Shocking, I don't own Dragon Ball or its characters.

The Perfect Monster:

Chapter 1: Defeat

It was a wise decision on his part to relent his attempts at controlling Android's 17 and 18. Despite losing Android 16 to their ridiculous games, he knew his own survival was key. When that foolish child had blown up his laboratory's upper level, it had been somewhat of a setback in terms of his research, but certainly not a setback in regards to his primary objective, survival. Thankfully in the very explosion that destroyed his lab however, he made his escape, managing to get to the lower levels of his facility.

From here, he could monitor all that happened, and begin the project that would not only be his gift to the world, but also be his 'disciplinary' action on Android's 17 and 18.

Project Cell had been a project he'd been working on for many years. Collecting DNA samples from multiple, powerful creatures and fighters with the idea of placing them into one body, one being, his ultimate creation. He'd created templates for how its form would be organized. But the simple truth was he'd not had a base to attach the DNA, to bond it with that made it work. Every attempt he'd made to use a subject as the base had failed, the subject's body's giving out before they could finish their evolution.

With Goku obtaining his "Super Saiyan" form, as well as that child, and Vegeta, it meant that his other Androids may be defeated before he could ever even dream of completing Cell. For now they were weaker, but it looked as though 17 and 18 were foolish enough to spare their enemies, and 16 had no interest in fighting anyone but Goku.

His right hand twitched while he worked on attaching the new limb, looking over to his spy insect. The Androids had left Goku's counterparts in a complete wreck, none of them had fared well against his creations, yet all lived. Smiling to himself, a new idea came about. Turning towards the three experimental pods behind him, his eyes sharped and his smile increased.

These units were no match for 17 or 18. However, they were easily a match for any individual one of Goku's friends.

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Furiously, Vegeta flew through the air. Humiliated, he'd been absolutely humiliated by those cursed Androids. They had toyed with him, treated him as if he was a plaything, and then cast him aside as though he was nothing. All of his training, all of his hard work, it had all been useless. His eyes couldn't even see straight he was so mad, landing in the middle of the badlands.

"The Androids will wish they never provided me with mercy. I'll see them all dead at my feet once I have achieved a new strength."

And he would. Super Saiyans were supposed to be the most powerful warriors in the universe. Nothing was supposed to be able to challenge them, least of all some machines built by old men. All this told him was that he'd not ascended far enough, there had to be a level above this, a level beyond that of a "Super Saiyan". This was not the limit of his power, this was not the limit of his blood. He would surpass them, he would surpass Kakarot, he would surpass everyone.

I will be the strongest being in the universe, no matter what price I must pay!

Furiously, Vegeta felt himself unleash his Super Saiyan form. Rain had been pouring down on him from the moment he arrived, but he didn't care. As he released his energy, the water seemed to freeze in the air around him, the clouds parting, revealing the sun.

That's it. It has to be it. There must be a place beyond a Super Saiyan, and I will find it. I will not be denied.

"Well son, you certainly have yourself a displeased disposition, don't be tellin' me you let a little ol' thumpin' like that get you down."

Blinking, Vegeta's blue eyes shifted over to the origin of the voice. It wasn't anyone he recognized, and he felt no power source at all from them. Was it a regular human?

Standing there in what appeared to be a baseball cap, baggy pants, and a vest, was a blonde haired human, grinning with a sinister smile. The accent had made his words almost difficult to understand until Vegeta realized something. How did he know he'd just been defeated in battle?

Suspiciously, Vegeta narrowed his eyes on him. Just who was this? The Red Ribbon symbol on his vest made Vegeta realize exactly what this was. It was an android. With a growl of defiance, Vegeta braced himself, feeling his arms tense.

"Now don't you be like that boy, don't you be actin' all tough. We don't want to rough you up none if we don't have to."

This machine spoke with a dialect that was grating just to listen to. He'd make his own move soon.

"Android, you are a fool. I am a Super Saiyan, you are nothing compared to my power. I will scatter your parts to the wind when I'm done with you," Vegeta seethed. "You're nothing but a toaster."

Grinning, the Android responded. "If I ain't mistaken, somebody just got their ass whooped by a toaster. Now listen here, my name's 13, you best remember that now boy, because me and my boys here are about to take you down if you don't wanna do this the easy way."

Smirking, Vegeta formed two energy waves in his hands, preparing for the opening sequence of battle. This machine had decided to send itself to the scrap yard. How dare he challenge him? That other Android may have defeated him, however there was no way he'd lose again. This time he, Vegeta, would be the victor.

"Prepare yourself Android, I'll make sure you feel the same terror that fat idiot did before I disposed of him," Vegeta said, referencing 19, the only Android destroyed so far.

Thirteen didn't seem impressed by his boast.

"Don't listen very well do you boy? I ain't fightin' you alone."

Blinking, Vegeta looked about for a moment, instinctively trying to sense his new opponents, forgetting for the briefest moment there was no way to do so.

"I want you to meet my associates. You can call um Androids 14 and 15. Don't worry, these boys are real good at what they do. We've got orders to bring you in Vegeta. And since you've opted for the hard option, well, let's just say it should be you gettin' ready."

When the ground beneath Vegeta exploded, a huge fist burst from it and collided with his face, Vegeta's head snapped violently back, blood coming from his lip. His eyes looked up to see the huge Android in front of him.

Scowling, he threw the energy he'd collected forward, blasting the Android away, as a shorter android assautled from behind, driving a knee into his back. Vegeta let a gasp escape, before a knee slammed into his front, the exact opposite of where the previous attack had hit his back. Blood ejected from his throat and out his mouth before the android now in front of him, 13, slammed his elbow into his jaw. Slamming into the ground, Vegeta's frame felt injured already.

Turning to get up, the Saiyan Prince prepared to make his counterattack, only to see all three Androids in front of them with their palms out, energy forming in their hands. The world went red a second later.

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The poor excuse for a body was dragged into the lab in front of Doctor Gero. What a complete disaster.

"Hey there Doctor Gero, looks like we caught ourselves a Vegeta, just like you asked."

Thirteen's stupidity was only matched by his apparent arrogance. Vegeta's body was a complete wreck, heavily damaged. Broken ribs, burns, a severe head injury, his right arm was broken in two places and his leg had been snapped. Lacerations covered his limbs as well. He'd told this fool and the others to bring Vegeta back in relatively good condition. Now he would have to spend resources fixing the Saiyan, which was a dangerous prospect in and of itself.

Taking no risks, the doctor immediately prepared a syringe. Sticking the needle in Vegeta's arm, he injected a heavy sedative, perhaps even too much. But it was better to have Vegeta die, than for him to wake during the procedure. Carefully, he motioned to 14 and 15 to move Vegeta towards the operating table.

"You're work is sloppy, but salvageable. The subject will be utilized for the project," Gero remarked bluntly to the 3 machines.

Carefully, he prepared the first set of injections, motioning to 14 and 15 to prepare the monitoring equipment.

Soon Cell, soon your project will be set in motion. Son Goku, Androids 17 and 18, all of them will understand my genius. Perhaps even you, Vegeta.

A grin appeared across the doctor's face, inserting the first needle.

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One Day Later:

It'd been hours now. Hours since Vegeta's body had been placed in the tank, filled with the vital nutrients the new biological machines inside his body would need to gather their strength. The body had managed to hold out so far, despite the cocktail of drugs that had been inserted into his body. Inside, nothing had changed yet, but the bio-nanomachines would go to work soon. Vegeta's eyes quivered with the pain of the substances within.

"Android 13."

Immediately the redneck stepped forward.

"Yes, Doctor Gero?"

"Where did you find Vegeta?" Gero questioned.

"We found him in the badlands to the Northwest, son'bitch was reflectin' it looked like," 13 explained. "I'm guessin' you want us to head over that way and make sure that nobody goes lookin' for this bag of meat?"

Smiling to himself, the "good" Doctor Gero shook his head. No, that was utterly unnecessary. The others would not be surprised by Vegeta being absent for a day, or perhaps several days. But they would notice eventually, and he doubted the ability of his current group of defenders to stave off all his potential opponents. That meant removing the incentive for them to find him.

"I want you to take Vegeta, after I administer another sedative, back to where you found him. Leave him as you remember him just at the end of your fight."

Blinking, 13 seemed confused.

"You want this turkey to be set loose? You want him free range or somethin'?"

His dialect is painful.

Yes, Vegeta is no longer required to be in the lab by this point. The process has been completed. All of the bio-machines have their instructions. Having him in the lab to be monitored would be ideal, of course, but it wasn't necessary to the completion of Project Cell. Quickly, Gero pressed the release valve on the tank, and Vegeta's nude form collapsed to the floor of the lab, struggling to breathe.

"Get him dressed, and get him back to that wasteland."

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Slowly, eyes opened to the bright glare of the sun. Wincing painfully, Vegeta slowly started to wake, his eyes unused to the light for some reason.

Where... where am I?

It was the realization that he was in the badlands again, that made Vegeta slowly start to pull himself up, wincing in pain as he did. His body felt weak, as if it was on fire every moment he moved. Why was he still alive? Hadn't those machines killed him? There was evidence of the battle all around him still, even the area the huge Android had burst from. He hadn't imagined it.

However most of his injures had mended. It was absolutely unbelievable. There was no sign of Kakarot or his friend's either, so he knew he hadn't been saved by others. Something wasn't right about all this. Slowly he pulled himself up, his balance was off and he nearly fell over right away. Immediately he felt frustrated, angry that his body wouldn't respond. Scowling to himself, Vegeta forced himself up. Suddenly his stomach felt sick, like he was about to wretch.

Barely able to control it, Vegeta blinked away the hazy feeling he felt. Was he sweating? It was getting harder to breathe as well. Closing his eyes tightly again, he tried his best to clear this.

Stop it immediately. I am the Prince of all Saiyans, you will do as I demand.

Slowly, his body began to relax, his breathing calmed, but he still felt himself sweating. What good could he do out here any longer? It was time to head back to the Capsule Corporation, and work out what he'd do from there. If only that blasted woman and her stupid child weren't there to bother him. Stumbling no longer, he carefully walked forward, testing his own energy, feeling out if he was able to fly.

Slowly, Vegeta levitated above the ground, before pulling more of his energy forward, the blue aura swirled around him. Thankfully, this all worked.

I will have to discover what happened to those other Androids another time.

In a blur of motion as his body rocket forward, off into the sky, Vegeta felt himself tighten his fist. Just what thy needed, more Androids.

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When Vegeta landed back at Capsule Corp, he felt himself sweating further. Each step was an agonizing task. Pain was in all his veins, all his muscles, every breath he took was like breathing in fire. Closing his eyes, he tried to force it all down again, but he couldn't. Before he could even reach the entrance, Vegeta fell to his knees, vomiting the contents of his stomach onto the grass next to the pavement. A struggling hand tried to steady him from collapsing completely.

Barely able to keep his eyes open, Vegeta struggled to pull himself together enough to stand again.

I... I need rest.

Whatever was causing him to feel sick, it wasn't anything rest wouldn't resolve. He was a Saiyan after all, they did not succumb to illness so easily. If anything he'd be stronger after his body passed whatever this was from his system. Taking his first of many shaken steps, Vegeta pulled himself into the Capsule Corp building, one arm still holding his midsection.

The looks the staff were giving him told him how he must look right now.

"Is that Vegeta?"

"He's a complete mess."

"Somebody call Bulma."

"Did he nearly kill himself training again?"

"Insects."

The last voice wasn't heard by his ears. Vegeta felt it somehow inside his mind. Closing his eyes, feeling sweat on his eyelids making that even more effort, he snarled, pulling himself away from the entrance, trying to get to the elevator. Hitting the button once, he propped himself against the wall for support. The urge to vomit was overcoming him again.

Why wouldn't the elevator arrive? Closing his eyes painfully again he continued to wait, counting down the seconds. He would not vomit in public, not in front of these people. The urge surged through him again, but he fought it off once more. His hand pressed the elevator button again, trying to summon it. It didn't arrive any faster.

Pressing it again, Vegeta felt his temper flaring along with his sickness. He pressed it again, and again, until finally something snapped. Vegeta slammed his fist through the control panel, breathing heavily as sweat started to pour down his face. He felt his face contort from rage to agony however in that moment, his insides almost convulsed, as if it was trying to reject something inside of him. A pained noise escaped him as he stumbled towards the stairs, almost unable to even make it. Smashing through the door he collapsed next to the steps, his body heaving, forcing him to give up more. The painful vomiting process took nearly a minute to stop.

Spitting up the last of the vomit, the smell assailed his nose, almost making him feel sick again. The vile concoction of bile, acid, and half digested food would be left for the cleaning staff to deal with. Barely able to keep it together, Vegeta climbed the two flights of stairs until he reached the living area. It was the area where Bulma and her family lived and where he had his room.

It was a room he'd not seen in weeks, but right now it felt like he was returning to a place of salvation. Painfully he took steps forward, trying to keep it together. The last thing he needed was to show how he was feeling in front of that infernal woman.

As if taking the point, the universe mocked him within seconds.

"Oh my god Vegeta! Are you alright?"

It was the first time he'd tried to speak since he'd gotten back.

"I... habm... uh..." pained noises escaped his lips instead of words.

This was much worse than he originally had thought.

Am I dying?

Immediately Bulma rushed over, placing her hand over his sweat drenched forehead. Her eyes widened in fear as soon as she did.

"We need a doctor, now," Bulma told him seriously. "Come on, get to bed, I'll get a doctor."

Sneering, Vegeta weakly pushed her back from him, taking steps, and half glaring at her. Doctor? He didn't need some doctor. Whatever was doing this to him was of something of a far more potent nature than any doctor could cure. Sometimes the woman's foolishness nearly overwhelmed him. Struggling, Vegeta nearly fell to his knees again outside his room. This time Bulma walked over, grabbing his arm, before opening the door.

"Stop being so stubborn, at least let me help you into the room." she urged, looking at him with concerned blue eyes. "Please, you've been missing for days and now you come back like this? I'll not even ask if you just get to bed."

What do you think I'm trying to do right now, woman?... Missing for days?

How could he not account for days worth of time? Was the woman overreacting?

All the same there was no indication of agreement from Vegeta, but he moved with her into the room. Carefully, she helped release the latches on his armour as soon as he sat. There was no was he could have done so on his own. After his body had hit the bed, still sitting, everything started to shut down. Even keeping his head up felt impossible.

"Sleep Vegeta, we need to rest now."

The suggestion was almost hypnotic, urging his eyes to almost close. His stomach in that moment seemed to calm, just as Bulma finished detaching his armour. He felt her hand on his face, barely managing to tip him up to look at him.

"Vegeta," her voice sounded distant. "Vegeta listen, I want you to try and stay with me for a second... Vegeta... doctor... sweating...okay?"

The words began to disappear from her sentences as he felt his eyes going dead, his world dimming. The last images of it being Bulma looking at him with terrified, concerned eyes.

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A/N: Firstly, I want to thank Roseblade for helping me come up with a lot of the concepts that will be done in this story. I also want to thank her for Betaing it. This is going to be a really interesting project for me to write. It's very dark, and very different from my other stories. My other stories aren't exactly brimming with happiness, but this story strikes me a pretty scary concept to go through.

Hopefully you guys find the concepts explored in it, as interesting as I do.

Next update will be Sunday, August 18th.