Kryptonite
Disclaimer: I don't own Dragonball Z, nor will ever claim to. Obvious OC, noncannon, characters belong to me.
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Frighteningly powerful, devastatingly strong, and ridiculously insane. That's what they'd told her about this alien creature who looked by all means deceivingly human, save for the furry tail his kind sported. As Sapphire peered down at the man on the makeshift table-bed, she pondered why they'd bother again. The argument had been fierce when they'd found him, but in the end Goku had won. If there was ever a chance at altering a being's way of life and views, then there was a reason to try. That was Goku, alright. But what Sapphire didn't understand was how Bulma had come to the assumption that Sapphire could possibly be of help. She could still barely handle the truth of Saiyans and aliens as it were, let alone this monstrosity laying before her now.
Why save a man who was prophesized to destroy life as they all knew it? Why tempt fate again and again? If fate did indeed exist, why encourage it?
Another question was, why did this man keep on coming back? That's what she really wanted to know above all things. Leaning back in her chair, she studied the many lights and tablets before her which indicated every state of every cell of the organism they were studying. Perhaps, she mused, that's why they were trying. If he couldn't be destroyed, for whatever reason, then it must be that there was something else they needed to bring to light where he was concerned.
For a scientist, that was more 'fate' than could be considered, thought over, and proven. Seeing as fate really couldn't be proven, that she was aware of, she settled with things as they were. Call her a lazy scientist, as you will. There were just some things, she figured, that valuable brain time shouldn't be spent on.
She was tired, and it was clear. Bulma and her had been up for the past two nights straight constructing a containment device. They'd built more than one actually. It followed the effects of a gravity chamber, but focused more on stabilizing a power level and keeping it there. The more ominous one they'd set against the wall. She didn't like it. It appeared as manacles, a bracing device in the event of an emergency. She hoped that they'd never have to use it. It made the lab look less like a place of discovery and more like a dungeon cell.
Why fight so hard to save something that would have to be contained anyways? It was like saving a rabid lion that could never really live amongst the wild or in a zoo. What kind of life was that?
Yawning widely, she rubbed her eyes and let her mind drift away from the controls and monitors for a moment to reflect on the past few days, or rather, days and decades.
It'd been quite a few years since Bulma Briefs had graced Sapphire with a call. A decade may have been more accurate to say the least. With Sapphire's falling out and Bulma's adventures to find the Dragon balls, it was no surprise they'd stopped talking long ago. When times became rough, even the best of friends could easily forget the other existed. So when the phone rang and it was Bulma's voice on the other end, Sapphire had to take a moment of silence to digest the reality. But she didn't turn her back as she might have a few years ago.
That's what you do when you've suddenly found yourself alone in a very dark world. When every day is the same and you've forgotten what hope felt like. When every hour was planned, every minute was strategic. Everything was guaranteed, nothing was unscheduled. This was a form of protection for someone who had been maimed deeply and would readily sacrifice living for the sake of surviving. However, all those horrible memories seemed to fade away the more they talked. Bulma had had adventures like nothing Sapphire had ever heard of, and she enviously listened to the blue-haired woman's detailing of each tale. When Bulma filled her in on this latest find, and asked if she'd want to meet the group and see what she could do to help, Sapphire couldn't find well enough of an excuse not to. And Sapphire was indeed a woman of excuses.
So there she was, clambering onto a bus with her meager packing. She'd checked at least three times to ensure everything was off and all the doors were locked. She was scared, nervous, and terribly unsure. However, over all the combating emotions pecking at her system, she sat rather pristinely in her seat, staring out the window and looking, for all the world, like woman with self-confidence and poise.
How well would she be able to fool the others? How well would she be able to fool him? It was not a thought she even entertained, as she never expected that things would turn out the way they did. Rarely do people ever.
So she joined the crew in the summer home. She joined them in this expedition, unclear of her place on this team, in this house, and amongst this awkward family.