Jack Thunder - How I Got My Jumpsuit

Hi there! I’m Jack Thunder! What’s that? You wanna know why I have a lightning bolt on my chest? Well, it’s kind of a long story, but I’ll tell ya. Get comfy.

It might surprise you, but things weren’t always roses for me when I was growing up. You ever heard of the War of the Wendigoes? Well, Frosti and me… our mom and dad had gone off to fight in the war. They told us they’d come back, but they never did! I don’t really remember them much, just their faces from some old photos we have. But Frosti… Frosti remembers.

After that, it was pretty much just me and her. Frosti did her best, but I don’t think she was really ready to raise a widget. Especially not one like me. One night, she’d put me down to bed, but she’d left the crib wall down. That’s how I climbed out and fell to the floor. Don’t worry; I was fine. I landed on my feet.

You see, I didn’t get out of my crib for no reason. No. For nights on end, there was this thing hiding out in my closet, one that I couldn’t see. But I was certain that it could see me. And I wanted to get rid of it once and for all.

So, I set out to destroy it. I found one of my toy swords on the floor and picked it up. I would need a way to defend myself, you see. And I grabbed a piece of cardboard and used it as a makeshift shield. And I charged straight into the closet!

I couldn’t see anything in there! I started to get nervous, trying not to make a sound. I’m not sure if I was more afraid of the thing in my closet attacking me or Frosti hearing me and giving me an earful about being up past my bedtime. Either way, I wasn’t sure if I could do it.

Then, all of a sudden, something fell on me! I was so scared that I jumped about four feet in the air! Before I knew what was happening, a bright flash of green lightning made a loud crack as it blasted out of my hands and struck the thing that had attacked me!

Before I knew it, the closet lit up and I could see Frosti standing there, looking straight at me. I guess she heard the noise and went to see what was going on.

Turns out, there was nothing in my closet. I had just destroyed one of my toys. Reduced it to a black ash stain on the floor.

But Frosti realized something. I had just shown my magical powers for the very first time! This meant that I wasn’t a baby anymore!

My jumpsuit ceremony was… weird. I don’t really remember much of it. I do remember making myself sick from eating too many cookies and coloring with the other widgets, though. I think Frosti was in the other room.

But I loved my new jumpsuit! It was dark green with lighter green boots and gloves. And the symbol it bore on the badge? A lime green lightning bolt that ended in an arrow tip, just like my antennae and tail.

So anyways, that’s why I have a lightning bolt on my chest. Maybe next time, I can tell you about the time I summoned a tornado to clear storm clouds out of our yard! That was a real doozy!

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A short story told from Jack Thunder's perspective about how he came to have a badge with an arrow-tipped lightning bolt. See also Jumpsuit Ceremony.