Chapter Twenty-One: Fallout
"Number Four? Wally?"
The shortest path to reach Number One's location was, unfortunately, also proving to be the most difficult. Number Four let out a curse as the branch of a pine tree whipped him in the face. Forcing his way through the thick undergrowth, he was weary and his hands were throbbing and he was soaked to the skin and starving and he could not figure out how the heck Nigel had ended up in the forest after he had left him on the mountain.
"Number One?"
"Over here!"
There was an anxious tone in Nigel's voice, and in a rush of relief Number Four realized he felt much the same way. He fought clear of the trees and then pushed through the thinning saplings and bushes until he emerged in a mossy clearing. Number One hurried across the space, slipping on the muddy ground.
"Wally!" breathed Number One in a rare display of emotion. He seized the other boy by the arms as if to assure himself that his fellow KND was real. "I thought you'd been killed."
He scoffed. "What? I just dropped off the face of the earth. It'll take more than that to get rid of me."
Number One's laugh was a little hysterical. Wally frowned and demanded, "What are you doing down here? And how did you find Tennyson?"
Number One pushed his goggles down so that they hung around his neck. Rubbing his tired eyes he said, "He found me. The Fusion Dexter cut my rope less than a minute after you fell and Ben caught me before I . . ." He swallowed, realizing only now exactly how close he had come to dying.
"Before you found out how a bug on a windshield feels," finished Wally in his usual blunt fashion. He was impressed. It seemed Nigel's story would be almost as epic as his own. "Ripper. So where is he?"
He pointed to the middle of the clearing. A prone, unmoving figure lay there beneath the meager shelter of Number One's jacket. "Over here. He's unconscious and his arm is broken. He's been beaten to a pulp, but he took out two of the Fusions."
"Two?" Wally's eyes grew huge as he did his math. He had heard Number One's warning to Number Two earlier. Tennyson had essentially destroyed the leader of the Powerpuff Girls and that square Mr. Plutonium. Amazing. But that meant-
"Wait! The Fusion Dexter? He's what's left? Crud! We've got to help the rest of the team!"
Number One looked at him with steady calm, willing the blond to understand the situation and how helpless they were in the face of it.
"We can't, Wally. We can't leave Ben and as it is we have no way of getting back up the mountain in time."
"But . . ." He looked up at Mount Kibble, blinking at the downpour. There was an ache in his chest and he longed to join his friends. An angry, frustrated shout escaped him at the memory of Kuki's scream. "This bites, Nigel!"
"Yes," agreed the other boy. "It does. We just have to wai-what?"
Together they stared at the granite cliff, straining their necks back to see as a low, dull roar rose above the howl of rain and wind. The sound grew louder and the pitch climbed until it sounded like an endless, wavering screech.
"That's the aeroship," breathed Number One.
"What?" Wally clapped a hand to his head, and in his excitement he completely forgot how badly he had burned his hands. "Ow! What is Number Two up to?"
The leader of Sector V shook his head even though Wally wasn't looking his way. "The engine is overloading."
"Is he barking? It'll blow up!"
"Unless that's Number Two's plan. I hope," he added uncertainly. "At least, I think I hope."
To be this far removed from the action was nothing short of torture, and both boys were desperate to know what was happening atop the cliff. They shifted anxiously. They were used to doing - watching and waiting went against their every instinct.
They gasped in unison as a wide streak of white light shot off the cliff. Number Four slapped his night vision goggles off his eyes with a shout of pain. Dazzling against the storm clouds, they watched in fascinated horror as the silvery aeroship arched across the sky. An instant later the April X-0 exploded with all the force and fury of a thousand rockets, ripping herself apart from the inside out in a climax of noise and light and energy. Detonation was accompanied by a blinding bright flash and the shock wave knocked both boys to the ground. Burning debris showered down in chunks and specks into the forest to the west of the mountain as Miss April came to a violent, radiant end.
Number One stood, his vision and hearing and shattered nerves slowly returning to something close to normal. Mechanically Nigel Uno raised his comm unit to his mouth.
"This is Number One," he said, and even to his own ears his voice was flat. "Does anyone read me?"
Silence. Beside him, Number Four climbed t his feet and watched him dully, praying that any of the others that had come on this mission would respond.
"Sector V KND, respond."
Nothing. Wally slowly sank down again in disbelief, his head hung low as Nigel called into the night, begging for reassurance that any of their friends had survived.
OoOoOoOoOoOoO
Something hard and uncomfortable was digging into her back and something heavy and warm was pinning her down. Number Five opened her eyes and found herself lying on the ground beneath a scraggly bush that did nothing to block the rain. Dawn was creeping up upon them. The shadows were dark, but she could see shapes and tones as night shifted toward day. She moved to lower her head when her chin hit something wet and smooth. Blinking, she tried to see what it was and after a moment, Abby realized it was the very top Number Two's leather flying cap right below her chin. Hoagie was sprawled on top of her, pinning her down on the muddy turf with their limbs all tangled together. She really hoped that was rain and not drool soaking her shirt because as far as she could tell, he was fast asleep on top of her with his face planted in a rather touchy spot.
"Sector V KND, respond."
That was why she had roused. Number One. He must have been calling for a while, because he sounded wrecked. Her own comm unit was pinned beneath her along with her left arm. She tried reaching for Number Two's unit but his arm was out of range.
"Number Two, wake up!" she ordered quietly.
Hoagie snorted and shifted, humming softly in content as he settled himself more comfortably. What was comfortable for him, though, was not exactly comfortable for her as he used her for a pillow. Abby blinked, hardly able to believe this was happening and infinitely grateful that no one was around to see it.
"Number One to Number Two, please respond."
Nigel was going to lose it if he didn't get an answer soon. Number Five was going to lose her cool, and if he didn't wake up pronto Number Two was going to lose his head, courtesy of Number Five.
She twitched, trying to wake him. "Hoagie!" She would have liked to spare him the embarrassment that was sure to follow hot on the heels of waking up and realizing exactly where he was, but he wouldn't wake up! The only thing she succeeded in doing was to get him to lift his right hand up by his face. Her eyes flew wide at the touch.
"Number Three, Number Five, if you read me, respond."
This was really too much. With a wild shout she bucked, trying to dislodge him.
"Hogarth Pennywhistle Gilligan, Jr., you wake your butt up right now or Number Five is going to introduce you to a world of hurt!"
He gasped, his head snapping up. In the wane light he looked at her, looked down where he had been, saw where his hand was, and snatched himself away with a manly shriek.
"I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" he bleated, all but curling up upon himself in humiliation. "Abby, I'm sorry!"
She sat up, glancing at the broken branches and rocks she had been lying upon. At least one of them had a soft landing out of the aeroship. "Hoagie, get a grip. I don' think the world's gonna end because you think I make a nice pillow. You make a good blanket. Now hush up or Number One'll hear ya whining."
He could not look at her as she raised her wrist to her mouth. "Number One, this is Number Five. Number Two is with me."
She could just imagine the smile that Nigel must be wearing. His joy was evident as he called, "Number Five, what about Number Three?"
"We left her on top of the cliff." She stood, trying to figure out where they were in relation to where they had been. "We'll head back up there and check on her."
"Report in as soon as you find her."
"Can do, Number One," she said happily. "Number Five out."
She reached over and gave Hoagie's shoulder a little shake. "C'mon, Number Two. We gotta find Number Three."
Hangdog eyes looked up dolefully from beneath his cap. "Abigail," he began.
She folded her arms, waiting patiently. He was about a minute from blushing himself into a coma.
"You saved my life and I never meant to repay you by . . ." he trailed off lamely. The darkness hid the furious burning in his cheeks, but she knew him well enough by now to know he was mortified - even more than she was.
"Well, you saved Number Five's life, too. That Fusion was going for broke. Don't sweat it."
"Um . . ."
"Yeah?" she asked slowly.
He shifted nervously, scratching his head through his cap and wiping at his mouth.
"Spit it out, Number Two."
Clasping his hands tightly to stop his fidgeting, Hoagie Gilligan swallowed, cast her a lightning-fast look, and finally asked in a voice that didn't squeak too much, "What – what if I want to sweat it?"
Mouth open, Number Five stared at him in speechless astonishment, a whole realm of possibilities suddenly evident to her mind's eye, and it occurred to her that for all his faults, Hoagie was as sweet as he was charming. A long moment passed, and finally Abigail Lincoln blinked.
"I think," said Number Five with care, "that we need to talk."
There was something close to desperation in his eyes. "Is that good?"
She felt herself smiling. "It sure ain't bad. Now c'mon, let's get back up there and see what happened to Number Three."
OoOoOoOoOoOoO
They were half a mile to the west of where Number Two had landed Miss April atop Mt. Kibble. It was not easy picking their way up the rocky, tree-covered slope, but together they managed. The rain slacked off, leaving them cold and wet. Reaching the barren summit, Hoagie pointed to where the aeroship's exhaust had scorched the ground for a hundred feet.
They found Number Three curled up asleep beneath the shelter of a low overhang of rock not far from the edge of the cliff. Her oversized green top was pulled down over her knees and she clutched the long-range radio as if it was one of her Rainbow Monkeys. As Number Five crouched down to look at her, the radio crackled to life.
". . . repeat, KND Operative Number Three, this is DexCorp Night Flight Alpha and DexLabs Air Lift Juno approaching your location from the southeast. Do you copy?"
She sighed in relief as she eased the radio out of Kuki's grip. Carried on the wind was the thrumming sound of helicopter rotors. Help was at hand. Number Three had managed to contact DexLabs after all. "Night Flight Alpha, this is Number Five. Boy, are we glad to hear you."
They were done here. It was time to go home.