2x08 - GigaByte

Written by: Phil Mitchell, Susan Turner
Story by: Phil Mitchell, Susan Turner
Guest Star: Gigabyte (Blu Mankuna)
New recurring character: Mouse (Louise Valence)

This is the second part of a five-part story:

1. "Nullzilla"
2. "Gigabyte"
3. "Trust No One"
4. "Web World Wars"
5. "To Mend and Defend"

Synopsis
Now it's Megabyte's turn to be taken over by the creature from the Web. He and Hexadecimal merge to form a much more powerful virus: Gigabyte. Bob has to call for help.

Story
Starting where "Nullzilla" left off, the 8-ball and Bob's apartment are still on the ground. The giant robot gets picked up by a Data Crane (but knocks over some buildings on its way out.) Dot supervises the clean up while Bob looks over Hexadecimal (along with the entire Mainframe Security Force in green and gold cars.) HD is recovering.

Bob and Phong discuss the thing that came out of Hex's mirror - it is either gone or not detectable by Phong's sensors. Since it attacked Hex first, maybe it goes for viruses. "Megabyte," croaks Hexadecimal. "That's right," says Bob. "No, Megabyte!". The virus in question is standing right behind Bob, colored completely black. It shows exceptional strength by knocking Bob for a loop. Then it picks up Hexadecimal, and its hands start passing through her body. Glitch's wide-field energy beam knocks the evil MB away, but when Bob has Glitch fetch the car, MB returns. HD tries to hold him back with orange fireballs, but she is too weak to keep it up. Just then Dot swings by and picks up the black one with a Data Crane. MB tries to take over the vehicle by infecting it (turning it blue) but Dot is prepared and jettisons the gripper.

While driving Hex to Lost Angles, Bob demands answers. He wants to know why HD and MB were merging. She explains that they are from the same viral strain. "The same family?" "Much worse than that, he is my brother!". Their fighting is just sibling rivalry. "What will happen if you join?" "The next generation! Ha ha ha..." Just then Megabyte shows up, rips Hex from the car, and plunges to the street below. After the column of fire dissipates, a combination creature is visible. It has MB's skull, eyes, shoulders, and joints, but HD's facemask, arms, and breastplate. The right hand has long sharp claws (like Freddie Krueger from "Nightmare on Elm Street"). Hanging off the back of its red spinal column are the black multifaceted tendrils of the creature from the Web.

Bob: "I am Guardian 452. State your function."
It: "I am become Gigabyte, destroyer of systems".

Bob tries using Glitch as a wide-field energy beam again, but Gigabyte simply absorbs it. Dot swoops in, but her Data Crane gets cut to pieces. The creature is stronger than Megabyte, but so far has not used any of Hexadecimal's higher functions. It appears to have the potential ability to create its own portal to the Supercomputer. Bob tells Phong to shut down the city, then he sends out a distress call, stating that they are fighting a Class-5 (energy absorbing) virus. Bob and Dot try to get as far away as possible before their zip-boards fail.

Trapped in a dark alley, Gigabyte demands that Bob hand over his Guardian key tool. Bob has Glitch fly away, and just before GB puts his claws into our hero, something comes in and chops off Gigabyte's arm. It's Mouse, "Did you miss me?" Her ship is not affected by the city powerdown. Phong is not prepared to allow Mouse in the Principal Office, but Mouse hacks through its defenses.

Out on the streets of Mainframe, Gigabyte is sucking energy out of binomes, including a One dressed up as Indiana Jones. It continues toward the Principal Office, but the shield there won't last long once GB starts absorbing the energy from it. Bob has a plan to overload Gigabyte with an energy surge from a tear. Mouse and Dot are sent out to capture a tear while Bob tries to hold GB back with the primitive weapons available in Phong's armory. Bob is in black, with a black cheek guard that makes him look like Gambit, one of the X-Men. Hack and Slash show up, and do a good job of assisting Bob. After GB is lured to Floating Point Park, Phong releases the sector so that it is far away from the city.

Meanwhile, Dot keeps the ship steady as Mouse uses a video game console to build an icosahedron around the tear. A sudden surge sends Mouse flying - Dot flies the ship and catches her before Mouse falls into the Energy Sea. Bob has things under control until Hack (the red one) gets too close to Gigabyte and gets all his energy drained. Slash (the blue one) is so angry that he knocks Gigabyte all the way back to Mainframe, ruining Bob's plan. With Hack's energy, Gigabyte is able to fly over the moat and attack the Principal Office directly. The last line of defense is two small sprites; a girl, a boy, and his dog. Frisket's great strength is no match for Gigabyte, but his action delays GB until Bob and the tear can arrive. The tear overwhelms Gigabyte with too much power. Glitch becomes a splitter, and separates the monster into three portals (Hexadecimal, Megabyte, and the unknown black thing).

Mouse uses her wrist band, and determines that the unknown presence is still in Mainframe. [Why was Mouse prepared to track the thing?]

To be continued.

References
* Hexadecimal holds an orange fireball on the collectable card, SA #6.
* "I am become Shiva, Destroyer of Worlds" -- words from physicist Robert Oppenheimer, quoting the Bhagavad Gita.
* Gigabye = 1024 megabytes = 1,048,576 kilobytes = 1,073,741,824 bytes. According to the producers, the original virus
was called Kilobyte, but when it tried to upgrade itself, it was split into Megabyte and Hexadecimal, with an uneven
distribution of powers.
* Mouse is a hacker who has tangled with Bob before, as described in "The Great Brain Robbery".

Did You Notice?
* When Gigabyte is first seen, he is on one knee, in a small crater, much like "The Terminator".
* Writing on Data Crane: "Welly's Data Retrieval Systems" and "Caution: Motion Overhead".
* The first binome to be drained of energy has a whip, hat, and leather jacket, just like Indiana Jones in "Raiders of the Lost Ark".
* Phong: "I've said it before, and I'll say it again; this is not the Supercomputer."
* The game console Mouse is using looks just like a Sony Playstation.
* "A Boy and His Dog" is the name of a science fiction movie.
* Bob uses his car to get away from Megabyte, but in an earlier episode ("Painted Windows"), he traded the car in for a motorcycle.
* When Gigabyte tears the back of Bob's uniform, there's a grey mesh pattern visible underneath.