Disclaimer: Not mine, none of it, really.

A/N: It's finally here! It all breaks loose now. Brace yourselves!

When love's not enough

Chapter 10

Numbuh 1 had a hard time keeping his head straight. Everything seemed so blurry, as the ship gained altitude. He felt more and more dizzy, but he ignored it the best he could.

Numbuh 2 was peacefully driving the ship. He didn't feel like saying anything. The tension in the ship was killing him!

Numbuh 5 had the same thought. She kept her eyes and her words to herself, while flipping through an old magazine.

Numbuh 4 had crossed his arms over his chest, his head turned away from Numbuh 3. He knew that he actually should have told her he was sorry. He should have told her that he really did care that she liked him. He wanted to say something to her, but he didn't dare.

Numbuh 3 sat in her seat with her head lowered. She was still thinking about Numbuh 4. The fact that he, the selfish bastard of a crush she had, was sitting right next to her made her feel very uncomfortable. She'd only dared to turn her head towards him and glance at his serious face once, and that was a few minutes ago. Something inside her forced her to look at him again. He noticed it and looked back. She wanted to turn her head away, not exchange looks with him, but she couldn't.

Numbuh 4 was actually glad he had caught her attention. He wrinkled his forehead in concern and forced himself to smile slightly. She didn't return it. She only lowered her eyes for a second before looking back into his emerald ones.

He glanced around quickly before leaning closer to her. "Listen, Kuki… I-I'm sorry…"

Numbuh 3 bit her lip and frowned. She suddenly felt an urge to cry again. She wanted to embrace him more than anything in the world, but she was too upset with him. She would have been so weak if she just forgave him after all that had happened just like that. He was apologizing, but it wasn't enough for her.

"I really am," he continued in a low voice. "I've been a complete a-"

"Stand by, team!" Numbuh 1's voice interrupted from the cockpit. The Moon Base came into view ahead of them now. As they came closer he noticed that things weren't the way they were supposed to. Parts of the base were completely dark. And there was something standing out from the walls by the space docks, as if someone had run their ship directly through the wall.

"Ready for docking, Numbuh 1," Numbuh 2 said as they got even closer.

The leader gave him a quick nod before he kept glaring at the base.

Numbuh 4 suddenly realized something; they were about to face a battle. This was his only chance before it all broke loose. He had to tell her now, incase something happened. But just as he was about to say it, Numbuh 1 announced that it was time to get ready and grab some weapons.

Numbuh 5 got up and went to the back of the ship.

Numbuh 3 hesitatingly got up, too, and followed after her teammate.

Numbuh 4's heart sank. He quickly got out of the seat and followed the girls to the back. He grabbed a weapon and picked one out for Numbuh 2. He went all the way up to the cockpit and handed the pilot his weapon.

"Thanks, man," Numbuh 2 said with a grin.

They now entered the space docks. Five sets of eyes widened as they saw the chaos at the docks. They realized that a battle really had broken loose, and now they had to join in.

"This is worse than I thought," Numbuh 1 muttered as his eyes scanned the destruction of the docks. Then he got a grip. "Come on, team! We have precious little time!"

The ship went in for docking, the door flung open as soon as it had stopped.

"Kids Next Door – battle stations!" Numbuh 1 shouted. Sector V aggressively joined in the fight. The place was crawling with teenagers, all of them armed with strong weapons and armors. A group of them immediately started firing after the newly arrived team. Sector V fired back.

Numbuh 1 noticed Numbuh 86 over by one of the entrances. He quickly made his way over to her, Numbuh 2 covering him. "86 – what is going on?" he shouted.

"I doubt that we know anything else than you guys do, Numbuh 1!" she replied, raising her voice to get him to hear her over the loud shooting. "These are all Father's teenagers. They've obviously synchronized this attack by cutting the power first!"

Numbuh 1 understood it soon enough. Father found out how to cut the power by going through Numbuh 4's information. He started to blame himself for it. He shouldn't have sent Numbuhs 3, 4 and 5 out there alone that day. He should have understood that the Delightful Children always were ready to face them. Besides, it was said that they had been planning something. And that was true. Their plan all along had been to kidnap Sector V to use the MindReader 3000 on them. They were going to get all the information from all of them, securing them victory. And all they'd needed was one operative. But not just any operative – the stupid one!

Numbuh 2 made it all the way over to his leader. "Numbuh 1!" he shouted. "They're too strong! We have to call for reinforcements! They haven't been able to do it here yet because the reception is down throughout the base!"

"Then get back on our ship and call for help!" Numbuh 1 commanded. "We could really need it!"

"Yes, sir!" Numbuh 2 saluted him and ran all the way back to the ship, Numbuh 1 and Numbuh 86 covering him to make sure he'd make it without getting hit.

An operative was hit pretty hard a few feet away from Numbuh 4. The operative fell to the floor while whining about the pain.

Numbuh 4 gritted his teeth in fear of getting hit himself. He saw Numbuh 1 over by Numbuh 86 and thought maybe he could get an explanation for the battle if he went over there. He glanced around to make sure it was safe enough. Then he made a run for it without asking anyone to back him up.

Numbuh 3 gasped as she saw him run off. Without even thinking, she followed after him.

"Numbuh 1! What the crud is going on?" Numbuh 4 cried out as he reached his leader. Numbuh 3 arrived a few seconds later.

"Father cut the power and sent the teens up here!" Numbuh 1 explained.

"How could they have cut the power?" Numbuh 3 asked.

"Think about it for a second," Numbuh 1 replied and raised an eyebrow. Then he gave Numbuh 4 a glare.

"Oooh…" came Numbuh 3's reply.

Numbuh 4 lowered his eyes. Then he looked at his leader with an angry expression. "I didn't mean to be caught by the Delightfuls!" he shouted. "It was an accident! Stop blaming me for it!"

"I'm not blaming you, Numbuh 4," the leader told him. "I know you didn't mean for it to happen. If it's anyone's fault, it's mine. I let you three out there alone. I already know that it takes the five of us to bring them down."

Numbuh 4's face brightened up a little. The guilt slowly slid off of him now. He knew that Numbuh 1 was a fair leader, who never made anyone feel more worthy than the others. Numbuh 4 gave his leader a smile before turning back to continue the battle.

"Darn!" Numbuh 86 shouted. "This is terrible! We're losing!"

"Don't worry," Numbuh 1 replied. "Numbuh 2's calling for reinforcements right now. We'll win this thing! Now, keep shooting!"

"I have to inform Numbuh 362!" Numbuh 86 told him. "She must know what's going on and that we're hopefully getting more help soon." She glanced over to the entrance behind a bunch of teenagers. One of the only ways to get to Numbuh 362's office was through there. It was at least the shortest way. She looked back at Numbuhs 1, 3 and 4. She needed someone to come with her just incase. "Numbuh 4!" she shouted to catch his attention. "You're coming with me to back me up!"

"Right!" Numbuh 4 replied and got ready to follow her.

Numbuh 86 made a run for it over to the teenagers who were blocking the way. Numbuh 4 shot at them aggressively as he followed right behind Numbuh 86. The teens fired back and nearly hit them a few times. When Numbuh 86 was close enough, one of them tried to grab her.

Numbuh 4 shot him on the hand, causing him to get an electric shock. Numbuh 86 dodged away from the scene. She then made it to the entrance. Numbuh 4 was right behind her.

"Get those brats!" one of the teens shouted. Five of them started to chase the two operatives.

"Oh, crud!" Numbuh 4 exclaimed and started to run even faster.

From back at the docks, Numbuh 3 had been watching as the scene over by the entrance had taken place. She suddenly feared for Numbuh 4's safety. She had no idea where these thoughts came from, but she really did love him, even after him being so stupid. In the next moment, she was on the teenagers' tail.

"Numbuh 4, we have to hide!" Numbuh 86 told him in a whisper as they ran side by side down the long hall.

"No way!" he replied. "I'm not hiding from these dorks!"

"We have to!" she argued. "Now, come on!" She grabbed his hand, and as they rounded the next corner, she dragged him under the stairs that were placed there. She knew they were there and that it would be a perfect hiding place. At least for as long as they needed it.

The teenagers ran right passed them and rounded the next corner.

Numbuh 86 sighed in relief. "That was close." She started to gasp for her breath.

"We could have taken them down," Numbuh 4 muttered. He was breathing heavily after the long run.

She couldn't help but smile at what he'd said. She found it rather cute, the way he always acted so tough. A crowded out thought came back to her. One time, not too long ago, she had told him that she thought he was cute. She wondered if he still remembered it. If he did, did he even care about it?

"Numbuh 4?" she started, looking straight into his eyes.

"What?" He looked back at her.

She hesitated for a second. "If anything happens here today, I want you to know that… well, I still think you're cute…"

Numbuh 4 didn't have much time to reply before she grabbed him and pulled him into a kiss. He tried to push her away, but then gave in.

They broke apart as they heard a gasp nearby. Both of them looked up to see Numbuh 3 standing there and glaring at them with her weapon in front of her. She had a heartbroken look on her face. Her chin was shaking now. Tears filled up in her violet eyes. She tried to say something, but she couldn't. She just ran off, crying.

"Kuki!" Numbuh 4 shouted and got out from the hiding place. "Wait!" He almost tripped over his own feet as he started to run after her. She had disappeared down another hall. He ran as fast as he possible could.

Numbuh 86 was left along under the stairs. She suddenly felt terrible. First of all, she had hurt one of her friends by kissing the guy that they both liked. Second, she knew she'd never win Numbuh 4's heart.

She stayed under the stairs for another few minutes, just to collect herself, before running off to Numbuh 362's office.

Back at the space docks:

More and more of the KND operatives had to give in to the power of the teens. They were clearly losing the battle. The teens were now spreading out, making their way through the halls.

"Numbuh 5 says we get the heck outta here!" Numbuh 5 shouted out to Numbuh 1 and Numbuh 2. "They're all done for! We can still save ourselves and wait out there until the others show up."

"There's no way I'm leaving the base now!" Numbuh 1 shouted back. "I'm not going to leave all of them behind! Two of our own are in there right now!" He pointed towards the entrance Numbuh 3 and Numbuh 4 had left through earlier. "We can't leave them!"

"But, Numbuh 1!" Numbuh 2 started. "We're not going to make it unless we get help!" He agreed with Numbuh 5.

"Then you two go!" Numbuh 1 replied. "I'm staying here!"

Numbuh 2 and Numbuh 5 exchanged looks. "We're not leaving you," Numbuh 2 said.

"Look who we have here!" a familiar voice said. They all turned to look at the person. The helmet disappeared into the suit and Cree's face came into view. "Well, if it isn't little Abigail and her playmates."

"Hello, sister," Numbuh 5 growled at her. "Why am I not surprised to see you here?"

"We're just here to take over the Moon Base," Cree told her. "You guys could give up now, or you can stay here and let me kick your butts. It's up to you."

"We'd rather die that give up!" Numbuh 1 shouted at her.

"Is that so?" Cree asked, grinning. "Fine!" She gave Numbuh 1 a kick in the guts, causing him to fall to the floor with a cry of pain.

"'Ey, leave him alone!" Numbuh 5 cried and aimed at her sister. But before she could pull the trigger, Cree kicked it out of her hands. Then she kicked her behind the knee to make her fall to the floor as well.

"Cree – why are you doing this?" Numbuh 2 asked with a tiny voice he barely recognized.

"Hmm, let's see," Cree said. "Oh, I know! Because I'm evil!" She kicked Numbuh 2 in the face. He fell to the floor, too, dropping his weapon in the process. Cree laughed evilly.

"You're so going down, Cree!" Numbuh 5 shouted as she climbed to her feet.

"I think not, Abby," Cree replied. "I'll leave you with a choice; get out of here now, or stay and let us kick your butts until there's nothing left of them to kick! And this time, I swear, it'll hurt a lot more!"

It was a hard decision to make for Numbuh 1. But he couldn't argue with his body much longer. It needed more rest before he passed out. He was just getting dizzier now. "Guys, I think we should head back to the ship," he finally said.

Numbuh 2 got up and gave Numbuh 5 a hand with helping their leader up from the floor. They quickly got back into the ship. More operatives had been warned. They got into their ships as well. Almost no one stayed behind to fight. They realized that the battle was lost. But they knew that the war was far from over.

Somewhere inside one of the Moon Base's many halls:

Numbuh 3 couldn't run anymore. Her sobbing made it harder for her to breathe. She sat down on the floor with her back against the wall. She threw her gun down next to her and buried her face in her green sleeve-covered hands. She could hardly believe what she had just seen. Numbuh 4 liked another girl! And not just any girl – Numbuh 86! She couldn't get the image out of her head, the way they were kissing each other under those stairs. She wished it had been a dream, but she knew it was real.

"It's not fair!" she sobbed.

Numbuh 4 was about to collapse now. He'd been running too much. But he refused to give up on Numbuh 3. He had to find her!

Suddenly, he heard sobbing nearby. He knew it was her. He quickly went down the hall he heard the sobbing coming from. After he'd rounded a corner, he saw her sitting there in the dark hall all by herself, her face buried in her hands. It hurt him to see her like that. He got a weird feeling in his stomach.

"Numbuh 3?" he said with a sore voice. He cleared his throat and walked closer to her.

She looked up at him with teary eyes. "G-go away, Numbuh 4!" she said with a tearful voice.

"Kuki, it's not what you think!" Numbuh 4 told her and sat down next to her on the floor, still trying to get his breath back. "Numbuh 86 kissed me! I didn't want to kiss her! I don't even like her! But she just grabbed me, and before I knew it she had her mouth all over me! Yuck!"

"It didn't look like you thought it was yucky," she replied and wiped a tear from her cheek.

"I did!" he claimed. "I tried to fight her off, but she's really strong! Look, the thought of kissing her has never even crossed my mind. If I were to kiss anyone… it'd be you…"

Numbuh 3 stared at him, noticing how his face turned slightly red in the dim lights. It still wasn't enough for her. "I-I don't believe you… You're just saying this to make me stop crying."

"Yes, I'm saying it because I don't want you to cry, but I'm also saying it because I like you," he replied. "The way you like me, remember?"

"That's not what you said the last time," she muttered, her eyes filling up with tears again.

"I'm so sorry about that," he sighed. "I was being really stupid!"

"Yes, you were!" she agreed, turning her head away from him. "You were so mean to me. It really hurt. And you told me you didn't care if I liked you, because you hated me!" She started to sob again.

"I never hated you," he replied. "And when I said I didn't care, I don't know what came over me. I guess I… wanted to get back at you… But I'm really sorry about that. I was being really childish, and it will never happen again. I promise." He laid a hand on her shoulder. "I really care about you, Kuki…"

Numbuh 3 looked at him, stared into his eyes. "Really?"

"Of course I do," he replied. He blushed and felt his heart beating faster. "I… I love you…"

Numbuh 3 seemed surprised to hear that, but at the same time happy. She shyly smiled and lowered her head, flattered. She was blushing, too, now. Just as she was about to tell him that she loved him as well, a bunch of teenagers rounded the corner.

"Hey!" one of them shouted. "Get them!"

Out of pure instinct, Numbuh 4 got up and gritted his teeth. When two of the teens went for him, he kicked them, hit them and bit them. There was no way in hell he'd let them capture him, and especially not Numbuh 3!

Numbuh 3 got up, too. She picked up her weapon and fired at the teens. Two others ran over to her and grabbed her before she managed to run away. "Help!" she cried.

"No!" Numbuh 4 shouted. "Let her go!" He was distracted by this. The teens he was fighting with now grabbed him. One of them forced his hands on his back and pushed one of his arms up painfully. Numbuh 4 cried out in pain and fell to the floor, squirming. The teen pulled him back on his feet by his hoodie.

"Wally!" Numbuh 3 cried. She looked at the teen that was holding him. "Don't you hurt him!"

The teens completely ignored their cries. "Bring them to the others," the leader of the gang of teens told the others. "And make sure that blond one is tightly tied to something. He's a live one."

Four of the teens left the hall with the two operatives in their grips. They brought them up to Numbuh 362's office, where also she was held prisoner. Three other operatives were there, too, all of them with their arms tied behind their backs, sitting on the floor. Numbuh 86 was one of them. Two teens stood in there, guarding them.

Numbuh 3 and Numbuh 4's hands were tied behind their backs as well, but Numbuh 4 was also tied to a chair.

"I don't understand how one of the fighters could be stuck in the halls," one of the teens said to the others. "I thought all of them were fighting at the docks."

"It doesn't matter," another one replied. He turned around and took his helmet off. It was Chad. "Well, hi there, Numbuh 4!" he greeted.

"I'm not surprised to see you, if that's what you're thinking!" Numbuh 4 muttered with an irritated voice.

"I wasn't expecting that either, "Chad replied. "Want to know why you're captured here?"

"What ever!" Numbuh 4 growled.

Chad grinned evilly. "We chased away all your friends. They all ran away, even Numbuh 1! You, Numbuh 4, were the only fighter that hasn't ran away. The rest of the operatives in this room are mostly kids with brain capacity. One inventor, one guard and hacker." He pointed at Numbuh 64 and Numbuh 35. "A worthless operative." He now pointed at Numbuh 3, and next he pointed at Numbuh 86. "The leader of the decommissioning team, and ever the leader herself." He glared at Numbuh 362.

"You'll regret this, Chad!" Numbuh 362 warned him.

"I doubt that," he replied. "Now where was I? Ah, yes!" He pointed at Numbuh 4. "And one operative that can't even spell his own number."

"Oh, you're dead now, Chad!" Numbuh 4 shouted. "Get over her and I'll show you how to spell! I'll show you how to spell 'ouch'!"

Chad laughed at him. "You know, I always thought you were a funny guy." He then got serious. "But your jokes can't save you out of this one, Wally! You six are the only operatives left in the Moon Base. The rest of them ran away. We're in complete control now."

Somewhere in space:

Numbuh 1, even with his dizziness, decided to take complete control over the attack they were going to make on the Moon Base. He called all the sectors around the world together for an attack. Many ships met up with them out there in space.

"We're ready, Numbuh 1!" Numbuh 721's voice said over the transmitter.

"We're also ready to roll!" Numbuh 14's voice said.

More replies came for the transmitter as all the leaders of the different sectors could announce that they were completely ready to bring the teens down once and for all.

"Alright, let's go!" Numbuh 1 exclaimed. "Stand by, Numbuh 721. You're with my team. Unfortunately, we lost two of them up there earlier, so we're short in numbers."

"Right," Numbuh 14 replied. "Sorry about your team."

"We will avenge them," Numbuh 1 said solemnly. "So, come on."

There were many of them. All handmade ships with the KND logo on them. They moved closer to the Moon Base, ready to attack the teens. They wanted to avenge it all - all their hurt operatives, their kidnapped operatives, their leader, and not to mention, the base itself. They did not tolerate this! And now they would show those stupid teens who the best was!

The remains of Sector V was pretty pissed off by now, so they wanted to be one of the first ships that went in for docking, as Numbuh 1 had told them all. They were followed by Sector N, Numbuh 14's team, without Numbuh 13, that was…

Sectors V and N stormed out of their ships and attacked the teens by the space docks, as the teens had been expecting them back. There was an entire army of them there.

Numbuh 1 fired his weapon the best he could. Some teens fell unconscious to the floor.

More ships came in for docking behind them. Sector after sector joined in the brutal battle. Both teens and operatives started to whine about pain around the docks as the battle got worse.

"Numbuh 5!" Numbuh 1 yelled. "I'll go up to Numbuh 362's office!"

"Numbuh 5's coming with you!" Numbuh 5 replied, shouting over the loud sound of the battle. "She ain't staying here, at least!" she added as she saw the surprised look on her leader's face.

"Hey, wait for me!" Numbuh 2 shouted after them as they started run towards the entrances. He quickly got moving and ran after them. A few more operatives followed behind Sector V, knowing that it would be a bad idea to let them go in there alone. And being angry with the teens, as Numbuh 1 was now, wouldn't do any good.

Numbuh 1 and the others had to fight their way through the halls. There were teenagers everywhere, and they were waiting for them. Eventually, they all made it up to the office. Numbuh 1 kicked the door in. The two teen guards that were in there immediately attacked the gang of kids that arrived through the door.

"Numbuh1!" Numbuh 3 cheered.

"We knew you'd do it!" Numbuh 4 joined in, grinning widely.

Numbuh 2 and Numbuh 5 handled one of the guards, while some of the other operatives that had come along took the other one. Both the teens fell unconscious to the floor.

Numbuh 1 began to free Numbuh 362.

"Great job, Numbuh 1," she congratulated him and sent him a warm smile.

"It was nothing," he replied and returned the smile. "It's my duty." He quickly got Numbuh 86 loose as well.

Soon, all of the operatives were free.

"Right! Now, let's get outta here!" Numbuh 4 exclaimed.

"Not so fast, Kids Next Dorks!" a voice said from the doorway. Chad was standing there with an army of teenagers.

Numbuh 1 lowered his eyebrows at the former KND operative. "So, we meet again, Chad."

"I was thinking of changing that," Chad replied. "How about we never meet each other again, huh?"

"Fine by me," Numbuh 1 muttered.

"Good!" Chad smiled evilly at him. "Then I say it's time for you to grow up!" He pulled out some kind of ray device. "Recognize this thing? That's right, Father had it remade after you stepped on it." It was the age-changing-device. In a new form, but it was definitely it.

"How could he have remade it?" Numbuh 1 asked with a frown. "He didn't even make it in the first place."

"No, but he has his workers," Chad replied. "He made them pick up the pieces and fix it. It really wasn't that hard. But this time, I was thinking of destroying it after I change your age! You'll never be able to go back ever again!" He aimed the device at Numbuh 1 and fired.

Numbuh 1 dodged out of the way. The ray missed him by an inch. There was no way he'd go back to being an adult!

Chad fired again, almost hitting Numbuh 362. "Darn it! Would you stay still?"

"You wish!" Numbuh 1 shot back and aimed his weapon at the blond teenager. But before he got to shoot him, Chad fired the device at him again, this time hitting him. There was a flash of green neon light. Everybody covered their eyes.

"Numbuh 1!" Numbuh 5 cried. A gasp escaped her lips as she saw the result. More gasping filled the room.

Numbuh 1 had turned into a teenager this time. He checked out his body and let out a tiny cry. "Oh, no… Not a teenager!" His clothes were too small for him, and his feet were aching since the shoes were too tight.

"Crap!" Chad shouted. "You weren't supposed to become a teenager! You were going to turn into a really old man! What's wrong with this thing?" He examined the device.

This gave Numbuh 1 the time to attack him, kicking the device out of his hands and give him a punch in the face.

"Get that device!" Numbuh 362 commanded and threw herself after it.

More operatives tried to get a hold of it, but it fell on the floor right before them. Numbuh 4 was about to jump out and get it, but one of the teenagers that had arrived with Chad kicked it out of his reach. Numbuh 4 hit the floor with a loud thud.

Numbuh 2 tried to get it next, but before he could get it, one of the teens grabbed a hold of his pants and held him back.

"I want that device!" Chad shouted to his army. "Get it!"

After a lot of battling between teens and kids, the device landed in front of Numbuh 1. He picked it up, twisted the little wheel on it and pointed it at himself. He fired it and the room was once again filled with green neon light. He turned back into a kid.

"Yay!" Numbuh 3 exclaimed and waved her arms. "Go Numbuh 1!"

"No!" Chad cried. "You weren't supposed to do that!"

"Oh, is that so?" Numbuh 1 asked and smiled evilly at him. He twisted the wheel and aimed at Chad. "See you in the nursery!" He fired it at him, watching as the green light filled the room. He stared at his work.

There he was, Chad, lying on the floor. He'd turned into a little baby. A diaper was wrapped around his lower body. He started to wail.

"Awww, baby!" Numbuh 3 exclaimed and walked over to him. She picked him up and cradled him in her arms. He immediately stopped crying. "Oh, how cute!"

Numbuh 1 smiled evilly at the other teenagers in the room, who had gathered themselves in a group over by the door. "Anyone else?" He stared at them in silence for a second. Then he aimed the device at them. "Aw, what the heck! I'm not the one who's going to change your diapers anyway!" He fired at them, changing them all into little babies. He then turned around to face his fellow operatives.

"Good job, Numbuh 1!" Numbuh 362 told him, smiling at him with pride.

They all got down to the docks quickly to join in the battle again. Numbuh 1 used the device to turn many of the teenagers into babies. When the teens realized that too many of them had turned into babies, they knew they wouldn't win. The Kids Next Door would just keep on turning them into babies if they wouldn't give up.

"Retreat!" Cree suddenly cried out to the teens. "Everybody back to the ships! We can't win this thing!"

"Hey, sis!" Numbuh 5 walked over to her older sister, cradling baby Chad in her arms. "Here you go. Take care of your little baby." She handed her sister the baby and walked away, laughing.

"You'll regret this, Abigail!" Cree shouted after her, her eyes narrowed.

"Yeah, what ever!" Numbuh 5 replied and waved her off.

The teens picked up the babies and got them all into their ships.

"Numbuh 1!" Cree called out after all the babies were safe inside the ships. "Hand me that device! You won't be needing it anymore!"

"You're right," Numbuh 1 replied. "I won't need it." He looked at it and rubbed his chin for a second. Then he threw it on the floor and stepped on it roughly. "And neither will you!"

Cree's chin practically hit the floor. The she got really angry, pointing an accusing finger at him. "You'll pay for that, you little brat!"

"I'll worry when that day comes," he replied and smiled. "Now, get the heck out of here!" All his fellow operatives, hundreds of them, aimed their weapons at the teenage girl.

Cree growled and gritted her teeth. Then she walked back to her ship. The door closed shut behind her. All the ships left the base, leaving a happy bunch of KND operatives by the docks. They cried out in happiness and congratulated each other.

Numbuh 1 suddenly felt a little lightheaded. The floor was spinning beneath him. He fell to his knees. His body was exhausted, it needed rest desperately now.

"Oh, my God!" Numbuh 5 cried and ran over to her leader. "I knew your body was too weak for this." She tugged him up on his feet again. "Come on, let's get you on the ship. You need to go home and rest." She led him over to the ship by the docks. "Hey, Numbuh 2! Get over here, we have to leave now!"

When Numbuh 2 noticed his leader condition, he ran over to them and helped Numbuh 5 get their leader into the ship.

"Wow, Numbuh 1 looks awful, "Numbuh 4 muttered to Numbuh 3.

"Yep," she replied. "Come on, let's go." She grabbed his hand and started to walk over to the ship.

"Hey, Sector V!" Numbuh 362 called after them. "You guys rock! Go home and get some rest! You deserve it!"

Numbuh 5 smiled at her. Numbuh 2 waved. Numbuh 1 managed to glance over at her with a weak smile. Numbuh 3 and Numbuh 4 saluted her with huge grins on their faces. Then they all disappeared into the ship, and the door was closed shut behind them. A few seconds later, the ship was ready for takeoff.

Later, in Father's mansion:

"I am most unsatisfied," Father's voice said from behind his chair that was facing away from the one he was talking to.

Cree lowered her eyes. "I'm sorry, Father. They were too strong." She swallowed down hard.

Father's chair turned around. His eyes were burning at her. "It was impossible to fail this time, but you managed to fail anyhow! And what about the babies? What are we supposed to do with them?"

"Have the engineers make another one of those age-changing-devices?" Cree suggested.

Father thought about it for a second. "Hmm, yes, we could do that." Then his eyes burned at her again. "Get out of my sight! I have to think!"

"Yes, Father," Cree replied and left the room in a hurry.