Opposites Attract: A Tobecky Story- Wordgirl X Tobey

Word Up

Tobey noticed her looking at the odd piece of furniture. "The floor is more comfortable…"

She giggled before once again growing stern. The girl had to find a way out in order to try and stop Eradica, but doing that without drawing suspicion from Tobey would be near impossible. However, as she looked over at him he was already busy tinkering with spare parts, having built up a small box and was now placing wires and other pieces into it. She had no idea how he managed to do that so quickly. "What are you building?"

He didn't look up, choosing instead to continue working and give an unfocused reply. "Radio" He paused, adding in the final piece and drilling it down. Proudly he lifted it up. 

In no way did Becky believe that the device looked anything like a radio, but she wasn't about to stop believing in the boy’s genius. She couldn’t have escaped without him, but his actions made her nervous that he was planning on being stuck down here for a while. "How long do you think we're going to be stuck down here?" She asked, waiting for clarification.

He looked her up and down, smiling. "Wordgirl will fix everything soon." He explained confidently, nudging the radio. "I built it so we would know when it's safe to go back out."

"Oh." She sputtered, sitting down beside him. 

The boy scooted away from her upon realizing that he felt too close to her. He had never quite gotten along with the girl, but the physical similarities between her and Wordgirl always threw him off and left him feeling uncomfortable. Of course, Becky wasn’t as smart as wordgirl, but she was still pretty… Quickly he tried to forget about the thought, and clicked on the radio. It buzzed with static and he watched as a look of confusion spread across the girl's face. He blushed.

"Why isn't it playing?" A sense of worry washed over her.

"It's possible that the station is down." Tobey sighed, clicking over to another. They were met with the same sound. Growing annoyed and concerned, Tobey spun the button several more times.

"They're all gone…" Becky muttered, noticing how the room started to spin around her. If there were no radio stations left running within Faircity, that meant that the entire town must be under Eradica’s control now. "Switch it to a station from a nearby city."

Tobey obliged, taking a moment to adjust the makeshift antenna. Instantly it sparked to life and a deep, out of focus emergency alert system could be heard blaring from the box and both instinctually covered their ears with their hands.

After the noise had halted they slowly lowered their arms, looking at each other with inherent horror. Tobey quickly lowered the volume, rocking himself slowly as a robotic voice began to come through.

Becky gulped.

"This is a national emergency. Important instructions will follow." 

They both winced as another beep echoed through the bunker. This time it was longer and more high pitched, almost like a scream.

"The following message is being transmitted at the request of the City Government, this is not a test. Reports are coming in that a terrorist attack was commenced against FairCity and that citizens are being unwillingly controlled by an unknown individual. Two planned attacks have been reported in Faircity and Meatropolis."

Becky and Tobey looked at each other in shock. This was much much bigger than they had both expected.

The boy felt like crawling into his skin. Things were bad, and for some reason they were staying that way. Where was Wordgirl? There had been no sightings, no reports, nothing. She was gone, and it made the boy feel queasy. 

The announcement continued dully. 

"At this time, all residents within a four hundred mile radius of these areas should seek shelter immediately. If you do not have a designated hideout, seek shelter within the interior of a strong building on the highest floor. Make sure you have food, water, and a battery powered radio with you. Do not exit the shelter until the all clear has been given."

The girl’s mouth dropped. Within the time it had taken them to come here, Eradica had taken over two large cities, something no villain had ever managed to do before. 

Another harsh beep blared through the room before it started repeating its horrific speel. 

Tobey quickly switched off the radio, pushing it aside with noticeable disgust. He knew how difficult it was to take over a city, and she had done it within mere minutes. What type of power did she have that no one else could stand against?

Becky began pacing the room, feeling herself slipping into paranoia. She had to do something, and she had to do it immediately. Sitting here with the last person she knew to be okay wasn't going to accomplish anything, and thoughts about how she was going to go about trying to fix things surged through her mind. Bob, Violet, Scoops, they were all gone, and all that she had left was a morally gray former villain who she could never even tell her secret to. She cursed under her breath. 

"I'm going back up." She determined, calling out to Tobey. "Stay here."

"That's suicide…" he argued "you can't do that!"

"Someone has to do something."

"Wordgirl is most likely already doing something."

"Then why has nothing changed?!" Becky growled, just wanting to leave. There were only so many arguments she could make. "I need to do something."

"I don't know…" Tobey admitted, "but you can't just leave! The radio specifically stated-"

"I'm going."

He went quiet, and for a moment Becky genuinely wondered if he had actually grown fond of her true identity within the little time they had spent together. "Then I won't stop you…" He muttered quietly, grabbing at his arm nervously. "Just be careful."

The girl nodded sternly, having made up her mind. She swiftly opened the bunker door, closing it gently behind her. Immediately it locked and the sounds of heavy bolts clicking into place filled the air. 

Knowing that no one was around to see her anymore, Becky narrowed her eyes, raising a single hand to her chest. Her voice went dark and her entire demeanor shifted. As she spoke a shiver went up her spine and a blinding light began illuminating all around her. "Word up…"