"Eleventy-two billion tons of 2x4 technology on that cruddy moonbase, and they can't tell us a thing about how those three left, or where they went." Wally growled at the tabletop.
"Or where they took the rainbow monkeys." Kuki folded her arms with a huff of disgust. "What're they doing up there?"
"Kooks, not so loud."
Kuki sighed and subsided. The two of them were sitting at a table in Lime Ricky's. A very nervous Lee, Sonya, and Shauny were seated just across the table
"So…" Nervous, Sonya twiddled her fingers. " …any word about those other operatives Numbuh 6th century promised us?"
"You think that cruddy idiot's actually going to do anything?" Wally shook his head. "Ah told him three weeks ago what we found, what they had, and what we needed. And he ain't done a cruddy thing."
"Not cool."
"Isn't he kinda busy?" Shauny, like Sonya, kept glancing around. "I mean, I heard that he's got most of the KND working on…"
"Treehouse rebuilding, yeah." Wally nodded. "But that's takin' a while, cause he ain't using them seeds that Numbuh 42 developed. He's having all the treehouses be turned into…" Wally made a face. "…castles. All of 'em."
"Oh." Shauny's face drooped and he studied the table. "That's… that's going to take a while."
"So we're not going to get our treehouse back either?" Sonya gazed into Wally's eyes pleadingly.
Again Wally shook his head. "Nope. And all them files are gone."
"So I can't look up any of the information you gathered?" Kuki fumed. "That was the best stuff we had! Now how am I supposed to find my Impossible Imagination…"
"Why do ya think they attacked it first?" Wally interrupted her, frowning. "Ah'm sure they wanted to get rid of it all."
"Isn't it backed up at the moonbase Computuh?" Shauny suggested.
"Sure." Wally grunted. "All of them are. But nobody's got access to that thing right now. They're 'purifying the system' or something like that"
Kuki sighed and flounced back in her seat. "Fine." She pouted. "So what do we have to work with?"
"Just whatever the moonbase picks up, I guess." Sonya shrugged.
"And stuff from before." Lee added.
"And anything we can guess from knowing Fanny." Shauny suggested.
"Not much, then." Wally frowned. "Crud."
"BOOM! BANG! WHAMMO!"
"TV!" The baby on the floor pointed.
"Ohohoho! Yes dear, that is a TV. And what a nasty show!" A bubbly mother giggled over her little child. "Here, let your momma change the channel for you." She reached forward.
"No!" The baby screamed. "TV!"
"Oh?" Stopping, the mother looked inquisitively at her son. "You like that, Wally dear? Well, allright then." She straightened and watched her son crawl across the floor. "Aw, Wally darling, you're growing up so fast!"
The baby stopped to glare at her indignantly, then turned back to the television.
"KABOOM! WHAM! WATCH HULK HARRIS THROW THAT PIANO! SLAM!"
"Hulk!" The baby stared up at screen.
"Ahh!" The mother's hands flew to her face in excitement. "A new word! You just said a new word! Oh, wait tell I tell your daddy!"
"Boom!' Wally picked up one of his blocks and let it fall. "Kaboom!" He squealed excitedly as it bounced against the floor.
"Oh, m'dear!" Mrs. Beatles watched her child devotedly. "Don't you just love those things your grandmum sent you? Look at how you're playing!"
"Bang bang." Wally gurgled, looking down at the blocks on the floor. "Boom."
"Oh, aren't you a sweet little thing." His mother smiled. "Now you just stay in here, and your mum'll be right back with some fresh roasted kangaroo."
She bustled out, and Wally squinted back up at the television.
"THIRTY THOUSAND TONS OF STEEL LIFTED BY TWENTY MEN! ALL ON MONDAY, FOR THE MOST MANLIEST MAN COMPETITION!!"
Wally frowned at the screen. He lifted up a finger.
"Maaaaan…"
"Nothing?"
Studying the computer, Kuki spoke into her microphone. "Uh-uh! Nothing! There's no transmission reading or radar on that one either!"
"But Fanny and them other two trashed this place like five minutes ago!" Wally sounded very frustrated, and Kuki's eyes narrowed. "You're sure there's nothing on the record? Not anything?"
"Nope! Not a thing!" Kuki shook her head decidedly. "So… Do you think you can follow the trail?"
"Mebbe." Another sigh. "Aw, what the crud is the use!" She heard a smack as Wally apparently hit his head. "If I could just find the cruddy girl I could beat her to a pulp or somethin', but while she's bouncin' around loik this, Oi can't do a cruddy thing!"
"Aw, cheer up, Numbuh 4!" Hoping to brighten things, Kuki smiled at the microphone. "Maybe next time she'll attack you guys and you can get her then!"
"She knows better than that." Wally grumbled. "And Oi wouldn't be ready for her neither. No, Oi'm gonna haveta catch her meself." A sigh. "Oi jest needta… ah, fergit it."
"So, you gonna send up your report?" Kuki bounced happily to her pen and paper.
"Yeah." Wally's voice sounded bored and tired. "Half of operatives taken out. Base computer wiped out, most a' treehouse gone."
"Great!" Kuki popped her pen shut.
"Oh yeah, and one more thing." Wally paused. "Ah guess the sector's collection of Rainbow Monkey's is missing."
Kuki stopped.
"WHAT!?"
"What're we gonna do today, Wally?"
Wally considered the matter a moment. "Well." He said finally. "How about we cloimb Mt. Everest to get the zombies, and then beat them all throw them down."
"Yay!" cheered the other toddlers. "Where's Mt Everest?"
"Uhhhh…" The tallest in the class of kindergartners, Wally could look all over the playground. "Over there!" he finished brightly, pointing at a heap of sawdust. "But wait!" He called, stopping the children in mid-rush. "First we better clobber 'em with lots and lots and lots of dodge balls!"
"Yeah!" Screamed the kids, and instantly the air was full of the missiles. Wally grinned as he screamed with them. He could feel the thrust of the ball as it left him, relish the power that he knew his arm must have, exult as he saw the missle rebound with breathtaking speed. Wally was the strongest, the fastest, and the tallest in kindergarten, and he loved the feeling of power it gave him.
"All right!" He called, and grinned at the way the whole mob quieted at his words. "Now we gonna attack all them Zombies! Follow me!" And he ran toward the sawdust heap.
"Allllll r-oight!" The mass of children charged at the sawdust and began industriously to attack it. They threw clouds of dust into the air and began to make all number of ferocious attacking noises. Some burrowed into the dusty material and made snarling sounds.
Wally rose up, hands covered in sand. "Oi just defeated a big whopper zombie!" He cried exultingly.
"Oh yeah?" Up rose Stevey, one of Wally's lieutenants. "Well, I just defeated a GIANT killer Zombie!"
"Well, I just smashed a HUMONGOUS monster zombie!" Irwin piped up. "I grabbed him by the nose and smacked him with my crowbar."
"Well, I just…"
The tumult grew louder and louder, as more and more of the kindergarteners made larger and larger boasts about the imaginary enemies they were defeating. Some jumped up and spread their arms wide to show the magnitude of the zombie they had defeated. Others concocted long and involved stories of their battles with the treacherous beasts. Finally one voice rose above all the others.
"I just lifted an eleventy-billion ton ZOMBIE-SAURUS over my head, and threw him into half the zombie army!" Atop the pile, Wally grinned triumphantly. "Huh? Huh?"
The rest of the kids fell silent. Unable to think of anything more, they whispered. "Woooooooowww." They pondered that for a moment. "How'd ya do that?"
Wally, still smirking, answered. "I just smashed 'em, that's how! I just like ta smash things." And as the kindergarteners gazed up at him, Wally simply smiled, basking in his glory.
As they left the room and proceeded down the hallway, Kuki could just hear the mumblings from under Wally's breath. "…stupid Leader makes no stupid sense and doesn't see the stupid problem that's smashing all the stupid treehouses…"
"How'd it go?" Sonya, Shauny, and Lee jumped up as they came forward.
"Cruddy idiot…" Wally glared at the floor.
"Well…" Kuki started, attempting a smile, but failing rather badly. "He says we can use the sensor array on the moonbase, and he gave Wally some experimental…" She frowned a moment. "What'd he say it was?"
"Some clam-powered cannon." Shrugging half-heartedly, Wally leaned against the wall. "It'll be fun, but he just doesn't get the cruddy point! It ain't no good how much weaponry we have, we need to find these people! And sensor array or not…" He shot a glance at Kuki. "…we're gonna need some more people to search around."
"He doesn't even CARE about all the poor Rainbow Monkey." Kuki narrowed her eyes. "He just hopes she'll stop in a while."
"Actually that is kinda weird." Sonya looked up. "I've been meaning to talk to you about that. I thought she'd stop right after we got Mr. Boss."
Wally frowned. "What?"
"Welll…" Sonya rubbed the back of her neck. "Fanny's never been one for planning. She just follows orders."
"What?"
"She can't lead." Shauny added helpfully.
"Well, she can lead a team." Sonya pointed out. "She can tell others what to do, but only if she knows what needs to be done."
"Hmph" Kuki rubbed her chin. "So that's why she always stayed close to Numbuh 362 at the moonbase."
"Sorta." Shauny nodded. "She was never on active duty, because if she didn't have orders, she didn't do anything. So they put her in a job where was always getting them, either from Numbuh 362, or the Moonbase Computuh."
That's right." Wally thought hard. "Fanny didn't want to be leader. She tagged me the moment she could."
"I dunno." Sonya scratched the back of her neck. "But I just remember that from when she used to lead our sector, and I wondered…"
"We thought maybe Dad was telling her what to do." Shauny interrupted. "But we got him and the other villains, and she's still…"
"Raight." Wally lapsed into silence. "Yeah, that makes sense." He answered, after a while. "So what's up? Where'd she suddenly learn to think by herself?"
"Maybe she didn't." Lee whispered.
"But MAAAAAAA!" Little Wally groaned. "The guys and I have been planning this for weeks! Days, even!"
"Doesn't make any difference, Wally dear!" Came the bubbly response. "You promised you'd sweep the patio today, and it does need a sweeping. So run along to your friends and tell them you'll have to catch up with them, all roight?"
Groaning, Wally looked down at the floor and mumbled. "Yes, mum."
"There's a dear!" Mrs. Beatles beamed down at her eldest. "Run along now!"
Wally stumbled to the door, grumbling and griping. "Stupid patio needs a stupid sweeping of some stupid dust to…" Opening the door, he glared wrathfully at Stevey, Irwin, and Bruce. "Mum says I can't go. She says I need to sweep around the house."
"Aw, is that what your mummy says?" Bruce grinned at him. "Well then, we'll just have to leave widout ya, won't we, mates?"
Stevey and Irwin chuckled, a trifle uncertainly.
"It ain't fair!" Wally grumbled. "Ya didn't tell me what time you'd be leaving!"
Bruce shrugged. "That's your problem, shorty. Shoulda planned ahead"
Glaring, Wally responded through clenched teeth. "Don't call me shorty."
"Sure thing, shorty." Bruce laughed again, and Stevey and Irwin joined in. Wally leapt at him with a growl, but the big six year-old grabbed him before he could get there.
"Easy there." He grunted. "No need to get carried away there, mate. Use your head before ya do this stuff."
Wally growled but said nothing.
"Cause ya sure ain't gonna get anywhere by anything else." Bruce chuckled once more and shook Wally free. He began to walk off, followed close by Irwin and Steve. "See ya, squirt. We're goin' to the gulch."
Wally glared after them in fury. "I ain't a squirt." He whispered. "Don't EVER call me squirt."
Break
"Oi'm very grateful to you all for agreeing ta help us out 'ere." Wally glanced about the table and slurped his shake. "Oi don't think I need to say we're kinda desperate."
"Obviously. Vy else vould you haf asked us to help?"
Wally paused and glared at Henrietta. "Look, I asked you to help 'cause last time we met, ya said you wanted to make up for some of the stuff you'd done."
"That's not my stake in this." A kid in dark sunglasses and a brown leather jacket spoke up. Wally didn't really know his name, he was one of Hoagie's friends. "I just hopped on this because you said it'd be the greatest thing since chili dogs."
Wally stopped. "What?"
"Well, that's not quite what she said." The Kid grinned at Kuki. "Something about Perfect Power Rainbow Monkey, but I got the gist. Plus… say, what was your name again, girl?"
"My name is Numbuh 3. And if you think this is some kind of GAME, then you…"
"She's right." Wally interrupted. Kuki had been acting rather strange lately, and he wasn't sure whether he liked it or not. "This here's a real bucket of dingos we're going to let loose. Oi need manpower, an' Oi ain't getting anything from the KND. So all I got is Sector W and you guys." He glared around. "Technically, I ain't supposed to do this, but with that idiot up there now, I don't really care."
"Never did like that whole nonsense with you guys." The Kid snorted. "Hoagie was always trying to get me to join, but no man, not me. I'm a real…"
"Vhat do you need us to do?" Henrietta interrupted him, ignoring the glare she was getting from the Kid.
"You guys…" Wally pointed around the table. "…are gonna help us search and watch the remaining treehouses, and when we find her, you're gonna help us take her down." He sat back. "That's what I'm asking, and that's what you're signing up for." He paused. "Now are ya in?"
Henrietta sniffed and inclined her head. The Kid in the jacket pushed down his glasses and grinned. "Sure."
"Great." Wally allowed himself a smirk.
"Enough talking, Numbuh 4." Kuki frowned at him. "Give them the stoopid thingies already."
Wally rolled his eyes and reached down into his pack. "Here." He said, passing out some sticks of deodorant. "These here are some of our communicators. Numbuh 3 configured them so they go straight ta me." He looked over at Kuki and she nodded. "If ya find anything, let me know."
"And if not?" The Kid raised his eyebrow.
"Meet here next week and I'll tell ya anything new." Wally assured him.
As the two disappeared, Wally heaved a sigh of relief. "Well, that's something, at least." He looked at Kuki. This should help us to keep an eye on the remaining treehouses."
"We could get in trouble." Kuki pointed out, arching her eyebrow.
"We'd get in trouble just for being here." Wally snorted. He pointed to a chubby teenager, sitting across from a rather bored-looking African American girl. "Wouldn't take much to say we're following old operatives around."
"Hey!" A voice spoke up. "Why didn't you guys call me?"
The two swung round to face the new arrival. "Tommy." Wally glared at him. "What the crud are you doing here?"
"I heard you needed help!" Tommy stated proudly. "And though…" he struck a pose. "THE TOMMY… works alone…" He stood again. "…I thought I could make an exception just this once." He grinned at them. "So what's it? What do I get to do?"
Wally was starting to nod when Kuki snorted. "You? Just stay out of our way. Don't see how you can help us."
"Hey!" Tommy put his hands on his hips. "I can help! I can distract enemies, and sneak into big compounds, and beat up all sorts of criminals, and…"
"This is a priority mission!" Kuki snapped at the boy. "We have no time for little boys who think they can handle these things!"
"Numbuh 3…"
"What!" Tommy drew himself up. "Okay, just for that, I'm not going to tell you the big important secret I learned this morning!"
Kuki rolled her eyes. "You couldn't have anything to tell us anyways." She stood. "C'mon, Numbuh 4. Let's go."
"You'll see!" Tommy called after them. "You'll see! Your Stupid Kids Next Door isn't so great! They'll betray you, and then you'll wish you listened to The Tommy!"
"You ain't so great, ya cruddy idiot!" Wally glared up at Bruce, the two surrounded by curious first-graders. "You had this comin' fer a long time now, and Oi ain't gonna stand for it no more!"
"Yeah right, squirt." Bruce sneered. "You ain't gonna hit me. You're too chicken to, now that the teacher's gone!"
"Oh yeah? Well just watch me!" Wally swung at the bully, but Bruce's long arm came out and grabbed his arm.
"Say, you hit your head this morning? I think you're an inch lower than you were yesterday." Smirking, Bruce aimed a punch at Wally, but the blonde ducked beneath it and came up into Bruce's belly.
"Oof!" Bruce fell over, losing his grip on Wally, giving him the opportunity to leap onto the other boy. The first-graders scattered to a safer distance as the two began to scrabble and wrestle on the ground, dust flying each way.
Eventually, Bruce threw Wally off and stood to his feet, growling. He was covered in scratches, and one of his eyes was looking a little puffy. "You cruddy little…"
Wally scrambled up also, looking not much better. He grinned, just a little, at Bruce's rage. "Aw, did I hurt ya after all?" He called, slowly backing up to the corner of the building, closer to the main lot.
"You're gonna pay for that." Bruce growled, standing to his feet. The first-graders stood fascinated, as the two faced each other. In the distance, Wally could hear the voices of some screaming for the teacher, for her to come.
"Why don't ya make me, ya cruddy doofus?" Wally smirked, continuing to back up. He was nearly at the corner now. He would be out in plain view of the whole school.
"Oh, I'm gonna." Bruce began to stride at him. "You're gonna be sorry. Don't matter how far ya run, fraidy cat."
Anger surged through Wally. He stopped, inches from the corner. "And if Oi'm the fraidy cat, how come you're the one standin' over there? C'mon over and we'll finish this."
"You gonna be sorry." Bruce was running now, and Wally stepped past the corner. "YOU'RE GONNA BE SORRY, YA LITTLE SHORTY!"
Wally felt the anger, saw his fist clench. He told himself to stay, to remember his plan. Not yet , pleaded a voice. Just a little further, and then…
And Wallabee Beetles completely ignored it and leapt at the older boy, just as Miss Ferguson came rushing around the corner.
"That leaves only two more." Wally frowned as he ticked off points on the map. "An' then just the Artic trainin' facility and the moonbase." He punched the wall in frustration. "This just ain't gonna…"
"Numbuh 4!" Wally nearly jumped at the strident command. Numbuh 3 glared across her desk at his. "We don't have time for that stoopid stuff! Now haven't you gotten where they're hiding yet?
"Uh…" Wally winced under her gaze and ducked to his papers. "Not really, Kooks, no, but…"
"Don't call me Kooks!" Numbuh 3 shouted, annoyed.
"Uh… right Kooks." Wally licked his lips hurridly. "Look, it ain't easy to narrow this stuff down! We don't know how they're coming, or what direction, so how're we supposed to know where they come from?" He glanced up. "It's cruddy impossible! I'm doin' all I can to find out where they're gonna go…"
"That's NOT an excuse!" Kuki screamed back. "It doesn't matter where they're GOING next, it's where they go FROM! Otherwise…" Suddenly she snapped from fiery Amazon to pleading child. "…how're we supposed to save all those poooooor Rainbow Monkeys?"
"Right." Wally muttered. "Real important. How could I forget about that?"
"What was that?" The Amazon was back.
"Nuttin'" Wally answered hurriedly.
"Good!" Kuki's voice snapped. "Now, maybe if you checked the shipping patterns…"
"Already did it." Wally shook his head. "Nothing."
"Well, then, see if there's some way to triangulate their position using those…"
"Did that too." Wally grunted. "Nothing to use."
A huff of frustration. "What about the radar array from…"
"Hasn't picked up anything."
"Eeeergh!" A real groan of rage. "Well what if we use the sooper big observation bubble thingie to check…"
"No, no, NO!" Patience finally breaking, Wally slammed the table. "NO! I tell ya, Kooks, I've checked every cruddy thing on this cruddy moonbase, and I can't find a single cruddy thing!"
"Well check them again!" Kuki screamed at him. "I'm not leaving those Rainbow Monkeys behind! We need to…"
Wally rolled his eyes. "Would you SHUT up about your STOOPID Rainbow Monkeys! They have absolutely NOTHING…"
"STOP SAYING THAT!" Kuki screamed, and as Wally looked up, he noticed tears glimmering just on the edge of her eyes. "STOP SAYING THEY'RE STOOPID! THEY'RE NOT…" She broke down and collapsed into a huddle on her desk. "…They're not Stoopid... they're my friends…"
Unbidden, a memory came to Wally's mind, of a very similar exchange, at a festival… or an amusement park, he could not distinguish. He had not realized the importance of it then, but now, he could just barely see the motives that governed Numbuh Three.
"Oh, Kooks…" Wally sighed and rubbed his eyes. Pushing his chair back, he walked over to Kuki's desk and leaned over the trembling huddle of dark hair. "Oi didn't… Oi mean… Ah, just don't worry about it, okay? It… It's just been a bad time lately. We'll… uhm…. we'll get 'em back, don't worry."
A big eyed, tear-stained face glanced up at him through tangled black hair. "R—r—really?"
"Ummm…" Wally glanced about the room uncomfortably. He really hoped those cameras weren't working. "Of… of course we will! Don't fuss about it. Sandy even told me he might give us some reinforcements in a week or so." He tried a smile. "So see? We can do this. We just gotta figure it out."
Kuki blinked up at him, then, choking back a sniffle or two, offered a smile of her own. "And… and we'll get all the rainbow monkeys back?" She asked.
"Course we will." Wally looked a trifle uncomfortable. "Anyway, I'm sure she's not going to hurt them or anything. She likes them a lot herself, doesn't she?"
Kuki considered that a moment. "Yeah… I guess she does."
"So they'll be jest fine." Wally fought the urge to roll his eyes. "In the meantime…" he turned away abruptly. "We gotta figure out how to stop those cruddy teenagers." He slumped back into his desk. "There's just gotta be some way we haven't seen. What kinda data have you got?"
"Well…" Kuki rubbed her nose a little and began to thumb through the papers. "I have the shield analysis, the manifests, Fanny's psycho-profile, and… Oh!" She held up a paper triumphantly. "I have that list I was making of all the Rainbow Monkeys she's stolen!"
Wally groaned. "Kuki…"
"She's gotten nearly all of them!" Kuki added sorrowfully. "They're all prisoners, except for one or two last ones." She let out a sniffle. "Once she gets those…"
"Kuki, not that that's umm… not important or anything, but ain't there…"
Wally stopped suddenly. There was a long silence.
"Wait. What ones doesn't she have yet?"
"Now what were ya thinking of, Wally dear?" His mother's voice was no longer bubbly, but sad, disappointed. "That was no way to handle things!"
"Yeah, ah know." Wally grunted, shifting the ice pack. "Ah shoulda followed up with a right hook, and then catch him one under…"
"Wally!" His mother stopped him with a sorrowful look. "That's not what Oi meant! You should've told one of the teachers about it, not just go around smashing people! That's not a way to solve anything. You need to tell your teachers!"
"Yeah, be all sissy." Wally grumbled.
His mother did not seem to hear. "You can't just go around smashing people, Wallabee. You get into trouble that way. You need to think about this stuff before you go around hitting things!"
"Hmmph." Wally folded his arms and stared sullenly at the door. Bruce and his being so cruddy tall. The big oaf had just come on top of him and virtually smothered him. He had a bloody nose and a sprained ankle, which almost made up for Wally's black eye, skinned knee, and half-dozen bruises. But Bruce had still won, and that was all that mattered.
"Now Wally." With her hand, his mother turned his head around to face her. "Listen to Mum here. You're going to have to be more polite, with things like this happening. Why, you know your dad's looking at getting a new job, and if we move, you'll have to be nice to the kids there, so they won't…"
It was gone. All gone. He'd never have the power again. They'd never let him, after seeing how weak he was.
"Wally? Do you hear your mum? If we go someplace else, you're going to have to behave differently."
Wally just looked at her.
"So did you finally get all of those STOOPID Rainbow Monkeys?" Harvey glared at the ceiling of the craft.
An irritated Fanny turned from the corner, where she and Sally—Numbuh 12—were surveying their latest prize. "We never leave a Rainbow Monkey behind! NEVAH! And especially…" she added brightly as she turned back to the monstrous stuffed creature filling the back of the ship. "…when it's the Hugely Huggable Happiness Rainbow Monkey!"
"Looks like King Kong." Harvey snorted.
"Oh, forget him." Sally turned back. "So is this it, Fanny? Do we have a complete collection now?"
"Ah think so." Fanny looked over the list in her hand. "We have the Precious Pajama Rainbow Monkey, the Impossible Imagination Rainbow Monkey, the Road Rage Rainbow Monkey, the Insanely Inane Rainbow…"
Harvey groaned and pressed his hands to his head.
"…and now him!" Fanny threw the list away and gave Sally a wide, evil grin. "Ah told ya! Ah told ya we could get 'em all without tha' stoopid BOY catchin' on to us!"
"We never did find that 'package' you wanted." Sally looked over at her.
"Eh." Fanny waved it off. "I dinnae know if it even really exists. At least we got everything done that our boss wanted us to." She checked the screen. "'Ey!" She screamed. "You! Navigator! How far we out from the base!"
"I have a name, you know." Harvey rolled his eyes.
Fanny glared at him. "HOW FAR ARE WE!?"
"Excuuuuse me!" Harvey glared right back. "We're twenty miles out, okay? Bout another minute. Geez."
"Hmmmph." Fanny eyed him. "Well then, we best get our things in readiness to land."
"Guess so." Sally hopped over and strapped herself in. "Lessee… Receiving signal verification, turning on reverse thrusters, entering sooper-secret eleventy-billion passcode… Energy field deactivated!"
"Prepare fer landing!" Fanny screamed.
Engines screaming and wings flailing, the SCAMPER zoomed toward the small island. In the side of the mountain, a slit appeared and widened to form a door. The small ship shot inside and the door closed. Several other ninjas came forward as the ship coasted to a stop inside the cargo bay.
"Why does our hideout have to be at Rainbow Monkey Island?" Harvey scoffed as he jumped out. "It's totally obvious. Even that stoopid Numbuh 4 should have picked up on this."
"Aw, cork it Harvey." Sally grunted as she and Fanny pushed the enormous stuffed creature out into the landing area. "Jeez, Fanny, this thing is heavy." She turned back to Harvey. "It's good because it's so obvious. Nobody thinks of it."
"Yeah!" Fanny sneered, wiping the sweat from her face. "You're jest jealous cause ye couldn't think of it yourself, ya stoopid boy. Those idiots won't ever find us here. We're perfectly safe."
And the belly of the Hugely Huggable Happiness Rainbow Monkey exploded, releasing fabric, stuffing, and KND operatives.
"Ain't it exciting, little Wally?" His father beamed down. "Your own 'old man', getting a job in the 'U-night-ted States'? Eh? Ain't that something?"
"Now then dear." His mother remonstrated. She looked sorta fat. Wally noted. It must be all that ice cream she'd been eating. "Leave the poor boy alone! He only just got on here a few minutes ago, and it's his first time flying."
Indeed it was. Wally stared out the window with interest. He didn't understand how they were that high up, and he didn't much care, but he did wonder who had all the power to move them there.
"Now Wally." His mother turned on him. "Yo're goin' to a new school when we gets to America, and I don't want to hear about anymore roughhousing. If anymore of those big nasty boys pick on you, just tell a teacher." She chucked his cheek. "You're just a little boy, you aren't made to get in fights like that!"
Wally grumbled and muttered something which his mother did not catch.
"There's a dear!" She smiled delightedly. "And don't worry, Oi'm sure the boys in America will be much nicer than those mean ones back home.
Wally's head rose. That was true. In Austraulia, he had been the weak shortling, but perhaps, in America, boys were much shorter, and much weaker. Perhaps he could lead again, perhaps…
"Ichabod! Come back here!" A voice called out, and a tall, lank six-year old groaned and trotted to the rear.
…Or perhaps not…
"Get in there! Get in there!" Wally shouted amidst the cannon roar. "We got her this time, we got her!
"Cool…."
"Fight now, admire later!" Sonya leapt out, gun at the ready. "We need to keep them here toward reinforcements arrive!"
"They're on their way!" Wally cried as he leapt at Fanny. "Just soften them up a little!"
Sector W leapt into action, attacking the bewildered ninjas. Several fell before they even could activate their armor. Another two or three were knocked out cold by quick yo-yo work. And Shaunie, a fighter after his sister, eliminated another four before Harvey shot him in the back and he dropped to the floor.
"You two! Get 'im!" Wally shouted. He saw Lee and Sonya rush at ex-Numbuh 363, weapons at the ready, and that was all he had before Fanny was upon him.
"Finally figured it out, didn't ya, Numbuh 4!" She sneered. "So much for that deal ah had. Ya wasn't supposed to be able to track us anyway. Still," she squeezed off half-a-dozen lipstick shells. "This's just as well. Didja think of this all by yourself?"
"Had some help." Wally grunted, mustard spraying every which way. "But mostly, yeah." Off to the left, he saw a crowd of ninjas making for a hole in the wall (doubtless some kind of escape tunnel.). "Couldn't figure any way to find the base, so I figured I had to get you to take me there."
"OoooOOH!" Smirking, Fanny weaved through his rain of fire. "Alwus with the disguises, aren't ya! Coward like ye can't face up to anything, can ya?"
Only half-listening, Wally saw the tunnel collapse and the ninjas recoil as Henrietta came tumbling out, tommy-gun at the ready. "Oi don't know bout that." He answered, flipping back and readying himself. "But they seems the best way to get the enemy to tell ya what ya can't figger out yourself."
"Thinking never was a BOY's strong point." Fanny rushed at him, missed, and recovered. "Specially YOURS." There was a roaring in the background as a spare aircraft lifted from the ground.
Wally flipped back as the ship flew past, "Mebbe not." He glanced out after the departing ship and grinned as another aircraft swooped in and blasted it apart. "But Oi'm learning." He ducked suddenly to avoid Fanny's blast. "Oi found you, didn't I?"
Fanny's eyes widened in anger. "Luck." She hissed. "Pure luck. You're too STOOPID of a STOOPID boy to trick me with a STOOPID trick like that!" Her rocket boots roared and she swept up to the ceiling, raining down shots at him from above. "Besides…" She smiled suddenly. "You ain't got us yet."
Wally felt the ground shake under his feet as an enormous rumble filled the air. He could see Sonya glance around uncertainly. He stumbled back, staring disbelievingly as the pavement cracked and heaved upward. Slowly, surely, an enormous mech lumbered upward, its bulk nearly filling the hangar. Rockets sprouted from its shoulders, lasers from its arms. From the cockpit, Sally waved.
"Ha!" Fanny grinned. "Whaddaya say to that, BOY?"
Wally stared. "It's… pink."
"What?"
"It's… pink!"
"Yeah, so?"
"It's PINK! What kinda cruddy mech is colored Pink? And it looks like a stoopid Monkey!"
"Shaddup!" Fanny screamed. "It's the Super Saiyan Sailor Monkey Mech!"
"It's pink!"
"That DOES it!" Fanny turned to Sally. "Get him!"
But before Sally could even move, the ceiling collapsed, and an enormous white bunny rabbit crashed into the Mech. The hangar rocked with the explosion.
Wally grinned. "Great timing, Kooks."
Fanny was shaking with rage. "N… n… NO!" She screamed. "You can't win! I won't let you!" Her jets roared into life, and she shot at Wally.
Wally dashed for the exit, glancing over his shoulder. Closer, closer… he glanced at Kuki, lying on the floor dazed. She gave him a limp wave.
"Don't run, ye chicken!" Fanny was still coming. "I'll rip yeh apart with me bare hands!"
Wally felt a surge of anger. Not yet, he told himself, not yet…
Wally dashed out the hangar door and stopped just before he fell over the edge. He was standing on a narrow ledge apparently used as a helicopter pad. His hand went to his side. Far in the back, he saw Harvey knock Sonya down to the ground.
"You'll pay for this." Fanny was really close now, zooming at him, at the open hangar door. "YOU'LL PAY FER THIS, YA STOOPID SHORTY!"
Wally felt the anger, saw his fist clench. He told himself to stay, to remember his plan. Not yet , pleaded a voice. Just a little further, and then…
And Wally stood stock still as Fanny rushed headlong into the hangar door's energy field.
The Kids in America were not shorter, or weaker, or even dumber; Wally decided, as he lay in a heap on the recess pavement.
"Jeez, kid." Came a voice, as an arm came out and helped him to his feet. "Why'd ya go and pick a fight with Jerry like that?"
Wally stood, spat out some blood. "He called me a shorty."
"Ummm…" The other looked him over. "Don't take this the wrong way, but… you are short."
"Oi am NOT!"
"Okay, okay!" The kid held his hands out placatingly. "So you're not short. And I'm not fat."
Wally frowned. "Yeah, you are."
"Exactly."
Wally puzzled over this a moment before giving it up.
"What were you thinking, anyway?" The other arched his eyebrow. "That was a pretty dumb thing to do, just march up to him and call him an idiot."
"He IS an idiot."
"Duh." The other rolled his eyes. "But you don't tell him that. Especially while you're standing next to him, and you're by yourself. At the very least you should've had some kind of plan."
Wally pushed the hair from his eyes and glared at the chubby boy in a pilot's cap. "Aw, fergit cruddy plans. They never work."
"Nonsense!" Came a new voice, and a boy wearing sunglasses came up. "A Plan always works, so long as it's a good plan, and everybody follows it correctly."
"Oh yeah?" Wally sneered. "And what if they don't work?"
"Well then." The sunglasses considered. "You haven't followed the plan correctly. But if that's the case, then you just need to come up with a new one."
Wally groaned and shook his head.
"That's what we have to do." Chubby boy shrugged. "If Numbuh 1 gives us a plan, we just follow it. If KND tells us to attack a place, we attack it. If they tell us to get something, we get it. If they tell us to to smash stuff…"
Wally's head came up. "Smash stuff?"
"Wow, Numbuh 4, great plan!" Numbuh 3, quite back to her old self, tightened the sling around Wally's arm. "But how'd you know that field was there?"
"They're on all the bases, Kooks." Wally winced as he adjusted his arm in the sling. "Ah figured if they were using KND technology, mebbe they had one there. And if they did, I figured I could turn it on with the R.E.M.O.T.E. thing ya gave me."
"Oh!" Kuki's voice paused in thought. "Wow, that's smart." She looked sorrowfully back at the enormous stuffed monkey. "Too bad we couldn't stop Numbuh 86 from destroying the Rainbow Monkey."
"Huh?" Wally glanced up. "Oh, yeah! The Hugely Huggable…" Wally scratched his head. "Um… Yeah, too bad about him. That was… uh… Fanny. Yeah." Wally coughed, looking around. Lee was helping Sonya to her feet. Harvey, dazed, lay on the ground, a yo-yo wrapped about his ankles. "So we win?"
"Uh-huh!" Kuki nodded. "We packed up Sally and Fanny already, and I'm gonna bring Harvey to the ship so we can all head up to the moonbase." An odd look came over her face. "You suuuuure you don't wanna come with us?"
"Nah." Wally grinned at the bright little Asian. "I wanna look around this place some more before the tech boys get here. You guys have fun."
Kuki shrugged and bounced away.
As the SCAMPER sailed away, Wally let out a sigh of relief, then turned to the blast door. Opening it did not take long, and from there it was simply a question of exploration. He wandered through countless hallways and equipment rooms, computer centers and sensor arrays, officers quarters and rainbow-monkey wonderlands. Fanny appeared to have set up a quite extensive base.
Wally frowned. How could have Fanny built all this? He'd need the tech boys to figure it out. Wally checked his watch. Boy, were they late.
Stopping in front of a large computer screen, Wally examined it carefully. KND-tech, of course, with teenage enhancements. He pressed a button and it jumped into life.
Wally's eyes narrowed suddenly. The computer had gone straight to the KND network. They must have been watching us the entire time. He realized. That's how they kept evading us. But how'd they get the access…
Suddenly the screen went dark and the KND logo appeared. Sandy's pimply face floated into focus. "Kids Next Door!" He called. "This is a General Alert going out to all operatives. There have been some startling developments in the Treehouse crisis."
Wally grinned and sat back. This should be good.
"Head of Decommissioning Numbuh 451 shall elaborate." Sandy's face disappeared and Mushi came onscreen, smiling and waving. "Hey Everybody!" She said, putting on her serious face. "The Treehouse Conspiracy has been exposed, and those responsible taken into custody." She pronounced the last word carefully, sounding it out. "We will try them on charges of treason, destruction of Kids Next Door Property, releasing sooper secret material outside the KND, and consorting with the decommissioned operatives, Numbuhs 2 and 5."
Wally blinked. What?
Beside Mushi's talking face, another window popped up--Kuki's ID profile, listing her name, age, serial numbuh, talents, preferences, and favorite Rainbow Monkey. Wally had seen it a hundred times.
The "ENEMY" designation was completely new, and so was the "CAPTURED" banner plastered across the front.
"The traitors," Mushi continued, as Wally watched the ID's of Sonya, Lee, and Shauny appear onscreen. "were responsible for the destruction of forty-five treehouses, and appear to have plotted to assassinate the Soopreme Leader. They also invented a fictious story involving a known decommisioned operative." Mushi stopped to give a sinister smile at the screen. "They shall be held at the Moonbase Deep Isolation prison until their trial."
Wally stared at the screen, fists clenched, eyes straining. He could hear the blood throbbing in his temples.
"The mastermind…" Wally's profile came up, "Numbuh 4, formerly of Sector V, is still at large. Any KND operatives who come into contact with him are to place him under arrest at once."
The door behind Wally burst open as hundreds of KND Elite troopers poured in.
A/N: I AM THE KING OF PROCRASTINATORS! ALL HAIL ME!
Oh, and review too, please. I love reviews. They make me update faster. Seriously.
Things have been getting in the way recently, what with college and homework and life in general. My laziness hasn't helped either, but we won't discuss it. Anyway, I can tell you I'm excited about the next couple chapters, so hopefully I should get them fairly quickly. And hopefully also they will be much, much shorter than this one. Aagh.
Wally and Kuki are really, REALLY hard. Not just cause I don't know them very well, but also because they have split personalities, and because they obviously have changed by INTERVIEWS. So part of what I have to do is explain that. Kuki was especially hard, because her bubbliness is trademark, and if she's in her 'no-nonsense' mode, she sounds more like some Amazon-government-director.
Anyway. Again, please review.
