TW for victim blaming and one sentence of death threat-ish stuff (telling someone that they shouldn't be alive). Stay safe and know your triggers!
The day after Numbah 1's nightmare marked the first day back to school in two weeks. While some kids dreaded going to school, Numbah 1 took it as a comfort, a sign that things were finally returning to some sense of normalcy.
He was awoken by the jarring ring of his alarm clock coupled by the sound of his mother beckoning him awake. Numbah 1 shuffled out of bed and slipped into his usual routine rather easily, get dressed, go downstairs and eat breakfast, brush his teeth, then check over his backpack one last time before going out to catch the school bus.
When he got on, the bus was packed. The sound of indistinct chatter filled the air, Numbah 1 could already see Numbah 2 waving him over to his seat. However, the second the bald boy started to walk through the bus everyone went quiet. Numbah 1 tried not to look, at the kids glaring daggers at him, at those who turned away from him in fear, or the kids who put their backpacks in front of them to block him from sitting next to him.
Numbah 1 quickly took his spot next to Numbah 2 and the bus rumbled down the road to it's next stop, the chatter resumed but it was hushed and fast paced. Numbah 1 could still feel the judgemental stares of those around him, but he did his best to ignore it and focus on Numbah 2, who was chattering away about some 2x4 tech he was working on.
First class was okay, as their teacher Mr. Frybringle walked in he was combing over his hair with his fingers. "First of all, welcome back class." He started cheerfully. "I'm glad that everyone is safe in the wake of that...that...terrible event. If you need someone to talk to, myself or the guidance counselor is always here to listen." After that, the woman started prattilng on about the lesson of the day, something about the rain and the water cycle.
The thing was, the adults didn't know what truly happened. They'd been held hostage by an entity unknown to them, but once the G.K.N.D robot's cleared away that was it as far as they were concerned. No adult knew why or how it all happened, but most were just glad it was over. The kids, however, knew why and how this happened. And they weren't about to forget any time soon.
Numbah 1 tried to concentrate on what she was saying, on the assignment being placed in front of him. But even though his body was moving, almost on autopilot mode as he filled in the blank questions with the correct answers, he could still feel it.
He could still feel the stares, how kids glared and whispered behind his back when they thought he wasn't paying attention.
Their looming gazes felt like a burning spotlight was boring into his skin. The whispers felt like snakes curling around him, slowly squeezing him till their was nothing left to crush.
"I heard that when he had the visor on, he took down Mr. Boss." A girl who was sitting behind him hissed.
"By himself?" A second girl whispered.
"Yeah, messed him up pretty badly too. As least, that's what my brother told me." A boy chimed in.
When Mr. Frybringle came around to collect their assignments, Numbah 1 had never felt so much relief over something so trivial in all his life. He handed the assignment to his teacher, who looked it over for a moment and then moved on. The bell rung and the kids scrambled up from their seat, on his way out Numbah 1 could still hear the whispering and he could feel the stares. Numbah 5, who was walking next to him, must've sensed this because she quickly put her arm around his shoulder and led him down the hallway. "S'okay, baby. Just ignore them. We have the same next class, so I'll sit beside you." Numbah 5 quietly reassured, Numbah 1 forced a small smile on his face and the two continued down the hallway.
The rest of the day carried on as normal as possible. Second class, recess, then third class and lunch was uneventful. But forth class is where the trouble started. Their science teacher was giving a lecture about some sort of sciencey technique while the class took notes, Numbah 1 was sitting next to Numbah 4, the boy sitting next to him made him feel so much better. While looking over their notes, Numbah 1 asked to go to the bathroom and the teacher allowed it. But when Numbah 1 stepped back into the room, a boy stuck out their leg and tripped him. Numbah 1 face planted into the ground, immediately trying to pull himself up and save his dignity.
But it was too late, the boy who tripped him started whispering about his clumsiness which set off a domino effect of murmuring throughout the room. Then, the murmurs turned to laughter, but not the nice, jovial kind of laughter. This laughter was crushingly loud, snobby and mocking type of laughter that made Numbah 1's face and ears burn red with embarrassment as he pulled his hoodie up over his head to hide.
"Leave him alone!" Numbah 4 scolded his jeering peers, but his voice was lost in the cacophony as they continued to laugh even as Numbah 1 scrambled back into his seat and practically sunk into it. "That's enough!" Their science teacher loudly proclaimed, his voice finally making the room fall slient. "It's not nice to laugh at someone when they're hurt. You should all be ashamed of yourselves." The teacher said sternly, before quickly making his way over to Numbah 1. "Are you alright, Nigel?" He whispered. The bald boy gave a quick nod, even though he felt like he was on fire from embarrassment and the middle of his forehead was bruised, he didn't want to draw any more attention to himself.
The rest of the day deemed to drag on, a mortified Numbah 1 barley spoke a word for the rest of the day and had never been so happy to come home in all his life.
But the bliss didn't last long, as the days trudged along, what was once a regular part of his morning routine, getting onto the school bus, turned to a dreadful part of his day. Everyday at school, the torment remained different but also the same, their was always the stares and the whispers but their was other things too.
Things like Numbah 1's locker being filled with a foul smelling green slime that poured all over his shoes when he opened it one day, it took him nearly the entire lunch hour to scrub every speck of the sticky goop off of the walls of his locker.
During science class, when Numbah 1 was by himself and stepped out to deliver a note on the teacher's behalf, his unattended and helpless baking soda volcano experiment had been the victim of foul play when some bullies had dumped a random assortment of food colouring, water, sugar and other things into the volcano. It ruined Numbah 1's hard work and led to the boy needing to spend the rest of the class fixing it with the help of the sympathetic science teacher.
During every PE class, Numbah 1 had been pelted with everything from dodgeballs to soccer balls and even basketballs, the anonymous attackers were always waiting until he was alone to strike.
Both Numbah 1's backpack and locker door had been vandalized with sharpie, and as if vandalism wasn't bad enough, their were also phrases like: "Traitor", "Monster", "Freak" and "Disloyal" among other hurtful insults.
The backpack vandalism hit Numbah 1 especially hard, as the scribbled on backpack just so happened to be his favorite item, a gift that his dad got him when he entered second grade. It was something Numbah 1 took special pride in taking care of, so when he saw his ruined backpack he nearly cried on the spot. He would've too, if it wasn't for Sector V comforting him.
His parents hadn't been informed of any of these incidents except for the backpack one, that one was too obvious to hide anyway. For the backpack incident, his parents had done their best to console their distraught child and brought out Numbah 1's spare backpack, but it just wasn't the same as the old one.
Numbah 1 knew he should report it, he wasn't that stupid. It was 'the right thing to do' and all kinds of crud like that. But he was afraid. Afraid to tell anyone because he feared the bullying would escalate if he 'snitched'. He'd seen what happened when absent-minded teachers revealed the names of kids who reported their bullies, for those children the bullying always got worse after the revealed report. Numbah 1 shuddered at the thought of things getting worse then they already were.
By the end of the week, Numbah 1 had survived vicious taunting, rumors galore, sabotaged projects and being pelted with every sports ball known to kid-kind. Once again, his alarm clock went off and his mother called him downstairs. He glanced over at his calendar, relieved to see that it was Friday. "Just one more day, Nigel." He coached himself as he pulled himself out of bed and got dressed. "Just one more day, then it'll be the weekend and you can relax." He tried to reassure himself, but it wasn't very helpful.
Getting on the school bus filled him with more dread then usual, because none of his Sector would be at school today. For all he knew, he was on his own for the day. He spied the Delightful Children, sitting near the back of the bus as usual, Bruce spotted him and waved him over excitedly. Desperate for some semblance of safety while not wanting to make the Delightful's look bad, he took an empty seat in front of them. Close enough to feel safe, but far away enough to claim circumstanal deniability if necessary.
"Nigel?" As the bus heaved itself forward and started to chug down the road, Numbah 1 turned around to address the synchronized whispers calling his name. The five children were peeking up from behind the seat, leaving only their perfectly blue eyes visible. "Are you okay? You seem exhausted and the day has barely started." They continued. "I'm fine, Delightful's. Just didn't get much sleep last night." He replied with a shrug. He would not allowed anyone else to be dragged into his mess, he was already aqcuised to handling it on his own. If he could keep the secret of Father being his uncle, surely he could handle this.
Once at school, it was more of the same. The name calling, the whispering behind his back. He was starting to grow accustomed to it, as morbid as that is. During first class and recess, Numbah 1 kept seeing the same boy pointing at him and whispering things about him, but he thought nothing of it.
However, at the start of second period, while Numbah 1 was walking to his next class, the boy he'd saw before stopped him. "Hey, buddy. Would you mind helping me out?" The boy asked, his grip on Numbah 1's shoulder just a bit too tight. "I don't mind at all. What do you need from me?" Numbah 1 asked, wary of the other kids intentions but it was his dutry to help a kid in need. "Why are you much a monster? Does it run in your family or something?" The other kid asked. Before Numbah 1 even had a chance to reply, a sharp pain in his face sent him tumbling to the ground.
Numbah 1 sat up quickly, adrenaline pumping through his veins as he touched his right cheek, he could feel that it was bruised and even bleeding a little. "He punched me." Numbah 1 realized. He looked up at the other boy just in time for a kick to the stomach, which made him groan and sink back down to the floor. "Well? Answer me, you traitor!" The boy ordered as he stood over Numbah 1 with clenched fists, when he got no reply the operative was slugged in the face again, this time right between the eyes.
Numbah 1 looked around for some help, but the hallway was mostly empty and the kids that he could see were just standing around. He tried to crawl away but the pain in his stomach kept him slow and sluggish.
"Everyone knows what you are. Everyone knows what you did. You got our families captured, you helped with the Galactic Invasion, you put the whole planet in danger." The boy reached down and grabbed Numbah 1 by the front of his hoodie, putting their faces inches apart, Numbah 1 tried to push the other boy away but it was in vain. "You should've known better. What were you thinking accepting a deal from the G.K.N.D? You were asking for something bad to happen to you, you've got no one to blame but yourself." The bullying boy continued to berate him.
"No, I didn't know what would happen. I-"
"Don't go fishing for sympathy from me, brute. It won't work on me, not that you deserve any sympathy anyway."
"I'm not! I didn't mean to hurt anyone!"
"Yeah, yeah, keep lying. You're only wasting your breath."
Numbah 1 was at a loss for words, every attempt to protest his innocence was countered by a point that he was torn between believing or not. He really didn't want anyone to get hurt! But, should he have known better? Could he have changed his fate if he wasn't so navie? He would know if he was being manipulative, right?
"Infinity should've finished you off on the Mothership. You are not welcome here." The bully's words slashed Numbah 1's confidance like a hot knife through butter, still at a loss for words. He opened his mouth to answer but quickly shut it again, unable to bring himself to honestly say 'no' such a terrible statement.
The bully raised up their fist to punch him again when a blur of blue uniform and blonde hair darted out between them and pushed the bully back, not enough to hurt him but enough to create some distance. "Leave him alone." Numbah 1 heard Bruce's voice independently snarl as the Delightfulized child stood firm between his adoptive cousin and aforementioned cousin's attacker. Within seconds, the other four rushed over and stood firmly as well, retaining their group formation with their arms held out to their sides in order to protect Numbah 1 from a potential sneaky side attack. "Leave him alone." They repeated in clearly angry unison.
"Wha-are you serious?" The bully cried out in frustrated amazement, keeping his gaze firmly locked onto Numbah 1. "You're so pathetic that you need the delightful dorks to protect you now?" He accused. The Delightful's paused for a moment, Numbah 1 could see the gears turning in their heads as their stance faltered for a moment before toughening up again.
"We are not protecting anyone. We are simply keeping the peace." They replied calmly, an undertone of simmering anger still present in their voices. "Everyone is just trying to recover, their is no need for such undelightful infighting." The Delightful's continued, at this point the bully had regained his footing and stomped over to the Delightful Children. "Move aside, or else." The bully demanded, clenching his fists as if he was going to swing at them any moment now. The Delightful's stayed put, glaring coldy at him with clenched jaws and furrowed brows, just like how they'd seen Father intimate unruly henchmen in the past.
They knew deep down that the bully would not harm them because if he did, that would lead to angering Father. And nobody wanted to anger Father. However, that didn't mean they could let their guard down, not with Numbah 1 at risk.
The bully took a few steps back, his posture shrinking down. Then he turned tail and stomped away, muttering: "Stupid synchronized freaks." under his breath. The Delightful's scanned the hallway, the few witnesses had cleared out the second the five children had gotten involved. The Delightful's turned to Numbah 1, who was heaving his no doubt aching body into a sitting position, leaning against the rows of lockers behind him for stability. "Is anything broken?" They asked as Bruce extended his hand to help Numbah 1 up, the bald boy took it and stood up with their help. "No, thanks for saving me. You didn't have to do that for me, y'know." Numbah 1 said sheepishly with a shrug, now feeling guilty that he'd probably made them late for class.
"Perhaps we didn't need to, but we wanted to help you, Nigel. We we're watching from the sidelines long enough. We didn't want to hurt your reputation from you appearing to associate with us, but we couldn't stand you getting hurt anymore." The Delightful's explained.
"Now come along. Let's get you to the nurses office." The Delightful's said as Constance gently took Numbah 1's wrist before he could protest otherwise and they led him down the hallway, all but dragging him down the corridor in their adamant haste. Numbah 1 just let himself be carried along, the previous guilt quickly fading away and being replaced with a sense of comfort in knowing that the Delightfuls would protect him if Sector V couldn't.
"There we are. Just keep the ice pack on that bruise and it'll look better in no time." The school nurse assured Numbah 1 as she handed him an ice pack for his beat up face. "Thanks. I assume you had to call my parents?" Numbah 1 said as he held the ice pack to his bruised cheek, the cold soothing his stinging cheek. "Yes, I did already call your parents and tell them that you were beaten up by another student. It's school policy, dear." The nurse replied, before turning her attention to the Delighted who were patiently standing off to the side of the room.
"That was a very brave thing that you kid's did, esspically you, Bruce. But please, look for a teacher next time instead of jumping into the fray like that. You could've gotten hurt as well." The nurse partly praised, partly scolded them. "Yes ma'am." The Delightful's replied cordially. But on the inside, they (especially Bruce) were reveling in pride for doing what they knew was right.
The sound of thumping footsteps suddenly started in the hallway climaxed in the nurses office door swinging open with Monty in the doorway. "Nigel! What happened?" He asked worriedly as he entered the room, his arm and face no longer bandaged, Mary and a non-shadow suited Father entering behind him. "We got a call from the school, something about a fight?" Mary asked next. "It wasn't a fight, I got attacked! This kid came out of nowhere and started beating me up and calling me all these horrible things. They saved me." Numbah 2 explained, at the mention of 'they' he motioned to the Delightful's.
"Well, I'm glad to see that you only have minor injuries. Come on, your father and I are taking you home." Mary said as she helped her son off the stiff medical cot, taking his hand and holding it. Father, who had been slient the whole time, looked over at his children before waving them forward. "Come along, children. You're coming home early as well." He said and then started to walk out the door, following his brother's family who were already ahead of them, the five quickly scampered after him, following behind like little ducklings.
Outside the school, the bully's mother was screaming at the principal while the bully sulked in her car.
"I can't believe this! This is bullsh-!"
"Ma'am, please refrain from using foul language in a place for children. Your child started the altercation and no amount of screaming is going to change the fact that he's suspended for a week."
"That brat had it coming! Just look at him, he's so weird looking!" The woman kept screaming, red in the face and pointing aggressively at the principal. Numbah 1 winced a bit at her pericing voice and insults. Even adults thought he was a freak. Maybe he was? His mom must've sensed his discomfort, she squeezed his hand a little tighter which made him feel better. Monty, Mary and Numbah 1 loaded into their car first and drove off, The Delightful Children and Father getting into their limo and leaving next.
Numbah 1 sat in the car with his knees pulled up to his chest, the sting in his cheek had dulled but the pain in his soul had started anew.
Why? After everything he'd done that was good, he was still treated like an outcast. Yes, he'd done something bad things too, their was no denying that. But he thought that people could see now, see that he never meant any harm!
"Nigel, pay no mind to what that lady said back there. You are not a freak." His dad said, the boy looked up to meet his dad's worried gaze in the rear view mirror. "I know." Numbah 1 said. "People are just cruel sometimes." Monty continued. Numbah 1 knew he was right on that, sometimes people were just jerks. His own grandfather was a testament to that.
But then why, why did the boys insults keep running through his head?
"You should've known better."
"What were you thinking accepting a deal from the G.K.N.D?"
"You've got no one to blame but yourself."
"You are not welcome here."
"I must not be trying hard enough." He thought, and the more he thought, the more it made sense. What was he thinking? Nothing was going to be accomplished by waiting around, wallowing in the thought of himself not being good enough. If he did more good things and helped out more, surely then everyone would love him and he would be seen as a good person again. He could feel his confidence returning, fueled by his new goal. Yes, of course! A good person does good things, after all. He just needed to try harder, to do more! Then he'd finally feel like a hero again, then this nagging hiss of self doubt and guilt would finally go away!
But, a good person doesn't keep secrets from their friends, right?
Numbah 1 sighed, the mood dampened slightly. He knew in his heart that would tell them...eventually.
Even though he trusted Sector V with his life, he was still afraid of their reactions.
