[I own nothing in the Dragonball franchise. All rights go to Akira Toriyama and associates.]
Vegeta, the Princess of All Saiyans, had been serving Lord Freeza for as long as she could remember. Her very existence depended on Freeza and his 'mercy', and she hated it. She hated everything about that damn 'Planet Trade Organisation', including the fact that Vegeta had long-since suspected Freeza of having destroyed Planet Vegeta. Worse, Vegeta even found herself being leered at by Freeza's soldiers, despite being called all manner of simian-related insults. Therefore, in Age 760, when Vegeta's power level had reached 17,500, she decided upon taking matters into her own hands at last.
Time to ditch that scumbag.
It was a good thing that Vegeta had stashed her, Raditz's, and Nappa's Scouters many miles away, near their Attack Ball spaceships parked in their crater. So even if Freeza and his men had somehow forced their way into eavesdropping, they couldn't hear a thing of what was being said here.
"I think it's time we left Freeza, and branched out on our own," said Vegeta, while sitting on one of the many rocks scattered about this wasteland planet. She, Raditz, and Nappa had just completed another one of their planet-cleaning assignments, and were taking their sweet time getting back to base.
"I don't know," said Nappa, who was busy assessing his armour nearby. "I mean, we won't stand a chance if he catches up to us. Why don't we leave at a later stage instead, when we're stronger?"
Vegeta glared at him. "And do you honestly think Freeza's just going to let us do that? We're Saiyans, and sooner or later our power's gonna make 'em all uncomfortable."
Raditz shrugged. "Who cares?"
"Freeza does," said Vegeta, "or did you forget about that time he went around asking about the legend of the Super Saiyan? He only tolerates us – for now – because we're not a threat to him, even in Great Ape. But what if that changes, hmm?"
"I still say it's too early to leave at this point," said Nappa, putting on his armour.
"Agreed," said Raditz. "I mean, I've only just hit a power level of 1400."
Vegeta gave a mock round of applause. "Oh, wow. You're stronger than a Saibaman."
"Come on, man. Don't be like that," said Raditz, sighing.
Meanwhile, Vegeta frowned as she tried to think of a way forward for the last-remaining Saiyans. She thought long and hard until snapping her fingers and going 'Aha!' as she remembered something important. "Hey, Raditz, what if we recruited your brother?"
"Kakarot? He ought to be twenty-six by now."
"You sure?" Vegeta asked, swishing her tail as she pondered these words.
"Of course I'm sure," said Raditz. "He's two years younger than us, remember?"
"And where was he sent, again?" Nappa asked, stroking his chin.
"Earth. Should be done by now, I think."
Nappa crossed his arms and frowned. "What do you mean 'you think'?"
"Well, er …" Raditz scratched the back of his head. "He wasn't exactly a powerful warrior, last time I saw him."
Vegeta stared into the distance as she spoke. "But what if he's got a similar power-level to Nappa somehow? Who knows?"
Nappa guffawed. "Are we gonna risk everything for another low-class loser?"
Raditz frowned.
"Got a problem?" Nappa raised his fists. "Then let's work it out."
"Enough!" said Vegeta. "If Kakarot does end up being somewhere around 30,000 or so in Great Ape, then that would bring us one step closer to toppling Freeza."
"We still wouldn't even be halfway there, though," said Nappa. "You're almost 175,000 in Ape, I'm about 38,000, and Raditz here would be just about 14,000. Add a hypothetical 30,000 Kakarot to all that, and what do you get?"
"257,000," said Vegeta, grinning in excitement. "Now imagine if we all trained and got over twice as strong! It's the perfect time to leave, though our Scouters and ships are still a risk."
They considered this for a few minutes. On the one hand, their Scouters were essential to sizing up their opponents; while on the other hand, there was always the risk of Freeza hacking into their conversations. And then there was the (obvious) necessity of their spaceships.
"We're gonna have to destroy them," said Nappa. "Or do one of you guys know any fancy engineering-stuff?"
None of them had a clue. Raditz went pale in the face.
"I'm not fighting blindly!"
"Well, we have to do something," said Vegeta, swishing her tail left and right in impatience. Then, after weighing up the pros and cons, Vegeta came up with the idea of attacking the weakest Freeza Force base there was – number 56.
"Are you nuts?" Raditz asked. "Aren't we trying to run away?"
Vegeta sighed. "The first – and most important – step is to make sure they can't eavesdrop on us or track our location. Here's the plan: we get in quick and fast. Force an engineer or two to modify our Scouters and ships."
"And what if they alert Freeza?" Nappa asked. Vegeta snorted.
"He'll already be on alert when we fail to conquer our next planet or report to 79 anyway. But who cares?"
There was just one last issue with their plan of escape, which Nappa finally brought up.
"You do realise that they can still search for us, right? They'll be on alert with Scouter patrols all over the place."
Vegeta smiled. "Firstly, you overestimate Freeza's reach; and secondly, it takes them roughly the same time to travel as us. Stop being so pessimistic."
Finally, after agreeing to Vegeta's brave (if not foolish) plan of action, Raditz and Nappa kicked off into the sky. They followed Vegeta across the now-barren wasteland of a planet, and landed at their Attack Balls parked just a few minutes away.
Almost immediately, Vegeta made a 'Shhh!' gesture by putting her right index finger on her lips. Then she used her red Scouter to contact Planet Freeza 79, and reported that they'd just completed their mission.
"Very well," said the mission controller on the other end. "Please return to base immediately."
Figures Freeza would want us on a leash, Vegeta thought.
"OK, got it," she said, ending the call. Then she opened her Attack Ball, brought up a list of planets on its computer, and settled upon Planet Freeza 56; a small outpost situated about ten days away (if travelling by Attack Ball).
And with that, Vegeta sealed her spaceship and prepared for take-off. Raditz and Nappa rushed towards their own spaceships as well, and soon the three Saiyans shot off in succession towards the dark-green sky.
One week later, Vegeta was awoken from her hibernation state by her Attack Ball's proximity alert going off. She, Nappa, and Raditz had just entered the star system containing Planet Freeza 56. And before they knew it, they were entering the atmosphere of a small, mountainous planet at dawn.
"Princess Vegeta," said one of the mission-control staff over Vegeta's computer. "You are not scheduled to land. Explain yourself."
According to the data on Vegeta's computer, the strongest fighter on Planet Freeza 56 was said to be one of those Appule-looking aliens (though green in colour) at around 2300. Still, Vegeta wasn't about to take any chances, and she fired an Execution Beam immediately after exiting her spaceship, killing the nearest reptilian guard.
"WHAT IN THE WORLD?" yelled another guard, resembling a human. He was one of those low-class scum armed with a blaster weapon. "She's attacking us! I repeat, the damned monkey's –"
Vegeta blew him up with a quick Galick Gun, and snorted as his reptilian comrade took a (useless) shot at Vegeta's head.
"I'll have you on all fours and show you my 'tail' – argh!"
Nappa's spaceship landed right on the second guard, squashing him to a gut-strewn pulp. Then along came Raditz, and both Saiyans rushed out alongside Vegeta as they entered the large, white compound up ahead.
Everything was a glow of red as the base went on full alert. One by one, the useless grunts came and went as Vegeta and Nappa did most of the killing in the corridors, though Raditz did manage the odd score here and there.
"Come on, pick up the pace!" said Vegeta, flying through a long stretch of corridor leading straight to a large circular laboratory. And it was here where they ran into their 2300 opponent, who came flying over the tables towards them.
"Out of my way, Appule!" said Nappa, firing three yellow-energy attacks, which were dodged in midair.
"APPULE?" said the alien, his green face scrunching in fury. "How dare you! My name is –"
But whatever his name was, Nappa didn't care. He simply blew him up with a bright-white Bomber DX attack.
"Nice work," said Vegeta. "Now bring me some eggheads A.S.A.P.!"
Just over five minutes had passed since Vegeta had stormed this base, and she was already on edge for a potential counterattack. There was no telling where, exactly, Freeza and his speedy ship were at this point, or whether or not they'd received word of the Saiyans' revolt. But just as Raditz and Nappa took care of the rest of the base, Vegeta received the Scouter-call she'd been dreading all day.
"Hello?"
"Vegeta," said the voice of Lord Freeza over the red Scouter. "What do you think you're doing?"
"Spring cleaning."
"As if I even cared about that underperforming base," said Freeza, snorting. "Cease this madness now, and I might still forgive you."
"Sorry, can't hear you," said Vegeta, blasting a guard as he came around the corner.
"Very well." Freeza could be heard typing on a computer nearby. "Enjoy yourself while you still can, Princess. But know that you are now the most-wanted person – sorry, primate in my organisation."
Just then, Nappa arrived with two engineers in tow. Vegeta gestured for him to drag them out of the room, and then she carried on her conversation with Freeza.
"Anything else?" Vegeta asked. Freeza could be heard slamming his first onto his armrest.
"You'd better hope I don't catch up to you, Vegeta! Because if I do –"
"You'll be fleeing at the sight of a Super Saiyan."
"Is that supposed to unsettle me?" Freeza cackled with laughter. "How about this? You know that meteor that destroyed your home planet?"
"What about it?"
"It's a big fat lie," said Freeza. "You see, I'm the one who destroyed monkeyland, myself. Oh, and I killed your stupid father as well."
That only confirmed what Vegeta had already suspected.
"You'd better hope I don't catch up to you," she said. Freeza snorted with a laugh.
"By all means, try. Here's my coordinates, 'Super Saiyan'."
At that, Vegeta saw the mainframe bleep a few times, followed by the galactic map highlighting Freeza's location. He was currently on Planet Freeza 45, which was roughly a month away, if one were to travel by Attack Ball. Vegeta then hung up the call and tossed her red Scouter to Raditz, who'd just entered the room.
"Get this sorted A.S.A.P."
"Who were you talking to?" Raditz asked.
"Some idiot called Freeza."
Raditz went pale in the face, though Vegeta assured him that not even Freeza's spaceship could make it here on time.
"I'm gonna go check something quickly," Vegeta added, wheeling around and flying towards the mission-control room. Raditz blasted a hole in the wall and flew towards the landing platform outside, while Vegeta rushed towards the Freeza Force database instead.
Upon her arrival in the large, rectangular room overlooking the landing platform, Vegeta began typing in whatever Saiyans she thought could still be alive. Their names brought up the following results:
- Turles: deceased (space – Age 739).
- Zorn: deceased (Planet Vegeta – Age 737).
- Tarble: active (Tech-Tech). Threat level: green (Battle Power 955, x10 in Giant Ape). Continue to monitor.
- Kakarot: deceased (Planet Vegeta – Age 737).
Given that Raditz had never spoken about his brother whenever Freeza or his organisation could eavesdrop, Vegeta reckoned the Freeza Force weren't even aware of Kakarot at all. They probably presumed him dead along with everyone else. What a stroke of luck that was!
Next, Vegeta seized the opportunity to keep track of Freeza's elite – the Ginyu Force. She brought up a dossier on each of the members and their latest power-levels, which informed her that Guldo was at 6000, Recoome was at 36,000, Burter was at 38,000, Jeice was at 39,000, and Captain Ginyu was at 115,000.
Ha! I can take them all as Ape ... probably not at once, though.
In addition, Vegeta brought up a list of all the places of interest for the Ginyu Force over the next few years. She read through more planets than she could remember, of which two specific ones caught her attention:
- Tech-Tech: Threat level: green. Current location of the Saiyan Tarble (younger brother of Princess Vegeta). Keep on record in case of sudden increase in power or attempt at using royal heritage to rebuild Saiyan empire. Priority: low.
Vegeta laughed at the thought of her brother trying to play king and rebuild their race. Then she moved on to the other planet on the Ginyu Force's list which piqued her interest:
- Yardrat: Threat level: light-yellow. Scouts report fluctuating power-levels, strange energy-readings, and unusual displays of magic. Should be easy enough to conquer, though. Planet contains abundance of food. Priority: low to medium (estimated date of invasion: Age 762).
Strange energy-readings, huh? Vegeta thought. Sounds interesting.
She destroyed the mainframe and flew out of the hole which Raditz had created.
Upon her arrival at the landing platform, Vegeta saw six engineers being forced to modify the three Attack Balls in addition to the red, blue, and green Scouters lying on the ground. Then, once the reptilian engineer confirmed that the Scouters and spaceships were unable to be hacked and tracked, and that the spaceships could temporarily mask their occupants' power levels, Vegeta told the engineers to line up, side by side.
"Wait, hold on!" said a human-looking engineer standing beside the reptile. "Nappa said you'd spare us!"
"Yep," said Vegeta, raising her palm. "You know, Freeza's very disappointed in your performance here. So imagine the kind of death he's going to give you for today. Ever seen him torture people with his finger beams and stuff? Nasty business, that."
And so Vegeta put the engineers out of their misery by virtue of her Execution Beam. Then she raised her hands and fired a massive volley of energy shots towards the base, with Raditz and Nappa joining in on the attack.
There was nothing left but rubble.
"What a day, huh?" Vegeta said, using her Scouter to check for any survivors. "You know what? I think we ought to split up from here on out."
Raditz agreed. "Yeah. No doubt Freeza's got his goons looking for three round-ships travelling together."
"But we're still going to Earth, right?" Nappa asked. "Or is there a change of plans?"
Vegeta nodded. "Raditz, you should head straight for Earth and pick up your brother. Nappa, you up for a detour as well?"
"Depends if there's fighting involved."
Vegeta nodded. "I want you to clear Planet Freeza 35 and 36, or at least do a hit-and-run on them. None of them have warriors above 4000, so it'll give you a good run on the whole."
"And what about you?" Nappa asked. "How come you're missing out on all the fun?"
Vegeta smiled. "Let's just say that I've got my own little detour as well. Don't ask. Just rendezvous with Raditz when you're done. I'll come as soon as I can."
And with that, the trio climbed into their Attack Balls and shot off into the pale-green sky above. It was a relief to have their spaceships and Scouters finally cut off from Freeza and his forces, while the modifications done by the late engineers allowed the Saiyans to mask their power levels for up to a month at a time (with a three-hour cooldown period).
However, a new problem soon arose in the form of their communications being limited, as the engineers had done a crude job of severing the Saiyans' equipment to Freeza. As a result, Vegeta, Raditz, and Nappa now found themselves being unable to communicate more than a few light-years apart, though Vegeta didn't really care.
They'll just have to handle themselves, she thought.
[A/N: To clarify the characters' ages, DBS Broly said that Goku, Vegeta, and Broly were all born around the same time (but not necessarily in the same year). In addition, DB Minus showed Goku to be a few years old when he was sent off (retconned from Goku being a newborn).
Therefore, with all things considered, my view is that Broly, Vegeta, and Raditz were all born in Age 732 (Raditz's age isn't confirmed, but he looks roughly the same as Vegeta in the flashback), and Goku was born in Age 734 (Planet Vegeta was destroyed in Age 737).
As for Fem!Vegeta's appearance, I picture her as having mostly canon-Vegeta's height and hairstyle but with bangs instead of the big widow's-peak, and an extra bit of hair going down her back. And as for her Great Ape form, I see her as basically resembling canon Great Ape Vegeta.
Also note that Vegeta sends Raditz to Earth earlier in this fic than in canon (and does things differently, of course). Here, things happen around Mid-Age 760, with Raditz arriving on Earth in about November, 760. In canon, Vegeta's plotting happens in late-September, 761, with Raditz arriving on Earth in October that year.
NB: On 27/09/2021 I've edited and combined the old chapters two and three into one (the new chapter two), which means that the chapter number on the reviews before then might be wrong.]