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Frieza smirked in satisfaction.
He wasn't interested in killing her outright. That would almost certainly alert Vegeta. All he needed was to ensure she couldn't escape or call for help. With his work done, he turned and stepped into the Hyperbolic Time Chamber, fully content.
His next goal: neutralize Mr. Popo.
But just as he was settling in--
BOOM!
Mr. Popo suddenly launched a fierce energy blast, blowing the Time Chamber doors clean off their hinges. The explosion reverberated through the chamber, and the shocked trio, King Cold, Cooler, and Frieza, staggered back.
Frieza roared, "What did you just do?!"
Mr. Popo stood tall, his usually serene face filled with righteous resolve. "Now you're trapped here… forever."
The three tyrants froze.
"You won't be able to leave this place with your current strength," Mr. Popo declared. "Let me share a little secret: once I step inside the Time Chamber, my energy signature vanishes from the outside world. And when that happens, Vegeta will notice. He'll come. And when he does... it'll be the end of you all."
Frieza's face contorted with fury. Despite all his calculations, he hadn't anticipated this.
So this was why Popo had insisted on going in first. Without hesitation, Frieza attacked, firing a full-powered blast at Mr. Popo. To his surprise, Mr. Popo deflected it and countered with one of his own.
He wasn't as weak as they thought. But the next moment, all three, Frieza, Cooler, and King Cold, rushed him at once.
"Die!" Cooler snarled.
A storm of energy blasts filled the chamber, raining down like meteors. Mr. Popo dodged, blocked, countered, but he was one man against three interstellar warlords.
He couldn't hold out forever. As he was finally overwhelmed, his lips curled into a faint smile. From the moment he stepped inside, he had accepted this fate. Even if he hadn't said a word, Frieza would've figured it out eventually.
He had simply accelerated the inevitable, and bought precious time. Eyes softening, he closed them slowly and whispered: "Lord Kami... Mr. Popo is coming to find you."
…
Elsewhere, West City.
Vegeta's eyes shot open.
He was mid-conversation, trying to gather news about Kakarot's whereabouts, when a sudden chill rushed through his spine.
Mr. Popo's energy had vanished.
No trace. Just gone.
[Mr. Popo's energy… it's disappeared! Something happened at the Lookout. Damn it, what's going on with this cursed planet?!]
Vegeta turned abruptly to Bulla with a stern look on his face.
"Bulla. I'm counting on you. You and those little Cells, protect your mother."
Without waiting for a reply, Vegeta blasted into the sky, racing toward the Lookout like a thunderbolt.
Bulla nodded without hesitation, her eyes resolute. The five miniature Cell clones straightened up, taking defensive positions as they followed Vegeta's orders without question.
As Vegeta vanished into the distance, a tension settled over the courtyard.
Something was wrong. Everyone could feel it. The five little Cells remained on high alert. Then, one of them shuddered violently.
"Guys… did you feel that too?" He asked, voice tight.
The others froze. Their faces changed in an instant, as if they had all been struck by the same realization.
A pressure, cold, heavy, and ancient, was washing over them.
The kind of pressure that came from the depths of their DNA.
The energy didn't just register. It suppressed them, down to their very bloodline.
Their father had returned.
...
Somewhere beneath the Earth, in a forgotten lab cloaked in darkness.
This was Dr. Gero's hidden research facility. Unlike Androids 17 and 18, who had wandered off to unleash destruction, Dr. Gero hadn't returned from the afterlife to collect trophies or terrorize civilians.
Instead, he came straight back to where it all began, his lab.
His hands flew over the ancient control panel, fingers tapping in a feverish rhythm. Lights flickered. Machines rumbled to life.
Then, suddenly, he stopped, threw his head back, and laughed maniacally.
He hurled a worn notebook behind him, the same one he'd brought back from Hell.
"SUCCESS!!"
His eyes locked onto a large stasis chamber built next to his supercomputer. Inside floated a developing young Cell, a version native to this timeline.
Back when Gohan and Vegeta had destroyed the adult Cell from the other timeline, they'd never discovered Gero's hidden lab. This Cell, incomplete and still incubating, had quietly continued to grow.
Dr. Gero's lips curled with pride.
When the original Cell was obliterated and sent to Hell, Gero had been there waiting. And for years in the underworld, he had obsessively theorized how to push Cell's power beyond its limits.
Today, those theories would become reality.
He turned to another chamber, this one containing the fully developed adult Cell, restored through Gero's latest twisted science.
Now began the final phase of his experiment. He had reengineered the adult Cell to regain his absorption ability, specifically so he could consume his younger counterpart.
If successful, the fusion of both Cells would birth a monster beyond anything the world had ever seen.
Gero's fingers trembled with excitement as he pressed the final command.
Whirrrrrr!
The lab hummed as both pods activated. From the adult Cell's back, a long, dormant tail slithered back into existence, extending like a spear toward the younger Cell's chamber.
SHLUNK!
With a sickening squelch, the tail pierced through the containment glass, latching onto the helpless younger Cell. What followed was grotesque, a process far more gruesome than his earlier absorptions. Energy and biomass funneled through the tail, twisting and merging.
Gero watched in awe.
A few seconds passed. Then, the adult Cell's body shuddered violently.
BOOM.
His eyes snapped open. His skin had darkened, tinted a deep, royal purple. His form had grown more defined, more monstrous.
Muscles rippled. Power surged as a new evolution was born.
Gero stepped forward, beaming with fatherly pride.
"Welcome back to consciousness, my child," He said softly.
Cell remained silent, eyes scanning his new form. The energy coursing through him was unreal.
Dr. Gero couldn't contain himself. "Now, go. Obey my orders. Conquer the world."
Cell finally looked at him and smirked.
"Oh? Is that so… Father?"
Gero's heart skipped a beat.
Something was wrong. No, something was very, very wrong.
"That's… impossible. I programmed you to obey me. Your first command, your very first command, was loyalty!"
Cell's grin widened. What Gero failed to understand was that with this new evolution, Cell's consciousness had changed. He had grown, not just in power, but in will.
ZAP!
Twin beams of energy shot from Cell's eyes, and Gero didn't even have time to scream before his head hit the floor and rolled away.
CRUNCH.
Cell crushed it underfoot without hesitation.
He stood in silence. His mind was clear. There was only one thing he desired now: revenge.
"Vegeta. Gohan. You'll regret ever crossing me."
Raising two fingers to his forehead, he focused his energy.
Whoosh,!
He vanished.
A moment later, Cell reappeared above the clouds, lowering his hand. His eyes locked onto a distant figure in the sky, powerful, familiar, and radiating fury.
A smirk played on Cell's lips.
"Long time no see, Vegeta."
(End Of This Chapter)