2 weeks later
I sit on the Paris rooftop, absorbed in thought. I just got a call, my grandfather had fallen, and they didn't know what happened and how bad the damage is. All I can do is hope and pray.
"It'll be okay," Alyssa appears on my right shoulder.
"Besides man, you said it yourself, he'll outlive you," X consoles me from his perch on my right shoulder.
"And Jeremie's working on a way to get us out of your head," Alyssa says.
"Yeah, thanks," I whisper. I watch as the setting sunlight glints off of the buildings of Paris. I watch as the Seine reflects the orange glow onto the banks. I looked up, noticing clouds, very dark clouds had suspiciously gathered, kind of quickly. I saw them moving, but slowing down. The wind whipped the river, and the thunderstorm quickly made itself known. I saw several lightning strikes hit near the factory, and the thunderclaps boomed across the city.
"Hey Ryder?" Laura calls from the rooftop's doorway.
"Yeah?" I yell back.
"There's a problem. You need to see this," she shouts. A look of dread slips onto my face, and I bolt for the door.
"Go, go! Talk to me! What are we talking here?" I command, moving into 'crisis management mode.'
"Defunct assembly lines at the factory have become active, XANA's activity has increased, and something's at our base," Laura informs me.
"We need to move, now!" I state, and we rush towards the factory. Seven minutes later, we arrive at the bridge. Blue flashes are seen and grinding and welding sounds are emanating from the abandoned building. They pick up intensity as Laura and I step closer, and then cut off abruptly as we enter. Silence for about fifteen seconds, and then suddenly a lightning bolt shatters the damaged glass in the roof, and hits a specific spot on the floor. The rest of the group arrive in short order as we all attempt to make out what's on the floor. The smoke clears, and a dark figure, black with red accents, a grotesque set of armor, and a dark cape is standing there, with the Eye of XANA burned into his chest.
"Bow down," he commands in a rumbling tone that made it seem as if the ground itself were speaking laced with the XANA vocal effects.
"Never, XANA!" I snarl in defiance. I stand, looking eye to eye with the mechanical monster.
"Aelita, we need to get to Lyoko," Jeremie whispers to us.
"Agreed," Yumi says.
"Laura, go to Lyoko," I order her.
"What will you do?" she asks me.
"I'm going to distract him," I answer.
"I'm staying," she declares.
"I won't risk losing you," I say, "You're going and that's that. You won't be able to stay ahead of his attacks long enough, and I know I won't, but I've got X and Alyssa."
"Come back to me in one piece. I love you," she looks me in the eye.
"I love you too. Go kick some ass," I tell her and clap her shoulder.
"I'm staying too," Ulrich states.
"You're too much of a stubborn bastard for me to convince otherwise," I reply and strike a fighting stance as the others make for the elevator.
"Try and stop me," XANA chuckles as they reach the elevator.
"We will stop you," Laura says as the door closes.
"Allow Xavier and myself to take support roles," Alyssa suggests from my shoulder.
"Do whatever, we need to keep him distracted," I answer as XANA's first attack is primed. I roll to the right, dodging the spear of lightning by mere inches. I climb up a set of boxes, waiting on top.
"Ulrich, GO!" Xavier commands, telling Ulrich to help the others. He nods and bolts for the elevator. XANA sends a sphere of energy at the boxes, and I leap off onto the upper balcony as the boxes are wrecked. I avoid blasts of energy coming from below me and my left. I roll forward to avoid another sphere of energy.
"Warning, energy building to unstable levels!" Alyssa warns. This distracts me long enough so that XANA can knock me down by destroying the catwalk. I allow Xavier's abilities to channel into me as XANA fires sustained electricity at me. Using Xavier's control over the same thing, I fight back, the power doing the cliche movie thing where it collides as the two forces fight for dominance. I then decide to switch it up, cutting off my attack and absorbing XANA's. I collect the energy, and unleash it back at XANA's robot body. I overload the machine for a few seconds, and I catch my breath. XANA then brings down a support beam from the ceiling to trap me. He moves to finish me off, and then the mech stops, goes rigid, keels over, and then the time reversion occurs.
Next Day
"So, Alan Meyer is hosting a party in two weeks at his mansion. We need to be there," Jeremie states.
"We'll need a team," I say.
"It's a black tie event, for prominent and up and coming leaders in the world of computer systems," Jeremie informs us.
"Okay, we need cover identities. I'm guessing that this party is also a secret meeting of criminals. So a younger couple, extensive knowledge of computers, they work in the dark side of software development, creating AI, malicious heavy duty projects, and are weapon smugglers and dealers," I say.
"Uhh, I'll start creating them right away, we need a name," Jeremie says and starts furiously typing on his computer.
"Okay, Ryan Hashka. I'll need my suit cleaned and pressed. Laura, are you my partner?" I ask.
"Yes, let's do this," she answers.
"Okay, we're a young couple. Get a nice dress for this. I'm hinging on your people skills," I state.
"Yumi, Aelita, let's go shopping!" Laura grins and the girls head for the elevator.
"Okay, we're going to need building plans, a fancy ride, and I'm going to need a gun," I order after the girls leave.
"Why do you need a gun?" Ulrich asks in alarm.
"It's called infiltration. I need something quiet, easily carried, but with enough stopping power to drop someone with one shot," I respond calmly.
"I have a connection. There's a prototype I know of. It's got .45 caseless rounds, a twelve round magazine, integrated suppressor, highly accurate," Jeremie informs me.
"Good. I'll need it," I answer.
"It needs a name," William muses.
"Silent Killer?" Odd offers.
"Corsair," I decide with a smirk.
"Why?" Ulrich wonders.
"The F4U Corsair was a US Plane during World War II that was nicknamed 'Whispering Death' by the Japanese because it was very quiet and extremely deadly," I explain, smirk still plastered on my face.
"Okay, that makes sense," Jeremie compliments.
"I've got a friend who'll lend me his Aston-Martin," William speaks up from his phone.
"Nice!" I say and high five him. It was all coming together.
"Now, the hardest part," I mutter as I loose myself in a blank stare at the holomap.
"What?" Odd inquires.
"Hi-tech spy gear."
One Week Later
"So, we have building blueprints, system access, a ride, a team, clothes, a weapon, all we're missing is the equipment," I list.
"Okay, I've got the goggles on the way, the stealth suit is at the apartment," Jeremie informs me.
"We need the portable EMP, and the sticky cameras," I say.
"Oh, those?" Laura asks.
"Yeah," I reply.
"I've got those for you," she says.
"You are the best," I state lovingly.
"Let's run through the plan again," Jeremie orders and we gather around.
One Week Later
Night Before Day of Party
"Let's run through the plan one last time," Jeremie orders and we gather around the holomap. The display switches to show a view of Meyer's house.
"Okay, Laura and I will arrive in the Aston-Martin at the front entrance here," I begin and the front entrance is highlighted and a car drives up.
"We'll put the charm on Meyer immediately," Laura states.
"After that, I'll reach a secluded area and disable the cameras and William will meet me with my gear," I continue as a small window to the roof and out of view of cameras is highlighted, "I'll stash my clothes in my backpack for when I need them again."
"The whole time, I'll be on the ballroom floor distracting our host," Laura adds.
"I'll sneak past or eliminate guards and reach a working full access station. I'll grab as much data as I can. I'll meet William, swap my gear for my suit again, and make our escape," I finish as the route is highlighted and the escape route is shown.
"Okay, everything is in order," Jeremie confirms.
"Then we better get some rest. It'll be a long day tomorrow," I command.