Two Years before Civil War…
Sector Q Tree House
Ceiling lights flickered as dust gathered on shelves. A single picture frame lay cracked on the floor against a wall with a dent. The picture was of five kids, all of whom were smiling. Within a room labeled '2030', a lone ten year old sat before several video monitors. The kid slumped in his seat watched the videos playing.
The videos had dates on the top left corner. One monitor showed a video that had been filmed three years prior, showing a twelve year old with dirty blonde hair jump up from his seat and spin around, kicking an assailant and land perfectly back in his seat. Another video dated back two years ago, showing the kid helping three older kids move a cooler filled with soda to the front of a tree house of similar design.
A smile slowly formed on the kids face as he watched the video. The video on the screen went to static before another took its place. The video dated to a more recent event. On the screen, in the form of first person perspective, a girl with long brown hair shook her head before walking away.
The kid's smile quickly vanished, replace with an expression of devastation. After the videos ended, the screens went to static. The kid blinked, getting up from his chair and walking to a headset that was connected to multiple wires, all of which led back to the monitors. The kid pulled the wires, disconnecting them from the headset.
The kid set the headset atop his head and took up his seat. An eye piece deployed and set itself over the kid's left eye. The boy pressed a button on the side, causing a video to play on the eyepiece. The boy reclined in his chair as the sunlight began to pour in through the room's windows.
KND Moon Base
"I kind of now regret my previous decision…" Numbuh 274, Chad Dickson, Supreme Leader of the Kids Next Door, spoke into a tape recorder as he reclined in the chair in his office. "My choice to put a score board to increase mission success rates between the organization's spies."
"My concerns stem down to Operative Numbuh C4. From what I've seen, she strives for the number one spot to beat our current number one, Numbuh 362. Her methods have gone to the extreme, pushing herself to the breaking point every day."
Outside the Supreme Leader's office, a red headed ten year old in KND spy attire punched a metal wall, denting it slightly. On a bulletin board, the girl's code Numbuh was on a piece of paper in the number two slot, under Numbuh 362. The girl huffed before stomping off to the cafeteria.
"As I said before." Numbuh 274 said into his tape recorder. "I regret my decision. Not only for installing a void between my fellow operatives in the categorization as a Spy, but for damaging one of my fellow operatives."
Moon Base: Medical Wing
"We're sorry, Numbuh 721…but I fear the fire crackers had done more damage than we first predicted." A KND doctor said softly to the operative in the medical bed.
"Okay…lets take off the bandages…I can take it." The operative nodded his head nervously.
A KND nurse turned to the doctor with recently cut off bandages on a tray. "I'm sorry Numbuh 721…" The KND doctor began. "But…we had already taken the bandages off…"
"But…how come I still can't see?" the operative asked, confused.
"I'm sorry, Numbuh 721. But the fire crackers have caused severe damage to your corneas, pupils, and iris." The doctor said solemnly. "You've gone blind."
Numbuh 721blinked repeatedly in darkness. "I'm going to get better, right? This isn't going to be permanent, right?"
"As far as we can tell…we're not sure." The doctor said as operatives began to look into the room. "You're sight is gone for now, I will arrange for someone to escort you around as you adjust."
"Thanks…I guess…" Numbuh 721 lowered his head as a tear trickled down his right cheek.
"That guys gone blind!" an operative exclaimed, pointing at Numbuh 721 as he sat up on the medical bed.
"I'm glad it's not me."
"How stupid do you have to be to blind yourself?"
"He probably stared into the sun to long."
"What a freak."
Numbuh 721 closed his eyes and wept in silence.
Moon Base Cafeteria
A boy sat at a table alone. He took a bite out of his recently purchased meal as he looked around for his friends to take up seats. Unfortunately, none did. The boy sighed. He took out a black book from his pocket and set it on the table.
"Is that a bible?" the kid looked up to see two newly christened decommissioning squad operatives standing nearby with lunch trays in hand.
"Um…yes it is." The boy smiled. "Care to have a seat, I could share a verse or two."
"Yeah…no thanks, we get enough religion on Sundays, freak." An operative with long brown hair snickered before she and her team mate walked off laughing.
The boy sighed once more. His eyes narrowed in sadness as he resumed eating alone.
KND Undersea Base
"You hear about Numbuh 501?" a KND scientist asked a girl with brown hair.
"No." the girl simply stated as she placed a 2x4 weapon on a work bench.
"Well, turns out that in fact, two weeks ago it was her that organized the attack on the Annual Science Fair." The KND scientist said a matter of fact.
"Really? I thought the teens did that just to mess with us?" the girl said surprised.
"Of course you'd think that." A KND scientist with a bowl cut and a cow lick said as he walked by. "You spend awfully too much time on your failed projects to even think of more plausible explanations to recent events. The least you could do is help the rest of us with Project C." The scientist walked off, rolling his eyes.
"My projects aren't failures." The girl muttered to herself.
"Actually, Numbuh 5-10. You have a low success rate." The KND scientist beside her said, raising an index finger. "Numbuh 71.562 does have a point. Your failure rate is currently 86.23%."
"Yeah…" Numbuh 5-10 sighed. "I know…"
Sector Q Tree House: Helipad
A S.C.A.M.P.E.R. set down on the helipad, landing beside a 2x4 helicopter. The doors to the S.C.A.M.P.E.R. opened, the pilot disembarking from the shabby camper. The one handed operative walked calmly to the entrance to the tree house and proceeded to knock.
"Yo, Numbuh 2030, it's me, Josh! I'm here to make sure you're still alive!" the operative yelled. "You mind opening the helipad entrance?!"
A few brief moments passed before the door opened, allowing the operative to enter. As Josh entered the tree house, the one handed operative quickly took notice of the tree house's current state. Trash littered the floor, a potted plant had died, and spider webs were forming.
"You've really let the place fall apart." Josh muttered as he reached a room with the number '2030' on it. "You seriously let the base fall apart." Josh muttered as he pushed the door along with a pile of garbage aside.
The kid in the chair merely shrugged as he registered Josh's presence. "Dude, you've been M.I.A. ever since the science fair. Herbie keeps ranting about how you have mission stacked up. And frankly, it's kind of weird that you haven't left your room in two weeks."
"Meh…" the kid muttered as he pressed a series of buttons on the side of his headset.
"Alright, look Nolan. It isn't the end of the world, sure she broke your heart but you're here. You need to get out of your funk and back out there, backing your team up in the field." Josh said crossing his arms.
The kid, Numbuh 2030, simply stared at Josh. "…I didn't convince you at all did I?" Josh asked blandly, earning a nod from Numbuh 2030. "Come on man, you need to at least get out of the tree house, breathe in the fresh air, something."
"Heck, come on I'll get the gang back together and buy you a drink at Lime Rickey's." Josh said, waving his arms around.
Numbuh 2030 sighed. He hit another button on his headset-like device before getting back on his feet and off the chair. He dug into his pockets, pulling out a pair of keys and tossed them to Josh. "We're taking the M.A.T.O.R.O."
Icarus Towers
"Are the preparations complete?" an elderly man with a cane asked a man wearing a hazmat suit.
"Yes sir, also, we've found the child you've been searching for." The man in the hazmat suit replied.
"Good." The elderly man smiled evilly. "Shall we begin?"