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 25
"Cyclops. Storm." Lilandra nodded at her old acquaintances. "I wish I came under better circumstances."
"Wolverine. He's pretty hurt." Scott said, gesturing towards his injured teammate.
"My people are already remedying that." A couple of members of the Imperial Guard stood over Logan, and one of them looked to be infusing him with some sort of healing energy.
Vegeta set down next to them, still glowing and making the strange whooshing sound. Lilandra stared at him in cold recognition. He glared in return.
"What's your problem? You've never seen a Saiyan before?"
"My people cut off all contact with your race eons ago. We were actually quite pleased when that slime Frieza eliminated your power-hungry race and saved us the trouble," Lilandra bit out icily. The rest of the Imperial Guard looked on him with undisguised digust.
Vegeta's aura crackled with indignation. "I'll have you know you stand before Vegeta, the PRINCE of all the Saiyans!"
"And I am Lilandra, EMPRESS of the Shi'ar EMPIRE! Until now, I didn't think any of your kind still inhabited this dimension. You are a terror and a threat!"
Cyclops coughed and interrupted. "I'm sure you didn't come here to pick a fight, Lilandra. Could you tell us anything about Professor X? Were you able to bring him back?"
Lilandra tore her gaze from the Saiyan. She cast her eyes down and looked very sad. "No, I was not able to reach him. A few telepaths in my Guard are with him now, but I fear that he may never." She trailed off.
The captain of the Guard known to Storm and Cyclops as Gladiator cried out in alarm, "My Empress, the creature is stirring!"
"Get to the Dragonballs!" she ordered.
"How do you know about the Dragonballs?" Storm asked, racing alongside the Empress.
"My people have long dealt with the peaceful Nameks. We have even used their dragon, Porunga, on occasion."
"What are you going to do with them?" Krillin asked the strange alien woman.
"We're going to use the dragon to defeat the Dark Phoenix." Lilandra and her Imperial Guard gathered around Bulma who was staring uncertainly at the crowd. She sought out Vegeta and relaxed when she saw him. She even gave him a lopsided grin when she saw his energy aura and blonde hair.
Lilandra turned to her. "Do you know how to summon the Dragon?"
Bulma nodded cautiously. "DO IT!" Lilandra commanded. Vegeta clenched his fists at her authoritative tone.
"Why?" Bulma stubbornly asked.
Lilandra looked at her with disbelief. She, too, was not used to having her authority questioned. Vegeta smirked.
"Because it's our only chance to defeat her."
Bulma pointed a finger at Vegeta. "If HE, couldn't beat her, then why should I believe the Dragon can. It's only as powerful as Kame, and Vegeta's way stronger than that."
Lilandra sighed in exasperation. "Because we will use the Dragon to trap the Phoenix in this." She snapped her fingers and after the resulting green flash dissipated, she held a large ruby-like crystal in her hands.
"What is that?!" Vegeta cried. The energy of the stone was enormous and unlike anything he'd ever felt before. Even Krillin's eyes were wide as saucers.
Cyclops answered for her. "That is the M'Krann crystal. It is the nexus of all realities and the basis of this universe. Jean, or rather the Phoenix, is the guardian of it. This is where the Phoenix force, or the power cosmic, originates."
Vegeta gained the sudden understanding of why his people had sought its power in ages past. Forget the Dragonballs! He should have pursued this! Now as an unstoppable Super Saiyan, nothing could come between him and the stone. He looked up, smirking at his still forming plan, when he caught Bulma watching him again. She looked upset, as if she knew what he was thinking. Against his wishes, he felt his new resolve waver.
Bulma broke their eye contact and returned her attention to her friends and the strange woman. The X-men and Krillin were nodding at her to continue. Vegeta's face was inscrutable now. Sighing, she summoned the Eternal Dragon. "Shenlong, here me! Grant my wish!"
As the sky above turned from a bright blue to an ominous darkness, lightning flashed and the Dragonballs shot up into the air. At the same time, another portion of the sky was trying to become brighter than noon as the Phoenix began to rise out of the sea-filled crater. In a tremendous burst of light and power, both the Dragon and the Dark Phoenix emerged at the same time. Shenlong was enormous, his head brushing the clouds and his tail hovering about 50 feet off the ground. He resembled the traditional Asian dragon, and his eyes were ruby embers. "What is your wish?" his ancient voice boomed to the blue-haired Earth girl. She didn't get to answer because the talons of the Dark Phoenix firebird grabbed the Dragon around the throat, and the two engaged in a duel to the death.
"HELP HIM!" Lilandra shouted at her guard, who along with Krillin and the X- men took off to free the struggling beast. Vegeta watched them all leave. When Bulma looked at him quizzically, he just shrugged while Lilandra regarded him with contempt.
"He must be waiting for his moment," Bulma thought, but she started to worry. Instinctively, she put her body between Lilandra and the Saiyan. His furtive glances at the stone were stressing her out. Vegeta didn't miss the gesture. He scowled. That one little movement, that one step she'd taken and he knew with her injuries even that little bit had been painful, and she'd wrecked his plans. Why?! Why did she have such a hold on him? He was warring inside himself between stealing the crystal and fulfilling his deepest desire or forsaking it and ..fulfilling his 'new' deepest desire.
"Shit!" he thought. It was Old Vegeta versus the New Vegeta on a grander scale than the battle taking place before him. Bulma watched him heedless of the warriors falling from the sky one by one as the Phoenix fought on both fronts. One or two fighters were injured when a piece of the thrashing Dragon struck them. She only had eyes for him. His hair fluctuated between black and blonde as he struggled with his internal demons, between his former life and the one now set before him. Bulma hobbled over to him and placed a hand on his arm. He reacted like she shot electricity through him, and then sighed. Their eyes met slowly, and the shy, tentative, but encouraging smile on her lips sealed his fate. He resigned himself, powered up to Super Saiyan again and took off towards the fight, gathering his ki attack as he flew.
The Prince and the Phoenix - Chapter 25
"Cyclops. Storm." Lilandra nodded at her old acquaintances. "I wish I came under better circumstances."
"Wolverine. He's pretty hurt." Scott said, gesturing towards his injured teammate.
"My people are already remedying that." A couple of members of the Imperial Guard stood over Logan, and one of them looked to be infusing him with some sort of healing energy.
Vegeta set down next to them, still glowing and making the strange whooshing sound. Lilandra stared at him in cold recognition. He glared in return.
"What's your problem? You've never seen a Saiyan before?"
"My people cut off all contact with your race eons ago. We were actually quite pleased when that slime Frieza eliminated your power-hungry race and saved us the trouble," Lilandra bit out icily. The rest of the Imperial Guard looked on him with undisguised digust.
Vegeta's aura crackled with indignation. "I'll have you know you stand before Vegeta, the PRINCE of all the Saiyans!"
"And I am Lilandra, EMPRESS of the Shi'ar EMPIRE! Until now, I didn't think any of your kind still inhabited this dimension. You are a terror and a threat!"
Cyclops coughed and interrupted. "I'm sure you didn't come here to pick a fight, Lilandra. Could you tell us anything about Professor X? Were you able to bring him back?"
Lilandra tore her gaze from the Saiyan. She cast her eyes down and looked very sad. "No, I was not able to reach him. A few telepaths in my Guard are with him now, but I fear that he may never." She trailed off.
The captain of the Guard known to Storm and Cyclops as Gladiator cried out in alarm, "My Empress, the creature is stirring!"
"Get to the Dragonballs!" she ordered.
"How do you know about the Dragonballs?" Storm asked, racing alongside the Empress.
"My people have long dealt with the peaceful Nameks. We have even used their dragon, Porunga, on occasion."
"What are you going to do with them?" Krillin asked the strange alien woman.
"We're going to use the dragon to defeat the Dark Phoenix." Lilandra and her Imperial Guard gathered around Bulma who was staring uncertainly at the crowd. She sought out Vegeta and relaxed when she saw him. She even gave him a lopsided grin when she saw his energy aura and blonde hair.
Lilandra turned to her. "Do you know how to summon the Dragon?"
Bulma nodded cautiously. "DO IT!" Lilandra commanded. Vegeta clenched his fists at her authoritative tone.
"Why?" Bulma stubbornly asked.
Lilandra looked at her with disbelief. She, too, was not used to having her authority questioned. Vegeta smirked.
"Because it's our only chance to defeat her."
Bulma pointed a finger at Vegeta. "If HE, couldn't beat her, then why should I believe the Dragon can. It's only as powerful as Kame, and Vegeta's way stronger than that."
Lilandra sighed in exasperation. "Because we will use the Dragon to trap the Phoenix in this." She snapped her fingers and after the resulting green flash dissipated, she held a large ruby-like crystal in her hands.
"What is that?!" Vegeta cried. The energy of the stone was enormous and unlike anything he'd ever felt before. Even Krillin's eyes were wide as saucers.
Cyclops answered for her. "That is the M'Krann crystal. It is the nexus of all realities and the basis of this universe. Jean, or rather the Phoenix, is the guardian of it. This is where the Phoenix force, or the power cosmic, originates."
Vegeta gained the sudden understanding of why his people had sought its power in ages past. Forget the Dragonballs! He should have pursued this! Now as an unstoppable Super Saiyan, nothing could come between him and the stone. He looked up, smirking at his still forming plan, when he caught Bulma watching him again. She looked upset, as if she knew what he was thinking. Against his wishes, he felt his new resolve waver.
Bulma broke their eye contact and returned her attention to her friends and the strange woman. The X-men and Krillin were nodding at her to continue. Vegeta's face was inscrutable now. Sighing, she summoned the Eternal Dragon. "Shenlong, here me! Grant my wish!"
As the sky above turned from a bright blue to an ominous darkness, lightning flashed and the Dragonballs shot up into the air. At the same time, another portion of the sky was trying to become brighter than noon as the Phoenix began to rise out of the sea-filled crater. In a tremendous burst of light and power, both the Dragon and the Dark Phoenix emerged at the same time. Shenlong was enormous, his head brushing the clouds and his tail hovering about 50 feet off the ground. He resembled the traditional Asian dragon, and his eyes were ruby embers. "What is your wish?" his ancient voice boomed to the blue-haired Earth girl. She didn't get to answer because the talons of the Dark Phoenix firebird grabbed the Dragon around the throat, and the two engaged in a duel to the death.
"HELP HIM!" Lilandra shouted at her guard, who along with Krillin and the X- men took off to free the struggling beast. Vegeta watched them all leave. When Bulma looked at him quizzically, he just shrugged while Lilandra regarded him with contempt.
"He must be waiting for his moment," Bulma thought, but she started to worry. Instinctively, she put her body between Lilandra and the Saiyan. His furtive glances at the stone were stressing her out. Vegeta didn't miss the gesture. He scowled. That one little movement, that one step she'd taken and he knew with her injuries even that little bit had been painful, and she'd wrecked his plans. Why?! Why did she have such a hold on him? He was warring inside himself between stealing the crystal and fulfilling his deepest desire or forsaking it and ..fulfilling his 'new' deepest desire.
"Shit!" he thought. It was Old Vegeta versus the New Vegeta on a grander scale than the battle taking place before him. Bulma watched him heedless of the warriors falling from the sky one by one as the Phoenix fought on both fronts. One or two fighters were injured when a piece of the thrashing Dragon struck them. She only had eyes for him. His hair fluctuated between black and blonde as he struggled with his internal demons, between his former life and the one now set before him. Bulma hobbled over to him and placed a hand on his arm. He reacted like she shot electricity through him, and then sighed. Their eyes met slowly, and the shy, tentative, but encouraging smile on her lips sealed his fate. He resigned himself, powered up to Super Saiyan again and took off towards the fight, gathering his ki attack as he flew.