Chapter 10 - Another Rescue Mission
Goku was moving as quickly as he could in his base form but the others were going faster than him. He knew, even if he transformed and went as quickly as he could, he'd still not reach them before they got wherever they were going. And for some reason he couldn't use the Instant Transmission. With a sigh he resigned himself to trailing them, but not at such a slow pace that he might lose them. In a flash he ascended to the second level and sped off after them.
As he flew he watched as the landscape below him changed and shifted. The frozen land slowly began to give way to rocky mountains and then rolling plains. He'd been flying for a good three or four hours before he felt the ship the others were in slow down and finally stop. In the distance he could see rising buildings reaching into the sky and then a city that was beyond crowded. /Man, and I'd thought West City was bad./
He flew over the city quickly and then spied a tall statue, one arm raised high with a torch in hand. He could also see a lot of security milling about as he powered down. A bit further out in the bay he could see the large ship now partly submerged. There were so many powers around him now that he couldn't pick out the low powers of his unconcious friends. /Crap. Alright, think Goku. Just going down and blasting your way in won't work you'll never find them... Maybe I could wait until someone wakes and powers up? But that may not happen!/
Goku bit his lip as he scanned the area below him and then smiled. Off in the water, a good distance from everyone else, was a small boat. On that boat were two people, both were wearing the security outfits of the guards around the large statue. He eyed up a shot from where he floated and then fired a small KI blast at one of the guards knocking him out cold and then did the same to the other. With a grin he dropped down and landed on the boat.
Looking over both guards he realized they were both taller than him but not by much. Quickly he undressed the one and put his clothes and hat on and then put his clothes on the guard. Then he turned to the other guard, picked him up, and took him down below. Quickly he tied the guard up, gaged him, and locked him into a closet. He then moved back upstairs to where the other guard lay and cuffed his hands and legs. Then he placed a hand on his head and tried something.
Back on Namek he'd been able to pull thoughts from Krillin's mind, here he was trying to make sure this guard would stay out for a while. /Yep, he's out for a good few hours./ Goku picked him up and sat him down on the chair and then moved to the controls. /Okay, Goku, how does this work?/ he wondered scratching the back of his head. He returned to the guard and read his mind again, this time he searched for how to work the boat. "Oh, that's easy enough." Goku said triumphantly.
Moving back to the controls he steered the boat toward the island with the statue and drove toward it. A few moments later he was pulling into a dock with several other guards coming down to meet him. "What's going on?" one of them asked.
"Well..." Goku said turning to look at the guard in his clothes. "This guy just... fell from the sky."
The two guards looked at each other and then back at Goku. "Where's your partner, and what's your name? You don't look familiar."
"Partner is off sick." Goku said the first thing that came to mind. He opened his mouth to say his name and then realized the others said his name was unusual here. He paused for a moment and then gave the first name that came to mind. "And I'm Charles."
The two guards nodded, they seemed content with his answers. "Well Charles, this guy has the same clothes as two of the others. You'll probably get a bonus for this, lucky bum."
"Others?" Goku asked.
"Yeah, from the assault on the Mutant base in Alaska. Fury had them moved down to level X." The guard dug through his pocket and produced a card. "Here, this will get you down to that level."
Goku took the card, lifted the guard over his shoulder, and climbed out of the boat. "What's your names? I'll tell them you helped me get this guy under control."
The guards grinned. "Max Simmons and Lionel Masters." one of them said.
With a nod Goku walked off along the dock whistling. /I don't know what Bulma was talking about, I come up with some good ideas now and then./ He frowned as he remembered how badly the whole Buu incident had gone. /Well, some better than others./
He walked calmly past the guards at the front gates with just a quick nod and entered the main lobby of the statue. Along all three walls were several elevators and in the middle of the room was a desk with a guard. He cast a glance about him and frowned. /Now how do I get to level X?/ he wondered scratching his head. With a sigh he moved over to the desk with the guard. "I'm supposed to take this guy down to level X."
"Clearance?"
"Um..." Goku picked up the card and showed it to the guard.
The guard nodded and pointed over to an elevator in the back that was painted white. "I'll unlock the door."
"Thanks." Goku said walking past the desk. As he neared the elevator the doors hissed open. Whistling again he entered and turned around. There were only two buttons, one marked L and one marked X so he pushed the X. The doors hissed and closed with a click and the elevator began to descend. As he went down a purple light flashed on a few times quickly within the elevator and he frowned. /What was that?/
After a moment he shrugged, nothing else had happened so it didn't matter. He waited, leaning against the wall, for several minutes as the elevator descended. Finally he felt it slowing and then stopping. A second later the doors hissed open again and he stepped out into a large room, his eyes going wide.
Along the walls were several tanks full of green liquid. Floating in each tank was a different person with tubes and wires coming from them and different fluids moving in and out of the tubes. All of the tubes from the tanks were linked to another tank in the center of the room. This one was much larger than the others and filled with a dark blue liquid.
Floting in this tank was a young woman who looked no older than eigtheen, possibly even younger. She had short black hair, dark tan skin, and was wearing a dark maroon dress. Her wrists and ankles were shackled and chained to the top and bottom of the tank and several tubes were attatched to her body as well. Her eyes were closed so he couldn't tell what color they were. But he could tell that whatever was going on it was all linked to the girl in the middle tank.
Goku managed to turn his eyes away from her and scanned the other tanks again. His eyes widened once more as he spotted the others in some of the tanks and hooked up to the tubes. /Gohan, Goten, Videl, Trunks, Piccolo, Jean, Kurt, and Wolverine. Man, they got almost everyone, didn't they? Well, let's get you guys out of here./
Goku laid the guard down and looked over to the tanks where his friends were. Only a few of the techs and guards even noticed him as he pulled his arms back. But they all noticed him as he thrust them forward with a cry and a flash of blue. The energy blast shot out and smashed into the tanks destroying them easily.
The fluid spilled out across the floor as the unconcious people fell free, the wires and tubes pulling out as they did. Goku jerked as a loud crack sounded out and a bullet slammed into the wall behind him. In a flash he transformed to the third level and the bullets that followed the first merely bounced off of him. He stood there watching them for a moment hoping the others would wake up soon, and then another thought came to him.
With a smile he fired off energy blasts at the other tanks as well. Within seconds all the tanks around the room were shattered and empty. He then turned his arm toward the tank in the middle of the room. Instantly the gunfire stopped and the guards pulled back. As a ball of energy formed at the end of Goku's outstretched arm many of the guards turned and ran. With a crack the ball of KI shot forward and shattered the glass.
The blue liquid flowed free of the tank and spilled out across the ground. Instantly sirens began to wail throughout the entire compound as the wires attatched to the girl snapped and the tubes pulled free. Goku saw Gohan climbing to his feet as the others began to come to as well and the girl's tank emptied completely, the chains the only things holding her up. "Gohan, Piccolo!" Goku yelled over the siren for the only two fully concious.
Looking up they saw him and his odd clothing and both smiled. "Alright dad!" Gohan cheered as he started helping the others wake up and stand. Goku moved over to them and in a matter of moments they were all awake. "So, how do we get out?"
"Er... well, I didn't think that far ahead." Goku said scratching the back of his head.
"What the..." Jean said, barely a whisper. The others turned to see what she was looking at. The girl in the center tank was now standing and supporting herself. Her hands gripped the chains that held her within the tank and her eyes were open. Instead of whites to her eyes they were pitch black. Her pupils looked like little red lights floating in pools of darkness. Her face had a look of rage and hatred. Suddenly she yanked her arms and the chains snapped where they connected to her wrists.
With a jerk of each leg she shattered those restraints as well. She floated lightly into the air still glaring daggers across at the people before her. "Mutants..." she breathed. "Humans..." Her eyes roved over them all. "You must die." Her voice sent a chill down the backs of the others. With a scream she threw her head and arms back and the entire building began to shake.
Goku was moving as quickly as he could in his base form but the others were going faster than him. He knew, even if he transformed and went as quickly as he could, he'd still not reach them before they got wherever they were going. And for some reason he couldn't use the Instant Transmission. With a sigh he resigned himself to trailing them, but not at such a slow pace that he might lose them. In a flash he ascended to the second level and sped off after them.
As he flew he watched as the landscape below him changed and shifted. The frozen land slowly began to give way to rocky mountains and then rolling plains. He'd been flying for a good three or four hours before he felt the ship the others were in slow down and finally stop. In the distance he could see rising buildings reaching into the sky and then a city that was beyond crowded. /Man, and I'd thought West City was bad./
He flew over the city quickly and then spied a tall statue, one arm raised high with a torch in hand. He could also see a lot of security milling about as he powered down. A bit further out in the bay he could see the large ship now partly submerged. There were so many powers around him now that he couldn't pick out the low powers of his unconcious friends. /Crap. Alright, think Goku. Just going down and blasting your way in won't work you'll never find them... Maybe I could wait until someone wakes and powers up? But that may not happen!/
Goku bit his lip as he scanned the area below him and then smiled. Off in the water, a good distance from everyone else, was a small boat. On that boat were two people, both were wearing the security outfits of the guards around the large statue. He eyed up a shot from where he floated and then fired a small KI blast at one of the guards knocking him out cold and then did the same to the other. With a grin he dropped down and landed on the boat.
Looking over both guards he realized they were both taller than him but not by much. Quickly he undressed the one and put his clothes and hat on and then put his clothes on the guard. Then he turned to the other guard, picked him up, and took him down below. Quickly he tied the guard up, gaged him, and locked him into a closet. He then moved back upstairs to where the other guard lay and cuffed his hands and legs. Then he placed a hand on his head and tried something.
Back on Namek he'd been able to pull thoughts from Krillin's mind, here he was trying to make sure this guard would stay out for a while. /Yep, he's out for a good few hours./ Goku picked him up and sat him down on the chair and then moved to the controls. /Okay, Goku, how does this work?/ he wondered scratching the back of his head. He returned to the guard and read his mind again, this time he searched for how to work the boat. "Oh, that's easy enough." Goku said triumphantly.
Moving back to the controls he steered the boat toward the island with the statue and drove toward it. A few moments later he was pulling into a dock with several other guards coming down to meet him. "What's going on?" one of them asked.
"Well..." Goku said turning to look at the guard in his clothes. "This guy just... fell from the sky."
The two guards looked at each other and then back at Goku. "Where's your partner, and what's your name? You don't look familiar."
"Partner is off sick." Goku said the first thing that came to mind. He opened his mouth to say his name and then realized the others said his name was unusual here. He paused for a moment and then gave the first name that came to mind. "And I'm Charles."
The two guards nodded, they seemed content with his answers. "Well Charles, this guy has the same clothes as two of the others. You'll probably get a bonus for this, lucky bum."
"Others?" Goku asked.
"Yeah, from the assault on the Mutant base in Alaska. Fury had them moved down to level X." The guard dug through his pocket and produced a card. "Here, this will get you down to that level."
Goku took the card, lifted the guard over his shoulder, and climbed out of the boat. "What's your names? I'll tell them you helped me get this guy under control."
The guards grinned. "Max Simmons and Lionel Masters." one of them said.
With a nod Goku walked off along the dock whistling. /I don't know what Bulma was talking about, I come up with some good ideas now and then./ He frowned as he remembered how badly the whole Buu incident had gone. /Well, some better than others./
He walked calmly past the guards at the front gates with just a quick nod and entered the main lobby of the statue. Along all three walls were several elevators and in the middle of the room was a desk with a guard. He cast a glance about him and frowned. /Now how do I get to level X?/ he wondered scratching his head. With a sigh he moved over to the desk with the guard. "I'm supposed to take this guy down to level X."
"Clearance?"
"Um..." Goku picked up the card and showed it to the guard.
The guard nodded and pointed over to an elevator in the back that was painted white. "I'll unlock the door."
"Thanks." Goku said walking past the desk. As he neared the elevator the doors hissed open. Whistling again he entered and turned around. There were only two buttons, one marked L and one marked X so he pushed the X. The doors hissed and closed with a click and the elevator began to descend. As he went down a purple light flashed on a few times quickly within the elevator and he frowned. /What was that?/
After a moment he shrugged, nothing else had happened so it didn't matter. He waited, leaning against the wall, for several minutes as the elevator descended. Finally he felt it slowing and then stopping. A second later the doors hissed open again and he stepped out into a large room, his eyes going wide.
Along the walls were several tanks full of green liquid. Floating in each tank was a different person with tubes and wires coming from them and different fluids moving in and out of the tubes. All of the tubes from the tanks were linked to another tank in the center of the room. This one was much larger than the others and filled with a dark blue liquid.
Floting in this tank was a young woman who looked no older than eigtheen, possibly even younger. She had short black hair, dark tan skin, and was wearing a dark maroon dress. Her wrists and ankles were shackled and chained to the top and bottom of the tank and several tubes were attatched to her body as well. Her eyes were closed so he couldn't tell what color they were. But he could tell that whatever was going on it was all linked to the girl in the middle tank.
Goku managed to turn his eyes away from her and scanned the other tanks again. His eyes widened once more as he spotted the others in some of the tanks and hooked up to the tubes. /Gohan, Goten, Videl, Trunks, Piccolo, Jean, Kurt, and Wolverine. Man, they got almost everyone, didn't they? Well, let's get you guys out of here./
Goku laid the guard down and looked over to the tanks where his friends were. Only a few of the techs and guards even noticed him as he pulled his arms back. But they all noticed him as he thrust them forward with a cry and a flash of blue. The energy blast shot out and smashed into the tanks destroying them easily.
The fluid spilled out across the floor as the unconcious people fell free, the wires and tubes pulling out as they did. Goku jerked as a loud crack sounded out and a bullet slammed into the wall behind him. In a flash he transformed to the third level and the bullets that followed the first merely bounced off of him. He stood there watching them for a moment hoping the others would wake up soon, and then another thought came to him.
With a smile he fired off energy blasts at the other tanks as well. Within seconds all the tanks around the room were shattered and empty. He then turned his arm toward the tank in the middle of the room. Instantly the gunfire stopped and the guards pulled back. As a ball of energy formed at the end of Goku's outstretched arm many of the guards turned and ran. With a crack the ball of KI shot forward and shattered the glass.
The blue liquid flowed free of the tank and spilled out across the ground. Instantly sirens began to wail throughout the entire compound as the wires attatched to the girl snapped and the tubes pulled free. Goku saw Gohan climbing to his feet as the others began to come to as well and the girl's tank emptied completely, the chains the only things holding her up. "Gohan, Piccolo!" Goku yelled over the siren for the only two fully concious.
Looking up they saw him and his odd clothing and both smiled. "Alright dad!" Gohan cheered as he started helping the others wake up and stand. Goku moved over to them and in a matter of moments they were all awake. "So, how do we get out?"
"Er... well, I didn't think that far ahead." Goku said scratching the back of his head.
"What the..." Jean said, barely a whisper. The others turned to see what she was looking at. The girl in the center tank was now standing and supporting herself. Her hands gripped the chains that held her within the tank and her eyes were open. Instead of whites to her eyes they were pitch black. Her pupils looked like little red lights floating in pools of darkness. Her face had a look of rage and hatred. Suddenly she yanked her arms and the chains snapped where they connected to her wrists.
With a jerk of each leg she shattered those restraints as well. She floated lightly into the air still glaring daggers across at the people before her. "Mutants..." she breathed. "Humans..." Her eyes roved over them all. "You must die." Her voice sent a chill down the backs of the others. With a scream she threw her head and arms back and the entire building began to shake.