OPERATION: TOMMY (Totally Obnoxious Moronic Meddling Youngster )

mini-synopsis: the Common Cold, a villain intent on infecting the world, turns out to be less of a problem than Numbuh Two's little brother, Tommy.

summary:

the KND are battling the Common Cold, whose worst weapon is probably his repulsiveness, as he fires snot bullets at his enemies in an attempt to infect them.  the KND attack him with orange juice and decongestant, while Numbuh Two's little brother, Tommy, tries to get Hoagie's attention to play with him. Numbuh Two brushes him off without much tact: "i'm busy with the Kids Next Door right now! and in case you haven't noticed, it's more important than hanging out with you!" the Common Cold is soon defeated, but Tommy, however, is upset that his older brother Hoagie spends all his time with the other KND members and never gets to hang out with him.  Tommy decides that things would be better off if the KND weren't around to monopolize his brother's time.  he comes to this conclusion just as he meets up with the recently defeated Common Cold....

Numbuhs One and Five, meanwhile, have all caught colds after their tussle with the Common Cold, and are rather grouchy as they sit amongst piles of used tissues in the treehouse.  they are suddenly attacked again by the Common Cold, who now has a large, snot-firing machine and calls himself the Flu Bug.  (not much of an upgrade, but it no longer has the word "common" in it)  he manages to capture all the KND except Numbuh Two, and locks them up in snot-filled capsules.  yech.  Numbuh Two is surprised that the Common Cold was able to build such a complicated machine, and then discovers, much to his dismay, that Tommy built it for the Common Cold in return for getting rid of the other KND so they can finally hang out.  Hoagie admonishes his little brother, and Tommy soon regrets his actions--as he is then double-crossed and sucked into the machine himself.

Numbuh Two runs in a panic, with the Flu Bug hot on his tail, to his home, where he hurriedly explains the situation to his mom(!)  apparently, technological savvy runs in the family, as she has just the gadget for the occasion:  a chicken soup cannon.  the Flu Bug is defeated, and everyone (including the Common Cold) is quarantined at the Gilligan's to recoup. all are rather ill-tempered, except for Tommy, who is thrilled to finally be able to spend more time with his brother.

quotable quotes:

the KND are complaining after their battle with the Common Cold:
Numbuh Four: "this stinks! why can't we fight bad guys like the ice cream sandwich monster?"
Numbuh Five: "or the creature with lots of extra cash?"
while Numbuh Four's line is strange, considering the KND *have* battled an ice cream monster and didn't particularly enjoy it, i had to include this bit of dialogue for the sake of Numbuh Five's line, which is probably my favorite Numbuh Five quote ever. :D

Numbuh Two: "how in the world did that snotrag get such a cool machine?"
Tommy: "i made it!"
Numbuh Two: "Tommy?! are you nuts? you know what mom says about making weapons for bad guys!"

bizarro's blathering: definitely not a show to watch while eating, for the snot-snorting sound effects alone.
it's interesting to note that Numbuh Two ran to his mom for help when he couldn't defeat the Flu Bug on his own. it's even more surprising that she had a weapon ready and waiting to defeat him. one suspects Hoagie's mom was once a 2x4 technology operative herself.