Dr. Puri sat on a tall and comfy leather chair while observing the readings on different desktops in her office. One screen relayed the different Ki signatures and their locations on Planet Earth, and another detailed the space traffic data from different space stations, reporting whenever M-2 would connect with their station on their way past it. By now it was beyond the realm of being able to deny it that Baby and his Machine Mutants, for whatever reason, were headed to Earth. A third screen hung further on the right, reporting alarming data about massive power surges across the planet and massive unidentified objects leaving the Earth's atmosphere and speeding across to connect at a singular point.
The mechanical door behind Super No. 21 opened with a broad and tall shadow obscuring the light from the corridor outside. Super No. 16 walked in and stopped behind Super No. 21's chair with a void look on his face.
"The Big Gete Star parts have launched into orbit. Bulma is connecting them together. It didn't take her a full year to rebuild it," Super No. 16 reported, despite being able to see that Dr. Puri was tracking the situation developing alongside the rest of the stuff she was managing at the same time.
"That's to be expected. It was a priority project for her," Super No. 21 closed her eyes. "I wouldn't be surprised if she spread the Baby parasites across the different Capsule Corps facilities working on the artificial star just so people wouldn't ask questions about why their corporation was bleeding money and work hours on this vanity project of hers. And to keep them more loyal, of course."
"It wouldn't be too hard to destroy the parts while they are separate. Super One-Nine said that, once the star has merged and completed, it will be incredibly difficult to destroy from the outside. Apparently, it has some sort of Ki draining qualities that uses all the energy it is attacked with to fuel the star," Super No. 16 reported.
"Makes it even more impressive that Chayote's abominable clone spawn tore it to shreds, doesn't it?" Super No. 21 smirked and returned to work. After a brief pause, she put up her hand and waved her adopted son away. "Don't bother. Just sit still. Let's focus on fulfilling our obligations and liberating the people of Earth from Baby's brainwashing once Chayote makes it with the Super Holy Water."
"Hmm…" Super No. 16 pondered to himself with a vocal, distracted hum that relayed that his creator's decision did not satisfy him.
"Planet Earth is no longer our home or our concern. Obviously, we cannot allow Baby to live and take over the universe while we are a part of it. That being said, the fate of Planet Earth is of no concern to us. We've found our new home. Earth is Chayote's and Bulma's to protect," Super No. 21 informed her adopted son of the reason behind her decision.
"Planet Earth has the best odds to stop Baby. In fact, it's the only planet in the entire universe with the ability to stand up to him," Super No. 16 replied, crossing his arms over his buff chest.
"You're right, which is exactly why we should let Bulma proceed with using that awful eyesore to bring Baby to Earth. With Baby on Earth and everyone who was brainwashed back to normal and looking for a fight, this can only end with Baby's defeat," Dr. Puri turned around to look her son in the eyes. The two clashed stares for a moment.
"Having Baby on Earth puts the planet in danger. Not to mention, Baby's instability and a chance to just infect everyone with his parasites again if he snaps. By now, the true Baby might have grown enough to have the capacity to infect entire planets," Super No. 16 argued.
"As I've said," Dr. Puri blinked a few times but remained stalwart with her decision. "Everyone fighting Baby on Earth will summon that odd-defying strength from their part. Having that miscreant on Earth will keep reminding them of the odds and they'll just fight that much harder. With Baby threatening the entire Earth, they will overlook the fact that Baby is inside Vegeta's body and fight to kill. If they fight Baby on his home turf, resolving this conflict will take much longer and, despite having more time to prepare, Bulma's little party of rabble-rousers will lose."
"If it's not on Earth, we can fight too," Super No. 16 put up a clenched fist.
"Absolutely not!" Dr. Puri shut him down. "This isn't our fight. We only fight for our family and our home. That fool Vegeta got them into this trouble by storming M-2 alone and getting caught, it's only fair that he pays the price for his own stupidity and Bulma has to shovel his manure."
"What exactly is your plan for our future, mother?" Super No. 16 slipped and weaved around his adopted mother's yarns and stabbed straight for the heart. "The long-term plan…"
"Hmm…" Super No. 21 spun around as a new window popped up on the display. It relayed the arrival of a new party aboard the upgraded Luud Star. "Chayote has arrived. Put the Super Holy Water into the Dark Planet's filtration system. We need to free everyone from Baby's brainwashing before Bulma calls him up or else there won't be much of a fight on Earth at all and making sure my plans for our future come to fruition will be that much harder."
"You didn't answer my question, mother," Super No. 16 didn't move an inch.
"Tend to Chayote before she touches or breaks anything," Dr. Puri turned back and looked at her son with a dark look that intimidated even a heavyweight Super Android. The severity of his mother's expression combined with the stark realization that she won't disclose her long-term plans with him, her own family member, made Super No. 16 realize that he was wasting his time standing and talking to Dr. Puri.
Chayote panted, having just survived a blitz up into space atop a magical carpet. Mr. Popo looked completely calm and more like his usual self, even though the magical carpet has never taken a space trip before. The walls began rolling and shifting around. In just a handful of seconds, a laboratory closed up from Chayote's right and, when the door opened, a hulking giant walked out who, despite looking nothing like Chayote remembered him, had some familiar facial features.
"Artificial Human No. 16, I see Puri went through the trouble to upgrade you. I guess it's her way to show you she cares," Chayote greeted the gentle giant who scanned her and Mr. Popo, who was an unexpected guest here with his stare. The sight of a hovering and waving magical carpet by their side also warranted at least one look.
"I am Super Artificial Human No. 16 now," Super No. 16 replied. "Come this way."
"This is incredible!" Mr. Popo exclaimed when the floor underneath their feet and the rooms to their sides shifted around and reconfigured to place them near the exact chambers they needed. "To think that science has matched what only magic should be able to accomplish!"
"This artificial star is as large as the moon in its smallest configurations and it can grow thousands of times larger than the sun. Given that, it would be impossible to get anywhere without a configuration system like this," Super No. 16 answered, pressing his hand to the door and opening it up. Inside there was a massive hi-tech bulb with a pristine yellow ring on the lower end. Behind the filtration pump, there was a porthole that relayed the majestic sight of Planet Earth that, from this distance, appeared to be able to fit in the palm of one's hand. "The Super Holy Water, please…"
Mr. Popo handed the giant the Super Holy Water and Super No. 16 emptied the jug into the top of the artificial bulb by flying up to it.
"Let's just hope that this much Super Holy Water is enough," Mr. Popo scratched his head.
"It will be," Super No. 16 replied with a firm voice. "If it needs more, the system will just produce its own from the sample provided. The Dark Planet was a sort of chemical lab in an artificial star form. If it managed to produce the Destron Gas, it can produce the Super Holy Water too."
"I don't know about that," Mr. Popo scratched his head. "Magic is involved in creating the Super Holy Water…"
"Speaking of Destron Gas…" Chayote placed her hands on her hips while staring at an impressive stack of cybernetic experimental tubes all over the filtration lab. "This wouldn't be it, would it?" she pointed at all the different stacks of red and pink gases contained inside tubes as tall as a human child.
"No, though some of it is ingredients that Dr. Lychee used to produce the Destron Gas with. From what I know, mother doesn't seem interested in producing more Destron Gas, but she is interested in Dr. Lychee's research so she's studying everything we salvaged from the Dark Planet's wreckage intently," Super No. 16 lowered to the ground and observed the filtration system doing its magic while the merged Dark Planet and Luud Star grew drastically in size to loom larger over the Earth and enable it to filtrate the Super Holy Water over the Earth's atmosphere. When looking at it from inside, it almost seemed as if the merged artificial star was moving toward Earth at unbelievable speed.
"It's working! It's working!" Mr. Popo exclaimed with boundless cheer and joyous tears forming in the corners of his eyes. The djinn pressed his face to the porthole, almost as if to try to get himself closer to the mystifying sight of shimmering blue rays of cleansing pouring down on the Earth's atmosphere and coating the planet with a glistening, otherworldly shine. "Kami-sama and Dende will be back to normal at last!"
"Thanks a bunch," Chayote turned to Super No. 16. "I know that your mom and I have had our differences and we will probably never feel comfortable around one another or be friends, but… This wouldn't have been possible without you. Kami Upa was corrupted so nobody could have descended to the Heavenly Sage Realm and, even if he could have, that'd have meant he'd have had to pass on to the Sage Realm and retire from his position as Kami."
Super No. 16 turned away, looking like he was struggling with something internally but given the major solid that Dr. Puri and her makeshift family of misfits have done them and the entire Planet Earth here, Chayote didn't push too hard. With a troubled look, Super No. 16 looked up and pointed at the completed Capsule Corps Star beaming a cerulean tunneling space ray out into the cosmos.
"Damn it, they really wasted no time, did they?" Super No. 16 gritted his teeth. "While you two were gone, the parasites regrouped, merged the Capsule Corps Star, and beamed it off to M-2."
"I can guess what's aboard it," Chayote sighed in frustration and dragged her hand across her tired face. All that she wanted now was to go home to her family and rest, knowing they were safe. Given the fact that all the Four Stars would soon occupy the atmosphere of a single planet together, it might have been for the better that Videl and Satan stayed in the same safe house with Navy and stayed safe. "Is there any chance that the Super Holy Water would have liberated Vegeta too?"
"Not a chance," Mr. Popo shook his head. "Baby Vegeta was out in deep space when the water was being filtrated. Besides, it's highly unlikely that the water could liberate the body where Baby's true consciousness resides."
"Given Baby's rapid development, if the parasites he spreads are mature enough, it is more than likely that not even the Super Holy Water can remove them," Super No. 16 added. "You'd be wise to avoid being infected once Baby's true body reaches adulthood. Adult Baby's fractions will be as developed as his current childhood self, meaning they will similarly be impossible to expel from one's body even with the magical purifying water."
While the transportation of the Capsule Corps Star's beam was much slower than normal, because of the size of the object it was transporting to the Earth's outer orbit, it was methodical and its completion appeared inevitable.
"Could we blow M-2 up while it's still being transported?" Chayote wondered. "Would save us a lot of trouble."
"Unlikely. The transportation warps dimensions, like a wormhole. Your attacks would simply slip away into the dimensional rift without reaching M-2. Theoretically, you could probably destroy the Capsule Corps Star and interrupt the transportation, but, if I had to bet, Bulma is almost certainly aboard it," Super No. 16 shook his head.
"Given that the Super Holy Water must have done its tricks, Bulma must have snapped out of it already. How about we call her up and ask her to undo the beam or leave the star?" Chayote wondered.
"It's worth a shot," Super No. 16 nodded, with the trio rushing out of the laboratory and rushing alongside its shifting configuration to a communications room. A working robot jumped up startled upon the immediate entry of the trio into his workplace but, after seeing Super No. 16, he stepped aside and let the giant sit down and begin going to town on the communications control panel.
A holographic screen lit up before Super No. 16's face, filled with static. Before long, Bulma's horrified and sweaty face appeared before them. She leaned over and grabbed hold of the communications screen, like an actual monitor, and pulled it closer to her while she was freaking out.
"Bulma-san!" Super No. 16 yelled out to both to test if they had voice communications and to calm Bulma down some.
"Artificial Human No. 16!? What's going on!? Is any of this your doing!? Is that snake Puri behind all of this!? Damn it!" Bulma was shifting between panic and fury, throwing anything that was within her hands' reach around in a hectic rampage while freaking out in between fits. Her voice was breaking up and lagging and the image was staticky to where it was quite disturbing to the communications.
"It's a lot to explain right now, Bulma-san," Super No. 16 replied. "No, mother isn't your enemy right now. We're trying to help… Maybe it would be better if you explain this. She doesn't seem to listen to me…"
Chayote sighed and sat down while Super No. 16 vacated the seat. After seeing a familiar face, Bulma began paying closer attention as opposed to just throwing fits and rolling her hands across control panels in some mad attempt to accomplish anything at all.
"Chayote? Is that you? What's going on?" Bulma asked while intermittently breaking up with static.
"You've caught some space parasite while looking for Vegeta. It brainwashed you and you ended up rebuilding the Capsule Corps Star and calling Baby, Dr. Lychee's artificial organism, out from space to Earth. The good news is that Vegeta's body is coming home with it, the bad news is that Baby's possessed Vegeta's body," Chayote ruled Bulma in, unsure about how much she would need to rule Bulma in on it and how much of her memory the inventor still retained. "Right now, the Capsule Corps Star is beaming M-2 to Earth's orbit. It's a massive task, so it's taking a little while. We were wondering if you could interrupt it or stop it from your end?"
"Damn it!" Bulma grabbed hold of her head. "I can't do anything! It's like a motherlode of all system crashes here! Whatever physical memory this rig has, it's chugging to keep up. I can't do much of anything from where I am."
Bulma tried something just in case, rolling her hands across the control panel and slipping around the lab to find different panels she could interact with but, based on the following frustration, nothing seemed to work. Then, everything started flashing red and Bulma grabbed her head, dragging herself across the table and closer to the screen.
"The whole station's stuck on this one operation. And… I think… Something's taking control over the station from the other end. You said I was brainwashed… I think… I think I locked myself out of being able to cancel the operation. My hands are tied, I can't even activate the escape pods!" Bulma groaned.
"Alright, I hear you. Stay inside and stay safe," Chayote leaned back, crossed her arms, and sighed in a grim realization that there was no avoiding the upcoming conflict. Bulma knew the parasite would be losing control, so she relinquished control of the station. Most likely she gave up the control over the station to Baby once at least a fraction of M-2 was through the rift.
The door to the communications room opened, with Dr. Puri walking in. This was so unexpected to Chayote that the Saiyan stood up and turned to her one-time nemesis as the two shared looks for a second. Utterly unintimidated, Super No. 21 approached the communications control and activated something. The display flashed onto the image of M-2 having shrunken down to moon size and fully transported into the Earth's orbit.
"It seems to me like you've got work to do," Dr. Puri turned to Chayote with a sassy, taunting look. "Though maybe you've done enough. You could just leave it to the others if you're not feeling up to it. You've already saved the world. If you want, you can scoop little Navy up and I'll keep you two safe up here while Earth handles its business?"
"No…" Chayote groaned, dragging her hand across her face. "Planet Earth is my home now. It's my family's home. Whether or not I like it, I'm a soldier and I'll fight to protect it. Baby's an artificial Tsufurian organism, he'll probably be looking for revenge for what the Saiyans did to the Tsufurians, and Saiyans and Earthlings share Planet Earth together. I can't let him have his way with the world."
"Alright, I'll prepare some pods for you to return to Earth on. You… And your magical friend. Unless, of course, he'd like to stay here and let me run some tests. I've never gotten the chance to study a magical entity and that supernatural invincibility is fascinating," Dr. Puri's golden eyes flashed with excitement, but Mr. Popo extended his large hands out in front of him.
"No, Kami has been restored to his right mind. He will need Mr. Popo to help him tend to his godly duties," Mr. Popo vehemently refused. "Mr. Popo can take the magical carpet. No need for a spaceship."
"So disappointing…" Dr. Puri smirked with a tease. "Alright, you two, go break a leg."