Alright, here's a chapter I know you are all waiting on-Sonia and Firecracker hanging out! Let's begin!

As Firecracker headed out of school, she felt her phone buzz. Pulling it out, she found a message from her parents. It was a message certain other people she might know would groan at, yet it made her crack a smile.

Mom-Can you pick up your sister and her friend from school? Your father and I have meetings. Should be back later.

It wasn't that rare for Firecracker to have to pick Sonia up. While their parents made sure to spend as much time as possible with their daughters, they had busy careers. And Firecracker now having a driver's license meant that she was their first option if needed. Not that Firecracker had any problems with that. She loved her little sister with all her heart. They were different as night and day, but as far as Firecracker was considered, Sonia was her sister. No ifs, ands, or buts.

Firecracker-yeah no problem don't have anything going on.

With that, she headed off to her car, throwing her backpack into the passenger seat and plugged her phone in from her headphones. Once the music started playing, she opened her messages back up and texted Sonia.

Firecracker-mom and dad told me to pick you and your friend up. See you in a little bit

Sonia-Ok! Can't wait to see you!

Firecracker smiled as she put her phone down before pulling out of the school's parking lot. First things first, she wanted to get her homework done before Gallagher Elementary let out. She had a couple hours from the looks of it and she had some fireworks to work on, plus a birthday party to plan out the next day.

"Sonia! Over here!"

"Oh! That's her!" Sonia declared as she pointed towards her big sister's car. Her friend, Lee, looked to where she was pointing and seemed impressed.

"Cool," He said simply. That was something Sonia liked about him. He was a kid of few words. Never overwhelming. But he was also so smart! And his yo-yo tricks were really cool! "She's the fireworks lady, right?"

"Yeah!" Sonia gushed. "She does all those tricks! And sometimes she brings me cool stuff from the goody bags!"

"Cool," Lee said with another nod as they headed towards the car. It was actually in pretty decent condition, considering that it both belonged to a teenager and one who loved to play with explosives no less. Once the kids got close, Firecracker hopped out of the car and held the door open for the two kids.

"How was school?" She asked, pausing to ruffle Sonia's hair, prompting the young girl to let out a playful giggle.

"Cool," Lee said as he climbed into the car.

"Still a man of few words, huh Lee?" Firecracker asked with a grin. She liked Lee. Granted, that was mainly because he was nice to Sonia, but the boy's laid back nature reminded her of Thomas.

"It was cool…if a little scary," Sonia admitted. "This really big guy showed up and started trying to knock down all the sandcastles everyone was trying to build in the sandbox! Lee ended up tying his yo-yo to a tree and I shoved him down. It was weird that it took Numbuh 1 and his friends so long to show up."

"Well nice job taking down a bully," Firecracker said simply, even if she was hiding a smirk. She knew Sonia had operative potential! And Lee clearly did as well. "And the playground is pretty big."

"Sector V did help with dealing with the villain," Lee piped up, causing Firecracker's hidden smirk to appear. While she only personally knew Numbuhs 1 and 5, Firecracker made sure to keep tabs on Sector V, if only so she could see how they progressed.

And while she knew they could be good, she was almost scared about how good they became.

While not as good of a record as a sector like Sector Z, Sector V's successes were far more monumental. They also had a talent for stumbling into threats that Global Command completely missed. Not to mention, they were also the ones who finally exposed the mysterious Father, the enigmatic head honcho of Evil Adult Industries. They were tight knit and never ones to back down from a fight.

Numbuh 1, true to his promise, had become the leader of Sector V, and, while he was a bit of a paranoid workaholic (or at least from what she had heard), he was also one of the determined operatives in history. He wouldn't stop until he was knocked out and sometimes, even that wouldn't stop him. Firecracker had a feeling he was going to be one for the KND history books.

Numbuh 2 pulled double duty as both the pilot and 2x4 technology mechanic and managed to excel at both. His gadgets and pilot skills could get the Sector out of any jam. Firecracker also heard he liked to make corny jokes. She had a feeling that she'd get along with him.

Numbuh 3…well to be honest, Firecracker wasn't entirely what she did. She was pretty sure she was a medical officer and the one who looked after the hamsters, but going off how…airheaded the girl seemed to be, Firecracker was shocked she even managed to pass basic training. Although going off the rumors she'd heard about what happened when the girl got mad, Firecracker assumed she might just need the right motivation.

Numbuh 4 was the combat expert and pretty much the most hotblooded operative in KND history. From what Firecracker had heard, he could knock down just about anyone he was put up against. However, from what Firecracker had heard, he was also about as smart as a box of rocks. She'd overheard Sonia mention how he somehow managed to get a G on an exam. Firecracker didn't even know that was possible.

Finally, there was Numbuh 5. Firecracker's smile turned fond when she remembered the girl. While she obviously didn't see her as much considering how her and Cree's friendship ended, Firecracker couldn't help but try to keep tabs on the girl. And she was impressed. Even though she was officially the spy of the sector, she was also easily the most mature and often kept the sector on track. Firecracker couldn't help but smile. Those kids were gonna go far.

"Firecracker, what are you thinking about?" Sonia asked.

"Just…about some people I knew when I was younger," Firecracker replied. "But I've actually got a question for you two. You know that thing those number kids are in? It's called, like, the kids down the way or something?"

"It's the Kids Next Door," Lee said.

"Right, right," Firecracker said with a nod. "You ever wanted to be a member?"

"That would be so cool!" Lee, showing more emotion than Firecracker had ever seen, gushed.

"Yeah. I'd wanna be an operative! Then I'd be brave!" Sonia declared in a way that reminded Firecracker of her own reaction to learning about the Kids Next Door from Beau all those years ago.

"Personally, I think having to go by a number sounds dumb, but you guys should give it a shot! Bet you'd be the best," Firecracker replied, doing her best to keep her voice calm. As much as she wanted to break, she couldn't tell Sonia anything. She couldn't blow her cover like that. As she pulled into the driveway, Firecracker made a note to herself to make a couple calls later.

"Hey Firecracker? Can you play video games with us?" Sonia asked as climbed out of the car, Lee helping her. "You know all the cool tricks and I want to show Lee!"

"Ah sure. Why not?" Firecracker replied as she hopped out of the car. "What game do you want to play first?"

"Can we play that racing game that you like?" Sonia asked, with Lee nodding in agreement.

"If that's what you want to start with!" Firecracker replied with a prideful grin. "Head on in and I'll go get things set up!" Lee and Sonia didn't have to be told twice, rushing inside to kick their shoes off and set their bags down. Firecracker, for her part, walked over to the TV, slipping out of her shoes as she walked. She had been playing with Sonia the previous night, so the game was already in. She wasted no time in setting up the controllers so, when the kids came back, she'd already picked who she wanted to race as. As Lee and Sonia picked, something caught the former's eyes.

"Who are these other names?" Lee asked as he went to enter his own name. Neither kid noticed Firecracker flinching when she saw them.

"...Some old friends," Firecracker replied simply. "I'll delete them later." Much to her relief, neither kid pressed. Thankfully, the rest of the day went without any incident, letting the two kids and one teen simply enjoy their time together.

Later that night, once Lee had gone home and Sonia had requested her parents' help with homework, Firecracker sat at her desk and punched in a few commands on an old communicator she kept under her bed. After a few seconds, Numbuh 274's face appeared on it.

"Ah, Numbuh 451. What brings you?" He asked once he saw the older operative's face.

"Got two operative recommendations for you," Firecracker began. "Although…you may have already heard about them from Sector V…"

I will fully admit I wanted to bring Lee into this chapter for no other reason than he and Sonia are pretty much a pair anyways and it felt weird to leave one without the other.