Sorry it took so long, but my sister really hates this. Oh, and check out the cover. My sister made it. (Yes, I make her do a lot of thingsDONTJUDGEME)
"Six months after the Wordbot catastrophe, our hero's life is finally getting back to normal." The narrator narrated.
"SHHH!" Becky looked up, irritated, "The season finale for Pretty Princess Magic Pony Power Hour is starting!"
"Sheesh, sorry." He grumbled. Becky settled back to watching T.V. Violet sat next to her, playing with a colorful glass paperweight. Bob sat on the floor next to the couch, munching on pretzels and staring with disinterest at the screen. "So…no crime to fight?" The narrator asked.
"Of course there isn't! The usual villains don't have anything to rob anymore, except for the grocery store. Nothing's happening that the police can't handle."
"Hey, Becky, who are you talking to?" Violet asked quietly.
"Um…My ceiling?"
"…Uh. Ok?"
"BECKY! BECKY!" Mr. Botsford suddenly ran in and shoved his foot in her face.
"DAD!" She looked at the strange socks covering his feet then shoved them away.
"I've discovered the fine art of sock sewing!" The socks had little kittens on them playing with yarn balls. The little yarn balls jiggled every time he moved his feet, "The little kittens glow in the dark! Watch!" He took the remote, flicked the T.V. off then killed the lights.
"That's really…neat, dad." Becky blinked. Violet ooh'd at the cats on the socks, which glowed red.
"I'm glad you think so!" Mr. Botsford turned the lights back on, "Because I was wondering if either of you wanted a pair!" He looked at Becky expectantly.
"Um, thanks, dad, but I already have too many socks."
"Oh…alright. How about you, Violet? Want a pair of glow-in-the-dark socks?"
"Um…Sure?" She answered quietly.
"Great! I'll get started immediately." He bounded away. Becky sighed in relief then picked up the remote and turned the T.V. on.
"We now return to you to the season finale of Pretty Prince-"
"We interrupt your regularly scheduled program to bring you this important message." The news man stated importantly. Becky groaned, "Oh, come on!"
"A deranged pirate with a magnetic hook…who is this guy? I need to know his name-"
"CAPTAIN TANGENT" Someone from off-screen shouted.
"Oh, yes. Captain Tangent is robbing the nearly-empty grocery store. Wow, this guy is desperate." He took a sip of his coffee.
"COME ON!" The same guy from before yelled. The news reporter set his coffee down again.
"OK, well, in other news, Dr. Two Brains gets his cast taken off today. So hide your cheese." Becky got up and stormed out, grabbing Bob by the arm as she walked by him.
"Wait, Becky, where are you going?" Violet asked.
"Oh, uh, I saw a dog…without a collar riding a…skateboard."
"Oh, that sounds exciting, can I come?" She started to get up.
"NO!" Becky shouted immediately, but rethought her reaction when Violet cringed back, "Um, what I mean is, I don't want you to miss the season finale."
"Oh…OK." She looked away, "Have fun, Becky."
TTTT
"Hurry up ye scallywag! I haven't got all day!" The pirate waved his hook in the clerk's face.
"I don't like your tone. You're fired!" The clerk crossed his arms and looked away.
"Wha-? I don't work here! Just put yer doubloons in the bag!"
"I'm sorry, but I refuse to serve anybody who talks to me like that."
"Arrgh," Captain Tangent face-palmed, "Fine, fine. If ye would be ever so kind as to please put yer doubloons in this here bag of mine, I'd be most grateful."
The grocery store manager took the bag from him, smiling, "Now that's better. I think I might consider rehiring you." He opened a box (the cash register had been destroyed) and put a few coins in the bag. He handed it back to Captain Tangent, "There ya' go! That's everything we have!"
"What? That's everything?"
"Well, yeah. Wordbot almost completely destroyed this building." He pointed to the gaping hole in the roof and front of the building, "Until the store gets rebuilt, we can't make much money. Most of the food that comes here is donated and free for all the citizens to share." He sniffled and rubbed water from his eyes, "It makes me tear up just thinking about the kindness of those volunteers and donators."
Wordgirl flew in just then, "All right Captain Tan-is something wrong?" She landed on the cracked floor. Huggy jumped down next to her. Captain Tangent sighed and dropped the bag on the halved countertop.
"I guess I didn't do me homework. There's no use fighting over these small metal doubloons. There isn't even enough to melt down and use them as a dagger. Incidentally, did you know pirates prefer cutlasses to regular swords? The curved shape doesn't get tangled up when we use them to cut ropes."
"Oh, boy here we go…" Wordgirl sighed.
"Uh, aren't you going to arrest him?" The narrator asked.
"I don't want to interrupt him. That would be rude." She sighed. Huggy squeaked, annoyed, and walked to the other side of the store.
"Oh…alright. While we wait for him to finish, how about we check up on Tobey, Wordgirl's newest friend?"
Tobey sat in a dark room with a welding helmet on his head, welding his project together with the stench of burning iron filling the air. The bright flashes of light lit up the entire room, illuminating the smoke. Sweat dripped down Tobey's face, into his helmet, and onto his work piece. It evaporated the second it struck the hot metal.
"So, what are you up to now, Tobey?"
"Oh, just working on an old project." He grinned, but of course you couldn't see it through the helmet.
"Hey, you know you're working in the dark, right?"
"OF COURSE I KNOW THAT!" He lifted up the helmet and looked in the direction of the narrator's voice, "What do you take me for, a nincompoop?"
"No, of course not. I was just wondering why you would do that."
"I was trying to be secretive." He crossed his arms.
"Any chance you'll tell me what it is you're working on?"
Tobey sighed, "If you must know, I'm updating my power suit, Salvator."
"Oh, that sounds fun." The narrator yawned.
"Well, maybe not to you, but I find it quite amusing."
"OK. Well, since you're not doing anything interesting, we'll just get back to Wordgirl."
"Wait, what's Wordgirl doi-"
"ANYWAY, back at the grocery store…"
"-and that's why the planet Neptune was named after the Roman god of the sea." Finished Captain Tangent importantly.
"Ugh, finally!" Wordgirl sighed in relief, "Alright, Captain Tangent. Let's get ready to send you to jail."
"I won't be going to jail today, bilge rat!" He raised his hook threateningly…right before Huggy jumped on his head from behind and covered his eyes, "Hey! Get off me head!" He waved his arms around frantically, trying to regain his balance. Oscar, his parrot, flapped his wings and hovered above them. "Scraw…you idiot." Oscar face-winged. Huggy grabbed Captain Tangent's hook immediately before the pirate threw him off. Wordgirl bolted to a pile of old rope on the ground and used it to tie up Captain Tangent. A couple of winded policemen biked in then, "Looks like you'll be spending your time in the brig!" Wordgirl chuckled.
"That wasn't funny…" Huggy squeaked and looked away, embarrassed.
"Yes it was. All my jokes are funny, right?" Wordgirl looked around at everyone expectantly. Nobody would meet her eyes. Her face fell, "…right?"
"Um, sure they are." The narrator chuckled nervously.
"Hey, that didn't sound sincere."
"No, it wasn't."
"Hey, you know, when you say things-"
"Aren't you forgetting something?" The narrator interrupted her. Wordgirl gasped,
"Oh no! The season finale! Come on, Huggy!" She grabbed Huggy and flew off. Captain Tangent sighed and leaned on the counter, which then fell over, "Gah!"
Wordgirl landed in front of her door and turned back into Becky Botsford. She rushed inside, breathless, just in time to see the ending credits roll across the screen, "NOOO!" She cried out and fell to her knees, "Why do I always miss my favorite show?! WHY?!" Her dad blew his nose.
"That was the most beautiful episode I've ever seen!" He cried.
"It was heart wrenching." Violet commented as she put her hand on Mr. Botsford's shoulder to comfort him. T.J. sniffled,
"Eh. It was OK." He looked away to wipe away a tear. Scoops just kind of walked in then without knocking since the door was open.
"Hey, Becky, I heard Violet was here?" He asked.
"Oh, hi Scoops." Violet smiled, "What did you want?"
"I wanted to know if…you'd like to go for some ice cream with me."
"I'd love to. Come on, Becky." Both of the girls got to their feet.
"Yeah, I guess I could go for some ice cream now." Becky sighed.
"Uh, actually I kind of wanted to go with just Violet, Becky."
"Oh…OK."
"Don't feel bad. Next time we go, I'll pay for your ice cream." He tried cheering her up.
"Thanks, Scoops." She said energetically, trying to hide how she felt.
"Sorry, Becky." Violet looked sadly at her. Violet knew Becky was hurt.
"No, it's OK." She answered as they walked out. She sat down on the now-empty couch and sighed again. The T.V. was playing some show she was never interested in, but always played after Pretty Princess Magic Pony Power Hour. It was about some kind of guy with a robotic dog that always got into trouble. She stared absently at it as she talked to Bob, "I wish Scoops would invite ME to ice cream. I'm starting to think that maybe he likes Violet and not me…" She said as she watched the T.V.
"Maybe we should follow them." The robotic dog on T.V. suggested to his owner, "We could find out if she was lying to you or not."
"I like the way you think, Mr. Finkleberry!" The dude with too-long hair smiled, "Let's follow them!"
"Hmmm…" Becky's expression went blank as a thought ran through her head, "Why don't WE follow Violet and Scoops?" Her face brightened, "Then we might find out how he feels about her!" She stood up. Bob squeaked in protest, "I'm not helping you stalk your best friend!"
"What? Why not? Don't you want to know if he likes her or not?"
"No! And even if I did, I wouldn't follow them around to find out!" He squeaked at her.
"Fine! I'll just find someone else to go with me!"
"Please do!" He glared at her as he opened the fridge and pulled out a large pile of random food.
"I will!" she stormed out the door, slamming it as she went out. The doorframe and the walls around it cracked.
"BECKY BOTSFORD!" Her dad called, "COME BACK AND CLOSE THAT DOOR PROPERLY." She stomped back, threw open the door, and angrily shut it nicely.
"Tobey!" Claire called from downstairs, "Your friend is here to see you!" she sounded delighted, probably because Tobey had finally made a friend and did something besides reading and making robots. Tobey had been taking a break from his project and was drawing out plans for something. He leapt to his feet, bumping his desk and knocking off a Wordgirl lamp in his haste. It crashed to the ground, but he ignored it and ran downstairs faster than Two Brains being chased by a cat. As he expected, it was Becky standing just inside his house. He smiled from ear to ear, "Becky! What a pleasant surprise!"
"Hey, Tobey. I was wondering if you wanted to go somewhere with me." She knew he'd say yes. He always jumped at an opportunity to spend time with her.
"Why of course! I'd love to-oh, I mean…Let me check my schedule." He pulled out a little calendar book, "Mmhm…yes, I do have some time right now. I suppose I could go with you." He put it away then walked up to her. Claire smiled,
"Oh, are you two going out on a date?" She asked.
"Mother! No! We're just friends!" He blushed. He started pushing Becky out the door, "Come on, let's go before she says something else."
"Oh, wait, I want to know where you two will be." She stepped outside to call to them.
"We're going out for ice cream!" Becky called back.
"Oh, so this IS a date?" He asked excitedly.
"No, Tobey. We're not really getting ice cream."
"Huh? But you said-"
"I want to follow Scoops and Violet. I think Scoops might like her."
"Oh…lovely." Tobey grumbled. He didn't enjoy being reminded of Becky's interest in Scoops, "So, you came to get me so I could help you stalk your best friend?"
"Why does everyone keep saying stalk? I'm not stalking!"
"Sure you aren't." He rolled his eyes.
"Hey!" She glared at him. He smirked. She groaned, "Well, are you coming or not?"
"Yes, of course. I said I would, didn't I?"
TTTT
"Shh…they're talking about something." Becky whispered to Tobey, who really didn't want to be there. They were crouched behind a bush next to the ice cream stand. Scoops and Violet were having an apparently hilarious conversation with the ice cream guy. Tobey shifted from a kneeling position to a sitting one,
"What was it we were listening for, again?"
"Anything that might suggest Scoops likes Violet."
"Well of course he likes her. Otherwise he wouldn't spend time with her."
"No! I meant more than a friend." She snapped quietly. Tobey rolled his eyes.
"Whatever." At least he got to spend time with Becky. Even if it was dreadfully boring and pointless.
"Oh, they're walking away!" Becky suddenly whispered. Tobey got back up to his knees and watched them. They were heading in the direction of the library, which was where he wanted to be with Becky right about now. Not crouched behind a bush. Once they were down a ways, Becky put two fingers up to her chest, "Word Up!" She said quietly and grabbed Tobey by the collar. He went limp as she rose into the air and flew to the top of a building, one next to Scoops and Violet. She used her super hearing to listen to the conversation while Tobey crouched next to her and played with pebbles.
"Yeah, it's actually kind of embarrassing. You won't tell anybody, will you?" Scoops asked her.
"No, of course not. I won't tell anybody about how you were attacked by pigeons, fell off the tree house and got tangled in the rope swing." She licked her mint-flavored ice cream.
"Phew, thanks, Violet. You know, you're a really great friend."
"Thanks, Scoops." She smiled. By now they had moved down a few buildings, so Wordgirl picked up Tobey again and flew to the top of the shop closest to them. He crouched down by her feet and played with a few pieces of broken glass.
"Hey, Violet…there's something I've been meaning to ask you…" Scoops hesitated
"Yes, Scoops?"
"I was…uh wondering if you'd, uh…" he stammered, "If you'd…"
"What is it, Scoops?"
"If you'd go to the Valentine's day dance with me?" He swallowed hard.
"Oh, I'd love to!"
"I knew it!" Wordgirl whispered.
"What happened?" Tobey asked as he scratched markings into the cement.
"Scoops asked Violet to the Valentine's day dance! He does like her! I was right!" She stopped, "I…was right." She suddenly plopped onto her butt, "Scoops likes Violet…not me." Her eyes started to water. Tobey noticed, and he didn't like it.
"Hey, it's OK." He sat down next to Wordgirl, and she leaned against him. He put one arm around her and squeezed.
"What-what am I supposed to do?" she sniffled.
Get over it and move on. Tobey thought, but didn't say out loud. He didn't want to be mean to her, but he also didn't know how to comfort her. He'd never had an experience like this before.
"I don't know, but I'm sure you'll be OK." He said simply.
"Thanks, I guess." She sighed and sat back up, "I guess I'll take you back home. Thanks for coming with me." She grabbed him by the collar.
"Yes, well, you're very welcome." He smiled as she shot into the sky and toward his house.
"Hm, if that kid is friends with Wordgirl, he should know her secret identity." A female voice commented, "I'll just fly on over and give him a little visit…"
Lightball's sis: Someone please kill me. I hated writing the stuff with Captain Tangent and the Scoops and Violet scene. Everything else is OK. But since I really hated writing the beginning, it took a while because every sentence made me want to curl up in a ball and scream (I'm not kidding. That's how I felt)