[sup][h1][center][img]https://i.ibb.co/gbY1kN1k/The-Questing-Beast2.png[/img][/center][b][center][color=black] B E N 1 0[/color] [color=springgreen]B E N 1 0[/color][/center] [/b][/h1][/sup] [b]|| New York, Earth[/b] Ben had stepped outside the book shop for air, hoping to escape the crush of people inside, only to find himself swallowed by an even bigger crowd. The sidewalk was packed shoulder to shoulder, tourists and commuters pushing past him in every direction. He tried to sidestep out of the flow, but every move just put him in someone else’s way. It was the opposite of the quiet moment he had been looking for. It had been an uneventful week or so since the Forever Knight incident. Max had suggested a road trip to help Ben clear his head, and Ben had been surprised when his parents actually agreed given how overly protective they had been since he came home. Instead they had encouraged it and he was glad they did. Travelling with Gwen and Grandpa Max again felt like old times. Unfortunately the first stop was New York, for a book signing Gwen had been excited about for weeks, and not even nostalgia could brighten that for him. Cities felt different now. It was the same with Knowhere and the various other alien megacities he had seen. Louder. More claustrophobic. Too many people and too many chances for something to go wrong. He could not shake the feeling that danger lurked around every corner. He had heard the stories about New York’s costumed villains. It was dangerous here. Grandpa Max didn’t help that feeling. He had muttered more than once that he wasn’t a fan of the current mayor, Wilson Fisk. Apparently the guy ran the city like a dictatorship and had fingers in every pie worth touching. Max had been very clear that once Gwen got her book signed, they were getting back on the road immediately. Sadly it seemed that the universe had other plans. A deep boom rolled down the street. People around him froze, then bolted. Sirens wailed. A helicopter dipped low between the buildings. Ben didn’t need more than that. Something was happening. Something big. So he did what heroes do and ran toward it. Everyone else sprinted the other way, shoving past him. They were shouting. Panicking. Ben pushed through the tide, his heart hammering, the Omnitrix already warm against his wrist. As he reached the edge of Times Square he realised this was his first time seeing it. The lights, the screens, and the sheer size of it all. Yet he barely registered any of it. His focus was locked on the thing roaring at the center of the chaos. Whatever it was towered over the square, a creature of mismatched limbs and impossible anatomy, like someone had stitched together pieces of different nightmares and given it life. Its hooves cracked the pavement with every step. Its long, serpentine neck writhed high above. For a second he understood why everyone else was running. He slammed his hand down on the Omnitrix without slowing. [Center][img]https://img.roleplayerguild.com/prod/users/019ddd4b-2ad8-7531-962f-cb7beb54d18d.webp[/img][/center] Green light burst outward and Wildmutt hit the pavement on all fours, muscles coiled and senses exploding in every direction. His body was a mass of powerful orange fur, thick and bristling, with long claws that dug into the pavement and a jaw built for crushing. He had no eyes but he did not need them. Every scent and every vibration painted the world around him with perfect clarity. The noise hit him first. It felt like a wall of sound that made him wince, with him letting out a low, involuntary whine. He forced himself to breathe. To focus. To filter everything out. Hearing was useless right now, but smell wasn’t. And there it was. The scent of something ancient and wrong. The beast. Wildmutt bounded forward, claws scraping the ground, as he weaved through abandoned cars and overturned vendor carts. As he closed in, he realised the creature’s back was turned to him. It was focused on something else, something or someone directly in front of it. Wildmutt didn’t know what it was, but he just knew it was distracted. He didn’t hesitate, letting his form’s primal urges take over. He lunged and clamped his jaws around the creature’s tail. The Beast shrieked and whipped its tail violently. Wildmutt held on, muscles straining, teeth digging in. The Beast snapped its tail again and again, flinging him side to side. One final jerk sent him flying upward. He crashed through a billboard 30ft above the street, in a shower of sparks and shattered screens. For a moment everything was still. [Center][IMG]https://images-wixmp-ed30a86b8c4ca887773594c2.wixmp.com/f/4b78ab0c-640e-4ab8-9bac-a19afa7dec78/djm123t-d8e5bc0c-4c4e-49ba-b28e-f148f304d289.png/v1/fill/w_1280,h_914/four_arms_png_by_masterofau_djm123t-fullview.png?token=eyJ0eXAiOiJKV1QiLCJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiJ9.eyJzdWIiOiJ1cm46YXBwOjdlMGQxODg5ODIyNjQzNzNhNWYwZDQxNWVhMGQyNmUwIiwiaXNzIjoidXJuOmFwcDo3ZTBkMTg4OTgyMjY0MzczYTVmMGQ0MTVlYTBkMjZlMCIsIm9iaiI6W1t7ImhlaWdodCI6Ijw9OTE0IiwicGF0aCI6Ii9mLzRiNzhhYjBjLTY0MGUtNGFiOC05YmFjLWExOWFmYTdkZWM3OC9kam0xMjN0LWQ4ZTViYzBjLTRjNGUtNDliYS1iMjhlLWYxNDhmMzA0ZDI4OS5wbmciLCJ3aWR0aCI6Ijw9MTI4MCJ9XV0sImF1ZCI6WyJ1cm46c2VydmljZTppbWFnZS5vcGVyYXRpb25zIl19.XU7XP6zXm2zdB_MBpOzeEfcGpx75P5FX_FSgudc4kZU[/IMG][/center] Then Four Arms exploded out of the hole, launching himself straight at the creature's face. He hit it with all four fists, hammering into its skull in a rapid, punishing rhythm. It staggered, hooves skidding into rubble. It gave Ben a moment. Four Arms landed hard on the ground, shaking off the impact and pulling himself upright. His head rang and his arms ached, but he was back in the fight. The beast reared and swung a clawed foreleg toward him. Four Arms caught it, his muscles bulging as his boots dug trenches into the street. He held the limb back as it pushed against him. Thankfully he pushed harder. With a roar he twisted, throwing the limb aside and forcing the creature off balance. The beast reared and its massive maw lunged toward him, jaws snapping shut with enough force to crack him in two. Four Arms caught the upper and lower halves before they could close, muscles bulging as he held the creature’s mouth open. His boots dug trenches into the street as it pushed against him, its breath hot and foul against his face. Four Arms pushed back with everything he had, teeth grinding as he forced the jaws apart inch by inch. With a roar he twisted, shoving the maw aside and knocking the creature off balance It was in this brief lull that he got a proper look at his surroundings. As all four of his eyes took in the man nearby, and the gleaming blade in his hand, something clicked. Whoever this person was was the person Wildmutt had sensed fighting the creature before Ben had arrived. The one the beast had been locked onto. Ben met the man’s eyes and gave him a firm nod of acknowledgement. They were clearly in this together. Then he launched himself back into the fray, grabbing hold of the creature’s neck. All four arms locked around whatever hold he could find, muscles straining as the it thrashed beneath him. He used one of his free hands to drive a few heavy jabs into the side of its skull, each hit landing with a dull thud that barely seemed to register. [Color=springgreen]“Guessing you know what this thing is,”[/color] he called down, breath tight as the beast bucked again. It reared, and Four Arms felt the truth settle in his gut. The blows he was landing were doing something, but not enough. This thing was built to take punishment, and he and the swordsman were barely slowing it down. They might be a bit out of their league here.