Power Surge: Season Three (Part One)

[Nine years ago…]

(The winds blow violently in a rural town during the moonlit night, creating a loud whooshing sound as it brushes past all the trees and homes. Amidst the powerful, cold winds, a younger Flare — only at seven years of age — shakily walks across the road then takes cover behind a small house. She’s got orange hair tied into a messy top knot, wearing a minimalistic, sleeveless black top with orange shorts, breathing heavily while tightly holding a warm loaf of bread. She looks around for a moment before heading back into the road, picking up her pace bit by bit. However, she makes a terrified whimper when she comes across a group of men navigating their way through the dark, windy road with their lanterns and pitchforks, in search of her, and one of them does notice her.)

Townsman 1A: (to the others, urgently, pointing at her) There she is! The fire witch!

(Flare’s lips part in horror, and she quickly runs away, while the other men chase after her, holding their lanterns and pitchforks. Her steps are small and shaky, and her struggle to pick up pace with her trembling feet helps the men close in on her, with one of them swinging a pitchfork at her from behind. She narrowly dodges it when she takes a jump forward and propels herself with the flames underneath her legs, gaining some distance from the men. She ends up stumbling and falling on the ground after that, inadvertently letting go of the loaf of bread she picked up.)

Flare: No!

(She attempts to reach out for the loaf of bread, but seeing the men continue running after her, she reluctantly turns back and propels herself forward with her fiery legs once again, heading into a bushy area in the town, out of the sight of her pursuers. She lands on her feet and continues running nonstop, not even daring to look back as she finds her way through the bushes and the trees. She looks around, thinking that she’s finally safe, and she takes a moment to catch her breath.)

Flare: (muttering softly) It’s okay. They’re gone.

(However, that relief is short-lived when one of her pursuers catches up and stands right in front of her, startling her and causing her to fall on her back. The rest of the men also catch up and stand behind her. She attempts to lift herself back up quickly, but the man in front of her kicks her in the face and knocks her back into the ground. Her pupils narrow in horror as she sees this man in front of her holding the pitchfork, her body trembling, her breath uncontrollably heavy, and her heartbeat spiking upwards as well to the point that she can hear it clearly. He swings his pitchfork at her once again, but then… she snaps.)

Flare: (yelling with a raspy voice) LEAVE ME ALONE!!!

(Her vision suddenly gets blinded by a flash of white, leaving her unable to figure anything out. Soon enough, after a few moments, she feels her heartbeat drop down and settle again, then she regains her vision. To her shock, she looks around and finds her surroundings lit up in flames, with no trace of her pursuers.)

Flare: (whimpering) What happened?

(She takes a look at her palms, seeing them glowing with fire. She panickedly runs, her steps unequal and imbalanced. She finds all-devouring flames whenever she goes, and her mere presence sparks new flames. The sight causes her to panic, breathing heavily as she struggles to keep up her pace. Soon enough, she glances at her fist, now losing its fiery glow, and she stops running, turning back. That’s when she finds the rural town behind her caught up in flames from afar, along with the entire jungle she’s in, the flames devouring everything in their path.)

Flare: (blankly) I guess that’s it. I wonder where I should go next.

(With that, she turns to the path ahead, slowly walking through the intense wildfire with a blank look on her face and a bowed head. As the people back at the town struggle to put down the fire, she simply walks off, looking for her next hiding spot. She never got to see what she did to those men, and perhaps it was for her own good.)

[Present time…]

(It’s then that several more memories flood in without control: first, she recalls how it all started back at the burning research facility when she was six, running through the fire and escaping the facility. Then, she experiences several more situations similar to the previous incident, when she was shunned and forced to hide somewhere else. Then she remembers the most recent incident ten years later, another instance in which her flames spurred out of control. After that, the memory of her first encounter with Focus comes up.)

Flare (flashback): (smirking) Gotcha now… stalker.

(She then gets to her first encounter with the Sparks, her capture, and her subsequent escape later on, during which Focus cooperated with her. Then she recalls their agreement and official cooperation. Shortly afterwards, the two of them captured Sylvia and acquired much-needed intel. Then… that talk in the car…)

Flare (flashback): (frowning) How do you feel… about all you’ve been put through?

(Then, during all that mess in the cavern, she recalls the moment Red Flare awakened, when her hair started glowing and turning into a darker shade of red, and her aura started shifting into crimson flames. She reacted in shock and horror, knowing what that is, but she couldn’t help it anymore. Just as the pillar was about to fully crush her, she pierced through it like an arrow and dashed at the berserk Stone, punching him in the face with a fiery fist, to everyone’s shock back then. A wide, wicked smirk formed on her face, and her pupils turned dark red.)

(She recalls chaotic, momentary flashes of that intense battle, as well as the moments in which she took down Pulse, Proxy, and Jax with ease, and after all of that, when she woke up, the first thing she saw back then was Focus carrying her to safety and running through the collapsing cavern. Eventually, the two of them manage to get out of the cavern with this latch-ditch effort. Then, they planned their next move.)

Focus (flashback): (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.

(What followed that was quite the impactful road trip, during which she remembers a lot of moments: Focus teaching her how to drive, their heartwarming dinner with Shay, and then Focus’s training. She also recalls the lantern the two of them formed together at Larkspur during the Lantern Jubilee, their time together in the festival, and a brief moment of subtle, mutual understanding.)

Flare (flashback): (solemnly) Weird, you say? Well… that makes two of us.

(Afterwards, she remembers when she and Focus took on Gauntlet together, specifically in a moment when Flare noticed a smirk forming on his lips as he took his fighting stance, and in response, she grinned in excitement and took a fighting stance beside him and opposite to Gauntlet. After this battle concluded, she remembers seeing those lanterns float into the air during the closing part of the Lantern Jubilee festival, with her and Focus holding the lantern they created together and watching it float away. She remembers the bliss she felt in this moment, turning to Focus with a genuine smile and a giggle. Focus’s pupils widen upon seeing that, as if touched by it, and he sighs deeply before glancing up at the sky as well, a small, relaxed smile forming on his lips.)

(A week later, she and Focus finally arrived at Alaska, and Flare recounts her first meeting with Ethan when he froze the bandits surrounding them, remembering his sincere and loving smile. She also remembers the moment when she forced Focus to spoil her and rolled on the ground giggling, leaving him flabbergasted. This is followed by the memory of the two of them sharing a fist bump, Flare’s excited grin meeting Focus’s smirk just before the two of them stormed Infinity’s tower together and with much synchronized movement. After all that’s happened inside the tower, Flare recalls their daring escape with the others, in which she and Focus synchronized spectacularly once again. Then… she remembers that one moment they shared.)

Flare (flashback): (frowning) After all this is over… we’ll go our separate ways, right? You’ll be heading back to that secret organization, and I’ll be off to do… whatever I’ve been doing before that.

Focus (flashback): (lowering his gaze, softly) I guess.

Flare (flashback): (a blush forming) The point is… I… all that time I spent with you… it wasn’t so bad. In fact, I… really enjoyed it, and… (letting out a low chuckle) I won’t really celebrate it when you finally leave. (frowning) You’ll visit every once in a while… right?

(She remembers the moment she placed her hand on Focus’s hand, to which he reacted with a surprised blush, while she too bowed her head with a blush. However, what she recalls next is when it all went wrong, the moment she came across Ethan in his berserk Ice Surge Beacon form, with first Focus taking that icy blast to his heart, and later on, her. And afterwards, she recalls the second awakening of Red Flare.)

Red Flare (flashback): (wickedly grinning, her voice getting raspier as she turns to Ethan) YOLO!

(Once again, she can only recall flashes of that intense battle with the Ice Surge Beacon, as well as flashes of her attacking Boltix, Gauntlet, Jax, and even Focus. With that moment of uncontrollable intensity over, she recalls Hunter taking down the Ice Surge Beacon at last and then the soldiers taking him away, leaving his parents weeping. She held Focus’s arm, trying to get him to do something, but upon seeing him turn away from her with a tense grimace, she let go with a distressed look on her face. Then… in that moment, with everyone turning on her, as she was expecting Focus to stand by her side… this happened.)

Focus (flashback): (muttering softly, his head bowed) Stand down, Flare. Please.

(Her pupils narrowed in disbelief, and her bottom lip trembled as Focus uttered that line. She stepped backwards with a whimper, seeing Focus slowly turning towards her, standing in her way instead of by her side. And then… she recalls her final decision.)

Flare (flashback): (sharply) Don’t, Focus.

Focus (flashback): (turning to her once again) Flare?

Flare (flashback): (meeting his gaze, devastated) You already chose them.

(Then, she recalls her escape, getting past Focus first and then everyone else. Afterwards, she came face to face with Hunter, the Predator Surge, a one-sided encounter for the latter, up until, in a moment of panic and fear, Red Flare took over once again.)

Red Flare (flashback): (wickedly grinning, her voice getting slightly raspier) You up for round two?

(Just like always, she can only remember disconnected fragments of that battle with Hunter, a fight so intense it took them outside of Aegis Headquarters. Then, she remembers Infinity’s intervention, who warped Hunter out of the way to face her, and she recalls fragments of the calamitous encounter with Infinity, which eventually ends with her comprehensive defeat. Upon recalling Infinity’s finishing move, in which he dropped down at the ground right in front of her with an incredible amount of accumulated energy, her consciousness fades to white. Short afterwards, all those memories get jumbled together, forming in her mind chaotically and without a semblance of order. Every moment she shared with Focus jumbled up together and interrupted by the chilling image of his betrayal, concealing Shay’s warm reception and Ethan’s sincere smile. This uncontrollable and painful stream of thoughts gets interrupted when none other than Infinity gently whispers to her ear.)

Infinity: (gently whispering) Wake up, Flare.

(After this trip down memory lane, Flare gasps for air, suddenly regaining consciousness. A metallic visor is lifted from her eyes, and she gets to examine her surroundings. She finds herself in a dimly lit room, her body held still with shadow chains and seated in a metallic chair. She no longer wears her sleeveless orange denim jacket, leaving her with her sleeveless black top and orange shorts. Soon, a hooded man wearing a black outfit and a mask with a striking, purple infinity sign on it approaches from behind her and stands in front of her, his hands behind his back.)

Flare: (shocked) You… where am I?!

(Soon, his two followers join him, currently without their masks. First is Stone, a twenty-year old young man with a bald head, brown eyes, and a darker skin tone, wearing a hooded gray outfit and going by his alias as Hollow. The other one is Ethan, a thirteen-year old boy with short white hair and blue eyes, wearing a hooded dark blue outfit with the same design as those of Infinity and Hollow while going by his newly acquired alias as Rime.)

Flare: (turning to Stone, surprised) That guy… was you? You’re… Stone, right? But what’re you doing… with him? And…

(Upon turning to Ethan, she makes a soft gasp in disbelief, her parted lips quivering and her pupils widening the moment she lays eyes on him. While Stone’s expression shows sharpness and firmness, the look on Ethan’s face shows pure detachment and lack of emotion, his blue pupils losing their previous brightness: this is no longer the Ethan of old. Stone and Ethan then stand on either side of Infinity and in front of a shocked Flare.)

Flare: (muttering in shock) Ethan… you’re… here. With… him? But why? What’re you doing here?

Ethan: (coldly, his voice getting a bit raspier) You don’t need to know.

Flare: (taken aback by the dismissive tone, more desperate) Why are you doing this?! You don’t need to!

Ethan: (with a detached tone) And that’s where you’re wrong.

Infinity: In any case, please excuse the intrusion into your consciousness. I understand how painful it could have been, but I only needed a peek into your mind, that’s all.

Flare: (gritting her teeth) Cut the crap and let me go already! I’m not doing anything for you, so why not call it a day?

Infinity: (still calm) You still insist? What is the alternative, I wonder? What else would you do? Hide away in plain sight? Live off scraps? Continue surviving in a world that’s designed to crush the likes of you underfoot, oppress them, exploit them? Will you proceed with this suffering, Flare? No… this isn’t the way, and you have much more worth than to rot under the weight of such a cruel fate.

Flare: (violently trying to wriggle past the chains, angrily) And what makes you the judge of that?! I’ll do whatever the hell I want, and no one tells me what to do or what to think! Not Aegis! Not you! Not anyone! (her voice slightly shaking) Now let me go! I don’t want anything from you!

Stone: (clenching his fists, harshly) The change is necessary, Flare, and if you resist it, then that makes you our enemy, and if you’re our enemy, then I’ll have to — !

Infinity: (signaling him to stop, firmly) Cease it, Stone. Not everything needs such a strong reaction.

Stone: (calming down again, sighing deeply) I’m sorry, master.

Infinity: (turning to Flare) How unfortunate. I see you’re still too stubborn and on edge to listen. No worries. We can continue some other time. Until then, make sure you calm down. Your anger won’t solve anything.

(Infinity turns his back on Flare, and Ethan and Stone do so as well, the latter slightly more reluctant, and the three leave the dimly lit room, leaving Flare captive in those chains, who grits her teeth in anger as she sees them leaving. However, once they leave, only silence stays behind inside the room, and as they leave Flare alone inside the room, she bows her head with a shaky grimace, letting the deafening silence hang in the dark room.)

(An hour later, now past midnight, the Ironclad Response Unit Headquarters in the San Francisco Bay Area is still active, even at this late hour, with several analysts and soldiers going around the base in preparation. Inside the control tower, several operators get to work, detecting three aircrafts approaching their airspace and establishing contact with them, immediately recognizing them.)

Control Tower Operator 1A: (via communicator, firmly) This is the IRU Control Tower. You are clear for landing. I repeat, you are clear for landing.

(The entire team has finally made it to the Ironclad Response Unit Headquarters in San Francisco Bat, but the silence inside each of the aircrafts is tense and deafening. At one aircraft, Commander Cromwell and Commander Locke sit beside one another, crossing their arms grimly. Gauntlet remains standing with the seated soldiers in another aircraft, grimly crossing his arms. In the third aircraft, the team of Surge users sit together with a mix of dread, disbelief, and distress. Jax. Proxy. Pulse. Boltix. Jackpot. Mistrick. Sylvia. Shay. They all sit together with unease in their faces, while Hunter sits beside the unconscious and captured Focus looking sharp as ever. While the others do pass glances at Focus in disbelief, Shay especially sets eyes on Focus with concern, clenching his fists with a devastated frown.)

(Soon, all three aircrafts arrive at IRU Headquarters, and the pilots get a clear view of the landing area before touching down on the runway, one by one in an orderly fashion. The IRU soldiers inside remain on standby in anticipation, and the base is ready for use. However, amidst the silence, the team’s next move remains unclear. The board has shattered. Flare is gone — taken by Infinity. Focus is imprisoned by the very organization he tried to protect. Aegis lies in ruins, scrambling to maintain control as trust fractures from within. And Ethan… Ethan is no more. Now reborn as Rime, he stands at Infinity’s side — masked, silent, and unrecognizable. With the Fire Surge Beacon captured, the key to everything, Infinity stands closer than ever to achieving his ultimate objective — a plan that will rewrite the balance of power itself. No more half-measures. No more testing the waters. This is the endgame.)

(As alliances crumble and buried truths surface, the remaining Surge users must decide what they’re fighting for — the system that failed them, or each other. Old loyalties will be questioned. New ideologies will rise. And the line between salvation and destruction will blur beyond recognition. The battle against Infinity reaches its climax, and everything is on the line. More importantly, can Flare and Focus truly find each other? can their bond truly sustain, or will it crumble under the weight of everything around them? Get ready for the final chapter of this series! Power Surge: Season Three is underway!)