Disclaimer: All characters within are the property of Akira Toriyama, DC Entertainment, Toei Animation, and all other writers, artists and respective creators. I own nothing so please don't try to sue me, you'd be wasting your time.
Author's Notes:I hope everyone has enjoyed the story so far. The story will eventually feature even more elements from the DC universe down the road, so I hope you stick with me for it
If you've been keeping up so far, Champa the Destroyer of Universe 6 has made a Faustian bargain with Steppenwolf, the armoured servant of the evil god, Darkseid. Champa now has the ability to craft an army of monstrous cyber-soldiers called Para-Demons, but he's not stopping there. He plans to resurrect the villainous Dr. Gero to help him win the next Tournament of Power the Grand Zen-O's will be hosting and become the next Omni-King! Will he succeed, or will the "God of Apokolips" stab the greedy Destroyer in the heart?
Planet Hell Storm, 2 days after Steppenwolf's "Product Demonstration".
Champa smiled to himself as he watched the newest plasma storm burn and blister the air. He actually began to come to like this charred lump of coal and sulphur. The city-sized weapons lab he had been given was simply amazing, and it made for a great palace to boot. Maybe he'd use this place as a summer home when he became Omni-King. He knew that Fuwa was still mad about turning that brat into a Para-Demon, but Champa was confident Fuwa would get over it. He was worried more about Vados, though. She had been rather quiet after the boy had been transformed. She had been walking around the facility, staring at the transformation chambers and scowling each and every time.
The former street brat turned Para-Demon was following her around like a puppy dog; it would almost be cute if the hulking thing wasn't so damn hideous, ALMOST being the keyword here. Now to be fair, it would follow any orders given to it by either Champa himself, Fuwa or Vados, so he didn't have to worry about it going rogue, and with an almost complete purging of its mind of anything even resembling emotion, save for animal rage and fury, the idea of it developing some asinine crush on the willowy angel woman was beyond absurd.
The real concern was that Vados wouldn't help him retrieve Dr. Gero when he wanted to really get started on necessary work. She looked genuinely upset after the boy was transformed into a Para-Demon, but was quick to reconcile with Champa. Champa himself had openly believed it, but there was this nagging sense that Vados would only allow things to go so far and then she'd shut the whole thing down.
Being his martial arts teacher as well as his personal attendant meant she understood how he thought, as well as how he fought. She knew counters to his best moves that even he, a God of Destruction, still hadn't mastered. He was starting to believe that she was actually just playing along until he pushed things so far. Whenever he asked her a question or asked her to do something, she still obeyed but yet...there was an undercurrent of anger in her normally calm voice that made him suspicious.
He knew that he had to play his cards close to his chest this time, but he also had an ace up his sleeve that even the serene angel wouldn't see coming. He smiled to himself as he palmed the little surprise in his pants pocket. Even Vados didn't know about it, and it was specifically designed to be invisible to an angels divine senses.
As Champa stared out the massive windows of the central towers uppermost chamber which he was absolutely sure was both a lounge and a throne room rolled into one, he knew that Vados was even now gathering his original team from the tournament. The Grand Zeno's had visited him again the day after Steppenwolf's demonstration, informing him the rosters for each universes fighting teams would be increased to twelve. He could now employ the dead warrior he was going to pick without having to change the original roster, and even sign up a promising new addition he simply didn't have time for last time. He wondered how the other Gods of Destruction were going to employ their own weapon labs, if they were going to employ them at all.
Some of the other Gods, like Sidra and Quitela, would absolutely jump on the opportunities the labs would provide, but others would look at the labs as an insult to their respective teams abilities and blow off using them. He wasn't sure about his brother though; Beerus would probably use his own lab just to beat Champa, but anything else in the long run would most likely be a no-go. Champa was going to be using this lab for a great deal more than just winning the next Tournament of Power.
A great deal more, indeed.
He heard the automatic doors swish open and turned around. He saw Vados glide in with her new pet stomping in after her. She, with grace and poise. The Para-Demon, with mindless obedience and a dullards mind. Maybe Vados did have reason to be upset, after all. While Para-Demons were described as being fast, strong and singularly violent when unleashed, they were also described as being mindless beasts with no ability at all to plan, be strategic, or even be generally independent, being all but completely dependent on the commands of others. He wanted cunning, thoughtful fighters, not stupid brutes with no ability to adapt or think for themselves. Champa decided to nix the idea of converting his fighters into Para-Demons, but that didn't mean he wasn't going to enhance them in other ways.
Dr. Gero was going to be helping with that problem quite handily if the rumours surrounding the former Red Ribbon scientist were any indication.
"Vados", Champa addressed her softly as she walked up behind him, the Para-Demon stopping just behind her and dropping to one knee. Vados bowed primly and responded, "Yes, Lord Champa? What can I do for you?" She sounded like she normally did, a cheery undertone present when she spoke but lacking in her usual enthusiasm. Champa turned to her fully.
"We won't be converting our team into Para-Demons. I want fighters that can think, not empty-headed cyborg animals like these Para-Demons; Good for shock troops and cannon fodder, not great for sustained combat".
The relieved and genuinely happy smile that spread across Vados' pretty face was simply beautiful. She seemed to stand a little straighter than she had been during the boys transformation. "Do you mean that, Lord Champa?!" She happily squealed. As Champa was about to answer her, she crushed him in an emotional bear hug, snuggling right into the startled Destroyer Gods face. "Oh, thank you, thank you, thank you!"
Now Champa had known that transforming the street kid into the Para-Demon had really upset her, but for Vados to be quite this emotional? Well, Champa was even more certain of his decision. As he tried to pry the giddy Angel off, demanding she let him go, mostly because she was embarrassing him (which is probably why she didn't let him go in the first place), the doors swished opened again, letting a smiling Fuwa and a particularly upset Steppenwolf through the doors. Steppenwolf charged right up to Champa, but stopped short of actually running into the Destroyer God. He tried to stifle a snarl, but it crept into his voice anyway. "Lord Champa, what is this about?! Your not going to be using the facility to convert your warriors into Para-Demons?! Why?! I thought you wanted to win this so-called 'Tournament of Power'!"
Champa and Vados both looked at Steppenwolf like he had grown five extra heads and they were all spitting fire. Vados let go of Champa and backed away several steps, giving the angry god a chance to both get his wits about him and get some sense of decorum back. Champa actually smiled at Steppenwolf's short tirade and gave him a surprisingly calm response: "Well, of course I want to win the Tournament, but how am I going to do that with mindless drones? I need thinking, adaptable warriors, like yourself! I want to bring this Dr. Gero back because I want him to upgrade the guys I already have on my team, but by upgrades I mean 'new abilities and improvements to what they already have', not to mention upgrade this Cell character into a true force to be reckoned with. Transforming capable fighters into mindless beasts means that their opponents will be able to trick them all the more easily. So, yeah, we're not doing the 'Para-Demon conversion thing'. Sorry, Steppenwolf, but I am not leaving anything to chance this time".
"Well, damn and curses! This Champa is smarter than I thought!" Steppenwolf mentally cursed his luck. His Lord and Master, Great Darkseid, had originally planned to take control of all the converted fighters when this ridiculous tournament was about to start. Darkseid had used powerful magical artifacts known as the Orbs of Influence to transform the saccharine "Omni-Kings" into diminutive (and garishly coloured) versions of himself, so as to more easily manipulate them into giving him an army of Super Para-Demons! Now this cat faced cretin has thrown a wrench into the works! Still, his Master did say that the warriors could be cloned and the clones put through the conversion process if the direct approach was unavailable for whatever reason. It annoyed him, though, having to take a roundabout approach to acquiring a new army for his Master.
He had heard reports from other agents who were showing the other facilities to the Destroyers and the Supreme Kai of the remaining universes participating in this silly tournament. There were some definitive takers, but there were also some skeptical hold-outs. These ones would take some convincing! If they were half as cunning as Steppenwolf had been led to believe, it was going to be quite the tall order. Nothing in life worth accomplishing was easy, though, so he just had to focus and get to work.
He was drawn from his thoughts as Champa continued, "Vados, it is time you and I journey to Universe 7 and go retrieve Dr. Gero and Cell. I should have started the work earlier but got so caught up in all my musings, I lost track of time! When we arrive in Universe 7, we'll head straight for the Other World Check-in Station and visit King Yemma. A little bit of convincing, and he'll give us access to Dr. Gero and Cell without raising an alarm".
"As you wish, My Lord". Vados replied as she raised her staff to teleport her and her master. She paused in motion and turned to Steppenwolf. The expression on her face was not one of anger or suspicion, so Steppenwolf was surprised when she asked, "Would you like to join us, Lord Steppenwolf?" The warrior from Apokolips was curious as to this 'check-in' station. He had no idea the afterlife could be so...orderly.
His own curiosity piqued, he smiled and bowed the to the Angel. "I would be delighted, M'Lady! I am surprised by your offer, if I may be bold. Changing the boy from earlier into a Para-Demon upset quite substantially. I had thought you would rather see me burned at the stake!"
Vados' smile was more subdued, but still she smiled as she answered back, "I know you were only doing what your master asked, and I get the feeling he is not often used to people NOT doing as he commands. Besides, I'm pretty sure I can change the boy back to normal so I'm not THAT upset. I mean, if I can restore the dead back to life with a wave of my staff, then changing that sweet boy back to normal should be relatively simple. I just want to make sure of my analysis of his transformation so I can change him back correctly before I attempt it".
Steppenwolf felt like he was knocked back onto his heels. The woman could raise the dead with a wave of her staff?! Change the boy back to normal?! Perhaps, just perhaps mind you, his Master had made a bargain with the wrong deity! As Champa and the stunned Steppenwolf, along with the Para-Demon, moved closer to the female Angel, Steppenwolf began to earnestly wonder if She had, perchance, already discerned Lord Darkseid's designs? It was a worrisome thought, but Steppenwolf had no recourse but to move forward with the original scheme.
As Vados lifted her staff, which gave off a warm, multi-coloured light that made Steppenwolf's eyes water, the four were engulfed in a spherical energy field and instantly whisked on their way, far away from the charred world of Hell Storm.
!
Other World Check-In Station
King Yemma was not having a great day. Not in the slightest. Several of his best attendants had called in sick, and he was behind on his paper work. He just gotten an earful from other check-in station bosses from across the universe, some of whom were now out of a job thanks to the fact he let that monster Freiza out of Hell. Now, they all understood that it was that idiot Saiyan Goku who had convinced King Yemma to do it, all because of some silly martial arts tournament. Their ranting was cut short when, after Yemma got a word in, he explained about the consequences of the Tournament of Power not going in Universe 7's favour. He had some very surprising back-up from the Grand Minister of the Omni-Kings themselves! The Grand Minister had been instructed to explain that the Tournament of Power was now going to be an annual event, but now without the whole 'obliterate the losing universe' thing. The other check-in bosses were not exactly thrilled to learn a monster like Freiza had actually been instrumental in their continued survival.
"This is beyond absurd!" roared Hala-Penyo, the check-in boss for the Tapian people. He wore an immaculate suit of armour, the colours of polished gold, gleaming crimson, burnt orange, the colours of fire. He was built like a warrior, his armour decorated with forged likenesses of predatory animals, but he wore a simple poncho over his armour and wore a ridiculously massive wide-brimmed hat of some kind. His dressed that way so when he faced an enemy in battle (so he claimed), they would not suspect his true nature by simply having the poncho cover up his armour.
"You let that demon Freiza loose to participate in the Tournament of Power?! He's wiped out scores of worlds, whole civilizations, including the Tapian people who I was charged with guiding to their final rest! Damn it, Yemma, what were you thinking?!"
Before Yemma could answer, the Grand Minister spoke up. "Everyone please! There is no need for such angry finger pointing! As I have previously explained, Freiza was released from Earth's Hell to fill a gap the team from Universe 7 suddenly incurred. They had picked Majin Boo, of all entities, but when the time for the Tournament neared, Majin Boo fell into a pronounced dormancy period and simply could not be wakened, even with physical force. Yes, Goku came up with a particularly unpalatable choice as a fill-in..."
"Unpalatable?! Forgive the interruption, Grand Minister, but choosing that death worshipping fiend was unconscionable! That brainless Saiyan should be ashamed of himself in the least!" Hala-Penyo roared even louder than before. Another Check-in boss, this one a woman, stepped forward and put her two cents in. She stood almost as tall as Hala-Penyo, but she wore billowy robes of bright blue and mossy green, with pink embroidery all over, possessed of the lithe figure of a dancer. She was Mintay, check-in boss for the people of Chocol. She spoke softly, but no less emphatically than Hala-Penyo.
"Grand Minister, while I, personally, do not blame Goku for such a singularly rash choice during such a trying time, he should be made to deal with Freiza and his armies! Yes, he made the decision he did under extremely undue stress, but at the very least he must be made to confront the fallout of those decisions, no matter how well intended those decisions may have been!"
The Grand Minister was just about to respond when a new voice spoke up, "Now, now, everybody! No need to get your panties in a twist! I may just have a solution for this!"
All eyes turned toward the main entrance of the check-in station and grew several sizes as Champa, Destroyer God for Universe 6, his Angelic attendant Vados, a hugely built and darkly armoured warrior with a twin braided beard and carrying an enormous double battle axe, and perhaps the ugliest cyborg any of the gathered deities had ever seen walked in. They made a bee-line for King Yemma's desk, surprising the gigantic ogre. The three suddenly levitated off the floor and floated toward his desk which they soon landed on. Champa lifted his eyes to King Yemma who suddenly realized he was looking a God of Destruction square in the eye. He all but leapt out his recliner and bowed to Champa and his companions.
"I am honoured by your visit, Lord Destroyer! H-how can be I of service to you, today!"
As King Yemma stuttered a greeting, Champa began looking around the check-in station at all the other gathered deities and an idea struck him as he remembered why they were all so angry. He gestured for Steppenwolf and Vados to come closer, mentioning to Yemma that "We're only going to need a minute!" The three began whispering quite animatedly, but no matter how hard someone tried to listen in (discretely, mind you) no one could hear what the three were discussing. The Para-Demon tilted its head at the three like it as curious about what they were doing. After about ten minutes the collected deities decided to ask what the new arrivals were whispering about, but said new arrivals suddenly stopped whispering and straightened as they faced King Yemma.
"Yemma, ol'bean, no need to frustrate yourself any further! My associates and I have come up with a strategy you may find favour with. If we do force that dim bulb Goku to try to fix the myriad of messes he's made, I truly believe that he would in fact make things worse. We need someone who understands the inner workings of Frieza's mind, understands his fighting style and his abilities intimately, and who could be more perfectly suited? The bio-android known as Cell, that's who". The gather deities listened with rapt attention and sometimes horror as Lord Champa told them about who and what Cell was as well as how he could be useful.
"Lord Champa, forgive my interruption, but this has gotten completely out of hand!" The angry dissension came from Hala-Penyo as he quickly stood to his feet and approached King Yemma's huge desk. His palms thumped heavily on the ancient wood as he placed his massive palms on either side of the group of visitors. Lord Champa looked unconcerned, but the huge Steppenwolf looked like he wanted to badly pick a fight. Champa stopped whatever conflict was going to happen simply by raising his hand.
"Hey, hey, hey now! No need to be so flustered, Lord Hala-Penyo!" Champa smiled a sinister grin as he looked up at the gigantic deity. He had planned for this reaction.
"My associates and I will resurrect Cell and his creator, one Dr. Gero, this is true. We, however, are not about to let this monster off the leash. His creator will be tasked with installing safety features in Cell that will keep his behaviour above board as well as making him more powerful. Dr. Gero himself will be closely watched by My attendant Vados. She will be assisted by the impressive Lord Steppenwolf here", Champa explained as he gestured at the two in question. They both nodded at Champa's address.
Champa's smile spread even wider as he continued, "I have in my pocket a device known as an Obedience Matrix Generator", and took said device out of his pocket and showed it to the assembly.
The device looked like simple metal rod, but with blood-red raised computer circuit pathways on the obsidian casing. While the thing looked rather simple, the device gave off a powerfully ominous aura that set a few of the gathered on edge, some even asking that Lord Champa put the device away. Champa made a clucking sound, as though admonishing the gathered deities for acting, as he put it, "so simply undignified".
He decided on a demonstration of the device and nodded to Steppenwolf, who quickly slid away from the confused Angel, who had thought – quite mistakenly, she quickly realized, to her horror - they were going to demonstrate the device on Cell after resurrecting him. She turned back to her master to demand an explanation, but was greeted by a crackling web of greenish energy that passed through the barrier she threw up like it wasn't even there and wrapping itself around and phasing into the terrified Angel woman.
She had a right to be terrified as she began screaming at the top of her divine lungs. Every single pain receptor in her beautiful body was being hyper-stimulated all at once, every single neuron was forcibly being re-tasked into pain receptors and being tortured as well. Patterns began emerging on her skin that resembled computer circuitry that quickly emerged oh her cheeks, burning red-hot and soon going white-hot. Actually steam was coming off her pretty face which was now contorted into a rictus of exquisite agony. She thrashed about on King Yemma's desk, trying to escape the pain. She fell onto her back and continued to thrash, her bodily lifting off the desk, kept aloft only by her head and feet.
"WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?!" The Grand Minister was now the one roaring in anger, but before he could fly down and beat Champa senseless or help his darling daughter, Steppenwolf pulled out another Obedience Matrix Generator and blasted the Grand Minister just like Champa had zapped Vados, dropping the diminutive Angel to the floor, but where Vados was constantly screaming in unimaginable pain, her father had simply gone as limp as a boned fish.
Champa spoke up again, but his voice now carried an almost palpable sense of arrogance and cruelty to it that had not been there before.
"Ladies and gentlemen, if these little toys can reduce ANGELS to screaming messes or limp piles of meat on the floor, then certainly they could grant the kind of control we would need to keep Cell and Dr. Gero in line?" Champa pressed a small node on the device and suddenly Vados was released from her torment, flopping loudly onto the desk, her eyes wide with terror and residual pain. She tried to reach out to her father, either to help him or to seek his aid but her hand was clasped in Steppenwolf's huge hand and she was roughly thrown over his shoulder, completely unable to so much as blink. He snickered loudly as he thought that maybe, just maybe, this Champa wasn't so unlikable after all.
"Now", Steppenwolf spoke up to gather attention away from the deviously grinning God of Destruction and the two victims of the Matrix Generators, "Where in the afterlife do we find this 'Cell' character and his creator, eh?"
!
Cell's Personal Dominion, Hell
They say that Hell is what we make it, so for Cell, his own personal Hell was to face all of the opponents from his past, but never being able to harm them or even keep up with them in a fight. He had prided himself on being "perfect", which he was not or he certainly never would have wound up dead and eternally being punished in Hell. For years now, magical constructs made in the image of all his past opponents, and even all of his victims were constantly tormenting him, attacking him without end, always being faster than him, stronger than him, smarter than him, more everything than him. Even as a spirit, he still possessed the Saiyan ability to become more powerful with every fight, or the more grievous the injury he recovered from, and since he was a ghost, he could quite literally come back from anything! Sadly, he could never seem to become powerful enough to defeat his endless array of tormentors. Even if he managed to finally defeat one or two, there were an endless stream of hateful apparitions to take the place of the fallen, and even then the fallen would be restored good as new!
Over the years, Cell had gone from a sophisticated villain to devolve into a mindless, raging beast that screamed and roared and spat and hissed, and the few times he ever did speak since which were few and far between, He babbled incoherently about his enemies, his creator who had lied to him, his own misfortunes, weak fools who didn't deserve the rewards they had in life, with everything else an unintelligent mumbled mess.
He had been set on fire, physically torn apart and even eaten, blown to bits, chopped into chunks of still-moving meat, whatever the demented constructs could conceive of! He been literally beaten to a pulp, smashed beneath angry heels, and yet he would never find mercy or relief from this never ending torment. Well, that had been the case.
Lord Champa and his entourage suddenly appeared in the midst of another torture period that Cell was being put through, being drawn and quartered in particular. Cell's arms and legs looked ready to come off, hanging on only by scraps of meat. He was screaming in pain, sounding more like a crazed animal than a person. The check-in station attendant who had come with them pulled out of trouser pocket what looked like a TV remote. The constructs didn't like to be interrupted, and tried to swarm the group that had appeared in their midst. With the press of a button on the remote they were all dispelled by being reduced to wisps of vapour that vanished into nothing.
The ropes, bindings and other torture implements evaporated as well, dropping Cell to the cold rocky ground. His cracked and broken carapace broke apart even more, spraying dark purple blood everywhere. One of Cell's legs came completely off, bouncing away from him. Several knives that had been stabbed into the biological android shifted and bounced in the wounds, going in deeper, driving Cell deeper into horrid pain. His disembodied leg somehow had crawled back over to him and was now trying to reattach itself to his body. His arms and other leg were well regenerated by this time. As Cell howled and screamed, the attendant panicked and tried to run away, but Champa grabbed him by the collar and snarled in his face, "Don't you even think about! You don't leave until we have both Cell and Dr. Gero!"
"Are you crazy?!" the hapless attendant screamed in Champa's face. Apparently, that line of questioning was not acceptable as Champa spun like a top, taking the poor attendant for a ride. He whipped the screaming fool at Cell who was now completely regenerated and particularly upset. He caught the squealing ogre and tore him to bloody shreds in a heart beat. At this, Steppenwolf bent over and put the near comatose Vados back on her feet. He thrust her staff back into her hands and pointed at Cell and simply barked, "Do it!"
She had this terrified look in her eyes that spoke volumes. If she brought Cell back to life, he would gain enough of a power boost to give even a God of Destruction a very hard time thanks to almost a decade of constant battles and regenerating from sickening tortures. She could not even speak her protests because of that horrible device Champa had used on her. She could only obey. Steppenwolf was not happy with her taking her sweet time and angrily pointed at the deranged bio-android who was actually eating his first real victim after so many years and seeming to relish it to a morbid degree.
Vados slowly but surely raised her staff and pointed it at Cell, who had quickly finished his meal and was now staring at them with a frightening mix of primal rage, feral hunger and what could almost be called crazed glee. He had been mid-bite of what remained of the attendants left arm. The ruined limb hung from his mouth like some sort of Lovecraft chew toy. He tilted his head to one side, then the other. He sniffed the air and found they were also very real and very alive. A small torrent of hot saliva dribbled down Cell's chin as he starred at his next meal. He darted to one side and then back, and then darted to the other side and then back.
Champa realized Vados still hadn't brought the crazed fighter back to life and screamed in her face, "DO as your told and bring him back to life! Now!" This time she didn't hesitate. The damn device caused her endless pain, a sensation she had thought she would never know, but the pain would actually lessen when ever she obeyed a command. The faster she obeyed, the faster her relief from the pain. It was not a total relief though; it never would be. Vados pointed her staff right at Cell who had now dropped the ruin of the arm, almost his whole face covered in blood and bits. He screamed a bestial scream and tore off at the group on all fours. Steppenwolf cursed viciously as he readied his axe, hoping to at least slow down the warrior until the woman finished her work.
He needn't have bothered.
For a split second, Cell's whole body glowed as his life was restored. It was such a shocking and wonderful sensation, he dropped in his tracks and skidded along the ground toward his would-be victims, stopping mere inches from their feet. Gone was the halo above his head that signified he was one of the deceased.
Cell, the bio-android creation of Dr. Gero of the now defunct Red Ribbon Army, was now among the living once more. As Cell simply lay there not moving, Champa exhaled a breath as he sensed just how strong Cell had become, and how close him and his companions had come to becoming crazed android chow. He poked Cell with a foot, which he thought was a stupid idea and immediately stopped doing it. As He smiled in triumph at the first of his two prizes, he heard a voice call out, "Well, somebody had a good time!"
Champa looked around but couldn't find the source of the voice. Steppenwolf tapped him on the shoulder and gestured for him to look up. Seeing the other prize, one Dr. Gero leaning out the back window of a flying car being driven by a female attendant. The good doctor was waving at them, all smiles as the car came in for a landing. Champa noticed that Cell was starting to honestly stir, the rheumy cloudiness that was present in his eyes initially disappearing as his senses gradually came back to him. As the attendant opened the door to th car to let Dr. Gero out, Cell snapped into a sitting position, gasping as though he had come up for a breath after diving deep underwater.
He whipped around, looking at everybody. His eyes locked with Vados for a moment, a savagely hungry look lighting up his eyes in an alarming way. The expression that crossed his face made a deranged grin look positively subdued.
"I don't care what you want", he slowly began, as he regained the use of his tongue, "I don't care who you want dead, or however many dead, but as long as killing that punk-ass half Saiyan Gohan is on the itinerary , I'm so fucking in!"
Dr. Gero smiled down at his masterwork as he approached. He had finally come to accept the fact that his creation wasn't perfect, but he didn't blame Cell at all. He had failed the boy, pure and simple. He had been too rash with Cell's creation, too quick with deploying him, too arrogant as to think that Cell was invincible. Well, he was going to fix all of that. He had heard from Lord Champa the details of his new 'assignment' after he had been resurrected. Lord Champa and his group would meet up with the Doctor after reviving and retrieving Cell and then they would travel to a planet called Hell Storm where he could upgrade Cell. Gero rubbed his hands eagerly as he thought about the amazing technology he would employ to get Cell up to speed.
"Creator?" Cell was looking up at the doctor, a look of dismay and shame beginning to spread across his face, but Dr. Gero knelt by his creation and said, "Now, none of that! We all stumble and fall sometimes. Sometimes more so than others, but as long as we learn to pick ourselves back up, we will do just fine in the end!"
Cell leaned back and then pushed himself to his feet, helped by Dr. Gero and a chuckling Champa. He looked at Steppenwolf and smirked. He raised a hand and gave the warrior from Apokolips a thumbs up, who awkwardly returned the gesture. Champa looked at his new ace-in-the-hole and asked, "ready to get to work?"
"Do you really need to ask, Lord Champa?"
Champa broke into hysterical laughter as he prompted Vados to transport them away.
After the group had vanished, a swirling column of pitch-black mist rose from the ground, stretching high into the sky. A set of six lurid red eyes opened in the column and looked down at the remains of the male attendant, which were being cleaned up by the female attendant who was crying her eyes out at her co-workers demise. Those horrid red eyes stared upward as a deep, accented voice spoke up.
"There was no need for all that, you retched cat! When your usefulness to me is over, I'm feeding your ruined entrails to Cell myself!" The voice hadn't been heard by the attendant as powerful, ancient magic had been employed to shield her from hearing it. When she turned around, she felt as though she was being watched. She saw a wisp of black mist swirl off of the ground and fade away.
She sniffed back more tears as she went back to the gruesome task of collecting her friends remains, never the wiser.
Author's Notes: Well that chapter was a doozy! I hope everyone enjoyed a taste of whats to come, and I also hope you enjoy the twists i keep throwing out. Please, read and review! TTYL!