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Brave new world

June 21st, 2034

It was dark outside. Night had fallen a long time ago with only a small amount of moonshine giving light in the dense forest and Commander Mark Bennett was on the run. His equipment left much to be desired, armed with only a gun with four rounds in it, one flash bang and a simple combat vest that would offer little protection against his pursuers. He was getting short on breath from all the running but the last thing he wanted is to get caught. Exhausted and weakened, he decided to sneak around through the dense forest in hopes of evading the enemy.

"C'mon... I know you're close... " he said quietly to himself and readied his gun. All his years in the military could not prepare the 36 year-old veteran for this new type of foe he was facing. His physique and training was helpful but it probably won't be enough. He was about 6'4'' and weighed 240 pounds, short blonde hair and a neatly trimmed beard adorned his chiseled features. Then again, good looks don't help you survive besides that one time in Monaco "Where are you-GAH! " suddenly a strong, serpent-like tail wrapped around his legs and lifted him upside-down then raised high above into the trees, finally bringing him face to face with one of his pursuers. It was a black king cobra, but not just any cobra, this one was enormous, about 30 feet in total length, and actually had hands along with what appeared to be breasts, judging by the curves on the protective armor it was wearing. It's, or rather her's, yellow eyes looked at him menacingly and the mouth slowly opening wide, ready to swallow him as he felt the tail constricting tightly around his body. Struggling to wiggle his arm free he barely managed to point the gun right between the monsters eyes "Bang. " a single round hit it's target and the beast roared in pain before dropping him 10 feet down. Hitting the ground with a painful thud, Mark quickly jumped to his feet and began running.

Not even a good distance away from the snake-like monster he noticed another from the corner of his eye. A large wolf was closing in fast from the side, bits of moonlight illuminating it's form. As the wolf was getting closer Mark observed the creature to also being female, the coat a dark gray and apparently had a mane that looked like a wild hairstyle. By his approximation she was easily 7 feet tall and could tear him apart with her bare hands and then crush his bones with her mighty maw.

"Took you long enough! " he yelled at the incoming werewolf, as that could be the closest description he could find and pulled out his flashbang. Throwing it into the beasts path, Mark closed his eyes tightly and waited for it to detonate. Sure enough, he heard the detonation, followed by a yelp, a crashing sound and some whining. Opening his eyes, he saw the wolfess on the ground, clutching her head in pain after hitting face first into a tree. Mark walked over to her and pointed his gun at the downed beast. Her eyes widened as Mark pulled the trigger "Bang. " another one between the eyes. Wasting no time, Mark holstered his gun and got on the run again. His path took him over a small river with a bridge going over it. That was a mistake...

Reaching about the half-point of the bridge, something jumped out of the water from the left side and tackled him over the right side. Splashing down into the river below, Mark was now wrestling with a large crocodile, about 7' 4'', struggling to break free before the little air he caught would run out. Apparently this one was also a female as it was trying to smother him betwen her breasts. Making a quick, and very painful decision, Mark reared his head back and headbutted the croc right in the short maw. Clutching it in pain, Mark was released from the death grip and quickly swam ashore. Dragging himself out of the water he barely stood on his feet.

"That was too close for-DAMMIT! " he felt hands grab him by the ankles and pull him down on the ground, slowly dragging him back into the water. Just as the beast opened it's mouth to bite off his leg, Mark turned around as much as he could, pulled out his gun and "Bang. " a shot between the eyes was enough to send the beast back into the water. Only one left.

He was nearing his limit but he will not fall to them. Making his was back into the forest he sat down and leaned on a tree for some much needed rest. He only had a couple of minutes time before he heard some leaves quietly rustling above. Rising to his feet and taking a hold of his gun he readied himself. A lound panther-like roar filled the air as his final enemy jumped from the trees ready to finish him off. He took aim but the beast was closer than he thought and it pushed his arm aside, the gun firing off into nothing. His shot missed and the beast tackled him to the ground, pinning his hands above his head. As before, a female lioness was sitting on him, about 6'7'' with a black hair-like mane, baring her sharp teeth in his face, growling meancingly. Mark realized it was over and resigned himself to his fate. He sighed in exhaustion.

"Fine, you win. " the beasts demenaor shifted instantly and she began licking him all over his face with a happy expression of her own "Ew! Ew! Stop! You won, okay! Saha'Ra stop! " the lioness let out a throaty laugh and released her prisoner, rising to her feet. Mark ran a hand across his face to clear it from drool and the lioness offered him a hand to stand up "Geez, do you have to do that everytime? "

"Yes. " the lioness responded, her voice a mix between a humans and a lions "Makes victory sweet. "

"Sure it does. " Mark scratched her behind the ear, elicting a happy purr from the feline. He heard rustilng around them and saw three figures approaching "And here come the losers. " the snake, crocodile and wolf stepped into the small clearing where Mark and Saha'Ra were standing, all rubbing their foreheads.

"Head hurtssss. " the cobra said, her body slithering toward them, one of her hand rubbing a pink paint stain between her eyes.

"Then you should have made sure my firing arm was immobilized, Sarai. "

"Eyes hurt. " the wolfess joined in, her voice a deep growling tone, one palm rubbing her eyes and the other the pink stain between them "See stars. "

"Sorry about that, Kiarra, but you should be prepared for anything as always. "

"Almost had you. " the crocodile said, arms crossed under her chest and acting all tough even though her forehead and maw hurt like hell.

"Almost had me and actually had me are two different things Nyssa. " Mark told her with a smirk and Nyssa let out a low rumbling sound of annyoance "Well, as promised, the winner gets a whole bowl of ice-cream and the losers get to watch. " Saha'Ra's face lit up at the prospect of the prize while the other three grumbled to themselves "Let's head back before the lab-rats get all fidgety. " Mark took the lead and the four females followed him without question. They reached their small aircraft outside of the forest and flew towards their base, Area 51.

Once there they walked to their joined sleeping quarters, scientist sticking close to the walls and avoiding them at all costs, and as promised, Mark brough Saha'Ra a large bowl of chocolate-chip ice-cream and a spoon. The feline looked at the bowl with glee and was about to dig in when she saw her three friends looking at her in envy. Giving them a smile, she walked to the counter and took three more spoons, handing one to each of the girls and sitting the bowl in the center. The girls smiled at each other and all four began devouring the ice-cream. This scene brought a smile to Mark's face.

"And to think four months ago they were ready to tear me and each other apart. "

Four months ago...

A lone, dark red 71' Dodge Charger was driving through the Nevada desert. The driver was Mark Bennett, wearing blue jeans with a black leather jacket over a white t-shirt that had the Comedian's smiley face with the text Have a nice day printed around it. Shielding his eyes from the bright sun was a pair of black aviator glasses and ZZ Top was playing loudly on the speakers. He was nearing the infamous Area 51, his new job site.

You see, a few years ago, a man named Alexander Bishop came to the US government with a radical idea to produce super-soldiers made out of animal DNA. He had only one specimen ready and the government, against their better judgement, decided to fund his science project, intrigued by the prospect of animal super-soldiers, apex predators on the battlefield. After the initial experminets proved a huge success the funds were raised and multiple facilities were opened to produce gentically modified, animal super soldiers. Area 51 was the latest facility to be opened to this project and after a instructor got killed Mark was called in to finish the job. He's been a black ops operative for most of his life and then a mercenary so when money called he was there. He proved highly effective in training the newly dubbed Anthro Troops, though his methods were questioned by the higher-ups. Still, the results spoke for themselves and he was called to Area 51 to get things rolling.

He was nearing the gates of said base and then stopped once he reached it. Lowering the volume on his music he pressed a small button on the PA system and a voice came through.

"State your name and business. "

"Mark Bennett, I'm here for a job. " he said simply, not even looking at the speaker as he tapped his fingers on the steering wheel.

"One moment please." Mark waited for a minute before the gates began opening "Welcome to Area 51, Commander Bennett."

"Thanks. " Mark hit the gas and the car speeded towards the base entrance. He could see multiple scientists already waiting for him. They all looked the same to him in their white coats, thick glasses and slicked black hair. Putting his car to a stop, Mark stepped outside. One of the scientists quickly approached him

"Glad you made it here safely, Commander Bennett! My name is- "

"Don't care. " Mark walked to the trunk and pulled out a single duffle bag, slinging it over his shoulder "Tell me about the job. " the scientist was taken aback by his tone but quickly regained his composure.

"Uh, yes sir. Right this way. " he motioned towards the doors and Mark made his way inside. As expected from his previous experiences, the walls were white, the hallways long and everything looked to be spotless "To the elevator. " the two entered the elevator and Mark dropped the bag on the ground. The descent down below had begun.

"Assingment? " he asked, not even looking at the scientist.

"Uh, um, here. " he handed Mark a datapad, four files on the screen. Mark clicked on one and began reviewing the information "I have heard of your qualifications and I must say that- "

"Name? " Mark asked as he scrolled over the information on his future trainees.

"As I tried to say before, my name is- "

"Not yours, theirs. " he flipped the datapad to show him pictures of the four anthros he's about to train.

"JL1, CA1, CK1 and TW1. " Mark sighed as the scientist finished listing off the names.

"You should give them real names. "

"What for? They're beasts! Monsters even! " the scientist said defensively "Their last instructor was ripped to shreds by them! "

"The way you people handle things around here I'm surprised there haven't been more casualties. " Mark growled at the man who took a step back "I'll say this now, do not interfere with my methods, otherwise I'm gone, understand? "

"Y-yes sir! " to his luck the elevator stopped after a long descent and the man was relieved to get out. Soldiers were lined up along the wall leading towards one large door "They're in there. " he pointed at the door.

"What about them? " Mark asked glancing at the soldiers.

"Security measures. "

"From what I hear, your security measures got my predecessor killed. " Mark said grimly and the scientist winced.

"I-it's protocol! " they reached the door and Mark sighed in annoyance.

"Let's see what I'm up against. Open it. " the scientist swiped his key card and the door beagn to open. Soldiers immediately stormed inside and readied their rifles with strong tranquilizers. Mark could distinguish four different sounds from inside, each coresponding to what he saw on the datapad. Stepping inside the barren room he saw his future trainees back up against the far wall, their body language suggesting they were ready to attack but held back for some reason "Shock collars... " he said, noticing black collars around their necks.

"Oh, yes! Here is the remote! " when the scientist pulled out the remote, all four females flinched back and grabbed said collars in fear. Mark took the remote and looked at the females "The entire area is under video surveillance, tranquilizer gas is always ready and-WHAT IN GOD'S NAME ARE YOU DOING? " Mark walked up to the females, standing about 10 feet away, pressed a button on the remote and threw it to them. The feline of the group looked at the remote and then at Mark before gingerly picking it up.

"An effective unit is built upon trust, not torture. " Mark walked closer to the feline who was inspecting the remote. He could hear rifles being raised but didn't say anything "You say they're beasts but you've made them so much more than that. " he crouched down to the feline and closed in on her collar "Even if they were simple beasts, if there is no mutual trust there is no bond and therefore no effetive unit. " his hand brushed against her black hair and she snarled right in his face "Easy girl. I'm not going to hurt you. " she continued snarling until Mark undid her collar and her eyes widened in surprise "Much better, right? " her expression changed instantly to a snarl again and she pounced on him, tumbling them to the ground "HOLD YOUR FIRE! " he yelled to the soldiers as the feline was getting dangerously close with her sharp teeth "You won't hurt me, won't you? Not when I have ice-cream. " he looked at the scientist "The bag. " shaking like a leaf, the scientist threw the bag to Mark "Go on, open it. " he said to the feline who looked at said bag and sniffed the air. She slowly got up from Mark and crawled on all fours to the bag. She tore up the bag and sure enough, ice-cream. She took the plastic bowl and opened the lid. After taking one lick of the icy goodness she burried her maw inside the bowl. It didn't take long before brain-freeze struck her and she clutched her head in pain "Slow down, there's enough for everybody. " she was growling angrily but still shoving ice-cream into her mouth.

"I can't believe it... " the scientist said while observing the scene unfolding infront of him. The other females were slowly closing in, getting drawn by the smell of chocolate.

"C'mon, don't be shy. " he motioned with his hand for them to come closer. Slowly advancing on the bag the three females each took out a different bowl and after a timid first taste began devouring the contents. They didn't even notice as Mark removed each of their collars. The guards however did and were very eager to leave. Mark stood up and walked up to the scientist "My fee just doubled, we'll need five beds of appropriate size for each occupant, a kitchen, a proper shower-" the guy was barely listening "Are you going to write this down or do I have to talk to Bishop to get what I need? "

"N-no, no, no, that won't be neccessary! " he stammered out and typed in all of Mark's requests into his datapad.

"Now get out before the ice-cream runs out. " he shooed them away and returned to the girls "All you four need now are proper names. " the girls looked at him in confusion and simply shrugged. They didn't care how he would name them as long as he brought more of this frozen deliciousness.

Present...

After sharing a bucket of ice-cream the team went to take a shower together. As in all five together. From day one Mark made it clear they would be doing everything together, eat, sleep, drink, shower, everything. Thy will think and breathe as one.

The shower was spacious, or rather, it was a shower room you'd typically find in gyms. Once the girls found out that you can actually bathe in warm water, instead of the freezing one they were normaly doused in, they were looking forward to their showering sessions. It eased the sore muscles and washed the tension away. As one would expect, you shower naked and here was no exception. To his credit, Mark never peeked at the girls and usually looked at the wall infront of him. To his dis-credit, he didn't understand the girls animalistic voices and how they managed to communicate with eachother like that.

"Sweet victory, yeah! " Saha'Ra said in sing-song with a sly smirk while rubbing soap all over her chest.

"Rub it in why don't you. " Sarai responded annoyingly as she cleaned her long arms.

"You do realize we're just an assingment, right? " Nyssa asked, inspecting her toned body in a foggy mirror "The moment the lab-rats decide his job is done, he's gone. Forever. "

"Then we go with him! " Kiarra said loudly which caught Mark's attention, as it sounded like an angry bark to him, and looked at her with a raised brow "Nyssa makes fun at me. " she lied to keep Mark from getting suspicious.

"Nyssa, don't be rude to her. " Mark told her while shampooing his hair.

"Eat me. " the croc replied with a smirk.

"Only if you ask nicely. " he winked at Nyssa and continued to wash himself, completely missing the croc's red tinted cheeks.

"Dammit. " Nyssa looked at the mirror again while the three others laughed.

"I agree with Kiarra. " Sarai spoke, noting to herself how it was actually nice to have proper names instead of reffering to eachother with Hey you or Fuzzball "If he goesss, we go. We wouldn't be where we are today if it weren't for him. "

"He got us out of so much trouble as it is." Saha'Ra said while looking at Mark who was finishing his shower "Who knows what those lab-rats would to to us..." she shuddered at the thought. They could easily kill all of them, sure, but sleeping gas and tranq-darts were keeping them in line for now. They got lucky one time already...

"Hurry it up, it's time for bed. " Mark called and turned off his shower. The girls nodded and quickly washed themselves down. Stepping back into their common room they put on their pyjamas. Saha'Ra was wearing a white tank top that had a Hello Kitty print and black short pants, Sarai slept in a red gown that managed to cover her lower private area, Kiarra had a dark blue t-shirt with stars and a large moon with matching bottoms and Nyssa had a black Jurassic Park t-shirt with black bottoms as well. Mark was keeping it simple with a white t-shirt and black boxers.

"Game? " Kiarra asked and pointed to a large table with the game Risk already in full motion. Mark thought it over and decided to play one hour.

"An hour, then it's bed time. " all the girls looked happy at the prospect of continuing to play and took their seats "You do realize it's against the rules to gang up on one player. " it would seem the girls hadn't heard him. He chuckled and took his seat, ready to defend his lands to the last soldier.

Control room...

"They're at it again! " one of the guards called his co-worker from his seat at the monitors.

"Think they'll beat him this time? " the other sat down next to his colleague with a cup of coffee.

"I hope so. I got money riding on it! " he replied with a laugh and watched the game unfold.