Copen then dropped down onto the floor. Copen then aimed his gun at Gunvolt.
"Finally, I've found your place of hiding. Now, all of you Adepts. Hands in the air!" Copen shouted.
Gunvolt and Asimov put their hands up but got an idea. They both took their guns then quickly aimed them at Copen. Moniqa was the only one who didn't have their hands up. Copen then turned his attention to Moniqa.
"Are you an Adept?" Copen asked.
"No, not at all." Moniqa replied.
Gunvolt and Asimov then opened fire. Copen then opened fire as well. Meanwhile, everyone else was running to open the door but Lola hovered in front of the door. Everyone else stopped inches in front of the door. Everyone then heard Copen cock his gun.
"Turn around, slowly." Copen said.
Everyone then turned around. Zeno then leaned over to Gunvolt.
"Open fire." Zeno whispered.
Gunvolt then shot Copen thrice and flashed him.
"Lily, now!" Gunvolt shouted.
Atari then slipped her left leg under Copen and made him fall. Zeno, Gunvolt and Asimov then opened fire on Copen. Copen then commanded Lola to perform Shred Storm but Atari kicked Lola and rendered her useless. Copen then grabbed Lola and retreated once more.
"Why do I have this bad feeling that he's gonna be back?" Zeno asked.
"I agree, but I know we'll be ready." Atari said.
Meanwhile, back at the Fukashima lab facility.
"We've just received information on the targets whereabouts." A man said.
"Which quadrant?" a woman asked.
"Quadrant 9 ma'am." The man replied.
"Excellent, send in the retrieval crew." The woman said.
Back at QUILL HQ, everyone was doing their normal routine. Xiao however was intruder proofing the vents. Gunvolt then walked over to the ladder Xiao was standing on and looked up.
"Need any help?" Gunvolt asked.
"Um, can you hold the ladder still?" Xiao asked.
"Sure." Gunvolt replied.
Gunvolt the held the ladder still.
"Thanks, I appreciate it." Xiao said.
"Your welcome. What are you doing anyways?" Gunvolt said.
"Making sure the vents are secure and so nobody can drop in unexpectedly. Can you hand me that screwdriver please?" Xiao said.
"Which one?" Gunvolt asked.
"The one with the green handle." Xiao replied.
Gunvolt then handed the screwdriver with the green handle to Xiao.
Moniqa then showed up.
"Is everything alright you two?" Moniqa asked.
"Everything's fine." Xiao replied.
"Fixing stuff to keep your mind off your own troubles is what it looks like to me." Moniqa said.
"Nah, not at all." Xiao said.
Moniqa then looked at Gunvolt.
"What is he doing?" Moniqa asked.
"Making sure nobody can drop in unexpectedly through the vents." Gunvolt replied.
"Yup, no unwanted visitors allowed. Moniqa, can you hand me one of those titanium vent covers?" Xiao said.
"Sure, here." Moniqa said.
Moniqa then handed Xiao one of the covers. Xiao then handed the old one to Gunvolt who put it on the ground. Xiao then installed the new titanium vent cover. Xiao then got off the ladder.
"That's the last one. Let's just hope they hold." Xiao said.
Moniqa then looked at the pile of old shaft covers.
"What's going to happen to the old aluminum covers?" Moniqa asked.
"Well, I did have a project in mind. But, it's going to sound rather insane." Xiao replied.
"We're listening." Moniqa and Gunvolt said in unison.
"I was thinking of making wings for Atari." Xiao said.
"Out of what?" Moniqa asked.
"The old aluminum covers. Well, that's just going to be a prototype. The real ones are going to be made of titanium just like the vent covers." Xiao said.
"Is there going to be a way to activate them?" Moniqa asked.
"I was thinking maybe I could give Atari a watch. Since she has a job here full time, it might be useful on missions. So I thought I could put it in a watch and it could include a list of DIR contacts." Xiao said.
"That sounds like a great idea." Moniqa said.
"Well, it's settled then. I'll get started on the prototype now." Xiao said.
Xiao then went over to his desk and started working on the wing prototype. Meanwhile, Atari was sitting on the couch wondering about the memories Stratos had implemented into her brain. Suddenly, Atari saw two shadows looming over her. When she looked up, Atari noticed it was just Moniqa and Gunvolt.
"Mind if we sit down?" Moniqa asked.
Atari shook her head.
"No, not at all." Atari replied.
Moniqa and Gunvolt then sat down. Moniqa sat down on the left of Atari while Gunvolt sat on the right.
"Um, can we trade places Moniqa?" Atari asked.
"Sorry, I forgot. Sure." Moniqa replied.
Atari then moved to the left while Moniqa was sitting in the middle. Atari then sighed.
"Something wrong?" Moniqa asked.
"Kinda." Atari replied.
"What do you mean by 'kinda'?" Moniqa asked.
"It's just, my brain's going through those memories Stratos planted into my brain. And from what I've been seeing, I hope their fake." Atari replied.
"I don't blame you for hoping their fake." Moniqa said.
Suddenly, a laser cut the door down.