(A while after the Surge users’ dramatic withdrawal, putting an end to Operation Black Vector, Flare, Focus, Boltix, Jax, and Jackpot continue walking and find their way through a forest of bare trees. Elsewhere, Gauntlet is laying his back on a rocky wall and crossing his arms, resting up a bit. Meanwhile, Team Gamma, consisting of soldiers from both Aegis and the Ironclad Response Unit, continue their advance somewhere after their relatively earlier retreat, and Team Delta, consisting of Hunter, Pulse, Proxy, and Mistrick, eventually get off their snowmobiles and proceed on foot, supporting the unconscious Pulse. Hunter reaches for his communicator and establishes communication with all teams, and Focus receives that notification upon glancing at his communicator.)

  Focus: (glancing at his communicator) It’s Hunter. He wants to establish contact with all teams.

  Jax: He managed to withdraw as well?

  Focus: I suppose.

  Boltix: (stretching his arms) That’s a relief.

  (The leader of Team Gamma receives that notification as well upon glancing at his communicator, and so does Gauntlet. Back at Aegis Headquarters, Commander Cromwell, Commander Locke, and Sylvia receive the exact same notification on the monitor in front of them, immediately deducing what it means.)

  Commander Cromwell: It’s from Hunter. This means that Operation Black Vector has concluded.

  (Commander Locke signals a nearby analyst sitting on a chair to respond to the signal, and he firmly nods, doing as he was told. Focus too accepts the notification, and so do Gauntlet and Team Gamma’s leader. With that, they’re all linked up with Hunter and the chain of command back at Aegis Headquarters.)

  Commander Cromwell: (via communicator, firmly) This is Commander Cromwell from Aegis HQ. What’s the current situation?

  Hunter: We recently withdrew from the tower. It was difficult, and we remain separate as of now. I can assure you, however, that the primary objective of Operation Black Vector has been accomplished. Team Delta has acquired the necessary intel from the culprit’s tower in Alaska. I can also confirm that Team Epsilon has managed to successfully link up with Agent Focus and his companion. Unfortunately, Team Gamma reports sizable casualties.

  Commander Locke: Is that so?

  Team Gamma Leader: (grimly) Yes, sir. Those soldiers we were up against… they were indestructible, levels above us. They weren’t even human.

  Proxy: The operation drained us all. Pulse ended up unconscious after expending too much of her energy. She’ll be fine, I hope.

  Sylvia: And Stone?

  Jackpot: (sighing deeply) No luck. We couldn’t find him back there.

  Commander Locke: Did you encounter the culprit?

  Hunter: Yes, but we failed to capture him for interrogation.

  Commander Cromwell: (placing her hands behind her back) No matter. We got the intel, and with that, we’ll come to an understanding regarding our opponent. (addressing Focus specifically) Agent Focus, do you and your companion have anything to share regarding your own investigation?

  (Boltix, Jax, and Jackpot glance at Flare and Focus in anticipation, awaiting their response with blank faces. Flare is rather wary, and it’s shown in her expression, but Focus nods at her reassuringly, and the two communicate with the chain of command through Focus’s communicator.)

  Flare: (via communicator) Flare speaking here. (letting out a low chuckle, slyly) You may know me as the Surge Beacon that’s been causing you trouble for a while now.

  Commander Cromwell: (her eyes narrowing) I can tell.

  Flare: So, yeah, I met that ‘culprit’ you kept panicking about. Black hood. Warped voice. Mask with a purple infinity sign and all.

  Commander Locke: We’re aware of his appearance.

  Flare: (nonchalantly) He goes by the name ‘Infinity’, incidentally, and he’s as annoyingly mysterious and creepy as he sounds.

  Sylvia: (muttering with a shrug) Ain’t that the truth?

  Commander Locke: (raising an eyebrow) Infinity, you say?

  Flare: Yeah, that’s what he calls himself. (mockingly) Oooooh, mysterious! But boy, he really is a pain to deal with.

  Focus: The point is… he’s more dangerous than what we anticipated. He’s got a regenerating army of shadows at his disposal, and if his tower is anything to go by, he’s got all the resources he needs to keep up with us. That’s barring his own capabilities.

  Hunter: I’ll have to agree with Focus there. I’ve been there to take him on myself, and if things went out differently back then, he would’ve defeated me.

  (Commander Cromwell, Commander Locke, and Sylvia are all surprised upon hearing Hunter’s comment. Everyone else is surprised as well; if Hunter himself admitted that he was on the ropes, then this says a lot about Infinity’s strength, and they all understand that.)

  Hunter: So what’s our next move, commander?

  Commander Cromwell: We can’t discuss our next move when you’re all within Infinity’s range. Team Gamma, when are you set to reach the aircrafts stationed for escort?

  Team Gamma Leader: (via communicator) It won’t be long, ma’am.

  Commander Cromwell: (firmly) Get there as soon as you can. (to everyone) We’ll provide you all with the location of the extraction point where you’ll meet up, and then you’ll promptly be escorted out of Alaska and back to headquarters.

  Hunter: Understood.

  (Focus, Hunter, and Team Gamma’s leader nod in acknowledgment, receiving Commander Cromwell’s orders, but as they get ready to end the transmission, Sylvia quickly gets off her seat in panic.)

  Sylvia: (suddenly remembering something, panickedly) Wait up!

  Commander Locke: (taken aback, baffled) You seem nervous, Ms. Anderson. What is it?

  Sylvia: (to Flare and Focus specifically, angrily) Flare! Focus! You two! You hear me, don’t you?!

  Flare: (glancing at Focus, blankly) Is that — ?

  Focus: (deadpan) Yep.

  Flare: And she’s gonna — ?

  Focus: Yep.

  Flare: (making a small, nervous gulp) After we — ?

  Focus: Yep.

  Flare: (muttering) Oh, crap.

  Focus: (blankly, via communicator) We hear you loud and clear, pretty face.

  Sylvia: (scowling) You burned down my casino.

  Focus: So?

  Sylvia: You tied me upside down even after I cooperated so readily!

  Flare: So?

  Sylvia: You left me humiliated beyond what words could ever express!

  Flare and Focus: (in unison) So?

  Sylvia: (clenching her fists) I’m gonna ask you one thing, you lowly little miscreants. (angrily) WHAT DID YOU DO TO MY CAR?!!!

  (Flare and Focus remain silent, simply glancing at the communicator for a while and then crossing their arms with childish pouts. The awkward silence hangs for longer than it should, with basically everyone remaining perplexed beyond words. Even the usually stoic Hunter is unable to comment; even the commanders back at Aegis Headquarters glance at the monitor with parted lips. Sylvia’s eyes twitch in pure horror upon realizing what this silence means; her car was destroyed at some point. She breaks down, comically sobbing in agony.)

  You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

  Sylvia: (sobbing dramatically) MY CAAAAAAAR!!! MY SWEET LITTLE MATILDA!!! I PAID A FORTUNE FOR THIS LITTLE BABY, AND THEN YOU NASTY-PASTIES JUST BLEW IT UP!!! YOU TWO ARE MONSTERS BEYOND REDEMPTION, YOU HEAR ME?! YOU’RE MONSTERS!!! BWA HA HA HA HA! BWAAAAAAAAH!

  Flare and Focus: …

  Commander Cromwell: (blankly, via communicator) We’ll call you back.

  (Everyone gets to hear Sylvia’s cries of despair before Commander Cromwell ends the transmission, and they all remain still for a little while. Boltix, Jackpot, and Jax glare at Flare and Focus with accusatory eyes, and the duo simply shrug it off with their pouty faces.)

  Flare: (pouting) She’s overreacting.

  Focus: (pouting as well) It’s no big deal, really. And what kind of weirdo calls their car ‘Matilda’ anyway?

  Flare: (giving him a sly side-eye) That’s rich coming from the guy who calls his coffee ‘Esmeralda’.

  Focus: (pointing his finger at her, defensively) Don’t bring her into this!

  Flare: (teasingly grinning) And why’re so defensive about this, poopyhead?

  Focus: (unamused) Poopyhead? At least try to come up with more refined insults… poopyhead.

  Flare: (flames coming out of her head, annoyed) I’m not the poopyhead! You’re the poopyhead!

  Focus: (deadpan) Then consider my perfect rebuttal: no you.

  Flare: No you!

  Focus: No you.

  Flare: No you!

  (Boltix, Jackpot, and Jax glance at Flare and Focus in bafflement, seeing the duo keep on childishly quarreling and repeatedly replying with ‘no you’. They simply keep on walking past them, continuing their path, but then Flare and Focus notice them leaving and quickly catch up.)

  (After a while, the situation subsides, and the teams return to their business. Team Gamma continue heading on their way to the aircrafts as they’ve been ordered. Gauntlet walks alone in the open area, glancing around with a bored look on his face.)

  Gauntlet: (with a dull tone) Sucks to be alone, huh?

  (Gauntlet just sighs deeply then continues walking in the open, snowy area, glancing at his communicator to navigate his way to the extraction point. Meanwhile, as Team Delta rests up somewhere, Pulse is lying down on the ground unconscious, but then she slowly starts opening her eyes, finally regaining consciousness. She groans as she lifts her back up and glances around, then Proxy and Mistrick quickly head for her upon noticing that she’s finally awake.)

  Proxy: (gently placing her arms around her shoulders) Easy there, Pulse. Take it easy.

  Pulse: (groaning, weakly looking around) Where are we? What happened?

  Mistrick: Your plan paid off. We managed to escape with the intel. (scratching her head, concerned) But come on, now. You shouldn’t be trying so hard. It could’ve been worse.

  Pulse: (sighing deeply) But it worked out. That’s all that matters. So now what? We’re separated from the others, and we’re still within the enemy’s range.

  Hunter: (crossing his arms) We addressed the issue with Commander Cromwell. Right now, we’ll all meet at the designated extraction point, and then Team Gamma will provide us with aerial escort using the aircrafts that we used to come here. Of course, we’ll look into the intel we’ve acquired once we arrive at Aegis Headquarters.

  Pulse: (standing up) Then let’s get going. We’ve got no time to waste.

  Hunter: You still need to rest up. We’ve got time for that. Sit down.

  Pulse: (reluctantly sitting down on the ground) I… I understand, sir.

  Hunter: (firmly) You did well back then. This mission couldn’t have gone through without your efforts. Well done.

  Pulse: (groaning) Thanks, I guess. But… I heard something. Someone was crying and shouting about… Matilda. Is that her name? (baffled) Who’s Matilda?

  (Hunter and the others are too surprised to respond, simply glancing at her with unspoken shock, which only adds to her bafflement. Elsewhere, Flare, Focus, Boltix, Jackpot, and Jax continue walking, heading for the designated extraction point on Focus’s communicator. With all the walking, they promptly decide to rest up near a frozen lake. They all sit down on the ground, and then Flare finally breaks the silence with a question.)

  Flare: So… I was wondering… how do you all get your Surges?

  Focus: (taken aback by the question, turning to Flare) What’s with the question?

  Flare: (shrugging) Nothing, really. I just… I don’t understand how people ‘develop’ Surges and all. I can’t wrap my head around it. Do you actually train to earn it, or does it just come out naturally?

  Focus: (crossing his arms) It’s a little bit of both, actually. Remember what I told you about Surges? That they require peak physical condition to activate before one’s body completely matures? Developing a Surge requires that condition to be checked out first, qualifying the body to handle the intensity of the Surge. That alone still isn’t enough, however, because a Surge manifests when a person hits an extreme threshold — physical, emotional, or environmental. Surges are rare because the conditions to trigger one almost never line up. Except for Surge Beacons, who are naturally born with powers because their biology is already Surge-aligned somehow, and in that case, they can reach that threshold and overcome it easier than others.

  Flare: (placing a hand on her chin) So that’s one more thing that sets me apart from the others.

  Jax: We also need to put into consideration that the Surge user must be gradually getting accommodated to the stimulus they receive. If they’re exposed to the threshold unprepared, then the person will die without awakening their Surge. The key is to introduce the trainee to different stimuli of gradually increasing intensity, giving the body time to adjust. When the threshold is eventually reached, the body will have adapted well enough, and the Surge will awaken. It’s a gradual transition, and after the Surge is developed, the user will have to develop it through constant usage until they can normally apply it in combat.

  (Flare listens attentively to Jax’s explanation, and apparently, so do Boltix and Jackpot, but Focus keeps his head bowed while glancing at the ground, his attentiveness starting to fade. Hearing Jax talk about the development of Surges triggers flashes of a pitch-black room in his mind, and his pupils start narrowing in fear. However, with his head bowed, none of the others can notice anything.)

  Flare: (blankly) So you just… punish your body a little.., and then you just… get your Surge?

  Jax: Sort of. Of course, the nature of the stimulus ultimately dictates the awakened Surge.

  Flare: (raising an eyebrow, intrigued) Wait, really?

  Jax: (grinning) Yeah! (slightly enlarging the muscles in one of his arms) Take my Surge for example. I was trained to lift heavy weights and push my body to its limits at a young age, and eventually, I developed the Muscle Surge.

  Boltix: (shrugging with a grin) I just kept running with weights, that’s all. Along with some other stuff like training to increase momentum and whatnot. (charging up his fists with lightning) Then I nailed it.

  Jackpot: (scratching his head) It was a bit weirder in my case. I was trained to forge stuff, repair them, and even create them out of nothing. I was trained to wield a solid understanding of how even stuff like watches are manufactured. (deadpan) And then a pot grew on my back.

  Jax: (turning to Flare) So what about you? I’m sure you too needed to reach a threshold to unlock your Surge. How did it go for you?

  Flare: (blankly) I don’t remember a thing, honestly.

  Jax: (surprised) Oh, I… I see. (turning to Focus) And you, Focus? I don’t think you ever told us about it.

  (Focus remains unresponsive to Jax’s question, his head still bowed and his pupils narrow. In fact, the question triggers another wave of flashing memories, memories of flickering lights within that pitch-black room coupled with incoherent and distant screams. His pupils narrow further, and his bottom lip quivers. The others notice the shift in Focus’s demeanor with concern, and they see him hurriedly stand up, quickly snapping out of his trance.)

  Jax: (worriedly) Focus?

  Focus: (muttering, running out of breath) It’s… nothing. I’m just gonna sit alone for a while. Don’t mind me.

  (Focus turns his back on the others and promptly walks away from the area in search of solitude, his steps unequal and imbalanced. Flare and the others watch him as he leaves with frowns, and Focus leaves behind a heavy silence.)

  (Meanwhile, back at the camp in Alaska during the cloudy afternoon, specifically in Ethan’s house, Ethan and his parents are sitting down for lunch in anticipation with their plates in front of them. Shay arrives with a dish of Irish potato pancakes with pudding on the side, and the family are enchanted by the smell of the food.)

  Ethan: (amazed) I didn’t think you could cook this well, Mr. Gallagher!

  Ethan’s Father: (grinning) You didn’t have to.

  Shay: (setting down the dish and taking a seat, chuckling) Ah, it’s nothin’ at all, really. Just thought ye might fancy a wee bite. (giving each of them a slice) Take a bite, me lads.

  (Ethan and his family receive their slices on their plates, and each of them promptly takes a bite. They immediately get enamored by the taste of Shay’s pancakes, and they keep taking bite after bite, to which Shay chuckles heartedly, then he too starts to eat.)

  Ethan’s Father: (turning to Shay, while eating) So… tell me more about yourself, Shay. If it’s okay, of course.

  Shay: (grinning) I’m just an auld lumberjack in a wee town, that’s all.

  Ethan’s Mother: And what about those other two kids?

  Shay: It’s… complicated. I was headin’ off to ship some firewood, y’know, and thought I’d give ‘em a lift along the way. I took care o’ me business and then dropped ’em off in Alaska.

  Ethan: (warmly) It’s okay, really. You don’t have to tell us everything. You know, I think they’re… really nice people. (chuckling nervously) They can be really awkward at times, though.

  Shay: (chuckling) Ah, they’re a bit awkward, sure, but I find it kinda endearin’ in its own way. They’re just… not used to how things roll, an’… I just hope they don’t miss their chance to truly live life. If they can’t, then… I hope it’s worth it. (frowning) Speakin’ of that, they haven’t shown up yet, have they? It’s been hours now.

  (Ethan and his parents frown as well upon hearing that, and they continue eating in silence. After they’re done with lunch, Ethan and his family have some tea with Shay, the latter being particularly worried about Flare and Focus. Ethan notices the worried look on Shay’s face.)

  Ethan: (grinning) Hey, you know they can handle this. You’ve been around them longer than I was. Of course you should know.

  Shay: (sighing deeply) I haven’t been ‘round long enough t’ be sure o’ it.

  Ethan: (frowning) I see.

  Shay: (faintly grinning) Ah, it’s grand, me lad. I know ye’re just tryin’ to lift me spirits.

  Ethan’s Mother: (warmly smiling) They’re gonna be okay, Mr. Gallagher. I’m sure of that.

  (Ethan turns to Shay and warmly smiles, to which Shay nods with a grin. Shay then exchanges nods with Ethan’s parents, and they all start drinking from their cups. Suddenly, however, they hear a giant thud outside, and an energy shockwave causes the entire room to start shaking.)

  Ethan: (looking around) What is that?!

  (They all get off their seats and start looking around the room, their cups shaking from the intensity of the energy shockwave. The rumbling eventually stops, and they leave the cups on the table then head out of the house to examine the situation outside. They see none other than Hollow in the middle of the camp, having just landed, and he stands upright, the neon red sign of his mask glowing with energy. He pays no heed to all the residents glancing at him with disbelief and horror, glaring right at Ethan, his sole target, whose lips are parted in shock.)

  Hollow: I’ve come for you… Ice Surge.