[center][IMG]https://vgy.me/AFpVYh.png[/IMG] In [b][u][h1]A Man Out of Time #2: A Hound’s Night of Hell[/h1][/u][/b] Time: Present day, 11:45pm Location: Pacific Point, California[/center] The Wanderer had been sitting on a bench in a small park for a couple of hours. His thoughts had been all over the place and had spent the time since he sat down to collect them and process everything. The first thing that came to mind was the group Hounds of Humanity. Sure, there had been a small amount of infighting in the people in Settlement 149, but those were resolved around the common idea of surviving against the mutants that roamed the wastelands. Most of those arguments had been around the idea of him being one of the key protectors of the base, especially with the use of his psionics. Eventually, before The Officer betrayed everyone, everyone settled on the idea of the mutated sentinel for the base. If people in the future, even with the knowledge of everything that had happened in the past, could understand the fundamentals of using people with extraordinary abilities for the common good, then why aren’t people in the current time understanding that, even with the innumerable amount of knowledge they have? It was this fundamental question that The Wanderer thought that had made him dislike the Hounds of Humanity so much that the thoughts of killing them had crossed his mind, breaking a code he tried to stick to in his previous time. The other main thought that he was processing was what happened immediately after seeing the group’s message. [i]What the hell was that thing?[/i] was the main question that kept repeating his mind. There had been something in the future that was masking his psionic-detecting abilities, but not enough that it completely disrupted them. This being… not only did it shock his abilities from the shock of time travel, but it completely blinded him again until it disappeared. Not only that, but it seemed that whatever it was, it was looking at the area where the city was. And then just like that, it disappeared. [i]How is there a being in this powerful that can mask that energy?[/i] Somehow, The Wanderer thought that whatever this thing was, it would be making an appearance to every key being on this planet. Suddenly, a scream from nearby pierced the sounds of the night. With the origin appearing to be close by, the mutant sprung up from his perch and ran towards the source of the noise. A minute later into the city, he got to the origin of the source. A group of seven men in dark tactical suits were slowly encroaching a woman, assault rifles pointing at her. One of the men held a machete in hand. “So, you think you can align yourselves to the metas and not face any repercussions,” the man with the machete spoke as he walked up to the fallen woman. She scrambled backwards, her white coat dragging across the alleyway floor and hands getting cut up on the broken glass. “You know what we’ve said, ‘We will no longer tolerate the meta human threat to our world, nor those who support them.’ Well, guess you will be joining with your ‘friends’ shortly.” Taking one great stride, the Hound raised the machete and swung down. Instead of the metal hitting textile, flesh and bone, it hit something hard, the blade shuddering with the brunt of the blow back up the man’s arm. As the man looked on, The Wanderer had suddenly phased himself into his field of view, his all-familiar psionic blade parrying the blow of the machete without any show of force. Before the man could react, the mutants left fists whipped around and connected with the tactical helmet on his head, sending him flying through the brick wall. As the other six men cottoned on to what was happening, they raised their firearms and aimed at the mutant. However, the same left hand that slammed their colleague through the wall was thrusted towards them, a purple veil rising between the two groups. Shots from the assault rifles rang out in the streets, but to no avail as they bounced off the barrier and settled, flattened by the impact. The Wanderer, while focusing on the Hounds, spoke to the woman, [color=4682b4]”Get to safety and warn others about what has happened. I’ll deal with them. Now go!”[/color] The woman, without taking a chance to process the life that flashed before her eyes, scrambled to her feet and started running. Now that innocent life was protected the mutant gave the men his full concentration, the flames of anger within his blue eyes. [color=4682b4]”You think you are the future of humanity, wanting to protect them from what you call the metahumans. Instead, you are agents of chaos that will cause the ruin to this world. I [u]am[/u] the future and I will be your reckoning.”[/color] As he spoke, the purple flames of his psionics rose, licking the air with unrelenting fervor. In his time, the psionic aura would be barely detectable to other psionics in the immediate area. With the abundance of life in this time, the strength of the aura could be felt for miles by other psionic users who can detect it. He phased from his position to the nearest two Hounds. Grabbing their rifles, he pirouetted them around and threw them at the others. The two men knocked one of them to the floor, stripped of their rifles in the attack. With his newfound strength, he crushed the rifles as rivets sprung from the weapons. The other three fired their rifles, though hitting thin air as he phased again. As he reappeared, the psionic blade reappeared. With such speed and ferocity, he began cutting through their weapons. Now with his enemies disarmed, he now began his beatdown. ------- As the police arrive, The Wanderer had been waiting. His back was leaning up against the wall as he watched them. His left hand was raised as the seven men remained unconscious. As a precaution to these ‘Hounds’ waking up, a domed barrier was placed around them. As the police, unsure if the mutant was friend or foe, raised their own guns towards him. However, the woman that The Wanderer saved ran in front of them. “No don’t! He saved me!” Before anyone could react, The Wanderer disappeared, phasing both himself and the barrier from view. As the police looked around for him, the mutant watched on from the rooftops. As their search ended with nothing, the police went on to arrest the unconscious men. Satisfied with the conclusion, The Wanderer turned and began walking away, his left hand reaching up for the bullet wound on his right shoulder. Just before he disappeared from view, the woman caught a glimpse of him, smiling with a faint ‘thank you’ leaving her lips. Meanwhile, on the other side of the opposite rooftop, [url=https://www.roleplayerguild.com/posts/4095705]a blue flamed wolf[/url] watched, examining the scene reach its conclusion.