Man or beast? (komodo777)

As the first reports of this mysterious presence had registered to the scanners, and all else currently listening in through such, another presence, one who's physical attributes were also quite beastly, though more blatantly reptilian in particular nature, had been partaking in a nightly venture all his own. This presence, however, in mind, had much more of a fondness for the technology and tendency of this modern day, this city. This was mostly because, in contrast to his then monstrous appearance, which bore little remote resemblance to the major public which populated the streets and residencies of the present city, within, he was very human, as well a man who had in fact had known the city of New York in which he resided all throughout his life. In fact, it could suffice to say, that this city was much the only place he felt he truly.. knew well.. at all.

This was due to a distinct lack of travel, or experience with much of the remainder of the world, maintained throughout his childhood, his education, his.. former.. job, guided by the choice to remain within this singular location, to stick with what he was most familiar with, reading and hearing much about these other corners of the world before him, though, apart from the occasional temporary trip, either for business or occasional curiosity to observe a famous attraction or two of other regions, though little else.



This all led up to the cause of his current appearance and occupation, both of which quite unorthodox to his initial goals... To say the least of the experience. The clear and haunting memory of the event to remain forever burnt into his civilized yet somewhat scarred psyche. The lab, the experiment, the excruciating prior failures and lack of resources, or even funding for all of his efforts, his trial and error, until he was sure he had finished his creation, his pride and joy to be presented to the world. He was so.. certain that things would pan out as planned. He was certain that he had finally created a project which would revolutionize the world of medical sciences everywhere, something which, in addition to another project.. more of an elaborate, yet promising hobby, though not without it's own potential to innovate, this time in more technological matters would make him rich, successful, set for life.


All he needed was to test it... alas no suitable human subjects or testing environments were then provided to him.. Except for himself. He was so certain of his success, simply run by the calculations a few more times, administer the serum, and await results. "I can show them how wrong they were for so easily doubting my experiment's validity, it's immense practicality.. All I need is to prove it to them myself.. Consume my creation.. and.. and.."


The circumstances which resulted in his current condition he deemed unimportant, irrelevant. He knew not why he would so frequently reflect on these events. They were remnants of the past, which did . The results of mere miscalculations, which, perhaps easily, could have been prevented if he had simply been provided the resources and attention his experiment needed. Not his fault. He now used his appearance and enhanced abilities to serve as an orderly guardian to this here city, a monitor, THE Monitor, so to speak.



He listened in on the recent reports of this "Monster", still permanently transformed by his creation, and now clad in another, more successful creation of his. An armor, at first glance a mere suit of basic metal and cloth, actually comprised of an immense amount of miniature machines.. nanobots, which could take various shapes and configurations in accordance with his mental commands. Commands which he sent with a receiver on the silver helmet, he now wore over his true, beastly face. These nanobots were also greatly aided in his travels across the city as swiftly as he had, forming his signature vehicle. This being a small, jet-powered robotic dragon, with magnetic restraints for the rider to stand upon, fully functional talons, and a relatively long, bladed tail. He called it the Soaring Cryptid.



Whilst traversing the city, flying atop the various office buildings, intersections, alleyways and shopping shopping centers, making his nightly patrols. He listened in on the police scanners, another useful function of his helmet, attempting as he might to remain in the know as to any problems he felt he needed needed to solve. Throughout his career, he had encountered his fair share of unorthodox individuals, the so-called "super-villains" as the media often dubbed them. He'd his run ins with the occasional delinquent, coming into contact or possession of technology or enhancements, which they often did not deserve, or the genetic mutants, either born with their abilities, or genetically altered later in life, like himself, becoming a potential danger to the public, whether this was their intention or not.


Whatever or whoever the cause, the report seeming to describe some otherworldly being (Or what the locals presumed was of this description) had filled him with intrigue. He internally ran through his guesses as to what he would find in his investigation, as he rode to the indicated coordinates of the report, carefully observing his surroundings and trying as he might to conserve the Soaring Cryptid, and his armor's available power, utilizing any available light source to the best of his ability as he searched, though initially found nothing he would deem too conspicuous, for New York, anyway. Unbeknownst to him, the following encounter, one for which he could never have prepared for, with a being of vest and mysterious nature, and beyond the basic understanding which he had grown so certain of, which truly defines man or beast.

As the Monitor attempted to fly over what he was unaware was the dwelling of this mysterious entity, the projectile cinderblock had managed to hit one of the Soaring Cryptid's wings, bending and denting it. This resulted in an initial reaction from the Monitor, this being an exclamation of "Woah!", struggling to regain control, as he processed this all occurring, thinking to himself, "What in blazes!? I've been hit! But what hit me!?..Is that... A stone block?...What could've-... And what's that? Some kind of motor? Sounds a bit like.. Laughter!?", Mentally commanding the nanobots upon the Soaring Cryptid's wing to reconfigure themselves, managing to repair the initial damage, though narrowly avoided being rendered completely off balance.


Following this, he turned to face the direction of what he soon realized was laughter, momentarily sighting.. a figure!.. though not too clearly for long, as it had seemed to rush away, into the shadows. At the very least, the Monitor had seen the direction.. who or whatever that was.. had gone, so he thought, anyway. With control of the Cryptid back, he began to travel in the direction that he believed it had traveled, surveying his surroundings, though still not catching sight of it... Whatever or whoever it is.



Whoever this was, they seemed to vanish into the shadows, the darkness surrounding the city. Curious, once he approached the general area he decided to see if he could call out to this strange attacker... May haps they could be reasoned with.. Perhaps they were willing to explain just why they launched a projectile, with startling strength, given the distance it traveled and the damage it caused to the Cryptid. Or perhaps they could simply be hostile, and in this case, could be leading him directly into an ambush.. Either way, if nothing else, he preferred to know for certain.



With this, he slowed his travel speed on the cryptid, and yelled out: "Hey! You! I'm uncertain just who you are or what you call yourself, Or just who you think you are for pulling that mere stunt back there!...Or... even if you speak English, if at all, for that matter...Though If so, I would very much prefer an explanation for having stone projectiles being sent in my immediate direction! If this was some strange method of asking for my help, well, I'm here, now! Show yourself and I'm certain we can work out some way of solving your problem! Also, for the record, know that there are far more efficient.. and less violent means of grasping my attention! If none of this is the case, and you're simply trying to attack me or face me in combat,...Then that, of course, is your own mistake!"


 The Monitor, as he finishes saying all of this, reconfigures the Soaring Cryptid to emit a light source from what appeared to be the robotic dragon's eyes, and proceeds his search for this mysterious entity he has encountered, directing the light further into the shadows and dark alleyways before him.

Despite the light emitted from the Soaring cryptid, initially, it seemed the Monitor's search for the presence that he had prior seen had turned up empty still, though he could've sworn he'd seen this...thing..travel in just the in direction he was then moving. He carried on, baffled, thinking to him self as to how it would've taken some immense speed, maybe even theoretical teleportation of some kind to completely escape the area at the speed he was moving on the Cryptid. Either way, he reasoned that they, whoever or whatever they were, shouldn't, COULDN'T, have gotten too far. It was in the midst of these thoughts that his suspicions were confirmed, and the second strike from this mysterious entity he sought was launched, and once again, had hit the Soaring Cryptid with impressive yet concerning speed. It was then that the Monitor finally got a good, clear glimpse at just who or what he was up against, this night. And rather than simply answer his questions, and provide some calm and understanding to his immediate concerns as to the nature of this assailant, he was left with even more questions, for the time being, remaining even more bewildered at what he saw.



The Vehicle's right wing was impacted with incredible force exerted by the.. creature?.. This time however, the damage could not be so easily repaired by simply reconfiguring the wing. The Monitor began to lose control of his creation's direction, as it began to fall toward the ground. This was not before he finally caught sight of his attacker, the Monitor most immediately noticing the thing's immense size, height, and musculature, at least relative to himself, And what appeared to be.. fur?.. upon portions of it's arms. He also caught note of some of the torn outer garments, and most peculiar, it's carrying what very well appeared to be a cane of some sort.

This was the most of what he noticed before the thing descended from it's aerial assault, to once again disappear from view. As the Monitor thought swift as he could, he managed to reconfigure the position and intensity of the Soaring Cryptid's jets, allowing him to ease the impact of his fall, though staggered somewhat from what impact he still sustained. He now had also been left with his Vehicle, his only means of maintaining a combative high ground to his attacker, rendered out of commission for the time being. Following this, briefly pondering to himself, an ensuing:


"The hell!?...Well, alright then..Suffice to say, I may just have my work cut out for me with this here case... And decidedly, that this fellow, whoever it might or might not call themself, did indeed quite fit the bill of this "Monster" people here have become so worked up over. From current experience, they're no amateur at this stuff, either... Ususally, I can catch up to even the swifter among those to race amongst the rooftops of this fair city. And still, this.. creature, I'm quite certain..mayhaps a mutant of sorts, judging from it's torn clothing.. avoided my pursuit, seemingly as if it was a mere leisurely exercise!.. No matt-"


In the midst of his thoughts suddenly catching view of what seemed to be the creature's eyes, reflecting a distinct shine, almost akin to a glow, pointed in his general direction. It was at this point, that the Monitor heard the beast utter his first spoken statement to the reptilian sentinel before him. As this transpired, the creature's eye finally disappeared into the surrounding darkness, once more.


The beast's words caught the Monitor of guard, though as he ventured further into the darkness, producing a spark of electrical fire from his fingers, via his gauntlets as another, albeit weaker light source, absorbing the nanobots that remained from the Soaring Cryptid's remnants and leaving those damaged beyond connection where they lay, as he was swift with his own response to the entity's query, chuckling: "Heh heh,,... So, you finally speak, creature...Why don't you step out of the shadows, and explain yourself, before we see for ourselves just how well you fare against my "gadgets" and I... For I'm not certain why you've attacked the likes of me, twice, now, though I'm willing to bet now that it wasn't to ask for my help in your matters... Am I correct, or am I mistaken!?



The Monitor carefully ventures deeper into the shadows of the night after this strange being, whilst they now surround him, still attempting to light the way with the flame within his left gauntlet's palm, caressed by the formation of his clawed fingers in surrounding it, reflecting it's own shine off of the various metal components of the Monitor's armor, including his helmet, the directing the light to both of his sides, before briefly turning to the opposite direction to attempt to ensure for himself that nothing was behind him... With his past experiences with this monstrous form he now knew, he couldn't be quite sure... upon traveling a moderate distance into the darkness, then shouting once more into the night: "I assure you, if you have some sort of vendetta against me, or vengeful wish for my destruction, I've no recollection of ever meeting you before in my life.. Whether or not any personal matter is the case, I expect you to know, that I cannot simply allow you to proceed with this action, especially with risk of endangerment of the people who call this city their home or otherwise... I've obligations to attend to in their names, you know... So, show yourself and surrender if you value your life and dignity, or I'll find you myself, one way or another!...", hoping to draw this mysterious potential foe into his view.

The Monitor, once more, heard this mysterious adversary speak as it darted around him, it seeming fairly clear that the motives of the thing before him wasn't to simply to destroy him out of wrath or take any kind of revenge, as far as he gathered. No.. It very much seemed like this enigma of an opponent had lured him into this territory, and was hunting him for sheer entertainment, sport, even. And after what the beast said prior, seemingly about other opponents he faced... Presumably, these "mediocre idiots" of whom the monstrous figure spoke were the superpowered criminals that he himself was initially headed to stop, not too long ago. This indeed seemed to confirm to him that this... whoever he was.. had been the same creature from the reports... defeating each criminal before he himself could arrive on the scene, and all in remarkable speed, which all things considered, seemed rather consistent to what Monitor had faced so far, tonight.


Himself being left with only brief glimpses of the creature, as he struggled to keep up and adjust his position, trying as he might to keep the beast illuminated, though to little success. At this point, it was all too clear to the Monitor that, whoever he was up against was rather fond of using the surrounding darkness to their advantage, and unfortunately, for him anyway, this creature was quite well skilled in this tactic too, considering his track record. Still, he surveyed the area, remaining vigilant, having only the brief glances he could muster at the thing. This would have to do, until he could find a better means of brining him out of the shadows, and so the Monitor continued to glance in every direction, taking advantage of every sighting of his newfound attacker which he could muster. He strategized as to his next steps to be taken to prevent his falling victim to the monster's ambushes a third, perhaps final time, maintaining a tactical stance as he turned, ideally to prepare himself to... attempt... to take counteraction against this.. mutant, perhaps?



He had thought he'd lost sight of the beast once again, that is until he happened to notice, out of the corner of his eye, a distinct golden glow,... The glow of the monster's own eye, as it lunged directly at him once more. This time, however, the monitor sought to dodge out of the creature's path, ducking and rolling away from the direction of the pouncing monstrosity. Though he had managed to avoid the creature once, he still felt it concerning how with it's sheer speed, close it came to this being a repeat, perhaps of the Soaring Cryptid's fate. As he narrowly avoided the beast, he spoke once more as he stood back up from his evasive position:


"So, you've revealed... You're doing all of this for your own amusement, is that it!? Well, sorry to spoil your games, but now that I'm a bit more mobile, you'll find soon enough that you're not the only one, this night, with enhanced reflexes... And while I appreciate your making short work of those delinquents back there... Least, I assume that's who you were referring to before, definitely makes my job slightly easier... However if you have intentions to proceed with this, I strongly urge you to to pick a side.. And since it seems your peaceful cooperation isn't going to be a factor for the time being, it seems I have no choice but to show you just the "worth" I've got.... for, as you've taken ample opportunity to launch your own attacks, suppose it's my turn to mount some of my own...Observe"


As he finished his statement to the creature, he gestured with his gauntlet clad hands, as if he was positioning both of them to throw something, as in between his very fingers, a surge of some kind of electrical energy had ensued, before the energy was guided by mechanisms within his gauntlets, swiftly entering a golden yellow boomerang-like shape, and forming one of the Monitor's signature weapons, which he called the Shining Claw, a set of six, three between the fingers of each hand, to be exact. The shining claws were another product of the nanobots, and experimentation with their ability to absorb and redirect different forms of energy, drawing from the suit's inner power source to form a very primitive, though reasonably effective hard light construct, a projectile made of pure energy. Unfortunately, for now, these particular weapons were some of the only, truly effective attempts of hard light constructs the Monitor could muster with his current armor, most other attempts at this either failing to stay in form completely or overloading and destroying the nanobots used to form them. The Monitor still reasoned that something relatively effective was better than nothing at all, and had since decided to implement such into his common arsenal, if nothing else, these projectiles could further remove the need for a utility belt.



The monitor flung the Shining claws in varying paths at the direction he last saw the creature strike, however, rather than simply hitting the beast with them, he had something more strategic in mind. While constructing these particular claws, he had structured them to self detonate into their pure light forms after a mere few moments once he threw them. While this would prevent them from remaining in a state to physically harm the beast, it would create a momentary blinding flash, hopefully disorienting the creature, while creating also shining a greater light upon him, allowing Monitor to further act, and launch a more effective offensive against him... That is, if this foe couldn't first avoid the projectiles and make use of his's own perceived tactical skill... As it seemed quite capable of doing prior.

As the Monitor's projectiles were sent, he remained in place, briefly attempting to calculate his next move once the creature was blinded. He anticipated that blinding this adversary would disorient them enough to allow him to make his next moves, as he would intend to approach the creature to fight back... And while the Shining claws had indeed served their initial purpose against this mutant of an opponent, and somewhat even surprised them, given their initial reaction, the Monitor had failed to account for this attacker's sheer beastly persistence and enhanced senses. The Monitor knowing now even more his assailant's monstrous, yet simultaneously humanoid form.



Thus, it was Monitor who himself had also been surprised, at this being's attempt to pursue and attack him, even blind. Monitor had anticipated that the confusion would keep his opponent stationary, or at least far more disoriented. Though once again, his beastly foe took full advantage of the Darkness, and moreover launched yet another of his own attacks on the half-lizard figure in his vicinity. While the Monitor had managed to dodge somewhat, moving himself backwards from the entity's strike, at least preventing what could have been more severe puncture of vital areas, this time he hadn't completely avoided the attack, his armor's chest region visibly scratched across. the Monitor, while not suffering severe injury yet, was still to a degree damaged from the strike, the forced of the slash brought by this new threat's claws still left cuts and bruised him somewhat, albeit to a much lesser a degree than even his reptilian hide alone would have prevented if not for the armor surrounding him, his feeling himself bleeding, though not to a severe degree.


The Monitor still losing balance somewhat from the initial pain, though still managing to remain on his feet and regain position, making use of his own enhanced agility to leap further away from his attacker, though not too far... After this, he reasoned more than ever that he had to mount a proper offense against this opponent, and do as he could to neutralize them, if he were to avoid falling victim to it's animalistic power, and rendered a quarry to this tactical predator hunting him were he stood. At the very least, he was close enough to counter attack. However, as powerful and stubborn as this opponent seemed in their attempts to best the Monitor, he clearly needed to make whatever strike he decided next count.



He decided to take a gamble and try a more direct approach. Upon reaching position, he rushed in the direction of the creature, hoping to position himself so he could approach him from the side, then attempting to jump toward the direction of the monster of an attacker. He'd been avoiding the creature directly for so long, he figured that engaging it head on now might at least catch it off guard. As he jumped, he attempted to perform a backflip, bringing him into position and rotating to enter a flying roundhouse kick to the beast-man's rib/upper back area with his metal, nanobot comprised boots. As he did, he hoped for dear life that he was quick enough to manage land a hit upon their adversary, whilst responding to the mysterious attacker's prior statement, saying as he enacted his attempt:


"You ask why I bother?...I do this to provide a world where everyone possible may be free from living threats to their safety, such as yourself...with the hope that there will always be somebody to carry on our services to the world, no matter how many cowardly or corrupt individuals among us attempt to manipulate, OR 'abandon' that cause... A world where everyone, powerful, or not, human or otherwise can live a decent life! Where, if I am to have any remote hope that PERHAPS even you're not COMPLETELY insane, or without desire to do any good to the world.... That I hope you understand well... It doesn't matter to me now what people mistake me for.. I know what I am.., Already, I know who I actually want to be to them... And I will gladly prove it to them, or you that if nothing else... I am a source of order, a protector to this city.. a.. Monitor, in the midst of all this chaos"

As the Monitor's strike had landed, he had felt upon impact that, even despite his metal armor, this new opponent had endured quite effectively... More so than he had anticipated.. Though at least, they were sent back, and seemed to experience some discomfort. Whoever this new opponent was, he could fortunately gather was not entirely invulnerable, then again, Monitor was certain, nobody truly is...


What the Monstrous new threat said in the midst of all of this had intrigued the Monitor, the half-lizard hero, thinking: "What is this lunatic going on about? There shall be order brought by my brand of vigilance, humanity! I've ensured for certain that I represent the civilization and structure, which intelligent beings bring to even the savagery of those, those ANIMALS!"


The Monitor once again finding himself sent back to that fateful night... The one that made him who he was now.. Flahsing back to that desperation, that transformation... The accusations made by the people he called colleagues by technicality, though admittedly had never really managed to know as much more than work associates. Many of them visibly distraught at the creature they saw before them who fled the scene, and none of them recognizing him as anything more than a monster.. The people who he later saw once more on the News station, forced to view this hidden away from society, from the residence of his immediate family, some of the only people he truly knew. He saw how his former associates were quick to blame him for a capture and murder that never occurred, seeing nothing beyond there being a monstrous, reptilian creature rushing past them to escape the facility, and one of their colleagues being rather suspiciously absent from their facilities, despite checking in that morning and being there since a period of hours before then. The searches for this colleague, this man.. all turned up empty, as he was never seen again... in the form they knew...


It was the faculty that was to blame, he reasoned.. If not for their inability to see the brilliance in his studies of genetic engineering, if they had provided him the resources he needed to be aware of the miscalculations....which even now, he admittedly had never quite determined in specific sequence, if not for this.. he would still have everything he had then, and more... It was a lack of proper order, and intelligence behind the world he resided in, that led to the loss of his former status and his presence within the scientific community. Even so, he wouldn't, he COULDN'T let his setbacks stop him from forging a future where everybody could prosper from true brilliance, and never have to face such a twist of fate at the hands of malevolent, uncaring, or incompetent individuals among them. Especially now that, even if no longer the man he once was, he was something much... more, someone enlightened to what he found was the truth, with technical prowess, and now enhanced physicality to match.. Now, he found he had gained a new, SUPERIOR identity, and as far as he knew, the man that was foolish enough not to see how flawed the world had been truly WAS gone.. And the one now in his place would stand to serve the good people of the world, and help to perfect the society that dared try to break Lanc-


"No, that name is beneath me, now... Surely, my adversary speaks nonsense! There's nothing within me that's nearly as chaotic as the dangerous psychopaths and other such criminals which I help to contain each year... While chaos might always exist in some form, somewhere, I will personally ensure that order is the truly dominant force among such! He'll see for himself! In time all of these so-called "Agents of Chaos" shall!"


After his thinking this, still the Monitor wondered, Why was it, in all of his certainty in his morality, that he hesitated even momentarily to consider the validity of such a preposterous statement from this beast. And why, most of all, was he continuously reflecting upon events which he knew he had no rational business doing so, when his mission was so clear to him, his opponents and their blights upon civilization likewise

Whatever the case, his beastly attacker was still unfortunately, once more, for Monitor at least, very conscious and more than capable of retaliating in their own right, attempting to deliver another blow to the Monitor. The Monitor had managed to dodge this attack, dashing out of the way, though only through sheer anxious ambition, as he feared that taking another direct blow from an opponent this strong, apparently durable, and close, might actually severely fracture several of his ribs, even despite his armor. While he theorized that, over time he could heal from this damage by directing about a significant percentage of his armor's available battery to enhancing the energy and effectiveness behind the healing process, even this would take time he figured his opponent wouldn't give.


As he began to turn from his then position to face his opponent, he saw the mutant appear to charge directly at him. He began to ready his next move, getting into position to avoid his foe once more, and perhaps reposition himself to deliver yet another offense, a punch to the ribs, maybe... Before his adversary surprised him, and lunged upwards, returning to the rooftops. The Monitor still sought to pursue him, to apprehend him and keep him from harming any of the innocent people that might be in the vicinity, intentionally or otherwise... He couldn't let that happen, he couldn't fail the people he'd sworn to provide their brightest future.. He couldn't afford to fail them.. Not again..


"That won't happen again, not ever!... I've learnt from my various opponents.. I can surely defeat this ONE!" The Monitor, calming himself from his momentary, startling thought as he attempted to pursue this bizarre instigator, which would admittedly prove more difficult than anticipated now, as the Soaring Cryptid was since destroyed, and the nanobots had still not duplicated in the quantity needed to create another. He did however create a nanobot-based grappling hook system, aiming it one of the few suitably sturdy surfaces above him, hoisting himself upwards, retracting the cable, and utilizing his enhanced agility to finally jump ono the nearest available rooftop surface and struggled to catch up to his target.. Though could find no sign of him. At this point, he was forced once more just to travel in the general direction in which he had seen his foe move, hoping he could find them rather soon



"Where is he!? Surely a creature so large couldn't have gotten very far from here, but where in all of this darkness could they be lurking?" Monitor thought as he continued across the various rooftops, hoping not to hear any frightened screams or shouts of pain, any indication that this opponent had caused any harm to anyone else, using his nanobot gauntlets to form another light source, this time a more elaborate, wrist mounted flashlight, aiming this new creation in various directions, hoping to catch sight of him once more, so that this time he could ensure to bring this... Chaotic presence.. To justice.. Before finally calling out: "Alright, mutant! You said you wish to have your amusement.. To show me your attempt to bring triumph to your methods of chaos... Well, I'm here, once more! Show yourself if you wish to complete this pitiful game!" Before proceeding, onward upon the rooftops...

As the Monitor proceeded, he continued to position his light source throughout the surrounding area, though still, he had no success in locating the mysterious being whom he had last seen so shortly ago. Frankly, it baffled him, the idea of a foe of that level of strength and endurance, also apparently being so fast as to so easily escaping his view. He was met with the conclusion that, either: This new opponent was carrying some sort of teleportation technology, which, to him, given the monster's mannerisms, seemed somewhat unlikely, but he supposed was still a possibility... Or, that this opponent just truly was simply this swift and formidable in the cover of darkness, and that he should approach the situation with greater caution, especially for the sakes of any civilians in the area.


For the time being, however, it seemed that the beast was since long gone. The Monitor reasoned that he had to find this mysterious attacker, but searching so blindly might only divert his attention away from the areas where he should actually search, potentially only increasing the probability of casualty... Something he couldn't let happen...not after all that he'd seen already, after all he bore witness to firsthand prior, throughout his career... He reasoned that, he would make a final attempt to survey the general direction in which he had last seen the man-beast, and if this failed, he would return to base, consulting recent news reports and hospital records to ensure that nobody was recently attacked by this, this.. chaotic threat to security.. and if not, he would test his armor for any clear traces of any specific genetic alteration, to find out just who or what he was up against, and adjust his following combative strategies accordingly. Surely, after all he had been through, he would not let this city face tragedy at the hands of some monstrous maniac, just because they wanted to have what seemed to be their idea of amusement.


He was just about to make his rounds, when he caught a glimpse of something, or, someone, lying on the ground, in his vicinity, exhibitng either exhaustion or pain... or worst. Monitor was then forced to consider his fears had come to fruition, that somebody, seemingly an innocent bystander, was harmed in a madman's quest for chaos, and he was too late to stop it... Monitor's heart racing, as he was stressed with the possibility of genuine.. failure.. the last thing one should wish to experience whilst on a quest to save lives... He was clamed however, as he approached closer, and swiftly took note of a factor of the situation which was somewhat relieving of the stress, though also somewhat peculiar to note, if the individual had indeed been attacked by the creature.. Strange, yet comforting enough, though, was what he didn't see.... No blood, no horrible, gory sight for him to look upon in horror... As far as he could tell, the... Man, it appeared, still had all of his limbs, nothing even seemed twisted or bent out of usual order. Monitor reasoned at this point that, perhaps it could suffice to say the man may not have been attacked or injured by the creature at all.. After all, New York was a rather large city.. and any number of things but the worst could explain something like this.. Perhaps he WAS being a tad bit paranoid this time...The man could simply be drunk, for all he knew... Surely the stress of facing such an uncommonly formidable opponent was getting to him..


Still the Monitor reasoned, it could never hurt to be sure. The man could still have seen, or encountered the creature, and just have fainted or been knocked over, or even still be in need of some medical assistance of a similar, or other matter. At this point, in the search for such a dangerous opponent at large, he needed all of the information he could gather. The Monitor proceeded to approach the individual, dimming the light source as he did, and slowing his movement to establish his presence with calm. If indeed the man HAD fainted, he really didn't need to bring matters from bad to worse, by arriving too suddenly. It occurred to him that, even in this day and age of immense media attention to the threat of superhuman beings, that a reptilian humanoid in a cloak and metallic battle armor might not be exactly the most calming and comforting sight to the average individual, especially in this given situation. With this, as he approached the man's line of sight, he maneuvered himself down to the surface from the rooftops, trying not to make his movements too sudden, as he dropped to the pavement, shouting quietly: "You there! sir! Are you alright? Are you in need of medical attention?"