Hey guys! So, as promised, here's Numbuh 451's story. Honestly, it amazes me how she went from a character I had planned as a background character meant for world building into someone I can write a full story for. And I'm happy you all love her as much as I do. Also, I just realized I will actually be giving her a physical description for the first time. I hope I don't ruin anyone's headcanons lol. Anyways, let's begin.
Throughout the many ages of the Kids Next Door, many heroes have risen of all different shapes and sizes, but all united under the same goal of keeping children safe from evil adults seeking to cause them harm and misery.
This is the story of one such hero.
"Bye mommy! Bye daddy!" Ava Baros, better known to most around her, as Firecracker. Only around five years old, she was a lot like most kids her age. Always seeking something to keep busy with, eager to play in the dirt or with messy toys, didn't like most foods. Her body was adorned with a flower patterned shirt and matching shorts, as well as sneakers. She carried a backpack full of stuff her parents weren't sure about, but it was hard to question someone who looked so cute.
"Be back by sunset!" Her father warned her as he gave a hug.
"Okay daddy!" Firecracker replied. Her name had come from her seemingly endless energy even from when she was an infant.
"And don't hurt yourself," Her mother reminded her as she gave her daughter a hug of her own.
"I won't!" Firecracker replied as she stuck her tongue out before heading out the door, taking off as fast her little legs could handle her. Her destination was the park, mostly because it was open enough to make sure no one got hurt with what she was planning. The funny thing about her nickname was that it actually had a second meaning, not that any adults really knew about it.
Firecracker was obsessed with explosions.
Her fascination began upon getting taken to a fireworks show when she was about three. While most kids her age were sent scrambling for their parents, Firecracker was utterly hooked. Watching all the bombs create all the pretty colors and pictures was so cool and all she knew was that she wanted to see more. Her parents, assuming it would just be a fad, bought her a small kit for making homemade fireworks for kids and left her to play with it for a bit, assuming that the small blasts would entertain her until she got bored and moved onto the next hobby.
But little did they were only fanning the flames even further.
From there, Firecracker wanted to see how far she could push it. How much bigger could she make the blasts? How much further could she make them fly? Could the blasts change color? There was so much to try and Firecracker wanted to test it all.
This, of course, would lead to her discovering another thing she'd come to love about explosions-how much fun it was to watch stuff get destroyed by the blasts and flames.
While Firecracker knew that hurting people with her newfound toys was not good, as was blowing up valuables, trash was something that most people were glad to see gone. And some trash only led to more fun fireworks!
"Beat it kid!" A voice barked, snapping Firecracker out of her thoughts. She realized she'd reached the park and also that something was very, very wrong. A bunch of teenagers wearing weird clothes were setting up…something (It looked like something that Firecracker's parents had called a BBQ. All Firecracker remembered from those was how tasty the food was.) and were spitefully refusing to let the kids use most of the park.
"Can I at least have my ball back?" One kid asked one of the teens, who had cruelly snatched a basketball away from him.
"Sorry kid! Actually, wait, no I'm not!" One of the teens snapped back as he held the ball just out of the boy's reach. "We're taking the park for the day!"
"But where are we supposed to play?" A girl who was holding a jump rope questioned sadly.
"Not our problem!" Another teen mocked. "Why don't you all go cry to mommy and daddy and let us eat in peace?" With that, he went back to what he was doing. Firecracker felt her fists clench. Who were these buttheads to tell the kids they couldn't use the park? There was enough room for everyone to share! And if there was one thing that Firecracker hated, it was bullies. Her mind made up, she set her bag down and began to look through it. There were a couple normal fireworks, one that she'd shoved into a soccer ball, a few ping pong balls that she'd rigged with the stuff that made the fireworks explode and one smoke bomb that came as a bonus in a recent blind bag she'd begged her parents to buy for her.
"I can do this! I'm gonna be a big brave hero like in the comic books daddy reads to me!" Firecracker thought to herself. Steeling any remaining nerves she had (the teens were pretty scary looking and they were a lot bigger than her too), Firecracker pulled out the soccer ball, lit the fuse and kicked it towards the teens before ducking behind a nearby bush.
"Where'd this come from?" One teen, who couldn't see the fuse, asked as he moved to grab the soccer ball. He didn't have a chance, however, when the ball promptly blew up in his and his friend's faces, stunning them.
"YES!" Firecracker internally cheered as she tossed the smoke bomb with all her might. Much to her joy, she threw hard enough that it landed right in the middle of the teen's makeshift set up. While they were all distracted, Firecracker rushed forwards and began tossing the ping pong balls into just about anything she could find. Their cooler, their bags, at them, Firecracker was breaking every single rule she'd ever set for herself, but bullies didn't deserve nice treatment
"Dudes! Grab what you can and let's go do this in my backyard!" One teen yelled out as the smoke began to clear. None of his buddies needed any further encouragement, grabbing what they could salvage and booking it. Firecracker, who had ran back to the other kids, in the chaos, couldn't help but smile.
"That was so cool!" One girl gushed as soon as the teens were gone.
"You were like a ninja!" The basketball boy, who had managed to reclaim his ball, exclaimed. "A fireworks ninja!"
"I was!?" Firecracker excitedly asked. Sure, pirates were cooler, but being called a ninja was still a huge compliment.
"Oh totally!" The boy replied. "Do you have any more fireworks? I wanna see more stuff!"
"Yeah! Me too!" The jump rope girl agreed. Soon, every kid was begging for more.
And Firecracker only felt her smile getting bigger and bigger.
"Yeah, I got a couple more!" Firecracker replied with a smile as she pulled one out to cheers.
From that day, the name of Firecracker or rather, the Firework Ninja, became rather famous throughout the neighborhood. The young girl was always eager to entertain others and loved to draw in a crowd. The other kids would bring her various things they didn't like to be blown up, usually things like vegetables and Firecracker would cheer just as loud whenever things were turned into tiny little bits of gross.
Additionally, the constant attention only pushed her to create better and bigger new fireworks and explosives, if only so she could keep drawing in a bigger and better crowd. A couple more teens or adults would try to harass her, but they never learned the lesson of never messing with the person with the lighter when there's fireworks around. If anything, being able to send them running only made her more popular.
"And remember! Never try this at home!" Firecracker declared as she finished yet another show. In truth, she had no idea why people always said that whenever they did dangerous stuff, but it gave her an edge she liked for her shows. As always, kids began to walk off, talking about how awesome the show was. However, two people instead began to walk towards her. One, the younger of the two, tapped her on the shoulder. Turning around, Firecracker saw what looked like a brother and sister. The sister looked to be about her age but the boy was the one who surprised her-he was wearing what looked like armor made out of tree bark. The piece tapped to his front had the number 1789 painted on it.
"Hi!" The girl greeted her. "I'm Cree. I really like your shows!"
"Thanks!" Firecracker replied. She heard it a lot, but that didn't change how much she liked it when people said to her.
"I'm her older brother, Beau," The boy greeted her. Firecracker thought he sounded funny, but she didn't question it. "Now, I noticed you looking at my armor?"
"It looks weird. Why's it made out of trees?" Firecracker asked as she crossed her arms.
"That's actually what I wanted to talk to you about," Beau replied. "Do you like protecting kids?"
"Oh yeah! I kinda wish buttfaces would try to bully us more so I could blow 'em up!" Firecracker eagerly declared as she pounded a fist into an open palm.
"How would you like to be able to do that for kids all over the world?" Beau asked. He was fairly certain he got his answer at the sight of stars in Firecracker's eyes.
"I'd be like a superhero!" Firecracker cheered. "How do I do that?!"
"Well then, have you heard about the Kids Next Door?" Beau asked. Firecracker could only shake her head no. "Well, we battle across the world to keep kids safe from adult tyranny. A lot of people have heard about you and we want you to join! But do you think you're up for it? There's a lot of training."
"I'm gonna be the bestest operative you've ever seen!" Firecracker proudly boasted as she puffed out her chest. "So when do we start?"
"Training for you begins in a few weeks," Beau said with a grin. Somehow, he had a feeling that Firecracker would be living up to her promise, no matter what was thrown at her.
So that's how our hero joined the Kids Next Door. And before anyone calls me out and claims that letting a young child being able to make homemade fireworks is dangerous, remember that this is the same show where a literal brainwashing helmet was sold as a toy. If anything, I'd rather trust my kid with fireworks. Also, if you couldn't figure it out, Beau is supposed to be the unseen older brother of Numbuh 5 and Cree who is mentioned in the show!