New York City - the enduring symbol of modern civilization. Her buildings held hands with the sky, her millions of automobiles rumbling and honking throughout every street. Her innumerable citizens of every color, class, and conviction flowed along the sidewalks like pebbles in a stream. Tourists took pictures of everything, every store and stand pilfered by waves of impulsive customers. Bistros to pizza joints were saturated with the aroma of fattening meals gobbled up by the customers who filled them. Theaters abound with live plays, concerts, and stand-up shows of only the most talented of performers. Even the alleys were occupied with lucrative transactions which most were smart enough to turn a blind eye to.

There was something for everyone in The Big Apple; and for Son Goku, it was the pizza. Goku was rendered paralyzed in euphoria with each bite of cheese, sauce, and baked dough. There was even a variant with slices of pineapple over the cheese - never in his life had he needed something so much and never known until he'd received it. Countless stares were given to the boy as he continued to munch on slice after slice while carrying a comically tall stack of boxes full of his new favorite meal with him as he followed his group down the street. Roshi wondered why they weren't taking a taxi, but recalled how futile automobile transport was in this bumper to fender metropolis.

After the incident last night that left his clothes torn apart, Bulma offered him some of her dad's clothes: an orange and black jacket, blue sneakers, and a pair of denim jeans which Goku found so uncomfortable, he nearly kicked a hole through the plane; so he settled for a gray pair of sweats.

As usual, Bulma's eyes were glued to her radar as she led the group. She was slightly daunted by the task of finding a Dragon Ball in this monumental haystack of a city. Was it in a pawn shop? A museum? A lab? She could sense the unapealing probability of convincing Goku to break into someone's house and fleeing from the police - the cops here had GUNS for god's sake -growing rapidly as she thought, but perhaps hiding behind her bulletproof bodyguard would ease the escape for her. She had considered the possibility that Goku, Oolong, and Roshi could be arrested while she fled the city, not that she'd relate this plan to her new friends.

Speaking of Oolong, the pig man had taken the form of his handsome Asian man persona; at least it earned fewer stares than his real face would have. He quickly broke character as he too pigged out on eating a whole box of pizza. Master Roshi was just being his usual self, scanning and evaluating every female ass that passed his line of sight.

Goku would pause from his meal to gaze up at the towering buildings they walked passed; his neck hurting to the degree it needed to bend just to see the very top; he and his distracted self bumped right into a small white boy. He hastily struggled to keep his stack of pizza boxes from falling over. He sighed in relief, then noticed the boy." Ah! e eto 、 moushiwake ari mase ne ga 、 kodomo . Watashi wa doko he iku no ka mi te i mase ne deshi ta (Oh! Uh, sorry kid, I wasn't looking where I was going)" he spoke, though the kid probably didn't understand a word he said.

The brown-haired white kid shook his head."Iie 、 sore wa watashi no sei deshi ta 、 sensei . Hashik te i nakere ba yokak ta (No, it was my fault, sir; I should not have been running)" he replied rather fluently.

"Nani!?" Goku face inched back in surprise."Anata wa watashi no gengo wo hanashi masu ! ? (You speak my language!?)"

The boy nodded."Mochiron desu ! Watashi wa anime ga daisuki desu !" Hokuto no ken " to yoba reru kono hontoni furui show wo mi ta koto ga ari masu ka ? (Course I do! I love anime! Have you ever seen this really old show called 'Fist of the North Star'?)"

"Peter!"

Goku looked up to see a woman that was presumably the boy's mother run up to him and hold his shoulders.

"How many times have I told you to stay with me when we walk!?" the woman chastised the boy.

"Sorry, Aunt May," said the boy.

The woman took "Peter" by his hand and guided him down the street.

Goku tilted his head."Smart kid" he thought.

"Goku!"

"Kuso. Iki masu !" Goku, frightened by Bulma's cry, ran back to her.

The girl shook her head. Having to deal with Goku's language barrier was gonna be annoying. At least Roshi and Oolong had rudimentary English skills, but Goku's only experience with English was watching Rocky as a child. She did not want to get into some Austin Powers-situation with him. Honestly, the longer this adventure dragged on, the sooner she wanted to get this over with; she didn't want to explain to her father why she was messing around in the United States.

"Bulma-Chan, I just had a thought," Roshi brought up, speaking in Japanese of course (but for the reader, it shall be rendered as English)."Do you recall that assassin that nearly shot you over the Dragon Ball?"

"You mean the one that you scared the piss out of with your laser hands?" Bulma said.

"Assassin?" Oolong interjected.

"Yeah, when we met Roshi, this crazy chick with a gun almost killed me over my Dragan Ball", she explained,"But she freaked out over how strong he and Goku is, so she did the smart thing and ran. I don't think we have to worry about her anymore. Not like she'd chase us all the way here."

"She might for possession of the Dragon Balls," Roshi countered."No one has found all seven balls in centuries; we are walking a very conspicuous path that might converge with that of some very dangerous people, just like her."

Bulma giggled."That just makes me wanna find'em first," she joked, raising the Dragon Radar in front of her."Now, where could number six possibly..." she mumbled to herself, lowering the radar to see the general direction of where the next Dragon Ball was, only for her mouth to open in shock."Oh shit..."

"What is it?" Goku asked, looking at the radar; then he looked at where Bulma was looking. He tilted his head quizzically; from where he was standing, it seemed that Bulma was staring at some building under construction; he didn't know what the finished product would look like, but it was tall."So, is the Dragon Ball in there?"

"Goku!" Bulma hissed, glaring at him."Don't you know whose building that is!?"

"How am I 'sposed to know? I just got here," Goku shrugged.

"Well, I have this thing called 'the internet' "She emphasized,"and if you had the internet too, you'd know! Hell, anyone with a radio would know!"

"So whose building is it!?" Goku whined.

Bulma just turned back forward and stared up at the tower of scaffolding and metal beams with immeasurable reverence."That building..." she pointed to a poster that was attached to a nearby window, showcasing what the building was going to look like when it was complete "...is Stark Tower."

Goku beheld the tower under construction...

He looked at Bulma placidly."What's Stork Tower?"

"OH MY GOD, GOKU!" Bulma thrashed her fist in rage, her shrill voice echoing through the intersection."Stark! Stark, Goku! as in TONY Stark!? as in IRON MAN!? The guy I've been gushing over since the entire time you've known me!?" She threw her finger at the structure."This is the upcoming headquarters for Stark Industries on the American East Coast! It's gonna be fully powered by Tony Stark's self-sustaining repulsor technology! Iron Man is MOVING to NEW YORK!" she ranted on into Goku's sorry-he-asked face.

"I don't blame him," the currently handsome Oolong noted,"LA just ain't what it used to be..."

Goku looked at Oolong,"What's L-"

"STOP ASKING WHAT EVERYTHING IS, DAMMIT!" Bumla frightened Goku yet again. She then walked around in a circle in her anxiety."Oh god, what're gonna do? I didn't think it'd be here! The Dragon Ball is buried right under it! We can't break into Iron Man's place, you can't fight Iron Man!"

"Bulma, calm down!" Roshi raised his hand,"look at that place: it's barely a quarter finished; Tony Stark won't be living there for years. Why would he be here now?"

Bulma fanned her face with her hand, breathing audibly."...you're right, you're right, the tower's not done, won't be done until 2012, that's three years from now, which means that Iron Man won't be in New York until three years from now, which means that, logisticaly, Iron Man currently is most definitely...not...here..." she exhaled the last words as calmly as possible.

"OH MY GOD, IRON MAN IS TOTALLY HERE!" exclaimed come ditsy blonde chick some distance from Bulma.

"OHMYGOD!" Bulma skreiked in Goku's ear.

A mass of citizens, paparazzi, and small-time to breaking news journalists swarmed around a small but nice restaurant. The people's cries peaked as out of the doorway emerged one man, a man with sunglasses, a million dollar suit, and an unmistakable goatee, casually wiping his face with a napkin."God, I love shawarma..."

Bulma in no way hesitated to join the flock of frenzied fangirls that cheered and reached out to the celebrity for simply existing. Of course, the public was cut off by Stark's team of security guards, as they and Happy Hogan led Tony Stark and Pepper Pots back to the limousine, which was in fact also powered by repulsor technology.

"You always have to do this to people everywhere you go, don't you?" Pepper muttered to her boss under her smiling teeth as she waved.

"It's always a big deal when superheroes come to down; simply my burden to bare," Tony lamented, tossing the napkins and snickering as the fangirls (Bulma included) outright piled up over it. Bulma found herself in a neck lock by some large fat chick, but Bulma managed to taser her off and claim her prize.

"Yeahyeah, yours to bear and mine to carry, let's pick it up," Happy contradicted his name in irritation as he led his boss to the car.

But then, Tony abruptly stopped, his head cocked."You know, I don't I wanna use the car to get to Stark Tower..."

"Tony, please don't..." Pepper tried.

Stark flipped his hand in front of Pots' face."Now hang on, this is America, why don't leave it to a vote?"

"Com'on, It's right there!" Happy gestured his hand to the building.

But the playboy turned back to his adoring fans."Alright, peeps, you wanna see me just get into the car, or do ya wanna see me get in SOMTHIN' ELSE wink-wink!?" he cupped his hands around his mouth.

"IRON MAN! IRON MAN!" boomed the crowd like crashing waves.

Pepper rolled her eyes, Happy covered his face, and Stark simply took in the praise." THE PEOPLE HAVE SPOKEN!" he announced with an epic voice, then he took out his phone and made the call."Jarvis, like we rehearsed, open up my suit up-playlist."

"My prime directive is your command, Sir," replied the British AI.

Then, said limo autonomously boomed AC/DC soundtrack, at the same time, the trunk of the limo flipped open, and all kinds of mechanical appendages whirred and carried the individual parts of the suit. Tony happy strutted to the back, taking off his coat, and handing it and his glasses to the unwilling Happy. He then took deep breathes, spread his arms out."Ok, Jarvis, suit me."

The robotic limbs surrounded Tony Stark, initiating the suiting-up sequence. The robots placed and assembled each singular piece of armor, locked in and screwed together around his body with the precision and complexity of a symphony, all the gold and hotrod red pieces segmenting over his legs, arms, stomach chest, back, and culminating in his smug face covered behind his signature Iron Man helmet.

Goku, Roshi, and Oolong covered their ears from the thunderous applause of the crowd; they watched the admittedly incredible suit of armor stomp a few feet forth with lively bounce, raising its metal hands to encourage the crowd (and Bulma) to continue their adulation.

"You guys might wanna gimme a little space!" Stark announced through his suit's speaker; he pointed both hands straight downward. The hum of his arc reactor rose in pitch until his palms and feet burst with a flash and kinetic energy. The whole armored suit took off like a rocket, blasting into the sky and breaking the sound barrier.

The speechless Goku looked up at the sky, and the thunderous wake in the clouds. He dropped all of his pineapple pizza."...oh...that's Iron Man..."

Bulma exhaustedly stumbled back to Goku, her clothes stretched, her hair messy, clutching the napkin tighter than life itself. She leaned against Goku's shoulder,"...okay...Iron Man's here...we're gonna need a plan..." she nodded, eyeing the napkin as though it were the One Ring.


Later that night, in which thankfully the moon was not perfectly full, they put said plan into motion. It was child's play for Oolong to morph into one of the construction crew, and bring out construction uniforms for the team to wear. Bulma easily hacked into the camera's, putting them on a loop that showed no one entering, assuming there was someone on a the security booth watching the monitor, but that man was asleep. They quietly climbed over the fence, and trotted into the incomplete Stark Tower. Using the Dragon Radar, they were led into the deepest level of the building, which contained huge crates full of materials that were used to assemble the tower. Bulma walked a ways though the bottom level, until she stopped, the other three crashing into her.

"Hey!" she whisper yelled, shoving Construction Worker Oolong off of her.

"What's the deal?" Oolong asked.

Bulma lowered the radar, looking straight down. Her lips tightened."Yep, just like I thought: this whole tower is being built right over the Dragon Ball."

"How did they not know?" Goku wondered.

"It's called a concrete jungle for a reason, Gokou," Master Roshi explained, taking off his yellow safety helmet,"this city is so old that the very dirt beneath it has not seen the sun for centuries, if there even is any dirt left..."

"We need, like, a hammer or something," Oolong guessed.

"Why don't you turn into one?" Roshi asked.

The ninja gawked at the idea,"And what, let you slam my face into the ground for the next half hour?"

"Wait, I think I got one..." Bulma said, fiddling with her bag of capsules. When she found the one labeled "sledgehammer", she took it out and activating, while whispering "Hoi-Poi" to herself.

Regardless of her attempt at stealth, the capsule went off like a flash bang, resonating through the room and possibly beyond; the sudden loud noise during all this quiet forced the guys to cover their ears.

"What's wrong with you!?" Roshi hissed,"Iron Man probably heard that!"

Bulma scoffed."Yeah, like Tony Stark would be hanging out around a construction site after hours."

"What the hell wazzat!?" cried a muffled unknown voice in English.

"Hide!" Bulma hissed.

Bulma, Goku, Roshi, and Oolong all slid behind one of the crates. They could hear a single pair of footsteps trotting down the stairs; Then, they cringed as they saw the beam of a flashlight flare past their hiding spot.

"Someone in here!?" called the English-speaking voice aggressively."Hello!?"

They tensed with each pensive footstep that echoed in the room, the spotlight waving to and fro.

"Goku," Bulma whispered,"Take 'em out!"

"I can't just beat up every one I see just so you can feel safe!" Goku complained.

"Roshi!" Bulma tried.

"What if he calls Stark!?" the old man reminded.

After a moment of nothing, they were frightened by the sound of scratching metal. Clearly, the security guard had found and picked up the sledgehammer."I don't recognize this one..." they heard him say.

Oolong raised a finger."Ok, on three, we all just rush the guy before he calls for help."

"We could go to jail for this," Roshi said.

"We're gonna go to jail just for BEING here! Now on three..." Oolong held up one finger.

Bulma pulled out her taser.

Oolong held up two fingers.

Goku pulled out his staff.

Oolong's lips tightened...then he raised a third...

Oolong, Goku, and Bulma all sprung from their hiding place and swarmed the guard, yelling like idiots. This guard jabbed Oolong's throat and kicked him in the stomach; He intercepted Bulma's taser, and used it to shock Goku while shoving Bulma away. Goku was undeterred, and swung his staff onto the guard, who blocked it with his forearm, pulled the staff away and went Xaoling on Goku's ass, spinning 360 and smacking him with both ends, sweeping Goku's feet from under him, and kicking Goku in the stomach, sending sliding to the other end of the room.

Now was Master Roshi's turn. He charged the guard and thrust his palm, but it was blocked by the guard with the staff. The guard blocked the following punches and kicks by Roshi, as though he were equal in skill to the Turtle Hermit. The hermit grabbed the other end of the staff and tried to wrestle it from the guard's grasp; but the guard took advantage of this by yanking Roshi towards him, and performed a shocking move:

"HAAAA!" the guard shouted, and he thrust both palms into Roshi's gut, a glint of blue ki shining from his hands, the shock causing Roshi to roll back, and land on his feet, resuming another stance.

The two stared each other down for a moment...but then, an epiphany he thought impossible occurred to the master, as he took his helmet off."Kuririn!?"

Dead silent, the guard dropped the staff, and took off his cap, revealing his bald head."Sensei!?"

Roshi let out a whizzy laugh."Kuririn-Kun! I know that half-assed Kamehameha anywhere! Come'ere!" he laughed as he brought the short Asian man in for a warm hug.

The others rose to their feet in pain, humiliation, and confusion, watching the pair interact like father and son.

"Who the hell is this guy!?" Bulma demanded.

Master Roshi put his arm around the younger man."Everybody! I'd like to introduce you to my best student in a hundred years: Kuririn-san!

"Your student?" Goku glared, then it hit him."Wait, he was that other student you talk about, the one that..."

"That went to America to work for some rich guy, yes!" he laughed."Who'd have thought that rich guy would be Tony Stark!?"

Krillin shrugged."Well, technically, I work for Hogan-san, who works for Stark-san. I still don't know why they call him 'Happy'; he seems to hate his job."

Goku was going to walk closer, but he doubled over, feeling his stomach. At least now, he felt a lot less stupid for losing...

Krillin walked over to Goku to help him up to a fully erect stance."Sorry, I was just doing my job."

"You do your job too hard..." Goku breathed.

"Speaking of which,"Roshi suddenly became serious,"Kuririn, you haven't been using your ki against regular people, have you?"

"No, Sensei," Krillin shook his head,"You're the first I had to use it on since I left. I wouldn't dare waste your signature technique on amateur punks like him," Krillin pointed his thumb at Goku.

"Hey!" Goku grunted.

"I am so sorry to hear this, sheep..."

The whole company was taken back by a new, unidentified voice. Goku whipped his head in all directions, until he saw someone step around one crate. It was a middle aged Chinese man with a pink robe and long beard, his hands folded behind him.

"Perhaps it is time you fight a real warrior then?" Tao smirked.

"Son of a bitch!" Master Roshi exclaimed."Is that you, Tao Pai Pai? What're you doin' in America?"

"What do you think I am doing here, old pervert?" Tao replied."I am doing my job."

From the opposite side emerged Tien, his fist tightened.

"Who are you guys?" Goku asked.

Tao waved glibly," I am Mercenary Tao, pleased to kill you."

Bulma's jaw loosened."You mean 'pleased to meet you' right?"

"Sifu knows what he said..." Tien threatened.

"ah..." realized Roshi."I figured this day would come: so who's hired you to put me down, wannabe?"

"You don't necessarily have to die, has-been," Tao said, pointing at Bulma,"If you simply give us the Dragon Balls."

Bulma yelped, and clenched her satchel like a puppy."Of course! Nothing in my life can be easy anymore!"

"We've been monitoring you two for a little while now," Tao explained,"Ever since you left your quaint little cabin. When I heard that the boy was immune to bullets, I was intrigued, by you, Son Gokou. Since conventional assassination tactics have failed on you, it would seem your hard head is worthy of my fist."

"So you were with the crazy masked woman!?" Bulma connected. As she did this, a red dot appeared on her forehead. She gasped, and saw Mai standing on top one crate, pointing two much higher caliber handguns at her and Oolong's frightened faces.

"(Not were, is with, stupid girl) Mai leered.

"Hey, this is not cool!" Goku protested, raising his hands."Don't hurt Bulma!"

"Just give us the wishing orbs," Tao threatened,"And all of the non-bullet-proof members of your party will not suffer for your ambitions."

"Bastard!" Goku snarled, but he was stopped by Krillin, who grabbed his arm.

"Don't do anything stupid, new guy," Krillin said," unless you think you can catch two moving bullets."

"(I'd love to see if that skull can withstand two custom .75 rounds, monkey boy)" Mai tilted her head, probably smiling under that face plate.

"I have an alternative option..." Roshi raised a finger. He calmly pulled out Goku staff from his back, against Goku protesting expression."Instead of magic balls, would you consider a magic rod?" he presented the pole horizontally on his palms.

"No dirty jokes will save you now, Roshi," Tao disapproved receding into a crane stance, as did Tien.

Roshi snorted."Ok, fine, but just one more...ENCHO!" he shouted, causing the Nyoibo's two ends to shoot outward, striking both Tao and Tien into their guts. Mai fired, but Goku and Krillin caught the bullets in their forehead/hands respectively.

"(Are you &%^ing kidding me!?)" cursed Mai.

Roshi dashed for Tao and sent a flying kick to his face, but Tao blocked it with his forearm. As Goku again whined in pain, Krillin went for Tien, who parried several of Krillin's punches. Construction Worker Oolong poofed into a leopard, and pounced up to the crate Mai was on, forcing to run and Leopard Oolong.

The two old masters met and countered each strike with equal skill. Roshi ducked under Tao's whirling kick and blocked another kick from that same leg. Roshi thrust his palm, which was blocked by Tao's elbow, and Roshi blocked Tao's over head downward chop. Roshi hopped and kicked Tao's gut with both feet.

Tien caught Krillin's incoming punch with his hand, and yanked Krillin in for a few jabbs to his head; but Krillin's balled cranium endured the strikes flawlessly, and hooked Tien in his kidney, making Tien knee Krillin in the face.

As soon as he got over the pain, Goku tried to take Bulma by her arm and run away, but Mai and Leopard Oolong fell in their path. Mai was pinned against the ground by the leopard, and was doing an alright job of pushing the half-baked predator's jaw's away from her neck. She took out a cattle prod and jabbed Oolong in the neck with it. The sheer pain, forced Oolong to poof back into his pigfaced self and cringe on the floor in agony.

Mai then flipped onto her feet, pointing the buzzing cattle prod at Goku and Bulma.

"Bitch please, I got on o' those too!" Bulma said as she whipped out her taser.

Goku went in for a wide swing, but Mai backed away, grabbing Goku's arm and zapping him in the shoulder joint with the prod. Goku yelled in pain as Mai lept, clenched Goku's neck between her thighs, and used her spinning momentum to swing Goku onto the floor, as Mai landed gracefully on her left hand and right knee, whipping her long hair back from her eyes.

Bulma held out her taser with both hands as she back away from Mai fearfully.

"(Seriously, just gimme the Dragon Balls, you don't have to get hurt)" Mai said in a rather nice tone.

"No one's standing between me and my perfect boyfriend!" Bulma yelled, charging with her taser.

Mai just slapped the taser out of Bulma's hand, snatched her satchel, and pushed her to the ground in one swift motion. Goku came from behind, but Mai ducked under his swing and thrust the cattle prod into his neck, making him fall over again.

"Goku, what the hell!?" Bulma yelled."Can you choose when to be a badass and when to be a complete dumbass!?"

"(For all his inhuman strength he has zero fighting experience)" Mai lamented,"(Reminds me of the big guy...)"

Roshi caught Tao's kick and spun around to swing Tao into a crate. Krillin slid between his taller opponent's legs and kicked him in the back, flying into Tao. Master Roshi rallied with his student. Tao and Tien stumbled out of the crate, and stood side by side as well. The two pairs of rivals with opposing styles stood each other down. The four men screamed, and charged at each other. But then, the ceiling exploded, as something metallic slammed into the ground between them.

Bulma whipped around at the plume of smoke, her jaw dropping. Mai and Goku saw as well.

The four martial artists stared in bewilderment as they looked at the figure in the center. They took note of the two lights in the smoke that looked like eyes as the figure pushed his fist from the ground and slowly rose upright with a slight mechanical whir. The smoke cleared, revealing it to me noneother than Iron Man himself.

"...oh shit," both Krillin and Tien found themselves muttering.

Oolong dizzily rose in the middle of the deathly silence holding his neck."Ow, you freaking bitch, that thing's meant for bulls and..." but then he paused when he saw as well."OH MY GOD IT'S IRON MAN! You guys're boned now!"

"(We're all boned, genius,)" Mai scowled.

The invincible power armor swung his head amongst all the seemingly random Asian people staring back at him in equal confusion. Stark probably blinked behind his mask."Who gave you permission to film a cheapass Kung Fu flick on my property? I mean, I would have said ' hell yes' if you bothered to set up a meeting..."

"Sir, I am detecting the foreign energy source directly beneath your feet," Jarvis reminded.

"Oh yeah, that..." Tony looked at the ground, remembering what caught his attention to the bottom floor. He pointed his fist at the ground, a tiny hatch opening on the gauntlet. The rest watched as Iron Man fried a red laser beam from his fist and bored into the concrete, lighting up the whole room. Iron Man reached into the molten crater, and pulled out the latest Dragon Ball.

Mai felt her forehead."(I am so fired...)"

Master Roshi coughed politely."Excuse me, Mr. Stark sir, but would you mind if we could have the-"

"No," Iron Man answered flatly, scanning the Dragon Ball with both his regular eyes and visor."Jarvis, is this what I think it is?"

"You are partly correct, sir," the AI explained,"This, like the one you lost at the auction, is an additional piece to the set of lost artifacts known as the Dragon Balls"

"Gross," remarked Tony.

"They are not meant to represent a set of mythical testicles, sir; there are seven of them in total"

"Not gross...I think..." shrugged his armored shoulders."So whadyou' think? Could this anomalous energy source be the thing to solve the palladium issue?"

"I'm afraid not, sir"

"Offff course not..." Stark lamented.

"Mr. Stark!" Krillin called out.

Iron Man whirred his head to the familiar face."Oh hey, Chesnut , how's the filming going?"

"This is not an action scene, Mr. Stark! Those three assassins have come for the Dragon Ball under the tower!" Krillin pointed to Tao, Tien, and Mai, who shielded her face with her hand as if to conceal her identity from Stark.

"Uh huh..." he acknowledged with an awkward tone. He inhaled sharply,"Okay, did I just butt into the middle of someone else's magical adventure?"

"And they're the villains!" Bulma hastily pointed to Tao.

"Comprende," noted Tony, facing the two Crane assassins, who were nervously receding into stances." So I 'spose you stand corrected, Chestnut: this is an action scene" he raise his hand up to the two badguys, and gestured for them to bring it on."And I'm the hero."

Tao and Tien let out fierce battle cries.

"Jarvis, initiate 'heroic ass-whoopin' playlist"

"Aye, sir."

As the two charged, the speakers from within the suit blared out I'm Gonna Knock You Out, Iron Man partook in a brawl against the two assassins. Tao dodged a powerful left swing from Iron Man while Tien kicked him in the side with no reaction, except for a metal backswing that Tien blocked but was stunned by nonetheless. Tao tried to grab the Dragon Ball from the armored right hand, while pressing his foot against the metal abdomen; without having to let go of the ball, Iron Man swung Tao right off. Tien pounced from behind and locked his arms around Iron Man's neck, who blast upward, ramming Tien into the ceiling.

"Yeah! That's what I'm talkin' about!" Oolong cheered, pumping his fist upward.

Iron Man landed, and in the next instant, Tao managed to roundhouse kick the Dragon Ball out of Stark's hand. As Tao tried to dive for it, Iron Man grabbed Tao by his clothes and swung his face like a battering ram into another crate. Then, Iron Man's helmet was actually moved by Tien's downward axe kick. Then Tien delivered a series of lightning-fast Wing-Chun punches into the metal midsection, none of which fazed the opponent.

"Standing here, I realize..." muttered Tony, before sending a metal straight punch into Tien's nose, causing him to roll along the ground."...just what a kickass suit I've designed."

Tao staggered to his feet."Tenshinhan! Enough games! Use your eye!"

Tien looked up at his master."Sifu!?"

"You heard me, boy! Take that damn thing off!"

Hearing this conversation and managing to understand it, Stark's helm whirred towards the younger man."What, does the airport's most wanted have a laser in his forehead? Cause that, honestly, would be awesome. Jarvis, make a note of that."

"I'm sure I'll find a use for a forehead-mounted laser in a the future, sir."

Tao chuckled."You wish it were merely a laser..."

Tien gained a nervous expression, but took a deep breath and rose to his feet. He tentatively placed his hand upon his turban. He hesitated.

"Show them what you are, boy!" Tao bellowed.

Tien's face tightened. He unraveled the head cloth, which gradually exposed a bald head. Tien let the cloth drop to the floor, revealing to everyone else his freakish, and apparent trump card: there was literally a third eye in his for head; it's eyelids split open to reveal a small dot-like pupil.

A freezing sensation slithered up Bulma's spine. and she thought Goku's tail was nightmare fuel...

Tony's head tilted upward."Okay, that's a little creepy, but I would've gone with the head laser, kiddo."

"I do not need a weapon to kill you, Tony Stark," Tien announced, calmly folding his left arm back, and holding out his right."Because now, you can't touch me."

"Don't really see how some extra field of vision makes you indestructible, but I'll take your embarrassing mutation, and raise you a repulsor ray." Tony decided it was time to whip out his signature weapon, which was not meant to be a weapon at all, but neither was his dad's giant arc reactor when Pepper used it to blow Obediah and his mech suit to the moon. He raised pointed his palm at Tien, and a familiar high-pitched buzz emitting from his palm repulsor.

"Take you best shot," Tien dared.

"Your funeral, asshole..." was all he had to say, before a fired a beam of yellow light that would rival the Kamehameha. But the charged particle beam which was thought faster than the human eye, was easily evaded mid-flight. Tien was leaning to the side before even Roshi realized it.

The master, and Goku, gawked at the sight.

"That speed..." Master Roshi whispered.

"Nice try, but I've seen The Matrix, you can't dodge'em all." Stark said before charging both repulsors and firing more repulsor rays. Tien's movements were nothing like Keanu Reeves's. Instead of ducking backward with his arms flowing with the wind, Tien's evasion appeared nigh-instantaneous, as though he were fazing in and out of existence, and each time he dodged, he was closer to Iron Man; close enough for Stark to get desperate, firing his miniature homing bullets from his shoulders, which Tien parried individually. Stark boosted off the ground backward to make some distance, but Tien appeared print in Iron Man's face, and performed a one inch punch right into Stark's abdomen, the force sending Stark and his suit crashing into the concrete ground.

Tien landed silently on the ground, and returned to his previous stance.

Goku and his team watched in shock as the invincible Iron Man actually struggled to get back up on to his feet, his body language indicates he actually felt that blow.

"Stand down," said the three-eyed man."Final warning."

They could actually hear strained breathing from under that metal helm."Like that dead guy who stole my dad's shield once said: I can could this all day."

"You, in fact, cannot, sir," Jarvis insisted."Your suit has sustained critical internal damage, as has your diaphragm, and your arc reactor may potentially become disconnected should you sustain a similar blow-"

"Then revert all power to the damn reactor so I can toast this son of a bitch!" Tony barked the order.

"Sir, given the current combat data, that is a highly illogical strate-"

"Do it before I take your digital ass offline!" Stark roared.

After a pause, the AI submitted."Reverting, sir," Jarvis answered carefully.

Goku watched all the yellow light flowing beneath the segments of the power suit coalece in the midsection of the armor, the arc reactor in the suit shining like an LED. Guoku also saw a light growing behind Tien.

Tien sighed, and jumped in the air, revealing Tao Pai Pai, charging his signature attack, his veins pulsing as he held his lit fingers in front of his forehead.

"And they call you a genius..." Tao hissed.

The frustrated Tony roared as he unleashed his Unibeam.

"MAKANKOZAPPO!" Tao flung his finger forward, releasing a spiraling yellow ray of light that met Iron Man's Unibeam head-on, quite literally drilling through the repulsor beam and driving right into Iron Man's chest, blasting him through the air, passed the speechless Goku, and into a concrete wall which shattered on impact.

"STARK-SAN!" Krillin cried.

The smoking powered-down power suit clanged to the ground, its central arc reactor utterly destroyed. Krillin raced to his bosses boss, and triying and failing to open the helmet properly; he then resorted to ripping the face plate of with his brute strength, revealing the convulsing, sputtering face of Tony Stark."Mr. Stark, you're gonna be okay!"

Tao let out a hearty laugh."What do you think of MY technique, Muten Roshi!?"

Mai appeared next to Tao. She looked upon the motionless Stark, likely grimacing under her mask."shit..." she muttered in English. She looked at Tao."(We have the balls, let's go.)" she said uncomfortably.

"(Then off we go!)" Tao beamed before he ran off with her and Tien.

"Oh SHIT!" Bulma shrieked, also rushing to Stark's side.

Goku and Roshi stood over the helpless, possibly dying superhero. Krillin, lifting Tony, suit and all, in his arms."I take care of Stark-san; follow those bastards!"

"Let's go," Roshi patted Goku on the shoulder. They both dashed after them.


Goku and Roshi sprinted after the assassins; Oolong joined Goku in his leopard form. They ran all the way out in the open lot. Master Roshi charged his Kamehameha as fast as he could.

"STOP RIGHT THERE!" Goku said.

"Or what, boy? You'll let the old turtle murder this young lady and destroy the Dragon Balls!?" Tao demanded, forcefully placing Mai in front of him. Tien looked at his master quizzically.

"I'd rather destroy them and her than let you or whoever you're working for gain an audience with the Eternal Dragon!" Roshi threatened, the blue ki in his hands brightening.

"Then fire away, you crazy old man!"

"Sifu!" Tien shouted.

"HAAAAA!" Roshi launched his mighty ki attack right at them.

Tien grabbed Tao and Mai, and trusted upward as the beam sailed past, and blew a bulldozer to firey pieces. Then Goku looked up, seeing another thing his eyes could not believe: the three eye man was now levitating high off the ground. holding Tao and the equally shocked Mai up with him.

"Let us see who makes it to the final Dragon Ball, amateurs!" Tao cackled. Tien took off like Iron Man with the two assassins, and the six Dragon Balls. Goku could only watch, speechlessly.

And Bulma as well, as soon as she caught up."Of course you can fly, you asshole!" she thrashed her fist at them in futility.

Roshi exhaled, taking his shades off."Everything has changed now, Gokou" he said,"A man like that cannot be trusted with such power. He could wish for anything, to rule the world, to be immortal, even to destroy the world." he put his hands on Goku's shoulder."We must finish what your grandfather started when he found that four-starred ball in the first place. "

Goku could feel someone holding his hand; it was Bulma. Oolong came in and flashed Goku a thumbs up. They all looked to the night sky with the last glimmer of hope they had.

Bulma kept a strong face, undeterred from her goal."Let's finish this adventure together, Son Goku."