Standing atop a flaming car with bullet holes riddling its entire body, a still alive, active and unscathed Maya could be seen facing down an equally energized Gohan and Videl, while her towering partner stood behind her with his eyes set squarely on Zangya and Paprika, positioned on another part of the busted highway.
After apparently being locked in combat for quite some time, the two separate groups had done their best to drag the fight away from the town's center and into the outskirts. It was here, on the main highway leading out of the village and across an iron bridge, the representatives of both sides were facing each other off, with a crashed helicopter in the background and squads of exhausted and bruised soldiers gaping from the sidelines. Obviously the men's efforts to stop the super-powered fighters from destroying the countryside had ended in failure and, after thoroughly embarrassing themselves and being disarmed by the Z-fighters and the alien invaders, had resigned to watching the battle from a safe distance.
Both Maya and Cal, sporting only minor scuff marks on their armor and tears in their capes, had just begun the painstaking process of reassessing the situation regarding their multitude of opponents. But then, just as they were preparing for a third bout, a series of readings and numbers suddenly appeared on their visors. The arrows pointing them in the direction of the anomaly's source, the pair quickly straightened up and narrowed their eyes, with Maya glancing over her shoulder and towards her teammate.
"Cal?"
"Yeah. I got it," the man replied. Without warning, the pair then shot straight up into the sky and rocketed towards the horizon at a blistering speed, breaking the sound barrier several times as they flew. In just two seconds, they were gone.
Down on the ground, the crime fighter from Satan City balked, "Hey! Where the heck are they going?" It was only after her senses cued in to the pair's frequency that Videl's eyes widened in shock, and she too found herself staring in the direction they'd left. "Whoa. Wait a second… is that…?"
Also picking up on the massive power level growing in the distance, Gohan quickly set his body into a sprinter's stance and powered up. "I think I have an idea. Come on!"
Recovering quickly, the renowned guardians of the earth launched themselves from the ground and flew after the two alien fighters, their auras blazing around them and propelling them across the continent. Seeing their friends lead on, Zangya and Paprika followed suite, their forms leaping from the road and arcing into the sky, where they swiftly fell into formation alongside the pair.
Once all four heroes had taken off, they not only left a moderately damaged town and over a dozen wrecked vehicles in their wake, but also a battered and bewildered force of soldiers scattered across the community's main highway. Their commander, who'd managed to bail out of his destroyed chopper, could be seen at the front of his garrison, scratching his head and dusting off the ash covering his uniform.
As the locals slowly recovered from their brush with the intergalactic visitors, soaring over the smoking town and leaving a trail of his own, Son Goten, worried about the wellbeing of his older sibling and respective sisters, chased after the group as fast as his little body could carry him.
"Wait for me, big brother!" the demi-Saiyan chirped, his aura firing up as he picked up speed.
XXX
Over in her battle with the Z-fighters in the baseball stadium, Kure also managed to pick up her leader's power increase over in Central City. Tracking it quickly with her senses, the woman wasted no time in abandoning the battlefield and flying on over, with a thoroughly frustrated Brief family and a confused Yamcha right on her tail. The cat-alien humanoid made sure to put as much distance between herself and her antagonists, so as to avoid taking fire from behind. This allowed for a safe and straight passage to her friend's location, as well as what she suspected was to be her group's rendezvous point.
As for Gohan and the others, the gang had no idea what to expect when they finally arrived at the point where the unusual anomaly was originating from. All they could do on the flight over was share a quick briefing with those who were present, before returning to the pursuit with their senses locked onto the enemies they were following. Due to the haste in which they'd jumped into their battle, they were still debating on whether or not the guys that they were chasing after were going to sack a couple of towns or cities along the way. However, after seeing how they acted throughout their battle thus far, they had reason to suspect that the invaders weren't here to conquer or destroy the earth.
This left a majority of the Z-fighters bewildered and confused, wondering what was going to happen next.
All concerns over the possible threats these mysterious warriors posed to the planet would be cleared up soon enough. After traveling for a couple of minutes along a straight and direct path, the once scattered group of Z-fighters rapidly converged on the capital of the planet, Central City. Upon passing over the housing areas, business districts and through the enormous skyscrapers making up the downtown sectors, the groups then arrived at the sprawling estate of the world's largest ruling monarchy.
Entering King Koku's domain and arriving at the central tower that was his palace, the Z-fighters quickly hit the brakes and descended to ground level, where they were quickly greeted by swaths of excited civilians and befuddled soldiers. The majority of the humans cleared out when they saw Gohan's group touchdown in the enormous, white, cobblestone courtyard, while the royal guard responded to their arrival in typical, defensive fashion.
Seeing the soldiers moving towards them with rifles cocked and loaded, taking charge of the situation, Videl stepped forward and made her presence known to the people in the area. "Easy, fellas. There's no need for that," the young warrior spoke, her voice loud enough that it echoed across the entire quad. "We'll take it from here."
"Ms. Satan?" The commanding officer at the front, a large, beefy soldier in a blue uniform with golden cuffs and sidearm, as well as bearing the insignia of a Colonel, instantly recognized Satan City's poster girl and quickly raised his hand. "Hold it, men. Stand down. Stand down." He then waved for his soldiers to back off, which they did without question or hesitation. Once the guards fell behind him, the Colonel turned to the raven haired martial artist and nodded.
Acknowledging the man respectfully, Videl promptly fell in step with Gohan as he and Zangya approached the palace. Stopping in view of the balcony and looking up, they soon spotted the source of the enormous power level and the cause for all this morning's pandemonium.
Standing on the ledge above the King's veranda, the demi-Saiyan and his friends saw, flanked by both the armored Maya and Cal, a beautiful, raven haired woman around eighteen years old, adorned in a white cape, wearing a scouter with a blue, hologram visor over her right eye, and a golden headband with a red gem in the center around her cranium. Furthermore, not only did this woman have a very imposing presence befitting someone of royalty and high standing, she was also regarding the Z-fighters in front of her with a cool and collected disposition. This indicated that she wasn't intimidated by their presence in the least, which solidified her position as the head of the invaders and the strongest individual of her group.
While Gohan, Videl, Zangya and Paprika stared up at the newcomer with a mixture of uncertainty and confusion, they soon noticed a couple more armored figures fly into view and stop on either side of their leader. A few seconds later, the team of four heroes was promptly joined by Vegeta, Trunks, Yamcha, and Bulma, with Android 18, Tien, Krillin and Chiaotzu bringing up the rear a few seconds later. Once the eight of them had touched down on the quad where Gohan's group had gathered, a tardy but energetic Goten also rocked up to the scene, his aura dissipating as he landed and rushed over to where his best friend from West City was standing.
"Hey, Trunks!" the boy giggled, earning a grin from his lavender haired counterpart.
"Yo!" Sharing a high five with his fellow troublemaker, the pair quickly put their game faces on and turned their eyes to the spire above.
Once the entire group had formed up in the square, they quickly focused their attention on the tower, where the squad of armored opponents and their leader had assembled.