Ginna Elliot rolled over and turned off her alarm. The small brunette sat up in her bed, and stretched, taking in the morning sunshine. Or, lack thereof for that fact. It was another dark, gray day in New York City. It reminded her of growing up outside Seattle, in the small suburb of Bothel. Ginna smiled. These were her favorite kinds of days. Where others saw gloom, Ginna saw joy in getting to wear sweaters and boots. Ginna popped out of bed and threw on her workout gear, heading up to her condo's top floor gym.

As she strolled through to the gym doors, she swiped her I.D. card, granting her access to the facilities. Ginna made her way to the treadmill and put down her towel and water bottle, popping in her earbuds and turning her iPod to shuffle. As she began to jog on the apparatus, the pop and hiss of her earbuds made her smile as Mumford and Sons began to rumble in her ears.

"And I will wait, I will wait for you. I will wait, I will wait for you," the British folk band thundered as Ginna kept pace with the anthem, running stride for stride with the beat. Ginna looked out the window of her fifty-five story building, admiring the beauty of the architecture and the serenity of the weather. It was just a reprieve from the events of the weeks prior, when hell literally rained down on earth.

Ginna was downtown when the otherworldly beings attacked New York. She was in the thick of it, barely avoiding being crushed alive by crumbling buildings. Ginna had simply planned on grabbing a coffee on her way home from work, and while she was in the cafe, the building began to shake. "Is this an earthquake? Or a terrorist attack? What is happening?! Oh my God." Ginna recalled the events of that spring day, and shook her head to rid her mind of the terrible memories. Her therapist told her, and probably half of New York, to just breathe and push away the thoughts of fear. They had captured the terrorist and needed not worry in fear of an attack like that ever happening again. "As if not thinking about it makes it go away," Ginna thought sarcastically as she jumped off the treadmill and grabbed her towel and bottle.

She stood against the floor to celling windows as she took a long drink of her water. If she craned her neck just right, she could see the damage that still, and would for some years, remain from the attack. Ginna moved away from the window and made her way out of the gym. She needed to hustle to make it in time for work, and her daydreaming was already making her late. Ginna took the elevator back to her twenty-third level condo and ran immediately to the shower.

"Damnit," the small brunette uttered. It was already 7:45 and she was supposed to be at work by 8:20. "Well, that's not happening," Ginna thought wistfully. Ginna was again thankful for her short, pixie-style haircut as she washed it, because it allowed her to wash and dry with minimal effort.

She flew out of the shower and into her bedroom and quickly dressed. She ran back to the bathroom, pleased that the clock only read 7:59. "Perhaps I will get there on time after all..."

As she was applying the last touches to her minimalistic make up, she heard her cell phone begin to ring.

Assuming it was her boss chiding her about being late, she answered it already apologizing. "Mr. Parker, I am so, so sorry I'm late again, but I swear I'm running out the door this instant," the petite woman promised as she bustled out her condo, locking the door behind her.

"Miss Elliot, this call has nothing to do with your punctuality habits, although, if they continue, they may cause issues," the strong voice remarked. "Who the fuck?" Ginna thought. "This isn't Mr. Parker..."

"To whom am I speaking?" Ginna asked as she pushed the down button on the elevator with one hand, while holding the phone to her ear with the other.

There was a distinctive, throaty chuckle on the other end. "Honey, just know that I'm your boss's boss, and well, your boss has been, let's say, relieved of his position. You are at this time no longer needed in-office, and will be contacted later about conducting your duties from your home. After all, you did put in a request for at-home work, didn't'ja?"

Ginna stood there, with her mouth agape as the elevator doors opened and closed in front of her. "Wha-wha-what do you mean Mr. Parker isn't my boss are you? Is this some sort of fucking prank, because I don't have time for this!" Ginna's voice rose a few octaves as she shouted into the cell phone.

"Now, now, Miss Elliot, I won't take that sort of language or attitude from anyone, especially not some little secretary like yourself. All you's need ta know is that at this point you are still employed by us, we're just, cleaning house of you will. We will contact you at a later time to settle your work arrangements. Thank you for your cooperation, Miss Elliot, and have a nice day."

Ginna heard the tell-tale click of a hang up and resisted chucking the cell phone into the wall in frustration. "What the fuck was that all about?" Ginna wondered as she went through her her contacts list on her cell, tapping on 'Parker.'

"We're sorry, but this number is no longer in service." The computer automated voice announced. Ginna's eyes went wide with confusion as she turned to return to her apartment. "What is happening today?" Ginna muttered under her breath as she unlocked her condo door.

She swung it closed in frustration and dropped her briefcase and keys onto her table as she flopped down onto her giant leather chair. She flipped on the television and began going through the channels, looking for something, anything, to distract her. Finally she stopped on a one of those cooking shows and settled further into the poofy chair.

Her stomach growled loudly as she remembered she didn't have the time to eat earlier, and currently the host was demonstrating the ideal, homemade French Toast. Ginna got up and padded to her recently upgraded kitchen, checking to see if she had all of the fixings for the French Toast.

"Of course not," Ginna muttered sarcastically. She made her way back to her door, grabbing her wallet, keys, and phone, and making her way out of her condo in order to go to the supermarket to pick up the essentials.

She made her way to the elevator for the second time that morning, and agin pushed the 'down' button. She was waiting for the elevator when she remembered she forgot to grab a jacket, and again turned back from the elevator. Once back in her condo, she grabbed her tan trench coat and umbrella since the skies looked ready to burst. She left her apartment for the third time that morning, and made her way to the elevator. As she went to again push the down button, the lights in the hall flickered uncertainly, causing her to rethink her using the elevator. She did not want to be stuck in an elevator. Again.

Just as she was going to make her way to the stairs, the elevator dinged and opened its doors, beckoning her in from and arduous journey down the stairs. Giving once last glance to the stairs, Ginna hopped in the elevator and pushed the ground floor button. Thankfully, the elevator made the trip down in one shoot, and Ginna made her way out towards the busy, Manhattan street. She popped the collar of her coat and opened her umbrella as she made her way to the large city supermarket. Ginna noticed that the streetlights began to flash and wondered what was causing it. It wasn't unusual for intermittent power outages since the attacks, but the electricity would usually just go out at once; it wouldn't flicker.

Ginna noticed a dark shape make its way around the crowded street, looking very out of place. This tall, leone man with shaggy, dark hair, was garbed in simply a green tunic and what looked to be black leather pants. He kept ramming into people, appearing disheveled and angry. Passer-bys were hurrying past him as he became more and more agitated. Ginna always kept a bottle of pepper spray in her purse and had a black belt in karate, and was ready to use either one if need be. When she looked up again, however, the man was gone.


A/N: Hello readers! I hope you're enjoying this fic as much as I am writing it! This is my first ever fanfic so I'm a bit rubbish at formatting right now here, so I apologize. I want to thank Jesscah and Kirsty for the encouragement! Love you girl! Mwah. :)

-K