My Werepanther System: Starting with Nine Lives
Chapter 70 MIND/MATTER

Chapter 70: 70 MIND/MATTER

Lyra moved like water. Even when her mind was controlled and at the beck and call of someone else, her steps and swings were both precise and almost inhumanely fluid. They were distracting. Even in combat— grisly combat, she moved like she was on a runway. Each sequence like a show that ended with a bang as she raised her sawed off shotgun and fired.

Rex dodged the shot but the proximity of the pellet blast shook his brain and left his ears ringing.

He tried to recover but Cpt Camo was on him, tackling him from behind.

Rex went down, tearing up the scorched earth as they rolled. It ended with Cpt. Camo taking top mount and raining down blows on him.

Rex brought his hands up to guard his face.

"WHAT ARE YOU?!" His captain said in Simon’s voice.

"Simon! It’s me!" Rex yelled.

"Shut-up!" Cpt. Camo roared and spit a torrent of fire.

Rex punched him in the stomach, forcing him to curl inward and begin superheating his martial-skin. From there, Rex slapped him so hard his head snapped left and the wave of fire flew after Lyra and Isadora as they approached like zombies.

Due to Simon controlling all their minds from the same Psionic channel, even Cpt. Camo— who was spitting the fire, acted as if he was hit and rolled out of the way screaming.

Rex got up just in time to see a handful of Fauve Military-Guild infantry-men running after him with the same wild look in their eyes. That and the same insignia of a tiger comprised of fire on their chest.

He could take them.

In all honesty he was hungry and irritated enough to run into the horde like a feral tidal wave.

Instead, he turned and ran. He felt his feline instincts shrink and his power wane before quickly revitalizing as his eyes zeroed in on the distant glowing blip on his visor.

"Simon’s five miles away. He’s running. Pfc Luce said something about he’s attracted to emotions. Where else would emotions be highest than in a gigantic city full of poverty. It should’ve been obvious. It probably was to everyone else but me."

Rex picked up his speed and chased after the glowing silhouette of Simon.

Unfortunately, along the way, Simon was gaining control of his abilities.

Trees, twisted by his Psionic might into the form of dryadic panther headed men attacked him.

Rex rolled out of the way of one with flaming bark.

Another came from his left as he ran down a trail of greenery.

"STOP... following ME!"

Rex charged the shape and used his claws to climb its length until he was jumping off its oak shoulders.

He landed in a roll and kept sprinting, "Come on, Simon! It’s Rex! Remember me? You seemed to know all about me when you were trying to use my infamy for a paycheck!" Rex yelled, knowing Simon was hearing it through his mental connection to something nearby.

A bush-dog flew out of deeper greenery behind Rex with green eyes and bubbling saliva. Its jaws moved like it was barking but Simon’s voice flowed.

"You can’t trick me!..... I’ll kill you!"

Following his words a volley of gunfire from the Fauve Military-Guild infantrymen a mile behind rang out.

Rex dropped and rolled with feline agility and still got hit in the shoulder.

[85% HP Remaining!]

As he fell, he heard the bush-dog yelp as it was ripped apart by advanced munitions. Munitions from the worlds most effective guild superpower.

In its yelps, he heard Simon. He heard him in the trees and in the soldiers behind that succumbed to their own blind mind controlled assault. It came forth in a death-roar from every living breathing thing for miles.

Rex laid on the ground for a moment. He looked ahead and found Simon— the actual one, was also slowed for a moment. Stunned in the distance.

"He just..... killed himself..... like seventeen-thousand times. I’m no scientist, but if I let him hit New-Brazil, with all those people, he’ll go nuclear." Rex said.

Quickly, he got to his feet. He was about to run as the remaining soldiers closed in when his ears twitched.

He heard it.

He felt it.

The river flowed to the west of him. Strong and inviting in its intense coolness. He could feel the fluids flowing into the soil and empowering the jungle flora surrounding.

Rex turned and jumped.

He soared, flipping into a dive that sent him soundlessly splashing into the river.

Immediately, he felt the bullet wound in his shoulder cool. He felt his strength climb as he partially transformed. The water became an extension of him as he swam. Then he realized how ridiculous it was to be swimming and began racing down the river as the stream became his elemental vehicle.

He raced through the war torn jungle.

More bush dogs and venomous reptiles charged. Whenever they neared the water, he’d throw an assaulting wave against the river border and hit them with so much liquid force they’d be knocked out for too long to even consider chasing him upon recovery.

The miles shrank by the minute as he spiraled and dashed through the jungle.

Three miles.....

Two miles.....

One mile—

A massive scaled foot smashed into the river right in front of him.

Before he could react, it was kicking through the water.

With barely any time left to respond, Rex spun to the left. The beast sent shockwaves spinning up the stream that threw Rex out of his own element.

He hit three branches before landing on his feet on the ground.

In his visor, the massive shape held a glowing outline. In his predatory pursuit he hadn’t even noticed them.

Pvt Banet. Rex didn’t even know his first name. He didn’t even recognize him. Which seemed ridiculous because he stood out like a sore thumb. He looked brutish. He was muscular and hairy. His eyes were pure black and and surrounded by bulging veins. He was feral.

Like a caveman.

Which was fitting since he was riding a dinosaur.

His visor was telling him the dinosaur was Pvt Drachera. The two had teamed up. Either by Simon’s command or something else.

"AaaaRRGG!" Pvt Banet roared in his own voice. He shook his dreaded mane of hair, visibly fighting the mind control.

"Private Banet..? You in there?" Rex asked. "I’ll skip asking the other one..... for obvious reasons."

"I’m everywhere. So you can’t find me." Simon replied from Pvt Banet and the dinosaur trainee’s mouth.

Then Pvt Banet roared, threw his head back and slammed himself face first into his dinosaur mounts back.

The shock of the hit seemed to free his mind. Rex was relieved until the caveman spat and pointed at Rex.

The dinosaur hissed and they charged.

Rex didn’t have time to play. He moved quickly. With the river close by, he pulled the waters to him, mocking the flow of the river. He surfed on the flowing current around trees and over stones and dodged the snap of the dinosaur’s maw before jumping off and landing behind Pvt Banet.

Before he could react, Rex pulled all the waters and locked them into a giant orb of jungle waters.

Pvt Banet spun around in the water and tried to punch at him.

His fist went through Rex as he morphed into the same water they were choking on.

Now nearly invisible and amorphous, Rex slipped and dashed within the bubble, hitting Pvt Banet with focused waves until he was near concussed.

Then it was only Pvt Drachera left. She stumbled and coughed flurries of bubbles for a few seconds like a raging dragon before falling over.

Rex reformed as the focused bubble of water popped with a massive splash.

With the two on the ground before him, he unholstered his gen-sleeper pistol.

They were both physical types, but something told him Pvt Banet was more than that since he was actively combating Simon’s power and seemingly collaborating with Pvt Drachera.

He aimed his pistol at Pvt Banet’s head and fired.

The trainee flinched as the glowing blue pellet hit and sunk into his skin. Almost immediately, the red tint faded and the veins disappeared. In seconds he looked like a normal trainee. He looked familiar as his excessive body hair fell out and his bone structure normalized.

He shot Pvt Drachera in the chest.

His jaw dropped as she slowly transformed into Trish.

"Caspien’s chaperone?" He remembered worrying if she was the reptile totem Awakener. He was back on that theory in full swing then.

Quickly, he brought his snipe-gauntlet bracelet to his face and spoke into it with the click of a bead, "AG Brennus, I’ve got Pvt Banet and Pfc Drachera contained. I need pick-up. All other assigned personel and units are compromised."

His bracelet fizzled as AG Brennus spoke, "Rex!? You’re with us. Fantastic. The missions on you, can you take it?"

"I’m good. Pick up my take downs and we’ll wrap this up before nightfall." Rex replied.

"We’re sending drones to your location. Pickup time is t-minus two minutes."

Rex adjusted his gear as he waited. All the while, he watched the glowing sillouette of Simon in the distance.

Along with that, he began to collect a small pond of high speed waves beneath his feet.

"Before nightfall. And then I have to get to the others."