"All right, Numbuh Four, what did you want to talk to me about?"
It was a warm, sunny day, the last one of Easter vacation. Wally and Nigel were walking from Lime Rickey's to the Treehouse-the blond-haired boy having insisted on speaking to his team leader alone.
"It's about the mission tomorrow. Numba Five told me that ah'm supposed to lead the guard dogs away from the base's entrance. Is that true?"
"Yes, it is", said Nigel unwaveringly.
"Why? How come ah always get chosen for the dangerous stuff?"
Nigel sighed. "Because, to be honest Numbuh Four, you're not the smartest person on the team."
"Are ya saying ah'm dumb?"
"No", replied the British operative, "but, uh, the fact is that you have been known to be... reckless and easily fooled in the past. I mean, do you remember the time when Ace tricked you into interrupting our school play? Or when you thought the game of Kids Next Door tag was still going on three days after it finished? And let's not even get into your grades-
"All roight, all roight!", interrupted Wally tersely, "ah've make some mistakes! But it happens ter everyone!"
"Yes, Numbuh Four. It does. It's just"-Nigel sighed-"you've made more mistakes than the others. "
Wally felt his face grow hot. He was bursting with the temptation to walk away and not take part in the upcoming mission. However, that wouldn't get him anywhere. They would miss his fighting abilities, of course, but they would also be too angry to admit his importance. With great effort, he kept his cool.
"It's because of the S.C.A.M.P.E.R. incident, isn't it?" he asked sulkily. "That's why ya don't trust me anymore?
"It's not just that, Wally. There have been-
"Hey, Numbuh One", someone shouted, "over here!"
They turned their heads towards the origin of the voice. Hoagie, Kuki, and Abby were standing fifty feet away in the rusting, condemned playground.
"Come over here!" repeated Hoagie. "I've got that heat ray you've been asking about."
"Finally!" said Nigel excitedly. "I've been waiting ages for that thing!" He began running towards his friends.
Wally briefly trudged in his footsteps until something made him stop. Abby, Kuki, and Hoagie weren't casting any shadows, even though it was 3 P.M. and they were standing in a completely exposed part of the playground.
Kuki beckoned to him. "You coming, Numbuh Four?"
"Numbuh Four?" Wally repeated suspiciously. "Now ah know something's wrong."
"Numba One!"he shouted. "Stop! Something's not right!"
Nigel paused and looked at him skeptically. "What do you mean? It's just our friends!" He carried on running.
BOOM! An explosion split the ground beneath Nigel's feet. His legs were suddenly covered all the way up his shorts in a sticky, white substance.
"Super glue! Aaargh! Numbuh Four, I'm stuck! Help me!" Even as he spoke, Wally noticed that Hoagie, Kuki, and Abby had mysteriously vanished.
"What do you think of our holograms, Nigel?" asked five eerily familiar voices.
"Oh no..."
The Delightful Children looked smugger than ever as they emerged from a nearby bush. "Oh yes! It took us weeks to prepare this trap. But believe us, it was worth it."
The superglue formed a puddle around Nigel, but it was fairly small-there was clean grass within reaching distance. If he grabbed hold of it, maybe he could crawl away. He tried to reach out towards the grass, but found that it wasn't possible. The glue allowed his legs no movement. He couldn't even fall down.
"Uughh! You won't get away with this!" he growled.
"Father will be delighted to see you, Nigel." they gloated. "He's got a surprise for you that will change your whole way of thinking!"
"Numbuh Four, get out of here!" Nigel yelled. "Warn the others
Wally didn't need telling twice. He sprinted for the street. Looking over his shoulder, he saw that Lenny had a blaster pointed at him. But for some reason the weapon didn't fire. Maybe the brats wanted Wally to escape. That would make kidnapping Nigel much easier.
Abruptly, realization hit Wally and he screeched to a halt. Why did he need to warn the others! He didn't require their help. He was Wallabee Beetles, a combat specialist of legendary skill and courage. He could easily free Nigel on his own.
Meanwhile, the Delightful Children had turned their attention to extracting Nigel from his glue trap. Using a pocket-sized laser, one of them was carving a circle around Sector V's leader. As this procedure took place, they cast their eyes nonchalantly around the playground…
to see Wally charging at them.
"What?!" The Delightful Children were so surprised they momentarily froze. By the time they recovered, it was too late. With a scream, Wally plowed into them.
He tackled Lenny to the ground and threw punch after punch at him, the other child's weakness fueling his aggression. He then turned to the blond boy and launched a massive uppercut, knocking his opponent to the ground. Next he advanced on the pig-tailed girl, his confidence rapidly increasing. This was almost too easy: these creeps had never been any good at physical combat.
But there were still three of them, and only one of him. Suddenly Wally felt something coil tightly around his arms-it was a bola. Losing his balance, he tumbled to the ground. End of the road.
His enemies gathered around him. "Wallabee, Wallabee, Wallabee, now what were you thinking? Oh but of course, you never think."
"Oh really? Look at the street, delightful dorks."
"The street? Why?"
But they saw it too: a passing adult driver had clearly noticed the confrontation. He was striding towards them with a concerned expression on his face. "Hey you kids aren't playing on the jungle gym, are you? It's scheduled for demolition!"
Wally knew they were saved. Any minute, the adult would realize what the Delightful were up to, so they had no choice but to flee. Sure enough, they bolted for a nearby hole in the ground, from whence they'd come.
The man watched them go with a dazed expression on his face. "Where are these kids going?" he asked the operatives.
"We don't know." replied Nigel stiffly.
Their rescuer blinked foolishly. Apparently it had just dawned on him that Wally and Nigel were immobilized. How predictable. "Say, are you two covered in glue?" he asked Nigel.
"I'm afraid so."
The adult scratched his head, completely baffled. "If you don't mind my asking, how did you get covered up like that?"
"We were building a glue bomb for science class, but it went off accidentally." explained Nigel, sounding like he was doing the adult a considerable favor.
"Oh right, I get it. Yes, of course. So uh, how do I get this stuff off you?"
"Try hot water." suggested Wally. "Ah heard it dissolves glue."
The man promptly drove off. Five minutes he returned with a bucket of water and a pocket knife. Thankfully, this did the trick, and Nigel and Wally were soon free. After thanking the still confused man (What kind of school makes their students build glue bombs? It's a complete waste of time.") and promising him they would stay away from the jungle gym, the two operatives silently resumed their walk to the Treehouse.
Wally was the first to speak up. "It's a good thing that adult was there, huh?"
"Yes, I suppose so. Uh, listen Wally, I'm sorry I underestimated you", Nigel replied, sounding mortified. "You showed some great thinking out there."
Wally felt happiness wash over him like hot water. Finally, after so many months, Nigel was acknowledging his intelligence! But he had to stay casual. "S'allright, Nigel" he said. "Ah'm just glad ya changed yer mind."
...
"But does this mean ah get different assignments on the missions from now on?"
"Yes, of course. You know, maybe we haven't trusted you enough lately." Nigel stroked his chin pensively. "But there's something I'd like to know, though. What made you realize that the holograms were fake?"
Wally grinned goofily before answering. "Isn't it obvious? These holograms, they weren't casting any shadow. And, uh, Numba 3 called me Numba 4. Usually, that's not what she calls me."