Code Lyoko Evolution: Episode 8

The heroes are going on the offensive! Jeremy and Aelita are testing a virus together, the former at the controls on Earth and the latter on Lyoko. The virus they’re developing should be able to penetrate the Core of the Cortex and destroy it along with XANA’s access to the Network…which would prevent it from being able to attack.
Jeremy and Aelita test a disarmed and harmless version of the virus on Lyoko. Because the supercomputer housing the Cortex was based on the model that houses Lyoko, the heroes think it’s logical that if the virus works on Lyoko, it will work on the Cortex. Unfortunately, Jeremy’s disarmed version of the virus fails. It reaches the Core but doesn’t reach the system itself.

<sub>Jeremy has hit a roadblock. So he makes a proposition that not everyone is happy about: they should ask for help from Laura, the gifted new student in their class who has already proved herself to be great with computers. Jeremy suggests they use her to finish the virus and then launch a return in time to get rid of this inconvenient witness.
The heroes are hesitant, mainly because of how unethical Jeremy’s idea is. But they end up giving in when Jeremy tells them he can’t finish the virus on his own.

The heroes go to the library to find Laura. Odd steals her tablet in order to lure her to the factory, and it works. After getting trapped in the lift, she gets taken to the lab, where she’s astounded and impressed at the sight. Jeremy briefs her on the situation and she agrees to help him create the virus in exchange for an explanation. Avoiding the subject, Jeremy has Laura sit down at the controls and she gets to work with disconcerting speed. After a day’s work, the virus is ready, has been tested on Lyoko and proved to be functional.
Laura then asks Jeremy if he’s planning on launching a Return to the Past. The heroes are embarrassed: Laura learnt of this function while reading lines of code on the Supercomputer. With some insistence from Aelita, Jeremy launches the return trip while Laura shoots him an icy glare.

Back to that afternoon, everything is back to normal and Laura doesn’t remember anything.
The heroes immediately head to the factory to go back to the Cortex and deliver the virus. William stays behind because he has one more class to attend that day, but he promises to join them as soon as it’s over.

But Laura starts having flashbacks and she wanders around Kadic in search of answers. While the heroes set off in the Skid and cross the Network to reach the Cortex, Laura starts asking William questions. He grows concerned, warns Jeremy and starts keeping an eye on Laura. Aelita is devirtualised so she can help Jeremy find out what went wrong with the Return to the Past.

While Laura finds her way to the secret passage in the park with William not far behind her, Aelita discovers the issue: while she was working on the virus, Laura programmed it to modify the Supercomputer’s code. Once the virus had been launched directly on the Core of Lyoko, the program rendered Laura immune to return trips.

Odd takes the controls of the Megapod. Proving himself more adept at it than Yumi was, he traverses the Cortex with ease. Once they arrive at the Dome, the Cortex starts to change around them. A platform tilts, sending Odd falling towards the Digital Sea and forcing Jeremy to devirtualise him. However, the earthquake opens the Iris, allowing Yumi and Ulrich to enter the Dome. At the same time, Laura shows up in the lab alongside William, who couldn’t do anything to stop her. She and Aelita treat each other coldly. But Laura is curt: the Lyoko Warriors wanted to use her and then kick her to the kerb, so she acted in self-defence.

But this arrival takes a back seat as Ulrich and Yumi reach the terminal and Jeremy sends them the virus. But when they try to inject it, a firewall blocks the program. On the laboratory screens, Jeremy detects hostile presences. In the Cortex, Ulrich and Yumi can’t see anything, but they hear strange noises.
A new creature then appears: the Ninja. This virtual humanoid entity is armed with twin swords and can melt into the platforms in the room. They appear behind Yumi and one of them devirtualises her. Ulrich unconfidently tries to face them. He charges but he gets knocked to the floor and devirtualised by a single Ninja. It’s a terrible setback.

In the lab, the news is hard to swallow. The virus didn’t work. Given this and the appearance of the Ninjas, Laura thinks it’s obvious that the supercomputer housing the Cortex has been altered. Therefore, tests on Lyoko aren’t an indicator of success for doing the same thing on the Cortex.

In Jeremy’s room, the heroes debrief about Laura…but the writing’s on the wall. With Laura in the know, they can’t get rid of her. They decide to tell her as little as possible and steer clear of her. The episode ends on Laura joining them in Jeremy’s room with a satisfied look on her face.</sub>