Swish!
Turles suddenly appeared on the scene. Looking at the group, he gave a casual wave. "Yo, everyone. Long time no see."
"Long time no see, Turles! I thought you weren't coming," Goku chirped.
"I wouldn't miss it. But that fat guy is finished."
Sure enough, a moment later, Android 19 was dismantled into spare parts by Goku. The gap in their power levels was simply too vast.
"Hmm? Vegeta's here, and that old man is trying to bolt..."
As Turles spoke, Dr. Gero turned and fled, vanishing from everyone's sight in an instant.
"What are you standing around for? After him!" Turles prompted. "We should see where his nest is. We need to pull this up by the roots. I don't want a never-ending stream of Androids popping up to cause trouble later."
The group realized he was right. They had wondered why someone as strong as Turles hadn't just stopped the old man—he wanted to find the source.
Meanwhile, Dr. Gero was fleeing in a panic. The data he had on Son Goku was worlds apart from the reality.
"Damn it! It seems activating 17 and 18 is now a matter of life and death!"
Whoosh—!
Dr. Gero flew low to the ground, terrified that Goku and the others would spot him. Eventually, he reached his secret laboratory.
"Awaken, 17! 18! Go and kill that wretched Son Goku and those other miserable fools!"
Gero slammed his hand onto the activation buttons for the stasis pods.
Hiss—!
Cold vapor hissed out of the pods as they hissed open. A man and a woman stepped out.
The young man had delicate features, wore a simple T-shirt, and had a red scarf tied around his neck. The young woman had a cold, elegant face, fair skin, and shimmering blonde hair.
As 17 and 18 woke up, they saw Dr. Gero holding a remote control, looking at them with feverish excitement.
"17, 18, you've finally been revived!"
17's gaze lingered on the remote for a second before he smiled and greeted the doctor. "Long time no see, Dr. Gero."
Gero let out a sigh of relief. "It seems this reconstruction was a success. 17, 18, go and quickly deal with those pests! Kill Son Goku!"
Just then, a loud explosion rocked the base as the laboratory doors were blasted open by Turles and the others.
Gero's attention was momentarily diverted. In that split second, 17 moved. He snatched the remote from Gero's hand and crushed it.
"This way, you can't control us anymore..."
"As for killing those guys? I'm not interested."
"That's right," 18 added. "We want to see the world for ourselves. And what's this... 16? Interesting..."
"What?!" Gero stammered. "Aren't you afraid I'll just make another remote? And don't you dare activate that one! 16 is a failure!"
"Hmm, you did just remind me of something..."
17's figure vanished and reappeared. With a swift strike, he severed Dr. Gero's head from his mechanical body. Thanks to his cybernetic enhancements, Gero didn't die instantly.
17 looked down at the head with a mocking sneer. "Heh. You still think you can control us? You should just die. A failure? Who cares?"
Turles and the others walked in just in time to see 17 stomp Gero's head into scrap metal.
Meanwhile, 18 had opened 16's stasis pod.
Hiss—!
A massive man stepped out as the door opened. He stood over two meters tall with a red mohawk, wearing a green vest over his burly, powerful frame. His gaze swept across the room and locked onto Son Goku.
"How interesting," Vegeta barked, stepping forward. "Fighting amongst yourselves? I'll take care of these puppets myself!"
To be honest, the trio hadn't really been interested in the order to kill Goku or in this group of people. But Vegeta's words instantly changed their minds. This guy needed a serious lesson.
While they didn't know what 16 was made of, 17 and 18 were humans who had been kidnapped by the Red Ribbon Army and forcibly augmented. Deep down, they still considered themselves human.
"Vegeta, is it?" 18 asked coldly. "Didn't your parents ever teach you manners?"
"Tch. Just a few dolls. Why? Do you think you know who I am? I am Super Vegeta!"
Vegeta pointed a thumb at himself with supreme confidence.
"Is that so? In that case, let me be the one to face you," 18 said, stepping forward. "I'm feeling quite irritated right now."
17 saw 18 walking out and stayed where he was. Nothing was more troublesome than an angry woman; he didn't want to get on 18's bad side.
"What? Aren't you all going to come at once?" Vegeta mocked.
"To deal with you, I'm more than enough!"
"Let's go outside. It's too cramped in here."
Vegeta snorted and followed her out.
As the group moved to the surface, the battle between Vegeta and 18 began. Watching the fight, Son Goku let out a sigh. "Vegeta is just so stubborn..."
He turned his gaze toward 17.
"What's the matter, Mr. Son Goku? Do you want to fight me too?"
To 17's surprise, Goku shook his head. "No. I don't feel like you're bad people. As long as you don't destroy the Earth, I have no reason to fight you."
17 was stunned. It was an answer he hadn't expected. He fell silent and turned back to watch the battlefield.
Turles shook his head as he watched the clash. Predictably, the moment Vegeta did his "signature pose," he was destined to fail. "Super Begeeta" was living up to his name.
Vegeta was already completely on the defensive. Over the past two years, he had spent every waking moment in the gravity chamber. Even though Turles had been around, Vegeta had never asked for advice. In his eyes, Turles had grown "soft" because he spent all his time with his wife and child.
Vegeta felt it was beneath him to associate with the "fallen" Turles.
Turles didn't care. The world of a "cheater" with a System didn't follow logic, and he wasn't a saint. If Vegeta didn't ask, why should Turles volunteer information? Just because they were related now? Don't be ridiculous.
Watching Vegeta get thrashed like a grandson, Turles almost wanted to laugh. He could see that 18 didn't have any killing intent; she was beating him simply because he had a big mouth.
Being turned into Androids wasn't something they had chosen. For Vegeta to call them "dolls" was like rubbing salt into an open wound. This beating was entirely self-inflicted.
Before long, 18 tossed the unconscious Vegeta back toward the group.
"Hmph. Remember to tell him that having a big mouth comes with a price. 17, let's go!"