(The Fire Surge Beacon and the Ice Surge Beacon repeatedly lunge at each other and clash in the sky, their auras colliding with intensity in the distance. As their ice and fire blasts continue clashing around them, they lunge at each other one last time, each of them having fully prepared their finishing blasts of ice and fire. For a moment, everything stops: Focus, Boltix, Jackpot, Jax, Gauntlet, Mr and Mrs Carter, Shay, and all of the other residents freeze in shock. The two Surge Beacons grunt with all their effort and launch their blasts from close range, and they collide. The intensity of the collision causes a massive flash of white that submerges the entire destroyed camp, and soon, Red Flare and Ethan’s yells eventually fade, leaving silence behind it.)

  (That flash of white light soon fades, and it’s replaced by a massive fog of vapor all around the ruined camp. The residents glance around at the area in silence, unable to make anything out of what happened. Focus and the others are caught in this moment of dreadful silence as well, with the winds blowing rather calmly.)

  Focus: (weakly) What now?

  (Suddenly, the winds come back with full force, violently brushing past Focus and his teammates. Shay and the Carters cover their faces from the wind, peeking to see what’s happening. They look up and see none other than Ethan — the Ice Surge Beacon — levitating alone in the sky, much to their shock.)

  Shay: Ethan?

  (Ethan starts panting in exhaustion in the air, his icy aura diminished, but he soon clenches his fists, and the detached look on his face returns, with his icy aura returning as well with all its intensity. His pupils are still invisible, and his pupil-less eyes glow with icy energy. Focus and the others look up and see him as well, then they look straight ahead and see none other than Flare lying on the ground unconscious, her Red Flare persona diminishing.)

  Focus: Flare!

  (Focus rushes to her, only for his hypothermia to kick in once again, causing him to stumble. Boltix and Jackpot catch him before he falls, worriedly glancing at him as he clutches his constantly tightening chest in pain. His entire face — except for his eyes — is covered in frost, as well as his hands, and he starts shivering uncontrollably as his condition worsens even further.)

  Jax: (gritting his teeth) It’s not gonna stop.

  (Jax enlarges his muscles and tightly embraces the slowly freezing Focus, using his muscular body to warm Focus and slow the freezing process as much as possible in pure desperation. However, his body quickly emits steam, and he struggles to maintain his form. Meanwhile, Ethan slowly descends and sets foot on the ground, towering over the unconscious Flare and looking down at her with an emotionless expression while charging up an ice blast with his palm. Before he can land the blast, Gauntlet launches his single gauntlet at him, which forms an energy barrier in front of the blast and cancels it out.)

  Gauntlet: Boltix, now!

  (Boltix quickly heads for the unconscious Flare and drags her out of Ethan’s range, who destroys the energy barrier generated by the gauntlet. The glove finds its way back to Gauntlet as Boltix carries the unconscious Flare back to the others. The group are left to stand before the Ice Surge Beacon with grim expressions.)

  Jackpot: (grimacing) Now what?

  Boltix: (grimly) None of us can fight anymore, and with Flare down, I’m pretty sure no one can take him on.

  Jax: (gritting his teeth) So you’re saying we’re just gonna freeze to death now?! But — !

  (Suddenly, the cold winds violently brush past them, now getting even more intense, and the group try to shield themselves from the wind. The residents too are disturbed by the strong winds, with Mr and Mrs Carter worriedly peeking to take a look at their son, whose icy aura doesn’t waver at all.)

  Mr. Carter: (muttering) Ethan… please. Stop this.

  (The Ice Surge Beacon remains unmoved, glaring at Focus and his teammates with his glowing pupil-less eyes and detached expression, while they grimly stand before him. He lunges at Boltix, who’s still holding on to Flare’s unconscious body and can’t use his Kinetic Surge to fight back anymore, and he receives a punch in the face, launching him through the air and forcing him to let go of Flare. He passes her a brief glance and then punches Gauntlet in the gut; he even lands an ice blast at Jackpot at high speed, sending the two flying as well. He then turns to Jax, whose muscular body constantly emits steam as he embraces Focus’s freezing body.)

  Jax: (thinking to himself) We… really can’t do anything, after all. Soon… everyone else will suffer.

  (Suddenly, several ice crystals pierce Jax’s muscles, and they forcibly shrink in size, emitting even more steam while doing so. With Jax’s muscular form down, he lets go of the slowly freezing Focus, who falls into the ground, and he then receives a punch in the gut from Ethan, launching him into a pile of rubble. The Ice Surge Beacon then turns to Focus and slowly approaches him, seeing that he stopped shivering a while ago, and then he lifts him up and grabs him by the neck.)

  (The skin visible at his wrists and cheeks has faded to a pale, washed-out blue, the cold stripping it of warmth. His face is loose and unresponsive, mouth slightly open, lips cracked and dull. His cheeks no longer react to the wind brushing past them. Fine traces of frost line his eyelashes from each shallow breath. His half-lidded eyes stare without focus, marking a total breakdown of his state. Ethan charges up an ice blast with his free hand, ready to finish him off, and Shay stands horrified in the distance as he sees this.)

  Shay: (horrified) Focus!

  (Suddenly, a bullet pierces through the violent winds from the right, landing at the ice blast forming on Ethan’s palm and canceling it out. This sends the Ice Surge Beacon skidding back and forces him to let go of Focus, who falls into the ground on his back once again, his condition still nearing complete freezing. Ethan then turns to his right, laying eyes on the person who shot that bullet. It’s none other than… Hunter, glaring at him with a firm expression.)

  [Seven years ago…]

  (During a quiet, dark night, in a lush forest, a teenager with unkempt hair wearing a sleeved black top panickedly traverses the forest, panting in exhaustion with unequal steps. He constantly looks around in horror while running, as if trying to escape something, but then a bullet strikes the tree right in front of him, destroying it to bits entirely. The boy panickedly turns to see the person heading after him, whimpering as he does so, and he finds the agent standing on a tree branch in the dark. He’s an adult man in his early twenties with shoulder-length black hair and black eyes, wearing a dark blazer over a black sleeved shirt, his expression firm and unwavering while carrying two guns — a younger Hunter.)

  Boy 1A: (whimpering) It’s you! What are you… what do you want from you?!

  Hunter: (calm and measured) You do recall the incident you caused, do you not?

  Boy 1A: Please… just leave me alone! I’ll stay out of your way! I’ll — !

  Hunter: (aiming his gun at him, sternly) It must be done. Now you either stand down, or I make you.

  (The boy’s pupils narrow and shake in terror, and in this moment of fear, he starts to develop an intense, electric purple aura, his black eyes glowing purple in panic. With a yell, he violently jumps at Hunter while erratically emitting lightning bolts at his surroundings, only for Hunter to eloquently jump out of the way and land on the ground. The boy’s lightning bolts take out the surrounding trees and strike several spots on the ground as he runs backwards, while Hunter runs after him while dodging the bolts.)

  Hunter: (thinking to himself) This confirms it. He’s the Surge Beacon that caused the recent power outage nearby. He doesn’t appear to have much control of his Surge. Typical of a Beacon.

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  (Hunter dashes towards the Surge Beacon at high speed while firing countless bullets at the lightning bolts from his dual guns, effectively canceling them out. He successfully closes in on him and lands a roundhouse kick to his face, knocking him through a tree, and then Hunter moves in for another blast, sending him sliding.)

  Hunter: And now to finish it.

  (The Surge Beacon watches Hunter effortlessly close in on him despite all of the lightning bolts, much to his horror, and then the Aegis operator lands a finishing blow at his chest, knocking him into a tree and putting an end to the static leak. Shortly afterwards, Hunter slowly approaches his unconscious body and drags him along while reaching for his communicator, walking off with a calm demeanor.)

  Hunter: (via communicator, firmly) All units. The Static Surge Beacon has been secured. Moving in for extraction.

  Seven years ago, an unprecedented event shook the society of Surges. Surge Beacons were emerging at unforeseen rates all over the United States, not only threatening to expose the truth of Surges, but also threatening several lives and damage to infrastructure and property. How did Aegis control this situation? The answer to that.. is Hunter, the Predator Surge.

  His Surge allows him to channel powerful Surge-disrupting bullets through his dual glocks with numerous quantities at high speed, with additional damage if shot at vital areas. Additionally, he’s capable of rapid movement and reflexes that complement his immense combat ability, much like Focus. Another perk is his ability to subconsciously track nearby Surge energy signatures, making him a true predator sensing his prey and going for the kill, hence the moniker.

  Make no mistake about it. He… is the real deal. The best there is.

  [Present time…]

  (The dreadful and tense silence continues even after Hunter’s intervention, who stands before the Ice Surge Beacon with a sharp look on his face and a tight grip on his dual guns. The cold winds calm down for now, barely making a sound. Boltix, Jackpot, Jax, and Gauntlet rally together and witness Hunter’s arrival firsthand in surprise. The residents silently stare at Hunter in unease, and Shay especially grimaces with a tense look on his eyes.)

  Shay: (grimacing) Wha’ now? Who’s the lad?

  (Flare remains unconscious, and the others rally around her as they tiredly anticipate the impending battle. Hunter passes a faint glance to both the unconscious Flare and the slowly freezing and unresponsive Focus, his condition reaching its brink, then he signals someone to head to Focus with a nod. It’s then that Pulse steps in, hurriedly approaching Focus.)

  Jax: (muttering) Pulse.

  (Ethan notices Pulse heading for Focus and extends his icy palm at her, charging up an ice blast and aiming it at her with his detached expression. However, it gets canceled out by a blast from none other than Proxy, sending the Ice Surge Beacon skidding back. She and Mistrick too show up at the scene and join Jax and the others, to the former’s surprise.)

  Jax: (surprised) Prox. You’re here.

  Proxy: (sighing in relief) I was worried you wouldn’t make it.

  Mistrick: (crossing her arms, pouting) I’m here too, by the way.

  Boltix: (passing her an annoyed side-eye) I can tell.

  (The Ice Surge Beacon turns to Hunter once again through gritted teeth and clenched fists. Meanwhile, Pulse reaches Focus and kneels on one knee, inspecting his deteriorating condition. Pulse sighs deeply and charges up her palm with green energy, placing it on Focus’s chest, specifically where his heart is.)

  Pulse: Buff: Defibrillate.

  (She releases this energy right into his heart, and upon repeating the process a few times, Focus’s eyelids start to open once again, showing a sign of responsiveness. The frost marks all over his face and hands slowly shrink, and his entire body is enveloped with Pulse’s green energy. Soon, Proxy and the others huddle up around Pulse and Focus, with Jax carrying the unconscious Flare as well, who slowly starts to wake up. Jax sets her down and watches as Pulse presses her energized hand into Focus’s chest one last time, which causes Focus to fully regain consciousness and gasp for air immediately upon waking up.)

  (He starts coughing shortly afterwards while glancing at his surroundings, seeing Boltix, Jackpot, Jax, Pulse, Proxy, and Gauntlet surrounding him. He takes several deep breaths to calm himself down, then he sees Flare waking up as well and lifting her back up, looking at her surroundings as well.)

  Flare: (groaning) What happened now?

  Focus: (weakly groaning) Flare. You… feeling better?

  Flare: (scratching her head) Yeah, I guess. Feeling a bit dizzy, but

  otherwise fine. And you?

  Focus: (glancing at the back of his hand) Guess I’ve gotten over it. (glancing up at Pulse, sighing deeply) Thanks, I guess.

  (Pulse firmly nods in acknowledgment, then they all step out of range and observe Hunter as he stands in front of the Ice Surge Beacon. The residents watch in bated breath, waiting for the battle to break out. Meanwhile, Hunter looks around, noticing that everyone is out of the way, and he tightens his grip on his dual glocks. The cold winds soon come back with full force, causing a single loud whoosh all around the area, and it carries with it countless tiny ice shards, but neither Hunter nor the Ice Surge Beacon are fazed by this.)

  Hunter: (sharply) Everyone’s out of the way.

  (Ethan further amplifies his icy aura through gritted teeth, and then he launches a quick ice pillar at Hunter, but he fires a bullet that pierces through the pillar and shatters it. Ethan launches the fragments right back at him, but he fires several more rapid blasts from his dual glocks to shatter them as well. He then lunges at the Ice Surge Beacon while firing more gunshots at him, but he blocks them with several ice slabs while sliding backwards with his icy feet to maintain distance, and Hunter runs after him.)

  Hunter: (thinking to himself) This Surge Beacon is… different. He’s not as erratic as any other. He knows what he’s doing, and he’s… sort of detached from everything. Still, he shares a common weakness with most Beacons. To truly defeat him… I just have to close in.

  (Hunter dashes at Ethan at high speed, who launches a barrage of ice blasts at him. The former isn’t rattled by this, eloquently dashing through the ice blasts while firing at them with his glocks. The tiny ice shards scattered by the wind surround Hunter and form several ice blocks, then they’re launched at him, all occurring rapidly, but Hunter is even faster, jumping past the ice blocks and closing in on Ethan. He fires a pair of gunshots precisely behind Ethan’s feet, knocking him off balance, but he quickly propels himself upwards while firing an icy energy beam right at Hunter from close range. Hunter is forced to quickly cancel out that point-blank ice energy beam with a barrage of gunshots, getting knocked back regardless.)

  (He then sees Ethan standing on an ice platform in the air and firing another round of rapid ice blasts at him from above, and he reacts quickly, making a massive jump upwards while canceling out the blasts with his gunshots. Ethan launches another ice pillar at him, but he pierces through it with his feet and sneakily fires a gunshot at the platform Ethan stands on, causing him to lose his footing in the air. He grits his teeth and redirects the scattered ice fragments at Hunter, but he turns back and cancels them out with his dual guns before acrobatically turning back to the imbalance Ethan and firing a pair of gunshots at him, sending him plummeting to the ground.)

  (Ethan steadies himself on the ground and blocks some more gunshots from Hunter, who lands on the ground right in front of him and lands a blast at his gut, launching him through the air. Flare and her teammates get to see this battle, and the former is especially surprised by Hunter’s sheer skill and strength.)

  Flare: (grimacing) Who’s that guy?

  Jax: Hunter. (with a dry smile) He’s basically the best of the best.

  Flare: But… can he handle it?

  Pulse: Better than any of us.

  Focus: (firmly) Indeed. After all… he’s my mentor.

  (Meanwhile, Ethan continues struggling against Hunter, who continues to stop him from gaining distance using his constant heavy fire. He lands several gunshots at the ground close to him, knocking him off balance, and then he gets close once again and lands a gunshot at his gut, launching him into a pile of rubble.)

  Hunter: (internally) He looks tired. I guess the prolonged battle with all the others must have drained his stamina one way or another. In any case… I might as well finish this.

  (Suddenly, the cold winds start to intensify even further, violently blowing past Hunter. Flare and her teammates, the other residents, Shay, and the Carters all watch as an even more intense icy aura emerges from the rubble, an aura that attracts all of the countless ice shards scattered by the wind towards it. The ice shards quickly combine bit by bit, forming a strong ice wall brimming with energy in front of Hunter. Inside that ice wall is the Ice Surge Beacon himself, who starts grunting with all his effort as the ice wall develops into a powerful ice pillar with him inside to direct it, his pupil-less icy eyes glowing with intensity and his screams echoing across the area.)

  (Despite the violent winds, Hunter holds his ground and stands firmly, tightening his grip on his dual guns and getting ready to go head to head with the ice pillar ahead of him. It is launched right at him with icy energy and unstoppable force. However, in a flash, all of the spectators see the ice pillar shattered, with all of the fragments cracking loudly as they fall into the ground. In that split second, Hunter had actually pierced through the ice pillar with ease and landed a finishing blast at Ethan’s chest with one of his dual glocks from point-blank range.)

  (Ethan gets sent flying from the blast, and he then rolls into the ground, much to everyone’s shock. This entire struggle finally ends with the Ice Surge Beacon subdued and knocked unconscious. 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.)

  Unmatched expertise. Overwhelming combat strength. Well-honed precision. Sharp instincts. The coldness and professionalism of the model Aegis operator. It can be said without a kernel of doubt… that he’s Aegis’s strongest and finest agent. The Predator himself. Hunter.