Now reloading: Kids Next Door mission...
Operation: M.I.N.D., Chapter Five
Writing Operative: Vtbots
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"Heeeyaaaaaaaa!" cries Numbuh Four, the first Kid to attack the psychic lady.
But Manasa shakes her head. "I don't have to read your mind to see how predictable you would be," she says as she uses her mental powers to bind the blonde boy in mid-air. Four struggles to free himself from the trap but Manasa utilizes the power of telekinesis to javelin the victim right into a tree facefirst! He sinks down, mumbling "Ow" and rubbing his poor face.
The four remaining Kids clearly see that this will be a very challenging battle indeed. But, determined to get some payback for everything Manasa had done the past couple days, they yell out their kiddy war cries and Numbuhs One, Two, and Five train their weapons on the woman. Manasa successfully dodges the mini-rays from One's and Five's blasters, but when Two shoots rounds of gumballs she finds her dress even more ruined than before when the gumballs explode into, well, gum.
"Ahhh!" Manasa whines, trying to get the sticky substance off of her.
"Ooohh, gum!" Numbuh Three exclaims gleefully as she leaps in front of the adult to have a taste of the sweets herself, picking the stuff off of Manasa, not knowing she is helping Manasa out of her little dilemma.
The recovering Numbuh Four takes advantage of Manasa's momentary pause in combat, dashes, plays a little game of "leap frog" on Three, and delivers a hard knuckle right into the woman's cheek, sending her almost a whole yard back.
"Awww, it tasted so good!" Three complains, but Four ignores her as he grabs her out of the way so that the others can open fire on her.
Manasa finds herself being pummelled by light rays about as stinging as a hot soup, light rays about as cool as a soda, and non-explosive gumballs about as hard as... gumballs. She has to do something; it's hard to make a move this way, even with her psychic powers. What can she do that will stop or at least alleviate this assault...
"Hey Nigel, is that Lizzie over there!?" shouts the young woman.
"Lizzie??" Numbuh One ceasefires and whirls around, scanning the vicinity for his red-braided "girlfriend." Numbuhs Two and Five soon stop shooting their own firearms, telling him that they don't see Lizzie anywhere.
But they realize Manasa's trick too late-- Their weapons are stripped from their hands as if by a magnetic force, and they fall into Manasa's own. Numbuhs One, Two, and Five glare at her, gritting their teeth in equal frustration.
Manasa smiles a little and tosses them away. "Two-by-Four Technology, using everyday items and molding them into technologic equipment that rival real hi-tech equipment. I've always found your technology interesting. But I'm afraid it might not save you this time."
Numbuhs Three and Four run to the others' side, each one of them unarmed. They see themselves in a rather unpleasant predicament.
"Listen, Kids, I have more important things to do and to think about right now. I really did not want to do battle with you, but you forced me into it. All this just because I wanted to have a little fun as well as have the opportunity to do what I wanted to do in there for so long?" Manasa says, motioning to the Delightful Children's mansion.
"There is nothing funny about nearly destroying a team's friendship," says Numbuh One, his brow furrowing dangerously.
"Maybe not, but I saw how strong your friendship was and knew you all would get back together. All's well that ends well, right?"
"I still have some questions for ya," says Five. "Who is this someone you were talkin' 'bout earlier, and what kind of deal didja have wit' the Delightful chumps anyway?"
Manasa looks at her, then hovers high enough off the ground that she towers over the small children below her, staring down at them as the little people they are.
"I'll tell you when we're done," she replies. "Now, let us continue!"
Manasa hugs her sides and begins spinning... and spinning... and spinning... and spinning....
"I think I'm gonna be sick..." groans Numbuh Four, whose face begins to turn green as his bang-covered eyes follow the rapid woman-twister.
Then the young lady suddenly speeds toward the group in a velocity so great that there is no time to scatter. As their mouths hang open, only one thing can be said from the mouth of Numbuh Two:
"This is gonna hurt, isn't it?"
No sooner does he say that than Manasa collides with the team. The force of her body and the manipulated air not only deals quite unsettling pain to the Kids but it also scatters them, though not in the way they would have wanted had they had the time. Numbuhs One, Three, and Five find themselves landing on some rosebushes -- the ones with the prickly thorns. Numbuhs Two and Four end up face-to-hurting-face with the hard wall of the mansion, slithering down half-conscious.
Manasa smiles proudly. She feels so lucky that her mental powers enables her to defy gravity and fly, albeit at a limited height. Even so, that had to be the best move she invented, but she figures the Kids will not think so. They are probably thinking more about kissing their boo-boos than anything at the moment. In fact, Numbuh Three is literally kissing her little boo-boos and picking the thorns out of her sweater, moaning and groaning and making all sorts of whiny sounds that only a person with a voice as high as hers can make.
Four isn't too happy about Manasa's flight ability. Not bothering to try the stop the world from spinning around him, the Aussie immediately jumps to his feet, shaking his fists directly at the woman.
"C'mon, stop cheatin' an' come down 'ere!"
His foe smirks and descends onto the yard. Snarling viciously, the mop-headed blonde charges at his adversary and, despite the comparison between his and Manasa's height, attempts to unleash barrages of fist-thrusting and foot-launching in a berserker rage, though he has to leap up and down to strike his intended targets.
Since Wallabee is fighting with his quick (and sometimes careless) hand-to-hand combat instincts more than with rational thinking, it is more difficult for the psychic to read his thoughts... She must rely on her nimbleness to dodge his annoying attacks until she detects the right moment.
Suddenly, Wallabee slacks for just one moment to deliver what appears to be a mighty uppercut. Perfect. Manasa grins as suddenly Four freezes in a stasis. His face falters into a "Not again!" expression as he finds himself hovering to Manasa's eye level.
"So predictable you are..."
With that, the four other Kids, just recovering from their stupor, witness with widened eyes Manasa's counterattack against her victim. She gives the top of his head an unwelcome greeting with her elbow, delivers a knee blow to the household of digestion known as his stomach, and finally introduces the heel of her foot to his face, rocketing him far away and forcing him to say hello to the tree once again. He slumps to the ground facefirst, groaning and favoring his head.
As the Kids sprint to check on him, the capped girl suddenly clenches her fists and glares directly at the woman.
"Hey, I want him at a hundred percent for our rematch, lady!" she yells.
"He should have thought about that before trying to strike my pretty face. Such a predictable little boy he is; I don't even have to read his mind to know how he would fight!"
"Is that right?" One asks.
"Yes."
The leader ponders this with a rub under his chin.
"So now what?" asks Manasa. "Still want to fight me? We could go all night if you want." She eyes the sky as the sun gradually descends, transforming the sky into dark and purplely, stars making their presence known and the crescent moon shining above. "It's evening time already," the woman comments. "Time flies when you're having fun, huh?"
"But we're not having any fun!" Three says with a frown and closed eyes.
"Yeah, she's beating us left and right!" Two adds. "And that's not right!"
"C'mon y'all, there has to be someway we can take her down," Five encourages.
"That's right, and that's by teaming on her at once!" yells Four. "LET'S GET 'ER!"
"No, wait!" One shouts, but his comrades have already started charging toward their opponent.
The four decide to use team attacks, so the Aussie fighter wields the chubby pilot like a lance and uses him like a battering ram of some sort. But Manasa dodges and utilizes her mental powers to shove their faces on the rather uncomfortable ground.
Then the stealth girl and the diversionary tactics expert display rather skillful aerobic moves -- though Numbuh Three thinks it's dancing, and she appears to be enjoying it jubilantly -- and attempt to deliver a mighty jump kick, synchronized-style.
Unfortunately, Manasa already read what Numbuh Five planned, and so knows just the right moment to evade the manuever. When she does, the startled girl duo put on the brakes, but too late: Manasa unleashes a roundhouse kick knocking both of them out of her face and in front of a worried yet frustrated Numero Uno. Then she goes over to the Australian-accented child and picks him up by the legs with one hand. Then she carries the mechanic with her free hand and throws him up in the air. Snickering, she uses Numbuh Four like a baseball bat and strikes Numbuh Two, who then joins the pile of the downed girls! Then, still carrying him like a bat, she swings Numbuh Four round and around and simply tosses him to the Kids. Collective "OOOoofff!"s soon follow.
"You're out!" laughs Manasa.
Numbuh One simply stands over his comrades, arms folded, drumming his fingers. Frustrated eyes are hidden under his sunglasses.
"Man," groans Numbuh Two, "it's no use. Her mind power thingy lets her anticipate our moves!"
"That's what I tried to warn you about," says the leader sternly. "Now will you settle down and listen?"
They nod slowly.
"Good. I want to speak with each of you individually. Numbuh Two, you're first. Come along."
The confused Kids blink, but the pilot shrugs and lets Numbuh One take him out of earshot of the others.
'I wonder what they are doing?' thinks Manasa. 'I guess I could read their minds and see, but I'd rather find out for myself. Who knows, it might be a lot of fun...'
"... now DO NOT tell the others what I told you, got it?"
"Errr, sure thing Numbuh One...(?)" says Two softly before he rejoins the team. 'Why is Numbuh One telling me to do that?' he wonders. 'He wouldn't tell me why, either. Oh well, it's his orders so I should obey them. But I hope I won't end up getting my face mashed into the ground like last time; that hurt!'
The commander then orders another member to speak with him alone. Like Numbuh One, he tells his comrade what to do, gives them the same stern warning he gave Numbuh Two, and then dismisses that person, confusing them but accepting his orders anyway. Then he calls the next member, and so on...
* * * * *
Minutes later, each Kid below the number one ask each other what their leader was talking about, but, as part of Numbuh One's orders, none of them would say. Numbuh One sushes them and steps in front of the group with his arms folded behind him.
"Okay, Manasa, we're ready!" he announces.
"All right. Let's see what you have cooked up!"
The commander motions for the mechanic to go, and the chubby youngster reluctantly does. He charges towards the woman, who readies herself to give him yet another beatdown. However, when he reaches halfway, he suddenly stops and pretends to fly around like an airplane.
"Brrrooooommmm! Swooooshhhhhhhh!" The pilot makes all kinds of sound effects as he "flies" around the battlefield, totally bewildering the Kids Next Door (except Numbuh One) and Manasa alike.
"What... is he doing?" wonders Manasa out loud.
Numbuh Two stops in front of her and 'salutes.' "Ready for take-off, capt'n!"
"What?" Manasa is still confused.
'That's my cue...' thinks Numbuh Five as she uses this distraction to sprint from the battlefield to retrieve their weapons. She tosses each of them to their respective owner (except Numbuh Two, who's busy at the moment) and then immediately open fires on the unsuspecting psychic before she could attempt to read Two's mind!
"Grrgaahh!?" she grunts as the dark girl lets out a battle cry and dashes closer to her target, blasting her soda-cold lasers like a madgirl.
Five then abruptly stops firing and lowers the weapon, smirking. Manasa frowns and looks into her thoughts. But all she can read is what the dark girl did earlier -- fire like mad.
"Is that all you're going to do?" asks Manasa, trying to fix her ruffled-up strawberry-red hair.
"Nah, there's still one more thing Numbuh Five hasta do." She takes a deep breath, sticks her thumbs into her ears, and raspberries. Giggling, she runs away, leaving Manasa confused but angry.
"Hey, come back he--OOMPH!"
The woman feels a sharp pain when Numbuh Two suddenly rams her like a bull. She lands harshly on her behind, feeling her struck side and glaring at the boy.
Two stands triumphantly -- He was told to strike Manasa the moment he sees Five raspberry and run away, and it worked! He wonders if this is all to Numbuh One's plan, but decides not to do anymore for fear of massive retaliation, and flees temporarily. Manasa stands and makes a decision to focus on the others before setting his sights on the round one.
"Your turn, Numbuh Four. You know what you have to do," the leader commands.
"Yeah, yeah, yeah..." grumbles the Aussie. For some reason he seems very reluctant to carry out this order. He takes a deep breath, yells a war cry, and dashes toward his target with raised fists.
Manasa simply shakes her head, rolling her eyes. "Here we go again," she whispers to herself. "This one definently is the easiest member so far. Oh well, time to give him, what is this, his third beatdown?"
But Manasa is in for a surprise. As Numbuh Two did before, Four stops halfway. This time he bears a rather goofy grin on his face. He outstretches his arms and dances to quite a familiar tune:
"I'm a little teapot, short 'n' stout! Here is my handle, here is my spout...!"
Once again, the Kids (besides Numbuh One) and Manasa are stunned. Some of the Kids resist snickering. Numbuh Four singing and dancing to "I'm a Little Teapot"?? If only they had a camera!
Manasa doesn't know what to do. She cannot decide whether to laugh or to attack. She blinks and turns around as the still singing Numbuh Four dances around her. Her back is facing the other Kids.
"Okay, Numbuh Three, Numbuh Four is singing and Manasa's back is turned. That's your cue."
"Alrighty, Numbuh One!" says she, a gleeful smile on her face. She quietly skips toward the distracted woman until she's right in front of her. She looks down at the lady's legs intently before she uses a leg sweep move. Manasa abruptly finds herself on her back, blinking in surprise. Meanwhile Numbuh Four finally stops singing, letting his throat take a break.
'What hit me?' Manasa wonders. Her question is answered when the Asian girl stands over her, joyfully smiling with her eyes closed as they are most of the time.
"Are you really a psycho?" asks Three innocently.
"PSYCHIC!" yells Manasa. "Now let's see what you're planning!" With that she reads Numbuh Three's thoughts. Hmm, leg-sweep Manasa when Numbuh Four starts singing... And that's it. That's it!? Other than an admiration of the beautiful moon in the evening sky, that is all Numbuh Three has in mind that is worth reading.
The psychic jumps to her feet, her frustrations boiling over. "What is going on with you all!?" she exclaims. "You're not fighting like you usually--"
Her sentence is cut short when Numbuh Four spears her legs, once again knocking her down backfirst. Four immediately leaps up and, with his knees forward, crashes right into the midsection of Manasa, who yelps from the blow.
"That move o' yers hurt a lot!" growls Four, who hops off and moves away, personally enjoying Manasa hurting from a similar deed she done unto him.
The foe shakily stands on her two feet, eyeing each of the Kids curiously and angrily at once. Once again Nigel is discussing something with each Kid Next Door individually. She contemplates for a moment. What is up with them? Why are they behaving this way? How is it that they are able to attack her so well?
Before she can think further into this situation, Nigel Uno begins shooting his soup can phlazer weapon into the air, creating a pretty lightshow in the sky. Manasa stares upward, wondering if the soup can-hot lasers were meant to come crashing back down on her.
Something hits her all right; lasers as cold as soda directly to her chest shot by the stealthy girl, who is some distance away from the team. Manasa cries out and shields herself with one arm and, facing the girl, attempts to telekinetically take away Numbuh Five's weapon. But not one second passes before her concentration is ruined when a sneaker is caved into her cheek, knocking her down to the ground.
Numbuh Four stands over her, snarling like an animal, and ready to pound her. Manasa, demanding an explanation for the Kids' behavior, looks into his thoughts for a moment. But the only thing she gets from it is the attack he unleashed just a moment ago. And something else strange...
Numbuh Four bears a goofy smile once again and widens his eyes as he stares at the moon, cupping his hands together. "Ooohhh, lookit the pretty moooonnnn!" he says in a rather girly tone.
Manasa shakes her head in disbelief. She can tell that in reality he did not want to do that, but he did anyway. Why? What in the world is going on? Why is it so much harder to lay a finger on them all of a sudden!? It's like whenever somebody acts strangely...
"Hey Numbuh Four, want some gum?" calls the pilot of the team.
Numbuh Four, dropping his act, blinks at him and wonders why he would chew gum at a time like this. It only takes a moment before he sees just what kind of gum Two has in possession. He grins and gives him an "OK" sign.
Numbuh Two smiles and fires a gumball from his shooter. But instead of catching the gum with his mouth, Four moves out of the way and the gum misses him completely. Too bad the same can not be said for Manasa.
"Ahhhh!" the woman hollers as she picks the exploded gum off of her face. Four faces her and simply smiles.
"Oops, sorry," he says unsincerely before running away.
Numbuh One signals to Numbuh Three to carry out her next act and she nods, skipping towards the woman, who is still on the ground. The Asian girl offers her oversleeved hand to her. Manasa blinks but smirks slightly. 'Ha, it's just like her,' she thinks. 'The moment she helps me up, POW, I'll get her right square in the jaw!'
Manasa extends her hand and Three takes it. It is only when Manasa is halfway up when suspicion arises. But Manasa doesn't get a chance to act on it when, the very instant Manasa is on her feet, the jubilant girl frowns and delivers an un-sleeved fist to the stomach! The woman doubles over, unwise choice when it comes to the acrobatic Numbuh Three, who immediately does a somersault to the psychic's face, forcing her a yard or two away and on her behind.
Numbuh Three then replaces the frown with a smile of glee and she says, innocently, "You should learn how to dance better. You could get hurt." Then, humming, she skips away.
Manasa stares at the Kids. 'What is happening?' she asks herself. 'Why am I being beaten by them? It seems first they make out like they're going to attack, then they do something strange or uncharacteristic, and then I'm suddenly attacked by either the same person or another Kid. And reading their minds has been no help at all, because the only thing I keep getting out of there is either weird act they put on, or the attack they just used on me.
'It's almost like a pattern. First they charge for a fake attack, then they surprise with an unusual or uncharacteristic act, and last, BOOM, I'm attacked! Charge, surprise, boom. Charge, surprise, boom. Charge, surprise, boom! And Numbuh One doesn't do a thing. WHAT IS GOING ON!?'
And so this apparent pattern continues. First Numbuh One discusses something with each of his comrades individually, then one or more members charge, stop to do something weird, and lastly Manasa is attacked from her blind spot by another member or two. When Numbuhs Two through Five do their thing, Numbuh One once again speaks with each of them alone, again giving them a stern warning not to tell the others. And then the attack continues.
And this cycle goes on and on for the duration of the battle. First it's talk, then there's charge, then the surprise, and finally the BOOM, unexpected attack. Talk, charge, surprise, BOOM. Talk, charge, surprise, BOOM. Talk, charge, surprise, BOOM! Talk, charge, surprise, BOOM! Talk, charge, surprise, BOOM! Talk, charge, surprise, BOOM! TALK, CHARGE, SURPRISE, BOOM! TALK, CHARGE, SURPRISE, BOOM!!
Manasa is on the verge of tears. This pattern is like an old song that one gets tired of putting up with over and over and over and over! And she can not do a thing about it. She hardly gets a chance to make a move anymore. She finds herself guarding the entire time as the onslaught goes on and on. Until finally...
...she collapses on her knees, battered, tuckered out, and just plain wanting it all to end.
Her wish is granted when Numbuh One orders his team to stop. He marches towards her and the others follow suit. One folds his arms behind his back and looks directly at her. Manasa's redhair is a serious mess that would take all night to fix. Her clothes are all wrinkly and torn in some places. And Numbuh One could swear he saw a slight hint of fear in her dark eyes. To sum it up, she looks worse for wear.
Manasa scoots away from the Kids, as if expecting another surprise attack. She is much too weary to read any of their minds now. She was already tired from the mind-reading she did earlier today; now it seems she's all out of psychic juice. Both mentally and physically tired, she discovers that she is powerless...
The woman can only shake her head. She wants to yell at them, swear at them, anything to vent out her anger and frustrations. But she thinks better of that and decides to ask them something she has been dying to know:
"How? How are you doing this? I had you in my clutches, but suddenly you turned the tables on me. How?"
A slight moment of silence. Numbuh One looks around him. He sees that the other Kids want to know the true extent to One's plan as well. Even if his plan was successful, it would be nice to know how they did it exactly. Then, clearing his throat and fixing his sunglasses, Numbuh One speaks up, taking a step forward.
"You want to know how?" he asks. "I'll tell you how. I noticed a few things about you. First, it seems you are unable to read the minds of more than one person without straining yourself. Second, you claimed that you had no need to read our minds because we were so predictable. And third, while reading someone's mind your awareness of your surroundings is slightly reduced, but even a slight reduction can be dangerous. I took these three points into consideration and formulated a risky, but successful, plan.
"I'm sure you guys are wondering why I spoke with each of you alone to do something that would be considered weird, why I told you not to tell the others what you're going to do, and why I stayed in the sidelines?" he asks, looking at them from over his shoulder.
His comrades nod.
"Well," he continues, turning back to Manasa but still speaking to his friends, "it should be obvious. If I told you why I ordered you to do those things, that would have put the plan in jeopardy. Manasa could have read your mind and found out what I intended to do. The same would go if I let you blab it to the others.
"You see, Manasa, it goes like this. I order one operative to do something strange, then order the next member to attack you when they see the previous operative do that thing. Then I command that member to do something strange... And so on. I am confident you are aware of the results."
"... One of you does something distracting, then another person surprise attacks me on cue, then he or she does something unusual so that another person can attack me," Manasa replies.
"Yes, and when all Numbuhs are done, I quickly speak with each of them alone again while you're down."
"And the vicious cycle continues..." she frowns.
"Correct," nods Numbuh One.
The ingenious plan of their commander begins to dawn on the Kids, and they stare at him in amazement.
Only Numbuh Five is able to speak up. "I get it now, leada-man! You stayed out of the fight 'cause Manasa would've read your mind and known what you were tryin' to do."
The leader nods.
"... Wow!" Two comments.
"I must admit, it was quite amusing watching my comrades pound you into oblivion," says One with an ironic smirk. "And there was not a thing you were able to do about it -- My friends beat you in all directions before you could even try that game of yours. As long as we keep that pattern up, you wouldn't be able to lay a hand on us. 'We could go all night if you want,' as you said before."
"No..." Manasa shakes her head.
But Numbuh One continues the torture. "We were virtually unpredictable and you were virtually helpless. We toyed with your mind, Manasa; we beat you at your own game. Manasa... you lose."
The woman hugs her sides, trembling. Droplets of saltwater leak out of her eyes; even shutting them wouldn't stop them from flowing.
She just cannot believe it. A powerful psychic like her... has been defeated! And by whom? Why, by a quintet of little children! And as if that wasn't bad enough, they used her own tricks of the mind against her! She hates to admit it, but she knows Nigel Uno is right. They definently have toyed with her head... just like she toyed with theirs.
The Kids Next Door stare at her silently. It is strange to see whom they thought was a big meanie, cry like this. Sympathy grows in their hearts, even Numbuh Four's.
But their sympathy turns to bewilderment when Manasa suddenly begins to laugh. First quietly, then loudly. She stands on her two feet, wiping away her tears with her arms. The Kids' expressions just scream out "She has gone psycho!"
"Ha ha ha, very clever; very, very clever," Manasa compliments, clapping her hands in approval. "You got me, Nigel Uno. I'm very reluctant to admit it, but you win. Congratulations. And, as promised, I will tell you why I made a deal with the Delightful Children.
"You see, kids, I came here for revenge."
"Revenge?" the Kids ask.
"Yes, revenge. Against THAT man!" Manasa angrily shouts, motioning towards the mansion.
"You mean the Delightful Children's daddy?" Numbuh Three inquires.
"Yes, Kuki. When I was in middle school, I gained my powers because of an 'accident' from his experiments. My life went down to tiolet when the whole town found out about my psychic ability. Then, one day, one horrific day... He... severely injured one of my friends... and killed the rest."
"WHAT!?" the Kids exclaim.
"How could he do something so horrible!?" Two demands.
"Because he thought that my friends were associated with the 'trouble-making' their friends were causing. He was actually after my friends' friends, who, unknown to him that time, were actually Kids Next Door operatives..." the team of Kids' eyes broaden but Manasa goes on, "but he destroyed my friends during his search.
"I wanted to get back at him for murdering the people I loved! So I spent all my years till now to train my powers so I could seek retribution! But I wanted to beat him at the perfect moment to satisfy my revenge even more. That's why I purposely caused your break-up; so that when the Delightful Children's 'Father' is jumping for joy, WHAM!"
"I see..." says Numbuh One, fixing his shades.
"But before the match, I discovered something to my horror. It appears that over the years he had bigger plans in mind. He planned to... wipe out every single child that is rebellious against authority!"
The Kids gasp.
"His master plan was set on a world where children have no minds of their own, no emotions. A world where adults control children like animals and the children carry out every single order without a second thought, much like a robot. And then the children would pass down these so-called 'standards' to their own children, and his precious cycle of life would continue. He planned to kill any child, even a little kid, who does not go by his standards. That includes you Kids Next Door... or even a normal child. And he was going to enjoy every moment of his murdering spree."
"That... that... monster," Numbuh Five says solemnly, though was actually thinking of a word much worse than monster.
"Man, that is majorly uncool," says Numbuh Four in the same solemn tone.
But Manasa's last sentence dawns on Numbuh One. "Wait a minute, did you say was? You keep speaking about him in the past tense....."
The Kids Next Door's curious expressions tell her that she might as well let it out. They would have found out sooner or later anyway.
"Well, I certainly did not agree with his plans. Even though I am an adult myself, I knew that someone with a mind like his had to be stopped. It was not all about revenge anymore. It was about saving the world's children. I felt he did not deserve to be... around. So... I..."
Finding it difficult to say it out loud, she simply creates a straight line across her neck with her finger.
The Kids Next Door's jaws drop wide open. Their most dangerous and hated enemy... is...
"Whoa dude, you KILLED the Delightful Children's dad!?!" Two exclaims
"That's something we wouldn't do even if we wanted..." says Numbuh One.
"They are gonna be soooooo mad!" Numbuh Three says, covering her gaping mouth with her oversleeved hands.
Manasa nods. "Maybe. I was unfortunate to have to do in that man in their presence. But I destroyed him for the good of kids all over the world... and, moreso... for their own good."
"What'd ya mean?" asks the dark girl.
"Well, you see, their so-called 'Father'--AHHH!"
A series of minor lasers strike the psychic down, surprising the heck out of everyone. They look to the direction of the shooting and are even more surprised at what they see.
A very cheesed off-looking quintet of Children dressed in very proper attire stand in front of the entrance to their home, training what look like small ray guns directly on Manasa. When she tries to get back up, they fire again.
"You...!" they say in their monotone, though there's a hint of fury in there somewhere. "We would like an explanation for your deed, you double-crossing..."
"Hey you creeps," shouts Numbuh Four, "stop it, Manasa's--!"
"Silence! Kids Next Door, you are trespassing on our property!"
"Like you don't trespass on ours?" Numbuh Five retorts. The Delightful Children answer her by shooting in front of her feet. Five promptly backs away.
"We said, SILENCE! We demand you leave, or you will be destroyed along with the woman! We are only letting you go this time because apparently you weakened her for us. Go before we change our minds!"
"Do as they say, Kids Next Door," Manasa says, feebly standing up.
"But..." Numbuh One begins.
"Don't worry about me, I'll be fine. Go now, for they WILL change their minds if you don't; you can trust me on that."
The Kids Next Door realize that she is getting some of her mind powers back. They nod and, by Numbuh One's command, they retreat, albeit reluctantly.
Five less distractions gone, the Delightful Children aim their arsenal at the woman, taking dangerous steps towards her.
"Well?" they demand. "Are you going to explain to us why you destroyed Father!?"
"I did it for your own benefit, and deep down inside you know it."
"Why do you keep saying that your destroying Father was for OUR benefit!?"
Manasa smiles a bit and takes a risky step towards them. The Delightful Children prepare themselves to shoot at any moment. But Manasa retains her calm and instead just looks down at them sadly and sympathetically.
"Children," says Manasa. "Let me tell you something about your so-called 'Father'...."
* * * * *
Later that evening...
The Kids Next Door are having a victory dinner: Pizza and ice cream. Okay, so pizza and ice cream aren't too good to eat at the same time. But this is a rebellious group of kids, after all.
"A-Ahem, may I have your attention please!" the commander orders, tipping his glass of milk to quiet his comrades. He stands and crosses his arms behind his back.
"Congratulations on yet another victory, team! We were up against a very powerful 'opponent,' but we still made it out. A job well down, my friends!"
"Awww, c'mon Numbuh One, you know it was because of YOU we won in the first place," says Numbuh Five.
"Yeah, if ya haven't come up with that plan of yers we woulda never had beaten that psycho!" Numbuh Four adds.
"Maybe, but my plan would not have carried out so well if it wasn't for your teamwork. To be honest, I was afraid you wouldn't do the things I told you, for obvious reasons."
"Yeah, well..." Two waves One's concerns away, "we did what we had to. I'll admit those orders were... weird, but hey, it worked."
"Soma them were kinda funny, too," laughs Numbuh Five. She faces the Aussie boy and holds back more laughter. " 'Ooohhh, lookit the pretty moooonnnn!' " she mocks playfully.
All four Kids around Numbuh Four snicker, much to his dismay. But Four smirks and points to the dark girl beside him. "At least I didn't have to dance 'n' sing to the Blarney the Orange Dinosaur opening theme song!"
"Touché," smirks Numbuh Two, whose face is then instantly covered with part of Numbuh Five's ice cream.
"Well, I thought Numbuh Four looked soooo cute when he sang 'I'm a Little Teapot'!" squeals the Asian operative.
The Aussie simply turns away quickly, crossing his arms, huffing. "Yeah, whateva..." And he goes on a rant under his breath about stupid this and stupid that.
"Hey, what 'bout that Manasa lady?" asks Numbuh Five, shifting the atmosphere back to seriousness.
"I don't think I wanna know what the Delightful Children did to her," says Numbuh Two in a low voice.
"Don't worry, team, somehow I feel that Manasa is okay," Numbuh One tells them. "I'm no mind-reader, but I do have this feeling that everything will turn out fine, even for the Delightful Children From Down The Lane. Plus, we no longer need to fear their 'Father,' though the way he disappeared from our lives wasn't quite what I expected."
"I still don't understand why he would wanna kill kids to get what he wanted," Numbuh Three mumbles solemnly.
"Eh, you know mad scientists, they're usually not right in the head. So don't worry 'bout him," the shorter fighter assures her.
"Well, let's not let ourselves feel down now," says the leader. "This is a time of celebration. Dig in, team!"
Now that is one order the Kids are willing to obey. In the middle of their scarfing, Numbuh Five suddenly remembers something and smirks.
"Hey Numbuh Four, we're suppos'ta have our rematch, weren't we?"
"Oooyeamph, we werethempth." Numbuh Four swallows and speaks more clearly, "Oh yeah, we were!"
"Ya up to it?"
"You betcha!"
With that the two competitors immediately devour their food, not bothering to excuse themselves for the burps that follow.
"Hey Numbuh Two, wanna be our ref?" asks Four.
"Sure!" he answers. A wrestling match between Numbuh Four and Numbuh Five sounds much more exciting than even pizza and ice cream, so Two sets his food aside till later and follows Four and Five to Four's room where the wrestling mat is.
Numbuh Three, too, sets her food aside and smiles at her leader. "C'mon, Numbuh One, let's be the commentators! You can sit b'side me, long as you don't try to play Doctor or something."
Numbuh Three winks to show she was just kidding and skips toward Numbuh Four's quarters. Numbuh One looks after her and smiles. "Those guys..." he sighs, but in a good way. At last, a state of normalcy is returning for the Kids Next Door.
* * * * *
The next morning, at dawn, the Delightful Children From Down The Lane walk out of their large household and face where their Father's room would be. They never bothered to bury his body; they left it right where it was when they last saw it.
Their blank, blue eyes stare at their home. They sigh simultaneously, shaking their heads.
"Father... Are you really gone? Yes, yes you are gone. We saw your moment of death before our very eyes. We should be moaning, we should be grieving, we should be all-around depressed. However, Manasa informed us of what you really were:
"A no-good, lying, monsterous BASTARD!!"
Their bodies tremble, their fists clench, and their teeth grind as they finally let out their frustrations, their pain, their suffering, their fury against the destroyed being of flame. Their eyes glare dangerously at where their Father's room is, pointing towards it in utmost rage.
"Manasa told us everything about you, and we are glad that she did. So we were a disappointment to you, were we!? So we did not deserve to be your Children, did we!? So you were planning to KILL us for our constant failures, were you!? Well, don't worry 'Father,' you won't have to worry about US anymore!
"You treated us like your slaves; you never gave us a care in the world! You never did love us, did you!? You used us just to carry out your plan to viciously murder innocent children all over the world!! And you know what? We REJOICE at your destruction, for all the reasons we gave you! May the earthworms feast on you!"
The Delightful Child with blonde hair similar to Numbuh Four's whips out a remote control of some sort from his suit pocket, and points it towards the mansion.
"May this be the moment where you completely disappear from our lives, now... AND FOREVER!!"
With that declaration, the boy presses the button and then the Delightful Childrens' Father's room, along with all his possessions and his body, explode into a mighty cylinder of flames. The Delightful Children made the explosives so that the rest of the mansion would be affected only a little, if at all. That way, the room would receive the tremendous damage. Even a body like their Father's would not be able to survive it.
They watch the spectacle before them, fire in their own eyes. But the flames in their eyes die down as realization hits them. And then they... smile. Not their evil or "business" smile, but a joyful smile.
"We're... free. We're free! We're free, free, FREE AT LAST!"
The Children break away from each other and dance around happily, like the chains of slavery was broken and their 'owner' lets them go at last. The sprinklers come on, but they don't care. Instead the boys simply take off their suit jackets, and let the sprinkles refresh them.
The Delightful Children play around the sprinklers, tagging or playfully tackling each other... just like real children would. For the first time in their lives... they are happy.
In a distance not too far away, a young woman watches them all, a satisfied smile on her face.
"Now they know..." Manasa whispers. "You are liberated at last, Delightful Children. And not just you, but children everywhere. They have no need to fear your 'Father' anymore. Yes, Children, you are certainly free at last. Now... I must go."
Manasa turns and walks away, weight lifted off of her shoulders like a curse leaving a body. She satisfied her revenge, saved kids everywhere, and made five of them especially happy. All in one night. Boy, does it feel great.
She faces the Kids Next Door's Treehouse in the distance, then the rejoicing Delightful Children, then back again.
"Kids Next Door, Delightful Children, we might meet again someday," she says to herself. "But even with my powers, I cannot foresee the future. We may see each other again, we may not. We'll just have to wait and see. Until then, I will continue my life and enjoy it, with no hidden hatred and seeking of revenge in my heart. I'll think I'll start with... the person I love dearly."
So Manasa walks down the street to do just that. She can at last free her mind from pain and suffering and have the courage to face the world once again. And, as said before, she'll begin her new life with the person whom she loves...
...that being her boyfriend, the sole survivor of the massacre long ago.
* * * * *
END TRANSMISSION