(Still inside the tower, several masked shadow soldiers converge on Pulse, Proxy, and Mistrick from both sides, but Mistrick remains busy with her mist, and Pulse remains busy maintaining the buff on Mistrick to help her out, leaving only Proxy to deal with the soldiers. She does manage to handle it, creating two rail guns and firing at the soldiers converging from the two sides. She then breaks up those two rail guns into a group of blasters, keeping up the heavy fire at the constantly regenerating soldiers to shield her teammates.)
Proxy: We can’t keep this up forever, you know?! How’s it going at the moment?
Pulse: Well… Gauntlet’s already off. The others? Not so sure how they’re doing. Mistrick?
Mistrick: (examining the interior through her mist) Hunter’s fine. Just taking out the bunch of soldiers standing in his way and all. But… (inspecting Focus and the others) Oh, crap.
Proxy: What is it?
Mistrick: (grimacing) Those guys are up against the big bad himself.
(The masked shadow soldiers regenerate swiftly afterwards, forcing Proxy to continue firing at them. However, the continued usage of the Tech Surge — coupled with the drones roaming inside the tower — tires her; apparently, Mistrick too is tired from maintaining the mist for too long, and Pulse is getting tired from maintaining the Expansion buff, the Sync buff, and the Livewire buff all at once. They all start panting in exhaustion and struggle to stand firmly.)
Proxy: (panting) We can’t keep this going for much longer.
Mistrick: (grimacing) Yeah, I know.
Pulse: (gritting her teeth) Then the others better hurry up, I guess.
(Meanwhile, Flare, Focus, Boltix, Jackpot, and Jax watch in surprise as Infinity activates Mass Bias, decreasing his body mass significantly and reverting to a body state almost comparable to that of a teenager, and then he flies upwards at unbelievable speed; since his body mass was reduced so significantly, he managed to travel faster than what the mist allows him to, seemingly overwhelming its effect at the expense of lowering his own physical strength. He then lunges at the Surge users from above, getting ready to launch his shadow tendrils at them, and they jump out of the way, Focus being particularly surprised.)
Focus: (internally, clenching his jaw) He… he decreased his body mass significantly! I’ve seen him do that, but I never thought he could go that far with it! And with that, the effect of the mist doesn’t seem to bother him anymore. In fact, he’s moving faster than before. He’s adaptable.
(Infinity sets foot on the ground and continues flying around the Surge users at high speed, using his shadow tendrils to attack. Boltix chases after him and jumps at him for a blow, only for Infinity to eloquently twist his body and avoid the kick, landing a blow at Boltix with his shadow tendrils and knocking him back afterwards. Flare launches several fire lances at him, but he continues blocking them with his shadow constructs without losing momentum. However, as he continues flying around and relying on his newfound speed, Boltix throws Jackpot up in the air with his Kinetic Surge, who pulls out a cluster of grenades out of his Creation Pot, all of them surrounding Infinity from close range.)
(Seeing that, Infinity blows them all up with his shadow tendrils, but the close proximity of the grenades causes him to lose balance, and Jax makes use of that, forming some muscle on his legs and jumping high at Infinity, punching him in the face and knocking him back into the ground. However, as Jax lands on the ground as well and moves in for another punch, he gets caught by surprise when Infinity uses Tether to pin his limbs. He lunges at Jax while applying Hardening on his fist, but a Mistrick clone appears out of nowhere to take the blow instead, while another mist copy appears right behind the first one and kicks Infinity in the chin, sending him skidding back and canceling Tether, thus setting Jax free.)
Mistrick Clone 1A: (chuckling) Take that, Illuminati reject!
Jax: Uh…
Boltix: (glancing at Boltix, shrugging) Yeah, they come with a mind of their own. And with jokes, too. Don’t question it.
(Several more Mistrick clones appear around Infinity and lunge at him all at once, but he easily destroys most of them with a single strike from his shadow tendrils. Focus then attempts a blow at him, only for Infinity to use Shadow Quickstep then get in behind him and launch several shadow constructs at him. Focus eloquently dodges them and destroys one with a kick, but he gets knocked off his feet, realizing that they’re infused with Shadow Feedback.)
Infinity: I truly wonder… why are you doing this, Focus? What’s your purpose?
Focus: Just to stop you, that’s all. Someone like you is too dangerous to let off the hook.
Infinity: Why is that? Because of the knowledge I possess? Because of my power? Aegis has it all and more. (icily) Do you consider them a threat as well?
(Focus clenches his fists, and his jaw tightens at Infinity’s words. Infinity gathers his shadow tendrils together, all charging up a black energy beam, and then he lunges at Focus, who immediately jumps out of the way, only for Infinity to reappear behind him using Shadow Quickstep, ready to fire the energy beam. Focus turns around in an attempt to block the incoming energy beam, but as Infinity launches the attack, a gunshot skips just past Focus’s head and right at the energy beam, canceling it out, to Infinity’s surprise.)
Infinity: Huh?
(Hunter arrives at the scene with his two guns in hand and jumps at Infinity, firing more gunshots at Infinity’s shadow tendrils and knocking him back into the ground. He too sets foot on the ground and lunges at Infinity, rapidly shooting his shadow tendrils before landing a gunshot from point blank range at his gut, hurling him off his feet. He still doesn’t give Infinity a chance to recover, lunging at him relentlessly once again, but Infinity quickly uses Shadow Quickstep repeatedly to gain distance from Hunter. He then undoes Mass Bias and reverts back to his usual body size, while Hunter joins Focus and the other Surge users.)
Infinity: (thinking to himself) He’s fast. Even with my body mass significantly reduced, I can’t keep up. In that case, it’s not worth sacrificing my physical strength for a boost of speed. This will be a tough matchup.
Focus: (glancing at Hunter) Hunter. You’re here.
Hunter: I’ll take it from here. Make sure you withdraw as soon as you can.
Focus: (firmly) If you say so. Just to warn you, he’s not to be taken lightly.
Hunter: I’m aware of the threat he poses. That’s why I’m here. (turning to Infinity) You must be the one behind all the recent mess.
Infinity: Hmph, and I suppose Aegis understands how serious the situation is. Otherwise, why would they send you? (firmly) I know who you are, Hunter.
Hunter: (gripping his twin glocks tighter) Is that so?
Infinity: And a lot more, indeed. You think I have no right to interfere, but soon enough, you too will see it… that I’m the only one truly fit enough.
(Hunter takes his firm fighting stance with his dual glocks in hand, and Infinity reforms his shadow tendrils as he gets ready to take on Hunter. Suddenly, however, Hunter fires several rapid gunshots at the ceiling, creating a massive crack in it.)
Hunter: (turning to the other Surge users, urgently) Now!
(Flare and the others firmly exchange nods then proceed with their escape: Flare grabs Focus’s hand and propels herself upwards through the flames underneath her legs, Jackpot grabs Jax’s hand and propels himself using his air shoes, and Boltix propels himself using his Kinetic Surge, all heading for the crack in the ceiling. Infinity attempts to interrupt their attempt at escaping with his shadow tendrils, but Hunter swiftly fires a bunch of gunshots at them and knocks them back.)
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Hunter: Eyes on me.
(Jackpot throws Jax into the crack on the ceiling, and he uses his muscular form to punch through the crack, opening up a way through the ceiling and out of the tower; Jax reverts to his regular form shortly afterwards. The Surge users find themselves out of the tower and into its surroundings, falling into a snowy slope. Without hesitation, Jackpot pulls five snowboards out of his Creation pot and hands each of his teammates one, including himself.)
Jackpot: Soo… has anyone ever tried snowboarding before?
Focus: Regretfully not.
Boltix: Nope.
Jax: No.
Jackpot: Yeah, neither did I.
Flare: (blankly) The hell’s a snowboarding?
(The Surge users glance at the snowy slope below them as they continue falling, and they get ready with their snowboards for a little snowboarding, all excitedly smirking; even Focus has a faint, cocky half-smile on his face. And with that, they all hit the snow with their snowboards, sliding down the steep slope. They all do relatively well on mere instinct, managing to maintain their balance on the board. Flare stumbles a bit on her feet but manages to stay upright, leaning her body forward while chuckling.)
Flare: (while chuckling) Woohoo!
(She even uses the flames underneath her legs to increase her speed a bit, still chuckling excitedly, but Boltix bypasses her, using his Kinetic Surge on the snowboard. Afterwards, he turns to her and mockingly extends her tongue, much to her annoyance. Focus also bypasses her with his hands in his pockets and an unbothered expression while standing upright, causing her to growl in frustration. Meanwhile, Jax and Jackpot are snowboarding behind the trio, blankly glancing at their antics.)
Jackpot: (blankly) I feel so painfully average.
Jax: Me too. In any case… (to Pulse, via communicator) Hey, it’s Jax. We’ve made our way out of the tower as well.
Pulse: (via communicator) Good. And are the others okay?
Jackpot: (via communicator) Yeah, I’m fine. The others are… let’s say they’re busy messing around.
Focus: (via communicator, deadpan) I’m not messing around.
Jackpot: (unamused) Of course you’re not.
Proxy: (via communicator) Okay, okay, we’ll find our way out of here as well. But what about Hunter?
Focus: (grimacing) He’s on his own against… him.
(Meanwhile, seeing that Flare and the others have managed to escape his clutches, Infinity clenches his fists and glances at Hunter, the purple infinity sign on his mask glowing, as if in anger, and Hunter only gives him a stern look while holding his dual guns. He lunges at Infinity once again, who uses Shadow Quickstep while launching a barrage of shadow constructs at Hunter. He destroys all of the constructs with precise gunshots, only for Infinity to create a shadow rail gun using Hardening and fire a precise, narrow energy blast at him from behind. Hunter jumps up and eloquently dodges the blast then fires several rapid gunshots at Infinity, who uses his shadow constructs to block the shots.)
Infinity: You’re fast. I’d expect nothing less from Aegis’s strongest Surge ever. (sternly) But you’re a tool, Hunter. A powerful tool, but a tool nonetheless. You and all of those Surge users out there are all mere instruments. That’s all you are and all you’ll ever be, no matter how strong you get. (the purple infinity sign on his mask narrowing, coldly) And I have no respect for tools.
(Infinity performs Shadow Quickstep repeatedly as the purple infinity sign on his mask glows with energy. While dodging Hunter’s relentless advances, he examines the tower by switching to the perspective of several masked shadow soldiers, coming to realize exactly what’s going on: he sees the soldiers getting attacked by a swarm of drones as well as Pulse, Proxy, and Mistrick being the ones behind that sudden gambit.)
Infinity: (thinking to himself) So that’s how it is.
(Infinity assumes control of the masked shadow soldiers, teleporting them out of the mess they were in with the swarm of drones attacking them. Some of them reappear around Pulse, Proxy, and Mistrick, adding reinforcements to the soldiers already firing at them, to the trio’s surprise.)
Proxy: (surprised) Now where did they come from?!
(The soldiers open fire, and Proxy is forced to form two energy barriers at both sides with several tech parts, gritting her teeth as she tries to shield herself and her teammates. Meanwhile, as Flare and the others continue snowboarding downhill, they notice several masked shadow soldiers appearing out of nowhere in the sky behind them.)
Flare: (grimacing) Boy, those guys are stubborn.
(The masked shadow soldiers fly after the Surge users with their weapons in hand and fire at them, under orders not to let them escape. Flare quickly launches some fire lances to cancel out the blasts as the others start dodging through clenched teeth. Jackpot pulls several metallic shields out of his pot to cancel out the blasts coming his way while attempting to return fire with his dual guns. Boltix continues leaning in with his snowboard to dodge the blasts, but with their relentless advances, he tightens his jaw in annoyance.)
Boltix: (gritting his teeth, frustrated) Screw this!
(Boltix jumps off his snowboard and propels himself upwards right at the pursuing shadow soldiers, kicking one of them in the chin and causing him to dissipate. The other soldiers open fire at him, but he propels himself past the blasts and cancels them out while punching another in the face. He continues propelling himself through the air while taking them out, only for one of the recently regenerated soldiers to strike him with a blast from behind and send him plummeting back into the ground. He acrobatically regains his footing on the ground and continues running at high speed. He throws the snowboard beside him at a soldier about to latch onto him, using his Kinetic Surge to amplify the blow and sending him flying as a result, a crooked grin forming on his face.)
Boltix: (chuckling a bit) Fine by me. I prefer running anyway.
(Boltix continues his run at high speed using his Kinetic Surge, an electric blue and yellow aura enveloped around him as he dodges the incoming blasts. Meanwhile, Jax enlarges the muscles in one of his arms and uses it to grab a huge pile of snow and turns to the soldiers, a grin forming on his face.)
Jax: (grinning) Snowball fight!
(Jax uses his other hand to grab a bunch of snow he collected with his enlarged left arm and form a snowball, swiftly throwing a snowball at one of the soldiers. It hits him right in the face and causes him to lose balance in the air, to which Jax chuckles. He continues rapidly throwing snowballs at the soldiers to drive them off, and they’re forced to block the snowballs with their blasts. Upon running out of snow, he uses his enlarged arm to collect more snow and continue his attack. Meanwhile, Focus eloquently and effortlessly leans in with his snowboard to dodge the incoming blasts, his hands still in his pockets, nonchalant as ever.)
Focus: (thinking to himself and looking around, unbothered) That’s some nice weather we’ve got there. Cool breeze and all. (turning to the soldiers, unamused) Amateurs.
(The masked shadow soldiers travel even faster and bypass the Surge users, taking their positions in front of them this time around and opening fire in the air, and Flare uses a fire barrier to shield herself as she continues her downhill snowboard ride. She and Focus end up beside each other, and the two see a rocky ramp ahead of them, instinctively glancing at one another.)
Flare: (grinning) Thinking what I’m thinking?
Focus: Probably
(Flare and Focus head for the rocky ramp and make their leap, managing to reach the masked shadow soldiers in front of them. The two throw their snowboards as high up as possible, and then Flare throws Focus at one of the soldiers, the latter headbutting the soldier and sending him off balance. The duo lunge at the soldiers, taking them out one by one while overlapping, and then Flare launches a barrage of fire spears at the rest of the soldiers, taking them out as well. After Focus leaps off another soldier, the two acrobatically grab their snowboards once again.)
Flare: (grinning cockily) Ha!
(Flare and Focus hit the snow once again and continue their snowboard ride at high speed. The soldiers start regenerating, only to be knocked off balance when Jax passes by and throws a pile of snowballs at them, and then Jackpot fires at them with his dual guns and takes a few of them out. Boltix finishes off the move when he propels himself at the soldiers and blows them all up with a burst of lightning before landing on the ground and running off. The group rally together and continue their escape, gaining a good distance from their pursuers, and as they arrive at the end of the steep slope and towards more level terrain, they suddenly spot a strip of mines ahead.)
Focus: Look out!
(They’re too late to avoid the impact, and the mines launch them upwards and destroy their snowboards. As they continue falling, they see several soldiers stationed in front of them, blocking the way and aiming their weapons ahead, with some sort of ramp behind them.)
Focus: (gritting his teeth) This isn’t good!
Jax: (urgently) Everyone! Huddle up with me!
Flare: (surprised) Wait, what?!
Jax: Just do it!
(Focus nods and leans in midair to get close to Jax, and Flare gives herself a little push with the flames underneath her legs to reach Jax. Boltix too propels himself at Jax using his Kinetic Surge, and Jackpot moves in with his air shoes. As they get closer to falling, Jax switches to his muscular form, enlarging his muscles as much as he possibly can, and then he wraps his large arms around the other four Surge users and pulls them close. He then curls up into a ball, to the others’ surprise.)
All: (in unison, surprised) Jax?!
(They hit the ground, and Jax rolls downhill with his muscular body, surprisingly gaining enough momentum and turning into a rapidly growing snowball. The soldiers see this snowball rolling downhill and immediately fire at it, but it doesn’t lose momentum in the slightest, and Jax keeps rolling.)
Masked Shadow Soldier 1A: (shocked) What even is that?!
Masked Shadow Soldier 1B: Doesn’t matter! Increase fire!
(The soldiers keep on firing, but to no avail, and as the giant snowball reaches the end of the slope, it finally strikes the soldiers, knocking them all out of the way. The snowball — carrying Flare, Focus, Boltix, Jackpot, and the muscular Jax — arrives at the ramp and is launched into the sky, far from the tower, and with that… this wacky escape is finally complete.)
