III.

Seeing Radopolis in the dark was a whole new experience and Jackie wished she had more time to enjoy it. Even at night the Radsters didn't seem to rest from their board tricks and parties, and the colorful lights they used to pave their roads gave the site an energizing glow.

Luckily Coop was home when they knocked on his door. He emerge in his pajamas with a cup of coffee in one hand. "Cybersquad. What can I do for Motherboard tonight?" Before anyone could reply, he spotted Digit in Matt's arms and opened the door wider for them to come in.

Matt set Digit down on the kitchen table and dropped into a chair, his arms aching from the weight. The three of them took turns catching the mechanic up as Coop gave Digit the once over. Jackie felt herself tense up again as Coop listened to their story and at the end shook his head.

"That doesn't sound good. If his data is decaying you won't have more than twelve hours before his drives are irreparably damaged." He picked Digit up and tucked him under one arm. "Come with me." He led the trio into the garage attached to the house and set Digit down in a machine that shone a blue light over him. "We use this to do diagnostics," he explained, watching the monitor closely.

A green bar appeared on the screen and dropped from 99% to 98% after a few seconds. Coop flipped through several screens of data his eyes darting back and forth like a ping pong ball. "I can't read any of this." He hung his head and let out a bitter defeated chuckle. "Hacker must have use his own programing language to script this. He always tried to be pointlessly flashy with his work. Usually it just annoyed anyone who tried to work with him. It must have taken Dr. Marbles months to decipher enough to make upgrades."

"There'll be time for nostalgia later," Matt said. "Do you think you could fix him?"

Coop shook his head. "It wouldn't be possible unless I had the manual for his script." He turned back to the monitor and tapped a few buttons. "But I can store some of his more recent memories into a backup file. That should at least buy you a little time to find Dr. Marbles." He handed Inez a miniature floppy.

"A week?" she asked, gingerly pocketing the disk.

"A few hours at best."

"No, no, no! There has to be someone else who can fix him," Jackie cried. "Otherwise... otherwise..."

"We're going to have to ask..."

"Hacker," Matt spat.

"We need to start thinking of a plan," Inez said, pulling up a sandbag and using it to get into a headstand. "We can't waste any more time trying to find people who might not be able to help. There has to be a way to get Hacker to fix Digit without putting any of us or Motherboard in danger." Jackie started pacing while Matt just watched the two of them, his mouth agape.

"Guys. You're not seriously thinking about asking Hacker? Hacker! How many times has he double crossed us already?"

Jackie pursed her lips. They could all remember when they had been more naïve about Hacker's lack of principles and had helped him out of jail in Sensible Flats in exchange for the cure to Motherboard's virus. The "cure" had barely lasted 24 hours before failing, leaving Motherboard no better off than before. But their closest call had been when he'd come directly to Control Central on one of the few days visitors were still allowed and nearly destroyed Motherboard with a mutant robot frog.

"We're not talking about trusting him, Matt," Inez said. "We'll need to take every precaution. Making sure he doesn't try anything funny, and doesn't try to pull a fast one on us or Motherboard."

"How are we going to do that?" Matt folded his arms, still too angered by the idea to think properly. Even the idea of having to ask Hacker for help made him clench his jaw tight.

As the trio fell deep into thought, Coop glanced between them with a little glint in his eye. "Luckily for you guys, I happen to know a weakness of our mutual acquaintance." He burst into laughter, licking his lips in anticipation. "You're going to love this."

IV.

"I think it's stuck," Inez hissed, her eyes wild and panic stricken.

"Keep pulling. Before he wakes up!" Jackie urged, running over to help her. They'd set up a rope and spool in the garden of Control Central and had succeeded in getting it to do several turns around the mechanism. But now it seemed what the hook had taut against was too heavy. "We just need to get him through the portal. Matt, go through to the other side and push, but be careful!"

"Got it!" Matt cried, running through the portal. A moment later, the foot end of a king sized bed came through the portal into the garden. Jackie dropped the rope and started pulling at the footboard itself.

"Just a little more!" Jackie fought back the urge to scream with delight as Matt came back through with the front of the bed. "Quick. We gotta get out before he wakes up." She shoved her friends out the greenhouse's sliding doors before quickly locking down the glass dome. The trio crowded around the security feed, hearts racing but none quite sure exactly what to do next.

"I can't believe we did that! I can't wait to see his face when he realizes where he is," Matt snorted. "Should we tell him over the speaker? Can either of you do an Ivanka impersonation?"

"Matt," Inez cried, though she was holding back her own laughter. "Digit needs us. We have to focus."

"Okay guys, huddle." Jackie put her arms around her friend's shoulders as they all fought their little smirks.

They had actually done it. Kidnapped Hacker. Coop's idea had been absolutely brilliant and it had made all of them, especially Matt, look up to him more than they already did. From the security feed, they could see the borg snoring away in bed. He was obviously not a light sleeper after all the noise they'd made getting him here.

"We're all going to have to play nice, like it or not," Jackie continued. "Digit's safety and Mother B's matter most here so we don't want to tempt him to try something behind our backs."

Matt and Inez nodded. "I shut the vents so a long as the garden door stays shut the whole time, he'll never get to Motherboard," the bespectacled girl added.

"If we get done before morning, Buzz and Delete won't even realize their boss is gone so we don't have to worry about a surprise visit from the Wrecker," Matt finished. "We got this, Jax."

Their bonding moment was interrupted by a sound from the garden. Turning to the security cameras they could see Hacker yelling obscenities and shaking his fist at the camera. "You impudent Earth-brats dare to kidnap THE HACKER?! Just wait till I get my hands on you, I'll make you rue the day our paths ever crossed!"

"Maybe we should wait for him to calm down first," Inez suggested. "On the other hand, that might be never."

"Come on," Jackie said, taking her friend by the arm. "Stay close to each other, and remember to stand your ground."

The three friends each got on one side of toolbox-Digit and lifted, entering back through the sliding doors with as much stoicism they could muster. They were far from an imposing force, but either was their adversary at the moment. Though the expression he wore was one of murderous rage, any fear he might have provoked was dampened by the sight of him in mauve footie pajamas.

"We have a proposal for you, Hacker." Matt was the first to speak as they set the inactive cyboid down in front of him. Jackie made sure to block Digit with her foot, stopping the cyber-villain from getting to him without passing her first. Hacker's anger seemed to subside when he recognized his creation sat lifelessly on the floor. It was replaced quickly however with a self-satisfied sneer comparable only to the face of a weasel.

"It's THE Hacker to you irksome earth-brats. Did that supercilious cyberturkey finally kick the can?" he laughed. "I hope you're not looking for my sympathy. About time, I'd say."

It took every bit of self control in Jackie's body not to give the cyborg a hard kick in the shins. Hacker was already the lowest of the low in her books, but it still baffled her how the person who created Digit could think to talk like that. The only thing that forced her to restrain herself was the need for the cyborg's cooperation.

"His data is decaying and you're going to fix him," she interjected, jabbing her finger at him as she spoke. "All the doors are locked. We've got you trapped. If Digit isn't fixed, you're not leaving."

"WHAT?!" Hacker smacked her hand away and clenched his hands into fists. "You think you can give me orders? If his data's decaying, he'll be nothing by a hunk of metal in a few hours."

"And so will you without a recharge." Inez had delivered their trump card. She watched the villain's face fall as the realization of his predicament dawned on him. His mouth hung agape as he stared at his adolescent rivals. Jackie smiled.

"So what's it going to be, Hacker?"