When 18 opened her eyes, she saw an unfamiliar sealing.
She got up and examined the room. She saw a few weird masks on the walls and several symbols painted in black ink, all surrounding the bed.
"Bloody mess you made."
A blonde man wearing a yellowish trench coat and a red tie, he looked annoyed as he held a feather and a candle.
"Do you know how many supplies I wasted on your arse?"
18 got up and was about to walk to him and teach him a lesson, when she noticed a heavy looking chain on her ankle.
"You are joking, right?"
"It will hold while I get what I need from you."
He chanted and the masks changed expression while he let the flame consume the feather. As he did, the room went dark and the bed she was lying on a second before vanished.
18 had no intention to leave him finish whatever weird ritual this was.
Still a little sore from her previous fight, she gathered energy in her hand to cut the chain, but just like with Fate, her ki vanished as soon as it left her body.
"This again?"
"Sorry, love, I used some tricks you may recognize."
18 decided to use the magic energy of Dr Fate and as soon as it came out, the masks smiled in a sinister way and the symbols on the walls shone with a red glow. A red energy vortex formed at her feet.
"I was hoping you'll be arrogant enough to use magic against a magician."
He smiled as 18 felt the power leaving her body, like the magic was alive and was desperately running away from her.
John Constantine took a small bottle from his coat and took a sip of some very strong alcohol.
"No need to panic, I need the power of Fate to shield this world from the big guns before they notice our door is wide open."
If she wasn't weakened from the fight, this insect would have no chance of holding her and being unable to escape was frustrating.
Constantine spoke again.
"You covered all the walls with shit and stole the mop, now I have to clean your mess."
Once all the energy was extracted, the blonde man used the same alcohol bottle to store it and burped as he was apparently very drunk.
Constantine knew he didn't have the guts to provoke her sober, so he got wasted before meeting 18.
Now he saw as the android got up and stared at him with pure fury.
"You are death."
"Thanks for the visit, love. We should do this more often."
A portal opened under her as the chain broke and a force pushed her inside it.
18 resisted long enough to glare at the mage and leave him with one last message.
"Wherever you run, I'll find you."
"Get in line."
As she disappeared, John examined the bottle and sighed.
"Hope it was worth pissing off the killer bot."
18 crashed into a garbage dump, a coincidence that Constantine didn't plan, but she didn't know that and it was the final touch of the humiliation she suffered at the hands of the British user of the mystical arts.
When she saw rats running away and a fucking diaper next to her head, she wanted to destroy the entire planet to make sure the asshole died.
"I swear..."
She floated and her ki flared.
"I am going to make sure he suffers."
She wanted to start looking for him, but her priority was getting to a shower and healing from the wounds she got, so he escaped for now.
Arriving minutes later at the penthouse she was renting, she got into the shower and finally washed up. Sitting on the bed, she checked her messages.
Several came from her newly hired assistant, who was already dealing with the insurance that was trying to deny her claim, as giant mutant plants weren't on the policy.
There were also some messages from Vandal Savage about the surviving members of the Injustice League getting locked up.
Finally, 16 let her some reports about the global situation.
He was actually not with her at the moment. Now that he was able to leave, he spent most of his time outside gathering intel and helping her get ahead.
He was worried when she didn't come back and now she was feeling guilty for acting impulsively and going after the criminals.
Thinking about her next steps, she found herself with nothing to do.
Despite knowing she needed to rest and heal, she still refused to sit idle.
Her cellphone vibrated and 16 appeared on the screen.
"You acted impulsively."
"I know."
"And recklessly."
"I know."
He squinted his eyes and 18 couldn't help but feel like a misbehaving teenager caught smoking.
"Can you stop it already?"
"Yes, I can."
A moment of silence passed and the blonde admitted defeat.
"Ok, I'm sorry."
The word felt foreign on her tongue; not even when 17 was still with her did she use it. Perhaps it was long overdue.
"16, I can't keep going like this. The enemy this time was different; that magic was suppressing me, forcing me to get to my limits."
"What are you going to do about it?"
"I have to get stronger, go back to full strength and fast, I can't take it easy anymore."
She was more determined than ever. Now it was time to take her training to the next level; if she didn't train before and she was the same as when she first arrived, that mage could have killed her.
Magic was something she never considered more than an annoyance, some party trick to delay her at best.
But here, it caused attacks that shouldn't scratch her to hurt her and also weaken her enough to be vulnerable.
"16, we need to figure out some kind of defense against magic."
"Affirmative, I have already checked online, but the information is sketchy at best."
"And the Light won't let me know everything, aiming to leave a way for them to use it against me."
"We need a magic expert willing to teach you who is a neutral party."
"Well, that is a tall order; the ones we know are not very happy with me and apparently destroying that helmet upset some kind of universal balance, so now they are going to be less than enthusiastic to see me, much less teach me anything."
"It is problematic; maybe your prison contacts can find someone willing to help."
"I'm not putting much faith in that; the real mages are harder to contain than regular criminals."
"A problematic group indeed."
"Annoying bastards."
The problem wasn't only finding them, but also their ability to escape. They could teleport, go to a pocket universe, erase their presence, become invisible, or go to space, amongst many other possibilities, so catching one and forcing it to help was a difficult task for someone incapable of using magic.
Until 18 could figure out a way to defend against it, she was going to keep having to struggle against the mages of this world.
"Really, compared to this guy, that witch wasn't as big a problem."
It was an eventful day, but comparing her tactics against those of this world makes it clear she never developed her magic for combat.
"Let's focus on what I can do."
"We had the interviews for the development department for tomorrow and the shareholder meeting on Monday."
"Sent a message to the applicants, let them know that we will meet at a hotel, as the company's office was destroyed by those stupid plants."
The next day, Tina McGee was nervously walking towards the Metropolis Grand hotel, where she was going to have her interview.
She was nervous, of course, as a recent graduate of the engineering department of Gotham University; this job was just one of many she applied for.
Star Labs said she lacked the necessary experience and her knowledge was lacking.
Lex Corp laughed in her face and the HR person called her the most below average applicant they had all year.
Wayne Industries said they were going in a different direction.
Power industries never called her for an interview.
So Blue Tie Corp and some other smaller jobs were now her best chance at achieving her dream.
Tina didn't want to work on simple tasks or follow a set path; she wanted to create something new, to put her talents to the test and innovate.
She hoped her name would be remembered, even if it was only a small part of a big group that brought something worthwhile to humanity.
She saw the competition in the lobby; many people were looking for the few jobs available, although it was a small company, this was an opportunity for many to gain experience and have control of entire projects.
There were even a few guys she recognized from magazines and people who looked very experienced.
One by one, they went in and when they came out, they looked different, depressed, and broken.
A few were thinking like trying to solve a puzzle with several pieces missing.
When it was her turn, she was guided to a conference room that the hotel used for its VIP clients, showing that despite being a new and small company, they have some serious cash behind them.
Inside, there were two people, one was a blonde woman who was wearing a black blazer and blue pants.
She looked fidgety and tired, with big bags under her eyes; she was young and slender; her tall stature could be intimidating for some people.
If she wasn't standing next to the other woman in the room.
As soon as Tina set foot in the room, she felt it was harder to breathe, like she had been placed on a very tall mountain where oxygen levels dropped, making her tired just by standing.
The black haired woman was sharp, her expressions, her eyes, her attitude, everything about her commanded a deep instinctual fear.
The rudest person in the world would be careful about what to say if she stared like that in their direction.
"What are you waiting for?"
"Sorry."
With haste, she sat on one of the chairs.
The brunette spoke to the blonde.
"Who is this?"
The assistant didn't hesitate and pulled Tina's resume.
"Tina McGee recently graduated from Gotham University, 22 years old, with a mechanical engineering degree and no experience."
The words hit her like a punch; she heard the lack of interest in her, like they were going through the motions, doing a boring task they already knew the outcome of.
She was one of many, not special or remarkable.
Still, they were professional and started the questions.
The black hair woman took a few papers and scanned them while asking.
"Why did you apply to my company?"
"I believe in the vision of this company."
"Cut the bullshit."
Her voice was sharp; Tina couldn't help but jump in her seat.
"Sorry, I applied to a lot of places; this appeared to be easier to get in, I wanted the experience to get hired somewhere better afterwards."
The deadpan look on both women told her she may have said too much.
"Can I still change my answer?"
"No."
A tear fell from her eye.
(I'm not getting hired.)
The brunette sighed and continued.
"Do you know what we want to create here?"
"You are currently working on commercial antigravity."
It was one of the reasons so many applied to this company.
They have created a working prototype of an antigravity engine and wanted to mass produce them.
Of course, antigravity was used by other companies and the military, but those were expensive and considered top secret research.
There were no plans to make it available to the public.
Blue Tie Corp announced it would create cheaper and more reliable antigravity, which would revolutionize the transportation of goods and people and would also open the door for space exploration.
It was exciting and the kind of project that would leave your mark in history if they could pull it off.
"Is that it?"
"What do you mean?"
"Another failure."
"What?"
"Ana, how many people are still waiting?"
"About 11 candidates for today are still waiting to be interviewed."
"Thank you for coming, Miss Tina. You may go now."
"Why? What did I do wrong?"
"Goodbye."
The blonde walked to the door and held it open for her.
Whatever was happening, it was clear this was her last chance.
"I want to do something important."
The blonde froze on the door, looking at the brunette, who smiled slightly.
"Really and why should I care?"
"Because I think you want to do the same."
Her eyes were intense, like she was staring into her thoughts, but Tina didn't flinch, this time she was determined to show her worth.
"Ok, I'll give you a chance."
The brunette threw a document towards Tina and she caught it clumsily, reading the contents.
"This is..."
"Our actual goal."
"But this is impossible, isn't it?"
"You tell me."
She wanted to say yes on reflex, but he thought about it, analyzing the information, limited as it was.
"Honestly, it would be expensive to make and very limited."
"What if I tell you that this technology will become commonplace and commercially available for a relatively low price?"
Tina was staring at the woman while mentally struggling with the information.
Gone was the naive recent graduate, replaced by a scientist who was willing to expand the limits of her understanding.
"I want to be part of this."
"Do you really?"
"Yes, no other job can compare. Please let me work for you."
"We start in 2 weeks, be ready."
"Thank you."
When the day was over, 18 was exhausted, well, mentally at least.
She had fought for days before without issues, but a few interviews and managing a start-up company were a lot more tiring than even the busiest day she had ever had before.
Her allies were increasing and that was a win; she was getting talent and soon her organization would rival the already established powers on this world.
After all, she knew just how revolutionary the technology she possessed was and how much it changed her own world.
"I guess I should thank that bicth, the resources she had at her disposal were vast and now they will belong to me."
Before the destruction spread around the world, if you asked anyone what the biggest and most successful business on the planet was, every single person would answer the same.
Capsule Corp, there was no competition, no close second; they dominated everything: vehicles, house appliances, military, space exploration, software, and more.
The level of success they had before the android attack was so great that while all the government and military organizations fell, Capsule Corp was still operational and was able to arm and supply the resistance.
Bulma, as the sole survivor of the Brief family, used the power of the corporation to continue her projects and was able to create a time machine and a dimensional travel device.
Besides that, she recreated the remote shutdown, containment chamber and a trap capable of stopping 18 long enough to send her away.
Of course, this was all thanks to her genius, but if she didn't have the resources, it would have been impossible to get the better of the android.
Reflecting on it, that woman was impressive, having lost everything, she still found the strength to keep fighting.
It was something she could begrudgingly respect.
Bzzzzz.
The sound of her cellphone snapped her from her thoughts.
"What is it 16?"
"I have been analyzing your memories and attempting to devise countermeasures against magic and I believe I may have found a clue."
"Really, that is great, how?"
"Is better if I show you, do you allow me?"
"Ok."
The sensation was familiar as she closed her eyes and opened them in the familiar projection of a city inside her mind.
The place looked desolate and destroyed, but it was somewhat more lively than before. 18 noticed a few birds flying in the sky.
Then 16 spoke.
"I found it on this memory."
Seeing him standing next to her made her feel a little happy, knowing it was an illusion didn't diminish that feeling.
The surroundings went black and she was standing to the side as she saw herself and 17 walking together towards a place she recognized.
The blonde remembers the day they visited Baba, the fortune teller.
When they arrived, following a rumor of a witch capable of seeing the future, they found the house in the middle of a lake.
The old hag floated confidently towards them as they arrived.
"Oh, how nice, finally some customers after so long, although, ironically, you came here."
17 smiled and asked.
"And why is that?"
"Because you are the reason I have no clients in the first place."
Three figures stepped behind her.
One was a mummy wrapped in bandages, another was a vampire wearing boxing gloves and the last one was a man dressed in a blue devil outfit.
17 couldn't help but laugh seeing the scene.
"You can't be serious."
"Normally, I would offer you my services in exchange for 10 million zenny, but I have nothing to offer you. Now, go back to where you came from."
"Good news, we don't want your services, we were bored and heard about you, so we decided to kill you."
"All the more reason for you to go away. Here, you will find your end if you keep pushing me."
Her voice grew cold.
"I'm not very fond of my brother's killers."
18 sighed softly.
"How stupid."
"Cmon sis, let the elder vent, after all, those are her last words."
"We'll see about that."
17 vanished with inhuman speed, he arrived next to the witch and the warriors that tried to block him were sent flying, but fortune teller Baba wasn't an unjustified nickname.
She had predicted this outcome and when 17 punched her, her figure popped in like a cloud of smoke.
17 made short work of the lackies and 18 didn't interrupt, leaving him to have his fun.
The mummy and the vampire were killed by a ki blast each, buying time for the actual attack.
17 had just ended the unlife of the vampire when he heard the devilman behind him.
"Devilmite Beam."
The android was frozen in place and he grabbed his chest with an expression of pain.
"What is this?"
"HAHAHAHA, this is what you deserve, my devilmite beam takes your negative thoughts and uses its energy to destroy you from the inside and for a murderer like you, there is no defense, now die.
As he laughed, the world around him started to spin. He saw his headless body and next to it a bored looking blonde, who was wiping blood from her hand.
His last thought was how he never actually stood a chance against these two and the certainty that Baba was aware of it from the beginning.
18 stared, annoyed at 17.
"He almost got you, because you let your guard down."
"Ok, maybe that wasn't my best moment."
"Idiot."
"Whatever, let's go drag that old hag here. I want to make sure she dies."
They broke down the door and went inside the building, where the witch lived. Baba was waiting as tranquil and relaxed as before; she was drinking some tea.
"My warriors lost, that is a shame, they were my loyal friends and had helped me for a long time, that is another crime you will pay for."
17 was amused by the way she was acting, after witnessing so many screaming, crying, begging and raging, this reaction to his presence was a fresh experience.
"Now I'm curious, how exactly are you going to make us pay?"
"Well, not me exactly, I have a very nifty ability."
The room was filled with white mist.
"I can bring back dead warriors from the past to fight for me for one day. It takes some time to cast the spell, but it's worth it."
"Oh, really and which of the losers that we killed did you bring back, Vegeta? Krillin? The green one?"
"No, I brought someone you didn't kill."
17 was gonna mock her again when he got kicked in the abdomen and was sent flying, landing on a ring outside the house.
18 crossed her arms in time to block a powerful elbow to her face, but failed to do the same for the following uppercut that sent her upwards.
When she looked up, the revived warrior punched her down and she landed on the same place as 17.
When she got up, her eyes went wide.
They both watched with barely contained surprise as Goku got into a fighting stance in front of them.
(Chapter image.)