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What would be considered a world-ending disaster in any other community was no more notable than a rainstorm to the people of Fair City.
So, while the thundering of giant robotic footsteps would send anyone else into a frenzy, the occupants of Becky's metropolitan home were no more than slightly perturbed at the massive mechanical menace galavanting through their city.
And to the city's guardian, said malevolent metal miscreant was no more than a mild inconvenience and a small distraction from her viewing of the newest Pretty Princess and Magic Pony Power Hour episode.
"Um- hello? Wordgirl? You aren't paying attention to me." A grumpy voice with a notable British accent yanked her from her thoughts, slipping into a whine as it continued on. "I've been working on this robut for weeks!"
The boy standing in front of her crossed his arms, his narrowed eyes staring at her through large circular glasses that shimmered in the hot summer sun. He huffed, blowing a bit of blonde hair out of his eyes and tapping his foot angrily against the metal shoulder of the mechanical giant he stood on- a robot much bigger than the ones he usually made, with sharper claws added to the tips of its hands and brighter eyes beaming out from its domey metal head.
"Sorry, sorry, I'm listening now," Becky assured her bitter foe hastily. "You were monologuing, right? Something about 'blah blah blah, bigger and more destructive, blah blah blah, someone has beautiful eyes'-"
"I said that my robut has beautiful eyes, not you, Wordgirl," the boy chastised, motioning to the two strobing orange lights bulging out of his invention's head.
"Mmmhm, I never said you didn't." The crimson clad superhero raised an eyebrow, but there was a glint of amusement in her eyes, and a tiny smirk had crawled its way up her lips; Once Tobey had become less entitled and had reduced his motives to simply battling Wordgirl every once in a while, she'd begun to find his passing compliments and thinly-veiled adoration of her much less irritating- maybe even slightly endearing.
But only slightly.
"Whatever you say, my dear. Not everything is about you. This, however, is!" he announced with a grin, tightening his grip on the shiny, colorless remote in his hand. "My newest creation, you'll notice, is much larger than the robuts you're used to! And, in addition, much more...lethal." He threw his head back and cackled, more for the sake of theatrics than from any real malice- after all, after years of battles, he trusted that Wordgirl knew he would never really hurt her. "And I'm afraid that this is a threat even you can't conquer! The only way it can be stopped is with my remote, which I have no intention of using.
...Unless you agree to go out for ice cream with me."
"...Tobey, if that's all that you want, you could try asking without the robots," Wordgirl suggested, only to be met with an offended scoff and incredulous look.
"But then I wouldn't get to show you my magnificent inventions! And we both know you would never accept that proposition," he huffed. Becky rolled her eyes.
"Yeah, okay- well, let's get this over with, I have things I'd like to do."
"Alright, alright," Tobey agreed begrudgingly, seeming disappointed for a moment before his expression quickly returned to its usual villainous grin. "Robut, attack!"
Becky hardly had a moment to brace herself before a cold metallic hand slammed into her, nearly knocking her out of the air. A dull pain echoed through her body, so much of a distraction that she was nearly hit again by the large claws of the towering robot when it tried to strike again. Tobey laughed again, a competitive glint setting his eyes ablaze. "What's the problem, Wordgirl? Is my robut simply too powerful for you?" he mocked, shooting her a cocky grin. "If you surrender now, I won't make you pay for my ice cream~"
"As if! I don't know the meaning of the word surrender!" Becky shot back, careening like a bullet towards one of the robot's eyes. Tobey tilted his head.
"But you're Wordgirl! Oh dear, I guess you must be losing your edge. To surrender means to stop fighting against something, or to accept defeat! Haha! Aren't I so clever? Maybe I should become Wordgirl," he boasted, putting his hands on his hips momentarily before frowning slightly. "Or Word...boy. Look- you get the point!" he growled, pushing another button on his remote.
"Of course I know what surrender means!" Becky snapped. "I'm Wordgirl! But if my jokes are so unfunny, maybe I should become you!" She laughed at her own jest as she ripped out the right eye of Tobey's new creation, sending sparks flying out of its socket and into different directions.
"Are- Are you insinuating that I'm not funny?!" The boy's eyes went wide, and his cheeks reddened.
"If by insinuate you mean-"
"I KNOW WHAT INSINUATE MEANS!" Tobey roared, cutting her off. He slammed his hand down on another button. "How about you define a similar sounding word that I happen to like a lot more: INCINERATE!"
Catching on to what would be happening next, Becky darted out of the robot's view- and just in time, as the metallic menace had lifted the metal strip guarding its mouth and was spewing flames at the spot where Becky had been hovering only moments before.
"Geez, no need to go that far," the superhero grumbled, examining the now blackened edges of her cape. "I think fire's a bit too much, McCallister."
"Yes, perhaps you're right. Well, it'll no longer be a threat once you agree to my demands~" He grinned hopefully.
"You know, Tobey, I think you've got a screw loose- just like your robot is about to!" Becky shot towards one of the robot's legs at lightning speed, diving down to where she knew the metal appendage would be attached to the robot's body-
-but this time, Tobey had made sure to conceal the robot's weak spots...meaning loosening the limbs enough to detach them wasn't an option.
"Alright, alright, Tobey, I really don't have time for this. I'll get ice cream with you- later- if you destroy this thing as soon as possible."
Tobey gaped at her for a moment before beginning to bounce up and down in a show of childish delight.
"Oh, do you mean it? I accept!" he chirped, pressing a tiny button on the corner of his remote and glancing back at his robot.
A moment went by with no change in the robot's demeanor, and Tobey's ecstatic grin quickly shifted to a puzzled frown. Brow furrowed, he lifted his remote into the air and pushed the button once more, his face turning a bright red color as the robot turned to look at him, its remaining incandescent eye boring into him like a jackhammer into concrete.
An indeterminate amount of time passed before the robot lurched to the side, sending the boy perched on its shoulder careening towards the ground with an ear-splitting scream. Becky stifled a gasp and dove after him, narrowly avoiding a swipe from the sharp-clawed metal mountain Tobey had been standing on only moments before. She swiftly grabbed the villain by the shoulders, zipping away before his robot could land another blow on her. Beneath her Tobey was shaking, his wide eyes darting back and forth as he drew in quick, shuddery breaths.
"So, um....d-does this mean no ice-cream?" he tried to joke, his voice still quivering with fright despite his lighthearted tone.
"I'll think about it," the superheroine teased back, hoping her relaxed attitude would calm his nerves. Tobey's eyes lit up, even the possibility of an outing with her seeming to delight him enough to ease his panic. Becky set him down on a nearby rooftop, out of harm's way while still in her sight.
Just in case he tries any funny business.
Despite his calls after her, Becky shot away from Tobey and back towards her enormous opposer, the wind whipping against her face as she slammed into the robot's side with a force so strong it caused her to bounce backwards- but the only evidence of her attempt at destruction was a shallow dent in the beast's side and a brighter, angrier glow from its remaining eye.
Becky felt her blood run cold.
"Oh, for the love of Lexicon, Tobey," she muttered, brushing herself off- McCallister had really done it this time. Sure, they'd been battling for years- Becky seemed to recall them meeting a few weeks before her tenth birthday- and of course Tobey's robotic savvy had improved since then- but she could never recall him building something this...big.
This deadly.
Perhaps after years of pursuing her attention, he had finally decided to go all out- and while she'd learned by now that Tobey (at least in the present) had no real malicious intent, one thing about him had never changed:
He had a hard time realizing the damage he could've (or already had) inflicted on others or himself.
Agh, for a supposed "boy genius," you sure can be an idiot, huh, Tobey?
Taking a deep breath, Becky launched herself back at the hulking mass of metal in front of her- only to feel the wind knocked out of her once more as a cold metallic claw wrapped itself around her body, roughly swinging her up to the face of her mechanical foe.
If it weren't a hunk of metal, Becky would’ve sworn that it was grinning at her.
She squirmed around in its hand, trying desperately to free herself- but Tobey knew her too well, and had programmed his robot to deal with any attempt at escape, rendering her unable to do anything to free herself.
The giant's mouth began to open, and Becky could see sparks beginning to fly up its throat.
She was going to die.
Yet, as she waited with squinted eyes for scorching heat to overtake her, her panicked final thoughts were interrupted by a ruckus from below: a loud cla-a-ang followed by the faint cries of a familiarly spineless voice.
She looked down.
"LET HER GO, YOU BIG BRUTE!" Tobey ordered, standing on the rooftop closest to the robot and ramming his foot into the dent Becky had made earlier, letting out a shrill cry of pain every time he did.
Tobey?! How did he get back over here?!
Her stomach churned.
Wordgirl had escaped a fiery death at the hands of this monster- for now- but now its sights were set on Tobey...
...Tobey, who had no superpowers and no superhero with enough freedom to save him.
Becky let out a cry as the robot knocked him down, digging its claws into him as it did.
She watched crimson splatter the stone Tobey stood on as he yelped again, his scream much more shrill this time.
While useless in doing any real damage to the giant automaton, the robot's creator had redirected its attention, and as its grip on Becky loosened...
…It had no time to notice her absence before she sent herself barreling into its head. The robot emitted an emotionless, staticky screeeeech and directed its attention back towards her.
"Waterproof! It's not waterproof! Tobey called out from below, waving his arms; Becky noticed with a wince that he seemed to wheeze between words. "Try to get it into the water!"
The robot's empty eye socket began to spark again, a visible indicator of the gears in its head turning; the sight of a threat in one direction and the sound of a threat in another seemed to softlock the machine for a moment as it tried to process the situation.
While trying to make his robot as strong as possible, Tobey seemed to have forgotten a key component of any truly formidable opponent:
A brain.
It's astounding that he created a robot equally as brainless as him, Becky snarked to herself.
Tobey could sense the robot struggling to decide which threat to eliminate first, and his heart began to pound.
His desperate attempts to ignore the pain coursing through him was a losing battle- the robot had gotten him good before, and he felt as though his heart was being throttled by sharp, throbbing thornbushes.
This wasn't what he'd wanted at all.
This was supposed to be an unwinnable battle, of course, but one he was in complete control of- a ploy to get his beloved Wordgirl to spend some time with him.
But the robot hadn't turned off, and the machine that he'd created to be invulnerable no longer had anything restricting its full potential.
He could see its remaining eye bulging as it darted around before settling on Wordgirl.
The robot had decided on its target.
Tobey broke out into a cold sweat.
His robot was about to strike, and something told him that it wasn't going to miss this time.
Wordgirl couldn't fight forever, and his robot was designed to match her speed as well as possible, and without some sort of advantage...
...an idea had wriggled its way into his mind.
"HEY! I'M STILL HERE, YOU BIG BRUTE!" he called out, bursting into a coughing fit before continuing on. "YOU'RE NO MATCH FOR THEODORE MCCALLISTER THE THIRD, ARE YOU?!"
The robot whipped around to face him, tossing Wordgirl to the side like nothing more than a crumpled piece of paper. "Yes, yes, keep paying attention to me, I'm the only thing you have to worry about~!" His tone was somewhere between assuring and cocky.
The humanoid mechanism looked over him, its unmoving metal face seeming impossibly menacing.
Impossibly bloodthirsty.
He didn't have time to call out again before the robot slammed its claws into him once more, tearing through his flesh and knocking the breath out of him.
He opened his mouth to cry out, but this time he heard nothing more than a horrible gurgling noise rise from his own burning throat.
From above, he could hear loud footsteps growing quieter....quieter....quieter...
He found himself smiling a bit; Wordgirl had listened to him, seemingly, opting to lead the robot into the water instead of fighting it head-on.
He knew it was too fast for her...
...or would've been, perhaps, had it not been distracted first.
Ah-ha! I did it! I saved the day, he gloated in his head, his grin widening; he felt a sort of drowsy euphoria, and his heavy eyelids threatened to send him into a dreamy haze that he found himself unable to resist.
Ha...the villain playing the hero, huh?
Hehe, how delightful is that?...
His eyes closed.
"Tobey!
Tobey!
MCCALLISTER!"
Through the cracks in Tobey's glasses and a blur of her own tears, Becky could just make out a flicker of movement as her nemesis's eyelids fluttered open.
"Mother, let me sleep, I......" His mumbling trailed off as the situation registered in his mind. "Wordgirl?" Strained delight flooded into his voice, a glee that he immediately stifled with the mask of a suddenly much grumpier tone- one that was even less convincing than it usually was. "I mean- Wordgirl, get away, I don't need your help! I'm- nevermind, I think I'm dying," he moaned, falling back after a brief and unsuccessful attempt to lift himself up. "Tobey McCallister, killed by the cold metal claws of his own-" He was interrupted by a gurgling, painful cough. "-robot! Slain during a battle with his arch-nemesis! Murdered..."
He continued rambling on as Becky assessed his condition.
"You aren't going to die, Tobey," she assured him, her eyes flitting from each gaping, bloody wound on the boy's body...
From each crimson stain on his clothing...
Becky had saved people from potentially gruesome situations before, but rarely did anyone leave battles against her with more than some bruises- in stark contrast to this.....the dying body of someone she'd known for years...
...
The claws of that giant robot had torn him apart from the inside out.
"...died saving Wordgirl."
Becky stiffened.
"Hmm...I think I would be okay with that," he mused in a strained voice, chuckling gleefully to himself. "A glorious death befitting of someone as glorious as me!"
"Stop, Tobey," Becky snapped, her words rushing out more hurriedly than usual. "You aren't going to die. You bested me fair and square, I'm going to uphold my end of your little blackmail scheme."
"So you want to get ice cream with me?" Becky couldn't tell whether his tone was teasing or hopeful.
"What I want is to adhere to my morals, and I'm not one for breaking promises when I can help it. Now stay still, I'm going to take you to-"
"I won't make it that far," Tobey rasped, cutting her off. Becky's mouth snapped shut like a college textbook. "I'm not built to travel at the same speed as you, especially in this state. And flying through the air probably won't be helpful, either."
There was silence for a moment.
"...You know, next time I think I'll heed your advice and ask without the robuts," Tobey decided aloud, breaking the silence. Becky burst into a laugh; whether it was from delerious shock or genuine amusement, she wasn't sure.
She hoped desperately that there would be a next time.
Tobey smiled, his gaze softening as he stared up at her,
"My, have I ever told you what a sparkling smile you have?"
Becky fell silent immediately, suddenly unable to move.
She stared blankly at Tobey.
"It's lovely, Wordgirl.
You're lovely.
And rather beautiful..."
Tobey's eyes were becoming more and more cloudy.
With nothing she could do other than watch the life seep out of him, Becky let the tears she'd been holding back for so long rush out and wrapped her arms tightly around him, quietly and unsuccessfully trying to hold back painful, gasping sobs.
Tobey returned her hug as well as he could in his compromised state, but he could only embrace her for a brief moment before the pain became too much, and his arms went back to hanging loosely at his side.
He was fading, and they both knew it.
"....I love you, Becky."
That murmur had been the last thing Tobey would ever say- would ever hear- before he'd shut down completely.
...But if he'd stayed awake just a moment longer, maybe, just maybe, he would have heard Wordgirl say it back.