"You know I can't just ignore what happened."

"Ha ha! I'd be insulted if ye didn't, lassie."

Kuki shook her head, taking a modest sip of sugar. Her companion at the opposite end of the table scoffed, downing his entire mug in one gulp. Bits had fallen into his graying beard, but the adult would not be deterred.

"Ye sure know how to make a geezer feel lively, my dear," Stickybeard laughed. "We both know ye could drink this washed-up sea dog under the table any day of the week."

Kuki gave a small smile. "Not in a sugar mood lately. Besides, Numbuh 5 was always better at this sort of thing."

"Now what I have I told ye about comparing ye'self, eh?" He poured another mug of pure sugar, sliding it Kuki's way. "Ain't befittin' of Supreme Commanding Kid or whatever it is ye call it."

"Supreme Leader and it's hard not to," she said. "I mean, it's really hard, you know? Numbuh 5 left ginormous shoes to fill, and who did she choose? Silly little Numbuh 3. Me! She must've had a few screws loose."

Stickybeard let loose a mirthful laugh. "Now if that ain't the funniest thing I've heard this side of the Dakota Suburbs. Little Abby made a fine pick if ya ask this sour old pirate. Ain't seen the Kids Next Door in this tip-top shape since back when they were still calling me Stickyfuzz."

"You know, for a super scary candy pirate, you sure know how to be nice when you want to be."

"No don't go jabbering on about it outside this room. The other villains will finally take away my discount at the market if word got out."

Kuki's serious demeanor broke as she let out a giggle, moving her hand across her mouth in an exaggerated zipping fashion. She reached for the sugar mug, and gently tapped it against the candy captain's own before slurping down the mixture at record speed.

Stickybeard nodded while he twiddled with his beard. "Now that'll be the last I'll be hearing of that, lassie. Wouldn't have kept up the treaty Little Abby started if I didn't think ye had your sea legs."

"Huh? Oh yeah! I knew I was here for something." Kuki's expression hardened, crossing her arms out on the table as she leaned forward. "Your candy pirates have raided two elementary school playgrounds, and have attacked Sector O. That's in clear violation of the terms set forth. In other words: a HUGE no-no, Mister."

"Boys got a little rowdy, ain't no denying that."

"A little?"

"Had 'em pushed off the plank yesterday, lassie. Just have to give them an example every once in a while."

"I don't want examples, I want results. You promised me you would have this under control. Pinky swore even!"

"Ol' Stickybeard is getting, well, old, lassie." He shrugged, taking a slow swig of his sweet brew. "Ain't the spry, swashbuckling terror of the Seven Suburbs I used to be. The new blood's getting feisty, and won't be long 'til the day comes where I've got a cutlass to my throat and Stickybeard becomes nothing more than a legend."

Kuki's mouth drew into a fine line, her fingers rattling against the wood. "Never expected you to be such a chicken."

"Now don't go putting words in Stickybeard's mouth. I've got plenty of fight left in me, and I ain't afraid to prove it. I'll get my boys in line, don't worry that cute little head of yours."

"You better keep your promise, Stickybeard. The last doo-doo head that broke a promise to me didn't get a chance to say sorry."

Stickybeard pulled at his collar, looking a bit unnerved as the girl spoke. "Heard about what happened in Canada. Quite the show of force against the Video Game Vikings, I'll give ya that."

Kuki's eyes twinkled with mischief as she smirked. "The who now?"

The room suddenly became dead silent.

"Gotta do what I gotta do, silly."

Stickybeard simply took a modest sip of his sugar, looking anywhere but Kuki.

Satisfied, Kuki leaned back into her seat, deciding to humor the adult and finish off her drink. She took a steadying breath, allowing herself a moment to take stock of everything before jumping back into the thick of it.

It had been three days since the jailbreak, and she had finally managed to get a handle of the craziness that followed. Kuki didn't regret her actions, not one bit. But now that she actually made it to the other side of her plan, she started wishing she went about freeing Wally with a touch more subtlety. It was a complete spur-of-the-moment plan fueled by nothing but emotion, and she was still waiting to just wake up in an Arctic Cell, Wally decommissioned and her awaiting judgment for high treason.

At that thought, she pinched herself, pleased to find that the walls didn't decide to melt around her. Still not a dream. Good.

Her mind then began to wander. Kuki's train of thought mostly centered on her boyfriend, but he would be the first to say she shouldn't worry. Despite the confusion, they had managed to get him safely off the Moonbase, and he was secure back home; more concerned about studying for his upcoming test and far away from any Kids Next Door business. It took a whole heap of convincing on her part to get him into that line of thinking, but if her current success with Stickybeard was any indication, she was quite good at this negotiating thing when she wanted to be.

But Kuki couldn't stop herself from frowning as her other friends popped in front of her mind's eye. She had thought with Numbuh Three-Sixty-Two on the case, Nigel was in more capable hands than he had ever been since he landed. Abby's sudden reappearance and reaction, however, caused her to think otherwise. She had exhausted every resource she had to get details on the three's current status, but with the TND more tight-lipped than ever and her own thirteenth birthday coming around the corner, Kuki found that her sway as Supreme Leader amounted to jack all to anyone that really mattered.

Besides, it wasn't like she would get much anyway. Nigel was most definitely with Abby by now, and with how she acted these days, if would've been easier to go through her sister if it really came down to it. Not that Cree would know anything either. Ever since she became Supreme Leader under circumstances she had yet to relay to any of them, Abby had grown less talkative than ever. It only got worse when she became a teen operative.

She couldn't stop herself from remembering the events in the hanger. How Abby talked so coldly to both her and Wally. How she sneered in her direction when she was hesitant to reveal Nigel's whereabouts. Abby's silence and rejection broke her heart in ways she didn't think was possible. When they were younger, she knew she could go to the other girl about anything. Abby was the big sister they all never had and in some instances, she was even more than that. Nigel was always able to keep them focused when it came down to it, but Abby was the one who kept them grounded in reality without effort.

Out of all five of them, Abby had the most exposure to the real world and things that happened outside the KND. Despite all that, she never let it turn her bitter. Abby was always sweet, and kind and helped open their eyes to how things really worked, but was able to do so in a way that didn't shatter their innocence. Abby was still a kid herself back then herself. Kuki only reminded herself of that fact as the time Abby told them babies came from New Jersey popped into her. Those were better times.

But like everything else, that all changed not long after Nigel left. Now Abby didn't talk to any of them anymore. Kuki least of all.

Her hands tightened around her mug as tears threatened to fall. Kuki couldn't really blame Abby for treating her so harshly. After all, if she hadn't acted so stupid and gone back inside the Grove to rescue the hamsters, Father would have never followed her and Hoagie would have never had to-

No. Now was not the time for that. Especially not in front of Stickybeard.

The grizzled pirate seemed to notice the shift in her posture, however. Thankfully, the universe decided to give her a break as her communicator went off. Delighted as she was about the distraction, she was also confused and slightly annoyed. What could have possibly been so important that she had to be interrupted in her negotiations with one of the oldest and most infamous villains in KND history?

She scanned the ID, and her eyes widened.

Oh. That.

Sweet Rainbow Monkey Mary.

"Super Omega-ly Important Triplified Classified call," she said. She hopped from her seat, frantically searching for somewhere secure and out of the way. But that was easier said than done, given that she was smack dab in the middle of a pirate den. "Need to go somewhere private and take it. Like, really private."

"Careful now, lassie. Had it been any other villain, you'd have eyes and ears on ye faster than ye can unwrap a sucker." Stickybeard rose from his seat, grabbing the empty pouch of sugar before heading towards the door. His peg leg creaked as he strutted along, the floor bending under his weight. "Need a refill on sugar. Just give a holler when you're ready."

Kuki waited until the door shut before checking the walls and windows. Confident she was alone, she flipped over her device and began speaking in low tones.

"Moshi mos- gah! I mean, Numbuh 3 speaking," she said, rubbing her temples at her slip. "Go ahead."

"Calm down, Numbuh 3. It's only me."

"Oh wow, really?" she said, rolling her eyes. "The Overseer himself is calling me personally. That's super!"

"Look, I know I'm not your favorite person right now-"

"Brilliant observation, dummy." She began pacing, her frustrations venting with each word she spoke. "I've only been trying to get in contact with you for three days. I didn't even get the usual 'it's on a need-to-know basis' line; you jerks just decided to not pick up! Do you know how rude that is?"

"There's no need to be like that. Remember who you're talking to? Any other person in my position would have you court-martialed, you know."

"Oh really? Tell me, do you know what I've been dealing with the last few weeks?"

"Yes?"

"Neat. In that case: BITE ME!" Her hand clenched around the device, and she began heaving as she growled into the line. "I've had to deal with my old leader showing up out of nowhere, my boyfriend almost getting his brain scrubbed, and to top it all off, I've been having to waste resources tracking down one of YOUR traitors!"

"Okay, okay! I get your point," the voice said. "But you've got to understand what's at stake here."

"And you've got to understand that the Kids Next Door isn't your personal lap dog. Especially it's Supreme Leader!"

"When did I ever - you know what, no. We're not doing this again. You know how things are."

"Doesn't mean it doesn't stink!"

"I know it does, but there's nothing either of us can do about it," he said. Kuki's eyes narrowed a bit, her mind producing thoughts she would file away for later. She snapped back into the present moment when the Overseer began speaking again. "Can we cut to the chase, or are we gonna talk in circles again? Because that's getting annoying."

Kuki only wished he could see how she was childishly imitating him. "Go ahead."

"Have you locked down the Museum Of Artifacts and Stuff yet?"

"I've had Numbuh 101 close it off due to a 'lice infestation'. There won't be a KND operative there unless I give the order. Now are you gonna tell me why I had to do that, or is that classified too?"

"Numbuh 5 has requested the KNDNA Tracker. She and Numbuh 1 have a plan to locate and capture the fugitive."

At the mention of the two, Kuki stood straight as unease worked into her features. "Where are they? How are they? Are they safe?"

"I can answer all three with three words: I don't know," he said. Before Kuki could go off on him, he continued. "Numbuh 5 sent in the request before going radio silent. I can confirm Numbuh 1 is with her, but I'm unsure of their current status. They're on their way to meet me, so I can only assume they're lying low until they arrive."

Kuki processed that information, not sure how to take it. Nigel was in Abby's care, but she wasn't sure what that exactly meant anymore.

"Kuki, I promise I'll let you know when they get here. You have my word."

"I'd…like that. Thanks."

"There's one more thing you should know," he said, Kuki growing tense as his tone shifted suddenly. "The fugitive Numbuh 1 is after is Numbuh 362. I see no reason to keep that information from you anymore."

Her eyes widened. After a moment, she only sighed as she shook her head. "I was afraid of that."

"Wait, you knew?"

"No, but ever since she came to…" She leaned away from the communicator as a ruckus caught her attention. From outside the door, she could make out muffled shouts along with clatters and bangs. An uneasy feeling welled in her chest and she frowned as she advanced. "Something's happening, gotta call you back."

Any protests the Overseer would've made were silenced as Kuki pocketed her device. The Supreme Leader moved cautiously, pressing an ear to the door. All noise from outside had gone quiet. That wasn't a good sign.

The girl opened the door, stepping into the crisp night air, and immediately knelt to her right. Down on the floor was one of her Moonbase bodyguards, covered head to toe in bubble gum and bits of lollipop.

Her eyes darted to the main deck, holding back a gasp at what she saw. Under the main pillar was a group of candy pirates, swords and weapons raised and ready to strike. One of them had her attention the most, as in his grip was her other guard. The pirate had the boy held up, a candy cane cutlass to his throat.

Off to the side was Stickybeard, an equal mass of pirates rallying behind him with their swords drawn. The grizzled captain stared down the man who held her operative captive. His hand was steady on his cutlass, but he had yet to unsheathe it.

"Numbuh 91, are you okay?" Kuki quietly knelt to the wounded guard, making sure not to draw attention. The girl grunted, attempting to stand, but Kuki forced her down. She was in no condition to fight. "Stand down, that's an order. What happened?"

"No good pirates ambushed us, ma'am, and they got Numbuh 51," Numbuh Ninety-One struggled to say. "It's a coupon d'état or something."

Corrections on terminology would have to be put on hold as the situation was far more serious. Kuki raised her head, noticing that Stickybeard and the upstart had started talking. Seeing her chance, she ordered Numbuh Ninety-One to stay put as she slipped back in the shadows.

"Not a step closer," the leader of the traitors snarled, pressing his sword into the child's throat. "Or this here lad's candy crunching days are over."

"What be the meaning of this, Sour Patch Bill?" Stickybeard asked, his fingers tightening around the hilt of his cutlass. "Ye be stupider than Dumb John Silver if ye think I'll let this pass on MY ship."

"Won't be yours much longer, captain," Bill spat. "Me and the fellas are sick of this treaty with the Kids Next Door! We used to be real pirates. We used to plunder all the candy we wanted. When we coulda stole all the candy right from under the KND's noses while they were down, you go and make a bloody truce with them. Well, I've decided we're sick of it!"

"Ye be blind, Bill? Kids like candy, we like candy. Only makes sense to stop hounding one another and work together. We've hauled in more candy than we ever did when we were wasting time fighting with the brats."

"Oh don't be spouting that nonsense again, we could be bringing in a ton more and you know it. Nah, what happened was that Father threw a big ol' hissy fit and then you went all soft and felt sorry for the brats. So what if he roasted a couple of the tikes? We're villains. We're supposed to be evil!"

Stickybeard only shook his head. "Crazy old bastard went too far that day; just like you're doing now, Bill. Staging a mutiny in the middle of a parlay; you're spitting on a gazillion years of pirate code and tradition."

"To hell with parlay, and to hell with you." Bill hoisted his hostage higher, the boy not daring to move with how much the sugary blade dug into his neck. "Now you and your lackeys better drop your weapons, or else I'm gonna rip this brat apart and feed him to the dogs."

Stickybeard growled, his fingers scratching at the hilt. There was a murmur of discontent behind him, and he cursed under his breath. If he didn't do something soon, then any plan he had of salvaging his reputation would be ruined.

Out of the corner of his vision, Stickybeard noticed something everyone else failed to see. His good eye scanned the skies above, and he couldn't help but smirk at what he saw.

"Let the boy go, Bill," he said. "Ain't no need to be involving him in this affair. We'll settle this like two candy pirates should. Unless ye be sugar-free."

"Oooooooohhhh."

"Knock it off!" Bill snapped at his men. He then returned his look to Stickybeard. "You really have lost it if ya expect me to fall for that. You think some old man can take me on?"

Stickybeard let loose a hearty howl. "Who said anything 'bout it being an old man?"

SWOOOSH!

All gazed up as something whistled through the air, cutting a clean line through the sail. The heavy cloth fluttered down, landing on half of Bill's man and sending them into disarray. So caught up in the confusion, the man himself failed to notice as something wrapped around his ankles.

"What?" He looked down to see a Go-sign linked to a paper-clip chain tying around his feet. The chain went taut, and Sour Patch Bill found himself yanked off balance and tumbling to the ground. He lost his hold on Numbuh Fifty-One, and the boy fell and rolled out of the way as the pirate collapsed in a heap.

Bill groaned, lifting himself up on his arms. A sneaker entered his vision, and he lifted his chin upwards to see Kuki. The Supreme Leader was looking down at the man, eyes closed and a Numbuh 3-esque smile playing on her lips.

"Hi there. I'm gonna have to ask you not to lay a finger on my operatives." Her free snapped up and caught a flying plastic sickle. She then retracted her Go-chain, twirling both objects and connecting them to form a staff. Her expression went dead serious as she aimed the sickle end toward Bill's face. "Or else next time I won't be so nice, 'kay?"

Bill's face reddened with embarrassment as he fumbled over his words. "W- What are you idiots waiting for? Get her!"

BONK!

Bill was about halfway through his command before Kuki slung her staff around and cracked the blunt end of her Go-sign against the pirate's skull. Even though their leader was down, the rebels were triggered by Kuki's attack and yelled as they all charged forth.

"Get 'em, lads!" Stickybeard finally brought out his cutlass, aiming towards the mass of traitors. "Whoever brings me the most heads gets the first pick on next Halloween's haul!"

Kuki brought up her staff to deflect oncoming strikes, parrying and stepping back toward the downed Numbuh Fifty-One. She latched her sickle around one pirate's blade, snapping the candy cane material in half before swinging her arms around in a wide arch. After she toppled over a few pirates, she knelt down to grab her bodyguard and then shot out her Go-sign chain to latch onto a support beam. She and Numbuh Fifty-One were pulled away just as a sword came down on where they were standing.

From the shadows, a figure watched. He had kept a silent vigil all night, awaiting his opportunity to strike. As chaos descended upon the Sweet Revenge and the Supreme Leader grappled away out of sight, he nodded and leaped into the fray, jumping and flipping as he made his way to Kuki's position.

Above the fighting, Kuki swung herself over the side of the crows nest, careful to bring Numbuh Fifty-One along with her. She retracted her Go-sign, then set her staff against the wooden railing as she tended to the boy.

"Numbuh 51, are you hurt?" she asked as her hands combed over his body. The boy attempted to stand, but she kept him down. "Easy now, don't stress yourself."

"Don't worry, ma'am. The only thing they hurt is my pride," he said, trying to reassure his commander. "Me and 91 were the youngest operatives to be on 86's Decommissioning Squad for Pete's sake. It's gonna take a lot more than some cruddy candy pirates to do us in."

"That may be, but now's not the time to get reckless. We need to go back and get Numbuh 91 before things get worse."

Kuki stopped as her ear picked a soft plinking against the floor. She ignored Numbuh Fifty-One as she looked down to see the tiny object rolling in between them. She arched a brow as she recognized the small ball.

It looked like a marble. Since when did candy pirates collect marbles?

Her eyes widened.

And to this day, Numbuh Fifty-One still had no idea how to explain what happened next.

Faster than the boy thought humanly possible, Kuki hooked the sickle of her staff around his waist. Before he could utter a peep her Go-chain shot out and he found himself being yanked away. The child could only watch and scream out in horror as the marble exploded, mustard going everywhere. The crow's nest was reduced to splinters, and his Supreme Leader was sent flying over the edge; disappearing into the condiment mushroom cloud.

Kuki was barely conscious as she fell, not feeling a thing as her body bounced and tumbled against the beams and ropes until she finally landed on the far end of the Sweet Revenge. The noise around her was a muted jumble of shouting and clashing, and the last time her sight was this disoriented was when Wally talked her into going on the Spine Twister Eleventy Thousand.

That ride certainly made the list of life decisions she regretted. There were a lot of decisions she had made that she wished she could take back, now that she thought about it. Like, say, the decision to pay Stickybeard a personal visit instead of sending diplomats. She was sure that in some alternate universe, a lucky version of herself was contently napping after watching a marathon of Rainbow Monkey cartoons. Yeah, she was starting to become really jealous of her alternate universe self; a person she didn't even know existed or not. Sadly, Kuki was not in an alternate universe. She was not at home in bed, she was not about to enter a peaceful sleep, and the last image she would see before it all went dark would not be the end credits of her favorite cartoon.

No. The last thing Kuki would remember would be a caped figure descending upon her, followed by sweet unconsciousness.

Nigel landed softly on his feet. Once stable on the ground, he let loose a long, satisfied groan as he stretched out his limbs and muscles. The bald boy would then go about picking bits of hay out of his clothes and ruffling out creases that had formed.

He paused, narrowing his eyes as he took a whiff of himself. Gross. He definitely needed a shower. Three days in the wilderness would tarnish anyone's body odor.

He turned around, watching as Abby lowered herself to the ground. She repeated his actions to an extent before reaching back to extend a hand to Numbuh Jebediah.

"Thanks again, Jebediah," Abby said as she gently took the boy's hand. She took a step back and offered him a small smile. "For everything."

"Tweren't nothing to it." The Amish boy tipped his hat to the girl, before looking up to give a friendly wave Nigel's way. "And it was good seeing ya again, Numbuh 1. Perhaps when things aren't so out of sorts you'll stop by to visit. Wouldn't be opposed to hearing your city tales about what you've been up to."

Nigel slowly chuckled, giving the teenager an awkward wave. "Don't know about all that, but it was good seeing you as well, Jebediah. Safe travels, old friend."

Numbuh Jebediah nodded with a smile. The lad then cracked his whip, and he and his buggy slowly took off, trailing down a rough path before slipping off into the tree line of the forest.

Nigel watched until the Amish sector leader had gone long out of earshot. He then turned to Abby, his eyes hesitantly moving between her and where Numbuh Jebediah had just departed from.

"I don't mean to sound ungrateful," he began, worry in his words, "but are you sure it was wise to-"

"Numbuh Jebediah ain't gonna squeal, if that's what you're asking," Abby answered, not looking at her former leader in favor of studying the trees. "The Amish sector is so detached from KND business it's a wonder they know what's going down half the time. Hell, it's partly why Numbuh 5 didn't bother to decommission them."

Nigel wasn't quite sure how he felt about that-or Abby's cynical attitude in general, he would make a point to bring that up later-but he would just suck it up and deal with it for now. "Don't really see a reason not to trust your judgment."

"Just keep thinking for yourself, Numbuh 1. Numbuh 5 can't do it for ya."

"That's not what I meant. I trust your judgment because you're my…" Nigel caught himself, taking a deep breath before speaking again. He gazed forlornly at the trees, a few reminding him of the old treehouse. "I suppose it's not wise to assume what you are to me at this point."

"You're my partner on this mission. A mission that comes before anything else," Abby said, her voice firm yet she couldn't bring herself to stare him down. "You should know that better than anyone."

Nigel simply nodded in silent agreement. The two moved deeper into the forest, Abby leading with Nigel in tow. The Brit watched as she analyzed each tree, her hands grazing the bark before moving on to the next one. He certainly had no earthly idea what they were looking for, so all he could really do was stand there and look presentable.

Abby stopped, Nigel nearly bumping into her. Her eyes shone with concentration as her hand felt the bark, her fingers sliding down the grooves and ridges of the wood. After a moment, she sighed in relief. "'Bout time."

Nigel looked at the withering oak skeptically. "One thing still doesn't sit right with me; if the Amish sector is so withdrawn from KND affairs, then how would Jebediah know where to find an entrance to the TND Basement? An entrance that leads us straight to the Overseer no less?"

"Ain't exactly the first time Numbuh 5's had to count on the Amish sector saving her ass," she grumbled as she approached the tree. "Besides, he's technically a teen operative. He knows enough. Now, did ya want me to let ya in on the secret of the universe too, or can we go?"

Nigel rolled his eyes, dramatically gesturing to the tree. "By all means."

Abby ignored him as her hand rattled against the bark.

Knock kn-kn-knock knock.

Nigel folded his arms, expecting something to happen; the tree transforming into a robot, the forest shimmering away as some illusion faded. Nothing could surprise him at this point, he figured.

However, as the moments dragged on, he tilted his head as Abby slapped a palm to her face and dragged it down.

"Oh, you've gotta be kidding me," she said under her breath. She frowned, tongue clicking against the roof of her mouth as she knocked again, applying much more force this time.

Knock kn-kn-knock knock!

Still nothing.

Nigel raised his hand to speak-

BANG BA-BA-BANG BANG!

-only to snap his mouth shut as Abby whipped out her blaster and nonchalantly unloaded a road on the tree. She kept her weapon leveled at the oak as if daring it to mess with her further.

Ding Ding!

If the former Supreme Leader was satisfied with how the bark glowed, the front end of the tree disappearing in a shimmer of light to reveal an entrance, then she kept it well hidden. Abby holstered her weapon, stepped to the side, and motioned for Nigel to enter. For his part, the boy moved gingerly towards the tree, taking a mental note not to tick off Abby in the near future. He looked away from his old friend and leaned into the tree, more than a bit off-put with how far the hole seemed to drop.

"Are you sure this is safe?"

Abby slowly pressed her finger onto the back of his head.

"Don't you dare."

Abby applied more pressure until she finally sent him over head first.

"AHHHHHHH!"

Abby said nothing as Nigel's screams grew more distant. Deciding he was far down enough, she stepped into the tree and followed suit.

Further down the rabbit hole, Nigel nearly exhausted his air supply as his screams echoed throughout the hole. Only when he paused to take a breath did he take notice of his actual predicament. He found he wasn't so much as falling but rather simply sliding down a steep incline. He glanced down to see bark rushing by underneath him, and looked up to see a sheet of glass above. He noted a light at the end of the tunnel and found himself at a loss for words as he breached the threshold.

The sensation and wonder he felt was akin to the shivers he would get every time he embarked on an alien world. The cavern was so massive he thought it went on forever. Glowing, flickering lights shimmered above, reflecting off the crystal stalactites of the ceiling. The source of light itself was coming from the small, gemstones that seemingly floated around the cavern of their own accord. Some were small, some were bigger than a SCAMPER, but they simply continued to levitate and ignored the world around them.

Nigel tore his gaze away from the crystals, noticing similar tubes to his own converging around him. He could make the bodies of other teen operatives, zipping by him both ways as they went on about their business. One tube ran parallel to him, and he saw a girl slide down at roughly his same speed. He couldn't help but stare at her, her bright red hair and well-groomed looks striking a cord in his memory.

Nigel finally recognized the girl as Numbuh Ten, his "long-lost" cousin. He made to wave but stopped, reminded that no one was supposed to know he was there. He stiffened as Numbuh Ten turned her head, looking straight at him. After a moment, he eased as he noted her lack of reaction. The girl frowned as if looking at her reflection in the mirror. Perhaps the glass was one-way; in his favor, thankfully.

Her tube abruptly veered downwards, and that was the last he saw of her. He looked around, seeing all the other tubes descending deeper into the earth and other caverns. Nigel looked ahead, seeing the giant root of a tree incoming fast. The slide took him towards the opening, and he clenched his fists as he entered.

All became dark, followed by a sense of weightlessness. The ground underneath him disappeared, yet he didn't feel like he was falling. He gasped as a massive gush of air ripped through him, propelling him forward towards another opening.

He squinted his eyes as he landed, not used to traveling without some sort of eye protection. After a few blinks, he was greeted by the sight of a short hallway. The air was littered with more of the tiny light crystals he saw outside, and the walls themselves seemed to be made completely out of intertwining roots and bark.

Nigel frowned, suddenly feeling another gust of air. He turned around, wondering where the source of coming from.

Only to have Abby flung straight into his face. The two collided, and both sector V veterans found themselves eating dirt.

"Ugh," Abby groaned, rubbing her hand against her temple. She looked down, finding Nigel's dazed mug staring back at her. She frowned, her hand instinctively moving to smack him with a hat she no longer wore. "What the hell, man? Why didn't you move?"

"Serves you right for pushing me in," Nigel said back, rising to a sitting position as Abby rolled off of him. He dusted himself off, sending annoyed glances his partner's way. "You know I've never been here; I didn't know what to expect."

"Oh yeah? Then in that case, welcome to the Basement," she said, dryly looking around as she made showman hand gestures. "Right here we got roots, over there is dirt, underneath your butt is more dirt, and down the hall, you'll find our amazing display of even more freaking dirt. That's about it. Well, there is the taco bar, but it sucks."

Nigel looked at her doubtingly as he got on his feet. "Surely there's more than that?"

"Our compound is jammed into the middle of the KND Root System, Numbuh 1. What more do you want? Imagine someone bought a cheap knock-off of the Moonbase from the dollar store and buried it in the backyard; that's the Basement in a nutshell." She stroked her chin as she looked around thoughtfully. "We did have a cool idea about refurbishing a mall and sticking it on an asteroid, but that never went anywhere. The building we thought about using didn't make the cut."

"Why not?"

ONE YEAR EARLIER

Abby trudged through the snow, armor torn asunder and two dozing KND operatives slung over her shoulder. She glanced over her shoulder, and her sleep-addled eyes widened.

The teen operative picked up her pace, breaking into a mad sprint as a mass of wild cats and a rabid Crazy Old Cat Lady gave chase, hot on her heels as the old Hugiplex Shopping Mall center went up in flames in the background.

Simple scouting mission her ass, she thought.

PRESENT DAY

"Things happened," Abby said, her eyes sheepishly looking off to the side. She shook her head, then motioned for Nigel to follow. "C'mon. We gotta meet the Overseer."

Nigel nodded as he trotted on, a bit excited. His knowledge of the TND Overseer was limited, even with his galactic ranking. If there was one thing the teen covert ops were good at, it was keeping secrets. Well, for the most part, anyway.

They stopped at a wall of bark, and Abby lowered her shades as one of the floating crystals performed a retinal scan. The crystal jingled, then flew into the mass of roots. The bark and dirt parted, allowing them entry, and Nigel then found himself in another office.

The room had low lighting, the brightest source coming from a lamp on the desk in the middle of the room. Large beanie bag cushions were lined against the wall as stand-in furniture, and off to the side was a filing cabinet of decent size. Several of the drawers were left ajar, and the visible dossiers were messy and unorganized. Nigel could only suspect they had been leafed through somewhat recently.

Behind the desk was a revolving chair, its back to them. There was someone seated within it, looking at the various screens spliced into the wall. Different feeds were playing across the board, but whomever was seated seemed intently focused on a viewing that showed a teenager whom Nigel thought had a striking resemblance to Numbuh Sixty.

The chair turned, its occupant realizing company had arrived. It was revealed to be Numbuh Ten, who smirked at Nigel's shocked reaction and Abby's facepalm.

"Hello, Nigel," Numbuh Ten greeted evenly, folding her hands under her chin and her smirk increasing a bit. "I'd be lying if I said I wasn't surprised to see you here."

"I concur, quite honestly," he stuttered. "You're the Overseer?"

The redhead chuckled, flipping her hair back as she rose. "Aw, still the flatterer I see. Amusing as it would be, I'll have to answer no to that. I'm just his secretary."

Abby folded her arms as she frowned. "Last time Numbuh 5 checked, secretaries don't snoop around in their bosses' office."

"You never know, Numbuh 5. It's been a long while since you've checked in on us, and we could've had several changes to code and regulations in the time frame," she lightly said. Suddenly, she looked off to the side as she started rubbing her arm. "That's not a hundred percent a joke. There's been a lot of regulation changes since you've been gone."

"Figures."

"Though you were right about the office thing. I just needed to," her eyes stole a glance at the screen again, "look in on something."

"Girl, you know Patton ain't cheating on you."

Nigel did a double-take. "Wait a minute, what?"

"It's not that…this time. I'm just making sure you-know-who doesn't decide to visit her old Arctic Commander."

"He already knows who the traitor is," Abby said, nodding her head in Nigel's direction. She then frowned, not really up to thinking about her right this second. "And besides, what the hell would Rachel want with Patton? He's decommissioned."

"So is Fanny, but that didn't stop Rachel from dropping in on her two days ago. Or so our sources say."

All three turned to greet the newcomer, a lanky teen ambling in a few inches taller than them all. One hand was tucked into his jacket pocket, and the other held a taco. Nigel instantly recognized Maurice, knowing the former member of the old sector V from anywhere.

"I'll feel them in on the rest, Numbuh 10. It's what they're visiting me for anyway," he said before finishing off his taco. After swallowing, he frowned and wagged a finger toward the redhead. "And stop barging into my office! It's getting weird."

"The only one making it weird is you, sir," Numbuh Ten said with a mock sensual look. Maurice pointed to the door, and the girl sighed as she moved past them. Before she left, she looked in Nigel's direction one last time. "I would ask for an interview, but I'd doubt you'd indulge me for old time's sake."

Nigel could only offer up a sad smile. "Classified, I'm afraid."

"Story of my life," Numbuh Ten sighed. She looked between Abby and Maurice as she spoke. "They won't let me in on what she did to bring you back from wherever you've been, but I don't need to know the details to know she's dangerous. Be careful, Nigel."

Abby watched as the girl left the office, the root wall closing behind her. She then whipped on Maurice, her left eye twitching with irritation. "What happened to not letting any more people know Numbuh 1's here?"

"You're one to talk," Maurice shot back. "I just got word of how you've been brought here by Numbuh Jebediah. Care to explain yourself?"

"You know he ain't gonna talk."

"And you know Numbuh 10 won't either, so drop it," Maurice said in a tone that left no room for argument. "Besides, she's family. I figure I'd let it happen if it happened."

"For the leader of a Covert Teen Cell, you sure do suck at keeping secrets, sir."

"Ahem," Nigel coughed to halt the squabble before it even started. He walked in between them, subtly sliding himself in front of Abby to block off her direct view of Maurice. Abby clued in to Nigel's ploy but scoffed and went along with it. "Good to see you again, Numbuh 9, sir. You've certainly risen through the ranks here."

Maurice smirked. "Coming from the Earth's best operative, I think I'll take that as a compliment."

Abby couldn't help but find Nigel's reaction to Maurice a bit odd. "Funny you're not giving Numbuh 9 the same look ya gave Numbuh 10 when we walked in."

"That's because I didn't know she was in the TND until now," Nigel said, turning to face her fully. "I've known about Numbuh 9's teen operative status since his fake decommissioning."

Abby's head slowly rose, her world coming to a halt as she processed that bit of information. "Wait, you knew?"

"Of course I knew," Nigel said, puffing out his chest a bit as he spoke. "All veteran sector leaders are informed of teen operatives within their regions. It helps to avoid crossing paths during important operations."

"That, and they were kinda getting tired of Numbuh 1 attacking them due to his paranoia."

"Okay, look, that first time wasn't my fault!" Nigel huffed, face red as he reeled on Maurice. "How was I to know she was undercover?"

"That was kind of the point."

For her part, Abby was still taking a moment to realize Nigel had been aware of the TND the entire time before he left Earth. It made sense in hindsight, but she always assumed she was the only one on the team back then who knew of teen operatives.

To be fair, she never talked about it, but still…

"Wait," she mumbled, slowly piecing something together. "If you knew about Numbuh 9 the whole time, then that means you-"

"We can debate this later!" She was interrupted by Maurice's shout. Abby looked over to the two to find she had been forgotten about until now. "We're not here to talk about old issues, we're here to talk about your mission and what needs to be done to put it to rest."

Maurice walked to his desk, sitting in his chair as he contemplated for a moment. Abby and Nigel moved closer, waiting for him to speak. The young man scratched at the stub of his beard, sorting his thoughts together.

"Let's get one thing out of the way first. You'll have to understand I'm not a Supreme Leader," Maurice began, weighing his words carefully. "Overseers don't have that kind of power over the entire TND. We're glorified sector leaders more than anything. I can provide help, but it's limited. If you were expecting a mass of TND resources to be at your disposal, you're gonna be disappointed."

Abby shrugged. "Numbuh 5's expectations couldn't get much lower, so we good on that end."

Nigel frowned. "You said Overseers. There's more of you?"

"There's supposed to be," Maurice said. "We don't have the KND's numbers, and we're so spread out that it's hard to maintain communication between everyone. We have multiple Overseers that regulate several operations and work to keep the others in the loop so nothing goes belly-up. One can't manage what we do here alone, we learned that lesson after the Great Junior High Rebellion of '99."

"Then why not bring them all in on this?" Nigel asked. "I feel the situation is dire enough to where we need to convene to ensure our success!"

"That'd be nice, yeah. 'Cept Infinity is trying to keep this in-house. The others are in the dark, which means I'm the only active Overseer left in this region and have been granted emergency powers to keep this tub floating," Maurice said, becoming more agitated the longer the conversation dragged on. "Even then, my hands are tied. We're still doing damage control after your little stunt on the Moonbase, and Infinity has made it clear that the GKND will only tolerate so much TND interference. The more I try to push, the more I risk pissing your bosses off."

Nigel grimaced a tad. His opinions on the Important Ones aside, he was well aware of the stakes involved.

Abby, however, leaped on a certain detail of Maurice's rant. "You've been in contact with Infinity? Where is he?"

"That's irrelevant to this conversation."

"Then what about the other Overseers?" Nigel asked before Abby went off. "Why are you the only one who knows about this?"

Maurice was quiet for a long moment, closing his eyes and breathing in through his nose. "There were three of us, originally. You've met us all. Numbuh 274 used to be one before he stepped down. He was the only one before the incident who knew the GKND, and it's probably why he's been left alone. Then there's me, of course. I used to just handle field missions and multi-step operations, like that slave ring I've been trying to bust. Now I have to watch every damn word I say because one wrong order sends us all to hell."

Nigel waited for him to finish, but he never did. The bald boy looked to Abby, but she was off to the side, leaning against the wall and glaring intently at the floor. Nigel had a feeling that he knew where this session was going, and decided to bite the bullet.

"Who was the third one?"

"The one you're after," Maurice answered. He opened his eyes as he pulled a folder out from underneath his desk. "It's time I told you everything."

And to Nigel's dismay, Maurice told him everything.

Kuki's world was full of darkness, stiff muscles, and the overwhelming stench of spicy mustard. She honestly couldn't remember the last time she felt this groggy. Then again, she was having a hard time remembering how she even ended up in this confusing predicament in the first place. She recalled candy, lots of it. There were pirates too, she was sure of that. Then there was some fighting, some yelling, and then a MARBLE went off…

Oh, well that certainly would explain the mustard.

The girl wiggled, finding her entire body tied up. She felt the tape keeping her hands together, and from what she could tell, there were cuffs around their ankles. And the blindfold. It was hard not to notice the blindfold, since it kind of stopped here from noticing anything else.

So her captors did their homework. Great.

"I wanna go home."

"That's the least of your troubles, Sanban."

"Who's there?" she asked, hearing the ruffled voice not far from her. "Where are you? And why does your voice sound weird?"

"Because it strikes fear into your heart. The unease settles to give bloom to despair. My voice rows the dirt of your soul to let the seed of justice grow!"

"…are you serious?"

"Dead serious," the voice growled. "You cannot hide your crimes from me, Sanban. Your secrets reek with odor, and I will cleanse them from you as I exact righteousness!"

"This has officially stopped being funny. Who are you?"

"It surprises me not that you've blocked my name from memory. For it is the last name all evildoers know in their final moments. Choose carefully, Sanban. For all who know my name face fates far worse than detention itself!"

"I'm going to hurt you. I'm going to hurt, and will probably enjoy it far more than I should."

"T-The only one getting hurt tonight is you! It's time you face retribution for all you have done! Behold, Supreme Leader, as my visage will be forever burned into your memory…until you get decommissioned that is, but that's beside the point!"

Kuki flinched as the blindfold was ripped from her face. As she studied her surroundings, she was surprised to see the blindfold fluttering upwards. That couldn't be right. Upon further inspection, Kuki concluded that she was hanging upside down from some building somewhere. The ground a gazillion feet below her was kind of a dead giveaway. She lifted her head the best she could to see what had entrapped her. Her body was bound in rope; that much she figured out. What she was curious about was how her rope was attached to some crane and pulley device.

Her head whipped towards her captor, a scathing retort ready to fly out. She stopped herself as she got a good look at him. It was a boy, some kid from what she could tell. The shadows enveloped him-he probably positioned himself to seem intimidating- and a dark cerulean cape was clasped around his collar. His gloved hands were balled into fists, and a dark-rimmed fedora capped his head. The boy gazed at her through yellow spectacles, the goggles doing their best to peer within her soul.

She gasped because there was only one boy she knew who would be silly enough to dress up like that.

"It can't be…"

"But it can. Brace yourself, Kuki Sanban." The boy threw his arms back, taking a dramatic pose as his cape fluttered in the wind. "For The Tommy has returned!"

Kuki blinked.

"I said…The Tommy has returned!"

Blink.

"Ugh!" Tommy growled, stomping his foot. "You know, the least you could do is be a LITTLE bit intimidated!"

Kuki shook her head. She was about ready to admit she had missed the boy before she was reminded of her situation. "Tommy, I swear to god-"

"SWEAR TO ME!"

Tommy suddenly kicked a lever to his side, and the pulley gave way as Kuki fell.