Good comes out of the darkness. (Private, PG 13)

5:00 PM
6/16

Alex walked down the street, his torso covered in bandages hidden by his whit shirt. He had a band aid on his temple and a particularly large amount of bandages on his shoulder. He had gotten really banged up in that last attack. But it had been a total success, the mobsters party had been blown up and the house burned down. He was spending the day recovering but decided to go out and get some grocery's. He could not have Robin do everything, the little tike was hurt himself, even if he would not admit it.

Still, with ibuprofen his pain was not that bad. He was walking to the shop with sleep on his mind he felt something whet on his shoulder. Turning around to check to make sure no one had thrown a water balloon at him he saw that the knife wound from the other day was bleeding again, and he stepped aside from the side walk to change the bandage.

Asher was walking down the street also, sleep deprivation evident on his face. Walking the streets on lonely nights haven't been making his life any easier. Only this time, he started walking last night, and hasn't stopped since. Asher was so tired, he didn't even know what time it was. Rubbing his eyes with his left hand, he looked down at his right hand. "Jeez...." He yawned, realizing what time it was, "5 o'clock? That's.... so...." Asher couldn't even finish his sentence. His vision started to blur as he let out another yawn. Blanking out for a moment, he ran into another man standing by, knocking both of them over. Asher felt something wet and warm on his jacket and looked down to see blood. Not caring, he closed his eyes, on the verge of falling asleep right there in the middle of the sidewalk.

Alexander fell right back on the side walk. "GAH Damn it!" He said clutching a white bit of bandage over his wound. He tied the not tight with one hand and was about to chew the living hell out of the man who had bumped into him when he noticed that he was not a man, but a teenager. Someone who looked like they were about to keel over from exhaustion. He would sit up and try to sit him up as well. "Hey are you alright? Geeze mate you could use some coffee." It was lucky for him, Alexander thought. That he had bumped into the owner of a coffee shop. He removed a thermos he had carried with him in his cargo pants. It was small and made for one person.

"Here drink this, it's the best brew by the hide out. It will bring you around." He said taking off the lid and offering him the metal bottle.

Asher could hear the man speaking to him, but his eyes wouldn't open. It felt as though all the gravity went to his eyelids and body. Having a hard time getting up, Asher cracked one eye open and apologized to the man for any trouble he may have caused him.

"I'm sorry, sir." Asher said in a low, cool voice. Asher slowly sat up and groaned in pain. Rubbing the back of his head, he felt a bump. "Great...." Asher sighed under his breath. Finally coming to his senses, he looked at the man who he'd ran into, hoping he wouldn't be too angry at him. "Ughhh.... What?" Asher looked at the coffee the man had offered him. "Oh.... Thanks...." Asher took the coffee from the man, but didn't drink it right away. He sniffed it first, making sure that it wasn't poisoned or anything. Skepticism was a big problem of Asher's. "Are you alright?" Asher asked the man, removing his bloody jacket.

"Oh I've been stabbed and shot before, I'm fine." The coffee would smell really good, It was far from black with plenty of milk and sweetener added into it. Alex was still bleeding, but his wound was half healed already. Thanks to his power. "Don't mention it. How long have you been out here friend? Have you even had anything to drink?"

Asher was too tired at this point to care if his drink was indeed poisoned or not, so he just took a sip of it and listened to the man. After a long sip of the coffee, he swallowed and exhaled a breath of satisfaction, feeling just a bit better. "Shot and stabbed? You say that like it's nothing?...." Asher raised a brow at the stranger, perplexed at how he could talk about something like that so lightly. "Maybe we should go to the hospital?" Asher asked the man, getting up and offering him a hand.

"When you've been fighting as long as I have." Said Alex, accepting his hand and standing up. "It really isn't anything. My name is Alexander, nice to meet you. I won't mind dropping you off at the hospital but it really isn't that bad. I'm strong, I'll heal faster than you can imagine."

Asher looked at the Alexander once more, eyebrow raised once again. "Are you serious?" Asher asked the man, a bit surprised by his answer. "I'm fine...." Asher said, rubbing his hand along the back of his head. He winced a little, but it wasn't totally unbearable. "I'm more worried about your health." Asher said, gesturing towards Alexander's shoulder, "A shot or stabbing isn't something to take lightly." Asher said, looking him in the eyes with his usual aloof stare. "Oh, and the names Asher." He said, waiting to see what else Alexander would say.

Alexander would pull down his shirt along with a fistful of bandages. His upper body was peppered with small bruises, they looked kind of nasty. After giving him a good look he pulled his shirt back up. "Nice to meet you Asher, and really I am fine. What brings you to the city?" He was far more concerned about the boy who had been so tired he practically collapsed onto him simply walking in the street.

Asher sighed and decided to forget about trying to take Alexander to the hospital, seeing how stubborn he would be. "Well," Asher said, taking his jacket off, "Things. Things bring me here." He yawned, throwing his jacket over his shoulder. "What brings you here?" He asked Alexander, wanting to learn a bit about the stranger. "Oh, and if I may ask.... Where is that coffee from?" Asher also added.

"The coffee is my own, I run a coffee shop in the shopping district in town. I live here, I have a kid I look after, I've been trying to make this city a better place for a long ass time. It's filled with crazy people, evil people, and people who don't have voices. But this city is my home."

Asher admired this man's goal. He wondered if he was truly about what he was saying though. Asher looked the man in the eyes, his own growing darker, "You want to make this place a better place for everybody? Are you really about that? There's many people that venture out into this world setting up goals for themselves as big as yours. Most never accomplish what they say they'll do, whether that be because of procrastination or just not truly being someone to fulfill their word. Are you really sure you're doing what you want?" Asher asked the man, his voice staying monotone. "How old is your son?" Asher asked the man.

"My son is Eleven years old. Asher, let me tell you something I have learned in my long life. It can be a great thing to dream big kid. I have goals that go beyond this city, perhaps to the entire world. But right now, day to day. That is my goal... Do you have a place to sleep? You look like you've been moving forward for quite a long time friend."