Frieza laughed as the smoke filled the sky. For being so confident, it was sure easy to kill this mysterious young woman. But as the dust settled, Frieza saw what he had seen on Namek: A pair of green eyes piercing through the debris.
His smile quickly turned into a grimace. He stepped back and balled his hands to a fist. There stood Bulla entirely unscathed.
"I hope that's not the best you can do," she said, almost sweetly.
Frieza let out a scream as he launched another energy blast toward Bulla. The size of the blast shocked even King Cold, who urged his son to scale back his power so as not to blow up the two of them and their ship. The assault did nothing, though.
Without even so much as blinking, Bulla outstretched her hands and let out a flash of light. It met the blast and sliced through it with ease. It split in two pieces that dodged Bulla entirely, dispersing into the hills. Her blast, on the other hand, sailed in the air toward the alien dictators at an alarming speed. It forced the two to physically move to dodge it.
"How did you manage that?!" Frieza screamed. A confident grin spread across her face.
"Maybe I'm just lucky," she mused. "Or maybe I'm that good."
Another blast formed in her hands and quickly sailed toward the spot of the first. In reality, she had no intention of hitting the two. She just wanted to have a bit of fun. They easily dodged it and Frieza sensed she had missed them on purpose.
Whereas Frieza was increasingly annoyed (and, though he'd never admit it, somewhat afraid), King Cold was more intrigued. He had heard from his son the power of a Super Saiyan and had thought it an exaggeration. Namek blowing up was as much to blame for Frieza's state when they found him floating in space—or so King Cold thought.
Now, it appears Frieza's descriptions of the legendary warrior were true. This young woman had a power that was unlike any other he had faced. It was so powerful it was literally radiating off her like lightning bolts. Even more disconcerting was the look in her eye. It went beyond confidence-—it was self assuredness mixed with pure, unbridled rage. And while Frieza seemed to be relenting to it, King Cold had another thought. If he couldn't beat her, he wondered if he could convince her to join him.
"Still not enough," Bulla quipped. "I think it might be time for you to head home, Frieza."
Frieza flew up into the air and started channeling his energy into a huge blast. While Bulla did not know it, it was just like on Namek. If he couldn't beat her one-on-one, he was going to resort to blowing up the entire planet. The powerful blast continued to grow in Frieza's hand, eclipsing the sky like a fiery sun, all the while Frieza laughed maniacally.
"Is this what you wanted?" He smirked.
It was not what he intended to do, but it would work. Instead of facing Goku here on this mudball planet, he could intercept him in space. Goku would be left with virtually nothing—his family and friends would be dead from the impact. He would have no home, and while that wouldn't be as sweet a victory as watching him writhe in pain at his hands, Frieza decided it would be enough for now.
The ball of energy continued to grow larger and larger, but it did not scare Bulla. She watched with eager eyes from the ground below, surveying it like someone might watch a floating cloud with passive curiosity.
"Are you almost done?" King Cold asked sternly. Frieza turned to look at his father with discontent.
"It's almost done father," he snipped.
With a flick of his finger, he launched it at Bulla. The blast sunk into the ground, moving toward the Earth's core, straight on top of her. It made a horrifying crunching sound as the rocks below broke with ease. The flash of light it produced was almost blinding, making it hard to see exactly how far down it was.
Landing on the ground, Frieza turned on his heel. His father did the same, heading back toward their ship and leaving the blast to do its worst. But suddenly they felt a shift in the earth like an earthquake, and not one that indicated the core was collapsing. No, this was as if something was being pushed up.
They whipped their heads around to see the blast shifting from the ground toward the sky. It had left a crater more than 100 yards in diameter and nearly 10 feet deep. As it slowly lifted, Bulla appeared, completely unfazed.
She held the ball of energy in her hand above her head and slowly moved toward Frieza and his father.
"And to think I thought you'd be a challenge," Bulla said disappointingly.
King Cold and Frieza starred aghast. They stammered backward as Bulla detonated the ball, which spewed out a wind of incredible explosions. The father and son braced themselves for impact and the ground broke into several pieces below. As the dust cleared, they looked around for Bulla but she was nowhere to be seen.
For a moment, Frieza thought maybe he had defeated her. And his father did too. But the ease in which she grabbed the energy blast was too natural, too simple. There was no way one blast could end her just like that. The two laughed, somewhat skeptically, scanning the horizon for signs she might've survived.
Bulla had moved so quickly they didn't see her perched atop a rock formation some yards away. They didn't see her unsheathe her sword, stand at attention and make her ascent to them below. It wasn't until she shouted out Frieza's name that the duo had even realized she was standing behind them. Their eyes widened in horror.
"Hey Frieza!" she yelled.
As he cocked his head over his shoulder, she shot out an energy blast. He dodged it easily, but it was merely a means to an end. She jumped into the air drawing back her sword, slicing him clear in half as his father watched on. King Cold was immobilized as Bulla took it even further, cutting Frieza into tiny bits and using an energy blast to dispose of him.
King Cold couldn't believe what he was seeing. How could this girl defeat the mighty Frieza so easily? She discarded him like a piece of trash. She slowly turned to the elder, her sword now back in its holder.
The two descended from the air and were now face-to-face. While the death of his son had most certainly shocked him, he was not going to let this Saiyan get away so easily. If she could defeat Frieza with what seemed to be little to no effort, he reckoned other opponents would fall at her hand just as well. He was not a fool-his son's death did not hurt him in the way it might a normal father. This was an opportunity to take an even bigger stake in the galactic hierarchy, one he had already laid a significant claim to.
He gingerly stepped toward her.
"I'm impressed," he said coyly. "Not only are you beautiful you're cunning too."
Bulla let out a laugh. "Thank you for the compliment, I suppose."
"You're most welcome," he said as he walked gingerly toward her. "You know, you would make a wonderful intergalactic princess. You have the beauty, the brains, the brawn."
"Out with it," she hissed at him. "You want me to join your legions of followers, I'm guessing?"
He smiled wickedly. Perhaps she wasn't so opposed to the idea after all.
"Yes, you guessed it," he said cooly. "I think you and I as a team would make quite the pair. We could rule the universe together. Worlds would cower at your feet, and you could have anything in the world you desire."
"Anything?" she responded coyly. King Cold's eyebrows lifted in surprise. Was she really going to join him? It seemed like an impossibility at first, but maybe it was just Frieza she took issue with. Maybe she truly was here to speak to Goku, and when interrupted and threatened by their men, she was forced to defend.
"You name it, it is yours," he said. "Speaking of names, I don't believe I ever learned yours."
"My name is inconsequential," she responded. "You won't be alive for long enough to put it to memory."
King Cold stiffened. She was mocking him. She had no intention of joining his ranks, she just wanted to hear him beg.
Suddenly, he started walking toward him. Her gait was more sensual than it was scary, her hips curved from side to side in a snaking pattern as she made her way over. It was disarming and confusing. She had just threatened to kill him, but now it almost seemed like she was...seducing him?
"I have a theory about you," she said pensively. "Would you like to hear it?"
The alien dictator stood stunned. He did, in fact, want to hear her theory. But what he did not want to do was give her an opening of attack. This could just be a tactic to stop him long enough to gain the upper hand.
"No?"
"Tell me," King Cold said. "I'm curious to know."
She let out a light laugh, finally stopping within feet of him. She eyed him up and down. At 5'5, she was only about half his size. But he knew better than to underestimate her again. He tensed up as she reached out her hand.
"There are two types of people in this world, King Cold," she said. "There are builders and there are destroyers. And that's not to say builders never destroy, no, but they destroy as a means to an end, do you see?"
He cocked his head. "I'm not sure I understand."
"You're the type of person who takes and kills for sport. You have no reason to create, no reason to help society press forward. To you, these worlds are mere trinkets in a collection of useless toys. So you think those who want the world to be a better place are weak. But you forget, that sometimes the strongest people in the world are the ones who know it holds a special place. Those who respect balance and progressiveness and have something to protect."
"And why, exactly, are you protecting this place?" He leaned in closer to her.
"Because the people I love are here," she said. "And unfortunately, that does include you."
In a flash, she placed her hand directly on his abdomen and let out a powerful blast, blowing a hole straight through his stomach. He was so entranced by her theory—by her eyes, her soft voice—he was entirely disarmed.
His body slumped to the ground. Underneath him, blood was pooling rapidly. He was not long for this world.
"You bitch," he sneered, coughing up a clot of blood.
"You destroy for fun," she hissed back. "I destroy because I have something so worth caring about that I have no other option than to win. I have a future I need to protect and build. I can't afford to lose."
She flicked her wrist once more, sending a powerful blast encompassing King Cold's fading body. It overtook him in seconds and suddenly he was gone. For a moment, she stood and looked at the hole where King Cold had lay just moments ago. Now there was not even a shred of evidence he had ever stepped foot on this planet. She turned to his spaceship. What good was it now that it had no occupants to carry? It crossed her mind that maybe she should save it and give it to her mother to study. As quickly as she considered saving it, she decided against it, sending a blast through its core.
She did feel remorse, as much as she hated to admit it. She hated killing. It was probably not a warrior's nature to feel that way, but after so many of her loved ones had fallen at the hands of the androids, to her, killing seemed senseless.
She was not proud of the work she had to do. But she knew it was the only way.
Looking up off onto the horizon, she saw the Z Fighters collected in the air, just along the ridge. She became airborne to meet their eye level.
"I'm heading off to a place near here to meet Goku," she shouted. "Would you guys like to come?"
They were suspended in air, flabbergasted that this stranger who had just so handedly defeated Frieza was now inviting them for a chat. She flew off and they quickly followed.