I wish I owned DBZ, but I don't. I own DVD's and tapes, but it just isn't the same. I also don't own the right to Starcraft or any of the music pieces you see selected, just copies of merchandise, such a shame. The artists that created them are geniuses and we all must bow to them.
Chapter 4: The last of Gero's legacy
Videl spent most of the lecture time recovering, watching us closely.
Hmmm, since I can't sense her ki. Just in case I should call in some backup, "Hey Piccolo!" I called out with my mind.
"What is it kid? Isn't it a bit late for you to be up?" he answered in a grumpy tone.
"Get over to Capsule Corp now! I've discovered a new android! It just tried to take out Videl and I'm about to fight it!"
"WHAT? I'm on my way, be careful!" I closed the connection just in time to see Twenty-one coming my way, fist in the air. She swung just as I put up a hand to block it. Striking it, I found that she was indeed pretty strong, I barely held it off. She tried to kick with her opposite foot, but I jumped out of the way. I landed just in time to see her come at me with great speed. Her knee found my stomach pretty easily. I doubled over in pain, and then she nailed me in the face, sending me down. I was up in an instant, phasing out and around her to catch her off. She was gone when I reached the position, I hadn't even seen or sensed her move, and a kick from behind caught my shoulder. I picked myself up to the sounds of evil laughter as I stumbled forward.
"You see Saiyan, you don't have a chance against me!" Twenty-one claimed.
"That's what you think!" I shouted, letting my pent up of energy flow. Golden waves flew around in the hallway just as I shot into Super Saiyan, the floor cracked a bit where it had been hit.
"Oh yes, the Super Saiyan form. I knew you had this to use, but it still isn't enough!" Let's see what this bitch thinks of Full power! I screamed as I let all of my dormant power out and let it flow through my body, strengthening it. My aura glowed a little brighter now, flames of gold struck the air. I sensed Videl start to get blown back from my power, even though I was trying my hardest to keep the explosive ki contained. C'mon Videl, get moving and wake the boys, I thought though I was continuing to scream. As if she heard me, she got up and ran upstairs. Twenty-one's cocky look had evolved into surprise, then shock when my power soared to its maximum.
"Impossible, your power has risen to almost triple what it was!" Twenty-one claimed.
I grinned, "Oh it's higher than that! Haaaaa!" She started to tremble slightly in her boots. I reached my maximum a few seconds later as the walls were starting to crack a bit under the stress, Saiyan proofed or not.
Twenty-one's shocked expression turned back to determination, "It seems my calculations were a little off. No matter, I can still take you out!"
"Come prove it then!" I shouted, prepping for her assault. She charged ahead and whirled around to hit me from behind, I kicked behind me without looking, hitting her smack in the ribs. I turned and backhanded her away, sending her sprawling to the floor with a nasty thud. She got up quickly and charged again, but I flew ahead and kneed her stomach.
"Ack, where did you get this power?" Twenty-one coughed.
"Hard work feels good doesn't it? Take this!" I yelled, double arm smashing her head. When she hit the floor, her head went through it, getting her stuck. I took the chance to move in and start hammering on her constantly. The harder I punched, the more of a dent I seemed to make. I concentrated on her rib and stomach area, getting her knees occasionally when she tried to kick. After landing countless blows, I power punched her as hard as I could, pulling her head from the floor when she flipped out of control.
"Give it up android, you won't beat me!" I said as I crossed my arms.
"Never, not until my mission is complete!" she yelled back. I fired a ki blast at her then, fully expecting her to dodge it so I could ram her real good. But she did something I didn't expect, she held out her palm and caught it, and then my little ki blast lost power suddenly and vanished in her hand. At the last second of light, I saw a small pink orb in the center of her palm.
Well I won't do that again. I ran forward while she was busy bragging about it, catching her wrist when she tried to grab me. Then I hit an uppercut, sending some blood flying, if it was blood and not oil. Her nose was bleeding pretty bad now along with her mouth.
"You outta get that oil leak fixed you toaster!" I said smugly.
-
I sensed Goten and Trunks wake up and rush our way. When they arrived, both of them gasped.
"Dude, he really is gonna fry her!" Trunks stated in surprise.
"No, she was a nice lady!" Goten shouted. In the next moment he plowed into me in his Super Saiyan form. Goten's inherited strain of protecting the innocent had just been misled, and I quickly recognized what was wrong before overreacting and letting him have it.
"Goten, it's not what you think, she is evil!" I shouted, the heavy blow knocked me aside since I wasn't ready for it. Goten rushed over to Twenty-one, checking her over.
"Are you okay lady?" he asked as he offered out a hand.
"Yes, in fact I feel great now!" She laughed and locked him into a headlock, her hand firm on his neck. Goten's power dropped rapidly.
"Damnit, Trunks she's an android! Get Videl out of here!" I ordered as I stepped forward to free Goten.
"Ah ah ah, any closer and he loses his head!" Twenty-one warned as she sucked the Super Saiyan right out of Goten, and then dropped him promptly.
She stood up steadily and flexed her neck a bit, "Ah, now that is a boost!" I flew at her with a fist outstretched, but this time she caught it and started sucking my ki from it.
"Oh no you don't!" I shouted, kicking at her side. To my dismay, she took the full kick and didn't flinch! I powered up fully again, using all my power just to pull myself free.
"No good Saiyan, I am now stronger!" she laughed as my ki kept leaving me. She absorbed it so fast that I barely took a breath and already half my power was gone.
All of a sudden the door to the lobby we were fighting in shattered, a high-speed object sped in and punched her clean on the wrist, releasing me. I jumped back to see what appeared to be Android Seventeen behind the fist.
"Hi kiddies, need some help?" he said cleverly. I noticed Trunks had taken this chance to grab Goten and haul him over to Videl. Seventeen wasted no time in grabbing Twenty-one"s leg and tossing her out the door, creating a new extra wide entrance.
"Seventeen, what the hell kind of android is that?" I asked, gasping for breath as weakness had now caught up with me.
"That was Dr. Gero's basic model for us, however he was smart enough to install a weak point in her. It is located in the center, around the belly button area. You'll probably have to hit it with an energy blast directly, it will deactivate her instantly." He explained while staring daggers at the door.
"But she absorbs them through her hands," Trunks declared.
"Then we'll have to hit her when her hands are occupied now won't we?" Seventeen said. Twenty-one came flying back in and landed just inside the door.
"Ah, Number Seventeen, good to see you again. Tell me, how is your sister and her lovely daughter?"
"You leave Eighteen and Marron out of this!" Seventeen shouted.
"Nonsense! After I'm through with the Saiyans, I will most definitely track down our sister and that monk husband of hers," Twenty-one cackled.
"No you won't, because you're going to die right here!" Seventeen shouted, motioning Trunks and myself to come over to him.
"Okay kids, here's the plan: Trunks, you and I will attack her head on and get her to separate her hands from her center! Verto, you let her have it when the moment is right!"
"Shouldn't I help you instead, since I am stronger between the two of us? No offence," I said when I drew Trunks' frown.
Seventeen shook his head, "No. From what I heard, you are more precise and have better control of your energy than Trunks is right now. Besides, I'm sure you would love to have the kill right about now."
I nodded, "Got it!"
"Let's go!" Seventeen and Trunks rushed at her, following her outside. I ran out the door to see Twenty-one blocking both fighters blow for blow in the lightning storm above. Okay, must watch for the openings, I thought, charging ki blasts in both hands. See the combination, watch for the opening. Punch Punch, kick, punch, kick kick, punch, open! I fired one straight at her middle. The combination came back around just in time to catch her off, but she swung her knee up and blocked it. Another opening came up and I fired again, but she deflected with her knee again. Damn, I'm not sending enough power to get past her block, wait a sec, I know!
I fired three more before putting two fingers to my forehead area and started charging my power into the tips. My fingers glowed with ki, and I pushed as much as I could into them. I started to lose my Super Saiyan power because of this, but it was no time to conserve power. My aura went down and my Super form dropped, all of the power now in the tips of my fingers. I struggled to hang on to it, but succeeded. Okay robot, let's see you block this one! Conveniently, Trunks and Seventeen grabbed a hold of her arms and spread them out, pulling on them and keeping her in position. She attempted to move her legs to kick them out of the way, but two green hands popped up out of nowhere and grabbed a hold of them as well, locking her down.
"Do it!" Piccolo shouted as he had lengthened his arms to avoid being hit. All right, I've wanted to give this one a try in real battle anyway.
"Special Beam Cannon!" I roared, pointed my fingers straight at her small switch set on her belly. My charged ki let loose like a tidal wave, firing the corkscrew beam that spiraled toward her. She tried to move, but her three captors would have none of it, and she screamed just before the beam hit dead on target. Piccolo, Trunks and Seventeen let go right when it hit, so not to be caught up in the blast. She screamed loudly over the noise of the explosion before going silent. I reached down and held my knees, catching my breath. Damn, I need to master that move, or did she just steal that much energy earlier? The rain and wind cleared out the smoke pretty quickly, showing her floating in mid air, head down and eyes closed, unmoving.
"Did we do it?" I dared whisper. Her shoulders started to move up and down, before the sounds of laughter hit my ears. Oh crap.
"Oh Seventeen, you are a true fool! Did you think after all these years I would keep that stupid little weakness? I smartened up a long time ago and replaced it with an energy absorber! Now I am more powerful than all of you combined!"
"Shit!" I cursed, dropping back to my knees.
"I must admit, that tiny Saiyan has some serious firepower, however it is no match for our creator's technology!" she claimed. I glanced at Trunks and Goten. Goten was down and out, therefore no fusion there. I was very low on power now as well, so I couldn't fuse with Trunks either. Trunks, Piccolo and Seventeen would only last so long, so it was still up to me. Well, time for the trump card since I'm out of power anyway, I thought as I charged my last ki into a white power ball. I shot it into the air, past Twenty-one and the others that were free floating. Twenty-one fired a small beam and destroyed it before it hit the sky. My eyes shot open in shock.
"Nah na na, I'm not letting you do that!" Damn, how does she know about that? I decided to wait till later to find out, shooting constant white ki balls into the sky. To my great dismay, she picked them all off easily, before kicking Trunks and Seventeen to the ground. I was out of breath now, I held my last ounce of ki in my palm. Piccolo tossed his turban and cape off and started to engage her in close combat. She was busy fending him off when I fired it into the sky. It zoomed on by and hit it's mark.
"Moon blast explode!" I shouted, pulling my hand into a fist. The light exploded and flooded my eyes. My transformation began slowly like always, my fur grew first. New ki entered my body now, and I used it to float into the air and begin powering up. She looked down and me and realized what was going on. She blasted my fake moon quickly, and I was too busy going through the pain of change to do anything. The moon ball blew up, along with any chance I had to beat her. My power faded with my fur and I fell from the sky, landing on the ground hard.
"Damn, so close!" I coughed, turning my head to see her knock Piccolo away and then blast him. He fell from the sky a second later, his body smoking a little from her hit.
"Say goodbye!" she smiled evilly, charging a huge blast over her head. The light from it became blinding and I couldn't see her. My ki sense suddenly flared to life picking up something from Twenty-one. The huge blast faded, revealing someone holding both of her wrists together.
"What, what are you doing here!" She screamed in shock.
"Destroying you!" came the familiar voice. I squinted a bit to see, there had been a little blood in my eyes. I was so exhausted that I would blackout pretty soon, so it was a bit blurry. But when the ki I sensed rose greatly, I was able to identify it's user.
"Another android from Dr. Gero? You would think he would learn even in his grave!" Gohan said sternly, clamping down on Twenty-one's wrists, his mystic power generated lightning around him. He arched back a little before swinging his arm the other way, ripping her wrists right off her arms! Then he punched her gut so hard that her back broke open, showering the ground with oily metal parts.
He drew back with a knife hand, "Goodbye android!" He swung and beheaded her, then swung the remains into the air.
"Kamehameha!" The huge blue blast swallowed the remains and destroyed them easily, returning to the storm that continued. I stumbled to my feet as Gohan came floating down. Trunks and Videl came over, Piccolo and Seventeen soon thereafter.
"Thanks Gohan, that bitch was a bit hard to handle once she took our energy," I said, holding my ribs.
"Piccolo informed me of what was happening on his way here. I'm just surprised I didn't catch on sooner. She was emitting a ki signal earlier, but sometimes it faded out. That should have been my first clue," Gohan said in distain.
"There was no way you could have been able to tell without extraordinary awareness, and according to what you told me, her disguised behavior was excellent," Piccolo said, supporting his eldest student, "However, that doesn't explain how she was able to fool you into sensing a false signal," he said, looking a bit concerned.
Seventeen however found the reason pretty fast as he looked over the scrap metal. "It's blood, real blood. She still had human parts with her, somewhere. Perhaps it was a heart or a lung, it's hard to tell now. That likely produced the living echo that you picked up on," he explained.
"Well kid, you saved my butt again!" Videl said, slapping my back a little harder than I wanted it touched at the time.
"Yeah, no problem," I groaned.
Gohan laughed a little, "I think your embarrassing him again Videl."
"Just wait till I tell them what I was going to do with you later tonight!" Videl said. It was Gohan's turn to blush deep crimson and back up a step.
"Well we're off, Seventeen and I have some training to do. Good job kid in contacting me when you did, that was smart of you to do instead of just trying on your own," Piccolo complimented as lifted in the air alongside Seventeen.
"Funny how he always leaves once the crises is over," Trunks said bitterly.
"Is Goten okay?" Videl asked.
"Yeah, he and Verto just need a good sleep and a large meal in the morning, he'll be just fine. Now I do need to get back to the house, because of this, I've got something to take care of in the morning." Gohan said lifting off.
"Why you running Gohan? Is your Girlfriend gonna give you cooties?" Trunks yelled after him.
-
Videl grabbed some towels and busily helped us dry off for a few minutes. I could barely move enough to say no, so I didn't bother trying to stop her, nor could Goten.
"I have it in mind to have you both take another bath, but it can wait till morning," Videl said, wiping her brow. She guided Trunks into his room while carrying Goten, who was sleeping peacefully. After she was done with them, Trunks' ki dropped pretty quick, signaling that he fell asleep instantly. She came back in the living room where I sat, trying to stay awake but lying on my stomach as well.
"Well kid, this is what the third time you've saved my ass?" she asked.
"Something like that," I muttered.
"Keep that up and I may have to change my choice of boyfriend to you," she giggled. I barely heard her though; sleep was starting to win its battle over me. She picked me up and hoisted my over her shoulder, walking up the stairs. Geez, just leave me alone so I can sleep.
"Well you keep saving me, and I'll take good care of you. Too bad your not older, we could make something of it!" she laughed again. As she walked into my room, she patted my tail slightly; shedding whatever awareness I had in the process. She placed me in the bed, though my eyes were already shut. She bent down and gave me another small kiss on the forehead.
"Thank you Verto, I know Gohan thanks you too!" She tossed the blanket over me just as I fell into blackness, this time my dreams were pleasant.
-
I awoke slowly, still feeling a bit weak after last night's battle. I staggered off the bed and hunted down a clean set of clothes. Throwing them on, I pulled open the door and went down stairs. The thick smell of food beckoned me to the kitchen, where the little terrors were already digging in.
"Well, look who's up, it's only lunchtime!" Videl said, slightly annoyed.
"Oh give me a break, I'm a bit whipped here," I moaned, grabbing a chair and sitting down. Instantly the robots wheeled over and stacked up plates full of wonderful smelling food in front of me. Without thinking, I dug into the first plate I saw, woofing it down in about seven seconds.
"Whipped huh?" she said with a smirk. I gave Videl her annoyed look back before tearing apart another plate. Sometime around plate number eight, Gohan showed up in the room.
"So how did it go Gohan?" Videl asked.
"Went without a hitch. Seventeen showed me where the other lab was and I blew it up, there was a lot more than just her left behind there. Let's just say I'm glad I found it all now, some of the things I saw I'd rather avoid seeing again. Like that big android marked Thirteen, he didn't look like he'd be fun to fight," Gohan said, shaking his head as he noticed me, "I see he awoke from the dead."
"Close enough, only two days until Bulma and Vegeta come back, not to mention your parents too. What are we going to tell them?" Videl sounded concerned while twirling some pasta on her fork.
"The Twruph ug courf!" Gohan said with a full mouth, he couldn't resist a round of food in front of him.
"Saiyans," Videl shook her head.
Gohan quickly gulped down a small load, "Sorry, we'll tell them exactly what happened and that it's been resolved. That should keep Vegeta, Bulma and my mother happy. Dad will be sad that he missed out on a battle."
"Hmph, that's his problem," I remarked.
"So what are we doing today Videl?" Goten asked, excited to know.
"I know, how about we all head to one of the water parks! Some recreational swimming would be good on those sore spots!" Videl brightened up suddenly, making me darken down fast.
"You're kidding right?" I asked, dead serious.
"No, we should, it'll be fun!"
"Yeah, if everyone walks away without injury and mental trauma, not to mention if the park stays intact," I muttered. A lovely metal object come into contact with my head a half second later, making my head ring into the waking world.
Videl put away the Doom pan quickly, "Now we can't we ever have a little fun once in a while? These two will be good, RIGHT?" She directed her glare at the boys, who nodded slowly.
Gohan looked unsure of himself on this one, "I dunno Videl, Mom wants me to study hard this weekend."
"Oh come on Gohan! Fine, I'll call Sharpner and Erasa and we can study at your house!" Videl suggested, heading for the phone.
"Ugh, okay I'll go," Gohan pleaded.
She gave me a mean glance, "Well?"
"Okay, but I know we're going to regret this," I said, getting up and heading upstairs for my swim trunks, the boys went blazing by in a dance.
Power levels:
Videl: 370
Goten: 35,000,000, SS: 97,000,000
Trunks: 37,000,000, SS: 99,000,000
Verto: 54,000,000, SS: 183,000,000
Seventeen: 83,000,000
Piccolo: 190,000,000
Twenty-one: 120,000,000, after absorbing Goten's power: 240,000,000; after Verto's power (including the beam cannon): 360,000,000
Gohan (Mystic): 525,000,000
A/N: I know I ended things pretty quickly here for android Twenty-one, but it is only the start of the second day of babysitting the brats. She wasn't the main point of it anyway. Plus I needed an enemy to start things off, a disguised babysitter sounded very appropriate.