A few days later, Tobey found himself preparing to begin his new role as WordGirl's mission coordinator. His heart thudded rather noisily against his chest as he made his way into school. The knowledge that this particular job had a life altering potential embedded itself deep in his mind. Working with WordGirl had always been at the pinnacle of his personal ambitions. Now that he had the opportunity, he didn't want to let it slip away. His excitement was palpable, yes, but so was his nervousness. He sweated bullets all throughout the bus ride to school and his short walk to class.

I just don't want to screw this up, he said to himself. After all, Becky finally trusts me. Now I need to prove that I'm worthy of that trust.

He took up residence at his regular desk and paused to look at Becky sitting beside him. She was particularly radiant that morning. Her brown locks seemed to shimmer in the sun that streamed in from the window behind them. The hazel orbs that dazzled his inner machinations were bright and full of life. She couldn't stop smiling, flashing her pearly gesture to anyone who passed by. But her biggest smile she saved for Tobey, turning to him and giving him a wink and a thumbs up. He knew that they couldn't speak of his assignment here, but those simple movements let him know that she was just as excited as he was.

Neither of them could wait for the school day to end. It seemed to drag at times. There were two pop quizzes and one humongous math test. Even recess felt like a rather gargantuan pile of sludge, as the two couldn't quite find the time to get together and iron out the final details. This weighed a bit on Tobey, in particular, who was already in the early stages of self-doubt. He felt as though his body would run out of sweat as the minute hand ticked down the final seconds of their allotted educational time. Tick…tick…tick…tick. Each successive noise coincided with the pounding in his chest. Tick…tick…tick…tick. It felt as though someone had plugged three subwoofers into the clock and turned them all the way up.

Finally, the bell rang and the joyous youth plunged out of school and back into their social and familial lives. For Tobey and Becky, the time had finally come to enact the latter's plan. She led him down the sidewalk away from the school building and straight towards the lake. He tried to make small conversation, but she didn't say a word. It was then that the seriousness of the situation hit him like a freight train. She was about to entrust someone with the location of her secret spaceship hideout for the very first time. True, it was exciting, but it was also solemn. So, he decided to keep quiet until she saw fit to speak.

When they reached the lake, she turned and addressed him. "Tobey, over the past few days, I've been watching you. I've seen the immense change in your life, even though you've only been on my side for a short time. I truly believe that you will do great things for this city, closed doors or not. That being said, I have to swear you to secrecy. You may NEVER tell anyone the location of my spaceship hideout. I don't care what kind of duress you're under, you can't talk…EVER. If you do, then you'll forfeit your job with me. Clear?"

Tobey gulped, feeling the intensity of her words. "Crystal."

She nodded. "Good. Now, hold out your arms so I can pick you up."

Tobey's eyes widened with surprise and curiosity, but he did as he was told. He felt her strong grip grasp his midsection before they took off over the lake. From his vantage point, the pristine waters looked almost like artwork. There was beauty and serenity all around him. Certainly, there was nobody that he'd rather share it with than the girl who was currently transporting him through the skies to an unknown future. But he understood that they weren't here to play. They were here to work. So, he readjusted his mentality and prepared for whatever Becky had in store for him.

Before he knew it, she was darting towards the ground. They slowed a bit before lighting right beside a huge spaceship adorned with her colors. He tried to maintain his professionalism, but part of him was leaping with joy. There had been entire special editions of newspapers and magazines printed with the sole purpose of locating WordGirl's secret headquarters. Now, he was the first human to ever see its exterior without the shielding influence of a blindfold. It shone in the late afternoon sun, glistening with an inviting aura, yet offering the same amount of intimidation. He felt his lip quiver as he looked up and down the ship's flank.

"I…it…it's incredible," he breathed.

Beside him, he could feel Becky smile. "Oh, thanks. Honestly, it's just a place to hang the ol' cape every now and then."

"But, Becks, this…this…this defies any type of human description."

Becky rolled her eyes a bit and chuckled. "Come on. I'll give you the tour."

She grabbed his hand and led him through an automatic doorway and into a wonderland of extraterrestrial technology. Each room was more impressive than the last. They were filled to the brim with Becky's own personal touch. Her singularities were emphasized to somewhat dramatic effect. Tobey did have to stop himself from laughing out loud at her Pretty Princess tribute area, which was stacked with layer upon layer of related merchandise. But all the same, her dedication to the fandom was rather awe-inspiring.

There was one room where Becky hesitated a bit before opening the door. She turned to face her new friend and he swore he saw her eyes glint ever so slightly. He wondered what the issue was, but didn't have time to ask. For just as soon as she'd stopped, she started again. Reaching out her hand, she gently pressed a bright red button on the wall beside the doorway. The automatic portal swung up and Tobey let out a very audible gasp. There was various villainous paraphernalia lying all over the room. He recognized a pair of Granny May's famous knitting needles, Steve McClean's mop, and one of Mr. Big's mind control devices. There was even an entire display case full of Dr. Two Brains's curious rays.

"Tobey…in case you hadn't deduced it by now…this is the room that I didn't really want to show you," Becky ventured.

Tobey sighed a bit. "I understand why. I mean, look at all the stuff you've collected from the battles you've won over the years. You've got every single villain accounted for in here."

"Yep…every one," Becky said before pointing to a glass display case.

Tobey turned and his mouth fell open. Inside the case was his most desperate attempt to persuade WordGirl that he'd been the one for her. More to the point, it was WordBot, a robotic copy of the heroine that he'd created to be devoted only to him. He blushed deeply when he saw it as memories of his embarrassing experience with the malfunctioning machine blew through his mind. He remembered how he'd lost control of it and how the real WordGirl had to step in and help him shut it down. All he'd wanted was her. Yet he'd always gone about trying to get her attention incorrectly.

Presently, he felt a hand on his shoulder. "I…er…I know this is awkward," Becky said. "But it wouldn't be fair of me to hide this from you."

"No, no," Tobey said. "This is just another bit of incentive to keep going down my new path in life. WordBot was so humiliating, Becky…not just because of my inability to control it, but because it began to show me where I was going wrong. My only wish is that I would've had the humility and intelligence to see it sooner."

"Well, the important thing is that you did finally make a sensible decision," Becky said. "Now, you have a whole new life ahead of you…and it truly starts in the last stop of our tour."

—

A few minutes later, Tobey found himself standing in the heart of Becky's entire operation. The nerve center of the ship boasted a metric ton of alien technology, and Tobey's mind went into overdrive. He couldn't wait to get his hands on all of it. The centerpiece of everything was the supercomputer itself, towering towards the ceiling. Its monitor was easily twenty times greater than his own with all the power and processing to match. Sitting just to the side was a state-of-the-art crime detection unit. Both electronic marvels were equally fascinating to the young genius. Almost in a trance, Tobey moved forward and ran a hand along the supercomputer's keyboard.

"This…is…insane," he managed to get out.

Becky smiled. "I thought you might like it."

"…and you get to use this every day?"

"More or less, yeah," she said. "It's a bit of a pain to work with at times, but that's why I brought you in. You know way more about this kind of thing than I do. Frankly, I'm tired of having to blindfold repairmen and bring them in to fix things. I'd much rather have someone on staff here at the ship to take care of any problems that might pop up."

Tobey turned and gave her a look of gratitude. "Thanks, Becky. For everything."

"You're more than welcome, Tobey," Becky responded.

"Alright, now to get to work on this bad boy," Tobey said with a glint of excitement in his eye.

"We'll leave you to it," Becky said. "I know you'll have it figured out in no time. But, if you need us, we'll be in the reading room."

"Gotcha," Tobey said as he bent down and took out his flashlight.

Come to me, my new toy, he thought. Soon, Becky, Bob, and I will be ridding this town of villainy for good!