Chapter 1

The sun held high in the sky on a fine Sunday afternoon. Everyone bustled through the streets of the city, eager to get their fun in before they had to return to school and work. Turns out people didn't care about the planet as much as they claimed on television, the city was filthy. Trash cans filled to the brim were located on every street corner. Scattered papers and other trashy objects fell from the cans and made their way throughout the street. Old posters and papers hung on telephone poles and buildings began falling to the ground. One paper in particular fell from the wall it was taped to. It traveled with the wind until it reached a crowded bus stop. Just as the wind started to pick up again, the paper was slammed to the ground by a foot.

Staying out of the crowd's way, Android 18 bent down and picked up the paper. She took a seat on the bus stop bench and examined the aged paper. It was a wanted poster. Staring deeply at the photo displayed on the poster, 18 realized it was like looking into a mirror. Yes, 18 had made it big, showing up all over the streets on wanted posters.

"Gee, haven't seen her around for a while," a man said. He shared the bench with 18 and peered over her shoulder, staring at the familiar wanted poster.

18 turned her head and said, "She's probably long gone."

The man smiled. "Good thing, too. Those twins really scared my daughter when she heard they were on a killing rampage."

"I wouldn't call it a killing rampage," 18 stated coldly.

"Right," he said, "I'll leave you to it, then." He turned his head away and continued waiting for the bus in silence.

18 folded the poster and shoved it in her coat pocket. She noticed a few stray strands of her blonde hair coming out the front of her hat. Discretely, 18 tucked every piece of her hair inside the hat and adjusted it. For the past three months, 18 had been living in hiding. To the best of her potential, 18 left everything behind as soon as she jumped off the large platform in the sky, or The Lookout as they liked to call it. It didn't escape her that she was given a second chance at a new life. It was a sign that she was made for more, right?

But who did she have to thank for that?

"Hey, lady! Are you getting on or not?" The bus driver sat angrily in his seat, prepared to slam the doors shut.

18 sighed and boarded the bus. She reached into her coat pocket and pulled out a handful of change. The box containing the fare read '50 cents'. Examining the assorted coins lying in hand, 18 picked out two of the largest ones and dropped them into the box. The bus driver groaned and shut the doors as the bus began to roll down the street.

The bus itself was full of passengers as usual, but 18 was lucky enough to find an empty seat for herself. She sat down on the germ infested chair and put her arm up on the arm rest. Boy did she hate public transportation. Only a few days ago had she realized that the coins were of different values. She tried to pay for the 50 cent bus ride with two pennies and a dime. Fortunately that bus driver was kind enough to give her a freebie. On that day, 18 examined the coins and took the time to read the carvings. The same with dollar bills. Sure she noticed there were different people on different bills, but it's not like it really meant anything to her. Besides, she hardly had any money to even notice.

Where she was headed was undetermined. 18 had no real home to go to, nobody to even go home to. All she had were the clothes on her back and some spare change. Flying seemed to work when she decided to go in and out of the city, up until people noticed and called her out. Once she was almost caught and turned into the police. The people of the city made no mistake in recognizing her from the wanted posters, and didn't hesitate in turning her into the cops. With everything she was coping with, 18 didn't want to have to deal with the police. Sure she could just swat them away like flies, but that would involve those fighters seeing reports on the television.

Nope, no longer was she going to be careless. That's why she had the whole disguise going for her. A few stolen hats and coats here and there, but that was the extent of her criminal ways...with the exception of food. She had to eat somehow, and sometimes you have to go against what's right to fulfill your needs. That was her philosophy.

In the real world, 18 didn't exist anymore. Nobody recognized her while wearing the disguise, so she's been left alone ever since the battle with Cell. But occasionally, 18 would wander out in the forest and train for a bit. Only when alone could she truly be herself. She could fly for as long as she wanted, and even blast some trees when she wanted. The only thing bothering her was the fact that when she trained, memories continued to flood into her head. It was all too familiar, so when training, she could not forget. It reminded her of where she came from, what her first purpose in the world was. When in a good mood, 18 likes to think of those as the "glory days," even if they weren't so glorious.

"Excuse me, miss? Do you mind? Everywhere else is full," came a deep voice.

18 shrugged her shoulders. "I don't care."

A tall man stood in the aisle of the bus. He breathed a sigh of relief and took a seat next to 18 when she accepted. After a short silence, he reached his hand over. "I'm Shane."

"I'm taken," 18 replied coldly. She turned and gave him a look of disgust, eyebrow raised.

Shane shoved his hand in his pocket and sighed. Oh the joys of little white lies. Without acknowledging his presence again, 18 continued exploring her thoughts on the bus ride to nowhere.