From cover, Goku, Bulma, and Oolong watched Launch move toward the bank, her gun already up.
"She's a dead woman walking." Oolong said, watching Lauch kick the bank doors open.
"Just another suicidal lunatic with a death wish. She won't last five minutes against the bank security."
He turned his attention to the idling buggy she had left in the middle of the street.
The engine was still running, but sputtering.
"But her stupidity is our gain." Oolong whispered, gesturing for Bulma and Goku to follow him.
"That's our ride. I know these models inside out. Even if she took the key, I can hotwire the ignition coil in ten seconds flat."
They broke cover, staying low, sprinting toward the vehicle.
Oolong reached the driver's side first. He was just about to reach under the dashboard when the ground began to tremble.
It wasn't an earthquake. It was engines. Lots of them.
"Wait!" Goku said, his ears twitching.
Before Oolong could reach the wires, harsh yellow light washed over the street, throwing their shadows up against the bank.
Bulma grabbed Oolong and yanked him back behind the buggy as six reinforced Scrapper vehicles screeched around the corner.
They skidded into the street in a messy formation, blocking the road and boxing in the bank's entrance.
"Damn it! The cavalry's here." Oolong pressed his back against the metal door of the stolen buggy.
"Back to the alley! Now!"
They scuttled back into the shadows of the narrow passage behind the bank, pressing themselves against the wall.
Oolong peeked around the corner, he watched the scene unfold in the street.
The middle jeep opened, and a huge grizzly bear climbed out, wearing a tactical vest. A tall woman with sharp eyes and a bionic arm stepped out after him.
"I don't believe it... that's Grizzlo and Diesella. Yamcha's personal lieutenants."
He watched as the bear lazily cracked his knuckles, while the woman barked orders at the grunt soldiers to set up a perimeter.
"Why would they send the elites for a bank robbery? Standard procedure is to send a grunt squad. Sending them is like using a sledgehammer to kill a mosquito."
"We're boxed in." Bulma said, checking her surroundings.
"If they set up a perimeter, they'll sweep the area. We can't stay here."
"Just say the word." Goku whispered, crouching in a fighting stance.
"I can take them."
"No..." Oolong interrupted, turning back to them.
A realized grin was starting to spread across his disguised human face.
He pointed a thumb back toward the chaos in the street.
"Don't you see? This isn't a trap for us. It's a gift."
He looked at Bulma.
"If Grizzlo and Diesella are here... and they brought half the garrison to deal with that blonde lunatic... then who is guarding the main camp?"
Bulma's eyes widened as the realization hit her.
"The base is exposed," she whispered.
"Exactly." Oolong nodded.
"With everyone glued to the fireworks at the bank, Dimcha's vault is basically unguarded. We just have to deal with Yamcha." Bulma said.
"However.This only works if we know when they're coming back. If they crush that girl in two minutes and returns to base while we're in the vault, we're dead. We need a spotter. Someone to signal us the second they wrap this up."
Bulma didn't hesitate.
She unclipped the Dragon Radar from her belt and held it out.
"I'll stay."
Oolong blinked, looking at the device in her hand.
"You?"
"You know how the camp's set up." Bulma reasoned, pressing the radar into his chest.
"And you're going to need heavy lifting to get into that vault. That means you need Goku. I'm better off here, keeping an eye on the command team."
"Are you sure about this?" Oolong asked, clutching the radar tight.
"You'll be alone with the heavy hitters right around the corner. If they spot you..."
"It's your plan, Oolong. You tell me. Is it going to work?"
Oolong paused for a moment, then nodded, confident it would work.
"It might. Actually, it just might."
He shoved the radar into his pocket and turned to Goku.
"Come on, Goku. Follow my lead and stay quiet. We have a vault to rob."
///////////////////////////////////////
Inside the bank, Launch had already declared the robbery and was standing with the manager in front of the vault.
"Move your ass, sweetheart! I don't get paid by the hour!"
Launch screamed, jamming the barrel of her submachine gun into her back.
The woman struggled with the heavy iron wheel of the vault, her hands were shaking so much she could barely hold on.
"P-please, don't shoot! It's opening! It's opening!"
KA-CHUNK.
The massive circular door swung outward with a groan of rusted hinges. Launch's eyes lit up like a kid in a candy store.
Inside, stacks of cash and bags were piled high.
"Mama likes!" Launch cackled, shoving the teller aside.
"Now that's what I call a stimulus package!"
She stepped forward to grab the first bag of loot, but the sound of the bank's main entrance doors screeching open stopped her dead in her tracks.
The heavy footsteps that followed weren't human.
The floor tiles vibrated.
Launch spun, her grin curved into a snarl.
Standing in the lobby, blocking out the light from the street, was Grizzlo.
He took a noisy sip from his soda can, crushed it effortlessly in one paw, and tossed it over his shoulder.
"Alright, alright." He scratched his belly as if he had just woken up from a nap.
"The fun's over, little lady. Why don't you come out here and give Uncle Grizzlo a hug before I have to get violent? My back is killing me today."
"She's not gonna come out just because you asked nicely, you big rug. She's in the vault. Cornered rats don't come out."
Before Grizzlo could reply, Launch kicked the vault door open further. She stepped out, dragging the terrified bank teller by the collar of her uniform, the barrel of her submachine gun pressed hard against the woman's head.
"Take one more step and I'll blow her damn head off! I mean it! I'll fill this place with so much lead you'll need a crane to walk out!"
Diesella gasped, bringing a hand to her mouth in a performance of shock that was so exaggerated it was insulting.
"Oh no! A hostage? Oh, please, don't do it! Think of the humanity! Whatever shall we do?"
Launch narrowed her eyes, keeping the gun steady. She expected negotiation.
Instead, she saw Grizzlo's shoulders shaking.
The massive bear was chuckling a deep sound that vibrated in his chest.
Beside him, Diesella dropped the act instantly, snickering into her hand.
"What's so funny?" Launch barked, tightening her grip on the sobbing teller.
"I said I'll blow her brains out! Are you deaf?"
"We ain't deaf. We just ain't interested." Grizzlo said, wiping a tear of laughter.
He spread his massive arms, gesturing to the Scrapper skulls painted on his vest.
"Look at us. Do we look like the police to you? We're bandits. Just like you. You think it makes a difference to the scrappers if you put a hole in her?"
He pointed a lazy claw at the hostage.
"Go ahead. Pull the trigger. We'll just have another person sitting in that chair by tomorrow morning. Labor is cheap in the desert."
"Tch!"
Launch shoved the sobbing teller violently to the side and swung her weapon forward.
"If you don't care about her, maybe you'll care about this!"
The submachine gun roared, spitting a torrent of brass casings onto the floor.
Bullets chewed up the marble counter and shattered the glass partitions.
For a massive creature, Grizzlo moved with terrifying speed.
He dove behind a thick concrete pillar just as the spot where he had been standing was peppered with holes. Diesella was even faster, sliding over a desk and instantly returning fire with a pistol.
"Clear out! Move it!" Diesella shouted over the gunfire, though the terrified civilians were already scrambling for the front door, screaming in panic.
Launch gritted her teeth, ducking as a bullet chipped the wall inches from her face.
She kept her finger on the trigger, firing wild, suppressing bursts to keep the duo pinned down.
Front door is blocked.
Vault is a dead end.
...
....
She spotted a heavy metal door at the rear of the hall.
There! The emergency exit.
"Catch you later, losers!" Launch yelled.
She walked backward, keeping the gun trained on the pillar, before spinning around and sprinting full tilt toward the exit.
She kicked the door open and vanished.
"She's running!" Grizzlo grunted, hauling himself up and dusting plaster off his vest.
"Don't let her reach the alley!"
She vaulted back over the desk and took off in pursuit, grabbing the walkie-talkie clipped to her belt.
"All units, seal off the block!"
/////////////////////////////////////////////
Bulma pressed her finger against the small communicator in her ear, crouching low behind a stack of rusted oil drums in the alleyway.
"Oolong, come in. What's your status?"
The radio crackled, and Oolong's voice came through, sounding slightly out of breath but triumphant.
"We managed to bypass them. We're moving through the city now. Nobody noticed us."
Bulma let out a breath she didn't realize she had been holding.
"Thank god. Listen, I hear heavy gunfire from inside the bank. It sounds like a war zone in there. It won't be long before they come out."
"Understood," Oolong replied.
"If Goku and I can find a working buggy, we'll reach the main camp in less than ten minutes. Just stay hidden and keep us posted. Oolong out."
"Will do. Be careful." Bulma said, tapping the device off.
She leaned back against the wall, trying to calm her racing heart.
Just stay hidden.
Suddenly, the metal door at the end of the alley slammed open.
Bulma froze.
She peeked through the gap in the drums just in time to see someone sprinting wildly down the narrow passage, straight toward her hiding spot.
It was Launch.
She was running for her life, clutching her submachine gun, her eyes fixed on the path ahead. She hadn't spotted Bulma yet, but she was closing the distance fast.
Oh no...
Bulma thought, her eyes widening in sheer panic.
Why is she running this way?! Not here! Don't come here!
Before Bulma could even shrink further into the shadows, the alley erupted in chaos.
"There she is! Drop her!"
Diesella burst through the doorway behind Launch.
She didn't hesitate, squeezing off three rapid shots.
BANG! BANG! BANG!
Bullets sparked against the walls and the ground, kicking up debris around Launch's heels.
Launch spun around without stopping, firing a wild spray of bullets from her hip in retaliation.
"Eat lead, you witches!"
The bullets pinged harmlessly off a makeshift barrier.
Grizzlo had lumbered into the alley right behind Diesella, and with terrifying ease, he had ripped a rusted door off a derelict car.
He held the heavy steel slab in front of him like a riot shield, marching forward as the submachine gun rounds dented the metal with loud metallic clangs.
"Nowhere left to run, little lady!" Grizzlo roared from behind the car door, his voice echoing off the narrow walls.
Bulma grit her teeth, her hand trembling as she fumbled in her pouch.
She pulled out capsule number 14.
POOF.
A heavy, bulky rifle materialized in her grip.
I can't believe I'm doing this, i'm supposed to be the lookout!
In the alley, Launch's luck had finally run out.
She squeezed the trigger of her submachine gun, expecting another burst of fire, but all she got was a hollow click.
"Damn it!" Launch screamed, shaking the weapon uselessly.
Grizzlo lowered his makeshift shield, a cruel grin spreading across his face.
Diesella stepped out from behind him, leveling her pistol.
"Game over, tourist." Diesella sneered.
Launch braced herself, preparing to throw the empty gun at them and go down fighting.
But suddenly, a figure in a white tank top and baggy pants jumped out from behind the oil drums, blocking her path.
"Crap! Another one?!" Launch hissed, raising her fists.
"Get down!" Bulma yelled.
Before Launch could process what was happening, Bulma aimed the bulky rifle over the blonde's shoulder and pulled the trigger.
SPLAT!
A massive glob of expanding pink sludge erupted from the barrel.
It hit Grizzlo's car-door shield and Diesella's legs with the force of a fire hose. The goo instantly expanded and hardened, gluing the car door to Grizzlo's chest and sticking Diesella's boots firmly to the pavement.
"W-What the hell is this?!" Diesella shrieked, struggling to lift her feet.
"It's... it's bubblegum?!"
"Run! Now!" Bulma shouted
Launch didn't need to be told twice.
Confusion gave way to survival instinct, and the two women turned and sprinted down the alleyway.
"Who are you?"
"The girl saving your life! Keep moving!"
They rounded the final bend, expecting freedom.
But a dozen Scrappers were blocking the alley exit.
"There they are!" one of the scrappers shouted.
"Get 'em!"
"We're cornered!" Bulma gasped, skidding to a halt.
Behind them, Grizzlo was already roaring, tearing the car door off his chest with brute strength.
Launch looked frantically left and right. Her wild eyes landed on a heavy iron disc at their feet.
"Not today!"
With a surge of adrenaline, she hooked her fingers into the grate of the manhole cover and ripped it open.
The smell of sewage wafted up, but to them, it smelled like hope.
"Down the hatch!"
Launch jumped into the darkness without hesitation.
Bulma gagged at the smell but followed instantly, leaping into the abyss.
As she fell, she twisted her body mid-air, aimed the gun upward, and fired a massive stream of pink goo at the opening.
The sticky foam hit the underside of the manhole cover and the rim of the street, expanding rapidly.
It pulled the heavy iron lid back into place and sealed it shut with a bond stronger than concrete, plunging them into total darkness just as the scrappers reached the spot.