(Flare finds herself confronted by her new pursuers: Jax, Proxy, Pulse, Boltix, Jackpot, Mistrick, and Gauntlet. She stands upright once again and glares at her new opponents, taking a fighting stance, while the group gets ready to take her on as well.)

  Jax: (grimacing) Listen, Flare, please make it easier for the both of us and stand down. We have nothing against you.

  Flare: (icily, clenching her fiery fists) Want me to stand down? Then make me.

  (Flare propels herself backwards with the flames underneath her legs, and Boltix immediately jumps at her with his Kinetic Surge, forcing her to block his blow and get launched through the air. Boltix moves in for another blow, but she uses the flames coming from her palms to push herself to the right and steady herself on the ground, immediately running upon setting foot on the ground. The others run after her, with Boltix leading using his speed, and he manages to acquire a boost of speed and stand in Flare’s way, cutting off her path. He then lunges at her for a punch, easily piercing through her burst of fire, but she propels herself upwards and away from Boltix’s next blow.)

  (She then fires several fireballs midair, only for Boltix to cancel them out with a couple of lightning bolts. Upon regaining her footing, Flare jumps away from a barrage of blasts, seeing Proxy forming several blasters using her Tech Surge. She forms a pair of air shoes to circle around Flare, subtly leaving behind loose tech parts, but the latter can see right through that, jumping out of the way and cutting off Proxy’s path. She then lands a powerful, fiery punch at her gut, sending her sliding. However, Jax intervenes and lands a powerful, lateral punch at Flare with his muscular form, sending her crashing through several walls. She steadies herself on the ground, finding herself in the Aegis training room.)

  Flare: (scowling) Think you can stop me?

  (Suddenly, Flare is struck by a powerful sound wave from above, and she lifts her fiery palms up at it, eventually canceling it out. She looks up and sees the Aegis operator behind that attack levitating in the air, and then several more Surge users in training surround her.)

  Flare: Ah, so you’re the amateur batch. (with a bitter chuckle) You don’t look any better than crash test dummies.

  (She recharges her fiery aura and then prepares a barrage of fire lances, launching it right at the squad of Surge users. They’re sent into disarray by the fire attacks, forcing them to abandon formation, but one of them confronts Flare, circling around her with some sort of afterimage technique. However, she easily disorients that technique with a fiery energy shockwave, canceling out all afterimages and exposing the real one.)

  Flare: (muttering) Like I said… crash test dummies.

  (However, as the afterimages dissipate along with the fiery shockwave, Flare sees a gauntlet rapidly approaching, and she reacts quick enough to push it back with a burst of fire from her palm. The glove still swings a whip katar at her, but Flare punches it away with ease, and then it finds its way back to Gauntlet’s hand. Flare’s expression turns sharp as she looks around and sees not only Gauntlet, but the rest of her pursuers as well lunging at her, and she takes a fighting stance in response.)

  Flare: (sharply) Still can’t enough, huh?

  (Meanwhile, back at one of the lower floors, chunks of broken concrete shift as Focus pushes himself up from beneath the rubble. Dust falls from his shoulders and arms as he forces himself onto one knee. His breathing is already uneven from the impact and the chase before it. His ears ring faintly, muting distant sounds for a few seconds. He coughs once, wiping dust from his mouth with the back of his hand. His muscles ache from the collision, but he ignores it, forcing himself upright as quickly as possible.)

  Focus: (panting) Flare…

  (He looks down the hallway; the corridor is empty. Emergency lights flash at regular intervals, casting brief pulses of red across the damaged floor. He forces himself to stand fully upright, rolling his shoulders once as if preparing to continue the pursuit. His breathing refuses to settle. He inhales deeply, then again, but the air feels insufficient.)

  You let her get away. You had her right there.

  (He starts moving, first at a walk, then breaking into a run. His footsteps echo loudly through the hall. He checks every intersection too quickly, barely slowing before moving on. His eyes scan constantly, searching for movement, for heat signatures, for anything that proves she is still nearby.)

  First, you didn’t even tell her when you called for backup from Aegis. You knew it was only going to end one way. You thought you had the situation under control by concealing it. You were afraid to tell her… and break that illusion of control. Then you let them take Ethan away, a kid whose only fault was being cursed with this power. A kid who did everything to protect his home and his family. You heard his parents weep for him and did nothing. Then… you just stood there… stood in her way… and told her it would be okay. You expected her to believe you. Why would she trust you? You told her to stand down. You didn’t stand by her side.

  (His jaw tightens. His pace increases even though his lungs burn from the earlier fight. His heartbeat climbs higher, faster than necessary. His hands open and close at his sides, fingers twitching. He turns another corner abruptly, nearly slipping on debris before catching himself. His breathing sharpens. Sweat runs down the side of his face. He wipes it away impatiently without slowing.)

  Focus: (his voice cracking) Flare! Please! Flare! I’m sorry! I can’t hurt you! I don’t want to hurt you! Come back! I…!

  (The call echoes back at him unanswered. The silence that follows feels heavy. He stops briefly, chest rising and falling rapidly, listening for any response. There is none. His chest tightens suddenly. He presses a hand against it instinctively, fingers spreading over the fabric of his uniform. His breathing speeds up again without his permission.)

  If you had just followed orders immediately, this would be over. No. That’s not true. You didn’t want to hurt her. You… you know how you feel about her. Then… why did you do this? Why did you stand in her way?

  (His steps slow despite his effort to keep running. His chest hurts openly now, tight and constant. He swallows hard, throat dry. Soon, he stops moving entirely. His hands tremble at his sides. He stares down the empty hallway, vision slightly unfocused. His breathing becomes loud and uneven, each inhale followed immediately by another.)

  Focus: (muttering) I can’t stop. I have to move. Move. Move.

  (His voice comes out strained. He tries to take a slower breath and fails halfway through. His heart races harder in response, making the tightness worse. His eyes sting suddenly. He blinks rapidly, confused at first, then realizes tears are forming. His breathing stutters. He lifts his hands slightly, watching them shake.)

  Look at you. You can’t even keep your hands steady. You’re wasting time. She’s getting farther away. This is your fault. Yours.

  (His fingers tremble uncontrollably. He turns his palms upward, staring at them as if expecting them to stop. They don’t. His breathing grows faster, chest rising sharply again and again. Tears spill over, running down his face without him noticing immediately. His expression tightens, eyes wide, breathing ragged. He stares at his palms in visible horror.)

  Focus: (tearfully) …I did this.

  (His voice breaks slightly. He lowers himself against the wall without meaning to, knees bending until he’s laying his back on the wall while sitting on the floor, his legs stretched out. His chest feels locked, every breath forced and incomplete.)

  She looked scared of you. She looked at you like you were the enemy. You told her it would be okay. You lied. You knew you were lying.

  (His breathing becomes faster, almost desperate. His shoulders shake as he tries to pull in more air. He presses his palms against his thighs, trying to stop the shaking. It doesn’t work. His fingers remain unsteady, numb at the tips. His head lowers. More tears fall freely now, his jaw clenched tightly as he tries to stay quiet.)

  You always follow orders. That’s what they needed from you. That’s why you’re here. And now you don’t even know which side you’re on. You should’ve stopped this. You should’ve refused. You should’ve warned her sooner. You should’ve done anything except… this.

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  (His breathing peaks, fast and uncontrolled. His chest aches continuously. His vision blurs slightly from tears and lack of steady air. He squeezes his eyes shut for a moment, trying to regain control, but then countless thoughts flood his mind while overlapping.)

  Get it together!

  Breathe! Just breathe! In! Out!

  Why isn’t it slowing down?! Why is it — ?!

  My hands won’t stop shaking!

  — Still going!

  Look at them! Look at them!

  I can’t control this! I — !

  It’s too loud in — !

  — Can’t make it stop!

  — My head! Everything is moving — !

  Calm down! You’ve handled — !

  — Too fast!

  — Worse than this!

  Then why does it feel like I’m — ?!

  My chest hurts! My throat feels tight! I can’t get a full breath!

  — Losing control!

  Don’t panic! You’re already panicking! Stop!

  I don’t want anyone to see this! I can’t let anyone see this!

  My hands feel wrong! My body feels wrong!

  I hate this! I hate — !

  Please just — !

  — Not being in control!

  — Slow down! Please just stop!

  Stop.

  Stop.

  STOP!!!

  (Several long seconds pass before his breathing begins to slow. Not calm, just slower. The tightness in his chest remains. His body feels drained, heavy, exhausted. He wipes his face roughly with the back of his hand, leaving streaks of dust across his skin. His hands still tremble, though less violently now. He forces himself to stand again, legs unsteady at first before locking into place.)

  Standing here won’t fix anything.

  (Several blue markers appear across the map, clustered in different sectors of the headquarters. One red marker moves farther away from his position. He watches it silently, breathing still heavy but controlled enough to function.)

  She’s still inside. She hasn’t escaped yet.

  (Focus lowers his arm slightly, eyes fixed on the red signal. His breathing steadies enough for movement. The trembling in his hands fades to a faint shake. Without speaking again, he turns toward the direction of the signal and begins moving forward, silently deciding to continue.)

  (Meanwhile, back at the training room inside Aegis Headquarters, Jax jumps at Flare in his muscular form, and though she launches several fire lances at him, he easily takes them without receiving damage and lands a punch at her gut, sending her sliding. She controls that slide with her fiery feet and jumps at the approaching Jax, landing a kick at his face and knocking him back. She notices a pile of tiny tech parts forming around her, which quickly turn into energy ropes that hold her in place.)

  Flare: Dammit!

  (Proxy levitates with her air shoes and keeps trying to hold her still with her Tech Surge from above, allowing Gauntlet to fire his gauntlet at her in an attempt at Surge Erasure. However, Flare unexpectedly propels herself above and right at Proxy, landing a kick at her chin and causing her to lose control over her tech, thus setting the former free. She then fires a fireball at the gauntlet heading for her and sends it back once again, much to Gauntlet’s frustration.)

  Gauntlet: (groaning in annoyance) Oh, come on. Surely you wouldn’t mind if I borrow your Surge for a while, would you now?

  (He pulls out the plasma gun in his pocket and keeps firing at her midair, but she easily dodges those blasts then lands behind Gauntlet, landing a kick at his back and sending him sliding. She then slides out of the way and avoids Boltix’s rapid blow, dashing off beside him, both at high speed trying to tackle one another. It’s in that moment that Mistrick jumps in, charging up her palms with her black mist energy.)

  Mistrick: Heads up!

  (She slams her energized palms into the ground and activates her dark mist, which quickly submerges the entire training room. Boltix makes use of the opportunity and swings his energized fist at Flare, who doesn’t react quickly enough given the mist’s effect on her, and she gets sent sliding. Before fully regaining her balance, she gets struck by a green energy blast at her back, coming from none other than Pulse.)

  Pulse: Debuff: Flatline.

  (Flare immediately turns to her through gritted teeth and launches a burst of fire right at her, but Jax steps in with her muscular form, easily taking on her attack, partially thanks to the Flatline debuff reducing Flare’s overall attack power. He then lunges at her, easily taking on her other fire lances and forcing her to propel herself out of the way, though her movement remains noticeably sluggish inside the mist. She quickly blocks a kick from a Mistrick mist copy, which knocks her back regardless, and then she receives a punch in the face from another copy, sending her skidding back.)

  Mistrick Copy 1A: (grinning) ’Sup?

  (Flare grits her teeth as she finds herself confronted by several Mistrick mist copies, who all lunge at her. Meanwhile, several soldiers run through the corridor to confront Flare, soldiers from both Aegis and the Ironclad Response Unit, led by Team Gamma and their leader. Suddenly, someone pierces through the floor right in front of them and emerges from the lower floors; he’s none other than Focus, to their surprise.)

  Team Gamma Leader: (surprised) Agent Focus?

  (His vision is still blurry, and his stance remains shaky from his previous panic episode, but he clenches his trembling fist through gritted teeth, glaring at them with narrowed pupils. His seemingly antagonistic stance baffles the soldiers.)

  Team Gamma Leader: (baffled) Focus?

  (Suddenly, Focus kicks one of the soldiers in the gut, launching him through the air, much to the other soldiers’ shock. They can’t even react before Focus punches another in the chest then knees one more in the face. He lands those precise blows at each of the soldiers at rapid speed, promptly knocking each and every one of them unconscious. Having seen enough, the leader of Team Gamma aims his weapon at Focus.)

  Team Gamma Leader: (through gritted teeth) I don’t know what you’re doing, but I won’t — !

  (Focus punches away his weapon, and that’s when the leader of Team Gamma takes a closer look at Focus’s expression, seeing the panic and tiredness in his eyes and his frown. This horrifies Team Gamma’s leader, who then receives a punch in the face that sends him crashing into a wall unconscious. Focus attempts to catch a breath as he turns to the unconscious leader of Team Gamma, his vision still blurry and unclear, but he wastes no time and inspects his watch at once, seeing several more soldiers heading for Flare’s location, who is already getting swarmed by enemies.)

  Focus: (thinking to himself, grimacing) No… I can’t let anyone else get to her before I do!

  (He immediately runs off, heading for Flare’s location while looking far from composed. Meanwhile, Flare continues dashing around the training room, pursued by several and constantly reappearing Mistrick copies, led by the real Mistrick. She sees a mist copy approaching and lands a fiery punch at her face, but due to her debuffed attack power, the copy regenerates quicker than usual and continues chasing her along with some more copies.)

  Flare: (grimacing) What a pain.

  (Meanwhile, Jackpot pulls a pair of air shoes out of his Creation pot, which quickly attack to his feet, and then he rises upwards while pulling out an electric baseball bat out of his pot. Getting a good view of Flare from above, he pulls out several grenades and rapidly strikes them with the bat, sending them right at Flare below. She launches a barrage of fire lances at a group of them, blowing them up, but she gets taken by surprise when some other grenades land in close proximity to her and blow up, disorienting her, which allows Mistrick to kick her in the gut and knock her into a punching bag in the training room.)

  Flare: (internally) Grenades out of nowhere. Gotta be the guy with the pot, and judging by the trajectory of the grenades… he’s above.

  (She propels herself sideways and away from Mistrick’s next blow then continues running off, attempting to avoid the grenades raining down on her by taking cover in the rubble. She comes across a pair of Surge users, with one of them quickly jumping above her and launching a powerful sound wave at her with his palms that disorients her. The other forms several energy blasts and launches them at Flare, which are meant to bind her in place, but she launches a powerful burst of fire at the Soundwave Surge user, causing him to lose balance midair, and then rapidly propels herself past the energy blasts, landing a kick at the Binding Surge user and launching him through the air.)

  (As Flare continues taking on the Aegis Surge users standing in her way, Jackpot soon loses sight of her and flies around in the air to find her, following all the traces of her Fire Surge that he can see, but unbeknownst to him, she propels herself upwards and behind him, landing a sudden fireball at his back that sends him plummeting back to the ground. She looks around in the air, seeing just about all of her pursuers from here.)

  Flare: (internally) I can’t stay here any longer.

  (She forms a massive barrage of fire lances around her, which Jackpot notices upon regaining his footing. Jax, Pulse, Proxy, Boltix, Mistrick, and Gauntlet look up at this massive attack as well, and so do the other Aegis Surge users in the area, much to their shock.)

  Jax: (yelling urgently) Take cover!

  (Flare fires all those fire lances right at the ground, striking several areas in the training room and forcing the others to take cover in the rubble. The fire attacks keep on coming and raining down relentlessly, but they abruptly stop, leaving the others surprised. After a few seconds, Pulse looks around the area, shocked to see a giant hole on the ceiling, with Flare nowhere in sight.)

  Pulse: (shocked) Hold on… where did she go?!

  (This alerts the others, who join Pulse and continue looking around for Flare, stunned to see that she’s already escaped. Meanwhile, Flare pierces through the ground and reaches one of the upper floors, running off elsewhere without looking back.)

  Flare: (internally) Okay, so that’s them out of the way for now. I doubt I’ll be able to lose them for long. Gotta get outta here… but frankly, I have no clue… (letting out a bitter chuckle) and it’s not like I can ask for directions anymore.

  (Flare grimaces, her clenched fists shaking as she recalls the moment Focus turned his back on her, but she shakes it away, adapting a sharp expression as she continues running. However, as she arrives at an intersection and faintly turns to her right while running, her pupils narrow in disbelief as she sees someone waiting for her, and their eyes lock in this exact split-second, her horrified eyes meeting his sharp, cold gaze. Her new pursuer… is none other than the Predator Surge himself, who’s here to get the job done above nothing else. It’s Hunter.)