The User

Chapter 1

Attack on Mainframe

By: Ninmast

David rolled over in bed and pulled the blanket over his head as his computer monitor flashed with a bright, white light. "Darn screensaver," he mumbled as he closed his eyes and tried to ignore it.

"Wait a minute," he thought as his eyes snapped back open, "my screensaver's black!"

In an instant, he was in front of his flat screen monitor, trying to find out what was happening. All he could get it to show, though, was a snow screen. No, he realized as he stared at the screen, wondering how his monitor could be getting static. No, that wasn't all. He caught a snatch of a voice. Someone was broadcasting.

David grabbed his headset as he set his computer for the channel that the broadcast was being transmitted on. "Transmitter," he spoke into the microphone, "there is something wrong with your signal. Repeat, there is something wrong with your signal. I am not receiving your transmission correctly. Requesting that you check connections and broadcast identification."

The screen went quiet for a moment before the transmission began again. This time, however, the vid screen filled with the image of a young woman with black hair and, oddly enough, green skin.

She looked up as her face broke into a white smile. "Thank the User! We finally found someone!" Her face went wide in fear, urgency bold in her voice. "Please, you have to help us! Please, you have to send help!"

"Hold on," David exclaimed, holding his hands up. "What's going on?"

"We're under attack," the woman explained. "Half of the population has been infected already, and the rest are falling fast. We don't know how much longer we can hold it off. Please, you have to help us. We don't have time to contact anyone else. You're our last hope."

A young man with silver hair and blue skin that was wearing what looked like white armor came up behind her and put his hands on her shoulders. "Come on, Dot! We need to get going! Matrix and I can't buy you any more time. We have to get out of here now!"

Dot turned back to the screen. "Please, send help! Anything that could help would be appreciated. We have two guardians, but even they can't hold them off."

Another man backed into view, this one in what looked like a biker outfit. He had black hair, green skin, and one eye. The other eye looked like it had been replaced by a robotic implant. It glared an angry red as he fired his gun repeatedly at something off screen. David could only assume it was Matrix that the other man had referred to. "Come on, Sis! We have to get out of here! Bob and I can't hold them off any longer."

There was a large explosion as the three covered their faces. "No more time for chit-chat," Matrix yelled as he scooped up his sister and the two men ran off. The next moment, whatever terminal they had been broadcasting from exploded, and the screen went white again.

After the flash died down, David got up and started to get dressed, even though it was so late at night. "ARIEL," he yelled, "we got an emergency! Get in here now!"

The hologram made a big show of coming through the door, stretching and yawning, her pink pajama top coming up to show her belly button. "What's up, David? Why are you up so late? I thought you went to bed?" Despite the simple look of David's computer system, it was actually the most powerful machine on the face of the planet. He was a genius with computers, and he had designed it himself. ARIEL was, in essence, the operating system. Her name was an acronym for Artificial Realistic Intellectually Enhanced Life form. She could link herself to any computer in the world. She was more than just a program, though. She had developed the ability to think and act for herself. She was as human as anyone else David knew. Even her hologram was flawless. No matter where she showed up, not a glitch or graphic flinch could be seen. She seemed as solid as anything else. In fact, by manipulating electromagnetism in the air, she could actually "touch" things.

"Toss me my computer bracer, would you, ARIEL?" He reached up to catch it as she tossed it to him. He snapped the powerful minicomputer to his forearm as he explained. "There's a place that's under attack from something. They sent me a transmission, but they had to run before they could really explain what was going on."

Understanding lit up her face. "Oh, so that was what that message was about! It was labeled urgent, so I went ahead and displayed it."

"It's a good thing you did," David answered as he strapped on two holsters that held pistols that he had personally designed. The guns fired adjustable lasers that could cut through steel, or stun an opponent. "Otherwise, we may have missed it." He continued as he strapped a long sword to his back. "ARIEL, I need you to find out where that transmission was coming from. Let's see what we can do to help."

"Gotcha, I'm on it!" Her face went blank as she accessed the appropriate files. "Huh? No way! This can't be right!"

"What? What is it?"

"This can't be! There's no way! It's impossible!"

"Talk to me, ARIEL!"

Her eyes focused on David again. "That signal was being transmitted from inside another computer."

"What do you mean, inside another computer?"

"I don't understand it fully, either, but the best I can come up with is that those people were programs, or, at the very least, sprites."

David scratched his head in an effort to understand. "Are you telling me that the message was fake?"

ARIEL shook her head. "Not fake. They were real, but they exist inside a computer." She looked at him again, only to see the same questioning, empty stare. "Okay, think of it this way. Imagine all of the information inside of your computer represented as an entire world. Your computer is the planet. Inside, all of the information is buzzing around, doing whatever it is that it is doing. Every piece of information is a person, with a unique trait. They all have different jobs. Each one plays a part in its own little world. Now, imagine what it would look like in a virtual representation."

David nodded as it seemed to start to come together. "So they are probably under attack from some sort of virus, then?"

"Either that, or a hacker."

David nodded in agreement with the hologram. "Could be, but she mentioned the population being infected, not corrupted. That makes me want to lean more toward the idea of a virus."

"That does sound more logical. But what now? How do you stop a rampaging virus in a computer that's thousands of miles away?"

David stood up and stalked over to his closet, where he pulled out a trench coat that he threw over the rest of his ensemble, effectively hiding it from prying eyes. "We go there." He watched as a look of doubt crossed her face. "What, you can do it, can't you, ARIEL?"

She nodded, still unsure. "Theoretically, I suppose I could digitize you, breaking you down into bits of data, and transmit you to the infected computer. Or perhaps link you to it, leaving your physical body safe here. But what could you do against a compilation of data?"

He drew one of the pistols in a lightning quick movement, then twirled it around his finger. "You said it will be a physical representation? Well, I haven't seen a physical thing yet that a laser couldn't cut down to size." David was, unofficially, an intergalactic police officer. He had been deputized when he had accidentally been transported across the universe onto a planet where a crime boss reigned supreme. After he had helped to bring the syndicate down, he was awarded with officer status. He had gotten homesick, however, so the authorities "transferred" him back to Earth, "assigning" him to the solar system. Granted, there was hardly any intergalactic threats to the backwater system, but at least he was home, and, if anything did come up, he was good enough to be able to handle it.

ARIEL, however, had her doubts that the hero would fare so well against lines of programming. She had trouble picturing him cutting through code. "What if it doesn't work, David?"

He shrugged, his cool demeanor hardly able to hide the fact that he was thinking the same thing. "I'm a programmer, aren't I? I'll figure something out."

"Fine, then," she sighed. "Just let me know when you're ready. Hanging around here in the real world is really wasting my processing speed." With that, she disappeared.

David took one last look around the room as he patted himself down to make sure he had everything. Just for kicks, he grabbed his blue cap off of his bedpost and slipped it on before sitting back down in his swivel chair. "Okay, ARIEL," he said aloud, "I'm ready."

Obediently, another vid screen opened up on the monitor, this time filled with ARIEL and her "room." "Okay, David, I've made all of the preparations."

"Already? That was fast."

She smiled back at him. "Of course it was. I clock time by the nanoseconds, not by the minutes. It's not a matter of me being fast, just you being slow."

"Chicken and the egg, ARIEL," David said as he smiled back, reaching for a headset that he slipped on his head. "We've covered this before. It all depends on how you look at it. Now, how do I get there?"

ARIEL's image changed from wearing pajamas to a lab coat as she pushed up glasses that suddenly appeared on her nose. "It is quite simple, really," she assured him as she checked a list on a clipboard in her hand. "All you have to do is plug in, as if you were accessing your computer virtually. I'll take care of the rest."

"Right," David said as he finished hooking up the headset and typed in a string of commands. "Logging in."

"David," ARIEL said before he could press the enter key, "Are you sure you want to do this? I can get you there, but there's no way of knowing what will happen when you get there. Even if you are able to stop whatever it is that's happening, I don't know if I'll be able to reverse the process."

David smiled comfortingly back at her. "I wouldn't worry about it if I were you. I have perfect faith in your abilities."

Her eyes went wide with worry as she leaned closer to the screen. "Maybe, but I don't. I've run every simulation that I can for the return trip, but there's only a 16% chance that I'll be able to bring you back. You may never make it back home, David! You may be stuck there forever!"

David leaned back as he let her results sink in. 16% chance of ever returning. Wasn't much, but it was a risk he would have to take. "You said 16%. That means that there is a way, just not a very good chance of you finding it on demand, right?" He watched as she nodded in affirmation, her eyes still wide with worry. "But by the same token, if I can get rid of whatever is going on there, we will have all of the time we need to figure it out. If we have to try one hundred times, we will eventually find it, right?"

She looked unsure as she put her finger on her chin in thought. "I guess so, but that's an awfully long time, isn't it?"

David shrugged. "So I get to do some sightseeing. This place has been a little dull, anyway. The only way I would be really worried is if you said there was no chance of bringing me back."

She implored him with her eyes again. "Is there anyway I can make you believe that there was no chance?"

David chuckled slightly. "Nope, sorry. You already said it. The more time we waste here, the more damage that is happening there. Let's get it over with."

She bowed her head again. "Okay, everything's ready here." She looked up as she accessed the appropriate protocols. "Bio-Link activated!" she said as David pressed Enter.

The next instant, David's whole world was filled with a bright, noiseless flash.

* * *

He landed hard on his stomach. He groaned as he stood up. "Why did she have to drop me in here?" He looked around, taking in his surroundings. The place was a disaster. Everywhere he looked, debris covered the ground. Empty shells of what looked like bombed-out buildings was all that remained of what had been a bustling, downtown business area. About three blocks down, what looked like a piece of a giant eight ball laid on the remains of a building, the pole that it had once been on laying across the street on top of several cars.

He whistled. "This place looks like the Apocalypse hit early. Whatever happened here, this was surely the epicenter."

"What would you say if it wasn't?" ARIEL's voice seemed to come out of nowhere.

"Then I'd love to see what the attack was focused on."

"Trust me," she returned, "you don't want to see it. Not that it matters. There's no way to get to it on foot, anyway."

"You're serious, aren't you? This isn't where it was centered, was it?"

"No, it was the core processing center. I've accessed a database on the area, and it seems that it is referred to as the Principal's Office. Or it was. Whatever is left of it can't constitute for much anymore."

"What do you mean, 'whatever is left?' Can't you tell?"

"No. There is some sort of field blocking my scans."

David felt a weird chill go up his spine, as if he was being watched. "ARIEL, I think your voice-from-the-sky routine is drawing too much attention. Why don't you get down here and try to blend in?"

A moment later, something flashed beside him, just to disappear again with a loud snap, like a rubber band snapping back into place. Instead, his screen popped up on his bracer. A vid screen opened, showing ARIEL in her room, hacking from the billows of smoke that rose up behind her.

"ARIEL! Are you okay?"

"Firewall," she coughed. "I ran right into it. Whoever is running this system must be trying to stop any further infection, although, if you ask me, it's probably too late for that. I'll be fine, though. Don't worry about me. I just wasn't paying attention to where I was going. Give me a moment, and I'll route around it."

In another instant, there was another flash beside him as ARIEL appeared, dressed in a midriff and jeans. "There! Much better! It'll take more than a little firewall to keep me out!"

"Shhh!" David put his fingers to her lips as he looked around, trying to pick something out from the rubble. "I think someone's watching us."

Immediately, ARIEL started looking around. She looked like she was searching with only her eyes, but there was no doubt in David's mind that her scanners were on full alert. After a moment, she shook her head. "Sorry, David, but I'm not picking up anything. Are you sure there's someone there?"

"Yeah," he said, giving a nervous nod. "I'm positive."

Something came flying through the air, but before they could react, it caught David in the middle of the back.. He lunged forward with the force of the blow, but ARIEL caught him. She hissed as she drew her hand back and looked where it had been. Embedded in David's coat was what looked like a bone of some kind. She pulled it out and scanned it. She gasped when she processed the results. It was a poison-tipped dart.

"David, are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. I told you there was someone here. Luckily, whatever it was hit my sword, and not me." He stood back up, pulling out the sword and checking it for damage. Just above the cross guard was a deep pit where it had hit. He sighed deeply, glad that he had worn it. That part had been right between his shoulder blades.

Another came whizzing at them, but he saw it coming and brought his sword up to block, knocking it away. "ARIEL, are you picking up anything yet?"

"No," she answered, panic in her voice. "I'm not seeing anything. I'm as blind as a bat."

"Try scanning for a lack of space."

"What?"

He blocked another dart as a grim look crossed his face. "The darts aren't coming that fast, so I'm betting there's only one of them. They're probably using a cloaking mechanism to hide themselves. That should produce a blind spot in your scan. Look for that, then lock on to it."

"Right." She turned to look around the area, then stopped as she squinted in one direction. "There, I see it! It's a woman, standing over there by that pole that's still standing."

David turned toward the area that she had indicated. "Is she infected?"

"Not that I can tell."

"Good. Scan her body for high heat output. That should be the machine that's cloaking her."

She nodded. "I see it. It's on her waist."

David pulled out a pair of sunglasses from a pocket in his trench coat. He slipped them on as he pulled his pistol. "Transfer the image to my lenses. I'm going to pick it off." The image inside his glasses changed to negative colors. By the pole, he could see a dark blue silhouette of a woman, standing with another dart at the ready. On her hip, a white light glowed brightly. She sent the dart at him, but he lunged to the side, giving himself a clear shot at the machine. He fired one shot, and more white lights flashed as the woman covered her eyes, leaning away from it. He pulled up the glasses so he could see what was happening.

She faded in slowly as the cloaking effects wore off. She glared at them in shock as the flash died down, her amber eyes bright with anger under her blue-green hair. Around her waist and on her legs, like a pair of leather pants, green scales gleamed brightly in the setting sun. Her chest, covered only by a black bra-like top, heaved heavily in her anger. "You viruses will never get your filthy hands on me," she yelled as another dart popped into her hand. "I'll see you both deleted before you'll get me to tell you anything!"

David slowly holstered his gun, his free hand up in surrender. "We don't want to hurt anyone. We received a distress plea a few minutes ago. We're here to help."

The woman didn't even seem fazed. "Your tricks aren't going to work on me. I won't let you live. Your kind destroyed my world," she shouted, gesturing wildly to take in the wreckage. "Now it's time for me to return the favor."

Out of nowhere, a jet-black limousine rolled over the debris and in between the three of them. It kept going, however, until it came to the last set of windows. Those windows rolled down on both sides, revealing a large humanoid form. It was as black as the car, but its lips, eyes, and joints were all outlined in lime green.

It looked over at David and ARIEL, squinted as if trying to recognize them, then turned to the woman. His face broke into a semblance of a smile. "Ah, AndrAIa," he addressed her, his throat echoing a deep, rough bass. "So nice to see you again! You've turned into such a beautiful young lady. Game Hopping did wonders for you."

AndrAIa's eyes went to slits as she scowled back. "Hello, Megabyte. And here I thought we got rid of you for good."

Megabyte chuckled. "Now, that's not a very nice way of greeting an old friend."

"You're not a 'friend,' Megabyte. You almost destroyed all of Mainframe."

"Yes," he agreed as he looked out the window, examining the destruction. "Although it seems I've been beaten out of the chance to do it again. But no matter. You see, I've found a new employer in your present troublemaker. Yes, she gave me quite a good offer. I get to rule Mainframe, and have unlimited access to the supercomputer, while she's off conquering more worlds."

"And while she's gone, you'll build up power behind her back until you have enough to destroy her and take over her entire empire in one fell swoop, is that it, Megabyte?"

He shrugged as he chuckled again. "That's the general idea." He imitated shock as her scowl deepened. "What? I guess you've got me figured out already."

Meanwhile, David leaned over to ARIEL's ear. "Get a scan on this guy, would you? I don't like the looks of him."

She nodded silently.

Megabyte's eyes shot up as he turned back toward them. "Which one of you little brats was trying to scan me?"

David stepped protectively in front of ARIEL. If this guy really was a virus, then she was vulnerable to infection. "It was me," he lied. "Although I didn't get to finish it. Would you mind filling in the gaps?"

Megabyte glared at him for a moment, then threw his head back as he laughed. "You almost had me, boy. I almost believed you. But that scan finished before I asked." He opened the door and stepped out, revealing himself to be of enormous proportions. He easily stood eight feet tall, and his hands ended in long, razor-sharp talons. His toes were equally sharp, and they dug into the ground as he stepped out. He reached over and rapped on the top of the car as he shut the door, and the driver pulled off. "You blew your chance, boy. I was amused at first, but you made a fatal mistake when you lied to me. I would have dealt with your friend, but I would have let you go. Now, I'm going to have to delete you both." He stretched up to his full height, his claws outstretched like so many blades.

David pulled his sword again, and held it out in front of him at the ready. "Stay back, ARIEL," he warned as the hologram obeyed, cringing back up against the wall behind her. "I'll handle this guy."

Megabyte laughed again. "You just give it your best shot, boy. I'm going to tear you to ribbons." His claw came down in a blur, but David brought his sword up to stop it.

He swung again and again, each one forcing David back another step as he braced to block them. The virus took one last, hard swing, and David found his back up against the wall, vying for strength against the giant's powerful obsidian arms.

Megabyte's face broke into a victorious smile. "Now, what are you going to do, boy? You're not bad, I'll give you that much, but now you're up against the wall, and there's nowhere else to run." He increased the pressure on the sword, slowly forcing it back.

I have to protect ARIEL, David thought as he struggled to hold his ground. I can't let this monster get to her. Involuntarily, he glanced over at her, huddled under the wall. It was just for an instant, but it was long enough for Megabyte to notice.

He followed his gaze, and saw her. He turned back to David, his smile bigger and more sadistic than ever. "I see now. You are trying to buy that girl time to get away! She is important to you, isn't she?"

Suddenly, David realized what was going through his mind. His eyes widened in fear. "You wouldn't! She's defenseless!"

Megabyte chuckled. "Well, then, I guess you don't know me very well, do you, boy?"

In an instant, he was running toward ARIEL. He pulled his arm back as he ran at her, and David saw the fear on her face. "NO!!!"

A loud blast from a high-caliber gun split the air, and Megabyte bent over backwards as the impact hit him. He hit the ground, his claws just inches from ARIEL, as two men hurdled over a wall in the debris. One was green with a biker vest, while the other was blue with silver hair and white armor. David recognized them instantly as the guys from the transmission. Matrix ran over to AndrAIa, trying to make sure she was alright, while Bob went over to ARIEL.

"Are you alright," he asked as he bent down to her.

She stared up, lost for a moment in his eyes. Finally, she nodded gently.

He smiled back. "That's good." He turned and pointed to AndrAIa and Matrix. Go over there with those two and wait with them, will you?"

She nodded quickly and hurried to obey.

"Bob!" Megabyte scoffed as he got to his feet. "Some things never change."

Bob scowled as he formed a cloud of white energy in his hand. "Not for you, they don't."

Megabyte grinned widely. "On the contrary, Bob, things have changed a great deal for me." He threw his head back as he laughed again, black energy circling forward from his chest. It surrounded him, and he disappeared, the echoes of his laughter still hanging in the air.

Bob glared angrily as he let the energy in his hand dissipate, his teeth bared fiercely at the place the virus had been standing. He turned on his heel and strode toward David. By the time he got to him, though, his temper was under control. "Need a hand?" he asked, a smile on his face as he offered his hand out to him.

"Thanks," David smiled back as he took his hand and Bob helped pull him up. He stared over at where Megabyte disappeared. "Who was that guy?"

Bob followed his gaze, and the glare returned to his face. "That was Megabyte, one of the toughest viruses on the Web. He has been infecting Mainframe for years. We thought we finally got rid of him a few years back, but it seems he's come back. Frankly, you're lucky to be alive after going toe-to-toe with him like that."

AndrAIa came up next to them, a comforting arm around ARIEL's shoulders. "He said something about being in Maria's employment. He said that she had offered him a deal he couldn't refuse."

Matrix's eye spun around as it turned from green to red. "Maria and Megabyte have teamed up? That isn't good."

"No, it isn't," Bob agreed as he rubbed his chin. "But why would Maria need to team up with anyone? She almost has this entire system under her thumb. Why would she need him?"

"He said that she was going to give him control of Mainframe, and access to the supercomputer when she left," David spoke up as he retrieved his sword and returned it to its sheath. "I don't know much about your problems, but my guess is she's getting ready to move on to another system, and he's here to keep order while she's away."

Bob let out a deep sigh as he dropped his arms. "For the sake of Mainframe, and the entire Net, I hope you're wrong."

* * *

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Megabyte has returned to Mainframe, under the "employment" of the mysterious Maria. Who is she, and what is she up to? Will David be able to convince the Guardians of Mainframe that he's there to help? Will he even be able to help when Maria has Megabyte as an ace up her sleeve? Does Maria know what she is getting into by trusting Megabyte? Questions will be answered, and new ones will be raised in the next chapter of Reboot: The User!