Lazuli attacked without warning, dashing right toward the undergrown Artificial Human and shooting a low kick at him, but her exuberant opponent hopped up and avoided the strike with a plump-lip smirk. Following up her attack, Android 18 threw a jab, but her fist became stuck in her opponent's open hand. With his tiny legs wrapping around 18's neck, the purple-faced Android swung his entire body while swinging Lazuli aside.

The assailant extended his hands, aiming at Lazuli, who was flipping in mid-air to correct her position. Just as a teal light erupted from his hands, Krillin smacked into the little guy's back, throwing him off his balance and leaving the wide-hatted Artificial Human fumbling. This gave Android 18 the chance to correct her position and unleash a hail of Ki blasts while hanging upside down. Krillin gasped and ran for his well-being while the enemy lacked the balance to do much else than cover himself up.

18's blasts lit up the road that the three were fighting on, but when the smoke settled it became apparent that the attacker didn't take too much damage. He dusted off his lightly rustled and tattered jacket and corrected his bow tie before shaking his fist up at Krillin, who hung higher in the air and panted in relief that he dodged 18's retaliation in time.

"Ya little pimple, I'mma smack ya!" the cartoonish-looking assailant exclaimed in a low-pitched yet rather weak-sounding voice that had bits of artificial modulation to it. Almost like the voice that came from a stuffed toy when one squeezed its belly. This was an especially ironic comparison, given the highly vulgar choice of words from the purple-faced toy-man.

"Who are you? Why are you attacking Lazuli? Aren't both of you two Artificial Humans?" Krillin called out the dwarfish man who only pouted his lips and squeezed the ends of his bowtie as if he took offense at that.

"So what? Are we supposed to be all buddy-like just 'cause both of us are the same kind? That's offensive, you know. Not all of us are the same…" the enigmatic Artificial Human hissed back at Krillin.

"Yeah, Krillin, what the hell? How can you compare me to some plastic, cartoony piece of scrap like that?" Android 18 crossed her arms, calling Krillin out instead of focusing on the battle at hand.

"Th… That's not what I meant!" Krillin leaned back, making himself full of openings in his freakout. He certainly didn't expect both Artificial Humans to lash out at him at the same time.

"If you must know, name's Android 15 and I'm from a whole different series of Androids, bald-ass punk," Android 15 pointed at himself with his thumb before setting his focus back on Android 18.

Artificial Human No. 15 soared with a rolling high-jump before transitioning into a Superman punch style cross. Lazuli leaned out of the way before kicking at the bottom of the floating Android and tripping him up into a wild spin. Without adjusting her position, the female Android shot her palm out to the side and sent her opponent flying with a thunderous palm slam. It was only then that she transitioned into a flying knee shot and burst with a white aura in pursuit of her opponent into the skies. 18 pummeled her opponent with a rush of punches in mid-air before flipping over into a vertical, upside-down split kick rush. She finished the beatdown off with a double ax handle slam that grounded Android 15 in a rural area near a small western-style town.

"What's your business with me anyway? Did the old hag send you to destroy me for walking off and doing my own thing? I thought that with the countless times we've threatened her we'd do that, she should've gotten the hint already…" Lazuli dragged her hand across her hair, ruffling it in the howling gale while approaching the poor midget stuck upside-down inside of a fissure of his own making with just a pair of dangling legs on the outside.

Lazuli kicked the little Artificial Human out and pointed two fingers at him, expelling a tiny yet unstable Ki blast from their tips but the purple-faced Android extended his hands and formed a teal-colored electric barrier around him that blocked the potent blast denying a chance to damage him. The tiny purple man repositioned himself back on his feet, taking a little second to pant and recover after feeling the right side being up again.

"Old hag? I don't know no old hag… Dr. Gero made me in one of Capsule Corps labs in West City. I'm here to blast a hole in your ass. Cause you a danger to society, honey," Android 15 replied while straightening his back out and cracking his head sideways to each side. Without his oversized green hat, the toy-man had a glass dome cranium with his artificial brain on full exposure for all to see.

"Dr. Gero? Isn't that the old Rainbow Brigade scientist that blew himself up trying to kill Chayote?" Krillin said, having caught up to the chaotic battle.

"Yeah…" Lazuli's face became more serious and vexed. "Old geezers just can't seem to kick the bucket and stay dead these days. No idea how he came back. He popped way before his old lady figured out the right way to build Artificial Humans."

"I wasn't gonna beat your bald-ass, but if you mess with my bidness, I'mma use your head for a football," Android 15 pointed at Krillin, warning him to stay out of his attempted assassination of Android 18.

"Sorry, pal, no can do! I've spent a lot of time looking for Lazuli and I'm not letting go of her. I feel responsible for her having set her loose on the world," Krillin took a fighting pose with a serious look on his face. This just made the little purple-guy boil.

Android 15 raised his hands and produced a hail of energy spheres that all came in a curveball trajectory, homing in on Krillin. The bald martial artist vanished a few times in rapid succession before rushing in from the side. With his arm still crackling with an electric glow, Artificial Human No. 15 swiped it in a slashing motion but only sliced up an afterimage into two. Krillin blinked in from the opposite side with a straight cross to the jaw that flinched No. 15 up.

With a bountiful hop, Krillin exploded into a roundhouse kick while levitating in mid-air and finishing his kick with an upward punt that socked 15 at the bottom of his jaw and send him into the air. While pursuing his opponent, Krillin exploded in a rush of punches and kicks but they appeared to lack the significant oomph of the earlier success. It was as if his opponent snapped back and threatened to respond immediately after taking the punch or the kick, which made Krillin's heart pound over time and make him attack wildly to not give his opponent a chance to retaliate. The bald-headed martial artist slammed both his hands from an overhead slam position, but No. 15 blocked him and kicked him aside.

Krillin grunted in pain and felt the air leaving his lungs. The stress around his temples made his vision blackout. Those blows were just wild. If the little guy put more power into them, he threatened to seriously mess Krillin up. He was seriously someone on par with Dr. Puri's strongest Androids. This half-assed kick convinced Krillin that the purple guy meant it when he claimed to have come here to kill No. 18.

Lazuli dashed in immediately after Artificial Human No. 15 got Krillin off his back. She slammed her elbow to transfer all of her dashing momentum into kinetic energy, but Android 15 answered her call for violence with his own elbow slam. The two collided, and neither of them will move. A thunderous halo buzzed out from the epicenter of their collision, shooting off wild jolts in all directions, with the two exploding with punches and kicks, exchanging blows on equal terms without either gaining a significant advantage.

With a playful smirk, Lazuli vanished. With her obstruction having disappeared, a pair of buzzing Kienzan blades came from behind her. No. 15 staggered back a few meters in terror before scooping the rushing Ki saw blades from mid-air. He flung one aside before grabbing the other one by the tip and driving his knee in the middle of it, shattering it into brilliant yellow sparkles.

"Damn… Guess we won't get rid of him that easily…" Krillin chuckled in the face of a genuine problem while dropping a single droplet of sweat that ran down the side of his head and off his chin.

"If that's all you've got, stay back and let me handle it," Android 18 suggested. "You're my precious future moneybag so I can't let you get hurt, got it?"

"Could you maybe at least pretend to care about me as a human being?" Krillin squinted at the artificial woman. "I trained way too hard so that I could get you out of trouble to back out now. Just set the pace and I'll follow it."

"Alright, try to keep up," Artificial Human No. 18 took off in a mad dash toward her opponent. Android 15 reacted by forming a white energy sphere and firing it at No. 18. The rushing Android vanished, prompting the toy-man to repeat the process wherever he could track her. Just when it seemed like he caught Lazuli, she slammed her forearm into the side of No. 15's head.

Seeing her opponent fumbling, Lazuli swept the leg. Artificial Human No. 15 recovered in mid-air, preparing to intercept No. 18's follow-up, but there was none. She just blew an air kiss his way, confusing the Android. It was only when Krillin rushed in from behind with a shoulder charge and then Android 18 drove a vicious palm strike to the center of No. 15's face that the source behind her hesitation and teasing became clear. The brutal impact made No. 15's soft face dent inward and left a palm-shaped indentation on his face.

Krillin and Lazuli vanished higher up, positioning themselves directly above their foe as they prepared their combined attack. Krillin cupped his hands and drew them back, preparing a potent Kamehameha while Android 18 raised her arms over her head, channeling a yellow Ki blast in an oversized energy nova over her head.

"Super Kamehameha!" Krillin yelled out, thrusting his arms forward and unleashing a howling Kamehameha at the stunned Artificial Human.

"Energy Cannon!" Android 18 said. The Artificial Human lowered her hands and channeled the energy mass into a singular, high-pressure Ki blast. The two energy beams hit the same minuscule target and detonated at the same time in a blinding white flash that became a hectic collage of fireballs and choking smoke soon enough.

"You two actually managed to piss me off…" Android 15 said, preceding the revelation of his survival and the irritating electrical hum as he revealed himself to have blocked the combination attack with an Android Barrier technique. "Even though I've got nothing personal on you, baldy, I'mma slay your ass first to leave the lady and me settle things between us. No one likes a third wheel, feel me?"

Artificial Human No. 15 flashed forward the moment that the Android Barrier diffused. Appearing in between Lazuli and Krillin, he flung both his palms crossed up into the chests of each of his opponents. This shoved Android 18 and Krillin apart from one another. Seeing his opening, Android 15 turned to Krillin and back-handed him soaring through the sky while the purple-skinned Artificial Human vanished in pursuit.

No. 15 dashed up to Krillin, throwing a wicked cross into the martial artist's abdomen and making him grunt in pain while curling up in mid-air. With the full transfer of the force between the two combatants, Krillin took off even further away with the Artificial Human in hot pursuit. Android 15 appeared before Krillin, driving his fist into Krillin's jaw and sending him flying again. The living action figure then vanished with a snap, appearing behind where Krillin would fly to and ignited the Android Barrier again. Krillin exclaimed in pain as an overwhelming electrical shock stunned him in place and the cruel Android double ax handled him down into the dirt.

"I've no idea why you're making fun of my baldness…" Krillin stumbled back to his feet, hastening himself to face his approaching opponent but having no chance to counter him. Given the vast difference in strength, he could only try to survive No. 15's attacks. "When you not only have a glass dome for a head… But your whole brain's visible underneath it… Doesn't that make you balder than me?" Krillin chuckled in defiance.

"An' now you made it personal, ya fool!" Android 15 pouted while taking a precise aim at Krillin with his palm and channeling a teal energy blast to shoot right through the annoying interloper. Before Android 15's blast could take off, however, a tight grip locked around his wrist and squeezed so hard that it let out electric crackles and spewed some nuts and bolts from inside while bending the steel plating out of shape.

"Just what do you think you're doing?" Android 18 asked with an icy voice before flinging Artificial Human No. 15 away from the place. "Making fun of Krillin's head like that… Are you implying that my taste in men is bad?"

"Ain't all that much implyin' goin' on here," Android 15 croaked, still caressing his aching wrist. He charged at Android 18 for a headbutt, but the artificial woman hopped back to trap her opponent in an unfavorable range and kneed him in the gut. With No. 15 grunting and twitching in pain, No. 18 hopped lightly for a wicked roundhouse that swatted her opponent aside. No. 15 crashed into a wooden casino of an abandoned coal-mining town only for Artificial Human No. 18 to aim with her index and middle fingers and unleash a yellow storm of petite Ki blasts that utterly obliterated the entire abandoned mining town.

"Lazuli…" Krillin limped up to the woman while she ran her hand through her hair to correct it with an apathetic expression. "You can't just blast whole towns to bits anymore like that. There could've been people in there…"

"Relax, my radar didn't pick anyone up," Android 18 rolled her eyes. "Who would still haul ass in a coal mine with so many big towns being founded nearby anyway?"

"Well, well…" Artificial Human No. 15 walked out from the wreckage with tears and holes in his flamboyant outfit, having found a discarded sombrero amongst the wreckage. The purple-faced Artificial Human dusted the hat off by waving it in the direction of the wasteland gust and then placed it over his glass dome cranium to hide it again. "Just when I thought this wasn't my lucky day."

"It seems this guy won't go down without me going all-out. Unless you have some hidden techniques, you still haven't tapped into, you better scram and let me take care of him," Android 18 repeated her concern, growing more engaged in the struggle ahead of her and dropping her nonchalant expression about this battle. It was rare that someone handled an entire energy barrage from her only taking damage to their flashy clothes.

"Oh, I've got something…" a rich smile carved an arc across Krillin's lower face.

"Not that clone technique again… I thought that was just a joke," Artificial Human No. 18 widened her eyes, recognizing the pose that Krillin adopted.

"Don't worry, I got a lot better at using it…" Krillin shot a confident grin her way. Seeing this rare flash of assurance in Krillin made Lazuli's face embellish with pleasant awe. A white aura enveloped Krillin and pulsed with increasing intensity, blowing so much dust and smoke all over the place that it even forced Artificial Human No. 15 to cover up his face from being pelted by pebbles.

Krillin's image became blurry and oddly stringy. The martial artist appeared as if he had been made of straight lines of color that comprised his image when stacked together. One by one, the lines split apart into two groups before connecting with each other in two separate groups. As Krillin's form became too bright to look at him directly, the booming spiritual power filled in the blanks. Two Krillins stood right by each other with matching, upbeat stances but mirrored in opposite directions.

"And that's the problem with rabbit dung…" Android 15 pulled out a flask of some black and oozy fluid and shook it to hear the fluid splashing about inside before flipping it over and sipping from it. "When you don't wipe it off the damn floor and don't skin the rabbit, it'll shit on the floor again, and then you'll have two stacks of scat to watch out for."

"Just duplicating yourself won't do, Krillin," Android 18 swiped her hand in objection. "You would've been better off using King Kai's Fist or that Hot-Red Ki control method for just that much of a power-up. You may need to power up a hundred times to make that creep sweat."

"A hundred times, huh?" the two Krillins both exclaimed at once in a synchronized manner. "That's… King Kai's Fist x 100, or something like that."

"That's right, but you'll get hurt if you amp it up that much and keep fighting on. This guy's an Artificial Human like me so he's got infinite stamina, and he proved he can take a punch too," Android 18 replied.

"Or… Maybe just King Kai's Fist x 50 will be enough?" Krillin snickered as the two doppelgangers blew up with a roaring scarlet aura while it slowly began turning white with the scarlet of the King Kai's Fist lingering as an outline of their bright-white aura. The shapes of both Krillins became blurry once more and turned to strings, but this time they shuffled back together, leaving only a single copy of Krillin shimmering with the action-red energy of King Kai's Fist.

"You're getting nasty, runt. Your missus told you to go X100 against me, just X50 won't do a damn thang," Android 15 slowly applied the lid back onto his flask. Krillin moved in a flash, vanishing with only a halo of red left behind as he appeared in front of his opponent and stopped. A deafening sonic boom sent the Android flat on his back and his sombrero hat rolling off to the side. The black oil began seeping from the half-shut flask while No. 15's fingers twitched with the Artificial Human laying flat on his back.

"I guess X50 really will be enough… Who knows, maybe X20 will be all I need next time?" Krillin snickered, dragging his index finger under his nose after silencing the hum of his King Kai Fist and halting the technique from burning through his bodily endurance for no reason. Seeing Krillin power up wildly by merging with his doppelgänger to where he vastly exceeded his previous power and knocked the enemy flat with just King Kai's Fist X50 left Lazuli gasping for air in awe and confusion.

Krillin never used such a power-up against her…