KILL ALL KAIJU

Ryker stared after the police car as it raced back towards Fairview. Glad at least that the people he'd saved were moving away from the danger. Limping between the trees, Ryker moved shakily before sitting down in a heap against a massive oak. Flinching at every little movement that aggravated the bullets stuck in his hide and wincing at the pain Ryker let himself rest for a moment as he surveyed the injuries he’d sustained in the fight.

Not terrible. Ryker had to admit. But not great either.

In a way it was almost comforting how monstrously large he’d grown. Despite the sting of the bullet wounds he could tell at least that they hadn’t gone too deep into his body that they’d damaged his organs. They still hurt like a bitch. But at least they weren’t life threatening. Now if that shotgun had gotten him then he’d really be…

Ryker’s mood took a nosedive at the thought of the dead man who’d shot at him. And despite years of seeing people die and get themselves killed by Kaiju he could never stop thinking about what he could have done better. In his mind’s eye he replayed the entire fight at the gas station. Throwing the van into the store had been the best opening move as far as he could tell. There was no one inside the van when he’d gotten to it, that he could easily tell through smell and the lack of Kaiju trying to get inside it. With all the Kaiju clumped up at the door trying to get in they were lined up perfectly for him to bowl them over with the hurled van.

After that though, Ryker knew he'd failed to do better.

He’d been filled with the same anger he’d always had when going into fights. Only now that he was a Kaiju that anger drove him to dive into danger head first. He’d had no plan when he’d entered the gas station. The only thing he wanted to do was rip those Kaiju into pieces, lose himself in the violence of it all as he ended them. In hindsight it had been a miracle that he’d even thought enough to grab a dead hatchling as a meat shield in the first place when the man fired his shotgun at him. His actions were raw and violent. Undisciplined.

What else was I supposed to do? Ryker thought internally. He was a Kaiju now, but even driven by his insatiable anger and new body they weren’t enough to make up for his own inexperience fighting with his monstrous body. He’d made up for that with sheer bloodthirst when he’d fought the first Kaiju hatchlings in the abandoned radio station and the others at the campsite . But that unchecked ferocity resulted in him getting bitten in the leg, dragged outside the gas station, and almost swarmed where he couldn’t protect the people who needed him most.

Even if he was in a monster’s body now, he was still human at his core.

And as a human he just didn’t know how to fight in his body properly.

Putting those thoughts aside Ryker carefully counted the number of stinging holes in his body that were leaking blood. Going by feel to count the total number of bullets that had entered his back.

Ten, eleven, twelve. Jesus. That cop mag dumped his entire clip into me. It was a startling realization but also one that left Ryker with a crazy grin. Showing off all his blood spattered teeth as his chuckles came out as reptilian croaks. That was the first time I’ve ever been shot. I hadn’t even been shot at in my past life for Pete’s sake! Well, unless you count Kaiju bio-missiles and breath attacks as being shot at. Ryker mused. Trying to make light of his situation.

In hindsight he couldn’t really blame the man or anyone really for shooting at him in the first place. He had been the biggest threat in the gas station. Even if the only threat he posed were to other Kaiju. Sighing, Ryker took a look at the worst injury he’d sustained in the recent battle. The deep gouges in his leg leaking thick streams of red where the other Kaiju’s teeth had pieced deep into the muscle.

Grimacing, Ryker pressed a claw over the wound. Warm blood leaking through his grp no matter how hard he tried to press down on the wound. Granted claws were a poor substitute to the dexterity normal human hands had but still. His wound felt a bit tingly as well, as if-

Venom glands? Ryker thought incredulously. That bastard from earlier actually developed Venom glands before I did. Son of a bitch, it even got to use them on me before I bit it back.

Feeling particularly indignant at that thought Ryker calmed himself down as he poured over the wound again. Adjusting his other claw to press over the wound as blood continued to seep out of it. Despite having sustained injuries before and having grown at least a little familiar with Kaiju’s accelerated rate of healing the wound didn’t seemed to be clotting. Now feeling a bit of worry Ryker pondered what to do next. Should he just wait it out? Gather some leaves to bind the wound? No, there’s no way that would work. There weren’t any trees that would be capable of making leaves big enough to staunch the wound on his massive body. Not to mention his claws weren’t going to be doing him any good if he had to perform first aid on himself.

Is it a hemotoxin? Ryker wondered. But we all have the same damn genes don’t we? I’m pretty sure my own Venom glands aren’t hemotoxic. I’d be able to tell after I bit some of those other Kaiju at the gas station. How is that possible? That can’t be possible right?

But after a moment of clarity, Ryker realized it was possible. Beck had told him so all those years ago. The memory crystalizing with a high level of clarity as his recent Neural Amplification upgrade brought that day’s details back to him.

“Doctor Wallenstein? I don’t know if you remember me but I attended one of your lectures to us pilots after I came back from the front in California. Before the fighting spilled into Arizona and New Mexico.”

Beck had looked as wild as he’d always had, even though the man was no longer young you wouldn’t know it by the energy he put into his work. Beck looked up from a data pad he’d been pouring over and blinked at Ryker’s offered hand before smiling and taking it animatedly.

“Good to meet you young man! You are?”

“Ryker sir. Raymond Ryker. I’m a mech pilot.”

“A pilot! That’s wonderful.” Beck said quickly. “How have the new adjustments been for you hmm? I had a hand in overseeing the improvements to the latency issues that sprung up when the main power cell shifted to its auxiliary batteries.”

“They’ve been great.” Ryker said perking up almost immediately. “Those latency issues were almost the death of me a couple weeks back.”

“Thank you.” Beck said meaningfully. “As far away from the fighting as I am I don’t get to see the results of my work in action most of the time. It’s nice to hear some good news for a change.”

A shadow drifted across Beck’s face at his words before he visibly forced the emotion down. Ryker saw it and didn’t comment on it. Feeling guilty enough for bringing the cheery man’s mood down.

“I’m sorry. I can get lost in my own conversations sometimes. Was there something I could help you with Raymond?”

“Yes sir. I’ve been reading your work on the enemy and I’d like to pick your brain about some of the things I’ve seen in the field.”

“Of course! I’d love to help in any way I can. I do have to get to the other side of the base for a telecom though, can you walk and talk?”

“Absolutely sir.” Ryker said immediately. Following the doctor as they made their way through the winding halls and busy corridors of the military base.

“And please Raymond, I know you mean well but just call me Beck. I’m just an ordinary scientist.”

“Ordinary? Sir- ah sorry. With all due respect Beck you’re the go to expert for everything involving Kaiju.”

“Well I wouldn’t say everything.” Beck said sheepishly. “I’m only just beginning to understand how those monsters function on a genetic level.”

“That’s what I wanted to talk to you about actually.” Ryker said. Immediately jumping on the chance to ask his questions. “Your most recent paper confirmed that all Kaiju are derived from the same exact gene base. With their DNA being essentially the same for every Kaiju when they’re hatched how is it that there is such a wide variance in the abilities we see them use?”

“An excellent question. I’m actually working on a report about that that should be ready for publishing in a few weeks, so you caught me at the perfect time. I must ask though are you asking for an answer to Stage One Kaiju ability variations or Stage Two?”

Ryker frowned. Not understanding the question at all. “There’s a difference?”

“Oh yes! Quite a substantial one. Stage One Kaiju rely on stabilized epigenetic triggers for their abilities to gain new properties while during Stage Two, the Kaiju genome undergoes a period of self induced genetic instability to accelerate the rate of beneficial mutations based on environmental factors.”

Ryker stared at Beck for a long moment, blinking in confusion at the verbal onslaught of overly scientific language before finally admitting.

“Doc I hate to say it. But I don’t think I understood a single word you just said. Can you dumb it down for me?”

“Oh.” Beck said sounding more embarrassed at his own words than Ryker being unable to understand him. “Just a moment.” He said holding up a finger as he flicked through various screens on his data pad.

“Ah here we are.” He said finally before pulling up the same three gene segments Ryker remembered seeing at his first lecture. “Do you remember these?”

“Yeah, the uh-” Ryker blanked for a moment before it all came back to him. “The musculoskeletal gene segment, the neurosensory gene segment, and the cardiopulmonary gene segment.” Ryker said pointing to each segment in turn, before pausing as his finger rested on the yellow cardiopulmonary segment. “There was something else about that one. Was it offensive biologicals?”

“Yes, that’s right.” Beck said with a frown as he got on with his moving presentation. “You remember how Kaiju need to consume materials to unlock the abilities yes?”

“I remember.” Ryker said nodding. “They can eat basically anything.” Ryker was about to continue with his questioning when an entirely new one surfaced in his head. “Hey if Kaiju can eat anything why don’t they all just eat dirt, trees, and concrete?”

“Efficiency mainly.” Beck said not skipping a beat at the new question. “They very well could as far as we know but biological compounds provide the most caloric capital for their proverbial buck, especially for Stage One Kaiju. That goes doubly so for fats and proteins which are unfortunately, exclusive to the animal kingdom. Though as Kaiju reach Stage Two their bodies do grow much more adept at processing inorganic compounds. Hence why some shift their dietary targets to refineries, oil tankers, power plants, etcetera, etcetera.” Beck said waving his data pad in the air as he brought up the gene segments again.

“Now, as to your original question. Epigenetics is the study of how an individual’s behavior can alter the expression of their DNA. In reference to Stage One Kaiju, their actions can alter their abilities as their DNA comes prepackaged with certain… oh what’s the word?”

“Modifiers?” Ryker supplied. Not sure if he was right or not.

“Modifiers! Exactly!” Beck beamed. “These epigenetic modifiers can alter Kaiju abilities in ways we’re just beginning to understand. Here’s one we discovered only recently.”

Beck worked the screen on the data pad enlarging the red musculoskeletal DNA segment until it took up the whole screen. With a tap of a finger Beck highlighted the bottom most rung of the DNA helix, making it stand out as additional data populated the screen around it.

“This single rung of DNA is responsible for the vast increase in strength Kaiju have relative to their body mass. It increases a Kaiju’s muscle density. A formidable threat to be sure, but with the epigenetic modifiers…” Beck tapped a portion of the screen and four descriptions flickered in around the DNA. Labeled A1, A2, B1, and B2 respectively. “Thankfully there can only be two active modifiers at once, one from column A on one side of the DNA helix and one from column B on the other side of the helix.”

“Okay.” Ryker said nodding slowly. “What do they do exactly?”

“A number of things depending on the ability in question. But here we do have the answers for this ability, see?”

Ryker peered closer to the screen and started reading from the top, down to each of the boxes.

[Musculoskeletal Gene Segment - Stage One]

[Rung 1: Increased Muscle Fiber Density - Drastically increases the amount of muscle fibers concentrated across the entire musculoskeletal system.]

[Available Epigenetic Modifiers]

[A1: Fast Twitch Muscle Fibers - Focuses development of the fast twitch muscle fibers in the Kaiju’s body. Increasing base speed and ability to utilize bursts of intense activity.]

[A2: Slow Twitch Muscle Fibers - Focused development of the slow twitch muscle fibers in the Kaiju’s body. Increasing base endurance and ability to stay active for long periods of time.]

[B1: Shock Absorbent Muscle Tissue - Alters the ability of the Kaiju’s various muscle tissues to mitigate kinetic force. Reducing damage from blunt force trauma and protecting vital organs.]

[B2: Lactic Acid Resistant Muscle Tissue - Alters the ability of the Kaiju’s various muscle tissues to resist the build up of Lactic Acid. Increasing the length of time before muscles begin to fail under strain and repeated usage.]

“Damn.” Ryker muttered out loud. Not liking what he was reading one bit. “And every Kaiju can develop these modifiers?” Ryker asked warily. Almost not wanting to hear the answer. If this one ability had four modifiers, even if there could only be two active at a time, combined with the sheer number of abilities Kaiju gained…

“Yes and no, thankfully.” Beck said putting the data pad away. Moving with Ryker around a squad of ground troops as they made their way to the building’s exit so they could relieve the next shift. “It’s as I said before during my lecture. The process by which these abilities are chosen for Kaiju in the first place seems to be completely random. Though over time their bodies do prioritize a single DNA segment to focus on. Which means the vast majority of Kaiju humanity face are actually not as strong as they could be.”

“Small blessings.” Ryker said wryly.

“Indeed.” Beck said with a chuckle. “Anyway, even in the abilities Kaiju do receive there is no guarantee they’ll trigger an activation of an epigenetic modifier. They are just unintelligent monsters after all. The ones that do stumble into triggering an epigenetic modifier seem to do so purely through instinct or just blind luck. We’re still calculating the exact odds of a Kaiju being able to do that and I don’t want to give inaccurate information but generally speaking, the odds are fifty fifty if Kaiju will activate an ability modifier.”

“I see.” Ryker said nodding. “That certainly does explain the things I’ve seen in the field. Thank you Beck.”

“Glad to be of assistance.” Beck said nodding back. “Ah, we’re here.”

Ryker looked up to realize that they’d actually arrived at the destination Beck was heading towards already. Rather than a conference room or office like Ryker had expected it was a full blown laboratory. Screens were everywhere, showing spiraling diagrams of DNA strands, the internal mechanisms of mechs that were currently in the field, there was even what seemed to be a prototype weapon of sorts in the corner with a number of technicians around it.

Ryker whistled appreciatively at the sight of it all. “You got quite the operation going here Doc.”

“Thank you.” Beck said smiling wistfully at the laboratory before his eyes landed on a screen display above it all like a clock. Then the smile slipped from his face as he stared at the number listed on the screen. Three hundred fifty seven thousand nine hundred seventy two. Even as Beck watched the screen the number ticked up a few more times and the shadow that crossed Beck’s face when Ryker had first spoke with him returned with a vengeance.

“What’s that over there?” Ryker asked. Referring to the counter. It couldn’t have been a clock or countdown. The numbers were going up instead of down.

“A reminder.” Beck said grimly. “That none of us can afford to ignore. It… reminds me what’s at stake and what we’re trying to stop.”

That statement gave Ryker pause before he connected the dots in his mind. The total death toll from civilians who’d failed to evacuate to the safety of fortified cities, added to their current losses in the field would come out to something north of three hundred thousand wouldn’t it?

“I’ll… let you get going.” Ryker said after a moment. Now feeling as if he’d wasted some of the Doctor’s precious time with his earlier conversation. “Thank you for speaking to a grunt like me Beck.”

Wrenching his eyes away from the death counter on the wall Beck regained his smile, though it was more strained than it had been before. “Anytime Raymond. I’m here to serve in anyway I can.” He held out a hand to Ryker and Ryker took it firmly. Giving it a good shake as Beck turned towards his work.

Before Ryker could leave the lab though Beck called out to him. “By the way Raymond! I will be needing volunteers to test some new anti-Kaiju weaponry I’ve been developing.” He said gesturing to the large weapon surrounded by technicians. Now that Ryker looked at it. It did have the proper connections in place to serve as a back mounted weapon for a mech didn’t it? “Would you be interested in testing some of my designs?”

For the first time in a long time Ryker grinned from ear to ear. Looking at the massive gun with something almost akin to hunger. “Doctor Wallenstein. It would be my honor.”

Coming out of the memory Ryker rested the back of his scaly head against the oak he was resting against. Causing it to shake from his movements as he remembered better days.

How could I have forgotten about the epigenetic modifiers? Ryker thought more than a little embarrassed he hadn’t pursued that advantage the moment he’d realized he’d been reborn as a Kaiju. That should have been something he’d known off the top of his head, but Ryker had never really been one for planning and strategy. It was why his nickname as a pilot had been Arsenal. Why waste time switching between loadouts at the loading bay to find the right gun for the job when you could bring all the guns, all the time? If standard kinetic munitions didn’t work then Ryker would just switch to armor piercing rounds, if those didn’t work then he’d switch to explosive rounds. If those didn’t work then he’d get in close with the Pile Bunker and ram the pseudo diamond alloy tip through the skull of whatever was causing him problems. Or if a Kaiju was out of conventional weapons range he’d just find an elevated position without any civilians nearby and fire up the rail gun. You could always rely on a railgun to get the job done.

I miss my railgun. Ryker thought distractedly, thinking of the very same weapon Beck had him test way back when. The only problems with railguns ironically, was that they were almost too destructive. Firing a twenty foot long spike of artificial tungsten that accelerated to multiple times the speed of sound in a fraction of a second did get the job done. But it also generated a pressure wave that would pulp a normal human’s internal organs if they were within two hundred feet of the blast and weren’t behind a wall of ablative armor and multiple layers of shock absorbing gel like he had been in his mech. It also moved fast enough to ignite the oxygen in the air as it passed, which caused a number of problems if there were any Kaiju that liked to spew flammable gasses into the air. What had that one Kaiju’s name been? Bomb something or other.

Focus damnit. Ryker thought. Shaking his head roughly.

This changed things. It meant that the venom he’d been hit with when the other Kaiju had bit him had changed from a standard venom into a much more worrying hemotoxin. He wanted that. Wound need that if he wanted to be capable of crushing Kaiju across the world.

Closing his eyes Ryker sunk into himself as he pictured the three DNA segments that were responsible for giving him his monstrous abilities. It was the first time he’d done so since his recent Neural Amplification upgrade and the difference in clarity was stark. Like he was turning a screen on or accessing a menu within his mech. He’d only had to focus on it for a few seconds.

More than a little pleased to see his progress in action. Ryker looked over the upgrades he currently had access to. With two active abilities for each DNA segment Ryker was actually spread pretty evenly. He should head back to the gas station and eat any surviving Kaiju remains. The he could start making progress towards the next…

Wait. What? Ryker thought shocked. Mentally peering closer at the second Rung of his Neurosensory segment and, to his surprise, the modifier currently active there. With the center of the Rung glowing bright with the active ability there was another glow on the left side of the ability where the Rung connected to the strand of the helix. Ryker mentally probed the epigenetic modifier, poking and prodding it like he was worried it might explode on him or something.

When the hell did I get this thing? Ryker thought wonderingly. Taking a moment to center himself Ryker analyzed the change in his DNA. It was a modifier for his Neural Amplification ability. Feeling out the modifier’s effects, he felt it… humming in his mind, passively parsing through signals in the air as it worked.

Oh I get it! That’s how I can hear radio waves. The modifier must have made some part of my brain receptive to electromagnetic signals. Ryker thought to himself, absently bringing a claw to his chin to ponder the change further. What would that modifier even be called? An EM sensory matrix? Sure, that sounds cool enough for me. What was the other option though? If I got this one active modifier then that means there was another available modifier that’s now inaccessible to me.

Feeling suddenly like he might have been missing out on an amazing ability Ryker peered deeper into the space the modifier occupied and the inactive negative space behind it.

That must be the other modifier for this part of Neural Amplification. It feels like… Hrmm… Like an even higher boost to a single sense of my choosing? What would that be like? Could that give me something akin to echolocation if I focused it on hearing? Damn, that might have actually been pretty useful. Though in the end its definitely better for me in the long run if I can sense radio waves. I should be able to tune into police chatter, news reports around the country, and not to mention music to keep me sane.

Now feeling satisfied he wasn’t locked out of a potentially game changing modifier Ryker looked over his other abilities. From his memory he knew he could get some modifiers for his Increased Muscle Density upgrade that could make even his large frame faster and more resilient. That alone could be game changing, but what about modifiers for other abilities like his Increased Bone Density? Thinking back to the early days of the Kaiju threat, when an abundance of Stage Ones stalked the earth, he distinctly remembered some kaiju developing bone like spikes along their spines and tails.

Oh... Oh yeah… Ryker thought greedily. Staring at each unmodified ability in his genome with an almost physical hunger. If I could get every available modifier for his abilities, not just the ones he had unlocked now but every ability available to him as a Stage One Kaiju…

Looks like I’ve got another thing to add to my list of priorities. Ryker thought. Well, more like an addendum to the first thing. Grow as strong as possible by killing and eating as many Kaiju as possible, and focus on unlocking the modifiers for each unlocked ability as I fight.

With only a somewhat pained grimace as the hemotoxic venom in his leg wound finally lost its effects Ryker forced himself to stand to his feet. Digging a furrow in the oak with one claw as he used it to push himself up. Only groaning a little bit as he got his legs under him and started making his way back towards the remains of the gas station and the charred bodies of Kaiju he could smell on the breeze. Stomping forward with only a slight limp now.

With all the fuel burned up the gas station fire was starting to subside. The flames only persisting in the remains of the building itself. Surveying the surroundings Ryker easily spotted the first charred corpse that had been hurled clear by the explosion. Standing over the smaller Kaiju Ryker bent down and went to work, steam rising off the strips of meat he tore out of the dead beast’s hide. Chowing down with gusto, Ryker tore through the meal before him and all the other corpses scattered around. Feeling the well of genetic capital build within himself as he went.

Gonna take… a bit more for the next ones I think. Ryker mused as he chewed on a thigh bone. Feeling the amount he’d eaten already should have been enough for a new ability but knowing his body felt otherwise. Makes sense. The amount I need to eat will definitely increase the bigger I get and the abilities I unlock grow more complex.

Having torn through the smaller Kaiju corpses in record time, Ryker finally arrived at the final one. Saving the most charred corpse for last. The seven foot tall Kaiju who’d bitten him with its modified venom.

Bastard. Ryker thought resentfully. Giving the corpse a solid kick with a hind claw that sent its scorched body cracking. The abuse was both to soothe Ryker’s damaged pride at being bitten while distracted in combat and also for the monster’s gall at unlocking a powerful ability modifier before he could.

It probably said something deep about himself as a person that he enjoyed eating the last Kaiju more than any of the others. But Ryker payed those thoughts no heed. After devouring the charred remains of the Kaiju with the last of the fires finally sputtering out Ryker. Looked up happily from his macabre feast and focused on the thrumming feeling inside himself that signaled he could acquire another ability.

Alright! Let’s see what we got. Ryker thought. Rubbing his claws together eagerly as he licked the last of the gore from his snout.

Mentally feeling out the third rung of the red Musculoskeletal segment in his DNA Ryker felt an almost physical pinpricking sensation across his entire body. Not focused in the muscles and other tissues of his body but on the outermost layer.

Definitely feels like a Scale Formation Enhancement. Ryker concluded after feeling out the ability for a minute to make sure. He definitely could have used an upgrade like this earlier. Tougher scales would have done wonders to prevent the envenomed Kaiju fangs piercing into his legs. Would they be bullet proof though? Ryker thought wonderingly. Feeling a twinge of excitement at the thought of bullets bouncing off him and leaving him unharmed. They would be wouldn’t they? Yeah that’s right! I remember when…

The growing excitement Ryker felt drained away as the consequences of that upgrade hit home as he remembered the early days of the Kaiju’s attacks. They would make me bullet proof. Ryker thought with a heavy lump in his chest. And that same upgrade will make other Kaiju bullet proof as well.

The upgrade wouldn’t render him or other Kaiju completely bullet proof of course. But it would make small arms fire ineffective against the upgraded scales he and other Kaiju would form. In the coming days, all across the world probably, there would be people running into Kaiju with that upgrade. And when they used a pistol or other small caliber hand gun to defend themselves it wouldn’t be enough. The majority of people who owned firearms to protect themselves would soon find out that they didn’t have enough firepower to defend themselves anymore. Police forces around the country would have to rely on rifles and shotguns to deal any damage in the near future before the Military mobilized itself.

It was a grim thought. But it was a truth Ryker couldn’t shy away from. Despite knowing that there would be nothing he could do though he still felt a spike of anger at the thought of it. He was certain that the family he’d saved at the campgrounds had a firearm, probably a pistol by the sound he’d heard racing towards the fighting. That one pistol was enough to hold off the Kaiju enough for the family to barricade themselves inside their cabin before Ryker had arrived in the nick of time to save them. In the future, as more and more Kaiju gained those protective scales it would mean that the innocent people of the world would be even more vulnerable.

Damn. Ryker thought glumly. Trying to take his mind out of the pit he’d worked himself into, Ryker looked to the blue Neurosensory segment of his DNA and the third rung’s ability just begging to be activated. It felt like another brain related ability right off the bat. Similar somewhat in function to the Neural Amplification only… different somehow.

What exactly is this thing? Ryker thought puzzled. Usually he’d had a pretty good idea of what an ability did after feeling it out but this one left him stumped. Unconsciously Ryker tilted his head to the side as he crossed his arms in thought. Had anyone been nearby the sight of a green monster tapping a hind claw on the ground in thought might have been comical if that same monster wasn’t ten feet tall and spattered in drying blood.

The Neural Amplification definitely boosted my brain’s ability to function. Kinda like… I dunno. A computer getting newer parts? Like the stock graphics card was switched out with a newer one. If that’s the case then what is there left to improve? The same neurons but with an even more powerful brain upgrade? No that doesn’t feel right. It’s definitely different from Neural Amplification somehow. It’s… Hrmm… maybe…?

The idea came to Ryker and he instantly felt it click. Grinning widely in a smile that would have likely caused most adults to faint, Ryker clapped his claws together as he got it. Oh! It’s not an upgrade to the brain’s hardware like Neural Amplification is. It’s an upgrade to the brain’s software! Condensing and reordering information in the mind like a Synaptic Defrag of sorts that…

Ryker faltered in his eureka moment as the idea of a brain related “software upgrade” bounced around his head for a moment and left him wondering exactly what that would do for him. Damnit. Now I’m in the exact same spot I was before I took the Neural Amplification upgrade. I’ve already got a human level intellect, how is that going to help me at all? Ryker thought a little sourly.

Though in hindsight the Neural Amplification upgrade had ended up being a great addition to his body. As well as the epigenetic modifier that allowed him to hear radio waves. So Ryker didn’t immediately discount the upgrade. However, it definitely fell behind the other Scale Formation Enhancement upgrade in terms of straight up usefulness.

Then what’s over here? Ryker thought, finally coming to the last available upgrade he could select that was part of his yellow Cardiopulmonary DNA Segment. Feeling out the ability Ryker could immediately tell it was an enhancement to an existing organ in his body rather than a new addition like the Venom Glands had been. It felt small though. Like the organ in question wasn’t his heart or other major organs. It felt hot somehow, almost angry.

Ah, okay. It’s the adrenal glands. Ryker surmised. Yup, definitely the adrenals. Though they feel a bit more potent in a way. Ryker took some time to feel out the upgrade since it seemed so ordinary compared to the others. Compared to bullet proof scales and unknown mind alterations getting an ability that just boosted something felt almost mundane. Wait. Ryker thought. Pausing as he felt a particular part of the upgrade that almost felt like… a trigger?

A Triggered Adrenal Surge? Interesting. Ryker thought appreciatively. Now that could come in handy. Adrenaline was something that just happened during a fight. Sometimes it came at the right time you could take full advantage of it and others it just left you shaking as you waited for the rush to leave your system. If he could manually trigger an adrenaline rush whenever he needed there wouldn’t be any waiting for adrenaline to kick in during a fight. He could start any fight by immediately popping off with adrenaline fueled strength, stamina, and speed.

For a moment Ryker tried to press his awareness towards the three upgrades. Hoping to find a way that would allow him to get a preview of what the potential modifiers for those abilities would be but he couldn’t sense anything.

Well it was worth a shot. Ryker admitted before choosing which of the three abilities to accept as an upgrade.

It wasn’t really a fair comparison since each upgrade was for different things but Ryker compared the abilities anyway. Starting with the Scale Formation Enhancement it was an immediate increase to his defensive abilities that would negate any damage by small arms fire. That was a great boon all on its own but Ryker wasn’t exactly planning on getting shot again anytime soon. Wouldn’t he be avoiding gunfire from people if he could help it? He was larger for the most part than other Kaiju too. His improved scales would make their own claw and bite attacks against him much less of a problem than they had been. That may actually be necessary considering more and more Kaiju would inevitably grow their own Venom Glands like he had.

The Triggered Adrenal Surge on the other hand was almost the exact opposite of the Scale Formation Enhancement. Whereas the scale focused ability was purely defensive the adrenal ability was all offense. Being able to manually deliver amped up adrenaline to his body whenever he wanted was a great trump card to pull in the middle of a fight. And wasn’t all out aggression Ryker’s entire fighting style? In a way the adrenal ability felt all too appropriate for Ryker.

Thinking on the Synaptic Defrag gave Ryker the most pause though. It just couldn’t be compared to the Scale Formation Enhancement and Triggered Adrenal Surge in the same way those two abilities could be compared with each other. It felt more like a gamble than anything. From what he felt from the ability it wasn’t going to give him a powerful game changing ability like the adrenal ability or something on the same level as the scale upgrade he was considering. The changes it offered were purely internal. And to see what those changes were he’d have to acquire the ability first so it could defrag his mind. Now that he’d had some experience with the Neural Amplification upgrade Ryker wasn’t immediately worried the mental ability would fry his brain when the defrag took place. It would probably feel weird, disorienting even like it had when his senses had hooked up to his enhanced mind, but it would be nowhere near enough to keep him out of any fights for long.

After only a short time of hemming and hawing over his option Ryker settled on the Scale Formation Enhancement over the other upgrades. He might have been big and strong but he wasn’t invulnerable, he was also the only one who knew of the catastrophes to come and what might be done to stop them. Taking that into account and how he needed to ensure he survived long enough to prevent the disasters he’d been sent back in time to stop, it was a simple choice. Plus the bullets in his back were starting to ache like he was getting stung repeatedly by hornets. He may have chosen differently had he not just been shot recently, but he had.

It would be nice to not have to worry about getting shot in the first place but that’s probably going to be something I can’t avoid. Ryker admitted. Giving himself a once over. I mean look at me. Shit man. If I had a gun, I’d shoot me too.

Feeling good about his upgrade choice Ryker selected the Scale Formation Enhancement and felt his accumulated calories evaporate as his body burned his fuel. It started from the crown of his scaly head. Making Ryker shift and blink rapidly as the change traveled down his face. Bringing a claw up to his face to feel the change pass by he felt something thick and paper like fall onto his claws as Ryker looked down. Feeling all at once disgusted and horrified in equal measure.

Ugh! I’m molting? Ew, seriously!? Ryker cried out in disgusted frustration as he clawed and swiped at the strips of dead scales molting from his reptilian body. He turned around in a circle swiping at himself over and over as the change continued downwards. Traveling down his legs until Ryker was left hopping in place trying to dislodge the strips of molted scales clinging to his hind claws like comically large lengths of toilet paper. After a full minute of furiously swiping himself clean of old scales Ryker huffed in place as he caught his breath.

Just when I think I’m getting used to this whole thing. Something happens that just throws all my expectations out the window. Ryker thought with a shudder as he he ran a claw down his snout. Ryker’s claw stopped on the side of his face as he felt over the new scales adorning his body. They felt all at once denser and more streamlined as each scale flowed over the next. His claws even making a light almost inaudible tinkling sound as he ran them over the thicker scales on his chest. Even the coloration of his scales had changed from the dark green all Kaiju started out with to a lighter hue of green.

Well I still wish I could have skipped the whole molting thing. Ryker thought reluctantly. But this… isn’t half bad. Ryker was turning his arms over and looking over the change in the scales there when he stopped. Squinting for a moment in suspicion at his body. Wait a minute. Ryker thought. Wait a damn minute.

Stomping over to the tree line again Ryker stared hard at one of the branches he’d passed under when he’d ran into the forest earlier. A branch that he was now more than eye level with now. Confirming his suspicions to his own great annoyance. You’ve got to be kidding me. Ryker thought tiredly. Raising a hand to face palm, face claw? Whatever. All those years of academy training, detecting the slightest shift in my mech’s instruments and calibrating settings on the fly. All utterly incapable of sensing a Kaiju’s growth spurts. What am I at now? Eleven feet tall? Ryker questioned despairingly as he raised his claws to the sky. How do I not notice?

Letting his claws drop in defeat Ryker shook his head and thought about his next move. Even though he’d unlocked less than half of the total available number of DNA upgrades he had access to in Stage One, Ryker only had a single active epigenetic ability modifier. And even then it was one that he’d activated almost completely by accident back in the Fairview Supermarket. I need to make a game plan for activating these modifiers. Ryker thought. Determined to maximize his advantages against other Kaiju. I’ll have to be careful to make sure my behaviors and actions doesn’t accidentally trigger a modifier I don’t want.

Unlike the main DNA abilities Ryker could acquire if he just had enough consumed calories the modifiers were different. By their own epigenetic nature, they would only activate if his behaviors matched each modifier’s unique triggers. Normal Kaiju might not activate a lot of their ability modifiers since they were just going about their own murderous business most of the time. Any modifiers they did activate would be more due to blind luck than anything else. But Ryker wasn’t a dumb brute, even if that was what other military branches said about mech pilots.

Should I focus on acquiring modifiers one ability at a time or should I try and make some master plan that will increase the odds of attaining multiple modifiers? Ryker thought to himself as he started pacing near the tree line*. If I go with a focused approach I should be able to get individual ability modifiers quicker at the risk of letting the others go untouched until I can focus on them. That would take time but should give me some clear results quickly enough. Then there’s the master plan approach. Feel out all the different ability modifiers I could gain by doing tasks that overlap with each other. And then performing those tasks to get multiple modifiers from multiple activities at once.

Ryker paused in his pacing for a moment, thinking both of those approaches over before coming to a decision.

Ah, who the hell am I kidding. I’ve never made a master plan for anything in my life. Ryker admitted unashamedly. Time to power level an ability and unlock those modifiers.

And Ryker knew exactly the ability he wanted to work on.

Increased Muscle Fiber Density was one of the first abilities Ryker had gotten after hatching. It was plain and simple, but also provided a number of benefits that only revealed themselves after he’d had the ability long enough to recognize what it did. For instance in addition to increasing his strength the upgrade also increased his speed as well. Since the DNA ability wasn’t focused on any single group of muscles in the body it meant that every muscle received the same benefits.

Moving deeper into the woods Ryker found a small clearing nearby with a stream running through it. Taking a moment to chug down some water Ryker remembered Beck’s diagrams and explanations for Increased Muscle Fiber Density’s modifiers. On the A side of the gene were two options. Fast Twitch Muscle Fibers and Slow Twitch Muscle Fibers.

Each modifier changes the ability to better suit one over the other I’m guessing. Ryker thought. Though he knew endurance was a critical trait to have in the field and Ryker would benefit from it greatly, he just couldn’t take it. Ryker’s entire career as a mech pilot had been defined by going in fast and loud. To the point where a spearheading a blitzkrieg offensive into enemy Kaiju was his bread and butter.

Focus on the Fast Twitch Muscle Fibers then. Ryker thought nodding, already picturing a way he could act that would force his body to adapt in the way he wanted. Shouldn’t be too complicated. Ryker thought. Moving to one edge of the clearing and crouching down. It felt more than a bit silly doing something he hadn’t done since high school but he wanted to unlock a modifier for his fast twitch muscle fibers right? What better way was there to unlock it than performing a hundred meter dash?

Without wasting another moment to question his idea Ryker was off. Hind claws tearing into the grass and dirt underneath him Ryker pelted towards the other side of the clearing as fast as his bitten leg and recently lengthened stride could carry him. He arrived with a huff as he gulped down air, riding out the pain of the bullets slowly getting pushed out of his body and wounds slowly healing. Waiting for a moment as he felt for the change within himself that would announce the unlocking of his ability modifier.

Nothing.

Grimacing at the lack of notice and the continued aching pains Ryker turned and ran the way he’d come from the other side of the clearing. Then, after noticing no change, he did it again. Then again. Then again.

Forty one painful sprints later Ryker collapsed to the ground fully spent. Sending a small quake through the ground as he did so. Heaving like a bellows and finally feeling the tingle within his body that announced a change in one of his own abilities. Okay… Okay… That was a lot worse than I’d thought. Ryker panted. Allowing himself a grin at knowing he’d knowingly unlocked an epigenetic modifier.

When Ryker was fully recovered from his back to back sprints he rose up slowly. Already feeling the muscles in his extremities begin to writhe and shift under his scales as he watched. It was like having a lesser version of a cramp contract muscles all over your body. Only the cramp in question grew in intensity as the muscles settled into tighter and tighter positions. Standing now, Ryker moved in a circle as he looked himself over. He definitely felt the effects of the modifier now. Testing his newfound speed, Ryker swiped a claw through the air. The air whizzing by as his claw scythed through the space in front of him.

Oh. Ryker beamed. Testing different swipes again and again. Is there really this much of an improvement?

High on the increase in speed brought on by the modifier Ryker swiped at the air in quick succession. up, down, left, right. He even dared to go for a kick like he’d done back in the abandoned radio station. But instead of falling like he’d done before, thrown off by his new body’s weight distribution. Ryker whipped his body around in a textbook side kick, hind claws raking the air as he brought his large leg around and back down. That stopped Ryker short. Making him take a step back as he absorbed a new realization.

That modifier must have affected my dexterity too… Ryker thought numbly. Even knowing how much he must have weighed his body felt lighter now if that was possible. More poised and balanced. I wonder how much…?

Struck with a new desire to test the limits of his capabilities. Ryker started by stretching his body to test its full range of motion like he had back in the radio station. He’d found his movements constraining back then. Limiting compared to the grace he’d felt in his human body. But now it felt like a weight had been lifted off his shoulders. The tightness that had held back his movements gone completely now. He crouched easily, bent himself forwards, backwards, and sideways. He could actually stretch his arms out to their fullest now. Straight above his head and behind him without the strain of pulling on his muscles like he’d felt before. He could even do the warm up stretches he’d done on the practice mat with the other pilots.

Feeling better than he had in days Ryker smiled genuinely. Every fight he’d gotten into since hatching in his new body Ryker had fought like a Kaiju. It hadn’t been a conscious choice he’d made, it was just something that happened. He was in the body of a Kaiju so it just made sense to fight like a Kaiju. He couldn’t let his inhibitions to his new form stop him from completing his mission after all. He’d just rolled with it. Gone with the flow of the situation even if it was sub optimal. Chomping, stomping, slashing, biting, etcetera.

But what if… he didn’t just fight like a Kaiju?

As a pilot of a mech with a humanoid frame it was heavily encouraged for pilots to practice moves, holds, and unarmed strikes on the mat that they’d be able to perform in their mechs on Kaiju. There weren’t many humanoid shaped Kaiju, but being trained in the best way to lock down a Kaiju’s appendages or head when your weapons were inoperable could give your other pilots the window of opportunity they’d need to get the killing blow.

Ryker himself had trained with hundreds of other pilots in every kind of martial art they could adapt to mechanized combat. There was even a half serious tournament circuit that Ryker had participated in that had run for a while called the MMMA. With the acronym standing for Mechanized Mixed Martial Arts naturally, because that’s exactly what soldiers would call it.

He’d just assumed that since his new body wasn’t human any more he’d have to scrap everything he’d known about fighting and start from scratch. But why should he do that? If his body could be made more dexterous and quick like his human body had been, why not adapt what he knew to his new body?

Slowly, almost hesitantly. Ryker walked his body through the motions of one of the first kata he’d learned. Not seeking to strike out with the strength his body had but rather to analyze his movements and where he needed to make adjustments.

My center of gravity is still different from before. Ryker thought with a furrowed brow. My tail is what acts as my counter balance now, but how should I…?

His body was still as big and monstrous as it always was but ever so slowly. Ryker brought more and more grace into his movements. With every slash of a claw and swipe of his tail he learned how to move his body and adapt his old forms to best suit his needs. It took time. Hours upon hours as the night receded and the first light of dawn glimmered on the horizon. But with every failed movement Ryker slowly taught himself how to move. A mix of something old and something new. It took time to train himself to go for claw swipes where he’d used to throw punches, even more to figure out how to incorporate lunges that could make use of his fangs, and where to lash out with a swipe of his tail. But he learned.

Outside of Fairview Tennessee as the light of day shone on, a monster learned to use their strength.

Elsewhere, another monster slaughtered the weak to obtain it.