Chapter 15: Point of No Return

". . . rotten, miserable traitor to everything we stand for. He's exactly the sort of teen and future adult that the Kids Next Door was established to combat. He took everything we had to offer and now he's out there laughing as he uses it against us! And what's worse, he's subverting our own recruits!"

Nigel felt an intense, burning shame as he watched a recording of himself ranting about Chad. He recognized the incident. Number Twelve's betrayal of the Kids Next Door, all in the name of impressing her hero 274, still rankled. Granted he was all of eleven years old and completely ignorant, but even to his own ears he sounded extreme.

"It's possible Number Twelve was working alone. I'm waiting for word on her debriefing. I had to get Number Twenty Questions in here to interview her since Eighty-Six is compromised."

Compared to Number One, 362 sounded completely composed and in control of her emotions. He understood now how the Supreme Leader could be so calm, but at the time it had offended him and fueled his own anger.

"Oh, please! As if she could come up with something so diabolical on her own!"

"Why not? She's been in the Kids Next Door since she was eight, just like us."

"Are you defending that turncoat?"

"No," Rachel said, and now he could hear the strain in her voice as she strove to make him see reason. "I'm trying to get you to stop jumping to conclusions and not rush to judgment until we have all the facts."

Of course she had been right, and though in the hologram Nigel looked defiant still, her words had stayed with him and taught him a lesson about patience and leadership. Before being decommissioned, Number Twelve had confessed her crimes, confirming that she had acted alone for the sake of trying to gain the attention and approval of the handsome, romantic outcast and get a good reference for the Teen Ninjas. Rachel had never called Nigel on his error in assuming the former 274 was to blame for Twelve's betrayal, and the subject was never raised between them again.

He wasn't sure at what point he lowered the Null-Void. He wasn't even aware he'd done it until the long barrel of the gun brushed against his aching knee. For a moment he focused on Chad, still sitting with his hands on the ground and watching him.

"How did you come by all these logs?" Nigel heard himself ask.

"Number 362 compiled most of them for me," was the quiet reply. "I was reporting to her the longest. It's standard procedure to record and encrypt all the reports from the teenage operatives just in case they ever . . . need to prove their loyalty."

The final file opened and began to run. There were fewer reports, but it was evident that 274's frustration was growing as the missions came fast and furious and increasingly complex. When 362 asked Chad to keep her safe, Nigel felt a pang, remembering how professional and fearless and genuinely nice Rachel had been. He wasn't fit to fill her shoes, and yet, here he was.

How had her loss affected the young man sitting so quietly before him?

"It's called Planet Fusion," Magister Gilhil explained. "We Plumbers have been aware of its approach to planet Earth for some time now. It's a living mass that consumes celestial bodies and anything else it can absorb - a parasite that's destroyed countless systems."

"Can it be fought?" asked Chad, standing tall beside 362's chair. They were staring with horror at the image of Planet Fusion that momentarily replaced Gilhil's image on the screen.

"Yes," the Plumber said, speaking to them as the peers they were. "A scientist from your planet has devised an effective means of fighting it. However, Planet Fusion will affect your planet as a whole, and every person that can fight will be called upon to defend against the Fusion spawn. We're coming to you first because the Kids Next Door is established in every habitated land mass, with better, more open lines of communication and cooperation than we've found any government or military. With your permission, Supreme Leader, we'll be sending the magister from Earth, Max Tennyson, to your moon base to establish contact and start coordinating the war effort."

"We're not at war," corrected 362, leaning forward on her desk for emphasis.

"Yet," was Gilhil's final reply, and the transmission ended.

"What are we going to do?" wondered Rachel, falling back into her seat. She looked very young and very tired.

"We're going to have to step up recruitment and keep as many trained operatives as we possibly can," Chad replied. "Starting with you and Sector V's command team."

"Me?" Her surprise was genuine.

"You're the best Supreme Leader we've had in years. We can't lose you. And we can't lose Nigel or his team. They're the best we have."

The holo projector powered down. There were no more files. There was nothing left but two weary young men who had far more in common than first realized. Nigel clutched the projector tightly in his fist as he slowly lowered his arm. Did he have Chad to thank for avoiding decommissioning? He remembered his own growing fear of his thirteenth birthday, and the glimmer of understanding for the lengths Chad had seemingly gone to in order to avoid the fate of growing older.

Suddenly he was exhausted beyond measure. The adrenalin that had seen him through to this moment seemed to drain away, leaving him feeling empty and wasted and weak. He holstered the Null-Void gun, embarrassed at its presence and his willingness to use it, and slowly sank to the ground opposite Chad. He stared at the young man that had so infatuated and intrigued him, and he found himself saying words he never would have expected to want to say, let alone needed to say. He could only speak very softly, and his voice betrayed the depth of his remorse as he said,

"I believe I owe you an apology, Number 274."

Chad sat up straight, shifting his legs to lean back against the building behind him. All teenage swagger and arrogance aside, he gazed at Nigel with undisguised relief, smiling faintly at the knowledge that three people believed him now.

"And I owe you an explanation, Number One." He gestured at the spot of ground right next to him. "Sit with me?"

"Are you sure?"

"Well, either I go to you or you come to me, but I've got a wall to share and you look ready to drop."

Nigel slumped even further at this truth, but he warmed to the invitation and despite the sense that his personal gravity had tripled, he eventually mustered enough energy to shift the few feet over to sit not quite right next to 274, but close enough. Blue eyes watched his every move as he leaned back against the wall with a sigh. It was a while before he could bring himself to actually look at Chad. That faint smile was still there, and it gave him such hope as he had not known in ages.

"I've missed you," Chad said again.

"Me too," he admitted, and the full scope of what he'd lost over those years seemed to hit him all at once. But Chad was here, smiling, open and talking. Perhaps it wasn't impossible that what had been lost could be regained. "More than I can say. I'm very sorry, Chad. For all I've ever said and thought and did."

"So am I. I had a few choice moments when I really wanted to strangle you."

"No. You were doing exactly what you were supposed to."

"So were you, Nigel, even if you didn't know it." A twinge of bitterness crossed his face. "That didn't make it any easier, though."

"No, I suppose it didn't." He pushed his glasses back into place, edging a little closer to the older teen. "Tell me more."

"What do you want to know?"

"Everything."

Chad's smile turned into a chuckle at this very Nigel Uno-ish answer. "That'll take days."

"Okay," he answered, thinking that was an excellent way to spend a few days.

274 looked at him, and in his expression Nigel could read his silent delight at the prospect. "Where do you want to start?"

"Do you know anything about what happened to the moon base?"

"No. I think it's Infected, like the reports said."

"Rachel?"

He shook his head, unable to speak further on the subject.

"How did you escape?"

Drawing a deep breath, Chad said, "I didn't. I was here. It was Mom's birthday. You know what she's like."

"Yeee-ah," Number One replied. Mega Mom was highly territorial when it came to her only child and more than capable of mass destruction if anything kept him from family events.

"So I missed that disaster," said Chad with a rather helpless gesture. "I know I probably couldn't have made a difference if I was there, but . . . I still feel guilty. It's my job to protect the Supreme Leader."

"Is that why you're here now?"

"In part," he admitted. "I was really glad when you were appointed. Trust me, Nigel, you've got what it takes to lead the Kids Next Door. I've been trying to figure out how to contact you when I heard what Ben was up to, trying to score you a date."

Nigel let out a little groan and leaned his head back on the smooth wall. "I owe him an apology as well, I'm afraid."

Chad shook his head. "Don't sweat it. Once he narrowed down the field to me, he figured you'd want to kill him. Besides, he and Dexter hacked into our computer network."

"I'm so glad they did. And not just for the new Sumo Slammers game."

"So am I. There was no way I would have been able to decipher all those files and they were the only proof I had of what I've been up to." He leaned his head back as well, turning to look at the younger teen. "You have some very good friends, Number One."

Nigel gazed at him steadily. "Yes," he agreed softly. "I do."

"And also . . . I really wanted to see you again. Ben's application seemed like a really good opportunity."

"The more I thought about it, the crazier the idea seemed, but Ben's a man of his word and once he sets his mind to something, there's no stopping him. Dexter was probably the saving grace in this business."

"I never thought I'd be happy to be arrested in my life."

Nigel sat up straight. "Arrested?"

He was able to laugh now, now that the sickening anxiety he'd felt was just a memory. "Sgt. Morton hauled me in this morning so Dexter could threaten me. Like I said, you have very good friends."

"Sounds like him. Why did he threaten you? The hover board?"

Combing his fingers through his windblown bangs, Chad said, "Uh, no."

"What, then?"

"You."

"Me?"

"I hurt you, Nigel. I know I did. Five years ago, for all you or anyone else knew, I'd thrown away everything I'd sworn to uphold and everything you believed in and our friendship and whatever else we might have had."

He laid his hand on Chad's arm. "I know the truth now."

"But that doesn't change the past five years. So, anyway, Dexter promised that if I hurt you that way again, I'd regret it." He blinked. "I really think he meant it."

"Knowing Dexter, I'm sure he did."

"I feel like I met your parents. Your overprotective parents."

"It's only fair, since I've met yours."

They laughed, and after a few moments the humor was replaced by an awkward sadness as they realized how much they had missed out on. They were silent for a little while, until Chad softly promised,

"I wouldn't do that again, Nigel."

Tension left him, and Nigel sagged against his friend, closing his eyes. "Good."

There was nothing uncomfortable in the silence they shared after that. Several minutes passed, and Nigel knew he would sit there all night if he could. Pulling off his sunglasses, he listened to the sounds of the city, felt the heat radiating off the pavement and the warmth and life of the young man beside him. He had not felt so at peace in a very long time. Not for five years, in fact.

"Now what?" he heard himself ask.

"It's my job to protect the Supreme Leader, and I'm going to keep doing it no matter what. No one can know what I'm doing. I'm still in the Teen Ninjas, senior division, but they think I'm taking the summer off for advanced violin lessons before I go to college." He was completely serious as he addressed not his friend, but his superior. "Having you know what I'm up to will take a lot of pressure off and make my job easier, but no matter what, if we're ever seen together by anyone we know outside of Tennyson and Dexter, you have to treat me like the enemy – shooting, shouting, have me arrested, the works. You've got to promise me. Just shoot to miss, okay? We can come up with a few plausible cover stories just in case, and - What?" he wondered when Nigel stared at him.

"That's excellent planning, but . . . I was thinking of right now, actually."

"Oh." Reined in, Chad looked contrite, realizing he was focused much further down the line than his companion. Ben had handed him this opportunity and he dared not waste a moment of it. "Right. We're on a date. Right?" he added anxiously, looking for confirmation.

"If you like," Nigel answered, finding 274's intensity as charming and appealing as he had when he was eight years old.

"I like."

"Me too." He could not keep from smiling any more than he could keep the sense of elation welling up within him at the thought that he was actually on a date with his boyhood crush. It was a wonderful, heady sensation, and a nice counterbalance to his anger before and the fear in the midst of battle. "What did you have in mind to do?"

"Honestly? I just wanted to avoid getting shot and just spend time with you. We can do anything you want. Hungry?"

"Starving," he said, realizing it was true.

"Buy you a burger?"

"That sounds perfect."

With a groan and a heave, Chad climbed to his feet, stretching his back before reaching down to give Nigel a hand. He hauled the younger teen up, looking him over and smiling at what he saw.

"You know . . . there's another reason I applied."

"Oh?" There was more? So much had been revealed, so many emotions brought to light, so much to think about. What more could there be?

Chad laid a hand on Nigel's shoulder. "There's something I've wanted to do for a couple of years now."

A flicker of doubt flitted through his mind. Was he about to get hit? Was this an act, or – no. He had sensed the candor in every word Chad had told him. His friends weren't easily fooled, and Dexter had more than enough fire power to back up his threats if he saw the need to reduce anyone to a pile of ash. Thus reassured, he asked,

"What's that?"

Said 274, "This."

The hand tightened on his shoulder shifted to grip his sweater and yank Nigel in until he was pressed full against the blond. He barely had time to register the heat of Chad's body, the faint sheen of sweat on his skin, and the smell of soap before his breath was stolen away by a kiss.

Feeling the warm contact against his mouth and the brush of breath against his cheek that sent his heart racing, it suddenly occurred to Nigel that he had never really been kissed before. Not like this. Not with such passion. Those childish exchanges with Lizzie – never so long and never so deep and never with another body right against him and holding him so close he could feel every muscular curve and contour – didn't even count. Quick pecks and the occasional snuggle and holding hands could not compare to the heat of Chad's lips and the strong arms that twined around his waist and pulled him closer. It took all of a second for these thoughts to flash through Nigel's head before he was kissing Chad back with equal desire. His glasses were knocked off in their enthusiasm. He heard them clatter to the ground and he absolutely did not care because Chad's hair was so soft beneath his fingers and their bodies fit together so perfectly. With a sudden thrill he understood what he had wanted, what he had needed for all these years.

This. This feeling, this young man, these lips. All of it, all of him. Always.