When Slider and Jackie arrived back at their apartment, Coop was standing by the window, staring out into the night.
"Hey, you two. Did you have a good skate?" He asked with a smile.
"Yeah, it was great." Jackie took off her jacket and Slider removed his sweatshirt.
"It started raining on us, though. I think the roads and sidewalks will be slippery tomorrow." He remarked.
"Yeah, it'll be a good day to stay inside." Jackie added, "...I'm gonna take a shower. Do either of you need the bathroom?"
"Nope. Go ahead, Jax." Slider said with a smile, joining his father. The two then stood in silence, watching the icy rain coat the window, before Coop spoke at last.
"Is she doing okay?"
"Well… she had a nightmare and she was pretty shaken up." Slider said, "... It was about what happened."
Coop nodded slowly.
"That's to be expected."
A rumble of thunder sounded and the rain started falling down twice as hard.
"Yeah, but… what if it's a sign? What if it was him who did this to her?" Slider's voice shook slightly.
"Wouldn't be the first time he's come back despite extenuating circumstances." Coop pressed his forehead against the glass.
"It's just… it has to be him. I don't know who else could want such twisted revenge." Slider swallowed hard. There was a crack of lightning and suddenly, he was there.
A dark chuckle. A taunting smirk. Jackie struggling in Hacker's grasp.
"What's the matter? You look even more disgruntled than usual." He sneered at Slider, "Whatever have I done to deserve such scorn…?"
"Get your fucking hands off of her. I'm not gonna tell you again." Slider growled, taking a step forward. Hacker's grip on Jackie's throat tightened and she clawed at his hand to no avail. The cyborg was stronger than he looked, especially in his currently overcharged state.
"Since when do YOU care so much about this overzealous drama queen?"
Slider said nothing, simply tilting his chin forward and clenching his fists. Hacker's sneer turned into a megawatt smile of amusement.
"Oh no. DON'T TELL ME!" The villain threw his prisoner to the tiled floor before advancing on the young man. Inez and Matt stood on either side of Slider, their fists clenched in a similar fashion.
"You've developed FEELINGS for her! Oh, that's rich! Rich AND beyond pathetic!" Hacker casually reached for what looked to be a ray gun.
"Guys… watch out!" Jackie rasped.
"This doesn't have to get messy, Hacker. Just tell us what you want in exchange for Jackie." Matt said. Hacker laughed boisterously.
"What could I POSSIBLY want from you?"
"You went to all the trouble of kidnapping Jackie for a reason." Matt stood his ground, but his voice wavered slightly. "Whenever you pull crap like this, it's because you want something."
Hacker pressed a button on the gun and the teens backed away slightly, their gazes remaining fixated on him.
"This time, all I want is your suffering. You miserable brats crossed a line a long time ago, but I went easy on you because you were mere children. Not anymore!" He pressed another button and the barrel of the gun glowed red.
"Slider, what IS that?" Inez hissed, grabbing Slider's arm.
" I…I don't know. I've never seen anything like it. "
"In simple terms your primitive brains can understand, it's a death ray. But there's a secondary function, one that causes indescribable pain." Hacker sneered before turning around to face Jackie in one swift motion. Slider lunged forward, taking a hold of the villain's arm with a yell of fury.
"...Sly?"
" FUCK!" Slider kicked the heating grate at his feet and Coop gently grabbed his shoulders.
"Whoa, is everything okay out here? What happened?" Jackie walked back into the living room, wrapped in her fluffy purple bathrobe. Slider took a deep breath and turned to smile at his fiancee.
"...Yeah. Sorry, Jax. Didn't mean to scare ya."
"Sly…" She said softly, coming up beside him and grabbing his arm. He sighed deeply and closed his eyes.
"I just had a flashback myself. Sorry."
Jackie released him in order to hug herself, biting her lower lip softly and looking down at the floor.
"Let's just try to go back to bed." Slider said quietly.
"...Or at least try to." Jackie replied at the same volume, and he could see that she was choking back more tears.
"...Guess I'll catch up on some more TV." Coop sat back down on the couch and picked up the TV remote.
"...See you in the morning, pops." Slider took Jackie's hand and led her into their bedroom. As he changed into his pajamas, he watched her as she sat down on the edge of the king-sized bed, her arms crossed tightly across her chest.
"It was pretty bad. Like I was there all over again." He admitted, getting underneath the blue comforter.
"I know. It's the only time you have rage fits like that." She said quietly, laying down next to him. He pulled her into his arms, savoring the smell of her coconut-scented shampoo and rosehip body wash.
"Just… remembering his dirty hands on you. And then what he tried to do…"
She tensed up.
"Sorry. I won't talk about it anymore." He said softly.
"Please. Let's talk about something else."
"What's on your mind?"
There was a beat of silence and he was relieved to see a smile stretch across her face.
"Well, since I'm… y'know, not dead, the wedding is still on."
Slider chuckled.
"You still thinking next year…?"
"Umm… yeah, I think so. That should be enough time, right? To get all the financial stuff in order."
"Should be. I can put in extra hours at the garage. Rico's always putting his shifts up for people to take."
"Ugh, nevermind. I don't wanna think about how poor we are either." Jackie sighed, "I mean, my parents will cover a good chunk of it, but I want to contribute."
"We will, don't worry."
There was another beat of silence, this one comfortable.
"...Then, after that… I don't know what's gonna happen." She whispered.
"What do you mean…?"
"Like, what's our five-year plan? We haven't really discussed it."
"Well… I mean, there's the honeymoon… then we were gonna move into a bigger place, possibly in the suburbs. Isn't that what you wanted?"
Jackie nodded slowly.
"Yeah. A bigger house, more bedrooms. Because…"
"...You want kids." He cracked a smile himself.
"Well, yeah, I mean, if… it's still possible."
"Should be. I didn't ask Dr. Marbles, but that part of you should still be functioning. If not, well…"
"We can adopt." She said softly.
"Or, we can literally… make a child. In Cyberspace. Engineer a cyborg with both of our traits."
"That's a thing…?"
"Of course. That's how cyborgs without biological reproductive systems produce offspring."
"Okay… but if it happens naturally, will the baby… huh? I'm confused." Jackie tilted her head to the side.
"Our child will be born fully human unless we modify them to be like us. Believe it or not, I started out that way. So did my father."
"...Really?"
"Yeah." Slider rested his head on his pillow and she did the same, also entwining their fingers. She wanted to press him for further details, but the look in his eyes told her not to. There was another question that pressed itself against the front of her mind, however, and she needed an answer.
"So… it seems that all cyborgs have a good or an evil nature, with nothing in between. How does that work?"
"Corrupted or abused cyborgs will often turn to a villainous nature. Sometimes, though, the reason for alignment is completely and utterly unknown. Two good cyborgs can produce villainous offspring, and vice versa." Slider explained, getting that unsettled look in his eyes again.
"Hmm." Jackie gently chewed on her lower lip again.
"But you shouldn't worry. No matter what, our child will be loved and we'll take everything as it comes." He said softly.
She gave him a small smile and then a quick peck on the lips, her fingers tightening around his. He scooted closer to her until their bodies and foreheads were pressed together. Jackie closed her eyes and relaxed for the first time in what felt like an eternity.
The freezing rain pelted the window panes and the wind howled. Lauren held onto her favorite stuffed cat tightly, the covers pulled over her head. It was dead silent in the large house except for the occasional creak as the foundation settled. The little girl wanted to run down the hallway and into her parents' bedroom, but the noises outside kept her buried in her comforter. There was another creak, this one in the hallway. Somebody was there.
"...Daddy?" Lauren called softly. The footsteps advanced until they were right outside her door.
"Daddy, I'm scared." She sat up, clutching her stuffed animal against her chest. The door creaked open, the hallway light illuminating the room.
"Lauren?" Her father entered, holding a glass of ice water.
"It's scary outside." She said quietly. Matt nodded and set the glass on her bedside table, ruffling her hair.
"Yeah, it is. Did you want to sleep with me and mommy?"
Lauren nodded and kicked her sheets off. Her father sighed and gave her a tired smile.
"Alright, let's go."
"You're not going anywhere. " A voice rasped from the doorway. Matt squinted- all he could see was a dark silhouette holding something. Lauren hid behind him, grabbing his legs. The figure flipped on the overhead light and Matt's heart skipped a beat.
"...L-Ledge?"
"Very good! I thought you'd forgotten about me." The young man laughed, "I wanted to make my presence known sooner, but… surprises are fun, don't you agree?"
"What do you want? Why are you here?" Matt snapped, "Hell, how did you get here?"
"The same way anybody travels from Cyberspace to earth. Just popped a portal." He shrugged.
"But… only Motherboard can make portals."
Ledge chuckled and advanced on the father and daughter.
"You're right. It took a little… persuasion on my part, but she eventually agreed."
"What did you do…?"
"You ask too many questions, Matt." Ledge raised his weapon and fired it before Matt could react. He let out an anguished yell and fell to the ground in pain, every nerve ending and muscle feeling as though it were on fire.
"Daddy!" Lauren fell to her knees, only to be snatched up a moment later. She kicked and screamed but her captor was much too strong.
"I suggest you come quietly, princess." Ledge growled.
"No! Let me go!" Lauren wailed as he dragged her out of the bedroom and into a portal situated at the end of the hallway. Matt struggled to maintain consciousness- the room was spinning and every little movement was pure agony.
"Inez? INEZ!" He yelled between choked sobs as he struggled to sit up, "NEZZIE, where are you?"
"I'm here!" Inez yelled back in an equally pained state. Matt inched his way out to the hallway and saw his wife collapsed outside of their open bedroom door, coughing up bloody phlegm.
"Nezzie… it was… it was…"
"Ledge! I know." Inez's coughing fit subsided at last.
"I can't… I couldn't move." He lamented hysterically, "I couldn't do anything. He… he took her."
"He fried our squacks, too. We have no way of reaching Motherboard." Inez rested her head on the floor and closed her eyes tightly.
"Shit. SHIT!" Matt managed to hike himself up at last and then crawled over to his wife, who was now sobbing softly.
"We have to call Slider and Jax. Hopefully their squacks are still working."
"What if he already got to them? What if there's no way for us to get to Cyberspace?" Pure panic laced Inez's voice as she opened her eyes and attempted to raise her head.
"We don't know until we try. Where's your phone?"
Inez sat up and continued to sob, burying her face in her hand.
"Inez, where's your phone? " Matt had to take a deep breath in order to keep from breaking back into hysterics. Inez crawled back into their bedroom and he followed suit, the pain still preventing him from standing. Inez managed to grab her phone off the bedside table, only to be greeted by a red battery symbol and a frayed charger. Matt found his own phone lying face down with a cracked screen and pixelated display.
"He must've fried our phones, too!" Inez gasped.
"Then we have to… we have to drive. We just have to get to them." Matt grunted and used the bed to get onto his feet at last, seething from the effort and pain.
"But they're two hours away! What if-"
"Nezzie, there's no other option here. It's the only way."
Inez let out a choked sigh and extended her hand. Matt gingerly pulled her to her feet, steadying her until they both sat down on the bed in order to catch their breath.
"I just don't understand… what does he want with her?" Inez cried.
"Revenge." Matt said, attempting to reboot his phone.
"For what? I ruined one petty scheme of his and he wants to kidnap my daughter?"
"I don't think that's what he wants revenge for. There has to be something else." Matt threw his useless phone to the floor.
"Oh my God… we have to get to Jackie and Slider's!" Inez stood up and then doubled over in pain.
"Come on, get dressed. We don't have much time." Matt said, standing up himself and stripping off his pajama shirt.
"We don't have any time." Inez whispered shakily.
"Well, well, well, it's about time we met, munchkin." Hacker sneered and tilted Lauren's chin up with his fingers. The girl jerked away and continued to sob quietly.
"She has her father's eyes." Wicked observed nonchalantly.
"Mmm… indeed. And I love seeing them like this- full of fear." Hacker chuckled darkly.
"I'm not scared!" Lauren snapped, wiping her eyes on the sleeve of her pink pajamas. Delete's arms tightened around her and she let out a choked rasp.
"Oh, I think you are. And you should be." Ledge came up behind his newly-acquired mentor, holding his cyberknife. "You won't be leaving this ship alive."
Lauren whimpered as he advanced on her and then tilted her chin up with the tip of the knife, leaving a tiny cut.
"Although… I'm not opposed to giving your parents false hope. What do you think, Hacker? You could use a little extra income, no?"
The other villain laughed lightly.
"What are you proposing?"
"A snelfu ransom. Once we get in touch with Matt and Inez, we'll give them an ultimatum: 500 snalfus or one of Lauren's fingers. Then we keep raising it."
"Noooo!" Lauren broke down again, squirming in Delete's grasp and stomping her foot. Hacker laughed again and put a hand on Ledge's shoulder.
"You are sick, my boy. Maybe you really do take after me."
Wicked's face involuntarily scrunched up at Hacker's statement, but she held her tongue.
"Well, I did also do a number on our beloved Motherboard thanks to you and Wicked. And her little helpers will be much too occupied with saving Lauren to be able to do anything about it."
"Yeah! Auntie Jackie and mommy and daddy and Digit will save me!" The six-year-old snapped. Ledge chuckled.
"I wouldn't count on your Auntie Jackie, little one. Not this time."
"Buzz! Delete! Throw her in the cage!" Hacker clapped his hands and commanded his two henchmen.
"What about the dungeon, boss?" Buzz tilted his brow upwards in confusion.
"Yeah, the dungeon. Why not put her in there?" Delete agreed.
"Because, you miserable melonheads, we need to keep an eye on her. Are you forgetting who she's related to? Those pathetic earth brats have no doubt taught her a thing or two about using her wits. We do not want that, understood?"
"Oh yeah, boss. We hear you loud and clear! Good plan!" Buzz sneered, "Come here, little girl. We've got a nice place for you. Right up here, on the flight deck."
"NO!" Lauren became a dead weight in Delete's arms and the clumsy robot nearly dropped her.
"What did I tell you?" Hacker growled, "LEDGE!"
"On it." Ledge effortlessly snatched up the girl and threw her into the nearby steel cage and locked it. "Now… be nice and quiet while we find your Auntie Jackie."
"NO!" Lauren yelled and stomped her feet again before letting out a banshee-like screech. Hacker, Wicked, and Ledge all winced and covered their ears.
"Quiet or we'll make you sleep." Ledge growled.
"Oh, I can assist with that." Wicked pulled out her wand but he stopped her.
"No. Not with magic. I will personally come in there and smack you upside the head with a fucking board, understood?"
Lauren pouted and crossed her arms, resigning to looking at the floor.
"Now then…" Ledge turned back to Hacker and smiled. "It's time for the hard part. But it will all be worth it."