Dragon Ball: Ascension

"Super Saiyan, you're quite impressive," Cooler said, his voice measured and calculating. "I could see that you weren't using your full strength against my father. Even without my fifth transformation, I might not be your equal. But the fifth form is something only I can achieve among the Cold family, not even my most talented brother Frieza has managed this level of evolution."

Cooler planted his feet firmly on the frozen ground, clenching his fists as his body tensed. His face contorted with concentration as he began to growl with exertion.

Karnel crossed his arms and remained in place, watching with mild amusement. Is he constipated or something? he thought, barely suppressing a smirk. The dramatic transformation poses these villains struck never failed to entertain him.

Energy began erupting from Cooler's body in violent waves. His muscles swelled and enlarged throughout his upper and lower body. His original skull structure disappeared entirely, replaced by what looked like a metallic helmet crowned with two curved horns. When the transformation completed, he had gained significant bulk and an intimidating new appearance.

"Come then, Saiyan," Cooler said, flexing his newly enhanced fists. "I can hardly wait to crush you with my own hands." The completed transformation filled him with overwhelming confidence in his newfound power.

"I almost fell asleep waiting for you to finish that little show," Karnel replied with mock boredom, though inwardly he was more cautious. If I wasn't looking for a decent challenge, I could have killed you a hundred times during that transformation sequence.

"Insolent monkey! I'll make you understand that our noble Cold family is not to be trifled with!"

Cooler dropped his mask of composure and attacked with everything he had, holding nothing back.

Karnel also rushed forward at full power. Against an opponent of this caliber, holding back would be suicidal rather than confident.

Although Karnel's battle power exceeded Cooler's by tens of millions, both fighters were operating at the 500 million range. A gap of tens of millions at this level, while significant, wasn't enough to create complete dominance. Karnel could maintain the upper hand and press his advantage, but it wasn't an overwhelming crushing victory.

Getting caught by one of Cooler's attacks would still hurt considerably. If he accidentally took one of Cooler's signature techniques head-on, it could pose a genuine threat to his life.

BANG!

WHOOSH!

The two warriors fought with lethal intensity, showing no mercy. Every collision of fist and foot generated sparks of energy, and within seconds they had circled the entire planet multiple times in their aerial combat.

Dodging an energy beam fired by Cooler, Karnel decided to test something. He immediately returned fire with an identical light-blue energy beam of his own.

Cooler's eyes widened in shock, he had never expected this Saiyan to replicate his techniques so perfectly. He barely managed to dodge, the beam grazing his shoulder. His expression darkened as he glared at Karnel with newfound wariness.

"Don't look so surprised," Karnel said with apparent nonchalance, though he remained completely focused on Cooler's every movement. "I can use pretty much any technique once I've seen it performed."

Cooler ignored the taunt and continued his relentless assault.

Abandoning energy-based attacks entirely, Cooler switched to pure physical combat, using his fists, feet, and tail in a coordinated attempt to overwhelm Karnel.

After several intense exchanges, Cooler was forced to admit that this Saiyan held a slight edge over him. Energy attacks were proving useless, the Super Saiyan's speed made them impossible to land accurately. He wanted to charge up a devastating finishing move, but it was clear his opponent would never give him that opportunity.

Karnel felt his blood heating up with excitement. This kind of brutal, close-quarters combat was exactly what he craved. The raw satisfaction of the exchange made him feel completely alive and focused.

After another furious exchange, Karnel caught both of Cooler's punches simultaneously. With Cooler's chest exposed and defenseless, Karnel drove his knee upward with tremendous force.

The impact bent Cooler nearly in half, his eyes bulging as saliva flew from his mouth. The devastating blow sent him plummeting toward the planet's surface with such force that he punched completely through to the other side.

Moments later, Cooler flew back up through the hole he'd created, his helmet's eye slits blazing with murderous fury.

Karnel sneered and beckoned toward Cooler with one finger, making a dismissive "come on" gesture.

"AAAHHH!" Cooler screamed in humiliated rage. Spreading his arms wide, he condensed hundreds of baseball-sized energy spheres in the air around him.

The barrage of energy balls came flying toward Karnel at high speed. He weaved through them with incredible agility, dodging each one individually. However, one sphere managed to clip him, creating a loud explosion. The brief pause caused by the blast's shockwave left him vulnerable, and hundreds of additional energy balls struck him in rapid succession.

The air filled with the sound of continuous explosions, like a massive string of firecrackers going off.

Cooler's eyes flashed with cruel satisfaction. This Saiyan was proving annoyingly difficult to pin down, these small energy spheres couldn't seriously hurt him. But they served their purpose as a distraction. Taking advantage of this brief window, Cooler prepared to unleash his ultimate technique.

"Supernova Cooler!"

It was the same basic attack as King Cold's, but Cooler's version was far more sophisticated. His supernova could be remotely controlled and moved at incredible speed, vastly superior to anything Frieza or King Cold could produce.

Karnel emerged from the explosion barrage. Though uninjured, his clothes had been torn to shreds, leaving him looking somewhat disheveled.

"The same technique again?" Karnel frowned with puzzlement. "This move obviously had no effect on me before. Why use it now?"

Something's not right...

Before he could analyze further, the supernova above Cooler's head launched toward him at blinding speed. Karnel wasn't going to make the mistake of underestimating this attack, Cooler's supernova was clearly in a different league from his father's version.

Flashing out of the supernova's attack path, Karnel was startled to see the energy sphere curve around and fly back toward him.

Now he found himself frantically dodging the pursuing supernova as it chased him through the air, desperately trying to think of a counterstrategy.

This supernova clearly wouldn't stop until it hit its target.

"It's useless to run, Saiyan!" Cooler laughed while remotely controlling his attack. "My supernova is modified, several times faster than the standard version and completely under my control!"

In that case...

Karnel dodged the supernova's pursuit once more, then brought his hands together behind his back. Energy began gathering between his palms, growing brighter and more intense.

"KAMEHAMEHA!"

A massive light-blue energy wave erupted from Karnel's hands, aimed directly at the incoming supernova. Since the energy sphere was being remotely controlled rather than physically pushed, it had no backing force to resist the beam. The Kamehameha wave overpowered it completely, pushing the supernova back and sending it flying out of the planet's atmosphere entirely.