"Guys, you gotta see this," Maddie called to her friends.
She'd been flipping through tv channels, not paying too much attention until one of the news programs caught her eye. They were covering the recent oddities on Eureeka. The desert site had recently sprouted to life in vibrant greens, blues and purples, and even Motherboard wasn't sure of the cause. They'd speculated that perhaps the site's format spontaneously updated to allow for the vegetation to thrive, but they weren't positive. It seemed that Sam Vander Rom had the same question.
The squad gathered around the small screen at her call, even Motherboard focusing on the program.
"Sam Vander Rom here, and this is Hard Drive, the show that tells it like it is, whether you like it or not! Where did these mysterious trenches come from? That's the question many Eurekans are asking today. Were they created by some freak of nature? Or perhaps they were made by aliens from another cyber galaxy? Or maybe they were made by—"
He was cut off by a familiar figure swaggering into frame, though instead of his usual purple suit and cape he was wearing shimmering white.
"They were made by me!" Hacker butted in, the camera immediately focusing on him.
"Hacker?!" Sam gasped, apparently not expecting the self-proclaimed supervillain to crash his spotlight.
"The Hacker, to you."
"What is he doing there?" Matt asked, barely controlling the anger in his tone.
"I have no idea, but it can't be anything good," Inez responded.
"This just in, The Hacker pays Hard Drive a surprise visit! So, what are you doing here? And remember, tell it like it is."
Sam easily fell back into his ringmaster showmanship, settling into his chair and offering Hacker the mic.
"The 'is' is this, Vandy; I'm here to tell the good citizens of Cyberspace that yes, I was on Eureeka and I made those trenches. But, those trenches are part of my mission of meekness. You see, from this point forward I plan to devote my entire life to the common cyber-good!"
"Cyber-good? Right, and I've got the encryptor chip in my chest hatch!" Digit snapped, voicing the distrust of the entire group.
"That jerk couldn't do good if it was hard-wired into his programming!" Maddie snapped.
On screen, Hacker continued his speech.
"Dear friends, in my hand I hold the cyber-constitution! Let's refer to section C, paragraph 7, shall we? At any time, any citizen may call for an election for the rulership of Cyberspace," Hacker read off.
"Surely you can't be planning to challenge Motherboard…can you?" Sam asked, stunned.
No one had challenged Motherboard in eons, there had been no reason to. She led them with love and wisdom, ensured the best quality of life for all. Even with her virus the thought had never crossed anyone's mind.
"I can and I am! Oh, how I wish it weren't necessary, but sadly Motherboard's virus has weakened her to such an extent that she can no longer continue as an effective leader."
"Oh that son of a—" Maddie began yelling, snapping her mouth closed when Digit sharply elbowed her.
Matt and Jackie shared a grin, more than used to the curse words their older friend occasionally let slip, though more often than not their amusement came from the scolding she received from her mother.
"Fact check! Weren't you the one who infected Motherboard with that virus in the first place?" Sam demanded, shoving the microphone closer to Hacker to catch his admission.
Hacker paused, obviously not having expected to be called out for his past deeds. He recovered quickly, once more adopting the syrupy sweet tone and placating grin he'd donned thus far.
"My friends, I admit that there have been times in the past when I have been, shall we say, a tad unneighborly. But I have seen the light! From this day forth, I promise you I will always speak the truth and do good! I stand before you today a changed cyborg."
"The only thing he's changed is his cape!" Matt yelled angrily.
"Unneighborly? That's how he's going to describe what he's done?" Jackie asked in disbelief. "That's like saying the atomic bomb was only a small explosion."
"To prove that I have truly turned over a new leaf, I have already done good deeds on five different cybersites!"
"There's no way Hacker actually did something good! That's like…like the sky turning red and it raining upwards from the ground!" Inez protested.
Maddie kept quiet, gritting her teeth so hard she could swear some cracked.
"You heard it here first, folks. The Hacker told it like it is! Five good deeds! How about that? According to the constitution the election will be held later today, immediately following a cyber-wide debate between the two candidates…if Motherboard is willing."
The program cut out with a burst of static.
"Of course I'm willing," Motherboard said.
"Wait, woah, hold on. This cannot be happening," Maddie said, leaning on the console to look up at her mother. "You're not actually considering going along with this are you, Mom?"
"We can't let this happen!" Matt agreed.
"The law is the law, Matt," Motherboard calmly interjected. "We must obey the cyber-constitution."
"But Hacker doesn't obey laws!" Inez protested.
"Maybe so, but he does have the right to run for election," Jackie said, four sets of eyes locking onto her incredulously.
"Yes, Jackie," Motherboard agreed, obviously pleased at her logic. "The voters must decide."
"This is ridiculous! Who in their right mind would vote for Hacker?" Maddie snapped, distressed.
She was no fool, she knew the cybercitizens could be easily swayed. It worried her that they always seemed to forget Hacker's past the instant he claimed to have changed. After all, this wasn't the first time he'd claimed to have retired from evil. Static fuzzed across the monitor above her, Motherboard momentarily disappearing. The virus was making her weaker every day, what if she clonked out in the middle of the debate? It wouldn't exactly earn any support.
"I'll be your campaign manager," Digit said, breaking the tension.
"So what's the plan?" Inez asked.
"I say we go on Hard Drive just like Hacker. Remind everyone why they should vote for Motherboard," Matt said.
"That may work," Jackie agreed. "Just as long as we can prove she's the better leader."
"I'll go with you," Maddie chimed in, shocking them all. From her earlier outbursts they had thought she'd want nothing to do with the election. "What? She's my mom, I can't just not help her."
"Then what are we waiting for? Let's head to the coupe!" Digit said, propeller sputtering to life.
It had been surprisingly easy to secure a guest spot on Hard Drive, though Maddie couldn't say she was surprised. Most everyone in Cyberspace knew her or knew of her, and it was exceedingly rare she consented to being on television, rarer for her to voice her opinions on Hacker publicly. Vander Rom had been practically frothing at the mouth to have the chance, and they had been ushered into the shooting studio almost as soon as they'd set foot inside. As the lights came up, Maddie took a deep breath and glanced at her brother, who gave her a thumbs up. He stood behind the camera, not one for interviews. She grinned back, turning her focus to the host as he began to speak.
"Meet Matt, Jackie, and Inez, who are here to tell it to us straight why Motherboard should be re-elected. Of course, we all know Maddie, Motherboard and Doctor Marbles' daughter and current chief technician to our beloved leader. Inez, let's start with you. Why should Motherboard be re-elected?"
"Um," the younger girl stammered, obviously unprepared to kick things off, and nervous to boot. "Well, for starters, Motherboard is-is kind, and-and wise. And she always has the best interests of Cyberspace at heart."
Despite her rocky start, Inez finished her speech confidently, but it was obvious it would take more than common knowledge to sway Vander Rom and the audience.
"Fine, fine, so Motherboard's a good moral leader," Vander Rom responded, disinterested. "Anything else?"
His eyes cut to Maddie, and she knew he desperately wanted to grill her but was saving it for the end. She'd seen his show often enough to know how he operated. She gave him a coy smile, falling back on the political training her mother had given her before she'd fallen ill.
"Um, well," Jackie stammered, visibly thrown by the newscaster's demeanor.
Maddie saw her chance and smiled, drawing Vander Rom's attention.
"My mother has led Cyberspace for eons, ensuring safety and happiness for all. During her watch, no one has ever suffered or been harmed, even when Hacker was at his worst. She's always made sure her citizens' needs are met, even at the cost of her own. Every site feels safe under her rule, isn't that something we can agree on?" She turned toward the camera, keeping her inner emotions locked away. "Why would we risk the serenity we have now by voting in someone who has a history of misdeeds? Sure Hacker has done a few good deeds, but is it really enough for us to believe he'll guide and protect us as my mother does? I don't think so."
She sat back calmly, keeping her head high and face neutral. She could see Digit grinning out of the corner of her eye, and felt proud that she hadn't trashed Hacker as she so desperately wanted to. Inez and Jackie were looking at her in awe, unaware that she could sound so much like Motherboard. Vander Rom also looked stunned, and she mentally tallied a point for herself. Perhaps this wouldn't be so bad.
"Well said," Vander Rom agreed. "Anything to add Matt, Jackie?"
Maddie tensed, her eyes flicking toward her friend. He looked just as angry as he had that morning when Hacker had announced his intention to challenge her mother for rulership of Cyberspace, and her stomach sank.
"Matt—" she started, hoping to prevent any damage he was unintentionally about to cause.
"You bet!" the boy shouted. "Motherboard can be trusted—not like her opponent! Everyone knows that Hacker is a big, fat liar!"
Maddie's eyes slipped closed in defeat as her other friends gasped. So much for calm and collected.
"I can't believe he just said that!" Digit whispered from behind the camera.
"Hacker said he did five good deeds? Not a chance! He's lying!" Matt continued, too incensed to stop.
Inez tried to cut in and save face.
"Um, what Matt means is, Hacker lies a lot—we know that from before. So in order to believe him we need real proof that he did the good deeds he said he did."
"Right!" Jackie jumped in and agreed. "Then we'll know if he's telling the truth or not."
'We may be okay,' Maddie thought to herself, 'just as long as Matt doesn't—'
"This disk shows all the bad stuff Hacker's done!" Matt yelled, brandishing said disk. He jumped up and inserted it into the small player at the bottom of the screen. It came up, flicking through old security footage Maddie hadn't even realized had been downloaded. She hid her face in her hands as her friend kept talking. "Remember how Hacker released all that static waste into Cyberspace? And how he destroyed Symmetria? And don't forget how he drained all the water from Sensible Flats! That's proof enough for me that he lies, cheats and steals!"
Maddie may agree with every word coming out of his mouth, but she never would have said it on national tv. She supposed she couldn't really be too angry though. After all, she'd had years of practice to perfect speaking on camera, what to say and how to say it, how much to give away, her friends hadn't. Matt especially.
"But these examples only deal with the past," Vander Rom protested. "They don't prove a thing about what Hacker will do now or in the future. And if Motherboard is as kind and wise as you say, why do you children feel the need to sling mud?" Maddie's jaw clenched at the subtle dig. "Haven't we all had enough negative campaigning?"
"I uh—" Matt stuttered, clearly taken aback and embarrassed.
The cyborg once again faced Maddie.
"However, I think I speak for everyone when I say there's several questions we have for you."
"I'm sorry Mr. Vander Rom, I'm afraid we have to be getting back to Control Central. With the virus it isn't safe for me to be away too long," she said sweetly, pleased to note the light fizz of static that showed his frustration.
"Of course, of course, don't let me keep you. Thank you for coming on Motherboard's behalf. We look forward to this afternoon's debate."
They filed out silently, upset the interview hadn't gone in their favor.
"Something tells me we didn't do very well in there," Jackie spoke up.
"Ya think?" Maddie responded sarcastically.
"What's the matter with you guys?! Can't you see that Hacker's lying?!" Matt yelled, frustration pouring off him in waves.
"Matt, just because we know he's a slime ball doesn't mean we can just say it out loud to everyone. Politics 101, don't slander your opponent on national tv. First thing mom taught me."
"But how do we know Hacker is lying?" Inez asked, bringing the conversation back to the main point.
"Because he's Hacker! That's why!" Matt snapped.
"The only thing we know for sure is Matt made Mother B look bad!" Jackie said, her own annoyance shining through. "Like she told him to come on tv and say mean things about Hacker!"
"Look, we can't believe Hacker's telling the truth just because he says he is!"
"Maybe not, but what if he is telling the truth?"
"Hey, who's side are you on anyway?" Matt yelled, getting in Jackie's face.
Never one to back down from a challenge, she stood her ground, yelling right back at him.
"I'm on Mother B's side!"
"Well you could have fooled me!"
"Alright, alright, woah, calm down," Maddie said, stepping in between her friends and separating them. "Back up, deep breaths. I don't like how it went in there either, but fighting with each other isn't going to help."
"Let's think this through," Inez interjected. "Has Hacker said anything we can use to show that he's lying?"
"Sure! He said that he would, and I quote, "always tell the truth"." Matt said.
"If we could catch Hacker in one single lie, we could prove that he doesn't always tell the truth. What we need is a counter example!"
"Well that should be easy enough, everything he says is usually a lie," Maddie grumbled. "I can't even believe we have to do this. Why would anyone in their right mind think that walking trash can would be a better leader than my mom?"
"I know, Mads, but it looks like some people do," Jackie sympathized, putting her arm around the blonde's shoulders.
"This just sucks."
"Yeah, it really does."
"I have a plan. I say we check out the five good deeds Hacker said he did. If just one of them is a lie it'll be the example we need to counter his claim," Inez explained.
"Too bad no one wants to focus on the past, otherwise Matt's video would have done the trick," Digit threw in.
"We all know why it didn't, Dige," Maddie said, pulling the keys to the coupe out of her pocket.
"I know but still."
"It's a good plan Inez," Jackie said, beginning to lead them up the ramp to the coupe. "If just one of them is a lie it'll be the example we need to counter his claim."
"And prove that Hacker's a liar after all!" Matt added.
"And I just happen to have the list of Hacker's deeds right here!" Digit declared, opening his chest hatch and pulling out a sheet of paper. "Let's split up and seek the truth, shall we?"
"You rock, Didge," Maddie said, flashing her brother a smile.
"Didge and I can take Eureeka and Sensible Flats," Jackie said.
"Matt and I will go to Happily Ever After. Maddie, you coming with us?" Inez said.
"Nah, I'll travel by portal," she responded, pulling her portable generator out of her pocket. "It'll give me a chance to work out a few kinks. I'll take Poddlevile since it's the furthest away. We can meet on Mount Olympus."
"Sounds good to me, let's do this!" Matt exclaimed, punching the button to separate the coupe into two.
Maddie pressed the button on her ppg, hoping they could find a way to put an end to the nonsense.
"Let's see, the list says Hacker gave everyone…" Maddie paused, unsure if she was reading it right. "Poddlewraps? What the heck are those?"
She looked up, noticing the site's residents going about their day, although something was different. Each person seemed to have a little shawl in various colors wrapped around them. She approached a woman pushing a baby carriage down the road, an egg inside proudly displaying its symbol and number.
"Excuse me, I don't mean to bother you, but what's that you're wearing?" she asked, pointing to the wrap.
"Oh isn't it cute? It's a poddlewrap, Hacker gave one to everyone to keep us warm! I love mine, and from the looks of it everyone else does too! We'll definitely be voting for Hacker," the woman replied in a chipper tone.
Maddie forced a smile, internally wanting to scream.
"That's great, I'm glad you guys have something to help you," she said instead. "Thank you for answering me question, I'll let you get back to your walk."
She watched the woman go, taking a moment to observe how happy the citizens seemed with their new style. Sighing, she pulled out her skwakpad to call her friends.
"Hey guys, bad news. Poddleville checks out, poddlewraps for all, and they love them. Hacker has their vote."
"Oh man, this is not good, this is not good at all!" Inez worried. "Hacker put Humpty Dumpty back together in Happily Ever After, so that's two good deeds done."
"Make that four," Digit chimed in. "Eureeka is green and flourishing, just like Hacker said."
"And the crackers at Sensible Flats are amazing. That only leaves Mount Olympus. If he gave them sunglasses we're sunk!" Jackie added.
"Let's hope he hasn't then," Maddie said. "I'm about to portal out. Meet you guys in Mount Olympus."
"What the heck?" Maddie murmured as she stepped out of the portal.
There seemed to be some sort of rally going on, the site's inhabitants all cheering and holding posters with Hacker's face on them. And that wasn't all. Each borg wore a pair of sunglasses.
"Fuck," she whispered to herself as Matt and Inez came up beside her.
"Oh no! Hacker gave everyone sunglasses—just like he said he did in his list!" Inez said, obviously seeing exactly what Maddie was.
"What did we miss?" Jackie asked, running up to join them. "Oh man!"
A sound caught their attention and they turned to the stage where none other than Hacker appeared.
"Hello, Mount Olympians!"
He paused to allow them to cheer, soaking in the praise and attention. Maddie couldn't help but grit her teeth, balling her hands into fists. So what if he'd done a few good deeds? He was still an egotistical, conniving, evil bastard who didn't deserve the air he breathed.
"I speak to you today with a heavy heart. It will become apparent to you all after today's cyber-wide debate that the reign of our beloved Motherboard must come to an end. It's a pity to see out great and fearless leader brought to her knees by a cruel and rampaging virus…is it not?"
She could sense her friends' unease and anger, and for once didn't care that they were in public, she couldn't take listening to him a second longer.
"But you're the one who gave her the virus in the first place!" she yelled, unable to keep quiet while he acted as though he actually cared.
"If you have something to say, why don't you come out here and join me?"
"Oh gladly," she whispered, taking to the stage.
"Ah, Maddie, of course. I'm sure everyone here knows my little sister."
She could see the gleam in his eyes as he called her his sister. She knew he was only doing it to rile her up, unfortunately it worked.
"I am not your sister. Never call me that again!"
"Come now, can't we let bygones be bygones?" Hacker cajoled, obviously enjoying every second.
"I will never trust you. I don't care how many good deeds you've done!"
"Yeah! We know you're a liar and a cheat!" Matt yelled, joining them on the stage.
"And yet, I did everything I've said, have I not? Did I do a good deed in Eureeka? Happily Ever After? Sensible Flats? And here in Mount Olympus?"
"Yeah, you did the good deeds. I admit I was wrong, but—"
"But? Did I not say I would always do good? And so I shall." Hacker turned to face the audience once more. "My friends, after I'm elected, I vow that I will always do good, I will only do good, and I will always do all the good I can do!"
The crowd cheered, the sound only fueling Maddie's rage.
"Yeah right! Talk to me when you've decided to cure my mother!" she snapped, angry tears coming to her eyes. "You're so full of bullshit!"
She stormed off the stage, angrily wiping her eyes and ignoring her friends' attempts at comfort. She hadn't meant to lose her cool, but Hacker was the one cyborg she'd rather see crushed into scrap than anything else. All he'd done to the cyberworld, and they were just going to trust him?
"Children, so emotional," Hacker joked, pulling the focus back to himself.
"It's okay, Mads, we know Hacker is pushing your buttons on purpose," Digit soothed.
"Yeah, but I just made the whole situation worse. Freaking great. And I know Mom saw the whole thing," Maddie sniffled, scrubbing at her face.
"She'll understand, sis. Come on, let's get back to her. We have to prep for the debate."
Jackie, Matt and Inez trailed behind, sharing a look. Just what had Hacker done to Maddie to make her hate him so much?
"This is not good, this is not good at all," Inez said.
They'd just finished relaying what they'd learned to Motherboard, and they were still stumped on a way to disprove Hacker's claims. Currently Maddie was receiving an earful from Motherboard about her outburst on Mount Olympus.
"I hope Motherboard is gonna be strong enough for the debate," Digit said, glancing her way.
Her screen glitches were coming incredibly frequently, a side effect of her irritation with her daughter and the stress of the possibility of losing control of Cyberspace. Her voice was warping, though it didn't stop her from getting her message across.
"Make room, I gotta think!" Jackie said, beginning her usual pacing.
"Well, I already thought about it! Hacker's lying about lying—period!" Matt yelled, not yet over looking foolish on tv.
"The law says Hacker has a right to do what he's doing."
"Woah! Are you telling me you want to see Hacker take over Cyberspace?"
"No. But so far the only thing we've proven is that Hacker's telling the truth! There's gotta be a way to figure this out. What do we know?"
"Uh, we know Hacker told the truth about the five good deeds, because we checked 'em all," Digit said.
"Well, what did Hacker promise at Mount Olympus?" Inez asked. "That he would always do good, and only good, right? Maybe we should try to disprove that promise."
"Always means always—no exceptions!" Matt exclaimed.
"And he always lies, so, we don't need to check everything he does, we just need to catch Hacker doing something bad once," Maddie said, walking over to the group.
"And that will be the counterexample we need!" Inez said excitedly. "You okay? We heard Motherboard talking to you about, well, earlier."
"Yeah, I'm good," the blonde sighed. "She was right, I shouldn't have lost it in front of everyone."
"This is Hacker, though. And from the sound of it you have more reason than anyone to hate him, and that's excluding what he did to Motherboard," Jackie said.
"You're right, but as Motherboard's daughter and her Chief Technician I'm always in the spotlight somehow. She expects me to represent her and my father at all times, as is expected of someone in my position."
"That sounds really tough," Inez said sympathetically.
"It's fine most of the time, Hacker just knows how to press my buttons like no one else."
"What did happen between you and Hacker anyway?" Matt asked, giving his yo-yo a flick.
He was trying to appear less interested than he really was, but he and the rest of the squad had been dying to know Maddie's secret since they'd first heard about it. She gave him a brittle smile.
"I'll tell you guys one day, I promise, but not today."
Digit cleared his throat.
"So how do we disprove always?" he asked. "Follow him around forever? Yuck!"
"If we catch him doing something bad before the debate then we've got him!"
"Where's Hacker now? Maybe we can catch him doing something."
"The debate is in a few hours," Maddie said, going over to the monitor that housed her mother. "Mom went into sleep mode after our…conversation. She'll wake up Jude before the debate and hopefully have enough energy to get through it." She typed a sequence into the keyboard. "I just typed out Hacker's ID code. We should know where he is soon."
The screen pinged, showing a lock on a familiar cybersite.
"Hacker's in…Pompadoria?" Digit said in confusion. "What's he doing there?"
"There's only one way to find out," Matt said. "Let's motor."
"And so I, The Hacker, hereby donate two cases of grade 'A' Hacker wig gel to the citizens of Pompadoria! Free, of course."
From their spot in the bushes, the cyber squad watched as Hacker gave the King a cube of the gel, slicking his hair back.
"I can see! I can see!" the King cried happily, and his citizens cheered.
"I can't believe it!" Jackie said. "He did another good thing."
"Guys wait, look," Maddie said, directing their attention back to Hacker.
The King pressed a stack of gold into the taller borg's palm, which he immediately pocketed.
"Why thank you. The Hacker appreciates your generosity."
"He took the gold coins!" Jackie gasped.
"And he said the gold was free!" Inez added.
"Okay, guys, let's just—" Maddie began in a hushed tone, but Matt cut her off.
"Alright! We caught him in a lie!" the boy yelled, unfortunately getting Hacker's attention.
The wanna-be ruler gasped, quickly retrieving the coins and thrusting them back into the King's hand.
"However, I cannot accept your gold. My payment is your happiness!" he said, looking at the kids' hiding place and chuckling.
"I guess we…didn't catch him," Matt said, much more subdued.
"Dammit, Matt!" Maddie snapped. "He heard you yelling!"
"Sorry! I got excited!"
Maddie sighed, guilt eating at her.
"No, I'm sorry for snapping. I know you didn't mean to. Come on guys, time's running out. There's only an hour before the debate."
"You guys head back to Control Central, I have an idea to help get Motherboard some votes," Digit said, passing the keys to the cyber pod to Inez.
"Okay, Didge. Be careful," Jackie said.
"Don't worry, careful is my middle name!"
"Well, I wouldn't say that," Maddie teased.
"Yeah yeah, I'll be fine. See you guys later!"
Not much had been accomplished since the kids had arrived back at Control Central. Maddie had spent some time running a few diagnostics on the supercomputer to ensure she would be as fully operational as she was able. Matt, Jackie and Inez had been occasionally throwing out an idea here and there on how to bust Hacker and show everyone the truth, but none seemed feasible. How were they supposed to catch him in a misdeed in less than an hour?
Motherboard was just coming out of sleep mode when the doors whooshed open, Digit flying in as though something was chasing him.
"Didge? You okay?" Matt asked.
"Guys, guys you'll never believe what I just heard! I was skywriting and crashed on top of the Grim Wreaker and Hacker was talking to Buzz and Delete and—"
"Breathe, Digit," Motherboard coaxed.
He took a deep breath before continuing.
"Hacker was talking to Buzz and Delete, and he said if he wins the election he's gonna revise the Cyber-Constitution and make himself the permanent potentate!"
"What!" everyone but Motherboard yelled.
"That means no more elections," she said, shock evident as static cut across the screen.
"That sounds like the real Hacker," Inez said.
"Yes! I was right all along!" Matt whooped.
"Oh trust me, I always knew you were right," Maddie said.
"Okay, okay. Now we have the proof we need," Jackie said.
"Don't sweat it, Jackie," Inez comforted. "It's important to give people the benefit of the doubt…even if their name is Hacker."
"So here's what we're gonna do. We go public with the news that Hacker's going to change the Cyber-Constitution. Nobody will vote for him then!"
"Not so fast, Matt," Motherboard cut in, static warping her features. "Hacker will only deny saying it. It's his word against Digit's."
"But I heard him say it!" the cybird protested.
"We know, Didge. But he'll still deny it," Maddie said.
"And probably accuse Mother B of spying," Jackie added glumly.
"We've got to come up with a way to prove Hacker isn't telling the truth, and fast!"
"I'm Sam Vander Rom, and you're watching the Hard Drive coverage of the cyber-wide debate! With the election just minutes away, the voters of Cyberspace have a final chance to ask questions of the two candidates. Motherboard?"
"No matter who you want to win," she began, pausing as static cut her off and warped her visage. "The important thing is to cast your vote."
Maddie bit her lip nervously. Keeping herself tethered to a different location than her main monitor was draining Motherboard's energy exceptionally quickly, though she was outwardly calm. No one but her daughter and perhaps Digit realized how much effort this was costing her, but the sporadic static bursts spoke for themselves. As Hacker replied to her and urged the people to vote for him, she locked eyes with her daughter.
Maddie met her mother's gaze, understanding that should their plan to trick Hacker fail, the cyberworld would be doomed.
"Who has the first question?" Vander Rom asked.
Matt stood.
"This one is for Hacker."
"Fire away, child!" he replied confidently.
He glanced back at his friends, gathering encouragement. This had to work.
"Since you say you will always do all the good you can do—will you get rid of the virus you gave Motherboard?"
It was blatant that the question had thrown him. He tugged uneasily at the collar of his cape, and Maddie smirked. Now they had him. There was no way for him to weasel out of this without either proving himself a liar or actually curing her mother, and both were a desired outcome. A hush befell the audience as they wait for him to answer.
"Tell it like it is, Hacker. Will you rid Motherboard of the virus?" Sam prompted.
"We've got him!" Jackie whispered excitedly.
"Er, repeat the question," Hacker stammered.
"Will you rid Motherboard of the virus?"
The squad leaned forward in their seats expectantly, even Motherboard surprisingly free of static for once.
"Of course! I will gladly cure Motherboard's virus!"
Maddie's eyes widened. This wasn't what they had been expecting.
"I would be most…grateful," Motherboard answered, squelching with static and sounding just as surprised as everyone felt.
"I don't believe what I just heard!" Digit said, speaking for them all.
"Allow me to explain," Hacker continued. "Motherboard's virus code is protected by a triangle lock! But only a triangle lock with just the right three sides will unlock the code—and here they are!" He whipped a set of three rods out of his cape. "Simply make a triangle with these three rods, slip the triangle into the digitizing activator and voila! Her virus will be deleted!"
"Excuse me, but is it true that a triangle can always be made from any three rods?" Sam asked.
"Absolutely! After all, every triangle has three sides, doesn't it?"
"Of course! Three sides, three angles. That's why it's called a triangle."
"And in the interest of telling it like it is, the sides of a triangle can be any length whatsoever!" Hacker added.
A lightbulb went off in Maddie's head. She had him now, she only needed a way to prove her point.
"So cure Motherboard now!" Matt demanded.
"Cure Motherboard! Cure Motherboard!" the crowd chanted.
"Would that I could, but to do so would give me such an unfair advantage. However…I'll place the three rods into this box." Said box appeared seemingly out of nowhere. "And I'll leave the box with Mr. Vander Rom for safe keeping. Here you go, Vandy!" He threw the now locked box to the reporter. "After the election he can personally open the box and cure Motherboard!"
The crowd began to cheer, and Maddie motioned to her friends to follow her outside.
"Now what?" Jackie asked as she paced. "There's no way to prove he's lying about the future, because the future hasn't happened yet!"
"Actually, Jackie, we can," Maddie said with a grin, happier than she'd been all day.
"What? How?" Matt asked.
"Hacker said that a triangle can always be made with any three rods, no matter their length. That's our lie right there."
"I don't get it, don't triangles usually have sides that are different sizes?" Digit asked.
"Yeah, but look." She grabbed a few stray twigs, selecting two short pieces and a really long one. "No matter how you try, you can't make a triangle with sticks like these, they just don't reach."
"That proves that what Hacker said is false!" Inez squealed. "We've got our counterexample!"
"I'll bet anything that the three rods Hacker put in that box won't form a triangle either!" Matt said.
"We've gotta get Vander Rom to open it!" Jackie said. "Come on!"
They re-entered just as Vander Rom was wrapping up the questions.
"Wait!" Matt called. "What Hacker said about triangles isn't true, and we can prove it!"
"This just in, kids claim proof that Hacker lied today!" Vander Rom addressed the camera.
"Pay no attention to these conniving kiddies!" Hacker objected. "They're Motherboard's little helpers. Motherboard will stop at nothing to beat me!"
Maddie saw her mother discreetly roll her eyes and grinned. This was gonna be fun. Digit opened his chest hatch and pulled out a cyberboard.
"Hacker told us the triangle lock would cure Motherboard. Right, Mr. Vander Rom?" Inez asked to start them off.
"That's correct!"
"And so it will! Just as I promised!" Hacker interjected, sounding more like his old self. "Any fool knows a triangle has three sides!"
"But you also said you can always make a triangle out of any three rods," Jackie argued.
"It's true!" Hacker insisted.
Maddie shared a grin with her friends before stepping forward to seal the deal. It was with no small amount of pleasure she noticed Hacker's face pale ever so slightly. He knew she was onto him.
"It isn't. Look, I have three rods here. If any three rods make a triangle as you say they will, these will too." She arranged the two short and one long rod on the board for the audience to see. "No matter how I arrange them, they cannot, and will not, make a triangle." The audience gasped. "And neither will the the rods in that box!"
"There's only one way to settle this! I'll open the box!" Vander Rom declared.
"No!" Hacker protested, causing all eyes to turn to him. "I mean…fine!"
Even though she knew she shouldn't, Maddie just couldn't resist taunting him.
"What's wrong, scared you'll be exposed as the liar you are?" Sam opened the box, revealing three rods exactly like the ones they'd used in their example. "Just like we thought, one long and two shorts."
Matt grabbed the rods from Hacker's box and added them to the board.
"As you can see, no matter how I arrange them—they don't make a triangle!"
Murmuring broke out in the crowd as the truth was revealed. Maddie beamed, looking at her mother and noticing the pride in her face.
"Let me see that!" Hacker demanded, pushing Matt out of the way to fiddle with the board.
"Hey!" Matt yelled.
"Oh let him play, Matt. He can't dig himself out of this hole," the blonde said with a smirk.
"There must be some mistake!" the cyborg insisted as he desperately tried to form a triangle.
Matt turned to the audience.
"Is Hacker's statement about triangles true or false?"
"False!"
"What Hacker said about always telling the truth? True or false?"
"False!"
"And what about always doing good?" Digit asked.
"Does anyone think we can trust him?" Maddie finished off.
"No!" the audience roared.
Buzz and Delete appeared to pull Hacker off the stage.
"Mark my words, I'll be the next potentate of Cyberspace! Me! The dastardly one! The chinly one! The caped—"
"Oh shut up!" Maddie yelled.
They gathered around the screen Motherboard was displayed on, smiling.
"Great job, cybermates. You've proved your point, and you proved it well!" the ruler said.
"Let the election begin!" Sam declared.
"Wait, we're still doing that?" Jackie asked. "I thought we just proved Hacker isn't fit to run Cyberspace."
"He still demanded an election, it'll have to go as scheduled. Don't worry though, I'm pretty sure we just made sure he's going to lose," Maddie answered. "Let's head back home to wait on the results."
Everyone was gathered around the tv in Control Central as Sam Vander Rom read out the results of the vote. Static, worse than usual, popped and cracked as Motherboard allowed her stress to show. She was fairly confident she had won, but you never knew. Maddie glanced back and gave her a smile, and it helped her calm enough for the static to fade.
"And there you have it. The election is over! It's Motherboard in a landslide. In fact, Hacker received only two votes! Count 'em—two! This is Sam Vander Rom telling you like it is—whether you like it or not, Hacker!"
The room erupted into cheers as the broadcast cut out.
"You did it, Mother B!" Jackie said.
"You beat Hacker and keep control!" Matt yelled joyfully.
"I wouldn't have been able to do it without you. Thank you, cybermates."
"It was nothing," Inez deflected. "We're just glad we could help."
"You guys did a great job," Maddie said. "Even if the day had a rocky start."
"You're the one who figured out how to catch Hacker in his lie."
"All of you did a spectacular job. Until next time," Motherboard cut in, cuing a portal.
"Are you okay after today?" Maddie asked after her friends had gone. "I know it took more energy than you usually have to pull off the debate."
"I'll be fine with some rest. I'm so proud of you. Even though you wanted to verbally take Hacker down a few pegs, you let logic guide you and kept your cool when it mattered the most."
"Thanks, Mom," Maddie said with a blush.
"Get some rest, sweetheart. Tomorrow is a new adventure."