Hello readers! Hope everyone had a nice Valentine's Day this year. I am glad to share with you another chapter on Billy the Kid's life and it is an important one. Today, Billy is going to pop the biggest question to his adopted family…his origins! Hope you all enjoy it. I do not own The Bad Guys, Mentos, Coke, or Oprah Winfrey. The movie is the property of Dreamworks while the books are the property of Aaron Blabey

Chapter 8: Where did I come from?

One year later

Billy stared from a distance as all of the Bad Guys sat around the couch, watching TV. The eight-year-old fidgeted with his hands, thinking of how he was going to ask the question he yearned to know the answer to from his family of thieves. Billy was used to everyone being scared of The Bad Guys whenever they were out in public, mostly because of their species and the bad rep that came with it. However, the boy knew too well that he was human like those who feared or hated his family, so what made him so different? He still remembered moments back then when the group tasked him with being the distraction during heists and how people fawned over him when he was four or five years old. Granted, everyone has recognized him at this point as being The Bad Kid or Bad Boy who is allied with The Bad Guys. The police even label him as being as dangerous as the rest of the group. The thought bothered Billy for a few months now and it makes him more anxious not knowing why he was so different from the rest of the Bad Guys in terms of not being physically scary. But tonight, he was going to bite the bullet and ask them the big question on his mind.

Billy took a big inhale, puffing up his chest, and marched towards the TV. The Bag Guys immediately turned their attention to their youngest member as the eight-year-old picked up the remote and turned off the television.

"Hey! We were watching that!" said Sanke.

Billy turned around to face his family but struggled to maintain eye contact with them.

The group of thieves knew something was wrong.

Wolf leaned forward where he sat. "What's the matter, kiddo?"

Billy built the courage to look the Bad Guys in the eyes and said. "I'm sorry for interrupting TV time, but I was hoping I can ask you guys something."

"Sure you can, squirt!" said Webs.

"You know you can come to us about anything," said Shark.

Piranha stood up from the couch. "Woah woah woah! Has our chico found himself a chica?"

Billy shook his head. "No, Piranha, it's not that type of question."

"Well, what is it?" asked Snake in an annoyed tone.

"Just ask away, Billy," said Wolf.

The leader went to take a sip out of his goblet.

"Well, I know I'm obviously not related to any of you guys," said Billy. "But I have been wondering for a while…Where did I come from? How did I become part of the team?"

Upon hearing those two questions, Wolf's eyes widened, and instinctively did a spit take, spraying the beverage from his mouth. Everyone stared at the eight-year-old in shock, as if he said he decided to be good for a change. Never in the years that Billy has lived with them had any of the Bad Guys thought he would ask that type of question. Now they were stuck between a rock and a hard place as Billy waited for their answer.

Their eyes darted amongst each other as Wolf put his goblet down. "Ummm…can you excuse us for a moment, kiddo?"

Billy gave a small nod as the rest of the group ran to the other side of the hideout and huddled together. A few of them took a second to peek, ensuring the child was not eavesdropping on their conversation, and ducked their heads back into the huddle.

"What are we going to do?" whispered Webs.

"If we tell him we kidnapped him, he'll probably turn us over to the cops," whispered Snake.

"No! Billy would never do that to us," whispered Shark.

"The kid will probably change his mind if he finds out the truth."

"Worst of all, he probably wouldn't want to be with us anymore," said Piranha.

The Colombian fish's eyes were saddened at the thought of Billy leaving their group.

"Well, we have to tell him something," said Webs. "If we avoid the question, he'll get suspicious."

Wolf remained silent as he listened to the other thieves argue amongst each other on how they were going to answer this serious question for Billy. The leader had hoped the eight-year-old would never get curious about how he became part of the Bad Guys, but was.

Throughout the years, Wolf saw the child in a way he never thought he could. This feeling was similar to how he saw the rest of his friends, but it was different in some way, maybe even stronger than the friendship he shared with Snake. The only fear that floated in his mind was the concept of losing Billy. The idea of the boy leaving because he wanted to find his real family, or hated them because they kidnapped and lied to him.

Thinking back on it, it was strange to Wolf that no missing children reports were filed or broadcasted on the news since they adopted Billy in their group. No missing person flyers were posted around the city. Not even a search by the police for an infant named Daniel in a blue blanket with his name stitched in the fabric. How could a missing child go unnoticed? This was not like someone losing their pet kitty cat where everyone hoped they would mysteriously return on their own, this was a human child.

Regardless, Billy expected an answer from his adopted family on how he became part of the Bad Guys.

"We won't tell him the whole truth," said Wolf.

Snake, Shark, Piranha, and Webs looked up at their leader.

"We'll tell him where we found him while we leave out the messy bits about him possibly being kidnapped."

The rest of the Bad Guys stared at the canine in disbelief.

"You want us to lie to Billy?" asked Webs.

I hint of disgust in her voice.

"It has to be believable that he won't bother us with the subject anymore," said the leader.

"You sure this is a good idea, Wolf?" asked Shark. "Billy is part of the crew and he trusts us. Is fudging the truth really a great idea?"

Snake shrugged. "Why not? Just think of it as a little white lie."

"This is more than a little white lie, Snake," said the hacker. "We're talking about keeping a secret from Billy that probably involves his real family."

"So? Since when has that ever been a concern to any of us?"

"Since the chico has told us we're like familia to him," said Piranha. "I don't know about you guys but a part of this feels weird, like…feeling bad for being bad. Does that make sense?"

The reptile rolled his eyes. "Come on, Piranha, there is no such thing as feeling bad for doing what we do. It's practically in our blood."

"If Billy keeps asking questions, we just add more to the story," said Wolf. "Think of it like painting over a graffiti wall."

"Except we're not talking about graffiti, Wolf, we're talking about our little buddy who looks up to us," said Shark.

"And it will stay that way as long as he doesn't know every little detail. Look at how much we've accomplished since he's become part of our team."

The canine gestured to the large piles of loot that surrounded them. The quantity had tripled since Billy became a part of their lives.

"He's got a point," said Piranha. "Since Billy has joined us, stealing stuff has gotten a lot easier."

"But most importantly," continued Wolf. "Think of it like we're keeping the team together. If the kid leaves us, we won't be the Bad Guys anymore. What if any of us wanted to leave?"

"We'd be incomplete without Billy," said Shark in a sad tone.

"I'll admit, having the tyke around is fun," said Webs. "Even though it was a headache in the beginning."

"I'd say it was a complete headache having to change that little imp's diapers and waking us up in the middle of the night," said Snake.

"But having him around made our jobs much easier and more fun," said Piranha.

"That's why we have to be careful on how we answer this question," said the leader. "None of us wants to lose Billy, so we sugarcoat it a little to give him some closure."

The Bad Guys exchanged glances with each other until they all turned back to Wolf with looks of approval.

"What did you have in mind?" asked the hacker.

After a few more minutes of discussing how they were going to stretch the truth to Billy, the Bad Guys sat the child at the table. The five of them sat across from the eight-year-old in complete silence. They all stared at each other awkwardly; none of them making a peep.

Finally, it was Wolf who broke the silence. "Are you sure you want to hear this story, kiddo?"

Billy gave a determined nod. "Yes! I want to hear the whole thing."

"We have to warn you squirt, it's not for the faint of heart," said Webs.

"It's enough to make grown men cry," said Snake.

"We didn't think you were ready to hear it yet," said Shark.

"Believe me," said Billy. "I'm ready now."

The child was stone-faced with determination and courage. He waited so long to hear how he became part of the Bad Guys and now was the chance. There was no way he was backing down now.

Wolf took a deep sigh. "Alright. Eight years ago, we were successful at robbing the bank again. Only, this time, we stole the armored truck with the money loaded inside."

The eight-year-old's eyes sparkled. "Cool!"

"It was crazy too!" said Piranha. "The po-po were chasing us with their cars and helicopters full of swat teams! They shot their bazookas at us while Wolf dodged them with his crazy driving skills!"

"Bazookas?" grumbled Webs.

Everyone stared at Piranha as he exaggerated the heist that happened, including outrageous details that made no sense.

Eventually, Wolf interrupted the Columbian fish. "Piranha! I think we're getting off track here."

"Oh, right. My bad," replied the tiny brawler sheepishly.

He sat down quietly on the table.

Wolf continued. "Anyways, we lost the cops through the freeway and hid in the underpass where I parked my car. We switched the money from the armored truck into the car to throw off the chief and her Boy Scouts."

"And that's when we heard it," said Shark.

"Heard what?" asked Billy.

"A small cry coming from a dumpster nearby," said Webs.

"A dumpster?" repeated Billy.

"Yeah, we thought it was a typical alley cat," said Snake. "But the giant tuna over here got curious."

The limbless reptile gestured to the master of disguise.

"We tried to convince him it was nothing, but Shark really wanted to know what was in the dumpster," said the arachnid.

The eight-year-old leaned forward in anticipation. "What was in it?"

Wolf gave a loving smile. "You were, kiddo."

"Me?"

The leader nodded. "Yep, completely covered in trash in nothing but a diaper."

"Just a little bad baby that was all alone," said Shark.

"Naturally, as Bad Guys, we didn't normally care about babies," said Wolf. "But when we found you in there, we knew you were different…like us."

"Different?" repeated Billy.

"Yeah, why else would you be in a dumpster?" said Snake. "Dumpsters are meant for trash, meaning your real family threw you away like trash. To everyone else, bad guys like us belong in the trash."

Webs turned towards the safecracker in shock. "Snake!"

"What? The kid said he wanted to hear the story and we warned him it wasn't all rainbows and flowers."

Billy's face slowly became crestfallen as he thought of Snake's prediction as to why he was in the dumpster as a baby. Did his birth family throw him away in the garbage? He trusted the Bad Guys and knew they loved him to the point they would not lie or keep secrets from him.

"So, knowing you were thrown in the trash," said Wolf. "We came to the conclusion you were destined to be bad, like us. So, we brought you to our hideout where we officially made you the sixth member of our team."

"And that's how you became one of us, chico!" said Piranha.

However, Billy's expression remained gloomy as he stared down at the table. He could not get over the detail that he was in a dumpster when the Bad Guys found him. The very idea of not being cared for or loved by his original family to the point they threw him away like trash. At that point, the eight-year-old thought he knew how the rest of the Bad Guys felt when everyone else screamed and ran away from them.

Billy said nothing as he slid out of his seat and walked to his room, staring down at the floor.

The rest of the group stared at their youngest member with concern, wondering if they said something wrong.

Shark glared at Snake. "Did you really have to say it like that about him being thrown away like trash?"

The safecracker shrugged. "He bought it, didn't he? Now that we gave him what he wanted, I'm sure the kid will be back to his annoying self in no time."

But the rest of the group was not convinced as they stared at Billy's bedroom door. Were they too harsh with the story they weaved to tell the boy? Was it enough to convince him and not get suspicious? Was it okay that they left out the car and blanket with his real name? None of them knew.

For the next few days, Billy's attitude changed. The eight-year-old was more silent and beside himself around the group. The only expression he wore was sadness as he continued to stare down at the floor, not making eye contact with anyone. Whenever he talked, it was in a low grumbled tone. Billy spent most of the time in his room, either tinkering with his various gadgets or lying on his bed with his headphones on. The Bad Guys would attempt to coax the child into doing something fun or things he normally would enjoy doing when they were not planning a heist. Even Webs tried to talk the eight-year-old into playing video games with her again. But nothing seemed to work.

One night, Piranha was making his famous tacos for dinner as the rest of the group gathered around the table. Billy slumped out of his room, dragging his skateboard.

The Columbian fish turned to the child with a big smile. "Hola, chico! You're just in time for dinner. It's Taco Tuesday tonight!"

"No thanks, Piranha. I'm not hungry," grumbled Billy.

"But you love Taco Tuesday," said Shark.

Billy made his way to the elevator. "I'm just not in a mood right now guys. Save some aside and I'll eat it later."

The Bad Guys stared sadly at the boy as he pressed the button and slowly ascended out of the hideout.

"Man, this is serious," said Piranha. "Billy has never turned down Taco Tuesday before."

"Oh well, more for me," said Snake.

The limbless reptile wasted no time piling tacos on his plate.

"I'm getting worried, guys," said Shark. "Billy has been like this all week, ever since we told him the story of how we adopted him."

"He's probably just going through a phase," replied Snake in a nonchalant way.

The safecracker poured hot sauce on his tacos with his tail.

"Maybe one of us should talk to him. See what's bothering the squirt," said Webs.

"I'm with you, Webs," said the master of disguise. "We need to find out what's got our little buddy down in the dumps."

"But who's going to talk to Billy?" asked Piranah.

It wasn't long before the three of them stared at Wolf.

The canine caught on to the conclusion his teammates shared and held up his paws in defense. "Woah, woah, woah! I'm not cut out for playing child therapist."

"But you're the silver tongue in our group, hermano."

"Piranha is right," said the arachnid. "If you can talk your way out of most situations, then you can definitely talk Billy out of his funk."

"Tricking the cops is one thing," said the leader. "But going Oprah Winfrey on a kid is completely out of my expertise."

"Come on Wolf, at least try. What have you got to lose?" asked Webs.

"Besides, Billy always listens to you," said Shark.

Wolf switched his glance between his friends and the elevator where Billy disappeared. It pained him to see their little engineer in such a depressive state and missed the joyful mischievous kid who would pull pranks on the chief and Snake. That weird feeling was stirring up inside him again as Wolf slowly became convinced his friends were right and that he should talk to Billy about what was bothering him.

He rolled his eyes and sighed. "Alright, but I don't know if I can fix him."

Wolf stood up from the table and called back the elevator, using it to ascend upward. When the elevator reached the top, Wolf knew exactly where to find Billy. The child had a secret place of his own in the sewers when he needed to get away from Snake, a heist went bad, or when the media said hurtful things about them. The canine walked down the tunnels until he heard the echoes of skateboarding.

Eventually, Wolf stood at the entrance of a large area that Billy fashioned into a personal skating park. Sure enough, the eight-year-old was gliding on his board across the concrete gaps he used as half pipes. The leader watched with admiration as the child slid up into the air, performing flips and other kinds of tricks. Billy had come a long way since The Bad Guys gave him that skateboard for his birthday. He's been making good use of it to get away from the cops when he was not in Wolf's car.

The leader continued to watch Billy until the eight-year-old saw the leader and rolled back up to the surface before stepping off his board.

"Is this a private party or is everyone invited?" joked Wolf.

The boy was surprised to see him here but was also glad at the same time. Despite his relief to see Wolf, Billy kept quiet and stared back at the ground.

The canine walked forward. "Want to talk about it?"

"There's nothing to talk about," replied Billy.

"Come on, Billy, we all know something is up. You've been acting weird all week and it's worrying all of us."

Wolf smirked. "Besides, I know when you're lying, because you're talking to the wolf that invented the art of lying."

Billy let out a sigh and sat on the half pipe with his feet dangling over the edge. Wolf joined him by his side.

The canine's ears folded back, thinking of a different approach to make the child open up to him.

Eventually, he said, "Sometimes, when something bothers me…umm…I always talk to others about it, and it usually makes me feel better. It's not healthy to keep those emotions bottled up like a soda can ready to explode. Plus, even if you feel you can't tell the others, you can always tell me, and I will carry it to my grave."

Billy looked up at Wolf. "You promise?"

The leader smiled as he crossed his heart with his claw.

The child gave a wry smile before it turned back to a frown. "It's just…I don't understand…Why did they throw me away? My mom and dad. Did I do something that made them hate me?"

Wolf's eyes darted nervously around as he scratched the back of his head. Billy now had more questions about the lie the Bad Guys told him about how they adopted him. Lying to the cops and strangers was one thing, but lying to one of his teammates, especially Billy, was something the canine thought he would never have to do. Regardless, he stuck to the plan he made with the others.

"Well, the truth is kiddo, we don't know why," replied Wolf. "Sometimes when you're born a certain way, it doesn't always work out in your favor."

Billy looked back up at the canine. "But doesn't it bother you sometimes? How everyone looks at us and they run away? How the police are always chasing us? How the news is always saying those things about us? Don't you wish things were different? Being accepted for a change and feeling like we belong?"

Wolf was quiet for a moment. His years of crime sprees have helped him cope to the point where the public opinion of him and the others did not phase them anymore. However, deep down, he could not deny what the child was saying.

The leader let out a sigh as he slowly nodded his head. "Yeah…yeah, I do sometimes. But it's like I have told you before, kiddo, these are the cards we've been dealt so we might as well play them."

Billy made another sigh as he stared back down the half pipe.

Wolf had to think of something else to raise the boy's spirits. Eventually, it hit him!

He smiled and wrapped an arm around Billy. "But you know what's the best thing about being bad?"

The eight-year-old starred back up at Wolf. "What?"

"You're not alone. You have me, and Piranha, Webs, Shark, and Snake."

"Snake hates my guts," grumbled Billy.

Wolf waved a dismissive paw. "Ah, he's like that with everybody. Though, maybe easing up on the pranks might help."

The canine began to crack up. "But that last one with the Coke and Mentos was hilarious!"

They both laughed as they thought back to Billy's last prank on the safecracker.

"There's a smile!" cried Wolf.

The leader gently wrapped his arm around the child and gave him a noogie. Billy laughed even harder.

They both laughed for a few more seconds before calming down to give their lungs a chance to breathe.

Billy smiled back at the leader. "Thanks, Wolf. I feel better now."

Wolf held up his fist to the child. "Go bad?"

Billy bumped his fist into the leader's. "Or go home."

They both stood up as the child asked, "You think there are any tacos left?"

"I'm sure if we hurry, we can grab some before Snake or Piranha eats them all."

The two walked back through the tunnel to the elevator until the canine felt something wrap around his waist. He looked down to see Billy giving him a tight hug.

Wolf did not know why he felt awkward. The eight-year-old had hugged him and the others before, but this time felt different, almost alien. Probably because it was tighter than usual as if Billy did not want to let go.

The child looked up at the leader and said, "You're the best dad I could ever ask for."

Eventually, the eight-year-old let go and continued walking toward the elevator.

Wolf stayed behind, comprehending what just happened. That last statement made his blood freeze in shock and confusion. Did Billy just call him Dad? A Dad?! What does this mean? What does it mean to be a dad? The strange mysterious feeling bubbled inside Wolf again but it was stronger than ever. He continued to stare at Billy as his mind struggled to comprehend what the boy had called him.

Unbeknownst to Wolf, his tail rapidly wagged back and forth. He felt the strange sensation and immediately looked back, but when he did, his tail was completely still. The leader did not know what this was, but it felt nice, almost like when he would enjoy a coffee with Snake at their favorite diner. For eight years now, he and the others have been getting these weird sensations with Billy and they gave up on making sense of it. But tonight was probably the strongest it ever felt with this new name the child had called him; Dad. Regardless, Billy was back to his old self and that was enough to make Wolf happy.

The canine followed the child into the elevator and they both descended back into the hideout for tacos.

Surely this lie The Bad Guys told Billy won't come back to haunt them, right?...Right? Hope everyone enjoyed this chapter. We have one more before entering the movie. Feel free to leave a review expressing your thoughts on the chapter and what you think about the Bad Guys lying to Billy. As always, thank you so much for your patience, and thank you all for your support on this fanfic. Until next time!