CODE: RESTRICTED
Part two: SPACE
Section Summary: After escaping a quarantined Earth with her newly reunited friends, Abigail Lincoln continues her journey to the G:KND headquarters in hopes of contacting the final member of her team. With nothing but a broken recommissioning module, some nostalgic weaponry and a stolen children's vessel for aid, she must lead her team through the unknown territory of outer space. But as demons from the past continue to harass the heroes, rising tensions and kept secrets threaten to sever the bonds Abby desperately wishes to heal.
Chapter Summary: Having broken out of quarantine, the team goes to the old Moon Base to access a portal to the center of the Universe. But an unwelcome encounter threatens the mission.
Accessing...
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KIDS NEXT DOOR CODE MODULE
File 2237811
[RESTRICTED]
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Code: [RESTRICTED]
Operation: R.O.G.U.E.
Rebellious
Operatives
Get
Unwelcome
Encounter
Created by OfficiallyWrong with properties owned by Tom Warburton
and Cartoon Network
Episode 7
INCOMING TRANSMISSION...
Source: Unknown
April 1st, 2015
Location: Earth
It was time. At long last, everything was starting to come together the way he had always dreamed. This was his chance to save the world. It was suffering, like a wounded animal on the side of the road. And the people refused to do anything to help it. People out of jobs, people struggling with psychosis, people afraid their basic freedoms would be taken. He had accumulated wealth and fame, like his father before him. He had made something out of nothing, reaped the land for its fruit, and earned every bit of respect that he had gained through this hard work. No one gave him anything. No one held his hand through life. Everything he was, everything he did, he did through his own blood and sweat. He wanted this dream for the rest of the world, for them to understand how things should be.
But the people didn't understand. That wasn't his fault. It was theirs. Leeches who wanted to live without pay or work, insects which infiltrated his perfect world. They forced people out of their jobs and into homes, crying to be fed and sheltered. "They're fragile" the people said. "They are weak and must be protected." But he knew better. The weeds which grew in his garden, the vines which sucked the life from the soil, they would not stop until everything he had built was destroyed.
Children.
Drooling, self-absorbed, shit-loving, whining, no respect for authority; Children were the bane of existence. And what was worse, there was no way to get rid of them, no way to use them or make them productive. They refused their education, wanting to instead play games and eat candy. They rebelled against their parents. They cried for "rights" but did nothing to deserve them. And this cycle was unbreakable. For without kids, there would be no Adults. Without Adults, there would be no society.
That is, until two days prior when a miracle took place. The very thing that had prevented them from moving forward as a society was eradicated. At one fell swoop, the Kids Next Door, his mortal enemy, vanished. And what was most surprising was that he owed this victory to the last person he had ever expected: Nigel Uno.
Ben grinned as he gazed over his spoils. That stupid little brat of his older brother, the brother that no matter what he did was always loved more by their father than he ever would be, had saved their planet from the nuisance of children. He didn't intend to, of course, it was just a consequence of his decision to expel the Earth sector of the Kids Next Door. An aging virus. What a stupid idea. Only a child would believe in such things. He drummed his fingers over his office chair, thinking. Childhood was nothing but an illusion. Parents were an illusion. The idea that someone could love you just because you share their blood was ludicrous. The idea that people should love you was false ideology. In real life, the only thing people cared about were results, and they blamed bad parenting on their lack of happiness. Yet parents still clung to their children, afraid of letting go of their chains, their security blanket, the thing they felt gave them "purpose." Fools.
Purpose was the greatest illusion of all.
He had found a way to eliminate the threat of childhood altogether, produce workers without fear of lack of education or without equal rights. Poverty would end. People would be united under one single goal. There would be no wars under him. People did not need families to love them. They could have his love. He would be the father of this new world.
Benedict Uno. A Father to the people. Raising them as his children the way children were supposed to be. No more flawed logic, no more excuses for poor work ethics. An ideal world full of equal opportunity. That was the freedom Benedict Uno believed in.
The door to his office creaked open as someone stepped inside. "You wanted to see me, Sir?"
The world's new Father did not turn his chair. "Yes. Come in." He lit a pipe, which he had been keeping in his suit jacket pocket. "I am in need of your assistance." The figure obeyed their leader's command. "The Teens Next Door. You've heard of them?"
"Only rumors, Sir."
"It seems that in light of recent events, more members have been coming out. There have been reports of guerrilla attacks from around the globe, all from what I assume to be a Teenage rebel alliance." He puffed his pipe. "No doubt they will attempt an evacuation. In fact, I believe they've already begun."
The figure nodded. "I'll ready the troops."
"No, let them leave."
"Sir?"
There was a long silence as Father puffed smoke circles into the air. "Once they've set up their base we'll launch a full-on attack and eradicate them all in one go."
"Yes, Sir."
"One more thing." He couldn't hide his smirk. "Abigail Lincoln is one of them." The room went dead. "Will that be an issue?"
More silence. Then, "No, Sir. No issue."
"Very good. You are dismissed."
"Thank you, Sir."
The door closed, the soldier leaving the room. Abigail Lincoln. It had been a very long time since he had heard that name. Abigail Lincoln had escaped Earth, infiltrated his house and after defeating his Delightful Children in battle, and stolen one of their ships. The three other members of Sector V were also reported missing. Father beamed. There was something else missing from his mansion: A tiny, wooden, jack-in-the-box-like toy.
So that's your plan, is it?
He was keen to know how this story would pan out. If she failed, there would be nothing to fear. If she succeeded, all the better for him. In the end, it was clear that he had the upper hand no matter what the outcome.
But what will you do when you find him?
He jeered.
If you find him.
Location: Outside Earth's Atmosphere
"So, in the end, everyone's just a slave livin' in little plastic houses while the big companies rake in the dough." Wally explained.
Kuki nodded. "I see, I see."
Hoagie was puzzled. "Isn't making money like...necessary?"
"That's what the capitalists want you to think!" Wally said. "It's all a big conspiracy to get you to think that life's about working for companies and payin for shit." Kuki nodded at her boyfriend's response. "And the first thing they do is take away your food, so you gotta buy that. They hire police to enforce laws that prevent you from gettin' the food any other way than working for money. Then they take your healthcare, and make you pay for livin' on property! And that's how they get ya!"
"Yep!" Kuki agreed. "Rich people are sneaky."
"You're rich, Kuki," Hoagie reminded her.
She gasped in offense.
"Anyway. I think it's a lot more complicated than primitive accumulation and means of production."
Wally frowned. "I dunno what that means."
"I mean Marx isn't the god of politics."
"Who the fuck is Mark? What are you even talking about?"
"Not Mark. Marx. Karl Marx..."
"What does he gotta do with anything?"
"Oh my god."
"Alright, take a recess," Abby called from the pilot's chair. "We're here." She gazed out the window at a large grey mass, craters punched into the sides.
The teens widened their eyes in amazement as they pulled closer. A glowing orange tree, which resembled more of an alga one would find growing at the bottom of the ocean, housed a massive complex even bigger than the one they had seen on Earth. Either the moon was much smaller than they had thought, or the tree was so large it completely engulfed it.
"Is that it?" Kuki asked. "Is that where Nigel Uno is?"
Abby chuckled. "No. That's the Moon Base."
Hoagie tilted his head, his mind burning with questions. "H-How-"
"How did they manage to keep it a secret from the Adults?" She interrupted. He nodded. "Faked the moon landing."
Hoagie smirked to himself, having trouble buying it. "Of course they did."
Wally's eyes turned into saucers. "Whoa. That's Illuminati-level shit."
"So, if Nigel Uno isn't there," Kuki asked, fidgeting with her sweater. "Where exactly are we going?"
"The center of the Universe," Abby said, nonchalantly.
Hoagie leaned on his arm rest. "You mean because the Galactic Kids Next Door have so much power it's like they're the center of the Universe?"
"No," Abby said. "I mean the literal center of the Universe."
"But that's so far away!" Kuki exclaimed.
Hoagie shook his head, trying to stop himself from laughing. "You can't be serious."
Abby shrugged. "That's where Nigel is, so that's where we're goin'."
But Hoagie crossed his arms. "There is no center of the Universe, Abigail. The Universe is constantly expanding. It's basic scientific fact."
Abby stood up, turning towards him. "Yeah. It expands in all directions," she said, demonstrating with her arms. "But the center's still the center. That's where the G:KND's primary base of operation is."
Hoagie stood up after her. "That doesn't make any sense! That would have to mean...no! What?!"
"You gotta stop over-thinkin' this." Abby sighed. "If you're gonna survive out here, you gotta throw away everything you thought you knew. We ain't in Adult territory no more." She smiled facetiously. "So, take all that logic and reason and throw it out the window, cause it ain't gonna do you no good where we're goin'." She lightly patted his cheek twice before going back to her seat.
Hoagie sat, disgruntled.
Kuki giggled. "I love it when she gets sassy."
Abby pulled closer to the Moon Base, arriving at one of the landing docks. "Since the Earth branch of the KND's been disbanded," she explained. "We're gonna have to activate the S.L.I.N.G.S.H.O.T. from inside."
Hoagie swallowed. "S-Slingshot?"
Kids Next Door: S.L.I.N.G.S.H.O.T.
Sooper
Lickity-split
Intergalactic
Network
Gateway
Shoot
Headed-to
Other
Territories
Wally furrowed his brow. "Does everythin' in this bloody organization have a codename?"
"Wow! What's our operation's codename?" Kuki's question was promptly ignored.
"We're going to shoot ourselves into the center of the Universe using a giant slingshot," Hoagie said incredulously. "And that won't, I don't know, disrupt our bone structure or expose us to extreme amounts of pressure that would cause this entire ship to implode?"
Abby's eyes rolled up into her head. "What did I just say?"
He grunted. "I reserve the right to remain skeptical about anything you say."
"Operation: Save Planet Earth! Oh, but that probably wouldn't make a good acronym, huh?" Kuki thought out loud. "Operation: Uno! No. Operation: Stop G:KND...hmm."
"And you're sure this is the best way to get to Uno?" Wally asked.
"It's the only way," Abby stated, preparing the ship for landing. "Unless you wanna fly 4.3 Kajillion lightyears to get there."
Hoagie glared at her. "Kajillion."
"I know what I said," she quipped back.
Through perhaps sheer luck, Abby had no trouble making it onto a landing bay, which was surprisingly left wide open. It made the others uncomfortable, but she surmised that the G:KND must have evacuated the operatives from the Base after they were decommissioned. The Base itself was dark now, eerily sitting in the reaches of space with only the illumination of the tree to guide the ship into port. She managed to steer the ship into the landing bay and rested it on the ground, despite it being much larger than most of the other ships which were left there, abandoned by their owners.
Abby sat up, making her way to the door. "Wait here." She hovered her hand over the red button which opened the latch.
"Abby, wait! Don't open that!"
"We don't have space suits!"
"You're gonna get sucked into the vacuum!"
As her team wailed, Abby rolled her eyes and pressed the button, waiting for them to stop screaming as the door rose. They touched their faces, seeing if they were still alive.
"Seriously. Y'all need to calm down," she told them.
The three were shocked. They rose from their cowering positions. "I can breathe..." Wally said.
Abby flashed a grin in their direction. "Of course. How do you think we prevented Adults from space travel all these years?"
Hoagie, perhaps the most dumbfounded of them all, tried to close his mouth. "I give up," he whispered.
Wally leaned into the others. "Plot twist: We've been dead this whole time."
Hoagie's nose scrunched. "I wouldn't even be surprised at this point."
"Sit tight," Abby said as she grabbed the nearest weapon she could find, which happened to be Wally's G.U.M.Z.O.O.K.A. "Abby'll be right back."
"Hey!" he protested. "Where are you going?"
"Somebody's gotta activate the portal," she explained to him. "Don't worry. It won't take long."
But Wally wasn't happy. "I ain't so sure that's a good idea."
"Yeah!" Kuki agreed. "We don't want you to go in there alone!" She felt her body shiver as she looked into the dark landing bay, which reflected the eerie orange light from the tree. "It's dark and creepy in there."
"Abby'll be fine," she assured her. "I've been here hundreds of times."
Hoagie frowned. "That's what you said last time."
"That was different," Abby insisted. "This place is completely uninhabited."
Kuki's body continued to shake. "B-But what if someone is in there! Or something!" She gasped, clinging to Wally. "The handsome sexually active couple is always the first to get murdered!" She grabbed his shoulders, shaking him back and forth. "Wally! What do we do?!"
"Huh? Why me?!"
Hoagie lifted an eyebrow. "No. The person to go off alone is the first." He looked at Abby, who wasn't amused.
"And there's no pure white girl to be the lone survivor!" Kuki squealed. "We'd all perish!" Kuki cried.
Abby shook her head. "Y'all are bein' ridiculous."
Hoagie shrugged. "You were the one who said to throw logic and reason out the window."
"That's not what I meant." There was a long pause as Kuki looked at her with a quivering lip and tearful eyes. "Fine." She jumped to the side of the ship, scaling down the long ladder bolted into the side. "But I don't wanna hear no complainin' outta any of you."
Kuki clung to her boyfriend, looking around. They walked through the dark hallway, Hoagie holding the flashlight from the cave. It was a good thing it still worked, even out in space. The shadows towered the walls like phantoms. Everything looked like a monster to Kuki. How was she going to know if a real monster showed up? She had no real reason to suspect that one would, but something was putting her on edge. Something that couldn't be explained.
"Stay close," Abby said. "Don't none of you dare run off by yo'selves."
"Wouldn't dream of it." Wally scowled, his gate starting to slow. "Fuck."
"What?" Kuki asked as she matched his pace.
"I gotta pee super bad."
"Why didn't you go before we left?"
"Oh yeah. Like I can just control when I gotta take a piss," he bit back at her.
"You could have at least tried."
"What are you, my Mum?"
A shadow moved over the group, causing Kuki and Wally to freeze in place. "A-A-Abby-" Kuki stammered.
Abby didn't seem alarmed. "Keep movin'."
They did as they were told, no one saying anything for a long time. Kuki had questions about this place: what it was for, who worked here. However, she was too frightened to speak at that point. Surprisingly, it ended up being Hoagie who stopped the movement forward. His eyes gravitated towards something glowing in the corner of the hallway. He moved towards it, his curiosity getting the better of him.
"Hey guys, look at this."
Wally and Kuki crowded around him as Abby stood off to the side. "What is it?"
Hoagie pushed up his glasses, kneeling down towards the object of inquiry. "Some kind of weird space fungi, maybe?"
The fungus-like plant appeared along the side of the hallway, radiating a neon-green glow. It bulged out in certain places, a thick bumpy surface that seemed to have very little stem. Their interest was quickly interrupted.
"Get away from there!" Abby shouted. She snatched Hoagie's hand before he could do anything. "Don't touch it."
Hoagie looked at her flatly. "I wasn't planning to."
"This is bad," she whispered. Suddenly, the fungi started to sprout more heads, almost popping out of the floor like gophers. The group backed away slightly, startled by the rapid growth. Abby yanked Hoagie to his feet, dragging him away from the mysterious foliage, praying the others would follow. "C'mon quit foolin' around..." she said, as to not cause alarm.
Wally squirmed back and forth. He started to unzip his pants, but Kuki smacked him in the arm and dragged him away to catch up to the others. "Kuki! There's no ghost!"
"You don't know that!" Kuki insisted. "And you shouldn't pee in public."
Wally rolled his eyes. "C'mon. Who's gonna see?"
"Uh, me. I will see. And it's disgusting."
"Ugh." Wally stopped resisting and walked with his girlfriend. "But I gotta go super bad. Can't you just turn around?"
But Kuki was resilient. Another shadow passed over them as they entered the next room. Kuki stopped. "Abby! We should definitely go back. Wally really has to pee, and I think there's somebody-"
"Shh!" Abby stopped moving as well, looking around. She waited there in the silence. Whoosh! Another shadow fell over them before disappearing into the darkness. "Follow me." She made her way around the corner where an open door led down to a narrower hallway. That hallway led to another door, which was cracked only a little. Her ears perked. She moved Hoagie's hand downward so that the light pointed toward her feet.
"What are you-"
"Shh!"
Suddenly, she could hear a squeaking sound coming from the other side of the door.
"It's bloody mice-"
"Fool be quiet!" Abby snapped back at Wally who was starting to speak. "Nobody say anything." She reached over to the switch on Hoagie's flashlight and turned it off. Kuki started to scream, but Wally slammed his hand over her mouth. The squealing suddenly got louder, more frantic. "Gotcha!" Abby's triumphant voice echoed through the corridor. "Turn the light on."
The flashlight flipped on. There, in her hands, desperately trying to escape her grasp, was a small, grey hamster. Kuki sighed with relief, but the boys were more confused than ever. Abby took the hamster in her hands, hushing it and stroking its head.
"Shh, hey. It's okay. We're friends." She nuzzled the creature up to her face. "We ain't gonna harm ya. promise."
"Don't do that," Wally squirmed, watching Abby play with the creature. "It's probably got rabies or worms or the mumps or some shit."
The hamster stopped trying to escape and snuggled up to Abby. Once it did, she opened her grip slightly and let it look at her. "Nah. These little guys are the KND's power supply. Without them, we wouldn't be able to run our systems. Ain't that right, little Baby?" She set the hamster down.
"Aww!" Kuki squealed. "It's so cute!"
"Go tell your friends to turn on the power for us, please? It's urgent Kids Next Door business."
"Uh, Abigail..." Hoagie said. "I don't think the hamster can understand you."
Abby stood up and crossed her arms, giving him a snide look. She loved proving him wrong. Sure enough the lights started to flicker on, the door sliding open as the hamster ran back around Abby's feet. The others looked on in amazement as hundreds of hamsters in hamster wheels ran all around the room. About 20 or so were still on the ground, hanging out in tiny groups.
Abby beamed. "You were saying?"
Kuki squealed, running up to them. "So you were my ghosts all along!" she beamed. "I was worried for a second there."
"Hamster slave labor," Wally chuckled. "Fuck me with a rake."
"It ain't slave labor," Abby corrected. "They take shifts. Plus, they get an all-expense paid vacation once a year and predator protection."
"This is how you generate all of your electricity?" Hoagie asked, still amazed that he could still be amazed. He looked over at Kuki, who was picking up hamsters left and right.
"I'm going to name you Scruffy," she said to one. She picked up another. "And I'll name you Fluffikins, and you Sir. Glompity Glomp Glomperson III."
Hoagie held his hand down, letting one of the hamsters crawl up. His hand was so big that it could sit comfortably without him having to hold it. The other hamsters soon caught on, starting to crawl up his arm and around his shoulders. One even got onto his hat. "Whoa! Whoa!"
Abby chuckled. "They like you."
Hoagie was stiff. "They're trained, right?" Her lifted eyebrow was enough to answer his question. "Okay." He chortled as they moved around his body. He tripped on his back foot, crashing butt-first into the ground. The hamsters didn't seem phased by this and more started running onto his legs. "Okay..." he couldn't stop laughing as they scuttled all over him. "Okay! that's enough! Haha!"
"Aww! No fair!" Kuki pouted. "Hamsters! Tackle me too!" She plopped onto her back.
Wally scowled, still needing to use the bathroom. One hamster walked up to him, catching his eye. "Touch me and I'll piss on you," he spat. The hamster backed away intimidated before scurrying off. He watched as the others played with the rodents, feeling the minutes tick by. Abby was the only one who didn't seem to be playing. She held one hamster in her palm, talking to it as though it were a real person. Wally was beginning to think he had taken some bad shrooms and this was all some long elaborate trip he would hopefully wake up from. Hamsters, he thought with disgust. What was next, unicorns?
"It's only temporary," Abby spoke to the hamster in her hand. "My team and I are gonna get the kids back. So y'all just lay low until we do." If a hamster could look melancholic, it would in that moment. "Abby needs some of you to come to the control center, so we can activate the S.L.I.N.G.S.H.O.T." Suddenly, the hamsters froze. They hid themselves all over Hoagie and Kuki, peaking behind in fear. Abby's brows raised. This wasn't a good sign.
"What now?" Wally groaned.
The hamster on Abby's hand looked at its quivering friends before jumping down to the ground. Abby followed it to a wheel in the back of the room. The hamsters departed from Hoagie and Kuki, huddling as far away from the door as possible. The hamster got into the wheel and started to run. A small red light at the top of the door flashed on. Abby swallowed, pressing the button to open the door. It slid open without any effort, a neon green light flashing over the teens' faces. The hallway was littered with the same tiny green fungi that Hoagie had seen earlier. It was pulsing, like nuclear waste. Abby felt her knees start to go weak.
"It's kinda pretty," Kuki commented, trying to lighten the mood.
Abby wasn't in the spirit to be cheered up. She slammed the button to shut the door, catching her breath. She looked back at the hamster. "Where did it come from?" But the hamster did not seem to know. "We'll find another way," she said.
"I don't see what the big deal is," Wally said.
"You wanna die, you go right ahead and walk through that field'a fuckery," Abby spat. "Abby's goin' this way." The hamster ran up to her leg, tugging on it as though to tell her not to but she smiled and set him down. "Thanks for all yo' help." She walked out the other door waving goodbye to her tiny rodent friends.
"Aww," Hoagie frowned. "I wanted to play with the hamsters some more." Even though he said this under his breath, it earned him a long hard stare from Wally. "What? They're adorable."
"No," Wally stated. "They're rats."
"Shh!" Kuki put a finger to her lips. "Wally! Be nice!"
Abby poked her head back in. "Y'all comin' or shall I pick you up when you're done with your play date."
Kuki and Hoagie perked up, stating they would stay there if she wanted to do the rest of the mission alone, but Wally pushed them both out insisting the sooner they got this over with the better. Kuki and Hoagie sighed and bade farewell to the hamsters, commenting on how they would like to have a pet hamster one day.
Abby took them the opposite direction, trying to find a new entrance to the control center. Wally's need to pee was getting worse, so he made a point to mention it every few minutes just to affectionately piss off Kuki. Abby herself had gotten quiet, more quiet than usual.
"So...if the electricity runs on hamster power," Hoagie thought aloud. "And all the hamsters are too afraid to get near it, how are we going to turn on the space rubber band?"
"You can spin a wheel with your hand, can't you?" came her blunt response.
Hoagie looked sheepish for asking.
It wasn't long before they reached another dead end, though, with more sprouts leading up the stairs into a darkened hallway. Kuki was starting to get nervous again. She grabbed Wally's arm.
"I don't think you're gonna get around it-" Hoagie started.
"I can see that!" Abby snapped back, then immediately sighed. "Sorry, you're right. Why don't you wait here and Abby'll-"
"No way!" Kuki shouted. "No splitting up!"
"Alright," She said as she pressed forward. "It's yo' funeral." She took out her weapon, firing four times into her hand. She held the gum balls out to her teammates. "Chew on these. It'll help you stay alert."
"What exactly is it that makes these things so dangerous?" Hoagie asked, stuffing the white ball in his mouth. Wally and Kuki did the same.
"Let's hope you never have to find out," Abby said before crushing the ball in her teeth.
They pressed onward, with Abby leading the way. Her body was starting to lose energy. Wally as the next to start to feel faint, followed by Kuki.
"Abby..." Kuki panted. "Maybe we should take a rest? Just for a second."
But Abby shook her head. "The longer we stay in their range, the more the toxins will affect us. We gotta keep movin'."
Wally wiped the sweat from his brow. "We're always moving."
Hoagie checked in with his own body. He didn't seem to be feeling any of the side effects that the others seemed to have, but it could have just been a delayed reaction. He didn't want to take any chances. As the pathway grew steeper and steeper, the team's energy levels grew lower and lower.
"Fuck..." Wally heaved. "What is this stuff?" Wally was now carrying Kuki, who looked as though she was about to pass out. He looked over at Hoagie, who hadn't really broken much of a sweat beyond what was normal for that kind of activity. "Ain't you tired or nothin?"
"Not really."
Wally growled. "Lucky."
Hoagie ran up to Abby, who was moving at a pretty good pace despite the fact that she looked like death. "Abigail?" No response. "Abigail. I think you need to stop."
"You stop here, you're screwed," she replied.
"I can activate the S.L.I.N.G.S.H.O.T.-"
"Like hell you can."
"I'm serious," Hoagie protested. "I feel fine. Let me help you."
Abby sighed. "Look. I appreciate y'all gettin' me outta that jam with the Delightful Children, okay? But you know jack shit about this world. Yo' science ain't gonna-" She stopped for a moment, a nausea beginning to overwhelm her. Whatever it was, though, she swallowed it. "Just let me handle it." She popped another piece of gum in her mouth and kept moving.
At long last, they arrived at a door. This door didn't go to the room where the S.L.I.N.G.S.H.O.T. was, but Abby reassured them that they were going the right direction. She explained that during her year as the Soopreme Leader she spent a lot of time moving back and forth between those halls. So much so, that they were almost as familiar to her as the Sector V Treehouse. They spun a couple of the wheels around the outside, trying out each one until finally Wally got fed up and blasted the door open. He started shooting at the green fungi as well, but Abby stopped him, explaining that it wouldn't do any good. There was only one thing that could defeat that green nightmare and it wasn't fire.
They entered the hall, each of them freezing as soon as they saw what was before them. The amount of fungi had decreased, leaving only a few scattered across the floor and on the ceiling. However, splattered in green goop over the walls was a series of letters. While at first unidentifiable, when the team crossed the hall and looked at them from the other side, they were unmistakable.
Z
A flash of emotions ran though everyone's mind at the same time. Fuck. They found us. We're dead. But Abby, having just gotten a new burst of energy from the gum she was chewing, was calm. Perhaps Father's connections extended beyond the planet's atmosphere and those Teenz were the ones who had trashed their beloved Moon Base with this awful contamination. Her efforts to calm down the team were not met positively, however. Kuki awoke to the sound of Wally poking and prodding her. When she saw the wall, she screamed. Hoagie appeared to be on the verge of yet another panic attack. Having just discovered what was at stake for him personally, she knew that his paralysis wasn't going to do anything to help her mission.
Last time, they were lucky. Now, they were at even more of a disadvantage.
"Alright," she said. "Nobody panic."
"I'm panicking!" Kuki shouted. "I'm panicking real bad!"
"Wha- I said don't panic!"
"Wally!" Kuki glommed onto him. "Don't panic! Did you hear her? Try not to panic!"
Wally pushed her off gently. "Kuki. I'm not panicking."
Kuki folded her hands together. "You're not?" And then she waved her hands in the air. "Why not!"
"Because..." he looked at Abby. "She ain't panickin'." He stepped away from the group.
Hoagie grinned awkwardly. "I'm definitely panicking."
"I'm tellin' ya. There's nothin' to be afraid of-"
But then, Hoagie's light flickered out. It was only for a moment, but he managed to shake it back into working order. He had expected this to happen but was still surprised when it did. When the light finally did start working again, it wasn't long before the air rang with a nasty, ear-splitting wail. Kuki stood in the middle of the hall, turning over herself in a desperation as she felt the warmth from the body beside her disappear.
"Wally! H-h-he's gone. He vanished-" she quivered. "He was just here and now he's gone!"
Hoagie and Abby stood there stunned.
Abby made her way over to Kuki, picking up her hands, "It's alright, Kuki. I'm sure he's fine."
But Kuki was inconsolable. "I knew it! I knew we were being followed and you wouldn't believe me! My Wallybear's been kidnapped by the TEENZ!"
"He probably snuck off to find a toilet somewhere," She twisted her hat around. "The damned idiot. This is why I wanted y'all to stay in the ship."
"Don't worry, Kuki," Hoagie said with a soft smile. "We'll find him. We just gotta stick together." He pulled the S.C.A.M.P.P. around his shoulder, just in case.
The group walked around the hallway, but there was no sign of Wally. Abby, frustrated with the situation, marched ahead of the others. "Wally!"
"Wally?" Kuki followed. Hoagie joined.
"If this is some sorta prank you got a lotta nerve!" Abby snapped. "It ain't funny no more!"
Kuki walked forward only to be stopped by a drop of green goo, similar to that on the wall, dropping in front of her foot. Her body froze, paralyzed by the impending doom she knew was coming. Hoagie lifted the flashlight and lifted it up to the ceiling. His eyes widened with horror as Kuki let out another bone-chilling scream.
They found Wally.
He was strung up from his waist on the ceiling, the green fungi growing around him like moss on a tree. That same substance appeared to also be drooling out of his mouth and onto the floor. Kuki, still squealing, tried to reach up and grab for her boyfriend, only to be stopped by Abby almost instantly.
"We have to get him down from there!" she cried. She called out his name before finally settling into Abby's arms.
Hoagie stood with the flashlight on Wally's frozen body, petrified. "W-What happened to him?"
Abby's voice was urgent. "Take Kuki and go back to the ship. Now."
"We can't just leave him like this!"
"I gave you an order, Soldier! Now move!"
"No way!" Hoagie protested. "We have to stay together! You can barely breathe with those spores around!"
"You idiot! Don't you get it? This ain't no infestation! It's a biochemical attack!"
Snap. Snap snap s- The wires holding Wally above them snapped, allowing the body to fall to the ground. Hoagie flashed his light down, walking towards the body. The glow from the plants made it almost green, but it was hard to tell if that was from the light or his actual skin. Kuki tried to move, but Abby was only able to hold her back as she protested once more.
"It almost looks like..." Hoagie said, getting closer. "Like it's growing out of him."
"Why on earth would you say that!" Kuki shouted.
"That shadow you saw earlier..." Hoagie stated. "Maybe it wasn't the hamsters."
Kuki's face drained. "Y-You mean...there really could be a g-g-ghost?"
"There's no such thing as ghosts," Hoagie corrected her.
"Well a person couldn't turn my boyfriend green, could they?!" She snapped back. "It's a ghost. An alien ghost and it's gonna eat our brains!"
"That ain't the work of no ghost..." Abby released Kuki, her body slightly moving back and forth, as though she were losing energy. "He'll be fine so long as we get outta here in time-"
"You're not gonna do anything?" Hoagie protested.
"Just trust me," She moved off of Kuki and pushed her way towards the other end of the hallway. "There ain't nothin'...we can do about it right now..."
Kuki, who was still staring at the still body, couldn't stop the tears from streaming down her face. Hoagie held out his hand to her, holding a somewhat reassuring look. She took it, gripping as tightly as she could muster, still somewhat weak from getting close to his body.
The hallway seemed to stretch longer and longer as they wound their way along the metal tunnels. Kuki was quivering, huddling as close to Hoagie as she could while he himself had his eyes plastered forward. Abigail was acting strangely. He could tell. There was something odd about this entire thing. One thing he was certain of, they weren't alone on this space station. Was it a survivor? A potential ally maybe? But Abby's behavior seemed to suggest otherwise. It wasn't long before Kuki lost nearly all of her energy again and Hoagie had to carry her on his back.
"He's gonna be okay, right?" he asked.
"Of course. We can reverse the effects when we get back to the ship."
He paused. "Are you gonna be okay?"
Her gait had slowed significantly. "I'm a professional. This is part of the job." Hoagie maintained a pace about ten feet behind her, even though he could most likely surpass her at this point.
Suddenly, all of the lights flickered on. There was an emergency alarm, calling for a TEEN ALERT, similar to the one which was activated at the Treehouse. A large metal door slammed between Abby and the others, trapping her inside. She could hear them screaming and called out to them. Her hand slammed on door as she reached for her G.U.M.Z.O.O.K.A., but it didn't really do very much damage. The power went out again as she pounded on the door, screaming for her friends. After a while, they did not answer.
A green glow appeared at the top of the door and spreading like a wildfire continued to coat the metal in sickly green stalks. Abby backed away, unable to handle the intense pressure coming from her head and stomach. She called again, no answer. This time she was starting to panic. She fingered along the walls, trying to find a secret entrance or something. Finally, she found a panel which lead to a wire system. Even though the electricity was down, she could still get the light to spark if she had something. She called into the corridor, hoping that one of the hamsters would be listening. The tiny red light at the top of the door started to glow.
The door opened just enough to get through before getting stuck, but the green fungi was still blocking the entrance, like lattice on a fence. She called out to her friends once more, but there was nothing. She backed away, watching the fungi pulse like an organ. She shook her head. Nope. No way. She wasn't going to...but when they started to grow again, she realized she had no choice. There was only one thing that would defeat an evil this great, only one thing she could do.
She spit the gum onto the floor.
Inhaling, she braced herself before sinking her teeth into the side of the green stalk. She didn't swallow it, but the effect was still grotesque. Her stomach lurched, but she continued on until she created a small hole through which she could climb. As she squeezed her way through, spitting out the rest of the chewed-up muck, she watched as it disintegrated into a goopy mess. That in itself was enough to make her puke. She fired another gum ball into her mouth trying to get rid of the taste. It did not work very well. Her legs sprinted across the hallway, calling out into the darkness. The first thing she saw was the flashlight. It too had been completely overtaken by green fungus. She cringed, holding her stomach as she went forward. Then she found the S.P.I.C.E.R. gun and not long after that, Kuki's now green and paralyzed hand attached to it. Abby bent down to her friend, whose drool had also become green making a puddle on the floor.
The silence was broken by a small muffled noise coming from the other end of the door. Abby bit her lip, placed the G.U.M.Z.O.O.K.A. in a holster on her waist and picked up the S.P.I.C.E.R., blasting the open the other door. The muffling got louder as other sounds were slowly being introduced to the party. An annoyed grunt.
"Come on..."
She could hear a voice now. Words.
"Why...won't...it...work!"
Abby followed the noises until she saw a tall, thin figure standing over a bigger, wider one. Its hand seemed to be grabbing chunks of the fungi and shoving it into the other person's mouth.
"Hey!" Abby put her weapon into position as she entered the scene. The figure stopped. She slowed her breathing. "Drop him."
The tall figure froze, standing upright and looking at Abby. It was wearing a long black jumpsuit with armored shoulder and knee pads and a helmet which covered its face. Abby felt herself getting weaker now, her knees wanting to buckle and collapse, but she stayed firm. The figure picked up another piece from the floor. When the other figure tried to speak, the stalk went right back in its mouth, shutting it up.
"Don't think I won't blast that helmet right off your head," Abby growled, her voice steadier. "Cree."
The figure pressed a button on the side of her helmet, as it opened. "Baby Sister."
"I knew it couldn'ta been the TEENZ when I saw Numbuh 4's body," she said coldly. "And when Numbuh 3 looked the same, I confirmed it. They wouldn'ta left behind any evidence. But you never took prisoners, did you?"
"True." Cree jeered. "That hat's a bit small on you."
Abby grimaced back at her. "You planted this."
"I wish I could say I did," her older sister said. "But it was already growing when I got here. It turned out to be just what I needed to gain the upper hand." She pulled out a hamster, who was quivering in her tight grip. "Along with this little guy." She turned angrily towards her first victim, who was still working on swallowing the last part of the fungi. "And then there's you." She lifted him up by his jacket.
Hoagie, who still had not been affected by the contamination much to Cree's dismay, sat staring at the woman before him. His heart was palpitating faster than he could think. Her eyes, her hair, her flawless skin. Everything about her was captivating, like he had seen her in a dream somewhere.
She shook him. "Why aren't you getting weaker?"
Hoagie blushed. "I'm definitely weak in the knees..." he said as he laughed nervously.
Cree, clearly annoyed by this, pulled out a long green stick. "That was 90% pure broccoli! How are you still awake?"
"I'm not sure I am awake..." he whispered. She snapped the green stick in half and started to shove it in his face. "No! Wait! I'm allergic to asparagus- Giant rash, itchy butt, and I'm part of the 30% of the population that gets smelly pee after they eat it and you don't want to do deal with that-"
"Oh my god, shut up!" Cree shouted, shoving the stick in his mouth.
"Omkmh..." Hoagie tried to say 'okay' with his mouth full of asparagus.
Abby tightened her grip. "Cree."
Hoagie swallowed. "It's okay Abigail. I feel perfectly-" WHACK. Cree slammed her elbow straight into a pressure point on his neck. He collapsed immediately.
She wiped her brow. "Should have done that ages ago."
"Why are you here?" Abby asked, not lowering her weapon. She knew she had to remain vigilant if she was going to make it out of this one.
"I could ask you the same question."
Abby loosened her grip. "Cree listen..."
"I thought we were finally on the same page about things!" she snapped. "That you were finally on my side!"
"I'm sor-"
"You lied to me!" she shouted. "You're still working for them!"
"You're still working for Father."
"Father isn't evil. He wants a better world for everyone."
"A better world for the Adults..." Abby whispered under her breath.
"The world is mostly Adults," Cree reminded her. "Nearly two thirds of the population are. But no. Make the world for kids who don't work, who don't do anything to make the world a better place! Who just sit there and whine and cry and ask to be taken care of."
"That's messed up, Cree..." Abby stated. "That's messed up and you know it's messed up!"
"No, you know what's messed up?" Cree hissed. "An organization who decides who gets to have a childhood and who doesn't. A system which discriminates against aging and tells you you're worthless once you're over the age of 13."
"That ain't fair," Abby snapped back. "Teens were betrayin' kids. Child labor laws were barely enforced. Our own agents were sold into slavery! It had to end, Cree! Just cause you weren't picked for promotion you think that we're some sort of brainwashing evil organization but we're not! We did what we had to do to survive!"
"Jesus! When are you finally going to grow up?" Cree walked up to her sister. "You're a teenager! You're not one of them! You can't be one of them! You! Maurice! You all take me for some kind of idiot! But I'm not the fool here, Abby."
"You don't know anything..."
"You're their little puppet and as soon as they're done with you they'll just toss you aside. I know these things, Abigail. You know why? I'm older than you. I have more experience than you!" She looked down at Hoagie. "And now you've dragged them back into it. When are you going to realize that your actions have consequences?"
"Me? I'm not the one who poisoned them!"
"They're innocent people who you pulled into this conflict, so you could go on this, what, excursion? To feel like you're a kid again? You're not a kid. You're a fucking Adult." She pointed behind her. "And those people who you call your friends, your TND or whatever it is, they're not gonna give two shits about these teenagers. Ex-operatives or not, Abby. You have no idea what they're capable of. I do." She sighed, lowering her arm. "Father has sent out a warrant for your arrest. How do you think that makes Mom and Dad feel? Did you even think about them before doing this?"
Abby lowered her weapon. "You can't make feel guilty. It won't work."
Cree frowned. "I'm not here to arrest you, Abby. I'm here to take you home."
"I'm not going anywhere with you," she spat.
"You can't go after Nigel," Cree replied. "I know that's what you're doing. You'll be followed. You'll start a war."
"Why do you care?" Abby felt as though she were spitting acid. Her stomach starting to twist. "I thought you Adults liked wars. Wars. Wars. Wars."
"Just shut up and listen," Cree stated. "You think you're gonna waltz right up to their front door and they'll welcome you with open arms, but they won't. Nigel got rid of the Kids Next Door on Earth. Every operative. He doesn't care what happens to this planet anymore..."
"You're wrong." Abby shook her head. She gripped the S.P.I.C.E.R. tightly in her hand. "He's just lost. I can help him. I know I can."
"No, Abby, you can't." Cree said. "Because you're the one who's lost."
She scoffed.
"It's been seven years. Has he even called you lately? Messaged? When was the last time you actually talked to him?" Cree asked. Abby didn't answer. "You're gonna ruin your life over a kid who doesn't give a fuck about you!"
That was it. Abby lifted the gun and fired, but Cree beat her to it, with a faster and more superior gun. The S.P.I.C.E.R. was shot out of her hand, thankfully still intact.
"I won't sit by and let this happen," Cree said walking forward. Abby tried to pull out her second weapon, but her reflexes where slow due to the broccoli. "You can't win, Abby. Not here. I know how you react to Vegetables." Cree kneed her sister in the stomach and slammed her against the wall, the gun pointed at her head. "I'll take you back. I'll keep you safe and hidden and as far away from the G:KND as possible. And then you'll see. You'll finally understand..."
Abby grabbed a stalk of broccoli from the wall and shoved it in Cree's face. She grabbed the small device that Cree was using to breath and yanked on it, taking the G.U.M.Z.O.O.K.A. from her waist holder and firing a hard gumball into it. With a knee to the shins, she broke off and started running the opposite direction.
"Abby!" Cree called after her, coughing. Her body was beginning to weaken. "Oh. You are in so much trouble." Abby panted, running up as fast as she could, with Cree right behind. She disappeared into the darkness as Cree followed her. When the older sister arrived at the next room, everything was pitch black. She could hear squeaking coming from below her, rodents starting to run up her legs. She screamed, hoping back and forth. "Ew! Get off of me! Get off! You little...Abigail!"
Then the lights turned on, and Cree was too busy with the rodents to notice Abby's feet swinging from the ceiling into her stomach, knocking her into a hole in the wall. Abby's breathing was getting heavier as she walked up to the "hole", slamming her hand on a red button. A glass wall started to rise between her and Cree. Cree realized what was happening too late and slammed into the glass, unable to escape.
"Sorry, Sis," Abby said, patting her head. "But I can't play with you right now."
"Abby..." Cree watched in horror as her sister placed her hand on another button outside of the door. "Abby, stop! You're making a huge mistake!"
"I'll tell Nigel you said hi," she said quietly.
"You can't. Abby. You'll die out there-" Tears accumulated in her eyes. Something Abby hadn't seen from her sister in a long, long time. "Please."
"Goodbye, Cree."
She pressed the button, sending the hole further out into space. Cree, having realized that she was now in a space pod and not just a glass prison, pounded on the wall. Abby felt a tinge of remorse as her sister was rocketed off into space, disappearing into a spec of light, indistinguishable from a star. She whispered the words "I'm sorry" before she made her way down a paralleled hallway, this time to the Moon Base's main control center. She looked down at her feet as the hamsters who had helped her win were smiling at her.
"Thanks," she said with a smile. "I owe you one."
The hamsters looked at each other proudly.
"Actually," she said. "There is somethihn' you could do for me."
Abby pushed through the door, stepping one foot at a time as though her feet were trudging through mud. The air was getting thicker, her vision starting to blur. She could see patches of green out of the corner of her eye, radiating as it continued to crawl over the walls. The spores had set off a chain reaction alright, one that would eventually spread the poisonous greens all around the base. Sweat poured down her body, the urge to collapse getting stronger with each step. Biting her finger for stability, she was able to make it to the computer.
If she could just hold on for a little longer. Another surge hit her as she hunched over the keys. Her shaky fingers reached toward the keyboard, turning on the machine. The light from the screen flashed into her eyes, too bright for her current condition. She pulled the microphone towards her the second the main loading screen appeared.
"Activate S.L.I.N.G.S.H.O.T.," she heaved, her body attempting to spew out more than just words.
"Activating S.L.I.N.G.S.H.O.T..." the screen showed back to her. A great peace came over her body as she sank down. Her feet dragged along the floor, her muscles eventually losing their strength. Before she could fall, she scuttled over to the wall. Her stomach churned once again, the fumes starting to move into her head. It was as though all she could see was green. She shook her head and began edging against the wall towards the exit. Her chest rose and fell, searching for fresh air, but it was no use. She was halfway through the hallway before she had to stop. Hairs started to stick to the side of her face. She took the last piece of gum from her weapon and put it in her mouth. It was much easier now to move down the stairs with the hamsters turning back on the electricity.
She made it to the ship where her friends had been graciously moved by the hundreds of little helpers. They were only able to get them outside onto the landing bay, but that was fine. They were also gracious enough to have returned the flashlight and the S.P.I.C.E.R. which had been lost during the battle. Hoagie had woken up before they had reached him and helped Abby carry the other two onto the ship. Abby opened the bag of food and brought out everything she could. Chips. Candy. Chocolate. They were out of soda, but that would have to wait. She fed the items to Wally and Kuki, who regained color almost immediately.
"Oh man, what happened?" Wally asked, scratching his head.
Kuki awoke next. She saw her boyfriend and squealed with delight, overjoyed that he was safe and sound. Abby herself was devouring sugar left and right, trying to get that broccoli out of her system.
"Khlorophyll," she told them.
Hoagie was confused. "The chemical that makes the plants green?"
Abby nodded. "It's a poison. Different types do different things, but broccoli is one of the worst. Sugar is the one way to dilute the effects. Like...addin' an acid to a base to regulate ph levels. And yeah, it can also turn plants green."
"Vegetables!" Wally said. "Are you kiddin' me? Now I gotta be afraid of bloody vegetables!"
Abby flew the ship to the giant portal in the sky, which did in fact look like a slingshot. She entered the coordinates to take them to the exact center of the universe, which she was able to calculate based on her minimal knowledge of outer space. However, the broccoli had already begun to spread to the outer limits of the Moon Base, sprouting on even the grey sand and moon craters. The portal started to spark. Just a few more seconds, she thought. The broccoli spread onto the sides of the S.L.I.N.G.S.H.O.T. More sparks flew.
"Abby..." Kuki said, worried.
"Just a bit more..." she whispered. The pressure was causing her to black out again. "Hang on!"
The rubber-band like structure pulled the ship backwards, but something was wrong. The electricity flew in every direction, almost blinding the teens. They strapped into their chairs once more, terrified of what was going to happen to them. The screen flashed red.
ERROR
ERROR
ERROR
Before they could think twice, they were flung into space. They blinked. Everything was perfectly still. It was as though they had imagined themselves there. They unstrapped themselves.
"We did it!" Kuki exclaimed. "We're here!"
But as they looked around, they couldn't see much of anything.
"Abby," Wally asked. "We're here, aren't we?"
But Abby was unresponsive. Her head lay flat against the dashboard. Hoagie tried to wake her up, but it was no use. She was out cold. In the distance, there was a purple planet, which appeared to be gaseous. Hovering in its orbit sat a grey dot which appeared to be a space station. They let the ship drift over to it, an unknown symbol-based language printed on the side.
No one appeared to be going in or out.
"So...where exactly are we?" Wally asked.
"We're fucked, Wally." Kuki replied. "We're totally fucked."
Abby sat up, regaining consciousness. Her face was still discolored. She heaved, her body leaning over to one side, green, gloppy vomit spilling all over the floor.
END TRANSMISSION