CHAPTER 1
The early morning sky looked clear and bright that day, the way she wanted her mind to be. It had been three days since she, Katherine "Kitty" Pryde, codename Shadowcat, had completed her latest mission for the United States government. Capturing the head of the terrorist group and destroying his well-laid plans had pleased the higher-ups in the government greatly. They had come to realize that not all mutants were bad and not to be trusted.
As she was finishing up her daily three mile run through the streets of Georgetown, Kitty thought back to how she became a federal marshal – a bounty hunter – for the U.S. government. After the events that happened on September 11, 2001, around the world, the government realized that they needed more help than what they had in their ranks. It had been suggested to them, not as a joke, that maybe people with mutant powers could help them gain control of their "problems" and make the nation strong again, maybe stronger than ever before. After much debate behind closed doors, it was decided on that they would search for one mutant who, as a test subject, could determine if this suggestion would become a reality.
After going through their known files of mutants in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom, they reached a unanimous decision. The mutant, or "test subject" they would call that person now, was a person who had to be loyal to the cause of restoring freedom to their country; had to be able to defend themselves no what the situation; had to be both book-smart and street-wise at the same time; and had to be able to blend in with the crowd. Their decision - a woman who was well respected among her fellow mutants, a woman who could at one moment be solving a complex problem with her mind and then at the next moment solving another complex problem with her strength, and a woman who looked like an innocent 18 year old girl but was actually a wise 23 year old woman. The name of this woman – Kitty Pryde.
Kitty's run came to an end at the front step of her Georgetown townhouse. It had been provided to her by the government as a sign of gratitude for accepting their requests for service. She ran up the stairs to the front door, two at a time. Making sure no was around looking at her, she used her mutant powers and phased through the door.
"Never have to worry about losing the key," she though to herself. Once inside, she took off her slightly sweat-soaked sweatshirt and headed across the floor to her exercise room. Every morning, she had a routine she followed – a brisk jog at sunrise, followed by a variety of exercises in her exercise room.
She had just started to do some arm curls with some 20-pound weights when the phone rang.
"I bet I know who this is," she said out loud. "Hello."
"Oh, good morning Kitty! I hope I didn't wake you," said the voice on the other end.
"No, not at all Kristina," Kitty replied to the woman with a slight Southern accent on the other end. "What's up?"
"Well, the boss in the Finance department has requested to see you right away. Can you be here in about 90 minutes?" questioned Kristina.
"Sure, not a problem."
"Good! I will meet you in the lobby. Come prepared, and I will see you there. Bye hon!"
"Bye Kris," said Kitty, and she hung up the phone. "Well, it looks like I have another mission planned for me," Kitty thought to herself. "Let's see – 'the boss in the Finance department' – that's the FBI director, and 'come prepared' means that they want to me go out into action right away."
Kitty glanced at her watch. It read 7:40 AM. "I can get in another 10 minutes of work before getting ready to go. Nice thinking, Kris!" Kitty smirked as she reached for the weights again.
After five minutes of arm exercises and five minutes of some cool-down stretches, Kitty prepared for her trip to the "office". Turning on the water in the shower, Kitty thought about what she would wear that day, and wondered where she would be going on this trip.
After drying off from her shower, Kitty went to her walk-in closet and pulled out her "battle gear". Some people called the clothes mutants wear as a "costume" or "tights". Kitty liked to refer to her outfit as her "suit of armor". She folded it into a neat pile and placed it in her flexible attaché case. Next she put in her specially designed weapons, and finally, a couple of changes of clothes.
Kitty then proceeded to get dressed for the office. After slipping on a Nike jog bra and bike pants, she covered them with a black turtleneck sweater and black dress pants. She then slipped on her dark blue boots, which were actually part of her battle gear. Finally, she completed her wardrobe by clasping a gold chain necklace around her neck and finished the look with a cobalt blue zipper suit jacket. She zipped the jacket together, going up to the bottom of the necklace. She was now ready for the world.
She grabbed an apple from the counter in the kitchen, and a couple of Nutri-grain bars from the pantry shelf, and stuck them in her attaché case. This time, instead of phasing through the door, she opened it up and went out. After locking the door, she walked down the steps and got into her car, a Mercury Cougar, black in color. When she started the engine, the radio came on playing the Shania Twain song, "Man, I Feel Like A Woman". Kitty smiled as she pulled away from the curb, thinking to herself that this was the start of another great day.