So this will probably come as a surprise to a lot of you guys who have been following me, since I officially "retired" from writing after my previous story, Batgirl Beyond. But this was an idea that I had after watching quite a bit of Kids Next Door, and I decided to come out of hiding to give this a shot. I noticed that there was never really a legitimate origin story ever told for KND, even though there were snippets of the origin that were alluded to here and there throughout the series. So here's essentially my story of how Sector V (with numbuhs 1-5) got started. Idk what to expect. For all I know this could only get a few views and comments, since the series is a bit old by now. But I hope that whoever reads this will like it. Apologies if I ret-con some details, but I've tried to make it somewhat accurate, and readable for people who aren't very familiar with KND the series. Hope you enjoy!

One other thing that may be worth noting is that this story is more or less told with Abby (Numbuh 5) as the main protagonist, but of course all the rest will show up, so just a heads up in terms of that.

-x—

"It was a warzone. Nothin' more, nothin' less." A young yet somewhat scratchy female voice narrated

The scene revealed a mass load of children running and fighting inside of the Kids Next Door Moonbase, while an ear bleeding alarm sounded throughout the entire building. Viscous orange globs were splattered all over the place, including and especially on the children themselves. Many kids were laying motionless on the ground while others were sprinting around, shooting whatever weapons they could get their hands on. What was once a pristine and orderly lecture hall became a chaotic and messy battlefield.

"I know what you may be thinking." The girl continued to narrate. "That's gotta be one doozy of an enemy to have everybody runnin' scared like that. But they weren't fighting an enemy..."

One kid's face got splattered with the orange slime, and he crumpled over onto the ground and remained still.

The one who fired the shot looked all too familiar. She was a short, black girl with a red cap that covered her eyes, a black French braid, and a blue t-shirt that draped over her shorts. Both of her hands wielded a weapon that in some ways resembled a super soaker water gun, but instead of being filled with water, it was filled with the orange slime.

"They were fighting us." She said.

The girl ran forward with sweaty palms and clenched teeth.

"That's me. Abigail Lincoln. Abby if you like. But I'm best known as Numbuh 5 of Sector V. And this was our last, desperate shot."

The scene showed her running and shooting frantically and anything that moved

"Numbuhs 1 through 4 and I have seen it all. Evil dentists. Corrupt Bosses. Crazy Cat ladies. You name it, we've seen it. And that's why we, Sector V, are the very best at what we do."

Two kids chased after Abby right before she rolled under a door that was automatically sliding shut. Right before she rolled in, she dropped a present for the 2 kids who were chasing her. They didn't even realize it until the hand grenade exploded and sprayed the orange slime on both of them, throwing them both into the nearby wall.

Abby rolled up to her feet and dashed up the stairs

"It's hard to believe that this deadly undertaking was our very first mission together, and that the fate of the Planetary Kids Next Door rested in the hands of five ragtag kids who couldn't have been more different at the time."

Abby had made it to the top floor. She wiped the sweat off of her brow and forced herself to stop breathing so heavily. Now that she was on the top floor, she had finally made it to where she wanted to go.

It all came down to this. She swallowed, loaded her weapon, and kicked down the door that was in front of her.

The room was empty. She slowly walked inside. With each step, she could hear the metal knock against the bottoms of her white shoes. But it wasn't the only sound she could hear. She could hear the nervous beating of her own heart, as if pleading with her to exit the room. But she knew that she couldn't. She had to do this. The others were in position, and now it was up to her.

She scanned each corner of the room whilst hiding behind her weapon, in order to ensure that she was alone. She turned completely around and faced the door, while walking backwards.

That was her first mistake.

Before she knew what hit her, she tripped backwards and dropped her gun about halfway across the room. Abby shut her eyes and shook her head in order to regain her composure, and looked straight up in complete shock. A shadow loomed over her defenseless body.

"But before Numbuh 5 can tell you that story, she's going to have to tell you this story. The story of how we got to where we are now."

The scene shut to black

"The untold story of how Sector V began."

-x—

SECURITY CLEARENCE GRANTED – FILE DECLASSIFIED

OPERATION O.R.I.G.I.N.S.

Operatives

Reveal

Initial

Genealogies

In

Never-before-seen

Story

-x-

Planet Earth's globe was shown. Its brilliant blue aura was contrasted against the black and violet backdrop. Above the earth were stars…millions of them. Each with its own unique shape and brightness. From a particular spot on the earth, a golden object flew up into space, and soon appeared to be bigger than the passing stars and comets.

It was a spaceship. Golden in color and massive in size. It was equipped with rocket boosters, lasers and a logo on the side that read K.N.D. It was known by the Kids Next Door for being one of the most luxurious looking spaceship models that they had to offer. But it was also known for being the most deceiving. As shiny and upbeat as the spaceship looked on the outside, every kid on the force knew that things were never nearly as happy on the inside. And that's because this particular spaceship had one job and one job alone – to transport children for decommissioning.

Inside of the ship were two girls, one older and one younger. They were both sitting solemnly on benches opposite each other, exchanging no words. The younger one was Abby, and the other one resembled her greatly. She had dark skin, loose braids, a light blue T-shirt, and dark blue pants. The older girl had a pair of handcuffs around her wrists.

The silence pervaded throughout the ship until Abby opened her mouth.

"Cree…" Abby said. She looked a few years younger than before.

"Abby. There's really nothing to be said." Cree said sternly

"I was just going to say happy birthday." Abby slowly dropped her head as the silence continued.

Cree exhaled.

"Thanks." She said

Abby picked a spot on the ground, but soon shot her gaze back up at Cree

"Cree, maybe we can talk to Numbuh 274. Talk about giving you an exception."

"Abby, don't!"

"Why not!" Abby said while standing to her feet and holding out her hands "No one's sacrificed more for the Kids Next Door as you have! It's not fair for you to just be decommissioned like that."

"Rules are rules, Abby. You know that. And there is someone who sacrificed more than I have. His name was Maurice, and he got decommissioned on his 13th birthday too, just like everyone else."

"But that's my point." Abby said while pacing closer, "First Maurice, and then you?! It's just…it's just not right! What are we going to do without you?"

"Sector V will survive."

"I'm not just talking about Sector V, I'm talking about the Kids Next Door as a whole. We would have been toast a thousand times over if it wasn't for you."

Cree could tell that Abby wasn't just hiding her eyes behind her hat. She was hiding her tears.

"I'm not just saying this because you're my only sister. I'm saying this because you're the best agent the KND have ever had. You protected more kids than I could even count. And now they're going to drain all of your memories of the Kids Next Door like all of it means nothin ' to them."

There was a short silence before Cree spoke up again.

"I've already made up my mind, Abby. I'm going to go through with it."

Abby lifted up her head and revealed hear teary eyes

"Which is why for the time being…" Cree smiled as she put her cuffed hand on Abby's shoulder, "They're going to have to make do with you."

"I could never live up to your reputation." Abby said while smirking a bit

"Well never say never." Cree said while examining Abby's shirt. "Who knows? Maybe you could even be Numbuh 1 some day."

"There's a reason why they haven't assigned Numbuh 1 to any kid yet. No one's earned it. And I don't think they're about to start with me."

"Well…whether it ends up being you or not…you'll always be my number 1 sister." Cree said with a smile.

Abby hugged her and dug her head into her shoulder. She lifted her head back up.

"That probably would have been more touching if I wasn't your only sister." She said while smiling

"Yeah, but it still sounded good, huh?"

Abby closed her eyes

"I'll miss you Cree. We'll all miss you."

"Just promise me that you'll look after Sector V. It needs you."

"I promise Cree."

Cree looked up and glazed past the window when a movement caught her eye. She fixed her eyes out the window again. Her face suddenly fell.

"Abby, look out!" She screamed as she threw her onto the ground. It wasn't a full second before something crashed violently into the ship.

The two pilots were thrown out of their seats during the crash. One was a short boy with black hair and the other was a boy with curly brown hair.

"What was that!" The brown haired pilot yelled. He barely got the words out before they felt another crash. And then another.

The other kid climbed up to the dashboard and pressed the button that showed the security cameras. His eyes dilated in shock.

"Oh no…"

"Engage the autopilot, now!"

A much larger black spaceship with red wings was banging against the K.N.D. spaceship. Abby and Cree forced themselves to grab onto the nearby ledges and stand straight amidst the rumbling.

"What's going on!" Abby screamed

"It's them." Cree replied with a squint. "The Teen Ninjas."

As if on cue, a life sized glass tube smashed into the wall. About six teenagers who were dressed in black and red samurai armor slid down the tube, and rolled to their feet. Their faces were all covered by the armor, leaving only their eyes to be seen.

One of the ninjas stepped to the front

"Well if it isn't Numbuh 5 and Numbuh 11 conveniently packaged in this tiny little spacecraft. "

Abby clenched her fists.

"How did you find us?" She demanded

"We got an anonymous tip that you were coming this way. And from the looks of it, it was a pretty good one."

"Fair warning." Cree said, "Leave now!"

"Well we could leave." The ninja retorted, "Or we can take out the legendary Numbuh 11 once and for all…"

"Freeze!"

The two pilots were standing on the other side of the room with their gumball guns pointed at the ninjas.

"Freeze or we will shoot!" The brown haired pilot yelled

"I'd like to see you try." The ninja said. He turned his head and pointed his finger. "ATTACK!"

Each of the ninjas took out their throwing stars and ran to different corners of the spacecraft. The pilots opened fire, but couldn't seem to match their speed and coordination.

Two of the ninjas threw their stars at the gumball guns with precise aim, shattering the glass gumball compartments. The pilots both looked at their now useless guns, but failed to notice the ninja that had appeared behind them. In one fluid motion, he grabbed both of their heads, smashed them together, and then jumped away. Both of the boys fell to the ground.

Abby fist fought one of the ninjas. She managed to grab his wrist and knee him in the chest. When another two took his place, she backflipped onto her hands and then flipped again to get onto her feet. She found herself next to Cree, who was facing the opposite direction.

"I'm the one they're after, Abby. You need to take cover!"

"Not a chance!" Abby yelled. "We're in this together."

"I'm being serious, Abby! Get awa…"

Cree ducked under a throwing star, which landed on the floor behind her. She looked down at her handcuffed wrists, and hatched an idea.

"Hey! You want me so bad?!" She yelled while holding her hands up, "Come and get me!"

Three Ninjas ran up and attempted to fight her, but she dodged each of their attacks. She ducked under one of their punches, spun her leg across the floor, and tripped the three of them. Finally, out of the corner of her eye, she saw what she wanted: a ninja who was preparing his throwing star from yards away. She leapt up to her feet, hoping that her timing was right.

And it was.

The ninja had thrown the star right when she held her wrists above her head again. But this time, the throwing star cut through the chain, freeing her hands.

"Score!" She yelled while clenching her fists. She bolted up to the teen who had thrown the star and knocked him onto the floor with ease. The three ninjas who she tripped earlier leapt onto their feet and all began to take Cree on all at once.

She fought all four of them as Abby fought her two in the background. Cree's fighting style was extremely fast and well planned out. For every attack the teens could make on her, she had a counter. But no less was to be expected of Numbuh 11. It was simple. She was the best fighter there was.

Abby was on top of one of the ninjas' shoulders, and punching the sides of his head.

"Agh!" The ninja yelled "Get off of me you stupid kid!"

The other ninja forcefully grabbed the back of Abby's shirt and yanked her off of him. Abby's red hat toppled onto the floor as he pulled her off.

Abby's fists were still flailing while the ninja held her by the back of her shirt.

"I'll teach you guys to mess with me and my sister!" Abby screamed.

The ninja who was holding her looked at the other one. He nodded. The ninja with Abby in his hand took out a throwing star. He dragged Abby up against the wall with his right hand, and pinned the throwing star on the back cleft of her shirt where his hand had been. She was now hanging from the wall like a painting.

"This doesn't really concern you, little squirt. So why don't you just hang around?" The teen teased. They turned around and walked over to Cree. Abby yelled, punched, kicked and screamed, but nothing seemed to loosen the grip that the throwing star had on her. All she could do was hang helplessly.

It was only a matter of minutes before Cree's 4 ninjas were on the ground, moaning and groaning. Cree saw the two other ninjas run towards her. But she saw something more important behind them that froze all of her muscles to a stop. And it wasn't Abby.

All this time they had been fighting six ninjas. But it never crossed her mind until now that one of them was still flying their spacecraft. She put the final piece together when she saw through the window. The Teen Ninjas' spacecraft was aiming its canon at the ship – right where Abby was hanging.

"Abby…" Cree whispered. Then she yelled "Abby!"

Cree ran past the ninjas and over to Abby. She jumped up and pulled the throwing star out of the wall, letting Abby drop to the floor.

"Whew. Thanks sis." Abby said

"Abby! Get away from here now!"

"What are you talking about? We have 'em right were we want 'e..!"

Cree didn't bother saying anything else. She pushed Abby out of the way right as a deafening explosion was heard. The two pilots' eyes shot open just in time to see that a powerful blast had just shot through the wall of the ship, and a big crater stood in its place.

It went by all too fast for Abby to process what had just happened. She opened her eyes and saw Cree slide right out of the spacecraft. Cree had one hand out and fear in her eyes as outer space seemed to eat her up legs first.

"CREE!" Abby yelled

She fumbled over to the crater as fast as she could get her legs to obey her, but by the time she got there, she didn't see anything outside. Abby paid no mind the fact that the spacecraft was rapidly losing altitude, or that the ninjas were retreating through the glass tube that they came in. All she could think of was Cree. She was nowhere to be seen.

Her sister was gone.

Abby got down to her knees seconds before the pilot with the brown hair grabbed her shoulders and pulled her up to her feet

"Numbuh 5, that hit took down our defensive and steering systems! We need to get to the escape pods immediately! At this rate they'll blow our ship right out of the sky any second now!"

"But Cree…" Abby choked over the words. "We can't just leave her!" Abby screamed

"Now Numbuh 5!" The pilot yelled

The other pilot ran by and helped the other one drag Abby to the escape pod.

The three of them barely made it out in time. Seconds after their escape pod took off, the Teen Ninja spaceship shot one last powerful canon at the K.N.D. spaceship. It exploded instantly. Abby put her palm on the glass.

"Cree…" She whispered with tears in her eyes.

"Numbuh 5." The black haired pilot stood next to her. He held out her red hat.

"I uh, got this from the site." He said solemnly

Abby gazed at the hat for a long time

"This was hers…" She muttered slowly.

"I know. But…she'd want you to keep it."

Abby hesitantly took the cap. She closed her eyes and sat slowly onto the floor. It took her a few moments to do it, but she soon found herself crying into the cap. And she cried and cried all the way home.

-x-

"And that's all you remember?"

Abby was sitting at a table inside an isolated room. She looked like her 10-year-old self again.

"Yeah. It is." She replied

On the other side of the table were three people. The tall boy in the middle had blonde hair, a red jumpsuit, and the number '274' printed on his torso. To his right was a blonde girl in a blue tracksuit and purple sneakers. She was Numbuh 362. To his left was a girl with a green sweater, orange skirt, and a helmet that said '86' in the middle.

"Sorry. I know that even though it was 3 years ago, it doesn't get any easier to talk about. But I appreciate your time." Numbuh 274 said.

Abby crossed her arms and rested her feet on the desk

"So are you gonna tell me what all of this is about?"

Numbuh 274 turned to 362. She nodded her head. He then turned to Numbuh 86, who shook her head.

"I'm afraid I can't at this point."

"Seriously?" Abby said with a hint of irritation in her voice

"Yeah. But there's something else that we do want to talk about." 274 continued. "It's about Sector V."

"Or rather, 'Sector Me'" Abby said under her breath

"Exactly." Numbuh 86 cut in. Abby was surprised that she had even heard her. "As you're well aware, last week we had to permanently let Numbuh's 8a and 8b go." Numbuh 86 spoke in a thick Scottish accent.

"I still don't understand. They were struck with Chicken Pox years ago. They're doing much better now"

"Yeah, but they never really could shake off that experience. Sure they did well as part timers for a while, but they're just not as good as they used to be." 274 said. "Plus, their…Mom said that they need to spend more time on homework." He said a little quieter. "Which means that you're officially the only remaining member of your sector." He concluded

"That's fine with me. Numbuh 5 don't mind picking up the slack." She said while snapping her finger

"Abby…" 362 said. This was the first time she had spoken.

"You don't seem to understand." Numbuh 274 said.

"We're retiring Sector V! It's history now!" Numbuh 86 blurted out, as if getting impatient. "We already made the decision."

"What?" Abby asked with unbelieving eyes. She sat up straight in her chair. "What do you mean! You can't just do this! Sector V…"

274 immediately put his hand up to halt her protesting. "Please. Just let us finish." He said. "We understand that Sector V used to be the most reliable, efficient, and skilled sector of the Kids Next Door. But after Maurice and Cree, it's just never been the same. And now that even 8a and 8b are gone, there's nothing left of it anymore."

"I'm still here! Doesn't that mean anything?" Abby yelled

"It does, Abby!" 362 said. "That's why we're reassigning you to the sector of your choice."

"I don't wanna be reassigned. My sister told me to look after Sector V, and that's what I plan to do." She said while sticking her finger into the table

"You've already looked after it." 274 said while setting his hands back down. "You've stuck by the sector through thick and thin, and we appreciate that. But now it's time for a change. I mean, think about it, Numbuh 5. You can't have a sector with just one operative."

"Then I'll find new operatives!"

"You wouldn't dare." Numbuh 86 said. "It's against the rules. All sectors are assigned by 274 himself. Nothing happens here without his jurisdiction."

"Please, Numbuh 86. I can take it from here." 274 said. He folded his hands in front of him. "Abigail…" He started

"That's Numbuh 5 to you" Abby said while crossing her arms

"Numbuh 5." He corrected himself, "We can't thank you enough for all you've done for Sector V. But its time has passed. There's no point allocating our resources to running a one man show anymore. And even if you did manage to go out and find 'new operatives' as it were, the sector would just never live up to what it was. That's why I can't allow you to waste time with all of that. Does that make sense to you?"

"Breaking the promise I made to my sister will never make sense to me."

362 looked down. She had a look of compassion in her face.

Suddenly the door popped open. A boy with tan hair, a blue sweatshirt and yellow gloves popped inside. He had a metal helmet that had the number "35" on the front.

"Numbuh 274 sir. It's time to prepare for the keynote."

"Thank you Numbuh 35."

He closed the door and left

"I have to go." He said, while stacking his papers together. Numbuhs 86 and 362 got up and walked to the door.

"Thanks for your time, Numbuh 5." 274 said, "You can let me know by the end of the week what sector you wish to be reassigned to." He stood up straight.

"Try not to think of this as the end, Abigail." He said with a smile "Think of it as a new beginning."

-x—

The inside of the moonbase was massive. There were floors upon floors of children moving out and about, each with a purpose in mind. There was plenty of chatting and computing happening at any given time.

Abby walked down the hall and saw Numbuh 362 walking her way. Abby stopped in her tracks. Once 362 saw her, she stopped as well. Then she turned around and tried to walk the other way.

"Rachel!" Abby yelled while running to catch up with her. "Rachel just wait."

"I can't talk right now Numbuh 5."

"Hey, I don't wanna talk I just wanna…" Abby started while Rachel stopped walking. "Okay maybe I do wanna talk."

362 breathed out. "Abby, I can't revoke the decision for you. 274's the one in charge, and he already made the call."

"And I don't suppose you could convince him to make another one."

"No, I can't. It's nice enough that he's letting you pick where you want to be reassigned to. If you want my advice, just do what he says. Now if you don't mind, I have to help 274 prepare for his keynote speech…"

"Hey, Rachel. Thank You."

She nodded and made a quick smile, as if to emphasize that she was in a rush

"You're welcome."

Abby put her hand on 362's shoulder before she could walk away

"And…there's something else Numbuh 5 has to ask you."

"Of course there is" 362 said while trying not to roll her eyes

"Why did he ask me to go in detail about what happened to Cree? He already heard the story 3 years ago when it happened. I couldn't help but think that he was looking for something in my story this time around."

362 facepalmed herself

"Agh, Abby please don't do this to me."

"Now Rachel, you know how personal all of that was to me. The least you could do is let me know why y'all made me tell it again."

"I really shouldn't…" She said, "That information's supposed to be classified at this point."

"Do you want me to beg? 'Cause I will, and you know I will."

"No, please don't beg."

"Come on Rachel…" Abby started, "We're friends, right?"

"There were some times I wish we weren't…" She replied sharply with a sarcastic smile

"Just please tell me" Abby asked while folding her hands together

"Abby, I can't"

"Pleaase?"

"Knock it off, Abby!"

"I won't tell anyone, I promise. If he asks me I'll play dumb. I just have to know."

"It has to do with the Teen Ninjas, alright?"

Abby's face went from a pleading one to a perplexed one in a few seconds

"It might have to do with the Teen Ninjas. We're not sure." 362 said. "We received a text transmission the other day, but it was encrypted. When we tried to trace the transmission back to origin, we saw some specs that seemed to match one of their spacecraft models. We don't know if it was from the Teen Ninjas for sure. It could have been a fluke-an independent spacecraft or something."

Abby didn't say anything

"Numbuh 274 wanted to know if you remembered anything about where they could have gone after…the incident all those years ago, since that's the last time we've actively seen the Teen Ninjas around. He was essentially looking for clues or details, but didn't find any based on your story."

"The Teen Ninjas. They're the ones who are responsible for what happened to Cree…" Abby said

"Abby, don't. Okay?" 362 said sternly while pointing her finger at her. "We don't want you doing anything stupid in the name of revenge. That's why he didn't want to tell you about it in the first place. Now promise me you won't make me regret telling you."

Abby slowly nodded her head. "Yeah. Yeah, I'm cool." Abby said

362's watch began beeping.

"Good. I'm running late. Why don't you check on your friend?" She said while pacing away

"My friend?" Abby asked

"You know, the guy you brought in." 362 smiled "The cute intern."

-x—

A bald boy with clear wire frame glasses, a loose red sweater, and grey shots tried his best to balance on the top of a ladder. He was facing the exterior of a rocket ship, and attempting to rearrange some wires that were in the circuit box.

He grabbed a wire and tried to reattach it to another side.

"There we go…" He whispered to himself. "Come on, it has to work this time. Easy does it."

Abby walked into the room. It was a wide open room with a variety of vehicles and rockets inside. Nobody else seemed to be inside the room. Nobody except for him, that is. She stopped at the bottom of the ladder.

"Nigel Uno! How did I know that I'd find you down here in the basement?" Abby yelled while crossing her arms with a smile.

"Nowhere else to go! I'm the only one here for the rest of this week…someone's gotta do the work." Nigel yelled back. It was clear that he spoke with a British accent. "Could you give me a second, I'm trying to figure this out!"

Abby started counting on her fingers while muttering to herself. "How's about I give you three…"

By the time her fingers counted to three, she heard a shock from inside the rocket, and Nigel found himself falling backwards and yelling. Without reacting, Abby held her arms out and caught Nigel before he hit the ground.

"Three seconds before hurting yourself this time. An improvement!"

"Oh would you leave me alone." Nigel said while climbing out of Abby's arms. "Working with electronics is not my thing."

"Then why are you doing it?"

"Well I'll do anything to work my way upstairs. Not all of us were recruited to be operatives right away like you were."

"Hey, you were recruited too!"

"Yeah, by you. I even got to do a demonstration in front of 274 after you put in a good word with him…but I'm still not an operative, am I?"

"Well, no. But Numbuh 274 thought of making you one. You made quite the impression on him with that demonstration. He said that your battle skills were amazing. It's just…"

"My less than impressive test scores. I know."

There was a short silence

"Well for what it's worth." Abby said, "I think you'll make a great operative someday. "

"Well maybe I would. If I had a chance to retake it…" He looked at the ground "Again."

Abby looked up at the rocket ship.

"What exactly have you been working on, anyway?" She said, hoping to change the subject

"As of late, this rocket ship. Everything seems to be okay except for the fact that I can't get it to turn on. And that the GPS doesn't work. And neither do boosters, really. At this rate, this rocket will never get registered in the KND database. If I had the mind for all this technical stuff I probably would have figured it out by now."

"So who's helping you?"

"No one anymore. The other interns and I started it, but all the rest abandoned ship. For the last few weeks I've been trying by myself to get this blasted thing to work."

"Is that how things normally blow over down here?"

"Pretty much. When we all work together we can get a lot done. But once everybody else decides to slack off, I typically get left picking up the tab."

"But you don't have to do that…Why not just ditch this rocket like everyone else did?"

He shrugged

"Well, I don't want to just give up on it." Nigel said while wiping his hands with a cloth, and looking up at the rocket "Sure, it's hard work. But I think that it's important to stay committed. See things through to the end, you know?"

Abby nodded

"So how about you?" Nigel asked, "How is Sector V these days?"

Abby scoffed. "You mean how was Sector V. The administration's closing it down. As of today, Sector V no longer exists."

Nigel turned his head away

"Sorry to hear that."

Abby looked down at his pants and noticed a handheld notepad in his back pocket.

"What's that?" She asked

"Oh…it's nothing." He said while trying to grab the notepad. But Abby snatched it from his pocket before he could get to it.

She thumbed through the first few pages. Each page had a bunch of drawings, text, and arrows drawn on them.

"A doodle book?"

"More like an idea book." Nigel corrected her.

Abby could see a variety of invention ideas, mission ideas, and adult conspiracy theories all jammed together in that little book. On one page she saw a plan to fill the grand canyon with Rainbow Munchies cereal. On another page she saw a plan for a vehicle called the F.L.I.E.R.P.L.A.C.E. She looked between the notepad and him.

"Wait, you're tellin' me that you came up with all of these?"

"It passes the time when I'm on my lunch breaks, which I will take back now, thank you very much!" He said while grabbing the notebook out of her hand. "Now is there a reason you came down here or not?"

Abby pointed up

"It's past time for 274's little announcement. You are coming right?"

Nigel turned back to the ladder and put his notebook back in his pocket.

"I was actually going to get back to work. Tell me how it goes, Numbuh 5."

He prepared to climb the ladder, but Abby grabbed his wrist and pulled him back

"Numbuh 5 won't have to since you'll be there yourself."

"Hey! let go of me!"

"Come on, Nigel, a little bit of fresh air won't bite." She said it while dragging him to the door as Nigel continued to protest. "As much fresh air as you can get on the moon anyway…" She said quietly

-x-

"I thank you all for coming out." Numbuh 274 said. He was standing on a podium behind a stand. The room resembled a lecture hall, with Kids Next Door operatives sitting on each floor. Numbuh's 86, 362, and Numbuh 60 were standing behind him with their arms folded behind their backs. Numbuh 60 had black hair, and a brown beanie. He wore a thick green coat, topped off with orange gloves and an orange backpack.

"As you know, I've called each and every one of you here to make a very important announcement."

Abby and Nigel were standing next to each other on the very top balcony. They could barely see what was going on, but could hear his voice through the speakers.

"And that announcement is this. Boys and girls of the Kids Next Door, I proudly present to you, The N.A.N.O.M.I.T.E.!"

[N.A.N.O.M.I.T.E. – Neurological Activating Nanobot Optimizes Mental Intelligence & Tactical Efficiency]

A picture of what looked like a robotic flea appeared on the projector screen behind him. It was a winged, six legged insect that was chrome in color and had bolts for joints.

"These devices have been years and years in the making, but I'm proud to tell you today that the N.A.N.O.M.I.T.E.S are in their final stages of testing. Now I'm aware that the vast majority of you are completely unaware of what exactly a N.A.N.O.M.I.T.E. is and what exactly a N.A.N.O.M.I.T.E. does. And that's because up until now, we've only been sharing the designs for the 'mites within our leadership board, and with a select number of sector leaders. But enough small talk. Let's get to the cool part, why don't we?"

He pressed a button that changed the slide on the projector screen. It showed a 3D schematic of the N.A.N.O.M.I.T.E.

"Their design is taken from that of an ordinary flea, or fruit fly. You know, those icky little things that we call our daddys to take are of when they're in our rooms? Well let me assure you that no daddys need to be called when one of these is around. And that's in part because you won't even be able to see it. As you're aware, regular fleas are really small, but these are even smaller. It's the size of a tiny grain of sand, completely unnoticeable to the unsuspecting eye. But their effects are astounding, and dare I say it… revolutionary."

He went to the next slide. The kids in the audience were on the edges of their seat in excitement.

"The N.A.N.O.M.I.T.E. is, in short, a mind enhancer. And I'm not just talking about intelligence, even though that is part of what it does. I'm talking about the ability to greatly increase the fighting potential of our operatives. These little critters will change you from a senseless rookie to a black-belted genius."

"How do you get them to work, you may ask? And as gross as it may sound at first, you have to eat them."

A few "ewws" came from the crowd

"Well, let me correct that. You don't have to eat them. They can go in through any facial openings. The mouth, the ears, or the nose. But the point is that eventually, they'll have make their way to your brain."

Abby leaned on a nearby pole with her arms crossed while Nigel put his hands on the guardrail to look down. They both had the same perplexed look in their faces.

274 pressed the button to show a short animation.

"And once they latch onto your brain..." 274 said, "Then your fighting abilities and your IQ will be dramatically better."

One of the kids in the front raised his hand

"So are we talking like a twen-tillion times better or a hundred bazillion times better?" He asked with a nasally voice.

"A hundred bazillion." 274 said while raising his two eyebrows

A resounding "WOAH" came from the crowd.

"Yeah. Woah." 274 said, allowing the words to sink in. "But don't take my word for it!" He continued.

"Numbuh 60! Front and center!" He yelled.

Numbuh 60 dropped his hands to his side and stood face to face with Numbuh 274. The crowd watched silently and intently.

"Um, yes sir?"

"I have a few questions for you." 274 said, while grabbing a pen and a page from his notes.

"O..kay?" Numbuh 60 said

"What's the square root of 256?" 274 asked while staring at his page.

"Huh. I didn't know roots were squares." Numbuh 60 said while scratching his head "I always thought they were like, long and pointy."

274 checked the question off of his list

"What's the chemical formula for sugar?"

"Uh…S-U-G-E-R?"

274 checked the next thing off

"And finally, who wrote the Declaration of Independence?"

"Sorry, I don't listen to rap." Numbuh 60 said sharply. 274 checked the last thing off and put the paper away.

"Okay, one last thing." 274 started, " I want you to try and pin me down."

The crowd sucked in a gasp of air.

"Uh, Numbuh 274, sir…you sure you're okay with that?"

"Yeah. I am. And I want you to hold nothing back." He said while removing his helmet and his armor one piece at a time. "If I tap three times, that means I quit. And the same goes for you."

"Alright…" Numbuh 60 said after a pause. He had skepticism in his voice, but didn't dare question 274. He bent down and looked 274 in the eye.

"At your count." 274 said

"Okay. 3. 2…1!" Numbuh 60 yelled while running to tackle him. 274 dodged it. Numbuh 60 threw a punch, which brushed the side of 274's shoulder. But that's as far as he got. 274 kneed 60 in the chest and elbowed his back. Some of the crowd began to look away as 274 effortlessly knocked 60 to the ground in no more than 20 seconds. 274 and held him in a headlock. Numbuh 60 tapped out as fast as he could.

That came as no surprise to anyone. 274's fighting greatly surpassed that of Numbuh 60, and for that matter, just about everyone else at the moonbase. That's part of the reason why he was captain.

274 helped 60 up and brushed off his clothes for him.

"You alright?" He asked

"Yes sir." 60 said

"Okay…" 274 said while trying to catch his breath, "Now I want you to swallow this"

He held out a capsule that resembled a pill.

"Inside are half a dozen N.A.N.O.M.I.T.E.S. Just about as much as you should take in one sitting. Numbuh 60."

Numbuh 60 took it, and held it between his pointer finger and his thumb. He examined the pill.

"Don't worry, it's safe." 274 said while wiping his brow. "Just try it."

Numbuh 60 slowly complied. He breathed in and out, and then quickly shoved the pill in his mouth and swallowed it. He closed his eyes for a moment, and then slowly opened them a few seconds later.

"How are you feeling?" 274 asked

"Uh, pretty normal actually."

"Good. Because I want you to try and pin me down again."

Numbuh 60's eyes shot up at him. At this point, it was clear to the crowd that 60 and 274 had never rehearsed this. He was just as surprised of what was going on as anyone else was.

"Sir…I don't know if I can take that again. That hurt more than a spanking!" He said while rubbing his chest.

"Just trust me, Patton." 274 said. "Try again. And I'll count this time."

"I'm gonna need a cold root beer after this…" Numbuh 60 muttered to himself, hoping no one would hear. He got in his fighting stance again

"I'll count down this time." 274 said. "3…2…1"

Before 274 could finish counting to 1, Numbuh 60 let out rapidfire attacks on him. First, he let out three lighting fast jabs, then a kick in the rib, and then he grabbed onto 274's shoulders, front flipped over his head, and then pinned him down to the ground with ease after he landed. 274 genuinely tried to escape the lock, but Numbuh 60 was too strong, and was continuing to squeeze harder on his neck.

Numbuh 274 tapped out after 6 seconds.

The crowd boomed in applause. Abby and Nigel continued to watch with frozen faces.

This time, 60 helped 274 to his feet.

"Sir, are you okay? I'm so sorry!"

"I'm fine." He said while grabbing his arm, "But now let's get back to the questions."

274 grabbed the piece of paper while the applause began to quiet down.

"What's the square root of 256?"

"16, sir!" Numbuh 60 yelled

"And the chemical formula for sugar?"

"Well the molecular formula for glucose is C6H12O6, but the empirical formula is CH2O, assuming that glucose is the type of sugar that you're talking about."

The crowd gasped loudly and whispers followed.

"And finally…who wrote the Decleration of Independence."

"John Hancock!" Numbuh 60 exclaimed. 274 looked at his notes

"Well technically, that's not corr…"

"Is what most people would probably answer since he had the biggest signature…a common misconception." 60 continued, "But the author was in fact Thomas Jefferson among other writers like Ben Franklin, Roger Sherman, John Adams…Did you know that John Adams was our second president? And his son, the sixth president had the same name as him? After him was Jackson, then Van Buren, and then…" Numbuh 60 kept listing people off while 274 threw the paper aside

"THE N.A.N.O.M.I.T.E.S ARE A SUCCESS!"

The crowd jumped to their feet in loud and excited applause. Nigel and Abby remained motionless, watching intently.

"Just think about the potential that we now have! If this is the example of what every operative of the Kids Next Door will be like, we can no doubt put an end to adult tyranny once and for all! And it's all thatnks to the N.A.N.O.M.I.T.E.S!"

Kid reporters climbed the stage and began shoving their microphones into 274's face

"How long do these effects last for?" One of the reporters asked

"About 24 hours…" 274 answered, "Then you'll need to take more." He answered

"How do we know that this kind of technology won't fall into the wrong hands?" Another one asked

"Through the years, our tech division has been syncing the 'mites with our code module. That way, the N.A.N.O.M.I.T.E.S. can only work on registered Kids Next Door operatives. No one else."

"Mr. 274, sir. Why did you choose fruit flies as your model for these devices?"

"Well it's an unsuspicious structure. And if need be, the command deck can set the 'mites to fly to and from a designated area in case of an emergency. So think of it as an additional safety feature. But for our purposes, the N.A.N.O.M.I.T.E.S won't ever move. We'll just be taking them in pill capsules."

"Alright, alright, back up!" Numbuh 86 marched to the front and pushed the reporters away. "That's all Numbuh 274 has to say to you laddies!" She and 362 escorted Numbuh 274 into the backstage.

"Thank you all for coming!" 274 yelled

Numbuh 60 was still listing off the presidents while the three of them passed him.

"You know, you can shut up now…sheesh! Americans I tell ya…they always like to hear the sound of their own voices. You'll never catch me talkin' that much…" Numbuh 86 mumbled right before they exited.

-x—

Nigel and Abby were out in the hallway. Even though the hallway was teaming with excitement and movement, neither of those two had spoken since the announcement.

Numbuh 35 stopped in front of Abby

"Some speech, huh, Numbuh 5?!" He said, unable to hold back his smile.

"Yeah. It was some speech indeed." She replied

"Man, 274's really outdone himself. Think of what we can do with that kind of technology! All of us could be as tough as him, and as smart! No evil adult's gonna stand a chance against us! This is the future of the Kids Next Door I tell ya."

Abby half smiled and nodded. 35 turned his head towards Nigel.

"I'm sorry, have we met?" 35 asked

"Actually we have. I'm Nigel." He said, while shaking his hand

"Oh, that's right. You're the intern from downstairs." He said while nodding. He pulled his hand back. "Carry on."

35 walked away and then pointed at Abby on his stride out

"The future, Numbuh 5!" He exclaimed right before running down the hall. Nigel put his hands in his pockets, and Abby crossed her arms.

"So…" Abby said with a smile, "What do you think?"

"Well as we just established" Nigel started, "I'm an intern, not a commentator."

"Please, Nigel. Do me a favor. Speak freely!"

Nigel looked around before he opened his mouth.

"Even if I was a registered operative, I don't believe I would ever use those things."

"Why not?"

"Well. I'm probably the only one who thinks this, but…something about it doesn't sit well with me. Maybe it's the fact that you skip all of the hard work it takes to be an expert operative. Or maybe it's something else. Of all people, I'm open to new tactics and new ideas but for some reason, this sounds…off."

Abby simply looked at him

"You…probably think I'm crazy, huh?" Nigel asked

Abby smiled

"No crazier than you were before." She tapped his shoulder and then walked the other way. Nigel nodded and then went on his way as well.

-x-

A blonde man in brown khakis and a red tie opened the front door of a large house. He breathed in for an extended period of time.

"Ahh. Now isn't this a nice place, honey?" He spoke with a strong Australian accent. His blonde, short haired wife stepped up next to him. She was holding a newborn baby.

"It sure is, dear." She replied in her Australian accent, "There's so much room." The baby in her arms began to laugh. She tickled his stomach and let the door shut behind her.

"And it looks like little Joey likes it too." She said, "This place sure is 'swell"

"Why, you can say that again!" The man exclaimed as he rested his two wrists on his hips.

He began to look around.

"Hey, speaking of our kids…" He said, "Now where's our son with the boxes?"

He turned around and faced the door. He grabbed the doorknob and pulled it open again. A short, light skinned boy with a an orange sweatshirt, blue jeans, and a blonde bowl haircut stood behind. He was trying to hold four suitcases at once. Even though his hair was covering his eyes, his muttering mouth was enough to show that he was infuriated.

"Ah! There you are, Wallabe!" The man joyfully exclaimed, "Why don't you come and take a look at this here house!"

"Daaad…" Wally moaned, "I already told you that I didn't want to move here!" He also spoke with a shrill voice and a strong accent as well.

"Aw that's a bunch of silly talk!" Wally's father said while playfully slapping his back. Wally carelessly dropped the boxes to the floor. "This place is great! You can have all of your friends over anytime you like!"

"I don't have any friends here, Dad!"

"Well we're gonna install a swimming pool soon. You can play in there!"

"I can't swim."

"Well I'm sure you'll find something to do while we're living here. Now come on, these boxes aren't gonna carry themselves you know!" He said while slapping Wally's back again. Wallly angrily rubbed his hand against the offended spot.

"Haha, this our son. Don't you love our son, honey?"

"I sure do, Sid." Wally's mom said as both of them walked up the stairs.

"You know, you could help me with these!" Wally yelled after them. Both of his parents continued to laugh up the stairs.

"Mom? Dad?"

No response.

"UGH!" He yelled. He kicked the suitcases aside and marched outside. He slammed his hands into his sweatshirt pocket and walked down his driveway.

"Cruddy house. Cruddy suitcases. Cruddy parents."

He walked past the car. He stopped in his tracks to kick the tire.

"Cruddy car!"

The rim of the tire fell flat to the floor, and the car alarm went off. All the birds in a nearby tree flew away.

His dad's head popped out of the house window on the top floor.

"You're gonna have to fix that, son! See ya inside!"

He pulled his head back into the house.

Wally facepalmed himself and dragged his hand down to expose the pink of his eyes. He let go, put his hand back into his pocket, and strolled down the sidewalk.

Perhaps if he weren't looking straight down, he would have noticed the video camera that was lodged in a big tree that he passed. But unfortunately for him, he was too preoccupied with getting as far away form his house as possible.

Wally's footage was on a screen that was inside of a dark, black and red room. The windows revealed that it was being played from a ship that was in outer space.

A familiar looking black and red suited samurai paced up to a shadow covered samurai in front.

"So what's the call?" The one in the back asked.

The one in front was watching the footage of Wally with their hands held behind their back. The person spoke in a deep, muffled, synthesized voice.

"He's perfect. Seize him, and bring him to me."

-x—

Sidenote: So one thing that I realized that I sorta ret-conned was the fact that not all of the kids had joined by the time Maurice left the KND. In the show, there was one really short flashback showing all of the 5 kids present ad Maruice's decommissioning, but I guess in this version, Abby was the only one who was in the KND at the time. Sorry about that lol. Hopefully it's not too big of a deal. At worst, maybe you guys can look at this story as something of a retelling if it's too inconsistent, haha.

Anyways, let me know what you guys think of this! Should I continue it?