(Flare. Focus. Boltix. Jackpot. Jax. Proxy. Pulse. Mistrick. Gauntlet. Shay. Mr and Mrs Carter. All of the residents of the destroyed village. They all glance at Ethan’s unconscious body with gaping eyes and parted lips, all in collective shock, and then their sights turn to Hunter, who pants for only a brief moment on one knee and then stands upright with a sharp expression, placing his dual guns back into his pockets. Focus observes the current situation, and despite his initial surprise, he can only react with a firm expression.)

  Focus: (thinking to himself, firmly) There’s no doubt about it. Ethan was obviously tired, even if slightly, and a Surge user of Hunter’s caliber was surely going to have the upper hand. Even if he wasn’t exhausted at all, Hunter would be too overwhelming. His rampage has stopped, but… (grimacing) what happens now?

  (The silence hangs for a little longer, and worry is written all over the spectators and their faces. Mrs. Carter covers her mouth with petrified eyes, and Mr. Carter places his hands on her shoulders in an attempt to console her, while Shay clenches his fists with a grim expression. Meanwhile, Hunter quietly observes Ethan’s unconscious body for a short while then slowly approaches him and examines his condition, confirming that he is indeed unconscious. With that, he reaches for his communicator and breaks the deafening silence.)

  Hunter: (via communicator, firmly) All units. The Ice Surge Beacon has been subdued. Move in to capture.

  (It’s then that several armed soldiers from Team Gamma specifically — both from Aegis and the Ironclad Response Unit — move in and enter the destroyed camp, surrounding the unconscious Ethan and aiming their weapons at him. As it turns out, Team Gamma has already made it to the outskirts of the camp, with their two aircrafts ready to provide transport for the team back to Aegis Headquarters. Back at the camp, the residents previously watching from afar start to get closer after all was resolved, and Shay and the Carters are especially horrified upon seeing all those soldiers surrounding Ethan’s unconscious body.)

  Mr. Carter: (horrified) No… they can’t be — !

  Mrs. Carter: Ethan!

  (Flare and Focus are frozen in shock and disbelief as well, but the others can only react with tired expressions, as if quickly accepting the reality of the situation and getting used to it. Hunter cuffs both Ethan’s hands and feet then lifts his unconscious body, placing a metallic device around his neck before dragging him along, and the soldiers obediently follow him, much to the protest of his adopted parents, who desperately rush to stand in his way, only for him to pass through them and continue walking with his sharp expression.)

  Mr. Carter: (angrily catching up to him) You can’t just take him! He’s my son! This is his home!

  Mrs. Carter: (desperately) Please! He’s just a kid! He’s done nothing wrong! He was only trying to protect us!

  Mr. Carter: He’s not dangerous! He just needs our help! We can help him!

  Mrs. Carter: (looking around, gesturing to the residents) You can ask them about what happened! They’ll tell you everything! We can all help! You don’t have to do this! (to the residents, tearfully) Say something! Anyone!

  (Mrs. Carter is shocked to see how deaf the residents watching the scene are to her desperate pleas. Some are silent in shock, and others in sorrowful acceptance, but none try to stand up for Ethan. Mr and Mrs Carter react to this in disbelief, and Hunter glances around at the residents with a dismissive grunt before walking off, only for Shay to stand right in front of him and angrily grab him by the neck of his blazer, his clenched jaw meeting Hunter’s sharp, unfazed eyes.)

  Shay: (angrily, through gritted teeth) Listen up now! I don’t know who ye are, or who ye think ye are, or what gives ye the right to take this lad away, but if ye see him as a feckless jumbled mess that needs to be dealt with and nothin’ else, ye couldn’t be more wrong! He’s a wee lad with lovin’ parents and a place to call home, and I won’t let ye take that from him! Ye won’t be leavin’ with him, d’ye hear —?!

  (He’s cut off when a loud gunshot passes right beside his head, being dangerously close to making contact with his forehead. The blast strikes a pile of rubble, immediately turning it into ash, and the crowd reacts with soft gasps of surprise, all silent and still. Not even the wind dares to make a sound in the face of Hunter’s sharp eyes, whose gun is still firmly aimed dangerously close to Shay’s head, whose lips are parted in true fear. His pupils narrow, and his hands start shaking involuntarily as Hunter silently glares at him dead in the eye.)

  Shay: (muttering) There’s nothin’ that’ll stop ya, yeah?

  Hunter: (icily) I won’t miss the same shot twice.

  (Shay’s grip on Hunter’s blazer starts to weaken until Shay lets go completely, setting his hand down and clenching it through gritted teeth. Flare and Focus are both horrified with gaping mouths by what happened, and so are Mr and Mrs Carter, especially upon seeing the resigned expression on Shay’s face. He’s got his head bowed for a few moments, but then he looks up at Hunter once again.)

  Shay: (clenching his fists) If that’s th’ case, then ye’ll have t’ take me in as well. Are we clear?

  (Those words from Shay cause widespread surprise among the crowd, with Flare and Focus being especially startled. Mr and Mrs Carter as well are unsettled upon hearing this, adding to their already rattled demeanors after witnessing all that happened. Hunter glares at Shay for a moment and then signals a pair of soldiers to arrest Shay. They oblige, heading towards the old Irishman and cuffing his hands, and he doesn’t resist at all. Upon seeing that, Flare finally snaps, heading for Hunter through gritted teeth. Focus attempts to reach out and stop her, but she’s already made her way to confront Hunter, and he reluctantly follows with a grimace.)

  Flare: (furiously standing in front of Hunter and pointing at him) Hey, you! Don’t you think you’ve made enough of a fuss already?! Let them go! (lighting up her fists with fire, gritting her teeth) Or do you want me to make you?!

  Focus: (in a calmer yet shaky manner, clenching his fists) It’s needless. Ethan was unfortunate to have run into Infinity’s soldiers, that’s all, and you don’t have to arrest Shay either.

  Hunter: (glaring at Focus, venomously scowling) What do you think you’re doing… Agent Focus?

  (Focus is shaken by the stern look on Hunter’s eyes, and then he glances at Shay, who passes him a single nod. With that, Focus stands down and turns around, walking away from the confrontation with a shaky frown and a bowed head, much to Flare’s surprise. She turns to him and grabs his arm, and he doesn’t turn back to face her despite that.)

  Flare: (gritting her teeth) Hey, what’re you doing?! You can’t just let it happen! They’ve got nothing to do with all this, so why are they getting taken away?! (whimpering) What’s gonna happen… to Ethan?

  (Focus’s pupils narrow, and his arm starts trembling in panic, which Flare subtly notices while grabbing his arm. His memory takes him back seven years ago, during a time in which Surge Beacons were on the rise. While walking through a hallway as a mere nine-year old in training, putting his hands in his pockets with an unbothered expression, he sees a group of soldiers transporting a containment tank, and he manages to peek inside and see an unconscious teenage boy with disheveled hazel hair wearing a white shirt and black shorts.)

  Focus (flashback): (unbothered) Hm…

  (As the soldiers pass by him, he turns around and quietly follows them with his unbothered and weary demeanor. He peeks through the transparent doorlite at the laboratory’s entrance, seeing a team of researchers at work and dealing with even more unconscious test subjects in containment tanks. They check for vitals, adjust wires, and activate procedures, and most of the test subjects get enveloped in intense energy, remaining unresponsive despite all the apparent pain. Focus watches, his eyebrows raised in surprise, and that’s when Hunter finds him peeking at the laboratory.)

  Hunter (flashback): (firmly) You shouldn’t be peeking at what’s happening inside, you know?

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  Focus (flashback): (quickly turning to Hunter, subtly startled) Hunter. You’re here too.

  Hunter (flashback): (sighing deeply, standing beside Focus) As you might have heard, several anomalies have emerged with an erratic sort of Surge development. We call them Surge Beacons, for their usage of Surge energy is so uncontrollable that it causes them to create a massive signature by collecting all nearby energy, acting like a metaphorical beacon of sorts for Surge energy, hence the moniker.

  Focus (flashback): (peeking at the laboratory, unexcitedly) They sure sound like a big deal these past couple of days. So… those Beacons you talk about… what happens to them inside this lab?

  Hunter (flashback): Surge Beacons contain within their being a unique Surge energy resonance that cannot be replicated, but it can be extracted. That’s what’s happening inside. We’re keeping them in stasis and bleeding them dry to extract that Surge resonance, the key to their erratic yet powerful power. However, as of now, the process is painfully slow, excruciating, and irreversible. It is predicted that a single Surge Beacon will be fully drained in a decade or so. Until then, they remain in stasis. Still, it’s rather rewarding, and Aegis is looking into alternative methods to better manage the process.

  (Focus momentarily glances at Hunter and firmly nods at this then continues to peek at the laboratory, seeing the process continuously unfold with only a tiny fraction of viscous purple Surge energy in a small container being produced from the process. He keeps watching with a detached expression, barely fazed by this sight, and Hunter simply lets him be. Back in the present time, Focus reminisces about this sight, and now, it’s starting to look way scarier. He clenches his fists as his pupils start narrowing.)

  Focus: (internally, grimacing) It meant nothing to me back then, but now… to think that Ethan would ultimately go through this as well… he doesn’t deserve to go through this! I know he’s a Surge Beacon! He’s dangerous… but…!

  (Focus can only grimace with a tense expression without turning to Flare, who slowly lets go of his arm with a distressed look on her face. After a brief pause, Hunter turns back to the Carters, a sharp, harsh look on his stone-cold face.)

  Hunter: (to the Carters, sternly) You say that you can help him, but you did nothing to stop his rampage when it happened. What will you do when it happens again?

  (Mr and Mrs Carter are stunned by the question, and they find themselves unable to give a convincing, resolute response. The camp falls into silence once again as the conflicted residents can do nothing but watch, while Jax and the rest look around at their surroundings and observe the current situation with a sense of underlying pity in their dejected frowns. Jax especially is disheartened upon seeing the sheer desperation of the Carters, clenching his fists and grimacing in a state of indecision. After this moment of silence, Hunter promptly heads off out of the village while dragging the unconscious Ethan along, much to the dismay of Mrs. Carter, who desperately rushes for her son, with Mr Carter having to hold her back and tightly embrace her.)

  Mrs. Carter: (tearfully yelling) Ethan! ETHAN!!!

  (Mr. Carter tries to hold back his tears, but he too can’t stop his eyes from tearing up as he sees Hunter leaving with his son, and the couple hold each other in a tight embrace as they start sobbing together. Several soldiers follow Hunter, and a pair of soldiers drag the cuffed Shay along, who pushes them back with a scowl.)

  Shay: (scowling) I can walk by meself.

  (Shay willingly follows the path of the soldiers, walking by himself, and the pair of soldiers simply escort him. Boltix, Jackpot, and Mistrick exchange sorrowful glances, and it’s just about the same for Jax, Proxy, and Pulse, who remain stunned in silence. Gauntlet is rather petrified, contrasting his usual nonchalance, and then he clenches his fist with a sad frown. Flare and Focus turn to see Hunter and the soldiers passing by the two of them, and both of them are distressed upon laying eyes on the sorrowful Carters, with the mother tearfully looking up at them.)

  Mrs. Carter: (her voice breaking, tearfully) You’re one of them… aren’t you? Why are you taking him away? He’s just a kid, a kind, caring little boy. He never wanted to hurt anyone. I… I thought you were his friends.

  (Flare and Focus find themselves unable to respond, and the latter turns away with his head bowed. Flare reluctantly does so as well, leaving the Carters to grieve on their own. The duo head outside the destroyed camp with Jax and the others, who solemnly follow Hunter and the soldiers as well.)

  Hunter: (via communicator) Come in, Team Gamma. Are you in position?

  Team Gamma Leader: (via communicator) Yes, sir. We’re ready for takeoff.

  Hunter: I see. We’ll be there. (ending the transmission, turning to the others) Team Gamma are in position as planned, ready to provide transport back to Headquarters. They’re not so far from here. Follow me.

  (The others silently oblige with weak nods while walking behind Hunter. As they continue walking, Flare and Focus turn back to the destroyed camp in solemn silence, the two of them reminiscing about how peaceful it was when they first saw it. Now, it’s almost like a desolate icy wasteland, devoid of life and substance, only cold and ruinous. Even after Hunter’s departure, none of the residents break the silence or even the stillness left behind, all frozen in horror, while Mrs. Carter continues sobbing quietly in her husband’s arms. Flare and Focus turn back to the path ahead of them and quietly follow Hunter, and Flare recalls their first meeting with Ethan and his warm friendliness.)

  Flare (flashback): (to Ethan) Soooooo… for how long did you have that power?

  Ethan (flashback): (momentarily taken aback by the question, then chuckling sheepishly) Since I was six. (his voice only subtly less energetic) It just showed up all of a sudden, and back then, I was panicking, not gonna lie. Mom and Dad were here to help me through it… and everyone else too! I got better at it over time, and I’m trying to help out whenever I can with that power.

  (As she remembers his amiable smile, she clenches her fist tighter with a dejected, tired look on her face, her head bowed in surrender. Focus is quiet as well, reminiscing about the talk he once had with his adopted parents.)

  Focus (flashback): Has there ever been an instance when Ethan… let’s say… lost control of his powers? You know what I mean, don’t you?

  Mr. Carter (flashback): (frowning) I understand what you’re implying and… please don’t bring up this topic. I was there when he first awakened his powers, and… I don’t want him to lose control ever again.

  Mrs. Carter (flashback): Regardless of his powers, he’s just a kid… and we’re trying our best to ease the burden on his shoulders. He’s a really kind person, always out there trying to help whenever he can, even when he doesn’t have to, and I don’t want him to push himself too hard. I… hope you understand.

  (He then remembers how the residents reacted to his capture: the underlying fear and reluctance, with no one willing to stand up for him. He also recalls the betrayed look on his mother’s face, and he forcefully shuts his eyes in a vain attempt to shut away the gnawing guilt, and it’s in that moment that he finally grasps the truth.)

  Focus: (thinking to himself, grimly) He dedicated everything to help them… just so that they’d accept him, but they never saw him as one of their own. They… still feared him. They didn’t see a kind boy, but rather a catastrophe waiting to happen.

  (Shay remains silent and grim as the soldiers escort him, his hands cuffed, and he glances at the unconscious Ethan, who’s still getting dragged by Hunter, and he reminisces his firm words against Hollow, the moment it all went wrong.)

  Ethan: (quietly, with a scowl) What do you take me for?

  Hollow: Say what?

  Ethan: (looking up at him, his scowl unwavering) This camp is my home. Those people are my people. They’re my family, and no grand purpose will ever change that. I don’t feel obliged to help people. I do so because I want to, and I don’t want anything to do with you or your master or that cause of yours. (ice forming on his fist in anticipation) Now leave.

  (After a quiet bit of walking, Hunter and all the others arrive at the rendezvous point, meeting up with Team Gamma, who have set up transport with the two aircrafts. Hunter immediately meets up with the leader of Team Gamma .)

  Hunter: (firmly) Let’s not waste any more time. (looking back at the unconscious Ethan) We’ve captured the Ice Surge Beacon.

  Team Gamma Leader: Understood. (to all of the soldiers, loudly) We’re leaving! Head to the aircrafts!

  (The soldiers in the area nod and make their way to one of the aircrafts, and the leader of Team Gamma joins them inside that same aircraft. Hunter, meanwhile, directs his team to the other aircraft, and they all solemnly take their seats inside. Flare and Focus sit beside the cuffed Shay, all of them glancing at the unconscious Ethan with dejected frowns, who is placed on a seat beside Hunter and in front of them. As the aircraft nears its takeoff, Hunter reaches for his communicator and establishes contact with Commander Cromwell, Commander Locke, and Sylvia back at Aegis Headquarters.)

  Hunter: (via communicator) This is Agent Hunter. We’re set for takeoff. ETA: 8 hours.

  Commander Locke: (via communicator) Acknowledged. I expect you and your team to report back to us immediately upon arrival.

  Hunter: Additionally, we have captured another Surge Beacon, an Ice Surge Beacon. You might want to prepare for his containment.

  Sylvia: (via communicator, intrigued) A Beacon? That’s interesting.

  Commander Cromwell: (via communicator, firmly) In that case, we’ll prepare for the standard protocol. Hand the Beacon over to our research team after you arrive.

  Hunter: Understood. (ending the transmission, to the pilot of the aircraft) Begin takeoff.

  (The pilot nods and starts up the aircraft, which begins its takeoff shortly afterwards. The pilot of the other aircraft takes off as well, and the two aircrafts rise up to the sky and begin their departure from Alaska. A masked shadow soldier witnesses their departure from a distance, and Infinity sees it as well back at his tower through the soldier’s perspective, his hands behind his back. Inside the two aircrafts, all the soldiers remain in silence, and so do Flare and the others in the other spacecraft, adding to the sense of palpable dread that takes hold over them. Their time in Alaska is now over, and the Ice Surge Beacon is finally captured, but it’s only gonna get even more tense from here.)