THE NEXT DAY...

TJ asked the others to meet him across the street from the school as early as possible and he was now waiting for them as the bald man from yesterday was standing around over there.

"Cueball, corner pocket." LJ murmured.

TJ pulled out a tape recorder. "9:32 AM, ugly bald guy still guarding the school." he muttered. Just then, he heard a honking sound and used his binoculars. Through them he could see that the bald guy was opening the gate for two cars entering the schoolyard.

"9:32 and a half AM, I think," Chrissy said before looking over. "Is that a real time?"

"It is now." TJ told her.

"Right then, 9:32 and a half AM, the grown-ups were wrong and the school is not empty." Chrissy then said from her calculation.

The mysterious green glow was shown yet again and TJ checked it out with his binoculars. "9:32 and three quarters, green glow in window again. I suggest we go in for a closer look." he then recorded and said to the other kids he had with him.

"Wait!" Kimberly yelped.

"What's wrong?" Lynn asked her.

"I'm unsure about this." Kimberly said softly.

"Maybe we should've brought a camera or something," LJ mused. "That way we can provide evidence."

"I know something." Chrissy then said.

The others looked at her curiously.

"My emergency cell phone has a camera, just gotta get it set up!" Chrissy said as she took out her phone only for it to suddenly start ringing. "Uh, I better take this."

The others grumbled slightly before they went across the street, hoping they would have enough time during their investigation.

"Hello? Oh, hi, Aunt Aria," Chrissy said as she took the call. "No, Aunt Aria, LJ isn't being inappropriate to me and you don't have to break his face because he broke my heart."

They approached the front gate before climbing up it and going over to the school, though Chrissy stayed behind to talk on the phone to reassure her more aggressively protective aunt that she was fine right now. The green glow shined even brighter once TJ and the others came to the window and saw what was going on inside and they could see scientists inside of the cafeteria with some sort of device. And apparently, they were using it to levitate a safe!

"Okay, we could really use that camera. Hey, wait a second!" LJ remarked as he pulled a camera from off screen. "Let's hope the flash doesn't alert anyone..."

"I think the red button turns the flash off." Lynn said as she pointed it out.

"Well, hurry up! I don't think it'll last much longer until the safe's back down on the ground!" Kimberly urged, sounding a bit antsy.

LJ aimed his camera and took at least two pictures in rapid succession. Then suddenly, the safe went back down on the ground after what felt like a few quick seconds.


Queenie and Kingsley sighed together as they walked with their maid and butler who walked their poodles, Ootsy and Bootsy.

"It's not fair, why do they have to go on an around the world cruise every summer and not include us?" Queenie pouted at her brother. "Don't Mumsy and Daddy love us?"

"I'm sure they do, but they're so busy," Kingsley replied before he looked over and nudged his sister with a small smirk. "Come on, making fun of the poor people will cheer us up a little."

"Well, okay." Queenie smirked back.

TJ looked the most surprised at what he and the others saw before he soon took off running for home.

"Whoa, how nerdy and unpopular do you have to be to wanna go to school during the summer?" Queenie taunted TJ and the others from across the street. "Talk about desperate!"

"Sorry, don't have time, BIG STUFF HAPPENING!" LJ shouted as he and the others took off.

Queenie and Kingsley looked annoyed about that. Queenie then sighed sadly once she and Kingsley were alone, so he gently patted his twin sister's back.

"Consuela, Mr. Covington, take us home." Kingsley demanded, wiping his eyes before tears could form.

"No, no... we stay." The maid responded.

"That's quite alright, young sir and madam!" The butler replied in a very butchered English accent that sounded rough, even in a feminine voice which made his gender seem ambiguous despite having a silver mustache. "In fact, I've got a feelin' we're all gonna be together for a long time!"


And after that, the Morbuxaplenty twins went back home to their extravagant and luxurious mansion they grew up in as TJ raced back to his house along with his friends. "MOM! MOM!" he then cried out until he crashed right into the glass door.

"TJ! Are you all right?!" Mrs. Detweiler asked her son in concern as she opened the door to check on him.

"Those guys at the school, they're doing some kind of evil experiment!" TJ explained urgently with wide eyes.

"That bonk on the head must've rattled your little brain." Mrs. Detweiler said out of concern as she put her hand on her son's forehead.

"But Mom-" TJ tried to explain.

"You're feverish. You wait right here," Mrs. Detweiler told her son before she left for a moment. "I'll go get the baby thermometer and the petroleum jelly."

"Maybe we oughta go tell someone else." suggested LJ.


"Uh, Dad, Dad! Dad!" TJ then called out before running another way as the others joined him.

"What is it, boy?" Mr. Detweiler asked as he began to work on the car outside.

"Those bad guys have a laser beam and they're lifting this safe!" TJ explained urgently.

"T.J., did you run into the sliding glass door again?" Mr. Detweiler asked his son out of concern as he rolled himself from under the car.

"No, but. Yeah, but. Gaaah!" TJ replied, stammering before groaning and storming off as his parents were not much help.

"Come back!" Mr. Detweiler called out to his son then. "Your mom's gonna want to take your temperature!"


LATER, AT THE POLICE STATION...

"Okay, kid, we got it all on the report," said one cop as he lowered his police report to look at TJ and the others. "We'll take care of those mad scientists."

"Yeah," His partner chuckled. "No one's gonna levitate any safes on my watch!" And they both laughed.

TJ glared, but then remembered. "What about the pictures?" he asked LJ.

"Believe me, it would be wasted on these guys." LJ responded, his tone icy.

"You sure?" Lynn asked. "I mean, my family and I rode a dragon after we found out about our ancestry."

"I want you to think about what you just said for a minute and this is coming from me because of a very bad experience I had in school." Kimberly said bitterly.

"Gordon, Waffle, and Mr. Blik tried to cheer you up about that though." LJ reminded her.

"I know, but still, I felt so humiliated, especially in front of Olivia Mears." Kimberly replied and sighed.

LJ patted her on the back.

"Ooh, look, Artie! Somebody's levitating my donut with a laser beam!" The first cop laughed, dangling a donut and holding a flashlight up to it.

And both cops laughed.

"See?" Chrissy gestured. "Pointless."

"Why don't adults ever believe kids?" Kimberly groaned.

"I don't know, Kimber," LJ said with a weary sigh. "I don't know."

"Laugh at us, will ya?" TJ scoffed as they left the police station before calling out sternly. "I'M GONNA BE A TAX PAYER SOMEDAY!"

Soon, across the street from downstairs was a familiar adult, especially to TJ.

"Principal Prickly! WAAAAAIT!" TJ yelled out, but he couldn't get the man's attention fast enough, so he rode his bike down the steps and decided to follow his school's principal.

"Like your principal is gonna listen to you." Lynn scoffed in instant disbelief.

"Well, we don't exactly have much choice," said LJ as he picked Lynn up. "So we may as well make do!"

Lynn's face went bright red at this.


AT THE WEST SIDE GOLF CLUB...

"Yeah, you guys did it right," said Principal Prickly, getting ready to tee off. "Technology, law, waste management... good solid careers. Me? I'm stuck with a bunch of pain-in-the-butt kids all year."

"Pete, are you gonna putt or grouse all day?" One of the other men complained.

"Okay, okay, here goes." Principal Prickly said as he then took his position and got ready for a good swing, only to jolt suddenly and his ball ended up right into the water hazard.

"Principal Prickly! You gotta come quick!" TJ cried out as he tried to rush over to his principal. "It's an emergency!

"Well, well, well, if it isn't Mr. Ice Cream For Everyone?" Prickly scoffed before he faced his friends behind him. "This is that kid I was telling you about."

"The Saggy Butt Kid?" One of the other men asked.

"Hey, hey, whatever happened to doctor patient confidentiality?" Prickly complained.

"Sorry." The man said sheepishly then.

"Something weird's going on in the school," TJ told his principal urgently. "We saw these mad scientists and-"

"Yeah, yeah, very funny," Prickly scoffed and dismissed. "I'm not falling for another one of your so-called jokes. How dumb do you think I am?"

"It's not a joke, sir. They have this laser beam, and-" TJ defended and kept trying to explain until he paused and looked desperate to have someone else believe him and the friends he had here. "Aw, please, Principal Prickly, you gotta believe us! The school's in danger!"

"Give me a break, Detweiler." Prickly scoffed impatiently.

"It's no joke, Principal Prickly," said LJ. "I have physical evidence!"

"Aw, c'mon, go with the kid, Pete." said one of the men.

"Yeah, this isn't the kind of issue you should be avoiding." The other one said, sounding sort of like Stu Pickles before he and the others chuckled.

"...alright, Detweiler; let's get this over with." relented Prickly.

And so, they left the golf course to go straight back to the school while Prickly's buddies decided to wait for him.


They took the principal's car and soon pulled up to school grounds and they all stepped out to see that the school was exactly as it was left every summer vacation by being closed down and empty for a few months.

"Looks fine to me," Prickly snorted. "Now can I go back to my golf game?"

"Just wait 'til you get inside. You'll see." TJ said, still determined.

"Yeah, and how would you explain this?" Chrissy added as she showed the pictures they had.

"Don't you kids today take Photos and somehow Shop it up to make it look real these days?" Prickly snorted before he took out his key to the school and went to unlock the door. "Oh, the things I do for you kids. Sometimes I think you were put on this Earth just to-" he then grumbled only for a green electrical charge to shoot him, causing him to scream. "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"

TJ and the others screamed in horror, though Chrissy was recording for physical proof. And in an instant... Principal Prickley was gone! All that was left of him were his shoes!

"OH, MY GOD!" LJ exclaimed. "THEY KILLED PRINCIPAL PRICKLEY!"

"YOU BUG-TURDS!" Lynn added on. "...what? It felt right."

TJ ran inside his house and the others came in after him until he leaned against the door and panted heavily in disbelief over what he just saw. He then took out his tape recorder as he felt determined to get his best friends together since this was the kind of thing they were known for. "11:57 AM. Principal Prickly dematerialized in a horrifying field of electricity. The cops won't listen. Mom and Dad won't listen. I gotta get the guys together. It's the only way." he then recorded frantically.

"Should we tell our parents?" Kimberly wondered.

"I'm sure they'll believe us and leave it up to us." LJ replied casually.

"You sound so sure about that." Kimberly replied.

"My parents have been on a lot of adventures like this one, they'll understand," LJ reassured her. "You could probably tell your parents that you're going on a special little friendly road trip or something and I'm sure Chrissy's aunts will get the adventure excuse too since Mom met them on one of those adventures and she's trying to be patient with them, especially Adagio."

"Plus we gotta round up the other KND operatives... at least the ones who are nearby." added Chrissy.

"We'll tell them later, once we have concrete proof," said LJ. "More kids knowing could alert whoever these guys are and spook them into hiding."

"I know how to get a ride." TJ said to the others.

"Are you gonna make your sister who has a driver's license and blackmail her until she agrees?" Kimberly guessed.

"Uh, maybe?" TJ replied sheepishly.

"That's not nice." Kimberly frowned as she crossed her arms in disappointment.

"Hey, that's just what a guy does to his big sister, ya know?" TJ shrugged in defense. "Besides, how else are we gonna get some help to scope things out at the school?"

"Desperate times," said LJ. "And these are as desperate as they get. The most we can do is apologize."

"LJ, are you really saying we should get TJ's sister involved like this?" Kimberly asked.

"I guess it's better than asking my sister Lori," Lynn shrugged at that. "She always wants favors in exchange for giving us rides to wherever we need to go."

"Well, we need her involved in the plot somehow," LJ shrugged. "Everyone plays a purpose."

The others looked curious and soon, TJ went upstairs in his house going to one particular room.


"Like, I am so through with him, Melissa," Becky was heard talking on the phone to one of her friends. "He asked me if I spoke French, then winked at me."

"Becky, you gotta help me!" TJ said, hanging up the phone suddenly to get his sister's attention. "I need a ride up to Chesterville!"

"Are you kidding? I'm not doing anything for you, you little dork." Becky scoffed and dismissed him as she went to call her friend back.

TJ smirked as he took out a certain little pink book and decided to read it aloud. "'Oh, how I dream of the mustache fuzz on jimmy's sweaty lips glistening as he cooks in the light of a dozen hamburger heat lamps'." he then read aloud.

"Hey, that's my diary!" Becky complained, trying to take it back. "Give me that!"

"Ah-ah-ah. I've got copies," TJ smirked at his sister. "Either you give me a ride, or this baby hits the Internet."

Becky looked horrified, but also frustrated since she now had to do what he said and began to get ready to drive her brother around.

"Well, guys, I got us a ride." TJ said to Kimberly, Chrissy, Lynn, and LJ.

LJ nodded in affirmation, and soon they were in Becky's station wagon, driving on down the road.

"Thanks for driving us, Becky," TJ smiled. "You're the sweetest big sister a kid could ask for."

"And YOU are the annoying pet monkey I wish I never got." Becky shot back.

"Older sisters, I guess." Chrissy shrugged.

"Some of them." Kimberly nodded.

"Pretty sure Lori felt that way after a while." Lynn added.


MEANWHILE...

"Mazinsky at the bat, bottom of the 9th, no one can stop him now..." Martin was shown as he spoke to himself, raising up his bat and got ready to swing as he took his position. "You're gonna make your parents proud while you're at baseball camp and Jenny's at soccer camp, and that girl you once met named Sara is... nowhere to be found." he then added with a low sigh as he missed that girl he once met around Winter Break.

"MAZINSKY! QUIT YAPPING AND GET YOUR HEAD IN THE GAME!" The coach called out sternly.

"Yes, Coach..." Martin grumbled and soon hit the ball that was pitched at him and it went flying, making him smile, though he frowned as he didn't seem to like baseball as much as his mother did.

The coach then came to talk to the other kids who were practicing their pitches. "Get that front leg up, Biggles! You call that a pitch, Hornsby? Come on, LaSalle! Throw it, don't aim it!" he then instructed sternly.

"I know, I know!" Vince replied before grumbling to himself. "Man, I can pitch just fine when I'm with my friends."

"Psst! Pssst!" TJ beckoned, prompting Vince and Martin to turn towards the bushes.

"TJ? LJ?" Vince asked as he approached. "What are you doing here?"

"You gotta come back to town," said LJ. "It's an emergency!"

"Gladly!" Martin beamed until he caught himself. "Uh, I mean, why?" he then asked, trying to sound cool and nonchalant to make it seem like he enjoyed baseball though he didn't really seem to all that much.

"What?" Vince asked. "We can't just leave."

"Something weird is going on at school," TJ explained. "Principal Prickly got dematerialized."

"Yeah, and we have proof too." Chrissy added.

"Dematerialized?" Vince replied in disbelief. "Guys, you're crazy."

"Though I saw stranger things during one winter." Martin had to admit.

"Are we?" TJ asked. "Show them, Lynn."

Lynn nodded firmly and then took out Principal Prickly's shoes that were smoking from what happened to their owner earlier.


Vince and Martin both looked surprised at that and soon, they were on the road as well.

"Mt. Van Buren? That's 20 miles away!" Becky complained. "I'm not taking you there."

TJ smirked as he decided to blackmail his sister again. "'Dear Diary, I dreamed of Jimmy again. He was rocking me so gently, just like he rocks the grease off a basket of hot and steamy onion rings'." he then read aloud.

"Whoa! Let me look at that!" Vince beamed as he tried to reach for the diary.

"Jerks." Becky grumbled behind the wheel.


MEANWHILE, AT SPACE CAMP...

The Diggers were shoveling away at the Martian sand when they were shooed off by the camp director.

"Hey, you kids, get away from that fake Martian landscape!" she called.

Dil Pickles and Dib Membrane glanced over curiously as they did their own thing.

Suddenly, Gretchen came running into the room to see the camp director, knocking over a random boy in a space helmet in a homemade space costume. "Miss Director! Miss Director!" she then cried out.

"What is it now, Gretchen?" The camp director asked, sounding exhausted.

"I've been studying the moon with the 200 inch telescope at the observatory, and I've detected some peculiar eccentricities in its orbit." Gretchen explained urgently, showing some data she had collected.

"Gretchen, maybe you should try out one of these neat antigravity harnesses," The camp director offered as a distraction. "The other kids love 'em, and look, you can even do back flips, just like real astronauts!" she then added before doing some backflips as a demonstration.

"But!" Gretchen cried out before sighing in defeat as her intelligence was ignored around here. "Why do I bother?"

"Because you're driven by a passionate desire for knowledge?" TJ asked as he opened a helmet, showing that he, Vince, and LJ were on displayed astronaut suits in the room.

"TJ? Vince?" Gretchen asked, surprised to see them. "What are you guys doing here?"

"You're not gonna believe this, but..." TJ began to tell her before they were in the car and about to get Mikey, Gus, and Spinelli next.


"Dematerialized?" Gretchen asked, agape at that information.

"Just like out of Star Trek." Lynn concluded.

"Fascinating." Gretchen nodded.

"Plus, these images." said LJ as he presented the camera photos.

"Did you take these?" Gretchen asked as she took a look on the way to the theater camp.

"That I did." said LJ

"Nice work, LJ." Gretchen approved.

"I might not be Jimmy Olsen, but I handled it pretty nicely." LJ smirked proudly.


Soon, they made it over to the theater camp where kids were on stage, practicing their singing.

"Mi, mi, mi, mi~" A pirate kid sang.

"Mi, mi, mi, mi~" A girl dressed as a Southern Belle sang.

"Mi, mi, mi, mi~-" Mikey sang in his usual baritone until he was whisked away by TJ for a moment. "Me?" he then asked in his normal voice before he was yanked away suddenly.

"Whoa, that kid's a big loss!" Luan commented, speaking in a squeaky high voice with her favorite puppet and she chuckled. "Good one, Mr. Coconuts!"

"Keep quiet about this and Mr. Coconuts doesn't get turned into a baseball bat." Lynn told her jokester of a sister as she slid by suddenly.

Luan and Mr. Coconuts both gulped before they both zipped their lips shut and nodded at Lynn.


ELSEWHERE...

Spinelli was at wrestling camp, and was ready to leap on her opponent, Gelman. "LOOK OUT, MUSCLES! HERE COMES THE FLYING PRESS!" she shouted, but before she could land, she was snagged by the others.

Gelman was ducking and covering, waiting for the worst, though he began to feel like nothing was happening. He soon sat up and looked around in confusion since Spinelli never came crashing down on him.

"How's that for a signature move, mi amigos?" The Flea asked Rikochet and Buena Girl eagerly. "That girl made herself disappear!"

Rikochet and Bueno Girl just glanced at each other and back at their filthy friend in confusion.

"The Flea has dibs on her complimentary donuts that The Flea's parents brought with him." The Flea then said as he took out a Slammin' Donuts box before opening it and stuffed his face with some of the pastries.

Akito soon came by and narrowed his eyes, seeing something with his special vision as the others were off with Spinelli. "Was that LJ?" he then asked himself, scratching his head curiously.


EVENTUALLY...

"You are a pathetic excuse for a soldier, Griswald!" Captain Brad glared as he faced the younger boy who stared back at him. "You will never be a leader! Now, stand at attention until I return! And do not move a muscle! Do you hear me? Not a muscle!" he then added before storming off, leaving Gus on his own to stand still.

Miranda chuckled at that as she was seen scrubbing the Mess Hall floor with her toothbrush before she looked down and went back to work. She then thought she heard something and looked out the window in confusion since Gus was suddenly gone from where he was standing perfectly still like a statue until she saw a group of other kids just come in and moved Gus in their arms and moved him on their own while he still stood perfectly still. "Hey! Where's my SOS?" she then complained as she was left behind like this while Gus was able to leave campgrounds. "Courtney Gripling, you better come back for me and not be wasting time at that stupid Camp Caprice."


Soon, the station wagon rolled to a stop a few feet from Third Street School, and the group disembarked.

"Thanks a lot, Sis!" TJ beamed.

Becky just stared straight ahead, glowering. "You owe me gas money." she hissed before she drove off.

"Yeah, well, thanks anyway, lady." Lynn shrugged.

"I feel bad that she had to do so much driving just for us like that." Kimberly said softly.

"She'll get over it." Lynn dismissed.

"Okay, Teej, what's this big secret plot of yours?" Spinelli asked the leader of their group.

"Follow me." TJ said before they headed right for the bushes.

Everyone soon hid in the bushes and poked around a little, looking toward the school to see some adult men around there.

"Look at that." TJ told his friends.

"Who are those guys?" Vince wondered.

"Perhaps they're government agents." Gretchen suggested.

"Or gangsters." Mikey added.

"Or aliens." Gus piped up.

"Aliens?" Spinelli replied in disbelief. "They don't look like aliens."

"Well, maybe they're in disguise." Gus then suggested.

"Yeah, if you were an alien, you wouldn't just walk around in your lizard skin all day." Mikey added.

"Hmm... Good point." Spinelli admitted.

"Well, whoever they are, I say we take a closer look." Chrissy said.

"Aye!" LJ nodded.

So while one of the government guys closed his truck, Spinelli fished one of the boxes out, just like she and the others had done during their "Ice Cream for All" plan. She got it up to the roof, and so TJ and the others got the box a good distance away, before they opened it.

"Man, this thing weighs a ton!" exclaimed Martin.

"That's cuz it's full of moon rocks and alien eggs!" Gus replied, as TJ pried it open with a crowbar.

But inside the crate were... stacks of papers.

"Hey! It's just a bunch of paper!" Lynn complained.

"Weather maps? Test scores? Some stuff written in Swedish?" Chrissy asked out of confusion as she took a closer look at the piles of paper.

"Actually, that's Norwegian." Gretchen clarified.

"Don't tell me Yope's coming back next year." Kimberly muttered to herself.

"Whatever! It's just some dumb school stuff!" Spinelli scoffed at the others.

"You got us out of baseball camp to watch some guys restock the supply room?" Vince glared.

"No!" TJ insisted. "Something's going on in the school, I swear!"

"Know what?" Spinelli asked. "I think you just cooked this whole thing up because you wanted us back from camp, Teej!"

"What?!" TJ exclaimed.

"Okay, we know it seems crazy and unbelievable, but something really weird IS going on here!" Lynn replied and defended before she took out LJ's camera to show the photos with the green flash. "Look!"

"Hey, we understand," Mikey then said, seeming to ignore her. "It must be pretty boring around here all summer by yourself."

"Your mind simply created an adventure because it needed some excitement," Gretchen suggested. "Honestly, TJ, you could always go to the Kids Next Door. I hear that Numbuh 65.3 is a communications officer and gives out missions to some operatives." she then added, trying to be helpful for her friend in need.

"NO! We saw it really happen!" TJ defended.

"Yeah, Principal Prickly disappeared!" Kimberly added.

"I don't know why, but that felt so jarring for me to see." Chrissy commented as she rubbed her arm with a small shiver.

"Then who's that guy?" asked Gus, pointing at what looked like Principal Prickly exiting the school, getting out of his car and driving away.

TJ looked back in shock, then turned to the others, most of whom were shooting him glares.

"Come on, guys. Let's get back to camp." said Vince.

"Yeah," Spinelli added. "See ya in a few weeks, Teej."

TJ ran in front of them. "No, wait! You guys gotta believe me! We're not making it up ! I—I—" he began, before his eyes went wide with shock. "Aye-yai-yi-yi-yi!"

The others continued to glower at him until they decided to look to see what he was looking at and soon had the same reaction. The roof moved from the top of the school and out slowly ascended from there was a giant satellite with some sort of beam attached to it. The beam glowed a very bright green and seemed to be aiming near the sky.

"Whoa! What's happening?" Gus yelped.

The beam then shot a green laser right through the sky before suddenly shorting out and then the satellite quickly went back under the roof and the roof was put right back in almost a few seconds before anyone else could see it or even think about it.

"Okay, that right there?" Vince remarked. "That was messed up."

"See? What'd we tell ya?" Lynn scoffed at the others, feeling victorious.

Mikey then suddenly moaned and collapsed in the middle of the ground as that was the most shocking for him to see.


SOME TIME LATER...

Mikey eventually regained consciousness. "Huh? Where am I?" he asked.

"In TJ's backyard," replied Martin. "You fainted."

"How'd you guys get me here?" Mikey asked before sitting up and saw that he was sitting in a wheelbarrow. "Hey, this is kinda comfy!"

"Yeah, yeah! Get outta there, ya big lummox!" Lynn scoffed as she suddenly tipped it over to make Mikey fall out.

"Hey, watch my friend there!" Spinelli warned Lynn.

"Oh, like you wouldn't have done the same." Lynn retorted and shrugged.

Spinelli narrowed her eyes, though she glanced away silently.

"All right, what do we know?" Martin pondered as he took out a notepad. "You guys were right all along about something going on at the school and somehow Principal Prickly is in on it, but why and how is a big mystery."

"Are you a mystery solver now?" Vince asked him.

"Eh, maybe, I dunno," Martin shrugged. "I figured I'd be qualified since LJ's cousin Akito Fudo isn't here and my mother once solved the mystery of something very important on the desert island where she met my father and Aunt Lu."

"Definitely can't go to the cops," LJ said. "We tried to tell them earlier, and they just laughed their heads off!"

"What we need is proof," said Gretchen. "Solid, concrete evidence!"

"How are we gonna get proof?" asked Vince.

"I got a plan," replied TJ. "A stakeout!"

"Sounds great, I'm starved." Lynn said.

The others gave her a weird look for saying something like that.

"...yeah, well, it's a lot funnier than whatever Luan says." Lynn grumbled and crossed her arms at them.

"We can stay up in our own KND treehouse and watch the school every night until something happens." TJ suggested.

"Like one of them TV cop shows!" Spinelli realized what he meant.

"Sure! And the next time those laser guys make a move, we'll catch 'em red handed." TJ added.

"We can take pictures with my night vision digital cam." Gretchen offered.

"It does sound like a good idea..." Kimberly admitted.

"Is there a but coming in that statement?" Chrissy asked.

"Well, yeah," Kimberly nodded. "It's a good idea, but what about you guys and your camps?" she then explained what she meant.

"Oh, yeah..." said Gus. "If my dad finds out I've gone AWOL, he'll throw me in the brig 'til September!"

"Not to worry. I'll get Becky to drive you back to camp in the morning," replied TJ. "Then at night we'll pick you up again. Campers by day, spies by night."

"But what if the camp counselors notice we're not there?" Martin asked.

"Leave that to me." smiled TJ.

"And how is he gonna do that?" Lynn wondered.

"Trust me, Lynn, he's got this." LJ reassured her.

"Oh, yeah." Kimberly nodded in agreement.

"Totally." Chrissy added.


MEANWHILE...

At the military camp Mess Hell, everyone was eating their dinner, enjoying their downtime so far.

A soldier kid with a walkie-talkie soon stormed right over to Captain Brad to give him something. "Call for you, sir." he then said, taking out the walkie talkie.

"Gimme that!" Captain Brad glared as he swiped it out of the kid's hand and then answered it. "Captain Brad here."

"Bradley. This is Colonel O'Malley." A gruff voice demanded.

"Gripling... Gripling... Gripling..." Miranda whispered to herself.

"Colonel O'Malley?" Captain Brad then asked out of confusion.

"AAAAAAH!" Miranda cried out and her head hit the table while everyone else just ate their gruel.

"YOUR COMMANDING OFFICER!" The voice explained to Captain Brad very sharply.

"Oh! Yes, sir!" Captain Brad then said nervously as he saluted right away, awaiting orders.

"I hear you've got a soldier there named Griswald," Colonel O'Malley continued to tell him. "Good man. One of the best."

"He is? Captain Brad and Miranda both asked dubiously.

"YOU HEARD ME!" Colonel O'Malley clarified sharply until it was shown to be TJ doing the prank he did on the last day of school involving changing his voice to trick people into thinking he was someone authoritative. "He's officer material. I've had my eyes on him for years. Now, pay attention, Bradley. I've got Griswald on special assignment tonight. When he gets back to camp, act like nothing's happened."

"Yes, sir!" Bradley replied.

"And you better start makin' the bed and spit-shinin' his shoes, too!" LJ added.

"Wow, he's great at impressions." Chrissy commented.

"His voice for my Pop-Pop is a little off though," Lynn shrugged. "Something about it lacks the original charm that comes with him, no offense to LJ of course."

Spinelli cupped her mouth and stifled some snickering as TJ and LJ made Captain Bradley believe in all of this while Gus began to feel pretty good about this.

"That's all for now! Carry on," TJ then concluded before signing off and faced his tomboy friend. "Okay Spinelli, you're next."


MEANWHILE...

"Okay, I know I swear I saw LJ and the others around here earlier, but what could they be doing?" Akito pondered to himself as he held a bag full of unpopped kernels while Masked Dog kept trying to urge him to heat it up already. "Also why dd they just take Spinelli away like that? Aunt Cherry and Uncle Lionel say that LJ is on official business, but what could that mean?"

"Akito! Are you coming back with that popcorn or what?!" Rikochet's voice called out.

"Yeah, The Flea is hungry for popcorn!" The Flea added before groaning and sounding sick to his stomach. "Or at least some stomach medicine for his cramping and bounciness from eating complementary donuts from The Flea's family."

"I'm coming!" Akito called out before he tossed the popcorn bag in the air, then glared at it, shooting it with laser eyes to make it pop up and be freshly cooked before he caught it in his hands while steam wafted it from it as they joined the other campers by the campfire.

"Someone's wrestlin', my Lord... Kum-by-aaah..." sang the campers. "Heads are smashing, My Lord... Kum-by-yah..."

Just then, Hustler Kid's phone rang, and he picked up. "Speak to me," he replied. "Yeah? Yeah? I'll cover for you, Spinelli, but it's gonna cost you."

"Hmm..." Akito hummed thoughtfully as he overheard that while sitting with Rikochet, Buena Girl, and The Flea.


Meanwhile, the Ashleys began to stuff Vince's bed to make it look like he was sleeping in there and even included a mannequin head at the end of the bed. One of them then placed a red baseball cap on the mannequin head, but something didn't look right to them.

"Oh, that is, like, such the wrong color for Vince!" Ashley A dismissed. "Put the blue one on."

Ashley B then removed the red cap and replaced it with the blue cap, following orders.

"Ashley A, you totally know how to accessorize." Ashley Q approved.

"Now let's get the other one." Ashley A then said as they went to Martin's bed to do the same thing.


In the meantime, at Mikey's camp, the director opened the door to one room and shined a flashlight into the room to see that everyone was fast asleep in their own monogrammed beds, then left the room. However, Mikey's bed rumbled a bit and under the covers were a bunch of Kindergartners who were in there to make it look like Mikey was sleeping there and once the light was gone, they rushed out together.


Eventually, at a certain treehouse, it was very quiet until an alarm blared, waking up Abby as she rushed over to answer the call. "This is Numbuh 5 of Sector V, what's your emergency?" she then demanded once she answered and tightened her midnight blue robe.

"Numbuh 5, this is Numbuh 211 of Sector X, my team and I need some important equipment delivered as soon as possible," TJ reported to the girl who was in charge of Sector V after the departure of Nigel Uno. "Something's going on down at our school and we intend to find out what it is, our usual playground mission way and even the way of the Kids Next Door."

"Consider it done, Numbuh 211," said Numbuh 5. "Name whatcha need."

TJ then began to tell him what he and the others would need for their personal mission.


LJ looked hopeful until his emergency cell phone rang and he answered it. "Mom?" he then guessed.

"LJ, it's me." Akito answered on the other line.

"Oh! Hey, Aki, what's up?" LJ greeted calmly.

"Did I just see you and some friends of yours leave with Spinelli?" Akito asked suspiciously.

"Maybe." shrugged LJ.

"I thought I saw you earlier and it tells me that you're up to something," Akito replied. "Are you guys having some kind of adventure?"

"This is a mission." replied LJ.

"Well, you're gonna need some help and I'm in." Akito decided.

"We'll see." LJ responded as he hung up.

"Just tell me where you are and I'll be right there," Akito said only to hear the dial tone. "Hello? Hello!" he then sighed before hanging up.

"What's going on?" Rikochet asked Akito.

"Come on, I'll tell you guys in a sec." Akito replied as he headed back to the main campgrounds with the young luchador that he was good friends with.

In the meantime, LJ and the others waited and soon, a super-powered school bus flew overhead and the bottom hatch opened up a giant, official KND crate came crashing down.

"Look out below!" A kid called out from the driver's seat.

Everyone moved aside before the massive crate hit the ground with a THOOM! Moose poked her head out from the window as Sonya and Lee joined her sides. "Nice." she then said in her usual flat tone of voice.

"Cool~" Lee added.

"Thanks, guys!" TJ called out to the fellow Kids Next Door before taking out a crowbar to pry open the crate to show the KND tools they would need for their secret mission.

"Do we need anything else?" Mikey asked.

"Anything else?" Chrissy replied. "Like what?"

"Well, maybe snacks for one thing." Mikey suggested.

"Well, we're close to my house, but it'll probably take a while," TJ remarked. "My parents like to watch those annoying talk shows they think are so funny when me and Becky go to sleep, then I'll hit the fridge. You guys look over those supplies and I'll be back as soon as I can." he then suggested.

"Sure thing!" LJ called as he got the box open. "Feast your eyes, guys!"

Everyone then gathered around and each took out some technology they were given.

Vince started out by using a periscope with the new goggles they were given, looking far into the distance which was where their school was. "Infrared night vision, 200 to 1 zoom. I gotta hand it to the Kids Next Door. You can see the whole school with this thing." he then said after he saw their school.

"You can make lots of handy devices out of the spare parts in a family's garage," Gretchen nodded. "I once fashioned a particle accelerator out of a broken hair dryer and a four-slice toaster oven."

"'Tonight, the magical moment arrived'," Spinelli read Becky's diary aloud while sitting next to Gus, Chrissy, Lynn, Kimberly, and LJ. "'We met behind the drive thru menu and kissed passionately as the sound of the deep fat fryer faded into the night'!" she then concluded before she cracked up laughing at how cheesy the diary seemed. "Man, I wish I had an older sister." she then commented.

"Laugh if you will, I think it's beautiful," said Mikey.

"Always the romantic." smiled LJ with a nod.

"Sorry I'm late, guys," said TJ as he came back inside. "I had to wait 'til Mom and Dad fell asleep before I could sneak out with the goodies!"

"No problem, I know how parents are," LJ nodded before he sighed to himself. "Especially when they're in a writing mood and seem to take over the living room forever when you're trying to sneak a monster under their noses."

"Lucky Duck Lake?" Kimberly reminisced.

"Of course." LJ nodded.

"Roast beef and mashed potatoes!" Mikey beamed, seeing two plastic bags in TJ's backpack with pieces of food. "My favorite!" he then opened the meat bag and began to put three pieces in his mouth suddenly.

"I also managed to swipe this." TJ then said as he took out a tub of ice cream with plenty of spoons.

"Rocky Road! My other favorite!" Mikey beamed as he took the tub and began to eat from it.

"Hey, gimme some of that!" Spinelli said as she raced over, and Vince, Martin and Gus joined in.

"Man, baseball camp has nothing like this." Martin beamed.

"You said it, brother." Vince agreed.

"Excuse me, but aren't we supposed to eat dinner BEFORE dessert?" Gretchen prompted and reminded her friends.

The others gave her a long, silent look before laughing together like it was a joke.

"Good one, Gretch!" Spinelli said with a cackle.

"You were right, Teej," Vince smiled. "This is the life."

"Hanging out with friends, eating ice cream, spying on bad guys." Spinelli added and listed.

"It's the ultimate kid experience." Gus agreed.

"Too bad these days are numbered." Gretchen lamented unfortunately.

"Yeah, this is probably the last summer we'll get to do stuff like this." Vince agreed softly.

"Kinda whomps, huh?" TJ added softly as suddenly their good time was brought down once they realized they were all growing up.

"What about the Kids Next Door?" Lynn asked.

"Sure, at least until they turn 13 and have to retire." Kimberly replied.

"Does that actually happen?" Lynn wondered.

"Abby told me about this operative they all liked named Maurice until his time had come, then things had to change after that." Kimberly clarified to the athletic Loud sister.

"When you turn 13, you get your memories wiped," said LJ. "Apparently, it's so the Teen Ninjas don't recruit you and steal KND secrets. So you can either fight against your friends, or get your brain scrubbed and turn into a stereotypical, kid-hating teenager. Either way, it's mundo harsh."

"Basically, yeah." Kimberly then added.

"Man... I had no idea the Kids Next Door was like that," Lynn commented with wide eyes. "I thought it was just a bunch of kids in treehouses pretending to be secret agents or something."

"Sure, it looks like that when you're not one of them, but it's a lot more than that," Chrissy replied. "It's one of the biggest global organizations in the world and it's made for kids by kids and it's where a kid can be a kid."

"I thought that was Spunk E. Pigeon's." Lynn smirked.

"Please try to take this seriously, Lynn," Gretchen said to her. "This is a heavy time for all of us."

Spinelli decided to lighten the mood. "...hey, remember that summer after second grade where we went down to the pond to catch minnows?" she asked.

"Or how about that summer we carved our initials in that big tree in the Wilsons' backyard?" Gretchen asked.

"And Spinelli spelled hers wrong!" Vince chuckled.

"Hey, I was 7!" insisted Spinelli. "S's were tricky!"

Gus suddenly broke down crying which caused everyone to look at him.

"Uh, what's up with him?" Lynn asked as she pointed her spoon at Gus.

"What's your problem?" Spinelli then decided to ask her sobbing friend. "This is the first summer you've been here!"

"I know, and I'll never have any of those memories!" Gus explained through his tears.

"I didn't really have many friends until I met you," Kimberly said to LJ as that made her think about that. "Of course I had Gordon, Waffle, and Mr. Blik, but I feel like you were my first really real friend."

LJ reached out and hugged her warmly. "I'm glad to know that." he replied.

"You're the nicest boy I've ever met and I'm glad we found each other." Kimberly smiled softly.

"I'm glad we found each other, too." replied LJ.

"You know what I'll never forget?" asked Mikey, prompting everyone to glance at him.

"Okay, sorry buddy, we were having a moment," LJ said. "What won't YOU forget?" he then decided to ask the blonde boy.

"That song TJ's sister taught us the first summer after Kindergarten." Mikey explained.

"Oh, yeah..." TJ realized. "Back when she was nice..."

"How did it go again?" Spinelli wondered.

"John Jacob Jingleheimer Schmidt, his name is my name too.~..." Mikey started to sing before soon, everyone else joined in on the song. "Whenever I go out, The people always shout, There goes John Jacob Jingleheimer Schmidt, Nanananananana~" they all then continued to sing together and even Gus could join in since he knew this song too from his own childhood memories before meeting them.

It was a genuinely fun moment for each of them. Even though their childhoods wouldn't last forever, they could still enjoy the little moments like this.