"You shouldn't be walking by yourself at night A.J." Mrs. Malone said as Alexandra helped her close the restaurant for the night. "Let me give you a ride home."

Alexandra shook her head as she threw on the army jacket she got from the Salvation Army the week before. She was glad that she had finally gotten Mrs. Malone to call her A.J. instead of Alexandra Jade - Alexandra Jade Harper just sounded so pretentious.

"It is in the complete opposite direction of where you have to be and your daughter is waiting for you. It's only ten-thirty, I'll be fine." A.J. said as she put on her baseball cap backwards. She didn't mention that she also had brass knuckles in her back pocket and a switchblade in her boot. The streets of New York didn't scare her, but she had learned that it is better to be safe than sorry.

"Alright love, if you're sure?" Alex nodded her head. "Well, make sure to text me when you get to your place. Don't study too hard." Mrs. Malone said as they walked out into the misty evening. Alex waited as Mrs. Malone locked the front door and got to the door of her car before she started down the sidewalk.

"Have a nice night Mrs. Malone, give Sandy a hug for me." Alex called as she flipped up the collar of her jacket against the autumn wind.

"Will do, don't forget to let me know when you get home," Mrs. Malone said as she slipped into the car.

Alex waved to show that she heard, but didn't say anything back. The city that never sleeps was surprisingly quiet for a Friday night. Alex had grown up in a small Midwest town and had moved to the city to go to college. She missed her parents, but the excitement and freedom of the city was something she had craved for years.

Still, it would be nice not to walk home alone most nights to an empty apartment. Alex had had quite a few boyfriends since she moved two years ago, but most of them had been little more than semi-permanent sex partners. The switchblade in her boot was actually a gift from ex-boyfriend number four who had been worried about her safety. He had reminded her a bit of her brother Jake after a while, who had been so worried about her safety that he taught her to box when she was eleven. This connection was one of the many reasons they broke up, though his two other girlfriends also had something to do with it. Most of the other guys had ended up getting themselves into legal trouble. Not the type to take home to mom and dad.

Three blocks from the restaurant, a light autumn rain started to fall. Alex flipped up the collar of her jacket, but she quickly became cold and cranky. She hummed quietly to herself, wishing that she could listen to her iPod. The streets might not scare her, but Alex knew better than to take one of her senses away when walking alone at night.

Five blocked away from the restaurant, music spilled out of a bar as drunken men stumbled onto the dark sidewalk. This was a normal occurrence so Alex paid little attention, just kept walking. If you didn't pay attention to them, they usually left you alone.

"Well, if it isn't little Alexandra Jade?" An all too familiar voice asked behind her. The statement was followed by snickering.

"Why me?" Alex said under her breath. She put her head down and walked faster. Footfall distinguished itself from the bar music as she got further down the block. There were at least three men, maybe more. Alex reached into her back pocket and slid her brass knuckles onto her fingers.

"Come on A.J. Come and give me a kiss, for old time's sake." The voice called out again. It was the voice of ex number seven, Markus. They had broken up six months before because Markus liked getting drunk with his friends more than he enjoyed being a decent human being.

"She's smaller than your usual pick isn't she?" Another voice, one Alex didn't recognize, asked loud enough so she would hear. Alex clenched her jaw so that words didn't spill from her lips. She was outnumbered and they were drunk. If she just kept walking they would leave her alone. She would be too much work at that point.

"She's a tiger in bed though. You should give her a go," Markus laughed. That was too much for Alex.

"Well, I had to make up for your lack of knowledge of the female anatomy and small dick," she said, turning to look at her groupies. There was three, Markus in the middle with his two idiot henchman on either side. They were larger and taller than Alex, but she thought she could out run them if she needed to.

The two idiots on either side chuckled, but Markus's forehead furrowed.

"That's not what you were saying then, bitch." Markus wiped spit from his mouth. Alex knew that look, it was the look he had the night he punched a hole in his apartment wall. He wasn't just drunk, he was on something too. Perfect.

"Haven't you heard of faking it? I'm sure you have since all of the women you've slept with must have done it." Alex started to walk backward. Her combat boots sounded loud on the pavement. Good to use as weapons, but bad for running.

"You gonna let this little bitch talk to you like that?" One of the henchman said with a wicked drunk grin. Probably a sadist, which would explain why he was friends with Markus.

"No, I'm going to show her I know how to pleasure a girl. You boys want to help?" That was Alex's cue to leave. She turned and just started to run.

She got three blocks.

An arm wrapped around Alex's waist and dragged her into a side alley. Alex screamed as loud as possible, but there wasn't anyone on the streets. No one had their windows open due to the weather, and the scream just echoed.

Alex got her body turned around enough to hit someone in the jaw with her brass knuckles. Curses poured from the bloodied lips as they stumbled backward. It wasn't Markus. The forward momentum gave Alex the chance to get out of her capture's grasp. She stumbled face first into a brick wall.

"You think you're so damn smart." Markus's voice was right in her ear as he pressed himself against her back. She smelled cheap beer on his breath.

Alex brought her foot down on his and pushed off the wall. Markus grabbed onto her shoulder and they both went down onto the trash strewn pavement. As one of the other men came to help hold her, Alex's boot hit him right in the crotch. He went down heavily.

Then Markus was on top of her again, hands trying to pin her and spit flying from his mouth as he cursed her. Alex got her arm free and slammed her brass knuckles into Markus's face. She heard a satisfying crunch, but Markus was either so drunk, so high, or so angry that it hardly slowed him down. His backhanded her across her face, causing her nose to bleed and light explode behind her eyes. Alex moved to punch him again, but Markus grabbed her arm. As she fought Markus worked the brass knuckles off her fingers and threw them to the side.

"Get off me Markus!" Alex hoped that if she screamed loud enough that he would snap out of his drunken rage or someone would hear her. Markus was many things, but she never thought he was a rapist.

It didn't work. No one came.

"I said quiet." Markus brought his knee down into her stomach, knocking all the air out of her lungs. Alex wheezed while Markus started to paw at the buttons on her army coat.

Alex reached out in a blind panic with her free hand to find a weapon. She grabbed the only thing that her hands landed on, a metal trash can lid. She swung it around and hit Markus in his eyes. She felt the blood splatter on her face, it felt warm and heavy compared to the rain. He swore and she rolled out from underneath him, reaching for the knife in her boot, but her hands were shaking so badly she couldn't grab it.

Then Markus was on her again, ripping her trashcan weapon out of her hand. Alex scratched him hard across the right side of his face, going for his eyes again, but only got his cheek. Then she was completely pinned and Markus's blood was dripping onto her face and his alcohol breath was suffocating her.

"I'm going to teach you a lesson. You like learning don't you." Markus spat on her, bring his fist down on her face again. Alex's vision blacked out for a few seconds and panic was starting to cause her to hyperventilate.

Suddenly the weight was lifted off her. Alex looked up to see a tall male figure throw Markus as if he was a rag doll across the alley and into the wall. She scrambled to her feet and found her brass knuckles lying a few feet away. However, she didn't need them. The man had Markus by the throat with one arm and punching him repeatedly with the other. Blood was streaming out of Markus's mouth and nose and it looked like he had lost consciousness.

He's going to kill himwas the first thought that Alexandra could hook onto through the adrenaline and panic. Alex had no love for Markus, but she didn't want to see him beat to death. Mostly because she didn't want to explain it to the cops.

"That's enough. He's out cold." Alex's voice was breathless and not loud enough. Her savior didn't stop pounding into Markus. The amount of blood coming out of Markus's face was alarming, Alex couldn't even see his features.

"Stop it! You're going to kill him!" Alex tried to grab the man's arm, but instead of flesh her fingers met with cold metal. The man turned and looked at her, his eyes were expressionless. Alex had heard the description "dead eyes" before, but she had never seen anything that even remotely fit the description until now.

The metal arm she was holding onto slipped out of her grasp and flew backward, slamming into her rib cage and tossing her backward. Alex hit the asphalt, wrist first, and all the air left her lungs again. Lights danced in front of her eyes, but all she could think of was stopping that man from killing Markus. It would be horrible if the man who saved her went to jail for killing him.

Alex's legs were shaky underneath her as she got back up and stumbled toward the man.

"You have to stop, you have to…" The words were barely audible, but she grabbed onto the other arm and found flesh. The dead eyes found her again, but she was having difficulty concentrating due to the pain and lack of oxygen. When she finally focused on them, she watched as something changed, a switch was flipped, and he let Markus drop to the ground in a heap. Alex held her breath until she saw that Markus was still, somehow, breathing.

Alexandra let go of the man with a metal arm and leaned against the wall to get air back in her lungs. Everything that had just happened, what would have happened to her, started to catch up with her. Alex's legs gave out from under her. A sob escaped her throat, but she swallowed it down. It was not the time to cry in an alley. She felt the presence of the man next to her, but he didn't say or do anything to comfort her. She figured she should be happy he wasn't beating the shit out of her.

Slowly she got her breathing under control and stopped shaking enough to get to her feet. The other two men were motionless on the ground, but they didn't look dead. She didn't want to check. The man who saved her was standing completely still, looking at her as if she was a science experiment, blood dripping off his knuckles.

"Who are you?" Alex asked as she leaned against the wall to keep herself upright. She started to feel the pain in her ribs and wrist as well as the fact that her face had started to swell. The man with the metal arm said nothing. She couldn't take the silence, it was making her anxious after so much noise.

"Alright Tin Man, stay silent." Alex decided to use her anger and frustration to stop herself from crying. "I don't know what grudge you have with Markus, but I'd have been fine. I didn't need your help." Alex knew the words were a lie as soon as they were out of her mouth, but it made her feel better to say. She walked over and grabbed her baseball cap out of a puddle. She didn't put it back on. It was soaked through with Lord knows what. Instead, she found a wet hair tie on her wrist and yanked her long blonde hair into a ponytail.

The man still said nothing.

"I'm going to call an ambulance to pick these guys up. You should get out of here." Alex walked to the edge of the alleyway to see exactly where she was. She felt the man follow her, but he stayed completely silent, his eyes just watching her. Alex pretended to kneel down to tie her boot, which hurt so much more than it should have, and slipped her switchblade into her jacket sleeve.

"Do you want to get arrested? Is that why you helped me in the first place?" Alex pulled her phone out of her pocket, thankful that it was still in one piece. She tried to hit code on the unlock screen, but her fingers were shaking so badly and so bloody that it just smeared on the screen.

"I don't know him. I wanted to stop them from hurting you." The voice was low and rusty, but it could only belong to one person. Alex turned and looked at him.

The street light illuminated his face. A beard covered his lower jaw and his black hair was shoulder length. His hair and clothes were unwashed. Was he a homeless man on a heroin high giving him unnatural strength? But then again, she had never seen a homeless man with a metal arm. She hadn't seen anyone with a metal arm. War vet maybe?

"Funny, you don't look the good Samaritan type. So why stop and help me?" Alex wiped the screen of her phone on her pant leg and tried to unlock it again.

"I thought you were someone else." The man said, pushing rain slicked hair out of his blue eyes. They were alive now, but there was something about him that Alex couldn't put her finger on, and not just the whole Hulking out in the alley thing. It was almost as if she should recognize him. However, she was certain that she would remember knowing someone with a metal arm.

"Is this someone a friend or enemy?" Alex asked as the painful throb in her wrist reminded her that she had been attacked by this man as well. Her breathing was shallow because of the shot he gave her to her ribs, a few were at least bruised. Alex put a few steps of distance between the two of them.

"I don't know." The man said. Alex snorted at the answer, but when she saw the confusion on the man's face she stopped the comment on her lips. They stood there, staring at one another, neither exactly sure what to do.

"I'm going to call the cops now so you should make yourself disappear," which was what she planned to do.

"I'm going to make sure you get home safe. Women should not walk alone at night." The man's voice was warming up, becoming less rusty. When was the last time he had spoken to someone?

"I don't think so." Alex said dialing 9-1-1 in case she needed it, now that her savior might turn into a villain.

"It wasn't a request." The man said.

"My answer is still no." Alex was going to stand her ground, even if it killed her, which with this guy it probably would. The phone started to ring and the 9-1-1 dispatcher picked up.

"9-1-1 what's your emergency?"

"There are three unconscious men in an alley. They look as if they were in one hell of a fight. One isn't breathing too well."

"Alright can you give me your name and location?" The dispatcher asked. Alex explained where the alley was, but hung up without giving her name. She walked out of the alley and tried to ignore the pain in her entire body, as she limped down the sidewalk. She felt the presence of the man behind her.

"Do you not understand what 'no' means?" Alex asked, but she didn't have the energy to turn around and look at him.

"Either I walk with you, or I shadow you without you knowing, it's your decision." The man said in a completely monotone voice.

"Listen Tin Man, I appreciate your help. I do. But you just beat three men senseless and threw me on my ass. So, no offence, I'm not going to take you home like a stray cat." Alex turned and looked at him after they were off the street the alley was on. Alex could hear the sirens in the distance.

"Tin Man?"

"Your arm."

"It's not tin." The man stopped under a street light and pulled away the tattered shirt to show his arm. Alex's curiosity got the better of her as she took a step forward to get a better look, though she kept a good amount of distance between them. It was beat to hell, scrapped up with large dents in the metal along with a cut that let her see only darkness, yet Alex could tell that it was master craftsmanship. There was a red star, the paint chipped at this point, up on the shoulder.

"I stand corrected, that still doesn't mean I'm going to take you home." Alex said tempering her anger a bit. She was in too much pain at this point to be angry. The Tin Man pulled his shirt down and just gave her a look. It was a mixture of confusion and something else that she couldn't put her finger on.

Alex started walking away, but turned around after a few steps, he was still under the street light. She walked half the block and turned around again, he was still under the street light, framed by the falling rain. At the end of the block she turned around and the man was gone.

Alex finally got to her apartment building, which thankfully did not have a doorman. However, when she put her key in to the front door she stopped. She could feel him out there, watching her.

"I know you're out there. You said you would be, Tin Man. Come on out." Alex called into the darkness, feeling like an idiot as she did so. He said he was going to follow her and she led him right to her house. Then again, it wasn't like she had anywhere else to go. She didn't have any friends in the city.

Nothing moved, and there was only the normal sounds of the city at night. Alexandra waited. He appeared out of nowhere as quiet as death. One moment there was nothing and then there was a man beside her.

"I'm going to give you a change of clothes. You can't walk around like that, you're covered in blood. Wait here." Alex said as she opened the door to her building and went inside, making sure to pull the door closed behind her. He could probably break down the door easily, but it still made her feel better.

Alexandra took the stairs two at a time to her fifth floor apartment and let herself inside. Her legs were protesting and her lungs were on fire, but she pushed through it. She didn't like being in someones debt, and she would feel better if she gave him something for saving her from Markus. She found some of her ex's clothes, she wasn't sure which one, which were still in the apartment and ran back down the stairs.

She stopped at the door, dreading that he would still be there and yet a small part hoping that he would be.

"Well Alex, you have already almost been killed once. What's one more time," she said to herself as she pushed the door open. The alley was empty. Alexandra tried to pretend that her heart didn't sink to her boots as she took another step out into the alley and looked around. Nothing.

"Damn Tin Man," She mumbled to herself.

"You swear a lot." A voice said right next to her. She dropped the clothes, but a metal hand stretched out and caught them.

"You do not sneak up on someone who was just jumped!" Alex screamed, and then winced as pain shot from her ribs. "You don't sneak up on people period." The man said nothing as he looked at the clothes in his hand, which were slowly getting drenched by the rain.

"I don't know if they'll fit. You are rather…" Alex looked at his well-toned, very muscled, tall, imposing body, "large, but it's the best I could do."

The man handed the clothes back to her. Alex thought he was refusing them and was starting to get angry again, but instead he took off his old tattered shirt. He looked just as toned without the clothes as he did with them.

"Oh you're going to change right here, awesome." Alexandra said, looking away briefly, but then looking back because, well, it was impressive. Her eyes caught a pair of dog tags that hit his chest, they looked old and battered. This led her to stare at the scar tissue around the metal at his shoulder.

Then the shirt was on. It was tight across his chest, but it wasn't busting at the seams or anything. He threw the black hoodie on as well and looked somewhat more respectable. They both looked at the sweatpants that were still in Alex's hands.

"You probably shouldn't change into these out here." Alex said as she took them and hugged them to her chest. "Do you have a place to stay? Out of the rain? Where you can change into these?"

The man said nothing, just looked at her.

"Tin Man, do you have some place to sleep so you won't rust?" Alex enunciated every word. She knew she shouldn't try the temper of this man, but she couldn't help herself. It wasn't in her nature not to speak her mind. Actually, it wasn't in her nature not to speak.

"I'll be fine." He finally said.

"I don't doubt that, but that isn't what I asked." Alex raked her hands through her hair, which at this point was a soaking wet mess that had slid out of the hair tie.

"I'll find someplace to sleep." The man said. Alex could have sworn there was almost a hint of a smile on his face.

"There's an empty apartment on the fifth floor, the man moved out two days ago. If you have no place to sleep… I could give you some blankets since I don't think there's any furniture in there."

"I thought I wasn't a stray cat." The man said, this time there was the faintest hint of a smirk.

"Are you sassing me Tin Man? Fine, sleep behind a dumpster. Don't come meowing at my window or pawing at my door." Alex opened the door and walked inside, but she didn't pull it completely closed behind her. It wasn't until she was half way up the first set of stairs that she looked behind her. He was right behind her, as silent as a ghost.

By the third landing Alexandra was winded and she stopped. The man stopped beside her, his presence giving off the aura of a question.

"Someone threw me to the ground and bruised my ribs. Give me a minute I'll be fine." Alex explained as she tried to get her air back.

"Are you sure they are just bruised and not broken?" He asked.

Alex felt a bit more at ease now that he was talking in more than one syllable. She still thought that she was completely insane for letting him in the building, but she was putting it down to temporary insanity due to being attacked.

"I don't know, I've never had broken ribs before." Alex said, giving him a look as she started up the stairs again. She made it to the fifth floor and all she wanted to do was take a shower and climb into bed.

"This is the apartment, now-" the man lifted his arm, obviously going to punch in the door, "What hell are you doing?" Alex grabbed his arm before he demolished the door.

"You said that no one was in the apartment."

"I didn't say vandalize it. People will notice if the door is in pieces. Wait a minute." Alexandra opened the door to her own apartment and went to her kitchen drawer. She pulled out her lock picking tools, which she had learned how to use and stole from ex number three, Damon. She also went into her closet and pulled out a pillow and three blankets.

The door was still intact when she came back outside. Alex handed the man the bedding and crouched down and got to work on the lock. It took her less than five minutes to get the lock open on the door. It would have been quicker if her wrist wasn't twice its normal size. The door swung open to show a completely empty apartment, the street lights coming through the window.

"There you go. I doubt you'll be here in the morning, so I want to say thank you now. You can leave the blankets in here, I'll come grab them. Or," Alex couldn't believe what she was about to say, "I get up at six every morning to run, you can give them to me then if you're still around."

The man said nothing. Alex shook her head and walked out of the apartment.

It was, by far, the weirdest night she had ever had. She never wanted to relive it. After doing what she could for her injuries in terms of ice and pain pills, Alexandra took a fast shower and crawled into bed.

When her alarm went off at 5:30 the next morning she seriously considered smashing her phone against the wall. Instead, she pulled herself out of bed, battered and bruised. She had 14 missed calls and 37 missed texts from Mrs. Malone. Silently cursing herself, she sent Mrs. Malone a long text explaining that her phone had been malfunctioning last night before the older woman decided to send out the National Guard looking for her.

As she changed into her running clothes she saw that there was a large bruise spanning her chest, another on her abdomen. Still, Alex tied up her sneakers, grabbed her IPod, and keys. She opened the door and looked across the hall. The door was closed, no way of knowing if the man is in there or not.

The run was brutal and it was through sheer stubbornness that she did her normal route. When she got back the apartment she was starting to wonder if her ribs were actually broken. She dragged herself up the stairs, not even looking down the hallway until she got to her door.

There he stood, the man with the metal arm. He had a white bakery bag in one hand, blankets and pillow in the other.

"Well, good to know that you have some sort of manners." Alex said, trying desperately to stop from smiling at the sight of him. It wasn't hard since it hurt to smile. She still managed a small smirk. Alex realized at that moment that she was insane, but tried not to dwell on it.

Alex unlocked the door to her apartment before turning and looking at the man. He handed over the bag, but kept the blankets and pillow.

"Are you planning on staying for breakfast?" Alex asked, tilting her head to look at him. He looked far less threatening in the daylight and a lot more like a homeless man. Which made her wonder where he got the money for the baked goods? And when the last time he showered was. When had he brushed his teeth? She thought it better not to ask any of these questions.

"If you are going to stay, what should I call you? I'm guessing you have a name." Alex looked into the bag to find four different flavors of bagel. The man's eyes looked at Alex for a long moment, making her slightly uncomfortable.

"Or don't tell me, that's fine too." Alex said softly as she moved around him to get into her apartment. "I'll just continue calling you Tin Man."

"James." The man said, causing Alex to turn and look at him. "You can call me James."

"Fair enough," Alex got the door open and walked in. "Do you want milk with you bagel James? Or are you more of an orange juice person?"

"Orange juice." The man with the metal arm said as he walked in and closed the door behind him.