Whoa. This is another chapter update in what? 3 days? That's wicked. I'll be writing New Beginnings and Walking Reflection whenever I get a chance, while Leak will be on hold. For the time being, I hope you enjoy the new chapter. I absolutely adore the incoming character.

READ ON!

Brainiac Five immediately noticed the differences between his home-world and Garwit.

First of all, everything was immensely disorganized. The orderly environment of Colu's structured silver and blue-green trees over the smooth ornate ground was exceedingly different from the jumbled foliage and uneven terrain of Garwit. He was becoming tired of the backpack snagging on every protruding twig, not to mention he had recently learned to watch the placement of his feet to prevent himself from walking into unseen ditches.

The longer he walked through the forest, the more he started paying attention to the little details around him. It was his first time on any planet other than Colu, and learning was only a fraction of what he was experiencing in the uncharted territory. There were strange ferns and bushes that he could identify, and others that were a complete mystery. Had he been near his lab, Brainiac Five would have spent days discovering and testing the plants. He caught glimpses of small animals in the treetops, and sometimes he even felt as though something was watching him.

Brainiac Five kept a cautious watch on his surroundings, just in case.

He continued to trek warily through the dense undergrowth until the sun lowered and the cold damp of night began to set in. Deciding it was best to find shelter due to the rolling thunder in the once-clear sky, Brainiac Five started to evaluate the best area to stake out the rain.

He quickly realized that the tick forest canopy that excluded sunlight would not exclude the rain but rather let in a substantial amount of heavy precipitation. He surveyed the area, but nothing grabbed his initial attention. Squinting to use his terrestrial-mapping eyesight, he could conclude that there were no caves close to his location.

Aggravated at his current situation, Brainiac Five chose a relatively large and sturdy rock with a small eroded cavity in its side. He felt the first few raindrops fall on his nose as the cracking sound of flashing lightning lighted the forest. Once he was in the small indentation, he huddled with his back as close to the rock as possible while folding his arms against his chest to keep out of the pounding rain.

And so Brainiac Five sat there, curled up in a tight posture while the rainstorm brought a continuous stream of dripping water over his head, getting him wet despite practically hiding under a rock. Occasionally the lightning would flash and crackle, lighting the dark eerie surroundings and leaving his retinas imprinted.

His internal system's clocks showed the time passing by, but he did not nod off. He couldn't; not when the glowing predatory eyes haunted the shadows even in the barrage of water. Brainiac Five sat vigil all night so as to not allow the eyes a chance to rip him to shreds. His shield's power core was partially recharged using solar energy, and the sun was rather isolated at the moment.

Hours crawled by, the pounding downpour decreased to a steady dripping as the storm passed along with the obscurity of night, leaving the morning sunlight room to filter through the small gaps. He spent a moment placing the sack back on himself before emerging from his crude shelter and shook his head a few times to loose most of the water clinging to his hair. Then he continued on, avoiding the myriad puddles collected on the ground.

Normally, Brainiac Five would take the time to refresh his systems by resting and take a while recharging his personal shield in some out-of-the-way sunlight, but he did not have the time. Then again, normally he would not need his personal shields. At least he did not when he was on Colu.

The day passed on slowly. There were a few stray streams and fallen branches that littered the ground along with the mud, but nothing he couldn't handle. Noon came and went; the sun streamed more intensely through the treetops. As interesting and the different planet was, he was finding himself bored with the never-ending trees and chaotic layout of Garwit's forest. He was still counting the different species of mushrooms when something bumped into the back of his leg.

Brainiac Five whipped around and instantly adjusted his right arm into a massive laser cannon to face the opponent. When he did not perceive anyone in front of him, his vision slowly lowered to the blinking red eyes by his feet.

There, sitting on the ground next to his foot with its long tufted tail waving back and forth, was a white monkey. Its ruffled and messy fur had a slight tinge of light blue while the shining red eyes remained fixed on Brainiac Five's leg. It would appear to be a normal classification of monkey if it was not for the strange color and the two fuzzy antennas sprouting between its ears.

Convinced it was not a threat; Brainiac Five returned his arm into its normal state.

Then the thing started poking his foot. Repeatedly.

He stared down at the monkey's odd and irritating behavior. Was there something wrong with it? The poking continued. Concluding that there was indeed something wrong with the strange monkey, Brainiac Five shook it away from his foot and turned around to walk away. He then felt a small tug, and looked behind him only to notice the monkey had grabbed his pants and was pulling the stretchy material. Brainiac Five gave another shake of his foot before the monkey let go and just stared intently at him.

Not giving the animal a second glance, he walked forwards again. Honestly, the last thing he needed was more unnecessary delays.

Brainiac Five continued his hike to the city. Every once in a while the strange white monkey could be seen following him out of the corner of his eye and occasionally it would get close enough to start poking him again. One time it fastened itself to his leg and he had to stop to vibrate it off. He was pondering the possibility of tranquilizing the bothersome monkey when it leaped out of a tree and latched onto his shoulder.

He froze and slowly turned his head to face the hitchhiker. Why wouldn't the irritating monkey leave him alone? The monkey seemed to respond to his thought when it titled its head and began to chatter rapidly to him. Ignoring the chatter, Brainiac Five reached over with his other arm and attempted to pull it off his shoulder when the monkey started howling. Loudly.

Brainiac Five immediately let go and the howling stopped. Looking around for any signs of anything attracted by the earsplitting noise, he was relieved to find that the disturbance had just scared off most of the small animals. He turned his thought back to the monkey on his shoulder.

He could try to take it off again, but it would almost certainly cause more attention than he needed. He could shock it off, but a slight overdose of electricity could kill it, along with the fact he did not have any energy to spare. That left him with the last and least pleasant option: let it stay where it was until it left on its own. He gave the white monkey an angry glare before continuing on his self-imposed path, muttering about how it was not going to be worth the effort.

The monkey simply sat there the rest of the day. Every once in a while it reverted back to its fast chattering, but most of the daylight was spent in silence. Brainiac Five tried to remove it again after an hour, but the howling that followed was too much to deal with. Eventually he became accustomed to ignoring its presence completely and was able to focus his attention in preparation of the impending night.

Soon the forest began to rapidly darken as the violent weather rolled in thunder once again. He evaluated the area for shelter, but this time there was not even a single rock to protect him from the oncoming gale. The white monkey was clutching his shoulder with surprising strength; its furry tail wrapped tightly around Brainiac Five's neck, obviously unnerved by the approaching storm. The fast chatter coming from the frightened animal was a buzzing in his ear that was becoming quite distracting. He slipped his backpack off and set it on the ground to relieve some of the tension from his shoulders.

"First an irremovable noisy monkey and now inadequate shelter," he muttered aloud for no particular reason.

Right as he finished the sentence, lightning struck the tree on his right, causing the deafening 'crack' that would have made the bravest of men jump. Brainiac Five jumped slightly, and not because of the unexpected noise. The monkey had actually jumped down his shirt at the blinding flash of light and at the loud sound it jumped out of the bottom.

After getting over the initial shock, Brainiac Five turned to see that it was nowhere to be seen or heard; the ghostly white presence was gone.

Feeling as if one of his problems was finally solved, he walked over to his backpack just as the problem leaped out of it, grasping the compressed package of food rations.

There they stood, staring at each other with the backpack in the middle, waiting for the next move. Brainiac Five held out his hand in a "give-it-back-or-I'll-blow-you-up" gesture when lightning cracked the sky again and the monkey frantically ran in the other direction, food rations still in hand. Brainiac Five immediately grabbed the backpack in front of him and started after his only guaranteed uncontaminated food as the rain began to drop from the sky. It did not take long for the light drizzle to become a heavy pelting of huge water particles.

Brainiac Five did not believe in anything unscientifically frivolous such as luck or magic, but chasing the sprocking monkey with the pounding rain in the middle of a forest made him conclude that lately the world was undeniably "out to get him".

After splashing in puddles and slipping in mud, he saw the monkey scrambled through a bush. Scraping his way through the shrub, Brainiac Five found himself staring at the smooth face of a small cliff. Although it was pitch dark and the sky was dumping rain, he could see the small white outline with his night-vision eyes crouching next to a tiny rock by the side of the smooth stone wall.

He was aiming at the figure when it made a slight movement.

Then a section of the rough rock suddenly moved over like a pane in a sliding glass door. The dark sliver in the rock widened until it was large enough for a typical human child to go through; then it abruptly stopped with a surprising metallic clang loud enough to be heard over the pounding rain.

Brainiac Five hesitated at the mysterious new opening. While he was contemplating the hazardous possibilities that could be awaiting inside of the cave, the monkey streaked into the hole, dropping the food package at the entrance.

The action gave him assurance. If an ignorant monkey had no issues with it, then he should not either. He was also tired of standing outside in a thunderstorm when a musky but dry shelter beckoned. Bracing himself in case of an ambush, the small Coluan picked up the food package, deposited it into his bag, and stepped out of the rain.

The damp smell of mold was the first to reach his nose as his eyes adjusted to the inky dark. The monkey was ambling around, its small feet and hands pattering the ground and echoing off the cave walls. Once it noticed the small figure standing by the lightning-illuminated doorway, the monkey paused its pacing. It suddenly ran over to where he stood, skidding to a stop on the smooth floor next to him. The monkey, who now had a devious grin spread across his face, scampered straight up his leg and torso so he could reclaim his favorite spot.

Brainiac Five kept his placid demeanor. But his mind was racing.

How did the monkey know this was here, let alone know how to get in? Why couldn't he find the cave when he was looking for shelter? Did someone crate this shelter or was it just a somewhat tampered cave? Was there anything living inside? The train of thought continued until the animal on his shoulder reached behind Brainiac Five and pulled a worn plastic switch.

The metal groan returned as the entrance to the cave started to shrink. He grabbed the switch and pulled it back up, and the movement paused before moving in the opposite direction. So the switch controlled the door.

Practical.

He pulled the switch back down and watched the outdoor view contract until the flashing of lightning could no longer be seen and the door hissed closed with a metal clang.

The quiet rhythm of muffled rain accompanied the beat of a steady dripping that echoed sharply in the cave. He was about to switch on his night vision when a slight whirling sound grew and the previously unnoticed hanging lights above the pair flickered to life and emitted a pale blue glow. At some point air vents seemed to be integrated into the cave ceiling along with the bland lights.

There was not much in the wide open area of the shelter. A few empty crates, a few long poles of metal, the remains of what looked like a low-tech bike, and a small pile of random objects. Looking closer he could see a bent metal spoon, a stack of cards, a faded photograph, and some rolled parchment stamped with what seemed to be three vertical lines with a diagonal line going through all three. Maybe he should have taken a closer look, but he was more interested in the mediocre mass of dry wood that was stacked in the other corner of the room.

After spending the time to build a crackling fire, Brainiac Five sat cross-legged on the ground with the fire in front of him and his backpack beside him. The monkey had taken a moment to run around and examine the foreign stuff in the corner by picking them up one by one and staring at them for short intervals of time. Eventual it became bored with the inanimate objects and decided its time was better spent on Brainiac Five's shoulder ruffling through his hair.

For once, he really didn't care about the playful and patience-trying activities. He was somewhat famished from three days without food and non-stop commotion. Reaching into the bag and pulling out a food ratio of some fruit and tough wheat, Brainiac Five took a small morsel and was halfway done with his bread when there was a small whimper.

He turned his head slowly to the side so he could face that horrible monkey. It was perched in its self-proclaimed spot with one arm slightly outstretched to the food with the most pitiful tear-brewing expression.

Ignoring the requesting animal, he continued with his meal. He was on his second roll of bread when the whimpering began again so he turned to the thing.

He didn't care.

He really didn't.

But for whatever illogical reason, he handed the white monkey a mango from his knapsack and watched as it tried to fit the entire fruit in its mouth at once. The foolish antics brought a small twinge to the corners of Brainiac Five's mouth, but he suppressed the urge to smile and returned to consuming his provisions.

So they sat in silence, munching on the rations until the demanding monster in the boy's stomach had settled. The food was put away for a later time and Brainiac Five was relieved that the monkey had left his shoulder to play with the electromagnetic compass it found in his bag.

Calm and in need of a good rest, he sat warm by the fire and leaned his back against the cave wall. The smoke blew in the opposite direction towards the air vents and his head felt less… crammed. Feeling a sense of security and liberty for the first time since he had been abandoned, he was about to let sleep claim him when a warm existence plopped into his lap and snuggled against him.

Brainiac Five's eyes flew open. The monkey had chosen its position without getting consent from the lap's owner. A scowl grew on his face and he picked up the thing and placed it off to the side.

"Go away."

The monkey sat there with an indecisive look on its small furry face before it jumped right back into his lap and grasped the fabric of Brainiac Five's pants, as if it would keep him in place.

Practically sighing in exasperation, he once again picked the money from his lap but this time he placed it on the other side of the cave using his long extendable arms.

"Stay over there."

Brainiac Five closed his eyes and felt the fuzzy warm presence return and curl up on his lap for the third time. It was ignoring everything he did and told it to do. Its ways of torture and annoyance appeared to have no end despite the monkey's limited capabilities.

But he didn't push it away.

Ho My God! That was a longish chapter right there. And YES. Now you know how Brainy met his very first… friend? Sure.

HA! I also had intended to have Brainy climb a tree for shelter from the rain the first night, kind of like a Jungle Book piggyback. Then I realized that sleeping in a tall tree during a thunderstorm may not be very bright, and we're talking about BRAINiac Five here. So he had to sleep under a rock. So creative.