DBZR ½

Chapter 21: Change-over!

Just at the door of the Time Chamber Ranma arched his back, pushing his chest out as a loud series of pops filled the air. He smiled wistfully at the feeling of released endorphins, and relaxed. "That was a great fight this morning. Too bad it's our last one, I was sure we had you."

"Maybe." Goku chuckled as he stood nearby, his arms over his head as he performed a stretch for a moment before lowering his arms, once more looking the serious instructor. "Ranma, I have to tell you that I'm proud with how well you and Akane have performed. You've passed every hurdle I set before you, and did far more than I ever dreamed you could. You'll both be excellent fighters back in your home." He grasped Ranma's shoulder; a shoulder that, a year ago, would have been fairly thin still, barely a young mans. Now it was thick and hard with muscle, yet was still flexible enough that when he squeezed in camaraderie there was no tension.

Ranma gave a slightly embarrassed smile and bowed his head slightly. "I couldn't have become like this without you…and Akane." He said the last as he turned his head to the side.

Akane walked up alongside, and placed her hands on her hips, an eyebrow raised. "You bet you couldn't have done this without me." She smirked. "But I couldn't have improved so much without you two either."

Goku grinned and released the young man's shoulder. "You both did great. You're a perfect team, and I can see that you'll both get stronger." He looked at Akane directly now. "I hope you feel that potential that I told you about now."

Akane nodded once with a large grin. "Yes! I certainly do!"

"Good. Continue your training, and I bet you'll reach it." Goku smiled, and then turned to the door. "Well, shall we go?"

"Yes." The two teens said. Akane stepped forward, grasping the golden handle and pushing it down. The door slowly opened…..

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Minutes before outside…

"You think you're done? We haven't even started yet! This is just the warm up before we go inside! Now run!" Vegeta bellowed, firing blast after low powered blast at his students, floating behind them. He knew this was going to be fairly useless until they got into the Time Chamber, but it would be a good start towards the toughening up process he planned for them. That and it rather amused him to watch them flee in terror from something so harmless as colored light. Now the only question was, should he actually now hit them with his blasts to get them used to the pain, or maybe begin having them work on more pushups, situps, rolls and flips? He'd have to think about that. After all, pain tolerance was just as important as stamina, and he certainly didn't want to become bored with just nearly hitting them. So many options for training, and his own personal entertainment, and all at the same time he was planning on some way to get back at the god that caused the mess in the first place.

He gave a feral grin. "Oh yes, I haven't forgotten about you. I will enjoy destroying you with my bare hands." Vegeta thought, firing another series of blasts. As much as he complained about training the two teens, he always did his best thinking when under some sort of pressure; training others appeared to count towards that.

Below him, running as fast as their tired bodies would allow them, Ryoga and Shampoo huffed and panted heavily, their outfits drenched in sweat. Adrenaline was their only other companion, their bodies already aching with pain, not that they could feel it. They had been training from the day before, with a break for meals and for sleep, and back at it since early this morning. In the distance Videl and Gohan were currently training, trading rapid blows as they floated in the air, all under the watchful eye of Piccolo. Videl and Gohan had offered to assist Vegeta in the training, but he naturally rebuffed them. He wanted there to be no potential distractions as he molded them into true warriors. So with that option removed, they turned to training personally, with Piccolo joining in on occasion to keep Gohan on his toes.

In an easy chair alongside a palm tree, Cologne sipped on a cup of green tea, the warm liquid slipping over her aged lips, prompting a contented sigh. "This is an excellent brew Mr. Popo." She said in acceptance and appreciation to the dark skinned being.

Mr. Popo bowed slightly in response. "You're welcome ma'am. If you need more, the kettle is being kept warm for you in the kitchen."

"Thank you." She bowed her head in respect, before raising her cup to sip, and lashing out several times in rapid succession with her staff. Both Ryoga and Shampoo fell, their tired bodies having weakened their awareness and perception and were unable to avoid the attack.

Vegeta floated over and landed beside the older woman, arms crossed over his chest. He snorted in derision. "Pathetic. She telegraphed her motion and you still couldn't avoid it. Clearly you're still children, not yet ready for true battle."

Cologne chuckled. She rather liked Vegeta's style. He was brutal of course, but he was blunt, and he pulled no punches in his opinions of an individuals abilities. He also seemed to be quite the taskmaster, something that both of his students were discovering the hard way.

"Master Vegeta, if I may have a moment of your time…" She said, looking up at the Prince.

For his part he turned his glower down to merely 'annoyed' and gazed at her. "What is it?"

She hopped up onto her staff and began to pogo away a distance from the others as Shampoo and Ryoga caught their breath. Vegeta glanced back at them before following her. She stopped a short distance from the edge of the Lookout, and, balanced perfectly on the head of her staff, looked back at him. "Do you know much about curses, Master Vegeta?"

"I know of them. Get to the point woman." He growled, crossing his arms over his burly chest.

Cologne bowed her head slightly before continuing. "Do you know of Jusenkyo curses? They are different from most. One who falls into a spring at Jusenkyo becomes cursed with the form of whatever being drowned in that spring. Both of them have been at the springs and have cursed forms, which are activated by cold water, and deactivated by warm or hot water. I felt you should know about that."

Vegeta raised an eyebrow slightly. "They are cursed? With what?"

"Ryoga is cursed with the form of a small black piglet, while my Shampoo becomes a purple kitten. Their minds are unaffected, and they can fight in those forms, but they are not fully effective due to the restrictions of their sizes."

Vegeta snorted. "Then they'll have to learn to become effective. Their training will not end just because they transform into animals. The Saiyan race transformed into giant apes under the light of a full moon, and learned to fight effectively in those forms through the blood lust that filled their minds. They're getting any breaks from me, especially if they have full control."

Cologne smiled. She didn't know about the Saiyan's being able to transform, but she had a feeling he would be of this mindset. In fact she counted on it. "Excellent. Perhaps they will learn new techniques in their forms and vice versa."

"If they want to have a chance of facing me, they'll learn." Vegeta replied simply, causing Cologne to blink in surprise.

"You will have them fight you?"

"Of course! If they wish to become stronger, they will need to fight stronger opponents, and other than themselves, that leaves only me." Vegeta grinned. "And now it's time for them to get back to it."

He turned and saw Ryoga laying on his back, before performing a slow situp and lowering again, repeating it. Shampoo, for her part, was trying to do pushups, but her own prestigious bust was a hindrance, becoming crushed into the tile of the floor before she lifted upwards. Still, she completed as full a pushup as she could, sweat beading from her brow as she focused on performing it.

"Ah, excellent. They're already learning not to waste time even when I'm not looking. This will make progress go much faster." Vegeta commented, cracking his knuckles.

Cologne was about to make her own wry comment when Dende called out to them. "They're about to exit the Chamber!"

Within minutes all of them had rushed to the door to witness the return of Ranma and Akane from Goku's training.

"Shampoo think too-too violent girl be mashed into bucket after Airen and Goku beat her." Shampoo commented idly, adjusting her outfit even as she wiped sweat from her brow with a cloth. "Or she give up. Temper too-too strong for training. No good with Shampoo Airen."

"Heh, yea right. She probably hammered Ranma all over the place. She's good at that." Ryoga replied, stretching out while he had the chance.

The others kept their silence; although, Cologne did rap Shampoo on the head for not stretching out like Ryoga.

At that moment, the handle to the door twisted, and the door slowly creaked open. Great white light spilled out, blinding them and causing them to shield their eyes for a bit, even as a shadow appeared in the doorway. Bare feet slowly padded across the tile in a confident, gentle stride.

Dende, Piccolo, Mr. Popo, Vegeta and Gohan were among the first to adjust to the light. Gohan looked impressed, while Vegeta frowned, somewhat in annoyance. Dende and Popo just looked pleased, and Piccolo looked…well, bored. For his part, he leaned against a pillar and watched with a look of disinterest, though there did seem to be a slight look of respect to his eyes now.

Videl was the next to adjust, and she gasped in surprise. Shampoo, Ryoga and Cologne finally managed to adjust, and all three also gasped in shock and surprise. Padding slowly towards them was a young woman, not a girl. Her hair was held back in a ponytail that swayed back and forth from her walk. Both of the sleeves of her gi were ripped off, exposing her toned, yet still slender arms as the tatters of her gi floated at the shoulders. Her walk was graceful, yet hidden power could be felt behind it as the holes in her gi pants exposed tone lines that rippled slightly. Her gi top was at least a size too small, exposing cleavage on a larger bust than had gone in the day before, and the pants molded to her hips that swayed slightly on their own. She was taller, the face more noticeably older, taking on characteristics of both Nabiki and Kasumi; yet, she was unmistakably Akane as she grinned.

"Hi. Missed us?" She asked. Even her voice sounded lower than what they were used to.

Shampoo just gaped in shock. "Who-who you? You not Violent Girl! You too-too built!" She declared, pointing a quavering finger at Akane's larger bust and more noticeable curves.

Akane grinned wider, and then laughed. "Are you jealous now Shampoo? I was gone a year, what did you think would happen?"

"In…deed…" Cologne muttered under her breath, the implications truly occurring to her as the proof of the effectiveness of the Chamber stood before her. It hadn't occurred to her that if the four of them entered, they would also age a year. But that didn't upset her. No, it actually made the wheels in her mind turn faster. "If Akane looks like this after a year in there, Shampoo's beauty will also be enhanced. Surely Ranma will fall to her charms then!"

Ryoga, for his part, was passed out. The coroners would have declared it was from massive blood loss, had he not, inexplicably, managed to recover from it at the sound of another voice. It was a male one this time, also deeper than what he remembered, but he would never forget the name of the owner.

"Heh, they're freaking out over you and they haven't even seen you fight. They're in for a real shock then."

Ryoga's head popped up from his personal blood bath to gaze up at Ranma as he stepped out of the room. His heart had stopped from the beauty of Akane, now it stopped from the sheer power that was personified in Ranma.

Shampoo's heart skipped several beats, and even Cologne couldn't help but be a bit flustered as the young man stepped out. His trademark black silk pants were torn in several places, but were clearly a size too small on him as well, conforming to his legs as he walked. His hair looked the same, but that ended the similarities to the old Ranma and this one. His face was more angular, harder, but his eyes still held the same gentle, carefree look to them as he gave them his confident smirk. His shirt was completely gone, leaving him topless, and giving Shampoo and Cologne an excellent view of his powerful shoulders and chest. Cologne was much more interested in his aura, which seemed to be leaking from his body as he walked.

"He has become far more powerful than I would have ever imagined. This is better than I could have hoped for! The tribe will have him! It must!" She thought to herself, while also wistfully wishing she were a younger woman herself.

Gohan nodded, impressed. "Wow, looks like the training in there really paid off for you!" He said, grinning.

"I'll say…" Videl added, almost growling hungrily to herself. Gohan sighed. Vegeta had warned him that when female Saiyans were in the state Videl was in, they would look for any mate they found suitable until the deed was done. He reached over and applied the hold before she could react, and she instantly relaxed. She shook her head off and grinned sheepishly in thanks to Gohan. "Ah, I mean, yea, you really improved…"

Ranma grinned as he walked up alongside Akane. "Yea, we did. Thanks to Goku." He looked back over his shoulder as Goku stepped out, wearing a slightly tattered gi himself, but otherwise looking the same.

"Well Kakarot, it would appear you have fashioned them into something resembling warriors. I'll give you that much. But do they have the warrior spirit?" Vegeta asked, his arms crossed over his chest.

Ranma and Akane both looked over at Vegeta with a smirk. "If you didn't go Super Saiyan, either one of us could take you." Ranma said.

Akane added, "And maybe even if you did."

Vegeta gazed at them quietly, and then allowed a slight smirk. "I like their spirit. Maybe I'll take them up on that challenge after the training."

Ryoga had finally risen to his feet, and in a moment of pure joy, he rushed forward, arms outstretched as he lost himself temporarily to his delusion. "Oh Akane, you returned to me more gorgeous than befo-ACK!"

His joy was cut short as he found his neck and throat were being held in a near vice-like gloved grip. Vegeta pulled the Lost Boy back, while Akane and Ranma simply looked at him with bemused expressions.

"Why-why did you stop me…" Ryoga began when his throat was closed again for a moment, cutting off his air.

"Be quiet you fool! We're doing serious training, not dealing with your pathetic mating needs. And if you bleed on my glove I will fry you!" Vegeta growled as Ryoga's nose started to bleed at the mention of mating. It stopped and withdrew instantly in his fear.

He lowered Ryoga to his level, staring into his eyes. "You're lucky I stopped you. She would have shown you how weak you were, yet you didn't even see her preparing to strike. I will correct this deficiency in you both. Now get in there!" He roared as he literally threw Ryoga into the Chamber, the Lost Boy screaming in terror as he flew into the room.

Cologne blinked, and went over the memory of Ryoga's attempted embrace in her mind, trying to find what Vegeta alluded to.

"Strange…I don't recall seeing her about to stri-wait…there it is! So subtle…I almost missed it. I did miss it! Her eyes where the only thing that gave it away. That slight narrowing, but her smile didn't change, nor her stance. I must find a way to test their abilities…" She thought as her eyes narrowed, her hand to her chin.

Shampoo looked with wide eyes at Vegeta, and then gulped in trepidation. Akane jerked a thumb over her shoulder. "Better get in there. It's not so bad once you get used to it. Besides…I'll be waiting for you out here to show you how much better I am." She smirked, taunting.

This infuriated Shampoo, who withdrew from her weapon space a large chui, or bonbori weapon. "You no better! Shampoo had enough of evil spikey hair man shooting her! Now you taunt Shampoo?! Shampoo kill!!" She rushed forward as fast as her tired body would allow, swinging the bonbori high above her head for a killing strike even as Cologne gave an ineffectual cry for her to stop her attack.

Akane simply continued to smirk as she watched the large, heavy sphere come towards her head while Ranma took a step to the side. The dark haired young woman adjusted her feet and held up a hand, catching the sphere solidly. The force of the blow traveled down to her feet, crackling the tile underneath as she grinned. Her fingers had dented the metal, giving her a natural handhold to pull the weapon out of the surprised Amazon's grip effortlessly. Shampoo tumbled to the tile before rolling and coming up in a ready stance, her eyes wide with shock.

Akane simply held the bonbori in her hand, smirking before dropping it to the floor with a loud clang. "Now you know how outclassed you are."

Vegeta simply watched his student with a smirk of his own. "You're lucky she held back. Next time you might not get that chance."

Akane walked up to Shampoo calmly, while the Amazon quivered, making small steps back, but not many. She was scared out of her wits, but was also determined not to retreat against one who used to be inferior to her. Akane put her hands on her hips and smiled sweetly. "I'm letting you have that free attempt so you know what you're up against. I want you to go train and become stronger, so I can truly show you how much better I've become. You're nothing to me now, which is why I'm not beating you senseless. There's no honor beating a weakling…something you never bothered to consider."

"You-you rival. No honor lost fighting you…" Shampoo gave weakly. Cologne winced; that wasn't going to go over very well.

"Oh really? Well…if you want to play it that way…" Akane commented idly, before suddenly vanishing completely from view. Cologne nearly fell off her staff from the sudden move. Shampoo gasped in shock before feeling Akane's breath float across her ear.

"…we can play that way…'rival.'" Her voice had gained a menacing quality to it that frightened Shampoo to her bones. Akane continued conversationally; although the menace behind it did not lessen. "But I'm not going to. You see, I've grown tired of the games you two play. I could smash you where you stand, and you wouldn't be able to stop me. But I'm not going to. As much as I hate the things you do sometimes, I respect your skill. Which is why I'm going to do this once. We will fight. Just you, and me. I will prove I'm the better martial artist."

Shampoo turned her head to look over her shoulder slightly. "You fight for hand of Airen?"

"Forget Ranma. This is between you and me. We fight, we fight as martial artists. No tricks, no promises, no conditions. We fight until one of us is beaten…not dead." She turned her gaze towards Cologne, which nearly caused the older woman to fall once again. It was a clear warning; 'Don't get involved.'

The lavender haired girl swallowed, and then nodded. "Fine. We fight to see who better. Shampoo was better before Akane go into Room. Shampoo is better again when come out."

Akane smiled, and walked around in front of Shampoo, arms crossed. "I'll be waiting out here for you to find out." She gave a small, friendly, giggle at the prospect of the fun of a good fight with Shampoo, causing the Amazon to look at her with some trepidation.

"She too much like Ranma now…but…Shampoo never back down from fight." Shampoo thought to herself, before squaring her shoulders and marching into the Time Chamber.

Vegeta laughed slightly. "Well, this should be interesting then. I'll look forward to watching that fight." With that, he too stepped into the room, pulling the door closed behind him.

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Inside…

"Prepare yourselves children." Vegeta said with an evil grin. "You thought we were training before outside? That was just the warm up…" He began to laugh a menacing laugh that sent fear into the two teens hearts, and they both wondered to themselves…just what had they gotten themselves into?

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Journal entries of Shampoo and Ryoga…

Day 1 – undetermined end time

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!

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Outside…

"Kinda hard on her weren't ya?" Ranma asked Akane, scratching the back of his head as he grinned.

Akane shrugged. "I gave her a goal. Besides, I want a different challenge from you two." She said, gesturing with her head to Goku and then her chosen fiancé.

Ranma, for his part, took on a hurt expression. "Oh, am I becoming too easy for you?" He said, holding a hand to his heart. Goku shook his head, laughing slightly, before shrugging himself.

Akane grinned. "Maybe you are." She teased, her arms crossed under her chest. "But really, I have a score to settle with her. And I really want to beat her in a fair fight." She said the last in an almost angry growl.

Ranma shrugged. "Alright, but I ain't gettin involved when you two fight." He said, stepping away towards the steps that would lead to the open air.

"That's fine. This'll just be between us girls." Akane replied as her arms lowered, beginning to follow after him. "And that doesn't mean you can jump in if you get splashed." She added, pointing an accusatory finger at him. He held up his hands in surrender.

"How about a rematch then?" Videl suddenly called out, causing the two teens to stop and look. Videl walked up with an eager grin on her face, and placed her hands on her hips. "I bet it would be a real good session then."

Gohan chuckled as he said, "Well, it would at least help you get stronger faster than just training with Piccolo and I."

Videl shrugged, and then looked back to Akane. "So, how about it?"

Akane thought it over, cocking her head to the side as she brought a finger up to her cheek. "Hmmm…maybe after I fight Shampoo. I kinda just want to relax for awhile." She said finally, lifting her arms to stretch a bit, which caused her bust to push out in her tight gi. Several small pops could be heard, prompting a happy sigh.

"Ok, deal!" Videl said, holding up a fist and grinning, her minds eye already imagining the fight.

Ranma rolled his head a bit, and then asked, "So where's our training packs? I know we left them out here somewhere…and I really need to change my clothes." He asked. Akane nodded in agreement as she lowered her arms to her sides.

Dende cleared his throat before saying, "I think you guys might need something that's tailored better to your older forms." This made the two teens look at each other, and then at themselves, before grinning sheepishly. "I think I can take care of that though. If you'll come with me…" He trailed off as he began to step down the steps, leading the way, with Piccolo, Videl, Gohan, Ranma and Akane following.

Goku simply smiled, his arms crossed as he watched them walk away, Ranma and Akane both looking up into the deep blue sky and inhaling the fresh air gratefully. "They did really well. Your Earth will be in good hands with them." He said aloud, still watching them walk away.

Cologne looked up at the Saiyan, and then at the dwindling forms of the others. "Only if those hands happen to be the tribes. There has to be a way to get him into the tribe now. I will have to see how Shampoo turns out before I attempt anything to twist that fight of Akane's into renouncing her claim on him." She thought to herself, even as she shivered slightly from the memory of Akane's glare. The elder had a feeling that Akane would be watching for any tricks, and that she might have the power to back up her hidden threat. She brushed it off though. "She can have all the power she wants, but it won't be enough to defeat all the techniques and skill I have at my disposal. Still, I should not underestimate her. It's a shame she's not fighting now. I would have had a much better idea of what she is capable of."

Goku stretched a bit and then looked down at her. "Well, shall we go after them?" He said, breaking her out of her reverie.

She looked back up at him and nodded. "Yes, we should." She said, grasping her staff to pogo after them, and to plan.

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Far away from the Lookout…

Shiaku stretched slowly, feeling every inch of her body bend and pull, like a taunt and powerful cable. Her body was perfect, and everyone in the gym knew it. She used to hate gym; that place where her underdeveloped body would be shown off in white T's and red bloomers. All those better developed girls laughing at her as she struggled to climb the rope, or to run…

She smirked as she bent backwards, pushing her full bust into the air in her tight T-shirt. Those days had certainly gone by the wayside, and she enjoyed every second that she was stared at. She could run all day and not be tired, climb the rope fifty times and still be able to climb it again, and be more graceful on the balance beam than those snotty gymnasts.

She stood up slowly, looking around the gym in thought: would she try the parallel bars today, or perhaps try lifting weights? "Maybe I'll do both at the same time…that'll mess with people's heads." Shiaku thought wickedly, grinning as she walked towards the equipment in question, her posterior swaying provocatively in her tight bloomers. "Next time, I think I'll take on the Boxing and then Karate clubs. So many new abilities to test out: so little time before I take over this place."

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In the Ranma universe…

Goten sighed. "I'm bored."

"Yea, me too." Trunks replied. "And not one good fighter for us to take on. What's it take to get into a match here?"

Nabiki sat in a lawn chair, wearing a bikini as she sunned herself and sipping lemonade. After a moment, she tilted her shades back. "Where have you guys looked?"

"Well…" Trunks started to say, and then trailed off. Truth was, they hadn't really looked at all. They didn't even know where to look for that matter.

Nabiki gave a knowing smirk before lowering her shades. "I might know of a few places to look." She said casually.

Her breath exploded from her as she found two boys planted themselves into her bare stomach and pelted her with little boy questions. "Wherewherewheretelltelltellcomeonpleasetellus!"

"Geroffa me!" She wheezed before tossing them bodily to the ground. She regained her composure, and took another sip of her drink, before she finally deigned to reply. "I could tell you…for a price."

The boys looked at her. "But, we don't have any money…" Trunks said. It was true. The zenny he had brought with him in his wallet were useless here.

She waved it off. "I wouldn't need much…just a favor for later I think would do nicely." Nabiki said with a pleasant smile.

"Oh, that's it? Ok!" Goten declared happily. Trunks sighed, wiping his forehead. For a moment he was afraid he would have to do some work to get money or something.

"Deal. Now…I've heard of a few street fighters gathering in a park, and on top of some buildings here and there. The one in the park seems to be the usual spot though. I've even heard there's a new one running through them. They say she flies." Nabiki said, before taking a sip of her drink. "I thought that was interesting. The only people I know that fly are you two. So, maybe it's someone else who was stuck here?"

"Really?" Trunks said, scratching the side of his face. "Huh. Maybe…"

"Or maybe someone here figured out how to fly!" Goten interrupted excitedly, laughing happily. "Yay! We get to have fun!"

"Sure…but where is this park? And do they fight all the time there?" Trunks asked, looking at Nabiki expectantly.

"They only fight there at night, but there are some fights during the day. It's rare though, so it's better to go at night." She said. "I'll take you there tonight so you can see."

"Really?! Cool!!!" Trunks exclaimed, before jumping up with glee. Goten jumped up as well, and threw a punch at Trunks, who deflected it with a laugh. In short order, they were laughing and fighting all around the dojo, while Nabiki simply smiled and took a sip of her drink. "If the fighter is there, I should be able to pick up a lot more cash from a video of that fight." She thought to herself, hoping that the one called "Airmaster" would be there. The boys had literally eaten the house clean, and there were other bills to pay coming up.

She just hoped that they would be able to get the boys into the Fuchikawa ratings, so that she could continue to bring some money to the place.

The powers that be certainly knew that they needed it.

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Miles away…

"Is the boy ready?" Bison demanded, gazing down at his head scientist.

"Almost sir. His physical development has been extraordinary, and his mind has taken to the knowledge we have imparted perfectly. Within a few hours, we'll be able to remove him from his chamber, and then the testing and training can begin." The older, frail looking man said without flinching.

Bison looked to the scientist, and then to the glowing chamber. "And how is his potential? Has that changed at all?"

Inside, the body was now that of a young man. Perfectly toned and developed, it floated gently in the fluid, the face mask still attached, legs still curled up towards his chest.

"I'm afraid it has not increased overly much my lord. He is no stronger than many of the top ranked martial artists in the world, which I must note is impressive in and of itself considering he has not left that tank. It is possible that his potential is locked away, and needs the training to tap into it."

"Or it's possible that the advanced process still needs work. Very well. Begin creating another body using the old process. We'll use Gotenks here as our test bed prototype." Bison said with an evil grin. "As soon as he is ready, I want to begin the tournament. How soon before he is ready to fight?"

The scientist looked at a chart, before looking back to Bison. "If these readings are any indication, I would say within a month at the most." This caused the criminal dictator to stare down at the frail old man in surprise.

"Are you sure of this?"

The old man nodded. "Positive. As I said before, his brain is absorbing all that we imprint to him perfectly, and far more rapidly than we could have possibly foreseen. He is much like a computer in that regard. He will obey your every command without fail, and he will acquire new techniques after seeing it once. All indications are that this is highly likely, but actual tests and training will confirm this. With the built in transmitter sending everything he knows or learns to the central computer, we will rapidly gain the knowledge of any fighting technique that exists, and it will be known perfectly. Again, by all indications, this seems to be highly likely."

"But it's not a complete fact. Still, even though his power potential seems low, we might get a potential of a different sort." Bison turned his white eyes back to the floating body, contemplating the possibilities. "Interesting. You will inform me the moment he is ready to be released. I will test him first, and you will find out how good those indications really are."

"Sir." The scientist said with a bow as Bison swept from the room, his cape fluttering behind him.

Inside the tank, the young man's eyes winced slightly before relaxing again, the eyes shifting back and forth rapidly as reams of data poured into his mind from an instrument attached to the side of his head.

TBC……

Yes…it is I. LONG overdue, but college takes precedence I'm afraid. But now we have seen what is going on with everyone here. So…what will Ryoga and Shampoo be like when they exit the chamber? Where did Mousse go? Has Kuno died? And who is this "Airmaster" that was spoken of? These things and much more will…probably not be answered in the next chapter, but I do like to tease you with it. :P

Until next time…

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