"Kaji 'Killer Kroc' Keiyama, you have been charged with nine counts of 1st degree murder. How do you plead?"
He looked up at the judge... a German shepard dressed appropriately in his role, and looked down at the reinforced steel chains that bound him, a muzzle over his face. Despite this, he managed a toothy grin as the burly crocodile morph answered the judge.
"... guilty."
The canine judge nodded. "Mr. Keiyama... you are the worst creature ever to step into my courtroom. You have confessed to killing and devouring nine innocent human women. Women who had rich vibrant lives ahead of them, and you in your sick and twisted actions, have taken those lives from them in the worst way possible. Before I pass sentence, have you anything to say in your final defense?"
"... you pretend to be so righteous..." the croc morph muttered. "Come now, we're animals. Our instincts are simple. Kill. Eat. Mate. Don't tell me, that when you see a cute human girl bouncing down the street you're actually attracted to her sexually... that's sick! No, the real response would be to seize her in your jaws, shake her like a rag doll until she stops screaming and eating her! Humans are food! WE should be the ones hunting them down, ripping them apart and eating their tangy meat! We--"
The judge banged his gavel. "That's enough, I've heard enough! We've had a mutual understanding with humankind for centuries! And it's... animals like you that give honest hard-working morphs a bad reputation. It is hereby the decision of this court that you, Mr. Kaji Keiyama, be sentenced to death by lethal injection."
"Hmph... putting me to sleep, now? Figures... you domesticated neutered piece of--"
"GUARDS! Get this... THING out of my sight!" And the guards quickly acted, carting the laughing croc morph away.
---
Seven years, five months later.
"This isn't good..." Detective Leah Gold... a beautiful red-haired woman in her late twenties... looked around in the blood-spattered college dorm, the scene of a gruesome crime. "Officer, how many?"
"... nine..." the panda morph police officer answered. "All human, all female. A couple of them... we've only been able to find an arm or a leg."
"... cripes, that's his M.O. all right..." Leah sighed, glancing at a blood-stained shroud covering what was left of a victim. "Double K sure didn't waste any time starting the killing spree back up... coroner's on the way?"
"Yes, ma'am... uhm..." the officer cocked his head inquisitively. "... what does he do with the bodies?"
"He eats them. Whole or piece by piece, alive or dead. But it's always messy."
"... oh..." the panda officer now looked as if he were sorry he even asked.
"Seven years ago my father was the one who caught him. Double K took his legs but he still got beat. Dad's career was over but he always said it was worth it to see Double K behind bars." Leah paused, hearing her cellphone go off, and she quickly answered it. "Gold."
"Leah..." the voice of Police Chief Lupisen from her cellphone. "... Double K's struck again... you better get down here ASAP."
"Damn..." Leah shook her head. "Okay, where're you at?"
"... your place..."
"..." A feeling of dread suddenly shot through Leah like a bullet in the heart, and Leah swiftly turned on a heel and bolted down the stairs, exiting the dorm and getting on her motorcycle, tearing off down the road like a bat out of hell, ignoring the speed limit signs entirely as she exceeded 130 miles per hour. It took her only five minutes to get to the apartment building where she and her girlfriend Amy Freeman had lived, and seeing the squad cars and the ambulance parked in front only added to Leah's foreboding dread.
God no, not her... please don't take her from me!
"Leah!" Lupisen was the first to greet her as she quickly dismounted from her bike.
"Where is she?!" demanded Leah. "WHERE'S AMY?!!"
"She's alive, Leah... the EMTs got to her in time, and... and stopped the bleeding..."
"... bleeding..."
"... Double K took one of her arms... and a leg, too..."
"..." Leah blinked, then turned her head, noticing the EMTs wheeling a pretty blonde girl out. She noticed the empty spots where her right leg and left arm should be, and she felt sick to her stomach. Quickly she rushed over to her side, taking ahold of her remaining right hand, squeezing it tight. "Amy... I'm here, baby... I'm sorry... God, I'm sorry..."
Amy weakly squeezed her hand back, opening her lovely ruby red eyes as she managed a small smile. "... love you..." she whispered, tears welling up in her eyes.
"I love you too..." Leah replied, her own tears falling as she joined Amy in the back of the ambulance. "He'll pay for this... I promise, Amy... I promise..."
THE 18TH
"The Sickness"
By
Ken Blackwell
"Screw that!!" Leah shouted at Lupisen, the two in his office. "You're NOT taking me off this case!! Kurtis, please!! I NEED this case!!"
"Leah, I'm sorry..." Lupisen replied. "... but ever since Amy was... attacked, this has become way too personal for you! You're not thinking clearly!"
"My thoughts're as clear as crystal here!" Leah retorted.
"Far from it! Leah, as far as I know you could gun Double K down in cold blood without following the letter of the law!"
"Well, he IS a reptile."
"..." Lupisen sighed softly. "Leah, I can understand your position, believe me. If anything ever happened to my daughter I'd probably fly off the deep end, too. But... you know just as well as I do that there are procedures that must be followed. You've become too emotionally involved in this case and I don't want you to do something that you, Amy, and everyone else who cares about you will regret. Leah... please. Just step away from this. I don't want to suspend you. You're too good a cop for that."
Leah lowered her head, defeated as she sighed. "... promise me you'll nail that bastard to the wall, sir..."
"Don't worry, we will... he'll screw up, and we'll get him." Lupisen stood up and pat Leah on the shoulder. "Now go home, get some rest, Leah. You look like hell."
"Yessir... thank you, sir..." Leah turned and walked away, exiting Lupisen's office and the precinct, mounting her motorcycle and riding down the road.
They can't catch Double K... I know that son of a bitch better than anyone. But there's no way I can take him on my own, that's all-out suicide. But I DO know someone who can help...
Leah turned a corner, driving towards the familiar dome-shaped structure of the world famous Capsule Corporation building.
---
"This is really amazing!" Dr. Briefs remarked as his daughter and the hired crew worked diligently at refitting Nappa's former space pod; in order to accommodate a small crew it was disassembled, and extra parts and materials were called upon to rebuild it into a bigger craft. "The universe is vast... I guess there are smarter geniuses than me."
"Don't be impressed... help me, Dad!" Bulma complained, as she worked at welding reinforced metal plating together to the floor.
"Bulma!" Celipa returned, carrying aloft on her shoulder what looked like several tons with of the same metal; she was clad in a modified version of her previous armor... tube top-like, with a vent-like design along the chest and sides, a magenta leotard undersuit, yellow leggings, white boots and gloves, and a belt hanging off on the sides to make up for the lack of a tail. And of course, the familiar halo floating over her head to mark her status as a deceased spirit made flesh.
"Awesome, more supplies!" Bulma smiled. "Just set it down in the corner, Celipa. I'll need you later to help me shape it."
"Right," Celipa lowered the tonnage to the floor, then turned to face Bulma. "So who's going to Namek? Has the final crew list been authorized?"
"Well..." Bulma stopped what she was doing, wiping the sweat from her brow. "I'm going, of course. Call it scientific curiosity... I'll be one of the first humans to not only go out into deep space, but to visit a new planet! It's pretty exciting, really!"
"And I'll be going too," Celipa nodded. "Anyone else?"
"Teena's going, obviously. So are Yamcha and Chi-Chi. Launch even offered to help, too... both her and Yamcha are in this solely so that they can be partly responsible for bringing back Puar and Tein..."
"Ah... lovers?"
"..." Bulma sighed softly, remembering the conversation she had overheard between Yamcha and Puar before the conflict with the Saiyans. "... yeah..."
"Well, having Teena, Yamcha, and Chi-Chi will certainly help, they're undoubtedly strong," observed Celipa. "I'm not sure about Launch though... being able to wield weapons and such is a useful skill for normal people but if we run into anyone as powerful as myself or Teena she may end up in serious trouble... wait, what about Videl? Isn't she coming too?"
"... Teena was against it..." Bulma answered. "She felt Videl could've died during the battle and if she did... well, it'd would've been even more devastating to Teena. So she's staying on Earth."
Celipa nodded softly with a sigh. "Videl HAS come a long way in a short period of time, though I'd be willing to say she's around Vegeta's power level when he was a child."
"That's just it... she's STILL a child. She's too young to be around what went down with Vegeta and Nappa... all that violence and death. Besides, if her father found out Teena let Videl go through all that I'm pretty sure we'd be facing the mother of all lawsuits... child endangerment and all..."
"... ah..." Celipa shrugged her shoulders. "You planet has a LOT more laws than other worlds I know. Not that I'm complaining, mind you... any law for protecting children is pretty high on my standards."
Bulma smiled. "You know, Celipa? For a Saiyan, you're all right."
Celipa smiled back and nodded her head out of respect. "I try."
"Ms. Briefs?" One of the secretaries, a prim and proper looking cerulean-tressed woman, walked in. "There's a Detective Gold here to see you."
"Detective...?" Bulma placed the welder down and exited the cargo bay towards the waiting room. "Did he say why he was here?"
"'She', ma'am..." the secretary corrected. "And she didn't say why, either."
"Huh..." Bulma and the secretary entered the waiting room, and Leah turned her head to face the sea green-haired woman in question, blinked upon seeing Leah. "Hey, you look familiar..."
"Leah Gold... you and your corporation helped my girlfriend after she was attacked by a serial killer..." she held out her hand towards Bulma. "... the cyber limbs?"
"... Oh!" Recognizing the description of the events she smiled, shaking Leah's hand. "That's right... Amy Freeman was the first recipient of the cyber limb prototypes I designed! How's she doing with them, Ms. Gold?"
"Still adjusting a little bit, but we're both confident she'll be able to get back to holding a steady job. And it's all thanks to you and Capsule Corp."
"Pleased to hear that. So what exactly brings you here, Ms. Gold?"
Leah sighed softly, and her looked turned into an almost pleading gaze. "I need Eighteen's help in finding and capturing that serial killer I mentioned. He's gotta be stopped and I don't think I can do it without her help."
"Oh... well, Teena's over at Papaya Island dealing with Typhoon Beezlebub... you know, trying to stop it and minimize casualties. But she should be back soon."
"I'm back now, actually." Leah and Bulma turned to see a sopping wet Teena, drenched head to toe in tropical rain water. "... here's a tip... the next time you decide to Power Blitz the eye of a typhoon, don't. I stopped it and all, but still... here I am, wearing the drowned rat look."
Bulma giggled. "Looks good on you, Teena."
"Bleh... it's a good thing I'm immune to pneumonia..." she glanced over to Leah and smiled softly. "Hey, Leah... gimme a moment to dehydrate myself in the good way and we'll chat, okay?"
"Sure thing," Leah replied.
Teena nodded, and trudged upstairs to her room, leaving watery footprints on the floor as Bulma and Leah watched on.
"... So... she stopped a whole typhoon..." Leah remarked.
"Yeah, that's our Teena... the grand worker of miracles," praised Bulma.
"No kidding..." added Leah. "... she's something else..."
---
After Teena had dried off and changed her clothes, she and Leah were outside at the Capsule Corp's grounds, where the detective gave Teena the rundown.
"... after the attack on Amy Double K killed two more women," Leah continued. "He probably laid low like the rest of us while you and your friends were fighting those two aliens, then afterwards we found the remains of another girl around the outskirts of West City."
"... hell..." Teena sighed, slumping down in a bench nearby. "And all this was going on while I was away? Didn't Weapon try to help?"
"She did... but whoever it was in that fancy suit of armor really wasn't much help."
"Well, she DID pull her weight when we were fighting the Saiyans at least... anyhow, we're Amtraked here."
"..." Leah blinked, confused by Teena's vernacular. "... huh?"
"We're getting off-track. You know, away from the subject. What do you know about this Double K?"
"Oh. Well... his real name's Kaji Keiyama," Leah began. "He was a combination assassin/cleaner for the Syndicate about a decade or so ago... meaning after his hits, he'd usual dispose of the remains by eating them. He'd primarily just kill female targets... said a girl's flesh was sweeter than a man's."
"..." Teena managed to keep her poker-faced facade intact as she suppressed a shiver. "... I loathe him already."
"His last assignment for the Syndicate was to hunt down and kill a rogue thug of theirs, Niisha Kushami... you know her better as Launch..." Leah proceeded. "He planned to kill her while she was in her more passive Order state, but as luck would have it, she sneezed, slipped into her Chaos state, and went all ape dookie on D-Double K. It was the only mission where he failed."
Teena smirked. "Good for her."
"... B-but afterwards he went rogue himself and went on a killing/eating spree. My father managed to stop him, but at the cost of his legs. And his career as an officer..." Leah sighed sadly... a sigh which seemed more like a tired yawn to Teena. "... Now he's out... somehow... and he's gotta be stopped...! I... I was taken off this case because it's become personal for me but I don't care dammit... Eighteen, I need you to help me take this monster down! I don't care if I lose my job over this, he's a danger! Eighteen, p-please!"
"Leah... I understand how you feel about this but it isn't enough to get fired over..." Teena said, noting Leah's increased stammering. "I'll help you beat and lock this guy away, but you should at least rest while I handle things. Seriously, have you seen yourself in the mirror lately? I don't need sleep but clearly you do."
"... No, I-I can't..." Leah said, turning away. "Everyt-time I even try to go to sleep... I see him. Or Amy i-in that horrible state... I only g-get two hours of sleep every n-night... t-two and a half if I'm lucky. I've been... r-running on coffee... energy d-drinks and energy b-bars trying to n-nail this g-guy..."
"..." Teena blinked, and placed her hands on Leah's shoulders, staring straight at the detective bloodshot eyes. "Girl, I can't even BEGIN to tell you how unhealthy all that is! You're running yourself ragged! You're gonna end up killing yourself if you don't slow down! Now I'm telling you... GET SOME SLEEP! I'll take things from here, now tell me where would be the best place to look for Double K."
"... the sewers... p-probably..." Leah replied. "C'mon then, let's g-go..." She prepared to turn around, but Teena held her in place, hands still on her shoulders. "... h-hey... let go..."
"Trust me, Leah. This is for your own good."
And Teena slugged Leah in the solarplexus, pulling her punch significantly so as to not accidentally kill her. Leah gasped out as all the air rushed from her lungs, and as she passed out, Teena caught her limp form, picking her up in her arms.
"I promise you I'll catch this bastard..." Teena said. "Then you can finally get some deserved rest."
Carrying the unconscious Leah back into Capsule Corp and into one of the guest rooms, she lowered her onto the bed, staring down at her for a good long moment. Then after notifying a secretary about Leah, she proceeded to rocket off into the sky, her goal set and focused.
No more murders, Double K... it's suitcase land for you!
---
"Nice of you to take a break from working on the ship to help me out, Bulma..." Teena said through her headset as she moved through the dark maze-like sewer, a halogen flashlight nestled snugly in the left breast pocket of her denim jacket to light her way.
"Well, it was all a matter of convincing Daddy to sub for me, is all..." Bulma explained. "With his help, odds are we've cut the refit time down by at least a week or two!"
"Yeah... the old man's eccentric as hell but when he's motivated he can Scotty his way through with the best of 'em."
"Where do you think I get it, 'lassie?'" Bulma giggled softly.
"... I'll let you know if I find Timmy in a well somewhere," Teena quipped, then paused as she saw a foreign object float by. "... ugh. That is NOT a piece of almond roca that just went by me..."
"It IS a sewer, you know. It's supposed to be disgusting down there."
"Sure, you're calm about it because you're in the control room. You'd be grossed out and complaining your ass off if you were down here with me."
Just goes to show who's the SMART ONE is, then."
"..." Teena sighed, shaking her head as she heard Bulma's triumphant giggles. "I've been zinged by Bulma Briefs. There is no God."
"Deal with it, girlfriend. I've just hung around you long enough for that wit of yours to rub off of me. That's all."
"So I have no one to blame but myself... nice." Teena made her way to a door leading to a storage room, entering it and finding the walls to be stained with human blood. "... looks like Double K was here..."
Bulma quickly checked her online sewer map, then Teena's position. "Okay, stay there. I'm sending some camera pods down to see if I can't track him down for you."
"It's all you, Bulma..." Teena replied. "Work your voodoo."
Bulma smiled to herself, cracking her knuckles and going to work, activating six of the anti-gravity pods with high security surveillance cameras attached and sending them down into West City's sewer system. With practiced ease she manipulated them with her keyboard, programming them to follow the map of the sewer she downloaded into their on-board memory banks. Within a matter of moments they had flown through the open door of the storage room Teena waited in, rotating around her as if they were satellites orbiting their planet.
"Okay. Ready, Bulma?"
"Open it up and let 'em rip!"
Teena swung the door before her open, and the camera pods rushed through like a shot, picking up a small gust of wind that made Teena's hair billow slightly. "Let me know when you've spotted anything, Bulma."
"All right, will do--" Teena suddenly heard a startled gasp from her headset, indicating that Bulma had indeed found something. "... good lord..."
"What is it?" Teena had to ask, though deep down she most likely knew the answer.
"... it... it's horrible in there..." Bulma muttered. "He-he's in the next room over... get him... k-kick his ass..."
Teena ventured an easy guess as to what Bulma meant by "horrible," and took a step up to float inches above the ground, preventing the sound of her feet touching the floor or splashing in the sewer water. And the moment she passed through the door the repugnant stench of rotting flesh overpowered her nose; she made a note to herself about how lucky she was that she, a) had a significantly stronger constitution that would keep her vomiting from the smell alone, and b) she never really ate anything to begin with today.
Though upon seeing the horrific remains before her, hanging by nooses, floating in the water and in various states of dismemberment, she would opt not to eat any meat for a good long while after this day.
"... looks like double k's added a couple more victims..." Teena whispered.
"... just stop him... please..." was Bulma's sole response.
"... i will..." Teena slowly floated towards the next room where Double K was, and as she looked to the innocent young women graphically mutilated around her, she entertained the thought of just killing Double K on the spot. It'd be just like finishing off Vegeta... and the world would be better off without a monster like Double K roaming the streets, preying on innocent women, ending promising young lives.
All right, it's decided... Teena finalized. Double K's leaving this sewer in an urn.
Teena entered the adjoining room, fists crackling with energy, ready to flash fry Double K where he stood. But he was nowhere to be found. All there was were the camera pods floating about in the room.
"... well, hell..." Teena looked around, the flashlight in her breast pocket scanning the area. "Bulma, where is he? You said he was here."
"He WAS! Unless... Teena, the water--!!"
Both Bulma and Teena were a split second too late as an emerald-scaled clawed hand burst from the normally calm sewer water, yanking her down within. Another split second, and Double K emerged, chuckling to himself as he walked over to a corner, picking up a red cylindrical device.
"... I hope making me smell like cheap compost was worth it, Double K..." Teena hissed as she slowly ascended from the water, filthy and soaking wet. "'Cause right now, you've just stepped in some deep shiAAAAIIEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!"
Teena collapsed back into the water after Double K had used the cattle prod, the wetness of her skin amplifying the current's voltage as Double K rammed it into her chest.
"... so, it WAS true after all..." Double K muttered as he dropped the cattle prod, picking up a hair dryer of all things, plugged into a dry outlet on the wall and switching it on. "The old man told me it would work..."
"... o... o-old man..." Teena began to recover, still weak from the disruption in her power core, reaching for the edge of the sewer floor, trying to pick herself up out of the water.
"Yes... he says he knows you. He told me to tell you. Dr. Gero sends his regards."
And Double K tossed the hair dryer towards the sewer water Teena was still immersed in. Unable to catch it or knock it away, she could only stare helplessly as it seemed to descend in slow motion into the water. She managed a single word...
"... crap..."
... and she was promptly electrocuted, shrieking in excruciating agony as countless volts shot through her body, the halogen flashlight in her jacket flickering, then exploding, her headset causing excessive feedback for Bulma as she cried out, ripping hers from her ear, then stared aghast at the camera pods' graphic imagry on-screen.
"Teena--!!" Bulma trembled, seeing her best friend being electrifed. And she quickly acted, rushing from the control room to get help.
But after a moment, Teena's screams died down into moans, then silenced altogether. And she floated in the electrified pool of sewer water, face down, still twitching as her eyes remained wide, but sightless.
"Look at you..." Double K said as he crossed his arms, smiling darkly. "Why, if I didn't know any better, I'd say you were dead."
---
Leah awoke.
With a soft moan she slowly sat up from the bed, rubbing her stomach in residual pain; even though Teena pulled her punch it still hurt. And while she got some rest from the knockout nerve strike, it wasn't enough; she STILL felt like crap.
Getting up out of bed, Leah exited the guest room and stumbled along the hallway. About halfway through Leah could hear indistinct chattering nearby, and out of curiosity she followed the source of those voices.
"... in danger!! We gotta do something!!" Bulma's voice had the all-too familiar tone of panic to it, and a sense of dread entered Leah's soul.
"... no way... that overgrown lizard actually beat Teena?!" A young male voice spoke. "That's not good!"
"Where's Celipa?!"
"She went off to get some components for some kind of... well, she called it a gravity well. For the ship..."
"Screw her then!" A tougher sounding female voice announced its presence. "I say we go down there, guns blazin', and save Teena!! Besides, Double K'n I've got some unfinished business!"
"... forget it..." Leah staggered into the cargo bay, alerting Bulma, Yamcha, and Launch (the blonde Chaos aspect). She looked towards Launch as the two women locked gazes, as if they knew each other.
"... you know as well as I do... Double K's c-crafty..." Leah said. "That's why Eight-teen's in trouble... she let her g-guard down and b-besides... it's my collar... no one's g-going after Double K... N-not without me..."
"Pheh... yeah, right..." Launch approached Leah, smirking. "Looks to me like the long arm of the law's got a case of the jitters! Not enough sleep, Cagney? Lacey's keepin' you up?"
"... kiss my ass, K-Kushami..."
"I don't swing your way, Gold."
"Surprising... c-considering no man'd wanna screw a psycho l-like you."
And Launch slugged Leah in the jaw. Bulma gasped as Leah crumpled to the floor, her lip busted open as she went to the detective's side, Yamcha restraining Launch before she could do any more damage.
"You bitch!!" Launch screamed, tears welling up in her eyes, which was a rare occurrence for the Chaos aspect. "Tein meant EVERYTHING to us!! And you had to go say something like that!! She's crying...!" Launch relaxed in Yamcha's hold, then shoved him away. "You made her cry... you bitch... I can hear her..."
"... T-Tein..." Leah slowly sat up with Bulma's aid, wiping a bit of her blood from her lip.
"Uhm... she was seeing him. Both of her..." Bulma explained. "... we... uh, lost him during the conflict with the Saiyans..."
"... oh..." Leah felt especially low now; while she never much cared for the violent Chaos side of Launch, the Order side was still a decent woman. Still, she read in a psych report that while the two sides were aware of one another, they didn't know of the other's actions without someone telling her, and Leah wondered to herself how the Order aspect heard her if the Chaos aspect was in control. "... I'm s-sorry..." she said to Launch.
"Stuff it," she retorted. "I don't need your damn apologies."
"I wasn't t-talking to YOU. I was talking to HER."
"... bitch."
"We don't have time for this..." Bulma stood up, facing Yamcha. "Give Detective Gold a Senzu."
"W-what?" Yamcha blinked. "But, the outside world isn't supposed to--"
"This is an emergency!" snapped Bulma. "While we're just standing here bickering, Double K could actually be killing Teena!! Do it!!"
Yamcha blinked twice, then sighed, fishing out one of his Senzu beans he had from the battle with Nappa and Vegeta, walking over and handing it to Leah. "Eat this, Ms. Gold. Trust me, it'll be worth it."
"... what is it, some kind of e-espresso bean...?" Leah stared at it for a moment as it lay in the palm of her shaking hand, then popped it into her mouth, chewing it and swallowing it. Almost instantly any fatigue she had was gone, even the busted lip Launch gave her disappeared. "... whoa..." she exclaimed, blinking.
"Just don't tell anyone about this, okay?" Bulma asked. "Okay, grab some headsets, guys! I'll guide you through the sewer!"
"The sewer?!" Yamcha questioned in disgust.
"Time to get down and dirty..." Launch grinned as she pulled out a Dynocap, exploding it in her hand to reveal an AK-47.
"Okay... as an officer of the law you're all hereby deputized citizens... even you, Kushami..." Leah quickly rose to her feet, pulling her 9mm Beretta from its holster and checking the clip inside before putting it away. "Let's move."
---
The first thing Teena noted once her power core rebooted and she woke up was that she was soaking wet, not from sewer water but fresh and clean spring water, her clothes all but adhered to her skin from the moisture. She was still in the sewer however, and she was chained up against the wall, arms raised up and over her head, an electric collar of some kind around her neck. And her boots were missing, her feet bare; her toes were just barely touching the floor. Her first instincts were to break the chains binding her to the wall, then break Double K in much the same fashion, until she felt a severe shock of electricity shoot through her, causing her to yelp out of pain, disrupting her energy flow and keeping her weak.
"Just so you know, it's useless to escape..." she heard Double K's voice as the vile croc morph emerged from the shadows in dramatic fashion. "You're wearing a shock collar... any show of hostility will trigger it, and considering how damp your skin and clothes are... and how you're not wearing any rubber on your soles to help ground you... well, that makes you as helpless as a newborn."
"... what does Gero have to do with you..." Teena asked weakly.
"Ah, straight to the point..." Double K nodded. "You see, it was one of Gero's cyborgs who freed me... you may know him, a human black man, covered in tattoos..."
"... I know him..." Teena replied softly.
"... Anyhow, he told me Gero would pay me in 10 million zenie to test you, to see how you would fare against a more normal foe, someone who isn't a King Piccolo or a Saiyan. Suffice it to say, you flunked."
"Yeah well, how about freeing me so I can go for extra cred--" Teena gasped as another shock kept her in line, and she slumped in her chains, moaning in pain.
"Oh, I don't think that will do..." Double K reached over, caressing Teena's cheek tenderly. "Normally I'd eat you in a situation like this..."
Teena froze, eyes widening. No... God no not that...!
Double K paused, seeing Teena's petrified reaction. Then chuckled mockingly. "I found another weakness... this one is more psychological than physical, it seems. Oh, no worries... I'm not going to eat you... for one, your biomechanical parts may not... agree with me. I'd probably just rip you apart to root out the tastier parts of you in that case but then I'd violate my agreement with Gero. It seems he wants you alive."
"... I'm not going back to the Red Ribbon Army..." Teena denied.
"Hell, you can drop that 'Army' bit..." a new voice sounded, a more urban tone to it as a black man dressed in grey camouflage cargo pants, zipped-up athletic shoes, motorcycle riding gloves, black sunglasses, and an unzipped white hoodie with the Red Ribbon Double-R insignia on the front walked in, a tattoo marked "15" visible on his stomach as he carried a steel briefcase in his hands. "It's just 'Red Ribbon' now."
"... Fifteen..." Teena recognized. "Came to gloat?"
"A lil' bit... plus I'm also here to pay Dub-K the flow we promised..." Fifteen turned to Double K, handing him the briefcase. "10 million zenie, as we agreed. Count it, if y'want."
Double K nodded, taking the suitcase. "I'd rather take your word for it, seeing as how I'm on the run. But it will be a good start, considering I'll be going into business for myself."
Fifteen smirked, then looked to Teena. "Damn, girl! You wear the wet look well! Lemme guess... You don' wear a bra?"
"... why alive..." Teena asked, ignoring Fifteen's lecherous comment. "You could kill me right now if you wanted."
"Yeah, and I want to. But the G-Man says he wants t'bring ya back for something big. He's tight-lipped 'bout it, though. Seems only him and Nineteen know what it is."
"Hate being kept in the dark, hm? Seems Gero doesn't trust you well enough."
"... yo, why don' you just SHUT IT!!" Fifteen struck Teena hard in the gut, causing her to cough up blood as she doubled over in her chains. "We're done here, dawg..." Fifteen said to Double K. "You get outta here. Me and the 18th'll bounce, too."
"W-wait..." Teena gasped. "D-Double K... why... why d-do you..."
"Why do I what? Be like what I am?" Double K smirked. "Maybe it's a kind of sickness. Not on my part, but among the rest of my kind, all domesticated morphs around the world. There's so few of us who think like I do, who are truly cured. I just want to raise awareness to my kin. That they should ALL like humans. Long pig style."
"You... didn't let me finish..." Teena replied. "I was going to say... why do you have to be such an idiot." With that, Teena promptly broke free of the chains binding her, then delivering a swift kick to Double K's chest, knocking him back against the wall, hitting hard and breaking ribs, causing him to spit up blood.
"H-HOW--?!" Double K gasped.
"You said the shock collar works only if I act hostile. Emotion powered..." Teena took the collar and ripped it from her neck. "One trait about me is that I don't need to act hostile to kick anyone's ass, least of all yours." She then looked over to Fifteen. "Are we gonna do this here?"
"Yeah, why not?" Fifteen clenched his fists, grinning at Teena as he stood ready. "I'm gonna bust your ass, downtown South City style!"
"FREEZE!!" Leah aimed her gun at Fifteen, as Yamcha and Launch stood ready. "Hands in the air!! Now! Where I can see them!!"
"... whatever y'say, officer..." Fifteen did as Leah commanded, and that was when Leah recognized him, making her pause.
"... Tyrell Cord...?!"
Fifteen cocked his head, then smiled. "Heeey, Detective Leah Gold...! Wassup?"
"Kidnapping... and an accomplice to a mass murderer? That's low even for you, Tyrell."
"Sorry, Leah... ain't Tyrell Cord no more. I'm the 15th. As in, '15th Sign of the God Damned Apocalypse.'" Fifteen's smile turned dark as energy began to build up in his palms. "Yo, check this out."
"GET DOWN!!" Teena screamed.
"PHOTON BLITZ!!!" Fifteen threw a huge blast of energy threatening to envelop Leah, Launch, and Yamcha, but the former bandit quickly pushed the two women to safety--
"KAMEHAMEHAA!!!"
--firing off his own projectile to deflect Fifteen's Photon Blitz away through to the outside of the city streets. Teena was swift to tackle Fifteen before Yamcha could follow up, taking him all the way back up to the streets.
"... that was one of Gero's..." Yamcha realized. "... the 15th...!"
"... I'll sort out what just happened later..." Leah looked over to the injured Double K, who was holding his chest, staring at the AK Launch levelled at him. "... at least some good came out of this..."
"... just... read me my rights and g-get it over with..." Double K spat.
---
Civilians were quick to take cover as Teena and Fifteen traded blows, punch for punch, kick for kick, so blindingly fast even a time-lapse camera would have trouble tracking the action. Finally Fifteen got the upper hand, spin kicking Teena so hard she twisted in the air corkscrew-style until Fifteen backhanded her away, her body tearing through a car.
"That all you got?!" Fifteen trash talked. "You ain't got nothin', bitch!! This is MY house!! This--"
He was promptly shut up as Teena swung the destroyed car like a bat, knocking Fifteen away across the street, quickly met by another swift punch straight downward, causing a nice-sized pothole as his head impacted with the asphalt.
"We're outside. We're not IN a house," Teena coldly corrected.
"Didn't get the memo, didja? Whole WORLD'S my house!!" Fifteen tripped Teena up with a sweep, and as she fell delivered a thrust kick that sent Teena flying through a fire hydrant, and water spewed upward creating makeshift rain as it poured all around and onto Teena.
"... typhoon water, sewer water, now hydrant water..." Teena muttered as she began to get up. "... what am I now, a water magnet all of a sudden?" Teena suddenly exploded from the ground, flying towards Fifteen and catching him in the jaw with a hard straight punch.
Fifteen didn't even budge.
"... oh crap--" Teena whispered just before Fifteen seized her by the neck.
"NOW you get it..." Fifteen taunted. "I'm just like you and you bro... bionanos in my blood keep me up on top of my game... besides, I'm simply more juiced up than you are. So bow down to the champ, chump!!" Fifteen leapt up and swung Teena around by the head, slamming her viciously hard through the street. And Teena felt her reinforced spine and ribs crack under the brutal attack from the 15th, blood spurting from her mouth. Fifteen stood up with a smirk, and drew back his fist. "Punch out time, bitch!!"
Abruptly a powerful chi blast knocked Fifteen back a step or two, but he shrugged it off, preparing to retaliate with his Photon Blitz. Only to hesitate seeing a familiar twelve year old raven-tressed girl, palms outstretched and crackling with residual energy.
"Leave her alone," Videl hissed.
"..." Fifteen stared at Videl, a Photon Blitz ready to all but vaporize the girl where she stood. Instead he called it off, shaking his head. "Screw that... you got lucky, 18th... but it ain't gonna last. 'Cause I'll always be the Grand Champ, and you'll always be my BITCH. Now you mad at that?!" Fifteen turned around, rocketing away as Teena picked herself up slowly as her bones knitted back together, glaring spitefully at the retreating cybernetic street thug.
"... irate..." Teena replied angrily.
---
Ten hours later.
"Well, all's well and whatnot..." Leah said, as she and Teena exited Capsule Corp. "I DID get yelled at by Lupisen, who wanted me to take a break from the case... but he couldn't knock the results. So I got two weeks paid suspension..." she shrugged. "His way of rewarding me under the circumstances, I guess. Probably use half of one of the weeks to sleep. Maybe take Amy and go to South City for a vacation after."
"Sounds good..." Teena nodded. "I know this great beachside resort near South City you should go to. Great food, better parties at times... oh, and you can sunbathe nude, too."
"So you've been there before, I take it."
"You kidding? Paparazzi's taken more photos of me there than anyone else..." Both women laughed softly. "... so what'll happen to Double K?"
"Right now, he's in West City Pen, maximum security solitary confinement," answered Leah. "He's already sentenced to death... odds are all that he's done the past few months'll speed it up some."
"How's he going to die?"
"Lethal injection."
Teena sighed as she shook her head. "If you ask me... after everything I've seen him do today? That's too good for him."
"I know..." Leah approached her motorcycle, mounting it as she slipped her helmet on, looking to Teena. "But at least he's going to die for it all. I can take some solace knowing that he's going straight to Hell."
"... small comfort for his victims. And their families."
Leah nodded solemnly. Then revved up her motorcycle and rode off into the city as the sun began to set. And Teena watched for a good long moment before turning back around, heading back inside the Capsule Corporation building with much to mull over.
Fifteen defeated her. And was about to take her to Gero for God knows what, but Videl showed up to rescue her. While grateful, her mind wasn't changed; Fifteen never was a child killer, as he wouldn't want the distinction. But if it were someone like Eleven. Or worse, Nineteen...
Videl was better off staying on Earth, away from danger. That was the rationalization Teena stuck with.
Despite the loss to Fifteen, Teena still felt, for the most part, victorious. But still with a heavy heart.
And Teena whispered a prayer for the lost.
--TO BE CONTINUED.