Dr. Rocco shuffled to the control console between the two central stasis pods. With two decisive button presses, the heavy doors hissed open, revealing the occupants: two Androids, one obese and one rail-thin. They were nondescript, forgettable—not the sleek, formidable models from Gero's original designs. They exuded an aura of cheap construction and inherent fragility.
Rocco produced a small, boxy remote and pressed two more buttons. The eyes of the two Androids snapped open simultaneously. Without a word, they stepped from their pods, ripping the tubes and sensor leads from their bodies with casual, mechanical strength.
"Dr. Rocco. Do you have orders for us?" they asked in unison, their voices flat and synthetic as they stood before the diminutive alien, their posture unnervingly obedient.
Dr. Gero, observing from the side, narrowed his eyes. A sickly-sweet, flattering tone entered his voice. "Marvelous, Dr. Rocco! Truly remarkable. Your Androids are so… docile. The models I used to create had such rebellious personalities. They required forceful control via remote just to obey the simplest command."
"Hmph. Do not compare your crude, defective trash to the masterworks of the great Dr. Rocco!" the alien spat, his disdain for Gero palpable.
"Of course, of course! How could my primitive work ever compare?" Dr. Gero's face was a mask of fawning admiration, but a flicker of dark resentment burned deep in his eyes. For a scientist, having one's life's work dismissed as garbage was the ultimate insult. Yet, he seemed to be biding his time, swallowing his pride for a larger purpose.
"Your mission is simple," Rocco stated, turning back to the Androids. "Locate a human male named Son Goku. Observe and test your combat capabilities against him. All known data on the target has been uploaded to your central processors."
"We obey." The two Androids—Android 11 and Android 12—bowed in perfect unison before turning. With a silent surge of power, they lifted from the floor and shot straight up, blasting through the laboratory's ceiling and into the sky above.
---
On a bustling city street, life carried on with mundane normalcy. Traffic flowed, pedestrians chatted. A large delivery truck rumbled slowly over a metal manhole cover in an underpass.
BANG!
The manhole cover erupted upward as if struck by a torpedo from below. A squat, obese figure—Android 12—shot out of the sewer and slammed into the undercarriage of the truck.
The several-ton vehicle was lifted clean off the ground as if it were made of cardboard. It flipped end-over-end, soaring dozens of meters before crashing down onto a crowded sidewalk and exploding in a fireball of twisted metal and shrapnel. The screams were instantaneous, swallowed by the roar of the blast.
Pedestrons froze, their brains struggling to process the sudden carnage.
"Android 12. Dr. Rocco's directive is to locate the human designated 'Son Goku.' Do you possess positional data?" A second figure, stick-thin and gaunt—Android 11—drifted up from the same manhole, ignoring the chaos below.
"Negative. Locational data is incomplete. Analysis: This excursion represents a rare operational window. Proposal: Engage in field performance testing and stress relief protocols first." Android 12's voice was a monotone rumble. As he spoke, he raised his right arm. A port irised open in his palm, and a sphere of condensed energy fired into the densest part of the fleeing crowd.
BOOM.
Dozens of lives were erased. The pavement where they had stood was replaced by a smoldering crater.
"Stress relief protocol acknowledged. Commencing parallel testing." Android 11's eyes flickered with data streams. He ascended a few meters and began firing indiscriminately, raining blasts of ki down upon the street. Cars became fireballs, storefronts collapsed into rubble, and the air filled with smoke, dust, and the echoes of destruction. In under a minute, a vibrant city block was reduced to a warzone.
Before long, the wail of sirens cut through the chaos. Police cars screeched to a halt, officers taking cover behind doors, their weapons trained on the two figures. Their presence was a pathetic formality. A single, sweeping energy blast from Android 11 vaporized the entire squad of cars and the men behind them.
"Area saturation complete. Entertainment value: diminished. Proposal: Relocate test zone." Android 12 stated.
The two rose into the air and flew to the next district.
"Hey… d-did you guys see that? Those… those guys are flying!" a young man stammered, pointing a shaking finger as Android 11 and 12 descended lightly onto the sidewalk nearby. He was with three friends, and all four stared in disbelief.
Android 12 began walking toward them with heavy, deliberate steps. "H-he's coming over here…" one of the friends whispered, backing away.
The Android stopped in front of the group. Its optical sensors whirred faintly, scanning them. A cruel, synthetic approximation of a smile twisted its lips. Its fist lashed out in a blur, connecting with the first young man's face. The impact didn't just knock him out; it launched him like a cannonball through the brick wall of a nearby building.
"YOU BASTARD! What did you do?!" the remaining three shouted, their bravado fueled by shock and fear. But none moved to attack. The demonstration of raw power had been too absolute.
Android 12 chuckled—a sound like grinding gears. It spun with unexpected grace, a sweeping flying kick connecting with all three men at once. They sailed through the air in unison, crashing through the display window of a store across the street.
A moment later, a sedan came speeding down the road. The driver laid on the horn, seeing the strange figure standing motionless in his path. When it didn't move, he stuck his head out the window, shaking a furious fist.
"Hey! Moron! Get out of the damn road! You wanna get run over?!"
Android 11 slowly turned its head. It walked to the driver's side window and leaned down, its blank face inches from the man's. "Query: Do you possess data on the location of a human designated 'Son Goku'?"
"I-I don't know anyone by that name!" the driver stuttered, his anger evaporating into primal fear.
"Acknowledged. You may proceed." Android 11 stepped back onto the curb.
"Th-thank you!" The driver slammed the accelerator to the floor, the tires screeching as he sped away like a bat out of hell.
Android 11 watched the car shrink into the distance. It calmly raised its right hand, the palm-port irising open once more. A pinpoint energy beam shot out.
KABOOM.
The sedan in the distance became a rolling fireball.
"AHHH! THEY'RE KILLING PEOPLE! RUN!"
Panic exploded anew. The street descended into chaos as people screamed and stampeded in every direction. A few braver or more foolish souls fumbled for their phones, dialing for help that would never come.
"Citizens. Do not flee. Participate in physical stress-testing protocol." Android 12's form blurred. It appeared in the midst of the fleeing crowd. Its movements were economical, brutal. A single, piston-like punch per person. Bodies were catapulted through the air, crashing through windows, slamming into walls, falling broken and bleeding onto the asphalt—casualties in a cold, mechanical experiment.