Good day.
So it is more than a month since the last shot... sorry about that. I was busy and my computer decide not to work for a while so the chpater had to be put on hold, but good news is I am back! And I bring with me what you are about to read
As you know have no right or claim over this characters or setting and show, they were created by a man called Wartburton.
Regardless, I have some ideas that involved this characters and that´s how this fan fitional story came to be.
I should said, I made a reference here to the first shot of this story, but I think you all read it, don´t you?
Numbuh .4
By CrackerTales
"I want to punch something"
"Better be one of those KNDorks"
"How can you talk to me and at the same time talk to those operatives in completely different conversations?!"
"Lots of practice"
It´s been about two minutes since Numbuh .4 was awake. And when he woke up he expected to find himself watching some mindless kid show, as the delightfuls used call them, or reading some book boring enough to be considered adult literature. But instead he woke up in a battle field, none of the involved parties had attacked yet but it was pretty obvious the fight was soon to begin. Standing there, inside the mind of a brat, made young Numbuh .4 realize how deeply he missed the action of the missions and the thrill of the battle. He was abruptly reminded of the sound of the guns being fired and the smell of sweat and sugar that was left in the air every time they successfully defeated an enemy. Nostalgic as he was, he had this uncalled need for punching, not because he was angry or frustrated (and indeed he was) but mostly because he was excited.
"Can you smell that?" he told the other " the sweetness of bubblegum getting ready to be used as weapon? The wood and metal that would soon kick every single and all of your asses"
"Wow, watch out that langua…"
"The sweat and anger of a beast ready to attack?"
"I am pretty sure that´s just Numbuh 4" Lenny answered half joking. Then, like being hit by a sudden realization, he asked the other boy with genuine curiosity "Are all the KND operatives related to the number 4 always violent?"
Numbuh .4 repressed a laugh. If he had have a physical form he would have roll his very own eyes
"I am not violent, Lenny" still after all that time he could not said the name without feeling weird "I told you I was excited for battle"
"Lenny" a third voice entered into the boy in helmet´s mind "Where are you? I need you focused on the battle, man"
Bruce's voice: always strong and clear despise his height. Lenny liked to blame it on the fact that he is the host of a previous KND leader. He even had mock his brother on the matter. Bruce is never happy with that
"Sorry" answered Lenny still inside the mind "I got distracted. What´s happening?"
"Well, for starters, the dweebs are talking" reply David, the caring, fun, and strangely evil David "Probably trying to intimidate us"
"Would you guys shut up! I can´t get what Nigey is saying. Not that is important though"
"Well, excuse us, Constance" Lenny exclaimed "Honestly"
"Is anyone here paying attention to those twerps?!" Bruce finally exploded. His voice louder than usual, the others could easily see that he was getting frustrated.
Silence. None of them have the heart to tell that they were too busy, and bored, to notice what their enemies were saying .
"I am" said Ashley and they all notice the tone of superiority on her voice "They will expect our answer in a moment. Just follow my lead"
"What do ya said to that, delightful children" their title was pronounced in an ironic and melodic way. Nigel Uno was clearly trying to upset them
"Oh" said the five minded creature they were all together "And that is supposed to intimidate us? Get real Nigel! You are nothing more than a child playing with his pathetic friends! We are something better"
"What did they said" Numbuh .4 asked genially confused "Why are they getting an aggressive answer"
"I have no idea" was the only answered Lenny could provide "We just let Ashley use our voices but they are all her words, she was the only one paying attention"
"Sound like a big hack on school, having another person to pay attention for you"
"Yes, it definitely is" was the clear and confident answer, even when the idea have never before cross the Delightful´s mind.
"What?"
"What what?"
"You went suddenly silent"
"I am trying to be a good enemy and listen to my adversaries, if you don´t mind"
"Like it would made a difference"
"Pardon?"
"...And once we get rid of you, pathetic kids, we will LENNY! STOP THAT AND FOCUS HERE"
Even when he was used it was still weird to said things that were meant for you. He snap out of the initial surprise and found himself being watched by both friends and foe.
"Sorry, I was just…" he stopped his own tongue and focused his gaze on the Kids Next Door. There was no way they would understand the situation, so why bother explaining? "It´s not important, excuse me"
"Nice save" exclaimed Numbuh .4 still laughing at the situation and at his ever companion
"Yeah, that was hilarious! Ha Ha" and a blush took over his hidden face
Silence came in between the two dark skinned boys even when Lenny kept on talking along with the others. At this point on their lives and their strange and twisted relationship, Numbuh .4 had wisely learned not to be offended by every single word the other said, he could not do a thing anyway, so it was pointless getting mad. That comment about the Kids Next Door being pathetic, did not hit him as hard as it would have years before, actually, it didn´t even scratch him at all! In previous times, the idea of being insulted by children such as these monsters would make him feel extremely angry and he would have to knock the idea out of their minds, but now… Well! What was the use of getting mad at something you cannot hurt? And Lenny wasn´t really that bad! Their relationship had somehow become so strangely intimate, that they were not afraid of saying things that could´ve been considered rude or inappropriate. They also have cross the border between awkwardness and property, there is no room for them when you share the same body.
To speak the truth, Lenny has been lucky. Numbuh .4 was not desperate and full of hate when he found himself trapped on the mind of a complete stranger. He was only confused and scare. When he dared to speak up, he scared the other one to death. Lenny still has this memory present on his mind and it ashamed him still: at the sound of a cry from help coming form no other place but his own mind, he jumped and unconsciously grabbed what he had on proximity, Father´s arm. All of these came along a terrified gasp. No need to say that Father was not pleased with the sudden action and proceeded to shake the boy out of his sleeve before complaining about "This generation". Numbuh .4 still finds this amusing and sometime teases Lenny for it.
"You are gonna lose" said the operative confident of his own words when he saw the battle that was about to begin this time for real
"Shut up" was Lenny´s answer
:::
I would like to say, for the sake of the children, that the battle went swell and good and that the Delightful kids had won fair and square, obtaining the so awaited victory they deserved, but that´s not how things work here. Crushed and bruised they returned home with their heads down and their spirits even lower.
Failure always hurt. But there is always a breaking point and the children were so close to reach it after that horrible and humiliating battle. They asked themselves if they would dare to get up the next day and repeat the same thing all over again. This one has hit harder on Lenny, for Numbuh .4 was awake the whole time and witnesses his failure
"Hey, are you ok?" the words of the former operative sounded genially concerned, for some strange reason, he could not feel glad for what had happened.
"What are we going to tell Father?" Asked all the five kids at once before Lenny could give his answer. A heavy, sad, and tired sight escape the lips of them all.
"We are telling him the same thing we always do" said David trying to sound sure and confident despite the stutter on his voice "That we went to battle and that those… criminals didn´t played fair"
"We will lie to him?" Ashley tried to sound shocked but reality was that she found the idea appealing
"Do you have any other idea?"
No one answered. They only got energy to walk back home
"You could run away"
"Don´t be silly" replied Lenny to his other self. Things were sure bad but there was no reason to take such extreme actions
"It was an idea" was the only thing he said and it was completely sincere
"AH! I CAN´T WALK ANYMORE" was the exhausted cry of a short blond boy who ignoring the other kids of his family, went straight to his taller brother and proceeded to climb all the way up to his back, forcing David to give him a piggy ride
"Bruce get down! I am as tired as you" but the brown hair boy did nothing to stop his brother
"No, I can´t keep walking, Dave, please"
And the tallest one resumed his tired march back home
"It´s not fair" exclaimed an annoyed feminine voice "I wanted David to carry me"
"Well, I can´t carry you both"
"I can carry you Ashley"
"What?"
Lenny bended down a little and offered his back to his sister who look at him resilient and tempt by the idea of not walking all the way home
"Are you nuts? We are totally worn out!"
"Lenny" she said his name in a sigh "we are almost the same height"
"Not a problem"
"You could never carry me all the way home"
"Listen to the girl! She has some sense on her"
But he was not going to listen to any of them
"Come on"
And so, she climb up to his back and let herself be carried. Her brother felt the pressure upon him and the his legs were in pain, but he focused on the road and ignored the discomfort.
"She doesn´t look this heavy"
"Shocking! Numbuh .4 isn´t strong enough to carry a girl"
"I am strong, but what about you, Mr. I-don´t-like-hand-to-hand-combat?"
"What does it have to do with strength?"
"Everything"
Ad Lenny rolled his eyes and chucked a little
"See here, KNdork, she is already here so no point on complaining, right? We share the burden"
And Numbuh .4 was silent for the rest of the journey back home.
:::
When they arrive to the mansion the sun was already all the way down and they were greeted by darkness. Upon one little table at the very hall of their home they found a little note written in obvious hurry
"Something came up. I will go and see the other villains.
Be back later. DO NOT WAIT ME UP!
Father"
"He is not home" They said all together and exhausted they dropped themselves in the rug, not caring of anything but gathering energy to go all the way up to their room.
:::
When they were finally feeling better they went up to their room, get into their pajamas and start talking about the battle of the day. They did this all the time, they always tried to figure out what went wrong.
Robot and lasers blueprints were extended carelessly on the table and floor. Glasses and glasses with the remains of chocolate milk a few cups of coffee were placed untidily all over the room. The kids have thought, and speculated, they have planned and fail, and it was getting frustrating. Every idea so far had been quickly debunked with the evidence of previous defeats. There was nothing they could find that would help them with the complete annihilation of the Kids Next Door; or at least, Sector V.
Lenny´s head was hurting. He has been ignoring Numbuh .4 for the last 3 hours and at this point he wasn´t sure if the other one was being quiet or have finally go to sleep. To be sincere, he didn´t even care. Standing up from the rug he has been lying hopeless for the last 25 minutes, he shacked off the inexistent dust out of his clothes and make a lame excuse to be alone. No one stopped him when he left the room and went to lock himself up in the library.
"Are you looking for something?" There was his voice again! The little brat was still awake. But Lenny ignored him as he did most of the time "I don´t think you can find anything here that would help you with your KND problem! Face it, there is no use!"
An irritated growl was what the boy gave as answer. He took his helmet off and his hands went up to his head and he started rubbing the sides of it, and he still refused to talk back
"Lenny" he heard the operative call him, quiet and almost caring "Are you ok?"
"HOW CAN I?" the boy in blue yelled inside his head. The ex-sector Z member shivered in surprise "WE´VE BEEN TRYING AND SEARCHING AND STUDING AND TRYING ALL OVER AGAIN AND IT- NEVER- WORKS!"
As if the sudden anger had been washed out of his system, despair came in to take its place and Lenny let himself slip into the polished wooden floor
"Maybe you are right" he sighed holding tears back "Maybe there is no use"
"Not for me" said Numbuh .4 after a while and his voice cracked just a little "There is no point for me to fight you, or hate you… that doesn´t change anything back"
"I would really love to understand what are you talki..."
"I hated you" interrupted the original owner of their body with tragic melancholy on his voice "I wanted you to go away! To disappear from my life… to die"
At the statement, Lenny said nothing, But he felt worried, scared and weirdly sad. Even so, he didn´t talk at all for he must knew what the other one had to said
"I guess I am lucky you never did" and a sour chuckle followed "Have you ever wondered, Lenny, what would happen if you die? Will I take my body back or would I disappear with you"
Heavy words that almost crushed the little sanity the boy with the red helmet had. His eyes became wide with realization and doubt as he noticed his heart beat to be faster than usual. Shaking were his hands and his mouth was starting to feel dry
"I don´t know" he gasped "I wish I could tell you that everything will be good for you but I can´t"
"Because you don´t kno…"
"Because I don´t want it"
Painful silence fell between them once again
"I don´t understand " he resume talking in a whisper "I only know this is the only life I have ever known" He looked down to his own hands questioning if they were even real "I am sorry, boy, I can´t assure you nothing, nor I can wish you a good life if I am ever gone. I want you to come with me"
Numbuh .4 wanted to reply, and yet words failed him
"I suppose I am just selfish"
"I don´t believe you"
A simple phrase sounded inside Lenny´s head as a reply. It was firm and certain
"I don´t think you want me to die along with you just because you are selfish"
"Then why?" spited the other one his words as if they were venom "Why else would I even care?"
"Because you would miss me"
"I´ll be dead"
"Ok! Then I think I´ll miss you"
That came unexpected to the delightful boy. He was confused by the statement. His hands stopped shaking and he could had swear his heart had completely stop. Before his brain could even came up with a proper answered, Numbuh .4 was explaining himself
"I almost hurt me to accept this, but you are the only person I have talk to in years and so, I came to realize you are not as bad as you claim to be… true, you are one of the heirs of the evil but that doesn´t mean you don´t have something worthy on you"
"So you think I am worthy?" asked Lenny with irony in his voice "I don´t want you to pity me, Numbuh .4"
"It´s not pity" he almost yelled "I have live with you for so long! I got to know you and understand you! I know what are you fears and which is you favorite Ice cream flavor. I´ve learn to accept you" He stop. He wasn´t sure it was wise to say this things right to who was supposed to be his worst enemy "I hate your life and what you do, but there is no way I can hate you"
And then he yelled. It was like a trapped animal roaring in frustration upon the sight of his condition, maybe he did said too much. If he could have, he would´ve punch the bookcase that was right next to him.
"Which one is it?" Lenny dared to ask after all was in calm again
"What?"
"My favorite Ice cream flavor. Which one is it?"
"Chocolate with sprinkles"
"Good" and a ghost of a smile appeared upon his lips "What else do you know?"
"More than what you know about me"
Lenny wanted to prove him wrong but reality was that until this point, he haven´t really care about the operative's personal taste in anything
"But I know some stuff" he pronounce after thinking about it for a while "I have seem your memories, I know some of the things you like. Boxing is one of them…"
"Nice trick, weirdo, but you don't know why?"
"Your grandfather was a boxer on his time, he won the championship in the 70s or something. You looked up to him. When you were accepted as a dumb operative you asked for a pair of boxing gloves"
Numbuh .4 was both terrified and impress. That was kinda creepy but if he was complete honest with himself, then again, the whole situation was
"They were made specially for me"
"I´d said! I haven´t seen anything like them anywhere!"
What Lenny said made the little boxer smile wide; he felt proud of being owner of such an exclusive weapon, wherever it was.
"What´s so great about combat anyway?" asked the child placing the helmet back in his head in a playful and glad tone. A clear sign he wanted the conversation to keep going
"Besides being like a family tradition for me?" said Numbuh .4 half mocking the blue eyed boy "It´s awesome! it made me feel powerful!"
"You know what makes me feel powerful? Power"
And the other one laughed out loud
"I am serious! Do you know how much effort and resourses cost your annoying club of brats to fund and get your weapons and vehicles?"
"A lot" answered him still giggling
"Do you know how much effort it cost us? None" and a pretentious smile drawn itself on his face "Have scientists, business men, and everything we want at hand! We just have to anunce ourselves or said that we are associated with Father and people tremble"
Numbuh .4 remained quiet unsure of how he felt at the moment. It could be anger, or pity, maybe he was just tired of all that.
"And yet" continued Lenny "It is useless against a pesky organization of pathetic kids!" and he did punch the bookcase that was standind unsuspecting next to him. He heard a couple of book fall hard into the floor, but he did not look up to see them. Numbuh .4 sighed quietly. There was something about the little villain´s voice and broken tone that had pirced him, even if he didn´t dare to accept it.
"Get up!" he order firmly and loud
"What?"
"On Your Feet, Leonard!"
And with a extraordinary speed, the boy was up. The conviction on the voice of his so called companion had scare him just a little, and he react to the order without thinking
"Good! Now, right foot back, left foot on the front" Lenny obeyed without giving it more thought "Rise your fists, just the left one to protect your chin"
"Protect it from what? What are we doing"
"From upcoming attaks. You are learning box, kid!"
"But I don´t even like box!"
"So sorry! Now punch! Right, left, right… that was pathetic!"
"Well, excuse me!" yelled the very frustrated boy back "At least I am trying. I could just ignore you! I don´t even know why I am doing this!"
The operative left escape a heavy and irritated sigh
"Because we have to stay safe" and the other one listed with curiosity "The battle filed can be unexpected and treacherous. If we ever became separate of the others during a fight, I want you to be able to defend yourself"
"Why?"
"Because of what you said before, we share the burden"
Lenny understood. He got a brand new determination look on his eyes and placed himself on boxing position once more, waiting for new instructions from his brand new coach
"That´s more like it! Right, left, upper cut! Better… not exactly good, but better"
"This is so barbaric" complained the boy in training full of frustration
"But useful. Again!"
"Yes, sir" and he spiced his words with irony.
Such were the odds. No one could have ever guess it, and no one would ever dare to even think of it as possible, but true was that one of the top operatives of the Kids Next Door organization was helping one of the worst enemies of his kind. He wanted to keep the boy safe, alive and unharmed as long as possible, not because he was being selfish and scared of dying himself, but because he actually cared for the brat. The other kid, was actually starting to enjoy himself, but would not accept, not so soon. Every punch, every drop of sweat that rolled dowm his hace made him felt strong and capable, and more alive. He dare to transform a smirk into a full smile. He was starting to understand that one should necesarly choose between brains and brawl bacause both made an extraordinary team.
This was an unlikely friendship. But it was meant to be. And it should be great.
After a while, Lenny was too tired to keep punching thin air. Hands over his knees he gasped for precious air for a couple of minutes
"Man, are we out of form" sighed the other and wished he could pat his back. The other just chuckle, but became serious almost immediately after
"There is something I have to tell you" he interpreted the silence as attention "Constance gave me a message from Numbuh .5... for you"
"What is it?" asked the kid quietly
"She said you are cute and awesome and stuff like that!" began the boy feeling very weird "And that she had this big crush on you"
Silence. Lenny wondered if the other has to shocked or too surprised to answered, and Numbuh .4 wondered the same thing himself.
"Did she really?"
"Yes"
"That´s… good! Wow!" and a happy light chuckle resounded inside the delightful child mind. He rolled his eyes and understood how awkward Constance may have felt that day
"Figures"
:::
Imagine Lenny tryng to convince Numbuh .4 to crush on another girl who is not tecnically his sister. That could be interesting.
So there is Lenny´s chapter.
When I started writting it, I didn´t know yet it would be about the friendship between him and Numbuh .4, still I am very glad of how it turned out to be.
I would love to hear from you and I appreciate every favorite, view, review and follow this mess gets.
Thank you for your attention, have a very nice day
CrackerTales