AN: This chapter is basically set up/world building! Frozen in Time AU is an AU I made where Hacker and Coop raised their son Slider till he was 13, when Coop tried to kill two birds with one stone and hide both Slider and the Encryptor Chip from Hacker! But dumb luck and not answering questions led to Hacker deciding to keep Slider hidden away until Coop traded him the Encryptor chip for him, which he unfortunatly can't do, because Slider had it all along! Anyway, Hope you give it a read/enjoy it, and with my graduation from school I am hoping this might actually get written! Fingers Crossed! Don't forget to leave a review, otherwise you can find me on tumblr or Insta under Sliding-Into-Space !
"Incorrect." Slider's pencil paused suddenly as he scowled down at the paper he'd been writing on. He glanced up at his father and creator, Hacker, who was at a nearby workbench. To be honest, Slider hadn't even thought the man was paying attention, but of course, he had been enough to notice an error in the blueprint Slider was drawing up.
"How'd you even tell from there?!" Slider groaned, erasing the figures he'd written down and frowning again at the half done work.
Hacker barely looked up from where he was working, glancing at his thirteen year old son with an unimpressed look. "You asked how I could tell, not how I knew. You weren't just guessing, were you?" Disapproval dripped from his words as Slider gave him a guilty expression.
"I was just estimating! I was gunna go back and-"
"Going to. Not gunna. You may be a Radster, but I won't have you talking like one." Hacker harrumphed.
Slider gave a dramatic sigh, rolling his eyes. "I was going to," He paused to give his father a pointed look. "Fix it after. They're just place holders." He grumbled.
Hacker tutted, finally turning in his seat to look over Slider and his half finished blueprint. "Use X and Y, not numbers. Or else you might cause yourself grief later on." He lectured.
Slider sighed but nodded, doing as he was told before looking up as the door to the garage opened. His other father, Coop, grinned at the sight of the pair and reached over, grabbing a helmet hanging on the wall and tossing it to Slider, who caught it with an excited grin. "Geeze, you two still working? It's way too nice to be cooped up in here. Come on, kid, let's see how if your feet can keep up with that mind of yours." He chuckled as Slider scrambled to stand.
Hacker gave an exasperated groan as he stared at his partner and son. "We're not done. He should finish his assignment before he knocks some more bumps I'll have to fix into that head of his." He grumbled.
Coop only smiled and patted Hacker on the shoulder. "He can finish it when we get back! And relax! A little fun isn't going to erase the years of you teaching him." Coop tried to soothe, only getting an annoyed look in return from his partner.
Slider clicked his helmet on with a sheepish grin. "I promise I'll finish as soon as I get back, okay? Can we please go?" He hopefully asked, inching towards the edge of the garage as Hacker sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose.
"Coop. We're also behind on our project. The one you said we'd finish up yesterday, and then today?" Hacker deadpanned as Coop gave him a guilty look. The older Radster had a bad case of time blindness and often ran out of time for projects and the like. Coop glanced at the large white sheet covering their latest commissioned project. It was huge, and the commissioner behind it was even bigger. Waving his hand, Coop nodded. "Alright, alright. Sly, why don't you go skate with some friends while your father and I work, that way we can have some peace and quiet for it, okay?" He tried to compromise with a smile.
Hacker sighed in defeat despite the small smile he was trying to fight off his face and waved Slider on. "Go on, before I remember what a pain your dad is." He grumbled, getting a laugh from Coop. Slider snorted softly before giving the two men a two fingered salute and skating out of the garage, a relaxed grin on his face as he rode away.
Several hours later, the sun was much lower in the sky, and streetlamps around Radopolis were starting to click on. Slider had finally said goodbye to his friends before heading home, his stomach eagerly hoping that his pops had started dinner. He paused as he pulled up to the driveway, kicking his board into his hand. The house was silent and dark. Two strange things that put Slider on edge as he crept into the garage, glancing around with a frown. Had his parents finished their commission and gone to deliver it? No... the thing was still sitting bulkily under its tarp. Huh... maybe a late night dinner run?
Slider headed into the silent house, pushing open the door and flicking on the kitchen light. Frowning at the empty counter, Slider turned to glance at the fridge only to see a lack of a note. Shrugging to himself, he grabbed a cheese stick from the fridge before plopping onto the couch and flipping on the TV to relax until his parents came back from wherever they went.
It wasn't long before Slider was jolted from his relaxed posture to the door to the garage slamming open, Coop rushing in with an alarmed look that only grew as his eyes landed on Slider. Rushing to his son's side, Coop quickly pulled Slider into a hug before shoving a small rectangular item into his hands. Tilting his head with an alarmed look, Slider opened his mouth to ask what exactly was going on, but was interrupted by Coop practically pushing him out the door before he could get a word out. "Listen, Sly. I know you probably have a million questions. And I *promise* I'll answer them all, but right now, I need you to trust me." Coop firmly stated as he grabbed a key off their workbench. "Something's happened. And - and I need you safe. You and the encryptor chip. Don't tell anybody you have it Sly, I'm serious." He gently pushed Slider into the driver's seat before turning the small coupe on. "Go somewhere. Anywhere. By stay hidden and talk to nobody. It'll just be for a bit, and then I'll find you as soon as I wrap things up here, I just need you to stay safe, please." Coop's knuckles turned white as he squeezed the ship's door and stared worriedly down at his son's deer in the headlights stare.
Slider opened his mouth to demand at least some answers, but something in his father's face scared him enough into nodding and tucking the encryptor chip into his pocket. Giving Coop a nod, Slider gave him a small smile, hoping to steady his father from whatever had made him so off- balanced. "I'll be waiting for you pops. You can trust me." He promised.
Coop gave Slider a worried smile and closed the door, only watching for a second as his only son took off to who knows where, before whirling on his heel and rushing back inside. If Hacker wanted to play stupid games, he'd win some very stupid prizes.
Once Slider left the atmosphere of his site, he was suddenly struck with the thought that he had absolutely no clue where he was supposed to go. A little bit of panic hit him as unanswered questions started bombarding him as he drove aimlessly. Was his dad okay? What had even happened? Was someone coming to the house? Would his pops be alright? A troubled frown stayed on his face as he pulled up a map. "Low key. Hide away. Where they wouldn't notice someone off-site..." He mumbled to himself before clicking on Tikkiville. "That should work?" He grimaced, turning the ship to head towards the tropical site.
Landing in an open field where a few other coupes sat, Slider got out with a heavy sigh. His parents always said he wasn't ready to join their buisness, or a variety of other excuses, but something like this happening was rather frustrating to be blindsided about. Giving a final huff, Slider stuffed his hands in his pockets and walked down the boardwalk, glancing around at the different people, but never long enough to bring attention onto him. His stomach growled. Oh, right. He didn't even get to eat dinner before he was being shipped off sight. Slider reached for his wallet, only to find it was nowhere on his body. Right. He'd thrown it next to himself on the couch and rushed out so quickly he'd forgotten to grab it again.
Letting out a frustrated sigh, Slider sank onto a bench along the walkway and watched the beach goers play and enjoy their times. People watching was about as much as he could figure to do in the moment, and soon he was relaxed, resting his chin on his knees as he decided to make up stories about the people he saw. The couple that were playing volleyball? Here on their honeymoon. The two kids digging in the sand? Actually they were secret adventures looking for treasure. That guy shuffling behind those rocks? Wait... Slider stood up so quickly he scared a seagull that had landed near him. That green skin, large chin, and tall but skinny man...
Taking off after him, Slider hadn't expected Hacker to be stopped directly behind the clump of rocks he'd disappeared behind and practically slammed into the man, sending them both into a pile. Hacker's glare was very prominent until he realized exactly who had slammed into him, a look of suprise taking over his face. "Slider?! What in Cyberspace's Circits are you doing here?! Wait -" He stood them both up, pulling Slider up by the shoulders and gripping his arms to his sides as he looked over him with a hungry expression. "Do you have it? The chip?" His eyes snapped back to Slider's with an eager look, and Slider felt guilt slam into him. His pops had told him not to tell anyone... but this was his dad asking! He sucked at lying anyway, so his dad would probably know either way that he had the stupid thing!
Suddenly, feeling the full weight of the encryptor chip in his pocket, Slider did what he always did when he tried to lie. He fell back on sarcasm. "Oh yeah, gave me the whole bag of them for dinner. With a full explanation of why he wanted me to go somewhere else while he took care of stuff." Slider grimaced, giving a shrug.
Hacker scoffed, letting go of Slider's arm and turning to the rocks behind them. "That absolute backstabbing baboon." He grumbled before reaching up and pressing a hidden button on the wall. Which a creak and a groan, the rocks gave way into a door, swinging open to reveal a hidden hallway leading into the rock wall face. Giving Slider a raised eyebrow, Hacker ushered him inside with a tisk. "Come on, come on! We don't want any locals just thinking they can come in here whenever they want!" He hissed.
Slider blinked before hurrying to follow his father inside, jumping slightly as the door slammed shut behind them and clicked into place. "Sorry, but- Dad!" He hurried to catch up to Hacker's hurried pace as they turned down the hallway. "What is going on? Pops didn't tell me anything! Just- basically to get off Radopolis and stay low. Is there someone after you guys? I can handle it, I can help!" He tried reasoning with a frown as Hacker ushered him into the door at the end of the hallway.
Inside the concealed room was a mix of a chemical and technological lab. Slider did a slow spin, and Hacker started digging through cabinets, looking hurriedly through Blueprints. "It's an old offsite lab for Control Central." Hacker stated, ignoring Slider's pleas for answers before growling and shoving the workbench over, sending papers flying as Slider jumped again at the loud noise. Slowly turning back towards Slider, Hacker frowned as if just realizing he was there. "Coop told you to leave Radopolis? And go here?" He slowly questioned, making Slider tense slowly as Hacker drew closer.
"Well yeah! But like- not here specifically, just to go anywhere and lay low. And then he'd come get me or call me or something." Slider shrugged, "But seriously. Dad! What is-"
Hacker held up a finger to silence him. "And you have your communicator?" He asked slowly, holding out a hand for it and looking at Slider expectantly. Slider hesitated, but only for a moment, before handing over the device and watching with a curious frown as Hacker pocketed it. Hacker continued. "And he said he had to...?"
Slider gave an exasperated sigh. "Take care of something important! He didn't say what! But can't you like, just call him or something? Seriously, dad! I'm not a helpless toddler, I can handle myself!"
Hacker had been staring at him with a frown, the gears in his head clearly turning before he sighed and turned away from his son. "Yes, I suppose you are." He hummed before pulling a blueprint off the ground and scanning it. "Your father and I were building a comission for an anonymous person." He looked back at Slider, who slowly sat on one of the chairs clearly listening with his full attention. "Except something went wrong, whoever hired us was simply using us to build a machine that could destroy entire sites if desired." Hacker looked up behind Slider, eyes moving to the different projects and science equipment as he talked. "But without that chip, no one can use our machine. Your father-" A large banging sounded, and Slider's eyes widened. Hacker stood, staring at the door before he quickly was ushering Slider towards the back of the room. "Someone's here! You hide in here, and I'll get rid of them! Don't make any noise, I'm serious!" He hissed, pushing Slider into a large, glass dome and closing the door. Slider sank down to sit on the floor of it with a nod as Hacker turned around back out of sight. Although muffled by the glass, Slider could still hear his father. "I'm coming! Just hold on!" He shouted. Suddenly, the glass dome let out a beep, and a hissing sounded from inside.
Slider's eyes widened, and he pressed his hand against the door, only to find it firmly locked shut. Something was definitely happening, and Slider hit the glass walls in a panic. "Dad! Dad, let me out! It's- something turned on! Dad!" His cries quieted as he sank back to the floor, finding his energy extremely low, his head rolling to the side as his eyes fluttered shut, ice crystals forming over the glass, blocking his view of the lab.
A "ding!" Rang out in the lab, and Hacker peeked his head back around the monitors before creeping over and standing in front of the glass pod. Inside, he could see Slider's crumpled form, as if the child had fallen asleep with his head tucked against his knees. He tapped the screen hooked up to the pod and hummed at the sign of stable vitals. In all senses, Slider was asleep. And he would stay asleep until Hacker put the system into a dethaw. If Coop wanted to use their kid in this fight, then so would Hacker. As soon as Coop handed over the encryptor chip, Hacker would hand over Slider.