I wish I owned DBZ, but I don't. I own DVD's and tapes, but it just isn't the same. I also don't own the rights to any of the music pieces you see selected, just copies of merchandise, such a shame. The artists that created them are geniuses and we all must bow to them.
Chapter 70: SHARC
Bulma was attempting to relax in her large living room and watch the news when a piercing wail hit the air. Watching then became listening when it came time for Bulla to be changed and heard. Barely a minute into her crying, Vegeta stomped in, holding his ears.
"Will you silence the brat already?" he growled.
Bulma supplied her usual answer, "Okay, almighty prince, you can change the diaper yourself if you would like it done in such a prompt manner." Vegeta grumbled a wordless reply as Bulma tended to their daughter. A bulletin then flashed onto the television screen, which gave Vegeta a reason to turn up the volume.
"...and the hostage crisis in South City has reached its eighth hour. In the past forty-five minutes we've seen a flurry of activity around the twentieth floor when a propelling team attempted to enter. We can only assume that the situation has grown worse after our cameraman caught this video of what appeared to be one of the Special Forces team flying out of the tower and assaulting two officers posted across the street. This is the same Special Forces that helped to repel the Zerg invasion that we all remember well. The two officers are reported to be in critical condition and the boy was last seen re-entering the SHARC tower. He is believed to be very dangerous and has apparently joined with the rogue officer behind the crises. If you have any information on how to stop this boy, please inform the authorities..." Vegeta turned the volume down and snorted lightly.
Bulma scowled at his lack of motion, "Well? Aren't you going out after your son?"
Vegeta barely gave her a glance, "What for?"
"Oh I don't know, to keep him out of trouble! You know, be a father figure for once!" Bulma screeched.
"It's a human matter, therefore it's no concern of mine. If Trunks wants to involve himself, that's his business. I highly doubt that he'll even be scratched by the stupid fools that decide to get in his way. He can take care of himself woman," Vegeta argued.
"Alright, say you're completely right about this and people get hurt. Do you want to imagine the public relations nightmare we'll have if someone identifies him?" Bulma countered.
"Heh, like that will be a problem. All the reporters are afraid of me, for good reason. Even if they figure that it's Trunks, they'll back down," Vegeta claimed.
"So you're not going to even address this?" Bulma asked in disgust.
"If you want to scold the brat so badly, go do it yourself woman," Vegeta said, stating the same reasoning that she had given a minute before.
"Fine, but you'll have to watch Bulla," Bulma said as she got up.
Vegeta huffed slightly, "As if I can't watch a child."
"Apparently you need practice. There's a good example of why on the screen," Bulma pointed out as she grabbed her purse. As Bulma left, Bulla started crying again, which only made Vegeta scowl as he regretted his words.
Sonny Satsu held his gun at one of the suspicious scientists as she was handcuffed to a chair. She was thin with long chocolate colored hair and matching eyes that were spitting out fresh tears. Nearly three hours had passed since Trunks had attacked the snipers across the street, and no other police action was forced. As far as he could tell, the entire building save for the lobby had been cleared, including any SWAT members that were on the roof. Trunks had spotted several more recon teams on other rooftops and windows, but they were merely trying to keep an eye on them. He had expected some sort of heavy military response, but so far there wasn't one. Sonny had secured the remaining SHARC staff and the three police officers with handcuffs to filing cabinets along the walls. To keep everyone's calm, he had dragged the dead scientist into another room and locked the door while Trunks kept watch at the office door. The younger lady in the chair looked petrified at the sight of the pistol next to her as she was wheeled up to a desk computer.
"Alright, you're going to access the mainframe and tell me what happened to my partner," Sonny ordered. Only the fearful answer of shaking greeted him as the brunette's teeth chattered a bit.
Sonny cocked his gun, "Come on, get online, now!"
"I don't know the p-password! I'm only an intern!" she stammered.
"For who? This scum over here?" Sonny pointed to a slim brown-haired man with glasses. This man had most looked like a doctor compared to the rest, despite the scene. The other remaining staff member was a plump lady with red hair, wearing wire thin bifocals and high heels. She was eerily similar to the mother that had been rooting against Trunks in the Junior World Tournament, but not quite as massive. She was the calmest one of the bunch, including the captured officers. Trunks couldn't help but wonder why that was, though he was more curious about the doctor. He had a very suspicious aura about him, and Trunks could sense nothing but deceitfulness from him. At the same time though, Trunks sensed there was something wrong about him, like there was something missing. The intern wasn't answering Sonny's question and he briefly lost patience but didn't act.
"Fine, I'll ask him since they shot the other one. What's the password?" Sonny asked.
The man used his free hand to push his glassed up higher on his nose, "And why should I tell you?" Sonny fired his gun, missing the doctor by mere inches.
The doctor didn't even flinch at this, "Kill me and lose your chance to access that computer. I hold the master password up here in my mind. But there isn't a chance of you getting it, so I suppose you should just get it over with."
Sonny relaxed strangely, "Alright doctor, this isn't my first interrogation. Let's start with something simple like your name."
"Doctor Joanes."
Trunks cocked his head slightly, "Shouldn't that be pronounced 'Jones'?"
Joanes frowned, "No, there is an A before the N. It's pronounced 'Jo-Ann-es'. Shouldn't you be in a school, learning how to say a person's name properly? No doubt your parents are street-bred scum."
Trunks resisted the urge to correct him physically for the moment, "You gonna give him the password, Jones? Or do I have to beat it out of you?"
Joanes smiled, "No." Trunks removed the glove on his right hand and moved towards the defiant doctor.
Before he did anything, the intern screamed for him to stop, "No! Don't hurt him!"
"I won't hurt him, much," Trunks claimed.
"Stop! I'll tell you the password, just don't hurt the doctor!" the intern offered.
Joanes glanced over, "There isn't anyway you could know the master password."
The intern nodded meekly, "I've seen you use it doctor, it's the name of your deceased wife isn't it, Aurora?"
Joanes paused at this show of honesty, "Well perhaps I was wrong. Proceed at your own risk."
Before the intern typed anything in, Sonny's handheld radio went off, "Trunks Briefs!"
Trunks cringed slightly, "Aw crap, she's already here."
Sonny looked at him with pure confusion, "Who?"
"Trunks! This is your mother speaking, you had better pick up the phone in thirty seconds or else!" Bulma screeched over the airwaves.
"Your mother is Bulma Briefs? Interesting, but also a shame. To see a talented young mind going to waste before you even knew how to use it," Joanes remarked.
"Oh shut up," Trunks grumbled as the phone rang.
He sighed heavily before bringing the phone up to his ear, and winced immediately, "Trunks! What the hell are you doing, caught up in this mess?"
"Easy Mom, you're making my ears bleed!" Trunks whined.
"That won't be the only thing bleeding if you don't get down here right now!" Bulma yelled.
"I can't, not until I take care of things here. The police are wrong, this guy is innocent!"
"And how do you know that?"
Trunks paused, as he didn't want to blurt out why just yet. "I...I just do. I wanna find out what kind of research they're doing here and there is something...else here that I need."
"What could that possibly be?" Bulma asked.
"Check the radar and you'll see what I mean," Trunks replied carefully.
Bulma's tone lightened, "That may be the case, but that doesn't matter right now. You are to get down to the lobby right this minute, I'll be waiting for you. Then we're going to have a nice long chat about what you should and should not do before I turn you over to your father."
Trunks grimaced, "Fine." He hung up the phone and sighed deeply with an apologetic expression directed at Sonny.
"Don't sweat it kid, I figured this might happen. It won't matter once I find what I'm looking for," Sonny claimed with a smile.
"Don't you sound confident, be careful what you wish for," Joanes warned.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Trunks asked.
"Whatever doc, enter the password lady," Sonny ordered. The intern did exactly that, and the screen began to flash red and blue as alarms began going off.
A computerized voice sounded over the intercom, "Warning! Project Aurora activated! Project Aurora activated!"
"Project Aurora? What the hell is that?" Sonny demanded. Tremors suddenly shook the building as desk lamps and computer equipment fell to the ground.
"An earthquake?" Trunks asked.
"Afraid not," Joanes said calmly. Trunks looked over as large, thick slabs of metal quickly slid over the windows from the outside, covering the SHARC building from roof to ground completely.
"That password activated some sort of emergency program to cut us off from the outside didn't it?" Sonny asked as he grabbed Joanes by the shirt collar.
Joanes kept his calm, "Partially right Mister Satsu. What it is going to do is show you just what is going on here. You wanted to know after all."
"What have you done?" Trunks growled.
"Nothing, I've been here the whole time. It's what you've done, and if my guess is right, all those people in the lobby are about to be in trouble. Maybe you should help them," Joanes suggested.
"What?" Trunks gasped.
"I'll use more direct words, all those police officers and your mother are about to die," Joanes said with a slight sneer. Trunks' eyes widened as he ran for the door. He stopped cold when he heard multiple distant screams.
Bulma coughed lightly as the dust settled inside the lobby and she and the dozen or so officers recovered from the sudden change in conditions. The nearest officer was the Chief, an aging man who had clearly seen rough situations over the years. He had a graying mustache that seemed to cover his mouth completely, though his beard was kept well trimmed. His uniform was dotted with several honor medals, enough that it obscured any real identification tags.
"Status! Someone give me status!" Chief shouted.
"Looks like some sort of automated response that we didn't know about sir," an officer named Watson said.
"Radio contact, can we talk to anyone outside?" Chief asked.
"Negative sir." Bulma pulled her cell phone out, but in dismay saw that it had no signal.
"I don't suppose you guys brought the building's engineer have you?" Bulma asked.
Chief sighed with annoyance, "We've been trying to reach him for five hours. Obviously it doesn't matter at this point. Alright, re-establish our perimeter here, that's our first objective. After that, we need to get word to our people outside that we're trapped but okay. They should already be trying to get in. And we also need to send a team to the twentieth floor. It looks like Satsu may not have been lying about this murder investigation. I would like to personally have a word or two with the lead scientist Doctor Jones," Chief stated. The lights began to flicker randomly before they shut off completely. A few emergency lights came on a moment later, but they provided very little relief from the darkness.
"Watson, get the power back on in here!" Chief ordered as everyone switched on their flashlights.
"Chief, I recommend we find the stairwell and get to higher ground. The roof may still be open to us," Bulma suggested.
"Good idea Miss Briefs. Watson, stay on the power issue until we regain control of the situation," Chief said. Watson moved around the room with a small device intended to detect electricity, but stopped short when he noticed something.
"Chief, the power is down here, but the elevators appear to be back online!" Watson announced.
Chief was taken slightly aback by this, "They are? Who the hell authorized...never mind. Split into two groups, Watson you take a team to the roof and secure it if possible. The rest of us will take the stairs up to meet Satsu. Miss Briefs, you're with us." Watson and several others loaded into the barely lit elevator and departed. Before they left though, the Chief elected to keep an intent eye on the progression of the other team, drawing Bulma's attention.
"Just standard procedure in an unknown situation like this..." Chief paused when the digital monitor stopped changing. It had stopped and remained at floor thirty-three, drawing concern from all.
Chief pulled out his radio, "Watson, do you read?"
"Yeah...barely."
"This shows you've stopped about twenty clicks short, what is the problem?"
The radio blared with loud static and interference, "We're not sure...maybe...obstruction." Bulma then heard something pop and saw the floor number start falling rapidly.
"Oh my god..." Chief said in disbelief. Nearly a half dozen men were heard screaming as the elevator cart dropped past the lobby and crashed several floors down below them. The Chief and a few others forced the doors open just in time for a rush of dust to flood into the lobby as a few cables tumbled down from above.
"Great, what else could go wrong?" Chief muttered. Their answer came in the form of a low, feral growl coming from the darkest part of the room. Chief and the other policemen drew their weapons and pointed flashlights towards the inhuman sound they heard, but saw nothing. Bulma was silently cursing for not bringing one of her laser pistol capsules, but she knew she couldn't worry about that now. Sounds of quick movements, low grunts and drywall hitting the floor drew everyone's attention. Bulma thought she saw something moving, but by the time any light was provided on the specific area, it was long gone.
"Keep it tight and retreat to the stairs," Chief whispered. Bulma strayed between the officers as they stepped backwards to the stairwell. A sudden aroma filled in, possessing the strange scent of both blood and chocolate. Bulma wrinkled her nose in confusion, unsure of what she was smelling.
"What the hell is that smell?" Chief rasped.
"Dunno sir, maybe the environmental systems are messed up," one of the deputies said in a normal voice.
The officer beside him snorted lightly, "With all the money they put in on this place, you'd think that they could afford good air filters."
"Smith, Quimby, keep your voices down! There's something in here with us!" Chief warned. Smith had been the loudest of the two, but also the most relaxed given the situation.
"Probably just a lab rat or something. I'm sure it's nothing to worry about sir," Smith claimed.
Chief welled up with anger, "Put a lid on it deputy, and start getting serious! We just lost six of our men in the elevator that was supposed to be shutdown. I want to see some damned focus, understood?"
Smith grimaced and nodded, "Yes, sorry sir." All eyes suddenly locked on Smith when a loud grunt sounded behind him. He turned around and his flashlight revealed a large creature standing there. It was about eight feet tall with gray and navy blue patches of skin, all of which was covered in a slimy residue. It's face looked completely alien to even Bulma, who had seen her fair share of strange creatures. It's forehead had subtle ridges that seemed to fan out randomly with no real pattern. There was a pair of dull yellow eyes beneath it's oddly shaped forehead. Whatever the creature called a nose was flat with small slits in the skin that expanded and contracted for breathing. The most disturbing feature though was the mouth, which had very large and sharp teeth, each dripping with heavy, thick saliva.
"What the fuck is that?" Chief shouted. Smith aimed his shaking pistol in pure surprise as his eyes remained wide. The creature growled loudly at him, causing him to panic and fire. The bullet punctured around the left side of the chest and the creature glanced down. It roared with rage rather than pain and swiped at Smith. It's hand was a huge claw with four rubbery looking fingers and stout thumb. The substance of it's hand was another matter as Smith was sent flying across the room. He slammed into a wall and slumped down, revealing three slash marks buried deep into his torso.
"Smith! Open fire, kill that thing!" Chief ordered. The other officers didn't need to be told twice as the creature let loose another deafening roar. Bulma ran over to check on Smith as the police emptied their guns on the strange and powerful creature. After absorbing dozens of rounds, it finally felt some sort of survival instinct to run away and retreated towards the darkness behind it. It was well beyond sight range before Chief dared even look at Smith. Bulma checked his vitals, but he wasn't doing much aside from hyper-tense breathing from shock. The deep gashes were putting out a great deal of blood and within a few moments his surprised eyes became dull and lifeless.
"Smith, hold on damnit! We're not dying here!" Chief urged. Smith coughed lightly before he fell over and ceased to move.
"Shit!" Chief cursed. The creature roared again and charged out of the black towards the next closest officer, Quimby.
"Get down!" Chief shouted. Quimby didn't react fast enough and the creature grabbed at his head and hoisted him up by the chin.
"Hold your fire!" Chief ordered as the other officers had locked on with their sights. Quimby was struggling to breath, but managed to reach his sidearm and unload a few un-aimed bullets into the monster's massive chest. It screeched in pain and threw him across the room. His head struck the wall and left a bloody trail as he dropped to the ground. Bulma ran to him to check his condition, and got there in time to hear a painful rattle come from his throat as the remaining air in his lungs slipped out.
Bulma gasped loudly as Chief's face filled with anger, "Everyone cover your eyes!" He turned and tossed a small canister near the creature and closed his eyes. The canister exploded with bright light, followed by another painful roar. Once the light faded, Bulma saw that it was holding it's eyes protectively after being hit by a flash-bang grenade.
"Drop it, kill it now!" Chief yelled. Bulma reached for Smith's handgun and joined in the shooting. The creature staggered and fell to the ground, trying to crawl it's way out. It's left leg had been hit enough to cripple it, and prevent it from even standing again. Chief ran up and put his boot on it's neck to hold steady. It tried to buck him off and he backed away before pulling his rifle up. He fired straight into it's head and the creature slumped down instantly. Chief waited for a moment before sighing heavily and catching his breath.
"Everyone else alright, Miss Briefs?" Chief asked.
"Yeah," Bulma said as she cautiously stood up. She glanced around and realized that there were only three SWAT members remaining, including the Chief.
"What was that thing?" a younger officer named Jenkins asked.
Chief glanced at his fallen officers, "I don't know, but the way it killed Smith and Quimby, I'd say Sonny Satsu was innocent. What do you think it is Miss Briefs?"
"I'd have to take tissue and blood samples back to my lab to know for sure. But it's most likely some sort of genetic mutation. Look at it's feet," Bulma pointed out. They all crowded over the beast to see two shredded socks covering part of it's ankles.
Jenkins looked at her like he had seen a ghost, "You're telling us that thing is human?"
Bulma shook her head, "Was human, but not anymore."
"Alright, we'll deal with this mess later. Let's get up to Satsu and your son," Chief suggested. Just as he finished the words, Jenkins cocked his shotgun.
"What is it Jenkins?" Chief asked.
"There's something moving," he replied. They all looked around and saw nothing, until another loud roar pulled their attention to the direction Jenkins was pointing his shotgun. Another massive claw came out of the darkness and grabbed Jenkins by the neck and jerked him forward, dragging him to it.
"Another one? Shit!" Chief shouted as he tried to pinpoint it. This one had pulled back enough that even the sounds of Jenkins screaming couldn't locate it exactly in the dark. The screaming continued to echo before the sound of bones breaking and flesh tearing filled the room.
"Run for it!" Chief shouted. Bulma and the two remaining officers sprinted for the stairwell. It wasn't long before heavy footfalls followed them, along with a monstrous screech that filled Bulma with sheer terror.
Bulma reached the door first and held it open for Chief, "Come on!" He stopped and turned to beckon his remaining deputy, but didn't see anything but a faint light bobbing up and down. Gunfire sounded just as the flashlight went flying aside along with the victim holding it.
"Get in! I'll lock the door!" Chief ordered. Bulma was halfway up the first flight of stairs before she actually heard the door latch. Chief was barely a half-step back when a huge dent formed abruptly in the metal door. The creature on the other side snarled and pounded on the door continuously, making very noticeable progress. After just a dozen seconds, it ripped through the metal with it's powerful hands and yanked the door completely off its hinges. The creature tossed it aside and stepped through as the Chief backed away, tripping on the stairs and falling down. Just as it stood over him, a broad but bright ball of gold light smashed into the beast, knocking it back into the lobby.
Bulma turned to see Trunks standing on the rail with his hand stretched out, "Trunks!"
"Mom, what was that thing?" Trunks asked.
"I'm not sure, but we can't worry about that now. It's going to come back if you don't stop it," Bulma said sternly.
Trunks smirked slightly, "Gotcha." He blew past the surprised Chief and into the lobby, where the creature was waiting and roaring at him. Despite the darkness, Trunks could feel out its movements enough to where he was basically seeing it. He ducked a claw swipe and swept it's legs. The creature managed to drop to only one knee, but was unprepared for Trunks to rush in. He let loose a flurry of rapid punches, battering the monster. After hitting it a few dozen times, Trunks pulled back and kicked its chest hard, sending it flying backwards. Not wasting a moment, Trunks spread his arms wide and charged up his ki, illuminating enough of the room to adjust his aim.
"Time for the last ride!" he declared. The creature staggered to its feet and panted slightly before roaring at Trunks again. It made no real effort to move out of the way, as if it knew that attacking would be fruitless.
Trunks smirked again, "See ya!" He fired a single potent ki ball straight at his target with both hands, and the beast merely growled in defiance. The blast struck dead on and exploded, leaving behind smoke and bloody mist in the darkness. Trunks didn't move initially until he was sure the beast was dead. Once he was certain, he ran back and grabbed the broken door, dragging it with him through the doorway it had belonged to. He wedged it into place to serve as a blockade as Chief provided light for him with his flashlight.
"Mom, are you alright?" Trunks asked once he was done.
"Yes, but there might be more of those things," Bulma replied.
"More of those? You're kidding!" Chief exclaimed.
Bulma grimaced at the mental lapse, "There was more than one, right?" Chief mumbled a silent answer as he checked his ammunition.
"We need to find out just what is going on around here. This whole situation seems very fishy," Bulma added.
"How so, I mean other than this," Chief said.
"The SHARC company is a low market provider of medical products and insurance. Only very recently did I even hear of them ordering equipment for advanced research. I'd say they have taken things a few steps further. If those two, things, are a result of that research, well saying it's illegal would be quite an understatement. I suspect they've gotten involved with someone very untrustworthy and of questionable character. Trunks, did you recognize any of the scientists?"
Trunks shook his head, "No, but one of them was really arrogant. The other two are just of the intern and secretary type. The police shot the other one in the head."
Bulma glared at Chief, "Procedure huh?"
"How could we have known? Sonny Satsu has been through enough to have cracked and gone crazy," Chief claimed.
"It doesn't compare to what we've had to deal with. I guess I'll just have to meet this one and hope he cooperates, let's go," Bulma said as she started climbing the stairs.
Sonny Satsu had a machinegun locked on Doctor Joanes while he waited for Trunks to return. He had moved the intern and chubby secretary to another spot for the time being. The intern had screamed to be let go now that it was clear that something was not right, but Sonny didn't oblige. The secretary had yet to say a single word or protest about anything. She honestly didn't appear to be paying any attention to the serious situation. She did give Joanes the evil eye a few times, as if she might have known something, but Sonny didn't pressure her. The intern was far more likely to know something, despite being in hysterics.
"So doc, do you have anything to say before the curtain rises on your little act?" Sonny asked.
Joanes feigned innocence, "My, whatever do you mean?"
"Hmph, I guess I can wait a little longer. I wonder if I'll be allowed to personally interrogate you, can't wait for that," Sonny said as he cracked his knuckles a bit.
"I'm afraid I'm not very familiar with police policies, though I'm rather certain that they wouldn't allow a murderer to remain employed, never mind walking free. Then again, I am aware that law enforcement has some very serious flaws that typically border on corruption," Joanes said with a grin.
"You keep singing your song and dance, I'll figure you out, one way or another," Sonny retorted. One of the hostage SWAT officers shifted slightly.
"You got something to say Jarvis?" Sonny asked as he glared at him.
"When the hell are you going to let us go Sonny? There's no one coming in or out like this, we won't attack you," Jarvis claimed nervously.
"After the way you guys looked at me, as if I was the killer, you ask that question? What about you Coleman?" Sonny glanced at the other.
"We're sorry man, we didn't expect something like this!"
Sonny glared at him darkly, "No, I'd guess not."
The door creaked open suddenly, "They weren't the only ones who were wrong Satsu." Sonny aimed his gun, but cautiously lowered it when Chief held up his hands peacefully. Trunks and Bulma came in behind him, much to Sonny's relief.
"It's about damn time then. Wait, where's the team Chief?" Sonny asked with concern.
Chief looked down, "Let's just say that we ran into some trouble and they didn't make it. Where's the lead scientist, Doctor Jones?"
Joanes shook his head, "It's Joanes you idiot. Why can't you grunts just learn to pronounce a name correctly, it is not hard."
"Whatever, I want to know exactly what the fuck you are doing here, now!" Chief bellowed.
"Medical research and development."
"Bullshit! I saw your little pet science project kill my men! Miss Briefs believes...Miss Briefs, what is it?" Chief stared as Bulma has an awfully fierce expression on her face. She glowered at Joanes like she was ready to tear him apart, but she didn't act on it.
Joanes finally looked up, "Why, hello again Bulma."
Bulma's scowl could have cracked the walls, "Hello, Flandal."
A/n: Dun dun dun... Then again, what is the true shocker here? You had to know he'd be back at some point.
Next time on DBV: Doctor Flandal Cash, otherwise known as Doctor Wheelo, has returned in earnest. As Bulma and Trunks pressure him into revealing his activities, they find out that there are more mutated creatures stalking the SHARC building. A face from the past appears to help guide them and the remaining police force to find Wheelo's hidden lab. But what will they find there, an insidious project, or a trap made especially for them. Meanwhile, Verto and Lenz sense the disturbance and head to South City to help.