A/N: Sorry for the delay for chapter 2, for many technical reasons I couldn't upload it until around three minutes ago. So, anyways, here's chapter three, where the intrigue, etc. will begin. Enjoy!

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Two days passed before the team's next significant mission spat out of the fax machine from IHQ. It seemed a local ice cream shop was being demolished only to be replaced by, horror of horrors to any kid under 13, a dentist's office. Numbuh 1 cringed just reading it, and called the team to the common area.

"Ugh," 2 murmured in disgust, "How low can ya' get? Destroyin' a perfectly good ice cream shop for a-" he shuddered, "DENTIST'S office."

"Low enough to require intervention, Numbuh 2," 1 responded solemnly.

"So what's the plan, Numbuh 1?" .19 said, leaning forward in her seat in the round of couches. The rest of the team too looked at their leader.

"The plan is to keep the demolition vehicles from every reaching their destination. We'll head them off in Numbuh 2's new armored tank, driven by .19 with the assistance of 2 and 3, while 5, 4, and I will neutralize the vehicles. Any questions?" The team had none, and so at the sound of 1's stirring cry of, "Kids Next Door, MOVE OUT!" the six sprang to action.

:::

The sun shone brightly over the mountainous region in which the battle was to take place. From a mile away one could have heard the rumbling of the massive wrecking ball and two backhoes as they traversed the narrow highway cut into the side of a particular mountain. In fact, their cacophony was so loud they never heard the wood/metal hybrid tank come up behind them, let alone the near silent hang-gliders that swooped above.

"Ha ha!" 4 shouted into the small microphone placed by his mouth, "These chumps'll neva' know what hit 'em! Let's rock 'n roll, Numbuh 1!"

The Brit, along with all the other Kids Next Door, winced as his teammate's loud words caused his earpiece to shriek painfully, "Yes, Numbuh 4, in a moment," he said curtly. Then to .19 in the tank, "Numbuh .19, are you a go in there?"

The teenager shifted a few of the many levers that operated the tank as 2 and 3 loaded missiles into the cannons that poked out like straws from either side of the tank, "Aye aye, cap'n," she replied with an unseen salute before pulling down a wooden periscope to check her direction. Her legs were terribly cramped in the cabin of the tank, and the vehicle's tread left something to be desired. .19 could barely see out of the periscope for the tank's violent bouncing along the uneven highway.

"Numbuh 2?" .19 called into the tank's belly.

The heavy boy carefully walked to the tank's front, leaving 3 to finish loading the missiles "Yeah?"

"Could ya' keep an eye out of the periscope, okay? I'm having a hard enough time steering this beast without losing an eye trying to keep position."

2 glanced back to 3 and saw her give him the thumbs-up from inside her green sweater, the missiles were ready, "Yeah, sure." He squinted into the periscope, flicking at its controls to widen his view, "Oh wow! They're really goin' at it up there!"

He was right. 1 had given the command to attack the enemy vehicles. He himself went after the two smaller backhoes, while 4 and 5 he sent together to take out the immense wrecking ball. Reaching into his backpack, he pulled out two Molotov cocktail-like homemade explosives and positioned himself above the first backhoe.

"Numbuh 1 in position," he stated into his microphone, "Releasing explosives." Just after letting go of the small canisters, he couldn't stop himself from shouting, "Bombs away!"

"No kiddin', boss," came 5's apathetic response, "Now hurry up wid dose baby thangs and help us out wid dis wreckin' ball."

1 smiled despite Numbuh 5's lack of enthusiasm and quickly dispatched the second backhoe with another batch of explosives. The two flaming wrecks halted on the shoulders of the highway. Numbuh 1 banked to the left and circled around to join the fray. 5 and 4 were swooping madly to avoid what appeared to be missiles of being fired from inside the wrecking ball. One of the enemy projectiles hit the side of the mountain just as Numbuh 4 glided out of the way. A burst of white-hot flame left a smoking black stain on the rock.

"What in the world?!" 1 cried as he suddenly found himself being fired upon, "They're not supposed to have missiles!"

"You're tellin' me!" Numbuh 4 gripped as he glanced around his glider for damage.

"What do we do, Numbuh 1?!" 5 cried as she too narrowly avoided incineration by the fiery missiles.

".19, 2, 3," Numbuh 1 shouted into his mouthpiece, "We need cover NOW!!"

"Got it!" 2 said as he watched from the periscope.

"What's happening?!" asked Numbuh 3 fearfully. She wrenched open the hatch in the tank's ceiling, revealing the dogfight above them, "Oh no!"

Numbuh 2 turned from the periscope, and just as he did one of the backhoes' gas tanks exploded, sending debris flying into the air. A piece struck the top of the periscope, making it suddenly turn, and smartly strike Numbuh 2 in the back of the head. The boy slumped to the tank's floor, knocked unconscious.

"Numbuh 2?" .19 said from her frantic pulling on the controls to compensate for the explosion, "Numbuh 2?!"

"Numbuh 2's hurt!" cried 3.

"What?!" .19 shouted, "I don't know how to fire the missiles, Numbuh 3!"

"Well I don't either!" the Asian girl replied with growing anxiety. She bent over the cataleptic boy, "Numbuh 2? Oh, wake up, Numbuh 2! We need you!" She shook him by the shoulders, but he stayed firmly out for the count.

.19 searched among the controls for any sign of a way to fire the missiles. There were several different buttons and switches among the levers, but none seemed too likely a choice for weaponry. Suddenly she remembered her mouthpiece, "Numbuh 1, Numbuh 1," she said into it, "2's hurt, he can't fire the missiles. You're gonna have to walk me through it."

"What? Whoa-" Numbuh 1 just barely avoided another missile. He'd hoped that eventually the enemy would run out of ammunition, but the onslaught had only worsened. Machine gun fire joined the fireballs; chasing the three Kids Next Door like a cat chases a mouse.

"2's hurt," .19 repeated, "Tell me how to fire the missiles."

"2's hurt?!" 1 said incredulously, "Uh, yes, alright. The missiles, um..." He tried to think back to when Numbuh 2 and he had discussed the tank's schematics.

"Anytime, Numbuh 1," .19 said impatiently, "Unless you're enjoying your little ass-whooping up there."

"Uh, right, the firing mechanism should be a small, round button near the- um- bottomlefthandcorner!" he spat out the rest just as he ducked another fireball.

"Gotcha," .19 said and searched the area for a small, round button. There were several to choose from, "Oh great- 3? How's Numbuh 2 doin' back there?"

The Asian girl was using her sleeve to fan 2's face, "Not good," she replied, her face full of concern, "We gotta get him out of here, now!" .19 noticed the sleeve that cradled Numbuh 2's injured head was black with blood.

"Oh," the teenager whispered. She turned back to the controls and, picking the button in the lowest, farthest left corner, started frantically pushing it again and again. Nothing happened. She continued to push it, "Um, Numbuh 1? As you can probably tell, nothing's happening!"

1 swooped low above the tank, peering through the still open hatch door, "No, no!" he cried, "Press down HARD on the button, not a lot of little pushes!" But by that time it was too late. Numbuh 4's, 5's, and his glider had taken heavy hits from the wrecking ball's fire and 3 had just told him over her own microphone that 2 was in bad shape and needed to get back to the treehouse for care. He couldn't keep subjecting his team to this punishment. He balled up his fists and harshly shouted into the microphone, "Kids Next Door, retreat!"

Numbuh 4 and 5 both glanced at each other and their leader before turning their tattered gliders from the wrecking ball, which seemed to have recognized their retreat and had stopped firing. Numbuh 1 felt the heavy weight of failure pool in his head and chest, but he too turned from the battle and bolted.

:::

"That was a humiliation!" the Brit vented as he angrily paced back and forth in the common area.

Numbuh 3 watched his progress with sad eyes as she tended to the prone Numbuh 2 on the couch. .19 sat near the pair, helping Numbuh 3. Numbuh 5 also watched 1 from beneath her scorched red cap as Numbuh 4 aided his own wounds next to her.

"It was like they knew we were coming! How is that possible?" 1 continued to rant, "It's NOT possible. There's no leak in our information system, it comes straight from IHQ! There is no possible way they could have known we were coming, there's just no way!"

Numbuh 5 sat for as long as she could, telling herself to let him rant and rave, it'll do him good to get it all out. But she couldn't let 1 punish himself, which was exactly what would happen if he was allowed to rage much longer. She gingerly raised herself from the couch; her lower leg had been lightly burned by a near miss with a fireball, and cautiously approached the furious boy.

"Calm down, now, boss," she said soothingly, "Les not get all worked up 'bout one loss."

Numbuh 1 stopped pacing, only to fix her with an indignant look.

"Nobody's perfect all da time," she continued, "Ya' can't win 'em all. Dat sound familiar to you?"

The boy nodded reluctantly.

"Numbuh 5 thought so. Don't worry; we'll get 'em next time." She gently wrapped an arm around 1's shoulders and started walking him toward his room.

"This won't look good on the report to IHQ," the exhausted leader said weakly as the pair retreated down the hall.

"Don't you worry a thang 'bout dat, Numbuh 5'll handle it," was the last thing 3 and .19, the only ones monitoring the conversation, heard before their teammates' voices dwindled to silence.

"She sure takes care of him," .19 remarked, looking back down at the unresponsive Numbuh 2.

"Yeah," 3 replied, "She always done that, though. Numbuh 5 takes care of Numbuh 1, that's the way it is here."

"I'm gonna guess they've known each other a long time."

"Oh yeah, even before they knew US they knew each other. They been friends a looong time."

.19 watched the empty space where she'd last seen the pair, "Hunh, interesting," she said quietly.

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A/N: Okay, that's enough for now. I had some other things I wanted to put in this chapter, but I think they'll have to wait 'til next time. So what'd you all think of this chapter? Good action? Like the slight 1/5 I slipped in there? Review please, and keep reading!