Chapter Text
"Y'know its funny. I've known you for so long, but now it feels like I'm meeting you for the first time," Coop said to Motherboard as she and Antoine sat on his living room sofa.
The kids and Digit had come to Radopolis to visit Slider and Motherboard decided to take the opportunity to visit Coop. As always, Antoine was her bodyguard.
Motherboard smiled. "Yes, it feels like forever since we saw each other personally."
"And Antoine," Coop said to the other male cyborg, "I think this is actually the first time we've met face to face."
"I think you may be right," Antoine said, laughing a little.
"So two weeks left until the wedding. Anyone getting cold feet?"
"Not at all," Motherboard said, "For a long time I thought the day would never come. Now that its almost here I couldn't be happier."
"Not even if Hacker, Wicked, and Ledge all announced tomorrow that they're giving up plans of cyber domination for good?" Coop asked.
"Well," she said, "Maybe in a perfect world..."
The two men laughed. That would be a dream come true, but it would never become a reality.
"How is Peggy doing?" Antoine asked, referring to Coop's wife.
"She's good. Her new manager is treating her a lot better than her last one."
"That's great," Motherboard said, "She's a hard worker. She deserves to be treated with respect."
"Totally."
"So with this new manager, do you think she'll be able to come with you to the wedding?" Antoine asked.
"Definitely. I think even her old manager would let her come, considering who the couple is," Coop answered, "Rad invitations by the way."
"Those are Jackie's doing," Motherboard said, "Isn't she a creative young lady?"
"She is," Coop said, "I think Slider might have a thing for her, actually."
"Well she'll be happy about that," the cyber ruler said, "She and Inez have both been eyeing him since they met."
"So I've noticed."
"Reminds me of another borg who was quite popular with the ladies," she said, winking.
Coop blushed. "Like father, like son I guess."
"And he looks more and more like you every day," said Motherboard.
"Let's just hope he doesn't have to go through what I've been through," Coop said.
"I can't imagine any of his friends turning out the same as Hacker," Antoine assured the younger male.
"I never imagined Hacker would turn out the way he did," Coop said.
"None of us did," Motherboard said, "But you did the right thing by warning me about him. I should've listened to you. If not when you told me, then at least when you disappeared. I should've connected the dots."
"I don't blame you, Motherboard. He was practically your son. Of course you wouldn't believe it," Coop sighed, "Come to think of it, neither would I."
Flashback:
Hacker was silent as he worked on his part of the invention. The borg was quite shy when Dr. Marbles had first introduced him to Coop, but the seventeen year old radster had expected him to warm up by now. Yet he still seemed closed off a year later.
"You okay, dude?"
"Hm? Oh yeah, sure," he answered.
"You don't sound okay," said Digit, the baby cybird Hacker had recently booted.
"Its nothing guys, really."
"Bro come on," Coop urged, "You can trust us."
Hacker took a deep breath before shrugging off his purple jacket, revealing a colorful array of bruises, cuts, and scabs.
"YOIKES!" Digit exclaimed.
"Dude, what in Cyberspace happened to you?!" Coop asked.
"School happened Coop," Hacker said, "School has been happening for the past several years."
"You've been hiding this for several years?!" asked the baby cybird in disbelief.
Hacker nodded sadly.
"Bro, we've gotta tell Motherboard and Dr. Marbles."
"No Coop! Whatever you do, don't tell them," Hacker pleaded.
"What?! Why not?" Coop asked.
"The last time I said anything about it, Motherboard almost called the school. She'll definitely do it if she finds out its still happening. Then they'll get mad at me and torture me even more," Hacker said. Then he added, "And I'll probably be known by everyone as a mama's boy."
Digit hopped into his lap. "But, what if Dr. Marbles called the school?"
Coop nodded. "Yeah, if Marbles called, you'd be ok. Nobody messes with the father in these issues!"
Hacker shook his head. "But, he'd see the cuts! How can I explain that to him?!" He sighed, putting his jacket back on to hide the cuts and bruises. "Just, please, don't tell."
"But Hacker-" Coop started.
"Please?"
Coop sighed. "Alright. I won't say anything. I promise."
"My beak is sealed," added Digit.
"Thanks guys," Hacker said, "You're real friends."
"We'll always be here for you Hacker," Coop said, putting a hand on his friend's shoulder, "Don't be afraid to speak up with us."
Hacker's eyes watered a bit before he hugged the radster tightly, Coop returning the hug.
End Flashback:
Coop had kept his promise. He never told a soul and, as far as he was aware, neither had Digit. Sometimes he wondered if he should have. Hacker had called them real friends for keeping silent, but was that really what friends did?
"Motherboard," he said, trying to find the right words, "Did Hacker ever..."
"Ever what?"
"Did Hacker ever tell you he was bullied in high school?"
"I know his peers weren't too kind to him in middle school. I didn't realize that followed him into high school."
Coop was hesitant a moment. How much should he tell her, if anything? It wasn't like they were friends anymore. He wasn't obligated to keep those secrets anymore. Still, part of him didn't feel right spilling all the details. He should at least leave out the cutting.
"It was pretty bad, Motherboard," he explained, "He once came to my place covered in bruises and scabs."
Motherboard's blue eyes widened in shock. She also had seen him come home in shambles once, but Hacker had never shown any signs of injuries after. As far as she knew, it had never gone beyond name-calling after that.
Motherboard shook her head. "But, how?! I thought it was just a name-calling issue."
"They always find a way, bullies," Antoine said, "Remember back in college when Sams threw me in the dumpster?"
"Sams as in Blue Falls' Sams?" Coop asked.
Antoine nodded. "They were real jerks back in the day."
Motherboard nodded, looking at Antoine. "I remember it took me, Marbles, and Archimedes to get you out. They've been better after that."
"Nice to know some people can change," Coop said, "Now if only it could happen to Hacker."
"Someone that sick in the head can never change," Antoine spat, anger seeping in his voice as he thought of all that the cyborg had done to the woman he was in love with.
Motherboard and Coop both hung their heads, knowing what he said was probably the truth but still wishing there was a way.
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"Nice one Sly!" Matt said as Slider jumped into the air and landed effortlessly on his skateboard.
"Thanks, dude," he said, catching Jackie skating down the rink from the corner of his eye.
She tried to do a pirouette but lost her balance and fell hard on the ground. Slider ran down the rink to help her up.
"Thanks Sly," she said, "I saw Inez do a pirouette way back when we went against Hacker and I wanted to try it myself. I guess skating just isn't my thing."
"Eh, it takes practice. You'll get it eventually."
"You really think so?" she asked.
"Oh yeah. Totally. You're already really good."
"Thanks," she said shyly.
"Slider," a female voice called out.
Slider ran back up the rink, Jackie following, and they saw a tall blonde woman with brown eyes.
"Hey Mom," Slider said walking up to her, "You're off work already?"
"Yeah," she said, "The manager said I've been working hard all week and deserve to take the rest of the day off.
"Awesome," her son said, "Hey guys, this is my mom, Peggy. Mom, I'm sure you know who this famous group is."
"Oh let me think here," she said as the rest of the gang gathered around them. She looked at Digit then at Matt, "I remember you Digit. And you're... Matt?"
"Yep."
She looked at Inez and said her name. Inez nodded.
"And you're Jackie," she said pointing at the sixteen year old, "Slider talks about you the most. He says-"
"Mom!" Slider said, turning bright red.
"How come we've never met you before?" Inez asked.
Peggy sighed. "After Coop disappeared, I had to start working extra hours to support Slider and I. Even when he came back, my boss was still very demanding. I'm much better off now."
Jackie smiled. "That's cool! So, we'll see you more often?"
Peggy nodded. "Sure!"
"You guys will get to meet our parents too at the wedding," Inez said, "Motherboard invited all of them."
"Wait," Slider said, "When did you guys tell your parents about Cyberspace?"
"You remember how we told you about that time Hacker kidnapped us before we all crash landed in Shangri-La?" Matt said, "It was after that. Motherboard thought it would be wrong to keep it a secret from them any longer."
"I actually stalled a little longer than that," Jackie admitted, "My dad is really overprotective."
"And... how did they react?" asked Slider.
"My parents didn't believe it at first," said Inez, "They thought Motherboard was an avatar someone had made and that the whole story was a prank."
"Same here," Jackie said, "When it finally sank in, my mom figured out that was where I got her madre bonita from."
"My parents didn't believe it until Motherboard opened a portal in our kitchen and asked them if they wanted to go and see for themselves," Matt said laughing, "You should've seen the looks on their faces!"
"Have any of them actually been here?" Peggy asked.
"My dad came once," answered Inez, "He was really fascinated by the whole concept."
Jackie looked at Inez. "Hey, speaking of parents, do you think we'll meet Lyryn's parents too?"
Inez widened her eyes. "OMG, I just realized that!"
"Who's Lyryn?" Slider asked.
"She's our new friend," Jackie said, "She's pretty cool. Dr. Marbles introduced us to her."
"She's got these really cool super powers so Motherboard has her guarding Control Central," Matt said.
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Location: Control Central:
Lyryn sighed, looking up into the cyber constellations.
"Woah!"
She looked behind her as Widget struggled to get up.
"C'mon, give me your wings, little buddy," she said, pulling the cybird up.
"Whew! Thanks Miss... what was it again?"
"Lyryn."
"Right!"
"It's so peaceful out here isn't it?" Lyryn asked.
"Yeah," Widget said, "But you must get bored doing this all the time right?"
Lyryn shrugged. "Eh, not really Widge. Like I said, it's peaceful."
"Did you see Didge's plans for the wedding cake? Its huge!"
"I know," Lyryn said, "I don't know how he's gonna pull it off."
"Didge is a culinary genius," said Widget, "He can make anything."
Lyryn smiled at Widget's admiration for his creator. It was so cute. It was a shame Digit could never feel that way towards his creator, and Dr. Marbles' creation would never admire him. Speaking of Dr. Marbles...
"Is Marbles gonna be one of Antoine's groomsmen?"
Widget shook his head. "He's walking Motherboard down the aisle."
"Aww, how sweet!" Lyryn laughed a little. "I have to admit, Dr. Marbles seems quite feisty when it comes to Motherboard."
"Uh-huh! He'd do anything to keep her safe," Widget said, "He started looking for a cure to her virus the moment she got it."
"Which is why Hacker is always after him..." Lyryn said as she recalled the time she first saw the esteemed technician, although he was unaware of her presence.
Flashback:
Lyryn smiled, trick or treating with her friends, looking up as a black and green ship flew towards a castle and peaking her curiosity. She had to find it.
"Hey, girls, I'll meet you at the howl. I gotta go real quick."
Kana, a young vampire-like teen nodded. "Do what you need to."
Lyryn nodded. "Thanks!"
She looked up as a large, green skinned cyborg came out, trying to hold a blue skinned cyborg with a light bulb on his head under control. She climbed up to the window to watch the captive put up quite a fight, knocking two accompanying bots into each other.
'My, this guy is feisty, I like it!' she thought.
"That's enough!"
Lyryn watched as the green skinned cyborg grabbed him, knocking him out with a chloroform gas, just enough to put him into submission before strapping him to the table.
"Interesting," she murmured.
Lyryn thought she had seen this cyborg somewhere before, the one being strapped down. Perhaps on television or in the papers. She stuck around for a while to find her suspicions of him being in danger were correct. In fact, all of Cyberspace was in danger based on what she'd heard. There didn't appear to be much she could do without getting captured herself. She looked towards the mirror that was so vital for this transfer process. She observed the two bots lifting up the mirror. They didn't seem very bright. If she could find a way to distract them and make them drop the mirror, the plan would fail.
Lyryn closed her eyes and concentrated hard. When she opened them she could see the illusion of a fly buzzing in the distance. She focused all her mental energy on the taller bot and soon enough, the fake fly made its way to him, distracting the bot and causing him to drop the mirror.
Satisfied with her accomplishment, she climbed back down from the window and headed toward town to regroup.
End Flashback
Lyryn wondered to this day why she hadn't done anything more. She should've stuck around to see if she could free the poor cyborg. But then she'd likely get captured as well.
At least everything had worked out in the end.
Lyryn looked over as she heard a swishing sound, seeing Motherboard come out of a portal, escorted by Antoine with Digit close behind.
"Oh, they're back! Good to talk to ya, Lyryn!"
She smiled as the little cybird flew off and she followed him close behind.
"Did you guys have fun?" she asked.
"Oh yeah," Digit said, "Slider taught me a new skating trick and his mom took photos of all of us."
"I talked to Miss Lyryn!" Widget said.
"It was very kind of you to keep her company, Widget," Motherboard said in approval.
"I don't mind being alone guys," she insisted, "Honestly."
"Maybe," said the cyber ruler, "But its not good for you. You're too young to be by yourself so much." She gently touched the girl's cheek. "I really can't help feeling guilty making you kids go through all this when you should be busy being kids."
"We don't mind it Motherboard," Digit said, "We want to help."
Motherboard leaned down and gave Digit a kiss. "And I'm forever grateful for all of your help. I don't know what I would do without you all."
"Hey, where are the Earthlies?" Widget asked.
"They've gone home for the day," Antoine said.
"Oh," Widget said, disappointed but then brightened up, "Hey Didge, can you teach me some of your cooking tonight? You promised you would teach me this week."
"Sure! Come on!" Digit said as he flew back into the facility.
Widget followed him.
"I'm going to make sure they clean up after themselves," Motherboard said to Antoine before following the two cybirds.
Lyryn and Antoine were silent a moment before the male spoke up.
"So, when did you first discover your powers, Lyryn?"
Lyryn laid her ears back, nervous. "Master Pi had come to me and told me that I had an immortal aura, something that namely shinigamis possess, but light magic."
"Interesting..." Antoine said, looking her up and down.
"What?" Lyryn said as Antoine stared at her, feeling self conscious.
"I'm sorry," Antoine said, "You just look so familiar, like someone I've seen before."
"Oh? Who?"
"You wouldn't believe me," he said, laughing a little.
Lyryn giggled. "I'm the daughter of a shinigami, so try me."
Antoine took a deep breath. "It was back when Hacker took over..."
Flashback:
Antoine turned off the television reporting the latest cyber news. He had heard enough. That slime bag had reconfigured the chip that everyone was so desperate to find and now Motherboard was gone.
"That does it!" he muttered to himself furiously as he got the keys to his cyber coupe, "Enough hiding! I'm gonna find that traitor and he's gonna pay for this!"
But just as he was about to walk out the door, a bright light blinded him. He shielded his face and when it had faded, he looked to see a beautiful, glowing woman with dark brown hair and crystal blue eyes dressed all in white before him.
"Antoine," she said in an ethereal voice, "Go no further than this."
"Who are you? How do you know my name? Where did you come from?"
"I am a messenger from above. An angel. And I know many things."
"Then you know what's just happened," Antoine said, "You know that one of the most evil beings in the history of our world has killed my fiancee and taken over all of Cyberspace."
"Your lover has not perished," she said gently, "She rests in the realm between this life and the next. There is still hope that she can be saved."
"Then I must save her," the brunette male insisted.
"You must stay here, Antoine," she said, firmer but still gentle, "If you make yourself known, the enemy will only harm you as well."
"I have to do something!"
"You must have faith," the angel said, "Your lover chose worthy helpers who are more than capable of bringing her back."
"But how?"
"Have faith, Antoine," she said again, "Just as Motherboard has faith in them."
With that her form faded until she was gone.
End Flashback:
Lyryn flicked her ear, curious and confused. "Where do you think I come into this?"
"You just look so much like her," Antoine said, "Well, except for the ears and tail... Its just so surreal."
Lyryn grinned, flicking her tail. "Maybe I have more magic than I thought. Who knows?"
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
"Good job Widge!" Digit said to his creation as he cracked an egg into the batter, "Now this time, separate the whites from the yolks."
"Erm... okay," the younger cybird said as he carefully beaked open an egg.
Widget struggled with the task. Motherboard got up from where she was sitting in observation and helped straighten the cybird's wings.
"Thanks, Motherboard," he said.
Digit reached for another egg to crack only to realize the carton was empty.
"Wuh-oh!"
"I'll see if we have anymore," Motherboard said as she walked to the fridge.
"NO!" both cybirds shouted as they dashed over to the fridge, blocking the woman from getting through.
"What?" she asked.
"The parts of the wedding cake are in there," Widget said, "You'll ruin the surprise!"
"I see," she said, smirking.
"I'll get the eggs," Digit said as he opened the fridge just enough so that he could get in without the cake being seen.
"So Motherboard," Widget said as he and his creator returned to the batter, "When are you gonna start joining us in the dance studio? Its been two weeks since you were transferred and you've only been there once."
"I'm not exactly up to date with the newest dance trends, Widget," Motherboard said, "I never have been. I'm afraid I'd look very awkward trying to dance to any new music."
"Its just us though, Mother B. We won't judge you," Digit said.
"Still, there's so much to do and now that I'm well enough to get it done I don't intend on stalling," she said as she sat down and drank her tea.
Digit hopped off, hugging Motherboard. "You'll get them done, Motherboard. I know you will."
She held Digit close to her, an act she'd made a habit of doing since getting her new body, especially with the young cybird that had been a part of her life for so long. It was hard to believe he was already fifteen. It felt like only yesterday that he had first been booted. How she desperately wanted to hold him the first time they met, only she had no arms to do so. Then that fateful day when Hacker was banished. After he was gone she had wanted to thank him for saving her, only she couldn't find him. Once she realized what had happened she wanted nothing more than to jump out of her screen and rush off to the Northern Frontier herself. But she couldn't. All she could do was hope he'd come back some day, assuming Hacker's wrath didn't...
Motherboard couldn't finish the thought as she hugged the cybird even closer and kissed him.
"Eh... Motherboard," Digit wheezed, "Too tight!"
She loosened her hold on the cybird and he looked up to see that the strong woman he'd always seen as his only maternal figure had unshed tears brimming in her eyes.
"Motherboard, what's wrong?"
She smiled, wiping her eyes. "I'm fine. It's just that ever since we first met... I can finally hold you, Digit."
"There's more than that," Widget said, "You look sad."
Motherboard blushed. She didn't want them to know about all her inner fears. She wanted to remain the strong leader they saw in her. But there was no avoiding it now. "I was thinking about how close I came to losing you when Hacker took you to the Northern Frontier with him."
"Lose me? The finely feathered?," Digit said, "I can handle Hacker any day!"
Motherboard smiled, remembering something she'd done to her brother before. "Oh, really now?"
She gave his wing a little tickle, laughing as he jumped before going into a full on tickle assault.
"AHAHAHAHAA!WIDGE! D-DOC, HELP!"
Marbles rushed in, only to grin a bit, laughing at the cybird's predicament. He went over to join his sister, only to have the tables turned, both Digit and Motherboard tickling him.
"AH! STOHOHOHOHOP! DIGIT!"
Motherboard laughed, pulling both Digit and Marbles into a hug as Widget took a picture with a nearby camera.
Digit grinned, hugging the two family members. "I never got the opportunity to say this..."
Motherboard smiled as Marbles stroked his wing fondly. "What is it?"
Digit teared up. "I love you two!"
Marbles grinned as Digit hugged him. "We love you too, Digit."