Saiyan Anti-Hero

"An' you're sure Athena told you this correctly?" Bulma questioned, working at the controls of her submarine, with Krillin and Gohan behind her.

"Yeah, she said that Goku confirmed similarities to Dr. Gero's craftsmanship in this, Amazo person." Krillin said.

"That's troubling. Very troubling." Bulma sighed. "If there's someone using Dr. Gero's research, then it's safe to assume, they're probably trying to make another version of Cell."

"Only this time, they'll have a lot more powerful genetic materials to work with. How soon until we reach the location of Dr. Gero's underwater lab?" Gohan questioned.

"We're in the general location of it. My best guess would be he hid it somewhere in an underwater cave, similar to the one we explored all those years ago." Bulma said.

"I'd forgotten about that." Krillin said. "Those were some scary times."

"No kidding." Bulma sighed, before she got a ping on her sonar. "I think I got something."

"We're getting close?" Gohan asked.

"We're actually right in front of it." Bulma stated.

Stopping the submarine, Bulma, Krillin, and Gohan looked out the windshield into the deep sea as the front lights brightened up, revealing a wall of seaweed. Using the claws of her submarine, Bulma moved the wall of seaweed out of the way, revealing the Red Ribbon Army's emblem on what looked like stone doors.

"Guess we found the good doctor's secret lab." Bulma said.

"How do we get in?" Krillin questioned.

"I think I know." Bulma said, as the computer screen on her controls lit up. "I'm being requested to put in the password."

"I think I got this one. Put in, Death to Son Goku." Gohan said.

Putting that in, Bulma waited as the screen loaded, before it lit up again saying, welcome back Dr. Gero.

"How'd you know Gohan?" Krillin questioned as the stone doors opened up for them.

"Simple psycho analysis. I thought about his main goal with creating Cell in the first place, and I came up with the answer." Gohan explained.

"Well that's some impressive mental prowess." Bulma smiled.

Raising the submarine into the open space of the underwater cavern, the trio were in shock, as they saw inside the hidden lab, was filled with all sorts of old tech, and even an old super computer.

"Whoa, this place is crazy." Krillin said, before spotting, what looked like a launch pad area. "Uh, I think I figured out how Ivo got his hands on Gero's research."

~Earth Alpha~

"Let me see if I understand you correctly." Batman said, pacing around the room in front of the team. "Amazo wasn't the final stage in Ivo's plan. He just used Amazo to gain a know how for this, Cell, to be aware of how some of his powers may work? To top it off, this creature now has Saiyan, Namekian, Reptilian, Kryptonian, Martian, human DNA, plus several others, making him far stronger then the original Cell, which Gohan fought and destroyed?"

"Yes, that pretty much sums it up." Athena said, rubbing one of her arms.

"Athena, you're shaking like a leaf." Superboy said as Megan brought the Saiyan girl a big mug of hot chocolate. "What exactly did you see, when you saw his face after Cell grabbed you?"

"What I saw…" Athena paused. "It's indescribable. It's almost like I was staring into the face of the child of the evil Majin Buu, and some unspeakable monster from the underworld. Strange part was, I only saw it on the part of his face the moonlight was hitting."

"Superman to Mount Justice." Superman called on the hollow screen. "There's a broadcast that you're needing to see."

The screen switched out from Superman, to what looked like a scared and terrified Lois Lane, holding a mic.

"This is Lois Lane from the Daily Planet, coming to you live with a message from the new, God of our Universe." Lois said, before the camera panned out to bring Cell into the frame, as he stood right next to Lois.

"Greetings people of this Earth. I am Perfect Cell. But you, can call me your Overlord." Cell said. "Now, just like my predecessor, I will be hosting a tournament for martial artists. An' I'm calling this competition, the Cell Games."

"He thinks the Cell Games from the last Cell, was hosted on this earth." Flash said.

"Now unlike my predecessor, I'll allow for the a longer span of time for training and getting ready for the tournament. The Cell Games, will be held on New Years Day which gives anyone wishing to compete, four months to prepare and get stronger before the tournament. The rules for the tournament will be simple, and easy to follow. An' as I am a fair ruler, I will abide by them as well." Cell continued. "If you give up, or any part of your body touches the outside of the ring, you lose. An' though I will try to avoid this, if you die, you will be disqualified. The location for the tournament will be announced, once I've returned from my own training."

"His own training?" Kid Flash questioned. "But, he's stronger then the entire Justice League combined. Why does he need to train?"

"He's got Saiyan and Kryptonian DNA. He's not gonna just laze about and get weaker while we all get stronger." Superboy said.

"The tournament will be a fair playing field for my opponents. I won't be able to rest between matches, and once one round ends, the next can start immediately." Cell said. "However, there is one person, who must come as a mandatory competitor." He stated, before an image of Athena in her Oozaru form came onto the screen. "The Saiyan who became this great beast. I fought against her earlier tonight, but given the time frame I've set for training, I'm positive she'll be strong enough to be a worthy challenge for me. If you're watching this, and you don't show up, then the blood of billions of humans, and the destruction of this planet, will be on your hands." He chuckled, before the frame panned back to Lois as he vanished.

"This is Lois Lane, saying to all of you, please where ever this Saiyan is. Help us." Lois cried, before the screen went black, before it switched back to Superman, who looked more then a little pissed.

"We all know who the Saiyan that destroyed the Venom factory is, right?" He questioned.

"We do, but something isn't adding up. Why would Cell make it mandatory for Athena to participate in the tournament?" Aqualad questioned.

"It's because I'm the Saiyan he was programmed to target. Not my dad." Athena said. "Obviously the people pulling the strings with Cadmus, were the ones who gave Ivo the funding for this project, and had him program Cell to target me instead."

"We've only got four months before the tournament. An' I don't think you can get strong enough to defeat him in that amount of time." Robin said.

"There was a place I could have gone to, so I could train to get strong enough. But it was destroyed right before Majin Buu destroyed the lookout on Earth Omega." Athena said. "It was called the Hyperbolic Time Chamber. One day in the real world, equaled one year in there."

"The Guardian of my Earth is still repairing it, so we can't go to there to train and get stronger." Goku said. "There is one other technique I know that could help Athena power up, but it would only last for thirty minutes, and she needs someone else to do it with."

"Wait, dad are you talking about the Fusion Technique you taught Trunks and Goten?" Athena asked.

"Yeah, an' it's either that technique, or we get a set of Potara earrings. Vegeta and I used them when we fought against Majin Buu after he absorbed Gohan." Goku explained. "The only place to get them would be to go to Supreme Kai and ask for a pair."

"How would fusion help?" Robin asked.

"Both Fusion Techniques don't just combine the strength of both people involved, they greatly enhance them. Problem is, the Fusion Dance requires both participants to be of the same gender, and have equal power levels. At least I think that's how it's used. The Metamorans I learned it from in Other World, never specified if it could be done with two members of the opposite sex. Both members don't have to be the exact same height, but they do have to be close enough. It takes at least a month of practice to get it down right. That's why Goten and Trunks ended up practicing in the Hyperbolic Time Chamber."

"So, we're basically screwed without this Fusion?" Kid Flash asked.

"Not exactly, but it would help." Goku said. "This Cell has given us four months to train. I need to get Athena in fighting shape and…"

"Dad, no." Athena said.

"Athena?"

"Dad, you need to help Superboy continue his training on Ki control. I can handle my own training. I wanna find someone extremely powerful to fight and train with. I'm asking you to respect my wishes and let me handle this." Athena said.

Goku just looked at Athena, the determined look in her eyes, telling him she needed this.

"Very well. I'll allow it. But you have to keep to this for the next four months." Goku said.

"I will." Athena said.

"Goku, are you sure about this?" Batman asked.

"I am." Goku said. "There was a time in my life, where I had to find who I was without my grandpa. An' I found it after I met Bulma for the first time. So Athena needs to do this on her own."

"If you're sure this is the right course of action." Batman said. "Then from this moment on, Athena will spend every waking moment between missions, for the next four months, preparing for the Cell Games."

"Speaking of Mr. Doom and Gloom, where the hell is he?" Superboy questioned.

"If I had to guess, somewhere in deep space by now." Athena said. "He disappeared the way he did, because he flew into orbit, and went straight for the moon and flew past it. So he could find a strong enough opponent to train with."

"How can he survive in an atmosphere free environment?" Robin question.

"He's got the genetic makeup of Frieza and his father. Their species can survive in the vacuum of space without oxygen. But that trait isn't infinite, he'll need to stop on a planet with oxygen at some point before he can continue." Goku explained.

"Given how strong he is, he won't need to stop for a while." Athena said.

"Come with me Athena. We gotta stop at Bulma's before you head off to train." Goku said.

"Why do you need to stop there?" Robin asked.

"We need a communicator that can reach Athena to call her back for mission. I can't always be using Instant Transmission to bring her there and back." Goku explained.

"Alright, let's go dad." Athena said, grabbing his shoulder.

~Earth Omega~

"Okay, let's see… it says that Gero's failsafe was to send his research off into space, and have the pod broadcast a signal with an equation in it. Guess Ivo cracked the code, because the pod was programmed to head for whoever cracked it." Bulma said, reviewing the information from Gero's lab, in her own with her father pacing around the room, reading some papers.

"Mmm, it would appear so. I shudder at the thought of there being another creature out there, just as strong as Cell." Dr. Briefs said.

"He's actually stronger then that gramps."

Bulma and her father turned to see Goku and Athena in the lab, both of them having come in by Instant Transmission.

"Another Cell was created?" Bulma asked.

"Yeah, and this time, he's going after Athena." Goku said. "He's also hosting another Cell Game. Only this time, we've got a bit more time before they begin."

"How much time?" Bulma asked.

"Four months." Athena said. "New Years day, on Earth Alpha."

"That doesn't give us a lot of time." Dr. Briefs said.

"Which is why Athena needs to train. She'll be heading out, but firs she needs a communications device that can be used over vast distances in space." Goku said.

"I got just the thing actually." Bulma said. "I used some parts from a scouter I took from some of Frieza's men back when Trunks killed Frieza and his father."

"Wait, I thought Trunks wasn't even born yet when that happened." Athena said.

"He wasn't. The Trunks she's talking about, came from the future." Goku said.

"Here." Bulma said, giving Athena a watch, and giving one to Goku. "They both have two scouters receivers in them, so their signals should be twice as strong."

"They're not connected to the Frieza Force's scouters, are they?" Athena asked, putting the watch on.

"No, they're just connected to one another." Bulma smiled. "Goku, give the one I gave you, to whoever gives Athena's team their missions."

"Got it." Goku said. "So, you nervous to go Athena?"

"A bit." Athena said.

"It's okay to be nervous. But when you win against this Cell, I'll be sure to throw you a victory party." Bulma smiled. "I can't wait to see how strong you become."

"I'm not sure I'll get that strong."

"Do you need any Senzu Beans before you go?" Goku asked.

"No, I'll be fine. I've still got the bag I grabbed for the mission."

"Here, take these." Dr. Briefs said, handing Athena a box. "I always have a few of these camping packs ready for when Bulma decides to go on one of her adventures. The house capsule is stocked with enough food to feed Goku after a big battle, and there are a few vehicles you could use if you don't feel like flying."

"Thanks."

"There's even a food storage capsule with enough food to feed an army of Saiyans. So you should have plenty of rations to last you a while after the food in the fridge runs out."

"I appreciate it."

"Oh my, Athena and Goku are here, if I had known, I'd have made more drinks." Panchy said.

"We won't be staying long." Athena said.

"Yes, they were actually just stopping by for some gear. Athena's going on a long training journey, and has to prepare for a battle in four months against a super strong opponent." Dr. Briefs said.

"Oh my, really? Well hold on, I have just the thing to give you." Panchy said heading out of the lab for a bit.

Athena just looked at Bulma questioningly, but the bluenet shrugged her shoulders, just as confused before Panchy returned and wrapped a scarf around Athena's neck, and a bag on her back.

"There, in case you go somewhere cold, you can at least keep your neck warm." Panchy smiled. "An' the backpack is filled with water bottles and other smaller rations for travel."

"Thank you. This is very kind of you." Athena smiled. "I don't know how to thank you for your support."

"Nonsense. You and Goku are just as much part of our family as Bulma and Vegeta." Dr. Briefs smiled. "Now you be careful, and come back to everyone alive, ya hear me?"

"Of course." Athena smiled. "Thank you for everything."

"So, what are you gonna do for training?"

"Probably find a monster infested planet and do survival training with my fighting training." Athena said.

"If you're gonna do that, then I have one last thing to give you." Dr. Briefs said. "It's experimental, so I haven't had a chance to test it out yet, but I'm sure it'll work perfectly."

Putting one last capsule in Athena's hand, Dr. Briefs stepped back with a smile.

"Is it a weapon of some kind?"

"No, not exactly. Let's just say, it's a bit of extra protection." Dr. Briefs chuckled. "But be careful, as I said it's untested, so I won't be able to guarantee it'll work at 100% on the first use."

"Now that you're all set, get going." Goku said.

"Right." Athena nodded, before closing her eyes and searching for a monster infested planet. Searching as fast as she could, Athena managed to find one, with a surprisingly high power level coming from it. "I'll see you all later." She said, before disappearing.

"Now that she's gone Goku, what exactly is this new Cell like?" Bulma questioned.

"To be honest… he's bad news." Goku sighed.

~Elsewhere~

Opening her eyes after using Instant Transmission, Athena stared out at a barren, yellowish-green landscape with yellow skies and rocky wastelands as far as the eye can see. The ground was littered with massive craters, some filled with green pools of what looked like mossy liquid. Hopping down from the cliffside she was on, Athena flew to one of the pools and landed on it, finding the mossy liquid to be springy and taut like skin.

"Oh, so soft. I wonder what this grassy stuff is." Athena said, running her hands through it before the ground beneath her began to shake. "An earth quake?"

The center of the pool began to spread open as a snarling muzzle of a giant green monster came out, glaring at her.

"Oh crap. This isn't grass it's fur." She said, jumping out of the crater, and flying through the air, away from the beast. When she was far enough away out of its reach, she noticed its left ear was missing, and it looked scarred. "Poor thing, it probably doesn't trust me, because someone shot its ear off."

Flying through the air, Athena began to notice some strange things on the surface of the planet. One being, some of the craters looked fresh, like they'd been made by something quite strong, just recently.

"Was the Ki signature I locked onto, the one belonging to whoever made those craters?" Athena pondered, before she spotted something. "Holy hell. Is that an actual Saiyan Spaceship?" She questioned, landing on the ground in front of the ship. "Looks kinda old. But if it's here, then that must mean there are more Saiyans who survived Planet Vegeta's destruction."

Entering the ship, Athena looked around the deck, and to the control console, finding a single light was still blinking, meaning the distress signal was still active. Looking into the engine valve, Athena spotted what she assumed was the main source of the engine's power.

"The main floater is cracked. They're probably stranded here still. They have to be hella strong if they've been here for what looks like decades." Athena said, before spotting something odd.

One of the bed compartments was sealed, and it looked like it had been welded shut. Grabbing the handle, Athena broke the poor craftsmanship of welding, and opened the bed compartment, finding an entire skeleton inside, wearing Saiyan Armor.

"Damn, guess this is the pilot." She said, examining the bones. "Hold the phone, are these… teeth marks? Did they go cannibal on each other?"

Gathering the bones in what she could use as a carrier, Athena brought them outside the ship, and used a Ki blast to dig a hole, one deep enough to be a grave as she gently lowered the bones in it, and covered the hole with dirt and rocks, marking the grave, before giving her respects to the fallen pilot.

"There was a hole in the sternum, which means he wasn't alone when the ship crashed. An' that means whoever killed him, was the one who turned into a cannibal." Athena said, getting to her feet. "The ship was equipped to house a four person team. If they haven't eaten each other by now, I might be able to find whoever did this and get them some help. I mean, I'd understand if they had no choice because of their food supplies running low, but still…"

"Wait. Don't leave."

Athena looked up and turned around to find an old looking Saiyan running towards her, wearing Saiyan armor, with a pouch on his hip, and a tail wrapped around his waist. His hair was grey and he had a long goatee, as well as a scar over his right eye, keeping it shut, which means he must have lost it some time in the past.

"Don't leave. Don't go." He called out before falling in front of her.

"Holy crap. I didn't expect you'd come to me." Athena said, taking a water bottle from her bag, and helping the old man up, and to drink the water.

"Thank you." He said, taking the bottle and downing it.

"Can you tell me your name?" Athena asked.

"My name is Paragus. I'm a Saiyan Elite from Planet Vegeta."

"You don't know then, do you?" Athena asked. "Planet Vegeta was destroyed along with most of the Saiyan race about 40 years ago, by Frieza."

"Frieza destroyed planet Vegeta?" Paragus questioned. "Well, I can't say, we didn't have it coming."

"Are you alone on this planet?" Athena asked.

"No, there's one more person here, my…"

Before Paragus could continue, Athena pushed Paragus back, while leaning back herself, evading a stinger like tongue from piercing either of them, before Athena grabbed it, and pulled on it, keeping the creature the tongue belonged to, in place as it pulled against Athena's grip.

"BROLY." Paragus shouted.

Off in the distance, a large muscle bound Saiyan, with a metal choker around his neck, looked up from what he was eating, and threw it to the ground, before he came flying straight for their location, slamming a double kick in the Beetle Monsters torso, sending it flying while its tongue was torn from its mouth, since Athena had still been holding onto it.

Athena just looked at Broly with wide eyes, she could feel his power level, and it was stronger then anything she'd ever faced before. It was even stronger then Cell's current power level.

"That's it, very good son." Paragus said. "This is my son Broly. He's a skilled fighter, and I've made sure he's in pique physical condition."

"Hi Broly." Athena said as Broly came down and landed in front of her.

"Hello." Broly said. "Nice to meet you."

"I'm sorry Miss, but I didn't catch your name." Paragus said.

"Oh, my name's Son Athena. An' as you can tell, I'm a Saiyan like you two." She said, her tail unwrapping from her waist.

"I've never seen a Saiyan with markings like yours before." Paragus said.

"Well… these are from a ritual I took part of." Athena said. "I'm sorry, you both must be hungry. Here, let me cook something up for you. Is there a place those beetles won't disturb us?"

"Yes, follow us." Paragus said.

Following Paragus and Broly to the cave they called home, Athena pulled out the capsule with the house and opened it up, revealing it was quite big, almost touching the ceiling.

"What kind of witchcraft is this?" Paragus questioned.

"It's not witchcraft, it's science." Athena smiled. "Come on, I've got plenty of food I can use to cook."

A short while later, with Paragus and Broly sitting at the table, Athena was cooking in the kitchen, and she was making a lot of food.

"So, was there a fourth member of your group?" Athena asked.

"Excuse me?" Paragus asked.

"I found the skeleton of your ship's pilot. Was there a fourth member in your party?" Athena inquired.

"No, it was just the two of use on our way here to save my son." Paragus said. "When he died, his flesh was eaten by the Vampa Beetles larva."

"I see." Athena said. 'I guess it makes sense. The bite marks on the bones looked like they were made from extremely sharp teeth.'

"So… where's your ship?" Paragus questioned.

"I didn't come in a ship." Athena said, bringing the food to them.

"Then, how'd you get to planet Vampa?"

"My dad learned a technique called, Instant Transmission, from the Yardrats some years ago, and he taught it to me. I just locked on a strong power level I located, and I used that to get here." Athena said.

"I see. How old are you?"

"I'm sixteen." Athena said. 'Like hell I'm gonna tell him I'm a clone.'

"But, you said Planet Vegeta was destroyed 40 years ago." Paragus said.

"My dad was a baby who was off world when it was destroyed." Athena stated.

"I see." Paragus said, as they dug into Athena's cooking. "Oh, it is so good to eat actual food after so long."

"It's delicious." Broly said wolfing the food down.

"If you don't mind me asking, how did you end up here?" Athena asked.

"That's a bit of a story." Paragus said. "Broly was born around the same time as Prince Vegeta the 4th, and his latent battle power surpassed those of the Prince's, and the King banished my son to this planetoid, Vampa, because he was jealous. So I stole a ship, and I followed the trail, leading us here to Vampa."

"I can imagine Vegeta's father would be the jealous type, just like him." Athena sighed.

"You know the prince?" Paragus questioned dropping his fork. "He's alive?"

"He was off world when Planet Vegeta was destroyed as well. Hell, even my uncle survived because he was part of Vegeta's team." Athena said.

"Where is he? Where is Prince Vegeta? The sins of his father are on his head, and he must pay, his bloodline must be wiped out." Paragus stated, getting to his feet.

"Hey. If you're gonna act like that, then you can forget about me taking you back to my planet." Athena stated. "The sins of Vegeta's father, are not on his head. He was just a baby when Broly was banished here. Vegeta might be the King's son, but he's different from the King. He's prideful, but admits when he's wrong."

"You don't get it. You don't understand." Paragus glared, grabbing Athena by her shirt.

"Hey, get off of me."

"Dad stop." Broly said.

"Stay out of this Broly." Paragus shouted, turning to look at Broly, then back at Athena. "I've waited decades to get my revenge on King Vegeta, but now I can only get revenge by ending his bloodline. So Prince Vegeta, and any children he's had, have to be eliminated."

Athena just glared at Paragus, before she turned into a Super Saiyan, the air force pressure knocking him back as he tore a piece of Athena's top off.

"You will not lay a hand on Vegeta, or his son. I will make sure of it." Athena glared.

Paragus just stared at her, before his brows forwarded, and he grit his teeth.

"Broly, attack her." Paragus said.

Broly looked at his father, before looking back at Athena. He could see that she was just doing what she thought was right, and he couldn't fault her for that. While Athena was looking at him, she could feel an electric current coming off of Broly, specifically around his neck.

"Broly, come here." Athena said.

Broly was surprised Athena would call for him to come forward, but he did, and when he was close enough, he felt a pressure release from his throat, and looked down to see Athena remove the collar, after breaking the connecting joint.

"There, doesn't that feel much better?" Athena asked, reverting from Super Saiyan.

"It does." Broly nodded.

"Do you like fighting?"

"No, I don't like fighting. I like animals." Broly said, before putting a hand on his green waist cloak. "This is, Ba's ear."

"Ba? Is that your pet?"

"My friend. I named him after the sound he'd make."

"That's his left ear correct?"

"It is, but how…"

"I had a run in with a green beast, missing its left ear soon after I got here." She smiled.

"Ba is doing okay?" Broly asked.

"Broly what are you doing? Attack her!" Paragus demanded.

"Shut it old man." Athena said, throwing the collar at him, resulting in it wrapping around his neck. "Broly, if you want I can take you to my planet, where you can choose what you want to do with your life."

"But, what about my dad?" Broly asked.

"Your dad is broken, all he cares about is revenge, and you're nothing but a weapon to him. A weapon he can use to exact his revenge." Athena said.

"Don't listen to her Broly, you will listen to your father and do as I say."

"He was using the collar to control you, but now you're free, and you can choose what you want to do with your life." Athena said, holding up her hand.

Broly looked at Athena's hand, before looking back at his father. All his life, he could remember his father trained him to be a weapon, always saying about how they'd exact their revenge against King Vegeta. While looking back at Athena, he could feel a sort of warmth he'd never felt before coming from her, and he liked it. Looking at her, Broly raised his arm, and took her hand into his.

"Looks like you've made your choice." Athena smiled, grabbing her backpack, and slinging it over her shoulder.

"No. Broly you let go of her right now." Paragus said, grabbing Broly's shoulder. "You are my son, and you will do as I say."

"No dad." Broly said, shaking Paragus's hand off. "I am done. I never wanted revenge I've just wanted to be me, and that's it."

"It's time to go Broly." Athena said. "Goodbye Paragus, I'm sure someone will find your distress signal."

"NO." Paragus shouted, firing a Ki blast at Athena, only for it to miss as she and Broly disappeared, before it could hit her. "BROLY."

Flying out of the hole in the house, Paragus flew to the open mouth of the cave and was out in the open, finding Athena and Broly weren't out there.

"BROLY." Paragus shouted, firing a giant Ki blast into the air, making it explode like a giant firework. "NO. I was so close to getting my revenge. I was so close."

"Perhaps I can help you old man."

Paragus looked up, his gaze landing on someone he'd never seen before, and he certainly didn't look all that friendly.

"How can you help?" Paragus questioned.

"I can give you the power to exact your revenge, on both Vegeta, and the girl who just left."

"Who are you?"

"Oh forgive me, where are my manners? Allow me to introduce myself." He said with a bow. "My name is Cell, and I believe we have a common enemy to defeat."