A/N: Shout-out to Sagittarius12 for leaving their thoughts on the last chapter! Thanks for the support!


Chapter 17

Cree bolted upright with a bad taste in her mouth, feeling groggy. Her head throbbed, and she opened her eyes to find that she was in complete, total darkness, not a hint of light to be found anywhere. She couldn't even see her own hand in front of her face.

The last thing she remembered...was getting ambushed by the KND freaks. It'd been easy to fight them off, for the most part, but then...they'd managed to shoot her with two tranquilizer darts. She remembered the sting as they'd been buried into either side of her neck. Not even she was immune to sedatives, but she'd still done her best to take out everyone else left. Then...she'd been hit in the head from behind, and then there was nothing.

And there'd been no sign of Sera, either. Cree tried not to think about what that could mean. Had something happened to the other teen, or had Sera decided she'd finally had enough, and it had been a straight-up betrayal?

Bright light suddenly flooded the area, and Cree instantly shielded her face from the intrusion. When her eyes got used to the light, she blinked, seeing that she was in a large, metallic room. There were no windows, or any doors. It was like she was trapped inside a bright, metal cube.

"So, we meet again, Numbuh 11."

Cree whipped around at the sound of the voice, coming face-to-face with that stupid KND scientist who had given her the ultimate pimple right before prom. Numbuh 74-something-or-other. She didn't remember the whole thing, but knew it was something along those lines.

With a growl, Cree lunged for him, only to pass right through him, landing on the floor with a thump. Looking back, she saw his image flicker, and the hologram flashed a smug smile at her before speaking again.

"Yes, yes, after our last encounter, I knew better than to let you get close enough to taint me with your germy, teenaged genetics. So, this time, I decided to take the necessary precautions. I direct your attention down to your neck as one such example."

Looking down, Cree noticed that she was wearing a thick, metal choker around her neck with a red light embedded in the middle. She also noticed that she was in her regular pink crop-top and baggy jeans instead of her Teen Ninja armor. After attempting to activate it, she realized that this dumb kid had stolen her armor while she'd been knocked out.

She tried ripping off the collar with her bare hands next, but she was only rewarded with a nasty electric shock. She couldn't help but be reminded of the time Sera had done the same thing with an electro-cuff. This shock was way worse, though.

"Ah, yes, our inhibiting prisoner collars," the scientist said with a nod. "One of my finer inventions, if I do say so myself. Capable of bringing even you to your knees, so if you know what's good for you, you'll keep your grubby hands off of it."

Cree seethed, her face twisting into a nasty expression. "So, you're the one who set up the ambush, then. What's your game? Don't tell me you and Sera are in cahoots now!"

The hologram let out a full-bellied laugh that echoed off the walls. "Oh, no, no, no, no! Who knew you could be so fatuously inane, Numbuh 11? Like I'd ever demean myself to work with any of your substandard kind!" He cleared his throat after the fit died down, his icy blue eyes bright with a chilling triumph. "Let's just say that Numbuh 221B has been selected for some...special experiments. I simply saw an opportunity to nab two Yipper cards for the price of one."

Cree's eyes narrowed dangerously, and her voice lowered into a threatening growl. "What have you done with her?"

"Oh, I'm sure you'll find out, in due time." Numbuh 74-whatever shook his head as he chuckled, and she wished he was there in person, so she could throttle him. "You'd do better to be more worried about what we're going to be doing for your experiment. Case in point-"

A panel in the wall next to her slid back, revealing several weapons hidden away. Hammers, blasters, lasers, axes, sabers, whatever. It was like every weapon imaginable locked away, and so close to her. She instantly lunged for them, only the be immediately brought down by the round of electric shocks her collar gave her. She gasped for breath as the scientist gave a pompous smile.

"Now, now, don't get too excited, or I'll have to remind you of your place. Even so, you are known as one of the strongest enemies Earth's KND has ever seen. You even managed to flip Sector V's treehouse upside-down! Even I can admit how impressive that is. Of course, you're still a vile teenager, but there is use in studying how your kind reacts to certain things. Now, you are to take one weapon off that wall. Not two, or three, just one. Anything more than that, and you will get shocked. And I doubt you'd want that to happen again, right?"

Cree grit her teeth together, but she followed his instructions, choosing an enormous blaster that was almost as big as her. Still, she was able to lift it with relative ease. The moment she took it off the wall, the rest of the weapons were immediately hidden away again, and the hologram nodded in approval.

"Yes, that is one of our more destructive weapons, but don't go getting any ideas. No matter how powerful, I guarantee that none of these weapons are any match for breaking you out of these walls. Besides, if I were you, I wouldn't go about wasting any more ammo than I had to. There's only 26 shots in that, you know. That's not a whole lot for what we'll have you do. Now, if you'll turn your eyes to the opposite wall-"

Cree's gaze flicked over to the other side of the room, and part of the wall slid away, revealing an enormous green...thing that made her eyes widen from the sheer scope and size of the beast. It almost reached the ceiling as it entered the room, and, if she had to describe it, she'd say that it looked closest to a big woolly mammoth...if that mammoth had these crazy tentacles sprouting out its back, six legs, ten eyes, and enormous fangs that dripped with blue saliva.

"Now, as I'm sure you've guessed, this is a creature whose origin lies beyond the stars, on a small, backwater planet beyond the Milky Way galaxy." The scientist said casually, like he was talking about the weather instead of this...thing. "I thought it best to send for it for the sake of your testing. You are to defeat this gargantuan monster with only the weapon in your hands. If you manage to take it down, we'll consider furthering the experiment with other creatures that are currently at our disposal."

"Oh, yeah? Well, what if I don't want to do that?" Cree said haughtily, sneering at the hologram.

"I'm afraid you don't have a choice in the matter," the scientist said with a look of sadistic gleefulness. "We've pumped this beast up with approximately 76 shots of painkillers and 46 shots of adrenaline which, as I'm sure you'll realize, has made this creature very, very angry and violent. As such, it will seek to take all its aggression out on the only person in the area: you."

As if in response to Numbuh 74-whatever's explanation, the green mammoth-thing let out a deafening roar that shook the area, giving Cree's hearing a run for its money. She tightly gripped the blaster as the creature's numerous black eyes landed on her, and it aggressively pawed the floor.

"So, if you'd rather not have your body get ripped apart from the inside-out, I suggest you show us what you've got. After all, you're always down for a fight, right, Numbuh 11?"

With those final words, the hologram vanished as the animal let out one more incredible roar before charging right at Cree.


Sera's head thumped down onto the examination table as she gasped for breath, her dark hair loose around her shoulders, sticking to her sweaty forehead. Large, metal cuffs built into the table tightened around her wrists, forcing them to stay locked by her sides. Two more cuffs trapped her ankles, and a large, leather strap encircled her waist, ensuring zero chance of any escape whatsoever.

Another electric shock ripped through her, and her body violently spasmed, even with all the restraints holding her down. She was helpless to keep the hot tears from streaming down her face in response to the torture. Still, she kept her teeth firmly ground together, refusing to let a single cry get past her lips. She would not show that kind of weakness. Not here, not in front of any of them.

She refused to let them get any satisfaction from hearing her screams.

Finally, after what felt like hours, the shocks ceased. This time, though, she barely had time to gasp in relief before the next round was already starting, these next shocks somehow managing to be even more painful than the last ones.

This was how it had been for Sera since she'd been captured. Being tortured for hours on end until these so-called 'kids' tired of the amusing spectacle, and then she was dumped into a cell until they saw fit to do it all over again. It might have been hours since her capture, or it could have been days. She honestly couldn't keep track of time anymore, not in a facility where all the lights were an awful, blinding white, and the prison cells were dank and damp, engulfed in constant darkness.

The shocks finally ended, leaving Sera gasping for breath, her muscles twitching. She heard the door to the room slide open, but she was too exhausted to open her eyes.

"And how are we today?" The sickening voice of Numbuh 74.239 rang out in the room, his chipper tone a sharp contrast to the dour atmosphere. She didn't bother turning her head to look at him.

There was a rustling of papers, and the KND scientist snorted. "Well, I'd hoped we'd be further along than this, but we're still in the early stages with this test subject. There's still time to improve." She sensed him getting closer, and grew tense. Closer...closer... "Now, let's see about this one-"

The second she felt his fingers brush her face, Sera struck, snapping her head up with a growl, and bashing her forehead right into his face. He leaped back, howling with rage and pain, clutching his nose. The sight of his amber blood seeping through his fingers satisfied her, even though she knew it wouldn't last. She was proven right when Numbuh 74.239's eyes flashed dangerously at her after he was quickly given a rag for his nose.

"You vicious profligate!" He shrieked with a sneer, and Sera's head snapped to the side as he harshly slapped her. Her face throbbed from the added pain. "What vulgar, savage creatures you all are! I'll teach you to remember your place!"

His hand moved to the controls on the console, and Sera was struck by a wave of electric shocks that were stronger and more painful than any of the others she'd had. It took everything in her to keep her teeth ground together as her body aggressively convulsed, completely out of her control. Her vision momentarily turned white, and for as long as those shocks went on, nothing else existed except that awful pain. Finally, it ended, and she was left wheezing on the table, struggling for breath.

The first thing she saw when her sight cleared was white spots that persistently danced across her eyes, refusing to dissipate. The second thing was Numbuh 74.239's smug, self-righteous face, clearly taking an enormous amount of pleasure in seeing her suffer. He pulled on a pair of latex gloves, snapping them threateningly.

"Now, for your examination, filth..." Roughly grabbing her by the hair, the scientist forced Sera's head back at an angle that made her neck ache, and her eyes were painfully forced open. They were instantly assaulted by the bright light he shone directly in each one, keeping it there long enough for her eyes to water. Next, he grabbed a syringe that was fitted with a large needle. She inhaled sharply from the pain that came from him harshly jamming it into her arm, and her muscles involuntarily twitched.

"Oh, don't be such a baby," Numbuh 74.239 said coldly, his voice lacking any sympathy whatsoever as he drew her blood. "I was going to do this more humanely (we scientists do have standards, after all), but you've proven you don't deserve any consideration from any of us. So, really, if this is hurting you, you should have considered that before trying to attack me. You only have yourself to blame for this."

Now that was something Sera couldn't help but roll her eyes at, even though it earned her another throbbing strike for her "blatant display of complete disrespect and contempt for a superior being! Honestly, you'd think she'd manage to retain at least some manners from the KND, but, apparently, I can't even expect that much from her! I suppose it's to be expected, though, considering her kind's nature and all..."

...blah, blah, blah. After taking away her team, ruining her life, kidnapping her (or would it be teen-napping now?), and overseeing her 'testing' (cough cough torture cough cough), he honestly expected her to be polite and grateful? The insane level of illogically delusional reasoning made her want to throttle him.

"Oh, that reminds me! I almost forgot to mention, Numbuh 221B..." the scientist's eyes glinted with mad delight as his features twisted into a triumphant smile. "...I suppose I should say that Numbuh 11's here, too."

Sera's eyes widened, and she felt what little color she had left in her face completely drain out. No. No, Cree...Cree could not be here. If she was here...

Numbuh 74.239 chuckled at her disconcerted fear. "Yes, yes, while it did end up wasting considerably more resources than I would have wanted, we finally got our prize. The most elusive Teen Ninja on Earth is now in my possession, and I am fit to do with her exactly as I please. Although, truth be told, I was hoping to grab Numbuh 9 along with her, but she's more than enough for what I have planned. I'm quite excited to specifically study her levels of strength and stamina, which have always been of significant interest. Her data will go a long way in understanding the best course of action to take in destroying your kind."

Sera strained against her restraints, practically growling and seething with rage as she wished for nothing more than to be able to get her hands on that little cretin so she could strangle him. Unfortunately, it was all in vain, and she only got another zap of electricity for her troubles.

"Oh, is that something you don't like?" Numbuh 74.239 taunted with a grin. "Well, get used to it. I have Numbuh 11, I have you, and there's nothing either of you can do about it."

With those words, the painful examination finally ended, and Numbuh 74.239 pulled off his gloves, speaking to the other scientists. "Well, everything seems to be, for the most part, normal and stabilized, which is...disappointing, to say the least. I'd hoped her condition would be far more physically deteriorated by now, but, then again, if her kind has managed to be such a thorn in Earth's KND for this long, I suppose I can't expect this one to break so easily. Make no mistake, though, my calculations guarantee that she definitely will, the process of which will undoubtedly provide some fascinating insights into the teenaged biology of this world. It's simply a matter of time and the usage of the correct factors to ensure that. Now, let's move on to the methods used for significant mental deterioration. For example-"

Here he brought out a mess of electrode probes, forcing Sera's head to stay still as he deftly stuck each pad onto her forehead, even as her eyes narrowed. "-one of the most effective ways of speeding up a subject's rate of deterioration is by utilizing their own mind, their own memories, against them. The immoral thoughts they keep hidden, the shameful secrets they never dare speak of, not to mention their darkest, most traumatic memories they can't bear to look back on...they'll relive each and every one of those moments as though it had just happened."

He brought out a keyboard, typing in a quick command. "Now, observe how the subject reacts when I bring up this memory..."

The lab instantly dissolved right in front of Sera's eyes, melting away into a large courtroom that was filled to the brim with KND operatives. Sera screwed her eyes shut, knowing exactly which memory this was, but it was no use. Numbuh 74.239's tech ensured the entire scene was projected onto the inside of her eyelids, and she was helpless to do anything but watch everything unfold, exactly as it had five years ago.

She found herself sitting on a corner bench, once again ten years old. Her head was bowed, her shoulders hunched, and her wavy hair fell over her shoulders like a dark curtain, hiding her face from view. Dimly, she was aware that the jury was still reading their verdict, but she tuned most of it out. Nothing mattered except for the beginning. Everything else after was just...pointless drivel.

...request for recommissioning has been denied...

She felt completely numb as the trial finally ended, and all the operatives in attendance started to leave, ready to go back to their lives, and forget all about this case. After all, it wasn't something that any of them was affected by. At best, this whole thing was just a...minor inconvenience that had provided a temporary disruption in their KND duties. Nothing had changed for them.

Not like it had for her.

...really sorry, but...

...too expensive...

...it'll get better if...

Sera tuned out the few kids who tried stopping by to give their well-rehearsed justifications that were, to be honest, pretty pitiful, considering the circumstances. After what they decided for her team, nothing they had to say was going to make any of this better, or change how she saw them now. She would never forget any of this, not for a second.

"Well, now, don't you look despondent?"

A pair of ratty sneakers inserted themselves into her sight, and Sera recognized the unique lisp in the kid's voice, even though she didn't look up. It was none other than one of the head scientists of the KND Deep Sea Science Lab: Numbuh 74.239.

"Now, don't look like that," the KND scientist said with a chuckle as he sat down next to her. She didn't react. "Did you honestly think the verdict would have ever been anything else? And, really, I don't see why you insisted on making such a big deal about all this to begin with. After all, those three were, essentially, eggs waiting to hatch into teens once the time came, and we can't afford to waste our valuable resources on their kind. So, if anything, you should be grateful that they're out of the way now. Thanks to this little...accident, they're just a few more almost-teens that we don't have to worry about anymore."

"...they wouldn't have betrayed us." Sera's voice was low, almost a whisper as she stared at the floor, feeling tired and defeated. "That would have...never been an option. Not for any of them."

"Right. Well, if you want to believe that, I guess I can't stop your from your own delusions." Numbuh 74.239 scoffed. "But I, for one, can't see any downside in this whole thing. My decommissioning laser works just as calculated, the use of which has just rendered those future enemies completely useless to the adults. And, to think..." there was a pause as he whispered the last part of his sentence in her ear. "...none of this would have happened if you and Numbuh 231 hadn't been unlucky enough to see my true form."

Sera stiffened, and the hands that had been resting on her knees clenched into fists. Throughout this whole thing, that had always been in the back of her mind...the two of them realizing that Numbuh 74.239 was, in fact, not human. The one moment that had kick-started all of this, like a domino effect.

"Yes, that's right," the scientist said tauntingly, his voice quiet enough that only she could hear what he was saying. "None of this was ever an accident. It was all deliberately planned, and, I must say, everything went precisely as calculated. Well...except, of course, for the two of you managing to escape your team's fate. But I was able to adapt swimmingly, a fact I'm sure Numbuh 231 would attest to...if she was able to, that is." He shook his head, tutting in disappointment. "It sure was a shame to have to do that to such a promising and loyal operative, but rest assured, it was all for the greater good. In time, I'm sure you'll understand that, and, who knows? One day, you might even thank me for it."

For one minute, there was a deafening silence between them, and that's when it all just...snapped. Sera's blood roared in her ears, and she could feel nothing but absolute rage, in its purest and most concentrated form. She was completely blinded by it, turning her vision red.

When it finally cleared, Sera found herself sitting on top of Numbuh 74.239, her hands gripping his throat, doing everything she could to choke him out. An unearthly sound filled her hearing, and she realized it was coming from her own mouth as she screamed her throat raw, hot tears running down her face. Even as she squeezed his throat as hard as she could, his smug, self-assured smile refused to so much as waver, a fact that enraged her even more.

After what felt like hours (but was really only a few minutes), she was finally tackled off of him, her arms forced behind her back as she was cuffed by KND security. She thrashed around like a wild animal, practically frothing at the mouth as she screeched like a banshee, repeating the same thing over and over.

"I'LL KILL YOU! I'LL KILL YOU! I SWEAR ON ZERO'S NAME I'LL KILL YOU!"

She completely ignored everyone gawking with horrified expressions on their faces as she continued to rant and rave, her screams echoing in the room. Her hate-filled eyes never wavered from Numbuh 74.239's ice-blue eyes, even as the paramedics gathered around him. He was the last thing she saw as she was finally dragged out of the room, and the enormous doors slammed shut.

Sera suddenly found herself back in the present-time, her head limp on the table, her face wet with tears, her chest heaving, and her throat felt just as raw as it had been in her memory. She was completely drenched in sweat, and her energy had been totally sapped. She felt a raw pain in her wrists, and glanced down to see that the skin had been cut, a thin layer of blood dripping out. She'd been so lost in the memory that she'd unknowingly fought against her restraints, not even aware when she'd hurt herself as a result.

Numbuh 74.239's eyes were smug, and he was clearly amused by the pain he'd inflicted on her. She was sure he'd been particularly entertained by her screams, which she'd refused to let anyone hear until now. He went on to explain the tech used to the assisting scientists. "As you can see, the subject lost all sense of awareness, completely overtaken by the emotions and actions exhibited in the memory." He acted like he didn't have a care in the world as he droned on. "The limitless potential of science truly is a wonder! And just think, with a few commands on this keyboard, we can even manipulate-"

"...a wonder? Seriously?" Sera rasped, using all the energy she had left to roll her head over to stare at him. "You call torturing people with their own memories...a wonder?"

"Of course," Numbuh 74.239 said with no hesitation. "No door is closed to us thanks to science, and there is nothing we aren't entitled to now because of it. And, for the record, that does include you teenaged ingrates in the mix."

Sera ignored the smug look on his face, and she closed her eyes, too drained for much else. "Don't act like...like you're doing this for science, or anything noble." She managed to grind out through her teeth. "You're doing this...because you like hurting us. You get...way too much pleasure out of this...for it to be anything."

"Well, of course," the scientist shrugged with a sadistic smile. "This wouldn't be as much fun if I didn't get to see you suffer, too. I am very much looking forward to the day when I manage to break you. Now," he turned his attention back to the other scientists, "there are several avenues that can be taken with this type of technology. A few of them include..."

Sera lay back on the table, tuning out the rest of his voice, trying to get as much rest as she could before Numbuh 74.239 undoubtedly tried another of his torturous methods on her. So...Cree was here, too, then. She could only imagine what 'experiments' Numbuh 74.239 was forcing her to take part in for the sake of his amusement. The thought made her feel sick.

If Sera was a more optimistic person, she'd probably think that, with Cree captured, surely the Teen Ninjas would take notice of her disappearance, and would spring into action to save the captured teens. That's what she would have thought as a kid. But she wasn't a kid anymore, and, thanks to the harsh realities of life, she now knew better than to hold on to any false hopes. It just made everything worse in the end.

Nobody was going to come save them. From here on out, Sera and Cree were on their own. That was the undeniable, infallible truth.