CHAPTER 1: RUNNING INTO TROUBLE

The workday ended with Zachary finally losing his job at the coffee shop he worked at for the past two weeks. Getting that job was a pain and losing it because he got into a fight with one of the customers for accidentally spilling a cup of hot coffee on his shirt, was a bigger pain. He had tried to apologize but the customer was not having it. Instead, he got a slap from the young man which caused Zachary to lose his cool and react by giving the customer a strong jab. After that, it didn't take long for the manager of the coffee bistro to fire him for insubordination. He looked at his hands and frowned as he walked through the noisy streets of Washington DC. It wasn't like he punched the guy knowingly. It was an unconscious action. 

“What a way to start the week.” He muttered to himself.

As Zachary walked down the street, lost in thought of how he was going to get another job to pay off his debts, ever growing student loans and cover his rent for the month without having to ask his family for money, he got a little bit far from the pedestrian lane and a speedy car splashed mud on his shirt which made his day even worse. A groan left his mouth as he gripped and stared at his ruined shirt.

"Asshole!" Zachary shouted out. He sighed. He already had less than half a wardrobe and now he would need to buy another shirt. Another thing to add to his list of problems. This was not turning out to be his day. At least his jacket wasn’t ruined.

The sun had set, and a familiar darkness began to cover the sky and still Zachary had a long journey to cover since he had no money on him for the transport fare. As he turned the corner, he noticed a lady being mugged by two men armed with knives. The woman held on to her purse fervently while she shouted out.

"Help! Someone help me!"

Zachary looked around but it seemed like no one was around to lend her a hand. People were normally outside at this time when he was heading home so why was no one out there today?  Despite her pleas, he stayed where he was, not wanting the robber's attention to turn towards himself. He had already lost enough. He wasn’t going to lose more because of a random woman. 

The men pushed the woman to the ground as they finally got a hold of her purse, but it didn't end there as one of them opened the purse and grimaced at what was inside. He emptied the contents of the purse to the ground and scoured through it. 

"Pictures, pens, a phone but not one god damn dollar bill. Where's the money bitch?"

The woman trembled and hid her face with her hair. She was too shaken up by the attack to answer the question. A sharp sting moved across the lady's cheek at the same time a loud sound resounded in the evening air. She touched her cheek, fighting the urge to break down and cry. Zachary could even visibly see the red bruise starting to form where she was hit.

"I asked you a question, didn't I?"

"I don't have any money; you have to believe me. I'm just a cleaner. Please let me go. I promise I won't tell anyone what happened."

One of the robbers grabbed her by the hand and pinned her closer to the ground, making her skirt to ride up her body and expose her things. He gripped them and gave her a smug smirk. 

"Oh, I believe you. Maybe you'll pay us in some other way huh? A fine woman like you shouldn’t be alone at night."

The man licked his lips causing even Zachary to shiver in disgust. He didn't want to go out there because he didn't want to get hurt or maimed or worse, but he couldn't just stand there and watch while they harassed and possibly rape this innocent woman. 

Zachary took a deep breath and braced himself. He wasn’t sure what was going to happen when he intervened but at least he could get the woman to run while the robbers would be occupied with him. Curse his moral compass, he berated himself as he stepped out from the corner.

"Hey! Let her go!" Zachary shouted out to get the trio’s attention.

The robbers faced him and sneered. One of them brandished his knife while the other still pinned the woman down. 

"Who the hell are you? Run off before you regret what’s coming to you."

Zachary took another step forward puffing his chest out to look more menacing. He wasn't scary by any means due to his slim stature and curly brown mop of hair but surprisingly to even himself, he could throw a punch. 

"I said, leave her alone." He reiterated.

An unexpected snicker left the robber's mouth as they looked at one another to make sure they were witnessing the same thing.

"What's this now? A superhero, aren't you? Come on then. Let's see how well you do when you're up against a weapon." 

One of the robbers took a fighting stance causing his knife to glisten in the streetlights. Zachary glanced at the knife and gulped. He had never fought anyone with a weapon. This was a first, but he silently convinced himself that it was for a good cause.

Zachary stepped forward wanting to throw a punch at the robber, but the man was out of his range. The robber tried to slice his stomach with his weapon, but Zachary was able to dodge it at the last second. Just as Zachary thought that the fight wasn't as hard as he thought it would be, he felt a blinding pain at the back of his head. His hand went up to his head and when it came back down, he could see blood.

His vision danced as his feet gave way to the ground. He didn't realize it but the robber that held the woman down had left her to join his accomplice in beating him up. The man held a metal bat in his hands. Zachary never saw it coming. The laughter of the robbers filled his ears as they simultaneously kicked and punched him until he fell to the ground and his body was ready to give up. 

Screams from the woman echoed in the air as she cried for him to get back up. For him to be okay. Zachary couldn't take it anymore. The woman’s screeches, the laughter from the robbers, the throbbing pain in his head or even the blinding lights. His body was shutting down. Dark spots clouded his vision. He closed his eyes. It wasn't the way he wanted to die but if this was how he was going to go out; helping a person in need, then he had no problem with it. At least he wasn’t a waste of space like everyone believed him to be.

Just when he thought it was over, he heard a voice.

SYSTEM ACTIVATED 

What the… Where did that voice come from? 

DEFENSE MODE

YES OR NO

Two option boxes popped out of nowhere under the blue neon lights of defense mode in his pitch-black mind. What was that? Zachary had a million questions running through his mind that he could ask on the spot. How was he seeing this when his eyes were closed tight? Where did that electronic female voice come from? What was going on?

He could still feel the pain in his body from the barrage of hits. He could still hear the scared woman screaming but amidst all this, he had only one answer on his mind as to why this was happening. This was probably a feature from one of the games he had recently played. He loved it so much that he was now seeing it at the brink of death. It figured since he could never take anything seriously, not even in death. A small but pained chuckle left his mouth which earned him another kick from his abusers.

The yes or no boxes shined brighter, and the voice asked again just as the robbers left Zachary to die slowly on the ground from his wounds. 

DEFENSE MODE

YES OR NO

Zachary whispered what he wanted while he was still on the ground.

"Yes." 

As soon as he said the word, a blue warmth only he could see began to encompass his body and his blood pumped faster and stronger. His wounds and bruises didn't hurt as much, and he was now able to feel his body once more. Zachary opened his eyes and looked around, surprised that he could actually move now. The robbers had gone back to the woman and began to pull her clothes from her body, laughing as they did so. 

Zachary wasted no time in getting back on his feet. He didn't know what happened, but he felt rejuvenated. He didn't ask questions anymore as to how he was even able to stand at the moment, but he was thankful for it. All he was focused on was saving the woman. That was all that mattered for now. Zachary called out to the men sending them death glares. 

"Hey! Assholes! I said leave her alone."