Chapter 7
Inside an emergency medical tent, Kyle and Numbuh 2 were standing over a recovering Numbuh 108. The KND doctors diagnosed no life threatening injuries, but they strongly demanded bed rest for the next few days. Numbuh 108's armor had been removed and replaced with a hospital patient gown. Bandages covered her arms, legs, and especially a large portion of her head.

"Why was she in enemy territory in the first place?" Kyle asked.

"Well, you've obviously seen what happened to Tech Square. What happened there is the same as what happened to countless other cities across the planet. We've needed to keep a close eye on the remaining Fusions see we would know when to expect an attack. Numbuh 108 was one of our operatives sent to spy on Fusion Numbuh 2. She accidentally got herself caught and he sent her back here hurt as a warning. If we don't move now, Fusion Numbuh 2 will definitely sniff out our other spies in no time."

"I can go-"

"No… You won't be able take him alone unless it was one-on-one. Fusion Numbuh 2 has squadrons of Fusion replicas of the average KND foot soldier. We'll just have to hit him with our own. We've already sent Numbuh 5 to go lead infiltration and sabotage mission. You can go meet up with her. I'll tell her to wait for you. Just don't alert Fusion Numbuh 2 or his goons of your presence when you sneak towards the compound."

"Wait." a voice muttered. "I'm coming too." Numbuh 108 was starting to regain consciousness as she attempted to lift herself from bed.

"Are you crazy! You can't go in the condition you're in!"

"He's the one who did this to me… It's my fight too…"

Kyle only sighed. "Look… I know you're upset. But angrily rushing inside, especially when you can't even lift your weapon, is not going to change anything. Just get some rest, okay?"

Numbuh 108 didn't reply. She only glared at Kyle for a few seconds before finally yielding and laying back down in her bed with the blankets covering her.

"The Infected Zone is south of here" Numbuh 2 told Kyle. "It was a former KND training ground. If Numbuh 5's not there, then contact me. Ever since Fusion Numbuh 2 took over, he reprogrammed the teleporter to allow only those authorized personnel with a password."

"Got it."

Kyle left the tent as he headed southward. He passed the treehouse, crossed the rest of the neighborhood, and kept going until he reached the southern forest. Almost fifty meters inside, he saw the Infected Zone's borders within a tight clearing. Aside from the Dexlab barriers, the entire training zone was enclosed within tall wooden walls. There was not a single opening in sight.

"Kyle!" Numbuh 5 called from behind a nearby tree. "Glad you could make it. You ready for your first covert mission?"

"Let's just get this over with. How's the situation?"

"Not good. They're planning to launch an attack soon. Good thing you decided to come. We could use another man on the team. We have spies scattered throughout the training ground, some in disguise and some in hiding. We begin once we trigger the alarm. Fusion Numbuh 2 should be at the other end of the place. Once we attack, we'll make our way to his location and take him out. Our full army should be nearby, ready to raid the training zone. You got that?"

Kyle nodded.

"Heh. You learn fast. Let's see if you're light on your feet."

Numbuh 5 stepped out of her hiding spot and directed Kyle to follow her. They ran along the perimeter behind the cover of trees until they found the entrance portal next to the corner of the training ground. Numbuh 5 was monitoring the dark silhouettes of the patrolling guards until a certain one made his round. The spy shined a light in three consecutive bursts and immediately went back to his regular duty.

"That's the signal." she informed Kyle. "Move!"

Numbuh 5 and Kyle immediately dashed towards the portal. Numbuh 5 proved to be a faster runner, but Kyle still proved to have decent agility. Kyle stepped onto the platform while Numbuh 5 worked on the modified control console.

"Dang Fusions messin' with our systems! Good thing they change much with how it works. Password…FROSTY…"

The panels beneath Kyle began to glow as he was dematerialized into bits of data. Numbuh 5 followed suit and the two were transported inside. Upon rematerializing at the other end, they were met by a group of five Fusions taking the form of KND agents, clearly waiting for their arrival. Kyle reacted with hostility by drawing his rifle, but Numbuh 5 immediately prompted him to stand down.

"Don't. They're one of us."

One of the Fusions soldiers gave a knowing smile indicating his alignment along with the others. The leader directed Numbuh 5 and Kyle inside a secret passage they had set up. It was small and dark, but it was the only way to sneak by undetected. The passage led up to a higher level onto a balcony overlooking the training ground. Another group of KND spies was waiting at the other end and guarding the doorway. Kyle saw that they had eliminated a few of the real Fusion soldiers judging from the gooey remains swept into the corner of the room. Numbuh 5 took off her hat as she quietly approached balcony's edge. She lifted her head just enough to get a clear visual view.

This section of the training ground was a large open field the size of a football field bordered by wooden walls. It was crowded with Fusion soldiers, all of them going through rigorous training courses ranging from target practice to endurance training. Their weapons were identical replicas of KND weaponry. The only differences were their green or darker coloring and their ammo being raw burning Fusion Matter.

Numbuh 5 eyed a few individual soldiers who were standing near the walls, observing the activity. Every few minutes, they flashed a hidden light in their sleeve towards the balcony, indicating that they were ready for the attack. The rest of the hidden KND operatives also showed their signals from their hiding spots like a vast network. With everyone accounted for and prepared, Numbuh 5 pulled out a communicator from her pocket.

"Kids Next Door…Battle Stations!"

On signal, one of the disguised operatives smashed the alarm button and quickly slipped into the shadows as if he was never there.

"INTRUDER ALERT! INTRUDER ALERT! SECURITY PROTOCOLS ACTIVATED!"

Many confused Fusions stood idly as the weaponized defense system came online. Though it was definitely not what they expected as the system began firing upon them. Immediately afterward came many KND members emerging from their hiding places and attacking the Fusion soldiers with all kinds of weaponry. Caught off guard by the surprise attack, the Fusions began scrambling amongst each other, trying to grab the nearest weapon at their disposal to defend themselves. Fusions soldiers who escaped the open training guard attempted making their way to the weapon storage vault, but they met an unfortunate surprise.

"Hey!" one of the Fusions exclaimed in his distorted voice. There was another group of soldiers already there, blocking the vault. "What the hell are you soldiers doing? Get out of the way! We're being attacked!"

The soldiers blocking the vault raised and aimed their weapons. One of them stepped forward, wiping off the green make-up from his face and revealing himself to be human.

"You should have really kept tabs on everyone." he remarked. "You barely even noticed that there were a few extra people wandering around."

After that statement, the agent activated a remote device he held in his hand. Within seconds, the bombs they had placed inside the vault detonated, setting all of its contents ablaze. The agents then proceed to open fire on the Fusion soldiers as the leader let out a monstrous roar of frustration.

Back at the balcony, Kyle and Numbuh 5 fired their weapons into the massive crowds below. There wasn't much retaliation as the security system kept the Fusions preoccupied. Meanwhile the spies were sealing the door leading into where they were. One could hear the Fusions soldiers trying to force their way in whether it be banging their fists or firing blindly with their guns. There was no need for sealing the secret passage as the Fusion soldiers had not discovered them yet.

The KND undercover operatives still within the training grounds slowly began making their way towards the balcony to meet up with Numbuh 5. Once they had cleared a decent amount of Fusion soldiers from beneath the balcony, Numbuh 5 lowered a rope ladder. She went first, followed by Kyle, and finally a few more operatives who had used the secret passageways. The new group soon began making their way to the control room. As they came to the end of the training ground, an explosion was heard in the distance.

"Looks like the main force is here." Numbuh 5 remarked. "Alright people, move it before Fusion Numbuh 2 can escape!"

The group eliminated the remaining soldiers blocking the way and was now standing in front of the steel door leading to where Fusion Numbuh 2 was hiding. One of the operatives began picking the lock while the rest defended him. After a few minutes, plenty of agents from the main fighting force began pouring into the battlefield, easily making the fight much easier. Now with support from allies, the pick locking operative could concentrate more and managed to force the door open.

"Kyle!" Numbuh 5 exclaimed. "You're with me!"

Kyle followed Numbuh 5 inside the building while the remaining operatives closed the door behind them. He followed Numbuh 5 down the hallway and then soon came to the entrance to the Fusion's control room. Slowly, Numbuh 5 opened the door to a simple, darkly lit control room. A wooden chair in the center slowly turned around and came to a stop, revealing Fusion Numbuh 2 sitting there with a menacing expression. Just like Fusion Buttercup, he was slightly bigger than his counterpart and his attire was of a more sinister shade. His glowing green skin and red eyes were the only things brightening the room.

"I should've known you would attack after we took care of that girl." he groaned. His voice had the same creepy and distorted quality as Fusion Buttercup. Oh well, we can always try this plan again later. I'll be see ya later!"

Fusion Numbuh 2 stood up and pressed a button on his chair's armrest. Out from the wall came a KND FLAPPUH (Flapping Lawnmower Apparatus Propels People Up High). It consisted of a lawnmower engine and two tennis rackets attached to act as wings. Apparently the idea for the invention came when Numbuh 2 was observing a house fly. The Fusion's version was just like the Fusion soldiers' weaponry, a darker shade mixed with green compared to the original. He strapped it on like a backpack and then activated another button which caused the room's roof to open.

"There's an exit portal from this place behind me. Maybe you can try to catch me…! If you can! Hahaha!"

Fusion Numbuh 2 immediately flew out of the Infected Zone. The Dexlab shields had no function of encasing areas from overhead as Fusion Matter cannot travel airborne unless something such as an explosion propelled it into the sky. Knowing they couldn't just give up that easily, Numbuh 5 pulled Kyle along into the exit portal and the two ran after the Fusion once they were outside again. They followed him in the southward direction, but it was useless. They wouldn't be able to catch up on foot.

"Hey, guys!" a voice exclaimed.

Numbuh 108 was up ahead with a KND aircraft vehicle, a FLIERPLACE(Flaming Log Ignited Explosive Rocket Plane Lifts And Careens Effortlessly). Like the name implied, it was a fireplace modified into rocket-like aircraft. Numbuh 108 was barely supporting herself with one of the wings. Luckily, a male KND member had come with her.

"Numbuh 108?" Numbuh 5 asked. "I thought you were supposed to be resting?"

"I thought this guy would try something like this so I told Ben nearby to get this."

"I… I couldn't resist…" Ben said embarrassed. "You know how she gets when angry!"

"It's not your fault, Numbuh 236." Numbuh 5 replied. "In any case, great job! Get in, Kyle!"

Kyle hopped into the passenger seat behind Numbuh 5 and the two flew off once again in Fusion Numbuh 2's direction. Within a few minutes, they could spot Fusion Numbuh 2 again as a small dot in the sky.

"Shouldn't we have passed him by now?" Kyle wondered aloud.

"He must've modified that thing to go faster than ours." Numbuh 5 replied.

"Does that even make sense?"

"We're following an alien."

"…Point taken."

As they steadily got closer, Fusion Numbuh 2 spotted them coming when he heard the sound of the rocket's thrusters. He was getting extremely irritated as he didn't account for this possibility.

"What the hell!" he exclaimed as he continued flying backwards to keep the aircraft in sight. "When did you get-? Tch, doesn't matter. You can't possibly hit me from- Ack!"

From the open cockpit, Kyle had managed to shoot the FLAPPUH's main engine with his rifle. Fusion Numbuh 2 spiraled out of control for a few seconds, but he managed to regain his balance and keep himself afloat though only barely. They were already flying over Pokey Oaks which gave the Fusion hope for escape. Hoping to increase the distance between them, Fusion Numbuh 2 drew a pistol he had modified to shoot at long range and fired a barrage upon the ship. The speed and number of the lasers were too much for Numbuh 5 to dodge and maneuver through and caused her to pull back, but she still continued the pursuit.

Frustrated more than ever, Fusion Numbuh 2 continued onward, but his FLAPPUH had taken too much stress already. He was forced to crash-land atop the Malph's Mall. Conveniently for the Fusion, the encampment below was deserted due to the assault on the KND training area as it needed extra reinforcements. Though it was a mystery to why there wasn't a single SACT agent anywhere since they weren't subject to KND orders. Numbuh 5 assumed they were on a very important mission seeing as it apparently required every agent in the area.

Numbuh 5 couldn't land on the roof as there was not enough room to avoid being shot at by Fusion Numbuh 2 and she couldn't possibly leave Kyle alone to pilot the ship while she dived below. She had to settle for landing in the open area of the parking lot.

"What'll we do?" Kyle asked as he climbed out.

Numbuh 5 sat there trying to formulate a plan.

"Go after him." she said. "He's probably already fixing the FLAPPUH as we speak. We need someone who can fly this thing to chase him if he does manage to fix it in time and that's me. There should be a maintenance hallway nearby once you go through the front door. You can use it to get to the roof."

"Got it."

Before he could move, Kyle heard a voice echo in the distance. Buttercup was flying towards the mall at her fastest speed.

"Don't worry! I'll get him!"

Buttercup flew higher up to where Fusion Numbuh 2 had crashed, but he had already recovered from his crash landing. He quickly drew a gun of a strange design and shot Buttercup up close. It electrified her and sent her plummeting off the building. She crashed into the ground next to Kyle.

"Buttercup! You okay?"

"That should keep you grounded long enough while I fix the FLAPPUH." the Fusion muttered. "Stingers!"

Upon the Fusion's call, many of the mosquito-like monsters Kyle saw at the school, Cyber Stingers as the Nanocom named them, appeared from the mall's surrounding trees. Their stingers were made out of small satellite dishes while their main bodies and wings were made out of solar panels. Living in nests high in the trees, they used sunlight as their main power source and to fire lasers from their stingers. Depriving them of sunlight or draining their power didn't kill them, but it would easily leave them vulnerable to attack.

"What happened?" Kyle asked Buttercup.

"Ugh… He hit me with one of his weapons. It disables our flight powers. You'll just have to climb up to the roof before he gets away. I'll just hold off the monsters from interfering. We can't risk them ruining or stealing the equipment!"

A small amount of time had passed since Fusion Numbuh 2 called in help from the Stingers. Repairs on the FLAPPUH were coming close to completion. The engine was too damaged to be repaired fully, but the Fusion only needed it to last enough to get away. Also, he was expecting Kyle's arrival very soon. Taking the cautious approach, he drew his pistol and aimed it at the only door to the roof, awaiting the moment Kyle would burst through.

"Hehehe…just wait, kid." he said playfully to himself. "You'll be beggin' me to spare you life once you come through."

"I don't think I'm in the position to do that." a voice stated. "Why don't you do it instead?" Kyle had appeared behind Fusion Numbuh 2 holding his rifle against the Fusion's head.

"What the hell! How did you-!"

"I climbed the side of the mall." Kyle interrupted. "There were plenty of ladders and crates to help me get up here. I guess the mall was being renovated when you guys invaded."

"Heh, guess I'm finished." he said as he dropped his weapon on the ground. "You win. Checkmate. Still…I don't know how you managed to directly hit my FLAPPUH on the mark. You must have eyes like a hawk or maybe it was sheer dumb luck."

"I don't really get why you're impressed."

"Nevermind… Well, I guess this is goodbye…"

Fusion Numbuh 2 slowly backed up against the edge and willingly jumped off. Shocked at this decision, Kyle quickly ran towards the edge and gazed down. Fusion Numbuh 2 had become a puddle of Fusion Matter just like Fusion Buttercup. Kyle carefully made his way down to Buttercup and Numbuh 5 who were now inspecting the puddle. The Cyber Stingers had long departed once the duo became too much for them to handle.

"So you did it?" Buttercup asked.

"Well, not really. Technically, he- Hm?" Kyle's Nanocom began to vibrate again, this time with a different message.

"Nano Synthesis material detected." it stated. "Synthesize Nano?"

Kyle pressed the confirm option and aimed his wrist at the Fusion Matter puddle like before. The Nanocom shot another blue beam of light and from the glowing orb emerged a Nano version of Numbuh 2. The screen listed its powers being increased speed, teleportation to a safe location within a short distance, and an unknown power. Apparently, there were a number of Nanos who had unknown power. Dexlabs and other companies had been trying to figure out and possibly unlock what it was.

"Looks like you're getting stronger." Buttercup remarked.

"Hm? I don't really think getting more of these helps me aside from the powers thing."

Numbuh 5 chuckled in amusement. "You may not notice it, but when you collect more Nanos, their life essence gives you more endurance. You can take more hits from those monsters. You may not notice it since you're only starting getting so used to it."

"Sounds…neat… Listen, do you think you can-"

Kyle was cut off as there was a huge explosion back in Sector V's direction. He could see large amounts smoke coming from the northern forest. Something was definitely set on fire. He began worrying about what just took place and the KND operatives who were just there.

"Looks like the plan was a success." Buttercup remarked.

"What plan?"

"Numbuh 2 must've not told you." Numbuh 5 replied. "Once Fusion Numbuh 2 was stopped, we were gonna to destroy the training ground since it served no more purpose other than harboring Fusions. Now that's it no more, we have one less Infected Zone to worry about. C'mon, I'll fly you back to the treehouse so you can report."

Kyle climbed aboard the FLIERPLACE. Numbuh 5 flew the rocketship back towards Sector V with Buttercup flying alongside it. As the three approached the treehouse Numbuh 2, Numbuh 108, Numbuh 236, and many other KND operatives were waving towards them from the platform. Buttercup landed first and reported what happened while Numbuh 5 drove the ship into the treehouse's landing bay. Kyle and Numbuh 5 then went down to meet up with the others.

"Great job, Kyle." Numbuh 2 happily congratulated him. "I didn't expect you'd be the one to take out my Fusion!"

"It was no big deal..." Kyle replied in a little shy manner.

"Thanks for your help." Numbuh 5 said patting his back. "We probably won't see that guy for awhile now. Anyway, you must be tired. C'mon, you can stay in the treehouse. It must've been a long day."

"Oh, Kyle." Buttercup called out. "Yeah, if you're in Pokey Oaks you can stay at my house too. It's-…um…I have an extra room there if you need it."

Kyle was curious to why Buttercup hesitated in her offer. Nevertheless, he was happy to make a few friends this quickly. People had always avoided him when Kyle was younger. Realistically Amber, Dan, and Adam were the only real friends he ever made. Any others just avoided him or were on a "Yeah, I know him, but we don't talk much" basis. Kyle was actually starting to feel a little grateful that the time machine accident happened.

"Gee. Well, uh…thanks, guys…"