Disclaimer: I don't own Codename: Kids Next Door. It belongs to Tom Warburton

All He Has Left

A small boy sat on the couch which was pressed against the living room wall. The first light that hinted of dawn's approach was creeping through the window; making shadowed areas it couldn't reach seem even darker.

Not that the dark frightened him. No, he'd had to deal with something much scarier every day of his life until about two and a half years ago. An evil, narcissistic being who could summon shadows at will and literally burn holes through people with nothing more than a glare. This being was a jerk who forced kids to work in factories day and night, every day of the year. He was cruel and unjust, even playing favorites with his own children. This man was the ruler of the world, his pappy, Grandfather.

That all changed when his older brother, Monty, found a secret chamber in a tree. In this chamber were tools to defeat evil adults, including a book, The Book of KND. The older boy had been so excited. He'd figured that this was the opportunity to defeat their dad and free the kids of the world.

Benedict recalled, as he sat in the chair waiting, that he had been horrified at the thought of how their dad would treat them for such defiance and had refused to help. He didn't want to deal with the punishment their Pappy would lay out when his elder brother's crazy plan failed.

Looking back, Ben realized that he was wrong. Pappy wouldn't have punished them both in the harsh manner he had pictured, just him. Monty would have only been sent to his room until Pappy was ready to have a stern talk with him. Then the boy would get a slap on the wrist before being sent back to the factories where he had the duty of keeping records on how well production is going instead of mixing the tapioca or throwing coals into the fire. In comparison to his younger brother, Montgomery Uno really didn't have much to lose by this show of rebellion.

So, when Pappy called, Ben came while Monty stayed behind in that room. It would actually be a few weeks later that the boy struck with a team, attacking Pappy's largest tapioca factory and then doing the unimaginable. He defeated Grandfather.

Ben sighed as he listened for the sound of footsteps. He was worried because he knew that, whatever happened today, it would affect the rest of his life. More so than the day their pappy was defeated.

Everyone was so happy that day. The evil monster had been defeated. He was gone forever. Even Benedict, after making sure the man, clueless of to his own fall from power, made it home safely, allowed himself to believe this nightmare was over.

Of course, finding that the only thing keeping their house standing was Pappy's powers hadn't been that great either but they soon had another home. It was smaller than the last one, which was fine with Ben. The main advantage of the mansion's size is there were lots of places to hide when his Pappy got really mad. Other than that, it seemed too big to be comfortable.

Unfortunately, while Grandfather had forgotten everything connected to his powers, he'd also lost a few other things. One was the ability to cook, which wasn't all that surprising, considering he'd used his powers to do it. Ben was trying to learn using cook books, ovens and stoves so he could pick up the slack, since Monty was busy with other things and he wasn't as willing to live off of sandwiches and microwavable food as the older boy.

Another thing their dad had forgotten was his love for tapioca. Neither Monty nor Ben lost any sleep over this. If they never saw the stuff again, it would be too soon.

There was one more major thing Grandfather forgot. His youngest sons name. Not his eldest son's name though, he had no problems there, whatsoever. Yup it was clear who the least favorite child still was. Benedict had to remind him on an almost daily basis. On the other hand, this was an improvement on being purposefully pushed aside.

Monty had been quick to forgive him for refusing to participate in his rebellion, which was a relief considering that no one else seemed to want to be friends with the dorky youngest son of Grandfather. The only reason Monty probably became popular was that he'd been the one to defeat the threatening figure.

Not that Monty forgiving him meant they spent a lot of time together. He was often too busy fighting adults who were trying to fill the power gap left by Grandfather's absence. Then he was trying to keep peace with the teenagers whom were also glad to be free from Grandfather but seemed to have interests that conflicted with those of children. Even when he didn't have any missions, he was often hanging out with his KND friends.

Monty did make a point to make sure they did have a little time together though. They'd always share a seat on the bus rides to and from school. Occasionally, when the older boy was not on a mission, they'd eat together at home. Monty would even go so far as to compliment Ben on his quickly growing cooking skills and help with the dishes afterward.

Well, if Ben didn't change Monty's mind this morning, things would be getting a lot worse for him again. Today was his big brother's thirteenth birthday and the day that the KND turned on the first Decommissioning Chamber of the Seventh Age. This would be the first time one had been used since the Sixth Age ended, roughly fifty years ago, according to what Monty claimed he read in that book. The older boy planned on using himself for the demonstration of the machines full capabilities. After today, this would be the final duty of every KND member, to protect children from adult tyranny.

Benedict was snapped out of his thoughts as he heard the sound he'd been waiting for. There were two steps, one immediately above the other, which creaked. They were unavoidable. The fact that they were the only sounds he'd heard indicated that, as he suspected, his brother was trying to sneak away unnoticed.

As the teenager came into sight, the younger boy said, "Morning, Monty." This caused the older boy to jump and then turn to his little brother. The daylight, which was filtering in more than earlier, illuminated the older boy's features well enough to read his guilty expression easily.

"Good morning Ben," he said, a little apprehensively. "What are you doing up?"

"You didn't think I'd let you just sneak away, did you?"

The older boy looked down at his feet. He was already dressed and wearing his sneakers.

"I've got to go, Ben."

"And I have to do everything I can to stop you," the younger child replied. The two brothers just stared each other down for a moment, the younger boy positioned so that he could intercept the other if he made a dash for the front door.

So instead, Monty turned toward the dining room, where there was a side door exit to the house. Ben followed just on his heels, leaping for his elder brother and wrapping his arms around the other boys left leg.

"Come on Ben, let go," Monty exclaimed, the annoyance clear in his voice as he tried to pull away.

"No!" The other child screamed, clinging tightly to his elder sibling with his arms, while his own lower limbs were around a leg of the dining room table. "You're all I have left," he cried out as tears rolled down his face.

"I'm being decommissioned, not killed. I'll be back this evening." As if this wasn't hard enough without his little brother making a big scene about it, he thought as he pulled himself closer to the door. He had hoped to dislodge his brother in the process but instead, as he struggled forward, he heard the table scrape across the floor. He had to admit, for such a scrawny ten year old, the boy had a good grip.

Ben screamed "Liar. You know that the boy whom they'll drop off here this evening will have as much in common with you as that old man upstairs does with Pappy."

Those words shook Monty to his very core. The old man upstairs was nothing like the person he used to be. If he had been, by now he'd be in the room handing out swift punishment for their making such a racket and scratching his floor. Instead, he was probably still asleep upstairs right now. Not that his old personality was sorely missed. To the contrary, this was a vast improvement. There was no more condescending tone or ugly sneers to deal with.

What would the decommissioning do to him, though? Monty knew that when this was over, he wouldn't be the same. What would he be like when he came home later? Who would he be? Honestly, he was scared. Part of him really didn't want to do this but he knew he had to. He was thirteen now. He'd like to think that he'd continue to use the knowledge he'd gained in the KND to help children but he couldn't be sure. On top of that, the KND was growing rapidly. There were already over two hundred children in it and more trying to sign up. All of the kids coming in would eventually grow up, too.

It wasn't just the age that was a worry either. In his time running these missions, he'd seen some pretty nasty sights. There was a psychological effect that doing this type of work had. It wasn't common knowledge but he wouldn't be the first kid that decommissioning device would be used on. A few months previously, one of his original team mates who'd helped him fight Grandfather had been captured by another adult. The child had been a prisoner for a month but they'd found him. He didn't know what happened during his time as prisoner but afterward the kid just wasn't right. He was silent most of the time, withdrawn. Unless someone touched him, then he freaked out. After exhausting all of their other options for trying to restore the child to his former self, they placed him into the decommissioning chamber. Afterward, he didn't remember his time with the KND or his role in fighting Grandfather but he behaved like a normal kid again.

It didn't take much looking to notice that several of the other kids were developing issues, too. Some became desensitized to the horrid things they saw. Others grew paranoid to the point that they were unable to trust even their own parents. There were other things, odd changes in some operatives' behavior and reasoning. A couple had even switched to the adult side already, much to Monty's horror.

If Monty didn't do this now to set an example, it was unlikely that anyone would after him. He had to do it. For the safety of kids everywhere and the well-being of those who were fighting to protect them, he had to leave behind everything he'd done over the last couple years of his life.

So, for the last couple weeks, he'd been setting up the event. It was going to be a huge ceremony in a new stadium adjacent to the chamber. Every KND member who wasn't out sick or grounded would be there. He'd give one last speech, announce who the next Supreme Leader is and walk into the next room. Numbuh Zero would be nothing more than a memory after that and he'd move on with his life, unaware that he'd even lost something.

The younger boy must have seen the determination in his face. "Please, Monty."

Monty looked down at his brother, sighed and grabbed the chair which was still within reach and sat down in it. Realizing that he was relenting for the moment, Benedict released him and pulled up his own chair, positioning himself so that he faced his elder brother.

Monty knew the others would be here soon. Number 68, recently named the first head of decommissioning, would not accept any delays, so this needed to be addressed now.

"I have to do this Ben. It is the duty of the Kids Next Door to help children. If I were to keep my memories, I would be setting a bad example for the other operatives and I could become a threat to children everywhere."

"What about the child in your own house? I have no one else, Monty and you know it. I never had Pappy's love if he actually had any to give. Mom left before I was old enough to remember her. Most of the other kids either ignore me or tease me for being dorky," The depressed younger boy stated. "I can't lose you. Please don't leave me alone. "

The older boy didn't look his sibling in the eye. The desperation in the younger child's voice was almost enough to make Monty regret having decided to go through with this. Life had not been kind to him. That was easy to see.

On top of that, Monty knew that their mom hadn't walked out. Where the other boy got that idea he'll never know. The thought of anyone even trying to leave Grandfather was laughable. No, he remembered that Mom had gone to the hospital to have Ben and that it had been Pappy who brought the squalling newborn home. The funeral had been a few days later. That was probably closely linked the reason Pappy didn't like Ben much.

"Ben, I don't have a choice anymore."

"What do you mean, you don't have a choice!?" Benedict exclaimed in fury. "The Kids Next Door is your organization.

"No Ben, as of midnight last night, I lost all power in the KND. In fact according to rules I helped make, if I were to refuse to come, my friends would be forced to fight me and take me to the Moon Base by any means necessary."

"Well that's stupid." Ben replied.

They heard a knock on the door and both looked up. Then Monty gave his brother a sad look before getting up and walking back through the living room and toward the door.

"Monty, please," Ben begged, feeling a tear rolling down his cheek, although he remained seated this time.

"Sorry," Monty said, glancing at his little brother with great sincerity as he opened the door. The word caused Ben to remember that time in the tree, when the older boy had asked for his help. Had he sounded so pathetically lacking, so disappointing?

As he considered this, the teenager looked out the door and said with a false cheeriness, "Hi guys, I'm ready to go." Then he was gone from the doorway.

Ben rushed up to the place where his brother had been standing and watched as some of the kids lead him to a shuttle, or camper or whatever the heck they call those things. It was one of four vehicles that they had on the front lawn, obviously in case the boy had decided to put up a fight. Before he disappeared into the shuttle, he looked back at his brother one last time.

"Take care, Ben," he shouted to his little brother before disappearing into the vehicle and the door closing behind him.

Benedict stepped onto the front porch and watched silently as the vehicle took off down the street. He was being stripped of the last bit of his life that he had, the only person he could ever remember caring about him, clearly not as much as he thought, though. Monty was abandoning his little brother for what… his friends and making sure that kids had a right to leisure time. Why was he always the less important thing to everyone in his life? What was it about him that made everyone push him aside? What had he ever done to deserve this?

Then, as he watched the other KND agents walking back toward their ships, talking amongst themselves and totally ignoring him, he felt something snap. Well, no one would ever mistake him for nothing ever again.

The kids whom had earlier positioned themselves strategically in case Monty put up a fight now had their backs to his little brother. They didn't see the yellow glow that had suddenly entered the boy's eyes and the flames that spread across his body. Their first warning was the smell of burning grass. This was almost immediately followed by the sight of the long shadows of the morning swirl away to a focused point behind them. They turned and stared in with varying expressions of fear and horror on their faces as the shadows swept around Monty's little brother, cloaking him in an all too familiar type of darkness.

"Oh," Ben said in an eerily calm voice that was modified by his new powers, "Now you notice me." He chuckled humorlessly as he looked at the scared kids before him. "All it takes is a suit and suddenly I go from being invisible to being the center of attention."

He took a step forward and summoned a small flame, about double the size of one he'd seen when watching a match get struck, to his hand. He held it there and stared at it for a moment, fascinated. Then the movement of the other children slowly backing toward their vehicles caught his eye. It was the most fire he could seem to summon but he wouldn't tell them that. He continued to look at the flame for another moment before flinging it toward the kids, causing them to run away, screaming.

He laughed, although in reality, he was angry and his feelings were hurt. He wanted to scream, too but in fury not fear. He felt tears that no one else could see rolling down his cheeks and heard them sizzling as the fell through his suit and were boiled into steam.

The other children got onto their shuttles as the small silhouetted figure followed them at an almost leisurely pace across the front lawn, burning the grass with every step he took. All of the remaining vehicles took off and left at full speed. None of the kids wanted to get in a fight with the new villain.

As Benedict watched them fly off, he was yelling at them, changing between insults at the KND in general and statements about how he'd be just fine without Monty. As they faded into the distance, Benedict's temper subsided enough for him to feel a tingling sensation throughout his body. The sensation quickly intensified and the boy cried out in pain. He imagined that this must be what it feels like to have thousands of burning needles shoved into ones skin, then could think of nothing more as the pain overtook him.

Several hours later, Monty arrived home from… well somewhere he couldn't remember for some strange reason. He was enjoying the beautiful evening until he came into view of the house. Then he saw a small silhouetted figure curled up on the ground in the middle of the lawn, part of which was singed. As he approached the figure, he recognized it, "Ben, is that you?"

I've had this one partially done since July. I decided that, since I don't have much time at the moment to work on my next chapter for How on Earth, I'd post this instead. I'm surprised that I've never seen this idea anywhere in the fan base (maybe I just haven't looked in the right area) but I couldn't help but think about how Monty's decommissioning might have negatively impacted Benedict.

Also, in response to fictionlover94's question about Ben's control over his powers in the reviews, I decided to place an explanation here. I don't think of what I've shown above as Benedict having control of his powers. Quite the opposite actually. First, I kind of picture the silhouette suit's power being attached to strong emotions. So when his powers awakened in this story, it's really something he had no control over. Furthermore, whenever Father loses his temper, like in Operation Caked Five when someone ate his cake, he got extra flames. The reason there was less fire in this story is that I assume Father's powers strengthened as he grew, thus he was weaker when he was younger. What I think is harder than summoning fire is controlling it. I will use Caked Five for this example too. Whenever he lost his temper in this episode, Father melted the ice-cream cake, causing all sorts of problems, like melted droplets falling from above and the floor melting. I tried to bring his lack of control to peoples attention in this story by having him burn the grass wherever he stepped after his powers awoke.