Chapter 3

Vegeta, watched her walk out in a state of bored annoyance. A woman, he thought. Oh, please. He half wanted to release Buu himself just to get a decent fight. This female wouldn't last two secondssss…

Wait. I know those features… The Saiyan Prince studied her more closely. Brilliant blue hair bushed out from a band holding it on top of her head, and her skin was as shiny and black as an onyx stone. She was stunning. Her warrior's armor matched the hue of her crystalline sapphire eyes. A vibrant "M" insignia was emblazoned on her forehead, branding her as Babidi's slave. Her pretty face was caught in a blank stare-evidence of her apparent brainwash. He imagined what expression would have adorned her visage had she been in control of her own mind. Then it hit him.

Moroshk. A planet he had destroyed while under the employ of Frieza. Their people had looked like that, with their black skin and blue hair. An unbidden ache formed in his gut-something that happened more often than not, nowadays, whenever he remembered his violent past. It was Bulma's fault. She had tamed his thirst for mayhem.

Grunting, he pushed it aside. I hadn't known any of the Moroshkians survived… His thoughts were interrupted, however, when he noticed the look on the Supreme Kai's face.

"Can't be…" the Kai took two steps forward and fell to his knees, trembling. For all the supreme being was worth, it looked as though he were about to cry. "Moroshka," the Kai whispered, terrified. "This is impossible…"

"What is it, Supreme Kai?" Goku asked.

"She is intrinsically good," he stammered. "How did Babidi ensnare her mind?!" Then, as if in an act of desperation and denial, he stood and ran up to her and grabbed her forearms in supplication. "Moroshka, fight it! Don't let him control you!" The Supreme Kai shook her. "Pleeease!"

Her pretty face stared down at him. If there was any recognition, it didn't even last two seconds. The insignia flared. With one swipe of her arm, she sent him sailing into the wall of the chamber. He hit hard, and slumped to the floor. Gohan ran up and knelt down by him.

"Supreme Kai! Are you alright?"

Vegeta watched in dread fascination as the Kai slowly lifted himself up on one elbow, blood trickling down his face from a battered eye. He looked in agony at the woman and then shakily stood to his feet.

"We have to get out of here," he said desperately, grabbing handfuls of Gohan's shirt. "You can't fight her. None of you can! She's-"

"You said that about all of the opponents so far, and look what happened," Gohan said. Vegeta smiled. It was the Saiyan blood that made Gohan so anxious to fight. Of course they had nothing to worry about. Besides, Vegeta had destroyed an entire planet of these people. They weren't fighters. He didn't understand what the Supreme Kai was so worried about.

"No! Listen to me!" the Kai pled. "She was conjured into existence by a very powerful people to avenge the annihilation of their home planet. I had to intervene, to keep her from unbalancing that solar system, and then train her how to control such an immense power!" he then slashed at the air for emphasis. "ME! The Supreme Kai! Her capacity for destruction is BEYOND YOUR COMPREHENSION!"

Fascinating, Vegeta thought, but no need to get worked up. "Stop crying wolf you old fool," Vegeta snapped. "She'll be no more difficult than the rest of them."

"But you said she was aligned with good," Goku said.

"She…was," he choked. "Frieza, the source of her previous delusions, is dead. Her people have already been avenged by you, Goku. There's no evil in her for Babidi'smagic to adhere to. It doesn't make sense."

Vegeta looked back at her. All this conversation going on, and the woman was just standing there. Finally, Babidi's voice cut through once again.

"Come now, my dear. Do away with these pests. Start with the boy, as he seems to be the most anxious to die," Babidi said malevolently.

Gohan clenched his fists and crouched down. "Go ahead," he said. "I'm ready."

"Nonsense!" Vegeta called out. "You just got your turn."

They were suddenly transported to a foreign, desolate landscape by Babidi's magic. The woman went after Gohan, despite Vegeta's protests. He threw a flurry of punches and kicks at her-some she bothered to block, and others she let connect. Either way, they didn't phase her. Gohan flipped back, startled.

The Kai hung his head. "Gohan…"

"For crying out loud!" Vegeta yelled at the Supreme Kai. "The fight has barely started and you're already whimpering. I don't know what the big deal is. I've fought Moroshkians before," he spat. "They're weaklings." There. It was said. Truth be told, he felt it was disrespectful insulting her people after he'd mercilessly blown them from existence; but she was no threat, and the Supreme Kai had to know that.

The Kai's head snapped up, and he stared at Vegeta. "They weren't a fighting people, Vegeta. You couldn't have fought them…" Then his eyes widened. "Unless, it was you who--"

"I destroyed an entire planet of these creatures back when I worked for Frieza," Vegeta cut him off. "So BELIEVE me when I say they're weaklings!" he yelled. An awkward moment of silence fell, and Vegeta realized that Moroshka had turned away from Gohan and was staring at him now.

"YOU!" she screamed in dual tones as she flung a finger at the prince. It was the first time she had spoken, and he found her voice unsettling--like the voice of the dead. For all his earlier confidence, her glare penetrated him his psychological barriers. He watched uneasily as an aura engulfed her, and her eyes looked as if they had caught fire. The air sparked and crackled around them with electricity, and Vegeta had to dig his feet in to avoid being pulled to her by some unseen force.

He powered up, just to stay on solid ground.

"I know that voice," she said through white, clenched teeth, as she slowly stepped towards him. "It's the voice that has been ringing…in my head…since I was BORN!"

She came at him then, and he went to block her move only to have his arms swatted aside like rubber appendages. In the same move, she clutched his neck with her hand, lifting him off the ground. He tried to kick at her, but each time she'd move just enough to avoid impact.

When the black spots started to appear in his vision from lack of oxygen, Vegeta figured it was time to power up.

* * *

"Vegeta!" Goku screamed, as the Prince's face purpled from Moroshka's grip. "Fight her, Vegeta!"

Vegeta was suddenly enveloped in an aura of his own, and with a strangled cry he ascended, and kicked off her chest armor, flinging backwards. When he'd stopped moving, he mutely stared at the woman, his expression distressed.

"Man," Gohan started. "I almost thought she had him there."

"He will die," the Kai said quietly. "As will we all."

"She can't win," Goku said as he nervously watched Vegeta. "Not against all of us. Gohan and I will jump in before she can kill him."

"She CAN and she WILL win-and it will be for the same reason that you beat Freiza, Goku." The Kai said solemnly. "Because it is just, and she is the incarnation of justice," he continued as he looked at the unsettled Prince of Saiyans. "She's more than an avenging angel," he breathed. "Moroska is a God."