came out from under him and onto the boardwalk. He turned his back to her. She'didn't see him.
Victor watched her walk away from him.
She was skinny, but not too skinny.
She stood in line and bought a drink.
He wondered where she got the money. He hadn't smelled anyone's direct scent on her yesterday or today, so she wasn't a hooker. Maybe she was a thief.
She walked further down and he did too. He kept his eyes on her.
Besides the hair, to a normal person she looked like your average teenager: T-shirt, shorts, backpack, semi expensive sneakers.
She carefully and quickly lifted a wallet from someone s pocket.
He was right; she was a thief, and a pretty good one since no one said anything.
The faintest hint of a smile could be seen on his face. Maybe he wouldn't kill her right away.
After picking up a few things at one of the shops, she headed for the hotel.
When she got to her room she sat cross-legged on the bed. She took her portable CD player from her backpack, and
popped in the CD she'd just bought. Next, she dumped the wallets she'd lifted onto the bed.
She counted up the money and put it away. After getting rid of the wallets she fell asleep listening to the music.
He listened. She was sleeping, and there was some kind of garbage playing on a radio.
Sliding the key card through the slot, he slowly opened the door, but didn't get very far because she'd put the latch on.
He shut the door, and then opened it quickly, pulling the screws from the door jam. He shut the door behind him. Ororo heard nothing.
She was sleeping in the bed furthest from the door.
~~
Almost an hour later Victor's eyes widened.
Her eyes never fluttered, but just the pitch of her breathing told him she was awake.
He was perched at the foot of the bed on top of the bureau.
He was ready to pounce the second she started to scream, but she'didn't.
Before Victor could react, there was blood - his blood - soaking his shirt, and a screaming pain above his right arm.
Outside there was a crack of lightning that split the clouds, and the pavement below, illuminating the room for a
fraction of a second.
He leapt onto the bed sweeping her long legs out from under her, landing with a knee on her chest. One hand pinned
her arms behind her back, while his weaker hand closed around her neck.
He looked down at the knife in his shoulder, and quickly pulled it out with his teeth. The ripped shirt allowed Ororo to see the wound heel.
"For future reference kid, your heart is on the left side." He whispered, harshly.
Before Victor could make his next move the hotel room door flew open, and beams landed on him.
Victor jumped off the bed and rose to his full height, towering over the security officers.
He growled, bared his fangs at them.
The sound of the balcony door opening caught his attention, and he remembered the girl.
Ororo didn't even waste time sparing a glance to see who her attacker was.
She threw her bags onto the pavement below.
Climbing over the iron fence, and hanging from her hands she swung herself onto the next balcony down.
She repeated the move until she reached the ground, where she grabbed her bags and ran off into the night.
TBC...
So what do you think? R/R please. Part II is finished, but I want to finish part III before I
post it. Don t worry I m almost done though. I m not sure if I should go NC- 17 with this
fic, or not. Lemme know what you think.
No offense to boardwalk security, AND/OR security officers everywhere.
Notes: This story is set in the Ultimate X-Men Universe, just before Ororo meets Jean Grey. You don t need to read Ultimate in order to understand the story.
I ll try to put up new chapters as often as possible (there shouldn t be too many) , but I am having finals this week and I am majorly stressed out. After this week there should be more frequent posts.
*
* *Crossed Paths
*
Ororo strolled along the crowded boardwalk of a beach in Wildwood, New Jersey. This was her current haunt. She would stay here until she got bored with it, or until she got caught doing what she'did.
She slipped into a crowd of people who were waiting to ride the paddleboats.
Always up for a challenge, she avoided the men and women wearing backpacks and went for the ones with wallets in their pockets. Gracefully, and carefully she lifted the leather parcel from the older man's shorts. Her blue eyes appeared to be on the happy people in the boats, but instead she was watching the man's bald spot, and her ears were listening for threats.
Ororo put the beat up brown wallet in the pocket of her cargo pants. 'That is enough for the day.' She thought, and headed for a less crowded area of the boardwalk. She went down the wooden steps and onto the beach making sure no one was watching her she slipped under the boardwalk.
Ororo took the wallets from her various pockets and emptied them. She only wanted the cash and the change. She could care less about the credit cards.
'Almost six-hundred dollars in tens, twenties, fives and fifties.' She left the wallets there.
Some kids would probably find them.
She stepped back onto the boardwalk and dove into the closest fast food line, noticing that the sun was going down.
Victor Creed stood on the balcony of one of the many hotels around the boardwalk. This particular hotel was across the street from the beach. His view of the boardwalk was blocked by the beachfront shops. He could, however see up one of the small side streets that connected the boardwalk to the busy intersection. He flicked the cigarette he had been smoking to the ground below.
A group of loud teenagers hung out in the side street. Victor's sensitive ears picked up everything they said. He listened, but nothing they talked about interested him. They mostly made fun of the tourists and jabbered on and on about things that made him roll his eyes.
He was bored, but he preferred to go out when it was dark.
A black girl who looked to be around the same age as the kids he'd been listening to, rounded the corner and started up the small street. The boys in the group nudged each other. The girls glared enviously. Victor wasn't surprised in the least bit when the boys began to bark, whistle, and yell undecipherable phrases at her all at once.
'How original.' She thought, listening to the local boys behind her. She headed for the hotel she had been staying in for the past few nights. Ororo felt an extra set of eyes on her, which is never good when one is a thief. She looked up and met the small black eyes of a man with muscular tattooed arms. He stood on the balcony of a room
in the hotel in which she was staying.
~~
Ororo let herself into her room, and put the brass security lock on. She'dropped her backpack on the desk, then emptied her pockets. She flopped onto the bed, and fell asleep.
~~
When Ororo woke up it was morning. She hadn't intended to sleep so long. She liked to be up before families staying in the hotel got up. If she wasn't seen, she wasn't there.
It was easier to blend in with the crowds on the boardwalk. She'didn't think too much about it though.
She took a shower and put on clean clothes: cut off shorts and a sky blue
T-shirt.
She grabbed the money from the nightstand along with the key and her backpack and left the room. She never rode in elevators, they were to cramped. She took the stairs instead.
When she got about halfway down the metal staircase, she was surprised to see the man from the day before coming her way.
When she saw him her heart sped up. He moved with the grace of a cat, but didn't exactly give off "Hello Kitty"
vibes. Even though he wore boots, she couldn't hear him coming. He was looking up at her, and as he turned and started up the next flight he didn't take his eyes off her.
His blonde hair was long and wild. His face was serious. She couldn't fathom what he would look like if he smiled. Now that she was closer to him, and she wasn't sure if that was good thing, she could see that his eyes were all black.
He had no visible whites.
She held his stare for a moment longer, but looked away as she passed him. She could feel he heat coming off of his body. She could still see him out of her peripheral vision, and if he made any sudden movements she would make a break for it.
When she was just about to lose complete sight of him, she looked up to see that he was still watching her. He was.
The girl was now out of his field of vision, but not out of his earshot. He listened to her. She put on a good show. When she spotted him she'didn't miss a step. He didn't see the smallest hint of surprise on her face, but he heard her pulse and breathing quicken. He watched her look him over, sizing him up, but little did she know he was sizing her up too. He noticed how she became lighter on her feet, like she was preparing for an attack. He could tell by the way she showed him no fear, and by the length of time she held his glare, then looked away in an unconscious gesture of respect, that she had long been on the streets. He'd known that since yesterday when first he saw her.
She was here alone, and she was staying on the floor above him.
He followed her scent to the last room, on the left side. He opened the door using the key he had gotten from one of the cleaning ladies. She'd slept in one of the beds, but it didn't look like it.
She hadn't even touched the TV.
He went into the bathroom. Beads of water sliding down the shower curtain and into the tub, and a wet sink were the
only visible sign that she had been there.
He figured she'didn't want anyone to know she had been there. She'd probably acquired a key that opened all the rooms like he did. He sniffed the room some more than dropped to his knees by the bed. He reached all the way under and pulled out a medium sized gray duffle bag. He opened it: Clothes, all folded neatly, a pair of black boots, a passport?.
He opened it.
Her name was Ororo Munroe, she hadn't been seventeen for long, and she was from Africa. He put the passport back.
There were a few other things in the bag, among them a knife that he didn't bother to unsheathe, a one-hundred dollar bill, and a gold Rolex.
He put the bag back where he found it, and left.
~~
Back in his own room, he went into the bathroom, and smiled at the cleaning lady in the bathtub. Her head stared back at him from the toilet.
"Sorry, I gotta get rid o' ya, hon, but what will my guest think if she sees you here?"
That evening Ororo sat on a bench eating an apple she'd gotten earlier from the hotel. She watched a woman who'd just bought a hamburger, fold up her money and put it in her pants pocket. Ororo stood up and casually walked by taking the woman's wallet from her pants pocket, and dropped it into her bag.
Heading for the less crowded end of the boardwalk, she paused and looked around.
She gasped when she saw the man from that morning coming out of one of the side streets that she'd just passed.
She quickly ducked under the boardwalk. She'didn't think he saw her.
She sighed, looking out over the beach.
"Put your hands where I can see them."
Ororo cursed herself for getting careless. She put her hands behind her head and turned around to face the officer.
She smiled inwardly realizing that it was only Boardwalk Security.
No gun.
He was probably making his rounds; just a routine check under the boardwalk.
"You came here to smoke or drink?"
"Neither sir."
"You came under here to pee?"
"No sir."
"You meeting some boy down here?"
She thought about that, "Yes sir."
"It's not safe for a pretty girl like you to be here. There's been a drastic rise in missing person reports in the past few week. I don't want to see you down here again. Wait up there for your friend." He said, pointing up with his flashlight.
"Yes sir."
The officer went back to what he was doing.
She laughed to herself, 'A likely story' she thought. 'Perhaps the only way to keep kids from hanging out under the boardwalk is to scare them. There are probably no more missing people than usual here.'
"Young lady?"
She looked back.
"Watch your bag too, there s also been a rise in theft. " ~~
All Victor saw was the girl's white hair disappearing under the walk.
She'd seen him first.
He started to follow her, but was stopped by a sunburned geek, carrying an orange surfboard, "Dude, where'd you get those tats'? I mean, like did you get them here?" The kid said, and then began to babble nervously, when Victor didn't answer. "They're awesome, like, y'know, like, and I was just wondering...I didn't mean to bother you, du-sir. Sorry."
There was a long pause, "C-Can I go?"
Victor bared his teeth at the surfer, and pushed him out of the way.
He headed for the edge of the boardwalk closest to where he thought she was.
He started to jump over the railing, but the girl came out from under him and onto the boardwalk. He turned his back to her. She'didn't see him.
Victor watched her walk away from him.
She was skinny, but not too skinny.
She stood in line and bought a drink.
He wondered where she got the money. He hadn't smelled anyone's direct scent on her yesterday or today, so she wasn't a hooker. Maybe she was a thief.
She walked further down and he did too. He kept his eyes on her.
Besides the hair, to a normal person she looked like your average teenager: T-shirt, shorts, backpack, semi expensive sneakers.
She carefully and quickly lifted a wallet from someone s pocket.
He was right; she was a thief, and a pretty good one since no one said anything.
The faintest hint of a smile could be seen on his face. Maybe he wouldn't kill her right away.
After picking up a few things at one of the shops, she headed for the hotel.
When she got to her room she sat cross-legged on the bed. She took her portable CD player from her backpack, and
popped in the CD she'd just bought. Next, she dumped the wallets she'd lifted onto the bed.
She counted up the money and put it away. After getting rid of the wallets she fell asleep listening to the music.
He listened. She was sleeping, and there was some kind of garbage playing on a radio.
Sliding the key card through the slot, he slowly opened the door, but didn't get very far because she'd put the latch on.
He shut the door, and then opened it quickly, pulling the screws from the door jam. He shut the door behind him. Ororo heard nothing.
She was sleeping in the bed furthest from the door.
~~
Almost an hour later Victor's eyes widened.
Her eyes never fluttered, but just the pitch of her breathing told him she was awake.
He was perched at the foot of the bed on top of the bureau.
He was ready to pounce the second she started to scream, but she'didn't.
Before Victor could react, there was blood - his blood - soaking his shirt, and a screaming pain above his right arm.
Outside there was a crack of lightning that split the clouds, and the pavement below, illuminating the room for a
fraction of a second.
He leapt onto the bed sweeping her long legs out from under her, landing with a knee on her chest. One hand pinned
her arms behind her back, while his weaker hand closed around her neck.
He looked down at the knife in his shoulder, and quickly pulled it out with his teeth. The ripped shirt allowed Ororo to see the wound heel.
"For future reference kid, your heart is on the left side." He whispered, harshly.
Before Victor could make his next move the hotel room door flew open, and beams landed on him.
Victor jumped off the bed and rose to his full height, towering over the security officers.
He growled, bared his fangs at them.
The sound of the balcony door opening caught his attention, and he remembered the girl.
Ororo didn't even waste time sparing a glance to see who her attacker was.
She threw her bags onto the pavement below.
Climbing over the iron fence, and hanging from her hands she swung herself onto the next balcony down.
She repeated the move until she reached the ground, where she grabbed her bags and ran off into the night.
TBC...
So what do you think? R/R please. Part II is finished, but I want to finish part III before I
post it. Don t worry I m almost done though. I m not sure if I should go NC- 17 with this
fic, or not. Lemme know what you think.
