Like the rest of her friends, Bulma was having problems of her own.
Over the last several years, the once leading representative in Research & Development had spent a great deal of her time and effort exploring the concept of mechanized, personal armor for the everyday human soldier. Ever since Gohan's battle with Vulcan back in Satan City, which saw a large amount of the downtown area demolished, Bulma had invested an enormous amount of energy into improving upon the idea and attempted to achieve the same results of the suit worn by the vicious war dog. Though she was unable to replicate the neutron core design due to a substantial lack of anti-trinity matter on the planet, which is often found on planets orbiting white stars, the woman was able to come up with dozens of other impressive models.
She spearheaded this ambition with great enthusiasm and passion. After all, if Doctor Gero, an old, half-crazed man operating on the bare minimum of equipment, could construct human automatons as well as a biological abomination from a handful of cells, designed with the sole purpose to bring down Super Saiyans capable of wiping out entire star systems, then why couldn't a billionaire scientist with unlimited resources do the same thing?
Combining her knowledge on the androids built upon from years of study of their original blue-prints brought to her by Mirai Trunks and Krillin, Capsule Corp's own robotic designs, her recordings from the Z-fighters' multiple uses of the GR, space tech, and scientific genius, Bulma was able to develop a chassis capable of taking on super-human monsters of various levels of strength. Her last fifteen years had also given her a chance to improve on these designs and, using the same material that was normally used in the Gravity Room to withstand blasts capable of turning planets and stars into dust, create a suit that was durable and powerful enough to trade blows with a Super Saiyan 3.
Unfortunately, going that extra mile to actually put down a Super Saiyan 3 was looking to be a bit of a long-shot.
Sporting several new scuffs and punch marks on her front chest plating, the yellow mech Bulma was piloting stomped forward down the main road, sensors scanning the area for any signs of her illusive foe. When the numbers on her visor started to rise and hone in on her target's signature, the scientist raised an arm and produced a rocket launcher from the machine's gauntlet. But just as she was in the process of finding her quarry, the wall of the building to her left suddenly exploded outwards and, flying through the cloud of debris, Vegeta reappeared and rammed into her with his shoulder.
The blow connected with a loud 'crack' and saw Bulma's mech sent hurtling down the street and straight through a couple of skyscrapers. After bursting out the side of the third one, the woman thrust her hands and feet forward and used the repulsors on her hands to stop. Airbrakes also assisting in this endeavor, the scientist leveled out and began to turn in the direction she'd come from. A split second later, she was suddenly slammed in the back by Vegeta super speeding into her blind spot and tackling her in the spine. The Super Saiyan 3 drove her straight into the highway, where she crashed and punched a massive crater into the surface of the tarmac.
As soon as she was pinned, Vegeta grabbed one of the armored suit's massive arms and, slamming his foot into the back of her shoulder, proceeded to pull it from its socket.
Plating crumbling and wires snapping little by little, the visor inside the robot's helmet began flashing warning lights in the pilot's face, who attempted to force herself back to her feet. Unfortunately, thanks to the hold the Saiyan had over her and the sheer amount of raw power he was exerting, the woman found the task of getting up to be next to impossible.
Starting to feel the strain herself, Bulma cursed. "From behind? Really, Vegeta?" Gritting her teeth as she then willed her suit to start sending emergency power to her arm and leg hydraulics, she began to fight back. Loud hissing echoing out as her suit started expelling steam from its joints and vents, Bulma slowly rose up as the Super Saiyan 3 pulled back further on her arm. "How many times… do I have to tell you?" the scientist growled, causing the android pinning her to the floor to balk in alarm when he saw the mech's hands form into fists. "Whenever we start getting rough…"
With barely any warning, her free arm unexpectedly rotated around and, utilizing the mech's double-jointed abilities, suddenly shot a punch straight into Vegeta's blind spot. The blow connected with the force of several thousand freight-trains charging down a single point, sending the prince blasting through the air and straight through several nearby buildings. After spinning through steel structures and apartment blocks for a couple of miles, the Saiyan hit the brakes and stopped in midair. It was just as he was turning around that the prince looked up in time to see the yellow mech piloted by his wife, dive down at him and bury a kick into his chest.
Following-through with her surprise attack, the woman slammed the short man into the earth with catastrophic force, punching a huge crater into the floor that sent a geyser of dust and rubble shooting into the sky. Then, when the cloud settled, it revealed Bulma pinning the Saiyan to the earth with her knee and hand, her suit working to apply even more weight to his form.
Grinning underneath her mask, the slightly banged up Bulma chuckled as her husband writhed under her armored suit's grip.
"I'm the one that gets to be on top!"
Clawing at the woman's gauntlet, the android Vegeta growled and banged away at her limb for a few moments. In that time, the scientist then raised her damaged arm and, transforming the limb into a massive Vulcan gun, began unleashing bullets into the man's face at pointblank range. The Gatling gun poured thousands of rounds into the Super Saiyan 3, causing a series of loud clangs to ring out as the projectiles tore into his flesh. At first it almost seemed like this monstrous attack would effortlessly rip the prince's mug to pieces.
But just as Bulma was starting to get comfortable, Vegeta's hand suddenly snapped up, grabbed the gun, stopped it, and began to crush it. Snarling menacingly, the prince forced the woman's limb away and powered up, his aura springing protectively around him and producing a storm of lightning. In an effort to counter against it, the mech attempted to absorb the energy through special nodes in the chassis, but due to the vast quantity of power the android was exerting, it just couldn't hash it.
Especially when Vegeta suddenly went into full rage mode and, reaching up with his other hand, fired a big golden blast straight into the suit's chest. The attack exploded with concussive force and sent Bulma flying back to slam into the earth a split second later. Shaken, with one arm damaged and abdominal area burnt, the pilot then attempted to get up and reengage her adversary, only for the Super Saiyan 3 to leap straight at her and begin driving blows into her chest one after the other. The attacks impacted with devastating effect, tearing up the ground beneath the unit while Vegeta relentlessly hammered into its plating, denting it bit by bit.
The assault was so vicious it not only pushed the adamantine robot down the street, but also ripped a trench right across midtown. It was only after throwing a few counter blows to the fiercely fighting warrior Bulma then opened up a section in the chest area and fired a red blast straight into the man's face, knocking him into the sky. Once he was off, Bulma followed up with a missile, which popped up from her shoulder plating and rocketed after her target. The nuclear warhead connected with a thunderclap, unleashing a compressed blast that smashed Vegeta into another building and knocked it over.
As the building began to tip with the prince embedded firmly in its side, Bulma jumped up at him with the rocket boosters on her feet and dove at him with a punch. But Vegeta countered with a swift kick into her chest that knocked her into the building across the street. The situations quickly reversed when the Super Saiyan 3 dashed at the mech instead, opening up with a fierce assault that dragged up the side of the structure. Frame and glass shattering with every foot they covered, the pair traded blows one after the other until they reached the top, where Vegeta then caught a punch from the robot's damaged arm and, with a quick spin and a yell, drove a hand through it and cut the hand off.
The mech spun through the air until the airbrakes were applied, stopping it from flying off. Bulma once again faced her foe with a harsh glare, at the same time using that moment of reprieve to speedily eject the damaged arm attached to her suit and assess the rest of the damages.
"Okay… this isn't going very well," the woman thought, seeing her undead husband was still fit and willing to fight, while the stats on her armor weren't all that great. "He was always the most difficult man in the quadrant to handle. Even Goku had a hard time putting his ass down." This analysis of her situation then brought on the interesting question of how she was going to go about doing it herself.
He was too fast to outrun, too tough to knock out with hard punches, and too fit to turn this into an endurance match. Even if her own body could take it, she wasn't sure her suit would be able to. There was only a certain amount of punches it could withstand before something important gave up.
She had to think of something, otherwise she was mincemeat.
Fortunately, the woman didn't need to think up a strategy for this particular debacle. The moment she set her suit into a battle ready position for one final showdown with the prince, a green blur suddenly dove down from the sky and slammed a kick into the back of the Super Saiyan's head. The attack knocked Vegeta plummeting to the streets below, which he impacted with the force of a small meteor. When Bulma looked to see the one responsible for catching her husband off guard, she saw Zangya floating there. Covered in cuts, bruises, and bleeding from the corner of her mouth, the Hera smirked in her direction.
"You okay?"
Sighing in relief, Bulma spoke up through her suit's intercom. "The suit's a little bit banged up, but I'm still in one piece. Vegeta was giving me a real pounding back there."
The red haired woman then frowned in her colleague's direction. "Okay, first of all; phrasing. And second of all… you wouldn't mind if I took him off your hands for a little while, would you?" She then glanced over her shoulder when she sensed another figure appear on the scene and saw Piccolo teleport into view a few yards behind her. Also covered in burns and bruises, the Namekian glared exhaustedly in her direction while the Hera looked right back at him with her unflinching gaze. "Neither one of us is getting out of this alive, anyway. So I'll hold them off while you go help Android 17… and make sure that silver Oscar-statue stays right here where we want him."
Eyes widening when she realized what the woman was saying, Bulma floated closer to her. "That's a one-way trip, Zangya. You can't possibly hope to take on both of them at once. They'll kill you."
Cracking a smile, the Hera glanced back at her friend and chuckled. "Well then… I guess this is the perfect time for me to find out exactly how useful I am to you guys." She then held a hand up to the scientist to stop her from saying anything else. "I don't want to hear it. Our universe is coming to an end and we're the only ones left to see it all happen. Hell… we were the ones that let it get this bad in the first place. Since it's our responsibility to set things right, what better way is there to go out of this world then dying on my feet… fighting for my loved ones to the bitter end." Her smirk then widened when she glared right into the eyes of the mech, whom she knew concealed the face of a bewildered Bulma Briefs. "I think that's a fitting end for a person like me, don't you think?"
Swallowing nervously, the scientist spoke, "Zangya…"
Just as the red haired woman shared one last smile with her friend, she suddenly heard a loud explosion and looked down at the city in alarm. She then threw up her arms just in time to block a punch thrown by Vegeta, who rocketed up at her from the streets and slammed an attack into her with tremendous force. The prince, locking horns with the Hera, then proceeded to push the woman further up into the sky at an alarming rate, both warriors gritting their teeth and growling against one another as their auras burned brilliantly.
Almost as soon as Vegeta engaged Zangya in a grappling match, the Namekian floating in the background flew in as well, roaring out and throwing a punch at the woman's head. The Hera however, quick as ever, spun around and caught his fist, ending in her wrestling with both enemies as they spiraled through the sky. Receiving several knees in the side from Piccolo and grunting in pain from each hit, the woman Z-fighter then managed to kick the prince off of her and throw several retaliatory blows at the Namekian. Her attacks landed with a series of loud and painful sounding thuds, marking the beginning of a bloody and chaotic brawl between the redhead and the two androids.
Looking to see Bulma still flying in place, the bloody-mouthed Zangya tightened her jaw and screamed at her. "WHAT ARE YOU DOING?! GET THE HELL OUT OF HERE! GAH!" Receiving a body shot to the stomach, she then smashed Piccolo in the jaw before turning to trade a couple of blows with Vegeta. "GO!" After a grueling exchange, in which she was elbowed mercilessly in the face, the woman powered up and shot off into the distance, while at the same time being pursued by the two incredibly strong, ex Z-fighters.
Seeing her friend and ally vanish into the distance with her opponents, Bulma steeled her expression and, resetting her coordinates, jetted off to another part of the city.
It was there, in that general direction, she hoped to find exactly what she was looking for…
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