Disclaimer: I don't own Codename: Kids Next Door. It belongs to Tom Warburton.
I would like to thank Blackdragon812 for pointing out that the name of the hamster I have been using in this story is not Wakeem but Joaquin. I made corrections throughout the story for this.
How On Earth: Chapter 10
Tommy was on high alert as he followed the others while they moved quietly across the street. He put his hand on his brother's tool box. It was strapped on to the side of the belt that had The Tommy's really cool super ultra-effective gadgets. Unlike the tools adult mechanics would use, the KND had designed theirs so that they were lightweight as well as strong, allowing them to move rapidly to where ever they might be needed during a fight. The gear in Hoagies Toolbox was no exception.
The group was approaching the parking lot where the sixteen wheeled Tapioca truck should be, hidden amongst similarly sized vehicles with Lime Ricky's soda advertisements on them. It had taken them almost two hours to get here, but other than some achy feet from the pace they had held, there had been no problems during their journey.
As they approached the gate they saw it was locked, just as his Grandma had said it would be. Apparently, she had used a hairpin to spring the lock earlier and relocked it afterward.
Tommy had a homemade lock pick tucked in his pocket. He pulled it out, opened the lock again and pulled the chain off of the gate. They approached the trucks and started looking between them for one that did not advertise fizzy drinks.
"It's over here," Numbuh Fourteen called out after a few minutes.
By the time Tommy found it, everyone else except Numbuh Forty Four B had already arrived and were standing by a truck that had the same build as the others but a different color scheme. The designs couldn't be seen from the road but from his vantage point, with the light from the lamp posts, Tommy could see the advertisement for the snack that Grandfather was now producing in ridiculously high amounts. It appeared that these snacks were in little cups with that plastic wrapper on the top that you had to pull the tab back to peel off. He had a feeling that Grandfather's workers were not putting their products in this type of container; they're too small.
"Where's Numbuh Forty Four," Numbuh Fourteen asked.
"Grabbing a six pack." Numbuh Eighty Five stated, sounding extremely annoyed. Tommy shared this sentiment.
Numbuh Fourteen sighed in frustration and said, "Come on, let's check and make sure everything is still in the back.
They went to the back of the truck and opened it. Jessica turned on a flashlight and pointed it inside, revealing boxes upon boxes. Tommy climbed in and cut open a box with a pocket knife he had gotten for a birthday present. As he looked in, he scrunched his face up in disgust.
"Is it in there?" Numbuh Eighty Five asked.
"Yeah," Tommy said. "I'm just sick of looking at the stuff."
"I think we all are." Numbuh Fourteen stated, "but we need it to keep the base running."
"I know but still…"
Suddenly, flashlights clicked on behind the others, blinding Tommy, who was staring directly at them. "Well, well, well. What do we have here." an elderly voice said.
"Hi Tommy," he heard an elderly woman call out.
"Sonya?" Tommy called out. "Is that you?"
"Yup. Long time no see!"
"I see you've gotten over your fear of the dark, congratulations."
"Not completely but the anger I felt at seeing a bunch of unagified little kids running around seemed to override my fears. I have been improving though. Maybe I'll talk to you about it after we turn you into a citizombie."
"I think I'll pass on the being turned into a citizombie part," Tommy replied.
"You don't have a choice," the first voice called out angrily.
"So is Lee here, too?" Tommy asked, acting as if the other citizombie hadn't said anything.
"Present and accounted for," another voice called out.
"Shut up!" the first voice yelled. "We didn't follow these kids for half an hour to socialize, we were trying to get an opportunity to corner them and agify them."
"Hello, Numbuh Three Sixty Three," Numbuh Eighty Five called out, sounding a little annoyed as he pulled out a spray bottle.
"Oh," the other person, Number Three Sixty Three, called out. "A spray bottle, I'm so scared!" He said.
"Well I'd imagine." Patty replied. "I mean, you'd actually have to touch us to change us. I'll bet you're the only citizombie in this city that hasn't actually agified anyone!"
"Am not!"
"So who'd you agify then, Harvey?"
Number Three Sixty Three growled and yelled, "get them."
Then the two groups leaped into action.
As Tommy ran forward, he saw Sonya get sprayed in the face by Numbuh Eighty Five and go from being sixty to somewhat younger than six in half a second. At the same time, two yoyos shot out of the darkness. One wrapped around Jessica and her doll as the other barely missed Numbuh Fourteen, who flipped over the string.
Tommy leapt off the back of the truck next to the Jessica. He took a small saw off his belt and cutting her loose only to feel the yoyo that had missed Numbuh Fourteen earlier wrapped around his legs as the other one snapped. His legs were pulled out from under him as the strand was tugged by Lee, who chose that moment to step into view. He was taller than tommy had been when he was agifed and had a little more muscle tone as well, although, in all honesty, neither fact was surprising. Tommy knew he'd been a rather scrawny old man.
Grasping the spray bottle in her right hand as she clutched her rabbit to her chest with her left, Jessica pointed it at the old man and said, "Don't you dare take one step closer, you big meany."
Both Tommy and Lee glanced over at Number Three Sixty Three and the other kids who were trying to get close enough to spray him while dodging shots from his agified S.C.A.M.P.P. (Soup Can and Magnified Photon Phlaser). He may have been a good shot but it was clear that he wouldn't be giving Lee a hand any time soon.
"Do it Jessica," Tommy yelled.
She sprayed but Lee stepped back, just out of range. Tommy started using his spinning saw to cut himself loose as Lee tried to look for a gap toexploit. As he rolled to get up, Lee found his opening, picked Jessica up and put a hand on his shoulder. The Citizombie's power spread across one of his arms as he reached for his spray bottle with the other. It had reached his chin as he pointed and as he pulled the trigger, he found himself regretting it for a split second as Grandfathers power tickled at the corners of his conscience. The moment was broken as the water hit Lee and Jessica as well as splashed back on him a little. A three year old Lee landed in Tommy's lap and a Jessica turned preschooler landed on her rear and winced.
"Nice Shot!" Lee said and then asked, "I'm not going to be stuck like this, am I?"
"It'll wear off in a few minutes."
"Don't touch me!" A voice called out, causing the three kids to look back at the others. There was now one citizombie left and a much too young Sonia was taking full advantage of the boy's fears by standing in his way and trying to grab him. It was bizarre to see a citizombie trying to avoid a kids touch, rather than the other way around.
She herded him right into range of Numbuh Eighty Five's and Fourteen's spray bottles and they sprayed him. He was so startled that he jumped. Because he shrank as a result of losing age, he wasn't ready when he finally reached the ground and yelped as he landed awkwardly. The boy, now little more than a baby, clutched his ankle and started crying loudly.
Numbuh Fourteen walked over and tried to shush the boy as Numbuh Eighty Five tried to get his attention. "Numbuh Three Sixty Three. Look at me Numbuh Three… Harvey!" The other boy fell silent as he looked at the team mate whom had called his name. Now, more quietly, boy with the poorly cropped hair said, "If any of the Citizombies hear you, they will touch you again to turn you into one of them. So you need to calm down and be quiet. Okay?"
He nodded, although he looked a little flustered at being told what to do.
Once Harvey had complied, he continued, "Now I want you to let me look at your ankle…" The other boy's reaction was immediate. He tried to injured limb under the other leg, wincing as he did so. "No don't slip it under you, I won't touch it unless you say it's okay. I promise…" Numbuh Three Sixty Three stretched his leg out and Numbuh Eighty Five looked at it, not reaching out at all. "Now do you have the piece of cloth that we talked about carrying?"
"Yeah." Harvey replied. As he pulled something out of his pocket and handed it out to the other boy.
By now, Tommy, Lee and Jessica had come over to get a better look as Patty placed the cloth over both hands, completely covering them. "Patty's our medic," Lee said quietly.
"May I," Patty asked the other boy.
Numbuh Three Sixty Three nodded but ground his teeth as the boy started feeling his ankle through the cloth. He clenched his hands and growled, to which the boy with the disastrous doo replied, "just hang in there."
Suddenly, a voiced behind them queried "What did I miss?" Everyone looked to see Numbuh Forty-Four B with three six-packs of soda he had stacked on his arms.
They all glared at him angrily for a moment but it was Numbuh Fourteen finally sarcastically replied, "Nothing important, just a big fight against some citizombies." She looked back at Numbuh Eighty Five and said, "I'm going to leave you with Numbuh Three Sixty Three while we get our ride turned on." She slid the loading door closed and made her way to the front of the truck.
Tommy followed her and as she opened the door. He said, "There isn't enough room for all of us in the front, with three extra kids. We were already going to be pushing our luck with five."
"And what would you suggest, Tommy?" The girl asked, sounding ticked.
"That Three Sixty Three kid's ankle is too sore for him to make it on foot but his teammates are alright. I've worked with them before. If they're willing, we could go by foot while the rest of you take the truck. I was thinking that Jessica could show us roughly where the secret entrance to the school is on the map and you could post a lookout for when we show up. That way, if we make it, we can be led in and if we get captured and agified, we won't be able to tell the Senior Citizombies everything."
Numbuh Fourteen looked up from her work and said, "We can't sacrifice you Tommy, you're technological skills are too important for this mission. We'll assign Numbuh Forty- Four B to lead them. He has plenty of Field experience."
"I do, too. just not through the KND."
Suddenly, behind Tommy, a familiar voice said, "and we've never worked with Numbuh Forty Four before." He looked back to see Lee and Sonia. The latter of the two, whom had already returned to her normal age, was the one who'd made the statement.
Numbuh Fourteen jumped down from the truck, "Are you going to argue with my decision when I outrank you?"
"With all respect," Lee stated, "you aren't our team leader."
At that moment they heard a shout of "Don't touch me!" from the back of the truck. Tommy was interested in how they would figure out how to move the grumpy operative with a sprained ankle without any physical contact.
"Look," Tommy said, "That boy back there needs to be in the truck because he can't walk to the school. Jessica has to because she's the only one who knows where the school's secret entrance is and while she seems like she might have the proper instincts for fighting, she lacks experience. I know all the sneaky ways to move around in this neighborhood, I've stopped a lot of bullying here."
"And we know where the Citizombies are most likely to be," Lee said.
"As does Numbuh Three Sixty Three." Sonya added, "he'll be able to help you drive the truck without being detected."
Numbuh Fourteen looked at Tommy and said, "You are the only child here with an advanced understanding of two by four technologies. We are bringing you to the school for a reason. Getting you there is a priority second only to getting this Tapioca back to the base."
Suddenly, a voice from the back of the truck said, "my sister said to never put all of your eggs in one basket." Everyone turned and looked at Three Sixty Three, who was leaning against the back of the truck. He continued by speaking, "Just because this truck will be the quickest way to wherever you're going doesn't mean it's the safest. A truck driving down the street is easier to see than kids on the ground and my team has never failed at a mission yet. Getting a nerdy two by four expert to the school should be easily accomplishable even without me leading. Take Numbuh Eighty Five, too. Tommy may not have worked with him but Numbuh's eighty three and eighty four have."
Numbuh Fourteen sighed. She knew that an order from the commanding officer from one's own team would always trump those given by the leader of a different sector, unless a higher ranking member, like the Supreme Leader, said otherwise.
As the hamsters travelled through the limbs in the cold, cloudy night, their senses picked up many unfamiliar things. At one point, a moth had flown overhead just to be swiped up by a flying animal that they couldn't make out well in the dark. The hooting noise would start up on occasion sometimes, too and the scared rodents would find themselves trying to peer through the darkness around them to discover the source of the noise. No hamster had ever travelled through this part of the tree. It was almost as if there was some unspoken rule, some invisible boundary which the small mammals dared not cross.
Well, the barrier was crossed tonight. The others, both hamsters and children, needed help. The humans had something planned but stuff has gone wrong before and the hamsters always picked up the slack if they could. That was why the hamsters behind him even had any skills at all. Joaquin recalled how upset he had been that he couldn't be one of the ones to go out on the missions when the humans were injured but he'd had responsibilities to the other hamsters in the base, so he stayed behind.
That wasn't the case tonight though. Tonight the very same responsibility is what placed him out on these limbs.
He jumped from one leafy stick to another on a nearby branch, momentarily losing his grip and slipping before he caught hold of an offshoot of the structure. He pulled himself up and moved so that the others could come across.
As they ran along to some of the larger limbs, they noticed nooks and crannies where soil had actually built up from decayed leaves. Often, there would be a few small green plants or mushrooms growing in these spots; it also seemed like a popular hangout for insects. In the one that they passed as they stepped onto a limb large enough that an adult human could stand on it, there were a cluster of mushrooms that actually gave off a soft glow.
The three rodents paused for a moment to look, fascinated by the sight. Then something caught Joaquin's attention. He turned his head in time to see something large moving toward them out of the sky. He squeaked, startling the others and they all scattered, the hamster that had replaced Numbuh Four just barely getting out of the way as the creatures claws clamped into the wood where his head had been. As Joaquin looked at its back, he saw that it was a feathered creature, kind of like the chicks that they had shared their home with for a short time, but at the same time, very different. Then it rotated it's head further than seemed possible, so that it was looking right at him. This allowed him to see that it had a beak, also similar to but different from the baby birds he'd been reminded of. The mushrooms glow reflected in its huge eyes as it looked at him.
Then it glanced at something behind him and clicked its beak threateningly. A long, thin object flew over his head and hit the bird, bouncing off of its beak. It turned it's head so that it faced forward again and flew off into the night as more of the objects were thrown at it, taking off and vanishing as quickly as it had appeared.
Joaquin saw that the other hamsters were now staring at the space behind him. He turned around to see seven rodents whom were more than twice their size, glaring down at them and pointing spears in their direction. He smiled nervously and spread out his arms to show that he was unarmed. He knew the other hamsters behind them had done the same.
The Ginny pigs took out lengths of some type of twine started moving toward them, while the others took up positions to prevent them from escaping if they tried to make a run for it. Joaquin forced himself not to struggle. As his front paws were bound behind him, he found himself hoping he hadn't just made a big mistake.
Tommy watched as the truck disappeared around the corner and wished the others luck. He turned and looked back at the three other kids who'd been left to get him across town. Numbuh Eighty Five was temporarily put in charge by Numbuh Three Sixty Three, since he would not be present.
Each kid had a soda in hand, a gift from the drinks that Numbuh Forty four B had stolen. Tommy had already finished his own. He reached into his bag and grabbed a chocolate bar that had been packed amongst his supplies. He found himself longing for his mom's cooking. Her soups were good for warming people up, her pot roasts were to die for and she could even make vegetables like broccoli taste good. No point in thinking about that now though.
Tommy smiled at Lee and Sonya and said, "It's nice to be working with you again."
Lee nodded and Sonya said, "We've really missed you."
"I bet you've gone on some pretty cool missions."
"Yeah, we currently hold the highest success streak of all the sectors, too. We haven't failed one yet. We even…"
After seeing the way Tommy looked on as Lee talked about their team's successes, Sonya elbowed him and he quieted down.
"Well, that's great." Tommy said a somewhat awkwardly. Then changed the subject by stating, "We should probably get moving." Tommy said. "We've got a lot of ground to cover."
"So where do we need to go?" Numbuh Eighty Five asked, speaing for the first time since the truck left.
"This way," the other boy said and turned, his cape just barely lifting off of his back as he ran across the street, its shadow and odd combination of light and dark because of the holes made in it earlier.
The other kids followed.
Number Forty Four A was not pleased with his latest assignment. Shortly after Number 86 had left, Grandfather's duplicate had contacted them again. He'd said that he had an assignment for them. A couple hours later and he and a small group of other operatives were doing reconnaissance under Cree Lincolns guidance.
He looked through his binoculars across the parking lot. The building of their attention was the very mall that the KND usually rendezvoused with the villains when they needed to meet in Neutral territory. Well, with all the teenagers and the nerds controlling it now, it was certainly anything but.
Even from here, he could hear the music from a boom box they had placed at the front door, facing outward. This one was playing music by Green Day at the moment, which was slightly more bearable than what could be heard at the other entrances he'd seen. He could also see movement on the roof, no doubt someone standing watch.
He found himself wondering what his brother was doing at the moment. It was a huge shock when Sector V had pulled out the lasers that reversed the effects of Grandfather's attack. Numbuh Fourty Four B had been in one of the DOH–DOHs that they had hit. If they hadn't, he was sure that they'd both be out here right now.
Of course, by this point, one of them would have started a fight simply because they were bored. He chuckled at the thought and continued moving around the building. At the next entrance, two teens could be seen playing electrical guitar, which were probably fresh off the shelves and not even purchased yet.
Then they were glaring at him as they played and he knew he'd been spotted. He responded by stick out his tongue before moving further away from the parking lot, where their lights couldn't reach him as well. Teenagers, sheesh!
Jessica sat silently between Numbuh Forty four B and the passenger side window as Numbuh Fourteen drove the car, occasionally changing direction as Numbuh Three Sixty Three made suggestions.
The other girl was having trouble looking over the dash, which had not been designed for a driver so small, so young. Despite the challenge, because she was using extendable poles that could be strapped to her legs, given to her by Tommy, she could reach the cars pedals without issue. So she was able to drive the car slowly but surely toward the school.
As she sat there, Jessica thought about the offer that Numbuh Five had made along with everything she had seen and done this evening. She had to admit, she had enjoyed running around and fighting against the citizombies. On the other hand, Numbuh Three Sixty Three's injury along with the ship crash earlier that evening had shown her that this was no game. The Kids Next Door were putting themselves in harm's way to protect other children. Was she willing to risk her own safety like that?
"What are you thinking about?" Numbuh 44b asked, startling her from her thoughts.
She hugged her bunny as she looked at him and said, "Just… everything that's happened today, I guess."
"Yeah. It's all been kind of crazy but maybe things will get a little easier for us when we get to the school."
"It would be nice." Jessica replied as the truck went around the corner.
"Okay guys," Numbuh Fourteen said, "We're only ten blocks away from the school entrance. Where do I need to go to get us close to the outside entrance?"
"We need to go to the far side of the football field. It's to the back right of the school." Jessica replied.
Numbuh Fourteen pulled over, looked at the map for a few moments and start down a street that ran perpendicular to the one they were on. They were almost there now and they hadn't had any problems yet. Maybe, if they were lucky, they'd make it the rest of the way to the underground school without anything bad happening.
I would just like to say that I don't know if I would have gotten this far without all the support I'm getting from those who read this story, both on fan fiction. net and on numbuh8 proboards. com . Thank you. Several of my ideas were also inspired by stories I've read on FF and other threads I looked at on proboards.
Also, I know it's been a while since I've had Numbuh One in a chapter but there's probably still two or three more to go before I bring him in again.
I hope you all enjoyed the chapter.