Enjoy the chapter.
Disclaimer: I do not own Dragon Ball Z.
Chapter 50
"OOHHOHOHOHO!" A beautiful red-haired woman in a rouge bodysuit, fishnet stockings, thigh high boots, and a black eye mask laughed maniacally while stepping on an oddly happy bank teller. "Yes, that's right, all your beautiful jewels belong to me now. Rubies and diamonds make far better lovers than rotten old men." She cracked a long whip that made the prone teller smile, while a female bank employee flinched, backing away from the oddly dressed robber.
"Ar! That be right lassie, and all them metal coinage are to be me booty." An old man in a pirate getup, complete with eyepatch, hook, and bandana, brandished a blunderbuss at the patrons of the bank. "None o' ye scallywags better try any funny business, or I'll make ye walk the plank!"
"Who are you people!?" the female employee asked with a mixture of fear and confusion. These were without a doubt the most bizarre bank robbers she had ever seen.
"Ohohoho!" The woman laughed with her hand to her mouth. "Who are we? Well, I'm so pleased you asked my dear." She twirled her whip several times before finally cracking it and striking a sensual pose. "Call me Sinister Rouge. I seek to claim all things beautiful for my own."
"And I be the scourge o' the periodic table! The dreaded Iron Pirate! Iron be me tools, and a fool for gold be I."
"You'll never get away with this!" A man on the ground shouted. "The Gold fighter and Red Z girl will take you down!"
Sinister Rouge walked seductively over to the man and lifted his chin with the toe of her boot. "Let's hope so. We have a special surprise waiting for the heroes. OHOHOHOHO!"
"Did you hear that Red Z girl!?" A heroic voice resounded through the bank. "It seems that we were expected!"
"Indeed, Gold fighter!" A woman replied. "I wonder what this surprise could be!"
"Let's find out!" A violent gust of wind blew the doors open and knocked the villainous robbers off their feet. In a flash two personages appeared, one glowing red, and the other gold.
"The dross of society must be refined. Cower villains and face the might of 24 karat justice!" The Gold fighter bent his knees, and one arm was pointing straight out to 2 o' clock, while the other arm was bent at the elbow, but pointing in the same direction. "The Gold fighter is here!"
"Crime will be dead when drowned by the Z of red! Your alphabet of evil has reached its end! I am…" the girl spun around with her sword outstretched before stopping with a peace sign over her eye and the blade pointing at the criminals. "The Red Z girl!"
"Alright! Now you losers don't stand a chance!" A girl on the ground said, and the other patrons cheered on their heroes.
"Gohan, this is so cool!" Zangya whispered excitedly to her partner. "They look like actual super villains! We've got a rogue's gallery!"
"It is cool, but let's not lose focus. We're here to protect the innocent, so let's stay sharp. Make sure none of the civilians get hurt."
Zangya furrowed her brow and nodded. "Right. I'll take Sinister Rouge, Gold fighter. You take-"
"KYAAAAA!" The hero was interrupted by an overjoyed scream coming from none other than the female bank robber. "IT'S THE RED Z GIRL! SHE'S SO BEAUTIFUL!"
This response caused Zangya to pause. "Uh, thanks?"
"Oh, if only I could make you mine. No, I WILL make you mine!" She started to twirl and crack her whip all around.
"Sorry lady, but the only one who can call me their own is the Gold fighter." Zangya bragged.
"I'll admit, Gold is pretty. But a gem like you can't belong to a lowly man. You can only belong to me!" She cracked her whip at Zangya, but the heroine easily dodged and appeared behind the dominatrix. She grabbed the woman's arms to hold her still.
"Gotcha. Now are you gonna come quietly or-"
"AAHHN!" The woman cried with a red face and hearts in her eyes. She hugged her body and licked her lips. This odd reaction freaked Zangya out enough to release her immediately and back away. "The Red Z girl touched me! Oh, what a glorious day to be evil!"
"Ok, we got a weirdo here. Guess I'll just knock you out nice and…" She gently chopped the back of the woman's neck, and she crumpled in a heap. "Easy." Zangya turned away while dusting her hands, unaware of a rising figure behind her. The eyes were glowing with heart pupils and the fingers were wiggling lasciviously. Sensing something off, Zangya turned around just in time to avoid a groping hand that shot at her. "What the!? You should have been knocked out?"
"Oh, my dear, lovely heroine." Sinister rouge laughed. "Did I not tell you about my special power? I cannot be knocked out while there is beauty to fuel me. Now, why don't you let me change your name to Red Z Woman? Come here!" She lunged at the heroine, but Zangya countered by bringing the flat of her sword down on her head. The woman didn't stay down though. "Oh yes! Hit me! Abuse me! As long as I can make you mine!"
"Gohaaan!" Zangya called her partner as fear overtook her. "Can we switch now!? Gohan! Gohan help!"
Gohan however was too distracted by his own opponent at the moment.
"Incredible." Gohan stared with clinical interest at the blunderbuss that the Iron pirate wielded. "You reverse engineered the capsule technology in order to weaponize it? That's brilliant! Despicable, but brilliant!"
"Ar, thanks lad. Always good to meet a fellow scientist." The Iron pirate nodded. In the background Zangya was dragging Sinister Rouge along the floor and trying to pry her off her leg with the Z sword.
"What's the average yield?"
"Oh, I'd say around 10 megajoules. It can go higher if need be."
"Wow, that's impressive. Also dangerous. I better take this." Before the old pirate knew what happened, the blunderbuss was in Gohan's hands and broken in two.
"GAH! HOW COULD YOU DO THAT TO MY BABY!" the phony pirate accent was now long gone.
"Sorry, maybe next time use your mind for good." Gohan said heroically. At that moment Zangya appeared at his side with ruffled clothes and a traumatized look in her eyes. Sinister rouge was on the ground, breathing erotically while wrapped up in Zangya's psycho threads. "Are you ok?" Gohan asked his partner.
"Peachy. Next time." She gave him a glare. "You take the crazy one."
The Iron Pirate pulled out a communication device. "Oh, you'll pay for this Z fighters!" The old man yelled. "Echo Razor!" he yelled into the radio. "The plan has failed. We need the Bio-warriors!"
"That's not the code. Say it correctly Iron Pirate." A chipper female voice replied.
"Fine! The gold is too bright! Send in the primaries!"
As soon as the villain uttered the magic word, three bald, muscular, men with red, yellow, and blue synthetic looking skin burst through the doors.
"Haha!" Iron pirate yelled. "Even you with all of your superhuman strength are no match for Echo Razor's super enhanced genetically modified bio-men!"
"We'll see about that." Gohan readied himself for the attack. "Bring it on."
"DEMONIC ENTRY!" Out of nowhere, a foot impacted the back of the red bio-man and knocked him to the ground with Xs in his eyes. Its attacker stood with her foot on the warrior's head and fists on her hips. She was an average sized girl of about 14 or 15 and wore a blue tunic over a black jumpsuit with a white belt with 'M' emblazoned on the buckle. The fighters were unable to tell what her face looked like as her goat-horned helmet covered everything but her mouth and chin.
Soon the bio warriors recovered from the shock and tried to attack the newcomer, but before they could reach her, another newcomer brought a big hairy fist down on the blue one's skull, while the girl launched a ki blast into the yellow ones midsection, blowing him up on impact.
Fortunately, the bystanders had been gathered up in a flash by Gohan and Zangya to protect them from the blast.
"They're not bad." Zangya said appreciatively at their style, noting the larger newcomers outfit matched the girls, though his arms were bare, and he had a mustache.
"Yeah, those costumes rock. Though they could use a bit of work controlling their energy." Gohan agreed. He walked up to the masked pair with a friendly wave. "Hey, thanks for the assist. Who are you supposed to be anyway?"
Turning to face Gohan, the girl smirked, then dabbed while bending her knees. "I am the hero of the innocent who are forsaken in the dark. The shadow of justice in the pit of despair. I am, the great Majin Girl!"
"And I'm!" The larger man flexed his rippling muscles. "The mighty Ma-Champ!"
Coincidentally, a blonde girl casually walked into the bank. "Oh, wow! Is that you Videl? Cool outfit. Are you a part of Gohan's superhero team now too?" Erasa addressed the masked female.
"I WILL NEVER BE A PART OF HIS TEAM!" Majin girl yelled. "Er, I mean. I am not this Videl girl you speak of young lady."
"Yeah Erasa." Gohan agreed with the new hero. "This girl is way nicer than Videl."
Majin girl growled.
"Not to mention prettier." Zangya added. "I mean just look at that fashion sense. Such a classic look with a cape, and the helmet. But that Videl girl was just awful."
"Take that back you cow!" the heroine yelled.
"Come on sweet pea, we talked about this. This is the kinda thing that led you to resurrecting a demon." Ma-Champ put his hand on the girl's shoulder. "Breathin' exercises."
She took a deep breath. "I mean, it's not nice to talk about others behind their back you know."
"It's ok." Zangya shrugged. "I'd insult that cocky little loser to her face if she were here."
"WHY YOU!" She lunged forward but was caught around the waist by the larger man. "LET ME AT HER DAD! I CAN TAKE THAT BLUE BIMBO! I'LL TEACH HER A LESSON!"
As she thrashed around and screamed, the Ma-Champ was dragging her toward the exit. "Sorry about this. It was great to see yall again. Let's catch up later, Champ to Ma-Champ. BAHAHA!" and with that, the new heroes disappeared into the sky.
"Looks like we have some friends. Where do you think they got their costumes?" Zangya asked Gohan.
"Who knows Red Z girl. One thing is certain though. That was definitely not Hercule and Videl."
"Oh, obviously." Zangya nodded.
"Are you guys serious?" Erasa asked the duo, who just stared at her in confusion. Finally, the blonde shrugged. She had other things to worry about. "So, uh… What's mister Broly up to?"
Break
While our heroes have been enjoying the new period of peace in their own unusual way, in another part of the universe some familiar faces have encountered a new danger.
"HYA!" Turk's energized fist tore through a robot cyclops. Sweat poured down the man's face as he readied himself for another attack from the horde of metallic enemies. He had trained like crazy ever since Earth, and even achieved the super Hera form, but he wasn't expecting to run the transformation through it's paces so soon. Thankfully, the form was holding up, as it only took a few powerful blows to take out one of the robots. Unfortunately, with them swarming around him by the dozens, he wasn't sure how much longer he could last. His worry wasn't limited to himself either, as the others were having just as much trouble as him.
Esmerelda zipped around in her smaller transformed state, narrowly avoiding the laser blasts from the mono-eyed mechanics. Like Turk, she was able to take a robot out with a few powerful strikes, but the sheer number of attackers was starting to overwhelm her. For every one that her or her comrades destroyed, ten more took its place. Such a hopeless battle was the last thing she expected to happen when they had left earth. The journey seemed to be a peaceful one. That is, until they had reached the halfway point of the of the Kellogg galaxy.
Just as they were about to leave the planet Cereal, these metal cyclopes landed and like a swarm of ants they disassembled the ship piece by piece. Not only that, but most of the lower grade warriors were wiped out in a matter of moments. The local settlement of Sugarians were almost entirely wiped out, destroying the only technology left on the planet. They were stranded and outnumbered, and in her opinion, the situation couldn't have been worse. Each robot was roughly as tough as a lower ranking member of the royal guard, but they didn't have any kind of skill or technique. Their drone-like behavior at least gave them the advantage when it came to maneuvering. Unfortunately, that wasn't much of an advantage against so many of them. The first battle dragged on for hours, her forces dwindling with each passing one. Even some of the surviving locals tried to assist them, but the only one who made any difference was a green-haired fighter named Granolah. After an old Namekian had been killed, the man had gone berserk on the droids, though even that barely made a dent in the enemy numbers.
At long last, the robot army had been defeated. A thousand robot corpses were strewn across the battlefield, and the imperial forces were grateful for the victory. Esmerelda couldn't believe their luck at surviving the encounter, but the next day, to her horror, they were met with an army 5 times greater than the previous day. Each day the warriors fought valiantly, but each day, no matter how many drones they destroyed, the next day only saw more fighting, more fatigue, and more death.
Not for the first time since the fighting started, she wished that Broly was still with them to help. As the emerald woman was questioning her leadership capabilities, a robot tripped her up before another made a frontal assault. She tried to defend, but a third cyclops grabbed her from behind. She thought she was done for, until two white lasers sliced through her attackers and freed her. She turned to her one-armed comrade.
"Thanks Tia."
"How many times have I told you, Esme? Stay focused on the battle." Adamantia scolded, while continuing to send lasers from her fingers at the automatons.
"Sorry. I was just thinking how much easier this would be if Broly were here."
The diamond girl growled. Broly had been a taboo subject with her lately. "We'll he's not! Now get your head in the fight! I'm not letting us lose to a bunch of scrap metal!"
Esmerelda nodded and continued her assault on the robotic legions. Meanwhile, Pearl and Alex were having the most difficult time out of everyone. Their unique ability to coat themselves in armor protected them from most of the attacks, but even their abilities couldn't hold out forever. It didn't help that they couldn't deal with the opponents nearly as easily as the other three, and they were finding it harder and harder to keep up with the constant waves of opponents.
"I'm glad that Granolah guy showed up." Pearl mentioned between deep breaths, as she stabbed a bone spike through the eye of a cyclops.
"Whatever." Alex replied while hammering a robot with her crystalized fist. "At least he's not holding us back."
"He's kinda cute though. Don't you think."
"NOT THE TIME PEARL!" The angry twin yelled, losing focus and the robot she had been fighting knocked her to the ground. Its eye glowed as it charged up an attack, only to explode as a pinpoint energy beam shot through its face. A green-haired fighter landed next to Alex and helped her up.
"Stay sharp. We need everyone if we want to survive this." The Cerealian said.
"Y-yeah." Alex replied with a blush, before shaking her head and slamming her fists together. "Alright you buckets of bolts! You messed with the wrong crew!" she extended two crystal claws from her fists and dove into the fray with renewed vigor.
The battle continued into the night, until a few hours after the sun had set and the last drone was turned to scrap by Esmerelda. With the fighting over for now, Turk and Alex fell flat on their backs with their arms outstretched.
"Oh man! That was a workout!" the blue man exhaled, almost ready to pass out on the rocky ground.
"Yeah, no kidding." Alex rubbed her tenderized arms. "I'm taking my vacation when we get off this rock. Maybe I'll hit up Erasa. Whadaya think Pearl?" She asked her sister. When no reply came, Alex rolled her eyes. "Pearl? Come on, don't make me stand up. Answer me damn it!" Finally, she forced herself up with a groan. "I swear, when I recover, I'll… PEARL!" Despite her fatigue, Alex scrambled to her feet and ran over to her prone sister.
The normally boisterous twin was shivering on the ground, quietly groaning in pain. Alex quickly noticed the source of her condition. There was a large hole that looked like it was carved out of her oblique. "Oh no. Come on Pearl, talk to me. Stay with me Pearl, come on. STAY WITH ME!"
"Alex, Get a hold of yourself!" Adamantia yelled, pushing the frantic girl out of the way. "Smart girl," she nodded her approval. "Looks like she cauterized it, but not before she sustained heavy blood loss. Who's got a med kit?"
"I have some supplies that might help." Granolah hurried forward and handed a pouch from around his waist to the woman.
Tia looked in the bag and nodded. "This'll do till we can get her to Dr. Graph." The veteran quickly dressed the wound and carried the girl to the cave that they had converted into their HQ.
"DOC!" Adamantia yelled, and the squat grey scientist hopped to attention. As soon as he saw Pearl in Adamantia's arms, the man rushed to attend to the casualty. "She's still alive, but she's not doing too great."
"Set her down here." He laid out a blanket and the girl was set down. "I may be able to stabilize her condition, but she's lost a lot of blood. She won't be fighting shape anytime soon.
"Who cares about that!" Alex yelled. "Just fix my sister! Fix her now, Doc!"
"Alex!" Adamantia grabbed her subordinate and pulled her back. "Let doc do his thing. She's not going to die just yet."
The smaller girl looked up at her superior and nodded, gulping back her tears. She looked at her unconscious twin as the doctor worked on her and the tears started welling up in her eyes once more. She'd never seen Pearl so lifeless, and she had never felt so helpless. "I wish Broly were here." She voiced out loud what they had all been thinking.
"Well, he's not, so get over it." Adamantia said sharply.
"Tia!" Esmerelda reprimanded.
"What? Broly's not here. Wishing he was won't change Pearl's condition, and it won't get us out of this mess. The sooner you all get that through your thick skulls, the better."
Esmerelda knew she was right, but still. "That doesn't mean you have to be so heartless all the time."
The diamond girl suddenly became furious at this comment. "I'd rather not have a heart than be some love obsessed idiot whose bleeding heart is getting us killed!"
"What's that supposed to mean?" She shot back defensively.
"Are you seriously blaming Esme for this? Don't you dare blame her!" Turk defended the green girl.
"Who was the one who decided that we needed to 'liberate' all our planets that we'd spent precious resources to conquer? We wasted our time planet hopping and now we're in the middle of nowhere under siege by an army of robots."
"We needed to pull our forces back." Esmerelda explained. "We lost a lot of manpower on the journey to Earth, and now we need to regroup. I didn't think we had the resources to maintain all those systems."
"More like those Earthlings messed with your head. Did they make you feel guilty for being a conqueror? For being strong?"
"That's not…" Esmerelda hesitated.
"Tch, pathetic. Because you wanted to prove something to some lower life forms, you put us all in danger. It's been 5 days and these things keep coming, multiplying every time, and our numbers only keep dropping. We're going to die and it's your fault, 'emerald empress'."
Alex looked up from her sister. "But if Broly were here-"
"HE'S NOT! HERE!" Adamantia bellowed, making everyone flinch. "He's gone! Retired! He isn't here, and he's not pulling us out of danger this time! The peace-loving fool is going to live in blissful ignorance of our last moments on this accursed planet! He's glad to be away from the likes of us, and he's better off away from this mess, so GET HIM OUT OF YOUR HEAD!"
Her rant had shocked the group into silence. They were so used to Adamantia being calm and confident. They had never seen her lose control like this before, and it made them all realize just how hopeless the situation must be. Breathing deeply from her outburst, Adamantia looked at each of her subordinates before making her way to a wall and slid down to the floor.
Granolah, who had been feeling incredibly awkward, decided to ask a question. "Who's this Broly guy anyway? Would he really be that much help?"
"Broly's amazing!" Turk replied. "He was the strongest member of our army. Once I went with him on a deep space mission and he took out an entire armada of enemy ships with one attack! He makes us look like a bunch of chumps. He's even got this transformation that multiplies his strength hundreds of times over, and I've never seen him get tired. He'd take care of these robots no problem."
Granolah nodded. Someone like that would definitely up their chances for survival. "So why is he not with you anymore?"
Turk's excitement disappeared. He rubbed the back of his head. "Er… Well, he decided to stay on this planet called Earth. I guess he wanted to retire or something. I suppose it makes sense. It was a pretty nice planet and there were more of his kind there after all."
Dr. Graph had just finished working on Pearl when suddenly got a bright look on his face. "That could work!" He knelt down and spent several seconds scribbling some calculations in the dirt. "Turk, what's your top travel speed?"
"About 60kFTL when I'm transformed?" Turk scratched his head as the other man furiously wrote the numbers. "Stress too much for you doc?"
"Aha!" The squat scientist exclaimed. "We have a chance!"
"What are you thinking doctor?" Esmerelda bent over to look at the writings.
The doctor stood up with a triumphant expression. "If Turk leaves now, he can make it to earth in a matter of days. He can tell Broly what's going on and ask for his help. If Broly is in his transformed state he can survive space travel, and being far faster than Turk, make it here in a fraction of the time. We'd be saved!"
"Are you serious!? You couldn't have thought of this sooner!?" Alex was between relief and annoyance.
"Forgive me. I did not think our situation was so dire at first, but now…" He glanced at Adamantia.
"It's alright doctor, it's not easy to think clearly under this kind of stress." Esmerelda replied. "But this is as good a plan as we can hope for."
"Hold up!" Turk waved his arms. "I'm not leaving. We're barely surviving with all of us, and now that Pearl is out of commission, I can't just abandon you guys. I could never live with myself as a man if I did."
Before the blue man knew what was happening, Alex grabbed him by the shirt and pinned him against the cave wall. "If you were a real man, we wouldn't need Broly's help!" She yelled. "My sister is dying! Unless we get some help soon, we're all gonna die! Are you gonna let that happen!? Is that what you think a real man does!?"
At this rebuke, Turk hung his head. Esmerelda gently pulled Alex away from her love. "Turk, I know it's risky to lower our numbers, but you're the only one that can survive extended space travel."
Turk closed eyes and gritted teeth. He hated that things had come to this. If only he was stronger, but even with his new form he wasn't good enough.
"Why don't we put it to a vote?" Esme offered. "I say Turk goes and gets Broly."
"We should leave him be. He probably wouldn't come anyway." Adamantia said sulkily.
"Oh yes he will." Esmerelda countered with confidence.
"If he's as strong as you guys say he is, I say go get him. We can might be able to hold them off for a few more days." Granolah raised his hand.
"I believe that makes a majority." Doctor Graph added after he and Alex raised their hands.
"Right." Esmerelda said. "There's no time to lose. You can do this Turk. I have faith in you."
Turk took a deep breath and nodded. "Alright, fine. Just…" He lunged forward and surprised Esmerelda by pulling her into a long and passionate kiss. When he released her, she had a dreamy, glazed look in her eye. "Just don't die while I'm gone!" With that parting remark, Turk transformed into his red-haired state and sped out the cave, building his speed through the atmosphere until he disappeared.
Break
It was late in the afternoon on mount Paozu, where Piccolo and Broly were floating cross legged on either side of a large shady tree within view of the Son family residence. Broly had never trained like this before, and initially questioned the effectiveness of meditation. However, after Piccolo had explained the importance of oneness of body, mind, and spirit, he decided to give it a try. It was peaceful. Focusing on nothing but his own energy gave him a sense of tranquility. If he could truly become as strong as Piccolo claimed through meditation, it would definitely become his preferred method of training. No violence. No pain. Just peace.
"SUPER CAKE SLICER! PIE-SECTOR! COOKIE CUTTER!"
Well, mostly peace.
On the nearby grassy field, Zangya was swinging her sword with all her might, giving each basic movement of the blade a different bakery related name. Knowing that he had experience with a sword himself, she had asked Gohan to observe and act as her teacher in the art.
"No, Zangya, I keep telling you. Your movements are way too wide and obvious. You're wielding a sword, not a bat."
"I know, I know!" Zangya growled in frustration. Though the sword's weight was easily manageable with her unlocked potential, it still was different than fighting normally, and her form was affected, even if only slightly. Proper kenjutsu was harder than she thought. Especially since she was dealing with a sensei who inherited his strictness from Piccolo. "Not like anyone but you could tell my form was off anyway." She mumbled under her breath.
"What was that!?" Gohan asked sharply, now in full Piccolo mode.
"Nothing mister Gohan." She quickly replied. He could be pretty intimidating when he wanted to. Though the sensei title he jokingly insisted on gave her ideas for a certain outfit later. Almost like that was his plan. Hmm…
"Look," the demon teacher continued in a slightly softer tone. "If you want to use a sword in battle, that's up to you. You're really talented and clever, so even without instruction you'll do great. But you asked me to teach you what I know, so right now, my job is to make sure your technique is perfect and unbeatable. No matter how strong or weak the opponent is."
This speech had properly chastened the Hera and she looked at her teacher/boyfriend with big, sorry eyes. "I know. I do appreciate the coaching. I'm sorry." The cute puppy dog stare made Gohan blush and turn away.
"Ahem. It's nothing to be sorry about. Just as long as you know how important proper sword technique can be. Little errors can lead to big mistakes later if unchecked. Even with a useless skill."
Zangya's expression changed from compliant to defiant. "What do you mean a useless skill?"
"Well, I think sword training is a great exercise, but it's kind of pointless in battle. Piccolo and I still practice with them occasionally, but you don't really need a sword. Most don't really hold up to our level of combat anyway, and everything that one could be used for can be done with ki. Or even our bare hands."
"Sure, maybe a normal sword. But this is the Z sword." Zangya held the blade above her head for emphasis. "The legendary weapon of the Kais, pulled from the stoney pillar in the sacred lake."
"You told me that it was used to imprison an old pervert and that you broke it with a cooking spoon."
"Uh… well…" Zangya sweat dropped. "That's beside the point. This thing is really cool, and I get compliments about it all the time from the people we help."
Gohan shrugged, not really caring to argue about this. "Whatever you say babe. Like I said, you want to use it, so it's all good. Let's get back to training."
Despite enjoying being called babe, the girl didn't care for her boyfriend's tone. Then a thought occurred to her. "Oh, I get it. You're jealous!" She pointed a finger at Gohan.
"Excuse me?" The teen replied.
"You heard me. You're jealous that I have an awesome, super legendary weapon, and you don't."
"I don't need one." He said flatly.
"And you don't have one." She gloated.
"Zangya, I'm not jealous." But the girl paid him no heed.
"Poor Gohan. Not everyone can be the chosen one. I'm sure you'd look so cool with a weapon, but destiny has its favorites, you know. Poor, jealous Gohan." She started flipping her sword in the air and catching it by the hilt over and over again.
"Zangya-"
"Jealous."
"Zangya, I'm not-"
"So, so jealous."
"We really should be training."
"Have you heard of the new 'Gohan' Item at my bakery? It's just a big jelly donut."
Gohan's eye twitched in annoyance, then a smirk appeared on his face.
"Power pole, extend." He said and a window shattered while Zangya kept flipping her sword.
"What's that supposed to meYEEN!" She bent backwards out of the way of a speeding red object. The projectile hit the Z sword mid-air and knocked it to the ground with an earth-shaking thud.
"What the Hera was that!?" Zangya yelled at a smirking Gohan.
"This," he grabbed onto the red staff, "is the Power pole. Descend." At this command, the pole shortened to be about the same height as himself. "It can grow indefinitely and shrink as needed. It even reached the moon once in no time at all, according to my dad. Plus, as far as I can tell, it's indestructible. Guess I have a legendary weapon after all. Much more impressive than a sword that does nothing."
The Hera glared at the offending stick. "It doesn't do nothing." She huffed. "It's like a container. It can store things."
"Cool." He said sarcastically. "Maybe keep some extra flour for the bakery? An emergency cup of sugar perhaps?"
"I meant it can store energy smart Alec. I can store almost all my energy in the blade."
Gohan dropped his smirk and rubbed his chin in contemplation. "Then you can draw on it in an emergency or even release it in a massive attack. Ok, that is pretty cool."
"Yeah. That's right smart guy." She said coolly. She hadn't thought about the attacking part, but she wasn't going to let him know that. "Anyway, everyone knows that swords are cooler than sticks."
"Whatever you say." Gohan laughed.
"So… You don't have any other legendary weapons, right?" She asked in what she hoped was a casual tone.
"I think my mom still has the Bansho fan lying around somewhere."
"Banjo fan?" Immediately Zangya thought of Chichi playing a banjo, with Goku wearing overalls in the back scraping a washboard, and Goten blowing on a jug.
"I guarantee it's not what you're thinking." The teen could practically see her thought cloud. "The Ban-sho fan is a magic fan that can basically control the weather. Thunderstorms, monsoons, that sort of thing."
Zangya stared at him in disbelief. "How long has she had this?"
Gohan shrugged. "Since before I was born."
The Girl narrowed her eyes. "Alright mister 'my family just has all these magic tools lying around' Gohan. Let's see whose weapon is better. Sword on staff. Whoever falls first loses. Winner gets to plan the next date."
Gohan smiled, his eyes flickering to her feet for a moment. "Alright, maybe some practical application is what you need."
"Yeah. I will apply myself to practically destroy you."
"On the count of three?
"1."
"2."
""3!""
"Extend!" Gohan pointed the power pole at his opponent, and it shot at her with lightning speed. As fast as it was, she could track it easily and brought the broadside of her blade up to block it. Unfortunately, as soon as it made contact, she felt a solid object ram the back of her legs, causing her to fall backwards. Gohan appeared over her and brought the pole down on her with minimal movement, forcing her to the ground. The stunned Hera looked up and Gohan was grinning while petting a yellow cloud.
"Oh yeah, I forgot to mention our legendary cloud. But you already know about the Flying Nimbus."
Zangya jumped angrily to her feet. "You big cheater! I'll get you for that!" The Hera tackled the boy to the ground and started tickling him furiously. "How's this for perfect technique Mister Gohan? Am I telegraphing now?"
"GYAH! GAHAH! ZangyaHAHA! I'm SorrEEHEEHEE!"
"Yeah, you're gonna be sorry!" She threatened with a grin. The grin disappeared and she quickly stopped. "Hold on. Do you feel that?"
Gohan went beat red. "W-what do you mean?"
"It's Koti!" Zangya continued happily without noticing Gohan's embarrassment. She stood up and Gohan did the same while surreptitiously adjusting his gi. The Saiyan quickly locked onto the approaching energy and recognized it as Zangya's brother.
"I wonder what he's doing back without the others. Do you think it's about that movie?"
The girl's face shifted from joy to concern. "Something's not right. His energy's almost gone!" Without another word she sped through the air toward her little brother's fading signature. Up in the stratosphere, the blue girl intercepted her brother, who at this point was doing more falling than flying as he sped toward the ground. "Oh, Hera… It's gonna be ok Koti. Big sis's got you now." In a flash the Hera siblings appeared on the ground next to Gohan and Zangya laid Turk down gently. She extended a hand and psycho threads wrapped around the barely conscious brawler and energy was slowly fed into him.
As the new ki flowed in, Turk's eyes flickered open. A peaceful smile graced his features when he saw his worried sister. "Hey Zangy. Long time no see."
Concern shifted to relief, and then to sternness on the face of Zangya. "I know you missed me, but you didn't need to kill yourself to get here." She helped Turk to his feet.
"You don't understand. I… Broly!" Turk saw his old comrade running toward him, having dropped out of his meditation as soon as he saw the blue man.
"Turk. What are you doing here? Where's everyone else?"
"Broly, you've gotta come back with me. The others. It's just. No, there's no time to explain. You gotta help."
"Hold up little bro." Zangya placed a hand on his shoulder. "What's this all about? Are you in trouble?"
"I'm sorry, but I don't have time to explain! Please Broly, we have to leave now! The others may not have much time!"
Broly never cared for the planet conquering business. But one thing he always cherished were the lives of his comrades. If they were in trouble, then there was only one thing to do. "Let's go."
"I'm coming too." Zangya stated.
"Sis, no, it's too dangerous. I can't-"
"If it's that dangerous, you're gonna want us to tag along." Gohan interrupted. "You got coordinates?"
"93056XY, but-"
"I'll take Broly if you want to grab your brother." Gohan turned to Zangya, who nodded in agreement. She slung her sword across her back and grabbed Turk around the waist.
"You might want to brace yourself."
"Wait a minute, I-" but the siblings disappeared before he had a chance to finish.
Gohan looked at Broly. "Do I need to create a barrier so you don't die on the way, or can Saiyans survive in space?" He knew that he could, but he wasn't sure if that was a Saiyan thing, or a perk of being a demon.
"I can if I transform. HAA!" The Giant grew taller, and the golden green glow surrounded him.
Gohan nodded. "Ok. Look after earth while we're gone mister Piccolo!" Gohan called to his mentor before grabbing onto Broly and speeding off after Zangya.
Piccolo opened his eyes and looked around to see that he was alone. The sound of Gohan's voice had pulled him out of a deep meditation. "I feel like I've missed something."
"WHO BROKE MY WINDOW!" Chichi roared from her house.
"Uh oh."
Break
The Saiyans and the Hera siblings slowed down as they hit the planet's atmosphere. Gohan looked down at the planet's surface covered in a swarm of metallic beings. Like millions of ants swarming their food, the robots were converging on a single point.
"There they are!" Turk yelled and pointed to where a few flesh and blood creatures could be distinguished from the automaton horde. The warriors of the empire were worn and haggard as they desperately fought back the assault. But like the ocean tides beating against the rocks, the waves of cyclopean drones had eroded their stamina. Gohan surveyed the scene and exchanged a quick glance with Zangya. The girl nodded and she dropped her brother while Gohan let go of Broly.
"Watch those wide swings Zangya." Gohan grinned before he dove into the sea of enemies with the impact of a meteor, destroying a massive number of drones at once while scattering at least a thousand more.
"Oh, I'll watch, alright!" She yelled back. "Watch myself destroy more enemies than you that is!" drawing the Z sword, the smiling Hera followed Gohan's lead and swept down on the robots, bisecting a long stream of them before sliding into a landing. Turk gaped in amazement at the two young fighters who were easily tearing their way through the machines that even Esmerelda and Adamantia were struggling with. Zangya sliced and slashed through the robots like butter, while Gohan might as well have been hitting air with as little resistance as they were giving him. The mind-blowing speed at which they traveled gave him some indication as to how much stronger they had become, but he didn't think their power would be this insane.
"Amazing, isn't it." Broly commented, smiling at his old comrades stunned expression. "I never thought I would be the one saying this about another's power, but those two really are monsters." His smile vanished when something caught his eye, and he warped away. On the ground, Adamantia was being overwhelmed. She fired beam after beam to destroy the oncoming assault, but there was only so much she was able to do with one hand. The enemy forces continued their advance, making it through the gaps in her energy attacks. Her battle with the Saiyan boy had left her brittle, and while she had recovered some of her durability, it would do little against the attacks from so many powerful attackers. She took to the air, trying to create some space, but a dozen three pronged arms grabbed her legs and grappled her back to the ground. The wave rolled over her, ready to bury the diamond fighter. Suddenly, two giant glowing arms encircled her.
"I've got you Tia! HAAAAAAA!" The kiai was accompanied by a deadly ripple of energy that destroyed the encroaching tide. The light died down and Adamantia was released from the protective embrace. She turned around to see the legendary super Saiyan looking down at her with concern.
"You came." She said quietly.
"We've got this now, Tia. Grab the others and fall back." Broly fired a ki bomb destroying another contingent of the robot forces. Adamantia shook herself and smirked. "Stupid ape. Who said you could give me orders?" With renewed energy, the diamond fighter started firing her piercing energy into the endless crowd. Turk didn't stay stunned for long. As soon as he saw Broly defend Adamantia, he too joined the fray. He sped to the area where Esmerelda was fending off the swarm and plowed both fists into the foremost attacker. Flaring his aura, he knocked another one back and kicked through a third. The two had cleared a small area, and they had a short amount of time to breathe. "Thanks for staying alive Esmemmmmmm." Esmerelda had pulled the blue man into the air and gave him a violent kiss. Their moment of reprieve did not last for than a few seconds, as the robots all followed them into the sky. They released their embrace and stood back-to-back, ready to take on their pursuers, but a blade flashed by and in an instant the ring surrounding them was destroyed.
"Hey, that's cute and all, but if you don't want to get in Gohan's and my way, I suggest you take your friends and go play somewhere else." Zangya winked, before speeding back into the mass of machines. Turk and Esmerelda looked after her and noticed with amazement that she and Gohan had already cleared more than half of the robot troops away. It couldn't have been more than a minute and they hadn't even used energy attacks. They weren't even transformed.
"She's right." Esme nodded to herself. "Let's grab Alex and Granolah and fall back."
Meanwhile, Gohan and Zangya were decimating the enemy forces, almost like they were enjoying it. "Hey, Broly!" Gohan shouted as he passed the older Saiyan. "Take the carbon chick and fall back. We've got the rest from here."
"Little brat. Why's he here?" Adamantia growled before she felt herself being hauled away by Broly, who shot a thumbs up to his young friend.
Gohan tore through the robots until he passed Zangya. "How many you got?"
"3 million!" Zangya grinned while swinging her sword on another robot. "And one!"
"Nice! I got five million." Zangya's face fell.
"Oh yeah? Well watch this!" The Hera disappeared briefly, before reappearing near where her brother and his friends had retreated. "Like Hera am I going to be the Gimli in this fight." She tossed her sword into the air and thrust her hands forward. "Let's see how you robots like a taste of red velvet!" A silky red beam fired and spread out to cover a massive area.
"Come on, you are way to pretty to be Gimli." Gohan appeared behind her and extended his hands next to hers. "Mind if help you dish the dessert?" He added his own energy to the massive wave, and it expanded to engulf every last one of the metallic drones.
The couple cut off their energy and lowered their hands. Seeing that the attack had cleared away the remainder of the enemy, Zangya smiled. "It still counts as mine."
"Fair enough." Gohan smiled back. "Come on, let's go check on the others."
"So, I won right?" Zangya asked, catching her sword by the hilt as it came back down.
"Oh, I don't know." Gohan placed a hand on his chin. "You were pretty far behind."
"No way, I totally beat you."
"I love how active your imagination is."
The two walked back to where the other fighters were standing. Everyone with the exception of Broly was awed by the display they had just witnessed. These two had done in minutes what had taken them full days to accomplish. They didn't even look winded.
"So, Koti." Zangya looked at her little brother. "We've got some time now. Want to fill us in on what's been going on?"
Turk shook himself and answered. "Uh, yeah, sure. Let's, um… Let's head back to base?"
"I'll see if I can gather some rations." Granolah offered and took to the skies. The group walked in silence back to their cave and removed the boulder they had used for concealment.
Gohan and Zangya's cheerful faces vanished at the sight that greeted them. There were only a handful of people in the cave and in the middle, laying on a blanket with Dr. Graph tending to her, was Pearl. Judging by her labored breathing and feverish color, she seemed to be in critical condition.
"Zangya, can't you heal her? Like you did with me?" Turk pleaded. He'd never forgive himself if his friend had died because he was too slow.
The Hera looked down. "I'm Sorry Koti. I don't know if that technique can heal wounds that severe. It just transfers Ki. I don't know if it would replenish blood."
"Please, just try!" Alex begged, tears forming in the tough girl's eyes.
"Hold up." Gohan rummaged in his pockets before bringing out the green miracle food known as a senzu bean. "There ya are! I knew I had one left." Kneeling next to the injured alien, he lifted her head and placed the bean in her mouth. He worked her jaw with his hand to help her chew before she finally swallowed. The effect was almost instant. The fever broke, her breathing normalized, and her eyes popped open, full of their usual energy. When her gaze fell upon Gohan, she looked pleasantly surprised.
"Hubba hubba! Who's this gorgeous hunk?"
"Ehehe." Gohan rubbed the back of his head and gave a nervous chuckle, while Alex face palmed at her sister's antics, now certain that she was perfectly fine.
"You had me worried to death and the first thing you do when you recover is flirt?" Alex shook her head while suppressing a grin. "Glad to see your back to normal."
As Pearl was ogling the beautiful stranger, she saw a charred and slimy lump slither over and nuzzle Gohan's leg.
"Huh, Jemima doesn't usually like strangers. Wait a minute." Recognition dawned on Pearl. "Is that you Gohan?" the boy nodded. "Wow! You certainly grew up fast, didntcha?" She batted her eyes flirtatiously. "So uh, whatcha doin' later?"
The boy was yanked back by the collar and replaced with a stern looking Zangya. "We came here to help you guys, not for Gohan to be your eye candy."
Pearl looked at the upset woman and placed her chin on a hand. After making some quick deductions based on the girl's behavior, she snapped her fingers. "So, you two are dating?"
"That's right." Zangya nodded in triumph. The stud was all hers.
"Well, that's fine." Pearl shrugged. "After all, just because there's a goalie, doesn't mean you can't score." She felt herself roughly lifted by the back of her neck like a kitten and brought eye to eye with a deadly stare.
"When I'm the goalie," Zangya said barely louder a whisper. "That's exactly what it means."
Pearl shivered and gulped. "Y-Yes ma'am. I was just kidding. I don't even like soccer. Hehe…"
The Hera gave the contrite girl one last glare before dropping her to the ground, only to be picked up herself by the emerald troll girl. "Congratulations sister! Maidens in love for the win!"
"Hold up!" Turk yelled at Gohan. "I told you to look after my sister. I never said you could date her!"
The teen opened his mouth to reply, but Zangya jumped in front of him and grabbed her brother's hands with tear filled eyes. "Oh, Koti, you've no idea how bad it is." She wailed. "He tricked me into a relationship with a bet and now I'm powerless to escape his groping clutches! Why the fiend even… He… touched my ears, Ooh woah is me!" She buried her face in her hands and began to sob loudly.
Turk grew red and every vein in his body was pulsating. "Why that little BastOW!" He was cut off by a flick to the forehead from his annoyed looking sister.
"What kind of damsel do you take me for, huh? If I didn't want to date him, I wouldn't."
"But sis-"
"And you know something else? I like it when he touches my ears."
"LALALALA! I CAN'T HEAR THIS LALALA!" Turk slammed his hands over his ears and closed his eyes.
"Will you all shut up!" The booming command made them all go quiet and turn to Adamantia. "What's wrong with all of you. Acting like a bunch of idiots who aren't lucky to have barely survived a battle. Try and show some discipline."
"And as for you morons." She zeroed in on Gohan and Zangya. "We sent for Broly, not you. We didn't need your help, so you can both go back to that mud hole you call a home."
"Come on, Adamantia." Alex of all people tried to reason. "Who are you trying to kid? They saved our hides, and you know it."
"They're not our enemies any more Tia, they're our friends. Family really." Esmerelda added, motioning between Zangya and Turk.
"I for one don't mind not being on my death bed." Pearl held up a finger. "I might even prefer it this way."
"We were just trying to help." Broly said to his old friend. Adamantia looked at Broly with an odd expression. For some reason, she couldn't look the Saiyan in the eye.
"Tch, whatever. The fact remains that your celebrations are premature. We're still stranded on this dump, and there's no telling when the next wave will be here."
"What do you mean?" Gohan asked. What remained of the imperial forces looked at Turk accusingly.
"You didn't bother to even tell them why they were coming to help? Nice going meat head." Alex chided. "It's lucky they're a bunch of saps. Er… I mean that they're so nice."
"Sorry, I didn't have time to tell them." Turk apologized.
"Seems like we've got some time now." Gohan sat down against the wall and Zangya made herself comfortable next to him, ready to listen to their story.
Turk started to explain how the enemy had appeared out of nowhere. How it had destroyed everything in sight, and how each day the enemy force had grown considerably. No matter how many they destroyed the previous day, more would come the next morning. The result was that the once proud army of the Jade empire had been reduced to a handful of survivors.
"So, there's probably a good chance that these things will come again tomorrow in greater force, huh?"
The others nodded.
Adamantia sneered at Gohan. "I bet you think we deserved this."
"Well…" The boy started before Zangya nudged him, giving him a look that interceded on behalf of her brother and his group. Gohan nodded his understanding. Everyone deserved at least one second chance. "Like Esmerelda said, you guys are our friends now. We're not gonna let some shoddy machinery take you out."
"My, how gallant of you!" Pearl grabbed his arm and rubbed her cheek on his bicep. One look from Zangya and she split like shrapnel from the muscley teen. "Sorry, sorry. It's just so hard to resist."
Just then, Granolah entered the cave holding several small animals. "Good news. I found some game. They'd burrowed down pretty deep, but I…" The Cerealian stopped in his tracks and dropped his kill. His gaze was locked on Gohan, or rather, Gohan's now free tail. He hadn't noticed it before, as the boy had kept it wrapped around his waist, but now that it was carelessly floating around, he saw red.
"GRYAAAAH!" The sniper charged Gohan. "DIE YOU FILTHY SAIYAN!"
Gohan disappeared from even Granolah's sharp eye, only to appear behind him and pin him to the dirt face down with a single hand. The Cerealian struggled and pushed, but Gohan kept his attacker firmly on the ground.
"Wow, you're Husbando's kind of racist." Pearl said to Alex.
"Shut up." Alex growled.
"Good thing my husbando can toss yours around like a ragdoll."
"He's not my husband!"
"And Gohan's not yours." Zangya appeared behind her while she was tapping her sword threateningly.
"Nonono! I said Husbando! That just means I'm a fan. Hahaha." Pearl was sweating.
Zangya squinted suspiciously. "That was your last one."
"Earth had a weird influence on you." Turk commented to Pearl.
Gohan meanwhile kept Granolah flat on the ground. "Let me go monster!"
"Look, I'm sure whatever grudge you have against Saiyans is justified, but it's also pointless. I'm only half Saiyan, and both me and my father were raised on Earth. My dad didn't even know he was a Saiyan until he was fully grown." Gohan tried to reason with the outraged man. He couldn't really blame him. Aside from Broly and his dad, The other full blooded Saiyans he knew were real pieces of work. "Not to mention the only Saiyan, half blood or otherwise, above the age of eighteen that's still alive is Broly, and he wasn't raised as a Saiyan either."
"You think I'll believe that!" Granolah grunted.
"Believe what you want, but either way, I don't intend to kill you. So why don't we calm down and talk about our next move. Can you at least behave yourself till we're out of our current situation?"
Realizing that it was futile to fight against this beast, the green haired man grit his teeth and nodded. Gohan lifted his hand and tried to help the Cerealian up, but his arm was swiped away.
"We're not comrades." He glared. "This is a temporary alliance. That's all."
The teen shrugged. "Have it your way."
"Well, now that that's all settled." Zangya clapped her hands before picking up the animals that Granolah had hunted. "Who wants some of Mama Ox's woodland critter stew?"
"Ooh, ooh! Me!" Turk, Esme, and Gohan all yelled enthusiastically.
Pearl stepped up to the blue chef and whispered conspiratorially in her ear. "Maybe later we could split a side of Gohan?"
*BAM!*
A metallic ring echoed through the cave and Pearl was on the ground, knocked out with a cantaloupe sized lump on her head. Zangya rested her sword on her shoulder and glared down at the offending party.
"Get your own rice."
Though Gohan and Zangya have rescued their friends from a dire situation, it seems they are not out of the woods yet. What are these mysterious robots? Where do they come from? And will our heroes triumph as the battle rages on? Or will the new threat overwhelm even the demon Saiyan hybrid?
Stay tuned for the next exciting installment in their new space adventure, next time on Earth's Greatest Champion: Son Gohan!
End Chapter
With all the superhero shenanigans in Z and now in super, I thought I'd put in my own take on Gohan's crime fighting career. I don't care what anyone says. The '24 karat justice' line was pure gold.
As we're heading into a new arc, I would appreciate any feedback from the readership that you guys would be willing to offer. I know I've made some decisions that don't please everyone, and I'm ok with that, but I do like to know what people's opinions are. Some of the comments have given me really great ideas, at least in my opinion, on where to take the story next. If anyone has forgotten Jemima, he is the pancake stack that Gohan made for Chichi in chapter 8. Pearl adopted the abomination as a pet and knows that Gohan is its 'papa'. Not a major plot point, but it's been a while so I thought I would add that reminder of a minor detail.