Don't flame! This is the longest fanfic I've ever written so far!

Warnings: nothing much to worry about

Disclaimer: I don't own atomic Betty, at all.

Summary: 'how I think it all went down with Betty explaining to her friends about how much she lied over the years about where she went off to whenever her watch beeped after the base exploded and how Degill reacted to having someone from earth finding out Betty's secret.'

"Well…" Betty started awkwardly, unable to gaze into the curious eyes of her friends "welcome to my ship. Might as well show you around while you're here." She finished by muttering to herself where no one could hear except her crew X-5 and Sparky "and while I still have my job." They gave each other a glance, recognizing her tone from years of working with her as a friend and teammate.

"So…. What is going on?" Noah blurted "and how could you do those moves you did while you were saving me!?"

"Ahem" a voice coughed, and Betty winced as she turned to her commanding officer, Admiral Degill. But, surprisingly, he looked… calm, even though they'd just bore witness to their precious base being destroyed. "I believe I can answer any questions you have after introductions. Do introduce us to each other, Betty."

She saluted "right away sir" the confused look Noah had was not unmissed by Betty, nor the one of beginning understanding in Paloma's face.

"Noah, Paloma, this is my pilot Sparky" she pointed to the green man on her right "and this is my navigator, X-5" she gestured to the robot on her left "and this is-" but Admiral Degill interrupted.

"Admiral Degill at your service" he held a small finned hand out to them "it's nice to meet one of Betty's human friends. I'm commander of the galactic guardians as well as Betty's immediate supervisor."

"Whoa, whoa, wait" Paloma interrupted "you mean the galactic guardians Juanita works for?"

"We have an operative of that name, yes."

"So you mean Betty is a galactic police agent?" Paloma summed up, gained a nod from Degill and a sheepish look from her red-headed friend.

"Wait, what am I missing!?" Noah exclaimed "I get Paloma is an alien, and that Betty is somehow friends with a robot and a green guy, but what's a galactic guardian?"

Betty rubbed her elbow as she answered "basically it's a police force that protects all the citizens in the universe instead of a city or town like on earth."

"Did you know about, well… me?" Paloma asked, fearing that everything about her friend was a lie instead of just part of it "were you just… assigned to me?"

Thankfully for Paloma, Betty started frantically shaking her head as she tried to explain without giving away too much "no, I didn't even know about Juanita's placement before now. She was in a completely different sector than me. And besides, I never get close to people I'm just watching over."

"Bad work ethics" Degill interrupted, but Betty plowed on, determined to reassure her friend.

"I really liked hanging around you Paloma. You and Noah are my best friends; I wouldn't do something that cold to you." she gave Paloma an unsure smile, wondering how the air on board had become so awkward so fast. How would Noah react to finding out that she was (sadly) super-famous? Today was not her day. She should have just stayed in bed.

Betty glanced fearfully at Degill. Was she going to get kicked out of the galactic guardians because she'd broken protocol? She hoped not, but it was his job to fire her now, unless she retired right here and now.

"Anyway" Degill coughed "we should take you home. Betty, I will be taking your chair if you don't mind."

"Not at all sir" Betty answered, leading Noah and Paloma to where the extra seats were.

"That's so weird" Noah muttered "that's gotta be the first time you've ever called anyone shorter than you 'sir' around me."

"He's my boss" she answered, not interested in the strange question but at the situation at hand "well, he is for now…"

"What do you mean?" Paloma questioned. Juanita never said much about the guardian's protocol and such, and so she had little information on the code and rules of her protectors.

"We better get you strapped into a chair." Betty professionally evaded the question "Sparky tends to fly at lightspeed. If you aren't in a chair, you'll hit a wall."

Degill jumped onto a metal chair in the middle of the main platform that rose to full height so anyone could see outside. He pressed a small button on a nearby panel, causing three simple chairs with seatbelts to come up from the floor.

Betty jumped into the one nearest to her special comrades. This was going to be a long ride, might as well have backup for the many questions that she knew would be asked.

The others sat next to her awkwardly, and they soon blasted off.

After a few minutes, Betty finally muttered "you know, I'm not a zoo animal."

Paloma and Noah flinched and looked different directions, as far away from her as possible.

Sparky coughed to gain attention "ahem. Um, admiral, can I speak freely for a moment." Betty's and X-5's (imaginary on his part) eyebrows furrowed. Sparky never spoke seriously unless it was something big.

"You may." Degill was just as interested as the others.

"Well, I know that Betty" another hint, he rarely ever used her name, and instead affectionately called her 'chief' or 'rookie' back in the academy "is gonna have to retire because someone on her planet knows about her secret cover…"

"She will" Degill affirmed. Paloma and Noah blanched. She was going to have to what? Because Noah had found out?

"Then I would like to resign from the galactic guardians immediately."

Betty jumped to her feet (something most people wouldn't be able to do if she didn't have the experience she did) "Sparky, no!" she exclaimed.

Sparky plowed on, ignoring her warning tone. "The chief has been my commanding officer from day one. And better yet, we've been friends from day one of galactic guardian academy when we were all paired together for a trio project… I couldn't imagine working with anyone else." He smiled at his friend "I'd quit first."

"I agree" X-5 put his two cents in "I can place a holographic resignation form in by the next earth day." Catching the look on Betty's face, X-5 quickly ended with "and no, I will not rethink this commander."

Beside herself, Betty smiled "you guys are the best, but I'm not about to force you guys to quit because of me."

Sparky crossed his arms "I would rather give up my stash of caramel slug-worms than get stuck with some weird rookie as my new chief."

Unable to think of a retort, Betty settled with crossing her arms as well and sinking back into her seat, a hard pit in her stomach that was slowly rising to her throat.

Today had to be one of the worst days of her life. As much as she complained, she truly loved her job as a galactic guardian. She got to see the universe, meets aliens, and strange (and usually disgusting) food. It was her dream job, and now she was losing it because she failed to protect one of her best friends from her enemies.

"Don't worry you three!" Degill finally exclaimed after a few minutes of bubble blowing "I'm not about to force anyone intro retirement."

"But sir, the rules-"

"Will have to be under-minded. I'm not about to give up my best squadron because of a small breech in protocol. Besides, you're definitely going to be needed at a time like this."

An enthusiastic "yes!" sounded from Sparky's seat, leading Betty to picture the green alien pumping a fist in the air, a small smile on her face. There would be a small celebration later, just she X-5, and Sparky. They'd just go to some small planet and eat at a greasy spoon, but it definitely uplifted her mood.

"Now that we've settled that drama, we've got a more pressing matter to worry about." Degill let his worries show "what do we do now that we don't have a base?"

This was more or less something I wrote out of boredom, and decided to post it. don't like, don't read, the usual yadda-yadda. Whoo! Over 1,400 words total!