(Back at Larkspur, a while before noon, Flare and Focus are waiting on outside Mr. Gallagher’s house, seated in front of the door on two adjacent chairs. The two are having their coffee, with Focus being calm and peaceful as he drinks from his cup, but Flare sips from her cup with a bitter, annoyed expression.)
Flare: (thinking to herself, annoyed) I hate that I love it! I hate that I love it! I hate that I love it! I hate that I love it! I hate that I love it! I hate that I love it! I hate that I love it! I hate that I — !
Focus: You hate that you love it. It’s obvious.
Flare: (frustrated) Stop intruding my thoughts!
Focus: (sighing deeply) Just move on, Flare, and stop being a sore loser. (passing her a side-eye) Oh, and a ‘thank you’ would be nice as well.
Flare: Thank you for what?! For force-feeding me anxiety in liquid form?!
Focus: (deadpan) For introducing you to heavenly serenity in liquid form.
Flare: I didn’t even like it! (taking a quick sip) Not at all! (taking another quick sip) Not that much!
Focus: (narrowing his eyes, unamused) I can tell.
(Flare rolls her eyes and continues sipping on her coffee, and Focus remains unbothered as he continues drinking his coffee in peace. After a while, Mr. Gallagher and a couple other men show up, carrying several bags of snacks along, and Focus stands up to approach the former, who’s currently paying the men for the stuff and their services after setting down the bags.)
Mr. Gallagher: (to the men, while paying them) An’ there ye go. We good, now?
Townsman 1A: (taking the money) Wait, that’s more than the stuff you’re meant to pay for.
Mr. Gallagher: Ah, it’s nuthin’, ya know. Just ’cause ya helped bring the things over. Just take it, me lad.
Townsman 1A: (grinning) Thanks, Shay. (getting ready to leave) Well, guess I’m off. Good luck!
(The townsmen smile and nod at Mr. Gallagher in acknowledgment before heading off, leaving the latter with the snacks and stuff he paid for. After the men leave, Focus helps Shay carry the stuff over by his house, while Flare remains on her seat and watches with a blank expression while slowly sipping on her coffee.)
Focus: You could’ve let me help you out with this.
Mr. Gallagher: Ah, ye couldn’t just be leavin’ yer task back then. (chuckling a bit) Speaking of which, how’d it go for ye?
Focus: (faintly smirking) I’d say… mission accomplished.
Flare: (exasperated, to Mr. Gallagher) Even you?! Did the fact that I used to dislike coffee bother you that much?!
Mr. Gallagher: Ah, ye haven’t a clue, lass. I was utterly shattered, I tell ye.
Focus: (deadpan) And I’ve been resisting the urge to throw you into a ditch for a long time now.
Flare: (blankly) Oh, man. So… what are all of those stuff for anyway?
Focus: (unamused) We’re leaving, remember?
Flare: (chuckling nervously) Oh, yeah. That.
Mr. Gallagher: Now, let’s get yer transport sorted an’ all. Follow me.
(Mr. Gallagher heads off while carrying a bunch of bags full of snacks and other requirements, signaling Flare and Focus to follow him, and they do so, quickly finishing up their coffee before carrying the rest of the bags. He leads them to an abandoned garage, and he then opens the garage door, revealing an old pickup truck with a good load of firewood at the open cargo area, to the duo’s surprise.)
Flare: (surprised) Wait, you’ve got a car?!
Mr. Gallagher: I don’t be usin’ it most o’ the time, only when I’m hittin’ the road t’ sell some firewood fer a grand bit o’ profit. Haven’t done that in a wee while, though.
Focus: So you’re saying that… you’ll give us a ride yourself?
Mr. Gallagher: (shrugging) Sure, why not?
Focus: But… Mr. Gallagher, you… really don’t have to! We can sort it out ourselves.
Mr. Gallagher: (chuckling a bit) Drop th’ ‘Mr. Ghallagher’ business, will ya? Just ‘Shay’ will do grand. Go on, give it a go!
Focus: (a bit awkward) Um… Shay.
Mr. Gallagher: See? It rolls off th’ tongue quite easy, don’t ye think? (sighing deeply, grinning) Ah, don’t be worryin’ ’bout me, wee ones, alright? I was plannin’ to hit the road anyway, so I might as well give ye a lift while I’m at it. Now, c’mon. Y’know ya gotta get ready.
(Flare and Focus exchange glances then nod at Mr. Gallagher, the former meeting Shay’s smile with one of her own as the two carry the bags and proceed to place them inside the car. After a while, the truck is set at the outskirts of Larkspur with a road ahead of it, with Flare, Focus, and Shay standing outside of it. The townspeople rally in front of them to bid them farewell, enthusiastically waving at them.)
Boy 1A: (enthusiastically waving, to Flare and Focus) Good luck! Come back soon, okay?
(Flare and Focus are surprised by the townspeople’s enthusiastic goodbyes, and they wave back, Flare doing so with childlike energy and Focus being rather calm but doing so with a half-smile regardless. Shay too waves at the people while chuckling heartedly for a bit before getting into the driver’s seat and starting the truck. Focus gets into the passenger seat, while Flare energetically gets into the backseat, all three waving at the townsfolk one last time as Mr. Gallagher drives off. The townspeople continue waving at them for a while before heading back to their town, seeing the trio drive into the horizon, and upon seeing that through the side-view mirror, Focus fastens his seatbelt and sighs deeply while crossing his arms.)
Focus: Guess we’re off.
Mr. Gallagher: So… where’re ya headin’ off to then?
Focus: Alaska. The icy region… and all.
Mr. Gallagher: (slightly surprised) Woah now. That’s nearly a week’s drive. Ye’ve got some reely grand business there, haven’t ye?
Flare: (chuckling nervously) Kinda.
Focus: (glancing at Mr. Gallagher) But I… think I can trust you with this. It’s gonna be a long story, though, so bear with me for a little while.
[A day later…]
(Elsewhere, at the noon hour, both Commander Cromwell and Commander Locke walk across a hallway beside each other, acting calm and collected without even passing a glance at one another. The two soldiers guarding the door let them in, and they arrive at Secretary Lawson’s office, who waits for them while sitting comfortably on his chair with a firm expression.)
Secretary Lawson: (firmly) There you are. Now take a seat.
(Both commanders pass each other a single, momentary glance, the most subtle glimpses of animosity slipping through their expressions, and then they make their way to their seats, sitting opposite to each other. As they glance around the area, Locke notices Gauntlet present with them, crossing his arms and leaning on a wall with a nonchalant expression.)
Commander Locke: (subtly surprised) Gauntlet? What’re you doing here?
Gauntlet: (nonchalantly) Don’t mind me. Just keep going.
Secretary Lawson: In any case… Commander Locke, do you have anything regarding Operation Crosshair that you’d like to inform us with?
The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.
Commander Locke: (handing him a report) I can confirm that the operation has unfortunately not yielded results. Our targets managed to escape and leave no trace behind. As you can see, Gauntlet and his troops have already returned to headquarters a few hours ago.
Secretary Lawson: (to Commander Cromwell) And as per the agreement between Commander Locke and I, this means that Aegis will be given one last chance to continue its investigation. The outcome of the IRU’s operation only further proves that the current predicament is far greater than anticipated. We’ll have to dedicate all of our resources to resolving this conflict.
Commander Cromwell: (firmly) Understood, sir. We’ll get to it right away.
Secretary Lawson: However, you’re allowed to proceed with your activity only under the supervision of the Ironclad Response Unit.
Commander Cromwell: (narrowing her eyes) And why is that?
Commander Locke: (sternly) You’re still responsible for our current predicament, commander. Must I remind you of what you did?
Secretary Lawson: (authoritatively) Cease it, commander. You weren’t called into my office to quarrel needlessly in my presence.
Commander Locke: (backing off) Yes… secretary.
Secretary Lawson: (to Commander Cromwell, pragmatically) The fact of the matter is that your failed attempt at capturing the Surge Beacon you recently detected could have repercussions moving on. The media will create its own narrative, the public will ask questions, and other nations will take notice of the reality of Surges. You can’t fault us for placing you under immense scrutiny. However, your services are still irreplaceable, I can admit that much. We’ll need whatever you can provide us to get this situation resolved, then we’ll deal with all of the outside noise. Is that something we can agree on?
Commander Cromwell: I suppose.
Secretary Lawson: As I said, the Ironclad Response Unit will oversee the investigation, and you’ll be obliged to share whatever intel you have collected and allow them to get involved whenever needed. (glancing at the two) Do we have a deal?
(Commander Cromwell and Commander Locke glance at each other with apparent animosity for a tense few seconds, but then the two sigh deeply, with the former extending her hand for a handshake. Commander Locke firmly accepts the handshake, putting his hostility aside for now. Gauntlet watches this while leaning on the corner of the room with a faint smirk on his face, then he approaches Secretary Lawson’s office, reaching for a flash drive in his pocket, the one Focus gave him.)
Gauntlet: (faintly grinning) Now, then… (placing the flash drive on the table) I guess you’ll find this quite valuable.
(Commander Cromwell and Locke glance at the flash drive in surprise, while Secretary Lawson glances at Gauntlet with a nod. The next day, the two commanders are seen back at Aegis Headquarters, with one of the analysts connecting the flash drive to his computer to display its contents on the large screen ahead of them. Present along with the two commanders are Gauntlet, Jax, Proxy, and Pulse, glancing at the screen attentively, which displays the specific coordinates of a location way far back at Alaska.)
Jax: (surprised) Alaska? You said Focus gave you that flash drive?
Gauntlet: (shrugging) Yeah, he said he’s heading there. Something to do with the whole investigation he’s running with the Surge Beacon.
Commander Cromwell: (glancing at Jax and his team) So your hypothesis was true after all. They’re teaming up.
Gauntlet: (nonchalantly) I mean, duh, of course they are. (subtly annoyed) They even beat the crap out of me together.
Commander Locke: But why would Focus hand you such information? Unless he — .
Gauntlet: Yep. He counted on Aegis and the IRU to cooperate and deal with the situation. (letting out a chuckle) He himself asked me only to hand over this thing once you’ve made a deal.
Commander Locke: (narrowing his eyes, unimpressed) I can tell.
Pulse: But how can we be so sure that this location would indicate any sort of activity from the culprit?
Gauntlet: (crossing his arms) Don’t ask me. The guy just said that he got it from Sylvia, okay?
(Commander Cromwell raises an eyebrow at this but then gets an idea, immediately heading out of the room, and the others react in bafflement before following her. After another couple of minutes, Commander Cromwell and Commander Locke head inside a room, while the others wait outside and glance through the window. The two commanders meet up with none other than Boltix, Mistrick, Jackpot, and Sylvia… the Sparks, who have already woken up and have been captured for a while now.)
Sylvia: (unamused) Took you long enough. It almost felt like you’ve forgotten about us.
Commander Locke: (firmly) I’ll get straight to the point, Ms. Anderson. You provided Agent Focus and the Surge Beacon with intel regarding the location of your client, correct?
Sylvia: What about it?
Commander Cromwell: (her eye narrowing) You weren’t leading them into a dead end with that intel, were you?
Sylvia: (firmly) Listen, this guy planned all of this in advance. He accounted for every contingency and ultimately made sure that whatever happens, he will get to meet with the Surge Beacon. First, he tried to get us to do all the work, possibly to hide his involvement as much as possible. When that failed, it was my turn either to capture those two myself or feed them this intel once I’m captured. As you can clearly tell, I did the latter. That was also supposed to lead them into an excavation site, which served as yet another trap, but I can already tell that your operators showed up and ruined everything, capturing my team along the way.
Commander Cromwell: And your point is?
Sylvia: (still pragmatic) They’re heading the right way, and the culprit is patiently waiting for them. If you know what he’s after, then this shouldn’t come as a surprise. (letting out a chuckle) Though I’m still waiting for him to pay me extra for what I had to do.
Commander Locke: (skeptically) Why’re you telling us that so readily?
Sylvia: (slyly smirking) You’d have followed that lead regardless. Why not?
Mistrick: (rolling her eyes) Is that all?
Commander Cromwell: (crossing her arms) We’re here to strike a deal. You’ll do us a favor in exchange for your freedom.
Jackpot: A deal, huh? (grimacing) You want us to return to being your worthless lab rats, don’t you? Just like we were a decade ago.
Commander Cromwell: You will only help us capture the culprit behind the recent mess, that’s all, and then you’ll be let off the hook. I can promise you that.
Boltix: You’re after him, aren’t you? (gritting his teeth) And he’s got Stone. (sighing deeply) Oh, well. Guess we’re doing this, guys.
Jackpot: We’ll do it?! Just like that?!
Boltix: I don’t know about you, but I couldn’t care less about anything going on! All I know is that this guy captured Stone! Now are you with me or what?!
(The other Sparks react in surprise and then exchange glances at one another before nodding at each other. Sylvia then turns to both Commander Cromwell and Commander Locke and firmly nods at them. And so, the Sparks confirm their participation in the upcoming mission, and all of the major participants begin their preparations. Commander Cromwell rallies several Aegis soldiers and oversees their target practice, while Commander Locke does the same with the Ironclad Response Unit soldiers. Jax, Proxy, and Pulse undergo several more training drills to regain their sharpness ahead of their next assignment, while the Sparks lean their backs on the wall while crossing their arms with unbothered expressions. Meanwhile, Gauntlet heads for the manufacturing facility back at the IRU’s headquarters, where he receives a brand new pair of gauntlets.)
Researcher 1A: (handing him the gauntlets) There you go. We’ve also made sure to add the adjustments you asked for back then.
(As Gauntlet grabs the pair of gauntlets, they morph into form-fitting gloves, no longer as bulky as the previous gauntlets, and he rotates his wrist while glancing at the gloves with a confident grin. The next day, during the morning, several aircrafts offer transport to the numerous soldiers on the task, both Aegis and IRU soldiers, all heading to Alaska. Commander Locke oversees the deployment of these soldiers, his hands behind his back with a firm expression.
Commander Locke: (firmly) It’s time. Operation Black Vector is a go.
(Back at his office, Secretary Lawson receives a report from one of his guards, one that confirms the official beginning of Operation Black Vector, and upon inspecting it for a short while, he sets the report on his desk and twiddles his thumbs with a firm expression. Meanwhile, Jax, Proxy, Pulse, Boltix, Mistrick, Jackpot, and Gauntlet are all rallied together inside in front of an aircraft alongside Commander Cromwell, as if waiting for something.)
Proxy: (impatiently) What’re we waiting for anyway?! It’s been days!
Commander Cromwell: There’s still one more person set to join you on your mission. He’s returned from his assignments, so he should be here anytime now.
Jax: (raising an eyebrow, baffled) And who could that be?
(Back inside Aegis Headquarters, one of Aegis’s operators heads for the exit and into the hangar, walking in a calm, collected, and methodological manner. He’s an adult man 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. He heads inside the hangar, where the team is waiting, and they’re all shocked upon seeing who he really is. Even Gauntlet and the Sparks easily recognize him.)
Gauntlet: (muttering) It’s… him.
Jax: It really is him!
Commander Cromwell: (firmly) You know what you must do… Hunter.
(Meanwhile, back at Alaska, inside a remote base of operations, Infinity calmly walks across a dimly lit hallway, his expression unreadable as ever underneath the glowing purple infinity sign on his mask. He arrives at a laboratory, seeing his masked soldiers busy on their monitors, between checking vitals and monitoring energy levels.)
Infinity: How is he right now?
Masked Soldier 1A: It is going well, sir. His vitals have returned to a stable condition, and we can confirm that the operation has been successful. The Surge Energy within him has risen as initially projected.
Infinity: More importantly, is he capable of manifesting that energy into the Overdrive Surge?
Masked Soldier 1B: We made sure of that, yes.
Infinity: Very well.
(Infinity promptly leaves the soldiers to continue their work, skipping past several monitors and screens to arrive in front of a sealed container filled with green liquid and energized by the Catalyst, the green crystal whirring with energy while securely placed in a sealed box and connected to the container. Inside the container is a mysterious, hooded figure dressed in black with its face obscured by a glowing neon red symbol, currently in a period of stasis. Infinity places his hand on the container and glances at the figure, the purple infinity sign on his mask glowing with intent.)
Infinity: Your time has come… Hollow.
(Upon being referred to by that alias, the red symbol on the figure’s mask ominously glows with energy, as if finally awakening. It’s almost time for the long-awaited encounter with the culprit behind it all. Aegis and the Ironclad Response Unit have sent their agents and soldiers to Alaska, led by a team consisting of their best assets: Jax, Proxy, Pulse, Gauntlet, Boltix, Mistrick, Jackpot, and the enigmatic Hunter. Elsewhere, Flare, Focus, and Shay are on their way to Alaska as well, while Infinity simply bides his time and waits. All sides are converging for what promises to be an enthralling confrontation! The action begins once again… in Power Surge: Season Two!)
What would you rate Power Surge: Road Trip out of 10?
