So I've been trying to think about something to do since I wanted to do one more chapter before Firecracker turns 12 (and all the crazy stuff starts happening) and then I remembered a commenter who mentioned that Numbuh 23 had a similar job to Firecracker.

The creative juices just went from there.


"I am so tired…." Numbuh 451 moaned internally as she docked her ship on the Deep Sea Base's docking bay. She'd just been out for almost a full day, trailing some supposed secret meeting between some villains and the unseen CEO of Evil Adult Industries.

There was a meeting, alright, but it had nothing to do with Evil Adult Industries! It was just about the villains' new strategies for their upcoming bowling tournament!

Needless to say, Numbuh 451 was not happy over having basically just wasted her day doing pretty much nothing and wanted little more than to just crawl into bed and sleep it off.

However, upon exiting her ship, it became clear that she would not be doing that in a timely manner. Alarms were blaring, there was some mild flooding, operatives were running around like chickens with their heads cut off and there was a weirdly sweet smell wafting through the base.

"Hey! What's going on here!?" Numbuh 451 asked as she grabbed a random operative.

"Some newbie's new explosives went off before they were supposed to! Took out almost half the base!" The operative exclaimed.

"More or less damage than when I did it?" Numbuh 451 couldn't help but ask.

"Not important!" The other operative snapped. "We're still taking on water! Grab a bucket and try to help us bail out the water before the flooding gets too bad! We're lucky the back up generators kicked in when they did!"

"Alright, alright," Numbuh 451 responded as she let the kid go before following him to where the worst of the damage was. "Holy shit! That's almost as big as the hole I blew in this place!" Shaking her head, Numbuh 451 quickly joined the group of kids trying to get the water back outside the base. The last thing they needed was for the place to flood. She could marvel at the damage later.


About an hour later


"And now I'm even more tired…" Numbuh 451 internally moaned as she dragged herself down the hallway towards her room. She was wet and dangerously close to just passing out in the hallway. Still, she fought through the urge. But the fact that the Deep Sea Base was still standing was the important thing. However, as she walked, she heard the sound of whimpering coming from a nearby closet.

"What the-?" Numbuh 451 questioned. Pushing her own exhaustion down, she walked towards the closet and opened the door. Inside was a little girl, who looked to be just out of cadets. She was covered in what looked like sugar.

It didn't take a genius to figure out what was happening.

"Uh…hey?" Numbuh 451 awkwardly tried to greet the other girl, who merely tried to bury herself further in the closet. "Hey! I'm…I'm not mad at you,"

"...Really?" She asked, looking up at Numbuh 451 with teary and hopeful eyes.

"Yeah. Not really allowed to be mad about someone damaging this place when I've almost taken it down…more than once," Numbuh 451 admitted. She was hoping to make the younger girl laugh. But it was true. Some of her explosives had gotten a little out of hand in the past. Much to her joy, the little girl was quite amused.

"But you're a big kid! When did you make mistakes!?" The little girl asked.

"Well…I was your age once," Numbuh 451 reminded her. "And I didn't always get it right on the first try. I had to go through training too."

"But…everyone was mad at me…" She trailed off. Numbuh 451 knelt down, doing her best to muster a smile in her tired state.

"Hey. Everyone got mad at me too!" She assured the little girl. "But everyone screws up at least once. And sometimes, the screw ups only help you make it better later on. What were you trying to make?"

"Er…a long distance sour ball cannon," The little girl revealed. Numbuh 451 cracked a grin at that. Always good to know that kids were still making explosive weapons of war.

"Here tell you what," Numbuh 451 offered. "How about I'll help you fix it tomorrow? I've got a lot of experience making explosives. I'm sure I could help figure out what went wrong."

"You promise?" The little girl asked as Numbuh 451 helped her to her feet.

"Promise," Numbuh 451 assured her. "Now how about we get you cleaned up, Numbuh…uh…"

"23. I'm Numbuh 23!" The girl revealed.

"Nice to meet ya! I'm Numbuh 451!" Numbuh 451 revealed. Judging by the way the girl's eyes lit up, she had a feeling she was rather well known with the newest generation of cadets.


The next morning


"You certainly were excited to see me, huh?" Numbuh 451 noted in amusement as she downed some morning hot chocolate. She was not a morning by any stretch of the imagination, but clearly, Numbuh 23 was, as she was pacing outside of Numbuh 451's door the moment the other girl opened it.

"I'm sorry. I'm just really excited! You do so much cool stuff and I get to work with you and-" Numbuh 23 excitedly began to ramble, prompting Numbuh 451 to put a hand on her shoulder.

"Relax," Numbuh 451 simply said, causing the younger girl to calm down. "Now, let's head for my workshop. I've got a bunch of tools and stuff that should help me figure out where that cannon of yours went wrong."

"Er…should I go get what's left of the cannon?" Numbuh 23 asked.

"...Yeah that's probably a good idea," Numbuh 451 agreed. "Grab any blueprints you got too and meet me in my workshop. Shouldn't miss it!" With that, both girls headed off. It only took them both about five minutes to get what they needed and get to Numbuh 451's workshop, with her opening up the door when she saw the younger girl arrive.

"Whoa…" Numbuh 23 marveled as she looked over the room. "Do I get a room like this?"

"Once you prove yourself….or maybe you'll just get mine someday," Numbuh 451 replied, smiling when she got Numbuh 23 to light up again. "Now! Let's see those blueprints and that cannon!" With a smile of her own, Numbuh 23 set the blueprints and what was left of the cannon down. Almost instantly, Numbuh 451 saw the problem. "...I think you used too much gunpowder."

"Is that the stuff that makes it blow up?" Numbuh 23 asked.

"Yep!" Numbuh 451 replied. "Listen, as awesome that giant explosions are, sometimes putting in too much gunpowder can have some…really bad consequences."

"Is that how you got your scars?" Numbuh 23 had to ask.

"No. Those are from other mistakes I made." Numbuh 451 admitted as she rubbed the back of her neck. "Listen. If an explosive ever does start backfiring, run as fast as you can. Getting hit by them hurts….a lot."

"You're making this sound really dangerous…" Numbuh 23 nervously admitted.

"Because it is." Numbuh 451 responded. "But that doesn't mean it's not fun or important. But just about everything in the KND is dangerous…but I'd be damned if I said it wasn't some of the most fun I've ever had! I've made some awesome friends, got to see so many cool places and everyone thinks I'm a hero!"

"So it's dangerous fun?" Numbuh 23 asked, the excitement back in her voice.

"Dangerous fun…I like the way that sounds," Numbuh 451 couldn't help but note. "Now, speaking of fun, how about we fix this cannon?"

"Let's do it!" Numbuh 23 cheered. With that, Numbuh 451 pulled out a toolbox.

"Now listen very closely…"


Numbuh Red 7 hummed to himself as he walked down the halls of the Deep Sea Base. His latest mission, which saw him using his paints to get a group of Teen Ninjas lost in the woods before they could attack a very important school council president's campaign party, was a complete and utter success. But as he walked, he noticed that his friend's workshop door was open.

"That's odd…she never leaves it open," He noted to himself as he peeked inside. Numbuh 451 was hard at work with a newcomer from the looks of it. They appeared to be working on some type of cannon. Numbuh Red 7 couldn't help but crack a grin. He knew his friend loved to ramble and entertain those younger than her, so seeing her get an excuse to do it again made himself. Knowing better than to interrupt such an adorable scene, he merely shut the door and left.


Like I said, next time, we begin Firecracker's final year in the KND and…a lot happens. That's all I'm gonna say.