Continuing Transmission

Nigel, hanging unconscious behind the Delightful Children, was wrapped with a heavy chain, so only his head and feet were visible.

"I see you remember your former leader," the Delightful Children said.

Numbuh 4 growled. "What're ya plannin' ta do with 'im!" he yelled.

"Why is that any concern of yours? After all, he's no longer part of your team."

The Kids stiffened slightly. "W-What are you talkin' 'bout?" Numbuh 5 asked.

"Don't bother to deny it, Abigail. We know all about it."

The young agents looked at each other, before reverting their gazes back to the screen. "How?" Numbuh 2 questioned.

"That is our secret. But let's just say, we know everything that has happened for the past few weeks.

"We know when, how, and why the Kids Next Door finally broke apart."

The small Tough Kid clenched his hands into tight fists. "Shut up! Just SHUT UP!"

The Delightful Children just smirked. "Can't handle the hard truth, Wallace? Nigel left the Kids Next Door because of what he overheard from all of you, because you all thought of him as a 'horrible leader,' because of the five false missions he led you on. Isn't that right? The anonymous information."

"Anonymous information?" Numbuh 2 asked. "What are they talking about?"

"Tha five missions that Numbuh 1 made us go on that were fake missions," the Aussie reminded them, "were sent by an anonymous source. Numbuh 1 didn't tell us that because 'e was afraid of 'ow we would react." 'But 'ow do they know?' he wondered.

"But because of such anonymous information, you were all angered at your leader for leading you on such wild goose-chases that he believed that you didn't want him as leader anymore, and he left your team."

The Kids' eyes fell to the ground, the shame welling inside each of them.

"Then again, that is the way we planned it."

The last statement caused them to look back up at the Delightful Children. "What?" they all asked.

"I suppose I should thank you, Kids Next Door. Without you, my plan wouldn't have worked as well as it did."

"What plan!" Numbuh 4 yelled.

"Our plan to break up the Kids Next Door."

"Your what!"

"Anonymous information can come from anyone. That's why it is called anonymous information. You can never tell where the information, even wrong information, will come from."

It was then that Numbuh 4 understood what they were saying. "It was you who sent tha anonymous crap, ya freaks!"

The Delightful Children nodded. "Indeed it was, Wallace. We figured if we couldn't break the Kids Next Door, we might as well let yourselves do it for us.

"We had sent Nigel anonymous information with false facts to make him believe that your intervention was needed. When you all went, of course, you discovered that the 'missions' Nigel was talking about weren't real. Of course, as leader, all the blame was directed to him, and you all knew that. We figured you would become angry at him, but his leaving was something that even we never expected.

"However, it is something that we can use to our advantage."

"It was all a sham!" Numbuh 4 shouted frustrated. "It was their plot all along! An' we fell for it!"

Numbuh 5 felt the same anger as Numbuh 4 did. However, that fury changed to concern as she noticed some movement behind the five Children. A soft groan reached her ears, though slightly drowned by the chatter from her co-agents and the Delightful Children. The limp head was raised slightly, as closed eyes slowly opened.

"Numbuh 1!" she couldn't help but cry out.

The noise suddenly ceased as the other Kids' attention reverted to the screen. Even the Delightful Children turned to look at the waking boy behind them.

"Why hello, Nigel," they said when they were sure he was fully awake. "Did you enjoy your 'rest'?"

The young Brit didn't answer them. Instead, he shook his head slightly to clear it.

"Look who has come to join us," the five Children said, indicating to the monitor. "It's your former team."

His eyes went wide as he saw them on the screen, but he soon turned his head away in shame.

The Delightful Children seemed to enjoy his obvious discomfort. "It's a good thing we were able to find out when you had left the Kids Next Door, Nigel, otherwise this wouldn't be as entertaining as it is."

"But how did you know?" Numbuh 2 asked.

"We have our ways. Luckily, a nano-phone is very useful."

"A nano-phone!" Nigel repeated.

"A 'nanny-phone'?" Numbuh 3 asked, obviously confused.

Everyone, Kids and Children alike, sighed. "No, you stupid girl," the five Children said. "A nano-phone."

The Kids looked at each other, scratching their heads in slight uncertainty.

"A-a nano-phone…" Nigel stuttered slightly, "is a mini microphone that can be placed anywhere without being detected. It's almost invisible."

Numbuh 5 grabbed the sunglasses off the bill of her red cap. 'It's dat bump…' she thought. 'That's da nano-phone!'

"I don't get it!" Numbuh 5 yelled at the five Children. "What're ya plannin' ta do with Numbuh 1!"

The Delightful Children smirked, readjusting the view of the camera so that the Kids saw what appeared to be a large ray gun. "Do you see that over there, Kids Next Door?"

"Yeah," Numbuh 4 said. "What 'bout it?"

The camera was once again readjusted so that they could see the Children. "That is our Delightful Ray, which we will use to make Nigel…one of us…"

Nigel and the Kids gasped. "You're going to what!" The Brit asked.

"That's right. Our Delightful Ray will turn you, Nigel Uno, into a Delightful child."

The Kids looked at each other, a horrified look on each of their faces, then back at the monitor as the Delightful Children began to laugh their monotonous, malevolent chuckle.

"We must depart now, Kids Next Door," the Delightful Children said. "But tomorrow, the Nigel you know will be no more."

And suddenly, the monitor was turned off, before the Kids could get their protests out.

"Those Delightful Children…!" Numbuh 4 growled.

"We gotta do something!" Numbuh 2 said.

"We gotta save Numbuh 1 before it's too late!" Numbuh 3 agreed.

Numbuh 5 nodded. "Kids Next Door," she said, "battle sta-…!"

"Hold up a minute!" Numbuh 4 yelled.

They all looked at him. "What!" Numbuh 5 snapped. "We gottuh go save Numbuh 1!"

"But we don't even know where 'e is! If ya couldn't tell, that didn't look like their mansion!" Numbuh 4 informed them. "Besides, we need some kinda plan!"

"There's no time for that!" She threw her hands down. "If we don't do somethang, then……!"

Numbuh 4 looked at the other two. "We need a plan if we're gonna save Numbuh 1."

"Hello!" The normally Quiet One yelled. "I said, there's no time! Listen, Numbuh 1 left me in charge, and…"

The Aussie turned to her. "Numbuh 1 left ya in charge 'cuz ya usually levelheaded enough ta do tha job! But for some reason, you're not thinkin' things through right now!"

She froze.

"I'm not sure what's wrong with ya, but the old Numbuh 5 would think of a plan! Numbuh 1 would think of a plan!

"Besides, if we go try and save 'im without a plan, we might put 'im in more danger than before! We gotta think of somethin'!"

The other three looked down at the ground. "So what're we gonna do?" Numbuh 3 asked.

Rubbing his chin for a minute, Numbuh 4 then approached the dark girl, stopping in front of her. He held out his hand, and she looked at the sunglasses she held, before placing them in his palm.

"Numbuh 2," the Aussie said, throwing the sunglasses towards him.

The round boy fumbled with them, trying his best not to drop the shades before he could securely hold them. He looked up at Numbuh 4, slightly confused.

"Could ya find that nano-phone or whateva it is and get rid of it? We don't know if tha Delightful Children can still hear us."

"Well, ain't ya bein' a bettuh leaduh then before?" Numbuh 5 asked.

"Only 'cuz it's kinda mah fault that Numbuh 1 is caught by tha Delightful Children in tha first place." He curled his fingers tightly. "So Ah ain't gonna rest until we get 'im back! Numbuh 2…"

"I got it," he replied, and he quickly ran out of the room.

Numbuh 3 looked over at Numbuh 4, wringing her hands. "Numbuh 4…what if we…I mean…what if…?"

"No!" he said, looking at her. "Nothin's gonna happen ta Numbuh 1. We'll save 'im, you'll see."

The Asian girl smiled, hugging the Aussie and drawing some comfort from him.

Numbuh 5 watched them, jealousy filling her eyes. She knew about them. So did Numbuh 2. It was hard for those two to keep it a secret. She was happy for them, but… She folded her arms over her chest, looking away.

Numbuh 4 suddenly pulled away from Numbuh 3, looking at the Quiet One. "What's wrong with ya?"

"Nothin'," she replied.

"Don't lie. What was up with that a few minutes ago? You're the one who's s'pposed ta be makin' these decisions, but you're actin' more like me!"

She said nothing.

"Look, Numbuh 5, Ah know ya wanna get Numbuh 1 back. So do Ah. But…"

"It's not just that," she whispered, more to herself.

But her other operatives heard it anyway. "What?"

"Nothin'…just forget it."

It suddenly clicked in Numbuh 3's mind. "You…you like Numbuh 1…doncha, Numbuh 5?"

Numbuh 4 looked at her. "Is that true!"

Her cheeks suddenly reddened, but she ignored them.

"No wonda ya wanna save 'im so bad…"

"Shut up," she said quietly.

"Don't worry, Numbuh 5," the Asian girl said, placing a hand on her friend's shoulder. "We'll get Numbuh 1 back."

"Darn right!" the Aussie said. "And we'll teach those Delightful Dorks a lesson! Numbuh 3 and Numbuh 5, Ah gotta finish something in tha main computa lab, but in 'bout half on hour, meet me there, and we'll try ta track down where tha Delightful Children are keepin' Numbuh 1."

"What're we supposed ta do in da meantime?"

"Look for some bombs…tha strongest ya can find."

"Bombs?" Numbuh 3 asked. "You don't mean……!"

"Yeah," he said, his eyes narrowing under his bangs, "Ah do. We're gonna get rid of tha Delightful Children…for good!"

The monitor was switched off, and the Delightful Children turned to look at their captive, who was struggling in his chains.

"Don't bother, Nigel," they said. "You'll never be able to slip out of those."

"I thought being an adult was the worst thing in the world," he said. "But…" He shuddered. "A Delightful Child? That's worse!"

"What amazes me, Nigel, is that no matter how smart you are, you're still so clueless."

"What do you mean?"

"Do you really think that I would waste my time trying to turn you into one of us? You aren't our kind, Nigel. A ray could never make you one of us. Then again, you don't seem to belong anywhere, do you?"

The last statement stung the young Brit more than anything he felt before. It hurt more than any blow, punch, kick, or hit could do to him. If he didn't belong with the Kids Next Door, where did he belong?

But there was something still puzzling him. "But…if you're not going to turn me into a Delightful Child, what is that thing?"

They looked over their shoulders at the ray gun. "That is the disguise of our new robot that we will use against the Kids Next Door.

"It was a simple plan. First we had to turn you brats against each other, and when the moment was right, we struck. Now, all we have to do is wait for them to come and 'rescue' you."

Nigel looked around. "But this isn't your mansion. You didn't tell them where we are. How are they supposed to find us?"

He was actually glad that they wouldn't know where he was. Whatever the Delightful Children were planning couldn't be accomplished if they didn't know where he was.

But his hopes fell when he saw the five Children smirk. "If we had told them where we were, they would have gotten suspicious. And even if they don't know where you are now, they'll find us, Nigel. They'll do whatever they can to save you. You don't have to worry about that. They'll come, most definitely.

"We told you that you left them in a dangerous position when you left. Once you left, you made yourself vulnerable as well as the Kids Next Door. Of course, since you're no longer a member of the Kids Next Door, we really can't do anything to you, as it wouldn't be the delightful thing to do. You do, however, make the perfect bait to lure them here, where we can destroy them…permanently…"

"Permanently…?" The realization hit him hard right away. "You…Y-you don't mean…You can't…!"

"Oh, but I do, Nigel. Our plan will spell the expiration of the Kids Next Door, and we will finally be rid of them forever!"

Nigel couldn't believe his ears. 'I always knew they were weird,' he thought, '……but they're more than that……they're mad!'

Yet he knew they were being serious. 'I……I can't believe them……They're really going to……to kill the Kids Next Door……!'

Transmission Interrupted