Touring the City

[Deleted]

Gene strode calmly through the streets of Central City, ignoring or not noticing any adverse reactions he received from the populace. The people were not to blame for their lack of knowledge of the future Perfect being, and his current physical state would appear unappealing by their standards. While he had no clue how his completed body would look, it was sure to be far more glorious than this one. Gene was not merely in the city for sight-seeing purposes, he had come to survey any new developments. The records in the lab had been extremely limited in what the current state of events were, and what better place to get information than the capital city?

Gene's eyes twitched as he detected a small spike in energy behind him. While he didn't possess eyes at the back of his head, he did know that such a type of energy burst indicated that someone was readying an attack, most likely against him. He was a bit disappointed that the enhanced hearing granted to him by the Namek's hadn't alerted him to an attacker, but he hadn't really been looking out for one. Gene casually turned around to see a fist heading for his face, with a speed that was laughable in comparison to his own. The bio-droid flicked the attacker lightly with his finger before turning and walking away from the man, who from Gene's perspective was only just started to be launched backwards. Of course, to the people around them it would seem as if the man had just suddenly been launched away from the mysterious green being, who would have vanished.

From what Gene picked up, there was some sort of terrorist organisation that had people paranoid. The Red Pants army. Something about the name seemed familar, but he couldn't place it. Though they could explain why some people had tried to attack him, his unusual appearance being a sign of danger to them. He couldn't understand how such a line of thinking could work, but then again, humans weren't designed to become perfect. Gene now stood at a public park, standing like a statue under the trees. He would travel to another area in a few days, but here was a good place to rest for now.

[Gray Callahan]

The night before had been intense. Callahan was still sore from both the events of the kidnapping of Eliza Straub, and the rewards that followed at her apartment, as late-night coffee usually leads. He had left swiftly the following morning, though her phone number was safely secured into his contacts. A day back into the city and I've already slept with a celebrity. I should probably notch up a tally, the hybrid muses as he wanders through the streets. He had returned to the job office this morning and received his payment, a couple of hundred zenni. He had also grown considerably stronger, due to the zenkai he had gained from the bullet to his chest, though he was still completely unaware of his own power-level or even the facets of ki. He just thought he was a pretty strong guy.

It was on leaving the job office that he spotted the creepy creature, walking the streets like a man. His eye had been able to follow the creature, though much faster than an ordinary human, when another citizen got far too freaked out and tried to punch the android. His interest entirely peaked, he had followed the creature, his ki entirely un-suppressed - because, of course, he was completely unaware of such a thing as ki. His power was currently on par with Gene's, but he did not realise this either.

And so Gray Callahan finds himself approaching the bio-android in the park, red jacket on top of bare, muscular flesh, saiyan tail disguised as a belt around his jeans. He can't help smile at the absurdity of his current situation. He was approaching a giant bug, which could be anything from a horror surfaced from the deep oceans, to a space alien.

Deep breaths. He was tough.

"So what exactly are you, then?" Callahan muses, voice light-hearted, dark eyes deadly serious.

[Deleted]

Gene's eyes both twitched slightly and he turned his head slightly to the side to see who was the one who had approached him. The human that approached appeared to be in peak physical condition, at least from what Gene could deduce by observation of his skin tone and physical features. The human had addressed a question to him, but that could wait for now. He first had to know with whom he was going to be speaking with. Red jacket, jeans and brown belt. Fairly common attire since the rise of martial arts interest lead everyone to want to show off their physique. Power level close to Gene's own, this put him beyond a normal human martial artist. And the upon closer observation, the belt was a bit furry, and appeared to make involuntary movements every few seconds. It could just be a ripped off trophy from a monkey, but with all the evidence, it had to be a tail. So he was in the presence of a hybrid, since a full Saiyan would have been far more blunt. Satisfied with his profiling of the stranger, Gene finally responded, all his thought having taken only about 15 seconds.

'The question you asked, of what I am, can have many different answers. In a way, I am Namekian, I am Saiyan, I am Arcosian, I am an Android, I am Imperfect. The classification under which I would most comfortably fall would be that of Biological Android. That is what I am, Saiyan. What I will become is far greater.' Gene considered saying this out loud, but opted for a more concise answer, so as not to speak the man's ear off.

"My name is Gene. And you are?"

[Gray Callahan]

The creature took a while to consider his response. Callahan licked his lips. He was beginning to bug out, thinking about sprinting into the distance, before the creature responds... except for, not really in any meaningful way. Great. A name. Surely he realised that Gray was looking for more than that?!

Gray exhales, lungs depressing and back slumping. "Gene, eh? Would you like a cigarette?" He moves to the pocket of his jacket, gropes around for a moment before retrieving a lighter and a small cardboard box. He flips open the lid and pulls out two cylinders of thin paper, concealing fine cuts of tobacco. These cigarettes were personally created and gathered in the wild a few weeks previously, and so had no additives such as nicotine for addiction. As such, Gray was truly a 'social' smoker and rarely did smoke unless he was under a certain amount of stress... and facing Gene did cause some stress, he had to admit.

"I'm Gray... Callahan. I was just sorta wondering what exactly you are, and why you're like... wandering through the city. Is that some sort of bodysuit or something? Make-up? You a publicity stunt?" The tip of his lighter explodes into fire, and he pushes one end of a cigarette into the naked flame. After ignition, the paper begins to smoulder with the tabacco, and Callhan inhales, flavoured smoke moving through his nostrils and lips.

"Or are you really some kinda space alien?"

[Deleted]

Gene remained impassive as Gray removed the pack of cigarettes from one of his pockets. He had no inclination to start smoking, or prevent Gray from doing so. If he wished to risk the variety of ill effects which smoking brought, then it was his problem. Gene's duty was to protect the planet from real threats, not preserve one man's health.

"That will not be necessary."Gene said and continued looking past Gray at the scenery. It wasn't that he found the Saiyan's presence repellent, he just had no reason to maintain the conversation. Idle chatter had not been designed as a strong suit.

Hearing Gray's poorly hidden attempt to discern if he was an extraterrestrial, by first masking it as him being a mere mascot for some kind of cause. Gene stepped forwards and extended his wings, pointing them sideways and letting his tail loosen from its coil around his waist and appear poised next to his head. He held this pose for a few seconds, long enough for Gray to get a good look before letting his wings descend and tail lower. "I'll let you draw your own conclusions."he said and leant back against the tree, keeping his eyes trained on Gray. He wanted to see what kind of reaction he got out of the man.

[Gray Callahan]

Callahan releases a whistle, a stream of grey smoke blowing out from the whole in his lips along with the noise. "Okay..." he murmurs, shoving the secondary cigarette back into his pocket, as the creature demonstrates control over the appendages on his body. Now, that didn't necessarily mean anything, Gray theorised; prosthetics could allow movement of such things by moving a finger or toe. But, such a costume would certain be elaborate, and if it was for a film or something, similar effects could now be achieved more cheaply with computer animation.

"Alright, then. So you're a space alien. Why are you here? Not to eat us, I hope, heh..." Gray quips, resisting the urge to scratch his tail and give the game away, unaware that the bio-android had seen through his ruse and even recognised what the tail meant. He inhales more smoke, pressing the paper between his lips. His time back in the city was getting a hell of a lot weirder. It was better when he was beating up criminals and getting attention from women.

[Deleted]

"I can assure that the devouring of human lives is not on my list of fun activities."Gene said, raspy voice masking all emotion. In truth he was slightly offended by the allegation that he in any way brought harm to humans. While his ancestor had depopulated many cities in his quest for more power, Gene would do no such thing. While his drive to attain greater strength was strong, the directive to protect humanity was far stronger. Even thinking about killing an innocent brought a sick feeling to Gene's stomach.

"If I divulged more information I might risk telling you too much. I am sorry if I seem vague, but secrecy was made very important to me."

[Gray Callahan]

The young hybrid-blooded warrior exhales once again. "Secrecy was made important to you? That's a weird choice of phrase." He yawns, before crushing the cigarette in his hand, the butt falling harmlessly to the ground.

"Well, I guess if you're not gonna talk much, I can ramble to you for a bit." He grins. Maybe if he bored the bug to death, he'd be exasperated enough to tell him some more just to get Gray to shut up. Or maybe Callahan was just bored of not talking to anyone properly, and this weird fellow would do that job just as well as anyone else, for what it was worth."I've only just come to the city myself, although I did live here before, in my childhood. I went to a boarding school for rich kids, both my parents were on Capsule Corp payroll. They're both gone now, though.

"I was a pretty smart kid... still am, I guess, but I never really focused too well on my studies. I was more into girls and sports. I always came out on top... for sports, I mean. I always won, be it athletics, football - soccer, I mean -, basketball... but the only thing that really got me going was the annual MMA tournament." He chuckles at the memory, coal eyes fogging up.

"I wanted to become a fighter, a proper artist of combat, but my parents were dead-set against it.. so I continued to struggle with school. Then I ran away," the hybrid lies for the last part, this guy didn't need to know what he suspected, that Gray himself had destroyed the school one night after somehow transforming into a giant monkey.

"The first six months were tough, living on my own, but I was angry at the world and I persevered with it. I became aware of my true strength and began to hone it, almost naturally at first, my body toughening up in response to the need for survival." That was, of course, the saiyan zenkai that Gray was unaware of. A normal human would have toughened up in the wild, true, but not to the extent that Gray did.

"I think I was out there for a few years, although to tell you the truth I'm not sure what year it is." He grins. "But I came back to the city. I need to find what this world made me for, and I think this is the place to start."

And that's when the burst of fire explodes with a rattling boom into the skyline across the city, red tongues reflected in the glass windows of sky-scrapers.

[Deleted]

Gene's head snapped to the side as the fireball filled the sky, and he immediately sprung up from his relaxed position. People were in danger, he had to do something. "As informative as listening to your life's story was, it appears as though the city is under attack. I have to go investigate."Gene said before leaping up into the sky. When he reached the apex of his jump, a green aura flared around him and he shot towards the explosion, hoping to get there soon enough to see what had caused it.

[Gray Callahan]

Gray's eyes snap to the orange skyline to the distance, the screeching blast of shattering glass reaching his ears all these miles away. "You're right, let's g-" Gene had leapt into the air, his aura summoned, and shot towards the scene. Gray had to consciously re-hinge his jaw. "He... can fly, right..." He breathes in and out, letting that sink in for a few seconds, before he does the next best thing, and leaps.

He curls his legs, feeling the powerful muscles in his thighs tense, before he releases himself, surging into the air with all the grace of a bird... but all he was really doing was falling with style.

It's probably the Red Pants again... A few tanks had stormed the city last week, before retreating once again into the wilderness.

Gray bounded from ground to building, from building to building, keeping Gene in his sights all the while, until the destruction was upon them; a skyscraper tilting and turning, blazing with fire, melting even the toughest of metal. The blaze was so fierce, so devastating - and from within the building, Gray could hear screams.

In the street was a group of five tanks, red paint clumsily revealing them as owned by the Red Pant's. Callhan releases a growl, clenching his fists, before turning to Gene. "I can hear screams in the building, help me get them out!"

And then the warrior leaps head-strong into the blazing inferno.

[Deleted]

Yes, there were screams. Gene could hear them almost too clearly with the hearing that had been so generously cultivated from the Namek's. He could also sense the life force of each one of the people trapped in the building, making finding them a great deal easier. But the ones who had done all this were one the street below, sitting ducks for the retribution the bio droid could bestow upon them. Yet where to intervene? What was the right choice, save a few lives or ensure that the ones responsible paid for their transgressions? His mind whirled as he thought over what to do, considering every possible course of action that he could reasonably take. In a time like this having access to his ancestor's Multi-Form technique would have been a great help, yet Gene would have to make due with what he had.

This was going to be a simple enough plan. The building was too far gone to bother putting out the flame in Gene's eyes, so rescuing the ones he could was more important. Gray was already on the scene, but he was unsure about whether or not the saiyan could detect energy. Gene slowed his flight just as he was near the building and raised both hand over his head, quickly charging up a Masenko. He hastily fired the attack at the tanks before putting them out of mind and flying into the burning building. In one of his later forms he would have chosen vengeance, but his core programming was uncorrupted in his basic state, and preservation of life came first. Gene sped towards every ki he detected within the building, taking people two at a time and trying to transport them into one of the undamaged buildings as quickly as possible. In some cases he even flung them through the windows of the opposite skyscraper, hoping that they didn't sustain too serious injuries. When he'd reached everyone that Gray hadn't gotten to already, Gene burst out of the side of the building and began scanning the area for the red tanks again, in case any of them had managed to survive his blast, or bypass the crater it had created.

[Gray Callahan]

Gray had no time to watch what Gene did next. Before he knew it his jacket was on fire, the red leather combusting. He slips it off, the blasting heat already causing sweat to run down his face and chest.

The corridor was afire, and Callahan could faintly make out the silhouettes of the people trapped in a room through the smoke. The windows and walls were glass: a modern office building. Which meant...

Choking, the hybrid moves into a dash, eyes beginning to stream due to the un-burnt carbons in the air. As he gets closer he can see that the room had four people inside... three secretaries and what looked like a manager. One was kneeling on the floor, hands clapped together in prayer. The other three were slamming on the window leading to the outside... trying to break it, to take a chance with gravity at least. They were twenty stories high.

That... won't... be... necessary.

Gray Callahan smashes through the room, his arms spread out like an eagle. In one sweep, every individual in the room is gathered into his arms, clinging on for dear life as the unstoppable hybrid plows through the other side, leaping at the last second...

Five people rise through the air. Four are screaming. The other is grinning, a bare-chested lunatic, an unexpected saviour.

Then they land on the roof of the building opposite. Before any of the survivors can say anything, Gray is gone again. Back into the building.

Rinse, repeat.

---

A few minutes later, Gray Callahan sighs. He has suffered minor burns on his chest and back, nothing that wouldn't heal in a few weeks but was hella sore for now. He is on the street, a minor crater around his feet from where he had dropped. As far as he was aware, the building was empty. The majority of the people inside had been on the lower floors and had managed to escape. Gene had also been rescuing people.

One of the tanks was a charred mess. Gray had to guess that was also Gene's work. How could such a thing happen? The military was nowhere in sight.

Still, the other four terrorist vehicles had vanished. Could they be tracked?

[Deleted]

Gene landed gracefully next to Gray, arms crossed. He was displeased that the others had gotten away. But what he wanted to know was who the heck had been behind the attack. Gray had been around for a lot longer than Gene, and as much as the bio-droid hated to admit it, knew a lot more than him about current events. Which had been his original intention in coming to the city after all. Though if this attack was any indicator, things weren't too good."Gray, you did not seem too surprised about the attack. Do you know who those red tanks belonged too?"