The elevator made a ting sound as Katz, Susan, and the newly rescued Poppyfield's walked out in unison.

"It's deserted," Katz said as he looked around the empty hanger bay.

"Few people tend to fly at night," Susan said as she removed her mask.

"How much of a delay do the cameras have down here," Juno Poppyfield asked frantically as she searched for a suitable boat or plane to steal.

"15 minutes," Katz said reassuringly. "Right, Susan."

Susan turned away from his gaze, her eyes instead searching for the plane she had seen up in the control room. "Don't I always deliver," she finally said as she spotted her target. "Over there," she said as she pointed to an aircraft in the far corner of the docking bay.

The large group looked at the plane in awe. Even from a distance, they could see a large amount of space in the back end of the aircraft, yet the vents on its side and sharp-pointed top indicated that it was built with speed in mind. Any onlooker could tell that this plane was designed for quick in and out cargo trips.

"speed, mobility, and adequate space," Susan said with admiration. "say what you will about Vein, but he knew how to design them."

No one in the group said a thing to her as they rushed toward the section of the docking bay that held the perfect plane. But they soon came to a stop, and a collective defeated sigh came to their faces as they saw a long unconnected bridge preventing them from reaching the plane.

"Now what?" Jay asked.

"Ooh," Juno said excitedly, pointing at a nearby keypad. "That's a number-based security keypad. If you have a code decipherer, I can hack into the keypad, activate the password, and get us across."

Katz looked down in frustration. "We didn't bring any device like that. None of my intel had mentioned a number password to leave the hanger bay."

Jay's and Juno's faces dropped as they realized that freedom was not happening.

Susan kept a reassuring smirk on her face. "We may not have brought a code decipherer, but we have the next best thing," she said as she reached for the flashlight hanging on her side, revealing Mole.

"The M.O.L.E unit, Katz said in realization.

As those words had left Katz's mouth, the group heard the unforgettable ting sound of the elevator again.

"We have to move quick," Katz warned.

Xero and Zero walked out of the Ferris wheel in unison with faces as red as a pair of roses.

"So…" Zero started as they continued their walk from the big wheel, "I… we, may have said, and done, some things-"

"You kissed me on the forehead," Xero said excitedly with a smile, her hands parting her hair down as she tried to relax, her eyes glued onto his lips. Her only thought now was how to steal a real kiss.

"Yea, I did do that," he said as he rubbed the back of his neck.

"You said you love me," she teased.

"First off, I was singing along with you. Second, you confessed first," Zero countered.

"And I would do it all over again," she said with a loving sigh.

Zero felt his face turn a deeper shade of red as he looked at her. "We need to set some ground rules if we are going to prevent anyone from finding out about us," he mumbled as he continued to look at her.

"Ok," she said excitedly, "I'll name off the action, you suggest the conditions, and I'll let you know if I have any objections. Let's start with an easy one. Hugging."

Zero thought about that for a moment.

"We already do regularly," she said with a smile.

"You got me there," he said with a warm smile.

Xero was silent for a moment as she contemplated the next step. "What about hand-holding," she finally asked.

"Well… I guess as long as Mole isn't around, and we aren't at work, then there isn't any holds bar on that."

"Great!" Xero said as she reached her hand to his open hand and interlocked her fingers with his.

Zero stopped in his tracks, as did she. Xero could feel her heart warm as she watched his eyes grow a bit wider, and a new glimmer rose behind them as he looked at their interlocked hands.

"You have very pretty hands," he found himself mumbled.

Xero could feel her face turn even redded at his remark. "So… what about kissing." she tried to ask as casually as she could, her eyes darting away as quickly as they could and embarrassment soon settling in.

Zero just rubbed the back of his neck with his other hand, still grasping the bag containing the carnival prize Xero had won, his other hand unwilling to let go of Xero's hand. "I guess, like hand-holding, a kiss on the cheek every once in a while I privacy doesn't hurt."

A sly smile came across Xero's face. "I wasn't talking about kisses on the cheeks.

"Ababa, Ababa," Zero said as he stammered with his words, now only fluent in gibberish.

Xero quickly stepped in front of him, bringing his gibberish to a stop. Then, before he could say a word, she gently placed her hands on his cheeks and brought his face directly to hers.

"In fact," she said as confidently as she could, "light kisses don't cut it anymore." Her eyes slowly drifted from his lips to his eyes.

She felt her palms warm up as she continued to hold onto his face.

Zero could feel one mood ring on his face as it rested on her finger and the identical mood ring on his finger. He felt himself stumbling with his words as he said, "that light kiss has been the only kiss,"

"How about a real first kiss," she asked as she closed her eyes and started to lean towards him.

She could feel him bringing her closer to his body, and she could feel his breath come closer to her. "I can't believe this worked!" Xero thought to herself.

Zero suddenly stopped, and Xero opened her eyes as they both heard the unforgettable chiming sound of Xero's ring communicator.

"I am so sorry," Xero said as she took a step away from her partner and looked down at her ring. "That's strange," she said out loud.

"What is it," Zero asked curiously as he looked at her ring.

"This call was sent out to all agents, excluding any undercover. Think of it like a Modifyers distress signal," Xero said as she activated the attached message. The video started as a static mess, but soon the image came to life.

AN: Hello readers,

as some of you may have noticed, I have been sloppy when it comes to uploading new chapters consistently. This is because I find myself between a rock and a hard place. I believe for anyone creating anything, original versions should always be available, yet at the same time, I understand that some creators can be dissatisfied with their previous works. And that is where I am. My writing style has changed since I wrote my first fanfic, and I worry that the sloppiness of my first stories is affecting the reading experience for new readers. I want everyone to enjoy my writing, but with the first two stories being in rough condition, I worry that few will appreciate where Xero's and Zero's continuing stories are now and where I intend them to go. I will be the first to admit my early stories are riddled with unclear dialog and spelling errors. Because of this, I have come to the difficult decision to update all chapters from all 3 Modifyers stories. No serious changes will accrue to the plots or characters. Instead, changes will be to the flow, spelling, and minor ideas that never evolved or were eventually dropped.

The first update will occur on Dec. 25th of 2021, starting with chapter 1, and I hope to continue updates every other week, as I work in between weeks to finish this story. By the end of this, I hope to provide the best reading experience I can offer.