How on Earth: Chapter 5

As Nigel walked forward, with Rachel and her security team only a few steps behind, he tried to compose himself. He stood straight and tall, although the barefooted boy's position as prisoner was obvious with the scuffs and bruises on his skin, his slightly skewed sunglasses, the crumpled clothes that covered his small form and the ropes binding his hands behind his back. He still managed to walk with a dignified, defiant air. He made sure he was a few steps ahead of his captors. His posture seemed to be a silent promise to all who watched that he wasn't ready to surrender yet.

The first to notice him were the final stragglers trying to get into the Convention Center. They paused and stared at him in surprise. He looked at some of them, already recognizing far too many for his comfort. It was only when he felt Rachel gently pushing him that he realized he had stopped walking. He moved a little faster than before until he entered the building.

They stepped through the door. Everyone in the building was staring at the tall pillar of shadow who was speaking to them about something. Despite the fact that he was speaking loud enough that his voice echoed throughout the whole room, Nigel didn't hear a word he said. Contradictory to his calm outward demeanor, everything inside was in such turmoil that it seemed to mute senses of the world around him.

That wasn't the case for long, though. As he continued forward, he became aware that eyes were watching him. At first, just a few, but soon there were more. He felt a couple people reach out and try to agify him but when they saw it had no effect, they stepped back. A path started to open in the middle of the crowd of villains, the space filled by the sound of their whispers.

He was about a quarter of the way across the room when the people at the front noticed that something was happening. Many in the crowd tried to stand on the tips of their toes in order to see what it was. Most of them failed, as the pain of trying reminded them of the new affliction of arthritis that had settled into their joints.

Finally, Grandfather looked over at the figures that had just entered the building from his position on the stage. Nigel felt the weight of the old man's yellow eyed stare fall upon him. He pulled his own gaze from the audience and glared back, trying to put every bit of anger and defiance into it them that they held whenever he faced Father.

Almost everyone in the room expected Grandfather to blow his top in fury. Not only had a child been brought into his presence but the kid had the nerve to look him in the eye, rather than be cowed by the powerful man's presence. Many actually looked forward to the sight of Numbuh One being put in his place by the ancient, powerful being.

Instead, a look of open curiosity spread across the old man's face. "Well, well. What do we have here?" He asked as they closed the distance to the stage.

"A problem Grandfather." Rachel stated.

"Oh really?" He said in tone indicating he was only giving her a small portion of his attention as he examined the child she'd brought with her.

"Yes, this child, Nigel Uno was attempting to launch the Moon Base at the Earth; no doubt you were the target."

"So that's what Monty was planning," Grandfather said, sounding quite amused. "He always was quite creative." The old man came to the edge of the stage "but you've obviously dealt with the situation," he stated as he glanced toward Rachel before returning his gaze to Nigel. "And you've even saved me the trouble of having to find my grandson."

At this statement, the crowd of villains started to talk excitedly among themselves. Nigel Uno, Numbuh One of the KND, was Grandfathers grandson. There were statements ranging all the way from "I can't believe it" to "well that figures." The noise from the crowd echoed throughout the building, getting louder by the second. Nigel simply wondered how the old man recognized him considering that, before this day, they'd never even been in the same room together.

"Silence!" Grandfather yelled, causing the ground to tremble and the talking stopped.

Then, to Nigel, he stated, "Sorry for ignoring you earlier, if I'd known who you were, I would have given you much more of my attention. I might even have let you watch with me as my powers changed all the tree houses into Tapioca Factories."

Before Nigel could make a comment on just how little he'd have appreciated the view, Rachel stated, rather frankly, "If you think that just because we stopped Nigel from launching the moon base that he couldn't cause any more trouble, you really don't know your family at all."

"Excuse me?" The words came out almost as a growl as he glared at the Citizombie who'd accompanied Nigel into the building.

"Using some technology that had just been completed only moments before the Kids Next Door's defeat, he counteracted the effects of your powers on his sector…"

"What?!" the old man shrieked as he looked at her.

She continued as if he hadn't interrupted her, "And helped them escape the base when I arrived with backup to rectify the situation. We tried to turn him into a Citizombie but he was able to resist our aging attempts, for reasons of which I'm sure you are well aware of. We have search parties looking for his teammates but they haven't been apprehended yet."

He looked back at the boy again, his smile gone. Nigel now had a smirk of his own; he enjoyed seeing that his actions had gotten to his older relative. "What's the matter, Grandpa? Situation not dealt with as well as you thought? I'm guessing dad got away too, considering I haven't seen him yet." Nigel's grin grew wider as he said, "you know, from the stories I'd heard about you and from what I've seen from Father, I always thought you'd be a bit more… thorough with your work."

At that moment, the room had become so silent that a person could have heard a pin drop.

"You better stop now, boy," the old man said in a dangerously low voice, causing the ground to rumble ever so slightly as he spoke.

Nigel was scared but he wasn't about to let it show. "Why? It's not like it'll make a difference. Whatever you have planned, it's going to happen whether I behave like you want me to or openly express how I really feel about this mess you've made."

"True," the old man said as he came off the stage and floated in front of his Grandson, taking up a position where it looked like he was laying on air as he came to eye level with the boy, "but I wouldn't threaten to place you over my knee and give you a good spanking first," he said, quietly enough that only the boy could hear it.

Nigel lifted an eyebrow as he stated loud enough to be heard, "it wouldn't be the first time a villain did that. Count Spankulot's got it down to an art form. Besides, are you really going to fall back on the first major form of punishment our family is known for? I mean, come on, that move is what, roughly five centuries old now?"

The old man was now caught between anger and confusion. "And how do you know that? I haven't passed the old family journals on yet."

"You'd be surprised what's in the KND archives."

Grandfather just looked at the boy thoughtfully for a few moments. Nigel suspected that he was doing it to make him nervous and it was working. Finally, the old man stated, "You know, despite having your dad's eyes, I don't think you have his personality. He was never very interested in the past and he certainly wouldn't call a spanking a minor threat. Clearly, I need to take a new approach."

For a few moments, the old man continued to study the boy. Then he smiled again and chuckled, startling the child. It only got worse when the silhouetted monster grabbed the boy with one hand and lifted him off the ground as he returned to standing position.

"So," Grandfather began, "you think you've succeeded in a major accomplishment by freeing a few friends of yours, do you?" He sat down on the edge of the stage, which was the perfect height from the ground to act like a seat for his tall, silhouetted form. "I'll admit," he continued as he placed Nigel down beside him on his left, "I am impressed that you managed to get to the moon and even upon failing to go through with crashing it into me, come up with a fallback plan." He made hand gestures as he talked to emphasize his words.

Nigel watched, still having to look up at Grandfather, despite the sitting position the senior Uno had taken. He was able to tell that the old man liked being the center of attention. Everyone in the room was trying to get into a position where they could get a good view of what was happening. He was clearly building up to something. That much was obvious. The child doubted the old man would freely throw praise, especially so shortly after being insulted.

"But you shouldn't let it go to your head." He continued, "Your efforts won't make a difference in the long run. Your friends will be recaptured, their equipment will be destroyed and they will succumb to my powers again."

"No, my team will find a way to stop you," Nigel stated with much more confidence in his voice than he actually felt. It had hardly been four hours since the old man had regained his powers and the situation already looked pretty bleak. On the other hand, his dad was still free, too. That was something, wasn't it? "With Dad's help, they'll be able to come up with a plan."

"Really," Grandfather said in a skeptical, mocking tone, "do you think so? Look around," he said, gesturing to the audience. Nigel followed the gesture and felt a wave of misery wash over him as he viewed the crowd. Many of the people at the front of the room were big time villains whom he had faced on multiple occasions, dangerous opponents who had never quit, no matter what the KND had done. Now they were wrinkly old things whom were loyal to the monster seated beside him.

"This is how it is everywhere." The old man continued as Nigel's gaze fell on Rachel, whom refused to look at him. Rachel, who fought so hard for freedom had even fallen under this tyrants spell. Nigel's anger started to fight to the surface, warring with fear and depressions as he listened to Grandfather speak. "There may be a few pockets where people are still beyond my reach. A child hidden under a bed here, a few teenagers who've locked themselves in a room to there, maybe even a person or two that are as old as my Citizombies blending in at a BINGO game somewhere but they won't last long. This is my world, now. They're just trapped in it, same as you."

Nigel allowed his anger at the old man to rise to the forefront of his mind. He looked at the mess Grandfather had made. How dare he blow away every ones lives for his stupid, disgusting tapioca factories which blotted out the sky and poisoned the very air they breathed. What makes him think he has the right to strip every one of their youth and freedom? He held to this line of thinking, trying to block out the thoughts niggling at the back of his mind about how hopeless the situation seemed.

Nigel was jostled from his thoughts when he felt the weight of Grandfather's large hand fall across his left shoulder and upper back. He looked into the old man's glowing yellow orbs and felt his fear bubbling up again, though his anger still held sway. He attempted to shrug the hand off his shoulders but failed miserably. The next words the old man said really caught him off guard though.

"But not to worry, you won't share their fate. After all, you are MY grandson." At this, sounds of disappointment rang out from the audience, along with a few boos and hisses, which fell silent as the old man picked one of the louder objectors and shot him a burning glare, literally.

"And, now that I think about it, I owe you my gratitude. After all, you did play a large role in the reawakening of my powers." If his last comment surprised the child, this one broadsided him. A reminder of the role he'd played in this mess was the last thing he'd ever wanted. He looked at the floor, unable to stand seeing the old man's sneer, "I mean if you hadn't decided to jump in on your uncle's speech, he might not have gotten the chance to awaken me before he had that recommissioning device taken away from him. For goodness sake, how many times have you lot thwarted his plans anyway?"

Despite all attempts of self-control, Nigel felt himself begin to tremble under Grandfather's grip. All of this might have been avoided if he had worked with the Supreme Leader to come up with a plan, rather than rush in and try to deal with the situation on his own. He'd have probably been back in the tree house right now with his friends, urging them to write out their mission reports as they talked about the shocked looks on the Villains faces when they defeated them. At the image of the normalcy that could have been, Nigel felt a tear roll down his face.

A tendril from Grandfathers Silhouette reached under Nigel's chin and forced it up so that the boy had no choice but to look into the face of the ancient being sitting beside him. Nigel could tell he was reaching the climax of his big speech. He looked pleased with himself but there was something more in that look.

Then, upon seeing that Nigel had actually started crying, the look was replaced with a genuinely melancholy expression. Grandfather rubbed his thumb along Nigel's back in what seemed like a comforting gesture as he said. "You know, you're the first family member who's actually been raised in a way that has encouraged you to see it as a shameful thing to help restore an evil relative to power, let alone be acknowledged for it." The old man shook his head, "It's actually quite sad."

Nigel personally didn't care about what the standard child on his dad's side of the family was like. He was far more focused on the here and now, where he was being put on display in front of most of the world's villains for the second time today because of his mistake. He tried to shrug the old man's hand off again, with an equal level of failure as the first attempt.

"Even Monty's rebellious attitude would have been easily correctable, if I hadn't been stripped of my powers," He stated, thumb stopping again. "There is actually a long record of children in our family having a rowdy stage that they go through. Usually, they were stopped by older family members. Your dad is only the exception to the rule because he had that stupid book."

"Despite your rearing, Nigel, you come from a long line of the world's greatest evil villains." Nigel felt fear sink its own cold tendrils into his mind as an idea about what Grandfather might be planning began to form, one he wasn't sure he wanted to acknowledge. The silhouetted figure carried on, making rapid gestures with his free hand as he did so, "I'll be honest, when he wrecked my tapioca factory and stood against me, I didn't think he'd have the equipment to back up his behavior and I paid the price for that. I lost my powers, my memories and my kingdom." He paused for a moment before asking, as a wicked smile reappeared on his face and his grip on Nigel's shoulder tightened, "but do you know what would have happened to him if didn't use that device at the last second?"

It took a moment before Nigel realized Grandfather actually wanted an answer from him. "You were going to use your powers to blast him."

The old man's smugness returned in full as he responded, "Yes, but what this blast would do was very special." He summoned one of the very rings of energy that Nigel had heard about in the tales of how Numbuh Zero defeated him, around the hand that held the boy in place, its diameter just inches away from the child. A look of horror crossed Nigel's face as he felt his fears had been confirmed.

"I'm going to set things right and make sure this family gets back on track," Grandfather stated above the noise made by the energy spinning around the child he held in place.

"No," Nigel yelled, terrified. The old man's grip on him tightened uncomfortably. For the first time the boy gave his grandparent a pleading look and begged over the sound of the whirling energy, "not this, please! Anything but this!"

"And I'm going to start right now," he continued as if he couldn't see or hear the child's begging, "by activating the dormant powers that you have inherited through my rebellious son," He finished and allowed the ring to collapse inward on the child.

Nigel was instantly immersed in so much pain that he became unaware of anything else. Every inch of his body, which glowed as Grandfathers had when he was first reawakened, felt like it was on fire. This was was actually the case but instead of being destroyed by the flames, as anyone else would have been, his body absorbed them. The energy leeched into every part of him, awakening a force that had always been sleeping there, unnoticed by its owner simply because it was as natural as any of his organs. Now this part made itself known.

If Grandfather hadn't been holding him, he would have collapsed into a heap on the floor, much like his ropes, which were now a burning pile on the stage. As it was, the ancient being scooped him up with more tenderness than any would have thought him capable of and held him in his arms, as if he were an infant, rather than a ten year old child. For once, the old man's awareness of the crowd seemed to fall away completely, the only thing of importance being the child in his grasp.

After a few moments, the severe pain Nigel felt subsided, leaving behind comfortable warmth which caused his exhausted body to relax. For a few seconds, he was lucid enough to feel angry, scared and hurt by what had just happened. Aware enough to know he had been turned into one of the creatures that haunted his worst nightmares, as well as those of every child in the Kids Next Door. He shot an angry look at the person who had just hurt him so much.

Then the urge to sleep fell over him, pushing aside all other thoughts including where he was and what was going on around him. Even those of the person holding him, the horrible pain he had just endured and what it all meant lost their importance in comparison. The last thing he saw before his eyes closed was shadow covering his body, cloaking it in blackness which was as dark as that of the being that held him.

"Sir?" A voice called out from the crowd.

Grandfather looked up from the boy he was cradling gently to see that it was Mr. Boss who had spoken, once again becoming aware that he was still on stage in front of a crowd of people. "What?" He asked, sounding annoyed.

"I know the kid's your grandson but don't you think giving him powers right now is dangerous?"

The old man shook his head, "Surely you don't think the boy's going to wake up with his body instantly adjusted to his powers and his abilities and skills suddenly at their full potential, do you?"

"How should we know?"

"That was a rhetorical question you fool!" Grandfather rolled his eyes. Powers take years to master. Furthermore, there were ways to keep the child in line, especially during the first year or so. No, Grandfather wasn't worried about his grandson being a threat at all. The only way anything could go wrong was if the child was left to his own devices or perhaps under only Monty's influence. The old man was determined to make sure that wouldn't be the case.

His thoughts were interrupted as a device started beeping Number Three Sixty Two's pocket. She picked up what looked like a 90s cell phone and said, "This had better be important," as everyone in the room glared at her. Not only had she spoken rudely to Grandfather earlier but now she was holding an object that resisted his powers to some extent simply because nothing like it had existed in his youth. Her eyes narrowed and she glanced back at Grandfather, "yes. I understand. I'll tell him. Carry on." With that, she shut the flip phone and put it back in her pocket.

"Sector V's tree house is operational and they have applied the anti-aging technology to their artillery. We've lost a few ships, some have crashed and others have been reverted to their natural state. Sector V is holding their ground. It looks like the Kids Next Door has risen again." She glanced at the boy in his hands, "It's your grandson's security system that's protecting them." This was really her way of saying that Nigel's already causing problems for them.

"Well, I suppose I should to give your troops a hand then." Grandfather said, stood up with the child still tucked carefully in his grip and created two duplicates of himself.

"I'd like you to stay and deal with our current issue here," he stated to one of them, pointing in the direction where that stupid, indestructible Book of KND was hidden from view. The thing was still one piece, despite multiple attempts to shred and burn the bloody thing before and during his flight earlier. "You can also take care of any other matters that might cross your mind."

"Like gathering information on what's happened while you've been without powers?" the duplicate queried.

"Exactly," he said before turning to the other duplicate. "And you, Tell Monty about his son. Heck, if you can, tear down that tree house, deal with the brats, get him and bring him back to our old home."

"With pleasure," the duplicate stated with an evil grin on his face.

"Why does he get the fun task?" The first one whined.

The original glared at the cranky copy as the other duplicate stuck his tongue out at him before flying over the audience and making a hole in the wall beside the door as he made his exit. "What does it matter?" He asked as he readjusted his unconscious grandchild so that he had a better grip on him. "You're both part of me anyway. You'll know as soon as I recall you."

"But he gets to put a bunch of little kids in their place and bring Monty home for a visit while I have to stay here, doing business and dealing with a children's book. Hey, I know," the duplicate stated as he leaned in toward the being he resembled, "I'll take Nigel off your hands so that you can stay here and work."

The other being positioned himself so that he blocked his doppelganger's view of the smaller silhouetted form in his grasp as he said, "maybe I should just get rid of you and summon another duplicate to do this."

"I'm you. He'd have the same personality as us and you'd have to start this argument all over again."

"You're going to stay here!" The original yelled, causing the ground to tremble, the crowd to flinch and the child in his arms to mumble in his powers induced sleep.

"Okay, I'll stay here," he said, distancing himself from the other figure. "No need to scream at me about it."

Grandfather glanced at his scared audience of obedient slaves and said, "Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going home for the evening."

With that, the Evil Ruler of the World flew out of the hole he had made in the ceiling earlier that day, taking his grandchild with him.