A/N: Hey! It's me! This chapter is pretty interesting, I think. We get to see the team back on the field again! YAAY!

Just a quick note, I have school camp next week, so next week's chapter might have to be delayed. I'll try to get it up as soon as I can, but it may have to be put off until the next week, sorry! I really am sorry! And also, updating might get a little harder in the next few weeks, what with school ending soon, and my dance concert, which I have to be at rehearsals and photo shoots for... but I'll try! I see a lot of late nights in my future...

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Kids Next Door Mission...

Operation: F.O.R.G.E.T.

Fragments

Of

Recovery

Gradually

Enable

Team

Chapter 27 – Stakeouts and Spiders

'Really!?' Kuki squealed, squirming in delight in the seat next to Abby, as her friend recounted the events of the night before. They were sitting on a park bench, halfway through the ice-creams they'd bought from the stand in the park.

'Yeah. It's official. We're 'us' again,' Abby said, smiling widely. Last night was a dream come true for her.

'Ohmigosh, that is so cute!' Kuki said again, though Abby could detect a hint of sadness in her friend's tone.

'But...?' Abby began for her friend, trying to pry it out of her.

'Hm? Oh, it's nothing.'

'Oooh, I get it. You're wishing that someone would ask you out!'

'What? No! I just...' Kuki stumbled, her face turning red.

'Kuki,' Abby said, turning to look Kuki in the eye.

'Don't try to cover it. You want Wally to confess to you.'

Kuki's brow creased in confusion, obviously unsure about what Numbuh 5 had said.

'Confess? What is there to confess?'

That earned her a fit of laughter.

'That he likes you, girl!'

'He does not! ..Does he?'

'Well duh! How could you not notice?He's been head-over-heels for you since the moment you two met!'

'Really?'

'I'm pretty sue you're the only one who doesn't see it.'

Kuki had nothing to say after that. She just sat there with a little smile on her face. Abby chuckled.

'C'mon Kuki, we'd better get to the treehouse,' she said.

Sector V was meeting at the treehouse in ten minutes. While Hoagie and Abby were out the previous night, Numbuhs 1, 3 and 4 had confirmed the whereabouts of Dr. Colter's hideout, and today, they were planning a stakeout.

Kuki got up after Abby, and followed her away from the park, towards Nigel's old house, and the treehouse.

~(*)~

Hoagie yawned. He'd been in the lab since 5:30 that morning. For the fourth day in a row. And he was even more tired since he had been awake long into he night before, trying to convince himself that what had just happened was not a dream.

He picked up another test tube of Chemical Z2A, this time it was one that he'd combined with Glycenol, to find out how it would react. The results of this experiment would have a major impact on the method and ingredients he would use in the antidote.

Chemistry wasn't Hoagie's best subject, but then, he was only six years old when he wired his first rocket engine. He had been mixing chemicals since he could first hold a test tube, and he had always been one of the top scientists in the KND.

He sat down, his head hurting a little, a combination of over-concentration and stress.

But my god was he happy.

He had Abby back.

He felt like the luckiest nerd in the history of the world. To have the girl he'd loved since he coul remember, to know that she felt the same way, he just couldn't help but smile every time he thought about it.

He sighed, getting up and heading towards the exit, the door that lead back into the rest of the treehouse. It was almost 1pm now, the time they were meant to meet.

Hoagie was, even through his tiredness, excited to be going on their first 'real mission' since they had been recommissioned. He was eager to get back out there, see how well he could remember how to use all the gagets and weapons he had used to handle on a daily basis.

Numbuh 1 was just arriving as Hoagie entered the breifing room.

'Hey, Numbuh 1,' he said, his voice betraying how tired he was.

'Hi, Numbuh 2. You're here early,' Nigel commented.

'Been here a lot longer than this, man,' Hoagie replied. But he didn't want to go any further into the subject, so he began to ask about the stakeout that was to take place today.

'When are we leaving?'

'In about half an hour, granted that everyone's here by then.'

Wally rocked up then, with the elevator 'ding'ing in the background.

'Hey, guys,' he said, before giving Hoagie that same mischevious smirk as he had the night before;

'How'd the date go, Hooogie?' he teased, but Hoagie didn't care. There was nothing to tease about.

'Perfect,' he retorted, taking note of the slightly dissappointed look on Wally's face as he was put back into his place.

'Abby and I are back together.'

'Really? Good for you two!' Nigel commented, giving Hoagie a slap on the back.

Boys really aren't ones for girly screaming and hours of talking out every little detail.

Hoagie just smiled and nodded.

'So what weapons are we bringing?' Numbuh 4 continued, eager to get off the subject and avoid this turning into another 'girl-fiasco'. Basically, it was the time when Nigel, (formerly Hoagie) and himself would try to convince the other to ask out the girl they liked. It usually ended with an 'I will if you will' pact, but those never went anywhere. They may as well have been 'I'll do the chicken dance at the next school assembly if you do' pact. Wally didn't feel like that sort of an awkward situation right now, so he waited expectantly for Numbuh 1's answer.

'Well, we're definitely bringing a S.P.L.A.N.K.E.R. each, a M.U.S.K.E.T. and maybe a G.U.M.Z.O.O.K.A. as well, just to be safe.' Numbuh 1 counted off the items on his fingers, and as he did, it became obvious to the other two boys standing there that he'd thought about all this before he had come.

When Numbuh 3 and Numbuh 5 finally arrived, followed closely by Joey and the rest of the other Sector V, it was down to buisiness. The younger Sector V were to stay behind at the treehouse and relay any information they gathered back to Moonbase, and act as backup if any was needed, while the older Sector V made their way into the old abandoned warehouse that Dr. Colter had made his headquarters. They were meant to split up into three groups, and cover one third of the property per group. That way, they would be able to have eyes on the whole place at one time. Keeping in touch between groups would be easy, so long as they kept their earpieces in.

The plan should roll out without a hitch.

It was perfect.

In theory.

But then, this was Sector V they were talking about, so there was no garauntee that things would roll out without a hitch.

~(*)~

'Numbuh 1, I'm in position,' Numbuh 3 whispered through the mouthpiece of her walkie-talkie, on her stomach, in the airvent of Colter's hideout. There was a few seconds of quiet static.

'Roger that, Numbuh 3, good work,' came their leader's reply.

'Now make sure that no-one can hear you.'

Kuki fidgeted a bit, trying to get comfortable in the cold, cramped metal vent. She had a clear view through a grate in the ceiling, and she seemed to be above Dr. Colter's lab. She could see test tubes and beakers and complicated connections of tubes and boilers, a lot of which seemed unnecessary. I mean, why would he need this little drop of chemical to go through about ten bazillion miles of tubing, only to be dropped right back into its first container?

~(*)~

While Numbuh 3 was getting settled in the air vent, Numbuhs 1 and 2 were hiding out on the other side of their target's headquarters; behind the plaster wall in a large, open room filled with everything from vehicles to weapons and three whole racks of chemical Z2A.

'So how long exactly are we meant to be here?' Numbuh 2 asked, hoping the answer wouldn't be long.

'As long as it takes,' was Numbuh 1's simple reply.

'Great...' Hoagie replied sarcasticly, anticipating many long hours of being stuck behind a sheet of drywall.

~(*)~

'Numbuh 4, would you keep still? Do you want to get us spotted?' Numbuh 5 hissed to the boy, who was trying to find a decent position on his branch.

Yes, they were in a tree.

'But this thing is so uncomfortable!' he complained, shifting around again.

'Ah keep gettin' poked by these stupid branches!'

'Just shush, okay?'

...

'Foine...'

Abby turned back around and raised one hand to talk through her walkie-talkie, while the other outstretched arm kept a firm hold on the trunk of the tree, as she leaned away from it to get a better view.

'Numbuh 1, are you there? We're in position. Over.'

'Okay, Numbuh 5. Do you have a visual yet?' was the reply.

'Nope, not yet. I'll check in when we see him.'

'Alright. Now we're ready.'

And with that, Sector V all got a rush, a shiver up their spines;

I can't believe we're all out on the field again!

~(*)~

About ten minutes later, Numbuhs 4 and 5 sighted Dr. Colter's car; the sleek, black one.

'Numbuh 1! We have a visual, I repeat, we have a visual! Dr. Colter should be entering the building in about five minutes,' Wally whisper-yelled into the walkie-talkie, shrinking back into the shadows of the tree, to ensure that he couldn't be seen.

'Alright, we hear you loud and clear, Numbuh 4. I'll alert Numbuh 3.'

They both hung up the walkies. Wally and Abby watched intently as Dr. Colter got out of his car, went around to the back, and unloaded almost more lab equipment than he coul manage, before making his way over to the door of the warehouse.

~(*)~

Kuki was almost falling asleep in her stakeout position. It was boring, being the only team member to be stuck on her own in this air vent, where she could hardly move, mind you. She was in mid-yawn when she received the transmission from Numbuh 1.

'Numbuh 3? Colter should be entering the lab soon. Stay on alert, and make sure you are completely silent.'

'Why did you have to tell me that again? Don't you trust me to be quiet?' Kuki said back indignantly, trying to think of any time she'd ever been reckless on a mission.

None came to mind.

'No, it's just... uh, never mind. Just be on alert. Over and out.'

So Numbuh 3 craned her neck to get the best perspective from her little grate, and sure enough, exactly four minutes later, the door was flung open.

Kuki watched Colter unpacking his little dohickeys and whatchamacallits for almost twenty minutes, and needless to say she became bored again. Every now and then Numbuh 1 would call her again, jolting her awake and sending her heartbeat into overdrive for a few seconds.

But after lying there and almost falling asleep almost ten times, and being woken up ten times, she was working on the eleventh...

When she felt a small tingling sensation up the back of her neck.

At first she thought it was just her imagination, or maybe the beginnings of pins and needles. But then, the feeling started to move, and that was when she really started to freak.

Her eyes widened, and in a split second she realised what was causing the little tingling that was now making its way down her shoulder.

She panicked.

And she forgot all about Numbuh 1's warning.

She began rolling, thrashing about in the airvent, trying to shake the spider off of her, screaming a high-pitched scream all the while. Her hair was in her eyes, she couldn't see what she was doing. But when a big, brown shape fell in front of her, she could see enough to know what to do next.

A moment of silence, of stillness, and then...

'DIE SPIDER! DIE, DIE, DIE!' She yelled at the top of her lungs, using her walkie-talkie to attempt crushing the little bug in front of her.

But even as she was in the middle of 'taking care' of the little arachnid, she could just make out Numbuh 1's worried voice, from the speaker of the very thing she was using as a weapon.

'Numbuh 3! What are you doing? You are going to be spotted, forget the stupid spider!'

After about thirty seconds of

a) Igoring Numbuh 1 (and Numbuh 2, Numbuh 4 and Numbuh 5) telling her to shut up

b) screaming and kicking and slamming that walkie-talkie down on the poor little spider, and

c) her teammates thinking that any minute, Colter was going to figure out where all that screaming was coming from,

Kuki had finally succeeded in defeating her opponent (who was now little more than a sticky smear of stuff with a leg sticking out of it). But as she calmed down, and took a look out of the grating, she screamed once more as she saw none other than Dr. Colter's furious face glaring back at her through the slitted vent, only inches away from hers.

Kuki had to think quick. She pulled off the grate and dropped it into the room, which was enough to dislodge Colter from where he stood precariously on a stack of chairs. He crashed to the floor, and Numbuh 3 dropped herself through the gap and landed in the room herself, then proceeding to call Numbuh 1 on her amazingly still functioning walkie-talkie.

'Numbuh 1? I.. uh, I've been spotted. Could you maybe-'

'We'll be right down there, Kuki,' Numbuh 1 said, after an exasperated sigh.

Colter seemed to be taking a while to get back on his feet, and by the time he seemed ready to fight, the others had arrived.

They all just stood there for a second, not sure of what to do, while their enemy looked them all over with a confused yet thoughtful expression on his face.

Then, after a while, it dawned on him, and his eyes narrowed in an instant.

'You,' he spat across the room to the five people who had taken him down four years ago.

'Yep, we're back. Did ya miss us?' Abby chided, smirking at the evil scientist before her.

'But how? You shouldn't remember any of this..' Dr. Colter, however confused, was not in the mood to back down from a fight.

And so, they fought.

S.P.L.A.N.K.E.R.s were flung, ray guns fired, punches thrown, until everyone there was beginning to get tired.

Colter could have sprayed them with Chemical Z2A, easily. There was heaps of the stuff in this room. But it wouldn't have any effect on Sector V now. They were already teens, so no matter how much they were sprayed or injected with the stuff, nothing would happen. So, he settled for an old-school fight.

They had been at it for a while now, and they had gotten into a position that left Dr. Colter in the middle of a circle made by the members of Sector V.

'No escape now, ya cruddy adult,' Wally sneered.

He got only a growl in return.

There was a few seconds of silence.

Then, Colter tried to make a break for it, only to be caught head-on with a face full of timber, courtesy of Numbuh 5's S.P.L.A.N.K.E.R.

He fell to the floor, knocked out cold, while Sector V celebrated their first field victory in almost four years.

They called the treehouse, where Joey and the other Sector V were waiting, and within ten minutes they had a S.C.A.M.P.E.R. out there, waiting to take the villain to the Arctic prison.

And after he had been dropped off, the team decided that they had earned themselves some celebratory milkshakes.

'That was the most fun I think I've had in a long time,' Numbuh 2 commented, slurping on his chocolate thickshake.

'Definitely. I can't believe we still remembered how to do all that,' Numbuh 1 agreed.

'It feels so good ta actually beat someone up without knowin' you're gonna get in trouble afterwards,' Wally added. Everyone laughed at that, while the aussie gave them the 'What's so funny?' face.

'Yeah, that was fun,' Numbuh 5 started.

'But Kuki? Next time you come across a spider, can you just bug spray it instead of yellin' like ya did? It just makes things a bit easier if our targets can't hear your murderous screams in the background.'

Kuki tried to cross her arms in annoyance, but couldn't keep a straight face as she remembered how frantic she had been. In the end, she just burst out laughing along with everyone else.

'So, now that Colter's taken care of, I guess we just have to find out how to get all the turned operatives back,' Numbuh 2 said, after they'd all laughed themselves out. He thought about the progress he was making in the lab. At the rate he was going, he could have a cure for chemical Z2A's effect by the end of the month.

'Yep. But until then, at least we know that we still got it.'

'Uh-hu.'

Numbuh 1 then raised his milkshake glass up in the middle of the table they were all sitting around, to make a toast.

'To victory,' he said, smiling happily. Everyone else, raising their drinks as well, repeated in chorus;

'To victory!'

~(*)~

A/N: And there you go! How'd you like it?

Wally: So that's it? No more Dr. Colter? Wasn't that a bit easy?

Me: Mm-hmm. Maybe a little too easy **winkwinknudgenudge**

Abby: What are you sayin', girl?

Nigel: I think what she's trying to say is that Dr. Colter isn't quite **hand slapped across his mouth**

Hoagie: I'm not so sure that Abbey ( that's me) wants everyone to know that just yet. We're gonna have to cut that short, everyone. Just to make sure that these guys don't tell you anything they're not meant to...

As always, R&R!

-Numbuh 25 Over and Out