We all know that humanity is atop the food chain, not for their natural gifts, but for its capacity to adapt to situations and more importantly thanks to tools.
Yet what if something appeared in our world that could adapt its body to the situation on the spot, forced acclimatization to any environment or challenge
What would that being become? A God? A Demon?... no, nothing so esoteric. Whoever can adapt faster and more efficiently will be atop the Food Chain.
An Alpha Predator, whose prey is everything that walks the Earth, swims in the Sea or soars the Sky. A creature with the ability to overcome humanity’s advantages without technological help.
One could argue that the Hidden World Denizens could fall into that category, but even the inhuman ones have values, or customs. The ones who don’t are just animals.
Just adapting to any circumstance isn’t enough to triumph in the race for evolution. One shouldn’t focus on only increasing their strength but they would need to purge their weaknesses.
What is the human weakness you may ask? Is the lack of natural weapons? Their relative weakness in comparison with fiercer predators? No, emotions are humanity’s weakness.
Animals may feel emotions, but not on the level humans do. Animals ruled by instinct that overcomes emotions are more efficient. Humans ruled by emotions or logic are not.
They spend their time thinking or feeling, that slows them down and in the grand scheme of things stopping to run is basically surrendering to the Predators.
A being that can adapt and isn’t tied by emotion or instinct seems the perfect fit to become the wolf among men.
Unluckily for us all we may have found him…
Name: Masako Hihashi
Height: 1.81 mts (Variable)
Weight: 193 Kg (Variable)
Born and raised in Japan, son of a Japanese Diplomat and a Chinese politician, Masako suffered a rift the moment he was born, as only months after his birth, his father returned to China while his mother stayed in a local government position rather than continuing with her diplomatic career. The young Masako took his mother maiden surname, while his father surname is Lei. For his mixed blood he was continuously mocked and picked on the school, slowly making him bitter and angry at the world. Being alone and in constant attack he became cold and unforgiving, turning against anybody that dared to bother him. In only months he made the whole school afraid of him, even the teachers and staff couldn’t oppose him. Thus he reached to the conclusion that the only way to be happy is to rule over others, and to rule over others he needs to be feared and to be feared he needs to be powerful. Thus he will achieve true happiness through the suffering of others under his rule. His most common quote is “The weak are the food for the strong, is the law of nature” and according our exams and analysis his “goal” in life, as he describes it, is to be in the top of the food chain, quite literally.
His powers developed through and accident and activated after a traumatic experience he calls “My True Birth”. He fought against a new gang that tried to take the control of his “domains” he won the fight, but the almost dead delinquents launched a kamikaze attack and pushed him off the ledge in the school rooftop. He cracked his skull open and something snapped inside of him, the faint remains of human conscience or empathy was destroyed and his incredible powers of his own cellular composition awakened. While he was comatose all the people under his “rule” started to tell about his sins and that information reached his mother. When Masako returned home she confronted him and without any kind of delay, the merciless monster killed his own mother in cold blood and ate her flesh. This finished his awakening and slowly he gained control over his powers. He decided that to further advance in his road to “greatness” and decided that he had to cut all the ties that remained to his humanity. He killed everybody that met him before his transformation and then he went for the last one, his own father.
He travelled to Europe, where his progenitor was staying, honing his skills along the way. He destroyed the Chinese embassy in Britain but got caught in the escape and placed in the Black Stone Prison. The Mangetsu Organization (erased from everybody's memory) turned him into a weapon, under the codename Shingetsu. He was sent to a forgotten Japanese Naval Base on an artificial island in which he encountered the living Metal Benkeinium, that encased him in a cocoon. Dr. Kago bought him from a rogue JHWAB agent in charge of the clean up duty in the Naval Base and he woke up in Osaka, during the events of Osaka Ablaze
Masako’s goal is quite simple, becoming the one above all the others in biological terms. He wants to be on the top of the food chain, he wants to consume the meat of different people, and he wants to taste their fear and desperation. He won’t consider himself as a Cannibal as he doesn’t consider himself as part of humanity anymore. Apart from the hunger that pushes him forward he lacks personality traits after his psyche was burned out after being engulfed by Benkeinium in the mission to retrieve the Amaterasu Submarine.
Masako can consume any living being and gain its memories and skills. This covers regular skills, he can get piano performing skills if he consumes a pianist, but he won’t get super powers. People with strong personalities or mental powers maybe prove to give him a “Mental Indigestion” that he has to fight internally to avoid them from trying to take control of his body.
The “souls” or better said, the psyche of those he consumes tend to manifest from time to time through the Benkeinium patches on his body, truly horrifying visages of suffering trying to escape from the prison Masako became for them. The Alpha Predator can recall their appearance at will. Yet there is an unexpected side-effect of the Assimilation.
Masako gets personality traits of the people he consumes stuck “in his teeth” slowly permeating him with traits, ticks or mannerisms of the people he consumes. Creating the illusion of being them to whoever knew them, something that can be equals parts useful and bothersome, as people can be fooled by it.
Masako’s body is almost 90% mineral, as the Benkeinium Metal has fused with him; this living metal is harder than Titanium while it remains in a fluid state. Masako can change its shape, density and properties to adapt to multiple situations. Yet in the case of battling an enemy he can successfully adapt against just one of them, not all.
He can take traits of animals and magnify their utility as every part is composed by Organic Metal, enhancing its durability and avoiding reaching to their limit. Masako can also create simple weapons or even create multiple extremities or tendrils to help him fight. The patches on his body can extend to form armor plates.
The Benkeinium can conduct electricity; Masako can adapt to avoid getting electrocuted or magnetized. It doesn’t rust and is smooth to the touch. Sharpening his weapons is question of concentration rather than skill, as he can modify the structure of the metal on a molecular level altering its sharpness and properties.
Masako’s current body at its utmost potential can fluctuate between these values, yet he will never reach the top of the three, he can top 1, have one in between and the remaining one on its minimum setting. His reflexes are linked to his speed.
Strength 1-5-10 Ton
Durability Bullets-Tanks-Heavy Artillery
Speed- 2x Human- Sub Sound- 2x Sound