White Flag
By Cybra
Warning: Pre-slash here. Don't bug me on it.
A/N: I don't like Lizzie but I promise to put in an honest effort at doing her some justice. I just hope I don't screw her up too badly.
Special Thanks: To Tako and scone of the Codename: Kids Next Door forum for the beta-read. You guys helped me fix a lot of problems!
Disclaimer: Lizzie, Numbuhs 1 through 5, and Codename: Kids Next Door in general belong to the fabulous Tom Warburton. He rocks my socks.
Lizzie Devine hummed lightly to herself as she walked down towards the familiar tree house. Her Nigel would certainly be pleased to see her on such a nice day. Maybe he would even take her to the park for ice cream.
But sounds of battle, not the sounds of a peaceful suburban neighborhood, greeted her ears as she reached the street. Her eyes widened in alarm before she smiled with pride.
Nigel was most certainly bravely leading his team in combat, fighting to protect kids like her.
She increased her pace. She would be there to cheer him on, giving him strength from the sidelines. And once the battle was over, the victorious leader would congratulate his team and then turn to the loving arms of the one whom he cared about most. It was all so perfect in her mind.
Turning the corner, she froze.
It was all so wrong.
A man engulfed in flames was hurling fireballs at her beloved and his teammates. One fireball nearly hit Numbuh 3. Fortunately, Numbuh 5 managed to pull Numbuh 3 to safety as the short boy in the orange hoodie—Who was he? Lizzie always got the boys mixed up—provided cover fire. Gumballs fired at a velocity that could probably pierce flesh hurled their way at the man, but the man melted them with another fireball.
Nigel, using his jet boots, and the third boy, a chubby boy wearing some sort of fly suit, circled the battle. Nigel called names and gave quick hand signals once he had his teammates' attention, directing the fight while trying not to be flame-broiled. He carried no weapon. He must have lost it earlier in the fight. Meanwhile, Fly Suit Boy launched water balloons at the flaming man, trying to score a hit but with no luck.
"Four! Five!" Nigel quickly signaled and swerved out of a fireball's path. "Three!" Another quick signal. "Two!" One last signal, and then he dodged another fireball.
The three operatives on the ground scattered, Orange Hoodie and Numbuh 5 meeting up at a fire hydrant after some careful maneuvering. Numbuh 3 ducked behind a car nearby them and launched a teddy bear at the flaming man, crying out mournfully as the teddy bear caught fire when it met a fireball. Still, Numbuh 3 continued her assault.
The two operatives in the air circled and swooped, passing each other rather closely. Even from her position, Lizzie could see Fly Suit Boy handing a water balloon to Nigel.
Nigel swooped in low and fast, releasing the balloon, as Fly Suit Boy prepared to make a pass from the opposite direction. The laws of physics did their job as the balloon traveled the rest of the way to its target, striking the man squarely in the face.
But not before the man launched a small fireball that struck Nigel in the left ankle.
Lizzie opened her mouth to scream "Nigel!" but no sound could be drawn from her lips. She watched in mute horror as her Nigel cried out in pain and twisted, tumbling through the air with a complete lack of control.
She lifted her right foot and prepared to run in order to catch him. In her mind, she knew she was too far away to make the catch, but her heart told her to at least try.
She managed to take only one step.
Fly Suit Boy had abandoned the plan and swooped in to snag the leader just as Numbuh 5 and Orange Hoodie finally managed to force the fire hydrant to release its contents on the flaming man.
The man coughed and sputtered, falling to his knees as the water drenched him. He struggled to pull a cell phone from where Lizzie supposed there was some sort of hidden pocket. "I need…to get out of here…"
A black limo speedily arrived on the scene, and the formerly flaming man stumbled inside. The limo left as speedily as it arrived.
Lizzie's attention was more focused on Fly Suit Boy and Nigel. Fly Suit Boy was cradling her boyfriend in his arms as he slowly swooped in to land.
She could have run up to them and lavished Nigel with kisses, praise, and relief that he was all right. But she did not. She could not. She could only watch.
Upon landing, Fly Suit Boy gently set Nigel down. "Hey, Numbuh 3! We need some help over here!"1
Numbuh 3 ran over immediately. She bent over the damaged jet boot and rapidly swelling ankle. "Ew…That's not going to feel good tomorrow."
"It doesn't feel good now…" Nigel hissed through clenched teeth.
Numbuh 5 and Orange Hoodie came over to their wounded leader. Each of them—like the rest of their teammates—was sporting burns that probably came from getting a little too close to the fireballs.
"Mmm mmm mmm. You got lucky he mostly hit your boot," Numbuh 5 said, shaking her head. "It'd be worse if he got something else."
"Yeah. It's bad enough roight now. And think what woulda happened if Numbuh 2 hadn't grabbed you." Orange Hoodie winced in sympathy before giving a grin to Fly Suit Boy. "And speaking of which, man, what a catch!"
Fly Suit Boy—or, rather, Numbuh 2—gave a weak grin. "Well, it was either catch him or watch him go splat."
"And I'm glad it wasn't the latter." Nigel gasped as Numbuh 3 prodded his ankle. "Thanks, Numbuh 2."
"No problem."
Nigel looked up at his savior with a small smile in spite of the pain he must be feeling. It was a smile that Numbuh 2 returned with a broad smile of his own.
In that moment, even from so far away, Lizzie saw a look in Nigel's eye that she had not seen before. It was a look she had yearned for but had never received from the British boy.
Maybe she could have stomped over there and broken the moment, but she did not. Instead, she turned and quietly left.
From behind her, she could hear their fading voices.
"We better look at that ankle in the infirmary," Numbuh 5 reasoned. "Good thing we're not far from the Tree House."
"Somebody better give Numbuh 1 a hand. He shouldn't walk on it," Numbuh 3 said. Her innocent voice sounded out of place with these words.
"Oi'll give yeh a hand, Numbuh 1."
"No offense, Numbuh 4, but you're a little too short for this." A small gasp of pain. "I'd be leaning on you and walking on my foot at the same time."
"Hmph."
"I'll do it," Numbuh 2 offered.
"Thank you."
"Anytime."
That was the last Lizzie heard before she moved out of earshot of Nigel and his friends. She would tell him tomorrow that the relationship was over. She had surrendered.
However, she had always thought she would lose to one of the girls.
1 We see Numbuh 3 in a nurse's outfit in "SHAVE" and "BRIEF." This could have just been intended as a joke, but it might also be possible that Numbuh 3 had received some medical training while she was at the Kids Next Door Academy.