**AUTHOR'S NOTE** Hello my dear fans! THE STORY IS BACK TO LIFE! MUAHAHAHAHAHA! *ahem* It's been quite a while, since I have actually found time to type this. In reality, I really don't have time. I am proud to say I have successfully graduated high school, no thanks to this story, and my focus is on this huge ball of stress and debt I like to call "College". That, and I've procrastinated a lot on writing during my free time. Procrastination wins again! Besides work, though, I have several other stories that I have been writing at the same time as this one, so my brain has been split into many schizophrenic parts. But, I digress. I want to say my deepest apologies to those people who have read this story and have lost any and all hope in me to complete it. This story is my baby, and now I feel like a terrible parent for abandoning it for so long. I have come up with a fine solution: inject myself with the adrenaline-like serum I like to call the "Not-procrastinating serum"! *sigh* I need to come up with a better name than that. Oh, and I almost forgot! A special thank you to all those people who have commented, favorited, and followed this story. You are truly awesome for being my minions-I MEAN- fans. Anyways, this is the longest author's note I've ever written. Better not make it much longer. Peace, but not literally! **END AUTHOR'S NOTE**

The rest of the week was actually tolerable. More than tolerable, he thought. Danyn shared almost all of his shifts, so he actually didn't feel entirely alien. She was still orienteering him around the store, showing him through normal days at FoodCo. If he was by himself, he would've said his job was menial at best; now he considered saying it was borderline on fun. One time, they both played a prank on Justin by filling his locker with stale Peeps from storage. He chuckled to himself. Danyn sure made going to FoodCo a whole lot easier. It was easier to forget that he was still on League Probation.

League Probation. Those two words buzzed around his head like a hive of bees. He forced himself not to think about it, even though he know he was going to approach that problem later on. He sighed and continued restocking the cereal isle.

Ten minutes into his task, Danyn approached him.

"Hey, Billy, I was wondering, are you busy?"

He picked up a cereal box and shook it in his hands. "If you call this being busy."

"Good, you're not then. You should join me for lunch."

"Lunch? This early?" He checked a nearby clock which read 11:25.

"Pssh. You call this early? Plus, do you realize how not-busy it is right now? Perfect time for a little food. I know this great little Indian place about three blocks from here."

He shrugged nonchalantly. "Sounds good to me."

"Their signature dish is the Flaming Tandoori. Very excellent." Danyn exclaimed as she picked up a piece of Naan bread.

"I think I'll take it, then." He took a moment to eye the restaurant. For a hole-in-the-wall place like this, it was one of the few he'd been to that didn't look like it carried some sort of disease. Bright colors of every kind were painted on every side. Weird scraps of bright cloth hung from the ceiling and from the one fan, which creaked when it swung side to side. The whole joint smelled like dirty socks, but it appeared as though everything was cleaned recently. Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted a girl with a neon yellow t-shirt about two tables away from him. It was one of the groupies; the Asian one. He paled slightly and brought his attention back to Danyn.

"As will I," she stopped to take a bite of bread. "You know, Billy, I think you're the only decent, normal human being I know. Everybody else I meet seems to be an inconsiderate jerk."

"Uh huh, that's nice. Could you excuse me for a sec?" He blurted, pushing himself up from the table. He saw the Asian girl get up from her seat and turn to him. Her eyes widened in happiness.

"Um, sure. Where you going?"

He darted away before he could make a response, and swiftly escorted the fangirl out of the restaurant. The girl's date eyed him as he grabbed her by the shoulders but didn't protest against them leaving. When outside, they turned to face each other.

The groupie squealed. "Oh my god, Doc! I didn't know you liked Indian food! You should have told me because I love Indian food too! I could've brought leftovers to the apartment—"

"Just stop right there," he cut in. "I can't have people recognizing me in broad daylight! You never saw me, and I am most certainly not Doctor Horrible! You got it?"

"Oh! Um, whatever you say, Doc—I mean—random person I've never met!" She winked at him and went inside. Watching her, he let out a breath of relief. That was close.

"What was that all about?" Danyn questioned as he approached their table.

"I went to the bathroom," he remarked.

"With a girl? Outside?" Danyn gave a unbelieving look.

"She was a friend, actually." He gestured sort of in her direction but managed not to get her attention. "We were…catching up. On life. Jobs. Stuff."

She squinted with suspicion. "I see."

He wriggled a bit in his seat to avoid having to look her in the eyes. A man approached their table and he was thankful for the waiter to end the awkward moment. The waiter placed his hands on the table and leaned in towards Danyn.

"Hey babe. What can I do for you?" The waiter smiled coyly.

She looked at him with disgust. "Oh my god. Johnny? What are you doing here?"

Johnny? That can't be Johnny Snow, can it? Billy glanced at the waiter's average features: shaggy hair, neck beard and slightly off-center nose. He had only seen the so-called superhero once, but he appeared to not have changed in the slightest.

"I work here, sweetcheeks."

"Don't call me that."

"But babe! I still love you! Don't you love me? I've really picked myself up out of that shithole, just like you thought I couldn't do."

"Johnny, please go. Right now."

"No, please, just hear me out!"

"Billy, let's go. Come on." Danyn made a move to leave the table, but Johnny blocked her exit.

Billy instinctively stood up, gaining a certain confidence he hadn't felt in long while. His annoyance at this poser grew as he approached the two. "We would like to leave," he stated to Johnny.

Johnny faced him directly. "Who do you think you are? Some kind of hero? You're—" He saw Johnny's eyes widen in a sudden moment of recognition, and Billy knew he had to act fast.

Johnny stepped closer to him with angry determination. "You're Doc—" Without really thinking, Billy fisted Johnny square in his crooked nose. He strode over to Danyn, whose mouth was agape. "I said we would like to leave, you disposable douche." Before Johnny could recover, he cooly led them both out of the restaurant with satisfaction.

"Billy, I can't believe you just did that!" Danyn exclaimed. I can't believe I just did that! "You don't seem like the punching type."

"I'm guessing he was an ex-boyfriend?"

"You know how earlier I said every person I come across is an inconsiderate jerk? It's pretty true."

"I can see that."

"Well, thank you anyways. He was due for an ass-kicking and I'm glad I didn't have to do it myself."

He chuckled slightly. "You're welcome." Danyn smiled in the mutual annoyance they shared for a brief moment.

He slid his hands into his pockets. "You want to just get some frozen yogurt instead?" He ventured.

She shrugged, mocking what he'd said earlier. "Sounds good to me."