Fanfic / Dark Studios Kids Next Door

A Fan Verse for Codename: Kids Next Door written by Darkton for DeviantArt.

Tone-wise, the fics are similar enough to the original. New characters have been added, however, and the stories are somewhat darker. Otherwise, it's same ol' KND business, just as you remember it. A link to his stories are here.

In 2019, two new series were introduced that take place in this continuity: Special Ops Drill Team and Unlucky 847. They focus on characters entirely outside of Sector V, and can still be found on his new account.

Tropes found in this series include:

• A Form You Are Comfortable With: In JAPAN, Numbuh 450 claims her and 692 are aliens taking on the appearances of anime humans. This was written before the Stop the GKND Pilot revealed that aliens do exist, so nothing really comes of it, and hints are laid that she's lying.
• All Just a Dream: LIES plays on this trope by imagining that the entire Kids Next Door world was dreamed up by Nigel, suffering from Fantasy Prone Personality. In the end, that aspect turns out to be a dream as well.
  • Or Was It a Dream?: Numbuh 1 starts to wonder if him coming back to the world of Kids Next Door is really just another dream. Subverted, however, when he decides it isn't. He's probably right.
• Call-Forward: An example from SISTERS borders on Foreshadowing: After being turned into a teen, Abby meets up with Chad who assures her she'll get over beginners doubt like he did. The two then randomly start talking about the decor, and become much friendlier with each other. Abby just used a phrase Maurice taught her to tell if someone's a spy, and Chad's response confirmed he is, as revealed in TREATY. Made better by the fact that Numbuh 5 is the one who did the original reveal that Chad was a spy.
• Camp Gay: Michel appears to be this.
• Characterization Marches On / Flanderization: Numbuh 692 was originally just a normal guy who happened to look like an anime character. By his second appearance, he's a reference to old anime dubs. By the Character Meme, it's suggested that he's the only one who can summon up anime conventions, possibly because he's insane.
• Chekhov's Gun: Numbuh 2's steak in HILL.
• Creepy Doll: The Cheery Chatterbox Rainbow Monkey.
• Darker and Edgier: There's an actual military director for Father's army, corruption of an innocent child, attempted murder, and dealing with a damaged relationship. Still, it tries as hard as it can to keep things within the rules of the original show.
  • SISTERS is this to the rest of the series, especially in its last part. The tone is much more serious and heartwrenching, the climax involves Cree and Abby in a violent fight in a burning building, and the special ends with Cree falling into depression while watching videos of violence from kids to teens.
• Double Entendre: Nearly everything that comes out of Michel's mouth.
• Dream Within a Dream: DREAMS, a parody of Inception features these, much to the increasing confusion of the cast. At one point, Captain Thomas (Numbuh 692's other half) shows up to the room Numbuh 35 is in, confusing him into thinking he dozed off because 692 is still in a lower layer. Numbuh 78 gets similar confusion when she dozes off.
  • Early on in LIES, Nigel dreams he's fighting Nightbrace before waking up. When the events of that episode are revealed to be All Just a Dream, that segment becomes this in hindsight.
• Dude Looks Like a Lady: Michel.
• Enemy Civil War: Between the loyalist teenagers and the separatist teenagers, though according to Darkton the separatists are more neutral.
• Evil Pays Better: Defied by Maurice to Nathan in TRAITOR. He gives him double the original pay.
• Expy:
  • Johnny the Teen Ninja is one to the Dragon Ball Z Abridged version of Krillin.
  • Michel is one of Dragon Ball Z Abridged's Zarbon.
• Film Fic: DREAMS, which is basically Inception with KND characters... and a few not-KND characters. In fact, the second part of the fic was given a revised version that removes a lot of the Inception ties.
• Flock of Wolves: The remake of TRAITOR really emphasizes that the Teen Ninjas are this. Between Maurice, Chad, and Nathan, with only the latter being exposed at episodes' end, their entire position has basically been compromised by the KND turning their group into a massive game of Whack-A-Mole. It's to the point where Maurice can easily suggest Jackie is one of these because she's such a huge jerk. Answer: she isn't. She's just a huge jerk.
• Foregone Conclusion: To an extent, but see below under Saved by Canon as to better understand how this trope applies.
• Freudian Excuse: A possible one for Cree appears to be violence against teenagers who aren't part of the Teens Are Monsters category from the KND, who are under the impression that teenagers are Always Chaotic Evil.
• Friend to All Children: SISTERS introduces us to the Drill Team, teenagers that all collectively act as friends to children. Admittedly, their leader Katie isn't so good with them, offering Nigel a ride in her car and letting him ride in the front seat and all.
• George Lucas Altered Version: Due to complaints by Darkton's Editor, Operation DREAMS' second half was revised. The changes made include:
  • Nearly every scene involving Numbuh 692 is rewritten, and his characterization has been altered to give him a Split Personality.
  • The original final fight took place at a snow fortress like Inception. In the revised edition, the fortress is in the woods.
  • Originally, Numbuh 78 drove the bus over the cliff because she was trying to avoid the armed guards in Jeffery's mind. In the revised edition, she falls asleep at the wheel and drives off the cliff on accident.
  • Numbuh 692 and the projected Numbuh 12 have a quieter, sadder farewell in the revised edition.
  • Originally, like the movie it was based on, the heroes in the fortress were shot by armed guards to go back a layer. In the revised version, they "go skydiving" instead.
• Grey-and-Gray Morality: While the various fics as a whole tend to portray the KND as good and the teens as evil, just like with the adults, the ending of SISTERS shows news broadcasts of KND operatives brutalizing innocent teenagers, meaning not only can the KND sometimes be too extreme, but the entire Teens Are Monsters treatment isn't always the case.
• Growing Up Sucks: Seems to be the theme of SISTERS, where the time sometimes comes where you have to grow up into someone new, leave behind your old life, and give up things considered "childish." In the end, however, this is subverted via the Drill Team, teens who basically act like grown-up kids, and even the one who's most "adult" is still fond of kids, giving those who get decommissioned an option other than going to the enemy.
• Jerkass: Jackie Mason, the Teen Ninja with purple hair and a bad attitude.

Jackie: "Sssh, sssh, do you hear that? It's the sound of nobody caring! Really loud. Way louder than you, mom."

• Halloween Episode: Multiple. It's almost a tradition.
  • DOLL references The Twilight Zone and its Talky Tina segment with an evil Rainbow Monkey influencing Numbuh 3.
  • HILL is a game of Betrayal at House on the Hill with KND characters.
  • STATUE is Blink given a KND spin with evil public art that kill those who stare at them.
  • LIES is a Psychological Horror story where Nigel finds his life in the KND is a delusion.
  • NIGHT is a full-on two-parter dealing with the Boogeyman giving Sector V horrible nightmares.
• Large Ham: Numbuh 692.
• Lost Him in a Children's Card Game: Jack's MO, like his influence Daniel D'Arby, challenges kids to games to steal their souls. As the show is won't to do, the games he plays are children's games, with Numbuh 4 being taken in a thumb war, Numbuh 5 losing in a game of Jacks, and Numbuh 1 defeating him in a game of We Didn't Playtest This At All.
• Military School: The remake of TRAITOR reveals the Teen Ninjas essentially serve in this, with a Russian director up top giving the orders. Funnily enough, he also treats it as an internship in a company.
• Mythology Gag: As any fanfic does, there are plenty of notes to episodes of the show, which makes sense given how continuity-driven the main show is.
  • In SISTERS, Numbuh 1 looks for a Teen Separatist at The Point, and the bodyguard does indeed recognize him as the one who last sunk it.
  • Also in SISTERS, Numbuh 4 and Numbuh 12 meet again, and Numbuh 4 instantly recognizes what she did in her debut episode, SLUMBER.
• Naughty Is Good: Aside from the KND, the Separatist Teens are seeking to forge their own path and actively rebel against the adults for their own independence; the worst they ever get is neutral. Meanwhile, the better members of the Teen Ninjas are the guys who question the system; the rest follow Father without question and are very much the bad guys.
• Never Say "Die": Zig-Zagged Trope. Sometimes it's no problem, other times it is. According to Darkton, it's all part of the challenge.
  • In the Inception parody DREAMS, Numbuh 692's reason for seeing his Mal analogue (Numbuh 12) is changed from her being dead to her switching sides.
• Non-Standard Character Design: Numbuh 692 and Numbuh 450 look like typical anime characters. 692 is a parody of 90's anime dubs, but 450 seems normal. Well, as normal as an anime character in a western universe can be. JAPAN has 450 claim that the two are aliens, but her explanation falters in places, suggesting they're something else.
  • Less extreme are the Drill Team from SISTERS. Katie's said to be influenced by characters from Pepper Ann, Jennifer has smaller facial features (notably her mouth), Dustin has a more muscular build, and Michel uses more femminine traits despite being male.
• Noodle Incident: the "Funland Incident" mentioned in Vladmir Potovski's bio, which caused Mr. Boss to be replaced by Vladmir. Darkton says he'll explain what it is later.
• Older Than They Look: Numbuh 108, as a result of the House Over The Hill feeding him youth.
  • Fountain of Youth
• Original Character: Quite a few. A whole squad of Teen Ninjas, Numbuh 692, Numbuh 108, Numbuh 450, and Vladmir Potovski are just a few. He even creates a whole new faction.
• Original Flavor: Darkton tries.
• Out of Character: Numbuh 2 during HILL, so that the story can work. Handwaved by him watching a scary movie.
• Parody Sue: Numbuh 692, pre-Character Development. Notably, he starts off hated by Numbuh 1, but if DREAMS is any indication, Nigel has not yet made up with him.
• Psychological Horror: LIES is this, positing the idea that the entire series is Nigel Uno's dream, having deluded himself into believing his cardboard box treehouse is a hidden fortress, and that his school friends are soldiers in a war. The terror adds up when Nigel remembers Uncle Benny is Benedict Uno, aka Father, and starts to go insane and attempt to murder him. Thankfully, it ends up being All Just a Dream, though Numbuh 1 does ponder if he's fallen into his delusion again, only to discard the idea.
• Pragmatic Villainy: The director of Father's army, Vladmir Potov(ski). His hatred of children mostly stems from the fact that they're on the other team, according to Darkton. Best shown in SISTERS where he scraps a prototype version of Battle Ready Armor because of a drop in armor, stating that a good armor has no drops.
• Punch-Clock Villain: Vladmir again. His character bio says he's closer to real-world logic. His main reason for accepting Father's job was because he paid well. The remake of TRAITOR confirms this; he treats his job as a villain like a job for a big company.
• Puppy Love: Numbuh 3 and Numbuh 4's relationship is continued in DOLL. HILL touches lightly on Numbuh 2/Numbuh 5, and DREAMS introduces Numbuh 692/Numbuh 12.
• Race Lift: Originally, Numbuh 450 was described as Caucasian with green eyes, but her modern art changes her to Asian with brown eyes. This was done to avert Monochrome Casting, and to thematically tie in with JAPAN using the Asian Numbuh 3.
• Remember the New Guy?: Every Original Character is treated as though they've been there the whole time.
• The Mole: Aside from Maurice from the show, SISTERS has Numbuh 5 become this when she is temporarily turned into a teenager. It also plants a hint that Chad is one of these through a cryptic conversation Abby has with him.
• Saved by Canon: While minor changes can stick, some bigger ones obviously can't since these fics try to align with canon. For example, Abby would of course not permanently join the Teen Ninjas after being turned into a teen herself, and none of the operatives captured in GAMES would be totally lost by virtue of making appearances later in canon.
• Screwed by the Lawyers: Not the series, but In-Universe Numbuh 1 tries to invoke this on Chester for his knockoff Rainbow Monkeys. Chester decides to blow them up so he can't be caught.
• Sir Swears-a-Lot: Apparently, the Weirdos use TV-PG language. Captain Thomas does this in the revised version of DREAMS, and Numbuh 450 does it in supplemental material, including one that uses a Sound-Effect Bleep. Given DREAMS showed where they came from is pretty run-down, it makes one wonder what conditions would lead them to start using those words...
• Sixth Ranger Traitor: TRAITOR is based around the Teen Ninjas finding one within their ranks.
• Ship Tease: DOLL for 3/4, HILL for 2/5, GAMES for 362/1.
• Shout-Out: Several.
  • In WEIRDO, Numbuh 1 calls Numbuh 692 "Backwards Mikey". The latter also does a pose that "would make the Red Ranger proud".
  • In DOLL, there's Mech Changers, a takeoff of Transformers. Also in DOLL, the Mech Changers TV show has Garry Chalk and David Kaye playing the Optimus Prime and Megatron analogues, and the show runs on Toonami.
  • In HILL, the groundskeeper is Scottish. Also, the spider is said to sound as close to Takahata 101's Nappa as possible. There's also the fog and sirens that appear when the kids first enter the town.
  • In DREAMS, Numbuh 692 is given Character Development and becomes a Dragon Ball reference. A 1999 English dub Dragon Ball reference. In addition, Numbuh 35 is playing a Powerpuff Girls game on his Game Dude.
  • In JAPAN, references to Gundam are made in the Arcade scene, with Numbuh 450 (trying to) sing Rhythm Emotion and a new interpretation of Gundam being the case for a cockpit simulator game similar to the one that actually exists. It also has a character in Amerikamura (the America-inspired area of Japan) resemble Terry Bogard, complete with him greeting the group with "Hey, are you okay?"
  • Aside from STATUE being a reference to Blink, the new bartender at Lime Ricky's, Wade, speaks with a Brooklyn accent and gets a prank call from Chad asking for a "Chuck Aholic."
  • In LIES, the first word that Fanny associates with "Boss" is "Nass." The ending also sees Nigel say "This is not the real life! This is just fantasy!"
  • Operation GIRLY is one huge, long tribute to My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic, or more specifically the story of its rise to fame.
    • Also to Pony, Katie from SISTERS is a big reference to Vinyl Scratch's personality in the fan vid "Epic Wub Time", to the point that Darkton imagines her to have the same voice actress.
    • Yet another to Pony, Numbuh 3 passes off a nightmare where she faces decommissioning for being a weakling by admitting, yes, she is a weakling much like Fluttershy did in Return of Harmony. This time, however, The Boogeyman doesn't have anything to force an effect on her, which ends up being a plot point later on.
  • In the already Jojo-reference-heavy GAMES, the game Numbuh 1 plays with Jack is We Didn't Playtest This At All.
  • SISTERS has Maurice/Numbuh 9 contact Numbuh 5 through static, introducing himself as "Just a friend," and under the codename "Nineball", much the way mysterious contacts would in Metal Gear.
  • At the end of NIGHT, the defeated Boogeyman goes on a rant that references two sources at once. [[Literature/Dune "I am fear. I am the mind killer. I am the little death that brings total obliteration. I am the glue that holds society together! I AM POWER!!"
• The Stinger: At the end of GAMES, having defeated Jack in a card game thanks to his ability to read shuffled cards, he plays a game of solitaire by himself when the mission is over. The entire scene consists of him shuffling cards and saying "I lose." over and over, only sometimes broken up by "Ooh, I win!"
• Surfer Dude: The new teen character Katie from SISTERS talks like this.
• "Super Sentai" Stance: Numbuh 692 pulls off a pose that "would make the Red Ranger proud".
  • The eccentric Drill Team does this as well in SISTERS.
• Take That!: Over horror movies too reliant on Jump Scares rather than actual terror; when the Boogeyman creates a monster that roars loudly, Numbuh 3 screams... only it's because she was startled and not really scared.
• Teens Are Monsters:
  • Despite the source, subverted. Cree's reasons for being with the Teen Ninjas are more along the lines of "it's gonna happen no matter what, so why fight fate?" Abby first seems like a monster when she becomes a teen, but she turns out to be The Mole instead. Katie and the rest of the Drill Team outright invert this trope: They're the coolest, nicest, most heroic teens you'll ever meet, even accounting for Naughty Is Good. Given the presence of Moosk in canon, this is not unexpected.
  • Jackie Mason, from the remake of TRAITOR, exaggerates this, being so much of a jerk, even the other teenagers (well, Loyalists) can't stand her.
• Things That Go "Bump" in the Night: The Boogeyman himself is the villain of NIGHT, sort of like the Scarecrow mixed with Freddy Kruger in that he brings nightmares to children to feed on their fear.
• Too Dumb to Fool: Numbuh 3, evidently, given in NIGHT she immediately sees through the Boogeyman's nightmares as impossible to really happen. The worst he gets to do is startle her with a Jump Scare.
• Truce Zone: Overlapping with Reimagining the Artifact, The Point has a distinct "leave your conflict at the door" policy. Anyone who brings it up within five miles of the place is shot down by a laser from the sky.
• Unusually Uninteresting Sight: Everyone seems to adjust to the whole "Numbuh 692 is an anime character" thing rather quickly. Then again, it's the Kids Next Door universe, so it's not like there isn't a precedent for this sort of thing.
• Villain Episode: TRAITOR takes a look into the lives of the Teen Ninjas.
• "What Do They Fear?" Episode: NIGHT takes a look at the main five when the Boogeyman tries to give them horrific dreams to feed of their fear.
  • Numbuh 1 fears not being respected by his teammates because of his girlier hobbies.
  • Numbuh 2 fears that nobody respects his humor.
  • Numbuh 4 fears drowning, natch.
  • Numbuh 5 fears growing up into a teenager, losing her friends, and becoming just like her sister.
  • Numbuh 3 fears ... nothing, or at least nothing we see. She sees through the Boogeyman's illusions and recognizes they're not real. She even causes the others to break out of their funks, telling Numbuh 1 his interests don't matter if he's skilled, Numbuh 2 that he shouldn't give up on his dreams, and Numbuh 5 that even older, she'd still be her, causing each dream to turn brighter and more hopeful. As for Numbuh 4, her presence alone rescues him, pushing him to get out of the water.
  • Interestingly enough, we also see the fears of the nightmare giver himself. Indeed, the V Team beat the Boogeyman by essentially telling him that he's not scary at all, and that he has no powers.
• Whole-Plot Reference: Lots of them, much like its native series.
  • DOLL is based off of Talky Tina from The Twilight Zone.
  • HILL is based off of Betrayal at House on the Hill.
  • DREAMS is so close to Inception that it borders on ripping it off, so much so it was revised.
  • STATUE is a more humorous take on Blink.
  • GAMES, the first of its kind to credit its influence, is the battle with Daniel J D'arby using children's games like Rock Paper Scissors and Jacks.
  • People have said NIGHT is one to Return of Harmony, but Word of God denies this.
• You Can't Fight Fate: Cree's philosophy as proven by SISTERS. She believes that at some point, the world decides what you're supposed to be like, how you're supposed to grow up, so she tries to make the best of it.

Tropes found in Special Ops: Drill Team include:

• Annoying Younger Sibling: Claire, Jennifer's little sister, has all the hallmarks, but Jennifer doesn't consider her one.
• Camp Gay: Michel looks a lot like he's one of these.
• Child Popstar: Teenager. Katie fashions herself like this, and Michel would love to be one, too.
• Dangerous 16th Birthday: The Drillers are all 16 at series start. That is also the age they discover The Masquerade.
• High School AU: A tamer take. Instead of transplanting the original cast into a high school setting, new characters are created to serve as the protagonists in a similar, yet different premise in the same universe.
• The Mole: Damian, Jennifer's fake boyfriend. He created an entire persona for the sake of getting close to her, to help turn her into a Loyalist.
  Damian: "So while you think the Damian you once knew is dead, I assure you… the Damian you once knew… NEVER EVEN EXISTED!!"
• Outside-Context Problem: The KND are hinted at a few times, with the former person in Dustin's teaching assistant job at Gallagher being attacked by rotten tomatoes from the kids, as well as posters around the comic shop.
• Phoneaholic Teenager: The Portable Computer references this. It can perform a large number of useful functions, all as a Cell Phone app.
• Recruit Teenagers with Attitude: Well, they were recruited by teenagers to fight in a civil war between teenagers, but the Drillers are the Recruits in question.
• Shoe Phone: Amusingly, actual phones are used this way. The Separatists use smartphones that work as Portable Computers through a downloadable app. If someone, for instance, a parent gets too close to discovering the truth, the app switches to a normal phone display.
• Super-Strength: Apparently, Jennifer has this. She forgot for a while, but remembered them in the heat of the moment.
• Teens Are Monsters: The Drillers of course invert it, as do the Separatists, while the Loyalists play it straight.

Tropes found in Unlucky 847 include:

• Jenny's Number: Numbuh 847 tries to take this one, being a fan of old-school pop culture. Doesn't work; someone else already has it.

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