After Babidi's attempt to resurrect Buu failed, the real work for Cell really got started. The countdown in the underground laboratory of his father: Doctor Gero, was downloading something. Or reconstructing it. He didn't know WHAT that something was, only that super computer was counting down.

Since then, Cell began preparing for what would inevitably become a rather busy year in his life. Beerus still needed to be summoned but the key in doing so without unleashing total oblivion was the trick. The God of Destruction was nothing like his prior opposition. He could not just suck them into his tail to solve his problems. Though the power increase from such a meal was tempting…

What he needed was brawn, brains and maybe even a little skill in the kitchen.

For that end, he was spending plenty of time in the Hyperbolic time chamber to quickly master the art of cooking. Not just for himself, but for his friends whom he'd made since his birth in this world. It was hard to believe…He was only 3 years old in this world simply because of circumstances, but because of that he slowly started to forget who he used to be.

Was he human? The memory was vague, like a dark Silhouette that he couldn't quite make out the face of. His only remembrance of those times were the Manga of his collection. Something after his stay here he would jokingly refer to as the prophetic text. Because with the assistance of that information he was able to predict events of his world and counter the negative implications.

Hell, he now had the king of demons locked away in his stomach, fueling his power alongside his siblings Android #17 and #18. Oh that's right…

He did have more power surging through him. He'd achieved near peak performance as the Ultimate life form…the perfect biomechanical android that would ever exist. It had also granted him a few…interesting perks. Including a new member of his growing family.

*BANG*…*BANG*…*BANG*

The sound of gunfire rang through West City. Specifically, in a firing range situated a few blocks away from the Capsule Corporation. Since the fall of the androids Earth finally found peace with it's inhabitants working to rebuild civilization where many of the worlds towns had been lain to ruin. West City became the de-facto base for the earth's new military force.

Some were Androids, courtesy of Bulma and Cell's own schematics allowing her to convert willing humans into androids comparable to the power of a Saiyan. Most of it's forces were purely human however. One such member of the new military faction was a young woman by the name of Mai. She wore a long blue jacket with a Capsule Corp Logo on the shoulder with yellow pants.

The gun fire that rang through the city was coming from her, as she was having a bit of target practice with Cell Jr's of all people. Specifically, a Cell Jr with a Red Carapace that seemed a fair bit more intelligent than it's brethren as it zipped behind rocks and trees of the firing range's simulation environment. She couldn't get a single hit in on him though. He was just too fast, but she could track him easily enough.

This Jr…Which they've come to simply call RED, was born shortly after Cell had finished off Babidi and destroyed their ship. While Mai didn't understand the full scope of how Trunks put it…She understood that some of it's enhanced power came from the fact that it was created using Dabura's DNA that was now fully integrated into Cell.

Her thoughts were interrupted when RED approached her, grabbing ahold of the barrel of the pistol with a mischievous smile on his face, tail twitching behind him. "I win again. You're better than the other humans at this game but it's not enough."

"Maybe but I HAVE to be fast enough. One day we might all count on it."

It was the typical banter between the two of them. She knew she couldn't stand on par with RED who according to Trunks was far and above stronger than the Super Saiyan 2 stage. What stage 2 was she didn't know, but Trunks was the strongest mortal on the planet and even he seemed shaken by the implication.

A few seconds pause and the environment they were in faded away, the simulation over and done they were now in a rather bland white room with nothing but the blankness of space. It was eerie…But the technology was out of this world, one of the many that Cell helped Bulma incorporate into their routine.

Outside, once the two were free from the training grounds, Mai pressed a button on a drink dispenser and handed RED a small can of orange soda, one for herself as well as she proceeded to sit on a park bench outside of the training hall. "Why do you all care so much about us humans? Wasn't your creator's goal to wipe out humanity…? Yet here you are helping to rebuild it."

It was a legitimate question to RED. Nobody could have seen his kind actually working for the betterment of the human race. It was inconceivable given the reputation of the red ribbon army. Though the flag was nowhere on his body so the notion never really applied to him. "We don't hate humans y'know…My Aunt and Uncle…#17 and #18 had a loathing for humans after our grandfather changed them but they used to be humans like you…It kind of twisted their brains…But our father…"

"Cell…?"

"Right. Cell, our father. He was programmed for the sole purpose of defeating Goku and world domination. Well…Goku's already dead isn't he? So why do we need to resort to violence for world domination…"

"You intend to rule over us?"

RED paused for a moment to look at Mai's body language from head to toe. She didn't have any kind of leg to stand on when it came to their power difference, but she didn't seem threatened by his notion either, more curious than anything. "Our dad already has. He protects all of you because you humans are precious to him. So we protect you too."

"So if he decided one day to turn on us…"

"No." RED answered with a playful smile, winking to the female soldier. "My brothers might join our father in his crusade if he decided to change his mind about you, but I've got a little more substance than they do. So anything I decide to do is my own choice. Besides, I've kind of grown fond of you and Trunks. So why would I hurt the two people who consider me their friend?"

Mai didn't really have anything she could say about that. She didn't think the Android could even really BE capable of friendship but maybe she'd misjudged him. Before she could muster up any sort of reply, the diminutive Android hopped off the bench and began stretching his limbs. "Father won't change though. He cares too much about you. This whole world is his, and he'll protect it and it's inhabitants with his life."

Meanwhile...in a faraway planet...

Beerus was awoken by sound of many ticking alarm clocks floating around his napping area going off in a series of rather violent explosions that rocked the bed that he was snoozing on.

After the final boom sounded in the room, the cat pulled his sheets up over his head as if all the noise had only been the most minor of inconvenience. It was only when his attendant sneezed that those ears perked and he rolled out of bed lazily. At first he dropped onto a floating piece of rock, a remnant from the prior explosions, then he stated walking off the edge without realizing it, hovering in place just for a second as he realized there was no ground before cartoonishly falling onto the next platform and rolling off to make his landing on more solid ground where Whis was standing there without so much as a care in the world.

The Angel was always a bit jovial even when there wasn't anything to find amusement in, though watching Beerus skitter along the makeshift bed he'd been sleeping on for 39 years before falling unceremoniously to solid ground several feet in the air got a soft laugh out of his attendant. "Welcome back to the world of the awakened Lord Beerus."

"Nnngh…I still feel tired…How long was I out Whis?" Beerus was holding the side of his head, not because he hurt himself falling down…he was much too powerful for such a minor fall to cause anything more that an irritation. No he was just groggy, even as he made to sit at the dining table.

"39 years my lord. You took a bit of a nap there, but I trust that you slept well?"

All it took was a single tap from Whis's staff to the floor and an assortment of foods that no human had seen was laid out for the God to enjoy after such a long sleep. Or was it?

"39!? No wonder I'm still tired…that's not even half a decade…Cat nap…" A grumble came out of the cat God even as he reached for a strange bit of meat that looked like an octopus' appendage and tore into it, his eyes closed as he rocked from left to right in his chewing. He looked so calm, and yet the growls coming from him indicated a cranky mood.

"If I'm not mistaken my lord, it was you who set the alarm to this date. What was the reason for setting your alarm for such a minuscule number of years. You know you're cranky if you don't get at least 100 years rest."

"A premonition back then…I think the Oracle fish mentioned it…At first he mentioned some sort of ridiculous notion of a Super Saiyan God…But even HE found such a thing ludicrous and corrected his prediction."

"A Super Saiyan God? I hardly doubt such a thing exists my lord." Whis's face hardened a bit, gesturing to the globe on his staff and enlarged it to show the planet earth. "The Saiyan's that survived the destruction of planet Vegeta fled to this world here…But they've all been killed. The Saiyan that defeated Frieza grew up here too…But he died tragically 27…no…28 years ago now. As of this date, the only surviving Saiyan is a half breed named Trunks."

Whis allowed the image to change to show that of the young Saiyan as he is right now, carrying a box of what looked to be some form of technology into a large building with the letters CC on it. "Unfortunately…given his experiences in the world I do not think he is anywhere near the level of this so called Saiyan God."

"So the Oracle Fish was wrong? That's not very often. If he were to hear about this then his head might turn and we'd need to find a new one." Beerus had already dug into 2/3rd's of the assortment of food that had been spawned for his breakfast, a testament to his fierce appetite. "But something still doesn't add up."

"I don't think his prophecy was made in complete error my lord." Whis continued, eyes narrowing. "While you were asleep some interesting developments took place in the last 3-4 years." The Angel attendant jabbed his staff into the ground again and showed an image of a green figure, humanoid in size with a large flexible tail stabbing into what looked to be a T-rex, shrinking it down and absorbing it in real time.

"This one here goes by the name of Cell. He's an artificial life form apparently, and he's quickly become this universe's greatest fighter. He didn't take on the likes of Frieza…but he's still the most powerful fighter in all of the Seventh Universe. Well…Aside from you that is my lord."

"Really…? Our universe's most powerful warrior?" Any sleepiness that was in Beerus's body just melted away at the idea of someone who could potentially put up a good fight. But that doesn't explain how the Oracle Fish got it wrong. But humor me my faithful attendant…How was his prediction correct?"

Whis looked at the image on his staff and willed it to turn back the clock a bit. Precisely one year prior when Cell was fighting against Dabura, or rather making sport of the demon was more like it. He stopped the playback to focus on the sudden spike in power from the Bio Android and the yellow glow that came about his body, sparks flying around his battle aura. "This creature my lord, contains core cells from the strongest beings in the cosmos, including that of the Saiyans. I believe this transformation here albeit slight…is what they call a Super Saiyan."

Beerus looked at the orb atop Whis's staff as it resumed playback of that battle. True enough Dabura could not hit Cell unless the strange bio android ALLOWED himself to be hit, and with a swipe of the tail, they had been consumed like easy prey.

"Intriguing. He's not opposed to consuming his opposition it seems."

"He grows stronger by absorbing powerful warriors. From what I've gathered up on him, he was designed to consume powerful foes to become even stronger. He's probably as close to a god of destruction as a mortal can reasonably achieve."

Beerus took a few moments to process everything that he'd just discovered. "Super Saiyan…Android…Cell…Absorption…Super Saiyan God…" With every iteration, he was flipping himself over into a different pose in his chair. When dining this was poor manners…but nobody would dare tell a GOD that to his face. He repeated his mantra several times before he seemed to understand the implications of it.

"HE IS MY CHALLENGER!" Beerus bellowed, setting down a half eaten piece of what looked to be an alien crap and got up from the table to stand by Whis's side. "Let us be off. How long will it take us to reach uh…What was the planet he is on again?"

An exasperated sigh came out of Whis though he should have KNOWN Beerus would jump the gun without having ALL of the relevant info. "I already looked all of that up even before you awoke, predicting you'd want to challenge this creature. Right now, him and his kin are on Planet 4032-877. The inhabitants call it Earth."

"Earth? That sounds like such a boring name. Does it have any good cuisine?"

"According to Galactic patrol reviews the food is quite scrumptious. One of the most top rated planets in our universe in terms of food. They just recommend laying off the fast food."

That term caught Beerus in a twist. Fast food…? Was it a dish you had to catch and prepare yourself? "Such a weird term. I thought every planet hunted or farmed their animals for food. Why would avoiding that be an issue?"

"I'm not sure that's what they mean by fast my lord."

"Hmm…Well we can talk about it on our way there. How long will it take to get to our destination?"

"This Cell is most frequently seen in a mellow part of the world known as West City. It's apparently only just now returned to normal operations after being run down and broken over the years. As for our arrival…It should take a little over 28 minutes."

"So nearly the full length of a televised anime. Annoying ads included." Beerus reached out and set one clawed purple hand on Whis's shoulder even as his eyes focused. "Fly."

Whis didn't make any comment on Beerus' commanding tone. Instead he lifted his staff up and allowed a flash of light to envelope the both of them as they proceed to travel at light speed across the cosmos.