I was in the middle of writing another fic, then I saw this gif set on tumblr karlurbaninternational . tumblr post / 75956879236 and it demanded to be written.
This is actually the prologue, but as far as I know there isn't a prologue option, so... :P This takes place before the ambush!
Warnings: Some Sexual Content (if you want unedited, look for this on AO3), Violence, Dirty Language and (not main) Character Death.
Parings: John Kennex/Sylar, John & Dorian friendship, moments of past Anna/John
Chapter One
An insistent buzzing sound drilled its way confusedly into John's troubled dreams, drawing him mercifully from sleep. He blinked his eyes open, letting them adjust to the semi-darkness of the room. Anna was still sleeping at his side, oblivious to the noise. Her left arm was thrown casually across his stomach and her head rested on his chest, soft even breaths tickling his skin. For the first time ever, the feeling made him slightly nauseous.
Stretching out his arm carefully so as to avoid waking her, he snagged his cell off the bedside table. He noted with irritation that the call was anonymous and the time barely past five a.m. His alarm wasn't set to go off for another half-hour. For a moment he debated ignoring the call, then sighed unhappily. He disentangled himself from Anna as gently as possible and rolled out of bed, mumbling an apology when she stirred fitfully and opened her eyes.
"What time is it, baby?" she murmured sleepily, propping herself up on one elbow. Her long dark hair draped across her chest. One of her breasts had slipped free of her nightgown and he glanced away, ignoring his body's response.
"Five," he said groggily. "M'gonna make some coffee, okay? Got a call."
"Alright. Don't even think about trying to make breakfast though. I'll be up in a few minutes"
"I won't. I promise." He chuckled lightly in spite of everything as he padded down the hall to the kitchen. He accepted the call a second before it would have gone to voice mail. "Hello?" he asked tiredly, flipping on the light switch and blinking against the sudden flare.
"Am I speaking with John Kennex?" a strangely cultured voice queried politely.
"This is him," John said absently, pulling a container of coffee from the fridge and beginning to prepare it. Making coffee was one of the few things he was capable of achieving in the kitchen, thanks entirely to his expensive coffee maker.
"Very good. I do apologize for the early hour Mr. Kennex, but I wanted to catch you before you went to work. My name is Dr. Chandra Suresh."
John grimaced. "Is everything alright?" he asked instantly, thinking that inSyndicate must have been up to something again.
"More than fine, Mr. Kennex. I'm a geneticist and I've been working on a project concerning human genomes. I believe that you may play a vital role in the next stage of human evolution."
John's brows scrunched in consternation as he pressed the on switch and heard the coffee maker hum to life. He leaned back against the counter and ran a hand through his already sleep-tousled hair. The man was obviously attempting to sell something… or Martin was pranking him. "Really? How do you figure that?" he asked, smiling a little when he saw Anna pad down the hallway to the bathroom. Her nightgown had ridden up almost to her buttocks and she smiled slyly when she noticed his eyes tracing her bare skin.
"As to that, you'd have to read my book. It's called Activating Evolution. I would like to email you a free copy, if you'd be so kind as to give me your address." His voice sounded extremely hopeful.
John bit back a snort of laughter. Did the man think anyone in this age of rapidly advancing technology-let alone a detective- would hand over their email address to just anybody? "That depends," he played along pretending to seriously consider it. "What kind of evolution are we talking about here? I like myself just fine, thanks."
"If you'd read the book and then discuss it with me-"
Anna skittered into the kitchen then in a pair of jeans and t-shirt, her hair pulled back in a loose ponytail. Even dressed casually and makeup-free she was so beautiful John completely forgot about Dr. Suresh for a moment. She stood lightly on her toes and pressed a quick kiss to his mouth before setting about making them breakfast. Her minty breath reminded him of his own funky breath and kissed her bare neck once before heading for the bathroom.
It can't be true. It can't. Please, God.
"-uman flight. Even cellular regeneration!" Suresh was gushing passionately into his ear.
"What about cellular regeneration?" John asked distractedly, perching himself on the lip of the bathtub.
Realizing that his audience had been less than captivated, the excitement bled out of the man's voice so rapidly that John almost felt guilty. "I was saying that you may be one amongst thousands of individuals with the potential for any number of incredible abilities. It may be flight. Precognition. Cellular regeneration. Or perhaps something entirely different. I believe the traits that manifest themselves will vary depending on each individual's genetic code."
"Mmm, and how do I obtain my ability, Dr. Suresh? Do you have a special pill? A magic injection?"
"Don't be absurd." There was a bite of impatience in the man's voice now. "If you have an ability it currently resides dormant within you, just waiting to be discovered. I can help you do that. All I'd need to do is take a blood sample and scan your brainwaves-"
The smell of frying potatoes wafted in through the open bathroom door, causing John's stomach to rumble embarrassingly loudly. "I'm not interested in whatever you're trying to sell me, Dr. Suresh," he interrupted. "I'm sorry." He hung up with relief and promptly blocked the number. Yet as he brushed his teeth and shaved something niggled uncomfortably in the pit of his stomach that felt a lot like apprehension.
"Who was on the phone, sweetheart?" Anna inquired when he came back to the kitchen. Though she spoke casually, she watched him closely. "Do you have to go into work early?"
"No, it was just a telemarketer." John grabbed a knife from a drawer, grabbed a couple oranges from the fruit bowl and began slicing them into eighths simply for something to do. The smell always reminded him of his father.
Anna snatched a slice from the table and ate it slowly while waiting for the potatoes to finish, the hand holding the spatula resting on her cocked hip. "What were they selling?"
John snorted. "Super powers, I guess."
"Super powers, huh?"
He stopped cutting the oranges and looked at her, something in her voice giving him pause. "Yeah. Some guy pretending to be a geneticist. A Dr. Suresh." He got that wriggling uncomfortable feeling in his gut again. He resumed his task, concentrating on it determinedly
"I studied genomics when I was in school," Anna said musingly. "Loved it." She shifted the potatoes aside and cracked some eggs into the griddle too.
"That sounds awful, to be honest." John smiled as the tension between them dissipated slightly. "Maybe he should have tried giving you his book instead of me."
"What's it called?"
John cocked an eyebrow at her, wondering if her interest was feigned. "Activating Evolution, I think he said."
"Maybe you should read it," she suggested suddenly.
John tried to look at her face but she'd already turned back to the stove. "Why?" he asked, surprised.
"Because we'd have something new to talk about," she teased, turning back to him and kissing his temple.
"I have too much on my plate right now," he said, getting up to wash the stickiness from his hands. "Maybe after we've take down inSyndicate, I'll have more time for reading." John carefully avoided her eyes after that statement, paranoia sweeping through him suddenly. He wondered if he was reading too much into things.
Before he could become entangled in his own thoughts and suspicions, breakfast was ready. The strange call and Anna's inexplicably unsettling behavior over the past few weeks were temporarily forgotten in light of a good meal.