"He looks a little better," Dot said hesitantly. She reached up and tried to smooth Matrix's hair out of his eyes. It promptly slid right back. Dot let out a nervous chuckle. "He needs a haircut."

"He always needs a haircut," AndrAIa replied.

"Just like Dad," Dot murmured. "I used to trim Dad's hair out of his eyes for him every other decacycle. He just didn't notice it unless it got in the way of his experiments."

"Matrix would only care if it got in the way of his aim," AndrAIa said with rueful humor. "He's got a one-track mind."

"I guess it runs in the family," Dot said, giving the Game sprite a sad smile. Then she winced and fingered her still-bruised face.

"How is he?" Bob asked as he entered the room. Davic hung back, and leaned against the door jamb.

Dot looked up at Bob, then took a deep breath. "The nurses say he's stable, and that's all we can really expect right now. They say he'll wake up when he's ready." She laid one hand on Matrix's arm, carefully avoiding the wires and tubes snaking across her brother's pale green skin.

Glitch quietly slid off of Bob's arm, and folded itself out into a three-legged stool, which Bob placed beside Dot's chair. Bob sat down and gave Dot's free hand a squeeze while exchanging a look with AndrAIa.

"I'll—go update Turbo," Davic mumbled to no one in particular. He left, swinging Caen restlessly.

Mouse was stretched out on the waiting-room couch, her head pillowed on one arm and her hair tumbling loose across her face and shoulders. The tip of her nose was dangerously close to the tip of her unsheathed sword, which lay along the edge of the couch.

"Should we wake her, sir?" Mr. Christopher asked in an undertone.

"Nay, lad. She has earned her rest. We will leave a message with one of the nurses after we have visited Mr. Matrix." Captain Capacitor took a few steps down the hallway, his peg leg clicking on the polished floor.

"Capacitor?" Turbo turned the corner with Davic at his heels. "Standing the late watch tonight?" His eyes narrowed a fraction, and there was a slight edge to his tone.

"So it would seem, Guardian," the pirate replied in a deceptively soft voice.

"We're watching you, Capacitor," Davic growled.

"I would expect no less," Captain Capacitor answered. He turned to Turbo. "It may be of interest to you, Guardian, that the Web Riders opened a Portal to the Web. According to our readings, the worst of the storm has passed."

Copland and Caen both buzzed.

"Thanks for the update, Captain," Turbo said quietly, without looking at his keytool. "I take it you'll be leaving soon?"

Captain Capacitor drew himself up to his full height. "The Mare comes and goes as she chooses."

"She usually "goes" with a gig or two of someone else's property," Davic said darkly.

"Bah!" the captain burst out. "I did not come here to mince words with Guardians. Come, Mr. Christopher." Captain Capacitor rolled his single, narrowed eye up toward Davic as he passed. His accent thick, he growled, "I have not forgotten ye, thief."

Davic returned the growl, and made to follow.

Turbo grabbed Davic's arm. "Don't," he commanded.

"He's a known pirate," Davic hissed. "We should have arrested him and his entire crew as soon as we hit port."

"Why?"

"Why? Turbo, there are more outstanding warrants on that—"

"I'm keeping my options open, Davic," Turbo said in a low monotone. "Someone's going to have to go after Megabyte. Whoever does is probably going to lose some people. Get the picture?" His brown eyes were grimly intent.

Davic met Turbo's gaze, and his face creased, then cleared. "You think Capacitor…?" He glanced down the hall, though the pirates had already disappeared around a corner.

"He's already promised revenge to Dot. If he changes his mind, I'll haul him in and offer him a deal. If he can offline Megabyte, I'll withdraw the warrants on him and his entire crew. If not…" Turbo shrugged.

Davic stared. "You're starting to scare me, Turbo."

"Good."

Doctor Bingen placed a scanner against one of Matrix's temples, then firmly squeezed his thumb with her other hand. The scanner beeped.

"Is that good?" Dot asked anxiously.

"It's very good," the doctor confirmed. "There's activity in his brain, and it responds to stimulation." She let go of Matrix's hand and gently lifted the lid of his left eye. The scanner beeped again. "Good," the doctor said again. "There's reaction to light, too."

"So he's going to be fine?" AndrAIa asked.

"That depends on how completely the code recompiles, and how closely the recompiled version matches the original," Doctor Bingen replied. "We filled in most of the gaps in his source code, but the virus rechanneled several of his recognition and action algorithms. Without knowing how they looked before, we couldn't restore them with complete accuracy."

"So what does that mean?" Dot asked quietly.

Doctor Bingen's face softened, and she sank down onto the end of the bed. "It means your brother will be very confused and clumsy for a while, because his brain has to relearn where things are." She patted Dot's hand. "But with time and help, he should regain most of what he lost."

"He'll have all the help he needs," Bob declared. He put an arm around Dot and exchanged a look with AndrAIa.

The Game sprite met Bob's eyes and nodded. She took Matrix's hand in hers, and the corners of her mouth lifted into a small smile.

Doctor Bingen strode through the lab door and tossed her data board onto an open section of counter. She nodded to the burly security sprites standing just inside the door, then asked the room's other occupant, "Are you ready?"

"Just about," Wayne answered. He touched a few more keys. "Do you want to do it now or later? I can wait if you need to rest."

"I doubt I could sleep if I knew you were likely to start popping in and out of operating rooms again," Doctor Bingen said dryly. "I'm still not sure it was a good idea to let you prep the code yourself."

"'He who doctors himself has a fool for a physician.'" Wayne quoted with an ironic grin.

Doctor Bingen returned the smile. "So you'll understand why I want to check every byte of your patch?"

"I'd question your professionalism if you didn't," Wayne replied. He pushed his chair away from the console. "It's all yours, Doctor Bingen."

Doctor Bingen pulled a chair close to the screens and sat down. She glanced over the code displayed on the screen. "Very tidy work," she said approvingly, her eyes darting quickly from one line to the next. "What's this?" Her eyes narrowed as she read.

"The viral code gave me an idea—" Wayne began.

Doctor Bingen's eyebrows lifted, and she turned to Wayne, folding her arms. "All right," she sighed. "Convince me."

One of the monitors keeping track of Matrix's vital signs beeped, and a line that had been pulsing steadily up and down began jumping higher on the screen. Matrix stirred.

Dot glanced at the dancing line, then grabbed her brother's hand. "He's waking up! Enzo, can you hear me?"

Bob and AndrAIa watched the monitors for an instant, then looked to Matrix's face.

Matrix's eyes opened, and his gaze fell on Dot. He stared at her for a long moment, his left pupil slipping in and out of focus.

"Enzo?" Dot said in a near whisper. "Enzo, it's me, Dot. Your sister. It's all right, you're going to be fine."

Matrix closed his eyes, then opened them again in a slow blink. His attention fell on Bob this time, and he gasped. He yanked his right hand free of Dot's grip, and his clenched fist slammed backward into the pillow. Matrix grunted, then heaved himself nearly upright before falling back, trembling.

"It's OK, Matrix," Bob said hurriedly. "Megabyte's gone. He can't control you any more."

Whether Matrix heard was anybody's guess. He had curled into a tight ball, shaking so hard the bed squeaked. Soft animal grunts and whines emanated from the big sprite's chest.

"Easy, lover," AndrAIa stroked Matrix's back, then gently began massaging his neck. "We're all here for you."

Matrix let out a sorrowful howl, then abruptly relaxed. The monitors beeped.

"He's out again," Bob said wearily.

"At least he knows we're with him," Dot said. "And we'll be here the next time he wakes up."

"Captain!" Mr. Andrews called across the Saucy Mare II's decks. "We be getting a message from the Web!"

"What? Onscreen, Mr. Andrews!"

A vidwindow popped open. The video transmission was nothing more than black and grey shapes skipping across the screen, but the voice that crackled in and out with the static was recognizable.

"—Ray Tracer. This message bzt the Saucy Mare bzt Mainframe." There was a long, hissing crackle, then, "—wild ride. Storm bzt new system. I'm bzt wait three cycles, bzt Mainframe." The transmission ended.

"Pass that message on to Mouse!" Captain Capacitor roared exultantly. "Mr. Andrews, I want an all-systems status report on the double. We're going out to meet the Surfr."

"Sir?" Mr. Christopher asked. "What about the storm, sir? The Web Riders—"

"We've faced high seas before, lad!" Captain Capacitor cried. "There be a friend out there waiting. Ye can stay here with Miss Matrix if ye like, but the Mare is casting off as soon as the lady Mouse is aboard." He lifted his eyebrow at the pasty-faced first mate.

Mr. Christopher swallowed hard. "I'll—I'll stay, sir."

"Good lad!" Captain Capacitor slapped Mr. Christopher on the back. "Mr. Andrews! Get me those reports!"