Zero to Hero (Ch.2)

Jessica had removed her new orange and black supersuit and was left marvelling at her statuesque body. She knew nothing of posing yet instinctively tried a number of stances in front of the mirror to emphasise her huge muscles and chest; and threw her long, lush brown hair back over both shoulders in order to reveal her curving traps. All she could do is smile once more at what she had somehow become: a living breathing superwoman.

Yes, despite all of her obvious power, she felt slightly fatigued. Perhaps the earlier transformation had taken a toll on her body, or maybe she still needed rest like any other person. Whatever the case, and as the night set in, she decided to settle into bed; sliding her naked body under the sheets only to discover her feet now dangled off of the end. Even so, she dozed off. As she did so, she wondered if, ironically, it had all been a dream, or a dream within a dream.

Yet, as she woke a few hours later, stirred by the morning light shining through the curtains, she discovered she remained unchanged. She smiled and stood in front of the mirror again, flexing her biceps. A new hero had been, indeed, born. One who would simply become known as Boom!

She wasn't hungry but had a bite to eat anyway. Her body now felt like it mostly replenished itself, and, when done, she suited up again. She couldn't wait to have another test run of her powers in the daylight.

"What if they all see me?" she wondered aloud. "I guess there's nothing I can do about that now, though it might still be useful to keep my identity secret as long as I can."

She pulled back what remained of her patio door then and stared out at the city before her, and the blue sky above. In contrast, the street below was shadowy and dim, and there was no one around. She smirked then and floated off into the heavens, quickly gaining speed as each moment passed. She wanted to see how hard and fast she could go, amazed that the ever increasing effort barely even fazed her. But she wasn't so lost in her fun that she didn't hear someone cry out below.

In peril, a woman needed help. Innocently falling prey to a run-of-the-mill mugger on her way to catch the early train, she was now cornered. It wasn't long before Jessica thundered down and landed behind the attacker. Confused, he turned around and then peered upwards at her. Wasting little time, the panicked assailant stabbed his knife into the superhero's abs, but it had no effect. Jessica just smiled, tipped her head to the side, and raised an eyebrow. She then reached out and placed her large hand around his smaller one and drew the knife in against her abs even harder than before.

He whinced with pain as the sheer force of her grip was beginning to crack his fingers; but, as the knife dug into her suit and muscles even more, there was still no damage being done. In fact, it was the knife that was starting to buckle. Much to his shock, it eventually bent back on itself and just snapped in two.

"Rock hard abs, don't you know?" she said, finally releasing him from her grip. He fell back then and stretched out his fingers.

"Y-You're like that hero," he started, "T-That one from years ago; but I thought you were all dead?"

"What hero?" asked Jessica, flicking a finger against his forehead, gently knocking him out.

While relieved, the woman continued her mugger's train of thought while stepping over him to safety:

"He's right, though. That hero he spoke of wore a suit much like yours, but it had different colours."

There were numerous superheroes Jessica had heard of, so she wasn't quite sure which they were exactly referring to. All she knew for sure was that most of them had disappeared years before. Most of the villains had retired or gone into hiding, too. But maybe they were both right, maybe this could explain where her powers actually stemmed from? Perhaps that derelict phone box she had taken cover in the previous night to avoid the rain was some old hero's way of transforming, and she had accidentally activated the device.

Whatever the case, she decided to bid farewell to the woman and continue on her way. She knew there were more people in the city that might need this new hero's help, and she wanted to put her considerable muscle to good use. But after a while, when things appeared calm in the whole area again, she flew back to her apartment.

In fact, when she entered she noticed a number of missed calls on her house phone. It rang once more and she tried reaching down for it quickly, but, in her haste, accidentally crushed the reciecer in her hand.

"Damn!" she cried. "I need to be more careful."

She had recognised the number, though. It was from work. It was only then that she realized the time, and that she was supposed to open up the shop that morning. Darren, her co-worker, would be left to do it alone.

Oh no, the keys!" she cried, remembering that they were in her pocket last night when her muscles had exploded through her clothes. In all the excitement she had forgotten to pick her belongings up and just left them there on the sidewalk down that quiet street beside the mysterious phone box.

Without thinking now, she threw herself out of the building and flew to the aforementioned spot as quickly as she could. It was only when she approached from the air and decended to the path that she noticed they were already gone. No phone. No purse. And certainly no keys. Even the rags were taken. Who would have picked them them? She couldn't tell. But she decided to visit the toy shop next to explain everything to Darren, though she wondered how she would explain her new super bod.

Indeed, he was gobsmacked as she landed at a distance and strutted over to him by the doorway. He had been trying to jimmy open the shutters himself, but she would make light work of them.

"Here, let me help you with that," said Jessica, placing her fingers under the shutter and easily pulling it upwards and out of sight. She then grabbed the door handle and broke the lock, allowing him enter.

"W-What the hell is going on?" was all he could mutter at first, before finally adding "Is it really you?"

"Yes," she replied nervously. "Something weird and random happened when I was walking home last night, and now I'm, well, super. Don't ask me how."

"To be honest," he started, "I'm as relieved as I am confused. You weren't returning my calls on both your house and cell phone. Your uncle was also trying."

"I know, I forgot I was supposed to open this morning with you."

"It's not just that, though," he informed her. "The cops actually called."

"They what?!"

"Yeah, someone found your belongings and clothes and handed them in to the nearest station sometime last night. They even visited your apartment this morning. We've all been trying to get in contact with you as we all thought you could be in real trouble."

"Well, I'm sorry to have scared you all, but believe me when I say, I am most certainly not in trouble. In fact, it's the opposite."

As she said this, she flexed both of her arms and watched her muscles bounce up and down.

"Amazing, right?"

"That's what I get for calling you a pegwarmer!" he joked. "Nobody is going to ignore you now."

As soon as he said that, waiting customers entered and gathered round, amazed at the sight of the super strong heroine in her suit and cape. They wanted pictures and selfies. While slightly embarrassed, she obliged. Apparently there had already been reports of a new superheroine in the city, and they were just delighted to have met her.

"I guess this means you won't be working here anymore?" joked Darren.

"Nonsense!" another voice cried out. It was Jessica's uncle, Fred, who had dropped by just in case she finally turned up. "While I can't believe what I'm seeing, I'm just glad you're OK. In fact, apparently, you're more than OK. You remind me of that hero from years ago. What was his name again?"

"You're not the first person to bring him up today," she replied. "But how can I work for the shop like this? I'd be a distraction."

"That's the whole point," he replied. "But not as a distraction, no, we can use you as an attraction to promote the chain."

"An attraction?!" she cried.

"Yes, sort of like the franchise's mascot. I'll pay you accordingly, don't worry."

Darren just sniggered while Jessica was left shrugging her huge shoulders.

"Oh well," she sighed. "So much for having a secret identity."

Indeed, she became the worst kept secret in the city, with her face and now signature muscular body appearing on billboards and on cardboard cut-outs promoting the Boom toy stores franchise. Occasionally, however, she would still get to do some actual crime fighting.

It would go on like this for a month or two, leaving her slightly unsatisfied, yet her retiring personality just accepted it, and her fame only grew. "Boom" was now established as everyone's new favourite hero. A point that Darren re-emphasised as they walked home one day.

"I wish you'd stop saying that," she said, rolling her eyes. "I get it, but beneath all of these muscles and supersuit, I'm the same person."

"It must be cool on some level, though, everyone knowing you now?"

"Not entirely. In fact, the more everyone knows me, the more alone I feel. Even worse, my dating life is DOA. I mightn't be a pegwarmer anymore, but now I feel like I'm sold out and being posed on people's shelves at home, as weird as it sounds. I'm becoming as much a toy as what my uncle sells in his shop. I don't know, but this isn't how I envisioned being a hero."

As they continued conversing, a woman strode towards them in the opposite direction. She wore round spectacles and a purple suit jacket with matching skirt. Her dirty blonde hair was tightly pulled back into a bun. She suddenly stopped then, causing the pair to also come to a halt.

"Are you Boom?" she asked in a judgmental tone.

"Well, who do you think I am?" Jessica quipped, pointing at her unmistakable body and attire.

"I have a bone to pick with you," she continued. "I'm sick of seeing your face across the city. Sick of seeing your gross muscular body and round breasts all of the time. Sick of that skin tight orange and black suit."

"I'm sorry to hear all that. I hope you at least like my cape?"

"No, I hate that, too. I mean, have you no shame? Nobody wants to see your curves. Honestly, you leave almost nothing to the imagination. Aren't you're supposed to be advertising toys to kids? I work in a library and I think it's an absolute disgrace what you're doing. And another thing...!"

"Haha, gotta go!" said Jessica, quickly whipping Darren up in her arms and jumping a whole building in a single bound and onto the next street, leaving the cranky woman behind shrieking: "But I'm not finished with you yet!"

Jessica just ignored her and landed them both safely on the other side, releasing Darren then from her cradle.

"That's the nasty side of fame," she explained. "If I'm not there to save someone, I'm apparently a selfish monster. If my face is everywhere, I'm apparently just looking for attention. If I have a hot, fit body, I'm apparently gross."

"She's just jealous," Darren replied. "Literally jealous. She's just a frustrated, bitter, aging fool taking it out on you because you're free. You're getting to do things she'd love to do."

But Jessica didn't respond.

"What's wrong?" asked Darren.

"Do you know where we are? Or what street we just happened to have landed in? It's the one I transformed on. And there's the very phone box. I haven't visited this spot since that night when I was walking home, too. I now usually fly overhead."

"Wow, wonder if it still works?"

"There's no reason why it shouldn't."

She turned to Darren then.

"I know this is a crazy thing to ask you out of the blue, but would you be actually willing to join me and become super, too? It's a lot to ask and you've seen the crap you'll have to deal with, but I feel like with a partner this job with be easier, both at the store and out here."

"Are you kidding?" Darren responded. "I'd love to also have a go at this hero nonsense and help you out. Two is better than one, right?"

"Well, all you have to do is step into the phonebox, lift the receiver up, and press the zero button. That's what I did anyway."

Darren wasted little time and followed her instructions. In truth, neither were sure if it would work a second time. Perhaps it was a one-in-a-million moment amidst the storm that had granted Jessica her powers that night, yet as soon as Darren pressed the key the booth hummed like before and prepared itself. The street was quiet and seemingly empty as he disappeared inside of the light; his body being charged up like Jessica by the mysterious machine.

When done, he, too, pulled himself out through the door. His grogginess was soon, however, replaced by a surging power that filled every part of him, and his body burst forth through his work uniform, revealing a supersuit identical to Jessica's. When done, he stood just as tall and broad as she, with both smiling back at one another. Jessica then offered him a hand.

"Come on, I'll show you the ropes, partner."

The two heroes then floated off into the sky, happy to continue this super adventure together.

However, despite all of their enhancements and abilities, they hadn't noticed that the street wasn't, in fact, empty at all. Someone had been spying on them from a distance. For unbeknownst to Jessica and Darren, the tired, frustrated, prudish librarian had furiously searched for them after they'd made their escape, and had found them in the next street over. She had still wanted to give this Boom character a piece of her mind. However, what she had just witnessed astonished her instead. She heard what Jessica had said, and saw Darren enter the box before transforming into a being like his friend. Was this the hero's secret? Had she just shared it with her friend?

The librarian slowly moved over to the box out of curiosity.

"What disgusting people," she said to herself. "Both going around like that, showing off their massive athletic bodies in those tight costumes. With all of that strength. Strong enough to lift cars. Maybe trains. Even buildings, perhaps."

She bit her bottom lip then.

"Someone should report them. I should report them," she said, opening the phonebox door and studying the interior. "People like that shouldn't be so out and about. There should show more propriety," she contuined, lifting the receiver off of its hook.

"That's what I'll do. I'll ring the police on them. I'll ring them from here. They'll do something about it surely."

But as she pointed to the 9 key, and readied to push 1 and 1 afterwards, she hesitated. She started to audibly breath louder now and instead lowered her finger over the zero key. She let it hover there for a moment, and waited.

"No, I shouldn't," she whispered to herself, before a nervous smile creeped up her face. "I mean, I shouldn't wait...any longer!"

She pressed down hard on the zero then, and the process began as before. The machine warmed up and a huge blast of light ignited the inside of the box, engulfing her small body. It was the strangest sensation, like she was drowning yet felt no fear or panic. She reached out and pressed her petite hands against the side of the box until the process was complete.

Confused, the frigid woman nearly fell over as she pulled herself back out of the contraption. She took a deep breath then and stared up at the sky. Her pupils now had a purple hue, and that wasn't the only thing that had changed about her. She moaned as her muscles began to expand through her unfashionable, old-fashioned attire. Her growing hair was too much for her bun and was soon liberated and fell down around her back and shoulders.

She held her arms out and watched in awe as her massive arms burst through the sleeves. Then her legs sundered her skirt and tights. She clenched her back and forced it through the remained of her clothes until all that was left was her new supersuit and cape which, unlike Jessica and Darren, we're purple in colour, inspired by her original garb.

Her transformation wasn't complete yet, however, and she grew taller still and even filled out the chest of her supersuit. There was a final inflation of her muscles before she stood alone, cutting an awesome, super-powered figure. She flexed her biceps and shook the muscles in her massive legs. She could hardly believe what she had become. Yet, at the same time, she could.

Despite her protestations before, this is what she secretly wanted. Darren was right. She took off her glasses then, the last reminder of her previous self, and crushed them in her hand as she gritted her teeth.

"The power," she said to herself, her voice quivering. "The raw power."

She walked over to a nearby parked car then and easily lifted it over her head woth one hand before flinging it across the street with little trouble. Despite her conservative nature, she started to pass her hands up and down her huge body and caressed her endless curves with quiet delight. She was mighty, now, too. Another zero turned into a hero.

But would she be a hero?

She smiled to herself then. "What was it I said to Boom as she rudely left woth permission? Oh yeah, that's right, I'm not finished with you yet!"

With that, the former libarian-turned-musclebound superwoman blasted off the ground and into sky in search of their prey and more.

To be continued...