When Jackie woke up next, she immediately kicked the covers off and rushed to the bathroom- her stomach was turning and her head was pounding. Only bile came up; she couldn't remember the last time she'd eaten. She collapsed against the tiled wall once her stomach stopped seizing and remained there for a good ten minutes, holding her head. When she stood up at last, the tiny room started spinning and she braced herself on the sink.
"...Jackie?" Even Coop's gentle knock made her head throb viciously.
"I'm fine." She rasped, opening the medicine cabinet and grabbing a bottle of Ibuprofen. She then opened the door to see Coop standing there, concern written on his face.
"You are not fine. Come sit, I'll get you some water."
Jackie stumbled out to the living room and plopped down on the couch, switching off the TV. Every little sound and flash of light caused her excruciating pain.
"Here. Let me open that." Coop came back from the kitchen, setting a large glass of ice water on the coffee table. He proceeded to open the pill bottle and put two in Jackie's outstretched hand.
"Thanks." She said softly before downing them with some water.
"Is it a migraine?" Coop inquired after a moment of silence.
"Yeah. I… I think so. It's my head and my stomach."
"Do you get them a lot…?"
Jackie shook her head.
"No. I can't remember the last time I had one."
"Hmm. Well, we know it isn't from not eating or drinking." Coop stretched his arm across the back of the sofa.
"It's probably just random. Or my body responding to stress."
"Yeah… it's likely stress, given everything that's been happening." Coop sighed.
The freezing rain storm had ceased, and it was now dead silent outside.
"Could you turn the light down a notch…? Just flip the switch to the left." Jackie pressed the glass of water against her forehead. Coop fumbled with the switch for a moment but managed to do what she asked.
"You know… all of this is bringing back some unpleasant memories." The elder cyborg said softly.
"How so…?" Jackie closed her eyes and rolled the glass from side to side. Coop stared straight ahead for a moment, looking distant.
"I don't know if Slider has told you, but we both used to be like you."
"He did." She said softly, "But I didn't want to press him for details."
Coop took a deep breath and turned to meet her concerned gaze.
"I don't like talking about it, and he hardly remembers. But that's a good thing. It was a very dark time in our lives."
Jackie set the glass on a coaster and Coop clasped his hands together before continuing.
"Like I said, we were once human too. But then we got mixed up with Cyberspace."
"Was it like how I got involved? Did Motherboard summon you…?" Jackie asked. Coop shook his head and smiled a little.
"My… wife at the time, Slider's mom, was a computer scientist. She stumbled upon Cyberspace in the course of her research. She was the one who initially got into contact with Motherboard… and Hacker. Of course, back then, Hacker was on our side. Cassandra was absolutely thrilled with her discovery, of course, and Motherboard invited her to explore Cyberspace. Before you knew it, Sly and I were involved and Cyberspace became our second home." Coop stared straight ahead again.
"...And then what happened…?" Jackie asked, although she wasn't certain that she wanted to know. Coop looked dejected now, ready to fall apart at any moment.
"Well, Cassandra, Hacker, and I all started to work together on certain projects. I was basically an intern of sorts, learning everything as I went. Before all this I was a stay-at-home dad." Coop smiled, but that look of dejection was still in his eyes. Jackie swallowed.
"...Then, basically, in the course of our inventing, Hacker convinced us to modify ourselves. Once again, Cassandra was thrilled and excited to experiment. Me? Not so much. But I loved her, so I went through with it. Hacker and Dr. Marbles modified all three of us. And we were happy."
Jackie sat in stunned silence until she garnered the courage to ask the inevitable question.
"...So what happened to Cassandra?" She instantly regretted her inquiry, but there was no way to suck it back up now. Coop clasped his hands together again, in a praying stance, and rested his forehead against them.
"Well… as time went on, Hacker started to turn. As he turned, he grew increasingly jealous and resentful of Cassandra and I's relationship. But…" He trailed off and Jackie put a hand on his shoulder. "I can't prove that what happened to her… was because of him."
Tears were starting to form in Jackie's eyes. Now she really wasn't sure if she wanted to hear the end of this story.
"...One night she went out to collect some scrap metal from a distant cybersite, and, well, she never came back. But it couldn't have been Hacker because he was working with me that night. I distinctly remember Slider, who was about three by that time, walking into the lab and being excessively fussy. It was like he knew something was wrong."
Jackie's heart dropped into her stomach.
"I did."
Jackie and Coop's heads shot up at the sound of Slider's voice. He was leaning against the wall, his arms crossed.
"Because, before she left, mom came into my room and just… sat there, at the foot of my bed. Like she was biding her time with me."
"...You remember that night…?" Coop's voice was hushed.
"All I remember is her sitting there for a long time, and then giving me a kiss before leaving the room." Slider sat down beside Jackie.
"She knew someone was after her. Just like me." She whispered.
"I just don't know who it could have been, besides Hacker." Coop said, "But I have absolutely no proof that he was involved in any way. There's a good possibility that she ran into some other rogue borgs and they…"
There was a loud, persistent knock on the apartment door and Jackie winced.
"Who the hell could that be? It's what, 4 am?" Slider stood up and opened the door, his confusion increasing when he saw who was there.
"Inez? Matt?"
"He took her. He broke in and took her!" Inez immediately erupted into hysterics.
"What?"
"Lauren. Ledge took Lauren." Matt rushed into the apartment. "Please tell me your skwaks are working!"
"Huh? Our skwaks? What?" Jackie's pained brain was lagging.
"Ledge came to our house and kidnapped Lauren. We have to get to Cyberspace." Matt was clearly fighting to stay calm.
"Ledge? Are you sure…?" Slider asked, his brown eyes widening.
"Yes. I saw him. Black hair, blue eyes. He shot us with Hacker's deathray and then snatched Lauren up."
There was a distant ringing sound.
"That's my skwak." Jackie said, attempting to stand. Coop stopped her.
"Just tell us where it is and we'll grab it."
"My bedside table. On the right." She sat back down and seethed in pain. Slider rushed into their bedroom and grabbed the device.
"...Hello?" He answered the incoming video call as he rushed back out to the living room.
"Earthlies! We've got trouble!" Digit's frantic voice came over the speaker.
"Yes, we know. Ledge has Lauren." He replied as everyone gathered around him.
"What?! Zoiks, we've got DOUBLE trouble then! Hacker gave Motherboard a new virus- she's going between good and evil!"
"I believe the intention was to make her solely evil, but the virus is very poorly coded, like it was made in a rush." Dr. Marbles leaned into the screen, "I am working on a system reset that should solve the problem, but she's fighting me right now."
"But we have to get to Cyberspace! Who knows what Ledge will do to-" Inez started, only to be interrupted by a second incoming call alert.
"Hold on, Didge." Slider switched to the new call, and anger instantly overtook his features. There was Ledge, wearing a malicious smirk.
"Ah, I'm so glad I caught you. Tell me, are your friends there…?"
"We're here, you son of a bitch. I swear to God, if you harm my daughter-" Matt started, yanking the device out of Slider's hand.
"Well, that's entirely up to you. You give me 500 snalfus or I cut off a finger. I'll be nice, though, and let her choose which one." The young villain flashed his knife and Matt let out a growl of pure fury.
"You fucking piece of-"
"Done." Coop said, and everyone turned to look at him. "Just tell me where you want it."
"The Northern Frontier. You know the place, old man." Ledge sneered.
"The Northern Frontier…?" Slider exchanged panicked glances with Inez.
"I do." Coop said calmly, "Is there anything else you want us to bring…?"
"I am so glad you asked. 500 snalfus is kind of a low price for such a… delightful…little girl. I think we need something more to supplement it."
"I'll make it a thousand." Coop said. Ledge laughed.
"I was actually thinking that we could do more of a trade."
"A trade? What do you want?"
"Oh, it's nothing big, really. In fact, I'll even give her back to you after the fact."
"...Her? Who's her?"
"One Jacqueline."
"What?" Slider snapped, snatching the skwak away from Matt, "What the hell do you want with her?"
"Just twenty minutes, give or take. I'm afraid I can't disclose further details at this time." Ledge sneered again.
"No. Absolutely not. We'll give you anything else. Not her."
"I'm afraid we don't have a deal, then." Ledge turned his head. "Okay, guys, let's get her out of the cage. It's time."
"Wait!" Jackie took the skwak pad from Slider. "I'll do it."
"Jackie!" Everyone exclaimed together. Still holding her head, Jackie took a deep breath.
"Twenty minutes. You do whatever you want to me. Just don't hurt Lauren."
"I figured you'd come around. If Motherboard cannot get you to Cyberspace in her current state, I'll make arrangements. See you soon." Ledge ended the call with a smirk and nod.
"How could you do that?!" Slider yelled at Jackie, "He's obviously going to corrupt you!"
"And the Northern Frontier? The hangar as a dropoff point? Hacker's gotta be there, too!" Inez's voice matched Slider's in volume.
"It's like magnetite damage, right? It can be reversed." Jackie closed her eyes again.
"No, Jackie! A corrupted borg, if it can be fixed, will have issues for the rest of its lifespan. Memory loss, sporadic alignment changes, an inability to upgrade or synchronize…it's like a terminal illness. I can't lose you like that!" Slider grabbed her shoulders.
"Our goddaughter will die if I don't do this! Do you really think he's going to stop at her fingers?" Jackie snapped.
"You don't know that! He could be bluffing!"
"Slider, he has Hacker's deathray. I don't think he's fucking bluffing." Matt also snapped.
"No. I won't let you do this, Jackie." Slider sat down next to Jackie and grabbed her hands. She was silent for a moment, taking several deep breaths.
"If you love me, if you love Lauren, you'll let me do this."
"Jackie-"
"Slider…" She touched his face.
"We can go to Dr. Marbles and make a backup of your current state. It will at least save you from the memory loss aspect." Coop said softly.
"Dad-!" Slider started.
"I'm sorry, Sly, but I just don't see any other way."
"Slider." Jackie said again, this time in a whisper, "I don't know how, but I promise it will be okay."
Slider's mouth opened and closed a few times but no words came out. Jackie gently put a finger to his lips.
"No matter how much he corrupts me… I'll still need you with me. We're planning on doing the traditional vows at our wedding. 'Til death do us part…" She put a hand on his knee.
"...In sickness and in health." He said finally, taking her face in his hands.
"Umm, shouldn't it be 'in corruption and in health'?" Matt said, and Inez elbowed him in the ribs. Slider pulled Jackie into a tight hug and shut his eyes in an effort to keep tears from falling from them. But he failed and she gently brushed them away when they parted.
"Well… we should really get going. I have to get those snalfus." Coop remarked.
"I'll call Didge back and see if Motherboard can get us to Cyberspace. I really don't want to give Ledge the satisfaction of helping us get there." Matt said, "I don't even know what 'arrangements' he could make- Motherboard's the only one who can make portals."
Jackie stood up and Slider followed suit, giving her a small smile.
"Well, we should get dressed. Can't save Lauren in our pajamas."
"Right." She said softly, and the couple retreated to their bedroom. Once inside, Slider grabbed her and pressed her against the wall, kissing her long and hard. She gently ran her fingers through his hair and smiled when he pulled away.
"I can't remember the last time you kissed me like that."
"You're getting another one when we get to the Northern Frontier." Slider said softly, picking his jeans up off the floor. Jackie put on the same outfit she'd worn ice skating and then proceeded to pull the curtain away from the window, staring out into the night. She wanted to take in every sight, every sound, every little snippet of memory. She still wasn't sure what corruption entailed even with Slider's explanation, but if it was what she had to endure to save Lauren, she was going to do it with a brave face.
"They're on their way." Ledge stepped into Hacker's bedroom, where the villain was stretched out on his mattress.
"Excellent. Did they agree to your generous terms…?"
"Oh yes. They'll do anything for the girl. It's pathetic." Ledge smirked.
"Jacqueline, Jacqueline, Jacqueline… so many possibilities once she's on my side. The cyberworld will gasp in horror upon seeing that one of their allies has turned to unbridled chaos."
"The cyberworld and her little boyfriend. I wonder if she'll slit his throat." Ledge smiled, but then his eyes narrowed. "No… I need to be the one with that honor."
"Actually, my atrocious apprentice, if it's alright with you, I would rather be the one to end his miserable existence. It's been a long time coming."
Ledge laughed.
"Alright, if you insist. But I get the old man."
Hacker frowned and sat up.
"I'd like to be the one to end him, too."
Ledge glared at Hacker.
"So you're only leaving me with the Partridge Family. Nice."
"I have harbored great resentment for Coop and Slider before you could walk. It's only fair that I be the one to watch the life fade from their eyes." Hacker snapped.
"Wait a minute here. This whole thing was my idea. I get to do all the killing." Ledge continued to glare daggers into him.
"This is my ship."
"And this is my knife. Last I checked, you didn't have one." Ledge snapped.
"I don't need a knife because I have my deathray."
"But the deathray is a mercy killing. It's one zap and then they're dead. Where's the fun in that?"
"I can prolong their suffering with the secondary function. It causes the same amount of agony." Hacker said, returning Ledge's fiery glare.
"What? No it doesn't. With a knife you can painfully slice them up while they're still alive and begging for mercy. The deathray just causes nerve and muscle pain."
"Let's agree to disagree, shall we?" Hacker huffed and swung his legs over the bed. "I need a recharge before our friends get here."
"Just let me do the killing, okay? I promise it'll be entertaining."
"I'll believe it when I see it." Hacker growled, "Now help me get to my chair."
Ledge sighed dejectedly.
"...Alright."
"Ohhhhhh Hackie-Poo! Ledgie!" Wicked sang, prancing into the room.
"What, Wicked?" Hacker snapped, "Can't you see we're busy?"
"They're heeeerrrrrrre. And Jacqueline is leading the pack."
"What?! Already? No matter, I'll recharge while you two get the snelfus and bring Jackie aboard. But remember-"
"Our big lie? Of course. We'll have both Jacqueline and the girl, easy. I almost feel sorry that they fell for our little fake bargain." Wicked let out a shrill laugh. "I'll have to help Jacqueline pick out a fabulous new outfit. What she's wearing right now is not very evil cyborg-y. Not at all."
"Would you shut up?" Ledge snapped.
"Excuse me? I am The Hacker's leading consort. You're a mere apprentice. If anyone needs to shut up, it's you."
"BOTH of you shut up!" Hacker growled, "We have very important business to attend to. Chaotic business."
The three villains stepped back onto the flight deck, where Lauren was throwing another temper tantrum.
"But I've gotta go!" She whined, crossing her legs.
"Too bad. You're staying right there." Buzz said.
"What's your problem, munchkin?" Hacker asked as he sat down in his recharger chair.
"I have to pee! I'm gonna go on the floor if you don't let me out!"
"Ugh. Fine. Buzz, Delete, take her to the bathroom. We don't want her soiling herself and my floor."
"Well, um, okay, boss. Whatever you say." Buzz pulled out the key to the cage and freed the little girl, who proceeded to push him over and dart away.
"Oops." Delete said quietly, "Guess we should have restrained her first."
"You blithering duncebuckets! Get her!"
"She won't get far." Ledge said calmly, "She'll probably get lost, as a matter of fact. And all the exits are locked."
"I'll help them look." Wicked said, "Come on, you two." She helped Buzz to his feet. Hacker sighed deeply and pinched his nose.
"Just get Jackie and bring her to me." Hacker demanded of Ledge.
"Absolutely." Ledge set his knife on the control panel. "It's going to be quite the reunion."