Me: Here we go with another story.

Chloe: Caro, wouldn't it be better if you finished the ones you're supposed to be working on first instead of a new one.

Me: Hey, I get ideas! Blame my imagination and my ideas!

Chloe/Alexis: (sigh)

Me: Okay, for starters I don't own KND but I do own the Florida branch, the Sniper Chicken, the Scrambler Ray, the Super-Sonic Siren, the Book Sludge, the Anti-Gravity Beam, and the H.U.M.V.

Amanda: The what, the what, the what, the what, the what, the what, and the what?

Me: (rolls eyes) Just start the mission.

Alexis: Roger that!

Numbuh 2: Hey, that's my line!

Alexis: SO!

Accessing mission archive

Mission archive loaded…

Now downloading Kids Next Door Mission…

Operation: R.E.S.C.U.E.

Real

Evil

Situations

Cause

Unhappy

Experiences

Log 1—Monkeys are Scary, but Goody-goody's are Scarier

Time: 3:00 PM
Location: Florida

The 11-year-old boy paced around and around the central control room of a very large tree house situated right next to the Florida coast. The house itself was a remarkable thing, being shaped from a very large palm tree. Though no one knew it, the tree house was the headquarters of the Florida branch of the secret operatives known as the Kids Next Door. The boy pacing the room was the leader and mediator of the group. His name was Matthew "Matt" Pluto, codenamed Numbuh 9.

Matt stopped pacing the room and turned toward the only other person in the room: a serious bespectacled boy named Zen Chou, codenamed Numbuh 11. He was the oldest of the group and therefore, the least excited.

"Where is everybody?" Matt asked him.

Zen looked up from the enormous book he was reading. "Numbuh 12 is out surfing, Numbuh 14 is playing with that freakish monkey doll you got her, and who knows where 13 is."

"What about Numbuh 10?"

Zen shrugged. "Usual." He went back to the book, which was behaving like the Bermuda Triangle; he rarely got out of it.

"What are you reading?"

"A book on the Everglades," Zen replied seriously. "And keep it down with your pacing. I can't reach the best part yet with all the noise."

Matt looked interested. "What's the best part?"

"You'll see."

Matt shook his head and resumed his pacing around the room. Adult crime waves had simmered down for a while now so there hadn't been many new missions. Besides, we're not the absolute best for handling missions outside Florida.

The door to the control room slid open, and Kayla Markham, Numbuh 13, bounded into the room. Her brown hat was tipped sideways on her flaming red hair and her face was freckly from the bright Florida sunshine.

"Hi boys!" she called brightly in her thick Southern accent. "How's it goin'?"

"Just dandy," muttered Zen from behind his book.

Kayla looked confused. "Uh dandy?"

"It means 'great, wonderful, perfect' in laymen's terms," said Zen in a bored "learnt by heart" tone of voice.

Kayla raised her eyebrows and sighed. "Ah don' know if Ah'll eva undustand you Numbuh 11."

"What's there to understand?" Zen asked, his voice muffled by the turning of pages. "This is my last year as a member of the Kids Next Door. You won't need to understand me because I'll soon be gone."

Kayla shook her head and looked around the room. "Where's Numbuh 12?"

"He's outside surfing," said Matt. He grinned mischievously. "Why?"

Kayla's face turned as red as her hair. "Um…no reason. Ah jest wanted to know."

Matt rolled his eyes. Yeah right. Everybody knew that Kayla had an enormous crush on Eric Onze, or Numbuh 12; everybody except Eric that is. Numbuh 12's just so oblivious…but I guess it's because he's got his sights set on—

At that moment, Matt felt a hand on his shoulder. He yelped and jumped about 5 feet!

"Sorry," said a female voice. "It's only me."

Matt turned around and grinned foolishly. "Oh. It's okay Numbuh 10." He blushed, noticing her hand was still on his shoulder.

Siriah "Siri" Kaldorei, codenamed Numbuh 10, pulled her hand away and brushed her long blonde hair out of her face. Her gold-flecked hazel eyes narrowed down at the blueprint in her left hand. "Hmmm…"

Matt watched her with a sort of dazed look on his face. She had skin almost as pale as the moon when it rose above the surf. Her eyes held an intent absorbed gaze as she studied the blueprint. I wish she'd look at me that way sometimes.

"Yo. Earth to Numbuh 9. Do you copy?" Numbuh 10 was snapping her fingers in front of his face.

Matt jumped again. "Eh? Oh sorry Numbuh 10. You were saying something?"

Siri rolled her eyes. "Before you completely zoned out, I was asking if I could borrow some forks from the kitchen."

"Forks? What do you need forks for?"

"My new experiment," Siri replied. "So may I?"

"Well…okay."

She grinned. "Thanks." Walking away, she rolled up her blueprint under one arm. At the same time, Eric walked in; his blond hair still wet and smelling of salt water. He'd changed out of his swimsuit and was dressed in his normal attire. "Oh hi Numbuh 12," said Siri distractedly.

Eric's eyes lit up like headlights at the sight of her. "Hi Numbuh 10," he said cheerfully. "Listen, I'm going back to the beach a little later. You wanna come with me? The waves are excellent."

"No thanks." The sliding door slid shut behind her.

Eric shrugged. "Um…okay."

"Why do you even bother Numbuh 12?" demanded Kayla with an exasperated sigh. She tried to hide the note of jealousy in her voice. "You know she doesn't like you."

Eric glared at her. "She does too like me," he snapped. "She just doesn't realize it yet."

Kayla sighed. "Boy, yer hopeless. Ah think she's got more of a thing for Numbuh 9."

Matt blushed and waved his hands. "Keep me out of this Numbuh 13."

"Say what?! Numbuh 10 does not like Numbuh 9 any more than a friend and he feels the same way. Right Numbuh 9?"

"Ummm…uh…right. That's right Numbuh 12." Matt forced a broad smile. It came out crooked.

Kayla sighed and tipped her cowboy hat low on her forehead. "Boys."

"What?"

"Nuthin', nuthin'."

The last member of the KND, Naomi Cloud, rushed into the room. She was small for her age, but incredibly fast. "'Scuse me leader," she said to Matt earnestly. "Can I have some batteries?"

"Sure why?"

"You'll see. Thanks." Naomi rushed outside again.

The older members looked at each other. What is Numbuh 14 up to?

Across the hall, they could hear a medley of songs belting out from one of the rooms. Zen buried himself even further in his book. Eric planted his hands over his ears. Kayla flattened her hat down over her head. Matt sighed.

"Aw come on guys. It's just a monkey."

Zen said nothing. He shrunk up behind his book.

"Jest a monkey? Do you got yer head screwed on backwards Numbuh 9?"

"I agree with Texas on this one boss. It's not just a monkey. It's a Rainbow Monkey. You know how crazy that girl is about them."

"Oh get a grip. It's not that bad."

"YES IT IS!"

Siri lifted the cover off of the finished product and grinned. Perfect. She had been trying to work on the climbing gear for weeks now. Climbing gear's pretty useless down here, she thought. But I'll bet it'll be useful if we have to scale a mountain or climb out of ditches.

As she coated the forks with metallic paint, the sound of "RAINBOW MONKEYS! RAINBOW MONKEYS!" echoed outside.

Siri rolled her eyes. Numbuh 14's at it again. I'm gonna kill Numbuh 9 for giving her that stupid singing monkey. She put the brush down and reached for her heat lamp.

The sound of the Rainbow Monkey theme song stopped.

Phew! Siri turned on the heat lamp and picked up her brush. However, she dropped it when she heard a scream.

"NO! NO! GET AWAY FROM ME!"

What the—?

"Numbuh 14?" she called.

Silence.

Siri wasted no time. Grabbing onto two of her prized weapons, she dashed through her sliding door and out into the hall.

"Numbuh 14?" she called. "What's going on?"

She raced down the corridor and turned left. "OEFF!" She almost fell over but a pair of hands caught her.

"Numbuh 10?" It was Matt.

"Numbuh 9?" She blinked and glanced behind him. The other KND operatives stood there, except for Naomi.

Siri pulled herself out of Matt's grasp and darted down the hallway. "Did you hear Numbuh 14?" she asked him as he and the others followed her.

"Yeah. We all did," he answered.

"What d'ya suppose happened to her?" asked Kayla worriedly.

"Something foul I'll bet," Matt muttered darkly. Smart move. Whoever's behind this chose to attack the minute we let our guard down. They found the door to Numbuh 14's room and he knocked on it. "Numbuh 14?" he called. "Naomi? Are you in there?"

Silence.

Matt tried the door handle but it was locked. He glared at it and then turned to Siri. She launched a sidekick at the door.

BAM! The door flew open, though it surprisingly remained on its hinges. They raced inside.

The first thing they saw was Naomi tied to a mechanical stretcher with a gag in her mouth. Her dark hair had come out of its feathered braid and her Rainbow Monkey doll lay on the ground, slashed.

The two other things in the room were a group of glowering men and another group of five children—the most evil-looking children they had ever seen. All of them were pasty, blue-eyed, and proper looking.

"Mmph! Mmmph!" called Naomi but of course, her teammates couldn't understand her.

"Who the heck are you five?" Eric demanded angrily. "And what are you doing with Numbuh 14?"

The group of kids seemed unperturbed by his outburst. "Nice to meet you too Eric," they chanted in unison. "We are the Delightful Children from Down the Lane."

The KND operatives looked at each other. "The Delightful what from down the where?" Kayla murmured.

"Don't you guys know anything?" Zen sighed. "These are top priority villains of the Kids Next Door. Not us, but other Kids Next Door operatives."

Kayla frowned. Never heard of 'em.

"We know you've never heard of us Kayla," said the Delightful Children, as if they had read her mind. "We don't live around here and even if we did, we wouldn't waste our time with the lowly class of Kids Next Door operatives like you." Matt started forward but Siri held him back.

"What do you want with us then?" Siri yelled fiercely.

The Delightful Children laughed coldly. "You. We need your body."

"Heck no!" Eric burst out. "You are NOT laying a finger on Numbuh 10!"

"Ooooh. Does the surfer boy have a crush?" The Delightful Children sneered while Eric turned red. "We don't need just her body; we need all of your bodies. You're going to help us in getting revenge on the Kids Next Door team that always beats us."

"So basically, we're just stepping stones?" Siri asked furiously.

The Delightful Children nodded. "Get them!"

Instantly, the henchmen closed in on the KND.

"Game time guys!" Matt yelled.

Siri launched a flying sidekick at the nearest person. "Mind if I start without you?"

A very buff man grabbed onto Matt but he was more than well prepared. "Eat mustard fiend!" he yelled, spraying the man with a squeeze bottle of mustard he'd snagged from the kitchen.

Kayla uncoiled a length of rope she'd tied at her waist and whirled it like a lasso. "Ah was brought up ropin' cattle and horses," she muttered, looping the rope around three of the cronies. "Don' see how people make any diff'rence." She captured them and yanked them to the ground.

Eric fought hand-to-hand with a couple of the guys while Zen, completely ignoring the action around him, walked over to Naomi. He pulled the gag out of her mouth and began untying the ropes. Why did they have to make this thing double-knotted?

"Numbuh 11! Heads up!" Naomi screamed. A man with bushy hair and eyebrows was running at him.

Quickly, Zen opened his book and aimed it at the crony. A wave of green sludge shot out of it and splashed against him, sending him flying into the wall.

Naomi and the others stared at Zen in shock. "What was that?" Matt asked hoarsely.

"The best part," he replied nonchalantly. "It's called 'Book Sludge.' I've been waiting to test it out for weeks."

"And we've been waiting to test this out," five voices chanted. The KND turned just in time to see the Delightful Children aiming an enormous machine at them. A greenish beam blasted out of it and before the kids knew what was happening, they were floating through the air. "We call this the Anti-Gravity Beam."

Eric thrashed his arms around like a drowning swimmer getting nowhere. "Great, I did not come in here just to take a tour of Numbuh 14's ceiling!"

"Oh hush yer mouth," Kayla snapped as she levitated next to him. "Yer whinin' and complainin' ain't getting' us anywhere!"

"You lecturing me isn't going to get us anywhere either Tex!" he retorted fiercely.

Matt floated between the two and separated them. "Will you both shut up?" he asked exasperatedly. "We've got enough on our plate as it is."

Naomi glanced at her slashed-up Rainbow Monkey on the floor. I've got an idea. "Numbuh 13, can you use your lasso to get me my Rainbow Monkey?"

"Numbuh 14, this ain't a time to be playin' with a Rainbow Monkey."

"Just do it please?"

Kayla shrugged and lassoed onto the monkey with her rope. She yanked and the monkey sailed into Siri's arms. Siri passed it to Naomi.

Naomi reached inside the lining of the stuffed animal and found a tiny switch. Next to the switch was a stitched label: Super-Sonic Siren. Do not press unless you are alone in the house and are a big fan of Rainbow Monkeys. She looked over at her teammates. "Cover your ears guys."

"Why?" Zen asked her.

"Trust me. Cover your ears."

The others shrugged and complied. Naomi pressed the switch and threw her doll at the Delightful Children before covering her own ears.

"RAINBOW MONKEYS! RAINBOW MONKEYS! RAINBOW MONKEYS! RAINBOW MONKEYS!"

The sound was so deafening, it sent shockwaves across the room. The Delightful Children clamped their hands tightly over their ears, letting go of the Anti-Gravity machine. With nothing to support them, the KND collapsed in a heap on the floor.

Matt jumped up, pulling Siri with him. "RUN!"

They dashed out of the room, the Rainbow Monkey theme ringing in their ears.

"Numbuh 14," Eric said breathlessly. "I am never going to insult the Rainbow Monkey ever again."

Matt quickly punched in the code opening the door to the H.U.M.V. (Hovering Utility Moving Vehicles) and inside. Lying beside their vehicles was their emergency stash of food and supplies in case something went wrong.

"So what's the plan leaduh?" Kayla asked Matt.

"Simple. We have to get out of here."

"Any other ideas?" Zen asked.

"The other plan is that you come with us."

Shell-shocked, the KND turned to face the five Delightful Children and their Anti-Gravity machine. "H-How did you escape from Numbuh 14's Rainbow Monkey?" Eric demanded.

The five laughed evilly. "That was easy. We turned it off."

Eric opened his mouth and closed it like a fish out of water.

Siri dug into her pocket at the same time as the Delightful Children fired the beam of green light. Pulling out a compact the size of her two hands, she opened it and reflected the beam on another vehicle.

The others, however, were not nearly so lucky. "Numbuh 10!" Matt called down to her.

"What?"

"I want you to get out of here. Escape while you still can."

Siri shook her head hard. "What are you nuts? I'm not gonna leave you guys with these…these freaks."

"Oh thank you very much," the Delightful Children muttered sarcastically.

"Listen to me Numbuh 10! You have to go!"

"NO!"

Kayla and Eric grabbed each other's hands. "C'mon Numbuh 10!" Kayla hollered. "There's nuthin' you can do fer us now!"

"She's right! Save yourself!" Eric added desperately.

Siri's bottom lip trembled but she shook her head again.

Zen had buried himself in his book again and seemed completely unaware of his surroundings. Naomi, however, was nodding in agreement with Eric, Kayla, and Matt.

"Num—" Matt stopped and then said her real name. "Siri, please listen to me."

Siri looked up at him.

"You must leave now. That's an order!"

"But Matt…"

"That's an order!"

Siri closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "All right." She kept a firm hold on the compact while backing away into one of the ships. But first… She pulled out one of the weapons she'd kept attached to her waist: a gun in the shape of a small chicken (A/N: Think the cucco from the Legend of Zelda) and fired it at the Delightful Children.

Eggs instead of bullets shot out of the chicken's open yellow beak and rained down on the kids. They exploded like little land mines into sizzling, gooey, yolky, messes. The Delightful Children swiped at the hot sizzling eggs, but they didn't let go of the machine.

"Numbuh 10 RUN!" Matt yelled out.

She nodded and rushed over to a small ship shaped like a teacup. She closed the hatch and took off.

"Uh-oh!" Eric yelped.

"What-oh?" Kayla asked him.

"Umm…does she know how to fly that one? It's a new ship," Eric admitted foolishly.

Matt cursed under his breath as she watched the ship fly out of sight. Siri…be careful…

Me: Well, that's about it for now. Tune in next time for the next chapter.

Numbuh 9: So what's going to happen now that we're screwed?

Me: Relax, Matt. You're not screwed. Siri'll meet up with a bunch of very familiar kids so don't worry.

Numbuh 10: But I can't fly.

Me: Oh well.