Work Text:
Becky Botsford’s plans for the day were simple. Spend the summer with her two close friends, Scoops and Violet. It was hot, sunny, summer day, so hot in fact that the group originally considered going to the pool. But most of the town had a similar idea, and the pool had a strict ban on monkeys, much to the dismay of Bob. So they opted instead to just take it easy in the Botsford backyard, eating popsicles and occasionally running back inside to grab some water or a snack. It was good for awhile, with Becky blissfully swinging back and forth on her swing set, idly listening to Scoops and Violet chatter about this and that, occasionally chiming in to properly define a word one of the two used incorrectly. But, Becky wasn’t just any regular rising sixth grader, like most in town assumed. No, she was also Wordgirl, an incredibly well known superhero. And, as most superhero’s would know, plans involving relaxation never make it very far.
Faintly, Becky heard the clang of metal and the cries of a civilian. Instantly ceasing in swinging, she used her super-hearing to pinpoint it. It was the local shopping mall, Tobey’s maniacal laughter now easily heard as he recked mechanical havoc. Becky groaned, dragging her shoes in the dirt as the swing now came to a full stop. Would it kill the villains to go one day without trying to destroy the city? Violet and Scoops noticed their friend’s odd change in demeanor, with Violet tilting her head in concern. “..Becky? What’s wrong?” Becky waved her hand dismissively, now hyper aware of both her friend’s attention on her as she stood up from the swing set.
“Oh! It’s nothing- I just-“ her mind raced as she tried to come up with an excuse to leave and stop Tobey. “..forgot to put on sunscreen! Yep- wouldn’t wanna boil out here in the heat!” she quickly grabbed her monkey companion, awkwardly laughing as she ushered both of them inside, much to his protests. “We’ll be right back! Bob needs to apply some too-“ She slammed the sliding glass door shut behind the two, making sure she was out of sight. As soon as she knew neither of her friends could see her transform, she exclaimed her signature catch phrase, ‘Word up!’, and flew out the door with Bob, now Captain Huggy Face. Becky could only hope she’d be able to defeat Tobey before her friends start to look for her.
Arriving at the mall in the blink of an eye, the heroine felt as if she was beginning to melt in the heat. With the sun blazing down on her, the costume she dawned as Word Girl was already starting to feel stuffy. Geez, what was this thing even made of? Despite its layers and long sleeves, she quickly missed the comfortable outfit her civilian counterpart wore. Tobey greeted Word Girl as soon as the hero had entered the scene, tugging at the collar of his shirt. “Word Girl! It’s lovely to see you’ve come all the way here to fight me, even in this unbearable weather!” Word Girl frowned, placing a hand on her hip as she floated.
“Maybe the heat would be a bit less ‘unbearable’ if you actually wore seasonally appropriate clothes! I mean, seriously, you’re wearing like- two, three layers? How are you not boiling under all of that?” Her tone had a hint of sass to it, as most of her conversations with Tobey did, but the question was still genuine. Tobey scoffed, placing his hand without the remote over his chest in offense at the first comment, then raising an eyebrow at the question.
“Boiling? Really, Word Girl, I’d expect someone as smart as you- but not nearly as genius as me- to know the proper definition of a word as simple as boiling. Boiling is when water turns into gas, often in the form of vapor. Even a simpleton knows that! And clearly, there’s nothing of the sort nearby. Unless you want to count the boiled noodles from that restaurant- the one in the mall I’m about to destroy!” True to his word, Tobey quickly tried to crush the mall using one of his many robots, but didn’t get the chance to do much damage.
Word Girl defeated the bot in less than a heartbeat, reappearing with a confused and unamused look on her face, robotic limb in hand. Even though she loved properly defining words, bickering with him in this weather was such a pain! “While you’re right, that is one of the definitions, it’s not the only one. In this case, boiling just means extremely hot. For example; It’s boiling outside! Most sane people would be spending today either indoors or at the pool! Has the heat messed with your brain, Tobey? Because for a self proclaimed ‘genius’, this should be common sense.” She causally flung the robot arm in her hand into space so she could cross her arms as she explained it to him. Tobey, flustered and annoyed at misunderstanding the use of the word, readjusted his glasses.
“It’s not ‘self proclaimed!” he protested, pushing another button on his remote. “I *am* a genius! I was simply testing you- that’s all!” Word Girl shot him an unimpressed look, clearly not buying it. Looking down at the remote in hand, he furrowed his eyebrows. “Besides, I’m banned from the pool. The owner wasn’t too happy with my attempts to destroy the place last summer, and it’s not like my robots can swim.” There was a hint of disappointment in his voice as he answered the superhero’s question. Word Girl looked down at her side kick, who was frowning.
“Really, you and Captain Huggy Face are both banned from the pool?” Tobey’s head shot up at the mention of the animal, pointing at the creature with a look of distain.
“Do not compare me to that primitive ape!” he complained, Captain Huggy Face chirping something of a similar sentiment. Tobey went on, disgust in his voice at the mere thought. “I got banned from the pool for diabolical acts of terror, while that moronic monkey was likely banned for something frivolously trivial!” Word Girl giggled as she reminisced on the actual event that got Tobey banned. It was last summer and her family, minus Bob, had gone to the pool. (A pet sitter was hired for him.) Violet and Scoops were there as well, the trio having to take a swim test to get access to the slides and deep end of the pool. Tobey, although he tried, was not nearly as athletic and couldn’t pass the test. He threw a fit over it and tried to reck the place as a result, using his newly built water proof robots. Thankfully his mother stepped in before it could get too out of hand, so there was no need for Word Girl to stop the villain. A smile formed on the heroine’s face as she was quick to retort.
“Yeah, because a temper tantrum over your inability to tread water is *sooo* diabolical!” Her tone had surprisingly turned playful in it’s jesting, though the smile dropped as Word Girl noticed his visible confusion.
“..how did you..know about that?” He asked with a tilt of his head, surprise and a bit of embarrassment in his voice. Word Girl’s eyes widened as she remembered that it was Becky Botsford, not Word Girl, who had witnessed that. Now eager to change the subject, she quickly dismissed his question with the frantic wave of her hands.
“That’s- that’s not important! A-Anyways, if the pool’s out of the questions, why don’t you just spend the day with some friends? And preferably *not* make plans with them to destroy the city? You could play some..board games? Watch a movie? They have- robot movies, right?” As Word Girl rambled onwards, Tobey’s face fell. He was quiet, grip on the remote tightening. After a moment, he sighed and rubbed at his glasses lens, the edges cracked from the countless times he had tripped and fallen in the past.
“Eventually, it gets quite boring to spend the day with only robots as company. I can only program them to say so much to me, and it’s not as if any of it’s genuine,” Tobey suddenly looked away from the superhero, voice becoming much louder and forced. “Obviously, a genius like me needs something more stimulating! Therefore, the destruction of the mall was a must. It’s as simple as can be!” Word Girl’s face softened, feeling a pang of pity for the boy. She knew he wasn’t very liked by their classmates, he was a villain, after all, and his attitude didn’t really help. But…no friends to hang out with? Villain or not, nobody deserved that. Against the hero’s better judgment, Word Girl slowly offered out her hand to Tobey.
“Tobey, listen. It’s…really hot outside, and we’re already at the mall. You haven’t done much damage to the building, and I don’t feel like fighting, so..what if we just- got some ice cream instead? I think they opened a shop for it in the mall recently, and I’d been meaning to go with Captain Huggy face regardless.” Immediately, Captain Huggy Face began to protest, but Word Girl silenced him with a quick glare. Tobey, on the other hand, looked plain dumbfounded by the gesture. His eyes were glued to Word Girl’s outstretched hand, rapidly blinking in shock.
“..are you..being serious?” he hesitantly asked, only breaking his gaze from her hand to watch Word Girl nod in confirmation. After a moment to register, Tobey’s eyes lit up in joy, a grin quickly forming. “I’d- I’d love to! A-And then maybe we can- watch a movie? Or- or go to the bookshop! I heard they have a lovely variety of educational literature, and I’d be delighted to read some with you! They should also have a candy store on the second floor- we could go there instead if you don’t like the ice cream!” Tobey’s face began heating up as continued to stumble through a plan he had clearly spent way too much time thinking about, even prior to Word Girl’s suggestion. She stifled a giggle at his reaction, giving him a friendly pat on the shoulder and smiling in an attempt to calm him down. This may have had an opposite affect, as his face reddens further in response.
“Alright, alright, how about this: we stick to the ice cream at first, then go from there, okay? I…have other things I have to get to as well, but I’ll take you up on the offer about the book store. Does that sound fair?” Momentarily, he looks dejected, but nods regardless, quickly pressing a few buttons on his remote to take care of the robots he still had surrounding the mall. In the blink of an eye, Word Girl brought Tobey and Captain Huggy Face to the front of the mall, Tobey’s eyes shining as the three entered the building. Scoops and Violet could wait. If worse comes to worse, she could always make up something about having to run to the store for more sunscreen and getting sidetracked. Maybe it was just because the place had air conditioning, but a content smile had formed as the group walked to the shop, Tobey nervously rattling on about this and that. When he wasn’t planning to reck the city, Tobey was strangely enjoyable to be around. And if it keeps the town safe for the day, she might suggest the two do things like this more often.