"Didge…play it again?" Matt's voice was muffled as he remained completely slumped over the table, face buried in his arms.
Neither Jackie or Inez moved an inch from where they'd collapsed in the sparse furniture adorning the kitchen either when Digit slapped the replay button carelessly, then pushed himself in another lackadaisical spin in the out of place office chair.
The small, squared off device on the table spat out some static before obeying its command, and a crackly recording began for the hundredth time since that afternoon.
"Hello, supercilious cybercitizens….brainless bots, feeble borgs."
Even the cheap recorder on the table couldn't fail to encapsulate Hacker's theatrics. His voice came through loud, clear, and prideful beyond the static. The words sung out like he was quoting from a book he prized.
She'd heard this speech a thousand times over in her head, from the moment that it'd played on Motherboard's screen, to the brief rides in the coupe, and even when they'd tussled with even more villainous borgs. However intelligible the practiced speech was, she still couldn't wrap her head around it. It gave her a throbbing headache that no amount of water sips or self-massaging could get rid of.
"It is my pleasure to grace your television screens with my unarguably fair features, however, I bring bad news. Or, shall I say, good news? Although countless among you will mourn the loss of viewing my chiseled good looks."
After their brief visit to the Lava Starr power disaster, Motherboard had ushered them to Control Central. There, the announcement was played on repeat for all to see on cyberspace's intersite news channels.
"No, your ears are not deceiving you! Here and now, I must officially announce my departure. A prolonged vacation from villainy."
There'd been so little time. Jackie could hardly absorb the words before another call came in, and they started what would be the first of another three missions.
"Some deserved downtime for yours truly."
Did they celebrate as they drove in the coupe then? Jackie squinted at the ceiling, the metal back of the chair digging into her neck. Looking back, all the emotions were muddled together. The happiness and relief behind the cheers and light-hearted giggles, the tackle-hugs and playful punching, was short-lived and slipped away more with what should've been each build-up of their celebration. Instead, a diseased stream of doubt trickled in each of them.
The moment was burned in her mind, so easy to replay without focusing like when those embarrassing memories keep one awake at night. Jackie was wrestling with Digit, for revenge to a well-timed tease, Inez giggling, and Matt running a loopy circle around them while pumping his fists.
"Yes, that's right! I, The Hacker, am announcing my retirement."
Then the call came through. A borg from Happily-Ever-After, spewing out words so fast it sounded like gibberish until Motherboard managed to calm him down enough to understand him.
Jackie couldn't remember whose expression changed first, who showed that tiny drip of doubt. A quake of fear, or an upturned eyebrow. Obviously it'd been eating away at each one of them, because in that quick of a second all four of them were staring at each other, sullen, confused, and frightened. Digit had slipped out of Jackie's arms, each one still and silent, pondering on what could only be an intimately shared sentiment. An unexplainable disappointment came next; the feeling of watching a bright balloon shrivel as all its air blew out, and all your fun with it.
"Now, now, don't be so foolish as to break out the cake and ice cream, cheering amongst yourselves that the biggest threat to your fragile existence is down and out."
Jackie pushed her head up, unable to tolerate the low, pulsating pain in her neck from the chair any longer. Her eyes settled in a harsh glare at the red hologram screen displayed flat on the table, bottom lip pushing out in a pout.
Hologram-recording-Hacker's right hand lifted in a delicate point, wiggling left and right in a playfully chastising manner that clashed morbidly with his chilling promise. "I am neither. Don't get too comfortable - I am your future ruler." The slick smirk on his face dropped, revealing a dark sneer barely concealing the fire inside. Every time it made her want to shudder. "Enjoy it while you can."
Black eyes lingered for a moment on the screen. He leaned back and twiddled his fingers, smiling as easily as putting on a mask. "Ta-ta."
The recording cut off with a sharp crackle and a dramatic groan devoid of any hope vibrated from Matt's throat. His face was still buried in his arms so it came out like a wounded cow. "Muuuuuuuuuh."
Here they were. Three missions and five and a half hours later. Worn out, restless, and in no shape to come up with a plan.
"There's no reason to doubt it, guys. I mean, it's Hacker, so he's probably lying, but…" Inez attempted to rationalize it, failing miserably. The same words thrown around all day, just chewed up and spat out by a different person.
Jackie's back finally couldn't take any more punishment and she had to sit up creakily, pulling her shirt down where it'd rode up on her midsection. She sighed and, still unable to muster up the energy to sit up straight, leaned forward with her elbows on the table and knuckles pushing into her jaw. "Of course he's lying. He'll be back in like two months, tops."
"He has to be up to something," Matt said, finally sitting up, "remember when we were talking about a sneak attack on Motherboard, while we're occupied? That's probably the real deal, and he's at the bottom of it."
"We've been talking about this all day!" Jackie's voice came out more vexed than she meant. "That's the only thing we've come up with, it's all we have to go off of!"
"He could be…nah, that's not it." Digit cut himself off mid-sentence, flapping briefly from his seat to the table and scooping the recording device into his wings. A few quick jabs of a button and the power light fizzled out. The frown on his features made Jackie prod further.
"He could be what, Digit?"
Digit hesitated, staring at the recorder clutched between his feathers. Jackie opened her mouth to push again, impatient, when he sighed.
"I dunno…it was a long time ago, and he's probably changed since then. But this whole thing feels fake as a three dollar snelfu. I don't like it!" Jackie caught the boid's eye briefly, surprised at the somber tone.
"Yes, exactly! This is obviously a ruse and Hacker's going to pull a fast one on us!" Matt cried. He would've spiraled into a full-blown rant if it wasn't for Inez's hand on his arm. She shot him a despairing look before turning to the boid.
"Digit, what happened before?"
Digit's stance remained unwelcoming, his wings crossed and his gaze turned down. "I just mean… Well, Hacker always said it was 'him, him, and him only'. I guess I never thought he'd work with others. But, he does team up with Wicked, so it kinda discounts it anyway."
Matt frowned. "Yeah, right. But, he has, and any minute now he could attack, or one of the little buddies he's got. We need a plan!"
Jackie doubted that was really everything on Digit's mind, and wasn't quite ready to drop it. "Do you really think he could get all those baddies on his side? Like a big inside plan, and all those guys would keep quiet about it?" Matt rolled his eyes in response, which unleashed a stream of wrath from Jackie. "Come on, Matt! Obviously Hacker's got some evil admirers, but there's got to be lots of them who hate him!"
"Right now we've only seen the ones who want to be him!" Matt shot back.
"It was just a suggestion," Jackie muttered, frustrated that her attempt had spawned no further information from Digit.
"Guys? Aren't we getting a little off-track here?" Inez corrected them. When both teens had slumped back into their chairs, she continued. "Look, we're perplexed, I'll admit it. But the target is the same, and so is the goal: going through Motherboard to take over cyberspace. And through us. We can't keep this up for very long, and soon we'll probably have to split up anyway."
Matt brightened at the mentions of a plan. "Yeah, we should get some help. Call some favors back."
"Figure out who our new enemy, or enemies, are," Jackie added.
Inez smirked and stood, pushing her chair away from the table. "Exactly. And not argue over technicalities."
"Yeah…" Matt agreed. Jackie could see the sheepish smile in his eyes as he glanced her way. She smiled back.
"If you'll excuse me," Digit hopped off of the table, newfound vigor in his step, "I have some calls to make."
"Hey, don't leave us out, Didge! What're we going to do?" Jackie asked.
Digit laughed, before flying up and snatching a thick book off the top of a cabinet. He tossed it over his shoulder, and a cloud of dust billowed up from it. "Oh, I'm not leaving you out. You guys call all the people you think could ditch their duties to help us out - I have to call Mrs. Fileshare!"
Jackie poked the book once, wrinkling her nose at the texture of dry slime. Ages old dust. "Mrs. Fileshare?"
"Yeah- AH!" Digit shrieked when the projector in his wings crackled to life. It slipped from his wings and hurtled to the floor with a thud. An upside down image of Motherboard spat out onto the cabinet.
"Mrs. Fileshare's information that she has saved over time will be quite useful, Jackie," the ruler spoke with the same calm, soothing tone that was so normal for her. "She has been trusted with data on every ill-wishing borg in the cybergalaxy. Many rulers have passed over such data to her capable hands from their respective sites."
Matt snickered. Jackie shot him a look only to find Inez barely containing giggles at their ruler's unfortunate appearance. She glowered at the latina until she succumbed into the somber respect that the ruler deserved.
The teen managed to straighten his face. "Calling our friends is going to take forever."
"It'll be valuable to us," Inez said, rolling her eyes.
"Matt is correct," Motherboard said. Her image flickered and glitched until she was righted in a more sensible viewing position. "I will call our allies to us. You will go to the cybrary and extract the needed information from Mrs. Fileshare."
"One of us can stay and help you," Jackie volunteered as the kids rose to stand.
An expression flashed on Motherboard's face so fast that she wasn't sure she'd seen it. "You three and Digit must stay together now. You will be a target for our enemies more than ever, and splitting up will make you even more vulnerable." Jackie's face pulled in a frown; was that regret that she was sensing right now?
"Your combined presence will portray the urgency of the situation accurately, as well," Motherboard added.
Jackie glanced at her friends uncertainly, but their set jaws showed that they were revved and ready for action. Her doubts were her own.
"All right, Motherboard. Portal?" Matt said with a dutiful salute.
"Of course, Matt."
A pink circle swirled to life a few feet away from the group, and Jackie told herself to leave her thoughts and headache behind as she jumped in.
The portal opened close to the carpeted floor, but not close enough to secure a proper landing. Jackie let out a shriek as she landed on her feet, but the momentum sent her tumbling over her head and rolling into the cushioned arm of a chair.
"Fun," Inez said sarcastically.
Jackie held her head, the world zooming into focus and out. The levitational field of the portal had let her headache dissipate, but now she felt just a bit nauseous. She could almost taste the peanut butter sandwich she'd had for lunch.
Matt, always the quick one to recover, held out his hand for her. She grabbed it and yanked herself up with his combined effort. Inez stood near him, brushing herself off.
"Where's Digit?" Jackie realized out loud, taking in her surroundings. They'd been portaled to a cozy sitting room area, complete with leather furniture in blocky designs, a few side tables to store a drink, and stacks of magazines and popular books. She noted that this area was less well-lit than most of the cybrary, and the ceiling was lower.
"Sh!" A yellow borg in one of the chairs hissed. The enormous, buggy eyes of the otherwise ordinary borg made her startle upon seeing her.
Jackie could only wince in apology as Inez whispered an answer. "I don't know - he was just with us."
"I guess he got caught up in a worm hole again," Matt suggested, shrugging. "Let's just find Fileshare. He knows his way around here."
"I guess so." Jackie followed him as marched off to the entrance of the den. Upon entering the hallway, she could see now that it was one of many, neatly stacked on top of each other with a staircase connecting each one. The earthlings briefly craned their heads back to count how far it went.
Ms. Fileshare had become decidedly easier to find since the altercation with Hacker back in the day. She kept a locator on her, one only accessible for certain trusted friends of Motherboard. Fortunately, the squad had been granted permission and with a few button presses on Inez's sqwak, they located her in the history section. She was bent over the bared circuit board of a fully-automatic book locator (mechanical arm for handling books not quite intact yet) when they caught sight of her.
"Mrs. Fileshare!" Jackie called, breaking into a jog with Inez and Matt right behind her.
The borg turned her head, one of her four arms freezing its work and shoving pink dreadlocks out of her face. "Cybersquad! It's good to see you, but you might be able to tell I'm a little busy here-" she stopped herself, taking in their grim faces. "Emergency?"
"Yes, and we need info on all the villains of cyberspace!" Matt said, obviously grateful he didn't have to argue for time to speak to the site leader. "Please."
Mrs. Fileshare straightened. "All the villains of cyberspace? I mean, anything for you kids, but that's a lot of info."
"Not all, all of them," Inez explained, "just the relevant ones right now and in the past twenty years."
The borg's eyebrows pinched, but she nodded. "Okay - just give me -" she checked one of the many watches adorning her wrist - "five minutes. Then I can start downloading the database onto a copy for you."
"How long will that take?" Jackie asked. Some part of her was expecting the answer.
"An hour at minimum. I told you, it's a lot of info, even when you narrow it down."
Jackie bit her lip. They didn't really have a time limit, but the clock was not on their side in this battle. A lot could happen in an hour.
"What else can we do?" Inez said helplessly.
"There you are!"
Heads swiveled to see Digit striding to the group, trailed by a tall bot that glided easily along in a slight hover off the floor. Its design was sleek and rounded off, painted white and yellow in what Jackie guessed was an attempt to make it approachable. Green neon lights illuminated its joints, and the square screen on its chest.
"I was wondering where I lost ya. Good thing you have that locator," Digit said.
"Um, Didge? The guy behind you?" Jackie questioned.
The bird seemed to have forgotten all about the bot, who was nearly unresponsive despite being referenced. Obviously programmed to patiently wait for orders, or maybe questions. This was the cybrary. "Oh! Him! His name's E-Bot, and he's got a lot to say, I'll tell you!" Digit shot an annoyed side-eye at him. "While I like the compliments, he said it'd be way quicker to get back to you guys than it was."
Matt raised an eyebrow. "E-Bot? Compliments?"
Mrs. Fileshare groaned under her breath and paused her work again as the bot's round head lifted at its name. Jackie figured Matt must've framed his sentence accidentally into something that the bot took as a prompt.
"I am E-Bot! It's a pleasure to be with the renowned cybersquad, and the ever famous Mrs. Fileshare." Jackie watched in dumbfounded fascination as the screen on his chest displayed multiple photographs of Matt. "Your red hair is curly and the object of much jealousy to many borgs! I like your shirt, though I don't recognize the band! Perhaps it is a wonderful Earth band-"
"E-Bot!" Mrs. Fileshare snapped. Her fingers were rapping rhythmically against a clipboard in one of her hands. The bot silenced itself at once, posture sinking down to that of a chastened mouse.
Jackie hid a giggle behind her hand at the violent blush on Matt's cheeks. Mrs. Fileshare pinched the bridge of her nose. "His original name was Information Bot. He was supposed to be helpful to more visual learners, with his screen. But somewhere along the lines, he…picked up a glitch. We call him Exaggeration Bot now; Entertainment Bot to our guests."
"What?" Digit gasped, vivid offense flashing across his beaked face. He crossed his wings. "Well, flattery doesn't fool me anyway!"
"Wait, but we can use that!" Inez burst out. After a series of confused blinks directed at her she more quietly continued. "Well, pictures and videos take up the most space on digital files, right? And I'm guessing E-Bot has all of those already. Why don't you prepare just a copy of their crimes and biographies?"
It made sense to Jackie. "Let's do that! Can we borrow E-Bot, Mrs. Fileshare?"
The borg hummed shortly, eyes darting around like she was checking a mental schedule. "A time-saving solution that can relieve me briefly…nevermind. Yes, we can do without him. I'll get right on it!"