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Link has been Reestablished. Now Resuming Transmission.


Rachel's eyes relentlessly scanned over the contents of the screen. The large tower loomed over the mountain menacingly, even though she wasn't even there in first person. The amount of solar panels around the tower was ridiculous in their abundance, but she had to painstakingly admire the brilliance behind their strategic location and positioning. And then there was the satellite dish atop it all. Everything intelligence had feared was staring her the face.

Her mission was clear, that device needed to be destroyed.

Well, destroyed once she got free, she was reminded as her wrists tugged at her restraints again. Rachel scowled as she looked around the lab once more until her gaze landed an overly satisfied Feu. She quickly averted her attention back to the screen, to the device he so lovingly referred to as 'Project FLAMBE'. "So that's your big scary death ray?"

"Don't diss my art with such crude speak," Feu huffed. "But yes. Impressed? No need to say, answer is known."

"Oh, it is? That's fortunate, because the list of insults I mentally prepared would of dragged on for a while."

At Rachel's remark, Cree rolled her eyes as she counted down the seconds before Feu broke down into a temper tantrum, defending his project. But to her – and Rachel's – surprise, he made no sign of acknowledgment to her snarky comeback. In fact, he laughed.

"Such cruel words would be slap to ze face to most posers, but not me! Feu is beyond that noise, yo." He waved off, drawing attention to the screen once more. "As eye-popping as sight before you is now, to compare it to what's on the way would be bad joke. Like, a most lame loser following up witty sarcasm with phrase like 'that's what she said!'. Zis makes no sense! Who is this 'she' and why can she not say what needs to blabbed to Feu's face like man! Er, woman! Whatever!"

"Nice," Cree groaned, "he's confusing himself now."

"Do not interrupt Feu when he is speaking his piece!" he retorted. Cree paid him no mind, causing him to rub at his temples as he recalled what he was talking about. "Feu's got the brains to plot a good game, zis is true. For years, I've searched for many ways to break out into the world, to show everyone my style and fine aura of class. I gotta bring in something new, gotta pump out something fresh! Something smooth and razzle dazzle that when put up against other attempts, there is no contest! Everything Feu does is art, and soon, the world will bare witness to it with a front row seat; whether they want to or not."

Rachel glared. "And you decide to go with a death ray? Couldn't come up with another way to express yourself?"

"What can I say? I love to leave an impression," Feu chuckled. He faced his screen fully, his hands stretching out to frame his diabolical creation. "And this is gonna be like a mark of greatness. For few can do, what Feu can do! What has he done, you desperately ask to know? Easy peasy, he crafted a laser cannon that draws power from one thing more hotter than he; the sun, baby."

"Solar powered. Figured as much," Rachel mumbled. She drew that conclusion after she saw the reflectors. Her expression darkened as she frowned at Feu in an almost condescending manner. "But you're an idiot, William. Icarus was burned for being drawn to the sun, and now, you want to try and hold it in your hands!"

"How cute, dumb blonde cracker-box knows mythology; is Feu supposed to be wowed?" the boy scoffed as he shrugged off Rachel's scathing remarks. "Greek geeks ain't got nada on my essential style. Feu's got more fly than Icarus would ever know, and unlike Archimedes, my math was checked and spec'd before I even walked out the door. Once FLAMBE is prepped, I'm gonna rain down fire like it's confetti! No one will ever dare cross me again now zat I'm packin' literal heat."

"So what's your angle, then? Use this thing to get the world's cheapest tan?"

"Your small time vision disappoints Feu," he sighed, shaking his head as he snapped his fingers. The image on the screen flickered out before rising back up into the heights of the ceiling. The young inventor calmly strolled through his lab, his wicked, tooth-baring grin increasing with every step he took closer to Rachel. "This is big time, mon chéri. For when FLAMBE is running hot, Feu's gonna demonstrate his artistic vision by making with the beam spam, ridding the world of ze one thing that is seconded only to cruel you when it comes to channeling my ire."

The KND spy became slightly unsettled with how he approached her, but she would not show weakness, especially in front Cree and this creep. "What are you going to do?"

"Simple, with Project FLAMBE, I'm going to melt," Feu paused, snickering at the beauty behind his scheme. "the world's entire ice cream supply!"

Cree sneered. "…what?"

"WHAT?" Rachel's reaction was far more dramatic, to say the least. "You–you horrible little monster! Why on Earth would you want to do something like that?"

"Something exists that spouts to be cooler and smoother than me? No. No, that kinda jazz shouldn't be allowed to sing," Feu grumbled, his voice lowering to a growl. "But root of the calamity goes so much deeper. Feu is weighed down by heightened sensitivity and the worst possible gripping ice cream headaches! The pain…'nightmare' don't even measure it up right! One lick and I'm thrown into 'ooow', 'ooooh', 'woe woe wooooe'. I toss and turn in bed, cradling ze noggin wishing for end, man. End! I can't think, I can't blink, I can't form my flow! The torture I go through…Madness!"

"So?" Rachel snapped, not feeling the slightest pang of symphony for one who would even consider committing such a heinous crime. It was just unforgivable. "I mean, yes, brain-freezes suck, but that gives you no right to just destroy all the ice cream in the world! Just stop eating it!"

"And let others enjoy their icy treats while I am left to fizzle and sizzle on summer streets with the lonesome suffering? Sorry, but no dice." Feu gripped the sides of his jacket, straightening it out while sending Rachel a smug smile. "You know what they say, misery loves hostage situations."

Deciding she had heard of enough of this nonsense, Cree stepped forward and made her presence known. "If you babies are done whining about your popsicles and ice cream cones, then allow me to remind you, Professor, that there are bigger fish to fry! We had a deal!"

Professor Feu only rolled his eyes as he lowered his visor shades. "Yes, yes. We made big secret, mafia type, under-table handshake. This I know! You are like alarm clock; no matter how many times I be tappin' the snooze button, you never cease to make with BLAH BLAH BLAH!"

"Wait," Rachel paused. Feu's plans were sinister enough as they were, but if he made some prior agreement with Cree… This did not bode well. At all. "What are you talking about? What's going on?"

"While Feu may stay ever-fresh, he's only got two eyes. This thing is too close to party-hour for any loose screws, and I needed ze extra muscle-toting watchdogs to make sure everything stays silky smooth and tip-top tight. So, I traded favors with teenage-nanny person," he replied nonchalantly. "She supplies extra insurance, I supply heat from FLAMBE to bring down some Arctic Base."

Rachel's heart skipped a beat as his words sunk in. Cree's devilish grin from behind Feu wasn't helping calm her nerves either. Her mouth clammed up as the prospect of it all crashed down on her. They were going to obliterate the Arctic Base? "The…Kids Next Door Arctic Base?"

"Si, zat's the name! Kids Next Door…" Feu trailed off as it all dawned on him. He looked to Rachel, who appeared considerably pal, then turned to Cree, who only gave a sharp, confident nod. He suddenly felt overwhelmingly giddy, his hands coming together as a smile graced his face of its own accord. "Ahh, now the dots are making a picture! If you's rollin' with zese Kiddies Neighbor Door, then this Arctic Base is striking up something personal!"

"Listen Will- Feu," Rachel forced herself to correct. This was her mission. Everything was riding on how she acted. But if she failed to stop Feu in time, the destruction of the second most important Kids Next Door base and the loss of all those cadets and operatives would be on her shoulders. She did not want that. "There's no need to go blowing up bases like that. You think I'm trouble? You'll have to face a lot worse if you go through with this idiotic scheme –"

"I, am not, idiotic," he seethed. "You think I can't swing the bat, make home-run hitter? This is my operation. This is my turf. This is my game! Feu's holding all ze tips and tricks in his back pocket. He ain't gonna stand here and let a dumb blonde cracker-box like YOU undermine his profile!"

"You don't need me to do that! You're the one fooling himself! You actually believe that once she's got what she wants, Cree will let you do what you want with that death ray? She'll just sell you out and seize it for the Teen Ninjaz, leaving you in the dust!"

"You mean like you did?" Cree chuckled as she stepped out. Her hand landed on Feu's shoulder in something akin to a comforting manner as she knelled down to both of the kids' eye level. Feu's eyes became pensive; contemplating something while Cree continued on where she left off. "You see, honey, we Teenz do business differently. We don't throw away or turn our backs on such valuable assets because of some stupid rule or standard. We're gonna do right by poor Feu, unlike some spoiled brat who stomped all over his heart. Why, you didn't even apologize. I'm disappointed."

Rachel's fists clenched as she fought against her restraints again. This whole affair was stupid. So insane. Idiots blaming her for something out of her control. The blonde snarled at the teenager's smug face. "I'm not apologizing for something I didn't even do!"

Cree grinned as Feu tensed, his face darkening as his eyes snapped back to Rachel. His lips tightened, a scathing retort preparing to fire off, but he stopped himself. He closed his eyes, held a hand to his temple, and took a relaxing breath before conjuring up a fake smile. "This beat is becoming a snore bore. Feu grows so tried of your nonsensical chatter. I think it's high time you went out with whimper. So we'll shut your trap, with a trap. Clever, is it not?"

"What?" But Rachel's question was left unanswered as Feu maneuvered into an about-face, walking away from the captured blonde and heading towards a terminal off to the side. Anticipating what was happening, Cree followed the boy, sending wicked smirks Rachel's way; smirks that promised bad things. Like really bad things. Bad things way too gruesome to describe here.

"Feu likes to think of himself – wait, what is he saying – he IS two steps ahead of the groove! By the time you reach the dance floor, my slick feet are already dancing to a beat beyond your slow go hearing. But despite it all, your fashionably late entrance…I did not anticipate," he begrudgingly admitted. But he already went to work on treating that wound to the ego with how his fingers expertly worked at the controls of his console. "But you no worry no mind! Last minute preparations are my thing, man."

Rachel face wrinkled with confusion. Satisfied with whatever calculations he had made, Feu peered over his shoulder as he slowly twisted a blinking knob. The operative was startled as a slight rumble shook the lab and sounds of shifting metal below her took her attention. Leaning as far as the restraints would allow, she glanced over the side of the metal slab she was constricted to to see what was happening.

The section of the floor underneath her was opening, revealing a steep pit. Feu then fiddled with another switch at his terminal, and Rachel yelped as the metal slab gave a jerk, then slowly lowered into the pit. Once it hit the bottom, Rachel found herself laying in the dead center of the pit. She went over her new surroundings, and immediately took note of the nozzles circumventing the base of the hole she was in. And now, the more that she noticed it, it felt incredibly more chilly down there. Even her stealth gear was having difficulties blocking the cold temperature. What kind of trap was this?

Before she could pose her inquiry, she heard Feu give a rousing laugh from above. That wretched sound was followed by the nozzles around her sliding open, and a yellow-ish, creamy goop pouring out of them. The goop, whatever is was, was filling the bottom of the pit at an alarming rate. It was inching closer and closer, and Rachel made several disgruntled squeaks as she desperately tried to avoid touching it.

"No. No no no no-ewwww," she grimaced as the goop began outlining her body. She shivered uncomfortably at the sensation, but was thankful it wasn't burning her skin like acid. However, while trying to struggle free, some of goop splashed into her face, slipping into her mouth.

"BLEH! Ew, that is so gross! It got in my–wait a minute…" Rachel blinked. She smacked her lips together, recognizing that wonderful taste. There was no way…was there?

Curious, the blonde flicked her tongue out, attempting to lick at the goop. When she finally recognized that oh so delicious taste, her face broke out into an amusing fusion of delight and bewilderment. "This…this is cheesecake mix?"

"Cheesecake mix?" Cree echoed from above, her and Feu gazing down into the rapidly filling pit. She arched a highly skeptic brow as she tried to wrap her head around it. "Seriously?"

"Is perfect form of payback!" Feu braked out laughing, clutching his side. He was enjoying this far too much. "She wanted cake of cheese so badly? Well, Feu does one better; he makes her ze main ingredient! Heh heh!"

Cree only gave him a wry snort. "Well, aren't you creative."

"I find myself in good mood, so, I decide to tune out zat last snip."

"You fiend!" Rachel cried out from below. Sadly, she couldn't help herself between insults. "You horrible – " Lick. " – little – " Lick. Lick. " – fiend!" Lick. Lick. Lick. Her tongue took one lavish lap of the batter, savoring the sweet nectar she had been presented in this dark hour. Suddenly she paused, frowning once she realized something with off with the flavor. "Hey, you skimped on the sugar!"

"Oh, 'scuse, 'scuse, mon chéri. You want me to go knocking on the secret lair a mountain over and ask for a spare cup?" Feu dryly grumbled. "Do you know how hard it is to send ninjas down to the grocery store and get a kajillion gallons of cheesecake mix on such short notice? It's surprisingly complicated! But Feu spares no expense when it comes to snuffing out exes."

"I am not your ex!"

Cree merely folded her arms, only a tad interested in the blonde's torture. Well, okay, maybe more interested than she should be. But not a lot. "Hmm, so you are getting rid of her? Not complaining, but with the way your sob story went, thought you might try to sway her to our side."

"Not how I roll. I must snub ze dumb blonde, to preserve ze fond memory forever, lest she gets fat, old, smelly and unattractive like milk into cheese. Then I will despise ever having ze relationship at all. To make me happy, I must repress the dumb blonde."

"There was NO relationship!" Rachel yelled, now raising her head to keep her nose above the rising mix. She then caught up with Feu's words, and growled. "And I am not fat!"

Feu ignored her, snapping his fingers for the umpteenth time. A seal of glass then slid out, enclosing Rachel within the pit. The boy stepped out onto the glass sheet, hands on his hips as he looked down at the trapped blonde mockingly. "Was gonna make zis soundproof, but zen was hit with big brainstorm; if I did zat, zen you wouldn't hear Feu's voicing of the 'HA HA' and 'IN YOUR FACE'!"

Cree chuckled. "Classic."

"I know. Now just need to take quick snapshot…voilà!" he cheered. He had pulled a camera out of his jacket, then held it up over his head. The device produced a photo, which he shook to get a clearer image. Once the picture came into focus, it showed a picture of his grinning face and an infuriated Rachel in the background. "One for scrapbook. Okay, this is getting lame. Come teenage-nanny person! We must make with ze rays of hot death!"

"Wait," Cree blinked as Feu started heading for the door. "You're not gonna stay and watch?"

"Time is money, baby," Feu shrugged. "And while Feu's pocket may be packing like a one man treasury, he ain't too keen on wasting either."

Cree frowned, sparing Rachel a glance. "Then shouldn't we make sure she won't be a problem?"

"She either drowns in the mix, suffocates, or freezes over. Don't matter how it goes down, Feu wins in the climax of zat three-way combo!"

Cree rolled her eyes. This wasn't right. She was too close to finally destroying the Arctic Base to have anymore slip-ups. "So you're just going to leave her here unattended?"

"Si. I'm gonna do my death ray thing, leave in her down there in overly-complex trap scenario, and assume it all went to plan." Feu stated. He felt eyes on him, and lowered his shades to make eye-contact with Cree, who was staring at him with disbelief. "What?"

"…I have a laser gauntlet . It won't even take a second."

"Le sigh. You just don't understand ze silky smooth enigma zat is, Feu. I must have poetic justice! She played me like bad sitar for cheesecake, and now after long, long time coming, I'm giving her what she wanted. Only now, it snuffs her out! Brilliant irony!"

"I'd like to see how much you love irony when it comes back to bite you in the – MMPH!" Cree was effectively silenced when Feu shoved a thick roll of dollar bills in her mouth.

"You take zat, and be happy. No more out of you, got it? Spot it? Dig? Fresh? Yes? Fan-diggy-tastic. Now let's go!" Feu proclaimed, his hand shooting up into the air as he headed towards the door. Cree plucked the wad of bills out of her mouth, growled, but kept her grumbles to herself as she followed along. Leaving Rachel to wonder how she was going to escape alive.

But once the child and teenager had left the lab, there was a small commotion in one of the potted plants decorating the lab. The leaves of the flora rustled, and the small head of a hamster poked out. Now that the coast was clear, the chestnut furred pet jumped onto the floor, scampering over to where all the humans were standing.

When Rachel had been caught by Cree, Bon-Bon had silently trailed the teenager back to this strange room of metal things. She was then forced to bide her time until the nosy boy had finished talking and had left with the scary teenager female before she could make a move to rescue her owner. Now, she had to act quickly.

The hamster made it over to the pit Rachel had been trapped in, and ran over the glass sheet to look down. Upon seeing the slightly submerged body of her owner, Bon-Bon made exaggerated squeaks and motions to get noticed.

Rachel grimaced as the mix rose and became harder and harder to resist sinking into it. The restraints were still biting on her wrists and ankles, keeping her down, and it wouldn't be long until she ran out of breathing room. How was she going to escape? And what was that tapping against the glass?

"Wait," she said, snapping up. Thinking Feu had come back to further taunt her, she sneered. But it soon melted away once she saw her hamster. "Bon-Bon!"

Bon-Bon raised her paw, and made a gesture similar to a wave.

"How are you out there?"

Bon-Bon pointed to Rachel, then fell down. She hopped back up, then made a show of appearing to toss something over her shoulders. She then motioned to herself, then began imitating the act of tip-toeing.

"You followed Cree after she knocked me out?"

Bon-Bon nodded.

"You are the best hamster ever!" Rachel cooed. Reminded of her situation, her joy wavered as she hesitated. "Listen Bon-Bon, do you think you can get me out of here? I need to stop William and Cree," she paused. "And not get made into a cheesecake."

Bon-Bon's whiskers twitched. The hamster twisted her head, glancing over to the terminal she watched Feu hammer away on. After a moment, the hamster looked down at her owner, and saluted. Without wasting anymore time, she scurried over to the terminal.

A few counters away under a heating lamp, Feu's iguana was lazing under the relaxing light. But then its eyes snapped open when it spotted a small hamster climbing up all over his master's terminal. Hissing, it slowly slithered towards the rodent.

Finally atop of the terminal, Bon-Bon gazed down, confused at all the colorful buttons and knobs. Now which order did the nosy boy press all these in? Taking a guess, she pressed her paw down on the big red one.

"AAHH!"

She jerked her paw away when Rachel screamed. Gaining focus, she racked her memory of what the nosy boy did then slowly began picking at buttons carefully.

In the pit, Rachel could hardly keep her head above the cheesecake mix anymore. But suddenly, her cufflinks snapped off. Reacting quickly, she quickly stood up again, able to now stand over the mix. Unfortunately, it still came up to her chest, and the glass sheet kept her trapped. Beating her fists against it, she called out to her pet. "Bon-Bon! Hurry up!"

The hamster rolled her eyes at how impatient her owner was. She was house-pet, not a computer genius. Getting the hang of random button mashing, she moved over towards a promising looking switch. But before she could test it, a tail snapped out and batted her away.

Once she recovered, Bon-Bon looked up to see Feu's iguana advancing on her. Her fur bristled as she went on the defense. With a hiss, the iguana snapped at her with its jaws, which she dodged. It made another snap, and when it missed her, Bon-Bon swiped at it with her paws. There was scratch left as a mark, but the iguana paid it no mind.

Bon-Bon circled around the lizard, it only twisting its neck to follow her. With a squeak, she darted forth, bumping into its side and pushing it over. The iguana retaliated by swiping at her and almost pinning her down. But Bon-Bon was able to scramble out of it's grip and bumped into again. This was followed by another snap of it's jaws, which Bon-Bon dodged, then bumped into it again. She squeaked once more, then jumped on its back, trying to bite into its neck.

The iguana spasmed wildly, and mix of squeaks and hisses spewing forth. Bon-Bon quickly hopped off, and while it was confused, bumped into it again. The final push was enough to take the iguana by surprise and knock it off the terminal. Once it fell to the floor Bon-Bon looked down and saw it trying to recover. Not wanting to let that happen, she bared her small teeth, then leapt for the iguana, aiming for its neck.

Bon-Bon fell off of side, landing somewhere behind the terminal. There was a brief hiss of struggle, then nothing. After a few seconds, Bon-Bon emerged from behind the terminal, shaking her small body before hurrying up to release Rachel again. Deciding she had wasted enough time, she went crazy at the terminal, not stopping until the button she hit opened the pit.

Success finally came when a light flashed green, and she snapped her attention to the pit, the glass sheet sliding back, essentially freeing Rachel. Without care, the hamster hopped down, and ran to the edge of the pit, hoping it was not too late for her owner.

Bon-Bon down into the pit, her whiskers twitching with worry when she saw how full of cheesecake mix it was. Had she been too late? Had Rachel drowned? She would of thought of more questions, but she was too startled when a hand shot up out of the batter. Backing away, the hamster watch as the hand gripped the edge and hefted itself up onto the floor. Then there stood a form covered almost head-to-toe in cheesecake. The body began shaking itself off, and Bon-Bon gave a happy squeak when Rachel's face became clear.

"Out of all the stupid, most lame-o traps I've gotten caught in, that one takes the cake. Agrh, did I just make a pun? Like, seriously?" Rachel berated as she shook the excess batter off her suit. When she got her hands on William… her thoughts of bodily harm screeched to a halt when Bon-Bon made herself known by jumping into her hands. After the shock wore off, Rachel cuddled her pet to her cheek.

"Thank you, Bon-Bon," Rachel warmly praised as the hamster nuzzled her cheek. Curious, she took a lick of a spot of mix on Rachel's cheek, causing said blonde to crack a giggle for the first time since this whole mission had started.

"C'mon girl," Rachel softly ordered as she motioned towards her belt. Bon-Bon took the hint, then crawled down the length of Rachel's body until she found home in her compartment again. Rachel expression hardened again as she looked to where William and Cree departed to. "This isn't over yet."

Now where did he put her equipment?


Outside, above the lab and near the peak of the mountain, a long winding platform struck out as two forms stood by a large control console awaiting for their grand finale.

Cree leaned into the railings of the catwalk, arms folded and Battle Ready Armor appearing alluring, yet deadly. The Lincoln girl craned her neck back, taking in the radar tower on the next mountain over. The wind nipped at her face as she turned her eyes higher, skyward. The sun high in the morning sky, she narrowed her eyes as she mused to herself. "So that's how it all works…"

"Of course," Feu muttered. The rad clad inventor had added a violet scarf to his ensemble to shield him from the high altitude's nippy weather. His eyes shone with precise and pensive concentration behind his visor shades, and his hands worked tirelessly to make sure all the systems were fully optimized. "How else did you expect me to blindside the arctic from this continental position?"

"I don't care about all that sci-fi nerd stuff," Cree said as she rose a hand, "I just care that you can do what you said could be done."

"Feu will deliver; this is Snapple fact. Keep your eyes on ze prize, and don't deny my vibe!" Feu rose up from his console, lowering his visors as he inspected the radar tower from afar. "I could toss the techie talk at you, but I won't bore you with so many un-fine details. Bottom line; when power output is tapped out and all solar energy has been redirected to FLAMBE, zen what I don't like? Gone."

Cree grinned as her mind's eye played out the scene. A fabulous beam of light raining down on the Kids Next Door Arctic Base, reducing it to ashes and effectively erasing its stain from the Earth. A cleansing through fire, if she felt like wording it fancy. "It's actually kind of impressive, kid," the girl admitted, genuinely amazed at Feu's aptitude for doomsday technology.

"Yeah I know," Feu boasted, never being the modest type, gleefully accepting any and all forms of renown. "I got ze spruce to make the juice, no?"

"I'm not even going to pretend I know what you were saying."

Feu's brow twitched as he motioned to the radar tower with this hand. "Is good, no?"

"Yeah, yeah," Cree waved off. "Very good no."

"Right," Feu said, his voice becoming somewhat strained as his hand fell weakly to his side. Sighing, he went back to work. For the next few minutes, he was surprisingly quiet, which caused Cree to lower her guard. When he finally snapped, she jumped. "Crapoloa! The targeting parameters are playing hard to get again! Mangy glitches, laughing at me with ze 01101's and 001010's!"

Cree blinked. She knew she should be worried about this hiccup. She should be jumping on him to fix whatever is wrong so they could hurry this up. She should do that. But … "…Crapoloa?"

"Si, crapoloa. Is substitute word."

"…Substitute word?"

"Ugh, YES! Substitute word! What am I, some record for you to re-re-remix?"

"What, the heck, is a substitute word?"

"You just used one," Feu pointed out. Pausing in his computer cracking, he turned to enlighten the girl with his know. "You know, replacement words for touchy-touchy? Kinda like when some kiddie network avoids censors by using replacement words. Like, crud is substitute word for crap. Which, is funny ironic, cause crap is substitute word for sh-"

BOOOM!

"CRUD!" Feu panicked. The explosion caused him to take up cover from behind Cree. He crouched low, gripping her legs and hoping she would shield him from whomever intended to mess up his pretty face. "Smoky alert! FREAK OUT!"

Cree rose her arms, fists clenched and eyes scanning the source of that explosion. Another rocketed from somewhere down below, so she leaned over the railing to get a better look. When she saw the problem, her face went blank. "Well, I'd hate to be the one to say 'I told you so' – wait, why am I being modest?" Snarling, she grabbed Feu by the collar of his jacket, jerked him up, and forced him to see what she was seeing. "I told you so!"

"My mind...she boggles…" Feu mumbled, dumbstruck at the sight before him.

Down below, creating all sorts of havoc, was Rachel. The blonde had made her way up through the lab exit and was making a mess of all his work. She leapt from catwalk to catwalk, flipped from side to side, did every fancy acrobatic display in the book; making her way up the platform.

Rachel's hand grasped a railing, expertly bringing herself up and over the side. She landed, then turned her eyes towards Feu and Cree. Sneering, she pulled a M.A.R.B.L.E from her pouch, then chucked it towards them.

Cree, upon recognizing the dangerous 2x4 weapon, moved into action. She slid Feu behind her back, protecting her investment, and whipped up her laser gauntlet, firing off at the marble to detonate it prematurely. It avoided them any significant damage, but the mustard coated explosion was enough to send Feu reeling back onto his hindquarters.

"EEEIE! MY GREASY SWEET SUIT!" he screamed upon realizing bits of mustard had tarnished his leather jacket and shoes. More explosions snapped him out of his spiral of self-pity, but only sent him into blinding rage. "Zis is NOT cool! How is zat dumb blonde she-devil still kicking? Question in mark in bold: HOW?"

"Ask myself that too many times," Cree groaned. Loosening her muscles, she prepared to dive down to deal with the brat once and for all. "This won't take long."

"No need!" Feu fumed as he jumped to his feet, snapping his fingers, a favored hobby of his. "Feu has contingency plan!"

Before Cree could wonder what nonsense he was going on about now, four shadows appeared from seemingly no where. It took her a brief second to recognize them as ninjas. Four, lean, elite ninjas from near the top of the payroll. The silent warriors stood stone silent as Feu rattled off his orders.

"Okay bros, here is deal," he said, pacing back and forth. "That dumb blonde sneak freak? She's giving us static. When you greet that cracker-box, BAM! Make her UN-happy! Take no prisoners. Go hardcore. Extreme, ALL OVER HER FACE!"

The ninjas shared a collective blink as they stared at Feu.

"…Or be subtle. Whatever works," Feu shrugged. His calm aura then managed a complete one-eighty as he leaned over the railing, enthusiastically pointing to Rachel. "Do your thing!"

The ninjas nodded before they gracefully leapt off the platform. Feu grinned to himself, waiting to see Rachel get the snot beat out of her while Cree continued to watch carefully.

Rachel turned another corner and headed for a set of stairs that would take her higher. However, she skidded to a halt when a shuriken embedded itself in the floor a mere inch from her foot. Looking up, she saw the four ninjas all silently studying her from their various perches. Frowning, she slid into an defensive stance as the first one broke from the group to make his strike.

The first ninja made his entry with a flying kick that was easy enough to avoid. After his landing, he produced twin sai and advanced on Rachel. The blonde rose her leg for a quick kick, but the ninja blocked with one of his sai. He quickly surged forth with the other, attempting to nick her with its knuckle. Rachel only ducked, gripped his wrist, and disarmed him of the weapon, and used his confusion to deliver a swift chop to his collar, sending him down and out.

Using the sai she acquired, Rachel quickly twisted herself around and used the weapon to parry the next ninja from behind. Rachel's sai smoothly deflected the opposing ninja's katana, but the ninja never relented, only came back to strike her with his blade's twin. Rachel used the sai's prongs to trap the katana in her hold. She then swung her arm around, twisting the sword out of the ninja's grip completely, and tossing it and the sai over the side of the catwalk. Not wasting his opening, Rachel jumped to knee the ninja's midsection, causing him to stumble back.

When she landed, she had simply back flipped into the air again as a bo-staff glided under her. The ninja cursed as he failed to take Rachel by surprise. Following up his attack, he swung at her again, only for the girl to nimbly hop over it. He then broke into a series of mad swings, Rachel fluidly dodging every strike. He brought it up, and violently came down in an arch. But Rachel only caught the staff with both her hands. Pressing pass the slight sting it caused, Rachel pushed the tip pf the long-staff into the ninja, his grip slackening in response. She used the advantage to steal the weapon, and swung it back around to tap him none too gently upside the skull.

Three ninjas down. Rachel twirled the bo-staff between her fingers as she smirked. Though her smugness disappeared quick as it came as the fourth ninja finally recovered. Using his remaining katana, he made several strikes and swings at Rachel, only for her to defend and counter with her bo-staff. The ninja brought his blade down, attempting to tear her in two, but Rachel continued to hold off with her staff, a sheen sweat breaking out. On the ninja, of course.

"Oh, please let zis be some cruel trick of mind," Feu grumbled as he watched the horrible display before him. This was an outrageous outrage! His raddest, baddest ninja goons being shown up by some dumb blonde sissy girl! What was the world coming to?

"Eh? No! Go right!" he said as he attempted to direct the last ninja. "What are you–YOUR right! Don't look at me, look at –duck! Duck! DUUU-aw, he didn't duck. S'cool man! Keep at it! Yeee-aaah! Zat's what I'm talkin abou–HEY! I saw that, dumb blonde cheater! Low-blow, low-blow!"

Cree was somewhat amused with Feu's antics. "You'd make great ring-side commentary, kid."

"Stop making with ze slingy-zing-slang, and get down there, and make with the banga-dang-bang!"

"ENGLISH BOY! DO YOU SPEAK IT?"

Feu ground his teeth together as his face started to turn a light shade of red. A hand fled to his temple, trying to fight off his oncoming tension headache. "Get. Down. There. And. STOP. Her."

Cree smiled, patting the boy on the head like she would a Spitz puppy. "There. Now was that so hard?" Getting serious, her face-plate enclosed itself around the reminder of her head, and the Teen Ninja flipped over the side to meet the Kids Next Door operative head-on. Feu was left fuming, but suppressed it once he repeated his mental mantra. Cool cats like his fine self did not freak out. They did not lose their smooth in times like this. Nope. He was calm. He was fresh. He was funky.

"I'm like baby oil; so smooth, so fine, so soft to the touch, ze ladies love it," he chuckled to himself. "Hmm, talking to myself. Worried? No man, don't worry. You talking to you, bout time you got someone who understands at a level even to own. Why thank you, Feu. Is so hard to be appreciated. I just gotta be calm. Calm like those tightrope walking circus people." He frowned, remembering something. "I hated those circus people!"

While Feu was in an intense make-out session with himself, Rachel was desperately trying to make up for lost time and get up to stop him. She looked up to the control console he stationed himself at, and slowed in pace when she saw him up there alone. Where had Cree wandered off to?

There was not much time to think on that line of thought for Rachel's child-like short attention span became solely focused on that clinking noise in front of her. She looked down, seeing a glossy, glass ball. That happened to be really shiny. So shiny, that she wanted to pick it up and start a collection of shiny things just like it. It was just so pretty the way it lured her in. There was some annoying voice in the back of her head, one that sounded a lot like her, raging at her to get away from the shiny thing. But why would she ever want to ignore such a beautiful, and oh so very shiny ball that she wanted to keep?

Did she mention the ball was shiny? 'Cause it was.

The wonderful shiny ball she wanted to cradle, started beeping when she got close. This beeping made the ball seem less pretty for some reason. Why, it was like some trance was being broken. As the shiny thing began to bore her more, that nagging voice got a bit louder. Saying something about how Teen Ninjas use weird shiny balls – that really weren't shiny balls – to lure kids to their doom. Rachel distinctly remembered a class in training being on something about this.

Oh yeah, that's right! Dampener Orbs – or Idiot Balls as some liked to call them– that let off a weird frequency that only affected children. The frequency made it so the shiny ball would just seem so irresistible, and when you got close, it started to beep a few times before it exploded and then –

Crud.

Rachel was barely able to regain her ability to gun it before the orb detonated. The blast was nearly blinding in its bright intensity, and actually managed to blow her off her feet, her bo-staff being dropped in the chaos.

Trying her best to recover from the blast, and silently hoping that the ringing in her ears was just a temporary thing, Rachel tried to get up when she was quickly grabbed by her front and thrown into the railing. Her body bounced off the metal, and she went tumbling down like a rag-doll.

Rachel got up and repressed the pain flaring up her side. She looked up to see Cree coldly and calculatingly stepping towards her. Not wanting this to be a simple slaughter, Rachel ran at her and threw a punch at Cree, which she caught. Everything became a blur for her then. She realized she was in the air, falling, still on Feu's platform outside. She fell and spun at just the right speed and angle to see Cree wind back a fist which flew and became a black blur. After that, it got a bit hard to think, mostly because she was fighting off unconsciousness.

"Numbuh 362; Best Spy of the Kids Next Door." Rachel heard a slightly mumbled voice as the world came back into focus. She glanced up, and was greeted with the view of Cree leaning down over her, a saccharine sweet smile on her lips. "It's cute how they make up meaningless nicknames like that to make you think you're important, isn't it?"

Rachel glared at the Lincoln girl. "Yeah…like Traitor."

"Hm, oh honey, I hope there's more sting behind your punches than your comebacks," Cree rolled off her tongue as she stepped back, allowing Rachel to stand.

The moment she peaked, the blonde rushed her. Cree only waited, and at the last possible second, weaved around to position herself behind Rachel. She then preformed a perfect sweep, knocking the child off her feet. Still crouched low, Cree reached for the operative's feet, then swung the girl through the air, releasing her in hopes she would fly off the side of the mountain.

Realizing the danger, Rachel's hand flapped about grabbing for anything that could halt her fall. She caught a break, and also caught the lower railing of a higher catwalk. Cree made 'tch' sound as she saw the child climbing up to safety, but went back to work. The teenager simply raised her gauntlet, and took aim.

Rachel managed to get back onto her feet in time to hear the signal whir of Cree's laser charging. Without even looking back, she darted off down the catwalk, the laser blast barely missing her. Rachel ran, but Cree trailed after; each shot getting close, but no cigar. Fed up with trying to nail a moving target, Cree's kicked her jets into gear and flew up to Rachel's level.

When the volley of lasers ceased, Rachel looked back to see the teenager had once again vanished. The sound of something landing on metal floor caused her to look back ahead just in time to see herself running straight into Cree's line-of-fire. The Teen Ninja fired, the shot aimed for that place between her eyes. So reacting, moving with a surgeon's speed and precision, Rachel fell into a slide, ducking under the laser and slipping between Cree's legs.

"Slippery little," Cree growled as she turned around. She was in time to see Rachel leaping at her with her leg reared, and her arms shot up at record speeds to block the blow. She staggered back, trying to recover, but Rachel wasn't too keen on letting that happen. She went at Cree again and again with a flurry of combinations, her eyes never straying away in case they missed that one opening.

But Cree wasn't known to just stand there and take it like a practice dummy. While Rachel kept beating away, the teenager flicked her left hand, activating a taser function built into her gloves. She then grinned as she saw Rachel prep for a slow strike. She readied her left hand, and when the blonde struck, she caught it.

Rachel winced when Cree tightened her grip, but then outright screamed when she felt an indescribable pain channel through her body. Cree lifted the child up, then carelessly tossed her back down to a lower level. When Rachel hit the deck and twitched a bit, she began to suspect she had been electrocuted. Fighting off the tingles, she got to her feet, and noticed the discarded bo-staff to her left. She picked it up just as Cree landed behind her.

"2x4 Department must have hit some rough times if you babies are playing with sticks now," Cree said tersely. Rachel looked over her shoulder, and smirked. Before Cree could respond, the blonde reached for something at her belt, then slammed it to the ground, the entire area quickly becoming cluttered with thick gray smog afterword.

"Hmph, smoke bomb," Cree muttered unimpressed, "like that's original." The teen pressed a button on the side of her helmet, the world going from grey to a vibrant mass of greens and blues in classic "Predator" style. The girl turned around with just enough time to see a yellow, orange, and red Rachel run towards her and crack the staff across her face. "Gah!" Cree cried, her helmet being knocked off, thus losing her heat vision visor.

However, the taps of the staff against the deck allowed her to turn just in time to catch Rachel. Cree blindly struck with her taser glove, praying she would hit something solid. And she did. Rachel was once again forced to submit to the power behind Cree's brand of shock therapy. The blonde went down, her staff rolling away as he curled into herself. Cree's cruel laughter wasn't helping.

Jarred by all the fighting, Bon-Bon poked her head out of Rachel's pocket to see what the commotion was. She saw her owner, laid out flat, and reaching for a long stick a few inches away. Before the hamster could wonder what Rachel would want with a stick, she squeaked as a large foot stepped down on the blonde's hand. The scared pet then glanced up, seeing the scary teenager again.

"So much more trouble than you're worth," Cree muttered as she looked down at Rachel. Snorting, she lowered her laser gauntlet, preparing to put the kid down for good. "Want to hear a joke? If it wasn't for that idiot up there, I would have done this much sooner. Better late then never, I guess."

Bon-Bon saw the laser charging and knew it would not end well for Rachel. The hamster willed her owner to get up, but Rachel was still reeling from the taser. Bon-Bon switched glances between her owner, and the scary teenager. The scary teenager a cute, fluffy hamster like herself stood no chance against.

But, if she didn't do something, her owner would done for. Bon-Bon stilled for a second. Then her whiskers twitched.

She knew what she had to do.

"Say goodbye, you little – AAAH!" Cree suddenly screamed as something ripped into her ear. Bon-Bon had quickly climbed up Cree, and in order to buy Rachel a few precious seconds, sunk her teeth into the teenager's ear. The sharp pain caused Cree to step off of Rachel, shifting all her focus to riding herself of the hamster. When Rachel's hand was free, the blonde continued to crawl towards the bo-staff.

"Get off. Get. OFF!" Cree roared as she harshly caught the hamster. She gave a painful squeeze, which was enough to cause Bon-Bon to lose her grip. Cree seethed at the despicable little thing. Her frustration at its peak, she gave Bon-Bon one last, painful squeeze as she jerked her arm back. "You stupid little RAT!"

Rachel finally got to her feet, bo-staff firmly in grip when she heard Cree's shout. The blonde looked up to see what was going on. But then it all went in slow motion. Cree's arm slowly cocked back, then whipped out, tossing something over the side of the mountain.

Tossing Bon-Bon over the side of the mountain.

"B-Bon-Bon…" she uttered in a broken whisper. Bon-Bon, that cute little baby hamster she got as a present at Arctic Graduation and had been assigned as her hamster partner. Bon-Bon always went with her on missions. Bon-Bon was always there to nuzzle against her on a stakeout to remind her she wasn't alone.

Bon-Bon had attacked Cree just to make sure Rachel would live. And now, Bon-Bon was…

"Disgusting thing!" Cree shivered as she rubbed at her ear. "I swear, after the Arctic Base is thrashed, I'm gonna find out where they come from then – "

TWACK!

Cree said no more as she went flying back, crashing into the railing and body falling limp on the deck. Rachel tightly gripped the bo-staff, wetness dabbing at her eyes. She wanted to go over there and hit her again. She wanted to toss her over the side like she did with Bon-Bon. But she wouldn't. If she didn't move on and stop Feu, then the hamster's sacrifice would be in vain. Sending one last hateful glance Cree's way, Rachel turned and continued up to Feu.

After a minute Cree slowly rose, severely disorientated, and running on pure 'need-to-end-brat-now'. Snarling, she got to her feet, not even trying to stem the flow of blood that was pouring from her nose as she stalked after Rachel.

"Let's see, things to do once FLAMBE is up and groovy," Feu mused to himself. It was only a matter of waiting now, so he decided a mental checklist was in order. "Trash base in Arctic place, reduce all world's ice cream to slop, literally bring Kellner's house down… But what is next for Feu?" He tapped at his chin, thinking. "Zis whole 'mad-scientist' scene really don't 'zing' the way I was anticipating. And with FLAMBE, I prove I am tops. Maybe I could shift profiles for a bit, experiment. Feu has always wanted to open his own rad bad casino…"

"Ahem."

"Ah, have you out of sighted and out of minded dumb blonde cracker-box?" Feu questioned, turning to face Cree.

Only, it wasn't Cree who greeted him. It was just a very intimidating looking Rachel. " … oh. You are dumb blonde cracker-box." She never responded, and it caused him to tug at his collar. "This is awkward one-sided confrontation scene I was looking to bail on…"

Rachel said nothing. She only continued to bore into him with that stoic, unnerving stare.

"You new to this conversation business?" Feu asked, stalling for time. "I say something, you say something, I make witty joke, you make milk-spraying laugh, I flirt a bit, you fall under charm, I – "

"Shut up," Rachel said, emotionally drained, her breath coming in slow and haggard drags. "Just get out of my way."

"You want Feu to skedaddle? Sorry, not gonna be happening," Feu denied, deciding to stand his ground. She was just one big bully, and his mama always told him to stand up to bullies. It's true. "It's rude to leave a party too early. Feu ain't going nowheres until your Arctic Base is puddle and all the ice cream on zis rock is overheated milkshakes."

"What?" Rachel asked, voice devolving into little more than a menacing snarl. "You're joking, right?"

"Note 'not joking' face," he retorted, slowing framing his expression. "Been waiting long time to dance zis tango. Show your bling, and let me – OW!" He was interrupted when Rachel simply took her staff, and tapped him on the noggin. "I WAS NOT READY!"

Rachel watched the boy whine, her eyes heavy and body almost completely zapped. "I'm so tired of you."

Feu only growled back. "Your own fault for zat one, mon chéri."

"Enough!" Rachel stomped, raising her weapon threateningly. "I took an oath not to hurt defenseless kids, but I'll make an exception if you don't move so I can destroy that tower."

"Feu? Defenseless? How dare suggest most–wait, what? What's with zis talk of towers?" Feu asked, confused himself for once. He glanced behind him, seeing the radar tower. Putting the puzzle together, he began laughing. "Oh! Now's that's comedy! You think that's FLAMBE? Ha! Sorry dumb blonde, but that cruise sailed two days ago."

"Okay, what are you talking about? Seriously this time," Rachel said tersely. "The death ray is supposed to be here, you built it here! If that tower isn't Project FLAMBE, then where is it?"

"Come ooooon, you ain't zat dumb of a blonde. I practically put the pieces together for you! FLAMBE launched before you even showed up at the dance floor. She's up amongst greatness where she belongs! You want to find FLAMBE?" He only stuck his thumbs upwards. "Put eyes to sky."

Raising a brow, Rachel looked up into the sky, trying to look for whatever he was pointing at. But she didn't see anything. Only the blue sky and the glare of the sun. Her eyes narrowed, then widened as she tied it all together. "FLAMBE is an orbital laser?"

"Heh heh, that's right, baby! With ze latest in global positioning tech-specs, ain't no one out there that can play hide and seek with me! I just gotta say Marco, and FLAMBE fries Polo. Is brilliant!"

"Congratulations, you made glorified artillery," Rachel scoffed, "you must feel real accomplished."

Feu only checked his watch, and grinned. "I will once Arctic Base goes bye-bye."

Remembering that fact, Rachel dropped all pretense of negotiation and gripped Feu by his shirt, bringing him to her eye-level. "Tell me how to stop it. Now!"

"Heh, sorry. Can't be done," Feu sheepishly shrugged. "Is my own design. We've been storing up juice up here for days. Now zat she's soaked enough rays, FLAMBE has to blow off that steam. Once she's started, she ain't gonna stop until she's done. Sorry, cracker-box, you fell out of line with the beat."

Rachel's fists clenched around the leather of his jacket, not accepting the fact he outsmarted her. Upon tearing her eyes away from his confident mug, her gaze fell on the terminal behind him. An idea was starting to form. "No. No, I've still got some moves left."

"Singo zat lingo to me one more time – HEY!" he spluttered as Rachel dropped him. He wiped off his clothes, but then went ballistic when the blonde began tampering with his console. "Don't touch my craft! You soil it with your unpolished nails!"

"If I'm right," Rachel muttered as she hurriedly rushed through her task. "This should…work and…YES! I did – whoa!" she croaked as someone violently jerked her away from the computer. She found her feet dangling as she was lifted into the air, and struggled for breath as an arm tightened its hold around her throat. Before she could speak her displeasure, a familiar laser gauntlet was shoved in her face.

"Dwiss de?" Cree grinned, before blinking, realizing her voice was slightly muffled on account of her broken nose. "Dooh dwou gwotta de dwucking dwih de!"

"Ha HA!" Feu, however, was now having a blast again. With Rachel captured by Cree again, there was no way out for her. "See? It don't matter how much you bling, how much you rave, how much you bring to ze table; it don't stack up to ME! I'm too mag-to the-jag-to the-nificiant! My style? It's like smoke! Ungrabbable, but all over ze place! You WISH you were as fine as me, do not lie!" Feu continued to rant on his ego-trip. However, it all came to a screeching halt when he picked up on Rachel's chuckle. "Feu is middle of some major gloating here, what makes you go 'tee hee'?"

"You still lose," Rachel smirked. "You're not destroying anything with FLAMBE now."

Feu rolled his eyes as he tapped his watch. "Uh, hello! Your Arctic Base is gonna be nothing but big fiery crater in about twenty seconds."

"No, it's not. While I couldn't stop FLAMBE from firing, I could change where it fired."

Feu took a moment to contemplate Rachel's explanation while Cree paled. "No matter. She misses first time, no big deal. She needs no cool down. With all ze juice we got, she's up and raring to go 'nother round just like that." He emphasized with a snap.

"DWOU DWUCKING DWDIT!" Cree raged. "Dwat dwan dwaser dwis gwonna dwire dere!"

Feu looked at Cree as if she were a lunatic. "What?"

"Loosely translated;" Rachel smirked, facing the sky as a light began to form. "Look up."

Feu did indeed look up. There, in a small patch of the sky, a small ball of red light appeared. With each passing minute, the light grew bigger and bigger in its size. It began to cancel out the yellow sunlight and veil the mountain and surrounding areas in a bright red hue. Scared out of his wits, Feu quickly went over to the targeting computer and studied the new coordinates Rachel inputted. "Wait a minute…t-that's…" He looked up again, his face falling. "This…will suck."

No sooner did the words leave his mouth did a tower of blinding red light rain down on the mountain. The wind flared as a sound akin to thunder vibrated throughout the area as the laser from Project FLAMBE destroyed Feu's radar tower. The terrifying light show went on for exactly three minutes, and three minutes was all that was needed for the damage to be done. Soon, the laser died down to a hum and particles of light flickered briefly before fizzling away.

In the aftermath, all that as left of the radar tower was smoldering ash and a gaping, burning scar in the mountain slope.

Back on the platform, Rachel was quick enough to clench her eyes shut to avoid the harsh light. Feu and Cree were not as lucky. Blinded by FLAMBE's laser, Cree released her hold on Rachel and Feu ran around in circles, clutching his eyes in hopes his retinas would recover.

Rachel stood back away, watching the two bumble around until Feu bumped into Cree, knocking them both down. With a sigh, Rachel gave a bittersweet smile. "Finally, it's – "

CRAASH!

Rachel tensed as the rumbling noise caught her attention. The ground around her shook, and the world felt like it would open up under her. She noticed that the sky seemed to be darkening, and she turned around confused. Was FLAMBE firing again? But then her jaw dropped, realizing the danger was much colder. And approaching fast,

"AVALANCHE!" Rachel took a horrified step back as all that snow came barreling down the mountain. Not wanting to stay on this base a minute longer, she jetted down the catwalk, aiming to get out of there.

Cree blinked slowly as her vision returned, looking around her and letting out a whine as she recalled er broken nose. Suddenly, Rachel zipped by her like the devil's hounds were on her heel. The teenager glanced back, wondering what had her spooked. Then she noticed the avalanche. "Dooh, SWIT!"

"Where are my shades?" Cree diverted her attention to the source of the screams, Feu, who was crawling around on all fours; still slightly blinded and looking for his eye-wear. "Feu cannot appear silky smooth without his shades!"

Cree looked away from Feu, then back to the avalanche. Activating her Battle Ready Armor, Cree rolled into Feu, tucking him against her chest and allowing her armor to spread over them like a cocoon, protecting them from the avalanche's fury.

With Rachel, she had ran down the length of the catwalk back to lab's entry. She looked back again and grimaced. There was no way she could navigate through the whole compound and make it out in time. But how else was she going to escape. She leaned over the edge of the railing, seeing a clear, even angled slope down the length of the mountain. Maybe if she had something to ride down. But what?

"Improvise, improvise…there!" she exclaimed as she went over to a pill of debris she had created blowing through the door. Taking a long sheet of curved metal, she inspected it's length and width, wondering if it would do. But with the avalanche getting closer, she decided she couldn't be picky. Without a second thought, Rachel leapt over the railing, positioning the metal underneath her, landing on it, and riding it down the mountain.

Now on her makeshift sled, Rachel quickly whipped out her communicator and dialed in. She looked over her shoulder, and gulped as the avalanche was still advancing. "Come on, come on…"

"Numbuh 362?" the voice on the other end answered. "Thank goodness! We lost radio contact like, a gazillion hours ago! We didn't know if you needed to be rescued or – "

"MISSION SUCCESS!" Rachel panicked. "DEATH RAY GONE! EXTRACTION NOW!"

"Uh, R-Roger, ma'am! We've got a lock on your signal, ETA: two minutes."

Rachel pocketed her communicator and looked back. Yep. That avalanche was still coming, and not slowing down either. In a act to gain more speed, Rachel leaned down further, hoping lowering the resistance would help.

But it seemed that even with her mission completed, Feu and Cree defeated and help on the way, she still couldn't get a break today. From behind, two snowmobiles caught up to her. They surrounded her on both sides and she slammed her fist down on her sled.

"Oh COME ON!" she shouted. Riding the snowmobiles were four leftover ninjas; two driving the machines and two archers aiming arrows at her. There's an avalanche threatening to bury them and they STILL want to kill her? "What is your deal? I buried the guy who was supposed to pay you, why are you still bothering me?"

"That's just it," one ninja shouted over the avalanche. "You buried the guy who was supposed to PAY US!"

Rachel blinked as she saw their logic. "Ooh, I can see why you might be ticked off about that." Her words offered them no comfort, and the archers took aim. Rachel shut her eyes, praying for a miracle.

"NUMBUH 362!"

That might do it.

A shadow flew over them and the sound of an aircraft boomed out from above. They all looked up to see a S.C.A.M.P.E.R flying low. The pod-bay door was open, and there stood Numbuh 20,000, hefting a long barrel weapon in his head.

"Hey ninjas!" he roared, holding up his weapon; a KND remodeled Nerf sniper rifle "Keep your eyes…on…THE B.I.R.D.I.E. !"


Kids Next Door: B.I.R.D.I.E.

Bee-bee. Incendiary. Rounds. Demolishes. Irksome. Enemies.


Looking down the scope, Numbuh 20,00 took steady aim. All he needed was one shot. His targets properly spotted, the Deep Sea Specialist fired off a single bee-bee pellet. As it zipped through the air, the super extra-ly hot hot sauce within the pellet caught fire. The pellet hit its mark on the side of one the ninja snowmobiles. When it made contact, a small burst of flame caused the driver to lose control. He spun out of control, and when Rachel leaned back on her sled, they crashed into the other snowmobile, sending all the ninjas crashing and burning somewhere off behind her.

With the ninjas gone Rachel looked up to her follow operative, thankful. "Nice shot!"

"It all comes…with being…UNDER PRESSURE!" Numbuh 20,000 yelled. However, the boy caught something out of the corner of his eyes down the line. "Ma'am…LOOK OUT!"

Rachel looked to what he was pointing at, and saw the steep cliff she was heading towards. "Um guys…I CAN'T FLY!"

"Numbuh 92, Numbuh 93 get…this clunker…MOVING!" Numbuh 20,000 ordered. "HANG ON MA'AM!"

The S.C.A.M.P.E.R went into a dive as it raced for the cliff. Once Rachel saw it position itself, she knew she would have to jump for it. Steeling her nerve, she wobbly got to her feet as she neared the moment of truth. The makeshift sled went and slipped off the cliff and the avalanche was dead on her tail. Rachel leapt with all her might, her hand reaching out. Numbuh 20,000 latched onto her hand, and quickly lifted her up into the ship. All operatives on board, the S.C.A.M.P.E.R rocketed away just as the avalanche continued on.

Inside the S.C.A.M.P.E.R, Rachel collapsed to the floor, letting of the warmth of the interior heat up her numb body. "I have, like, never been more glad to see you, Numbuh 20,000."

"It's nothing ma'am!" the boy responded, giving a sharp and stiff salute. "I was to rendezvous for a top secret marine mission…it was on the way…so I thought I could lend…ASSISTANCE!"

From one of the pilot's seats, Numbuh 93 leaned out. "And he bought me a free soda!"

"No," his twin brother, Numbuh 92, argued. "That soda is mine."

"No it's not, it's mine!"

"Mine! I called it!"

"Yeah? Well I licked it!"

"So? We're related, it doesn't count!"

"SHUT UP AND FLY!" Numbuh 20,000 chastised the twins, jerking the soda away from them. The two went back to the wheel, grumbling, as Numbuh 20,000 handed the beverage to Rachel. "Here you go ma'am…you look like…YOU NEED IT!"

"Um, thank you," Rachel gingerly said as she took the soda, ignoring Numbuh 20,000's verbal tick. Turning to the back of the ship, she snapped it opened as she walked back. "Numbuh 92, patch me into the moonbase so I can make my report."

"On it, ma'am," Numbuh 92 agreed as he reached for the button, only for his brother to slap his hand away. "Hey! She told me to do it!"

"I know how to call in. Last time you tried, you ended up calling Knightbrace's dental hotline!"

"No I didn't, give it here!"

"No!"

"JUST LET ME DO IT YOU IDIOTS!"

Rachel ignored them as she guzzled her soda, sighing refreshed once she chugged the can down. The screen in front of her finally flickered, and she stood straight as the Supreme Leader himself appeared. "Numbuh 274, sir!"

"At ease," the image of Chad nodded. "What's the status of your mission, Numbuh 362?"

"I infiltrated the mountain lair to confirm our suspicions. I located and disarmed Project FLAMBE – the death ray– and buried its secrets. It won't be a threat to anyone ever again."

"Excellent. I expected no less from you, Numbuh 362. Any additional details?"

"The death ray was an orbital laser. The systems here on Earth are disabled, but I recommend locating it and dismantling it. Also, Cree Lincoln was present. She hired extra security to insure FLAMBE's protection in order to use it to destroy the Arctic Base."

"Really now? We had wondered where she disappeared off to so suddenly," Chad added. "What about the inventor? Any information on him?"

"I'm sorry," Rachel spoke calmly, but the slight twitch in her eye almost gave her away. "I don't remember his name, sir."

"I see," Chad muttered. He was silent for a minute before shaking his head. "No matter. I have another mission for you."

"Another one?" Rachel blinked before regaining her composure. "I don't mean to be rude, sir, but I just completed three-day long one."

"I'm aware of that, but this is a pressing matter and we're short on options. Father has been on the hush about his plans lately and it has Global Command worried. I need you to sneak into his mansion and see if you can uncover what he's up to."

"Father? That's a stretch outside my region, sir."

"Again, I'm aware of that," Chad responded in a somewhat reprimanding tone. "But we need no foul-up on this mission, and I trust that you will deliver the results."

Rachel's eyes wavered but she nodded none the less. "Yes sir, I understand. I'll head out immediately."

"Good luck, Numbuh 362. End Transmission."

Once Chad's face disappeared, Rachel slumped in her seat. Great. Being sent out on another mission right after that heck. What fantastical fun. Groaning, Rachel reached for her spare locker as she called for Numbuh 20,000.

"Numbuh 20,000." The boy appeared at the door, standing at attention. "Tell Numbuhs 92 and 93 to set a course for the Delightful Manor. Also, would you guys mind keeping it down a bit? I'm a bit…cranky right now."

"Yes, ma'am!" Numbuh 20,00 saluted before turning away. "Set a course…for the…DELIGHTFUL MANOR! And keep it down."

"What?"

"Keep it down! Numbuh 362 wants peace and quiet!"

"Geez, ya don't hafta yell!"

"I SAID PEACE AND QUIET!"

Rachel's brows twitched as the shouts escalated, but only went on about re-equipping herself for her next assignment. She re-laced her boots, tightened her gauntlets, and worked on wrapping her face wrap around her face. Once secured, her hand reached off to the side to grab her helmet, but stopped short when her hand brushed against a certain compartment of her belt.

Rachel somberly gazed down, staring at Bon-Bon's pocket. Now, this would be the first of many lonely missions without her loyal hamster. If it hadn't been for Bon-Bon's sacrifice, the whole thing would have went south, the world wouldn't have ice cream, and the KND would be mourning the loss of life at the Arctic Base. But there was no need to worrying about any of that now. All those lives had been saved.

All in due part to a furry brave one.

Rachel gazed out the window, looking back towards the disappearing mountain peaks. She allowed a lone tear to trail down her cheek before she blanked once more, lowering her helmet to prepare to sneak into Father's mansion. This mission was over. Time for the next one.

"…Thank you, Bon-Bon."


Near the base of the mountain, the avalanche had finally settled. Life within this lonesome sect of nature was peaceful and silent once more. Well, not for long anyway.

A clump of snow shook as a sliver object rose from the snow banks. Once all the wintery fluff had gave way, Cree's Battle Ready Armor retracted itself. Now that they were safe Cree dropped Feu. As the child fell face first into the snow, Cree sat down, taking a patch of the stuff herself and pressing it against her nose.

"Ahhh," Cree hissed at the pain. "Dat dwiddle dwitch dwoke dwy dwoooose!"

"BLEH!" Feu cried as he spat out the snow, rubbing furiously to get the icky stuff off his tongue. "Stupid snow! It's just like ice cream…but worser so!" After attending to that, he stood, trying to keep his image intact. But it would be all for nothing for one look of his surroundings caused him to wig out.

"My…my crib, it is all under slush," he cried, realizing his lab had been buried. He fell to his knees, looking to the sky in despair. "Project Flambe – she's past tense!"

Cree rolled her eyes at his over dramatic display. "Dooh, dwut up."

"Aggh, speak clear, teenage-nanny person!" Feu snapped, in no mood for her nonsense. "How about you stop talking your moonspeak, and use a language we all can understand? Crystal?"

Cree slowly turned her head in his direction, her jaw tightening. Her hand rose up, and Feu flinched, thinking she was going to bring him pain. But she only brought it to her nose, and snapped it back into place.

"Yeah," she growled, voice somewhat back to normal. "Crystal."

Feu gulped. "Your tolerance to pain frightens Feu…"

"Oh trust me, there's worse I could do," she said in a low voice. The pain still spread across her face, but her actions should hold it off until she could get her dad to look at it. Suddenly, an alarm went off, causing Cree to groan. "Great."

"What?"

"It's your curfew. If I want to get paid, I gotta get you home in the next ten minutes somehow." That was going to be a long walk. Sighing, she stood up. "Let's go."

"Go? There is no go until Feu says so!" he raged, pointing back up the mountain. "I had to beg like puppy to get mama to give me advanced allowances. Too much money went into zis to just say 'oh well, let us go home watch TV' NONE OF THAT! We's getting back up there, and salvaging! You picking up on what I'm throwing down?"

As Feu went on and on, Cree felt her ire raising again. But before she could snapped, she remembered something. Cursing herself for forgetting, she dug around in her pocket and pulled out a list Feu's parents had left with her. Squinting her eyes, she began to read. "'If William starts to get cranky before bed time, simply sing to him…' You're kidding. That's all I had to do to shut him up?"

" – And zen I'm gonna make her wish she never went to pre-school!" Feu ranted. "So you hear me? Zis ain't over, cracker-box! No one can put a lid on ze groove zat is –H-HEY! Watch ze merchandise!" he sputtered as Cree picked him up. Still not content, he fussed more, even as she rocked him. "I am no baby! You see diaper on zis package? But put me down at once! I am – "

"~La petite poule grise," Cree began to sing, reciting the lullaby recommended by Feu's parents. "Quallait pondre dans l'église Pondait un petite coco Que l'enfant mangeait tout chaud.~"

"I will not be silenced! I am…I am smooth…" Feu's voices died down, his eyes feeling very heavy. Maybe a nap was in order. That sounded kinda nice actually. "Feu is…greasy…sweet…"

Cree looked down to see him nodding off. Sighing, she continued singing, hoping it would keep him out until they go back home. The money had better be good for all of this trouble. "Létait une petite poul noir Quallait pondre dans l'armoire Pondait un petite coco…

"Que l'enfant mangeait tout chaud…"


/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/

End Trans-

"Hey! Feu demands to be played out with super smooth spy music!"

Yeah, yeah...

Time don't wait for no-one

So my heart and my time I refuse to waste

You thought you knew the score but

There's just so much more when you're caught in the race

What is love

(What is love?)

Without a flame

(Without a flame?)

What's a rose

(A rose)

Without a name

(Without a name?)

What is passion without pain?

It ain't nothing more than an empty space

Give me Everything or Nothing

Give me Everything or Nothing at all

Everything or Nothing

Give me Everything or Nothing at all!

"Is MUCH better, man!"

/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/

End Transmission.