Semi-Finals | Pin vs Punisher Pin

And so, the two mechanical marvels of the Saiyan Empire entered the arena. So similar in design, but so different in execution and attitude. From the East side of the arena, Pin of Universe 15, armor a spotless white and purple dome helmet over his face, striding with supreme confidence and twirling a pistol on his trigger finger. The audience cheered - would they get to see the Roboozaru in action once more? Or would the android have some other surprising trick up his sleeve? From the West side of the arena, Mechanical Punisher Pin of Universe 3, astride his abybssal motorcycle, wheels aflame and belching black exhaust as it roared into view. The crowd’s cheers were almost not enough to drown out its engines. What brutalities would the Punisher have in store for his own doppelganger?

The two androids looked at each other, each assessing his opponent. As different as day and night, you could still get the sense that they were at least designed by the same mind, their overall aesthetics being at least somewhat in line. For a long moment there was silence as the warriors stood still and the audience grew hushed in anticipation.

“You’re me, huh?” said Pin, “I’m not so sure about that. What’s with the fuckin’ brain?”

“Negative. You are but my analogue from another reality. That you question the presence of my superior brain tells me all I need to know,” replied the Punisher.

“Wh...what? Bro, make some sense, why do you have a fucking brain? Is that yours, or are you like...wearing it?”

“Enough frivolity.”

With that, the Mechanical Punisher drew his shotgun and fired, revving his motorcycle and rushing at Pin. Pin responded in kind, firing his pistol to counteract the shotgun blast and launching himself forward with his propulsors. As they came into close range of one another the Punisher opened fire once more, clipping Pin’s shoulder with his blast. Pin, on the other hand, had a different idea. He twisted his body to one side, letting the motorcycle pass him as if he were a matador and it some hellish bull. Once it was clear, he took aim with his pistol and fired - right into its rear tire. The flames dispersed as the tire blew, and the motorcycle fell to its side and slid towards the edge of the arena.

“I gotta admit, the motorcycle is a nice touch. A bit edgy on the design, but is that where you keep your flight module? Interesting choice.”

The Punisher did not reply, not with words. Instead he stood, lifting the motorcycle over his head and throwing it at Pin. Pin prepared to dodge, but at the last moment the Punisher used a trick he’d used against Koldar - he fired into the bike’s gas tank, blowing the machine to pieces right in Pin’s face. Pin was thrown back by the blast, only barely avoiding sliding into the out of bounds area.

Neither android waited for the smoke to clear. Each of them was equipped with a wide array of technology allowing them to perceive many spectra of light - visibility was not a problem. The audience would see what almost looked like some kind of horrific storm cloud, as flashes of light would permeate the thick black cloud as the two opened fire on each other, pistol and shotgun all but negating each other completely. As they fired upon one another, they drew ever closer, knowing that they were apparently evenly matched at range.

As they drew into close quarters, Pin deployed his Aranea Module, the four chrome tentacle arms sliding out from his back and immediately moving in to grapple the Mechanical Punisher. He lifted the black android into the air and fired three pistol shots directly into his torso - a little payback for that shoulder hit from earlier. Pin headed for the arena’s edge, intent to simply dunk his opponent out of bounds and be done with it. But the Punisher had other ideas. Similarly equipped to Pin, the Punisher deployed his Gaoler’s Chains, which fell from his back with a shrieking metal sound. For a moment they hung limp behind him, but soon began to whip about wildly, like angry spirits seeking vengeance. Each of them clamped to one of Pin’s tentacles with their spiked shackles and pulled, releasing the Punisher from his grasp.

The next few moments of the fight were like watching some sort of oceanic nature documentary. The two androids stood almost absolutely still, exchanging blows exclusively with their additional, flexible limbs. Whirling drills and roaring chainsaws were brought to bear with great intensity and feverish determination, and in moments the arena floor was littered with the destroyed remains of tentacle and chain.

“Enough of these zero-sum engagements. Begone,” said the Punisher, as a port opened in his chest revealing the barrel of a cannon. It fired an energy blast of significant power in Pin’s direction, and it looked as though it struck true.

That is, until the ghostly image of the white-armored android faded from view. Pin had deployed his Zero Shift drive just in time, and now stood directly behind his opponent.

“Good call,” he said, deploying his shoulder cannon from within his body. The Punisher turned to face him, taking the shoulder cannon’s blast directly to the faceplate and staggering back. He clamped his hands over the site of impact.

“You...inferior,” the Punisher said, “How dare you assault an agent of the Empire in this way?”

“Dude, I’m...literally an agent of the Empire. Close friends with Queen Habana, too. Could have been her personal Herald too, but I think I fucked that opportunity up by committing a war crime. Don’t tell anyone,” Pin said.

“Queen Habana? Your Universe is...twisted and backwards.”

“Dude, you’re insufferable, holy shit.”

The Punisher let out an unearthly howl and looked up at Pin. His faceplate, cracked and ruined, fell away to reveal something Pin had not expected. The Punisher’s face had been a motionless mask of spite and hate, which meant that there was no need for any of the motors and other hardware that made emoting possible. Instead, there was a yet another gun barrel, this one smaller and more unassuming than the others. Pin knew better. Whatever this weapon was, it was not to be underestimated.

“Disappear from my sight,” said the Punisher as he began to funnel power into his newly-revealed weapon, “And when I am done with you, I will destroy whoever follows you…”

Pin put some distance between himself and the black-armored android, taking the opportunity to charge energy into his shoulder cannon. He was going to have to answer with everything he had.

“And when all lay broken before me,” the Punisher continued in his fevered tirade, “I will find every Universe’s Mizuna and kill her, just as she killed me. Our son’s face will be the face of her killer. Only then can I rest. Only then can my son have a life of his own.”

Pin’s eyes widened behind his helmet. This...this wasn’t truly his counterpart from Universe 3. The body, the machine belonged to their Pin, but that brain...the thing at the controls…

“Dad..?”

The Mechanical Punisher was shaken from his speech. He funneled more and more power into his Detonator Ray, but looked at Pin with new eyes. This white-armored android wasn’t truly the Saiyan genius, Sorrel, but rather the true and final implementation of the mechanical son he’d originally been building. It seemed that in Universe 15, he’d managed to raise his son at least on some level.

“P...Pin? How is this...no, it does not matter. My purpose is unchanged. Mizuna, in every form she takes, will suffer and die by my hand. If it means I must defeat you here, then so be it.”

Mechanical Punisher Pin fired his Detonator Ray at the Pin of Universe 15, a beam of pure black energy, at the front of which was a skull made of that same inky blackness. Anything that skull struck would explode with great force. Every opponent he’d used it on had died painfully.

“You always did think big, dad. Don’t worry…” Pin said, firing his own weapon, the Thermal Detonator. The small purple ball of energy rocketed forward with immense speed, striking the black beam head-on. “I’m pretty sure all of our doppelgangers feel the same way about mom.”

In that moment, the black Detonator Ray bulged and exploded, as the purple Thermal Detonator pushed through and made its way to its target - the Mechanical Punisher’s braincase.

The two explosions, both so loud and intense and in suck rapid succession, were deafening and blinding. The arena was once again filled with smoke. For a long moment, as the audience recovered, nothing happened. But as the smoke cleared, it was no question as to who had won the match.

Pin stood over the motionless body of the Punisher, and bent down to pick up something soft and pink from the arena floor. He held Sorrel’s brain with as much care as he could, and as the match was called in his favor he headed out from the arena with urgency.

The Vargas could bring people back from the dead, after all. Hopefully a brain was enough to work with.