It was the year 2000, nearing yet another summer time. Cree and I were now 12 years old and in middle school when it started happening. Several cases of chicken pox started popping up all over the neighborhood like crazy. It was on the news of both my house and the tree house TV, and I was obviously scared out of my mind.. we then realized that we haven't seen Maurice for a few days.. until one day in July, he said to meet him at the tree house for something important.
As we entered the tree house, Maurice called us to his room.. he appeared to be fiddlin' with some tracking device in front of his PC. "So you know how there's been an out-break of chicken pox in the neighborhood?" Maurice asked in a rather soft, but serious tone. We both nodded. "Well I've been doing a bit of research and recently found a local source of the illness- the teens' laboratory, located a few yards underneath the Delightful Mansion. They must be the ones behind all this, and this location just may be a big step to finding their MAIN source.. and I'll need you two and Numbah Five to help me." it took a couple of moments of thinking before Cree and I finally decided to tag along, though I was a bit nervous since I often found teenagers pretty scary..
Once we planned it all out, Maurice led us and Abby out of the tree house where we then snuck our way to the back of the Delightful Mansion. After making sure we weren't seen, we searched for some kind of secret entrance: be it a manhole, a hidden door, etc. Our problem was solved when I accidentally pressed my hand onto what appeared to be a secret button disguised as part of the wall, thus opening the hatch door which led to a winding stair case.
Maurice hushed us as we descended further into the cellar of the mansion, and a few minutes of wandering and searching was when we noticed a bright glow from around the corner. As a group, we quietly and slowly moved into the hall way, making sure no teens were around, until we entered a big room full of tubes, jars, labels and glowing containers of all sizes, colors.. and diseases. Maurice gestured us around the laboratory, ordering us not to touch anything. Cree and Abby noticed that I was terrified and trembling, so they held my hands and helped me take a few deep breaths. I heard Maurice chuckle a bit, and I shortly found out why: a giant, faintly glowing, cylindrical chamber with pipes attached and the label "chicken pox" on it. Cree and I moved a little closer for a better look before Maurice asked for a syringe that we've been carrying with us. "I got it!" Abby rushed towards us with the needle.. only to slip on the chrome floor, accidently releasing the syringe. Maurice luckily caught it before it could break on the ground, when suddenly red lights began flashing and a loud siren screeched. I covered my ears and sprinted back up the hall ways. "Delilah wait!" Cree exclaimed as a group of angry teens began to chase after us. We had no other choice but to retreat, as the teens were heavily armed. Just as I was about to reach the exit, something sharp had pierced my leg, causing me to yelp in pain. I only got a glimpse of the small dagger lodged just over my ankle before my team mates quickly pulled me out of the building.
We fortunately made it back to the treehouse where my cut was treated and bandaged up. We all looked over to Maurice, who had a expression of deep thought.. "Maurice? You ok there?" Cree asked, tilting her head a little. Maurice paused for a moment or two, then turned to us, ".. it's time for plan B.. we must lure the teens to my house.. once we catch them, we'll ambush them and snag one of their chicken pox guns in order to track down their source." My eyes widened at hearing this, "wow, that sounds like a fun mission..! But teenagers scare me.." Maurice chuckled as he patted my helmet. "That's why we're all doing this together, so don't you worry~" he then turned to the others, "This all goes down at 9:30pm - We'll send them an anonymous invitation to a parents-free house party, and once they show up, I'll pretend to be asleep and you'll all go hide somewhere, and as soon as I shout the signal, we will ambush them and try to steal one of their chicken pox guns. Everyone got that?" Numbah 8a nodded as he had written down the plot in a note book, to which the rest of us nodded as well.
Around 9:20pm, Maurice led us to his house after putting up flyers around the neighborhood advertising the "house-party" and his house number. He then instructed us to find somewhere to hide. Cree and I chose to hide in a closet - luckily it was large enough for us both to fit. Abby hid under a pile of clothes, and Maurice tucked into his bed and closed his eyes.
A few minutes later, I heard the teens chatting to one another as they approached the door. The door swung open and they had entered the house.. my heart felt like it was going to explode as I heard the many foot steps, but I knew I had to be strong. As soon as we all heard Maurice call out, we sprung out of hiding and began wailin' on the teens as they tried to shoot us down with their pox guns. Abby and Cree landed so many blows and kicks and I even pulled a few martial arts moves, round house kicking atleast two teens into the walls. One of the bigger teens grabbed me by the arm, which freaked me out so much that I bit him. I didn't mean to, I just didn't know what else to do! (He tasted nasty anyway, and I got an arm-hair in my mouth. Yuck!)
"AGH!!" The older boy screamed, dropping me, "You bit me, you.. you.. ANIMAL!"
"Keep your hands off of her!!" Cree barked as she drop-kicked him, knocking him down like a great big domino. Then she hurried to me, "Are you okay?"
"Yea, but my arm is a tad sore now. He gripped me real hard!" I grumbled, rubbing my aching forearm.
Once it was all over, many other kids, including Chad and the then-Soopreme Leadah came rushing to our aide. It turns out that me biting that one teen had ultimately helped Maurice confiscate one of the pox guns. But the bad news was that Numbahs 8a and 8b had been severely poxxed and taken to the Med Lab. Shortly after they were carried off, we all congratulated each other on a semi-successful mission, especially Cree giving Abby that red hat she always wore. Shortly after, Maurice gave one of the best speeches I've ever heard - the one part I can remember is: "I swear, I will never rest until I discover the source of the teens' pox and totally, utterly, completely DESTROY IT!!" his sheer confidence and determination melted our hearts just then..
The next morning, we got a call from Maurice saying he will be home sick for a while, and it "seems that the chicken pox barely hit him near the end of the battle". I pouted a little out of sadness and sympathy for my sick friend, but Cree and Abby assured me that Maurice will be alright, and that when he's feeling better, we'll bring him some presents.
Around a week later, we were finally given permission by Maurice's mother to visit him. Abby brought a big Teddy bear, and Cree gave him a bowl of her Mom's homemade French onion soup. Maurice pretty much devoured it in one sitting, which made us giggle. "Glad ya like it, silly~ I promise to bring more, okay?" Cree chirped through her tittering. It was now my turn to give my gift: a Ditto plush! He chuckled and squeezed the doll tight, saying "he's so goofy looking, he's cute! I think I'm gonna name him 'Lil Putty'." I giggled at this. "We sure hope you'll be all better soon, Maurice. You were excellent last night!" Abby beamed. "I couldn't have done it without you guys.."