Kevin had been lucky. After a day out searching for food, he'd missed the raiders by seconds. He came upon them at his cave, searching for him, but he was able to sneak away quietly.

He wasn't entirely sure why they were after him. He considered that it might have had something to do with the aliens he'd stolen food from and their threat of telling Jak-Jak, but right now running was his safest option. He headed into a part of the Null Void he'd never explored before, hoping he wasn't being followed.

Two nights later he reached a new cave. Just as he was about to enter, an old man came out. His back was arched, hunchbacked, and he walked with a crude cane he'd made out of what looked like a meteor. His hair was mainly white, with a few streaks of black still visible and clearly his old natural hair color. A scar ran across both of his eyes, giving him a ferocious look and causing Kevin to wonder if the man could still see. At any rate, Kevin figured he could take the old bat.

"Hey! Clear out. This is my place now." Kevin crossed his arms, waiting for the old badger to leave. The old man ignored him. "You hard of hearing, gramps? Turn your hearing aid up - I said this is my place now, so leave."

"I hear just as well as you do," The man snorted. "What I want to know is why you're bothering with an I.d. mask. I'm the only human in the Null Void, ain't like you need to blend in."

"Ain't a mask, pops. Now are you going to clear out," Kevin leaned over and touched the ground, absorbing it, "Or do we do this the hard way?"

"Not a mask, huh?" He ignored Kevin's threats, "I'm surprised. Not like a human to end up here. So what happened…"

"I was tossed in. Look, are you going to fight me or not?"

"Nah, kid, I think I like you, and I don't wanna hurt you too bad. Been a long time since I've seen a human round these parts…least, a half human who still looks human."

"Half human?" Kevin shook his head. "I'm a mutant. A freak."

"Who told you that nonsense?"

"My mom."

"Well, I'm sure she had her reasons, but she lied to you," the man said simply. "You're half alien. Pretty darn obvious, I should think. I'm Tex. You are?"

"Really confused…"

"Stupid name."

Kevin rolled his eyes. "I'm Kevin."

"You got a last name, Kevin?"

"You got a real name, Tex?" Kevin snarked back.

Tex chuckled. "My real name is Theodore Evan Xavier. Tex for short."

"Convenient…"

"Now, you gonna tell me your name and why Jak-Jak's after you?"

"How'd you know about that?"

"I still have my old scanner," Tex jerked his thumb towards his cave. "It's one of the few pieces of equipment I had that didn't get trashed on the visit here. Now…what interest could Jak-Jak have in you? Rumor has it he wants you dead. I didn't catch the rest of the rumors, though…"

"You know what they say about rumors…"

"Folks in the Null Void don't have time for idle gossip," Tex pointed out. "Now, you tell me what's going on and maybe I can help you. Or you can get out of my camp and leave me alone."

"Can't see how you could help me. It's stupid. The guy knew my dad. I never met my dad, but this guy wants me dead just for being his son…"

Tex considered the information. "Well, that's a stupid name."

"What is?"

"Kevin Levin…what were your parents thinking?"

Kevin had to keep himself from letting his jaw drop. "…How'd you guess my last name?"

"Because, your dad used to be my partner. We were in the Plumbers together. He saved my life almost as many times as I saved his. And I believe he threw Jak-Jak in here because he thought Jak-Jak had killed me when he sent me here…so I figured your dad would be who Jak-Jak wants dead most, and if someone beat him to the punch, he'd settle for you."

"Great story," Kevin said sarcastically, "Could you go explain to the moron that I have nothing to do with my dad, and that if he really wants to hunt someone down, it should be you? It is sort of your fault."

"You got a smart mouth, kid," Tex chuckled. "Lucky for you I like that. It's why I worked so well with your pops. But you got yourself a real problem here. Jak-Jak threw me in here because he thought it would tear me to pieces. He's not one for simple deaths, and he's never backed off a target. Not unless they bribed him like crazy, and even then that only bought 'em another month of life."

"Great. So I'm doomed. Think he'll give me a bit longer if I give him you?"

"Nah, he'll figure he could catch me on his own. He'd be wrong, though…but it still wouldn't help you. You're gonna have to go after him."

"He's got the whole Null Void working for him, how am I supposed to take him down?"

Tex chuckled. "He's almost got the whole Null Void working for him. But you've got me. Trust me, kid, it'll be a long shot, but it's a pretty good chance. We work together and we can take him down and get out of this place together. What do you say?"

"I say I don't do team ups."

"And I say you don't have much of a choice. Do you definitely want to die, or do you maybe want to die? Those are your options. Take one."

Kevin sighed, and extended his arm. "Fine. I guess we're partners, then."