(Meanwhile)
As the sun drew into the late afternoon and the skies over Central City started to turn, beneath the enormous tower that stood as the symbol of the world famous Talos Industries, a sinister plot was slowly unfolding.
Through the metal plated, winding hallways that was the maze situated beneath the structure, with armored security guards and scientists patrolling the labyrinth, there sat an enormous chamber. Resembling a hangar, custom built to hold a large amount of equipment and machinery, this room represented one of the largest halls in the district, and was filled to the brim with a vast assortment of tech. This wasn't limited to aircraft and vehicles, but construction mechs and tanks, all of which were scattered throughout the room in an orderly fashion, and were being worked on by dozens of men.
All of the models on display here were prototypes and no two vehicles were the same. This was the floor where the creative minds of many designers and engineers came together to give birth to the future.
A few rooms over though, an area similar in design to this one had been setup away from the rest of the engineering labs. Serving as the brainchild and workstation for the boss of the company, this series of rooms and chambers was sectioned off from the main factory and, unlike the rest of the structure, was mostly empty. It was here, in a long corridor running alongside a secondary production hall, Kaiser Talos himself was standing and gazing through the window with a deep scowl on his face.
Through the clear glass of the observation deck, the object the world renowned genius was currently looking at was a craft very few had laid eyes on and one even fewer would recognize. However, for all those living out there in the cosmos and had existed around the time of the owner's reign, this saucer was of a very familiar shape and design. The white ship with yellow windows, black and purple embellishments, and white, crab-like landing gear, was none other than Cooler's spaceship, which had made landfall on earth many years ago and had since been abandoned due in part to its owner's timely demise. Bearing the exact same characteristics as both his father's and brother's vessels, the ship had fallen into the clutches of business owner Kaiser, who had ordered the vessel to be brought to his lab for study.
Already a great portion of the ship had been dismantled, with its interior having undergone analysis by both the owner of the company and a select few of his most loyal and trusted employees. Not only has the vessel served as the foundations for a lot of the company's many advances in technology, but it has also filled the role as a hobby that the boss often practiced in his downtime. Most of the days he didn't spend up in his office were spent down here in one of his many laboratories, where the boss could tinker for hours on end without interruption.
This vessel, among the many other artifacts and relics he'd dug up over the years, was one of the things he'd been fiddling with.
Hands behind his back, the man with the goatee murmured as he looked upon the spaceship and hull that'd brought terror to many across the galaxy. It was while he was facing it that flashes of a time long forgotten flickered through his mind, procuring images and memories of countless events throughout history that he'd witnessed. Too many to count and too fast to completely process, the man then frowned when the face of a familiar, white-scaled, blue-eyed beast appeared in his mind.
Mirroring the exact same creature that Baba saw in her crystal ball, this monster of nightmare towered over him with wings made of blue glass and armor tougher than any material in the known universe. The entity reared its head back and flashed its cold, fiery eyes upon its prey, spreading its cape grandly and swinging its tail across the sky, cutting away the clouds with a single stroke.
The creature was in fact a dragon, a Western one to be precise, but as to what kind exactly was a mystery. Kaiser however knew… and the memories of this creature brought a big smile to his face.
"Has it really been that long?" the magnate thought quietly to himself.
Just before he could muse over this little snippet of history that was one of the first chapters in his life, the company owner was suddenly pulled away from his daydream by the arrival of his secretary. Craning his head around, Kaiser watched as Violet, adorned in her suit and skirt, coasted to a stop alongside him with her trusted notepad in hand. Typing away at the board, the woman with the purple hair then looked up and fixed a firm gaze upon her boss and mentor.
"The staff at the East City Research & Development branch has had another successful run with the Mark VI prototype particle generator," the woman informed, referring to her chief with the utmost reverence and respect. "No breakdowns or failures in the electromagnetic buffers to report."
Kaiser nodded in acknowledgement of this report, "Good. That means I was right to infuse the titanium casing with adamantine. What were the results?"
"Four positive, two negative. They were able to create another piece of dwarf star matter out of helium atoms they'd inserted into the machine. That makes three energy cores in the last eight months," the assistant continued, looking down at her pad and pulling up another window onto the screen. She then held out the electronic pad for the president to inspect. "Doctor Yura sent the formulas through to your computer about an hour ago. She said you'd want to take a look at them yourself."
Taking the pad from his messenger, the man with the goatee scrolled through the lines of a complex equation, which had been drawn up by one of his finest researchers. After reading through the entire subject and doing the math in his head, the boss of the company grunted and handed it back to the former army Colonel, who took it without question or hesitation. "Tell her to continue the research and that I will be monitoring her progress closely. What was the weight of the dwarf star material this time around?"
"Three point five kilograms, sir."
"Tell her to boost the generator up to fifty seven percent and start from phase one. Use the cross-section fusion reactor model as a medium and channel the energy through the conductors. That should focus up the power a little bit more."
Violet looked up in surprise. "Fifty seven? Are you sure that's wise? They've been running the machine at fifteen percent for the last month."
"It's fine, Violet," Kaiser replied, frowning as he continued to glare through the glass in front of him. "I ran the calculations in my head. Tell her to gradually increase the machine's output by one point seven percent every three seconds to keep the cooling towers and the circuits from overheating."
Swallowing nervously, the woman nodded and began typing into her pad, "Yes, sir."
"When she has successfully achieved several consistent results, I'll fly over to East City and oversee the last two stages of the procedure myself," Kaiser also informed with an excited smile in play.
His eagerness put a smile on Violet's face too, who then went on to jot down his last instructions. "Understood."
The pair then stood side by side for several seconds in silence, with the head of the company listening as his assistant typed away into the pad and the sound of machinery and men hard at work continued to echo throughout the underground complex. After hearing a couple of security guards march past them and his secretary cease her activities, the man in the goatee then looked up and narrowed his eyes.
"What's the status on our half-Saiyan friend, Son Gohan? Do you have anything to report on him?"
Violet shook her head, "Not much has occurred in the last couple of weeks since his tussle with our operative in Satan City. Recently he stopped an airliner from crashing into the south side of the metropolis and foiled a bus hijacking along with his partner Videl Satan. But aside from these events, there have been no major changes or alternations made to his routine." She then looked across at her boss seriously. "His strength, though increasing little by little, has also remained relatively unchanged."
"That much I can expect," Kaiser murmured, a smirk slowly forming across his face.
"You should also be aware that Bulma Briefs is still trying to find out information about our dear friend Vulcan… as well as anything related to the person he was supposedly taking orders from," the assistant stated, causing her boss to murmur in understanding of this fact. "She's prying into every backdoor and source available to her and her connections. Aren't you a little bit worried that she might be getting too close to figuring out the truth?"
"Bulma Briefs and her associates can dig and dig as much as they please. They won't be able to find out anything… at least, not unless I want them to. I made extra sure of that. Even if they do find out that it was us that sent Vulcan after them, there isn't much they'll be able to do about it… not without inviting severe consequences," the boss said with an unchanging expression. After tapping his finger against his hand a couple of times, he then turned to his secretary and smiled. "Perhaps we can help steer away any suspicions towards us by hosting a couple of social events… to show the world that our company and its staff has nothing but the community's best interests at heart."
His remark had Violet tilt her head curiously. "What did you have in mind?"
"A trip to Satan City… where the head of Talos Industries will pay a surprise visit to a certain Orange Star high school to… inform the students of the many wondrous career opportunities that await them at the world renowned and respected industry supergiant, following their graduation. I'll make sure to highlight repeatedly in my speech the importance of education in our society and announce that I'll also be hosting an outdoor banquet to raise money for the country's many disadvantaged primary and secondary schools, in which all of them are invited to attend," Kaiser said, the excitement in his eyes growing as he turned his attention away from the spaceship in the hangar and began marching down the corridor. As his secretary moved in step with him, the bearded inventor and genius continued to inform his assistant of his plan. "A little charity event every now and then is always a good distraction for the press and any pesky inquisitors. Politicians do it all the time."
Nodding her head in understanding, the purple-haired assistant raised her pad and began to type. "I will have the boys arrange a venue in Satan City to host the dinner for the following week." She then looked across at the man curiously. "Would you like me to invite any of the King's staff?"
"Send out as many invitations as you see fit… but make sure that you invite the senators of the East District and Hercule Satan above all others. I have some land ownership agreements I wish to discuss with them regarding my next big city project… and to use that bumbling fool as extra leverage over those money-laundering mongrels," Kaiser stated, while at the same time sparing a glance across at his helper. When he saw his secretary begin typing into her notepad, the man looked ahead of him again and smiled. "Tell them it will be an open bar. Drinks are on me."
Acknowledging his orders, Violet looked up at him once again. "And what of the school? Is there anything in particular you would like for me to arrange for your visit?"
"Oh, just the usual spiel; security, paperwork, slide shows, snacks. I'll have the principal announce my presence on stage, which I will then follow up with an invigorating speech, questions, a demonstration of our company's latest products, and then a quick mingle amongst the students," Kaiser said, beaming ahead of him as a sly smile formed across his face. "I would also like to meet with Satan City's poster girl Videl Satan, as well as her companion Son Gohan, so make extra certain that those two will be present at the reception. I have a little 'gift' I wish to give our half-Saiyan adversary… to apologize for all the trouble I've caused him and his friends thus far."
Hearing the man's tone shift when he said the word 'present' had Violet pause for a few moments. When she realized exactly what he met by that, the woman narrowed her eyes on her boss. "What exactly do you plan to do once you meet him? Slip him some sort of nano-weapon… a bomb…?"
"Nothing so crass," the man answered as his head lifted a little, "And a bomb wouldn't do the job… not against someone like him."
Still not sure exactly what he intended to do, the woman frowned, "What about the other kids in the school? Aren't you worried you'll effect the rest of the population?"
Kaiser chuckled darkly and spared a glance down at his assistant, cutting her worried exclamations short. "My dear Violet. After all these years we've worked together, have I ever done anything for you to express any sort doubt in my actions?" The man then looked ahead of him once more and lowered his gaze. "Do not worry. I wouldn't dream of involving innocent bystanders and children in my personal affairs. I'm not that cold hearted. This business is between me and the Z-fighters… no one else." After passing the hangar and strolling further into the building, the company owner then relayed his next instructions. "Have our asset in West City on standby and ready to move in on my order."
Expression reflecting concern, the purple haired woman soon nodded in understanding and looked away, closing her eyes at the same time. "As you wish, sir."
It stood out as plain as day in Kaiser's mind.
Everyone, no matter how all-powerful they seemed, had a weakness… even the Gods.
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