Okay, this is a relatively long chapter, so...

Enjoy!

When Becky woke up, she was still very tired. She didn't open her eyes, but instead pulled her blankets closer around herself in a warm cocoon, covering her head. She wasn't ready to wake up yet—she was absolutely exhausted. How had she gotten this tired?

"Are you awake?" a soft voice asked. It was muffled through her closed door. Funny, she didn't remember shutting it.

"I'll be up in a bit, just give me ten more minutes…" Becky mumbled with a sigh, curling up tighter inside her nice little cocoon of warmth.

"You are awake!" her mother's voice called again. "Wake up!"

But was it her mother's voice? Maybe it was her dad's voice, or even TJ's, but it didn't seem quite right for any of them. And, ugh, why was she so tired? What had she been doing last night? Wait…what had she been doing? Becky tried to think back, but someone was suddenly shaking her, trying to get her to wake up.

"Are you alright?" the person asked urgently, their voice still muffled with her head stuffed into the bedding.

Becky froze. That voice…that accent…

"TOBEY‽" she shrieked, leaping out of the bed in surprise. When Becky realized that she was hovering, she immediately dropped to the ground in a poor attempt to save her secret identity. Becky stumbled over the blanket she had wrapped herself in—which was now gathered around her legs—realized with a mix of relief and fear that she was still dressed as WordGirl, and leaped back into the air again.

Tobey had fallen backward in surprise when she had bolted into the air, watching her yo-yo between flight and standing, and was picking himself back up. As they each recovered from shock, Becky—WordGirl, at the moment—suddenly remembered what had happened; she had collapsed after her encounter with the lexonite, with Tobey at her side. WordGirl scanned the room only to find that it must've been Tobey's bedroom. WordGirl crossed her arms self-consciously—how long had she been here? And, not to mention, in Tobey's bed?

Tobey cleared his throat.

"Um, you were unconscious," he explained meekly. "And hurt, so…I brought you here?"

It all came rushing back: the Help Guy's panicking, the Bio-Dome and how Tobey had built it for her—Becky, not WordGirl—the playground being in danger, the meteorite of lexonite…her pleading for Tobey to help her…

"How long was I out?" WordGirl asked quietly after a few moments.

"Only about fifteen minutes."

Fifteen minutes. That was fifteen minutes she was out cold—her secret identity left vulnerable to the world—all the while being accompanied by Tobey, who had tried on many different occasions to discover WordGirl's alter ego. Fifteen minutes that she was totally at his mercy, where it would only take a second to unmask her and realize that she was none other than Becky Botsford.

So. There was one big question hanging in the air. WordGirl sank to the ground nimbly, hoping to diffuse some of the tension, yet only feeling it grow. She shifted uncomfortably, tucking a stray lock of hair behind her ear before mustering enough courage to ask the pressing question. "Um… Did you…?"

"No!" Tobey replied instantly, his eyes widening. "I wanted to—you have no idea how tempting it was—but I felt that it was a bit unfair…and devious, sneaky; you know, and…since I've turned my back on my villainous ways… No, I didn't."

WordGirl felt a huge rush of relief, and she let out a breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding. Unable to help herself, she rushed forward and wrapped her arms around Tobey. If it weren't WordGirl's ability to fly, the force of her hug would've bowled them both over.

"Thank you, Tobey," she whispered. Tobey's face was red when she released him. She sent him a dazzling smile, and then in a blazing trail of light, WordGirl picked up the fallen blankets, re-made Tobey's bed, straightened a picture frame she had knocked when she first woke up, and flew out the window. "For everything."

Tobey blinked. WordGirl had left his room in a much better condition than she had arrived in. He had been anticipating a much worse reaction from the heroine. It had all been a very…interesting encounter, to say the least, but Tobey could only think one thing as he watched WordGirl's trail of light disappear from view:

"I have no idea what just happened."

Becky flew home in silence, unable to believe that after all that had happened that afternoon, it wasn't even four o'clock yet.

She landed silently in her backyard, turned back into Becky Botsford behind a tree, and walked inside. TJ was already stationed on the couch, stuffing handfuls of pretzels into his mouth as he stared intently at the TV. I guess that meant no Pretty Princess today… Becky knew that she was too old for kids' shows, but Pretty Princess was a guilty pleasure of hers, even if her brother had finally outgrown it.

Becky checked the time; her mom wouldn't be back from work for a few hours, and a note on the table told her that Dad was out shopping for "cheesecake-scented shoe polish, a snazzy new tie, and more bananas…again…". Really, all Becky wanted to do was sleep, even though she knew she should probably at least wait until after dinner. But that encounter with lexonite had really taken a lot out of her.

She hauled herself up the stairs, lugging her backpack behind her; she'd nearly forgotten to stop back at the park to pick it up on her way home from Tobey's house. Carrying her bag up the stairs was a real chore. After her exposure to lexonite, Becky was much weaker, and although she was able to fly without much of a problem, her other superpowers hadn't seemed to fully recharge yet. Geez, she didn't remember lexonite having this much of a lingering effect on her before. She'd have to tell Bob all about today's events—that is, if he was home.

Captain Huggy Face didn't fight with WordGirl much nowadays. He wasn't old yet—only about 27 in Earth years—but he wasn't as young as he used to be, either. The pains of battle hit him harder and stayed longer, more often than not. Lately, he'd been spending a lot of time out at their spaceship hideout, trying to get the ship back into working order. It was harder for him here. Becky had never lived on Lexicon, so she had nothing to want to go back to, nothing to miss. But Bob—his whole life had been there. His family and friends. At this point he'd spent over half of his life on Earth, but Bob was homesick—Becky could tell. She would teasingly call Bob's behavior his "midlife crisis", but she worried about him. Becky just hoped that he would be able to get through this rough spot and enjoy life again, like he used to.

When Becky reached her room, she dropped her backpack on the floor and fell forward onto her bed. There was no sign of Bob, so she decided she would just take a nap. She was drained. Becky reached over to her nightstand and felt around for her backup communicator, rolling into a more comfortable position. It was like a walkie-talkie, but with way more features and a much bigger contact radius.

Just as she was about to use it to talk to Bob, she stopped, studying the small, handy device. It had been a gift from Tobey. He had given it to WordGirl a couple years ago in an apology for all the trouble he had caused when he was younger. She, of course, had had it scanned for bugs, and never gave away any personal information across the communicator, just in case Tobey could listen in—like with that stupid pen in fifth grade. So far it had been extremely handy, and it just made her think more about how much Tobey had changed.

"WordGirl to Huggy, are you there Huggy?" Becky called over the walkie-talkie.

After waiting several moments, her communicator came to life as she heard her sidekick's familiar squeak through the crackling speaker.

"I thought so. Something big happened today, Huggy—"

An alarmed screech interrupted her message.

"No, I'm fine, nothing really…bad happened, I just wanted to talk to you about it."

Bob answered with a series of squeaks.

"Later's fine, I was going to take a nap anyway… Huggy, I'm exhausted."

He chattered back at her.

"I'll tell you all about it later—just keep an eye out for any villains and wake me if there's trouble, okay?"

Bob let out a short chirp.

"'Kay, thanks, Huggy. See you later. Don't stay too late."

He replied with a trill of chatter and finished off with a squeal.

"Aww, you too, buddy. Over and out."

She set the communicator back on her nightstand, behind a picture of her and Violet, and settled into her bed. She didn't even bother to get under the blankets—she was far too tired for that. Becky just situated herself comfortably and closed her eyes, starting to feel herself drift off immediately.

«Well, your day's been pretty eventful. »

Becky groaned and covered her head with her pillow. Come on! She just wanted to sleep! Was that too much to ask?

«Okay, okay, I get the hint. Sleep tight! »

«The next day, as Becky Botsford finally wakes up after a showdown with a meteorite of lexonite—»

"No, we're not starting this," Becky interrupted groggily, rubbing sleep from her eyes. Then she froze, finally processing what he had said, and bolted upright. "Wait, what? "The next day"? I slept all night?"

«You sure did. Captain Huggy Face was worried about you. »

"Oh, great. Where is he?"

«He's downstairs getting breakfast. »

"Okay, thanks," she replied, realizing as she threw off her blankets that someone had thoughtfully covered her up in the night.

«Don't mind having me narrate now, do ya? »

Becky ignored the Narrator's snide comment and hurried downstairs to meet her family. The lovely smell of pancakes wafted up the stairs, and her mouth watered when she saw her family at a table stacked with pancakes, bacon, a bowl of fruit, and maple syrup and butter. Oh dear lord, that smells delicious!

"Becky!" her mother sang happily. "Glad to see you're up!"

Bob squeaked a warm welcome through a mouthful of food.

"Yeah, someone slept all day yesterday," TJ commented dryly, before shoveling more pancakes into his mouth.

"Oh, TJ, it was hardly all day," their father corrected, smiling at his daughter. "And boy, Becky, were you tuckered out! I tried to wake you when I got home—to show you my new snazzy light-up tie—but you were totally out! Wow!"

"Yeah, I guess I was pretty tired," Becky confessed. "Sorry I slept so long…I didn't mean to miss dinner."

"Nah, it's no bother. Now you have more energy for today: Saturday!" her dad cheered.

Becky grabbed a plate and sat down at the table, stacking food on her plate while her parents talked about taking TJ to his baseball game or something. Bob nudged her curiously and shrugged—he wanted to know what had happened yesterday.

"Later, Bob," Becky answered before taking a large bite of breakfast. "I'll tell you on the way to the park. I told Violet I'd meet her there today."

Bob gave a satisfied chirp, and dug into his food again.

«Later, when Becky is on her way to the park to meet up with her best friend, Violet…»

Becky rolled her eyes, unwilling to pick a fight with the Narrator today. Bob shook his fist toward the sky with a series of angry screeches, knowing that having her life narrated bothered Becky.

She had just told him everything that had happened the day before, and now the duo walked in silence, just thinking. Bob was contemplating Becky's severe reaction to the lexonite, while Becky's thoughts had wandered to Tobey. She had been kind of pushing those thoughts away since last night, but her explanation for Bob had brought it all back to the surface. That creation Tobey had made…was to impress her? And not WordGirl this time, but her—Becky Botsford? To make a project that she would love? And then, how she'd been in his room—unconscious—and he hadn't tried to take advantage of her vulnerability and find out her secret identity. That was very big of him. She felt something toward him now…a newfound respect, and utter gratefulness.

"Becky!"

Violet's call jerked Becky from her thoughts, and she smiled as her friend ran to catch up to her.

"Hi, Violet! Whatcha got there?" Becky asked curiously, seeing something sparkle from within Violet's grasp.

"Here, Becky, I made this for you," Violet began excitedly. She held up a necklace and used her other hand to reach for a matching one around her neck. "See? I made us friendship necklaces! They match and everything!"

Violet handed Becky the necklace happily. It was made from shimmery pink, blue, and yellow cords knotted artfully together, with a beautiful yellow, crystalline stone hanging from the center of the necklace. The crystal in particular caught Becky's attention. The sunlight danced off the faceted sides of the drop-shaped stone, making it glimmer from within and shine brightly.

"Oh, Violet, it's beautiful!" Becky praised, admiring the gift.

"I found these in the park," Violet explained softly, pointing to the yellow crystals on the necklaces, "and they just looked so pretty, and sparkly, and magical, and I wished you could be there with me to see them!"

"Wow, Violet…well I'm honored! Would you help me put it on?"

"Sure, Becky! I'm so glad you like it!"

When Violet fastened the necklace around her neck, Becky just felt lighter and happier. Being with her best friend filled her with a new energy, and the trio skipped off toward the park to the tune of "We're Off to See the Wizard". Bob had fun chasing the girls around, pretending to be an evil flying monkey, until they reached the park, where Violet set up her painting materials and Becky started to write and doodle in a notebook. They spent the afternoon that way, while Bob wandered between climbing trees, checking out WordGirl's "ground zero" from the day before, and returning to the spaceship to make repairs.

Becky just enjoyed the perfect day in the company of her best friend. They didn't do all that much talking—each too enthralled in their own activity to be very conversational—but they didn't need to say anything at all. It was a lovely, sunny, warm, and absolutely beautiful day, and just hanging out together was the perfect way to spend it.

Luckily, Becky was able to make it most of the afternoon without having to dash off as WordGirl. The sky was just starting to turn gold with the start of a sunset when her super-hearing picked up the sound of an alarm going off downtown. Becky packed up her notebook with a sigh, and explained to Violet that her mother had just sent her a text saying that she had to come home. Violet completely understood, and waved goodbye before continuing to paint a sunset "in action".

When Becky was sure her friend could no longer see her, she tapped her chest and said "Word up!" and took off toward the grocery store. As she approached the store, she saw a huge rock come crashing through the grocery store's front window…from the inside. She groaned. It must be that new "Rock Tossing Guy", or something absurd like that. This villain pulled rocks out of nowhere, and was as enthusiastic as the Whammer used to be.

Seriously, she could not figure out where this guy got his ammo. The rocks and boulders didn't just appear from his fingertips, like with the Butcher's meat. It was like the Rock Tossing Guy just reached behind him and always pulled out a rock. No matter where he was. It made absolutely no sense. WordGirl flinched as she landed in front of the store; dealing with this guy usually hurt.

"Stop right there, Rock Tossing Guy!" she announced as she burst through the doors. The villain—clad in a horrendous combination of a grey camo tee, awkwardly tan khaki pants that nearly blended in with his awkwardly tanned skin, tall black socks worn with tattered blue-grey sandals, and a purple-, blue-, and yellow-striped beanie—turned to face the heroine with a big, crooked smile on his face, and an even bigger rock in hand.

"Hey, WordGirl!" he shouted a greeting. "Glad you could make it! But as I keep telling you, my name aren't "Rock Tossing Guy", it's Chunk of Rock Tossing Guy!"

"You're name isn't," WordGirl corrected through clenched teeth. This guy was really annoying. He didn't just mess up words; he messed up grammar.

"Yeah, yeah. You're quite the stickler for grammar, isn't you?"

"Aren't!" WordGirl exclaimed, launching a flying kick at Chunk of Rock Tossing Guy.

He intercepted her by, well, tossing the chunk of rock. She dodged it easily. However the next rock he tossed made her dodge directly into the path of another rock, which hit her and sent her tumbling to the ground. WordGirl leapt back into the air and shook it off, ready to fight again. He reached behind him and started tossing rocks at high speed. His arms blurred as he threw the rocks faster and faster.

WordGirl was able to evade the first bout of rocks, but she wasn't so lucky the next round. A particularly large rock flew into her stomach, knocking her backwards and keeping her down just long enough for a mountain of rocks to pile on top of her. She was pinned under a mound of stones who-knows-how-big, unable to see, free herself, or save the day.

"Yeah, you just lay down and rest for a while. Looks like I just beaten you, huh?" Chunk of Rock Tossing Guy gloated. "I are just gonna go take what I want, then, if you's too busy."

No. That was it. She couldn't take it. Four grammatical errors in less than ten seconds? Not if WordGirl had anything to say about it! She clenched her fists angrily. She had to help the citizens still inside the store. Rock Tossing Guy caused a lot more injuries than the other villains—what with his choice of ammunition being more destructive than most—and it was WordGirl's job to get these people to safety. She couldn't let him win, she just couldn't!

"NO!" she exclaimed, bursting out of the pile of rocks in an explosion of bright, golden light. Her body seemed to be emitting a slight radiance, and her balled fists were engulfed in the same gleaming golden light. Her eyes flashed—bystanders saw that they flashed a glowing gold color—and she aimed her hands at the villain.

She punched her fist forward toward him, and the ball of golden light gathered around her fist exploded forward in a streak. It hit the Rock Tossing Guy in an instant, sending him flying backward, where he crashed against a wall and slid down it into a sitting position. After a moment in a daze, he made a move to get back up, so WordGirl threw another powerful blast of golden light at him. The hit knocked him unconscious, but didn't seem to harm him other than that.

For a moment, she didn't know what to do. The villain was out, and it had all ended in a matter of seconds. WordGirl held out her hands, which tingled almost pleasantly, and just stared at them in disbelief.

"Whoa."

So! There you go! Nice and long, so I hope you enjoyed it!

I just gotta say…the Chunk of Rock Tossing Guy was a riot to describe/come up with. I tried to draw him in his outfit, but I failed miserably… Sadly, I cannot draw people :'( So you're all left to depend on your imaginations.

And now you've seen some 'side effects'! So what did you think? Was it what you were expecting? And what do you think will happen next? Let me know!

Your Pal,

SuperOreoMan