Curtis finally relaxed. It looked like Laura was as well. He remembered when the sector was first formed, he had wondered why Laura was chosen to be leader. She had been very, very eager to please, and seemed a bit frantic. She was still showing it today, even though over the last couple of years she had mellowed out a bit.
Curtis suspected it had partly to do with wanting to please the Soopreme Commander, and her sister. He had met Numbuh 128 a few times, and she seemed much more relaxed than Laura. Especially since during most of the visits Laura had been nearly tripping over herself trying to get Numbuh Eleventy-Two to behave herself.
But now the small girl with the orange hair was sitting in her chair, in the zone. The two of them had piloted this plane so many times, they could probably do it in their sleep. Curtis smiled, remembering a website he had looked at, which listed all the 'cliche' tropes to do with hair colour. Fiery redhead was one of them. Laura wasn't completely a redhead, but she could definitely be fiery.
Behind him, Curtis could hear Numbuh Eleventy-Two and 110 chatting, and pointing at everything, inside and outside the ship. On the opposite side, Numbuh 456 was looking at his dashboard, looking quite annoyed at all the noise. Usually it was just Eleventy-Two talking. Now there was two of her. Plus, now the guys were outnumbered two to three. Curtis had a feeling that this fact would not skip over Eleventy-Twos mind, and the girl would use that to her advantage. But for right now, the two girls were content with chatting the day away until they got to the Moonbase.
"Wait, so I think it will be chocolate themed, because chocolate is the best!" Numbuh 110 looked very thoughtful, with a hand on her chin and her nose scrunched up.
"But it has to be soft drink. Apparently it was chocolate themed the meeting before the last meeting." Numbuh Eleventy-Two countered, looking just as thoughtful.
"They can do it again."
"Not this soon!"
"I just know it will be chocolate though."
"How can you know?" Numbuh 110 smirked at the older girl in front of her.
"Because I can see the future! Either way, I just have a feeling."
"Well I can see the future as well! And the future says it's soft drink!" Numbuh Eleventy-Two folded up her arms with a triumphant look.
"Neither of you are going to make it to the future to find out if you don't both BE QUIET!" Numbuh 456 yelled out, interrupting the girls.
Numbuh Eleventy-Two gave him a withering look, whilst 110 simply looked confused, and a little bit hurt.
"Don't yell 456." Curtis said calmly, turning away from the scene and back towards his monitor.
"But Numbuh 333, they're making so much noise!" Numbuh 456 glared daggers at the two.
"Numbuh Eleventy-Two, 110, keep it down." Numbuh 127 called out from her side of the van.
"You always take his side" Numbuh Eleventy-Two said sadly, before whispering excitedly to 110.
Rolling his eyes, Curtis quickly checked how far they were to the Moonbase. Only a few thousand kilometres to go. He liked Numbuh Eleventy-Two. But she was a girl, and girls could be annoying. Even Numbuh 127 could get on his nerves. He would have liked not being the only boy, but 456 could be just as bad. He felt like he was the only sane person in their sector. He remembered once he asked the Soopreme Leaduh, Numbuh 963 why he had been placed as second in command. His answer had been surprising.
"You know you are a good leader. That's why you're second in command. You can take over in an emergency. But Numbuh 127 still need to learn. And she wants to learn. So we give her the experience, with you there to make sure she doesn't make any huge mistakes. She learns hoe to be a good leader, and you learn how to be a good follower. Both are important things to learn."
Thinking about that now, Curtis knew Numbuh 963 was right. He had always been the leader. He knew how to take care of little kids, and at school he was often looked up to. Laura wanted that, and tried to get it. She had certainly improved from when she first joined. And, he had been a sort of safety net. If there was a major flaw in any of her plans, he pointed it out. He used his experience to help enhance hers.
"Incoming message from Moonbase!" Numbuh Eleventy-Two suddenly called out from the communications station.
"Alright, set us up." Laura quickly pressed some buttons, and Eleventy-Two sent the feed through to the screen at the front of the van. Chatter ceased as they waited for the message.
The face of an operative who looked about ten appeared. She was wearing a helmet with the symbol of communications on the front, a patch with a bright yellow C on it.
"Names and sector?" She asked, obviously trying to sound serious, but grinning.
"Numbuh's 127, 333, 456, Eleventy-Two and 110, sector QL" Laura announced.
There was a clicking sound of buttons being pressed, and the operative looked up.
"Okay, Australian sectors at gate twenty-three. Rainbow Munchies" The girl finished with the secret pass code that all active operatives received to get into the meeting. Curtis thought it was stupid, and had a feeling that the girls had a hand in picking it. It was a nice cereal though.
"Sweet and crunchy!" Laura finished, grinning.
Eleventy-Two and 110 clapped in the background, obviously pleased. There came a huffing sound from Numbuh 456, who slouched lower and lower in his chair. The sooner they arrived, the sooner his spirits would pick up.
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Angelie settled back down into her chair. They were nearly at the Moonbase. The only problem was, gate twenty-three was on one side of the Moonbase, and the auditorium was all the way on the other side. Which meant they would probably have to run through the base to get good seats.
The ship soon got to gate twenty-three. There were ships flying around at all the gates, but it was easy to spot the Australian ships. Many of them were splattered with paint in green, gold, blue and red. They were also very big. It was part of the reason Sector QL had been so excited to get a new ship. They hadn't decorated the old one, though Angelie was annoyed why. Sure, she and 456 disagreed on how to do it, but they'd only ended up destroying one wing of the base. She had won the battle though, partly because she accidentally shot 456 directly out the treehouse.
They parked the ship, and everyone got out. Angelie loved meeting up with the other Australian sectors, mostly because everyone was so excitable and fun to be around.
"Hey Eleventy-Two!" Shouted a tall, tanned girl from next to a big green and gold ship with a huge kangaroo painted rather sloppily on the side.
"Hey 76! Angelie ran over to the black-haired girl, who put up her hand for a high-five.
"How's it going over at the Sunshine State?" Numbuh 76 blew a stray piece of hair out of her face, waving over at the rest of sector QL.
"It's good! We have a new girl too!" Angelie quickly gestured for Numbuh 110 to come over. The small girl was smiling, and accepted a high five from the bigger girl in front of her.
"Hey kid! You new I hear?" Angelie watched Numbuh 76 eagerly.
It was common for the Australian operatives to give new kids a test. It was supposed to make sure they were tough enough. Of course, it didn't really mean anything, they accepted everyone, but it was an Aussie tradition, and every Australian operative had done it. Angelie remembered that all four members of sector QL had tried to chase down a kangaroo (which nearly kicked the daylights out of Numbuh 333) and get prepared to wrestle a crocodile before they told them it was fake.
"Yeah, this is my first day!" Numbuh 110 seemed to stand up a little taller, obviously proud every time she said that.
"Well, if you really want to be part of the Australian Kids Next Door, you have to pass a test." The seasoned Australian grinned at the small girl, who was no confused.
"I thought I already did the test, at the training camp."
"This is different. All Australians have to be super tough, so that we can beat all the villains here. Everyone knows Australia is the most dangerous place on earth." Numbuh 76 was exaggerating, but Angelie remembered being taken in by the same speech, but coming from a tall, brown haired boy who had since been decommissioned.
"So, sometime soon we'll have to give you the test. I'll talk to 127, figure out a day. Get ready!" Numbuh 76 walked off, grinning.
"Is there really a test Eleventy-Two?" Numbuh 110 looked up at Angelie, slightly skeptical, but also excited.
"Yeah, I had to do it. It was crazy. But come on, we have to get back to everyone else!" Angelie wasn't a very good liar, so she quickly tried to change the subject before Numbuh 110 noticed.
The two girls ran back to sector QL, where Numbuh 127 was again verifying the group so they could enter.
"And here's Numbuhs 110 and Eleventy-Two." She said, shooting the two a look that said 'You shouldn't have run off.'
"Okay, off you go. You know where the auditorium is?" The blonde boy in the booth asked, obviously waiting for us to go. Angelie figured they were probably the last group, which meant after they went, that boy could go to the auditorium as well.
"Yes, we do. Alright guys, let's go!" Numbuh 127 started walking quickly down the hallway, navigating hallways.
The group passed along other operatives, some who were finishing jobs and others who were just taking their own time to get to the operative. Some didn't care for the speech that came before the party, but Angelie didn't want to miss a second. Sure, the speech might be boring, but it could also be exciting!
She watched the other operatives as she passed them. Some she recognised, some she didn't. Then she saw someone she definitely recognised.
"STOP!" She screamed out, causing Numbuh 127 to skid to a stop, and for Numbuh 333 and 456 to slam into her. Numbuh 110 narrowly missed the pileup, instead running past and stopping later on. Operatives nearby jumped in surprise. One Japanese girl jumped right into the short, blonde operative next to her.
"Eleventy-Two?! What are you doing?!" Numbuh 127 yelled out.
"I saw Numbuh 83!" Angelie called out, walking over to her friend.
Numbuh 83 had jumped like everyone else, but had since calmed down, and now greeted Angelie happily.
"I nearly didn't see you. You were going very fast." Numbuh 83, wearing her light blonde hair in two pigtails like always was standing with her team members, Numbuh 84, who was slinging a yo-yo up and down, and a small, dark brown haired girl Angelie didn't recognise, looking quite tired. The three were standing next to a bathroom, not going anywhere.
"Are you waiting for someone?" Angelie asked, curious.
"Numbuh 85. We told him to go before we left like Numbuh 77 did, but he didn't and now we're waiting for him to finish." Numbuh 83 explained, shrugging her shoulders.
By now, the rest of Sector QL was there, and Numbuh 77's face lit up suddenly.
"Hey Tori!" She called out to Numbuh 110, who walked up to the small girl, smiling.
"Hey Laura! Guess what Numbuh 127's name is Laura too!" Numbuh 110 pointed to Numbuh 127. Numbuh 77 looked at the taller girl, surprised.
"Woah, that's cool! Hey, what time did you guys have to get up to get here?" Numbuh 77 yawned, reminding Angelie about timezones.
"We got to get up at normal times! We got lucky." Angelie cut in on the conversation, grinning widely. Numbuh 77 looked very jealous.
"It was still nighttime when we got up. But I got to sleep in the treehouse so it would be easier, so that was cool."
"Oh cool, I'm going to be able to pick out my room - Hey!" Numbuh 110 was cut off by Numbuh 333 quickly grabbing her arm with one hand, and Angelie's arm with the other.
"I'm sorry, but Numbuh 127 wants to get going." He said and started leading the two girls to where Numbuh 127 and 456 were waiting.
"Bye!" Numbuh 110 called out, waving. Numbuh 77 waved back, though she looked a little annoyed.
Angelie quickly shook off Numbuh 333's hand, walking by him, slightly annoyed. Sure, they didn't want to be late, but it's not like the meeting has already started or anything.
"The meeting was supposed to start FIVE MINUTES AGO!" Numbuh 127 shouted out, looking very annoyed.
Okay, she was wrong. Angelie decided to pick up the pace.
"Don't worry, I heard Numbuh 963 was having a really bad case of stage fright. I don't think you have to worry about missing it. I'm worried it won't start for ages!" A short, slightly, well, chubby boy called out from a bit ahead of the group. Next to him were the Japanese girl and blonde boy Angelie had seen before. None of them looked particularly worried, though the blonde one seemed annoyed at the idea of the Soopreme Leaduh having stage fright.
"He oughta get up there and take it like a man!" He sounded Australian. Very Australian.
Angelie briefly wondered what sector he was from, when Numbuh 127 yelled out to her.
"Alright! Let's go guys, we might not miss anything!" She shouted, breaking into a light job, dodging and weaving around kids.
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Billy settled into his seat. He had arrived at the auditorium nice and early, and picked the seat closest to him, at the back. He hoped this would give him a good view. Clutching a box of popcorn, he watched the operatives come in, hoping to see a friendly face. Most of his sector had disappeared into the crowd. No one was sitting near him, which was weird, because there were plenty of seats around him. He suddenly spotted an operative that went to his school come in.
"Oh, hey Numbuh 729! Wanna sit with me?" He called out, waving to the operative.
Numbuh 729 turned around, and upon noticing Him, grimaced. Billy didn't seem to notice though.
"Oh, sorry Numbuh 13, but I told my sector I'd sit with them... Oh look! They're right over there! Hey guys!" Numbuh 729 ran off into the crowd.
Billy sighed, going back to scanning the stream of operatives entering the auditorium. Everyone scuttled away as soon as they saw him. Some were civil about it, acknowledging Billy, but saying they had promised they'd sit with someone else, or that they had eye problems. Some girls said he had cooties, even though it was obviously the other way around. The girls had the cooties, not boys. But some were not civil, just running away.
He kept looking for someone to sit with as the stream tapered off. Eventually, only a few operatives were coming in every few seconds. Billy had pretty much given up trying to find a friend. He's just enjoy his own company. Again.
He noticed some activity on the stage, and saw a bright spot of red walk along the stage, which he identified as the current Global Head of Tactical Office and Head of Decommissioning, Numbuh 86. She didn't like Billy, or any boys for that matter. Not many people liked her. It had practically caused a scandal when Numbuh 3 openly announced she was friends with the redhead. People couldn't believe it. Every truth or dare game she was asked if she was really friends with the girl, along with whether or not she had a crush on Numbuh 4. At least, that was what Billy had heard.
"Attention Kids Next Door Operatives!" Shouted the very loud Numbuh 86. Her voice echoed across the auditorium, through the speakers, and throughout the entire Moonbase. It was announcing the meeting had begun.
Chatter in the auditorium died down, and Billy excitedly popped a piece of popcorn in his mouth. At least, he tried. It missed and hit the ground beneath his seat. His next try was successful though.
"Welcome to the Sooper Secret Special Meeting!" She announced. Operatives started cheering. Billy jumped up and down, accidentally spilling most of his popcorn on the floor. He quickly sat back down sheepishly, disappointed at the rogue popcorn box.
"And now, the Soooreme Leaduh, Numbuh 963!" Numbuh 86 stepped back, and the black haired leader of the Kids Next Door stepped forwards towards the podium. There was another round of cheers, and when Numbuh 963 held up his hand, it took a few seconds to quiet down.
"Kids Next Door Rules!" He shouted, though there was a hint of nervousness in his voice.
"Kids Next Door Rules!" Everyone shouted back. Billy spilt the remainder of his popcorn, dropping the box under the seats of the row in front of him.
Biting his lip, Billy quickly ducked down and tried to retrieve his box. He had ample space around him, but he could not spot the box. He tried to climb over the chairs in front, but tripped, and knocked down five different chairs. By the time he got up, Numbuh 963 had started his speech.
As Billy searched for his popcorn box, Numbuh 963 spoke. As Numbuh 963 spoke, one operative whispered to the girl next to her.
"This is so exciting isn't it?" She whispered, fidgeting in her seat.
"Shut up, I'm trying to listen" The strawberry-blonde hissed back, surprising the operative.
"No need to be a meanie about it." The girl pouted in her chair, deciding to ignore the meanie next to her.
"Stupid kid." The strawberry-blonde's eyes widened, and she slowly looked towards her neighbour, who was looking back with a confused expression.
"Hey... Who are you? What's your Numbuh?!" The young girls tone went from whispering to talking. It was starting to draw the attention of operatives around the two. Some looked towards the strawberry-blonde, both threatening and curious.
"Umm, Ummm I'm Numbuh 803" she quickly said, trying to keep her calm.
"What did you mean when you said stupid kid?" The girl questioned, narrowing her eyes.
"I, uh, I meant - Hey!" The strawberry-blonde grabbed the hand of a curious boy in the row behind who had pushed the back of her cap.
Suddenly, the disguise fell away, revealing a teenager dressed in ninja gear. The teen grimaced, knowing the disguise had failed.
"THERES A TEENAGER!" The girl next to the teen yelled out catching the attention of everyone.
Suddenly, every operative pulled out weapons. Many didn't wait to start firing. The teen sighed, annoyed that the plan would have to be hurried. Releasing the gas, the teen decided to just run. And try not to die.
Meanwhile, Billy watched the scene. The shout had disrupted him, and he bumped his head on a chair. Realising they had been breached, he started panicking. He had to help! He didn't have any weapons on him, so he grabbed a chair, and started to run. But instead of running towards the teenager, where everyone else was going, he slammed in the wall.
Where, for some inexplicable reason, the emergency lockdown button was placed.
Why it was there, no one knew. Probably the same person who put the 'Blow Up The Engines' button on ships.
But it didn't matter, because Billy had hit it.
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Jackson wasn't that concerned with missing some of the speech. He just didn't want to miss the party. What he was concerned with, was how most of the operatives around had suddenly disappeared. The group had fallen behind after taking a wrong turn, something Numbuh 127 was greatly annoyed about.
He got even more concerned when the lights suddenly went out, and sirens screeched throughout the base.
"What's going on?!" Numbuh 110 yelled to be heard over the sirens.
"Emergency Lockdown! Something's wrong!" Numbuh Eleventy-Two called out.
"Of course something's wrong!" Jackson shouted, worried. What had happened? Emergency lockdowns are only for the most dire of situations.
And a dire situation when practically every single operative is cramped in one room is not a good thing at all.
When the dim emergency lights came on and the sirens stopped sounding, Jackson looked over at Numbuh 127 and 333 and knew they were thinking the same thing.
Hello everyone! I hope you like this chapter, this when the action really starts. I guess I'll clear up exactly how this story is going to work. There are original characters but there will be appearances of canon characters, as has happened in this chapter. Yes, Numbuh 13 caused the emergency lockdown. The timeline of this story is after Numbuh 1 went to the Galactic Kids Next Door, and after the point where Numbuh 5 and 362 would have been decommissioned. But before Numbuh 4 would have been decommissioned. And the order for Sector V in age is 5, 4, 1, 2, 3, where 5 is oldest and 3 is youngest. At this point, 4, 2 and 3 are all 12, though it hasn't been very long since 3's birthday. She wished to lead another mission, this time with more success. 4 is still a few months off the dreaded 13th. As for the other canon characters seen. Sonya, Lee and Paddy are all about 9-10, which is also the age range of most of Sector QL, with 127 being the oldest and Jackson being the youngest of those four. 110 is 7. Numbuh 13 I always imagined as being younger than sector V, so he is about 11 here. Numbuh 86 is also 12. That's enough info for today. I hope you enjoyed the chapter, and feel free to send me any questions, or feedback to help make my story better!