Darkness…
That was all that surrounded him.
Not the kind born of night, but the abyss of failure. The weight of humiliation. The realization that the path he had so meticulously carved was crumbling under his feet.
He had been bested.
Not by Goku. Not by Vegeta. Not even by Piccolo.
But Krillin.
Krillin!
The thought alone boiled through Cell's veins like acid. That insignificant human, whose data he barely registered in his genetic memory, had managed to wound him. Force him to retreat. Humiliate him in front of the very prey he had once hunted with delight.
Worse, Android 18 was gone. She was shielded, protected, embraced by the very warriors who had once sworn to destroy her. And Android 16, that failure of a machine, had nearly torn off his head.
And now… Cell was cornered.
No 18. No path to perfection.
But then a thought had crept into his mind—small, serpentine, and seductive.
What if there's another way?
Gero's Lab – The Forgotten Door
The remains of Dr. Gero's laboratory stood broken and twisted in the wastelands—forgotten ruins of ambition, soaked in silence and dust.
But Cell remembered.
He remembered everything.
Within the rubble, past destroyed computer panels and shattered glass tubes, was a hidden corridor—veiled from the Z Fighters' sweep. Not even Trunks had discovered it in his timeline.
The walls were still alive with humming energy. Dim lights flickered overhead, guiding him deeper into the bowels of Gero's obsessions.
At the very end of the corridor was a sealed vault door, labeled with a faded serial number:
"C.E.L.L. - P3. Core Unit: Developmental Clone."
And behind that door…
He saw himself.
Not quite him. A larval version. A version Gero had kept dormant as backup—nurturing in an artificial incubation chamber, surrounded by pods that pumped in data, nutrients, DNA sequences…
A "perfect" seed, meant to awaken in another era.
Cell stood before the tank, expression unreadable.
"So… you are my fail-safe. My origin point."
He pressed his clawed hand against the glass.
"Pitiful."
The tank hissed as he tore it open.
The embryonic Cell inside twitched—still absorbing information from the world. Not yet aware. Not yet complete.
Cell's tail slithered with purpose.
"If I cannot reach perfection by design… then I will forge it in blood."
With a roar, his tail pierced the tank—and impaled his own past self.
The young Cell writhed once, then was pulled into the tail, absorbed with no resistance. DNA twisted and rewrote itself. Code layered upon code. Gero's programming merged and clashed, then reconciled.
The lab trembled.
Pipes burst.
Red light flared.
And Cell screamed.
Not in pain.
In ecstasy.
Rebirth of a Nightmare
The room exploded outward, rubble flying in all directions.
And standing in the crater, reborn in blinding golden aura and twisting black lightning… was Cell.
New. Transcendent. Reborn.
His body was sleeker—more refined. No longer the imperfect, armored carapace of his semi-form, nor the alien smoothness of his original perfection. This new form radiated absolute stability… and raw chaos.
His fingers cracked.
His voice rumbled.
"So this is… what lies beyond perfection."
He clenched his fists. The very air quaked around him.
"Power... beyond my creators. Beyond Frieza. Beyond even your precious Super Saiyans."
He looked at the destruction he had wrought and smiled with confidence.
"Five billion."
The number whispered into his mind from the instinctual bio-scanner in his cells.
That was his new power level.
5,000,000,000.
Cell laughed. Not the maniacal laugh of before, but slow. Controlled. Confident.
"I don't need Android 18 anymore. I don't need them at all."
He looked up into the sky.
"I will hunt them. I will kill them. I will crush Goku and his allies like insects."
And this time…
No one would stop him.
A Town on the Edge of Twilight
The sun had just begun to dip behind the mountains, casting a long, golden hue over the quiet, sleepy town nestled in a remote region. Streets were half-empty. Neon lights flickered to life. The wind whispered through alleyways.
Android 18 stood alone near a local pharmacy, a plastic bag in one hand. She'd kept her head down, her power suppressed, trying to blend in. She had learned to appreciate the stillness—how the mundane bustle of ordinary life could offer peace after days of chaos.
She adjusted her jacket and glanced toward the sky.
For a second, her heart skipped a beat.
There was nothing.
And yet… something felt off.
A shiver crawled down her spine.
From the shadows of a rooftop across the street, a silhouette stood impossibly still—merged with the encroaching night.
Cell.
He hadn't meant to find her so soon. But fate had laid her before him, like prey before a starving predator.
She was alone.
No Krillin.
No Saiyans.
No Z Fighters.
Just her.
He watched her move with casual ease, oblivious to the terror descending upon her.
His new form was flawless—sleek, lean, radiant with godlike poise. But his aura, invisible as it was, radiated death. Like the quiet hum of a guillotine just before it dropped.
He smiled.
The hunt had begun.
Android 18 turned a corner into a narrow alley, using the shortcut back to her safehouse.
That's when she heard it.
A whisper.
"Number Eighteen…"
Her blood ran cold. Her body pivoted immediately into a defensive stance.
Nothing.
Just shadows.
"Who's there?" she demanded.
Silence.
Then, behind her—
A step.
A slow, deliberate, step.
She turned and fired a blast into the dark.
The explosion lit up the alleyway… and revealed him.
Floating effortlessly, framed in flame and debris, Cell hovered with glowing emerald eyes, smiling like a devil behind glass.
"No…"
She backed away, each footstep shaky.
"You were—You weren't this strong before."
Cell didn't speak.
He descended.
Each step echoed like thunder.
18 launched a flurry of ki blasts. They vanished into his aura before they reached him—like firecrackers hitting a black hole.
Panic began to take root.
She flew upward, fast—but a green flash intercepted her.
A hand, crushing her wrist.
"You can't escape," Cell murmured, his voice calm, soothing, and horrifying all at once. "Not this time."
She broke free, landed hard on a rooftop, and fired a charged Ki Blast straight at his throat.
It struck.
And shattered.
Her eyes widened.
"Impossible…"
He tilted his head.
"I am beyond what you were meant to complete. You are a missing puzzle piece. One I now claim."
He dashed forward. Her punches landed. Her kicks connected.
None of it mattered.
His hand closed around her throat.
"Let me go!" she choked, flaring her energy. "You think I'll just let you win?!"
"I already have."
He raised his tail.
"No!" she screamed, struggling violently.
The tail struck like a viper.
It slammed into her stomach, piercing through her ki barrier.
She shrieked—but it was too late.
Her legs kicked. Her fingers clawed.
She was being pulled in.
"No! NO! I won't let—"
Her words dissolved into gasps.
And then…
Silence.
Light exploded around Cell's body as the final piece locked into place.
Winds howled. Lightning erupted from the sky.
His aura roared with triumph, bursting outward like a collapsing sun.
Muscles shifted. Features evolved. His body became regal, divine.
He stood still, bathing in golden light, eyes shut, savoring the transformation.
Then… his eyes opened.
Power. Real power. Beyond imagination. Beyond gods. Beyond time itself.
He looked at his hands, clenching them once. Then he spoke softly—
"Beyond Perfect… Cell."
He laughed.
A slow, echoing laugh that carried across the town.
Every animal within a mile scattered.
Every streetlight shattered.
He vanished.