Disclaimer: I do not own Dragonball Z or any of its characters. This is done purely for fun.

Special thanks go to my sister Reber and to Stacey, who encouraged me to write this.

Archive: FFN and if you want, ask and you shall receive.

Warnings: violence and swearing

A Killer in Me

Chapter 2

I used to be a little boy

So old in my shoes

And what I choose is my choice

What's a boy supposed to do?

The killer in me is the killer in you

My love

I send this smile over to you

-Disarm by Smashing Pumpkins

Chi-Chi hummed to herself as she stirred the pancake batter. She could hear the two boys stirring upstairs and knew they'd be down soon, as hungry as starving wolves. Gohan had already left for school and Goku…

She sighed, looking out the window. Goku had risen early and gone out, not wanting breakfast. She knew that meant something was seriously wrong. She could only hope that whatever it was, was something that wouldn't put her family in too much danger. She poured the batter on the grill and braced herself for the experience of feeding two demi-Saiyans.

A few minutes later, a stampede of elephants in the form of Trunks and Goten arrived in the kitchen.

"Good morning mother!" Goten greeted her. He was nine years old now, and the spitting image of his father. He even the same wide-eyed look of wonder.

"Good morning!" Ten-year-old Trunks greeted her as well. A beautiful cross between his parents, he would grow up to break hearts, Chi-Chi knew. She was glad that she didn't have a daughter.

"It's about time you two got up!" Chi-Chi said with a smile. "I thought you would sleep all day. Did you sleep alright?"

"Yes!" they chorused. Leaping into their chairs, they grabbed some pancakes and bacon and toast and started shoveling the food into their mouths. Chi-Chi shook her head in wonder. The only thing that could out eat a half Saiyan was a full Saiyan, and she had one of those as well. That made her think of Goku again, and she bit her lip in worry.

A sound outside attracted her attention. Thinking it was her husband, she opened the door and nearly fell over when her eldest son greeted her.

"Gohan! Why aren't you in school?" she demanded as he entered the kitchen and nodded at his brother and their friend. They waved a greeting but didn't stop eating.

"I was, but this kid showed up and I thought it was best to bring him here, before he caused more trouble," Gohan answered. He moved aside to allow a little boy, no more than Trunks and Goten's age, to enter.

The two demi-Saiyans actually paused in inhaling their food to stare at the new kid, their faces alive with curiosity. The kid stared back with barely hidden hostility. He crossed his arms over his chest and scowled. His tail twitched from side to side.

"Look! Trunks, he has a tail!" Goten pointed a syrup-covered finger at the little Saiyan.

Trunks hopped down from his chair and approached the boy wearing the monkey shirt. "Are you a Saiyan?" he asked, delight lighting up his blue eyes.

The little Saiyan child eyed him warily. "Yes," he snapped, trying not to feel a little nervous. Who were these people?

"Who is this, Gohan?" Chi-Chi asked, staring at the boy. She looked closely at the wild, dark hair and the aggressive stance. "He looks like a little Vegeta!" she exclaimed.

"That's who he reminds me of!" Gohan snapped his fingers. "I knew there was someone!"

The boy looked up at Chi-Chi. "You know my father?" he asked, surprised.

"You're Vegeta's son?" Chi-Chi almost shrieked, causing all the demi-Saiyans and the full blooded Saiyan to clamp their hands over their sensitive ears. "That two-timing creep! He's been cheating on Bulma all this time and didn't have the decency to tell her he has another son!"

"Wow, Vegeta is your daddy?" Goten asked, as Chi-Chi fumed about the male gender and their wandering ways.

Seeing the Saiyan boy nod, Goten poked Trunks. "Hey, Trunks. You have a brother!"

"Cool!" the purple-haired boy exclaimed. "Now I can be like you and Gohan!"

"What do you mean?" the boy demanded, glaring at Trunks in anger. "I am an only child!" he spat.

"Nope! Vegeta's my dad too! C'mon, are you hungry?" Trunks pulled the confused and seething boy to the table and pushed him into a chair. "I can't wait until Mom finds out!" he said as he jumped back into his own chair and pushed some pancakes at his 'brother'. "Here, try these. They're good!"

The little Saiyan started to snarl something, then caught a whiff of the food in front of him. Despite himself, he began to eat, getting hungrier with each bite. He would figure it out later. Right now, he was starving.

Chi-Chi in the meantime had heard Trunk's words. "I'll bet Bulma will be very interested in this!" she muttered. Making sure that there was enough food prepared for the kids, she snatched up the phone and started dialing furiously. "I hope she tears that two-timer's liver out!"

Bulma had just finished talking to her father who had regained consciousness a few minutes ago. He had been crushed to hear the news of the complete destruction of the lab. Dr. Briefs had told her about nearly completing the Regenerator Ray. Now all his hard work was gone.

Bulma had tried to console her father. "At least you are alive! That's all that matters, father." She told him how Vegeta had saved him and the cat and put out the fires. She didn't mention how she hadn't been able to find the Saiyan prince afterwards. Though she loathed to admit it, she was rather worried. Vegeta wasn't in the Gravity chamber, or in his room. His bed hadn't been slept in at all.

Then she shook her head, and silently scolded herself. Vegeta was a grown Saiyan! He could take care of himself.

She sifted through the rubble, trying to find something salvageable. If there was any data left from her dad's experiment, perhaps the Regenerator Ray could be rebuilt.

Her cell phone rang.

"Hello?" she answered.

"Bulma! This is Chi-Chi!"

Bulma winced and held the phone away from her ear. "Hello, Chi-Chi! How are you?"

"You have to come over here right now!" Chi-Chi demanded. "And bring Vegeta with you! This concerns him too."

"Um, sorry Chi-Chi, but I can't. There was a big fire in one of our labs here last night and my father was hurt. We have a hell of a mess to clean up. Also, I don't know where Vegeta is. I haven't seen him since last night. He just disappeared."

There was a brief moment of silence, as Bulma closed her eyes in relief. She liked Chi-Chi, she really did. But there were some times that the head of Capsule Corp would gladly muzzle Goku's wife.

"Oh, ok. I see." She could hear the regret in Chi-Chi's voice and suppressed her annoyance.

"What's wrong? Why do you want us to come over?" Bulma bent over to inspect a piece of shattered equipment. Was that part of her father's Regenerator Ray?

"Well, Gohan brought a little Saiyan boy home that he found in his school. He has a tail and everything!" Chi-Chi answered, some excitement creeping back into her voice.

Bulma perked up. "Really?" she asked, intrigued.

"Yes! And there's more. Brace yourself, Bulma. He says that Vegeta's his father!" There was a brief pause as Chi-Chi drew in a breath and announced dramatically. "Oh, Bulma, I hate to be the one to tell you this, but Vegeta's been cheating on you!"

Bulma could hear the sorrow and regret in Chi-Chi's voice. But that was in the background of her mind at the moment, because there was another thought that occurred to Trunk's mother.

Three important facts stood out. Vegeta was missing. The Regenerator Ray had been functional. A little Saiyan boy had shown up out of the blue. As far as Bulma knew, and Vegeta had confirmed it, there was no Saiyans left except for those living on Earth. "Oh, Kami. NO!" she whispered in horror.

"Oh, Bulma. I'm so sorry to be the one to have to tell you this," Chi-Chi commiserated, completely misinterpreting Bulma's reaction.

Bulma shook herself out of her stupor. Grimly she stood up. "Don't let that kid out of your sight, Chi-Chi! I mean it! I'll be right over!" Not giving Chi-Chi a chance to respond, Bulma shut off her cell phone and sprinted outside, reaching into the pocket of her lab coat and pulling out a capsule as she ran. Clicking the capsule, she threw it as far as she could.

Bamff!

As the smoke cleared, she leaped into the small plane that materialized from its capsule holder and started it up with a roar of engines. I swear I won't be mad if Vegeta had an affair if only it means that I'm wrong!

Meanwhile, at the Son residence…

Goku had returned home and was standing outside, frowning. He could sense several ki inside, but there was something strange going on. It was time for school, but Gohan was home!

He could sense Trunks and Goten's ki easily, as well as Chi-Chi's, but there was another one inside that he couldn't identify but seemed almost…familiar.

Shrugging he opened the door and took in the scene. Gohan was lurking next to the wall, smirking as he watched his mother trying to keep up with three voracious appetites. The teenager was perfectly happy blending into the background. He wanted to see what happened when Bulma showed up. This was much more fun than school.

Chi-Chi was muttering to herself about the evils of men in general, and a Saiyan prince in particular. Trunks and Goten were trying to engage the other boy at the table in conversation, but the boy ignored them, intent on eating as much as he could.

It was this boy that Goku zeroed in on. He was sitting with his back to Goku but the Saiyan noted the wild black hair stood on end and a furry tail stuck out behind the chair, twitching from side to side. Then Goten looked up and saw…

"Dad!" he exclaimed in delight.

"Hey, Goten!" Goku smiled but his gaze never left the little Saiyan who spun around at the greeting. Black eyes widened in shock and recognition a bare second before narrowing in rage and hate.

"Bardock!" the kid spat, strangely like a cat.

Goku looked over his shoulder to see whom the kid was talking to. There was no one there and he turned back around. "Who?" he asked, right as the boy launched himself at the tall Saiyan.

"You miserable traitor!" the kid landed a punch right in Goku's face before Goku could react. Catching the raging boy by the scruff of the neck, Goku held him at arm's length, studying the furious face as the boy tried to punch him again and again. But his arms were too short; they didn't reach past Goku's elbow.

Finally, the little Saiyan subsided. He hung there in Goku's grasp, glaring in hate with his tail lashing furiously from side to side. He crossed his arms, trying to look dignified. "I should have known that you'd be here."

"What?" Goku had no clue what the kid was talking about. He looked at the audience in the kitchen and saw his expression mirrored by everyone else.

"You heard me, you stinking bastard! You abandoned me, you miserable…" and the kid proceeded to launch into such a vivid description of Goku's parentage, and mating habits that Chi-Chi clamped her hands over Goten's ears. Every once in a while, the little Saiyan would try to throw a punch or kick at Goku, just for good measure.

Trunks was impressed. "Wow! He swears as good as my dad!"

Finally, the little Saiyan wound down. Glaring in hate at Goku he crossed his arms. "What do you have to say for yourself, traitor!"

Goku regarded the fiercely scowling child that hung in his grip and tried to keep a straight face, but it was hard. The chubby cheeks and wild hair eliminated any intimidation factor the child might posses.

"Who is Bardock?" Gohan wanted to know.

"He is!" the little Saiyan pointed at Goku.

"No I'm not!" Goku denied. "I'm Goku!" he grinned at the boy.

The kid peered closely at Goku, studying his features. Dawning comprehension smoothed the scowl, but not completely. "Oh, I see that you're not Bardock. My mistake," he said shortly. The little Saiyan didn't apologize, he never apologized.

"Why did you think that my Dad's name was Bardock?" Gohan asked from the side of the kitchen.

The kid twisted to look at Gohan in surprise. "This is your father? You are a Saiyan!" he looked back at Goku. "But Goku isn't a Saiyan name!" he accused.

"No, my Saiyan name is Kakkarott," Goku said cheerfully.

"Kakkarott," the boy mused.

"So what's your name?" Goku asked. He was still holding the boy by the scruff of the neck, but the boy didn't seem to notice, because yet another person joined them.

"Oh, my god!" Bulma exclaimed from behind Goku. "Vegeta?" she asked tentatively, hope and dread filled her voice.

"What?" the kid barked impatiently.

"What!?" the rest of them chorused, stunned.

"Is there an echo in here?" Vegeta asked sarcastically. He stretched his neck to peer over Goku's shoulder. "Who are you?" he demanded.

"I'm Bulma. Oh, Kami. It IS you, isn't it, Vegeta?" the blue-haired woman answered, slipping around Goku.

"B-B-Bulma, are you serious? You are saying that kid IS Vegeta?" Gohan stuttered.

"Of course I'm Vegeta, who the hell else would I be?" Vegeta snapped.

Goku peered at the Saiyan prince with wide-eyes wonder. "Whoa. This is Vegeta?" he asked.

"That's Dad? What happened to him?" Trunks wanted to know. He was disappointed that the kid wasn't his brother, but the fact that his father was now younger than he was, was much more exciting.

"Father was working on his Regenerator Ray last night and had just got it functioning when the generators blew up. Vegeta went in to put the fires out and somehow he must have gotten hit by the Ray." Bulma explained. "It turned him into a kid again."

"Wow!" said Goku. "Vegeta is a little kid! He's adorable!"

"Dad, no!" Gohan shouted, but his warning came too late.

Vegeta promptly threw a ki blast right into Goku's face. As the smoke cleared, the tall Saiyan stood shocked, the whites of his eyes contrasted sharply with the black of his soot-covered face. One of his wild locks that stood on end was burning steadily.

"Don't call me adorable!" the small prince growled.

Goku snapped out of his shock, and put the fire in his hair out with a rueful laugh. "Yup, this is Vegeta alright," he said.

Vegeta snarled at the tall Saiyan, and then abruptly realized he was still hanging from Goku's grasp. "WILL YOU PUT ME DOWN ALREADY!?" he roared at Goku.

Goku's eyes widened once again. "Oh, of course!" he gave and embarrassed laugh as he gently set the outraged prince back on his feet.

"But you said Vegeta was your father!" Chi-Chi said, still confused.

"Of course. King Vegeta. Who did you think I was talking about?" little Vegeta sniffed haughtily.

"Oh," Chi-Chi blushed, embarrassed by her blunder.

Bulma was carefully checking over the little prince, who was staring at her suspiciously. "Woman, what the hell are you doing?" he stepped back out of her reach.

"I am going to have to find out if the effects of the Regenerator Ray are permanent, or if they can be reversed. I am not sure I can live with the idea that the father of my son is younger than he is!" she said.

"What are you talking about woman?" he demanded, horrified. Then he turned to Trunks. "And I'm not his father!"

"Yes you are. Don't you remember anything?" Bulma asked.

"I have no idea what you are talking about" Vegeta said, his tail flipping from side to side in agitation.

"How old are you?" Gohan asked the little prince.

Feeling slightly cornered, Vegeta put his back to a wall. "I'm nine years old," he replied warily.

Bulma, Chi-Chi and Goku exchanged glances.

"Do you remember living on Earth?" Bulma asked.

Vegeta shook his head, scowling. "No, of course not. I've never been here before. If I had, you all would not be here right now. The planet would have been cleansed." A thought occurred to him. Turning to Goku, he stared up at the tall Saiyan. "Speaking of which, why didn't you clean this planet?"

Goku put a hand behind his head and laughed nervously. "Well, you see I hit my head when I got to Earth and forgot I was a Saiyan."

Vegeta stared at him, not sure whether to feel horror, outrage and disgust, and settled for a mixture of the three. "YOU FORGOT YOU WERE A SAIYAN!?" He clenched his little fists and shook his head in disbelief. "Great Kami, I know that Saiyans aren't the brightest bunch, but this guy is a complete idiot." Turning back to Goku, he sneered. "Very well, since you have failed your mission, I'll just have to do it for you!"

"Vegeta, you are not here to cleanse the planet. Freiza is dead." Bulma said, trying to forestall a massacre.

"What? Dead? How?" Now Vegeta's eyes widened in shock.

"I killed him!" Trunks boasted proudly.

Vegeta rounded on the purple-haired demi-Saiyan. "YOU?"

Goten scowled at Trunks. "Not him! It was another him from the future!" he 'clarified'.

Trunks scowled back. "It was so me, just not me me!" he argued back.

Seeing Vegeta's expression, Gohan spoke up. "Trunks came back from the future to warn us about some killer androids, and when he got here, he killed Freiza who was coming to kill us because my father defeated him on Namek."

The group of them then launched into the confusing tale of Saiyans, androids, Majins, and Dragonballs.

Vegeta's eyes began to glaze over. Finally, he clutched his head in his hands. "ENOUGH!" Silence decended on the group. The small prince drew a deep breath. "You are all insane," he concluded. Turning his back on them, he walked to the door.

"Vegeta, where are you going?" Bulma asked.

Not looking back, Vegeta answered calmly. "I'm going to go kill Mr. Satan. Then I'm going to come back and finish you off. Nothing this crazy should be allowed to live."

He actually made it outside before any of them reacted. They looked at each other and were starting to follow after the little prince when an outraged yell from outside had them rushing to the door, falling over each other in their hurry.

When they got outside, they were met by the sight of Piccolo standing with his cape billowing in the wind, and holding Vegeta by the scruff of the neck at arm's length.

"Dammit!" Vegeta tried to clock Piccolo, but his arms were too short to hit the Namek from where he hung. "What is with you people? Put me down, you overgrown pickle!"

Piccolo snorted as he looked at Goku and the gang. "So this is Vegeta?" He raised an antenna in amusement.

Vegeta crossed his arms again and glared at them. "I'm really beginning to hate you people."

TBC

Author's note. If it seems that Trunks accepts Vegeta as a brother, watch movie 13, you'll understand.