Chapter One:

Zack was adjusting to life in loony bin nicely. Sure it hurt that his friends didn't come to visit him anymore but he couldn't blame them. They thought he was the murderous apprentice of a cannibalistic serial killer. The fact that the evidence said he couldn't have done it didn't seem to matter anymore since he had confessed, despite the fact that he had actually been with them at the time of the murder. Even though his friends were supposed to be amazing crime fighters. But that was okay. He didn't care what people thought about him as long as Gormogon's actual apprentice stayed away from his family as promised...Okay. Maybe he was a little bitter. He just couldn't believe they thought he was capable of killing someone.

But anyway. We're getting off topic.

No one had been to visit him for months so he was surprised when two male orderlies came into the recreational room he was sitting and said that he had a visitor. He got up and followed without a word, hoping that, despite months of radio silence, one of his friends had come to see him.

He was rather (though not surprisingly) disappointed when, instead of Hodgins' bearded face or Angela's sunny smile, he was greeted by the stern, emotionless face of a thin black man who stood upon his entrance.

"Dr. Addy," the man greeted with a slight nod. "Please. Have a seat." He motioned to the only other chair in the room. Zack moved to the chair and sat, distantly noting that the orderlies who had escorted him left the room. "I am Agent Broyles from the Fringe division of the F.B.I."

"What's the Fringe Division?" Zack asked before the agent was able to continue. He had worked rather closely with the F.B.I. before (he pushed the thoughts of the Jeffersonian out of his mind) and in that time he had never heard of the Fringe Division before. "And what does it have to do with me?"

"The Fringe Division is a section of the F.B.I. that explains unsolved crimes that have supernatural qualities. Things that are hard for a normal person to explain. Almost like what you did with Dr. Brennan at the Jeffersonian. As for you, well we were thinking about recruiting you." Zack raised a disbelieving eyebrow as the agent continued. "Your IQ would most certainly be an advantage for us as well as your experience with strange things; both before the Jeffersonian and during." He shot Zack a look when he said that.

Zack ignored it.

"You'd recruit me even after what happened with Gormogon?" he asked curiously. Were they able to figure out that he was innocent? And if so, why couldn't his friends?

"Come now Dr. Addy. You know just as well as the rest of us af the F.B.I. that you were innocent in that while matter. How your...friends missed that I'm not sure…" Agent Broyles trailed off.

Zack stayed quiet. Agent Broyles knew he wasn't Gormogon's apprentice. Did that mean his actual apprentice knew? Was his family in danger now? Would they get hurt because of him? He couldn't stand the thought of his parents, siblings, nieces or nephews getting hurt because of him...not again. His thoughts must have shown on his face because Agent Broyles was quick to reassure him.

"Don't worry about your family. We have agents guarding them 24/7 until we are able to capture Gormogon's apprentice. We'll know if they are in danger. So what do you say? Do you want to come with me? Come back to saving lives and solving mysteries?" The agent leaned forward with his hands clasped together in front of him on the table, continuously scanning Zack's face.

The former-squint looked at the agent and bit his lip. He wanted to go but it was almost like he was betraying Dr. Brennan if he did...On the other hand, Brennan and the others did leave him here and they hadn't visited in months. 'Well...' he decided, 'if they don't care, I guess it doesn't matter what I do. But...'

"What are the others like? And what am I expected to do? My hands might be an issue with what I'm able to do." Zack looked at his gloved hands as he said this. The gloves covered the horrible scarring on his hands from the explosion in the lab that exposed him as Gormogon's 'apprentice' and landed him here.

He started and looked up as he heard Agent Broyles begin talking again. "Your hands will not be a problem. Mostly you will be expected to help solve problems or there are people to help if you need it. As for your teammates, if you join, you will primarily be working with Walter Bishop, his son Peter, along with Agent Dunham. You will also be working closely with her assistant Astrid." Zack stayed quiet, hoping for more information.

"Peter's IQ is over 190 and he has experience from all over the world, including work in Iraq. Astrid is an assistant that is around to help in the lab and to help take care of Walter. Agent Olivia Dunham you will find, will not trust you immediately. You will need to prove yourself before she accepts as part of the team. Know now that she has a keen eye for finding the oddments and things that are out of the ordinary." He stopped there, and looked as Zack, clearly wanting his answer. And by now, Zack was seriously considering is but Agent Broyles had left someone out of his descriptions and before he joined, Zack wanted to know as much as he could.

Besides, he still had questions he wanted answered.

"You never said anything about Walter Bishop," Zack commented. The agent hesitated. "I want to know why."

"Walter is…" Broyles paused, seeming to think about what to say. "Walter is an interesting case. You'll find out more about him if you decide to come with me, but until then you don't need to know anything else about him." It was obvious he wasn't going to get any more information out if him until he said yes, and if he said no, oh well for him...It was tempting to say yes now but…

"What do I get if I do join?" Zack asked curiously. "I mean obviously I get out of here, but other than that. Do I get paid or a place to live?" he continued. And considering he had been locked inside an asylum for almost a year, is was a legitimate question.

"You will get the same benefits as Agent Dunham, and we will provide you with a place to stay until you get back on your feet. So what are you going to do?" Agent Broyles leaned back in his chair and raised an eyebrow at Zack.

He didn't move. He wanted to join but should he? It seemed like a good idea but would it end up going well? It could be dangerous...just like as his work as Dr. Brennan's assistant, now that he thought about it, so…

"Alright. I'll join," Zack said. For the first time since the meeting began, Agent Broyles smiled.

Zack smiled back.