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 10: The Duke of Hazard

Doctor Kochin continued his aged laugh, to the dismay of Androids Seventeen and Eighteen as they continued their standoff with the cyborg Duke.

"That was very generous of him to use up his energy and be weak enough to fall into that trap. We would never have been able to take him down at the peak of his Super Saiyan power as he was earlier," Kochin declared.

"That wasn't even his full strength, he was still exhausted from the other night," Eighteen replied.

"Fascinating. I do hope that I am allowed to study him further once our next operation is complete," Kochin rambled.

Eighteen saw the chance and took it, "And what operation is that? Is that the project labeled C-O-T?"

Kochin's creepy grin did not falter, "Part of it is."

"What is it?"

"I'm sorry, I didn't think the one who was winning had to answer questions."

Eighteen scowled, "Who said you're winning?"

Kochin scuffed at this, "Are you saying you can defeat Duke? You, a lower model droid?" Duke's eyes lit up with blue briefly before he suddenly phased out. Eighteen dodged a head-butt attempt and glided backwards, only to be clotheslined viciously by the powerful cyborg. Eighteen cried out as she hit the ground hard, and then Duke stomped down on her chest.

Seventeen, despite his injury, got to his feet with determination, "Hey, rust bucket! Your fight is here!" Duke didn't react, until an energy blast hit the side of his head, courtesy of Seventeen. Duke turned towards the injured android, releasing the pressure off of Eighteen and allowing her to gasp for breath.

Seventeen smirked, "Yeah, you got it now. Let's do this!" Once Duke moved away, Eighteen scrambled to her feet, breathing hard and painfully.

"Seventeen, you can't take him alone!" she shouted at her brother.

"Then I guess you'd better get ready sis, just like old times!" Seventeen hinted.

Eighteen nodded, "Right, I got it."

Kochin laughed, "You fools, you're no match for him. I shall enjoy gathering up your spare parts for my experiments!"

"And I'll enjoy kicking your head off!" Seventeen countered.

"Now that's nostalgic, let's do it Seventeen," Eighteen said. Duke's head turned side to side as the androids surrounded him, but he made no initial move. Seventeen was the first to attack, charging in with his good arm. Duke turned to answer, only to see Seventeen stop a few feet away and glide backwards. Duke took the bait and stepped forward, making him unprepared for Eighteen to arrive and bury a kick into his side. Duke barely seemed fazed by the impact and slowly turned to stare at her. Eighteen's eyes widened and she quickly phased out to get away as Duke lunged at her. Right as Duke missed with his punch attempt, Seventeen quickly flew in and kicked him to the ground. Duke swung wildly as he went down, barely missing Seventeen as he glided away. Duke was quick to rise and chase after Seventeen, catching up in very little time and punching through his one handed guard and into a wall. Eighteen phased in and unleashed a barrage of punches into Duke's back, all of which found their mark and none of which even made him stumble.

We can't hurt him with physical attacks, even unguarded! Duke turned towards her as the room behind him lit up with gold. Seventeen was charging a blast and quickly fired, hitting Duke in the back of the head as Eighteen took the chance to get away from him. Seventeen fired again, prompting Eighteen to hold up both arms and do the same. The barrage that followed completely covered Duke's position with explosions and smoke. Tables, desks and lab equipment went flying around, turning most of the floor area into one big pile of rubble. The androids finally stopped after a few minutes of this and no response from their target.

"Not so tough after all," Seventeen remarked.

"You know, that probably wasn't enough," Eighteen reminded him.

Kochin grinned from the side of the room, "Highly unlikely."

"You need to be quiet. Better yet, how about I silence you personally?" Seventeen threatened.

Kochin chuckled as he leaned on his cane, "I think you have other issues at hand."

Seventeen was prepared to launch at him when Duke suddenly phased in behind him. Seventeen was quickly aware and turned to attack, only to have his good arm stopped easily. Seventeen struggled to get out of Duke's strong grip, to no avail. Eighteen came in from the blindside with a hard kick to the head, only to be stopped by Duke's other hand. Duke pulled both androids together with a sickening collision. He then lifted off the ground and spun around several times before releasing them one at a time. Seventeen hit a pile of rubble first and got up just in time for Eighteen to fly into him, putting them both under the debris.

"Ugh, what is with this guy's strength?" Seventeen groaned.

"It's not his power as much as it is the armor. It has to have some sort of special property. Maybe it's alien in nature," Eighteen suggested.

"Again? Like those Protoss freaks?"

"I don't know, but we need to get out of here."

Seventeen shifted and knocked part of a table off of him, "Alright, you get the kid. I'll distract him long enough for you two to get away."

"I'm not losing you again!"

"Relax, the Dragonballs can bring me back."

"So? That doesn't mean that it's necessary. This guy will go right through you. A sacrifice will be pointless!"

Kochin cleared his throat to interrupt the siblings, "Ahem, excuse me. I hate to break up your little strategy session, but we really need to finish this. Go on Duke, you may kill them now."

Duke slowly stepped towards Seventeen and Eighteen, who stood up in preparation. Duke was just within arm's length of them both when the floor began to tremble. Duke's head turned left while the androids looked around, trying to figure out what was going on. A large pile of rubble displaced and rose off the ground, revealing a battered Verto beneath it.

Kochin gasped, "What is this?"

Verto's glare shifted briefly as a few bolts of lightning danced off of him and his eyes flashed bright blue, "You have royally fucked up, that's what it is." A bright blue aura exploded around him, filling with scattered lightning bolts that arced off a few times before settling down.

"Impossible! Where is this power surge coming from?" Kochin asked.

Verto clenched his fist as he held it up, Gotta be the electricity, the seal must be vulnerable to it and reverses itself. These assholes obviously would not have known about it if even I didn't. Time to go to work.

Kochin seemed to calm himself, "No matter. This minor problem will soon be dealt with. Duke, attack! I want that Saiyan back on the floor!" Duke phased out immediately but when he attacked from behind he was met by a blue Psionic sword that swung into his side. The cyborg's hardened body stood up for only a second before the metallic substance started to break apart. Duke countered by kicking at Verto, forcing him to glide away and disengage. Kochin's eyes widened when he saw the gash left behind by the Psi Sword. Verto also noticed and was quick to hold up his other hand to charge a Psi Storm blast. Duke wasn't able to recover before the lightning burst hit him, ripping into his body at various points and leaving noticeable marks. Verto let up for a moment as Duke attempted to move, struggling to do so for a few seconds as his cyborg body sizzled and smoked randomly.

Kochin tapped his cane, "Duke, initiate final layering! It's time to test Thomasite's perfect form!" Duke managed to leap into the air towards the pool of bubbling metal, jumping in once he got there.

Verto snorted lightly, "Another armor later won't matter much this time."

"I beg to differ. The properties of Thomasite change with each application. Now it's time to see what it can really do!" Kochin declared. Verto scowled as his aura continued to flow with renewing blue energy, casting off small lightning bolts in the process.

"What do you think kid?" Seventeen asked from the side of the room.

Verto glanced at him, "I think you need repairs. This guy will be able to spare you an arm or two when I'm done with him." Duke eventually rose out of the metal, but his metallic skin had shifted colors. He had a dull dark gray skin now which shimmered a bit in the lab lighting.

"Is that going to be his final perfect form?" Verto asked.

"Of course, no more coatings of Thomasite are necessary. Any more would only be a hindrance now."

Verto's Psi Sword twirled in his hand, "Good to know." It brightened with increased energy before he phased out again. He reappeared behind Duke just before the sword sliced into the cyborg's neck. The blade clearly went through, but as it did, it suddenly shot outwards in a longer, broader form. Both androids had to duck as the enhanced sword nearly took their heads off before carving up part of the wall. Verto's eyes went wide as he completed the swing. Once his blade passed through Duke's neck it shifted back to its original shape.

"Watch where you're swinging that thing!" Eighteen shouted.

Verto stared at his sword, I didn't increase the power or change its form enough to do that. What happened? He eyed Duke, who hadn't moved. At the neck line there was also no sign that Verto's sword had even made contact. Yet it had clearly gone into the cyborg and out the other side.

No, it didn't necessarily go through him, not without some sort of wound. He eyed Kochin, who was snickering slightly, He did say that the properties change with each new layer, but I didn't expect that. I wonder…

"Give up boy!" You can't hurt Duke now!" Kochin claimed. Verto's sword faded before he rushed the unmoving cyborg with his fist glowing bright.

"Galic Fist!" Duke made no move to avoid or block, allowing Verto's powerful punch to strike perfectly in the center of his chest. The explosion that normally followed this attack did not pan out the same either. Instead, Verto's energy blasted out of Duke's back in a wide dispersed wave, disintegrating everything in its path. Even the hardened wall melted apart under the force of the wave. Once the powerful energy wave faded, it had carved out a long tunnel into the rock below East City. Verto stood up straight as Duke still hadn't moved, glancing behind to see the damage done.

"What is this? My attack went right through him?" Verto asked.

Kochin cackled, "Now do you see you brat? Your power can't even put a scratch on Duke now!"

Seventeen grimaced, "Damn." Verto backed up a few steps while Duke remained eerily still. He eyed the cyborg and then looked at the effects of his two attacks.

"Duke, attack!" Kochin ordered. The cyborg finally came to life and stomped towards Verto, reaching for him with a large metallic hand. Duke's hand hit air as Verto phased out and he lost track of the Saiyan completely. Duke's head turned with fervor as Verto was nowhere to be found. Seventeen and Eighteen also couldn't see him, though they were less concerned.

"Find him!" Kochin shouted angrily.

Seventeen glanced at his sister, "Is this the…"

Eighteen quickly nodded, "Yeah, I didn't think he was that good at it that he could just vanish during the thick of things."

Behind and above Duke, a small and barely visible distortion floated in place, remaining nearly stationary in the air. In this shadow, Verto hovered in place with his arms folded.

Brute strength is out, and now energy attacks aren't working like they should either. It's like this armor repels energy. No, no repel, it would've exploded harmlessly. It didn't just go through him either as it would not have powered up my attack like that. The armor must have enhanced the energy as it went through, or rather around. I'll have to test it again to know for sure since my previous attack didn't do that. Verto dropped his concentration as he held out his hand, creating a bright burst of lightning as he reappeared.

"Duke, behind you!" Kochin shouted. Verto fired the Psi Storm burst and struck Duke. The lightning energy covered Duke's body with waves of blue before brightening and arcing off of him in much stronger bursts that ripped into the floor easily. Verto stopped channeling immediately while Kochin's laugh filled the room again.

"Hahahahaha, I told you it was fruitless!"

"Give it a rest for once!" Seventeen shouted back.

"Make me, you useless droid! You three can't even touch Duke now! He is impervious to your attacks!"

Verto's eyes narrowed, No, not impervious. The armor isn't that good. If I could get past it, then he's finished. I shouldn't use any big energy beams as the explosion could get magnified. I wonder if other Psi techniques would work instead of using a brute force method. Verto held out his palm as he lowered to the ground and charged it with energy that slowly rotated into a blue swirl and chilled the air around it. Duke stepped towards him with no fear or even regard for the coming attack.

Verto pulled his arm back briefly before throwing it, "Psi Freeze!" The blast struck and covered Duke's skin in energy again, but this time several clusters of ice crystals formed and grew off of him. The effect was a little slower than usual, but as the ice expanded it proved more effective as it reached the ceiling and formed a large column of ice that would've held ten Dukes.

"What the hell?" Kochin asked, "How did you do that?" Verto himself didn't know what would happen, but was glad that it did.

Thought so. That material enhances Psi energy and its effects. It's not that my attacks aren't working, it's that they're being channeled off the armor like a tight compression conduit. Almost like how sunlight goes through a magnifying glass. It may protect him, but it can also be used against him. Kochin probably doesn't even realize it, his new armor is a double-edged sword.

Kochin grinned, "I see, you copied the technique of one of my other minions didn't you?"

Verto smirked, "Oh I froze him too. If you were the same Kochin from back then, you might know that."

Kochin scowled, "Figured that out did you? No matter. Duke, break out, now!"

"Ha! Your little experiment just got shut down!" Seventeen declared.

Verto stared at Seventeen with slight annoyance, "He can probably break out, but not for a while. Which gives us time to figure out how to break through that armor. Doctor, any suggestions?"

Kochin snorted, "Do you take me for a fool?"

"Yes."

Kochin growled, "Good luck figuring it out, I'm not saying anything. Besides, you can't break Thomasite! It's a practically indestructible metal in its perfect form. The only thing that can even scratch it is more…" Kochin's eyes widened and he promptly closed his mouth but the damage was already done.

Verto's smirk didn't waver, "So in case I need to answer your previous question again, it's still yes. Now let's find some useful debris." He glided over to one of the debris piles and picked up a long piece of broken pipe that had a pointed end. Verto then flew over to the bubbling pool of liquid metal and stuck the pipe in.

Kochin gasped in realization and scrambled to his computer station, "No! I won't let you!" The screen flashed with information about the pool of metal and its door panel before lighting up from an external source of blue light.

Kochin was blown backwards by the explosion as Verto lowered his hand, "All your button pushing is very rude." The ice around Duke began to fracture as the cyborg started to break free, and Verto pulled the Thomasite covered pipe from the bubbling pool. Some of the remnant metal dripped off and clanged off the floor.

Verto looked impressed, "Fast cooling too. Let's throw another layer on there." Duke finally broke loose and a distinct human growl hit the air.

"I'm gonna rip you in half kid!" Verto's eyebrow went up, Looks like someone is back in control, how'd that happen?

"Damnit, you just had to blow up my control panel. Now there's no shutting him down!" Kochin said.

Verto's palm lit up with white this time, "Wrong."Duke didn't get within a dozen feet before the blast hit him and his body erupted with white energy that ran wild as he dropped to the ground. The Feedback wave became more enhanced by the armor and streaked off Duke in random arcs.

"Ahhhh! What is this?!" Duke cried out as he fell to the ground and thrashed a bit.

Verto pulled the pipe-spear out and shook off the excess metal, "Something for evil scumbags. It'll drain your energy away and then I'm going to end you."

Duke looked frightened, "All I did was rob a bank. He put me up to it!" Duke attempted to point towards Kochin but struggled mightily.

Verto was unfazed as he swung his new metal weapon to cool it more, "Whether he did or not doesn't matter. I checked your background, do you want to know what I found?" Duke's eyes widened further and the feedback energy lessened somewhat.

"Yeah, you got off lucky the other day. Now, by letting him turn you into a cyborg, you've become too dangerous to live. Have a nice time in Hell!" Verto said with a scowl.

Duke managed to turn towards Kochin, "Doc, a little help!" Kochin, reluctantly, moved towards a different panel and threw a switch as the floor lit with blue again.

"I wouldn't do that," Verto suggested as he hovered off the ground. The electrical surge rushed into Duke and an erratic white burst ignited, sending a feedback pulse into the floor grid. Almost instantly, Kochin's equipment sparked and exploded all around him and the lab. Ceiling light and computers alike shattered with ease as Duke twitched as if he were being electrocuted.

"No, what is happening?!" Kochin shouted in panic.

"Told you so," Verto reminded.

"Well there goes access to the files," Eighteen grumbled.

"You came here for files? Ha, we don't have any critical information here! You've wasted your time!" Kochin laughed.

Verto snorted slightly, "Well, not completely. Getting rid of you two is enough for tonight." His hand lit with blue before the energy seeped into the Thomasite spear, making it glow and spark. Below the platform, Duke had stopped moving and appeared to be a lifeless corpse as any hint of energy was long gone.

So, Feedback doesn't always work against robots, but with cyborgs it will if their emotions are not in check. And since the electrical surge interacted with his negative energy, it shorted everything out. Good to know. Verto turned the glowing weapon and leapt into the air, dropping towards the ground and plunging it into Duke's metal skull. There was a brief moment where the cyborg's limbs flopped around randomly, but soon stopped as Verto let go of the weapon and any excess energy faded. He reignited his Psi Sword and turned towards Kochin, whose back was to fire that had broken out from the damaged equipment.

Kochin frowned, "No matter, our plans will not be affected by this. REDIC was just the start and it is an expendable operation."

Verto's head turned slightly, "Do tell, we're very curious."

"Not this time runt!" Kochin proclaimed. He pressed some sort of button on his arm and promptly blew up, leaving nothing but part of his ragged head behind.

"Well that's just great. I didn't even get a chance to do it myself," Seventeen groaned.

Verto allowed his sword to fade, "I have a feeling you'll get another chance. I think Kochin made several copies of himself. I doubt he would've said what COT is, but we'll find out one way or another."

Eighteen pulled the scanner from her back pocket and opened it up, "Kain, did you get anything?"

"There was another map in the files that matched the other that was retrieved from the Satan City facility. However, there were very few files that were of relevant use. I believe that this was an auxiliary site. It is also possible that Doctor Kochin deleted their database when you arrived. I read much fragmentation on their file storage devices before the system went offline," Kain explained.

Eighteen scowled, "So this was a wasted trip."

"Not completely, we do know some of what they've been working on. But this can't be the final product. And while that armor was tough, it wasn't viable for them. If it's reactive to Psi energy, Gohan or I can deal with it. Also, it may have been a diversion, but it is also a location that has been investigated on the map," Verto explained.

"Well, let's get out of this place so I can blow it up!" Seventeen said. Verto and Eighteen nodded and moved towards the exit as Seventeen started blasting with his good hand. Before he left the lab though, Verto retrieved the pipe-spear he had coated in Thomasite and brought it with him.

As the three flew back to Kame House, Eighteen had a particularly concerned look on her face.

"What is it?" Verto asked.

"How did your energy seal flip? That's the second time its happened," Eighteen pointed out.

"I think it's the electricity. As best I can figure, that's the only thing that's been present both times and that I've opened the seal as well," Verto replied.

"Do you think it could work in reverse?" Eighteen asked.

Verto's eyes narrowed, "I have no idea. I'm not sure why it was fixed after going to the lookout, unless Piccolo or Dende did something."

"Well, just be careful." Upon landing in the early morning light, they found Krillin, Sonny and a tanned Indian boy waiting for them. Verto recognized him as Maize, so he wasn't that surprised to see him and needed a word anyway.

"Oh good he's here. What does he know…"

Krillin stopped Verto mid-sentence, "Guys, we know what COT is. And it's not good."

A/n: I do apologize for the long gap between updates, but that's what it has been like for me for a while now. Life changes happen and require my time and attention. With the addition of Dragonball Super I have been rethinking some things that I have planned. But I have not given up on this story. If anything, I have been slowly adding content from around this point but also trying not to go too overboard with it. I always think those things through carefully.