Taste like bubble gum with a hint of justice

I had gotten each kid a mp3 player with my songs and the current hits of this world already loaded on it. I didn't want any kid feeling jealous of another, so I had to get them all the same thing for now. I'll let the kids use my computer when I visit to put whatever songs they want on them.

Bruce and Dick were about to leave and so they said their goodbyes to Barbara, Jude, and me.

Bruce spoke to Jude "Youre doing a great job as usual running things around here Jude, I'll be sure to add a zero to your holiday bonus".

After hearing that, I couldn't help but wonder how much Jude made working at the orphanage. I had assumed initially that she did not get paid. I have no idea why I thought that, I just did. In hindsight, it was a little foolish of me to think so.

Bruce turned his attention to me "Aeric, Jude says you help out around here fairly often and the kids seem to love you, if you would like, I can start paying you for the days you work here"?

I shook my head, "If you feel you must, you can, but I am here for the kids and myself, not monetary gain".

Bruce smiled. "I think id feel better if I paid you"

I was reluctant to say yes to Bruce, mostly because I was technically an illegal alien to the United States and this world in general. I had no current legitimate address or identity. I was sure he probably already knew this though, because he's batman and I doubt he would let someone volunteer at the orphanage he funded without thoroughly looking into them.

"I'm still in the process of a move, I think I'll need some time before I can accept your offer"

Bruce hearing my reply gave an understanding look. "I'll save up your earnings for you until then. Thank you for taking a load off of Jude, Barbara can't be here every day to help out and we can use all the help we can get".

After saying his piece and telling Barbara to call her father, Bruce left the Orphanage with Dick. Once I had seen they were long gone, I turned to Barbara. "I'm going to record all of our vocals separate if you don't mind and I'll start with Noahs first since he has to go to bed soon. When his vocals are finished, I'll spend the rest of the evening with you until we are finished".

Barbara nodded her head "Yes I have no plans tonight, it's alright".

I led Noah to the soundproof room I had set up and then we started recording his part. Noah was a natural born singer and took direction well, so his vocals were finished a lot faster than it normally would have. The kid had talent and hopefully by adding him into one of my songs, later he can flourish on his own in the music industry if he wanted to.

Noah Sang his lines and then headed to bed with the others. Jude would usually go to sleep shortly after the kids went to bed, so now it was just me and Barbara in the very small soundproof room that I had bought from the system a while back.

The space was meant for one person, but two and maybe even three could fit if need be. None the less, the space was limited. As she sang her part of the song, it wasn't over after a few takes like it was with Noah. Although Barbara had talent in singing, she still had a lot to work on and so I had her do some of her parts over often. I found that she would brush past me from time to time as we recorded. She may not have been aware, but I was very aware. She was fit and beautiful, it was hard to ignore the small bit of accidental touching.

Eventually she finished her part and so I went on and recorded my vocals and then recorded all the separate instruments. For whatever reason, Barbara hadn't left, but instead watched me as I did each. After recording the instruments, I put the instrumentals on their own track in the editing software and then put the vocals in their own track and lastly edited each where it was needed until I had completed the song.

When I was finished, I played the song 'a million dreams' out loud for Barbara to hear. Noah's voice was the first voice to fill out ears.

🎶♪🎵I close my eyes and I can see

The world that's waiting up for me

That I call my own

Through the dark, through the door

Through where no one's been before

But it feels like home

They can say, they can say it all sounds crazy

They can say, they can say I've lost my mind

I don't care, I don't care, so call me crazy

We can live in a world that we design🎶♪🎵

Noah's versus continued on until my voice was heard

🎶♪🎵Every night I lie in bed

The brightest colors fill my head

A million dreams are keeping me awake

I think of what the world could be

A vision of the one I see

A million dreams is all it's gonna take

A million dreams for the world we're gonna make🎶♪🎵

and then finally Barbara's vocals were heard

🎶♪🎵However big, however small

Let me be part of it all

Share your dreams with me

You may be right, you may be wrong

But say that you'll bring me along

To the world you see

To the world I close my eyes to see

I close my eyes to see🎶♪🎵

The ending of her part had me joining in, our vocals complimenting one another.

The song was just as good as the original and I was quite proud of Noah, Barbara, and myself. After making sure it was good, I uploaded it to all of my social medias and music platforms. The song was listed as being sang by Prince Aeric featuring Gotham Orphanage. I didn't want to put Noah's name or Barbara's because it could create problems for them later and this was all about raising awareness for the Orphanage. Later if Noah and or Barbara wanted to be in the spotlight, I would make their names public for the song.

Barbara seemed giddy and was probably the first person to play the song right after I uploaded it even though she had just heard it. She was cute when she was like this, sometimes she could be quite haughty, which had great appeal, but I also enjoyed her company in times like this.

I had no interest for most regular earth girls and that was probably due to my Saiyan biology. For an earth girl to stand out, she had to be strong, yet passive when it mattered around me. Barbara was strong and stood out from your typical earth girl that only talked about being strong. Barbara wasn't all talk, she could back it up.

We had spent a lot of time together since I had arrived on this earth and we had grown fairly close as friends, but we were also both extremely fit people and easy on the eyes to the opposite sex, so of course it was just a matter of time before one of us if not both of us had not so pure thoughts.

As I was thinking about her, my eyes couldn't help but linger on her body for a second before looking up at her face, which is when I met her eyes. She for sure just caught me checking her out.

"I see you finally found my eyes" she said. She didn't seem upset, if anything she seemed playful.

It was a bit awkward, but I kept my cool. "I meant no offense, I was just lost in thought".

"Mhm, sure, whatever you say". Barbara replied as she walked in my direction, reached up, and then put her hand on my long spiky hair and ruffled it up as she smiled.

I didn't like it. It felt as if she saw me as a little brother or a pet. I grabbed her hand and moved it away from my head and then we locked eyes again. I couldn't read her face well, but she didn't fight me or protest as I pulled her closer. Her eyes suddenly full of allure and expectations.

I leaned down and kissed her lips and then she boldly took it a step further and stuck her tongue in my mouth as we shared a more passionate kiss than I had planned. After what seemed like an eternity, we separated.

We were both in the heat of the moment and even though we had lost our minds temporarily, we both also knew we were still at the Orphanage. It wasn't appropriate to continue any further here and Barbara didn't seem like the type of girl that would be okay going to a hotel or even the type of girl to go all the way on the first date for that matter.

Maybe sometime in the future, I would set up a Civilian home for myself that I could bring people to as my Celebrity persona, but that just seems like a waste of money right now.

Barbara spoke first "Just to let you know, I don't have time for serious relationships, sorry if I gave the wrong idea".

I turned the tables on her and ruffled her hair this time "You think too much, why complicate it? We are good friends that just find each other attractive. Am I wrong? I'm also not looking to be tied down right now".

She seemed seemed slightly embarrassed at my ruffling of her hair and words. "Mhm" she said softly.