POV - Jamall
It wasn't hard to locate the access to the underground laboratory, and luckily, it seemed no one else had discovered the Cell larva. Without any clues left for Bulma and the Z Warriors—or even hints from myself, as in Canon—it was unlikely they would return to a lab they clearly saw as disintegrated. At least, Trunks and Bulma wouldn't, since they didn't do it in the future timeline either. The fact that I was in the past timeline proved that, without being informed of the existence of an underground laboratory, it had remained secret for years.
As I quickly moved toward the cistern where my past self—or perhaps my present self—was still in the starting stage of its embryo form, I hesitated for a second. The baby Cell inside, nothing more than a little embryo, looked somehow cute. To my surprise, a part of me actually hesitated to continue with my plan. But I ignored whatever human instinct was interfering and proceeded with the purpose of my presence here.
I enlarged my tail into the shape of a sucker once again and swiftly crashed the water tank from the outside, completely enveloping my baby self and absorbing it inside my own body—all in a clean and swift motion.
Nothing happened, of course. But that was not what surprised me. It was expected, or at least within the realm of possibilities. What surprised me most was that I didn't gain any energy, not even temporarily. I did feel something changing inside of me. Perhaps "changing" wasn't quite the right word, but I knew something had occurred. What that was, I had no idea. I would investigate it later, once I had time to waste.
As I was about to leave, I noticed a door on the other side of the underground cavern—a door that shouldn't have been there. I couldn't recall its presence in my previous timeline, nor did I remember it from my life as Jamall. What was that door for, exactly?
Unable to contain my excitement and curiosity, I convinced myself the Cyborgs could resist against those weaklings for a couple of additional minutes—especially with 16 among them—and decided to spare a moment to investigate the mysterious door.
As I approached, I saw a small panel with a big red button on the side. Of course, I pressed the button. Why the fuck not?
The button revealed its purpose, causing a part of the wall to slide and cover the door, hiding it almost perfectly from view. That explained why I couldn't recall it from the future: in the original timeline, the door remained hidden.
I pressed the button again, disabling the camouflage, and opened the door, eager to discover what Dr. Gero had gone to great lengths to keep hidden—even from me.
The next room resembled a corridor about five meters long. Continuing my exploration, I noticed various machinery and six android stasis pods along the walls, numbered from 10 to 15. The latter three were open, but the former were sadly empty. I didn't pay much attention to those details; my focus was drawn to another heavily reinforced door at the end of the corridor, similar to that of a nuclear bunker.
Next to the massive door was a control panel requiring a digit code to open it. Of course, I completely ignored it and disintegrated the door instead.
On the other side, I was surprised to find a room much smaller than the previous ones, containing only an android pod and a computer reminiscent of the one in my underground lab.
As I approached the pod with a black '21' on the front, I noticed it held a humanoid android—perhaps a cyborg—beauty with long, bushy auburn hair and black-rimmed glasses. I didn't know who she was exactly, but from my memories as Jamall, I vaguely recalled her appearing later in the story. Perhaps in a movie?
Didn't matter.
Absorbing the defenseless beauty was a simple task. I enlarged the end of my tail, pressed the red button on the side of the stasis pod, and, once it opened, gobbled her body up in its entirety.
Once again, I felt no energy gain from her. This time, though, I could feel something was different inside of me. What that was, I still had no idea.
The emptiness I felt earlier lingered, and absorbing my past self and this new android hadn't changed that mysterious sensation. It was irritating not knowing what was going on, and I couldn't waste any more time in this laboratory. I had things to do.
Maybe after I finished 'helping' the Z Fighters and finally achieved my perfection, I would return and thoroughly check the lab for clues or explanations, or perhaps other interesting trinkets.
For now, there was a battle waiting for me.
The reason I was created, my ultimate purpose, was finally about to be fulfilled. Perfection had never been closer.
POV - Piccolo
A kick to the head sent Android 13 crashing to the ground, the force creating a crater around his battered body. Compared to the other two Androids—14 and 15—this one was clearly a bit stronger than them. Android 13 was surprisingly powerful, almost as strong as I was, but it still didn't concern me. After fusing with Kami, I was undoubtedly the strongest being on the planet. Still, I knew Android 13 wouldn't be an easy fight compared to his two weaker comrades.
As Android 13 struggled to rise from his position, still in decent shape despite the tattered remnants of his clothing, I glanced at the other two. What a sorry sight they were.
While Android 13 seemed relatively unscathed, 14 and 15 were already missing several pieces. They were still standing—if one could call it that—but only because I had been holding back against them. Perhaps it was time to finish them off.
I couldn't resist taunting them; I deserved it after the time they made me waste when I could have been searching for my more dangerous targets. "You know, when you said 'He will do for now, to have some fun until we find Goku,' I expected a better performance from you."
I wasn't boasting; I was genuinely disappointed.
When I first saw the three Androids, I thought I'd be in for a real fight. Instead, it turned out they were weaker than I had anticipated. I felt a smirk form as Android 13 voiced his confusion.
"How can you be this strong?!? Our last data update is only a week old, and you were clearly beneath us! How did you get this much power in just a few days?"
They were clearly desperate. Was my power so overwhelming that even feared Androids could do nothing about it?
"Yeah, totally to his head." I could almost hear the snarky comments from my inner voice, but I brushed it off.
"In Piccolo's defense, he's not entirely wrong," came another thought from Kami, startling me.
"Wow, I didn't expect that from you!"
"I'm just being realistic. It's better to finish them off now. History teaches us it's never good to procrastinate."
I had to chuckle. Was Kami really taking my side for once? This day was full of surprises.
Before I could dwell on it further, Trunks, Krillin, Vegeta, and Tien appeared nearby, all within seconds of each other. Initially watching me with disbelief, they soon tensed as they sensed the absence of Ki from the Androids and realized why.
"I don't need you here. I can easily take care of these three weaklings myself," I said, smirking mostly at Vegeta.
His glare did nothing to deter me. "How did you obtain such power, Namekian?"
"Jealousy doesn't suit a warrior of your caliber, Saiyan… or maybe it does," I replied with a smirk, taking delight in the way Vegeta barely contained his anger. He knew he wouldn't stand a chance against me now, but his pride wouldn't allow him to admit it.
The frustration was evident in Vegeta's eyes, and my earlier disappointment evaporated, replaced by joyful amusement.
"Master Roshi said he fused with Kami… father," Trunks offered, trying to break the tension.
"While this is all highly entertaining, can someone explain who those three are?" Tien asked, reminding me of his presence.
Resigned to the fact that I couldn't convince them to leave and knowing I wasn't having any real fun against these Androids, I decided to explain. "They are Androids created by Dr. Gero. The one down there is Android 13, the gray one missing an arm is Android 14, and the little one missing his legs is Android 15."
Now that I said it out loud, they sounded really pathetic.
Vegeta was irritated, as always. "Really, Trunks? You missed another three Androids? Don't they teach math in the future?"
"Father, I-I... I'm sorry," Trunks stammered, and I felt a twinge of sympathy for him. With a father like Vegeta…
I decided to defuse the situation. "They attacked me while I was searching for the other Androids, but they're clearly not strong enough to be a threat. Actually, they are all yours. I was getting bored anyway."
I settled in to watch the outcome, ready to intervene only if necessary.
"I suggest powering up to at least Super Saiyan level from the start. While still weaker than their comrades, they seems to be at least decent enough to require actual effort."
This was mostly a message for Krillin and Tien to stay on the side. Well, two of the Androids were already in a ty bad shape anyway, it was unlikely that they would cause any real problem, but better safe than sorry.
"I refuse to take your scraps." was Vegeta only answer, as he proceeded to walk away and sit as well, but as far as possible from Piccolo, while still being close enough to the action.
"I'll do it." Trunks quickly powered up to Super Saiyan form, blasted at high speed in the direction of Android 14 and bisected it with his sword, then released a Ki Blast on its remains.
Those Androids were truly pathetic.
As the first one exploded in pieces, Trunks quickly destroyed what remained of Android 15 in the same exact way, then turned toward his last target.
Confident in his strenght, after the easy defeat of the other two, he swung his sword toward the last Android, but just as the blade was about to slice his target, the Android stopped it with his bare hands, only slightly forced back from his initial defensive position.
"Wha-?" Was the only thing Trunks could say, before a punch sent him crashing in the opposite direction.
"Oh yes, I forgot. That one is a little stronger than the other two." He didn't forget, of course... he just wanted to see a Super Saiyan getting punched in the face. He would have preferred it to be Vegeta though, but it was better than nothing.
"What a jerk."
As if Nail didn't like it as much...
Sadly, his thoughts were interrupted by a full-blown maniacal laugh from Android 13.
"Ah... ahah... ahahahAhAhAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH"
As everyone was temporarily distracted, they failed to notice the four mechanical objects rising from the destroyed remains of the bodies of Androids 14 and 15. Those four mechanical pieces quickly took flight and moved towards Android 13, only to then merge with his body, two pieces in the head and two in the chest.
After absorbing the components coming from his comrades, his crazy laugh turned into a scream, as his entire body changed appearance: gone was the human-looking Android, replaced by an enormous and hideous blue-skinned beast, with shining yellow eyes. The entire battle field was silent, as every warrior present there, even Vegeta, knew at that moment, that the tables had turned.
"A little stronger, you say? Weakling, you say? Ahahah. Perhaps it's time for me to show you pathetic mortals, what true power really is!"
...
"This is what you get for being a jerk."
"Not. Fucking. Now!"