"What we have here is an international incident that urgently needs resolving." Guile listened as his superior spoke. He remained outwardly patient, save for the occasional quirk of the eyebrow in a silent criticism of a statement. The room was mostly quiet, punctuated by the shuffling of feet, a cough here and there, the ruffling of papers. They all had the same information laid out before them-a comprehensive, but also somewhat flawed, assessment of the chaotic situation that had taken place several months ago. He knew it wasn't completely accurate, because he had been there. "There are people on the loose that we may not even be rightly able to call 'people'. Through some means unknown to us-likely genetic engineering at the hands of Shadaloo scientists-these individuals serve as a threat to every man, woman, and child on this planet." Guile fought the urge to shout out an objection. He would've been out of line, and he couldn't risk being expelled from the project at this juncture. As wrong as it felt to betray his own government, whatever useful information he learned, he passed on to his fugitive friends. It'd do them no good if he was no longer kept in the loop due to a hot-headed remark or two.
But someone else in the room voiced his complaints for him, and he held back a smirk at her condescending attitude. "Forgive me, sir, but these uh, 'threats' to the entire world population you're talking about?" She sat back and crossed her arms over her chest. "They did just finish saving all those very same people from extinction. So maybe we shouldn't be so quick to jump to the conclusion that having power and abusing power are one in the same." She was right, of course, and she knew it. It'd been nothing short of a miracle that the four had won out over Juri and Destruction, and it was an outright miracle that they'd all been given back the life they'd just lost as a sort of reward.
"Would that I had the same sort of optimism as you, Agent Sunee." Guile could've snorted at that one. The woman was not what anyone should ever call optimistic, bordering instead on cynicism. "But these people are not able to be disarmed or neutralized. These people do not carry visible weapons-they are weapons." The declaration left Guile with a bad taste in his mouth. He didn't really like the direction this conversation was headed.
"They're human beings, too, and entitled to the same rights as the rest of us," Viper responded, unwilling to let up, and Guile had to admit, he was impressed by her resolve. It took a lot to make that woman back down. "Innocent until proven guilty, I think, is the way it usually goes."
The man nodded in a knowing way that told Guile he'd expected such a discrepancy from someone. The man tapped his way through a series of files and folders on the tablet in his hand, and a grisly image of a recent crime scene was displayed behind him. He didn't miss the way a few people groaned almost instinctively. "Here are some photos from Argentina." He flicked through them, and a few others couldn't keep looking at the screen. Maya, Guile noticed, was completely passive and steadfast, refusing to give the man the reaction he wanted. He cycled through images of bodies burnt beyond recognition as humans, or with slit throats and mutilated faces. "Surely the work of an innocent, non-threatening person."
But Maya wasn't impressed. "Sir, with all due respect, you can not seriously compare him to the rest of them. A cursory glance at his psychological profile will tell you that much-untreated PTSD, psychopathy, narcissistic personality disorder, possibly a psychotic disorder as the cherry on top. I mean, the next DSM should probably include a section dedicated just to him."
"Be that as it may, Vega's...activities in South America were a suggestion, a horrifying reminder of the threat these people present to us."
Guile noted the use of the past tense. The curiosity was too much, and he had to speak up now. "Were?" he said.
"A special ops team was able to bring him down three weeks ago," the man explained. The crime scene photos were replaced with confirmation of what Guile had feared most about these talks. There were images of Vega, restrained and unconscious, or in some instances appearing barely awake. There was no love lost between himself and the unrepentant murderer, but he didn't want to imagine what the government intended to do with him.
"Why weren't we informed?" Viper asked.
"It was our hope that this would remain a secret. But, unfortunately, someone's already figured it out. A vial of the subject's blood went missing six days ago. Anyone who could find, let alone break into this compound has resources. We only have one lead on the target." The picture changed, a still from a security camera feed. Guile squinted as he studied the peculiar image-the guy looked like some kind of anachronistic detective, a film noir reject. But the manner of dress wasn't the most odd thing about him. It was the metallic face with glowing eyes. "Code name Q-a joke, because absolutely nothing is known about him. Q has been spotted in the background of a series of crime scene photos-including those from Argentina-as well as the few images we have on our other three fugitives. Agent Sunee, I'm tasking you with the objective of uncovering everything you can about this man, of tracking him down and figuring out what it is he intends to do with the resource he's stolen from us."
"Yes, sir, but if I may be so bold-what was being done with that blood that makes it such a valuable commodity?"
"We've been performing studies in an effort to replicate his innate heat resistance and so-called 'pyrokinesis'. I'd imagine whichever party sent Q to steal it will be interested in the same thing."
"So your answer to these people with superpowers you fear so much is to find out how to make some of your own?" Viper snorted. She should've seen it coming from miles away, but she wanted to have more faith in her superiors than that.
"Maybe you are willing to wait patiently for them to show us the extent of their abilities. To sit idly by until it's too late. Until, say, coast lines are once again swallowed up on a whim. Or until, maybe, tornadoes and damaging winds decimate entire cities. Until earthquakes and avalanches kill hundreds, thousands, who can say? We can't remain so helpless, and we have an opportunity here that can't be passed up."
"The fact that they can doesn't have to mean that they will," Maya said, leaning forward, elbows resting on the table. "You start a global manhunt for them, and you're going to be creating a problem that isn't there. You're going to give them a reason to use those powers you're so afraid of."
"So what you're saying is, these four are above the law? That we should be placating them out of fear?"
"That's not-" she started to say, lifting a finger, but was cut off.
"I, for one, don't believe that someone who could do something like this," he paused, waving a hand back at the screen, referencing the earlier crime scene photos, "should be allowed the right to freedom. I don't believe that we should let these people do as they please, thinking of all of us as too powerless to stop them. That they have free reign over us." Guile gritted his teeth. This was what he'd been so worried about when he was first called on by the government to give them his account of what had happened. He hated to admit it, but he knew that people would be afraid. He knew how they'd react. He told himself not to be so pessimistic, but now, his worst fears were being realized.
The image on the screen was changed. A photo of Chun-Li was displayed, appearing to be sourced from her Interpol ID given the professional, neutral expression. "Chun-Li Xiang resumed her role within Interpol. Chinese authorities have been less than cooperative in all of our attempts to have her extradited, and she knows it. It's a tense situation, and we must operate carefully in order to avoid an international catastrophe." The photo changed again, this time showing Charlie's military ID. "Charles Nash has been laying fairly low, but isn't necessarily hiding. We've been tracking his whereabouts but all attempts at arrest have failed. He, quite literally, disappears into thin air at the first sign of trouble. Major Guile, this is where you could be one of our best assets-if you can lure him out, get him in the right position, we'll be able to take him down." Guile had no intention of helping them with any of that, but he couldn't say so. It'd land him in too much trouble, and he was most useful to his friends if he could feed them what information he could. The photo was changed once again, displaying Ryu. "Finally, Ryu Hoshi. 'Elusive' doesn't even begin to describe him. Last sighting of him was two months ago in an MMA tournament in Chile. We tried to have his flight grounded, but the order didn't get through in time." Guile glanced over at Viper, and she winked back at him. "It's believed he still keeps a permanent residence in Japan, but again, it's a tough situation-he still keeps in contact with Ken Masters, and Sakura Kasugano. The former is a high-profile individual, and the former is a minor, so we have to approach them in a tactful, careful manner. With any luck, sooner or later, they'll lead us to him."
There was a pause as the director gave everyone a moment to absorb the information. Then he spoke again. "These remaining three must be found, contained, and neutralized, or we can never have a hope of calling ourselves 'safe'." The approving murmurs from the rest of the people present did little to lighten Guile's mood. He glanced over at Maya, and she glanced back. Her eyes said it all. This was not a fight they were going to win.
So comes the end to this long and weird fanfic. :) Thank you everyone who read, reviewed, fav'd, followed, or even glanced at it. It was a fun ride and you all were really fun to talk to through it all. This will be the third different ending I've put here, and I guess I'm sorry for changing it so often. Thanks again for all your interest and kind and helpful words. Who knows, maybe I'll see you all again for a sequel sometime :)