Chapter 23 is up! Genos versus Frieza is going down, and it's gonna be epic! I think it is fate that this chapter is released on the same day that Goku finally obtains mastery of Ultra Instinct in the release of Dragon Ball Super Episode 129, or maybe not. Anyway, I am happy to report as well that this story has officially reached the 100,000 view marker! So I would just like to take this time to thank all of the loyal viewers who have stood by this story and waited for the updates without a clear schedule, and your reviews really make my day. So without any more delays, here is Chapter 23 folks!
"Your death."
Even though his conscious was inside this new body, he still could not believe it this was real. This was what he'd been dreaming about for years: to have the power to eradicate evil . And it was all thanks to one person: Dr. Kuseno.
"Genos, there's something that I've been meaning to tell you, but I wanted to wait until everything was in place so you wouldn't get too anxious."
The eyebrow of the cyborg shot up. "What are you talking about?"
"Let me show you."
Dr. Kuseno and Genos entered a room in Bofoi's laboratory he was not familiar with. The lights were even dimmer in this room than in the main laboratory room. But at the edge of the room, a bright, purple orb of energy the size of a wrecking ball was glowing brightly, shining light on at least half of the room.
"What is that?" said Genos, pointing at the giant orb as he spoke.
"That is the power source of the space pirate's ship, and the key to limitless power." A voice could be heard at the center of the room. As soon as the voice spoke, the lights above increased their luminosity, causing Genos and Dr. Kuseno to squint. When their eyes adjusted, they saw Bofoi and Alex standing side-by-side, tapping the tabletop, appearing impatient, as was to be expected with the weight of the world resting on their shoulders.
"We don't have a lot of time, so let's make this explanation quick," said Bofoi.
"Can somebody please tell what's going on?" said Genos on a voice that bordered on shouting.
"Genos..." Dr. Kuseno put both his hands on the cyborg's shoulders. "Thanks to the help of my brother and Alex, we've developed something that can surpass even your master in strength"
The last part of the sentence piqued the cyborg's curiosity, and both of his eyebrows shot up while his eyes widened. "You did? What?"
"You see, ever since I created a cybernetic body for you and downloaded the contents of your brain and memory into this new body, I've been trying to find ways to expand upon this technology. After months of brainstorming and tinkering, I came upon an idea: to create a new human body with synthetic tissue so you could live and grow as a real human, instead of completely relying on upgraded parts for increased strength. And it worked; I managed to synthetically create living tissue to form a living body, and combined with the cybernetic augmentations, a new sapient construct was born. A being perfectly balanced with both organic and inorganic material. It took me many years to perfect the technology and integrate living flesh with machinery as one, but this new construct was my first success. Alas, I ran into an unfortunate problem: in order to stabilize the cellular bondage and properly establish a neural system that would smoothly respond to the user's thoughts and human reflexes, I needed a major power source. But no matter where I looked or how hard I tried, there was no power source on Earth that could complete this android body. But as you know, we were visited by those not from Earth…" Dr. Kuseno motioned to his older brother to follow up.
Once Bofoi got the message, he cleared his throat and said, "When I was scavenging through the ruins of the fallen spacecraft, I discovered the main power source of the ship. It was cracked, but not irreparable.
"As you can see," Bofoi motioned his hand to the same purple orb of energy at the edge of the room, "The damage has been completely repaired. And thanks to the support of my brother and Alex, we were actually able to get it running again."
Alex couldn't keep his excitement contained any longer. "And the best part is…" Alex rapidly typed on the keyboard monitor. A panel opened up from the ground, and rising up was… Genos. Genos gasped. If he had a heart, it would have leapt up to his mouth. There was... another body? They'd made Genos another body? Stricken with curiosity, he proceeded to walk up to the body in fascinated shock, observing this new body in great earnest, admiring all of the details of this new body.
"Amazing…" muttered Genos under his breath
"The best part is that we were actually able to reverse engineer the energy source and make it smaller!" Alex spoke in a frantic, excited, and almost shouting tone while Genos continued to admire the new cybernetic body. "Isn't that awesome?!"
"Quite," added Dr. Kuseno, smiling at the boy's fervent enthusiasm. "The three of us spent three days working on your body and manufacturing the orb, with only about 4 hours of sleep at maximum. But it was all worth it in the end. We've made a body beyond anything mankind has ever seen."
Dr. Kuseno shuffled to Genos' side, hoping that Genos would be satisfied with the work, and seeing the awestricken face on the teenage cyborg's body, he was beyond satisfied. "So, are you ready to become the strongest man on Earth?"
So stricken was the cyborg with amazement, he could only give a small nod as a response. Dr. Kuseno's lips curved up into a larger smile.
"Excellent. Today is the day that you will achieve your greatest victory. Today, you will be the only hero in human history to defeat a God-level threat single-handedly."
This flashback in the mind of Genos had finished. Genos silently spoke to himself under his breath, "I'm going to honor your words, doctor." He took note of the Devil of Frost with great detail, observing his scales, body armor, and cold eyes, comparing it to a reptile. It appears he was even more hideous than he thought.
"Talking to yourself?" said Frieza. "Hardly a good first impression."
Genos narrowed his eyes and met Frieza's stern gaze with a cold, murderous stare. "I'm not here to listen to your quaint humor," replied Genos cuttingly. "Our planet has been preparing for your visit for quite some time, and it was because of the fear of your impending arrival that this new body has been created for me. With it, I will bring an end to the greatest threat this planet has ever seen."
"Oh, you're putting your serious face on? Ooh, we're getting real serious, got to take it really seriously now."
Genos noticed the prisoner's body lying unconscious on the ground. So he had been defeated by this Devil of Frost. He looked behind him, and his eyes widened; all of the S-class heroes, minus King, were lying unconscious on the ground. All of them had been defeated? Every single one of them was laid to waste by this monster? He hadn't expected that. It appeared he'd arrived in the nick of time. He refocused his attention on the matter at hand. "I don't take kind to mockery, and I've enough of your inane dribble."
"Is that so? Well, why don't I-" Frieza's sentence was cut short by the cyborg's fist that planted itself into Frieza's chest. The force sent Frieza hurtling up into the sky in a diagonal direction for a few hundred meters, pushing Frieza far away from the battlefield. Genos jumped up to meet him, clasped his hands together into a single balled fist, and slammed him back down down to the Earth. A huge crater was formed, spanning about 20 meters wide and 30 meters deep. Up in the sky, Genos gazed at both his palms, as if they were illusions and the entire thing was a dream. But despite this, he knew that never, in his wildest dreams, could he have thought this kind of power was attainable. And this was while he was still getting used to his new body. While Genos was hovering midair, Genos bent his knees down, rotated his body downward, and propelled himself down to Frieza.
The Space Emperor was slow to get up. He ran his hand over his face and let out a labored sigh. That punch was rather powerful, although with the new trend that was growing, he supposed he shouldn't been surprised. "How many more goddamn surprises do I have to deal with? This laborious meddling is striking my final nerves..." Frieza pushed himself off of the ground and saw Genos sprinting toward him. But this time, Frieza would be prepared. Frieza blocked the cyborg's punch with his elbow, and attempted to meet all of Genos' punches with his own fists. But with every punch, he could feel his punches being nullified, overpowered by the sheer strength of this cyborg.
"What the..."
"Machine Gun Blows!" Genos decided to elevate the intensity of his punches, and performed his upgraded combo move. It was unbelievable; comparing the strength his speed of his previous Machine Gun Blows and current Machine Gun Blows was like comparing a soldier to an army. There simply weren't any comparisons to make.
Frieza released a burst of energy around him to halt Genos's barrage of punches. It worked, although left him with no damage and only sent him back 10 meters.
"You've got quite the spunk for a youngling like yourself..." Frieza floated up into the air, and Genos quickly followed suit. With this new body, he was able to use the energy from the orb and propel himself upward into the sky through his hands and his feet.
Genos was thinking to himself, internally going through the plethora new weapons he now had available. One of the available options caught his attention: energy beams. Genos channeled the energy from the orb and brought it to his palms. The cyborg held out his palms toward Frieza and allowed the energy to be released.
Genos didn't know what to expect, but he certainly didn't expect this: a purple beam of energy with an orange outline burst forth from his palms, and ignited the entire sky.
"What?!" shouted Frieza. Frieza hadn't been prepared for such a large energy blast, and in an instant, he was sent flying back into the ground. The entire canyon range was blown up in a fiery explosion. The force of the explosion was large enough that even several hundred meters away, both Frieza's ship and the spectators were rocked in their spots.
The spectators covered their eyes from the blinding light.
"Who is that?" said Recoome.
"I have no idea," replied Guldo. "But whoever he is, he's goddamn tough."
"You've got that right, Guldo," said Recoome.
"Where do these warriors come from?" said a baffled Captain Ginyu. "Every single one has been able to match and even best Lord Frieza's changing forms. It's unbelievable!"
Back in the sky, the light was beginning to fade, and the scene was coming into view. Hovering in the sky, Genos still had his hands extended outward from his energy blast. So this was the destructive power now laying within him; he hadn't meant to release such a large burst of energy. To know an ordinary blast like that could create such devastation was unbelievable. Saitama would HAVE to take him seriously now. In fact, he probably SURPASSED his master now. And now that Genos had taken care of the threat, he'd challenge Saitama once again. The battle had to have been over; no one could survive a blast like that.
"Well well well..." Genos let out a slight gasp; floating just a few feet above the ground, Frieza glanced at Genos with an irate demeanor. His body was still covered in white smoke from the blast; his arms were in a crossed position to defend himself, but they were now covered with several bruises and scratches. "That was something. I'm not going to lie, that actually hurt, just a bit."
Frieza flew up to Genos, and now faced Genos with only a few feet of distance between them. "But I wouldn't let that go to my head. Every one of your pitiful acquaintances attempted to fight me all at once, and look what happened to them. Even the Legendary Super Saiyan, the warrior of untold might who appeared every 1,000 years, was but a mere inconvenience to me in the grand scheme of things. So what hope do you have of stopping me?"
The energy from the orb came to life, enveloping Genos like a purple aura. Genos' face scrunched in anger, and his unmitigated fury against all things evil was amplified by this new and improved bio-mechanical body. "You're wrong. Thanks to the efforts of the greatest scientific minds on this planet, what you see before you is the perfect combination of organic flesh and mechanical engineering. Using the energy source from the Space Pirates, I am now the strongest hero on this planet. Not even a god-level threat like you can stand up to me now." This utmost confidence was uncanny for Genos, but he couldn't help it. The power was getting to him.
"Keep telling yourself that." Frieza struck Genos, and the two of them disappeared instantaneously. Like the battle before, none of the spectators could see what was going on, and like before, the only proof of the ongoing battle was the intense bursts of air pressure originating from the warriors' fists colliding in the air.
As the two fighters were exchanging blows, Frieza performed a midair front-flip and slammed Genos with his tail. Genos caught his tail before it hit him, and kicked Frieza in his back with his foot. Genos followed up and struck Frieza's head with his elbow. Frieza let out a groan of pain and was sent flying to the ground. But Frieza quickly stopped himself and fired a barrage of Death Beams up at Genos. Genos met his Death Beams with an incineration cannon, which managed to dissipate the Death Beams entirely. Frieza soared back up to the sky and struck Genos in the gut with his very long head.
"An illogical move," said Genos coldly. At first, Frieza didn't see what he meant by that, but he was quickly made to understand the error when Genos grabbed the top of his head. Frieza tried to break free of the grip, but Genos' grip was like iron, and his arms couldn't reach Genos to strike him. Genos began to spin Frieza, gradually gaining speed until he looked like a giant purple spinning wheel. After spinning Frieza around at such intense speed for 5 seconds, Genos finally let go of his grip on him and sent him falling like a comet from space. Another crater was formed to go along with the many craters formed from the previous and ongoing battles. The cyborg flew back to the ground, standing above Frieza, whose large head was planted in the ground, leaving the rest of his body in an upside down position.
"Look at your position. How embarrassing."
"Fuck. Off!" Frieza's tail wrapped around Genos' wrist, taking him by surprise. Before he knew it, Genos was being twirled around in the air just as he had done to Frieza moments ago. After multiple twirls, Frieza began bashing Genos on the ground back and forth.
"Enough!" The purple aura from Genos sparked to life again. A large blade popped out of Genos' elbow, with a light orange outline of heat. With a mighty thrust, Genos swung his arm down and sliced Frieza's tail off. The Space Emperor let out a short but pain-ridden scream as he felt the hot steel from the cyborg's blade stinging his severed tail.
Frieza planted his hands on the ground and unlodged his long head from the ground. He took a look at the stump of his tail, and his fury skyrocketed. Veins on his forehead throbbed, and his hands balled into fists.
"How dare you..."
Genos lunged for Frieza, but a burst of energy was released from Frieza's body. A bright white aura enveloped him as he took control of his anger and wielded it like a weapon, causing Genos to recoil backward.
"YOU'LL PAY FOR THAT!" This time, it was Frieza who initiated the attack. Genos put his hands up in defensive position and proceeded to dodge and block Frieza's strikes. While Frieza was attacking, Genos could hear him grunting in anger, clearly frustrated with the high skill Genos was displaying. Frieza kicked Genos in the chin with his foot, sending him flying in the air. Frieza grabbed Genos' leg, and swirled him around to throw him off balance. He threw Genos into a valley of rocks, destroying the valley in the process. Genos instantly bounded back up to Frieza and swung his arm blade, but Frieza elbowed him in the face before he had the chance to counter. Frieza grabbed the blade and broke it in half. He then held onto the blade and stabbed Genos in the head with it. But before the blade could reach his cranium, Genos caught the blade and swatted it out of Frieza's hand. Suddenly, a bright glow came to life at Genos' center chest. Frieza's eyes widened; from his chest, a surge of purple energy burst forth and enveloped Frieza. This energy attack was much shorter, lasting only half-a-second; Frieza quickly snapped out of the trauma from the blast and resumed his attack on Genos. But even with his increased power, Genos was somehow able to outmaneuver Frieza at every turn.
"How pathetic..." Genos calmly thrashed Frieza, taking advantage of his overwhelmingly obvious weakness: his added bulk. His body was very disproportionate, and the added bulk on his shoulders and head made it harder for Frieza to properly track Genos. Had Frieza been fighting a weaker opponent, his strength and speed would make this weakness irrelevant, but Genos was not a weak opponent, and thanks to his enhanced body and analytical thinking, he would able to defeat this overgrown lizard by expertly exploiting his weaknesses.
"Stand still, you brat!" In the air, Frieza's head was spinning as he tried to beat Genos down with little success. He was being made a fool by a mere child! He would not stand for this!
So to end the humiliating beating, Frieza unleashed a burst of energy around him that spanned in all directions, forcing Genos to fly out of Frieza's vicinity.
"This ends now!" The Space Emperor clasped both his hands together, and formed a ball of red energy at his palms. Frieza formed a sadistic smile and shouted to Genos, "You're powerful, but let's see you handle this!"
Genos wasn't intimidated; with this new bodyNo monster could stand up to him now. The cyborg channeled the energy from the orb into his palms as he did before to stand up to Frieza's energy beam. His palm began to glow a bright purple, and a small ball of energy formed out of it. Both warriors continued to charge their respective attacks, with short bolts of electricity flying out of the energy and growing more volatile by the second.
"DIE!"
Bofoi's laboratory was eerie and quiet. Unlike before, with its hustle and bustle, the scientists were now silently watching the battle between Genos and the Devil of Frost, and they couldn't believe it. As Genos adapted to his new body, he only became more powerful and gained greater control over his new powers.
"Amazing..." Minister Sitch was viewing the battle alongside the three scientists, and like them, he was baffled by the power Demon Cyborg had displayed. He'd never seen any hero of the Hero Association demonstrate such extensive destructive abilities coupled with so many unique abilities. "You three really outdid yourselves," said Sitch, staring at the three scientists and feeling glad that they were on the side of the Hero Association.
"We really did, didn't we?" replied Child Emperor, glowing with confidence. "Looks like this is about to be wrapped up rather quickly."
"At this rate, Saitama won't even be needed," added Bofoi, replicating the confidence of his former assistant.
"Uh, Metal Knight, Minister Sitch!" The intercom buzzed on the wall, interrupting their conversation. "One Punch Man has just arrived."
"Well, speak of the Devil and he shall appear," said Bofoi. "Alright, bring him down."
"I'm already here!"
The four of them turned around to see Saitama standing at the door with his arm resting against the door frame and his back slightly arched. His uniform had a few splotches of dirt and blood, and he was actually panting, which was rare to see from an S-class hero.
Sitch was the first to speak. "Saitama! Where have you been?"
"And why are you panting?" questioned Dr. Kuseno.
"Look, I've had to kill about 200 monsters on my way here, and I had to run ALL the way from Z-City to A-City, which is basically about a continent apart. So excuse the hell out of me if I'm a little out of breath." Saitama's attention quickly diverted from the doctors to the image on the monitor.
"Is that Genos?"
"Yes indeed," replied Dr. Kuseno.
Saitama put his hands to his hips. Did they give him another set of upgrades? It had taken a second for Saitama to recognize him. "Why does he look different?"
"He's in a new body we developed," replied Child Emperor, "He's actually able to overpower the Devil of Frost!
"Unfortunately," added Sitch, "All the other S-class heroes who fought him have been knocked out!"
"Seriously?" said Saitama with a surprised voice. When Saitama spoke now, the labored breathing had disappeared. It had taken only minutes, perhaps even seconds, for his body to recover. The scientists noticed this, but were not as surprised as the should have been. With all the intense and earth-shattering events that had transpired, this was basically the norm now.
"He looks like a badass," said Saitama in awe.
"He does indeed," replied Bofoi, smirking with pride. "He does indeed."
Frieza released his energy blast, and with it, an enormous surge of wind current. The beam quickly made its way toward the cyborg, who was still charging his energy beam. His eyes were laser-focused, and his concentration was invested entirely on his blast. For this would be the finishing blow.
"Ultimate Incineration Cannon."
What was unleashed from the teenage cyborg was a monstrous burst of power with a swirling torrent of orange flame and purple energy. When the two beams made contact, an intense struggle commenced for dominance. But in mere seconds, the cyborg's attack proved to be stronger than the lizards, and the Space Emperor quickly came to know the opposing energy blast's warmth.
The entire valley trembled uncontrollably. The bedrock underneath which was already fractured was now split up into millions of tiny cracked pieces. The quaking was so powerful, the entirety of City A began to shake, causing civilians to fall off their feet and the foundations of some of the buildings to crack.
The Ginyu Force and the other spectators saw the spectacle from afar, and were once again shocked by the newcomer's awesome power. Yet again, Lord Frieza had been overwhelmed by his opponent's power.
Guldo, Recoome, and Captain Ginyu were shivering nervously.
"Is it over?"
"Recoome doesn't believe it!"
"No, not again!"
Their fears were quickly put to rest, and each of them sighed a breath of relief when they saw Frieza still standing, albeit not in his best shape. Almost all of the spikes on Frieza's body had been chipped off. All over him, scratches and wounds were present, just like his scuffle with Nappa. His hands were aching from his attempt to block the cyborg's attack, and his breathing was labored.
"WHY YOU..."
This battle is over," shouted Genos. "With your bulky frame, your mobility has been significantly hindered. You cannot win!"
But what Frieza did next caught Genos off guard; he began maniacally laughing. He continued this laughing for a few seconds, and before Genos could ask him why he began a laughing fit, Frieza already gave him an answer.
"Ah, you pathetic boy! I have to admit, you're much more powerful than I would have expected from this pathetic mudball. If this was the limit of my power, then you would indeed be correct in your assertion of victory. But unfortunately for you, the mighty Lord Frieza still has a final trick up his sleeve! If you had been here with your heroic little friends, you would have realized that I have the unique ability to transform."
"What?!" shouted Genos.
"This little merry-go-round of new fighters with superior power has become rather vexatious for me, but at least you will be the final spectator to witness one final vision more terrifying than death! Lo and behold, my true, ultimate form!"
The Space Emperor clenched his fists together and bent forward as the final releases of restraint came undone. The ground underneath began to crack, and in the sky, white clouds turned into obsidian veil of death that crowded around their master. His entire body began to glow bright red, just as his first transformation.
On the sidelines, Captain Ginyu was giggling and tingling with delight.
"Captain?"
"What's so amusing!"
"We're about to witness Lord Frieza in his ultimate form! This is the greatest honor we could be given! That little punk doesn't stand a chance!"
On the ground, King silently and fearfully watched as Frieza underwent his final transformation. Where was Saitama?! The world needed him now more than ever!
"Ughhhh..." King turned around, and let out a gasp of delight; the heroes were starting to wake up! "That's great!"
"My head..." Tatsumaki moaned in pain and proceeded to rub her head. Beside her, Atomic Samurai, Bang, Bomb, Superalloy Darkshine, Garou, and Metal Bat gradually got up from their spots and pushed themselves off of the ground.
"What happened?" said Garou.
"Frieza beat all of you to a bloody pulp. Then, one of the ape prisoners arrived and fought Frieza. The two did battle, then Frieza underwent another transformation. Now, Genos is fighting him and actually winning!"
Metal Bat gave Ming a skeptical look. "I still don't see why you haven't foug-"
A loud roar from Frieza cut Metal Bat off, and they all looked across the valley to see Frieza covered in an aura of energy.
"What's he doing," said Bang.
"He's undergoing, according to him, his ultimate transformation!"
"Well I'm not gonna just sit around like a chicken," shouted Tatsumaki. "I'm going back in there!"
"Don't be a fool," said Bomb. "Frieza tossed us aside like garbage in his second form! In your weakened state and his new transformation, it wouldn't even be a battle."
"Bomb is right," said Bang, "All any of us can do now is have faith that Genos can defeat Frieza."
Beads of sweat began to fall down the cyborg's face as he watched this monster undergo his transformation. Whether or not this Devil of Frost could transform or not, his energy sensors were detecting a very high boost in power. If he allowed Frieza to finish this power boost, the consequences could be dire.
"I have to put an end to this now, before this monster can wreak any more havoc!" The teenage cyborg channeled the energy from the orb into his chest and concentrated. He felt the raw, overwhelming flow of power surge through him, giving him new life and even more confidence. With this attack, the Devil of Frost would be eliminated.
"Genos! Come in, Genos!"
Dr. Kuseno's voice resonated in his ears, and an image of him appeared in his line of sight.
"What is it, doctor! I'm in the middle of preparing my final attack!" said Genos with an irritated tone.
"Yo Genos!"
To his surprise, his master popped up on the screen beside the good doctor.
"Master! You finally made it to A-City!"
"Yea, and I gotta say, you are looking pretty cool."
"Thank you, master! I've managed to put the Devil of Frost in a corner, and I'm just about to finish him off."
"No!" This remark confused Genos. "Master?"
"Just wait for me to get there! I want a taste of the action! This might be what I've been looking for. Don't do anything! I'll be right there!" Saitama turned the screen and left Genos alone.
"I'm sorry master, but I'm not taking any chances. The risks are too great." The cyborg resumed charging his final attack. His chest began to glow a bright purple once again, and a purple aura flickered to life around him.
On the ground, a bright white surge of energy bolted up to the sky from Frieza. Both power-ups were creating another intense pressure that enveloped itself around anyone who was unfortunate enough to be in its vacinity.
"Ultra Spiral Incinerate!" The cyborg's chest cannon burst out of him with unbelievable force and sped through the sky toward its target. But unfortunately for the cyborg, it was too late; as Frieza unleashed the final level of his unimaginable power, a gargantuan explosion of unbalanced white energy surged forth. Unlike the beam struggle before, Genos' incineration Cannon was the blast that was overwhelmed and dissipated into nothingness. Somehow, Frieza's transformation warped the very fabric of space itself, for when Frieza completed his transformation, the entire sky became as black as the night sky with small white particles, giving the illusion that outer space had wrapped itself around Frieza.
Genos clenched his fists in anger, and shook his head vigorously. "No! I was too late! That monster has unleashed his most devastating power, and I let it happen. Just like..." The memories of his disgraceful demise at the hands of Mosquito Girl flashed in his mind. Would history repeat itself today? Was he destined to be defeated yet again?
"Absolutely not!" The passionate and goal-driven side of the cybernetic teenager overcame the internal doubt churning within him. With the power of this body, Genos could beat any foe that dare follow the path of evil. He had to! He owed it to his master and to himself, which was why he was prepared to singlehandedly take on Frieza and reign victorious.
The black sky quickly receded and made way for a clear sky, but Frieza was still hidden by a wall of white smoke. Genos tensed hisbody and held his arms up in preparation for what was to come. He was ready!
The white smoke gradually began to fade, revealing the hidden secret behind it. Now, Genos didn't quite know what to expect from the Devil of Frost's final form, but he imagined it would be something along the lines of an even larger beast with even more hideous features. What he was witnessing now was a sleek, white and scrawny lizard with a tiny body that couldn't have been taller than 5 feet. Likewise, the spectating heroes were befuddled by Frieza's new appearance.
"Is that it?" said Metal Bat. "He looks like a tiny wimp."
You idiot!" Bang hit the young boy hard on the head, eliciting a growl from him. "You should know by now this monster's power has absolutely nothing to do with his appearance. I can't even imagine the strength now vesseled in that hideous body."
Up in the sky, Genos continued to observe Frieza. Looking away from his small frame, Genos realized that Frieza's tail had actually grown back. And not only that, but all of the damage he had received earlier had vanished; there wasn't a single scratch on him! While his small body was misleading, Genos had no doubt that his previous form must have been tame compared to this.
Frieza pointed his finger up toward Genos and stared straight into the teenager's eyes with those cold, calculating, hardened eyes.
"Bang."
Before the teenager even realized Frieza had uttered that word, he was pelted directly in his chest with a red finger beam. The beam exploded upon contact, creating a black cloud of smoke that spanned several meters in diameter. Quickly clearing, Genos was revealed to now have a huge mark upon his chest, and his face distorted in shock and disbelief. Genos couldn't believe it; he didn't even have any reaction time to dodge or block the attack. It was instantaneous!
"What in the hell have you become?!" shouted Genos.
The Space Emperor disappeared from the cyborg's view. He frantically looked across the valley to find him, but he didn't need to. Whispering in his ear, Frieza uttered, "Death."
Genos angrily turned around and attempted to strike Frieza with a spinning kick, but Frieza effortlessly caught his leg. Genos grappled out of his grasp and prepared another attack.
"Machine Gun Blows!" Genos threw a chain of lightning-fast punches at Frieza, yet Frieza dodged every single one of his punches with a neutral face, like he wasn't even trying. How?!
"It won't work this time." Frieza jabbed Genos in the gut, causing him to let out a grunt of pain and be sent back several meters. Genos focused his energy on his rocket boosters to increase his speed.
"Jet Drive Arrow!"
Using the blades in his feet to form an arrow, Genos blasted forth and prepared to fatally stab Frieza. The Devil of Frost was not amused; using stealthy movement, Frieza expertly grabbed Genos' leg and, using the cyborg's momentum, changed his trajectory from sideways to downwards. Frieza then followed up with a barrage of finger beams which Genos simply couldn't evade. Each beam felt like a knife stabbing through him, compared to before, when they merely felt like tiny mosquito bites at best. The increase in power was unreal. Genos placed his palms upward and fired another incineration blast, hoping it would have some effect. It didn't; Frieza swatted the incineration blast like he would swat a common housefly.
"What was that you were saying before? I didn't have a chance?" Frieza appeared behind Genos and proceeded to pummel him like a punching bag. Genos tried to match his punches, to effectively counter Frieza's movements, but it wasn't working. No matter how much he tried, Genos couldn't even land a single hit on his opponent. "I didn't think you were capable of such humor with such a serious demeanor. You really had me going there."
Frieza was now just toying with Genos. The cyborg was no longer a match for him, and both of them knew it. This match was his.
"I've failed you, master. I've failed you, and I've failed myself. I'm sorry."
"Aw, is the little baby about to cry," said Frieza, "Well then, let me tell you a tale to make you feel better." Frieza kicked Genos up into the air, and slammed him back down to the ground with his tail.
"The end."
The cyborg fell to the ground, motionless as he laid defeated. The Space Emperor calmly strode over to his side and looked down on him both figuratively and literally. "As entertaining a punching bag you are, I find there to be no more entertainment found here. Let's end this once and for all." Frieza lifted his foot up and placed it over the teenage cyborg's head.
"Have a nice trip to hell."
Frieza stomped his foot down and crushed... dirt. The Space Emperor's eyes widened in surprise. Where the hell did he go? He was right there, but now he wasn't.
Fluttering. Frieza's ears picked up on the sound of something fluttering in the wind. He turned his head to see where this fluttering noise was coming from, and he had to say, he wasn't expecting this. Genos was now cradled in a man's arms. The man had a yellow jumpsuit with red gloves and red boots, and his head was completely devoid of hair.
"Another newcomer? Honestly, this planet is positively crawling with pests." The newcomer gave no response.
The heroes squinted to see who had just arrived, and when they realized who it was, most of them gasped. Some gave scowls, others gave disappointed looks as they knew the newcomer's fate already, but a few, King in particular, were utterly ecstatic and brimming with new life. "He's actually here," said King with a dazed tone of voice.
In his arms, Genos slowly opened his eyes to look upon his savior, and when he did, his heart melted in utter relief.
"Master..."
"Hey there, Genos. You look pretty banged up."
The cyborg grunted in agreement. "I couldn't stop him. He was too strong..."
"Well, you did good managing by yourself for this long. Give yourself a pat on the back."
"Excuse me!" Saitama turned his head around to see an irritated, tiny lizard staring at him with squinted eyes and crossed arms. "I'm in the middle of something! If you want to wait your turn to die like the rest of these vermin, then take a number!"
"Wait wait wait..." Saitama put Genos on the ground and turned his body completely to face this tiny lizard. "Are you that Freezer guy everybody's been talking about?"
Frieza's angry face changed to that of confusion. "I am Lord Frieza, yes. And who are you?"
"The name's Saitama, and I'm a hero for fun. I've been waiting for a good fight for a long time, and I gotta tell you, ya don't really-"
"Hold it right there, baldy."
A voice rung out in the air. That voice wasn't Saitama's, or Frieza's, or even Genos', but it was someone really close. Who was it? Who else had arrived? Saitama and Frieza looked around to see who had just spoken, and after a few seconds of searching, found the guy they were looking for standing on top of a ledge. It was a man with spiky black hair and a suit very similar to that of Saitama, with a few notable differences. Unlike Saitama's suit, this man's jumpsuit was black with a fiery contour around the zipper at his neckline. Yet like Saitama, he has a snow-white cape that fluttered in the afternoon wind. In a lot of ways, he actually looked like Saitama before losing his hair. Saitama took this in with curiosity.
The heroes noticed this OTHER newcomer's presence, but couldn't distinguish who it was.
"Do you know who that is?" said Atomic Samurai.
"I have no idea," said Superalloy Darkshine.
"What's that person doing here? Doesn't he know this place is dangerous?" stated King. "Tornado, do you recognize that person?"
The esper gave no response.
"Tornado!"
Everyone looked to see why Tornado wasn't responding, and realized that she was completely frozen. Her body was shaking like a leaf, yet she was frozen at the same time. The esper's eyes began to water, and for the first time, she actually seemed to have a genuine smile. "Who is that?!" said Garou.
"It's Bl-Bl-Bll-Bl"
"The name's Blast, and I'm here to kick your ass."
HOLY SHIT! IT'S FINALLY HAPPENING! SAITAMA'S FINALLY ARRIVED! Now, let's face it; everybody knew Saitama would come in and save Genos' ass, but was anybody expecting Blast to come in out of nowhere? I THINK NOT! After all that waiting and waiting and waiting, the moment you've all been waiting for has FINALLY arrived. To say shit is going down would be the understatement of the century. So leave your reviews of hype and excitement; I'm happy to read them. Time probably can't feel any slower as you wait for the next chapter of The Space Emperor's Besiege!