-1Author's Note: Poor story's practically being ignored. It's all right, dear, I'm here. Mommy won't let them get you…..hmm..perhaps I should admit myself to the white coats after all. I'm afraid I may have let my bitterness get into this chapter. My apologies if it doesn't work. Merely reply stating so and I will rewrite it. …I've got to stop listening to the Phantom of the Opera Soundtrack…
"My fellow adults," Father's voice boomed out of the microphone, amplified ten times over. Fanny winced. "And teens, of course," He smirked at Cree, Fanny, and Chad. They were the only teens invited to this, after all. The only ones deemed 'worth', according to both Cree and Father. "This is a glorious day! Today is the day, that finally, once and for all….we crush those Kids Next Door brats!"
A roar went up among the crowd. Fanny's head was pounding. She closed her eyes against a tear that threatened to well up. No. No, she wasn't going to cry over this. Why should she? She had tried to redeem herself. They had refused her that chance. And now, here she stood, on a stage with those who had once been her greatest enemies, wishing the downfall of those who had once been the closest things she had to friends. The thought of Hoagie immediately entered her mind, causing a mixture of malice and sadness to blend into her being. She sighed.
No going back now.
Father took out the jar filled with the green, glowing light source. When he opened it, the force immediately flowed out, hovering in mid air for a moment. It seemed almost to be…searching, Fanny realized. She gulped. She did not like this one bit. Apparently, her moment of nervousness attracted the energy. It split into three groups, the largest one going onto her hands, causing them to glow with the same green light.
"And now," Father proclaimed, "A test!"
"Who are we using for a test?" The Toilenator shouted back. "We don't have any prisoners because Numbuh 1 got them out last week--"
"Which was your fault," Mr. Boss said curtly, he and Big Brother each grabbing one of Toilenator's arms as they dragged him up onto the stage. "Which is exactly why you are the test subject!"
They flung the Toilenator into Fanny's arms. She caught him awkwardly, and immediately there was a flash of red light. The Toilenator was, once more, a Senior Citizombie. Fanny pushed him away from her, staring down at her hands.
…Here we go. A repeat of last time. Except this time, I won't be leaven any fragments… Fanny thought to herself, putting her hands behind her back and waiting for Cree to give the order.
"All right.." Cree practically purred, "Fanny, Chad, we're going for a direct attack on the Moon Base."
"All right, everyone," Nigel Uno marched along the pathway as he spoke to Sector V, "Thanks to Hoagie, we know they're attacking tonight. Good job following Fanny to that convention center, by the way," Nigel paused. Hoagie said nothing. He just studied the ground. "As you know, this is the first time any TND operative has been allowed here, and all the more momentous because we have ALL the TND members here. But it's necessary. So….how do we stop their power?"
Everyone was silent. "The birthday suits aren't recalibrated," Hoagie said softly. "Sorry, but we honestly thought that with Grandfather gone, nobody would have that power. We didn't expect them to go through genetic research."
Nigel nodded. "It's all right. No use crying over spilled soda. What we need now is a plan. They don't run on tapioca like Grandfather did…they're normal teens, like us…so, what we need is…." Nigel stopped short.
They all knew what that meant.
For once, Nigel Uno did not have a plan. Nor did any other member of Sector V. And the countdown on the wall had started a while ago. They had an hour before Cree, Fanny, and Chad arrived on the Moonbase with their new found power.
"Does anybody have a plan?" Nigel asked softly.
"Fortification," Hoagie answered, "It wouldn't take me that long to put up an extra shield around the Moon base. It won't keep them out forever, but it should buy us an extra hour before they manage to wiggle their way in. Maybe by then, we'll have a plan."
"How many people do you need?"
"I can do it myself," Hoagie said simply, "I don't need a body guard. You guys stay in here.."
"But Numbuh 2," Nigel started to plead with his best friend to at least take one look out with him, but Hoagie wasn't having any of it.
"No, Nigel. I'm doing this alone."