(Back at Aegis Headquarters, amidst the panic of the analysts as they get on their computers and attempt to either link up with Focus or track Flare, Commander Cromwell glances at her surroundings and at the large screen ahead of her with a grim expression. After a while, Jax, Pulse, and Proxy arrive, and Cromwell turns to them.)
Commander Cromwell: There you are.
Jax: So… uh… what’s the matter?
Commander Cromwell: (grimly) Focus’s mission was to capture a highly dangerous Surge Beacon, the first energy reading we’ve received in a long while, but for reasons we haven’t figured out yet, we’ve lost contact with him, and our soldiers in the area aren’t reporting either. Adding to that, we’re unable to track down the Surge Beacon anymore. We fear that it could still be on the loose.
Pulse: Surge Beacon, you say? I’ve heard about them. Surge users who are inherently powerful yet uncontrollable. I remember a time where they were more prominent.
Jax: And Focus was sent to capture one of them, I see. This certainly didn’t end well.
Commander Cromwell: We have no idea where he or the Surge Beacon could be. Even if we do send reinforcements to Reno, they’re practically off the grid.
Proxy: (placing a hand on her chin) Hey, what if we assume that the two of them had to utilize their Surges? Maybe if we aggregate their combined energy — (to an analyst) hey, excuse me. Mind if I borrow your seat for a second?
(Commander Cromwell nods at the analyst, encouraging her to leave her computer to Proxy. She takes a seat and quickly presses on several buttons with a focused expression, and as a result, the large screen ahead of the group displays a red dot somewhere in Reno, one that is slowly shifting position, and she smirks upon seeing that.)
Proxy: (smirking) There it is. The collective Surge Energy signatures detected during the incident are equidistant from this specific point, currently at about fifty meters across and increasing. Of course, this point would shift depending on the locations of Focus and the Surge Beacon, and it would glow up further if they’re close together. This should give us a reliable area to scout. (focused) Apparently, there was a heck of a lot of Surge activity at the scene, and I’m certain that it’s not only the two in question. There were a couple other Surge users involved, and there is only one group of Surge users outside of Aegis that we know of.
Commander Cromwell: (gritting her teeth) The Sparks. Someone must have placed a bounty on the Beacon, and by the looks of it, they’ve beaten us to the punch. But who would do that? How would they know about the Beacon, and what business do they have with it? This is worrisome. (to Jax, Pulse, and Proxy) You’re all tasked to find Focus and the Surge Beacon. If there’s any way you can figure out whoever is behind all this, then do so. If not, then we’ll settle that matter some other time. A chopper will be taking you there, and it will receive all updates on any shifts. Be prepared to leave soon.
All: (in unison) Understood.
(The trio head out of the hall, leaving Commander Cromwell glancing at the large screen ahead of her and observing the analysts. As they head back to the training camp, they glance at each other with grim, uneasy expressions.)
Jax: (crossing his arms) This really is something huge, huh? You think Focus is doing okay?
Pulse: We don’t know him much, but it’s common knowledge that he’ll stop at nothing to get the job done. He may even do so before we help out. Caution is necessary, though, and we don’t know the magnitude of what he’s facing.
Proxy: (grinning) Let’s put this all behind us now. We’ve got a mission, and I know we’re up for it. Besides, it’s all the more fun, isn’t it?
Jax: (playfully rubbing her head, grinning) You got that right, kiddo!
(Pulse glances at them and sighs deeply, a faint smirk forming on her lips as they sit down together and cross their arms in anticipation. Meanwhile, back at Reno, in a police station, several officers get on their computers to assess the situation left behind by the earlier incident. They’re interrupted when Focus slowly opens the door and comes in inside, unbothered as ever, his hands in his pockets, and promptly heading to one of the office desks. He stands in front of an officer working on his computer and munching on a box of donuts, while the other officers glance at him in shock.)
Focus: (unamused) Put the donuts down, will ya?
Officer 1A: (dropping the donut, surprised) W-W-What’re you doing here?! Can’t you see that we’re busy, kiddo?!
Focus: (deadpan) Yeah, you sure are doing a heckuva good job. Forget about controlling the chaos… (glancing at his belly) you can’t even control your BMI.
Officer 1A: (gritting his teeth) Just get lost!
Focus: Listen, I need a favor from you. (putting a note on the desk) I’ve got a car plate written on this note that I want you to track for me. I suppose you can do that.
Officer 1A: (scowling) And why should I do that for you? It’s none of your concern. Just head back to your gym class with that tracksuit of yours.
Focus: (rolling his eyes) Why does everyone have a problem with that tracksuit? I like it. Oh, well. I made sure to ask nicely.
(Focus quickly grabs the officer’s wrist and twists it, causing the officer to scream in pain, then he breaks one of his fingers. The other officers aim their guns at him through gritted teeth, but despite that he doesn’t budge; he doesn’t even bother looking around, his eyes dead set on the officer with an intimidating expression. One of the officers shoots at him, but the bullet simply bounces off his skin, dealing absolutely no pain or harm whatsoever, and Focus turns to that officer.)
Focus: (sternly) You know, the moment you pulled that trigger, I was gonna dodge the bullet, but then I figured taking on that bullet like it was nothing would be far more intimidating. (turning back to the other officer) You said that you won’t do it, right? Fine by me. I’m not lazy enough to whine over a few minutes of effort. And besides, I always wondered how many bones I could break in under ten seconds. Let’s figure this out together, shall we?
Officer 1A: (wincing) Son of a — !
Focus: (breaking one more finger) Potty mouth.
Officer 1B: (gritting his teeth) Let go of him!
Focus: (turning to him) Hey, you count the cracking sounds you hear… (turning to another officer) and you count the seconds. I’m aiming for forty-five in ten.
Officer 1A: (trying to hold in the pain) W-W-Wait! P-Please don’t!
Focus: (deadpan, breaking another finger) Why not? It’s not like you can possibly track the car for me or anything, right?
Officer 1A: I can’t, okay?! I can’t!
Focus: (blankly, breaking another finger) My point exactly. Alright, then. I’ll make sure you can’t do just about anything else.
Officer 1A: (yelling in pain, hurriedly) I’ll do it! I’ll do it! Just let go!
Focus: (with mock sincerity) Really? You’d do it for me?
Officer 1A: I will! I swear!
Focus: Then repeat after me. Please…
Officer 1A: P-P-Please…!
The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.
Focus: Let me…
Officer 1A: Let me…!
Focus: Help you.
Officer 1A: Help you! I’ll help you!
Focus: …Daddy.
Officer 1A: (flustered) What the hell?!
Focus: (breaking his last finger) Say it.
Officer 1A: (yelling in pain) Daddy! Daddy! Please stop, daddy! Please let me help you, daddy!
Focus: (nodding in approval) Good boy. This is for wasting my time.
(Focus twists the officer’s wrist, breaking his hand, and the officer clutches it in pain, then Focus kicks him in the face and knocks him off his chair, signaling another officer to take his place. The officer reluctantly nods and heads for the computer, grabbing the note on the desk where Focus has written the car plate. He accesses the police station’s ANPR systems to track down this exact car plate, and as he examines the traffic cameras, he finally detects the car in question. Focus peeks into the computer as the officer traces it until it parks inside an apartment’s garage, exactly what Focus needed to see.)
Focus: There they are. Good job, officer. I didn’t even need to break a finger.
Officer 1B: (his hands trembling) Just… leave us alone, will ya?
(Focus promptly grabs the box of donuts on the desk and leaves the room and the police station altogether, leaving the officers baffled and flustered. As he heads out, he sees one of the cops getting on his motorcycle and ready to drive off, but then he lays eyes on Focus with a blank expression. Focus immediately dropkicks him in the face and knocks him off the bike, then he gets on it and drives off, leaving the officer exasperated.)
Officer 1C: (exasperated) Hey, that’s just rubbing salt on the wound!
(Focus drives off into the streets without a care while munching on one of the donuts in the box, having remembered where exactly to go. Meanwhile, still at Reno, specifically at the Spark’s apartment, Flare slowly opens her eyes and wakes up, glancing around and finding herself tied up to a chair with chains and cuffed with metal plates on both her hands and legs. She grits her teeth and attempts to break free, but to no avail, then Boltix, Jackpot, and Stone arrive and confront her.)
Stone: (firmly) It seems that you’ve awoken.
Flare: (unamused) Oh. It’s even more of you. Where did you take me? What do you even want from me?
Jackpot: (nonchalantly) Other than to shut up? Nothing really. Besides, it’s not us who want you.
Flare: What’s that supposed to mean?
Boltix: Listen, Flame. Your name is Flame, right?
Flare: (pouting) It’s Flare. With an “r”.
Boltix: (smirking) Yeah, whatever. Listen, we’re just bounty hunters. The money bag is our moral compass. Our allegiance is to whoever pays more. We get the job done without a care in the world. Nothing personal, Flare. Someone out there is willing to pay us handsomely if we deliver you.
Flare: And who is that? The shopkeeper? The apple vendor? Oh, what if it’s the boy I stole the backpack from? I remember he was really mad about it. Yep, it certainly is that boy.
Boltix: (baffled) Um… what’re you talking about? To be honest, we don’t have a clue either. The guy is tryna keep up the cryptic act.
Flare: (unamused) Yeah, right. Where’s the mist girl? Off to her nail appointment, huh?
Stone: (sighing deeply) We had to drop her off. She kept bothering us to death about it.
Flare: (unamused) Uh-huh. So… what now? (frustrated) And are those many chains really necessary?!
Stone: (mildly irritated) You talk too much. Just pipe it down and wait. (to Boltix and Jackpot) Keep an eye out for her. I’ll link up with Sylvia.
(Boltix and Jackpot pout in annoyance and sit on their couch, crossing their arms, and Stone heads to the radio on the coffee table and presses on the small red button above. This links him up with Sylvia back at her casino office, whose radio makes a beeping noise. She glances at it and presses on the small red button above, linking up with Stone.)
Stone: (firmly, via phone) Ma’am.
Sylvia: (via phone, sighing deeply, pouting) We’ve been over this, Stone. Don’t “ma’am” me. It makes me feel older than I am. Anyway, how did it go?
Stone: We’ve got the bounty, and we’ve let our client know. However, complications have arrived. The Aegis operator caused a mess. Cops are all over the streets. We’ll have to wait for things to calm down before we head for the exchange site.
Sylvia: You thought well. Going now would have risked capture or exposure. Did you make sure to inform the client about this change in schedule?
Stone: Certainly, and he agreed to make the exchange at nighttime.
Sylvia: (grinning) That’s good to hear. Is the Beacon properly incapacitated?
Stone: (sighing deeply) Yes, but… she’s annoying. I mean… really annoying. We would’ve tried wrapping something around her mouth, but she’d just burn it.
Flare: (off-screen, yelling) Hey, if that’s the backpack boy, then tell him to show a bit of understanding! I mean… how would I possibly smuggle a living whilst having to carry everything with my own hands?! I could buy him a new backpack if he’s too bitter about it!
Sylvia: (blankly) Um… what was that?
Stone: (unamused) Who knows?
Sylvia: In any case, just let me know whenever you make the exchange. I’ll be waiting.
Stone: Understood.
(Stone presses once again on the small red button above the radio, ending the call, then he heads back to sit on the couch and keep an eye on the incapacitated Flare, who keeps pouting in boredom. He glances at the alarm clock on the table beside him, realizing that it’s now 5:15 P.M, almost time for evening.)
Stone: (muttering) It’s almost time.
(Suddenly, however, the door to the apartment is rammed open, alerting the others, who take their fighting stances through gritted teeth. The intruder is none other than Focus, who slowly steps inside, unbothered and nonchalant as ever, munching on his last donut. Upon finishing it, he sips on a cup of latte, previously held with his left hand, while Stone, Boltix, and Jackpot are left bewildered by his sheer nonchalance, and Flare glances at him with an unamused expression.)
Flare: (unamused) You know, I hope that someday you’ll get your butt kicked for that.
Boltix: (smirking, to Focus) So you’re back for more, aren’t you?
Focus: (unamused, still sipping on his latte) You say that as if I were on the receiving end of that previous beating. Oh, wait, I probably was. Anyway… (finishing his cup and throwing it on a nearby bin) I’ve got dibs on the Beacon. You can tell whoever hired you to capture her to cry about it. She’s mine.
Flare: (blankly) You know, if that last sentence was taken out of context, we would’ve gone to very weird places.
Stone: (gritting his teeth) If you really are that Aegis operator, then you’ve placed yourself much higher on my list of targets. You’ll regret coming here.
Focus: (skeptically) How do you know about Aegis?
(Stone grits his teeth and clenches his fists in pure fury, then he dashes at him, leading the trio as they all lunge at Focus, but the latter eloquently skips past him and blocks an energized blow from Boltix then acrobatically kicks him in the chin. However, a flash bang is launched at him, momentarily disorienting him and allowing Stone to punch him in the face and send him crashing into a wall. Focus regains his footing and glances at Jackpot through gritted teeth, being the one who launched that flashbang at him through the pot attached to his back, and the latter faintly smirks at him.)
Jackpot! The Creation Surge! Through a pot permanently attached to his back, he can pull out just about anything with no sort of limitations as long as he can visualize it and remember its components, hence the “pot”! He uses it mostly in combat… and some other times just for his own convenience. He also attempts to memorize the composition of as many useful gadgets as possible to expand his arsenal of weapons. His Surge really is something out of this world… that can pull out anything from this world!
(Jackpot launches several spherical projectiles at Focus, who quickly pulls himself back together and dodges these projectiles while dashing at the former. However, Boltix dashes at him from his right side for a punch, forcing him to block it and get sent crashing into a table. He quickly gets back up on his feet and blocks a punch from Stone, both of them gritting their teeth at each other.)
Focus: (gritting his teeth) You still haven’t answered me.
Stone: (gritting his teeth) I’m not obliged to.
(Stone headbutts Focus, sending him skidding back, but the latter almost instantly roundhouses him in the face, sending him skidding back as well. Flare watches this fight unfold with a neutral expression, subtly heating up her chains and cuffs then letting them cool down for mere moments. This causes the metal chains and cuffs to form tiny cracks, and nobody pays attention to that, all focused on the scuffle between them. Jackpot launches several chains from the pot attached to his back at Focus in an attempt to incapacitate him, but he fails to take him by surprise, and Focus grabs the chains and pulls him in, kicking him in the face and sending him flying. Boltix launches a lightning bolt at him, but he cancels it out with his fist, standing firm despite being outnumbered.)
Focus: (unamused) Whatever happened to “you’ll regret coming here”? Oh, and where’s the mist girl?
Boltix: (blankly) Off to her nail appointment.
Focus: (deadpan) Should’ve known.
(Boltix propels himself at Focus once again, energizing his fist, but the latter jumps and blocks it with his foot, sending the two of them skidding back. Focus quickly regains his balance just in time to block an incoming block from Jackpot and knee him in the gut, sending him skidding back. He eloquently passes by Stone and dodge his punch, taking a firm fighting stance to take on the trio once again. However, their fight is suddenly interrupted when Mistrick walks into the open door of the apartment, glancing at her polished nails in awe, but then she notices the chaos going on with a baffled expression, while the others glance at her with perplexed eyes, while Flare smirks, glancing at the cracking chains and realizing that it’s time.)
Mistrick: (baffled) Um… what did I miss?
Flare: (smirking) YOLO!
(The others turn to her and are alerted by her voice, and to everyone’s shock, the area underneath her legs starts to glow, and she propels herself off the chair and through the roof with the flames underneath her legs, all while shattering the chains and cuffs that held her back, while the others glance up in disbelief as she regains her balance midair, a wide smirk forming on her face.)
Who’s your favorite among the Sparks so far?
