Prologue: Night in the Alley

BOOK ONE

9:10 PM:

A howl sounds through the city of New York echoing along with the noise of traffic and angry patrons of the city. So loud. So distracting. It's perfect. A city filled with distractions, perfect for being invisible. Arguably howling does not help with that all but instincts are instincts as the protagonist looks over the city in a deep dark hood.

"Climbed to the top of the state office building in under three minutes. Thats a record." The protagonist grinned as he looked to the stopwatch on his nearly destroyed wrist watch, holding on for dear life. "Now time for a little dinner Kio." He said to himself as he reached into the small bookbag he had on him and pulled out a bag of fried chicken. He loved the meat, but always thought the bone was the candy in the center, when he wasn't dumpster diving he'd save up his money for chicken every Sunday.

The city boomed with sound as he ate. Sirens blared. Crowds spoke in a chaotic unison. He could hear the clubs blocks away and their booming techno rap Music. Every noise in New York, Kio new well. Every smell too but let's focus on the noise and not the smell, never the smell.

Despite it's occasional odor, Kio loved this city. Moving so much and so often, city to city, this place is the only one he would really call home. The only city he truly can.

Kio's daydreaming came to an end as a blood curdling scream hits his ears, instinctively he jumped to his feet. Anazlying the noise, it was close, and accompanied by deep laughter and threats.

Before Kio knew it he bagged his chicken and jumped to the roof of the building next door, landing with a powerful thud otherwise his legs would not have handled if not for his monster capabilities. He ran then jumped, ran then jumped. Roof top after Roof tops closing in on the source of the disarray. He stopped at a fire escape overlooking an alley, peering over as he saw four men surrounding a women each man reeking of alcohol.

"Come on, we ain't gonna bite." one of the men say in a drunken slur as he reached for the ladies purse yanking it from her hands. The man threw the purse behind him as two of the men picked it up and searched it, taking out it's insides and putting it either in their pockets or on the floor.

Kio's grit his teeth as he saw the exchange from overhead, thinking to himself "Rule one: Don't be a hero".

"I gave you everything you wanted just leave!" the woman shouts.

"no no you didn't give us everything," the man pushed her to a wall as the other men circled closer around her. "you got something way more valuable."

Kio watched in anger as the words echoed through his head. "Don't be a hero." "Don't be a hero." "Don't be a hero." smoke started to form on Kio's skin as he his grip tightened on the fire escape.

The women knees the man on top of her in the groin before trying to run away only to have her wrist grip by another on of the men.

"you shouldn't have done tha-"

The man's words is interrupted as his body launches into the brick wall of the building, smoke and dust filling the air and as it falls Kip appears, more animalistic than before, his teeth sharpened to a point and shoulders and chest wider than before. His eyes grew dark gray with light moon like pupils, his face grew more wrinkled forced into a sinister grin only grown more horrific with the mans blood now splattered upon his face.

"What the hell" the leader from before cursed as he pulled a small pocket knife out, grabbed the lady and held the knife to her neck. He looked to his comrades. "Don't just stand their get him!"

The men followed and pulled out similar sized knives to approach the beast, one of the men swung the knife overhand, as the beast swiftly ducked underneath forcefully pulling the mans arms back into a loud SNAP, causing the man to yell in pain. The second man took the different approach and attempted stabbed the beast head on. The man's tactic worked but not in his favor as the beast purposely caught the knife as it went through the palm of its hand and forced the man to his feet punching him with a loud BAP as his head hit the pavement.

Now there was one.

The beast looked to the man who held the woman at knifepoint, staring at the beast his eyes refused to waver, or even blink. The look of gear filled the mans eyes into a traumatized stare as he trembled beneath his feet.

"D-dont come near me!" the man shouted as the woman squirmed. "i-- I swear I'll kill her!" The man threatened.

the beast never dropped his grin.

In the blink of an eye the man saw the beast disappear before his eyes and in merely a second feel a hand grasping his elbow keeping his knife holding hands at bay. He slowly looked behind him to see the beasts grin once again, instinctively dropping the knife then too scared to realize he let lose of the woman, his leverage.

"p-please I'm sorry." The man said to the beast whos down fell and cocked his head in confusion. "I-i'll pay- I." The beast smiled again, and the man reached for his pocket hopeful to paying his way out before the beast threw him out the alley and onto traffic where screaming, swerving then a series of crunch followed suit.

The lady screamed as she saw the chaos progress, she then saw the beast and backed herself away as he went in closer. She backed herself into a wall a recreational of the situation the men put her in before, but this time a monster sat between from her escape. He breathing became sharp and uncontrollably, as her body trembled and quaked she closed her eyes then felt something in her hand. Her once discarded purse was in her hands still dirty with muck and empty of cash. She looked up the see the Beast disappeared and sirens sound closing in on the alley.

10:00 PM