Now reloading: Kids Next Door mission...
Operation: M.I.N.D., Chapter Three
Writing Operative: Vtbots
--------------------
An awkward aura settles around the breakfast table the next morning. The Kids Next Door silently eat; their minds are occupied by... other things. Numbuh One is still rubbing his hairless head from the pounding Numbuh Three gave him with her pillow the night before. 'What was all that all about!?' he shouts inwardly. 'Why does Numbuh Three think I would play Doctor with her in that way? And what is with her speaking to her teddy bear and her teddy bear speaking back to her? Even she should know stuffed animals and dolls do not talk in reality. It's strange. Numbuh Three accusing me. Numbuh Two deliberately disobeying my orders. Numbuh Four and Numbuh Five are acting weird this morning as well. And then there's this voice that keeps popping up in my head. In fact, nobody acted so... not like themselves until the night after I first heard her voice! Hmmm...'
"Man, what's with you guys!?" Numbuh Two blurts out, clutching his pilot cap in frustration. "Numbuh One, you're not talking about our missions. Numbuh Three, you're not playing with your food like you usually do. Numbuh Four, you're eating normally. And Numbuh Five... um... you're too quiet. Just WHAT is going on here? Did I miss that much when I was working on my machines last night?"
"Well you see, Numbuh Two... NUMBUH THREE PRACTICALLY DESTROYED ME WITH A PILLOW!" Numbuh One glares directly at the girl. If Numbuh Five wasn't too ticked at the Aussie boy, she would be bursting out laughing at the victim of the master pillow fighter.
"That's 'cause you were gonna do that 'check-up' kind of Play Doctor with me, and you know what I'd have to do then, you yucky, icky boy!" the Japanese girl counters.
"No, I was not! I came to your room because the voice in my head--"
"... told you that I may be the traitor!?" Numbuh Three shouts, obviously hurt by the accusation. "Well, she's wrong. I'm not. How can you believe her?"
"Because I cannot take any risks. When you hear of a possible rat in your team, it would be hard to ignore."
"So why am I the first suspect?"
"You never acted that way towards me until right after I told you and the others about the ratfink. Look, I'm tired... can't we talk later?" the leader asks wearily.
"Humph," is his response as Numbuh Three storms off somewhere. Numbuh One sighs exasperatedly and flops back down on his seat, feeling another headache coming on.
"Ooooookay," Numbuh Two blinks. "So... what about you, Numbuh Four? What's with you and Numbuh Five?" he inquires as he swipes the Asian girl's deserted pop-tart from her plate, munching on it in quite an impolite way.
"Well... uh..."
"If you wantsta know what's Numbuh Five's problem, I'll tell ya!" exclaims the quite unhappy dark-skinned girl, cutting off the pink-faced Aussie boy. "Didn't Numbuh Five tell you guys NOT to intrude during her shower time!?"
"Numbuh Four, you were peeking at Numbuh Five? That is a rather suicidal mission..." remarks the commander.
"NO!" Numbuh Four protests, his cheeks becoming redder. "It wasn't anythin' like that. It's you!"
"What?"
"Yeah, you! I heard some weirdo voice tellin' me that Numbuh Five was sending out our team's information to an enemy! You're spreadin' yer imaginary friend disease!"
"Numbuh Five, is that true?"
"No way! I was mindin' my own business in my bathroom when that creep dropped in! Numbuh Five feels violated!" She clutches her shirt tightly for emphasis.
"Well... It's not like I did it on purpose," grumbles the accussed little boy, calmer but not intimidated by the girl's tone. "I was like Numbuh One, I had ta check it out myself to make sure it wasn't true. When I didn't see you in yer room, I got really suspicious so I tried to find ya. I jus' didn't know you were in THERE that time."
The capped girl simply glares at him silently, clenching her fists and looking like she's ready to strike.
"Really! It's the truth!" the boy tells her, sensing incoming retribution.
{"Then again, what can a pea-brained girl like you possibly know about truth?"}
"What was that!?" Numbuh Five says vehemently, forcing a surprised Numbuh Four a step back.
"Huh? I didn't say anything, other than I'm telling the truth about not peeking at you on purpose." Even Numbuhs One and Two are confused by the dark girl's sudden outburst.
"I heard what you said, you called me pea-brained."
"I never said that!"
{"Don't be a liar, you mop-headed shrimp."}
"Hey!" Now Numbuh Four is the one speaking vehemently, whipping his finger to the accused.
"What?"
"What do you mean 'what?', you just insulted me in ma face. Though it's quite amazin' yer lips didn't move..."
"Dat's 'cuz I didn't say nuthin'! Humph! I ain't gonna take this from you!" So Numbuh Five storms away from the dining room with her nose and cap visor high in the air.
The chubby Kid Next Door rubs under his chin in wonder. "You two got some serious issues needed to take care of," he comments.
"It's not my fault this team is coming apart!" the other boy declares as he, too, leaves the room.
"We're not really falling apart... Are we, Numbuh One?" asks the pilot in utmost worry.
{"If we are, you'll be the one blamed for all this, traitor."}
"Huh?"
"I said that we're all just stressed from this traitor business," answers Numbuh One.
"Mmm. I thought you said something else. Must be my imagination."
* * * * *
"Mm-Mm-Mm. Those poor kids," Manasa comments under her breath, watching them from outside their treehouse base. "My work is really taking its toll on them. Especially on little Nigel Uno. But I better finish the job now; he, if not the entire Kids Next Door, is bound to catch on to these strange occurrences eventually. I'll make this quick."
* * * * *
Nigel Uno hasn't left the dining room since the chaos that happened earlier. He just stares down at his plate, empty except for toast crumbs, becoming more and more upset at the arguments that have been ensuing frequently lately, and more and more suspicious about why his friends behaving in such a way toward each other. Numbuh Two is right, nobody is acting like him- or herself.
"Could this be the work of the traitor?" he asks himself. He shakes his head quickly in an attempt to perish that thought, but it remains. The voice told him the other night that one of the Kids Next Door is a rat, and he has to believe it despite his doubts. After all, he has to protect the rest of his friends, as well as any information that the Kids Next Door would not want leaked out.
But what if the voice is wrong? What if there is no treachury being committed? There has to be another possibility...
Before Numbuh One can search in his mind for other possible reasons, several sounds of struggle and then some angry voices flare from the other room. Grumbling, he irritably hops out of his chair and sprints to the main room of the base.
There he finds the Aussie-accented boy twisting the pilot's hands to his (Numbuh Two's) backside and clutching it tight, as if he's handcuffing him. Numbuh Two tries to get away from him, but Numbuh Four isn't called the hand-to-hand combat specialist for nothing. Numbuh Three and Numbuh Five are standing nearby, staring concerned at the boys, though sometimes it's hard to tell if Numbuh Three is paying attention since she has her eyes closed most of the time.
The leader grumbles again and shakes his head, storming over to them impatiently. "What is the meaning of this!? What are you doing, Numbuh Four!?" he demands.
"Maybe they're playing Cops 'n' Robbers," Numbuh Three suggests, smiling cheerfully. But when she suddenly remembers who she's talking to, she frowns and averts her eyes away from him, 'hmph'ing.
"No we ain't!" Numbuh Four replies through gritted teeth. "I just discovered who the traitor could be!"
"What!? I'm not the traitor!" the accused member shouts defensively.
"Are too!" the blonde boy shouts back.
"Yo blondie, let 'em go," says Numbuh Five.
"I can't! He'll get away!"
"What makes you think that Numbuh Two is the traitor, Numbuh Four?" Numbuh One asks calmly.
Gripping onto the chubby boy's hands tight, Numbuh Four whirls around and forces the detained Kid on his knees in front of their commander.
"Think about it, Numbuh One!" the Aussie tells him. "He almost got us wiped out yesterday when he disobeyed orders!"
"Like you don't disobey orders?" Numbuh Two retorts.
"Shut up!" growls Numbuh Four, squeezing his captive's hands, causing Numbuh Two to grind his teeth to resist a loud 'Ouch!' from escaping his mouth. "He probably made up the stuff about you making fun of him so he'll have a pathetic excuse not to blast the Delightful dorks' Groundbot to smithereenies!"
"I did not!"
"I said quiet! And when he realized that he was about to be caught, he decided to shoot anyway and 'apologized' to keep up his spy business."
"Wouldn't anybody apologize after falsely accusing someone?" Numbuh Two asks angrily, purposely emphasizing 'falsely accussing' as he tries to glare at him.
"Not to mention he was way too cool when things started going down," continues Numbuh Four, ignoring the other person's question. "Like after meeting with a certain... 'accident' of mine," he glances at the dark-skinned girl nearby, who crosses her arms and glares under the shadow of her cap. " 'cause I was doin' what some weirdo voice told me to do, Numbuh Two just happened to stroll by like nothing happened!"
"I was in the kitchen, dummy, I COULDN'T have heard!"
"And what about this morning? His blabberin' instigated fights b'tween us, an' now this team is crumbling even more apart!"
"I thought he was just being concerned like any friend would," says Numbuh Three nervously, twiddling her sleeved fingers.
"Don't you get it, Numbuh Three, he's PRETENDING to be our friend so when we least expect it, POW!"
"No!" cries Numbuh Two. "Numbuh One, he's acting crazy, I'm not the traitor! You have to believe me!"
Numbuh One looks at the boy's tear-stained face, then at the furious-faced Aussie boy, then to the two worried-face girls. Each one of them... a suspect. Numbuh Four brought up a couple of points, but is that really enough to charge Numbuh Two for betrayal? Numbuh Four can be just as guilty, trying to make it like someone else is the traitor to save his own behind. Numbuh One (and the voice) already explained to himself how Numbuh Three's recent behavior may make her a suspect. And what about Numbuh Five? She hasn't talked much about this traitor thing. Could she really be watching the group tear each other apart and waiting for the right moment to strike?
Nigel Uno doesn't know what to think or do. If only that voice never came to him, none of this would be happening. Unfortunately, it is. And now everyone expects him to say whether or not Numbuh Two is the traitor. But if he says no, then no doubt another KND member would get accused, which would only fan the flames. So, sighing solemnly, he answers Numbuh Two the best way he can:
"I don't know who or what to believe anymore."
"I... I don't believe this," Numbuh Two says sadly, his sudden newfound strength breaking himself away from Numbuh Four. "You think I'm the dirty rat!"
"I did not say that."
"Yes, you did! If you really don't think I am, you would have said no. But you didn't!"
"Numbuh Two--"
"I can't believe my own friends think I would do such terrible things to the Kids Next Door. I... I don't feel like being around here anymore."
So, holding back tears and biting his lower lip, Hoagie P. Gilligan, Jr. turns and, stuffing his hands into his pockets and sniffling, walks away from his former friends and out of the base. The Kids Next Door, except Numbuh Four, all try to call him back but to no avail. Soon enough he is long gone.
Immediately Numbuh Five whirls to the Numbuh that comes before her and gets right into his face. "Now lookat whatchoo did! Numbuh Two may never speak to us again!" she roars.
"I didn't see you try to stop him," says Numbuh Four unsincerely.
"I thought that, being the 'friend' you are, you'd see that you were wrong and would apologize to 'em!" Numbuh Five exclaims, shoving him roughly.
One and Three immediately sense something nasty and try to get in-between those two, but Numbuh Four pushes the both of them away.
"Hey, we're talkin' hea'!" he tells them. "This missy here is defendin' the rat and lettin' him get away."
"What's with you?" asks Numbuh Five, shaking her head incredulously. "How can you believe that he's traitorin' our team? He's your friend! Or ratha, was your friend."
"I had a change of heart."
"... And when did you have that change of heart?" Numbuh One asks curiously.
"Like... a few minutes ago. But why does that matta?"
"Hmmmmmm." Numbuh One turns away from the fray, furrowing his brow as if thinking of something that requires deep concentration.
Numbuh Three looks on silently, covering her mouth with her over-sleeved hands. Oh, how can this be happening to this group of bestest friends? Why is it happening? One of the Kids Next Door have left the team, and now two of them are in a heated argument, the worst case scenario being they'd settle it with fisticuffs. And from the looks of their eyes, it appears that worse case scenario just may happen!
"Why are you defendin' the rat so much, Numbuh Five? Couldja be in league with the enemy, too!?"
"Now you think I'M screwing the Kids Next Door? Boy, I think I need ta set you straight!" And to show that she's serious, she removes her crimson hat and tosses it behind her, her rage-building eyes now completely visible to everyone.
"Try an' you'll regret it," Numbuh Four says through gritted teeth, clenching his fists threateningly.
"I'll try but I don't think I'll be the one regretting it, blondie," the girl smirks.
Wallabee yells a war cry as he lunges at the taunting girl, tackling her to the ground.
"Gah, that IS enough, you two, cut it out NOW!" Numbuh One orders, his broken concentration amplifying his anger.
"No, stop, please!" Numbuh Three pleads.
But their calls fall on deaf ears. They step in to pull them away from each other, only to be pushed back by the both of them. So Numbuh One and Numbuh Three sigh defeatedly and let those two duke it out.
Numbuh Four hoists Numbuh Five on his shoulders and laughs as he spins around and then slams her backfirst on the Treehouse floor! Then, for good measure, he sticks his elbow out and lets himself crash right into the heart of the girl. It stings her a little, but it's nothing compared to crashing through walls and being shot by lasers and such in real battles. She would consider this horseplay, except she and the boy aren't really playing.
Numbuh Four grins as he watches her favoring her chest and grunting. Numbuhs One and Three both hope that that's the end of that. But unfortunately, Numbuh Four feels like wanting to taunt Numbuh Five some more. He bends down and smirks right into her face.
"How'd you like that?"
"... You think you're the only one who can do that sorta stuff?"
"What?"
Abigail answers him by rocketing her foot right into his midsection, and he doubles over grinding his teeth. Snickering, she forces him down on his face and, crouching over him, she pulls his leg over into a deadly leglock!
Although they disapprove of this fight, Numbuhs One and Three can't help but be surprised yet impressed at the maneuvers Numbuh Five unleashed. And obviously Numbuh Four is caught off-guard, and finds himself desperately suppressing whimpers from the pain shooting throughout his body. He grits his chompers as he resists "tapping out."
"C'mon, Numbuh Four! Say it!" the dark-skinned agent taunts.
"No!" grunts her victim.
"Say it! C'mon, SAY IT!"
"Arrrgh!"
Frustrated by his resistance, Numbuh Five pulls even harder, adding in more pain to her move. Numbuh Four clenches his fists very tightly and sweat beads begin to pop up on his forehead. This is too much...
"Awright, I give!" he exclaims, quickly tapping his hand on the floor, "I give!"
Numbuh Five laughs as she roughly releases the painful hold, standing over the blonde triumphantly with her fists on her hips. Numbuh One and Numbuh Three breathe a sigh of relief -- finally, it's over.
A pride-damaged Numbuh Four stands on his wobbly legs, staring jaw-opened at the girl in front of him. He showed off and he paid for it... by being beaten by a girl!? This is too much for his ego. He has to get away.
"That is, I give... up being here! Yeah, I give up being around here, 'specially with rats and rat-defenders an' stuff. So I'ma leavin', an' don'tcha try ta stop me!" He declares that with a "Ha!" and runs out of there, though speed is impaired.
"Well, there goes another one," comments the braided-hair girl, recovering her red cap. Then she whips to the silent Numbuh One and exclaims, "I can't believe you dragged HIM into the Kids Next Door! First he scared away Numbuh Two, then accused me of being the betrayer!"
But Numbuh One doesn't respond. He just continues to stare down at the floor with furrowed brows.
"Are you listening to me?"
The commander doesn't answer.
"Numbuh One, Kids Next Door is fallin' apart! Aren'tcha gonna do something? Do leader stuff! Tell us what to do!"
He again doesn't answer.
"Tch! Fine! Maybe I should make like Numbuh Four and not stick around here, too. Especially when we have a leada who used to be cool, but now sucks!" Numbuh Three gasps at that insult, but Numbuh Five ignores her as she storms out of the Treehouse.
Now only two Kids remain. Numbuh One hasn't moved at all, and Numbuh Three appears to be interested in her shoes. She suddenly cannot stay mad at him anymore; this is much more serious than being a 'patient' of Play Doctor. Somehow she can't help but feel that she has something to do with Numbuh One's behavior. Perhaps if she tried listening to him instead of yelling...
'But why DID I get that mad at him like that?' the Asian girl asks herself. She was at first grossed-out at what Numbuh One wanted to do with her, but she could have sworn that later she wanted to apologize to him for that outburst and actually listen to his side of the story. But something... clicked inside her that prevented her from doing so. She can't tell what, though.
"Well, aren't you leaving, too?" the immobile leader cuts off her thoughts and the unnerving silence.
"I don't know," Numbuh Three answers honestly, digging the floor with her foot. "I don't wanna leave. But... there's nothing else to do here. Everyone is gone."
"I'm still here."
"Yeah, but... you're not yourself."
The boy in sunshades can only turn his head away from her even though she is right. He isn't being himself... And all because of this traitor thing and this mysterious voice that just came out of nowhere.
"I... gotta go. There's no fun here anymore. Or, more 'm'portantly... there's no friends here anymore. Not the friends I knew, anyway." The Asian girl stares at her silent, former leader one more time and sighs, walking away. Drops of saltwater from her eyes hit the ground before she reluctantly exits out of the base.
"Yeah... go ahead and go," Numbuh One grumbles after minutes of loneliness. He sinks to his knees, clutching his shades. Then, with anger boiling in his blood, he tosses away his trademark accessory and pounds repeatedly on the floor, finally letting his frustrations all out. "WHY!? WHY is this happening!? HOW is this happening!? Come on, you stupid voice, ANSWER ME!!!"
But the mysterious voice does not respond, and that doubles his anger -- NOW she's choosing not to talk to him?? He continously hammers his fists on the Treehouse floor in rage, screaming out all his stress. When he spends the last of his energy, his anger subsides and he sighs, wiping away the tears falling from his cheeks.
* * * * *
Half an hour has passed, and now he's calmed. Now he can try to figure out just what is going on, with or without the womanly voice or his friends.
"I have to think back," he says. "Think back when this whole chaos started. Let's see. After we defeated the Delightful Children a couple of days ago, we left laughing at them. Then, that night, the voice came to me telling me that there's a traitor within the Kids Next Door and that the Delightful Children were planning an attack. Then I told the others about this and they didn't believe me.
"Wait... The Delightful Children! They're major suspects as well. Of course! All of these incidents just happen to occur right after we, uh, humiliated them that day. Let's not forget the way they acted when we arrived at their supposed Groundbot destination. They sounded rather... melodramatic. A little too melodramatic. Perhaps they may have something to do with this! I'm going to pay them a visit and get to the bottom of this! Ugh, if only I had thought of this in the first place, it would have saved me a lot of trouble! As well as my friends..."
With new determination coursing through his body, he slams his fist into the palm of his other hand, goes to his room to obtain his S.C.A.M.P.P. weapon, and ignites his jet boots (yes, he has jet boots if you've ever watched the show's opening) to fly out of headquarters. He then lands on the ground and decides to walk it. Despite his enthusiasm, he still needs to regain his energy from the arguments from this morning and from his treating the floor like a punching bag. And besides, he does need more time to think. And a lot of thinking he needs to do.
After all... he doesn't have the Kids Next Door anymore.
* * * * *
Earlier... [Note: This scene occurs shortly after Numbuh Three left the Kids Next Door.]
The Delightful Children From Down The Lane's mechanical fly flies out of the Kids' headquarters and back to the DC's mansion. The fly lands in front of the Delightful Children's desk and the video monitors pop up, showing all the events that occurred that morning. They chorus in laughter, spitting out their popcorn in the process, as they view the Kids arguing with each other and abandoning the team. They especially express joy from the little Four and Five fight. They fake weep as the scene between One and Three comes up, then cheer when the "movie" finally ends. At last, the Kids Next Door are no more!
As they are asking among themselves whether they should throw a celebration party, Manasa comes floating in, a slight smirk growing as she looks into the happy faces of her employers. "I see you saw the finishing touches of my work."
"Yes," drawl the Children. "You have broken up those obnoxious Kids Next Door! Excellent work, Manasa. You have done very well."
"Thank you. Now, I've done my end of the bargain, now you do yours, if you don't mind."
"Of course, Manasa. You wanted a guarantee to see Father. Well, you are the first person other than ourselves who will see him in person. But you never told us the reason you wish to meet with him. May we again ask why?"
Manasa just smirks. "I have some... things to take care of with him. Something I wanted to do a long time ago but couldn't before. But before I go meet him, is it alright if I have some ice cream?"
The Delightful Children blink questionably at the woman, but shrug. "Well, yes, help yourself. I hope you enjoy your visit with Father."
"Oh, don't worry, children, I will. It will be a killer." She laughs strangely as she closes the door behind her.
The properly-dressed Children lean back on their tall chair and relax. Finally, those Kids Next Door are GONE! They plan to celebrate this victory later on tonight. But as they look out at the door where Manasa exited out of, they each rub their chins in puzzlement. They had their suspicions about her before. But now their suspicions have grown even more.
Especially after the way she said 'killer'...
* * * * *
TO BE CONTINUED...