"Wordgirl, me?" Becky asked nervously "I'm sorry, but I think you've…"

"Don't bother trying to hide it, I know you're her!" Helen said angrily "when were you planning on telling me, huh? Or do you lie to all your friends?"

"Look, I'm not WordGirl."

"Stop lying," Helen told her.

Becky looked down and sighed "what was it that gave me away? The fact that my face & voice are exactly the same?"

"Actually, it was that you're the only kid in town I know who has a monkey," Helen explained "although I'm surprised no one noticed that face & voice thing."

"Also, you smell like ham," Martha added.

"I'm sorry, what?"

"I knew I smelled ham, even after we left the crime scene, but I couldn't figure out why," Martha explained "at first, I thought it was because I was hungry for some. But then, I realized the scent was coming from someone close by; so, I sniffed your clothes and they were covered with the scent of that delicious meat."

"Which means you must have been under the pile of ham, just like WordGirl was," Helen added "that's the only way you could've gotten the ham smell on your clothes."

"Wow, you dogs are good."

"I can't believe you lied to me!" Helen interrupted "I let you stay in my house while you're in town, and this is how you repay me? Did your family even move here? Do you even have a family? How much of what you told me is the truth?"

"Okay, yes, I didn't move here," Becky said "and yes, I didn't tell you I was WordGirl; but if I said 'oh, by the way, I'm a superhero from out of town who's here to capture a villain that shoots meat from his hands', would you have believed me?"

"I guess not," Helen replied "but how did all this start?"

"Well, it all began many years ago on a distant planet called Lexicon…"

"No, I mean all this stuff with the Butcher."

"Oh right," Becky replied "the Butcher is one of my enemies from where I live. He's come here to plunder your town to his heart's content, but I'm not going to let him."

"Plunder?" Martha asked.

"Plunder; it means to rob or steal by force," Becky explained "if someone plunders something, it means they take it from you by excessive means."

"Let us help you," Helen said.

"I appreciate it, but it's too dangerous," Becky told her.

"Look, Martha and I know Wagstaff city inside & out," Helen told her "if you want to find where the Butcher's hiding, we're the ones who can help."

"Plus we have some experience dealing with criminals," Martha added "I was the one who helped put Louie Kablooie and Jimmy "Gimmie" Moore in prison, and I did help capture those spies that were trying to steal Granny's soup recipe."

"Okay, I don't know what any of that means, but maybe you can be of help to me," Becky said "but you have to promise me you won't tell anyone else about my secret identity. If word got out, it could severely hinder my ability to do my job."

"Okay, but I don't feel right lying to my parents," Helen told her.

"I'm not exactly thrilled about it either," Becky added "but it comes with the territory."

Soon the four were sitting in Helen's living room, looking over a map of Wagstaff City.

"There are a number of places the Butcher could be hiding," Becky lamented "it could take a while for me to check all of them."

"That's what you've got us for," Helen told her "Martha and I would be glad to search a few potential hiding spots for you."

"We would?" Martha asked.

"All right, but if you find the Butcher, don't confront him, he's very dangerous."

"He shoots meat from his hands, how dangerous can he be?"

"Don't underestimate him," Becky warned "anyway, I think we'll check out this Flea Island place first. It's not where the Butcher would typically be, but then he's not where I thought he'd typically be anyway. Time to get a move on, we need…oh man, it's time for Pretty Princess and Magic Pony Power Hour!"

"The what?" Helen & Martha both asked.

"Um, we can search later, my show's on," Becky said, as Bob groaned. Becky ignored him and plopped on the couch, then flipped through the channels until she found her favorite program "ahh, there it is."

"Oh Magic Pony, we must stop Count Cloudy from ruining the annual rose festival," Pretty Princess said.

"You actually watch this?" Helen wondered.

"Shh, not during the show" Becky said.

"We interrupt the Pretty Princess and Magical Pony Power Hour for a special bulletin," came a voice from the TV.

"Oh come on!" Becky yelled "what could possibly be so important that it has to…"

"Does Wagstaff City have its' own superhero?" asked a female voice from the TV.

"Uh-oh," Becky said nervously.

"Earlier today, a young girl calling herself 'WordGirl' battled a butcher who could apparently control meat to come from his hands," said the reporter "while many think it was all a publicity stunt for a new TV show, others believe a genuine superhero may have come to visit us. Of course, such things are nonsense. We now return you to your pretty princess and pony program."

"Oh this is just perfect!" Becky said.

"Don't worry, it's like they said, most people probably think it was part of some TV series," Helen told her "I'm sure this won't be a problem."

"You're right," Becky replied "I just need to… hold on, show's back on."

Later that day, Alice came over to visit, so the girls sat down to play a board game; Becky had decided to suspend the search for the Butcher until she could narrow down his location. And, truth be told, she was really enjoying her time in Wagstaff City.

It's really too bad I have to go home once this is over, she thought everyone here is so nice, and they know almost as many words as I do. I know it seems weird for me to say this, but I hope I don't catch the Butcher for a while.

"So did you guys see that thing on the news about WordGirl?" Alice asked, rousing Becky from her thoughts.

"Yeah, weird right?" Helen replied, glancing over to see how Becky was reacting.

"Well, you and I were both there, we saw what happened," Alice said "I know it was most likely for a show, but I wish there really was a superhero in town. Wouldn't that be neat?"

"I guess, but I think if there was a hero, she'd probably want her privacy," Helen told her "maybe she's very secretive about her identity and wouldn't want people to bother her."

"Yeah, good point," Alice admitted "okay, your move."

"Helen, did you see the news today?"

This question was asked by a girl who had just entered the room while the others were playing. Becky noticed she had black curly hair, a pink t-shirt and shoes and a blue skirt with white flowers on the hem. The girl also had the same dark skin as Helen's mother & brother.

"Oh hi Carolina, when did you get here?" Helen asked.

"En este momento; just now," Carolina replied "did you watch the news today?"

"Some of it, why?"

"There was a report that our city may have un superheroe; a superhero," Carolina told her.

"I'm pretty sure that wasn't real," Helen replied.

"Even so, it's big news and I want to cover it for my paper," Carolina told her, before noticing Becky "who's the new girl?"

"Oh I'm sorry, this is Becky Botsford," Helen began "Becky, this is my cousin, Carolina."

"Nice to meet you," Becky said, shaking the girl's hand.

"Likewise," Carolina replied "so cuz, are your going to help me with my story?"

"I'm sorry, but I'm kind of busy here," Helen told her "personally, I don't think there's anything to this story; you should just drop it."

"No way! A reporter never gives up when they smell a good story, and this one smells like a winner!" Carolina said, determined "well, if you won't help me, I'll just get TD to do it; he loves stuff like this. Adios" she added, as she walked out.

"You think she's gonna find anything?" Alice asked.

"I doubt it," Helen told her "but you know how stubborn Carolina can be."

"Plus the whole thing is incredibly silly," Becky added nervously "I mean, a superhero and a guy that shoots meat? Pretty farfetched if you ask me; yeah, no way anything like that could ever be true, nope, no possible way."

"Okay Becky, I think you made your point," Helen told her.

Later in the day, after Alice went home, Becky, Helen and their pets gathered in the kitchen to discuss their next move.

"It's way too late in the day to head to Flea Island now," Helen told Becky as she dug through the cabinets "we'll have to go first thing tomorrow," she added, producing a can of alphabet soup.

"It might just be better to let the Butcher make the next move," Becky countered. Bob responded by chattering something at her.

"I don't like it either Bob, but it would take us too long to search everywhere, even with extra help," Becky told him "better that we wait for the Butcher to strike again, then either stop him, or follow him back to wherever he's hiding and stop his crime spree for good."

"If you feel that's the right choice," Helen said, as she used the can opener on a can of soup "you are the expert here."

"Are we having soup for dinner?" Becky asked.

"Oh no, that's just for Martha," Helen told her, pouring the contents of the can in Martha's bowl.

"You feed your dog soup?"

"That's what makes her talk," Helen explained "we're not exactly sure why it does, but it just does."

"No offense, but that is the silliest thing I've ever heard," Becky replied.

"Sillier than a word defining superhero from another planet with a monkey sidekick?"

"Touché."

In the next chapter, our heroes begin to zero in on the Butcher, but can they stop him before he robs again?