Alright, time to finally show you all Numbuh 451's first mission! Hopefully, it's a success.

In the Teen Ninjas' newest war ship, barely a teen was stirring. They had thrown a massive party to celebrate its completion and now, all of them were utterly exhausted. Even the few still awake in order to be on guard were actively fighting falling asleep. They all knew they would need the rest as their boss had ordered them to attack the beachfront sector, Sector J early the next day, before the operatives themselves were awake and able to defend themselves.

And that was exactly what Numbuh 451 was there to stop.

The young operative had, for the most part, been kept on the deep sea base since her induction into the Kids Next Door since, as talented as she was, she was still only five. While she was proficient in her work, she longed to be on the battlefield. Finally, she got her chance when, due to all of the other spy/sabotage operatives being busy on other assignments, she was the last option. So, with great reluctance, Numbuh 100 had allowed her to go on the promise that she call for back up should she get overwhelmed.

"I can do this myself. I'll show them all!" Firecracker declared internally as she slowly made her approach. Her outfit had undergone a massive change following her formally becoming an operative. Gone was the cutesy flower outfit. In its place was a dark black trench coat, complete with hoodie, for hiding all her explosives and other helpful tools (or at least all the ones she could carry), equally dark pants and tee shirt and sneakers. A face mask also covered her face and a sniper rifle, similar to the one she used in training, rested on her back. A pair of red tinted goggles sat atop her head. Her hair, which used to flow freely, was now braided (she had begged her mother for help with that one). Overall, she looked like less a kid and more like a determined operative.

And boy was she determined to show everyone that she had what it took to be one of the greatest operatives the KND would ever see.

"First problem, actually getting on the ship," She noted to herself. She wasn't going in the front door, that was for sure. Even though all the Teen Ninjas would be tired, going off the intel she had gotten that a party had taken place, she wouldn't put it past some of them to try keeping awake with soda. Deciding quickly, she attached a grapple to her rifle and fired, letting herself get dragged towards the deck. She didn't pull herself up all the way just yet, as the sound of approaching footsteps alerted her to someone coming.

"...why do you think the big boss wants us to attack this place?" One Teen Ninja asked his partner.

"My guess? He just doesn't want the kids to have their own resort," The other replied. "I mean, I feel like that's a little pointless, but hey! He pays us, so I'm gonna just do what he says as long as he keeps signing my paycheque."

"Amen to that," The first one said. "I don't even really get this whole adults vs kids thing, but the adults have the cash to tell me what side to fight for and…" Numbuh 451 wasn't sure what else was being said, as the teens walked out of her earshot and she ran in the other direction. While the teens still awake were sparse, Numbuh 451 still ducked behind cover fairly often, her dark clothes camouflaging her, especially in areas with a lack of light.

"Alright, where am I setting the charges?" Numbuh 451 grumbled to herself as she pulled out the list of targets she had to hit. The engines were listed as the first target, since, even if nothing else blew up, the ship couldn't be launched if it couldn't start. Next up were the Teen Ninja's armory, preventing them from attacking. Then was the controls of the ship. Finally, Numbuh 451 was to destroy ship's built in weapons.

If all went well, the ship would be little more than scrap metal.

"I'm gonna light this ship up like the Fourth of July," Numbuh 451 smirked to herself as she pulled out one of her favorite creations-a set of firework bundles that would go off either at the press of a button…or manually if she needed a quick escape. It was time to finally set things into motion.

"Hey bro. What are those markings on your blaster?"

Numbuh 451 had never been so happy to hear Teen Ninjas, as she wouldn't have had time to get behind cover if they hadn't. And considering that she'd already made her way into the control room, getting caught now was going to be a death sentence.

"Oh, these?" The teen being questioned asked as he held out his blaster. Even from where she was, Numbuh 451 could see all the tally marks. When his companion nodded, the teen let out a boastful laugh. "They're for every mission I've cleared. Sometimes, I add a little splash of color if I make one of those KND brats cry for mommy."

"Nice bro!" The first teen commended his friend as they headed out. "I'll bet you'll make a bunch of 'em sob tomorrow!"

"Maybe I'll treat myself to some burgers afterwards," The teen with the blaster smugly replied. Once they were gone, Numbuh 451 stepped out of hiding, a scowl etched onto her face.

"We'll see who ends up crying for mommy, jerk…" With that, she returned to work, now more determined than ever to put that teen in his place.

"Well, you can never have too many pretty explosives," Numbuh 451 smugly declared as she finished her work. The engine room ended up being her last stop, considering how deep into the ship it was and, while she wasn't sure that picking the place furthest from any exits was that smart, she still got the job done without alerting anyone else on the ship. The place was completely covered in various explosives and fireworks, ensuring that, even if a few did fail, the rest would ensure that the ship would never leave port. Satisfied, she turned to leave.

Only to walk straight into the two teens who had entered the control room while she was inside.

"What the-? How'd you get in here?!" The one with the blaster demanded as he grabbed the younger girl, who tried to run. "Here to sabotage us?"

"You bet!" Numbuh 451 replied as she managed to get herself just free enough that she could toss out one of her explosive golf balls, which landed fairly close to one of the fireworks.

"Ha! You think a golf ball can save you?" The other teen mocked. Numbuh 451 merely smirked.

"You like fireworks?" She asked. "Because I really, REALLY do!"

"What does that have to do with anyth-?" The other teen began, only for the fuse on the golf ball to run down, causing it to blow up, which sparked off a chain reaction that resulted in just about every explosive in the room going off all at once.

Not that Numbuh 451 was fully aware of it.

One second, she was in the arms of the teenager. The next, she was on the ground, the room in flames and her vision becoming somewhat tainted with red. Feeling around her left eye, Numbuh 451 felt something warm and wet. Pulling her hand back, she was horrified to discover that it was covered in blood. Still, she didn't have time to dwell on it. The flames were spreading, the teens were beginning to recover and she could hear alarms going off. Fight or flight kicked in and for Numbuh 451, her flight reaction was in OVERDRIVE.

"Gotta get out of here!" She internally snapped as she took off into a sprint, looking for the closest window or something to escape into the water. As other Teen Ninjas began to exit their rooms in search of the cause of the explosions, Numbuh 451 realized that she only had one other option if she wanted to avoid capture.

Set the rest of the explosives off….while she was still on board the ship.

Numbuh 451 pulled out the detonator and stared. This was crazy! Sure, capture was bad, but so was getting caught in more of the blasts. She was already hurt and she could barely see as is, so making it worse meant she was pretty much stumbling around blind. But then she recalled some advice Numbuh 1917 had given her and the other cadets.

"Sometimes the worst ideas turn out to be the best ideas if the mission has already gone south," He had said one day after an operative had failed a test and admitted that he had a plan, but didn't want to use it because it was stupid. "If you've got nothing else to lose, why not risk it?" With a deep breath, Numbuh 451 slammed her finger down on the detonator, never once stopping. The ship shook several more times, but the chaos also resulted in several teens running right past her. Finally, she managed to reach the deck and, without any hesitation, jumped off, plunging right into the water. It was not a long swim back to shore, but Numbuh 451 was utterly exhausted. Sluming against some nearby crates, she pulled out her communicator and pulled her mask down, letting a tired smile finally show itself.

"This is Numbuh 451. Requesting a pick up. The mission is complete. I repeat, the mission is complete."

A few days later

Firecracker stared at the newfound scar running across her left eye in the mirror. She had been commended for completing the mission at such a young age and, while her briefly getting caught wasn't exactly good, she had managed well enough and the teens that caught her didn't have time to look at her full face. Besides, she wouldn't deny that she thought that the scar looked kinda cool. Her parents had flipped and although Firecracker played it off as a bike accident, they did warn her to be more careful.

"Didn't have a choice," She grumbled as she walked away from her mirror. Now, her eyes were on her sniper rifle. As she picked it up, that teen's words rang through her head.

"They're for every mission I've cleared…."

"Every mission you clear…" Firecracker trailed off. She then smirked. While she didn't like that guy, she owed this idea to him. Grabbing a fairly sharp tool off her work desk, she etched a small tally mark into the back end of the gun.

She was going to have it COVERED by the time she was ready to be decommissioned.

So Firecracker has her goal in the KND-to cover her rifle in success mission tally marks-and she also got her very first scar. Believe me…there's more to come. But that comes later! See you then!