Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Hey kids! Listen for the words, flailing and reciprocate

“Wordgirl help! Someone’s stealing all the cheese in my store,” someone in the distance hollered.

All the cheese huh? That one was new. Becky supposed it could be Chuck, maybe it was some kind of sandwich thing and he was gonna go for one ingredient at a time. Oh! Maybe it was a new villain, that would be exciting! Whoever it was, they would be no match for the eight-year old powerhouse. She was the newest superhero to debut, and surely one of the best so far!

That’s what dad always said, anyways.

“Cmon Bob! Duty calls!” she said with a grin. Fighting supervillains was always such a rush, it always got the blood pumping in her veins, and after they were defeated people would always surround her and tell her how thankful they were for her, how clever she was, they wanted pictures and interviews.

Of course, it never went to her head, she was far too humble for that.

“Uh-huh.” a disembodied voice interrupted her internal monologue. She looked upwards with annoyance, “Sure you are.” the narrator teased.

She huffed and childishly insisted “I am too! Being arrogant is for bad guys, and I am clearly the good guy! Good guys don’t do things that are for bad guys.”

“Okay okay! Point proven.” the narrator gave in with a fond edge to his voice, “don’t you have some cheese to save?”

And with a flash of light, she was on her way.

—------

“At the market, it seems that there is already a fight taking place. A strange, yet familiar face appears to be losing an internal battle.”

“You, you can’t make me, you can’t”

“Aw! Does mister nice man not want the cheese? Does mister nice man not want to STEAL the cheese?”

“No, no I don't! I Don’t want to steal anything. I want to see my daughter; I want to go home”

“Daughter? Sad doctor has no offspring! Silly sad doctor, he doesn’t remember he was alone! All alone before Squeaky! And Squeaky wants CHEESE!”

“The strange man continued to argue with himself, all the while flailing around a strange gun-like object.”

The store manager looked up, clearly confused. “What? He hasn’t done anything with that object! He’s just waving it around wildly! Just that moment (almost as if she was waiting for her cue) Wordgirl burst in through the door, loudly proclaiming “That’s what flailing means! It means to thrash around or move erratically! Like that man is doing with his… with… his…”

Becky stopped in her tracks. Uncharacteristically frozen at the sight before her. The people who had begun to surround her since her arrival, expecting to watch a fight, stared in confusion as the hero simply observed the villain newcomer collect himself, turn around, and aim his ray at the girl with a crazed laugh. “Oh, why Wordgirl! How nice of you to drop by, can I interest you in some cheese? Only if there’s any to spare once I'm done of course!”

—-------------------------------------

“Bec honey! Can you and Bob come to the kitchen! I got you a special cake to celebrate your very first win as a brand-new superhero, you get the first pick of which slice you want!”

—--------------------------------------

Her brain suddenly went into overdrive trying to rationalize the situation presented to her. The villain standing threateningly over her looked and sounded exactly like her father and mentor, Steven Boxlietner, save for the frazzled white hair, animal-like whiskers, strange red eyes, and disgusting, pulsating growth on the top of his head. This must be just a mixup. Maybe she had some sort of long-lost evil uncle that was never mentioned, or this new villain was some sort of rat based shapeshifter. Any explanation made more sense than the notion that Steven would turn to a life of crime, that he would leave her.

Just then, the criminal began to fight himself again, and Becky saw the unmistakable brown eyes of her father flash towards her in a panic. “You need to leave- go home!” He managed to sputter out before the unfamiliar air of cruelty overtook him again. Becky was in shock, the doubt in her mind that this was a trick or an illusion was slowly and horribly being chipped away. This was some very real sort of sick, deformed amalgamation that contained her only human family. But it was still her dad right? He would never actually hurt her, or anyone for that matter. It didn’t matter if something was wrong with his brain, he was one of the good guys.

“...dad?” The word barely came out as a whisper, only her trusty sidekick managed to hear it. He chirped in response, clearly just as confused as her.

In her hesitation, Steven pulled the trigger. It encased her and Bob in some uncomfortable goopy substance, and he escaped with a trash bag full of practically worthless grocery store cheese.

—--------------------------------------

“Hey dad?”

“Yes Becky?”

“If, well if- if you had a choice to, I dunno have a normal, human kid instead of me, would that person mean more to you?”

“What? Honey of course not! What brought this about?”

“Well, it was Violet’s birthday and her mom got all emotional and talked about how special it was the day she was born, and that it was the best day of her life, and how special their connection was. And I was thinkin- I mean- what if you-”

“Stop right there. Kid, I could not be happier than I am now, exactly how we are. Nothing and no one could ever mean more to me than you.”

—--------------------------------------

“Well, that was… an unexpected outcome!”

Confused murmurs rang through the market. The store manager groaned in frustration. “Well! There goes all of my hard cheese-related work! Wordgirl, you’re fired from this store!” Someone in the background yelled out “she never worked here!” In response, but Becky didn’t process any of the shenanigans like she normally would. Everything felt wrong. It shouldn’t be just another lighthearted day. No one should just be going back to their lives. Not when something this… incorrect has occurred,

Becky numbly looked around, cleaning the last of the goop off of her body. It really wasn’t that strong of a casing for something that felt like a punch in the gut. She then was shocked out of her trance when reporters suddenly gathered around her, shoving microphones and cameras into her face. Demanding answers as to why she didn’t do anything, why she didn’t stop the villain. Normally she was all about the press and loved to answer questions and define words for the television. She even made her dad promise not to watch the news whenever she was in it, just so they could watch it together. Today she didn’t want any interviews, she just wanted to go home, and see for herself whether or not her life has really just come crashing down around her.

She tried to activate her super hearing and home in on where her father might have gone, but her surroundings overwhelmed her immediately, she needed quiet, it was too much, she didn’t have enough control over her powers yet to tune the excessive noise out. They didn’t notice her backing away, they didn’t notice her trying to leave. None of them noticed her distress, except one. A little boy about her age with a charming newsboy cap and a tiny notepad, who had previously been just one of the many people clamoring for her statement, looked at her with a confused expression, and then, after taking a moment, yelled out “Hey! Look over there! Is that a brand-new international pop sensation?!” Which caused all of the reporters to clamor away.

Becky got a better look at the boy; he was one of her classmates. Todd, she thinks she remembers. He was cute, in a dorky kind of way. She turned to him, “Thanks, civilian. I’m beholden to you for sure.” The young reporter tipped his hat enthusiastically. “Let’s just say you owe me one!” He joked. Huh, he was kind of funny. “Well, that’s what beholden means actually!” Getting to define a word brought her back into a stable headspace. It was comfortable, familiar, something she’s always done. “To be beholden to something is to owe someone something! For example, the way a parent is beholden to raising their child, or how I feel beholden to you for helping me get out of that jam back there!” The boy nodded, “Oh! That makes sense. Well, then I am beholden to tell you that it was no biggie. Let's call it a reporter's duty!” He said with a salute “Oh, and you can call me Scoops, by the way!” She gave a genuine smile. She had to remember to talk to this kid at school, he seemed… really sweet.

Bob gave an annoyed chirp.

“Aww, does somebody have a little crush?”

She made some indignant noises in the general direction of the sky, before making a hasty excuse about needing to go fight crime somewhere else and zipping away from her new comrade.

—--------------------------------------

“Look I know you love Violet, but don’t you think you should branch out more? Make friends with some of your other classmates?”

“But daddy! You do just fine with no friends!”

“Now wait just a minute-”

—--------------------------------------

She and her sidekick stopped at the Boxlietner Lab-Office first, she took a deep breath before knocking on the door. She waited for a response. Nothing. Nobody was here. She tentatively crept into the room as a sick feeling swept over her stomach. “Hey! I just wanted to make sure- y’know- everything is all good? The funniest thing happened at-” Her voice faded out as it became even clearer that the room was cold and empty.

Bob gently took her hand, rubbing circles on her palm with his thumb. She didn’t say anything, just silently picked up the monkey and floated out the window towards her house.

They arrived at the front porch. “I’m sure he’ll be here. So what if he’s not working right now, he takes days off all the time!” Bob chattered at her in a reassuring tone, a fake smile adorning his face as he watched the eight-year-old force herself to act natural.

They went into the house. “I’m home! Dad, I’m home! You’ll never believe this new villain- it’s a really funny story!”

Silence.

“Just come out here real quick! You have to hear about what happened”

She got louder.

“Come on, this isn’t funny right now! I would really like to see you, please?”

She got more desperate.

“Daddy this really isn’t a good joke! You win, you pranked us haha! Please come out! I- I’ll fix my room up right now! I’ll have the dishes done! If I did something wrong, I can make it better I promise just please- please- PLEASE”

Bob grabbed her hand again as she became less and less coherent, eventually running out of things to say. She softly sat down on the floor and just stared at her feet. Bob didn’t know what to do. She wasn’t crying, she wasn’t talking, she was just. There. Numb. Refusing to process anything. He just hugged his partner, and silently cursed Boxlietner for whatever he did to cause this.

Maybe things will be better in the morning.

Chapter Text

“Listen for the word ‘rancid’ and the phrase ‘walking on eggshells’”

Becky felt like a sack of manure the next morning. At some point during the night she had apparently gotten into her bed, and for a few moments of relief she let herself believe that her dad had come home, picked her up and tucked her in. Ever the logician though, Becky eventually dropped the fantasy and came to the discouragingly obvious conclusion that Bob had managed to drag her into her covers at some point. A stab of guilt overtook her at her own disappointment, Bob really was a great family member and a wonderful sidekick, she really shouldn’t take him for granted.

“Besides” she muttered to herself bitterly, “he actually managed to stay”

Chastising herself, she shook that thought away.

The guilt only grew as she found him cooking breakfast for them. It was split pea soup, a bit unconventional for the morning but it was one of her favorite dishes. She tried to manufacture her face into a grateful smile, but she could tell from his unsure expression that he knew her heart wasn’t in it. He didn’t seem upset or disheartened however, only careful and tender. She felt worse.

—--------------------------------------

“Remember Bec- You’ll never get anywhere in life if you don’t communicate! A good scientist always discusses the important issues with their colleagues!”

—--------------------------------------

“Listen Bob- I appreciate this, I really do! But you don’t have to walk on eggshells around me now, I really really don’t want anything else to change-”

Bob interrupted her with a confused squeak in reference to what she said, and felt his heart lighten as his pseudo-little sister perked up to eagerly explain herself.

“Oh! The phrase ‘walking on eggshells’ means to be careful around something, like how I feel like you’re starting to do with me- you’re being extra nice and gentle, so you’re walking on eggshells around me. Which, like I said, I appreciate, but it just makes me feel like, well…”

Becky paused, seemingly surprising herself as nothing came to mind 

“urgh, I don’t know, it just makes me feel not good!”

She forced out that sentence with a stomp to emphasize her frustration. She was great with words when they were on some level tangible, but putting simple words to complex feelings was never her strong suit. She was an academic, like her father, not a therapist.

—--------------------------------------

“Hey hey now don't cry- remember what I said yesterday? About discussing important issues? Well your feelings- honey your feelings- they are important issues too! N- Not that your feelings are issues, heavens no, just that- just, tell me what the matter is and we can fix it”

“We can fix anything together”

—--------------------------------------

Bob nodded to her understandingly and handed her the soup bowl. Bob noted that after a bit of silence and eating she was sitting up straighter, and the regular fire in her eyes seemed to be sparking back, even if only marginally. He allowed his mind to travel to more practical worries.

Becky looked over to her companion, “What’re you thnkng abot?” She said, swallowing while talking.

Bob looked away for a second, let out a large sigh, and tentatively chirped out his concerns.

Becky set down her spoon, quiet for a moment

“I mean, we don’t know for certain that he’s never c- that he’s missing in action. Maybe he just needs to regain himself or something. I mean, we’re superheroes! We can manage to take care of ourselves for a little bit, how hard can it be!”

The monkey attempted to interject, slightly sterner this time, but Becky cut him off, fake laughing a bit.

“What would we even do? Go to an orphanage?” she accused with a mockingly dramatic tone, 

“This isn’t, like, some movie Bob, we’re- I'm not some poor little abandoned child! I have a life and a family, you and dad! My name isn’t just Becky, it’s Becky Boxlietner! I am a superhero! I can handle being on my own for a little bit until dad comes home.”

And on that note, she left the table with a zoom, slamming her bedroom door. Bob sighed again.

“Well that went well” a sleepy voice in the sky commented. “I seem to have missed some things. The one workday I sleep in”

Bob made a rude hand gesture at the ceiling.

—------

Two weeks they didn’t bring it up. Two weeks they stayed home alone. Two weeks until her teacher at school noticed that Becky had continuously been bringing in either lunches that were inadequate and unhealthy, or forgetting to bring lunch entirely and not having any money to buy food from the cafeteria, resulting in either her old friend Violet or her new friend Todd splitting with her. Her teacher also noticed Becky’s attitude had been getting worse towards most of the other kids, Becky’s mood had been down in general, and she had been struggling with homework and classwork far more than she ever had before. Even flat out not finishing parts of it.

The teacher was instantly reminded of another child that her colleague had in his class last year, Theodore Macallister. The boy had always been a bit prickly, but when his father had abandoned him and his mother, Theodore’s behavior had, allegedly, become “absolutely rancid.” Funnily enough, when one of the nearby eavesdropping students asked out loud what rancid meant, this same Rebecca Boxlietner had cheerfully explained that it was used to describe something that was “horribly unpleasant to exist around.”

So, as any good third-grade teacher would, she gently confronted her student.

And then, upon finding out that this little girl was now completely alone, as any good adult would, she called the authorities.

—--------------------------------------

“Oh, wow look at all of these gold stars! I’m so happy that my daughter is a pleasure to have in class, she’s really a remarkable girl, isn’t she?”

—--------------------------------------

—------

She was not going inside.

Bob chattered away, clearly frustrated. They have had this scenario about ten times so far. At the school, at the police station, multiple times in and out of various cars, and each time she repeated the same pattern of freezing up, crossing her arms, staring at the ground, and shutting out any and all attempts by her teacher, law officers, child service workers, Bob, even the narrator to coax her, bribe her, or in Bob’s case, reason with her to get her to come along quietly. Eventually, each time she had gotten tired and given in, taking her a step forward to what felt like would seal the deal of her father never returning.

It wasn’t reasonable she knew, but she couldn’t help the inkling that if she walked through that door to the children’s home, she would never get to see Steven Boxlietner again.

It was only Bob and a social worker with her now, the pity and annoyance were clear from both of them. She couldn’t decide which reaction to her behavior she hated more, so she just concluded that they went hand in hand in being bad.

“Rebecca, these people are going to help you, I promise, just give them a chance!”

The social worker was trying, they really were, but it just didn’t matter to her. They were trying to take her away from her father. They weren’t even using the right name, “Rebecca” sounded so cold and distant, it was her legal name. Her professional name. It was the name that she would put on school reports and writing projects. It was the name that was supposed to be used in a setting where things were serious, and she had some modicum of control. Not in situations where she had no control. Not by people who were supposedly trying to help her.

“My name is Becky.” She huffed.

The worker nodded, “Becky, just try it out?” seeing her continued silence they decided to change tactics, “we’re looking for your father as we speak, we just need a little time. We just want you to stay here while we look.”

Becky felt like she aged a hundred years. For some reason hearing the social worker say it out loud put the whole situation into a new perspective. They weren’t going to find Steven. Steven was gone, and she had nowhere else to go. 

Well, if he was going to abandon her first, then why shouldn’t she abandon him right back.

Her expression grew determined as she marched through the door, Bob and the worker looked confused, yet relieved at her sudden change in attitude. 

And another thing, Becky thought, if these people were going to refer to her as Rebecca she might as well act the part. Take charge and whatnot, put her people-training as a superhero to good use in her personal life. The social worker began to speak to the woman at the front desk, but Becky interrupted them. 

“I’m here because me and my monkey need a new home.” She said, trying to force confidence where there was just some wild emotion vaguely resembling anger.

“I don’t want my father anymore.”

Chapter Text

The words of the day are irritable and overexert

It had been about a month of living in the Fair City children’s home, and Becky could say with absolute honesty that it was outstandingly meh. This particular place was not a full on orphanage, as she had previously presumed, it was more of an all-around help center for the city. The majority of the living space was taken up by children with nowhere else to go, but there was a separate section for adults who needed extra assistance in getting back on their feet, and a lot of meetings for various kinds of rehab and therapy were held in this facility as well.

Becky had quickly learned that there was a sort of don’t-ask-don’t-tell policy when it came to the other kids. No one needed to know why anyone else was there, and upon following this unspoken rule she got along fine with her housemates. 

Nighttime was the most difficult. When she couldn’t get to sleep she would find herself focusing on the lines in her roof, just to prevent her mind from running wild.

Every other aspect of life had been normal for her. Bob was as supportive as ever, no surprise there. The ever-present narrator seemed to take every opportunity he could to try and make her laugh or smile, bringing a much appreciated sunshine throughout the day. She had successfully made friends with the Scoops boy; Becky, her best friend Violet, and him had become a sort of trio that would stick together during school hours. He had even invited them over to his house a couple times, and Becky found it really nice to have this little group she could count on. Problems did arise when she was called on to fulfill her duties as Wordgirl, because as an aspiring reporter Scoops was naturally more inquisitive then Violet, and Becky sometimes struggled to make up excuses for her sudden disappearances. No matter, surely this won’t lead to any future problems.

Speaking of problems as Wordgirl, the villains, both long-time baddies and many of the new arrivals, had started catching on that something was different. At first they all either attempted to take advantage of her distracted state to intensify their crime sprees, or they would up the banter in hopes of getting her back on her normal track, but when her more closed-off attitude persisted she noticed that most of them just became a bit concerned. 

The Butcher had even stopped in the middle of a bank robbery to sit down and try to talk to her about what had been on her mind, but she made a point of thanking him for his concern and clearly stating that it was just something she just had to deal with, and could they please just focus on the fight. He reluctantly agreed, and they went on as normal. Still, she noticed his attacks became a lot more softballed. 

After that she tried to be more positive during her various confrontations. It was better like this.

And then there was him.

She had been avoiding thinking about him. She kept trying to convince herself that he was just another villain, and a lot of the time it worked. But it never lasted.

She would arrive at the scene of a crime, praying that it was him and praying that it wasn’t at the same time. When it was him, she had a routine that she would follow so as to not have to deal with the inevitable rush of emotions. Tell him to stop. Stone face, no expression. Focus on the henchmen. Focus on the ray gun. Disable both. Tie the three men up. Let the police handle him.

She had no idea when he got henchmen, and she couldn’t help but hate them. She didn’t want to know if that was at all justified, she liked assuming that they were horrible jerks. The idea that he could have found other people to be happy around after abandoning her made Becky sick to her stomach.

Apparently however you can’t just spend every interaction with someone who you see reasonably frequently and are supposed to be fighting with avoiding eye contact, so now after almost two months of living in denial Becky was trapped in a cage in his new warehouse trying to not have an honest conversation with the man that was once her father. While that man tried to fix a faulty gigantic machine that was going to turn the entire city into cheese.

This was her life now.

“-and unlike with them you're just all curt and irritable during my schemes! Listen Wordgirl I’m just saying that whatever problem you have with me is ruining my street cred with the other villains! I know I'm one of the newer bad guys ‘round here, but you don’t seem to have any issues with any of the other newcomers, what gives!”

She grunted in frustration “I don’t have any issues with you Twobrains! I just- ugh, this is just… weird, okay?”

“Weird how?”

She contemplated how much she should say. If she even should say anything, she wanted to lie and say that nothing was wrong, but a familiar rage rose up in her gut at the thought of her having to live with all of their memories, and him getting off scot-free. God, she lies to people all the time about her double life, this should be just like that! Why did everything have to be so complicated by feelings!

She decided that a half-truth would suffice.

“Weird like… how much do you remember… about before?”

“Before?’

“Before the… you know.”

The doctor paused at that, taken aback. He doesn't know what he expected when he started badgering the hero about her strange behavior towards him, but certainly not the implication that she had known him before his transformation. He thought for a bit, about her, and for a second a warm sensation fell over him that was quickly blocked as his brain fogged over, and Squeaky demanded more cheese. 

“I don’t… I remember some things, I guess? My boring old name, I was a scientist, I have a sister and a niece and parents, at least… I think, I do? They’re there but they're really far back. I had some colleagues, they come to me easier. Why? Do you… know something that I don’t?”

He turned to look at her accusingly, which, to his surprise, caused her to lean away and look to the floor like she was in some sort of petty trouble with him. After a moment of stoney silence she stared him directly in the eyes, her expression resigned.

“We were friends. I’m just… adjusting to the new dynamic.”

“Friends, huh? Well then, I get why it’s weird.”

“Yup.”

He looked around and awkwardly scratched the back of his head “Listen, you’re a smart kid. Not a pain to be around surprisingly. I may have found a little, eh- spice in my life , but when we’re off duty you don’t hafta be a stranger. Alright?” It was the best he could offer, given the circumstances.

She seemed genuinely lightened by that. “Alright doc. I might take you up on that.”

“Yeah. I figure since apparently we were all buddy-buddy back then, no reason we can’t have a fun little frenemy dynamic now. Makes the banter more interesting anyways.”

The same look of childish guilt from before passed over her face, “yeah. All buddy-buddy, friendos- pals, heh.” 

His intuition told him she was still hiding something, but he couldn’t bring himself to care. All he could think about was cheese, he needed it right now, and he couldn’t handle another second without it. There had been too much talking.

“Well I'm glad that’s figured out. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have a cheesy city to devour!” He punctuated his sentence with a crazed evil laugh. 

Wordgirl, finally able to get herself in the crime-fighting mindset, yelled out a “You’ll never get away with this!” Much to the doctor’s relief.

They shared some quips back and forth, until right before he was about to press the button Huggy dropped on his face from the rafter, and the hero broke out of her bars to smash his ray into pieces and tie him and his henchmen up. 

“Curse you Wordgirl! I’ll defeat you yet!” He exclaimed as the police carted him off. 

—--------------------------------------

“Becky, you can sit here at the table with me like a mature person, or you can avoid telling me what’s wrong and why you’ve been so irritable all day, but you can’t do both.”

-confused chirping-

“Ugh, Bob Irritable means showing a tendency to be annoyed or angry. Which I am not!”

—--------------------------------------

To the doctor’s surprise, while sitting in the police car he found a triangle of cheddar had been slipped into his lab coat pocket.

—------

A few days later, during a quiet afternoon at the home

“Don’t get me wrong Sally, I think it’s wonderful that you’re looking to adopt! So many kids need a loving home like yours, I just know you’d mentioned that you’re already dealing with a five year old” The woman speaking motioned to a little boy in the toy corner bossing around one of the other kids over some sort of game, “and I don’t want you and Tim to overexert yourselves.” 

Sally made a ‘pffft’ sound and waved her hand “Oh Ms. Mayburry don’t be ridiculous! The Botsfords would never sign up for something we can’t handle.”

Her husband wrapped an arm around her shoulder enthusiastically “Right you are honey! We would never overex- what was that word again?”

Almost as if she could hear the conversation the adults were having in the lounge, despite not previously being seen there, a little girl with a green t-shirt popped up “overexert- it means to engage in too much of something to the point where you’ve given all you can and then some. Like if you ran a marathon, and then immediately tried to go play a sport without resting, you would have overexerted your body’s abilities!”

Ms. Mayburry seemed annoyed and sighed like this was a common occurrence, but Tim and Sally both had bright smiles on their faces. 

Tim held out his hand and softly shook the little girl’s “We-e-ell, it looks like we have a little word whiz here! Very nice to meet you young lady” The girl practically glowed at the praise

Ms. Mayburry tried to apologize, “I’m sorry, this is Becky- she likes to interrupt.” She tried to motion for Becky to walk away, but Tim and Sally seemed enthusiastic to talk to the child. Becky was taken aback when they asked her to stay, and felt herself grow nervous. She had defined the word without a second thought, it was just what she did. She hadn’t expected the pair to take a shine to her.

Becky wasn’t stupid, she knew that she was suddenly thrown in the ‘adoption running’ as the other kids had christened it. These people thought she was sweet and clever, and now they were considering her as an option for their family. It made her feel… odd. Like a product. It was the same feeling she got when she saw Wordgirl merchandise in the store. It was a good thing and she was happy that people thought positively of her, but some aspects of it were dehumanizing in a way she didn’t fully grasp. Chalk that up to more frustrating emotions that Becky couldn’t define.

It was subtle, but the Botsfords noticed that Becky had withdrawn from them a bit during their conversation, even if she still remained polite. They shared the kind of communicative look that only married couples can decipher, and Sally then called over their son, Tj.

The five year old walked over to the group with a bouncy trot. Tj assessed the situation, he saw his parents smiling at him in that way that meant “don’t say anything bad or you’ll get in trouble.” He saw the nice adoption lady quietly observing, and almost hovering over another kid. He moved his eyes down to said kid. It was a girl, definitely older than him, and she had her hands tensed on her lap like she was ready to fight. He briefly wondered if this was one of those dangerous street kids he had seen on tv, until he took into account her sensible looking skirt and t-shirt, along with her specifically crafted haircut. 

“Are you my new sister?” He asked, genuinely curious. He felt a little disappointed because he had wanted a younger brother so he could be in charge and they would do boy stuff together, but he got the sense that saying that would be mean, and not a good first impression on someone he might be living with for the rest of his life.

Upon asking the (in his perspective rather obvious) question however, the girl seemed to tense up more, her eyes flashed from the adults to the door, and his mom quickly leaned forward to pull him into her lap and tried to calm down the situation.

“Now Tj, we’ve explained to you that this is a process, there’s- there are no straight answers on day one. We just wanted you to meet Becky here, she seems very nice.”

Tj didn’t understand why everyone was being weird. If they hadn’t decided on Becky yet why couldn’t they just say that? Whatever, he shrugged. “Hi Becky. My name is Tj, what’s your favorite game?”

Becky looked at him with intense, analytical eyes. Tj felt like she was studying his brain until she spoke. “I like to play pretend characters. I also like Scrabble.” Tj tilted his head “What’s Scrabble? It has a dumb name.” Becky chuckled “Yeah It is kind of a dumb name. Scrabble is like a crossword puzzle game- you have to make words from the other words on the board.” 

Tj sat up a little in his mom’s lap, “Ooo is that like a Wordgirl game? Do you think Wordgirl plays Scrabble- cause- she is like, all about words!”

Becky had of course had people talk about Wordgirl to her face before, but it still always took her off guard. She had to remind herself that in the public eye they were two separate people. “Yeah I’d bet Wordgirl loves to play it! She’s probably like- the best player there is.” 

“Yeah Wordgirl would never, say, lose three consecutive games to a disembodied voice”

She chose to ignore that. 

Tj hopped onto his feet and ran over to Becky, grabbing her wrist “Can you teach me how to play! Maybe if I get really good at it I can meet Wordgirl through, like a Scrabble championship!” he hopped up and down a bit, and she couldn’t help but be infected by his excitement. “Sure! I have a board in my room, I'll be right back!” Tj beamed at her, any previous tension between the children left in the dust. “Awesome!”

The three adults shared a smile. Becky zoomed back in the room, 

“Woah! You’re fast!” she laughed nervously “Yeah uh- I… race? A lot?” Thankfully no one seemed to notice her slip up and she moved onto helping Tj set up the board. 

—------

She had fun. Tj had gotten frustrated while learning at first and almost flipped the box with the pieces, causing Becky to get frustrated with him and pointedly turn her face away, but after they had gotten into it the two kids had a pretty good game. She barely even remembered that they were being watched.

After waving goodbye to the Botsfords Becky turned around to see Ms. Mayburry smiling down at her.

“Would you like to see them again?”

Chapter Text

Mid Rhyme and Reason, pre Chuck-topia

This wasn’t supposed to happen…

“Can we please just go back to being friends again… please?”

“I… I don’t know. I have to think about it.”

Violet walked through the door on the roof, and Becky fell to her knees. Everything was going wrong, this wasn’t supposed to happen. Violet was never supposed to know. Heck, Scoops was never supposed to know. But they found out. And now Becky’s world was ending for the second time.

She was eleven years old, twelve in a week, but she felt like she had lived like, five hundred different lives. She was so exhausted, why did this keep happening. Why did she keep getting abandoned by the people she chose to trust. She didn’t like to reflect on the past, she found it pretty upsetting usually. She much preferred to keep moving forward, keep solving the problems up ahead, keep fighting the brand new fights.

But she couldn’t stop the memories this time. The image of Violet walking away was burned into her mind, and it kept flashing into other people. She saw Miss Power standing over her glowering, the star from her costume in the woman’s hand. She saw Scoops, visibly upset by making the decision to keep Becky’s identity safe. She saw her family, the Botsfords, having her identity revealed to them by Twobrains for a brief period of time, the way that Sally and TIm had been so starstruck, and the way that Tj had hated her for it, it was so alienating. Twobrains. She groaned, everything always had to go back to him. The first person to leave her. 

She had gotten strangely closer with him over the past three years, so many times he painfully reminded her of Steven, but the harsh truth of reality always came back to haunt her. 

“Hey um, do you… need… to… talk?”

She shook off the thoughts. She didn’t want to think about her former dad. She had Violet to deal with.

“I’m fine.”

“Are you sure? You don’t seem fine”

Becky turned her head away from the sky, ignoring the narrator. He was just being kind, and she appreciated that, but talking about her feelings wasn’t going to fix anything. She knew words, and the only way that words could solve her problems were if she could somehow string those words together to present a convincing argument for Violet to stay. Then she could talk about her feelings, because they wouldn’t be painful anymore.

As she continued to sulk on the rooftop, her thoughts wandered. Scoops wanted to reveal her identity and profit off of it. Tj had hated her, it was like he wanted her to be defeated. Miss Power pretended to be kind, and then manipulated and abused her. Twobrains forgot her to become a villain, to become her enemy. Violet… what was Violet going to do. Oh god, Violet was going to hurt her too.

Becky’s heart started beating fast

Violet didn’t have superpowers. She didn’t have villainous gadgets, Becky wasn’t relying on her for anything. She couldn’t physically do anything to Becky, she couldn’t defeat her in any way. However, she did know her secret identity now, arguably the most powerful weapon against the hero. Scoops hadn’t been mad at Becky after finding out, so she was able to talk him down from telling the world, but Violet was angry and disappointed. Revenge wasn’t Violet’s style, and rationally Becky knew that, but this was different, she was sure. This time, it involved Wordgirl and her secret identity. Whenever interpersonal drama involves one or both of those things, people want to hurt her. 

She had to stop Violet from telling everyone.

Becky didn’t even realize she was hyperventilating until she heard Huggy squeaking in distress, calling her name. She looked at him, he had been with her since the beginning. She imagined him leaving her aswell for a second, maybe he would fix the spaceship and fly back to Lexicon without her. Pure panic overtook her. 

She had to stop that too. Everything needed to stay the same.

Huggy felt a little intimidated as the girl he had partially raised stared at him with a sort of angry terror. Usually she told him all of her innermost thoughts, it was almost like she had no off switch around him, but this time it seemed that she was stuck in her brain. She was clearly spiraling, but he didn’t know what to say to calm her down, other than telling her it was going to be alright and that this wasn’t the end over and over again.

She took off without warning, in the direction of the woods on the outskirts of the forest. He breathed a sigh of relief, deciding that she must just be going to the spaceship hideout to calm down. Maybe she wasn’t getting as in her head as he thought.

—--------------------------------------

“Thank you so much Bob for helping me with the baby- It’s great having you here, you always seem to know how to calm her down haha!”

—--------------------------------------

____

Or maybe she had lost her head entirely.

Huggy couldn’t believe his eyes, the hideout was wrecked. The walls were punched in, the mainframe was twisted and mangled, and the jets were somehow turned inside out. She had even ice-breathed the windows (it was just melting off. He wasn’t sure how that one served any destruction purposes other than making the ground around them muddy).

He chirped out a frantic “Have you gone crazy! What are you doing?” She hugged herself, erratically pacing in midair “I can’t… I had to keep you from leaving too! Don’t you get it, everything is happening now, I need to- Violet! I have to stop Violet! I can fix it- I can fix it! … I know what to do!”

He yelped, utterly confused, as she manically zipped off again

—-----

It was all Wordgirl’s fault. If she wasn’t wordgirl she could have tried to stay with her dad, she could have maybe even become a villain with him! Miss Power would have never targeted her, Violet wouldn’t be mad, et cetera, et cetera. Wordgirl had ruined her life.

On Becky’s last birthday, her Botsford parents had given her an enchanted cake. She had missed the majority of the party due to villain-related incidents, and had almost considered wishing that Wordgirl never had existed out of spite. She had thought the better of it though, considering the fact that she might change the timeline and actually be living with Doctor Twobrains instead, something that didn’t appeal to her at the time as she had believed that she was completely over him. Turns out that was a lie, and all it took to reveal the lie was someone else’s abandonment digging up old wounds.

She had just ended up wishing for some extra time to ride the ponies, which while nice, wasn’t very productive in hindsight.

Violet couldn’t get away. She had to find her. She needed to find her. Violet was her best friend, whether the other girl liked it or not. She will not leave me. I won’t let it happen. I’ll get rid of the problem, and that will fix everything. 

Becky dug through the kitchen. Yes! There it was! The cake for her upcoming birthday, hiding in the back of the fridge, and of course her parents would get the same enchanted brand, they had no clue what properties the cake actually beheld.

She grabbed the treat and turned on her super hearing, listening throughout the city to find Violet. She located a quiet conversation between her and… Scoops? Becky’s heart rate picked up again, were they talking about her? Did they both hate her now?

She didn’t listen long enough to find out, and made her way over.

—-----

“Violet listen, all I’m saying is that Becky had a reason for keeping it secret from us-”

“Scoops I cannot believe that you knew, and neither of you even thought to tell me. It makes me feel really upset. I’ve known you both for years and years, and she knows every little thing about me and my family.”

“Aw gee, I'm sorry Violet, look I know it kind of stings since we’re all best friends and all- I felt the same way when I first found out- but I promise that she had the best intentions, even if it was a little misguided to lie for so long. I feel like this isn’t something we should end our friendships over.”

“Misguided?”

“Yeah yeah- like, having bad judgment on something, even if you mean well. Becky taught me that one.”

Violet smiled fondly in spite of herself. “Maybe you are right, Scoops. I just think I need some time though, to process everything that-”

Violet’s mother interrupted from the living room, “Violet honey! You have a celebrity visitor, and she brought cake! How exciting!”

Violet’s mom sounded very enthused by whoever came over, and the kids looked up as she brought the newcomer over to Violet’s bedroom door. Wordgirl stepped into view, looking sheepish, and carrying a birthday cake with a single lit candle, for some reason.

Scoops waved to her, and Violet didn’t react. Her mother smiled and said something about letting the kids talk, as Becky took a deep breath and began to explain herself unnecessarily fast.

“Look I know that you’re mad at me, please just hear me out! You’re upset that I'm Wordgirl right? Well I can fix that!”

Violet and Scoops side-eyed each other, he cleared his throat and raised a finger questioningly, but Becky spoke first “I can change everything! This cake is enchanted- I know it sounds crazy but-”

Violet crossed her arms, “after today i’ll believe anything.”

Becky looked uncomfortable, but continued on. “Violet, you think that I won’t put you first? I always have, and I’ll prove it today. My identity as Wordgirl will be no more! She won’t ever have even existed! I- We can finally be free from all that!”

Realization spread across the other two kid’s faces as Becky leaned in towards the candle. They both reached out their hands to try and stop her, but only managed to touch the cake frosting as the light went out, and the world flashed white. 

Chapter Text

Look for the word descriptor

—--

“Ohhh.. nothing… happened?” Violet said as she slowly opened her eyes.

Scoops and Becky both followed suit and looked around. Everything seemed to be normal, Becky was even still in her Wordgirl outfit. She got up, distraught, “wha-but- I, no I just-” her shoulders fell and she sighed. The other two kids glanced at each other before each putting a comforting hand on one of her shoulders. “I wanted to fix everything! I thought it would work, I'm sorry guys.”

Violet took Becky’s head in her hands, her face stern. “No Becky, we don’t want you to get rid of Wordgirl! That was never the problem! I was just upset because I felt betrayed, but I took time time, for myself, and then I talked to Scoops” She put a finger in the air “he helped me realize that even though I was hurt by your actions, and I wish you would have been honest from the start, our friendship wasn’t a lie. So… I think that we can start over, as long as we have full honesty from here on out.”

Scoops wiped his brow in relief and Becky began to tear up, she tackled her friend in a hug. She noticed that Violet still seemed a bit hesitant, but pushed that to the back of her mind. “Thanks Violet, I may have gone a little crazy there haha! It’s not like getting rid of Wordgirl would solve all my problems, I mean, how silly is that!”

The kids all nodded in agreement as Violet’s mom called them for snacks. They raced each other into the kitchen grinning, as Mrs. Heaslip turned and patted Becky’s head “You know dear that little superhero outfit you’ve got on is adorable Becky! You should have told me you were coming dressed up, I could have gotten out the big costume chest from the attic for you kids!”

Becky politely folded her hands and was about to thank her, before the weight of Violet’s mom’s words hit her. She turned to Violet, assuming that maybe the other girl had revealed her secret identity to her mother, but the other two kids looked just as anxious as she felt. 

Scoops spoke up first. “Um, Mrs. Heaslip… so, um, hypothetically, you wouldn’t say that Wor- Becky here is an actual superhero?”

Mrs. Heaslip grinned and motioned towards the window “You kids can be whatever you want to be, if you want to play pretend with superpowers then who am I to stop you! It’s not like our city would ever need a superhero though, with our glorious King Chuck watching over us!”

The children gasped as they saw a giant statue of Chuck the Evil Sandwich Making Guy towering over the city, and standing on its shoulder, the villain himself cackling loudly.

“Oh no! Becky’s wish has led to Chuck taking over the city, will this be the end for life as we know it? Make sure to tune in next time for- oh- sorry- not the end here”

The kids ignored the narrator as Violet leaned in, “Okay guys- we have to play it coo-” Becky interrupted her with a very graceful “WHAT? That’s ridiculous-” she snorted “Chuck isn’t a king! He’s a criminal ” Scoops and Violet both immediately slapped their hands over her mouth and smiled apologetically at Violet’s mom, who raised an eyebrow. “Now Becky! I don’t know what’s gotten into you to say such things about our wonderful King and savior” She took a moment to smile dreamily at the ceiling, “As we all know he is the best king ever, and keeps our city great!”

Becky managed to pry herself loose from her friend’s grasp and tried to interject with some sort of question that would probably raise even more suspicion, but Mrs. Heaslip continued. “Oh I don’t blame you dear, your father has never been the most devoted subject. It’s a shame really, his history with King Chuck seems to be preventing such a bright young mind from embracing your future in our city! I knew they had quarrels, but to go so far as calling him a criminal! It’s disgraceful to expose a child to such slander…” She continued to mumble to herself as she glided away into the other room.

The kids had a moment of silence before Violet broke it. “Well my mom seems… different” Becky turned her head out the window, “Everything seems different.”

Scoops, who had begun to furiously scrawl in his notepad, lifted his head up and questioned, “Hey Becky, why does your dad have problems with Chuck?” She shrugged, “I dunno. Maybe my parents are also all different in this universe.” 

Violet seemed to be contemplating something, and then silently got up to walk back to her room. Becky asked where she was going, to which Violet responded “To get the enchanted cake. We all agree that this is bad, right?” Becky nodded, eager to be on Violet’s side for something, but Scoops rushed over and stopped her. “Violet wait- this is the scoop of a lifetime! Just think of the headline back in our own timeline- ‘A World Without Wordgirl- one reporter’s brave journey through Chucktopia!’” Becky laughed at the name “Chucktopia?” to which Scoops shrugged and pointed at a very prominent sign that spelled out the city’s new name. “Huh, wonder how I missed that.” 

Violet shook her head. “Scoops no! This is very dangerous- we should not mess with timelines like this! Becky was already very wrong to cause this to happen-” Becky shrunk in on herself as Violet shot her with a stern look, “And we would be extra wrong to allow this to continue.”

Scoops pulled the best puppy-dog eyes he could muster, “Just fifteen minutes to walk around and interview some people- please! Then We’ll come back and wish for everything to be normal again, promise!”

After a tense moment Violet sighed and agreed to explore. Scoops jumped up and pulled both the girls out the door.

—--------

The reporter was walking ahead of the other two, speaking to (and unnerving) as many people as possible. Violet and Becky were walking in a straight line next to each other, Becky trying everything she could to make pleasant small talk with Violet, who clearly had other things on her mind.

“Y’know I could absolutely lend you that pretty princess crown again if you wanted and-”

“Becky, you don’t have to try and make it up to me. I am still feeling upset at you, for this and for lying, but over time, once we start to properly get to know eachother again, it will feel normal again.”

“But Violet, we already know each other! Just because-”

“Please, Becky, can we just talk more when we’re home?”

“...of course Vi”

They walked together in an awkward silence, listening to Scoops’ various conversations. At one point, a loudspeaker came on to announce that it was time for ‘sandwich words.’ The kids all looked at each other in confusion, as the person who Scoops was interviewing continued to talk like nothing was wrong. “Oh! Yes as I was saying- living in Chucktopia is the mustard, we get to cheese all the time! And-” Becky felt her blood boil at the blatant misuse of words and shoved herself in the middle of the conversation to stop the horror. “Hey wait a second! Those aren’t descriptors-” The citizen interrupted her to question what she meant by that, “Oh a descriptor is a word or phrase used to describe something. And they are specifically adjectives, NOT. NOUNS. you can’t just- just make up random ways to use words!” She threw her hands up in the air as Violet hid her face. 

The people around her all glared in her direction, one of them accusitorialy pointing in her direction- “You can’t disobey King Chuck’s orders!” some people began walking towards the kids, “That’s treason!” “These children are going against the king!”

Becky got separated from her friends and slowly backed away as the mob surrounded her, all yelling indignantly. She covered her face with her arms and closed her eyes, expecting for the group to get angrier at her, but all of a sudden the yelling stopped, and turned into anxious murmuring. She opened her eyes to see the crowd dispersing, some people looking fearfully behind her. She jumped as a voice spoke, “Yeah yeah that’s what I thought, get moving, all of you.” Becky turned around in shock to see a figure standing protectively over her.

“Doctor Twobrains?!”

He looked different. His hair was tied back in a ponytail, and his lab coat was gone. The most shocking part for Becky however, was the way his face softened affectionately as he looked at her. She took a couple steps back, bewildered.

“‘Doctor Twobrains’ huh? What, you kids out here playing superheroes or something? I didn’t get any forward notion about reenacting my villain days.” He chuckled good-naturedly as the trio proceeded to blankly stare at him. He seemed to notice their reactions, but shrugged it off, assuming that this was still some part of their game. “Alright, alright, you can drop the roleplaying, y’know Beck-” he turned to face her directly “You could’ve gotten your friends and you in some real trouble there young lady. I thought I told’ya to halt the breaks on the grammar policing? Even if ‘sandwhich word time’ does get grating.” He mumbled that last part under his breath, “You’re not going to be able to go out with your friends if I have to worry about you getting into trouble with Chuck, I’ve got enough on my plate with Glenn on my back about the missing warranty papers that he sUpPoSeDlY gave to me last week.”

He pulled her aside from the other kids and kneeled down to her level. She shared a baffled glance with the other two before deciding to just go along with it. “Not to mention I got a call from Mrs. Heaslip earlier said you were ‘mouthing off’ about the king. I thought we already discussed this- always lie to Jeanne Heaslip. Kapeesh?”

Becky felt a weird, almost uncomfortable emotion in her gut. Did Twobrains just… reprimand her? She decided to play it safe. “Kapeesh”, Was this some sort of weird villain plan? Did he know that this was the wrong timeline, and was trying to take advantage of that… somehow? 

He nodded and, seemingly satisfied with that answer, and started walking towards his van. “If you kids want a ride home feel free to hop in”

There was an ever present feeling however that she tried to push down, but part of her subconscious was experiencing an overwhelming sense of joy. The way he was talking to her, how he kneeled down and met her eye level, how he scared off the angry civilians, it reminded her of Steven. She didn’t know what to do with this information. 

She considered the facts. Clearly, in this timeline the accident still happened, but Twobrains was no longer an evil scientist, at some point he stopped, likely due to interference from Chuck. Also in this timeline she wasn’t Wordgirl, so she would never have had to fight any of the villains. Including the doctor. So… did that mean that she got him to remember her after the transformation? Did he just not forget her in the first place? She never went to live with the Botsfords, she just stayed with him?

She was then hurriedly approached by her friends, who ran up to her asking if she was okay.

Scoops grabbed her shoulders “Why in the name of all things was Doctor Twobrains acting so domestic! This timeline really is fascinating- Becky! What haven’t you told us!” His excitement came to a quick halt as he side-glanced Violet, “Not- not that you were hiding anything! This is clearly not a big personal deal- just something reporter worthy! Celebrity gossip! Right Violet?”

Violet met Becky’s eyes, and was surprised to find her staring at the villain with a level of pain in her gaze. The blonde looked down, contemplating her next words carefully. “Becky- when my mom mentioned your ‘father’ having issues with Ch- King Chuck… did she mean Mr. Botsford?”

Violet saying that outloud was the last push she needed. Becky, almost as if in a trance, stepped forward a bit to test her theory. “…dad?”

Twobrains popped his head out of the car and smiled at her, “What’s up kiddo? You ready to head hom- woah!” Before he could finish his sentence Becky had bolted towards him and tackled him in a jump hug, tears beginning to flow down her face. Surprised, he tried to keep from dropping her as he stabled his grip on the kid. 

He looked over at the other two, seemingly trying to find an explanation for the sudden outburst of emotion, and upon finding two more confused faces he turned his attention back to Becky. “Hey hey- it’s okay. I’m right here- everything’s alright- what did that all scare you a bit? It’s not- nothing bad is gonna happen, you’re safe, I promise-” 

The way he earnestly stumbled through his words hit Becky with a wave of longing for Steven that she didn’t even realize she still had in her. She didn’t care if this didn’t make sense to anyone else around her, or that this timeline was wrong, she had her dad back.

Chapter Text

“Pay attention to the word static”

Violet and Scoops gave each other a side glance as they climbed into the backseat of the van of one of the most notoriously dangerous people in their city. Becky was in shotgun, excitedly jabbering away to the scientist as he began driving to God knows where, while periodically looking over at her with a gentle fondness that didn’t match any of the television depictions of the man that the kids had ever seen prior. He seemed way milder and more exhausted than they expected, though it could easily just be because of the new timeline. Something about the way he and Becky were engaging with each other felt so real and genuine though; it couldn’t just be part of this fake reality, could it?

Scoops leaned over to Violet and non-subtly shoved his notepad in her face. There was a note written on it that read: ‘ do you have any idea what’s going on?’ to which Violet responded by softly shaking her head, her eyes and ears fixed on the conversation happening in front of them. After a moment of listening to Becky and the Doctor talking aimlessly and making clever quips back and forth, Scoops wrote another message for Violet. ‘ It seems that in this timeline this dude is her dad, not Tim Botsford. Whats up with that’ Violet softly took the paper and wrote back, ‘ Idk. Did you see the way Becky reacted though? This isnt just some weird fluke. This has something to do with something else she never told us.’ Scoops just sighed as he read her reply.

He then caught the eye of the doctor in the rearview mirror, who had clearly taken notice of the two kids passing notes and seemed to be trying to examine their facial expressions. Scoops shrunk in on himself at the cold, red stare piercing straight through him. It reminded him starkly of Becky’s expression whenever she gets into “business mode” in their normal timeline. The unmistakable analytical glare of a genius trying to read everyone around them, while remaining unreadable themselves. 

Just then, he got a call on the phone. He sighed dramatically to himself and picked it up. "Jeanne! Hello, lovely to hear from you today. Again. Uh-huh, she did? I don’t know where she got- yeah, yep i’ll tell them! Yep! Thanks so much! Bye! Goodbye!” He hung up the phone a tad aggressively before speaking to the kids, “Becky, Violet’s mom said that the cake you apparently brought over had squashed bugs on it?” 

Becky realized that she forgot to cover the dessert when flying through the open air with it.

“Whoops- sorry, I-”

“Don’t worry about it, she wanted to let you guys know that she went and got a new cake for yall though, crushed up the old one up n’ put it in her compost pile. Bit dramatic if you ask me.”

The three kids all exchanged horrified looks, realizing that the ticket back to their normal life was now being consumed by worms. 

“Hm. C’mon kids, it’s just some frosted bread. Good thing you left before eating too much honestly, wouldn’t want something like a buggy cake ruining a perfectly serviceable day.”

Violet glared daggers at Scoops before the four all ended up absentmindedly gazing out their own windows, each lost in thought. 

…

…

…

“Heh-hem, um. Guys?”

Everyone glanced upwards

“It’s kinda quiet, isn’t it? Getting a little boring. Maybe there’s something important that everyone should, I don’t know, talk about?”

Becky glared, “Why does there always have to be something happening! Can’t we just let things be static for a moment?”

Scoops nudged her, raising his finger to ask a question before Becky cut him off, clearly annoyed “static in this case means stable or non changing. I think letting things be static right now, and not changing them, isn’t actually a big deal!” His eyes widened a bit

“Are you… suggesting that we don’t change any of the… current situation ?”

Becky looked away frantically, stuttering a bit as she tried to gather her thoughts. Twobrains watched stoically, considering everything. After a moment she fired back at the narrator. 

“I’m not suggesting that!” She nervously glanced towards the doctor- her father. “I’m just proposing that we… take things slow. What’s the fun in rushing things anyways?”

“... you’re the boss”

Violet and Scoops shared another worried look.

—--------------------------------------

“What a great episode! You really did awesome out there today.”

“Yeah! I mean, big thanks to you. That tip you gave really saved my skin! Are you even allowed to do that?”

“Ehhh not technically, but I can’t help it if I’ve got a soft spot for you. Besides, you have a knack for getting yourself in some not-great situations-”

“Hey!”

“-Ha, so I maaaybe sometimes use my privilege to look out for you. I don’t like seeing you get hurt.”

—--------------------------------------

They arrived to Twobrain’s lair shortly after, and the kids obediently entered. All three were painfully aware of the odd glances he was giving them as he said something about bringing them a snack. The trio sat quietly for a second before Violet broke the silence.

“So Becky, what is this? Why aren’t we with your family right now?”

The hero took a deep breath and turned to her friends, looking at them both earnestly.

“Before he turned to a life of crime Doctor Twobrains was my first parent here on earth. Before the Botsfords.”

Her friends were both taken aback. They had assumed as much, but to hear it out loud like that made it feel real.

“I never told either of you because I wanted to forget it. I didn’t… I didn’t like thinking about the past. I’m guessing I never left him and never ended up with the Botsfords in this timeline because I was never a superhero. And now we’re here.” She looked down at her hands folded in her lap, steeling herself before proceeding to explain her life with Steven.

After her story her friends both nodded. Scoops spoke first, “You know, I vaguely remember you only having one parent when we were really little. I guess it makes sense why we never went to your house back then, considering all the superhero training stuff and the… the orphan…part…” his words trailed off as he realized how insensitive it sounded. Violet elbowed him in the side.

“Becky, thank you for telling us now.” she turned her head away “You’ve been through so much… and I had no idea… I wish I could have helped you through it” 

Becky took Violet’s hands and smiled at her “I mean, how could you have known? What, I could have told you? Get outta here!” They snickered at Becky’s self-deprecating jab together as Bob walked into the room, carrying a plate of cheese and apple slices. He squeaked a casual hello, and motioned for Becky that the doctor wanted to see her. She nodded, flashing one last smile at her friends and heading towards the hallway that led to the kitchen room.

Becky felt her heart tighten unexpectedly as she reached the door frame. After her conversation with Scoops and Violet the full weight of exactly whose house this was set in. This was not Steven Boxleitner, this was still Doctor Twobrains, an unpredictable mad scientist with a taste for havoc only rivaled by his taste for cheese. This was not the house they shared so many years ago, this was his evil lair. He was not a kind-hearted but ditzy professor; he was her worst enemy. 

She reminded herself that she wasn’t Wordgirl in this universe, so there should be no reason to worry about any trickery, but that only made the alarm bells in her head go off more. She wasn’t a superhero. She was just an eleven-year-old girl with a large vocabulary, and he was a fully grown man with supervillain smarts and technology. She would not be able to even defend herself from him. She didn’t know this version of him, as much as she wanted to pretend she did, and all of her hero instincts were screaming at her to grab her friends and sidekick and run far away. 

Her thoughts were interrupted when she heard his voice, “Becky? You there?” He sounded confused. Maybe a bit annoyed. Mostly concerned.

He was using her name. The name he gave her. It felt unnatural, yet completely natural at the same time. She didn’t say anything as sort of a test. If he lost his patience and something happened that would at least confirm her doubts. 

He called her one more time before she heard footsteps approaching the doorway. She froze on the spot, instinctually turning her head to map all possible ways to exit until she felt a warm hand on her shoulder.

“Alright, what’s been up with you today.” He kneeled down to her level like he did before when they were outside, “Did something trigger an episode? Because last time we went to see your therapist she said you had mastered some tactics to handle-”

“Wait- therapist?”

“...Becky. Miss Claude. Your therapist, you’ve been seeing her ever since the, y’know” he waved his hand nonchalantly in the vicinity of the mouse brain. When she looked at him incredulously his expression slowly grew panicked, then contemplative, and then suspicious. He took her hand and led her in the kitchen. “Why don’t you help me make dinner. Bob will take care of your friends, I think I heard him put the television on. We both always think better when we have something to do with our hands anyways.” 

They both began working, Becky focusing on the various tasks he dolled out to her. All throughout the process he asked her seemingly innocuous questions about her day, her week, bringing up events that supposedly happened recently and gaging her reaction. She knew what he was doing, this was an experiment. He was testing some sort of hypothesis he had made based on how unusual she had been acting. Well, two could play at that game. Becky began saying things to try and figure out exactly what he knew, and exactly who he was. She felt humiliated at her previous excitement and burst of emotion, she had been so happy to have him back as her legal father she hadn’t considered that he may still not actually be the man she missed for so long. She had to be sure she wouldn’t get her heart broken.

“I gotta say Beck, I dunno why you’re so interested in my relations with the other villains all of a sudden. I mean, you know how I feel about them and King Chuck already… right?”

Her head shot up, “That is IT!” This had been going on for so long and Becky was getting too frustrated to continue. She slammed the spatula she was holding down on the counter top and flipped around, aggressively walking towards Twobrains, finding it far more difficult to appear intimidating when she couldn’t fly

“Fine! You win! Just tell me what you want to know already!”

He raised his eyebrows, surprised. “I want’a know why you’re acting so funny. You ran up to me earlier like you hadn’t seen me in years, and now all of a sudden you’re furious! You’re hiding something- which is not like you- and I would like to be informed, thank you very much!”

Becky felt angry tears welling up behind her eyes. This was so unfair, she should not be the one getting in trouble right now! He was the one that left her, and now all of the sudden she was supposed to act like that never happened? This was just cruel!

“This is wrong! All of this is wrong! And I don’t want it to be wrong because it’s all i’ve wanted for so long- but now everything is messed up, I changed the timeline so I wouldn’t have to be a superhero anymore and all of a sudden Chuck is King, I’m powerless, and you’re my- erm- you work in customer service.”

The scientist’s eyes widened.

“Well, that is… somethin’ alright. Geez kid, I- wow.” He brought his hand to his lips and thought for a second about what to ask about first. “An… actual superhero you say? I guess that explains the outfit.” he paused again. His first reaction was to wave this off as some fantasy that went too far, but as he looked into his daughter’s eyes that were begging him to understand he knew that she wasn’t lying. 

Becky sat down on the floor, tired out. He joined her, putting one arm around her without a second thought. This was the most natural thing in the world to him, so it gave him an uncomfortable feeling when she at first tensed up, and then leaned into him eagerly, as if the contact was abnormal, or something rare. He took note of this and filed it away for later, along with the rest of the oddities that he’d observed from the children. 

The scientist in him had a million questions, and he had to swallow them down for sensitivity's sake. There would be time for research on this strange supposed timeline phenomenon later, he could dive into all of the new possibilities and technological advancements once Becky was okay. 

Still, he didn’t know which thing was harder to not focus on, the timeline disruption or her self-proclaimed supernatural powers.

“So… why did you want to stop being a superhero?”

Yeah, that was a good question. Gave her an opening to talk to him freely about the situation while still satisfying the need to learn more about this new information. He gave himself parent points in his head.

Becky looked up, and after a moment of considering her options began pouring her heart out to him. She told him everything, her stress around being a superhero, her conflicts with her friends, the wish cake being destroyed, the way she felt isolated from everyone, even how she didn’t like fighting him when she had to. She told him about every detail that she had been keeping inside for years, her crush on Scoops, how badly her time with Miss Power affected her, how she felt unappreciated by the city, how she struggled to mentor Kid Math, all of it.

She left out the fact that he didn’t remember her, and he wasn’t her dad anymore, and she had  a new family though. She figured he didn’t need to know that part.

After she was finished Twobrains took it all in, it sounded insane. But something inside him knew she was telling the truth, or most of the truth at least. There was still a nagging piece of the puzzle that she had purposefully omitted, and it bothered him. He decided to wait and see.

“That is definitely quite a lot. Look I want you to know that ‘m here for you always kid. I dunno why you were trying to hide this from me, but you shouldn’t be facing this alone okay?”

Becky looked guiltily away, quietly holding onto his arm and saying nothing.

“...How about this, give me a bit of time and I can probably whip up something to set things right. We can make everything go back to normal, and then I'll help you with all these pro’lems, and you won’t have to feel so alone in this ‘correct’ reality. Whattya say?”

Becky looked at him somberly for a second before giving a halfhearted “sounds good, dad.”