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 8: Officer Down

Trunks' eyes snapped open and he leapt out of his own bed, only to stop and look around in realization. It was early morning outside, not evening like it had been. How did I get here? The last thing I remember was fighting that big robot, and then Verto gave me his energy to use. I beat the robot and then…I was here? He immediately scanned the compound for Verto, not sensing him anywhere nearby. He sensed the rest of his family without any problem though, the strongest of which was just outside his bedroom door. Trunks opened the door to see his father standing there, looking as irritated as he usually did most days.

"About time. No son of mine is going to sleep all day no matter how exhausted he is. Certainly not after last night," Vegeta proclaimed.

Trunks looked away, "Yeah, about that…"

"I already know what happened boy, no need for you to explain. You're not the one who needs to be explaining anything. I do have one question though, how long have you been above the standard Super Saiyan level? When did you ascend?" Vegeta asked. Trunks suddenly realized that he had not told his father yet, at least not this version of Vegeta.

"It was about a year ago in that other timeline. I'm not very good at it yet though, this was the first time since then that I tried it," Trunks said truthfully.

Vegeta smirked, "I suggest you eat your breakfast, because you will be getting plenty of practice soon."

Trunks grimaced at that statement, "Great…"

He followed his father part of the way to the dining area, though Vegeta made his usual stop at the gravity room instead. Trunks found his mother and sister waiting there, though Bulma was fixated on something else while Bulla crawled around on the floor. He spotted the scanner she had given Verto, which he had then borrowed for the mission.

"I presume that he asked you to go with last night, but then I found this in your pocket. And the AI can't lie to me after all," Bulma said with a stern tone.

Trunks nodded, "Sorry, but if I hadn't have gone…"

"It's fine, I understand why you chose to go with. But we have to be more careful from now on. Even if you're just trying to help, we have to know what's going on. We're your parents after all," Bulma scolded.

Trunks looked down for a moment, "I know. Is Verto back yet?"

Bulma shook her head, "No, Piccolo took him to the lookout according to Krillin. Neither of us have heard from him since then. I guess it's to be expected after last night. I'm more concerned with how you are doing."

"What do you mean Mom?"

"You don't feel sick or strange or anything do you?"

"No, just tired, why?"

Bulma looked relieved, "Well, just let me know right away if something feels wrong. I'm guessing you didn't quite know how to handle the energy Verto gave you last night. He was the same way when he first used that silver form or whatever it is. Hopefully there isn't any side effects."

"Hope not. Did I get enough downloaded to put away Doctor Wheelo?" Trunks asked.

Bulma smirked slightly, "No matter how much data we have, there is probably no way to 'put him away' easily. I'm still not sure what he's up to, not completely. But this was a good start, you and Eighteen did great."

Trunks felt relieved for a moment but then remembered something, "About that. Did you find out what that COT Project is? Eighteen couldn't find anything about it."

"Nothing except for a map, but I have no idea what that is. I seriously doubt it is laboratory locations, some of these places are very remote. I still can't be sure just what Flandal and this Director Schultz were planning, aside from kidnapping and turning people into cyborgs. He has enough knowledge and technology to make advanced androids, but it doesn't seem like that's quite what he is after," Bulma mused as she stroked her chin thoughtfully.

"Sure seems that way to me," Trunks argued.

Bulma shook her head, "I know it may seem like it, but there is no point in building weaker models if he already knows what he's up against. He'd be better off just making an army of the huge robots. This seems more like a trial and error experiment, especially if he's letting someone other than himself or his assistant do the work."

"Maybe it's just a show then. You know, to keep us from figuring out what he's really up to?" Trunks suggested.

Bulma stared at Trunks grimly, "Perhaps, but Flandal was never the type to leave important matters to others. Time will tell I guess." The phone promptly rang, interrupting their train of thought.

Bulma glanced at the caller ID for a second before answering, "Krillin, what is it?" Trunks didn't hear what was said, but the look of concern on his mother's face was enough to know that something was wrong. She grabbed the TV remote and turned on the small monitor that was sitting at the far end in the upper corner of the hall outlet opposite the gravity chamber. She flipped through a few channels before landing at a news station. Trunks' eyes widened as he saw only a large building that looked like a small comet had crashed into its side.

"…Breaking news. The Satan City precinct of the GPF has been attacked. As of now the police do not know who is responsible as they are still sorting out the mess. Authorities identified a small explosive was used in the attack from inside the facility. One fatality has been reported, Detective Marcus Satsu..." The room shook when Trunks suddenly left, blazing a trail to the door. Bulma quickly looked out the window just in time to see him turn Super Saiyan and blast off into the sky.

Bulma frowned at this as she put the phone back up to her ear, "Looks like you were right. They didn't mention the other one, Sonny."

"I haven't heard either, but Gohan and Videl are on the scene too. I'll send Verto there when he wakes up."

Bulma's eyes narrowed, "He's at Kame House? Since when?"

"Well he was staying here you know. Piccolo brought him a few hours ago, sound asleep. His power level feels normal again. Piccolo wouldn't say what happened, only that it was resolved, whatever that means," Krillin explained.

"Okay, Trunks should be fine with Gohan there. I'm on my way over now, see you in a bit," Bulma said. She sighed heavily as she hung up, Now what?

Trunks pushed his flight speed to its maximum as he rushed to Satan City. He sensed Gohan was there and locked onto his location, knowing there was a better than average chance that he went to investigate. Trunks' mind was racing as he flew, not sure what to make of the situation, only that he had to make it right. After about ten minute of silent but desperate flight time, Trunks arrived in Satan City, making a bee line for Gohan's position. He found both Gohan and Videl at the wrecked police station, dressed in their Saiyaman costumes. Videl waved Trunks down while Gohan was examining the debris closely.

"Hi Trunks, what are you doing here?" she asked.

Trunks powered down as he landed, disregarding the greeting, "What happened?"

"Somebody bombed the station, but who or why is the question," Gohan replied.

"Is it true that they, whoever did this, killed Marcus Satsu?"

Gohan's eyes narrowed momentarily, "Wasn't that the guy that killed Ranso Teziwari last year?"

Trunks nodded, "Yeah, me and Verto were with him and his cousin Sonny last night, fighting with one of Doctor Wheelo's robots."

Gohan grimaced, "That explains the demolished building on the south side then."

"I told you I sensed something strange last night!" Videl said with an annoyed tone.

"We were at my parent's house, we wouldn't have been able to easily tell with Buu around," Gohan claimed.

"Or with you and Goku snoring either apparently," Videl said as she folded her arms, "Anyways we should ask the lieutenant if we can see the security footage."

Gohan nodded, wincing at the jab she took at him, "Good idea. Trunks, can you get us up to speed on what has been happening?"

"Mom can a little easier I think, what about Marcus Satsu though?" Trunks asked.

"The report was that he didn't make it, but we haven't found anyone yet. It's possible that he was pronounced at the scene and they already took him away," Gohan said. A hand shot out of the rubble, startling the trio of heroes. It was a weak hand that clearly seemed to require assistance. Trunks was quick to react, pulling the buried victim out of danger, only to realize who it was.

"Sonny! Where's Marcus?" Trunks asked.

Sonny struggled to stand up and collapsed in a heap, favoring his leg with his one good arm, "I don't know, probably dead. He pushed me out of the way when that cyborg showed up."

"Cyborg?!" Gohan exclaimed.

Sonny nodded, "We were in a briefing with the Chief when it came in. Evidence clearing my name had turned up thanks to you guys and both Marcus and I were cleared of all charges. Then one of the missing persons showed up and came right into the station, claiming he had escaped and needed to press charges against his kidnappers. We planned to interview him right away in the briefing room. When he came in, his eyes did a weird light shine thing and his demeanor completely changed. He threw down officers left and right when they tried to stop him, he was coming for me. Only Marcus seemed to realize it was a cyborg right before it blew up and got between us and threw me into the stairwell shaft. It caved in afterwards. How many died?"

Gohan was apologetic, "Just Marcus, I'm sorry."

Sonny slumped a bit before kicking at the rubble a bit with his good leg, "Can one of you hide me somewhere?"

"I guess, why?" Gohan asked.

"These bastards are after me because I know too much. They may not be able to touch you and your friends, but they're obviously going to try. I need time to heal up anyway, no hospitals," Sonny explained.

"We can fix you up no problem, but I wouldn't know where to start after that," Gohan said.

"Mom and Verto will, that map we downloaded has got to mean something," Trunks piped up.

Gohan closed his eyes for a moment, "I sense Verto is at Master Roshi's island. Alright let's head over there right away. Trunks, Videl." Both of them stepped closer to put a hand on Gohan as he made contact with Sonny's shoulder and placed two fingers on his forehead.

"Shouldn't we finish finding out what happened here? I'd like to know what REDIC and this Doctor Wheelo guy were up to," Videl said.

"We'll get the details from Bulma, let's go," Gohan said as all four phased out and teleported across the planet.

The four appeared on Master Roshi's island, startling the owner off of his lawn chair. Gohan and Trunks assisted Sonny about halfway to the door before Krillin ran out with a small brown bag in hand.

"Perfect timing, Officer Satsu needs one of those," Gohan said.

Sonny sighed, "It's detective, but never mind. What is that supposed to be?"

Krillin handed him a Senzu Bean, "Just eat one and you'll figure it out." Sonny shrugged and did just that, providing a nice and loud crunch as he bit down on it. A mere five seconds after swallowing it, his injured leg jerked slightly as the bones reset themselves. His shoulder also made a popping sound and he blinked in disbelief as Gohan and Trunks allowed him to stand on his own.

"Wow, where have those been all my life?" Sonny asked.

Krillin nodded slightly, "I've told everyone that we should've started growing them on our own for years now. But I suppose doctors need to pay their bills too."

"You've got my vote," Sonny said as he pulled off the arm sling. The door to Kame House opened once more to reveal Eighteen and a sleepy-eyed Verto following her out.

"Bulma should be here shortly," Eighteen said.

Gohan nodded grimly, "In the meantime, we should start figuring out what we're going to do with Doctor Wheelo. First of all, how did he even survive that battle with Vegeta last year?"

Verto yawned, "His suit probably had some sort of life support system to keep his brain alive until he could be found. Trunks and I couldn't find a trace of that big robot. And the one we fought last night was a different model."

"Okay, so his assistant or this Director Schultz guy probably dug him up. What else?"

"There were behind the missing people around the world and transformed at least most of them into cyborgs. Detective Satsu stumbled onto it at the REDIC facility, we just don't know how many were changed," Verto added.

"Actually we do, the computer files stated that there were one hundred people taken and each one had their brains removed," Eighteen interjected.

Videl and Gohan gasped aloud at this before the latter spoke, "How horrible. Why would they do that?"

"Most likely some sort of experimentation. The victims' memories were replaced and they acted as normal people, but showed that there was some sort of control function that could be remotely triggered for them to attack. The files listed Schultz as a decorated brain surgeon," Eighteen explained.

Verto rubbed his chin a bit, "I wonder why they stopped at just a hundred? Satan City alone probably has a thousand more homeless people they could have easily taken and no one would have cared or noticed."

"Verto! That's a terrible thing to say!" Videl exclaimed.

Verto glanced at her, "What? It's true."

"He's right, the missing person reports were scattered all over the world. Other than to prevent too much attention, why stop there?" Sonny pondered.

"Maybe whatever they were trying to do finally worked and they knew how to do it right," Trunks pointed out. Everyone looked at him and he noticeable scowled, "What? That's basic science."

"In any case, we know that they used these people as a means to an end. What that end might be, I don't know," Verto admitted, "But odds are its got ruling the world in mind."

"He can try, we'll stop him. And then we'll wish back everyone who died, including your cousin," Gohan declared.

"Wish him back? How would you do that?" Sonny asked in confusion.

Verto promptly cleared his throat, "Some things are better left unsaid."

"Right, I understand," Sonny said.

"Sorry Detective, we're just a little too cautious sometimes," Gohan said, giving Verto a slight glare.

"You have every right to be. If I could lift care with one hand and blow up half a city at will, I'd want people to stay out of my business too." The conversation was put on hold when they heard a plane approaching and spotted Bulma descending to the island in her capsule plane.

She quickly hopped out with a capsule case handy, giving both Verto and Trunks an eyeful before switching her attention to Sonny, "I'm so sorry about your cousin."

Sonny nodded grimly, "Just help me get the bastards responsible and we'll call it even."

Bulma glanced at Verto and Eighteen before looking back, "I'm not sure when that will be. Until we figure out exactly what they're up to and exactly where they are, it may take a while."

"I'm a patient man. Just let me know how I can help."

Bulma nervously smiled, "Aside from information, you'd just be in the way. Sorry to put it that way, but you should go back to your detective work." Sonny glared at her before ripping his badge off his waist and throwing it into the ocean.

"I will not sit idly by while my cousin goes unavenged. I will have justice, whether by my hands or through yours. I may not have the same strength or abilities that your friends do, but I am very resourceful. Do not underestimate a desperate man with nothing left to lose. Even if I'm reduced to answering the phone and filing paperwork, I could surely help you out somewhere," Sonny suggested.

"This could be quite dangerous, there's no guarantee of your safety…" Bulma said.

"To hell with it. I've already seen how safe I am even when I'm surrounded by police. I wouldn't be surprised if they were all in on it since Marcus was the only one that died and they couldn't find me in a light pile of rubble. At least with you guys I'll know I did everything I could," Sonny said in defiance.

Verto smirked, "You might as well sign him up. He's not backing down."

Bulma sighed in defeat, "Yeah, I didn't think he would. My tests on the cybernetic parts are still incomplete and the data you guys provided asks more questions than it answers. I still have no idea what to make of this COT map either. But I did print it off so we can all look at it." She pulled a rolled map out of the vehicle before capsulizing it and putting it in the case. Afterwards they all went inside and gathered around the table as Bulma spread the map over it. Bulma has included an overlay of the entire world to help with locations, which were marked with red dots.

Krillin whistled, "That's quite a few places. What is that, twenty of them?"

"Twenty-three, with just about every major population center covered, as well as the remote areas. That part actually makes more sense with whatever he is trying to do. The only problem is, what and why," Bulma said.

"You mentioned the remote areas too. If there were not cities near some of these areas, I'd say he picked them at random," Verto pointed out.

"That's what I thought too, but I did notice one thing. Out of all of the populated land over the world, there's only one place that there isn't at least one of these locations within a hundred miles," Bulma hinted as she pointed at the map.

Verto and Krillin both eyed the map, "There?"

Gohan put a finger to his chin, "That's strange, it's not like there isn't some people around there. Though it is around Mount Paozu and my parent's home."

"Not very many though, that is what is making me think that whatever Wheelo is up to has something to do with the world's population. A lot of the other remote areas are full of villages too," Bulma argued.

"All of the missing person reports came from the major cities, at least the ones we have heard about. It therefore stands to reason that there could be more of these cyborg experiments going on in these other areas, even if there is little to no technological presence there," Sonny said.

Bulma nodded, "I agree, even though some of these remote areas don't have electricity or even running water, it would be a very good place to hide whatever he is doing. Setting up power systems would be simple for Wheelo or his assistants."

"So what's the plan?" Verto asked.

"I figured you'd be the one to come up with that since you have all the free time," Bulma countered, making Verto frown.

Sonny cleared his throat, "We should investigate each of these places one at a time so not to route too much suspicion, starting with the lesser populated areas."

"Couldn't we just hit a bunch of them at the same time," Videl piped up.

Bulma shook her head, "All we have to go on is a map, and it only shows general locations, no precise ones. Also we do not know what we might be up against in each spot. The best we could do is keep an eye out for anything strange or out of the ordinary. With Wheelo, chances are good that wherever these places are involve something underground or hidden."

"Plus that they may move whatever is in these places out the instant the others are hit," Verto added.

"We can patrol the cities easily enough if we ask our Dads, Yamcha, Tien and Piccolo to help," Gohan proposed.

"I've got West City!" Trunks declared.

"No, your father can do that if he's willing. You've got school, which you are not getting out of until I say so, understand?" Bulma said sternly.

"Fine," Trunks muttered.

"That leaves us with what, almost ten lesser populated areas to search," Verto said.

"I think you and Detective Satsu should handle those. Of course if Krillin and Eighteen want to help…" Bulma hinted as she glanced at the monk.

"No need to ask, my wife wouldn't take no for an answer at this point. Just say when and where," Krillin stated.

Verto stared at the map for a few seconds, "I guess we'll just have to pick a spot and scout it out until we have more information."

Gohan nodded as he slipped on his sunglasses, "Keep us posted, we need to get back to Satan City, otherwise my father-in-law will send Buu out to find us. Last time he was out he changed the traffic signs into cookies."

Sonny stared at them both, "What?!"

Videl glared at Gohan, "Another day detective." She held onto Gohan's hand as they both teleported away.

"Well, my student Maize will here shortly. I should probably tell him to take a few days off," Krillin said as he walked towards the door.

Verto's eyes narrowed in thought, "Wait, didn't you say you knew his father?"

"That's right, Tora and also his grandfather Bora. They live at the base of Korin Tower, below the lookout," Krillin replied.

Verto's head spun towards the map, finding a large red dot very near that area, "Looks like we found a place to investigate first. And strategically speaking, probably one of the more important spots."

Krillin agreed, "Alright we'll ask him once he gets here."

Bulma sighed, "Well that's settled. Verto I need a word, in private please." She motioned towards the beach outside and they both went out the door to the edge of the water.

"So what happened when Piccolo took you to the lookout?" she asked.

Verto shrugged, "I dunno, I passed out on the way and woke up here. Everything is normal so whatever happened seems to have been temporary."

Bulma grimaced, "I take it he didn't tell Krillin anything either, other than what he told me over the phone. Is your power any different?"

Verto shook his head, "Nope, normal like I said. Maybe the seal was damaged and that's why it reversed itself. If Dende healed me, and he probably did, it might have been restored as well."

"Still, please be careful. This is something that has never happened before," Bulma said with concern.

"Relax, I didn't forget how to use Psi energy," Verto said for reassurance.

"So why did you feel the need to put Trunks through it?" Bulma asked with a deep frown.

"It was the situation, I had to make the call and that was the safest I could think of," Verto responded.

That answer did not appease Bulma, "How do you figure that? What if he couldn't handle it? What if he got hurt or worse?"

"If I thought he couldn't handle the power transfer and transformation that went with it, we wouldn't be discussing this. We would be looking through Satan City for survivors. I made the right call," Verto said in confidence.

"But what about Trunks? He already has an ability he wasn't supposed to have, what if he gets another one?"

Verto folded his arms, "You act like it's a bad thing. If that happens he can learn to control it just like the other one. I have been working with him on energy control for the past year. Don't sell Trunks short, he can handle himself no matter what happens."

"I know that, I just hope there aren't any more side effects. We've dealt with enough of those," Bulma claimed.

"Are you complaining that you don't look your age?" Verto asked with a grin.

Bulma blushed slightly, "Okay you've got me there. I'll try to keep Vegeta off your back about this."

Verto rolled his eyes, "He's likely planning out a new training program as we speak."

Bulma nodded in dismay, "Probably. That man, I swear…" she trailed off as she pulled out a single capsule, "Here's the scanner back, it should be good to go. Also Android Seventeen will be stopping by soon. I told him about all this and he's agreed to help."

"Doesn't surprise me given what happened last year," Verto remarked.

"No doubt, stay safe kiddo!"

A/N: An interlude chapter to be sure. I apologize for the long break between chapter releases but two jobs plus school really takes time away.