Cosmic Crisis 2 - The Return of Orion

Chapter 7 - The Brink of Death

As evening set over the Capsule Corp. building, Natalie and the others were busy formulating a plan.

"But we still don't know where they came from. Dr. Gero is dead. Besides, if he were alive and creating androids, they would at least have some kind of fighting ability." Trunks said, looking deeply concerned. Meanwhile, Natalie didn't even know who Dr. Gero was.

"Well they seem to want something with the girl." Vegita sighed, folding his arms, looking over at Natalie.

"Who's Dr. Gero?" she inquired.

"Oh, he's dead now." Trunks replied. "But he used to make androids with unfathomable fighting strength and power. You haven't met Krillin's wife, but she's an android." Natalie looked at him with surprise.

"She's an android? Then how -?" Natalie broke off.

"She was based on a human model, don't worry. She isn't a hunk of nuts and bolts."

"Oh." Natalie said simply. She looked as confused as ever, sitting back in her chair, staring into space. Everyone glanced over at her at once, startling the girl. "What?" she asked with an innocent look on her face. Trunks pulled a Kamesennin and looked her up and down, much to her surprise. Vegita and Bulma began to converse on the side, discussing a plan of action.

"Well if you hadn't disintegrated it, maybe I could do an anatomy readout and find out where they come from!" Bulma shouted at her husband. The two were always arguing. Natalie and Trunks discreetly left the room, as they were tired of hearing the couple shout at each other.

"Trunks let's go out!" Natalie suggested, suddenly full of energy.

"Okay..." he said, looking at her with an eyebrow raised.

"Come on! It's not like there's anything better to do HERE." She said and grabbed his hand to lead him out the door. The couple raced down the sidewalk, heading towards the city. The girl was practically dragging Trunks behind.

"Wha-what's your hurry?" Trunks cried. Natalie turned her head to smile at him, when she ran into something. They both fell to the ground, dazed. (Sound familiar?)

"Natalie?" a voice said. She looked up and observed Ryan standing over her. "Whoa, nice running into you." He said, and helped her up off the ground. Trunks helped himself to his feet, looking at the boy questionably.

"Ryan! What are you doing here?" she asked, surprised.

"Well I was about to ask you the same question. Where are you going?" he inquired. "Because...if you're not busy, I was wondering -"

"I'm heading to the city with Trunks." She said. "Wanna come with us?" Ryan eyed Trunks suspiciously.

"Oh. No, that's okay." He said, turning to leave. "I'll see you at school." Ryan finished and hurried down the street.

"Well he was in a hurry." Natalie commented, turning to Trunks.

"There's something strange about him." He said, folding his arms Vegita-style.

"Oh, don't get jealous Trunks!" she joked, jumping on his back like a little girl.

"Hey!" Trunks cried in protest. "I'm not jealous." He said, shrugging Natalie off of him. She backed away defensively.

"Hey, excuse me! I was just kidding anyway." She said and continued down the sidewalk towards the city. Trunks followed, catching up with her quickly. When they reached the metropolis, they streets were buzzing with people trying to go about their daily lives. The streets were so crowded that Trunks and Natalie were having a tough time staying together. Suddenly, they both heard loud gunshots followed by terrified screams. People began to panic and run in every which way, almost trampling the helpless teenagers. She scrambled to safety in a nearby alley, frantically searching for Trunks. She could see dozens of frightened people hurl past her, trying to save their own lives. She exited the alley to look for him but he was nowhere to be seen. Worrying about his safety, she ran into the street to try and get a better view. Still yet to locate his whereabouts, she turned to head in another direction when a bullet whizzed by her head. Startled, she cried out in fear, no knowing what to do. She didn't want to reveal her powers in public, yet she knew no other way out. She was about to run in the opposite direction when someone pounced on her, pushing her to the ground and knocking the air out of her lungs. She hit the pavement with great force, causing her to gasp in pain, yet no air would come in. Seeing no other alternative, she powered up and forced her ki outward, throwing the person off of her body with tremendous speed. This caused even more panicking, making the situation worse. She struggled to her feet, intending to find the person that jumped on her. She turned in the direction that he flew, seeing a dark figure in the alley across the street. Knowing that she could take him on, she approached. She poked her head around the corner to get a closer look, but the figure was gone.

"What the -?" she said, greatly confused. Suddenly, something hit her from behind and forced her into the alley. She spun around in a defensive stance, preparing to attack. She looked up to see who was trying to hurt her, when she fell back in surprise. "Goku!?" she cried, greatly alarmed. "What are you doing?"

Goku came towards her with a menacing look on his face. She backed away, her heart beating so hard she was sure he could hear it. Suddenly he lunged towards her and pinned her against the ground, his face mere inches away from hers. Her instinct suddenly took over, causing her to power up in sudden bursts of energy which sent Goku flying backwards into the brick wall. She immediately sprung to her feet and charged toward him, intending to slam her fist into his chest. Unfortunately for her, he dodged, and her fist met with the brick. She cried out in pain, grasping her hand. She looked up at Goku, who was preparing to attack her again. This time, when he leapt for her, she stuck out her leg and kicked him in the stomach. While he was down, she took the opportunity to bring her fists crashing down on his back.

Suddenly, Trunks appeared in the alley and observed Natalie and Goku fighting.

"Natalie! What are you doing!?" Trunks shouted, obviously confused with the situation. He rushed over and pried her off Goku's back, getting elbowed in the side mistakenly.

"Trunks let go! This isn't Goku!" she cried, struggling to get free. Trunks soon realized that it was probably another clone, and set the girl free. Unfortunately, Goku was already coming at them. He shot his fist into Natalie's stomach, causing her to stumble back into Trunks, sending them both crashing to the ground. The clone continued to beat on the girl who was desperately trying to get herself off of Trunks. He kicked her sharply in the side, breaking on of her ribs. Natalie screamed in pain and coughed up some blood. Trunks managed to get out from under the girl, and stood up, ready to fight. He looked down at the coughing, bleeding Natalie in horror. This enraged Trunks, who went Super Saiyan and lurched towards the clone. His fist met with Goku's face, sending him flying backwards. Trunks shot a powerful ki blast in his direction, hitting its target dead on. When the smoke cleared, Goku was still standing.

"That's impossible!" Trunks cried in surprise. Goku sprinted towards Trunks, who easily dodged. Suddenly, he realized that Goku was heading for Natalie. The clone leaned menacingly over the girl, who was on the brink of consciousness. He scooped her up in his arms and took off for the sky. He landed on top of a building, holding Natalie in his arms. She was trying to get free, but failed as a result of her weakened body. She looked up at him, her face stained with her own blood. Seeing no other choice, she weakly lifted her arm, placing a finger on Goku's forehead.

"Akiyah..." she whispered. Her fingertip began to glow brightly, much to Goku's surprise. He looked down at her with a bewildered expression on his face. With a final burst of energy, she concentrated all of her power into her hand. Her body began to grow numb, and she muttered her final word. "...Meh!"

It was all in slow motion. Goku dropped her body like a hot coal, but it was too late. The energy erupted into a massive explosion, engulfing the entire building in its fiery brilliance, surging outwards like a thermonuclear explosion. The Goku clone screamed in terror, his very flesh being incinerated before his eyes. Trunks was still in the alley, watching in amazement as the power billowed above him. Seeing it rush towards him at neck-breaking speed, he held his hands over his head and cried out, forming a ki shield around his body. No sooner than he had done that, everything around him was vaporized instantly. He shot towards the top of the building, observing Natalie's body emitting a tremendous amount of energy. The Goku clone was screaming in pain and terror, as he was not quite dead yet. Trunks ran for Natalie and held her head in his hands. She was limp, not moving or even breathing. He panicked, not knowing what to do. Energy was still exploding from her body, surrounding the whole building in its deadly grip.

"Natalie!" Trunks cried, shaking the girl's limp body. "Wake up!" Seeing this to prove useless, he locked his ki onto hers. He felt a tremendous surge of power, knocking him back. He struggled to keep the energy under control. Finally, with one final move, Trunks exploded his ki, causing hers to subside. When the dust settled, Trunks was seen covering Natalie's body with his, breathing heavily. He looked around, seeing the remains of the Goku clone lying nearby. He knew that the reporters would be here soon, so he grabbed Natalie and Goku and took off for Capsule Corp. faster than anyone could see. His ki was completely exhausted from the battle. He looked down at the girl, seeing a trail of blood running down her chin. He sped up, reaching the Capsule Building in less than five minutes. He burst through the door, carrying the two bodies in either arm. Vegita emerged from the kitchen, producing a look of shock on his face as he observed his son carrying two limp bodies in his arms.

"What the hell happened here!?" he shouted, rushing over to the three. Trunks was still trying to catch his breath. Vegita could sense that his son's power was completely gone, as well as Natalie's. He looked them over, locking his eyes on the beaten Goku clone. "Woman! Get in here!" Vegita shouted to his mate. Bulma came out of the room, crying out in surprise when she saw the sight. She ran to Vegita's side, looking absolutely terrified at the scene.

"Wh-what the -?" Bulma tried to speak, but no words would come out. Bra came bounding down the stairs joyfully but stopped dead in her tracks when she saw her brother holding two unconscious people in his arms. Trunks looked absolutely worn.

"We -" Trunks started.

"What? What is it?" Vegita asked, stepping forward.

"We need...help..." he finished, and fell to the ground. Bra screamed and ran up the stairs with Bulma following after her. Vegita ran as fast as he could towards his son. He felt Trunks' neck for a pulse and found one. He sighed in relief and picked him up, taking him to the medical wing. Natalie and Goku were still left lying in the foyer.

Vegita placed Trunks into rejuvenation tank and switched it on. The tank filled up with water and attached an oxygen mask to his mouth, followed by two wires with round pads on the end attaching to his temples. When the setup process was complete, Vegita returned to the foyer for Natalie. He felt for a pulse on her as well, but found none. Alarmed, he put his head to her chest to listen for breathing or a heartbeat. There was still nothing.

"Oh hell! WOMAN!" Vegita shouted. His voice echoed through the building. A few seconds later, Bulma appeared.

"What is it? I'm trying to calm down out daughter!" she cried, angry for being disturbed.

"The girl! Her heart isn't beating!" Vegita said worriedly. Bulma's eyes widened and she ran to Natalie's side, checking her vital signs (or lack thereof).

"Oh god! We need to get her to the medical wing ASAP!" she cried. Vegita grabbed Natalie under one arm and Bulma under the other, fading out and then reappearing in one of the emergency areas. Vegita placed the girl onto a table while Bulma prepared the machines. "She's in cardiac arrest! If we don't get her heart beating she'll die!" Bulma cried, trying to keep herself rational amidst all the panic of the situation. She pulled two wires from a machine on the wall, each with round pads on the end, similar to the ones in the rejuvenation tank. She then placed them on Natalie's temples and switched on the machine.

"What are you doing?" Vegita asked, looking down at Natalie.

"These should send electric impulses to her brain to make her heart and lungs start up again. Hopefully." Bulma said, hooking up the heart monitor to her body. There was a steady line flashing across the screen, signaling that there was no heartbeat. After a few seconds, she still wasn't responding.

"Do something woman!" Vegita said, trying to make sense of the jumbled wires and electronics on the wall of the room. Bulma raced over and cranked up the machine attached to her temples. Suddenly, Natalie's body gasped for air.

"Her lungs are working!" Bulma cried joyously. Her joy was stifled by fear when she noticed that the heart monitor was still showing an absence of a beat. "Her system is going to start shutting down if we don't get her blood circulating!" Bulma said, frantically searching the room for something of use. She reached into one of the cabinets, pulling out a box of capsules. She forced the box open, spilling the capsules all over the floor. She got on her knees and searched, her eyes locking onto a grey and white medical capsule. "Yes." She said and compressed the top of it, causing it to explode in a tiny puff of smoke, forming a device of some sort. Bulma stood up and placed it on the girl's chest, pressing a blue button located on the side. "If this works," Bulma said, "we might be able to pull it off." The little machine started to emit a low, humming sound. Bulma then pressed another button, causing an electric current to surge forward, connecting to Natalie's chest. Natalie once again gasped for breath, this time her face began to turn red. Bulma repeated this process, causing electricity to flow through the girl.

"Stop that! What are you doing?" Vegita asked, stepping closer.

"Vegita I know what I'm doing! If this thing doesn't get her heart started, I don't know what will." Bulma shouted, pressing the button once again. Natalie's body began to spasm, causing her to almost fall off the table. Vegita had to hold her down as Bulma continued to send electricity through the girl's heart in hopes of it starting up again. After several more tries, there was still no heartbeat. Bulma slowly withdrew the tiny device from Natalie's chest, her whole body shaking with fear. "N-n-no..." Bulma said, choking back tears. She began to sob uncontrollably, dropping the machine and causing it to shatter into hundreds of little pieces on the cold, hard floor. Vegita looked as if he were in shock, just staring at Natalie's lifeless body on the table. He suddenly snapped back to reality, producing a look of sheer determination and anger on his face. He clenched his fists and shut his eyes, becoming infuriated. Bulma placed a hand on his back, causing him to power down again.

"Vegita there was nothing you could do." She said softly, stroking his arm.

"But there is." He said angrily, walking over to where Natalie lay. He placed his palm on her forehead and began to concentrate. Bulma looked up with a tear-stained face, watching Vegita hopelessly. His palm began to glow a brilliant blue and white color. He gritted his teeth and concentrated harder, his hand glowing brighter.

"Vegita...?" Bulma said, reaching out to him.

"Not now." He said through clenched teeth. He focused all of his power into her, weakening himself substantially. Finally, after draining all of his energy, he collapsed to the floor.

"Vegita!" Bulma cried, jumping over to his side. He was barely conscious, trying desperately to breathe. Suddenly, a beeping noise caused Bulma to jump. She sprung to her feet and looked around for the source of the noise. It then came again. And again. It started to develop a pattern, appearing faster until it was on a steady beat. Bulma looked over at the heart monitor and gasped in utter happiness. Tears streamed down her face as she realized that Natalie was alive! "Oh she's going to make it!" she cried, jumping into the now standing Vegita's arms. She gripped him tightly, crying tears of joy. The beat of the heart monitor was music to her ears as she and her husband stood next to the table where the girl lay. "You saved her!" Bulma said, looking into Vegita's eyes. She never knew he would be capable of something so miraculous. She stood next to Natalie, holding the girl's hand in her own.

"We need to get her to the rejuvenation tank." Vegita muttered. Bulma shut off the machines and disconnected them from Natalie's body. Then Vegita picked up the still unconscious girl and walked into the room where Trunks' tank was. There was another tank next to Trunks', identical in size and capacity. Bulma set the controls on the panel while Vegita placed her inside, putting the oxygen mask over her mouth and the wires on her temples. When they were both finished setting up, Bulma closed the glass door and started it up. They both stood back and watched the tank fill up with water and begin the healing process.

Suddenly, Trunks tank started beeping, signaling that he was finished already (this is possible because he didn't have many injuries). Trunks' eyes opened slowly and he looked around, trying to figure out where he was. Bulma switched it off and opened the glass door. Trunks ripped the equipment off of his body and jumped out of the tank, his body still dripping with water.

"Where's Natalie?" he asked, ringing out his hair. Vegita gestured to the tank beside him and Trunks walked over, placing his hands on the glass, looking at Natalie's unconscious body inside. Her clothing was torn to shreds, and there were a great amount of cuts, scrapes, and bruises on her. She suddenly coughed up blood into the oxygen mask, which removed the contents into the back of the tank where all waste was disposed of. Trunks looked at her with a worried look on his face. "Is she going to be okay?" he asked, turning to his parents. Bulma nodded her head softly, looking at Natalie with a grateful expression. She was afraid to tell Trunks of the events that had taken place, fearing that he would get extremely upset if he found out. She was so thankful that Vegita had been there. If he hadn't been...she dismissed the thought immediately and turned to leave the room. The sun had now set below the horizon and the stars glittered in the night sky. Vegita followed, leaving Trunks alone in the room, still looking into Natalie's tank as she coughed up more blood. He suddenly remembered that he had brought the Goku clone with him. He ran after his parents to inform them. Hopefully, Bulma would be able to determine what it was and where it came from.

"Mom!" he cried, catching up to his mother. She turned around, expecting to hear bad news.

"What is it? Is Natalie okay!?" she cried.

"She's fine." Trunks said. "Mom it was a clone!" He continued while Vegita overheard and walked over.

"Did you kill it?" he asked.

"Natalie did. I brought it back so you could analyze it." He said and ran into the foyer to retrieve the body. When he returned, Bulma got a sickening feeling in her stomach.

"THAT thing is supposed to be Goku? How can you tell!?" she said, looking nauseated.

"It used to look just like him. Before Natalie killed him." Trunks commented, carrying it into the science wing to be tested. He plopped it onto the table and turned to his mother. "Here you go."

"Uh..." she said, hesitant to even get near it. "Are you sure it's dead? It looks only about half baked to me." She asked. Vegita walked over and placed his hand on the clone's chest, powering up and shooting a beam through it.

"It is now." He said. A trail of blood ran down the side of the table and dripped onto the floor, much to Bulma's disgust. She walked over and slipped on an apron and gloves, preparing to dissect. First, she took a tissue sample and put it on a microscope slide to be examined. Next, she took some blood to be looked at as well. Trunks and Vegita left Bulma to her work, returning to the living quarters of the Capsule Corp. Building. Bra was sitting in the main living room, playing with her gameboy. She looked up from her game with her bright blue eyes.

"Trunks!" she cried and ran over to her brother.

"Wha-?" he said, holding his little sister in his arms.

"I thought you were dead!" she said in her cute little-girl voice. Trunks laughed at his sister, placing her on the ground. "It's not funny!" she said sternly, crossing her arms. Trunks continued to laugh, further infuriating Bra. Finally, she punched him in a not-so-great place, causing him to double over and fall to the ground. Vegita burst into a fit of uncontrollable laughter at his son's fate. Trunks shot his dad a "that's not funny" look, while Bra had an amused look on her face.

"That's funny!" she said and then proceeded to do the same to Vegita. His face turned red and he fell to the ground, rigid, just like a board. Bra laughed and ran into another room, leaving the two Saiyans in pain. She ran into the science wing, calling for her mom.

"What is it dear?" Bulma asked, inspecting the clone's DNA strands.

"Hey mommy! If you punch daddy in between the legs, he falls down!" she cried happily. Bulma looked up from her high-powered microscope and looked at her daughter in shock.

"Bra Briefs! Did you hit your father?" Bulma said sternly. Bra had an ear-to-ear grin on her face as she nodded with delight. Bulma sighed and looked into the microscope again. "Mommy's busy, honey. Go play somewhere else."

Bra frolicked down the hallways and back into the living quarters. She was full of energy, so she decided to run around the house. She ran down the hallway towards the medical wing, stopping abruptly when something caught her eye. She spun around and discovered Natalie in the rejuvenation tank. She walked over curiously and pressed her face against the glass, observing the warrior floating in the tank of water. Suddenly, the machine started beeping and a red light flashed on the control panel, startling the girl. She looked at the control panel and pressed a series of buttons, draining the water and opening the glass door. Natalie awakened to Bra crawling into the tank with her.

"Huh? Where am I?" she asked, looking around.

"Natalie!" Bra cried, jumping into the teenager's lap. Natalie picked the girl up in her arms and stepped out of the tank, beads of water chilling her skin. She set the girl down and shook the water off of her body. Bra soon noticed something strange about Natalie that wasn't there before.

"Natalie!" Bra cried, walking around the back of Natalie's body.

"What is it?" she asked, shaking the water out of her thick mass of brown hair. Suddenly, a painful sensation crashed through her body, bringing her to the ground. She turned around to discover Bra gripping a long, furry brown object in her hand. "You have a tail!"