I DO NOT OWN DBZ AND ITS CHARACTERS.

CHAPTER 4

HER SECRETS

Trunks had finally helped the Earth to get rid of the greatest monsters of all, Cell. He was completely lost in his victory when his eyes fell on the body lying before him. Soon his cheerful features transformed into those of disgust and loathing. Before him lay the female cyborg covered in Cell's goo and saliva from head to toe. He complained to the Heavens, "Aw man! Is this the reward I get to save the Earth from that ugly maniac? I mean seriously, monsters haunt us even after their deaths." At that very moment, the heavens thundered as if responding to his complaints. Soon in seconds, it was raining cats and dogs. Trunks rejoiced but his joy was short-lived. He regretted at once for complaining about his previous situation. A new more complicated situation had arisen.

18 was lying motionless, unconscious. Her body was entirely bathed with rain. But that was not the problem. The problem was, the silk shirt she was wearing had gone translucent, exposing her feminism. Trunks was stunned to see her in that state. He had never come across such a beauty, not even on TV or even in his mother's magazines. He fell to his knees. His less virile human hormones were engaged at a ferocious battle with the more virile Saiyan hormones to achieve dominance over his body. He inched closer and closer to her, hypnotised by her magical force of attraction. He lay close to her right side, his eyes examining her bountiful body closely. It was true that he was completely soaked but his insides were on fire, fire of desire, fire of hunger and fire of lust. He watched how every drop tenderly caressed her each corner and crevice. He wanted to see the same happen to her lower body. But damn that black thing which was blocking the rest of the artistic scenery. He had a sudden urge to rip it off from her body but stopped. He lifted his head and saw her face. He had always seen her face showing cruelty, hatred, loathing and mockery. But today he saw it calm and composed, almost kind and more human. Will she ever be benevolent towards humanity, towards him?

"No way." His conscience interrupted his thoughts. "She is your enemy. Never forget the things she did to you, your family and the people of Earth. She is just a killing machine waiting for the right moment to strike back. You just need to use her and then dispose her off. Don't get attached to her. Keep your guard on. Welfare of the human beings is your motto and nothing else." "Right." Trunks responded. He took off his armour, then his upper suit and put his armour back on. He forced his suit over her torso, making her look decent. He slung her over his right shoulder and instantly transmitted to his house. Then an evil thought crossed his mind. He teleported straight into his lab which was located at the east side of the housing complex. He said aloud, "Maria" Immediately, the lab got illuminated with lights. A youthful voice responded, "Hello Trunks!"

Taking 18 to the healing tank, Trunks said, "I am putting this android in the healing tank. I want you to run a full body scan on her and provide me with every minute detail of her body, her personality traits, her past, her everything."

"All right Trunks, just log on to your mainframe and I will upload the necessary info and graphics." Maria was the artificial intelligence installed in almost every machine and gadget in Briefs' residence. She was created by Dr. Briefs years ago but she couldn't be made operational at that time due to lack of the required technology. It was Bulma who had found out a way to make it operational. During her last breaths before her death, she had told Trunks how to bring Maria into existence. Had there been Maria during the android invasion, a lot more lives could be saved. Maria had access to all the satellite systems and was nothing less than J.A.R.V.I.S. of Iron Man.

Trunks logged on to his system. Maria immediately started uploading data to his mainframe. Trunks was astonished at what he saw. "What? How is this possible? Are you sure? " Trunks exclaimed.

"Are you questioning my abilities Trunks? I am displaying exactly what is inside of her body. She is completely human, except for her blood and her skeletal system, which is made of C-15. All the other parts of her anatomy are those of a 20 year old female human." Replied Maria.

"What's C-15? Is it an isotope of Carbon?"

"Yes. It is."

"But carbon has only three isotopes – C-12, C-13 and C-14 with C-14 being radioactive and highly unstable. After C-14, carbon can't take any more neutrons."

"Right again Trunks. But C-15 can exist in human body. The human metabolism supports its existence and that too in aggregated solidified form. Gero might have found ways to incorporate it in 18's body. I think 17 also had similar skeletal system inside him. And let me tell you something, C-15 is the hardest known substance in its solid state. "

"OK and what about her blood?"

"Well, we all know that human blood is manufactured in bone marrows. Since her bones are of C-15, her blood formation process is slightly different from the normal one and thus, her blood contains an additional biochemical which when reacts with mitochondria (energy unit of a human cell) of the blood gives off tremendous amount of energy. And remember, human body has trillions and trillions of mitochondria. Over a period of time some of this stored superhuman energy got converted into fats and then into tissues making the muscles, ligaments, tendons and all other organs super tough, even tougher than diamond or super hard alloys."

"That means she is human, more human than I ever thought."

"Yes. As for her stamina, durability and reflexes, her super energy suffices for all."

"Then how did Gero control this super human being?"

"With just a small chip. Here, have a look at her brain." Maria zoomed in the image of 18's brain. There in her grey matter was a tiny chip. "All sorts of commands and additional softwares of controlling gadgets including Gero's orders are encoded in it."

"Then how could she defy his orders? For instance, killing him, her own master?"

"Gero did a mistake. He thought that the androids would follow his orders just like any other human but he was wrong. The huge energy in their bodies helps in transmission of nerve impulses at greater speeds (which is the reason behind their superior intelligence) than any imaginable, creating by-products in the process. These by- products are actually antigens and antibodies that seep through their synapses (nerve endings) which gets accumulated in the brain and then spreads throughout the body protecting it from foreign threats, for instance Gero's authoritative programming."

"Bloody shit! My transmitter!" Trunks exclaimed.

"Are you talking about this?" Maria zoomed in the image of the transmitter which had been installed by Trunks in her to keep a track on her locations. It was completely burnt and was undergoing radical changes.

"What the hell is happening with the transmitter?"

"It has been destroyed by the antigens and anti bodies and now you can imagine what is happening to it seeing its present location."

Now that Trunks realised where it was, he exclaimed with disgust, "Can androids excrete?"

Maria repeated Trunks' words, "I told you they are human more human than you ever thought."

"Now I understand why I couldn't feel her transportations." Trunks was in his deepest thoughts. Then some queries struck his mind. He asked, "Can she get better? I mean can she get stronger and faster?"

"Yes, she definitely has scope for development. But it depends on her temperament. If she does training she can get much stronger, even stronger than your super bulky form that you showed earlier today. But my analysis says she never tried to train. You know humans; once they are powerful, the power gets to their heads. You can say she is in her base form. If she tries she can reach to her higher levels just like Krillin, Yamcha, Tien and Chiaotzu. But her transformations will be way beyond her base form which means we all are in big trouble. Also meditation and mental exercises can make her mentally strong just like any other human but the degree of strength will be many folds higher than normal."

"Oh this is just great," Trunks was disheartened. All odds were against him. She could get stronger than him in every possible way. And now that he had come to know of her being human, he could hardly feel any wrath for her. He had vowed to protect humanity even if that humanity was a little modified. That meant he could not harm her intentionally while she could break him in several ways. He was completely vulnerable to her. Rather he had to protect her just like any other human. This was the ultimate prize he got for sparing her to save his planet.

But he was a Saiyan. Fighting against all odds and winning was his instinct. If she wanted war, he would definitely give it to her. He would never bow to her. He would train harder than ever. Trunks was having these thoughts when Maria's voice interrupted her, "She will wake up in thirty seconds. Anything else you want to know?"

"Did you extract her memory before her existence as an android?"

"No, I thought it won't be necessary."

"Damn it! Extract her memory. I wish to see it."

"But it will take time, we only have 25 seconds."

"At least try." He urged. He could see the countdown. But Maria was a genius. She was already inside the highly secured memory of 18. Now 15 seconds were left while 65% of 18's memory was left to be copied. "Hurry up Maria!" Trunks paced up and down with his fingers crossed in his pocket. Beads of sweat formed on the forehead of Trunks. He wanted to know whether she was forced or did she willingly sign to become an android. If she willingly did this, he would have a logical reason to hate her back. He snapped out of his thoughts and focused on his screen. 3 seconds and 26% to go. "Please God! I beg you." Trunks pleaded. His heart beat rose rapidly. He was confident of his yet another defeat. But then-

"Congrats Trunks! Our mission is accomplished." Maria exclaimed happily. Trunks opened his eyes. He had got it at last. He was about to celebrate when he heard the sound of splashing of liquid. He turned around. There before him stood his rival with deepest loathing in her eyes.

AUTHOR'S NOTE – Please be patient with me as this is my busiest year. Please R&R. I hope your waiting and your patience bears fruit. Thank you for your appreciation and advices.