Well…you all knew it was coming. No sense in waiting. Let's begin.

"Knew it wasn't going to last forever," Numbuh 451 thought to herself as she looked over herself with the reflection of the floor. Today was the day. Her thirteenth birthday. The big one-three.

The day she was going to lose the memories of the best seven years of her life.

Much like she had promised, she refused to run and in fact even surrendered herself to the Decommissioning Squad earlier that morning in exchange for a few final requests. The first was that she be allowed to say a couple personal goodbyes to those she had grown close to over the course of her time in the Kids Next Door and the second was a final speech to the organization as a whole. Both were granted.

Still, she already felt like she didn't belong anymore. Her rifle, face mask and jacket had been taken by operatives that ran the museum. Apparently, operatives that did enough for the KND got their own exhibits. They had wanted her goggles as well but Numbuh 451 had stated they had too much value to her to just hand over.

"It's the last thing of Numbuh 11 that Cree Lincoln hasn't corrupted," Numbuh 451 had thought to herself. Snapping her out of her thoughts was the sound of the door opening. Numbuh 23 poked her head in, giving the older girl a sad smile when she saw Numbuh 451.

"Do you really have to go?" Numbuh 23 sadly asked as she walked over.

"Trust me. If it was up to me, I'd be in the Kids Next Door until I was 100 years old," Numbuh 451 replied as she placed a hand on Numbuh 23's shoulder. "And hey! The Kids Next Door still has you for all their explosive needs!"

"Yeah…but it won't be as fun without you to bounce ideas off," Numbuh 23 replied.

"Well…it's not the same, but I've got something for you," Numbuh 451 declared as she pulled out a stack of papers. "These are all the projects I was trying to work on, but never finished. If you ever need ideas, try finishing these. It will be like I'm helping you in spirit."

"Cool…" Numbuh 23 gushed as she began to look through all the papers. She then gave Numbuh 451 a hug. "Thanks for inspiring me."

"No problem," Numbuh 451 replied. After letting the hug go on for a little longer, Numbuh 23 headed out, still firmly clutching the papers. Not long after, the door opened up again and Numbuh 9 and Numbuh 274 walked in.

"To be honest, I had my doubts they'd be able to get you two to agree to this," Numbuh 451 admitted as she looked over the two operatives in front of her. It was crazy how she remembered them back when they were still eager, young cadets. Now they'd gone on to become two of the greatest operatives in history.

"I made a promise," Numbuh 9 replied. "And I was never going to break it."

"And you think just because I'm Supreme Leader that I wouldn't come say goodbye to you, you're crazy," Numbuh 274 chimed in. Numbuh 451 just cracked a grin and held open her arms, letting both boys come in for a hug. "Shame we're losing you just after we lost Numbuh 11."

"Yeah well, at least I'm not letting a security breach happen," Numbuh 451 replied. It was intended as a joke, but the bitterness in her voice betrayed her intentions.

"Here's to hoping the Teen Ninjas don't get you," Numbuh 9 said. "Don't want to know how scary they'd be with everything you know about explosions."

"Well look on the bright side! That chamber is gonna wipe most of my knowledge so I'll just be starting over!" Numbuh 451 attempted yet another joke. This one, thankfully, did manage to get a couple chuckles out of the boys. "And that's if I even join. Been leaving a lot of notes for myself so I know not to join."

"Heh. Might have to do that myself," Numbuh 9 noted. "But it's been an honor to serve with you, Numbuh 451."

"Took the words right out of my mouth," Numbuh 274 playfully taunted his friend. "But he's right. You're an inspiration, Numbuh 451."

"Heh. Somehow I feel like looking up to an explosives expert isn't the best idea in the world," Numbuh 451 noted as one of her hands began to almost unconsciously run along one of her scars. Sharing one more hug with the duo, Numbuh 451 allowed Numbuh 274 and Numbuh 9 to take their leave.

"Looks like I've only got one more goodbye left," Numbuh 451 thought to herself. It almost didn't feel fair. She'd had more friends, but they were all gone. And she didn't even get to say goodbye to most of them. She knew what she was getting into, but everyone likes to think that they and their friends stay loyal to the end. But that usually never came true.

"Numbuh 451? You still in here?" Numbuh 5 asked as she opened the door. The recently minted Numbuh 1 stood at her side.

"Well it's not like I've got anywhere to go," Numbuh 451 replied as she knelt down to the younger kid's eye level. "Sorry again about your sister."

"It's not your fault," Was all Numbuh 5 had to say. Numbuh 451 knew it was best to drop it. "Numbuh 5's…Numbuh 5's really gonna miss you."

"I'm gonna miss you a lot too," Numbuh 451 assured the younger girl. Numbuh 5 suddenly launched forward, latching onto Numbuh 451's neck like a lifeline. Numbuh 451 jumped a little, but soon hugged back. She could feel tears on her back, but didn't comment. "And for what's it's worth? I think that, if you want to give it another try, you'd make a great leader."

"No!" Numbuh 5 suddenly exclaimed. "Numbuh 5's never leading anything again!"

"That's what I'm here for!" Numbuh 1 proudly boasted. "And, uh, I know we weren't really close, but seeing you go is still…really sad."

"Thanks," Numbuh 451 earnestly replied. Once Numbuh 5 let her go, she walked over to the bench she'd been sitting on. Sitting on it was a scrapbook. "I need you two to do me a huge favor."

"Anything," Numbuh 5 firmly declared. Numbuh 1 simply nodded his head. Numbuh 451 then picked up the scrapbook and handed it to her.

"I've been putting this together over the course of the last year," Numbuh 451 began to explain. "I might have never gotten the chance to actually be in the Kids Next Door with Sonia, but I want her to see my adventures and stuff. Learn about what I was like before I became a teen. So when she joins the Kids Next Door, give that to her. Okay?"

"You have Numbuh 5's word she'll give it to her as soon as she joins," Numbuh 5 declared as she held the book to her chest. Before anything else could be said, an operative from the Decommissioning Squad opened the door.

"Numbuh 451. It's time," They said. Numbuhs 1 and 5 gave one last sad look at the teenager before heading out. With a sigh, Numbuh 451 walked over to the operative and held her hands out, allowing herself to be dragged into the chamber. Just about every operative in the Kids Next Door had come out to sing happy birthday to her

"Heh. I always loved being the center of attention. Now I wish I could just crawl into a hole," Numbuh 451 thought to herself as everyone sang. It was teary and heartfelt, but Numbuh 451 managed to keep it together. Once the song was over, she blew out the candles and turned to the crowd of operatives.

"So…guess this is it, huh?" Numbuh 451 began, trying to keep at least a little humor in things. "Look, we all know this comes and goes…but it doesn't make it any worse. So I'm gonna just not bother with any bullshit and just make one final request to you all-whatever I end up becoming in the future, Teen Ninja, adult villain or just a jerk…keep that person separate from Numbuh 451 okay? All she wanted was to protect kids everywhere and use her fireworks to make them happy. Whatever I become, Numbuh 451 is not, and never will be, that person, okay?" Looking out in the crowd, she could see several people nodding their heads. "Then I guess I have only one thing left to say-KIDS NEXT DOOR RULES!"

"KIDS NEXT DOOR RULES!" Echoed the crowd. With a final, teary smile, Numbuh 451 allowed herself to be led into the decommissioning chamber. Her heart was beating out of her chest. This was it. She was about to lose the memories of everything she'd ever loved. But still, the sacrifice was important. And if given the choice?

She'd do it again in a heartbeat.

"Ready, Numbuh 451?" The newest head of the Decommissioning Squad, a redhead who Numbuh 451 was pretty sure used to be a medical officer, asked.

"Not really, but I don't have much of a choice, do I?" Numbuh 451 replied. "Sorry, I start joking around when I'm nervous. Just…let's just get it over with." The girl simply nodded and flipped the switch and before Numbuh 451, the plunder had already pressed itself to her face, sucking away at all her memories as Numbuh 451 screamed. From what, not even she was sure. But soon, those emotions of pain and fear gave way to something new.

Confusion

Even though she was sitting in the decommissioning chamber with the plunger on her face, she wasn't forgetting anything. Even when she finally got a second to breathe, everything was still the same.

"What just happened?" Firecracker asked. "I still remember everything!"

"Simple," Numbuh 274 declared as he walked over. "Your time in the KND isn't quite over yet,"

"What are you talking about!?" Firecracker demanded. "I'm thirteen! All teenagers get decommissioned!"

"That's…not completely true," Numbuh 274 began. "You see, only the most loyal operatives willingly submit to decommissioning, which you just did. So, if you want, we have a special program where you will basically fake decommissioning and spy on the teens and adults, then report back to the Kids Next Door to help them better sabotage their plans. But if you don't want to, we can decommission you here and now."

"Are you kidding?!" Numbuh 451 eagerly exclaimed. "As the song goes, 'there's a lot of things I haven't done, but just you wait!'"

"I should have you decommissioned for quoting a musical at me," Numbuh 274 playfully joked. "Listen, we're short on time since you should be coming out of the chamber soon, but I'll have you filled in on the rest shortly." With that, he headed out and the leader of the decommissioning squad undid the restraints on Firecracker, who stumbled out of the decommissioning chamber in a faked daze, clutching her head all the while.

"Who…who are you kids?" She asked, only to get knocked out by a blow to the back of the head.

"...Fucking hell…my head," Firecracker groaned as she sat up. She was on her bed, with Numbuh 274 sitting at her desk.

"Wow. You did leave a lot of notes not to join the Teen Ninjas," Numbuh 274 noted in amusement as he idly played with one such note.

"Yeah, yeah," Firecracker replied as she rubbed the back of her head. "So teen spies don't even get the luxury of not getting knocked out to be dragged back home, huh?"

"Sorry, but it's the only way to make sure no one gets suspicious," Numbuh 274 responded. "So, ready to see your new headquarters?"

"As long as you don't knock me out for this one," Firecracker replied as she hopped off her bed. Numbuh 274 merely chuckled and hopped out the window, prompting Firecracker to follow him. After a short trek, she was led to an abandoned supermarket. "Uh…this isn't what I was expecting."

"C'mon Numbuh 451! You know that the Kids Next Door is rarely what you are expecting," Numbuh 274 replied as he led her to the employees only door. Inside was an elevator. "This is as far as I'm allowed to take you."

"Understood," Firecracker replied. She pressed the button and waited. Once the doors opened, she found herself in a massive underground base.

And face to face with an old friend.

"Thomas!" She exclaimed as she rushed to give the old Numbuh Red 7 a hug.

"Firecracker!" Thomas replied with an equal amount of happiness as he returned the hug. "It would appear we get to begin this new painting of our teenage years together!"

"Heh. Glad to know at least one of my friends made it through to this," Firecracker said with a grin. "So what exactly do we do as Teens Next Door members?"

"It is our job to route out villainous plots before they even come into existence!" Thomas firmly declared. "Some join organizations like the Teen Ninjas while others merely watch from the shadows, finding plots in cracks one would not think to look for spies. If you are unsure what you want to do, that's fine. They give us time to decide."

"Well I'm not joining the Teen Ninjas. That's for sure," Firecracker replied. "But…who else is a member of this thing?"

Thomas smirked. "Well…this is actually a bit longer than you would think…"

What, you thought it was over!? Ha! Not even close! Firecracker isn't done with the Kids Next Door yet and she certainly doesn't want to be! But now she's back with Thomas and they're ready to kick some butt together! Also, my personal theory with decommissioning is that it's actually meant as one final test. Basically, if they want the most loyal of operatives to keep their memories, what better way to test that than to see who's ready to give it all up just to keep people they won't even remember working with safe? So that's how it works to me.