The Extraordinary Adventures of Ordinary Boy, Book 3: The Great Powers Outage Chapter One Tossed Salad I couldn't believe what I was seeing. A group of vegetables had just robbed the Mighty Mart! I know that sounds ridiculous, but it was true. Even now, an enormous stalk of celery was crossing the parking lot heading right for me. Okay, so maybe it wasn't really a giant piece of celery (not that such a thing was impossible in Superopolis), but it was a guy dressed like one. And he was trying to get away with a large bag of Maximizer Brand Booster Bars. But just as he tried to escape with his loot, a powerful blast of air knocked him to the ground, courtesy of the hero Windbag. As the startled vegetable struggled to get back on his feet, a large ear of corn pushing a shopping cart filled with Maximizer Brand Superdoodlers tripped and fell on top of him. "You're stepping on my leaves, Colonel Corncob," yelled the celery. "Watch where you're going!" I almost started clapping as my father, the mighty Thermo, strode up to the crumpled vegetables and lifted Colonel Corncob off the flustered stalk of celery. "The only place you'll be going, Celery Stalker, is prison!" "Tarnation!" hollered Colonel Corncob as he got a taste of my dad's power. "I'm feelin' hotter than a peck of pipin' peppers!" A second later, some of the Colonel's kernels exploded in my father's grasp. Amid the confusion, the Celery Stalker made his escape. He didn't get far before another hero grabbed him and hoisted him effortlessly into the air. "The Levitator!" I cheered, as my dad's teammate used his power to levitate the human-size celery stalk. Wrapping his hands around the villain's ankles, he began swinging him around in a circle. "Batter up!" He laughed as he spun the Celery Stalker faster and faster. "And here's the pitch!" someone added from across the parking lot. There, another member of my dad's team, the Big Bouncer, was rolling toward a horrified-looking onion. Actually, only his head looked like an onion--or more precisely, a shallot. Regardless, as the Big Bouncer smashed into him, he went flying toward the swinging stalk of celery. The Levitator smacked the onion-headed guy with the Celery Stalker, and he went flying across the parking lot, leaving a shower of Maximizer Brand Fudge Brawnies, raining down on the startled onlookers. With everyone's attention focused on the shower of snack cakes, an irritated-looking chickpea came running up to my father. "What da heck are youse guys doin'?!" he sputtered in frustration. "Da script says dat we's s'posed to be roughin' youse guys up at foist." "Oh, sorry, Garbanzo," my dad said, raising his hands defensively as he backed away from Colonel Corncob, who was now missing several kernels from his body. "Dat's da Great Garbanzo to youse," the cigar-chomping chickpea responded with disgust as he motioned forward another member of his "gang." "Now let da Broccoli Robber here rough youse up some." The Broccoli Robber was definitely a guy in a costume. His fists were sheathed in big, poofy gloves that looked like broccoli florets. He nervously approached my dad and began punching him feebly. My father almost looked sorry for the guy. "You could at least act like I'm hurting you," the Broccoli Robber whined between breaths. "Oh, sure," Dad replied. "Sorry about that." "I'm powerless . . . against . . . broccoli," he said in what was supposed to be a weakened voice. He then fell to the ground beneath the Broccoli Robber's blows. "Man, your dad is a lousy actor." I turned to my best friend, Stench, who was standing beside me. "Yeah, I know," I admitted. "Your dad is actually pretty good though." We both looked over to where Stench's dad, Windbag, was on his knees in front of the guy with the onion head. He was bawling his eyes out. "No, he's pretty bad, too," Stench said. "That guy's head actually is an onion and he's making my dad's eyes water." Looking around I realized that none of the members of my dad's team, the New New Crusaders, were very good actors. The Levitator was practically throwing himself at the feet of the Celery Stalker, who could barely maneuver in his unwieldy costume. Not far from them Colonel Corncob was trying to lasso the Big Bouncer, who was standing completely still to make the task easier. "Now youse guys see da effects dat vegetables can have on youse." The Great Garbanzo laughed as he got everyone back on script. "Youse heroes is too weak to even fight back!" Okay, so maybe this wasn't the most honest representation of the "dangers" of vegetables. But, then again, no one here was trying to sell vegetables. "Must . . . increase . . . strength," my dad said robotically as he reached for one of the scattered packages of Maximizer Brand MaxiMuffins. Ripping off the wrapper, my dad gave a performance he didn't need to fake as he shoved the muffins into his mouth. A moment later he slowly got to his feet and delivered another wooden line. "I feel my energy returning," he said. "Listen up, New New Crusaders. These Maximizer Brand snack cakes can give us back the strength these vile vegetables have sapped from us." The Broccoli Robber backed away nervously. "And the first thing coming off the menu"--Thermo smacked a fist into his hand--"is broccoli." Dad lunged for the frightened guy in the broccoli costume as the rest of his teammates helped themselves to the scattered snack cakes. The Levitator made light work of the Celery Stalker, grabbing him with both hands and launching him into the air. The piercing scream of the celery ended the moment he landed atop the fleeing Broccoli Robber. "Ah say, sir, you are no gentleman," Colonel Corncob sputtered as the Big Bouncer hurtled toward him. If he thought words could stop the rubbery hero, he was mistaken. BB smacked into him and sent the ear of corn flying--minus another half dozen kernels from his body. The Extraordinary Adventures of Ordinary Boy, Book 3: The Great Powers Outage . Copyright © by William Boniface. Reprinted by permission of HarperCollins Publishers, Inc. All rights reserved. Available now wherever books are sold. Excerpted from The Great Powers Outage by William Boniface All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.