While their job title was a bit ambiguous, Betty was eager to help out however she could. Since she and her brother had been promoted by Commander Shaw to assist the Rangers, both on and off the battlefield, ideas had been swirling around in her head.
She had always been the helpful type, though usually her desire to help often got her into trouble. She always had the right intentions, but when it came to execution, she was never completely sure what went wrong.
Growing up, she spent a lot of time in trouble, both at home and at school. At home, she would get grounded when she tried to help her mother by having dinner ready when she got home from work. However, she would end up making a mess in the kitchen, or setting off the smoke alarm, and everything would be a disaster. Her mother, rather than seeing that her daughter meant well, came home tired and exhausted to a problem that needed to be addressed and punished Betty for it. Evenings would be spent in her bedroom, often without supper.
When someone at home complained that something wasn't working right, Betty would do hours of research so she could fix it. She remembered one time her father complained that the remote wasn't changing channels anymore and Betty opened it up while he was out running errands, then realized the problem wasn't the remote, but the TV. She had just opened it up when her father came home, his arms full of grocery bags, to see his daughter dissecting his TV. Instead of letting Betty finished the work she insisted she knew how to fix, he sent her to her room.
Ben had seen Betty get in trouble a lot and didn't want that for himself. Since he was the little brother, his parents often assumed that Betty forced him to go along with her antics when he was around and so never punished him for it. Ben would then listen as his parents complained about how much Betty was costing them in burned food, broken electronics and hospital bills from burns and injuries sustained from her trying to help out. He spent most of his time with his sister, since both their parents worked and neither had many friends at school, and so he knew Betty always meant well. When she was sent to bed without supper, Ben always snuck a bit of food up, just to cheer her up and so she wouldn't go to bed hungry.
As Betty got older, her parents were less and less patient with her. She had to start paying for the damage she caused and they refused to bail her out when the school called to say that she had tried to be helpful again. The lack of support from her parents meant that if Betty wanted to keep being Betty, she was going to have to pay for it. So, she got a job.
At the same time, Grid Battleforce had a job opening for a security guard. The pay was good and Betty was excited to work for a company that shared her same values in helping people out. When she told her parents she applied to the job, they weren't impressed. If anything, they were glad she would be someone else's problem for eight hours of the day.
Ben didn't feel the same. He was worried. His big sister had a big heart, but she was not cut out for security – not alone at least. Though she was his older sister, she was much smaller than he was, barely standing five feet tall. She was tough, but she had no formal training as a security guard and Ben worried that even with all her might and all her passion for doing the right thing, someone else with the wrong intentions and just as much might would take her out.
So he applied for the job as well and as luck would have it, Commander Shaw hired them both. Ben could look out for his older sister and support her and maybe this job would help her refine her skills a little bit.
Betty was overjoyed she had been hired. For the first time in her life, someone actually wanted her help. She had no idea what Commander Shaw saw in her, but she was sure it was something that her parents and her teachers had missed. She was thankful for the job opportunity and promised Commander Shaw, from that day forward, she would always do her best to help.
There were a few write-ups along the way, and a couple times Betty had been called to the Commander's office for a scolding. Ben was always waiting just outside to comfort his sister. However, despite the screw ups, neither were ever fired. Though Ben was always reluctant to do anything at work, he did genuinely love his job. While he had two parents at home who loved and cared for him deeply, he knew Betty didn't feel the same way. In a way, Commander Shaw had taken on that parental role that Betty seemed to need. A firm hand when she genuinely screwed up, but an everlasting sense of potential in the young woman.
So, while Ben didn't necessarily want to get promoted, Betty was over the moon and Ben couldn't argue with her. Besides, he thought it might be cool that they would have top secret information.
For Betty, this was the first time her efforts were ever acknowledged. Commander Shaw had the pick of the litter in terms of who to promote to assistants, but she had chosen her and Ben. Betty was one more determined to do right by the only person, other than her brother, to believe in her.
Which was why she was so excited when she came in that morning, at an early hour, to finish up her latest project: the Zap-O-Matic.
"Are you sure the Rangers are going to need this?" Ben asked tiredly as he carried two cups of coffee in, both for him. Betty never needed coffee in the morning as she was always full of energy. Ben liked to tease that her someone had switched her on and now the switch was jammed and she couldn't turn off to rest.
"The Rangers need all the weapons they can get," Betty nodded her head. "Cops use tasers. Ours will just be a little stronger. You know, for robot bad guys."
"Okay, makes sense," Ben nodded his head. "Are you sure we should be playing around with electricity?"
"I know what I'm doing, Ben."
"Famous last words, Betty," Ben sighed, but after he finished his first coffee, he offered his sister a little help.