The first time their eyes meet, separated by a thick layer of dirty glass, it couldn't be any clearer how different they are.

Glitch's eyes were like pools of melted chocolate. Warm. Soft. Brimming with a pure innocence the rest of the world forgot. It's as if his inner child never took the hint and grew up. There was a deep burning curiosity in those eyes, an insatiable need to see and feel and do and know. It was the sheer intensity of his gaze and the strange fire no one could quite name that made him seem insane. Even the stoic tin man locked up in the iron maiden was startled by the eyes of the headcase. Sometimes DG and Cain wondered if he would seem so childish and carefree if he had all of his "marbles" intact.

Knowing that wouldn't have made Cain any less cynical.

If Glitch's eyes were made of fire, then Cain's were made of ice. Cold. Hard. Filled with the harsh truth the rest of the world ignores. It's as if he's lived a thousand lives in the same forty-something body. His eyes seemed blank, like a mirror, but that's only because any emotion he might've shown is locked away within the cold tin box of his heart. It was this emotionless front that made DG and Glitch distrust and fear him. Somehow they knew that after fifteen years in a metal prison, a man would come out naturally corroded.

Knowing that didn't stop Glitch's curiosity.

He wanted to know everything about the man they released from that rusted iron box. Who he was, where he came from, why he was locked up, what he used to do - everything. The man with half a brain pestered DG constantly, whispering questions while the tin man tried to wash away fifteen years of pain and guilt. Over time, these questions were all answered. Some by DG, some by the tin man himself.

The first thing Glitch learned was his name: Wyatt Cain.

It was instantly familiar. The name rang a chorus of bells in Glitch's mind, itching and nagging and begging for him to remember. But with half a brain, it was pointless. There was no chance of him remembering anything about someone that had the potential to be of great importance. He was a tin man after all. One of Central City's elite. That had to mean he was important...right?

The first thing Cain saw when the hologram stopped playing was a curious face and a tattered old uniform.

It was instantly familiar. Even beneath the grime and the tears, he recognized Glitch's coat. It was just like the ones that the Queen's underlings wore. Her security detail, her servants, even her head advisor wore a coat like that once upon a time. But that couldn't be possible. Half the man's brain was removed. He had to be a convict to get a punishment like that. If he was of any importance at all, he would be dead by now. Azkedelia wouldn't risk leaving someone alive that had influence over the Queen. Even she couldn't be that sadistic...

The one thing they both realized, that first night with DG when they finally stopped to rest, was that they had at least one thing in common. Even in the faint glow of the firelight, they could tell. Brown met blue over the dancing flames and they instinctively knew. There was a sorrow they both bore - an ache completely different than DG's - that stemmed from something direly important being ripped away. Oh, sure, DG missed her parents. But she hadn't had a portion of her brain surgically removed. She hadn't watched her spouse and child being attacked on film for fifteen helpless years.

It was in that brief moment of eye contact that Glitch and Cain felt the first stirrings of respect. They sympathized - something neither thought possible. Despite their differences, the one thing that made them alike was enough to keep the demons at bay. Even though it felt like they had absolutely nothing left to lose--

--at least they weren't alone.

Word Count: 712
All characters are from Tin Man (c) RHI Entertainment & the Sci Fi Channel and was produced by Nick Willing.