This is my first non-detective story so bear with me here :) feedback is appreciated!
It was a wet and damp Sunday morning, just the way Salem liked them. As he sat up in his bed and wiped his ruby red eyes clear of any remaining sandman dust he wondered if today would be the day. He got out of bed and went inside the bathroom to take care of his personal hygiene. Once he was finished he went through the pile of clothes in his closet and picked out his favorite outfit; a white hoodie with black pants. Noticing that he could not find his favorite sneakers anywhere, he decided to go with some black hiking boots and went into the kitchen to greet his mom as she finished making herself a helping of pancakes. He wanted some but he knew better than to ask for any because his step-dad was gonna come in and drunkenly steal everyone's breakfast anytime now, so he opted to just eat some cereal. As he finished his cereal he looked at the clock above the front door and noticed that he would have to leave soon.
"Bye mom, see you later." Salem said as he started for the door.
"Salem, where on Earth could you be going at this time of day?" His mother asked.
"School tutoring, it'll only be for a couple of hours so I might miss lunch. Tell Flanders I said bye." Salem then walked out of the door as he heard his mom tell him goodbye. As he walked towards the school, knowing full well that his mother was looking out of the window as she usually did whenever he left, he had to make sure he was far enough so she couldn't see him anymore. Once he was out of her view he jogged in a complete circle around the block and went the opposite way from when he first left the house. He had to make up a good alibi because he didn't want her to worry or to know about where he was really going. About five minutes after he had left he had arrived outside Sector V's treehouse where Numbuh 2 was awaiting him.
"Good morning Numbuh 25, I hope you're ready for this." Numbuh 2 said as he motioned for Salem to follow him.
"I would have just stayed home if I wasn't ready." Salem said as he followed Numbuh 2 inside the treehouse. Instead of going up the stairs to the Briefing Room as they usually did, they instead took an elevator this time. Salem was a little confused by the sudden change in how they got to the Briefing Room, but he pushed his feelings for the matter aside when he saw why. Inside the room was Numbuh 1, Numbuh 274, three other kids that he remembered from school, and to Salem's annoyance, Numbuh 86.
"Why is she here?" Salem whispered into Numbuh 2's ear.
"I don't know, I think she's just a tag along." Number 2 whispered back.
Numbuh 1 motioned for Numbuh 2 to leave, and as Salem and Numbuh 2 said their goodbyes Numbuh 274 motioned for Numbuh 86 to leave the room as well, meaning she had to pass Salem on her way down. He didn't have time to get into a heated argument with her right now nor did he want to, but of course, she most likely wouldn't care for his thoughts and say something to him anyway. As she began walking to the elevator and he began to walk towards Numbuhs 1 and 274 he noticed that she was staring right at him, for no apparent reason at all. He had heard he had an adorable face but he just thought people were being too nice.
"Like what you see or something?" he said as he stared right back at her.
"And whats that suppose to mean!?" she yelled at him. "You think just because we share the same hair color that I'd be interested in a stoopid boy like you?"
'I never said anything about any hair...' Salem thought to himself as he continued to walk past her. He really wanted to throw a barrage of insults at her, but he knew that he had to stay professional if he was going to be able to do this, so he simply continued walking while thinking horrible things would befall 86. While he walked away she figured she had scared him and began to taunt him about his hair and his imaginary accusations against her. As she left he breathed a sigh of relief, glad that she didn't utter the forbidden 'c' word, and finally made his way to Numbuh 274.
"Numbuh 25, why is it that you two seem like you could be the best of friends but for some reason you most likely won't?" Numbuh 1 said jokingly.
"With all due respect sir, she hates boys and I'm a straight-forward-insult-you-in-your-face type of person. We'd never be able to be friends unless one of us change our attitudes, meaning her." Salem said as he saw Numbuh 1 motioning the three other kids to fall in with him.
"Anyway, back to business," 274 said. "You four are here because while you are Kids Next Door operatives, the sector closest to you is already full meaning that we'd have to send you to a entirely different sector in an entirely different place. Fortunately for you I came up with a solution to that problem. I believed that you four could work as a splinter group of Sector V, meaning that you will still be able to participate in missions with them, as well as go on missions made just for your group. Earlier this week we judged you based on athletics, smarts, and other essential skills and we've decided who does what." 274 then pointed at everyone in order, with Salem being first, to tell them of their roles in the group. "Numbuh 25, also known as Salem Warner, you are appointed as the Hand-to-Hand expert of the group. Numbuh 31, also known as Josh Hansbro, you are the appointed leader. Numbuh 51, also known as Penny Lockhart, you've been appointed as the group's Second-in-Command. Finally Numbuh 94, Andrew Newton, you have been appointed as the 2x4 Technology expert. Is everyone clear on what they do?"
"Sir yes sir!" the four operatives shouted.
"Now on to our last bit of business here. You guys need a name, nothing too girly but nothing too weird either. You each get a chance to tell me a name, and if everyone else likes it then that'll be the group's name. We'll go in order from first to last, so Salem you start off."
"Bravest Warriors." Salem said.
"Wolf Pack." Josh said.
"Killer Bees." Penny said.
"Hunter Killer Drones." Andrew said.
"Now," Numbuh 274 said as he began to pace back and forth. "I mainly like them all, except 'Hunter Killer Drones', and Killer Bees sounds a bit...not for this type of job name. Josh, tell me why you picked that name."
"Well, the name shows that us four are like a wolf pack, we are more effective when we are with each other."
"Nice," 274 said. "Salem, explain why you chose your name."
"Two reasons. Reason one is because if we put in the work and determination then that's what we'll be. Reason two is because it just sounds awesome...just imagine, a villain yelling out 'Oh no! Here come the Bravest Warriors!'...sounds magical."
Numbuh 274 then let everyone vote on which name they would pick, and Salem's name had barely won, thanks to the tie-breaking vote from Numbuh 1. After the meeting was dismissed and the newly formed Bravest Warriors began to conversate with each other, Numbuh 86 had come back for some unknown reason, and she had her eyes on one person. She walked over to the new group, pushing and shoving as usual, and went right into Salem's face. He didn't understand why she didn't like him, it had to go farther than the whole I'm a boy' thing. What was the problem, and how quickly could he solve it?
"I know what you're trying to do here. You walked past me without saying anything because you think you're super cool and better than me, well guess again! I am a superior ranking officer, while your just a dumb boy!" she said.
"Hey, 86, why exactly do you hate me? Don't blame it on the fact that I'm a boy, that's just a cover-up to something else. I think it's because I disgust you with my smell. I reek, plain and simple."
"Finally! Maybe you aren't so stupid after all."
"I wasn't finished, so please. I may reek...but it's only because I reek of awesomness! I disgust you with the fact that I'm way more awesomer than you are now or you will ever be!"
That comment dropped the jaws of everyone in the room. Salem looked around at everyone with a jaw-dropping expression on their face and knew he'd fit in with these guys just fine.