"Maybe you should leave the flying to me, eh Numbuh 1?"
Numbuh 1 looked up at the chubby boy with flying goggles on his head with a baffled expression. Beneath the two cousins was a large, soft inflatable mattress covered in pillows and sheets. So that's what broke the fall, Nikki thought. Suddenly, she felt something collide harshly with her shoulder as something clamp onto her ar. She looked down at the dark haired girl who appeared to be drowning in an oversized green jumper.
"Don't you scare me like that!" she moaned, giggling.
"Yeah!" snapped the shortest of the group, "I've had to put up with all this soppy crud since we left!"
Nikki laughed with relief and returned the hug. A girl wearing a bright red cap came over and helped Numbuh 1 to his feet. She backed away from him and looked and him, folding her arms and nodding.
"Not bad, Numbuh 5 has to admit she's impressed, but," she punched him on the arm, "did you have to make a big show of it?"
Numbuh 1 grinned at his team, looking around and finding him inside the hover craft that he had left them in. Nikki scrambled to her feet, still having Numbuh 3 clinging to her arm. She felt proud of her cousin, he had clearly done a good job leading his team. She had never been a strong leader herself, forced into the position merely because of her being the first. She was not like him; he was born to do this. He was going to be a brilliant TND in the future, all five of them were, she knew it.
The craft turned in the air and headed back towards the base.
"How did you know where we were?" Nikki asked.
"Well, we didn't, we were about to break into the mansion ourselves to find you, but that's when we saw you're dive bomb in the air." Explained Numbuh 2, demonstrating the fail at flight with his hands.
"You were going to break in alone?" Numbuh 1 blanched, "You didn't call for reinforcements?"
"We did tell HQ what was going on, but waiting was so boring!" moaned Numbuh 3.
"Wonder where they got that from…" Nikki muttered, to which Numbuh 4 sniggered, but then composed himself back into his sulking pout.
The ship landed carefully inside the tree-house landing bay and they all piled out and into the main sitting area. Nikki felt more than happy to collapse on the sofa and sleep, but considering her company, she settled for just collapsing instead. There was an incoming transmission from the Moon Base HQ warning flashing on screen. Numbuh 1 pushed his shades back into place and braced himself.
"Numbuh 1 here."
The blonde girl from the last message pixelated into view. Numbuh 362 glared down at him.
"Numbuh 1, do you know how stupid that stunt you pulled was?"
She was off, waving her arms and shouting about how his recklessness and lack of thinking would soon get the whole KND in danger. Nikki glanced at her watch, she'd been ranting now for at least fifteen minutes and didn't look like she was showing any signs of stopping. By this point, she had finished moaning at Nigel, and was now moving onto the rest of the team. She explained how she couldn't believe they had gone back without a substitute leader or without consulting HQ first, blaming it on poor leadership skills. But now, she was focusing on Nikki.
"And you Numbuh 777, you of all should have known better!" she finished, gasping for air, her cheeks red with anger.
Everyone was silent. Suddenly, Nikki got to her feet and smiled up at the screen.
"Numbuh 362, Rachel was it?" she smiled, "You can't blame Sector V, it was my fault. I -"
"Before you start with the attempt at being noble, Numbuh 777, allow me to finish." Nikki was sure that they had all given the girl plenty of time to finish, but she nodded and let the girl continue, "Yes, all of you displayed some appalling sense of thought and planning, not to mention reckless behaviour and refusal to follow regulation, you still achieved mission objective. So… good job, Numbuh 1."
The screen went black. Everyone was baffled and exasperated at the same time. Nikki smirked as she saw her cousin blush slightly.
"I think she likes you, you know?"
He jarred at her words, "Pfft! Yeah right! Really?"
She laughed and winked at him.
"So, I'm confused, did we do a good job or not? I don't understand that cruddy chick!" Numbuh 4 cried.
"We did good, silly!" Numbuh 3 grinned, forcing him into a one-sided hug.
He tried to break free, "I don't understand any cruddy chick!"
"Yeah… get used to that." Nikki smirked, "We don't get any easier."
Numbuh 5 smiled and nodded, not noticing the blush that has hidden beneath part of Numbuh 2's helmet. Numbuh 4 demanded to know how the cousins managed to escape in the first place and what had happened. Nikki sighed and looked at Numbuh 1 hopefully, he shrugged and took it upon himself to explain. He told them about the decommissioner and his plan to rid himself of KND agents, making them into early members of his teen army. They were disgusted.
"Should we inform HQ about that?" asked Numbuh 2, anxiously/
"I will, when Rachel has a chance to calm down first." Nikki offered.
"So… where's the decommissioner now?" asked Numbuh 3, looking inside the sleeves of her jumper.
Numbuh 1 froze, his eyes widened behind his shades towards Nikki. She swallowed hard, she must have dropped it when they had been falling. If that got into the wrong hands again, they may not be so lucky next time. Numbuh 1 jumped to the main computer and started tapping buttons violently in specific orders. A map jumped on screen, a radar signal scanning the area.
"This should locate any 2X4 technology in the area that hasn't been registered by a KND Sector. If there's any stray equipment out there, like the decommissioner, it'll show up sooner or later." Nigel explained.
"So now we're just waiting?" snapped Wally, throwing his arms in the air.
"Not much else we can do, Numbuh 5 is guessing…" she shrugged.
Nikki felt deflated, it was her fault, she should have made sure she was holding it tighter. She caught her cousins eye and he firmly shook his head at her disappointed expression, giving her a 'don't even think about it' kind of look. She forced a smile and nodded.
All of a sudden, the bag that Nikki was leaning against, the she recognised as her own, started vibrating, a dim light pushing through the fabric. She fished out her phone and felt her throat dry at the sight of the 8 missed calls and current incoming call from none other than a certain mother. She shushed the group and pressed the connect button, putting on her most calm babysitting voice that she could manage.
"Hello, Mrs. Beetles!... I know, I'm so sorry, we were outside and I guess I lost track of my phone…. Yeah, everything's fine, we've been having lots of fun…" Nikki rolled her eyes at the sight of Wally smacking his palm to his forehead, "What's that?... Oh, right okay no problem. See you soon… Bye!"
Her smile faded and her voice suddenly dropped back to its serious tone. She scrambled around, grabbing her stuff and shoving it into her bag, leaving the load of fake spy equipment behind. She jumped over the sofa and grabbed Numbuh 4 by the hood of his jumper, dragging him out the door.
"Your parents are coming home early, we've got to get home now!" she explained, turning to face the others, "I'll see you guys later and thank you for everything!"
She was aware that her goodbye or her gratitude was nearly satisfactory enough, but after this, she would be free to do it properly, after all, she was visiting for a good week or two. The babysitter and the grumbling boy raced out of the tree house and rushed down the street until they arrived at the back door of the Beetles residence. Wally clicked on the TV and the two just managed to throw themselves down on the sofa, getting into a position that gave the illusion that they had been there for hours, just as the front door opened.
Two adults traced into the room, looking down at the pair, smiling. Nikki got to her feet and tried to cover her lack of breathing by smiling and shaking the parents hand. Wally arched his brow, pretending not to notice his parents return.
""I hope everything was okay? He didn't give you any trouble did he, it wouldn't be the first time…" his mother warned.
Numbuh 4 rolled his eyes, Nikki answered with a laughter in her tone, "No he's been a big help actually."
"He hasn't been stuck in front of that TV, has he?" joked the father, winking at his irritated son.
She shook her head, "In fact we've only just turned it on."
They nodded with approval. Even Wally had to admit, she was cool under pressure, and true to her world, lying wasn't her thing. He would have to figure out how she did that, telling the total truth and yet not giving away a single thing.
"So where are you staying now until you surprise your aunt and uncle?" they asked, handing over her babysitting money.
She shrugged, "I've got some errands to run, so by the time they're done it'll be the perfect time to surprise them. Thanks for letting me stay."
"Thanks for taking care of you little scamp!" Mr. Beetles grinned, tousling his sons hair, "Wallabee, are you going to say goodbye to Nikki?"
Wally glanced up at the teenager and nodded, "See ya."
"Yeah, see ya." Nikki grinned.
Nikki was walked out of the house and began to make her way down the street, when she noticed something rustling in the bushes. She peered in and braced herself, unsure of the noise being a threat or not.
"Errands, huh?" Numbuh 4 tumbled from the shrub, eyeing her warily, "Like what?"
He still didn't trust her, she thought, "Just something I've got to do, that's all."
"At the tree-house? At the Delightful Dorks?"
She shook her head, "No, why? You worried about me?" she smirked playfully.
He scoffed, "Yeah right! Now… go on get outta here!"
She grinned and tousled his hair, "I'll see you around."
And with that, she was gone. Vanished around the street corner, leaving him alone. He huffed and mumbled something about 'cruddy teenagers' and returned home before his parents noticed his trip to the 'bathroom' taking too long. Nikki however, was heading down every ally-way she could find, searching in every shrub and peering down every drain on the road. She wasn't sure how long it took her, but she eventually found what she was looking for.
Night was closing in and she had to run to find her families house before it got too dark to see. Then again, their house wasn't exactly hard to miss. Not with the giant tree producing from the roof with multiple blocks attached to it, and the giant KND painted on the front. Maybe she should suggest a more subtle touch, but she chose against it. When was this particular team every subtle?
She gripped her bag over her shoulder and strode up the pathway and knocked confidently on the door. The door opened to reveal a large, round man with a balding head, he beamed down on her.
"By Jove! Nikki, I thought you weren't arriving till the morning!" he cried in his over-the-top British accent.
Being British herself, she had to laugh at his old fashioned phrases. No one in Britain really spoke like that, but she presumed that maybe he was putting it on to mess with the Americans heads. Thus, she played along and pretended to ignore it.
"Well I was but I wanted to surprise you. Surprise!" she grinned.
Her uncle and aunt welcomed her with a large meal that she was more than grateful to devour. She realised that she hadn't eaten anything since she had started babysitting Numbuh 4 the afternoon before. They apologised to Nigel not being present, apparently he was having a sleepover in the tree-house, so it would be a nice surprise for him in the morning. She nodded and smiled secretly to herself. They led her upstairs into the guest bedroom and left her to set herself up. However, she only just managed to get her pyjamas on before she collapsed onto the bed, falling into a deep sleep.
The morning sun broke though the gap in her curtains. She blinked her eyes until she was completely awake. There were strange noises coming from downstairs, including a few loud voices that it took her less than seconds to recognise. She hastily threw on some clothes and fashioned her hair into her signature side pony-tail and brushed her teeth. Whatever was going on, she was itching to find out.
She tapped on the closed dining room door and everything suddenly went deadly quiet. A polite cough at her side made her jump. Before her, her aunt and uncle smiled knowingly down at her.
"Nigel found out you were here and wanted to give you a little something. We're going to pop to the shops for a bit, think you'll be okay on your own with him?"
"Yeah, we'll be fine!" she beamed.
They nodded and left, chuckling to themselves. Nikki raised an eyebrow in suspicion. What was going on here? Carefully and slowly, she opened the door to the dining room, edging her way inside. The room was flooded in darkness. A cold sweat beaded on her forehead. Her fists raised themselves into fighting stance and her senses were on high alert. All of a sudden, the lights burned on and there was a child-like series of cries around her.
"Surprise!"
Nikki staggered back, taking everything in. The room was filled with streamers and bursting part-poppers. Sat on the table, almost spilling over the edges was the biggest and most delicious looking cake Nikki had ever seen, Gathered around it, was a group of children, lead by her cousin. He folded his arms and smirked at her triumphantly.
"Welcome home." He said, simply.
She grinned and forced him into a hug, which he wasn't sure if he liked or not, so instead he just gingerly tapped her on the back.
"Oh yeah, and we think you're missing something." Numbuh 5 commented, tossing two objects to her.
Nikki caught them and examined them. One was a small pendant with her TND details printed across it. She grinned and put it around her neck, glad to feel the badges familiar weight hanging from her again. The second was red and looked like a boxing glove, with a click of a button, a hockey stick handle shot out from it, a ping-pong paddle and yo-yo attached at the end. Her YO-STICK.
"How did you…?"
She hesitated as she noticed something written on the cake in bright blue icing. 'Happy Birthday Delightful Children'. She narrowed her eyes, yet couldn't ignore the pride that she felt for them.
"The Delightful's cake?" she asked with awe, eyes widening at their skills, but then she snapped out of it, "You went back into the mansion?" she cried, "You could have been hurt! You -"
"Jeez give it a rest!" Numbuh 4 snapped, rolling his eyes, "We're more than a match for those creeps!"
Got that right, Nikki thought, "But why?"
"It's still your annual mission to steal the cake, so what if we took back a few other stolen things on the way?" Numbuh 2 smirked, mouth watering at the cake.
"You guys are just so…" she couldn't find a word for them, so she said the only thing that made sense to her, and would hopefully make sense to them too, "…so KND."
The grinned a the complement.
"By the way, I've got something for all of you too."
They eyed her questioningly as she vanished back up to her bedroom and pulled out a box from her bag. She rushed back down to them and handed it to her cousin. He prised the lid open and gasped at its contents. He pulled the object out for all to see.
"The decommissioner? How?" Numbuh 2 gaped.
"I found it… and it took a long time too, but it's better off with you guys than in the streets, so it was worth it. Now, are we digging into this cake or not?"
"Cake for breakfast?" Numbuh 3 grinned, jumping on the spot.
"Of course!" Nikki smiled, cutting the first layer of the cake into slices and passing it around.
It was amazing. There were no other ways of describing the cake, but amazing. Clearly, it had been worth it. By the end of their third or fourth piece each, they were ready to throw up, but still couldn't bring themselves to stop.
All of a sudden, the group of children froze as their communicators started flashing. They groaned and started piling out of the room.
"Another cruddy mission? We've just finished one!"
"Numbuh 5 knew this peace was too good to last."
Nikki watched them leaving, smiling as they went. She was going to miss being a KND-TND operative. She was eighteen, in a year and a half, she would be twenty and it was highly doubtful that they were going to allow an adult into the teams. AND didn't really have a ring to it anyway. So she had to make these moments last.
"Hey, Numbuh 777, are you coming or what?"
Nikki looked up to see her cousin leaning against the door frame, arching an eyebrow as he adjusted his shades. Yes, she had to make these moments last. She lifted her hand to her head in a salute and grinned.
"Of course, leader."
She followed him up into the tree-house as they all prepared their weapons and piled into the ship. They blasted off into the open air and locked onto their target. Nikki couldn't escape the smile that had etched herself on her face. She looked down at her badge and then at the team around her. She could tell, they were definitely going to make great TND operatives some day, and if they ever did make an adult sector, if there ever was going to be a AND station…
She was positive that Nigel Uno was going to be the first.
End Transmission.