CHAPTER 11: Web World War 2

As they watched from the War Room, the team saw an entire pod of Web Creatures emerge from the Gate's portal. They assembled into a large platoon formation above the building with Megabyte as their commanding officer.

"What in the world are those things?" asked Sawyer as he stepped closer to observe the horrid looking beings.

"Web Creatures," replied Ray. "They're very aggressive and very dangerous. They live in the Web."

"Sure are ugly," Kevin said.

A Web Creature moved into view on the vidwindow, taking up the whole screen. It showed its giant mouth and sharp teeth as it completely took the camera in its mouth and ripped it off, leaving static on the screen.

"I see what you mean by aggressive," said Sawyer.

"Megabyte has a telepathic link with the Web Creatures," said Bob. "We can't let him leave the system."

"Can you shut down the Gateway from here?" asked Matrix of his sister.

Dot was at the control station trying to do just that but had no luck. "I can't do it from here," she said. "He must have the controls locked out."

"We can't just start attacking the pod," said Bob. "The last time it took out half of our defense forces."

"I'll have the CPUs on standby anyway," said Dot. "They're more experienced since the last invasion. They'll be better prepared."

"That still doesn't solve our problem of shutting off the Gateway," said Ray.

"My father built a safety protocol into the new Gate's programming," said Dot. "After fifteen microseconds it shuts down and won't be able to operate again for another fifteen after that."

"So we have a fifteen microsecond window to take out at least a hundred of these things and stop Megabyte from dialing the Gateway again," said Sawyer. "Not a lot of time."

"It'll have to work," said Dot. "In the meantime, Ray, take Mouse to med lab and make sure she and Phong are secured there. We're going to need your help on this, so get back quickly."

"You got it," said the search engine. He scooped Mouse up in his arms, stepped up onto his surfboard, and was off down the hall.

"Bob," said Dot. "I need you to call Turbo —"

"No way, Dot," he said, cutting her off. "You know what the Guardian Protocol says about Web Creatures. If Turbo knows an entire pod is here, the Council will order the system be destroyed."

"After we stopped Daemon they won't help us with this?" asked AndrAIa.

"Turbo and I go back a long time," said Bob. "That didn't stop the Collective from trying to delete us last time."

The realization that they were on their own struck Dot and the others like a spear through the stomach. They had been in this situation before, and the last time it had cost them a great price to restore their lives. Even now, the wounds still weren't completely healed.

"We don't have a choice, Dot," said Bob, his voice heavy with fatigue. "We have to fight this ourselves."

At first it seemed as if she would cry. She bowed her head and closed her eyes in contemplation. Then that determined expression wiped away the sorrowful look, and the familiar Dot Matrix spirit resurfaced. She donned her reading glasses as she often did when confronted with a problem, and stood straight, as if she were about to take on Megabyte herself.

"Let's do it," she said. She stepped to the communications station and opened a channel with the CPU captains.


Megabyte had a stunning view of Mainframe from the top of the Principal Office. He would lay waste to this infernal system once again, then move on to his main objective. The Supercomputer was still recovering from Daemon's prolonged attack, and the Collective would be in no condition to fully resist his siege. It would be difficult, he realized. He would probably lose half his forces in the initial strike, but in the end his success was guaranteed.

"Soon," he said to himself, "I will finally have the strength to crush this infernal system and conquer the Supercomputer." His complete revenge was almost at hand.

The virus had almost a hundred in his ranks. With his telepathy he could direct them to do any action he desired, even hunt down the sprites. The thought alone made him smile.

First, he would free the creatures on the city, unleashing his greatest reign of terror yet. When all life had been devoured for energy for his army he would move on to the Supercomputer. Once there he could use its vast connections to bring in more Web Creatures and send his army to every system on the Net. A flawless plan.

Just when another Web Creature came through the Gateway the portal destabilized and disappeared.

"What!" Megabyte roared as he returned to the control panel. "How did they shut it down?"

He tried to bring the ping function online, but it wouldn't activate. In anger, he slammed his clenched fists into the control panel.

No matter. I have enough Web Creatures to take the city. When I arrive in the Supercomputer, I can use the ports there to import more creatures.

As he was thinking, a gust of wind came from under the portal generator. Megabyte turned around and found Mainframe's entire fleet of CPUs assembled in front of the army of Web Creatures.

"Well, well," he chuckled. "This is going to be fun." Mentally, he called to his soldiers. Delete them all.


The attack force was in position. This was going to be the biggest battle Mainframe had seen since the first Web War.

Dot and AndrAIa coordinated the CPUs from the War Room.

"Here they come," said AndrAIa as the Web Creatures began to advance on the fleet.

"All units, this is said Dot. Fire at will."

The two forces collided face to face. Energy blasts from the CPUs hit their targets, but it wasn't enough to stop their brutal enemy. Mercilessly, the Web Creature army cut right through the CPU vehicles like tissue paper. It was a violent battle.

Matrix was on his motorcycle. He charged right into the midst of the battle with every weapon in his arsenal. Needless to say, it was the most fun he had had in cycles.

Kevin and Bob were on their way to the hangar level where Bob's car had been parked.

"Are you sure you want to stay?" asked Bob. "You can go at any time."

Kevin looked at the retrieval module on his wrist, then back at Bob. "My mission isn't over. If Megabyte can do what you say he can, then he represents a threat to national security. I have to help stop him." He paused before saying his next statement. "Speaking of which, what happens when we stop Megabyte? What's going to happen to him?"

"I'm not sure yet. I had hoped that we could turn him, but now I'm not sure if I can."

"You mean reprogram a virus," said Kevin.

"Haven't you ever tried it?" asked Bob.

"It's easier to just delete them," said Kevin. "A virus is destructive by design. You can't just reprogram one."

"I tried it. It worked once," said Bob, his thoughts reflecting back to Hexadecimal. "Maybe you just need to be more compassionate."

Sawyer had to admit that Bob had a point. His experience in Mainframe had opened a new, fascinating world unlike anything he could have imagined. The human race definitely needed to change its outlook.

Bob stopped and turned to Kevin. "Before we go any further I need to know something. A partner of mine once told me that why a user creates viruses is beyond our understanding. So I'm asking. Why would a user willingly unleash a virus?"

Kevin sighed and leaned against the wall. "There are countless reasons. It's mainly about power. Some people feel they have the right to control a system they helped shape, others just because they can. They need to feel powerful, so they do their best to corrupt a system everybody depends on."

"So it's all about power," Bob said.

"And control. To control the system means to dominate the system. So why do we create viruses? Just because we can. We created the Internet, and some people feel we can do whatever we please with it."

Bob seemed disappointed by Kevin's response as he turned his head to the ground.

"Not all users are like that, though," he continued. "Some try to protect the Net, keep it open and free to everyone. That's one reason I'm here."

"But you don't know what you're doing to us. We get caught in the crossfire."

"I realize that now. That's why we have to stop Megabyte and get me back to my world. I can stop this from happening. I can help make this world safer and my world better. I know you don't trust me, but I'm asking you to. I can help."

Bob looked at Kevin. There was sincerity in his voice. Bob believed he was telling the truth. The Guardian had gained a degree of respect for this traveler. Since his arrival he had proven himself over and over again as a friend. He won the game and had saved his life when Megabyte tried to choke it out of him. If trust was something to be earned, Kevin had certainly done so.

"I believe you," said Bob. "Come on. We've got a job to do."

Kevin nodded, and they continued toward the hanger.


"This is Mike the TV coming to you live from outside the Principal Office where an entire pod of Web Creatures has entered Mainframe! The system's defense forces are falling like flies as they try to repel the gruesome invaders. How did this happen? Who unleashed this dreaded force upon us?"

A CPU patrol unit crashed behind Mike and exploded into flames. The news reporter jumped in fright, then looked back at the camera crew.

"Did you see that?" he yelled frantically. "That almost hit me! I don't believe this. It's like I'm a magnet for falling, flaming objects! First I get infected by Megabyte, then I get sent right into a war zone! I'm not supposed to be on live coverage. My agent is so getting fragged when I get my hands on him."

One of the crew members cleared his throat and pointed back to the camera.

"Oh, right," said Mike. He cleared his throat and continued with the coverage. "How did this happen? Who unleashed this dreaded force upon us? If we're still processing after this commercial break, we just might have those answers! Stay tuned. And now, a word from our sponsor.

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Megabyte worked furiously at the control terminal. He tried to reroute energy to the Gateway Command, but the controls just wouldn't respond. The sprites had somehow managed to cut power to it.

Curse those wretched...

A voice called from behind him. "You and I have unfinished business."

Slowly, Megabyte turned to see a very harsh-faced Bob with Glitch pointed directly at his head.

"Still sore over that business with Dot, I see," Megabyte said. "How did you get up here so fast?"

"Never mind," Bob said. "You're through, Megabyte. The Gate's offline and I'm not letting you get away with this."

"What do you plan to do, reprogram me? I'd rather be deleted, and we both know you can't go against your code. We're both trapped by our nature, Bob. I can't be like you any more than you can bring yourself to delete me, and that's what you're going to have to do if you ever want to stop me."

"Can it," retorted the Guardian. "I'm sick of your small talk. You've done nothing but ruin the lives of my friends. It ends here. One way or another, you're coming with me."

"So you're threatening me now? That's a bit dark for you, Guardian." He shot Bob a malicious glare. "You won't delete me. It goes against everything you stand for. You couldn't live with yourself."

"I'm learning to live with a lot of things," Bob said.

The grin on Megabyte's face disappeared as a red dot appeared on his chest.

"Can you really bring yourself to do it, Bob?"

Bob remained silent, his eyes uncertain. He was struggling inside. His rage and guilt were fighting against his core programming. He admitted Megabyte deserved deletion. His experiment had both succeeded and failed. It was time to end it, time to put a stop to the madness, but he couldn't do it. Bob was no executioner.

Then Megabyte began to chuckle. "That's what I thought."

An invisible pair of tentacles wrapped around Bob from behind, pinning his arms to his sides. He was caught off guard and struggled to get out of their hold, but it was no use. The grip was too much to break out of. Before Bob could call on Glitch it was removed from his wrist.

Then an invisible alias materialized. "Use the keytool to power the Gateway." The alias threw the keytool to Megabyte. "I'll take care of the Guardian."

He plugged Glitch into the console just as the fifteen microsecond shut-down period ended, and within nanoseconds the Gateway was connected to the Web again.

"You should have deleted me, Bob," said the alias as he pulled Bob over to the edge of the platform. "Good-bye."

The alias grabbed Bob by the belt, and threw him off the Principal Office. The Guardian soared through open air for a nano before gravity exerted its pull and he vanished below the side. At first Megabyte was speechless. The Guardian was finally gone for good, his body tumbling helplessly toward the ground.

The alias turned to its master. "Well, he's out of the way for good now."

"Finally, I'm rid of that infuriating sprite. The CPUs are having less trouble deleting the Web Creatures than I first anticipated. We need reinforcements before we can move on."

"Wait," said the alias. "What's that noise?"

Megabyte listened, and he heard a rumbling sound like a car.

Megabyte and his alias turned around and were only moderately surprised to see Bob and the user rising up in Bob's refitted car.

"I caught a lift," said Bob humorously. "Sorry to disappoint you. Glitch: lockout!"

Glitch responded and encrypted the control terminal, jamming the link function and closing the Gateway again. It disconnected itself from the panel and quickly rejoined its partner.

"Get them!" ordered Megabyte.

Before the alias could attack, Kevin fired his laser, deleting the facsimile. Bob put his car into gear and stepped on the gas, ramming right into Megabyte.

The impact knocked the virus right off his feet, but his claws sank into the hood of the car as it raced away from the Gateway.