Hey, everyone! Sorry for the wait! I actually did have this chapter written up sooner but I was without proper wifi while I was visiting my mom for a few weeks so wasn't able to post until now. Are you liking this story? It is something that I'm writing for the fun of it but I would appreciate your opinions as well. - Sunbeam
"Nigel, quick! Which top do you think I should wear?"
The bald child turned in his chair at the table raising his brow at the girl who ran in the doorway still in her pajamas, swallowing his mouth full of sugar-coated rainbow munchie cereal before answering.
"What do you mean?"
"What do you mean, what do I mean?" Robin questioned back, raising her arms that had some of her clothes folded over them to try and emphasize that this was a decision worth some importance. "It's my first day at a new school. I don't know what kind of impression I should make. Should I wear something that says, "I'm a lot of fun! Come be friends with me!" Or something that gives off a mysterious sort of vibe that makes me seem too cool to approach but they secretly want to?"
It was the start of a new week which meant it was time for Robin to officially start school at Gallagher Elementary. It had also been a week since she had first moved in with the Unos'. It seemed like such a short time but she's already infiltrated their treehouse and started gathering minor information when she was able to, "helped" out with two of their missions, and met a strange group of kids who she would secretly be working with, went to a party that she actually found herself enjoying up until the end, and now she was waiting for acceptance to start training for the Kids Next Door. Since her little side mission failed the other night there was no backing out of becoming an operative now that she agreed to it. She would just have to work it in her favor somehow.
"I shouldn't have to be the one to tell you this, Robin" Nigel said as he hopped down from the chair with his now empty bowl and walked over to the sink. "But you're not that cool." He rinsed the milk from his bowl but left the dirty dish there for his mother to take care of later.
Robin pouted as he emphasized the word "cool". Maybe she wasn't considered the most popular but that didn't mean that she wanted her new classmates to think negatively about her.
"Like you're one to talk." She mumbled, sticking her tongue out at him.
"I'm just confused why you would even ask 'cause if you haven't noticed we all wear the same thing every day so why bother changing how you look now?" Nigel pointed out with a slight shrug. "Whatever you feel comfortable in is fine but I suggest you hurry up. We need to leave in a half hour."
Nigel moved past her and up the stairs to finish getting ready himself. He wasn't wrong. They had the option to wear whatever they wanted but they all chose some sort of comfort clothing that they wore every single day and no one seemed to question it. Guess she would still stick with her favorite sweater after all.
Up in his room, Nigel logged onto his computer real quick to check for any more updates on Robin. Yesterday he had sent in a request to have someone from Global Command do a background check on her and to his surprise they got back to him fairly fast. This was mainly due to the lack of information they were able to gather. Just searching someone's name wasn't that simple but learning that she was a foster child, they hacked into the system she was supposed to be associated with and there was no Robin Hughes listed anywhere. They couldn't find Patricia Foster either. The files were heavily guarded for privacy reasons but this wasn't their first encounter with a foster kid and usually, a name still came up proving they were part of the system. They couldn't find Robin no matter how much they searched.
Looking at the screen now, the same message saying that they would continue to look into it when they had the time flashed back at him so there was nothing new to report yet. Nigel sighed and turned off his computer before leaning back in his chair. His suspicions had been raised even higher but Robin was acting like her friendly self again so he had to play along and pretend all was normal. He would just have to keep a close eye on her until the next course of action could be made.
A knock on his door made him nearly jump since he had been lost in thought and he turned to see Robin standing there with a backpack hanging off one of her shoulders.
"Your parents want us both down in the living room." She told him before disappearing back down the hall.
Nigel sighed and made sure he had everything in his school bag before heading downstairs to see what his parents wanted. He saw his mom smiling while taking pictures of Robin who stood a bit awkwardly by the fireplace.
"Oh, Nigel there you are! Go stand by Robin for a few photos!"
"What's with the pictures?" He questioned, throwing his bag on the chair and folding his arms. After Saturday's events, he wasn't sure he would ever care to have his photo taken again any time soon.
"It's my little cousin's first day of school! We want to be able to capture this moment just like we did with you when you first started Gallagher." Monty smiled, feeling proud that their new family member would be in good hands with his son showing her the ropes.
Nigel felt Robin grab his arm and pull him over to where she had been standing. "As embarrassing as this is, at least it's just in your house and they're not taking photos in front of the school where everyone can see us," Robin whispered to him
She had a point. Giving in, Nigel let Robin wrap her arm around him in a side hug deciding it was better to get this over with before his parents did get the idea to continue this at school.
Once they were finished, Nigel suggested that they get moving. They would be walking to school and they had to be in class before the final bell or else they would receive an F for the day from Mrs. Thompson. At least it wasn't detention but it was almost as bad.
Grabbing her backpack and lunch Jen made for her later, Robin started for the door but was stopped when she felt a hand on her shoulder. She turned her head to see Monty smiling at her before he released her so she could head off with his son. That gesture was so simple but something about it was..comforting. Robin pushed away the feeling before telling Nigel she would race him to the next stop sign.
The scent of coffee was strong as Scar filled a third pot into a large mug. Cuppa Joe's serving always took more than the normal amount. Instead of having a bunch of normal-sized cups, he insisted on using the massive one he always carried. She didn't mind but it did take her longer to tend to other customers when she had to serve him.
"Sorry for the wait you guys. Do you know what you want to order?"
Mr. Boss, Crazy Cat Lady, Mr. Fibb and Mr. Wink, and Count Spankulot all sat on some sodas and chairs the cafe had. Scar was aware that they were holding a meeting since she had also received a text on the group chat they added her to. Most villains were included but these guys met up more often to discuss plans.
"Don't worry about it." Mr. Boss waved it off as no big deal before placing down everyone's orders.
"Isn't Knightbrace supposed to be here? Mr. Fibb questioned and Mr. Wink followed right after.
"He usually always attends these meetings, does he not?"
While Scar was writing everything down, a familiar scent hit her nose along with one she didn't recognize.
"He's heading down the street here now and he's not alone." She told them, getting a few strange looks.
"Have you spoken vith him recently?" The Count asked, adding a pastry he wanted to try along with the order.
"Uh, no I-"
Before Scar could explain, the dental-based villain walked in with a cheerful-looking man with his head covered in a roll of toilet paper following him inside.
"Hiya, guys!"
Small groans came from the group as they tried to suppress them the best they could.
"Aw, geez! It's the Toiletnator!" Mr. Boss sighed, moving over so Knightbrace could sit down.
"Thanks so much for the vacation guys! I needed some time to relax. I had a great time!"
In truth, they had only sent him away so he wouldn't interfere with their plans but of course, by the time they were able to meet up, he still found a way to show up to their meeting.
"Why did you bring him here?" Mr. Wink whispered to Knightbrace.
"I ran into him on my way here and he insisted on coming with me. There wasn't much I could do. Even if I did try sending him on a detour you know he would have shown up sooner or later."
The toilet-based villain didn't seem to hear them as he went to grab an extra chair so he could join them. Scar didn't understand why they were acting so ill towards the man. He seemed a little goofy compared to the others but that didn't necessarily mean it was a bad thing. Scar went to turn after asking Knightbrace what he wanted, only to bump into the new villain she had yet to meet, dropping her notepad in the process.
"Oh, sorry about that! Here, let me get that for you." He picked up the pad and went to hand it to her only to stop and blink seeing that this wasn't their usual server. Her red hair being a similar shade to the orange mug hat mask the cafe employee wore with his uniform kind of threw him off for a moment.
"Thank you." Scar offered him a smile. "Would you like some coffee too?"
Snapping out of it, the Toiltnator shook his head.
"Heavens no! Do you realize what that stuff does to your digestive system?" He raised a brow at her in question before giving a friendly smile in return. "I'll take a large glass of milk instead!"
Scar nodded, writing it down as she stepped away to fill their orders.
"When did she start working here?" The Toiletnator asked, sitting down with them.
"Sometime last week while you were gone." Cat Lady replied. "She also works for Father and those kids of his."
The Toiletnator gulped at the mention of the man on fire. He was lucky not to be involved with Father but it still sent shivers down his spine knowing what he was capable of. He didn't know if this woman was just as terrifying or not but he would still try and be nice.
"So what else has been going on while I was away?" He changed the subject away from the red-haired waitress for now. "Any plans to destroy those pesky Kids Next Door?"
He didn't remember seeing anything mentioned on the group chat about gathering today. Must have been another glitch if he missed it.
"That's why we're here." Mr. Fibb began.
"We're going to be discussing ideas and see which one would work out the best." Mr. Wink added.
The meeting was to plan things out but hopefully, by the time they were able to take action, they could send him on another goose chase that would keep him out of the way and hopefully work this time.
"Oh, fun! Can I go first!" He asked as he raised his hand as if waiting to be called on. "Please!"
Mr. Boss sighed and leaned back in his seat, taking out the cigar from his mouth for a moment.
"Alright, alright. Tell us what you got, Toiletnator."
The toilet villain grinned but then it began to falter when he realized he didn't think it through beforehand. He was just so excited to be included that he jumped right in. He had to give them something to work with though. This could be his moment to have them respect him a little more.
"We could- We could uh..Capture one of the operatives and use them for bait! Yeah!" His confidence was starting to come back. "We could lure them all into a trap by using one of their own against them. They won't be able to resist trying to save another kid so we'll have them right where we want them!" He finished with an evil laugh.
It wasn't some big plan but it wasn't a bad idea at all. They could include it in some way but the question was, who would they try and kidnap? Someone from Sector V perhaps?
"I can see if Robin would want to volunteer." Scar spoke as she came back over with a tray and began setting everyone's cups down. "If they jump at the chance to go after her it would prove that she's earned their trust."
"I still don't know about having that brat of yours be involved." Mr. Boss spoke.
Most of them were all aware by now that another child was also trying to take down Sector V. It was an unspoken rule that any child of a villain was off limits, but in this case, they would have to make it look real when she was attacked along with the other brats.
"Well, she's your best bet right now unless you want to chance it with an operative you know won't hesitate to try and kick your butts."
The Toiletnator looked between them in confusion as it was agreed that this Robin child would be their target. What kind of beef did she have with Sector V? Some kids didn't always see eye to eye with each other but usually there was some sort of reason for it. Before he could open his mouth to ask what they were talking about, Spankulot pulled out a flyer from inside his cloak pocket, seeming to have something in mind.
"There is a carnival coming up. I say ve stage an ambush during that time and take Robin in the middle of the chaos!"
It was brilliant! Having a bunch of kids gathered in one place, it wouldn't come as a surprise if they were to attack. They could sneak Robin away while they are busy fighting and put a few extra bratty kids in their place as a bonus.
"I like it." Mr. Boss nodded his head in approval. "Say Mr. Fibb and Mr. Wink, do you two think you could disguise one of your super chairs as one of the game booths?"
They couldn't make it too obvious that they were planning something right away. They wanted the kids to have their guard down while they enjoyed the carnival for a short time before they made their move.
"It shouldn't be a problem. Right, Mr. Wink?"
"Indeed Mr. Fibb. I think we can have everything ready by then."
It was decided that Mr. Fibb, Mr. Wink, and Crazy Cat Lady would be the main source of the attack. While they were distracting those pesky operatives the Count and Nightbrace would swoop in when the time was right and take Robin. Mr. Boss would be observing everything from a secret location and direct orders to them.
"What can I do?" The Toiletnator excitedly waited for Mr. Boss to give him a job as well.
"Uh, you can.." Mr. Boss trailer off. He had to give the guy something that would make sure that he wouldn't be in the way.
"Where do you plan to meet after you receive your target?" Scared jumped into the conversation.
She made herself comfortable and sat on the armrest of the chair Crazy Cat Lady was sitting on. One leg was crossed over the other and she
stroked the cheek of one of the old woman's cats that moved closer to inspect her.
"There is this old warehouse that should be big enough," Knightbrace suggested. "We could make it seem like we are interrogating someone close to them for information and have a trap ready by the time reinforcements arrive."
"We can wait at the warehouse and make sure everything is ready." Scar motioned between her and the Toiletnator. "You'll need somebody on standby to help make sure things are running smoothly once you get there, right?"
Scar wasn't sure why but it seemed like they didn't want him involved. Had he messed up on one of their missions in the past? Whatever the reason, she wasn't going to shove him away before getting to know him first. She didn't mind partnering up with the Toiletnator for this little project.
"Sure, that works." Mr. Boss nodded, seeing that it made the Toiletnator satisfied. He wasn't sure if she could keep him from screwing things up or not but he was glad that was settled for now.
"You're coming too?" Knightbrace questioned.
"Of course, but if you don't mind I think I'll stick to behind the scenes." Scarlett knew that she would have to come face to face with Sector V sooner or later but in case Nigel recognized her as Patricia, she wouldn't make her debut just yet.
They spent a few more minutes discussing what could be done until the other cafe employee came over.
"Uh, Scarlett? It's great you're getting along with the customers but I could use your assistance over here."
"I'll be right there, Carl." Scar assured with a smile as she stood back up and smoothed out her apron. "It was nice talking with you guys. And it was nice meeting you, Toiletnator."
She gave him a friendly wink and chuckled lightly at his expression as she walked away.
After introducing herself to the class, things went pretty normal for a typical school day during the first few hours. Robin had already received a homework assignment and Wally tried to see if she wanted to bust out with him after only ten minutes. She declined and promised to share her muffin with him if he could hold off until lunch.
This might have been the only time where she could be in a room with both Sector V and the Delightful Children and not have them try to destroy each other. It had been the only empty desk so when she passed by, she snuck a smile to the Delightfuls before sitting behind them.
Scar had informed her that the damages from the party had already been repaired to their mansion. It wasn't as bad as it seemed at the time but their neutral suggestion ray was total junk now. Robin would have gone back over to help clean up but she had to lay low and also send in her application to the Kids Next Door yesterday. She wasn't sure when she would hear back but she was told that it should be real soon.
When the bell rang for lunch, everyone nearly ran out the door to get to the cafeteria. Robin trusted Wally to take her lunch with him while she ran to the bathroom and said that she would meet them there. She had been on her way when she began to hear a commotion down another hall. Moving closer she saw it was coming from the library. Weren't people supposed to be quiet in that place?
Standing on her tiptoes, Robin looked through the window, and to her surprise, she saw a small group of kids tied to a table while a man wearing a blue graduation cap and gown stood before them gripping a ruler and had a rolling chalkboard behind him. It looked like he had been the one yelling, not planning to release them anytime soon.
"But I'm hungry!" One kid whined, struggling with the binds but the attempt proved to be useless as he remained stuck in his seat.
"Silence!" The man yelled, throwing his hands in the air. "All of you had thought it was okay to talk and disrupt me during my lesson so now you must pay the consequences!"
"You're the worst substitute ever!" Another kid yelled back, glaring up at the adult.
"I won't be just a mere sub for long once the school board sees the amount of actual useful knowledge I can cram into those puny brains of yours instead of the cruddy lessons your teacher was giving you. Now, no more interruptions!"
These kids looked to be a few grades younger and this guy already expected them to be able to understand calculus. They weren't ready for that kind of stuff yet. Heck, even her grade still had a long way to go. The kids looked miserable as this substitute forced them to skip lunch so he could go over his lesson plan he didn't get to go over during class.
This was something that the Kids Next Door would work together to try and stop. Looking around, it seemed that they weren't aware of what was happening as the halls remained bare except for her. She could run and tell Sector V that there was a lunatic in the library but what would it say about her if she didn't try to stand up for these kids herself? If she was going to become an operative she had to take more risks now and knowing where she stood with Nigel and his friends; she didn't want to rely on them if she didn't have to. She was confident that she could deal with one adult and bust them out herself.
He would hear her if she went through the main doors so she snuck in through the computer lab that was connected to the library. Once she was in, she crouched down behind a small bookshelf as she inched her way closer.
"Now, who can tell me the answer to this problem here?" The man pointed to the board with his ruler as he turned to the students. "Danny?"
"I don't know!" The boy named Danny whined. "I want Mrs. Stevenson!"
"Your teacher was foolish to let herself get sick! I, the Terrible Tutor, never get sick so all the more reason they should hire me to take over! You should be grateful I am devoting my time! Finger painting will get you nowhere in life!"
The Terrible Tutor raised his ruler and went to slam it down on the table as a warning that they should take this more seriously and not waste his time by whining. It never came in contact, however, as his wrist was suddenly snatched mid-air causing his body to whip around to see who dared to intervene.
"Even so it's still a lot better than the crud you're trying to force on them." Robin had stepped in when she saw the terrified look on the child's face. The Terrible Tutor may not have gone to hit him but with the way his temper was raised, it could have resulted in that in his next tantrum.
"Ugh! Why does every kid think it's okay to interrupt my lesson plan?!" He yelled as he yanked his wrist free, losing his grip on the ruler.
"Maybe because it's a stupid plan! You do realize these are first-graders, right? They haven't even learned multiplication yet so how can you expect them to be able to understand something that's way too advanced?"
"The faster they learn now the better they will do in society as they get older! I am only trying to shape them for the better but do I get any thanks for all my hard work? No!"
"Sounds like you care more about your self-image than you do for these kids." Robin narrowed her eyes at this manchild as she picked up the ruler and pointed it at him in a threatening manner. "Now, let them go!"
The man began to chuckle causing her to take a cautious step back as she raised a brow.
"I have a better idea."
Lifting his arms straight out, they began to shake before textbooks came flying out of each of his sleeves, aiming straight for Robin. Thinking fast, Robin used the ruler sort of like a bat to hit them out of the way before they could come into contact with her. Using such a small weapon, it could only take so much so when he threw a rather large encyclopedia, the ruler snapped in half from the amount of weight and made her stumble.
"Damn," Robin muttered under her breath before she ducked down and did a somersault past a case of books. She had to move this fight away from the kids so they wouldn't get hit in the crossfire by accident.
The Terrible Tutor rose off his feet and flew around the corner where Robin had gone only to see that she wasn't there. Moving past the first case, he peered down each row trying to find some sort of evidence where she might be hiding. He noticed a book fall from one of the shelves and flew down that row to investigate.
"Now where did you go?" He questioned himself as he got there and saw that she was nowhere to be found.
"Right here!" Robin had jumped down from the case behind him and kicked him in his back, causing him to crash face-first into the shelves in front of him and fall forward. All the books fell off and landed on top of him, burying him underneath a huge pile.
Bouncing off of him when she kicked him, Robin used that moment to run back to the kids while he was distracted.
"You guys need to get out of here." She told them as she began to untie them.
"What about you?" One little girl looked up at Robin worriedly as she was freed.
"You don't need to worry about me," Robin assured her with a smile. "You better get to the cafeteria while it's still open. Can't have you go hungry on top of dealing with this crazy guy."
Robin had just finished untying the last kid when a book flew past her head and slammed against a nearby wall. She looked behind her to see the Terrible Tutor levitating above them with a lot of books surrounding him as he glared down at her.
"Go! Get out of here!" Robin warned the kids and shoved them forward to get them moving toward the door a little faster.
When more books began to fly down towards them, she kicked the leg of the table the kids had previously been sitting at and let it fall forward as it turned into a temporary shield. It allowed the first graders to run out of the library and gave Robin a brief moment to try and come up with some sort of strategy. If she ran out herself there was a chance he wouldn't continue his rant outside of the library where other teachers could see. But that would mean letting him go and capturing more kids when he had the chance. She would have to make sure he was fired from his substitute job and that there was no chance he would become a teacher here.
"First you interfere with my session! Then you dare kick me! And now you released my students when I haven't dismissed them! You leave me no choice but to use this!"
Having to know what he planned to do, Robin peeked her head up over the table as the wind began to pick up. From all the books that flew in a circular motion around him, pages were ripped out and folded together to form an origami creation that breathe to life. Robin looked up into the eyes of a paper dragon as it stared back at her.
"Maybe I should have called for backup." Robin thought as the dragon lunged right for her.
"Shouldn't Robin have been here by now?" Wally asked as he eyed her muffin. He was going to wait until she got here but he found that he couldn't resist and broke off a piece before popping it into his mouth.
"Maybe she's not feeling well?" Hoagie suggested, taking a sip from his chocolate milk.
But still, lunch was almost over by now and there was no sign of their new friend anywhere. Abby thought maybe Robin was sick as well and said that Kuki and her could go look for her but all their attention had turned to a few first graders that passed by with lunch trays in their hands as they overheard their conversation.
"I hope she'll be okay." A little girl looked down at her sandwich with a worried expression. "She saved us but we left her to deal with that adult all by herself."
"I'm sure she'll be fine, Jessica." Danny tried to assure his friend but the tone in his voice wasn't fully confident either. "She's older and probably a little more experienced dealing with this stuff so she might have a better chance than we could've."
"Excuse me.." Feeling a tap on his shoulder, Danny looked up to see a boy with sunglasses along with a few other fourth graders seeming to want their attention. "By any chance, does the girl you're talking about have short brown hair and a slight British accent that comes and goes?"
"Yeah!" Jessica nodded her head frantically. "We don't know who she was but she freed us from the Terrible Tutor who held us captive in the library. We left her alone though once we were able to escape. I hope she's okay.."
Sector V looked at each other, silently questioning what kind of trouble Robin could have got herself into in a short amount of time. Jessica had her head down but looked back up when a dark-skinned girl placed a hand on her shoulder.
"Don't worry kid. We'll make sure that nothing bad happened to her but I think your friend here is right." Abby said as she looked at Danny. "Robin is a lot tougher than she looks."
Getting up from their lunch table, the five operatives moved out to see if Robin had been able to manage by herself for this long. The Terrible Tutor wasn't a huge threat compared to other villains but when his temper rose high enough it usually took at least one other operative to put him in his place. What had she been thinking, fighting an adult on her own? She knew that they would have backed her up in an instant if they were aware of the situation sooner.
"Are we sure that little girl said library? I've never heard of that place before. Sounds made up to me." Wally frowned as he took the last bite of the muffin.
Abby rolled her eyes, not too surprised that the blonde had never stepped foot into the library before. "Come on, Fool." She told him, grabbing his hood to pull him along.
Sector V bust down the double doors to the library, ready to jump into action but stopped when they saw the battle had already come to an end. Water dripped down from the ceiling indicating that the sprinklers had been sent off which kind of explained all the soggy paper but it still felt so many questions. They couldn't see the Terrible Tutor anywhere but Robin was in the middle of it all, throwing piles of wet paper into a garbage bin.
"Oh, hey guys!" She turned and waved as soon as she heard them come in. "Sorry, I didn't eat lunch with you. Kind of ended up in the middle of something."
Robin laughed lightly as they lowered their weapons and moved further into the room, being careful not to step on any of the mess.
"Uh, Robin?" Abby began as she observed more of the damage that had been made to the library. A table was flipped over, a few chairs seemed to have fallen, and not to mention all the books that didn't get wet were still scattered everywhere. "What did you get yourself into, girl?"
"Yeah, and where is the Terrible Tutor?" Nigel asked, still gripping his weapon in case the adult flew back in again. They left her alone for only half an hour at most and this happened.
"Well, to answer your question about Crazy, someone came and grabbed him already." She would get to that soon but she thought it would be better to start from the beginning. "What happened may or may not be a long story," Robin told them as she began continuing her work while she spoke. "It all started when.."
Explaining how she had found these first graders and helped them out, Robin soon got to the part where the Terrible Tutor had created a dragon made entirely made from paper. It sounded cool but that thing was not fun to deal with.
When it had lunged at her, Robin had ducked back behind the table but that had been a mistake as the force of the impact caused the table to flip in the air and she had to move out of the way fast before it came crashing down on top of her. Loose papers fell off but immediately rose to fold back into place.
How was she supposed to stop this thing? She didn't have any 2x4 technology on her so she had to make do with what little her surroundings provided her. It didn't leave her with many options that could be useful.
"It's pointless!" The Terrible Tutor bellowed down at her, watching as the child continued to try and dodge attacks that came close to snatching her more than once. "You are just one child and can not stop my creation alone!"
The dragon seemed to be almost playing with her as it jumped in front of every corner she tried to turn around. It wasn't giving her much time to strategize but she had to think of something fast. What could defeat a being made entirely from paper? One of the first things that came to mind was fire but that wouldn't work in a public place. But still, there didn't have to be an actual fire to set the sprinklers off.
Robin noticed them on the ceiling before she had ducked down and wedged herself on the bottom of a book cart even if it wasn't the best hiding spot. If she could set them off somehow the dragon would be turned to mush in a matter of seconds. The question was, how was she going to get up there with this beast ready to pounce on her every time its sightless eyes landed on her?
Wait..taking a chance to poke her head back out, Robin could see the dragon in the distance. It may look like it had eyes but with the way its ears twitched listening for movement, Robin concluded that it couldn't see and had been relying on the noise she had been making with all her running around. Now that she knew it didn't have all of its senses, Robin decided to use that to her advantage and began forming a plan in her head.
"Hurry up and destroy the child!" The Terrible Tutor ordered the beast. "The librarian might be back soon and I don't want to be the one to have to clean up this mess!"
He had borrowed the space without asking, thinking it would have been a quiet enough place where no one would disturb him while he gave these students an extra lesson. How had he been so wrong?
He had failed to notice a book was being aimed right at him and when it hit the back of his head, he cried out and ran into a pilar, immediately reaching up to grab his nose. The noise sent the dragon on alert and it lunged at the Terrible Tutor instead, swiping its claws in the air. He barely had time to react and flew further up to avoid being cut.
"Watch it, you mongrel! You're supposed to be going after that girl not-" He turned where he last saw Robin and noticed her coming right for them now, riding on the cart, pushing with her foot to go faster.
She had used him to distract and confuse the dragon long enough for her to be able to form an attack of her own. Once she picked up enough speed, she jumped on the cart and held her arms out to balance herself just as the dragon flew right at her, head-on.
"Please don't fall," Robin told herself as she timed when the dragon got close enough and jumped off the cart, sending it crashing against a wall.
She landed on the back of the dragon's neck and grabbed onto a book spine that acted as one of its scales sticking out so she wouldn't be thrown off like some rag doll. They took a couple of laps around the room as the dragon flew around, trying to figure out how to get this kid off.
Getting a better grip, Robin pulled in the direction that she wanted to go and was slightly relieved that the dragon wasn't too hard to steer around as long as she gave enough force. She had to go up, however, so crawling forward just a little she reached for both of its whiskers and yanked back towards herself. The paper was so tightly wrapped together that she didn't even make a tear but she thought something would have popped loose. What kind of magic did he use on this thing?
The Terrible Tutor stayed levitating from a safe distance wondering what this child was up to. If anything she would only provoke the dragon further the longer she continued to stay on. Watching as she forced it to fly upward, his eyes widened seeing what they were aiming for.
"No, don't do that! My creation will be ruined!"
The Terrible Tutor had caught on to what Robin was planning to do a little too late as she led the dragon right into the sprinkler. The force was enough for it to burst and send water pouring out right onto the beast as it was pushed back toward the ground from the pressure. Robin had been thrown off but pushing her body back up, she grabbed onto a beam, letting her body dangle as water sprayed all around; the first sprinkler setting off a chain reaction to all the others.
Trying to keep a hold of the edge, she glanced down below as the dragon let out a roar. It had been trying to get back up but as Robin predicted, it wasn't a match against water and was becoming a puddle of soggy pages. She watched as the Terrible Tutor rushed right over and tried to bring the beast back to life but it was pointless now as the dragon was no more.
Now that she didn't have to deal with that anymore and could take a little breather, Robin had gone to lift herself fully onto the beam so she could reposition herself to get down but as the water continued to spray out, it had become too slippery to hold on and her breath caught in her throat as she lost her grip. She felt almost weightless for a moment before the reality of gravity kicked in and she felt herself falling. Her eyes desperately tried to scan for somewhere she could land without losing her footing but as she was about halfway down, she felt a pair of arms wrap around her back and the back of her legs as they caught her mid-fall and got Robin back to the ground safely.
They had grabbed her from behind so Robin didn't see who it was at first. She knew it couldn't have been the Terrible Tutor since she could still hear him crying out for his power to work once more. Needing to catch her breath from the adrenaline starting to wear away, she held onto the person's shoulder to steady herself before looking up to see a taller male with blonde hair swept to the side.
"You alright there, kid? It was impressive how you Caztook that thing down." He said as he helped her back to her feet. "The paper dragon is a new move that the Terrible Tutor recently conjured up so we haven't built the right technology to take it down yet but you seemed to have done great all on your own."
He smiled down at her as she stared at him. Who was this guy?
"Kids Next Door operative I assume?" She asked.
"The one and only Numbuh 274." He stood proudly.
"I don't care what Number you are from your stupid organization." The Terrible Tutor stepped away from the mess holding his arms out threateningly. "That brat is going to pay for ruining all that I have tried to accomplish!"
Before he had a chance to shoot more books in her direction, Robin watched as Numbuh 274 ran forward and Roundhouse kicked him, using his combat skills to fight him. If you could even call it a fight. Numbuh 274 took him down in record time and before she knew it, the man had fallen to the floor with a thud having been knocked out. Where was this boy before all the chaos started?
"He won't be bothering anyone else for a while." Numbuh 274 told her as he flung the upper half of the Terrible Tutor's body over his shoulder, intending to drag him away. "Now that he is detained I will personally make sure he is locked up for some time."
"The Kids Next Door Prison? The one that's located somewhere in the Arctic?"
"That's right." He nodded. "We have the best max security so this guy won't be getting out anytime soon."
Robin's heart fell when he said this. If their security was as top-notch as he claimed, was there any hope of getting her father out of that place? She knew that he could handle himself but she felt a pang in her chest as she thought about how much she was missing him. It soon turned to anger as she thought about all of this being Sector V's fault. Her father might not be there if it weren't for them.
"We should get going." Numbuh 274 suggested as he checked the time that was remaining.
He didn't seem to pick up on her change of mood. That or he knew better than to question her on it. Now that everything was done and over with, Robin was able to look around the room and saw just how much damage they had caused. She started to feel a little guilty for ruining a large portion of the Library.
"You go on ahead." She told him. "I'm going to stick around and clean up a bit."
He seemed a little confused that she would even bother but shrugged.
"Suit yourself." He started to drag the Terrible Tutor away but stopped when he neared the exit and turned back to her. "Hey, I never got your name, new kid."
Robin had grabbed the waste paper bin figuring she would try and throw away all that she could before the Librarian did return. The poor woman probably had no idea what had gone down here while she was absent. She might not have approved of what the Terrible Tutor was doing either but it had been Robin's fault the whole place ended up looking like giant spitballs had been shot all over the place. She couldn't fix everything but she felt that she should take responsibility to pick up what she was able to before class started up again.
She paused for a moment to look back up in his direction and gave a smile for a proper greeting.
"Name's Robin Hughes."
"Then he took the Terrible Tutor away and I've been here since." Robin finished explaining.
She had been picking up the whole time as she told them everything. It certainly explained all the paper cuts on her legs and one on her right cheek. Abby started to help, figuring that if Robin insisted on doing this, she didn't have to do it alone. The others stood or sat around while she told them the story. They seemed surprised when she mentioned who had helped her out.
"Numbuh 274 was here? I thought for sure he would have been on the moon base today." Hoagie exclaimed.
"What's the big deal?" Robin wondered. "Is he someone important to the Kids Next Door?"
"You've never seen our supreme leader's face before." Nigel had his arms crossed and leaned against the chair Wally sat in. "So yeah, you could say that he is a pretty big deal."
That was the supreme leader?! She began questioning herself about what kind of impression she had made. He said that he had been impressed with the way she took down that paper dragon on her own but she knew she had been sloppy and was just lucky that it worked out the way she wanted it to. Still, maybe she should be glad that she got the meet and greet with him over with.
"Are we gonna go outside and play soon?" Kuki almost whined itching to play for at least a few minutes before she had to be trapped in a classroom again for a few more hours.
She sprawled across the table that had been turned right back up, letting her head hang upside down over the edge as she fiddled with something in her hands.
"What are you playing with?" Wally questioned, looking to his left at the raven-haired girl who hummed to herself and held what looked to be an envelope before turning her head when she heard him.
"Hm? Oh!" She flipped back up so she was sitting up straight and let her legs dangle over the edge this time. "I found this when we first came in but wanted to hear Robin's story first before giving it to her. I think it might be a love letter." She giggled.
Kuki held up an envelope and on the front was Robin's name printed with a red marker.
"I don't think that's it, Kuki," Robin told her as she walked over and took the letter from her, tearing it open to cure her curiosity about what it could be.
Her eyes silently scanned the page as the others waited for her to say something. Suddenly she grinned and turned towards Nigel.
"You and your team don't have any plans for after school tomorrow, do you?"
"Unless a mission comes up before then." Nigel shrugged. "Otherwise not much is going on, why?"
"Cause I'll need a ride to the Arctic where I can start my first day of training!"
She flipped the paper over and held it out to them while her other hand rested on her hip, a proud look on her face. It was from Numbuh 274 saying that she had been accepted as a new cadet and could start training with Numbuh 60 after school tomorrow. She wasn't sure when he had time to leave the letter but it looked like she made a better impression than she thought if thought he was good enough to become an operative.
This meant that she could gain access to the same place where her father was being held. Guess joining the Kids Next Door was a good idea after all. She'll need to figure out a way in but she'd plan that out with Scar later.
"That's great, Robin!" Hoagie congratulated.
"Aw, yeah! You'll be one of us soon!" Wally cheered, jumping off his chair to give her a high five.
While Wally, Hoagie, and Kuki excitedly began explaining all the fun things Robin will get to do during her time at the Arctic base, Abby walked over to stand next to Nigel after throwing the last garbage bag with the rest of the pile they cleaned up. She could tell something was off with her leader and questioned him about it.
"I thought you would seem happier for Robin." She raised a brow at him as she heard him sigh.
"It's not that I'm not happy we'll be getting a new operative." Nigel kept his voice low so the others wouldn't hear their conversation. "But- I don't know.. Am I wrong to still think that something is off about her? I just don't think that Robin is being completely honest with us."
Normally Abby might have called him crazy and tried to get him to see the logical side of things but she could tell how lost he was about all of this and wanted a genuine answer. His life had been changed ever since he had to share it with a stranger and even Abby knew how confusing that must be. She already had two siblings but if someone suddenly showed up to live with her family, she wasn't sure how she would have adjusted to the change herself.
"Your instincts might not always be right." She began as she watched the other four begin to jump around in the puddles of water and splash each other; having a bit of fun. "But it's not often that they last this long. I don't see it but if you feel so strongly about this, I guess Numbuh 5 could help you find more information on her."
Nigel smiled at her in thanks for trying to understand how he felt. He promised that if they could find proof that Robin was really who she said she was, he would drop the whole thing and let her in. Who knows? Maybe they could become best friends but he needed to be sure he wasn't going crazy first.
Tomorrow after dropping Robin off, they would go down to the social security office personally and clear things up once and for all.
-End Transmission-
Finally, the Toiletnator makes an appearance! He deserves more love, don't you agree? I hinted at something about Scar. Might be easy to figure out but didn't want to make it too obvious right away. Any guesses on what it is? - Sunbeam