Disclaimer: I do not own Codename Kids Next Door.

Now loading:

kids next door mission

operation:

f.l.a.m.b.é-a.l.a-m.o.d.e.

Funky

Lad

Assembles

Melting

Beam

Extravagantly

Attracting

Lotta

Attention

Making

Operative

Do

Espionage

…or

Melt My Heart Away Another Day

Starring: Sean Conn –uh– Rachel McKenzie

Snow snow everywhere, and not an ounce of wintery fun to be had. The wind was nippy, the air was chilly, and the mood could not be anymore frigid. The low beams of the moon cast a glistening effect on the powdery mountain scape creating a glowing beauty of the nature around. But one couldn't properly enjoy it. There was work to be done tonight.

Unknown to the world, hidden between a small ridge of the mountain range was a largely fortified compound crafted by the hands of an aspiring child genius. The stone walls kept an imposing shadow over the land, barring trespassers from entry and concealing all secrets inside. The main courtyard spanned the entire area, sporting several plain ashen buildings and outposts for the main fraction of security.

Two tall lookout stations kept a steady eye over the whole compound from opposite ends of the walls with roaming searchlights periodically scanning the layout for any possible annoyances. The silent yet active compound offered no exciting elegance, nor tried to hide what it was with a facade of floral coatings or useless design scheme. It was a dull means-to-an-end and nothing more.

Atop the eastern lookout tower appeared a small hand gripping onto the ledge. Soon after, a lithe figure flipped itself over and rolled onto the roof into a crouch. The figure was coated in ebony stealth gear and a stren face-plate with a thin eye slit. Gadgets and equipment were strapped onto the stealth outfit and jingled lightly with every subtle move. Two hazel eyes were visible behind the mask's slit and they shifted carefully for any signs of opposition. After a second to register, the figure moved towards the edge. Once seated at a perch, her hands whipped out a pair of oddly fashioned binoculars and began to scout the area.

First, she centered her sights on the structure at the far end of the compound. A three-story metal scaffolding-esque platform that was built into the mountain itself. She assumed that the interior of the mountain housed a secret facility for there were two entrances around the platform; one at ground level and the other at the top floor. She lifted her gaze a few degrees higher and made out a dome like building further back in the snow-capped peaks, almost perfectly concealed within the snow. She stored the information for later use and moved on to scout the rest of the compound below.

The girl peered over the numerous buildings, outposts, and the tight alleyways between each of them and she noted with mild suspicion that she hadn't picked up the faintest trace of activity. Where were all the guards, security teams, or armed thugs patrolling the perimeter? Being in the dark hours of the morning gave no excuse to their absences, something was up.

Right when she was about to look off elsewhere, she saw it. The tiniest spec of movement in the darkness. She switched to night-vision to get a clearer reading and her brows notched skeptically once she saw them.

There was indeed security present. There was security present on the ground, on the roof-tops – seemingly everywhere. Some wandered around solo, others moved in flocks of two and sometimes three. They moved with precise grace around the compound as if they owned the night themselves. They were everywhere and the operative had only now figured out why she didn't notice them at first glance.

The hired men and women below wore outfits darker then night that hid their appearances and silently stepped from place to place, leaving no sign of where they had came from or where they were headed. Their suits concealed the metal glints of their knives, shuriken and other similar weapons. It was only then that she knew what she was dealing with.

"Ninjas," Rachel drawled as she stored away her B.O.N.G.O.S.K.O.P.E. "It's always ninjas." Numbuh Three Sixty-Two slowly stood straight and quietly gazed out to the sight before her. The young blonde operative of the Kids Next Door was on a very urgent mission, one that could factor into the fate of children world-wide.

Intelligence picked up rumors from the criminal-kid underworld of very disturbing news; news that an evil child genius was constructing a death ray to use for his own nefarious schemes. After countless days of trailing scant leads, crunching codes, and draining a gazillion gallons of soda to keep the nerd hackers awake, Global Command had not only confirmed the rumor, but tracked budgets and bills leading to this very area. The evil genius apparently garnered a large allowance and had no qulams about flaunting it all. That was his mistake. Now knowing his hideout and plans, the organization was now tasked with infiltrating the mad-kid's liar and disabling the weapon before it could pose any threat. And as the Kids Next Door's top stealth tactical agent, no other was better suited for the job then Rachel T. McKenzie.

Also, yes. She is aware that the whole thing sounds like a set-up for a bad spy movie. Moving on.

Rachel rubbed at her arms to gather warmth as she plotted her next step. Once she had left her extraction team at the S.C.A.M.P.E.R she had to scale the remainder of the way on foot. She hoped things would be easier now that she was at the part of the mission that actually required sneaking around, but now she had to find out where the so called death ray was being kept.

The creaking noise coming from below alerted her and caused her look over the edge. Exiting the lookout was one of many ninjas that were out and about. After walking a short distance, the silent warrior sat down in some sort of meditative position and pulled out a purple fizz soda and began slurping away.

Seeing the ninja on break caused an idea to form in Rachel's mind. She reached into her pouch, and pulled out a small gadget that looked like a bland yo-yo. She clipped the yo-yo to her belt, and pulled the string; attaching the hook to a jutting edge of the roof. Once she was certain it was secure, she dipped over the side, and slowly began to repel down.

The ninja contently gulped away on his refreshment as the cold night air kept his senses alive. When was about to pull the can away from his lips, his ears picked up on a distinct clicking sound right behind him. Eyes narrowing, he stayed perfectly still as his free hand crawled down do his belt. His fingers laced around his knife, and he carefully slid it out of its hilt as he waited.

Once she was dangling behind the ninja, Rachel reached for her pouch for another tool; this time pulling out a small, round, lime green candy. Her hand clenched around the candy as her other moved to take the ninja by surprise. But then her eyes noticed the man tensing. She then acted on instinct and swung her body to the side as the ninja reeled on her, swiping out his blade. It avoided her, but nicked the string of her yo-yo grapple.

With nothing holding her up, she fell to the ground. She recovered mid-air and landed in a crouch. As she saw the ninja leap up and arch his leg back, she dropped, rolled to the side, and let his foot connect with thin air. Using the brief moment to capitalize, she swept her leg out and tripped the ninja over as he was regaining balance. As he hit the ground, her empty hand pressed into his chest, and she easily flipped over him. But while she passed over him, her other hand shoved the piece of candy into his mouth.

"ACK!" the ninja coughed as something was forced into his mouth. He then felt his lips pucker as the flavor of sour green apple assaulted his taste buds. He quickly got to his feet and then tried to spit the candy out. Keyword being tried. For some odd reason, it wouldn't come out. He even attempted to pull it out, but it was no use. It was as if it was glued to his tongue.

"What trickery is this?" his accented voice graveled out as he looked towards Rachel, who herself was just standing there unnervingly calm. "What have you done?"

She only tilted her head in mock confusion. "What? You don't like G.O.B.S.T.O.P.P.E.R.s?"

Kids Next Door: G.O.B.S.T.O.P.P.E.R.

Gluey. Oral. Bonbon. Sedates. Target. Obtaining. Proper. Proof. Ensuring. Reliability.

The ninja glared at the child, slowly stalking forward and raising his knife in an opposing manner. "You little…wha?" He blinked as he stopped, lowering his knife in the process. It was strange, but for some reason he found he had no desire to attack the little girl anymore. It was his job, but his body wouldn't respond at all. All the animosity he felt for her was just, gone.

"The first flavor completely numbs your anger, which makes fighting back impossible," Rachel explained as she stepped forward. She nonchalantly knocked the ninja over, and glowered down as she placed a foot over his chest. "Now you're going to tell me everything you know."

The ninja blinked as she forced him down and did nothing to stop her, because that would involve hurting her. Of course he wanted to hurt her, very much so, but the candy would not let him. "I will do no such thing!"

"You don't have a choice," Rachel snapped back as foot increased pressure. "Is it true there's a death ray here in this facility?"

"Yes," the ninja answered honestly. His eyes then widened. "What the–"

"And that's red cherry kicking in, which makes you very forthcoming." It was then the ninja noticed the gobstopper had dissolved to a different flavor. He looked up towards Rachel and he swore she was smirking behind her face-plate. "Now talk. Where's the death ray being kept?"

"Within the lab above us all," he admitted due to the effects of the candy. "It is under constant guard until the test run at dawn."

Rachel took a moment to glance further beyond the compound to the dome figure hidden in the peak. She surmised that it was the lab. She shifted her focus back on the ninja while he was still under the G.O.B.S.T.O.P.P.E.R's influence. "What's the target?"

"I…am not certain. We are not paid to ask such questions. Our client's intent is all his own."

The blonde's eyes narrowed. "Who exactly is your client?" At that exact moment, an electronic crackling noise pierced the otherwise quiet compound. Rachel tensed for whatever might spring out of the shadows, but she then adopted a puzzled expression when the voice of a child boomed over the intercom airways.

"It's zat time again, baby!" a frecnh accented voice bellowed,"Feu on the mic with a shout-out to all my lean mean sneak machines. We's strutting closer and closer to party-hour, and when dawn cracks, we're bringing the house down!" Whomever it was immediately followed the statement up with a boast of laughter. "So stand tall, walk tall. Keep it smooth. Peel ze eyes, check ze ears and be on lookout for any rat-packs snooping 'round my crib. You see anyone who don't fly, zen don't hesitate to make with slice 'n' dice. Dig? Peace out!"

The intercom fizzled out along with the voice. Rachel stared at the nearest speaker for a few long seconds before looking down at the ninja once more, slight disbelief clouding her hazel eyes. "What was that?"

"That was our client," he answered, his eyes closing as he shook his head. "The child refers to himself as, Professor Feu."

"Professor? So what? You guys are, like, his secret ninja army or something?"

Once she had asked her question, the man looked away in embarrassment as the candy forced him to answer truthfully. "We are his…babysitters."

"…Ninjas babysit?"

"Yes. We also do catering, gardening, and many other events. This month we're having a special; you enlist us for two assassination contracts, and we'll do a birthday party for free," he added, feeling obliged to mention the offer due to his contract.

"Whatever," Rachel huffed. She leaned down and gripped him by his collar, bringing his face closer to hers so he could witness the building annoyance in her pupils. "How do I get into the lab to shut down the death ray?"

"You would need lab access, but the only ones with access codes are the captain, the teenager, and the Professor himself."

"Teenager?" she asked confused. "What teenager?"

"The one who acquired our services for extra protection. She serves Feu as his personal bodyguard…and head nanny."

Rachel rolled her eyes as she processed the information. This mission was becoming harder and harder to take seriously. Figuring the 'Professor' and his teenager bodyguard were out of the question for now, she centered her current objective on the ninjas' captain. "How can I get access codes from your squad captain?"

"His terminal is located in the top room of the western lookout tower," he begrudgingly informed. He watched as Rachel stepped off of him and looked towards the other end of the compound. If it wasn't for the sedating properties of the G.O.B.S.T.O.P.P.E.R, he would have ended her the moment she turned her back on him with a simple flick of his wrist. "You shall not get away with this!"

The blonde choose to ignore his snarls and quips as she gazed out using her B.O.N.G.O.S.K.O.P.E once more. She looked across the landscape much like a surgeon looks over his tools before an operation; forming up her approach all the while. It seemed all she had to do was lower down into the compound, make her away across the courtyard, and climb up to the tower in order to reach the captain's terminal. Forming her plan, she stored her binoculars away and spared the ninja one last glance. "It won't matter. By the time you wake up I'll be back at home watching cartoons."

"What?" Before he could utter another word, he tasted as the candy forced in his month dissolved into one final flavor. The flavor of blurple berry swam around in his mouth and he found himself becoming very dizzy. The world around him spun and it all became a dark haze as he blacked out.

After she was sure the G.O.B.S.T.O.P.P.E.R had entered its final stage, Rachel moved to drag the ninja's unconscious body out of sight lest some other stealth warrior so happened to stumble across it. After pacing a few feet away from the east tower, Rachel neatly tucked the body in the shadow of the mountain the wall dug into. With that set-back settled, the blonde backtracked a few steps to begin her descent into the compound.

Rachel leaned over the railing of the wall and measured the distance of the drop in her mind. She doubted she could land that without injuring herself, and her yo-yo repel line had been damaged in the brawl with the ninja. How else could she get down?

"It's Feu coming to you live!" She jumped at the french accented voice, and snapped her gaze up to the intercom as Professor Feu decided to make another abrupt announcement. "We just got off the line with super secret ninja infirm and they be bringing some bad vibes my rad bad bros. So here is deal; tomorrow there will be big bash! Everyone who still has a mama is invited to come get funky and see Feu lay down his smooth moves! …Jefferson, as of two hours ago, you no longer meet the invitation requirement. Stay fresh!"

As a ninja sobbed over the fact his mother died and he wasn't invited to the Professor's party somewhere else in the base, Rachel kept her eyes solely focused on the intercom speakers. Or rather, the pole the speakers were attached to. She walked over and her hand gripped the cold metal as she followed the length of it. To her liking, she found that the pole dropped all the way down to the ground level inside Feu's compound. With that in mind, she hopped onto the pole, curled herself around it, and easily slid down to the ground below.

When her feet graced the ground, she dropped and rolled into a nearby building; pressing herself into the wall when she made contact. Staying close, she trailed along the wall until she came to a corner. She poked her head out slightly and watched as a group of ninjas wandered around in the courtyard. Changing course, she moved along the wall back where she started and kept going until she came to the next corner. She scouted ahead first, then quickly ran into the alleyway between the two buildings once the coast was clear.

She used the darkness and shadows of the night to her own advantage as she inched carefully across the vast compound. As she reached the end of one alley, she waited patiently for any lagging ninja marching down the walkways to exit earshot then quickly dashed across to the next alley to repeat the process as many times needed. Rachel paced herself as she moved from building to building, for they were her only source of cover. Creeping around another corner, she prepared to step out and run across to the next alley when she froze and quickly lowered herself.

There, gathered around a small outpost hut, was a group of armed ninjas scouting the area without a smidgen of movement. She was almost tempted to call them life-sized statues with the way they stood with a stoic calm. One thing was certain; they weren't planning on going anywhere anytime soon. She needed to find another way around them.

Rachel slowly stepped back into the alley, her hand trailing against the wall. It would take more time, but it seemed she had no other choice but to find an alternate route. But then her hand fumbled against the wall and she quickly glanced up to see an open window. Curious, she eased up and peeked inside the building. The small one-level, single-room structure wasn't large; it was probably about the size of a medium size hotel lobby. In fact she could make out the opposite window across the room. Nodding to herself, Rachel carefully flipped into the building and took a short-cut.

The blonde landed on the hard-wood floor without making a peep. She tugged at her collar a bit when her body started to sweat due to the rapid change in temperature, but she pressed on, and began tip-toeing her way to the other window.

"You follow the path with no obstacles obscuring your way. Eventually, your path takes you to the back of the village skate park."

Rachel ducked behind a nearby couch when a voice spoke out somewhere in the room. Confident of her hiding spot, she peaked over the side and saw more guards on break crowded around a table. The dingy light shining above them showed them to be playing some broad game. Seeing that they had failed to notice her entry, she silently continued her way to the other window. These guys had to be the worst ninjas. Ever.

"Near the back wall, you find the culprits; seven hobgoblins and a kruthik hatchling caught red handed in the middle of their fiendish act, all while drinking under age," a bulky ninja at the head of the table spoke mystically. "What do you do?"

"Pathetic," another ninja scoffed out. "Imposter goblins and a mutant crab child? They pose no challenge to my elf mage. She casts a spell of devastating flame upon the enemy, all are affected." Another ninja at his side handed him a twenty sided die, expecting him to roll for damage. After he rolled, his eyes shone with smug confidence as it landed on sixteen. "As expected. And that times twelve is…?"

The bulky ninja was silent as he consulted the charts regrading the monsters' stats. Once he was finished, he nodded and looked over towards his fellow assassin of the night. "You have vanquished them all. You must now be vigilant of the police."

"…Excuse me?"

"Dude," the head ninja scolded, "you just killed eight kids for drinking and reading adult magazines. What did you think was going to happen?"

"This is an outrage!" the other ninja burst out as he slammed his fist down. He then drew his blade and wielded it threateningly at the head ninja. "You always pull stunts like this when you're dungeon master!"

"Calm yourself, you have yet to be seen. If you are careful, you can still dispose of the bodies and flee the village."

Rachel quietly closed the window once she had exited it, the ranting ninjas on the inside becoming nothing more then unintelligible mumbling. The blonde then gave a brief study of her surroundings, making sure she had indeed passed the guard post. She looked around the corner of the building, saw them all still standing there, then continued on across the street.

As she neared the west wall and the second lookout tower, Rachel ducked behind a set of trashcans as a searchlight swept over the area. Once it had past she looked up to the wall and then to the top of the tower itself. She then groaned as she spotted a hiccup on her plans. Climbing the wall wouldn't be a problem; the two ninja archers stationed on the roof of the building closet to the west wall was what bothered her. In order to make sure she wasn't seen during her climb, they would have to be taken out.

Now looking for a way to the roof, Rachel gave the street a once over before she found her route of access. There was a drainpipe on one building over. She waited for the searchlight to roam over again before making a short sprint for the drainpipe and climbing on up it. Once on top, Rachel sulked across the roof keeping her eyes trained for any top-side guards. But thankfully, the only ones she had to worry about were the two archers the next roof over. She stopped and crouched, then studied them as she plotted a way to silently incapacitate them. She then noticed a large chimney the other roof contained, and opted to aim for that and use it to take cover.

With a game-plan in motion, Rachel backpedaled a good distance and waited for the right moment to make her move. When both archers had their backs turned, she made a break for it. Her leg muscles tensed as she neared the edge, and finally, she heaved as she propelled herself into the air. She soared over the alley below and came down just as she passed the edge of the second roof. The blonde came down a bit faster then she expected, and tried to recover by letting her body roll towards the chimney. She ducked behind it, but her momentum caused her to collide with it harshly. The force caused a dull thud and Rachel cursed as one of archers suddenly went on the alert.

"What was that?" an archer growled out as she turned and pulled an arrow out of her quiver in one swift motion. "Show yourself!"

"It was probably the ice melting," her more laid back associate tried to reason. He only gave a brief shrug before continuing to scout around. "You know how hot the child keeps these buildings."

"Never assume such trivial things while on the job, rookie." The female expertly notched her bow as she stepped closer to the chimney, her eyes narrowing as she drew near. Finally upon the tall chimney, she took a breath before spinning around the side and aiming her weapon down. She was ready to release and let her arrow fly before she halted herself.

There was nothing there.

"Hmm," she muttered to herself as she lowered her bow. This job must have been getting to her. How could it not? She spent all those years training just to be a babysitter for some kid who wanted to be a Saturday morning cartoon villain. The woman shook her head and stored away her arrow. "I suppose it is one of those nights, eh rookie? …rookie?" She became suspicious once more as her partner failed to answer to his pet name.

"Darn it Kevin! When we're in uniform, you will respect as…KEVIN!" she screeched as she saw the body of her fellow archer laid out cold upon the roof. Now frantic, she scrambled to draw her bow again as she wildly looked around for the intruder. "Who –MMPH!" Her words became muffled as a hand gagged her mouth at the exact same time a decent weight latched onto her back. As she stumbled around, she looked up and the last thing she saw before a sharp pain connected with her skull were two chocolate-colored pupils behind a midnight fabric face-mask.

Rachel hit the deck the same moment the ninja's body did. She quickly rolled the two archers into the shadows, then ambled over to the edge closest to the west wall. She craned her neck to gaze up, seeing the railing of the tower's top balcony. She reached towards her pouch, and pulled out another on of her gadgets. A hairdryer. She aimed the device towards the railing and pulled the trigger. Surprisingly, there was pop and a grapple flew up to the steel railings of the lookout tower. The tines of the grapple slipped over one of the rails and caught on. Rachel pressed the button on the handle of the grapple-gun and it pulled her up allowing her to scale the wall.

When she peaked, she flipped and landed standing up on the balcony. Reaching down she unhooked the grapple from the safety railing and retracted the last of the line. Holstering her grapple, she crouched low once again and ducked under the window of the lookout tower's top-floor. She peered inside, and saw a tall lean man with a katana at his hip.

The ninja captain had his legs propped up on the counter while numerous screens and monitors flashed and beeped in front of him, but he was far too engrossed in his manga to really pay them any mind. Rachel ducked back down to plan how to get past him and missed how his eyes flicked over in her direction.

"Oh yes, let's send Numbuh 362 in alone to deal with the doomsday weapon," Rachel grumbled to herself as she searched her pouch for another G.O.B.S.T.O.P.P.E.R. She had already left a good handful of unresponsive bodies lying around, one more couldn't possibly hurt. "Sending her in makes way more sense than a better suited infantry team." Her jaded musings would have continued had the intercom decided not to buzz again.

"Juice! Who's got ze juice? Heh heh!" She heard Feu crackle before his humorous mood vanished. "No, seriously. Which one of you tight lipped shadow dancers took FEU'S LAST APPLE JUICE? Is NOT cool!"

Rachel found one of her brows slowly rising as the child went on and on about his missing juice-box. "This guy built a death ray? Really?" She just shrugged it off and went back to work. If his attitude was anything to go by, then disabling his weapon should be cake compared to getting to it. She prepared to tuck her G.O.B.S.T.O.P.P.E.R in her glove when she noticed something odd about her shadow. It was far lager then what it should be, and it looked as if it was raising some weapon over its head…

Oh crud.

Rachel nimbly dodged to the right as a katana came down where she was a moment ago. She was put off at the whistling it made as it sliced cleanly through the air, but she shook it off and looked up to her opponent. The ninja captain acted quickly and swung his hand out, grabbing her by the tip of her face-plate. Intent on holding her there, he lifted his sword towards her and brought it down to rip her in two. Rachel responded by jerking her head down and slipping out of her mask, revealing her face and shoulder length blonde hair to the world.

Now free of his hold, she ducked the sword and as she passed under, her fist sprung up and clenched around the captain's wrist, causing him to drop his katana. While she had him, she ran towards the wall and kicked off it, twirling herself over and behind the ninja while dragging and twisting his arm with her. The man grunted at the sharp pain as he was forced to his knees by the child. Rachel let go of his wrist, and he jerked his arm back and held it. Before he could make another move, the blonde lifted her leg and delivered a swift kick to the back of his head.

"I hate it when they do that!" Rachel snipped as the captain went down. Her fist tightened as she looked around her for anymore ninjas. If the captain had seen her, then there was a chance he alerted the rest of the base. Enough fooling around. It was time to get those access codes, get to the lab, and finally end this mission. Grabbing the captain by his shoulders, Rachel heaved as she dragged him back inside his office.

A few minutes later, Rachel exited the office. She pulled her face-mask back over her expression, and jammed the door shut behind her. She had tied up the captain in the supply closet, but one could never be too careful. Thanks to her hacking skills, she had gained the access codes to the lab; now all there was to do was get there and use them.

"There has to be a quicker way to get there," she spoke as she walked up to the safety railing. She looked out beyond the balcony to the scaffolding platform further back into the base. Time was of the essence and climbing back down and wading her way through shadows again would take too long. But how else was she going to get there?

She then noticed something out of the corner of her eye. On one of the intercom poles left of her was a set of thick wires that ran all the way back to another pole near the scaffolding she needed to reach. With enough balance and steady steps, she could probably walk across them. Seeing no better option, Rachel stepped up onto the railing, them jumped for the pole. She climbed to the top, and steadied herself on the tip. Then after taking a calming breath, she placed her right foot out onto the wire. She followed this up with another step, and soon she found herself tip-toeing across the radio-lines. A few feet in, she made the foolish mistake of glancing down.

Foolish, for the fact Rachel had a distinct fear of heights.

"Aa-ah!" Rachel tensed as she clenched her eyes shut, averting her gaze elsewhere. She spread her arms out for balance and started to slowly walk forward again. "Easy now, McKenzie. It's just like a balance beam…a balance beam that's several hundred feet in the air…the only thing between you and certain death being thin air– Not helping!" She scolded herself as she paused once more.

Sighing, she continued. "It's just like the tight-rope act from that show dad took us too. Yeah. Just keep calm and do it like the circus people." With that information in mind, she walked on confident.

…until she remembered something.

"I hated those circus people!"

Elsewhere in the base was a lavish room coated with fine décor and plush furniture all around. The walls were ablaze with blueprints of wild, outrageous machinery and every blueprint was framed like it were some work of masterpiece art. A bookshelf stood littered with records of old American hip-hop albums, and strange how-to books based on dancing, manner of speech, and other assorted nonsense. Beside the purple water-bed was a workbench of sorts with unfinished ray guns, hypno devices, and an open glass container that was home to a lazy iguana. The reptile took in the warmth from the incubator lamp, before climbing up and out of its cage.

The pet dropped and scurried around on the carpet floor, making its way to its master. It went to the back of the room which held a large screen with live security feed from all over the compound.

Seated in front of the massive terminal appeared to be a child. A child with a most interesting fashion appearance. His raven hair was slicked back and glistened with a new coat of hair gel and his smug eyes were hidden behind a sharp pair of blood red visors. A golden Doctor Time-Space and the Continuum collector's necklace dangled from his neck and the emblem crested itself against his smooth violet undershirt. An emerald green leather jacket hugged his tiny frame along with a matching pair of leather jeans that consisted of a much darker shade. The boy was in a rare moment of silence as his head bobbed to the disco beat of the music playing in his room. His hand stretched out to grab a mug of hot coco as he surveyed his terminal.

Standing almost uninterested behind him was a teenager decked out in the latest edition of Battle Ready Armor, only having been upgraded from a training B.R.A just last month. The female said nothing as she leaned against the wall, managing between watching her current charge and going over her nails. She caught sight of something crawling around on the floor and she let off a shiver as she watched the iguana pat its way over to the boy. She watched it climb up the chair and continue to work its way up on the boy's shoulder. Even worse, the kid didn't even seem to mind. She stuck her tongue out and mockingly gagged at the sight. Disgusting.

The boy himself only scratched under his pet's chin while his other hand rose the mug to his lips. After taking a gracious sip, he smirked. "Mmm, that'd be some smooth coco baby. Almost as smooth as moi!" he crackled. He then scrunched his face up in disgust as his thoughts wandered elsewhere. "Unlike zat overrated creamy ice slop."

The teenager lifted a thin brow as she listened to him. "Never thought I'd meet a brat who hates ice cream."

"Such horrid mush should not even be mentioned in Feu's presence!" Feu snapped as he went on a tirade. "Le bleh! Ice cream with its chunky chocolate, rangy tang strawberry, and rile vile vanilla. Yuck! I spit on ze ice cream! Pwtooie!" He literally spat on the floor, his pet iguana mimicking his actions. Feu petted the reptile with praise as a devilish smirk graced his lips. "But soon it shall be me having last 'HA HA'! When I light up Project FLAMBE, ze whole world will know the heat-streak of Feu!"

The teenager rolled her eyes as Professor Feu chortled to himself. "Just remember to keep your end of the deal. I had to take money out of my own pocket to hire Father's secret ninja bodyguards for the night. And those fools ain't cheap!"

"Yes yes," Feu waved off. "I got it all up here, homes. I whisper good word into mama's ear, you get big fat babysitting bonus and Feu uses Project FLAMBE to…to…" He scratched at his head, looking back to the teenager looking a tad stumped. "What did you want blown to kingdom come again?"

"Kids Next Door," she growled frustrated. "If I called in extra protection, you swore to use your death ray thing to help destroy the Kids Next Door!"

"Yes, Kids Over Neighborhood. Feu knows zis! What do you take him for? Stupid lame brain?"

"Oh never," the the Teen Ninja smirked as she folded her arms. "You put the wit in 'twit', kid."

"Ooooh hooo! Aren't we's acting snooty tonight?" Feu turned in his spinning chair and lowered his red shades to glare at the girl, his iguana hissing along with him. "Feu is not deaf to your snippy sarcasm, Cree. Nothing escapes ze fine combo of brilliance and macho you gaze upon. Nothing I say!"

Cree ignored the child as she rose her look to the security footage going on behind him. She surveyed the screen but stopped when one particular event caught her attention. Her lips quirked upwards as she chuckled at the hitch in Feu's forces. "You sure about that?"

Confused, Feu turned back to the computer and glanced to the feed Cree was motioning to. It was footage from the western lookout tower, and the boy did not like what he saw going down. There was kid, a blonde girl, dragging the ninja captain back into the room. She proceeded to tie the man up, stuff him in the supply closet and move to hack his terminal. Feu spluttered before he could form a response. "What is this? I do not remember there being midget ninja in roll call!"

"It's like I warned ya kid," Cree shrugged before glaring at the image herself, "the Babies Next Door were sure to come snooping around once they caught whiff of your big bad 'death ray'."

"You mean…I have been sold out?" Feu muttered lowly. Slowly, his lips twisted into a snarl. His fingers clawed at the arms of the chair, his body began to shake with rage. The iguana sensed his master's oncoming anger and quickly leapt off of Feu mere moments before the boy sprang up and started yelling.

"FEU IS NO ONE'S MERCHANDISE! If anybody be making the stab backs, it's ME!" He started to pace around his chair, still quaking with fury. "I bet it was zat cracker-box Marzipan who spoke the blab! He never could keep his lips zipped when there was sugary goodness on table!"

"Yeah. Let's just stand around and mope about that," Cree offhandedly stated as she went back to filing her nails. Suddenly, she looked up and blinked innocently. "Or here's a crazy idea, why don't we alert the entire compound and have a knife in her back before she gets to the lab? Just thought I'd toss that one out there."

"…Yes! Feu amazes himself with how brilliant he is sometimes!" Cree's groans went unnoticed as Feu suddenly leapt on his terminal, preparing to blare off the alarm and have that girl disappear. "Let's see how well you dance under pressure, my stupid blonde…wait to the minute." Feu trailed off as he looked back up to the feed once more. He saw the operative exiting the room and pulling her face-mask back on, but there was something about her face that struck a cord in his memory.

"Computer, put eyes on camera seven, rewind the track, and pause the beat at twenty point two seconds." The computer followed his command by blowing up the footage from camera seven across the entire screen. The footage then rewound itself and paused at the moment where Feu could get a clear look at the girl's face. Then it all hit him like a teenager with puberty.

That bouncing sun-tinted hair, those sparking mocha orbs, that figure that carried itself with smooth groove grace that was only rivaled (and beaten by) his own. It was his eternal dream, and never ending nightmare. Like one of those nightmares where you wake up with the cold sweat and ask yourself, 'le why?' but don't really regret it because it brought back fond memories, then you start to cry once you remember 'she left you!' and it is all to-the-tradgey! It was the girl he didn't think he could ever forget. It was her.

It was her!

"It. Is. HER!" Feu growled hatefully as he jabbed his finger at the screen for emphasis. "It is rooty toot, siren singing, warm feeling, bubble smiling, pug-faced, double-timing, stamp-on-ze-heart-until-she-is-no-more Rachel McKenzie!"

"Ah, Numbuh 362. I wondered why they only sent one brat," Cree uttered to herself. Back during her last days of sector leader, she had heard talk about the up-and-rising stealth tactical officer of sector Q. The teenager then blinked and caught up with what Feu had just spouted. "Wait, you know her?"

"All to ze well." Feu grumbled as he sank into his chair. "And this be no small time deal. We're not talking about 'hey I know you from grocery store so let's follow each other's blog, no?' type history. We talking 'bout tragedy filled, tear-jerking, no happy ending, 'angst so juicy you can get fat and lazy off it then feel all mopy depressed' type history!" He then put his arm over his face in a dramatic fashion while his iguana hopped back up and tried to comfort him. "Grief!"

"Yeeah," Cree awkwardly coughed into her hand. "Soo…we're gonna sick the ninjas on her now, right?"

"Oh no no NO!" Feu suddenly leapt back up, his reptile being knocked off by surprise. But Feu didn't give it any notice as he went on. "Are you blind to the vision fate is beaming into us? She left Feu being nothing but withering ash on swing-set…but like phoenix, he came back hotter zan ever baby!" he laughed before he darkly smirked at Rachel's image. "And now destiny has brought her two-stepping 'round MY truff. It is too perfect to pass up! It's my turn to play the payback track, and Feu likes to serve up his revenge greasy sweet! Heh heh heh!"

"…And you're going to do that by unleashing the ninja force I'm paying for? Right?"

"Your simpleminded thought track is really starting to bum me down, teenage-nanny person." Feu swiveled in his chair and gave Cree new orders regarding the blonde spy. "Go and wait for our super sneaky guest at the entrance to my lab. Then, bring her to Feu."

"See, this is where we're havin' a failure to communicate," Cree growled out. "The only reason I came out all this way to babysit your butt is because your parents are stinking rich. The only reason I called up those stupid ninjas for protection is because YOU said you had a weapon that could end those babies once and for all. And now you want me to throw away that chance and half of what I'm making on this job just because you have some grudge against blondie?" She then shook her head as she pulled out a communicator. "Nu uh. I'm not getting paid enough for that kinda risk. You're just gonna have to be a good spoiled little brat and settle for the ninjas cutting her in two." She then prepared to alert the ninjas herself, but that was before Feu put a wad of cash in front of her face.

"You see the money," Feu intoned as he waved the dollar bills back and forth hypnotically. "You like the money…"

"…So you want her gift-wrapped honey, or what?" Cree grinned as she snatched up the money. With this she could buy that new gown AND some new heels!

Feu chuckled as Cree went ga-ga over his allowance money. "Show her ze welcome mat." He then grinned as he slammed his fist down. "And by show, I mean BEAT!"

"Heh heh, comin' right up," Cree smirked as her B.R.A helmet enveloped her face. Then with grace and cunning to match any ninja's, she sunk back into the shadows and seemingly disappeared. Once she had left, Feu turned back to his screen and bored at Rachel's face once more.

"Ah chéri, you broke my heart so," he uttered softly before a wicked grin lit his face. "So now Feu will tap-dance all over yours! AH HA HA HA ha ha…ha ha…eh " He slowed to a stop then began to swirl the contents of his mug around with a bored look. "Maniacal laughter. It is cliché, no?"

-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-

-Transmission Interrupted. Dig?