The trio halted at the cliff's edge as the wind tore at their clothes.
Below them, the ravine dropped into a black abyss studded with metal spikes.
The distance to the opposite side was nearly fifty feet.
"This is the place, but looking at it now... the jump is suicide. And unless you plan on building a bridge out of cactus, we're stuck."
"A bridge takes too long to deploy."
She reached into her pouch, until she found a capsule case marked with a vehicle icon.
"And we need to be fast and quiet."
She selected capsule 829 and tossed it onto the rocky ground.
POOF.
Two anti-gravity hoverbikes materialized.
They were compact, painted in matte grey, each bearing the Capsule Corp symbol.
"Hoverbikes." Bulma announced, checking the fuel gauges.
She turned to Oolong.
"Can you pilot one?"
Oolong looked at the floating machines.
"I've driven cars and speedboats. How different is the interface?"
"Right hand to go, left to slow and rise. Lean where you want to turn. Just don't yank it, or you're flipping."
Oolong approached the bike, gripping the handle.
"Seems easy enough."
He swung a leg over the machine, then glanced at the second bike, at Bulma, and finally at Goku.
"Wait, there are only two bikes. I take one, you take the other... how do we get Goku across?"
Bulma paused, her hand halfway to the ignition.
She looked at Goku.
I can't carry him, and I don't have a third bike.
"Right..." A flick of concern crossed her face.
Then, her eyes landed on the red sheath strapped to Goku's back.
She remembered.
"Actually, I don't think he needs a ride. Goku, you can make that red staff stretch, right?"
"Yeah, I've got it right here!"
Goku pulled the Nyoibo from the sheath on his back.
He planted one end of the pole firmly into the rocky ground near the ledge.
He gripped the other end tight, crouched low, and shouted.
"Nyoibo, extend!"
The staff shot downward, catapulting Goku high into the air.
He soared over the ravine in a perfect arc, looking like a red streak against the blue sky, before landing on the ledge. He turned back and waved.
"Your turn!"
Bulma and Oolong engaged their thrusters.
The hoverbikes hummed, lifting off the ground.
They glided over the abyss, the wind rushing past them, and touched down softly next to Goku.
Bulma dismounted.
They were in the shadow of the massive city wall, completely unseen by the towers.
"Phase one complete." Bulma whispered, deactivating the bikes and returning them to their capsule forms.
"We're at the wall. Now, how do we get over?"
Oolong looked up at the towering barrier. It was thirty feet of reinforced steel plating.
"We can't blow it open. An explosion would trigger every alarm in the sector. We need to go over it. Do you have anything for climbing? Like... suction cups or grapple guns?"
Bulma's serious demeanor cracked.
Her eyes suddenly sparkled with manic glee.
"I thought you'd never ask."
She reached into a special compartment of her pouch and pulled out two capsules and pressed it.
POOF
It revelaed to be pairs of metallic gauntlets and boot attachments.
They looked like futuristic versions of ancient ninja gear.
"Behold! The capsule corp gecko grip climbing system! Based on the ancient shuko and ashiko ninja claws, but upgraded with molecular adhesion pads. These babies can scale sheer glass, wet metal, or even teflon!"
She tossed a set to Oolong.
"I've been dying to field test these!"
Oolong caught the gear, staring at the complex claws in his hands.
He looked up at Bulma, who was already strapping hers on with the enthusiasm of a kid on Christmas morning.
She just wanted an excuse to show off her toys.
"I can just use the pole again to jump to the top!"
Goku suggested, already bending his knees and positioning the staff for a massive leap.
"Wait." Bulma said, putting a hand on his shoulder to stop him.
"We don't know what's up there. If you jump blind and land on some trap, the whole mission is blown before it starts."
She checked the insulation seals.
"Oolong and I will go first. These claws are insulated against high voltage. We'll check the perimeter and disable any active measures. If it's clear, I'll give you the signal, two waves of the hand. Then you jump. Got it?"
"Okay. I'll wait here."
Bulma turned to the wall and slammed her gauntlet against the steel.
CLANK.
The magnetic pads locked on instantly.
"Let's move."
They began the ascent, crawling up the vertical face like two spiders.
As they neared the top. A low hum vibrated through the metal plating.
An electrified security mesh running along the crest of the wall.
Bulma had expected this.
This is a standard electric fence. There's nothing complicated about it, but it works. Most people won't get past it.
"However..."
She released her left hand, trusting the magnetic grip of her right gauntlet to hold her weight against the vertical steel.
With a flick of her thumb, she pressed a concealed stud on the wrist mechanism.
SNIKT.
A thin, serrated blade made of non-conductive ceramic shot out from the center of the palm unit.
Oolong stared at it, wide-eyed, clinging to the wall beside her.
"Just how many functions does that thing have?"
"Think of it like a military pocket knife." Bulma replied, carefully positioning the blade against the main power coupling.
"Useful for any scenario."
She applied pressure, and the blade began to slice through the thick cable without conducting a spark.
"It's a shame, really. This project stayed in the prototype phase. My father's analysis team killed it, said it wasn't advantageous for the mass market. Apparently, the average consumer doesn't have enough reasons to justify the production cost."
Yeah, I could see why… Oolong thought.
The ceramic blade sliced through.
The buzzing of the fence died instantly.
"Power's dead." Bulma whispered, retracting the blade.
She hauled herself over the lip of the wall.
As she landed on the maintenance walkway, Oolong scrambled up right behind her.
They crouched low.
Brown Town spread out to their left, all factories, smokestacks, flickering signs, searchlights sliding across brick and steel.
Still, Oolong had called it. This stretch overlooking the ravine behind the bank was quiet. No cameras. No guards. Only discarded scrap piled in the alley beneath them.
"It's clear." Oolong exhaled, wiping sweat from his brow.
Bulma crept back to the edge of the wall and peered down into the abyss.
Bulma raised her hand and gave two waves.
Goku jumped up the wall in a single bound, landing silently beside them.
Bulma pulled the Dragon Radar from her pocket, shielding the screen's glow with her hand.
"Okay, let's see where we stand..." She pointed toward the center of the city.
"It's exactly where you said it would be. Dead center."
"The Main Camp. Dimcha's headquarters. It's too far to walk without getting stopped by a patrol. We need to steal a vehicle. A buggy would be best."
He paused, looking down.
"But I can't go walking around like this. Every scrapper in town knows what I look like. If they see a pig in pants, the alarm goes off in five seconds."
POOF.
A cloud of white smoke erupted around him.
When it cleared, the pig was gone.
Standing in his place was a short human man with messy red hair and casual clothing.
He adjusted his collar, looking up at Bulma.
"This is a standard low-level grunt look. Nobody looks twice at a guy with a face like this."
"Smart, let's move."
They descended from the wall into the dark alleyway behind the bank, moving cautiously through the shadows.
As they rounded the corner of the bank, the sound of a car cut in.
"Get down!" Oolong said, grabbing Bulma's arm and pulling her behind a stack of oil drums. Goku crouched beside them instantly.
A dune buggy, painted with scrapper skulls came screeching around the corner. It drifted sideways, kicking up a cloud of dust, and slammed to a halt right in front of the bank's main entrance.
"That's a scrapper patrol vehicle." Oolong whispered, peeking through a gap in the drums.
"But that driver..."
The driver's side door was kicked open.
A woman with wild blonde hair stepped out.
She wasn't wearing a scrapper uniform.
She wore a cropped brown leather vest open over a white bandeau top, paired with loose olive cargo pants and heavy combat boots.
and in her hands, she clutched a submachine gun.
It was Launch.
She grinned and racked the slide of her weapon.
"Time to make a withdrawal!" She shouted to no one in particular, marching straight up the steps.