"Looks like he found us, Bulma." Goku poked his head out from behind the wall where he and the girls were hiding. This created a comical image because Doctor Wheelo, Demon King Piccolo, and Letty could all see him.
When he noticed their stares, his eyes widened and his eyebrows rose before he hid again. Wheelo, who was charging his attack, felt a strange itch in his brain. For some reason, he wanted to scratch the back of his neck.
'Who infiltrated my facility is just a brat?' thought Doctor Wheelo before slightly closing his metal palm, compressing the energy he was channeling.
Demon King Piccolo narrowed his eyes and hesitated a little. When the room exploded, his Ki sense was no longer confined, allowing him to detect three unknown energy signatures.
He was uncomfortable with the purity of their ki, which indicated that they were very pure and righteous. He didn't have a weakness for that type of person. However, as an entirely evil entity who used evil Ki, he experienced a strong psychological rejection.
Something in Goku's naive expression reminded him of Mutaito. Despite being a relatively powerful human warrior, Mutaito was quite innocent.
These were the most dangerous people to him, not because of their strength, but because they would inevitably stand in his way, trying to stop him from fulfilling his desires.
Those were the kind of people he hated the most! Now that he had to acknowledge that old age had weakened him, he had to be more cautious about his actions and the enemies he might encounter.
Letty, on the other hand, reacted differently. Noticing Doctor Wheelo's imminent attack, her body began to tremble because he was her creator.
How could Wheelo, a scientist, have failed to include a countermeasure in his creations? He didn't want to die because of his own work! When the Bio-Warriors detected him, they lost all resistance.
This allowed him to manipulate, review, or eliminate them depending on his mood. This mental trigger affected their entire bodies and could be activated with a simple voice command.
This function caused Letty to become catatonic, but deep in her purple eyes, something different had emerged: determination, which Doctor Wheelo could never have expected.
Letty was a fledgling life form. Although she had not yet fully developed mentally, the foundations of her personality were already in place, and stubbornness seemed to be one of her core traits.
She wanted to live! She wanted to explore! She wanted to appreciate! The struggle in her eyes intensified. But even though miracles sometimes happen through one's own efforts, willpower is often useless against a superior force.
Doctor Wheelo had that force right now. Although it seemed to have taken place over a long period of time, Goku's arrival and Wheelo's energy charge happened in just a few seconds.
Before he could fire his attack, a thin arm reached out from behind the wall and grabbed the child by the back of the neck as if he were a mischievous cat.
"Goku, take care of that brain in a bucket!" Bulma ordered, throwing the young Saiyan toward Doctor Wheelo, who fired his energy cannon.
"BUUUUUUULMAAAAAAAAAA!" Goku shouted reproachfully. However, his hands were already ready, charging a blue energy sphere between his palms. It began to rotate and compress rapidly before he launched it.
"Kame! Hame! Ha!" The boy created this energy attack at high speed, which collided with the beam fired by Doctor Wheelo. The collision caused an explosion that brought more chaos to this area of the facility.
Bulma came out of hiding in one swift motion, creating an energy shield in front of Letty. She hoisted Letty onto her shoulder and flew away with a big smile on her face because she had basically left all the responsibility for the fight to Goku.
Meanwhile, Lazuli chased after her partner, rolling her eyes at the whole situation. She hadn't wanted to get involved in the first place, but she could see how the situation was gradually becoming chaotic. The worst part? Bulma's simple plan had anticipated this kind of situation!
'Now I'm a mother out of nowhere. Sometimes I don't know what to expect when I'm with her,' thought the blonde as she looked at Bulma's back. Specifically, she looked at Bio-Warrior Letty, who was blinking constantly as if she didn't understand what was happening.
Lazuli sighed because, in a way, she understood this poor creature's state of mind. However, she felt a strange emotion, and her face turned red. Looking at it this way, wasn't this situation a step further in her relationship with Bulma?
Meanwhile, Demon King Piccolo did not attack; he simply protected himself from the shock waves. Although he was interested in the Bio-Warrior who was taken by the human, his attention was focused on the two most dangerous threats at the moment: Doctor Wheelo and Goku.
"It seems that my desire not to destroy my own guard has allowed you to match me, boy with a tail," said Doctor Wheelo as he scanned Goku's body. Soon, information about Goku appeared in front of Doctor Wheelo.
"So, you participated in that tournament... the abundance of creatures on Earth always amazes me." Although he knew that his planet's biodiversity was incredible, as a prolific scientist, he knew of no record of a creature like the tailed child in front of him. This is why he was so surprised, especially when he was able to scan him closely.
From what he could confirm, Goku was a unique and special specimen, which increased his interest in his genetic samples.
It didn't matter if he was a different species or a human mutation; the power he had just displayed made it worth collecting that kind of data.
He wanted to do the same with Demon King Piccolo because his existence proved that demons could be more than just rumors or folklore.
He had records of a supposed hybrid appearing in a past martial arts tournament, but he was skeptical unless he could confirm it himself. He would never trust hearsay.
There could be historical records of many interesting things, such as a herb that gives longevity or a passage to the underworld where there are flames that never go out. However, he dismissed these as mere tales.
"Bulma told me I could have fun fighting you two... why don't you join in?" Goku, already excited, cracked his neck and began jumping up and down, his tail wagging happily.
"Boy, you're very restless. Do you think you can defeat me, Demon King Piccolo?" Before you and your ancestors were born, I already ruled this world!" Determined to eliminate threats at their source, Piccolo floated closer to form a triangle with Doctor Wheelo and the young Saiyan.
"To think you can defeat me only illustrates your idiocy." Wheelo's enormous mechanical body moved unusually fast toward Goku, who had difficulty keeping track of an enemy like this.
Except for the scientist's brain, there was nothing organic about him! This meant that he couldn't fight as he usually did by sensing Ki fluctuations.
He could sense Doctor Wheelo's location by the tiny Ki emanating from his brain. He took out the crimson staff that was always on his back, extended it with a simple gesture, and used it as a shield to protect himself from a punch thrown by the scientist's machine.
Interestingly, the mechanical tail of this creation attacked Demon King Piccolo by surprise. However, the demon was prepared for this eventuality and easily dodged the sharp tip of the metal tail.
"Useless thing! Die!" Piccolo shouted, pointing his palm at Doctor Wheelo and firing a powerful ki blast.
The attack was so powerful that it pushed back the large body of the mechanical suit. However, Goku and Piccolo noticed a subtle change in the metal, which had only a slight mark.
"What do you think? Since learning of Ki's existence, I've been researching this energy. I have only developed one material so far, but its applications are promising."
You've already tested it, and it barely affected my body when you attacked me. With a single change in the formula, I can create the material of the room you were locked in, Piccolo."
According to my detections, the power you would need to break through my current defenses is not something you can unleash, so... I have everything to gain," explained Doctor Wheelo, patting his metal casing before fully activating the destructive potential of the mechanical suit.
Although this machine did not emit Ki, both Goku and Piccolo sensed the growing threat it posed. The two looked at each other silently for a few moments before focusing completely on Doctor Wheelo.
Knowing that the imminent danger was caused by the scientist and his mech at that moment, the two tacitly chose to confront the scientist first. They would deal with the other afterwards because, although there was not much animosity between them, it was clear that their goals conflicted.
Goku knew that the green old man resembling Kami-Sama was an enemy to be defeated. He was too dangerous to be left free, especially because of his pure evil ki. It caused Goku to hear the cries of this demon's past victims.
Demon King Piccolo had one simple reason to kill Goku after dealing with Doctor Wheelo: Goku had too much 'bright' Ki. Because of this, it was expected that they would end up fighting sooner or later.
He didn't want to leave a potential future enemy, especially given the young man's great potential, so he decided to eliminate Goku and the two human women who had run away a short time ago.
"If there were even a hint of evil in you, I might be tempted to bring you to my side, but it seems that cannot be. However, that artificial life is in line with my ideals. With such a young mind, I can influence her appropriately," thought Piccolo as he adopted a fighting stance, and a lilac-purple aura emerged from his body.
Goku also prepared himself, and a wild red aura surrounded his body as he prepared to face Doctor Wheelo's mech, whose form had changed. Structures resembling cannons emerged from its metallic body, and a new pair of claw-like arms sprouted from its back.
"I have studied every frame of the fights from that tournament. Every technique, every energy attack. This body may not be able to replicate many of those movements, but it can use some of them." Feeling confident because of how powerful his robotic body was, especially since discovering Ki, he was surprised by how malleable this energy was, despite how raw it could be at first.
"Let me show you... Storm Mode!" As Doctor Wheelo shouted, purple electric arcs began to cover the huge mechanical body as if it were a fighting aura.
This was his trump card! The elementalization of Ki! It was just one of the modes he had implemented in his creation, increasing its performance and allowing him to create 'techniques.'
Bulma, who had released a small spy drone to monitor the situation, observed Dr. Wheelo's actions and smiled. Even though she hadn't communicated with this scientist, he had come to a similar conclusion as her.
Ki and technology were not mutually exclusive. They could be combined to create surprises like this one. Although she had already achieved her own results, seeing someone else reach this level was undoubtedly a source of inspiration for Bulma. In the fields of science and martial arts, a little inspiration can cause big changes.
"Looks like there's more to steal from that guy," Bulma muttered distractedly, watching the holographic screen in front of her while stepping on Dr. Kochin's body.
"You, Bio-Warrior! I order you to attack this woman!" the old man shouted, waving his arms and trying to lift the blue-haired girl's foot.
Letty, who had heard Dr. Kochin's order, tilted her head in confusion. She curiously observed one of the beings with "authority" over her. However, her face wrinkled, crudely expressing her discomfort.
"No," the Bio-Warrior replied, approaching one of her creators and pointing her index finger, on which a speck of black Ki appeared.
However, before she could act, Bulma slapped her, dissipating the energy she was channeling. Then, Letty turned to look at the woman who had recently 'captured' her. She didn't understand why she wouldn't let her kill Doctor Kochin.
"There's no need for an innocent being to stain their hands like that," Bulma said, feeling the Bio-Warrior's emotions. She touched the Bio-Warrior's head, causing her to stop frowning.
Lazuli, who was standing to the side watching, smiled because it seemed that Bulma had taken her words seriously and was treating Letty as if she were her daughter.
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AN: Remember, all villians talks about their trump cards... xDDD