Cecil Stedman walks through the crowd at a market on the pier. He is looking for something, or rather, someone.
He makes his way through the town, following the clues he already had, until he sees the sign he was looking for. He opens the door and enters a hippie-style clothing store. A few people are already inside, looking around the store, and a woman stands at the counter. Seeing Cecil enter, she smiles gently and folds her hands together.
"Namaste, friend. How can I help you find inner peace today?" she asks.
"Thanks for asking, but I think it's a little late for that," Cecil says and takes out his gun, pointing it at the woman. The other people gasp seeing him with a gun.
"Get out. All of you." Cecil tells them. "Now!"
The civilians gasp and whimper as they make their way out of the store. Cecil walks forward, approaching the woman who tries to placate Cecil.
"Please. Whatever you want, just-just take it!"
But Cecil walks right past her through the door behind her and enters what looks like the storage room. He looks around, not seeing anyone else. With a final swipe, he places his gun back in its holster and takes out the radio, calling HQ.
"This is Stedman. Nothing here. Tip was a bust. Repeat. Tip was a bust."
After he says that, Cecil walks to a large cupboard and opens it. Inside, two large gas tanks are revealed, holding green gas. That's the gas Cecil and the GDA have been looking for. It was a deadly gas that caused rapid decomposition of human flesh, literally causing skin and muscle tissue to fall off and decompose the entire body.
*BAM*
The saleswoman knocks Cecil's head on the wall and then throws him to the ground, surprising him. She takes off her disguise and reveals her outfit underneath, revealing herself to be one of the two people Cecil was looking for, Knucklebuster.
"You found us. But you found us too late," she says.
"This place will be swarming with agents in minutes," Cecil tells her.
"Nuh-uh-uh. You gave the all-clear. No one's coming. And they never will."
Cecil realises that Knucklebuster has taken both his radio and his gun. Seeing no other choice, he attacks her, but realises that she is stronger, faster and a much better martial artist than he is. After a very short exchange of fists, Cecil hits the wall in pain. He takes out a powerful taser that he has with him, activating it.
"You forget the simple power of the human body," she says and attacks Cecil again.
The second exchange goes the same as the first one, with Knucklefist dodging Cecil's attempts to fire at her, hitting his face several times and knocking the taser out of his hand. Cecil gasped and groaned in pain as blood ran down his face.
"I don't get it. You're gonna set that thing off? Kill thousands? What for?" Cecil asks her.
"Someone like you could never see the beauty in it," she says between kicking the shit out of Cecil. "Yes, most of the city will die, but the survivors will inherit a new world. And learned that life is a gift, not to be wasted."
Knucklebuster continues to monologue about her view. Knucklebuster and her husband, Forcefist, make up the duo known as The Order of the Freeing Fist, which the GDA have been looking for. They believe that modern society and industrialisation have hindered humanity, leaving it stagnant and complacent, neglecting its bodies. That's why they focused on training their bodies and becoming the best of what they could. To fight industrialisation, they orchestrated the release of a deadly gas into the densely populated city in order to get their message across and inspire similar revolutions all around the world. She was a lunatic and shortsighted, as what she hoped for would never come to pass.
"Revolutions will start all around the world, casting off the shackles of industrial society," she continues as she easily knocks Cecil around.
"We shall return to the natural, the divine."
"Lady... cough... You don't know people." Cecil says and fires the taser at her, hitting her point-blank.
He has to act quickly and goes over to the two gas tanks, trying to turn the mechanism for releasing the gas off. But before he succeeds, Knucklebuster's husband, Forcefist, arrives and throws Cecil away from the two tanks.
"Seems I returned just in time," he says and punches Cecil a few times, causing him to spit blood.
"Well done, Force Fist," Knucklebuster tells her husband and looks at Cecil. "You've lost. You and your nightmare state will never stop the Order of the Freeing Fist-"
She is interrupted by wailing sirens, screeching wheels and the sound of a helicopter from above. Cecil groans and chuckles weakly.
"I knew who you were the minute I walked in. 'Tip was a bust' my ass. It was code for 'come stop these nutjobs'."
However, instead of being sad or angry, both of them seem happy and content. They grab each other's hands and walk towards the gas tanks.
"Life on this plane is only a distraction..." Force Fist starts saying as they walk closer towards the tanks.
"... and fear of death will never keep us from our destiny." Knucklebuster finishes.
"Wait! NO!" Cecil shouts as he realises what they're doing.
The arrival of the GDA only motivated the couple to jumpstart their plan sooner. A moment later, both Knucklebuster and Forcefist are exposed to the gas and scream in pain and joy as their skin dissolves, and their muscles do as well. Cecil is shocked but runs forward and closes the cupboard, hoping that it will contain the gas. Sadly, he is wrong. The gas exits through the narrow gaps and seeps out, also affecting Cecil as he stands there.
"RAAHH...ahhhh..."
Cecil groans and shouts in pain as the gas dissolves his skin slowly. His muscles follow. His blood vessels burst, and his hair disintegrates... As he groans in pain, the door opens, and a bright red light, which surrounds a tall man, appears; the Sentry has arrived. The majority of his suit is a deep red, which covers most of his body. His forearms, lower legs and feet are covered with black boots and arm guards, and he wears a black belt with a glowing red 'S' on it. To finish it off, the Sentry wears a black cape, which even now, swings behind him, as if there were wind.
Cecil looks at the striking figure, which awes him no matter how many times he sees it and forgets his pain. The Sentry walks forward with slow but measured steps and reaches Cecil, looking at him with a warm but concerned look.
"Th-e... g-a...s" Cecil still tries to tell him that he should not worry about him, but worry about the gas.
Sentry shakes his head and smiles. He touches his shoulder gently.
"Shhh, Cecil. Don't talk. I'll take care of everything."
That's the last thing Cecil sees before his brain finally shuts down: Sentry's smile. Then he falls unconscious into the Sentry's arms.
.
A few days later, Cecil wakes up in the Pentagon hospital.
*Gasp*
"Haaa... haaa..."
He takes deep breaths, and what he experienced is still on his mind. He looks around and sees his boss, Director Radcliffe, standing next to his bed. Radcliffe has the same look he always does, of a man who has seen much and has accepted reality for what it is.
"How are you feeling, Cecil?" Radcliffe asks, after he has finally stopped breathing so hard.
"I... I... good." Cecil says, looking at his arms and hands. "What happened?"
"Sentry arrived."
That's all Radcliffe says, as if it were the only thing needed and enough of an explanation. Ironically, it was. Robert has been active as the Sentry in this new reality for years now, and because he was sane and had incalculable powers, he was the one to solve problems, no matter what they were.
"How long have I been here?" Cecil asks.
"Two days. He brought you here right away. Thought you might prefer the known surroundings to others, or something, I don't know."
"Two days? Then how did you get my skin back so fast?" Cecil asks.
"Huh?"
"My skin. It was all gone, I lost my eyelid and felt my muscles break off my bones. So, how did you fix me this fast?" Cecil asks again.
"We didn't fix you. When the Sentry brought you here, you were simply unconscious and not... skinless." Radcliffe says.
*Sigh*
"Of course. Why not? Another thing he can do. Add it to the pile." Cecil says and groans.
"You say that but haven't added anything to his file yet, Cecil. Did you not find out anything else in the years you have been making contact and observing him?" Radcliffe asks.
"..."
"You're not going soft on me, Cecil. Just because he saved you a couple of times, are you?"
"No."
"Good to hear."
"How many did we lose? Did the gas get out?" Cecil gets back to the matter at hand.
"We would've lost thousands if it wasn't for you and the Sentry," Radcliffe says.
"Then answer my question."
"I just did."
"... None? Seriously?"
"Indeed. We won, Cecil."
"We? You mean the Sentry did. As per usual." Cecil says, a bit annoyed.
"Take a little R R, then come back and collect your medal," Radcliffe says as he walks towards the door.
"Give that to the Sentry for all I care. He did all the saving."
"I wanted to, but he turned it down. He says that if he weren't there, we would have lost 17 lives. But we would have lost thousands if you weren't there. Said, you saved thousands more than he did." Radcliffe tells Cecil, who looks shocked.
"Heh, what a prick. Wouldn't even let me feel bad for myself." Cecil says.
"I'll get everything ready for you," Radcliffe says and walks out of the room.
After remaining there for a while, Cecil also got up and got dressed. He had things to do, forms to fill out, and someone to visit, and he knew where to start.
.
On one of the highest buildings in New York, Cecil stands on the roof and looks across the island. He thinks back to the last few years and how his mind was blown repeatedly because of one man. Sentry made his first appearance, fighting a ginormous Kraken Kaiju-kind of abomination, creating tsunamis that threatened the eastern coast of America. He still remembers the red figure of a man, and first thought that the Immortal had gotten a new suit for some reason. And then, he saw the single punch delivered to the Kraken's skull, which caused the entire back of its large head to explode and disintegrate. That's when they knew in the GDA that this was someone new, someone dangerous.
A week after his debut, Radcliffe finally managed to track him down and talk to him. It was hard to get a hold of him, since he was always on the move, always helping out someone, no matter what situation, big or small, he was there. He would go from punching enormous Krakens to helping old ladies across the street, playing with kids on the playground, talking with civilians, and stopping buildings from falling ... it was ridiculous, Franky, the range of things he did. He wasn't too big or too good for anything, it would seem. The GDA had nothing on him and couldn't predict him in the slightest, as his motives seemed altruistic in their most genuine and purest form.
After meeting with the Sentry, Radcliffe returned to the Pentagon and put Cecil, a young but promising agent, on observation and threat assessment duty. His task was to make contact unofficially and find out his true motives. He tracked the Sentry and found out where he lived, noting everything he did and adding to the Sentry's growing profile. It seems the Sentry had found a broken-down building, amidst the most lawless area of New York and turned it into a lovely house. Cecil acted as if he were a civilian and moved in next door. After the second day of living in terrible conditions and eating bad food, cause he had to play a role, the Sentry knocked on his door. Only it wasn't the Sentry, but Robert Reynolds. He told him that he could come to his house and live there for the time he was on duty, as that would be easier for him.
Cecil was shocked and confused. He hadn't ever had such a situation, but contrary to what most others would have done, he accepted Robert's suggestion. He could truly keep closer watch that way, as ridiculous as it was.
As time passed, Sentry made friends in the superhero community. The Immortal, who was a cynic and didn't trust anyone at first, became his friend, frequently visiting the ever-growing house of Robert. They talked about mundane things and history mostly, which was Immortal's favourite topic. After the Immortal, War Woman followed, and many more after that. Radcliffe was worried about the Sentry's incalculable and unknown power, but Cecil knew that his greatest strength was his mind and how he spread warmth and made friends. Because Cecil had to admit that he considered Robert a friend.
The terribly run-down and lawless area where Robert settled was transformed by his hands over the years, and the original house is now the largest skyscraper in New York. The city loved him, but landlords hated him, loathed him even. He created homes that were so cheap that everyone could afford them, according to their income, and then he made them a bit cheaper still. He created parks for families to spend time and enjoy themselves, and so much more, that Cecil couldn't keep up any longer. He stopped his observation unwillingly, but Radcliffe decided that it wouldn't help them at all.
"Are you reminiscing again, my friend?"
The voice of Sentry pulls Cecil out of his thoughts. A moment later, they stand side-by-side, looking over the city at the sunset.
"Something like that."
"How are you feeling?"
"Good, thank you. I got your medal." Cecil says.
"You mean your medal. You did great work there, Cecil. You have proven The Order of the Freeing Fist right and shown that one man is all it takes to make a difference. And all that without releasing toxic gas, which would have killed thousands."
*Sigh*
"Sometimes, I hate that you're a bloody genius." Cecil sighs.
"Haha, come now, you're not still sore about the observation, are you? That was years ago."
"Nah, it's still there. Nagging at my pride."
"..."
"So what now?" Cecil asks.
"I am going to do something else, Cecil," Robert tells his friend.
"What? Do what? Another project?"
"Something like that. I have been doing this hero thing for a while now and would like to focus on other things now."
"Huh?! What are you talking about? You can't quit! You're the best hope humanity has against-"
"That's not true, Cecil. It has others, and it has you to guide them. You'll do a wonderful job. I am not dead, or refuse to help anymore. I'm just going to get out of the spotlight, have others do what they can as well. If I do everything, they will rely on me too much. And I won't be there all the time." Robert says.
Cecil understands. He has also noticed that the GDA have started to rely on the Sentry far too much. Others also had to pick up their share of the burden; otherwise, if Sentry were not there, everything would crumble.
"So what are you going to do? Just leave? That's not like you."
"No. I'll be here. I am going to open a home for kids of all ages, where they can learn, live, and study in the school I have added. It will be for young minds who don't fit in and those who are scared or confused due to powers or other circumstances. A small safe haven, if you will, for the weakest members of society."
"I see... well, that DOES sound like you. I'll keep your number, though, so don't get too comfortable," Cecil says.
"I won't. See you around, Cecil. And come visit some time." Robert says as he flies into the air and then disappears.
"...I will."
__________________________________
Just some backstory. It will go back to show, not tell. At least mostly.
I also hope the action junkies are not going to rant, because an MC does good, because he can and wants to.