Cowritten by PuniPuni
Story is also published on AO3.
"It seems as if the animalization ray was stopped by previous operative: Numbuh, uh… T," Mike said to Lizzie.
"Whose codename is that? T's not a number!"
"My thoughts exactly. Anyway, Father seems to have used the code module to inflict this transformation onto every operative registered in the Kids Next Door. That included the two of us after now teen operative Numbuh 274 helped us register ourselves in the Super Big Computermabob."
Lizzie rolled her eyes after hearing that number, but decided not to address it. "That Father… whoever Numbuh T was had some guts. And are you sure nobody saw us on our way to the Dark-Side-Of-The-Moonbase?"
"Positive."
"Phew. OK, now can I show you something, Dave?"
"This better be important," Mike groaned.
Lizzie led her little brother controlled by her fellow operative to her backyard. A few crunchy leaves were stepped on by Lizzie, but avoided by Mike. She pointed at an oak tree further away from the yard. The leaves surrounding the outside were a bright orange.
"Look Davey! It's you!"
Mike frowned. He jokingly punched Lizzie's shoulder.
It was not subtle to Lizzie that the atmosphere of Earth was changing. This is what she learned were called 'seasons.' Seasons were something planets rarely had, as many do not have tilting axis of rotation. Lizzie was fairly excited to experience Earth's four seasons, but she was also nervous due to the nature of plants in colder conditions.
Lizzie stepped inside and shivered a bit.
"Bonnie, will I be fine during the winter?" Lizzie asked as her sister prepared sandwiches for them for their lunch.
"What are you talking about? Why wouldn't you be?" she politely replied with a somewhat worried tone.
"It gets colder and humans get more sick! And plants die!" Lizzie said the last sentence with pleading eyes.
"Oh Lizzie…" Bonnie gently pet the head of her little sister. "You'll get the hang of it. Have a PB ."
As the two sisters ate, Bonnie noticed how Lizzie fixated at the plants in the garden in their backyard. Bonnie finished eating before Lizzie was halfway done.
"You know, tomorrow's going to be pretty warm. Why don't you do something you can only do in the summer?"
Lizzie, more interested, felt comfortable eating more. "Like what?" she asked with a bite in her mouth.
"Well… the fair's closed up, and the beach's closed off… But you can still go swimming."
"Swimming? Like at a pool?"
Bonnie nodded. "Yeah! Are you familiar with swimming?"
Lizzie giggled. "Of course I am! I was taught it before I came to Earth."
"Well then, you might want to get to it before it gets cold for the next few months!"
"But I don't have a swimsuit!"
Bonnie giggled. "Yes you do. I've bought a few for you."
Lizzie finished up her lunch quickly. She was excited to see what type of swimsuits Bonnie bought her. But first, she rang up Nigel.
"Hi Nigie~!"
"Oh, hello Lizzie. What's up?" he replied.
"I was wondering if you wanted to go swimming tomorrow!"
Nigel hesitated. Lizzie awaited a response.
"I, well, um…"
"You can come with us! We're having a pool party at Numbuh 4's place!" Numbuh 3's voice sang over the phone. "Even though he can't swim…" Lizzie could have sworn she heard shushing from the other end.
"Great! I'll come along with you," Lizzie replied.
Nigel cleared his throat. "Well, um, it's really just a team thing, and I kind of—"
"YOU BETTER TAKE ME TO THAT POOL PARTY OR YOU'RE GONNA GET IT!"
"Pick you up at 12," Nigel agreed with a tone of shakiness in his voice.
"Great!" Lizzie hung up the phone and hummed to herself with a big smile.
Bonnie had stared at her sister with unblinking eyes. It was nothing new, but she was still shocked to see how angry her little sister could get.
"Step right this way, Numbuh 9L."
Infinity brought the operative girl into a secluded room that had a single bed. Above was the headband that she was familiar with. Attached to the headband were countless of wires and digital gadgets that connected to it. It turned her giddy curiosity into something more nervous.
"Not to worry. Our equipment will help the headband work," Infinity mentioned. He then turned to a glass window above him. "How are the analytics looking, Numbuh 74.239?"
The ginger responded by giving a thumbs up while typing on a computer.
"So… I won't exactly be going home, but this headband thingy can make me dream of home? Can I use it now?"
"Not quite. You see, proper use of the headband requires that the user be in a state of unconsciousness. If you sleep here, we can attach the headband and test its abilities on your conscious. Numbuh 74.239, please explain the specifics."
Through a microphone of the glass window, 74.239 announced from a speaker above. "We will be able control voice input and world setting. You won't realize that you're under the influence of the machine at first. This is why we're telling you now. We'll be running a few tests of comfortable scenarios and stressful scenarios."
A machine on the side printed out a long piece of paper that Numbuh Infinity reached for to grab. He then handed it to Numbuh 9L. The paper had data analytics full of numbers and possible scenarios.
Numbuh Infinity placed his hand on Numbuh 9L's shoulder. "We can trust that you will react to the characters and settings we place you in. This is very important research that determines the future of the GKND."
9L smiled. She felt proud to be apart of such important research.
Lizzie woke up late on the next day. Bonnie reminded her sister about the pool party, which made Lizzie hurry to decide what she wanted to wear. Unfortunately, a knock on door came half an hour earlier than whence Nigel claimed he would arrive.
"Nigel? What are you doing here? I haven't even decided what swimsuit I wanted to wear!"
"You can bring them to the treehouse. I just didn't want to arrive late like last time. I'm getting some negatronic readings I need to study further."
Lizzie was disappointed, but reminded herself that him arriving early was better than late. She took the time to ramble about her choice to him.
"Do you think the froofully one is too much? Or should I wear the pink one? What about the blue one?"
"You'll look good in either of them," Nigel responded with a tone of genuine care and hurriedness.
"Maybe the girls can help me decide."
"Yes, good thinking. Now, let's keep moving."
As the two arrived inside, Lizzie saw three of Nigel's teammates readying themselves for the pool.
"Hi Lizzie!" Numbuh 3 cheered.
"Hey Lizzie," Numbuh 2 and Numbuh 5 unenthusiastically mentioned.
"I brought three swimsuits to try on for today! Do any of you want to help me decide?"
Numbuh 2 whistled.
"Well look at the time, Numbuh 5's gotta go help Numbuh 2 put on sunscreen," Numbuh 5 said.
"But I just—"
Numbuh 5 nudged her teammate, then gestured him to follow her.
"Maybe I can help!" Numbuh 3 beamed. She skipped up to Lizzie to see which types she had. "Oh, I like the pink one!"
"Numbuh 3, you help me too!" Numbuh 5 shouted before waving her hand over.
Numbuh 3 hesitated, but followed along.
"Hmph! I'll choose one myself!" Lizzie pouted.
She caught up to Numbuh 1 to see him toggling with the defense grid.
"Numbuh 4's house? That can't be right…"
Lizzie took her sweet time trying to pick which swimsuit she wanted to wear. She did not even try each of them on, as she even tried to decided what she wanted to wear first.
"Come on, Lizzie, let's go."
"But I haven't even chose one!"
"Just pick and let's go already!"
After Lizzie was done with changing, she sprinted to catch up with Nigel. He lead her to Numbuh 4's house in which the pool party was being held.
"This is where the pool party is?" Lizzie complained. "This neighborhood looks like a junkyard!"
"Be nice when we get there…" Nigel whispered through gritted teeth.
When they arrived at Numbuh 4's house, they noticed that his father had just left in his car out of the driveway, so they helped themselves to enter the backyard.
Lizzie saw that Numbuh 4 was not dressed in any swim attire. He was wearing his regular hoodie with jeans. He appeared distressed.
"Oh, why can't we go to the beach where I could at least bury myself in the sand, or something!" he complained.
"Hey guys!" Nigel greeted. "Sorry we're late. I was checking on some weird negatronic readings in the sector, and, well, Lizzie couldn't decide what to wear."
Lizzie posed with her swimsuit on. "So? What d'ya think?"
"Aww, why didn't you wear the pink one?" Numbuh 3 asked.
Numbuh 5 slightly nudged her to whisper "Don't get her started, girl!" to her teammate.
Lizzie ran up to the surface of the pool to start looking at her reflection in the water from different angles. "Oh, you don't think it's too much, do you? No? Yes? No? Yes?" Lizzie pulled on the skirt part of the swimsuit. She then smiled. "I kind of like it!" But then she changed her mind. "But then again, maybe it is too froofully." Lizzie turned around to her boyfriend. "Oh Nigie, I wanna go home and change! This suit makes my elbows look fa—"
In a mere moment, Lizzie felt her legs being grabbed. It sent a shock down her body, as she was violently pulled into the pool water below. The last thing she saw before chlorine touched her eyes was Nigel immediately diving in the water after her. She could not scream and she could not see.
Finally, Lizzie was dragged out of the water. She took a deep breath of air. Her eyes still stung from the water, but she felt someone pushing her onto the concrete near the pool. "TAKE HER AWAY!" Lizzie heard in a voice that sounded exactly like her own.
"Where am I?! Wha—"
Lizzie was interrupted by a blindfold wrapping around her mouth. Even when she attempted opening her eyes, everything around her was dark. She could not make out what was happening around her as she was dragged away.
The last voice the girl heard was Nigel's voice shouting "Lizzie, wait up!" fading away as she was continuously dragged by a strong grasp around her arms.
After a while of struggling to free herself, she heard the footsteps of her flip flops touch metal. She was walking upstairs somewhere now. She was then tossed onto the floor.
Lizzie finally had a chance to rub her eyes. She threw the blindfold off from her mouth, standing up. She looked around. The entire room was made of metal lit up by a single lightbulb. Most importantly, she saw nobody there.
"What the-?! Where am I!" Lizzie shouted. The room echoed with her fear. Lizzie crouched her head down to her shaking hands. "Hello?" she yelled quieter.
Lizzie heard footsteps approaching her. In the darkness, a silhouette came closer to her. It was her size, her shape, her…
The girl that came into the light looked exactly like Lizzie. However, her eyes were terribly off-putting.
"You're not supposed to be here!" she protested. "A portal opens up and I see you on the other side?! Thankfully, your boyfriend decided to come in after you. This'll work great…" the girl laughed devilishly.
"Who… who are you?" Lizzie asked with apprehension.
"I'm you from a better world."
Lizzie grabbed her counterpart and shoved her forward. She wrestled on top of her to grab her left hand. She struggled to get her fist open with her own hands.
Eventually, Lizzie grabbed the left pinky of this girl to feel it. There it was, the C.H.I.P. for her human disguise.
"You are too…" Lizzie whispered.
"That's no matter!" The counterpart shot up and slammed the distracted Lizzie into a prison room from the side. "If you're as clever as I am, you'll know we both need to keep it a secret! Now change your clothes."
As Lizzie ran up to her counterpart, a door from the top of the ceiling fell down to block and trap her inside.
Lizzie used her body weight to slam into the door. It was no use. She was trapped inside.
The doorbell to the DeVine household rang.
Bonnie, awaiting inches away from the door, took a deep breath. She blushed a little.
Then she opened the door.
"Clyde!"
"Bonnie…"
Bonnie reached for Clyde's hand to bring him inside. "Come in, come in."
"Wow, your place is nicer on the inside."
"Oh, you…"
Bonnie released his hand. She cleared her throat.
"Mom! Dad! Grandma!"
The three parental figures came from different areas of the house.
"My, you never told us you were having guests over!" Mrs. DeVine snapped.
"Well, I wanted this to be a surprise. Guys, this is my boyfriend, Clyde."
Bonnie and Clyde held each other's hands. Bonnie used her robotic version of holding her breath to await their responses.
Bonnie's grandmother smiled. "Congra—"
"YOU HAVE A BOYFRIEND?!" Mrs. DeVine shrieked. She nearly fell back onto her husband.
"Yes, Mom. It's not a big deal."
Clyde waved politely. "Hello, Mrs. De—"
Mrs. DeVine shoved her husband away to march up the boy. She grabbed his arm to examine it. "Did you background check him?" She grabbed a strand of his long hair. "Are you a criminal, sir?" She pulled on his stray ear piercing. "What are your intentions with my daughter?"
Bonnie pulled her mother's arm to pry Mrs. DeVine away from Clyde. "Mom, cut it out!"
"Well, it's very nice to meet you, Clyde," Mr. DeVine smiled as he reached his hand out to shake it. Clyde smiled and shook his hand.
Mrs. DeVine glared at Clyde with suspicion. She pointed at her eyes, then back at him. It made Clyde sweat.
From behind the entry to the kitchen, Mike carefully peeked at what was going on. He saw the familiar man inside the house.
"I thought I could bring him for lunch," Bonnie mentioned.
"Well of course. Sit down, sir. Tell me about yourself," Mr. DeVine smiled.
Once Bonnie noticed Mike, she laughed nervously.
"Uh, excuse me for one second."
Bonnie made her way into the living room where she saw Mike. She kneeled down so she could grab his shoulders.
"Listen, buddy, I know you remember him the night he came to my place drunk."
Mike nodded unenthusiastically.
"But I don't want you or anybody controlling you to get in the way of this. OK? Just between you and me… I really like Clyde."
Mike gave Bonnie a slight shocked expression. Then he smirked devilishly.
"Don't 'chu give me that face!" Bonnie scolded while blushing.
"Bonnie, something wrong?" Clyde asked from the kitchen, not seeing her. It made Bonnie jump and grab her brother's shoulders tighter.
"Hah, sorry! Mike's just being… shy."
She pointed her fingers at her eyes and then back at Mike. He snickered without a sound.
"Just promise you'll cover for me," she whispered back to her brother.
In return, he gave her a thumbs up.
"Thanks buddy."
Bonnie walked back into the kitchen. "Sorry about that."
"Hey, where's your little sister?" Clyde asked.
"Oh, she's at the pool with her friends," Mrs. DeVine mentioned as she washed her hands in the kitchen sink. "I bet she's having a lovely time!"
Lizzie leaned against the door. She started to feel around for anything. Noticing a faint light from below, she leaned down to the small gap underneath the door. Her fingers were too thick to reach under. She became frustrated with her human body, wishing she could just use a tendril to reach under and up to feel for a switch. She gave up.
She was experiencing the same feeling she felt when she was blackmailed by the Delightful Children. She wanted someone to save her, especially Nigel.
Closing her eyes for a few moments, she thought about how the Galactic Kids Next Door would react to this. She felt her left hand's pinky finger. Nothing could save her now.
Lizzie perked up when she heard the faint clanking of chains from outside. A voice came from outside as well. It was Nigel's!
The door lifted open from Lizzie's cell. She fell onto the floor, but she caught a glimpse of her boyfriend.
"Lizzie!" Nigel exclaimed, hearing her fall.
"Nigie!" she gasped. She noticed that Nigel had his hands chained up to large concrete cuffs, confronting the girl that looked exactly like her.
Lizzie ran up to Nigel as fast as she could. She wrapped her arms around him from behind to hug him tightly. Nigel's shoulders dropped once he realized his girlfriend was safe.
"Nigie! Oh, Nigie! What is this place? What's going on here?" she fretted, squeezing onto Nigel tighter.
"Maybe her ex-boyfriend can explain!" Nigel replied to the counterpart.
"How did you…?" The counterpart growled. "Very well. Get out here, you troll!"
"But Eizzil… the s-soopreme leader said to stay hidden…" a voice with Nigel's whispered.
"There's no point in hiding now that Positive Numbuh 1 knows who we are, jelly-for-brains!" she bickered while waving her hands in the air.
Slowly, a kid that looked exactly like Numbuh 1 came into the light next to Eizzil. He gave the two a devilish smirk.
"Nigie…?" Lizzie questioned. She released her grasp on Numbuh 1.
"No, this is Negative Numbuh 1! One of our reverse counterparts! Numbuh 4's pool must have opened a portal to a reflective world. An upside-down world!"
"A PERFECT WORLD!" Negative Numbuh 1 screamed with excitement. "Where adults play, and kids do all the work! Except for us, of course!" Negative Numbuh 1 grinned while pointing to himself. "For we are, the Destructively Nefarious Kids!"
"Whose dumb idea was all this?" Nigel sneered with mockery. "Yours? Or your leader's?"
Negative Numbuh 1 hesitated from the question. He looked at Eizzil for some reassurance. "Um, eh… I-I could be leader if I-I wanted to!" he whimpered.
"Yeah right."
"Why… y-you shut up! You dummy-head!"
"I know you are, but what am I?"
"You're a—! Uh…" Negative Numbuh 1 pondered to himself. "Big dummy head… what's that—"
"SILENCE!" Eizzil roared. "Maybe this will get you to show us a little respect!"
The counterpart pulled out a 4x2 weapon called a S.P.L.A.T.T.L.E.. The hand-held device was a frying pan with a razor, drill, and hinge attached to it. When Eizzil activated the device, the weapon's tools spun in a loud whir.
Lizzie reached for Nigel to squeeze tightly. He leaned into her from behind. They trembled from panic of the sight.
Eizzil inched closer to the couple while laughing. Her ex-boyfriend laughed along while sticking his tongue out at them.
Nigel gasped. An explosion came from behind the trembling couple. Turning that direction, they saw a group of five kids in casual beach attire.
"COWABUNGA!"
They swung in with a powerful kick that crashed against Eizzil and Negative Numbuh 1.
As the counterparts lifted their heads up, they gasped at who they saw. "The Little Traitor Dudes from Children's Defense!"
The group of five turned around toward Lizzie and her boyfriend. The boy in front reached a tropical-themed weapon that shot laser beams that freed Nigel from the concrete chains. "There's not much time, dudes! Your world's like, totally in terrible danger!"
Negative Numbuh 1 came yodeling in a rage when he sprinted toward his counterpart. As he jumped, Lizzie grabbed the unguarded S.P.L.A.T.T.L.E. to slam the frying pan base straight against Negative Numbuh 1's head.
"Get away from my Nigie!"
"All right, Lizzie!" Numbuh 1 cheered as he jumped up onto his girlfriend's back in a supportive hug. She sighed with joy.
As Negative Numbuh 1 groaned, the Little Traitor Dudes started to run away. "Come on, dudes! We don't have much time before he shows up!" they gestured to let the two follow them.
Nigel and Lizzie looked each other. They both had to be brave.
The two squeezed each other's hands tightly as they started to run away following the group of five. Noticing the world around them, the moon shone brightly through the dark night. They started to pant when they needed to keep up. Lizzie noticed that Nigel had more stamina than her, so he did everything in his power to pull her as close to him as he could.
To their right, Nigel and Lizzie saw a line of depressed children with suitcases and formal attire. Two kids were even stacked on top of each other to hold up the bus stop sign.
"What the—?" Nigel reacted.
To their left, there were more depressed kids working adult-jobs. One of the kids was repairing a roof on a dangerous ladder. Another kid was mowing a lawn in the front yard of a house while two adults relaxed on a couch in front of him. Another kid followed on the sidewalk with a heavy bag of mail he could barely carry on his shoulder. Another kid was digging out weeds in a front yard. Another kid was repairing a car.
"Nigie, this… this world is terrible!"
As the group passed kids emptying trash into a garbage truck and digging holes, they halted when they noticed them. "It's the DNK!" one yelled. They went to hide and tremble.
"How come everyone's afraid of us?!" Lizzie asked almost rhetorically. She did want to think of the real answer.
"Quick, dudes! Into our mansion!" the Little Traitor Dudes interrupted.
Nigel and Lizzie turned a corner to see that the group of five referred to a small trailer van on the dirty side of town. They burst the door open as the couple followed them. Nigel let Lizzie enter first.
"Daddy! We're home!"
Nigel and Lizzie paused to catch their breath. They noticed that the Little Traitor Dudes were smiling toward a closet door which creaked open, revealing the silhouette of a man inside.
Nigel and Lizzie gasped. Noticing the silhouette was identical to Father's made the couple hold onto each other tightly in fear. They cowered by crouching down.
As the man with the pipe stepped outside, he came into the light. The man was not the horrible Father, but a squarish man in glasses wearing a tacky pink button-up with a teal bowtie and overalls.
"Oh thank heavens, children! I was so worried about my wee little munchkins!" Daddy exclaimed as he reached to pet and hug his kids. They hugged him back with big smiles on their faces.
"Daddy, these little dudes are like, totally from the other side!" the Little Traitor Dudes introduced as they gestured their hands to Lizzie and Nigel.
Daddy gasped. "From where kids are free~?" he slightly sang.
"Uh, Well, more free than here, that's for sure. What happened to this world?"
Daddy looked down with a remorseful face. "Oho, it's the Destructively Nefarious Kids! They despise other children so much, they have forced them to do all the work! Kids are the garbage collectors, TV repairmen, and even lawyers!" he bewailed. "They work and work while adults sit around eating candy and playing their little video games! Demanding bigger allowances! My darling children do their best to stop them, but it's… well it's just… it's not enough!" Daddy fell to his knees and started bawling. He covered his face in a sense of guilt as he continued to weep.
"That's horrible!" Lizzie exclaimed.
"We have to help you!" declared Nigel.
"No way, dude! You gotta totally get back to your world! If the DNK have opened a portal, that means something terrible is about to go down!"
A stray laser beam burst through the van trailer. The Little Traitor Dudes ducked down.
"AAH! We're being attacked!" Daddy panicked. "Hide like cowards, kids!" he yelped while crawling back into the closet.
The Little Traitor Dudes attempted their best to dodge more laser attacks, but they banded together to jump away and come closer between Nigel and Lizzie. From the floor, they pulled a ring of a scuttle hole to open it up.
"You dudes gotta get out of here!" the children shouted against the noise of the lasers. The blond boy in the front pressed his hand against Lizzie's back to give her a gentle enough shove to jump down.
"Uwaaa!"
Lizzie landed in the sewer system. She looked up to see Nigel shaking his hand with the boy in front. "I don't know how to thank you guys."
"We'll hold 'em off, dude! Now go!"
Nigel jumped down into the sewer system. He grabbed Lizzie's hand to continue running. "This way! We've got to get back to that pool!" he insisted.
Upon seeing the closest lid to the surface, Nigel climbed a ladder and jumped to the top, pushing the sewer lid off. Lizzie followed him.
"Come on, hurry!"
Nigel reached inside the hole to grab his girlfriend's hands to pull her up and out. She started panting. "I didn't think we'd get out of that one!"
Nigel and Lizzie briefly smiled at each other knowing they were both safe.
"Ya' haven't!"
The two turned to see an entire DNK army in front of them with three tanks. The girl who was in front looked exactly like Numbuh 86, but had a differently built helmet with a minus in front of her number.
"By order of the one soopreme ultra DNK leader, welcome to the worst day of yer lives!"
Lizzie continued to stay kneeling shocked, but Nigel did not hesitate to whisper "Follow my lead," to her.
Numbuh 1 stood up. He puffed his chest forward to march in front of Negative Numbuh 86. "What is your problem, soldier?! How dare you interrupt my top secret mission for the soopreme leader! What do you think he'll do to you when he hears you tried to stop Negative Numbuh 1 from doing his job?!"
Negative Numbuh 86 retreated slightly. She stuttered in her sentence. "Uh, eh… ya' can't fool me! We're supposed to be on the lookout for Positive Numbuh 1 and his girlfriend, and I say that's yew two!" she accused while pointing at them.
Nigel came closer to Negative Numbuh 86. "Well, I say I'm Negative 1 on urgent DNK business from the soopreme leader himself!"
The operatives surrounding the two started to lower their weapons. They looked at each other nervously.
"So, maybe you're right, maybe you're wrong," Numbuh 1 pointed at the negative operative. "But, do you really wanna take that chance?" Nigel hissed while grabbing her turtleneck collar, then nudged her to the side. She started trembling.
"Come on, I don't have all day!" Lizzie chimed in, waving her arms in the air like Eizzil.
"Yes… Eizzil…?" Negative Numbuh 86 stammered. She continued to shake until she turned around and lifted her arms in the air. "STAND DOWN! Stand down!" She then turned to them to gesture her hands to the side. "Sorry about the hold up, haha…" she awkwardly smiled.
"That's more how I like it!" Numbuh 1 addressed.
Nigel and Lizzie marched their way through the crowd with authority. As soon as they passed the kids and the tanks, Nigel firmly squeezed Lizzie's hand to hold. She squeezed it back.
"Walk… walk…" he whispered to her. A good distance came between the group and the couple by then. "OK, run!"
The two continued to hold each other's hands as they ran down the street to find the pool Numbuh 4's house was connected to. They were nearly out of energy from all their panicking and pacing that they both audibly gasped for air when they arrived to the brightly lit portal from their own world.
"There it is!" Nigel exclaimed.
"Nigie! We made it!"
"Yeah. I'm proud of you, Lizzie." Nigel reached his hand over to hold her other one. He pulled her closer to himself to lean his head against hers. "You did a great job back there."
"Aww, thanks!" Lizzie blushed. She felt her stomach turn from Nigel's sweet expression. She giggled and reached for his hands to hold again.
"Ready?"
"Yeah."
They both started to count together. "One… Two…"
They both gasped when they heard footsteps behind them. Nigel turned to his right to see Eizzil and Negative Numbuh 1 dressed in their swimsuits. Nigel turned to his left to see Lizzie being grabbed away from him.
"LIZZIE!" he shouted. He swung his arm out to reach for her, but barely missed. He was grabbed by three negative operatives behind him.
Eizzil laughed. "That was almost too easy! What did you think, we were going to let you go free?"
Three kids walked into the light from behind Eizzil and Negative Numbuh 1. They were the negative counterparts of Numbuh 2, Numbuh 3, and Numbuh 5.
"Hey! You guys are—" Nigel blurted before interrupting.
"That's right! And once we bring yer little friends here, we'll torture all of ya' for the soopreme leader's entertainment!"Negative Numbuh 86 declared. She came out from the shadows as well.
"See you on the other side, dummy-heads!"Negative Numbuh 1 taunted. Eizzil jumped into his arms before they dove into the pool together. The other three laughed at them as Nigel and Lizzie were taken away.
"Nigie!" Lizzie yelled.
A 4x2 weapon poked into her back to send a jolt of electricity through her. The officer shouted, "MOVE IT!"
"LIZZIE!" Nigel struggled to release himself from the grasp. He grunted and growled at the operatives restraining him. He even went for a last ditch effort to bite one of the operatives, but his attempts failed.
Lizzie had never seen Nigel so distressed before. He became absolutely enraged that anyone would dare to hurt his girlfriend. Eventually, he was poked with the weapon as well and zapped for a longer amount of time. This weakened Nigel, making the dragging process easier for the negative operatives.
"NIGIE! …Nigie?"
Nigel did not respond. He only groaned.
Lizzie started to feel a type of anger that came from the pit of her stomach. She wanted Nigel to be more than safe. She had a feeling of care for him that disregarded the GKND.
After the DeVine family had lunch, Bonnie invited Clyde to stay for a while to watch television. They decided to laugh at the useless high priced appliances being auctioned. Eventually, Bonnie looked around to see that no one in her family was in their vicinity. She reached her hand to hold her boyfriend's. He wrapped his fingers between hers.
Bonnie slowly leaned herself against Clyde. She felt how warm he was. She was comfortable like this. Some moments passed before he leaned himself against her as well. He kept his eyes off of her, but his face was pure red. Bonnie felt herself instinctively nuzzle her head closer. This cute boy was soft and gentle.
The television continued to make noise, but it was a blur in the moment of intimacy. Bonnie closed her eyes. She took a deep breath. She released his hand to wrap her arm around him.
Taking a gamble, Clyde reached his empty hand for Bonnie's hair. He started to run his fingers through it. It became more of a petting motion against her head. She did not protest.
"You have… very pretty hair."
"Mhm," Bonnie replied. She did not budge, keeping her face glued to his chest.
"It's so… silky. Almost not real."
"Mhm."
"I love you, Honey."
Bonnie's eyes perked open.
"I mean Honey! I MEAN, BONNIE!"
Bonnie lifted herself up from his chest to gaze at her boyfriend. His face was immensely red, looking away from her as far as possible. "Sorry," he squeaked, using his hand to cover his face.
Bonnie brought herself back down. "No, I like it."
Clyde lifted his hand away from his face, seeing the smile on Bonnie. He nervously smiled back.
"Can I… kiss… you?" he gulped.
Bonnie nodded. She fell onto his body again, leaning close to him.
Shakily, Clyde reached his head up to give Bonnie a quick peck on her cheek. Bonnie's smile grew with a giggle.
Lizzie was brought to the DNK Treehouse chamber along with her boyfriend. Numbuh 2, Numbuh 3, and Numbuh 5 were brought along eventually. A shadowy figure, who was referred to as the soopreme leader, came to order the positive operatives to be chained to the wall.
The group was continuously tasered by negative operatives. They all screamed in pain without the energy to protest. He reached up his hand to order them to cease, as they all groaned in pain.
"Why are you doing this?" Numbuh 2 asked groggily.
"Simple reason, really," the soopreme leader chuckled. He stepped into the light with two of his higher ranked operatives by his side. "I'm evil," he hissed while removing the hood from his head. It was the counterpart of Numbuh 4.
"EWW! What is that?!" Numbuh 3 shrieked.
"Oh this? It's my goatee. It makes me look eviler," Negative Numbuh 4 gestured, pointing to his face.
"No, it makes you look dumber!" Numbuh 3 shouted.
"Yeah, that thing should be called a nasty," Numbuh 5 almost giggled.
"Oh oh oh! I got one! I got one!" Numbuh 2 exclaimed. "You should give that back to the goat you stole it from!"
In Numbuh 5's disappointment, she lowered her head. "Please, man, you are hopeless."
Lizzie turned to Nigel. She decided to comment in after listening for a while. "You know, I bet the Negative Numbuh 2 is really funny."
The comment made Nigel laugh, which in turn made Lizzie laugh along with him.
"SILENCE!" Negative Numbuh 4 yelled. He came closer to his prisoners. "I'm supposed to be torturing you guys here!"
"Believe me, that peach fuzz is torture!" Numbuh 1 jested.
Lizzie along with Nigel's team burst into laughter. Even the negative operatives started to snicker at the joke, but Negative Numbuh 4 was not having it.
"GAURDS! Bring me my toys!"
Negative Numbuh 86 started to wheel a large table of 4x2 weapons into the light in front of the prisoners.
"I'm going to dump four of you into my broccoli mines! But one lucky kid won't have to go… To decide who, each of you will be given a weapon and armor. And then taken to the arena to battle against one another!" Negative Numbuh 4 took a weapon from the table and flung it around, mimicking an attack motion. "The winner will have the honor of becoming my bestest personal body guard!"
"But sir!" Negative Numbuh 86 interrupted. "I'm yer bestest personal body guard."
"Shut up, you!" He pointed the weapon at her. "This is my world, and I'll use you until I'm done with you!" He then turned his attention toward his prisoners. "So… who wants to battle for a get-out-of-jail-free card?" he devilishly smirked.
"You don't get it, do you, goat boy? Not one of us would ever join up with someone who rules by fear!" Numbuh 1 upholded.
Negative Numbuh 4 growled as he flung the weapon at Numbuh 1. It struck the wall above Nigel's head. He did not even flinch.
"At least I do rule!" he lashed back. Negative Numbuh 4 started to march out of the room in his disappointment. "Send these pathetic losers to the mine!" he commanded before the door shut behind him.
The negative operatives started to undo the chain locks on the prisoners. Lizzie could hear Numbuh 5 breathing through gritted teeth in frustration next to her.
As Lizzie was being taken down, Numbuh 1 protested to Negative Numbuh 86. "You don't have to do as he says, Negative Numbuh 86! You're nicer than this, I can tell!"
Lizzie attempted to keep her eyes on her boyfriend as she desperately stared back to make sure she would be with him.
"Ya' don't know what he's capable of! And once he controls the kids from yer world, he'll be unstoppable!"Negative Numbuh 86 told him.
Nigel ceased walking to face her. "All the more reason to stop him now." The negative operatives then continued to push Nigel away.
As the group reached a lower part of the DNK treehouse, they shoved the prisoners into a glowing green mine full of colossal broccoli. The negative operatives then slammed the doors on them.
Lizzie felt exhausted. She struggled to stand up after being beaten and bruised. Nigel immediately came to her aid to help her keep her balance by holding both her hands.
"Numbuh 5 just hopes our counterparts aren't doing damage in our world!"
"Poor Numbuh 4. He's outnumbered over there! What if he gets hurt?" Numbuh 3 lamented.
"He'll pull through. He's our brawniest operative," Numbuh 1 assured. "Now, we need to find a way out of…"
The group paid their attention at the vast mine in awe. Hundreds of thousands of malnourished kids slaved away in the green-coated cave as they harvested broccoli with their bare hands. Operatives watched and threatened them with weapons to continue working.
"These kids… there's so many of them!" Numbuh 2 gasped.
"We need a plan, Numbuh 1!" Numbuh 5 mentioned. "Numbuh 1?"
Nigel held onto his chest and sighed. "I'm sorry. I never meant to bring you guys here. Especially you, Lizzie. It was supposed to be a fun day at the pool."
Lizzie's eyes shined from hearing Nigel speak from his heart. The rest of the three stared with a sense of understanding.
Numbuh 5 put her hand on Numbuh 1's shoulder. "It's not your fault, Numbuh 1. Even if we don't get out of here, we have each other."
Numbuh 1 smiled at his teammate. He hugged her.
Numbuh 2 and Numbuh 3 looked at each other for a moment. They decided to hug Nigel as well.
Lizzie realized what was happening. She felt the moment in front of her turn into something that was more than just teamwork. It was love and human connection. She reached to hug everyone else as well.
"No. I should be sorry. Not yew."
The team turned to face who was speaking to them. Negative Numbuh 86 was slightly crying.
"I've been so scared. I followed all of Negative Numbuh 4's orders as to not get hurt myself. I'm sorry."
"Negative Numbuh 86! You came!" Numbuh 3 smiled.
"It's good to see you come around, solider!" Numbuh 1 addressed.
"Yew were right, Positive Numbuh 1. We need to stop him. I'm just so scared…"
"We'll help you! Right team?"
Lizzie and the rest nodded.
"Well, what do we do?" the Irish girl fretted.
"Find us that weapon table. We'll protect you, and you can lead us to that pool before it's too late!"
Negative Numbuh 86 did as instructed. She broke the chamber to the broccoli mine free. The team followed her to the weapon table to each grab a unique weapon. Even Lizzie followed along in hopes of saving this world.
"He should be around this way!" Negative Numbuh 86 gestured. They ran to see that Positive Numbuh 4 had entered the scene. He was on the diving board confronting Negative Numbuh 4. On the side of the pool were Negatives 1, 2, 3, and 5 battered and bruised.
"Guards! Open fire!" Negative Numbuh 4 commanded as he pointed at Positive Numbuh 4.
"NO!" Negative Numbuh 86 interjected just in time. Everyone was now paying attention to her. "I don't know about yew kids, but I'm tired of this! Tired of being afraid! Tired of cowerin'! Tired of pretendin' what I'm doin' isn't wrong!" she announced as she walked up to an operative to hold onto his shoulder.
The negative operatives lowered their weapons.
"I want to pretend…" She covered her face with her arm to hold back tears. "…to be a pretty princess instead!" she shouted on the top of her lungs.
"She's definitely Numbuh 86's opposite," Numbuh 2 whispered to Numbuh 3, who nodded in reply.
One of the negative operatives dropped her weapon with enough force to break it. "I want to pet my very own pony!"
A plethora of other kids joined in.
"Yeah! I wanna ride my bike!"
"And play video games!"
"And eat candy!"
The sky cleared up. Other operatives agreed in a chorus of hope.
"What?" Negative Numbuh 4 denied. "Negatives 1, 2, 3, and 5! Don't just stand there! Do something!"
"Check it out, Negative Numbuh 5! A coward with a goatee! Either there's a farm around here, or you stink!"
Everybody erupted in laughter except Positive Numbuh 2. "That's not funny. That's not funny at all!" he insisted.
"I'll show you! I'll take over your world, and you'll be sorry! You'll all be sorry!" Negative Numbuh 4 yelled. He marched up to the end of the diving board and jumped into the water while devilishly laughing.
As the positive team met the negative team, Lizzie looked around to find Eizzil. She was not in her sight.
"I guess we've got more in common with one another than we thought," Negative Numbuh 1 said as he shook Positive Numbuh 1's hand. "Still, why'd you let Negative 4 go to your world?"
"Oh, I got a feeling he won't like it there!" Numbuh 4 disclosed.
Negative Numbuh 4 then jumped from out of the pool. So that's where Eizzil was. "Aw, crud…"
The negative operatives took it in their liberty to arrest Negative Numbuh 4, as well as dismantle any inter-dimensional 4x2 equipment. Eizzil came out from the pool to help Negative Numbuh 86 arrest Negative Numbuh 4 to send him to the broccoli mines. Even the Little Traitor Dudes from Children's Defense and Daddy brought in negative operatives to help support the cause of making their world a more livable place.
As the positive members jumped back into the pool to their world, Numbuh 1 stayed behind to talk to Eizzil.
"Well, Eizzil, that was a real adventure." Nigel peered closer to see Eizzil's face closer. "Hey, your eyes have changed. They look beautiful now."
Eizzil squeezed Nigel into a tight hug from the compliment. "Oh, Positive Nigie!"
Lizzie noticed this gesture and became overly protective. She swiped Nigel away from Eizzil, then glared darts at her. This made Eizzil retreat.
"Bye…" Nigel whispered to Eizzil with a smile on his face. Lizzie threw her boyfriend into the water.
"Hmph!" Lizzie chided toward Eizzil. She jumped in the water after him.
On the other side of the pool, the operatives helped the two out from the other side.
They all went inside to get towels to dry off. Numbuh 4's dad arrived in the driveway as they were doing such. When he entered the house, he smiled warmly at the group of kids.
"So, kids, how was the pool? Pretty fun, ay?"
The six of them all looked at each other and hesitated.
"Yup!"
"Sure was a blast!"
"Thanks for having us, Mr. Beetles!"
As the dad walked off, Numbuh 5 spoke up. "Man, we need to pull the plug on that thing so we don't enter another freaky world like that!"
"I know!" Numbuh 4 exclaimed. "I'm gonna fill it full of sand! Yeah!"
Nigel came into the treehouse with Lizzie beside him. He had a towel around his shoulders. The rest of his team was inside with Numbuh 2 reading comic books while Numbuh 3 and Numbuh 5 read magazines.
"Is Numbuh 4 still buried in the sand over there?" Numbuh 5 asked her leader in a tone that indicated she already knew the answer.
"Yup," Numbuh 1 plainly responded.
"It's gonna get dark out soon," Numbuh 5 replied. She opened her magazine back up to invest her time in that instead.
"Hey Numbuh 1, wanna read the new Yipper issue?" Numbuh 2 invited.
"No thanks. I have some serious business to attend to after all that. Lizzie needs to tell me more about what she saw in the negative universe so I can report back to global command."
"All right," Numbuh 2 replied, understanding.
"This way, Lizzie," Nigel gestured to his room.
"Nigel, am I in trouble?" Lizzie asked as she entered inside.
Nigel finally closed the door to his bedroom. He immediatley changed his serious attitude to rush toward her and hug her tightly.
"Lizzie! Lizzie darling," he cooed as he stroked her cheek with his thumb, then kissed her tenderly. "I'm so sorry you were dragged into such a horrible situation…" he nuzzled his head against the crook of her neck. She felt her face become numb. She was blushing brightly.
This was an entirely unexpected reaction from Nigel. The switch from being serious and determined to vulnerable and worried surprised Lizzie out of nowhere.
The girl wrapped her arms around Nigel. This time, it was a gentle hug that swayed him. "Oh, Nigie…"
They embraced for a few good moments, not wanting to let go of each other. Finally, Nigel spoke up.
"Do you want to lie down?"
"Yeah."
The two had lied down on Nigel's bed while embracing each other. Lizzie remembered this gesture was called cuddling. They were cuddling.
Nigel breathed slow and deep with his eyes closed. He only moved to press himself closer to Lizzie. The moment was precious.
Lizzie felt her heart flutter. She had never experienced this type of gesture with another organism before. Romantic interest was not in the species brain of uvinea, yet…
Lizzie squeezed Nigel tightly to her. Nigel's face turned red as he giggled, nuzzling against her again. She then kissed his bald head. He became so giddy he could not help but laugh with his mouth wide open from his happiness. They were truly in love.
"I love you, Lizzie."
She took a deep breath and smiled. "I love you too, Nigel."
9L opened her eyes. she felt a cool breeze on her body. The sky was a yellowish color with a view of two moons in the sky.
She gasped. She tilted herself forward. "Waksei…"
Rolling over, she looked down at her paws. She wiggled her toes. She flicked her tails. She was in her true form.
"Hahaha!"
The cheerful nekomata scampered around the blue grass in a joyful burst of zoomies. Flowers followed her in the wind she created from running free.
She heard a small chirp from the meadows. Sniffing the air, she followed the familiar scent and sound.
"Mama!"
9L bumped her head affectionately against her mother as she purred. Her mother licked her kitten's head.
"I missed you so much, my little flower."
Out from behind appeared multiple of 9L's siblings, meowing and cooing in celebration of her return. 9L rolled over to show her affection. Some of her little siblings jumped on top of her to play.
Eventually, the sky became a little darker. Her siblings started to run and jump away from her.
"Hey, where are you going?"
9L's mother gestured her head toward the empty field to let her find her siblings. It was a game of hide and seek. She sniffed around and crouched low.
Eventually, she saw her brother's tails flutter in the wind. He chuckled to himself, thinking he would not be found.
9L crouched down. Her eyes widened. She watched his tails flutter in the wind. Until she felt herself come close enough, she pounced on top of him.
"Gotcha!"
But he was not there.
"Wha…"
9L realized that what she pounced on was a pile of sand. The sky was darker around her.
"Hello?" she meowed. She stood on her hind legs to scan the field. She did not see or smell any of her family members anywhere.
She crouched down. "Wait a minute, this isn't real…" she remembered. "This is from the headband. These are simulations."
Lightning rumbled far away from her. She lowered her ears. The hair on her back stood up.
She stood up again. "Mama?! Siblings?! Hello?!" she yowled.
Seeing nobody in her sight, she ran as the wind started to blow harder while clouds covered more of the sky. She panted as she found shelter in a comfortable cave near the purple oak trees. She closed her eyes.
"Stressful scenarios…" she remembered. "How stressful?"
"Numbuh 9L!"
The nekomata heard a familiar voice. She opened her eyes. It was her planet's teammates.
"Come on! We're in the middle of a mission! We need the best help we can get!"
Her bigger teammate reached her tails down for her to grab. 9L gently bit them to be pulled out of the cave.
"Let's go! Let's go!"
The group of felines dashed across a woodland city-scape. They turned corners to find giant vacuum monsters sucking up all sorts of kittens.
9L felt her adrenaline rush as her teammates started to fight back the giant menaces.
"MMMYAAH!"
She pounced on top of the vacuum to slice its bag open. Out came hundreds of kitten gasping and coughing from the dust.
"Help me! Help me!"
9L turned to see her mother grabbing onto a tree root as to not be sucked inside one of the vacuums.
"MAMA!"
9L jumped down to race to her mother. Her grasp on the root slipped, but her legs were grabbed by her daughter. Her tails grabbed onto the root to hold them both down.
"Help… me…!" her mother begged.
"I got you! Just hang on!"
The vacuum's pressure started to turn immense, inching closer to the two cats. 9L struggled to pull her mother away. The vacuum latched onto her mother's head and pulled it clean off her body. 9L shrieked. She let go in her own fear. She started to run away.
"Why are you retreating? Numbuh 9L!" one of her teammates called out. She continued to run.
The vacuums started to turn into large tricolored hounds with multiple eyes that started to attack and eat her teammates. 9L shrieked as she saw these sights. She climbed up a large tree to avoid the massive stampede of hounds.
9L started to breathe heavily. She remembered this was not real again. "Stop this! Make this nightmare stop! Take me out of here!" She shouted. She then reached for the top of her head. She tried to pull what would be the headband off, but she could not feel it. The space above her head was empty.
9L closed her eyes. She started to tremble. Her heartbeat increased. Her breathing was sporadic. She felt sweat in her paws. Every hair was on its end. The hounds started to bite the tree below her to knock it down.
"Stop it!" A warped noise exclaimed in the distance. "She's freaking out, Numbuh Infinity! Don't push it!"
When 9L opened her eyes, she fixed her gaze down to noticed two of the hounds arguing. "Let go of that mic!"
"She can't handle much more of this!"
"I ordered you to let go!"
9L looked back up from all the barking hounds. She tried really hard to manipulate the world.
In front her she formed large cat tree steps that would ascend into the stormy night sky. She took the gander to follow them. Eventually, the hounds made it up the stairs by jumping. She continued to run until she made it up into space.
When she turned around to see what was below her, there were no stairs left and no hounds. She was alone in the emptiness of space. Her eyes watered as she started to cry. She tried to hide herself by curling into a ball, covering her face with her tails.
Slowly beside her, she felt a warm presence purr up against her. She sniffed this entity.
"Mama…?"
"It's OK, my little flower."
She nuzzled up under the belly of her mother to hide. "I'm scared. I miss you."
"I'm not going anywhere."
9L opened her eyes to see that she was in the meadows again. Her siblings were worried about her, curling up by their mother.
9L took a deep breath. She purred in the moment.