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A Man Out of Time #3: The Hounds’ Bark Is Nothing To a Wolf’s Bite
Time: Present day, Night time
Location: Pacific Point, California
Still clutching his right shoulder, the bleeding slowing to an ooze, The Wanderer walked sluggishly through the streets. The adrenaline had worn off not too long ago and the ache from the injury was starting to grate on him a bit. His coat was caked in his own blood all the way down to the ground, leaving a small trail of congealed blood in his wake. He had dealt with bullet wounds before, but with the limited supply and type in the future, the mutant wasn’t familiar with the hollow-point that managed to stop in his shoulder, embedding itself in his collar bone when he got a barrier up to stop it from causing more damage that it had done already. I’ll need to have a look at this when there is natural daylight, he thought. While it would be better for him to go to the hospital to get it treated, he couldn’t as he was still getting around in this period. He also needed more information on what is the social norm as being both an outcast of his people and this time has left a gap in his knowledge.
Finding a residential street, The Wanderer scanned the area for a place to hunker down for the night. However, the sound of marching boots in the area got him on his guard, even drawing his revolver from its holster. He was not surprised that there were more Hounds of Humanity on him, though their response to his appearance did surprise him a little. What also surprised him was the size of the group, 25 pairs of black boots with military weapons in hand. One of them spoke up to the injured man, “While you had to jump on our comrades, you will not get away from your fate, meta-scum!”
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While the injured man had walked away from the previous fight scene that resulted in an innocent life being saved, the cosmic being followed. So this is the time traveler? it thought, the musings only audible in its conscience. It had sensed the man’s presence from a great distance away and while it didn’t compare to the vast strength of its own, the wolf had seen the man showing a great deal of aptitude in using such a force. While it still needed to see more of what he was capable of, there was a strong interest. This man.. The Wanderer… shows a lot of great potential, moreso than many of the avatars I have created. However, the cosmic being noticed a difference in The Wanderer’s psionics that even it questioned. His abilities… they seem to be overwhelmed by the abundance of energy produced on this world. The cosmic being definitely noticed something that the mutant wasn’t aware of. The world he came from seemed to be dying and lacked the energy that this current timeline had. It was this bottlenecking in the mutant’s power that the wolf had refrained from personally contacting him personally. It will, however, keep a watchful eye on him for the future for the moment when his full potential is unlocked. Could he be the one?
Its musings were stopped when the men in the black uniforms arrived. “While you had to jump on our comrades, you will not get away from your fate, meta-scum!” It was then that the men started firing on The Wanderer. The mutant raised a huge barrier around him that stopped the bullets from reaching him, the rounds flattened like a pancake as they bounced to the floor. Would he now resort to the violence he refrained himself from using before? it thought, watching on from the sidewalk. The question came shortly afterwards when The Wanderer phased through the energy to the nearest man, slicing the man’s side open with the psionic-blade projection before shooting another with his revolver. However, the Hounds of Humanity were better prepared for such a thing as they quickly aimed their weapons to continue firing. While the mutant had raised his barriers from getting hit by the full barrage of bullets, a few managed to get through and hit him. He sank down onto his left knee as the left thigh had been hit by two rounds and another hit his torso, though the torso shot was absorbed by the armour that protected him.
It was when the men started to approach him to go for a melee kill that both psionic users felt it. The wolf instantly changed its gaze towards the center of the city, where the presence was felt. Now that is an interesting presence, it thought, its musings now more aloud than they had been before that anyone with psionics could hear them. It felt the huge ripples through the psionic aether, causing anyone who could see the energy to see distortions in it. The ripples could not be felt by anyone that was inclined to such a seismic event and, therefore, were unable to identify the location of it. However, for the cosmic being that was made with the energy, it was easy for it to identify the location. Who caused such an event where a previous psionic user could possess another? It didn’t take it long before it reached into the mind of someone still alive and gathered information from what seemed to be a Hound driven to pure fear. Ah, so the one called Voyager was the root of this. They will be another being that will…
“What the hell is that thing?1”
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The Wanderer had been hurting bad. The bullets ripped through his left thigh and left him hobbled to one knee. While the barrier had kept him alive for this long through the relentless assault from the Hounds, the blood loss that he was sustaining from his injuries was concerning him. While the injuries made his psionics stronger, that will be for nothing if he lost consciousness. He saw the men drawing closer, looking ready to go for the kill by hand. Much like before, the barrier would keep them at bay but for how long? Suddenly, he felt something through his psionic eye that left him distracted, looking the event’s general direction. A thought came into his mind, Now that is an interesting presence. A new voice alarmed him. With his full concentration on keeping himself alive with his barriers, he was vulnerable to a telepathic attack from this unknown voice, even if it seemed like a general comment about what just happened. While the bullets were still pounding on the barrier, the other being’s voice had been talking about something that he didn’t understand. However, something did catch his attention. Ah, so the one called Voyager was the root of this. They will be another being that will…
“What the hell is that thing?!”
Through the mentioning of Voyager and a random Hound’s outburst, The Wanderer began looking around to see what they were talking about. The flaming blue wolf certainly grabbed his attention. While the sight of it was certainly surprising, he had been surprised by the sheer amount of psionics that emanated from it. The close proximity of it was almost blinding and he thought that even then, this unknown being was holding back its power. It was then it dawned on the mutant that this might be the same presence that was felt hours ago and thought he recognized what it was. However, that didn’t matter as several of the Hounds also noticed it and began firing on it. The bullets seemed to have hit the wolf, but it remained unphased as they passed through and peppered the wall behind it. The only thing that the men had done with their sudden attack to have done was piss it off.
FOOLISH MORTALS! HOW DARE YOU ATTACK ME!
The wolf’s eyes shone purple flames from it, the sudden spike in power visible in the torrent of turbulent ripples in The Wanderer’s psionic eye. Another shining light shone from the air above it that was large. In his regular eye, a large flaming portal of purple appeared in space above the wolf. Moments later, a gigantic tentacle appeared through it, thick as a school bus that tapered to a point. With the snarl of the wolf, the arm began its tremendous swing, ripping up the tarmac that was swinging through. Realizing he was in the arms path, The Wanderer let down his barrier and looked to an area out of the impeding attack’s path. He phased out of the way in time.
When he looked back, he dropped to his knees in the sheer terror at the result of the attack. The tentacle had ripped up the road, completely covering the area that the Hounds had been in. Those closest to the swing had turned into streaks of blood and bone. Those closest to the other side of the swing had also been road rashed but their bodies had been completely annihilated by the compaction between the tentacle and the buildings, huge splashes of blood streaking the side of the building that came from the mangled bodies that were almost unidentifiable. The buildings somehow remained standing but the structural damage done was great, the walls crumbled by the impact and the glass completely shattered on the first floor. The mutant certainly thought that even with his barriers, such an impact would have completely shattered it and he would have ended up as one of those bodies. Yet, he dared to thing that even with this display of force that this was just a small fraction of the wolf’s power. Relax, you would have been able to have survive that attack with your barriers, He looked back at the wolf, he remained on his knees as it walked towards him. You did not attack me so you were not the target, Wanderer.
The mutant had been stunned by the wolf’s speech. First of all, the attack had not been intended to harm him in his barriers? Secondly, how did such a being know who he was without revealing it? Him being stunned by not only this, but it cemented his thoughts on what it was. ”Not for me?” he stammered, still processing everything that he had just witnessed. ”You must have been the being that I sensed when you arrived. You are the one that makes psionics possible. You are The Psionic Nexus, no?”
The wolf remained calm as he spoke. You are an observant one at that, psionic user. As for who I am, you can call me whatever you wish. I have been called by many names on multiple worlds. The Psionic Nexus gazed directly into the mutants eyes, the expanse within its own showing its deep thought. While you may have many questions for me, your current destiny is not to meet me and converse about everything that I hold domain. For now, you need to find the one that had shown great psionic power in this city, the one you felt too. The name you seek is called Voyager. Before The Wanderer could even ask about the cryptic task that the wolf had said, it vanished to all of his senses. His psionic eye had seen the presence disappear into thin air, leaving him in the death and destruction that was left behind.
