Disclaimer: I don't own WordGirl. This is a fanfiction.
"Morning young man," Adler entered the station and looked down at TJ who was still gapping at him. "Might want to close that mouth of yours or you'll attract flies."
Adler's voice caught Todd's attention immediately. He turned quickly and stared at the man, a terror rising in him. The words to alert the others wouldn't come, they had gotten lost in the paralyzed body. Adler only smiled back as he pulled the now familiar Earth weapon from out of his coat pocket; probably back in working order.
"Sorry to interrupt," Adler made his presents know to the commissioner. The group all looked to him in shock as they saw the weapon. "But I think what I have to say will be a tad more important than anything these kids wish to share."
"By Jove," the commissioner rose from his desk as the officer took her place in front of the group and desk. "You are the one."
"Great detective work," Adler reached over with his freehand and grabbed TJ by the arm. The young boy tried to struggle free, by then the weapon was turned in his direction to calm his rebuttal. "If you value this kid's life at all, I suggest you listen to what I have to say."
All save for Todd looked to the commissioner for an answer. The exception kept his eyes on Adler.
"Ple, please don't hurt the boy. I'll do whatever you want." The commissioner's pleas only made Adler more thrilled that leadership was so easy to subdue.
"Don't worry, you all will," Adler came a bit closer to the group. "If I'm not mistaken, I'm the only one with the power to take lives here." Adler could clearly see the officer didn't have a gun holster, and therefore no gun. He was in complete control, at least for now. "Who else is in this building? " Adler's demand frightened the man, so the commissioner was quick to obey.
"About seven officers are here now, nobody in the holding cells, some kittens, and a few parents of the missing kids."
"Don't tell him that " Claire reprimanded. She placed a harsh stare on the authority, wondering how this man had made it to such a place in law enforcement. It was clear to her that some else needed to take control of this situation, and it might as well be her. Claire began stepping behind the desk to-
Bang!
The whole group gasped as Claire sent her gaze to a hole made in the wall. The bullet had missed her by an inch, now embedded in the photo of the mayor hanging limply on the wall.
"Speak out of turn again," Adler grinned. "And that will be you. Got it?" It was clear he was having fun terrorizing them, the sound of the gun still ringing in their ears. Claire then realized to what extent of a danger Adler was. She placed a hand on her heaving chest; her fears pounding for Tobey's safety.
It was at this moment the other officers came running into the lobby. They froze when they saw the young boy at gun point. The group by the commissioner looked just as at a lost as they did; so nobody moved; waiting. Adler laughed shortly before capitalizing on the moment of fright.
"Good, the party's all here." Adler ordered the officers to empty all their supplies onto the commissioner's desk and then step back against the wall. He really only wanted the handcuffs, but he was happy to see them lay down their keys as well. Adler thrust TJ against the wall with the officers and ordered him to begin cuffing the officers together; never removing his aim from the young boy's head. "I'm amazed none of you know how to stop me," he joked while the cops were combined into one slow huddle of worthless defenders. "I bet WordGirl would have stopped me by now."
"And she will!" Violet couldn't hold back her outburst, tears beginning to travel to the floor.
"Oh, I do hope so." Adler didn't sound angry. He grabbed a hold of TJ again, thanking the boy for being such a 'good listener' before ordering the officers and commissioner to head back toward the cells; his intentions all too clear by this point.
It took little effort on Adler's part to lock the entire police force up in the holding cell. And being they were cuffed together, they probably couldn't easily pick the lock. Claire, Todd and Violet walk alongside the clumped officers as Adler instructed. He wanted to be able to see everyone at once, and threatened to end TJ's life at the slightest sign of noncompliance.
"Okay, now that that's done," Adler looked at the free group. "Scoops, it's been too long hasn't it?"
The boy didn't answer.
"Well don't worry about it. I'll make up for the time we lost."
"Don't talk to that child like that." Claire still found it too difficult to hold her tongue; though she mentally kicked herself for speaking up again. She knew she was risking a lot, but she couldn't help it.
"You're right," Adler kissed his teeth. "I've been acting just plain rude, haven't I?" He turned the gun toward the woman. "You and the other two kids; get in that cell over there."
He followed close behind them as they walked toward it. TJ deliberated whether to try and free himself; Adler might shoot his friends if he acted too rashly. Again helplessness seized the boy and he could do nothing more but follow orders and hope that WordGirl would pull though for him.
Adler locked Todd, Violet and Claire in the next open cell. The three looked to TJ with the deepest sympathy, but there was nothing that could be done for him. Adler had thought of everything . . . or at least thought of everything they would think of.
"Please Adler," at the sound of the commissioner's voice Adler pulled TJ to stand before the officer's cell. "Please let the children go, you have us."
Adler laughed in response. There was a thick air of fear hovering around the station; Adler the only one immune. The man pulled at TJ's arm as he headed toward the door leading out of the holding cells. TJ tried to look back to the others; what would Adler do with them? What was Adler going to do with him?
Adler reached for the handle of the door, but before he could open it, someone beat him to it. Adler drew TJ close as the door open to reveal the worried parents.
"We heard some noise and thought we'd come . . ." Mr. Botsford had lead the group back to the holding cells. The gun shots had concerned them, as could be expected, but the sight of TJ at gun point concerned Tim more. "TJ!" Tim didn't know what the weapon could do, but that mattered very little to him as he rushed to the aid of his son, oblivious to Adler's new target.
o.
Tobey heaved a sigh. It felt disgusting outside. He was sweating despite WordGirl doing all the work, and he was tired of flying in the humidity while the super girl tried to remember where to go. In the short time he had spent on this planet, he had learned to hate it.
The boy genius sent his gaze up to WordGirl. She looked very focused, as if her mind was playing out a dramatic battle taking place just beyond his sight. Tobey felt slightly ashamed in light of this; in light of her.
It took WordGirl several minutes, but she was able to relocate the Lexiconian house and land swiftly in the garden.
"We need to hurry," WordGirl began running over the bridge to the front door but stopped short when she noticed the boy wasn't following. "Tobey Come on "
He opened his mouth, then quickly closed it, opting instead to wave WordGirl back to himself.
"Come on Tobey, we don't have all night. . ."
"I'm sorry."
Wait, what? Did her ears deceive her or did Tobey just apologize?
"What did you say?"
Tobey paused for a second before speaking again.
"I'm. . . sorry for what I said earlier, about leaving you with Lexicon and all. And . . . and Becky too."
WordGirl dropped her sight on the ground.
"Really, it's okay Tobey, I didn't . . ."
"I guess I was just too focused on myself," the boy sniffed. "I didn't understand that, you were dealing with, all this. I guess I was expecting you to . . . I was Becky's friend, and I . . ." Tobey couldn't hold back the sobs.
WordGirl couldn't understand what had set him off so. She knew he missed Becky, but there was no way she could have meant that much to him. They weren't even friends . . . perhaps this was something else. WordGirl didn't interrupt Tobey's crying, it quickly subsided on its own. The boy wiped the tears from his checks and turned from WordGirl's sight. WordGirl remained quiet for only a moment more.
"What's wrong?"
"Oh, like I'm telling you. . . Nothing's wrong let's get out of here." Tobey pushed WordGirl aside and began marching toward the door. If time would have permitted, WordGirl might have probed the boy further. But as it stood, there was no time to waste wondering Tobey's woes. Tobey wanted to apologize to her, and he had; over and done.
WordGirl felt a ping of guilt, however, for Tobey's sudden angst. He was hurting most likely because of Becky's disappearance. It hurt her to think that Todd was dead; it couldn't have been any easier for Tobey. Hopefully when they got home, Tobey could see that Becky was alright . . . hopefully she could have the same reassurance. WordGirl quickly shook off her remorse and ran ahead to the door.
WordGirl reach up for the bell rope, but Zephyr opened the door before she had a chance. The light from inside the house cast down on the two; the house bathing them in the coolness of its conditioning system. It was a welcomed relief from the muggy night air . . . now if only Zephyr would move so they could come in.
"I got Tobey, Zephyr, so we can go," WordGirl urged the adult to action, but he continued to stand there. WordGirl was a bit concerned. She remembered Grammy telling her not to mention Tobey to anyone for his safety, perhaps bring Tobey here was a mistake. As WordGirl's eyes adjusted to the light, Zephyr features became more noticeable. He was looking at Tobey with a, questionable look. WordGirl couldn't tell if he Zephyr was mad or just deep in thought. WordGirl could only guess that this was due to Tobey's bloodline. Hopefully Zephyr wasn't holding that against the boy. "Please Zephyr. We have to save the city." She urged the man.
"Right, right," Whatever was plague Zephyr removed itself long enough for the adult to stepped aside. "I have your, um, escape plan, on the computer."
The door was shut behind the two children as Zephyr made his way to the computer. WordGirl watched Tobey's eyes drift around the room. She couldn't help but wonder if Tobey's grandmother had hidden all the Britannican things from him as Zephyr had done for her. Her pondering would have to wait for the moment as Zephyr brought up a picture of the air dock she and Tobey had arrived at. WordGirl could see her ship; the way home.
WordGirl inwardly jumped with delight. So happy was she that she almost missed the frustrated look on the Zephyr's face. Zephyr seemed to be having trouble manipulating the holograms with his hand and thus had resulted to using a keyboard to try and place commands. WordGirl watched the shaking hands of the adult typing the keys. He looked entirely discomposed as he kept glancing over to Tobey and then back to his work. WordGirl couldn't understand it; here was the man that WordGirl, a superhero, had feared since her arrival, quaking at the mere sight of a scrawny boy; Tobey wore glasses for crying out loud. It was baffling how this man of great composure was so easily unsettled.
"Zephyr," WordGirl stepped closer to the man, Tobey didn't bother to follow. "Are you okay?"
"I'm fine, it's just . . ." Zephyr's whispers couldn't have gotten quieter, and yet he tried to lower his volume anyway. "This is a very, difficult moment for me."
"Look I know I wasn't suppose to bring Tobey here, but he didn't know about this stuff anymore than I did. He just wants to go home like me, please don't hold that against him just because he's from Britannica."
Zephyr put on a crooked smile, took a deep breath and focused on the screen. WordGirl couldn't have hoped for Zephyr to share his discomfort with her, but she was glad he was trying to get back to the task at hand. Though it was still a mystery to her why he had decided to send her home all of a sudden. Oh well, she was heading home!
"You're ship has been locked down at bay seven, it's not going to be too hard to get it or unhook it from the dock." Zephyr's words brought a little hope to the children. "However, getting the clearance needed to leave the planet will be a whole 'nother matter."
"You're talking about that dome over the city, aren't you?" WordGirl frowned. She could tell this was going to be a much harder process than Zephyr was making it sound.
"Yes, I am," Zephyr waved a hand thru the center image revealing a control tower of some kind; two teenagers working the tower. "Due to the planet's unstable atmosphere, the dome was set into place to help create a livable environment. Any interference with the dome will trigger the alarm in this tower. We'll be caught in no time if they find out."
"Can't we just knock them unconscious or something?" Tobey stepped in closer to see the problem Zephyr was explaining.
"As fun as that would be," Zephyr laughed a bit at the thought. "If we force our way out and damage the dome, we'll have knocked out the only two guys who can fix it. Not a good scenario for those of us left on Thesauria." Zephyr waved his hand through the image again, calling for the computer to bring up an image of the outside of the house.
To the trio's surprise, Meina, Tyesha and the carriage of the queen were pulling up.
"Blast it," Zephyr banged a fist down on the keyboard. "We have to get out of here now." He waved for the children to follow him as he made his way to the back of the house.
"But what are we going to do?" Tobey tailed after the man. "What's our plan!"
"We'll have to improv."
The house was inconveniently build close to the back fence. There was no gate to exit from the back of the garden, but with WordGirl's help it wouldn't matter. The heroine lifted the two males over the fence and placed them on the street behind the house.
"Come on this way," Zephyr ran to an ally across the street. "It's not going to take Tyesha long to remind them you can fly WordGirl, and Meina's going to head to the air dock anytime now."
"What are we going to do?" Tobey asked as Zephyr pushed him and WordGirl further into the darkness. "They're going to beat us to the ship."
"I could fly us there if you give me directions." WordGirl offered as the man sent a worried glance over his shoulders.
"That's perfect," Tobey beamed in response. "And I bet I could figure out the dome's opening system. You just get me in there and I'll work my magic."
"Yeah, and I'll have the ship ready for takeoff in no time; super speed is on the top of my superpowers list. What do you say Zephyr?"
"Shh or they'll hear you." The man's reprimand had taken the two unaware. Did he not approve of their plan?
"What's wrong with our idea, it's perfect," WordGirl couldn't help but get a bit angry. "You're going to mess up our escape if you waste any more time. Tell me how to get there."
"I can't, now quiet." Zephyr watched the back of the house waiting for someone to come looking for them.
"Why not, what's wrong with my idea. If we wait any longer . . ."
"I can't tell you how to get there because I don't know where it is. I hadn't fully read the maps before you got back."
"What do you mean," Tobey interjected. "You live here, don't you know your own city?"
"Shh," both Zephyr and WordGirl hushed the boy before the man answered. "This isn't my home planet; I'm here under house arrest. I haven't left that house since I was imprisoned there eight years ago."
"You mean, you've never left that house before?" The thought of someone being trapped inside their house for eight years was staggering to both youth.
"No, because of my crimes against . . . Lexicon, the queen only allowed me to live on the planet if I kept to this house." Zephyr lowered his head knowing that he was utterly useless to the children beside him.
WordGirl crossed her arms and leaned against one of the walls to think. There had to be a way, but the city was so strange to her and every building looked the same. It was a miracle she was even able to relocate Tobey. The whole city looked exactly the same! If only there was a way to read the signs.
"Can you read anything out here?" WordGirl glared to the unprepared adult.
"No, I only know English," Zephyr relaxed a bit when he realized no one was coming to look for them back here. "If I ever needed anything read to me I had one of my Thesaurian workers do it."
"So in other words," Tobey spat. "We're stuck on a planet none of us know how to communicate on, with no idea where to go, with a man who is a prisoner in his own home and my grandmother about to call the entire royal guard out to look for us; yeah things are sure looking better!"
Communicate? Listening to Tobey's rant gave WordGirl an idea.
"Wait a minute," WordGirl came between the two males and pulled out the communication device Nona had given her. "Maybe we could use this to help us."
"Perfect!" Zephyr snatched the device from WordGirl's hand; receiving a glare in return. "We can use this to look up maps; assuming the red flag hasn't been sent yet. Who'd you get this from?"
"Nona," WordGirl answered softly. "She told me to call her on it if I needed her, but if you can use it to get us home . . ."
"Don't worry, I'm on it," Zephyr activated the device and began waving through the images. "Being that Nona is the owner of this thing, she'll be altered of its use. Odds are she'll try calling you in a few minutes WordGirl, so be ready to lie if need be." Soon the schematics for the city were up and the small group was off.
Zephyr held Tobey while WordGirl held onto the man's shirt. It wasn't a very comfortable ride for the group, but it had gotten them to the air dock before Grammy Sweet Mum Mums and her associates. WordGirl landed next to her ship at dock seven. It was strange standing on the platform. The ship was set up on its backside, aiming it up toward a visible door in the dome. Zephyr watched the preoccupied faces of the children for just a moment more before looking around for the tower.
"Up there," the man's voice drew the two children's attention to the tower at the opposite end of the dock. "We have to get there and send clearance for the door to open. Once that's done we'll have to get you two out into space on a set course."
"Hmm," Tobey wasn't too thrilled with the idea of being way down there when the ship was taking off here. If he went to work on the tower controls, it would be cutting it almost too close to try and get back to the ship. Even with WordGirl's help, there was no way she could keep the ship on course if she was flying back to grab him. "Zeff, Zell, whatever your name is; if I set up the controls do you think you could manage them while we lift off?"
Zephyr smirked down at the boy.
"I'll have you know I'm an expert when it comes to computers. I'm certain I could figure the whole thing out myself . . ."
"I don't think you'll find that essential," a voice caused the group to turn in alarm; startling WordGirl into taking a defensive pose in front of her two companions. But fear quickly vanished when they saw the speaker; it was Nona. "Hiya, I was running some last minute checks over the ship when I was paged about my communicator being used. Good thing I waited around."
Even though Nona had never intestinally hurt WordGirl or Tobey, both children glared at the woman and remained on their guard. Her being there might just ruin any hope of their return.
"I figured you'd try to come back to the ship WordGirl, but Zephyr . . . what are you doing here?"
Zephyr bit his lower lip, no good enough excuse crossing his mind at the moment.
"Well I guess I'm standing on the precipice of a moral decision, aren't I?" Nona crossed her arms and waited for the three to scrap together a reason for their being there . . . but an explanation really wasn't needed.
"I guess honesty would be the best policy," Nona dropped her arms and looked back to the ship. "The queen ordered I be here, she said that the royal children were planning to runaway. So I'm guessing that's what this is." Nona stepped closer to the group but halted at Tobey's words.
"We're going home Nona. No amount of Lexinite is stopping us. I'm getting home."
The woman moved her gaze to the man standing behind the children. His gaze was still removed from hers as if dreaming about something . . . or reliving it.
"Tobey," Nona slowly looked back to the children. "I really don't want to have to take you two away from Mother Earth, but this is what's best for you. . ."
"What, being taken away from my mother to live on some planet that's just one political mistake away from being blown to bits!"
Nona gasped at Tobey's response. The boy realized that he had struck a chord in the adult and so continued.
"You know this planet isn't the best thing for these kids. They should be with their families. The dumb war you aliens are so mad over is eventually going to come here too. So if I have to be involved in war, at least let me fight for the planet I call home."
WordGirl nodded in agreement. Nona seemed confused.
"Please Nona," WordGirl urged. "You said you were just doing your job earlier which is to keep kids out of this war; well now you did it and Adler's still hurting my friends. So please fix it now. If you don't, lots more kids on Earth are going to be brought into this." WordGirl thrust her hand back toward the adultness city, where kids were thieving to make a living and loneliness was among a host of problems.
WordGirl knew she was guilt tripping the woman, but if it got her home . . . WordGirl just had to get home; no matter the cost when she got there.
"Please."
"I can't." Nona clenched her fists.
"Why not?" Tobey could hardly keep his temper in check.
"Because I'd . . ."
"Be committing treason," Zephyr finished the statement for the woman. "And capital punishment isn't what you're hoping for in a future, is it?"
Nona sighed. She lowered her head.
"I became a CRA thinking I'd be making a difference, but every child I've brought here . . . their faces haunt me. I never liked ripping families apart but . . ."
"You're told 'there's no other way;' that 'Lexicon and Britannica will never stop fighting so do what you can to rescue innocents.'" Zephyr smiled sadly at the thought; the other's around him could tell this was a personal experience for him.
"How do you know?" Nona finally asked. Tobey and WordGirl looked to the man. He was thinking deeply on how to answer, but then shook his head.
"Look, there isn't time to reminisce. We respect that you're Thesaurian and that you can't go against the queen, but . . ." Sigh. "I promise I'll get you out of it." Nona gave the man a skeptical look; one read as trying to see his bluff. "I swear upon the Enkyklios Paideia you will be acquitted of any crime against queen or planet."
Nona's eyes grew wide as if she had seen a ghost. Tobey looked to WordGirl who only shrugged back at him. She had no idea what that was about, but it looked like Nona was convinced by it.
"You kids hurry into the ship. I'll head to the tower and get you the clearance you need." Nona began running down the dock until WordGirl called back to her.
"How are we suppose to unlock the ship from the dock!"
"I think the pilot of the ship should be able to help you with that!" Nona waved as she went running again.
WordGirl thought about the words for a moment, and then it hit her. Huggy! Captain HuggyFace must be on the ship! Oh what a relief to know she wouldn't have to leave her best friend behind.
"Come on!" WordGirl flew several feet off the ground. "What are we waiting for!"
"For you to stop flapping your gums," Tobey frowned and pointed back down the dock. "Look."
Marching up the dock were some thirty, maybe forty men. Most looked to be still teenagers, but they all looked capable of handling their own in battle. WordGirl immediately took concern for her companions.
"Tobey," she called flying over to the ship and opening the futuristic door. "Get inside and order Huggy to get the ship ready for takeoff."
"But . . ."
"Do It!" WordGirl didn't allow the boy to protest. Tobey was picked up and tossed into the ship before he could voice his concerns. WordGirl then looked back to Zephyr. "Please come with us."
"I already told you . . ."
"I-know-I-know, but you said it yourself. You've broken the law by leaving your house. There's no way Grammy isn't going to punish you for that."
"She couldn't do it when I was five, I'm certain she couldn't do it now."
"What? What are you talking about?"
"Nothing. Get in that ship, I have to take care of Nona like I promised. I'll be fine. Adler isn't going to let up until you stop him; he's at the police station." Zephyr smiled warmly at the girl before adding. "And take care of Tobey. If anyone finds out about him . . .I don't even want to think about it. I wish there was more I could do for both of you, but I'm certain I can trust you in God's hands, now go!" Zephyr smiled brightly as he tossed the communication device back to WordGirl and took off down the dock in pursuit of Nona.
WordGirl couldn't help but wonder if she'd ever see those two again . . . later! She could worry about that later. WordGirl entered her ship and the door closed behind her. In a matter of seconds the Thesaurian army would be at her door . . . WordGirl then thought back over her stay in space. Zephyr and Nona were able to simply bark out commands and the technology did all in its power to follow. Hmm . . .
"Uh, ship? I command you to, put up a shield or something to keep the army from attacking us." As soon as WordGirl stopped speaking the walls to her ship began to hum. WordGirl couldn't see what was happening outside at the moment, but the fact that the door remained closed was proof enough her plan had worked. WordGirl then made her way back to the computer room.
It seemed strange. Usually she felt so at home in her hideout, but now it only reminded her of how far away from home she really was. But that didn't matter; stopping Adler was what she needed to keep her mind on, that and getting off this planet. Why hadn't Huggy started up the ship yet?
WordGirl entered the computer room to find that Tobey was auguring with Huggy at the controls. The monkey hadn't even lifted the controls up to the ships cab yet; why were they goofing off when time was running out? WordGirl had the mind to stomp over there and chew both of them out, but then her foot struck a familiar object.
"Look monkey," Tobey tried to grab the controls from the pilot. "If you want to be a traitor to Earth, that's your business, but let us go home!"
"I have my orders from the queen that you two are to stay here. This is what's best!" Huggy pulled back on the controller. "You'll just end up lost anyway!"
"At least I can say I'm not a back-stabbing, Thesauria hugging, time wasting, banana loving . . !"
"Hey, I don't talk about your favorite foods like that!"
The controls were quickly released as Todd's hat was dropped between the two fighters. WordGirl stood motionless for a second and received the full attention of both boy and monkey. They all knew the intensity of this moment, understanding WordGirl's distress for the hat's owner. End even Tobey was hit with the fear that Becky might have befallen the same fate.
"We're not losing anybody else Huggy."
Pause.
The ship suddenly lunged forward. The three occupants were all knocked to the floor. Huggy was the first to climb back up into his seat, Tobey and WordGirl had to untangle themselves first.
"Get off of me Tobey!" WordGirl pushed the boy off her middle and hovered up over him and the monkey. "What's happening Huggy?"
"The computer reads an attack on the ship's force field."
Tobey rose from the floor slightly dizzy from his fall. He looked up to the screen as Huggy changed the view to the soldiers outside. The men were shooting at the ship with what appeared to be ray guns.
"We should probably, I don't know, leave now!"
"Okay," Huggy sighed, much to the children's delight that he wasn't going to fight them again. "Buckle up."
There were only two seats in front of the master computers to which Huggy had one. WordGirl motioned for Tobey to take the seat as she grabbed hold of the back of Huggy's. Tobey followed her instructions and strapped himself in. The captain began flipping switches and soon the plat form the computer rested on began to rise. Soon the three were hoisted up to the windshield of the ship. They could see out to the dome's door, unfortunately it was still shut.
"What's taking that woman so long?" Tobey growled.
"Does he mean Nona?" Huggy looked to WordGirl.
"Nona went to open the door for us," WordGirl could see the monkey's sadder disposition. "Zephyr's helping her though, so she'll be okay." WordGirl didn't know to what extent Huggy considered Nona a friend. WordGirl knew that her monkey sidekick had worked with Nona long before he met her, and that Huggy probably felt a bit of loyalty to the woman. This thought made WordGirl feel ill; not in that she wished Huggy never made friends outside of her, but that Huggy might possibly love Lexicon, Thesauria and Nona more than her. . .
"Hey! The door!" Tobey's cheers brought WordGirl out of her thoughts. "It's opening!" Indeed it was, slowly.
"Well it better hurry," Huggy pressed a few more buttons. The windshield became like a computer screen; faint enough to be seen thru, but data and other images were still visible. "The queen is ordering her men into ships!"
This couldn't be good. WordGirl wasn't certain what her ship could and couldn't do, but one thing was for sure: if those ships attacked hers, theirs would win.
"Huggy, go for it!" WordGirl pointed dramatically at the door.
"The openings too small, we're not gonna fit?"
"With any luck they won't fit," WordGirl glared at the screen. "Just go for it. Nona will shut it once we're out and they won't be able to follow us. But if you wait, they'll come out too."
Huggy hated this, he didn't want to do this . . . but what the heck, you only live once. The Lexiconian ship pulled forward, breaking loose of the dock. Huggy did his best to hold the ship steady. His fears that the door wouldn't open enough in time quickly becoming true. The ship was speeding up, but the door just wasn't opening fast enough.
"Come on . . ." WordGirl spoke as if the door would hear and comply.
Everyone in the cab held their breath, in fact it felt as if there was no air left in the cab at all. The moment came and it was perfectly clear that the ship couldn't pass it. Huggy released the controls to cover his eyes while WordGirl nearly torn the chair from its foundation in her dread.
Tobey wasted no time in grabbing the abandoned steering controls and tilted the ship to its side. Regardless of his efforts, the ship's top and bottom could be heard scrapping against the unopened door. That noise was the most horrible thing the trio had ever hear. All three occupants were jerked around violently as the ship's alarms began to sound. They had made it out of the dome, but there was no telling if their ship had survived the impact.
"That always worked in movies." Tobey corrected his glasses and looked to the screen.
"Well, we're not in a movie are we?" Huggy glared at the boy as he tried to situate himself more comfortably in the chair. He had almost slipped out of the safety belt and up into the glass.
"No, It's worse," WordGirl groaned. "It feels like we're in a fanfiction; one of TJ's too." WordGirl wished she would have been seated; it felt like she had hit her head on something during the collision. "Is anyone following us?"
"I don't think so," Huggy breathed. "I think Nona would have shut the door."
"Why is the alarm going off? Give me a damage report."
"Well, the powers still on so . . ."
The ship suddenly plunged into darkness and silence; the engines shutting off.
"Great, now we're sitting ducks." WordGirl lightly smacked her forehead. "This was such a stupid idea, what was I thinking?"
"You can beat yourself up later," Tobey heaved a sigh. "What are we going to do? They'll have that door open in no time if we keep sitting here."
WordGirl didn't respond to Tobey. What could be done? They had to get back to Earth; she couldn't allow all of this to take her away from Earth, the Botsfords, the city. No, nothing, Nothing was going to stop her. She was WordGirl, but before that she was Becky and she had an obligation to her city.
"Tobey?" WordGirl tried to face the boy, but she couldn't be too sure of his position in the darkness. "Do you think you can fix the ship?"
"In this lighting? I can't see my hand in front of my face let alone the inner workings of a spaceship."
"We don't have time for your sarcasm Tobey; if I get you a flashlight or something, can you fix it?"
"He has to," Huggy interjected, a hint of fear in his voice. "Without power the ship won't create oxygen."
Both youth swallowed hard at the thought. WordGirl knew she'd be fine, but Huggy and Tobey didn't stand a chance if they didn't get the ship up and running again. Odds were they only had a few minutes before the remain oxygen slipped out. What was worse was that Grammy was probably ordering the door back open by now. So think . . . where could she get a light source? The communicator! WordGirl fumbled around in the pockets of her cape and suit, but her hand hit nothing. It must have fallen out when the ship hit the door.
"Well," Tobey asked as confidently as possible. "Do you have a flashlight or something?"
"On me, no. But I'm sure something in here lights up," WordGirl glanced around the darkness. There did seem to be some light coming from under the steering controls. Whatever it was must have been knocked to the floor as well during the collision. "Hold on. I see something." WordGirl knelt down and reached for the faint red light. Her fingers brushed the tip of it and she knew it was Todd's hat.
Why, would that glow? WordGirl pulled the hat out and rose back to her feet. Giving the light source a better look; it was some kind of mechanical . . . bug. Todd had been bugged, that's how Adler knew when to kidnap him. WordGirl's breathing sharpened a bit.
Even if she hadn't left him, Todd would have been snatched up sooner or later; it wasn't her fault he was taken at all. WordGirl narrowed her eyes. If Adler wanted to play this dirty, well so could she.
"Tobey would this be enough light?" WordGirl handed the hat over to the boy genius. He took it from her and began to examine it.
"If you take off this colored lens," Tobey proceeded to do so. "Then it won't be red anymore and the light will be brighter. Perfect. If you can get me to the engine room, I know I can fix it."
"On it. I know this ship like the back of my hand." WordGirl reached out and, flailing around, finally took hold of Tobey. She raced him out of the cab and down into the space below. She had to slow her pace just a bit, but she could remember every turn perfectly. They were in the engine room in not time. There were a few faint lights still blinking on the equipment, but the hat-flashlight was still going to be quite a help.
Tobey glanced over the room with shocked awe. The equipment running the ship look simple enough, but . . . it wasn't arranged in a way that looked familiar to the boy. Tobey knelt down beside one of the gears. He ran his hand over the smooth widgets and noticed that they were rounded off with a thin, odorless oil smeared over them. Tobey shined as much light on them as possible . . . yet nothing looked out of place to him, or maybe he just couldn't tell.
"I can't see what's wrong," Tobey frantically sent his gaze around the gears. "Do you have a manual or anything?"
"If we did I'm sure Huggy would have fixed the ship years ago," WordGirl was beginning to panic. "We're not going to have enough time for you to figure this out."
"Well, we're going to have to make time," Tobey snorted out of frustration. "You heard the monkey, no engine no air."
"Yeah, but your grandmother isn't going to hold off any longer." WordGirl began pacing as Tobey continued to tinker. She bit her lower lip trying to keep her anxiety from getting out of hand. . .
An air chamber had opened. WordGirl turned her head toward the direction of Thesauria. The dome had been opened again and surely the soldiers were coming after them in ships.
"They're coming," WordGirl hovered off the ground and went for the hall.
"Wait," Tobey rose to his feet to try and follow her out. "You can't possibly be thinking about fighting them are you?"
"Of course not," WordGirl took off down the hall calling back to Tobey. "I'm going to push the ship home, so buckle up!"
Tobey's mouth hung ajar for a moment. She wasn't serious was she? The ship jerked around a bit and Tobey was almost knocked to his bottom. Okay, she was serious. Tobey abandoned the engine room and crawled out into the hall. There was no way he could hope to find his way back to the control room, so he'd have to ride it out where he was.
"I hope you know what you're doing." Tobey couldn't help the fear building up in him. He knew the ride to Thesauria ad taken them a whole night . . . he wasn't certain he could hold his breath that long.
WordGirl was pressing herself against the back of her ship. She was giving it her all. Thanks to there being no friction in space, she was having little trouble getting the ship to move. If she were able to get up to the speed of sound she could have the ship back on Earth before the air was-
Bang. A laser had been fired right beside her. Because killing me will help them get their princess back, WordGirl fumed to herself, but kept her attention focused on the task at hand. The ship was picking up more speed, but so were the Thesaurian crafts. . . If they caught up to her they would discover Tobey and most likely lock her up in a place she'd never be able to escape from. She couldn't let them catch up. . . she needed more speed to get away, as well as to keep Huggy and Tobey alive. Well . . . if ever she needed super speed . . .
(A/N) This story has been fun to write and it is the most extensive piece of fiction I've ever written, at this point in my life. I started it two years ago today, and the next chapter is the last. I hope everyone enjoyed reading the story. Feel free to review, point out mistakes, leave constructive criticism.