Totally Spies Fan Fiction / Mega Man Fan Fiction ❯ The Stranger in a Chair ❯ Looks Can Be Deceiving ( Chapter 6 )

Chapter 6: Looks can be Deceiving

Disclaimer: I do not own Totally Spies, Megaman, or any characters affiliated with them. Nor do I own any characters or series referenced or alluded to regardless of how minor the reference. Please enjoy.

I apologize for the lack of updates. I have been focusing on college work for the past few months. But I have done outlines in my spare time so I will update more frequently now.

Chapter 6:

Edward was busy shopping in the Hot Topic store of the Beverly Hills Mall when he felt a sudden jolt to his brain. There's that twinge again. What could it mean? There's no menacing feel to it, there's just something about it that vexes me. Whatever is causing it is nearby, so if I keep an eye out, I may find out what's behind this. Edward wrapped up his shopping in the store and purchased a few new t-shirts. After he finished checking out, he rolled out of the store and began to head toward his next destination: food. “It's about that time of day I suppose,” Ed said to himself. “I think I'll get a salad today.” As he started to head toward the food court, he saw Clover, Sam and Alex wandering towards him. Ah, now I see. It was Clover's aura that set off that twinge earlier. I should probably not worry about it, but I still need to find a time to discuss that matter with her. “Hello there ladies,” Ed called out jovially. “What brings you here today?” The girls all jumped at the sound of his voice. “We're just looking around and killing some time,” Clover replied sheepishly. “How about you?”

“Oh, I'm just picking up a few things here and there,” Ed replied. “I'm actually about to head over to the salad bar in the food court. Would you all care to join me?”

Just as Sam and Alex were about to politely decline his offer, both of their stomachs growled quite loudly. Clover had decided to join him regardless of her state of hunger, but she was actually rather hungry. “That would be nice,” they said in unison, all of their faces a light shade of red. Ed chuckled lightly at their reactions. “Wonderful. Let's be on our way then.” As they began their trek to the food court, Ed started up some idle chat. “So what were you all looking for a bit ago,” he asked. The girls all seemed a little startled at his question. “How did you know we were looking for something,” Alex asked him. “You all had a sort of lost look that implied that you were searching for something, which I assume was a particular shop” Ed replied. “Yeah, we were looking for that new clothing store that opened last week, but we forgot where it was in this maze,” said Alex. Ed offered to help them find it after they had all had a bite to eat. The trio gladly accepted his assistance and headed toward to food court to satisfy their appetites.

After a couple more minutes, the group arrived at the food court. It was a very diverse area with almost any kind of food imaginable. It had Chinese food, Italian bistros, Thai food, Mexican food, and several other kinds of cuisine. The salad bar was a relatively small part of the court, but it had a magnificent variety of toppings and dressings to match almost anyone's taste. It had freshly cut crispy lettuce and cabbage followed by an army of toppings such as bacon bits, boiled eggs, chicken tenders, diced ham and turkey, goldfish crackers, six kinds of shredded cheese, and almost a dozen salad dressings. As the group started approaching the bar, Ed noticed that the girls were reaching for their wallets in their purses. “Don't worry ladies,” he said. “Lunch is on me.”

“Thanks Ed,” the girls replied in unison. “You know,” Clover said, “I think you're the first guy I've met who willingly suggests eating a salad for lunch.” “There's nothing wrong with a good salad once in a while,” Ed replied. After he paid for the salads, they all went and prepared their individual dishes. They all sat down at a nearby table and began to enjoy their healthy lunch. In a matter of minutes, each plate was completely emptied of any food it had contained. They all sat back and let out a collective sigh of satisfaction. Just as they were about to leave, there was a scream from a table across the court. “Help! That man just stole my purse!” Ed and the girls looked around and saw that a mugger was running towards them from the Thai food dining area. As he came closer, the girls prepared to disable him and return the purse to its owner. Ed, however, was one step ahead of them. Just as the mugger was beside Ed, he reached out with his bandaged right hand and latched onto the mugger's arm. The girls thought that Ed would be pulled out of his chair by the momentum of the crook. However, instead of being pulled away, Ed's grip held strong and the thief's feet slipped out from under him. As he started to fall back down, Ed heaved him back so he was in front of the wheelchair. As he hit the hard tile floor, the girls heard a ghastly crack as the mugger's arm snapped. The man was about to get back up but Ed simply looked at him and the man decided otherwise. The girls stood in shock at what they had just witnessed. A man they had thought was handicapped had managed to take down a man nearly twice his size in a matter of seconds. The mugger had dropped the purse while he was being pulled back from his escape, so Alex picked it up and returned it to the lady. The mall police had also been alerted to the situation and were approaching Ed and his captive. “Thanks for catching this guy for us,” the officer said. “We saw him skulking around some stores earlier and he looked a bit suspicious. We were about to ask him some questions before he pulled that stunt and you took him down. You really did a number on him.”

“He'll be just fine,” Ed replied. “Hopefully, he'll learn something from all this.” “Let's hope so,” replied the other officer. “He's too young to be living the way he is. Hopefully you knocked some sense into him.”

As the police took the injured criminal into custody the girls came up to Edward to question him about his actions. “What was that all about,” asked Sam. “You just flung that guy to the ground as if he didn't weigh anything. I didn't think you'd be strong enough to pull that off.”

“Well,” Ed replied, “after being in a wheelchair for a while, my arms have gotten a lot stronger. Since they've been used more lately, I guess my strength increased a little more than I thought.” “Yeah I guess,” added Alex.

Clover hadn't said anything to Ed because she was still shocked by his quick reactions and display of strength. But beyond that was the look he gave the mugger. Sam and Alex couldn't see Ed's face, but what Clover saw shook her to her very core. His eyes had changed from their gentle green to a deep, blood red shade that was nothing short of terrifying. How did he just fling that guy like a sack of potatoes? And what was with his eyes? I know some eyes can change color slightly, but that was two completely different shades. There's more that he's not telling us, but he must have a reason for keeping it a secret. I'll just go along with his story for now, but I'm going to ask him more about it later.

“Anyway,” Ed broke in, “let's see if we can find that store you girls were looking for earlier. I think it should be somewhere around the bookstore near the end of this floor.” Though he was acting friendly and sociable, Ed was cursing himself mentally. Why did I just do that? Things like that certainly don't help keep a low profile. I need to be more discrete. Well, I think Sam and Alex bought my story, but Clover still seems skeptical. I guess I'll just have to deal with that problem later. As the group headed out of the food court, a man at a nearby table was working at a small laptop computer. He had a Bluetooth headset on and was whispering so no one could hear the conversation taking place. “What do you have to report,” the voice chimed in his ears. “I think I have a lead,” the stranger replied. “I'm going to need some more evidence to be sure, but I may have our man.”

----------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------------------------------------------------------- ----------Well, I've finally got around to posting another chapter. I apologize for taking so long, but college work piled up and smacked me down every time I had a spare moment. I have outlines for the next ten or so chapters, so updates will be more frequent now. I guarantee at least one new chapter each month, minimum. Thanks for the reviews to those of you who have left them. I hope that the rest of you enjoy this story as well. Please review. Thank you.