Agents of the Past, Present and Future (For Sean!)

There was no mistaking it, it was another facility of Hurricane. He was only able to find it from a tip he received from a kid in the city. From a distance, he had been watching as several workers were unloading packages off a truck and into the facility. Hurricane had been off the radar for a long time, but he still left a distinct trail that let Sul know that he was there. Security droids armed with guns and blades that each had the same look, as if they were made on a factory line, but not by any company this world knew about. It was Hurricane's unique models that let him know that he was on the right track. The only problem is, whenever he went to places like this, Hurricane himself was never there. He was so elusive, and had so many hands working for him, Sul wondered if he even oversaw any of his own business anymore.

Sul was still in the City of Los Angeles, looking from afar. The busy hustle of the street reminded him of that. He was contemplating whether or not he should get a closer look. After all, he didn't want to just cause wanton destruction. The workers there were obviously just paid laborers, and not a part of any scheme. Ordering a hot dog from a vendor, he took a bite, and returned his gaze on the facility. What was it, a laboratory? Warehouse? Factory? It seemed like such a generic building, it could be under the guise of any of the above.

"So he got the tip." A man with short brown hair said. "Hurricane was right, he was pretty trusting. Why is it do you think he keeps trying to find him? He must have some old history. Maybe he killed the guy's parents a long time ago."

A different man with medium length black hair, and obviously a higher tier agent of the two stared at Sul, then returned his attention back at his partner. "It doesn't matter. All we need to do is convince him to stop. The Master has a plan for all possible outcomes of this. We are going to take the direct approach though. Either he stops his insistent annoyance, or we destroy him."

"Are.. you sure we could kill him? That hit-list we saw declared him a tier 4 metahuman. We aren't even on that list as a tier 1." the other man replied.

"And you think that list matters? The same list said Hurricane was a tier 5, and not simply for the magnitude of his metahuman power alone. He has a higher intellect than anyone I've ever met. And that's why I trust he has chosen us to handle the assignment. In fact, I think we're one of the few that have the best chance of killing him. Now be silent and wait for him to act." the man with medium length black hair responded. He was slightly irritated, but he wasn't sure why. His subordinate was being too edgy perhaps. The ball was in Sul-Fury's court. Would he attempt to break in the facility, or was it time for him to give up?

A familiar voice was heard at his side. As Sul swiveled his head, the voice was matched to a familiar face. Sean, draped in work-out gear, sweaty and out for a jog apparently, Sul deduced from the sweat pants and headband. His eyes illuminated with an obvious display of excitement.

"Sean! Man.. It's been some time, how have you been?" he responded quizzically. It had been a long time, considering that Sean was the closest thing Sul had to a friend. He hadn't seen this side of Sean before. Out jogging for his physical well-being? He smiled to himself, personally he didn't go out of his way for that kind of effort. He got enough exercise just carrying his own weight. Still, it was good that Sean picked up other hobbies. Perhaps he felt better for it, which was fine by him. It was almost as if he completely forgot about what he was doing before, he was completely distracted by the thought of meeting an old friend.

The slight hesitation in Sean's voice was overlooked without even being noticed when he mentioned he was living with someone. He was more enthused about how coincidental it was to run into Sean of all people. It really was a small world, considering he was just wandering around the United States these days without a dollar to his name. Doing odd jobs to put food in his stomach here and there. Sean was curious what actually brought him to Los Angeles in itself. He glanced over to the warehouse for a fleeting second before returning the gaze of his faintly glowing saturated yellow eyes back to Sean.

"Well, I've been Just wandering I suppose. It was kind of a coincidence I came to Los Angeles. I've been kind of still chasing Hurricane these past few years." He said, subconsciously scratching the back of his neck out of an impulsive instinctive twitch that basically meant it was slightly embarrassing. What he hadn't mentioned to Sean was his developments as a mutant over the past year. He wasn't even sure if he could call his 'curse' a development. Earlier his mutation had advanced into a higher stage, causing a burning sensation through his veins and unlocking a new power. However, its devastating effects killed dozens of innocents. Internally he winced at the thought of pain he inflicted on the families, his heart sank slightly during the distraction for a brief second. No, there was no purpose for that power but to kill. He would try his best to prevent that ability from triggering again. But could he? That was another story.

The slight pause was broken up by continuing his sentence. "Just over there is a facility of his." He indicated with a gesture with his index finger. "Doubt he's there though. I've been starting to give up, but every time I feel like my friends would be disappointed in me if I did. I have to bring him to justice. Somehow."

Sul hadn't taken a bite from his hot dog that he had purchased since he had laid eyes on Sean. He was completely focused, and not much of a multi-tasker. He knew what Sean was implicating, or at least, he thought he did. If Sean meant killing Hurricane, that would be a permanent solution, true. But not the right one. It would mean sacrificing his ideals, which would make him no better than Hurricane.

"For the amount of people he has killed, if he were in a prison he would have a life sentence. If you're implying killing Hurricane, you should know how I refuse to willingly kill someone. You remember when we were 'Tough Guys', don't you? I still cling to that philosophy. No man deserves the right to take another man's life." He hinted towards a group that doesn't exist anymore. Except, that slight detail seemed to elude Sul-Fury's knowledge. Nobody informed him that the group was disbanded. But, Sul never really felt like a part of the group to begin with.

"Besides, I haven't seen him in years. I think he's hiding somewhere. Whenever I find one of his base of operations, some other metahuman is running the operation. He's been completely off the radar. He used to attack military targets, but it seems like an eternity since he got his own hands dirty."

Off in the distance, the two men from before were still keeping an eye on Sul-Fury during his conversation with Sean. They had yet to approach him, perhaps they would wait until he were to make a move first.

The two had very differing opinions on what the proper course of action on Hurricane was, but it didn't mean that he was lacking reasoning. Sean did make sense that his holding back can mean his own death or severe injury, additionally, it wouldn't permanently solve the problem as long as Hurricane continued to be himself. Still, it made Sul wonder when Sean changed his belief on this matter. He agreed with Sul when they were made 'Tough Guy's that killing was wrong, but now he's completely alright with accepting it as a consequence for killers. Perhaps there was a chance that he didn't truly have the Tough Guy philosophy to begin with. But then why join them?

"I hear you Sean." Sul said with a smile. "You make valid points, but I guess I still don't want to change what makes me who I am. If I solve every problems with ultimatums like that, I'll be just like him. Killing him would just mean I did it all for nothing. Because in the end, I would be him."

His smile faded slightly, as he remembered a piece of his past adventures with Sean. A room of mirrors that foretold pieces of the future. "I..I saw something a while back. A glimpse of a future where I didn't want to be. One where I was killing a bunch of people. Good people. I don't want that blood on my hands." As serious as he was about it, he eventually broke his concentration of his thoughts to look back at the facility. Slightly shaking his head and letting out a barely audible sigh, he still wondered if Sean was right. Was he just being naive?

The two agents had gotten closer and closer to Sul-Fury and Sean, though Sul had been completely oblivious to it, being absorbed in the conversation with Sean. The man with medium length black hair was garbed in a heavy trench coat in the middle of day. Of the two, he was the only one possibly armed with a concealed weapon. Slowly but surely they moved in to intercept the two.

"Sul-Fury." the man with black hair said boldly and firmly. "We have a business proposition for you when your conversation there is all finished."

The man was very familiar, but Sul couldn't put a name to the face. Both Sul and Sean have met the individual, yet something was very off about him. Sul had no idea who he was, but yet he feels like he had seen him somewhere before. The other man lurking behind him, however, Sul had no idea who he was. A new face, and yet, neither of the two seemed like they had something good to tell him. Their faces were those of killers. Somehow, Sul recognized what it looked like. It was obvious from this point forward that there was no messing around.

"Hmm, yeah, but I can't say that I know them." Sul muttered under his breath towards Sean with uncertainty. It was a notable fact as well, that they knew his hero identity. Though, only one of his enemies had somehow obtained his actual name. So that much at least appeared hidden. Would they have called him by Alan Lombardi if they knew? It didn't matter, he had to put his mind in the present. Sul didn't even consider the possibility of the coincidence of a connection that these two agents intercepted him on his way to one of Hurricane's facilities.

"I'm ready to hear your proposition." Sul said louder towards the two agents that faced opposite of him and Sean. He assumed they wanted him to follow them to a more secluded area, but if what they wanted was important enough, they would tell him what it was here and now. Of the two, only the man with black hair was speaking. But even then, he paused at Sul-Fury's move. He was using Sean as a witness incase the situation went bad. But unknown to Sul-Fury, Sean had no metahuman powers to speak of. He didn't know that he was placing Sean under a great danger.

"Very well then." The man fluttered his eyes for two seconds in a sign of irritation. "The man you seek, Hurricane, is not ignorant of your attempts to find him. You are, however, becoming a financial thorn in his side by destroying many of his facilities. Our employer not only does not know your cause, but is finally willing to see this at it's end. One way or another, you will desist from these pursuits. What is it you want? Is it money? He would gladly pay you off."

Sul-Fury's eyebrows pushed his face lower to the earth as the man spoke. Hurricane didn't even know who he was, or why he was doing this? Of course he wouldn't, the only time the two met, Sul-Fury had the appearance of a human. How could he? The slapping insult of paying Sul-Fury off in order to get rid of him was rising in him an anger that could almost be seen emanating off his body as an aura.

"I don't care about money." Sul replied firmly. "He has a lot of crimes he needs to answer for. I'm not looking to ruin him financially, I'm looking for him specifically. As a duty for my fallen friends, I have nothing better to do than pursue him to the ends of the earth. Tell him that if he wants to get me away from his business, come see me himself."

The two men looked at him with soul-piercing gazes. Their eyes appeared almost as if they were lifeless automatons, who had no better cause than to fulfill their assignments. So therefore, they would have to resort to the second option. Eliminating Sul-Fury from the picture. The man with the black hair's long trenchcoat sprang open, as he reached into his coat and pulled out a SMG, automatically loaded and ready to fire, as he aimed it towards Sul-Fury.

Sul stretched out his hand in front of Sean. He knew, or at least thought he knew, that Sean can protect himself. But still, he also knew that he wasn't as sturdy as Sul was. It was almost as if it was Sul-Fury's purpose to absorb damage. A machine gun wasn't about to do anything to him, or so he thought.

Sean was quick to adapt and move in behind Sul-Fury. The man with the semi-automatic hesitated to fire, allowing Sean to get the first strike in with a precisely timed throwing blade. The attack, however, didn't go unnoticed by their opponents. The man in the background with brown hair had been waiting for his time to react. The earth beneath their feet rumbled, as the plates beneath their feet began to feel unsteady. A shift of energy created a pillar of rock sprouting from the earth inbetween Sean and Sul, and the two agents. The blade made penetration into the rock, but got stuck.

In Sul-Fury's mind, he had no time to think. He plunged his feet forward running at an increased rate that Sean had never seen him perform before, throwing his shoulder into the pillar made by the second agent. Crushing the pillar of rock, debris burst forward at the two agents, but no rocks made contact. They were both being brushed off by the earth manipulator who had created it in the first place. An invisible force, however, plucked Sul into the air and slammed him down hard into the concrete sidewalk. The concrete cratered and cracked several feet in radius. His body was being pinned down with a tremendous amount of pressure, making the cracks in the concrete grow wider and wider as his body dug further and further into the ground.

"How...?" Sul thought. "Of course, he can move earth elements. That includes me! I have to.. fight back!" One of Sul-Fury's arms began to rise, despite the resistance of the geokinetic metahuman. The veins in his arms and back bulged and flexed, as he contorted his body to push against the earth beneath him. Clenching his teeth together tightly, he slowly moved his body a few inches off the ground.

By now, the crowds of the streets were running from the scuffle between the metahumans and Sean. But to ensure their panic, the man with black hair fired a burst of 5 bullets into the air, then returned his aim on Sean. Sul-Fury was being handled by the geokinetic metahuman temporarily. He hadn't particularly taken a liking to being attacked by Sean earlier. He fired a burst of fire from the smoking SMG weapon at Sean's feet in an attempt to make him run away.

While Sul-Fury faced off with the geokinetic, it was made obvious that it was indeed a powerful technique against him. But it was not more powerful than him. Planting his feet one after another, the resistance his opponent put against his body wasn't enough to stop him anymore. The man formed spikes out of rock that shot from the ground, but only broke against his body when they made contact. His eyes grew wide in fear, taking several steps backwards as Sul-Fury progressed towards him. It was inevitable that he would eventually reach him. There was no way the geokinetic had the strength to break him.

All the while, Sean had a problem of his own. Facing the gun-toting black haired man, he hid behind the hot dog stand they were only moments ago enjoying food from. Why wasn't he using his powers? Sul-Fury was puzzled by this, but realized a bit too late that it might be possible that he wasn't able to. He had known Sean wasn't the type to hold back, he had even gone in for the attack first with his daggers. But why daggers, and not his metahuman powers? He realized now he had just put his friend in great risk by being here. The hot dog stand came rolling towards the two, followed by a blade sent flying towards the geokinetic metahuman's neck. However, it was intercepted by the other metahuman. Leaping on and off the hot dog stand, he used it as leverage to gain momentum to catch the blade with two fingers using the hand that wasn't holding his Submachine gun. Landing with two feet on the floor, he realized the geokinetic wasn't strong enough to move Sul-Fury anymore.

A bubble of energy was propelled from the black haired man's body that expanded and enveloped them all in an invisible bubble of sorts. This wasn't an attack by any means, it had zero effect on all the candidates physically. Except of course, for one aspect. Sul-Fury collapsed again to the floor. Except, it wasn't from the geokinetic, or exhaustion, or too much damage sustained to his body. He was fully conscious, but did not have the strength to support his own weight.

"Hey, you know I can't use my powers when you do that!" The geokinetic bantered at the black-haired man. Sul-Fury's mind flashbacked to a previous adventure he had with Sean, one where they had traveled through a lot of tests in search of a piece of magical jewelry that Sean was searching for. But on that journey, they met a very young boy who called himself 'Nul'. The metahuman power to nullify other metahumans. It was impossible to fathom that these could be the same people, could it? How did he age so quickly?

"You weren't going to defeat him." Nul replied. "You're useless now. Stand back while I take care of this kid." He was referring, of course, to Sean. He dropped the blade he had caught earlier to the ground, and repositioned his aim of the submachine gun. The other two opponents were out of the picture now that their metahuman powers were taken away. The geokinetic and Nul were no more special than Sean. They all had to rely on their fighting skills from here on out. The only way to get their powers back would be to leave the bubble of energy that surrounded all of them.