Chapter Thirteen

The crowd gathered in town square had thinned considerably in the time since Hacker and Junior had established their occupation of the site. Most of the Radsters had retreated into their homes, attempting to calculate how many thrills they could afford on their meager savings. The stragglers that remained muttered among themselves, trying to decide how worth it it would be to keep rolling. No one was actually forbidding them. Yet they could all read between the lines of what was expected.

The despot disposed borg paced the edge of his stage, surveying the menagerie scattered around him. "Here's another for the linguistically attuned among you," he said, breaking the silence for perhaps the fifth time in the last hour. "Why was the conductor in such a good mood?"

"Why?" asked Junior, who seemed to be the only other person genuinely enjoying the proceedings.

"Because all his instruments were working in concert." Silent blinking rippled through his audience who all seemed to have missed the punchline. Unbothered, Hacker turned to the one person who had laughed.

"Tough crowd," the armored borg muttered from his seat on the throne.

"Immaterial, my friend," Hacker said as he approached an identical throne beside his look-alike. The seat had been placed there by a gaggle of Radsters during the course of his improv stand up routine. "It's our duty to be patient with the simple masses as we guide them to higher things."

Hacker plucked the plastic cup of flavored ice from the arm rest before plopping down into his regal seat. Although Junior still seemed to hold reservations about their current predicament, Hacker for his part could not have been more thrilled.

A small, but familiar collection of faces had gathered around him, like a set of decorative barnacles around the edges of the stage. Among them were the trio of skaters he had formed an alliance with during one of his first takeovers, eager to regain his favor. The one track mind of a Radster made for a subject whose loyalties were easy to maintain. From his previous dealings with this particular bunch, he knew their interest lay in maintaining exclusive access to the popular skating ramp known as the 'Mummy's Dare'. Now there would be the concern over piggy bank breaking bills, but surely the right and left and all the other omni-directional hands of a King could be afforded a few special perks? Hacker would have to let the proposition sit a few days to say for certain. A bit of token reluctance to keep them on their toes.

Now he had everything. A site cowering in fear, a crew of pawns, the promises of a long future rife with conquering, and most importantly, a large blue raspberry slush topped with a slice of lemon and a curly straw. If there was one thing that was indisputable, it was that Radopolis provided the pinnacle of cold sugar.

And yet…

He couldn't help looking beside him and wishing it was someone else sitting in that seat. Junior was decent company, how could any version of himself be less? But there was only so much one could talk to themselves before wanting some variation. Hacker found his mind drifting to thoughts of Aaliyah and what she would be up to now.

Hopefully she and the Earth brat would find their way home without too much trouble. If she were with him, what would she say? He liked to think she would appreciate the efficiency of his take over strategy. She was a woman of intellect, after all. She'd probably want to go somewhere sunnier and warmer than the blustery Radopolis. Somewhere to kick back.

Solaria was nice this time of year.

He repositioned his straw to slurp up the last of his chilled drink, enjoying the noises of air being sucked up, like through a vacuum. A sound from his periphery eventually broke his attention. Glancing over, he realized the sound was emanating from one of Junior's wrist gauntlets. The other borg seemed to realize this as well and quickly set down his drink to reach for his communicator.

The push of a button caused a hologram of the new Cyber ruler's head to be projected above the armored gauntlet. Although he was not the target of her attention, Hacker could sense the ire in her eyes before she uttered a word.

"Where are you?" the AI snapped, her tongue lashing out the words like a horse's whip. "The ship hasn't made a move in over an hour. What's taking so long?"

"It was suggested we attempt an alternate tactic. We're making negotiations with—"

"There's no need for negotiations. Just neutralize them and move on to the next site."

"Yes, Motherboard." Junior's voice was unstirred, although Hacker could tell the effort to keep his words steady was practiced. "I just thought it would prove useful for us to amass resources. As a long term strategy it could increase our eff—"

"Hacker…" Her voice wasn't raised, yet seemed to carry a warning. One which caused Junior to adjust his tone yet again.

"Yes, Motherboard?"

"Remember your duty."

Hacker felt his teeth clench at these words, his gaze choosing to attach itself instead to a collection of the barnacles who seemed to be trying to get the attention of a passing hot dog vendor. What frustrated him was not the brashness of the tone Motherboard wielded, but the placating nature of his own. He focused in on the other's voice, attempting to detect the faintest hint of bitterness, but found only a weighty resignation.

"To ensure the efficient function of all Cyber-universes by liberating them from the burden of self-government."

"And to do that?"

"We must operate under a single vision. We must not allow interferences, from external sources or within."

"Neutralize them and move on," she repeated, sharply. Her lips pursed, causing the lines of code which seemed to exist as a thin layer of liquid across her face to bend slightly, as if nudged along by a ripple of water. When she spoke again, her words had softened, like a needle after breaking skin, trusting its venom through the numbed surface. "You've always been such a big help to me, Hacker. What would I do without you?"

The image faded.

Junior rested a hand over his arm as if to snuff out the signal from the communicator. His eyes stared off into the distance, lost in thought. A hint of anxiety was present in his expression, but Hacker made no indication of notice or concern over it, his gaze still averted as if he hadn't witnessed the exchange at all.

"We should consider moving on," the armored borg murmured, finally coming out of his trance.

"Why?" Hacker muttered, holding back a sneer as he kept his demeanor intentionally aloof.

"Then you don't know."

"I do. I just choose not to let it stop me."

A sudden fiery indignation came into the other's eyes. "You do think you're better than me. But whatever you think you've done has only been because it was allowed. We're the same puppet with different strings. Both what she—"

"I am what she fears. You can join me, or hang around until they start writing your user's manual."

Junior scoffed at his assertion, yet remained seated. "If that were true, it would have been you on that monitor when we arrived. I wonder what would have happened to you then." He lowered his head towards his lap and Hacker thought he heard him emit a slight snicker, but when he turned to look, the moment had passed.

"You were probably better off on Earth. Whatever you were doing there," the other went on, his voice continuing to speak in the same reserved, hushed tone. "I wouldn't call myself lucky, but at least I still have a purpose. You won't last long with her if you're just looking to pick a fight."

"You're a real party pooper aren't you?" Hacker retorted, holding nothing back in terms of belligerence and volume. "If you need to know, I came back to make sure someone else hadn't finished her off. As it happened someone did. Although I'd consider you two the best case scenario for that. At least it wasn't Wicked."

"She isn't finished off. Not yet anyways. It usually takes a few days for her the override the existing programming which is why she's so insistent on having everyone around here incapacitated."

Hacker suddenly went silent, his gaze directly meeting that of Junior's for the first time since the start of the exchange. "Interesting."

"What?"

"If a Hacker and Motherboard working together can take down a Hacker and Motherboard split apart, how do you think two Hackers would fare against a pair of bickering Motherboards?"

"Wait, you mean the two of you actually got along?" Matt cried, his eyes as round as a yo-yo and looking like they were about to dog walk out of his skull. The group could see Radopolis in the distance now. Its towering mountainous peaks and miles of twisting ramps making it stand out among the dozen or so other sites that littered their visage.

Aaliyah glanced through her rear view mirror at the boy in the back seat. "And exactly what's that supposed to mean, Matthew?"

"I mean, Jackie told us you talked but…" Matt shrugged, suddenly hesitant to continue voicing his thoughts. His gaze met with Inez as she turned her head from the passenger side seat to eye him. "We kind of just thought you were doing it to be polite."

"When did you kids get so cynical?"

"So what did he do that finally made you notice?"

"Well, he betrayed us to the computer who was also his mother, but not the one who created him. Is that right?" Aaliyah glanced across the row at her daughter for confirmation. Jackie heaved a tired breath, but nodded.

"And no red flags in between?" Matt asked. "Nothing about how he was going to be the chief potentate of the digital world?" He mocked the borg's way of speaking right down to his inflections, making Jackie roll her eyes slightly.

"He might have said something to that effect, yes," Aaliyah said, sighing. "Maybe you kids are just smarter than me, is that what you wanted to hear?"

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean—"

"It's okay, Matthew. It was a joke. Looking back, things like him refusing to give his first name make a lot more sense now."

"Yeah," Jackie said, at last piping up from the back. "And Hacker as a name does not remotely sound European."

"Then, there was the whole 'lying to me' aspect. Which I guess I have you kids to thank for."

"We said sorry!" her daughter wailed, although with a ring of amusement in her tone as she sensed Aaliyah's teasing.

"I guess, it's been this long. If nothing's happened yet to make me or any of your parents suspect anything, you couldn't have been in too much danger," her mother said, her eyes shifting between the site they were fast approaching and her daughter's hopeful gaze in the rear view mirror. "But I hope it doesn't become a pattern for you kids, thinking you have to keep things from your parents. Don't ever feel like you're going to get in trouble for needing help. I have your back, okay? That goes for all three of you." The kids looked at each other before nodding in turn.

"Thanks, mom."

For a while they skimmed the airspace of the site, searching for a place to park, Jackie attempting to direct her mother towards the center of town so they would have less to walk when they got out. They were now close enough to the ground to make out the faces of people as they flew overhead and quickly began to realize something was amiss.

The usual noise and action the site always seemed to overflow with had been replaced with an eerie silence. The Radsters, typically abundant in numbers wherever one looked, were in shortage. After having passed fewer than a dozen, they found their path blocked by the tail end of an enormous cruiser.

The ship was in the shape of a stingray with a bulbous front end and a longer, slimmer body. From the underside, Jackie could see the tail was sectioned off into pairs of identical segments, each about half the size of the coupe they'd come in.

"Looks like Hacker got here before us," Matt said, putting to words what they'd all been thinking. He crossed his arms, looking like it was taking every ounce of restraint he possessed not to immediately lead out of the ship once it landed and into the frey. He glanced back and forth between the girls to see if either of them had a plan.

Aaliyah parked in the shadow of the cruiser, using its massive form to temporarily shield them from what they all knew they'd find just beyond. The humming of the engine went silent, but no one made a move to get out.

"If he's here, I think our best bet will be to confront him right away, and stop them from going back to Control Central," Jackie said, finally breaking the silence. "With them out of the way, it'll be easier to free Doctor Marbles and Digit. But if we round up the mechanics first like we planned earlier, they could be gone by the time we get back and we'd have lost our chance."

"Not to mention the longer we stay here the more likely it is for them to notice," Matt mused. "If we get caught, Doctor Marbles and Digit will be in real trouble.

"Agreed," said Inez.

"Alright, but you kids are standing behind me," Aaliyah insisted. "No playing hero today."

Careful not to make themselves known just yet, the group crept around the perimeter of the cruiser. Aaliyah headed the group with the trio tightly on her heels. Peering around the corner, Jackie could see there were two thrones perched atop the usual scaffold, presumably one for each of the Hackers. A rare show of compromise from the borg, Jackie imagined, he only had the courtesy to extend to himself.

The Hacker she knew was facing them, although he hadn't yet seemed to notice their arrival. The other had his head turned in the opposite direction. Both of the green borgs were standing and fixed in conversation. Croached where they were, and silent, Jackie could just make out the words exchanged between them.

"Well, then you don't have to do anything, just hand over the heavy artillery and ship and I'll handle it myself. Just know, I'll have to demote you from equal co-ruler to Chancellor of Chaos," Hacker said in that sing-song voice reserved for when he was desperately attempting to get his way. "Sorry, but I reward based on contributions… as well as nepotism, but that's besides the point."

"And when you inevitably fail?" his armored companion said. "I'll be doomed to be scrapped beside you. Let's just go onto the next site and if you insist you can continue talking my ear off while we EMP everyone."

"What's EMP?" Matt hissed.

"Electromagnetic Pulse," Aaliyah replied. "Disturbs electrical equipment."

"Including borgs," concluded Jackie.

"This is not good. This is not good at all."

"Then what are we waiting for?" Matt attempted to step out of hiding only for Aaliyah to grab him by the shoulder and pull him back.

Jackie continued to observe the two borgs. Hacker's look-alike had attempted to exit the stage, only to have his accomplice pull him back, saying something to him Jackie couldn't make out. At first she was struck with the suspicion they'd been noticed, but Hacker seemed more preoccupied with something on the palm of his hand. He held it up and pointed to it before seeming to indicate the armored borg should do the same.

His companion seemed reluctant, arms folded stubbornly across his chest the entire time. Every time he made a motion to turn and descend the stage, Hacker pulled him back and continued to try and maintain his attention.

"On your face," he said, raising his voice so he was audible again. "It's something I picked up in CyberTech. Would I lie to you?"

"I just don't see the point." The other borg sighed, but finally did as instructed. Jackie noted the huge gauntlets around his arm, its various blinkers and screens occasionally lighting up. With the other's hand over his face, Hacker took a moment to adjust his companion's fingers.

"One on this side of the nose, and the other—"

Jackie's hand shot to her mouth to hold back a scream as the armored borg's body plummeted off the platform onto the concrete below. Hacker, although still standing, had visibly recoiled, and now clutched at his temples with both hands.

"Should have lowered the amps," he groaned as he fell back into one of the thrones. "I can see you hiding Earth brats. I think we've had enough of games for today."

"Speak for yourself, Hacker!" Matt cried, finally leaping out of hiding. "You can either give the throne back to King Dudacus now, or once we've taken you down. Again."

"Oh no, don't tell me you're all here," the borg said through gritted teeth while still nursing his headache-addled head.

"We are," Aaliyah said, grabbing Matt by the shoulder and pulling him behind her. Seeing her seemed to cause him to enliven him somewhat and he offered a wave from his seat.

"I went through all that trouble sending you home for a reason," he mumbled before crossing his arms over his chest. "With Motherboard's assistance, you might have been able to get a slight upper hand when facing me, but against her you wouldn't stand a chance."

Jackie stepped in front of her mother, closing the distance between her and the borg, still, not quite able to swallow what he was trying to pass off. Once she'd come to the base of the stage she looked up.

"A-are you trying to say you did all that to protect us?"

"And it didn't do a lick of good. Do you know how close I was to convincing Junior there to help me take down Motherboard? And you kids just had to interrupt like you always do."

Jackie's gaze narrowed. Suddenly it didn't matter so much whether he'd done what he'd done to help them or not. In the last week she thought she'd seen a new side to the borg. But what she'd seen today was enough to tell her all the old sides were still as selfish and delusional as she'd always known him to be.

"And we're supposed to just believe you had purely good intentions here? That you were going to defeat this Motherboard and give Cyberspace back to the Mother B?"

"Those are your words, not mine, Earth brat. I just saved your organic body from decomposing in a prison cell. All that other stuff would have cost extra."

"If you really cared about anyone but yourself it wouldn't cost a thing!" she roared, boosting herself up onto the stage. "I stuck my neck out for you, told Mother B you'd changed. But nothing will ever stop you from wanting her gone." The girl charged up to him on stage and began to pummel his metallic body with her bare fists. Almost immediately she could feel a stinging pain similar to if you tried to repeatedly punch a telephone pole.

"Ow! Stop that! You're going to give me dents," the borg hollered, trying to shield her blows with his arm. When this failed he attempted to grab her by the wrist, but she managed to avoid his open palms.

"Jackie, stop!" It wasn't until her mother dragged her off him that she ceased her assault.

Still breathing heavily, she refused to meet his gaze, instead staring at her feet as she watched him dust himself off in her periphery. "You get one chance. Just one more to be on our side before I tell Mother B to throw away your key."

"Under the circumstances, I don't think accepting my help is optional for you. We're only going to be facing the most powerful being in the Cyberuniverse who'll happily scrap you and you and you—" He pointed to each of the kids in turn before ending at Aaliyah. "—and as much as it pains me to say, you, my dear."

"And you," Jackie retorted, bitterly.

"Yes, well. That's nothing new."