Becky breathed in and out while trying to contain herself. She hated when Bob got this way. He could be so self-righteous at times. The fact that he gained a rather smug look about him whenever he did so drove her straight up the nearest wall. However, this time, there was no smugness. When he turned to leave the room, she noticed that his face bore a terrific air of disappointment. She couldn't help but think back through her life to the last time Bob had shown her such a look.

When was that? She questioned herself, furrowing her brow deeply. It was…

Suddenly, the memory came flooding back in with the same amount of water as could sink a massive ship. It slammed into her mind, knocking her senseless and, very nearly, out of her lounge chair. Her mind flashed backward and forward, sizzling with each new thought. Breaths became visible in their desperation to escape her tightening chest. Her lip shook and sweat began to pour from her face. The last time she remembered seeing Bob truly disappointed in her was right at the beginning of her training as a superhero…

Five years earlier…

"One, two, three! One, two, three!" Captain Huggy Face barked.

The five-year-old WordGirl, better known around her ship as Fina, was in the midst of a heavy workout regimen. Though she was still very young, her might and lexicon easily dwarfed that of an average adult. She was already memorizing thesauri and could recite Merriam-Webster's latest dictionary from cover to cover. Add to that her ability to lift a blue whale with one hand and you had the total package. A package that would soon come to define heroism the world over.

Bob knew that she was extraordinarily special. However, he also knew that she wasn't ready for her work; not yet, anyway. The moment she'd been able to understand who she was and where she came from, he'd set to work. He explained that they were aliens from Lexicon and that she must never breathe a word to anyone. The bright-eyed girl had quickly agreed and Huggy set about training her in the art of fighting and being a true hero. Each new day, for over a year, they'd been doing the same drills and it was beginning to wear on the girl.

"Huggy, when are we gonna stop?" Fina asked breathlessly as she finished her 560th push-up. "I'm so tired! I just wanna flop over in bed!"

Huggy shook his head. "Not 'til you hit 600, Fina."

"But why? Why do I have to do so many?"

"Because it's good for you," Huggy explained, "and it will help you once you're ready to begin superhero work."

"Ugh, again with the superhero thing," Fina whined.

"Fina…" Huggy warned.

"But Huggy," Fina said. "Why do I have to be the hero? Why can't I be like the other girls in my kindergarten class? They all get to run and play and be…normal. I mean…why can't I be normal?"

Huggy stopped and placed a hand on Fina's shoulder. "Because you were born to be so much more. Don't you believe that?"

Fina shook her head. "No," she said with a voice that betrayed all the pressure she was feeling. "I don't believe it at all. All I want is to go out and make friends and be a little girl, but you won't let me! You keep me in this stupid ship all day after school, drilling and drilling and drilling until my arms fall off. Yes, I have superpowers, but that doesn't mean that I have endless stamina!"

"Fina…" Bob tried to intervene, but Fina kept ranting.

"Over and over, we do the same thing! I'm so tired of it! It's so monotonous! But the worst thing is that I don't think you actually care about me! I THINK YOU JUST WANT TO BE FAMOUS AND I'M YOUR METHOD OF ACCOMPLISHING THAT!"

"FINA!" Bob shouted, finally getting her attention. "Don't you DARE say such things to me! I'm trying to help you. You have so much potential and you want to waste it on playing dress-up and riding imaginary ponies through the enchanted forest on the way to save some godforsaken nonexistent prince! You hear me, Fina?! Those are earthen fairy tales! FAIRY TALES! You may be five, but you're damn mature for your age, so GROW UP!"

"I'M TRYING!" Fina screamed before bursting into tears and running out of the room.

Present day…

Becky awoke from her memory in a fog. The fight had been so sharp…so perfectly sharp. She and Bob had thrown barbs at each other, but neither of them had meant it. Later, their apologies were even more sincere. She saw that Bob only wanted her to live fully and he saw that she wanted to be seen as a regular, human girl. They promised to take each other's feelings into account more dutifully in the future and, as such, grew closer than ever. However, she had never truly forgotten the flames in his eyes from that night. Flames of hurt…of heartache…of true disappointment.

Those flames returned today, she thought, wiping a tear away. Flames I swore I'd never give you again. When I swore my hero's oath, I also swore never to become a burden or a disappointment to you. Now, here I am…being both.

Lip quivering, she got up from her chair and began the long walk of apologetic shame towards where she knew Bob would be. She also had to apologize to Tobey. Messing up with one friend was bad enough. Hurting multiple friends was her own personal nightmare. She'd always wanted to protect people, to fight injustice and make the wrong right. But she couldn't be perfect and that had always haunted her. Once it even drove her to reveal her secret identity to her earthly father and brother, though they hadn't believed her.

Once more, she found herself breathing deeply as she entered the ship's common area. Tobey was busily hammering away on something within the supercomputer's mainframe. She couldn't help but stop and stare a bit as he did so. The way he moved, his independent nature, and his feisty attitude had all combined to cause a small prick in her heart. Try as she might, she couldn't close it and, as she watched him work, it began growing. It was small, but it was definitely present. The fact that she was there to admit a wrong and apologize for it only pushed it further.

"Tobey," she gingerly began as she leaned up against the console next to where he was working.

"What?" Came the unfriendly, rather taut response.

Once more, Becky felt the prick in her heart burn. "I…I just wanted to say…I'm sorry."

The hammering below her stopped and Tobey poked his head out. "What did you say?"

"I said, I'm sorry," Becky said honestly. "You're right. I may be your boss in here, but I'm also your friend and I shouldn't be so nosy when it comes to your personal life. I've been trying to convince myself that I was solely responsible for your turn to good…and I wasn't. All I did was play oblivious catalyst to something truly outstanding."

"So…what you're saying is…"

"Whenever you have a problem, I take it on myself very heavily," Becky said. "I shouldn't, but I do."

Tobey let down his guard a bit. "You sound kinda like my mom."

Becky felt a smile play with the corners of her mouth. "Yeah, I guess I do. I just…get concerned over everything, Tobey. I don't want you turning back to evil."

"Becks," Tobey said, putting a hand on her shoulder. "I wouldn't. You and Bob have given me a new lease on life. I don't want to throw that away."

She allowed her mouth's corners to turn fully. "I have every confidence that you won't."

Tobey removed his hand and looked down a bit. "But that doesn't mean I'm gonna be perfect, nor does it mean that I'm not gonna need you to give me a square kick in the right direction sometimes. I'm sorry, too. You're right. I wasn't at my best today. My mom did something that I kinda wish she wouldn't have…or, at the very least, would've discussed it with me first."

Becky's curiosity burned inside her, but she decided to avoid asking any questions. "Well, as far as we're concerned, I accept your apology and I forgive you."

"Yeah, me too," Tobey responded.

"Friends?"

"Always"