A Heroes Universe Based Fanfiction

Activating Evolution

by Xeilu-Chan

Part One, Chapter One

It was slow in the comic shop, Wednesday couldn't drag by more sluggishly than this evening. Tori sat at the counter, skimming through a gaming magazine to pass the time. She liked her job, the people, her coworkers, her hours, but it was things got slow and the time was barely passing that she didn't quite enjoy. She let out a deep sigh of appreciation when she heard the door open and a set of footsteps. She looked up from her article to see her coworker Rocco, carrying a large box, which looked heavy from the way he was straining. He set it down on the counter by Tori.

"Thank Thor you came in, I was about to die of boredom." Tori joked, dog-earing the page she was on and beaming at Rocco,

"Oh? Well you'll wish I hadn't in a moment. I have something very serious to tell you." Rocco grinned, his bright green eyes giving her a devious look.

Tori sighed, pouting cutely, "The new comics came in, didn't they?"

"Looks like someone has some work to do." He made his way behind the counter, patting her on the head. She chuckled, picking up the box herself to take it to the racks where the comics where kept. She made a face at Rocco,

"This box isn't that heavy you know."

"Not if you're a crazy gorilla girl." He smirked

She glared at him, putting the box down by the comic rack and shaking her fist playfully at him. She took her boxopener out of her back pocket, cutting the taped lid and removing some issues.

"Ooh, new Ninth Wonders!" She exclaimed, putting the boxopener back into her pocket. She waved it in the air at Rocco.

"Sweet! I haven't read that issue yet."

"Me either, but I'm so stoked about it now." Tori smiled, putting it on the shelf. She continued this for a while, take out a comic, put it on the shelf, take out a comic, put it on the shelf. It was hard not to open some of the comics and start reading them right there as she did this, but she knew how to restrain herself from doing that after working here for a good three years, she'd have time to read them later.

Rocco's voice broke the silence, "You could just go home for tonight if you want."

Tori looked up, raising an eyebrow, "You want me out of here, I see how it is." She joked.

"No, not like that I mean, it's a slow evening, I can clock out for you."

Tori sighs, "Alright Rocco, whatever you say." She smiles at him, standing up, "I owe you one."

"Do you? It's no big deal you know." He says as Tori stands up. She brushes her dark hair behind her ear.

"I don't mind owing you a favor. I'll close for you some time or something, it's cool."

Rocco pauses a moment.

"Something on your mind?" Tori asks, her hand almost on the door.

"Let me take you out."

"What?" She asked. She had a very animated face, her expression going from that of sheer shock, to one of confusion as she lifted a perplexed eyebrow at the man behind the counter.

"You said you owe me one. Let me take you out for dinner. Tomorrow, after work." Rocco blushed at her, seeming nervous as she pondered her answer a moment.

"Sure, why not." she winked at him, "See you tomorrow then."

Tori opened the door and went outside at that. It was just a date, nothing serious. Besides, Rocco wasn't too bad. She made her way to her bike, unlocking the chains. It was still a little warm out in the late summer evening. The sun was barely on the horizon, and night was falling at a fast rate. She got on her bike and peddled across the parking lot. Tori was deep in thought about Rocco, and how she was going to tell her roommate when she got home…

Then, the sky was turned upside down as something pushed violently against her bike and she fell off, her work uniform getting dirt smeared on it as she fell onto the ground. She froze, hearing a heavy breathing. Looking around she saw what had knocked over her bike.

A man, tall and skinny, probably homeless from his long tangled beard and dirty clothes. He drew closer to her.

"Get away from me." Tori warned. She felt her heartbeat racing in her chest, as she scrambled away from the man advancing towards her. "Get away." She quickly reached for her cellphone in her front pocket, "Or I call the police."

Suddenly, she felt a cold metal being pressed against her head as the man drew a gun. Tori's eyes brimmed with tears, her quickening heart go into her throat as the man spoke in a crackly voice

"Give me your wallet."

Tori choked on her own words, reaching slowly into her purse for her wallet. She handed it to him, tears soaking her cheeks. He opened her wallet, looking through it, "Is this all the money you have on you?"

Tori nodded slowly, sniffling.

"I don't believe you." He reached for her purse, his hand jetting out towards her. She screamed, knocking the gun from his hand in fear. She punched him in the face, hearing his nose crunch under the weight of her fist.

The man screamed in agony, getting to his feet and turning to run. Tori reached out, to grab him, feeling something skittering across her skin. She shook her arm, hoping to shake off a spider, but in her horror she saw huge complex, almost runic looking marks sprawling across the skin of her outreached arm. She gasped, not sure what to do as the markings flew off her skin and wrapped around the man's ankle, forcing him to fall onto his face and let out a terrified howl as he was dragged across the pavement.

Tori tried to scramble away, not sure what was happening as she watched the tangle of runic markings crawl up the man's leg and start to glow hot like daylight. They advanced up his torso at a frightfully fast speed, Tori shielded her eyes as it got brighter and brighter, turning her head away. She heard a loud sizzling, the man's screams of agony heightening in volume and felt something splatter against her skin. She looked at her arm that was soaked in blood and bits of flesh and to corpse on the ground that was spread in pieces across the concrete and all over her work clothes.

"Oh god." Tori put her hands to her mouth.