Chapter 1: Human
Rain poured down from the skies that were filled with black clouds, lighting could be seen striking in the distance as the sound of thunder echoed all around. Trunks was in his time machine that was parked on the ground in front of a large building that had a Capsule Corp. logo on it. He leaned back in his chair and looked up at the sky thinking about how beautiful it was not even 5 minutes ago.
"Why'd it have to be raining?" he thought to himself as the sound of rain pitter pattered on the glass dome to his machine. Even though it looked horrible outside, the sound of the rain gave a weird sense of calm as it hit the glass and ran down the side. Trunks closed his eyes and listened to the rain for a few moments before he pulled in a deep breath and released it as a sigh. He opened his eyes and pressed a button on the control panel and prepared to get out.
After he hopped out of the machine and landed on the cracked pavement, he looked around seeing all of the destroyed buildings that littered the place. It was almost a miracle that the one building he needed to be there was still there, damaged, but standing. He pressed a button on the side of the time machine, returned it to it's capsule form, picked it up and placed it back in a small container along with other capsules. He took a breath and exhaled to calm himself as he turned and began to walk towards the building. As he approached he felt nervous, "How long has it been?... I hope she's okay." Trunks thought to himself as he reached the doors.
Looking down at the panel next to a door, he punched in a code and then the doors slowly slid open as he peered inside. He took a few steps into the building and realized a few lights were on, then he stepped fully inside as the doors closed behind him. He looked around the lobby that stretched down to a desk with a door on each side. That's when he locked eyes with a blue haired woman who was holding a box of tools in her hand. Her hair was long and was in an unkept ponytail, her eyes had bags under them, indicating some sleepless nights. The woman's eyes widened upon seeing Trunks when all of a sudden, she dropped her tool box and rushed towards him with her arms stretched out wide and tears forming in her eyes. Her arms tightly wrapped around Trunks as her head hit his chest;
"Trunks!" She cried out "I-...I never thought I'd see you again, I was so scared something bad might've happened." The woman said as she began to cry into him as Trunks returned the hug.
"H-hey mom." He responded slowly "I'm sorry I wasn't back sooner, I moved as fast as I could." he added. The woman that just hugged Trunks is his mother; Bulma Briefs. She is the owner of The Capsule Corporation after her father and mother passed away. Bulma slowly removed her hold on him and pulled back, whipping away her tears and exclaiming how much she missed him when she looked up at him with a confused look, she blinked a few times and spoke;
"Since... when did you get so tall?" Bulma asked as she placed her hand on her head then reached up and ruffled his hair seemingly comparing their heights. She smiled warmly and added. "Although I like it, it could use a trim." to which Trunks laughed nervously.
[=X=][=X=]
Trunks and his mother sat and talked for what seemed like forever about his trip to the past. She had also cooked something for them to eat and boiled some water for tea as they talked. He didn't leave a single detail out, not even about the part where he died. She was, understandably, horrified at that but was thankful that he was brought back and was now fine. Now, he didn't go over everything as it might've taken too long to explain, but everything he did tell her, was told to its fullest.
"A whole year with him huh? Well, that explains the height. I doubt it was easy though." Bulma said with a chuckle.
"It wasn't that bad, all we did was train and yell at each other." Trunks said.
After a few more chuckles Bulma's face expression changed as her next question unnerved Trunks a little. "Figured. So, if made other androids in the past, do you think they could be here as well?" Bulma asked with a bit of worry in her voice.
"I don't think so, I think me going back is actually what drove him to create more." Trunks responded. "But, even if they are here, I'm strong enough to defeat them," he added confidently.
Bulma rested her hand on her chin as she seemed to be thinking of something. "Yeah, I guess you're right." she said while shrugging.
"Speaking of androids. How have things been here while I was away?" Trunks asked hesitantly. Bulma stared at him blankly before her face changed to what looked to be a mix of confusion and excitement.
"Oh!" Bulma expelled as she rubbed her head. "How did I almost forget! Ok so, about a 2 weeks ago there was this-" she said before being cut off by a surprised Trunks
"Hold on, what? 2 weeks?! How long was I gone?" Trunks frantically asked.
The woman sighed "37 days." she said in a tired voice. This shocked Trunks as he wasn't expecting such a huge time dilation. He thought he'd be gone a few days at most, maybe even a week at max, but an entire month? He couldn't imagine what she went through- what the world went through without him.
"That long?" He responded in a horrified voice.
"Yes, but don't worry, everything is fine. So, 2 weeks ago-" She continued.
=X= FLASHBACK - 2 Weeks Ago =X=
"Not again!" A frustrated Bulma yelled as she broke another screw to something she was working on. "If I keep this up, I won't have any screws left to finish the damn thing." Bulma thought to herself while removing the now broken screw. She stood up and walked over to a desk that had blueprints splattered all over it. She moved a pencil and a ruler along with a few other things to reveal a blueprint underneath.
"I wonder if I'll be able to repair it by the time he gets back." Bulma thought as she scanned over the blueprint when, all of a sudden, she heard the radio blare as a radio station news reporter began to talk.
"Emergency broadcast! Central Capital is currently under attack by the killer Androids, we encourage all residents and anyone in the area to evacuate immediately." a woman explained as calmly as possible but still sounded panicked.
"It's a shame the world has to be constantly under fire by such a menace. These androids are just as foul as the once feared 'Demon King Piccolo' and as destructive as the attack of the Saiyan's. And with the Golden Warrior out of the picture, this attack may be the end of yet another city." A man added in a somber tone.
"Dammit! Those poor people did nothing wrong and yet they're being slaughtered for no reason other than being play- things for those animals..." Bulma said aloud. The two people on the radio continued their commentary on the situation when all of a sudden one of them frantically started to speak.
"-wait what's going on now?" The man questioned. "I see," he continued. "To our listeners and viewers at home; There has been a report of a mystery man, fighting the Androids."
Bulma's eyes widened slightly at hearing what was being said but then, "Wait, 'viewers?'" she questioned as her eyes widened even more at figuring out what he meant. They had cameras and if they had cameras she could see what was happening. So with that in mind, Bulma rushed into the living room and turned on the T.V and sure enough, they had cameras, so she watched on intently.
[=X=][=X=]
"This is Jimmy Firecracker, reporting to you live from Central Capital. As you can probably tell from the explosion in the background, the terrifying Androids are currently attacking and it is not safe! Fortunately or unfortunately for us, a mysterious man has just been spotted fighting them as we speak!" the reporter said as the distant screams and cries from the pedestrians joined the background explosions. "Point the camera up over there." The reporter added seemingly talking to the cameraman who tilted the camera upwards to the sky where it then zoomed in on 3 figures now hovering in the sky.
[=X=][=X=]
"Say, whatever happened to that kid?" 18 asked while pointing her finger down towards the city below.
"Who?" 17 questioned as he hovered next to her while also pointing down towards the city.
At the tip of 18's finger was a small orb that glowed pink but then it slowly started to gain mass
"Ugh, you know who. The one who's been fighting us. Where do you think he went?" 18 asked as the orb started to slow and eventually stop its growth as if complete.
"OH! That kid. Yeah, what was his name again? And I don't know what happened, last time we fought him we didn't find his body, so maybe he was desegregated." 17 replied while gathering his own small glowing orb that quickly reached the same size as 18's.
"I think it was 'Trunks' and that's too bad, kinda miss the runt." 18 said as her and 17's charge orbs started to float down towards the city.
"Ugh. Don't tell me you've fallen for him or something, that'll be like the 4th guy you've crushed on, all of which turned you down." 17 said in a teasing manner.
"Up yours. And I just miss the fun, these humans are all the same, he actually was a change of pace to this boring nonsense. Also, this isn't as fun as it was when we first started. Getting real' tired of it." she explained
"Yeah, same here. I actually feel kinda bad for them." he replied with a chuckle. "Then again, it was funny to see them think they had a chance when they tried to defend against us with those jets and tanks, now that was fun." he finished as the two orbs from earlier started to gain speed and get closer to the city.
All of a sudden the two orbs were met by a kick that sent them flying back towards the two as they dodged them and watched them fly off into the distance, then explode. "The fuck?!" 17 shouted as 18 and he turned their attention back towards the city.
"You got a death wish or something?!" 18 shouted as she and 17 starred down the figure that stood before them.
Wearing what seemed to be armor that was black, gray and some accents of red stood a man. He was wearing an odd black porcelain mask with a symbol on it's left cheek and nearly one fourth of the right side was red. His hair was long and was a shade of brown as It was styled backwards with a hair tie to prevent vision obstruction.
The man offered no response as he just stared back at them. Then, he pulled his arms in and started to gather Ki. His spiky white-ish Ki slowly shifted into a purple hue. After a few seconds the man stood straight again and stared down 17 and 18.
"Well, that's something you don't see everyday. Aside from the ones we've put down all those years ago, I didn't think humans were capable of anything he's doing right now." 17 said.
"That doesn't matter!" 18 angrily spat as she looked towards 17 before turning back to the mystery man. "I hope you enjoyed your life, because you're about to take your last breath, asshole!" she shouted as her colorless Ki swirled around her.
18 rushed towards the man and threw a punch aimed at his head, surprisingly, he dodged the punch then he quickly rushed forward and punched her in the face instead. He then grabbed her leg and began to spin around, getting faster and faster with each rotation before throwing her towards a building. 18 stopped in the air while covering her mouth and nose, when she turned back towards the man she gave him a glare that could kill. She rocketed up back towards him, but this time she increased her speed and power.
When she reached him she prepared to throw a punch at the man's head again, but just before she hit him, the man tried to block it, but instead of blocking her attack she vanished and reappeared behind. She then delivered a powerful kick to his shoulder, sending him clambering to the ground and creating a small crater.
"Prick." 18 said to herself while spitting out some blood.
"Well, it looks like someone was a bit stronger than you thought, huh?" 17 called out to 18 in a teasing tone from a building he landed on. He was standing on the edge with his arms crossed holding back laughter. 18 snapped back to look at him.
"Shut up." 18 replied with an annoyed tone while looking back down at the crater she made using the mystery guy's body. Just then, a barrage of blasts came flying up at her to which she just barely dodged. She looked back down at the crater with her face now twisted with anger. "Bastard! Now I'm gonna make your death slow and pa-"
"Above you!" 17 yelled cutting her off, when she looked up she was met by the man grabbing her face and then rushing down towards the ground, slamming the back of her head into the ground causing a small crater. The man then charged up a Ki blast against her face that exploded, he did this a twice more causing the crater to expand slightly each time.
18 grabbed the man's forearm and quickly clamped her hands tightly around it. The metal of the vambrace folded under the pressure and then she snapped the man's arm up as she flicked her wrists forward. The man quickly let go of 18's face who was just lying there with barely a scratch on her aside from her clothes being a bit tattered. She sat up and looked at the man with a smug expression as he stumbled back while holding his arm. The man looked down at his arm and stared for a second and then he did something that made 18's skin crawl, he grabbed ahold of his wrist, pulled it and kneed his bone back into place causing another bend in the forearm guard.
18 dry heaved at the sight "Ugh! Gross! What the hell is wrong with you? Why the hell did you do that?" She demanded to know with frustration building in her voice with every word. But the man didn't say anything, he just stood there holding his arm and breathing heavily as he stared at her, which only angered her more. "Fine, continue to play this little silent treatment game of yours, you'll be pleading soon." she added as she stood up and then rushed towards the man while throwing a punch.
The man just barely dodged her punch as he followed up with an attack of his own in the form of his own punch with his good arm, but it was blocked by 18's palm. He tried kicking, but that was also blocked. 18 quickly moved then rushed forward and kicked the man backwards into the wall of the crater.
"You know, you aren't winning this, but I'm sure you already know this." 18 stated as she watched the man struggle to get up. "Rather than being an excitement, you're getting increasingly annoying, which means you're becoming useless. Not to mention how you ruined my clothes. Now It's time for your little suicided mission to come to an end." she added. The man took a step back as his posture grew tense. 18 visibly inhaled and exhaled as she quickly rushed towards the man while preparing another punch.
The masked stranger raised his arm to block it, but failed as the hit landed and gave him an instant headache. She then brought her other hand up and hit hard in the chest causing the metal of his breastplate to fold under the force. He nearly collapsed under the pain that shot through him, but managed to keep standing until 18 kicked him in the chin hard enough to crack his mask and shot him up into the air.
She then quickly followed him up and slammed her elbow into his stomach knocking him back down, but before he could go far, her knee made contact with his back keeping him in place for a second. She let out a close ranged blast that sent him flying and skipping across the ground before coming to a stop against a parked car.
"You know, at first I thought that armor was pointless, but when I was trying to put a hole in your chest earlier, it didn't work out, guess I was wrong. But, since you survived, I guess I'll make you beg for death instead." 18 said as she slowly walked toward while moving a lock of her hair from her face and behind her ear.
The way the fire flickered across her face along with the destruction behind her was eerie. Her mouth was twisted into a grin and her eyes were narrowed slightly. The man leaned against the car with left arm raised and his hand clutching the side of the car.
When she got close enough, the man gripped the car door, tore it off its blots and threw it at her. 18, of course, knocked the door away easily, but was shocked that the man was no longer there. She frantically looked around for the man and even blew up the car out of frustration "Shit" she thought bitterly as she continued to look around "That slippery fuck. He couldn't have gone that far." , but then 17's voice came from behind her.
"Look at who I found." 17 called out "Seems I've caught an escapee," he added. 18 turned towards 17 who was holding the mysterious man by the hair. "What a shame it is too, you were sooo close." 17 said with a chuckle. "Now then… let's see if all humans go 'splat' the same." 17 added while dropping the man who just limply fell and crashed onto the ground.
18 sighed in relief "Jeez, for a second there I was worried I wasn't gonna get to hear him beg for his life." she expressed while walking over to the man who was slowly trying to get up. 17 landed next to her and watched her stroll over.
"That's a weird obsession, but you'd best be thankful that I was here, otherwise your blind ass wouldn't have found him." 17 taunted.
"You should be the last person to talk about 'weird obsessions', Nature Boy." 18 shot back.
"Heyyy, there's nothing wrong with wanting to be a park ranger, it's better than wanting to be some stupid fashion model." 17 retorted
"Fuck off." 18 said while crouching down in front of the man. She reached down and gripped the man's hair, pulling him up to look at him, but she couldn't. The one thing that irradiated her the most besides his reluctance to make a sound, was this dumb mask he was wearing, so she grabbed hold of it with her free hand and then ripped it off then crushed it.
18's eyes widened upon seeing the man's face she couldn't help but to smile. "Oh wow, I wasn't expecting such a cutee. Now I don't know if I should kill you now or make you my new pet." she swooned as she turned his head side to side to examine him further.
"Careful now, 18. Wouldn't want that one to run away like the rest." 17 said.
"That just means I'll have to keep a tighter leash." 18 answered while gripping the man's hair tighter. "Wouldn't you agree?" she asked as she gazed into the man's eyes
"Fuck you." The man finally spoke. His voice was raspy as blood ran down from his lip to his chin.
18 chuckled at his response. "What a filthy mouth you have. The first time you speak, you threaten me with a good time, naughty boy. I'm going to have to punish you for-"
The mystery man flung his mouth open as if was going to shout, but instead of a yell or cry for help, a white glow suddenly appeared and got brighter.
"What the-" was the only thing 18 said before she just barely dodged a beam of Ki shot from the man's mouth. Instead of the beam hitting 18 like intended it flew past her and hit 17 and caused a small explosion kicking dirt and debris up.
Using this small distraction the man grabbed his now broken mask and flipped backwards into the sky and started to take off as fast as he could, but as he was making his way out of the city he was cut off by 18 who had a less than pleased look.
"Seems like somebody needs to be taught a lesson." 18 spat with annoyance. She quickly vanished then reappeared in front of the man, punched him in the face and sent him flying backwards back into the city. The man's aura flared up as he stopped himself from flying further, but when he looked up, he was kneed in the stomach by 18, causing the purple hue in his aura to fade into its original white before vanishing.
The man backed up while clutching his stomach and breathing shallowly. 18 had a blank expression as she watched him move. The man suddenly reached out and launched a blast at 18's head, which she dodged by simply tilting her head, but that turned out to be a mistake as some of her hair was struck and burned by the heat of the blast. 18 grabbed a hold of some of the blonde strands and looked at the darkened parts. She took in a deep breath, released the hold on her hair and turned back to the man.
"I've decided what to do with you…" she said and then she rushed forward and unleashed a barrage of punches and then ended it with a kick that sent him to the ground and caused a small crater.
17 flew up beside 18 as she held of her hand
"Time to die." she added while charging up a pink-ish orb like before, but this one was several times bigger.
"What happened to him being your pet? Don't tell me he was too much trouble for you." 17 teased
"He burned some of my hair and now I'll have to cut it. He's a pain." 18 sternly said as the orb of ki got even larger.
"Alright. That's understandable. Buuut I'm gonna have to stop you. As much as I'd like to see that brat blown to pieces with the rest of this place, who's to say we'll ever get someone like him again to keep us entertained?" 17 questioned
"He burned my hair and you know how long it takes to grow back…" 18 said as she looked over to 17
"Yeah, but he blasted me in the face with a beam he shot from his mouth. But you don't see me complaining." 17 stated
"It was aimed at me. And you still have all of your hair." 18 said in a resentful tone.
"I get it, but still, we'll be pretty bored without 'em." 17 said with a shrug
18 sighed as she knew he was right. "Fine, I guess he's allowed to live to see another day." She stated as she dismissed her attack. "But in the meantime, we're checking out the next town over, maybe they'll have some clothes that suit me since these are ruined now." she added while looking herself over.
17 nodded and then looked down "Hey kid! Today's your lucky day, we're leaving and you got a second chance at life, pal! See ya!" and with that, 17 and 18 then took off leaving the man on his back in a crater below.
[=X=][=X=]
"I- I can't believe it. The android's attack has ceased and they're taking off! The mysterious man just saved our lives!" The reporter cheered into his microphone. The camera barely kept focus on the fight as they were moving too fast and the cameraman just couldn't keep up, and the constant rumbling and shockwaves didn't help. "Over there!" The reporter suddenly shouted while pointing to small clearing in the destroyed streets. The man who defended against the androids was slowly climbing out of the ditch. "Let's go see who our mystery savoir is." the reporter added while running over to the collapsed man.
"A-are you alright sir? We can get you medical assistance i-" the reporter said but was cut off by the man raising a hand at him.
"No." was the only thing he said. It was gritty and sounded very forced. He slowly hovered up off of the ground and turned to leave.
"Wait a second! Can we at least know the name of the man who saved us?" the reporter quickly asked, but the man remained silent as he flew off.
=X= End Flashback =X=
"And that's what happened, at least from what the cameras could pick up." Bulma stated.
"That guy… It's crazy to think there was another person who was capable of fighting those two, even if he nearly lost his life. He's pretty brave." Trunks said.
"I thought he was stupid, but he held his own pretty well and save the city from destruction, and managed to come out alive. So, I guess he is brave." Bulma added.
Trunks nodded in agreement "He knew the risks and still took them. So, has anything else happened since I've been away?" he questioned.
"Yeah actually. There have been reports of people going missing and towns of people completely vanishing, while only leaving clothes behind." Bulma explained and when she finished her sentence Trunks had a concerned look on his face.
"And when did those start to come in?" Trunks quickly asked.
"Um, 3-4 days ago." Bulma responded slightly unsure.
"This soon? I thought I'd have a year or two before he showed up." Trunks thought to himself. His inner turmoil was caught by Bulma who grew worried.
"What's the matter?" Bulma hesitantly asked.
Trunks looked at her with a concerned expression contemplating if he should tell her or not but he decided to let her know. "It's… Cell. He's trying to gain enough power to absorb the androids, he did the same thing in the past as well."
"Hold on… the thing that killed you is here and is gaining power?!" Bulma frantically asked in a panicked voice.
"There's no need to be concerned, mom." Trunks calmly stated "I'm way stronger than he is, so no matter how much power he gains, as long as he doesn't get both of the androids, I can beat him." he stated confidently to reassure her.
Bulma sighed a breath of relief "Well, that's good to hear. For a second there I was going crazy." She stated. "So, do you like it?" Bulma questioned while removing a chair cloth from around Trunks' neck.
Trunks picked up a hand held mirror and peered into it and smiled. "Yeah, it's great. Thanks." His hair was now cut to hang just below his chin and was no longer laying on his shoulders.
Bulma stretched. "Good. Well, that's enough for today, I'm tired. I'll be turning in for the night. Goodnight, I love you." she added with a warm smile.
Trunks returned the smile and stood as well. "Love you too, goodnight. I think I'll get some rest as well after I clean up this hair. Oh, and tomorrow I'll put a stop to the androids, then I'll go to see if I can find that mystery guy. " he said to which Bulma nodded and walked off.
And with that, they were both caught up with everything that has happened to one another.
[END+++++END+++++END]
Trunks: Threat Level; 11
-Super Saiyan: 55
-Super Trunks: 66
-Grade 3: 88
Android 18: Threat Level; 7
-Maximum Output: 28
Android 17: Threat Level; 7
-Maximum Output: 30
Masked Stranger: Threat Level: ?
-Inhuman Power: ?
For comparison:
Future Gohan: 3
-Super Saiyan: 15
Teen Gohan (Cell Games): 15
-Super Saiyan: 90
-Super Saiyan 2: 150
Cell (Past or main timeline: Human Absorption): 35
-Imperfect Cell: 65
(Cell Games)
-Perfect Cell: 93
-Perfect Cell + Zenkai from Vegeta's Final Flash 98
-Perfect Cell + Zenkai from Goku fight: 110
-Super Perfect Cell: 140
Here are the multipliers for Super Saiyan: Not here to debate scaling btw.
Ssj = 5x (Think 50x)
Grade 2 = 6x (Think 60x)
Grade 3 = 8x (Think 80x)
M Ssj = 5x (Think 50x)
Ssj2 = 10x (Think 100x)
(A/N: Yes, the "Masked Stranger" is an OC, I know a lot of people aren't fans of OCs, but he'll be useful for FUTURE events... See what I did there? "Future" eve-... you know what? Nevermind. If you have any questions, ask away. If you enjoyed this and want to see more just let me know and I'll work on the next chapter.)
Song Name: Human By Rag'n'Bone