Disclaimer: I am not the creator of WordGirl and co. This is a fanfiction.
A/N For it being summer time, I've been keeping myself rather busy; sorry for such slow updates. Please enjoy this chapter and feel free to R&R.
"WordGirl!" Tobey called into every room he passed in the hall. He was running; running out of time, running out of patience, running out of breath. Where was she? Tobey felt the ship give another jolt as it changed its direction once again. If he didn't find WordGirl soon, their hopes of escape would be dashed. "WordGirl speak up!"
The ship shuttered drastically, causing Tobey to fall. The eleven year old promised himself that he'd give Nona a good kick in the pants the next time he saw her. Tobey managed to get back on his feet to continue his search. But he didn't get too far before the ship suffered a startling change. The lights in the hall began to dim as the outer walls of the ship took on a more transparent appearance. It was the ship's windows; Tobey was now able to see outside.
Tobey stepped in closer to the window to look out. The ship, though now moving at a decreased speed, was leaving Earth far behind. Tobey gasped at the sight of the Earth; greater than any picture he had seen of it and an inspirer of awe. Tobey took just a quick moment to take in what he was looking at.
"Where the heck are you taking us Nona?" Tobey couldn't believe it. Was he being taken to Lexicon? Tobey pressed his face against the glass, vainly lessening his distances from home by a mere few inches. At this rate he wouldn't even be able to steer an escape pod home; he would only get lost. "WordGirl! Why won't you answer me?"
Tobey had walked all around the ship leading him back to the main room the computer use to be in. Now all that remained there were useless toys and games; just kid stuff to waste time.
"Some secret hideout," Tobey sneered. "Got more toys than a daycare in here but nothing useful to save lives." Tobey found it difficult to maneuver in the limited lighting. He tripped over a few assorted items and bumped into WordGirl's unicorn stature; this was getting ridiculous.
"Tobey?" A voice came echoing from the entrance into the room. At first Tobey thought it might be WordGirl, but that imagining quickly faded as Nona spoke again. "I know you're in here."
Tobey got down behind a tube slide erected to the side of the room. Hopefully she wouldn't be able to spot him in the darkness. Not that it mattered; it was almost too late to escape now anyway.
"Tobey, I know you're upset,"
Upset wasn't even the half of it. If his vocabulary were more extensive . . . no, not even WordGirl's word knowledge could fit into words exactly how he felt.
"But I really need you to stop this foolishness."
Tobey could faintly see the woman circulating around the room in search of him. He remained as quit and still as he was able; listening but not responding.
"I promise you WordGirl is alright, and . . . it's not easy to explain, but this is for your own good. Adler would have hurt you any other way. Huggy and I are going to take you and WordGirl to Thesauria. There Alder won't be able to find you and you will get all your questions answered . . .maybe . . . I'm not going to lock you up again if that's what you're afraid of. Please you have to trust me . . ." Nona frowned. Wherever Tobey was, he was determined not to be found. It was then Nona remembered something. "Are you still worried about Becky?"
Tobey's heart skipped a beat as he heard mention of his friend's name. He had almost forgotten about Becky in the chaos. What if Adler had found Becky . . ? Tobey lowered his gaze as this fact sank in. Becky could be in worse trouble than he could have first imagined. Adler was a real threat; so much so that people from WordGirl's home planet felt she wasn't strong enough to face him.
Tobey's new focus allowed him to see Todd's hat discarded just a little ways away from him. It was then Tobey realized that Adler might be hurting everyone one in the city now that WordGirl was gone. Todd had gone missing hours ago; he was probably dead and so was Becky!
His heavy breathing gave Tobey's position away, but he was too distracted to notice. Nona came beside the boy and placed a hand on his shoulder.
"I'm sorry it has to be this way."
Tobey yanked away from Nona's touch, but felt it would be a wasted effort to run away at this point.
"Why didn't you go arrest Adler if he was this dangerous?" The boy's cold expression couldn't be clearly seen, but Nona could feel his icy stare nonetheless.
Sigh. "It's not that easy."
"So you take the city's superhero away; oh because that will make it better."
"WordGirl's the one he's after, Tobey. In theory, he won't mess with anyone except her."
"But he kidnapped my friends who had nothing to do with WordGirl, and he tried to kill me!"
Nona sighed again. Tobey could tell she wasn't really prepared to answer his questions, but she didn't sound like she was trying to conjure up a lie.
"I'm not completely sure why he went after your friends, but, gah . . . you just have to come with me. And we can make this so much more easier if you quit fighting me."
Tobey jumped to his feet and pointed an accusing finger at the woman.
"You're the one who's messing this all up! If Adler's the problem, then he's the one you're after. Not WordGirl and especially not me!"
"Tobey . . ?"
"If you're really here to help us, you'd be teaming up with WordGirl to stop that man before he goes after anyone else."
"I can't do that . . ."
"Then you're working for him! You're part of the problem!"
"I'm not helping Adler in anyway," Nona rose. "I'm here to bring WordGirl to safety; that's all I'm accountable for. High Law won't let me-"
"If you're not doing anything to stop the real problem, then you're just as bad as he is." Tobey didn't even notice the stream of tears flooding from his eyes. He didn't notice how raspy his voice had become. "Becky's probably dead. And it's your fault. You knew Adler was here the entire time and you did nothing to stop him."
Nona tried to search the boy's face in the darkness, but soon her own tears were making it hard for her to look at him.
"You're right," she whispered softly. "I got so focused on my job, I forgot my purpose." Nona sat back down on the ground beside the slide. She rested her back against it. "I didn't really help keep peace or ambiguity between WordGirl's Earthlings and ourselves."
His anger subsiding, Tobey dried his tears with his sleeve. He hadn't expected this reaction from Nona, nor was he sure what to do from this point.
"Well, let's turn back. We can stop him and maybe find Bec . . ."
"I can't do that Tobey," Nona shook her head. "High Law only allows my kind the permission to visit Earth under strict oath not to interfere with Earthling affaires. That includes, but is not limited to, their problems, celebrations, wars, civil disputes, religious expressions or fondue recipes."
"But this guy's an alien like you; if you want to keep the peace go arrest him, not me!"
"No Tobey, I'm a CRA, a child relocation agent, all I'm supposed to do is get WordGirl to her new guardian as quickly as possible. Adler's a royal advisor to the king of Britannica, whatever his business for being here is; I can't touch him."
"But you're taking me?" Tobey's frustration only grew as Nona began mentioning places and things he'd never heard of before. "I'm not WordGirl; or at least I hope you can see that!"
"I know you're not WordGirl, you're . . . the surprise at the bottom of the cereal box. Clearly Adler wants you dead while your existence is still an enigma. But I'm not sure what I'm supposed to do with you so I'm just taking you. It's like you're the biggest hole in history." Nona stopped her ranting as she thought about her last words. "Hole in history." She whispered to herself, ignoring Tobey's next words.
"Well why don't you let WordGirl finish off Adler first and then ask her if she wants to go with you. You can't consider yourself a good guy unless you ask her if she wants to go."
Nona got to her feet and, as best as one could in the dark, ran from the room. Tobey blearily had time to realize what happened as he tried to follow the woman. The halls had perceptible more light than did the computer room and Tobey was able to see clearly enough to break out into a full run.
"Wait, for me!" Tobey panted.
Nona than stopped her run completely, smacking her forehead as she realized it was only natural for Tobey to follow her.
"Sorry Tobey," Nona resumed a hurried walk. "I'll take you to see WordGirl and then I need to talk to, um . . . my superior about something."
"Are you going to let WordGirl capture Adler?"
"Uh, no. But I will ask what can be done to stop him. Trust me, Adler's in too deep to escape justice now. After what he did to you, I'll personally see to it that the king of Britannica finds out that his royal advisor is a two timing little . . ."
"I thought you said you couldn't 'interfere' with him?"
"That only applies on Earth. As a citizen of a neutral planet, I can seek an audience with any royal figure head." Nona halted in front of a door. She positioned herself so that only she would be able to see the control panel; she entered the code. "Now you need to understand that WordGirl is still in the presence of lexinite and will not be fully cognizant until I remove the stuff."
"Cogni- what now?" Tobey glared up at the adult. There was still so much he wanted to know and so much that wasn't making any sense. Britannica, Lexicon, Theasuria, High Law, neutral planets . . . sigh, it was all too confusing.
"Cognizant means being aware or fully mindful. WordGirl still feels a little sick and therefore isn't totally conscious of what's going on."
Is that so you can continue kidnapping us without a fight, Tobey couldn't help the thought running thru his mind. Yet, if Nona hadn't killed them by now . . . She really thought she was doing the right thing for them. And what about WordGirl's 'guardian?'
Sigh. What could he do? He wasn't strong enough to fight Nona, and even with his brilliance he wouldn't be able to build anything that could safely get them back to Earth, assuming they could even escape. His best bet was to explain to WordGirl, to the best of his ability, what was going on and hope she could help think of a way out of this. That and get rid of that 'lexinite' stuff.
Nona gestured for Tobey to enter the room.
"I promise to take away the lexinite once we're far enough along."
Tobey went in without struggling. WordGirl was sitting up in the bed, but was rocking gently side to side. The lexinite had been broken into a smaller piece and was strapped to her wrist like a bracelet; a bracelet with not clasp or elasticity. Tobey had to resist the urge to run over to WordGirl and fuss about her condition; only a love sick puppy would do that. Instead Tobey turned to watch Nona shut the door and probably lock it. As nice as she wanted to be, she was still the enemy as far as Tobey was concerned. With his assumption made, Tobey didn't even bother to check the door.
"Uh WordGirl?" Tobey watched WordGirl's feeble gaze fall on him. The room had a window, so she was aware that they were leaving Earth. What was he suppose to say?
On the other side of the door, Nona couldn't hold back the snarl that worked its way on her lips. She picked back up on her run as she made her way thru the ship and back to the bridge. She threw open the door, startling Huggy who had taken over the flying of the ship, and marched up to the control panel.
"I have a call I need to make," She growled. "So leave."
Huggy knew better than to fight Nona on this. He flipped on the autopilot and left the cab. Nona then brought up the communication device on one of the idle computers. She dialed a number and waited. After only a few moments the screen flickered to life as a voice began to speak.
"Oh Hiya there Nona, callin' to admit you couldn't get the princess?"
"I'm not in the mood for your stupid wisecracks, Miena."
Miena crossed her arms over her chest with a seemingly permanent smirk on her face. The young Storian took great pleasure in the annoyance of Nona in this moment, and she played it for all its worth.
"Oh I'm sorry, I forgot. You take great pride in your failures don't you." Miena laughed as she watched Nona's hands ball into fists.
"I'm not making this call about the princess." Nona spat.
At this Miena quit her laughing, but didn't drop her smirk.
"Man Nona, you need to learn how to take a joke. Trust me; I'm fully aware of your, 'child hunting' abilities." Miena let out a small chuckle but was quickly silenced by Nona's outburst.
"Why didn't You tell me Theodore had a son!"
For a moment both women remained still. Miena's face did not change expression, but her silence explained her disposition well. Nona was about to yell at Miena when the Storian finally spoke.
"Don't you study some history on Theasuria?" Her answer was short, but Nona wasn't exactly sure how to read it.
"That can't be right," Nona just had to know the truth; for if Tobey was who she and Adler thought he was . . . "I've found Theodore's son; Adler's trying to kill him. I know you Storians know everything about history, so you have to know about this."
"It's like I've said," Miena shrugged. "You should pay better attention to history. Prince Theodore is dead.." Miena smiled.
"Don't lie to me Miena. You know as well as I do that if Theodore really did have a son; this changes everything about the war, about our planets!"
"Oh Nona sweety, it would change nothing. How you people perceive history is of little importance to us. A Storian's job is to document history, not interfere with it. If you're so convinced that's Theodore's son, why don't you go run a blood test or something. Don't bother me about it."
"So you're saying it's true!" Nona leaned close to the screen in hopes of detecting some hint of truth in Miena's actions. Miena on the other hand was stunned by Nona's inference.
"No, I didn't say that . . ."
"But you're not denying it either. Theodore did have a son before he died didn't he? Miena, you have to tell me."
Miena curled her lip at the woman's begging. It was clear the two women were not the closest of friends, and, even while working, it was a challenge for them to put their differences aside.
"I'm not supposed to reveal anything about history to outsiders of my planet unless they have discovered it for themselves."
"I'm bringing the boy back to Theasuria with me; if I end up wrong in my assumptions . . ."
"The boy will be put to death and that's none of my business. Now do you have the princess or not?"
By this time Tobey had done his best to explain to WordGirl what was going on. She seemed to understand what was going on; she sent a worried glance outside the window back at Earth. Tobey couldn't help but note how hollow her eyes looked. Was the lexinite really making her that sick. . ? No that couldn't be it.
"WordGirl?" The name was almost spoken too softly to hear, but WordGirl looked back at Tobey. "Do you um, know how to get this off?" Tobey pointed to the sickening rock on WordGirl's arm.
"I'm just as flabbing-flabberfluber, gah, confused as you are." WordGirl groaned. "It's useless."
"Oh, we can't let a little set back like being taken away from our planet, being surrounded by deadly rocks and having people out for our lives with weapons and knowledge superseding our own stop us." Tobey tried to grin. "You're WordGirl, you can handle this. And with my help . . ."
"That's just it," WordGirl interrupted. "I don't know what I'm doing. I don't even know why I'm a superhero."
"Great," Tobey sighed. "You never listen to a word I've said in the past, but when I make one negative remark you cling to it like Holy Scripture." Tobey didn't even try to mask his sarcastic disapproval. "Last thing we need is an 'emo' superhero; so snap out of it and help me think of a way out of here."
"Tobey will you just shut up." WordGirl answered.
"Why, so you can lay there like a big cry baby while we're being abducted by aliens! I don't think I agree with that!"
"No! I'm tired." WordGirl breathed.
"Oh, I'm sorry. Should I let you get your beauty sleep first. I was just thinking that since the more time we waste, the further Earth will be."
"I just need, to rest . . ."
"And while you rest your eyes I'll just sit here and contemplate the horrific deaths of my dear friends Scoops and Becky." Tobey knew he was laying it on thick, yet he could care less. All he wanted to do was save his friend; was he asking too much? He was doing the right thing! Why was doing the right thing blowing up in his face? He didn't know Adler, Becky wasn't an alien . . . nothing was making sense. "Maybe while we're just sittin' around up here, I'll ask Nona who our new alien guardians are going to be. I want mine to have eight heads!"
"Shut-Up!" Becky sprang to her feet faster than Tobey would have imagined the sickened superhero to do. She advanced on him, startling him to fall back on the ground; she looming over him. "You know what? Scoops probably is dead; Adler is terrorizing everyone in the city. My parents must think I hate them by now; they think I ran away because I can't stand living with them!"
Tobey inched back as WordGirl continued her rant. It was as if, by yelling at him, she was reprimanding a part of herself.
"I let my friends and family down, and you know why? Because WordGirl was just 'so' important. They needed 'me.' My parents didn't need the city to be watched over all summer long, they need their daughter's love and approval while on vacation. Scoops didn't need another headline story, he needed his friend to walk him home. Heck, even you need me. But all you guys are left with is a hero who couldn't even notice how much trouble you were in."
WordGirl's furry calmed down as the fire in her eyes dimmed into hollowness. A quick 'ha' escaped the fallen hero's lips.
"I can't even fight a rock," WordGirl lowered her head and got back into the bed. "I'm, just too tired." She put her back to him. "Maybe my real parents will want me this time."
Tobey sat for a moment. . . he didn't understand what he just heard. All he knew now, was Earth was too far to reach from here; his hero was gone . . . Becky was gone. Without WordGirl's help there was no way for him to get off that ship.
"Well, . . .what about me?"
WordGirl didn't respond.
Closing her eyes as tightly, Becky was hoping to just ignore Tobey's presence. She felt bad he was wrapped up in all this . . . but what could she do? With the lexinite still near her she couldn't use her superpowers, and even before she lost them Nona had outsmarted her. . . or rather, her best friend betrayed her. Becky tried to squeeze her eyes tighter at the thought of Huggy.
How could he . . ?
Becky just didn't want to be a part of Earth anymore. It wasn't where she belonged. Lying all the time and treating family and friends like they didn't matter as much to her as fighting crime . . .
"That's not true," her family meant the world to her. She didn't want them to think she was killed . . . she certainly didn't intend for Scoops to end up that way. . . if Adler was still looking for WordGirl, she'd give him WordGirl and spare her family the heartache.
Suddenly there came a whoosh sound from the door. Tobey had gone to check if it was locked, and it wasn't; Nona hadn't double crossed him after all. Becky listened to the boy leave into the hall. Becky sat up and looked over in the door's direction. She still felt sick, but she owed 'all' her friends the best she could give them.
Staggering across the room, Becky reached the door. She pressed the button to open it, but only by an inch. She wanted to peek out and see what he was up to first . . . to be honest she was worried about how Tobey had taken her outburst. Becky watched the eleven year old genius, pressed against the hallway window . . .
"Our Father God, great is . . . the name I call you, maker of Earth and, heaven and . . . oh forget the formalities. I don't know what other option I have but to believe that you're up there and that you care," his accent dropped. "I'm not stupid enough to believe in miracles, or maybe, I'm just not bold enough. I don't know where Becky is, but you do. Huh, I'm not going to ask for an instant fix, because I know it won't happen. But if you're half as good as that book says you are . . . let Becky know, that at least one person cares. She isn't the greatest person to ever live or anything like that, but she was as close to, a friend as I'm ever going to get and, I don't want her to die. Oh God please." Tobey buried his face into his arms now resting against the glass. "She was my only friend and I wanted her to know."
Becky stepped back into the bedroom not certain what to think; tears safely hidden behind the room's front wall.