Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Dragonball Z characters or anything in
that universe. I also do not own any of the Marvel Universe characters. I
do not profit in any way from this story.
The Prince and the Phoenix - Chapter 20
A mixture of rage and shame fueled Vegeta's sudden burst of speed, understandably caused by the Dark Phoenix's stinging comments, especially when she lumped him in with the rest of those "pathetic" warriors. Although he couldn't get an accurate ki reading because of her strange type of power and therefore had no solid evidence to support his opinion, he knew as the Prince of All Saiyans he was far from pathetic. At least, as a warrior, he corrected as a sudden twinge of regret knifed through him. Bulma, he thought. Kame, why could she affect him so?
Bulma was the most infuriating creature in the universe. She was physically absolutely as weak as a kitten, but she acted as though SHE was the one descended from royal Saiyan blood. Vegeta thought back to Yamcha's words that Bulma fancied herself a princess of sorts. Yeah, in need of a prince, he smirked. Well, whatever she was, she was a royal pain in the ass. She was constantly challenging him with her sarcastic, sometimes furious wit. And speaking of her wit, Vegeta grudgingly admitted she possessed one of the greatest minds he had ever had the rare privilege of meeting. Her mechanical ability went way beyond impressive. She was fantastic! And it was obvious where she got that from. It was one of the few reasons he decided not to do away with her whole family.
But, there were other reasons, he knew. That moment on the beach when he had sought out her eyes and the electric shock of strength that filled him when they finally met. He recalled that possessive feeling that made him fly after her on this crazy, possibly suicidal quest, and it wasn't just about the gravity room upgrade either as he had previously try to fool himself into believing. Vegeta came to the sudden very real conclusion that he was fighting this fight for Bulma. He knew the Phoenix creature could easily kill her, and he couldn't let that happen. Flying through the air, he could almost feel her again in his arms, sobbing and shaking with cold, as he flew her back to the compound after her almost plunge to her death on his island. Yet another realization washed over him as he remembered exactly why he had thought it so necessary to show that place to her, to secretly need her to share it with him.
"Damn," he cursed. Vegeta growled low in his throat. "All this funny emotion shit is slowing me down. I need to concentrate on powering up."
Vegeta gritted his teeth and forced himself to fly even faster, easily breaking the sound barrier. Deep inside, although logic told him it was impossible, he felt lighter and freer than ever before. He had a new purpose other than achieving Super-Saiyan. It was to beat down this fire bitch so he could get back to his training. And to Bulma.
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Vegeta knew he was just about to approach her from behind. As he did so, he powered up for a giant ki blast even while flying at such a high rate of speed. The Dark Phoenix's enormous firebird form was just appearing over the horizon. The air around him crackled with energy as he gathered it all in. The waves below became as smooth as glass even with the sonic concussion, and then leapt up in giant columns almost as high as the clouds themselves as he raised his ki. Finally, he felt ready.
The Dark Phoenix turned around just as the energy ball hit her and sent her crashing through the water below. Vegeta hovered above and smirked, very pleased with himself. It seemed all his training in the Gravity Room had paid off, and it had only taken one blast! But, to his horror, the water began to churn and boil and a glow as bright as the sun emanated from beneath its surface. He sprang back in the air just as a very angry goddess re-emerged in all her fiery glory.
"WHO DARES?!" The Dark Phoenix's eyes were open abnormally wide and were completely white, and a look of pure fury was written across her fine features.
'I do, you overblown fire bitch!" Vegeta cried.
"You die, Saiyan!" A series of massive energy blasts erupted from the firebird aimed Vegeta. But, as he dodged each one, her growing rage and frustration only added to the ferocity of her attacks, especially when he managed to nail her with an energy attack of his own.
The battle was quick moving in the skies as each opponent darted through the clouds, trying to gain an advantage. Even with her enormous size, the Phoenix was remarkably nimble and fleet. But, Vegeta was just that much quicker although he just narrowly missed being incinerated on more than one close call.
Vegeta momentarily looked down to get some bearings. "SHIT!" he cried when he saw they were only about a mile out from the island. He could see the Blackbird on the beach. He could even feel Krillin's relatively weak ki. That meant Bulma was nearby. He needed to step up his attacks. When he turned back to his opponent, she was grinning at him insanely.
"In all my journeys, never have I met a Saiyan as feisty as you, little one!" the Dark Phoenix smirked.
"How the hell do you know about Saiyans, firebird?" Vegeta retorted, taking the brief time to power up a final attack.
"I know because I have battled your kind before. In your quest to dominate the universe, or at least destroy what you can't conquer, you've made powerful enemies. Enemies powerful enough to call upon my great power to vanquish you. Time and time again you monkeys try to acquire the crystal only to have me swat you down like the flies you are!" The Dark Phoenix threw her head back and laughed.
"I don't know what the hell you're talking about!" He needed only a little more time, her words fueling his attack.
The Dark Phoenix merely nodded. "That may be, but you're beginning to annoy me with your foolish attempts to stop me from acquiring that Dragonball. You see, little monkey," she paused with a smile on her face, "you're already too late."
As Vegeta launched his attack, the wings of the firebird came up at him and batted back his own attack. His eyes widened in shock as the blast threw him towards the island and into the realm of unconsciousness.
The Prince and the Phoenix - Chapter 20
A mixture of rage and shame fueled Vegeta's sudden burst of speed, understandably caused by the Dark Phoenix's stinging comments, especially when she lumped him in with the rest of those "pathetic" warriors. Although he couldn't get an accurate ki reading because of her strange type of power and therefore had no solid evidence to support his opinion, he knew as the Prince of All Saiyans he was far from pathetic. At least, as a warrior, he corrected as a sudden twinge of regret knifed through him. Bulma, he thought. Kame, why could she affect him so?
Bulma was the most infuriating creature in the universe. She was physically absolutely as weak as a kitten, but she acted as though SHE was the one descended from royal Saiyan blood. Vegeta thought back to Yamcha's words that Bulma fancied herself a princess of sorts. Yeah, in need of a prince, he smirked. Well, whatever she was, she was a royal pain in the ass. She was constantly challenging him with her sarcastic, sometimes furious wit. And speaking of her wit, Vegeta grudgingly admitted she possessed one of the greatest minds he had ever had the rare privilege of meeting. Her mechanical ability went way beyond impressive. She was fantastic! And it was obvious where she got that from. It was one of the few reasons he decided not to do away with her whole family.
But, there were other reasons, he knew. That moment on the beach when he had sought out her eyes and the electric shock of strength that filled him when they finally met. He recalled that possessive feeling that made him fly after her on this crazy, possibly suicidal quest, and it wasn't just about the gravity room upgrade either as he had previously try to fool himself into believing. Vegeta came to the sudden very real conclusion that he was fighting this fight for Bulma. He knew the Phoenix creature could easily kill her, and he couldn't let that happen. Flying through the air, he could almost feel her again in his arms, sobbing and shaking with cold, as he flew her back to the compound after her almost plunge to her death on his island. Yet another realization washed over him as he remembered exactly why he had thought it so necessary to show that place to her, to secretly need her to share it with him.
"Damn," he cursed. Vegeta growled low in his throat. "All this funny emotion shit is slowing me down. I need to concentrate on powering up."
Vegeta gritted his teeth and forced himself to fly even faster, easily breaking the sound barrier. Deep inside, although logic told him it was impossible, he felt lighter and freer than ever before. He had a new purpose other than achieving Super-Saiyan. It was to beat down this fire bitch so he could get back to his training. And to Bulma.
###############################################################
Vegeta knew he was just about to approach her from behind. As he did so, he powered up for a giant ki blast even while flying at such a high rate of speed. The Dark Phoenix's enormous firebird form was just appearing over the horizon. The air around him crackled with energy as he gathered it all in. The waves below became as smooth as glass even with the sonic concussion, and then leapt up in giant columns almost as high as the clouds themselves as he raised his ki. Finally, he felt ready.
The Dark Phoenix turned around just as the energy ball hit her and sent her crashing through the water below. Vegeta hovered above and smirked, very pleased with himself. It seemed all his training in the Gravity Room had paid off, and it had only taken one blast! But, to his horror, the water began to churn and boil and a glow as bright as the sun emanated from beneath its surface. He sprang back in the air just as a very angry goddess re-emerged in all her fiery glory.
"WHO DARES?!" The Dark Phoenix's eyes were open abnormally wide and were completely white, and a look of pure fury was written across her fine features.
'I do, you overblown fire bitch!" Vegeta cried.
"You die, Saiyan!" A series of massive energy blasts erupted from the firebird aimed Vegeta. But, as he dodged each one, her growing rage and frustration only added to the ferocity of her attacks, especially when he managed to nail her with an energy attack of his own.
The battle was quick moving in the skies as each opponent darted through the clouds, trying to gain an advantage. Even with her enormous size, the Phoenix was remarkably nimble and fleet. But, Vegeta was just that much quicker although he just narrowly missed being incinerated on more than one close call.
Vegeta momentarily looked down to get some bearings. "SHIT!" he cried when he saw they were only about a mile out from the island. He could see the Blackbird on the beach. He could even feel Krillin's relatively weak ki. That meant Bulma was nearby. He needed to step up his attacks. When he turned back to his opponent, she was grinning at him insanely.
"In all my journeys, never have I met a Saiyan as feisty as you, little one!" the Dark Phoenix smirked.
"How the hell do you know about Saiyans, firebird?" Vegeta retorted, taking the brief time to power up a final attack.
"I know because I have battled your kind before. In your quest to dominate the universe, or at least destroy what you can't conquer, you've made powerful enemies. Enemies powerful enough to call upon my great power to vanquish you. Time and time again you monkeys try to acquire the crystal only to have me swat you down like the flies you are!" The Dark Phoenix threw her head back and laughed.
"I don't know what the hell you're talking about!" He needed only a little more time, her words fueling his attack.
The Dark Phoenix merely nodded. "That may be, but you're beginning to annoy me with your foolish attempts to stop me from acquiring that Dragonball. You see, little monkey," she paused with a smile on her face, "you're already too late."
As Vegeta launched his attack, the wings of the firebird came up at him and batted back his own attack. His eyes widened in shock as the blast threw him towards the island and into the realm of unconsciousness.