Mutant X Characters: Shalimar Fox
Shalimar Fox -- Played by Victoria Pratt; Young Shalimar Fox -- Played by Alexandra Schofield
Links: Brennan and Shalimar Club | Brennan and Shalimar Sanctuary of Fanfics | Brennan-Shalimar Love | Crimson Redd: Shalimar/Emma Fanfiction | Donna Lynn's Dark Angels | Eboni Orchid | Emma & Shalimar: The Best Collection | Emma and Shalimar Fic Heaven | Fanpop | Feral Grace: Shalimar Fox Fanlist | Feral Shock Boards | Feral Sisterhood | Give Us a Kiss | Instincts: Brennan and Shalimar Fanlist | Kissing Fingertips | Mutant X Forever | Notable Emma/Shalimar Fanfiction | Passion & Perfection with Livejournal | PureMX Fact Sheet | Realm of the Shadow Femslash | Romantic Intentions | Shadows Fused | Shalex | Shalimar and Brennan | Shalimar Fox 4 | Wereleopard's Lair | Xcons
First Mutant's bio of Shalimar Fox
Shalimar is the daughter of Nicholas Fox, the head of Naxcon Corporation. Shalimar frightened away her friends in school, due mostly to the fact that she forced an ex-boyfriend to eat his math textbook. Hoping to counter her wild and upredictable behavior, Nicholas placed Shalimar in a psychiatric ward when she was 10 years old, where she was repeatedly beaten by the orderlies. Her parents split up shortly after she left. Shalimar escaped from the hospital as soon as she was strong enough to fight back and lived on the streets with another feral, Gia Duchamps, until she was 15. Adam Kane found her holed up in an old motel and brought her live in Sanctuary with him and another 15 year old feline feral, Nikki Rogers. She remained a part of Mutant X after Adam chose to send Nikki away to a foster home. At some point in time during these early years, Shalimar had a romantic affair with the unscrupulous thief Zack Lockhart; Shalimar recalls that he once stashed his stolen loot in her freezer, leaving her to face some time in jail. As a feline feral, Shalimar has glowing cat's eyes and enhanced senses of smell, sight, and touch. Because of her enhanced hearing, loud sounds can cause her to have migraines. Her heightened strength and reflexes allow her to make magnificent leaps and powerful combat moves.
Shalimar-centric episodes: Fool for Love (104), Dark Star Rising (110), Ex Marks the Spot (118), Whose Woods These Are (204), Understudy (210), Under the Cloak of War (215), Reality Check (220), Lest He Become (222), Where Evil Dwells (304), The Hand of God (307), A Normal Life (314)
Shalimar trivia: Like all feline ferals, Shalimar is very territorial and has an intense fear of fire. Unlike her animal counterparts, however, Shalimar does prefer her meat medium well done. Shalimar taught Jesse to hack into the NuJack GPS system. According to the Mutant X comic book Dangerous Decisions, Shalimar did attend some high school.
* Shalimar's age: Adam first found Shalimar when she was 15. Shalimar states in "A Normal Life" that she'd been working with him for 10 years, making her about 25 years old. This fits the information in her official site profile, which states that she is in her mid-twenties.
*Notes on Shalimar's original character: In an interview, actress Victoria Pratt stated that the character of Shalimar was initially supposed to be very tough and bitchy, with a combative attitude towards Emma. Having played a similar role in her acting career (Sarge in the television show "Cleopatra 2525"), Victoria asked that her character be made softer and friendlier before taking the part. According to early casting breakdowns, Shalimar's codename was "Shadowfox." The character's codenames were deleted after the Fox Studios vs. Marvel lawsuit, thus breaking some of the similarities to the X-Men film.
Quotes from Shalimar:
~ With a little work, being a new mutant can be fabulous.
~ Jesse: Is that what I looked like when I first saw it? Shalimar: Nah. You just started crying.
~ I'll handle them. This is woman's work.
~ I may be feral, but I do prefer my meat medium well.
~ Any accomplice of Daniel's is a friend of ours!
~ If I said yes to half the guys who wanted to buy me a drink, you'd be pouring me out of this meat rack.
~ Guy: Do you believe in love at first sight? Or should I walk by again? Shalimar: Yeah. Only this time, don't stop.
~ Shalimar: Someone once told me you can't force right or wrong on anyone. Adam: All you can do is lead by example and hope they lean toward the light. Shalimar: Glad you remembered.
~ Remind me: Never date an elemental.
~ Emma: Sorry, this was a waste of time. Shalimar: Not if it put your mind at ease. I don't mind looking.
~ Get the hell out of my house.
~ If you ever so much as think of me again, you're going to live to regret it. But I promise you won't live very long.
~ Brennan: Make you feel better? Shalimar: Kicking your butt usually does.
~ Shalimar: Thought you said this wasn't going to hurt. Emma: And you believed me? It's called bedside manner. Now, be a good girl, and you'll get a lollypop when we're done. Shalimar: Yeah, well, throw in a balloon and I'm all yours.
~ Lorna Templeton: I guess I was just too much woman for him. Shalimar: Oh, this is gonna be worth the pain. [punches her]
~ I know that look. That's your "I hate myself for what I've done to these poor new mutants" look.
~ Why don't you pick on someone your own...my size?
~ Jay Minhaus: I did a pretty good job of playing the damsel in distress, wouldn't you say? Shalimar: Oh, I'm gonna show you a few things about distress.
~ Jay Minhaus: You freaks oughta be destroyed. Shalimar: After you.
~ Gabriel Ashlocke: That’s mine. Shalimar: I don’t think so. Sucks to be you.
~ It doesn’t matter what decade we’re in, they find you. Like sharks to surfers.
~ Shalimar: He’s not our killer. Brennan: How do you know? Shalimar: I asked him.
~ Shalimar: Let me see those bug bites. Brennan: What are you gonna do, suck the poison out of them? Shalimar: Gonna take me to dinner first?
~ You’re nothing but a little man with a big gun. But there’s something in these woods that’s gonna teach you what a predator really is. Something that deserves the name.
~ I know you feel some kind of responsibility for that maniac, but your dog is rabid, and it’s your responsibility to put him down. And maybe your conscience has a problem with that, but I assure you, my conscience is fine with it.
~ Emma: I screwed up, that’s all there is to it. Shalimar: You know what? You may be able to fool everyone else, but not me.
~ Shalimar: You can’t put the stress you’re feeling on the people who are trying to work with you. You want to take the lead on this one? You’ve got to show some confidence. Brennan: Oh, what, so I have to keep everything all bottled up, like Adam does? Shalimar: That’s the job, Brennan. That’s what he was trying to tell you.
~ Vic: Guys, I don’t know what to say. Shalimar: Goodbye would be good.
~ Jesse: Communications are up. Shalimar: See? Bugging you did work.
~ Lt. Daniel Morrison: This is your backup? Shalimar: Yeah, well it works better when he tells me where his back’s gonna be.
~ Shalimar: Okay, can we talk some more likely scenerios for a second? White trash Camaro, Brennan, maybe a small town waitress with a taste for both? My guess is he’s probably just shacked up in some no-tell motel, using his “I think we have electricity between us” line.
~ Dr. Wolf: I need you to tell me about Adam Kane’s database of mutants. Shalimar: I need you to spontaneously combust. Any chance of that?
~ If I’m going down, I’m going down. But I’m gonna leave you something to remember me by.
~ Even with one leg I can still kick ass.
~ Emma: Shal, how did you? How did... Shalimar: I don’t know. I guess my fear of losing you was stronger than my fear of the fire.
~ I’m not asking you to come with me, I’m telling you. Look, I know you’re scared. We all are. I don’t care about that anymore. What I do care about is you.
~ Brennan: I’ve always wanted to go to a party at the embassy. Shalimar: Well, let’s hope they remember to count the silverware afterwards.
~ Jesse: I’ll say this for you, you don’t give up easy. Shalimar: I don’t give up period.
~ Who are you gonna pretend to be next, my mother? My first grade teacher? I hated that bitch!
~ Dr. Louise Koby: Look, I know none of you signed up for this... Shalimar: Oh, we are way past that talk.
~ Brennan: We should have taken them, Shal. Shalimar: Were you unconscious when he was beating the crap out of the rest of us?
~ I thought I had my eyes open. I was looking right at Adam and I didn’t see him at all.
~ Stare at me any harder, you’re gonna burn a hole in my head.
~ Well, maybe these guys will learn. Mess with Mother Nature, she messes back.
~ Sandy Fetko: He’s not a bad person, you know. He’s just...he's just broken. Shalimar: I think we’re all a little broken from time to time.
~ Carl: I just knew you were trouble. Shalimar: Only you didn't know how much.
~ Brennan: You were going to sacrifice yourself for me. Shalimar: Seemed like a good idea at the time...
~ That's gonna leave a mark.
~ I think it's time we remind her that this is Mutant X, not Mutant Lex.
~ That's a big knife. Compensating for something?
~ Brennan: Yeah, well it’s man’s pursuit of the perfect woman. It’s been going on since the beginning of time. Shalimar: Well, man should get over his damn self. Women are perfect just the way they are.
Official Site bio
Shalimar Fox is in her mid 20s, fiery, feral and stunning, a sensual beauty utterly in touch with her primal self. Blessed with both human and animal DNA, Shalimar has the strength, speed, and cunning of the animal kingdom…with a tempestuous nature to match. She is uncannily fast, inhumanly agile and sensually feline. Walking the line between human and feral, Shalimar is a little wild and completely unpredictable.
Season 1 DVD bio
Shalimar Fox is in her late 20’s, a fiery and feral beauty utterly in touch with her primal nature. Shalimar is a little wild and completely unpredictable… breathtakingly sensual - the kind of woman what man - and frankly an awful lot of women too - throw themselves at, damning caution to get next to her outrageous sexiness…
… All of which are the natural outgrowth of her mutant abilities, drawn from the splicing and cross-indexing of human and animal genetic traits.
Shalimar possesses the strength, speed and relentlessness of the animal kingdom. Uncannily fast, inhumanly agile, sensually cat-like, wickedly guileful, and incredibly sexy… a beautiful, reckless, kittenish, flirtatious and funny woman.
Shalimar was born and raised in the south-west - the only survivor of a special branch of the Genomex project - a division experimenting with splicing the genetic makeup of a broad spectrum of the animal kingdom with fertilised human eggs.
Like all the various functions of the project, it was maintained in complete secrecy - and shut down immediately as a total disaster when all but one of the test subjects died - in many cases taking their mothers’ to the grave with them in childbirth.
Shalimar’s parents fled the facility, and her mother gave birth to her little girl in the desert. She was raised as a normal child, and grew into a striking beauty - who kept her secret deeply buried. Shalimar, like all the children of Genomex, knew from her earliest moments that she was special. As an infant she fell from a crib - and landed cat-like on her feet. When she was three she could out run and out climb her tabby.
It was her fear - of exposure, of embarrassment, of shame - a feeling she shared with so many other children of Genomex - that kept her from sharing these secrets with anyone. Like all the children of Genomex she was continuing to evolve. Shalimar developed an instinctual ability to read people - and she acted recklessly on what she learned, without restraint or regard for any consequences.
And it was on one of these reckless adventures that she found herself face to face with Adam - the first man she couldn’t "read". Adam told Shalimar her own story right back to her - with sympathy, empathy and understanding. Adam knew all about her feeling frightened, isolated, alone - and frankly inhuman. He shared his own secrets with her, and then explained the danger she was in from Mason Eckhart and his security division - and together - with the blessings of her parents, who have no idea of their beautiful and loving daughter’s secrets - they left her old life behind, disappearing into the night.
Note: From 2001-02 Tribune Entertainment created six Mutant X faux websites as part of the Mutant X official site, in order to supplement the information from the television series. These sites featured a great wealth of background information about the Mutant X characters and plot's storylines, but they disappeared in early 2005. I'm including faux website information here for completeness, but none of the following material is my own.
Adam's Interviews on Mutant X Lives
...Interviews - Shalimar #1
I conduct these psych-profiles on a regular basis with all core Mutant X members. The constant use of their powers taxes not only their physical strength but their mental health as well. That, combined with the fluctuating state of their mutant DNA, makes these sessions a necessity. The following excerpt is transcribed from an early session I had with Shalimar. Her growth and focus since this time continually amazes me, making it clear my choices have not in vain.
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A: You’ve calmed down considerably today.
SHALIMAR: I’m used to the scents, that’s all.
A: And me.
SHALIMAR: (laughs) Maybe. You’re still a square.
A: Awww. And I was beginning to think you liked me. I talked to your parents. They know you’re safe.
SHALIMAR: But they don’t know what’s going on here, right?
A: No. Why are you so protective of them? Do you think they’ll reject you if they learned you were a New Mutant?
SHALIMAR: No! My mom and dad are the best! But they might be hurt…or get hurt by the same goons who were tracking me. Just stop talking about them or I’m outta here! (Her eyes glow feral gold. She crouches as if to attack)
A: That’s unnecessary, Shalimar. We’ll move on to something else. (She calms)
A: When did you learn the truth about yourself?
SHALIMAR: When I was three. I outran my pet kitty in a race.
A: And you knew you were different from other children?
SHALIMAR: Enough to hide it.
A: You pretended to be normal.
SHALIMAR: ‘Til it drove me nuts. When I was ten, I found myself running through the streets one night. No clothes on. No control. I prowled like a human cat. It was like the feeling just tore out of my insides. It wasn’t ‘til I caught sight of myself in a store window that I snapped to. Was I freaked!
A: What happened?
SHALIMAR: Nothing. It was three o’clock in the morning. No one was around. But from then on I made a habit of late night prowls. I never wanted to lose control again.
A: And did you?
SHALIMAR: You tell me! I almost scratched your eyes out when you found me in that dive! No! The older I got, the harder it was to handle. And don’t get me wrong. Being a cat was easy. It was acting “normal” that screwed me up.
A: You grew up in southern California, right?
SHALIMAR: For a while. My dad’s job took us all over the southwest. Taos was the best. It’s still home to me.
A: You could be more yourself there?
(She constantly fidgets and starts to move around the room, pawing objects and stretching out with no sense of modesty)
SHALIMAR: Yeah, if you say so. I was happier in school. Had friends. Could flirt with the jocks. Have dinner with the folks. And at night there were lots of rodents to chase in the desert. Yes siree! Jus’ your average American feline-next-door!
A: Shalimar, if I told you I could help you balance your powers so you could one day control your feral impulses, what would you say?
SHALIMAR: I’d say you were full of it.
A: Yet, you’re here with me now.
SHALIMAR: It’s the cat thing, again. Gives me an edge on reading people. You’re not gonna hurt me. I know that much.
(She “springs” from her chair and lands right next to me)
SHALIMAR: In fact, that’s the last thing on your mind, isn’t it?
A: Down, girl. (We both laugh)
SHALIMAR: I won’t hurt you, either.
A: So you’re going to stay for a while?
SHALIMAR: Sure. Just give me my space to prowl.
:: End of Transcription ::
...Interviews - Shalimar #2
I grabbed this session with Shalimar just before Genomex fell. The entire team was experiencing a flux with their powers and the need to keep them online mentally was crucial. Shalimar had been through a series of emotional wringers in the previous months as well. I had to break her shell, as usual.
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A: So. Are you going to talk…or just growl?
SHALIMAR: Gimme a break, Adam!
A: Well?
SHALIMAR: Well…I’ve got a lot to get used to!
A: Are your increased powers throwing you?
SHALIMAR: No. They seem right. It’s everything I had before, just more of it. My reflexes, my sense of smell, and my vision…It’s like someone just took my Feral side and sharpened it. Brennan and Jesse and Emma all have completely new things to deal with. But me…I just feel like I’ve grown into what I was always supposed to.
A: And that makes you feel…?
SHALIMAR: Awesome, tiger. (She laughs)
A: You said you felt like someone sharpened your skills. Who do you mean?
SHALIMAR: Well, not God if that’s what you’re getting at. And not you. Sorry.
A: Water off my back. But who then?
SHALIMAR: I guess it would have to be me. My Feral side. It’s just stepped up.
A: And taken over.
(She doesn’t answer, but her eyes glow gold)
A: Shalimar. Are you afraid of your Feral side?
SHALIMAR: No. I love it. I’m just afraid of losing my human side. That’s all. It seems during the last year, I’ve become more and more of an animal.
A: How so?
SHALIMAR: Leaning more on my instincts instead of my head. Going wild on any GSAgent I could get my claws into. The men I’ve…associated with.
A: You always had some questionable judgment there.
SHALIMAR: If you mean Zach, he was a mistake any teenager could have made, New Mutant or not! No, seeing him again after all these years just made it clear what a cheating, lowlife he is and always was.
A: What about Dr. Saunders?
SHALIMAR: Richard was a Feral, like me. We were drawn to each other, like something out of “Wild Kingdom”. I’ve never lost control with a man like that, Adam. He made me a pure cat. No thought or reason, just…
A: I get the picture.
SHALIMAR: And look what I almost gave up for him. If I’d gone through this power change when he was alive, I’d be completely lost. You’d have to leave me in the jungle somewhere.
A: Is there anyone else who brings this primal dominance out in you.
SHALIMAR: Yeah. Another hood. (Grins) As if you didn’t know who. I haven’t acted on it yet. He and I are too close. It could wreck everything if we hooked up. But playing it cool gets harder and harder. And now that my Feral side is amped, I’m losing what little good sense I’ve had.
A: Perhaps it’s time you stopped dividing your sides, Shalimar. You’re not half human, half animal. You’re…
SHALIMAR: Just one?
A: Yes. Dr. Saunders had you convinced that your Feral nature was wrong and needed to be removed. Do you see how it would have turned out if you’d let that happen?
SHALIMAR: I’d be so screwed up…
A: Why?
SHALIMAR: Because being Feral is what I am. And if I know that…
A: You can control it. (After a moment, Shalimar purrs)
SHALIMAR: You know, Adam, sometimes I could just eat you up. I think I should get back to dealing with Ashlocke now.
...Interviews - Shalimar #3
I had sent Shalimar and Brennan on a mission to the Dakota Black Hills. A rabid Ursine Feral named Michael Ward had gone berserk and was murdering innocent people. If I known the extent of his mutated disease, I would have sent Jesse in Shalimar’s place. As it was, she was stricken but overcame the fever only to have to deliver the deathblow to Ward by herself. While now recovered physically, it’s obvious Shalimar needs healing from within.
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SHALIMAR: Why did you choose me, Adam?
A: For the mission?
SHALIMAR: No. For Mutant X. It was between Nikki and me to be your team Feral. She was faster, stronger, wilder…and yet, I’m the one who’s here.
A: How long have you had this on your mind?
SHALIMAR: On and off, for years.
A: And you’re just addressing it now. Why?
SHALIMAR: Because I’ve failed you all.
A: If you’re referring to Michael Ward and the situation in the woods, you did anything but. Your actions prevented untold further tragedies.
SHALIMAR: But if I’d had more control over my instincts, Clay Preston and Grady Colt would be alive. And Brennan wouldn’t have been hurt. Instead, I tried to protect Michael. The animal in me refused to see how hopeless he was.
A: You were sick with fever.
SHALIMAR: All the more reason for me to step down. But did I? No. I charged ahead. I ditched Brennan, my own teammate, and took off into the woods to prove…I don’t know.
A: Don’t you?
SHALIMAR: Damn your insights. Yes. I do. I was trying to prove Michael’s humanity…and my own.
A: Shalimar. What happened to Ward was an atrocity. He was an evil experiment gone astray. There was no way to reverse the effects. He knew that and it drove him insane. You saw the bodies he mutilated. There wasn’t enough man left in him. He would have gone on killing.
SHALIMAR: And if I still had the fever would that be my story too? Would you and the others have had to hunt me down?
A: You tell me.
SHALIMAR: I had so little control and so much rage. Everything I saw was red.
A: A side effect of the disease. But you still haven’t answered my question. Even at your worst, could you have slaughtered people like Ward did?
SHALIMAR: No. Yet, I killed him.
A: He asked you to with his last shred humanity. An out-of-control Feral could not have done that, Shalimar. It was a rational young woman who did. One who took responsibility to end senseless suffering.
SHALIMAR: I see that…but I can’t forgive myself.
A: No one is saying it will happen overnight. Living with your actions is the worst part of this job. Just remember as you sort things out, you didn’t use your powers to stop Ward. You used Colt’s weapon.
SHALIMAR: I know! My first kill and I pulled a trigger.
A: Disappointed?
SHALIMAR: Just shocked. Taking a life has been a nightmare ever since I can remember. But I always pictured it would happen when the animal half in me lost it. Not the decent one.
A: “Decent”. We talked a while back about how your two “sides” are one in the same. Don’t you see that now? Didn’t this mission make that clear?
SHALIMAR: Painfully. And Adam…I also see how all the countless hours of training and focus here at Sanctuary kept me whole. Even when seeing red.
A: That’s why it was you over Nikki.
SHALIMAR: What?
A: Within you I saw a girl with love and spirit inside to keep her strong and disciplined, Feral or not. Nikki never had that.
SHALIMAR: Strong and disciplined, huh? Then why can’t I forget Michael Ward’s eyes?
A: If you could, Shalimar, we wouldn’t be here together.
From Genomex.net
GENOMEX SECURITY FILE: MX999FFS Fox, Shalimar. Priority Clearance Only UPDATED 5/30
The subject profiled is a member of the outlaw faction Mutant X.
Fox is a Feral in her late twenties. She falls into the classification of Feline, most common of the New Mutant breed. Her heightened senses, strength, agility and prowess are all on par with a female cougar or lynx. If she possesses cat claws or fangs, they are retractable and have not surfaced in any recorded GSA encounter (making their existence unlikely).
Raised by her natural parents in the American southwest, Genomex lost track of the subject when the Agency's original tracking database became corrupted during Incident X (SECURITY RED FILE, no general access). The current location and status of her family have yet to be retraced, although it is an educated deduction that their true surname is not "Fox".
History files on this Feline begin with police records as a teenage runaway and then an accomplice to petty theft with fellow New Mutant Zachary Lockhart, a Psionic Illusionist (file EOG62PLZ). Located by renegade activist Adam (files MX999AAA, EOG85AAA and 0154A896, among others) before Genomex could apprehend her, Fox descended into a deeper life of criminal activity as part of his terrorist task force. To date, she has the longest tenure of any New Mutant he has employed.
While the Feline has considerably honed battle skills and a highly developed aggression, she does fall victim to the most common of Feral vulnerabilities: a fear of fire. GSAgents confronting Fox are recommended to employ this weakness against her. Like all Ferals, she may be highly susceptible to hypnotic influence or suggestion, although it is presumed that Adam has taken measures to counteract the flaw.
Fox is always to be treated as a HIGHLY DANGEROUS ENEMY; however, the directive from Mr. Eckhart's office is firm on her being captured alive and reasonably unharmed.
This mandate remains in place UFN.
Return to The Mutant X Warehouse
Links: Brennan and Shalimar Club | Brennan and Shalimar Sanctuary of Fanfics | Brennan-Shalimar Love | Crimson Redd: Shalimar/Emma Fanfiction | Donna Lynn's Dark Angels | Eboni Orchid | Emma & Shalimar: The Best Collection | Emma and Shalimar Fic Heaven | Fanpop | Feral Grace: Shalimar Fox Fanlist | Feral Shock Boards | Feral Sisterhood | Give Us a Kiss | Instincts: Brennan and Shalimar Fanlist | Kissing Fingertips | Mutant X Forever | Notable Emma/Shalimar Fanfiction | Passion & Perfection with Livejournal | PureMX Fact Sheet | Realm of the Shadow Femslash | Romantic Intentions | Shadows Fused | Shalex | Shalimar and Brennan | Shalimar Fox 4 | Wereleopard's Lair | Xcons
First Mutant's bio of Shalimar Fox
Shalimar is the daughter of Nicholas Fox, the head of Naxcon Corporation. Shalimar frightened away her friends in school, due mostly to the fact that she forced an ex-boyfriend to eat his math textbook. Hoping to counter her wild and upredictable behavior, Nicholas placed Shalimar in a psychiatric ward when she was 10 years old, where she was repeatedly beaten by the orderlies. Her parents split up shortly after she left. Shalimar escaped from the hospital as soon as she was strong enough to fight back and lived on the streets with another feral, Gia Duchamps, until she was 15. Adam Kane found her holed up in an old motel and brought her live in Sanctuary with him and another 15 year old feline feral, Nikki Rogers. She remained a part of Mutant X after Adam chose to send Nikki away to a foster home. At some point in time during these early years, Shalimar had a romantic affair with the unscrupulous thief Zack Lockhart; Shalimar recalls that he once stashed his stolen loot in her freezer, leaving her to face some time in jail. As a feline feral, Shalimar has glowing cat's eyes and enhanced senses of smell, sight, and touch. Because of her enhanced hearing, loud sounds can cause her to have migraines. Her heightened strength and reflexes allow her to make magnificent leaps and powerful combat moves.
Shalimar-centric episodes: Fool for Love (104), Dark Star Rising (110), Ex Marks the Spot (118), Whose Woods These Are (204), Understudy (210), Under the Cloak of War (215), Reality Check (220), Lest He Become (222), Where Evil Dwells (304), The Hand of God (307), A Normal Life (314)
Shalimar trivia: Like all feline ferals, Shalimar is very territorial and has an intense fear of fire. Unlike her animal counterparts, however, Shalimar does prefer her meat medium well done. Shalimar taught Jesse to hack into the NuJack GPS system. According to the Mutant X comic book Dangerous Decisions, Shalimar did attend some high school.
* Shalimar's age: Adam first found Shalimar when she was 15. Shalimar states in "A Normal Life" that she'd been working with him for 10 years, making her about 25 years old. This fits the information in her official site profile, which states that she is in her mid-twenties.
*Notes on Shalimar's original character: In an interview, actress Victoria Pratt stated that the character of Shalimar was initially supposed to be very tough and bitchy, with a combative attitude towards Emma. Having played a similar role in her acting career (Sarge in the television show "Cleopatra 2525"), Victoria asked that her character be made softer and friendlier before taking the part. According to early casting breakdowns, Shalimar's codename was "Shadowfox." The character's codenames were deleted after the Fox Studios vs. Marvel lawsuit, thus breaking some of the similarities to the X-Men film.
Quotes from Shalimar:
~ With a little work, being a new mutant can be fabulous.
~ Jesse: Is that what I looked like when I first saw it? Shalimar: Nah. You just started crying.
~ I'll handle them. This is woman's work.
~ I may be feral, but I do prefer my meat medium well.
~ Any accomplice of Daniel's is a friend of ours!
~ If I said yes to half the guys who wanted to buy me a drink, you'd be pouring me out of this meat rack.
~ Guy: Do you believe in love at first sight? Or should I walk by again? Shalimar: Yeah. Only this time, don't stop.
~ Shalimar: Someone once told me you can't force right or wrong on anyone. Adam: All you can do is lead by example and hope they lean toward the light. Shalimar: Glad you remembered.
~ Remind me: Never date an elemental.
~ Emma: Sorry, this was a waste of time. Shalimar: Not if it put your mind at ease. I don't mind looking.
~ Get the hell out of my house.
~ If you ever so much as think of me again, you're going to live to regret it. But I promise you won't live very long.
~ Brennan: Make you feel better? Shalimar: Kicking your butt usually does.
~ Shalimar: Thought you said this wasn't going to hurt. Emma: And you believed me? It's called bedside manner. Now, be a good girl, and you'll get a lollypop when we're done. Shalimar: Yeah, well, throw in a balloon and I'm all yours.
~ Lorna Templeton: I guess I was just too much woman for him. Shalimar: Oh, this is gonna be worth the pain. [punches her]
~ I know that look. That's your "I hate myself for what I've done to these poor new mutants" look.
~ Why don't you pick on someone your own...my size?
~ Jay Minhaus: I did a pretty good job of playing the damsel in distress, wouldn't you say? Shalimar: Oh, I'm gonna show you a few things about distress.
~ Jay Minhaus: You freaks oughta be destroyed. Shalimar: After you.
~ Gabriel Ashlocke: That’s mine. Shalimar: I don’t think so. Sucks to be you.
~ It doesn’t matter what decade we’re in, they find you. Like sharks to surfers.
~ Shalimar: He’s not our killer. Brennan: How do you know? Shalimar: I asked him.
~ Shalimar: Let me see those bug bites. Brennan: What are you gonna do, suck the poison out of them? Shalimar: Gonna take me to dinner first?
~ You’re nothing but a little man with a big gun. But there’s something in these woods that’s gonna teach you what a predator really is. Something that deserves the name.
~ I know you feel some kind of responsibility for that maniac, but your dog is rabid, and it’s your responsibility to put him down. And maybe your conscience has a problem with that, but I assure you, my conscience is fine with it.
~ Emma: I screwed up, that’s all there is to it. Shalimar: You know what? You may be able to fool everyone else, but not me.
~ Shalimar: You can’t put the stress you’re feeling on the people who are trying to work with you. You want to take the lead on this one? You’ve got to show some confidence. Brennan: Oh, what, so I have to keep everything all bottled up, like Adam does? Shalimar: That’s the job, Brennan. That’s what he was trying to tell you.
~ Vic: Guys, I don’t know what to say. Shalimar: Goodbye would be good.
~ Jesse: Communications are up. Shalimar: See? Bugging you did work.
~ Lt. Daniel Morrison: This is your backup? Shalimar: Yeah, well it works better when he tells me where his back’s gonna be.
~ Shalimar: Okay, can we talk some more likely scenerios for a second? White trash Camaro, Brennan, maybe a small town waitress with a taste for both? My guess is he’s probably just shacked up in some no-tell motel, using his “I think we have electricity between us” line.
~ Dr. Wolf: I need you to tell me about Adam Kane’s database of mutants. Shalimar: I need you to spontaneously combust. Any chance of that?
~ If I’m going down, I’m going down. But I’m gonna leave you something to remember me by.
~ Even with one leg I can still kick ass.
~ Emma: Shal, how did you? How did... Shalimar: I don’t know. I guess my fear of losing you was stronger than my fear of the fire.
~ I’m not asking you to come with me, I’m telling you. Look, I know you’re scared. We all are. I don’t care about that anymore. What I do care about is you.
~ Brennan: I’ve always wanted to go to a party at the embassy. Shalimar: Well, let’s hope they remember to count the silverware afterwards.
~ Jesse: I’ll say this for you, you don’t give up easy. Shalimar: I don’t give up period.
~ Who are you gonna pretend to be next, my mother? My first grade teacher? I hated that bitch!
~ Dr. Louise Koby: Look, I know none of you signed up for this... Shalimar: Oh, we are way past that talk.
~ Brennan: We should have taken them, Shal. Shalimar: Were you unconscious when he was beating the crap out of the rest of us?
~ I thought I had my eyes open. I was looking right at Adam and I didn’t see him at all.
~ Stare at me any harder, you’re gonna burn a hole in my head.
~ Well, maybe these guys will learn. Mess with Mother Nature, she messes back.
~ Sandy Fetko: He’s not a bad person, you know. He’s just...he's just broken. Shalimar: I think we’re all a little broken from time to time.
~ Carl: I just knew you were trouble. Shalimar: Only you didn't know how much.
~ Brennan: You were going to sacrifice yourself for me. Shalimar: Seemed like a good idea at the time...
~ That's gonna leave a mark.
~ I think it's time we remind her that this is Mutant X, not Mutant Lex.
~ That's a big knife. Compensating for something?
~ Brennan: Yeah, well it’s man’s pursuit of the perfect woman. It’s been going on since the beginning of time. Shalimar: Well, man should get over his damn self. Women are perfect just the way they are.
Official Site bio
Shalimar Fox is in her mid 20s, fiery, feral and stunning, a sensual beauty utterly in touch with her primal self. Blessed with both human and animal DNA, Shalimar has the strength, speed, and cunning of the animal kingdom…with a tempestuous nature to match. She is uncannily fast, inhumanly agile and sensually feline. Walking the line between human and feral, Shalimar is a little wild and completely unpredictable.
Season 1 DVD bio
Shalimar Fox is in her late 20’s, a fiery and feral beauty utterly in touch with her primal nature. Shalimar is a little wild and completely unpredictable… breathtakingly sensual - the kind of woman what man - and frankly an awful lot of women too - throw themselves at, damning caution to get next to her outrageous sexiness…
… All of which are the natural outgrowth of her mutant abilities, drawn from the splicing and cross-indexing of human and animal genetic traits.
Shalimar possesses the strength, speed and relentlessness of the animal kingdom. Uncannily fast, inhumanly agile, sensually cat-like, wickedly guileful, and incredibly sexy… a beautiful, reckless, kittenish, flirtatious and funny woman.
Shalimar was born and raised in the south-west - the only survivor of a special branch of the Genomex project - a division experimenting with splicing the genetic makeup of a broad spectrum of the animal kingdom with fertilised human eggs.
Like all the various functions of the project, it was maintained in complete secrecy - and shut down immediately as a total disaster when all but one of the test subjects died - in many cases taking their mothers’ to the grave with them in childbirth.
Shalimar’s parents fled the facility, and her mother gave birth to her little girl in the desert. She was raised as a normal child, and grew into a striking beauty - who kept her secret deeply buried. Shalimar, like all the children of Genomex, knew from her earliest moments that she was special. As an infant she fell from a crib - and landed cat-like on her feet. When she was three she could out run and out climb her tabby.
It was her fear - of exposure, of embarrassment, of shame - a feeling she shared with so many other children of Genomex - that kept her from sharing these secrets with anyone. Like all the children of Genomex she was continuing to evolve. Shalimar developed an instinctual ability to read people - and she acted recklessly on what she learned, without restraint or regard for any consequences.
And it was on one of these reckless adventures that she found herself face to face with Adam - the first man she couldn’t "read". Adam told Shalimar her own story right back to her - with sympathy, empathy and understanding. Adam knew all about her feeling frightened, isolated, alone - and frankly inhuman. He shared his own secrets with her, and then explained the danger she was in from Mason Eckhart and his security division - and together - with the blessings of her parents, who have no idea of their beautiful and loving daughter’s secrets - they left her old life behind, disappearing into the night.
Note: From 2001-02 Tribune Entertainment created six Mutant X faux websites as part of the Mutant X official site, in order to supplement the information from the television series. These sites featured a great wealth of background information about the Mutant X characters and plot's storylines, but they disappeared in early 2005. I'm including faux website information here for completeness, but none of the following material is my own.
Adam's Interviews on Mutant X Lives
...Interviews - Shalimar #1
I conduct these psych-profiles on a regular basis with all core Mutant X members. The constant use of their powers taxes not only their physical strength but their mental health as well. That, combined with the fluctuating state of their mutant DNA, makes these sessions a necessity. The following excerpt is transcribed from an early session I had with Shalimar. Her growth and focus since this time continually amazes me, making it clear my choices have not in vain.
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A: You’ve calmed down considerably today.
SHALIMAR: I’m used to the scents, that’s all.
A: And me.
SHALIMAR: (laughs) Maybe. You’re still a square.
A: Awww. And I was beginning to think you liked me. I talked to your parents. They know you’re safe.
SHALIMAR: But they don’t know what’s going on here, right?
A: No. Why are you so protective of them? Do you think they’ll reject you if they learned you were a New Mutant?
SHALIMAR: No! My mom and dad are the best! But they might be hurt…or get hurt by the same goons who were tracking me. Just stop talking about them or I’m outta here! (Her eyes glow feral gold. She crouches as if to attack)
A: That’s unnecessary, Shalimar. We’ll move on to something else. (She calms)
A: When did you learn the truth about yourself?
SHALIMAR: When I was three. I outran my pet kitty in a race.
A: And you knew you were different from other children?
SHALIMAR: Enough to hide it.
A: You pretended to be normal.
SHALIMAR: ‘Til it drove me nuts. When I was ten, I found myself running through the streets one night. No clothes on. No control. I prowled like a human cat. It was like the feeling just tore out of my insides. It wasn’t ‘til I caught sight of myself in a store window that I snapped to. Was I freaked!
A: What happened?
SHALIMAR: Nothing. It was three o’clock in the morning. No one was around. But from then on I made a habit of late night prowls. I never wanted to lose control again.
A: And did you?
SHALIMAR: You tell me! I almost scratched your eyes out when you found me in that dive! No! The older I got, the harder it was to handle. And don’t get me wrong. Being a cat was easy. It was acting “normal” that screwed me up.
A: You grew up in southern California, right?
SHALIMAR: For a while. My dad’s job took us all over the southwest. Taos was the best. It’s still home to me.
A: You could be more yourself there?
(She constantly fidgets and starts to move around the room, pawing objects and stretching out with no sense of modesty)
SHALIMAR: Yeah, if you say so. I was happier in school. Had friends. Could flirt with the jocks. Have dinner with the folks. And at night there were lots of rodents to chase in the desert. Yes siree! Jus’ your average American feline-next-door!
A: Shalimar, if I told you I could help you balance your powers so you could one day control your feral impulses, what would you say?
SHALIMAR: I’d say you were full of it.
A: Yet, you’re here with me now.
SHALIMAR: It’s the cat thing, again. Gives me an edge on reading people. You’re not gonna hurt me. I know that much.
(She “springs” from her chair and lands right next to me)
SHALIMAR: In fact, that’s the last thing on your mind, isn’t it?
A: Down, girl. (We both laugh)
SHALIMAR: I won’t hurt you, either.
A: So you’re going to stay for a while?
SHALIMAR: Sure. Just give me my space to prowl.
:: End of Transcription ::
...Interviews - Shalimar #2
I grabbed this session with Shalimar just before Genomex fell. The entire team was experiencing a flux with their powers and the need to keep them online mentally was crucial. Shalimar had been through a series of emotional wringers in the previous months as well. I had to break her shell, as usual.
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A: So. Are you going to talk…or just growl?
SHALIMAR: Gimme a break, Adam!
A: Well?
SHALIMAR: Well…I’ve got a lot to get used to!
A: Are your increased powers throwing you?
SHALIMAR: No. They seem right. It’s everything I had before, just more of it. My reflexes, my sense of smell, and my vision…It’s like someone just took my Feral side and sharpened it. Brennan and Jesse and Emma all have completely new things to deal with. But me…I just feel like I’ve grown into what I was always supposed to.
A: And that makes you feel…?
SHALIMAR: Awesome, tiger. (She laughs)
A: You said you felt like someone sharpened your skills. Who do you mean?
SHALIMAR: Well, not God if that’s what you’re getting at. And not you. Sorry.
A: Water off my back. But who then?
SHALIMAR: I guess it would have to be me. My Feral side. It’s just stepped up.
A: And taken over.
(She doesn’t answer, but her eyes glow gold)
A: Shalimar. Are you afraid of your Feral side?
SHALIMAR: No. I love it. I’m just afraid of losing my human side. That’s all. It seems during the last year, I’ve become more and more of an animal.
A: How so?
SHALIMAR: Leaning more on my instincts instead of my head. Going wild on any GSAgent I could get my claws into. The men I’ve…associated with.
A: You always had some questionable judgment there.
SHALIMAR: If you mean Zach, he was a mistake any teenager could have made, New Mutant or not! No, seeing him again after all these years just made it clear what a cheating, lowlife he is and always was.
A: What about Dr. Saunders?
SHALIMAR: Richard was a Feral, like me. We were drawn to each other, like something out of “Wild Kingdom”. I’ve never lost control with a man like that, Adam. He made me a pure cat. No thought or reason, just…
A: I get the picture.
SHALIMAR: And look what I almost gave up for him. If I’d gone through this power change when he was alive, I’d be completely lost. You’d have to leave me in the jungle somewhere.
A: Is there anyone else who brings this primal dominance out in you.
SHALIMAR: Yeah. Another hood. (Grins) As if you didn’t know who. I haven’t acted on it yet. He and I are too close. It could wreck everything if we hooked up. But playing it cool gets harder and harder. And now that my Feral side is amped, I’m losing what little good sense I’ve had.
A: Perhaps it’s time you stopped dividing your sides, Shalimar. You’re not half human, half animal. You’re…
SHALIMAR: Just one?
A: Yes. Dr. Saunders had you convinced that your Feral nature was wrong and needed to be removed. Do you see how it would have turned out if you’d let that happen?
SHALIMAR: I’d be so screwed up…
A: Why?
SHALIMAR: Because being Feral is what I am. And if I know that…
A: You can control it. (After a moment, Shalimar purrs)
SHALIMAR: You know, Adam, sometimes I could just eat you up. I think I should get back to dealing with Ashlocke now.
...Interviews - Shalimar #3
I had sent Shalimar and Brennan on a mission to the Dakota Black Hills. A rabid Ursine Feral named Michael Ward had gone berserk and was murdering innocent people. If I known the extent of his mutated disease, I would have sent Jesse in Shalimar’s place. As it was, she was stricken but overcame the fever only to have to deliver the deathblow to Ward by herself. While now recovered physically, it’s obvious Shalimar needs healing from within.
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SHALIMAR: Why did you choose me, Adam?
A: For the mission?
SHALIMAR: No. For Mutant X. It was between Nikki and me to be your team Feral. She was faster, stronger, wilder…and yet, I’m the one who’s here.
A: How long have you had this on your mind?
SHALIMAR: On and off, for years.
A: And you’re just addressing it now. Why?
SHALIMAR: Because I’ve failed you all.
A: If you’re referring to Michael Ward and the situation in the woods, you did anything but. Your actions prevented untold further tragedies.
SHALIMAR: But if I’d had more control over my instincts, Clay Preston and Grady Colt would be alive. And Brennan wouldn’t have been hurt. Instead, I tried to protect Michael. The animal in me refused to see how hopeless he was.
A: You were sick with fever.
SHALIMAR: All the more reason for me to step down. But did I? No. I charged ahead. I ditched Brennan, my own teammate, and took off into the woods to prove…I don’t know.
A: Don’t you?
SHALIMAR: Damn your insights. Yes. I do. I was trying to prove Michael’s humanity…and my own.
A: Shalimar. What happened to Ward was an atrocity. He was an evil experiment gone astray. There was no way to reverse the effects. He knew that and it drove him insane. You saw the bodies he mutilated. There wasn’t enough man left in him. He would have gone on killing.
SHALIMAR: And if I still had the fever would that be my story too? Would you and the others have had to hunt me down?
A: You tell me.
SHALIMAR: I had so little control and so much rage. Everything I saw was red.
A: A side effect of the disease. But you still haven’t answered my question. Even at your worst, could you have slaughtered people like Ward did?
SHALIMAR: No. Yet, I killed him.
A: He asked you to with his last shred humanity. An out-of-control Feral could not have done that, Shalimar. It was a rational young woman who did. One who took responsibility to end senseless suffering.
SHALIMAR: I see that…but I can’t forgive myself.
A: No one is saying it will happen overnight. Living with your actions is the worst part of this job. Just remember as you sort things out, you didn’t use your powers to stop Ward. You used Colt’s weapon.
SHALIMAR: I know! My first kill and I pulled a trigger.
A: Disappointed?
SHALIMAR: Just shocked. Taking a life has been a nightmare ever since I can remember. But I always pictured it would happen when the animal half in me lost it. Not the decent one.
A: “Decent”. We talked a while back about how your two “sides” are one in the same. Don’t you see that now? Didn’t this mission make that clear?
SHALIMAR: Painfully. And Adam…I also see how all the countless hours of training and focus here at Sanctuary kept me whole. Even when seeing red.
A: That’s why it was you over Nikki.
SHALIMAR: What?
A: Within you I saw a girl with love and spirit inside to keep her strong and disciplined, Feral or not. Nikki never had that.
SHALIMAR: Strong and disciplined, huh? Then why can’t I forget Michael Ward’s eyes?
A: If you could, Shalimar, we wouldn’t be here together.
From Genomex.net
GENOMEX SECURITY FILE: MX999FFS Fox, Shalimar. Priority Clearance Only UPDATED 5/30
The subject profiled is a member of the outlaw faction Mutant X.
Fox is a Feral in her late twenties. She falls into the classification of Feline, most common of the New Mutant breed. Her heightened senses, strength, agility and prowess are all on par with a female cougar or lynx. If she possesses cat claws or fangs, they are retractable and have not surfaced in any recorded GSA encounter (making their existence unlikely).
Raised by her natural parents in the American southwest, Genomex lost track of the subject when the Agency's original tracking database became corrupted during Incident X (SECURITY RED FILE, no general access). The current location and status of her family have yet to be retraced, although it is an educated deduction that their true surname is not "Fox".
History files on this Feline begin with police records as a teenage runaway and then an accomplice to petty theft with fellow New Mutant Zachary Lockhart, a Psionic Illusionist (file EOG62PLZ). Located by renegade activist Adam (files MX999AAA, EOG85AAA and 0154A896, among others) before Genomex could apprehend her, Fox descended into a deeper life of criminal activity as part of his terrorist task force. To date, she has the longest tenure of any New Mutant he has employed.
While the Feline has considerably honed battle skills and a highly developed aggression, she does fall victim to the most common of Feral vulnerabilities: a fear of fire. GSAgents confronting Fox are recommended to employ this weakness against her. Like all Ferals, she may be highly susceptible to hypnotic influence or suggestion, although it is presumed that Adam has taken measures to counteract the flaw.
Fox is always to be treated as a HIGHLY DANGEROUS ENEMY; however, the directive from Mr. Eckhart's office is firm on her being captured alive and reasonably unharmed.
This mandate remains in place UFN.
Return to The Mutant X Warehouse