Chapter 32: Questions Later.

My energy beam shot out, and through the figure before me and hit the wall behind her before exploding. Her figure fuzzed a bit from the explosion before settling. She shot me an exasperated look. Well, she was a hologram or something annoying like that. Well, better safe than sorry as they say.

"Really?" She prompted me to which I didn't respond. I looked around, the office was fancy, but sparse. She did have a wall set aside with various medals and awards. They were still fine despite the explosion. A cabinet was also filled with colorful liquids, likely alcohol.

"Are you really going to just ignore me?" I went over and looked over them for the heck of it. Honestly, I didn't want to deal with her. She seemed like trouble. Sadly, there wasn't nearly enough to keep me distracted indefinitely, and just leaving wouldn't sit well with me. Guess I should address the elephant in the room.

I looked over to the hologram in question. A woman, and even looked similar to a human woman. She was wearing a white coat, but other than that… Nothing worthy of note. She didn't say anything, but she followed me with a disapproving glare as I finally settled. I propped up on one of the surviving chairs opposite the desk making a point to slam my dirty bloody boots onto her desk as I sat. She winced as flecks of meat and mysterious gunk slopped over the counter.

"Finally ready to pay attention?" She said after taking in a few slow breaths to center herself.

"Just… be quick right?" I replied, checking my gloves out in the process. She sighed and continued. "You and your colleagues are here for my data, aren't you?"

"Are we?" I honestly don't remember why we were here. But… she might be right? She obviously didn't take my question well. Her form flickered for a few minutes before calming down and settling once more. "Well, I can provide you the data you seek if you give me a tissue sample from you, or some blood."

"And why the hell do you want my blood?"

"This research facility was built for Project Harbinger…"

"Can you keep this short? I don't need a whole exposition." More like I didn't care too much. She flickered briefly but continued. "Very well, Project Harbinger is a project to create a weapon capable of saving our universe form a threat."

"A threat?" That got my attention.

"Indeed, me and many others received a warning that a grave threat was coming to our universe."

"When though?" She shrugs. "We only know it was coming, which is why we got together to make a weapon."

"Not that you guys succeeded. Not unless the massive lifeforce from the center of the ship is relevant."

"Oh? You sense my greatest work?"

"It's pretty hard not to."

"Unfortunately, it's not ready. I estimate that shortly after releasing it my creation would die. Its body, unable to handle the massive amounts of energy contained in its form, would die. Which is where my fellow doctors came in… Well, mostly."

I'm sure there was more to it, but… "What does this have to do with me?"

"I believe your blood holds the secret to allowing my creation to thrive. I've seen you fight and noticed how you handled yourself up to this point. How you dealt with my former colleague and your entry. As well as your fight with their greatest creations. The more I saw, the more certain I became. That, is why I want your blood."

She's been watching me? explains why I felt watched earlier when I was entering. I didn't really sense it within the ship, but I've been a bit preoccupied. "And what's in it for me if I give you my blood?" I retorted.

"I will give you my data, assuming your blood is the key."

"Not enough."

"I can ensure that you and your crew escape unharmed. From the ship, and the fleet surrounding it."

"Don't care. I can blow myself out and I believe we could force our way out."

She thought hard on that. Steepling her hands as she looks at me. I was totally bluffing, but… stuck between this and that… I think I'd rather ditch and give it my best shot as opposed to willingly giving in to her. I wasn't about to pull a Vegeta.

"Then what if we made a bet?"

"Hm? A bet? For what?"

"Well, it's clear to me that you believe your blood is worth more than just your crew members lives, maybe even your own. Which makes me think, well, how about you fight my magnum opus?"

"…Really? That's your incentive? Get my blood so that I can fight your great creation? Do you think I'm stupid or something? Why the hell would I do that? It's like, you're just asking me to throw you and android to complete your final form. I'm not an idiot."

"Simple, should you succeed, I will subordinate myself to you." She ignored my reference, likely only understanding the gist of it.

I blink at that. "And why the hell would you do that?"

"I seek a weapon, or barring that, a person capable of stopping the oncoming calamity. If you can beat my creation well… to be fair, I wouldn't be able to create another. And my research has hit a dead end. I had been relying on my former colleagues to help me work out the kinks, but we've been stuck in a rut for the last decade. I highly doubt I could do better should my creation fail."

Especially after I killed one of the researchers, despite being crazy. I imagine the mutant professor wasn't any better. I could be wrong though…

"Do I get the ship?"

"Unfortunately, no."

Ugh… "Why would I even want you?"

"I am a professor, a genius in multiple areas. Including biology and material research."

A biologist might be nice to get answers on my body. Relying on feelings and my limited knowledge afforded me when I watched Dragon Ball Z, well… it couldn't hurt to have an expert. If she's half as smart as she thinks she is, it could work. I would have someone able to analyze why I felt like I wasn't getting stronger. Also figure out what it is that causes my monkey transformation. Actually… we also needed an expert to operate a gravity chamber. Assuming we managed to get one.

"Could you, build and operate a gravity chamber?"

"Easily. With the right materials of course."

Oh… Now the question is, did I want to give her my blood? Did I want to pull a Vegeta? Like when he let Cell eat the android because he was taunting him. Did I want too? The very idea was oddly tempting. That the thing she made could even fight on par with me intrigued me. And despite its massive life signature, or ki, or whatever the hell my senses picked up. It wasn't overwhelmingly bad. I could probably fight it and win.

"Can I get a view of our battle site?"

Her response was opening up a hovering monitor. The area was large, open and I could see a sun-like object glaring from above. An artificial sun. I blinked at the sight, the entire area was like a massive park with simulated weather and everything.

Shit, I felt my blood boiling as my eyes raked over the battleground.

"Interested?"

I could feel myself grinning despite myself. There was too much to gain by turning her down… It was obvious what I was going to do. I was more of a battle maniac than I could have imagined. I couldn't lie to myself. I wanted to fight this creature. Even if she hadn't offered herself, I would have leapt for it. But, I wasn't going to be that easy. I had to have some self-respect.

A good fight and an expert? Well, that was a steal.

"Fine… guess I'm pulling a Vegeta. Take my blood and lead me to the fight."

She gave me an odd look but didn't say anything more as she stood and walked me to a side lab. She took my blood. "It'll take a few hours for my creation to settle, take the time to eat and sleep."

I did as she said. I channeled my ki, letting it work over my still healing injuries as I ate and took a short nap on a couch in a nearby lounge. By the time she called me for the fight to come I was ready. My heartbeat in my ears like a drum, my blood thrummed like an idling muscle car. I couldn't hear her; my vision narrowed as I prepared for the fight. Every moment, I felt the energy within that thing suddenly and drastically suck itself into its form. I watched as it went through an incredible change.

An elevator takes me to a separate area. A prep area before entering the park in question. She stops right before the door, a derisive look on her face as she faces me. Such was the confidence she had in her creature. Most likely she considered me a good training target, a test for her creation. I walked through the door; it opens silently with nary a sound. She also probably thought me a fool for even daring to try and face it.

I could imagine she was already planning to use my body for further tests later on.

I stood in the sun. Feeling its scorching rays on my skin. The park was massive, easily able to accommodate my monkey form. I walked along the path, past a small stream to a pavilion at the center of the park. On it was my opponent, its figure similar to my own. It had no obvious features. Its body was coated in a silvery-liquid metal.

The longer I looked, the more its form seemed to adjust and change. My footfalls echoed loud and far as I went up the steps. I stopped short of the creature before me. It looks at the sun as if pondering something. Its eyes shift to me only after a few minutes pass.

Before my eyes it shifts and churns into a copy of me. Seeing my own face before me was strange. That same look of annoyance like a Grade-A Karen, the piercing eyes, except grey. I felt my ki explode out in anticipation. There were no words as we faced each other.

Only the sound of our fists clashing in a single leap. The crack of sound barriers breaking and of wood and stone as the pavilion under us shattered. Fist met fist. Leg met leg as we matched each other hit for hit. The thing was testing me, as I was it. Sussing out each other's power and regenerative abilities.

I couldn't stand it. My heart hammering for me to harder to push more. That familiar scream yelling at me to slam the pedal down. With a shout I pushed everything I had into my fist, impacting the copies arm, I watched with glee and annoyance as its arm exploded. Before my fist could continue to its chest it burst back taking our fight to the periphery.

Its arm healed in a burst of metallic liquid almost like how a Namekian recovers limbs. Its form shuddering and shifting to silver briefly before the arm regains the familiar hue of my own. We continued our fight as I tried to replicate the attack. Each time I hit it, its body improved, toughened, strengthened. Until finally it returned a punch. I felt my muscles and bones quiver, the force traveling through my body into the ground cratering it.

Its power had grown significantly. What followed was a match of strength, our best blows making our forms quiver, the ground exploding around us as we chased each other. At some point we took to the air. Abusing our ability to fly as we continued our attacks. I didn't use energy attacks, knowing it likely shared the same energy resistance as the mutants. A hunch I was willing to bet on.

Its strength steadily increased, its blows went from uncomfortable to jarring. To crackling. Its speed increased as we went from even to me being outclassed. I pushed and kept up, my honed instincts alone keeping me in the game as its prowess improved at a breakneck pace.

The creature, despite evolving wasn't nearly as trained as I. Months of practice with Instructor had my body moving before my mind could even consider doing so. The creations simplified and often exaggerated strikes made for easy counters and blows even as their strength and speed grew.

For the first time, I felt myself truly pressed back. No longer could I simply push forward with guts and grit with a dash of moxie. No, now I had to actually keep an eye on our movements. In the air I could afford to take blows as most of the energy would be dispersed by me being shot back.

On the ground however, every blow made me quake. Forcing me to redirect with all I had. Quickly, I realized even blocking was a luxury I couldn't afford as a single well-placed hit would see my forearms crack and break. Like a karate chop snapping wood. I felt the heat in my body fade in a cold calculation as we fought. I couldn't afford to think extraneous thoughts as the blows grew heavier and faster. My body was moving and adjusting. Feet dancing to reduce the force of the blows and prevent me from being cornered,

I was being hammered like a smith hits metal. My body screamed in delight at the abuse. Already I could feel bones and muscles shaking in excitement and preparation like how a snake molts its skin. Even then, as I improved markedly, it still wasn't enough.

Despite my improved prowess, a mistake was going to be made eventually. A blow snuck through my guard slammed into me, the force pushed me to the ground in an instant. The thing was learning. Its increasing strength plateaued as it sought to improve efficiency. I couldn't even stand as it charged forward. I kicked off the ground, barely avoiding a fist as it slams where my head was not milliseconds prior. My body screamed as I tried to adjust, the creation adapting and growing by the second, preventing me even the slightest chance to catch my breath.

I kept moving back. My feet nearly lost footing as I tried to make space. Blows hammered into me. Shaking and jolting organs from the force of them. Bones crackled. My body is nearing its limit. Even then, I didn't lose my spirit. If anything, faced with the insurmountable I found myself grinning. Fangs bared out in manic glee as I felt adrenaline pump through me.

Something in my gaze, or perhaps the sheer force of my burning spirit scalded the creation and forced it back. Some part of it reconsidered its approach. Ending the first round.

"Is… That… All…?" I say between bloody hacking coughs. My words caused the fake to shudder to reveal its metallic form. Its eyes glared at me as it snarled. It didn't question as it slammed forward, signaling the start of the second round. Abusing its greater power and force to punt me around. Nowhere was safe as I tried to redirect the force. We fought on the walls as I skid and bounced off the metal. Grazing near the sun more than a few times as the energy made my skin burn and flake.

I couldn't fly. Or rather, flight was by far slower than my own movement. The ground solid enough to adjust course without having to worry about it cratering under me and thus absorbing the impact of my steps. As it adapted and grew in prowess, as it cut away the excesses in its own movement, I saw an opening. Its movements were no longer exaggerated, instead they had become mechanical and precise.

Forcing my ruined body forward I zig-zagged like a drunk walking the line on a police stop. The precision movements of the creation doing little to stop my almost beast like movements as I let instinct trump skill. Its own precision damning it as I managed to get my own blows in. A few feints and a crushing blow from my tail. A swipe followed by a powerful knee to the face. A grapple turned headbutt. It was no hold's barred and still the machine adapted. It loosened and tightened its stance. Like a machine constantly fine tuning itself as we both worked and re-worked how we fought.

Interchanging between methodical and frenzied. Even then, I still got hit. Even then I grinned through the blood and pain.

"HARDER!" I taunted her as she hit me, "HIT ME HARDER YOU FAKE!" I screamed and cried as my whole body quivered. My words did little to cow the thing. If anything, it did as I said. As if accepting my challenge, it hit me with such force I sprayed blood from my mouth.

Eventually, something odd happened. Our fists met. Our eyes met. My own black with their own eyes now silver. A crackle echoed out. Force countering force. We were now equal. I bared my fangs like a beast. And it followed suit. We ripped and tore into each other like wild animals. Tails slamming into one another. Teeth biting and nails scratching as all semblance of humanity or art faded away into a feral haze.

I felt something in that moment. My heart roared. The blood in my veins screamed. I could feel something changing. Altering as I dipped deeper into the beast. I could almost feel her as I sank deeper and deeper. Her hand was outstretched. An insurmountable divide, a tiny gap stopping us from meeting. A single missing link prevented us from clasping hands.

And suddenly, I stopped. A powerful hit launched me back into a wall. My body as a whole locked up no longer responding as I spasmed. Any attempt to move just sent a spasmic jerk through my body. I couldn't feel. My whole body was just a single huge scorching mass. My throat was raw, my lungs crackled from the force of my breathing. Even then, I could feel it. Something roaring and splitting. Like an ancient unused engine roaring to life.

I laid down, a sensation slowly flowing into me like a thousand razors in my blood. My copy flew down, panting, but whole. An odd flicker in their eyes as they stared down at me. A loud crackle echoed out.

"You thought you could beat my greatest creation like that? I must admit though, you did help calibrate it better than I could have ever hoped. And these readings will make for fine reading later on.

I didn't pay attention as she rattled off words and statistics. Something about finally being able to end the experiments and the ship with it. All I could do was stare at the sun. Feeling its rays burn my retina… As I felt it burn. I thought, I saw a moon. My own hazy mind ignoring it. My own hazy mind blurring and sinking as if underwater.

Then, I felt clarity. My ki calm, my blood like an icy river. I stood.

"ANOTHER!" I screamed out. I don't how I did it, the thought trumping all precedence as I shot out a powerball. It exploded above, the odd action forced the copy to back in confusion. The speaker crackled out in confusion. It didn't take long, a mere glance at the power ball as it reflected and changed the artificial sun's rays for me to feel my body change. Normally it took a few seconds, but my cells as one cried out. I felt that small divide separating me from the beast fade as our hands breached and clasped. The transformation occurred so fast I didn't even know I had transformed as my fist slammed into the copy.

"MONKEY TIME!" I screamed out, no longer Saiyan, now Oozaru.

"WHAT THE HELL JUST HAPPENED!?" I barely registered her words as my mind hyper focused on my opponent for the third round. The Kaiju round.

I rushed down the copy as its eyes locked on the Powerball saw its own transformation. But it didn't embrace the beast. I could see it fighting against the transformation. The metallic creature spasmed as its body fought against the change. Not willing to adapt. But as I slammed into its gooey malleable form. Rationality and logic faded into necessity. The copy took form. Transforming into an equally large Oozaru made of liquid metal with glowing red eyes.

It was cramped with two Oozaru in the small space, I noted. The doctor rattling off a constant commentary on what was happening. Her sensors went insane as she tried to understand what the hell had even happened. I held nothing back. My ki flaring out as I went all in with my attacks. Both of us, Monkey and I, were in perfect concert, like a pair getting a perfect on Dance Dance Revolution at the highest difficulty.

We slammed into each other. The copy and I. In a breath's time we rapidly remodeled the park. Opening it wider as we punched, kicked, bit, and whipped out our tails. I could feel the space crunching in. The whole ship shaking and flickering as we breathed fire and condensed it into pure plasma. The energy clashed in the center. Echoing and reverberating before dispersing. The shockwave destabilized the sun and cracked the shield covering it. Bathing our field in the purest of light and radiation. Making our cells and bodies scream.

A hole was punched through and out came a horde of mutants. They swarmed the field. Mashed under our feet or killed by dripping plasma. Pasted into nothing as our tails swished by. I let out a Soul Howl as they climbed up us like an army of ants. The sound rather than the soul damage caused them to drop dead. The vibrations were enough to liquify their insides as they fell to the floor like abandoned toys. The metal copy rippled under the scream, but little else as we continued our contest unmolested.

The scream also managed to break the shield over the sun. bathing us in its full glory. Silver metal grew red hot as my own hair scorched and burned away revealing blackened skin. Even then, we fought. We bit and scratched.

I wasn't sure who tired first. Our blows grew less frequent from the mix of radiation and sheer exertion. But I could feel the copy falter as I did. Both of us crashing into each other like a pair of sumo wrestlers. Both heaving against one another. Using each other to keep ourselves up as we clung to each other.

The metal copy tried to push me away, but… I let instinct guide me. I opened my mouth and bit. Ate. Chewed. Consuming the metal beast even as it tried to struggle. Each bite was sweet. The liquid metal dissolved on my tongue and easily slid down my esophagus. The more I ate, the hungrier I became.

Until finally, I finished. I felt full. Bloated even as I fell on my butt.

"Y-you ate them? Are you an idiot!? It's going to assimilate you and barring that it's just going to burst out of your stomach! or worse!"

At her words… I felt it. A kick in my belly. A slithering feeling in my intestines. A special kind of indigestion I usually associate with the runs.

"And? I'm hardly an amateur when it comes to eating weird things." I countered. I remembered how that giant squid wriggled around in my stomach for what felt like days. Along with the rather explosive diarrhea. Still, it tasted great, and I felt myself grow stronger from it.

"I… What?" The doctor sounded distinctly at a loss for words. Not that I blamed her. I definitely ate some Bio-metal or something and that was definitely not normal. But Goku ate Buu that one time. And I'm fairly certain liquid metal is nothing compared to him.

"As a Saiyan, it's only natural I eat weird things that fight back! I just need to, DIGEST!!!"

I had no idea what I was yelling as I began to yell out, really at this point I felt like I was just flexing on her. My ki flared out and lashed out as I forced it to move faster to enhance my body. All with the singular intent to digest the thing I just ate. This continued for some time, the metal kicking and slithering, until I gave out a large burp… I fell on my back, the transformation failing… I felt… exhausted, my body hurting everywhere. A piercing headache that just wouldn't go away. Also, a distinct feeling of bloating.

I was naked. Which was immediately clear to me. The ship groaned and bits of metal fell around me as the wrecked walls shifted dangerously. I stood up with a stretch, wincing as my body protested the movement. The doctor was quiet as I made my way to the entrance. The doors long gone leaving a shattered area beyond, but hey… the elevators worked still. I rushed to the director's office in a power walk.

I went in to see her, but before she could speak…

"Where's the bathroom?" Wordlessly she pointed and I fled…