Chapter 4: A Light in the Dark
The scene is a dark, dingy, chemical plant, with faint green illumination radiating from large vats of icky green slime. A network of catwalks stretches across the chemical reserves. The faint sound of a power saw can be heard, and after a moment of silence a rope lowered from the ceiling, and the three kid team of Sector W slid down.
"OK, this is the place that Chemistry nerd told us about," Harvey McKenzie A.K.A. Numbuh 363 and the most hated operative in KND history, reminded his teammates. "so spread out carefully, and..."
"Shut us down?" came a voice from the darkness. The lights suddenly went up to reveal Joe Balooka standing directly ahead of them, and a sizable number of mooks surrounding them. The three assumed combat posses. Numbah 363 was mad that their cover was blown, Numbah 84 was stoic (as usual) and Numbah 83 was relived that someone had turned the lights on. "Thought you'd just come in 'er and bust up my operation, huh? I don't think so. Get 'em boys!"
The various thugs and miscreats charged in, displaying a startling lack of tactical skill or self preservation. Numbah 363 immidiatly cartwheeled over the heads of the oncoming mooks to chase Joe, while Numbah 84 threw one of his many yo-yos over a ceiling beam, grabbed 83, and activated the tiny motor within this particular model to pull the two up to the ceiling and out of harm's way. From their vantage point, Numbah 83 rained down a handful of M. A. R. B. E. L.s, scattering the thugs below, then joined Numbah 84 in leaping down to continue the fight.
With a hard punch to the face, Numbah 363 reduced the number of goons between him and Joe to three. Fueled by momentum, Harvey whips out a G. U.M. Z. O. O. K. A. and nails the next thug in the forehead before drop kicking the penultimate punk into the last one. Joe has just fled through a door on the far side of the chamber. Numbah 363 looks at the door he ran through, then looks back to his teammates, who are struggling with the army of goons. Deciding to seek glory, he chases after Joe.
Back with Numbah 83 and 84, Lee has just wrapped his yo-yo string around the feet of several henchmen and pulled them to the ground, allowing Sonya to fire a stream of mustard and ketchup through the space they once occupied to hit the group behind them. Across the room, a goon shakes up a can of soda and tosses it towards the duo. After landing a rolling for a second, then exploding in a blast of sticky, sugary foam.
The blast failed to hit its targets, but did blow away part of the catwalk, causing it to slant downward and sending everything up to six feet away from the gap tumbling towards the vat. Including Sonya.
Meanwhile, Numbah 363 had caught up to Joe, and had his G. U. M. Z. O. O. K. A. trained on him. "Alright Joe, you're gonna come with me up to Moonbase, then we're gonna find out just how you escaped custody, and why you're making all this gunk!" Harvey stated arrogently.
"OK, OK, you caught me." Joe replied with his hands in the air. "You did a real good job of tracking me down, so here's a little reward, from me." he added while tossing a coin to Harvey.
Numbah 363 looked down at his open palm in confusion, after catching the object. "A Cheese-E-Cheese token?"
"And here's a gift FROM ME!" Shrieked a Hispanic boy with a large robot arm and a cyborg eye. While Harvey was distracted, Joe had ducked down, allowing Dr. Chipotle Jr. to throw a test tube of chemicals at the operative. Reacting quickly, Harvey raised his right hand, still clutching the token, to block his face. The vial shattered against his fist, freeing the burning chemicals to fly straight towards his face...
Back in the vat room, Numbah 84 had tossed his yo-yo over the edge just in time for Numbah 83 to grab it. With a mighty heave, he pulled the toy and the girl into the air... way, way into the air. Much higher then he meant to, into the air.
It all worked out though, as Numbah 83 did a frontflip in the air, and landed feet first on a goon that was sneaking up on 84. She didn't actually notice she had landed on someone until a pained moan reached her ears, causing her to look down and blush sheepishly at Lee, who offered a warm smile in return.
The heartwarming atmosphere was suddenly ruined by a peircing shriek shattering the air. "HARVEY!" they exclaimed in tandem, and rushed off to help their leader.
When they reached him, Numbah 363 was writhing on the ground in pain, covering the left half of his face with both hands, one of which was still clenching the token. Numbah 83 gasped at the horrible sight, and began to panic. "Oh no, these burns look bad. Lee, signal Moonbase and tell them we need a pickup and a medical team, now!"
Numbah 84, though shaken, took out his pocket communicator and began punching in numbers, all while muttering, "Not cool, not cool, not cool!"
"Don't worry sir, we'll get you help!" Was the last thing Harvey could remember, along with the panicked girl's hand on his face, before he passed out.
(KND symbol)
It's a cloudy, windy day in the Cul-Da-Sac. The once bright and bustling suburb now sits empty, with only a plastic bag caught in the wind or a patroling Cartmenbot changing the static image. Cartman's propaganda plasters every available inch of space, but no one reads it. For while the flyers and posters promise utopia, all the children know under their new leader is tyranny.
Suddenly, something new entears the scene! An unknown figure in a trench coat several sizes too big skulks in the shadows, carefully observing the enviroment.
"Cameras hanging of three lightposts, and one Cartmanbot on the street corner. Next patrol won't be through for eight minutes." The figure mutters quietly to themself while moving their arms in a way to suggest a mental calculation is under way. Once ready, the mysterious person reaches into their coat and removes a regular dart gun. Not a home made one or a poison dart one, just a plain old, store bought suction cup foam dart gun.
Taking careful aim, the person fires once, sticking a dart right across the first camera, blocking its view. They then rush through the now unobserved territory and blind the second camera.
"Now it gets tricky." The person mutters while taking careful aim at the Cartmanbot. When the trigger is finally pulled, the person scores a bullseye! Unfortunatly , the robot goes into a panic.
"VISION OBSTRUCTED! AWK-WARD! AWK-WARD!" It yells while rolling around in an erractic fashion, and eventually plows into a fire hydrant, right through a fence and into a pool. Somewhere in the distance, a hubcap is falling over. The person quickly takes aim at the last camera and blinds it, leaving them free to procede. Rushing across the street, the person squeezes through window at foot hight, which provides the little illumination in the room of Ed.
Falling to the floor in a pile of trench coat, the person climbs out of the identity concealing clothing, revealing their identity to be...
"DOUBLE D!" screams Ed as he tackles his friend in a back-breaking hug. It takes Double D an entire minute to free himself from his grip.
"I'm happy to see you too, Ed." The hat wearing youth replied. He then turns to the rooms only other occupant as his expression became serious. "Ah, Kevin, I'm glad to see you decided to come."
"You promised me revenge on that fat monster. Of course I came." Kevin replied solemly. His disposition had become much more sombre ever since he had eaten his own parents.
"Yes, I believe I have devised a solution that will allow us to fee ourselves from Eric's tyranny." Double D spoke while removing a number of items from his backpack. "After the Mandy debacle I held onto some of her advanced technology for study. I believe I can fuse the technology onto your body, giving us a fighting chance against those mechanical monsters."
"And turning you into a mega robot man fighter for justice!" Ed exclaimed
"Yes... and that." Double D added. "There is... a catch though. Once I perform the procedure, I can't undo it without you... joining your parents. Are you sure about this?"
Kevin thought long and hard about it. "I've got nothing left. Make it happen, do... Double ." he replied at last.
"Very well. Ed, subdue the patient." Double D spoke while sliding on some rubber gloves. Ed took his cue, and shoved one of his dirty socks in Kevin's face, knocking him out instantly. Kevin was placed on the bed, and the birth of a new agent of justice began.
(KND symbol)
The waters around Negative 4's island are still strewn with the bits and pieces of Sector V's (and Dib's) hijacked boat. On an isolated, unguarded stretch of beach, bubbles rise to the surface, and eventually the previously mentioned children rose to the surface and swam for the shore. Some more... quickly then other.
Numbah 4 was gasping for breath when he reached the shore, and frantically began kissing the sand. "Oh sweet, precious land!" he exclaimed breathlessly.
"Don't get too jelous, Numbah 3." Numbah 5 remarks, causing the Asian girl to pout.
"Well Numbah 4 might be freaked out, but the plan worked OK." Numbah 2 commented. "Did they really think we were just gonna charge headfirst at them?"
"OK, according to the scanner, the main base is that way, and the power generator is that way." Dib commented while pointing in two different directions. "It also seems like they have a backup generator, so we should still be able to get those files back if the main one goes down."
"Numbah 3 and 4 will disable the generator, and the rest of us will survey the main base, then sneak in and retrive the data and the C.O.O.L.B.U.S. We'll radio when we're in the air, so send up this flare when we do and we'll pick you up." Numbah 1 explained. Numbah raised his hand. "Yes, Numbah 4?"
"Uh, how exactly do I shut down a generator? I mean, I'm not a brain surgeon you know!" he asked.
"Just do what you do best." Numbah 5 replied while the main team headed into the jungle. "Smash it." And with that, the others vanished into the foliage.
"I guess it's just us... on a jungle mission... together... alone..." Wally stuttered nervously, only to see that Kuki had already vanished into the foliage, following the signal her scanner was giving off. "Hey wait up!"
(five minutes later)
Both Wally and Kuki burst through a bush, panting and out of breath. "Boy, jungle recon is hard work." Kuki moaned.
"I known, it's crazy!" Wally replied. "Man, I could go for a cheeseburger right now..." It was then that he noticed Kuki had wandered off. "Kuki!" he exclaimed in a panic, before rushing off to find her.
When Wally did run into her (literally) Kuki was standing frozen, peering through some brush. "Kuki, what are ye doing? We gotta take out that... gen...e..rate...r." Wally asked before noticing what she was looking at and falling into silent shock as well.
Before them stood a massive, vine chocked stone temple. A pair of huge stone Rainbow Monkeys stand on opposite sides of the entrance. "No... it can't be!" Kuki exclaimed before sniffing the air. "No..."
"What's wrong, Kuuks?" Wally asked with concern.
"This is... this is..." she replied on the verge of tears, "RAINBOW MONKEY ISLAND!"
"...So?" Wally asked.
"Don't you see? The bad people must have captured all the Rainbow Monkeys...or...or." She was now on the verge of tears.
"Don't cry Kuki, I'm sure the Rainbow Dorki... I mean, Monkeys are probably hiding inside that big stone building." Wally tried to reassure her.
"REALLY! LET'S GO SEE THEM!" Kuki exclaimed, rushing ahead with a squeal.
"Wait, that's probably not a good idea!" Wally yelled while running in after her.
Inside the temple, a great stone Rainbow Monkey with a great rainbow gem in its forehead towers over a circular room. Kuki walks in slowly, in awe of her surroundings, and is promptly barreled over by a charging Wally. The two roll to the center of the room, and suddenly, things started gettin' freaky up in here!
Light and color began flowing across every surface, and strange figures on the wall began to shine as all colors of the rainbow glowed forth from the eyes of the great statue. Suddenly the figure of a teenaged Kuki wearing a regal gown appeared before the two. "If you are seeing this, then you've discovered that you are my reincarnation in a future time." She paused for a moment, then exclaimed "Hi future self!" cheerily.
"Hi past me!" Kuki replied in return.
"Unfortunetly, it also means that war, fear, hatred, chaos, and all sorts of other icky things threaten to consume the world." The past self added. "In order to restore peace and protect the world, you'll need to find the reincarnations of my honor guard, the three Rainbow Guardians, and awaken them." As she spoke, a square tile slid back and pedestal rose up from the ground. On this pedestal rested a rainbow colored wand. "This wand will begin flashing when one of the Guardians is near. Simply touch it to their forehead to awaken them. And make sure you get some matching shoes." Teenage Princess Kuki finished before fading out of existence.
Neither kid spoke as the lights dimmed and everything turned to black. Kuki looked over at Wally and saw that his mouth was hanging open, with a small patch of drool hanging from his chin. Somewhat miffed, Kuki lightly slapped him before reaching for the wand.
As soon as her grip on the wand solidified, a blinding flash of light erupted, and Kuki underwent an instant transformation. Her usual green sweater was replaced with a hand-sown, dark green skirt and a rainbow striped shirt, with rainbow gloves, boots and tiara as a shining Rainbow appeared behind her.
Wally had gone into a full on freak out as the light got stronger and brighter.
Meanwhile, across the island, the rest of the team hides in the brush outside the main compound. Past the barb wired fence, robotic laborers and the occasional uniformed child solider, the few who willing remained on Mandy's side after her fall. Unlike the KND's scraped together, irregular uniforms, the followers of evil wear orange and black combat armor.
"OK, the power should be going out right... about...now..." Numbah 1 spoke slower and slower. "Why isn't the bloody power off!"
"Uh, guys?" Dib spoke up.
"I mean, we've given them enough time! They should have hit the generator by now!" Numbah 1 continued to rant.
"Guys, I really think you should..."
"Ugh, I bet they're just making out in a tree somewhere. I can't believe those two..."
"GUYS!" Dib yelled, grabbing Numbah 1's head and turning it around. The others also looked behind them.
What Dib was attempting to tell them about was that a large group of enemy soldiers, both robotic, human, and two piloting weapon laden mech-suits as tall as semi-trucks, had gathered behind them, and were prepared to unleash what Numbah 60 would describe as a "doo-doo storm" if anyone moved.
One capture scene later, the KND operatives (and Dib) were brought before the Master of this island...
"Negative Numbah 4!" Numbah 1 exclaimed. "But this is impossible, you were imprisoned in the Negative World!"
"What can I say Nigel? You can't keep a good dog down. Or a bad one!" The former DNK leader exclaimed with a cackle. "The brocoli mines were cold, dark and barren. But a lamp here, a portable heater there, and I was able to cobble this together." He explains while removing a slim yellow plastic cylinder with several flashing lights. After pointing to a robotic unit, he presses down on a button, causing a beam of red light to fire from the end, engulfing the mechanical solider, leaving only ash on the floor.
"Go easy on the robots, Yllaw. They don't grow on trees." A new voice spoke. From the shadows emerged what looked like Jimmy Neutron, but with a wicked scowl on his face.
"It was then I had the good fortune to meet this fellow. The evil clone of the one you known as Jimmy Neutron, he survived the collapse of an anti-matter pocket dimension of his own making and landed in my home shortly after I traded the safety of several DNK operatives for my freedom. Combining our efforts, we eventually returned to this... repungent world, picked up the remains of Mandy's army, and set up shop here on Rainbow Monkey Island."
"Enough talk," Evil Jimmy said curtly. "Let's deal with them. Slowly and painfully."
"Hold on a minute Jimmy." Negative 4 cut in. "We're two short, and I want to destroy all my enemies at once. So why don't you make this easy Numbah 1, and tell me where my idiot copy and Numbah 3 are!"
"Forget it! I'll never betray my teammates!" Numbah 1 replied.
Just then, a low ranking flunkie burst through the door. "Sir! You gotta turn on screen eight! It's in-believe-ABLE!"
Negative 4 presses a button on the armrest of his chair, activating screen eight. The live feed is of the Rainbow Monkey Temple, which is currently shining with a rainbow (I know, shocking) of colors. "Well now, this is interesting. Send a team and bring back the others so they can perish with their friends."
Back at the temple, Wally is finally freed from his shock by a noise from the entrance. Rushing to investigate, he finds a buildup of enemy forces just outside. "Finally! I've been spoiling for a fight ever since I got here! There may be a lot of them, but I've gotta protect Kuki!"
With a battle cry, Numbah 4 lepta into action, decapitating a robot with a flying kick. He was quickly tackled by five child troopers, but threw them off with a yell. Throwing his body to the left, he punched apart a robot's knee joint, causing it to collapse to the ground. When it raised its laser at him, Wally rolled to the right, causing it to shoot the unit sneaking up behind him.
Another robot caught him with a kick, allowing to soldiers to grab his arms while a third punched him in the stomach. When he wound up for another hit, Wally heaved his arms forward, crushing the three against each other. A mech suit picked him up by the collar.
"Give up shorty!" the pilot taunted.
"Don't. Call. Me. SHORT!" Wally screamed while grabbing the pilot by his helmet, and ripping him right out of the exo-suit, snapping the metal harness keeping him in. With no one operating it, the suit slumped to the ground and relaxed its grip. Wally lifted the pilot over his head and heaved him into three robots with enough force to smash them apart.
Although his spirit is unbreakable, Wally's body was growing tired. Enemy after enemy continued to pile onto him, yet he still continued to struggle even when it was obvious he could not win.
Back in the stone temple, Kuki eyes suddenly opened as she sensed her soulmate's pain. She lifted the wand above her head, then lowered it so that the wand was pointing towards the temple's exit.
Almost whispering, Kuki uttered the words, "Rainbow Magic Illumination." A bright beam of rainbow light shot forward. Exiting the tunnel, it engulfed the entire crowd. The child soldiers were blasted back, the robots faded from existence, and Wally felt his strength return to him.
In a flash, the strange but beautiful dress vanished, and Kuki was once again clad in her regular clothes, still gripping the wand. She pauses and looks at the wand before rushing to see Wally.
Back at the base, everyone stares in shock at the screen, wondering what the heck just happened. "Well, that was... unexpected." Negative 4 commented. "Still, I suppose we're just gonna have to execute them now."
Before the verdict could be carried out, however, the compound was rocked by an explosion. "What was that!" Evil Jimmy exclaimed suddenly.
"That would be our backup." Numbah 1 spoke smugly. Negative 4 immidiatly aimed his Laser Screwdriver the heroes, but before he could press the button, the eyes of the robot minions glowed purple and began to attack their creators.
Everyone was confused with this, except for Numbah 2. "Computer!" he exclaimed in recognition.
"Yeah, it's me," the snarky voice of Zim's computer spoke over the loudspeakers. "I didn't want to reveal myself until I had to, but now seems as good a time as any, since your friends are bombing the compound."
Evil Jimmy immidiatly hit a button on his watch. "Purge the computer systems, we have a breach!" while Negative 4 was blasting robots with his laser weapon while the good guys fled out the door.
Upon exiting the building, they saw that the KND had launched an air attack on the compound. "Quick, to the C.O.O.L.B.U.S.!" Numbah 1 ordered. Avoiding explosions and laser beams, the crew piled into the vehicle.
As the ship powered up, Dib activated the computer interface and activated the mike. "Alright Computer, come aboard!"
"Uh, yeah, about that..." The Computer replied back. "If I transfer all my operating systems onto your ship, the enemy will regain control of their systems and blow you up."
"But if you stay, you'll be erased in the systems purge!" Dib exclaimed.
"I know." The Computer replied. "Look, I'm not really good with these... emotions you humans feel, but I've actually come to like you during the time we've spent together. You guys have been way nicer to me then Zim ever was. You're all hearing this, right? I don't want to repeat myself."
Everyone nodded. "They are." Dib confirmed.
"Good. Now if I don't stay behind and hold them off, none of us are getting out of here!" The Computer replied in his typical snarky voice. "Hey, uh, do you think you could play some Japanese Pop for me. I got really hooked on it during those lonely hours when Zim was away and all I could do was surf the web.
"You got it, buddy." Numbah 2 replied, and an cheerful beat filled the air with the voice of a young Japanese woman filled the ship as it rose gracefully into the heavens.
In the bases HQ, a science nerd is typing furiously on a keyboard. "There, the next chapter of my FanFic is done. Now I can purge the system." he spoke before pressing a single key. After a moment of humming, a chime was heard.
"Foreign program removed. All systems normal."
Back aboard the ship, Dib speaks to the screen. "Computer, you still there Computer?" When there was no response, everyone fell silent as they joined the formation.
(KND symbol)
Computer was a complicated figure. Built for evil, but possesing a good heart. In two distant locations, the balance between good and evil is being adjusted accordingly.
On a hospital cot in the Sector W Tree House, Harvey McKenzie awakens.
On the filthy mattress of Ed, Kevin awakens.
Harvey realizes he can't feel part of his face just as Kevin discovers he lacks feeling in his arms and legs.
Harvey hears Sonya explain that almost half his face has been chemically burned as Kevin is told by Double D that the operation was succesful, and he now is 60% machine.
Inside Harvey, something snaps as Sonya lays a reassuring hand on his arm.
Inside Kevin, something is born when Double D locks in the batteries.
Madness.
Justice.
The scale is once again even.
A/N: Finally, what is probably the longest thing I've ever written, complete. I must warn you know, with Computer's "death" things are going to become much more tragic. A great evil looms, and good may not be able to win without losses.
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