Lethal Mutation: A Tails Fanfic REMASTERED

Foreword

Ten years ago I wrote and published this as my first story ever. It has been by far the most successful story I've ever written, easily surpassing all my later ones combined with just under 100,000 hits and over 350 reviews by this 10th anniversary mark. And while I personally feel like my days of writing fan fiction ended long ago, I've always been drawn back to this story over the years. Reading it again takes me back to the time in my life when I first wrote it. I was just an ambitious boy at the time, freed for the first time as I moved from home and into a college dorm. I look back, and it seems like things were so simple then. My, how much can change in just a decade...

If any of you reading this were around when I was still actively writing back then, you may remember that only a year or so later my father unexpectedly passed away, followed closely by my best friend. For me, that marked the end of my innocent period. Things were never the same after that, and I gradually faded out of many things I once had a passion for including relationships, my college degree and my drive to write. That's where I left all my formerly loyal readers, at least. Schedules slipped at first, updates came longer and longer apart, and promises where ultimately broken. Then I just disappeared entirely, too ashamed to even answer the messages of concerned readers.

But life since then has been so much more than I could have ever imagined. I married my high school sweetheart, and, although I'd be lying to say we've been perfect for each other all the time, I've found a deep companionship in her that my younger self could have never appreciated. We've had three beautiful children that have brought out a love inside myself that I just can't describe. Sadly, tragedy also hasn't been done with me yet, either. We lost our firstborn, my only son, to a very severe birth defect in which he spent his first five months of life in a hospital far away from home. And I thought the pain of losing my father had been difficult to bear... But I have two wonderful daughters now and a vastly more mature outlook on life in all its aspects, both the beauty and the pain.

Which brings me back to this story. In many ways, I feel like this was the big event that really started it all. It's my first and still most successful endeavor that I have seen through from start all the way to finish. Is it sad that I attribute such nostalgic importance to a silly fanfic? Perhaps. Fact is, though, when I read it again in the present day, I am disgusted with so much of it that I can barely stand to continue. It's like a save file from a game that used to be my favorite, but in which I only ever achieved a measly sixty percent completion. It's full of overly long sentences that drone on and on with unnecessary descriptions and terrible flow. It's like I'm trying to ram my story down the reader's throat in many, many places, particularly where my characters react emotionally. And still some parts of the story I cringe to read because I simply didn't know what I was writing about then, but I have a much better understanding of those things now.

So, for the tenth year anniversary of this story, I'm returning to my keyboard at least one last time to rewrite my previous best. Hopefully, after all these years of maturity and practice via forum role playing and life experience, I can make this story far more entertaining than it previously was with much fewer mistakes and an overall better and more natural flow. To be clear, I'm not rewriting this to change the original story in any significant way plot-wise, but many scenes may be freely added, removed or altered based on what makes the story better as a whole. So, whether you enjoyed the original Lethal Mutation way back then or are perhaps discovering this story for the first time just now, I thank you for reading this and hope you enjoy this definitive edition of my personal classic.

Chapter 1: The Freak

What a beautiful day, Tails thought to himself as he strolled along the street in downtown Station Square. He was feeling glad that he'd chosen to volunteer to run into town for some groceries this afternoon. Normally such a menial task would be Ella's or Mr. Tanaka's job, but both of them had been unusually busy with preparations for the big trip coming up this weekend. Tails had been more than happy to help out any way he could, and, like his brother, Sonic, he enjoyed any chance he got to get out and stretch his legs a bit.

It's strange how easy it is to forget sometimes that this isn't my world. Everything feels pretty much the same. The warm sun, the crisp air, and all the people just walking around doing their own things, Tails pondered. Well, I guess that back home, all these people would instead be assorted anthropomorphic animals, but after being on Earth this long it doesn't seem to make that much of a difference. Heh, listen to yourself, Miles. At this rate, you'll convince yourself that you don't really want to gather all the Chaos Emeralds and go home anymore. I guess, more than any of the others, I might have my reasons... But that was all a long time ago, before I met Sonic.

Tails checked his watch Chuck had given him for his last birthday in order to avoid letting his mind wander back to that unhappy period in his life. He was making good time, even if he was just walking back to Chris' home. At this rate, he could afford a short break and still be back long before Ella needed the groceries to make supper. So he sat the groceries down on a park bench and took a seat beside them. He sighed in contentment as he closed his eyes and just listened to the ambient noises around him. There was the sound of light traffic moving around the park's square, birds chirping and flying about the parks' trees, the laughter and squeals of little children out playing. It was all so very peaceful and serene.

"I said hand it over, Four Eyes!"

His eyes were startled open at the gruff intrusion to his relaxing moment. Tails glanced around for the source of the voice and spotted two boys standing in the grass not far from his bench.

"Come on, Mitch! My mom said if I lose my allowance one more time, she's going to stop giving me any!" the thin boy in glasses begged as he cowered from the other boy's menacing glare.

"Well that's your problem, not mine! Now gimme!" the larger, slightly older boy growled unsympathetically.

"I... I..." the younger boy tried to back away slowly. "N-no! T-this isn't your money! It's mine!"

"And just how are you going to stop me from taking it? Huh, Four Eyes?" The bully quickly swiped the glasses off the younger boy's face.

"Nooo! Stop! You'll break them!" the younger boy cried in panic.

"Hey, leave him alone!" Tails finally couldn't watch anymore without intervening. He left the groceries behind on the bench as he rushed to the little boy's aid.

The moment he heard Tails shout, the bully turned in surprise. Seeing someone heading towards him, Mitch dropped the stolen glasses and quickly bolted across the park.

Tails really wanted to chase down the bully and give him the punishment he deserved, but he knew he couldn't. He could imagine the headline news already, 'Station Square's Greatest Hero's Sidekick Pummels Child in Downtown Park'. Tails clenched his fist in annoyance at being forced to show restraint, but there was nothing he could do about it now.

"Here you go," Tails reached down instead and handed the other boy back his glasses.

"Th-thanks!" the younger boy smiled and stared in awe at being rescued by such a celebrity. "He'll be even more mad at me tomorrow, though. I bet nobody ever bullies you. You and Sonic are so cool! I love watching you guys fight Eggman on TV!"

"Heh, thanks!" Tails replied with a thumbs up. "But, actually, I totally understand what being bullied feels like. Back before I met Sonic..."

"There you are, Carson!" a woman in a waitress outfit shouted as she hurried over. "You are supposed to be waiting for me at the bus stop on the corner after school, remember?"

"I know mom, but Mitch chased me again and tried to take my money!" the boy quickly defended himself as he turned to face the newcomer. "But look who came to save me! It's Tails!"

"Oh gracious! My apologies, Tails. I know big heroes like you don't really have time to stop squabbling kids, but I thank you for looking after my son anyways," the mother seemed both surprised and appalled at the story she was hearing. "One of these days, I hope he will learn to defend himself. I keep telling him that the best way to get rid of a bully is to stand up to them."

"But I did, mom!" Carson interjected loudly. "I told Mitch no, but he just grabbed my glasses and..."

"Your glasses?" the mother quickly interrupted as she snatched the item from the boy and inspected them. "Oh no! Carson, you let these get stepped on! Now the lenses are all cracked! Do you have any idea how expensive those are? I'm already working two jobs just to pay rent! You have to be more careful!"

"It wasn't my fault!" Carson yelled back angrily. "Mitch broke them because I told him no just like you wanted me to!"

The woman sighed as she placed the broken spectacles in her purse. "I know, I know. I'm sorry, honey, I didn't mean to put the blame on you. Mommy is just a bit stressed out trying to make ends meet," she quickly apologized to her son. "But you'll have to find a solution to this Mitch problem on your own, dear. I just can't get off work any sooner to pick you up."

"...I know," the boy hung his head in disappointment.

"Say goodbye to Mr. Tails, Carson. We can't afford to miss the next bus or I'll be late to my other job," the mother quickly ended the discussion as she started to lead the boy away by his hand.

"Bye, Tails! It was really cool getting to meet you!" the boy perked up a bit as he waved farewell.

"Yeah, me too! Bye, Carson!" Tails shouted and waved back. His smile faded as soon as Tails turned back around to retrieve his abandoned groceries. He wished he could have had more time to talk to Carson. Tails sympathized with the poor boy on a really deep level. Tails knew exactly what it felt like to be stuck in this endless loop of abuse. Yeah, fighting back does work on bullies, but only if you are strong enough to beat them. And even strength means nothing if you are outnumbered...

"Lookie who we got here," the teenage bulldog Mobian snarled as he emerged from the bushes. A younger Tails immediately looked up from his work repairing a small device he'd just created, eyes wide with fear. Two other Mobians stepped out surrounding the younger fox as he leapt to his feet.

"Going somewhere?" one of the surrounding bullies, a weasel, laughed. "We just wanted to see what you were working on."

"Yeah," another one, a hyena, spoke with a raspy voice. "We saw ya selling those little doo-dads in town today. How much do ya charge for these pieces of junk?"

"More importantly," the bulldog spoke again as he advanced, "Just how much money do you got on you after all that, freak?"

"I-It's none of your business," younger Tails replied, trying to hold on to his courage. "And... And I'm not a freak!"

"Really? Yo, guys, how many tails you got?" the bulldog teased with a smirk.

"Just one!"

"One! Hyeeah ha!"

"Well, how do you like that? Me too!" the bulldog scoffed. "See, you ain't the only smart one around here, fox boy. I just proved all sciency and stuff that having only one tail is normal. So, that means someone with more than one tail would be..."

"A freak! Hyeeah ha haa!" the hyena laughed.

The young kit growled in anger as the fur on his tails bristled. "Go away and leave me alone!" he shouted defiantly.

"How much you gonna pay us to leave?" the weasel cracked a cruel grin.

"P-pay?! I... I can't afford to give you guys my money! I barely have enough to buy more parts and maybe some food," Tails recoiled as he finally understood what these thugs were after.

"Aww, hear that boys? The little freak is hungry," the bulldog mocked as he stomped forward. "You know what, I'm a generous guy. Let me share my knuckle sandwich!"

The young kit should have seen the punch coming, but fear paralyzed his body until it was too late. Tails didn't cry out as the fist slammed into his chest. Not because it didn't hurt, but because the blow completely knocked the wind out of him. Immediately, the young fox crumpled to the dirt, hands over his chest in pain.

"Get the money!" the weasel shouted as he quickly got on top of the fox and held him down.

"Nggh! No! Get off me! Leave me alone!" Tails screamed in vain as the hyena and bulldog frisked him while he struggled.

"Got it!" the bulldog finally removed a small number of waded up bills and stood to show the others.

"Hyeeah huh? Hey, that's it? By the time we split that up, it's not even worth the trouble!" the hyena complained about the paltry payoff.

"These doo-dads you're selling must really be junk if this is all they pay for 'em," the bulldog snarled at Tails. Spotting the dropped device Tails had been working on, the teenage Mobian started to stomp on it with his large leather boot.

"No! Please don't! That's...!" Tails tried to reach out for his device, but was silenced by a sharp kick to the gut.

"Shut up, freak!"

"Aaaah! Please, just stop!" Tails begged in tears.

"He said shut up, freak!" another boot kicked the young fox, this time in the face. Tails was forced to curl into a protective ball as the painful kicks kept coming, one after the other in an endless, merciless beating.

"Stop! Please! S-STOP!"

"TAILS, STOP!"

Tails suddenly froze as the loud yell snapped him out of his daydream. He found himself standing in the crosswalk at a intersection carrying his groceries. A horn blared even louder then the voice had been, and Tails heard the sound of screeching tires before he even had the opportunity to turn his head. In that split second, someone slammed into Tails from behind, sending them both tumbling to the safety of the sidewalk.

It took a few seconds for the dazed fox to register what had just happened. Somehow he must have wandered out in front of a truck by accident, but who had...?

"Wooo! Yeah! Saved ya!" the man dressed in a racing jacket celebrated as he climbed off of Tails' back and helped the fox back up. "Who's the big hero now? Man, what a rush! I've always wanted to do that!"

"SAM?!" Tails exclaimed in shock as he finally saw his rescuer's face.

"That's right!" the man flashed a cocky grin with a thumbs up. "Sam's the name, and speed is my game! Lucky for you I was here, or your name would be Roadkill!"

"Yeah, sorry about that. I guess I was just kind of spaced out," Tails scratched the back of his head in embarrassment. "But, what are you doing here, Sam? I thought you'd be with the rest of the Speed Team on duty."

Sam's flashy smile quickly faded at the mention of his former group. "To tell you the truth, Tails... There is no more Speed Team."

"Really? What happened?" Tails was a bit astonished at the news.

"The city council decided they needed to trim back on a few programs to allocate more money to disaster relief and rebuilding funds. Turns out, other than a certain supersonic hedgehog, no one ever really speeds through the city fast enough to need a specialized team of formula one racers to chase them down," Sam sighed in disappointment.

"Oh, I guess that kinda makes sense, honestly," Tails admitted.

"Hey! I just saved your life, and now you're taking their side?" Sam shot back with a hurt expression.

"N-No! That's not what I meant!" Tails waved his hands as he tried to take back his blunder. "Thanks a lot for saving me, Sam, and my groceries. Or, well, most of them," the fox quickly realized that the contents of his two bags were now spilled out across the sidewalk.

"No sweat! I'll give you a hand and a lift back to the Thorndike's mansion," Sam offered.

"A ride?" Tails froze in the middle of picking up a can of tomato sauce. "Umm, no thanks, Sam! I-I've got it covered!"

"Aww, c'mon, Tails! You can't seriously prefer to walk all the way back," Sam insisted as he helped gather things up. "I can get you there in two shakes of your tails!"

That was precisely what Tails was afraid of. White knuckled didn't even begin to describe a ride with Sam Speed. "Honestly, I like the exercise, Sam. And I've got plenty of time since it's only 4:30... Wait, 4:30?!" Tails had to recheck his watch in disbelief. What had happened to all that spare time when he had stopped at the park? Had he really been daydreaming that long?

"I'll take that as a yes?" Sam grinned as he noticed Tails' reaction.

Now Tails knew he was cornered. Ella would need some of these groceries immediately if she was going to get supper prepared on time, and he was still several long blocks from the mansion. Tails took a deep breath to calm his nerves as best he could, then nodded to Sam.

"Great! You can tell Sonic all about my car's new features!" Sam was practically beaming with excitement as he led the way around the corner to his parked racecar.