Choppers flew above Manhattan, spotlights scanning the now deserted streets. While the lights of the city kept gleaming, this was for tactical purposes; most citizens had already been evacuated. Some were too stubborn to leave and if they could not be coerced, they were moved.

In one of the makeshift command centers established on the bridges, General Engel stood with his hands on a table with a green holographic display of the city. On his right was a man in his sixties but still robust with gray hair and oddly dressed in a red Hawaiian shirt and khakis. Opposite of the general was a boy no older than eleven years in a red turtleneck and cargo shorts. Black sunglasses covered his eyes while his bald scalp reflected the light above their heads. Taking the last corner was a bipedal green skinned ape in purple clothing, a purple cape and sporting a white dome with purple stripes atop his head. By the entrance were two people: a man in a green suit and sunglasses with neat, brown hair and next to him was a girl about the same age as the bald boy in a blue jacket and shorts. Her brown hair was in a braid and her eyes were obscured by the red baseball cap she had on. While the man was statuesque with hands behind his back, the girl leaned against the wall, chewing bubblegum and casually holding her gun made of a glass soda bottle and other miscellanea.

Glares were not uncommon in the room. The boy would send small dirty stares at the two adults at the table. The general would keep shifting his eyes to the simian and boy. If the man in the suit found himself staring at the other guard, she would either pretend it was nothing or smirk. The only one with a poker face was the Hawaiian-shirted man who took the situation with a straight and serious face with no sign of contempt or suspicion.

A blue button flashed next to the general. When he pressed it, a group of screens flashed on, each with a face on it. They included Dexter, Professor Utonium, President Andrews, Mandark, a Mexican man with a small patch of chin hair and a resemblance to Rex and a blond girl with a samurai helmet made from a colander on her head. "Gentlemen," the general stated. The blond girl harrumphed. "-and number 362. We have the island of Manhattan evacuated and our troops are prepared."

"Along with the special squad?" The president asked.

"Yes."

"I don't like this," the professor chimed in. "I agreed we would help but putting them on the front lines..."

"Don't worry," the Hawaiian shirted man said with a warm smile, "Kids like them know what they're doing, just ask my grandkids. And even if they land in hot water, I give you my word I'll bring them back to you." The professor sighed with a mixture of acceptance and slight relief

"I needed to hear that. Thank you..."

"Max Tennyson."

"So this is the famous Max Tennyson," Dexter commented. "I must say I was impressed by your record when I hacked into the Plumber database." Rather than be shocked or mad, Max kept his smile, "Well I'm glad my reputation precedes me."

"Let's cut to the chase," President Andrews stated.

"Of course. Engel here informed me of this Fuse character. I asked what contacts I have and combed any data banks I could get my hands on."

"Well, what did you find?" Mandark barked.

"Unfortunately not much. A whisper here, and mention there, but aside from that, he's an unknown to the intergalactic community. Either his claims of hundreds of years is smoke and mirrors...or we could be in trouble."

"Bah!" The simian interrupted. "This Fuse is no match for the incredible genius of me: Mooojo Jojo, aforementioned genius the likes no one, man, machine or otherwise has ever encountered." He spoke quickly in a Japanese accent. "Quit your blustering you slime-tinted monkey."

"Monkey!? How dare you, you ignorant brat. I am not an attraction noisy children come to visit on weekends and holidays! I Moojo Jojo am an ape, not a monkey, not a lemur, not an iguana, an ape! An ape whose mind is more powerful, perfect and unprecedented than yours, bowl cut."

"Why you-"

"Alright that's enough!" Number 362 shouted. "The Kids Next Door joined this coalition to prevent our destruction! If you continue to fight like this, we may as well throw in the towel!"

Mojo and Mandark settled down, muttering curses under their breath against the other. "Numbah One." The boy saluted.

"Ma'am!" He had a British accent with some sophistication that was unexpected for his age. "Are our troops stationed?"

"Yes. S.C.A.M.P.E.R.s are standing by for air support and everyone is armed."

"Good." The girl next to the man smirked,

"And if they think they gonna get past Numbah Five and the wax sculpture here, they got another thing coming."

"The name's Six," the man across from Numbah Five stated unamused.

"Heh, you should meet our numbah Six sometime. Piece of advice though, bring a clothespin."

"Noted."

The general turned to the unnamed man on the screen "Any luck with the samples on your end, Caesar?"

"Well, while efforts to find, for lack of a better word, kryptonite to it, Professor Utonium has helped us distinguish the molecular bonds and we found something interesting."

"Go on."

"By separating some elements, the fusion matter has become benign. But more interesting is that it can be transmuted into different elements and properties."

"Meaning?"

"Well, and this is just a theory, it could be possible to use the matter to create our own life forms. Granted, we would need a base or template, but the possibilities are astounding nonetheless."

Suddenly, the table flashed red with the word "Incoming" flickering on and off. "Guess that's your cue. Good luck, general." Engel saluted back to the president. "Thank you, sir." Numbah One turned to his own superior. The girl nodded before giving the command. "Kids Next Door, battle stations!"

"You heard the lady!" The boy and his lieutenant dashed outside, ready to greet the looming threat. The general sighed before Max put a hand on his back. "Once more into the breach?" Engel gave a smirk, "Once more into the breach."

On a rooftop a few miles from Engel's base, three figures could be made out. One was a young man in a black shirt and jeans with black hair. He held a pair of binoculars as he scanned the city streets for some unknown reason. Near him was a young woman in her late teens sitting cross legged with closed eyes. She wore black pants, shoes and a red blouse, her long red hair tied in a ponytail. The strange thing was that she was levitating off of the ground and no one was alarmed. Finally, a boy in his teens with brown hair sat, gazing at the night sky while holding his head from behind. He had jeans, tennis shoes, a green jacket with a white 10 that covered his black shirt and a watch-like device on his left wrist with an hourglass-like symbol on it. He turned to the girl. "When d'ya think they'll get back?" She shrugged, "I don't know."

"You don't know? Then what's with the meditating?"

"I'm trying to center myself. Get a feel for the mana in this place."

"Yeah, Ben." The man called, eyes still behind his binoculars. "Why don't you stop pestering Gwen and keep a look out."

"For what? In case you didn't notice, Kevin, these streets are totally deserted."

"Not what I mean."

"He's right Ben," Gwen interjected. "Knowing where to go can be the difference between life and death. What would happen if you got caught in an alleyway?"

"Easy. I'd go Jetray and fly out while shooting lasers from my eyes."

"And if the Omnitrix is out of power?" Kevin pointed out.

"Improvise."

"Heh, you do tend to do that."

"Hasn't failed me yet." Gwen smiled. "My cousin, ladies and gentlemen."

Just then a streak of blue and a streak of pink rushed to them. When they stopped, it turned out it was Bubbles and Blossom, respectively. "We're back!" Bubbles waved. Kevin put down his binoculars. "Where've you been?"

"We wanted to look around," Blossom answered. "If this fight gets as bad as the ones in Townsville can get, it might not be here afterwards." The two landed in front of Ben. "So did you grab something? Can't have a stakeout with empty stomachs." Bubbles chuckled sheepishly, "Sorry, we forgot." Ben groaned. "Cheer up. Maybe Rex'll be back with something."

"You rang?" Coming from behind Gwen, Rex flew up using an orange and grey pack with two wings, helicopter rotors on their ends. The dust caused Gwen to raise her arms to shield herself, breaking her meditative stance. "Whoops, sorry." He landed on the roof while the blades died down. "So did'ja get anything?" Behind Rex a chimp crawled up. It had a fez, a shirt and an eyepatch with two red cannons on his back. He gave a smile before raising up two white bags. "Does this answer your question?" His voice was as gruff and seedy as his face. He then proceeded to hand one bag to Rex before pulling out burritos wrapped in foil, each of them tossing one per person. Ben was the most excited as he frantically unwrapped his meal. "You're a lifesaver, Bobo."

"'S what I do."

After they finished, the group looked out at the city. Not a person in sight but the lights illuminating every corner as if it were alive. "I wish Grandpa could be here," Gwen noted. "I think he would have loved seeing this."

"Yeah," Ben agreed. "Least we don't have to worry about him getting hurt down in the war room."

"That reminds me." Rex turned to the two. "How's your grandpa know the general? He seems chill compared to that hard ass Engel." Ben shrugged. "Dunno. Just another buddy from his plumbing days I suppose." Bubbles raised an eyebrow. "Plumbing?" Kevin crossed his arms. "Not the plumbing you're thinking of. Plumbers are agents who dealt with alien matters away from the public eye. When they became more established off-world, they more or less disbanded on Earth."

"Hm. Makes sense."

All of a sudden, Gwen's head shot upwards to the sky. "Something's coming." The team heard beeping coming from black earpieces. After touching them, Max's voice greeted the teens. "Hey, am I coming in alright?"

"Loud and clear Mr. Tennyson." Blossom gave a thumbs-up. "Good. Now listen, the first object is coming in hot. Scans show it will land smack dab in Times Square. If the ground troops need you, we'll contact you."

"Come on, grandpa," Ben responded with a cocky grin. "You're acting like this is serious."

"It's always serious, Ben. For now just keep a watch." All but Gwen responded affirmatively.

"Gwen?" She snapped out of her trance. "Uh, yeah. We'll be here."

"Good. Here's hoping we won't see each other until after. Tennyson, out."

Above the group, a green comet began screaming down towards the city. Their heads trailed it before it landed in a thunderous crash. "Eh, we got this, right Gwen?" Before Ben nudged his cousin he noticed that she was shaking slightly. "Gwen?"

"I-I'm fine."

In the center of Times Square, tanks and ground troops, adult and kids alike, assembled around the crater. At the head were Numbahs One and Five, each holding their odd guns. "Alright everyone," the bald commander announced. "Stay on the perimeter! Do not engage until the first signs of movement!" Every soldier trained their guns at the gelatinous orb, safeties clicked off.

For an agonizing minute, all was still. Sweat trickled down foreheads while twitchy fingers hovered over the triggers. Even Numbah One grit his teeth, chomping at the bit to end the calm. Just when the first person might have lost their minds, the screens in Times Square lit up with static. A few startled soldiers let off a round or two before Numbah One shouted, "Hold your fire!" Just as suddenly, the screens turned black. Before anyone spoke, the TVs glowed green as a black silhouette appeared with red eyes. A single laugh resounded, mocking those gathered with an intolerable arrogance. Numbah One gave his response with a commander's tone. "Who's there!?" The laughter died as a voice greeted the anxious troops. "Apologies," it was Fuse. "I have always had a weakness for the dramatic." Numbah Five clicked her earpiece, "Engel, talk to me. Anything on your end?"

"It's shown up on our screens too."

"Tch, nuts."

"Regardless," the ruler continued. "I welcome all of you to the first of many conquests."

"Listen here," the boy shouted, fist raised. "If you think that we'll let you take our world, the Kids Next Door will be more than happy to kick your butt all the way back to where you came from!" All of the KND soldiers cheered for the speech while a few adults nodded in respect. "Such bravado!" Fuse exclaimed in sarcastic fashion. "I look forward to having that on my side."

"There's not a chance in Hell I would ever join you!"

"Who said anything about you joining me?"

"What?"

Before the alien could elaborate, the screens and lights blacked out, blanketing Times Square in darkness. As the troops struggled to turn on head lamps and flashlights, a loud groaning could be heard. Everyone turned to the pit to see that the ball of Fusion Matter was gone. Suddenly, the ground erupted beneath the tanks, nearly crushing a few troops who had gotten out of the way in time. Emerging from the holes were bipedal monsters made of stone with red eyes and two giant drills for arms. "Kids Next Door," Numbah One announced, "battle stations!" The troops opened fire on the behemoths. The lasers and other projectiles chipped the beasts' hides, but they kept still. All of a sudden, something leapt from the holes and used the Asphalt Creeps as shields. Faster than they could see, the creatures jumped over their comrades, landing on soldiers and shattering their bones. They were two-legged raptors made of rubble with mouths as large as a Labrador letting out inhuman screeching. They continued jumping, crushing troops beneath their feet. As the humans were focused on the terrors cutting them down, the Asphalt Creeps used their drills to cause tremors, further disorienting their enemies. Numbah Five took notice and tossed a handful of yellow marbles at the drilling beasts. "Hit the deck!" When the marbles were under the creatures, they exploded, blasting the Creeps to pieces.

Without the Creeps to distract them, the troops managed to focus on the raptors. Numbah One, in an impressive display of marksmanship, shot three right in the head as they were midair, each crashing to Earth before breaking apart. To complete the cliche, he blew the smoke off of his gun. After the raptors were ended, all was silent. The screens in Times Square flared up again. "Very impressive."

"That all you got?! Numbah Five was just warmin' up."

"Well..." A random KND looked up, "Take cover!" From above the battlefield, six green meteors were falling, five of them on the outskirts of Manhattan, the sixth aimed right at them. "You didn't think it would be that easy did you?"

Engel slammed his fist on the table. "Damn it!" He pressed an intercom button. "All troops, head to the impact sites, we need to clip these weeds before it gets any worse!"

"Cancel that order," Max stated. "What? Why?"

"These things can airdrop to any place they want, including here. If we send all support out, we'll be sitting ducks." The general sighed. "Alright, what would you have me do?"

"Send the kids in. They can handle this."

"Fine." The old plumber nodded before clicking his earpiece. "Kids, get ready. You're up." While Max gave the location of each point, Mojo stared at the hologram, muttering to himself.

"We're on it, Grandpa." Ben signed off. "Alright everyone, we got hostiles coming from six locations. Alpha squad has the Times Square one so who takes what?" Gwen raised her hand. "Kevin and I will take the east." Bobo chucked and made a kissing face with noises. Before Gwen could chastise him, Kevin smirked. "It's okay to be jealous." The chimp was speechless as Gwen created a purple construct and the two rode off. "Bubbles and I can handle the two southern ones, right Bubbles?" Bubbles took a look at her hands before looking up and smiling. "Yeah, we got this!" The two Powerpuffs flew, their streaks visible in the night sky. "Okay, Rex-" As Ben turned Rex had already made his flight pack and put his goggles on. "We'll be taking the west." The chimp on Rex's back waved, "Smell ya later, kid."

When Ben was alone he shrugged. "Well," he fiddled with his watch before a hologram of a horned creature with red manta ray wings appeared. He slammed down the plunger and in a green flash of light transformed into a man-sized version of the creature. "Guess the last one goes to Jetray." He dove off of the building and swooped upwards, zooming to his destination.

Gwen kept a steady face as she and Kevin glided through the night sky. Out of nowhere, Kevin spoke up. "What's going on?"

"Huh?"

"You know you can handle this without me. You're a thousand times more capable than me in a fight. I don't get why-"

"I'm nervous. These...things don't feel right, almost toxic. Not just in a physical sense but spiritually. You saw how I was before the first one landed."

"So that wasn't just nerves." She shook her head. "Listen," Kevin put a hand on her shoulder. "You need to relax. I might not be able to feel whatever's going on, but I know that it's something we can handle, okay?" The girl gave a smile. "I hope you're right."

Acid, lasers and other blasts filled the air as Alpha squad traded blows with more of Fuse's monsters. In addition to the Creeps and raptors, golems made of pipes, cement and hydrants, joined the fray, acting as both shields and muscle against the already stressed cavalry. Numbah One was at the front providing covering fire while injured kids and adults were dragged to safety. "Hold the line!" The commander stood his ground while his lieutenant flipped and jumped, blasting the creatures away from multiple angles. Despite their efforts, Fuse's hoard was advancing, forcing the troops to seek shelter in the buildings next to them and using whatever they could find as barricades. Number Five clicked her com. "We ain't looking too good here, Numbah One!"

"Just keep fighting Numbah Five! Once everyone is out, we can call in a strike."

"Okay, I can- Aaauughh!"

"Numbah Five? Numbah Five! Abby, are you there!?" He looked out in the distance to see his subordinate struggling in the mouth of a raptor heading for the orb of Fusion matter. "Abby!" Numbah One dashed as fast as he could to his friend, spinning through any gaps in the chaos and shooting new ones. When he reached the bubble, so did the raptor. The two exchanged a look before the raptor charged inside. "No!" The commander shot off the raptor's leg, causing it to stumble. It wasn't enough. Its mouth had reached the glob, submerging all but Numbah Five's left arm. Numbah One dove and grabbed Numbah Five's arm, fighting to drag her out. The pull was too strong as he found himself being sucked in up to the torso. All he saw was gelatinous green clogging his senses. It was like a predatory flower, greedily trapping it's victims before grim oblivion slowly claimed the prey. When all hope seemed lost, Numbah One felt something grab his legs. In one fell swoop, the two kids were yanked from their prison. As they gasped and coughed, the bald boy looked up to see an adult soldier, his mouth covered. "Are you alright, er, sir?"

"Yes, cough, I'm fine. Thank you."

"Hey," Abbie exclaimed while feeling the top of her head. "Where Numbah Five's hat at?" Said hat rested in front of the bubble. Before the girl could retrieve it, a green hand shot out of the Fusion meteor and grabbed it. From it another girl slowly stepped out. It was Numbah Five, only this one had green, slime-like skin and hair and piercing red eyes. She stared down at the hat and dusted it off on her shirt. "I like your hat." Her voice sounded like Numbah Five's but mixed with a sort of gurgling. The doppelgänger's face twisted into a wicked grin before usurping the original's pride and joy. "What'chu think?" From Fuse's satellite, another figure strolled out. This one wore a red turtleneck, cargo shorts and a pair of black sunglasses. "I think after we're done, no one will mind if you keep it."

"Cool."