After Nigel finished watching the teen movies his superiors had ordered him to watch, he had come to only one conclusion, they were all crazy. He knew that movies tend to exaggerate things because in fiction everything is possible, even for him being in space knew very well which things were real and which were not. But he was convinced that the writers of those films must be bordering on insanity. Lots of drama, lots of fights and unnecessary hate, do hormones really make you lose your sanity? Nigel was not the one to answer that question, as he had only been a teenager for a couple of days and the only interaction with young people his age had been Fanny and Patton, both of whom he considered to be kids, only older although clearly they're not anymore.
After reviewing all the paperwork of the missing agents, apart from being very shocked by the news that Maurice had vanished, when he read that his former Supreme Leader, Rachel McKenzie, had been missing for two months, it caused him a feeling of rage that he didn't know how to explain. As a leader, he was conscious of not letting his feelings and personal matters interfere with missions, but the fact that Rachel had become an important person to him during his tenure had somehow unsettled him. Of course he wanted to crack the case and be the hero but Rachel being involved had motivated him more than he cared to admit. Therefore, he placed his blade above the rest in case at any time he felt defeated, that would give him the strength to move forward.
On Monday morning Nigel had gotten up early as his father had to take him to school for an appointment with the principal to give him an orientation before classes started, it was a pain but he had to do it. Since it was his last year of high school, there was some paperwork to do, luckily, KND had stepped in and there would be no problem getting in easily.
In another neighborhood nearby, Fanny was finishing up her curls and getting ready for a rough week. She knew that Nigel was a specialized agent, but with Sector V things always go out of control, not to mention sometimes very badly. One of her brothers informed her that her boyfriend's truck was already outside waiting for her. Ever since they started their fake relationship, Patton would pick up Fanny every day. At first it was due to missions, especially to find out where they had captured children and teenagers, but despite the fact that Patton had a certain rank among the teen ninjas, he was not entrusted with the secret place, they did not trust him, it was what Fanny always said.
The girl said goodbye to her father who was also leaving for work and approached the truck where she put her backpack in the back seat and then got into the passenger seat, fastened her seatbelt and the car started up.
"As punctual as always," the girl spoke, thus breaking the silence between them.
"Good morning to you too, Numbuh 86," the boy smiled without taking his eyes off the wheel.
"We use our real names so much that sometimes I forget that we are part of KND," the girl sighed. Actually, they used their code names a lot when Rachel was with them, but since it is now unknown where she may be, they preferred to call each other more casually when they're alone.
"Nervous about the first day of Numbuh 1?"
"If we're talking about Sector V, anything can go wrong," she crossed her arms.
"Oh come on, have some faith in the poor guy, his team isn't with him. I'm sure he'll be able to work up to it," he said with a laugh. "Many of his difficulties were due to the clumsiness of his other members, but precisely those setbacks were what made them an almost invincible team" he spoke nostalgically remembering his days as a child in KND and despite being most of the time in the arctic base, when it was time to go into action he always heard amazing stories from that legendary sector.
"As sentimental as ever when it comes to Sector V, just like Rachel," said the girl looking out the window without saying anything else.
Due to the time Patton spent together with the girls, he was already able to recognize their mood swings and his emotions. Talking about Rachel was difficult, he always tried not to mention her more than necessary but he knew that Fanny was hurt, after all she was her best friend. They didn't want another Matador in high school, one was enough, and neither of them wanted to visit her friend in a mental hospital.
Once the car was parked, the teens took a moment to go over everything they had to do for the day.
"Okay Numbuh 60" she took out his cell phone and opened the notepad application, it was very useful when they had a lot of things to do. "We have a science report to turn in from the lab last week, I've got that covered but you owe me one. There is a Spanish essay that you owe from the previous class, I also did it with that you owe me two" she goes to the next page of the application "We must take care of Nigel, we cannot speak to him directly in the corridors but if we have to in some class we must be friendly with the new guy, you know more about that I'll entrust it to you and you have a meeting today in the break in the men's bathrooms on the third floor of the teenage ninjas, you know what to do." Patton nodded to everything that the girl said. He actually appreciated that she was so orderly in that regard, sometimes he forgot to do homework or complete school projects on time due to her missions with the ninjas.
"Understood," replied Patton without giving it much importance.
"Okay, now we only have our daily mission left and nothing to be too smart or I won't invite you to eat at my house for two weeks," said the girl getting out of the truck and waiting for Patton to finish securing the car and take both backpacks to head to school. They had been inside for a while, but the others would just think they were kissing or doing the wrong thing.
Inside the school, in the principal's office, Nigel was next to his father and the principal, his entrance to the high school was ready and the boy's father was already shaking hands with the superior.
"With this I can now ask you to leave Mr. Uno," the principal told him, "I have called one of my best students to help me with the orientation of your son. Believe me, he is in good hands."
"Okay, Mr.," he then addressed his son, "See you later, Nigel, and have a lot of fun at school."
"Sure dad," he replied, adjusting his glasses. He still wasn't used to wearing the same glasses he used before joining KND, even his 5D galactic glasses were much more than satisfactory.
When Mr. One opened the door of the address to leave and return home, he was met with a very familiar face.
"Oh but it's Ashley," said Mr. One, calling Nigel's attention. He wanted to see who his father had met but his body was big enough to cover the entrance "Hello little girl, how are your brothers and sisters? Say hello to your father, tell him to come to my house one Sunday, like in the old days", he said laughing, very happy to have found the girl.
"Hello, Uncle Monty," greeted the newcomer. Listening to her, Nigel was alarmed, he had no idea that those children were still here "I'll send my regards to my father, I'm sure he'll be happy to oblige." Monty stepped aside letting the girl pass and Nigel was able to look at her better. It had grown a few inches, as had her blonde hair that was still as long as he remembered it, only she no longer wore the pink bow that held her hair back, but instead wore a small pink stone barrette that was barely noticeable. She was wearing a short-sleeved white button-down shirt with a pink tie and a blue skirt.
"Well, I must go," Mr. One came out, leaving the teenagers together with the principal.
"Well, what a surprise," the director began to speak, getting up from his seat. "It seems that you are family," the girl nodded, "Well, we can save the introductions. Please Ashley, show him around the school before classes start, you still have time to cover a lot of it although you can get together at recess too" the principal gave Nigel a sheet with his schedule. "This week if you're late for a class you will miss it since you don't know where the classrooms are but try not to make it a habit" He wink at him. Nigel and Ashley quietly left the principal's office.
"Well, well, well. But what a surprise, Nigel One," said the girl, emphasizing the word "One". He once understood that she knew who he was, and now he had to feign ignorance.
"I'm the surprised one," Nigel spoke naturally, "I didn't remember having a cousin as pretty as you, did my dad ask about your brothers? I mean hello, how many cousins do I have?"
"Don't worry, you'll meet them when you have class with one of us, we are five brothers in total," she replied, staring at him, as if she were studying any wrong move Nigel might make.
Nigel followed Ashley through the halls of the school, paying attention to where the relevant rooms were like the labs, the teachers' lounge, the gym, the cafeteria, the auditorium, the nurse's office, the psychologist's office, and of course important details like the bathrooms on each floor, the different stairs, the emergency exits, among other things. In the distance he could see Fanny putting things away in her locker while Patton stayed next to her carrying some books. He thought of greeting them from afar but stopped himself remembering that they did not know each other, he had to wait to be introduced .
"Locker number 1001," Ashley said, bringing him back to reality "I find it very curious that you have been assigned this locker" the girl put her hands on her hips.
"Why do you say that?" Nigel asked as he read the paper of his schedule where the password to the locker was also found, once he entered it, it opened. The lockers in high school were much larger than the ones he used in elementary school, how was he going to fill all that space?
"It's nothing Nigel" the girl got closer making him a bit nervous, the girl's perfume flooded his nostrils and to his surprise, her aroma had pleased him "So, don't you remember your cousins?
Quite an effective teenage tactic. He thanked Fanny for those ridiculous movies she had lent him. She was playing the pretty, interesting girl who manipulated men to get what she wanted, in this case, to get information out of him.
"The truth is that I don't remember much about my childhood, I know it may seem strange," he replied, keeping some things from his backpack in the locker trying not to get nervous, not that he was, after all he was a legend in the Kids Next Door, both on earth and in space, but nobody prepared him for feminine tactics. He finally understood a little better what hormones were all about. "But maybe if I see them I can remember something, you know remove that cloud from my mind."
"Looks like you're in luck," a blond boy with his bangs parted in the middle, long-sleeved blue satin shirt and dark pants, walked towards them with a smile on his face. Now that Nigel could see both of them side by side, he noticed that his eyes no longer had that characteristic light blue color that was due to Father's mind control, however his eyes were still blue, a little darker, but they looked more natural. "This is Bruce, he's also your cousin Nigel.
"Yes, of course" both boys shook hands, although he felt that his cousin squeezed his hand very hard.
"So you turned out to be the new guy everyone talks about in the halls, Nigel One," he told her without letting go, again emphasizing his last name.
"Does that mean I'm already popular?
"Don't flatter yourself," laughed the girl, "You're just the gossip of the week, next week no one will know who you are, unless you join a group and stand out in some way, although I would advise you to catch up first before joining a club or sports group."
The bell for the start of classes resounded in the corridors and Nigel got a little nostalgic remembering attending in the primary with his team from Sector V defending kids during recess and fighting the adults after class. He said goodbye to his adoptive cousins by trying to be cool with them and not raise suspicions. His schedule said that he had two geography classes and then two science classes before he could eat something in the cafeteria. He was internally grateful for having had a good breakfast because with everything that had happened in the morning, he felt a huge loss of energy. He hadn't expected to deal with two members of the Delightful Children From Down The Lane so early.
The boy thought that he could have some luck and run into one of his leaders in either of those two subjects, but he did not succeed. He had to present himself in front of everyone as the new boy that he was. The murmurs in the room did not wait. Nigel heard the question he was always asked, why was a boy his age bald? But he just didn't care.
His stomach started to rumble until he was finally able to go out to the cafeteria and get something to eat. He entered the place and studied the entire area. Just like the teen movies said, everyone was divided into groups. He could see Ashley and Bruno sitting with a group of girls who looked great and some guys who looked more muscular than others his age, that was for sure the popular table. Something that caught his attention was seeing Abigail Lincoln sitting at that table, that meant she is as popular as her sister was. She still kept her red cap and wore her hair down in a style similar to Cree's, but much longer. Her clothes keep the colors blue and white, some things don't change.
At another table he saw two other members of the Delightful Children, perhaps they were the neutral type, those who did not belong to a specific group but did not attract too much attention. In a far away corner he saw several teenagers with glasses, computers and board games, that was without a doubt the table of the nerds. In another corner, there were many boys in jackets, helmets with soccer balls and basketballs. That table undoubtedly competed with the popular ones, they looked so imposing in the place. He recognized several faces, including Wallabee Beatles, his old friend in KND who had apparently grown somewhat during the years he was away. Right next to it was a table full of girls and High-strung girls who cast a lot of glances at the group of boys, those were definitely the cheerleaders.
He took a tray and lined up to buy food from him, he was starving. Once his tray was full and he paid for the food, he got distracted trying to find Fanny and Patton and when he turned to move from the spot, he bumped into someone. Half of his tray of nachos and cheese was left on top of a leather jacket.
"But what the hell is wrong with you?" shouted the blonde in front of him, causing everyone in the cafeteria to stop their activities to better observe the scene that Nigel and Wallabee were starring in.
"Oh I'm so sorry," Nigel apologized, cursing his luck for being so clumsy and making angry the only one he shouldn't have any contact with.
"Do you think an apology will be enough to clean up the mess you caused baldhead?" He lifted Nigel by his shirt as he tried his best not to look directly at him. "I don't remember seeing you around here before."
"It's because he's the new guy, Beatles," Patton intervened in the middle of the dispute. Not everyone was brave enough to stand up to the most feared bully in the entire school.
"Fresh meat, huh?" He examined Nigel carefully, then abruptly released him. Carefully, he took off his jacket and handed it to the boy "You have 15 minutes to go to the bathroom and clean up the mess you made and be thankful I'm being soft on you new boy, you don't want to mess with me again cruddy bald" there was that nickname again. Normally Nigel wouldn't have minded such insults, but coming from an old friend, he had managed to hurt him.
Before the expectant looks of the other students, Nigel nodded at the order and ran as fast as he could to the nearest men's bathroom and as he could, cleaned the cheese and the rest of the nachos from the jacket. He was grateful that they had plenty of toilet paper at his disposal that day to clean him up and not have to get Wally's expensive leather jacket too wet.
"Damn," he yelled to himself in the loneliness of the bathroom. Suddenly the door opened and Patton walked in looking at him a bit angrily as Nigel went on with his work. When he saw that they were alone, he relaxed his face and started to laugh.
"Making fun of the new guy?" Nigel asked with a frown as he took more paper to wipe any traces of moisture from his jacket.
"Hahaha. I'm sorry One, I can't believe it." He took a moment to catch his breath and be able to continue. "It's just the first day and you make the most bully in the school mark you."
"I would be laughing like you, if only this incident with Wally had happened and that's it" he brought the leather jacket closer to the hand dryer to finish drying the jacket and it will be impeccable. "Why didn't anyone tell me that the Delightful dorks were here?"
"I admit it was our mistake not to tell you, but haven't they approached you or am I wrong?" Nigel looked at him disapprovingly and he was able to interpret what had happened without giving too many details. "Judging by your face I assume you've already interacted with them. Anything I need to worry about?
"Nothing out of the ordinary Numbuh 60, I knew how to handle the situation well," he spoke through his teeth and removed the jacket once it was well dry. "I'd better return this. What did you come for?
"Well, Matador sent me to watch over you and not to damage his beloved leather jacket," he said in a mocking tone. "At least we can introduce ourselves and talk like it's nothing, now I'm going to take you to my girlfriend, well, Fanny, and introduce you to her."
Nigel returned to the cafeteria guarded by Patton and returned Wally's jacket, but not before offering many apologies for being so silly and ruining his outfit. The blond forgave him the offense this time just because he was the new guy everyone was talking about but he warned him that he wouldn't be so lucky next time. Once Nigel finished talking to Wally, Patton invited him to his table where only he and Fanny were, with the excuse of warning him who to mess with and who not and being his social guide. Unlike Wally, Patton was much friendlier, though when things got serious, he could easily give the strict high school football coach a run for his money.
With what was left of his lunch, Nigel sat down opposite Fanny who was looking at him very annoyed. And of course she was, after pissing off Matador and capturing his attention on the first day.
"The first thing you were told not to do and it's the first thing you do," she muttered, very angry, trying to control her urge to yell at him and beat him up at that precise moment.
"Look on the bright side, Fanny," he bit into his sandwich, "Now we can speak naturally."
"I hope you two know what you're doing," she forcefully buried his fork in the flan she was eating. Nigel adjusted the collar of his shirt with a nervous laugh. Who knew that going to high school was so difficult?
Mrs Genki Sanban parked the car in front of the Gilligans' house and an 11-year-old girl got out of the backseat wearing a lilac long-sleeved sweater, black leggings and dark boots with lilac laces to match her sweater. She wore high pigtails to control the length her hair had reached. She could wear it down, but she preferred pigtails as that way, her long hair wouldn't get in the way during missions. She never understood how her sister wore her hair down all day, it really was a nuisance for a girl as vigorous as Mushi Sanban was.
"I'll pick you up at 6:00 in the afternoon dear, I hope you don't cause any problems," Genki tells her daughter before closing the car door.
"Don't worry mom, I'll behave very well," she replies with a sweet expression that not even her mother can resist, "See you later."
Mushi closed the car door and her mother started the engine and the girl waited until she saw that she had already turned the corner when she went to the garage of the house. She lifted the garage door and went inside, but not before checking her back in case someone was watching her. She went to the back of the garage where a locker was located and placed her hand on a panel that was not there with the naked eye.
"ID number?" said a robotic voice coming out of the locker.
"Numbuh 333," said the girl.
"Access granted" the locker opened and the girl entered it. Once it was closed, a light came on and a metal door closed from the inside and with this the locker had become an elevator. She pressed number 2 and the elevator took her up. Once she arrived, she exited the elevator and reached a central room that branched off to other rooms and upper floors reached only by stairs.
"Tommy, where are you?" Mushi shouts in the middle of the room. Some stumbles are heard until a boy appears with a few extra kilos, blue beret, sleeveless jean vest, white T-shirt, dark pants and traditional converse sneakers.
The treehouses had to be hidden from view by anyone who hadn't put his DNA into their mainframe. It was a new system that had to be implemented as soon as things got dangerous. In the case of Number T's tree house, only her brother who could no longer recognize the house due to his age, Sonia, Lee and Mushi were granted access to look and enter the lair.
"But how scandalous you are," he complained as he took off her blue gloves and his glasses that he only wore when he worked "Do you think I put an intercom in the entrance next to the elevator just for decoration?"
"Very funny," Mushi crossed her arms as he looked around her. Tommy's tree house was not a place she frequented much in the past but due to the events of the last year that place had also become her refuge. "I came because you told me there was important information on the whereabouts of our older brothers. The lie you created that they went on an exchange of excellence because of their science fair projects doesn't hold up for long."
"I know, I know. Follow me" he made a gesture with her hand for her to follow and the little Japanese girl obeyed. They entered a room where there were many monitors and computers. It was the "hacking area" as he liked to call it Tommy. He sat down in front of a large computer and started typing.
"For your information, the lie can stand on its own, it's easy to access school data and falsify records using KND technology," Tommy began to explain without stopping typing, "At first I thought I had lost my silly older brother but for his birthday my mom made me go get him a watch that she had set aside for him in a jewelry store in the mall and since it coincided with the disappearances of some agents from sector Q, I thought it would be a good idea to first install a tracker with a signal that only my computer can read it before wrapping it and well…" He stepped aside so that the girl could get closer to the monitor. "This is the recording of the day they disappeared, look here is the sign of him waiting at the bus stop in another street" he says pointing to the screen where a blue dot was seen in the middle of the map.
"Don't scold me, teenager," Mushi says with annoyance, looking at the screen, "We're lucky that our brothers went to school together that day to study for an exam they had. And where did they go?" asks the girl while Tommy advances the recording of the signal "Wait, are you telling me that they are in that place?"
"So it seems, but once they enter the signal it starts to fail and then it disappears, I don't think they have detected my signal, I'm sure it's in a place where my tracker can't penetrate and they haven't left that place, their signal is not detected and has not been activated since then.
"And what are we doing here, Tommy?" asks the girl, slightly upset, and she gets into a combat stance, "We have to go rescue them!"
"I like your enthusiasm but we have a few things to consider first."
"What are you talking about? If we don't hurry up, those chumps could end up as my sister's boyfriend and he's really become a nuisance."
"Okay, calm down. First, I'm Number T for you. Second, it's very risky without any plan, without backup, it's a suicide mission."
The girl looks at him with a frown and then takes a long breath. She hated when the younger Gilligan was right. She wanted so much to go rescue his sister and put an end to that evil organization that kept many children, even teenagers, captured. She looked Tommy in the eye and relaxed. She took a chair from the back of the room and put it next to the boy where she sat a little more calmly.
"Who would have thought?" the girl laughed suddenly. "I'm here in a teenager's tree house trying to put together a plan to save two teenagers."
"Hey, the fact that I'm already 13 years old doesn't make me a bad person" he stopped typing to turn his attention to Mushi who had sat next to him "I'll always be Number T and I'll help every child or teenager in trouble and I'll save them from any adult threat."
"Shouldn't we report this to the Supreme Leader?"
"And remind them that they should erase my memory? No thanks" he took off his beret and adjusted the hair that had moved too much in front and put it back on. "I mean, we can do it but in her due time and with a good plan. I'm sure with my brain and your skills we can do something."
He was right. Sometimes Mushi forgot that when she put her mind to it she could be capable of doing anything. Alone or with help. The girl looked at him and gave him a sincere smile. She could always count on her best friend.
"Oh, that's right," Tommy suddenly spoke, making the girl startle. "I forgot an important detail. Guess who I saw around the neighborhood over the weekend?"
"I hope it's not the King Sandy again, I don't know when that kid is going to surpass me, what a mess."
"Hahaha sorry. I can't help it." Tommy laughed out loud making Mushi angry and his cheeks turned rosier than usual "I'm sorry but no. Maybe I'm crazy but I swear to my grandmother that she rests in peace, I saw Numbuh One entering his house when I came back with my mom from shopping."
"Stop joking Tommy."
"I'm not lying to you, I swear. I saw Nigel One."
"Do you think he remembers anything or is he just a stupid teenager like our brothers?" Mushi asked hopefully. Having the old Numbuh One as an ally right now would be very helpful.
"I don't know Numbuh 333, but let's hope he doesn't represent a problem added to all the ones we have," he went to his keyboard and entered a command showing some plans of new weapons that he had been designing in recent days. "While you're here, do you want to help me put together our new toys?" The girl took a look at the plans and smiled lopsidedly. She liked to have something to occupy herself with, especially when it came to work for KND.
"Of course, let's do it."