Galactic: Kids Next Door

Tree-united

From up in the sky, the three could see patchwork suburbs dotted with plumes of smoke for miles on end. A treehouse emerged through the ashy air: an enormous, green, lopsided mess of wooden planks and assorted household items, which Hoagie immediately flew toward.
"ARE WE GOING TO LAND ON A TREEHOUSE?" Hoagie started easing up on the throttle. "I DON'T REMEMBER IT BEING THAT BIG!"
The wind began to die down as they slowed. Abby pressed one of a thousand identical buttons on the console, and the entrance to the Treehouse hangar slowly clanked open. Hoagie's jaw dropped.
"Nah," Abby said, "we're landing in it."
The scent of wood and hamsters graced their noses as they descended. Abby remembered this place so well...  the memories of her childhood were fresher than ever. The adventures flooded her mind: Heinrich, the fourth flavor, the nerd zombies... It had been so long since she'd gotten to work with her old team. And now, she thought confidently, it was Hoagie's turn to become Numbuh Two once again.

"Where's the recommissioning device?" Abby asked Lizzie, who had finally gotten herself together now that they were indoors. Not that a wood ceiling would stop a chunk of space wreck from smushing us flatter than a pancake, she mused.

"It's in Numbuh One's room." Lizzie looked down at her toes.

Abby rolled her eyes. "Yeah, yeah. Just tell me how to work it." She'd never had much patience for Lizzie. Now was not the time to get sad and sappy over Numbuh One.

They started toward Numbuh One's room, and Abby made sure Numbuh Two stayed close. It was easy to get lost in their mansion of a treehouse. A thousand secret doors and forks in the hallways made it nearly impossible to remember where you were--unless you had spent a lot of time inside.

Abby thought that maybe it would be best to bring up the rough subject now, before she recommissioned Hoagie. She cleared her throat. "Uh, Numbuh Two?"

"I'm not number two."

"Uh-huh. When was the last time you saw Nigel Uno?"

They had to slide down a spiral kiddie slide to get to the next level and had to abandon the conversation for a moment. Once they'd gotten to the bottom, Hoagie shrugged. "I dunno, I thought he switched schools just before Jr. High. Maybe four years?"

Abby nodded. Just what she thought. "Hoagie, nobody has seen Nigel Uno in four years. He went...missing."

They stopped outside Numbuh One's door. Lizzie reached for the handle, but Abby slapped her hand and shushed her. Quietly, she pressed her ear against the keyhole, listening intently for what she hoped she hadn't just heard...voices. Not just any voices. Alien voices.