"Hey Mom, do you know where Didge is?" Maddie asked, coming into the control room and adjusting her outfit.
The almost teenager had deigned to go in a completely different direction with her costume this year, and although it looked nice it was a bit too revealing for her mother's tastes. She wore a purple corset top, black lace lining the sides, and a long black skirt. A lace choker with a dainty stone pendant dangled at the hollow of her throat. Fangs glittered in her mouth, contacts turning her eyes a stunning shade of red. She'd even chosen a black wig to hide her blonde hair. Fake blood splattered across her chest and neck tied the costume together, making her truly look like a resident of Castleblanca.
"I think he's in the garden," the supercomputer responded, taking a good look at her child. "You look beautiful sweetheart, but must you reveal so much skin?"
"Mom, I'm almost thirteen," Maddie replied with an eye roll. "I'm not gonna stay a little kid forever."
Motherboard knew that, deep in her hard drive, she just didn't like to think about it. But here, with Maddie standing in front of her looking more like a woman than a child, she had no choice. The corset revealed that her body was changing, breasts beginning to develop, and her hips had begun to widen. Her daughter definitely wasn't a baby any longer.
"I know," she said quietly, static flashing worse than usual. "It's just hard to acknowledge that you're growing up."
"Mom—" Maddie began, cutting herself off as she heard her brother's singing floating up the hallway.
With a grin, she turned and raced toward the sound, eager to have some potential blackmail. Digit, meanwhile, was happily dancing in the garden with an umbrella as the overhead sprinklers spread faux rain to the plants.
"The trick or treaters will come my way! It's Halloween, my favorite day!" he sang happily, oblivious to the footfalls coming closer.
Maddie suppressed a snicker as she watched her brother dance in the rain. He was always so carefree when they weren't facing a certain slimebag, she loved that about him. She was just about to announce her presence and join him when her mother's voice cut through the air.
"Digit! What are you doing?" Motherboard asked, a laugh in her voice.
She'd also heard him singing and was curious as to the cause.
"Watering the new garden, Motherboard. Just like you asked."
"It looked more like you were starring in your own personal musical," Maddie cracked, laughing as he jumped in surprise.
"Turn the climate control to medium exposure, please," Motherboard asked, noticing some of the plants had begun to wilt due to the rain.
"Medium exposure comin' up." As he pressed the button to regulate the climate control the doorbell sounded. The outside camera came to life, depicting a grainy picture of someone with their back to the door. "Ah, our first trick or treater. Coming, coming!" he called, rushing toward the door locks.
"I can't believe anyone actually came by here. That's weird," Maddie said, following her brother out into the control room. "And man do I need to fix that security system. That picture is awful."
"What a fun costume!" Motherboard said in delight, pleased at the rare occurrence of a trick or treater stopping at Control Central.
Just then, the borg outside turned to face the camera, and Digit and Maddie stopped dead in their tracks. Even with the gritty and distorted picture, there was no mistaking who was outside their door.
"It's me, Motherboard," Hacker said. "Your wayward child has returned."
"Hacker!" Digit yelped.
Maddie's mouth hung open in disbelief. There was no way he was actually here, trying to waltz in like nothing had happened, as if he hadn't tried to kill her mother more times than she could count.
"Are you fucking kidding me," she said, still half in shock.
"Maddie!" Motherboard reprimanded as she began calling the squad for help.
Maddie only half listened as her mother tried to relay their situation, the virus and her stress causing her speech to be choppy and broken. She refocused as the transmission ended, a swirling portal opening just in front of the console.
"What do we do?" Digit asked as the kids hit the floor.
"Now that everyone's here, I guess we…let him in," she grit out, the words tasting like poison.
"What?!"
"Look, I don't like it either, but at least if he's inside we can keep an eye on him. I don't trust him outside alone. He might try and do something to disable the security system or send something through the vents. Or worse."
"Alright," Digit agreed uneasily, reaching forward to unlock the doors.
"Guys, this is bad," Maddie said, turning to her friends.
"You can say that again," Matt replied. "Motherboard said Hacker wants to come home. What's that about?"
"I have no idea, but I suggest someone keep their hand on my shoulder the entire time he's here so I don't beat the hell out of him."
That her mother didn't correct her language showed just how upset at the situation she was. As Hacker entered Control Central she backed up toward her mother's monitor, positioning herself between them. He wouldn't get close if she had anything to say about it. She was relieved when her friends and brother instantly formed a wall in front of her, totally blocking his access. She glanced up at the screen, watching static pop and crack fiercely. The picture warped, a sure sign her mother was either incredibly angry or scared, perhaps both.
"I know, you think I'm a viper. A nefarious knave. A maleficent malefactor!" Hacker began, trying to get closer to Maddie and Motherboard.
Maddie tensed, reaching back and placing her hand on the control panel. With one press of a button she could shut down the entire site should it come to that.
"You're not?" Inez asked sarcastically.
"I was, but I've changed! I've given up my despicable ways!"
"Bullshit!" Maddie snapped, eyes narrowing.
She felt the console heat up beneath her palm, and it was then she realized that her mother wasn't scared, she was furious.
"You've seen the door, too. Use it!" Digit snapped, equally as angry as his sister and Motherboard.
How dare Hacker walk in as though he'd merely gotten into a fight with the cyberruler? He'd tried to kill her!
"Oh, Digit! My old friend, my old pal. Don't be so hard on me! I've missed you!" Hacker cried, reaching out and grabbing the cybird in a hug.
"Let go of my brother!" Maddie snapped, advancing closer.
She didn't trust Hacker as far as she could throw him, and she definitely didn't think it was out of the question for him to take the chance to harm the cybird. He turned his attention to her, and though he never dropped the happy smile, his eyes glinted with malicious intent. She stepped back, startled.
"Ah, Maddie, my little sister. How you've grown," Hacker said, dropping Digit and attempting to approach her.
Immediately, her mind flashed back to the last time Hacker had been inside Control Central. How he'd taken her right out of her parents' arms. To her credit and his surprise, she didn't flinch, merely grit her teeth. Now wasn't the time to give in to her inner panic.
"What do you want, Hacker?" Motherboard demanded, barely holding in her anger.
It was one thing to harm her, to constantly be a thorn in her side and threaten and demean her. But to harm her citizens. Her daughter. Rage flickered through her circuits, causing them to heat up and her screen to warp as she remembered that day so long ago when he'd taken Maddie away. He'd done so much damage to her child, who'd only ever been kind to him. The same child who used to love so openly, who only wanted to help anyone in need, who laughed so freely. Sadness joined the fury as she remembered how Maddie used to be before the Spheres. How dare he.
She glared down at him, barely noticing the unease from the rest of the cybersquad. It was extremely rare she lost composure, but Hacker returning had made her lose all control of her emotions.
"A chance to redeem myself, Mom," Hacker answered.
Before he could continue or she could respond, Maddie made an almost inhuman sound.
"She is not your mother, not anymore. She's mine!" Tears unwillingly fell down her cheeks. "You will never have the privilege to call her that again! Not after all you've done!"
"Maddie?" Jackie asked, unnerved.
She had never seen her friend cry, not like this. None of them had. She glanced at the others, seeing the same concern reflected in their faces.
"You tried to kill her! You tried to take her away from me!" Now that she'd started, Maddie found she couldn't stop, her emotions taking total control. "And now you're coming here as if none of that happened, as if you aren't trying to hurt her, hurt us, every other week! Well fuck you! You don't get to do this, to waltz in here and ask for forgiveness! You aren't worthy of forgiveness! The only thing you're good for is spare parts, you pompous, waste of space absolute motherfucking bastard!"
She was panting as she finished, tears still pouring down her face. Her friends stared at her in stunned silence, Digit in sympathy. He alone knew how much her inner psyche suffered every time they had to face another of Hacker's puzzles. Hacker hadn't moved, or flinched, only held her gaze evenly. Motherboard looked down at her daughter, who was trembling and silently sobbing, and nearly popped circuit boards.
"After what you've done to the cyber universe and to my daughter, you aren't welcome here!" she boomed, far louder than she normally was.
She noticed with no small amount of satisfaction that even Hacker jumped at her sheer volume. She watched as he scrambled to collect himself, speaking once more, though he'd begun to sweat. Maddie leaned tiredly against the side of her console, still within reach of the control panel should Hacker try anything but content to take comfort from her mother's warmth while she composed herself.
"Let's face it, what's being rotten done for me? I know now that you're nobody until somebody loves you."
"Then you're the biggest nobody this side of Cyberspace," Maddie muttered just loud enough for him to hear, causing his eye to twitch.
"Of course, I don't expect you to love me right off the bat," he continued, still trying to edge closer to Motherboard's monitor.
"Don't worry, we don't," Inez butted in, sensing there was something more going on than just what was being said.
Truth be told they felt like they were intruding on something deeply personal. They'd never seen Motherboard speak to anyone this way, not even Hacker in the almost two years they'd been coming to Cyberspace. It was a little frightening. Seeing his chance, Hacker stepped ever closer to the supercomputer.
"To prove that I've changed, I'll start by removing that awful virus I gave you!"
Maddie's head whipped up. Like hell he'd lay a finger on that keyboard. In a flash she was between him and the console, earlier tears forgotten.
"You better back the fuck up," she hissed, placing both hands on his chest and shoving with all of her might.
His eyes widened as he looked her in the eye. The red contacts really enhanced the rage pouring from her form. He stumbled back, too stupefied to resist.
"Adjust my circuits? Never!" Motherboard protested. Maddie stood her ground, glaring the older cyborg down. "Secure him in the garden until we figure out what to do with him!" the cyberruler commanded.
"Gladly!" Digit said, gripping one of Hacker's arms and motioning Matt to grab the other.
Motherboard focused on her daughter as they led him away, her gaze softening considerably. Maddie stood, staring after her friends, back rigid.
"Maddie, are you alright?" Motherboard called softly. She didn't answer at first, seeming not to have heard her. "Maddie?"
"I'm alright, Mom. It was just…a lot. I'm sorry for yelling," the girl whispered, still not turning to face the monitor.
"Oh honey…"
"I know I shouldn't have but…he can't just…you're not his mom. Not anymore."
"No, not anymore," Motherboard agreed.
She hadn't seen Hacker as a son in a long time, long before he'd ever taken Maddie. That and his launch of the virus had erased any positive feelings she may still have harbored for him. Such thoughts had bothered her once upon a time—wasn't a mother's love supposed to be unconditional? But she'd realized fairly quickly she had another child to care for, one who needed her far more than Hacker ever had, and so she'd let go of her guilt.
Finally, Maddie turned to face her.
"Aren't you gonna yell at me for swearing?"
"No baby, not this time. As potentate, I do disagree, but then I wasn't any better was I?" Static cut across her face. "But as your mother, good job."
She smiled brilliantly, relieved when the girl returned it.
"You think I should go help?"
"If you want, though, I think they can handle themselves."
"I just don't trust him. I don't want them to get hurt," Maddie whispered, eyes shifting to gaze down the hall toward the garden.
"I won't let that happen," Motherboard assured her.
She'd have to be completely shattered and out of commission before she'd let Hacker hurt the others.
"I know. I better get down there and see what's going on."
Matt, Jackie, Inez and Digit stood outside the garden walls, Hacker trapped inside. He didn't seem to be too inclined to escape, merely holding onto a book he'd brought with him, and playing with some sort of toy frog.
"Hey Didge, is Maddie okay?" Matt asked, turning away from the glass. "She was…really upset."
The cybird sighed.
"Hacker has done way worse things than you guys have seen. I can't really talk about them, it's Maddie's story to share when she's ready. Just know that the virus is relatively kind in comparison."
"What did he do?" Inez asked.
"I can't say, just that it kinda changed things around here a lot."
"I've never seen Mother B so mad. It must have been awful," Jackie said.
"It was," a new voice chimed in, catching their attention.
"You okay, Mads?" Digit asked, going over to his sister.
"I'll be fine, Didge. Just as soon as we can figure out what the hell Hacker is really doing here." She went up to the glass, watching just as the squad had been. "A fucking frog? Are you kidding me?" She turned back to her friends. "What's he doing with a frog?"
"Maybe it's just a toy," Jackie said with a shrug.
"Hacker doesn't play with toys!" Digit protested.
"My uncle Emilio says "the truth is somewhere between what you think, and what you know"," Inez said.
"Meaning?"
"If I know Hacker, that frog is going to do something terrible."
"That checks out," Maddie agreed. "So who's gonna go get it?"
"I'll get it," Jackie volunteered.
She entered the biome, catching the frog just as it approached a vent. She grabbed it mid-hop, preventing it from going any further.
"The frog is a present for Motherboard!" Hacker protested. "It just seemed so right for the garden."
"If that's true, you can have it back…maybe."
"Of course, I understand, you're still uneasy. As the book says, building trust takes time. But once you see that my present is completely harmless, I'm sure we can become really good friends."
"Yeah, and I'll wake up a robot," Maddie griped.
"In the meantime, I'll just sit here and read my book," Hacker said, opening it to a random page.
Jackie came back into the hall, an uneasy look on her face.
"He is too nice," she said, holding out the frog for them all to see.
It seemed like an ordinary toy, buttons on each side to control its movements. One side ordered the turns, the other the number of hops it could make.
"Nice my eye!" Digit spat. "Hacker's up to something, guaranteed!"
"Well, we better find out what this thing can do," Jackie said.
They began heading back to the control room, Maddie tossing a final glare at Hacker over her shoulder.
"Maybe it's supposed to go somewhere special," Matt mused as they walked. "Like on a secret mission."
"But why? It doesn't look like it can do anything except hop," Jackie said.
"Looks can be deceiving," Maddie replied as they entered the main control room. "Mom, check this out. Hacker brought you a frog."
"A what?" Motherboard questioned. Digit held it up for her to see. "Why would he bring a toy frog?"
"We don't know, but that's what we're gonna figure out," Matt answered.
Digit sat the frog on the floor, all of them staring at it.
"Now what?"
"Let's see if it does anything other than hop," Jackie said, leaning over to press one of the buttons on its side.
The frog took a few hops forward, but otherwise did nothing.
"Is it me, or did it hop more times than the number on the button?" Digit asked.
"Only one way to find out," Inez said, leaning over and pressing the "one" button. "Two hops forward."
"Weird," Maddie said. "Does it do that with all the numbers?"
They pressed each one, testing the hops.
"Looks like the number of hops is double what the button says," Inez said. "But does it do anything else?"
They began fiddling with the other buttons, studying how it moved. Maddie left them to it, crossing the room to lean against the console.
"What do you think, Mom? Harmless?"
"It seems safe enough," Motherboard replied. "It looks as though it can only hop and turn."
"Yeah. But something still feels weird about this whole thing. I know Hacker's lying, but what's he up to?"
They were both silent, watching the rest of the squad play with the frog.
"Perhaps Hacker is the distraction," Motherboard posed. "And someone else is working with him."
"Can you pick up anything on your scanners?" Maddie asked.
"Negative," the computer responded.
"Then I don't think that's what's going on. I just can't figure out what actually is." She watched her friends play with the animatronic frog a little longer. "Alright guys, I think we're good. Maybe it is just a toy, it isn't doing much."
"I agree. Give it back to Hacker, but keep an eye on him," Motherboard said as Maddie moved back to the group.
"Well that was a bust," Jackie said as they headed back toward the garden.
"Yeah, but at least we know it really is a toy," Matt said as the doors whooshed open to allow them entry.
Hacker looked up as the doors opened, the perfect picture of calm. Maddie rolled her eyes. If her mother hadn't asked she wouldn't be within fifteen feet of the walking trash can, but she had, so here they were.
"Hate to say it, Hacker, but even Motherboard agrees. Your frog appears to be harmless," Digit said, setting the frog on the ground.
He and Maddie alone had gone into the garden to return the frog, and only because the blonde didn't want her brother alone with Hacker. The larger cyborg made to reach out as if to grab him again, but Maddie stepped forward with a glare and he quickly retracted his hands.
"No hard feelings, old friend. Let's let bygones be bygones," Hacker said with a wide smile.
"Just because you got your frog back doesn't mean we trust you or like you!" the cybird snapped, turning to leave.
Hacker waved at them, Maddie rolling her eyes. She glanced over her shoulder in time to see Hacker pressing one of the buttons to activate the toy. Whatever. Let him go crazy with it.
"So I said, sorry lady, not potato chips…computer chips!" Hacker said before bursting into laughter. The squad looked at him in confusion. "I guess you had to be there."
Maddie rolled her eyes. They'd decided that the best way to make sure Hacker had no chance to cause trouble was to, unfortunately, hang out with him in the garden. Matt, Jackie, Inez and Digit had seated themselves in a semicircle on the floor in front of the borg, but Maddie had taken residence as far away from him as she could get. She may have to babysit him, but that didn't mean she had to like it or be any closer than necessary.
"Can you believe it? We're hanging with Hacker," Matt said in disbelief, leaning closer to Inez and lowering his voice.
"I know. Ew, gross!" she agreed just before the security systems alarms began to blare.
Everyone but Hacker jumped to their feet as Motherboard's voice rang out.
"Security alert! Security alert!"
"I knew it!" Matt yelled, glaring at the cyborg before they rushed over to the monitor in the corner.
Maddie took to the keyboard, inputting the sequence to disable the alarms.
"Now what the hell did you do?" she snapped over her shoulder.
Hacker merely shrugged as if confused.
"Security alert! Secur-" Motherboard quieted as the alarms shut off.
"It's okay, Mom, we're on it," Maddie said soothingly.
Her mother had been through more than enough stress today, she didn't need anymore. As it was her glitches and static were worse, almost constant.
"What did you do, Hacker?" Jackie asked again, turning to face him with her hands on her hips.
"Oh sure, blame the bad guy."
"Maybe because you are a bad guy," Inez said as the cameras for the inner workings of Control Central came to life.
"Something got into her operating circuits!" Digit yelped, leaning over his sister's shoulder.
Maddie's eyebrows furrowed. She began looking around, eyeing the plants and flowers.
"Uh guys? Anyone seen that stupid frog lately?" she asked.
"It's gotta be here somewhere," Matt said. "You don't think that's what's down there do you?"
"What else could it be?"
"But it's just a toy," Inez said.
"A toy wouldn't set off the alarms," Maddie argued.
"Guys, guys, c'mon. Let's check the monitors," Digit butted in. "Nothing in sector one!"
"Sector two is clear," Matt said.
"Sector three is…wait a minute! I see something!" Inez gasped. A blurry image moved on screen, but the picture was too far gone to clearly make it out. "Maddie, bring it into focus!"
The picture squelched and snapped before turning crystal clear, only for the hallway to appear empty.
"Nothing, sector three is clear," the blonde said, looking to the next screen only to yelp.
"It's Hacker's frog!" Digit yelled, pointing. They watched as the frog, now somehow supersized, took a large bite out of some circuitry and wiring before lashing at the camera with its tongue and disappearing. "It's headed right for Motherboard's CPU!"
"I knew you were up to something you dick!" Maddie snapped, spinning around from the console. "Why the hell are you like this? What did Mom ever do to you?!"
Hacker dropped all pretenses of friendliness then, his usual glower returning to his face.
"She underestimated me! I could rule Cyberspace better than her with one arm tied behind my back, and she knows it! She never let me rise to my true potential! I could have made Cyberspace so much more than it is! All she needed to do was give me the power! But no! She wanted to play happy families with you and that bubble-headed doctor! Not to mention the tin turkey over there!" he snapped.
"This again? Grow the fuck up! I was three! Practically a baby! And you're still carrying a grudge against a baby?"
"No, it's more than that now. I realized that Motherboard was never worthy of my intellect, my impressive presence, my brilliant brain! I'm far superior to her, and I always will be! It's time for her to go," Hacker finished with a growl.
"You will never rule Cyberspace as long as I'm around," Maddie vowed.
Something flashed in Hacker's eyes then, too fast for her to comprehend.
"Perhaps…" he murmured, eyes never leaving her.
She was unnerved by his stare, intense as it was. He was looking at her as though for the first time, he saw something more than an obstacle.
"C'mon, guys! We've gotta find that frog!" Matt yelled, running toward the doors.
Giving the cyborg a look, she joined her friends.
"You stay here!" Matt said, pointing at Hacker.
He'd also picked up on the way the egomaniac was looking at his friend, and he didn't like it anymore than she did.
"He's not going anywhere," Digit assured them, locking the doors once everyone had gotten through.
"Which way to…wherever that is?" Inez asked.
"It's the site core," Maddie explained as she and Digit began leading the group down hallways they'd never seen before. "It controls the entire site, and it's what enables my mom to have her power. It's where her hard drive is stored, and her CPU."
"Wait, you mean…Motherboard's heart is the center of the site?" Jackie asked.
"Basically, yeah," Maddie shrugged. "What? You thought she pulled her power from thin air?"
"Well no, but…"
"We didn't realize she was…more than the monitor," Matt admitted sheepishly.
"No one does, and we prefer to keep it that way," Digit responded. "Hacker only knows because he was booted up here as Motherboard's technician."
They came to a heavily armored door, almost one which could be found in a bank vault. Maddie input a code into the keypad beside it and scanned her hand, the deadbolt releasing with a hiss. They ventured forth, huddling close together as they took in their new surroundings.
"Man I forgot how creepy it is down here," Digit said, peering down the hallway.
"The frog should be in here somewhere," Maddie said, straining to see any sign of it. Electronic crackling caught her attention, her head tilting at the sound. "Go that way," she pointed down one of the numerous turn offs.
"Forget it! No way I'm going down there! It's too dark and scary!" Jackie protested.
"We don't have a choice, Jacks. We have to stop that frog before it reaches the CPU," Matt soothed.
They started down the other corridor, the crackling getting louder. Sparks began to pop at them from the ceiling and walls, damaged circuitry dangling with bites missing.
"Jeez, this thing's done some damage," Matt said as they passed yet another broken part.
"I know, it makes me worried. I don't know what all it's gotten to, but at least Mom seemed okay earlier. This will all have to be repaired as soon as possible," Maddie said.
"How did it get so big anyway?" Inez asked. "When we had it it was super small."
"Probably something Hacker planned all along," Jackie grumbled.
"I don't know, maybe, but the opening to the CPU is pretty small really. I don't know if the frog could fit now," Maddie replied.
They continued on, taking in the extensive damage. The deeper into the core they went the more destruction they came across, anger licking at Digit and Maddie's stomachs. They were sure their friends were angry too, but they weren't the ones who had to salvage this, who had to deal with the aftermath and potential further harm to Motherboard. Digit glanced at his sister, noticing how tense she had gotten. He hoped for all their sake that Motherboard hadn't taken additional damage.
"Hey guys?" Inez called after a bit. "Is it raining in here?"
They stopped, looking back at her.
"Not unless the frog snapped a water pipe, but those aren't this close to the core," Maddie answered. "Got a flashlight, Didge?"
"Hang on, lemme check." He dug around in his hatch for a minute before yanking out a small flashlight and flicking it on. "Let's see what's goin' on up there."
The light moved across the ceiling calmly until it hit a large chunk of green metal. Shakily, the cybird moved the beam upward until it shone on the frog's face. Sharp teeth glittered in the light, drool falling from its mouth. There was a tense beat of silence before—
"Run!" all of them screamed, scrambling back the way they had come.
A tremendous thud rocked the floor, a sure sign the frog had jumped down after them. They ran through the hallways, taking twists and turns hoping to confuse it. Finally, they stopped in a dead end, panting for breath.
"That thing is huge!" Jackie yelped. "This is not good! What are we gonna do?!"
"I don't know but we better do it fast, that thing wasn't far from Motherboard's CPU!" Matt said.
"It's too big for us to grab and move ourselves," Inez said. "Maybe a net or something across the hall would work?"
"But what if it's so big it snaps through?" Matt countered.
"What else can we do?" Jackie asked.
They fell silent, stumped. Maddie leaned her head against the wall, trying to think of a solution. Her eyes traced the pipes, noting some minor repairs that would be needed. 'Wait,' she thought, pausing her mental list. 'That's it!'
"Guys, I've got it! Do you think you can distract it while I go grab something from upstairs?" she asked.
"Distract that thing? With what?!" Jackie squealed.
"Okay, maybe not distract exactly, just make sure it doesn't get into the CPU outer chamber before I get back."
"Wait, where are you going? Maddie?" Matt called after her retreating form.
"I just need to get to the storage room," Maddie mumbled as she ran, barely paying attention to where she was going.
Her subconscious guided her out of the labyrinth of halls, and she emerged back upstairs in minutes. She slowed her pace, checking to see if anything was obviously malfunctioning. The garden biome caught her eye, ice seeming to have formed and taken over the inside. Confused, she ventured closer, noting the broken climate controls beside the door. Hacker sat huddled on the little bench, shivering violently, eyes going wide as he noticed Maddie outside.
"Get me out of here!" he pleaded.
Grinning, the girl backed away from the doors.
"And that's what you call karma," she said as she turned away. "She's a bitch."
She headed into the storage room, quickly locating her largest tool box, the one she only used for major repairs to the site's structure. She rummaged around, grinning victoriously as her hand closed around the handle of what she was looking for.
"Bingo." She pulled out her skwak, calling her brother. "Didge, did you find the frog?"
"Yeah, it's here, Mads. But you better hurry, I don't know how much longer we can keep it away from the CPU!" Digit answered, his face jerking on screen as he dodged what seemed to be a circuit board.
"Don't worry, I'm on the way back."
She closed the connection, hefting her weapon. This should work nicely.
"Where is Maddie?!" Jackie yelled, ducking around the corner out of sight.
"She said she was comin'!" Digit replied, leaning around her to toss another piece of pipe at the monster.
Throwing things at the frog only captured its attention for a few seconds, but they had managed to slow it down.
"Well she better hurry, I don't know how much longer the frog is gonna take this!" Matt yelled, falling against the wall as the frog took another hop.
"Don't worry guys, I'm here!" Maddie yelled, sprinting down the hall.
"Thank goodness! What did you…" Inez trailed off as the blonde trotted past her, grinning.
"Is that a?" Jackie asked.
They all followed her around the corner, half confused, half excited.
"Hey bog breath!" Maddie yelled, hefting the sledgehammer into the air. "Eat this!"
She swung with all her strength, the head of the hammer striking the frog in the top of the head. The results were instant, sparks flying as the metal crumpled in on itself. Electricity arced across the body, the wires and boards short-circuiting. She lifted the hammer, striking it once more for good measure, smoke beginning to pour off the fried machine. She turned to face her friends, smiling. They stared at her with mouths agape.
"That was fun," Maddie said, slightly out of breath.
Matt was the first to recover, rushing over and hugging her.
"Oh man, that was awesome!" he cheered.
"It was definitely…effective," Inez threw in weakly, still stunned the older girl had just essentially killed something.
"Definitely effective," Jackie agreed.
"This is why the doc didn't want you playing with those tools," Digit said, though he too was smiling.
"Hey, if Dad didn't want me playing with them he should never have taught me how to use them," Maddie replied, flipping her hair behind her.
"Is Hacker still in the garden?" Inez asked, shaking off the last tendrils of shock.
"Well it's more of a freezer now, but yeah."
"What?"
"The climate control is busted. The garden is frozen solid, but I say it serves that hunk of junk right," Maddie answered.
"It so does," Jackie agreed with a giggle.
"C'mon guys, let's go thaw Hacker out and send 'im packing," Digit said, beginning to lead them out of the corridor.
As promised, the garden was indeed frozen over when they arrived back on the main level, Hacker inside. Sharing a laugh with his friends, Digit finally went over and unlocked the doors.
"F-f-finally!" Hacker stuttered, now blue from the cold.
The squad laughed again, unable to help it. It was only fair he suffered for once instead of Motherboard.
"C'mon guys, we've got an eject pod in the garage with Hacker's name on it," Digit said, grabbing the villain by the back of the suit jacket and beginning to drag him along.
Matt and Jackie went to help, Inez going ahead to open the necessary doors. Grinning, Maddie followed behind, pulling out her skwak and calling her mother. She didn't want to miss Hacker being ejected into Cyberspace.
"Maddie? Is everything alright?" Motherboard asked, answering the call.
"Fine, Mom. We found Hacker's frog in the site core, that's what set off your alarms."
"What was it doing?"
"It was supposed to destroy your CPU, but I got it first," she answered with a grin.
"What do you mean?"
"I smashed it with a hammer," Maddie shrugged. "A sledgehammer that is. Somehow it got huge after we gave it back to Hacker."
"You used a sledgehammer…" Motherboard said in disbelief.
Although, she reasoned, that did sound like something her child would do.
"Yup," the girl responded, popping the 'p'. "We're going to throw Hacker out now."
"I expect to hear about this sledgehammer plan," Motherboard said.
She switched over to the screen in the garage as Maddie entered, just in time to see Hacker being forced into an ejector pod. She smiled. It was always nice to know the trash was being taken out.
"You'll pay for this!" Hacker snapped as the lid to the pod closed.
"Yeah, right. Send me a bill," Digit snarked, pressing the button to slingshot the ball out the garage door.
"Happy Halloween, Hacker!" Matt, Jackie and Inez yelled sarcastically after the pod, Hacker's scream of rage fading.
"Good job, cybermates," Motherboard said. "You turned a trick into a treat."
She knew she shouldn't feel so much pleasure from watching Hacker get thrown into Cyberspace, but she did.
"That was a close one, Motherboard!" Jackie said, stepping closer to her screen.
"Yeah, I guess Hacker's not ever going to change," Inez agreed.
"Not unless he changes that suit he was wearing!" Matt joked, referring to the ugly brown suit Hacker had worn in his attempt to impress them.
They all laughed, glad he was gone once more.
"I guess you guys want to get back to trick or treating, huh?" Maddie asked.
"What about you?" Inez asked. "You're dressed up too."
"Nah, it's too late for me to go out now, and I didn't get tickets to the Halloween Howl this year," she answered. "I'll probably go change and start on site repairs."
Her friends frowned. It wasn't fair that Maddie had to miss out on the fun because of Hacker.
"Well…maybe you could go with us?" Matt suggested.
"What?"
"Yeah! C'mon Maddie, it'll be fun!" Jackie begged.
"I don't know guys, I haven't ever been back to Earth," Maddie replied, unsure. "And I really should start the repairs."
Digit and Motherboard shared a look before the cybird stepped forward and laid a wing on her arm.
"Don't worry about it, sis. Go have fun with the earthlies," he said.
"But Didge—"
"I've got things under control here. I'll fix what I can while you're gone and tomorrow we can both go down to the core."
"But…Mom…"
"Would also like you to have fun with your friends," Motherboard cut in.
"Are you sure? You don't need me here?" Maddie asked.
"I'm sure, go," the cyberruler coaxed with a smile.
"Um, okay guys, lead the way I guess."
The squad cheered as a bright pink portal swirled to life behind them.
"You're gonna love earth, Mads," Jackie said, leading her through the portal.
Maddie looked over her shoulder before it closed, seeing her mother smiling at her.
"Yeah, I think I will."