All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are my own. I do not own Dragon Ball(Z) nor am I making any money off of this. No copyright infringement is intended.
Inspired by the beautiful artwork of Kinky-Typo, (cover art) see my profile for the link to this gifted artist's gallery on deviantART. Check out the corresponding video links on my profile. I found additional inspiration in those, too.
The idea came to me on a whim; I had fun with it and tried not to take it too seriously. This has not been beta'd and all mistakes are mine ( *_*;) though I've tried to avoid them.
The 2:30's had set in. Hidden eight stories below the surface, Bulma worked alone in her main lab. Her assistant, Tica had gone for lunch about an hour ago, and her two new interns just left for 3:00 classes at West City Institute of Technology. She enjoyed the silence, but the repetitive nature of her work, at the moment, was making her drowsy. Bulma balanced over a 2 cm2 circuit board. With a practiced hand, she soldered LED's and resistors onto their designated places on the board.
Her restless mind was wandering. Menial tasks like this always made her mind stray in a direction that required more analysis than what was directly in front of her. An overactive, devious, little hybrid three-and-a-half year old was usually at the forefront of her thoughts. All had been quiet today, which had her worried. Her parents had been called to Yahhoy. Grandmother was ill, and Mom felt guilty leaving her sister, Kitty, with all of the responsibility. Unfortunately, with Mom gone, all of the responsibility for Trunks fell on Bulma. Vegeta was honestly helping, which amazed her. This morning he actually volunteered to take Trunks for the day. Maternal instinct screamed at her to decline the offer, but the practical judgment of a COO to a major technology hub, overruled.
Bulma was shaken from her thoughts by the beep of the security lock and the slide of the lab's double blast doors. Tica rushed in, her face a joyful blush.
"Oh, Bulma! You just have to go top-side and see what your son is doing. It's just adorable!"
Bulma set down the soldering iron, and looked up at Tica with a grin. She loved to brag about her little genius, but when someone else did, her heart swelled with pride. Wasting no time, she boarded a freight elevator lifting the eight floors to ground level, Tica right behind her.
"Where are they?" Bulma was suddenly struck with a terrible thought, "He is with his father isn't he?"
"Of course he is. In fact, I think 'Mr. grumpy- sexy-pants' might be enjoying his self. They're on the south lawn. You can probably see them from the doors when we get up there."
The elevator door opened to the fire exit that led to the south lawn of the compound. Bulma opened the door to a gorgeous early summer day. She forgot how beautiful the sky was. The azure blue color formed a continuous dome from horizon to the zenith of the atmosphere. The light breeze kept the haze of the city from discoloring the blue.
Bulma saw the familiar figure of her husband hovering about 6 meters off the ground. What fixed her attention was the tiny overall-clad figure flipping somersaults in the air before his father. Her breath caught in motherly panic watching her baby float helplessly in the air, but when she heard his infectious giggle echo across the compound, she couldn't help but laugh with him.
"If only I hadn't signed that non-disclosure agreement, this'd be trending on YouTube right now." Tica mused. Bulma aimed the narrow-eyed stare of death, but Tica just returned a disrespecting snigger as she turned to go back to the lab.
Mommy!" Trunks squealed when he saw his mother. The two landed softly on the grass, and Trunks looked up to his father for approval. The older Saiyan looked down and nodded, allowing his son to call an end to their training and go greet his mother. The boy ran to Bulma with dexterity far greater than pure-human children his same age.
"Mom! Did you see? I was flying. Dad said when he was my age he had already been flying and I should be too. Did you see me mom? No hands or anything."
"I did see, sweetie. You were awesome!" She picked up her little warrior and hugged him proudly. Vegeta had sauntered lazily over to his family. When Trunks noticed his father, his little face beamed.
"Dad, you remember you promised to take me for ice cream if I flied, right?"
"Flew." His father corrected, "And yes boy, a deal was made. I will honor that deal.'
"Cool. We gonna fly?"
"No, we're going to drive. Go get the Lambo."
Trunks jumped from his mother's arms, and ran off to get his father's Lamborghini Aventador. Bulma stood, hip cocked, arms folded across her chest glaring at her husband with staunch disapproval.
Vegeta shot back an angry look. "What? I have found bribery is an effective method of parenting. If my father had employed that form of enticement rather than his standard mental degradation, I may have remembered him more fondly."
"No ass, I 'm pissed that your three year old knows where you're hiding the Lambo and your wife doesn't!"
"My three year old won't pilfer it for a joy ride." He grinned mischievously.
"Yet." Bulma chuckled. Trunks ran from the house with his father's wallet and the capsule containing said high performance vehicle.
"Ready, Dad?"
"Don't spoil your dinner sweetie." Trunks shot his mother the same incredulous look she got from his father when she questioned his appetite. She stooped down, and gave her mini-Saiyan a kiss on the forehead.
She stood to face her full sized version. "Be home by five-thirty?"
Vegeta caressed her chin with his left hand and pulled her in for a sensual kiss; his answer to her question.
"Jeeze guys, really? We gonna get some ice cream or what?" Trunks huffed at his parent's outward display of affection.
"Want anything?" Vegeta asked, suggestively. Bulma shook her head, no, not ice cream, anyway.
"Shut your trap and get a move on, boy." Vegeta tossed the capsule to his son, who was already running toward the parking lot.
Bulma watched the two most important people in her life drive off, and noticed she was feeling incredibly jealous.
There's something comforting about the brightly lit, sterile, chaos that is a lab. Everything has a place; though that place might not have any logic to anyone but the room's master. The design is simple, yet crammed with all the tools necessary for discovery. This was Bulma's realm.
About a week had passed since she witnessed Trunks first flight. She hated to admit she was jealous of her three year old. What a terrible mother that must make her. She wasn't just envious of Trunks, or Vegeta; all of her friends, with the exception of Chichi and Launch could fly. This wasn't even a boy's only thing anymore, now that Eighteen was dating Krillin. Chichi probably could have learned, but since she stopped fighting, the desire was gone. The world would be a safer place if Launch wasn't able to fly around fancy-free. Bulma chuckled at the thought of an angry, gun toting Launch dive bombing banks all over the world.
This recent obsession had been keeping her in her private lab for over a week now. Tica had instructions to disturb her only if there was a dire emergency. So far there hadn't been any. She knew she was neglecting her family. Mom and Dad returned the day after Trunks' flight. The day after that, Bulma went off radar. It reminded her of the days before the androids, when Vegeta would hole up in the GSR for days at a time. They were a pair. She wondered when Trunks would start showing his OCD genes.
The calculations had proven to be a tougher challenge than she originally thought. Bulma was breaking new scientific ground, but it was what she did best. After four days of marathon number crunching and computer modeling, the basic specifications had been worked out.
Bulma decided on a simple bracelet apparatus, or four to be exact; one for each wrist and ankle. This would create the even field she needed. They were made of copper, for the conductivity, but lined with 6 mm thick neoprene to contact skin. The circuit boards would be soldiered between these layers. The whole thing was to be controlled by a remote activator; a hand-held silver box with two buttons and a small joystick. Overall it would be a simple effective means of flight.
A beeping sound from the direction of the lab entrance startled her. Someone was coming in. Hastily, Bulma gathered all of the distinctive materials and dumped them into a container that she slid under the bench, out of view. All that was left in front of her were random wires and circuit boards. Vegeta walked into the lab just as she was hitting the off button on her tablet. She spun on her stool to face him, her cheeks flushed.
"What are you doing here? How did you get past the security code?" She demanded.
"You're not the only genius, woman. I made a living, long before we met, of gaining access to places where I wasn't welcome." He stalked the lab, scrutinizing every surface, never once looking in her direction. The warrior prince was looking for clues. Hopefully he'd find none.
"I'm sure you were quite good at it." She deadpanned, eager to get to the point and get him the hell out of her lab.
"What are you scheming?" He finally turned to look at her. "You've been locked up in here for three days solid. I haven't seen you in eight." He paused for dramatic effect. "I just put your son to bed; he asked me if mommy was mad at him."
"What did you tell him?" Wow, went straight for the kill shot, kid-guilt, well played.
"I told him you were angry with me, and he would see you in the morning. Did I lie?" He leaned against the closest bench, arms crossed, awaiting an answer.
"I'm just wrapped up in this project. Sorry." She mumbled. "I'll be at breakfast tomorrow."
She hadn't really answered his question. She didn't know if she was angry with him or not. Bulma could tell her mate saw through her vague answer. Damn why did he have to be so smart? They stared at each other, unmoving for a few tense seconds. Vegeta must have felt his point had been made; he stood quietly and with graceful purpose, left the lab.
Shrugging off the growing pang of guilt, Bulma convinced herself when they were all flying together as a family, he would forget all this. She would make it up to both her men.
Rain had fallen for almost six days straight. Bulma was beginning to think the Kai themselves were conspiring to keep her from testing her flight bracelets. She was somewhat disappointed in herself for not thinking of a snappier name for her invention. Oh well, her genius could do only so much.
She snuck out of the compound early and headed east to one of the CC's eastern test facilities. This one was small, and infrequently used. The geology was perfect for this kind of test. The edge of the cliffs weren't terribly high off the ground, but the drops were sheer.
Bulma encapsulated her hover car, and tucked the capsule into the tool pouch. She pulled out the four narrow copper bands, slipping them over her wrists, then her ankles. She looked around, surveying the plateau she had decided on. It seemed as good as any to run the first test.
Pulling out the remote activator, she breathed out a long audible sigh. She was glad no one was around to hear her self-doubt. That wouldn't serve the reputation of Bulma Brief-Super Genius too well. Daddy would admonish her for not having fully tested her invention in the lab, and not having so much as an intern to spot her. She hadn't died yet; she was always one to take the risk. Hell, that's what made her who she was!
"Here goes." She steeled herself.
Pushing the button on the remote, she felt herself levitate slightly. Looking down, Bulma was giddy to see nothing but air fill the half meter space between her feet and the gravel. She toggled the stick from hover to forward to test the horizontal controls. Slowly she moved forward about three meters.
Bulma spent the next thirty minutes gingerly testing her flight bracelets. She was beginning to feel comfortable with the lateral and vertical handling; the hover control had been a bit more difficult to master. She found the flight controls oddly similar to flying a helicopter without the concern of pitch and trim. In the past, it had taken her forever to learn how to manage those two, but her body had no propellers to worry with. This seemed almost too easy.
The first series of tests progressed so smoothly, Bulma felt comfortable taking her maiden flight to the next level. She walked to the edge of the overhang, and looked down-not too far. She activated the bracelets and toggled forward, passed the edge of the cliff. Cautiously, she slowed to hover there, not far from the edge. She looked down again; the ground was maybe five or so meters below her. The genius scientist was proud of herself. In no time, she would be soaring with her family and friends; and depending upon no one else for assistance.
"Let's see what these babies can do." Throwing common sense down the drain, Bulma toggled forward. She began to fly over-land. Pushing her safety a bit she increased speed. She forgot eye protection, and didn't really dress properly so she couldn't go too fast.
The simple flight was smooth. Why not push a bit further? She stopped, flew backwards a meter or two, and then sped up to move forward again. Time to try vertical flight. Bulma pressed the green, vert. button, and felt herself climb. She kept the speed slow to acclimate herself. When she had risen a few meters or so, she toggled to descend. Her decent was a bit more rapid and uncontrolled than she would have liked. She made a mental note to look at this back in the lab.
One more test she wanted to try, then she'd call it a successful trial. Still hovering in mid-air, Bulma pressed the green button once more while simultaneously toggling horizontal forward movement. She began to slowly ascend and move forward. She felt like she was following in the footsteps of the great pioneers of flight!
Out of the blue, she noticed the rapid increase in the rush of wind speed around her. Quickly, she realized she was accelerating. Bulma pushed the green button to disengage vert; still ascending. She pressed the red button to enable hover; speeding up. She toggled forward, then backward, side-to-side; still climbing. Trying not to panic she forced herself to think of the next logical action. If she didn't stop her ascent soon, she would raise clear of breathable atmosphere. Bulma fumbled frantically with the remote. She needed to regain some kind of control.
Abruptly, her ascent stopped. Silence all around her. It almost seemed cartoon-like; she didn't feel herself drop at first. Then it happened, quickly, violently she was in free-fall. Bulma panicked. She was going to die. Her little boy, her inventions, her career, she and Vegeta had finally married; she was going to lose it all, in a vicious, horrendous Wile E. Coyote–like splat on the desert floor. The ridiculousness of the image brought Bulma to her senses. She tried to remember the lessons taught to her by her favorite Uncle Knickers when she was learning to fly. He insisted she also learn how to skydive. Bulma had only done it once, but she remembered how he taught her to create resistance with her body to slow her fall. She splayed her arms and legs out in a "snow angel" fashion. She noticed that her fall slowed somewhat.
She forced herself to look ahead, not down. She didn't want to know how much time she had left. She felt the remote still clutched in her right hand. Bulma struggled against wind resistance to bring the little box close to her face. She had to get this thing working again. The only thing she could think to do was shake it.
'Stupid, idiot, when has that ever worked?' she yelled at herself. She pushed the red hover button several times with her thumb. On the third or fourth; maybe fifth press, she felt an immediate shuddering stop.
"Ha, I did it!" She yelled in victory.
"You didn't do shit, woman, other than damn near kill yourself."
Bulma felt unbreakable steel corded arms wrapped around her waist, and caught the familiar scent of her beloved. Oh, fucking damned hell! The one person that she didn't want to confront right now had come to her rescue. Bulma dreaded the knock-down-drag-out that was going to come of this.
They landed, and Vegeta promptly turned on her with a volcanic eruption. "What the absolute, holy fuck were you thinking?!"
"I was attempting to fly!" She defended.
"Woman, have you lost your damned mind? You've flown before! Why would you even think to try this? If you wanted to fly you could have asked me, or the weakling, or even your son in a few-." In a blaze of comprehension, Vegeta guessed the cause of his woman's foul mood for the past three weeks. "You're jealous of your son and his ability to fly?" It was framed as a question, but Bulma knew it was a statement of fact. Feeling fully ashamed of herself, Bulma couldn't look at her husband.
"Bulma, look at me." The deep, sure, calming tone of his voice was so unfamiliar to her that she couldn't help but look at him; out of sheer curiosity if nothing else.
He was smiling, an almost pitying, and apologetic-halfhearted smile. "The boy wasn't flying. Saiyans can't fly until we're about five years of age. That was one of the reasons I was allowed to stay on my planet. A flightless monkey was of little use to Freiza." He frowned slightly at his own self-depreciating comment.
"I extended my Ki field to encompass the boy. It gave him the feeling of flight. It's a way to acclimate the child to a sense of weightlessness before they master flight."
So many emotions and thoughts flooded Bulma's mind. He was parenting, she was so proud of him…she tried not to berate herself for her selfishness; again…Vegeta had just shared another guarded memory from his previous life. "Did…did Nappa teach you like that, too?"
"No, not Nappa. My sanrikshan, guardian, I suppose, is what you would have called him."
"You had a nanny?"
"I certainly didn't have an attentive parent." Wanting to direct the conversation away from his past, Vegeta lowered the tone of his voice and proposed an idea. "Do you wish to experience the same feeling?"
His sounded so smooth and sexy; his eyes held a devilish glint, Bulma didn't dare refuse his offer. She offered her hand to him, "Take me, my prince."
"Heed my instruction, wife. Or do I have to bribe you too?" Vegeta slid behind her, wrapping both arms around her waist. He leaned close to brush his lips against her neck, then whispered in her ear, "Ready?"
Before Bulma had a chance to answer, the two were ascending. She noticed that, like rocket propulsion, their ascent wasn't straight up; rather they eased into an arc due to the Coriolis effect caused by the rotation of the earth. Why hadn't she taken that into account?
When they reached a decent altitude to view the world in a prefect panorama, Vegeta stopped to hover in mid air. He turned his queen slowly in 360 degrees. "Which way?"
Bulma was in awe. All that held her in the air were Vegeta's hands lightly resting on her hips. Everything was so quiet. On the third rotation, she settled on one of her favorite getaways; a beautiful canyon she and Vegeta visited often. "There," she pointed, "I want to fly through Hoodoo Canyon."
Vegeta was thankful he was behind Bulma so she couldn't see his smile at her chosen destination. One day he would have the courage to tell her this canyon reminded him of his home planet. They copulated there in the past, now they were going to fly there. In his tradition, the only sacrament remaining was a 'mate's battle', then this site would be rendered sacred to them; unless Nappa had been feeding him a line of mythological shit for years, which wasn't unlikely.
Vegeta flared his Ki to create a calm field around them both. He took note of the clothing she chose for this outing. Despite the fact that his wife was dangerously brilliant, sometimes she lacked simple common sense. Mid-calf boots with three inch heels and a mini skirt, while they accentuated her flawless legs, reflected her poor choice of test gear. In his more masochistic days he would have made sure she was as uncomfortable as possible. Teach her the impracticality of her foolish clothing decisions. Instead, he found he only wanted to share with his woman this most magnificent experience, ensure she was comfortable and happy.
Holding her lightly from behind, he tilted their bodies in the direction of the canyon. His grip was more for the contact than it was for her safety. He gently took off toward their objective.
"Tuck your arms close into your body." He instructed. "You'll create less drag and move faster." She brought her arms close, feeling the warmth of his body against hers, and they sped up. "See?"
He leaned in close, brushing her ear. "Do you want to have some fun?" His question made her shiver with excitement. He felt her answer as a full body giggle. "The slight simple movements of your body can control your flight. Move nothing but you head, look up slightly."
Bulma followed his instruction, and shifted her gaze slowly up. She felt their bodies flow ever so gently upwards. "Now, just as slowly, look down." She obeyed, and felt their attitude pitch down slightly.
"Let's play a bit. Try to move only your upper body, slightly, in one direction or another; recognize the way your body moves. Become like the air; formless, flowing."
Bulma felt more freedom than she had ever felt before in her life. She held to his every instruction with rapt attention. She found herself wanting to do this perfectly not only for her own success, but to make him proud of her. She played with the movement of her arms and legs; she tilted the pivot points of her body. She channeled her yoga practice, and tried to orient her center of gravity to the direction she wished her body to turn. In a very short time, they were pitching, rising, and flowing at her command.
"Hmm, fast learner. "
"Fantastic teacher." She meant that as more than just an idyll compliment. He was truly an extraordinary teacher. If she ever doubted Trunks safety learning from his father, those doubts were far gone.
They entered the canyon from a direction she wasn't familiar with. The beautiful mix of colors was even more astounding from this angle. The canyon wrapped around them. The yellows, oranges, reds, and tans of the hoodoo formations stood out in a higher definition from this angle. The pine trees were real and three dimensional. Flying overhead in her airplane, they always looked like a dusting of pepper thrown about the canyon.
"Now what?" she asked.
"I am merely the propulsion, you are in control."
The implications of his confession weren't lost on her. When had he ever in his life relinquished control to anyone? She treasured this whole experience even more. Bulma thought of the times when she and Goku or Yamcha would ride on her motorcycle. Goku was too fidgety to keep still, and Yamcha always fought her movements, he hated to be behind her. Their rides were never smooth, both always wrestling for control. Here she was, with one of the most powerful beings in the universe, and she was in complete control.
Bulma was going to take full advantage of this freedom. She tilted and leaned her body into the wind currents. She was almost lost in the conflicting sensations. The further from the cliff walls and rock formations she flew, the slower things appeared to pass her. From a more central channel in the canyon she could see the layers of strata more clearly than she had ever seen them. She found she could use her legs as something of a rudder and angle her body so they would rush close to the formations. This was when she could feel the true speed Vegeta was capable of reaching. Realistically, she knew they weren't traveling near to his full velocity.
For the past few minutes of their flight, Bulma was flying completely free of his contact. She was nestled safely in his Ki field, but for all practical purposes she was flying solo. Vegeta chuckled to himself. Should he let her know? She was so beautiful coasting on the wind currents. She was truly his perfect mate. He was surer now than he had ever been. He would protect her and cherish her, not discard her like his father had done to his own mate. This woman, while she was of a weaker race, was his equal, and they would create more beautiful and powerful heirs like the one they already produced.
Vegeta executed a flawless roll, and tucked in beneath Bulma, facing her. He grinned, and then held out his arms to show her she was free. He waited to gauge her reaction. What he saw wasn't what he expected. She gazed at him, now fully confident in her ability to control her body, and mimicked his best self-righteous grin.
"I've known for a few minutes, now. Think you can keep up?"
Bulma looked ahead, gesturing for him to follow her gaze. He looked too, and assumed she was planning to fly through the wind eroded natural bridge cut through the formation up ahead. Crazy beautiful bitch. He couldn't help the smile that formed. Luckily, Bulma focused her sight on the hole in the rock wall they were approaching at ever increasing speeds. She couldn't see his silly grin.
Vegeta was essentially flying at high speed upside down and backwards, with his gaze focused entirely on his woman. He was, for all intents and purposes flying blind, relying on Bulma to navigate through a hole in a cliff. His senses were on fire; this was almost as good as sex!
As Bulma approached the opening, her target got closer and smaller. She'd slid through tighter openings with a plane; she knew just how to hit it. Vegeta could feel the pressure of the air currents telling him he was getting dangerously close to something big and terminally solid. He didn't dare look at anything but Bulma. She was radiant.
Suddenly, opposing air currents began to tug at them from all directions, and with an explosion of power and a roar of wind, the couple blew through the hole in the giant rock formation.
Bulma pulled up quickly and rose into the air shouting in victory. They slowed to hover in the midst of the canyon. Bulma looked back to see the natural bridge wasn't more than about fifteen meters off the ground.
"Well, that was close." She laughed.
Vegeta was captivated by her. Her cheeks flushed by the wind, her body invigorated by the rush of adrenalin. He always thought she was at her most perfect after sex, but he had never beheld a more ideal creature than the one he held now.
"Andam nu rani." She cocked her head in confusion. "My beautiful queen." Vegeta translated. "Dance with me."
They'd never danced before, as far as Bulma knew he couldn't dance. They were hovering at least 25 meters in the air. "I'm intrigued, how will we dance up here?"
Vegeta smiled that beautiful smile she saw only rarely. He held her in a classic dance position, and then shot straight up. When they reached the clouds, Vegeta stopped. Still holding her in position, he leaned in to kiss her; then, as if he flipped an off switch, they fell.
He controlled the velocity of their decent. Even though Bulma was facing upwards, she could tell they weren't accelerating, but fell at an even, controlled speed. Vegeta began to turn her in his embrace just like he would, had they been gliding across a dance floor. Their gaze never leaving each other, she trusted completely that he wouldn't let any harm come to her.
She threw her head back and laughed freely, beautifully. The sound of her laughter soared over the rush of wind. Vegeta lost himself in the resonance of it. He found himself briefly and truly laughing with her. No other creature had ever made him feel as alive as she made him feel. He wished this music could last forever, but everything, eventually, must come to an end.
They slowed to a stop, and Bulma looked down surprised to see they were hovering above their home. She shivered, suddenly realizing she was chilly. Vegeta released her hands, and wrapped his arms around her waist. Embracing each other, they descended gracefully, to the balcony of their bedroom.
Throughout their decent, Vegeta looked earnestly into her deep blue eyes. Gods how he loved her, but he was certain he could never be able to say those words. She would never know how the fear of losing her gripped him every day.
When they touched solid stone tile, he regarded his wife sternly, "You've forced me to make promises since the day I was wished to this planet. It's time I made you swear a promise to me." She looked at him with confusion, but also love, and trust. "Bulma, you will never again do something so threateningly dangerous without telling me, do you understand?"
She smiled, "I promise, lover. From now on, I promise, we face everything together." She looked at him rather seriously. "But, I will prefect this device. I won't depend on you and Trunks for everything."
"Fine, but on further test runs, I will be with you, agreed?"
"Deal." Her smiling eyes captured the shimmer of the setting sun, and their agreement was sealed with a kiss.
END
The inspiration for "Hoodoo Canyon" is Bryce Canyon, Utah, US. Google it for images. The canyon itself is almost otherworldly. I remember watching a gold eagle (I think that's what it was) soar through the canyon, and thought, "Wonder what this place looks like, to him?" The original story idea came from Kinky-Typo's artwork shown on the cover art, but my muse was the memory of Bryce Canyon. Hope y'all enjoyed the trip!
-cube コ:彡