Practically melting into the booth's comfy seats, the chameleon let out a loud, gleeful exhale. This was far better than laying down on musty crates. Better for his clothes too. Once Zed registered that the chameleon was comfortable, he stepped away from the booth and motioned towards the counter.

Just sit here, alright" Zed explained, "They pre-make a lot of meals at this hour. I'll grab something to tide you over."

Zed turned to the counter and left his companion where he was. Seeing his reflection off the diner's window, the chameleon grabbed some napkins and dabbed at the red spots standing out from his white head. The area around one of his eyes was starting to darken, whether it was from a lack of sleep or an actual black eye, he wasn't sure. Sighing, he dropped the balled-up napkins in his pocket and laid his head back on the booth. A waitress walked past, her face full of concern at his injuries. The chameleon smiled and nodded to her, as she awkwardly shuffled to another table. His smile left as soon as she did.

Zed returned to the booth with a tray of food, navigating around the waitress and apologizing for no obvious reason on the way there. In front of the chameleon, Zed carefully placed the tray. "For you," he said, pointing to each thing on the tray "a half-hour old Cricket Burger with cheese, a glass of orange juice, and a hot cup of coffee." On the other side of the booth, he placed a smaller tray, holding only a muffin and a glass of milk. "I'm not all that hungry, so I'm just having some nibbles."

The chameleon wasn't even listening. He stared at the food before him, his mouth and eyes watering like a loose faucet. Snapping out of his trance, he reached into his pants pocket and withdrew a wallet. Zed quickly shot up a hand. "No, no. This is on me."

The chameleon paused and looked at Zed, before coyly smiling. "I'm in your debt. Let me pay you back."

Zed shook his head in response. "I didn't help you because I wanted something in return. It was the right thing to do, after all."

The chameleon nodded as he put his wallet away. "I'm sure you have a lot of questions. I owe you at least some form of explanation, right?"

"Eat first" Zed answered, pointing to the food before the chameleon. "Then I'll ask you questions."

The chameleon wrapped both hands around the impressively sized burger, slowly raising it to eye level and taking it all in. Like a long lost lover, he stared longingly into the cheese and lettuce of the warm meal, before taking a big, wet bite. The familiar crunch and flavor of cricket meat made his eyes suddenly burst into tears, and only encouraged the chameleon to polish off the entire burger in under a minute. Zed ate his muffin peacefully as if he wasn't watching someone eat like a garbage disposal.

It took the chameleon a moment to collect his thoughts before he wiped his eyes and smiled at Zed. "That was the best meal I've had in weeks," he said, reaching across the table and grabbing Zed's hand. "You've saved my life again."

Zed washed down his muffin mouthful with his milk and shook the chameleon's hand. "Don't mention it, uh…"

"David." The chameleon said, drawing his hand back and lifting his coffee cup. "David Anthony Spivey. Call me Dave."

"Isaac," Zed responded in kind, clinking his glass of milk to Dave's cup of coffee. "Isaac Gregory Hawkins. Call me Zed."

"Zed?" Dave asked, raising a brow. "How did you get Zed from Isaac, if you don't mind me asking?"

"Well, I just chose it." Zed sheepishly answered, rubbing the back of his head. "That's all there is. Really."

Dave blinked and turned his head and shot Zed with an accusatory glance. "You chose your own nickname?"

"There's nothing wrong with choosing your own nickname," Zed argued, as Dave remained motionless. "Th-the kids at school didn't like Isaac, so I asked them to call me Zed." To this, Dave pursed out his lower lip and drank from his coffee cup, his eyes narrowing. "And after what I caught you doing, I don't think you should be looking at anyone like that."

Dave broke into a light, open-mouthed laugter. "I suppose you're right. I must have looked a little guilty back there, huh?"

Zed nervously laughed along. "Well you're free to explain yourself now."

"I suppose I am. I should start with this much, at least." Dave looked around and waved Zed to lean in closer to him. Zed obliged and listened intently to Dave's whispering words. "Have you ever heard of Cola Town from the Soda County?"

Zed's ears perked up at the mention of Dave's home, like a hundred news articles suddenly flashing open in his head. "Cola Town? Wasn't that place hit by a Jewel Storm last year?" Looking around, Dave gestured to Zed to lower his tone, and with a quiet apology, he did. "It became a ghost town a few days after a Jewel Storm hit it. Everyone was talking about it on the news. If you don't mind me asking, what happened?"

Dave sat back in the booth chair in a huff. "I do mind, actually," he said in his normal tone. "I just wanted to say that that's where I'm from." He looked down at the now empty plates before him and stared at the crumbs. "And that I have one of those jewels inside of me."

This comment answered one of Zed's questions. Keeping his voice low, Zed asked another question. "Were those guys attacking you because you have a jewel?"

Like a statue, Dave sat stock still and bore his pink eyes deep into Zed with a serious expression. "Yes." he quickly said. Both men sat in silence as Zed registered the answer.

"Those guys" Zed added, "They looked like the Scarlet Saviors recruiters that were in town today."

"They were" Dave unflinchingly said. Zed's ears lowered, and he sat back on the booth's chair. His breathing got heavy, and a moment later he was holding his head in his hands in disbelief. An uncomfortably long pause befell the two. "If it makes you feel any better, I only intended on incapacitating them so I could escape. They'll be fine. For the most part."

Dave waded in the awkward moment for a bit longer before deciding that it was probably best to leave. Stumbling out of the booth, he gave Zed a wave and a smile. "Thank you for the meal," he said, as he made for the door. Zed looked up and watched Dave leave the diner, take a few steps outside. He continued watching Dave as he fell over on his side like one of his legs suddenly disappeared. Weakly, Dave tried and use a newspaper box as a support to help stand again only to fall again moments afterward. Dropping some bills on the booth table as payment, Zed went out the door to follow him.

"Here," he said, putting one of Dave's arms over his shoulder and helping him walk, "I've got you now."

"No it's fine" Dave groaned while gripping at his side and struggling to find his breath. "I just need to get to a hotel or something. I'll be fine."

"The hotels are accommodating those whose houses were damaged in the Jewel Storm," Zed said. "Motels too, so I may as well take you to my couch." He looked Dave in the eyes and smiled a warm smile.

Dave weakly smiled back, but stopped and looked down at his shoes almost immediately. "No, I don't want to intrude. Besides, I have a car parked around here" he said, turning his head to look up and down the street.

Dave stopped walking when something caught his eye. "Zed, weren't those the bins you knocked over? Does your town have some overnight cleaning program?"

Stolen novel; please report.

Zed turned around and looked at the trash cans standing upright in front of the alley. Dave was correct, those were certainly the ones Zed had fallen into mere minutes ago. Which would mean that the alley Dave was attacked in was right in front of them. The two walked to the alley's mouth and looked in, hoping to see the agents laying where they were before the two slipped away. They were instead met with a barren, perfectly clean alley floor, cleaner than it had appeared in years. Zed and Dave worriedly looked at each other and walked away at a quick pace, both making sure to look over their shoulders in case they were being followed.

----------------------------------------

Zed guided his guest to the floral couch near the front door. Dave sighed as he just about melted into the couch, while Zed entered the kitchen and cracked his fridge open. "You need some water?" he asked, with his head in the fridge.

"No, I'm good, thanks." From the couch, Dave eyed the apartment up and down. The décor was pretty basic, with beige-colored walls decorated with educational honors, movie posters, and pictures. Oddly enough, Zed's walls only bore pictures of himself, either as a child or during a graduation ceremony. None of the pictures Dave could see showed signs of any parents.

Across from him was a bookshelf stuffed to the brim with colorful comic books. Single issue, double issues, compilations, all neatly organized in alphabetical order. On the floor below him was a short pile of comics, numbered in ascending order with the lowest number at the bottom of the pile. As Dave tried to adjust himself on the couch, he felt another comic between the cushions poking him, and he gently removed it. He smiled when he saw he hadn't bent it.

The book in Dave's hand was titled "Mighty Adam No. 22". The cover portrayed a muscular wolf, standing before a sea of small dinosaurs while throwing spears at an oncoming Tyrannosaurus Rex. Flipping to a random page, he scanned the contents and cracked a smile at the wondrous things he saw.

Zed emerged from the kitchen with a half-empty water bottle and a small first-aid kit. "Sorry for the mess. I've had to entertain myself while my internet was out."

Dave stared at one page in particular while Zed spoke. "I don't mind," he said, closing the comic and resting it over his chest. "Are you really alright with me being in your apartment? Don't you have a problem with me beating up those Scarlet Saviors?" He sat up, despite Zed's protest. "I'm sure you've heard what they do, why would you get involved with all that to begin with?"

Sipping from the bottle, Zed looked to Dave with one opened eye, not taking his eye off of him until the bottle was empty. "To be fair, I didn't realize they were with Scarlet Saviors until it was too late. I just thought you were a guy being mugged."

"Oh, I see" Dave teasingly said, waving the comic over his head. "Wanted to play superhero, did you?"

Zed's face reddened, and Dave smiled wide. He placed a hand over his forehead and lay back on the couch. "Oh I do declare, you are mah hero," he said, imitating a damsel of a spaghetti western neither of them would see but both would recognize.

These actions made Zed's face go even redder, and he covered his face with the first aid kit and looked away. He could hear Dave's chuckling, with a few grunts peppered in. Zed took a deep breath and turned back to his guest with a serious expression. "I was hit by a jewel too." Dave's laughing fit came to a stop, and soon, he too bore a more serious expression. "Ever since I was a kid, I loved superhero comic books. My dad and I would read comic books together all the time." Zed approached the couch and sat opposite of Dave, picking up a comic off the floor and staring at the cover. "When it hit me, it felt like a dream come true. I would have the power to become a real superhero myself." Zed looked to Dave sitting next to him, holding his knees to his chest as he listened closely.

Opening his first aid kit, Zed fished out the disinfectant wipes and dabbed it on Dave's facial cuts. "When I saw what was happening in the alley, something inside of me pushed me forward. I didn't know you, I didn't even know why you were being attacked. All I knew was someone was in danger." He stopped dabbing and looked into Dave's eyes. "Someone was in danger, and I had to help them."

Zed left the first aid kit at Dave's feet, and stood up from the couch. Like a basketball player at the final buzzer, he tossed the used wipe all the way into the trash bin on the other side of the room, sinking it. He did a small fist pump, and Dave provided a polite golf clap. "If that was your desire, I can only assume you wanted to work for Scarlet Saviors, right? Do you think it's wise to be helping someone who might be their enemy?"

Looking back at Dave, Zed smiled and pointed to him over his shoulder. "Just because you're an enemy doesn't mean you should starve to death, or sleep out in the cold. Besides, you don't seem like a bad guy."

"Is that right?" Dave crossed his arm and feet. "What would classify me as a bad guy, then?"

"Well, attacking me when we first met. You didn't, so you must be a decent guy, at the least."

"I was also tired and hungry" Dave explained. "A real bad guy would wait until they were fed and well-rested before attacking."

"You'll be well-rested tomorrow. Are you going to attack me then?"

"Hmmm." Dave scratched at his chin and contorted his face in thought. "Maybe I will."

"See!" Zed exclaimed, turning around and pointing a finger at Dave. "A true bad guy would've lied and said 'definitely not'. That proves you aren't a bad guy."

"Whoa, you're right," Dave said as if Zed were a teacher explaining why the planets rotate. "But I've got to ask. You've seen their protocol firsthand." Dave opened his jacket and pointed to the red spots on his white shirt. "Do you think you're right for that kind of group?"

Straightening up and losing his smile, Zed looked away and bit at his lower lip. "A part of me has been asking myself that all night. I don't know of any other operations like it, so it might be the only choice I have if I want to achieve my dreams." He shrugged. "I can only hope those guys were bad apples."

Zed reached into his pocket, withdrawing the pamphlet given to him earlier and showing to Dave. Taking the pamphlet, Dave thoroughly read the pages while Zed entered his bedroom and changed back into his pajamas.

"I had that in my pocket earlier" Zed called from his room, "If anything can be given the blame for giving me the final push to help you, it was this pamphlet."

Reading the pages of the brochure, Dave stomach turned in disgust. Each page increased his desire to tear the thing to shreds. On one of the back pages, there stood a picture of Rob Scarlatto himself, in a sharp suit, smiling like he had done nothing wrong in his entire life. Like he meant every word written in this ridiculous pamphlet. Dave folded the pamphlet shut and laid it on the pile of comic books before laying down on the couch in a huff and shutting his eyes.

Zed peeked in from his bedroom and noticed Dave. "Must've fallen asleep" he thought, shutting off the lights and heading into bed.

----------------------------------------

Dave awoke no more than an hour later. The apartment was now dark, and the only available light came from the moon and street lights outside. Sitting up, he looked around at the apartment, his eyes adjusting to the dark with every moment. He got up from the couch and wandered over to a corkboard next to the fridge he had overlooked earlier. On it was many crude, childlike drawings of a green character with large ears dressed in a variety of colorful spandex suits. Some with capes, some had helmets, a single one was dressed in very small shorts like a pro wrestler.

Dave sighed and left the apartment. As he walked down the stairs and soon out the front gate, he looked back at the window to Zed's place. If what he had said was true, if he really did so much for a stranger for no other reason than wanting to, then he was the last kind of person Dave wanted to get involved with him. The world needed men like him to live long and healthy lives, something that he likely wouldn't get from hanging around Dave.

Reaching into his jacket pocket, he withdrew a set of keys on a fob. While he walked away from the apartment complex's front gates, he pressed on the fob's alarm button, hoping to hear his car's horn blaring at him and giving away its location. Silence met him when he pressed the button, and with an exasperated sigh, he limped down the street pressing the button again and listening for a honk.

"Don't bother!" a voice called from behind. A chill shot down Dave's spine, and he froze in place. "You won't even get the chance to find your car. You won't escape us this time."

Slowly, Dave turned to face whoever was speaking to him. Standing across the street was a hooded figure about Dave's height. Their voice was loud and Dave could hear them as though they were right next to him. He gulped as he turned to face them.

"I had to leave my post thanks to you" the cloaked one said, flashing a sinister grin. "Countless hours of planning down the drain. But it's fine. I have you here to take out my frustrations."

Dave considered running away, but in the state his legs and breathing were in, he'd only tire himself out. Instead, he fiercely shot out both hands, arms crossed in front of him. A puff of white smoke surrounded both hands, and out of each palm came a foot long wire connected to a metal sphere roughly the size of a tennis ball. Twirling both metal balls, Dave approached the cloaked person with tentative steps.

"Ah, the legendary Wrecking Balls that have Scarlatto in a tizzy," they said, "Nice to see them in person." As they spoke, a pair of translucent green hands suddenly appeared above their head and menacingly wiggled as they floated. "Shame that you won't get close enough to use them on me." Both hands flew at a surprising speed towards Dave, who visualized the hand's flight path, and waited for the perfect moment to strike with his Wrecking Balls. They weren't the most convenient weapons, but a well-aimed attack would take down even the largest foes.

The moment came, and Dave swung to catch them in midair. But much to his surprise, the balls went right through the phantom hands without a sound. "These hands…" the cloaked figure said, as both hands approached Dave's head and shifted to an opaque green color. "Were chosen just for you."