04-17-2018, 07:40 AM
Cell groaned and opened his eyes, staring at the roof of the disused and grimy facility. A bell rang tinnily through the room. Fluorescent light bulbs flickered and sparked. The monitors on the far side of the room flashed with static. Shards of glass surrounded him in a thin pool of pale blue fluid.
The bio-android climbed to his feet as he regained his senses. Slowly the memories returned to him as his body’s numbness faded away. Glass tinkled on the wet concrete floor as Cell stumbled to the computer terminal, his legs wobbly. His sore eyes cast a glance around the dilapidated, malfunctioning room. There was no sign of that blasted human scientist.
“Dammit!” Cell yelled, slamming balled fists on the terminal’s keyboard. “That bastard stuffed up my evolution and then ran before I could enact swift-“
Cell stopped mid-sentence. Something about his voice caught him off-guard. The raspy quality had drained from his tone. Instead, it was much deeper. He patted his face and gasped. The bulbous orange beak that comprised his mouth was gone; in its place were two thick lips. A pang of excitement reverberated in his chest. Did the process actually work?
Mind racing with anticipation, Cell sprinted to the puddle of fluid he had woken up in and stared at his reflection, waiting for the ripples on its surface to abate. His visage grew solid and the bio-android grinned wide. His orange eyes and slitted pupils had given way for a human-like set of blue eyes. As he felt with his hands, his new lips curled upwards at the ends. The flat plate that made up his forehead had transformed into a V-shaped crown, the top of his black head visible at the base of the dip.
Cell stood, taking in the other changes. His black insectoid wings had disappeared. The three toes on each foot had morphed together into single boots. Not only had his appearance altered drastically, but he could feel the new power birthed by the transformation.
A yellow aura engulfed his body. “Yes! My old strength has returned to me!”
The aura dissipated suddenly. “Wait. This isn’t my perfect form! This is the state between my imperfect and perfect bodies!”
Then it dawned on Cell why Davin must have fled after the experiment. His eyes fell upon the shattered glass pod. The process must have only driven Cell to his semi-perfect state and then failed, breaking the equipment and making the next step to his perfect form impossible.
“No!” Cell roared, hurling a ball of energy at the broken glass pod. It exploded in flame and shards. “This isn’t enough! I was promised my perfect form! It’s not fair!”
“There! Did you hear that?”
Cell snapped his attention to the doorway. Someone else was in here.
“Yeah. Go go go!”
A stream of five white armoured soldiers poured into the room, their black rifles raised and pointing at Cell as they entered. They looked much like the stormtroopers that suffused the Coruscant dimension. Had they followed him and Davin this far?
“You!” one shouted. “Hands in the air! Now!”
Cell glowered at the intruders. “I don’t suppose any of you have seen a scientist scampering out of this facility now, have you? You can’t miss him. Brown hair, likes to scheme and betray those around him?”
“Comply now or we will shoot!” another ordered as they closed in around him.
“I guess not,” Cell said, his face flat. “At least you will provide adequate testing for my new power.”
The bio-android flexed his fists and a brilliant cloak of yellow light burst around his body like a golden fire. Wind flowed from him and whipped up dust and glass fragments. The stormtroopers clenched their trigger fingers and a volley of red lasers screamed towards Cell.
The semi-perfect synthetic dived behind the broken glass pod, narrowing avoiding the avalanche of death. He rolled into a sprint as more beams scored the room, breaking tiles and shattering glass. A ball of amber ki ballooned in Cell’s hand and he tossed it at the first soldier he saw, knocking him on his back. Circling around while strafing the incoming fire, Cell swept his tail around and struck out at each stormtrooper’s feet, bringing them crashing down except one who had the foresight to jump. Cell jumped and somersaulted over the stormtrooper as he blasted away, landing in a crouch and rising in an uppercut. The force of the blow popped the human’s helmet off like a champagne cork and he collapsed on his back.
“Hmmm. Not as strong as I would have expected, even for my intermediate form,” Cell said, looking at his five-fingered hands as he tensed them. “Definitely an improvement, but this Omni fellow seems determined to shackle my power.”
Cell cupped his hands at his sides as the lackeys of the Empire climbed back to their feet, gripping their weapons. “Ka... me... ha... me... ha!”
He thrust the collected energy forward as a blazing blue column issued forth, tearing across the facility floor. The stormtroopers had enough time to scream before they were consumed by the rushing torrent of ki. Moments later, nothing remained of them except blackened scorches on the broken tiles.
Cell sighed deeply. A Super Kamehameha was harder to perform. The level of fatigue that dogged him performing his stolen techniques dwarfed the energy requirements he had back on his Earth. Cell made a mental note to find out how to hunt down this Omni and wring the little bastard’s neck.
His task somewhat complete, the bio-android trudged out of the disused facility, sticking his head into each room he passed. He called out for the human scientist who left the job half done but to no avail. Davin had escaped and obviously had no intention of seeing Cell again after his monumental blunder.
The rock wall parted and Cell stepped out into the harsh island sunlight again. The salty breeze, despite his troubles within the secret facility, seemed fresher than it did before. The heat from the tropical climate gave him greater pleasure. Even if he hadn’t ascended into his perfect form, there was something to be said for launching out of his imperfect one.
Cell grinned as jagged spikes of yellow light enveloped him, blowing sand in all directions. He took to the spotless blue sky, pondering his next move.
The bio-android climbed to his feet as he regained his senses. Slowly the memories returned to him as his body’s numbness faded away. Glass tinkled on the wet concrete floor as Cell stumbled to the computer terminal, his legs wobbly. His sore eyes cast a glance around the dilapidated, malfunctioning room. There was no sign of that blasted human scientist.
“Dammit!” Cell yelled, slamming balled fists on the terminal’s keyboard. “That bastard stuffed up my evolution and then ran before I could enact swift-“
Cell stopped mid-sentence. Something about his voice caught him off-guard. The raspy quality had drained from his tone. Instead, it was much deeper. He patted his face and gasped. The bulbous orange beak that comprised his mouth was gone; in its place were two thick lips. A pang of excitement reverberated in his chest. Did the process actually work?
Mind racing with anticipation, Cell sprinted to the puddle of fluid he had woken up in and stared at his reflection, waiting for the ripples on its surface to abate. His visage grew solid and the bio-android grinned wide. His orange eyes and slitted pupils had given way for a human-like set of blue eyes. As he felt with his hands, his new lips curled upwards at the ends. The flat plate that made up his forehead had transformed into a V-shaped crown, the top of his black head visible at the base of the dip.
Cell stood, taking in the other changes. His black insectoid wings had disappeared. The three toes on each foot had morphed together into single boots. Not only had his appearance altered drastically, but he could feel the new power birthed by the transformation.
A yellow aura engulfed his body. “Yes! My old strength has returned to me!”
The aura dissipated suddenly. “Wait. This isn’t my perfect form! This is the state between my imperfect and perfect bodies!”
Then it dawned on Cell why Davin must have fled after the experiment. His eyes fell upon the shattered glass pod. The process must have only driven Cell to his semi-perfect state and then failed, breaking the equipment and making the next step to his perfect form impossible.
“No!” Cell roared, hurling a ball of energy at the broken glass pod. It exploded in flame and shards. “This isn’t enough! I was promised my perfect form! It’s not fair!”
“There! Did you hear that?”
Cell snapped his attention to the doorway. Someone else was in here.
“Yeah. Go go go!”
A stream of five white armoured soldiers poured into the room, their black rifles raised and pointing at Cell as they entered. They looked much like the stormtroopers that suffused the Coruscant dimension. Had they followed him and Davin this far?
“You!” one shouted. “Hands in the air! Now!”
Cell glowered at the intruders. “I don’t suppose any of you have seen a scientist scampering out of this facility now, have you? You can’t miss him. Brown hair, likes to scheme and betray those around him?”
“Comply now or we will shoot!” another ordered as they closed in around him.
“I guess not,” Cell said, his face flat. “At least you will provide adequate testing for my new power.”
The bio-android flexed his fists and a brilliant cloak of yellow light burst around his body like a golden fire. Wind flowed from him and whipped up dust and glass fragments. The stormtroopers clenched their trigger fingers and a volley of red lasers screamed towards Cell.
The semi-perfect synthetic dived behind the broken glass pod, narrowing avoiding the avalanche of death. He rolled into a sprint as more beams scored the room, breaking tiles and shattering glass. A ball of amber ki ballooned in Cell’s hand and he tossed it at the first soldier he saw, knocking him on his back. Circling around while strafing the incoming fire, Cell swept his tail around and struck out at each stormtrooper’s feet, bringing them crashing down except one who had the foresight to jump. Cell jumped and somersaulted over the stormtrooper as he blasted away, landing in a crouch and rising in an uppercut. The force of the blow popped the human’s helmet off like a champagne cork and he collapsed on his back.
“Hmmm. Not as strong as I would have expected, even for my intermediate form,” Cell said, looking at his five-fingered hands as he tensed them. “Definitely an improvement, but this Omni fellow seems determined to shackle my power.”
Cell cupped his hands at his sides as the lackeys of the Empire climbed back to their feet, gripping their weapons. “Ka... me... ha... me... ha!”
He thrust the collected energy forward as a blazing blue column issued forth, tearing across the facility floor. The stormtroopers had enough time to scream before they were consumed by the rushing torrent of ki. Moments later, nothing remained of them except blackened scorches on the broken tiles.
Cell sighed deeply. A Super Kamehameha was harder to perform. The level of fatigue that dogged him performing his stolen techniques dwarfed the energy requirements he had back on his Earth. Cell made a mental note to find out how to hunt down this Omni and wring the little bastard’s neck.
His task somewhat complete, the bio-android trudged out of the disused facility, sticking his head into each room he passed. He called out for the human scientist who left the job half done but to no avail. Davin had escaped and obviously had no intention of seeing Cell again after his monumental blunder.
The rock wall parted and Cell stepped out into the harsh island sunlight again. The salty breeze, despite his troubles within the secret facility, seemed fresher than it did before. The heat from the tropical climate gave him greater pleasure. Even if he hadn’t ascended into his perfect form, there was something to be said for launching out of his imperfect one.
Cell grinned as jagged spikes of yellow light enveloped him, blowing sand in all directions. He took to the spotless blue sky, pondering his next move.