Chapter Text
The only KND operative born and raised on Earth—the only one that is considered an actual operative—walked the futuristic halls of the Galactic Kids Next Door’s home base. His steps quick, almost as though he doesn’t want to be seen by anyone else. He could teleport, just like all the other operatives, but walking felt more genuine. Besides, they couldn’t track his movement if he chose to do the ‘primitive’ walk, as the other operatives would say.
A left here, a couple paces before going right, his destination found. Keypad codes punched in without much fanfare, but the doors slide open just the same. The lights flicker on, rather than the soft glow that had illuminated the room just a moment ago.
The GKND operative stepped in; the same boy who just moments ago pledged the doom of the entire human race. The former undercover KND operative looked at him, expecting a different person. As their eyes met—rather a green visor to fierce eyes in anger—the blond teenager scoffed.
“Well, well, if it isn’t Nigel Uno. The destroyer of Earth in his glory. Come here to gloat? To laugh at the miserable defeat of humanity by your hand?”
The jailed teenager glared at his young counterpart, who may have yet to have his growth spurt, still stood tall in deep contrast to the teen. While the blond teenager may have wanted to initially be in the short boy’s shoes, this wasn’t what the Kids Next Door was about—he knew that. It wasn’t the oath they lived by, it wasn’t what he had signed up for when he had first started. His voice held venom, but with the sting of someone who had recognized a level of defeat yet refused to admit it.
Just like any other kid would.
Nigel adjusts his green visor, a poor replacement for his original sunglasses that he gave to Abby. Chad looks at him in contempt from his cell, his worn out and frayed clothing a stark comparison to Nigel’s own clean choice of uniform.
“The planet is practically overridden with adults; there’s no way the Kids Next Door could feasibly go against them; they’re too far gone.” Nigel explains for what felt like the fiftieth time; almost as though he was trying to convince himself of his actions. Despite Chad being the enemy, Nigel felt some sort of compassion and comfort when he was with him; perhaps because he was the only other human Nigel could speak to or something along those lines. He wasn’t quite sure.
He wasn’t really sure of anything himself.
“So you thought the destruction of the entire world was the right thing to do!?” Chad, although knowing it’s pointless, tries to pull at his restraints with renewed fervor. Nigel doesn’t flinch, merely staring at him in return. “What have you become, Nigel? The real Numbuh 1 I know wouldn’t sentence his friends, family, and innocents to death!”
Nigel slams his fist on the cell door frame, frustrated at Chad’s consistent questioning. The metal barely shakes with his strength, yet the loud pang reverberates in the cell. “I’m the representative of Earth, that’s just what I have to do!”
Silence permeates after his outburst.
Nigel can feel Chad’s eyes, burning holes into his head. It’s his duty, it’s what is being asked of him by people who are way out of his league.
He had to do it.
He had to give his allegiance.
“What’s there to represent if it blows up? What are they going to need you for?”
Nigel peers down at his shoes, at the metal floor of the G:KND’s spaceship as he breathed heavily. He could resist the temptation of Chad’s words; they were nothing but miserable attempts from a sick teenager, a boy who was closer to an adult than Nigel was. Nigel wasn’t even sure why he even kept coming to Chad’s cell, perhaps to finally have him see reason—maybe the G:KND would give an exception to Chad if he just tried to follow their ways.
Maybe he just missed humanity.
He erases the thought from his mind as quick as it comes. No, he’s trying to be merciful to Chad. That’s his humanity speaking, that level of empathy he has held onto for months. Chad glares to his chains, scoffing at Nigel’s hesitance.
“Why does the Kids Next Door decommission people at thirteen, Nigel?” The younger boy looks up to his former idol, frowning at the question. It was a question that almost needed no answer, for it was the one thing that the KND had drilled into every single operative without fail.
The blue lighting of the futuristic cell made Chad look younger, back when he was still a KND operative and had hope in his eyes, rather than cold fury of being a teenager, nearing adult status. Nigel stares at him, wondering the motive of asking such an inane question, but deigns him an answer anyway.
“Because once they turn thirteen, their minds are no longer similar to our own. The KND mission is to fight teenage and adult tyranny, for the sake of kids around the world—the universe.” Nigel says on reflex, remembering the days of his training as a KND operative, the television playing an age old video of the decommissioning process: what every operative needed to be aware of during their service. “They become warped with the concept of being older, turning to teens and eventually, an adult. Decommissioning is the best way to maintain the KND secrets and the structure. This has been proven time and time again.”
“And you’re turning thirteen soon, isn’t that right?” Chad sneers. Nigel gawks at him, surprised he could even determine any sort of timing. “Don’t think I forgot, Nigel. Our parents were on the same PTA, you know they talked before I moved schools.”
“I…” Nigel couldn’t remember the date of which he left Earth at this point. It had been so long, all he could really recall was his mission and what he had been called to do. He had recently celebrated his twelfth birthday before he had left, had it truly been that long since he last was on Earth? Since he last saw Sector V? His parents? How did they even sound? Look like? The impression is in his mind, but that was all.
Seeing his hesitation, Chad laughed. Nigel flinched at the sound, realizing his error at his uncertainty.
“Do you think they would keep you here? You’ll have that sickness that they call being an adult, too. Being a teenager was already a problem in the ranks of the KND; there’s no doubt the G:KND wouldn’t be any different. Newsflash, Nigel, that’s what humans do. We grow up .” Chad sneered. “How else do you think we move forward as the human race?”
“You have no right to speak! You’re a sick, evil teenager—“ at that utterance, Chad laughed, again. This time, it was the kind of laugh where the individual that was laughing knew it was pointless to fight, but he’d still do it anyway because it was, down to its core, human nature. Nigel faltered in his diatribe, furrowing his brow at the outburst.
“There’s no such thing as ‘good vs. evil’, Nigel.” Chad intoned, suddenly sounding as though he was ahead of his years, beyond being a teenager as he motioned around this cell. Nigel stared at him, attempting to maintain his composure, but failing miserably.
“Yes, there is!” Nigel tried to say, more for himself than to Chad. The blond ignores him.
“To you, this is something good, right? All good ends up being is the fulfillment of what you think is right. Does this feel good to you? Does it feel right? Keeping me here? Blowing up the planet to be rid of adults? When did we ever consider teens and adults evil? Frustrating, yeah, and definitely annoying, but evil? You’re delusional.”
“I’m delusional? You’re sick. You’re the one that needs help,” Nigel tried to reason again and Chad shook his head, exasperated.
“Be real for once, Nigel! By now, Rachel probably just turned 13 and if you were back on Earth, Fanny’s invites for her birthday would be in your mailbox! Sector V is close behind, you know it’s only a matter of time. They’re all going to turn thirteen. They’re all going to become teenagers. Eventually, adults.” Chad pulled onto the restraints again, despite having no luck. From Nigel’s angle, he could see that his wrists were rubbed raw with struggle. “You’ll be considered infected too.”
“But they’re trying to fix you!” Nigel exclaims and Chad scoffs. The teenager—and unbeknownst to the elder, so did Nigel—had bargained for his continued presence on the spaceship by claiming that he could be a lab rat for the “Adult Virus” that he had. The scientists of the G:KND took to the opportunity and with that, he was able to stay on the ship. For the most part, they had done nothing but examine him, but Chad knew it was only a matter of time before they got more creative and started poking him with alien things he was not looking forward to.
“You know that’s not going to actually do anything.” Chad scoffed, keeping his front. “Get it through your thick skull, Nigel, you’re human! You’re going to get older! It’s life! Don’t you remember everything we’ve been through?”
“You never wanted to be thirteen. Look what the virus has done to you.” Nigel says instead and steps away from the cage, fists shaking as he left the room.
Chad sunk back down to the floor, looking at his restraints and sighed. Another meeting with Nigel to no avail. It was like arguing with a brick wall; he believed the KND mission just as much as the next person, Chad would rather fight all of the adults on his lonesome if it meant he’d spare the world from this.
“I may have never wanted to be thirteen, but at least I know what it’s like to feel human.” Chad muttered as the lights dimmed, leaving his only illumination as the bars that kept him captive.