An elegant black limousine pulled up in front of the high school. Several students who had also been arriving, either walking or getting off the bus, stopped to watch as the driver got out of the limousine and walked to the last door and opened it for the richest student in the entire high school, Tyler Remington, to get off. He was tall, handsome, with tanned skin and curly brown hair. He had moved from California a couple of years ago due to his father's company relocation. The boy took his backpack, which had almost nothing inside it, and said goodbye to his driver. Perhaps he was the only one of his servants whom he treated with respect.

"Ah, how I missed this," he said, breathing the student scent. He looked around him and how some kept looking at him like he was a freak. Something that bothered him a bit. In truth, he expected a slightly more pleasant reception. It's like they already forgot about him. In the distance, he spotted Wally walking toward the high school entrance and hurried to catch up.

"But what do we have here," the boy said euphorically, passing an arm around Wally's shoulders causing him to stagger and almost lose his balance. The size difference between the two boys was quite noticeable. "My good friend Wally, didn't you miss me?"

Tyler was one of the few who called Wally by his name, this because they were friends, or so it seemed. They managed to understand each other. Added to that, Tyler was Wally's preferred partner when it came to picking on the nerds at school and his lieutenant, first in command of teen ninjas.

"Oh, it's you," Wally said unconcerned when he realized who it was, "Haven't you been expelled?" I thought I wouldn't have to see your cruddy face again."

"Is that the way to treat your friend?" he asked, pretending to be indignant. "Unlike you, I did miss you, thanks for asking." Wally stopped and pulled Tyler to a less crowded place outside the high school where they could chat.

"What happened to you? I really thought you had been expelled, you know, because of the drugs", he said looking both ways making sure no one heard them.

"Hah! They can't kick the son of the ultimate benefactor out of this dump. Sure, they punished me with a boring business trip and endless small talk, but hey, I'm clean. I never really consumed them, I did it to sell," he explained.

"Do you really want more money than you already have? These richs never settle" he shook his head in denial, it was hard for him to understand why the rich only wanted more money if they already had enough to live and have more luxuries than any average person in all of high school, of course except maybe for that group of half weird brothers who lived in a mansion.

"Don't judge me friend. So how's everything going in the lair? I heard they brought new prisoners. Tell me, any worthwhile?" He said, raising his eyebrows making Wally defensive.

Already on more than one occasion he had problems with Tyler for bothering the teenage girls who were prisoners. Luckily, Ernie or some other guy on duty always kept an eye out for him not to lay hands on any girls. Wally thought for a moment about what would happen if Tyler were alone with Kuki, just thinking about it made his blood boil.

"Don't even think about it," he said between clenched teeth.

"You know, if I didn't know you, I'd say you have your eye on one," the boy laughed at his own joke, "But don't worry, tell me what it is and I'll take my distance, although I don't promise anything, you know how I am."

"Aren't you supposed to have a girlfriend?" Wally asked, trying to remember the name of the last girl he dated. " Andy? No that wasn't…"

"Her name is Ashley," he corrected him, "But it wouldn't be bad to have several, like that red-haired girl I love, you know... Oh, but look who's coming there," he pointed to Patton who was walking distractedly towards the entrance of the high school and began to wave to him to get him closer "Patton Drilovsky, get your ass over here right now!"

Patton wished with all his might that the voice calling out his name was his imagination, but when he looked in the direction of the caller and saw that it was Tyler, the boy who always made him angry, he sighed resigned and walked towards him and Wally. He had no other choice but to greet him and talk to him, hoping that Fanny would finish talking to some of her classmates and go directly to the high school and not go looking for him.

"I'm guessing your father bribed the headmaster to forget about the drug thing, right?" Patton commented not caring if he made him angry or not.

"But if it's my other not-so-friend who's glad to see me," he punched him on the shoulder and Patton knew that he hadn't been angry at all, even he believed that he just passed his comment. "Where's your girl huh? If you are careless someone could take you out of the way. I can not wait to see her."

"Don't even think of getting close to Fanny," he frowned and shoved his hands into her pockets, clenching her fists. He didn't feel like hitting him and causing trouble, he really needed to hold back. He always found it in bad taste how Tyler addressed girls and how he talked about them as objects.

"So you're still with the redhead? I need details, have you slept with her yet? Because if it's not like that, I must believe what's yours is not as real as they say" he laughed under his breath, making the boy mad.

"Are you going to talk about that shit here? Tell me to leave, please," Wally interrupted them, lightening the atmosphere that was beginning to tense.

"Don't be a spoilsport, Wally. It's not my fault that girls don't approach you."

"I don't think Drilovsky or I care how many you take to fuck."

"Okay, okay," he rolled his eyes and turned to Patton again but spotted Fanny walking up to them and smirked, "Oh wow, I love what I see."

Fanny approached Patton to go into the school building together but then changed her mind when she realized that the other boy next to Wally was Tyler. She definitely preferred to deal with Wally's bad mood before talking to the smug Tyler. But she couldn't back down so she quickened her pace and when she rejoined the boys, she took Patton's hand hoping that would put the womanizer off and his attempts to flirt with her.

"Blessed are the eyes that see you cuteness" he smiled at him and that only caused a feeling of disgust to the girl.

"Do you want to stop flirting with my girlfriend? I'm not painted on the wall," Patton pointed to himself, standing in front of the girl.

"Oh, but how sensitive. Anyway, I have to go report to the principal's office. We'll talk later." He waved his hand and left.

"Since I see you, Drilovsky," Wally said, drawing the couple's attention, "There are matters I have to discuss with you, in private. Can you come to my house this afternoon?"

"Sure, first I'll drop Fanny off at her house and then I'll go there."

"Fine," he withdrew, leaving both teenagers alone and with a better opportunity to talk.

"I thought they expelled that idiot," Fanny spoke under her breath when Wally left them alone.

"We are two now. What a mess" he ruffled her hair in frustration "Numbuh One will have to be warned about this, and we have to be more careful."

"What are you talking about?" Fanny asked, not knowing what she was referring to.

"You did well to take my hand" He looked down where the girl was still holding his hand and she immediately released him "I know you're not going to like what I'm going to tell you but Tyler has always had doubts about our relationship and we'll have to refresh him the memory. Besides, I don't want him near you."

"You're not going to make a scene of jealousy, are you?," she commented jokingly.

"I'm seriously. If it wasn't for the fact that I bring you to class and leave you at home every day, people wouldn't see us as a couple. We don't really act like one, that is, just look at these" He point to a couple in the distance who were eating kisses "We haven't kissed in public like that and Tyler always has his eye on you for being one of the few girls who has resisted "his charms"" he commented making quotation marks with his fingers in the last sentence.

Fanny couldn't help but blush at the thought that she would have to passionately kiss her mate. There was never anything serious between them, it was just a lie that they both had so that the girl could be close when they discussed teen ninja issues, and besides, he served Fanny as an excuse to push away annoying boys like Tyler Remington.

"Okay, whatever you want. You just tell me when and let's get this over with," she stuttered nervously and Patton couldn't help but feel a strange sensation in his chest. If things were different, he would have already done what was necessary to win her heart, after all, she was the girl who drove him crazy. Only he has never dared to tell her because, sometimes it seems that she really hates men and he didn't want to put pressure on her. Surely later things between them could work out without the need for a farce or espionage missions. The bell rang and they entered the high school together, but not before holding hands again.

During the break, Tyler walked the halls greeting all the students as if he were a celebrity. The truth is, he had caused some commotion, the gossip about the drug issue had spread like the wind and seeing him again in high school had made everyone talk about his return. Maybe he had tarnished his reputation a bit, but it wasn't something that money couldn't solve.

Ashley was at her locker looking at herself in the mirror that she installed the first day she came in to teach class and when she spotted Tyler approaching from behind, she couldn't help but be surprised.

"Hello Ash," Tyler spoke hoarsely as a sign of flirtation "Did you miss me?" He approached the blonde to kiss her but she immediately pushed him away "But what...

"Do you think you can just appear out of nowhere like that and without consequence? Be thankful that my Father doesn't know about your illegal business, believe me he would make sure you don't set foot in this state anymore."

"But how rude you are. I love you precious and I missed you too."

"Really? You haven't even called me these weeks." She crossed her arms and looked in another direction.

"I'm sorry," he apologized, "My dad didn't let me use the cell phone all that time when I went on a punishing trip. I'm fine now, thanks for asking."

"I hope you've learned your lesson," she pretended to be angry. She only had one purpose to be Tyler's girlfriend, to know the location of the teen ninja lair where they had all the KND agents and former agents that they had kidnapped and the boy knew very well the location of her. However, she still couldn't get that valuable information without having to take drastic measures to get him drunk or take him to bed. She didn't want to be just another girl on her list. Despite that, Tyler seemed quite interested in her, as he didn't push the issue as hard as the other girls he dated.

"I promise to make it up to you, seriously," he approached the girl little by little and she finally gave in, giving him a kiss on her lips with some passion. Even though she was just using the teenager, she couldn't deny that he knew how to kiss very well.

They parted ways to avoid a scandalous scene in high school, and Constance's presence broke up her romantic scene.

"Sorry to interrupt you with your boyfriend Ashley," she glared at Tyler and she decided to ignore him. David and Lenny joined her behind her, and the boy realized that when her girl's brothers were near her, they had to keep a certain distance, especially since he felt they were giving him too many dirty looks. To this, he attributed typical jealousy between brothers. "They just brought us this, you know what to do," he handed her a box that Ashley knew very well its content, "Bruce already has the other one."

"Excellent, they arrived in good time" she took the box and passed it to Tyler, it was a bit heavy but for him it was not a problem. The girl took a clip from her hair and threaded it through the ribbon causing the box to open. From inside it, she began to take out some golden envelopes.

"Can I ask what this is all about? " Tyler said looking as Ashley took out some envelopes and with her cell phone she seemed to go through a list.

"These are invitations, for the best party of the year," the girl smiled sideways and began to deliver the envelopes as she walked through the corridors while her boyfriend followed her.

The envelope was gold and had on the clasp, perfectly designed, Father villain V stamp with the highest quality candle wax. Inside, there was a pearl paper and the calligraphy was written in gold ink. Only those who had such an exquisite invitation could go to the party that would be held next weekend. Exactly when Father was on his trip.

Patton received an invitation and Fanny also received one. Bruce was in charge of giving the envelope to Nigel and he smiled nervously because apart from his adoptive cousins, a few classmates, his two leaders of his in high school, he didn't know anyone else.

"Don't worry Nigel, parties are perfect opportunities to socialize with other teenagers. Who knows, you might even find yourself a girl," Patton joked on the way out to find him looking at and examining his invitation.

"How much do you look at that piece of paper?" Fanny asked to see him so focused on her work.

"Unlike you, I'm trying to figure out if this message has some secret code that only some villain or teen ninja would understand."

"Save yourself the trouble, I've scanned it completely and found nothing," she told him, pointing to the envelope in her other hand.

They said goodbye and Nigel walked to his bus stop to go to his house while Patton took Fanny to his house as usual, but not before sharing a secret earpiece where Fanny would listen to the conversation that Patton had with Matador. It was not the first time that the boy visited the house of the Beatles family, but he had to admit that after the Hijacking, he had not set foot in that house again.

Joey was the one who answered the door when he heard his doorbell ring. He was surprised to see Patton standing in his doorway. What was he doing there? He just hoped he didn't have to attend KND business with his brother at home.

"Emm, what do you want?" Joey asked, pretending to be upset with him.

"I came to see...

"Let him in Joey, come on, let's go to my room," said Wally, who had appeared when he heard the doorbell, spoke to him from the stairs.

"How boring, my brother and his stinky friends.I'd better go", commented the youngest of the Beatles, finally he had an excuse to miss his house and go to the lunar base and fulfill his duty. Although that feeling that something was wrong would keep him restless for the rest of the day.

"Not at all friendly, your little brother," Patton added, walking up the stairs.

"Don't even say it, do you want to eat something?" The boy shook his head. "And something to drink?"

"Anything would be fine.

"Okay, go up to my room, I'll be right back" the boy went downstairs and went to the kitchen to get something to drink.

Wally's room was a bit messy but at least he could be in it. His bed had an electric blue bedspread. Its walls were covered with posters of many heavy metal and classic rock bands. Patton was glad that at least that part of him hadn't changed, his musical tastes remained there. He had a trunk at the foot of the bed that was ajar and from where he was he could make out some weapons that teen ninjas used. He pulled out his cell phone and opened an app that allowed him to scan the room but he found nothing out of the ordinary and quickly put it away when he heard footsteps approaching.

"Sorry for the delay, I think my brother changed the place of the sodas in the fridge, you'll see that dwarf when he comes back."

"Sometimes I wish I had a brother," Patton commented without thinking. His body tensed as he didn't think through his words. The last thing he wanted was for Wally to suspect that Joey was part of the Kids Next Door.

"And being part of the KND dorks?" No thanks" he passed a soda to Patton and invited him to sit in the chair he used for the desk while Wally made himself comfortable on his bed "At least I'm counting on my silly brother being a normal boy and not involved in those things. Can you imagine? I couldn't have any of my equipment in this house."

"Yes, you're right," he opened the can of soda and took a drink, "So, is something wrong?" It's weird that you invited me to your house."

Wally took half of the soda from him and then placed it on the small table next to his bed. He looked up at Patton and the boy couldn't help but feel scanned by his green eyes.

"As you will see, Tyler is back."

Patton relaxed his muscles. They would talk about Tyler and ninja business. Nothing out of the ordinary. For a moment he thought he might ask her about Nigel or something else suspicious. Although there would be no reason to talk about Nigel, because he was pretending to be a normal boy and a little weird. Typical behavior of the new guys.

"I no longer trust him. I want you to come to the lair meeting tomorrow where I'll introduce you as my lieutenant and first in command where I'll give instructions to intercept a shipment of ice cream for the KND moon base."

"That's… an honor," he said, very surprised, "But what about Tyler? I'm sure he will be very angry if he knows I'm taking his place."

"Don't worry about that. He doesn't have to know. He'll find out later when he stops accompanying me on missions." He finished his soda and then his countenance changed. "Apart from your promotion, there's something I'd like to discuss with you. I don't know who else to ask"

"I'm all ears."

"Look, I know this is going to sound crazy but…" Wally ran his hand over his neck because he was getting nervous. Of all the people he thought of who could take Tyler's place, Patton Drilovsky seemed to be the best, he never disobeyed orders and in all the missions he had ordered him to do he always delivered good results. "Is there any chance that we…well I…I was a part of KND when he was a kid?"

Of all the things Patton thought Wally might ask him, he never thought he'd question being a part of the Kids Next Door during his childhood. Something was happening.

"I don't know, why do you ask?"

"Well, I don't know... someone told me that... well, but that's not possible, is it?"

"Look, if that was the case, it doesn't matter anymore. Because if we were part of the KND we would have no memories about it and there is nothing we can do but finish them off."

"It's just that she seemed so..." Wally said in a whisper but Patton could hear him.

"She?" asked Patton trying to figure out why Wally asked him that question.

"Oh, she's nobody," commented Wally trying to look relaxed "It's like you say, that doesn't matter anymore. And if I was part of that, they dismissed me as the boss," he crossed his arms.

Who was he talking about? Now that Patton was looking at him better, something had changed in the aussie. How long has it been since he yelled at high school nerds? How long has it been since he went on a mission himself? He seemed more confused and lost than usual.

"So where is the lair?" Patton asked and Wally told him the location.

A while later, Patton got into his truck to go to his house. He placed his cell phone in the metal holder he had bought to place it while he drove and before starting the car, he dialed Fanny's number. The girl answered on the second ring.

"I guess you're just as confused as I am."

"I never thought I would say this but, excellent work Numbuh 60."

"Do we have to use the codes in our private conversations?

"Whether you like it or not, this was a mission but well that's the least of it. The fact that you've been promoted to the ninjas and now knowing where the prisoners might be has given us a huge advantage. I thought we'd never make it."

"We can't go on like this, Fanny," Patton said sharply, "We have to have a base where we can plan our movements and prepare for when we have to rescue them, devise new weapons, give our reports, I need you to give Numbuh One his tree house to able to meet there."

"I was just thinking the same thing. With the security updates that were done to the treehouses over a year ago I think it would be a good place. We just have to find some branch of the tree that could be hidden in his house."

"Now that you mention it…" Patton recalled the time he went to Nigel's house in his first days on Earth. He swore he saw a branch or a piece of abnormal wood in his house but he had a hard time remembering the exact place "I think it's not that difficult, I remember seeing a branch but... Got it!" He stopped short at the traffic light which changed from green to red very quickly.

"Are you okay?" asked the worried girl, "I'm sure I heard a sudden stop. Concentrate on the steering wheel, I don't feel like going to the ER at this time because of you", she commented with her usual bad mood.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry," he placed both hands on the steering wheel and continued driving, "In Numbuh One's room there is a branch, I'm sure we can access the computer from there."

"Pick me up. This can't wait any longer and talking so much on the phone could be dangerous, especially if you're driving," the girl asked. "I'll call Numbuh One to tell him we have a science project or something."

"Okay, see you in 20 minutes," he closed the call and he stepped on the accelerator.

It was dark and cold, although the green colored soup was probably much colder. The walls were stone and the floor felt rough to the touch. His slippers and all his clothes were in a very bad state due to all the time he had been in that cell.

A dry noise snapped him out of his thoughts and heavily got up. His legs hardly responded anymore, because he didn't use them and he had to carry those heavy chains. Only two people went down to see him. Ernie brought him food and water and Cree Lincoln.

"I was wondering when you would come to see if I was still alive," he spoke hoarsely.

"Oh Maurice, I'm so glad to hear that you missed me too," Cree looked out the small barred window in his cell.

"Keep dreaming, Cree."

A year had passed since he was deprived of his liberty. He studied all possible ways to get out of there but his energies ran out over time and his body was numb from doing nothing and being locked up. He sometimes did some exercise but it was difficult with the heavy chains tied to his legs. He was deteriorating too much.

"There's no point in keeping me here, I'm sure my replacement will defeat you."

"You're wrong about that, dear," she shook his head, "You were always the best and I don't think any TND is equal to you."

"When I get out of here I'll see to it myself that I lock you up in the unheated arctic prison so you can freeze to death once and for all. What you've done is unforgivable" he expelled acid words making the girl angry but in the end she just laughed.

"Don't say those things, future husband, soon you won't remember anything and you'll work for me."

"Tsk, Never in your dreams bitch! " He yelled and then the girl withdrew.

He was running out of time. He had to get out of there before the serum was complete and there was no salvation for him and for anyone.

A.N: You didn't expect that dramatic twist at the end xD Someone leave a review about my story in Ao3 and that motivated me to update today. The next chapter will be longer because important things will happen that I had already planned before writing this fanfic, so uff that chapter 6 will be hot xD see you in the next one.