While looking over the vane upon returning from Kamiland, Puttee noticed the Dragon Radar in the dash was reading a signal. She did a diagnostic on it, and it came back fully operational. Whatever this was, the signal was real. Puttee grabbed her phone, glad she made Regal and the Grand Elder carry their own phones as they left Kamiland. “Hey, Grand Elder?” Puttee greeted the Namekian guardian.
“Yes, this is the Grand Elder,” she responded.
“Yeah, I called you,” Puttee said. “Anyway, I know we just saw each other a little bit ago, but I have a really important question. So, the Dragon Balls are gone, and there’s no other set on Earth, right?”
“That is true.”
“Well, my radar is picking up a Dragon Ball signal. It’s coming from that island Nucleron emerged from.”
The Grand Elder gasped. “Please, Puttee, go retrieve whatever is on the other end of that signal right away! Regal and I will be heading to your home as fast as we can!”
“’Kay, bye.” Puttee hung up. “Gaita! Torta! Get over here!”
Gaita flew down from the roof of her home, and Torta walked over from his backyard. “What’s the problem?” he asked. “We just got back after a year and a half, and I just filled my parents in on what we’ve been up to. I was going to lay down for a minute.”
“How dare you think you can rest when I need your labor,” Puttee scolded. “Anyway, despite there being no extant Dragon Balls anywhere in the universe to our knowledge, I have a signal for one in the place Nucleron emerged from. Let’s go check it out!”
“Wait, really?” Torta asked.
“You can look at the radar when you hop in the vane,” said Puttee. “C’mon!” She rushed into the driver’s seat.
Gaita giggled with excitement. “Shotgun!” she said as she went for the passenger seat. Torta sighed and jumped in the back. The vane’s engines started, and was soon they were rocketing off to the northeast.
After a few hours, they arrived at the rocky volcanic island, parking on a stable boulder. Puttee rushed out to look down in the hole, nearly falling in before Gaita caught her. “Whoa, can’t even see the bottom!” Puttee remarked with a smile. “Signal’s coming from a few kilometers down there.”
“I’ll go get it,” said Torta, taking a flashlight. He jumped down the pit and let himself fall for about a minute before slowing his descent and hovering down. As he descended, he looked to his right and saw Gaita carrying Puttee down the pit. “Why did you let her come down here? It’s dangerous!”
“I jumped in before she could say anything!” Puttee announced proudly.
Once they reached the level indicated on the radar, Torta and Gaita shined their flashlights around the sheer walls of the pit. “There!” Puttee cried out, pointing to a round, green object. It was a green Dragon Ball, with four white stars, small enough to fit in the palm. Torta jabbed his fingers into the rock and pulled it out.
The trio returned to the surface and headed back home, going on and on through their theories about what this Dragon Ball could be. Once they arrived back at their homes in the Unaffiliated Islands, they found Regal and the Grand Elder waiting in the adjoining yard. The Grand Elder looked deathly concerned. Puttee rushed out of the vane and excitedly held up the strange Dragon Ball to the Grand Elder. “What is this?!” she asked.
The Grand Elder recoiled in fear. “That is what Malacol is after!” the Grand Elder explained. “Now that one has been uncovered, the race to collect them all has begun!
“Long ago, an apprentice to the Namekian Grand Elder made a set of special Dragon Balls, decorated with a rainbow of colors and white stars. This set was made differently than the typical model that Namekians have used to make Dragon Balls for generations. Instead of drawing power from a single elder, this set draws power from all elders, making it far more powerful. Its dragon only grants a single wish, but that wish can be for anything, with no constraining rules, and its wishes cannot be undone by another set of Dragon Balls. These are the Rainbow Dragon Balls.”
Torta, Puttee, and Gaita were stunned. Regal leaned in to look at the ball in Puttee’s hand. “Wow,” she said. “I thought these were just a myth.”
“Indeed, they are rarely found. As a precaution, these Dragon Balls don’t disperse on a single world and turn to stone for a set time. Another thing you may not know about, but Namekians actually traveled across the universe long ago, leaving behind elders to form villages adapted to the environments and cultures of other worlds.”
“Yeah, you mentioned there being one on Earth,” Puttee recalled.
“Yes, though that one suffered a tragic fate and died out. The Rainbow Dragon Balls disperse to worlds with Namekian villages and remain in stone until one is uncovered. This usually takes a really long time, since the balls bury themselves in difficult to access areas, like the underground passage you found this one in. Nucleron’s emergence must have counted as ‘uncovering,’ since this ball is active, which means all seven are now active. Malacol wants these balls to become immortal, knowing that no one else would be able to turn her mortal again with a wish on any lesser set of Dragon Balls.”
Puttee squealed with excitement. Regal scoffed. “The Demon Clan will be hunting after us and could soon become unstoppable,” said Regal. “This is not a moment to celebrate.”
“Sure it is!” Puttee said. “Think about it. With Porunga, we could never revive large numbers of dead people. With these balls, we could revive everyone killed by the Silico Androids, Conch and her people, and the genmajin. Whether we like it or not, these things are in play now, so we might as well use this as a chance to right all those wrongs!”
“Puttee’s right,” Torta agreed. “I get that this is a really dangerous mission, but I think we owe it to all those we couldn’t save to try. It’s an amazing opportunity. And, you know, getting to fight all these super warriors across the universe is a great way to get stronger!”
“Indeed,” Joma said as she appeared behind the group. Everyone turned to face her. “Kami Okome has been watching your actions since discovering the first Rainbow Dragon Ball, and he offers his assistance in your quest.”
“Does Poboy want to come?” Torta asked.
“Poboy is being informed of the situation as we speak,” Joma said. “I’ll let you know what he wants, and what Okome can offer.” She then disappeared into a doorway.
“I’ll call Svenex and let her know!” Gaita said excitedly, taking out her phone. Puttee squealed again as she rushed to her workshop, muttering about engines and lodging. Torta began to grow more and more excited, repeatedly slapping Regal on the back until Regal shoved him over the cliff and into the ocean.
A few hours later, Svenex arrived, having flown over the whole continent at top speed. Without even saying hi, she rushed to the Grand Elder, who held the green four-star ball. She marveled at it a moment. “A thing of wonder, no?” the Grand Elder asked.
“Yeah…” Svenex said. She wiped her brow. “And you say it can grant any wish?” The Grand Elder nodded.
“Does this change your mind about retiring?” Torta asked as he came out to see Svenex.
Svenex sighed. “No, it doesn’t. I don’t want to be cooped up in a tiny spaceship with you loons, getting into fights with unimaginable monsters far from home. Besides, I believe in my mission here. When you get back, you’ll find the Earth a peaceful place.”
Torta smiled, happy with her conviction.
Puttee became absorbed in designing a spaceship for the journey. Early on in the process, Torta asked, “How are we even going to go fast enough to get anywhere?”
“I know how to make an infinite energy generator, remember?” Puttee said. “We can go as fast as the ship can structurally withstand. On that note, can you take Regal and Gaita to mine for that Kamiland metal?”
“Sure,” said Torta, who left to gather the crew.
“And for you,” Puttee said, turning to Svenex, “I want to discuss giving the plans for my infinite energy generator. It’ll make the world a better place, as long as everyone agrees not to use it for weapons.”
“Are you sure you’re ok with that?” Svenex asked. “I can negotiate all I want, but it’s no guarantee there won’t be people breaking contracts, and I know what seeing the first Android army was like for you.”
“If you’re the one holding onto the plans, then I’m sure it’ll work out.” The two smiled at each other. “Besides, who knows how long I’ll be gone? Maybe I’ll be back in time to set it all up myself. This is just in case.”
Design and construction of the ship took a month. Once the ship was complete, everyone gathered in the adjoining yard, where Puttee had wheeled the ship out. “Behold, my grand masterpiece of space travel!” Puttee said with a flourish, unveiling it. The ship was massive, far larger than the group had expected. It looked like a very large space shuttle, but with a large sphere in the back end. “Come on, I’ll give you the tour!” Puttee led Torta, Regal, Gaita, Svenex, and the Grand Elder inside. First was the cockpit. “The actual control systems are made to be operated by one person,” Puttee indicated herself, “but it’s got a fairly robust autopilot system, as well, for when I have to show you how to do it. The rest of the lounge-style seating and kitchen behind the control deck is for hanging out.” She led them below deck. “This level is sleeping quarters. I made six rooms, just in case our final roll call is different than we expect, and there’s a shared bath.” She took them to the middle of the ship. “This is the engine room, where we have the infinite energy generator and forcefield tech. We never have to refuel and have protection from anything!” Last was the large spherical room in the back. “This is a gravity chamber,” Puttee explained. “It’s a training facility for the jocks among us. You can adjust the internal gravity of this chamber without affecting the gravity in the rest of the ship. You can crank it up really high.”
Torta, Regal, Gaita, Svenex, and the Grand Elder were deeply impressed. “Wow!” they heard Poboy remark outside. The group exited the ship to greet him.
“Hey, man!” Torta said. “You gonna come with or not?”
“I will not be joining you,” Poboy said, bowing his head. “My place is on Earth, not gallivanting among the stars. But I did come bearing a gift from Okome.” He removed a clay jug with a special seal. “This is the Devil’s Tincture. It’s a dangerous training aid, one that Okome now thinks you may be ready for. In short, it can double the results of your training at the cost of increasing the stress of training by multiple factors.”
“Okome had that the whole time and didn’t give it to us?!” Torta protested.
Svenex smacked the back of his head. “You would have killed yourself using that stuff.”
Puttee turned to the group and clapped to get their attention. “It’s now time for the final roll call,” she announced. “Everyone who wants to go, raise a hand.” Torta, Regal, Gaita, and Puttee raised their hands. “Good! With that settled, pack up and get ready, we leave in three days.”
Regal and the Grand Elder spent the next few days communing with the Earth through meditation. They lived through memories of when they first arrived, and Regal was barely a month old. Regal only saw Namek as a hatchling, looking out the window of the ship to see her mother slain by Demon Clan warriors. All her own memories were on this planet; for as much as she loved and cherished Namek, she only really knew it in ancestral thought.
“I’ll watch over the Earth in your absence,” the Grand Elder said. “I will keep your home safe.”
“Thanks,” said Regal. “But there is another mission, isn’t there?”
The Grand Elder sighed. “Yes, there is. As I’m sure you realized, the last time the Rainbow Dragon Balls were said to have been used was after the time the Earth Namekians were wiped out. The Earth should not be a place to find one of these balls. Munster’s knowledge of our people means something else entirely. I will investigate and find the Earth Namekians.”
Puttee was wrapped up in prep work, and Gaita assisted her in any way she could. Watching Puttee move about the workshop, Gaita reflected on that room as her birthplace. Her sister told her she wasn’t made as a weapon, despite everything that’s happened. She smiled, thinking she’s been more of a shield. She hoped the stars would provide a chance to become something else.
“Have you heard anything new about your father?” Gaita asked.
“No, not really,” Puttee said. “His trial was postponed again because of the genmajin attack.”
“Do you ever wish you had stayed home? If I had run away from home, I wouldn’t be able to stop imagining ways I could change my father if I stayed behind.”
“I’ve imagined versions of that, and realistically, I don’t think my father would be convinced of anything. But he’s not who I wanted to stay behind for.” Puttee turned to Gaita with a more serious look. “I have another sister, by birth. I guess missing her so much is why I had to make another sister from scrap.” She giggled. Gaita hugged her.
Torta spent much of his time talking to his parents, not knowing if he would get a chance to talk to them again. Svenex joined him there. Torta had always wanted to be the best martial artist he could, a dream no one handed him. “You know,” he mused, “my parents didn’t want me practicing martial arts to make sure I wouldn’t end up living the life I’m living now. Constantly fighting, always risking my life and others.”
“They’d be proud of you,” Svenex told him. “You’ve grown into a good man.”
“But I did the exact thing they didn’t want for me.”
“No, I did what your parents didn’t want. I enlisted into the military academies. I knew there was something wrong, even as a kid in the dojo, and I did it anyway. But your strength, it serves a greater purpose, I think. You can keep the world safe and show others how far they can go when they chase their dreams.”
“Then those people will need a world to live in where that’s all they have to do.”
“I’ll have it waiting for you to come back.”
Launch day arrived. Everyone met up in front of the spaceship. Okome, Poboy, and Joma all arrived for the launch. Puttee and Gaita came out wearing stylish spacesuits. Puttee held up a bottle of champagne. “I hereby christen this ship the Rainbow Stocking!” Puttee declared, throwing the champagne against the hull. It broke, and everyone cheered. “To all of you staying on Earth, I bid you adieu and I’ll come back to a much happier planet!”
The intrepid four, Torta, Regal, Puttee, and Gaita, all waved goodbye to those they would leave behind as they entered the ship. Okome, Poboy, Joma, the Grand Elder, and Svenex waved back, having already shared their longer goodbyes. The hatch closed.
Puttee ran to the pilot’s seat with glee and plopped down. She turned and said, “Everyone, strap in so we can launch!” The other three took chairs and put their seatbelts on. With a few simple commands, Puttee had the engine started and the ship began to raise into the air, propelled by the same invisible lift that allowed Gaita to fly. The Rainbow Stocking turned to the clouds and shot away. The hull shook for a brief moment as the ship left the atmosphere, and then it was smooth sailing.
The Earthlings cheered their successful launch with incredible fanfare. Regal smugly chuckled at the first-timers. “Ok, I’ll be setting our course!” Puttee announced.
“It’s really impressive that your Dragon Radar can detect balls spread out across the universe,” Torta said.
“Oh, no, it’s not that exact,” Puttee quibbled. “I’m technically using complex algorithms to sift through background radiation for signs of Dragon Ball activity. It’s more like swimming towards warmer water until you find a hotspot, rather than moving towards a pin on a map.”
“I understood enough of that to know it’s still impressive,” Torta said.
“Well, yes, I am.”
While Puttee went to work checking the systems and such, Torta stood up with anticipation. “Well, I’m ready to check out that gravity chamber and the Devil’s Tincture,” he said. “You in, Regal?”
“Agreed,” said Regal, grabbing the jug. Gaita decided to keep an eye on them.
The gravity chamber was relatively large, about fifty feet across. The control panel was located by the entrance and had a straightforward interface. “What do you want to start with?” Torta asked Regal, waiting to input the gravity level.
“How about 10G to start,” said Regal.
“Ok.” Torta put in the command, and the entire room felt heavier, and the three recoiled. Torta stumbled around the room for a minute, trying to stand back up properly. The sensation was unusual and difficult to handle. After a few minutes, he got used to it and stood back up to see Regal impatiently glaring at him, standing like normal, and Gaita giggling at him. He rolled his eyes. “It’s my inner ear,” Torta said.
The three played around with the settings more until they decided that they would start gravity training at 30G. While the gravity was still set that high, Torta pulled out a canteen of water. “Give me the jug,” Torta asked. “I’m ready to see what this Devil’s Tincture is all about.”
Gaita forcefully stopped Regal from passing the jug. “No!” she said. “I won’t allow you to destroy your bodies. Turn the gravity down and then see what the Devil’s Tincture is like before trying to use it in heightened gravity.”
“I mean, I can handle anything,” Regal grumbled. Gaita glared at her. “Ok, fine. It is prudent.”
With the gravity reset to 1G, Torta placed a drop of the Devil’s Tincture into both his and Regal’s canteens. “Ok, so according to these instructions,” Torta said, reading a note that came with the jug, “we put in one drop to a bottle of water or other drink, and then we can either drink the entire serving at once for an intense but shorter effective period, or sip it for a longer effective period with more even strain.”
Regal drank her entire canteen right away. “Let’s see how intense this stuff gets.”
Torta smiled, drinking his whole canteen. The Devil’s Tincture hit their systems right away, as noted by the intense pain that came with every movement. It even hurt to concentrate and think hard. “Let’s try sparring,” Torta suggested, his face scrunched in pain.
“Yes, let’s,” said Regal, clearly trying to act like she wasn’t in pain. “This is nothing.” Gaita was worried this would just be a form of torture for her organic friends, who winced at the simple effort to say words.
The sparring match was slow and difficult at first, but after the first few minutes, the initial hard edge wore off of the additive’s effects, and they were able to move more comfortably. They became tired much faster, their strength dropping far more rapidly than normal. After about an hour, neither Torta nor Regal could stand. They laid on the ground. “My muscles are burning a lot,” Torta said. “More than normal. But there’s something kind of relaxing about it.”
“Yes,” Regal concurred.
“Then here’s my suggestion,” said Gaita. “Based on how this affected you, you two should train at 30G without using any Devil’s Tincture, and once you can move freely in that gravity, you can start using it. Every step up should be like that.”
“I can live with that,” said Torta.
“We’ll see,” said Regal.
Back on the bridge, Puttee was finished setting her initial course. Torta, Regal, and Gaita came back into the main lounge. “How long till our first stop?” Gaita asked.
“Moving at top speed, we should arrive in three weeks,” Puttee announced with a smile.
“I bet I could master 30G in a week,” Torta said to Regal. “That would give us two weeks of DT training at 30G.”
“You know you don’t have to rush, right?” Gaita reminded them.
“No, Torta’s right,” Regal said. “The Demon Clan has many powerful warriors, and Malacol above them would swat us like ants as we are now. We have to be prepared at any moment.”
Soon, they all took a break for dinner. Their first meal was a simple affair, one of the few that would be prepared with fresh ingredients. Regal, having filled up on water before training, only sat with her Earthling friends. “So, you excited to meet other Namekians?” Puttee asked Regal. “You know, ones that aren’t trying to kill you this time.”
“I am, indeed,” said Regal, with a rare smile. “And these would be different sorts of Namekians than on Namek, having adapted themselves to live on that world, with its native inhabitants.”
“You excited to meet a nice boy Namekian among the stars?” Puttee asked more slyly.
“Actually, I don’t know what you mean by that. I know that in the common tongue, people refer to most Namekians as ‘she,’ and I have no quarrel with that, but most Namekians don’t have a concept of gender. We’re a classless society of peers and elders.”
“Oh! That’s awesome! So does that mean you don’t think about gender when it comes to who you like?”
“You humans keep talking about that, but I don’t know what that means, either.”
Puttee sighed. “That’s a shame. You’re so pretty!”
Regal shrugged, for she also didn’t have a concept of physical beauty.
The next few weeks went by fairly smoothly. Torta and Regal spent the time training away. Gaita would watch and sometimes practice her technique with them, but she was beginning to feel more isolated, since she couldn’t improve through training. She spent most of her time with Puttee, who was far more bored with space travel than she expected to be; she took measurements of the galaxy and played with the data, but she didn’t have time or as high-end of sensors as she needed to drill into anything really interesting.
They arrived at the first planet a day earlier than expected. Puttee started checking the atmospheric readings. “This planet is home to a Namekian village,” Regal reminded her. “It has a hospitable atmosphere.” The Dragon Ball reading was coming from the equatorial zone, where the planet was balmy and covered in jungles.
Descending to the surface, the group was astounded to see how massive everything was. The trees stood as skyscrapers, the insects as large as tigers. This was a planet of giants. The group exited the Rainbow Stocking in a clearing overlooking a riverbank. Torta and Regal wore their usual gis, while Puttee and Gaita wore matching “explorer uniforms,” featuring rugged boots, khaki safari clothes, and floppy sun hats. They giggled. “You two are so underdressed!” Puttee chided the martial artists. Regal snorted as she walked down the riverbank.
“Where exactly is the Dragon Ball?” Torta asked Puttee.
“It’s coming from deep inside a cave system,” Puttee said, holding up a handheld Dragon Radar. She pointed at the river flowing nearby. “That river comes out of the cave, actually.”
The group started making their way over to the cave. After climbing over a few tree roots and begging Gaita to box out several bees, Puttee became a lot less excited. “It’s no fair!” Puttee moaned. “You all can just fly!”
“You coulda made a flight pack,” Torta said.
“Then carry me,” Puttee said.
“I’ll carry you,” said Gaita, moving to pick Puttee up.
Several massive shadows fell over the group. Looking up, they were greeted by the faces of several Namekians, standing two-hundred feet tall. “Are you members of the Demon Clan?” asked the lead giant.
“We are their targets,” Regal said. “I am Regal, guardian of the Grand Elder of Namek.”
The giant smiled. “Then this is a momentous meeting. My name is Stomp, and I am the leader of the warriors here among the Monmassu Namekians. Ever since our mystics detected the activation of the Rainbow Dragon Ball, we’ve been on high alert. Demon Clan members are bound to show up any day. Come on, we will walk with you.”
The group continued on their way, with the giant Monmassu Namekians in tow. “Why are you all so big?” Puttee asked Stomp.
“It’s a custom we adopted when we first settled here,” Stomp said. “This is a big planet, and it’s more comfortable at this scale. We’ve been giant for centuries.”
“Can you become giant, too?” Torta asked Regal.
Regal nodded.
“So I missed seeing you fight Ocearon as a giant?!”
“No, I fought at my normal size. Being small is an advantage against a giant enemy.”
Torta and Gaita glared at Regal.
The hike continued for a half-hour. The mouth of the cave from which the river ran was covered in moss and hanging vines. “I wish you all luck in your search,” Stomp said. “The cave system is rather large and complex.”
“Are you sure it’s ok for us to get it?” Torta asked. “I was wondering if you all didn’t want to try retrieving it for yourselves.”
Stomp gave Regal a meaningful look. “As long as Regal stands with you, I trust you Earthlings,” she said. “Our people have no desires for the dragon, or ships to travel the stars with.”
Gaita carried Puttee as the heroes flew through the cave system. The labyrinthine network of caves and tunnels that they had to fly through was far more complex than Torta had expected it to be. They crawled through narrow passages and swam deep into reservoirs to arrive at the destination, hours later. Puttee excitedly ran towards the Dragon Ball, lodged into a stalagmite. It was red and had a single star inside. While she dislodged it with a pickaxe, Regal looked back where they came. “I’m getting worried about the Monmassu Namekians.” She said.
“Something does feel strange out there,” Torta concurred.
The group began leaving the cave as soon as the Dragon Ball was secured. Emerging on the surface after the long return trip, the group found all the Monmassu warriors engaging with mutant Namekians of the Demon Clan. Stomp looked ragged; though able to dispose of the soldiers with relative ease, she was clearly tired and being swarmed by a dozen enemy soldiers. Stomp’s squad was fairing worse, with a few casualties already on the field in this battle of attrition. Torta and Regal rushed to their aid, easily swatting away the saurian mutants pouring over Stomp. Gaita got Puttee to relative safety, on a ledge overlooking the forest, before joining them. For her, the average Demon Clan mutant was more of an equal.
With new, fresh fighters of consequence entering the fray, the battle turned back against the Demon Clan. After the battle was brought back under control, a new figure approached. “Welcome to hell!” she said with a cackle, wiping her upturned antennae across her forehead. “I am Clam, officer of the Demon Clan, and I will be reclaiming the Dragon Balls from you Earth scum in Malacol’s name!”
“She’s twice as strong as Nucleron!” Torta remarked with awe.
“Remember our training,” said Regal. “After the past few weeks, with heightened gravity and the Devil’s Tincture, I no longer fear an enemy like her.”
Regal charged in at Clam, but before she could engage with the officer, Clam was knocked aside by a new entrant. She was a tall black woman in a futuristic, formfitting spacesuit, her bangs neatly held to the sides. Though her face was kept out of focus with the glare of the setting sun, something about her looked familiar. With her were two others, one with a mohawk and another with red braids. None of the three had chi.
Clam shot back up. “Who are you?!”
“Alpha,” the woman said to her mohawked compatriot, “dispose of that one. She annoys me.”
As Alpha moved to engage, Clam confidently rushed the newcomer. Alpha grabbed Clam by the mouth, and Clam began to struggle. Torta and Regal were shocked as they felt all of Clam’s chi drain from her body, until there was nothing. Alpha then beheaded Clam.
“Who are you people?!” Torta demanded, angry and terrified.
“I’m only here to speak with one person,” the woman said. She pointed at Puttee. “Did you really think no one else would be smart enough to succeed where you had?”
Torta, Regal, and Gaita turned to Puttee, who was shaking. Puttee rushed down from her perch and towards the mysterious woman. Torta began to notice that this newcomer looked nearly identical to Gaita. When she was within ten feet and got a good, detailed look at her, Puttee fell to her knees. She started laughing awkwardly and crying. “It’s so good to see you again!” Puttee said. “It…I’m so happy!”
“Who is this?” Torta asked.
“This is my older sister, Spats.”
Spats scowled. “You don’t get to be happy after you abandoned me in that home!” Spats said. “It was a nightmare! Dad always just loved everything you did, but nothing I made was ever good enough! That didn’t change after you left, you airheaded piece of trash! What did you expect to happen?!”
“Leaving you alone was my biggest regret,” Puttee said. “I missed you the entire time I was away.”
Gaita looked over at Clam’s gruesome corpse. She asked, “So, are you here—”
“I don’t want to hear anything from my junkyard replacement,” Spats said. She glared hard at Gaita. “And I’m not here to help my traitorous sister. I’m here to do two things. First, I’ll prove once and for all that I’m the greater genius by killing you with my energy absorbing Androids, Alpha and Bravo, as well as my own strength as a bioengineered model. Second, there’s a certain wish that I want to make at the end of this mission, which I was granted by the Silico royal crown. The king wants to rule as much of the universe as the Dragon Balls will grant him.”
“Gaita, take Puttee to the ship,” Torta said.
“But what about—”
“Alpha, Bravo,” Spats ordered, “kill these fools while I deal with my sister.” The mechanical warriors approached Torta and Regal, while Spats approached Puttee.
Gaita grabbed Puttee and flew off as fast as she could. The fight began behind her, and she could hear the commotion explode like thunder. She looked down to see Puttee smiling. “I’m so happy, Gaita,” Puttee said. “After all this time, Spats is strong, healthy, and as brilliant as always.”
Alpha attacked Torta while Bravo attacked Regal. The Androids initiated their attacks entirely with open-handed strikes. “We shouldn’t use energy blasts!” Torta yelled to Regal. “The thing’s in their hands, I think!”
“Don’t waste my time with the obvious!” Regal retorted.
Alpha was able to overpower Torta, much to his surprise, but Bravo was struggling with Regal, trying hard to press his palm to her skin. Eventually, Alpha knocked Torta far away and fired a huge energy blast at Regal. Regal dodged before finding Alpha on top of her, pressing her hard. Torta rushed back over to help Regal, and the two did the best they could to contain this unblinking robot. Soon, they regretted this. Torta was the first to notice. “Wait, Regal, look!” he said. He pointed over to Bravo, who was draining the energy from the Monmassu Namekians. Regal rushed to their aid, and found the resulting Bravo to be as much of a hassle as Alpha.
Gaita flew back to the battle moments later, as soon as she dropped Puttee off within the Rainbow Stocking’s forcefield, but Spats appeared before her. She grabbed Gaita’s neck with one hand. Gaita struggled to remove this grip while Spats leaned by her ear. “You really think you’ll be any help?” Spats asked. “You’re, at best, an outdated prototype, and you can’t compete with the new and improved models. And no matter how hard you try, you can’t compete with real blood. You’re just a disgusting lookalike and a depressed girl’s delusions.” Gaita struggled against these words as much as the hand on her throat.
Torta noted a change in Alpha since the energy blast that was fired at Regal. Keeping his distance, he tried to force Alpha to fire at him. Alpha fired a few shots, but none with great power. Even still, Torta detected a notable drop in strength. “They don’t have their own batteries,” Torta told Regal. “They only have the energy they absorb from others.” Regal nodded in acknowledgement.
Spats returned, still holding Gaita in a choke. She laughed. “Don’t fire any more energy blasts!” she ordered. “Save your strength; if we have to get more power for the next fight, we easily can.”
As he was beginning to feel real despair at the end of Alpha’s fists, Torta made his decision. He broke away after much effort. “Regal, I have to do a Dagwood,” he said. Regal cursed her weakness and got distance from Bravo while Torta channeled her strength into his body.
Spats raised an eyebrow. “Alpha, Bravo, stand down,” Spats said. She tossed Gaita aside. “This is my chance to show you real fear.” Spats approached Torta with a smug smile. Torta winced at the strain of the power he wielded. Spats giggled a familiar giggle. “I’ll crush you myself!”
Torta looked over to Gaita, who shook her head. Seeing no better options, Torta rushed in at Spats to at least keep the initiative. Despite all his training, which made Nucleron an easy opponent, and nearly doubling that strength with Regal’s added power, Spats was toying with him. She didn’t appear to be expending any significant effort at all. With a casual flick, Spats swatted Torta against the cliff wall, where he fell next to the frustrated and terrified Regal.
“Are things as dark as they look?” Regal asked Torta.
“I hope not,” Torta said.
Spats laughed proudly as she approached the two. “I’ll utterly destroy both of you so that you know, once and for all, that my genius is the ultimate power!”
Gaita flew to Torta and Regal’s side and deployed her force field around them at maximum radius. “What are you doing?!” Torta asked.
“I’m getting you out of here alive!” Gaita said, biting back tears. “It’s the only thing I’m good for, and it’s the only smart move we have!”
“Alpha, Bravo, stop them!” Spats ordered. Her two helpers flew in to intercept. Gaita took off, grabbing Torta and Regal around the waists. Though an “inferior model,” Gaita’s forcefield proved as impenetrable as the design was meant to be. When she got to the Rainbow Stocking, where Puttee was waiting in agony for them, Gaita matched it to the ship’s own forcefield so they could slip through. The four heroes rushed into the ship and took off as fast as possible. Spats looked at them fleeing with a smile. “We’ll meet again,” she said.
Once they had put Monmassu far in the rearview, the group breathed again. “Why didn’t you ever mention how much your sister hates you?” Torta asked Puttee.
“I’m just so glad you’re all ok…” Puttee said. “And as long as we get the Dragon Balls first, it’s all good! I’m just…I’m so happy to see Spats alive and in her element.”
All original story, all original characters! Check out Dragon Ball ‘Redux’!
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Life in the Gutters 