Frank Fizzy was a very unusual child. He loved vegetables, unlike his peers. He also had quite a knack for invention and innovation. He spent the better part of elementary school looking into nanobot technology. He would bury himself in his work throughout the summer. He would tirelessly tinker and restlessly work on his inventions. His first invention was a pair of analysis goggles. It would give him insight into any foodstuff's nutritional value. His second invention was a prototype for micro-bots that are fueled by biomass. He achieved this by augmenting the inside of his own body with the friendly fellows. He experienced a bit of a growth spurt, but otherwise, there were no odd side effects.

Fizzy entered college, where he encountered Freddy Lard. Freddy was friendly at first; being roommates wasn't so bad. But Freddy quickly revealed himself to have a horrendous diet. Everything was double battered and deep fried. Freddy hardly ate anything that had vegetables. Fizzy was almost always away from the dorm to stomach his healthy meals. Fizzy couldn't even work on his inventions in the dorm; the grease from Freddy's food splattered into the sensitive circuits. Fizzy was often disheartened and broke down in the middle of class when his recent invention, the Mixie Bot, failed to turn on. His professor pulled him aside and comforted him. They dried his tears and gave him a piece of advice.

They said, "Mistakes happen; instead of being consumed by despair, figure out a way to fix it."

Fizzy felt encouraged and took apart the prototype Mixie Bot to very carefully mend it. When it activated, Fizzy celebrated! But it planted a seed of hatred and resentment for Freddy. Which only deepened as Freddy became increasingly hostile for seemingly no reason.

Mixie Bot would have various upgrades as Fizzy went through his lessons. The final addition would be a pair of propellers so the machine could fly. He also finally made a microbots-based life form named Cup. Cup left to join the military, much to Fizzy's confusion.

Fizzy graduated with Mixie Bot by his side. He had a dream to pursue now, with his engineering degree and nutritionist degree in hand, to make a safe place for healthy eaters. He called it the Lunch Lab. He started by buying an abandoned semi-circular building. He renovated the building with a few permits, augmentation, and his own two hands. The Lunch Lab became Fizzy's sanctuary; he completed more micro-bots and upgraded his augmentation. Cup finally returned to Fizzy with a fancy rank, Corporal. Fizzy was proud of his creation and celebrated by giving the newly christened Corporal Cup her troop of soldiers in mechanical utensils and a complimentary range of the Lunch Lab's resources.

Fizzy and Mixie Bot had written up over 1,000 healthy recipes with snappy names for the lab to serve potential customers. Opening day was met with great anticipation. Fizzy had even gone through the trouble of creating his in-house band, Freezer Burn—more micro-bots, a bit temperature-sensitive but otherwise flawless.

Opening day came and went without a single customer. Fizzy was confused, but he quickly realized what had happened; the Lunch Lab's grand opening had been eclipsed by the opening of the latest location of the restaurant chain Greasy World right up the street and managed by none other than Freddy. Fizzy was crushed, but he quickly shook it off. He didn't take such an injustice sitting down. The Lunch Lab he had spent so long dreaming about had become real, and now, Fizzy and his Lunch Lab crew would have to fight for it.

Fizzy would spend weeks working on more inventions to streamline making the foodstuffs at the lab. He opened the Lunch Lab, hoping to share his love of nutritious food daily. But he was often met with a crushing sense of loneliness. He was doing his best to keep his professor's advice in mind. He tried his best to make the lab as welcoming and approachable as possible.

One day, when Fizzy was busy with another invention, the Lunch Lab was finally visited. A little boy had come in and ordered a small meal. Mixie Bot gave the boy a free banana mango since he was low in potassium. The boy left before Fizzy could greet him.

The next day, Fizzy was caught off guard when the boy returned. Fizzy was testing his goggles when the boy approached the counter.

"Ah," Fizzy said, removing the goggles, "Welcome back to the Lunch Lab, sport!"

The boy asked, "Who are you?"

Fizzy answered with a bit of a chuckle, "I'm Professor Fizzy; I'm the one who made this Lunch Lab."

The boy was so amazed his eyes practically sparkled with awe, "You made all of this by yourself? Woah."

Fizzy then asked, "Who might you be?"

The boy answered, "My name is Henry! I once did an ollie downhill."

Fizzy was excited, "That's so cool!"

Henry smiled proudly.

Henry asked, pointing at the goggles, "What is that?"

Fizzy explained, "These are my greatest inventions, the Analyzer Goggles. I made them see the nutritional content of everything. I've been trying to calibrate them so that someone who isn't a Nutritionist could see what I see."

Henry asked, "Can I try?"

Surprised, Fizzy said, handing Henry the goggles, "Sure, but be careful."

Henry peeked into the goggles and looked at the peanut butter and jelly sandwich on wheat bread. Henry saw it light up like a Christmas tree.

Henry was amazed again and asked, "What am I looking at?"

Fizzy explained, "Well, all the good stuff your body needs from food. Protein, good carbs, natural sugars, vitamins and minerals. That sort of stuff."

Henry asked, "All that in a peanut butter and jelly sandwich on wheat bread?"

Fizzy said, "Of course! You'd be surprised how many fruits and vegetables naturally contain nutrients your body needs."

Henry took off the goggles and gave them back to Fizzy. Henry was very thoughtful, and then he pulled out a candy bar labeled 'supplementary health.' He then opened it and set it on the counter.

Henry asked, "Does this light up like the sandwich?"

Fizzy put on the goggles and sucked air through his teeth. He removed the goggles.

"Sorry, Henry," Fizzy answered, "I can see protein and a few vitamins. But my goggles detect many artificial sweeteners, and most of its good stuff has been artificially jammed inside it."

Henry's face scrunched in disgust, and he muttered, "Ew, I can't believe I've been snacking on those things for so long."

Fizzy immediately threw the bar into the garbage, also making a face.

Henry asked, "Can I try the sandwich instead?"

Fizzy said, "Oh, for sure! And it should keep you full for a lot longer."

Henry and Fizzy became friends from that day onward. Henry was a regular, even bringing his fathers for Lunch so they could meet Fizzy. The professor was gaining hope; at least some folks were willing to visit the lab for the now well-known diagnostic way they served food. But then, Fizzy noticed a shy little girl also became a regular. She seemed very nervous about the whole ordeal and would often attempt just to come in when there was a large enough crowd where she could disappear. Henry noticed her, too, and the two of them were unsure how to approach.

Fizzy asked Henry, "Do you know who that is, Henry?"

Henry answered, "I'm not sure, professor. I think she might be the new girl in town."

Fizzy said, "Maybe she would like a freebie."

Henry said excitedly, "Hey Mixie, can you make a mixed berry smoothie for our mystery regular?"

Mixie Bot chirped, "Of course, Henry."

Mixie Bot delivered the smoothie, and the little girl was caught off guard. But she seemed to appreciate the gesture. The next day, she very cautiously returned when it was much slower.

Fizzy greeted her warmly, "Hey there! Welcome back to the Lunch Lab!"

The little girl said, "Um, Hi. I'm Admiral."

Corporal Cup pipped up, startling them both, "An Admiral?! In the Lunch Lab!? Troops, line up!"

Fizzy said, "At ease, Cup; it's just the kid's name."

It was too late; half a dozen spoons, forks, and knives marched out from the cupboard to stand at attention behind Corporal Cup. Admiral almost died laughing at the display, which surprised Fizzy. Corporal Cup seemed proud of herself regardless of the reaction.

"I'm sorry," She said, calming down, "But I've never seen a full-on parade of utensils assemble for me before."

Fizzy asked, "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," Admiral reassured, "It's just been a minute since I laughed that hard."

Fizzy asked, sitting down, "Wanna talk about it?"

Admiral opened her heart like a book to Fizzy. She told him about how hard her parents' divorce was to watch unfold, how alien the new town felt, and most powerfully, how utterly alone she felt.

Fizzy listened patiently and intentionally. He dried her tears and said, "It wasn't long ago when I felt the same way. Don't get me wrong, I love my inventions, but it's not the same as hanging out with people. The lab was pretty lonesome at the start. I managed to make at least one friend since, and I would like to be your friend, too, if you'll have me."

Admiral smiled, "I would like that too, Professor."

It wasn't long before Admiral met Henry; it was initially awkward. They found common ground in how much the Lunch Lab blows them away. Admiral and Henry also bonded on how much fun the lab was. Fizzy's hard work was vindicated by seeing the smiles light up on Admiral and Henry whenever they genuinely enjoyed one of his organically nutritious meals.

However, Professor Fizzy's happy bubble would burst when Freddy started to market his chain more aggressively than ever. Fizzy felt the seed of hate grow as Greasy World posters, billboards, and flyers bombarded the town. Fizzy could feel the chokehold the restaurants had on the town tighten. His heart was heavy, and he went about trying to improve his lab. Admiral and Henry came into the Lunch Lab as usual, and they could tell that Fizzy was upset. He had buried himself in tinkering with the lab.

Mixie Bot greeted them, "Welcome back to the Lunch Lab, Admiral and Henry. Unfortunately, we're only offering to carry out today. As you can see, the professor is remodeling the dining room."

Admiral said, "We can see that."

Henry asked, "Is everything okay, Professor?"

Fizzy frustratedly and angrily snapped, "No, It's not!"

He pulled his head out from the panel he was working on, and his anger almost immediately dissipated. Admiral and Henry were frightened seeing him so mad. He took a deep breath.

"I'm sorry, kids," Fizzy explained apologetically, "It's that Freddy. His Greasy World chain is everywhere. My little Lunch Lab can hardly even keep up before. But he has a location right up the road. It opened the same freaking day as this place. Now his ads are practically everywhere!"

Admiral said, "I noticed that too; it's a bit weird."

Sitting on a chair, he sighed, "I'm afraid that if he keeps this up, I'll have to. (He hesitated as if a great sadness hit him.) shut the lab down."

"Oh no," Henry said, "That's terrible!"

"You can't shut the lab down, Fizzy," Admiral pleaded, "You just can't!"

Fizzy asked, "But what more can I do? I'm not exactly in a position to buy advertising like Freddy can."

Admiral and Henry gave it some thought. Then, they both got the same idea.

Henry said, "Maybe you don't have to!'

Admiral then pulled out a laptop and camera from her backpack. She gave Henry the laptop.

Admiral explained, "I'm taking photography as my extra-curricular, and Henry has been looking into graphic design since he graduated first grade."

Henry was bashful and admitted, "It's probably the only nerdy thing I like to do. Don't tell anyone."

Henry continued to explain, "We can help you with advertising, Fizzy. Maybe not in the physical world, but online!"

Fizzy asked, "Online advertising, how does that work?"

Admiral said, "That's a bit complicated to explain, but think of it like you're reaching out to hundreds of kids and adults looking for good food."

Henry was already working on the computer.

Fizzy said, "Alright, I'm in."

The official Professor Fizzy's Lunch Lab Website was launched that afternoon. The lab became a hub of activity over a few weeks as word spread fast on the internet—much to Freddy's dismay. People didn't even call him by name anymore. He was called the humiliating title of Fast-Food Freddy. Freddy felt his seed of hate almost impale him with how fast and deep it dug itself for Professor Fizzy and the Lunch Lab.

The rest, as they say, is history.