Note: I do not own DBZ, I am merely borrowing the characters, so please don't sue

The doors metal doors closed behind them ... Their steps echoed down the chamber as they walked up to the two stasis tanks. Barely visible inside their dimly-lit, embryo-like glass cocoons were two figures... a male and a female. Both floated idly in the fluid surrounding them... In the background the monotonous humming of machinery and circuitry completed the eerie womb-like feeling of the vast room...

"I'd say we can be very proud of our work, Emperor!... Your engineers have certainly outdone themselves..."

"Yes... I too am quite anxious to finally see what they are capable of... How much longer until the activation?"

"We are applying some finishing touches to their combat reflexes, Your Majesty... It should be done in a week or so..."

The group stared at the tanks as if they were letting the importance of this achievement sink in.

"Would it be possible to get a better look at them?"

"No problem... Just a moment..."

The tanks were soon emptied, the figures now supported by an anti-gravitational field...

One individual broke away from the group and walked right up to the tanks...

Marvelous... she though as she gazed at the male subject... Written at the base of the tank was a simple label : "Type 17"... The android did not yet have any kind of facial features... Not that he needed any. While he would have a face of his own, he would also have the ability to change it at will. His body was both a work of art and a landmark technical achievement... It resembled a marble sculpture, with the light playing on its flawless muscular features... She reached out and touched the android... It's "skin" was actually a very advanced coating. Basically it was an integrated body armor; flexible and totally impervious to any kind of weapon, be it melee or ranged. It was also remarkably pleasant to touch, though the sensation was very... complex. She had difficulty describing it to herself. It was... nice, quite soft... a slippery, almost "wet" feeling of utter smoothness... the surface was a never-ending chain of shiny curves harmoniously racing side-by-side and diving into each other... She could also feel the infinite energy reactor continuously pulsing, flowing, replenishing and renewing his body. Soon even she would have trouble sensing this as the new ESDs (Energy Signature Diffusers) will make both androids practically invisible from an energetical point of view. Compared to the other androids, the Type 17 looked a bit "underpowered". However, while his muscular mass was certainly comparatively smaller, this hid the fact that his muscle fibers were many times more dense than those of his counterparts and the fact that his true strength lied in his energy attacks.

Awakening from her reflections she realized that the Emperor along with his suite of scientists and officers gathered around the other android : the Type 18. She was not surprised... While the Type 17 was certainly a great leap forward, it was also the logical leap forward. But Type 18 was different... Fundamentally different , yet the same... It was a "she"...

The Android race was certainly no stranger to the concept of "female" in general, and "female anatomy" in particular. When Emperor Gero's army grew to number millions of android soldiers and his empire stretched over several solar systems he realized that the amount of effort needed to micromanage every facet of the empire was simply too great. Therefore, he decided that he could ease the burden by adopting the model of functional societies, as seen at the races previously conquered and exterminated, and a more flexible chain of command. But granting more flexibility also meant more freedom, which in the Emperor's mind was synonymous with dissent and rebellion. However, Emperor Gero soon realized that the pseudo free-arbitrer granted could be counterbalanced by investing his subjects with certain needs that once fulfilled removed the motivation for dissent. He chose to integrate some basic needs... of which the desire to reproduce, or better yet, to perform the act of mating, was chosen to have the strongest impact on an individual's psyche. Since the average Android soldier could easily be classified as "male" from both a psychological and physical point of view, their mating partners were naturally designed to possess "female" traits, with great emphasis being placed on "anatomical accuracy"... she smiled at the alembicated term... since it was just another way of saying "hot babe". The newly-created class of individuals was named "Love Dolls", strikingly innocent when looking at their true purpose. Just like almost every other commodity, "Dollies" were in plentiful supply both in quantity and "flavors", as the various configurations were referred to, and contributed in a decisive way to create the image that best described the Android's pseudo-society : "Heaven"; a place where every last individual's needs are met to the fullest. The only such "commodity " that suffered any kind of significant erosion or depletion was space... With the Android population multiplying exponentially, overcrowding was the only real long and short term concern.

But "Love Dolls" were just what their names said: dolls... While Type 18... she was different... she was a killing machine, just like her twin brother.

Cella understood quite well the reason behind there being two of the new generation of androids, although the reason behind them being of opposite gender was not yet obvious to her.

The alliance forged between her and Emperor Gero was made during the war against the Sayans and it would be terminated immediately after the death of their Queen. With their Queen, the son of their last king, a handful of other powerful Sayans, albeit scattered, still at large, the need for competent assassins was blatantly obvious. But once this threat was removed there was no real reason for either of them to continue their cooperation. Having the outcome of the final struggle rest on a single trump card was something neither Cella, nor Emperor Gero found acceptable.

"Like what you see, Emperor?", asked Cella as she joined him in contemplating Type 18.

"Of course... is there any reason why I shouldn't ?... I dare say she's perfect...",Emperor Gero barked boastingly.

Cella could find no reason to disagree... Like her brother, Type 18 seemed to be carved out of marble with the sheer skill of a genius, the feminine features of her body on display for everyone to see. The scientists and officers were gazing at her as if gazing at a goddess, with a mix of adoration, respect and a tinge of lust. Although much fainter at a distance, Cella could still feel Type 18's energy reactor supply the same amount of energy as her brother, if a bit less.

It was obvious that although both androids were engineered from the ground up by the Emperor's scientists, with her helping to refine their designs, Type 18 received significantly more attention from the Android staff in the final stages than Type 17... The cards have been shuffled and dealt, thought Cella, continuing her previous metaphor, giving Type 17 one last look..

The group then stepped back, nodding affirmatively to each other, uttering congratulations and expressing their anxiousness over the inevitable victory over the Sayans.