Blood beaded at Zeck's neck at the tips of Slug's sharp fingernails.
"ZECK!" Bulma screamed into the Celatian's head, causing him to wince. He didn't dare respond beyond that, though, for fear of the evil Namekian realizing that he was speaking to someone remotely.
"That's… an old trick… GAK!" Zeck managed to mutter, gasping for breath as he clutched Slug's arm in a seemingly desperate attempt to keep the Namekian from ripping his head from his body.
Hearing Zeck's quipping calmed Bulma. She knew him well enough to know that he wouldn't be so casual unless he felt like he still had control. "When he drew blood, some of the cells on his fingertips got into your bloodstream. The analysis sped up quite a bit."
"Tell me what you know!" Slug shouted, causing Zeck to grimace again.
'Hurry up and talk, Bulma!' he shouted inwardly. 'I really can't breathe right now!'
"His entire body's composed of stem cells. They're animal cells, but they also have chloroplasts, so, while he does breathe oxygen, he photosynthesizes, too. High levels of cellular activity… he can definitely regrow limbs almost instantly. And Zeck, he's definitely already hit the Million Class. Be careful, I can't tell what skills he's hiding from a screen… but looking at the data, I don't think you'll be able to hold back against this guy." Bulma explained.
Zeck couldn't decide whether to smile at Bulma's voice or roll his eyes. He could already sense that this guy was terrifically strong…
But the Celatian warrior-scientist wasn't a pushover, either.
Knowing that the guy's evil energies were actually boosted by the same sunlight that was like a poison to his subordinates was nice information to have, though.
In an instant, Zeck opened the floodgates of his power, which soared to the new heights of somewhere in the neighborhood of seven million in a flash.
Suddenly, the neck that Slug had been casually squeezing felt like it'd been transformed into something made entirely of steel. Reflexes only beginning to recover from the dulling of his formerly old age, Slug's reaction was far too slow. Reaching his arm over one way and his leg the other, Zeck executed a perfect cartwheel-like motion. The result was a sickening snap, and the old Namekian's claw released him, dropping to hang limply at his side, smoothly broken, as Zeck backflipped away with agility that'd been beaten into him by Tarble and the Saiyans over years of training.
"WHAT?! How- You INJURED me?!" Slug cried, shocked, "You were hiding your power…!" He realized.
"Just needed a bit more data, which you happily provided." Zeck told him smugly, "You know, if you leave this planet right now, I just might be generous enough to let you go… in exchange for that arm,"
Slug scoffed, shaking the pain out of his arm as his composure returned, the break having already mended itself. So what if Zeck was strong? He was stronger. "You have no idea who you're messing with, boy! I am Lord Slug! You are powerful, however… Serve me as a warm-up. I've been requiring a punching bag."
"Oh? I think you'll find me a bit more than just a punching bag… You give Namekians a bad name, you overgrown plant! HAAAA!" With a shout, Zeck focused his energy, his power level shooting upward until it stabilized somewhere just around nine million. While that may not seem like a large difference from the seven million that he'd managed to scrape together while Slug held his neck, Slug's eons of battle experience told him that the young man in front of him's threat level had sharply increased.
Meanwhile, Bulma was giving Zeck a remote status report. "Infinite Energy Converter implant running stably at 85% capacity. Adrenaline and dopamine levels are spiking, but within normal ranges. Your own body's been stimulated into sending out around 650,000 measurable units right now, no adverse effects. Be careful, though, Zeck." Zeck made a low noise of affirmation in the depths of his throat. He knew the numbers.
Zeck's body was pretty weak, but Celatian bodies tended to adapt well to external energies. It was apparently something of a racial trait, something to do with their nervous systems. So, when he implanted his latest 'Infinite Energy Converter' into a cavity in his stomach and turned it on, his power level had instantly jumped not just one dimension, but two. Suddenly, Zeck found his maximum power level boosted 400-fold, suddenly bringing his power level up to the point where it could be compared to Tater's power level when he went SSJP. A straight ten million at full output.
An insane boost… that placed an equally insane burden on his body. Though he now had access to a literally infinite stamina pool, his body was unable to fully handle the implant's maximum output, at least not for long periods of time. He'd calibrated the implant's maximum power boost to his physiology, but it hadn't been a perfect calibration, unfortunately. And unlike with the original, canonical users of the technology, androids 17 and 18, Zeck didn't have his body artificially reinforced on a cellular level to allow his body to withstand that power.
But that was what training and experience was for… but that came after the Converter's field test.
And this battle wouldn't be easy. Zeck could tell that, by breaking the Namekian's arm in order to escape from his clutches, he'd already been forced to give away the fact that what Slug could sense was only a small portion of his actual power, and even having a good guess as to Zeck's real power level, Slug didn't seem particularly perturbed.
…
"...Hold on, Zeck! I'm on my way…!" I muttered to myself, gritting my teeth in urgency as I sensed Zeck's energy level skyrocket… right into the hundred thousands. Whatever he was fighting had a power level significantly higher than that, and it was stable as a rock.
Zeck didn't stand a chance… but he was smart and analytical. He could survive a few minutes, at least… Hopefully.