“What was Creator Chaos still doing here?” The Jet exclaimed. “He was being useful,” Lisa continued tending her flowers while the Jet followed her around the shop. “I don’t know what he’s scheming, but that guy is bad news, sweetheart,” the Jet insisted. “Listen, I know he’s a villain, but unlike the “Hero,” he was doing something useful for the people who own businesses,” Lisa grimaced at him. “I had— other hero business to attend to,” the Jet stammered. “Right,” Lisa rolled her eyes, “are all heroes inconsiderate, or is it just you?” “That’s not fair,” the Jet pressed, “let me make it up to you! Let me take you to dinner!” Lisa sighed, “Fine.” “I’ll pick you up at 7!” The Jet rushed out. “My shop doesn’t close until… 6:30,” Lisa trailed off. She sighed. Lisa doesn’t go on too many dates. Mainly because some men are intimidated by a woman who owns a successful business that wants nothing, it’s also difficult because the most commonly given gift is flowers. Still, people assume that because she owns a flower shop, she wouldn’t like receiving them. “Well, he didn’t help with the shop, but I guess dinner wouldn’t be so bad,” she thought. Lisa managed to be ready by 7, and the Jet was right on time in a limo… followed by an entourage. The date hadn’t even started, and she was feeling uneasy. “Miss, what was it like to have the Jet help rebuild your shop,” a reporter broke through. “Well, he didn’t do any—“ Lisa began. “Anything special! It’s just all in a day’s work!” The Jet finished. “Such a man!” A woman in the crowd cheered. “You’re so lucky!” “Lucky, huh?” Lisa thought. The Jet steered her into the limo. “Why did you lie?” Lisa asked. “What are you talking about! Anyway, you look ravishing in that dress!” The Jet commented. Lisa wore a knee-length cocktail dress that was pastel pink. She had to borrow it from her grandma’s old wardrobe as she mostly owned sundresses and pants with t-shirts to work in the garden. This dress was the tamest thing she could find. She had her grandma’s curvaceous figure when her grandma was her age, but Lisa was not as comfortable in her skin as her grandma. “Thank you. You look— nice too,” she returned the compliment. He wore a suit that matched the loud colors of his super suit. “I see you appreciate a work of art,” he grinned. “I guess so….” They went to dinner at a high-end restaurant. All eyes were on them. Admiration for the Jet. Analyzing Lisa’s worth by comparison. He may be asked two questions about her the whole night and spent the rest of the time talking about himself. “Grandpa was a hero,” she thought, “but I don’t think he was this full of himself. Neither were his friends, for that matter.” They finished dinner, and the Jet said, “Let me take you to a spot I heard about that overlooks the city!” Lisa knew that spot. “I’m good. Can you take me home instead?” “Nonsense!” The Jet picked her up and flew off. Lisa did her best to keep her dress from flying up. They landed on the spot. Lisa clung to the Jet. “Okay! We’ve seen the city! Can we please go?” “Nonsense! We just got here!” He swept his arms across the city skyline. “Yes! It’s pretty! Can we—“ The Jet’s phone rang. “I understand. I’ll be right there!” He hung up, “Stay here. I’ll be right back.” He unhooked her arm and flew off. “Wait!” She called after him, but he was gone. Lisa shivered. It was cold out. If she had known she’d be forced out into the wilderness, she would have dressed for it. If she knew they’d come to this spot, she wouldn’t have gone on a date at all. “I can’t stay here,” she thought. She tried to find the path to get back down the mountain, but she fell a little way. Lisa kicked herself for wearing heels. She massaged her butt and the back of her head. When she tried to get up, she fell. “Damn it…” She thought, rubbing her ankle. Lisa took a look around, then squeezed her eyes shut. “Why did I have to fall in this spot?” She curled up, wrapping her arms around herself. This was where she lost both of her parents and almost died with them. Her parents were avid mountain bikers, and she learned to love it too. On that sad day, someone decided to hunt bears out of season. Her mother’s bike wheel snapped into a trap causing all three to topple over. Her parents landed into another trap, legs smashed into the jaws. They had their wits about them enough to catch Lisa before she landed into a pit filled with pikes. They managed to pull her up, but as they were giving directions on how to get help while trying to keep her calm, a bear cub ended up in a trap about 10 feet away. Her parents held her tight. “We love you, Lisa.” “Mommy and daddy are so proud of our brave girl.” “Can you be brave and run down to the ranger’s station?” Lisa didn’t want to go, but she always listened to her parents, so she ran. It wasn’t too long before she heard the angry roars of a bear, her parent's screams, and then silence. She made it to the ranger’s station. That was the last anyone let Lisa see if her parents. She was told it was too grizzly of a sight for a little girl to see. She didn’t have to see it. Her parent’s screams were enough. Her only solace was that they had each other in the end. Being in that spot made their screams as real to her as that day. “Dangerous little flower! I- I mean Lisa!” Chaos slid down the hill to investigate the sounds of sobbing, “Lisa! Are you okay?” Chaos looked her over, then wrapped her in his coat, “it’s cold as shit out today! Why are you here? What happened?” Lisa clung to Chaos. She was too hysterical to explain clearly. “Let’s get you out of here,” he picked her up. She wasn’t walking out of there on her own with the way her ankle looked. “Boss? Boss!” Two of his men came to check on him. “Lisa?!” one of the men exclaimed. “Lisa?! What is she doing out here?” “The better question is how do you all know her so well!” Chaos grumbled. “Boss, you need to get her out of here.” “Obviously,” Chaos rolled his eyes. “No, seriously, boss. You remember that freak bike accident years ago?” “The one where the only survivor was a little girl,” Chaos shrugged, “so?” His two henchmen looked at him deadpan, “Boss….” Chaos thought about it for a moment, “Oh… OH! I’m going to head to the car to warm it up. You guys finish disposing of those bodies… I mean, trash! We’re out here burning trash.” Chaos dashed off. “You know… I don’t think I’ve ever seen the boss flustered like that,” one guy looked on. “Or that nice. Lisa is pretty, though. Maybe the boss….” “The boss cares about us, but we will start losing appendages if we speculate on this,” the first guy warned. They both shrugged, going back to finish their job. Chaos turned on the car and the heated seats. He put Lisa in the back and went to the front seat to wait, but she tugged on his arm. “Can you stay here with me?” She hiccuped. Chaos sighed but couldn’t say no to her for some reason. He sat back in the seat on the far edge but awkwardly reached to hold her hand. “There, there,” he stammered. She laughed through sobs, “You’re pretty bad at this.” “Does everyone forget that I’m a villain now or something?” Chaos exclaimed, exasperated. “I mean, you’re still out here burning bodies,” she sniffled and nodded, “there, there.” She mimicked to try to help his bruised villain ego. “Are you making fun of me?” Chaos shouted. “I’m sorry. It’s just funny, you trying to be comforting, but it’s also sweet,” Lisa snuggled up to his arm, “thank you.” “Yeah, yeah,” he rolled his eyes. They sat in a silence that made Chaos feel awkward. Lisa seemed to be getting better, so he wouldn’t complain. It still bugged him how she was up here alone. Surely the hero would know better. “So… did Jet leave you out here?” “Yeah… how did you know?” Lisa was a little surprised. “I saw your little date interview on the news. Typical of him to talk over women and make up stuff to make himself look good,” Chaos muttered, “at least you tried to be honest. Though I don’t know why you agreed to go out with that guy anyway.” It infuriated him a little, but he wasn’t quite sure why. “It was the least he could do since he didn’t help at all. Though, I don’t like that much attention.” “Why not? You're a better person than that jackwagon. I mean, nothing good comes from doing good, but he could at least listen to you,” Chaos said, “I could take a woman on a better date than that….” “Chaos— are— are you jealous?” Lisa blinked. “Me! Jealous of him? Please,” Chaos rolled his eyes. Lisa poked his face, “the little pink on your cheek here says otherwise.” He grabbed her hand, “Okay! Okay! Let’s just say I’m jealous for one second. Let’s just pretend.” Lisa smirked at the fact he was still holding her hand, “Pretend… right.” He let her go, “YES! Pretend. It wouldn’t be out of the scope of possibility because I’m a villain and….” “A man with two eyes.” “Do you want me to complete this hypothetical line of thinking or not?” “Sorry! Sorry. Continue,” Lisa tried to stifle giggles. Chaos coughed, “Where was I… oh yeah. A man with two eyes. Even so, even if I were jealous, no woman in her right mind would be interested in me.” “I don’t see why not? I mean, you’re a pretty good-looking guy. Yeah, you’re a villain, but… sorry, continue.” “She thinks I’m good-looking,” Chaos thought, “No! No. God, it’s like she’s a Venus flytrap. I keep falling for whatever this little flower is trying to pull over me. Nothing good comes from doing good.” “Chaos?” “Right!” He cleared his throat, “and I in my right mind wouldn’t mix up a girl in my business! Because you know… I’m a—“ “Villain.” He glared at her, and she put her hands up. “Sorry! Sorry. Continue the lecture, Professor Chaos,” Lisa tried to hold back laughter. “I’m being serious here!” He shouted, “It’s like you have no concept of danger at all. I’m obviously a killer and probably one of the top criminals in this nation. A stain on society. Any sane person would be frightened of me.” He thought, “That’s it. She’s probably clinically insane.” Lisa sniffled, then sighed, “Well, if that’s how you feel, that’s fine. If one thing grandma taught me was that if someone believes strongly in something, not to change their mind!” “Wait…” Chaos glared, “so you aren’t going to do the whole save me from myself bit? Love will make me a better man and all that.” “Don’t get me wrong. I have been questioning my moral compass for a while,” Lisa said. “As you should,” Chaos nodded his head. “However, Victor is madly in love with Veronica, but he’s out here with you burning bodies. Not everyone deludes themselves into believing they can change someone.” “That’s rich from someone who sells flowers,” Chaos muttered. “What people do when they buy my flowers is their business, but grandma’s photo album proves all kinds of love exist. Even the kind where two people don’t try to change each other,” Lisa said, “though… maybe you should get out of the business of killing people.” “How are you even able to talk casually about the fact that we are out here burning bodies! Aren’t you scared we are going to kill you?” Chaos asked. “That thought crossed my mind,” she shrugged, “but if you were going to, you wouldn’t have saved me from dying of cold having a full-scale nervous breakdown.” “What if I changed my mind?” Chaos insisted. “Then Victor and Veronica would be very sad that their flower arranger for their wedding is dead,” Lisa shrugged. “Is that really the thing you should be worried about?” “Maybe. Maybe not. The fact of the matter is that you, Creator Chaos, are not going to kill me,” Lisa said that as if it were final. “Yeah, well, what if you decide to rat us out to the cops?” Lisa rolled her eyes, “Look. Charles explained that the two you offed today were selling drugs to children. You’re almost more of a vigilante than a villain.” “Watch it now,” Chaos warned, “And why is Charles telling you our business!” “It’s actually an interesting story,” Lisa nodded, “he was a little buzzed. Probably another fight with Kevin.” “Wait, who is Kevin?” Lisa figured it was best not to out Charles if Chaos didn't know Kevin, “That’s his roommate. Anyway, Charles had a fight with Kevin about the number of hours Charles was pulling. Kevin felt neglected.” “Why would his roommate feel neglected enough to argue, and why would that drive Charles to drink?” Chaos was lost. “Well... Their pet goldfish Clark passed away in a freak accident. They both loved that goldfish dearly,” Lisa was trying to save the situation. “For some reason, I feel like you're bull shitting me. You know what? It's not important. Why is Charles telling you about our business?” “So I could help him by making an ‘I'm sorry’ flower arrangement,” Lisa nodded, “he was beside himself! Also, I hope you give Charles plenty of encouragement. He is pretty devoted to his job and always has nice things to say about his boss, though I had no clue that was you.” “Charles did help me build Chaos Corps from the ground up. He is a hard worker,” Chaos stroked his chin, “why are you looking at me with that goofy grin?” “No reason.” “Boss, we finished,” Charles got into the driver's seat, followed by another lackey. “Good. Let's take Lisa home, and I'll give you the rest of the night off so you and your roommate can mourn the loss of your goldfish-- or whatever.” Charles nodded his head and smiled, “Thanks, boss.” Charles knew Lisa was a terrible liar. He couldn’t imagine what she told Chaos, but he still appreciated that whatever it was got him the rest of the night off to spend with Kevin. With that, they took Lisa home. Chaos helped her up the stairs to do what she needed to do to wind down and get her ankle wrapped. “You’re really good at this!” Lisa was surprised at how efficient Chaos was in taking care of her ankle. “Villains can’t exactly go to a hospital for treatment,” Chaos was trying not to think about how soft her skin was. “That’s true.” “Do you need anything else?” He stood up, finishing. “No, you’ve done plenty. Thank you, Chaos” she smiled. “Spencer…” he muttered. “What?” “Call me Spencer,” Chaos repeated. “Spencer… what a wonderful name,” Lisa nodded, “Thank you, Spencer.” “Yeah, yeah,” he waved as he trotted off. “What in the hell am I thinking telling her my real name? It is nice to hear her say it… No! I need to stop associating with this dangerous flower. She’s making me soft. I seriously need to go rob a bank or something.” “You know,” Lisa thought to herself, “maybe it is wrong to flirt with Spencer’s level of dangerous. Though, I have to wonder… Mr. Wilson likes him, and he was pretty close to grandpa.” She looked up at the photo of her grandpa holding her up like she could fly, too, when she was a little girl. “Grandpa, I do have to wonder what you would think being one of the most revered heroes this world has ever seen. Surely, this is wrong. Spencer is right. He is a notorious criminal who has a way of getting out of trouble with the law. They can never seem to formally convict him or anyone from Chaos Corp for that matter.” She rolled over, “Both you and grandma did teach me that not every situation is black and white, though. No one would know by looking at her, but grandma was pretty notorious herself. This is so confusing, but I can’t help but tease him. He’s pretty cute for a ‘hardened criminal.’”