Continuing Transmission

Nigel struggled within the chains, trying to free himself. He needed to get out and away from there, before the Kids Next Door arrived, before it was too late. He had to warn them somehow, to alert them that they were walking right into a trap.

But the chains were too much. After a while, he stopped struggling. The chains were too thick. Plus, they were slightly uncomfortable against his skin that way.

The gag over his mouth wasn't helping either.

He sighed, closing his eyes. 'I hate this,' he thought. 'I've never enjoyed the feeling of being helpless. But this is only increasing it one hundred-fold.'

The Delightful Children had told him all about their plot. The anonymous information they had sent him, their intent to turn them all against each other. Though they didn't expect him to actually quit the Kids Next Door, they were using him to lure them in and destroy them. Their 'ultimate' robot was going to be used only for a last resort, but they had other plans to "dispose of the Kids Next Door."

'This is all my fault,' he couldn't help but think, tears forming in the corner of his eyes. 'If I had only known……if I hadn't fallen for their plan to begin with……the others wouldn't be in danger. There's no one to blame but myself.'

He knew there was no point in blaming anyone else. He couldn't blame the Kids Next Door or the Delightful Children. Sure, it was the easiest thing to do, but he never took the easy way unless it was the only way. Besides, it wasn't their faults, really.

He could blame the Kids Next Door. By applying the reasoning that 'if they hadn't said what they had, he wouldn't have left, and none of this would be happening,' it would have been very easy to redirect the blame to them. But he knew that they had only said those things because of his own actions. They were just reacting. And he couldn't blame them for reacting the way they did.

He couldn't very well blame the Delightful Children either. Sure, it was their plan that had gotten him into this entire mess to begin with, but that plan didn't have to work. It could have very well blown up in their faces. But because of his decisions, the Delightful Children's plans had worked, and everything was falling apart.

No matter which way a person looked at it, all the blame was directed to him, and him alone.

But that was all the more reason that the had to escape. Truth be told, he didn't care what happened to him. He felt as though he deserved whatever happened to him. But he couldn't let anything bad befall the Kids Next Door. 'They may not be my team anymore, but that doesn't mean I'll let anything happen to them. Not if I can help it!'

Nigel actually hoped that they wouldn't come for him. 'Perhaps the Delightful Children were wrong. Maybe they really don't care about me. And that's fine. That way, they won't endanger themselves. They'd all be safe.'

But they all seemed pretty worried when he had come to. When the Delightful Children had told them their 'plan' to turn him into a Delightful Child, the others seemed pretty worried.

He began to struggle more. 'If anything happens to them………I'll never be able to forgive myself!'

There was a slight creak as Nigel heard the sound of the door open and shut. The abandoned warehouse he currently was in was old and…well…abandoned. He wasn't surprised that things creaked.

But what had caused the creaking? The Delightful Children were hiding……somewhere……'Could…does that mean…?'

"Numbuh 1!" a hushed, Aussie voice called out to him suddenly. The young Brit's attention was suddenly called to a small, blond figure emerging from the shadows.

"Numbuh 1," Numbuh 4 said in a low voice. "Are ya alright?"

He needed to notify the blond of the impending danger. But when he tried, the cloth covering his mouth stifled the warning.

"Don't worry. I'll getcha outta 'ere."

Nigel shook his head. But Numbuh 4 obviously didn't understand his meaning.

"Greetings, Wallabee," the five voices of the Delightful Children said suddenly, seemingly from around the entire area.

Numbuh 4 spun around, obviously expecting to see the Children from behind him. But when they weren't there, he called out, "Where are ya, ya freaks!"

"Oh, you'll see us soon enough, Wallabee. Or…perhaps you won't…"

Only then did Nigel see the robot looming from the shadows. Numbuh 4, perceptibly still trying to find the obnoxious Children, didn't notice it at his left side.

Again, Nigel tried to call out to him. But it only came out as an incoherent mumble.

There was a sudden creak in the floor, and Numbuh 4 finally saw the robot, as it was about to fire.

"Tag," the Delightful Children said, "you're it." And the blast was fired.

But Numbuh 4 jumped up, barely avoiding the beam. He landed away from both the robot and Nigel, pulling out a light blue ray gun of his own.

"Ah dun think so!" he said, aiming at the robot. "Now it's mah turn, and we'll be playin' mah T.A.G.G.!"

Kids Next Door Weapon
T.A.G.G.
Totally Awesome Gun that Generates ice

He fired at the robot, but it dodged, and fired again at the Aussie. Curling up into a ball, Numbuh 4 rolled out of the way. The robot followed the orange Aussie ball.

Nigel began to struggle again. He wasn't sure where the others were, but he needed to help Numbuh 4. Sure, the small blond was tough, but could he really beat that robot alone?

"Numbuh 5 thinks we'll be able to get ya outta that fastuh if ya stop wigglin' around."

He froze when he heard the familiar voice of his former associate.

From behind him, Numbuh 2, 3, and 5 made themselves visible.

'It was their plan,' he realized as the three other members came around to face him. 'Numbuh 4 is distracting the Delightful Children and their robot while 2, 3, and 5 are supposed to help me.'

It was a clever plan……

Too bad the Delightful Children had already counted on that factor.

He tried to move, but Numbuh 3 and 5 held onto the ball of chain that wrapped around him, as Numbuh 2 pulled out his own T.A.G.G. and aimed for the part of the chain that was holding him up. He fired, and a stream of icy air flowed from the nozzle of the T.A.G.G., hitting the chain. The metal links suddenly turned to ice, allowing Numbuh 5 to try to break it.

The links themselves began to crack, since they had become ice already.

That was when the cloth covering Nigel's mouth finally slipped away. "Get out of here!" he said. "It's a trap!"

But it was too late, as the chain shattered. Connected to the other end of the chain that had the Brit suspended in the air was a weight, seemingly as heavy as Nigel. Due to the new imbalance, and the force of the Earth's gravity, the weight fell, and as it landed on the ground, it hit a large button.

The ground beneath the four Kids seemed to levitate, before flinging them against the opposite wall.

Because of the chains, Nigel seemed to bounce off the wall, landing next to Numbuh 2's discarded T.A.G.G.

Numbuh 2, 3, and 5 however, slid down the wall, landing in a recent hole in the ground, where what appeared to be a tank was arising out. They landed inside the container, and the lid seemed to shut after them.

Shaking their heads clear, Numbuh 3 suddenly pointed out, "It's wet in here."

And indeed it was. Looking down, they realized that the tank was beginning to fill in with water.

"Uh oh…" Numbuh 2 said.

"I think we got a problem…" Numbuh 5 stated.

Numbuh 4 turned his head to see the distress of his teammates, just as the laughter of the Delightful Children reached his ears.

"Did you really think that we'd believe that you would come here by yourself, Wallabee?" they asked in a mocking tone. "You're even more foolish than we thought."

Growling, Numbuh 4 turned the knob of the T.A.G.G. to its highest level. He jumped up, firing it. The force of the blast jetted him backwards, freezing the robot at the same time.

He let go and landed right next to where Nigel lay on the ground. "Numbuh 1?" he asked, helping the Brit remove the chains that restricted him.

Even after the chains were gone, Nigel sat on the ground, avoiding the Aussie's gaze. "You shouldn't have come for me," he said quietly.

"Oh, and what were we s'pposed ta do?" Numbuh 4 retorted. "We weren't gonna leave ya 'ere and let ya be turned inta a Delightful Brat!"

"The Delightful Children were never turning me into one of them," Nigel replied. "It was all a hoax. They only said that to lead you and the others here so they could get rid of you once and for all."

"What?"

"It's true. Everything that has been going on for the past month or so has been part of their scheme."

"Oh…"

Nigel clenched his fists tightly, growling softly.

"Numbuh 1…"

"I'm no longer Numbuh 1, nor am I part of the Kids Next Door. Understand that."

"But you're our leada…"

The Brit scoffed. "Some leader I am. What kind of leader would fall for a trap like this! What kind of leader would allow himself to be used against his team for their defeat! A good leader would have been able to avoid all this from the start. A good leader wouldn't be used as bait to lure his team into such a deception. I was never a good leader……I see that now……"

"Okay," Numbuh 4 said, "maybe a good leada mighta been able ta do those things. But we got a betta leada."

And for the first time that day, Nigel raised his eyes up to meet with Numbuh 4's.

"Sure, a good leada does all that stuff. But you're a great leada. Ah mean, you're not only our leada. You're our friend. Ya make sure that we're safe, and ya put tha team before yourself. Sure, ya make mistakes sometimes. But ev'ryone does. No one's perfect. But you've done so much good for us, and our team. What Ah said to ya before……it was outta line.

"Truth is, we need ya ta keep tha team togetha. Things just ain't tha same without ya there ta lead us. You're tha reason we do so well. You're tha one that keeps us running at 100 pacent, and its your leada skills that helps us ta succeed."

The Aussie held out his hand, and Nigel grasped it, allowing his help to hoist him to his feet.

"So, whaddya say, leada boy?" Numbuh 4 said with a slight smirk.

"But I can't…Without the packet, I…"

"Numbuh 274 and Ah already took care of it."

"You did? How?"

"Ah'll tell ya lata. Right now, we need our leada back."

The Brit smiled, nodding.

From his hoodie pocket, Numbuh 4 pulled out a pair of thick shades. "Put these on," he said. "Ya look kinda stupid without 'em."

Taking the sunglasses from the smaller boy, Numbuh 1 slipped them on, covering his slightly teary eyes.

Suddenly, he looked up behind the Aussie. "Numbuh 4, look out!"

The small boy turned swiftly, firing at the army of robots that had suddenly appeared.

Meanwhile, in the tank, the other three were running out of airspace as the water continued to pour in. There was only enough room for their heads, and that too was slowly disappearing with the increase of water.

"How long can y'all hold ya breath?" Numbuh 5 asked, slightly nervously. Of course, the other two didn't answer her.

That was when Numbuh 1 noticed the transparent tank. "Numbuh 4," he said, "we have to do something to help the others!"

"You hafta do somethin' ta help 'em!" he yelled back, firing at more robots. "Mah hands are a lit'le full!"

Numbuh 1 searched around frantically, wondering what to do, when he spied Numbuh 2's T.A.G.G on the ground. He picked it up, aiming it at the translucent wall. Pulling the trigger, the icy-blue vapor shot from the nozzle, hitting the side and turning it into ice.

Placing the T.A.G.G. down, he picked up the chain that had before been confining him. Swinging it over his head, he let go so that the end of the chain sailed and hit the ice wall.

He growled when he noted that not much damage was done. There was a little crack, but not enough to break it through. 'If it keeps up like that,' he thought, 'it would take too long. But what do I do?'

"Hiya!" Numbuh 4 yelled, jumping up and kicking a robot hard. Since it had been turned to ice, it shattered into countless pieces.

Numbuh 1 braced himself, protecting himself from the pieces that flew around him. Looking down, though, he noticed that Numbuh 4 hadn't had froze the robot entirely, and that the robotic arm was still intact.

Picking it up, he attached it to the chain. Then, swinging it that over his head, he threw it as hard as he could towards the tank. This time, when it hit, the small crack grew bigger, causing water to leak out.

Because of the pressure of the water, the crack became bigger, until the whole ice wall broke, the three Kids flowing out along with the water.

Numbuh 1 ran over as they coughed, gasping for the air they needed to refill their lungs.

"Are you all alright?" he asked.

"Yeah…" Numbuh 3 said, slightly shaky.

"I think so," Numbuh 2 agreed.

"I will be," Numbuh 5 replied.

Numbuh 4 suddenly landed next to Numbuh 1 as the other three got to their feet.

"Well done, Kids Next Door," five monotonous voices said suddenly, and the 5 Kids looked to see the Delightful Children standing in front of their 'Delightful Ray.' "You have managed to defeat our robots, and save your 'leader'."

"And now," Numbuh 1 said, stepping forward, "we'll take care of you Delightful Snobs!"

"Tsk, tsk, Nigel. You know you can't do that. Unless you forgot about our 'Ultimate Weapon.'"

A hole in the floor suddenly appeared beneath the 'Delightful Ray', and it seemed to slowly sink down, until it had completely submerged in it. Taking a step backwards, the Delightful Children seemed to fall into the hole as well.

There was a suddenly rumbling sound as the ground beneath the Kids began to shake. A large purple robot suddenly emerged from the ground, the Children in the cockpit.

"How do you like our new toy, Kids Next Door?" they asked.

There was no way for the Kids to reply.

The Children smirked, before looking at the dashboard.

Power: 40 percent online…

"Curses!" they said, a little too loudly. "The power is taking longer to charge than we anticipated!" Due to the enormous size of the robot, the creators of it had forewarned that power would take a while to amass. They had turned it on before, to charge some power, but it didn't seem to work.

The Kids had heard what they had said.

"Ha!" Numbuh 4 cried triumphantly. "They don't got enough powa for their 'toy', so they can't attack with it yet! That gives us enough time."

Numbuh 5 nodded. "Since their 'bot ain't online yet, we can get rid of it and get outta here before da bomb explodes."

Numbuh 1 turned to face his team. "Bomb!" he asked. "What bomb!"

Power: 45 percent online…

"We planted a bomb earlier," Numbuh 2 said. "We thought, after we'd rescue you, we'd get rid of the Delightful Children for good!"

"For good?" the Brit repeated. "You mean…!"

"Tha's right!" Numbuh 4 said. "We're gonna take 'em outta tha picture!"

"Whee!" Numbuh 3 said, clapping. "No more bad guys!"

"All we need ta do is stall for time," Numbuh 5 said. "We got a lotta time 'fore da bomb goes off, so what we can do is take out dat robot, which'll be easy since it can't work with no powuh, and then we can get outta here 'fore da explosion."

Power: 50 percent online…

The dark agent turned to Numbuh 1. "It's your call, boss," she said.

The others seemed to be in position, ready to attack with the five words usually spoken by their leader.

He looked at them through the black shades, then turned to look at the large machine.

After everything that the Delightful Children had done. They had broken their team apart. They wanted to get rid of the Kids Next Door for good. They wanted to do away with them.

Numbuh 1 knew what he had to do.

"Kids Next Door…" he said in his accented voice.

Power: 55 percent online…

"…fall back…"

Transmission Interrupted