TRANSMISSION RESTORED
PART 12 — GAUNTLET RECEIVED
Kuki tackled Wally and sent both kids rolling on the sand, laughing. Wally then kneeled and began digging at almost lighting speed, and before Kuki could do anything about it, she found herself buried in the sand, right next to him.
"See? It's fun, Kuki!!"
"Maybe, but I don't see why you had to fill your pool to the TOP with sand, if this is all you're going to do. You could have just filled it half-way, you know."
"Moi dad got a discount."
She giggled for a bit, and then asked him, "Do you want a soda?"
"Sure!! Let meh go git it—"
"No, Wally, I'll get it for you. I'll be right back!" It took a bit of effort for her to extricate herself from the artificial dune, but eventually, she stood, shook all the loose sand from herself and her pink one-piece, and walked back into the house.
As he waited for her, the blonde boy began to sing his favourite song, "Buried in the sand! Na-na-na NA!!! Buried in the sand! Na-na-na NA!!! Buried in the saAWWWPFFF—!!"
Where there was once a blonde Australian boy, there was suddenly none.
A few minutes later, a Japanese girl returned with two cans of soda, but there was no one in the sand pool. "Wally? Wally?" She looked around a bit, but he wasn't there. "Maybe he went to the bathroom." She sat down on the beach chair and waited, drinking her own soda.
Numbuh 4 was filled with momentary horror as he sank through the darkness, sand filling his eyes, nose, and mouth. He thought his pool had suddenly turned to quick sand, but he thought the sand had to be wet for that. That, and there was something clamped on his right ankle that seemed to be pulling him down.
The next thing he knew was that he was suddenly free from the sand, and he blew it out of his nose and mouth while trying to clear it from his eyes. He also noticed that he seemed to be hanging upside down from his right ankle, for some reason. A minute later, he finished coughing and scooping all the sand from his eyes and tongue—
—and the blurred image of an upside down Chad Dickson, clad in his teen ninja armour, came into focus in front of him.
"Enjoy your 'swim', Wallaby?"
"Ptooeh! Wot do yew wont from meh, traitor??!!" he spat at him. He bent upwards to grab the clamp that had his ankle captive.
"Well, believe it or not, I brought you here to have a little talk." Fuelled with fury at the former Supreme Commander, Numbuh 4 tugged on the metal clamp with both hands, his muscles flexing under his skin and his sweat starting to wash off some of the sand. "You can relax, you know. All you have to do to break free from that is to ASK ME to release—"
(CLINK)
The blonde Aussie landed on his feet, and the clamp that held his ankle was now broken at the hinges.
"Impressive," said Chad.
Now Wally could see where he was. Apparently, someone dug a tunnel right under his pool, opened a breach on the bottom, and was thus able to pick him off with a rather crude mechanical winch and lever. The tunnel was also crudely made, with only a few wooden frames to hold it up, and a large plastic shield to keep the sand from filling up the space under the pool. Crude lightbulbs were hung randomly around them, providing little, but enough light. "Oi'm not askin' YEW f'r ENNYTHIN'!!!" hissed Numbuh 4.
Calmly, the tall teen continued, "Well, as I was saying, I brought you here because I recently saw your show."
The child was about to pounce on the teen and stopped, "W—wot show?"
"Oh, you know: the one the Kids Next Door broadcast to all the treehouses on the planet, and the one that I hacked into and saw as well: your little 'fight' with Abigail Lincoln?"
"Yeh, well it wasn't MOI show, it was Abby's idear."
"Be that as it may, you defeated her, right?"
Numbuh 4 raised an eyebrow at him, "Yeh?"
"And right after you won, you said, 'I just want to say one more thing to Chad and Cree, in case they're watching: (CENSORED) you, chumps, you're next'."
He blinked, suddenly feeling sheepish, "Er, yeh, Oi said that."
"Well, it just HAPPENS that I WAS watching, Wally, and I just wanted to know: I'm next for what?" Wally scowled—but suddenly realised he didn't have a response. "Next for getting beat up by you, perhaps??"
That seemed feasible. "N' whoi not? Oi've knocked yew out befower."
"Ah, but you just knocked me out with one punch, and that was by surprise. Did you have in mind a free-for-all fight, like you had with Abby?"
He kept his fists tight, "Whoi do yew ask? Yew think yew can handle meh??"
"Ah, little Wally, that's what I brought you here for. You see, all of us teens saw just how good of a fighter you are, and they saw how you turned Numbuh 5 into a pulp—which, I might add, made Cree very happy."
Wally had a blank face, but when Chad mentioned Cree, he scowled. "Yeh, so wot?"
"Anyways, I didn't bring you here to accept the challenge—not yet, anyway. I came here to help you."
"HELP??" asked the Aussie, as if Chad had just asked him for a koala. "With WOT??" His temper was ready to explode.
"That is my next point, Wally. You've received training from the Kids Next Door, and now you're an awesome fighter. But, when you turn 13, you'll be decommissioned, and all that training will stop as you become a 'normal' teenager. So, what I'm offering you is the chance for US to train you now, secretly, while you're still in the Kids Next Door, so you can become an even BETTER fighter than you are now. And by the time you turn 13, NO KN-Dork will be able to capture you and decommission you. You will then leave the Kids Next Door as the best fighter in its history, perhaps even better than Cree—or me—and your training will continue as you join the Teen Ninjas."
The Aussie looked at the American incredulously. A chance to be even better than Cree? "Whoi meh?"
"Because you're the best there is, after me and Cree, of course. You defeated Numbuh 5, so that makes you the best of the Kids Next Door now. If Abby had won, we'd be giving the offer to her."
"Yeh, n' after all th'trainin' YEW got, Numbuh 1 was able t'knock YEW out with one punch!!" he accused.
"Ah, but that was during my transition period. I've got MORE training now, so Numbuh 1 can't touch me now. Let US train you, and NO ONE will be able to touch YOU."
"N' whoi should Oi join yew?" he huffed, crossing his arms.
Chad counted on his fingers, "Well, for starters, if you let us train you secretly, the Teen Ninjas will not attack your sector until you turn 13. Father will NOT know you're a double agent—again, until you turn 13. And, any ninja attacks on the sectors near yours will be—light," he grinned. "And once you join us, YOU will help us bring both kids AND adults under Teen control! YOU will be the one who will END this war, bringing kids and adults together, to serve the Teenagers, as they rightfully should!! Join me, and we'll rule this planet together as——uh—" he faltered a bit, "—uh—as—um——friendly acquaintances?"
"Will yew give meh money?" asked Wally, walking toward Chad.
He thought for a bit, "Um—yes, we can arrange that."
"Will yew give meh rank?"
"You'll ascend quickly."
"Will yew give meh goils?"
"They'll be following you like lost puppies."
"Will yew give meh moi friends??"
Chad was about to reply, but suddenly realised he had no answer.
"Thought so," said Wally. Chad then saw the short boy give a defiant scream and jump toward his face, his eyes filled with rage.
He HAD additional training since the Hendry Middle School Run, so all he had to do was lift his foot, and activate the rocket on the sole. This caused him to press back on the support beam behind him, but the small burst was enough to make Wally scream with pain and fall in front of the teen. Unlike the tall boy, he was only clad in his blue trunks and had no shielding whatsoever. Smirking, Chad straightened up and looked down at the child who was clutching his face and writhing in pain at his feet.
This had been too eas—
Wally had rolled to his feet, and despite the pain in his face, he grabbed Chad's ankle and shoved his leg upward, making him ram his knee on his own chin. This made the teen whip his head back and knock it against the beam. Since Chad did not have his helmet on, he nearly knocked himself out. The child then jumped and gave a powerful double uppercut on the teen's chin, again causing him to bang the back of his head against the wall.
Numbuh 4 landed on his feet and watched as Chad Dickson, former Numbuh 274, crumbled to a heap in front of him.
"Some trainin' YEW 'ave," he scoffed, spitting on the teen, and then he tried to ease off some of the pain of the rocket burns on his face.
At that point, he heard a single person clapping nearby.
"Very good, little Wallaby. Very good!"
Numbuh 4 whirled in the direction of the voice, and from the shadows, he saw none other than Cree Lincoln, former Operative Numbuh 11.
As she came into view, he saw that she didn't have her armour, for some reason. "Though I must say: even with his additional training, Chad has ALWAYS been a pathetic ninja. I monitored the Hendry Middle School Run, and it was filled with his incompetence from start to finish."
His scowl became fiercer than ever before. "N' wot do YEW wont, Cree???"
She began a seductive sauntering around the blonde boy. "Oh, I just came here to confirm Chad's offer. I saw how you beat up my little sister—good job, by the way—and we're offering you a chance for MORE. A chance to beat up EVERY SINGLE TEEN, ADULT, AND KID who has ever done you wrong, Kid Next Door or not, no matter what rank, sector, or age. And yes, we can get you all the girls you want. And if you're a GOOD little boy—" she leaned into her ear, "—maybe I'll give you a kiss or two as well."
He jumped, whirling so he could face her. "Yew're SICK," he spat.
"Am I? Just think about it, Wally: We're bigger, stronger, better equipped, have bigger weapons, better armour and shielding, and ONE thing that none of your superiors will admit to you:" she leaned closer again, "we're defeating the Kids Next Door, little by little, and soon, we'll have you crushed under our feet."
His rage increased, "Yew're LOYIN'!!!"
She shook her head and chuckled, "Of course, Numbuh 1 and Numbuh 362 will deny that, but as you recall, Chad was your Supreme Leader before, so HE should know the PATHETIC situation you Babies Next Door are in—and that's why we came to you, Wally. You can have a part with the Teen Ninjas, first as a double agent, and then, when we defeat the Kids Next Door, YOU'LL be pulled out just in time to be a full-fledged Teen Ninja."
He trembled with rage. "Th'answer ess NO, yew cruddy teenoijjer!!"
She kept her seductive smile, and walked to one end of the tunnel. "Oh, Wally, Wally, Wally. 'Crabigail' never told you that I don't take 'no' for an answer?"
"Yeh? Well, 'ow 'bout '(CENSORED) YEW'!!!"
She laughed at his attempts to be crude. "Any teen can top that remark, Wally, but the bottom line is that if you refuse: the teens will take Kuki—and will hide her in a place where you'll NEVER find her, and she'll be imprisoned until you agree to join us." If he had been a dingo, his hackles would be raised by now. Still, he felt a definite prickling on the back of his neck. "Kuki loses even if we don't do anything to her. We defeat the Kids Next Door, and she goes down with them. Or, we could keep her—'safe' until you decide to join us."
That was when Wally snapped, and he charged at the female teen.
She stood there, grinning seductively—
—and Wally suddenly had to stop because a wall of fire suddenly separated the African-American from him.
"'Crabigail' was right. You think with your fists more than with your brain. But still, I'd like to know something, Wally: What did you mean when you said that Chad and I were 'next'?"
He had an answer now. "Et means that ENNYONE kin foight n'beat yew!! No mattah 'ow good yew were in th'Kids Next Door, thar will be someone BETTAH t'come n' defeat yew TROITORS!!!"
She raised an eyebrow. "Anyone? Even YOU perhaps?"
"ENNYONE," he growled.
"Oh, Wally, I SAW how you left 'Crabigail', but looking at how SHE left YOU, I can very much say that you can't defeat ME," suddenly sounding dangerous.
That didn't faze him at all. "OI'VE BEATEN ADULTS BIGGAH TH'N YEW!!"
"Oh yes, that incident at the movie theatre, yes, I heard about it. Well, Wally, those adults may have been bigger than me, but trust me, they WEREN'T fighters. And you WILL join us, Wallaby. Chad and I were Combat Specialists—fighters, and so are you. We ran from decommissioning, and SO—WILL—YOU. You might as well run now, because you WILL run when you turn 13."
He was trying to find a way through the wall of fire, but there was none, and given that he was clad only in his trunks, he had little protection. And he couldn't jump because the flames were too high and the ceiling was too low. "OI WILL NOT JOIN YEW, NOT NOW, AND NOT EVAH!!" he growled, and he paced side to side like a caged panther.
For a moment, his tone startled her, but she didn't let him see that.
"Kuki will then disappear until we defeat you babies, and—" she pulled out what looked to be a timer. "A bomb that is hidden in this tunnel will explode, making it cave in, with YOU in it. And despite being deep, my BRA will protect me quite well—if I decide to watch you be buried alive."
Something didn't add up to Numbuh 4, though. He looked behind him and saw that the other teen was still unconscious. "Wot 'bout him?"
"Oh, we don't need him anymore. But YOU should be concerned about YOU, Wallaby. YOU can't run—however, before I leave, I just want to know one last thing:"
"Yeh? Wot?"
"I just want to know—" her armour enclosed her, "—how quickly I can turn you INTO A PULP!!!" she screamed, as the firewall died down, "NO ONE CHALLENGES CREE LINCOLN AND REMAINS STANDING!!!!" She hid the timer in her back pocket, and took a defensive stance.
With a high-pitched scream, the boy charged at the teen.
Calmly, the teen sprinted toward the boy.
Wally jumped and prepared to give her a double kick in the face and—
(POWTHUD!!!)
The next thing he knew was that he was at the back wall, sliding to the floor, while Cree just stood there, obviously grinning behind her mask.
Screaming again, he gave another charge and jumped for another kick and—
(POWTHUD!!!)
He slid to the floor again. Somehow, all his kicks were bouncing off that armour of hers. She had sprinted closer, however, so he tried again.
Cree was practically yawning at this point, and prepared to smash him to the wall again. She saw Wally jump, and she charged at the same time—
(THUD!!!)
Wally had jumped to her left, deliberately missing, and now it was Cree that slid down the far wall to the floor. He had to think fast now: regular punches and kicks would be bounced off her, and he might be able to do a body slam or two, but that armour would STILL protect her. He needed something—
Cree shook her head and turned to eye with fury at her "shrimp" adversary, just in time to see him take hold of the winch and levers that had pulled him down to the tunnel, and start pulling with all his might. She was rather surprised to see muscles show through his skin momentarily, and even more surprised when he managed to break off two long steel beams from the mechanism.
Numbuh 4 took a stance in front of her, holding his steel "tonfun" above him.
Furious, Cree charged at him and tried to kick his head off his shoulders, but now his "tonfun" not only served for offence, but for defence as well. And since her limbs were considerably longer than his, she couldn't get as much speed as he did. Despite his speed, however, his "poking" and bashing on her arms and legs didn't cause much denting in her armour.
Finally, she tried a swift right cross. He didn't block it, but instead dodged her fist and swept her whole arm to the side, and he continued the movement by completing a spin and using the steel beams to sweep her feet from under her.
She hit the ground hard, dizzy, but not knocked out.
—and Wally was standing right in front of—
(WHOOSH!!! THUD!!!)
Another rocket flare and Wally was thrown back, this time to the opposite wall.
However, as he slid down, he felt his hand bump against something on the wall. He turned, and saw that it was a knob of some sort, that had the label "FLAME ON/OFF". He then turned and saw that Cree was getting up with some difficulty. Armour or not, the fall was enough to stun her.
He turned the knob.
Cree SCREAMED and LEAPT to her feet, momentarily confused about which way to run, as it seemed that her entire armour had suddenly reached the boiling point. She screamed rather comically, and even slapped herself all over, reflexively, trying to put out the flames that she thought were still on her.
Once she realised that she was no longer on the firewall, and that she was no longer being roasted, something caught her ear.
She turned and saw that the "shrimp" was LAUGHING at her.
Furious beyond measure, she fired a laser blast at him, but he saw it coming, and Cree only managed to blast the flame control, making the firewall die as quickly as it had flared up.
"I'M GONNA KILL YOU!!!!" she screeched, now charging at the defiant blonde boy—
—who was still LAUGHING at her.
Shots blasted from her forearms, but he was too quick a moving target as he bounced to and fro. Somehow, he managed to reach her, and he landed a good blow on her rear because he couldn't hit any higher. Even if he jumped, she was too quick at blocking her upper body. Cree didn't like being hit in the rear, and this time, she managed to shoot one "tonfun" off his hands. Frantically, he tried to follow it before it hit the ground, but she kept shooting at him, and he lost where it landed. She was also getting too close, but as he tried to walk back, he felt something near his foot. Glancing down, Wally saw he was right next to an unconscious Chad, so his next sudden move was to grab Chad's right leg, point the sole of his foot toward Cree's face, and press the button on the heel. Her helmet was enough to protect her from the rocket flare, so the next thing Wally knew was that Chad's foot seemed to explode, and both were blown back against the wall. The Aussie was quick on his feet, but felt rather dismayed to see Chad's armour fold back on itself and deactivate. He barely managed to dodge another blast, but this time, he jumped forward, rolled, and swung his remaining beam hard and high at the teenager. Cree had no problems blocking him, but right there, Wally pushed her arm up and with a backswing—
(SMASH!!!)
—destroyed the blaster that was on her left wrist.
Grunting with rage, she almost shoved her other blaster down his throat, but with a grunt of his own, he blocked it with his steel beam and shoved her arm upward, causing the shot to hit the plastic shield that held the sand above in place.
She instinctively looked up for less than one second.
And it only took less than one second for sand to fall into her eyes: the only place that her mask didn't protect.
With another girlish scream, she flinched and tried to remove the sand from her eyes and face—
(BLANG!!!)
She staggered back from the child, barely being able to focus on him, but quite clearly hearing her mask and helmet falling to the ground.
Numbuh 4 had to admit: without her mask and helmet, Cree didn't look that fierce anymore. In fact, with the scrapes and cuts that were visible on her face, and the line of blood that was running down the side of her mouth, she no longer looked invincible.
Cree DID manage to see him run toward her and attempt an uppercut, which she barely blocked in time. She shoved him back toward Chad, and as Wally staggered back, she blasted his remaining beam off his hand.
Now Wallaby was totally unarmed.
He looked at Chad.
Or was he?
With another defiant scream, Cree ran toward him, with the clearest intent of tearing the boy apart with her hands. He, in turn, ran to Chad, and tore his shirt off, just in time to dodge the furious girl that smashed her fists on the ground he was standing on an instant before.
He ran again, but before Cree could turn, he ran up the nearest support beam, jumped in a perfect off-the-wall move, and landed on her back, trapping her head with Chad's shirt and tightening it as much as he could, so he was hanging from it behind her.
"AAAHHH!! GET THIS OFF ME!!! IT SMELLS LIKE BODY ODOR MIXED WITH CHEAP COLOGNE!!!" She didn't buck, but she did stagger and shoot randomly, as well as trying to grab him while clawing at the shirt, which made either attempt unsuccessful.
Then, Numbuh 4 released her with a quick yank backwards, making her stagger back once more. He ducked between her feet, and as she passed over him, he shoved her legs out from under her, making her trip and fall on the motor that had worked the winch.
The impact on her bare head was not enough to knock her out, but it did leave her seeing stars. And as she defiantly tried to wobble to her feet—
(KAPOW!!!!)
—a double leaping uppercut had her dancing with the Sandman in an instant.
Quiet.
Calm.
Breathe.
As Wally caught his breath, eyeing the unconscious ex-Numbuh 11, he finally began to feel the effects of both battles. He was stinging in a thousand places, his face began to swell with pain and blisters, he felt blood dripping from his limbs, and he had to spit some blood as well.
He opened his fists, and now his fingers shot pain into his brain as well.
And he hoped that the deep pain on his left side wasn't a broken rib—
—beep-beep-beep-beep—
THE BOMB!!!
He limped toward Cree, flipped her on her stomach, and pulled out the timer from her back pocket. It wasn't difficult to figure out how it worked: all he had to do was press "OFF" and the timer fell silent in his hand.
He sighed again.
He wanted to lie down, or even to just sit down, but he couldn't with these two traitors here. He began walking toward the far end of the tunnel, wondering how far he'd have to go before he made it to the surface and called for—
A loud earthly grinding and a flash of light made him think the bomb went off anyway, but instead of feeling fire, he felt fresh air.
After his eyes adjusted to the light, he saw that one side of the tunnel had been pushed back, revealing ANOTHER tunnel, better built and with better lighting, and in it were none other than Global Command, his Supreme Leader, the Elite Guard, and the rest of Sector V. They all had their weapons drawn, but only for a moment.
"Get these trraitorrs t'the prrissonerr trransporrt n'take 'em t'th Decommissioning Chamberrs!!" shrieked Numbuh 86 at the Elite Guard. Numbuh 4 watched with shock as the kids handcuffed the unconscious teens and hauled them out of the tunnel, but before he could ask anything, Numbuh 3 ran to him and gave him the bear hug of his life.
His exhaustion made him get lost in the hug for a minute, but he did manage to ask, "W—wot's awl this? Kuki, did yew call f'r help??"
At that, Global Command and the rest of Sector V walked up to him, and Numbuh 362 began, "First of all, Numbuh 4, I, your Supreme Leader, and the rest of Global Command, gives you our deepest apologies for having doubted your loyalty to the Kids Next Door. We had unethically monitored your activities, and when we saw that your skills kept improving, to the point of defeating Numbuh 86 and her platoon, and then Numbuh 5, we—I—" she faltered a bit, "—thought that you would hold to the same pattern that Chad and Cree held—I—thought that you would turn against us. We detected those two hacking the broadcast of your fight with Abby, so we monitored them as well. When we saw what they were doing, we dug this parallel tunnel to see what you would decide—and frankly, when Chad offered you money and girls—I thought we would lose you right there and then. However, when you asked for your friends————I————Wally…" She put her hand on his shoulder, "I was wrong, and your commander, Nigel, was right, because he never doubted your loyalty. Now, you have indeed proven yourself to be worthy of your rank and your Numbuh. And now I know that when your time is up, you won't betray us. Again, I offer my most sincere apologies and—Wally—I hope I didn't lose a friend with what I ordered the rest to do to you."
The Aussie couldn't speak. Everyone here had—seen him take down Chad and Cree?
"Hey, Numbuh 4, if it makes you feel better, Numbuh 5 is now even MORE jealous of you."
He turned to Abby, "W-wot? Whoi?"
"You did what Numbuh 5 has been wantin' to do to her sister for a LONG time."
"But—but—didn't yew shove 'er into a garbage pod?"
"Sure, but Numbuh 5 has yet to knock her out—which YOU did, Wally. Thanks." Abby then joined Kuki in the bear hug.
Numbuh 1 added, "And now, thanks to you, Cree and Chad will FINALLY be decommissioned, we'll have two confiscated BRA's to study, and there will be two less Teen Ninjas to bother us—provided that Numbuh 86 doesn't mess things up and they manage to escape somehow."
"AH HEARRD THAT!!!" shrieked Fanny, from the surface.
Everyone chuckled at that, and then Rachel stepped up to the bruised boy, extending her hand. "Thank you, Numbuh 4—Wally. I hope you still consider me as a friend, besides your Supreme Leader."
He looked at her with difficulty, as his eyes were starting to swell, but he smiled and took her hand in his, "Apology accepted, Commender."
As they led him out of the tunnel, Numbuh 2 spoke into his communicator, "Okay, we're done here. Fill in both tunnels as soon as we're out."
Wally was quite surprised to see a M.O.S.Q.U.I.T.O.H., several S.C.A.M.P.E.R.'s and C.O.O.L.B.U.S.'s all over his yard, and an army of kids ran down the tunnel to begin filling it in. Before they boarded their own S.C.A.M.P.E.R., Rachel asked, "Say, Numbuh 4, you pulled off very interesting moves with Cree and Chad. You improvised very well—would you be interested in joining Numbuh 60 at the Arctic Base as Chief Combat Trainer for all our new recruits?"
Sector V couldn't believe it. Promotions didn't come every week, and they knew it. And now, Wally had his chance of moving up into the ranks, perhaps he could even become part of the Elite Guard.
He was looking at Kuki right now, however.
"Um—thanks f'r th'offer, Commender, but—let meh recover f'rst. Oi—Oi kinda need a medic roight now…"
Rachel understood, as did everyone else, because they all saw Kuki blushing like crazy. "Understood, Numbuh 4. Numbuh 3, as Chief Medical Officer of Sector V, take him to your Sickbay and make sure our best fighter recovers fully. If you need assistant medics, or if you need the Moonbase's facilities, don't hesitate to ask."
"Yes, sir!" she replied, saluting. The rest of Sector V saluted as well, boarded their S.C.A.M.P.E.R., and took off toward their treehouse.
Numbuh 362 stood there, watching them leave, and then turned to see the other kids filling in the tunnel.
She hoped this was the last grave mistake she made.
TRANSMISSION INTERRUPTED
