Prologue

Experiment #345 squirmed uncomfortably when the drugs the scientists had given her started to take effect. Her eyesight went blurry for a moment before she felt the burning sensation start. It started at her toes and then worked its way up. She bit her lip with her naturally sharp teeth when it reached her ankles. They had given her this drug before; she hated it so much. As it gradually worked its way up your body it's burning sensation would increase and by the time it reached your scalp you felt like somebody was holding a blowtorch to your skin while simultaneously sticking needles into your eyeballs and then poking you over and over again. No matter how many times they injected it into her system it always burned like hell. When the burning hit her neck she was crying uncontrollably, just trying to keep from screaming. When it hit her eyeballs she couldn't resist it anymore; she screamed and screamed and screamed until the feeling was gone.

She collapsed to the floor with relief when it stopped hurting. The scientists took their notes before ordering a guard to drop her into her 'pool'. Her 'pool' was a huge round tub full of freezing cold water that they would occasionally put her into when they gave her drugs. It would calm her nerves and relax her body. She stood up before the guard could pick her up as she always did and let him walk her to the pool. She and the guard had an agreement: he didn't pick her up unless she was too tired to stand and didn't touch her if she said he couldn't, and she wouldn't rip his arms off. They got along pretty well and their agreement was never disrupted. She stumbled as she tried to get into the pool, she hurt so badly. With her eyes she begged him to help her in since she couldn't speak. Since she was created she was never able to speak. The

scientists had thought it was a birth defect until they examined her vocal cords. She was more tiger than human.

That was what her mystery was. Experiment #345 was part tiger, part human. The male donor was mutant since animal sperm wouldn't bind with the female's egg; he

must've had an animal mutation while the mother did not have to be a mutant. When she was created she was given more tiger parts than she had human. She

always looked like a monster to everyone else; she was a freak in their eyes. An experiment.

Chapter 1

Tracy hid in the shadows of the alley way and waited until the men chasing her had passed before deciding it was safe enough to try to go home. She crept silently through back passages and alleyways until she reached the dump apartment that she called home. It was a broken down building that had trashy inhabitants and nobody worked the desk anymore. Entering through a broken window since the front door was barred she entered her home. She walked up the trash filled stairs until she reached the room she called her own. It was the least dirty of all the rooms in the building because she was a very hygienic person. If she could call herself human at all.

Tracy was visibly a mutant. What people nowadays called an extreme mutation. Her whole body was covered in orange and black striped fur, and underneath the fur she had tattoos in the same color. Her eyes were slit like a cats and glowed a bright amber color in the night. She had sharp teeth and claws that she couldn't bring back into her hands like normal cats could. She even had pointed ears like tigers. But what disturbed her and people the most was her tail. It stuck out of her back just above her butt and it was long. If she laid it out against her legs flat it would go down her legs and still drape at least a foot along the floor. To disguise her mutation she wore a trench coat when she went out at dark always, and she found a hat to wear to cover her ears. But sometimes she went without the hat because her long black hair could be pinned up to cover them. She had always struggled with her mutation; she'd been beaten so many times by people just because she was a freak in their eyes.

What disgusted her was the people who had tried to take her to a zoo to be locked up with the other tigers. Tracy had fought her way free, but she couldn't help herself when she had slit a guy's throat when he got too close to her flying claws. For a long time after she couldn't look at herself in her broken mirror. She had killed a man, by accident but still he was dead by her hands. A knock at the door brought her out of her thoughts. She had already discarded her hat and trench coat so she figured she'd ignore it. The knock came again and she got agitated.

She couldn't speak so she went over to the door and peered into the peep hole. Two people stood on the other side, a short, stocky man with a funky hair style next to a tall woman with short red hair. Tracy wondered if she should let them in when the red haired woman looked straight into her single eye unblinkingly. She stumbled away from the door in surprise, bumping into an end table by accident. She started freaking out when a metal claw stuck through her door knob, the claw withdrawing and the door pushed open, revealing the intruders to her. Jumping to her feet she turned to run to the window. Faster than she thought possible the man's arm shot around her waist, pulling her tightly against him.

"Gentle Wolverine, we don't want to hurt her." The red head's voice was sweet but Tracy didn't want to be fooled. She struggled harder against the man's grasp; she kicked at his legs and scratched at his arms. Amazingly every cut she sliced into him healed back.

"If she'd just stop squirmin'!" The man called Wolverine growled behind her making her still. He was like her. The thought shocked her; she'd never met a person like her before and now holding her in his arms this man could growl like an animal. She looked at him over her shoulder. His face was determined to hold her but surprised she stopped struggling.

"I think you got through Wolverine." The red headed woman whispered. Tracy turned around in the man's arms and looked into his light blue eyes with her amber ones. Questions bounced around in her head; she wanted to ask every single one to the man but she couldn't speak.

"What's your name girl?" The question was directed at her but she only sighed. Tracy wished she could tell her, she wished she could speak at all. But her curse didn't allow that.

The woman came to stand by them now. "What's your name?" Her voice was soft and velvety, kind and gentle, reassuring. But she would never get an answer, this girl couldn't speak. If she only knew.

"She asked ya a question, ya gonna answer or not?" The man's rough voice was raised slightly since he was irritated at her silence but she couldn't help it. She pulled away from them and stood behind her broken couch. Her claws dug into the soft material of the couch as her anger at herself rose. She wished she could speak so badly, just to tell them how badly she wished she could communicate. Tracy opened her mouth to speak but only soft whimpers and whines came out. Closing her mouth tightly she began to cry.

"Hey, it's okay, no need to cry." The woman's voice was worried but she would never understand. She would never understand how much Tracy had suffered just because she couldn't speak. "What's wrong?" She couldn't take it anymore, she roared into the silence of her apartment. She just let it out, she'd been holding it back for so long, it hurt so badly. The short man growled behind her and she turned around to face him. She whimpered and fell into his arms. He caught her without a second thought. Exhausted from the day's travels she fell asleep in the man's arms, unafraid of everything.

O

Logan picked the girl up and held her in his arms. He could feel her suffering; he just wished he knew what was wrong. He had his speculations but he couldn't prove them right until they got her examined. Turning to Jean he motioned to the door.

"We gotta get outa here Red. People are gonna be curious 'bout that roar an' we need ta be outta here by then." She nodded in agreement and they headed out the door and went to where they would meet up with Kurt. Nightcrawler was sitting in a tree in a nearby park waiting for them when they arrived.

"Crawler, take tha girl first; she's unconscious." Logan handed the blue and furry guy the unconscious girl and watched as he disappeared and then quickly returned. He then took Jean and came back for Logan. Once they were all aboard the Blackbird Jean was sitting at the girl's side examining her body for any injuries.

"She's fine Red. I would smell blood if she was hurt." Jean looked at Logan uncertainly.

"But why wouldn't she speak Logan? Something must've damaged her lungs or maybe her throat." Logan grabbed her hands as she tried to continue her inspection.

"Jeanie, just trust me on this one 'kay?"

The rest of the trip was made in silence as Jean kept her watch on the girl and Kurt piloted the plane back to the Xavier Institute. When they landed in the underground garage Logan picked up the girl while Kurt and Jean walked out in front. They all headed to the Professor's office and Jean knocked on the door.

"Come in." The Professor beckoned to them. Entering the room Logan placed the girl down now that she was awake. Her amber eyes surveyed her surroundings and she immediately realized she was not in her house, and it was not safe to be without covering. Her fur was bared to the world and they could see her for what she was: a monster.

"You are not a monster my dear." Her head snapped up towards the man who spoke to her. He had heard her thoughts. "My name is Professor Charles Xavier; I am the headmaster of his school for gifted youngsters." He reached his hand out but she just stared at it. He would run like all the others had once he saw her hands. "You do not have to worry; you are among your own kind here." Tracy just watched him with tired eyes. She so badly wanted to tell him how she wasn't like everybody else, how no matter what she did she'd always be different.

"Something's wrong with her Professor," The red haired lady spoke now. "She can't speak." Tracy whirled at her and slashed her bare arm. She gasped and pulled away as she now had the younger woman growling at her. Logan wrapped his arms around her and pulled her back into her chair.

"Relax." He whispered in her ear. And then he did what nobody but she could do--he purred. Tracy relaxed in his grasp and curled into his arms. She was amazed that somebody was like her; he could growl, he could purr, he was perfect. The Professor sat in his chair and observed the scene unfolding before him. It reminded her so much of the scientists. She shivered in remembrance.

"I can read minds young lady, and I want to know why you can't speak." Tracy lifted her head up and peered into the Professor's blue eyes with her own amber ones. She pushed a lock of black hair out of her face before focusing on what the scientists said her problem was. The animal vocal cords, yes that was her problem. That was why she couldn't speak. She gave him the memory of the scientists discussing her problem. He nodded to let her know he understood.

"Thank you." Tracy nodded before cuddling back into Logan's arms.

"So why can't she speak Professor?" The red headed woman's voice was timid now, afraid of Tracy's response. Honestly, she was just too tired to care right now, and way too comfortable.

"Her vocal cords are unlike any other I've ever seen in a human before, Jean. She's very much like an animal." An animal. It rotated around in Tracy's head, bouncing around her mind like a ping pong match.

"So is she animal or human Professor?" Jean's words cut into Tracy's heart and hit directly into her feelings. Oh that woman was gonna get it now. She leapt out of her chair and out of Logan's reach. She growled at the red head now; she had feelings. Tracy roared as loud as she could manage, tears running down her cheeks. She slashed at the woman but the blue man she had not noticed until now grabbed her and pulled her away from Jean. And yet she still roared, she roared and roared until her throat was raw. Oh, how she wished she could speak.

"I think that answer's your question Jean." The Professor's words were cold and clipped. But his anger was not directed at Tracy this time, but at the woman standing in the doorway with cuts on her arms from her vicious thoughts. "She is very much a human Jean; the only thing that stands between her and people thinking she's an animal is the fact that she can't speak. She is a human, and I expect you to treat her like one." Tracy's thoughts began to drift now the adrenaline was gone. She was still so tired. This man was standing up for her; he had spoken for her. He had expressed her heart to the red headed woman who did not understand and put her in her place just because Tracy couldn't.

Logan picked her up again; she was so tired. She curled into his arms and almost immediately, fell asleep.