Max and his brother were devastated, their grief quickly turning into a burning desire for revenge against the man who had killed Andrew. Max already began forming a plan in his mind, once they found him, they would end him for good. Daniel tried to calm him down, reminding him that they had no idea where the man was hiding. Then, suddenly, something clicked in Max's mind.
Thinking back to everything the man had said during the ordeal, Max began to feel that the mysterious figure might be the same stranger who had kidnapped Daniel in the past. He wasn't completely certain, but as he was being burned alive, he noticed a familiar mark on the man's arm, the very same symbol he had seen on the engineered creatures before. As he pieced together the clues and unsettling coincidences, the realization slowly formed, and for the first time, they finally had a possible lead toward uncovering the man's true identity. But just as they were about to leave the lab building, armed policemen surrounded the area, ordering them to get on their knees. As they prepared to teleport, two trained police dogs lunged forward and snatched their wristwatches, leaving them powerless and defenseless against whatever was coming. Detectives and officers quickly covered Andrew's body and sealed off the lab and rooftop with tape, marking the entire area as a crime scene, while a police vehicle transported Max and Daniel into custody. At the station, Max insisted that there was no proof linking them to Andrew's death, but unknown to him, technical evidence had already been prepared, an edited video appearing to show Max and Daniel using their powers to kill Andrew from the inside. With the evidence carefully manipulated to frame them, authorities quickly identified Max and Daniel as the prime suspects; within hours they were taken into custody, and the case was rushed to court as investigators claimed the brothers were responsible for Andrew's death. The situation went to court because the police couldn't just take in Max and Daniel with no proof. Luckily, Max was assigned a lawyer, convinced that he already knew the true killer of Andrew. As the trial progressed, with things not looking good on the case, a new forensic analysis revealed inconsistencies in the fabricated footage, and a previously unnoticed third signal, distinct from Max and Daniel's wristwatches. Emerged from the crime scene was an unknown individual who had remained hidden throughout the entire investigation, operating in the shadows without leaving any clear trace of their presence.
Max and Daniel recognized him immediately as the man who had committed the crime, but they chose not to say anything and remained silent. He walked in with an air of mystery, his presence alone causing the entire courtroom to fall into a confused hush. The judge demanded to know why he was there, but the man calmly introduced himself as a witness to the crime, claiming he had evidence. Max quickly objected to the statement, insisting that the man was actually the real killer, and requested that Andrew's brain scan be presented as evidence. The man grew visibly uneasy when he heard that, knowing that if they obtained Andrew's brain scan, his plan would be exposed. He quickly interrupted the proceedings, claiming that the evidence he possessed would prove everything, but insisted he would only hand it over on one condition, that the wristwatches be given to him in return. A gasp spread across the entire courtroom but Max simply began to laugh, because to him, the man's desperation for the watches was obvious, he seemed willing to do anything to obtain them, even if it meant making a foolish demand.
The judge, of course, did not see it as an opportunity, but instead recognized it as a calculated attempt by the man to gain possession of the wristwatches. The man was running out of time, the brain scan was already being printed, probably on its way to courtroom. He was ordered by the Judge to go back to his defendant's table. Immediately as the forensic scientist entered the room with the brain scan, the man pulled out a compact device and fired a brief pulse toward the judge; in an instant, the air shimmered, and the judge vanished, leaving the entire courtroom frozen in stunned silence. He then threatened Max and Daniel, warning that if they made any move, everyone in the courtroom would disappear from existence. Max, however, was smart enough to realize that a device like that would need time to recharge; otherwise, the man would have already fired another blast. Both Max and the man glanced toward the evidence stand where the watches were kept, and in the next instant, they both rushed toward it. The moment Max got his hands on his watch, he turned invisible, grabbed Daniel's watch, and teleported it to him. With his incredible speed, he managed to clear out the whole courtroom of people in seconds. The man, accepting defeat once again, attempted to use the smoke device to escape, but Max quickly caught on to his trick. Without wasting a second, he grabbed Daniel's hand and sprinted toward him as fast as he could. Just as the man activated the smoke and slipped away to his secret location, Max and Daniel were close enough not to be left behind, following him through the escape. As they arrived at the location, Daniel immediately used his control over plants, causing tough vines to burst from the ground and coil tightly around the man, restraining him in place. At the same time, Max swiftly knocked out the remaining goons in the area, leaving the man defenseless and ready to be interrogated.
Max slowly removed the mask, and shock crossed his face before it hardened into anger. Remembering everything the man had done, he signaled to Daniel. Daniel formed a large fireball in his hands and launched it forward, the flames engulfing the restrained figure completely. The vines burned away and collapsed, and thick smoke filled the area. When the fire finally died down, nothing moved. The ground was scorched, and the man's burned mask lay among the ashes. Seeing no sign of life, Max and Daniel assumed he was dead and turned away, believing the nightmare was finally over. Before they left the place, Max searched the entire area for any information about the man's identity, his name, home address, or anything that could give them more insight into who he was. He found a small office within the building and searched it carefully for a while. Eventually, he discovered a small box labeled 'Anthony'. Assuming it was the man's name, they took the box of information, planning to go through it later back in New York. The undisclosed location turned out to be an abandoned warehouse on the outskirts of the city, the same place where Daniel had been kidnapped in the past. The NYPD were still actively investigating the case, having blocked off Max's apartment building and even his own apartment. With nowhere safe to stay, they teleported to Daniel's house in California. However, the box contained little useful information about the man. What they found were basic identification documents, a driver's license, and a photograph of him standing at the Statue of Liberty. On the surface, he appeared to be an ordinary man living a normal life. There were no plans or written notes about what he intended to do with the wristwatches, almost as if he had already anticipated his defeat. But unknown to them, Anthony's mission was far from over, and the fate of Max and Daniel had already been set into motion, waiting for the next stage of his plan to unfold.