Part I:

Motivations

The seven Super Dragon Balls belonging to an alternate timeline floated in the emptiness of space before me. The time had come to summon the mightiest of the Eternal Dragons.

I chanted in the sacred language of the Kai, "Come forth, Dragon of the Gods, and grant my wish pretty peas!"

In a great flash of light, the Eternal Dragon of the gods took form.

Also using our tongue, he demanded, "State your wish."

I smiled. "Please exchange Son Goku's body with mine!"

A brilliant light consumed me, warmth spreading through from my head to my extremeties, and then faded soon after, the warmth disappearing as well. When the light faded, hair black as night dropped into my eyes.

"It is done."

I touched my new face, tracing the strong, angular features and brushing my raven-black bangs out of my eyes. I smiled, delighting in the sheer power coursing through my veins.

The next step was to ensure the wish could never be undone.

I closed my eyes, focusing on the energy I sought and opened them a moment later under a bright, warm sun, the smells of the lovely green grass and of a nearby forest flooding my sensitive nose.

It was beautiful – or would be once cleansed of all humanity.

"G-Goku!? Is that… really you!? Why did this happen!?"

I winced at the female human's screechy voice, resisting the urge to clap my hands over my ears, learning my eyesight and olfaction weren't the only senses more acute in my new body.

"I don't know! But it's me, Chichi! I swear! It's me!"

I walked toward them. "You are now only Goku in heart to be exact."

It was… a little bit odd to see myself staring at me, the awareness of a mortal looking out through my eyes, but I shoved the thought aside. I held my hand out in front of me, enveloping it in energy and he grabbed his mate and the small human that bore quite a resemblance to my new body and pulled them both behind him, his eyes wide.

He didn't stand a chance against me. I knew that body's capabilities – I was strong for a Kai, but that was only a fraction compared to my new power – and he was aware of that fact.

I lunged and – amazed by my newfound speed – shoved my hand straight through him, his death near instant, life leaving his wide eyes, and he fell limp to the ground as the female human screamed his name.

Smirking, I lifted my gaze to his mate and child. She grabbed the small human and ran. I lunged for them. She tried to shield him and I almost laughed at her futile attempt as I annihilated them, leaving nothing left.

I left that world, that timeline, to its fate – knowing there would be no one to defend it against the wrath of the God of Destruction when he chose to show – and demanded the Time Ring take me to an alternate timeline. One I intended to cleanse.

The one I chose to enact my plan would be the easiest to purge for the simple reason that entities from many years back destroyed many humans already. The signs of the destruction around the globe present in abandoned villages with crumbling buildings and overgrown with weeds and the mass burial plots scattered around the land all indicated by single large headstones adorned with only numbers denoting the humans buried under it and several small shrines.

Continuing my lap around the Earth, it truly was a beautiful planet. Pristine forest, majestic mountain ranges, and green, rolling hills covered in patches of vibrant wildflowers gave way to the deep blue ocean, the pleasant, briny smell reaching my sensitive nose. If left in the care of man, the planet would surely die – one of many reasons my path was righteous.

After admiring nature untainted by the filth of humans, I began my mission. Razing each city went smoothly. The humans quickly began to fight back, but their feeble weaponry was no match for my vast power.

Several cities in, I met a slight hiccup in my plan. A small energy blast took me by surprise, striking my chest and exploding. When the air cleared, a lavender-haired human stood before me.

He took a confident step toward me. "Odd. You look just like someone I've heard many stories about and yet–" he glanced at the pile of rubble around him "–you couldn't be him. He'd never do this."

I smirked. "Ah! So you know of me. I am Son Goku."

He returned my smirk. "I don't buy that for a second."

In an explosion of brilliant golden energy, he lunged at me with unexpected, amazing speed and managed to land a right hook, bruising my cheekbone but I was ready for his follow-through – his right elbow aimed for my nose – and knocked his elbow wide with little effort, creating an opening, countering with my own attack – a jab to his face – which connected, sending him flying but he recovered. He charged me, his blows flying fast enough that his speed would have been challenging in my old body but not in my new one. His was a speed unattainable by humans.

I dodged, blocked, and countered each of the Saiyan's blows with ease. He was frustrated, but I was bored by our skirmish. I had work to do. I sent him smashing into a building with a hard blow to his stomach – feeling his ribs give way under the hit – and then fired a blast to finish him off.

Who was he to stand up to a deity? It was no matter. He merely met his fate a few moments sooner than the rest of the humans in that city.

Destroying that city was as easy as the rest and I moved on. It became clear to me that each city was no different, all wretched places full of yelling, bad-tempered mortals undeserving of the gift of life. With each city, my plan was more and more justified. I had a lot of work ahead of me but someone had to do it since it was clear the other Kais had no interest in righting their mistake.

On the longer flights between distant cities, my mind wandered back to one particular fight, recalling the power he used, the thrill of trading blows. He was the first mortal to display any kind of power. I almost regretted killing him.

My arms crossed, my flight halted a distance above a smattering of sparsely populated tropical islands and the blue-green water that surrounded them. His life was every bit as meaningless, even displaying a familiar dose of arrogance tied to his heritage. Mortals of any breed were all the same in their barbaric tendencies. Mortals with the power to stand up to deities deserved death more than any other.

I shook myself of my preposterous regret and continued toward a new target. Cities first. Then time to annihilate those with the mistaken assumption they were safe in their small, remote towns.

City after city met their ends, the thick black smoke billowing high into the atmosphere. With the first cities I destroyed still burning, smoke soon blanketed much of the region. Unsightly as it was, it was necessary. The burning wouldn't last forever. Once that ceased, the planet would heal and my utopia would finally come to fruition.

While performing my self-assigned task, one thought sat in the back of my mind, ever-present: the fight.

A few lunar cycles had gone by before I made a startling yet delightful discovery: He was alive and he challenged me again and again. Each time, my victory was effortless. That mortal wasn't Son Goku. He didn't possess the power of the gods. He was no match for me. Yet – surprising myself – I anticipated our matches.

Over time, I observed a shift in his behavior. The fights were less and less about defeating me and more and more about trying to draw me away from something. He carefully masked his energy with every defeat, disappearing into the rubble. With the acrid stench of fire burning everything around, his smell was overpowered. I couldn't sense him. My eyes lost him as he slipped – wounded – into the shadows.

I snarled softly in irritation as I landed. A flash of movement out of the corner of my eye caught my attention and my head snapped around. A flicker of a shadow. The quiet sound of a latch engaging – almost drowned out by the crackling of nearby fire.

Walking toward the sound, it didn't take long to find a recessed door well disguised by rubble.

I had him.

Probing within with my senses, I found him. His power masked but detectable by his close proximity. Then, another life-force caught my attention, that one unmistakably human.

I blew in the door and a large section of the wall with a blast and darted inside through the smoke, catching the two hidden within by surprise. Dazed as they were, there was nothing they could do to stop me. I pulled the female mortal up out of the rubble covering the floor by her collar.

Trunks settled into a ready stance, his power rising. "Mother!"

The blue-haired mortal shook her head. "No, Trunks! Go! Find hope! I love you!"

'Find hope?'

Odd last words.

No matter.

Smirking down at the mortal named Trunks, a mere fraction of my strength crackled down my arm, and I released it, vaporizing the woman in seconds and destroyed the last remnants of their hiding place.

Trunks slipped away from me in the fire and smoke – no doubt masking his energy. Wisps of energy flowed out of me, snaking into every crevice. With my eyes closed, I detected a small but bright spark of human life. It blazed like the sun in the barren wasteland I created.

It wasn't Trunks', but it would do. I had sensed that particular energy with him before. Wherever I found that bit of human energy, Trunks was never far away. Lifting into the air, I flew the few hundred yards to that energy and stopped. He was in the shadows with the dark haired girl I had seen him with before.

She darted out in the open from her hiding place and sought cover behind a large chunk of rubble. She fired her weak weapon again and again, the tiny projectiles streaking toward me all too easy to dodge, her face twisted into an unsightly expression of irritation – irritation that quickly turned to fear when I fired on her. She had no hope of dodging my blast and she was well aware.

The impressive explosion engulfed her and her lifeless body soared through the air several yards before landing with a thud, her energy extinguished.

She was dead.

I smirked down at Trunks bent over her body, shaking.

"You'll be with the girl soon. Humans deserve death. In death, they will finally atone for their sins and so will you. Today is the day you die!"

Trunks threw his head back and screamed in rage. He kicked into the air straight for me in a blast of energy, the familiar golden aura engulfing him, his face contorted in an ugly display of pain and fury, his power climbing at a rate faster than ever, and then higher than ever, his speed incredible. For the first time in a long time, he managed to land a blow straight to my solar plexus and I flew back.

My stunned lungs refused to work – refused to follow the subconscious reflex of their kind to breathe, my heart pounding in my chest. Seconds later, breathing returned, and I countered, delighting in his newfound power and in the little burst of energy I gained as my body recovered from that blow.

He got lucky. My speed remained unmatched and I countered, landing my own fist in his stomach, feeling as well as hearing several ribs crack under the pressure. Power surge or not, he wouldn't live to see another day. His death was imminent.

I wouldn't let him go right then. Relief in death was far more than that arrogant mortal deserved. I needed him to suffer – to break him – and then I would let him die.

Slamming punch after punch into his gut, his power dropped, the aura dissipating. His hair fell back into his normal shade of lavender. He was barely conscious. One more blast would be enough to finish him.

No more Trunks meant no more fights.

The blast charged in my hand, I hesitated a second too long because he had just enough energy to fire one last blast in my face, sending me careening away.

I recovered in the air and landed, blinking away the floaters obstructing my sight.

He was gone. I knew it before I got there. His energy was gone but there was no body. He was alive and he slipped away yet again.

I sought to finish him off, trying to find him but failed even with my senses as sharp as they were. He was alive. I hadn't killed him. It would take more than that to finish him. I concentrated, trying to find him but to no avail. Then, the noise of roaring engines from behind me and I spun around to see a craft piloted by the purple-haired mortal rising into the blackened sky.

I fired a blast at the craft hovering low in the air but in a flash of light, it vanished. I glared at the spot and did a sweep with my senses again but he was well and truly gone. There was no trace of his energy. He wasn't merely masking his energy in hiding. He wasn't on the planet at all.

A pulsating light on my hand caught my attention. The Time Ring. That pulsating became a single thin beam connecting me to the spot he vanished in. He wasn't just running. The ring behaved like he ran to a different time, reacting to the unnatural disturbance his time-traveling craft created.

A thunder-like crackle and a rip in the sky appeared before me, the thin beam of light disappearing into the center.

Letting my ring guide me straight to him, I was pulled into the tear. When I opened my eyes, I looked out over the familiar dome shaped buildings from where I hovered high in the air, those iterations unharmed. No matter. I could fix that.

I noted the presence of my counterpart, Vegeta, and the God of Destruction with his attendant, but decided I would deal with them later.

The purple-haired pest was first.

He flew up to me, glaring. "Black! What are you doing here!?"

"I came here the same way you did, through the same tear in time. I'm here because of you. I'm here because you called me here – however inadvertently."

Trunks summoned his power with a yell and attacked, but in his weakened state, he did not pose much of a challenge and I knocked him down with a swift blow to his stomach.

My counterpart was next. As our fight progressed, we revealed more and more of our power to one another – until his power went to a level that outmatched Trunks'.

His Super Saiyan transformation offered a tremendous boost of speed and strength. For the first time since taking Son Goku's body as my own, I met my match. I strived for victory, pushing myself to the limits of my formidable power but to no avail. The growing frustration of realizing he was stronger than me.

Then the growing thrill.

I shook myself of that thought, struggling to hold my eventual, inevitable defeat at bay.

That was ridiculous. Mortals were never supposed to be stronger than deities. Yet, Son Goku was. I should have been disgusted. Some part of me was. Another part of me… the dominant part of me was… electrified.

In our fight, I felt more alive, more thrilled than I have at any other time of my life. Killing Son Goku with my own hands would have been a great step toward my ultimate goal of utopia. Fighting Son Goku was the ultimate test of my strength.

I blocked Goku's kick but my whole body was yanked backwards and out of range, giving me no chance to retaliate. I glanced behind me, our fight halting. The tear in time created by Trunks was mending itself and required me to return to my world. I didn't have a choice. His defeat would have to wait for another day.

Trunks and Son Goku stared in shock at a point on the ground. The time travelling craft was on its side, narrowly missed by a blast. I destroyed it and then was yanked into the tear.

When the rip in time deposited me in the atmosphere of my world, I dropped out of the sky and landed on my feet, loose gravel crunching under my shoes. My heart was pounding but not from exertion. I was… elated. In that elation was a drive to push myself to new heights. In my counterpart, I found my challenge, anticipating our next match and his defeat.

Leveling other human population hubs upon my return accomplished my two goals at first, but very soon grew insufficient for the more intense training my body craved.

With a yell, I summoned my power in the middle of the smoking rubble of another destroyed city, blowing it away completely as my massive power exploded around me, blowing out a massive crater. My energy crackled around me and through every inch of my being – formidable but not enough to defeat Son Goku.

I shifted through martial arts forms I observed him using, the movements suiting my body perfectly and melded them into my own forms learned through my extensive training on the sacred world of the Kais. I delighted in my progress – in the increase in my power in just that brief time.

"Black."

Snarling at the interruption, I whirled on him.

Zamasu raised an eyebrow. "Stay focused on the objective, Black. Stay focused on bringing justice to the world."

"I am focused!"

He shook his head. "You've been slacking. I've been observing you from afar. You've been back in this time two full days and have only destroyed a few cities."

"Destroying Son Goku will bring justice to the world!"

"You are correct. But you mustn't forget about the rest of the vermin. I observed Trunks leave on a craft and that your Time Ring reacted to that craft's whereabouts. That was a time-traveling craft then, was it not?"

I nodded once. "It was but I destroyed it while in the past moments before the tear in time repaired itself."

He raised an eyebrow. "Saiyans are a stubborn, battle hungry lot, never backing down from a challenge. They will find a way to return. Until he arrives here, focus on ridding this time of those blasphemous pests."

My eyebrow twitched and I crossed my arms, recalling the interruption of my training. "Fine. I'll destroy cities until Son Goku arrives at our time. But I wont move until you spar with me."

Zamasu's lip curled in mild disgust. "Careful, Black. You're behaving no better than those mortals. And remember, Son Goku is mine to destroy when it comes time to." He sighed, his expression relaxing. "But fine. I will fight you."

After staring in equal portions disgust and ravenous hunger at the mountain of food covering the entire table and my own very full plate for several moments, I ate almost everything in sight, silencing my roaring stomach. I had to admit, the food was quite delicious. Food prepared by a fellow deity was far and away superior to anything I had consumed thus far.

Several plates later, I was uncomfortably full, having eaten a great deal more than I ever had in that form, every serving dish on our overcrowded table wiped clean. I anticipated having that body's vast reservoir of power at my disposal. I was unprepared for the amount of sustenance that power required – the amount only increasing proportional to my energy output.

Zamasu took my last plate from me, his small smile amused. "My, aren't you quite the gluttonous mortal."

Despite his comment being in jest, I narrowed my eyes at him in warning.

His smile only grew.

After eating, an itch to train gnawed at the back of my mind. I stood up from my seat at our outdoor dining table, vaulted over the deck railing of our cabin over looking the forest, and floated in the cool early morning air, drifting backwards. Once a good distance, I summoned my power and released my newly acquired transformation, and – engulfed by my beautiful rose pink aura – worked through several forms, melding Son Goku's style with my own.

After clearing the table, Zamasu stood on the deck, observing me in silence.

I stuck my hand out toward him, palm up, and twitched my fingers in a brief gesture to join me. He obliged and gave me the fight I needed to sate my newly awakened thirst for battle. Fighting Zamasu held the worst of the yearning at bay, but not all of it, for my ultimate prize would be the defeat of Son Goku by my hands.

Whenever he decided to come to me, I would end him.

I occupied my time destroying cities, but it was hardly satisfying since my thirst for intense battle had been awakened.

I charged a large blast, leveling most of a sprawling, ugly metropolis in one fell swoop when I sensed a surge of energy off in the distance.

It had been only a couple days' time. Not a long wait by any means. It was time to test my new transformation against Son Goku.

However, Vegeta was the first to engage me in battle, rage burning in his eyes because I had killed the future incarnation of his wife and critically injured his son. I warned him to learn his place as a lowly mortal. In his refusal, he earned himself impaled by my mighty Split Cut technique. Despite the fact he wielded the power of the gods, he was all too easily defeated and left for dead.

As Vegeta fell from the sky, Son Goku charged me after nodding at Trunks to tend to Vegeta.

Even Son Goku's own usage of the ki of the gods proved inferior to the might of my recently attained Super Saiyan transformation. Not even the combined efforts of Son Goku and Trunks were a challenge. All three met their defeats by my hand and fled to their time.

It was only the next day when an energy surged in the distance and a great pillar of light shot into the smoke-darkened sky – a brief but obvious signal. Son Goku, Vegeta, and Future Trunks had returned.

Moments later, I touched down on the roof of a crumbling tower, smirking down at them.

Vegeta charged me as his power exploded into Super Saiyan Blue, rage burning in his eyes yet again. "I WILL KILL YOU FOR WHAT YOU DID TO ME!"

He was knocked down again and I laughed. "Bruised your pride, have I?"

He roared, firing blast after blast, using the explosions as cover to get in close, but I gave him no openings, knocking him out to the ground once again with a blow to his stomach – one so hard his power fluctuated, nearly losing control of his transformation.

Son Goku and Trunks rushed to his assistance but I would not give them that chance. It was time I finished off Vegeta.

Using one of Son Goku's choice techniques, I landed on a high rooftop and settled into a stance. I cupped my hands together at my side until a brilliant, warm light bathed the area, and Zamasu descended from the clouds, making quite the entrance for the sake of the mortals. I allowed the energy to slip away harmlessly as he joined me on my lofty perch.

Son Goku glared up at us. "Zamasu!"

Zamasu smiled down at them. "Yes. It is I. I will bring you to your ultimate destruction."

Son Goku's glare gave way to a cocky smile. "You can try." His expression darkened again. "Before we get started, there is something I want to know. Tell me… how did you get my body?"

I smiled. "A wish on the Dragon Balls of the gods."

He raised an eyebrow. "You made a copy of me?"

I laughed. "No." I put my hand to my chest. "This is the real Son Goku. It's your body, but the soul that resides within this body is that of Zamasu."

Son Goku crossed his arms. "Clearly, you made a wish to have my body. How?"

I gritted my teeth at his insolent tone, but gave him the answer he desired. "In another time, I wished for my body and yours to be switched."

"Why?"

I let out a bitter, humorless laugh. "Don't you see, Son Goku? I was the one that shamefully lost to you, a mere mortal. I needed more power so I abandoned my old body for yours and the power you possess." I prepared to blast into the air. "Now, prepare to pay for your insolence, mortal!"

A brief touch on my arm stopped me.

I glanced at Zamasu and he shook his head.

Son Goku's frown deepened. "Then… what happened to the me in that time after you stole my body?"

I cracked a smile and held out my left hand. "I killed you with this very hand."

He uncrossed his arms and clenched his fists at his sides. "What time are you from, Zamasu? And Lord Beerus killed you. I saw it. So why aren't you dead?"

Zamasu placed a hand on his chest. "I am of this time. Trunks' time. Or what you call the Future. I arrived here after Black came to me and killed Gowasu. Before coming here, we destroyed every single one of the Kais – including Gowasu of Black's time – to make them pay for their folly and to assume the role of Supreme Kai for ourselves. All of this is made possible by our Time Rings – which prevent us from being affected by anything done to other iterations. All of this is necessary to bring about our paradise."

I nodded to my counterpart. "Shall we, Zamasu?"

He sneered. "Certainly."

With that, we each charged large blasts and launched them at the mortals, beginning the fight. Goku charged, engaging Zamasu with a pointblank energy blast, his head badly damaged. I was unconcerned. Zamasu's immortality meant he healed in moments, Son Goku snarling in frustration.

He'd pay dearly for his attempt to kill a deity. Using one of his techniques, I translocated behind him, catching him by complete surprise, flipping up kicking him down, and he landed hard by his friends.

Vegeta glared up at us, shifting a foot forward, ready to fight. "What paradise is that?"

Zamasu smiled down at him. "One without mortals. None deserve the beautiful gift of life we have bestowed. They're all the same – barbaric, and evil. But none are as awful as humans. Humans must face a heavy penalty before they are driven to extinction. We brought about despair and fear the likes of which they have never experienced. They will never be able to rise again."

I grinned. "The Zero Mortals Plan."

Vegeta smiled humorlessly. "What a dramatic name. All you want to do is massacre mortals."

I nodded. "Yes. And we've killed countless thousands on this world alone – not to mention the others."

The sound of a foot shifting against the roofing and Zamasu said, "And now it's time to erase humanity for breaking the taboo of time travel and the unending violence in wars and in the streets."

The three of them explode into their mightiest transformations with angry roars, charging us as one, resulting in a chaotic exchange of hits from fists, feet, knees, and elbows as the three of them strived to defeat us, but at every turn, they were out-matched, out-paced, and easily overpowered but still we toyed with them.

Toying with them, my mind began to drift, pulling up images of Trunks in his rage when I nearly killed that girl and killed his mother.

Vegeta's anger when I took his ego down to where it belonged…

Their horrified yet angry expressions as Zamasu and I divulged our dream…

Their determination to prevent the inevitable demise of the last humans hidden on that world – determination that was driven by a misguided fury…

Fury.

That dreadful emotion was the root of all of it – one that drove humans to commit unspeakable atrocities against one another.

One that I would use to my advantage.

Firing a great blast on Son Goku, he crossed his arms in front of his face, shielding himself from it, the blast shoving him back in increments of movement. Sending him toward a ruined building and his back met it, his slow backwards movement ceasing and in a last push, he shoved the blast up and out of harm's way.

I gave him no time to move, planting myself inches away from him.

"Aren't you wondering what happened to your family after I took your body and killed you?"

His glare met my smirk, his voice low and hissing between his clenched teeth. "What… did you do… to Chichi and Goten?"

I laughed. "Isn't it obvious?" Charging up my energy blade, I drove it straight through him, pulling a scream out of him, his power fluctuating, his head bowed, and then, leaning in, I whispered directly into his ear, "I killed them as effortlessly as I killed you in my old body. And I'd do it again."

His head snapped up, his teeth bared, his power stabilizing and then growing – even with my blade protruding out his back. His aura flaring up around him, he reached down, and broke the blade as easily as one would snap a twig before throwing his head back in an agonized, furious roar, his power skyrocketing out of control, then moving with alarming speed, landed an uppercut with more power behind it than he had ever used, sending me flying. Despite the gaping wound through his side, his power was stunning, driven to new heights by his fury.

I had my fight, my worthy opponent unleashing his fury in a blitz of powerful hits, and for the first time since attaining my own Super Saiyan transformation… I hurt. And I loved it.

He seemed to find some enjoyment in causing my pain, his eyes hard and cold. Gone was the calm confidence he displayed earlier. In its place was blood-thirst – intense, unadulterated blood-thirst.

He loathed me, channeling that hatred into every single one of his strong hits. Hits that came too fast for me to successfully block – the pain worsening. A fist was driven into my gut with so much force my breath whooshed out, my stunned diaphragm unable to pull air into my lungs, his attack not over yet as fists drove into my back while I was doubled over in the air, sending me crashing to the ground.

Pain that would only push my own power to new heights and it was already working.

He dropped down to stand over me, his face still twisted into a foul display of bloodthirsty loathing, static sparks crackling around him, the first hints of the blast he charged, moments before the familiar glow started down his outstretched hand, the energy gathering into a bright sphere, and then he released it but I was ready, melding my own energy into a protective shield. With his close proximity, the contact – and resulting explosion – was instantaneous.

Despite the smoke hanging stagnant in the air and obstructing my sight, his energy remained hovering before me with his guard down, and I fired a quick blast, delighting in the explosion and pained yell as his energy dropped. I seized the opportunity to charge him, driving my fist straight into his wound and he screamed again as he careened away but I would not let him go, using Instant Transmission to place myself directly above him, flipping down to slam both feet into his stomach, his energy falling.

His momentum forced him through many buildings, and well out of sight – and even just out of sensing range, his energy so low I had a vague sense of life but could not pinpoint his location.

His death was imminent – if I could but find him.

Zamasu joined me in the air – evidently having finished off the others. "Killed him, did you?"

I glanced at him. "Almost." I closed my eyes, extending out tendrils of energy, searching every last nook and cranny in every direction, my complete concentration making my senses far sharper, sharp enough to – "Ah! There he is! Seems you didn't kill the others, either." With that, I touched two fingers to my forehead, grabbed Zamasu's shoulder, and appeared right next to the Time Machine hovering in the air somehow well behind where I had just been.

We couldn't use the Time Rings to get to Son Goku's time. However, there was one other way. The three weak and unconscious energies inside were none the wiser to their stowaways each gripping a leg of the time travelling craft.

While the time machine hovered low in the air a moment, Zamasu and I released our holds and dropped, touching down on the clean grounds of the Capsule Corporation.

A quick sweep of my senses alerted me to a short man with short black hair staring at us, shocked. His energy was inconsequential. Zamasu would take care of him.

I only had minutes in Son Goku's time.

Knowing exactly where he lived, I extended my senses, finding the familiar, weak energies of his mate and youngest child.

I touched two fingers to my forehead and found myself in a small kitchen. A petite woman in a sunshine yellow dress worked at the sink, her back to me.

She turned around, her smile falling into a look of confusion as she eyed me up and down. "Goku…?"

I smiled slyly. "Yes."

She pressed herself into the counter behind her, a suspicious frown on her face.

I took a step toward her and her eyes darted first to one side and then the other, looking for an escape route.

She picked one and darted to my left, but I grabbed her arm and the blood drained from her face.

Light footsteps came into the room and she gave an almost imperceptible shake of her head. I already knew who it was.

I turned and smiled down at the small mortal, his eyebrow raised in a look of vague confusion.

His confusion darkened into a slight frown. "Dad…?"

I shook my head, chuckling slightly. "No, young son of Goku. I am Goku, however I'm not your dear father anymore than I am her husband."

Chichi shuddered in my grip and tried to pull herself free, but I tightened my grasp on her arm and she sucked in a breath.

His frown deepened as he reached toward the little black-haired woman. "Hey… you're hurting her! Why are you hurting her?"

My smile widened. "Oh, I intend to do a lot more than hurt her."

Focused on the little boy, I didn't see the hard kick she aimed at my shin. It actually stung enough to nearly make me drop her arm. I was surprised a weak human woman was capable of such strength.

My eyes narrowed as I turned my attention to her and tightened my hold further, stopping just short of causing damage to the bone. "One more move like that and I'll shatter your arm easier than one would crush an autumn leaf."

Tears sprang to her eyes, her face contorted in pain and fear, her breathing shallow and fast.

Goten's energy exploded as he charged me and landed a surprisingly strong right hook on my cheek, making my head snap to one side. "I don't know who you are, but let go of my mom!"

His powerless mother screamed, "GOTEN! NO! DON'T!"

I twisted to the side, charged my Split Cut technique and struck out intending to impale him but he dodged it… partially. The crackling energy blade sank deep into his side. His energy dropped as he screamed, his hair fading to black and falling to its original shape. His small body hit the floor facedown with a thud.

The woman went hysterical, kicking out, screaming in anguish and anger, punching, fighting harder than ever before with a strength I didn't know she possessed.

I smiled down at her as she fought to get free. "Time to summon Son Goku."

Leveling his home sufficed. I dropped her – allowing her to scramble to the bleeding child – and reduced their small home to a smoking crater as she made it outside with the small, limp boy.

It was time to force Son Goku to the pinnacle of his power.