BOOM...
A loud impact echoed through Forest Park, startling numerous birds that promptly flew away from the noise.
PSST...
A pod of extraterrestrial origin opened its hatch, revealing a newborn Saiyan, so small and frail-looking that if it weren't for the tail swishing behind him, one would consider him to be just another human child.
The child had awoken just before the pod landed, the impact absorbed by whatever high-tech material made up the pod itself, preventing the child from being injured by the force of the landing.
Tavor walked out of the pod with legs still shaking from the numbness of sleep, stumbling in the night as his dark eyes adjusting to the darkness around him.
He walked at an increasingly brisk pace until he could make out the telltale signs of life, a group of houses and apartment complexes stretching out beyond the trees and foliage.
The smells and sounds of human habitation caused Tavor to momentarily become dizzy due to overstimulation but through all of that he could smell something delicious.
GRUUUUUUGGGGHHHH...
His stomach growled like a wild beast, and he clutched his belly in pain, his mouth beginning to salivate as he stepped forward into the light of civilization.
Tavor neared a road which was relatively empty except for a few people walking on the sidewalks and cars parked on the curb, but his eyes focused immediately on a stall where a short and portly man was peddling hot dogs, the smell coming from it calling to Tavor like a beacon in the dark.
His tiny feet padded along the empty street, the asphalt cracked from wear and tear and wet from a recent rain, his tail swishing eagerly from side to side.
The portly man took notice of Tavor as he entered the light, and his eyes went wide upon seeing his strange outfit and, more importantly, his fuzzy tail.
"Hey, little one, where are your parents?" The man tried to engage the child but noticed that Tavor's eyes were completely focused on a spinning hot dog.
"Are you hungry?" The man pulled a fully cooked hotdog from a spit and placed it inside of a bun and applied some ketchup before handing it to the strange boy.
Tavor snatched the hot dog from the man so fast that it appeared like a blur to the man's eyes, the hot dog vanishing into Tavor's maw like a planet vanishes into a black hole.
The man was shocked to see such a thing. "Did he even chew?"
Tavor's eyes once more fell onto the food cart, a glint of desire flashing within his dark eyes.
"Look kid, I cannot give you too much, I have a business to run after all!" As he said this Tavor's eyes seemed to dim and his chin wiggled as if he was about to cry.
"Hey, don't cry, here, I can give you a few of the hot dogs that had been boiling for a while!"
"Not like these would have sold anyways!"
The man grabbed a paper plate and filled it with six hot dogs, each with a different topping, from ketchup to mustard and even onions and chili, before handing it to the child.
Tavor snatched the plate with a practically glowing expression on his face before beginning to inhale the hot dogs one by one.
BUUUURRRPP!
He released a burp that resounded through the street, the smell of which made the man's eyes water.
As the man recovered from the intense smell of onion, chili and hot dogs he failed to notice the approach of two men in loose, dark clothes, a look of derision and arrogance plastered on their faces.
"Hey old man, we are here for the protection money, you know the drill!"
When the hot dog proprietor heard the voice his back stiffened and he subconsciously attempted to hide the unknown child behind his portly figure.
Tavor was confused about why the man would pull him but he paid it no further thought as he continued to lick his fingers of the lingering mustard and chili.
"I've already paid my protection money; you know this because you were here yesterday for the same thing!"
The two men looked at each other and sneered before letting out a laugh that wasn't really a laugh.
"We don't know what you are talking about, stop spouting such nonsense or we will pound you into the dirt and let Kingpin know that you refuse to cooperate!"
The man on the left leaned in towards the hot dog proprietor, so close that the proprietor could smell the distinctive aroma of whiskey and cigarettes.
"You wouldn't want that would you? Do you know what Kingpin does to people who don't cooperate?"
The hot dog proprietor shivered.
He knew full well what would happen, and he in no way wanted to experience it.
As he was about to reach for his safe he felt a tug on his shirt from behind and noticed the strange child was still eyeing the hot dog cart hungrily.
"Is this child a human vacuum? Where does it all go?"
The two thugs took notice of the toddler, more specifically, the fluffy tail swishing happily behind him.
"A tail? Is it a mutant? Kingpin would pay well for one of those!"
The thug on the left whispered to the thug on the right who nodded in agreement.
"Hey, old man, hand over the child and we will conveniently forget the money you owe! How does that work for ya?
The hot dog proprietor's expression darkened and with a hint of anger in his eyes he stared straight into the leading thugs eyes.
"You can have my money but don't you dare touch this boy!"
The two men looked at each other, a tacit conversation going on between them before they simultaneously reared back and let out a laughter that was both loud and obnoxious.
"HAHAHAHA... Don't dare he said! What a farce, who does this old man think he is? HAHAHAHAHAHA!"
The thug on the right reached out and grabbed the old man from across the hot dog cart and pulled him so hard that the cart toppled, sending steaming hot dogs and water spilling out into the street.
Tavor's expression darkened as he witnessed this.
"So wasteful, why would they waste food like this? Have they no shame?" Tavor was brought out of his thoughts at the sound of dull thuds.
He looked up to see one of the thugs standing over the nice man who fed him and proceed.to beat him relentlessly.
The hot dog proprietor struggled to block the attacks but his strength couldn't compare to a thug who undoubtedly has immense experience throwing punches.and before long the man's face was bloodied and his eyes rolled as a dizziness took him.
"Let this be an example of what happens when you go against us, against the Kingpin!" The thug was rearing back to deliver a final heavy blow but suddenly a sharp pain in his leg made him howl.
He looked down to see that the tailed child was biting his leg, his powerful jaws clamping down hard enough to break the skin and draw blood from the thug.
"YOU LITTLE SHIT!"
The thug swung his arm towards Tavor's head and sent the child flying from the excessive force, the child landing hard on his back amidst the hot dogs and water.
The leading thug sneered as he took out a phone and dialed the number for his boss, the Kingpin answering after five rings.
"Hey boss, we found something that you might like, a child with a monkey tail, he might be a mutant who fetches a good price, or even a pet hahahaha..."
As the leading thug continued to report to his boss the other thug approached Tavor and was about to deliver a sharp kick when the old man who ran the hot dog stand grabbed his leg, stopping him in his tracks.
"D... Don't touch him bastard, take me instead!"
The thug pulled himself free of the old man's weakened grip and turned to kick him instead, the distinctive sounds of impact and the crack of bones echoing out as the old man was relentlessly pummeled.
"You think you have any power here old Ben? You think your some kind of hero? Here let me give you the hero treatment!"
He continued to relentlessly pummel the old man whose name was Ben.
THUMP...
THUMP...
THUMP...
THUMP...
THUMP...
THUMP...
A sound akin to low drumbeats echoed out from behind the thug and he turned around to find that the child sprawled on his back had a feral expression on his little face, his body began to swell with an unknown power.
THUMP...
THUMP...
The tailed child began to grow, as he grew hair began to cover his face as he did so before finally he reached a phenomenal height of 50 feet and had the appearance of a massive ape.
Ape Tavor looked up towards the full moon and opened his now massive maw.
"ROOOOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAARRR!!!!!!!"
A roar that woke people all the way from Manhattan to Brooklyn echoed out from the ape.
Nearby windows and glass shattered, and car alarms activated.
The two thugs as well as Ben stared up awe, a potent mixture of fear and wonder causing them to freeze on the spot.
Ape Tavor looked down at the two thugs with pupil less red eyes, the pure killing intent and rage causing the one on the phone with Kingpin to wet himself while the one who was beating Ben shook uncontrollably.
Tavor in his ape form swung his arm towards the shaking thug and with a sickening crunch of bones being turned into shrapnel he sent the thug flying into a car, the impact so hard that the thugs body became embedded in the now demolished vehicle.
Seeing this the other thugs survival instinct kicked in and he proceeded to run for his life from the armored massive ape.
Tavor saw this and leaped into the air, the distance between him and the thug closing instantly.
But before Tavor could crash on top of him, the thug veered to the left into a narrow alley between an abandoned home and a corner store.
Ben stood up slowly while clutching his tender ribs, he winced as he grazed the broken bones before looking up in a mix of awe and horror at the distant great ape.
"Is that still the small child from before? How is this possible?"
Despite his apprehension and the pain flaring in his body Ben walked forward.
"What kinda man would I be if I didn't do something to save that child."
Tavor let out a primal roar of frustration as the thug continued to weave between buildings to evade his assault.
The thug, having lived in the city for his entire life, knew the streets like the back of his hand but in his haste he found himself blocked off by a chain link fence.
"No... No... No... Fuck... What am I going to do?"
He looked around frantically and found a metal trash can.
"Better than nothing, fuck!"
He dashed towards the trashcan and forcibly emptied its contents before stepping inside, his suit becoming soiled by the leftover juices within.
Tavor's massive figure caused the ground to shake with every step until finally he stood at the chain link fence where the thug had stopped.
SNIFF...
SNIFF...
SNIFF...
SNIFF...
Great ape Tavor turned his furious face towards the trashcan where the thug huddled and reached out with his massive hand.
The thug shook violently, sheer terror overriding everything else as he tried to make himself as small as humanly possible.
Great ape Tavor's senses caught the scent of the thug inside despite his efforts and he reared back with the trashcan in hand and let out a primal roar before throwing the trashcan with so much force that it reached the Hudson river.
BANG...
BANG...
BANG...
"ROOOOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAARRR!"
Great ape Tavor pounded his massive chest and let out another earthshaking roar before the dark clouds in the sky covered the moon completely and rain began to fall.
Tavor's body began to shake and soon began to shrink at a visible rate, a torrent of steam escaping his body as he fell unconscious as a child once more.
Deep inside a high-rise in New York, a large bald man was holding a phone and listening to the sounds from the other side before he crushed the phone with his bare hands.
Kingpin turned in his chair towards another bald man who had a distinctive scar on his forehead in the shape of a target.
"Go, find my men and kill whoever or whatever attacked them!"