Dragon Ball Z 1. Chapter 1

The streets were filled with raucous laughter as fighters and spectators alike flocked to the stadium where the twenty-eighth Tenkaichi Budouki Tournament was being held. A lone figure stood off to the side, green cloak blending in with the surrounding shrubbery. Moments later an identical figure emerged from the crowd and nodded briefly before disappearing again, the other figure followed.

Conan stared out at the large, tiled platform that served as the arena. It was exactly a year ago, at this place, that he suffered a humiliating defeat by a little oriental man by the name of Lei Fe. That little punk had done more damage to his pride than to his body, but that wasn't the reason that Conan's hands itched for revenge. After witnessing his defeat, his employers believed that he was incompetent and had told him in no uncertain terms that he was to terminate that little runt if he valued his job. If that little pipsqueak showed his face around here he was as good as dead.

Lei Fe took a deep breath as he waited in the tournament sign up line; it was good to be out of the hospital. Images of last year's tournament floated through his head like memories of a nightmare. His mind had not been his own and he remembered how he had struggled feebly for control before blacking out. There were times he would dimly become aware that his body was moving and would catch glimpses of people through a purple haze. One image stood out clearly though, an image of a man with blue-black hair and defiant, blue-green eyes.

"I said _next_ please." Lei Fe shook his head and found the registrar giving him an annoyed look. He quickly signed his name in the registry and hurried to the locker room.

The announcer gave one last look at his watch, two more minutes before it was time to start. As he looked around at the assembled fighters, he saw some he recognized as well as some new faces. He nodded briefly to the large Italian fighter; Conan was his name, unless he was mistaken. He had seen the man taken down by a young oriental man during last year's tournament.

The announcer shuddered at the memories of that particular tournament, one of the fighters, Kale something or other, had gone berserk and had taken out a large number of spectators and the stadium with some sort of explosives. Thankfully that man was nowhere in sight. A stadium official tapped him on his shoulder, startling him out of his reminiscences. The official pointed to his watch, it was time to start the tournament.

"Ladies and gentlemen, may I have your attention please. I'd like to welcome you to the twenty-eighth Tenkaichi Budouki martial arts tournament. We have some wonderful match ups for you this year, with some new faces as well as some old ones. Now, without further ado, let the first match begin!"


	2. Chapter 2

Conan entered the locker room after winning his first match; few of these new fighters could stand against him. This tournament was going downhill if riffraff like his previous opponent were the best they could find. Suddenly, he stopped dead in his tracks. The short oriental man was standing in the middle of the room, looking around at the other fighters. Conan's hands curled into fists at the site of the young man, he wouldn't be beaten twice.

Lei Fe looked around the room; somehow he could sense the amount of energy coming from each of the fighters. The announcer calling his name left him no time to wonder how this was possible. Hastily, he made for the arena, on his way past a hulking, bald man who glared at him with a strange animosity burning in his eyes.

Lei Fe shuddered as he passed, he had the sense they had met before, but he was sure he had never seen the man before now. He shook it off and stepped into the stadium. The crowd cheered as he took his place at the center of the arena.

Two pairs of eyes watched the exchange between Conan and Lei Fe, strange eyes that stared from beneath green hoods. They glanced at each other and made their way towards the arena.

Conan was muttering to himself when to green cloaked figures walked past him to where that rat, Lei Fe, had gone. He stopped muttering as they past, there was something unsettling about those two. Why were they following Lei Fe? If he they had something against that skimpy little weasel then they could have whatever was left when he was done pounding him into oblivion.

Meanwhile, many miles east of the tournament, a lone figure streaked across the sky. Matthew Rodriguez was no longer the man he once was; he had once been the best of the best. He had been the commander of a top secret, elite special operations unit. Now he was a machine, a cybernetic being with only one purpose, to eliminate the one who had destroyed his human body and nearly ruined his cybernetic body as well.

If a stranger with purple eyes hadn't given him the gift of self recovery he would be nothing more than a humanoid scrap yard. His optical scanners had been able to follow his beneficiary's energy source from a distance, while his body repaired itself. He had seen a flash of light and felt aftershocks of some great explosion and afterwards the only energy source he could detect was the one that had laid him low, not once but twice, and he had vowed that he would rid the world of this evil beast.


	3. Chapter 3

Lei Fe wiped the sweat from his brow with a towel as he stepped from the ring. His last opponent had been thrown from the ring with almost no effort. He tried to ignore the hooded figures who stared at him. They had been observing him since his arrival and he had been so concerned by them that he only knew the match had started when his opponent attacked him. Lei Fe had reacted instinctively and the match had been over seconds later.

His mind was so preoccupied that Lei Fe bumped into the heavy set man he had seen earlier, but the man failed to notice. He was also staring menacingly at the pair of strangely dressed figures. When Lei Fe bumped into him Lei Fe received a look that caused him to quicken his step.

Conan watched as the oriental cur scurried away, and then turned his attention back to ring. He was more concerned with the mysterious duo at the moment. Conan hated mysteries and those two were shrouded in them. If they were fighters they might pose a challenge. If it turned out that he had to fight one of them before he got to his intended victim he would demolish them no matter what it took. He couldn't afford to lose.

"For our next match, we have the Italian conqueror, Conan," Conan stepped onto the platform to thunderous applause, "Versus the lovely lady of mystery, Lady X!" The crowd waited expectantly and the announcer cleared his throat. "The lovely lady of mystery, Lady X!" The crowd began to murmur as the challenger's side of the ring remained empty.

"Will Lady X please report to the ring? Lady X?" Conan nearly growled with impatience, he had better things to do than wait around for some ditz who named herself after a letter of the alphabet.

"If Lady X does not enter the ring she _will_ be disqualified." Suddenly a murmur rippled through the crowd as they all pointed into the air above the arena. There, hovering in mid air was a woman dressed in black with a scarlet cloak billowing behind her.

"I'm here." she said, descending to the platform and tossing the cloak aside.

"Oh…uh, right." stammered the announcer, "Right, let's get this show on the road folks!" the announcer said, regaining his composure. The gong sounded and the match was under way. Conan looked his opponent over; she wasn't a bad piece of flesh. She had nice curves and he always did have a weakness for brunettes, but he doubted she would be a match for him.


	4. Chapter 4

Sara Zoloft recognized the look that was in her opponent's eyes, he was looking her over like a piece of meat at market, like so many men before him. No doubt he expected to have an easy time of this, well he would find out differently soon enough. As soon as the gong sounded she flew towards him and landed a right hook to his jaw. He grunted in pain and surprise before he recovered.

"Not a bad punch there girlie, but you'll have to do better than that." He said, putting a hand to his jaw. Conan rushed her at full speed, intending to throw his full weight at her, but instead of trying to dodge as most opponents did she waited until the last second to put a knee in his gut. Conan stumbled back a few paces with his hands to his stomach, gasping for air.

"When did they start letting little boys fight in this tournament? I thought it was for men only." Conan straightened up and smiled.

"Well, well, well, it looks like I'm going to have to use my special technique on you. Try not to hold it against me." Conan lunged forward and wrapped his arms around his opponent, his breath made Sara gag.

"Here we go." Conan launched himself fifteen feet into the air and then flipped in mid-air so they were both diving head first towards the concrete.

"This is where I tuck you in for the night. The moment I throw you to the pavement it's lights out."

"That's your 'special technique'? That's the lamest thing I have ever heard. I have better things to do than to cater to your childish desires." With that she broke out of Conan's grip and slammed him into the ground before gently descending to the ring herself.

"Ladies and gentlemen, it looks like he's had it. Let the count down begin." The referees counted and Sara was declared the winner. She never looked back as she walked out of the ring.


	5. Chapter 5

Lei Fe gulped as the woman who called herself Lady X passed by him. He sensed a tremendous amount of energy emanating from her and sincerely hoped he didn't end up fighting her. He took one last glance at the unconscious Conan and ran to check the match up sheets.

Lei Fe studied the match up sheets; his was the next match. He was going against someone named Shinai; he breathed a sigh of relief. He hadn't sensed any energy levels higher than that Lady X character. He made his way back to the arena with a little less tension than before. When he got there the two hooded figures were still there, they turned in unison to look at him as he approached. A shiver ran down Lei Fe's spine, as their gaze pierced his soul.

"What an exciting day folks and it only gets better from here. Our next match features the talented Lei Fe, don't let his size fool you. Last year he managed to take down someone twice his size without breaking a sweat. Little is known about our second combatant other than the fact that she hails from a far off country and she goes by the name Shinai."

The shorter of the two green cloaked figures stepped forward into the ring. Any tension Lei Fe had lost returned. Is this why they had been watching him, to learn his weak points? His opponent stared at him coolly and he gave another involuntary shudder.

The gong sounded and neither one of them moved. Lei Fe stood transfixed as his foe stared at him serenely. Lei Fe shook him self awake, he couldn't let him self be defeated by a look. He charged forward with a yell and jumped into the air intending to land a jump kick at his opponent, but was surprised when his foot hit pavement where there had been a body a second before. Lei Fe barely managed to keep him self from falling off balance and out of the ring.

Suddenly, he sensed a power behind him. He turned and found his opponent standing exactly as he had seen them, but on the opposite side of the ring. Lei Fe charged again with a sliding attack, but his adversary vanished into thin air and again, he almost fell out of the ring. He leapt into the air and hovered there scanning the area for a sign of this elusive opposition. Suddenly, a woman's voice whispered behind him.

"Looking for me?" He executed a roundhouse kick into thin air. Lei Fe tried focusing his thoughts on searching for that particular energy force and found it just in time to block a kick from behind. He thought he caught a glimpse of a smile under that hood as his opponent glided towards the ground. Lei Fe landed and stared at his opponent. Was she toying with him?

Shinai spread her arms wide, in an inviting gesture. This was too much; Lei Fe began chanting to himself until he was in a deep trance. As he continued, he felt his speed and strength increasing. Shinai waited patiently until he had finished. Lei Fe smiled and then dashed forward and let loose a barrage of blows.

Shinai blocked Lei Fe's blows with minimal effort. This one was good, better than most, but he wasn't the one she and her brother where looking for. That one had to be much stronger. With a little bit of training this one could be almost as powerful as her, but it was time to end this fight. She increased her power level just enough to do the job.

Lei Fe felt his opponent's power increase just beyond his own maximum range, just before she landed a blow to his jaw that hurled him out of the ring. When his vision cleared, she was staring down at him with big, purple eyes. She smiled.

"You put up a pretty good fight, keep training and you'll do better." And with that, she left. Lei Fe staggered to his feet and nursed his injured jaw. _"What just happened?" _he asked silently.


	6. Chapter 6

Sara Zoloft watched the fight as the figure in the green cloak casually knocked the short, oriental man out of the ring. She would have to look out for that one, and the other one as well, either one looked like they could become a nuisance. Sara was in the next round, against someone named Jin Tachi. The announcer called her name and she made her way to the stadium. Her opponent, the other green robed individual, moved towards the tiled arena as well. This was going to be interesting.

Jin Tachi stared out from under his hood, the last earthling hadn't been able to hide his true power level from him or Shinai, and this one couldn't either. She was stronger than the other one; he estimated that it would take no more than half his power to defeat her. There was only one way to find out, the gong rang and Jin Tachi wasted no time in launching his first assault.

Sara's adversary made the first move; his attacks were extremely well executed. It seemed her intuition had been right, this fight wouldn't be as easy as the others, but for her that made it more interesting. She smiled as she dodged and blocked the onslaught of punches and kicks. Then returned them with her own volley of attacks.

"Does the name Wakizashi mean anything to you?" her opponent asked as they exchanged blows. Sara gave a shiver as he blocked a kick aimed at his head without so much as blinking. Those pale blue eyes were as cold as ice.

"Does the name Kale Kohlrabi mean anything to _you_?" she retorted.

"No."

"Then you're not the one I'm looking for."

"You are not the one I seek either." Jin Tachi floated backwards out of the ring and rejoined his companion before leaving the stadium. The crowd sat in stunned silence and the announcer stammered.

"Uh, I guess that means he quit the match. Ladies and gentlemen Lady X has won the match by forfeit." Sara was not about to let the man off that easily.

"Hey you coward, come back here and finish the fight! Hey, I'm talking to you!" The two figures made no response as they turned a corner and faded from sight.

"Please miss, there's no need to shout. You've already won the match." said the announcer; Sara gave him with such a hard stare that he took a step back.


	7. Chapter 7

Matthew Rodriguez turned his attention away from surveying the landscape when a blip on his optical scanners told him of a large energy source behind him. It was strong but not strong enough to be the one he was looking for. His internal sensors began to flash at him, he had been searching all day and his power source was running low. It was time to find a spot to recharge. He located a good spot and landed.

Two green cloaked figures skimmed trough the clouds, oblivious to the indignant squawks of birds that followed them as they rushed past.

"You are sure he wasn't the one? You were fairly gentle with him." asked the one with pale blue eyes.

"Yes, I am sure. He didn't have the eyes of a killer and I refuse to harm any innocent creature. What about the woman?"

"No, I could have defeated her easily enough. She was strong, but had no skill what so ever. No one like that could have defeated my uncle."

"Now what?"

"We search until we find what we're looking for."

"You have a one track mind brother."

"I never asked you to come along, Shinai."

"How far would you have made it without my aid?" Jin Tachi frowned and kept his eyes fixed on the space in front of him. He hated to admit it, but he was thankful she had insisted on coming. Things would have been a lot more difficult without her. He glanced her way and she smiled that radiant smile of hers and he refocused his attention on the horizon.

Lei Fe had been wandering the streets outside of stadium, lost in thought. For some reason he couldn't get the picture of a smiling, purple eyed girl out of his head. He found him self in a nearby park, staring into a large lake. Just thinking about her made his feet unsteady; he sat down on a wooden bench.

"You look troubled young man." Lei Fe gave a start; he hadn't realized there was an old man sitting next to him.

"No, I just can't stop thinking about this girl." The old man smiled as he flung bread crumbs to the birds that flocked around him.

"She's cute, eh?" Lei Fe nodded. "Well then, what are you moping around here for go ask her out." Lei Fe shook his head.

"I can't, I don't know where she lives and…"

"And?"

"A girl like that wouldn't want a guy like me." The old man chuckled.

"That so? Well, they say anything worth having is worth working for and anything worth keeping is worth fighting for." Lei Fe stared at the old man for a moment, and then nodded.

"I guess so."

"So then, what are you moping around here for?" Lei Fe hesitated briefly before jumping up and running back the way he had come.


	8. Chapter 8

Sara was in a foul mood, she had won the tournament, but that wasn't why she had entered. She had expected that bastard Kale to be here, she had even interrogated the announcer until he was too busy trembling to say anything coherent. He had confirmed that he had been here last year and had apparently destroyed a good portion of the stadium before the A.D.P. found him that was all she got out of him. Sara swore she would have her revenge, even if she had to spend her life searching the entire world.

When Lei Fe reached the stadium the tournament was over and there was no trace of the mysterious girl. After he had spent a good time searching, Lei Fe found the announcer in the stadium café with a glass of whiskey in his hands. He jumped in his seat when Lei Fe tapped him on the shoulder.

"Gee whiz, kid" he said mopping his brow with a handkerchief, "don't scare me like that." Lei Fe asked about the girl in green.

"Oh right, those two. Now there was a strange pair, the other one forfeited his match and they just left. I have no idea where they went." Lei Fe thanked him and went off to sit on a bench and stare at the sky.

Rodriguez sat beneath a tall pine tree; he had detected two energy sources heading his way after he had landed. He had taken shelter to keep from being seen while he recharged. The pines gave just enough cover to keep him hidden from above, but still allowed his enhanced optical sensors get a clear view of his surroundings.

He could see them clearly now, two figures in green cloaks. He couldn't make out the faces under those hoods even when he enhanced the image. They looked like they were searching for something. Rodriguez decided to tag along, discretely of course.


	9. Chapter 9

Sara Zoloft returned to the place where Kale Kohlrabi had last been sighted, at the ruined Alien Defense Project headquarters. As she flew over the debris, Sara shivered as memories of waking up under all that rubble bubbled to the surface. She had quickly realized that she had the abilities of flight and super strength. There was something else too, a strange thrill at the thought of battle that hadn't been there before.

Kale hovered in the air with his legs crossed and his eyes closed as he levitated the top half of a small mountain. He had been living in these mountains for the better part of a year now, training his mind and body in an effort to bring peace to his soul. He also needed time to master the transformation that had allowed him to finally expel the parasitic adumbration from his body.

Suddenly, he let the mountain top drop, he had clearly sensed three distinct energy levels, but now they faded with his concentration. He wasn't able to locate two of them because they were so far away, but he could still faintly sense the third coming from the direction of some nearby ruins. Kale flew towards the energy source.

When Kale was two miles away from the ruins, he landed, suppressed his power level and ran the rest of the way. He could clearly sense the other person's energy now and it was one of the highest he had ever felt. He took refuge behind some boulders to observe the woman who was floating above the ruins. A nagging thought at the back of his mind said he had seen her before, but he couldn't recall where.

Sara felt a pair of eyes on her and she turned to look for the culprit. Between the rubble and the rocks her unseen watcher could be anywhere.

"I know you're out there, you might as well show yourself." There was a movement off to her left and she turned to face it. Her blood ran cold when her eyes came to rest on her stalker. She would know that face anywhere; it had haunted her dreams every night since she had last seen him. He was the one responsible for the ruins of the A.D.P. building, as well as the ruins of her life. She had spent every waking hour searching for him, but now that he floated there before her she was numb with fear.

"Can I help you?" he asked, emerging from his hiding spot. Memories bubbled to the surface of Sara's mind, memories of abuse throughout her life and memories of a defeat that would have left her crippled had she not undergone a risky, experimental procedure to become what she was today. Her rage melted away her fear and she stared defiantly back at the monster before her.

"You can help me by dying you monstrosity!" she shouted as she rushed towards him. Kale was taken aback by the young woman's words, but recovered in time to block the series of attacks that ensued. This woman was insane; she just kept attacking him with no apparent reason. A kick to the groin caught Kale off guard and was quickly followed up by a left hook. Kale backed away from the onslaught, he couldn't win this way. She was too powerful; he increased his energy level to match hers.

A blip showed on Rodriguez's scanners, someone powerful was to the east of him. The pair in front of him must have noticed it too somehow, because they immediately turned in that direction. Rodriguez continued to follow them.


	10. Chapter 10

Jin Tachi felt a strong power off to the east and altered his course to intercept it, Shinai was right beside him. Suddenly, there were two energy signals, the second just as powerful as the first. Jin Tachi glanced at his counterpart; this might turn out to be more dangerous than they had originally anticipated. His sister wore a look of grim determination, a look that told him she wouldn't stay behind no matter what he said. Jin Tachi sighed inwardly and continued onward.

Sara attacked relentlessly, but her opponent blocked every one of her blows effortlessly. The fact that he could block them wasn't that surprising to Sara, she had expected no less. What she couldn't figure out was why he had made a move to attack yet; he had done so almost casually the last time. He seemed almost hesitant now, like he wasn't sure what to make of her. She continued to press her advantage while still puzzling over this apparent change in personality. Suddenly it hit her, he was planning something, trying to catch her off guard and finish her off. That wasn't going to happen; she broke off her attack and glided away from him and landed at the edge of the ruins.

"What are you planning? Why don't you try swatting me aside like you did last time?" He simply gave her an odd look. "Fine, then stand there and die you bastard!" Sara picked up a metal pole that had broken off to a point and aimed it at his chest like a lance.

For some reason, when that woman spoke, vague images flashed into Kale's mind, a brief battle with a heavily armed group of people. Her face seemed familiar; she must have been one of those people. The memory was fuzzy and seemed to be seen through a haze of purple mist. Kale's introspections were interrupted as a large, metal rod came rushing at him.

Shinai and Jin Tachi landed on a bluff twenty miles away from the two power levels. The ground shook beneath them as the two combatants exchanged blows. Jin Tachi waited; the one he was after would be the one who came out victorious.

Rodriguez landed shortly after the other two, and hid himself from view. He recognized one of energy signals as the one he was looking for, but the other one was unknown to him. He focused his sensors until he could distinguish the fighter's gender. One was a male; the other was obviously a woman. Rodriguez couldn't make out any details, but he knew what he was looking for. He brought up all the data that the A.D.P. had installed concerning his target. It was interesting data indeed, the man was Kale Kohlrabi, there was other data there that might come in handy, but he ignored it. Rodriguez brought up the data gathered in his last fight with Kohlrabi and made sure that the nanotech probes inside his body made the necessary modifications.

Kale caught the pole just inches away from his chest and leapt back as his attacker rushed at him. Kale shifted his feet to get better balance, just in time to block a punch and flip his opponent to the ground. Kale wiped the sweat off his forehead, where did someone like this come from and why was she so adamant about killing him?


	11. Chapter 11

Rodriguez watched as Kale tossed aside his opponent, this was a prime opportunity to step in. Rodriguez braced himself as a compartment in his shoulder opened and a portable laser canon unfolded like a telescope. He locked on to his target and fired.

Kale looked up just as a giant, red beam of energy knocked him off his feet and exploded around him. When the dust settled Kale found a figure standing over him with a shoulder mounted laser canon staring him in the face.

"Now to finish it." said the figure.

"Okay, that's fine, but would you mind telling me what this is all about?"

"You have destroyed too many lives and thus forfeit your own." Kale stared back grimly.

"It's true, I have destroyed many lives, but not all were of my own free will."

"I'm not interested in your excuses."

"Killing me won't bring them back."

"No, but this way their deaths will not have been in vain." The barrel of the laser cannon began to glow red with energy.

Shinai watched her brother as he stared at the spot where the two powers clashed; she saw the light of determination shone in his eyes. He was getting impatient. His eyebrows twitched in frustration, no doubt he was eager to avenge their uncle and the inability to do more than wait for the right moment. Suddenly, a beam of light rushed over their heads, followed moments later by an explosion.

Shinai and her brother stared in disbelief until another humongous explosion knocked them back to their senses.

"Come." said her brother flying off towards the explosion.


	12. Chapter 12

Lei Fe skimmed across the sky with a look of intense concentration on his face. He had all but given up on finding the mysterious girl when he had felt a strong energy like when that Lady X character was fighting during the tournament as well as another that was just as strong. As he flew towards them, one of the powers seemed to grow weaker, but the other stayed the same. Suddenly there was a large explosion up head and Lei Fe hurried towards it as fast as he could.

Rodriguez stood in stunned amazement; Kohlrabi had destroyed his laser cannon and slipped right out from under him. A warning from his sensors allowed him to look up just in time to receive a kick in the face from up above; Rodriguez was sent skimming over the ground like a pebble in a pond.

Jin Tachi watched from behind a boulder as the two combatants continued to exchange blows. One was obviously an android because his metallic skeleton began to show underneath his synthetic skin, which would explain why they had not sensed his presence before this.

Shinai was watching the fight from her vantage point beside her brother, when she sensed a power heading in their direction. It wasn't as strong as her or her brother so it wasn't a threat, but something felt familiar about it like she had encountered it before. She turned towards her brother.

"There's another power coming."

"It's inconsequential." he said, but when he turned and saw her worried expression he relented. "Alright, you can take care of it, but make it quick." Shinai nodded before flying off to greet the newcomer.

Kale watched as his opponent got back on his feet, bits of flesh hung from metal bones. Who were these people and where did they come from? A blow to the back of his head left him with no time to ponder these questions as he was sent skidding, face first, across the ground. He quickly recovered and found himself between two people who wanted him dead, the cybernetic man and the insane woman.

"Sara, what are you doing here?" the cybernetic man shouted to the woman.

"Commander, is that you?"

"Sara, stay back. I'll take care of this."

"Not a chance Commander, I owe this bastard a whole world of pain." Rodriguez could hear the determination in Sara's voice. He had long since learned that it was useless to dissuade her when she used that tone of voice.

"Alright then, we'll take him together, for all of those who perished at his hands."

"For the fallen." agreed Sara. Kale's attention shifted from one opponent to the other, these two must have been in some sort of military unit together and the robotic guy was the woman's commanding officer and now he would have to fight both of them at once. He hoped he had trained enough for this, if not he was dead.


	13. Chapter 13

Lei Fe was approaching the site of the explosion when he sensed a strong power coming towards him; he dropped to the ground as quickly as possible and hid himself from view. When the figure got to where he was it stopped and looked around. Lei Fe recognized the figure; it wore the same green cloak that the two mysterious fighters at the tournament wore.

The figure lowered their hood and Lei Fe found himself staring into the same purple eyes that had sent him on this wild goose chase to begin with. She smiled as Lei Fe came out from his hiding place and floated up to greet her.

"H…hi." he stammered.

"Hello." she said, still smiling, "I thought I sensed a familiar power." Lei Fe felt himself blush. Suddenly, a third explosion interrupted their conversation. The woman turned to him.

"It's not safe here, you should go back." Lei Fe was caught off guard.

"But, if it's dangerous why are you here?" The shockwave of the explosion pushed the woman closer to him and he could smell a pleasant scent coming from her. Without a word, she grabbed his arm and pulled him down to earth where they crouched in silence.

Rodriguez deployed his secondary shoulder cannon and fired, Kale dodged it just as he had predicted, by jumping up into the air. That was when Sara knocked him to the ground with a swift kick to the head and Rodriguez trapped him with an electrified net. All of Kale's struggles simply caused more electricity to course through his body and memories to course through his head. He remembered these two, they had tried to stop him when he was possessed by the adumbration and had been badly beaten.

Kale had fought the cybernetic man when he was human and again a few days later when he had maimed his robotic body. No wonder they wanted him dead, but he couldn't let that happen. He had to make restitutions for his crimes, even if they were not done of his own free will.

Sara watched with some satisfaction as her opponent writhed in pain as electricity coursed through his body. Rodriguez took the time to make repairs on himself. To the casual observer it appeared as if he simply grew another cannon to replace the one that had been destroyed.

"Let's finish this," she said, as she aimed both hands at their hated enemy. Suddenly, large ki wave shot towards Sarah and threatened to incinerate her. There was a flash of green as one of the mystery figures rushed to her aid, but Rodriguez didn't have time to tell if they were alright before his enemy was behind him, ready to fire another ki blast.

Rodriguez froze momentarily, awed by the man's speed, when he was suddenly flying through the air. He could briefly see a bit of green before it was enveloped by a blast meant for him. Then Rodriguez slammed to a halt, after hitting a hillside a few yards away.

Then he fell to the ground and was covered by debris, by the time he punched his way out he was the only one around. Rodriguez cursed to himself as his sensors came up negative for any power readings. His vengeance would have to wait until another day.

The End


End file.

Dragon Ball Z