Family.

Chapter 3:

Wildwing drove along the lonely road to find Lizzie, she'd been driving to a friends house that would have meant that she'd have to be out of town for at least a few days and of course her car had conveniently decided it would die on her, she was in the middle of nowhere, apparently only a third of the way to her friend Taisha's. He didn't like to think of her sitting alone in the car, their relationship had started to become more public thanks to her beloved dad, Phil, and since then they'd received all sorts of letters. A lot of those letters were congratulating them, but there were a few that he had gone as far as to report them to Cleghorn. That was why he'd given her a comm. unit, he was genuinely worried that some creep would hurt her, what was worst was that he was terrified that Draganus would use her to get to him.

Lizzie wrapped her coat around her a little tighter and shuddered, she was in the middle of a forest and it was lonely. Her cell wouldn't work where she was so she was glad that her comm. did. She turned the radio on but got static. When she looked back up towards where she had come from she could have sworn she saw lights shining through the trees but they disappeared before she could be sure. She found herself hoping it was Wildwing, but just in case she turned all her lights off including the hazards and sunk down the seat so that it looked like the car had been abandoned. She heard a car approach slowly and her heart beat quickened, Wing would have had his lights on. She jumped as she heard a door slam and the footsteps of someone approaching, someone slammed something against the boot of her car and she bit back a scream. They came closer, she turned her head so that she could see them coming, but kept still so that they wouldn't notice her until it was too late. Placing her hand on the door handle and leaning on it she waited. She screamed when the person on her side smashed the window on the door she was holding with a crow bar and she pushed the door open hard knocking the guy over. She jumped out and ran noticing that there were at least four or five other men crowded around her car. Some of them chased her while the others cheered them on, from the sounds of their voices they'd been drinking. Lizzie Stone ran as fast as she could but they were faster, one of them tackled her and she fell to the ground hard. The storm was raging now and she could barely hear herself scream as her attacker flipped her onto her back and started pulling at her belt, somehow she managed to get her legs underneath her and she shoved the guy off of her. Then she spun her legs around knocking another's out from under him. She got up and started to run again, she ran into the trees hoping it would slow them down enough for her to get away but just as she left the road one of her pursuers grabbed her coat she yelled and flung her fist into his face causing him to fall, the coat slipped off in his hands and she didn't bother to retrieve it.

After a while she slowed down, the rain was falling harder now and she was getting colder, she had to find some sort of shelter where she could contact Wing on her comm. Her heart skipped a beat when she heard a loud explosion and the sound of a car revving it's engine. She turned and looked back the way she came to see if they were following her, walking backwards at the same time. She breathed a sigh of relief when she was satisfied that they weren't. She screamed as her foot connected with nothing and she felt herself fall through the air, next there was nothingness.

* * *

Wildwing rounded a corner in a lonely forest following Lizzie's signal, looking at his comm. every few minutes to make sure he was going the right way. He took his eyes off the road when he realized that her signal was no longer on the road, when he looked up he pulled hard on the brakes and he felt himself starting to panic. In front of him was what looked like the remains of Lizzie's car, someone had either blown it up or torched it. He looked around knowing that the rain would prevent his eyes seeing very far so he activated the mask to see if it could pick up any nearby heat signals. Nothing.

"LIZZIE?!" He yelled into the night hoping she'd hear him, but not really believing she would over the storm. He flicked open his comm. and patched it through to Drake one, "Tanya, Dive, Duke anybody, pick up!" His voice showed his panic, but he didn't care, he just wanted to find Lizzie.

"Wildwing?" Phoenix answered with Tanya by her side, "what's wrong little brother?"

"I need the others to bring the airowing to my position, now!"

"Why w - what's wrong?"

"I think Lizzie may be hurt, I just found her car torched but I can't find her, just please bring the airowing, I can't get her back on a duck cycle if she's hurt!" With that he cut off and punched a button that would home in on Lizzie's comm. He got off the bike and followed the signal into the trees, he found her coat a little way in and about five minutes later he started yelling for her again, her signal was close but he couldn't work out where she was.

Lizzie was vaguely aware that someone was calling her name, but it sounded so distant that she thought she was dreaming and that she was in her room, that none of this had happened. Of course when she came to a little more and felt an agonizing pain in her leg and head she soon knew differently. She tried to get up but any wait she put on her right leg was too painful, so she sat back down. She heard the voice again and she could have sworn it was Wildwing.

"Wing?" She called, causing a big headache, 'great how do I get his attention?' she thought, 'of course the comm.!' "Wildwing?"

"Lizzie? Where are you?" He looked at the image on the screen and tried to calm himself, she looked awful but he didn't want to worry her. "Baby?"

"I fell, . . . um," she looked around and took in her surroundings, she was by a river, which from all the rain was raging, above her was the steep hill she had fallen down, at the top was a large rock on one side, "look for a big rock and then look down, you'll find me."

"Okay."

"Oh and Wing, don't take too long, I don't feel so good."

"I'll be right there baby, I promise." He found the rock quite quickly and made his way down the side of the hill and raced to her side. "Lizzie,you okay?"

"Ask a stupid question, sorry," she added quickly at his hurt look, "I think I've done something to my ankle, I can't stand on it, my head hurts and I'm freezing."

"The others are bringing the airowing, but I'd better get you to some shelter," he felt her forehead, "god you're burning up!" He took off the water proof coat he had on and wrapped it around her shoulders and gently picked her up. Heading back in the general direction of his bike, he decided to get her to some shelter near there, so there would be a clearing for the others to pick them up, but it was easier said than done.

"Wildwing?!" The couple jumped as his comm. went off, "Yo Wing come in!"

"Duke? Where are you?" Wildwing yelled over the noise of the storm, gently placing Lizzie back down so he could talk.

"Near enough above you, but the storms too bad to try and maneuver in between the trees to land near you," Wildwing looked worried at Duke's reply, "but there's a clearing up ahead, if you head east you'll get there in no time."

"Which way's east I can barely see three foot in front of me, let alone which direction I should be heading!"

"Left, bro, you okay?"

"Yeah baby brother, I'm fine."

"Glad to hear someone is," came Lizzie's voice which was sounding rather hoarse. Wildwing picked her up and headed to his left, Dive and Duke keeping him on the right track, they landed in the clearing and turned the search lights on so that Wing could follow them. Nosedive and Duke rushed out to meet them and got them inside. Nosedive went to get them some blankets and some hot drinks whilst Duke took off again and headed for Anaheim. Wildwing placed Lizzie on a chair and gratefully took the blankets wrapping one around her and the other around himself.

"Oh that is soo good," said Lizzie as she sipped at the hot chocolate Dive had given her, "Dive I don't care how badly you cook you make one mean hot chocolate."

"You can say that again," Wing took another sip and smiled at Dive's slight blush, "Dive our uh guest weren't too upset about me rushing off like that, were they?"

"No way man, Duke and me explained everything for ya, they know all the details!" Dive smiled at his brother and he received a groan.

"Guests? And what details are you talking about blondie?"

"You remember Canard, the guy who was lost in limbo?" Dive asked, she nodded, "well he's back thanks to our sister, niece and Duke's daughter."

"Your sister," she looked at Wing, "I thought she was dead?"

"So did we," he replied, "but I guess we were wrong." Wildwing moved closer to his girlfriend and placed an arm around her shoulders and she snuggled in to him, it wasn't long before she was fast asleep and Wildwing wasn't far off himself.