Disclaimer: I don't own OK K.O.! Let's be Heroes!
Title: Join the Dark Side, we Have Hacks
Summary: Fearing she is taking advantage of her friendship with K.O., Dendy sets out to retrieve secret info from Boxmore.
Chapter Title: Day Five
...
Day 4 Notes:
-Mistakes have been made.
It's easy for Dendy to focus on schoolwork, regardless of her emotional state. Just like it's easy to plug the weather into her logs (fifty-nine degrees, with a hint of dew and threatened rainstorms) and check off her routine on her schedules. She sits down, pulls out a writing utensil, and has at it, ignoring the fact that her already pretty iffy handwriting is even worse than usual. That doesn't necessarily mean she's with it, so to speak, so much as that she refuses to get a bad grade, even in the wake of what is absolutely the worst plan of her life.
(Also, it's a nice distraction from having to look at K.O., whose right arm bears the tooth indents of a particular water snake that she may have helped redesign. Dendy won't deny that's part of it.)
Dendy doesn't like opening her logs in class, mostly out of principle, but today she did it anyway, surreptitiously writing under her desk.
I am a kappa of many emotional glitches, she slowly typed, scowling. But I did not think disloyalty to be among them. This impasse is insurmountable. I did not consider the fact that while I may get info from Lord Boxman... Dendy's eyes were drawn upwards when K.O. winced, reflexively rubbing at the wound.
...I'd have to help him hurt my friend to do it.
She swallowed.
Clearly, this was a mistake on my part. Facts and figures do not lie, but emotions do. I must've found the notion too indescribably disturbing to put it into the math. Realistically, I know this is of no more moral dilemma than the experiments I used to run on him, but my experiments were typically well-meaning, if painful, in my pursuit of answers. However, Boxmore's key goal is to harm heroes, and that includes K.O.
My eyes were clouded. This must be rectified.
Dendy found her mother playing solitaire at the dinner table. In her hands she clutched Pavel's frog like a stuffed toy, the creature croaking comfortingly. "I've made a terrible mistake."
"So did I," Pepelina said. "I think I just blocked myself in."
"I joined a villainous corporation," Dendy said. "And unintentionally got K.O. injured."
Pepelina looked up. As always, the kappaling was astounded by her brilliant poker face. She took in Dendy's expression, the frog tightly held to her chest, and shifted so she was half-off the chair. "'Mon up, Den. Tell me what happened."
By the time Dendy finished explaining, Pavel's frog was resting on her tiny lap, looking very peaceful. Dendy wished she could say the same. "Are you... angry with me?"
"Angry?" Pepelina asked, sounding puzzled.
She nodded, her flat voice low with defeat. "I betrayed the good guys."
"You didn't betray anything, kiddo. That's kind of what the whole spy thing means."
"Perhaps, but I harmed them." Dendy adjusted her googles. "I used my science for evil."
"Science isn't evil, Den." Her mother's fingers ran through her hair. "That's your little catchphrase, isn't it?"
"It can be used for evil, and that's what happened." She pulled up her blueprints. "And even if my hero-ness wasn't altered, there's no taking back the fact that this never would have happened if I hadn't given Lord Boxman my assistance."
"Maybe not, but this is fixable." Pepelina kissed the back of her head. "Just turn in a resignation form, sweetie. You aren't the first little hero to have a black mark on their resume."
"My employment is fixable," Dendy agreed heavily. "But the damage is not. Wounds may heal, and so do memories, but camera footage exists always. There's no destroying what I've done."
"Dendy, honey, if anyone asks, I never told you this." A small, knowing smile curved her mother's face. "But your lil' hackerpack is more than capable of destroying those rusty ol' security cameras."
Name: Darrell
Nickname, Or Full Name: No Data
(If Nickname) Full Name: No Data
Danger Level: Low
Unknowns: Age, How Much of Plaza Hatred Is His Own
Knowns: Loyal to Father Figure (Lord Boxman), Likes Rainbows
Notes: Possible Ally
Overall Opinion: Very Nice, Couldn't Insult a Tree
"...And then, when I went to see if she wanted to walk home together- like we always do- she jumped the fence!"
"Dendy jumped a fence?" Enid repeated bemusedly, eyebrow raised. "As in, Dendy Dendy?"
"I know, right?" K.O. threw his hands in the air, then winced and withdrew his right arm. "It's so unlike her. I mean, sometimes she likes being by herself, and I totally get that, but she knows she can just tell me and I'll give her space." He rubbed at the fresh bandage in what Dendy would label a nervous tic. "What if she doesn't wanna be friends anymore?"
"K.O., it's Dendy we're talking about here." She slouched over the counter to ruffle the top of his impossibly large hair. "If she really didn't wanna be friends with you, she'd send you, like, an email or something."
He perked up a little. "Hey, yeah, you're right." K.O. twisted around. "Speaking of emails, I got your review. It's the first one I ever got!"
"It was a good oneshot. It deserved the review."
"Aww, what?" Rad poked Enid's arm, pouting. "K.O. wrote a oneshot and nobody told me? Lame."
"I didn't think it was cool enough for you," he admitted sheepishly.
"Dude. Dude." The alien leaned over, sagely setting a hand on his shoulder. "Your first fanfic is the first step on a journey of self-and-story discovery. And everyone knows the first step is the coolest of all the steps."
"For once, he ain't wrong," Enid said. "Fanfics got me into fan-songs, and if you ever tell anyone I admit to knowing either I will eat your souls again." She pulled a face. "Even though they aren't all that tasty."
It wasn't like Dendy to be so nervous about putting her thoughts out there, but she hovered outside of Lord Boxman's office for almost three minutes, her upside down triangle frown trembling.
(Observation: the last time she had spoken to Lord Boxman, she had not played part in injuring her best friend. Hypothesis: she was using worry to mask anger, because Dendy had never liked her anger. Her voice got all squeaky and she forgot logic and facts and figures. No one likes losing control like that. Independent Variable: everything; Dendy had lost control of this ages ago. Dependent Variable: Dendy.)
Dendy steeled herself and tapped on the door. She was surprised by how quickly it opened.
"Yes, yes, what is it?" Lord Boxman demanded, scowling. He was still upset from losing the day before. "I didn't call for you."
"You didn't," Dendy agreed. "I'm quitting."
"I see," he said, and, to her shock, he seemed very calm about this. "Would you like to step into my office?"
The kappa pulled up her control panel, more than ready to bust through a wall. "Do you want me to step into your office?"
"Relax." He held up his hands. "I just wanna talk."
That gave Dendy pause. "You do?"
"Yup." Lord Boxman gestured for her to step inside. "I just fixed the floors from the last big battle in the warehouse. I'm not interested in wrecking them again so soon."
The door clicked shut silently behind him, but, to Dendy, it was reminiscent of a safe door slamming and locking.
"Now, I'll be real with you, Dendy." He guided her to the chair in front of his desk without actually touching her, hand hovering behind her. "I always kind of figured you were a goody-goody. No one who's friends with that brat K.O. can be truly evil. Morally gray, maybe, but evil? Puh-lease. Don't insult me." Dendy watched as he went around his desk and sat down. "Originally, I only planned to give you some meaningless paperwork to do, then rub it in his face. But you've proven to be quite the valuable asset."
Dendy swallowed. She'd seen enough cartoons to know that wasn't a good sign. "I do my best to do my best, sir."
Lord Boxman nodded sympathetically, as if she'd said something truly sad. "Stop me if you've heard this before, but I have a question: what's the difference between good and evil?"
"I didn't stop you, but I've heard that before."
"What's your answer?"
"Villains do their best to do their worst. Heroes do their best to do good."
"But each is inherently flawed, isn't it?"
"You're being oddly philosophic, Lord Boxman."
He put his chin on his chicken hand. "When I'm not spending my time trying to wreck a store, I can actually hold a somewhat civil conversation. Especially when it's to get something I want."
Dendy's eyes narrowed. "What do you want?"
"Your services have proven to be of great use to me, Dendy," he said. "Not only did you help me work through evil block, you gave me ideas for my next big scheme. And I'll need your help to do it."
"You will?"
"If I want it up and running quickly, yes."
"That's a shame, sir," Dendy said. "Seeing how I'm quitting."
"That's a shame," Lord Boxman echoed. "Seeing how I have photographic evidence of you helping me with my evil plans."
Dendy blinked. Blinked again. "Photographic?"
He shrugged. "I know you can hack my computers. I know you can delete my security cameras. But your little mystical hacking fingers can't do squat against photos."
"I'm..." she started, but didn't finish. She wasn't sure what she wanted to say.
Lord Boxman smiled. Dendy had never really paid attention to his sharp teeth, but they were prominent on his face now. "I'll see you tomorrow, Dendy. Have a safe walk home."
Dendy pulled up Lord Boxman's data file. She clicked on Overall Opinion.
'Butthead', it read.
She deleted it. Changed it.
'There Are no Proper Words for the Depths of my Hatred for Him', she put in its' place. It was a mouthful, but private files aren't for reading.
Dendy didn't cry very often. Not when she was sad, or scared, or grieving. No, crying seemed solely for frustration and anger, which she was feeling a lot of right now. But she was still technically in public, so she put a hand to her mouth and breathed hard, fogging up her goggles. Did it look silly? Yes. Did it help preserve her fragile dignity? Also yes.
Unfortunately, it also aided in her bumping into things, which she promptly did. Dendy doesn't mind that so much as she minds that it's warm. Then it talks, and her heart sinks into her belly.
"Howdy, kiddo." Gentle hands steadied her shoulders. "Fancy seein' you here."
"Mrs. K.O.?"
Carol chuckled at the name. It's just something Dendy attributed to her from the beginning, even though it wasn't correct. Friends called friends' parents 'Mr.' and Mrs.', and Dendy wasn't going to break that little rule, despite K.O.'s mother lacking a last name. "Heya. Heard you weren't talkin' to my boy." Carol seemed to realize how that sounded, and corrected herself accordingly. "You're not in trouble or anything, kiddo. I just wanted to make sure you were doin' okay?"
"I-I'm fine," Dendy said, then did the most not-fine thing a kid could do and sniffled. "Terrible s-sorry for the concern, Mrs. K.O."
"Dendy," Carol prompted, voice soft. "Are you cryin'?"
"I'm very angry," she replied, followed by her face crumpling. Carol, ever the mom-type person, immediately got on her knees and pulled the kappa in for a hug, patting her head comfortingly.
This is the least logical thing I've done all week, Dendy thought, and reluctantly let herself go for a moment. Once she felt better, she knew, she would be fully functioning. That was when her trek to victory could begin.
"So, what yer tellin' me..." Carol stopped to take a drink from her coffee mug, setting it down on the counter. "Is that I need to go over to Boxmore, fry Lord Boxman's hand, and force-feed it to 'em for lunch?"
Dendy cradled a cup of green tea in her hands, letting the warmth soothe her. "Please don't do that. I think it counts as cannibalism."
"Trust me, kiddo. He'll be lucky if I stop at cannibalism."
"I have plans of my own," she said, trying to come across as confident. Mostly, Dendy just felt drained. "I don't enjoy being beaten at my own game, Mrs. K.O. I intend to show him that."
Carol whistled appreciatively. "You go get 'em, Dendy. And, between you and me, I know a few things about hiding evidence."
"Are you encouraging illegal action?"
She winked. "I may be retired, but I'm not letting the stuff I learned at P.O.I.N.T. go to waste."
Cup drained, Carol set Dendy on the couch and went to make a phone call to her parents. Dendy was of the impression that she had been accepted into a sleepover she never inquired about. It made her feel a little bit better- how much Carol cared about her son's friends. Speaking of, she heard the pitter-patter of his feet on the floor, expertly dodging various punching bags and barbells.
"Deeeeennnnndddddyyyyyy!" K.O. wailed, pulling her into a bone-crushing hug. She swore he was blubbering. "I-I-I thought you h-ha-hated me!"
"K.O.," she said, slightly muffled. "If I hated you, I would've sent you an email ending our friendship."
"I should've known," he half-chuckled, pulling back. His eyes were wet for reasons beyond Dendy's current understanding. "I gotta B on the test, by the way. Thanks."
"Do you hate me?" Dendy asked, eyes drawn to the white bandage.
"Hate you?" K.O. repeated, aghast. "Why would I hate you?"
"I've been working for Boxman."
He nodded, rocking on his feet. "Mommy called and told me when she drove you here."
Dendy let out a frustrated squeak. "You don't get it!" she cried, thrusting her hands out. Dendy grabbed his wrist, shaking the limb. "I helped make this happen! I hurt you! I tried to destroy the Plaza! I have been the exact opposite of a proper hero and friend!"
K.O. stared at her, floored. Then he snorted and pulled her in for another hug. "You didn't hurt me," he reassured her. "And you didn't try to destroy the Plaza. If you did, you woulda sent something waaaaaaay better than a stretchy metal piranha."
"That's true," she admitted. "And it was a water snake. I think. It was kind of both."
"Man, I knew Buttman was a jerk," Rad said. "But I didn't realize he was that big of a jerk."
"Why are you two here?" Dendy asked. "This is K.O. and Mrs. K.O.'s house."
Enid and Rad both had taken the floor in front of the couch, lounging at their feet. Carol had secured blankets for them all, so they had formed a pile of blanket burritos. The room was lit only by the TV, which was playing a movie Dendy hadn't really been paying attention to. Down the hall they could hear Carol's snores.
The ninja reached out of her own blanket burrito to pat her knee. "We heard you needed support. Also Lord Boxman needed a wedgie."
"Why is everyone so determined to cause him physical harm?" Dendy blinked at them, ignoring the urge to take off her googles and clean them. "I can't exact revenge if he's out of commission."
"Well, somebody's gotta do it," Rad defended huffily. "He messed with you."
"So?" Dendy replied quietly. She may have accepted his apology, but that didn't mean his words hadn't set her on this path. If he found her logic and statistics and science and Dendy stuff so boring, why would he care? Why would any of them? She certainly hadn't proven herself in any way with this endeavor.
"Okay, look." Rad put his hands out, both sideways, as if holding an invisible box. "You're weird and awkward and kinda creepy sometimes- but you're our weird and awkward and kinda creepy sometimes kid, y'know?"
"Yup." Enid reached back to poke K.O.'s nose. "Just like this is our pure cinnamon roll, too pure for this world."
K.O. waved it off with a blush. "Aw, shucks."
Dendy found herself smiling, despite the mixed feelings in her chest. "I know I... I focus on my interests more than I do others'. And I wish I could apologize for that, but I can't. I am who I am." She finally gave in, plucking her goggles off her face and rubbing a dry eyelid. Kappas weren't built to be dry. "I just wanted to try and make up for it, I guess. It was silly."
"Dendy, I like doing the stuff we do." K.O. poked her shoulder so she looked at him. "And, yeah, I don't really know a lot of your super smart science words, but that's fun too! It's like I'm doing a friend riddle."
"Everyone does things their own way," Enid said from the front. "That's not a bad thing, dude."
"Yeah," Rad added. "I'm tough. Enid's cool, or whatever. You're a nerd." Enid kicked him. "A really awesome nerd! Haha, nailed it."
"Yes," Dendy said, turning back to the TV. "I suppose you did."
Day 5 Notes:
-Boxman Continues to be a Butthead
-Victory Will be Mine
-He Will Pay
Author's Note: Heeeeey, chapter three finally done! Next is gonna be about Day 9, while the last one (an epilogue of sorts) will be day 10.
-Mandaree1
