Story 7
To Brand a Viral
Dash saw her and narrowed her eyes. It was the User who'd helped destroy him. She hadn't known him, and yet she had taken it upon herself to help delete him. Dash could feel her hatred simmering.
"Dot...?" Jo Ann asked, unsure that this was her friend.
"Jo Ann..." Dash gave the User Guardian a smile; a not altogetherly kind smile.
"Where did you get that outfit? Does Bob know you're wearing things like that?"
"Do you like it?" Dash twirled around, showing off the tight skimpy garment.
"Well...it's definately a change for you. But I'm not too sure if Bob will like it," Jo Ann answered. Something felt wrong here.
"That's his problem; I felt like a change.." she purred.
WHERE are her wedding rings?! I need to talk to Bob about this! Jo Ann thought. Out loud, she said, "Well, I need to talk to Bob about Zena's next training session. See you later..." Jo Ann walked off toward the Principle Office.
"Sooner than you think, User Guardian..." Dash muttered quietly, enjoy the fact that she had unnerved the girl.
At the PO, Jo Ann met up with Bob, Matrix, Wild Card, and...Dot? "Desided to change back into something less...slinky, Dot?" she asked.
Dot looked at her, confused, "What?"
"Didn't we just meet outside the diner, and weren't you wearing something really...um...sexy?" Jo Ann hated to say it that way, especially with the guys watching. But something weird was going on.
"I've been in meetings all day!" Dot told her.
"I just saw you wearing the slinkiest outfit ever! Or was it you?" Then Jo Ann remembered something. "Wait a nano...you --or whoever it was that was pretending to be you-- weren't wearing your wedding rings!"
Dot frowned, "You know me, I rarely even wear a miniskirt!!"
"Dash, then?" Bob asked.
Dot groaned, "Not her again...no!"
"User, I thought we would learn by now..." Jo Ann groaned.
"Trouble is, Dash can mimic Dot so easily," Bob said.
"If she's walking the streets she and Chimera have something planned..." Dot warned.
"What, I wonder?" Jo Ann asked.
"She probibly still has it out for you, JoJo," Matrix said. "For your part in deleting Megabyte."
"And me..." Dot sighed.
"How do you guys deal with it?" Jo Ann asked. "You've had virues as enemies before, those that bear a grudge against you for one reason or another. How do you cope with it?" Jo Ann sank down in a chair at one of the computer terminals.
"We just do; its a part of who we are -- what we stand for..." Dot told her.
"Darlin'," Wild Card said, putting his arm around her shoulders for support. Jo Ann looked up at her husband. "This is somethin' we all have ta deal with. It's part of bein' a Guardian, part of bein' a Mainframer. But don't forget, we are all here for you. You ain't facin' this viral threat alone. We are with you all the way."
"Oh how sweet..." came a voice from a vidwindow that had just appeared.
"Now, what?" Jo Ann sighed as she looked at the vid-window.
"A word of advise, Jo Ann," Dash offered, "Don't be so gullible...it could delete you...hello there, Bob..." Dash ran her tongue over her teeth and practically purred.
"Hello, Dash," Bob said unamusingly. "What viral pranks are you and the viral twins up to now?"
"If I told you that, 452, it would spoil our fun...and that wouldn't do; would it?" she pouted.
"You know we'll stop you, whatever your plans are," Bob crossed his arms over his chest, the starburst-icon shinning in the center.
Dash's confident flirty smile stayed right where it was. "You're welcome to try, babydoll...you're all welcome to try...Jo?"
"Some second, Dash, I'm going to recognize you for who --and what-- you are!" Jo Ann seathed. You little masqurade as Dot won't work forever!"
"Maybe...but Jo, sweetie, don't get complacent; and watch out for shadows..." Dash winked at Wild Card to get under the User Guardian's skin. "I'll get you, little User..."
"Not if I get you first, phony!"
"Really, Jo Ann, you should work on controlling that temper of yours; it could get you in trouble..." Dash taunted her.
Jo Ann seathed. Then, she looked over at Bob. "Was Megabyte ever this bad?" she asked him.
"Yeah." Bob told her.
"Glad to know I live up to his legacy...Sleep well, Jo Ann...sleep lightly..."
"Just remember, Dash: I beat the supervirus, Daemon. A little viral like you is nothing, next to that!"
"You knew what to expect from her...you don't know anything about me..."
More than you THINK, viral, Jo Ann thought. "We'll see when the time comes, won't we?"
"Like I said, my pretty, sleep lightly..."
"Likewise, little viral, likewise..."
Dash smiled widely, blew a kiss at Wild Card closed the vidwindow.
Jo Ann's anger had caused her to rise from her seat when she confronted Dash. Now, she sat back down, more dispondent then before.
"So," she said slowly, "This is what it feels like to have an arch enemy..."
"Don't let her get under your skin," Dot advised as Wild Card wrapped his arms around Jo Ann.
"Any tips on dealing with your arch enemy?" Jo Ann asked, giving them a half-smile.
"Don't let them know they're getting to you..." Bob advised.
"Any idea on how we can get to her, instead?"
"She has a very soft spot for MB..." Matrix mused.
"Okay...you guys have had all the experience with virues and virals: How do we use her soft spot to our advantage?"
Dot laughed softly, "I don't know...Maybe since she is basically a twisted version of me; maybe study the things that get to me and use them against her?"
"Well...what is it that gets to you?" Jo Ann hoped that they were getting somewhere with this.
Dot sighed softly, "Various little nit-picky things..."
"Such as..."
Dot and Bob shared a humourous glance, "Squeezing the tooth-paste in the middle," Bob teased his wife.
"How about something we can use against her? I doubt if we can use 'squeezing the tooth-paste in the middle' as a stratagy against Dash," Jo Ann smiled.
"I know," Dot gave Bob a look. "um...insulting Bob bugs me; what about constantly going ton about how if MB was really the man she thought he was, he could've taken down Matrix?" Dot suggested.
"Oooo...good one!" Jo Ann laughed. "Putting down Megabyte will really rub her the wrong way! And it's soooo easy, too!"
"It's petty; but it works..."
"Ohh...I just thought of a good one! Let's bug her about the time when Kid Matrix and Frisket really beat MB's bitmap!" Jo Ann giggled.
Dot chuckled, "Nice one..."
"Thanks," Jo Ann grinned at her. "Anybody else no any? We'll need plenty of ammo for this attack plan."
"You'll come up with things..."
"I hope so."
"You will..."
"Tonight, I think, we should sleep in the PO, darlin' --just to be safe. Who knows what that she-Web Creature is plannin'," Wild Card said.
"Okay," Jo Ann said wearily.
"Good idea: I'll have beds brought from the infirmiry to your ofice, Jo..." Dot smiled.
"Thanks, Dot," Jo Ann smiled at her sister-in-law.
"One big bed, Dot," Wild Card grinned. "I'm not goin' to let Jo Ann outta my arms for a nano all night!"
"Okay, okay!" Dot laughed.
"Thanks," Wild Card grinned.
*~*~*
Later that night, a dark figure slipped into the PO...
Wild Card kept awake, guarding his wife. Matrix stood outside the door. Bob and Dot slept in a nearby room, surrounded by alarms.
Dash approached Bob and Dot's room. She hit the enter button.
::AUTHORISATION REQUIRED TO ENTER:::
"Voice recognition system: This is Dot Matrix."
::AUTHORISATION CONFIRMED::
Dash slipped in to the room and stole one of Dot's nightgowns. She put her own clothing into a bag and prepared a glass of milk.
Dash then approached Matrix
"Hi, Dot. Shouldn't you be in bed?" the green warrior asked.
"I couldn't sleep... Is Jo Ann alright? Dash probably really freaked her out..."
"I'm sure she's okay. Wild Card's with her. You know he wouldn't let anyone near Jo Ann," Matrix grinned.
"Poor dear...why don't you go get some sleep? I'll keep an eye on things here..."
"Nah...I'm okay. Couldn't sleep with that she-viral on the loose, anyway," Matrix answered.
"Are you sure, Enzo?" Dash moved into hug him; hoping to hit one of the nerve-endings in his neck which would knock even this ox out cold.
"I'm sure. You go back to bed...Dash!" Matrix snarled. He had noticed that the "Dot" standing before him was not wearing wedding rings.
Dash's eyes returned to her normal virus colours and she hissed at him, clawing his face with a razor-sharp fingernail before disappearing into darkness.
Matrix snarled at slamed his fist into the alarm button, waking everyone in the PO up.
Dot and Bob threw their robes on and shot out to find out what was wrong.
At the same time, Jo Ann and Wild Card came out of the door. Jo Ann had slept in her uniform, with Pixal settled on her left bracer. Wild Card had worn his pants to bed, but nothing else. As soon as she saw Matrix, Jo Ann knelt by his side, touching the gash on his face. Using her powers, she healed it so that not even a scratch was left.
"Matrix, are you all right? What happened?" Jo Ann asked.
"Dash," he said simply, "She got past all our security..."
"How?" Bob asked, worried. .
"She is basically me..." Dot yawned, "fingerprints, retinal codes, voice recognition would all read her as me..."
"And only Matrix was able to tell it was her," Bob grinned.
"How could he tell?" Jo Ann asked.
"Yeah. How could you?" Dot asked, resting her tired head on Bob's shoulder.
"My eye," Matrix grinned, pointing at the golden orb in his right eye socket. "And, I have fought viruses long enough to know who is viral and who isn't."
"I wonder what she was going to do?" Dot mused..
"Who knows what that she-jackel was up too!" Jo Ann seethed.
"It could be anything...she's evil..."
"Time to fight fire with fire!" Jo Ann snarled. She created a portal. "I'll be right back," she said, and stepped through, closing the portal after her.
*~*~*
Dash was back at the Tor, hoping Chimera didn't know she'd been gone.
*~*~*
Jo Ann stood in Hexadecimal's Lair. It was no longer a place of fear, but of beauty, although still a little chaotic in decor.
"Hex?" Jo Ann called out, all anger having left her.
Scuzzy wizzed around Jo Ann's feet and a sleepy Hexadecimal emerged from her bedroom.
"Jo Ann? you're up late dear..."
Jo Ann didn't answer. Hopping over Scuzzy so that she would not trip over him, Jo Ann ran into Hex's arms, crying.
Hex embraced the User Guardian and patted her back; whispering reassurances.
"Whats wrong dear?!!" she asked finally.
"Dash..." Jo Ann sobbed. Between her tears and sobs, Jo Ann told the ex-virus everything that had happened.
Hexadecimal frowned, "That girl is getting more and more like my brother..." she sighed.
"Will you come and help us?" Jo Ann asked, choking back tears.
"In anyway I can..." Hex handed Jo Ann a handkerchief.
"Thank you..." Jo Ann sniffed. She blew her nose on the hankerchief and calmed down. She wiped the tears from her eyes.
"And she got past all your security measures?!" Hex asked..
"Yes. She can mimic Dot exactly. Only Matrix knew it was her and not Dot."
"As Bob would say 'this is bad'..."
"Yes. Let's go. They probibly think that I've gone to challenge Dash," Jo Ann smiled.
"Probably..." Hex giggled.
*~*~*
Back in the PO, Dot was working herself into a frenzy.
"Where did she go?" Wild Card asked. He was worried about his wife.
"She's probably gone to fight Dash!" Dot declared, pacing up and down, worried beyond belief.
Suddenly, a portal openned. Jo Ann and Hexadecimal stepped into the PO.
"Thank the User!" Dot sighed. Wild Card rushed to embrace Jo Ann.
"Miss me?" Jo Ann teased them.
"Aargh! Don't do that again!" Dot sighed, her heart-rate returning to normal.
"I went to get Hex. Fight fire --or virals-- with fire --or ex-viral!" Jo Ann smiled.
"We thought you were going to fight Dash, luv..." Wild Card told her.
"I know better then that!" Jo Ann half-smiled at her man. "I'd never go fight her without decent back-up!"
"Well; ya had me worried too," Matrix admitted. "I thought I was starting to rub off on you..."
"User forbid!" Jo Ann laughed.
"Hey; I'm not that bad," Matrix defended himself.
"Course not!" Jo Ann grinned, hugging her big "brother".
"Don't push your luck, kiddo..." Matrix teased.
Jo Ann giggled and kissed Matrix on the cheek. She was glad she could laugh again after recieving the fright she had before.
"Hey, Matrix; hands off!" Wild Card teased.
"Don't tell me; tell Jo Ann!" Matrix laughed.
Wild Card chuckled, "Jo Ann; honey..." he teased.
"Hey! Can't a girl hug her big bro and give him a little peck on the cheek?" she laughed.
"As long as its platonic..." Wild Card slipped into his mock-jealousy voice.
"Oh, Wild Card!" Jo Ann laughed. She hugged her husband to her and kissed him on the lips.
"Now that's better..." he teased.
"Love, you know that there is no sprite, User, or viral that will ever replace you in my heart!" Jo Ann leaned her head on Wild Card's shoulder.
Wild Card gently stroked her hair, holding her close.
"I love you," she whispered.
"Ditto, darlin'..."
"Now," Jo Ann said, lifting her head and eyeing her friends, "what are we going to do about Dash?"
"Good question!" Dot sighed.
"I have an idea that will make it easier for us to tell between her and Dot," Jo Ann said.
"Oh?"
"I was thinking of marking her with some sort of sign. Sort of like 'branding' her, although it won't be quite like that. I would use my powers to put a mark on her forhead so that, not only Matrix, but any Guardian with a keytool could tell that she was viral. The mark would be visual, too, even glowing in the dark, so that even at night, we could tell who she is. That will stop her from at least passing herself off as Dot." Jo Ann explained.
"That could work,... but how?" Dot asked.
"I can mark her with a viral symbol. A circle with a 'V' in it. The 'V' would be narrow, with the ends curled like ram's horns," Jo Ann said, showing the symbol that she made to appear on her hand.
"How? She's not exactly going to agree to it." Bob pointed out.
"All I need is to get a clear shot at her...or..." Jo Ann looked at Matrix.
"What are you thinking?" Matrix asked.
"Maybe we can rig Gun so that it will shoot the mark and put it on her forehead. You are certainly a better shot then I am!"
Matrix grinned wolfishly, "Hey, I have no objections about shooting viruses..."
"Course, this won't kill her, just mark her so that we can recognize her," Jo Ann grinned back at him.
"Aww...nuts!" Matrix teased.
Jo Ann giggled. "Can we rig Gun so that it can do that?" she asked him.
"I think so..." Matrix smiled, "you'll have to get 'DrAIa's help -- she's good with machines...especially Gun..."
"Call her, then, and let's get started!" Jo Ann smiled back.
Matrix opened a vidwindow. A sleeping AndrAIa lay there peacefully.
"Are you sure it'll be safe to wake her up?" Jo Ann asked. "You said once that she doesn't like to be woken up..."
"She doesn't... aww, well...'DrAIa...DrAIa, darling wake up..." Matrix spoke into the window. The game sprite stirred slighly, "Go away, Sparky...let me sleep..." she moaned.
"We need you. It's something to help fight Dash..." Matrix answered.
AndrAIa moaned again and pulled herself into an upright position, cranky and sleepy but alert. "What about the kids?"
"Better bring them here. Dash gave Jo Ann quite a scare tonight." Matrix looked over to the User Guardian, who frowned and leaned against Wild Card.
"On my way; just have plenty of java waiting for me if you expect me to be productive..." she growled softly.
"Will do," Matrix grinned. He closed the vid-window and went to start the java machine.
"We may need some back up; what about calling in the cavalry, Jo Ann? Can you still contact the other Mainframe?" Dot asked.
"Sure. Pixal: vid-window! Contact other dimentional Mainframe!" Jo Ann commanded her keytool. It morphed into a vid-window.
The other Dot was in the middle of a press-up when the window appeared. She wiped her brow and shifted into a sitting position.
"Jo Ann!! Hi!"
"Hello, Dot," Jo Ann smiled. "We need you, your Bob, Kayne, and anyone else you can think of."
"Whats the problem?" She asked
"Dash..." Jo Ann frowned.
"Who?!" Dot asked.
"Dash is a cloned file of our Dot that was infected by Megabyte. Think of her as a viral you. She was in love with Megabyte, and she is after my Dot and me for deleating him."
"Oh, User...thats not good..." Dot sighed.
"Nope, it isn't," Jo Ann smiled ironically.
"Sure; We'l help as best we can...we're rebuilding so I can spare a few bodies..." the older Dot smiled.
"If you can spare them, how about bringing Naomi and Echo along, too," Jo Ann smiled.
"Sure! You can have them. Kayne needs to get away from here, and... I'll send a couple of others too..."
"Okay, thanks!" Jo Ann wished she could hug the older Dot.
"Hey; after all you've done for us its the least I can do."
"See ya later!" Jo Ann smiled.
To Brand a Viral
Dash saw her and narrowed her eyes. It was the User who'd helped destroy him. She hadn't known him, and yet she had taken it upon herself to help delete him. Dash could feel her hatred simmering.
"Dot...?" Jo Ann asked, unsure that this was her friend.
"Jo Ann..." Dash gave the User Guardian a smile; a not altogetherly kind smile.
"Where did you get that outfit? Does Bob know you're wearing things like that?"
"Do you like it?" Dash twirled around, showing off the tight skimpy garment.
"Well...it's definately a change for you. But I'm not too sure if Bob will like it," Jo Ann answered. Something felt wrong here.
"That's his problem; I felt like a change.." she purred.
WHERE are her wedding rings?! I need to talk to Bob about this! Jo Ann thought. Out loud, she said, "Well, I need to talk to Bob about Zena's next training session. See you later..." Jo Ann walked off toward the Principle Office.
"Sooner than you think, User Guardian..." Dash muttered quietly, enjoy the fact that she had unnerved the girl.
At the PO, Jo Ann met up with Bob, Matrix, Wild Card, and...Dot? "Desided to change back into something less...slinky, Dot?" she asked.
Dot looked at her, confused, "What?"
"Didn't we just meet outside the diner, and weren't you wearing something really...um...sexy?" Jo Ann hated to say it that way, especially with the guys watching. But something weird was going on.
"I've been in meetings all day!" Dot told her.
"I just saw you wearing the slinkiest outfit ever! Or was it you?" Then Jo Ann remembered something. "Wait a nano...you --or whoever it was that was pretending to be you-- weren't wearing your wedding rings!"
Dot frowned, "You know me, I rarely even wear a miniskirt!!"
"Dash, then?" Bob asked.
Dot groaned, "Not her again...no!"
"User, I thought we would learn by now..." Jo Ann groaned.
"Trouble is, Dash can mimic Dot so easily," Bob said.
"If she's walking the streets she and Chimera have something planned..." Dot warned.
"What, I wonder?" Jo Ann asked.
"She probibly still has it out for you, JoJo," Matrix said. "For your part in deleting Megabyte."
"And me..." Dot sighed.
"How do you guys deal with it?" Jo Ann asked. "You've had virues as enemies before, those that bear a grudge against you for one reason or another. How do you cope with it?" Jo Ann sank down in a chair at one of the computer terminals.
"We just do; its a part of who we are -- what we stand for..." Dot told her.
"Darlin'," Wild Card said, putting his arm around her shoulders for support. Jo Ann looked up at her husband. "This is somethin' we all have ta deal with. It's part of bein' a Guardian, part of bein' a Mainframer. But don't forget, we are all here for you. You ain't facin' this viral threat alone. We are with you all the way."
"Oh how sweet..." came a voice from a vidwindow that had just appeared.
"Now, what?" Jo Ann sighed as she looked at the vid-window.
"A word of advise, Jo Ann," Dash offered, "Don't be so gullible...it could delete you...hello there, Bob..." Dash ran her tongue over her teeth and practically purred.
"Hello, Dash," Bob said unamusingly. "What viral pranks are you and the viral twins up to now?"
"If I told you that, 452, it would spoil our fun...and that wouldn't do; would it?" she pouted.
"You know we'll stop you, whatever your plans are," Bob crossed his arms over his chest, the starburst-icon shinning in the center.
Dash's confident flirty smile stayed right where it was. "You're welcome to try, babydoll...you're all welcome to try...Jo?"
"Some second, Dash, I'm going to recognize you for who --and what-- you are!" Jo Ann seathed. You little masqurade as Dot won't work forever!"
"Maybe...but Jo, sweetie, don't get complacent; and watch out for shadows..." Dash winked at Wild Card to get under the User Guardian's skin. "I'll get you, little User..."
"Not if I get you first, phony!"
"Really, Jo Ann, you should work on controlling that temper of yours; it could get you in trouble..." Dash taunted her.
Jo Ann seathed. Then, she looked over at Bob. "Was Megabyte ever this bad?" she asked him.
"Yeah." Bob told her.
"Glad to know I live up to his legacy...Sleep well, Jo Ann...sleep lightly..."
"Just remember, Dash: I beat the supervirus, Daemon. A little viral like you is nothing, next to that!"
"You knew what to expect from her...you don't know anything about me..."
More than you THINK, viral, Jo Ann thought. "We'll see when the time comes, won't we?"
"Like I said, my pretty, sleep lightly..."
"Likewise, little viral, likewise..."
Dash smiled widely, blew a kiss at Wild Card closed the vidwindow.
Jo Ann's anger had caused her to rise from her seat when she confronted Dash. Now, she sat back down, more dispondent then before.
"So," she said slowly, "This is what it feels like to have an arch enemy..."
"Don't let her get under your skin," Dot advised as Wild Card wrapped his arms around Jo Ann.
"Any tips on dealing with your arch enemy?" Jo Ann asked, giving them a half-smile.
"Don't let them know they're getting to you..." Bob advised.
"Any idea on how we can get to her, instead?"
"She has a very soft spot for MB..." Matrix mused.
"Okay...you guys have had all the experience with virues and virals: How do we use her soft spot to our advantage?"
Dot laughed softly, "I don't know...Maybe since she is basically a twisted version of me; maybe study the things that get to me and use them against her?"
"Well...what is it that gets to you?" Jo Ann hoped that they were getting somewhere with this.
Dot sighed softly, "Various little nit-picky things..."
"Such as..."
Dot and Bob shared a humourous glance, "Squeezing the tooth-paste in the middle," Bob teased his wife.
"How about something we can use against her? I doubt if we can use 'squeezing the tooth-paste in the middle' as a stratagy against Dash," Jo Ann smiled.
"I know," Dot gave Bob a look. "um...insulting Bob bugs me; what about constantly going ton about how if MB was really the man she thought he was, he could've taken down Matrix?" Dot suggested.
"Oooo...good one!" Jo Ann laughed. "Putting down Megabyte will really rub her the wrong way! And it's soooo easy, too!"
"It's petty; but it works..."
"Ohh...I just thought of a good one! Let's bug her about the time when Kid Matrix and Frisket really beat MB's bitmap!" Jo Ann giggled.
Dot chuckled, "Nice one..."
"Thanks," Jo Ann grinned at her. "Anybody else no any? We'll need plenty of ammo for this attack plan."
"You'll come up with things..."
"I hope so."
"You will..."
"Tonight, I think, we should sleep in the PO, darlin' --just to be safe. Who knows what that she-Web Creature is plannin'," Wild Card said.
"Okay," Jo Ann said wearily.
"Good idea: I'll have beds brought from the infirmiry to your ofice, Jo..." Dot smiled.
"Thanks, Dot," Jo Ann smiled at her sister-in-law.
"One big bed, Dot," Wild Card grinned. "I'm not goin' to let Jo Ann outta my arms for a nano all night!"
"Okay, okay!" Dot laughed.
"Thanks," Wild Card grinned.
*~*~*
Later that night, a dark figure slipped into the PO...
Wild Card kept awake, guarding his wife. Matrix stood outside the door. Bob and Dot slept in a nearby room, surrounded by alarms.
Dash approached Bob and Dot's room. She hit the enter button.
::AUTHORISATION REQUIRED TO ENTER:::
"Voice recognition system: This is Dot Matrix."
::AUTHORISATION CONFIRMED::
Dash slipped in to the room and stole one of Dot's nightgowns. She put her own clothing into a bag and prepared a glass of milk.
Dash then approached Matrix
"Hi, Dot. Shouldn't you be in bed?" the green warrior asked.
"I couldn't sleep... Is Jo Ann alright? Dash probably really freaked her out..."
"I'm sure she's okay. Wild Card's with her. You know he wouldn't let anyone near Jo Ann," Matrix grinned.
"Poor dear...why don't you go get some sleep? I'll keep an eye on things here..."
"Nah...I'm okay. Couldn't sleep with that she-viral on the loose, anyway," Matrix answered.
"Are you sure, Enzo?" Dash moved into hug him; hoping to hit one of the nerve-endings in his neck which would knock even this ox out cold.
"I'm sure. You go back to bed...Dash!" Matrix snarled. He had noticed that the "Dot" standing before him was not wearing wedding rings.
Dash's eyes returned to her normal virus colours and she hissed at him, clawing his face with a razor-sharp fingernail before disappearing into darkness.
Matrix snarled at slamed his fist into the alarm button, waking everyone in the PO up.
Dot and Bob threw their robes on and shot out to find out what was wrong.
At the same time, Jo Ann and Wild Card came out of the door. Jo Ann had slept in her uniform, with Pixal settled on her left bracer. Wild Card had worn his pants to bed, but nothing else. As soon as she saw Matrix, Jo Ann knelt by his side, touching the gash on his face. Using her powers, she healed it so that not even a scratch was left.
"Matrix, are you all right? What happened?" Jo Ann asked.
"Dash," he said simply, "She got past all our security..."
"How?" Bob asked, worried. .
"She is basically me..." Dot yawned, "fingerprints, retinal codes, voice recognition would all read her as me..."
"And only Matrix was able to tell it was her," Bob grinned.
"How could he tell?" Jo Ann asked.
"Yeah. How could you?" Dot asked, resting her tired head on Bob's shoulder.
"My eye," Matrix grinned, pointing at the golden orb in his right eye socket. "And, I have fought viruses long enough to know who is viral and who isn't."
"I wonder what she was going to do?" Dot mused..
"Who knows what that she-jackel was up too!" Jo Ann seethed.
"It could be anything...she's evil..."
"Time to fight fire with fire!" Jo Ann snarled. She created a portal. "I'll be right back," she said, and stepped through, closing the portal after her.
*~*~*
Dash was back at the Tor, hoping Chimera didn't know she'd been gone.
*~*~*
Jo Ann stood in Hexadecimal's Lair. It was no longer a place of fear, but of beauty, although still a little chaotic in decor.
"Hex?" Jo Ann called out, all anger having left her.
Scuzzy wizzed around Jo Ann's feet and a sleepy Hexadecimal emerged from her bedroom.
"Jo Ann? you're up late dear..."
Jo Ann didn't answer. Hopping over Scuzzy so that she would not trip over him, Jo Ann ran into Hex's arms, crying.
Hex embraced the User Guardian and patted her back; whispering reassurances.
"Whats wrong dear?!!" she asked finally.
"Dash..." Jo Ann sobbed. Between her tears and sobs, Jo Ann told the ex-virus everything that had happened.
Hexadecimal frowned, "That girl is getting more and more like my brother..." she sighed.
"Will you come and help us?" Jo Ann asked, choking back tears.
"In anyway I can..." Hex handed Jo Ann a handkerchief.
"Thank you..." Jo Ann sniffed. She blew her nose on the hankerchief and calmed down. She wiped the tears from her eyes.
"And she got past all your security measures?!" Hex asked..
"Yes. She can mimic Dot exactly. Only Matrix knew it was her and not Dot."
"As Bob would say 'this is bad'..."
"Yes. Let's go. They probibly think that I've gone to challenge Dash," Jo Ann smiled.
"Probably..." Hex giggled.
*~*~*
Back in the PO, Dot was working herself into a frenzy.
"Where did she go?" Wild Card asked. He was worried about his wife.
"She's probably gone to fight Dash!" Dot declared, pacing up and down, worried beyond belief.
Suddenly, a portal openned. Jo Ann and Hexadecimal stepped into the PO.
"Thank the User!" Dot sighed. Wild Card rushed to embrace Jo Ann.
"Miss me?" Jo Ann teased them.
"Aargh! Don't do that again!" Dot sighed, her heart-rate returning to normal.
"I went to get Hex. Fight fire --or virals-- with fire --or ex-viral!" Jo Ann smiled.
"We thought you were going to fight Dash, luv..." Wild Card told her.
"I know better then that!" Jo Ann half-smiled at her man. "I'd never go fight her without decent back-up!"
"Well; ya had me worried too," Matrix admitted. "I thought I was starting to rub off on you..."
"User forbid!" Jo Ann laughed.
"Hey; I'm not that bad," Matrix defended himself.
"Course not!" Jo Ann grinned, hugging her big "brother".
"Don't push your luck, kiddo..." Matrix teased.
Jo Ann giggled and kissed Matrix on the cheek. She was glad she could laugh again after recieving the fright she had before.
"Hey, Matrix; hands off!" Wild Card teased.
"Don't tell me; tell Jo Ann!" Matrix laughed.
Wild Card chuckled, "Jo Ann; honey..." he teased.
"Hey! Can't a girl hug her big bro and give him a little peck on the cheek?" she laughed.
"As long as its platonic..." Wild Card slipped into his mock-jealousy voice.
"Oh, Wild Card!" Jo Ann laughed. She hugged her husband to her and kissed him on the lips.
"Now that's better..." he teased.
"Love, you know that there is no sprite, User, or viral that will ever replace you in my heart!" Jo Ann leaned her head on Wild Card's shoulder.
Wild Card gently stroked her hair, holding her close.
"I love you," she whispered.
"Ditto, darlin'..."
"Now," Jo Ann said, lifting her head and eyeing her friends, "what are we going to do about Dash?"
"Good question!" Dot sighed.
"I have an idea that will make it easier for us to tell between her and Dot," Jo Ann said.
"Oh?"
"I was thinking of marking her with some sort of sign. Sort of like 'branding' her, although it won't be quite like that. I would use my powers to put a mark on her forhead so that, not only Matrix, but any Guardian with a keytool could tell that she was viral. The mark would be visual, too, even glowing in the dark, so that even at night, we could tell who she is. That will stop her from at least passing herself off as Dot." Jo Ann explained.
"That could work,... but how?" Dot asked.
"I can mark her with a viral symbol. A circle with a 'V' in it. The 'V' would be narrow, with the ends curled like ram's horns," Jo Ann said, showing the symbol that she made to appear on her hand.
"How? She's not exactly going to agree to it." Bob pointed out.
"All I need is to get a clear shot at her...or..." Jo Ann looked at Matrix.
"What are you thinking?" Matrix asked.
"Maybe we can rig Gun so that it will shoot the mark and put it on her forehead. You are certainly a better shot then I am!"
Matrix grinned wolfishly, "Hey, I have no objections about shooting viruses..."
"Course, this won't kill her, just mark her so that we can recognize her," Jo Ann grinned back at him.
"Aww...nuts!" Matrix teased.
Jo Ann giggled. "Can we rig Gun so that it can do that?" she asked him.
"I think so..." Matrix smiled, "you'll have to get 'DrAIa's help -- she's good with machines...especially Gun..."
"Call her, then, and let's get started!" Jo Ann smiled back.
Matrix opened a vidwindow. A sleeping AndrAIa lay there peacefully.
"Are you sure it'll be safe to wake her up?" Jo Ann asked. "You said once that she doesn't like to be woken up..."
"She doesn't... aww, well...'DrAIa...DrAIa, darling wake up..." Matrix spoke into the window. The game sprite stirred slighly, "Go away, Sparky...let me sleep..." she moaned.
"We need you. It's something to help fight Dash..." Matrix answered.
AndrAIa moaned again and pulled herself into an upright position, cranky and sleepy but alert. "What about the kids?"
"Better bring them here. Dash gave Jo Ann quite a scare tonight." Matrix looked over to the User Guardian, who frowned and leaned against Wild Card.
"On my way; just have plenty of java waiting for me if you expect me to be productive..." she growled softly.
"Will do," Matrix grinned. He closed the vid-window and went to start the java machine.
"We may need some back up; what about calling in the cavalry, Jo Ann? Can you still contact the other Mainframe?" Dot asked.
"Sure. Pixal: vid-window! Contact other dimentional Mainframe!" Jo Ann commanded her keytool. It morphed into a vid-window.
The other Dot was in the middle of a press-up when the window appeared. She wiped her brow and shifted into a sitting position.
"Jo Ann!! Hi!"
"Hello, Dot," Jo Ann smiled. "We need you, your Bob, Kayne, and anyone else you can think of."
"Whats the problem?" She asked
"Dash..." Jo Ann frowned.
"Who?!" Dot asked.
"Dash is a cloned file of our Dot that was infected by Megabyte. Think of her as a viral you. She was in love with Megabyte, and she is after my Dot and me for deleating him."
"Oh, User...thats not good..." Dot sighed.
"Nope, it isn't," Jo Ann smiled ironically.
"Sure; We'l help as best we can...we're rebuilding so I can spare a few bodies..." the older Dot smiled.
"If you can spare them, how about bringing Naomi and Echo along, too," Jo Ann smiled.
"Sure! You can have them. Kayne needs to get away from here, and... I'll send a couple of others too..."
"Okay, thanks!" Jo Ann wished she could hug the older Dot.
"Hey; after all you've done for us its the least I can do."
"See ya later!" Jo Ann smiled.