If it hadn't been for Gohan, there was no way in hell Vegeta would've found this place. Massive crystals jutted up toward the sky, looking for all the world like an extension of the very ice beneath him. Snow fell, lazily drifting downward. Everything was quiet, as if the whole world was asleep, or perhaps waiting with bated breath. The Prince of all Saiyans closed his eyes and remembered why he was here.

.

.

.

Superman stood there, alone on the surface of New Namek. He'd come as soon as he could, knowing that he wouldn't have long before the Z-fighters got there. He had searched the whole planet, every circular tree, every grass-covered mesa, and every Namekian village, using a combination of X-ray vision, telescopic vision, and super speed to search every continent in the blink of an eye from orbit. It had taken him less than a minute to find the Namekian Dragon Balls. Once he had, he closed his eyes and listened. He knew that the Dragon Balls would only respond to Namekian. The Kryptonian archives, filled with millions of generations of knowledge gathered from across the cosmos, had told him the incantation he'd need. He just needed to know the Namekian language first. As the Man of Steel expanded his super hearing, he was able to listen in on every conversation on this world. Slowly, piece-by-piece, he taught himself their language. When it was over, he opened his eyes. It had taken him less than 10 minutes to find the Dragon Balls, roughly three times that to comprehend their language. Now, less than an hour after he'd arrived, he was ready. There was just one problem.

"Hand over the Dragon Balls, and we'll only hurt you."

Clark sighed. It had barely been a week since his battle with Son Goku. To his surprise, the Z-fighters had left him alone. It seemed they were unwilling to go against Chi Chi's wishes. That itself didn't surprise him. The hot-tempered mother had reminded Clark of Lois in a way, and not even Superman himself would dare defy a woman like that. What did surprise him was that Vegeta hadn't tried anyways. He'd figured he'd last a day before he tried to hunt down the Man of Steel on his own.

For his part, Vegeta had tried to convince Chi Chi. Didn't she care for her husband's pride and honor? Didn't she want justice? Didn't she was revenge? But Chi Chi had largely stayed silent. She had lost Goku before, death wasn't a new concept to her. But this time was different. She could feel it. This time, she knew, Superman would be there to keep it permanent.

Vegeta couldn't understand it, but his Saiyan honor wouldn't allow him to disrespect the wishes of a grieving widow. He wouldn't seek a fight with Superman. But he would seek to bring back Son Goku. If Superman tried to stop him, than he would have no choice but to go through him.

That was why he was here.

But, in the week it had taken them to prepare a journey to New Namek in order to wish upon the Namekian Dragon Balls, the Last Son of Krypton had gotten there first. Now, the strongest Z-fighters had gathered here in order to face Superman and bring back Son Goku. Vegeta stood foremost among them. It was he who had issued the challenge to the Kryptonian. Beside him was Gohan, the half-Saiyan son of Goku, Piccolo, the Namekian warrior, and Krillin, the strongest human alive.

"Why are you doing this?" questioned Gohan. "You were a hero! You saved people's lives! Why won't you let us save his?!" Gohan's voice shook with rage. For all of his many faults, for all the training and senzu beans, Goku was still his father. Chi Chi might have been able to forgo revenge, but not Gohan. He grit his teeth, barely holding himself together.

Piccolo took a deep breath, trying to calm his nerves. He knew Gohan better than anyone except perhaps Videl and Chi Chi. The boy was about a second away from flying into a rage. He removed his cap and cloak, the weighted garments making a heavy thunk as they fell upon the Namekian soil. They were up against someone absurdly powerful, someone who was stronger, faster, tougher, and, worst of all, smarter than all of them combined. They needed to keep a cool head if they wanted their plan to work.

Krillin shook with anxiety. He was by far the weakest person here. Every single one of them could kill him in a thousand ways, and there wouldn't be a damn thing he could do about it. But since when was that new? The thing about being the smallest guy in the room, both figuratively and physically, was that it forced you to be the bravest one there. The Z-fighter swallowed his spit and steadied his nerves. He'd do what he'd always done: fight even when he was outmatched and outgunned. It was what Goku would do.

Vegeta's fists clenched so hard his gloves threatened to explode. Even now he couldn't even fathom the depths of the power that the Kryptonian so casually radiated off of him. Power beyond what he could hope to achieve, made all the more brutally unfair by how the Kryptonian never needed to work for it. He was simply born that way! It was as unreasonable as it was unfair. The very existence of such a lifeform offended his Saiyan pride. And what was a Saiyan without his pride?

Clark glanced at his small, hovering, robotic friend, a Kryptonian machine which he'd brought with him to New Namek.

"Kelex, put the Namekian Dragon Balls in stasis" instructed Superman. The bronze construct, barely a meter tall, nodded in acknowledgement before casting a glowing energy field around the orange spheres.

"The Dragon Balls are a crutch," declared Kal-El, turning to face his opponents. "You rely on them to clean up your mistakes. They have made you reckless, not just with your own lives, but the lives of the people you should be protecting.

But real power has consequences. Real power comes with real responsibilities. That's what your generation of heroes needs to accept. So until you do I am taking these away. If you want them, you'll have to earn them."

Clark looked sternly at the Z-fighters arraigned before him. Though he hadn't meant to, he had spoken with the tone of a father who wasn't mad, just disappointed it. And that pissed Gohan more than anything. The half-Saiyan charged ahead screaming at the top of his lungs.