I wish I owned DBZ, but I don't. I own DVD's and tapes, but it just isn't the same. Nor do I own any legal imprinting of whatever theme I'm using, such as a crossover with another anime, movie or TV series. Did I think it up? Yes. Was I the first to think it up? Probably not, but I digress. I also don't own the rights to any of the music pieces you see selected, just the merchandise, such a shame. The artists that created them are geniuses and we all must bow to them.
Chapter 3: Backup
The Satsu cousins waited until most of the city had gone dark before returning to the REDIC facility. On their way out, Marcus had planted a portable camera on one of the fence lines to capture the shift change for security. When it never occurred however, they weren't sure what to make of it. It was as if the same guard was always on duty with no breaks. That certainly appeared to be the case when they passed by on the street before parking in a dark alley half a block away. Both men were dressed in all black jumpsuits with thick belts to hold equipment. Marcus opened the trunk to reveal a vast array of weapons to choose from.
"You think this might be a bit overboard?" Marcus asked, amused.
"If it is, tell me later. Pack only the flash bangs, EMPs and a small amount of C4, just in case. You want the shotgun?" Sonny offered.
"Nah, AR. Better to have a semi-auto rifle guarding your back than a scattergun," Marcus said, poking a nerve on purpose.
Sonny smirked back, "You can have your range, not that you'll need it in here. Awfully hard to miss at close range with a shotty."
"And awfully hard to reload it quickly," Marcus pointed out with a grin.
Sonny shook his head and rolled his eyes, "Marines." They both packed wide, black backpacks which had an assortment of toys inside. Sonny slapped two thick pistols to his sides where their holsters were fastened before he slung his shotgun over his back. Marcus also carried his larger gun over his back as he prepared a syringe full of green fluid.
"You think we can knock out all of their cameras by planting that little device in just the guard station?" Sonny asked.
"Probably not, I'm not sure getting the guided tour would have helped any aside from locating a few of them inside. Even if we shut the security station camera down and there's no one monitoring, the others probably feed into the mainframe. We may have to locate it first before anything else. Better to drug the guard and kill the feed manually," Marcus suggested.
"Well you're the infiltration specialist. Hopefully our new toy works correctly. Give me thirty seconds to get his attention. On my mark, sync?"
"Sync!"
"Mark!" Sonny dashed across the street with Marcus in quick pursuit. Upon reaching the gate, the pair split up to circle the guard shack.
The guard, Taylor Reks, reacted to Sonny first, "Hey, what do you think you're doing?"
"I didn't get the free samples from the tour, you really shouldn't advertise it. Someone might sue," Sonny remarked.
"Hey, wait a minute! I know you, you're one of them cops that showed up early-er!" Reks' speech cut off suddenly as Marcus injected his syringe into the man's neck. Reks slumped immediately into Marcus, who dragged him away from the shack. Sonny entered it and examined the security feeds shown on the screen. He quickly got to work by pulling the wires from the back and attaching a small electronic device to the longest cord. All at once, the multiple video feeds broke up and became harmless static.
"There, that should do it," Sonny muttered.
Marcus entered a moment later, "Our friend is tied up in the back, and by the looks of that we're set. Looks like our hacker friend came through."
"It's funny how we can't easily disable a camera without being caught until we ask a criminal how he did it so smoothly. We got lucky, all the cameras run through here. Let's move, it's five hours till sunrise," Sonny said as he glanced at his watch. Marcus nodded and followed his cousin as they both pulled out their flashlights. The revolving door didn't want to move until both of them pushed into it hard. The main lobby was dark, save for a few dim ceiling lights that barely provided illumination. As they proceeded past the reception desk, Sonny spotted an elevator down the left corridor. On its side was a listing of various locations and their corresponding floor numbers.
Marcus stared at it with his flashlight, "Hmmm, where to start?"
Sonny rubbed his chin a bit in thought, brushing his five o'clock shadow, "Well, we're not going to be searching for a paper trail or attempting to hack a main frame. We don't have enough time or the right people for that anyway. Visual only, nothing to take with us unless it's substantial evidence."
"So, maybe start at the first floor labs and work our way up?"
"That'll do." The cousins elected to take the stairs to the next floor up, just in case the elevator failed. The passed by various offices and equipment storage rooms before reaching the first floor lab. Inside there weren't too many things that stood out aside from a few hazardous labeled jars and a robotic forearm complete with a hand and fingers. Other than some variably sized monitoring machines and a few microscopes, there wasn't much to the place.
"They must clean this room thoroughly at the end of the day," Marcus muttered.
"Or they don't do much with it to begin with. Let's head upstairs," Sonny suggested. On the second floor, there was a change in both scenery and activity. Just as they opened the stairwell door, a large robot on wheels nearly seven feet tall rolled by quickly, flailing its arms.
"Intruder! Intruder! Alert security!" it rambled in a monotone voice. Marcus chased after it but the robot's wheels carried it faster than he could run. Marcus stopped and pulled a grenade from his bag, lobbing it over the robot and into its path. A flash of electrical light went off and the robot abruptly slumped and slowly rolled to a dead stop. Both cousins ran up to the disabled robot, where Marcus quickly popped open its back plate and severed several wires.
"Nice thinking, he almost got to the alarm up there," Sonny said.
Marcus eyed the solid red handle hanging on the wall and breathed a sigh of relief, "Well he's done moving for a while."
"Might want to break out the light armor piercing rounds, we only have a few EMPs," Sonny said. Marcus nodded and changed the magazine in his assault rifle while Sonny did the same with his pistols. Once that was done, Sonny took the lead with one pistol and his flashlight in hand. They reached the next large lab a moment later and discovered a surgical bay inside. While it was consistent with Director Schultz's brief overview, Sonny wasn't satisfied. Once again, nothing seemed amiss other than a few odd looking tools strung out on the tables. On the far side of the room, a large blue tinted window was being illuminated from the other side. Marcus motioned his head towards it, drawing a nod from Sonny as they crept forward. Unbeknown to either of them, a camera in the upper corner suddenly turned on. The video feed from it was set in night vision infrared, so even in the dark it had no problems seeing them approach the window. Both cousins looked in at the same time, and their eyes went wide. In the next room were ten occupied beds. The various people inside were all dressed in similar blue and white uniforms consistent with REDIC, and all appeared to be asleep. Their heads were all arranged on top of a glass-like circle with blue light flickering randomly below it. Sonny carefully pushed the door open, trying not to make a sound. Only a low humming noise was audible, coming from underneath each bed.
"These are more of our missing people. I see Mary Reks on the far end," Marcus whispered as he moved by each bed. Sonny didn't walk down that far, and stopped at the first bed on the left side. He shined the flashlight into the person's face, receiving no response.
He saw who it was though, "It's Jean Thompson, the receptionist."
Marcus turned, "What? That makes no sense. Why would she be in here now?"
"Your brainwashing theory is sounding more plausible now, but…she isn't breathing?" Sonny gasped slightly. Sonny put a finger under her nose to check, but felt no air coming in or out. He checked her pulse next, also feeling nothing.
"She's dead?" Sonny said in surprise.
Marcus grabbed the chart at the end of the bed and read it over with his flashlight, "It says here she was admitted over three weeks ago. Had a transplant procedure and died the next day. Wait, it says died at ten am and reactivated at three pm. What the hell does that mean?" Sonny locked onto Mary Reks' table and moved to check her over quickly. She was a short blonde haired woman with a slender build.
He quickly felt around her neck and mouth, getting the same cold result, "This one too."
"Freeze! Nobody move!" Instinctively, both Satsus turned and motioned for their guns, but stopped short when they saw the guard Taylor Reks there with a pistol aimed at them.
"Drop 'em!" Reks ordered.
"Take it easy Taylor, we're detectives, don't do anything stupid," Sonny suggested.
"I said drop 'em!" Reks repeated, "Kick your weapons over to me and keep your hands where I can see them!" Marcus knelt slightly and surrendered his rifle, eyeing Sonny in the process. Sonny placed his pistols down first, then reached for the shotgun, keeping Reks' full attention for a few seconds. It was all the time Marcus needed to reach behind his back and pull another grenade out. He quickly pulled the metal pin and rolled it right towards Reks' feet.
"Cover!" Marcus shouted.
Reks glanced down, "Huh?"
BANG. A bright flash and a loud pop filled the room as the Satsus had closed their eyes and covered their ears. Reks collapsed in a heap, holding his eyes painfully as a result of looking right at the flash bang grenade. Sonny was quickly up with shotgun in hand, but Reks was still on the ground, helpless. Marcus plucked the pistol out of the guard's reach before grabbing his rifle once again.
"How was he awake already? That dose should have put him down for the rest of the night," Sonny claimed.
"No clue. That was enough juice to take down an alligator," Marcus said.
Sonny shook his head, "Apparently not. You, Mister Reks, you feel like answering questions now, or later?"
Reks, who was still blinded, managed to give off a slight sigh, "About what?"
"Oh I don't know, maybe your late wife laying in the next room?" Sonny suggested.
Reks paused, "I have no idea what you're talking about."
Marcus gave him a not-so-nice nudge with his boot, "Cut the shit, you obviously know something!"
"Alright already. My wife suffered a bad head injury and the doctors at the hospital said she wasn't going to make it. Doctor Schultz said otherwise and offered a trial treatment he came up with. I don't know what he did, but when she finally came to, her memory was shot. And she was different, like a whole other person," Reks explained.
"That still doesn't explain why you're working here though. And our reports say you were listed for knee and hip replacement surgery. You sure don't move like it," Sonny pointed out.
Reks shrugged as his blurry vision started to clear, "What can I say, Doctor Schultz does good work. They gave me this job so I could work off me and my wife's bills. But I haven't been allowed to contact anyone outside of here. Hell I haven't been allowed to leave and I've tried! I want to see my son, is he alright?"
Sonny scowled as he lowered his shotgun, "As far as we know he is, but a responsible parent would go find out for himself."
Reks stared at the ground as he slowly got up, "Yes, I know. Nothing I say will make up for that. I've really tried to leave but they won't let me."
Marcus suppressed the urge to punch the man, "Oh really? You work at the front gate, it must be so difficult to take one step outside."
Reks grimaced, "Well that's the thing. When I've tried to do that, my new hip and knee just locks up. Then the rest of my body does and I can't move until one of the attendants come out. Doctor Schultz said that because it's old equipment, it needs to be near some sort of signal transmitter to work right or something. I don't really get it. It works fine inside the compound, but outside I'm a cripple."
Sonny's face became contorted with realization, "So…nobody leaves?"
Reks gave him a dark look, "Well, not very many do. The director and a few other higher ranking officials do, but that is all."
"Are you telling me that all of the workers are in rooms like this? Being controlled somehow?" Sonny asked in a louder voice. Reks didn't answer, prompting Marcus to yank him up by the shirt collar and drag him over towards the blue tinted window.
"You want to see your wife like this? What the hell kind of man are you, just look at her….what the hell?!" Marcus shouted loud enough to wake the dead. The bed that held Mary Reks was empty. Sonny kept his gun on the guard, but was turning his head like a swivel just in case someone had gotten past them. None of the other motionless people had moved an inch, but Mary Reks was definitely missing.
"That's not good," Reks muttered aloud.
Sonny's eyes narrowed as he stared down Reks, "What is it? What do you know? More specifically, where did you wife go?!"
"I don't know, I was blinded just now," Reks pointed out.
Marcus yanked him roughly off the wall and threw him to the ground, "Well the body didn't just jump off the table on its own! Certainly not without some sort of heartbeat or any other vital signs!"
Reks' eyes darted at him before looking away, "Depends on what you define as vital signs." Sonny and Marcus glanced at each other before they both heard a soft footfall behind them. They spun with weapons drawn, finding Mary Reks standing there in the doorway to the small room. Her dirty-blonde hung down over her face and ears, creating a dark expression that just barely hid her eyes and nose. She had a mostly emotionless expression as she stared at them blankly.
"Detectives, you should probably leave. You won't get hurt if you run now. If you wait any longer, you won't survive, or at least, you won't leave this place," Reks suggested cryptically.
Sonny cocked his shotgun as he kept it aimed at Mary, "I don't respond well to threats."
Reks got up and backed away as their attention remained drawn, "Well I warned you!" Reks quickly darted from the room and out the lab door, shutting it just as Marcus chased after him. Reks activated a keypad on the wall and entered a code, which lit up red and locked the door. Marcus tried to kick the lab exit open, but to no avail. Sonny backed away from Mary, who still stood motionless in the doorway between the dimly lit recovery room and the larger lab.
Sonny kept his gun aimed but was checking over his shoulder, "Well?"
"The bastard locked us in here!" Marcus grunted as he tried to open the door with his hands.
"That's a six inch thick steel door with an electronic lock, you're not going to force it open like that. Blast it open!" Sonny suggested.
"Some C4 should do it, it'll take just a minute!" Marcus called out as he pulled off his backpack and reached into it. Sonny nodded and turned back to Mary, who began stepping towards him.
"Ma'am, stay back!" Sonny warned. Mary didn't answer and kept walking towards him slowly.
Sonny backed up a step, "Ma'am, I am an officer of the Global Police Force, I am here to help you. But I will fire if you don't stand down!" This threat also didn't deter the woman much, if at all. Sonny grimaced slightly and turned to dash towards Marcus. His cousin was diligently working on arming the C4 explosives when he ran up. He fired his shotgun at the window, frowning in dismay when it merely sparked at him.
"The glass is bullet-proof, I noticed that when we came in," Marcus said.
"Well when the hell were you gonna tell me?!" Sonny yelled at him.
"I thought you already knew, you noticed the door after all!"
"Argh!" Sonny growled as he let his shotgun slide to the side on its sling and yanked the pistol from his left holster and pointed it directly at Mary Reks, who was still slowly stepping towards him.
"Last warning ma'am!" he threatened. He thumbed a switch on the side, turning on a laser sight that shined right on her left breast above the heart. When she still didn't stop, he adjusted his aim to just below her left knee and fired once. The bullet struck its mark dead on, ripping through the clothes and into her leg. Mary stopped in place long enough to stare at the bleeding wound before letting out an angry roar that didn't sound human. It sounded like a deranged creature and filled both Sonny and Marcus with fear.
"What the hell?!" Sonny shouted as his eyes went wide and stayed that way. Marcus was quick to stop what he was doing and grab his rifle to help his cousin. Both Satsus looked at each other in bewilderment as Mary Reks stood before them and continued to scream like an animal, but not the kind either of them had ever heard before.
"How is she still standing?" Marcus asked. Sonny put away his pistol and stepped forward as he pulled his shotgun again, firing immediately. The blast sprayed into Mary's entire body from less than ten feet away and she fell backwards, silent once again.
"Bitch ain't standing now," he muttered.
Marcus snorted, "I thought I was the impatient one. I'm not taking the heat for that!"
Sonny turned away from the body, "Relax, it was self-defense and she was warned. Not our fault she's out of her mind."
Marcus stifled a chuckle as he moved to examine his cousin's handiwork, "True, but isn't the nuthouse up the ROAD?! Ack!" Marcus gasped as a bloodied hand suddenly grabbed him by the neck, cutting off his air.
Mary Reks rose off the ground as Sonny quickly reloaded his shotgun in a panic, "Drop him!" Mary glanced at Sonny and turned her head slightly before flinging Marcus aside, sending him crashing into one of the operating tables and onto the floor. He choked slightly as he held his neck, gasping for breath.
Sonny was shocked, "What the hell are you?" Mary stood there with a torn, red stained uniform, but there was no indication of pain. Sonny could clearly see the blood spilling out of both her torso and leg, but it didn't seem to be affecting her at all. Sonny cocked his gun again and fired, generating a generous splash of red along with what he thought was a spark. She barely took a step back from the shotgun blast before screaming unnaturally again. Sonny, stunned to say the least, regained what wits he had and pulled back his shotgun, swinging it towards her head. Surprise and shock filled his face even more when the weapon broke in half on contact and only drew a trickle of blood from her temple and ear.
"Shit," Sonny said. Mary growled again and charged at him. He attempted to slip by her, but she was quick enough to grab his passing arm and yank him back harshly. Sonny cringed as he felt his shoulder pop out of place for a second just before she sent him crashing into the door. The C4 landed on his stomach just as Mary was about to pounce on him again. Sonny held his hands up to defend himself when a loud single shot was fired and struck Mary's head. A noticeable ping of metal striking metal went off, along with a much more noticeable spark upon impact. Marcus was up with his assault rifle aimed right at Mary's head. Mary growled again and turned towards him, earning another shot that struck her forehead but didn't put her down. She did slow down considerably as she stepped forward, and Sonny could see where Marcus had hit before had not only ripped the skin open, but was exposing metal underneath.
"She's a damned robot! Keep firing Marcus!" Sonny shouted as he maneuvered his arm to make sure it would still function. Marcus flipped a switch on his rifle and began firing multiple three-round bursts into Mary's face and body, exposing the metal beneath, despite all the blood. After nearly a dozen bursts, Marcus ran out of ammo and his gun clicked furiously. Sonny got up and lunged at Mary, grabbing onto her back and neck. He was quickly thrown off and crashing into the wall and slumped down there in pain. However, he then pulled out a remote trigger and activated it. On Mary's back, the wired C4 beeped for only a second, long enough for Mary's eyes to widen before she exploded. The glass shattered from the blast as fire filled the lab. Marcus and Sonny were buried under some rubble that was sent flying about from the center of the blast. They pulled themselves out a moment later and sighed slightly with relief as half of the room was lit by flames. A hunk of twisted metal that used to be a light fell from the ceiling onto where Mary Reks had been.
Marcus stepped out and wiped his brow, "That was a bit much."
The relief didn't last long as Sonny glanced over and saw a shadow behind his cousin, "Look out!" Marcus turned in surprise as a human shaped robot full of bullet holes came out of the fire and grabbed him. The robot hoisted Marcus up by the neck, choking him with its long metal fingers. Sonny fumbled through his bag quickly before finding a round grenade labeled with blue and white letters. He popped the top and tossed it right at the robot, who caught it with its free hand and looked at it. A quick burst of electrical energy filled the air and the robot dropped Marcus before falling to its knees harmlessly. Marcus coughed heavily from the combined efforts of his neck being throttled and smoke filling his lungs.
Sonny winced as he slowly got to his feet, "Son of a bitch. Can't say I was expecting that."
Marcus nodded, "No shit. Good thing we had those EMP grenades. How many are left, just in case we run into another one?"
Sonny rummaged through his backpack, "That was our last one, unless you have another."
Marcus grimaced, "Well, as long as we don't accidently wake anyone else up." Sonny nodded and glanced up at the recovery room they had wondered into. The blood drained from his face as he spotted several dark figures sitting up inside with the same cold demeanor as Mary Reks.
"Let's get the hell out of here!" Sonny shouted as he made for the shattered lab windows.
Marcus glanced over in realization and quickly followed, "Oh great. Me and my big mouth! Why did I talk you into breaking in again?"
"Ask me later when we get out of this mess!" Sonny said as he climbed through the window, avoiding the sharp remnant glass. Once he was out of the lab, he reached into his backpack for his cell phone.
Marcus climbed over as Sonny frantically dialed, "Who are you calling? For backup I hope!"
Sonny grinned, "Something like that." The locked lab door suddenly burst open and off its hinges just before one of the missing victims, a man, stepped through. Sonny dropped his phone in surprise and rolled backwards to avoid this one as it reached for him. A cluster of them came through as both Sonny and Marcus drew their pistols.
"Aim for the head, that might slow them down at least," Sonny suggested.
"And then what? I say we outrun them while we can before we use up our ammo for no reason!" Marcus argued.
Sonny scowled as all nine human-looking robots filled the hallway, "Good point. Make for the stairs!" Both cousins turned and sprinted for the nearest stairway, only glancing back long enough to see if they were being followed. The nine robots were slowly coming towards them at a slightly faster pace than before, but still a slow walk by comparison to the Satsus.
Sonny cracked a grin, "Alright we're good as long as we stay ahead of them. At least they're slow." Marcus nodded as he opened the door to the stairwell. He was immediately thrown backwards by a large man's hand. Marcus was able to keep his balance and steadied himself on the wall as he dropped his pistols. When he looked up, all he could see was several blank faces staring at him with many more shadows coming down behind them.
"Shit! Run!" Marcus called out as he managed to grab one of his guns and move. Sonny froze in surprise and turned to see his cousin run back into the hallway and head past the stairs. He didn't need long to see why and quickly dashed away, following Marcus. They both ran straight into a dead end a half minute later, with a clogged hallway of lumbering, zombie-like people behind them. Frantically looking for an exit, Sonny kicked in the nearest door, finding only a dark office inside.
"Marcus, in here! We can hold them off until backup arrives!" Sonny called out. Marcus quickly ran in before Sonny closed and locked the door behind him.
"Hopefully that'll slow them down," he said.
"Who are you kidding? Even an entire special ops team wouldn't stop them! Especially not without some EMP grenades, and they're not exactly standard issue! What good will calling in our boys even do?" Marcus shouted in disdain.
Sonny grinned, "Good question, probably next to nothing. I guess it's a good thing that I didn't call them."
"Then who did you…" He never finished the question before a long arm punched through the metal door and grabbed Sonny by the arm. The detective tried to pull free, but was roughly yanked hard into the door, head first. His dazed expression didn't last as he was yanked again and his weakened shoulder completely gave out. By instinct alone, Sonny was able to jerk himself free, but still cried out in agony as his right arm hung limply. Marcus fired several times into the hole in the door with his pistol, sure that he would hit something with the cluster of people out there. His gun clicked empty and his face fell. A loud roar like a train engine suddenly blew by the door, clearing out the horde of robotic people.
"What now?" Marcus asked in surprise.
Sonny smirked painfully, "Looks like our backup is here, that was quick." Slightly muffled sounds of a struggled came through, with the occasional robot body flying by the hole. Eventually this stopped as a pair of hands with blue wristbands grabbed onto the door and ripped it off its hinges before tossing it aside. Marcus stared at the teenaged boy bearing teal over blue clothing, more than a little surprised at his sudden appearance. He knew whom it was, but unlike his cousin he hadn't met him before.
Verto cautiously stepped inside, "Looks like you should've called me a few hours ago. You two the only ones here?"
Sonny nodded, wincing as he did, "Other than the guard and all the robots that look like our missing people."
Marcus looked slightly disappointed, "I don't suppose Trunks came too?"
Verto gave him a strange look, "On a school night? Bulma would have his hide for that."
Marcus frowned, "Then it's just you?!"
Verto shrugged, "I can't round up everyone that fast. You're lucky I live so close to Satan City. Besides, it would be overkill to call the others. Hell it already is."
"So all these robot things won't be a problem?"
Verto glanced at Sonny briefly, "Just tell you cousin to keep up." He then stepped into the hallway, eyeing the few robots he had tossed towards the dead end before turning towards the main pack still coming closer.
"Wait, is he as strong as Trunks is?" Marcus asked.
"Didn't you watch the last tournament? He's much stronger than Trunks is," Sonny stated as he favored his arm.
Verto turned towards them for a moment but didn't take his eyes off the approaching horde, "I'm not as strong as I used to be, Trunks could be stronger if he wanted to be. But for this, I think even Mister Satan would have been fine."
Verto carefully glanced over the approaching people who were still walking very slowly, Very low ki levels, almost zero like the androids. But their skin is real, as is the blood. He pulled a small, folded, white device from his side pocket and opened it up. It lit up with blue as he pulled an earpiece from its top and wiggled it into his ear before folding up the rest and putting it away.
"Auto-scan mode. Kain, analysis," Verto said.
"Sir, these are cyborgs that have been fitted with living tissue over their endoskeletons. I am detecting hardened iron and steel alloys throughout their bodies," a monotone, slightly English male voice answered. Verto grimaced at the sound of the voice, recognizing the tone of the program that had once been sent to kill him in the form of a lethal hologram.
"And their appearance? Do they match the missing person reports?" Verto asked.
"I am still going over the files, but they do appear to be a match. However I cannot determine if they were built based on those humans, or if they were somehow changed," Kain replied as the earpiece lit up with blue light.
Verto bit his lip slightly, "I'd wager on the first one, we'll figure it out later."
"Sir, I must warn you that if these people were transformed into controlled cybernetic organisms, then you will most likely have to use lethal force to stop them," Kain suggested.
"Are they under their own control now?"
"Most likely not sir. The only way we could shut them down is if you can find a control hub from which a signal is being transmitted. I am not currently detecting a signal. They may be programmed to behave this way, thus you would have to destroy each one to stop them."
Verto scowled, "Yeah well, I'm sure if there's any humanity left, that's what they would prefer. Nobody wants to be a puppet."
"I understand sir." One of the rear cyborgs then came up from behind, arching to strike Verto from his blind spot.
"Lookout!" Marcus called out. Verto quickly spun, catching the attacker's arm before ripping it completely off at the elbow. A combination of blood, metal and sparking wires flew out as the cyborg tried to make sense of what had just happened to it.
"No pain receptors," Verto noted. He leapt forward and threw the cyborg's body into the oncoming pack.
He briefly glanced at Sonny and Marcus with a stern look, "Stay put." The next two cyborgs both reached for him but only hit air as he phased out and appeared behind them. A sharp, snap-hissing sound filled the air just before their heads were severed by one swipe of a golden blade of light. Verto eyed the metallic connections at the neck and his scowl deepened into an almost angry state. His Ki Sword faded as he glanced up to see the dozens of cyborgs still moving in. He double checked the crowd for fully human life signs before lifting his palm and charging it with a strong blast. He waited until they were all funneled together before he fired, sending a vivid golden beam that spanned the entire hallway. The cyborgs were torn apart easily before the beam detonated. The end result was a corridor littered with artificial body parts, most of which were sparking and smoking. Ahead of that, the ceiling caved in where the beam had exploded, bringing down tons of debris that fell towards the lower levels and then filled up the hallway.
Verto's left ear lit up with blue as Kain spoke, "I do believe you went overboard sir."
Verto's eyes darted towards his left side in annoyance, "You know, I didn't ask Bulma to keep you around for your opinions. Just scan for any more trouble while I get these two out of here."
"There is a small complication sir, your attack caved in the lower levels near the staircase entrance below. I advise that you use the roof access to evacuate Detective Satsu. I am now detecting strange energy levels both above and below our current position. The one below is much more, distinct," Kain said. Verto closed his eyes and attempted to sense anything else unusual, but wasn't able to pick up anything, Must not be anything human or easily detectable for me.
"Alright, we'll go up. It'll give me a chance to look around," Verto said. He then reentered the office where Marcus was assisting Sonny with the painful process of resetting his shoulder.
Sonny grinned painfully, "I see you can still clear a room pretty quickly."
"Why did you wait to call me anyway?" Verto asked, "It's obvious that pack of tin cans wasn't your first sign of trouble."
"We were able to take down one of them before the rest came after us. And I didn't want to bring you in until I had to. We needed to follow the book on this one," Sonny explained.
"So, breaking in yourselves followed which book exactly?" Verto asked as his eyebrow went up.
"Probable cause?" Sonny said, not earning any change in Verto's expression, "Alright already. I'm just trying to keep your family out of trouble. I had a feeling that I was going to need your help when this all started. Can we just get out of here?" Verto nodded as he reached down to pick up the cyborg arm he had severed. It was the only one left that was still intact, aside from the blood dripping off its end.
"Can I use one of your backpacks for this? I'd like to take it to Bulma for study," he requested.
Marcus slide his pack off, "Sure I guess. Don't know what good it'll do now other than for evidence."
Verto placed the robotic arm into the pack, "She might be able to determine exactly what's going on here. I'd prefer not to blow the place up before knowing what they were doing. Or at least what they were trying to do."
Sonny grunted as he got up gingerly, "I agree. Your mother knows her way around technology fairly well."
Verto gave the backpack back to Marcus, "What do you mean fairly well?" Sonny shook his head at the snide remark and carefully held his injured arm to his chest as he followed Verto out, with Marcus trailing behind. They reached the stairwell soon after once they passed through the decimated hallway with destroyed machinery. Smoke was still filling in from the lab that was on fire, but they were far enough away that it wasn't much of a problem. Verto glanced down the stairs, taking note that after only a flight, the rest were gone. A few tons of debris covered the exit to the lobby floor.
Marcus whistled, "I guess we're not getting out that way."
Verto's eyes narrowed, "I don't think my blast did all that, I aimed for the area past the exit. Kain, do you read any explosives in here?"
The earpiece lit up again, "Yes sir. It appears that the explosion went off at the same time that your attack detonated, so it was likely not even noticeable by even your senses."
Verto frowned, "Is there any more down there?"
"Yes sir, the entire shaft below us is wired with explosives. They would not be lethal to you, but to the Detectives they would be," Kain said. Both Sonny and Marcus looked at each other as they were able to overhear what Kain was saying.
"Kain, how far up is the roof access? I'd rather not have to blast my way out of here," Verto said.
"Level Eighteen sir, but this access staircase does not reach it. You will have to traverse the seventh floor corridor, which I am still mapping. Your scanner is not penetrating through the flooring around the middle of that area, nor is the satellite signal."
Verto's eyes narrowed, "Then there's probably something there that we're not supposed to see. Is that one of the power signals you are detecting?"
"Yes sir."
"Sounds like fun, are you two good to go up that far?" Verto asked as he turned to the Satsus.
Sonny nodded, "Yes, my legs work fine. So your mother gave you a portable scanner and an AI to run it? Where does she get this stuff?"
"Let's just say that she's gotten access to a lot of technology that isn't what you would call…public. At the moment, I think you can understand that," Verto hinted.
Marcus snorted, "At this point, I think I'll believe anything."
The trio made their way slowly to the seventh floor, being quite careful despite an intact and steady staircase. The seventh floor didn't resemble the others they had seen so far. Only the lone corridor led to a large and quite wide metal set of double doors. Verto couldn't sense anything through it, nor did Kain appear to detect much either past the same energy signature he had spoken of. Verto did take note that the walls around the door were slightly rounded, indicating that the next room was circular.
"Now what do you suppose is in there?" Marcus asked first.
"Most likely a trap," Verto said plainly.
"Most likely? Any you're going to just waltz right in?" Marcus said in disdain.
Verto folded his arms, "You don't need to be tactical when you have a one man wrecking crew to smash all in your path."
Marcus shook his head, "Hate to see when you're actually cautious."
Verto smirked, "This is cautious. It's when I get reckless that you need to run. Now let's see what prize is behind door number one."
A/N: Merry Xmas/Happy Holidays!
WDG: Hohoho, merry Christmas!