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Operation:
F.O.S.T.E.R.S.
Friends' Omitted Safeness That Escalates Rescue Stuff
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Chapter 1
Briefing
The internal hallways of the Kids Next Door moonbase had always been quiet. Most of the operatives that lived in the secret space treehouse usually kept their proper positions, every one of them with a specific job. The Decomissioning Team was always ready to leave every time there was the need to capture a thirteen years old rebel. The Control rooms had always at least one operative each inside who constantly watched the various screens, looking for potential intruders and ready to receive incoming transmissions from the sectors located on the planet. In fact, the only times where the hallways were actually crowded were when lunch and dinner break arrived.
It was, therefore, no surprise for Numbuh Three-Sixty-Two, Supreme Leader of the Kids Next Door, to find herself alone while walking through the metal maze. The blonde girl, however, didn't mind. She had eventually become used to it, and by now she had more important matters to think about.
The Supreme Leader walked for some minutes until she reached a metal door guarded by two Kids Next Door operatives. The girl and the boy saluted respectfully Numbuh Three-Sixty-Two, who waved at them in answer. Then, the door opened automatically, letting Numbuh Three-Sixty-Two enter the big chamber behind.
She had been Supreme Leader of the Kids Next Door for a long time by now. Still, the sight of the Earth from space was always a bit stunning.
The girl quickly recovered her composure as she passed through the main control room of the moon base, where various KND agents were working on computers and communication devices. She wasn't there to resume her usual job, however. She had a precise goal, which needed to have the room empty.
"Numbuh Eighty-Six!" Numbuh Three-Sixty-Two called, as she reached the lowest part of the chamber. The girl she called, head of the Decommisioning Team as well as one of the highest ranked Kids Next Door operatives, was at the moment ranting at a poor boy, guilty of who knows what crime. Nothing surprising for Numbuh Three-Sixty-Two, she had tried various times to scold the red headed operative for her behaviour towards the other gender. Something that had seemed to be useless.
When Numbuh Eighty-Six realized she had been addressed by the Supreme Leader, she let the unlucky boy away, who finally gasped for air, and answered quickly: "Yes sir?"
"I want this control room cleared of all the Kids Next Door operatives now. I have to register a secret message of vital importance, and I want to do it alone."
She obviously didn't suspect that some of the kids present in the control room were spies, but there was always the possibility to have moles in the Kids Next Door, and in their fight against adulthood the Supreme Leader didn't want to take any chances.
Numbuh Eighty-Six moved her lips in an attempt to protest. After all, she had been just asked to clear the room of at least 50 operatives. But the stern face of Numbuh Three-Sixty-Two made her change idea about it.
"All right, everyone who's in the room, leave now!" she shouted "Orders of the Supreme Leader! Move it!"
Some of the kids groaned in protest, while others stood up with big grins on their faces, gladly accepting the unexpected pause. Five minutes passed before Numbuh Three-Sixty-Two became effectively alone.
The blonde girl thought she seriously needed to have a soundproof registering room of some sort added, in order to avoid these nuisances. In any case, that was for another day.
Numbuh Three-Sixty-Two approached the main monitors and quickly tapped some hand-made buttons.
Message Registration Requested, a sentence appeared on the biggest screen.
Numbuh Three-Sixty-Two walked away until she reached a certain distance from a camera located right in front of her, while a time counter appeared on the screen.
All right Rachel, let's be as brief as possible, she thought as the numbers continuously decreased.
5...
4...
3...
2..
1...
Good morning, Sector V.
This message is one of maximum importance. I expect you to be all in front of me now, as I'll add the auto-destruction option to the transmission. Therefore, listen carefully to what I'm going to say.
Global Command has decided to commit a delicate mission to your sector. This mission is the first one of its kind, and we're all sure you'll act with extra carefulness. You're going to be the first Kids Next Door operatives to actively help a potential ally in our fight against the grown-ups.
You might already know of what an "Imaginary Friend" is. While there is no data in the Code Module of anyone of them becoming operatives of our organization, the Kids Next Door has always considered them as semi-allies. Imaginary Friends are created by younger kids to have someone to play with, to spend time with, when there is no one to do so. We have went through various records of Imaginary Friends created by kids to protect them from examples of adult tyranny. Thus, we believe that the Kids Next Door and these particular subjects have a common purpose: help children throughout the world.
However, imaginary friends have a weakness: they are, more or less, all too kind hearted. This means that any adult with evil plans is going to have no problem in cheating them, or worse. And this is where your role begins,Sector V. There are lots of people out there that don't like our kind friends, and some of them would love to see them unable to help the kids, either the ones they were created from or any other one.
We have received reports of a suspicious building in a town not too far from your sector. The sector that was located here is provisionally inactive, so you'll have to work on your own. This building claims to be a 'foster home': a place where Imaginary friends are brought when their creators outgrow them. We believe that this might be a low excuse for something dirty. Your main objective will be to scan the location and investigate. If you find any evidence that the house is not what it's said to be, begin a rescue operation of all the imaginary friends immediately. Do not hesitate to contact us if help is needed. When all the imaginary friends will be secured, you'll proceed with the dismantlement of the structure and the capture of the heads of the facility.
I have faith in you, Numbuh One, Two, Three, Four, and Five. I hope to hear the report of a successful mission by the end of the day. Do not fail our friends.
Good luck.
End Transmission.
The image of Numbuh Three-Sixty-Two faltered through the hologram until it disappeared completely. After some seconds, the computer's voice spoke in its atone voice: 'Auto-destruction process completed'.
Numbuh One thought over the message Numbuh Three-Sixty-Two had delivered to them. It didn't happen regularly that Global Command messages were sent with auto-destruction programs inside. That meant that this mission was one of utmost importance, and Numbuh One knew better to let his guard down in this one.
Not exactly what the rest of his team was thinking about at the moment.
Numbuh One stared through his sunglasses at his team mates. They were sitting in their usual positions in the Briefing Room of the tree house. It was only a matter of seconds before at least one of them made a comment. A comment which eventually arrived, made by the hand-to-hand combat specialist of the group.
"Did I mishear, or has Numbuh Three-Sixty-Two just said we're going to save a bunch of useless imaginary friends?"
"I think that she has indeed just said that"
"I don't know what does global command think about when he sends us these missions, Numbuh Two! I mean, come on: imaginary friends? How are they supposed to help us against adults?"
"If you listened carefully, you would know by know!" a sweet voice replied.
"What? I didn't see any of them show up to help us!"
"They help us by helping kids and making their lives better! And imaginary friends are not stupid!"
"Of course they are! They are almost as much stupid as your stupid rainbow monkeys!"
"Are not!"
"Are too!"
"Are NOT!"
"Are TOO!"
"ENOUGH!"
The members of Sector V turned to their unimpressed leader. Numbuh Three and Numbuh Four, the two ones who were arguing, made their best to ignore each other, as Numbuh Two looked at him with interest. Numbuh Five remained silent, her expression hidden under her red hat.
"You may leave your bickering for another moment, Numbuh Three and Four. Now we have to concentrate on the mission. After all, imaginary friends are real friends that kids all over the world can trust, and they sometimes act as a defensive wall against adult crimes. We're not letting the grown-ups get rid of that! Understood?"
The four member of Numbuh One's team nodded, and the leader of Sector V smiled, satisfied of their reaction.
"Good. We're leaving early in the afternoon, so I expect you to be ready for two o'clock. Numbuh Two, see if there are some gadgets that can be useful with imaginary friends in our stockpile. For the others, prepare your generic equipment. I'm going through the information that was sent along with the message by Global Command."
With that, Sector V was dismissed, and every operative went to prepare himself or herself for the upcoming operation.
"Master Blooregard!"
Bloo tripped over his own feet and not so gracefully fell to the floor, surprised by the sudden call. When he got up, Mr. Herriman was towering over him, a scolding look on his face.
"How many times do I have to tell you? You're not allowed to run inside the house, and, most of all, you're not allowed to simulate dangerous military actions!"
"Ohh, come on, can't you just let it be for one little time? I'm trying to not die of boredom here!" pleaded Bloo.
"The answer is no, Master Blooregard. I want to see you out of your simulation outfit for when I'm going to see you again, no exceptions."
Bloo nodded, rolling his eyes, and Herriman, being done with him, began hopping away towards his office.
When Bloo saw him close the door behind him, he watched his weapon: a simple water gun with a military camouflage applied. The tiny imaginary friend was also wearing a fake military helmet over his head, as well as a pair of black tattoos on his cheeks.
He eventually decided to completely ignore Mr. Herriman's reprimand.
Bloo suddenly assumed a military-like behaviour. He ran and with an agile somersault hid himself behind one of the cupboards that served as decoration for the atrium of Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends.
He reached out for his pocket and drew his personal radio. Which was in reality a simple recoloured milk cartoon.
"Headquarters! This is Pvt. Blooregard, reporting for duty. I'm noticing intense enemy activity in the area..." an imaginary friend entered the large room and Bloo took a peek of the new arrival: it was the centipede-like one. "...I'm going to confront them straight forward. They're going to be no match for an expert of the battlefields as myself..."
"Hi Bloo!"
Bloo screamed and jumped away, knocking the cupboard in the process, which fell on the floor. The vase that was lying over it instantly broke to pieces.
"MAC!" Bloo protested "What do you think you're doing? I almost had a heart attack!"
The only excuse Bloo got from his best friend was an amused laugh. "What are you doing instead? Seems like you got something in your mind..."
"Of course I have! I'm on a super-secret-important mission on which depends the future of the entire house! And the only person who can withstand such a mission is myself!"
"Uhhmm, it doesn't look like a big one, considering the fact you just screamed in fright only because I said 'hi' " Mac commented with a teasing look.
"Umpf... Whatever Mac. Just stay quiet until I can infiltrate the dining room..."
Bloo was interrupted by the unexpected sound of the doorbell. Bloo knew that Frankie was in another part of the building at the moment, so that meant that the one's who was going to answer was...
"Oh, no! Quick, Mac, come here!" quickly said Bloo. The imaginary friend abruptly pushed the kid, despite his protests, until they were both in front of the collapsed cupboard and what remained of the decorative vase.
After some seconds, Mr. Herriman left his office. He immediately saw Bloo and Mac standing suspiciously on the other side of the atrium. It was indeed suspicious, considering the weirdly large smile of Master Blooregard... But Mr. Herriman was not a rude imaginary friend, so he temporarily ignored them and went to greet the new guests.
Bloo sighed in relief when he saw the rabbit open the door.
"Bloo, for how much time do we have to stay here?" asked Mac with a raised eyebrow.
"Until that fiendish rabbit is going away, of course!" answered Bloo matter-of-factly.
"I'm not staying there for all the day, Bloo..."
"Oh, relax! I'm sure it's only a matter of seconds, anyway!"
The two stopped talking when the voice of Mr. Herriman reached their ears.
"Hello, young masters. My name's is Mr. Herriman, and I am the manager of Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends. What can I do for you?"
"Hello, Mr. Herriman. We're sorry for the disturbance, but we had only recently come to know of this particular place. We really would like to adopt an Imaginary Friend. Is that possible?"
Mac's eyes widened. Mr. Herriman body was hiding the newcomers, but the voice was enough sinister to make Mac tense. To be precise, there were more than one: several atone voices spoke together, perfectly synchronized between themselves. Mac couldn't tell how many children were talking to Herriman yet, but it wasn't his main concern. That way of speaking was simply weird.
However, Mr. Herriman didn't seem to have the same thoughts of the young kid.
"Well, of course you can. Everyone who desires to adopt an imaginary friend is always welcome. I only have a question for you. Where are your parents? We'll need to fill some paperwork, and that is going to require the presence of your guardians."
"Oh, we know, Mr. Herriman. We've asked our father to fill a little authorization with his signature to let us do all the paperwork for him. Here it is."
Some seconds passed, during which Bloo and Mac could only guess that Mr. Herriman was controlling the above-mentioned authorization.
"It seems authentic. Sorry for my persistence, but this is a rather uncommon procedure to follow, and it's going to need some more time than the standard one. Are you sure your father is not able to go here himself?"
"We'd have brought him here if we could, Mr. Herriman. Father is a very busy man, and he always has a task that occupies him full time."
Did they just call their dad 'Father' ? Like it was his actual name? Mac was not liking how these kids were presenting themselves one bit. Something was fishy...
"If that's the case then, we can proceed with the proper paperwork, young masters. I sincerely admire your will to go through the needed bureaucracy to adopt one of the imaginary friend living this house. Not much kids are like you, these days."
"We absolutely agree with you, Mr. Herriman. If more kids were like us, the world would surely be a better place..."
Mr. Herriman moved away from the door, guiding the new adopters through the room towards his office. It was in that moment that Mac and Bloo had the chance to watch with their eyes the strangers.
The strange feeling that was going through Mac's head only grew at their sight. There were five children following Mr. Herriman alright, three boys and two girls. However, each of these two groups wore the same outfit, identical in everything if not the size, and the five of them walked together in a perfectly synchronized pace, just like when they were speaking. Their sight gave a unpleasant feeling that Mac instantly felt. And he felt it even more when the five children turned to them at the same time, and smiled.
A disturbing smile, of course. And those blue eyes the five of them shared... There was an ice touch in them. Something Mac didn't like to see at all.
Mr. Herriman entered his office and the five kids followed him. When the door was eventually closed, Mac breathed heavily. He had been literally holding the air inside.
Bloo did the same. Even though for slightly different reasons.
"Gah! And I thought Wilt was weird. Helping Herriman with his filling papers thing? I'd rather launch myself from the roof without a parachute!"
Mac, surprised by that sentence, watched his friend. That was it? He couldn't have missed the weird aura those kids had around them, could he?
"Bloo... Don't you think those kids were stranger than that? I mean, have you seen how they speak and walk together?"
"Oh, yes... so what? Maybe they're exercising for some coordination exam. The football masked dude, he was strange. What's wrong with that guy? It's not like tomorrow there's going to be the Superbowl or something!"
"But how about the eyes? They... they're hiding something. I don't know, but something's up with those five."
"Mac, you're acting just like Eduardo. There is no monster hidden in the dark room except for the one in your head. So stop acting dumb and help me with the present matter: infiltrate that dining room!"
With that, Bloo zapped away with his water rifle in hand, completely forgetting the fallen cupboard. Mac didn't follow him right away. In fact, he wasn't in the mood to play with him at all.
He couldn't remove the image of those five kids from his mind.
"All right everyone, we're landing, so brace yourselves!" shouted Numbuh Two.
"Numbuh Two, do I have to repeat that we have to land without alerting anyone? We're going to an infiltration mission, not a full frontal assault." Numbuh One reprimanded seriously.
"Yes, yes, I know, Numbuh One. Just wanted to say that."
Numbuh Two grabbed the commands of the SCAMPER Sector V had chosen for this particular mission and concentrated himself. The handmade vehicle crackled as the pilot tried his best to touch the ground softly.
"All right, baby. Steady... steady... you're doing good... ok... just a little inch more..."
Numbuh 2 felt the contact of the vehicle with the ground and made a thumbs-up signal to his fellow operatives. "We're on the ground, Numbuh One!"
"Excellent! Team, grab your equipment, we're going out."
Sector V only needed half a minute to prepare itself for the mission. The SCAMPER's main door opened and Numbuh One leaned out, giving a quick glance to the surroundings. They had landed in a small clearing, surrounded by trees from all the sides. When he decided that the zone was clear, he went forward, followed right after by Numbuh Two, Three, Four and Five.
Numbuh Two picked a remote controller from his pockets and pushed a few buttons. The effect was that the SCAMPER activated some external mechanisms and it slowly changed its appearance, taking the look of a big rock with some bushes around it. Even though the disguise was composed of makeshift materials, it did its job well. The SCAMPER was nearly unrecognisable.
"Good job with the new disguise option, Numbuh Two. We're not going to worry about the ship now." complimented Numbuh One.
"Just doing my job, Numbuh One!" Numbuh Two answered proudly.
The five kids left the vehicle and continued to move between the trees. They had in fact decided to hid their transport inside the small woods that were located near Foster's.
That meant that they spent no more of a minute to reach the edge of the little forest and see for the first time the image of the Victorian mansion that was Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends.
More or less, all the five of them were surprised by the size of the building. They were watching a side of the mansion, but it still was a memorable sight.
"That... is huge..." said Numbuh Four "...and we're supposed to scout the entire thing? That's going to take forever!"
"Numbuh Five thinks that a good part of the structure is empty. They can't really manage to control the entire house if it's full of imaginary friends." commented Numbuh Five.
"Lots of imaginary friends! I once saw one downtown, it was so cute! I wonder how these ones look like!" squeaked Numbuh Three.
"Probably just a bunch of dumb weirdos. How old are the kids that create them? Four? Five?" asked Numbuh Four, visibly irritated by the situation.
"It doesn't matter, Numbuh Four" answered Numbuh One "The Kids Next Door exist to help kids of every age, and if someone plans to take their imaginary friends away from them, we're here to stop it."
He carefully watched the complexity of the mansion. It was indeed big: if they acted together, they would really end up being still inside once the night arrived. They needed to divide themselves in smaller groups in order to scout multiple areas of the building at the same time.
While Numbuh One considered their options, Numbuh Two was trying to get a new 2x4 device to work properly.
Kids Next Door: F.I.N.D.E.R.-A.I.D.
Focus Installed Navigator Determining Echo Resistance
–
Added Imagination Detector
The chubby boy directed the gadget towards the mansion, and the device biped, emitting something that was not visible to human eyes.
"I've modified this little piece of art!" Numbuh Two announced "It's normally used to detect adults and teenagers within a certain radius, but now it should be able to tell us an estimate number of the imaginary friends inside. And... it says... there are about two hundred of these guys inside!"
Numbuh Four groaned in frustration, in contrast with the big grin that spread on Numbuh Three's face.
"Quite a lot of people" Numbuh Five pointed out "In case we find out that is some type of prison, we won't be able to do this with only our ship!"
"Well, Numbuh Five, Global Command has indeed said to not hesitate to call for support. We shall see." Numbuh One said. He watched all his four companions as he began exposing his idea.
"Ok, guys, here's the plan. We're dividing in three groups to explore multiple places in the house at the same time. Numbuh Two and Five, you're going for the ground floor. According to the information in our possession, you'll find here most the recreational rooms of the facility as well as other key rooms. Numbuh Three and Four, you'll sneak into the upper floors, where the sleeping quarters of the imaginary friends are located. I'm going to enter from the highest possible part of the mansion to scout the highest floors."
The various operatives nodded at the mention of their codenames, acknowledging their role.
"Scout the building and search for clues that may help us discover the real nature of this home. If you find anything suspicious, contact me as soon as you can: everyone of you is equipped with a 2x4 mini-radio, so keep it ready."
"We're on it, Numbuh One. They won't suspect of anything!" said Numbuh Two, waving at his leader and already preparing to leave.
"Wait, Numbuh Two, I have one last recommendation for all of you. According to the data sent to us by Numbuh Three-Sixty-Two, there are three possible directors or main controllers of the facility: two adults and one imaginary friend. In any case, you have to avoid contact with either them or any other imaginary friend in the house. We do not want to scare our allies and create unwanted attention. Any questions?"
"An imaginary friend is working with the adults?" Numbuh Three was bewildered.
"Possibly yes, Numbuh Three. At the moment, we cannot deny any hypothesis."
"How can an imaginary friend do that... they're so sweet..." said Numbuh Three, her face saddened.
"Told ya' they were stupid..." Numbuh Four whispered to no one in particular. Unfortunately the Asian girl heard him, causing the poor boy to receive an elbow on the side.
"HEY! What was that for?" the boy protested, but he received no answer.
"You know what do the two adults look like?" asked Numbuh Five inquisitively.
"Global Command has been vague, Numbuh Five. We're only certain that one is an old woman and the other is her granddaughter, an about twenty years old young adult".
"That's enough for me. I'll keep an eye for them" said Numbuh Five.
"All clear, team?" Numbuh One asked. No one began talking, so the leader of sector V continued: "If that's so, let's go!"
Immediately Sector V split up in two groups: Numbuh Two and Five headed for the windows of the ground floor, while Numbuh Three, Four and One prepared their gliding tools to reach the upper ones.
The mission had officially begun.