NUMBUH 4 vs. NUMBUH 4

After landing at the airport in Cleveland, the team had unloaded their equipment into a custom-built van belonging to the DAFDTL and provided specifically for this mission. It wasn't the sleekest looking car ever, being regular white without any markings, and certainly wasn't going to draw much attention (which in this case was a good thing).

As soon as they were in the van Numbuh 2 made a note about how non-aerodynamic it was and how likely it was to roll over on a sharp turn or be incapable of picking up speed in case of a fast getaway.
Numbuh 3 noted how lacking in foresight the car's outfitters had been since there were only two small First Aid Kits that didn't have the tools she'd need if it came to a paramedic level emergency. Numbuh 4 complained that it was very sparse as far as the weaponry it was packing, only a couple suspension and grapple guns and some long-range rifles with rubber bullets. Numbuh 5 also made a complaint that it wasn't all that inconspicuous and how a little more dirt on the sides or even a less flashy color like dark blue would probably help them blend in.

"Would you all just give it a rest," Numbuh 1 complained. "It's a van, it's got four wheels and an engine and can get us from point A to point B, and we have all the basics we'll need for a mission of this little danger. It's not lacking in what we need, provided that we don't exceed our parameters," here he glared at everyone in the back, but focused mainly on Numbuh 4. "Now will everyone focus on the task at hand and stop complaining!"

"Ok, just pointing out a few things we might consider telling the higher-ups to change if they want this mission or any others to go better." Numbuh 5 retorted.

While Numbuh 1 sat grumbling at his team's obstinacy, Numbuh 2 put the vehicle in drive and proceeded off the airport runway and headed for the suburbs. While en route several of them noticed the familiarity of their surroundings, and Numbuh 3 was the first to point it out.

"Hey my old neighborhood isn't far from here."

"Yeah, and those train tracks we just went over, they're the same ones that go right by my house." Numbuh 4 pointed out.

"Hey when we're done with the mission how 'bout we all stop and visit my house. It ain't far from here either." Said Numbuh 5.

Numbuhs 1, 3 and 4 looked at her, stunned.

"You live here too?" Numbuh 3 hadn't talked to Numbuh 5 about where she'd come from, so this was news to both of them.

"Hey Numbuh 1 why do you look so surprised?" asked Numbuh 4. "Wait a minute. …Did you live near here too?"

"Well… yeah, just a few blocks from here."

"Hold up there, I think we need to figure something out," Numbuh 5 declared as Numbuh 2 stopped in front of a stop sign at a four-way intersection. "Ok, anybody who grew up… actually on second thought, anybody who didn't grow up here or at least near here, make it known to the rest of us."

And no one answered.

"Whoa, we all lived in the same neighborhood?" Numbuh 3 was amazed.

"Uh, not that I don't find that amazing as well guys, but I think we're coming up on the target." Numbuh 2 pointed out. And indeed the Treehouse was dead ahead, nearly impossible to miss – it stood above the suburban houses like a colossal monument of wood and various bits and pieces of massive machinery among its many branches and leaves.

"And how come no one's ever noticed that before?" Numbuh 5 couldn't understand how anyone could miss or seen and not gotten at least a little suspicious of why something so massive and somewhat imposing stood in a suburban neighborhood.

"Right, everyone we'll be there in a few minutes, you know the plan of entry, get your ascension rifles ready. I want to park, attack and seize that base and be done with this thing before noontime. This whole operation is already wigging me out."

"True to that," Numbuh 5 agreed.

They misjudged the distance to the Treehouse, and it ended up taking an extra five minutes to get there. Five minutes feels like an exceptionally long time when you're sitting in an unmarked van, holding heavy assault equipment and traveling to a terrorist outpost in the suburban neighborhood of a fairly large city. True the team had seen some more dangerous operations, but being in these seemingly peaceful surroundings reminded them that there were innocent lives at stake in this mission, and any collateral damage could involve the mutilation or death of many, unsuspecting people.

As Numbuh 2 brought the van down a side street, the Treehouse loomed over their heads, obscuring the sun and the sky. It was so massive it was a wonder that the house it stood on could hold it upright. The house below looked much like the others in the neighborhood, but the tree didn't look natural to be on that piece of property, it just looked unnatural.

"It's funny," Numbuh 1 broke the silence as they drew closer to the house and property plot where the tree stood. "That tree almost looks like it would belong on top of my house."

Numbuh 2 cocked an eyebrow when he heard that.

"Numbuh 1 what are you talking about?"

Nigel found his thoughts going to his old house, which actually wasn't very far from here. He remembered his nice, comfortable little treehouse being situated on a massive stump atop his house. He'd always wondered about the tree that must've stood there, and he imagined it must've been enormous, since the trunk was huge. But Nigel couldn't remember having ever seen it.
His parents told him that there used to be a great big tree up there, one that he and his friends hung out in all the time. Then one day someone informed the Uno family that the tree was violating some architectural code for the suburbs and would have to be cut down and moved to another house in the suburbs. Nigel couldn't remember that either, but his father had assured him that the paper said to always trust the contractors: his dad put an awful lot of trust in that paper.

Nigel snapped back to the present as a hand waved in front of his face. "Uh… nothing, nothing guys. This is far enough Numbuh 2."

And Numbuh 2 stopped the van across the street from the house.

"All right then team, ready your grapples and fire the moment the door is open. Oh wait, communicators!"

Each of them double-checked the earphones on the side of the face, slipped a black mask over their faces and gave Numbuh 1 the thumbs-up. Numbuhs 3, 4 and 5 squatted down in the cargo space and aimed their massive projectile cannons at the car door and upwards at the Treehouse. Numbuh 2's finger hovered over the automatic side-door opening button, waiting for Numbuh 1 to give the order.

"Open Numbuh 2."

The button clicked as it pressed down, the door flew open so fast one would think it might just fly off the car altogether, and three projectile hooks flew forth from the opening, trailing climbing ropes behind them like streamers. The hooks pierced a set of planks on a platform about halfway up the tree, right on what appeared to be the main balcony.

Numbuhs 3, 4 and 5 hooked the ropes to anchors in the van floor and attached their harnesses to the ropes, while fitting special grips around the ropes. Pressing buttons on their harnesses the three operatives literally flew out of the van heading up to the Treehouse fortress, pulled by the motors in the harnesses. Numbuh 2 unfolded the mission observation database on the dashboard and switched on the links to everyone's communicators while Numbuh 1 watched his three warriors fly forth.

The Treehouse's defense systems fired some small objects at the team as they flew up the lines, but mostly inane objects like pillows. Numbuh 5 could swear she saw a cannon firing little clams at her as she neared the observation deck.

Numbuhs 3 and 5 were able to hop up on the balcony with perfect grace and poise, Numbuh 4 on the other hand, struggled a little to disengage his harness and hop up on the deck. When they were all together, sirens started sounding and several kids came running out of the doors and hallways inside the Treehouse, carrying makeshift weapons. There were only four kids, and at first Numbuh 5 was wondering if perhaps one of the kids (since there should've been five) was hiding somewhere in the nooks and crannies, just waiting for her and the team to make the first move and then be able to stun them from the rear.

Numbuh 4 didn't hesitate for second, but went flying right into the thick of it, grabbing detonators from his harness and throwing them in all directions. When they burst, the room was flooded with smoke and the Kids Next Door fell back.

While Numbuh 4 went running down one of the corridors, chasing a couple of kids, Numbuh 3 ran down a corridor near the other operatives and induced them to chase her. That left Numbuh 5 all alone in the main room, with several computer terminals for her to hack into. She hopped into one of the chairs and started putting in access codes, dropping shields, deactivating alarms and bypassing security to safe points. As she was typing away she sensed something moving through the air, and she ducked just as a 12-year-old boy flew over her head and landed his heel in the computer monitor.

Numbuh 5 hopped backwards and got in a ready position as she squared off against her antagonist.

Strangely he looked very familiar. Less than average height for his age, blonde bowl-cut hair, a somewhat flat nose, and small ears. Plus he was wearing an orange hoodie and baggy jeans. Almost like Numbuh 4 miniaturized.

"Whoever you are adult, you made one big mistake picking a fight with Sector V. Run outta here now and maybe my friends and I will let you go with only a small amount of butt kicking."

Was that an Australian accent he was using? Numbuh 5 thought to herself. Man, it's not enough that he looks like Numbuh 4, he even sounds like him too.

"We came here to stop you Kids Next Door from terrorizing Cleveland, and we ain't leaving until you're in custody and this Treehouse is sawdust."

The little quasi-Numbuh 4 attacked her then. As if there weren't enough things already disconcerting about the situation, the kid was actually fighting a lot like Numbuh 4. And he was actually holding his own pretty well against her.

Yeesh, is that why the DAFDTL are so keen on seizing this place? Is it a cloning facility or something?

As Numbuh 5 continued sparring with her pint-sized adversary she heard crashes and explosions and many shouts growing louder and louder. When she and her opponent separated, she stole a peek at the doors and hallways leading into the room and saw two kids running in, followed closely by Numbuh 4, and then Numbuh 3 running in with the other two operatives chasing her.

Numbuh 4's adversaries were bruised and using smaller weapons, since he'd evidently broken their primary weapons. Numbuh 3's opponents were clearly winded from chasing her, but at least she hadn't been beating them.

Numbuh 4 shouted encouragements to the team:

"Come on guys we got 'em on the ropes."

Thinking it was one of his own operatives who spoke (specifically the one who was fighting Numbuh 5), the base leader (who had been chasing Numbuh 3) shouted to the blonde kid who was fighting Numbuh 5.

"I'm sorry that I don't share your enthusiasm Numbuh 4."

Numbuh 3 stopped her running and cart wheeling, and Numbuh 5 stopped her fight with the boy who the other Kids Next Door had just called Numbuh 4.

The blonde boy known as Numbuh 4 had stopped as well and was staring with some confusion and fear at the adult who had been fighting hand-to-hand with his friends. He'd stopped when her heard the adult shouting in a remarkably familiar voice. Numbuh 4/Wally was staring back at the short twelve-year-old boy with a mixture of fear and incredulity.

For a few moments, everyone was frozen. Even Numbuhs 1 and 2, watching from the van saw the pause and couldn't comprehend everyone's sudden immobilization.

Then Wally, praying that his young adversary hadn't seen through the mask or guessed who he was by his voice, turned and bolted for the balcony, shouting into his communicator as he ran:

"We have to leave, now!"

"Numbuh 4, what's the situation?" Numbuh 1 replied.

"The situation is I have to leave, we have to leave. Abort. Retreat. Fall back. Whateva', but we have to get out of here right now!"

"All right Numbuh 4 calm down, tell me what's gone wrong and we'll fix it and finish the mission."

Now Wally was going as fast as his legs could carry him, and he was in no mood to salvage the debacle. He only wanted to get out of that Treehouse and away from the face he had seen, and in his desperation he vented his frustration on his adamant leader.

"WILL YOU SHUT UP AND LISTEN TO ME! THE MISSION IS OVER! WE HAVE TO PULL OUT NOW!"

There was a moment's hesitation as if Numbuh 1 were weighing his authority with that of Numbuh 4 and finding it difficult deciding who should be the one to make that call, but he replied in due course: "All right Numbuh 4, acknowledged. Guys pull out, I'm calling an abort, get out of there. And Numbuh 4, you'd better have a good explanation for this once we get clear of their defenses."

Numbuhs 3 and 5 abandoned their stations and ran for the balcony with Wally. The Kids Next Door just stood there in amazement and didn't bother to retaliate.

As one group, Numbuhs 3, 4 and 5 jumped from the precipice with outstretched arms as though they were skydiving. Instantly their hands went to small handles on their vests and gave a mighty tug.

Three black sheets billowed into the air, slowing the falling squadron and allowing them a less sudden and painful impact with the earth. As soon as they had landed Numbuhs 5 cut her chute away without a moment's hesitancy and Numbuh 3 did the same, with a little less haste. Numbuh 4 on the other hand had been moving so frantically, wanting to get on the ground and away from that sight that he had gotten tangled in the lines of his chute as he dropped and had hit the ground rather forcefully. He was now a mass of tangled ropes and fabric, tossing and twisting frantically like a child.

Numbuh 5 raced to the struggling figure, drew the combat knife on her utility belt and cut through the fabric to Numbuh 4. After pulling him to his feet and unclipping his parachute she noticed that the Sector V Kids Next Door were repelling from the Treehouse with ropes and harnesses, and coming down with astonishing speed.

"Move guys, move." Numbuh 1 was growing impatient.

But Numbuh 4 had his attention fixed on the blond-haired, KND Operative Numbuh 4 as he repelled down the side of the massive tree. He was so stunned and transfixed that both Numbuh 3 and Numbuh 5 had to grab his hands and drag him towards the van.

The team piled in without care for finesse or grace, cut away the ascension ropes and before they could even close the sliding door, Numbuh 2 had slammed down the accelerator and taken off down the road. He gazed into the rearview mirror after a couple of minutes and let out a long sigh. A clear signal to the rest of the team that they had escaped…

"Numbuh 4 you'd better have a good reason for…" then Numbuh 1 stopped when he saw that Numbuh 4 was lying prone on his back on the van floor, breathing very shallow and rapidly with his hand over his eyes. "Numbuh 4? What's wrong? Are you hurt? Numbuh 3, what's wrong with him?"

Numbuh 4 tried to speak but was hyperventilating too much to get out what he meant to say: "You guys… that… kid… Numbuh… 4…"

Numbuh 3 grew concerned that Numbuh 4 would either pass out or go into shock, and so she did what her knowledge as a nurse dictated. She put a box of supplies under his feet to keep them elevated, then sat with one hand stroking his stomach to try and relax him, while she kept the other hand on the side of his face, stroking his cheek gently to let him know that she was there for him.

"Relax Numbuh 4," she spoke as she soothed and cuddled him, "just breathe. We're away from the Treehouse, just take a deep breath and relax. You can tell us what happened when you're relaxed. Just breathe Numbuh 4. Just breathe."

Numbuh 4 did as he was told, and breath-by-breath he slowed until he was relaxed enough to speak.

"I'm all right… (deep breath)… I'm fine guys (breath)…"

"Numbuh 4 what happened in there? Did they use some kind of weapon on you or did you see some kind of massive doomsday weapon or horrible experiment?"

"No Numbuh 1… it wasn't that… one of those kids… the Kids Next Door Operative… called Numbuh 4… their fighter… that was…"

Numbuh 4 shut his eyes and covered them with his hand, still trying to convince himself that they had deceived him.

"Who, Numbuh 4? That was who?"

"...Joey… it was my little brother."

Everyone was shocked. Numbuh 5 was the first to recover from it since it disproved her original fear that they were attacking a cloning facility.

"Whoa champ… sure you ain't imagining things? I mean we've all been away from our families for a while now, maybe you were just…"

"It was Joey, I wasn't hallucinating, I'd know my little brother anywhere. I'm telling you it was him. And those other kids were calling him Numbuh 4. Guys I know it was Joey, I'm not making this up." He implored them to see eye to eye with him and believe what he was saying.

Numbuh 1 gave an exasperated sigh. "All right Numbuh 4, we believe you."

"Well what do we do now?" asked Numbuh 2. "Even if we wanted to, we can't go back and try to take the base now, they're ready for us. And Base Command will be furious as soon as they find out we voluntarily aborted our mission."

"They don't know I agreed to abort the mission Numbuh 2… in case you didn't notice, I accidentally turned off the automatic mission log while Numbuh 4 was berating us to fall back."

"Ok Numbuh 1, but what do we do now?" asked Numbuh 3.

And the team leader stroked his chin with his index finger as he pondered their next move.

After a few more minutes, Numbuh 2 was satisfied that they were sufficiently clear of the Sector V Treehouse and stopped the van in front of a candy shop in the downtown section. Numbuh 1 stopped stroking his chin and divulged his answer:

"Numbuh 4, are you well enough that you could walk?"

"Yeah, I'm fine."

"Good, cause I've got a plan. I want to know just who and what the Kids Next Door are, and I'd like to hear it from one of its own Operatives. Go back to the Treehouse unarmed and in regular clothes and interrogate your little brother, I don't think he saw your face, and I expect he'll be happy to see you. I want you to find out all you can about the organization and what they're really about. Find out anything and everything you can about the Kids Next Door and the DAFDTL."

"OK, sure."

"…The rest of us will return to base and report you as MIA, that should give you enough time to get all the information you can from your brother, as much as he'll be willing to tell you I expect. Then myself, Numbuh 2 and Numbuh 3 will return to 'rescue' you. So I suggest you try to make yourself appear as though you were captured and barely managed to escape, have your brother and his team rough you up a bit if necessary. Numbuh 5, while we're gone you need to hack into the Code Module and figure out anything and everything you can about the Kids Next Door, the DAFDTL and if possible, how we tie into it all."

"Whoa there boss; the Code Module? The DAFDTL aren't keeping it any less secure than the Kids Next Door, and you saw how close a scrape that was. Now you expect me to retrieve it again, all by myself, escape the alarms and booby-traps and…"

"No Numbuh 5. I want you to access it from where it is in the vault and download all the info I just asked you to find. And I mean all of it."

"What about security?"

"The organization said that they'd disavow any one of us if we were captured, but if they see the whole team going out to retrieve one of us I think they'll be more inclined to keep their eyes on everything we're doing. Our departure and the whole premise for our fake 'mission' should keep them distracted and give you the opportunity to do this with at least a little less risk."

"Not that this plan isn't brilliant beyond belief Numbuh 1, but what exactly are we hoping to accomplish by doing all this?" inquired Numbuh 2.

"I don't know about you Numbuh 2, but the fact that we were supposedly drawn from a pool of hundreds of thousands of college students, yet are somehow all from the same neighborhood and have a remarkable aptitude for teamwork and comfort in this line of work is a little too much of a coincidence for my taste. And now I'm supposed to believe that one of my own teammate's little brother is in this 'enemy' organization? I intend to find out just why I am fighting these Kids Next Door and make sure that I'm on the right side."

"Maybe it'll be easier for Numbuh 4 and Numbuh 5 to do this if they know all of our names." Numbuh 3 suggested. "I mean our codenames won't do much good if we're using the same system of secret identities as the Kids Next Door."

"Numbuh 3's right, and I think we're all in this deep enough that we deserve to know who we all are. So let's share names; I'll go first… Nigel Uno… uh, nice to meet you all."

"How many rules and regulations can you break in one day?" Numbuh 2 grumbled, "Hoagie P. Gilligan… Jr… oh, and uh, what he said." He concluded, aiming his thumb at Numbuh 1.

Numbuh 3 brightened seeing it was her turn, her chance to shed her anonymity and be known by a name instead of a Numbuh. "Kuki Sanban." She said with conviction.

Numbuh 4 was more solemn in his response, not to mention a little embarrassed about his full name. "Wallabee Beetles, but uh… everyone calls me Wally." Kuki giggled slightly at his first name.

Numbuh 5 sighed, being secretive had always been enjoyable for her, it gave a sense of power when she had knowledge of something that wasn't shared with others, but nonetheless, she consented to speak.
"Abby Lincoln… well technically Abigail but everyone calls me Abby."

"All right, Numbuh f… sorry Abby, Wally, can you guys remember all our names?"

"Yeah sure."

"I got 'em. Now let's get this show on the road." And Wally opened the van door, still dressed in his black jumpsuit and body armor, and slid on a black polyester jacket. All he was missing was a pair of sunglasses and a darker hair color and he would've passed for one of the Matrix characters.

"Hey wait Num… Wally, you can't go see your brother dressed like that, he'll know that it was you that attacked his Treehouse."

Wally adjusted his coat neck and replied calmly: "My brother and I have an agreement to never keep secrets from one another. If I want to appeal to that I'm gonna need to come clean with my secrets too."

"But what if he decides to take you prisoner?"

"Wally please change." Kuki pleaded.

"He's my brother you guys, he looks up to me, and he loves me. Trust me he's not going to do anything rash. And besides, if I'm wrong you'll be along to rescue me soon enough, eh?" He meant this as more of a joke, since he didn't expect them to be able to pull off a mission to rescue him without the aid of Numbuh 5.

"Now if you'll excuse me, I've got a mission to complete and a brother to interrogate."

"Good luck champ."

"You too Abby."

And with that, Wally turned in the direction of the Sector V Treehouse and started off. It was going to be a long walk…

Author's Note – OK then... Yes the next chapter will involve the discovery of the truth of Sector V's past, and both Numbuh 4 and Numbuh 5 will make important discoveries. Thank you all so much for the reviews, and I promise this story is going to get even better.