Now loading recap for Operation: M.A.U.R.I.C.E.:
- Mature
Agent
Undergoes
Reprogramming
Into
Childhood's
Enemy
One night, three Teen Ninjas infiltrate the bedroom of a young African-American boy, preparing to use some sort of bazooka on him. However, when the female Teen Ninja fires, the boy suddenly rises to block the shot with his pillow and scream "Kids Next Door, BATTLE STATIONS!!" Abigail and Cree Lincoln, AKA Numbuhs 5 and 11, are the first to engage the male Teen Ninjas while the female one reloads her bazooka, only to be fired on by the twin operatives Numbuhs 8A and 8B. She prepares to fire back, and the boy tries to stop her, but is too late as she manages to hit 8A and 8B, before calling a retreat. After the Teen Ninjas withdraw, more KND operatives, including younger versions of Numbuhs 86, 362, 60, and 65.3 arrive with their leader, Numbuh 100, who requests a sit-rep from Numbuh 9, the boy who launched the ambush against the Teen Ninjas. Numbuh 9 confirms mission success as he retrieved the teens' bazooka, but then reveals they've lost 8A and 8B, whom 86 reports have been "poxed" by the teens. Cree then gives her hat to Abby, saying she's earned it, then tells Numbuh 100 she accepts full responsibility for the failure of the mission, but Numbuh 9 interrupts since it was his plan and he should take the blame. Numbuh 100 knows that kids will be vulnerable to the chicken pox until the KND find the Teen Ninjas' source and destroy it, and after being interrupted by Numbuh 9's mom, Numbah 9 swears that he won't rest until he finds the source of the Teen Ninjas' chicken pox and outright destroys it once and for all.
Cut to the present as an older Numbuh 9, real name Maurice, is speaking with the current Sector V regarding having spent three years locating the Teen Ninjas' source of chicken pox on Chicken Pox Island, which for all he knows could have a Chicken Pox Cannon on it by now. However, it turns out that his promise to destroy it won't be fulfilled as Numbuh 86 arrives to reveal that Maurice is celebrating his 13th birthday, which means he’s officially a teenager and must be decommissioned, something the entire KND have to bear with heavy hearts due to Maurice's loyal service to their cause in the fight against adult tyranny. After Maurice gives a heartfelt goodbye speech to the gathering, ending with a shout of "KIDS NEXT DOOR RULES!!!" that that gathering returns, Maurice blows out the candles on his birthday cake.
- Numbuh 86/Fanny: Happy Birthday, Maurice. (voice breaking) Follow me, please...
Maurice marches proudly through the doorway to be decommissioned as Numbuh 86 does her duty with a heavy heart and activates the decommissioning device as she looks away in heartbreak as Maurice utters a Big "NO!" as his memories of his time in the KND are erased, emerging wearing a pair of headphones and sounding like a normal teenager and no longer a KND operative. Abby takes him home as Numbuh 86 dismisses the congregation with another shout of "KIDS NEXT DOOR RULES!!!"
Some time later, Kuki accidentally causes Abby to yell at her when she asked what Abby wanted for her birthday, and Abby apologizes, still upset at how, despite everything the KND try to avoid growing up, they’ll still become teenagers in due time, pointing out how unfair it was for a loyal operative like Maurice to have to be decommissioned because he had become a teenager. Seeing her concern, Nigel decides that they can check up on Maurice to see how he is doing, despite Hoagie arguing that checking up on Maurice is against KND regulations as active KND operatives are not to get involved in the lives of decommissioned operatives.
During their stakeout of Maurice, they are discovered by Cree and the other Teen Ninjas, resulting in a fight between the Teen Ninjas and Sector V using the KND U.N.D.E.R.P.O.U.N.D.. However, spotting Maurice being loaded into a Teen Ninja flying van by Cree and some of her crew, Abby gives pursuit of the van, but as she is carried into the air clinging to the rear bumper, Cree personally confronts her little sister and blasts her point-blank with her own Chicken Pox Bazooka, sending Abby falling back to the ground, having been infected with chicken pox.
One week later
Another Teen Ninja flying van with its two escort bikes arrives on the flight deck of an aircraft carrier of a large Teen Ninja naval fleet, possibly heading for Chicken Pox Island. As the teens soon rock out to a song titled "I Hate Kids", they are soon interrupted when several of the escort ships suddenly explode, and the carrier soon starts to take damage. The source is revealed to be Numbuh 5, in a commando outfit, launching a sole attack on the Teen Ninja naval fleet. Confronting the carrier's teen captain, Abby wants two things: Her friend Maurice, and the butt of her big sister Cree, the one responsible for infecting her with chicken pox. Scared out of his mind, the captain confesses to them being on Chicken Pox Island, and then surrenders the coordinates to its location to avoid further trouble with Abby, who then still sets about destroying the carrier using her payload of KND M.A.R.B.L.E. explosives before using one of the Teen Ninjas' bikes to head to the island to confront her big sister and get Maurice back.
Reaching the island and avoiding the Teen Ninja security patrols armed with Chicken Pox Bazookas, Abby reaches the main base, only to find all the chicken coops empty. Wondering what the teens could be up to, she soon falls into Cree's trap when she is dropped into the heart of the base and is face-to-face with the Chicken Pox Cannon. Restrained by two of the teen football players, Abby listens as Cree, who built the cannon herself, has summoned all the kids to a street carnival, putting them all together in one spot, so when she fires the cannon, all the kids will be infected with chicken pox, leaving the teens free and clear of kids for three whole weeks. To add further insult to injury, Cree has summoned all the teens to their high school gymnasium to watch the attack on a big screen television as part of a giant pep rally to celebrate their three weeks of freedom from the kids.
Abby refuses to let that happen due to a promise she made to an old friend, and after overpowering her guards, she disarms Cree of her Teen Ninja wrist blaster, outsmarts her in hand-to-hand combat, and soon is at the controls of the cannon, after Cree had already started the firing sequence and loading the chickens into the cannon, along with Abby's infected guards. Pulling out three M.A.R.B.L.E. bombs, Abby declares that as soon as she blows the Chicken Pox Cannon to kingdom come, she's taking Cree into custody to finally be decommissioned and have her KND memories erased once and for all.
Before Abby can make good on her threat, Maurice stops her and disarms her of the M.A.R.B.L.E.s she was about to use. Cree reveals that Maurice is one of them now, and she had been waiting until Maurice was decommissioned and one of the Teen Ninjas before using the cannon. At that point, her spirit broken upon hearing Maurice is with the enemy now, Abby surrenders. Touched by her sister's forfeit, Cree takes Abby into a hug, only for the moment to be ruined when the chicken coop hills on the island begin to explode. Thinking Abby tricked her, Cree shoves her away in fury, but Maurice then shouts out "Look out! The Kids Next Door are here!" Distracted, Cree never sees the walkway under her get blown out by a M.A.R.B.L.E., sending her into the chickens below while shouting Abby's name. Abby looks over at Maurice, stunned, before Maurice reveals he still has two of the three M.A.R.B.L.E.s he took from Abby earlier, having used one on Cree just now.
- Maurice: Never give up.
Cree is sucked into the cannon, also infected with chicken pox, and as Abby works frantically to stop the cannon from firing, Maurice assures her everything is okay and to trust him. As the Teen Ninjas run for their lives to evacuate the island, the coops continue to explode as the cannon fires. At the street carnival, one of the kids points up as the stream of chickens, carrying Cree and the two guards, soars overhead, completely missing the street carnival. At the high school's giant pep rally, the teens all cheer, until they see the stream has missed the kids completely, leaving them all baffled as to where all the pain and suffering is. They soon get their answer when the ceiling caves in and the torrent of chickens floods into the gymnasium, infecting all the teens with chicken pox instead. As one of the teen cheerleaders sarcastically asks Cree where she got her idea, and Cree tells her to shut up, back on Chicken Pox Island, Maurice looks over his handiwork with satisfaction, fulfilling his promise at long last. Abby wonders how he remembers everything, having been there when he was decommissioned and had his memories erased, only for Maurice to reveal that he's actually still a KND operative, now part of the Teens Next Door (TND) organization working as a super secret covert operations group to infiltrate the Teen Ninjas and adult facilities to collect intelligence for the KND Global Command. After asking that Abby keep the knowledge he's told her about the TND a secret from Sector V or anyone else, along with the possibility of joining the TND in the future if she plays her cards right, he tells her to escape while he finishes off the cannon and Chicken Pox Island.
Abby gets to safety before the cannon explodes and the whole base collapses and explodes into flames as well, before Sector V arrives in the S.C.A.M.P.E.R. to pick her up, having gotten her distress call. Realizing Maurice contacted them to come get her, Abby climbs aboard, and the team heads home, with Kuki complaining to Abby about her actions as Abby watches what's left of Chicken Pox Island be annihilated in a nuclear explosion from Maurice's sabotage, before turning to look at her, and when Kuki asks why she is smiling, Abby says it's a secret.
Some time later, Maurice arrives at the Lincoln home to see Cree and Abby, being welcomed in by their father, Dr. Lincoln. As he gives Cree the flowers he got for her, and Cree still believes Abby was responsible for infecting her with the chicken pox, Cree whispers to him that she has another plan to deal with the KND and needs his help. Maurice lets her know he'll do whatever he can to help, before trading a wink with Abby, letting her know that whatever Cree has planned next, Maurice will be ready to stop it and protect his fellow KND as a member of the covert TND.
End Transmission
During the credits, as a fully-recovered Abby walks down the street, being glared at by several adults and teenagers, one of the teens gives her a knowing wink and smile, showing she's a member of the Teens Next Door as well.
Tropes included in this episode:
- Anger Born of Worry: Kuki berates Abby for going on a mission alone while infected with chicken pox.
- Big "SHUT UP!": Abby does this when Kuki won't stop pestering her about her upcoming birthday. She quickly apologizes when she realizes how hurtful it was to her friend.
- The Cameo: During the flashback, younger versions of Numbuhs 86, 362 and 274 can be seen after the fight sequence.
- Chickenpox Episode: Operation M.A.U.R.I.C.E. is about Numbuh 9 promising to find and destroy the source of the Teens' Chickenpox, which the Teens have weaponized against kids. Chickenpox is depicted as clucking chickens where bumps would be. Unfortunately, Numbuh 9 was unable to fulfill his promise before his decommissioning, but was able to do so as a Double Agent against the Teens.
- Despair Event Horizon: Abby's resolve breaks when Maurice stops her at the last minute and is shown to be working for the teenagers.
- Didn't See That Coming: Cree's response to Abby saying she gives up.
- Earn Your Happy Ending: Numbuh 5 learns from Maurice that there some KND Operatives who are still allowed to keep their memories and stay in the organization past their thirteenth birthdays, renewing her passion for battling for kids everywhere, and the Chickenpox cannon is destroyed.
- Facial Horror: Chicken pox in the KND universe is not a pretty sight to look at.
- Five-Second Foreshadowing: When Abby says she gives up and has lost the will to fight teenagers, Maurice looks upset rather than elated like Cree is.
- Foil: Maurice is a deliberate contrast to Chad, being a very well-regarded, talented operative that gracefully steps aside when it's time rather than have an ego-driven breakdown. We later learn that Maurice was instead inducted into a secret division rather than decommissioned, but the implication is he didn't know that going in and that his gracefulness secured him his new position.
- Foreshadowing:
- There are several hints during Maurice's decommissioning process that show that he wasn't really decommissioned. For starters, Numbuh 86 allows him to walk towards the Decommissioning Chamber when in the past, she would have detained the operatives and forced them to go in. He can also be heard screaming during the process when in truth, this shouldn't be possible since the decommissioned always had their mouths covered by the plungers.
- Maurice due to how his accomplishments and loyalty to the KND allowed him to become part of the Teens Next Door would mean someone like former Soopreme Leader of KND Numbuh 274 would qualify for that at least due to being considered The Ace prior to his betrayal. Come the reveal in "Operation T.R.E.A.T.Y. that Chad is also part of the TND and purposely sabotaged schemes he was a part of.
- The idea that some select KND members are allowed to keep their memories post-turning thirteen comes back at the end of "Operation I.N.T.E.R.V.I.E.W.S." where it's revealed that the members of Sector V were never decommissioned.
- Funny Background Event: When the boat captains crank up the tunes, one poor guy who was standing next to the speakers loses his balance and falls.
- Growing Up Sucks: Abby's conflict in this episode. She's distraught at how it's unfair for a kid to be the best operative to the KND only for them to turn into the vile enemy they fought against for so long.
- Heroic BSoD: Abby succumbs to this when she sees that Cree has already recruited Maurice to be part of the teens.
- Humiliation Conga: Thanks to Maurice, Cree and the teenagers' plan to infect all the children at the street carnival with the chicken pox is foiled. Cree (and two jock henchmen) ends up sucked into the cannon with the flock of chickens, shot out of the cannon, and instead of landing at the street carnival, lands in the gymnasium during the teens' victory pep rally, infecting the teens with chicken pox instead. Icing on the cake, Cree mentions that they were supposed to have class pictures the following week, meaning they'll all have to miss it.
- Jerk with a Heart of Jerk: Cree comforts her sister after her Heroic BSoD by saying how she's waited for so long for Abby to accept that she's growing up, completely ignoring her heartbreak over the acceptance.
- Lack of Empathy: The two teenagers piloting the aircraft carrier's only reaction to their fellow ships exploding is to be glad that they're not on them.
- Lampshade Hanging: While trying to take down Cree, Numbuh 5 acknowledges how (as a former operative that turned traitor) she is long overdue for being decommissioned like Maurice allegedly was.
- Loved by All: Given how everyone, including the likes of Numbuhs 4 and 86, was saddened to see Maurice being decommissioned, it's clear he was loved by everyone in the Kids Next Door.
- Manly Tears: Wally and Numbuh 60, the two most manliest operatives, are in tears during Maurice's public decommissioning. Wally even loses it after Maurice willingly walks towards the chamber.
- A Minor Kidroduction: The episode starts off with Maurice as a KND operative and organizing a trap against the Teen Ninjas with his team.
- The Mole: Maurice and all KND operatives trustworthy enough to not be decommissioned join the Teens Next Door program where they infiltrate the evil teenagers' ranks and foil their plans from within.
- Not Me This Time: The facility starts going haywire just as Cree had embraced Abby in a sisterly way, so Cree immediately accuses her of pulling a fast one again. Abby professes her innocence, and she really means it. This was all the work of Maurice.
- One-Woman Army: Abby is able to single handedly take out an entire fleet of teens along with their massive battle boats with nothing but a bag of M.A.R.B.L.E.s and her desire for revenge.
- O.O.C. Is Serious Business: Numbuh 86, who is normally aggressive and gung-ho about decommissioning operatives, is visibly upset and softer with having to 'decommission' Maurice.
- Remember the New Guy?: Maurice is treated by all of KND as one of the best operatives ever with Sector V considering him to be a close friend. Somewhat justified in the sense that Maurice did leave his Sector to search for the teens' source of chicken pox completely alone.
- The Reveal: There's a "Teens Next Door" division where many operatives work for once it's time to be decomissioned. The credits shows one teen winking at Numbuh 5, revealing she's an operative.
- Roaring Rampage of Revenge: After Cree recruits Maurice and shoots Abby with chicken pox, Abby completely annihilates the teens' massive boat fleet while searching for the whereabouts of her sister.
- Secret-Keeper: Maurice can't reveal everything, but he clues Numbuh 5 into the Teens Next Door division and says she can't even tell the rest of Sector V about it. She agrees to it.
- Secret Message Wink: Used by both Maurice and the teen girl in The Stinger to tell Numbuh 5 that they're still supporting them.
- Surprisingly Happy Ending: When it looks like Abby has finally given up, things take a turn for the better when Maurice is revealed to be a double agent still working for the KND and has kept his promise of successfully destroying the teens' chicken pox island. His work along with revealing the possibility of Abby joining Teens Next Door 'if she plays her cards right' inspire new hope into the young operative.
- Tears of Joy: As everyone escapes the facility, Numbuh 5 starts crying these because she's now hopeful that growing up won't actually suck.
- Took a Level in Jerkass: Maurice's mom is shown to be a lot more nagging and angry in the present compared to how pleasant and sweet she was three years ago.
- We Used to Be Friends: The flashback at the beginning of the episode shows both Abby and Cree working together against a group of teenagers, and upon Abby giving up and deciding it would be better to just join the teens rather than continue to fight them, Cree is genuinely excited to be friends with her sister again.
- Wham Shot: After Cree gets knocked off the walkway by a M.A.R.B.L.E., the camera cuts to Maurice with his arm extended.
