Friends, welcome to the Third Generation of Kids Next Door! This will be a series of one-shots and stories following the children of the Nextgen KND. If you're new to the Gameverse, you can enjoy these characters without heavy knowledge about the Gameverse lore, though some understanding of the concepts may be necessary. However, this first one-shot is essentially a fast-paced showcasing of several Third Gen Kids. I originally wrote this one-shot as a quick, fun thing before eventually making a series out of it; as such, it's pretty chaotic and partially dependent on knowing who the parents are. That said, the following chapters will be more focused on specific characters or groups, but there are also events that will involve many of the Third Genners. Since this is a crossover series, there will be several crossover characters involved, too.

If you like these characters, the overall concepts of this story, or just want better clarity, I recommend reading my prior Nextgen Series, which has lots of exciting adventures, storytelling, and fun characters getting involved in dramatic, high-scale situations!


Third Gen Playground

Mushroom Kingdom; Kingdom Playground

Few people in the universe haven't heard of the Kids Next Door, known as heroes far and wide, for better or for worse. People still argued whether it was right to let children carry the fates of the worlds, their enemies ranging from common supervillains to super-dimensional entities. Children though they were, their achievements spoke for themselves. By now, their importance and their power had become common knowledge.

However, that was over 20 years ago. Children eventually become adults, and the stamina and vigor they once had in youth fades. And, as they marry and have children of their own, it is up to these former heroes to teach their kids right from wrong. Teach them the values and dangers of power, teach them how to make friends or stand up to enemies… and overall, teach them the fundamentals of the Kids Next Door and make them the new hope of the universe.

Today, the parents weren't doing a good job of that.

The Kingdom Playground was the largest playground in the universe, constructed by the finest Carpenter Fairies around. Children from all corners of the cosmos loved to come here, for this playground was specifically designed for all races to enjoy. It was the perfect place to bring the modern KND for a day of friendly and familial bonding, and blowing off youthful steam.

Unfortunately, this playground had bullies. And in one corner of the playground, a young girl of five years was gazing in terror at a whole pile of beaten kids. Young Mali Anderson had black hair and beautiful brown eyes, along with a purple dress with pink clouds.

The bullies in question took their place atop the pile: compared to the fallen kids, the bullies were quite tiny. "HAH! Is that all you got?! You wimps didn't even TRY to fight us!" declared Christina Uno, a red-eyed girl with blonde hair, a blue T-shirt, and black shorts. Her red bow made her look cute, but the girl viciously cracked her reddened knuckles.

"Hee hee hee!" Her accomplice, Jason Dimalanta, climbed up. He had tan skin, messy black hair, and blue eyes, along with blue shorts and an open green vest. Of course, he was most defined by his raccoon ears and tail. "Oi, that was so ripper! Way to go, Cous!" His golden fist met with her iron knuckles.

"Eyaaaaahhhh!" Mali ran as fast as she could to get out of the playground. "Aunt Maddy, Aunt Maddy!" She ran up to a little woman with a strong and slender build and brown hair in a ponytail. If it wasn't obvious by their size difference, Mali was a giant. "Christina and Jason are beating up all the giants! I-I think they're gonna get me!"

"There there, Mali." Maddy patted the girl's leg. "I'll straighten them out. CHRIS, GET OVER HERE."

"Every time with this." Her husband sighed, going to enter the playground with Maddy. "I told you teaching her Haki this early was a bad idea."

"Christina and Jason?!" screamed Juki Crystal, a girl with messy black hair, yellowish-pale skin, a black jacket over a light-blue shirt, vanilla skirt, and boney legs. "CHRASON! My ship has set sail!" She was drawing a picture of the two standing atop the giants.

"Oh, boy." Cheren Uno sighed. "She's making pairings with our kids."

"Juki, you know Jason and Christina are cousins, right?" George King asked.

"Oh…By how much?"

"Get ready to eat my dust, girls!" The adults looked over to see three kids racing around the playground. The boy who shouted was Karma Shiota, a magenta-haired boy who wore only white shorts.

"Hey, if we went around naked like you did, we'd leave you in the dirt!" yelled Joto Hanakari, a snarky girl with red hair in pigtails, a white T-shirt, and blue shorts. "Hey Aria, you're falling behind!"

Aria Conbolt had short purple hair and clothing that matched her father, Romeo's, save for her green undershirt. "I don't think so! Rainbow DASH!" She threw her arms behind her and fired Blue Wind to dash faster, blowing past her rivals.

"GAAH! WAIT!" Joto halted in panic, as did Karma. "You're about to hit-"

Silica York, a girl with black hair in two pigtails, a blue streak in the middle of it, and a black sweater was scowling intently at her Nintendo 4DS. The chubby-cheeked gamegirl was playing Sandman: The Spiritverse, and had scored a 112 combo in a battle with countless thugs. "Silica, can't you take your eyes off that for a second?" asked her mother, Carol, who wore a gorgeous green dress and a white sunhat on her curled blonde hair.

"Mom, I'm about to break the world record! Seriously, why'd you program a World Rankings if you didn't want people to shoot for the top?"

"I hoped those people would do it at home and not at a playground where there's sunlight and friends."

"LOOK OOOOUT!" Aria didn't slow down in time before bumping into Silica and making her drop her DS. Joto and Karma gazed with the utmost horror. Silica was completely traumatized. Sure, her DS was fine, but her score…

"Grrrrrrr. . . ." A black aura formed around her, and her brown eyes glowed white.

"RUN, ARIA, RUN!" Karma screamed.

"AAAAAAAHHHH!" Aria ran as fast as possible, but Silica's shadowbending forced everyone's shadows to pursue the Rainbow Sky Mage.

"STOP!" Dillon yelled, using his own bending to stop the shadows. "All shadows return to your masters! It's sunny out, they're burning up!" Indeed, without their shadows, everyone was alit with white flames. The shadows hastily returned to prevent their owners from vanishing.

"Karma and Joto or Karma and Aria?" Juki drew pictures of both. "What do I choose?"

The KND organization was made of all types of talented kids, whether skilled at piloting, spying, cooking, medication, or most importantly, superhuman strength and superpowers. Many people in the universe were born with all kinds of elemental powers, such as Fire, Shadow, Light, Water, Psychic, Magic, and many others. Most people were born with one element, but they could learn to control it in all kinds of unique ways. Though some KND operatives, for instance, shared the same elements, each bender had their own unique ways to apply it.

There was a cave area of the playground, which was dark even during the brightest day. A 10-year-old boy with blushed cheeks and a doll-like face with puffy black-and-white hair was creating stars and making constellations on the dark ceiling. "GOTCHA!" He was jumped by a 12-year-old tan-skinned girl with a blue shirt and black skirt.

"Whoa! Mikaela, I'm trying to focus!" Gabriel Winkiebottom yelled.

"Gaby, it's so dark in heeeere. Can't we go make stars outside?" Mikaela Gilligan whined.

"No. I can see better in the dark."

"You just don't want everyone to call you a clown."

"That is ridiculous! I do NOT look like a clown."

"Nah, you look like a dolly!"

"I do not!"

"I'VE FOUND ANOTHER SHIP!" Juki jumped in, forcing a scream out of the two. "Mika and Gabriel! Mikabriel!"

Robi McKenzie was climbing a rock wall that was 50 feet high. He was a Nimbi with round dark-green glasses, a green sweater, khaki brown pants, and the classic frizzy red hair belonging to the Fulbright Family. "Huhu! I'm winning!"

Further down, Marty Gilligan, a yellow-skinned half-human alien with a mushroom-like antenna, purple shirt, and black shorts struggled to climb. "Huff…huff… Why couldn't I inherit more of my Glomourian roots? Lily, can't you tickle him and make him slip?"

"Why ever would I do that, Marty?" asked Lily, an inch-tall green-skinned Kateenian with flower petals around her antenna ball. "That would ruin Robi's soft head of hair." Indeed, she was snuggled comfily on Robi's hair.

The three watched as a green-skinned girl with pink hair and two antennae softly danced up the rocks on the tips of her toes. Trella Dunfree was both blind and mute, but had no trouble sensing things with her antennae, and she was incredibly lightweight. "Oh, my! You're amazing, Cousin Trella!" Lily called. Trella looked down at her with her closed eyes, smiled, and bowed.

"GET BACK HERE, CHRISTINA!" They were startled by an earsplitting screech. Christina Uno came rapidly climbing the wall as Maddy Uno chased her. "You're apologizing to those giants whether you want to or not!"

"I was toughening them up!" Robi held tight to his rocks as they sped past, and Trella nearly lost balance on hers. When they had gone by, they sighed in relief.

"ARIAAAAAA!" Aria Conbolt dashed up the wall with sonic speed while Silica Shadow Veiled after her, the wind from their speed causing the kids to fall. Thankfully, Robi flapped his wings and regained himself, keeping his little friend safe.

"Robily are so kawaii!" cooed Juki.

Jasmine and Frasmine Drilovsky were viewing Maddy chasing Christina and Silica chasing Aria via telescopes from a playground tower. Frasmine had blue hair with the front brushed upward and freckles, his hoodie light-blue with darker pants. Jasmine had fiery orange hair hung down in bangs, wearing a red shirt with a flaming skirt. "Who would ever be so foolish-" began Jas.

"-as to piss off those two?" followed Fras.

Little did they know they were being watched from another tower. "Do they suspect anything?" Kodachi Ramsey asked. He wore his mother, Kodama's fireworks robe and had kabuki makeup under his eyes, with messy black hair to match.

"Nope, not a thing!" Ness Blakely gave thumbs-up. He had black hair, a red cap, a yellow- and blue-striped shirt, and blue shorts.

"Great!" Koda positioned the firework. "Aiming tower GOIN' DOWN!" He ignited the fuse and sent it flying for the twins' tower.

Jasmine heard the whistling sound and gasped. "Brother! Incoming!"

Frasmine spotted the firework and shot an ice beam to freeze it and make it fall. "Gulp! Uh-oh!" Ness gulped. "RETREAT!" He and Koda leapt off the tower as Fras chased on an ice path and Jas chased with Rocket Boost.

"Nee hee hee hee!" Christina outran her mom with flaming feet. "You'll never catch me, Mom! WAH!" She was stomped under a giant socked foot.

"No, but I will!" said Ichigo Diego, a half-Hispanic/Japanese giant with black hair, a red soccer jersey, and blue jeans.

"Grrrr! Get off me, you fat lug!" Christina struggled to push his foot off.

"Thanks, Ichigo." Maddy grabbed her daughter's arm in her iron-hard hand. "I'll take it from here."

"Oooo, Ichina is a good ship, too." Juki scribbled the notes down.

"I tell you, giving birth to Ichigo nearly tore me apart." Karin Diego said to Makava Gilligan and Morgiana Shiota, smoking a cigarette. "He borrowed his father's gigantism alright. Sure, it makes him tough, but he's hard to feed."

"Hehehe!" Her husband, Sind blushed. "Well, Karin was tough, I had full confidence she would pull through."

"It's always the same with you superhumans," Haruka Grayson said, "only enjoy hurting yourselves. I'll stick with normal kids any day."

"Well, normal bender kids, at least." Her husband, Lee Andrew replied.

"Wheeeeee!" Laruta Grayson came down the slide with Mack Strongarm. Laruta had sandy-blonde hair in a ponytail, a gray sweatshirt, matching pants, and purple square glasses, while Mack had black spiked hair with black glasses, a white T-shirt, and blue jeans. "Can't catch me, Mack!" Laruta ran.

"You know, you're pretty fast for a shrimp!" Mack retorted.

"DON'T CALL ME SHRIMP!" Laruta puffed, sensitive about her short stature.

"Maruta is another cute ship!" cheered Juki.

"SUKI, tell your daughter to stop shipping people!" Terry Stork demanded.

"She is already beyond my control." Suki Crystal teased.

"Ships are love, Terry. Ships are life." Terry's wife, MaKayla said.

"She's RIGHT!" declared a cheerful boy. Hallelujah! Everyone faced up at Max Mankanshoku Murphy, a boy with bowl-cut brown hair, a red shirt, and blue jeans, crossing his arms above him. "Ships are what helped pirates cross the seas! Ships are what helped our parents save the day! Without someone to love, we have no drive, we have no ship! And with no ships, we might as well give ourselves to the sharks!"

"YEAH! Tell it like it is, Max!" Mako cheered for her son.

It was at this moment the playground began to tremble. "Hey… what's going on?" Haruka asked.

"GUYS, HEEELP!" Isabelle Rivera, a Spanish girl with black hair in a ponytail, angel wings, and a brown Indian dress raced out of the playground. "Shimmy is about to drive the entire playground across the kingdom!"

"Come on, Isabelle, even Shimmy isn't THAT crazy." Her mother, Aisa remarked.

But against her doubts, the entire playground fortress indeed snapped off its hinges and began moving across the land via mechanical wheels. "YEEHAAAAW!" Shimmy was driving the playground with a steering wheel. She had black hair in standing pigtails and a pink dress with red polka-dots. "We're finally OFF the rails, Ralph!"

"This is our finest work yet, Shimmy!" Ralph Gilligan raised a wrench. A portly boy, he had shiny blonde hair in an aviator's hat, a blue button-up shirt, and black shorts with long white socks.

"RAAALPH!" Haylee shouted up at her son. "When did you have time to make the playground MOBILE?!"

"SHIMMY, GET BACK HERE RIGHT NOW!" Aeincha, Shimmy's Lilliputian mother, shouted from her wife, Chimney's head.

"GO, SHIMMY, GO!" Chimney cheered.

"She'll never listen to me at this rate." Aeincha drooped.

By the time it had fully gone, the cave area was torn down as well, exposing not only a confused Mika and Gabriel, but Perry Uno laying atop a brown-haired girl with white skin and a purple sweater. "PERRY?!"

"HIYUKI?!" George shouted.

"Does… this… mean…?" Cheren hesitated.

"PERRUKI!" Juki screamed. "He's snuggling with my cousin! He's my cousin-in-law!"

"NO I'M NOT!" Perry panicked, jumping back up. "We were lost in the dark and I tripped on her!"

"For crud's sake, have some dignity, Perry!" his mother, Panini scolded. "You're the KND Supreme Leader, act like it!"

MaKayla Stork raised her Chrono Staff and turned time backwards, forcing the fortress to rewind and settle back in place. "Nnnnh?! Déjà vu?!" Shimmy exclaimed.

"When it comes to turning back time, Ruford, it's best to only do a few minutes." Kayla told her son. Ruford had brown hair, blue shorts, and a matching shirt.

"Yeah, yeah, limitations, power, etc.."

"Oi, let me go, you old git!" Jason squirmed when Christopher tried to restrain him. "MUUUUM, Mr. Uno's harassing me!"

"Your mom's too lazy and Mason's too weak to control you, so I have to do it." Chris stated.

"ATTENTION, all Kids Next Door operatives!" someone shouted through a megaphone. He was Star Winkiebottom, High Supreme Leader of the Galactic Kids Next Door. He was a dark-skinned boy with mismatched yellow and black eyes, a tuxedo, and black and white hair. "It's almost lunch time! Get down here and eat so you have more energy to burn!"

"FOOOOOOD!" Shimmy and Jason were excitedly racing down. Silica shot a glare at Aria and called off the chase for now. In moments, all the kids made their way down and waited for food cooked by Ichigo's Aunt Yuzu.

"Hm hm hm." Nebula giggled. "You've really got the talent, Star, taming all those little monsters."

"It comes with the job." Star replied humbly.

"It would work better if you made yourself more presentable." Lord Death stated. "When are you going to dye the other side of your hair?!"

"When will you dye yours, Dad?"

Death's heart shattered. "WAH HAH, I'm a failure as a role model!" He broke down and cried.

"Oh, Deathy." His wife sighed.

The Kids Next Door were gifted, talented, and capable children, but they were children all the same. Though they were smart, they were immature; though they were experienced, they were always learning and growing. Each day brought forth a new challenge, whether it involved a simple lesson about life and friendship, or if it involved stopping a major crisis. Though they had fun and let loose on the playground, happiness wasn't bound to last every day. Soon, villains would attack and danger would befall them… but the parents knew their children would be strong enough to tackle the struggles ahead.