(Red Flare finally finishes up her fire beam, and Stone strikes it just before it gets unleashed from her palms, causing a massive flash of white that submerges the entire underground area and a massive rumbling sound, as if the Earth itself is yelling. With this massive influx of energy, a giant energy signature is detected at this exact location back at Aegis Headquarters, baffling both Commander Cromwell and the analysts on their computers.)
Commander Cromwell: (shocked, glancing up at the giant screen ahead) That’s where our operators are! What in the world is this energy?!
Analyst 1A: It’s not just in this specific area! The energy is spreading everywhere, and uncontrollably so! This is far from regular Surge Beacon activity!
Commander Cromwell: (urgently) Link me up with Jax and his team immediately!
Analyst 1B: No good! The Surge energy levels are interfering with our signals at the moment.
(Commander Cromwell grits her teeth as she keeps glancing at the massive energy signature ahead, which keeps spreading out through the entire map and forming other signatures elsewhere. Back at the underground excavation site, the giant flash of white dissipates, and Focus opens his eyes once again. He looks around in shock and notices the entire area crumbling apart.)
Focus: (gritting his teeth) Now what?!
(He glances ahead and notices two giant holes on the walls of the deep pit, with Flare and Focus nowhere to be seen, and apparently, so do Boltix, Jackpot, and Mistrick, who glance at one of the walls in horror.)
Mistrick: Stone!
(Mistrick and Jackpot latch onto Boltix, who pushes through and uses his Kinetic Surge to jump right into the hole in the wall. The landing is rough, but the trio get back up on their feet and run in desperation. Focus clenches his fists through gritted teeth as he notices some pebbles starting to fall off.)
Focus: (gritting his teeth) The area’s finally collapsing, and apparently, I missed out on a few things. I don’t have time to think this through yet. Gotta get out of here now, but where’s Flare?!
(Focus glances at the other giant hole on one of the walls of the pit and adapts a navy blue aura, jumping into a wall and running across until he reaches the hole and jumps into it. Upon setting foot on the ground there, he runs off to find Flare. As the area continues to crumble and get supercharged with intense energy, several pebbles fall on Proxy, and Pulse, the latter forced to run across the tunnel, not even getting to access the situation, but Jax and Proxy stand in her way in objection.)
Jax: (gritting his teeth) We can’t just leave! Focus is still here, right?! We can still find him!
Pulse: (glancing at her watch, urgently) We’ve no longer got his location! We can’t risk searching for him when this whole site’s about to collapse on us!
Proxy: But what if he’s in trouble?!
Pulse: (sighing deeply) Then I guess we can only hope that he too will get out of here.
(Even larger pebbles start falling down, and Jax narrowly avoids one himself, then he clenches his fists and nods at Pulse with a firm expression. The trio continue running through the tunnel while avoiding the rubble in a race against time. Back at the surface, Infinity and his soldiers witness even the upper areas in the excavation site on the verge of falling apart, and as he glances at his watch, the former realizes that all of his surveillance cameras were taken down in the midst of the ensuing calamity, the purple infinity sign on his mask narrowing at this.)
Infinity: Just as expected. The battle was sure to be catastrophic. It’s two Surge Beacons, after all. (glancing at the collapsing excavation site) If all goes to plan, everyone else won’t be able to make it out. However, that’s a slim possibility, and I wouldn’t place too much hope on it. What I do need… is for Flare and Stone to make it out. (turning to his soldiers, firmly) I’ll see this through myself. Stay right here. I’ll be back at once.
(Infinity submerges himself in an electric purple aura and teleports off, leaving his soldiers at the plateau. Meanwhile, back underground, Focus runs off through a tunnel as fast as he can, leaving a navy blue trail behind as he sidesteps past the falling rocks. He slides under a falling heap of rock just when it was about to cut off his path, and after a bit more running, he eventually makes it to where Flare is. She’s back into her base form, albeit unconscious and trapped in a pile of rubble.)
Focus: (thinking to himself) There she is. But… what should I do with her… now that I’ve seen what she’s capable of?
(As Focus turns his back on her and looks around for a way to escape, he takes a step forward, only to stay out and clench his fists through gritted teeth in a moment of indecision. It is then that a memory resurfaces into his mind.)
Flare (flashback): (frowning) But seriously, though… how do you feel… about all you’ve been put through?
(Focus’s pupils widen as he reminisces those words, then he immediately turns back, lifts the pile of rubble out of the way, and carries the unconscious Flare in her arms then glances around through gritted teeth, looking for some sort of exit. Several more heaps of rock fall down on him, and he narrowly avoids them, but then he glances at a wall ahead of him, one that’s shown to be cracking, and he charges up his navy blue aura even further and narrows his eyes while holding Flare tighter.)
Focus: Well, then. Gotta improvise.
(Focus runs at the wall and crashes through it, reaching the other side then turning to her right and running through another tunnel. Meanwhile, Jax, Proxy, and Pulse attempt to find a way out of the collapsing excavation site, but as they keep running through a tunnel, their path gets suddenly cut off by a heap of rock, only for Jax to assume his muscular form and punch through it then grab Proxy and Pulse along.)
Jax: Just hang on tight!
(Jax keeps piercing through the heaps of rock standing in his way in a relentless dash, tightly carrying Proxy and Pulse along. However, the more he keeps running, the more he realizes that there’s no way out, and he suddenly starts slowing down, to Pulse’s shock.)
Pulse: Jax? What’s wrong?
Jax: (gritting his teeth) There’s no way out.
(He stands still on the ground and gently drops Proxy and Pulse with a grin expression, to their bafflement, then he enlarges his muscles even more and wraps his arms around the two of them, pulling them close. As another heap of rock falls down on them, Jax takes it on with his back, as if attempting to shield Proxy and Pulse through everything, which he does through gritted teeth. Elsewhere, Stone lays on the ground at his base form while shirtless, unconscious, and trapped in the rubble, but then, Infinity teleports to his location and glances at him, promptly using his shadow tendrils to lift the rubble off of him. The purple infinity sign on his mask narrows as he glances at the unconscious Stone.)
Infinity: (firmly) You were bested, Stone, and yet… you showed much promise. You remain an invaluable asset… and the one most fitting to forward the revolution. It’s inherent in your mindset. Your job’s not done yet, Stone, and you deserve to see it through.
(He lifts Stone up with his shadow tendrils and submerges himself with an electric purple aura, getting ready to teleport out of the collapsing area while knocking away the falling heaps of rock with some other shadow tendrils. As Boltix, Jackpot, and Mistrick run through the tunnel and take a turn to the left, they find Infinity lifting Stone with his shadow tendrils and getting ready to leave, to Boltix’s horror.)
Boltix: Stone!
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(Boltix dashes off using his Kinetic Surge in a desperate attempt to stop Infinity from taking Stone with him, but his body gives out once again, since it hasn’t received any rest, and he loses momentum on his leap. The sign on Infinity’s mask narrows as he glances at Boltix, then he promptly teleports out of the scene, and Boltix falls into the ground.)
Boltix: No!
(Before he gets any time to process this, several heaps of rock block his way ahead, and then others block his way back, leaving him and his friends trapped in this area. Meanwhile, Focus runs through a tunnel while carrying the unconscious Flare in his arms, sidestepping past the falling rubble as the rumbling intensifies. He jumps off the tunnel and runs across a wall before jumping off of it into a higher tunnel, amplifying his aura as much as possible. As he keeps on running, another heap of rock falls on him, but just as he is about to dodge, he momentarily looks and — in a split second — notices a wide, upward path towards a collapsing ceiling, a possible route of escape.)
Focus: There.
(He pierces through the heap of rocks falling at him, flinging it upwards, then he jumps into the wall and runs across on a dash to reach the cracking ceiling at the top of this pit. Several boulders fall at him from above, but he eloquently sidesteps past them while impressively maintaining his momentum and grip on Flare. However, the wall he runs on suddenly starts to collapse as well, and before he loses his footing, he jumps off the collapsing wall and switches into the adjacent wall, immediately picking up the pace upon setting foot. However, that wall too suddenly collapses, and Focus loses his footing.)
Focus: (thinking to himself, gritting his teeth) What kind of luck is that?!
(He notices the giant heap of rock he previously flung upwards falling down as well, with one of the rocks below him and the others farther above, and he immediately sees the opportunity. Clutching the unconscious Flare tightly in his arms and amplifying his navy blue aura, he sets foot on the rock below him and immediately jumps off of it, reaching another rock and rapidly jumping off of it as well. He jumps from rock to rock — with Flare slowly starting to open her eyes and regain consciousness — and reaches all the way to the highest rock, then he jumps off of it in an attempt to reach the cracking ceiling, but he falls just short of reaching it and starts to fall once again.)
(However, to his shock, Flare extends her palm behind his back and propels the two of them towards the ceiling with the flames coming out of her palm, and Focus kicks the ceiling and pierces through it, finally getting to see the night sky. The two tumble into the ground, finally back at the surface, and start panting heavily in relief, and Flare rolls over on the ground in sheer delight.)
Flare: (elated, comedically crying) I missed you so much, surface-level Earth! I can finally see the sky again! I thought I would be buried six-hundred feet underground, but oh, no, I won’t! (getting back up on her feet, stomping the ground) In your face, claustrophobia-inducing obstacle course of death!
(Focus glances at her with an unamused, tired expression and sighs deeply, but beneath that is genuine horror, unable to get the image of Red Flare out of his mind when glancing at her. She and Focus momentarily lose balance after they go through another tremor, and as they glance at the ground, they notice that the surface of the excavation site is also starting to collapse.)
Focus: (gritting his teeth) We’re not out of the woods yet!
(Flare gets taken by surprise when the ground underneath her starts cracking, but Focus carries her in his arms just when she is about to fall and immediately runs off away from the collapsing ground. He eloquently skips past the cracks and reaches higher ground, where he drops off Flare, and the two watch in shock as the entire surface of the excavation site fully collapses upon itself, turning into a giant pile of rubble and debris right in front of their eyes.)
Flare: (shocked) Well, that’s unfortunate. Oh, well. Guess we’re off.
Focus: (firmly) I guess so. (side- eyeing her) After all… we have to talk.
(Flare’s expression softens slightly, and she frowns, as if getting a good idea of what Focus wants to talk about. Meanwhile, back at the ruins, a muscular fist pierces through the rubble and clears it away from inside. It’s none other than Jax, who has been shielding Proxy and Pulse with his muscular form all this time, panting heavily in exhaustion. His body emits a huge load of steam and rapidly returns to normal, and before he falls on the ground unconscious, Pulse lifts him up and keeps him on his feet.)
Pulse: (muttering) Easy there. (to Proxy) You okay?
Proxy: (frowning, glancing at the unconscious Jax) Thanks to him, I guess. (looking around) Did Focus make it out?
Pulse: That’s up to us to find out.
(Proxy glances at another pile of rubble nearby and approaches it then uses her tech to lift it out of the way, but to her and Pulse’s shock, they find Boltix, Jackpot, and Mistrick lying unconscious on the ground.)
Proxy: It’s them.
Pulse: (firmly) Link up with the commander. We gotta sort out this mess.
(Proxy nods with a frown as she incapacitates the unconscious trio with her tech, still unnerved by the aftermath of this incident. Meanwhile, Infinity successfully warps back to the plateau where his masked soldiers were waiting, carrying the unconscious Stone along with him using his shadow tendrils, and he and his soldiers glance at the recovering Surge users from afar.)
Soldier 1A: Sir, should we strike at them?
Infinity: (firmly) It’s needless. We’ve got what we came for, though the fact that they all made it out is still rather unfortunate. The Catalyst has been charged, and we’ve dealt a blow to the balance. (glancing at the unconscious Stone) I can sense his massive reserves of Surge Energy, but I suppose he’s lost his Surge. After all, it was hastily forced upon him. No matter. I can fix this.
(Infinity then turns his back on the ruins and opens up a portal for himself and his handful of masked soldiers, who promptly pass through to the other side of the portal. Before stepping into the portal himself, he glances back at the ruins of the excavation site, the purple infinity sign on his mask narrowing.)
Infinity: (firmly) I know you made it out, Flare, and when the time comes, we’ll meet. I’m looking forward to it.
(And with that, Infinity turns back to the portal and passes through, leaving the area without a trace. Back at Aegis Headquarters, Commander Cromwell glances at the large screen ahead of her — which shows an entire map of energy signatures — with a grim expression, but then, she finally receives a transmission, and she signals one of the analysts to pick that up at once.)
Pulse: (via communicator, firmly) Commander, we’ve made it out of this mess. I’ve got a lot to explain, I know, but we need backup at the moment. We’ve got captives.
Commander Cromwell: (sighing deeply, via communicator) We’ll drop an escort team at your location and return you to Headquarters. Right now, we need to slow down and assess our situation. Stay put for now.
Pulse: (firmly) Understood.
(As the transmission ends, Commander Cromwell glances at the energy heat map ahead of her once again, placing her hands behind her back and trying to hide her unease. Meanwhile, Flare and Focus traverse through a jungle, with Focus having a lot of questions and Flare having a lot to explain.)
Focus: What was that back then? Was that… really you?
Flare: (glancing at her palms) I was aware of everything that happened. I saw it with my own eyes. I just… it didn’t feel like I was in control.
Focus: (subtly concerned) So you’re saying that some sort of compulsion took over?
Flare: (frowning) Probably. This isn’t the first time this came over me.
Focus: (sighing deeply) Let’s put this behind us for now. After all that’s happened, we need to consider our next move.
(Flare softly nods and keeps on walking, bowing her head in silence, and Focus notices how dejected she feels, looking away with a concerned frown. As they head out of the jungle and head back to their car, Flare promptly opens the door to the passenger seat, but Focus clears his throat to get her attention.)
Focus: (unamused) What’re you doing?
Flare: (baffled) I’m just… getting on the passenger seat. What’s with that?
Focus: (sighing deeply) You can take the wheel if you want to.
Flare: (turning to him, her expression beaming) Really?!
Focus: (rolling his eyes) Yeah, sure, whatever. I don’t see why not.
(Flare rapidly taps her feet on the ground as she squeals in excitement and immediately gets into the driver’s seat, while Focus lets out another sigh and sits down on the passenger seat. Flare steers the steering wheel left and right in excitement, while Focus adjusts the GPS while using the flash drive he already got from Sylvia to set his destination, finding out that his next destination is all the way in Alaska.)
Focus: (firmly) We can count on the second location that Sylvia gave to us as a solid lead. I suppose there’s no other way to possibly confront the culprit. According to the information she provided us with, the culprit’s base is in… Alaska.
Flare: (finally letting go of the steering wheel, surprised) Woah. That’s a long way from here.
Focus: Indeed. It’ll be a week at the very least until we get there. We’ll have to account for fuel, food, and rest hours, which include sleep, of course.
Flare: (smirking) So we’ve got a heckuva road trip at our hands, then!
Focus: (muttering) At least you’re not acting out of character anymore. (turning to her, firmly) I guess we are.
Flare: (grinning, turning to the road ahead) Then what’re we waiting for?!
(Flare tightens her grip on the steering wheel, grinning in excitement as she gets ready to hit the road, while Focus glances ahead as well, crossing his arms with a firm expression. However, Flare ends up accidentally pressing the brakes, and the car doesn’t move an inch for a while now until Flare notices that mistake.)
Flare: (glancing at the brakes) Oh, so those are the brakes!
Focus: (blankly) It’s an easy mistake to make.
(Flare then presses on the accelerator this time around and finally hits the road with an excited smirk, while Focus remains ever so firm and vigilant while crossing his arms. Answers lie in Alaska, and it’ll surely be one heckuva road trip to get there, but the duo are up for it! Flare and Focus shall hit the road at Power Surge: Road Trip! This chaotic adventure continues!)
Power Surge: Season One out of 10 🥹?
