And we're back!
Just giving a shout out to Gamewizard2008 and KND Operative Numbuh 227. When writing the Numbuh58/Numbuh 59 interactions I refer to Numbuh 227's story 'A Murphy's Birth', which is also set in this universe.
"Oh, you've returned!" The Chronicler exclaimed joyously. "Ready to hear more of that tale?" He asked, not caring if you said yes or no. The Chronicler pulled the book off his desk and opened to where he last left off.
"After the villain first appeared, we find ourselves back in Quahog the following day…"
For the boys and girls of the Rhode Island Teens Next Door, the weekend couldn't get her fast enough. Within their underground base, the TND busied themselves with relaxing, finishing last minute projects which were due the following Monday, and just enjoying each other's company.
But Crystal, the purple haired girl, found herself seated alone at one of the base's workstations. The base's layout had very few private rooms. It was made with the idea of creating a more fluid work environment, where the operatives got along and contributed to every meeting held. To that end, Crystal was seated right beside a rowdy game of foosball. Doug and Garret were locked in an intense game, none speaking, only grunting like testosterone filled animals.
And right over on the other side of the room, Kayla busied herself by cleaning her gear alongside Yuki. They were chatting about their exploits as costumed vigilantes. Yuki, having icepowers, was well on his way to becoming Larry Oldman's successor to the Coldman mantle. And news outlets had caught wind of Kayla's own exploits. The name Sharpshot rang an appealing bell.
Rack and Ruin were watching TV Gwen was supervising the foosball match as an unofficial referee. Catherine was out grabbing lunch. Mario Ramsey, a man in his early twenties, one of the sixth age Sector Q operatives, was off on monitor duty.
Crystal found herself tweaking the energy output on the only weapon she carried into battle. A staff resembling a witches' broom. The cosmetic appearance was designed to go with the whole magic motif she was playing at. The staff could fly, shoot out energy projectiles among other functions.
Putting the finishing touches on the staff, Crystal was caught unaware by the darkness pooling around her station. Out of the pitch black dark spot on the floor emerged a young woman around Crystal's age. Her hair was shaved on one side of her head, leaving the rest of her jet black hair and a stripe of blue locks pushed over to the left. She wore a white tank top underneath her black leather jacket that showed off her midriff along with a pair of ripped black cargo pants and black boots.
The girl's name was Danika Anderson, once known as Numbuh 13.6, she was one of the eight fabled Firstborn Guardians who saved the world five years ago. Beside her, out of the darkness, emerged Midna, the Firstborn Princess of Darkness. An impish sprite who hovered off the ground, Midna fluttered around Danika like some Cricket sitting on her shoulder.
"I can't get over how big of a dump this place is." Midna commented as she eyed the base.
"Relax Midna." Danika patted the Princess of Darkness on the back of her head, causing her to shrug off the almost alien form of attention. Danika looked around, finding her sudden appearance had not disturbed the goings on within the base. Danika then set her sights towards Crystal. Danika then stealthily approached Crystal from behind. Leaning over, Danika shouted into her ear. "Oi! Crystal what's up?!"
"Ah!" Crystal jumped out of her seat. The other operatives dropped what they were doing and looked over to see what was causing a commotion.
"…Hey Danika." Crystal groaned as she picked herself up off the floor.
"How's my purple haired witch girl doing?" Danika asked, throwing an arm around Crystal and pulling her close.
It was back way then when Crystal first got wrapped into this world of behind the scenes espionage and vigilantism when she first met Danika. It was like meeting the star quarterback of your favorite football team at first. Danika was a mystery to her, this anomaly that defied the laws of physics as she knew them. And to Danika, Crystal was another one of those souls Nolan saved from becoming something terrible.
A friendship sparked between them after Crystal's initial fangirling subsided. Danika lived elsewhere nut popped in every once in a while. But that was usually in order to see Nolan. Her presence now was unprecedented, this wasn't just a friend checking in, something was wrong.
"Danika." Gwen greeted the shadow bender as she and Doug approached. "You're looking good. Trying something new?" Gwen pointed to Danika's hair.
"My brother said I could rock a punk look. Little turd owes me a twenty." Danika smirked. But then that brief joy in her eyes flickered, there were pressing matters to discuss and no time for her brand of off color jokes. "Something just came up back in Virginia. Everyone's getting called in."
"Everyone's getting called in where?" Kayla asked as she and Yuki walked up to join the group as they crowded around Crystal's workstation.
Danika just looked at Kayla. Crystal couldn't help but notice that whenever Kayla and Danika were in the same room, Danika was always on edge, like she felt threatened for some reason.
"I may have had a part in that." The Chronicler looked up from the book and shrugged sheepishly.
"Someone just took a shot at Nigel Uno. The KND, TND and our adult allies are on high alert." Danika answered tensely. "Grab your gear people. We're heading out."
The TND operatives and Crystal nodded in understanding. Nigel Uno was the Hero of the KND. This wasn't a matter one should take lightly. So they all ran off to grab all their trademark weapons and, in the case of Crystal, to go and change into their colorful vigilante outfits.
When they all reconvened in the main room, Danika was all set to go before realizing they were missing a certain wheelchair bound boy whom she had quite the history with. "Any of you know where my boyfriend is?" Danika asked aloud. "You guys better not have lost him."
"I just called him." Yuki said as he walked back into the room, now wearing a blue cloak and hood with a white paintball mask. "He said to give him thirty minutes then he'd meet us here."
"No time!" Danika declared. A dark void snaked through the floor, sucking Danika and the others within it. "Hold on tight guys, it's a little weird the first time around!" Danika shouted as everyone present submerged into the shadow.
"Hey guys I'm back, I brought tacos for everyone!" Catherine shouted as she walked into the room. Out of the still present shadow lashed out a tendril that snatched up Catherine and pulled her in. The former Decommissioning Squad operative flailed around screaming as she was engulfed in darkness.
Now sitting comfortably on a flat green lawn, in front of a one floor house, Catherine continued to scream. Her eyes were firmly shut and her hold on the bag of tacos was even firmer.
"Catherine." Crystal, now dressed in her Wiccan outfit, called out to the screaming girl. "Catherine?" She called out once more, hoping the girl would shut up.
"Hey, you!" Midna popped up in front of Catherine and slapped her. "This is a residential area! Quit disturbing the home owners! Gosh." Catherine opened her eyes and let out a sigh of relief. Midna just floated over to Danika and shook her head. "A lousy lot these bunch are."
"Ease up." Danika elbowed Midna. "We're here." The shadow bender pointed at the home in front of them, the York household.
"Why didn't you just pop us inside?" Yuki asked as he rubbed his bruised behind.
"I'm many things, Yuki." Danika said as she marched up to the house's front door. "A philistine, I am not." Danika then calmly rang the doorbell.
Danika just waited patiently as the rest of the TND operatives began to crowd around the door. The door opened and there stood a woman much older than any of the teens, but none dared bring up mention of her age.
"Oh hi Danika." Ms. York greeted the assembled group with a smile. "Haven't seen you around in a while."
"I've been busy, Mrs. York. Fighting the Agents of Chaos, sliding sideways through the multiverse and getting my driver's license." Danika waved hello. "We're all here to see Nolan."
"Please come in." Mrs. York stepped aside, allowing the ten plus teens to enter. "Nolan's in his room, down the hall the door to the right."
The operatives marched into the house. For some it was the first time they'd ever stepped through that door. For others, it was the first in a long time. There was history within these halls. Crystal had mostly heard stories, half expecting maybe her crime fighting partner would tell her himself.
In these very halls, Nolan was forced to choose between his mother and the Kids Next Door. The Brain had forced his hand and he'd sold them out. That was after he'd gone bad, when he was on the road to redemption. Crystal always wanted to ask the boy about it during those nights when staking out The Candy Ring. But she never got the nerve.
Danika led them to Nolan's room. Crystal noticed a sly smile edging its way on her face. Unlike earlier, when Danika was courteous enough to ring the doorbell, she simply opened the door and stepped right on into the room.
"Guys, what the hell?" Nolan asked as they all began to funnel into his room. There, sitting in his wheelchair, was Nolan. Except he was shirtless. Danika just smiled to herself and nodded with approval. "I said thirty minutes. You couldn't give me thirty minutes?"
But his query fell on deaf ears. Although the young man didn't know it, those apart of the opposite gender present couldn't help but ogle Nolan's upper body. Crystal was among them, eyes wide, mouth hanging open ever so slightly.
"Mind waiting outside while I finish getting ready?" Nolan pointed to the door. One by one they all vacated the room, leaving only Danika. "Mind getting a little privacy?" Nolan asked once more.
"What? Nothing I haven't seen before." Danika winked. "But I'm feeling merciful today." She said before taking her leave out the door. There was a noticeable sway of her hips, causing Nolan to redden like a tomato.
"You planned that didn't you?" Yuki asked, earning a wicked smile from Danika as conformation.
"Ay dios mio…" Kayla said as she fanned herself with her hand. This also had the unintentional effect of dampening Danika's mood.
Crystal just stood there against a wall, doing her best to hide her embarrassed face. "Um…muscles…" She laughed lightly.
"So many…abs…" Catherine drooled.
"He's in a wheelchair, how is he so toned?" Gwen grimaced. Her eyes darted to Doug. "You could learn thing from him."
"Hey!" Doug protested. "I'm toned. And you and I both know you like my-"
"Keep it PG." Josh spoke threateningly, gesturing to the much younger Rack and Ruin.
All bodies turned at the sound of the bedroom's door creaking open. There in the doorway was Nolan. But what came to a shock to everyone, was that he was not in his wheelchair. He was standing.
"Dude…" Garret's jaw dropped.
"How?" Crystal asked aloud.
Nolan dug into the pockets of his khaki cargo pants, withdrawing what looked like a vial with green liquid in it. "My spine's been out of whack since Lizzie crushed my legs. Electrical impulses were being sent out but nothing was getting through. This little something I whipped up clears whatever blockage is in my system. I can walk but I have to keep taking the serum."
"You've been experimenting on yourself again." Danika crossed her arms over her chest in disapproving manner.
"But this time I succeeded." Nolan smiled brightly. "Hey mom!?" Nolan called out loudly. "I'm going out!"
"Make good choices!" Mrs. York shouted back.
"Okay honey! Make good choices!" Mrs. York called back.
"Take us away, Danika." Nolan said. But Danika was already ahead of them. Darkness consumed the hallway and the TND operatives slipped downwards into darkness once more.
Where they pooped out once more, Crystal couldn't believe her eyes. The Rhode Island TND forces found themselves in New York City, in the Kids Next Door Super Convention Center.
"Everyone grab yer seats. We're about ta start." A red headed girl with a scottish brogue announced from onstage.
Crystal and the others made their way through the crowds of KND, TND, and various other allies.
"Hey Patton." Danika called out to the former Numbuh 60 as they walked on by. "Sup Olive. Hey there Kami. Oh hey Emily! Emily Matthews! Haven't seen you in forever!"
They all found themselves some seats and then it began. Down below on the coliseum floor, on the stage stood Rachel T. McKenzie, possibly the greatest Supreme Leader the KND had ever had.
"Thank you all for coming today." Rachel said, addressing all in attendance. "But today I bring grievous news. As you all have probably heard, Nigel Uno was attacked by an unknown assailant. But that's not all. Last night, Kuki Sanban and Wally Beatles, our friends, were kidnapped. We believe by the same man."
The jumbo screens up above began to blare alive. All turned their attention upwards as someone forced a live transmission.
"Good afternoon. I am The Figure." The Figure announced as the screen's resolution evened out.
There was a number of gasps in the audience, more so among the Rhode Island group than any other. "Who's The Figure?" Crystal asked Danika. But Danika's attention was firmly pressed on the screen. Crystal turned to Nolan for answers, but instead of that confident smile on his face, she found a look of pure terror. She then looked around, sighting similar looks on Josh, as well as the saimese twins Rack and Ruin. "Who's The Figure?"
"Last night I tried to kill your hero. Nigel Uno." The Figure said darkly. "But, as it was, he wouldn't go quietly. So instead, I've decided to set up a little game." The Figure stepped out of the camera's line of sight, revealing the unconscious forms of Wally Beatles and Kuki Sanban bound and gagged against what appeared to be a bomb. "Found these two lovebirds at the movies."
"What do you want?!" Nigel shouted.
"I want to kill you." The Figure said a matter of fact. "But when a guy pulls out the weapons he notoriously only uses when he's saving the world, you know you can't take him head on."
"So, as I figure. I can't fight you head on, I'll just have to get you through your friends." The Figure stepped back into the camera's view. He held up what appeared to be a remote control. He tapped a button on the remote, causing the timer on the bomb to begin to count down. "You now have five hours until they die, Nigel. Please try to save them."
And with that, the televisions all short circuited. The assembled operatives, both current and former and their associates just sat there with wide eyes. Time was counting down on their friends, the former Numbuh 3 and Numbuh 4.
So Rachel took to the stage like the leader she was. She took ahold of the microphone and shouted. "KIDS NEXT DOOR! BATTLESTATTIONS!"
And with that, the race was on.
And so ends this chapter of Zen and Intent. I hope I wrote Danika right. I just imagine her being this force of nature in her teen years, all wild and too willing to make mistakes. And addressing the 'Nolan is walking' thing. He's still in a wheelchair in the Nextgen series, don't worry, him walking isn't permanent.
My next update will be whenever I have time. Until next time!