Me no own. You no sue. You do sue, me no can work on fic no more. Me grammar get worse by minute… Ah, wait, that's better. Now, on with the show… so to speak.
A pleasant breeze wafted through the propped open window, carrying the sweet scent of the afternoon air into the personal living space of Numbah Five. It was a lovely day, the type many children in the neighborhood spent playing outside, be it in their own backyards, in an empty lot, or a playground.
However, Numbah Five had more important things on her mind than enjoying the wonderful weather.
Currently, she was rummaging through her closet, looking for something to wear. Not something she was going to wear, though, but something that the other occupant of the room could use.
Five glanced over her shoulder surreptitiously, at the petite girl in tattered schoolgirl's clothes sitting meekly in a chair. Numbah Three had slipped to her own chambers to retrieve some of her own clothes, leaving her teammate to keep an eye on their prisoner by herself until she arrived.
'Prisoner'. Numbah Five shook her head slightly, deep chocolate eyes narrowed in thought. Hard to believe that one of the Delightful Children from Down the Lane had ended up as their captive. Just earlier that day, she and her creepy constant companions had set their latest minions on the Kids Next Door, attempting to destroy them once and for all. Now, she was completely alone, trapped in the Treehouse by the device strapped on her right wrist.
There was little resemblance between the slight figure slumped in her seat and the eerie girl that had stood with their worst enemies for so long… at least, little that Numbah Five could see. Her head was bowed, long hair falling over and hiding her face. The perennially prim and pristine schoolgirl outfit was actually dirty for once, ripped and torn in places.
Numbah Five frowned.
"If you're gonna hang here for the time being, that sailor suit has got to go!"
The Delightful Child raised her head and blinked at her, a lost expression on her face. She then looked down at her current attire, and was forced to concede the point: her clothes were all torn and muddy from her earlier activities. She cringed at the mere sight of the dirt and grass smears, pale skin crawling as she thought of all the nasty germs that she had to have gotten on herself. Five rolled her eyes while rooting through her closet.
"There's gotta be something here you can use. Anything's better than that nautical number."
"Ah… but…"
"And she speaks," Five muttered before glancing over her shoulder at the Delightful Child. "Yeah, what?"
"How will…Won't you miss whatever I'm borrowing?"
"Don't worry about it!" Five waved off her concerns.
"I've got stuff you can try too!" piped Three, popping into the room with a huge pile of clothing in her arms. "Here, try this one!"
"But I… oh, all right," she conceded as a bundle was thrust into her hands by the smiling raven-haired girl.
She retreated into the closet and emerged wearing… Numbah Five pushed back the brim of her cap and stared.
"How does… it look?" her former rival asked uncertainly.
It was definitely dreadful. Five could see why even Numbah Three would be willing to part with such a dress. The skirt could only be described as a mass of pastel ruffles, while the blouse's sleeves were puffy to the point of being swollen. The Delightful Child looked ready to collapse from the weight of the ruffled disaster: already she swayed back and forth.
"I… don't think so," Five finally said.
Judging from the grateful look Dolores shot her, she agreed completely.
"Here, try this on instead," suggested Five, handing her another set of clothing.
The pale girl nodded, stumbling back into the closet to change. A few minutes later, she stepped back out into sight for her two-person audience to critique her new attire. Numbah Three cocked her head to one side.
"Something's not right…" she observed.
Five nodded in agreement. Well, she hadn't really expected this particular outfit to work out. Some people just weren't suited for certain 'looks'.
Her red cap fell over Dolores' face, and she tipped it back up, dark-rimmed eyes staring out at the other girls uncertainly.
"Oh well, try again!" chirped Numbah Three.
"Uh, right…"
Several quick changes later, the girls seemed no closer to finding the perfect attire for their temporary roommate. What was more, Numbah Five was beginning to get the impression that Three wasn't taking this completely seriously. The clown and pirate outfits she had recommended were big hints.
Still, she had to admit that Numbah Three's latest choice had some charm.
"I kinda like the blue better, but that looks good on you!" chimed the bubbly girl helpfully.
Dolores tugged on the huge red ribbon that now crowned her tan locks. Compared to the modest bow she usually wore, it was gargantuan, the king of hair ornaments. It was hard keeping her head up, so she let her chin fall to her chest, staring down at the floor.
"I don't… think…"
"It's not quite you," Five commented, shaking her head again.
"Ah… But I… like the color…" murmured Dolores, smoothing out the rich rose fabric of the simple one-piece skirt, studying the thick black sash that cinched her waist and the matching black shoes she wore.
"Well, that's a start, at least…" Five shrugged.
#####
While the girls' game of dress-up went on, the male members of the Kids Next Door passed the time the best way they knew how.
"Prepare to meet your doom!" bellowed Four, lunging in for the kill.
However, his prey dodged nimbly to one side, then spun around and dealt a nasty blow of his own to the fighter's back.
"Hah! Not today, Numbah Four! Today's the day I beat you at your own game!"
"Get real, Numbah Two!"
The clash of titans continued, blade against blade, steel meeting steel. The finely matched opponents snarled at each other, trading blows as freely as they did taunts. The battle raged back and forth, neither gaining a clear advantage.
Numbah One yawned and rested his chin in his palm, watching the match disinterestedly. Fighting games tended to be less fun when you were regulated to a mere onlooker. What annoyed him more, however, was the fact that Numbahs Two and Four didn't seem bothered by the fact that an enemy agent now shared the same roof.
(True, she's currently our prisoner, and as long as she doesn't press her luck with the W.A.T.C.H., we should be fine. All the same, one never can be too cautious…)
He looked up at the sound of footsteps outside, straightening in his seat.
"Look sharp, you two," he told the game players sternly.
"What?" Numbah Two paused the game and turned to look at his leader. "Did you say something to me, Numbah One?"
The shades-wearing boy did not reply, instead looking toward the door as it swung open to admit the girls. Numbah Five was her typical collected self, entering first and leaning against the side of the doorway with her arms folded over her chest. You couldn't really tell she was favoring her uninjured leg; she was doing an admirable job masking her limp.
Numbah Three danced in next, smiling hugely. Standing on the other side of the door, she waved her sleeve-covered hands grandly.
"Ta-dah!" she announced, bursting into giggles.
One raised an eyebrow.
"Ta-dah indeed," he echoed evenly, studying the person left standing in the doorway.
Dolores ducked her head, her long tan hair falling in front of her face to help conceal how her pale cheeks burned pink. It had taken a long time before finally the female agents helped her locate an outfit she was actually comfortable wearing… though, given the choice she would have rather found a perfect copy of her usual schoolgirl attire.
Failing that, however, she had settled on a pink vest Five had eventually pulled from the depths of her closet. It had a loose mock turtleneck and was sleeveless, but she'd pulled out a white shirt to go underneath. Somehow Three had come up with a white skirt to match. Plus, Five had made it very clear she wouldn't be missing any of these articles anytime soon, so that wasn't an issue…
"Well, at least she looks presentable," Numbah One commented bluntly, shaking his head.
The Delightful Child felt her face burn brighter at his callous statement. Dolores wondered if he knew how ironic his choice of words was; in all honesty, she found this clothing indecent, the same way she felt all of the Kids Next Door dressed inappropriately.
But she didn't have much of a choice now as to what she could wear. Compared to some of the other things Numbah Three and Numbah Five – Kuki and Abigail – had foisted on her, this was about as appropriate as she could get. The only thing she had been able to keep the same about her appearance was the bow in her hair.
"Hey, looking good!" Numbah Two said amicably, nodding in the direction of the girls. "Nice job, girls!"
"Eh," Numbah Four shrugged noncommittally. "'S all right, I guess… Too bad you couldn't too much 'bout her face…"
Dolores ducked her head down further and slumped her shoulders. She found the floor a lot easier to look at than the blond boy's sneering face.
"Ahem!"
Clearing his throat, Numbah One stood up, folded his arms behind his back and walked over to join the girls. He gave the Delightful Child a curt once-over, dark eyes unreadable behind his shades, then nodded shortly.
"Right, then. Now, if you'll be so kind to come with me, Dolores," his blunt emphasis on her name made the girl wince, "I'll handle your interrogation."
Avoiding his eyes, Dolores hesitantly nodded. The leader of the Kids Next Door glanced at his agents, smiled thinly, then took hold of her right hand. The W.A.T.C.H. pressed up against her wrist underneath the pressure of his hand; she had no doubt this was a calculated move.
The remaining Kids Next Door watched him leave, then the girls turned their attention to the boys and the paused image on the widescreen. Numbah Three grinned and sprang into a beanbag.
"Oh, oh! I get to play the winner!" she declared with a giggle.
"I dunno," Two replied with a playful grin. Turning to the blond beside him, he commented, "What do you think of that, Numbah Fo… Hey, no fair!" he shouted, suddenly realizing that the other boy had un-paused the game and was currently beating the tar out of his fighter.
"Numbah Five thinks you should know that Numbah Three isn't talking about a fighting game," commented the capped agent, slowly crossing the room to sit next to the Japanese girl.
Three just clapped her sleeve-covered hands and cheered.
"Yay! Dancing!"
#####
"Now then, this will go much faster if you don't waste time and just tell me everything I want to know."
Numbah One clasped his hands together and rested them on his desk, eyeing the Delightful Child from Down the Lane sitting on a stool across from him. He was having a difficult time keeping his cool exterior: this was not a chance he had ever expected to have. If this interrogation went well, he could have access to all sorts of top-secret information on the workings of their worst enemies.
Dolores shifted uncomfortably in her seat, sandy blonde bangs hiding her downcast blue eyes. Numbah One definitely held the advantage now, and both knew it. That certainly didn't mean she wanted to just tell him every last detail about herself and her comrades.
Father would be absolutely furious if she betrayed them.
"Now then, I want to know all about you Delightful Children from Down the Lane," One said calmly, tapping his fingers together. "What are the latest plans you've been working on? Besides those mechanical mockeries you unleashed on that playground earlier today, of course."
She ignored him, instead looking furtively around at his room. It was surprisingly much neater than she had expected; so had Numbah Five's room, now that she thought of it…
"What about your home? Any secret entrances we should know about? Hidden passages, secret laboratories, and whatnot?"
There was no way their rooms could match hers when it came to cleanliness, however. Her room was always perfectly straightened and tidy. Of course, she didn't have nearly as much inside as these kids liked to hoard… Just the essentials: a bed, a dresser with her clothes primly folded inside…
"How about weaknesses? Surely you must know the rest of your teammates well enough to know what exactly they're afraid of. What are each of you good and bad at?"
Dolores shook her head.
(Personal strengths and weaknesses… What is he talking about? We function as a flawless group… We have no personal weaknesses… Not like him and those agents of his…)
Even as she thought that, however, a soft voice inside pointed out that she wasn't part of the group right now. Without her siblings standing beside her, wasn't she basically weak and helpless…?
"Are you even listening to me?!"
Numbah One slammed his hands down on his desk and stood up. Dolores started at the slam and turned to face him, eyes wide. The leader of the Kids Next Door scowled.
"You Delightful Children may think that you're better than us," he growled, "but understand this: the rules of the game have changed. As long as you're here, you're our prisoner, not our 'better'. You never were better than us. So you'd better quit hiding in your delusions and face the real world."
She stared back at him and tried to decide whether she felt more insulted or frightened by his cold words. She certainly didn't need to be reminded of how terrible a spot she was in, or how trapped she was. The band encircling her right wrist was reminder enough.
A flash of movement at the very corner of her line of vision grabbed Dolores' attention, and she glanced over. Briefly, her eyes lit up with surprise, then a faint smile appeared on her face.
"I do know one weakness," she admitted softly.
Numbah One blinked, then smiled.
(Finally, I'm getting somewhere!)
"Do tell," he said coolly, resting his chin on the back of his joined hands.
Dolores returned his smile with a faint one of her own.
"You are horribly afraid of bugs."
One's face fell.
"What?"
In response, Dolores simply lifted one arm and pointed. Numbah One turned to see a fly perched on the corner of his desk, studying the pair with its multi-faceted eyes.
"GAH!"
Jumping from his seat, Numbah One scrambled for a control panel on one of the far walls. Before he could reach it and press anything, however, the fly took off on its own, zipping out the open window. The boy immediately ran over and slammed it shut. He sighed in relief, then turned to look at Dolores.
The Delightful Child just shrugged her shoulders and looked at him quietly, not saying a word. She couldn't hide a small smile at his reaction, however.
"Very funny," he said sarcastically.
"I thought so as well, yes."
Numbah One raised an eyebrow, then shook his head suddenly.
"Get out of my sight," he ordered, pointing at the door. "Go immediately back to the meeting room where the others are. They can deal with you for a while."
"Fine. As you wish."
Dolores stood, curtsied politely toward Numbah One, then turned and walked toward the exit.
"Don't waste time wandering around!" he called after her sternly. Tapping his wrist meaningfully, he added, "Trust me, we'll know if you try anything!"
"You needn't worry," was her quiet reply. "I don't plan on abusing your trust."
Numbah One glared after her suspiciously until the door shut behind her. He really didn't want to know how she knew about his little phobia, and yet, at the same time, he couldn't help but wonder what exactly the Delightful Children knew about them.
Meanwhile, Dolores walked swiftly down the hall. She had been honest: she wasn't about to try anything. Not when she still had the W.A.T.C.H. to worry about, not to mention the fact that these Kids Next Door outnumbered her five to one.
Not that she could have taken on even the weakest of their number by herself. Fighting face-to-face wasn't a specialty of the Delightful Children. Besides, it was barbaric.
There was no doubt in her mind, however, that things were going to turn out fine in the end. That foolish Nigel didn't realize that the fly he had just let escape outside was really one of their delightful little gadgets. As soon as her siblings saw that she was trapped in the Treehouse, surely they would launch a rescue attempt and free her from her imprisonment.
Things would go back to the way they were before. Dolores was sure of it. The same way she was sure that she wouldn't have things any other way.