Dragonball M, Chapter 3: In Blood, Bone, and Ash! The Way Forward Unlocked!

[Sub-Zero MKA]

Jinzi frowns.

“Cloning? Like actual permanent cloning and not a multi-form ki technique? That’s madness. It’s too unstable for one and too dangerous for another, plus it’s banned.”

He taps a code into his wrist watch.

——————

For a moment, a light flares on Adam’s wrist then dies down. The sleek android turns and closely monitors Gero as she speaks to Blizzar.

"Permanent," Sarada intoned. "There were at least three Incenios that we had to fight before it was all said and done, and close to three dozen Chars. I don't think she's gotten that far, but I'm sure as hell about to find out." Before she could stand, Parsley placed a heavy hand on her shoulder.

"Stay and rest. I'll go." She placed her ax down beside her sister, then took off toward CC.

[Sub-Zero MKA]

Once the task had been completed Karine and Aleka were back in their home away from home for the moment. It had been a tiring day battle overall, but she wished she had been a bit more useful in direct fight. Still, she had saved Sarada from bleeding out and helped dealing the fatal blow to the Oni so she wouldn't say her accomplishments mean nothing at all; there was just some refining here and there to do was all. Aleka had politely excused herself once it seemed everyone(for the moment) were okay to go do something, but she seemed pensive for whatever it was.

She spied Nevalina and Sarada and made her way over. "Today was certainly something, but I'm glad all of us came back in one piece. How are you two holding up?"

The busty bunny bounding over toward her out Sarada in a slightly better mood. "Better, thanks to Neva and Karine. Things almost took a turn for the worst."

[Tami]

"Ambition, when left unchecked, always leads to the unthinkable," Parsley answered. She had been standing next to Sarada while she was talking to Jinzi and heard quite a bit about the alternate version of this Dr. Char Gero. While not the same, she had seen that there was always some mote of similarities between the Prime and the alternates to show that all it took was one bad day -- or a good day, in this case -- to change for the worst. Gero was no different.

"Cloning, unless I'm mistaken, if illegal as far as the GP are concerned. That alone is cause for concern, if Sarada's concerns are valid. It's worth an investigation, at any rate." She could feel that Blizzar and Ochazuke were both at Capsule Corp that very moment. They were enough to handle it, but her curiosity was getting to her.



"Dr. Char Gero," Sarada responded. "She works for Jinzi at CC. Her alternate is a piece of ****, and apparently this one is on her way."

"Gero? Oh, right, Dash and I saw her once at Jinzi's place. She pretty much ignored us so we didn't talk to her. Only learned her name from Meagan later on." Cyanna then tilted her head slightly in thought, "You know, just because someone goes bad in one alternate timeline doens't mean they are bad in all alternate timelines. Are you sure she is dangerous?"

[Sub-Zero MKA]

"Gero? Oh, right, Dash and I saw her once at Jinzi's place. She pretty much ignored us so we didn't talk to her. Only learned her name from Meagan later on." Cyanna then tilted her head slightly in thought, "You know, just because someone goes bad in one alternate timeline doens't mean they are bad in all alternate timelines. Are you sure she is dangerous?"

"No," Sarada answered, "but it's stupid not to investigate just because she may not be the same."

Her eyes narrowed a touch. "How did you and Dash meet her? When?"

___________

Minutes later, Parsley landed in front of Capsule Corp. Swiftly, she walked inside and confronted the nearest employee. "Where is Char Gero?"

[Cleric of Hell’s Brigade]

"No," Sarada answered, "but it's stupid not to investigate just because she may not be the same."

Her eyes narrowed a touch. "How did you and Dash meet her? When?"

___________

Minutes later, Parsley landed in front of Capsule Corp. Swiftly, she walked inside and confronted the nearest employee. "Where is Char Gero?"

Dr. Wheelo sighs.

“In the cryo-lab in the geofront. Rather popular today.”

He goes back to building what looks like the arm of a power suit or combat exoskeleton. Apparently his lab was destroyed so he was working outside for the moment.

[KingofPie]

Gero leads them to Karis’ pod. P-Cee cannot fins her actual lab. It’s much further in unless P-Cee can sense Ochazuke.

“As you can see, the pod houses an adolescent female. The tech is of unknown origin and we have been attempting to open if safely.”

"Ah, I see," Blizzar nodded. "How soon do you think progress will be made?"

P-Cee senses power levels somewhere in the facility. Not too familiar to her but known to her enough to investigate further.

[Sub-Zero MKA]

Dr. Wheelo sighs.

“In the cryo-lab in the geofront. Rather popular today.”

He goes back to building what looks like the arm of a power suit or combat exoskeleton. Apparently his lab was destroyed so he was working outside for the moment.

Parsley nodded her thanks. Interesting machine he's building. Blizzar's energy was below her, so she entered the elevator and went down.

[Tami]

"No," Sarada answered, "but it's stupid not to investigate just because she may not be the same."

Her eyes narrowed a touch. "How did you and Dash meet her? When?"

Pausing for a moment, "Brother Jinzi often has Dash and I do errands and favors for him, at least when we are able to. I think the last time we saw her was after he sent us to look for a radioactive space rock that was stuck inside a mountain." Cyanna then straightened up, "Like I said, we never really talked to her, so technically we didn't actually meet her. It's just that she kind of stands out, bossing others around and acting like Jinzi when he get's an idea in his head. I'm pretty sure though that Meagan has met her at least once."

[grampagen]

Wilhelm nods and pulls out a chair. After about a minute he gains access and brings up the main screen.

Cloning.

The research here is about cloning. She has based it on AdamÂ’s nanite ability to replicate as a base so the cloning process can survive and grow. She also has cryogenic theories regarding slowing nanite growth in the clones to make adjustments and additions to the growing fetus from outside sources.

Cloning is massively illegal in GP controlled territory.

As Wilhelm combed through the virtual archive of Char's work, Ochazuke continued to examine what lay about the room - the raw data, hastily scrawled. What Wilhelm found there was something that rather raised suspicion. "Small wonder she's fixated on Adam. Its abilities have always been on the bleeding edge." Gero's words echoed through his mind. There in the isolated chamber, the mercurial thinking machine was all but instrumental to her. The faint hunger in her eyes was as if they sought to validate some absolute quality she saw in Adam.

Assimilation. Replication.

Ochazuke continued to investigate the various work-surfaces. White notes sprout about the metallic cloister.

"Though, the act of discovery in itself...," a cold sweat formed upon his brow, "changing what we know is to necessarily push the boundaries of our understanding."

His own discipline made him aware that a fatal blow is to render unto the opponent an absence; unless the vital substance was seen to straight away, even one essential piece caused life to cease. But the very creation of life itself, engineering it by design? His last inference to the nature of her work was only a notion, and though she did not say it, her actions would not allow it to desist in his mind.

Replacement.

Adam's matrix, its extrusion of energy and reactive nature stabilized a great many things on the battlefield, enough to turn the tide of a great number of machines. As he saw in the deadened timeline, it had also traced every facet of the Doctor. There was within such a thing unprecedented potential for disaster.

"Is there a record of the experimental trials? How large is her body of research?" Concealed within the scientist's petite frame was a heart of fluid steel. It was all-too familiar and near to his reckoning.

Glacia. Haru. Koolard.

He flipped through a stack of notes, but many of the inflections of specific scientific jargon eluded Ochazuke, so he turned his attention back to the room. This was supposedly a laboratory space, but it seemed far more lived-in, as if inseparable from private quarters. Char Banner Gero. He searched the room for any affects of her personal design.

Beyond fickle experimentation, there had to be a motive for all this.

No matter how perfect the copy, we cannot recreate what is past.

[Sub-Zero MKA]

Parsley nodded her thanks. Interesting machine he's building. Blizzar's energy was below her, so she entered the elevator and went down.

The elevator doors opened, revealing to Parsley a sight that was nothing short of breathtaking. It was an entire underground city, complete with an artificial sky and even lifelike turf grass under her feet. Every blade of grass, every particle of air meticulously measured and controlled for maximum comfort. The genius of Jinzi Pants was knew no bounds, and yet, Parsley saw the extent that genius could and would go to if left unchecked. The man's conscious and his sense of morality tempered his scientific creativity. There were limits this Jinzi would not cross.

Those he kept within his company, however, the same could not be said for.

Nothing out of the ordinary would be so visible, so Parsley ventured deeper within the Geofront.

[Sub-Zero MKA]

Pausing for a moment, "Brother Jinzi often has Dash and I do errands and favors for him, at least when we are able to. I think the last time we saw her was after he sent us to look for a radioactive space rock that was stuck inside a mountain." Cyanna then straightened up, "Like I said, we never really talked to her, so technically we didn't actually meet her. It's just that she kind of stands out, bossing others around and acting like Jinzi when he get's an idea in his head. I'm pretty sure though that Meagan has met her at least once."

Sarada's eyes narrowed even more. Jinzi left these two with the responsibility of retrieving an unknown and potentially dangerously radioactive space rock, and they didn't even talk to the person he had them give it to. They asked no questions to find out what kind of testing she planned on doing on it, what it was, or what it could even do? And it didn't seem like they planned on following up, since they both left for Chroma shortly after!

"Why didn't you two ask any questions? You just left a dangerous object with a complete stranger and then left? Even if you had no reason not to trust her back then, that's just stupid." She shook her head. "Well, I guess there's nothing to do about it now. Parsley, Blizzar, and Ochazuke are there, so they'll take care of all that."

[Cthulhu_of_R'lyeh]

A moment later Ishtar is gripped in a near bone crushing hug filled with worry and love, Zurvan knocked away with a comical yelp, as her mother appears.

“Oh my daughter! Look at you! Another arm? And why do you have a different one in your grasp?”

Ishtar heard her bones creak when Shek'hinah swooped in to embrace her, only to wince when she began to gawk, rather loudly at that, about what it was she had lost. Not commenting on the wounds themselves for the time being however, the golden-eyed Oni focused on the second question her mother asked. "It is the arm of ... another Ishtar. Goddess of Ruination, she is called ... though only a simulacrum of the original did I fight."

Circling back around then to the initial question, Ishtar answered that as she explained further. "We fought ... she fell, and all that remains is an arm ... a bit of horn. Though not without cost. It possessed Hakai, and in order to keep living I was forced to remove my own arm."

[Tami]

Sarada's eyes narrowed even more. Jinzi left these two with the responsibility of retrieving an unknown and potentially dangerously radioactive space rock, and they didn't even talk to the person he had them give it to. They asked no questions to find out what kind of testing she planned on doing on it, what it was, or what it could even do? And it didn't seem like they planned on following up, since they both left for Chroma shortly after!

"Why didn't you two ask any questions? You just left a dangerous object with a complete stranger and then left? Even if you had no reason not to trust her back then, that's just stupid." She shook her head. "Well, I guess there's nothing to do about it now. Parsley, Blizzar, and Ochazuke are there, so they'll take care of all that."

"I'll have you know we did ask questions," Cyanna said huffily, then shrugged, "not that we got many answers. Jinzi told us to bring the rock back to his lab. When we got there, Wilhelm took it from us and gave it to Gero. He said they were still working on waking the princess, Karis. That's all we were told. It's not like we had reason to suspect otherwise."

[Sub-Zero MKA]

"I'll have you know we did ask questions," Cyanna said huffily, then shrugged, "not that we got many answers. Jinzi told us to bring the rock back to his lab. When we got there, Wilhelm took it from us and gave it to Gero. He said they were still working on waking the princess, Karis. That's all we were told. It's not like we had reason to suspect otherwise."

Sarada frowned. She took Cyanna at her word, but something else was bothering her. "If Meagan knew Gero from before, then why didn't she say so when we learned what her alternate was at the tournament? Why didn't she go and make sure Prime Gero wasn't into the same **** as her alternate?" She sighed and shook her head again. "Guess griping about it won't change anything."

[Tami]

Sarada frowned. She took Cyanna at her word, but something else was bothering her. "If Meagan knew Gero from before, then why didn't she say so when we learned what her alternate was at the tournament? Why didn't she go and make sure Prime Gero wasn't into the same **** as her alternate?" She sighed and shook her head again. "Guess griping about it won't change anything."

"Well, we were called back to Chroma." Cyanna shrugged, "I mean, we did meet an evil Isthar, but none of us are trying to imprison your girlfriend. There is also a crazy Jinzi out there, and so far brother hasn't shown signs of going off the deep end. How was sis supposed to know that Jinzi's science partner was on the verge of taking the same path as her alternate?"