Lisette streaked through the air, the three Androids following close in her wake. As she cast a sidelong glance at her pursuers, she calmly analyzed the gap in their power.
In terms of raw output, she held the clear advantage. Thanks to her relentless training, she was maintaining her 50x Burst Limit with almost no physical strain, and her Dual Barrier had easily neutralized their opening salvo. Assuming the leader, Android 13, was the strongest among them, it meant their combined efforts were unlikely to even scratch her.
However, she couldn't dismiss the possibility that they were merely testing her. They were Androids; without a detectable ki, she couldn't sense the true depths of their power.
"Hah!"
The short, purple-skinned Android 15 lunged forward, throwing a punch with a sharp cry. It never reached her. His fist was stopped centimeters from her skin by the invisible, rotating pressure of her barrier.
The impact caused the energy field to spin violently, and 15 was thrown backward as if he had struck a massive, high-speed turbine. Android 14 followed up with an attack of his own, only to be similarly repelled by the impenetrable defense.
Android 13 watched closely, his mechanical mind processing the data. The God maintains a permanent, rotating defense field. A direct physical assault is inefficient.
"Gladius, ibi. (Let there be swords.)"
Lisette flicked her fingers. Dozens of gleaming white blades manifested in the air, raining down on the trio in a lethal barrage. They scattered to avoid the initial volley, but several of the swords banked sharply, pursuing them with independent intent.
The blades that missed didn't simply vanish; they formed a perimeter, cutting off their escape routes. 13 managed to weave through the storm of steel, but 14 lost a leg to a passing blade, and 15 had an arm severed.
When 14 tried to close the distance again, he was suddenly pinned in mid-air by a telekinetic grip and blasted into a glacier by a Kiai Cannon. 13 fired a volley of energy blasts, but they were simply swallowed by Lisette's barrier.
The three Androids lunged at her simultaneously for a combined melee strike. They didn't even get to swing; all three were frozen in place by a crushing psychic weight.
"It's useless," Lisette said softly. "You lack the power to even touch me."
Without a single motion, she unleashed a telekinetic burst that sent them flying in three different directions. She followed up with a pinpoint ki blast that tore straight through Android 15. The energy didn't pass through him—it stayed lodged in his torso, causing his mechanical frame to spark and shudder as he fell to his knees.
Lisette snapped her fingers. The ki blast within 15 expanded into a thousand needle-like lasers, erupting from his body and shredding him from the inside out. He detonated in a violent explosion, his metallic remains scattering across the snow.
"One down."
"Damn you!" 13 roared.
13 fired a massive red orb while 14 launched a rapid-fire barrage from his palms. Lisette didn't even flinch. She didn't take a defensive stance. She simply hovered in place, her barrier vaporizing every blast that touched it.
When their assault faltered, she thrust her hand forward, launching a glowing spear that pierced Android 14's chest. She manipulated her fingers as if pulling invisible strings; the spear transformed into a lattice of blades that pulsed and shifted, dicing the massive Android into a heap of scrap metal.
"Two down."
"Grr... ugh!"
13 took a defensive stance, but it was a futile gesture. Lisette hit him with another invisible wave of force, slamming him back. The sheer cruelty of her invisible, silent strikes was starting to rattle 13's programming. There was no way to dodge or parry an attack that had no physical form.
Lisette narrowed her eyes. A sickening sound of groaning metal echoed as Android 13's right arm began to warp and twist.
"Gah! G-Gahhhhh!"
His shoulder joint was forced far beyond its mechanical limits. The arm was twisted five, six times—wires snapped, sparks flew, and the limb was eventually wrung off like a wet towel. 13 stared at the girl in horror.
She tore my arm off with nothing but a thought!
He looked up at the youthful girl hovering above him. Is this a God? Is this the peak of this planet? No matter how he attacked, she was immovable. And without her even moving a muscle, he was being dismantled.
But 13 began to laugh. He still had one final protocol.
"Not yet! The real fight starts now, God!"
13 threw his remaining arm wide. In response, the wreckage of 14 and 15 began to lift off the ground. He was a unique model among the Androids, equipped with a core capable of absorbing the power reactors and data chips of his fallen comrades. He was the prototype for the "Bio-Android" integration system.
But before the components could reach him, a forest of white swords rained from the sky, pinning every piece of wreckage to the ice.
"I'm sorry," Lisette said, her voice devoid of emotion.
Detonation.
The parts 13 needed to transform were vaporized in a series of explosions, leaving him with nothing but useless slag.
"I'm not like Goku or Vegeta," Lisette continued. "I don't have the patience to wait for my enemies to transform or power up. I apologize for ruining the drama, but my policy is to win as quickly as possible."
She waved her hand down. 13's torso twisted, his legs buckled in directions they weren't meant to bend, and his neck was wrung around.
"STOP! My joints... they aren't meant to move like—"
Lisette didn't stop. She applied more pressure. Android 13 was caught in a psychic "tornado" that twisted his entire body into a mangled knot of steel. Wires burst, oil sprayed, and his screams dissolved into static before his frame finally collapsed into a pile of unrecognizable junk.
Lisette held her hand over the remains and fired a single ki blast, erasing every trace of the Android from the earth. She did the same for the remnants of 14 and 15.
"Now, as for Goku... his ki has moved to Mount Paozu. The heart disease must have activated. I should go check on him."
She glanced one last time at the spot where the machines had stood. After a moment of silence, she closed her eyes and took flight. Behind her, the northern glaciers returned to their silent, snowy peace.
By the time Lisette arrived at the scene of the main battle, the fighting was already over.
Vegeta was unconscious, his arm broken and bent at an unnatural angle. Trunks was down, as were Tien, Chiaotzu, and Nappa.
Only Turles, Piccolo, and Krillin were still standing. Krillin, notably, had a faint blush on his face—it seemed he had already received his legendary kiss from Android 18. Despite his lack of height, hair, and a nose, he was a good man; Lisette hoped he would find happiness this time around.
"I see Turles and Piccolo managed to stay on their feet," Lisette noted.
"Barely," Turles grunted, leaning on his knees. "The kids—17 and 18—we could handle them. We were actually winning. But that big guy, 16... he's on another level. We can't take him head-on like this."
Lisette was surprised to hear they had been winning against 17 and 18, but it was good news. It meant their three years of training had paid off. More importantly, it meant the Androids hadn't killed anyone, proving they weren't the cold-blooded monsters from Trunks's future.
"Gero's trio is gone," Lisette said.
"Figures," Krillin sighed. "If you'd been here, maybe we could have taken the others too."
"We need to move Goku," Lisette commanded. "Their target is compromised. We need to hide him somewhere safe."
Knowing the Androids in this timeline were at least somewhat reasonable was a relief. If she could convince them to abandon their mission, they might even become allies. But for now, they were still hunting Goku.
The safest place on Earth was her Sanctuary—the Lookout. It existed in its own dimension unless the Power Pole was used to bridge the gap, and it was protected by her permanent barriers.
"Kame House is too obvious. We're going to the Lookout."
Lisette opened a massive Gate, ushering the conscious warriors through and using her telekinesis to carry the wounded. She transported Goku, Yamcha, and Chi-Chi to the sanctuary as well.
With everyone safe, Lisette turned her gaze back to the world below. She needed to track the Androids' current location. But as she scanned the planet, she saw something that shouldn't exist in this era.
A green, insect-like creature with a silhouette like a cicada.
It was a Bio-Android. A creature made from the cells of the universe's greatest warriors. A monster that shouldn't have been completed for decades.
Cell.
(Cell? How!? Did my future self really fail to stop his birth!?)
Lisette knew exactly where Gero's secret laboratory was. She had planned to destroy the infant Cell before he ever woke up. Gero had abandoned that project; the lab shouldn't have been moved.
But the reality before her was even worse.
(Why... why is he already in his Perfect Form!?)
It wasn't the monster from the first stage. This was the sleek, human-like warrior with a composed, regal bearing. He didn't seem to be attacking anyone; he was simply looking around as if searching for someone.
Then, he looked up—directly at her. His lips curled into a smirk.
(He saw me!)
In a flash, Cell opened a Gate and appeared directly on the tiles of the Lookout.
Lisette leapt back, her hands glowing with white light. Turles and Piccolo immediately took their stances, shielding the wounded.
There was no malice in Cell's ki. In fact, his energy was "Clear," just like a god's. It felt exactly like... her own.
(My ki? What is this? I can feel Goku and Krillin in there too, but my signature is overwhelming. What did my future self do!?)
"Don't be so guarded," Cell said, his voice deep and smooth. "I didn't come here to harm you."
Lisette tried to read his mind, but she found her psychic abilities blocked. He was shielded by the same divine mental defense she used.
"I simply came to see you..." Cell continued, a gentle light in his eyes. "...my Stepmother."
"!?"
Lisette's mind went into a complete tailspin, her mouth hanging open in silent shock.
***
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