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The Emperor and the Grand Regent
I don't own DragonBall Z or any related media, and I do not own Invincible or any related media.
I had an idea for this one-shot after reading Paul Crew's "Omni-Man vs The Great Saiyaman", which I recommend as it's a hypothetical Gohan vs Omni-Man fight, but my idea instead was if Lord Freeza met a different Viltrumite.
Warning, this story contains absolutely HUGE spoilers for the future of the show, as I am basing this off the comic universe, which is what the show is adapting from. I would recommend clicking out of this story if you do not want future show plot points possibly spoiled. You have been warned.
Also I'm using the "Freeza" spelling and not "Frieza" because that makes more sense to me, in the English adaptation of the DBZ manga it was always spelled "Freeza" so I'm used to it.
Enjoy!
The vastness of space was something that never got old for Kikono. The elder scientist, despite spending many years of his waning youth wandering through the stars with the Freeza Force, had never quite shaken the amazement that filtered through his eyes when he would gaze upon the galaxy's many beauties.
The supernovas. The blackholes. The different shapes and colors of the universe, painting a picture that you could never possibly dream of forgetting. The natural, empirical, inexplicable beauty of the cold vastness of space.
It was all absolutely the thing of myths.
The Freeza Force would rarely encounter any drifters this far out. Not the Galactic Patrol, not any of those cursed Saiyans, and especially not Lord Beerus and his flock.
They were alone.
Kikono continued to admire the open beauty, unaware that his Emperor was calling his name. A rather harsh hand found itself on his shoulders, and he blinked, turning around.
Emperor Freeza and Berryblue were staring at him. Emperor Freeza's tail swished in place. Emperor Freeza looked agitated.
"I believe Freeza asked you a question, Kikono." Berryblue's raspy voice said, a faint tone of smugness creeping into her voice. If Lord Freeza was bothered by her casual disrespect, he didn't show it.
At once, the two of them found Kikono on his knees, hands waving up and down in an act of begging, pleading, crying out for mercy at his incompetence. Emperor Freeza chuckled to himself at such a display.
Berryblue glanced up at her leader. "What do you say? He seems pretty remorseful."
Freeza's eyes glanced at the scientist. "I suppose so. Stand up."
Kikono did so.
"I'm going to say this only once, Kikono. When your Emperor speaks, you listen. I shall not allow you this generosity again. Are we clear?"
"Yes! Yesyesyesyes thank you Lord Emperor Fre-"
Another tail twitch.
"Silence!"
Kikono immediately bowed again. Freeza sighed and turned his body back towards his view of space.
"I'll ask again. How much is left until we reach our destination?"
Never leaving his bow, Kikono answered the floor.
"S- Six hours, my Lord."
Walking around her Emperor's floating chair, Berryblue patted Kikono on the head, a cruel smirk painted on her lips. Kikono bit back his growl at being casually disrespected. He didn't want to become space fertilizer, after all.
"How ever, Freeza, will you curb your boredom? Surely someone as grand as yourself shouldn't be deigned to wait in despicable silence, correct."
"As admirable as your wisdom is, Berryblue," Emperor Freeza bit out, his breath short. "This particular galaxy isn't worth razing. It would be wiser to simply wait out our little trip, I'd rather avoid extending this little circus."
Berryblue gave a mirthless, bitter chuckle. "So mature of you, Freeza. And here I am, used to your violent destructions of innocent civilizations. What happened to that Freeza, hmm?"
A half snarl escaped Freeza's breath, and his tail swished to the side violently. His eyebrows were knitted, and his chokes of air were ragged and hollow. "Oh, what I wouldn't give to destroy an empire, watch their high and mighty ruler grovel at my feet as his citizen's bleed out, but damn it all! I'd rather be back at base instead of floating through this blasted oversized tin can for another day!"
And there it was.
Emperor Freeza's rather infamous temper.
Berryblue and Kikono had gotten used to it over the years, and Freeza had seemingly gotten it under relative control, but every now and then, it still managed to explode and cause ceaseless and horrific destruction across any galaxy in his way.
The two assistants to the Emperor had varying reactions. One was in pure fear, and the other was in stark humor.
Sooner or later, another cluster of planets would be eradicated, and it would be Emperor Freeza that did it. Blood and dust, with the crumpled corpses of the innocent floating through space, and only tiny specks of rock would be left of their once glorious planet.
Oh, how tragic.
Emperor Freeza took a deep breath, calming himself down. After that, he needed a good slaughtering session, and hopefully he'd get it soon after landing at his base.
Two forceful taps, the noise reverberating inside the spaceship broke the three from their conversation, echoed across the room, and the three turned towards the source. Had they run into a civilization during that rant?
Floating directly outside the glass that separated the interior from the deep recesses of cold space was a… woman-thing, with short, black hair, and a rather voluptuous figure to go with her looks. She wore an all-white suit, without a speck of dirt or grime on her attire. She sported a fierce scowl.
Once again, Berryblue found herself glancing at her Emperor, who stared in curiosity at the newcomer. The fact he didn't immediately evaporate her told them that he was planning on letting off a little steam before continuing their travels.
"Let her in."
Freeza pointed downwards, indicating the bottom hatch of the ship, and she nodded, before throwing another punch at the glass, leaving a sizable crack in the hull. Freeza's tail twitched again.
"She's definitely going to be tortured." Berryblue thought as she typed the code to open the ship.
"Y-your Highness, are you sure that letting in this stranger is the best plan?"
Another tail twitch. The crack in the window seemed to mock him, and he did not appreciate being mocked. Especially by an inanimate object.
"She doesn't pose a threat. Unless, of course, she happens to be able to casually destroy a galaxy or twenty at once, like I can. I'd advise you to not question my strength or authority again, Kikono."
"Y-yes, your majesty."
The three waited as they felt the woman's presence grow closer and closer to the doorway leading into the main room. Emperor Freeza's tail swished once more. Berryblue's eyes were vacant, and Kikono wiped a bead of sweat away.
"Tell me something, did either of you manage to catch her power level before she decided to vandalize my precious spaceship?"
Neither of them responded, and Freeza signed in resignation. So this was how his day would be going.
Suddenly, and with no warning, the metal interlocking door separating the main room and the hallway burst open, the now-scraps of metal having been destroyed into tiny chunks, and this time, Freeza's tail swished a few times back and forth.
The woman walked through, her hands balled into fists, ready for any attack.
She tried to talk, but the three of them couldn't understand her. "Berryblue. Scouter."
The woman nodded and took her own scouter off, tossing it at the woman, who caught it. She glanced back up at them, and Freeza tapped his own, resting on the side of his head.
Equipping it, the device began to hum and buzz, a faint glow lighting up her face, before eventually settling down.
"Identify yourselves, alien scum. This galaxy belongs to the Viltrum Empire." Her tone was cold, leaving no room for debate, and her face, scrunched and twisted into a mirage of smoldering anger, seemingly promised a brutal and cruel death.
Emperor Freeza chuckled at such a meaningless display of attempted control. His tail had calmed down, and his hand rested playfully under his chin. His eyes flared in hidden bloodlust.
"How trusting of you to use our communication scouter. Have you no fear of death? Of a hidden trap or use of mind control? Please, by all means, do tell."
The woman scoffed at such a notion. The idea of death, especially at the hands of a filthy alien race, were below her. The very hint of such a thing happening made her want to laugh in the face of this rather small creature in front of her.
"Such abilities are inferior when compared to the physical and mental fortitudes of being a pure-blooded Viltrumite. Be grateful that I even allowed you to speak, if it was up to myself, I would have slaughtered everyone on this ship, but my leader wants any possible servants at his disposal."
"Ho ho ho… such overconfidence, it's downright poisonous."
"And this… leader. I'm assuming you'll be escorting us directly to this planet he resides on?"
Berryblue and Kikono both shared a look, not going unnoticed by the barbaric woman in front of them, and they shared a similar thought amongst each other. That this planet was going to be dust in a few hours.
"I'd normally bring everyone on this ship to Viltrum's prison, but Grand Regent Thragg has designated that any technology or material of potential high value be escorted immediately to Viltrum. Be thankful that this tincan may save your lives from death."
Emperor Freeza chuckled at this. "The implication here is that we'd be forced into servitude, correct?"
The woman nodded.
Emperor Freeza, in his entire glorious short stature, nodded in delight. "Very well, peon. I'll allow you to escort our ship to this… 'Viltrum'. Do make it snappy, I have places that require my attention."
The woman snarled under her breath, and before either Berryblue or Kikono could even follow, she had her claws under Emperor Freeza's chin, her eyes scouring the tyrant's face, but not even a hint of fear showed.
Neither Kikono or Berryblue dared move a muscle. This woman was animalistic, behavior and speech pointing towards primitive knowledge and guttural communication, and if either of them drew her ire, they were unsure if Freeza would save them before a swift death.
Not if he could. They knew very well he could save them if he wanted. But if he felt like it?
That was a different story.
"Watch your words carefully, alien scum! Should he command it, Grand Regent Thragg will have your head adorning his main chambers! I can overlook such blatant disrespect, if only by a hair, but he will surely have your skull!" Her breath was exceedingly hot, her eyes flashing with a latent cruelty that was not unsimilar to that wretched Vegeta's, only he had the body count to back it up.
"How terrifying. Now, if you'd kindly not waste anymore of my precious time, please lead me back to your uncultured cesspool of a planet."
The two stared at each other for a moment, neither conceding an inch. Eventually, though, the woman lowered her hands. Emperor Freeza's tail whipped slightly. "May I know the name of our captor?"
The woman didn't turn around, continuing her walk. "No."
The woman had been carrying their aircraft for around half an hour now, which wasn't super impressive as it was a relatively light aircraft. Emperor Freeza, still in his first form, sitting patiently in his little personal pod, hadn't moved a muscle, save for his tail occasionally brushing the floor.
Wordlessly, the three of them patiently waited for their destination. It was a quiet time. Nobody was particularly moved to talk with each other. Kikono had wandered back to his computers and graphs, plotting out something, while Berryblue had made herself a calming tea. Emperor Freeza stared forward, his eyes occasionally drifting towards the crack in his glass.
Eventually, a planet began to grow in size as they approached it. It looked rather pedestrian, and not particularly large in size. Certainly smaller than Planet Vegeta had been.
The ship stopped moving. The woman, not missing a step, flew down to the planet, leaving the three of them to sit in silence.
"Kikono, scan the planet for their population and collective power level."
A few taps. A whirring noise. Eventually, a result. The monitor echoed across the room.
"POPULATION IS EIGHTY-NINE. COMBINED POWER LEVEL IS TWENTY FIVE THOUSAND, FOUR HUNDRED AND TEN. THERE IS AN ABNORMALLY LARGE POWER LEVEL RELATIVE TO THEIR SPECIES DETECTED, CLOCKING IN AT SIX THOUSAND, FOUR HUNDRED AND SEVENTY THREE."
The resulting laughter from Emperor Freeza was enough to startle Kikono. He never heard such a display of humor, and it scared him to his core. It wasn't a joyous laugh. There was no actual humor to be found in his breath. It was the laugh of pure, unadulterated violence to be promised.
The Emperor's tail thrashed around, pounding into the metallic floor, and his fingers glowed, energy swirling from the alien.
This continued for a bit, and even Berryblue took a cautious look at her master. Eventually, he calmed down.
"Ohhoho… I must admit, for such an insignificant little ant to boss me around, thinking she had the upper hand… It's joyous, really. To live in such unbridled ignorance, acting like the dominant force… It's splendid. Splendid! Why, I'm going to have so much fun slaughtering their civilization. Just like the good old days, right, Berryblue?"
The woman cautiously nodded, wariness settling in on her face.
Freeza chuckled to himself again.
Eventually, the woman flew back from her planet, and once more began to carry the ship. Her scouter was gone.
Probably handed it off to her ruler.
The same ruler a few Saibamen could take out if they were still used.
Oh, how joyous indeed.
They entered the atmosphere, and they were greeted to towering, swirling architecture, with different people, all wearing the same, bland white and grey uniform flying around, doing whatever they needed to do.
And, the woman landed the ship. Flying outside of the ship to the front of the ship again, she raised her fist and shattered the glass with a single punch, the shards of glass skirting across the ground.
"Kikono, how long would it take our engineers to manufacture a new screen?"
"A-About an hour, sir."
The woman stomped onto the floor in front of them. Faintly, Freeza could see someone with a grand red and white outfit, along with a cape of pure gold, standing perfectly still. Their leader, indeed.
"Grand Regent Thragg will be seeing you. Try anything and I'll personally slaughter everyone on board."
Emperor Freeza chuckled and motioned Kikono and Berryblue to follow him. The three flew down, onto the ground, where a group of these so-called… Viltrumites, stood sentry over them.
The woman who escorted them flew to the left, next to a towering man with a golden gauntlet on his fist, along with a darker, scowling man. Next to them was their likely 'Grand Regent', eyes now adorned with a red and green scouter, and next to him were two more people, a man and a woman. The man had a cybernetic eye, and the woman appeared unharmed in any form.
The man with the cape, hands folded neatly behind his back, stared at Emperor Freeza.
"Not very often that any form of spacecraft passes through known Viltrum territory. And I certainly don't recognize… whatever pitiful species you encompass." The man - 'Grand Regent Thragg', Freeza presumed, said rather calmly. Emperor Freeza's tail swished once more.
"I have been called a frost demon by those lesser than myself. However, your barbarian of a soldier referred to herself as a 'Viltrumite'. I hadn't heard of such a species until now. Am I supposed to be scared?"
Grand Regent Thragg's eye twitched, and he took a menacing step forward. Kikono and Berryblue looked on in curiosity, while the Viltrumites on the other side didn't budge.
"Our name instills dread across the galaxy, enough so that an entire coalition has been formed to oppose our eventual universal rule. I find it hard to believe you haven't heard of the mightiest race of warriors to exist. If you are attempting to appear strong, then…"
Emperor Freeza chuckled, his shoulders jumping, before that turned into a full-on laughter. The Viltrumites on either side of Grand Regent Thragg tensed, ready to strike down such an insolent, foolish alien.
"Alright, Thragg, I'll play along for now. What are your plans for us, now that you have us captive?"
The man's eyebrows folded, his lips emitting a low growl. Eventually, he regained his composure. The burliest of the Viltrumites glanced at his leader, apparently waiting for the order.
"I was planning on taking your spacecraft for deconstruction and research, and granting the three of you the privilege of working for our Empire, but my patience has quickly run thin."
Another tail swish, and the two servants of the Emperor took a step back, sensing his rising energy.
"Tell me, frost demon, what is your title?"
Emperor Freeza smirked, beginning to float out of his chair, unfurling his body.
"Emperor. I rule my section of the universe, far away from this barren wasteland. A planet of this size wouldn't even be worth conquering."
Grand Regent Thragg, never missing a step, let his arms down to his side, preparing himself for a short fight with this tiny little 'frost demon'. The other Viltrumites began to flex as well, and Emperor Freeza scoffed at such a display.
Silently, the Emperor of Tyranny turned his gaze towards his two assistants. They glanced back at him.
"Go tell the engineers to construct another pane of glass. I'm expecting it to be ready in an hour. Hopefully, I can stretch this to fit that."
Kikono and Berryblue nodded and began, without looking at the Viltrumites, to fly back. One of the bigger ones, the one with the golden gauntlet, bursted after them, but he was met by the Emperor, who blocked his outstretched punch with a single finger.
"Ah, ah, you are facing me right now."
This wasn't the cruel Emperor now. This was the tyrannical battle savant. And damn, it was about to get hasty.
Raising his fist, Freeza tapped the man on the chest, sending him flying back. Immediately, three more Viltrumites were above him, and he didn't budge, letting the three strike him with all their might.
And, Freeza didn't move an inch, still floating where he intercepted the brute. Three combined punches didn't budge him.
Grand Regent Thragg's eyes widened in shock. As did his most loyal Viltrumites.
Freeza's smile was wide, and it was a hideous sight.
"Let's begin, Viltrum."
Thragg, forced on one knee, glanced around in shock. In a mere time frame of twenty-four minutes, his entire Empire was now a simple husk of corpses and intense, waning flames of former buildings and grandiose design.
Anissa's arm was laying detached next to Conquest's decapitated head. What remained of the tattered limb of Lucan's leg was leaking blood onto the chunk of dirt that had been uplifted in the resulting massacre. Thula's braid of silver and blue hair was all that remained of the once fierce woman.
Among the countless bodies and prevalent smell of blood and despair that coated the smokey air, he couldn't believe it. Normally, it was the Viltrum empire on the giving end, but if there lived monstrosities of this strength in the farther reaches of the universe, then he supposed the Viltrumites weren't meant to rule at all.
All of his civilians - gone. All of the unborn Viltrumites, their parents, his mighty warriors of death and terror, wiped away by this devil without as much as a single scratch.
The alien in front of him, the Emperor, was inspecting Conquest's prosthetic hand, admiring the handiwork and craftsmanship of the device. He tucked it under his arm, and turned towards Thragg. The warrior, baring his eyes of violence, shining with a furious cruelty that even left Thragg speechless, smirked and stared at the once mighty Grand Regent.
"Well, Grand Regent, it has been fun, I must say. I was expecting this, in all honesty, and truth be told, I knew from the start that your people would be wasted without any trouble. Consider this a blessing, that I am allowing you to live. I'm going to let you spread the word of the mighty Freeza Force, Emperor of all creation, and how generous I was on this fine day. Do take care, now."
Emperor Freeza turned around, not giving Thragg any chance to respond, and began to float up to his spaceship. Suddenly, he stopped mid-flight, and held up the prosthetic.
"Oh, I hope you don't mind if I take this. I want a souvenir, as I take from every conquered planet." Thragg didn't respond. Oh well.
With that, he flew back up once and for all.
The glass wasn't finished, but he had time to wait.
And wait, he did.
When the glass finished much, much later, that peon, Thragg, still hadn't moved, so Emperor Freeza wordlessly launched his ship and flew into space, overlooking the planet.
Before he could initiate a hyperjump, the tyrant paused in thought.
Opening the top of his aircraft, Emperor Freeza raised a single finger, and began to charge a hypernova, roughly the length of an adult male, but the width of a car, and wordlessly sent it careening towards the planet, the swirl of flames and carnage incarnate immediately eviscerating the planet and anyone or anything on the planet.
The explosion was massive, and Emperor Freeza watched the ensuing cataclysm of an entire society, or what remained of one, anyways.
While he had destroyed planets before, this one felt special. It wasn't often he got to introduce a brand new world to the terrors of his power, as most of his part of the universe already understood what it meant to be visited by the Freeza Force.
The explosion finally finished, and Viltrum was no more, so he floated back into his ship, where Kikono was standing without a complaint or error.
"E-Emperor Freeza, we heard on the scouter that you were allowing the last one to live. W-why did you do that?"
Emperor Freeza chuckled and patted the scientist on the head. "I changed my mind."
Not daring to speak out of line, Kikono nodded. Emperor Freeza stopped his actions and tapped his chin in thought.
"Berryblue, how does 'Grand Regent Freeza' sound to you? Do you like that, or Emperor Freeza better?"
Berryblue in turn chuckled. "Any title you command is sufficient, Grand Regent Freeza."
The alien pondered how it sounded. "Emperor Freeza, then. I don't want the title of such a worthless species."
"Of course, Emperor Freeza."
When word reached the Coalition of Planets that an apparent hypernova obliterated the entirety of Viltrum, Thaedus and Allen were at a loss for words. All their years of planning, scheming, building their forces for this brutal and devastating war, all of it… meaningless, but meaningless in the best way possible.
The two found themselves alone, after the report to the other Coalition members.
"It wasn't a hypernova." Allen suddenly said, his voice cracking. "Thragg and his scientists would have detected such a thing well before it was a threat to Viltrum. It was something else entirely."
Thaedus inspected a painting on the wall. "I'm well aware, Allen. Whatever possibly destroyed the entirety of the Viltrum Empire is someone we should truly fear. Thankfully, no reports of an abnormally strong warrior have been mentioned. I pray we are safe from such a threat.
But Allen wasn't so sure.
Rumors of a group of bandits and warriors known as the 'Freeza Force', led by the eponymous 'Emperor Freeza' were becoming louder and louder, and it might be a possible connection.
But, maybe Allen was being paranoid.
Surely, it was a group effort and not the actions of a single individual, right?
Right?
Little one-shot, I wanted to have a break from the other stories. This is a bit of a niche crossover, especially since most people know Invincible from the Amazon show, but I had fun writing it.
Hope everyone is staying safe!