What today was supposed to be a day of peace quickly became a day in an oven. The entire team was lying on the ground exhausted in their swimsuits while their bodies were covered in sweat as if they were roast chickens.
"Numbuh 2. Weather report." Numbuh 1 said tiredly. The chubby boy pressed a button and a television turned on where a reporter seemed to be going through the same situation.
"Today will be a hot day. We have reports that the heat recorded for today is the highest in Cleveland history, at 40 degrees." The reporter said before sighing exhaustedly.
"All parents and children are advised not to leave the comfort of their homes, turn on an air conditioner and do nothing but stay in the shade all day. Due to the heat all work activities will be stopped until tomorrow. I am your trusted reporter and now I'm going home to put my head in the freezer."
Numbuh 2 turned off the television before dropping his arm with a sound of defeat as did the entire team.
"This is torture, Numbuh 2, haven't you repaired the air conditioning?" Numbuh 5 asked exhaustedly looking at the chubby boy.
"Oh, I tried. But it was very broken, most of the fuses were blown and I couldn't get replacements." At Hogarth's words everyone sighed, upset and sad at a catastrophic failure.
"Where's Benja? I'm sure he'll come back to Overwatch with an air conditioner without us." Numbuh 4 said angrily but Numbuh 3 netted with his head.
"No, he's been training outside since this morning." Kuki said tiredly, Numbuh 5 struggled to stand up. Everyone winced in pain as Abigail managed to stand up even though her skin was very close to the wood.
"Training, him? In this heat?" Numbuh 5 walked outside and saw that I was shirtless throwing slow punches into the air with my eyes closed.
"Wow, look at that, he can surely give Superman a fight like that." Numbuh 2 said looking at me even though there was a piece of the ground on his back.
"Is that what you call training? Please, he's not hitting anything and just throwing punches in the air with an idiot." Numbuh 4 said angrily but Numbuh 3 shook his head.
"Don't be stupid, Benja is training. It's a fighting style from my country, Benja concentrates his strength in his fists, maybe you can't see it but he throws powerful punches, close your eyes and you can hear the wind being cut." Everyone looked at kuki before doing what she said.
The moment they closed their eyes they couldn't hear or feel anything. But suddenly a sound reached their ears making everyone open their eyes in surprise.
"It's true." Numbuh 5 said but then they saw me stop coming in and open my eyes.
"Guys! Sorry, I think I trained too much." I said before taking a big jump and landing on the terrace next to them.
"Benja, how do you manage to train in this heat? I can smell charred pork in the air." Abigail said staring at me making me laugh.
"It is due to my magic. Since I control fire and ice magic my body cannot easily suffer from heat or strong sub-zero temperatures." When I mentioned ice magic Kuki quickly grabbed my shoulders and pulled me hard making me kneel.
"Can you still use ice magic, like the one you used against Numbuh 5!?." The girl screamed desperately, looking into her eyes.
"Umm, yes."
"I'm begging you, please use that magic on us now!" The Asian girl shouted while the other children seemed to ask for the same thing.
"Okay, okay, calm down!" I said before entering the base. My hair started to shine and I took a deep breath before letting out a strong blizzard, in less than a second, the entire KND base was cool and relaxing.
"Hallelujah." Number 5 said before lying down on the couch while everyone did the same.
"What are we doing today?." I asked as I stretched a little.
"I think we should do nothing and take advantage of the fresh air while we can." Numbuh 5 said with a smile, receiving approval from everyone but Numbuh 1 did not seem to completely agree.
"Team we can't relax so much today, every wasted second spent lying here the adults could be planning something." Suddenly we all saw that the computer displayed a message that said "Incoming call."
"It seems that the computer managed to capture a telephone transmission from the adults. Let's see what they say." Nigel said before pressing a button for us all to listen to the chat.
"I already told you, Millie, this is boring. We came to the municipal pool to relax but they don't let the kids in."
"Not yet? But why are they taking so long?"
"Yes, but it seems like they increased the swimming time for adults. What a bummer."
"You already heard right?" Numbuh 1 turned off the transmission before turning and looking at all of us.
"It appears that adults are trying their swimming hours to allow the adults to continue enjoying the pool and leaving the children out." Nigel said seriously making the team get serious too.
"Those adults are very boring in pools. They don't even do cannonballs." Number 2 said with his arms crossed.
"And they don't shout loud enough!" Numbuh 3 shouted so loudly that it almost deafened 4 and 2.
"Not to mention that they don't fight in the water." The blonde boy said with his arms crossed.
"Exactly. We will be fine now but those children outside are having a much worse time while those adults are enjoying the water, I think we have to change that and I have the perfect plan." Numbuh 1 said seriously looking at everyone.
"I have a plan. Because we better go and jump into the pool in front of their faces, they will never be able to stop us." Numbuh 5 said with a smile which made the rest of the team shout in approval.
"Wait, me." Nigel tried to speak but then saw everyone running to their rooms except me.
"What was the plan, Numbuh 1?" I asked curiously but the boy shook his head.
"Forget it. We better get ready and go quickly through that pool, those adults already had their fun and now it's our turn." Nigel said seriously but then we saw the rest of the team return.
"Umm, Benja. Could you help me cool the ship down a bit?" Hogarth asked with a shy smile but I shook my head.
"I have a better idea." I said before standing in the middle of the room. Suddenly my whole body glowed and I began to grow enormously. Everyone was impressed to see me transformed into Kitsune again but now bigger than before.
"What do you think? And where is KuKi?" I asked confused when I didn't see the girl but suddenly I felt something on my fur and when I turned my head I saw the girl on my back.
"This is an incredibly soft dream! I wish I could sleep forever, I'm going to explode!" Kuki screamed before running all over my body making me laugh.
"Dude, it's incredible. And can we all go up?" Numbuh 2 asked with a smile making me nod before laying down on the ground.
"That's the idea, everyone up." Without hesitation, everyone climbed on my back except Numbuh 4, who looked at me with bad eyes.
"I'm not going to climb a fox full of fleas." The blonde boy said seriously but then he was hit by Numbuh 3's sneaker.
"Stop being so mean and grumpy with Benja and get it over with." Numbuh 4 reluctantly he climbed onto my back with her arms crossed.
"But if one of his fleas touches me."
"Shut up already, will you? Benja, we're ready!" Numbuh 5 shouted with a smile making me slowly get up.
"Everyone hold on very tight." I said as I slowly walked to the terrace of the base.
"Oh, yes of course. As if...WOW!"
Numbuh 4 stopped talking when I suddenly made a big jump which not only surprised him but everyone, when my legs touched the ground I started running generating laughter and shouts of joy in the team.
"Turn left here Benja!" Numbuh 1 shouted making me quickly turn in another direction passing a house with some garden sprites. But one of the elves would turn their heads watching the boys and I leave.
"Replay the video again."
In a dark room a girl and a boy dressed in samurai clothing seemed to be watching the moment I passed through the house although due to the speed only I could see me while the boys from sector V could not.
"What was that thing?" The boy asked in fear only to receive a slap from the girl.
"Keep calm soldier, hand me the recording now." The boy listened and handed the recording to the girl before she ran away.
After a few moments that seemed eternal, the girl arrived at a huge room full of cameras and multiple computers where many children were busy, in the background in the window you could see a beautiful and clear view of planet Earth.
"Numbuh 362! It has to do with something." The girl with the samurai helmet said tiredly, which caught the attention of a girl who was wearing a similar helmet but which showed her blonde hair.
"What is it, Numbuh 86?" The girl asked before seeing the VHS tape in the other girl's hands. Numbuh 362 simply grabbed the recording before putting it into a VHS player.
"Showing video." A child said and suddenly everyone saw that the recording seemed to start to seem normal until at one point I appeared which scared and surprised many children.
"What is that thing?.
"It's terrifying. It's bigger than a bus."
"Numbuh 86. Report what you know." Numbuh 362 said seriously without taking his eyes off the screen.
"We don't know exactly. All we've managed to learn is that that creature wandered around the suburbs where Sector V is, sir." Numbuh 86 said seriously, generating a deep silence.
"Umm, sir. Do you think The Delightful Children or some villain caused this? A creature of that magnitude, even if it looks like a biologically modified fox, is probably them." Numbuh 362 didn't say anything and simply turned off the TV before giving the VHS tape to Numbuh 86.
"Go to earth and report these events to Numbuh 1. Such a creature will bring us a lot of trouble, maybe it is scared and doesn't know where it is, so far I could see that the suburbs are still intact so that means the creature seems unaware of its surroundings. Take this and tell Nigel to prepare in case that creature returns." The girl said seriously.
"Yes sir!." Numbuh 86 shouted before running out of the room. When the doors closed Numbuh 362 dropped into her seat while he deeply remembered the image of me on the screen.
"Wuuuju, come on fox!" shouted Numbuh 2 pretending to be a cowboy.
The trip itself wasn't going to be that long but Numbuh 3 insisted that we go on a walk, I couldn't resist because she made puppy eyes at me again so we had to walk around the city in my own way. Kitsune although obviously on the roofs to avoid being seen.
"Enough of playing cowboys. Benja, turn right, go straight and head left until we reach the municipal pool." Numbuh 1 said making me stomp my feet and start running quickly.
"Oh man, I feel like I could get used to this." Numbuh 5 said with a smile as we slowly arrived at the municipal pool, making me stop.
"I hope you enjoyed it." I said before going to bed so everyone can come down.
"Numbuh 3, get off Benja's back, we have a mission ahead of us." Numbuh 1 said seriously making Kuki cling to my neck.
"Come on KuKi, I promise that when this is over again I will sleep with you transformed." I said with a nervous smile looking at the girl.
"For a week." Numbuh 3 said with a pout making us all break out in an anime style sweatdrop.
"Well, a week." The girl smiled triumphantly before getting off my back while I slowly returned to normal.
"Alright team. Benja, Do the same thing you did yesterday. Give us our swimsuits." Numbuh 1 said seriously looking at me.
"Very well, but everyone stay still. It's a delicate spell." I said before extending my hands. Suddenly the children saw circles of fire beneath them but they did not feel heat, it was more of a soft caress.
Suddenly the fire rose until it covered the children in small tornadoes of fire before disappearing showing that they were now wearing their swimsuits.
"Very good team. Everyone to the pool now!" Numbuh 1 shouted and everyone ran to the pool while I just followed them at a slow pace.
"Today is a hot day, don't you think Mr. Wink?."
"You're right, Mr. Fibb. Today is a very hot day, it's a good thing our pool helps the adults cool off, don't you think?."
There were two men in the pool's lifeguard position. One with a bizarre and crazy hairstyle that covered his eyes but had two horns sticking out, while the other man was bald except for some hair on the sides of his head, the most notable thing was that he had walrus fangs and his palms looked like fins.
"Today will be a relax day, Mr. Wink." Fibb said looking bored at the pool receiving a nod from his friend.
"I agree with you, Mr. Fibb." Both men suddenly noticed something in the distance and with the help of binoculars they were able to see Numbuh 1 and the rest of the team running to the pool.
"Tell me, Mr. Fibb."
"Yes, Mr. Wink?."
"Aren't those Kids Next Door, Mr. Fibb?." The walrus-tusked man asked with an almost invisible tone of anger in his voice.
"A bunch of misfits and annoying kids if you ask me, Mr. Wink." The man with buffalo horns responded still with that bored tone but with a bit of anger.
"They're not planning on getting into our pool, are they, Mr. Fibb?" Wink asked with some seriousness in his bored tone.
"I'm afraid so, but now. It's adult time." The buffalo-horned man said before pressing a button on his chair.
"We're almost there!" Numbuh 2 shouted happily running to the pool.
The team was very close, they were almost going to reach the pool while other children seemed to admire the bravery of sector V, but suddenly an electric fence went up out of nowhere which scared and surprised the entire team, they closed their eyes waiting for the impact but then they felt something pulling them and saw my vines tied to their hips.
"It's good that Benja is here." said Numbuh 5 as I approached them
"Our sincere apologies, children." We all felt a strong breeze and as we turned we saw Mr. Wink and Mr. Fibb landing on their beach chair using the umbrella as a helicopter propeller.
"Adult time is not over yet, but please feel free and welcome to swim in our kiddie pool." Mr. Fibb said looking at everyone.
"Yes, the children's pool!" Numbuh 3 shouted happily before running off with the rest of the team, leaving me alone with Numbuh 1.
"Not so fast, I'm not going anywhere until we kids get into the big pool." Numbuh 1 said seriously but then he saw the two adults staring at him in the eyes with a serious and annoyed look that scared Nigel.
"I meant, the children's pool. How nice!" Numbuh 1 said nervously before quickly running away leaving me alone.
"And you young man." I turned to see the two adults. Behind me I already had my knife and my cards ready to fight.
"Wait your turn until you can enter the pool, the young ones enter later than the older ones." With that said, Mr. Wink and Mr. Fibb would head back to their place at the municipal swimming pool.
You would think that the children's pool would be nice, but it is the opposite unfortunately. The supposed "pool" was nothing more than a small tub with cracks where there was barely any space and the ones who most occupied the small pool were small children and babies. The team managed to get in although they couldn't do much due to the small spaces.
"Where is Benja?" Numbuh 5 asked with some difficulty because Numbuh 3 was jumping around and playing with the other children, that was one of the main reasons why the small pool had little space.
"Surely enjoying the water with those silly adults." Numbuh 4 said, annoyed and irritated because of Kuki and the children's screams.
"That's enough!" Everyone stood still and quiet when Numbuh 1 reached its limit and shouted angrily.
"Why the hell are we in the kiddie pool in the first place?" Nigel asked angrily looking at everyone.
"Because the water is warm." Numbuh 3 said innocently, which caused enormous discomfort and silence in everyone before the team left the pool except for Kuki who seemed confused.
"I think we should break the faces of those stupid lifeguards." Numbuh 4 said annoyed but Nigel shook his head.
"I have a better plan." Numbuh 1 said seriously looking at the blonde boy.
"I'm here to help." The children turned to look at me.
"Benja? We thought you'd be at the pool with the other adults." Numbuh 2 said but I shook my head.
"I love swimming. But it won't make me feel good to swim while you suffer from the heat, if you say that the beachgoers are planning to increase the time for adults in the pool, then I will help you to prevent that from happening." I said smiling looking at my friends.
"Alright. Kids Next Door, to your battle stations!" Nigel shouted seriously looking at everyone.
"Numbuh 5!" Abigail shouted before getting into position.
"Numbuh 4!" The blonde boy did the same, positioning himself next to the girl in the red cap.
"Numbuh 3!" Kuki jumped out of the pool before positioning himself with the other children.
"Numbuh 2!" The chubby boy joined the group while Nigel pulled a bracelet out of his pockets before putting it on.
"Numbuh 1!" The moment the boy with glasses pressed the button, a small antenna began to rotate.
Inside the Sector V base the base computer began to display a coded message.
"Incoming message from Kids Next Door. Sending: Kid-A-Pault".
"Here it comes!" Numbuh 1 shouted and we all saw how a huge giant robot made of wood fell heavily to the ground.
"Kids Next Door, take your positions!" We all ran to the robot, a homemade elevator under the huge wooden machine before entering and going up to the control center.
"Very good team. This is how we will do it, if the adults do not plan to leave the pool, then we will take it by force by tearing down the electric fence." Numbuh 1 said seriously making us all nod.
"Numbuh 5, prepare Numbuh 2." Nigel said looking at the chubby boy although that confused me quite a bit.
"Prepare for what?" Before anyone could give the boy an answer, a trapdoor opened beneath him, taking him down a slide until he reached the back of the robot where there was a catapult.
"They already grabbed me like little birds from Angry Birds." Numbuh 2 said, somewhat terrified when he realized that the ammunition would be the same.
"Umm, Nigel. Wouldn't it be easier if I use my fire or turn into Kitsune again to scare the adults?" I asked nervously as Numbuh 4 seemed to be leading the attack on the municipal pool.
"Shoot 2!" Numbuh 1 shouted before pulling a lever. Suddenly Numbuh 2 was launched with so much power and speed that it looked like a real cannonball.
"That's going to hurt." I said fearfully regretting not having put a protection seal or spell on Hogarth before he was shot.
"Mr. Wink. Don't you feel something strange?" Fibb asked, bored, looking at the pool.
"It must be the heat, Mr. Fibb." The other man responded until they then heard a scream that at first was low and slowly rose in volume.
"Here I go, Saint Peter!" Numbuh 1 before punching through the fence without difficulty before crashing squarely into Mr. Wink and Fibb causing the adults to fall into the water.
"An unexpected situation, Mr. Wink." Fibb said while the other man was in his arms.
"I completely agree, Mr. Fibb." After saying that, both adults sank into the water with no effort to move.
"Who wants to swim!?." Numbuh 2 shouted into the pool. All the children screamed with joy before jumping into the pool, ignoring the adults who were swimming peacefully.
"Adults can't swim anymore, attack!" Numbuh 1 shouted as we all ran to the pool.
"Come on guys, hurry up! The water is perfect!" Numbuh 2 shouted with a smile. I was running after Numbuh 3 but slowly stopped running when my senses warned me of something.
"Something is not right." I looked at my feet for a moment and then I looked at the pool, I closed my eyes to concentrate and I felt the earth move in a slight way that was almost impossible to notice, that alarmed me very much.
"Hogarth, get everyone out of the pool now!" I shouted in concern as my team entered the water.
"What did you say, Benja?" The boy asked but then everyone in the pool noticed bubbles in the water which worried them and at the same time alarmed some of the children.
Slowly something began to emerge from the water that caused many children to run away scared or some were forcibly pulled out of the water due to the huge waves.
"Everyone leave the place now!" I yelled earlier as all the kids and even the adults left.
"We should have stayed in the children's pool or better at home." Numbuh 1 said with fear. Suddenly we all heard an explosion and saw that the robot had been destroyed.
"Behind me!." I quickly got in front of the team and made a shield appear avoiding the debris.
"If removing the children nicely doesn't work, Mr. Wink."
"Then we'll do it the rough way, Mr. Fibb."
My team and I turned around and we could see that now Mr. Fibb and Mr. Wink were in the same beach chair except that it was now huge not to mention that the umbrella that they previously used as a propeller had now been turned into a laser.
"Alright guys, I have a plan. First Numbuh 3." Nigel stopped talking when he noticed Kuki's absence.
"Wait, where is Numbuh 3?" The boy with glasses asked with confusion.
"I asked him to go get food, I wanted some nachos with cheese." Numbuh 5 said with a smile but that upset Numbuh 1.
"They completely lost their sanity!? It's not time to eat, can't they see we're under attack!?." Numbuh 1 shouted before I generated another shield to protect us from an attack from Mr. Wink and Fibb.
"I'm afraid the Kids Next Door won't be swimming in our pool today, Mr. Wink." Fibb said as the man charged the laser.
"Nor ever, Mr. Fibb." Both adults looked ready to shoot. When I saw this I began to accumulate magic ready for any clash of power but before the three of us could open fire, Kuki returned with food.
"Lunch time!." Kuki shouted before giving Numbuh 2 a pretzel.
"Time to eat?." Mr. Fibb and Wink turned off the laser making me make the shield and fireball disappear while I saw Numbuh 3 handing out the food.
"You two were the ones who wanted ice cream, right?" The Asian girl asked, looking at the two adults who got out of her beach chair.
"Yes, thank you very much." Mr. Wink said before starting to eat his ice cream next to Mr. Fibb.
"Weren't you two about to want to shoot us moments ago?" I asked stunned. All my years as a hero I learned that a villain never wastes his opportunity to attack, and seeing how our adversaries suddenly joined forces at lunch time left me surprised.
"Yes! And also, you don't give ice cream cones to your enemies!" Numbuh 1 shouted until he suddenly noticed that unlike the others, he had nothing to eat.
"Hey, didn't you bring me anything?" Numbuh 1 asked curiously hoping to eat something too but Numbuh 3 shook his head.
"Don't worry, Numbuh 1. I think I have some money, go and buy whatever you want, and bring me some strawberry and chocolate ice cream." I said before giving the money to Nigel while the boy had no choice but to go.
"Sorry Benja, I didn't know you were hungry too. Here, let's share my popcorn together." Numbuh 3 said with a smile making me smile.
"Thank you Kuki, that's sweet of you." I said before kneeling down and eating along with her.
When Nigel was about to go to the concession stand he caught a glimpse of Mr. Wink and Fibb's beach chair controls, with a smile the boy slowly approached the controls while we all ate quietly.
"Hey, sorry if the question offends. But why do they have animal parts?" I asked curiously looking at Fibb and Wink.
"It's something very personal." The man with walrus teeth said. Before the talk could continue we all felt a tremor and saw Numbuh 1 now controlling the beach chair.
"Kid, get down from there, you don't know what you're doing!" Fibb shouted looking at Nigel.
"Nigel, get out of there! You don't know how it even works, we could reach a peaceful solution now!" I shouted, worried for both his and everyone's safety.
"Never! Now that we have control in our hands, the children will be able to swim infinitely in the pool without anything stopping us. Now, it's time to say goodbye to the beachgoers." Numbuh 1 said seriously, I quickly got in front of everyone ready to be defensive but suddenly I saw how Nigel with the push of a button made the chair go crazy.
"There I come, Nigel!" I screamed before flying at high speed to where the child was, when I arrived I could immediately see that the chair was out of control until it pulled out a giant drill ready to drill.
"We have to get out of here!." I immediately grabbed Numbuh 1 and jumped just in time as the beach chair came down with great force towards the pool. We all watched as the water slowly disappeared, leaving the pool completely dry.
"How fateful, don't you think, Mr. Wink?" Fibb asked, looking at the hole in the pool.
"That's right, Mr. Fibb." Suddenly a strong wave of heat hit the place which caused the exhaustion of everyone here.
"It must be noon. The sun must be stronger now." I said worriedly as I slowly landed on the ground.
"I just wanted all the kids to be able to enjoy the pool but I see that just ruining this for everyone." said Numbuh 1 with sadness and exhaustion.
"You lost control Nigel, that's wrong. We could have settled that more peacefully so everyone could enjoy the water. But don't worry, I have an idea." I said smiling before flying to the center of the place, drawing everyone's attention.
My hair slowly changed color as did my tails to an amber color. I stretched out my hands and slowly everyone watched as a barrier began to grow around the place until it closed on top of everyone.
"Ice Element: Winter Paradise!" I screamed before my body glowed white, suddenly everyone saw that I started flying at high speed through the place, no one knew what was happening but suddenly everyone could see snow falling causing everyone's happiness while slowly what was supposed to happen. which was a broken municipal swimming pool, was now covered in snow.
In less than a second, everyone ran out and returned with coats and gloves ready to enjoy the snow while I slowly began to go down with a smile observing the joy and happiness of both children and adults.
"Mr. Fibb."
"Yes, Mr. Wink?."
"Doesn't this seem like some sort of Christmas miracle, Mr. Fibb?" The man with buffalo horns asked, looking at everything, sitting in a beach chair now wearing a coat.
"Almost. It's just that we're not in December, but this really helps a lot, Mr. Wink." Said the man with walrus teeth sitting next to his friend.
"Snow!." Kuki ran and started creating a snowman with Abigail. Hogarth was about to do the same until a snowball hit him on the head and he turned around to see Wally, both boys laughed before starting to throw snowballs at each other.
"This needs something more." I said smiling but then I noticed that Numbuh 1 didn't seem to want to go play with his friends.
"Nigel, what's wrong? Why don't you play with the others?"
"I can't. I ruined everyone's pool day, you solved this using your magic, I don't know if they will forgive what I did, I lost control of myself." Numbuh 1 said somewhat disappointed but then he felt a hand on his shoulder and turned to look at me.
"Nigel, don't think about that. Your friends will always be there for you, it's true that you lost control but don't let that mark who you are, this small slip will help you improve in the future. We all make mistakes and it's part of us. Now, don't think about that, and better go have fun." I said smiling as one of my tails grabbed some snow before throwing it at Numbuh 2.
"Now you'll see, 2!" Nigel immediately ran off to throw snowballs with the rest of his friends making me smile but when he was about to leave Numbuh 3 grabbed me by my clothes.
"Benja, aren't you going to stay?" Numbuh 3 asked with some sadness making me laugh sheepishly.
"Kuki, I..."
I was shocked when the girl started making sad puppy eyes making me feel my heart being pierced.
"Are you going to do this all the time?" I asked nervously but the last straw was when the girl started with her lip trembling. That was my breaking point.
"Okay, okay. I'll stay a little longer, I think I can do what I have planned at the store here. I was planning to go to the treehouse to make hot chocolate for everyone." I said with a shy smile making Numbuh 3 smile happily.
"I will help!." Numbuh 3's statement made me laugh before I left with her to the store while the others had fun.
"This is missing something, don't you think, Mr. Wink?" Fibb asked curiously as he sat watching the falling snowflakes.
"Indeed, Mr. Fibb." Suddenly an aroma reached everyone's nostrils and when they turned around they saw Numbuh 3 and me at the food stall with huge pots.
"Come on everyone, come get your hot chocolate!" I shouted with a smile making everyone come closer excitedly.
"Do you have marshmallows?" Wink asked curiously as Kuki and I poured the hot chocolate.
"It's a sin not to put marshmallows in hot chocolate." I said smiling as the girl and I handed two cups of hot chocolate to the two adults.
"Delicious." Both adults said at the same time as they slowly drank the hot chocolate.
"It's because I also have help from someone who is very good at chocolate." I said smiling looking at Kuki making the girl laugh.
The day passed peacefully where everyone enjoyed hot chocolate and multiple games, with some fire magic I managed to repair the pool and fill it with water again for the next one. Now the entire team was on my back again in my Kitsune transformation as we slowly walked home.
"Today was a great day. I think I drank 12 cups of chocolate." Numbuh 2 said lying on my back before burping making everyone laugh.
"There are times when I am surprised by your enormous appetite, Hogarth. I even think you would be able to devour an army of food if necessary." I said looking at the boy.
"This could become a habit. We wouldn't have to use ships anymore and we could go behind Benja's back all the time, no offense Numbuh 2." Numbuh 5 said relaxed on the back of my neck but the chubby teenager didn't seem angry.
"Nah, okay. I enjoy this too, I think I might become a fox cowboy, or even do a rodeo." We all laughed at the chubby boy's ideas as we approached the base but as we arrived I saw a ship positioned under the tree.
"Hey friends, what is that ship?" I asked curiously. When everyone turned to look, they were petrified.
"Benja. Behind the house, now." Numbuh 1 said with fear in her voice which confused me.
"Because?." I asked confused but then let out a cry of pain when Numbuh 5 grabbed me tightly by the ears.
"Do what they tell you!" Without much option I had to hide behind the house before returning to normal.
"Because they did that!?." I screamed in pain but then Numbuh 2 covered my mouth with his hand before making a silent gesture.
"Do you think she's still there?" Numbuh 5 asked quietly looking at Nigel.
"It's likely. Numbuh 5, go with the others and enter with Benja from the back, I'll try to see what Numbuh 86 wants." Numbuh 1 said although with some fear in his serious tone.
"Who is Numbuh 86?" I asked curiously as the kids led me down a different path around the house.
"Another Kids Next Door agent. And believe me, she's a girl you'll never, ever want to meet." Numbuh 4 said while Numbuh 2 nodded before we went down a different path. On the other hand, Numbuh 1 took a deep breath and adjusted her sunglasses and then advanced to the tree house and entered.
When Numbuh 1 arrived at the base he could notice that everything was dark because during the day we did not use the lights so it was normal for everything to be in the dark.
"I think he'll be gone by now." Numbuh 1 said but then the lights were turned on and he could see Numbuh 86 with an angry expression etched on his face.
"Umm, Hello Numbuh 86..."
"Hours! I've been waiting for you all damn day, where the hell have you been, Numbuh 1!?." The girl shouted with anger in her voice, leaving Nigel somewhat speechless.
"Umm, we were on a very important mission." Numbuh 1 said but that did not calm the girl.
"And you left your communicator here! I was just calling you to see why you left your damn communicator on your work table, and where are the other two clowns and Numbuh 5 and 3?" Numbuh 86 asked with his arms crossed. Nigel swallowed and his fears increased as he saw the boys and me walking slowly through the hallways.
"Umm, they went home to eat! Yes, they did that, I was going to do the same but, I forgot my communicator like you said." Nigel said nervously due to Numbuh 86's cold gaze. A deep silence was present while the boy suffered the girl's gaze until she let out a grunt as if accepting the lie.
"Whatever. Listen, you have something to do with it." The girl at that moment turned on the television showing the image of me passing by the house which made Numbuh 1 tense.
"We captured this anomaly at 08:21 in the morning. Experts at the lunar base still have no information about the creature that was captured in the video, and it is unknown whether it is a living biological weapon from the Delightful Children or someone else. Moreover, it is still being investigated. Tell me Numbuh 1, haven't you noticed anything strange?" Numbuh 86 asked seriously, looking at Nigel which made him tense.
"No, I haven't seen anything." Numbuh 1 said nervously but then a loud gunshot was heard which alarmed the two agents.
"Hogarth, I told you not to touch my pulse rifle!" I screamed quietly in alarm seeing the huge hole in the ceiling.
"Why do you have that thing if you have magic!?" Numbuh 4 asked angrily looking at me.
"It's a gift she gave me, Sojourn. I couldn't refuse it, she gave it to me on our first date!" I said nervously but suddenly my ears perked up.
"Someone approached." Immediately we all hid. Kuki and Abigail in the closet, Numbuh 4, under the bed, Hogarth under my desk and I quickly transformed into a bat before flying up and onto the ceiling.
"Please, Numbuh 86, maybe it was a bird. You know there are always birds here when it gets dark!" Numbuh 1's voice could be heard clearly from the hallways.
"Stop talking nonsense, Numbuh 1. How the hell would a bird trigger a shot!?." The girl's voice also became clearer and clearer before she stopped.
"What is this room, Numbuh 1? As far as I know, you are only 5 members, explain now."
"Umm, we keep very important things in there."
"Then you wouldn't mind if I took a look, would you?"
"But..."
"Listen to me very well, Numbuh 1. You better not be hiding something, you already know the rules, and as your superior, I ordered you to open this door right now."
"Yes, Numbuh 86."
When the doors opened we all saw Numbuh 86 and Numbuh 1 enter and look around the room, the girl seemed very serious looking around the room.
"Do you have anything to explain about this, Numbuh 1? Because as far as I see it, this looks more like a teenager's room than a child's." The girl said seriously before walking around the room.
"Look at these clothes, Numbuh 1. So, flashy and so strange. Why do you have this?" Numbuh 86 asked seriously as she grabbed my clothes and tore them. Seeing this hurt me a lot, it was designer clothes that Draculaura bought for me and it was also clothes that I made myself.
"They are clothes that we confiscated as teenagers in case one day we have to infiltrate them to discover their plans." Numbuh 1 said fearfully trying to stop Numbuh 86 but the girl then started walking to the desk.
"And what is this? Drawing book?" The girl asked, grabbing my design notebook, which scared me a lot and made me sweat.
"Numbuh 3 is starting to go to drawing class and these are the results of his practice." Nigel said but that didn't calm the girl down, in fact it seemed to make her angry worse.
"Listen to me very Numbuh 1, you are hiding something from me and you already know the rules very well, and right now you are breaking more than a single rule by confiscating teenagers' things without authorization from Numbuh 362." Numbuh 86 said angrily, clenching my design notebook tightly which made me clench my fangs tightly.
"Numbuh 86 please believe me. I'm not hiding anything!" Numbuh 1 shouted with concern looking at the girl but she only managed to fill the fire more.
"Stop lying to me! I'm sick of this nonsense, that's why I hate working with guys like you. They're stupid, disrespectful and irritating! If you don't want to tell me what all this means then I'll confiscate and break all this stuff if necessary!." Numbuh 86 shouted before raising my design book in the air threatening to tear it.
Suddenly the girl saw something land on her hand and saw a bat which made her jump before she pulled a gun out of her pocket.
"Get out of me!." The girl started shooting but I dodged the attacks before letting out a loud sonic screech, pushing Numbuh 86 back out of the room.
"Numbuh 1, don't stand there like an idiot and help me!" I shouted Numbuh 86 as she continued shooting at me but everything went silent when a loud bang was heard.
First it was the gun, and suddenly Numbuh 86 fell sharply to the floor while behind her Numbuh 5 was holding a baseball bat tightly, breathing hard before dropping it to the floor and then slumping against the wall.
"Numbuh 5. Are you okay?" I quickly returned to normal and approached her quickly seeing that she was having a panic attack.
"Attack on a superior. God I don't even know if he's breathing!" The girl screamed in terror. I quickly approached Numbuh 86 and took off her helmet seeing that she had red hair. I started touching her looking for serious damage or blood while everyone went to help and relax Abigail.
"The helmet cushioned much of the impact, she is just unconscious, I do not detect any internal fracture or superficial cut, she will be fine." I said looking at the kids making them all sigh in relief but then they saw me walk to the room before grabbing my torn clothes.
"Sorry Benja. I'm sorry that because of me Numbuh 86 did this." Numbuh 2 said with his head down but I shook my head.
"Don't worry, Hogarth. I can repair everything and make it like new, what I would never forgive is losing my design journal." I said before opening my journal and checking everything to see that no pages were torn.
"This diary is valuable to me. This is where I started designing, at first my clothing designs were not flashy, but over time I even made outfits for all occasions." Everyone watched in amazement as the initially basic designs gradually became extravagant designs until they ended up in hero costumes even with key elements.
"Wow, that's impressive." Numbuh 2 said looking at my journal.
"Thank you. Now help me hide all this before Numbuh 86 wakes up." I said looking at everyone before I started hiding my things.
Numbuh 86's moans of pain filled the room as slowly the girl seemed to open her eyes with difficulty seeing five shadows in front of her.
"Back off, she's waking up." Numbuh 1 said as the girl slowly sat on the couch where she had been lying.
"What happened?." Numbuh 86 asked in confusion before touching her head but then she remembered and stood up before pushing Numbuh 2 and 5 away before running to my room.
"Don't think I didn't discover your secret!" When the girl opened the room, she only managed to have a broom fall on her head.
"That we keep the cleaning things where they should go?" Number 3 asked looking at the now transformed room.
"No, this doesn't make sense. There was a room there before!? Surely this is fake!." Numbuh 86 shouted before starting to throw all the cleaning things but was then stopped by Numbuh 5.
"Listen, friend. We found you unconscious because of what you did. We found you after a mission on the floor and a can of paint that Numbuh 3 accidentally kept there, we had to clean everything and take you to the living room to rest." Abigail said seriously while the other girl was more upset than before but then she sighed.
"Whatever. I've already wasted too much time here, Numbuh 1. The next time I contact all of you to notify you of my arrival, you better respond, or you'll pay dearly." Numbuh 86 said before leaving the place.
"Numbuh 1. What is she talking about?" Abigail asked seriously making me Nigel sigh.
"You better see it." With that said, the boy approached the computer before turning it on and showing the image from the cameras, which froze the entire sector V.
"They already know about Benja. At least to a lesser extent." Nigel said with seriousness but at the same time nerves in his voice.
"What can we do?." Hogarth asked with concern looking at Numbuh 1.
"From now on Benja must remain low profile at all costs, create an identity to ensure his safety and protection. We cannot allow them to do what we already know they will do." The last thing Nigel said was like a dagger was sliding down his throat, as the boy had a hard time saying it.
"What are you talking about?." Everyone was startled and turned to see that I was standing at the entrance to the main hall.
"Benja, umm. What are you doing here?" Numbuh 5 asked with a nervous smile leaving me even more confused.
"I was waiting for the signal to leave, the illusion spell ended and I didn't see them anywhere, is everything okay?" I asked with curiosity and some concern looking at everyone.
"Yes, just. Umm, we are very stressed, whenever Numbuh 86 comes we get very stressed because she is very strict and hard on us." Numbuh 2 said with a smile as everyone nodded quickly.
"I understand. Well, I'll go prepare dinner, everyone must be hungry, I'll cook spaghetti tonight for everyone." I said smiling before leaving leaving everyone behind.
"Someday Benja will have to know everything." Numbuh 5 said with concern but Numbuh 1 shook his head.
"Let's hope it's a long time coming, Numbuh 5. Or better yet, never again." Nigel said seriously looking at the girl.
"But sooner or later he might find out. He'll ask for explanations." Numbuh 2 said with fear, making the boy sigh with glasses.
"Today was a stressful day, team. Tomorrow morning we will think of a way to cover this up, in the meantime we must continue as normal, if Benja detects that we are hiding something from him, all this will be ruined and we will possibly get into worse, bigger problems to cover up this secret." Said Numbuh 1 seriously making everyone nod.
"Alright team. Let's have dinner." With that said, everyone left the place heading to the dining room.
The Delightful Children would never feel afraid of anything, but what was now standing in front of them made them feel as if the devil himself was right there.
"I'm leaving here, one day, just one day where I can have my fucking rest. Only to find out that they destroyed my house!?." One person shouted with clear anger in their voice as the children looked terrified.
"Father..."
"Silence, I don't want excuses! I'm going to disappear from here, leaving you with your birthday and then seeing my beautiful house split in half!? What excuse do you have for this!?" The person shouted in such a way that she showed her anger.
"A teenager?." The man's voice no longer seemed angry, it now sounded more curious with a hint of seriousness.
"Describe that one, teenager."
"He was tall, long white hair, wore a school jacket with sweatpants and sneakers, but there was something unique about him." The five children spoke more calmly while the man now appreciated more interested.
"Continue." The man spoke calmly but without abandoning his serious tone. The five children looked at each other and suddenly Ashley came forward.
"That teenager is not normal. He has abilities that we have never seen, he acted as a magician at the birthday party as a distraction for the Kids Next Door, but he was not just any normal magician, he performed real magic and even managed to make me disappear and reappear somewhere else." The girl said with a slight serious tone.
"A teenager with magic huh?" The five children nodded at the same time but then were startled when the man slammed a table hard.
"What nonsense! No teenager is capable of performing magic, you wanted me to believe a ridiculous story about a magician when in reality you five snotty kids failed to destroy the Kids Next Door!" The man now sounded more enraged and angry than he had before.
"But, Father..."
"Enough! I've had enough of your nonsense, go to your room and sleep, you're lucky I believe the Kids Next Door thing, but I'm not stupid enough to believe a lie as similar as that!" The man shouted angrily, forcing the Delightful Children to leave for their inhabitants without much of a choice.
"The Kids Next Door have a teenager among their ranks, we know what we saw, if father doesn't believe us, we will have to show it in front of him." With that said, each of the children left for their inhabitants without saying anything else.
The first rays of light came out on a warm Monday. Everyone in sector V woke up to do their daily routines. Abigail was looking for her clothes, Numbuh 4 was hitting a punching bag, Kuki was diving for her stuffed animals, Hogarth was reading comics while Nigel was adjusting his glasses.
"Guys, let's have breakfast!" When my voice reached everyone's ears they immediately started moving. Numbuh 5 pressed a button on her nightstand before entering an elevator in her room, Numbuh 4 opened a trapdoor in the floor before jumping down and descending on a slide.
Numbuh 3 ran down the hallway to go to the kitchen, Numbuh 2 pulled out of his injector seat and shot to a hatch in the ceiling, Numbuh 1 simply walked and with a single press of a button he began to descend.
"We are already here!." The children screamed as they entered the dining room from different places, but then we saw the ceiling break and Hogarth falling onto the table.
"I'm here." We all laughed a little at the entrance of Numbuh 2 before I helped him sit down and remove the debris from the ceiling while I made the bacon and eggs and waffles for everyone.
"Too bad the weekend ended quickly and we have to go back to stupid school." Numbuh 4 said angrily eating her breakfast while I sat down to eat with them.
"If you want I can take you to school like I did yesterday." I said smiling but everyone immediately shook their heads which surprised me.
"Thank you, Benja, but we're fine like this. We'll take the bus, because you'd better stay here and make this to-do list that we made for you." Numbuh 5 said before giving me a list of things to do.
"Okay, I guess. One more thing." At that moment I grabbed some papers and started writing something before giving each person a piece of paper.
"They are magical seals, if you have a problem you should break or burn them, then I will appear to help you in any kind of emergency." I said smiling but then I saw Numbuh 4 crumple the paper and throw it in the trash.
"I don't need your help, monster. I'm a lone wolf, I can take care of myself." The boy stood up and left the room, but seconds later we saw him return before grabbing his plate with his breakfast before leaving.
"Umm, okay. I'm going to prepare your lunches for everyone, please eat before the bus arrives." I said earlier as I started cooking lunch while everyone ate.
After breakfast, we all climbed down from the tree and walked to the nearest bus stop where there were other children.
"Very good, here you have it. Sandwiches, chips, apples and bottles of water for everyone." I said before giving everyone their respective lunch boxes.
"Thank you Benja. Generally we eat in the school cafeteria but thank you for this." Nigel said with a smile as I nodded before the bus came.
"Good luck guys, good luck in your classes!" I shouted as the children except for Numbuh 4 waved at me before leaving on the bus.
"Alright, I better start making the to-do list. Hopefully I'll finish before they arrive." I said before I started walking without noticing an ice cream truck that passed near me.
"I've got the kid in my sights, boss." The ice cream man said, looking at me in the rearview mirror as he drove me away.
"Do not lose sight of him, it is necessary to bring him alive with us." The Delightful Children said through the ice cream trucks communicator.
"Yes sir." The truck made a U-turn before starting to follow me while I continued walking without paying much attention looking at the shopping list.
That's it for today's chapter boys and girls, I hope you liked it and I hope you are enjoying the story so far.
I hope you all have a crazy day, a crazy afternoon and a relaxing night. That's all for today, see you later dear readers, I'm your Peacock host and I say goodbye. That's all folks.