The streets are slick with recent rain, neon reflections fractured on the asphalt. A black unmarked van pulls up silently to a shadowed alley near Echo Park.

Inside, Jasper (Agent 11) drives with steady hands. Beside him, Johnny (Agent 05) checks comms and gear. In the back, Casper (Agent 00), Coral (Agent 14), and Marcus (Agent 04)—all in tactical gear but moving with calm, ghostlike precision—sit silently, eyes sharp.

No radios chatter. No unnecessary noise.

Coral adjusts the collar of her jacket, glancing at the others. There’s a brief flicker of shared understanding between them—this isn’t just another mission. This is personal.

Marcus breaks the silence with a low voice. "Remember: no SWAT. No backup. This is our fight."

Casper nods, loading his rifle. "No mistakes. No distractions."

Johnny taps at his wrist tablet, bringing up the latest heat maps and drone feeds. "Surveillance shows the drive moving through a courier ring—right on schedule. We intercept at the handoff point. Fast and clean."

Coral’s voice is steady but tense. "Shade’s playing the long game. We’re shadows now, but he’s the ghost we can’t lose."

Jasper checks the rear mirrors to look at his siblings. "Almost there." He pulls the van into position, blocking the alley exit.

The Night Owls exchange final glances—brothers and sister united in silence.

No team. No orders. Just family.

They exit the van and disappear into the night.

---

The large monitor on the wall flickers with maps, satellite feeds, and silent camera rotations. The air is tense. Hondo, Deacon, Tan, Street, Chris, and Luca sit or stand, restless, waiting.

Jessica Cortez stands near the monitor, arms crossed, glancing at her watch for the third time. "We were supposed to get movement fifteen minutes ago."

"Night Owls are never late—unless they’re already moving." Hondo brought up. "Did anyone see them leave?" Deacon asked.

The room is silent.

"I passed Agent 05 earlier in the corridor… figured he was checking comms," Chris stated.

"Agent 04 was in the locker bay. I thought he was waiting on Hicks’ greenlight." Tan pointed out.

"They’ve ghosted. Didn’t tell any of us." Street realized. This made Luca tense up. "No… she said 'Yeah' When I told her we’d roll together."

That realization hits. "Damn it." Hondo said while he turns to the wall of comms equipment.

"Try to ping Agent 05. Get me anything—satellite pings, encrypted chatter, burner signals. Anything moving near Echo Park." Jessica ordered.

Chris walks quickly to the operations terminal, typing fast. "Pulling recent vehicular movements—blackout zones. There. Unmarked van—plates are dummy. Thermal’s faint, but they’re running cold."

Hicks steps in from the corridor, already frowning. "They’re gone, aren’t they?"

Hondo doesn’t even look up. "They didn’t wait."

Hicks sighed, "Of course they didn’t. They're Night Owls."

Jessica turns, eyes sharp. "You knew they’d go solo?"

Hicks exhales slowly, not quite apologetic. "I knew it was a possibility. And I knew we’d only slow them down if we tried to stop them."

"They’re family. If anything goes sideways—" Luca said.

"Then we’re their shadow. We follow, we stay back, and we be ready. If they fall—we catch them." Hondo responded.

Everyone moves.

Street grabs his gear. Deacon and Tan check weapons. Luca stares for a moment at the screen, where the faint shape of a van moves into Echo Park’s grid.

His voice is low but certain. "Please, don't disappear again."

---

The Night Owls move like liquid shadow through the city’s underbelly—silent, coordinated, surgical.

Marcus leads point, eyes constantly scanning the horizon through NVG lenses.

Jasper and Coral mirror one another on opposite flanks, sweeping alley corners, rooftop edges.

Casper lingers slightly behind, planting sensors, feeding data to the comms rig strapped to Johnny’s back as he works on the move—tablet in hand, fingers gliding over maps, signals, heat trails.

"Courier just made contact at Grid 6B. Civilian shell front. Four bogeys, maybe more inside." Johnny said in comms causing Coral to ask quietly. "Visual confirmation?"

"Not yet. But the drive’s in play."

They pause on a rooftop overlooking a dimly lit courier front—a shuttered pawn shop, lights barely on. Two muscle-bound men stand guard outside. A black SUV idles nearby, engine low.

"Positions. No hesitation." Marucs ordered.

"We’re going loud?" Jasper asked his older brother.

"Clean. Fast. If Shade’s here, we don’t give him time to vanish." The eldest sibling answered.

"We take the drive, we burn the trail." Casper commented.

The team fans out.

---

Inside, a jittery middleman courier holds a metallic briefcase, opening it under the flicker of broken fluorescents. Inside—a sleek, matte-black encrypted drive nestled in foam.

Opposite him, a figure stands mostly in shadow. Clean suit, no ID. Calm. "You’re late." An unknown commented.

"Traffic’s a bitch." The driver replied.

The man reaches for the case—then stops. A light above them bursts with a pop.

Suddenly—

GLASS SHATTERS — SMOKE GRENADE DROPS

Chaos erupts.

The Night Owls breach from every angle. Jasper and Marcus from the rear, Coral diving low from the side window. Casper drops a flash charge, sending white light across the room.

Gunfire. Brief. Precise.

The courier goes down with a tranquilizer round. One guard tries to run—Coral sweeps his legs and pins him in a chokehold, not missing a beat.

"Two pings on the building’s heat map—third is gone. Back exit." Johnny's voice was heard.

Marcus ordered Coral to go; she was the fastest. He didn't want to, but she was the best option. "Catch him, Agent 14."

She bolts without hesitation.

---

Rain begins to fall again—light, steady. Coral turns a corner, gun raised—nothing. Just a flutter of movement disappearing into darkness. She stops at a metal gate swinging slowly on its hinges.

A burned Night Owl insignia is scorched into the alley wall—subtle, small, but deliberate.

Her breath catches. "Agent 14...?" Her twin called over the comms

She stares at the symbol. "He wanted me to see this."

She turns, backing away slowly, knowing it’s a message. A warning. Or a challenge.

---

Marcus collects the driver from the unconscious courier. "Driver secure. Agent 11?"

"I’ve got it booted. It’s legit. And untracked." He replied.

Casper kicks aside a chair, exhaling. "Too clean. They let us have it."

"So why drop the smoke? Why fake a handoff?" Jasper asked.

The youngest sibling walked back into. "Because this was never about the drive."

She looks down at it, then back up at her brothers. "It was about sending a message."

---

I realize Aelita looks terrifying in this picture, but let us deal with it, shall we?

Aelita and William are the pair that get the least screentime on the original show.

Also, I said I would rewatch Code Lyoko for more accurate headcanons, but college is killing me, so bear with my hazy recollections of the show.

Early on, Aelita thought William was just the guy that made Ulrich jealous cuz he also liked Yumi. He was nothing more to her at that point, so she treated him with civility, that was all.

Similarly, William didn't think much about Aelita at all.

That was, until the whole Aelita remix happened.

William was indirectly the reason Aelita got into DJing and music. He legit thought she had been doing it for years!

Aelita probably pulled him aside after her first show with the subdigitals (you know, after the return to the past) and thanked him, cuz she felt without him encouraging her and he obviously did encourage her she would've never got to that point.

Baby boi is flustered but he's also sincere, cuz he likes Aelita. She's got wicked skills and she's nice and she's a close friend of Yumi's, so he's hoping to get in her good graces.

So now, they're a little more friendly with each other, but with Ulrich's and William's competition for Yumi's heart (those two treated it like war. Atleast, Ulrich definitely did), their interactions were limited again.

When the group needed a new addition, William was the obvious pick, because he'd proven useful to the team. Aelita was okay with the idea overall, but she had some reservations about inducting someone with a normal life into X.A.N.A.'s hell.

The gang didn't exactly tell William everything that happened, so he was basically just a little oblivious to Aelita's past, but willing to help her and the team with X.A.N.A. He's an adrenaline junkie, and again, wanted to be close to Yumi.

Aelita felt really bad when he was caught by the Schypazoa (forgot how to spell it, too lazy to look it up) and X.A.N.A.-fied. The show didn't focus on Aelita's thoughts throughout the series, because obviously, Code Lyoko is a kids show and Ulrich and Yumi were always the ones assosciated with William. We only see glimpses of it -- how she's happy when he suddenly shows up the next day, how she risks everything in the episode where they bring William back home. Fortunately, those glimpses are just about enough, and give us an idea of how she feels.

After he's saved, the gang basically ghosts the fuck out of him, and Aelita is the only person who voices out that they're being unfair to him. He's gone through all of this bullshit -- frankly, her and her father's bullshit -- and she feels partially responsible.

Now, William, after returning to Earth, has to deal with his new ruined social life (thanks to his clone) and also grapple with the fact that X.A.N.A. brutally fucked him up.

He wasn't able to recall his memories after materialization, but I think he gradually gets flashes of memories of Lyoko, what he did to the team, and the number of times he targetted Aelita under X.A.N.A.'s influence. X.A.N.A.'s intentions and history with Franz Hopper would have also become known to him.

X.A.N.A. also had a good idea of what Aelita wanted to do -- retrieve Franz Hopper and destroy it. William eventually pieces everything together and his memories are whole.

Below is a small conversation that I think definitely took place after the supercomputer was shut down by the gang (before evolution):

William: Hey Aelita? Aelita: Yes? William: It's done? Aelita: *realizes what he's referring to* Oh, yes. We just shut it down two hours ago- William: Ah. That- must've been hard for you. Aelita: *after a few moments of stunned silence* Yeah. And hey, I know we never had this conversation, William, but on the first day you were on Lyoko- William: The Schypozoa? Not your fault. I was being cocky. Aelita: No, I should've done something to- William: It's okay, Aelita. Really. Thank you for bringing me back. We're sort of even. Aelita: If you say so. William: And uh- listen, I know you have Jeremie in love with you and the others adore you, but if you ever want to talk about Lyoko, I'm here. Aelita: Oh. Aelita: Thank you. Aelita: And you, likewise.

By the time Evolution rolls out, we see William and Yumi on quite friendly terms again. This must've been the basis for it.

Aelita discovers that William is sensitive. That he's so much different than she thought. William too, discovers that she's far braver than he gave her credit for. But all of this happens in the tiniest intervals.

Both of them have insomnia. Though she loves the others, and they're the ones who have been on this journey with her since the very beginning, William alone is able to relate to X.A.N.A. in a way no one else could. And to William, Aelita's far kinder than most people he's met.

I don't think the others are very aware of Aelita and William's friendship, because when with the team, for a long time, William's voice was muted. Or altered because of anger and misunderstanding. He has a right to be angry -- the others just ghosted him after he had come back from Earth, when he'd desperately needed a friend.

Aelita, on the other hand, had to grapple with X.A.N.A. returning during Evolution and the whole drama with her mother and Tyron.

Aelita spent her nights googling her mother's name, her age, anything to get her wherabouts -- that is, if they're not fighting X.A.N.A. or Laura.

And with time, William and Ulrich get on much better terms -- so much that it needed to be Ulrich who could get William back from X.A.N.A.

They shut down the supercomputer again, during the end of evolution, and Aelita is in tatters.

She can't find her mother, she can't beat X.A.N.A. and she doesn't want anything to do with X.A.N.A. after this. She's done.

Unknowingly, she seeks out William again. They're good friends, albeit a quieter pair, but their friendship sparks up the most when they're in the dark and need someone else who was in the dark too.

Evolution basically cut out Aelita and her music! I think she put a stop to music cuz of everything that happened in Evolution, and William helps her by getting her back to it.

This is when he properly teaches her how to mix and how to create unique sounds (she's a natural, but she doesn't know the theory, right?).

He teaches her how to let X.A.N.A. get to the background -- that she was all that mattered. He had taught himself how to not let X.A.N.A.'s influence define all that he was as a Lyoko warrior and as a person, after all. She had helped, but this was all him, and he likes that he could teach her how to do so.

I also headcanon that Aelita would be the one to introduce him to his future partner.

Lloyd could really talk sometimes. 

Yet it had been a relaxed silence since they'd set off. Cole was in a clean set of clothes, with a hoodie over the top to keep the morning chill away. The grass that sprung up at the side of the path was dusted with a light frost and a thin mist hung low over the lands. 

He took in a deep breath, enjoying the cool sensation that was brought with it. 

Then Lloyd turned to him, poised as if he was about to break the silence that had settled, which he promptly did, "So, that was fun." He grinned, shoving his hands into his pockets which didn't hinder the bounce in his step. "I mean, dancing is one thing, but you and Chamille not even having a plan?"

"Free-styling." Cole provided casually. 

"Free-styling. And a random song too, it was brutal giving you opera music, I mean, how do you even dance to that? Then you and Chamille were just like," Lloyd made a half-attempt at doing the robot, with an elaborated, "Woosh!" 

"And then, then Chamille was all like," An arm wave, a pretty good one if Cole's eyebrows shooting up was anything to go by. Though he just carried on watching the scene with a small smile, and the fact that Lloyd was basically dancing down the single dirt road that led back to the Monastery. It was a long trip, but he had a feeling it would go fast. 

"And then you were--" 

"Lloyd," Cole interrupted quickly, placing a hand onto his shoulder, "You haven't slept all night, you're getting your second wind. Take a breath."

Lloyd paused and did as he was told, though he was still smiling far too much for that hour of the morning. 

"You were so cool!" 

He'd said that multiple times already, and Cole was starting to believe it. 

"You can't tell anyone." He added after a short second and maybe half a block down the path. 

Lloyd kicked a pebble in his way, before nodding his understanding. He brushed some hair back from his face, "I know, I know. You said so earlier."

Even then, with that vein of conversation at a resolute end, Lloyd still looked like he had something to say. Cole tilted his head, "What?" 

"I'm not shocked you got into Marty's."

That was a bit off track, Cole rubbed the back of his neck in embarrassment. 

"Yeah, well--" 

"You've been sneaking out for a while, haven't you?" 

There it was, the supposed crux of the conversation. Abrupt, but sort of expected if he was being honest. If he took into account the clear worry that everyone had expressed, it was obvious that this talk was going to turn into an insightful one-to-one. 

There wasn't much point in lying anymore, so Cole simply nodded, "a couple months."

He didn't miss Lloyd's wince, "Have you even been sleeping?" 

"Big talk coming from the guy who knows I've been sneaking out, staying up and spying?" 

Lloyd's eyes widened, then he schooled his expression and fixed his gaze on the path ahead. They'd get to a woodland soon, and then the base of a far too long staircase, then home. 

"Don't try and change the subject, Cole."

There was a nervous laugh, and he was more than content to let everything go back to silence again. Just the sound of crunching gravel beneath their feet and the intermittent noise of bones popping as Cole went through his joints to help release any pressure, but eventually the evasion tactic wore out, and he relented. "It started because I wasn't sleeping." He explained losely, "Or like, when I went to sleep all I had was nightmares." 

There, he'd said it. 

Lloyd seemed to falter in his walk, almost drawing to a full stop as he watched and listened with far too much maturity for someone his age, and too much focus for someone who was wide awake at near six in the morning. 

He was going to crash so hard around lunch time, Cole could tell a mile off. 

Yet this time, the silence was a physical feeling. Cole had finished making his point, it wasn't in depth, but it was there. Yet Lloyd's staring just brought more words to the surface, "Of, you know, when I fell from the Bounty."

There's a pregnant pause, and Cole cleared a lump from his throat. 

"It's all I could think about and I would just wake up panicking--" 

"Why didn't you tell anyone?" Lloyd questioned, with concern lacing his voice. 

Cole just brushed it off, but the worry was warranted. If it was anyone of his family in the same situation he was in, he'd be worried for them too. Maybe that was a testament to what they were actually feeling in that moment. He would feel hurt if someone kept something like this from him, since Cole knew he could help in some way. "A walk fixed it, I didn't want to annoy anyone."

"Cole, it's not annoying if you need help. We're all here to help you with whatever problems you have. That's what family's for." 

Cole shrugged, smiled, then focused his attention on some of the neon orange paint stuck under his nails. He picked at that, stared at it.

"I know that." he whispered. Of course he knew that, he knew that he could have turned to anyone and asked for help, or just someone to talk to and have them listen. Even Jay would have taken the situation seriously, he wasn't always so immature. Cole had to give him some credit. "I just… Found something that made me forget about my problems. At Nightowls, I have, like, a life." He paused, considering how that sounded, "Not that I don't have one at the Monastery, with you guys, but--" 

"It's something normal." Lloyd said. Hit the nail on the head. 

Yes.

Cole laughed, and nodded, "Yeah. I've never had that. My dad's a famous singer, I was expected to follow in his footsteps in some way, I went to Marty's and then I ran away, then I became a Ninja." his life, summed up. In a way, everyone's lives paralleled that in some way. Particularly the one he was talking to in that moment.

Feeling as though they had to follow in their father's footsteps only to realise that they had their own lives to live, even if it was vastly different from what had been envisioned for them. 

"You were really good, though."

Cole laughs. 

"You were, though. You seemed so… Relaxed."

Cole draped one arm over Lloyd's shoulder and pulled him into a sideways hug, which dissolved into him ruffling the younger ninja's hair to within an inch of its life. "Do I not normally look relaxed?" 

"No," Lloyd managed out in the midst of batting at Cole's hand and arm until he was released, at which point he moved over to the safety of the other side of the path. Not that Cole couldn't reach him from where he was situated, "recently you've looked tired." He sighed, then his voice dipped in volume, and he just sounded that bit more worried, "We've all noticed, you know? We knew something was bothering you." Lloyd admitted slowly, then "We just… Wanted to wait for you to bring it up."

At that point, Cole realised that him bringing the issue up would have probably never happened by his own choice. He'd planned to, that first night. Then he just hadn't. 

They eventually made it into the woodland, sunlight moving through the gaps in the canopy crafted by crown shyness, leaves dusting the road. 

"How're the nightmares now?" Lloyd's voice was loud amongst silence. 

Cole ran a hand through his hair, "Honestly, better." He admitted, then paused, "Actually, I haven't had one recently, I didn't realise that."

Lloyd smiled, "Because you've been distracted by sneaking away and having fun."

"I mean, yeah, technically I have." He smiled, "I've been spending days training and nights dancing, truly I am living a double life." 

They both shared a laugh. 

"I mean, you're basically a dance vigilante with that mask."

Cole gave Lloyd a deadpan expression, "Never say those words together again."

Lloyd smirked, "Ninja by day," 

"Lloyd--" 

"Dancer by night."

"I swear to the First--" 

Lloyd quickly moved forwards and plucked Cole's mask from his belt, then pulled it on himself. There was a bit of adjusting, and the elastic was a little too large, but he got it comfortably sat on his nose at least. 

In the light of day, it was a funny sight. Lloyd, entirely dressed in green with a bright orange mask on that was definitely not as impressive as it was in the dark. 

"This is uncomfortable." He said after a moment. 

Cole just nodded, "It hurts the ears."

Lloyd took it off and stared at it, "It hurts the nose too. I don't know how you wear this and dance, you could have put some cushioning in it."

"I don't notice it when I'm dancing."

"A dragon would have been cooler, and it would have made sense."

Cole took the mask out of Lloyd's hands and held it to his chest, "Wow, I know when my talents aren't appreciated." He smirked, "Besides, it's sort of a joke. Deception, no one knows who I am underneath--" 

"And no one knows what you do when you sneak out."

He just blanked that quip, "And wearing the face of a species that was nearly responsible for my death is sorta cathartic. I wear it and I have fun."

"You looked like you were loving it."

Cole grinned, "Yeah. I never thought I'd dance again, to be honest. Not like that."

They finally reached the stairs up to the Monastery and the sun was a lot higher than he would have liked. If it was early, they could sneak in and everyone would be none the wiser. Any time after six was when their absence would be noticed. 

So reaching the top of the stairs would end in an interrogation and questioning, most likely. Cole hoped not. 

Lloyd started on the stairs first, but as far as Cole was concerned they were always the worst part of the night. It was easier to go down them.

"So, planning on sneaking out again tonight?" the younger ninja asked as they began the climb. 

"I don't know, maybe?" He'd probably give it a rest for a day or so. His sleep was nowhere close to being fixed, but he knew that if he managed to stay awake for the rest of the day, there was no way he could pull another all-nighter. He did it once, and regretted his decision immensely. 

Also, he knew what Lloyd was actually asking about, "To be honest, I'll probably sleep tonight and go tomorrow. Why, you want to tag along again?" 

The silence that followed was an answer in itself, and Cole just laughed, "You're sleeping tonight too. If Sensei Wu doesn't have my neck for you being up most of the night, then I know Kai will."

"Why would they blame you?" 

"Because I'm the one in charge." Cole spread his heads as if it was obvious. 

"And it's not like they would know I've been awake all night."

"You're starting to look like you've been dragged through the Boiling Sea backwards and then faced off against Sensei Wu's chicken. You look tired."

"Touché."

As they neared the top of the stairs, Cole began fiddling with the mask of the strap. He had all his old clothes in a bag over his shoulder but it was already pretty full to begin with, and he didn't have the heart to try and push the mask in too. 

Which left him resorting to holding it subtly behind his back, using the bagginess of the back of his hoodie to shield it from view as they stepped through the gates and into the monastery. 

Into the middle of morning training. They were so going to get found out, Cole was so going to get busted for what he'd been doing. Lloyd was going to slip up, it was obvious. 

Even as Kai walked over, sword sheathed over his back and spiked hair drooping from exertion, his cut eyebrow was raised and his gaze far too analytical. 

He had been doing so well, too. He could already feel his heart rate picking up, but externally he forced himself to keep his cool, "Hey, sorry we’re late."

"You guys didn't even leave a note.” Was the immediate response, and it was tense, “It's one thing Cole not being here and not telling us, but both of you?" Kai questioned, and the speed of which his hands were moving was an indication of emotion that he was trying to keep in check. 

Cole winced lightly, "Yeah, sorry. I didn't think, my bad. We were just--" 

Lloyd quickly stepped forwards and gave a slight smile, which seemed to quickly sway Kai's mood in a second. Big brother instincts, they could dial back just as fast as they surfaced. 

"We just went on a walk, spoke a little." He looked back at Cole and grinned. "I should have written a note but I didn't. We sort of… Just needed to get out for a bit." 

He was covering, Cole realised. He'd probably been thinking of an excuse for the whole walk. Something he'd forgotten to even do. 

He had to force himself to not look impressed as the words rolled easily from Lloyd's lips. Even he believed them, and he knew the truth. 

Kai seemed to cool down, and looked at Cole, "Are you okay?"

He let out a breath, and nodded, "I am now. The walk was good. I'm all good."

"Good." Kai nodded, then added, "You know we're all here to talk to if you need it."

Cole just gave a light laugh and nodded, carefully keeping the mask situated behind his back, "Yeah. Yeah, I know. Thanks, you guys. That means a load."

He looked at Lloyd. 

"Thank you."

-

From the beginning

Ch 08 > Ch 09

AO3