A hero is born
Chapter 1.
Disclaimer: What? I don't own Dragonball Z? Too bad…
It was a beautiful spring morning. The birds were singing, the trees broke into leaves, some of them were already blooming. The sun flooded the city with warm light, and within the city a large building, with these words on it: "Capsule Corporation".
Bulma just woke up. She got dressed leisurely, and noted herself not for the first and not for the last time that she's got nothing to wear. But exceptionally she was right, because most of her clothes were too small for her these days. Well yes... This is pretty much the ninth one... She proudly examined herself in the mirror. Most women would be shocked by the sight, and would run to the shops to buy the latest fat-reducing drug, but she didn't even think of such things. Of course she didn't, she was pregnant. Pregnant with the child of the saiyajin prince.
Her face suddenly became gloomy.
- Our baby could be born in any minute, and he just couldn't stop training in that stupid spaceship! I had enough! I'll go and tell him this can't go on!
- 14995... 14996... 14997... - the saiyajin forced himself to count the half-handed push-ups in a loud voice, although his lung was burning and every inch of his body was aching in exhaustion - 14998... 14999... 15000! - Before he could decide to make another set of exercises or not, his harrowed body made the decision: His arm was seized with a cramp, and he fell to the ground. Damn... This is useless... As the day to fight the cyborgs drew near, he was getting more and more certain that he'll never reach super saiyajin this way. Maybe he'll never reach it at all. Maybe it won't be necessary. After all I'm already a lot stronger than before. But still... I need something to test my new strength. He walked to the control panel and pressed a few buttons. A holographic screen appeared; little white dots on a black cloth. A starmap. He pressed some buttons again, and a message appeared in the upper-right corner of the screen: "SEARCH FOR UNUSUAL OBJECTS AND EVENTS IN PROGRESS..." After a few seconds the text changed, and the computer zoomed into the map, revealing a solar system approximately 10 light-years away. "SEARCH RESULT: ONE OBJECT FOUND. NAME: KAPET. TYPE: PLANET." Vegita grinned.
- A cosmic disaster. Perfect.
Bulma was startled when she stepped into the ship. The gravity was set back to normal, the lights were turned off, it looked disturbingly empty and unused. Something is wrong here... Vegita interrupted his training?? That's impossible! Unless... The girl blushed. She wanted to rush at him, she wanted to bawl him out because of his neglect, when he just abandoned the whole thing without a word for her...
- Hey, woman! - the prince showed up behind her in the doorway - Have you seen your father?
- No, dear - Bulma smiled like an angel - Why?
- I need him to prepare the ship for a journey.
She couldn't believe her ears.
- What??
- I want to go to a distant planet called Kapet.
Bulma turned red again, but this time in anger. God! The Prince of the Saiyajins is worried about you and he shows it, too? Keep dreaming, girl...!
- What did you say?!!
- He? - Vegita was completely suprised by her sudden change of behaviour. Though a voice deep in his mind told him why she was acting like that, he didn't listen to that voice for years, or at least he did not want to - What the hell is wrong with you now??
- What is wrong with me?! Listen here, you first-class fool!! I'm in the ninth month of my pregnancy with your kid! Still you hardly mind me... - she looked down at her belly - mind us at all, you jump about here all day, but okay, I bear that! But now, when our baby can be born in any minute, you simply... leave the planet??!!
The saiyajin grumbled something bad in Saiyago, then he crossed his arms and glared at Bulma like the living statue of relentlessness.
- Look, woman... - he spoke after a minute of silence - I'm not going there to have fun. The inhabitants of Kapet accidentally altered the orbit of the planet's moon, the Tourin, causing it to crash on the planet in about one day.
The girl burst into a mocking laugh.
- This is the joke of the year! Prince Vegita cares about the inhabitants of a distant planet? Rubbish! Prince Vegita only cares about himself! Ha-ha-ha...!
- Woman! Cut it out! - yelled the saiyajin. Bulma stopped laughing, but her eyes were still glowing in anger - I'm not going there to play the hero, either. The creatures on the planet already left or died, because it's no longer inhabitable. The truth is, that... lately no matter how much I train... I'm not making progress... - He closed his eyes for a moment, and Bulma saw sadness and bitterness flickering across his face - I didn't make it to super saiyajin. I'm starting to feel that I reached my limits. I want to try out my powers. And if I succeed, if I stop the Tourin, then I think I'm not going to have problems with the cyborgs, either. Then it's over - I'm finished preparing for the battle.
The girl was struck all of a heap.
- A-Are you serious? You stop training?
- Yes, how many times do I have to tell you?! - Bulma stared at him. He's not joking!
- And couldn't you do it a little later? I mean...
- The moon won't halt to your liking, woman. But if you are so afraid of being left alone, then I have an idea... - he swept out of the room, and returned shortly with two strange contraptions. These were scouters, instruments which were used by Freeza, his men and the saiyajins to measure their opponents' power level. And in addition they were able to communicate with it with each other anywhere in the galaxy. Vegita didn't use them any more, because he learned from the other Z-fighters how to "feel" his opponents' ki, but Bulma made a few copies of Radicz's instrument.
- Take one, and keep it by you. You can reach me anytime, if something happened.
- Well, okay - she sighed - Go. Do what you must - she raised her hand as a greeting and left. A horrible feeling struck Vegita: He felt like she waved him a final good-bye.