The Golden Destroyer

Jonathan Parker is my name, or rather, the name of who I was in a past life; now, I'm not sure of anything anymore. It had been three days since I had holed up in this small motel lost on the road. And since then, I hadn't dared to go out, I had turned off the television that was broadcasting the terrible images of the destruction on loop.

The names they gave to this thing that was supposed to be me, as ridiculous as they were, disturbed me to the highest degree.

If only they knew what I was enduring, these voices that had been whispering in my ear for three days. These personalities who, at every moment, wanted to take over and control me, to burn, destroy, dominate. If only they knew.

When a motel manager, worried about my condition, came to see me, I lied to him, telling him that I was afraid of the creature and that I was hiding. He looked at me with a gaze full of empathy and pity, given my disheveled state. He left me a pack of cookies and a few cans of soda to appease my apparent hunger.

Even though I haven't been hungry since I woke up, this gesture somewhat snapped me out of my self-pity.

Given the person's kindness, I couldn't stay here too long, for fear of putting them in danger. I had to get out of here as quickly as possible. Anyway, the surrounding area was surely already filled with all sorts of shadowy agencies. I doubt they want to discuss peacefully with the monster, and I doubt it wants to either.

-----------

By pure miracle, I had managed to leave the city without undergoing any searches. The army, police, and government agencies were swarming everywhere. I had no papers to identify myself, I didn't even know the state.

This process, as well as a few petty thefts (which I wasn't very proud of), only took me a day.

In the early evening, my bus had already reached its destination, and I had some respite for the moment.

I had been wandering around the new city for almost an hour, and I couldn't find a motel that matched my meager savings. Everything was more expensive there. At this rate, I'll probably have to find an abandoned place to sleep.

As this thought took shape, I heard a voice hailing in my direction.

"Hey you, with the hood pretending not to hear me."

"Yes, you," he insisted, pointing his finger at me, while I sported a falsely surprised air.

"You seem to be having trouble finding a place to sleep, for lack of cash."

"And what proves that to you?" I asked, a little defensively.

"Without wanting to offend you, I see guys in your situation every day."

"And how does that help me?" I asked, already annoyed. The guy reeked of a setup. I'd be damned if I got fooled by such an imbecile.

At my unimpressed expression, the guy seemed to lose all his composure.

"I think I'll look for an isolated place to spend the night, thanks anyway," I said, not wanting to give him any time to recover.

"I insist, this bag seems heavy. Letting you carry it around all night would be the height of incivility," said a voice behind me, a gun pointed at my head.

Suddenly, my heart started pounding. Between having a gun to my head or losing control, I didn't know what should scare me more.

*They are weak. "Kill them all."*

Not wanting to start any unnecessary conflict. I headed towards a dark alley, which the two thugs indicated to me.

Without a word, I stripped myself of everything of value and handed it to them.

"Ahahah. You're kidding me, you're worse than a bum, I swear!" said the one with the gun.

"Given my appearance, what did you expect?"

*"Kill these insects."*

Wham! Wham!

I was stunned as the gun's butt blows landed on my face.

*"Kill them."*

"You shouldn't have done that," I growled, as I felt an unpleasant shiver run down my spine. An intense heat emanated from my body, accompanied by a pain more mental than physical. I felt my mind fracturing, the other aspects taking over.

"Damn, damn, what's happening?" panicked the first one. "For God's sake." Why did you hit him! "You dirty bastard!"

*"Shut up! You don't talk to me like that,"* said the visibly shaken guy. Panicked, he started shooting at me, without warning.

To his great horror, the bullets simply ricocheted off me.

Before they could even take a step. An explosion of lightning destroyed everything in the alley and within a radius of a hundred meters.

*"Why did you go back into that little sack of flesh?"* one of the furious voices asked me.

"I can't let you run wild," I replied, panting.

*"Ha, ha, ha. You refer to us as if we were something other than you,"* said another, calmer voice.

I didn't bother to answer him as I fled at full speed, bitter and angry.

------------

The following days were marked by a constant inner struggle. After the incident with the two, they became very talkative.

The first voice, which I simply called "The Monster," represented an unquenchable thirst for destruction and domination. This voice urged me to embrace my Ghidorah nature, to bend the world to my will.

The second voice, "The Reason," was different. It spoke to me with coldness and logic, advising me to do what was necessary to survive, even if it meant compromising my humanity.

The third voice, mine, desperately tried to maintain a semblance of morality and humanity, and balance between the three.

The voice of reason had indicated to me that it was the non-acceptance of my true nature that put me in this problem. Even if it thought it was right, I strongly doubted this conclusion. I lean more towards a Naruto or Yuji Itadori style theory. Certainly, my life before was far from rosy, but not to the point of causing this.

---------------

One week after the alley incident.

Each day brought its share of challenges. I had to monitor my emotions to avoid an uncontrolled transformation. The nightmares were constant, filled with visions of destruction and fire.

I spent my nights in abandoned and remote places or in forests, where I could be alone. The constant fear of being discovered pushed me to move constantly.

Once, I heard a helicopter in the distance and felt my heart stop. Was it S.H.I.E.L.D.? The Avengers?

Falsely, I tried to reassure myself.

*The Avengers don't exist yet. "And you've managed to escape so far."*

—

Two weeks after the incident, I came across a homeless war veteran in a park. The man, a certain Jack, seemed to have been living there for years. After a bit of observation, I wanted to try something.

But I hesitated before addressing him. My question was imprudent and far-fetched for a stranger.

"How long have you been here?" I asked.

Jack shrugged. "Long time. Why?"

I sat down next to him.

"Do you have any advice for… disappearing?"

Jack laughed.

"Plenty. But you'll have to pay."

I gave him a few bills, and he began to speak.

"Change your appearance. Move often. Never get noticed. If you can, find a place where no one ever looks. Big cities are good for that. Too many people for them to notice someone like you."

I listened carefully to his advice, while laughing inwardly. Big cities, the opposite of what I'm looking for.

—

After another week of walking, I found myself in an abandoned warehouse on the border of Kansas and Missouri.

I turned on an old radio I had found. The news was still talking about me – or rather, the dragon. The government refused to confirm or deny anything, but rumors were circulating about a possible military intervention if the creature reappeared.

As usual since my reincarnation, I curled up as I lay down, losing myself in my thoughts.

"How long before I lose control?" I murmured.

The Monster's voice chuckled in my mind.

*"You won't be able to lock us up forever."*

The Reason added coldly:

*"If you want to survive, you'll have to learn to use our power, your power."*

I clenched my fists, my breathing quickening.

"I was trapped, both in this world and in my own mind."