38Thanks for the reviews! :D
everyone wondering why I didn't put the Narrator in – I didn't forget about him. I tried writing him in during the first chapter, but I couldn't get it to work well within my writing/writing style. It felt like I wasn't incorporating his lines well into the plot, so I ended up scrapping the idea. :/ If you all want me to put him back in I can try again, though.
Or maybe the Narrator left because the official show ended, but the characters' lives go on, and that's what I'm writing? I dunno.
(Honestly, I'll never come close to how well HibiscusAngel15 writes the Narrator.)
Disclaimer: I don't own the show Wordgirl.
Thanksgiving Dinner: McCallister Edition
Becky zoomed down through her open bedroom window and changed out of her Wordgirl costume. She had missed lunch because of Miss Question, and after their long battle, Becky had worked up a huge appetite - which was good, because today was Thanksgiving.
But… there were no delicious smells wafting up from downstairs. Confused, Becky descended the stairs and poked her head into the kitchen. "Hey mom, hey dad, what's with the lack of cooking today? Did you forget what day it is?"
Her dad laughed. "Remember, Becky? The McCallisters invited us over to their house this year for Thanksgiving. We're going over early to help them cook! So you need to be ready in…" He checked his watch. "Half an hour."
"What?!" Becky cried out, pretending to faint dramatically against the wall. "I didn't think they were actually inviting us!"
"Now, Becky," her mother said. "I know you're reluctant, but remember how much fun we all had last year? And besides, the McCallisters are our friends. It would be rude to decline their invitation."
"But, Mom…" Becky knew when she was beat. She headed back up to her room to change into a nicer set of clothes.
She was not looking forward to spending time with Tobey; their battle last week had caused her to miss a new episode of the Pretty Princess show, and for what, again? Oh, right, he'd felt insulted by his portrayal in some of the new Wordgirl comics. Didn't he know by now that the comics were meant to sell, not to be accurate? According to those issues, Wordgirl discovered a new superpower of hers every other week. If only that were true…
Mrs. McCallister knocked on the door to her son's bedroom. "Tobey! Get changed for dinner."
"Why, Mom? Dinner isn't for a few hours," Tobey responded from inside.
"The Botsfords are coming over this year, remember? They graciously offered to help us cook before the meal. You need to be ready before they arrive, which is in… oh my. Fifteen minutes."
"What?!" Tobey jumped up and began pulling out clothes from his closet. Which suit? He didn't have many options, but he didn't want to wear the same thing as last year… but he'd outgrown everything else. The blue one it was, then. He changed quickly and headed downstairs.
The minutes seemed to last forever, but finally the Botsford family's car pulled into the McCallister's driveway. There were the parents, the pet monkey, her brother, and… Becky. Looking not too happy about being there.
"Mother, I'll get the door," Tobey called out. He waited until the father rang the doorbell - didn't want to come across as too eager - to open the door for the Botsford family.
Tobey cleared his throat and gave the Botsford parents a polite smile. "Hello. My mother is in the kitchen, which is that way," he said, pointing to his left.
"Thanks, Tobey!" Mrs. Botsford replied with a smile. "You kids have fun until dinner." The parents hung up their coats and went to join his mother, leaving the three of them standing awkwardly by the door.
"So, Tobey!" TJ said excitedly. "Did you see your new comics that came out last week?"
Becky and Tobey both tensed up. "Yes, I did," Tobey answered. "And I thought they were terrib-"
"Terrific! I know, right?!" TJ burst out. "I mean, robots with water guns? Wish I could've seen that battle!"
"Well, you couldn't have, because it never happened," Tobey said, miffed. "I don't build robuts like that. They're impractical, and inane, and -"
"What's inane mean?"
"Silly," Becky and Tobey replied together. Becky crossed her arms and glared at the floor.
"Oh…" TJ said, evidently disappointed. "Well, I thought they were cool."
At that moment, Mrs. Botsford rejoined them. "TJ, Bob, do you want to help us prepare the meal this year?" she asked.
Bob nodded excitedly and TJ shrugged. "Sure, I've got nothing better to do," he replied.
"Great! Becky, while dinner's getting ready, how about you play with Tobey?" their mother suggested.
Becky tried not to groan. "Fine," she muttered.
"Well, follow me, then," Tobey said hesitantly, then began climbing the staircase to his room. He was half-surprised that she followed.
Becky wasn't sure if they were in the right place. Tobey's bedroom was much cleaner than when she last saw it (well, when Wordgirl last saw it). No scrap metal littered the floor, no blueprints strayed out of the stack of papers placed neatly on his drawing board. Becky let her eyes wander over the tidy room, and eventually settled on a familiar shape in the corner. Tobey noticed her gaze focus on the robot.
"Yes, I rebuilt Shipshape-a-tron, and he's been quite helpful…" he said nonchalantly. "I also built one to do the gardening for Mother, and I'm working on one that does - ahem, checks over my homework."
Her annoyed expression relaxed a bit. "Good for you, Tobey. Finally starting to use your robots for something other than destruction." Just wish you'd stop using them for your rampages at the most inopportune times.
"Yes, well, destroying the city is fun, but that doesn't mean I can't build robuts to help myself out once in a while."
"How noble of you," Becky said sarcastically.
Tobey looked as if he was about to give a snappy comeback, but thought better of it. "So, uh… you want to play By Jove You've Wrecked My Robut?"
"You still have that game? You're not going to use it to wreck the city and try to prove I'm Wordgirl again, are you?"
"Nope. McCallister's honor."
"Well, sure, then."
Over an hour and many games later…
"Uh… yellow three?" Becky said uncertainly.
"By Jove you've wrecked my robut. Are you sure you're not cheating again, Becky?"
She laughed and shook her head. "Are you implying you're a sore loser?"
"No! Red six."
"Nope."
TJ burst into the room. "Hey! The food's almost ready. You guys should head down now."
"But I was just about to win again…" Becky said, sliding off the bed.
"You were not 'just about' to win, I still had two robuts left!"
"And I had five."
"I could've made a comeback!"
"Sheesh, do you guys want food or not…?" TJ said under his breath as he left the room. The two kids followed, bickering all the way to the dining room.
Once they'd reached the table and gotten all sorts of Thanksgiving foods heaped on their plates, Becky and Tobey resumed discussing his game.
"No offense, but I think your game could use some improvement. Maybe a piece that's harder to get?" she said between bites of sweet potatoes.
"That's… actually a good idea. What if I added a piece that you could move during your turn? Or," he continued more eagerly, "one that let you guess twice if you still have it on your board? One of those could be Wordbot."
"If you put Wordbot in the game, maybe you'll have to define a word to defeat it, and if you can't define it the other person can move it to a new space?"
"I like it - but of course, that would be no challenge at all to someone of my intellectual level."
"Of course not," Becky replied sarcastically, rolling her eyes. "Anyway, what if –"
A high-pitched ding came from the kitchen, interrupting everyone's conversations. "Excuse me," Mrs. McCallister said as she got up from her chair. "That means I have to check on the turkey. It should be done in a few minutes." TJ and Bob cheered, and even Tobey couldn't resist smiling a little bit.
Suddenly the lights went out.
"What was that?" Becky said to herself. "If it's the Energy Monster…"
Tobey was already looking out the window. "See for yourself."
It was, indeed, the Energy Monster. "Ugh! Hey, um, I'm going to… look for some candles," Becky said as she turned to leave the room.
"Oh, no, don't worry about it!" Mrs. McCallister said. Becky sat back down in her chair, annoyed that her excuse hadn't worked. "They're around here somewhere. Tobey, where did you put those matches? I hope you didn't leave them out in the shed again."
"No, Mother, they're still–" crash "-above the spices–"
They heard his mother rummage around for a while longer, then the hiss of a match. Everyone blinked at the sudden flare of light across the room. The shadows of the two families danced around the walls as Mrs. McCallister lit a few candles and arranged them on the table.
"Well! The turkey might take a while longer to get done, but we can still eat the rest of our Thanksgiving meal while we wait for Wordgirl to defeat the Energy Monster," Mr. Botsford said with a cheerful smile.
A few minutes later, Becky couldn't stand doing nothing anymore. "May I be excused? I need to use the bathroom."
"Sure, Becky," her mother said. "Be careful in the dark, though!" Becky nodded as she and Bob jumped up to leave.
"Psst, Tobey," TJ half-whispered as his sister left the room.
"What?" he replied, in his normal volume.
"You should go and fight the Energy Monster with Wordgirl! That would be super awesome, and then you'd help save Thanksgiving!"
Tobey looked at TJ in surprise. "Me? But - she can handle it on her own."
"I dunno, it's been almost six minutes, and her average time in a fight with the Energy Monster is just two minutes and seventeen seconds."
"Then she should be done soon. I want turkey, and I want to be here when it's ready."
"Then go and help! She's probably in trouble, and if you help, the power will come back on sooner!"
"I can't believe I'm doing this," Tobey muttered. "Mother? Um… I just remembered that Becky doesn't know where the bathroom is, and she might not find it in this dark house, so I should go find her and show her where it is."
"How thoughtful, Tobey!" his mother said. "You're excused."
Instead of looking for Becky, though, he slipped out through the back door and across the yard, to his laboratory. How many robuts would he need – three? Five? Five seemed like enough.
By the time Wordgirl and Captain Huggyface reached the downtown area, the Energy Monster had already grown to an enormous size. "I shouldn't have waited so long! Huggy, do you think we can lure her to the water?" Her sidekick shrugged. "It is kind of far. Guess we might as well try, though." Wordgirl swooped up to face the monster and waved. "Hey, Maria! I have something to show you!"
The Energy Monster glanced at Wordgirl, then whacked the superheroine with one arm, causing Wordgirl to momentarily seize up from electric shock and fall to the top of a building. She smoothed her hair as she stood up again. "Huggy, are you all right?"
He nodded, and squeaked a few times. "The power plant? But she'll probably just ignore us again," Wordgirl replied. "If only we had something big enough to get her attention…"
The building underneath her shook, and she looked around to identify the cause. There, to the west – the moonlight shone upon domed, metal heads. Robots! She picked up Huggy and zoomed over to Tobey, who was standing on the shoulder of the nearest mechanical giant.
"Tobey? What are you doing here?" Wordgirl narrowed her eyes. "Are you going to try and make me spend Thanksgiving with you again? Because as you can see, I'm really busy right now."
"That would be nice, but no. I'm here to, uh… help?"
She managed to look even more confused. "But… the Energy Monster has the same weaknesses as your robots do."
Whoops, he'd forgotten that. "I know that."
"So…"
"So?" In the dim light she could barely make out his face beginning to flush. "If you don't need my help, fine. I'll just leave."
"Wait!" she said quickly. "Could you use your robots to distract the Energy Monster and lead her towards the power plant?"
He instantly realized what she was planning. "I'm on it," he called out, then turned his robots towards the monster. "Hey, over here!" Tobey shouted. "These robots have a lot of energy in them!"
The Energy Monster looked back at the robots and then began charging towards them with a gleeful expression. Tobey held on tight to the robot he was on as he directed all five through the city streets and towards the power plant. He was almost there when he heard a loud crash behind him – the Energy Monster must have reached one of his robots. Then another one followed suit, then a third.
Tobey suddenly became very aware of the fact that he was standing on top of a large piece of conductive metal, being chased by a giant monster of electricity, and that he was, in fact, in danger of being severely electrocuted.
Finally his robot reached the power plant, but the Energy Monster was still advancing towards him. Where was Wordgirl? He froze up, panic taking over his mind as the monster reached out one electric arm towards his robot's heart.
A red blur crossed his vision and suddenly the Energy Monster disappeared. He blinked a few times and collapsed onto his knees, taking deep breaths. That had been too close.
The city lights around him flickered on again, adding life to the buildings below once more.
Wordgirl alighted on the right shoulder of Tobey's robot, holding a giant plug under her left arm. Huggy was perched on her shoulders with a glass sphere containing a tiny Energy Monster. "Well… thanks for helping out," she said, sitting down next to Tobey. She didn't want to admit it, but if he hadn't shown up, that battle would have been much longer.
"My pleasure," he replied, trying not to let his voice sound as shaky as he felt. He pressed a button on his remote, and the robot began to head back to his home. He took another moment to let his nerves calm down and then continued with a sly grin, "So… would you say you're thankful for me?"
Wordgirl leaned back on her hands. "I wouldn't go that far," she replied, rolling her eyes. In that instant it wasn't hard for Tobey to imagine Becky underneath that costume. He shook his head and looked up at the stars, not wanting to seem as if he was staring.
Wordgirl turned her head towards the sky as well, and they sat for the remainder of the trip in silence.
"Well, there's my house," Tobey said after a while. "Would you like to join us for dinner?"
"Oh! Um, thanks for the offer, but I have superhero duties to attend to."
"Right, of course."
Wordgirl stood up from the robot and Captain Huggyface jumped onto her shoulders. "So… see you around, then." She took off in a burst of light, looping around a few times before diving close to the ground a couple blocks away so Tobey wouldn't see her heading straight for his house. She flew under the cover of trees to his home, and had no trouble finding the bathroom window. After quickly changing out of her costume, Becky and Bob ran back to the dining room and managed to reach their seats before Tobey arrived.
"There you are, Becky!" her dad exclaimed. "What took you so long? And where's Tobey?"
"How would I know where Tobey is?"
"Didn't he help you find the bathroom?"
At that moment Tobey entered the room and sat down in his chair. "She had already found it, so I went to, uh, watch the battle. From my room."
The parents nodded, content with the excuses. TJ leaned over to talk to Tobey behind Becky's back. "Did you help Wordgirl?"
Tobey nodded.
"Well, how was the battle?" TJ said in excitement. "Tell me everything! Was Wordgirl in trouble when you got there?"
"Not really," Becky muttered as she scooped some peas onto her spoon.
"Becky, you weren't even there," her brother said disdainfully.
Becky laughed nervously. "Hah, of course I wasn't. How could I have been, when obviously, I was here." She stuffed some food in her mouth and listened to Tobey's retelling of the battle – not too inaccurate, actually – and TJ's frequent interjections.
Becky knew that she had always been an enigma to Tobey, but she was surprised to find that he was becoming one to her, too. Just when she thought she'd figured him out, he'd turn around and surprise her. He would help her save the city one day and threaten to destroy it the next; but she had to admit that it was an improvement from when he only went on rampages.
"Wait, Tobey, you know what would have made that battle even awesome-r?" TJ said, interrupting him once again.
"More awesome, not awesome-r" Becky and Tobey said at the same time.
"Whatever. Robots with… water guns!"
Tobey blinked in surprise. "I… that would have actually… been useful," he said. Becky snorted, and he glared at her in annoyance. "But they would still look ridiculous!"
Hahahaha this one was longer than usual, which has nothing at all to do with the fact that it's a Tobecky chapter...
I have two midterms in the next week so don't expect another chapter for a while, sorry.