Author's Note: Hello all!

Yep, still kicking and still trying to get a handle on a schedule that works for me. I will say the time away did me some good, but not as good as I was hoping for.

I was hoping I'd be able to get through this arc in one chapter with the extra time I gave myself, but this installment is coming out about the same length as a regular chapter.

Regardless, I hope this chapter does its job of pulling you back into the conflict I have set up earlier.

I still can't promise when the next installment is coming, but it is good to get something out there again.

Thank you for reading and please, enjoy.

Several Months earlier:

"Bulma?"

Tien's hand on her shoulder snapped Bulma out of her deep power nap. The scientist shot up in her seat with a thin line of drool streaking down and out of the corner of her mouth.

"Huh? Tien? When did you get here?"

"Just now, you, okay? You were dead asleep."

"I'm good, I'm good. Just working a lot," Bulma said wiping the drool away. "Don't suppose you're just here to say hi."

"Well, actually- "

"Alright then," Bulma said, rubbing her eyes and then opening them wide. "Lay it on me. What do you want?"

"Want? What are you talking abo-"

"No wait, let me guess," Bulma said, pausing as she looked over at her friend. "A robotic fourth eye."

"A what?"

"Okay then, not that, how about a sword? Or a gun? Or a spaceship you can train in!"

"Why would I want any of that?"

"Someone always wants something from me these days," the scientist said with a sigh and leaning deeper into her chair.

"Then I'm hoping my request isn't as strenuous as the others," Tien said, reaching into his pocket and pulling out a fistful of Bulma's handmade communicators. "We need a refill of senzu's for these."

"Oh, that's easy."

Taking the small pieces of quality tech into one hand, Bulma pulled out one of the many drawers attached to her long desk. Dumping the communicator onto the small pad drilled into the bottom let out a small ping sound before she shut the drawer closed with a bit more force than necessary. "It'll just take a second."

"Good to hear, though now I must ask the obvious. You holding up, okay?"

"Just tired," Bulma answered, rubbing her eyes. "Between Yajirobi's sword, Yamcha's eye, rebuilding SPHERE, Launch's equipment, and fixing Trunks's machine, it's a bit much for just one person."

"I understand. We are all thankful for the work you do and have done. Is there any way I can help?"

"By not asking for more, you already are," Bulma laughed. "All the same if there is any way I can help let me know. We're up against some nasty threats."

"I appreciate the sentiment," Tien said, holding a hand up to stop the offer cold. "Yet I cannot accept. As a martial artist seeking to better my own techniques naturally. I would rather forgo the aid a machine could give me."

"Really? You're refusing my help because you want to be a better fighter? Aren't we supposed to be using every advantage we can get here?"

"Not if it comes at the expense of a friend's health if you'd like a better reason,"

"Point taken. Still, I'm surprised to hear that. Is Vegeta rubbing off on you?"

"Hardly," Tien scoffed. "He cares only about his own power and personal gain. To what end I do not know, but I imagine it's killing Goku or Krillin that drives him, or even the destruction of Earth."

"Wow, you got a low opinion of the guy."

"Do you not?"

"Well…he saved Yamcha during the fight with Cooler, so he's got something good going on in that big forehead of his."

"From my perspective, that remains to be seen," Tien said, crossing his arms.

"Fair enough, but I have to be honest Tien fighting to better yourself is good, and all, but is that all you want out of life?"

"What more could I want?"

"Sorry if I caught you off guard, but these days I can't help but shake a thought I've been having."

"A thought?"

"Yeah, just thinking about after the fight. I mean, we're going to win. That's a given, so I've been thinking about what comes afterward."

"Such as?"

"Not sure yet," Bulma shrugged. "I said it was a thought, not that I gave it a lot of thought. So I guess I'm curious about you. Is training the only thing on your mind?"

The three-eyed warrior paused as he searched himself for an answer, only for a ding emanating from a small watch Bulma had on her wrist.

"One sec, yes, Launch?" Bulma said, holding the wristwatch's screen towards her face.

"Hey boss," the blond bodyguard answered, appearing on the screen. "Just wanted to thank you for this jumpsuit you got me. Once I get the hang of it no android is going to get near ya."

"Good, I'm counting on you for that," Bulma smiled. "Still tweaking your gun a bit more, but it should be ready soon. Try not to destroy anything that isn't a target this time, please."

"I'll be good," Launch grinned.

"Oh, Tien is here, by the way, if you want to say hello."

"Tien?" Launch said. Her surprise almost masked her blush. "Uh, t-that's okay. I've got things to do and I'm sure he's busy too."

"It should be fine to come up for a sec-"

"Gotta go!"

"Huh," Bulma said as the screen on her wristwatch went dark.

The scientist went to continue the conversation with Tien only for a ding coming from her drawer to interrupt her. Reaching back in, she pulled free the communicators and returned them to the stoic warrior.

"Well, there you go. Thanks for listening to me rant for a bit Tien. Say hi to everyone on the lookout for me."

Tien went quiet as he looked at his hand with the communicators. Speaking again only after a few moments of silence. "Perhaps I'll stay for a while longer."

"Really? Thought you'd be eager to get back to training."

"I am, but I believe I have figured out a way to help you with your workload. And perhaps I'll be able to say hello to Launch properly."

"Okay," Bulma said with a shrug. "I mean, if you're sure."

"Yes, this is what I want."

Present:

"I'm going."

"What?" Bulma said, looking over at Tien, who was already halfway to the exit. "Do you have a plan?"

"Yes, destroy the android."

"That's not a plan!"

"I'm not waiting around for that thing to do more damage than it already has. I'm going."

"And I'm not saying you shouldn't, but we can at least try to think of something better than just punching it."

"She's right."

Both Tien and Bulma looked over to Launch, who had put down her watch and looked at them with a stern frown. An emotion neither one had ever seen her wear with her hair still blue.

"Bulma's right, but so are you, Tien. Right now, speed is a priority, so we'll need you down there to confront the android, but not to fight.

"You don't want me to fight?"

"Not yet. The most important factor is getting everyone out of the building as quickly as possible. So you need to keep him occupied in any way you can. In the meantime, Ms. Briefs will announce to all personnel to evacuate the building. Have them use the back entrance and I'll be there to monitor them. Once they are clear, you can turn the corp's defenses online."

"The corp's defenses?" Tien repeated with surprise.

"Something we've been working on in case of emergencies, which I'll say this is one," Bulma said, walking over to the hi-tech table in the center of the lab. "Launch is right, though. I'll get on the intercoms for each section of the building and get everyone to escape."

Typing in several key commands, a series of screens popped up into a 3d space. Each screen showed off a different camera angle for all the departments in the capsule corp building, except for one.

"Damn," Bulma said, looking at the screen designed for the front entrance reduced to merely static. "Looks like this 13 guy destroyed the camera there. We won't be able to get a sense of what you are walking into."

"That won't stop me," said Tien.

"Even if it doesn't keep him occupied until we give you the signal. Chances are this building is coming down, so we need to get everyone out before that happens," Said Launch.

"Then I need to stay here."

Tien and Launch looked over to Bulma, who was still standing by the center table, and continued before either of her friends could interrupt.

"Think about it. The android already said he was here for me. If I leave with everyone else, that'll only draw its attention to employees trying to escape. Better we lure him deeper inside and trap him here with us."

"Are you certain?" Tien said with a deep frown. "This would put you in grave danger."

"It's a better plan than the one we had a second ago, albeit still a bad one," Bulma said with a half-hearted smile. "Launch, I'll get on the building speakers soon just make they get to the dome in the center of the city. Construction just finished, so it'll be wide enough to house everyone."

"Understood Ms. Briefs."

"Okay, good luck Tien. Don't die."

"Understood," Tien said, walking over to the exit and watching the door slide open. "But it's not me you should be worried about."

Having taken the hidden elevator down to the ground floor, Tien walked through the halls and got a better sense of the chaos than the cameras could provide. Whatever commotion had occurred behind the doors of the front entrance had unnerved the crowd that had gathered. A few CC employees had gathered close to the large twin steel doors, but none of them had gotten the courage to open them. Tien frowned, worried that he would have to force his way through, but that worry vanished as Bulma's voice came alive through the building intercom.

"Attention, this is a building-wide alarm. This is an emergency evacuation order for all personnel. This is not a drill. Please gather your belongings and calmly evacuate the building using the rear entrance. I repeat, this is not a drill. We are locking down the facility."

The crowd looked up in horror. Yet slowly slinked away from the door and turned away from it fully, hoping to return to their offices to grab whatever they needed. Some eyed Tien in his martial arts uniform suspiciously before deciding their safety took precedence and left the hallway entirely.

Good, at least they are listening. Tien thought to himself as he watched the workers scramble past. Hopefully, it won't be too long before the building is empty of innocents. Until then.

The triclops walked up to the door that separated the main entrance of the capsule corporation from the rest of the offices. When Tien placed a hand on the twin doors, he was surprised as he realized that someone had properly locked them from the other side.

Whoever encountered the android first did their job well. Activating the security doors kept the crowd from entering and may have prevented a much worse situation. However, the time has come for action.

With one hand still on the twin doors, Tien gave a shove using the smallest amount of strength. The doors smashed open and gave the three-eyed warrior only seconds to assess the state of the entranceway.

Despite his three eyes, the first thing that Tien noticed was the smell. The entire area was filled with the oppressive metallic scent as fresh blood was exposed to the air. Now on high alert, Tien used all three of his eyes to absorb the scene in front of him as quickly as possible. Three bodies, all clothed in Capsule Corp security uniforms, lay scattered on the floor. Each of them was stained red as they lay collapsed in a small pool of their blood. Tien could also see that on the far end of the entrance, the twin doors leading to the outside have been closed just as the doors before it. Meaning the outside world had yet to see what was currently happening inside the capsule corp. Leaving Tien, the only person in the area who could properly react to the android in front of him.

A muscular man with long white hair and with a mix of intense green-blue eyes stared back at him. Wearing a yellow-brown vest adoring an obvious symbol of the Red Ribbon Army and small grey suspenders lay underneath. Green trousers and dark grey boots covered his lower body and brown gloves covered his hands. Lastly, a yellow trucker hat decorated with an identical Red Ribbon Army logo to his vest placed with care on his head overshadowed a fierce grin plastered on his face. However, despite the massacre and the clear perpetrator in front of him, Tien's instincts and eyes went directly toward the only other human in the room.

On her hands and knees, shaking like a leaf in the wind, was the small brown-haired receptionist Tien recognized as Julie. Her large glasses were almost slipping off her face as tears streaked her eyes, both old and new. She was looking directly at Tien as he opened the door with dread and fear controlling her entire body. It took Tien half a second to realize why.

A small ball of energy dyed pure red emanating from the android's index finger pointed directly at Julie's head.

"Help m-"

Before she could finish her sentence, the energy blast was fired.

It was more than enough ki energy to reduce an ordinary human to dust and pulverize the ground under them as well. The androids disintegrated the well-polished floor of the capsule corp entrance. power leaving behind a sizable chunk deep into the tiles that littered the ground, yet no human remains could be found.

"Woo-wee! Now that's impressive!" 13 grinned as he slowly turned around to face Tien, who held Julie close to his chest. "You got some quick legs on you."

Tien's aura pulsing with the added power of the kaioken faded as he let out his breath. He was thankful his instincts were right and had opened the door already on hi-alert. Yet even with his acceleration to a breakneck speed, he knew very well that the android had tracked his movements. If he had truly wished it the capsule corp employee shivering in his arms would be dead.

"Was there a point to this?" Tien asked with a fierce glare.

"Just something me and Julie came up with to pass the time," the android said with a grin. "Bit of a game of chance, you see. We were wondering whoever opened that door would be quick enough to save the damsel. Sure enough, you stopped by. You got some good luck there, Julie!"

The assistant administrator of the Capsule Corporation didn't answer and continued to shake while barely breathing.

"Hey."

Tien's voice seemed to break through the small brunette and snap her out of her own head. Looking up at her savior, she was greeted with a warm smile and a reassuring nod.

"It's going to be okay, I've got you."

The state of shock Julie was in seemed to wane just enough for fresh tears to begin rolling down her face. "He…he killed them. He killed all of them."

"I know. Can you walk at all?"

"…. I think so," Julie answered before a realization dawned on her. "Wait…I know you."

"Yes, you do," Tien said while helping her to her feet. "I met you while I was visiting Launch."

"R-right, she had blond hair at the time…She's nicer when it's blue," Julie mumbled, still in shock.

"I can understand that," Tien said with a smile. "Right now, I'm going to walk you back toward the hallway and let you go from there."

"N-no," Julie said, shaking her head. "Don't let me go I can't-"

"It'll be alright. Launch is instructing the building toward the dome in the center of town."

"T-the dome? You mean that weird-shaped building the government built?"

"Yes, you can still catch up with everyone else as long as you leave now. You'll be safe soon I just need you to go a little further."

"But what a-about him?" Julie said, looking over to 13.

"Don't worry," Tien said, starting to guide her. "I'll handle him."

Julie let herself be escorted over toward the entrance slowly past 13, who let the two go while wearing a smirk. "You take care now, Julie."

The android's veiled threat had the CC employee flinch, but Tien kept her walking with a firm hand on her shoulder. Crossing across the room and back toward the entrance he had made pushing through the steel doors, Tien carefully let Julie go while his back faced the android.

"…. thank you," Julie said, still shaking before turning on her heels and running for her life toward the rear exit of the building.

"That was mighty kind of you," Android 13 said as Tien turned back to face him. "Warms the old heart to see humans looking out for each other."

"It's suspect if you even have one," Tien shot back. "Aren't you androids just machines?"

"Heh, despite the name, not all of us are just nuts and bolts. Might surprise you to hear that some of us still got blood pumping through."

"What? Then you used to be human?"

"Slow down now, I don't intend to spill all our secrets. As I said to you, dear Julie, and those fine officers," 13 said gesturing to the dead security members. "I'm just here for a quick chat with Brief's daughter. Why don't you be a good sport and send her my way?"

"That's not going to happen. Machine or not if you want to see tomorrow, leave."

"Now that's a threat some heat on it! Was worried this errand wasn't going to be any fun. Sorry you're not one of the bigger fish we need to fry, like the namekian or the prince, but I know you're no slouch, Mr. Shinhan."

"Suppose I shouldn't be surprised you know my name."

"Seeing as how long the doc has had an eye on all of you, you really shouldn't."

"Then perhaps he's got enough eyes to have seen what happened to the last android he sent at us," Tien said letting his demeanor fall into anger. "Where is Yajirobi?"

"Search me," The android shrugged. "I have my orders and it had nothing to do with taking out your weak link. I'm here for the Brief's daughter."

"Then you have been sent here to fail. Bulma destroyed the spy drone Gero had sent months ago neither he nor you have any idea of what we are now capable of."

"Heh. It's real cute how you think that matters."

The first punch from the android immediately put Tien on the back foot. The three-eyed warrior was quick enough to increase his ki armor and raise his arms up in defense. Yet despite that, the shuddering boom that came from the collision of 13's fist hitting his forearms nearly threw him through the wall behind him.

"Good, you can take a hit," 13 said, shaking out the hand he had hit Tien with. "Would be disappointed if I put you down in one shot."

"No danger of that," Tien said, his arms still shaking from the impact. "Wondering if I'll be able to say the same."

"You're a cocky son of a gun, aren't ya!" 13 laughed. "Tell ya you what, you want a free shot it's all yours."

"Feeling generous?"

"Feeling confident, but I'd advise you to take the offer all the same, Mr. Shinhan."

Still haven't gotten a signal from Bulma or Launch to start this fight in earnest. Need to keep him talking.

"You said you didn't want to give any of this game away earlier. Is that really all you think of people's lives? As a game?"

"Spare me your bleeding heart," 13 snorted. "It's the strong who matter here, and it's the only reason you are still standing and talking after that punch. It's because you put in the work to be strong, those that don't might as well be dead. The strong survive and the weak perish. It's the golden rule both in this world and in the world that the doctor will create."

"Can you say that about yourself? You're strong just because you're an android. You didn't work for that strength, you were just built that way."

"Don't you lecture me with your 30-dollar haircut gone wrong. I gave up plenty to become like this because some of us are loyal to a cause greater than ourselves."

"You're talking about the Red Ribbon army? Or Gero?"

"Heh, they're the same thing. The good doctor is the last remnant of the Red Ribbon army. So as long as he's still kicking, he'll find those of us who are ready to bring his vision into reality. No matter the cost."

"Wait," Tien said, all three eyes wide. "Don't tell me you-"

"Volunteered for this?" 13 said, flexing his arm. "You're damn straight I did. Son Goku's attack on our headquarters decimated the army but not every soldier was there that day. The few that were left found the doctor and regrouped. There he told us he could give us the power we needed for revenge and help him create a new world where the strong are properly in control."

"And for that, you threw away your own humanity?"

"Happily, and I'd do it again, anything to complete with those saiyans or namekians. With the doctor's tech, we'll be able to bring about a new era for humankind where we aren't second to aliens invading our world and destroy Son Goku for all the lives he ended."

"Killed? Goku doesn't kill."

"Shows how little you know," 13 said, almost spitting. "That day Son Goku attacked our headquarters. He killed the doctor's dreams. Both the idea and the man."

Before Tien could respond, he felt a crackle of ki energy emanating from the top of the building. Silently, Tien tracked the ki as it began to encase the Capsule Corporation in its entirety. Peering back outside through the destroyed front doors, he saw a wall of energy touch down onto the ground just outside the gates. Reaching out with his senses, Tien could feel that the wall of dense ki energy had surrounded the building.

I see. Tien couldn't help but smile. Bulma repurposed the SPHERE to just encase the capsule corp. That's how she intends to limit the damage, and this must be my signal.

"Hey now," 13 said, looking up at the ceiling. "That's a lot of energy surrounding this place suddenly. I imagine this is the young Ms. Brief's doing."

"You'd be right," Tien said, sliding into a fighting stance. "That offer for a free hit still on the table?"

"By all means," the android said, gesturing with both arms outstretched. "Show me what you got."

Tien slid into a stance with his feet wide apart his eyes locked with the android's as he spoke aloud.

"Evil."

"This old trick?" 13 spat in disgust. "Well, I guess that'd counts as your freebie, but let me tell you right now that won't be working on me the same way it did the invaders some months back. The good doctor was quick to ensure we'd have countermeasures against your little gust."

Tien ignored the goading and continued to let his energy flow freely, concentrating a large amount in his right arm as he spoke aloud.

"Containment."

"Still going through with it? Alright, it's your funeral. Just know that once you're done with your wind tunnel, it'll be my turn. And I don't plan on taking it easy on yo-"

"Fist."

"Alright, SPHERE is up and stable," Bulma said, looking over her console and talking to her watch that showed a clear picture of Launch. "You sure you got everyone out?"

"Yes Ms. Briefs," Launch said with a nod, her blue hair bobbing. "We're on our way to the dome now and I've already alerted the authorities to keep people away from the corporation."

"Good, obviously this is going to catch the media's attention, but as long as we can keep the fight contained, we might be able to spin this as a invention gone wrong."

"Um, I don't think that's happening. I don't have the whole story yet, but whatever happened in the lobby area has some of the employees scared. This might already be out of our hands."

"Dammit," Bulma cursed. "How is this happening? It should be impossible for anyone to have any effect on my tech, let alone the communicators."

"Could Gero be smart enough to hack into the CC's network?"

"No. He shouldn't even be in my league," Bulma spat. "There's something we're missing here, but I don't know what."

"Have you tried reaching out to the others in the meantime?"

"Trying now, which is why I'm having such a hard time figuring out how this two-bit hack is blocking me out of my own system. The only way he'd be able to do half of this is if he already had-"

Bulma paused as she silently studied the endless lines of code in front of her, confirming a deep-seated fear she had been ignoring.

"If he already had a communicator of his own."

"One of his own?" Launch asked, tipping her head to the side. "If he did kidnap Yajirobi like we hope then he could have stolen it off of him."

"No, to prepare something like this, he'd need a communicator for much longer," Bulma said, her face taking a deep shade of fury. "And the only one I can't account for is the one I gave the King."

Before Launch could respond, a sudden and violent shake encased the Capsule Corp building. The entire structure shuddered and even in the highly secure laboratory Bulma had specifically designed for a situation like this, she could still feel a slight tremor beneath her.

"Looks like Tien has started the fight."

"Are you going to be okay?" Launch asked, her concern easy to hear.

"I'll be fine. We planned for something like this. Should be able to help Tien in some ways from here as well. You just concentrate on getting everyone to safety. Once that's done, try to reach out to the others in any way you can."

"Okay, I will."

With that, Bulma let the light on her watch dim and refocused her attention on the console in front of her. Clicking through a series of cameras throughout the facility. She eventually found a good angle for the battle that was about to unfold.

"Hit them hard Tien."

The solid concrete wall was smashed clean through from the force of 13 backside colliding with it. The android bounced once off his shoulder before flipping onto his feet and skidding to a stop.

"Haha! Now that's a punch!" The android cackled as he straightened his cap on his head after nearly losing it entirely. "Got yourself a nice swing Mr. Shinha!"

Tien stepped through the freshly created hole into the Capsule Corp's square. This was the centerpiece of the entire building, with a wide space with different paths leading to the many wings of business. The room was filled to burst with various kinds of plant life supported by small winding rivers all connected to a large fountain that 13 had landed next to.

"The evil containment wave was originally designed to be used solely for living organisms. Even if what you say is true and you used to be a human, what you are now means that this technique wouldn't have any effect on you. Thankfully, my training in the past 15 months was dedicated to finding a new way to use the wave in a fight." Tien said, holding his right arm up. "This is the result."

Surrounding Tien's arm was a small but vicious cyclone wrapped around his forearm, swirling with enough power to ruffle the trees in the room just from its presence alone.

"Looks like you played me good son! Ain't that a kick in the teeth!" 13 laughed while cracking its man-made knuckles. "You got your one now. Let's see what else you can do."

Pointing a finger directly at the android's chest, Tien let loose a perfectly aimed dodon ray. Slapping the ray away with a causal backhand 13 allowed the three-eyed human to close the distance with a punch enhanced by the surrounding tornado. Matching Tien's attack with one of his own 13 leaned into a punch and swung directly at the human's fist. Yet the android was unprepared for the intense air pressure of the cyclone to be strong enough to redirect his strike, forcing his swing wide and his ribs exposed.

Shaping his left hand into half a triangle, Tien summoned and shot out a burst of energy as a shout burst forth.

"Tri beam!"

The eruption of ki slammed into 13's side and knocked it off its feet sending it tumbling upward. With his opponent off balance, Tien punched again in 13's direction. Despite his fist not connecting the cyclone surrounding his arm extended and shot out, sending a whirlwind at the android. Seeing the danger, 13 held up both arms right before the windstorm hit him dead on. Tien's twister hurled 13 up to the far reaches of the ceiling, blowing off a section of the building and sending the android outside. Still carried by the wind, 13's back collided with an upper portion of SPHERE. The dense energy dome sizzled against the killer machine and caused it to grunt out in pain.

Tien observed the hole with all three of his eyes and didn't let himself blink until 13 slowly descended back down into Capsule Corp.

"That little maneuver just sent my hat up in smoke," 13 said with a scowl as he held out the only part of his cap that wasn't destroyed. "That's a low blow."

"Maybe you should stop treating this like a game then," Tien snapped back.

"Not likely," the android replied, tossing away what remained of his hat. "That's all you are to me."

Even with three eyes, Tien didn't track 13's attack until it almost connected with his stomach. He brought down his right arm into the attack; the wind helping mitigate the force of the punch but not enough to stop it from smashing against his ki barrier and nearly breaking it wide open. Now on guard, Tien took a step back, pumping more energy into his barrier and readying a defense to better prepare for the next attack.

It wasn't enough.

The high kick that came for his head hit him to put him through the fountain in the center of the room. The structure was broken apart as the three-eyed human's body shattered it into chucks of polished concrete. Water sprayed out in every direction as the pipes of the fountain were bent and twisted out of shape.

"Not done with you yet!"

The android's shout rang out from an unseen location as the water from the crushed fountain over Tien's face blinded him. A heavy boot came down upon the top of Tien's head, driving his face down and through the ground beneath him. The rest of his body followed as he was sent one level down onto a floor dedicated to market research.

Destroying a computer and desk costing more money than he'd make in three lifetimes, Tien rolled through across the beautifully decorated carpet to avoid the ki blast fired at him. The energy burst vaporized countless cubicles and exposed the extensive and carefully laid wiring underneath. With the electricity to the floor compromised, all the lights to the entire level shut down. Suddenly, darkness took hold of the area, leaving only a small stream of light still emanating from the hole Tien had crafted.

Taking two long strides backward, Tien kept his focus on the stream of light as he returned to a fighting stance. Repairing his ki barrier and enforcing the wind running around his arm, the three-eyed human prepared himself the best he could. Yet he was still unprepared for a fresh stream of light to reveal itself just above him.

"Yeehaw!"

13's holler echoed through the dimly lit floor as he went down through the floor with a fist raised and ready. Strengthening the hurricane by his side, Tien lashed out upward and met the android's punch with his own. The clash kicked up a storm that wiped away the scattered remains of the cubicles destroyed in the fall and sent those still intact hurling away in a gust of wind.

Yet it was not just the office spaces that shattered during the contest of strength. Two more broke under the strain of 13's attack. The carpeted floor groaned then gave sending Tien into a free fall, but his attention was the other item that had broken under the strain of 13's attack.

His entire right forearm was broken in half.

Masking his pain with a frown, Tien landed on his feet another floor below, yet his concentration slipped and the wind around his shattered limb fluttered away. Debris crashed alongside him as bits and pieces of the floor rained down over him. Looking around, he could see this floor was dedicated primarily to storage, yet instead of boxes and containers, there were only racks of capsules as far as the eye could see.

Still clutching his arm, Tien watched as 13 floated down to join on the new level.

"Now, ain't this a sight?" The android whistled as it looked around the floor. "Lot of history right here. Reckon, you can find just about everything the capsule corporation has put out to market. Maybe a few things it hasn't as well."

13 bent over and picked up a small capsule that had fallen off of its rack and looked over it, completely ignoring Tien.

"Hard to believe that just one man made such an impact on our society that nearly every part of it now relies on the invention he created. Just goes to show you that with the right idea, you can remake the world."

"Gero's 'idea' is just enslavement. If you believe the strength, you have now is worth what you've given up, then you're more deluded than I thought."

"Big words from a man with a shattered arm. You're still playing second fiddle to the big players, to the saiyans or namkeians the doctor's kept his eyes on. As long as these aliens are playing house on our world, humanity will always be in danger. With the doctor's tech, we'll take back our rightful place as the strongest species on the planet!"

"Your vision for Earth is shortsighted," Tien said with a stern frown. "You would give up your humanity just for the sake of killing?"

"Of course, it's for the sake of Earth's future, after all. The day Son Goku destroyed the Red Ribbon Army was the day humanity was sent back decades in progress. He made us weak. Until his kind is exterminated, our species will never be able to achieve our true strength. Until Goku is dead and buried, humanity will always be overshadowed by the aliens who invaded us."

"…. you're wrong. Blaming others for what you lack is no reason to turn yourself into a monster. It only shows your own failings, but perhaps more importantly," Tien spat before gritting his teeth and summoning up a burst of power that shook the room. "Being human does not mean you are weak."

"Oh really? That's some big talk from where you're standing, human," the android scoffed. "You gonna try to prove your point right now? Fight me with one arm?"

"No."

Without breaking eye contact with 13, Tien flexed his ki into his shattered arm. The hideous sound of bone bending echoed through the abandoned floor as the three-eyed human began to stitch his shattered limb back into place using just his energy. Once mended, Tien flexed his right hand into a fist as twin protrusions bulged out from his back. These lumps sprang out from his upper back as full formed arms grasping at the air as if crawling for freedom. Cracking his knuckles on four different hands, Tien summoned mini cyclones encircling every arm he had. Now taking a wide stance as the wind began to pick up speed, Tien reached deep into the kaio ken technique looking for the most power his body could withstand.

Tien's aura exploded outward, burning scarlet, rattling the building, and banishing the dark surrounding the floor. It was only when the wind around his limbs spun fast enough to push 13 back an inch did the human speak again.

"I'll fight you with four."

"Right this way everyone!" Launch said, holding the door open as the Capsule Corp employees shuffled into the dome in the center of the city. "Keep calm and please do not shove. If anyone is unaccounted for, please let me know as soon as possible!"

The staff of the Capsule Corporation continued to fill in to the fully functional dome that by the order of the King had been installed recently. Because of the increase in worldwide disasters, the King had commissioned every major city to install an all-access paid dome that could easily house most of the city's population. The dome that was designed solely for protection but was large enough to also house a hospital with staff that was at the forefront of designing, testing, and distributing a new form of healthcare called the healing chamber should any be injured during a disaster. These healing pods surpassed most of the world's modern medicine and were able to completely heal severe injuries that would normally take months of careful care in just a matter of hours. The leap in technology of these domes caught the world off guard but the King assured everyone that they were designed by the government for the good of the citizens of Earth.

"Single file please, everyone will get a spot inside!" Launch said as she watched the last of the panicked staff filter into the safety of the dome.

Yet reviewing the employees she had seen; Launch couldn't help but notice that she had yet to see Julie among any of them. With a frown, Launch closed the door to the dome behind her and began walking the path leading back to the Capsule Corporation. It wasn't until she turned a street corner did, she find the secretary leaning against a building, her legs shaking and her head doused in sweat.

"Julie!" the blue-haired bodyguard shouted as she ran toward her coworker and helped her steady herself. "I was worried about you."

"Ms…. Ms. Launch," Julie said slowly. "I'm sorry, my legs g-gave out on me."

"That's okay. You did a good job getting this far."

"Ms. Launch…do you know what is happening? In the lobby there was a man who-"

"It's okay, you don't have to talk about it."

"No… you don't understand!" Julie cried, struggling with her words. "There was a man in the lobby who demanded to see Ms. Briefs and when he was refused, killed the security team with his bare hands! B-bullets just bounced off of him! And there was that man with the three eyes who had gone to see you before he- he saved me, but he's going to get himself killed!"

"It'll be okay, Julie," Launch said with a soft smile. "Everything will be ok…ok-"

Launch reared back as a stray hair off of Julie's head tickled her nose and the blue-haired bodyguard's eyes fluttered rapidly.

"O.. O- ACHOO!"

A heavy sneeze brought Launch's head forward as her luscious blue locks shifted into a bright blond and her gentle demeanor was instantly replaced with confusion and anger.

"What the hell?" Launch said as she felt the full weight of Julie still leaning on her shoulder. "Julie, what are you doing?"

"Ms. Launch, you changed again," Julie said, recognizing and regarding the sudden transformation as a normal event.

"Julie, why are we not at the Capsule Corporation right now? I should be on patrol."

"Y-you were, but there was an attack at the building-"

"An attack? By who!?"

"I, I don't know a man in the l-lobby, but you got everyone out and at the dome."

"Everyone? Even the boss?"

"I'm…I'm not sure," Julie said, shaking a little under the interrogation. "B-but that man who came to see you once saved me. Th-the one with three eyes."

"Tien?! Then what the hell am I doing here?!" Launch shouted, her fury shaking the street she stood on. "I've got to get back there!"

The blond bodyguard removed herself from supporting Julie and looked around, recognizing how far the company building was from her.

"Okay, I've got to run, but you can get to safety from here, right?"

"Y-yeah I'm okay. Thank you Ms. Launch."

"Sure."

Launch dashed away, leaving behind the scared secretary to make her way back toward the dome with the rest of the company. Yet she only got two steps in before Launch returned while sprinting as fast as possible.

"Ms. Launch? Did you need someth-"

"When we talked before, you mentioned that Tien saved you, right?" Launch said, cutting off Julie before she could get another word out.

"Y-yeah, I don't know how, but he rescued me from that man in the lobby."

"Okay, and how do you feel about that?"

"W-what?"

"I said, how do you feel about being rescued by Tien? Do you feel anything toward him?"

"Feel anything? No, I was just scared. I don't have any-"

"Good. You've been through a lot, and you're scared and everything but if there is one takeaway from this experience it's this, that man who saved you," Launch said leaning in toward Julie till her face was inches away from her eyes never wavering away from her coworker's face. "He's mine."

Without waiting for a response, Launch turned and sprinted off toward the Capsule Corporation with her gun drawn and at the ready.