The orphans lived in a small abandoned building, or at least that was what it appeared to be on the outside. A small entrance from the back of the building led to a cozy if not dirty shelter.
"Wow..." murmured Veggie boy, admiring the orphans' work. "How did you guys make this place?"
"Well," began Tommy, "we usually make a couple trips to the junkyard a week, trying to find new stuff to put in here."
"So that's where the refrigerator and the high definition television came from?"
"Yep. We're lucky that there's still working electricity in this place."
"How long have you guys been living here?" Veggie boy asked.
"About two weeks," replied Tommy. "That's longer than any other place we've stayed in. Except for the orphanage."
A question mark blanked across Veggie boy's face. Tommy continued.
"All ten of us used to live in an orphanage south of town. They treated us like dirt there. Hardly fed us. Sometimes even beat us when we disobeyed. Then I led the group out of there. And we've been on the run ever since."
Veggie boy nodded in admiration. "You're really a hero then."
Tommy shrugged. "You gotta do what you gotta do, y'know?"
The orphan leader turned to the cardboard beds. "We've got a spare bed for you right over there. You can be part of our group now...that is, if you don't have a home already."
Veggie boy looked at the floor sadly. "I had. I was part of a superhero group called the Ultrakids and-"
"A superhero group?"
"Yeah."
"So you're a superhero?"
"Well, kinda."
Tommy peeked into the room next door. "Hey guys! Come over here!" Immediately all the orphans came in and surrounded Veggie boy.
"Our friend here..." began Tommy. His voice trailed away. "I'm sorry, I never got your name," he said to Vege.
"Veggie boy," the carrot king replied.
"Our friend here Veggie boy is actually a superhero!" Tommy told the orphans. They all cheered. Veggie boy grinned and started cheering with them.
"What are your powers?" asked a boy about Veggie boy's own age.
Time to make a good impression, thought Veggie boy. "Well, I can throw onions pretty well."
...
An awkward silence filled the air.
"Cool..." said Tommy slowly. "Anything else?"
"Um...I can shoot carrots out of my carrot gun." Veggie boy held it up for all of them to see.
"Oo-kay..." Tommy said. "Guys, Veggie boy will be joining our group. So I want all of you to make him feel welcome, okay?"
A smile started to reform on the orphan's faces.
"Will Veggie boy help us fight the CBD?" asked Claire, her eyes sparkling.
"Claire, I don't think Veggie boy will be able to take down the entire CBD," said Tommy.
"Uh, what's CBD?" asked Vege.
All the orphans turned to him like he had asked if the sky was blue.
"Cold-Blooded Dragons," said a boy whose name Veggie boy did not know. "They're the gang you met yesterday. Conrad, he's the second-in-command next to Big Man."
"Jared, I don't think Veggie boy is up to fighting the CBD. He can probably help defend us with his carrot gun, but that's probably it," said Tommy.
Veggie boy suddenly felt offended. He was an crimefighter, not a chef! (well, he was a chef too, but primarily a crimefighter)
"Wait a second..." Veggie boy interruped Tommy. "Who seez I can't fight this CBD?"
Tommy looked at him, confused.
"Why, I've fought bigger bad guys than this little gang!" said Veggie boy, trying to sound as confident as possible. "I've fought Mr. Bad Teeth, the Porkmiester, even the Ice Cream Man!"
"You fought an ice cream man?" asked Jared.
"Well, an evil ice cream man. He sold drugged ice cream to one of my friends and kidnapped him. The Ultrakids and I had to rescue him."
"So you can fight off the CBD?" asked Tommy.
"Sure! Kinda. Well, I've never fought a bad guy by myself before. I've always had the help of the my friends in the Ultrakids."
"Well don't worry," Tommy said. "We'll help you now."
"You will?"
"If you really believe you can take down the CBD."
Veggie boy thought for a second. He had walked right up to the CBD and messed up their graffiti. He had even went face to face with their second in command.
The Ultrakids flashed across his mind. Maybe this was his new future. Maybe the Ultrakids was just a stepping stone in his stream of life.
He looked at Tommy.
"Let's do it."

To be continued...

Copyright © 2009 Joshua Jackson