Chapter 24: Launch??
A while ago, before Shen enters the underground prison...
"You!! What did you do to us?"
A large number of Red Ribbon soldiers are frozen in place, their actions not voluntary, as an unknown force continuously holds them in this state.
"A little trick..." Shen replies, unconcerned by the numerous soldiers surrounding him. "My psychic abilities certainly come in handy at times like these... Perfect for these small-fries."
Suddenly, distracting noises of innumerable boots hitting the concrete ground fills the air. A new group of soldiers arrives on the scene. They are the same soldiers who had earlier left the prison at the warden's command, They have come to rescue their comrades in arms.
They point their guns at Shen.
"Fire!!"
Immediately, The soldiers start raining bullets on Shen, but Shen; showcasing his supernatural powers, levitates the enemy's weapons mid-air. With a swipe of his arm, he disarms the soldiers, snatching and throwing their weapons aside—bullets and all.
"Yawn!!" Shen feels sleepy "ugh! this is so boring These soldiers aren't able to put up any sort of resistance against me, at all."
Hearing this, the soldiers surrounding him are struck with terror and awe at the same time. They are mystified by his confidence and overwhelming display of power... To the everyday normal people, Shen's abilities are naturally unnatural.
He too decides to give these men a chance. "I don't know if you'll believe it or not, but I am actually a forgiving man. I have nothing to gain or lose from killing all of you... So why don't you just give up and surrender? Maybe by doing as I say, you'll leave this place alive..."
Out of vigilance or fear of the unknown man, who doesn't seem to take any of their attacks seriously, the soldiers take his words to heart. They contemplate their situation and come to a joint conclusion... The results are no surprise, as the gap between the two parties is just that large.
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Right about now, Commander Red, leader of the Red Ribbon Army, is having an emergency meeting with his most trusted subordinates, Staff Officer Black, and some others of his inner circle.
Panic is spread across their faces. Commander Red; a dwarf man of short stature, stands on top of his chair, frustrated at the rapidly unfolding events, standing on the chair is stunt to showcase his anger more explicitly.
He looks at the monitor showing the live CCTV footage of Shen with discontent. "So he is the man going around destroying our bases!. What do you suppose his motives are for attacking us, Officer Black?"
Red jumps down from his chair, accidentally dropping his cigar from his mouth. He then turns to his right-hand man, Officer Black. As the name implies, Black is a tall, dark-skinned individual.
"Sir, I myself am very confused. According to the news we just received, he is letting all the lower-ranked soldiers live. The same fate, however, is not applied to high-ranking officers like us. What do you think he is planning, Commander Red? Does he want to take over the army?"
Having the question returned to him, Red stares blankly at Black for a second. He steps on the fallen cigar on the floor, squashing it, and replies.
"What is there to think? He's not trying to take over the army. If he was, he would have let some of the high-ranking officers live. He needs at least some of them to maintain our vast army of thousands."
"Then what else could he want?" Black asks, confused. Everyone else in the room shares the same sentiment.
"This is what's most infuriating..." Red slams a nearby desk with his legs. His legs hurt, which angers him even more.
"From my understanding, he wants nothing. He's just playing hero. I had heard there are those kinds of people out there... Never would I have thought such a person, no less an unbelievable monster like him, would come at us."
Suddenly, interrupting the meeting, the door bursts open as someone barges in, shocking everyone in the room. "So this is where everyone was hiding? Now then..."
Just as everyone's attention is distracted away from the monitor screen, Shen happens to show up.
"W-wait, please listen! We can negotiate. How about I make you a commander of my army?"
The leader of the Red Ribbon Army pleads, but nothing reaches the ears of their grim reaper.
Aiming his laser-like ki attacks precisely at their hearts, Shen gives the men a quick and easy ticket to the other world.
Seeing the subordinates fall one by one, panic sets in the hearts of Commander Red and Officer Black. Both frantically rush in the same direction—toward a red button on the commander's desk.
Red being nearest to it, reaches it first. Black was right behind him when he presses the button.
The walls behind the commander's desk begin to slide down like an elevator, revealing a large glass closet containing an equally large robotic suit, around 3 meters in height.
Red and Black push each other out of the way, both attempting to enter the robot first, each hoping to save their own life.
Yet all is for naught, as before they could accomplish their immediate goals, Shen puts a full stop to their lives with two rapid, successive ki strikes.
Shen amusingly looks at the now, ownerless robotic armor.
"This weird pair of short and long legs, I was wondering what they were up to, so I let them do as they pleased... Were they trying to make a last-ditch effort with this thing? Heh! An unexpected loot... I shall take it, in their stead... I really have to appreciate the Red Ribbon Army... Even in their last moments, they did not forget their generosity and left me with a gift."
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Shen, having emerged inside the underground prison of the now-decimated Red Ribbon Army...
His entrance makes him the subject of everyone's gaze in the prison.
Shen nonchalantly walks, taking a tour of the prison cells, ignoring all the curious eyes on him.
Suddenly, his own eyes land on a stunned girl who was previously shouting non-stop from her cell.
"Who?? What?? How??" He gets near the smooth metal bars of her cell, trying to have a better look.
"This face!! She's unmistakably..." Uttering incoherent words, he grows more confused and stunned by the second.
"Face? What about my face? You have a problem with it?" The girl musters the courage to speak, not willing to be the subject of anyone's mockery.
"No, no, miss. I am not making fun of your face. I'm just stunned by you... Does your name happen to be Launch?" Shen stutters while speaking.
"How do you know my name, and what do you mean by 'stu—'?" She isn't done speaking when Shen, breaks the metal bars; obstructing his eyes and the girls freedom.
"Are you really Launch?!! But how is that possible?" While pondering, he approaches her, unknowingly getting, extremely close to the feisty girl.
Launche's face is inches away from Shen's, making her embarrassed. "What do you mean, how?" She questions the man. "My name is Launch... How would I know how that happened? I'm just me."
Shen, noticing how close he was to the girl, backs away to an appropriate distance. 'How can there be an adult Launch at this current time? Shen should still be a kid right now. At least, that was supposed to be the case from what I know.'
The girl, whose appearance previously wasn't visible, is now clearly recognizable as none other than the blonde Launch-chan.
This makes her the target of Shen's curiosity...
What could be the reason for her unexplained appearance this soon in the timeline? —We will know the answer on the next- Dragon Ball: Shen.
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