Ten Volt Nothing

01-02 Title Card

## Synopsis

An ancient threat has resurfaced, and is quickly approaching Dellville. When Lightning Dust discovers its roots, however, his drive to stop the treat turns into a hope to help redeem the supposed culprit - until Crystal Eye's preemptive disapproval throws them all into much deeper trouble.

## Plot

Safe in his bed, Klaus is startled awake by a sinister voice that echoes in his dreams, calling him to seek out a power and claiming that he desires it. Now that he's awake, Klaus attempts to shrug it off as a strange nightmare. Outside his window, he notices a distant storm approaching, and guesses that his powers were somehow sensing it and messing with his head. Klaus leaves his bed and heads into the living room, where he catches Edwin making breakfast and Diane watching the news. The newscaster catches Klaus's attention when she suggests that a mysterious super is what's causing the storm that's coming towards Dellville. What he really cares about, however, is how the reporter insists that Crystal Eye will get rid of the super, and that Lightning Dust should stay out of it. Offended, Klaus decided firmly that he's going to go out and stop the storm-bringing super himself, to prove her wrong. Diane objects to the idea, worried that it'll be too dangerous. However, Edwin helps argue Klaus's case, reminding her that surely Klaus's electric powers will protect him from any lightning from the storm. After some convincing, once Klaus promises to be careful, Diane concedes, and Klaus transforms into his super self to head out.
Meanwhile, Daniel is relaxing at home, watching the same news broadcast that Diane had on. Once he hears the reporter say the storm is caused by a super, Daniel tunes the broadcast out, focusing on the fact that it must be Gale causing the incoming storm. After a brief distraction as he wonders how Gale could've broken free from what Daniel calls the Welkin Penitentiary, the elder super jumps to action, suiting up and heading out the door to put a stop to the storm. In the same breath, he voices a similar concern as the reporter on the news, hoping that Lightning Dust will stay out of the way and leave this to him.
Lightning Dust quickly makes his way into the central city, where he spots the storm up close as it settles over Dellville. Even though he knows he's meant to be stopping it, Lightning does take a moment to recognize that the storm is much prettier than he was expecting, made up of various bright colors that make it feel almost like a light show of sorts. He quickly reminds himself what he came here to do, however, and flies up above the storm to investigate for the source. Atop the clouds, Lightning Dust meets Gale and Firebolt. Gale instinctively strikes against Lightning Dust, but just as quickly stops himself when he realizes that he's not facing Crystal Eye, as he was expecting. Now that he has Gale's attention, Lightning Dust introduces himself properly, and Gale returns the favor, excited at the prospect that Lightning may have similar stormy powers to him. They get to talking, and Gale explains that Crystal Eye had stopped his storm before and locked him away in the Welkin Penitentiary, which blocked off his powers during his stay, despite the fact that it wasn't hurting anyone to begin with. In turn, Lightning Dust explains the city's worries that the storm may be dangerous - to which Gale insists that his only intent is to show off the beauty of his powers, not hurt anyone. The pair come to a quick understanding that Gale can stick around and proceed with his storm so long as Lightning Dust supervises to make sure nothing gets out of hand. The deal is going well - until Crystal Eye bursts onto the scene, threatening Gale, who promptly retaliates.
Crystal Eye and Gale get into a proper battle in seconds. Initially stunned by the event, Lightning Dust soon snaps himself from his stupor and dives in to stop the both of them in their tracks, getting struck by one of Gale's lightning bolts in the process to protect Crystal Eye from the attack. Lightning's arrival grinds the fight to a halt, but it isn't long before Crystal Eye and Gale are shouting accusations at each other. Crystal Eye claims that Gale's storm nearly destroyed Dellville, last time, while Gale insists that his storm was only as destructive as it was back then because Crystal Eye had scared him, causing him to lose his control over it. As they bicker, it becomes clear that the storm above them is similarly starting to get out of hand. Lightning Dust takes Gale's side and asks him if he can regain control over it, which Gale assures he can, as the storm isn't nearly as bad as when he lost control before. Crystal Eye isn't so thrilled about Lightning Dust's compliance, arguing that Lightning is letting a criminal get away. Lightning Dust argues right back, only to have his argument interrupted by a sudden splitting headache, accompanied by a voice echoing in his head - not unlike in his dream that same morning. Noticing that Lightning's thrown off, Crystal Eye attempts to re-ground him, and quickly warns Gale off when he approaches to do the same. The two begin to argue all over again, but it doesn't last before Lightning Dust suddenly speeds up into the storm above, startling both of them. Crystal Eye follows, leaving Gale to wonder why Lightning is acting strange. After a moment of thought, he clicks in to what could be happening, and is immediately terrified.
Above the storm, Crystal Eye confronts Lightning Dust, whose strange behavior continues as he's fully focused on absorbing energy from the storm. When Crystal Eye tries to get his attention, Lightning Dust attacks him. Before they can fight for long, Gale arrives and calls for Lightning's attention himself, claiming that he knows what's gotten into him. Lightning Dust just laughs uncharacteristically back and sends on more powered up attack Crystal Eye's way, sending the elder super back to the ground and temporarily knocking the wind out of him. Lightning Dust begins to approach Gale next, ready to steal more power from him. Before he can get too close, Gale defends himself, attempting to reverse Lightning's personality shift by drawing out any of his power that Lightning Dust has absorbed from both his attack earlier and his storm itself. At first, it appears to work, and Gale's powers are drawn out of Lightning Dust. But Gale finds himself unable to release his powers' grip on Lightning Dust, and unintentionally continues to suck power out from him, despite his attempts to stop, as though something else is forcing him to do so.
Below, Crystal Eye manages to recover from his harsh landing and shoots back up into the clouds, just in time to see Gale sapping Lightning Dust's energy away. Assuming the worst, Crystal Eye punches Gale away, sending him down to the ground and forcibly breaking his connection to Lightning Dust, who immediately collapses. From where he lands, Gale tries to regain himself, recognizing that there's something strange and almost dark about Lightning Dust's powers - something that feels familiar in the worst way possible. Before he can dwell on it for long, the dark power is all but attacking him from the inside out, leaving him incapacitated for the moment. Rather than worry about Gale, Crystal Eye keeps his focus on Lightning Dust, who remains heavily weakened and barely conscious, seemingly unaware of what had happened moments prior. Crystal Eye scoops the young super into his arms and flees the scene to get him somewhere safe, where they can regroup.
From far behind, Gale sees Crystal Eye escaping, and his storm begins to intensify at the sight as his hatred for the super only grows stronger, the dark power he stole back now fueling him in the worst way possible.
An unknown amount of time later, Lightning Dust slowly begins to stir, his head still swimming from the ordeal. As he wakes up, he gradually realizes that he's in Daniel's room, laying in his bed. Daniel himself arrives quickly after, just in time for Lightning Dust's wooziness to get the best of him. Once he's done hurling, Lightning weakly asks Daniel what happened, to which the elder super explains that Lightning Dust seemingly went crazy, supposedly due to Gale, who then stole back his powers and more, which caused Lightning's blackout. Lightning Dust isn't convinced of the malicious light Daniel paints Gale in, causing the two to argue over Gale's true intentions: Daniel insists that Gale is dangerous and could easily destroy the town, while Lightning Dust tells him that Gale being able to isn't the same as him wanting to, and that he's certain from their conversation that Gale doesn't want to hurt anyone. At a stalemate, Daniel changes the subject, instructing Lightning Dust to continue resting while he keeps an eye on the storm from the house, not wanting to leave it unsupervised in a worse-case-scenario but also not wanting to leave Lightning Dust alone at the house in this condition. Lightning Dust reaffirms that he's certain the storm won't get any worse, which Daniel still doesn't believe, leaving the room with another reminder for Lightning to let him know if he needs anything. Left to his own thoughts, Lightning Dust worries over the possibility of Crystal Eye going out to face Gale alone and punishing him over nothing again. He isn't stewing in his thoughts for long before he drifts back off to sleep.
Out in the city, Gale continues to struggle against his own storm, fighting against the power inside him that's fighting for control. Despite his best efforts, Gale loses that control, and the same dark voice that echoed in Klaus's mind before takes over, giving Gale a far more sinister stature. The dark voice ponders his frustrations at Lightning Dust - and with him, his powers - slipping away from his control, but determines that he can easily draw the young super back. With that, Gale commands the storm to grow even stronger under the voices command.
Lightning Dust wakes back up, thankfully less disoriented now. He's quickly met with a note from Daniel, which informs him that he's been left a plate of crackers in case he's feeling up to eating, as well as a bucket for if he gets sick again. Now that he feels more awake, Lightning Dust begins wracking his brain for more details from when he blacked out. Unfortunately, he struggles, feeling as though the memory itself was outright torn out of him. He's vaguely able to recall the sinister voice at the back of his head, but has a hard time discerning if it really was some other voice or just his own. The answer comes to him as he thinks harder, and the sinister voice returns, startling him. The start subsequently causes a sharp pain to shoot through his chest, which Lightning Dust recognizes - to his horror, it's the same pains he used to get through his heart back before he had his powers. He realizes that Gale's unintentional theft of his powers took away what was keeping his heart powered up, making his situation much worse than he initially thought.
The realization makes him all the more anxious, and almost overly attentive to his how his heart is holding up. After some time stressing over the new development, Lightning Dust attempts to get out of bed. He momentarily struggles, but manages to make his way to Daniel's mirror, checking to be sure his hair and eyes are still electric and yellow, for his identity's sake - which he is able to confirm is the case. From there, he heads back to bed and turns his attention to the storm outside, noticing that the energy is far more violent and less colorful than it was when he met Gale earlier. Lightning Dust thinks back to what Daniel said about Lightning supposedly going nuts, and begins to wonder if it's his powers' fault that Gale's storm is getting worse, somehow. He doesn't have long to worry about it before he's distracted by Daniel returning to the room to check on him. Lightning Dust intends to tell Daniel about his worries that he's the one who caused Gale to snap, but before he can, Daniel informs him that he's going back to the city to stop Gale, as the storm has gotten too bad for him to ignore. Lightning Dust attempts to argue, but his heart pains spike again, and alongside it he's met again with the sinister voice in his head, which tells him that they need some 'alone time'. Daniel suits up and offers one last assurance to Lightning Dust before leaving Lightning Dust to drift unwillingly to sleep.
In his dream, Lightning Dust finds himself surrounded by utter darkness. He begins to wander forward, soon coming across a clump of dark clouds that seem to be on top of something. Lightning Dust rushes over and reaches into them to free whatever they're holding down. He's met face to face with Gale, who has dark chains holding him in place. Gale panics at the sight of Lightning Dust, scared at the implications of how he's somehow in this dark realm. In a panicked attempt to help Lightning understand what's happening, Gale mentions a creature by the name of Norzin, who he says is behind Lightning Dust's crazed episode, and subsequently is the reason that they're both here. He explains that Norzin wants to use the both of them for their powers, and that he migrated from Lightning Dust to Gale when Gale was taking his powers back out of the hero. Gale further says that if Lightning Dust is here, than it means that he's still somehow connected to Norzin, even if only vaguely. Lightning Dust readies himself to try and get Gale out of his restraints. Before he gets the chance, the darkness around them retaliates, grabbing Lightning Dust by the wrist to chain him similarly to Gale and quickly pulling the two away from each other. Lightning Dust fights back, but doesn't get far before Norzin's voice rears itself in both their heads, nearly incapacitating them both. Norzin attempts to appeal to Lightning Dust by tempting him with power. When the young super continues to refuse and demands that Norzin get out of his and Gale's heads, Norzin laughs back that he isn't in their heads, but they are in his. He continues to insist his influence, trying to coax them into becoming a proper hivemind. Lightning Dust manages to will up enough energy to fend Norzin's darkness off of himself, but the attack weakens him too much to continue. Catching his breath, he promises Gale that he'll find a way to get them both out of this. To his horror, he watches Gale stop fighting as Norzin takes full control of him again, teasing Lightning Dust that they'll be waiting for him.
While Lightning Dust is having his mental battle with Norzin, Crystal Eye has made his way back into the city to confront Gale - fully under Norzin's control, now, though Crystal Eye is none the wiser to it. Once he finds Gale, the two begin their battle, at which Crystal Eye is startled at how much stronger Gale is now. Gale is ultimately able to catch Crystal Eye off guard and knock the hero out cold.
As the dust from the fight settles, Firebolt slinks over to Gale, worried about his behavior. Gale, still not himself, attempts to steal the dog's electrical energy. Though Firebolt does lose some of his energy to the fiend, he manages to squirm free of Gale's grip and flees the moment he can, desperate to find help.
Back at Daniel's house, Lightning Dust is attempting to recover from having the energy knocked out of him in his struggle against Norzin not long ago, despite his desperate want to get back on his feet to help Gale now that he had the full story. Before long, a sound at the window catches his attention. He spots Firebolt pawing at the window to get his attention and lets the electric dog inside. Despite still feeling quite weak, Lightning Dust takes Firebolt's arrival as a final warning that he needed to go back to the city to help immediately.
Firebolt leads Lightning Dust back to the center of the storm in the city. As they get close, Lightning Dust realizes that Norzin truly has total control over Gale, now, through how intense the storm has become.
Once they're close enough, Lightning Dust lets Firebolt retreat again for his own safety while he continues forward to deal with Norzin and free Gale once and for all.
Shortly after making his way deeper into the storm, Lightning Dust spots Crystal Eye, who's currently being held in a small tornado, still out cold. He calls up to the super in an attempt to wake him up, to no avail. His call does attract Norzin-Gale's attention, drawing him out to gloat. Lightning Dust attempts to talk things out, hoping to get through to Gale calmly, but he quickly finds that that won't work. From there, Norzin-Gale begins to attack. Lightning Dust does his best to fend him off with what limited power he has, focusing more on defending himself than outright fighting back. Norzin-Gale overpowers Lightning Dust and pins him down, ready to suck any remaining power out of him if he continues to refuse joining them. Before he can act on the threat properly, a sudden shout from a now-awake Crystal Eye grabs their attention. Crystal Eye takes the opportunity to finally apologize for not giving Gale a proper chance in the past. This apology is what finally manages to break through to Gale's senses, even if only barely. With Norzin's grip on Gale loosened, Lightning Dust takes the opening to attempt what Gale did to him before and suck Norzin's powers directly out of Gale, praying that he can time it so as to not welcome the fiend back into his own body. Once Norzin is far enough out of Gale's body, freeing him, Norzin does dive for Lightning Dust in an attempt to take him over. Lightning is able to act fast and blast him with electricity, throwing him off course. before the fiend can recover, he continues the attack, and is soon joined by both Gale and Crystal Eye, the trio finishing Norzin off once and for all.
Though they are able to defeat Norzin, Lightning Dust's weakened state catches up to him, and he again collapses - thankfully, without losing consciousness. Now that they're both in the clear and don't have to worry about transferring Norzin's influence to one another, Gale returns the excess power that he accidentally took from Lightning Dust before, restoring him back to his usual energetic self.
As things calm down, Crystal Eye and Gale properly reconcile, and Gale is offered a proper chance at showing off his artistic storm to the city.
Later that night, with a crowd and news reporters present to cover the showing and cheer him on, Gale prepares nervously for his show, anxious about having so many eyes on him. Lightning Dust and Crystal Eye both offer him some reassurance moments before the news crew is ready. Gale begins his show with help from Firebolt, gaining his confidence back as he finally gets to show off his art.
As they watch, Lightning Dust and Crystal Eye meet back up, happy for Gale's success and enjoying show.

## Appearances

### Main Cast

Klaus Melfton/Lightning Dust

Daniel Carsley/Crystal Eye

Gale

Norzin

### Cast

Firebolt

Diane Shernall

Edwin Dowley

## Trivia

* fun tidbits

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