Tobey found that adjusting to Becky's hectic schedule was a tad bit harder than he had anticipated. No longer were his afternoons free to do as he pleased. But, privately, he was thankful. The temptation to return to his pastime of building rampaging robots had definitely been curbed. He was far too busy helping her, planning her missions, locating rogues, and updating all of the technology around the spaceship. It hadn't taken him long to figure things out and, soon enough, he was a certified professional. He also found that he just enjoyed being around the ship itself, as it was a marvel of alien ingenuity and perseverance.
One day, about a month into his tenure, he and WordGirl were busily fighting against Dr. Two-Brains. Their method involved a two-way radio and a device he'd invented called the Battle Scope. When applied to the ship's supercomputer, the Battle Scope could show Tobey WordGirl's location and vital signs. It also read the opponent, giving him instant access to their arsenals and differing battle strategies based on the supercomputer's archives. In short, Tobey could, quite literally, see the entire battlefield and offer Becky advice on how to take down their antagonists.
"Tobey, what's everything look like on your end?" Becky asked as she dodged a laser from Two-Brains's latest cheese-centric gadget.
"It looks like that ray is 30 times more powerful than any ray he's ever built before," Tobey said. "I mean…that thing's potent!"
"YIPE!" Becky screamed when another blast shot by her. "Um, yeah, I'm definitely getting a potency vibe up here. I'm thinking of going with secret plan #354."
Tobey quickly typed that into the supercomputer's memory banks and received a definite answer. "Yeah, that seems like the right move here."
"Perfect," Becky said before turning back to Two-Brains. "Alright, Two-Brains! Let's see how much you enjoy cheese when I put you in curd-stody!"
Two-Brains stopped. "Really? Curd-stody…instead of custody? That-that's the one-liner you're going with?"
Back in the ship, Tobey slapped his head. "You're kidding, right, Becks?"
Becky shrugged. "What? It was the best cheese related pun I could come up with on such short notice."
"You know, if you have to explain the joke, then it's really not that funny," Two-Brains groaned.
Becky rolled her eyes. "Oh…just forget it. NOW, HUGGY!"
From behind Two-Brains, Captain Huggy Face leapt out of a bush and grabbed the mad scientist squarely on the shoulders. The doctor flailed about in a crazed attempt to dislodge the extraterrestrial primate. In so doing, he dropped his ray. WordGirl, seizing her opportunity, dove in and smashed it before binding Two-Brains up in a nearby light pole and flying him off to jail. Her mind soared along with her body while Two-Brains squirmed in his makeshift Black Mariah.
"Alright, WordGirl, give," he said. "How did your monkey buddy there know that I would be standing right where I was standing?"
"Mm, I guess you're just getting predictable," WordGirl said with a hint of sass in her voice.
Two-Brains rolled his eyes. "Predictable? That's a laugh. I'm the least predictable villain in town! You want predictable? Try Tobey. That worthless excuse for a boy 'genius' has screwed up more plans, and screwed over more villains, than I can count!"
"Right…" WordGirl said. "Look, I don't have time to argue over you and your villainous manhood contest. I've got more important things to do. So, let me just drop you off in your favorite cell and-"
"B-2?" Two-Brains asked hopefully.
"Yeah, sure, B-2," WordGirl responded.
—
After successfully dispatching the evil scientist, WordGirl returned to her ship. She expected to find Tobey hustling about trying to fix everything all at once. What she did not expect was a rather tranquil former maniac sitting calmly in the middle of the room doing deep breathing exercises. She thought, for a split second, that his pose and demeanor were rather attractive. But she quickly absolved herself of the rather disturbing mentality. For, after all, she and Tobey were simply friends working together toward a common goal. She had always known of his crush on her, but that didn't mean she had to return it. So, in a show of friendliness, she walked over and sat down next to him.
"Hey," she offered.
"Oh, hey," he responded, starting out of his reverie.
"So…um…get much done today?"
"Hm? Oh, yeah, definitely. I got the Battle Scope updated and then I fixed the data encryption module on the supercomputer, followed by a healthy dose of crime detection."
"Nice," Becky said. "So…what's with the deep breathing?"
"Hm? Oh, well, you left your radio on while you took Two-Brains to jail."
Becky blushed. "Oops. So…I take it your ego took a beating?"
"No, no," Tobey said. "I gave all that up, remember? The deep breathing helps me relax and refocus on what's truly important in life. My family, this city…and my re-er-friendship with you, Becky."
He had to stop himself from saying "relationship," even though every pore of his being was dying to. Things between he and Becky had moved so quickly. They'd gone from bitter foes to joyous friends all in the span of five or six weeks. Now, he felt that things needed to slow down a bit. While he'd always had feelings for her, he didn't believe that now was the proper time to bring it up. He'd keep things friendly, for the moment. Then, when the time was right, he would tell Becky exactly what she meant to him.
He would have been lying if he had said that he completely understood everything that she was. But, as they sat there together, he got a chance to admire her looks once more. One thing that he was sure of was that she was the most beautiful girl he'd ever seen. Her chestnut hair seemed to cascade over her shoulders, almost begging him to gingerly grab a curl. Hazel eyes blinked back at him with kindness and sympathy, unlocking a gentle part of her that he'd never known before. Yes, he knew she was physically beautiful. But whether or not that beauty extended into their friendship was still something of a mystery.