Power Surge: The Final Season

(The battle against Infinity continues, both on the surface and on the floating Shadow Nexus. Back on the surface, the Afterimage, Binding, and Soundwave Surge users support the allied forces against the enhanced masked shadow soldiers and the Shadow Beacons. They continue to struggle, while the civilians hide away from the crossfire.)

Afterimage Surge User: (looking up at the floating Shadow Nexus) Things appear to have calmed down a notch.

Soundwave Surge User: We can’t say for sure. All sorts of crazy stuff are happening up there.

(The floating Shadow Nexus manages to fully recover from the fracture that previously split it in half, returning whole once again. The atmosphere of this battlefield returns to normal following Focus and Stone’s intense battle, and the pitch-black sky above reaffirms its presence. It continues its expansion, putting all that’s below it under the influence of Infinity’s Eclipse Zone. It covers up the majority of North America and continues expanding further, leaving the civilians watching this event dumbfounded and confused. Some follow this event on different news broadcasts, and others through radio: Ethan’s adoptive parents, for example, back at their camp with Alaska along with other residents.)

Male News Anchor 1A: We have another major update, and this one is difficult to comprehend. Officials and meteorological agencies have now confirmed that the dark formation is no longer confined to California—or even the western United States. Satellite imagery obtained just moments ago indicates the phenomenon has expanded across nearly the entire North American continent. Cities as far east as Chicago, Dallas, Toronto, Atlanta, and New York are now reporting rapidly darkening skies. Authorities are urging the public to remain calm, though, at this stage, no explanation has been provided for what appears to be an unprecedented atmospheric event. Experts we’ve spoken to are openly admitting that nothing in recorded history resembles what is unfolding right now.

Female News Anchor 1A: (in another news broadcast) We’re continuing to receive thousands of videos from viewers across the continent, and despite originating from places separated by thousands of miles, they all show the same terrifying image—a single, continuous ceiling of black stretching across the sky with no visible end in any direction. Air traffic throughout much of North America has begun diverting or grounding flights as visibility deteriorates, and emergency operations centers are becoming overwhelmed with calls from frightened residents. Government officials have yet to identify the source of the phenomenon, and we must emphasize that there is still no indication of when—or if—it will stop expanding.

Male Emergency Radio Broadcast: (via radio, urgently) This is an emergency information broadcast to all listeners. Reports have now been confirmed from every region of the continental United States and much of Canada that an unidentified darkness has spread overhead. We repeat: this is a confirmed event affecting the majority of North America. Citizens are advised to remain indoors whenever possible, conserve phone batteries, avoid unnecessary travel, and monitor official broadcasts for further instructions. Emergency services remain operational but are experiencing unprecedented demand. There is currently no evidence that the phenomenon itself is producing harmful atmospheric effects, but authorities stress that its origin and purpose remain completely unknown. Stay where you are. Stay informed. Further updates will follow as information becomes available.

(Ethan’s adoptive parents listen to this radio broadcast along with the other camp residents in Alaska, looking unnerved. That’s when they notice the sunrise light blocked all of a sudden, alerting them. They look up and find the pitch-black sky reaching Alaska and expanding further.)

Mr. Carter: (anxiously) It’s here.

(The people back at Larkspur look up at that same sight with unease, the pitch-black veil on the sky. Elsewhere, back on the floating Shadow Nexus, Commander Cromwell and Commander Locke manage to meet up during their evacuation procedure, each with their handful of soldiers and evacuated civilians. The two groups continue going together to reconnect with the others.)

Commander Locke: (firmly) The area’s quiet. It must be safe for the civilians by then.

Commander Cromwell: I suppose so. (frowning) But… the way Focus got back… he was supposed to be — .

Commander Locke: Let’s leave it there. Dwelling on it is a waste of time.

(The two commanders arrive at the rendezvous point, seeing the other Surge users rallied up in the distance. Boltix is shown to be wearing a new white t-shirt with a yellow lightning symbol after being previously topless. Stone also puts on a shirt after being topless, a plain grey shirt. Focus is shown wearing that same shirt along with pants and shoes, holding a black eyepatch with his right hand as well for his burned eye.)

Focus: (tiredly deadpan, to Jackpot) While I do appreciate the clothes, Jackpot, having to put them on in those circumstances feels… embarrassing.

Jackpot: (crossing his arms) Take it or leave it.

Jax: (raising an eyebrow) Hold on. If you can just create clothes… does that mean you never have to buy them?

Focus: (weakly groaning in mild annoyance) I know where this is going. Somebody make him stop.

Jax: Could you start a clothing brand without spending a single penny? Is that legal?

Focus: (unamused) Jax.

Jax: (placing a hand on his chin) Wait. Can you make food, too?

Focus: (flatly) Jax.

Jax: Then you can just open a fast-food chain for free.

Focus: Jax.

Jax: Could you just… make the restaurant?

Jackpot: (frustrated) Okay, enough! This is not the time to discuss suspicious business opportunities! (pausing, then contemplating) Though I am curious about the clothing brand.

(This causes an awkward silence among the group. Jax and Jackpot find Focus and Stone laying their backs against a boulder and staring at them with unamused expressions. They look around and find just about everyone else giving them that look: Pulse, Proxy, Ethan, Gauntlet, Shay, Boltix, Mistrick, and Sylvia. The two clear their throats and step away from one another, awkwardly ending this discussion. Commander Cromwell and Commander Locke join them along with their soldiers and the evacuated civilians. The soldiers lead the civilians and have them rest up, while the two commanders approach the group.)

Commander Locke: There you are.

Gauntlet: (nonchalantly smirking) Hey, Phil. Been a while.

Commander Locke: (scoffing) Yeah, whatever.

Commander Cromwell: (turning to Focus, indifferently) Guess you’re still not dead, or whatever.

Focus: (icily) You almost sound disappointed.

Commander Cromwell: Almost. (sighing deeply) How did you even manage to come back from this, anyway?

Focus: (turning to Pulse) I’ve been wondering the same thing, too.

Pulse: What I did wasn’t healing, Focus. Healing would’ve been useless—you were already dead. However, I was able to still sense your soul through your Surge Energy… and it was still holding together. For years, I’d believed Surge Energy wasn’t just something the soul produced, but the soul itself made manifest—its thoughts, memories, identity, everything that makes a person who they are. Your body had died, but your soul hadn’t fallen apart. That was the proof I needed all along… and that’s how Soul Resonance came to be.

Boltix: (baffled) The Surge… is the soul, you say? I guess I kinda felt it during my battle with Stone… shifts inside my soul.

Stone: This was because you were close to reaching Surge Ascension during our battle.

Boltix: (raising an eyebrow) Surge… Ascension?

Ethan: (firmly) That lines up with what Infinity taught us back when I was… Rime. He believed every Surge develops in stages, with the final one being Surge Ascension. According to him, that’s when a person’s soul sheds its limits and synchronizes with the world’s Surge Energy, letting them wield power far beyond what their body alone could sustain. He always said a Surge reflects the soul’s true nature, so if Pulse is right—that Surge Energy is the soul made manifest—then Ascension isn’t just a power-up. It’s the soul itself expanding beyond the body without losing its identity.

Proxy: (raising an eyebrow) Huh. Well, that’s new.

Pulse: (turning to Focus) Instead of repairing your body, Soul Resonance amplified the Surge pattern that was you, over and over, trying to strengthen the connection between your soul and your body until they could synchronize again. At first, it only awakened your Surge. That’s why you moved without a heartbeat, without consciousness—your body was being driven entirely by your overflowing Surge Energy while you were still out of reach. It wasn’t until your soul finally reconnected completely that your own consciousness returned… and you came back.

Stone: And thus… you reached Surge Ascension as well.

Focus: I felt that as well when I reclaimed my consciousness and control over my body. I felt my soul expanding. So that’s what it was back then. Anyway… so is there anything you can do about the eye?

Pulse: (regretfully) I’m sorry, Focus… but your eye is beyond what I can heal. My Support Surge repairs what’s still there—it accelerates the body’s own recovery—but it can’t recreate something that’s been completely destroyed. There’s no tissue left fo me to work with, no foundation to rebuild. If it had been damaged, I could’ve saved it. But after everything your body went through… this is one wound I can’t undo. I can make sure the rest of you recovers, but your eye… that’s a loss even my power has its limits against.

Focus: (groaning tiredly) Fine by me. I’m fortunate to even survive this. Thanks.

(Pulse firmly nods in acknowledgment, a restrained smile showing on her face. Focus stares at the black eyepatch he’s holding with his right hand, sighing deeply before putting it over his burned left eye. Pulse then assumes a pale white aura wrapped in shifting violet-blue edges, accessing her Soul Resonance.)

Mistrick: (unamused) Yet another palette-swapper, I see.

(She stands on one knee and places her energized palms on the ground. Jax, Proxy, Gauntlet, Boltix, Jackpot, Mistrick, Sylvia, Ethan, and Shay get buffed up by this pale white aura, visibly regaining their stamina and full strength bit by bit. Jax opens and closes his fist, sending his strength returning.)

Jax: (clenching his fist) My strength is starting to return. Is that your new Soul Resonance thing?

Pulse: Yes. Instead of targeting your physical bodies, I directly targeted your souls. That way, your Surges are restored to full power, which in turn will help you regain your physical strength. By the time you face Infinity, you’ll be at your best. (turning to Focus and Stone) It’ll take longer for you two to retain your full power. You endured a great deal of physical damage and burnout, especially you, Focus.

Focus: (groaning) I see. But where’s Flare? And Hunter, too.

Commander Cromwell: Given the circumstances, they may be taking on Infinity by themselves. We need to provide them with backup immediately. We don’t know how long they can withstand him when he’s this much powerful.

Focus: (trying to get back up and falling back on the ground) I need… to see her. I need to make sure she’s okay.

Jackpot: (concerned) Easy there. Your burns are no joke.

Focus: She needs to know… that I’m okay.

Pulse: Frankly, I’d suggest otherwise.

Focus: (gritting his teeth) Say what?!

Pulse: (frowning) Focus… listen to me. Flare watched you die. She’s already forced herself to accept that, and right now she’s carrying that grief into the fight with Infinity. If she suddenly learns you’re alive before it’s over, we have no idea what it’ll do to her. Maybe she’ll keep her composure… or maybe the shock will overwhelm her. Maybe she’ll lose focus for even a second, maybe she’ll rush to your side instead of staying on the mission. We can’t gamble the fate of everyone on something none of us can predict.

Focus: (grimacing) But… I have to…

Shay: (grimly) She loves ye too much, Focus. Seein’ ye alive after thinkin’ she’d lost ye forever… that’s nothin’ anyone could just brush off in the thick of the biggest battle o’ our lives. Just stay hidden a wee bit longer. Once Infinity’s beaten, ye can let her see ye, and she’ll finally get to have ye back without the world collapsin’ around her.

(Focus grits his teeth at those words and clenches his fists, but then he sighs deeply in acceptance with a grim expression. Pulse nods and stands on one knee in front of Focus and Stone, charging up both of her hands with a mix of hee new violet aura and her standard green aura. She starts healing them up, simultaneously strengthening their physical bodies and souls in a slow process.)

Focus: How long will it take?

Pulse: (firmly) Can’t tell for sure, but it certainly won’t be anytime soon. The process will be shorter for Stone, obviously, given that his condition isn’t nearly as severe as yours. I’m just asking you to be patient. If things turn out well with us, you might not have to join the fight.

Focus: (sighing deeply) Appreciate the effort. Just make it as quick as possible.

Pulse: You don’t have to tell me twice. If worse comes to worst, we’ll need all the help we can get.

(As Focus and Stone get slowly healed up, the group stay silent for a while, taking a look at how the evacuated civilians are doing. They’re huddled up together, still in shock and disbelief, with terrified children shown in the embrace of their parents. They solemnly watch the sight and then turn to one another to figure out their next move.)

Sylvia: Alright, now we need to turn our attention back to Infinity. Flare and Hunter may not hold their own for too long. Let’s go over what we know.

Ethan: Infinity’s plan from the very beginning was to use Flare’s immense strength as a Surge Beacon to destabilize the Earth’s Surge Core. It worked, and with the Surge Core heavily imbalanced, Infinity seized control using the Catalyst and became unstoppable. With this power, he caused the Shadow Nexus to ascend and therefore take his Eclipse technique to the next level, threatening to engulf the entire world inside it to assume the ultimate authority. Once that’s complete, he’ll have the ultimate control and will obliterate all sorts of resistance.

Commander Locke: How do we stop it?

Stone: (interjecting while getting healed up) The Shadow Nexus is virtually impossible to destroy by any normal means. Not with air strikes. Not with missiles. Nothing. It is an indestructible mass of crystallized shadow that even managed to repair itself following the recent fracture, which was an unnaturally powerful Surge energy output that will be difficult to consistently replicate, for the record. As long as it remains in the sky, Infinity’s Eclipse technique cannot be countered.

Proxy: So instead of destroying it, we destroy the force causing its ascension and expansion. The Catalyst.

Focus: It was embedded in Infinity’s chest the last time I crossed paths with him. It gave him incredible strength. I struggled to even match up to him, especially inside the Eclipse Zone, and I assume that he’s only gotten even stronger than that since. He had control of everything inside this dimension, so when it comes to a trump card, Infinity’s got one that will essentially guarantee his victory, as things stand.

Boltix: (crossing his arms, unamused) Listen, we’ve got one option on the table that we can explore, so let’s start talking about what we can actually do instead of what we can’t.

Focus: All I’m saying is that with the Catalyst fully charged up and embedded in Infinity’s chest, actively powering him up, it won’t be easy to destroy the Catalyst. It will take plenty of precise, absurdly powerful blows to deal damage to this crystal.

Boltix: (cracking his knuckles) So that’s what we’ll do. We’ll go at him all together and take swings at the gem in his chest. Simple as that.

Jax: Anything else that can help us? Maybe something about his fighting style? Something feels off about it, not gonna lie.

Focus: (placing a hand on his chin, contemplating) The more I fought Infinity, the less I bought the idea that he only had one Surge. None of his abilities felt like different applications of the same power—they were too specialized, too self-contained. One anchors him to the ground, another manipulates his mass, another forms tethers… each one behaves like a complete Surge with its own identity instead of techniques branching off a single ability. That rules out a natural Surge for me. But it also doesn’t feel like just one Synthetic Surge either. If I had to guess… he’s somehow running multiple Synthetic Surges at the same time, switching between them—or maybe even overlapping them—so seamlessly that they function like one enormous power.

Stone: (firmly) That’s exactly what Synthetic Surges are. Infinity explained it to me himself, and my own Overdrive Surge is a Synthetic Surge in itself. Unlike natural Surges, which awaken from a person’s soul and evolve with it, Synthetic Surges are artificially constructed abilities. They’re individual systems, each designed around a single purpose and powered independently instead of growing from one identity. Whatever Infinity did to himself lets him generate, regulate, and cycle through numerous Synthetic Surges as though they were parts of a single arsenal. They’re not one ability with countless techniques… they’re countless abilities operating together through one central framework.

Gauntlet: (crossing his arms) Synthetic Surges, you say? I remember utilizing Surge Erasure against you the first time we fought, and it worked. I guess Synthetic Surges still count as Surges that I can erase. But multiple Synthetic Surges? This’ll be tricky to deal with.

Pulse: At least we understand more about our opponent. We have a rough understanding of what to expect. (calmly) So here’s the plan. All of you will confront Infinity and launch an all-out attack on him to bring him down. The odds will certainly be against us, and there’s really no greater plan, but at this point, we’re desperate. We’ll have it make it work. Remember, our best shot is at damaging and potentially destroying the Catalyst. I’ll have to stay behind with Focus and Stone to heal them back up.

Jax: Just a note, though. How are we supposed to find him?

Pulse: That’ll be the least of our concerns. (turning to Proxy) Prox?

(Proxy nods with a smirk and charges up her purple aura, activating her Tech Surge. With the scattered tech parts around her, she sends out plenty of small drones the size of a pebble. While doing so, she creates a small screen open in front of her, which connects to the cameras in the drones and begins displaying the footage of the current situation.)

Jax: Tech Surge. (letting out a chuckle) Should’ve known.

(They get to see the struggle of the three Surge users and the allied forces against the shadow troops and Shadow Beacons on the surface. The other drones capture the scenes on the floating Shadow Nexus, and the group takes a look at it in search of Infinity’s location. Soon enough, one drone effectively locates him.)

Proxy: (zooming in on the footage) There he is!

(They see Hunter getting struck by a charged shadow tendril and getting sent flying into a wall. Infinity points his finger at him, ready to unleash another attack, and that’s when he gets alarmed by a presence approaching him from his right side.)

Infinity: (shocked) Huh? Is that…? No… she couldn’t have possibly — !

(He quickly responds, twisting his body to block the incoming strike, and that’s when she shows up. Blue Flare. She strikes him with the phoenix avatar of her fiery blue aura, and even after blocking it, he gets hurled off his feet. He regains his balance, and the glowing green infinity symbol widens as he faces off against Flare once again, her flames reaching their Ascended, complete form. The final battle against Infinity… begins now.)