Things began going wrong for Zeck at the forty-three second mark.
A thin line of something erupted from the top of the ship, high into the sky. Then, it began spreading rapidly, blotting out the sun.
As he looked up, the tiny implant in the back of Zeck's neck quietly analyzed what he was seeing, relaying the information back to Bulma's console back at Capsule Corp.
"Oh, that's bad. That's really bad, Zeck."
"They're just blocking out the sunlight. They must be from a world that doesn't get much light." Zeck noted, But Bulma had already scanned it in-depth. She had more information.
"Zeck, that's a liquid-metal alloy of variable density, that doesn't seem to exist on Earth." She told him, not a small amount of fear evident in her voice.
"You mean-"
"If they have a small room full of that stuff, they can spread it across the atmosphere, thinner than butter. Thirty cubic feet… could probably cover the entire planet, Zeck."
"..." Zeck's mind raced with calculations. Already, the metal had spread almost past his line of vision, and it was moving rapidly. He considered blasting holes in it, but decided against it. Not efficient enough. He needed to reverse the spread at the source, before the temperature began violently dropping due to the lack of sunlight.
"Bulma. Pay close attention to the way their bodies react to light. Specifically ultraviolet radiation. I'm going in."
"Kay. I'll tell you if I find weak points in their cellular makeup." She agreed.
Zeck blasted off.
He met the squad of demons around halfway between the hill and the ship. They immediately began shooting at him with energy-based weaponry, which he carefully dodged until Bulma chimed in, having analyzed the weapons.
"They're firing a molten phosphate-based pseudo-plasma." Bulma told Zeck as he knocked a fifth minion out.
She didn't need to explain any further. Zeck knew the undertones. 'You're being stupidly overcautious, dodging those little mosquito bites' was essentially what she was saying.
The 'Zeck versus the mob' battle ended quickly after that. Slick like a ghost, Zeck tried out several different tactics, ignoring the mob's attacks completely. None of the blasts could get through his aura, anyway, not that the aliens had the chance to try anything else, with how quickly they went down. A knife hand to the back of the neck. An aura-wreathed punch that went straight through the stomach. At one point, Zeck raised his hand and fired a ki blast straight through a bolt of pseudo-plasma, blasting one of the alien's arms off.
Finally, as the last one fell, Zeck blasted off toward the ship at a low speed, addressing Bulma in the back of his head. "Report?" He asked.
"Heavy variations. Light-accented attacks are sixty percent more effective on average. It's like poison, but some are immune. Be careful, Zeck."
"Got it, Bulma." Zeck replied, already increasing the intensity of the light that naturally rolled off of his aura. It wasn't sunlight, but the data had already proven that it was a good enough substitute, worth the extra energy expenditure.
Zeck raced up the entry ramp and onto the ship. The first thing he saw was some sort of combination entry hall/cargo bay.
The aliens inside the ship were very clearly not expecting them to be invaded at all. Wasting minimum time, Zeck pushed deeper into the bowels of the ship, barely engaging.
He came across a fork in the hallway almost immediately. "Bulma?" He asked, pausing.
"...Probably left…? Zeck, you should increase your energy output. You're coming in at only around a fifth of that big one, and based on the fluctuations, they're definitely not at full output-" Bulma started, but Zeck cut her off.
"I'm still coming in at way higher than my old baseline, Bulma. Don't worry so much, I know what I'm doing. Just tell me which direction to go in."
"Just because you're stronger doesn't mean you're invincible, Zeck."
Zeck rolled his eyes, He knew that… but this was also the first time that he didn't feel helpless. He couldn't help but be a little cocky, despite the potential danger.
If he could survive Tarble's training at his old, pathetic baseline power level, then Zeck honestly felt like he could take Tarble down at his current level.
'Felt like' were the keywords there. The logical side of his brain was fully and totally aware of how stupid that idea was, just like he was currently hyperaware of the massive dark ki signature pressing down on his brain like a vice from what felt like just the next room, even though it was actually almost halfway across the ship.
…
As Zeck and Bulma raced to stop the metal 'umbrella' from covering the entire planet, I was blasting across the landscape with every ounce of my near-forty million SSJP power level.
Adrenaline flooded my system, but I wrangled everything under control as best I could, sharpening my senses as best I could to ensure that I didn't waste energy. I could feel it… whoever this was, they were definitely at least in the million realm. Probably higher. Possibly higher than my own power level, though that was unlikely. Either way, I'd need my stamina. I trusted Zeck… he could hold out.
My ki sense could pick the evil energy, and Zeck's own, familiar ki, out, even from fifty minutes away. The threat was ignoring him… for now, focused on something else… but Zeck's confidence, and his energy signature, was beginning to grow as he accomplished whatever thing he was trying to do. If I had to guess, my friend's power output was already touching the verge of the hundred thousand threshold. It was only a matter of time before the real fight began, and I still didn't even know who the enemy was.
I forcibly slowed myself down as my body reacted to the feeling of helplessness boiling inside of me. Zeck would hang in there, even if the enemy was Frieza himself, he'd figure something out, I trusted his mind. Meanwhile, when I got there, I'd be at my peak, ready to take over and win if he wasn't strong enough to do it.