Average Joe (2018)

43

Tori woke up on a cold, concrete, floor. Tori's head hurt and it felt as if she might have a concussion. Her ears were ringing and her eyes burned with confusion, not knowing the surrounding areas. The walls were gray and bricked, the ceiling shining with fluorescence. A dirty blanket, too small for her, covered Tori's body. Her clothes were ripped and it looked as if she'd been attacked.

"Hello," Tori gagged on the thick, misty air.

Underground, Tori thought.

Tori pushed her scraped hands under her, pushing herself off the dirty floor. She was in a hall, long and curving slightly. Tori stood, vertigo almost knocking her off balance. The hall was long and she couldn't see either end.

Tori put one hand against the wall to balance herself and walked to the left side of the bricked corridor, worrying about what she might find. She heard a noise in the distance and was unsure of what it was. Some parts of it sounded like speech patterns - words. She wasn't alone down here.

Tori finally reached the end of the hall, partially covered by a brick wall. Tori quickly tucked herself behind the wall, watching the dark scenery.

A wooden chair sat on the concrete floor, a familiar boy strapped in - Bryan Everdale. Bryan grunted, crimson dripping from his nose and cracked lips. An unfamiliar man in his twenties with silver hair stood before Bryan, his back towards Tori. The man smacked Bryan Everdale across the face. Then followed it up with a quick punch. The man giggled in delight.

"How," Bryan's lungs wheezed. "Could you do this..?"

"Shhhh... get some rest, little brother. Big things are happening, and soon New York will burn under my power."

"What... are... you talking about?"

"You'll see."

"If you're going to kill me..." Bryan huffed. "Just do it."

"I don't want to kill you, little brother. I want you to see what's ahead. I want you to see the fire."

"I... did all of this for you. I thought the Chronicle had killed you."

"Ha! You are so naive. The missing hand was to imply that I was dead. That imbecile police department thought just that. Then there was my first kill - Taggart Edison. I made a mistake burning the man. His missing hand is from when he tried to escape me."

"Why are you doing this?"

"For life. Do you think these so-called superheroes are really what the world needs? Look at how many of them hurt and kill."

"People with powers... you were killing people with powers..."

"I was saving people!" The man snapped. "Those people hurt other people! I was saving them!"

"Saving them? You killed people!" The man snagged Bryan by the throat, choking him out.

"I am the Chronicle! And I'm going to show you the truth..." The Chronicle stalked deeper into the building, dragging Bryan by the throat, still in the chair.

Tori turned and ran in the opposite direction, flying deeper down the halls. Each time Tori's boots struck the ground, her heartbeat strengthened. Tori checked behind her several times and she was not being followed, yet she still felt eyes on her back.

Eventually, Tori found a gate, and a set of concrete steps leading up after it. The top of the steps had a metal door, and a giant lock in the middle. For a second, Tori thought her powers might help. Just to see what would happen, she generated a slow time-field around the gate, but nothing happened.

"Damn it," Tori grunted.

Tori turned and leaned against the gate. Soon the Chronicle would notice Tori was awake. She didn't want to be here when he did.

___

Mathew dragged Bryan, his throat closed with an alarming amount of pressure. The building was dark and had equipment laying everywhere. The air was hot and stuffy, and Bryan figured they were underground.

The last Bryan saw Norman was at the fire when Mathew had overpowered Bryan, due to his ignorance. Deep darkness plagued Bryan's heart. Bryan spent all this time trying to hunt the monster that killed his brother... only to find out his brother was the monster. Even worse, Norman Knight, someone who Bryan grew to think of as a friend, was probably dead and it was Bryan's fault.

A cool breeze hit Bryan, as Mathew dragged him into the early morning daylight. The courtyard was surrounded by four bricked walls. Outside the walls, Bryan could see skyscrapers, some he recognized.

Mathew dropped Bryan to the cobblestone floor.

"Where are we?" Bryan asked.

"Someplace you know," Bryan sighed. "Remember when father would bring you out here to have tea with his rich doctor friends? Every time he came to Manhattan on vacation he'd bring you... and leave me."

"That's what this is about?" Bryan groaned. "Jealousy?"

"I was never jealous of you, Bryan. I was quite glad father spared you of his wrath."

"Spared me? He beat the shit out of me every day since you left."

"That's only because he lost his first punching bag."

Mathew Everdale slowly unbuttoned his dress shirt, pulling it off to the floor. Mathew's tan body was covered in white marks and blotches, all of these scars running up his back, around his abdomen, and on his chest. Bryan also noticed weird marks rolling up both his arms - skin grafts.

"When did you get skin grafts?"

"You like? Father's handy work."

"What did he do to you?"

"Some scientists theorized superpowers are like genetic diseases. Father was one of them. When he saw what a failure I turned out to be, he..." Mathew laughed. "Well, let's just say he didn't hold back on his punishments." Mathew pressed his shoe against Bryan's shoulder. "Now if you excuse me I have a beautiful brunette waiting for me."

Mathew plucked his shirt off the ground, Bryan calling after him.

"Don't hurt Tori!"

___

Mathew walked down the corridor, buttoning his shirt with gasps of breath. Pain still riddled his rib cage from what his father had done to him throughout middle school and high school. Mathew stalked his way up the corridor only to find Tori was gone, evidenced by the old ragged blanket on the floor.

"Tori?" Mathew smiled. "I know you're still down here." Footsteps echoed behind him.

Mathew turned with a jerk, pulling his Gladius blade from its sheath. The young woman, however, was much faster, her hand slapping against Mathew's chest. Mathew flew backward in slow motion, his entire body enveloped in a time-field.

"What'd you do to Bryan?" Tori demanded. Mathew laughed, his body still slowly arching over the floor.

"Little girl," Mathew laughed. "You have no idea what you've done." Tori doubled over in pain, her chest aching with a deep sapping feeling.

"Agh!" Tori groaned. Mathew laughed more, as his body absorbed the time field around him. Mathew stood upright as Tori fell against the bricked wall.

"What the..."

"Every day," Mathew groaned. "Every day my father would take me down to his office and... perform on me. He would take bits and pieces from heroes..." Tori rushed at Mathew, who quickly hit her across the face, knocking her back. "And gave them to me. Skin graphs, blood transfusions, organ transplantations. Eventually, I developed an ability... to take." Mathew grabbed Tori by the arm, putting her in a slow time-field. "Like that."