Nope, still don't own them. If that ever changes, believe me, you'll be the first to know.
"Where is Numbah Three?!"
Numbah One paced back and forth in the meeting room, arms crossed behind him, brow furrowed in frustration. The other three operatives sat in the half-circle couch in the center of the room watching him.
Numbah Five had her left leg propped up on a seat cushion, the ankle swathed in white bandages. This was more a simple precaution than anything else; her leg wasn't feeling as sore as it had been, but nobody wanted to risk aggravating the injury and possibly making it worse. The last thing they needed was having one of their agents turn her sore ankle into a twisted or broken one and knock herself off active duty for the next few weeks.
Thankfully, that seemed to be the worst extent of their injuries. All of them had been battered a bit during their struggles: Numbah One was still a little sore where the chains had dug into his skin, Numbah Two sported a few purplish bruises where iron bars had landed on him, and Numbah Four's hands were scraped up where he's pulled off that metal slab he'd used as a weapon. Still, they'd managed to come out a lot better than their foes had intended.
The only one who hadn't gotten whatever wounds she might have sustained during the combat checked was Numbah Three. True, she hadn't looked like she had been hurt, dancing around the battlefield the way she had afterward, but there were such things as precautions…
The fact that she hadn't shown up yet was seriously annoying Numbah One. Although he didn't want to admit it, he was also a bit worried… Could something have happened to her before she could get back on her own?
It was clear the same possibility was weighing on everyone's minds, although some were having an easier time hiding their concerns than others were.
"That's it!" Four declared suddenly, slamming his fists down on the table in front of him. Jumping to his feet, he turned to face his friends and demanded, "Why are we just sittin' around 'ere when we should be looking for Numbah Three?!"
"Calm down, Numbah Four," soothed Five. "You know how Numbah Three is. Probably just got sidetracked by some flowers, or a butterfly, or something… Nothing to worry about…"
"Still, I gave a direct order to return to the Treehouse ASAP," One groused. He stopped pacing, folded his arms impatiently, and added, "She knows better than to keep us all waiting like this…"
"Numbah Five thinks you should know better than that by now," the capped girl commented under her breath.
"Relax, Numbah One," Two added. "She'll be back soon, I'm sure of it."
"What makes you so sure?!" Four demanded, getting right up in the pilot's face. "She could be hurt! She could be in danger! She could be…"
"Right there," Two finished for his fuming teammate, pointing to the doorway just as it swung open.
Four turned around to see the Japanese girl step inside. Oddly enough, her back was turned to her teammates as she edged through the doorway backwards, crouched down, head bent. It was clear she was carrying something, but her turned back and long raven hair hid whatever it was from view.
"Where have you been?" Numbah One asked sternly. His eyebrow raised as he added, "And what exactly have you got there?"
"Come look what I found!" Three's reply was filled with pride, excitement… and was absolutely no help whatsoever.
One rolled his eyes behind his dark shades and rested his forehead in the palm of one hand. He really didn't need to deal with her games right now… He was already sporting a headache from being spun around that stupid swingset and getting bound against the top bar.
Numbah Four got up and stomped over to Three. His temper was somewhat offset by his curiosity. It didn't look like she'd been picking flowers this time… He couldn't think of many 'stupid girl things' she could have engaged in that would entail dragging something home.
(It'd better not be any of those stupid Rainbow Monkeys, that's for sure. If I have to see one more Rainbow Monkey, I'll scream!)
"Okay, okay, so what is… it…"
The blond fighter's demand died in his throat as he came up beside Numbah Three and finally saw exactly what she had brought in. The raven-haired girl turned her cheerful face to him and smiled brightly, looking exceedingly proud of herself. Four's jaw dropped.
"Well?!" Numbah One shouted, peering over his podium at the pair. "What is it?!"
"Yeah, what's going on?" Two chimed.
Numbah Five peeked over the top of her seat curiously. All she could see from her awkward angle was a beaming Three and completely shocked still Four looking down at something teasingly just out of her vision. Beside her, Numbah Two, who wasn't inconvenienced by his injuries, got to his feet and leaned over the back of his chair. He adjusted the goggles over his eyes once, blinking beneath the amber lenses.
"Say, that kinda looks like…"
He leaned further forward, abruptly gasped dramatically, then promptly fell right over the edge and landed flat on his face. One and Five both winced at the harsh thud.
"Okay, that's it!" The leader threw up his hands and left his platform, stomping over to investigate what had floored the other male operatives. "What on earth has gotten into you GAH?!"
He recoiled, his shades slipping off his nose and hanging low as he stared at the unconscious girl lying at Three and Four's feet. Instantly recognizing the comatose Delightful Child despite her sorry state, he looked incredulously at her, then at the beaming Three.
"Neat, huh?" she asked, tilting her head to one side cutely.
"Wh…what a-are you… T-this… s-she…"
"You brought one of those Delightful Dorks here?!" yelled Four at the top of his lungs, finally spitting out what One was still trying to work up to.
"You did what now?" Five cried, the rest of her head popping into view from her seat.
"I knew I recognized her from somewhere!" Two asserted from the floor.
"What?" The genuinely perplexed Three cocked her head to the other side. "She was hurt, so I brought her here so we could fix her!"
"F-fix her? Fix her?!" screeched One.
"Uh-huh!" Three nodded enthusiastically.
"…Um, hello? She's one of the Delightful Children from Down the Lane! Our worst enemies!!! You remember that, right?!"
Numbah One waved his arms frantically to further emphasize his point. Beside him, Four nodded his total agreement.
"Yeah! She and those wacko siblings of hers just tried to whack us back at that playground!"
Numbah Three just looked blankly at her friends and shrugged lightly.
"So?"
Four slapped his forehead. One buried his face in his palms.
"This is the last thing I need to deal with right now…" he muttered into his hands.
"Um, Numbah One? She does have a point, you know."
"Et tu, Numbah Two?" One growled under his breath, parting his fingers just enough to glare at the pilot.
"Have you lost it?" shouted Four, also rounding on the mechanic.
Numbah Two shrank back and smiled nervously at the other guys. He chuckled weakly, then waved one hand at the petite girl still sprawled at their feet.
"Aw, come on, does she look like she can do any damage right now? She's really hurt!"
"That's right!" Three nodded.
"Really hurt," he repeated, confidence bolstered a bit by her backup. "I mean, what harm could she do if…"
"Plenty," One cut the pilot off curtly. "We can't underestimate our enemies, even if they're weakened. There's always a chance she could use any kindness we show her against us later."
"But she's hurt bad!" Numbah Three said.
"Good!" spat Four. "Serves that prissy dork right, I say!"
"But we can't just leave somebody like this!" Two insisted.
"She can find help somewhere else for all I care."
"But Numbah Four…!"
"I don't need this," One repeated lowly, face hidden in his hands again. "I don't want to deal with this, I don't…"
"Ahem."
Numbah Five cleared her throat, snapping her fingers once to get the attention of her teammates. It worked, and she adjusted her cap briefly before looking solemnly at the others.
"If Numbah Five could make a few suggestions…"
#####
Reemergence into the waking world came in stages for the petite girl. First were the voices, familiar voices which she dimly recognized as coming from somewhere close by. They filtered in and out of her barely receptive hearing, much as she teetered on the edge between silent slumber and active attentiveness.
"All I'm saying…… can't… too careful…"
"…is a………child…"
"Delightful Child, you………"
"Still, she……"
"……throw her………house window and……done with it!"
Slowly at first, her senses started to return one by one. She became aware of her aching body next, every injury sending waves of dull pain rippling through her. A tiny part of her, in the very back of her mind, curiously noted that she didn't hurt as badly as she expected. That first jolt that had stolen her senses in the first place had seemed a prelude to more horrible pains than this…
She absently attempted to raise one of her hands to lay it against her aching head, only to find the limb refused to obey. More feeling rushed into her body as her groggy mind noted with growing alarm that she couldn't seem to move her arms at all… or her legs, for that matter.
Further tests, quickly becoming more frantic as more of her senses flooded back in a dizzying rush, indicated that her hands were bound behind her back, and her legs tied together around the ankles. She was lying on her side against something surprisingly comfortable, and for a moment she contemplated slipping back into peaceful slumber and hoping that this was all some sort of terribly realistic nightmare.
Instead, however, she forced open her eyes.
Just as she feared, the faces before her were not those of her fellow Delightful Children. All five members of the Kids Next Door were right in her line in vision, and all five were looking straight back at her.
"Well, well, well. Look who's finally awake, guys!" Wallabee drawled, folding his arms in front of him.
"Hi!" Kuki waved cheerily at her.
The faintest trace of a weak, nervous smile ghosted over the Delightful Child's pale face for a few brief seconds before fading back into the typical blank expression that she usually wore. Despite this, her wide blue eyes betrayed the frigid fingers of fear clenching her heart.
She was alone. Alone and in the hands of the same group she and her comrades had clashed against so often.
Fighting a losing battle against the shivering sensation tingling up and down her spine, she shrank away from her captors, as far away as the pliant cushions of the couch she was lying in would allow. Several locks of her long sandy blonde hair fell over her face, a welcome veil to further obscure her true terror at finding herself in such a situation.
"Ahem!"
Nigel cleared his throat and stood up, folding his arms behind his back.
"As you are no doubt aware, I am Numbah One, leader of the Kids Next Door."
"…You are… Nigel."
It was the only possible retort she could think of, and she was painfully aware of how lacking it was. The fact that it was only one single, solitary, woefully weak whisper instead of a creepy monotone chorus robbed it of any impact it might have had. She winced at the sheer loneliness of hearing her own voice unsupported.
Numbah One shook his head and smirked. Numbah Two smiled uncertainly. Numbah Three had never stopped smiling since seeing the Delightful Child wake up. Numbah Four sneered.
Numbah Five raised one of her eyebrows thoughtfully, though this was hidden by the brim of her cap.
"I am Numbah One, leader of the Kids Next Door," repeated the shades-wearing boy firmly. "You would do well to remember this from now on. I would prefer you to refrain from addressing us by our 'real' names for the length of your stay here."
The Delightful Child cringed at his commanding tone. Part of her wanted to demand what he meant by that; part of her wished never to discover it. Besides, her voice alone would hardly be forceful enough to elicit a desirable answer.
"Numbah Two, if you would," One said smoothly, turning to the pilot.
"Aye-aye, sir."
Two saluted his commander, then walked over to where she was sitting. The petite girl shrank back involuntarily at his approach, most of her frightened expression hidden by her long hair. However, his hands were surprisingly gentle as he reached behind and freed her hands from her bonds. Looking over, she saw that apparently her wrists had been bound in oversized ponytail holders.
Bringing her hands in front of her face, she gasped. A single metal band remained clamped around her right wrist: it looked uncannily like a watch.
"What you're admiring right now is a very special device," Numbah One informed her proudly. "We call it a W.A.T.C.H.: Whereabouts All Treehouse Captives Here. Its primary function is quite simple… Anyone who wears that is rendered completely unable to leave our base. We can also pinpoint where anyone with one is exactly at any given moment."
The Delightful Child looked up at him through a curtain of her own hair, blue eyes wide with shock.
"Really?" piped Numbah Three curiously.
"Yes, really," Numbah One nodded. His prideful smile widened as he continued, "I suggest you don't try to leave with that on your wrist, or you'll be in for a big surprise. Also, don't bother trying to remove it: I'm the only one that knows the code, let alone where the panel that it must be inputted is located."
"Face it, girl, you're stuck here from now on," Numbah Four said, crossing his arms and nodding.
The petite girl did not even bother to respond. Instead, she stared at the simple band on her wrist that symbolized her defeat and disgrace. She kept her head bowed low, letting her hair hide her face. She didn't want any of her captors to see the tears she felt filling her eyes.
"You will also be accompanied by at least one of our operatives at all times," continued Numbah One. "Now then, Numbahs Three and Five will escort you to another room to get changed."
She looked up sharply at that, blinking back tears. Numbah One glared back down at her, arms folded in front of him.
"In case you haven't realized, you're a complete mess," he informed her bluntly. "Plus, we're not about to let you walk around our base wearing the uniform of the enemy."
"Dunno why not," muttered Four just loud enough for her to overhear. "A bunch of dirty rags suit you Delightful Dorks just fine…"
She bowed her head again, and barely glanced up when a hand gently gripped her shoulder. She didn't acknowledge the slight smile Numbah Five gave her as she unbound her legs and helped the petite girl stand.
"Yay, dress-up!" Numbah Three cheered, dancing around nearby. "Dress-up, dress-up! C'mon, Numbah Five, hurry! C'mon… Um…"
The Japanese girl stopped, blinked a few times, then turned and looked curiously at the Delightful Child.
"Say, what's your name, anyway?"
The Delightful Child blinked, and seemed to blanch even paler than normal. The Kids Next Door all looked at her curiously.
"Yes… What is your name, anyway?" Numbah One repeated, eyeing the petite girl carefully.
She scrunched her eyes shut, painfully aware of the frantic thumping of her heart. Fragments of Father's speeches flooded into her mind, fierce reminders of his teachings.
(Names are another sort of power. Call somebody by their name, you hold a certain power over them. That's why those Brats Next Door have those silly codenames, and why you should always call them by their actual names…)
But the Kids Next Door already held power over her. The bracelet weighing heavily on her right wrist was a constant reminder of that. One of the first things she had drilled into her early on was that when somebody held so much control over you already, it was better to submit, yield whatever they demanded. Otherwise, the consequences…
Her head drooped further, her long sandy blonde hair falling to completely mask her submissive expression.
"It's… Dolores."
"Dolores," sneered Numbah Four, shaking his head. "Figures that a Delightful Dork would have a dorky name like that."
The petite girl didn't bother to respond to his mockery with anger. She kept her head bowed meekly and let Numbah Three and Numbah Five lead her out of the room, away from the rest of her captors… Although, now, she might as well have called them her masters. They owned her now… Whatever they might have planned for her, she wouldn't be able to do anything to stop. They were the ones in control…