Here's the next chapter!
Trunks and Adia are sitting at a kitchen table. Bulma is getting food ready-Adia has just repeated what she has told Trunks so far.
"I'm going to assume that Saiyans in general have huge appetites compared to humans. Goku could eat an entire buffet and call it a light snack," Bulma chuckled.
"It's usually the males, but female warriors have that too. To keep energy up for fighting, I would guess," Adia replied with a tight smile. She seemed extremely tense. Trunks couldn't blame her; he'd nearly killed her.
"Well, you won't have to do much of that in this house. If you want to spar with Trunks, I suggest doing it outside." Adia nodded.
"I don't think I will be sparring with Trunks. I have to find the Onyx Dragon Balls and collect them before the Mithilri do. Lorcan, their... political leader... for all intents and purposes, wants to grant himself powers that would rival the dragons themselves. The problem is that these dragon balls are spread throughout timelines and the Mithilri already have two. Lorcan will challenge me for them no doubt one way or another, so I have to stop him. He's using a crude time machine to find them. I don't have that availability. But I do have one of the seven already as well as the locations and times in which the others are." Trunks's eyes flashed. Sounds like something I could help with. Bulma seemed to have the same idea.
"I've developed my time machine so that the user can more frequently travel. It's also more precise on when and where it transports you," Bulma said.
"Really Mom? When was this?" Trunks asked, confused.
"I had to do something while you were gone and when it was charging, dear," she smiled.
"Surely you aren't suggesting that you help me with this? The Mithilri are ruthless and-" Adia was cut off by Trunks, who held up his hand.
"My mom will stay here and continue to help people recover from the androids' attacks. Right Mom?" Bulma nodded.
"I'm too old for going to do something like this anyway," she assured him. Trunks turned to Adia once more.
"But I'm coming with you-and we're using the new time machine. I won't just sit here when there's a threat to the universe." Adia's face showed only surprise for a few moments, then she nodded.
"Let's go then," she said. As they headed out, Trunks called back over his shoulder.
"I'll be back in a few minutes in your time, Mom!" Bulma sighed.
"He'd better be."
Orange Star High-the lunch room. Videl, Erasa, Sharpener, and Gohan are all at a table together.
"I can't believe it!" squealed Erasa. Videl groaned and questioned if she should have told them that she'd met Saiyaman.
"Calm down, Erasa, he hasn't told me who he is," said Videl.
"But that's so cool! You got to meet a real live superhero!"
"It's really not all that special. That outfit and those poses of his are pretty cheesy. The only good thing is that he agreed to teach me how to fly." Gohan frowned. He'd thought the poses and costume were cool . . . maybe he would change it and ditch the poses, then.
"Wish I knew who he was," muttered Sharpener. Then he seemed to have an epiphany.
"Hey, Gohan. You're pretty smart. Do you think you could figure out who Saiyaman is?" Gohan swallowed nervously.
"I could figure it out, but why? Videl is trying to get him to trust her and she'll find out that way. Wouldn't that kind of ruin it if I tried?"
"It's not like Saiyaman would know that you knew," Sharpener said, "He's a superhero. Obviously he wouldn't hang out with geeks." Gohan resisted the urge to roll his eyes. Then he tried appealing to Sharpener's better, less shallow nature.
"It's still not fair." Sharpener did not resist the urge to roll his eyes at naïve little Gohan-who determined that Sharpener did not have a better nature.
"Don't worry Gohan. Saiyaman is my problem, not yours," said Videl, glaring at Sharpener. The bell rang and each of them headed to separate classes. Gohan hadn't thought much of it at first, but he began to get nervous as the clock kept ticking to the end of the day. He wondered if meeting up with Videl was a good idea. She wasn't stupid. Sooner or later she'd figure it out. He could only hope that she found out when he wanted her to. He went to a back alley, suited up, and flew to the school roof.
"Miss Videl?" he asked, not wanting to startle her again. She turned from the edge of the school to face Gohan.
"Saiyaman. Nice to see you. Now where are you taking me to teach me how to fly? I called my father and told him I was going to patrol more often so he wouldn't freak out. I hope you can teach me," Videl said with slight uncertainty.
"You'll learn, don't worry. You'll have to learn how to control your energy first in order to do it though. I'm taking you to a field that's a good distance away from the city so there's no interruptions. I'll fly you there for now." Gohan held out his hand. Videl scowled at it for a moment, but grasped his hand. He picked her up and took off. Videl's eyes widened at the speed they moved. In almost no time, Gohan set Videl down.
"This place is beautiful," she marveled. All her life, she hadn't spent a lot of time outside of the city. The sparkling lake and hazy mountains were things she had only seen in paintings or photos.
"It's great, isn't it? I come here to swim with my brother sometimes," Gohan said with a grin. Lots of people had brothers; it wouldn't hurt to say that.
"Maybe you could invite some friends here once in a while. I don't know too many kids that get to enjoy a place like this a lot. . . back to training then." Her demeanor flipped like a switch from misty-eyed awe to determined passion. Gohan practically had whiplash from the sudden change as he nodded.
"The first step is controlling your energy. This is a sort of power that every living thing has. I've learned to sense people's powers and how big they are. If you put it in perspective, a normal human is probably about level ten if power levels have numerical value. Through training though, your power can increase. For example, yours at the moment is much higher . . . in the hundreds for sure. Probably around 120."
"That's a big difference. How does one control this . . . energy?" she said, getting back to the point. He babbles like Gohan. But that was useful. Maybe later I can get him to tell me his power level.
"You have to be still and focused. You'll feel a kind of warmth right at your heart after a while. Then you'll want to pull at that warmth, and then-" Gohan demonstrated. A crackling, glowing energy appeared in his hands. Videl leaned closer to see.
"Wow. All right then." Videl took a deep breath and held her arms out in front of herself. Staring at the space between her two hands, she did exactly as Gohan told her. She stood for exactly twenty-six minutes, focusing.
"Do you want to stop for a minute? It takes time to figure out," Gohan asked, uncertain. She exhaled, irritated.
"Fine. What do we do in the meantime?"
"Um . . . Well, do you have any tips on being a superhero? I mean is there anything I can do better? You don't have a secret identity, but you've been fighting crime a long time." Videl seemed surprised.
"Well . . . you're doing well with the fighting part of it. But . . . no offense, but your poses and costume are stupid."
"Really?" Gohan was frustrated. So it wasn't just trying to get Erasa to stop being so excited at lunch.
"Yeah. Maybe you could try something else on the costume. The poses just aren't necessary," she said, nodding.
"I'll try and figure out something new then," shrugged Gohan. And they had small talk as such for a few minutes before returning to Videl's training.
Trunks and Adia have just landed in a new time in the time machine. Adia is tracking the dragon ball for that time and place.
"If I'm right, we're on planet Namek, a few years before Frieza started scouring it for its dragon balls. The Onyx Dragon Balls were created by accident by some crazy Namekian, from what I understand, so it's no wonder they're so dangerous." Trunks frowned as they walked along the small island they had appeared on.
"Dangerous?" Adia stared at the ground.
"Usually, dragon balls are wished upon, then scattered far and wide to release the negative energy created when a wish is made. This Namekian wanted all of his wishes granted with no strings attached, so he created the Onyx Dragon Balls. There are no restrictions on how many wishes or what kind of wishes you make, but they come at a price. Instead of spreading themselves out and slowly releasing the energy left inside, they use the wisher as a vessel. Basically, it's like a running faucet. The energy is the water, and the wisher is the faucet. Depending on the wishes made, more energy flows through more quickly. (A/N: I can't remember correctly but if I make a reference to GT in her little speech, I apologize. I didn't like GT myself but that concept about the negative energy is important for these new Dragon Balls.)
"When the Namekian made a single wish, it sent a wave of evil energy through him that nearly killed him because he could not control the flow. Finally, when he realized the mistake he'd made, he wished that his creations be spread far and wide throughout space and time to prevent others from finding out about it. The Namekian, in doing this, made his dragon balls different, because even if he did die in one universe, he would be alive in the past and so forth. They are permanent and they do not scatter on their own. Lorcan knows this and wants them for granting his every whim," she growled.
"How did he find out?" asked Trunks.
"He found a version of Namek's normal dragon balls and made a wish to know what would give him exactly everything he wanted. His second wish was a means of transport to find them-thank goodness for the Namekian translator. They asked for an unreliable means when he realized what Lorcan's intentions were, so their time machine isn't very useful to them. His third wish was to see the effects of the Onyx Dragon Balls on a prisoner if they had wished for the things he wanted." She stared coldly at the green sea before her.
"You don't mean yourself, do you?" asked Trunks. Adia smiled harshly and chuckled.
"Who else? I wasn't just a time travel experiment, you know. Besides, Saiyans get stronger after being wounded and surviving. He only made a worse enemy," she lifted her chin high.
"Make that two enemies, Adia. I believe we need to find a dragon ball?" She nodded and pointed slightly to their left.
"My device tracked it to be in an area in that direction." She held up a small device that looked like a super-scouter.
"I have one for you as well. I'm sure you'll be able to read it-it was made in your language, I think. Mine's purely Saiyan lettering and symbols."
"By the way, what do the Dragon Balls look like?" Trunks fitted the high-tech device on his head. It was surprisingly readable, with letters and numbers labeled for distance, power levels, and even a small arrow labeled "Dragon Detector". Adia reached into her pocket and pulled a tennis ball-sized Dragon Ball. It was grey with three black stars in the center, but swirls like marble sliced through it as if it had cracked and oil seeped in. The iridescent black shine was strange and almost unsettling. She quickly put it back in her pocket.
"It'll be faster if we fly," Trunks said, and she nodded. They followed the trackers over miles of lush islands and green ocean, stopping over a canyon.
"Well, this was easy," said Trunks, picking up the two-star ball from the crevice seconds later. They returned to the ship, but heard a scream.
"We've got to go," Adia said impatiently.
"Hold on, it won't take long," Trunks assured her, following the scream. A small Namekian child was stuck in a tree. Trunks couldn't understand what the kid was saying, but it was obvious that they hadn't learned to fly. He flew up, brought the child to the ground, and nodded. In Namekian, the little boy thanked Trunks. Trunks simply smiled and nodded, running back to Adia.
"The boy's caretakers would have gotten him down eventually," she hissed as Trunks got into the time machine.
"I saved them a little work, then. And I saved him a few hours of anxiety. It's not like we'll see them again," he said, starting it up, "it couldn't possibly change the timeline that much. A few rumors of a benevolent stranger, maybe."
"Then what was the point?"
"It couldn't hurt, could it?" Adia frowned. Why bother with the most trivial things? For all I'm concerned he could have died in the tree. He's not going to grow to be powerful enough to be of any use to us...
"Just go to the next one. You've got the coordinates and date on your tracker."
A dark room where nothing is visible.
A cool draft passed as a door opened. Some light came through, but only a silhouette of the figure who opened it was visible. The floor of the room was apparently a cool, bluish grey.
"Master Lorcan, we have located and obtained another Dragon Ball. Also, our field scouters indicate that Prisoner 666 is on the move and has recruited a companion. They now have possession of two dragon balls." It was a rough voice like that of Nappa, but with a thick accent that sounded almost like someone from the American south.
"Thank you for your report, General Marcus," replied a voice from the center of the dark room. It was deep and suave, like one would expect a movie star spy to sound, yet this voice had a certain inflection that made one uneasy.
"Sir, should I send some men to deal with them?"
"No, Marcus," smiled the voice-for one could hear amusement oozing from that location in the room, "It won't be necessary. They are collecting the Dragon Balls for us as well. No doubt we will pry them from the cold, dead bodies of these little rebels when they have collected enough. Let them have their adventure for it. I will be entering the contest for the final one anyway, rather than stealing it. If I'm going to have everything I want, I might as well have a little fun on the way." General Marcus nodded sharply.
"Master," he said, and after bowing, he left. The door closed behind him, and he was now in the bright, hospital-like hallway outside. General Marcus was no human. He resembled a great jungle cat that had been shaved, for his face was large and bony with pointy ears on top of his head. His eyes were a shade of green like acid, and he wore high-tech armor much like that which Vegeta wore when he first came to Earth. However, this armor had metal plating all over its arms and legs and was an off-white color elswhere.
"Lorcan had better know what he's getting himself into. I don't want to deal with him should he get frustrated with these Saiyans," he spat, walking away.
Gohan and Videl, still in the field from before
"It's getting late, Videl. You've already mastered controlling your energy, and that's a huge step! I should probably take you home."
"I'm not moving an inch unless it's into the air!" she said, furrowing her brow. Gohan sighed.
"Okay, then. I'll stop talking so you can concentrate." Wow, she's not going to give up, is she? I don't know anyone who would go this long . . . well, except for Vegeta, but he'd teach himself or blast his teacher before really learning anything.
Suddenly, there was a change, and Videl was a few feet in the air.
"Videl! You're flying!" Gohan cheered, rising up as well.
"Yes! I did it!" she grinned and went higher, testing out how to move one way or another.
"Want to fly back to your house? It's a lot faster than commuting," promised Gohan, knowing from experience.
"Sure . . . don't show off though. I'm still getting a hang of it," Videl warned.
"No problem!" Gohan rose in the air and faced the city. As the sun turned orange, setting in the sky, Videl took flight beside him.
"Ready?" he asked. She nodded and began to move forward. Gohan stayed at her side along the way. They talked as the air cooled down with night.
"I'm sorry for being rude to you all of the time. I guess I am the spoiled daughter of Hercule Satan for treating you like that."
"It's no big deal. Say, are you entering the tournament this summer?"
"I am. Are you?"
"Probably, but as Saiyaman, not as myself."
"I wonder why. Most guys would want to be recognized for being strong and able to do all of those things." Gohan frowned.
"I'm not most guys. With all the craziness my family already has to deal with, I don't want them to have to deal with the press too. We like to keep a low profile when it comes to that. That's when your dad came in handy," he muttered the last bit, not meaning for her to really hear.
"What do you mean by that? My dad's the most powerful man on the planet! He beat Cell!" Gohan chuckled.
"I don't think it's funny, Saiyaman. He could probably kill you with one swipe."
"I'd die laughing because it tickled so much. Remember the power level thing I told you about? He's probably in the forties. A good fifty if he's been training a lot since the Cell Games. I'd rather not share my power level because I frankly don't know what it is."
"Why don't you tell me when you find out? I wondered when you talked about power levels why you didn't mention yours."
"If I guessed about now, with an honest answer, I'd probably be guessing too low and you still wouldn't believe me."
"Now that's a laugh," Videl said, "You'd have to be some sort of superhuman. Or not completely human at all." They landed near Videl's home just then. Gohan didn't respond to her last comment, but did tell her good night.
"Good night, Miss Videl! See you after school tomorrow!" he said rigidly before flying back home. Videl stared for a moment. He was just laughing like my dad was nothing. And he said I was more powerful than my dad . . . then got all quiet when I said he might not be fully human? Could that mean he isn't? That would certainly explain the Gold Fighter thing. . .
Adia and Trunks in the time machine
"So what are we supposed to do?" Adia growled as Trunks tapped the screen. A bright red error message was blinking on the top.
"Hold on . . . I can't seem to get a lock on the next location . . . It's like it doesn't exist in my time. It sends an error message like this sometimes . . . it's like we would land in empty space . . . it's like there's no planet to land on . . ."
"I was told two of the dragon balls are part of prizes in tournaments. Perhaps it's a sort of space race?"
"I don't think so . . . there we . . . fixed it. But if we land in outer space it won't be good."
"Are you kidding me? This thing has outward cameras or something, right?" she asked.
"Yeah, just hold on . . . hey, we're on a planet. It looks like we landed in a wilderness area though, so we should be fine when it comes to freaking out natives." Adia was silent as she looked off in a direction like she knew the place and expected something.
"No . . . it couldn't be . . . the legendary off-worlders were us?" she muttered.
"What's going on?" Trunks asked.
"This is planet Vegeta . . . and I remember now . . . When I was a child two Saiyans entered the Royal Tournament and won like it was nothing. They stayed with my family, saying they had no home of their own. The girl was a proper Saiyan, I remember, but the boy was strange and quiet at first. I remember eavesdropping on a conversation between them and my father. I didn't understand then but . . . this is Planet Vegeta from when I was very young. Raditz, my brother, was only a few years old, and-Goku, you called him?-hadn't been born yet. Vegeta, your father, was about my age then. Only about seven." Trunks was stunned.We're going to stay here?
"So we have to pretend we are normal Saiyans and-"
"Until we get to the tournament. Only my father knew our true predicament-I remember how he acted around the two then. At the tournament we can go to Super Saiyan to fight near the end. We'll also help fight off a menace that Frieza sent to the planet in hopes of destroying us indirectly."
"This is crazy. Last time I checked, I don't really look full Saiyan," argued Trunks.
"That's easy to change. I don't either thanks to my hair and lack of tail, but one thing I did learn over the years in prison is a glamour trick. I can make anything look like anything else and turn it back and forth whenever. We can look like normal Saiyans if I figure it out correctly." Trunks raised his eyebrows but did not question her. Adia closed her eyes and snapped-the white streak in her hair vanished and she now wore battle armor akin to the kind Trunks remembered wearing in the Cell Games. She frowned when she looked at Trunks, though.
"What's going on?" Trunks asked. She shook her head.
"Your hairstyle isn't very Saiyan. I'm going to make it look like the style it is when you go Super Saiyan. . ." she snapped again, then gasped.
"No way! It's not possible. . ." she said.
"What is it?" Trunks asked. She pointed at him shakily.
"You . . ." Trunks assumed it was his glamour. He looked in the window of the time machine, which was very reflective in the daylight. Vegeta, the Prince of Saiyans, stared back.
"What the hell?" Trunks flinched back. He looked again more closely. He was most definitely taller than Vegeta and had a slightly different-shaped face, but the resemblance was almost frightening.
"Adia," he said, turning slowly to her, "Did you happen to notice this when you were little, or were you half-blind then?"
And done for now! I'm going to try and catch up on some other stories too so I probably won't update this one for a while. Anyone have suggestions on how Gohan reveals himself as Saiyaman? I'm at a loss for now. Oh, and you're probably wondering what Lorcan looks like . . . I won't tell! Muahahahaha! (you'll find out later when I actually figure it out myself lol) Obviously I like focusing on Mirai Trunks a lot. He's my favorite character so I guess that makes sense. See you all later!
Flute Chick