Reloading: Kids Next Door mission...
Operation: R.O.O.K.I.E., Chapter Three
Rookie Obtains Opportunities - Kooky Introductory Escapades
Writing Operative: Vtbots
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In the Treehouse's dining room, eating at a picnic table, Kenny Rangsey's first dinner with the Kids Next Door is a quiet one. Well, quiet if he ignores Numbuh Three's playing with her food. She skillfully nibbles her apple until a smiley face forms on it.
Speaking of which, the Kids Next Door sure have an unusual choice of dinner. Chili dogs with an apple as a "side dish," and a lollipop for a sweet. Something dinner would never be like at his former home. No doubt other dinners would be similar. He cracks a smile, imagining all sorts of combinations of main and side dishes that just would not go together normally.
"So, Kenny," says Numbuh One, finally breaking the silence, "how did it go?" When Kenny asks what he means, he replies, "With your mother. How did you convince her?"
He pauses for a minute. Should he really tell them what exactly he said? He might bore them to death. That wouldn't make too much of impression on them on his first night with them. So he decides to sum it up the best way he can.
"Well, I did what you said, Nig-- Numbuh One," he replies, almost forgetting he should call the Kids Next Door by their codenames here. "I told her what you guys were all about. It took a while but I eventually got through to her. I almost ran away when I thought she would never let me join."
"Well, ya should have," smirks Numbuh Four, taking a large bite out of his chili dog. "That woulda been way cooler, and would've taught her a thing or two."
"Yeah... But I couldn't; she's a mom. Most moms have scary inner radars or something."
"Yes, tell me about it..." mutters Numbuh One, remembering one moment where his mother embarrassed him in front of his friends when she called to him in a babying tone and ruining how dramatic he would have made his "dangerous mission" (a carnival) be. "But the important thing is, Kenny, you should be able to be a Kid Next Door with hopefully no trouble at all now."
"Can I ask you something? How come you guys are still calling me by my real name? Shouldn't I get a 'Numbuh' or something now?"
"Only official Kids Next Door operatives have codenames. Right now you are a trainee, and your training as a Kid Next Door will begin tomorrow. You will not become an official Kid Next Door until your training is complete and that I personally see that you are truly fit to become one."
"It's gonna be real challengin', Rookie," Numbuh Four teases. "Hope you don't wet your pants, heh heh heh!" He shuts up when a glob of chili hits him square on the nose.
"Oh, stop that, Numbuh Four!" Numbuh Three chides, wiping the little mess of the thrown chili out of her oversized sleeve. She turns to Kenny with a smile. "Don't worry, Kenny. It will be a little tough but I know you can do it."
"Thanks, Numbuh Three," says Kenny, smiling a little at her while flashing a 'Ha ha, she sure got you!' look towards Numbuh Four, who crosses his arms silently with a lollipop in his mouth.
"Dere's lotsa stuff to do durin' yer training," the capped girl tells him, bringing a friendly arm around his shoulder. "You've gotta learn to fight. That includes using melee and projectile weapons... We don't fight with our fists that much, but those are 'm'portant, too." She emphasizes that by forcing his hand into a fist.
"And you gotta say cool lines!" Numbuh Two adds.
"Yyyyeah, that too. But don't learn from him, his lines stink," she says with a shake of her head, plugging her nose.
"They do not!" Two counters.
"I think what he said in the warehouse was kinda funny," Kenny comments with a little smile.
The team's mechanic beams. "Finally, someone who appreciates my creative quotes!"
Five rolls her eyes. "Whatever."
"Not only is combat important, Kenny," Numbuh One states. "You have to get used to our 2x4 technology in general. That includes vehicles, computers, devices, and more. And it is really important that you remember those 'very important things' I told you about."
"Don't worry," Kenny assures them all, "I'll remember. And I don't care what it takes. I'll try my super-duper-upery best to become a Kid Next Door! You're not scaring me away from it. No sirree!"
The leader smiles. Kenny is more confident and determined than he thought. Perhaps he CAN reach his goal...
Dinner is over and normally this would be the time where Kenny would kick off his shoes, sit back on the couch, and watch something on the tube. But today's events zapped the energy out of him and he needs some shut-eye.
"So, where are the sleeping quarters in this place? I'm sleepy." Kenny asks Numbuh One as they walk out of the dining room.
"We each have our own bedroom quarters," the KND commander explains.
The two of them, with the others following behind, walk around the headquarters until they reach the room with five large doors with a number (from one to five) painted on each of them.
"These lead up to our respective rooms," Numbuh One continues. "They are each very large and are fully customized to the owner's liking. I especially admire Numbuh Five's."
"Only because my room has a milkshake bar, leader-man," she smirks. Numbuh One simply shrugs.
"... You have a MILKSHAKE BAR in your own bedroom!?" the excited trainee exclaims. "Hot dog! What's my room like? I bet it's really big and super cool like y'all's, huh!?"
He can already imagine his bedroom now. Large space. Superhero posters on the walls. His own television. His own computer. And looking pretty darn spiffy in general.
* * * * *
Kenny drops his briefcases and stares into the room, jaw dropped. His bedroom is large all right, twice the size of the bedroom at his former home. But...
It's run-down, shabby, and not looking pretty darn spiffy at all.
"This... is... it?" the boy mutters in disbelief.
"Sorry to disappoint you, Kenny," says the KND leader. "This bedroom is supposed to be reserved for whenever we have a guest staying the night or if we have a Kid Next Door trainee. But, uh, since we've been the only people here for quite a very long time, we never thought to spruce this room up. So we just left it as it is. We nearly forgot about it."
Kenny just stands there wordless.
"Yeah well, we'll leave ya to get the 'feel' of yer lovely new room, Rookie," the Aussie laughs from behind.
Numbuh One takes a moment to glare at Numbuh Four to silence him, before continuing. "Remember, your training will start tomorrow morning after breakfast. Get a good night's rest... You'll need it."
Seeing that Kenny isn't going to say anything else, he shrugs and finally leaves him, muttering a good night.
"Good night, Kenny!" the trainee hears Three's sing-song voice calling.
'Aw well,' Kenny thinks, 'it could've been worse. I guess I should be glad I have a room at all.'
He turns on the lights and starts unpacking, sighing a bit.
"Well, maybe I can do something about this shacky room..."
* * * * *
"Why couldn't Kenny just stay in one of our rooms?" Numbuh Three asks her leader as the Kids walk back to the living room.
"Well, I keep some Kids Next Door information in my room, not just at the command center. I just figured you all did the same."
"You're making him feel unwanted," Three pouts.
"No, I'm keeping us safe."
"Well, I don't have all that 'portant stuff in my room anyway. I needed room for my dollies, and fuzzies, and tea party sets, and dollhouses, and..."
Numbuh Five clamps her hand on Numbuh Three's mouth.
"Numbuh Five thinks we get the idea," she says as she lets go.
"Well, he could've stayed in my room; I wouldn't mind," says the bubbly girl innocently.
Numbuh Five raises an eyebrow and scratches her ear to make sure she heard right. "... You're kidding, right? Whoever heard of a boy and a girl sleeping in the same room? That ain't right in the laws of kid physics."
Numbuh Three halts for a moment, letting the others walk ahead of her, and she cocks her head to one side all cutesy like, curious eyes shining.
"What is she talking about? And they say I'm weird."
* * * * *
Kenny's new room looks better than it did before. It's still somewhat dinky compared to the rest of the Treehouse, at least as far as he is able to see, but his cleaning up and setting his belongings to their desired places helped turn this bedroom from a shack to a... a bedroom.
Lying in bed, Kenny cannot stop thinking about tomorrow. His first day of Kids Next Door training. He smiles eagerly. Soon he will be using cool weapons like the others. Soon he will go on missions to stop the people they oppose. Soon he will finally make a name for himself.
'And these are Kids Next Door,' he thinks. 'Certainly training won't be too hard.'
* * * * *
But the next morning...
"AAAAAAHHHHHHH!!" screams the trainee as he drops from the KND's jet-propelled bus, inside a KND drop capsule (you first see that in the episode "No P In The Ool" -- the capsule looks like a trash can, with wooden boards as wings and a drill on top).
The Kids Next Door and Kenny are at a pretty plain grassland on a bright sunny day, away from populated areas. And therefore, doing something big like this would be safe for them, with no interference from people or risk to private or public property.
Too bad Kenny doesn't feel that way.
"What are you doooiiiiiiing!?" hollers Kenny into the PIPER beside him.
"When infiltrating enemy territory, Kenny," answers Numbuh One through the phone-pipe-radio, "sometimes you will have to descend from the aerial transporter inside capsules like these."
"Why didn't you tell me when you would do something like this!?"
"C'mon, rookie," calls Numbuh Four, "we got inside our flying bus and put you in a drop pod; what did you THINK we were gonna do?"
Kenny yells as if for his life. Never has he felt such a sudden rush since the roller coaster ride from a carnival. No, this is three times worse than a roller coaster! Any minute now he'll hit the ground, and it won't be pretty. He cowers down and closes his eyes, waiting for the end to come.
But he feels a *THUMP* and suddenly the KND-painted drop pod bursts open. He is suddenly launched out of it and he lands ungracefully on his face. Groaning, he stands up and checks himself. He is completely intact.
"Whoa..."
"Now that wasn't so bad, was it?" Numbuh Two radios in.
When Kenny thinks about it, it wasn't THAT bad. In fact, when he really thinks about it, it was kinda fun. Especially since he didn't get smashed to bits.
The KND aerial bus lands and the Kids step out. Kenny looks at them and tries to put up the best 'toughie' look possible. Which is rather unconvincing.
"Not bad, Kenny," says the leader, "but you will need to learn how to land on your feet. There should also be less screaming on your part."
"You almost sounded like a g...," Numbuh Four glances at Three and Five, and quickly comes up with something different, "... well, just don't scream like that."
"Me? Screaming? I, I wasn't really screaming," stutters Kenny. "I was just... fooling with you guys, yeah, I was fooling with you guys, to see if I can... trick the enemy into thinking I was helpless!"
"Uh-huh, sure..." says Five, shaking her head.
"I can do that landing thing lotsa times if I have to!" says Kenny, smirking and pointing his thumb at himself.
"Good," says One. "... Because you DO have to."
Kenny's face falters, still having his thumb to his chest.
"Now, come on. We're going to keep doing this till you learn how to take it like a real Kid Next Door!"
"Aw, man..." the trainee whines as he joins the others.
This is going to be a loooong day.
* * * * *
It isn't long before Kenny finally gets used to dropping down while inside a KND capsule. No longer does he scream all the way down. In fact, he starts to actually enjoy it.
When the kids finally return to the Treehouse, Numbuh One has them seated in the living room. Kenny sits solo on a beanbag.
"Excellent, Kenny," the leader compliments, "you have learned one of the methods of infiltrating enemy territory. There is more than one way, of course, but you will learn them soon. The next part of your training for today will be combat, and there are various sessions of it. But for now, take a one hour break."
"Why the rush, boss?" asks Numbuh Five. "Shouldn't trainin' be done slowly, bit by bit?"
Numbuh One motions for her to come with him, aside from the others. When they are out of the others' earshot, he whispers something to her, though looks a bit unsure. Five glances at Kenny for a second and whispers something back, and they go on like this for about a minute until eventually they okay whatever they are talking about, with both of them smiling confidently. With that, they return to the group. Numbuhs Two thru Four and Kenny eye them curiously but do not bring the mysterious subject up.
"As I said, Kenny, you have a one hour break before the next part of your training. Meet us at the command center by then."
With that the commander of the team lets his teammates go to wherever they please. Kenny wonders what he should do during his break, when Numbuh Two comes up to him with a slight smile.
"So, how do you like the Kids Next Door so far?" he asks in a friendly manner.
"Well... It's a heckava lot better than school, that's for sure," Kenny answers, smiling. "I do wonder about the fighting part, though. I've never fought anyone before."
"Don't worry, we'll show you the ropes. It's not too hard once you get used to it. Pretty soon combat will be second nature to you."
The mechanic looks over to Numbuh Three and Numbuh Five, having some sort of conversation with each other. He smirks a little and turns back to Kenny.
"So, Kenny, who do you like more?"
When Kenny wonders what he means, Numbuh Two points over to the two girls. Kenny shyly scratches behind his head.
"I dunno. They're both kinda cool. Though Numbuh Three is really nice to me."
"Ha, I knew it!" smirks Two. "You like her, don'tcha?"
"What? Oh, come on!" Kenny pauses, thinking about something. "Hey wait, I thought boys weren't suppos'ta like girls that way?"
"Phooey, that's the old days, buddy. Nowadays more boys like girls than before. And guess what? I'm one of those boys! I just don't show it that much."
Numbuh Two looks at the two female operatives again. Numbuh Three walks away, leaving Numbuh Five alone. She takes a girl magazine nearby and stands there as she reads. Numbuh Two grins broadly when a idea suddenly pops into his mind.
"Y'know, Kenny... I've always wondered... What does Numbuh Five wear under there?"
The KND trainee looks at him confusedly. "What kind of question is that?"
"Don't you notice? It looks like she's just wearing a big blue shirt. Where the heck are her pants or shorts? Are they just really, really short? Or is she not wearing some at all? That's what I've always wondered for a long time."
"Why not just ask her?" Kenny suggests, still looking at the round boy strangely.
"Nah. She'd never tell me."
"Then I guess you'll never know."
"... Oh, I wouldn't say that..." says Numbuh Two in a slightly deeper tone, wringing his hands and smiling broadly, glancing at the dark girl with a naughty look.
Kenny has seen that look plenty of times on television. Thinking quickly, he immediately steps in front of Numbuh Two.
"I don't know what you're thinking, but you better not act on it...!"
"Stand back, Kenny. The time has come for me to finally get my answer!"
Numbuh Two pushes the other boy away and tiptoes sneakily behind the unsuspecting Numbuh Five. Normally Numbuh Five, being the stealth specialist, would sense someone creeping up to her so closely. But get her engrossed into her favorite magazine and one can kiss most of her keen senses goodbye. And Numbuh Two knows it.
Numbuh Two raises his arms and readies his fingers by wiggling them like he was typing on a keyboard. Grinning, he dives his hands down as he grabs the hem of Numbuh Five's shirt...
"I can't watch..." Kenny mumbles, turning around, awaiting the coming trouble.
Seconds later, he hears the inevitable shriek escape from Numbuh Five and a satisfied shout from Numbuh Two.
"Woo-ho-hoa! Hey Kenny--!"
But he is unable to finish when a thunderous *SLAP* rings throughout the room and Numbuh Two suddenly comes hurtling roughly to a couch near Kenny. The force of the toss knocks the couch over. Kenny blinks and turns around, watching a ticked off and blushing Numbuh Five straightening her shirt and storming away. He manages to hear her comment how two boys in this Treehouse have "violated Numbuh Five" before she disappears from the scene.
Kenny rushes to Numbuh Two, worried about his health.
"Are you okay?" he asks, sitting the round boy up. "That must've really hurt."
"Yeahhh.... But it was WELL worth it!" Numbuh Two says proudly, giving a thumbs up before falling on his back again.
If this were an anime, there would be a huge sweatdrop behind Kenny's head.
* * * * *
Break time is over, so now the combat session of today's training will commence. The Kids Next Door lead Kenny to a large, round, nearly empty room somewhere under the Treehouse. This is their training room, and its purpose is obvious. The five original kids are full-fledged Kids Next Door, so they rarely go to this place. In fact, they almost forgot about it, till Kenny became a rookie KND.
When they enter the training room, Numbuh Five hands him the SCAMPP. Kenny looks at it weirdly, even though he remembers one of the Kids using it back at the warehouse.
"This is the SCAMPP, or the Soup Can And Photon Phlazer," Numbuh Five explains, sensing Kenny's curiosity. Numbuh Five explains how it works, which basically results in firing a soup-hot laser.
"Wow, cool!" explains the boy. "So now what? What do I do? Do I shoot you guys or something?" He aims at his closest target, Numbuh Five. She pushes the pointer aside and just looks at him.
"Uh, no. A bunch of practice targets will pop up when the simulation begins. Try to shoot down as many as you can." She then turns to the others. "Okay guys, give the kid some room!"
"G'luck, Kenny!" cheers Numbuh Three.
"Yeah! Yer gonna need it, heh heh heh!" taunts you-know-who.
Kenny ignores him and waits for the simulation to begin, tapping the SCAMPP to the side of his leg. He sees the gang behind the rectangular window and Numbuh Two doing something on the control panel.
"Ready, Kenny?" Numbuh One's voice echoes. "And... start!"
The moment he finishes, a cardboard adult suddenly pops up from under the floor. Kenny hesitates for a second before he fires a shot at it, forcing it back under the floor. Kenny holds back a "Whoa!", but he doesn't have time to be impressed with this weapon. More cardboard adults come out and he shoots them down, too.
'This is easier than I thought!' thinks Kenny. But suddenly it all changes, and not for the good. Small aluminum flying robotic pods (five in all) emerge from the ceiling. Although they do not attack, they can still run into those who are in their flying path. Not to mention that they are quick.
Kenny fires rapidly but he misses each one by a mile. Obviously he is not used to moving targets. Kenny has to spend a lot of time evading the targets, and since none of them were shot down it is a very difficult task. Never had he expected training to be this intense.
Kenny finds himself backed into a corner and the little fake flying robots are swarming towards him. He yells and closes his eyes, firing like crazy until his poor little index finger tires itself out. When he opens his eyes... the targets are still standing. Or rather flying. Kenny could swear he hears a couple of the Kids laughing.
Suddenly, the robots dive bomb and a very nervous Kenny shields himself, waiting for the aluminum pods...
"Simulation end!"
Saved by the leader's call! The cardboard grown-ups retract back under the floor and the mini-robot pods return into an opening in the ceiling. The Kids emerge from the door; Kenny can clearly see Numbuhs Two and Four resist snickering. Numbuh Three skips merrily along despite Kenny's failure, while Numbuhs One and Five seem somewhat disappointed.
Numbuh Five removes her favorite hat and shakes her head. "Guess shooters aren't yer thing, Ken."
Kenny slowly nods in agreement, staring down at the floor in a mix of disappointment and embarrassment.
"You weren't concentrating hard enough, Kenny," says Numbuh One. "Your mind was wandering around, wondering what to do, how should I do this, et cetera. ... And I think a little overconfidence was also a factor.
"Kenny, in the battlefield you must retain focus on your main objective. Try not to get too distracted and definitely try not to panic. Maintain your cool as long as you possibly can. And, especially, don't get too cocky."
At the last statement he glares at Numbuh Four, who has an expression that says "What!?"
"I'll... I'll try," Kenny says softly, still looking down on the floor.
"Good," says Numbuh Five, replacing her hat back on her head. "Well, since you didn't do so well with a shooter, let's try a melee weapon. Numbuh Two, move yo' fat, perverted tail over here and give 'em the bat!"
And so the team pilot hands Kenny a plastic baseball bat. On his way back, he momentarily lifts up his goggles and winks at the dark-skinned girl, who "humph"s and turns away from him arms crossed. The others, not including Kenny and Numbuh Two, blink at this and even wonder where the red mark on Numbuh Two's cheek came from.
"Wow, cool!" exclaims the excited rookie. "This is one of your weapons, right? Ooo, what does it do? I bet it's like a swiss army knife! Is it a mini-copter in disguise, where you press a button and you can fly away or something?"
"Uh... no..." Numbuh Five says simply. "Actually it's just a plain ol' toy bat."
"... Oh."
Kenny wields the bat and makes some practice swings. For some reason a strange sense of power sparks within.
A few minutes later the five Kids leave Kenny alone in the room again. Numbuh One begins the simulation and another cardboard enemy shows itself. Kenny stands there in his fighting stance and stares hard. He remembers the advice Numbuh One gave him: 'In the battlefield, you must retain focus on your main objective.'
His main objective... To become a Kid Next Door. To fight against evil adults and to preserve children's freedom. To make the world a safer place to live.
He keeps all these things in mind, wields the bat like a samurai ready to strike, and gazes at his target. He imagines the paper-pulp adult into a random 'big kid' -- a bully. All with its stupid laugh, its stupid leather jacket, its stupid jerk voice, its stupid bullying, its stupid laugh, its stupid way of making life miserable for smaller or nicer kids, its stupid... stupid... STUPID LAUGH!!
Kenny cries out in rage, launches himself forward and swings the bat so hard he knocks the target all the way to the other side of the room! He doesn't bother to stop to see what he just did, either, for more similar 'opponents' emerge. He charges to each one and attacks them with newfound power swelling within him, sending them sailing to other parts of the room. Some of them even dent majorly.
After that is done, the five aluminum flying pods enter the arena. Kenny grumbles. Not them again! But he stays calm and focused, taking a short breath before readying to strike. A pair of determined eyes stare at the little things as Kenny lets them hurtle toward him. Then, at the exact right moment he swings, bashing one pod sending it to a wall where it slumps harmlessly to the ground.
He rolls out of the way of an incoming pod. Once safe he stands back up and immediately swings the bat on his attacker, knocking it out of commission. Two down, three to go.
Kenny looks up at the remaining pods hovering way above in a triangular formation. Not good; they were this high up when they used their dive bomb attack. But Kenny will not give up. He imagines the center enemy as an evil adult, one planning to... to get rid of recess, to get rid of summer vacation, or anything else fun! Kenny glares and throws the bat like a javelin as hard as he can towards the pod, just as it begins to dive bomb.
Direct hit! The aluminum pod stops in its tracks and comes crashing down like a moth fried by a bug-zapper, and Kenny grabs his weapon as it drops down. Only two to go.
As if sensing that the dive bomb attack failed, the aluminum flying droids buzz back down. They each fly to one side of Kenny, surrounding him. Then they charge forward. But the trainee doesn't move. He just stands there as they come closer... and closer... and closer... until suddenly...
He sidesteps with a smile and the two opponents crash into each other, ceasing their attack for good.
Kenny breathes a sigh and runs his hand through his brown-sugarish hair, relieved that it's over at last. He hears the Kids coming in through the door and he turns to them with a proud smile.
"Hey guys! Did you see what I just did!? I can't believe it!" Apparently the 'real' Kenny has returned.
"Yes, we did. Quite impressive, Kenny." says Numbuh One with a small smile. "Where did the sudden battle skills come from?"
"Ummm, I don't know," Kenny says honestly. "I just did what you told me and something just snapped inside of me. What I did just... came out."
"Well, you sure whooped them!" Numbuh Two compliments, giving a thumbs up.
"You were amaaaaazing!" squeals the Asian girl, giggling.
Even the Aussie can't help but compliment him. "I guess I hafta admit, you kicked butt in here." Then he smirks. "But you're still just a rookie; you ain't gonna get as good as us anytime soon!"
"Oh, I dunno 'bout that, Numbuh Four," says Numbuh Five, raising her cap visor slightly. "He handled that bat pretty good. His skillz with it looked almost innate."
"... Are ya cruddy sayin' that that rookie will b'come as good in hand-to-hand combat as I am!?"
"I didn't quite say dat, but it's a possibility."
"Ha! Rookie boy Kenny, becomin' a hand-to-hand combat specialist? That'll be the day. Thanks guys, I needed a good laugh! Heh heh heh heh!" With that he walks out of the room, still snickering.
"Don't worry about him, Kenny," says Numbuh One. "Deep down inside I bet he is really impressed. He'll be more open about it soon enough."
"He's right though," Kenny says seriously. "I saw how he fought back at that warehouse. He was a real animal in there; I can never become a combat specialist like him."
"Aw, don't be like that, Ken," says the red-capped girl, bringing her arm around him. "You CAN be if you want to be. Every Kid Next Door has different specialities in some things. 'Sides, this training session isn't really meant to become a specialist in combat. It's meant for you to learn how to fight and to get used to figh'in."
"Numbuh Five is right," says the leader. "You did good with a melee weapon, but it took you a little while to eliminate all your opponents. In most cases it is best to stop or destroy the enemy as quickly as you can."
"Yeah!" the mechanic boy nods. "And you still need to learn how to use shooter weapons like the SCAMPP and things like that. Not all enemies can be beaten by hand-to-hand combat. Projectile weapons have other uses, too."
"Okay! I'll remember all that and try my best! But all that fighting made me hungry. Can I take another break?"
Numbuh One stares at him, his sunglasses shielding scruntinizing eyes. 'Another break already?' he thinks. 'Oh well. It is his first day of training. I'll go easy on him for a little while...' "Yes, Kenny, you can take another break."
Kenny doesn't get a chance to thank him when long, green sleeves suddenly grab his hand.
"Come on, Kenny!" Numbuh Three exclaims excitedly, dragging him along.
"Huh? Wh, where're we going?"
"To give you a tour of the Treehouse; at least, as much as Numbuh One would let you see. We can get to know each other better while ....."
Her voice trails off as she exits the room, dragging a confused Kenny along with her. Being reminded about lunch, Numbuh Two "salutes" Numbuhs One and Five as he pretend flies out of the room, making airplane sound effects.
"So, leader-man," says Numbuh Five, "you're still gonna do this?"
"Yes, Numbuh Five. This is a great opportunity for him to learn this particular exercise, even though it has come up a bit too quickly... But we used them up too quickly during our last celebration from our recent 'victory.' "
"All right then, boss. I'm sure you know what yer doin'. Numbuh Five can't wait to show him her style..."
* * * * *
And so the day goes on. Kenny and Numbuh Three really do get to know each other. They discover that they have many things in common, including a liking for furry animals (though of course, Numbuh Three loves them more), a disliking towards places that are too dark, and, to Kenny's relief, a major liking to a certain show accused of being for little girls. In this short amount of time, Kenny and Three become closer friends than before.
Kenny makes quick friends with Numbuh Two as well. It seems they both like to make-up superheroish lines in spite of how corny they are to the others, particularly Numbuh Five. In fact, poor Numbuh Five is worried she'll have to hear dumb quotes TWICE as much!
The rookie Kid Next Door also finds it easy to hang along with Numbuh Five as well. Although he is still getting used to her third-person speech, her friendly atmosphere and cool attitude makes her quite comforting to Kenny.
Numbuh Four is still a little tough to handle. He is no schoolyard bully (at least, not towards Kenny), but he still teases the rookie sometimes. But that's okay with Kenny since he knows that Four teases his friends all the time. It's just putting up with it that is a bit hard.
Numbuh One reminds Kenny of one of those types of kids that act mature despite their very, very young age. He likes that in him, even though it almost contradicts what he's fighting for. The leader will definitely be one inspiring friend to look up to... Especially when he needs major help in Kid Next Door training.
Finally establishing real friendship with the Kids Next Door, Kenny gets a major confidence boost as he continues the training all day. He learns to perfect being launched down from out of an aerial vehicle inside a drop pod. Through trial and error he gradually becomes better in combat. He even finally gets the hang of shooting projectiles.
* * * * *
Finally the day dissolves into night, and the last training session finishes just before dinner. After dinner Numbuh One calls Kenny and the others into the main room (the command center with the computers and stuff, not the living room). The five (minus Numbuh One) meet there, with Kenny sitting in the middle of the circular couch.
Numbuh One comes out of a room and walks behind the podium, paying extra attention to the rookie agent.
"Greetings. I am sure you all are wondering as to why I called you here."
"A bad-apple adult is FINALLY messing around somewhere?" asks Numbuh Four excitedly.
"Well, no. This meeting pertains to our Kid Next Door trainee, Kenny Rangsey."
Kenny looks at him eagerly.
"Kenny, due to... certain circumstances, we have to cancel tomorrow's training. Tomorrow night you will embark on an exercise that will test your skills... in stealth."
The Kids, including Kenny (who seems excited) but minus Numbuh Five, mumble among each other, wondering what he could mean. One glances at Five and they both nod. Then One taps on his podium to cease their conversation.
"Tomorrow night, Kenny, you will be on your very first dangerous mission..."
The Kids (minus Numbuh Five) raise their eyebrows. A dangerous mission already? But Kenny just started training today!
"Tomorrow night... you will retrieve something for us by infiltrating the headquarters of our most dangerous enemies...
... The Delightful Children From Down The Lane!"
* * * * *
TO BE CONTINUED...