Disclaimer: I don't own DBZ. Shocking but true!
Author's note: This story takes part in the alternate timeline. I'm listing the rating as PG-13 for now; it may go higher later on depending on how bloodthirsty I'm feeling at the time. There's not much more to say but I hope u enjoy it!
The timeline to which Trunks returned is far different from our own. His world was saved from Dr. Gero's creations just as ours was, but the Earth's Special Forces were gone. But some things remained the same. His world was able to recover and for a short time humankind lived in peace.
Just like in our timeline Gohan attended high school for a short time, and there he met Videl, a dedicated but comparatively weak fighter. When her father died after foolishly challenging the Androids, they married and had a daughter, Pan.
Shortly after defeating the Androids and Cell in his own time, Trunks took it upon himself to rebuild the Earth's Special Forces. He knew that he was the most powerful person alive on Earth, but he had seen for himself that it took more than one person to save the planet. No matter how much his mother raved about Goku, without the support of his friends he may not have been able to save the Earth as many times as he had.
Pan had been only five years old when he went back in time and had not yet started her training. But now, eleven years on, she had become a fighter who rivaled his own abilities. Trunks had thought that since her blood was far more human than Saiyan her power would be reduced. He had been wrong. He guessed that anyone with Gohan for a father would have enormous fighting power.
The third member of their trio had seemed only logical to him. Videl had been trained by her father and though she had previously been quite weak she was coming along well. She had trained almost continuously over the last eleven years, and with him to train her in energy manipulation she was nearing Krillin's level of power.
He had approached Gohan's mother to ask if she would participate but she flatly refused.
"Me?" she had exclaimed when he asked her. "I'm way too old for all that now." Videl and Pan lived with her now. In some ways it was like seeing her with Gohan again. One of the most powerful fighters in the universe; not allowed to go out and train until Grandma made sure all her homework had been done. "It's not enough for her to be a karate bum" Chichi would say to Videl. "She needs an education so she'll get a good job." Videl now worked loosely tied to the Military. Between her money and what her father had left her they could live practically anywhere, but the arrangement at the Son residence suited the three of them.
Trunks still lived with his mother in Capsule Corp.
He wasn't a loser or anything. He had inherited Bulma's love of science and was learning the family business. He'd had his share of girlfriends but just hadn't found the right one. He'd even designed his own gravity machine. Four hundred and fifty times the Earth's gravity, just like Vegeta's. Just because they were at peace didn't mean he could let himself go soft.
He was on his five-hundredth push-up when the door burst open. Startled by the sudden shift as the gravity generators shut down he propelled himself upwards and gracelessly smashed into the ceiling.
"Argh!" he growled, then fell back down again. He glared up at the intruder.
"Hi Trunks." Pan said cheerfully. He gave her a flat stare, but could not stay angry at her.
"Hi Pan. What's up?" he asked, getting up off the floor and mopping his face with a towel.
"I just heard at school! They're reviving the World Martial Arts tournament!" she said excitedly. He stared blankly. A tournament?
"Sounds great." He said without enthusiasm. The last time he'd entered into a tournament he'd been killed. Since there were no longer any Dragonballs he wasn't eager to repeat the experience.
"Aren't you going to enter?" she asked.
"Who would I compete against?" he asked. She glared.
"Me of course!"
"You're entering?"
"Well I am the strongest fighter in the universe." She said proudly. Trunks grinned. They were constantly competing, and each liked to claim that title. "There's also another reason to enter."
"I'm listening."
"Well there will be a lot of fighters there, and there's a junior division too. Maybe you can find someone else to train." She suggested. Trunks blinked. That was a good idea.
"All right. You've convinced me."
"Great! It's in four days! I'll see you later!" she bounded off, probably to train.
"Wait!" he called after her. She stopped. "Three rules. No energy blasts, no flying and…"
"Don't turn Super Saiyan. I know." She sighed. They'd been through all this many times before.
"Great. I'll see you there then." He turned back to the gravity generators as she took off. Their power levels were so similar he would need all the training he could get before the fight. Despite the memories the word 'tournament' conjured up, Trunks was starting to look forward to it. He hadn't had a full-blown battle with Pan before. He imagined it would be a lot like a battle between Goku and Vegeta. And the prospect of a new pupil would be good too. There was nothing more he could teach Pan or Videl. He cranked up the gravity and began his sit-ups.
Pan and her mother landed outside the arena. She looked around nervously. She'd never fought for an audience before. Videl seemed to sense this.
"Relax. You'll do fine." She assured her.
"How do you do this Mom?" Pan asked. She was great with crowds. Not over the top like her grandfather Hercule had been, but the crowd still loved her.
"Just think of what you can do with the prize money. With your first and my third place we could build our own gravity room." Pan laughed but wasn't as ready to dismiss Trunks as her mother was. He was a lot older than she was.
Speak of the devil…
"Are you ready?" he asked, standing with his arms crossed looking very pleased with himself. He looked just like what Grandma described Vegeta as being like. He was leaning casually against a wall dressed in a dark blue sleeveless combat suit, minus the armour. He wore his old Saiyan-style gloves and boots too.
"Ready as you are." Pan countered. She wore the uniform of Piccolo, her father's first trainer and her father's uniform from the alternate timeline. She looked very out of place with the enormous cape, purple combat-suit and tan shoes (she'd modified them slightly. She had no idea what Piccolo was thinking when he chose those shoes), but she was used to people staring. Though she looked like some odd form of human/Namek hybrid there was one thing that marked her as a Saiyan. Her tail. She flatly refused to have it removed. It was the only thing, apart from Trunks, that linked her to her Saiyan heritage. Though it was odd, there were far stranger things in the world than a girl with a tail and most people got over it. It flicked from side to side, showing her nervousness.
"Hey, leave her alone. It's me you should be worried about." Videl jumped in. Though not as strong as the two Saiyans, she showed a lot of talent in directed energy blasts.
"I'm already signed in. I'll see you in the waiting area." He walked off. The two women glared after him.
"Pan, kick his butt." Videl ordered.
Trunks leaned against the wall in the waiting area. His father had been a bad influence on him. After spending a year with him in the time-chamber he guessed it was inevitable that he pick up some of Vegeta's less desirable traits. Videl and Pan were stretching and giving him death-glares from the other side of the room. He watched the juniors. There was not a lot of talent out there. He knew he was being hard on them, but he could not see another Gohan or Pan. He let out an exasperated sigh when one of the competitors started to cry. Amateurs!
Suddenly he felt cold all over. He looked around to see what the problem was and spotted two competitors. They could have been brothers. Both bald and overly-muscled and rather unpleasant-looking. He frowned and glanced over at Videl and Pan. They had looked at him at the same time. He nodded. There was something unusual about these two. Then he felt another pull at the back of his mind. Not as cold, but still somewhat disturbing. He looked around at the other entrance and blinked. He hadn't noticed these two before. One was massive. He was at least one and a half of Trunks tall, and three Trunks' wide. He had a reddish tinge to his skin, pointed hears and the oddest…second oddest outfit he'd ever seen.
The other one had the oddest outfit. He was tiny. Half a head shorter than Videl and Pan at least. He was pale purple and had a white Mohawk and pointed ears. He looked more than a bit silly, especially with the earrings, but something warned Trunks to take him seriously. These two were walking towards him. He stood up straighter.
"Are you Trunks?" The small one asked. Trunks frowned, instantly on guard.
"Yes."
"I have heard a great deal about you. I've wanted to meet you for a long time now."
"Uh, thanks." Well, what else could he say? And the little guy was giving him a really weird grin.
"I look forward to fighting with you." He turned and floated away…what?
He was hovering half a foot off the ground. So he was a real fighter. Not like the others here. He spotted a blonde fighter giving Pan the once-over. Trunks crossed his arms again. He didn't like this. Who were these guys? Surely there should be no one left to cause trouble after all these years? He shifted nervously, no longer looking forward to the tournament. Then he remembered his father. He wouldn't be intimidated by a floating midget, a pink giant and two bald guys! I am a Saiyan warrior. I am the most powerful fighter in the universe, he thought to himself. He was not afraid of them, but he could not entirely dismiss them either.
After what seemed like ages the adult tournament began. Videl was fighting first against one of her father's old students. He wore a helmet in the shape of an elephant's head, which he promptly ate in front of the audience. Trunks smirked as Videl knocked him out with one blow. That had to hurt.
"Piece of cake." She said happily as she returned to the room. Trunks shook his head at her.
"You're not giving the crowd much of a show." He commented. She shrugged.
"My father was the showman. I just know how to punch people." She replied. He smiled and watched as Pan strode out into the ring with her opponent. A guy named…Kibito. The pink guy!
Trunks watched, concerned. Pan threw off her cape and stood in a fighting stance, but Kibito stood talking to her. She shook her head and said something back. Trunks was about to go after her when the purple guy, Shin, approached him.
"Trunks. Something is going to happen and I need you to stay out of it." He said. Trunks blinked.
"What? You're not serious are you? I don't even know who you are." He replied. Pan was still arguing with Kibito. The crowd was starting to throw empty cans at them.
"I am the Supreme Kai." Shin announced. Trunks blinked. The what? Shin frowned.
"You don't know about the Kais?" he asked. Trunks blinked again. Had he just heard his thoughts? Or was this guy strong but not all there in the head?
"I assure you I am perfectly sane. Perhaps you have heard of King Kai? The one who trained Goku?" Trunks' eyes widened.
"You're King Kai?" he asked.
"No. I am the Supreme Kai. I rule over all other Kais and watch over the whole universe."
"Right." Trunks said, not sure what to believe.
"There is no time. Piccolo would know who I am. But for now I need you to trust me. Whatever happens in that ring I need you to stay right here."
The name Piccolo more or less convinced Trunks. Few people on Earth knew anything about the big green alien. This guy must be important, if slightly cracked.
Pan looked over at him looking concerned. Apparently the big guy had just said something important.
"We wish to see her Super Saiyan power. Tell her." The little guy said. Trunks frowned but nodded to his student.
"What's going on?" Videl came up beside him.
"I don't know. Just don't interfere, okay?"
"Like I'm going to go along with that." She said. He gripped her shoulder.
"It's going to be all right." He looked at Shin while he was saying it. He nodded once. Just then Pan's power level began to rise and the air around her began to shimmer. She let out a loud cry and with a blinding flash of light she transformed.
The crowd was silenced. She was surrounded by pure white light and sparks were traveling up and down her body. Her hair, unlike the other Super Saiyans Trunks had seen, was a luminous white, as was her tail-fur, and her eyes had turned the same violet as her mother's.
"I never get used to her doing that." Videl said quietly. Trunks agreed. She was a spectacular sight.
Suddenly the two bald guys ran out into the ring straight towards her. Trunks leapt into action and Videl cried out.
"NO! You must not interfere!" Shin shouted. Trunks barely restrained himself and held Videl back as they closed in on Pan. Surely she could take them…
Then Shin stretched his hands out and let out a surge of energy. Pan stood stiff and straight with her arms pinned down.
"What are you doing?" Videl shouted. Shin ignored her and visibly flinched as the bigger one stabbed her with some kind of weapon. Trunks turned on the Kai.
"Stop it now!" he warned.
"She will not be hurt. I give you my word." He said. For some reason Trunks trusted him.
Pan's hair darkened, her eyes turned black again and she fell to the floor. Without hesitation the two bald guys flew away. Shin turned to them.
"I must follow them. I could really use your help. I'll understand if you want to stay here." He said.
"What? You're going now?" Trunks exclaimed.
"I have to. I'll explain if you come." He said before taking off. Trunks looked after him, then back to his unconscious pupil. Kibito was standing over her, radiating energy. He was healing her. Trunks knew that something serious was up.
"Videl, stay with her. When she's healed bring her and follow me. I think something big's going on." She nodded once.
"Be careful. I don't trust him." Trunks frowned.
"No? Look." Pan was sitting up slowly. "I don't think they mean us harm, but we've got to find out what's going on."
"Right. See you soon." She raced off towards her daughter. Trunks glanced at them once more before following the Supreme Kai.
Videl rushed to her daughter's side where she was sitting up looking dazed.
"Are you all right?" she demanded. Pan smiled. She looked fine but she had powered down again.
"Better than ever. Who were they?"
"Enemies." A deep voice replied. Kibito stood staring down at them.
"What do they want?" Videl asked after making sure Pan was all right. She had a hole in her suit but the skin was perfectly healed.
"They wanted your daughter's energy. If you come with me I'll explain everything."
"Where are we going?" Pan asked.
"I must follow the Supreme Kai." He replied before taking off. Videl shared a bewildered expression with her daughter. Pan shrugged and followed him. Videl looked back at the waiting area. Great. A no-talent loser, probably one of her father's old students, was going to win. Oh well.
She flew off after the others.