February 26th, 2011

I woke in a city. It took me a while to figure that out. Rocks were falling from the skies above. The air smelled of blood, that coppery scent like a battery on your tongue.

I was standing when I woke. I looked up, feeling as refreshed as though I hadn't slept at all. And as I stood there, I gaped at the sight before me.

People flying in the air, like bees in a miniature ruined city, dressed in dozens of colors. They were all attacking something.

An angel. A many winged angel. Naked as the day is long, fifteen feet in height, with beautiful long white hair. Her eyes were a cold gray as the people flew about her.

The whole thing was taking place a few hundred feet away as I stood in a pair of pajamas and my slippers, gaping at the sight before me.

That is what got me. I acted like a normal man seeing a group of people attacking an angel while all of them were flying.

As I watched, the bitch with wings looked over at me. I say bitch, because I could not think of the word 'angel' without feeling sick, looking at that face. Alien. Remote. Cold.

That face would haunt my nightmares, as she lifted her hand contemptuously.

The boulder did the rest.

I was lucky. Damn lucky. The rock had been enough to severally injure me, leave me in the hospital for weeks. I was rescued after I'd been knocked unconscious by someone on the scene, and sent to a refugee center.

One of the few to survive the Simurgh's attack on Canberra, Australia. The only one to escape as soon as possible.

I'd woken in the hospital, pain in every part of me. A bit of testing revealed I'd broken my arm, ribs, and jaw. I had bruises on my upper thigh, whole chest, and neck.

I rose up, groaning in pain, and looked at the door. I was one of many people in a tent. Nurses and doctors were milling about to patients on cots, all of them as comatose as I had been.

Lucky I fought off the chemicals they'd used to put me under far faster than a natural human should.

I was about to sigh in relief. I was from California after all. Maybe the big one had finally hit, and an earthquake had dropped my house on me. A medication induced fantasy. That had to be it, right?

That's when I felt something under my back. At my tailbone, wiggling around.

I froze. New muscles clenched at my back. A fur covered object went around my waist, acting like a belt.

I could barely think. I could barely breathe. But I knew I had to do something.

Because if what was at my waist was real, then so might the rest.

I felt a bit of excitement, even through the pain and fear.

I forced it down. I moved my eyes. Both sides of the tent had a man looking over the proceeding. Straight backed. Armored in something out of the Halo franchise. And carrying some mean damn looking guns.

I had to leave. Somehow, I felt much clearer through the pain and fear than I usually would. The thought that made me want to leave was simple.

I was a survivor of a Simurgh attack. Behemoth, Leviathan, survivors of those things would get a pass.

Behemoth boiled people alive while smashing him with his fists. Leviathan drowned people while slicing them apart.

Live from one of them? You poor child, what a survivor, one of the proud few.

A Simurgh survivor?

Well she had a penchant for turning most sane human beings into insane sociopaths. So stay here you damned time-bomb, we need to make sure you aren't about to slaughter a kindergarten, so get ready for a long damn stay.

Not to mention that my new attachment marked me as an obvious cape. One more mark in favor of locking me up.

A part of me screamed in abject at the thought of being locked up, pent up like some damn animal, like I wasn't-

The furry 'belt' tightened slightly. I sighed as softly as I could, trying to relax.

Okay. Should I even leave? What if I was crazy? Maybe I deserved to stay? After all, I could just be a normal member of this universe who had gone mad. This universe had contact with universes with Star Wars and DC, right? Hell, I barely knew anything about Worm. I was shocked when I learned there were more Endbringers than the first three.

But how could I know that was true? How could I…

No. Maybe I was insane. But if I was, I didn't want to stay anyways. If what I suspected about myself was true, even the slightest bit, I had to go.

It was agonizing, laying there for the next five hours. The pain medication had long since faded, and every breath was agony. I lied as still as possible, both to limit the pain and to appear to be unconscious. My eyes opened in fleeting glances, only to scan the room.

I marked each guard. I tracked the shifts as best I could. Each second was counted. One Mississippi. Two Mississippi. Three Mississippi. I was relying on a damn childish way of tracking time to plan an escape.

I stopped my laugh before a guard looked over at me.

Finally, I took my chance. I brace myself for the pain. According to my timing, and mostly on the guards checking their watches…

One walked the length of the tent to join his partner, sending a radio message. They walked off. Even as they did, the next guard's shadows could be seen through the tent walls. Seconds of window. A doctor was facing me, working on another man. I didn't hold my breath or tense. I needed air and fluid motion for this.

I did however, slowly reach for my IV.

She turned away.

Agony exploded through me as I moved as smoothly as I could. I removed the IV needle, grabbing the bag off its stand. I'd practiced the motion as much as I could in my head, trying to account for as much as I could. I walked around the doctor as her back was turned. As the next guards came through one door, I slipped out the other.

It was dead of night. I removed my hospital gown, depending on my dusky skin to camouflage me in the shadows better than a blinding white gown. I looked down briefly at my now naked body.

A furry monkey's tail, wrapped around my waist like a belt.

I shuddered. Then I sprinted into the shadows, and into the night.

February 27th, 2011

Canberra had been shut down. The former capitol of Australia. A graveyard.

I didn't mind that too much, other than a minor morbid wish to see my arrival site.

I was in Brockton Bay. No wait. Brockton Bay. There were signs.

Escaping from my tent in the cover of darkness had brought me to a field full of other tents. A refugee center. I managed to steal some pants from a donation box among donation boxes. I felt bad about it, but hell, dude from another dimension, new tail, survived a mini-Kaiju as well? I deserved the pants too I think.

Still felt guilty.

I immediately ran into the night while cradling my broken arm in its cast, trying to be as stealthy as possible. Luckily things weren't as defended as the refugees were arriving, and I made my escape by hoping a fence.

Which meant wonderful, wonderful pain.

Feeling thirsty, I ripped open the IV bag I'd stolen and sucked down whatever was in it. Tasted like water, but I'm not a doctor, so it could have been morphing. Fuck it though, I've got a tale, like a little drug overdose will be any worse.

I was feeling pretty fatalistic at that point.

I was wondering through the street of one of the worst cities in fiction that was not literally being devoured by eldritch beings, and I gave it a week before that happened, and I was wounded, hurt, and probably a Saiyan.

"Saiyan." I mumbled as I wearily strolled down an alley way, keeping to the shadows. "Hope so. Better than any other option."

Seriously though, why drop a random human in the middle of Worm and give them Saiyan blood? Why just drop a real Saiyan?

Like Goku?

"Comes in. Happy go lucky…" I giggled. "Then bam! The Granddaddy of Power-ups starts popping monsters."

Or Vegeta. See Jack Slash try to manipulate the man who fought against everything and everyone that came his way for the sheer hell of it. Vegeta wouldn't have been hit by Simurgh. He'd have torn her wings off and had her kneeling before him.

"Do you feel fear Endbringer?" I growled in, what I assumed was, an excellent rendition of his voice. I giggled again, then tried to focus once more.

Okay, enough of that. Brockton Bay. City of A-holes. I'm going to avoid getting mugged in this back-alley damn it.

Granted, walking around in the dark in just a pair of pants was asking for it, but still…

Yeah, probably a good time to leave.

Maybe… hospital?

No, fuck that. I knew Panacea was one of the many broken birds of this universe, and simply waiting around the hospital could lead to me getting insta-healed, as fucked up as it was. But I had no records, and showing up that way after an Endbringer attack that usually lead to nutjobs was madness.

Granted, I was probably wrong somehow. Dammit, why didn't I read the books rather than resorting to fanfics? All my knowledge was half-assed, brought from a distillation of sources, all of whom only agreed about Taylo-

I stopped.

…Taylor. I could help her out. Even I didn't know much, I knew what was coming! I could… do nothing. Who gives a damn if I have a tail? Super-strength and speed doesn't matter much in a universe chock-full of it, never mind that I didn't even know if I had that…

Come to think of it.

I reached for a wall. With a careful press against the brick wall of the alley, I began to squeeze. Slowly, slowly, my fingers pressed. Then the red stone gave way. Like old playdoh, it was broken by my grip, with little to no issue.

I stopped, sighing.

Okay then. What next?

My stomach grumbled. And suddenly it was like my brain turned off.

Food. Food. FoooooooOOOOOOOO-

I walked through the streets, stomach growling like a roaring beast of the depths, and tried not to pass out.

February 28th, 2011

I slept in a warm alcove. I think my new body was definitely Saiyan, because the cold night that was pretty typical in East Coast cities didn't affect me as much as usual.

Then again, it could have been the shock.

Whatever the case, when I woke up, it was just before morning. The sun was rising far in the distance. I was still shirtless, and shoeless. And I still had my injuries.

I rolled onto my back, feeling the asphalt beneath my skin. I stared up at the sky, hearing cars beginning to drive through the city.

I had to work things out. Had to plan. Maybe I was crazy, but I couldn't simply lie down because of that. I had to survive.

I had super-strength, and a monkey tail. Those were cool. But what was more important was food, money, shelter. I had to find work. And I knew that was an issue.

Whoever had decided to rescue me from Canberra to drop me off in Brockton had a sense of humor. Merchants, Empire 88, ABB. This place was on the damn brink. It could be saved. With a few miracles. But this world was one where the good guys were losing and had been losing for decades. What a shit town to make a living. Especially considering my current homelessness.

But maybe I could make it work for me? I knew at least one man who was fighting for the little guy.

Danny Hebert was famous among Worm fans for being an okay guy. At least, in the fanfics.

I rubbed a hand through my hair, feeling my tail tighten at my waist, and sighed sadly. This was another problem. I had no idea how good my information was. I could reasonably say some things, sure. Dragon was secretly an AI, Scion was really an Endbringer, and Taylor had a penchant for escalation. Those were for sure.

But was Lisa a smarmy kid trying to survive, or secretly a stone cold killer? Were Emma and Sophie hardcore villains, or worth saving? Those were things that people seemed to swing either way on. What was true? What could I depend on here?

And then there was me. I just wanted to survive. I wanted to go home… well, I didn't want to go home. Home was shit. But it had my stuff. I had no idea if I really was a Saiyan. The tail and super-strength said yes, but a Saiyan had a whole lot more things marking it out.

Like Super Saiyan… oh shit, how cool would it be to go Super Saiyan!

"Eeeeeeeee-Ah!"

I stopped my nerd squeal midway when my broken arm bounced slightly, turning it into a painful yelp.

At the very least I was completely awake now.

Anyways, in all the fanfiction I've read, Daniel Hebert is a nice guy. Head of the Dockworkers Union, enemy of the Merchants, father of the mighty Escalation Woman. Maybe he would appreciate a super strong dude backing up his crew?

It was a dumb hope. I didn't know my around Brockton. I was lucky enough not to have been killed in my sleep by a knife (Wait, was I bulletproof?) so putting all my hopes on a guy who was himself in trouble, because apparently the docks got shut down a while back, was stupid.

But it was a plan. A dumb plan is sometimes better than just standing still and hoping. Usually is.

I scrambled to my feet and started walking. I needed to get healed first.

And damn it all, why are Saiyans always so damn hungry!?

Walking down the street while your stomach growls in a way impossible for any mortal being is a hell of a way to drag attention. I asked a few people to help me out with directions, only to get rebuffed, even having one guy contemptuously give me a dollar bill and tell me not to use it on beer. All I'd asked him was where the nearest free clinic or hospital was.

I took the money though. Like I was in any position to turn it down.

Later, after an extremely cheap hot dog from a nice guy, I managed to get directions from a kind couple. I got to a free clinic.

It was basically just a big rectangular van with a giant red cross on it and some steps leading up to the door. I was hoping to just get a double check on my wounds, see if I'd aggravated anything, and then rush out.

It only had one doctor running it though, as apparently everyone else was helping with the refugee camp. It was a long line I found myself in. I kept my head down, trying not to draw attention. I was one of many in a line of homeless and poor, but I was also shirtless.

I felt embarrassed. I felt like shit. I had been in some low points in my life. But now, in a superhuman body, I was worse off than I ever had been. Everything I needed to make a place in this world required the basics. I couldn't even move without screaming. God help me.

I still planned to find Daniel, and try to hide from the PRT so they wouldn't end up dragging me into the cesspool of politics the Golden Path was a part of. But what the fuck kind of plan was that? What the hell could I-?

I was interrupted from my dark thoughts when someone tapped me on the shoulder. The line was moving apparently. I looked up to step forward, only to realize nothing had changed.

"What-?" I turned. An older man and young girl stood there, smiling. They had backpacks on their shoulders, and their clothes, though well-maintained, were clearly old, with some patches. "Oh. I'm sorry, did you need help with something?"

The old man's eyes seemed to sparkle at that, and he chuckled. "Well that's a hell of a thing to ask, considering how you're doing." He nodded at my arm, his smile turning to a concerned frown. "Looks like you've been through the ringer. You get beat up before or after the cast was put on?"

I smiled back at him, looking over at the young girl, who gave me a shy smile once more. "Before. Going to have to give a bad review to that restaurant I think."

The sheer ridiculousness of my comment made them flash grins. The older man held something out to me. I looked at it.

A shirt.

"Here." He gestured it forward. "You could use it."

I was shocked. I reached out, slowly. It was black, a bit beat up. "R-…Really?"

I know, it seems odd I'd be so overwhelmed. But I'd been treated like shit for the past two hours.

"You look you need it." The girl blushed a bit when I looked over at her. "Take it."

"T…Thank you so much. Whoa…" Still flabbergasted, I gently took the shirt.

I felt more grateful than you can believe unless you've had the same thing happen. I put it on carefully, wincing as I jostled my arm. The shirt was a little small, but it let me hide my tail, which looked like an odd belt the whole while. It fit well otherwise. I assumed it was the man's.

"My name's Mahmoud by the way." I told the pair.

"Eddie." The older man nodded to the girl. "This is my daughter, Sammy."

"Hi." Sammy said.

Just then, I felt a bit of movement. I turned to see the line moving. Moving pretty fast actually.

"Huh. That's weird." I noted.

Eddie grinned. "Must be new to this."

I turned to look at him. "What? What's going on?"

He simply smiled wider. A look at Sammy got me a blush and quick turn of her head.

Getting no answers from them, I turned back to look forward.

With this new pace, I was soon at the door in ten minutes. The guy before me left the little free clinic trailer with a wide grin as he went down the steps, almost insanely joyful. What was going on?

I looked over at the father-daughter duo, who shared one of those looks only two people sharing a secret could.

"Go on in kid. Your day is getting a whole lot better."

Still confused, I stepped inside.

The door shut behind me. A woman with a clipboard was smiling. Her hair was mess, she was wearing a wrinkled blouse and skirt under a white coat, and her eyes had dark shadows beneath them. Despite that, she looked like she had gotten a second wind or something.

"Hello there!" She waved me into the hallway she was standing in. "Come in! We'll get you out of here and healed in a jiffy!"

"That's… confident of you." I said. I was feeling like something obvious was slamming me over the head, but I was too hungry and hurt to figure it out.

I followed her, feeling the linoleum beneath my bare feet. When we got to the um… the room where all the hospital things happen? Observation room? Surgery room?

Whatever.

When we got there, someone was waiting. She was dressed in a hooded white robe with a red cross on the front and back. Her lower face was covered in a red scarf, leaving only her eyes.

I knew who she was. That was why I looked at her eyes. I focused on them.

She was tired. So tired. Maybe I was projecting, maybe I was guessing, maybe it was just my Meta knowledge.

But even then, I felt like this girl was piling a ton of weight on her body.

"Good afternoon." She said, eyes crinkling as she presumably smiled under her scarf. "I'm Panacea. I'm here to help."

Of course. Of course the one clinic I go to gets a visit from her. Why not? Why the hell not? Coincidence, not coincidence, who cares? It was happening, and that was that.

"Can you leave?" I said that to the doctor. My eyes never left Panacea. I stared at her, my mind screaming.

"…I don't think that's a good idea."

When I looked over at the doctor, she was staring at me cautiously. I realized how things looked. Shoeless dude walks into a clinic, stares at superhero, and demands a person to leave.

A look at Panacea showed her eyes were no longer crinkled. Her hand had drifted towards a bag nearby. A weapon? Or a phone? Was she going to call her sister?

Maybe I should let her. Glory Girl was powerful after all, and dominating her in my wounded form would-

The fudge?

I shook my head, trying to push down the eagerness for violence, my tail stiffening. Seriously, having a tail is odd as hell man.

"Sorry." I sat down on a crappy plastic chair, rubbing my hair. "I-I just have to say something, and I'd like it if only she hears this."

The doctor stared at me, her eyes impressively hard. I admired that.

"Panacea, can you take out your phone?" I said. "You can call your sister, let her know some creepy guy is here and asking to speak with you for a moment. But I really want to say something, and I don't think you want other people here."

I tried to be as sincere as possible. I had something to say. Something I knew had to be said.

Both woman stared at me. I prayed silently. I fell back against my chair, just waiting.

"It'll be okay Ms. Ward." Panacea finally declared.

The doctor gave Panacea a surprised look. "Are you sure?"

"No." Panacea looked at me carefully. "That's why I'm going to call my sister."

The doctor nodded. Benefit of not having a secret identity, everyone knew when your sister was Alexandria-lite.

I ignored the need to fight someone again as best I could, but had to grit my teeth and close my eyes. It was that anger at nothing, that eagerness to move, that feeling in your chest, like wanting to eat, have sex, and scream all at the same time.

When I opened them again, Panacea was on the phone.

"Hey Vicky." From the minute I heard the warmth in her voice, I knew the girl had it bad. Didn't need meta-knowledge to know that.

Or maybe I did? I never had meta-knowledge before.

"I'm at the free clinic near…" She winced as a slightly high-pitched voice came from her phone. She seemed to shrink in on herself, her voice coming out softer. "I know, but I had to help."

Puppies getting kicked had less of an effect on me than this. I had to fight the urge to beat my chest in a manly manner and go beat whatever was hurting her with a big stick.

Not literally of course, as that stick would probably get shoved up my ass by an angry blonde.

"Listen, there's a weird," She gave me an apologetic look. "Guy here. He says he wants to talk to me in private. But he says I can call you to let you know where I am so you can help in case he does something weird."

She blinked, then pulled her phone from her ear to look at it. "She uh… she hung up."

Fudge. Glory Girl is flying to rescue her sister from me. Uber violent Glory Girl.

Wait, this is serious. It requires serious language.

Fuck.

"Well I'm about to get my ass-kicked, so here is what I'm going to say before Glory Girl takes my head off."

"She wouldn't do that!" The mousy young woman said in protest.

I did not scoff.

I relaxed my tail, let it release from under my shirt. She stepped back, startled. I waved the furry thing at her with a wan smile. "I'm not sure how human I am anymore. Fair warning."

Somehow she didn't look as freaked about the tail as I thought she would.

"So you're a Parahuman?" She looked at the tail as I swung it back and forth.

"That's something I'd like you to check." I sighed. "I don't know what has changed about me. I wanted a doctor to take a look. See if I'm even human anymore."

"…okay." She seemed intrigued, almost excited. Leaning forward, she pressed her hand to the back of mine. I didn't move from my seat, simply watching her.

Her eyes widened. She frowned under her mask, and her eyes narrowed just a bit. Then they widened again.

What I wouldn't do for an Interlude to know what the hell she was thinking.

Finally she nodded. "You… aren't completely human anymore. There's some things I recognize. All your organs and everything are the same shape. But you have the same signatures I've seen in some Brutes. Your skin is tougher than most humans. Your muscles are denser. And there's something…" She frowned, her fingers moving to wrap around my wrist. "Almost… deeper. Something in your DNA…"

She seemed to shake off whatever she was thinking. "Here. Let me," Suddenly, painlessly, I felt parts of my body shift. My arm wiggled just a bit, an uncomfortable feeling, and warmth came from my bruises.

Then came the power, like getting an injection of caffeine laced with adrenaline.

If anything she was more shocked than I was. She stared at me.

"You… you just became stronger."

I didn't need her to tell me that. I could feel it. With Panacea's healing, it was like something had been unlocked. Everything inside me felt more. It was a sort of loopy feeling actually. After spending the past few hours in a lethargic state, suddenly being at one hundred percent and beyond was freaking amazing!

"Whoa!" I stood up, marveling at the lack of pain that followed the motion, and lifted my formerly broken arm. With a single bend, the cast around it shattered into chunks. I brushed them off, grinning like crazy. "Oh that is just cool!"

I looked at Panacea, bouncing in place. "Thanks!"

"Uh… no problem." She was back to her more nervous self, almost like my exuberance at being healed was making her feel a bit overwhelmed. "What are you going to do next?"

"Go to Disneyland." At her blank look I sighed. "Before your time. Anyways, I think I'll run for it before your sister comes." I winced when I realized something, thanks to the lack of pain fogging my thoughts. "Uh, just a thought. You'll probably be in trouble. Sorry about that."

"What?" She cocked her head. "Why? What's going to happen?"

I rubbed my head. "Well uh… you just healed a Parahuman. One with unknown powers." I coughed. "I mean, I'm not a bad guy or anything, I'm just saying that your sister might get mad about that."

I wish I'd kept my mouth shut. She winced heavily, then looked down at the ground. I guess maybe the fact I was so obviously injured had made her willing to ignore it, but having me mention it…

As far as I knew, Parahuman's were really weird in the scale of superpowers in the multiverse. Their abilities were really exotic in style, with people like Hookwolf and… that mud guy from the Merchants (Muck?) being good examples of the sheer weirdness of Parahuman powers. Which meant people had to be careful around them. What if I'd had a Master power, and managed to control Panacea with a touch?

Or worse. I remembered something about a woman named Noelle having an encounter with Amy. It apparently did not end well.

"Thank you." I calmed down, pushing down the raw emotions that sudden power was giving me, smiling softly. "You're a good kid. I mean… maybe you should hear this more often. But you really are a good kid."

She didn't react too much to me saying that, but I was okay with that. I just felt it needed to be said.

I turned to walk towards the door. When I opened it, the doctor was there. From the way she'd been hurriedly stepping away I assumed she'd been listening at the door. No big deal. I had no identity in this world to be revealed after all.

"See ya later." I said in passing. She gave me a hesitant wave as I walked by and opened the door to leave. I waved at the father daughter pair, my tail wagging behind me as I left, then ran away with my full speed and ignored the shocked looks they gave me.

I sincerely hoped the tail scared them off. It would hurt. They were nice. But people who were that nice did not deserve to get dragged into whatever was next to me.

A Saiyan running around a world of superhumans. Not exactly the kind of person any normal person could around with. Barring superpowers or Batman-level skills of course.

Maybe I'd look them up later. Make sure they were safe.

In the meantime, as the sound of what I could only assume was a blonde powerhouse gliding down towards the trailer hit my ears, I ran into the night.

Running after about two days of being broken would probably have been awesome any other time. But doing it when you've just gotten superpowers, and then had a boost to those powers?

I ran faster than I ever have, my bare feet shattering concrete with ease. I leaped the height of buildings.

I felt like the freaking Hulk!

"Woooohoooo!" I roared out as I leaped across a busy street, ignoring the beeping cars as I flew through the air.

I slammed into a four story building, digging my fingers and toes into the brick. I scrambled up, reaching the top in seconds. Soon I was standing there, breathing deeply and grinning like mad.

I felt great. Amazing. Powerful. For once since I got here, for once in a long time, I felt strong.

"Help!" Someone screamed. A man, scared, fighting.

I spun my head around. Someone… a few buildings away or so? Screaming in Brockton. Fuuuudge.

Go or… damn it, why can't I be like Vegeta? Hell, even Goku would have only gone if there was the chance of a fight.

…Wait. Screaming for help meant a fight. Meant a chance to test my powers. To be a warrior.

I was leaping into the air before I even thought about it fully. My adrenaline, already kicked into gear by the brief run earlier, was pumping.

As I got to the building closest to the scream, which had petered out into pathetic moans, I dived feet first into an alley after making sure nothing was under me. I crashed into the ground like a rocket, two holes a few inches deep being created by my feet.

In front of me were three people. One was a guy in reasonably nice clothes. In his teens maybe. He had been beaten up, and was laying on the floor in a daze. The other two were just… ew.

Nasty looking didn't cover it. Ragged and dirty clothes, oily hair, and track needles on the arms. They had a needle out, obviously about to inject the young boy.

"Merchants." I said softly.

"Cape!" One of them, with a yellow streak on his face, reached for a gun.

Shit. Able to pierce concrete without a hint of pain is not the same as being bulletproof.

I rushed forward, trying to get to him before he could fire. He panicked at my speed, and reflexively fired. Pain flashed across my chest, like getting punched. I roared, my tail snapping in the air, and a dark anger like nothing I've ever felt before filled me.

I grabbed Yellow Streak's wrist and squeezed. The feel of his bones snapping under my palm was ecstasy, only matched by the sound of his scream for how much pleasure I took in it. A sickening grin slowly split my face. Yellow Streak fell, dropping his gun as he screamed. I caught his gun as he fell and let go of his wrist. Then, as the Merchants and their victim stared at me, I took the gun in both hands, and squeezed.

Black metal groaned and bent under my hands as the three before me stared in shock. I released the gun. It clattered to the floor in a chunk of steel.

"Let him go." I growled. My anger was still boiling, barely controlled. "Or I'll eat you."

My tail snapped behind me, cracking the air like a whip.

The two Merchants ran. I felt part of me want to chase them down. To break their limbs, feel them scream before I killed them like animals.

I growled like an animal as I stared at the retreating backs of those men, then looked over at the teen. "You okay brat?"

He stared at me with one of his eyes closed shut from the swelling. "Uh… yeah, y-yeah I am." He sounded almost surprised.

"Can you stand and walk?" The words came out a little rougher than I expected.

"Y-Yes." He scrambled to his feet, using the wall behind him as support. He stared at me. He was black, his hair cropped short. He had a slightly chubby face and acne, the mark of someone not quite through puberty.

"Good. Where's your neighborhood? Is it nearby?" I asked.

He looked confused.

Apparently it was. And despite part of me screaming that helping weaklings was not worth it, I followed him from the rooftops to keep him safe. He walked with frustrating slowness, but that was fine with me. Gave me more time to think.

Apparently my new Saiyan body also came with Saiyan rage and mentality. Enough that I'd been willing to kill. It was easy enough to ignore, but if the Merchants had actually been anything but pathetic, I would have gone for it.

So. Fully healed now. But I needed things. Food was a big one. I was hungry as hell, and tempted to run to the nearest supermarket after hours and simply rip out the doors to chow down.

I also needed to train. Getting stronger, learning martial arts, pushing myself. All those things were a big requirement if I wanted to not die.

In the end, every problem I had came down to money. I couldn't do anything in this world, against Coil, against the Endbringers, against the Slaughterhouse Nine, against Scion. How the hell was I going to do this?

As the young man I'd saved entered his apartment building, I hopped away into the night.