"Dr. Granz? Dr. Granz, where are you?" A female scientist asked as she was looking around for her employer. This female scientist was dressed rather simple with long scarlet hair and glasses. "Dr. Granz, I have the DNA samples that you asked for." She looked around until she got scared by her own reflection. "Get a hold of yourself, Ginger. You're scared of your own reflection."

"Yes, that's not a good look for you." She got spooked again. She turned around and was met with her boss. Her boss was a fellow scientist with glasses as well, but he had pink hair. "Did you say you have my DNA samples?"

"Yes, Dr. Szayelaporro Granz." Ginger said as she handed him bottles of animal DNA and he was glad to see that. There was something else she wanted to talk about, but she was rather nervous about it. "Uh... Sir, have you talked to our investor about funding my own research? My research would be a help to preserving plant life."

"Honestly, I have more important things to discuss with him about." Szayelaporro said.

"Oh... I... I understand..." Ginger said. "Sir, if I do may ask, what do you want that animal DNA for?"

"Ginger, I hired you to be my lab assistant. Your job is to do what I say without asking questions." Szayelaporro said. "If you want something to talk to, go talk to those plants I let you keep here."

"Yes, sir..." Ginger said with disappointment that talk didn't go well and Szayelaporro just walked out into his private office. That left Ginger to work with her plants. "Don't worry, my beauties. You're day will come soon." She said and acted like a botanist. As for Szayelaporro, he retreated to his own office and was working on something in secret.

"How is your research going, Szayelaporro?" Someone asked as whoever it was spoke through a monitor.

"I am ready to begin whenever you are ready, sir." Szayelaporro said. "I have the components, the chemicals, and I now have fresh animal DNA samples. It's all ready to begin. That just leaves the actual experiment. I just need to find a real test subject."

"Leave that part to me. I'll find someone." Something is going on, and it doesn't look good.

...

Ichigo

As daylight shines on Karakura, Ichigo was at work with his company. He might be a masked vigilante, but he still runs a whole company. As he worked in his office, he just went on with it like everything would happen in a big company.

"Excuse me, Mr. Kurosaki. Your meeting is about to begin." His assistant said over an intercom.

"Thank you. I'll be right there." Ichigo said and was on his way. Part of running a big business was meeting big and important people. That's just what Ichigo is doing as he made his way through his company's building and was on his way to a conference room. When he arrived, he was only meeting with one man. That man had brown hair that was slicked back with a single strand sticking out.

"Ichigo Kurosaki... It's good to see you again."

"Hello again, Sosuke Aizen." Ichigo said as the two shook hands. These two clearly have some friendly history.

"It's nice to see you are doing well." Aizen said. "I see that the company is in good hands. You are certainly doing well."

"Well, part of this is thanks to you." Ichigo said. "You and my mother were business partners back when she was alive. That's actually how you and I met."

"Yes, but you were just a child back then." Aizen said. "I sent flowers, but I couldn't attend her funeral. We didn't meet until you took back my share of the company."

"That's right. My father did his best to run the company after Mom died, but you and she were business partners." Ichigo said. "When she died, you took a portion of the company as a shareholder."

"And you managed to take it back when you took over. You were clearly raised well." Aizen said. "That brings me to something I want to talk about." He said as he slid over a piece of paper. "I was wondering if I could talk to you about reobtaining a share of your company." He said as Ichigo looked it over. "As you can see, I am making a generous offer."

"Aizen, we discussed this." Ichigo said as he wasn't interested. "I plan to remain in control of my company for a long time. I would like to keep control of my company within my family, and this isn't just a company to me. It's much more...sentimental. Why are you trying to regain control of some of my company in the first place?"

"All I can say is that I have plans. The technology you develop could be of some help to it." Aizen said.

"I'm sorry, but the technology we develop here is meant to help the city such as hospitals, police, and more." Ichigo said. "That's the way I want it to stay. I'm not giving that up for anything."

"I understand. You want to keep your mother's memory alive, and that's how she ran things around here with your father." Aizen said. "She was a special woman. Did they ever find her killer?"

"No." Ichigo said sounding stern, but he intends to find that killer one day.

"Well, if there's really nothing more for us to discuss, I think I should be leaving." Aizen said as he gathered his stuff and was on his way out.

"Really? You're leaving just like that?" Ichigo said as he expected more.

"Of course. I made you an offer, you said no, so there's not really much more I can do." Aizen said as he showed himself out with Ichigo following him. The two of them made their way out. The two of them hit the streets where Aizen's car was waiting for him. "All things aside, it's always nice to see you, Ichigo."

"Thank you." Ichigo said. While the two of them were talking, someone came charging at them. They all saw a man with blue hair coming right at them and reached for Aizen's pocket and grabbed his wallet. Ichigo acted quickly as he held out his leg and caused the man to trip. Before the man could get up, Ichigo pressed his foot down on his wrist and tried to hold him down. "I don't believe that belongs to you."

"Get off!" The guy said as he managed to push him off and pulled out a knife. "I'm warning you. Messing with me is a big mistake." He actually tried to attack Ichigo with his knife, but Ichigo grabbed him by the wrist and twisted his arm so he would be forced to drop the knife. Ichigo took back the wallet and tossed the guy back.

"You want some money? Make a decent living." Ichigo said as he glared right at the guy. The guy glared back, but he just backed off and got out of there before the police could show.

"Ichigo, that was impressive." Aizen said as Ichigo gave back his wallet.

"I took some martial arts classes when I was in school. It was nothing." Ichigo said.

"I beg to differ, but it was also quite bold of that man to attack like that." Aizen said.

"Or he's that desperate." Ichigo said.

"Perhaps, but that might help him one day. Until next time, Ichigo." Aizen said as he climbed into his car and drove off. As Ichigo saw him drive away, Ichigo did wonder about some things.

'Aizen... I've known you for a long time, but the one thing I can't figure out are your intentions. What is it that you're really after?' Ichigo wondered. His mother might have worked with him in the past, but Ichigo is a little distrustful towards him. As for Aizen, he pulled out his phone and sent a message to someone for an errand.

...

The Guy

The guy from before returned to a rough part of Karakura. He walked through the backstreets and just marched right through the place.

"Hey, Grimmjow is back." A punk said as the street had them around. "What's the matter, Grimmjow? Struck out again?" One of those punks mocked, but Grimmjow kicked him right in the gut for that.

"Get lost." Grimmjow said and just kept walking. He walked up to an abandon building and went right inside because that's where he lives. Grimmjow is a loner that doesn't have much of anything. It's sad, but he does what he can to survive. As he walked over to a window of the room he sleeps in, he took a look at what he could out there. "Look at it out there... It's like a jungle out there, and in every jungle, it's survival of the fittest. It's every man and woman for himself out there. Well, I'll show them. I'll show all of those who dare look down on me." Grimmjow seems to see the world as one big jungle, and he plays by the law of the jungle. If that's the case, he's going to make himself the top predator. Just then, he heard a knock coming from his door. "Who is it?!"

"Mr. Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez? Are you in there?"

"How do you know my name? Who's there?" Grimmjow said as he went over to the door.

"I'm here on behalf of someone that will help change your life forever." An offer like that sounds good for someone like Grimmjow. Just what could this offer be?

...

Szayelaporro

"Good night, sir." Ginger said as she was leaving for the night.

"Yes, yes... Good night." Szayelaporro said as he just brushed her aside and continued on with his own work. Despite the lack of respect, Ginger just left for the night and was on her way out. As she was passing, she accidentally bumped into someone.

"I'm sorry." Ginger said.

"You should be." The person was actually Grimmjow. She wanted to say something to him, but she was too timid to really say anything. She just let the whole thing go and he went inside the lab. "Hey! Is there a Dr. Granz in here?!" He called.

"Do try to keep your voice down." Szayelaporro said as he showed himself. "Is there something I can help you with?"

"I was told to come here. You might be able to give me power." Grimmjow said.

"Aw! You must be the one I was told about. You have the honor of being our first human test subject." Szayelaporro said. "It's Grimmjow, isn't it?"

"Test subject? What the hell are you talking about? What is this?" Grimmjow said. "I was told you would give me power or something like that."

"I can." Szayelaporro said. "I've been working on a little formula." He said as he took a little serum he made and placed it inside an injector. "This formula can modify your DNA and combine it with animal DNA. Your body will be modified and make you even more powerful. Of course, there's no guarantee it will work. We haven't tested it on humans just yet."

"I don't understand a thing you're saying. What is this all about?" Grimmjow said.

"Of course. I'm getting a little ahead of myself." Szayelaporro said. "You see, I'm a scientist. As a scientist, I want to explore the unexplored, learn about the unknown, and break the boundaries that science has placed upon us. There's someone who feels the same. He wants to surpass human limitations, and I might make that possible. Wouldn't you like to be the first? You could the starting step in what could reshape the world?"

"Sounds too looney to me." Grimmjow said as he turned away and just wanted to get out of what sounded like a freak show.

"Really? Aren't you tired of a powerless lifestyle? I didn't think you were a coward that would just turn away from a chance to get stronger." Szayelaporro said. That got Grimmjow's attention. "You want to stand above all the rest? You want to make all those who looked down on you pay, right? I'm giving you the chance to do just that." That sounded good to Grimmjow. He sees the city like a jungle, and he wants to be the top predator. "You can even choose your own animal. I just need to know what you would like."

"Something fierce. Something that has power." Grimmjow said as it seemed like he was tempted to go through with this.

"Fierce and power..." Szayelaporro said as he looked around for something through the DNA samples. "Aw! Here we go. How about the mighty panther?" Szayelaporro said as that seemed perfect for Grimmjow. Grimmjow went through with it since it seemed like he had nothing to lose. He removed his top and went through with the injection. "Now, let's see what it can do for you." Szayelaporro went through with it as he inserted the formula and the panther DNA right in Grimmjow.

"So, what's suppose to happen?" Grimmjow questioned. He soon got his answer as his veins began to bulge and grow out of him. He suddenly felt a sharp deal of pain that he dropped to the floor and rolled around in pain. "What the hell did you do to me?!"

"I believe we're about to find out. This is the first step in reshaping the world." Szayelaporro said as he just watched and let Grimmjow possibly die. Something was happening to him. Grimmjow's entire body was completely changing to the point where he wasn't even a pure human anymore...and became more of a beast.

...

Mugetsu

Night was when criminal activity happens more. The darkness conceals the criminals, but night is when Mugetsu is most active as well. He stuck around to the rooftops and kept his eyes open for anything illegal. As he looked around, it seemed like it was going to be a quiet night.

"Nothing here. Better check the next spot." Mugetsu said and just moved to the next street. Mugetsu just went on with his annual patrol, but he was soon going to get some action tonight. As he moved along the rooftops, he soon spotted something that was rather unusual. He saw some sort of strange figure moving across the rooftops as well and knew that it couldn't be good.

"This feels...incredible! I feel like nothing can stop me!" The creature said as he landed down on a ledge. He looked down to the streets and feels like it's a whole new playground for him to play with. "Let's see what I can really do now!" He jumped off and flipped around until he landed right on someone's car and did some damage to it. The driver nearly crashed the car, but the creature jumped right off and ran through the streets like some sort of animal. "This is awesome! I feel like no one can stop me!" He claimed as he made his way up, climbing buildings in ways no normal human could until he reached the top.

"No one except me." He was surprised when he was faced with Mugetsu. "Now, who are you?" He got a good look at what he was dealing with, but it didn't look human exactly. It did look like Grimmjow, but he was completely different with green around his eyes and had sharp teeth and ears. His hair was even a lot longer. He was also wearing body armor with blades coming out of his arms. The weird thing about this was that his legs looked like hind legs with paws and he had a tail and claws. "More like... What are you?"

"I know who you are. You're that guy named Mugetsu. This works great for me. I've always wanted to really go against you, and beat you down." Grimmjow said as he seemed eager for a fight. "Nice to meet you. Now let's see how tough you really are!" He just attacked him without waiting for anything. He smashed his leg against him and hit Mugetsu rather hard. Mugetsu was actually knocked back to the other end of the roof and smashed against the ledge.

"What the hell?" Mugetsu groaned as he wasn't expecting something like that.

"This just keeps getting better and better!" Grimmjow said as he's never felt so powerful and is enjoying it more and more.

"Not bad, but let's see how tough you really are!" Mugetsu said as he got back up and tried to fight back. He tried swinging his sword at him, but Grimmjow used his new armor to block it.

"You'll have to do better than that." Grimmjow taunted. Mugetsu did just that as he kept trying to attack him with his sword, but Grimmjow deflected each one of his attacks. When Mugetsu tried again, Grimmjow jumped right over him with cat-like reflexes and kicked him right in the back.

"What the hell are you?" Mugetsu questioned.

"I don't know exactly, but I like it. Those guys really know what they're doing." Grimmjow said as he embraced his new power. Mugetsu didn't give up as he kept trying to strike him with his sword, but Grimmjow used his new body to fight back, but Mugetsu tried something. As he used his sword to try and hold him down, Mugetsu used his spare arm to try and clear off the green stuff to see his face, but something was off. None of it came off or was even smeared.

"What? That green stuff is actually a part of his skin?" Mugetsu questioned as this was strange. He thought Grimmjow was wearing a costume, but it certainly doesn't seem like one. Mugetsu tried to get a good look at his face and could now see it was the same guy from before. He almost couldn't believe it.

"Surprised about something? I'm no regular human anymore!" Grimmjow called as he pushed Mugetsu off and gave him another powerful kick. "Before, I was just Grimmjow. Another one trying to survive. This time, I'm something brand new. I'm now...Pantera!" He claimed his new name as he went at Mugetsu one more time and tackled Mugetsu right off the building. Mugetsu crashed against a few things before he hit the ground. "Let this be a lesson to everyone! Don't mess with me! I'm the top predator!" He claimed and laughed like a madman. He wanted power and now he has it for it seems like Mugetsu is going to have a real challenge on his hands now. Just what has happened to Grimmjow? Has he really climbed to the top of the city food chain?