Chapter 10: Earth vs. GKND, Part 1
"Okay guys, we're about to engage with the enemy," said Numbuh 362. "Take them all down until we get to Numbuh Gajillion. After that, we'll see if we can make him fix Earth."
"And if he can't?" asked Numbuh 83.
"Then we find a new planet," said Numbuh 362. "One where adults aren't allowed to go. Where kids will rule forever."
"Sounds like a paradise," said Numbuh 84, before being distracted by a beeping on the console. "We've got company."
"KIDS NEXT DOOR, BATTLE STATIONS!" yelled Numbuh 362.
"Umm, I'm not actually in the Kids Next Door," said Tommy. "Do I still have to…"
"Yes Tommy, you need to go to your battle station," said Numbuh 362, before turning her attention to Numbuh 2. "Have you found a weakness for Numbuh Gajillion yet?"
"Yes and no," said Numbuh 2. "I've found the files about him on their database, but they're all scrambled. And not in a way that prevents outside hackers from seeing the information. This appears to be so no-one inside the organisation can see it."
"What do you mean?" asked Numbuh 362.
"It's like he's trying to hide something from the others," said Numbuh 2. "It could be that he's trying to hide his secret from everyone so that no-one knows his weakness, which would make him much harder to defeat, but if my theory pans out…"
"What theory?" asked Numbuh 362, but before she could get a response, the ship rocked violently. "Tell me later, just figure it while we get us into the base."
Numbuh 2, so absorbed in his work, didn't even hear her talking to him.
"We need to get more ships out there," said Numbuh Gajillion. "We need to stop this assault on our base."
"Yes sir," said Numbuh Umpteen, grabbing the microphone for the loudspeaker. "More people to launch ASAP." Numbuh Umpteen put down the microphone, then addressed his leader. "Why are they retaliating in such a way? We saved their planet from adult tyranny. They should be thanking us."
"They just don't understand respect," said Numbuh Gajillion. "We're going to have to show it to them. By force."
"Numbuh Gajillion, sir," said Numbuh Ordinal from his post. "We're getting reports that they have adults with them."
"WHAT?!" yelled Numbuh Gajillion. "We try to rid them of those horrid beasts, and they have the nerve to bring them to our base? That's it, all ships out there NOW!"
Numbuh Umpteen was about to make the announcement, when he saw something outside that stopped him in his tracks. "Why is the hangar door closing?"
"What are you talking about? None of us ordered that, we'd have heard it," said Numbuh Gajillion. "Unless…NIGEL UNO!"
"Sir, we're having a hard time trying to unlock the doors," said Numbuh Ordinal. "I'm putting in the command to open them, but nothing's working."
"Keep at it," said Numbuh Gajillion, getting up from his desk. "I have some business to take care of."
"Do you need any help sir?" asked Numbuh Umpteen. "We can…"
"No," ordered Numbuh Gajillion. "I need you two here to lead the war efforts while I get rid of one of our biggest threats. Like they say, if you want something done right, you need to do it yourself." Numbuh Gajillion spun around and marched out of the room, before storming down the hall, not noticing the figures hiding in the shadows…
"Numbuh Gajillion has left the War Room," said Chad, looking at the video feed. "He is going to be pretty ticked off when he gets here."
"Which is why we're leaving now," said Numbuh 1, opening a ventilation shaft. "And we have to keep him going as far away from everything else as possible, at least until Numbuh 2 can find Numbuh Gajillion's weakness."
"What makes you so sure he can?" asked Chad, following Numbuh 1 into the vents, keeping one eye on the screen. "In fact, he was part of the science division. How do you know he wasn't loyal to the GKND himself?"
"Because Hoagie's my best friend," said Numbuh 1. "He told me everything, and I did the same for him. There's no way he'd keep a secret like that from me. And he will hack the GKND's database, because he's the best darn chance we've got. If he can't, we all fail."
"…we're gonna die," muttered Chad, watching the screen.
"YARR, they be closing their ports," said Stickybeard. "What be our plan of attack now?"
"If they won't give us a way in, I guess we'll have to make one," said Numbuh 362. "Numbuh 84, full speed ahead at their hangar doors."
"What? Are you crazy?" asked Numbuh 84. "That could heavily damage our ship, you know."
"I'm aware," said Numbuh 362.
"…Cool," said Numbuh 84, grabbing the wheel and slamming his foot on the accelerator.
"What do we do when we crash through the doors?" asked Numbuh 83, buckling into her chair.
"Go out there guns blazing, taking down as many of them as possible, show no mercy," said Numbuh 362. "Numbuh 2, how are you going over there?" Numbuh 2 gave no response. "Numbuh 2?" asked Numbuh 362, looking over at him. Numbuh 2 was furiously tapping away at his computer, completely absorbed in his work. "Okay, guess we won't be getting anything out of him any time soon. Numbuh 3, are you ready to launch?"
"You just leave them to me and Hippie-Hop," said Numbuh 3, patting the control panel of her robot.
"Okay then," said Numbuh 362. "Numbuh 4, launch the rabbit."
"I still don't get why I can't be at the front of the attack," said Numbuh 4. "I'll take all of them Galactic dweebs down and make this whole thing easier for us."
"I told you Numbuh 4," said Numbuh 362. "By sending in Numbuh 3 with Hippie-Hop first, we can cause as much chaos as possible, then it'll be much easier to beat the bad guys. You can beat up as many Galactic dweebs as you like."
"Oh, okay," said Numbuh 4. "Launching the rabbit." He pressed a big red button on the control panel in front of him, before relaxing back into his chair.
"You were just telling him that to shut him up, weren't you?" asked Numbuh 83 in a whisper.
"Of course," said Numbuh 362. "I've been his commanding officer for six months. I know what he's like, and how to shut him up." Numbuh 83 smiled and nodded at the response, before turning to watch Hippie-Hop crash through the gates of the GKND headquarters.
"It's no use," came a voice on the radio. "We've even tried manually lifting the gate, but it's shut tight."
"Well, you have to do something," said Numbuh Ordinal. "It's not like something's just going to crash through the door and give us a perfectly good…" Before he could finish his sentence, there was a loud crash, and suddenly the radio was full of people screaming. "Numbuh Π, what's going on down there?"
"WE'RE UNDER ATTACK!" yelled Numbuh Π, the sounds of battle in the background. "Some kind of horrible Earth beast robot."
"What type of beast? Do we know its weaknesses?" asked Numbuh Umpteen.
"I have no idea," said Numbuh Π. "But if they built a robot of it, it must be something absolutely ferocious." Before he could say anymore, Hippie-Hop landed right behind him, and suddenly the signal went dead.
"Well…" started Numbuh Ordinal. "What now?"
"What now is you go down there and shut off that hangar from the rest of the ship," said Numbuh Umpteen. "Meanwhile, I'm going to have our laser team double their efforts."
"Control room, this is the laser room," said a voice over the radio. "We've just been shut down, and we're not sure from where."
Numbuh Umpteen growled in frustration. "Must we do everything ourselves?" he sighed in defeat, leaving the room. As he could get very far though, there was a loud cry, then suddenly Numbuh 5 had landed on his back. "What the heck is this?"
"This is us taking you down, once and for all," said Numbuh 5, struggling to hold his arms down.
"Do you really think you can hold me down?" snapped Numbuh Umpteen, slowly overpowering her.
"Not by herself," said Cree, coming up behind him. "But together we can." Cree brought both her hands down on the back of Numbuh Umpteen's head, before kicking him across the hall, back into the room he just came out from.
"Numbuh Umpteen? What's going on?" demanded Numbuh Ordinal, coming out to the hall to check things out for himself. "You two?" Numbuh 5 and Cree nodded to each other, and punched Numbuh Ordinal in the face together. Numbuh Ordinal stumbled backwards, landing on top of Numbuh Umpteen, the two sisters following him in. "No please, not the face."
"How about no?" suggested Cree, punching him again.
"Alright, and…gone," said Numbuh 5, unplugging the control panel.
"So what? We can just plug it back in," said Numbuh Umpteen.
"I know," said Numbuh 5. "That's why I'm also doing this." Numbuh 5 placed the plug to the control room on the ground, then stamped on it as hard as she could, smashing it into pieces.
"Oh, you little brat," snapped Numbuh Ordinal. "I'm going to…"
"Do what exactly?" asked Cree, punching her fist into her hand threateningly. Numbuh Ordinal backed down. "Now, me and my sister are going to leave this room to go help our friends, and you two are going to stay here and do nothing."
"And how do you intend to make us?" asked Numbuh Umpteen.
"Like this," said Numbuh 5, hitting him with a chair.
"…That's a pretty effective way," said Numbuh Ordinal, as Cree hit him with one.
"Well, that was easy," said Numbuh 5. "Come on, we have a base to conquer." Numbuh 5 ran out the door and down the hall.
"This doesn't make us friends," Cree called after her before following her sister to the battle.
"That's Hippie-Hop," said Numbuh 1. "So, Numbuh 3 must be here. She'd never let anyone else pilot him."
"I think there's a lot more here than just Numbuh 3," said Chad, as several Kids Next Door ships crashed through the walls of the GKND base. "I think they've got everyone here."
"Good, then let's get into position to greet them," said Numbuh 1. "Hopefully Numbuhs Vine and 9L won't scare them off too much."
"Are you sure Numbuh Vine should have been in her normal form?" asked Chad. "I mean, most of them know her from her human form."
"She sent them the warning in her plant form," said Numbuh 1. "They'll know who she is."
"If you say so," said Chad, following Numbuh 1 through the vents.
"Area appears to be clear," reported Mr. Boss. "Get those alien kids into lock-up."
"Heh, bunch of wimps, those guys," said Numbuh 4. "It's like they haven't been attacked by the giant robot rabbit before."
"Don't celebrate yet," said Numbuh 362. "We still haven't found the big boss yet. And Numbuh 2 didn't even leave his console for the fight, so this guy's weakness must be extra hard to figure out."
"Bah, leave it to me," said Numbuh 4. "When in doubt, punch its lights out."
"Numbuh 362, something's coming," said Numbuh 84. "And it's big."
"Brace yourselves guys, this could be Numbuh Gajillion," said Numbuh 362, aiming her gun at the door. Others prepared themselves too, as something large came bounding towards the hangar. "Ready…" Each member of the Kids Next Door had a gumball gun ready, and many of the adults were preparing to fire their own weapons. "Aim…" All of them pointed their weapons at the approaching target. "FIR…"
"WAIT!" yelled someone, and suddenly a creature that seemed to be mostly plant jumped between the approaching monster and the Earthen forces. "We're friendly. Numbuh 1 sent us."
"Numbuh Vine?" asked Numbuh 362, holding out her hand. "Nice to meet you, I'm…"
"Numbuh 362, yes I know," said Numbuh Vine, not taking the offered hand and seemingly angry with her.
"Oh…okay," said Numbuh 362, withdrawing her hand. "Have we met, or…"
"HI LIZZIE!" yelled Numbuh 3, running up to her and giving her a hug.
"Lizzie?" asked Numbuh 362. "As in Lizzie Devine, Numbuh 1's ex-girlfriend?"
In response, Numbuh Vine started contracting in on herself, until her body was in a familiar shape. "Yes, Lizzie Devine," she said, as her human disguise began hiding her true form. "Now come on, we have a whole ship to take down, and hardly enough manpower to do it."
"Hold on," said the Cat Lady. "First, tell us who your friend is."
"Oh, that's Numbuh 9L, Numbuh 1's partner in the GKND," said Numbuh Vine dismissively. "Anyway, we have more pressing matters to…"
"What a pretty kitty," said the Cat Lady, brushing her fur. "And you've got all these little toys for me…"
"Don't touch that," said Numbuh 9L, swatting her hand away. "These toys are all dangerous weapons, which if handled irresponsibly, could lead to…"
"Aww, the kitty loves her toys," said the Cat Lady adoringly.
"…can we please get back to the task at hand?" asked Numbuh 9L. "She's kinda creeping me out."
"You're not the only one," said Numbuh 4. "One time she…"
"Never mind that now," said Lizzie, storming up to Numbuh 4. "Why did you put all of our information on the Internet?"
"You told me to," said Numbuh 4. "I remember your instructions quite clearly."
"Your instructions were to get those files to the higher-ups of the Kids Next Door," said Numbuh Vine. "How is uploading them to the Internet doing that?"
"They got them, didn't they?" asked Numbuh 4.
Numbuh Vine looked like she wanted to object, but stopped herself. "Whatever, you're wrong, but whatever," she sighed in defeat. "We have more pressing matters, like taking down Numbuh Gajillion."
"Are you looking for me?" asked a voice from the entryway. Everyone looked up to see a dark, demonic figure, towering above all of them. "Numbuh Vine, I'm very disappointed in you, siding with these disgusting humans."
"These disgusting humans weren't the ones that made me kill my home planet," yelled Lizzie.
"I told you, your planet was overrun with adults," said Numbuh Gajillion. "There was nothing we could do for it."
"Yes there was," said Lizzie. "We had the manpower, we could have beat them."
"Maybe we could have," admitted Numbuh Gajillion. "But at what cost to us? Do you really want the deaths of your fellow operatives on your conscious?"
"They would have been willing to fight and die for the cause," said Lizzie. "You're just too cowardly to fight anyone, you big…" Lizzie was cut off before she could finish by Numbuh Gajillion picking her up in one of his massive hands and throwing her through a nearby wall.
"Do you still think I'm a coward, Numbuh Vine?" asked Numbuh Gajillion calmly, turning to face the other people preparing to face him. "And Numbuh 9L. I'm so disappointed you're choosing Numbuh 1 and his cronies over me. After everything I've done for you."
"What you've done for me is make me kill my home planet," snarled Numbuh 9L. "You don't care for any of us. You only care about your own selfish goals."
"Why Numbuh 9L, how blinded you have become," gasped Numbuh Gajillion. "I care very deeply about all the operatives in the organisation. And no-one gets into the organisation without sharing my very important goal of eradicating adults from the universe."
"You know, we have something to say about that," said Mr. Boss, arms folded across his chest.
"Ah, yes, the adults," said Numbuh Gajillion, turning his attention to them. "You adults think you're so high and mighty, while ignoring the kids who do all the chores you don't want to do for you."
"Bah, kids don't need to be seen or heard anyway," said Nightbrace, earning himself glares from the Kids Next Door. "What? We adults are willing to help you beat these guys, but once we've fixed Earth it's back to fighting each other."
"How adorable," said Numbuh Gajillion. "You still think you can save your planet, but you can't. Anyone still on your precious Earth will be dead when they hit age 13, and there's nothing you can do about it."
"I refuse to believe that," said Numbuh 362.
"Believe what you want, it won't change what's true," said Numbuh Gajillion. "Come kids, you can still join us. Defeat all these adults right now. What have they done for you anyway? Made you do homework, made you go to school, made you go to bed, made you brush your teeth, made you eat vegetables. And for what? Nothing. But if you side with me, it will be nothing but ice cream parties and staying up all night forever."
"I've heard enough," said Numbuh 86. "He can't take all of us at once. KIDS NEXT DOOR, CHARGE!" The kids and the adults all rushed forward at Numbuh Gajillion.
Numbuh Gajillion just sighed and held out one hand. Suddenly, everyone stopped in their tracks. "Can't take all of you, huh?" he smirked.
