My time travel story is finally posted! I have a huge and big thank you to Numbuh113 on the KND fan forum for doing the cover art, I think he did an amazing job! This is just a prologue and a general set up of how did numbuh 1 come back from the galactic kids next door. I do plan on playing with that concept here but it'll be different then what's on the show and a little more in line with pitch that was done a couple of years back. Then of course a little foreshadowing/set up of what's going to happen later in the story.

May 2014

Black curls sprawled across the white sheets as Abby lay on her back. The bed's canopy had various shades of blue in the fabric, with gossamer hangings running down the side to the headboard. As her brown eyes scanned her dark blue notebook, she struggled to keep her eyes open. Senior year had certainly taken a toll on her. She didn't sleep last night, and she did not want to do it again tonight. Glancing at the clock, she saw that it was a couple of minutes to midnight. Groaning, she turned to lay on her back.

"Abby didn't ask for an all-nighter. I wonder how Valerie is doing," she said to herself, mocking her academic rival. She pulled out her tablet and watched the timer countdown. The class ranking was going up tonight on the website, and while it was clear that they were the two best students in their grade, she wanted to see for herself exactly how high on the list they had gotten.

The timer hit zero, and the list was uploaded, starting from the bottom.

She scanned past the likes of Marybeth March and scrolled up and up until she saw some familiar names. Fanny Fulbright and Hoagie Gilligan cracked the top fifty. Wally Beetles made it to ten, and she couldn't help but feel proud of him.

The top half of the list made her gasp, a little stunned by the top five students in their year. Five was Rachel McKenzie, four was Egbert Eggleston, three was Valerie, two was Abby Lincoln, and the best student in their year was... Kuki Sanban. Not that she didn't think Kuki was smart or anything, but she outranked both her AND Valerie? How did that happen? Then again, both girls were more focused on beating each other than thinking of a possible third person being better. Though she did still outrank Valerie.

There was a thump outside her window. She looked around to make sure everything was locked, then sat up and pulled aside the cloth from her canopy. But when she tried to stand up, and she found a hand in her way.

Gasping, Abby found herself facing someone she hadn't seen in a very long time. Standing next to her bed was none other than Numbuh Infinity. Dark sunglasses glinted in the light of the full moon. His dark suit blending in with the shadows and his red infinity symbol necktie stood out a little. Gosh, he still even looked like he did when she last saw him. And she was twelve then.

Before she could say anything, he had taken her hand before green goop enveloped her.

…. Transmission Interrupted….

... Please Wait….

…. Transmission Continued….

Abby found herself standing in the middle of an alien spaceship. It was orbiting the shadows of the moonbase-another thing that she hadn't seen since she was 12. Rubbing her head, she glanced around, keenly aware that she was wearing her pajamas. Good thing it was just old dark blue sweatpants and white tank top.

"Do you mind, Numbuh Infinity? Abby is going through a bit of a crisis here. The least you could do was let her grab her sweater." She glared at the alien who still didn't say anything to her.

"Good, now everyone is here," said Numbuh 74.239 as he stepped out of the shadows. Probably trying to be dramatic, she thought, dryly shaking her head. Dismayed as he saw her look, he defended himself. "Hey, I thought my entrance was pretty cool. Anyway, come along, the three of you."

Three of? Abby turned around to see Nigel's parents standing there, looking slightly worried, unlike her, who was busy freaking out about who had the best grades in the school. Shaking her head again, she could only imagine what this meant. Forget grades, was Nigel here? She waved to them and his mother hugged her. They seemed to be just as surprised as she was, as they were in their pajamas too.

"I guess they pulled you from England?"

She had remembered them moving to make their lie about where Nigel went more realistic.

"Yes," said Monty with a small smile, clutching a package to his chest.

Abby looked around, noting that it was bare in the ship. At least it would be easy to find Nigel if he was around here somewhere.

Infinity and 74.239 led the three of them to a room off to the side. A makeshift bed squarely in the middle. Laying asleep (or maybe knocked out) was Nigel Uno, dressed in a simple hospital gown. Abby's dark eyes widened, seeing him for the first time. For one, she noticed that he was tall, almost too tall for the bed. Probably around six foot if he stood up.

Next to her, Kathy Uno rushed to her son. "Nigel!" she cried, hugging his sleeping form. "Oh my gosh, Monty, this is our son! I can't believe it." She kissed his head as Monty dropped the package from his hands and rushed over, joining her in hugging his son.

From her spot, Abby was paralyzed. It had been nearly five years… or six? She had nearly lost count. Would he be the same? How much would he remember of the three of them? 74.239 and Infinity were watching with happy smiles on their faces.

Not wanting to startle the adults, she whipped around to face the galactic operatives. "Why is he back? Not that I'm not excited, but I feel as if I'm really missing something."

The two galactic operatives looked at each other. Worry lines appeared on their faces before they gestured for their guests to follow. Nigel's mom was now holding what Monty had dropped, and the pair followed in suit. They all sat down in front of a projector aimed at a hanging plain white sheet. 74.239 pressed a button on the projector, and a scene exploded to life before them.

Nigel was fighting alongside several operatives, though their surroundings were obscured by smoke and flames dancing around them. Shapes of the enemy surrounded them, and shadows swirled toward them. Suddenly, flames licked across his suit, which we examined with clear amazement. Everyone else started to look at him with equal much astonishment. Then, with one swipe of his hand, the flames exploded, the smoke cleared, and everything around him flew into the nearest wall, including his teammates.

Abby's jaw dropped. Kathy's eyes grew wide. Monty's face remained stoic, though he did mutter something under his breath.

"Oh, pappy, no..."

Abby glanced at him and felt as though her lungs had begun to constrict. Next to her, Kathy had taken a long, deep breath, eyes fixated on the screen, her face unreadable. On her other side, Monty looked troubled, but had a hint of understanding on his face.

Numbuh Infinity cleared his throat and nodded at them. "He, well… He wanted to come back. We decommissioned him, and that took his powers away. We're here to drop him off and that is the reason we needed you. None of you were decommissioned, and so you can help him adjust back to earth ways."

That snapped Abby out of her trance.

"You can't just expect us to know how to do this! This is huge. I mean, how are we supposed to help him blend in? I mean, what about school? Where is he going to work!?" snapped Abby a fire in her eyes.

Kathy wiped her eyes as she finally spoke up.

"GED classes in America. And once he gets that, some classes at university. As far as a job goes, well, he can work with us. I work at the great library, having someone as an aid would work wonderfully." His mother buried her face in her hands. "That's my baby boy, I'm just happy that he's back."

"I own my father's business, and a mailroom job will work just fine," said Monty, snapping back to normal. "He's not like dad or Ben, now, but he can never be recommissioned again, can he?"

Infinity and 74.239 shook their heads.

Abby was still thinking about how this was going to work with him. Nigel was back and it made her heart swell that they could all be friends again. They didn't really drift apart that much while in school. Not only that, but he could be friends with Rachel again. Believe it or not, numbuh 86 was now part of their group, too.

Taking a deep breath, Abby thought of some of the other questions that came to her mind. "Is he still, like, eleven years old mentally? What about his personality? I mean, the Kids Next Door itself did make him pretty paranoid and a workaholic. Is that all just gone?" She remembered seeing how Fanny stopped hating boys after her own decommissioning. Rachel had stopped being a workaholic, as well as losing her rather assertive side.

"No," 74.239 replied firmly. "With the memory modification, he should be 17 mentally. Some experiences will be the same, just with humans in his mind. His personality shouldn't be that much different from what he was like before joining the KND, with a few new traits mixed in. For example, he's now much more analytical."

This calmed Abby and the Unos down a little. They hadn't thought about that. Abby stared back at the screen and smiled. Everything would be about back to normal. They'd be a team again, although this time they were older. Wiser. It felt like everything was falling back together.

Kathy pulled something from her oversized purse and gave it to Monty. Abby could see it was just a pair of pajamas for Nigel. Monty left the room for a minute to change his son's clothes for the night, replacing the stiff hospital gown.

"He'll have a nice, normal life with us," said Kathy with a happy sigh. "I only wish we had seen him grow up. Nigel will have his own place with us, though."

"Abby guesses that you kept a room for him just in case?"

"We have a four bedroom home, he should have plenty of room. Maybe we should decorate it, however he likes."

"Four?"

"Monty and I sleep in different rooms now, since my medication keeping me up all night. We kept a room for Nigel in mind should he ever come back. The extra bedroom my husband uses as an office."

That didn't seem to matter to Monty as he returned, finally able to form some words. "What has he been doing in space? Besides this?"

Infinity and 74.239 shared a long look with each other, almost as if they were communicating telepathically. Which they probably were, of course, but Abby wouldn't know for sure. Finally, Infinity spoke up, while the redhead looked more annoyed than anything.

"We can't share much, but Nigel did help us with something very important. The Kids Next Door will now have more information about the UGC, the United Galactic Confederation. After what happened with us trying to blow up the earth, he helped reform us."

74.239 butted in. "All planets now have a representative to sit on a council. There are strict guidelines and laws that are never to be broken. If another planet tries to invade or something like we did to Earth again, there will be consequences, strictly enforced. There are protocols and good rules."

Infinity sent his friend a disgusted look as Abby smirked. "Your son, Numbuh 1, Nigel, did some great things with us over the last several years. If this had never happened, I think he might still be with us. Not all the planets have been completely convinced of what we've done, but we will continue working on it."

Abby felt a sense of pride wash over her. Nigel had managed to do some pretty neat stuff with the GKND. Monty seemed to be just as proud as well, seeing how he lit up. Kathy pressed a hand to her chest, beaming as well.

"And we have a new and improved method of choosing earth operatives that Nigel helped design. Let's just say that we're sorry to lose him, but you're lucky to have him back."

Finally finding her voice, Abby spoke up. "That's amazing, guys," she said. "I know he doesn't have his memories, but I'm sure that once he's back on earth with us, I can totally help as best as I can. Maybe we could help with classes at the community college or-"

74.239 shook his head as Infinity cut her off. "Nigel Uno cannot return to America."

Abby stared at him, struggling to find the words.

"What? Why not?" she sputtered out. Maybe because it was familiar, it might be something that he would remember.

"Father. He stole his pipe and, until Father retires, he's still in danger, especially since he was decommissioned. Our projected time for that to be would be around 2018."

Her eyes widened, and she put her hand on her hip. "Wait a second, by the time that happens, we'll be graduating college! Or about to. Are you saying that he can never visit us?" Her voice was filled with accusations and hurt.

"Well, yes, but that doesn't stop you from visiting him. He can still know about you just as long as you don't tell Father, or it gets back to him. Nigel will still remember his friends and everything, we just planted a false timeline in his brain."

That was where Abby was ready to yell at Infinity for what he had done. "What kind of timeline?"

"Just that he moved back to England when he was 13, he was at a school where he got in an accident that made him lose his memory of the last four years of his life. We need you to help him adjust to life now."

Abby's mind was whirling at this. Nigel would be back on earth and living in London, oblivious to his life before, where he was probably going to stay for good. But the fact that he was back meant so much to her.

"And you want my help," she said. "Okay, okay, but what about everyone else?"

"Well, he only met Kuki through the KND, so he doesn't remember much about her. Wally is just about the same, so they will need to be caught up based on what they know. Hoagie has also been contacted." Abby's eyes narrowed at that. "Because they were friends since kindergarten, those are memories that can't be modified. They have each other's cellphone numbers."

Something in her relaxed a little, knowing that they had covered almost everything. The GKND was handled and they wouldn't be attacking them anytime soon, at least without serious consequences. Nigel's personality wasn't that of an eleven-year-old. He was going to have a job and school was handled. He couldn't return to America, but that didn't mean that they couldn't visit him. What else was there?

The two aliens nodded. Abby hoped that they didn't have any other bad news.

"There are two final things to mention," said Infinity. "Mrs. and Mr. Uno, we will have to decommission you once he is caught up. We can't risk you having those memories much longer while he's on earth."

Kathy and Monty shared a long look with each other before looking back at them. They slowly nodded without a word. They could see the severity of the situation if they kept their memories.

Then Infinity looked at Abby.

"Abby, we need you to erase all evidence that Nigel was ever in the Galactic Kids Next Door in Earth's database. We'd rather them learn about us on our terms, not have them learn that there was an operative that had to be sent back without reason. I understand you had hacked Nigel's test scores in yourself."

She had the decency to blush and nodded before 74.239 showed her a computer. Nigel had been reported missing after that last cake mission, then re-entered once he tried to go through with a planetary decommissioning that one time. Abby couldn't help but wonder if this would come back to bite her sometime later. Ignoring the uneasy feeling in her stomach, she hacked into the system and took out the information.

From behind she could feel a tap on her shoulder. Monty's blue eyes were fixed on the computer from behind her. "Is there any way you can make a note that I don't want to be recommissioned ever again," he said softly. "I'd rather not keep going through it over and over again."

She nodded and made the note where someone would see it. Making sure that the network was untraceable Abby did exactly what they asked. Now, officially, it was as though Nigel was never gone, or did anything horrible to humanity.

There was a groan. They turned to look at Nigel, who was trying to sit up. Gasping, Abby rushed over to him, and he looked at her confused.

"Abby, what are you doing in my… where am I?" he blinked at the bright lights, then looked around and squinted at the other figures. "Mum? Dad?"

Kathy was the first to make it over to them, again embracing him now that he was awake. Infinity and 74.239 stepped back, trying hard not to be seen. 74.239 turned away to pilot the ship back to their home planet.

"You were playing a game," said Monty, handing him a pair of glasses, "and you got your head hit pretty hard."

Slowly, Nigel started to nod, putting the pieces together. "Yeah, I think I remember that. Why is Abby here though? I'm pretty sure that she lives in America, and we live in London."

Abby felt a small pang in her as she smiled brightly. She already had a story ready and details to match, something that she picked up from hanging out with Hoagie and Rachel. They were geeks, but they were incredibly good at making cover stories for her when she had to lie.

"You must have hit your head pretty hard, you know why I'm here," she lied, playfully swatting his shoulder. "I'm visiting my brother and I'm visiting you before taking the train to Paris."

She didn't have to wonder if he knew the others, the two operatives seemed to have it covered.

"Too bad you're not staying long," said Nigel, rubbing his head.

"Hey, you're not going to be alone," she said, picking out her words carefully. She sighed, relieved in knowing that he would have at least one friend. "Have I told you that Rachel might be going to school in London? And Hoagie has his pilot's license, so he can visit whenever. Wally and Kuki are bound to visit sometime."

Nigel just grinned at the updates on all his friends. His smile did falter some, as he seemed to just barely remember Kuki, but that didn't seem to matter. He was still happy and probably super tired still. She glanced at the clock. It was 7AM in England, and about 2AM her time.

"That's great," he said looking around, "Now, where am I?"

"Home," said Monty, helping him up and out of the spacecraft. They were just outside a semi-detached house not too far from downtown London. Or at least she thought it was from the rising sun. Waving goodbye to the three of them Abby made a promise that she would see him again sometime before leaving Europe.

"We have someone for you to meet. Our neighbor has a daughter your age. Her name is Sarah," said Kathy brightly. "I think you'll get along great."

Watching them leave, Abby just stood there from the spaceship staring wistfully at him. "Nigel Uno, you deserve all the friends you'll make. I'm glad you're back," she whispered to herself. Finally, she turned to the galactic operatives, and stepped back to where Nigel once stood away from the doors. "Well, what are you waiting for? Abby has to finish high school and book a flight to Paris. She has some catching up to do."