Thank you all so much for your lovely reviews! I've gotta say, the WordGirl fandom is one of the nicest to write for response-wise! So thanks a ton—your reviews keep me inspired to write the next chapter! Here's number 5!

Enjoy!

Becky was on her way to school, lost in thought as she stepped briskly along the sidewalk. She breathed in the cool, crisp air and enjoyed the walk to school as the sky lightened with the rising of the sun. Birds chirped and fluttered overhead, and the chill in the air was dissipating as the tranquility of the night was broken.

«It's the beginning of another day in Fair City! And after spending some quality time with Tobey yesterday afternoon, Becky Botsford—or, as some of us know her, WordGirl—is in a lovely mood this morning! »

Becky paused. She brushed her hair back and looked down, trying to cover the blush that was reddening her face.

"Well, I mean, it wasn't really quality time, you know, and, I'm not really in a super lovely mood… More like…umm…cheery. And it's not just because I hung ou—uh, because I worked on my project with Tobey yesterday."

«I don't know… You two seemed to be having a pretty good time yesterday…»

"Nah, I don't know, really more of just an average time…"

«You keep telling yourself that. »

"So… Are you going to be doing a lot of…that…today?"

«What? Narrating? »

"Well…yeah."

«Hmm… Let me see…»

Becky heard the sound of pages flipping as she waited for the Narrator's response.

«Well… I guess I don't need to…not many lines in the script… But I do like to improv, so no guarantees! »

"Hey, Tobey!" she said as she sat down in AP Biology.

"Hello, Becky," was his curt response. After their camaraderie the day before, she was very surprised at his cold demeanor today.

"So, um, how's the Bio-Dome?"

"Terrific."

"Okay…" Becky trailed off uncomfortably. Should she just stop trying? "Well, weren't we going to check with Mrs. Groves to make sure the whole 'giant robot' thing is okay?"

"I already did. She said it was fine."

"Oh. That's…good," she replied, giving up. What was with him today?

Suddenly Becky felt very tired. She didn't know if it was Tobey's rotten attitude or just because she'd stayed up a little later than usual last night, but she really felt like a nap would be nice.

After that, Tobey kept quiet. He was taking notes on Mrs. Groves' powerpoint of different symbiotic relationships, but Becky didn't think he was really paying attention. He reached into his pocket, pulled something out, and started fiddling with it under the table. She saw that it was something small and red, but then it was out of sight and under the table.

As she returned her gaze to the front of the class, Becky suddenly felt ill. Covering commensalism and mutualism had been fine, but now Mrs. Groves had reached the slides about parasitism, and Becky's head felt dizzy. She suddenly felt weak and lightheaded as she viewed the images of different varieties of parasitic worms, and she really thought he was going to pass out when Mrs. Groves explained the horrendous life cycles of the wasps that laid eggs inside caterpillars that the hatched larvae later ate from the inside out. Becky was clammy, trembling, and weak, and she was fighting not to fall unconscious.

"Becky?" Mrs. Groves' faint voice asked. "Becky, are you okay?"

"No…" Becky answered weakly, her vision swimming and her head throbbing. "Can I just go sit in the hall for a minute, please?"

"Of course," the teacher replied, her eyes showing concern. "And maybe you should go to the office, too, dear."

"Okay…I'll just…okay…"

Becky stumbled out into the hallway. She leaned against the wall and sank slowly to a sitting position, pressing her cheek to it. The cool surface of the wall seemed to steady her stomach, and after a few moments of sitting motionlessly Becky had stopped shaking. She stayed like that for a few more minutes, until she felt like she could get to her feet without falling over.

Becky was not easy to gross out, and she almost never had a problem in Biology—even during the dissection unit. So why the heck was she randomly getting sick over a few freaky cannibalistic bugs? She'd seen far worse—like a sick monkey—and handled it far better!

The door to the classroom opened as someone left, stopping in front of Becky.

"Mrs. Groves sent me out to check on you," Tobey sighed, sounding very inconvenienced. Becky tried to smile, but she started feeling dizzy again as her head started pounding all over again.

"I'll be fine, just not feeling especkaldy well…"

"Especkaldy?" He rolled his eyes. "Whatever, Becky."

Wait—what did I just say? Becky wondered as Tobey retreated back into the classroom. Her speculation dissolved however, as her headache alleviated slightly and she sighed contentedly.

Becky stayed outside the classroom for the rest of the hour. She tried going back in once when she had started feeling better, but she'd had to leave again almost immediately after sitting down. It was all really embarrassing, so she chose to remain outside until the bell rang. When she went back in to retrieve her bag, Mrs. Groves walked over to make sure she was okay.

"Becky! Is everything okay?" the teacher demanded. "You look better now, at least."

"Yes, Mrs. Groves," Becky replied, still recovering from her earlier experience. "I think it was just a migraine or something—but I'm feeling better now, thanks."

"Okay, just make sure to take it easy for the rest of the day. See you tomorrow!"

"I will!" Becky answered as she left the classroom. "'Bye!"

She felt fine for the rest of the day.

"Hiiii Beckyyyy!" Violet greeted her friend extravagantly, twirling over to where they usually met after school.

"Uh, hi Violet," Becky replied, eying her warily.

"How has your day been?" Violet went on dreamily. "Mine has been spectaculaaaaarrrrr…!"

"Oh, okay… Mine was good, I guess."

"So, how's your project with Tobey going, friend?"

"It's fine… Um, Violet, do you feel okay?"

"Oh Becky, I've never felt better! Life is just so wonderful, isn't it? No, magical! Or fantastic! Wait, no—wondertastical! Or, or what about whimsitastical? Or whimstastiwonderfulicularvelous!"

"What?"

"Oh Becky, silly, it's wonderful, whimsical, fantastic, magical, spectacular, and marvelous all combiiiiined!"

Becky stared at her dubiously. Violet wasn't acting right. In fact, she wasn't the only one behaving oddly—it was like Tobey was extra grouchy today, and Violet was extra…Violety. Too Violety.

"Say, uh…friend—um, how've you been?" Becky inquired, trying to figure out what could be causing Violet to act this way. "Are you doing anything today that would make you—I don't know—extra happy, or anything?"

"Oh, Becky, everything makes me happy!" Violet sang.

"Anything special going on?"

"No, just a regular, wonderful ol' day!"

As they walked, Violet chattered about…well, Becky wasn't really sure. Violet almost never talked this much—the only times she even came close was when it was art related, and Becky wasn't sure Violet's current prattling was anything related. Just a bunch of nonsense about how nice everybody and everything was, and how great life was, and yada yada… When Violet and she had to go separate ways, Becky almost sighed in relief. That talk was so weird…

Becky had just reached her house when her super-hearing caught the sound of an alarm going off. Darting inside, she shed her backpack and went to grab Bob. Luckily he had just been reading the newspaper—a banana in hand and bifocals on his face—when Becky snatched him up. He screeched in surprise as they burst into their alter egos and zoomed out the door, the glasses still hanging off his face.

Becky could usually tell what building was being robbed from the sound of the alarm, but this unfamiliar ring left her clueless. It must have been a store that hadn't been held up before—and that meant the villains were expanding their horizons. She wasn't sure how she felt about that.

When she finally reached the building with its alarm going off, WordGirl was surprised to find that it was a plant nursery called Delia's Dahlias. As she swooped inside, she disarmed the alarm before facing the intruder with Captain Huggyface. His spiky white hair and extra brain gave him away as Doctor Two-Brains, but this time, he was alone.

Unbeknownst to WordGirl—or any of them, really—his old henchman Charlie was a phenomenal chef. He'd gotten a great job offer in New York, and, since the two were such good buddies, the other henchman had moved there with him. So Doctor Two-Brains had had to hire new henchmen. Their names were Cole and Roger, a couple of goons that didn't speak much and were tougher to beat, but that seemed to go on vacation far more often.

"Stop right there, Two-Brains!" WordGirl announced, dropping to the floor behind him. He stifled a squeak of surprise as he whipped around to face her, his mouse brain making him jumpy.

"Why hello, WordGirl!" the Doctor greeted her with a devious grin after he had collected himself. "To what do I owe the pleasure?"

"You tripped the alarm. What're you up to?"

"Oh, you know, this and that…"

"Cut to the chase—what are you doing at a plant nursery? Trying to engineer another cheese-tree?"

"Oh, no," Two-Brains assured her, waving his hand dismissively. "This heist has nothing to do with cheese."

WordGirl blinked in surprise. "Really?"

"Well yes. You see, recently I decided to relocate to a, uh, less conventional lair. But, my new neighbor has seven cats. Seven! Can you believe it? And they just keep terrorizing me!So, I have taken it upon myself to rid the entire city of the horrible beasts!" He finished off his explanation by cackling maniacally.

«You're going to get rid of all the cats in Fair City? »

"Yes. Yes I am."

«That seems a bit extreme. »

"Have you seen cats around me? It's like I'm their catnip… It's horrible…"

«Will Doctor Two-Brains successfully rid the city of its cats? Will WordGirl be able to defeat him in time to save all the fluffy kitties? How does he plan to eliminate the cats, anyway? Find out next on… WordGirl! »

"Doesn't it bother you when he does that?" WordGirl demanded, gesturing upward with her arms incredulously.

"Does what?" Doctor Two-Brains replied quizzically.

"Just…pops in, and interjects and narrates randomly?"

"Well, that is his job."

"Yeah, but… Doesn't it ever bother you?"

"Why would it bother me?"

"Well, because," she sputtered. "Oh, never mind! So why are you here, Two-Brains? From what you've told me about your plan, it doesn't really make sense to come here."

"That's where you're wrong, WordGirl. To complete my diabolical plan, I will need three crates full of catnip!"

"Catnip?"

"Yes, catnip! I've already stripped all the catnip plants in the city, and hit up the local pet store for all they've got, but I still need a bit more."

"And this nursery sells catnip?" WordGirl guessed.

"Precisely!" Two-Brains stated giddily. "And now I'll have enough to finally rid this city of its pesky felines!"

"Well, I happen to like cats!" WordGirl began vehemently. "Maybe not a lot, but more than just a bit! And plus, Vi—I mean, a random citizen I happen to know has a kitten that she cares about dearly, so I can't allow you to get rid of all the cats!"

"It's too late! I already have all the catnip I need to lure the cats out of the city forever! Now…taste catnip, WordGirl!"

He pulled out a handheld ray gun that was loaded with a chamber full of little green leaves that WordGirl assumed was catnip. After turning a small dial on the side of the ray, Doctor Two-Brains aimed the ray at her and pulled the trigger before she could react. It shot out a green mist that enveloped the heroine and her sidekick, making them cough and gag.

"Ugh!" WordGirl exclaimed, plugging her nose. Captain Huggyface clutched his throat and fell over with a squeal. "This smells horrible! What the—? Is this catnip? How do cats like this stuff? Gross… ugh, it's in my nose…blegh…"

She and Huggy coughed for a few more moments, while Two-Brains stood before them, grinning evilly.
"Now you'll see…" he said quietly. "Then you'll understand my suffering!"

"Wait…" WordGirl began. "What's it supposed to do? Other than smell really bad."

"Just give it a minute; it takes a second to kick in. Hey, monkey—are those bifocals?"

Huggy's eyes crossed as he glanced at his nose, and he grinned sheepishly, nodding.

"Wow, they make you look like ten years older," Two-Brains commented. "Remind me never to wear them…"

Huggy hummed in irritation. He yanked off the glasses, snapped the sides closed, and stuffed them into the chest pocket of his suit. Then he leapt at the villain, taking him by surprise.

"Good job, Huggy!" WordGirl praised as her sidekick tackled Two-Brains.

"Mew" came an adorable little cry from behind her.

WordGirl spun around, expecting to find one sweet, little kitty. Instead, she turned to find a huge mob of catnip-crazed cats hurtling toward her in waves, claws outstretched and pupils dilated.

Before she knew it, she was submerged in a sea of cats. They were scratching, gnawing, biting, climbing, and rolling all over her. Some were playing with her hair or cape, or attacking any time she moved. She couldn't fling them off, because more would just crowd in, and she didn't want to hurt them, either. WordGirl focused, trying to call her new powers to help save them, since her strength wasn't working. The golden power started to gather at her hands as she concentrated through the scratching and biting, the yellow light shining through the thick layer of felines surrounding her.

Suddenly a paw scratching at her neck tore through the necklace Violet had made for her. In a matter of seconds, the necklace was lost amongst the sea of cats. The light from her fingers died as WordGirl tried to snatch it back, but it was already long gone. Focusing again, she tried once more to use her new powers. Only, this time, nothing happened.

What? It had just been working! What was wrong? She tried again, more frantically this time, and with the same result—nothing.

Why won't it work? Why won't it work! WordGirl thought desperately, still scrambling underneath the cats, trying to ignore the pain they were causing her. She'd been using it, and then that cat had distracted her by scratching off her necklace. Wait… that had been given to her by Violet…the very same day that she'd gotten the new powers!

"The necklace!" WordGirl gasped, clutching at her bare neck.

Before she could do anything more, she was engulfed in a sea of inebriated cats.

Ha, cats. Man, I gotta say, having a ton of catnip high cats sounds a little bit awesome. As long as they aren't really chewing on you…

And I now realize that last chapter was kind of like a science lesson at the end…and I did it a tiny bit in this chapter, too… Yes, I am a Bio major, and I guess it just kind of came out in the story. And, I kind of thought Tobey would have a tougher time with Biology because it seems like it would contrast with robotics (although I've thought he'd probably be good at DNA transcription and all that molecular bio type stuff—I'm not :P—since at that level it's more 'mechanized', if you know what I mean). And now I'll shut up about Biology.

ANYWAY, thank you all for your wonderfully inspiring reviews! I really appreciate them all, especially the long ones (you know who you are ;) so thanks a ton! Please let me know how you think I'm doing, and what you think of the story so far/what you think will happen next, what you think certain things mean, all that jazz! Until next time!

Your Pal,

SuperOreoMan