So I would have had this chapter out sooner, but I've been busy. Anyways, let's begin!

"Not gonna lie. As much as I miss the Kids Next Door, it's a lot easier to get things now that I'm a teenager," Firecracker thought to herself as she paid for her ice cream. She'd been out of the Kids Next Door for about a year at this point and life still had yet to slow back down. On top of her Teens Next Door work, Firecracker was getting ready to go into high school, which was going to be an adventure on its own, if what her parents said was true. While she did obviously miss the excitement of being Numbuh 451, being able to easily buy things like ice cream was certainly a bonus, as was the ability to go out on her own. It was a hot summer day and she and Thomas had opted to head for the beach. Their parents had work and Sonia was at a summer camp that Firecracker knew was safe, meaning that she was up to relax before school kicked back off.

"Do you need more sunscreen?" Thomas asked as his friend returned with their cold treats.

"Probably," Firecracker said as she plopped into her beach chair with a groan. Whether it be because of all her time in the shadows and underwater or simply because she was born with fair skin, Firecracker got sunburned embarrassingly easily. Thomas passed it over and Firecracker got straight to work, spraying it everywhere that she was exposed. "Here's to hoping I don't have red raccoon rings around my eyes again before school starts."

"I can see why one would consider that a damaging error on the painting of their appearance," Thomas said in his usual sage-like tone.

"Never change, Thomas," Was all Firecracker had to say in response to that as she dug into her treat, prompting Thomas to do the same. No sooner had both of them finished their treats and had gotten up to throw them out did the duo pick up on the sound of crying coming from nearby. '

"Why should someone be so sad?" Thomas asked. Firecracker was about to snark that there were several reasons for a kid to start bawling their eyes out at the beach when she actually saw what was actually going down.

A ruined birthday party.

From the looks of it, the party guests were only around 5 or 6. Decorations and food had been tipped onto the ground, complete with the cake having been smashed on top of what looked to be the birthday girl's head and what looked like a few wedgies had been handed out. One of the parents had tried to chase the perpetrators, a bunch of teenagers, but had failed to catch any of them before they made it into the crowd.

"Firecracker, shall I call our allies and let them know to be on the lookout?" Thomas asked his friend, who was standing shell shocked.

"...Yeah…but I feel like we've gotta do something else," Firecracker said. All she could see was Sonia with that cake smashed over her head and something just burned within her and it hurt that she couldn't beat the everloving shit out of the teens that decided to entertain themselves by ruining someone's birthday.

"Well…I do have some paper," Thomas revealed. "And I believe a few drawing items. If you have any fireworks, we might be able to entertain the children."

"When don't I have fireworks?" Firecracker asked as they raced back to their chairs to grab their bags. Once they made sure they had what they needed, they walked over to the birthday party.

"Who are you?" One boy, obviously suspicious of the two teenagers, asked as he eyed them up.

"I am Thomas and this is my friend, Firecracker," Thomas answered for the two of them. "We noticed your sadness and felt the urge to assist."

"You really think you could keep everyone busy?" The birthday girl's mother, who had been trying to clean up her daughter, asked, hope clearly creeping into her voice. "If you can, we should be able to grab a quick replacement cake."

"We'll keep'em safe and busy!" Firecracker promised.

"R-really?" The birthday girl asked, still clearly nervous about trusting two teenagers after what had just happened.

"We promise," Thomas assured the girl as he pulled out a sketchpad. "Now, would you like me to draw a picture of you as a princess?" Almost instantly, the young girl's face lit up.

"Can you draw me riding a unicorn too?" She eagerly asked.

"Easily! However, I will need you to try and remain still so I can better capture your essence," Thomas responded. Almost instantly, the girl plopped into the sand.

"Can you draw me too?" One of the other girls asked.

"No! Draw me too!" A boy chimed in, shoving a few other kids aside as he did. This set off a chain reaction, with every kid soon begging for a picture.

"I will draw as many of you as I can," Thomas assured them all. "However, you will all need to wait."

"That's where I come in!" Firecracker proudly boasted as she pulled out a firework. "I know it's a little early for a fireworks show, but I think we can have some fun, right?" Needless to say, the kids all got very excited at that. Taking that as a cue to begin, Firecracker quickly set up a couple. "Remember! Don't get too close!"

"Is that what happened to your eye?" One boy asked. "Or was it your leg?"

"And your stomach?" Commented yet another.

"Yep!" Firecracker replied as she backed up. "But I was aiming them at a hungry kraken while I was fighting pirates."

"REALLY!?" Just about every single kid eagerly asked.

"Duh!" Firecracker said. "But that still means you gotta stay far away. Okay?" Once she saw everyone nodding and made sure that everyone had gotten clear, she lit the fuse, quickly sending all the rockets flying into the air. While obviously not as cool as seeing them at night, all the kids were still in awe at the colorful explosions.

By the time the parents finally returned, Firecracker and Thomas had all the kids happy and excited again, to the point where most of them had forgotten about the earlier attack from the teenagers (who Firecracker and Thomas had both seen get attacked by Kids Next Door operatives, meaning that either their message was gotten or they'd attacked the wrong birthday party). Firecracker had even broken out one of her old tricks of blowing up some sand mounds and even managing to blast some fish out of the ocean.

She did end up having to stop the kids from eating them raw, however.

"...to you!" Everyone sang to the birthday girl, who happily blew out her candles. Everyone cheered as she did, although some of the kids may have simply been cheering because that meant it was time for cake. Assuming their work was done, Firecracker and Thomas packed up what was left of their stuff and moved to head back to their seats.

"Why are you leaving? You didn't have any cake!" The birthday girl called after her, holding out two plates, each with a decent sized piece of cake on it.

"Are you sure?" Firecracker asked as she took the plate, still somewhat in shock.

"Yeah! You guys made my party awesome! Everyone's gonna be so jealous!" The girl smugly declared as she went back to her own cake. Deciding to drag their own chairs over, Firecracker and Thomas sat down to enjoy the cake, which, in spite of being a store bought replacement, wasn't half bad.

"Hey," Both teens looked up. It was the mother of the birthday girl. "I just wanted to say thank you for helping salvage the party."

"Hey, those guys were jerks," Firecracker replied. "No sense in letting a little girl be upset on her special day."

"Indeed. We both didn't want to see what should have been a happy memory be crafted into something so somber," Thomas chimed in.

"Still, I wanted to help you two pay for the stuff you had to use, so…" The mother then handed both of them a stack of bills. Firecracker was about to say it wasn't needed, but then she saw just how much the mother had given her. It was almost 100 dollars!

"This…this is super generous!" Firecracker managed out. "You really don't have to do this!"

"And neither did you," The mother said before walking off, leaving both teens utterly dumbstruck. Firecracker took another look at the money and found herself thinking. Her parents had been mentioning her getting a job and her allowance wasn't exactly cutting it anymore.

"Hey…Thomas?" She began as she turned to her friend, who was still rather dumbstruck.

"Yeah?" He managed out.

"...You think we could make some actual money as party entertainers?" Firecracker asked after a few more seconds of silence.

"...Perhaps it's worth a shot," Thomas admitted as he turned to Firecracker with a smile. "It would also make for a rather easy way to hide our Teens Next Door work."

Firecracker wasted no time in returning the smile. "I'm glad we're on the same page."

A couple weeks later

"Oh I'm gonna be set for life!" Firecracker cheered as she returned home, throwing open the door with a flourish. Her and Thomas had wasted no time in setting up their new business and, between their own reputations and positive word of mouth from those at that little girl's party, they were getting swamped with requests. Firecracker, along with making sure to remain stocked with items, also wasted no time in getting herself an outfit to better sell the "charming, fireworks expert" image she was trying to craft. A top hat and a red suit, complete with cane, with Thomas getting a matching one.

"Have a good night?" Her mother asked.

"Oh you bet!" Firecracker replied. "I made almost 200 hundred dollars this week! Everyone at school was so fucking jealous!" Many teens, most of which were either Teen Ninjas or just local bullies, wasted no time in mocking Firecracker and Thomas for having a job "sucking up to kids", only to be left dumbfounded by how much money the duo was making.

"Watch your language!" Her father called out as he looked up from helping Sonia with her homework. Firecracker flashed a guilty smile. Sonia had apparently started picking up on her foul mouth and had begun repeating many of the swears when she really shouldn't be.

"Sorry dad," Firecracker replied as she headed upstairs to work on her own homework. It was a Friday, but considering how Firecracker didn't have any parties scheduled for the weekend, she wanted to go enjoy herself with her newfound earnings.

Life was pretty good now.

Quick breather as well as my way of explaining what Firecracker does now that she's a teenager-she's gone back to her roots as an entertainer! Only now, she does birthday parties! Thought that was a fitting line of work for someone who loves being the center of attention. Next time…we finally enter the events of canon…or at least what's going on around them. See you then!