Under Different Circumstances

by BULMA16

Tired of seeing Bulma as a weak character? Want to see Vegeta as something other than a monster for once? Then you're reading the right fic! AU BV Romance in which Bulma and Vegeta's personalities are switched ) RR!

2. Part Two

Many Thanks to those who reviewed Part one of UDC! I'm glad y'all enjoyed it. This chapter really starts to go into my favorite part of this fic: the B/V romance! (Yay!) Please Enjoy this update and don't forget to leave a review!

PART TWO *~*~*~*~* *Planet Freeze, barracks, TIME 2300 hours. Vegeta: 19*

"Lights out maggots!" Vegeta waited a moment for everyone to stop stirring in their beds before he flicked off the light. In two years, he'd been promoted, so now he had a company of his own. His father had given him some tips on how to keep troops loyal to you and you alone. 'Be fair, be firm, and be consistent' he'd said. Over the years, Vegeta had matured greatly and grown as both a leader and as a person. His father still had high hopes for him as King. His son had heeded his words and now had one of the best companies in Freeza's army.

Of course, the negative side of this was that he had to see Freeza more and more often. The Officer stifled a yawn as he walked down the halls to find Lord Freeza. It'd been a long, hard day of training. He walked past the Medical Ward, where many of his soldiers were recovering after challenging their leader. He nodded slightly as a few waved at him good-naturedly, not holding a grudge against him for hospitalizing them. "Hey, you," he said to one of the doctors in the room.

The orange frog looking creature ran over to him. "Yes, sir?"

"Where's Lord Freeza?" The proud Saiyan demanded.

"I believe he said he'd be in the Control Room, sir."

Vegeta walked away from the doctor, his face expressionless. {So Freeza's in the Central Control Room. That means he's either about to send us to another planet, or he's leaving.} He unconsciously hoped for the second. Freeza was not someone whose presence the future King of Vegetaseii enjoyed.which is understandable considering what an asshole the Ice-Jin was known to be. Vegeta scowled angrily as he turned the corner, nearly at the Control Room , tensing as he sensed a cold feeling nearby him.

"Vegeta," a familiar voice said from behind him.

Quickly turning his face into an inexpressive mask, Vegeta turned and bowed. "Lord Freeza."

The Ice-Jin smirked. "Stand my boy. Tell me, what progress are your men making?"

Vegeta rose slowly and kept himself from smirking as he lied. "None worth mentioning, my Lord."

Freeza laughed softly, his eyes full of malice. "So not even you, the Prince of all Saiyans, can get those pathetic weaklings in line?"

Vegeta mentally checked his anger, knowing that Freeza was toying with him, trying to make him mess up some how so that he'd lose his temper. "It would seem to be so, my Lord."

"Very well. I'm afraid you and your men will have to miss out on the next purge." He crossed his arms over his chest and narrowed his eyes slightly.

"I'm sure they will be disappointed, Lord Freeza," Vegeta replied automatically, trying to keep the utter loathing he possessed for this creature out of his voice.

"Ah, but are you disappointed my boy?" The clever ruler asked as he watched the Prince closely.

Vegeta cursed inwardly as Freeza seemed to be picking up on his deception. "Of course, my Lord."

"I wonder. If I hadn't already tested your loyalty Prince, I would worry about you."

The warning and thinly veiled threat weren't lost to Vegeta in that soft voice. He chose to say nothing.

"That'll be all, Vegeta," Freeza said, dismissing him.

Vegeta bowed and took his leave. **** ** *2330, in Vegeta's quarters, Planet Freeze*

"I have no time for such foolery! I have more important things to think about," Vegeta said angrily to his father over the visual phone.

"Looking for a mate is NOT something you should brush off so lightly son. Your time to become King is sooner than you think, and you need a mate to rule with you," the King said lightly.

Vegeta's eyes narrowed in realization. "Father, are you-"

Vegeta IV held up a hand to silence his son. "I'm fine for now, son. Who's to say I will stay that way though?"

"Don't fucking say that!"

His father laughed at his son. "Don't worry about it, boy. You have more important things to think about, don't you? Farewell." And he cut his end of the connection off.

The Officer cursed at his father's throwing his words in his face. {Since when has he been unwell?} He thought about what his father had been saying. Another one of his parents dead. {He'd better live} Vegeta growled, hanging up his end of the line and preparing his agenda for the next day.

***** *****

*On Earth, SUCIO. Bulma: 16*

"Faster go, faster!" He yelled, adrenaline beginning to excite him.

"I'm going as fast as I can!" Bulma said, panting as she and her companion ran from the two policemen chasing them. "This way!" she shouted in English and pointing to a stone building so that the policemen could understand her. "We split up," she said quickly in Standard.

"When?" he shouted to her in Standard.

"Now!" The two ran in separate directions, temporarily confusing the police, who quickly split up to go after the two thieves.

Bulma laughed as she felt the wind tearing through her blonde wig, and finally tugging it off of her head and blowing it somewhere behind her. From the squawk she heard behind her, it hit the policeman pursuing her.{Good thing I always wear two. Now for step two}. "ENHALLAH YUILA RES!" She yelled to her partner as she turned a corner.

Most of the other people in the village ignored the scene. They were used to this kind of thing going on. They weren't going to help the police though, since they worked for the government, and the government in their minds represented evil.

Bulma turned another corner and grabbed the long black cloak an elderly woman threw her and put it on. The policeman was beginning to slow down. {Good,} she thought, turning another corner and slipping into a crowd of others in similar black robes.

The exhausted policeman cursed as he lost her among the crowd of similarly dressed figures. "Mark my words you brats! We'll get you both." He turned and walked away with his partner.

Bulma laughed softly as someone in a matching black robe nudged her with an elbow. "So you got away, did you?"

Aaron nodded his head. "Yeah. Good thing you got those two old to gals help us out. But Angelique," he said, sounding confused. "Just how did you know that these people would be here?"

She pulled him after her as she walked into a nearby store, where they discarded the cloaks. "I organized it earlier. It's just a bunch of our people paying me back some favors."

"Resourceful," Aaron commented.

Bulma winked at him as she took off her back-up red wig and took off the boy's clothing she was wearing over her raggedy 'urchin dress' as she called it. "How do I look?"

Aaron took off his outer garments, which made him look as if he too would fit into the poverty-stricken town. Underneath, he wore his real clothes: those of someone who lived amongst wealth. "Beautiful."

"Ha," Bulma said as she pulled out a small vial and rubbed streaks of what looked like dirt through her hair and all over her face and body. "Let's go."

"Wait," her partner said, looking to see if anyone in the almost vacant shop was watching them. No one appeared to be. "You still got 'em?" he asked switching to Standard since the poor here did not speak it.

The female's eyes glittered. "What are you referring to, the diamonds we just stole from that rotten bastard Maloney, or the heat?"

"The heat."

She lifted her dress a little to show him the twin pistols secured around her leg.

"How the Hell did you run with those there?" he asked her, holding the door open for her.

"I'm just talented like that I guess."

****** ******

*Maloney's Warehouse, Unit #34*

"Just how much did we gain with that Buckling deal?" Maloney asked in his cold voice, blowing a ring of smoke above his head.

Thad grinned. "About 3 million boss."

"Good. And uh.what about Operation Let down?"

"We ousted the Buchanan Bastard 5 mil."

Maloney laughed uproariously. "You don't say? He'll probably send that urchin bitch messenger of his over here any minute now."

Morrison rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "I don't know boss, there's something about that broad."

Thad scoffed at the older man. "For Ima's sake, Morrison, the girl is nothing to worry about."

The boss glanced at Morrison. "What do you think is up with her.is she supposed to be some kind of threat?"

"I don't know about that," the experienced mobster said slowly. "But there's something about her that seems oddly familiar. I think she's related to the Buchanan boy."

Patrick Maloney rolled his eyes and then checked his daily report. "They look nothing alike. Stop thinking and start counting money you two. I've got a new deal in mind. The PUERCANS are sending a shipment of gold to Huntsville. If we can intercept that-"

"I hope we're not interrupting anything important," a sarcastic voice said from the doorway. Behind him was a figure in rags and a taller figure, who seemed to radiate assuredness from every pore of his being.

"It's that girl," Morrison said lowly.

"Who the hell are you?" Thad asked the taller boy, standing up quickly.

"No one of consequence. You needn't worry about that girl. She's merely here to relay your message." The man said, indicating the dirty girl standing beside him now.

"My master sent me to inform you that someone robbed him of 5 million," the girl said in a meek voice.

Maloney finally spoke up, looking up from his daily report that he'd received moments ago. "Really? Well I just read that someone stole 5.4 million in diamonds from my Jewelry Store," he rasped angrily.

Morrison and Thad scowled angrily at them. "I bet your 'master' had a hand in that."

The male messenger glanced at the female who shook her head ever so slightly. "I don't think so," he said finally, looking back to the others in the room.

"Well I do. Tell your master that he owes me my diamonds since I didn't have anything to do with your master's loss," Maloney said, lighting another cigarette blowing a ring of smoke in their direction.

"I think you'd just better give us the fucking money you stole," the urchin girl said suddenly in a steely voice, her once shy, and humble persona gone in an instant and replaced by that of a shrewd business woman..

The three men looked at each other and laughed. "And why would we do that, my dear?"

In the blink of an eye the urchin girl had whipped out two guns from only Ima knows where and pointed them at the boss. "Because I'm about to blast each of you another fucking asshole," she said, a cold calculating smile on her dirty face.

"Oh shit," Thad cursed, dropping the stack of money he'd been bundling in one hand.

"We've just been given the royal fucking treatment," Morrison said, holding his hands over his head.

"Shut up!" Patrick screamed at them, his eyes never leaving those of the girl. "You know what Morrison? I think you're right. This bitch does look a lot like the Buchanan bastard."

Aaron, the male messenger, burst into laughter. "These guys are pretty quick aren't they?" He bowed mockingly to them. "Congratulations gentlemen, you are the first and last to figure that out."

"Figure what out?" Thad asked, holding his hands up.

"I'm Brandon Buchanan," the girl said, taking the safety off the guns never losing eye contact with Maloney.

"But how?" Thad asked in wonderment.

Bulma handed a gun to Aaron for a moment and put a white piece of plastic under her tongue. "Good afternoon Maloney. This is Brandon Buchanan," she said, using the infamous sentence structure of Brandon in his equally well- known aristocratic tones.

"Oh shit! That's the voice! She's him!"

Maloney had a sick sort of grin on his face as he watched the female's facial features remain frozen through it all. "My dear, I'd be more than happy to reimburse you for all of the money you lost.and I won't even ask you for the diamonds back."

"How kind of you Maloney," the voice of Brandon Buchanan chuckled. Bulma took the piece of plastic out of her mouth and took the gun back from her silent partner. "But you know what they say about dogs. You let them have a taste of something forbidden once, and they'll want it for always." She was still smiling as she squeezed the trigger 5 times and killed Patrick Maloney.

"And you two," she said pausing as she waited for Maloney's body to finally hit the floor. "I pity you. You never knew what you were up against. Didn't suspect that there was someone out there like me. But ignorance is no excuse." She shot each one once between the eyes. 'Brandon Buchanan' glanced at Aaron, who was checking to make sure their exit was all clear. "Are we clear?"

"Yeah," he said, stepping outside of the storage unit and into the parking lot, which was illuminated by the setting sun

Bulma put her guns back in their customary place and walked after him.

******** ********

*Earth, SUCIO, Bulma's house*

"I still wonder why you stay here," Aaron said shuddering as he looked around at the other mud huts. "You have so much money. You should come live with me in the city."

Bulma removed the binding around her breasts and winced when she saw the lines produced by the tightly pulled cloth. She dressed in a plain black dress that a villager would wear and stepped out from behind the screen. "Turn around Aaron." He obediently turned to look at her, a question in his eyes. "What are you trying to ask me?" she said slowly, tying up her clean hair so that it looked like a bob.

He shrugged. "I was only asking you to move out of this dirty town. You belong in the city. You're too sophisticated for a place like this."

"Sophisticated," Bulma echoed, her face expressionless as the word took her back to a time when she wasn't a criminal when she had people who loved her. "Am I a cold bitch?" she asked for no apparent reason, turning from him so that the pain her eyes would not be visible to him.

Aaron laughed softly, his dark eyes shining slightly. "Some might say so."

She looked over to him. "Would you?"

The rich young man shook his head soberly. "No, I just think you're misunderstood."

"The story of my life." Bulma allowed a small smile to rest on her features. "Shouldn't you head back home before someone notices.?"

Aaron yawned. "Yeah probably. I'll just tell them I had to stay late for work."

The blue-eyed vixen chuckled. "I still can't believe they fell for that."

"You expect my parents to believe that I could be associated, with thugs, mobsters, and riffraff like you?" He asked her in mock outrage.

"I suppose not. Until tomorrow then."

"Same thing planned for tomorrow?"

"Of course."

******** ****

*On Planet Freeze, training arena, the next day TIME; late afternoon*

"All right you vermin, begin Training Exercise #3."

"Yes, sir!"

Vegeta walked down the rows of men, correcting those who made mistakes and nodding at those who were doing it right. He'd taken a chance yesterday when he'd lied to Freeza. He didn't want his men involved in any purges yet. They were strong.considering that they were not Saiyan, but they were nowhere near strong enough to beat Freeza. They didn't know yet that this was their leader's ultimate mission for them. Vegeta was careful to voice no opinions about the Ice-Jin, even when asked. But he'd heard the whispered complaints among his men about the lord's cruelty. He knew that if he was to say to them that they were going to take the powerful lord on that very minute, all of his men would be behind him.

Some days, he left the training of the troops to the strongest one there, so he could get some intense training of his own done. He sometimes wished he could spend all day training like his men could.but there were certain advantages to being in a higher position.and disadvantages to being a soldier.

***FLASHBACK***

"Mind your mouth maggot," the company head growled at Vegeta.

The Prince scowled angrily at the ground as he continued to do his pushups without swearing.

"You think you're tough shit don't you? How would you like if I took you down a peg or two boy?" the man sneered at Vegeta, his breath smelling of onions as he bent down to say this so that only the young Saiyan could hear.

Vegeta couldn't take it anymore. The company head had it out for him since the beginning. "I don't think you could." He added a word as an afterthought, saying it scornfully. "Sir."

The man growled angrily. "Get up you monkey! I'm going to teach you a tough lesson, so make sure you pay attention." He yanked a whip from out of his belt loops and cracked it in the air in front of Vegeta's face. The Saiyan didn't even flinch.

"What's going on here?" a cold voice asked.

All the other soldiers in the room quieted and came to attention as Lord Freeza landed next to the company head, his back to Vegeta.

"Lord Freeza, this upstart challenged me and I was about to punish him for it."

Freeza glanced at the Saiyan, and a smile cam to his face. "Ah, the Prince of all Saiyans. Do you need to be punished for something, Vegeta?"

The Saiyan's young face was filled with rage. "I did nothing wrong! This fucker here tried to start something."

Freeza narrowed his eyes at the Saiyan and shook his head sadly. "Now, now Vegeta. That's no way to refer to your superiors. I don't know how they do things on Vegetaseii, but insulting someone superior to you here on this planet is a punishable offense."

The Company Head snickered. "Shall I lay this into him, My Lord?" he asked, holding out the whip.

The Ice-Jin glanced at the whip for a moment before holding his hand out. "I will." He took it from the disappointed man. "But first." he shot a ki blast through the company head and moved out of the way as the dead body fell toward him. He smiled coldly at the stunned Saiyan. "Now, Prince Vegeta, let's get this over with."

***END OF FLASHBACK***

Vegeta could still feel the stinging sensation of the whip and could hear the crack as it hit him again and again. He'd stayed conscious through it all-he didn't know how but he suspected Freeza was doing this mostly to leave permanent marks and to humiliate him. To show him who was stronger and who was in charge of his fate.

"Sire," one of his soldiers said again.

Vegeta snapped out of his reverie. "What is it private?"

"Exercise #3 is completed, sir."

The Saiyan nodded. "Continue on with #4."

"Yes sir."

****** ***

*Planet Freeze, 2 hours later, training area*

"All right ladies, I'm giving you two whole hours to do what you want before Lights Out."

Vegeta left before he had to look at the surprise on anyone's face. More and more, he was beginning to desire the power to beat the powerful Lord Freeza. "But how?" he mused to himself, going into one of the private training rooms and closing the door. {The only way to beat him is if I become a Super Saiyan.} The Prince scowled angrily to himself; he hadn't quite figured out how to do that yet but he was sure he was very close. He knew it had something to do with feelings though. {Interesting.I suppose I'm plagued by those, so I must be halfway there} he thought, a wry smile on his face. {If I could just build up my anger and turn it into energy.}.

So he tried it, he thought of his father's ailing condition, the humiliation he'd received in front of his old company, his hatred of what Freeza stood for, the Ginyu Force, his mother's death. His power level soared higher than it'd ever been, and for a second, Vegeta could sense himself at the brink of something.but he quickly lost grip of it. "Shit!" he cursed, powering down for a moment. {What else can I use.} His eyes narrowed. He had just the thing in mind.

***FLASHBACK***

"You may have noticed Vegeta no Ouji that you are the only Saiyan in my little training camp," Freeza began, a look of pure glee on his face.

Vegeta nodded, putting his hands behind his back so that the Ice-Jin wouldn't see him clenching his fists. "Yes, Lord Freeza."

The Ice-Jin smirked. "For your test of loyalty.you will remove the very symbol of your Saiyan heritage, to prove to me that all ties you have to Vegetaseii, your father, and your people are naught in comparison to the loyalty you have to me."

The Prince had somehow been able to control his facial features during the outrageous request. He wasn't quite sure what the lord was asking of him.but something told him he wouldn't like it once he found out.

"Your tail, Prince. Dispose of it."

Vegeta's hands immediately went to his tail and he held it at its base. He made sure his eyes were locked on Freeza as he removed the limb in one quick pull, so that he'd associate the pain, and anger with the lizard like creature. He tossed it to the ground. "I have proved my loyalty, my Lord. Now, am I an officer?" Vegeta asked, his voice full of barely controlled rage.

Freeza's face was hard to read. He hadn't expected the proud Prince to comply with his demand. But now that he had. "Yes, my impatient Prince. You have proven your loyalty to me."

***END OF FLASHBACK***

"AAAAAAHHHHHH!" Vegeta exclaimed as he powered up, turning his rage into energy. He brought his energy up until he sensed the brink again, and then pushed himself past it. His hair flashed blonde, his eyes appeared turquoise. He could go no further. He laughed uproariously as he looked at himself in the mirror. "Eureka," he said, quoting his new grammar tutor. The blonde Saiyan in the mirror smiled back at him. "It's just going to be our little secret," he chuckled, powering down. {Now that I'm a SSJ, I can easily defeat Freeza. But I will wait for the right moment.}.

The Prince of all Saiyans walked out of the training room: his smirk larger than usual.

***** ***

*Earth, Outside of SUCIO. TIME; five days later*

"Lady Buchanan! So nice to see you! Please come in," Antoine Courtier gushed, opening the front door.

Angelique smiled graciously. "Why thank you sir," she said in her beautifully cultured voice, picking up her elegant dress as she came up the step into the house. "I was just in the neighborhood and I decided to stop by."

Antoine's eyes shone brightly as he soaked in the beautiful girl's appearance.{She is here! She must still be interested in my son then.}

Angelique Buchanan gasped dramatically as she took in her surroundings, especially the stained glass windows, the antique china and the beautifully done skylight. "My word good sir! It has been so long that I've forgotten the beauty of this home!" She smiled at Antoine. "May I speak to Aaron, sir?"

"Yes! Just a moment my dear." The good-hearted father showed her to the living room and trotted up the stairs to find his son.

As soon as he left, Bulma sighed deeply and rolled her eyes as she caught sight of herself in the glass coffee-table. {I am a lady for now. How very boring. I must admit, I make quite a stunning blond. But this damn dye takes forever to get out} she thought, a scowl on her face as she pushed the ringlets back from her face. Her dress was beautiful to put it simply. Simply fantastic to put it even better. It was a light blue, which set off the blonde color of her hair and the green of her eyes. {These contacts are actually quite useful. They make my eyes wide and soulful.all the better to fool poor Antoine with.} She chuckled as she attempted to imagine what Aaron's father would do if he knew what she and her son did during their time. She pictured herself, in the character of Angelique, telling him. 'Well, in my free time sir, when I'm not crocheting or feeding the homeless, I am a black market trader, thief, mob boss, and assassin. Only in my free time, mind you.'

"Angelique," Aaron said as he loped down the stairs. For his father's benefit he bowed to her and kissed her hand. "How good of you to stop by." He hid a grin as he saw Bulma fighting to keep herself from cursing.

She gave him a curtsey. "How good of you to see me, even though I come unannounced." She gave him a look as she straightened up.

Aaron could feel his father's eyes on him as he spoke to Angelique. "Would you care to walk around the grounds?"

The blond giggled attractively. "Only if you'll come with me sir. I'm afraid I'd get lost on my own." She took his arm and let him lead her outside and away from the house. As soon as they were out of earshot, Bulma cursed. "Ima, Aaron! I don't ever want to have to do that again."

The boy laughed. "You said you wanted to see for yourself what it's like."

Her eyes darkened. "I know what it's like to be rich."

Aaron changed the subject once he saw that look on her face. "So, just how are we going to store the money you have now?"

Bulma looked out to the gardens. "I've taken care of it. Damn it," she cursed as her dress got caught on a rose bush. She yanked it fiercely, but it wouldn't budge.

"Here, let me." He reached down and freed the material, from the bush first and then taking her hand and moving the dress away from the offending plant. He looked up at her, his black eyes glittering in the afternoon sun. "Better?"

Bulma nodded curtly. "Now, as I was going to say before your rose bush attacked me." she trailed off as she noticed what her long time partner was doing. "Aaron.what are you doing?" she asked, her voice shaking.

He cupped her face in his hands. "You are so beautiful."

"Aaron, no," she said weakly, as she felt his body against hers.

He smiled roguishly, that smile that almost always worked when he wanted to go back for something that'd caught his eye as they were fleeing from the crime scene. "Are you afraid? My pillar of strength." he kissed her gently and Bulma didn't protest, closing her eyes in anticipation of another kiss. "Angelique," he said as he ran his fingers through her hair.

Bulma opened her eyes. "No, it's all a lie." She pulled away from him and looked across the fields to the houses in the distance.

"What's a lie?" he demanded.

She bit her lip to keep from telling him the truth. "Everything is a lie. I am. You are..."

When she turned to him again, her face was the cold mask that was so often seen behind a cocked pistol, or leading groups of burly men his father's age in illegal activities. Aaron sighed, and lay down in the field, putting his hands beneath his head. "Even lies can become truth at times. Just as sometimes the truth can be lies."

"True lies. The words of a philosopher," Bulma said, softly to the man who knew her only as Angelique. She sat down next to him gazed off in the distance, letting her eyes take in the natural beauty around her as she tried to calm herself down. "Aaron, do you remember the day you first met me?"

The rebellious youth laughed, his dark eyes full of merriment. "How could I forget."

***FLASHBACK***

He was bored again. It was becoming routine. He woke up, he was tutored in his subjects, and for the rest of the day, he stayed in his home: bored to the brink of insanity. He figured a walk through SUCIO might produce adventures of some kind.

Aaron Courtier walked the streets of SUCIO in his fine clothes. A perfect target for Bulma, who knew someone dressed as he was would probably have money in his pockets. She smirked as she pressed herself against the side of a building and waited for him to get near. Once he was close enough, she stepped out so that they collided.

"Ow!" she cried as she bounced off his chest and hit the pavement. That exclamation hadn't been faked. She'd thought the gentleman would have caught her.

The young man raised his dark brows at her, a look of dry amusement on his face. "Had a bit of a spill did you? A pity." He stepped over her and continued walking.

Bulma's mouth dropped open for a minute. She got onto her feet quickly and planted herself in front of Aaron's path, her hands on her hips, and a ferocious scowl on her face. "How dare you push me aside as if I am nothing more than garbage beneath your feet you rich bastard!"

The well-off lad was dumbstruck. {A SUCIAN speaking Standard? That's unheard of!} He bowed formally to the seething, angry female with her pretty young face hidden beneath the dirt of SUCIO'S streets. "So sorry if I offended you my dear girl. May I ask why you are able speak Standard?"

Bulma folded her lips together once she realized her mistake and walked off with out saying another word.

Aaron went after her, not caring what it looked like to onlookers. "Hey wait!" He finally caught up to her and held her arms so that she was facing him. "Tell me," he said, his tone low and almost pleading.

The expert thief found herself relaxing her tensed muscles as she sensed something from this boy that made him like her. Desperation. A tool she could use to control him. {Excellent}. She nodded her head ever so slightly. "You're hired."

Aaron let her go, a look of surprise on his face. "What?"

"I said," Bulma began, crossing her arms over her chest. "You're hired. You can't start until I try you out though."

The cultured lad laughed incredulously. "I say, I have no idea as to what you're going on about."

"I'm about to become a business woman.I mean, I'm about to start my own organized crime ring and I can see how you would be useful to me." She crossed her arms and looked at him solemnly, her blue eyes unreadable even then.

"An organized crime ring," Aaron repeated, his tone full of disbelief. "You've got to be shitting me."

"I shit you not," Bulma replied, her face somber. "I am the boss, and you will be the equivalent of my second."

The youth laughed softly to himself. He'd left home looking for something to pull him out of the dreary monotony of his daily life, and he'd found it. {But am I willing to defile my image as a respected citizen of RICA so that I can entertain myself.}. He stuck his hands into his pockets and grinned. "So, when do I start?"

***END OF FLASHBACK***

Bulma sighed softly, sitting up. "I must go. It is time for my lesson."

Aaron quickly got to his feet and helped her to stand. "Come then, let me take you back to the house then."

The mob boss nodded in acceptance and let him lead her there, her mind on other things. "Now that we've taken care of Maloney, we have to only keep our eyes open for Clemens. I believe he's planning on making a hit on Mr. Buchanan tomorrow."

Aaron frowned as they got down to business. "Angelique, you will be careful.won't you?"

Bulma sniffed arrogantly. "As careful as always. Besides," she said, a devious grin on her face. "The fool hired Claudia to make the hit for him."

The lad rolled his eyes at the mention of the wildly sarcastic female. "I still want you to take heed. I'd never forgive myself if something happened to you," he said, just as he did every time she went off alone.

And as always, Bulma merely smiled teasingly at him. "I'm not some child playing silly games. I can take care of myself." She paused as they came nearer to the house, causing her second to stop with her. Unlike each time they went through this speech, Bulma added something else. "If I need you.I will contact you."

Aaron nodded gravely, his stormy black eyes full of understanding.

Bulma smiled slightly to herself upon seeing this in him. {I guess the boy worked out after all,} she thought, taking his arm as he escorted her inside.

****** ****

*Earth, SUCIO *

"Spucatum tauri," Bulma grumbled as her tutor went on about the grandeur of the rich and powerful Vanessa Briefs.

The girl-who was actually about the same age as her pupil-raised her eyebrows. "What was that?"

The mob boss grinned innocently. "I said nothing."

Chichi huffed. "Angelique, I know you don't like social studies but could you at least pretend to for about 3 minutes?"

The blue haired beauty scowled at the girl in annoyance. "For Ima's sake Chi, the main reason why I pay you is to teach me what you're learning in school so I don't have to go there and listen to this kind of crap."

The tutor sighed. "You need to know some of these things before you can get your GED Angelique."

"Like what," Bulma challenged, her blue-green eyes full of anger.

Chichi closed her Social Studies book and frowned herself. "You need to know that no matter how much you hate the Briefs', that society loves them because they represent everything everyone wants."

"How the fuck is that pertinent!?" Bulma demanded, standing in her anger.

"Well," Chi began, putting her social studies books away. "That's why there is so much hatred between our class and theirs. That's why the police, who are easily bought, are determined to make our lives miserable."

Bulma sat down again, her anger subdued.

The raven haired chit sighed as she pulled out her trigonometry book. "Now it's your turn to teach me."

Angelique smiled as she took the book from the unlucky girl. "Couldn't your boyfriend help you with this?" she asked teasingly.

Chichi blushed. "You know that Goku isn't good at math."

"I guess it's left to me then. Now, trigonometry is really quite simple if you keep certain principles in mind at all times."

******* *****

*Planet Freeze, TIME days later*

"Kisama," Vegeta growled his pet name for Ginyu under his breath when he saw the man walking past him.

The shape-shifter stopped and laughed as he saw the disgusted look on Vegeta's face. "Well, well, well: if it isn't Prince Vegeta. I haven't seen you around lately."

"Luckily for you." The Saiyan smirked when he saw the unease on Captain Ginyu's face. He fed on the fear there, using it against the bigger man. "You remember the day I killed Recoome?" He paused and let his words sink in for a moment before he went on. "I bet you didn't know that he begged for mercy before he died."

The Captain's purple face darkened in his outrage. "You shit-faced monkey, you're going to regret that--"

"Is there a problem, Ginyu?"

Freeza's arrival quickly sobered both men, who bowed respectfully to the Ice-Jin until he allowed them to relax. "Master Freeza, this monkey boy here had the nerve to insult me," Captain Ginyu protested.

Freeza's cold eyes moved to Vegeta, who stood in silence. "Is that true, Vegeta?"

His officer nodded his head curtly. "Yes, Lord Freeza."

The lizard-like creature moved his eyes back to the purple man before him. "Are you trying to tell me Captain, that you can't hold up your own end against this 'boy' as you call him? Are you saying you need me to hold your hand and protect you from him? Do I need to demote you Ginyu?" Freeza said softly, his voice full of disgust.

"No, no sire!" the warrior denied vehemently, his anger toward the smirking Saiyan growing. "I just thought he'd earned punishment for speaking disrespectfully to a superior officer."

"Superior officer," Freeza repeated, his voice full of amusement. "His only superior now is myself Ginyu. If anything, you should be the one receiving punishment for insulting him."

Vegeta's face held none of the surprise he was feeling at that moment. {Since when have I been a First Class Officer} he thought to himself, remaining expressionless. He tensed ever so slightly when he felt Freeza's gaze on him.

"Well? What say you Vegeta? Is he to be punished or not?"

Vegeta glanced at Ginyu who was nearly pink in his shock and mortification. The newly appointed First Class Officer cleared his throat as he looked upon his superior. "I've decided that he won't be punished this time Lord Freeza."

The Ice-Jin chuckled slightly as he realized the significance of this decision. "Ah yes, very well then, Vegeta. Ginyu, you are dismissed."

Ginyu saluted the Ice-Jin, and then left, his eyes full of confusion, anger, and gratitude.

The Prince of all Saiyans wasn't sure as to what to say, so he bowed. "Permission to carry on with my duties, Lord Freeza."

"Granted." The Ice-Jin coolly watched the young Saiyan leave, his eyes full of something unclear.

***** ****

*Planet Freeze, Barracks*

"First Class Officer," one of his troops said incredulously. "Wow."

His strongest fighter steeped forward and looked on his teacher solemnly. "Will you be leaving us tomorrow for a better company, sire?"

The other troops held their breaths as they realized that Brendan was right. The usual course of action of a newly promoted officer was to ditch his old company and get a more experienced one.

Vegeta said nothing as he finished writing up his agenda for the next day. Once done, and looked at every man in the room with his fathomless black eyes his expression unreadable. The silence in the room was deafening to everyone in the room but him, so he let it drag on for a few more seconds as he signed his name and put the date on the Agenda. He stood up and walked to the doorway. "Lights out clowns." He flicked the light off and waited for all movement to cease in the dark soldiers' barracks. "Be ready for a long hard day tomorrow ladies, my promotion just makes my training even more difficult."

Vegeta hid a smirk as he heard the cheering from his soldiers as he walked to his quarters.

**** **

*Planet Freeze, Officer quarters*

"Promoted, huh? Congratulations." The King grinned at his son, pride in his eyes.

Vegeta grunted. "Thanks.but don't you think it's strange, Father? That Freeza would put me on the same level as Zarbon when he's only known me for a short amount of time?"

Vegeta IV rubbed his facial hair pensively. "Well.perhaps it's because you are so good."

"I won't argue with that fact, but still.he only puts people in that position that he favors."

His father sighed. "Does it matter son?"

"I suppose not," Vegeta admitted hesitantly, removing his armor and gloves. "I should be done with my training soon."

King Vegeta IV nodded his head solemnly, looking at his son on the screen before him. "Yes. And then you will come back." he trailed off but his son knew that he would have said 'to take my place as King'.

"I have no woman yet," Vegeta said, a last hope he had to prolong the time it'd take for his father's demise.

His father knew this. "You needn't attain a mate until later, Vegeta. Besides, you're a little too busy with your training to be chasing after the fairer sex," he chuckled.

The First Class Officer nodded soberly. "I suppose that's true."

"How are your lessons going? Have you got your Standard down pretty well?"

Vegeta raised his eyebrows in amusement. "Well enough to understand you old man."

The King nodded at his son's sense of humor. "You're turning out better than I'd hoped. You'll make an excellent King if you keep up with your training and learning."

Vegeta opened his mouth to protest his father's constant talking about the day he would take over the throne, when his scouter indicated that he was receiving a summons from Lord Freeza. "I must go."

"Until the next time we see each other, Son."

******** *******

*Planet Freeze, Freeza's Quarters TIME five minutes later*

Vegeta's face paled slightly. "Leaving the planet?" he repeated in disbelief. His thoughts brought him all kinds of reasons for this. Freeza might be having him killed, sending him home, or worse.he could be making him an off-world diplomat. {He knows.but how could he have.}.

Lord Freeza's wineglass paused in midair before going to his parted dark lips. "Yes, my Prince. I've decided that you are going to be work alongside of Zarbon in a few days time. You two will act as 'Peace Officers', in the sense that you will bring peace to rebel planets and star systems." He set the glass down. "Do you understand what I'm telling you Vegeta?"

"Yes, Lord Freeza, but I'd like to know why you chose me of all people sire."

The white creature laughed softly. "Ah, Vegeta. You are the only one who dares to question my orders, but I put up with it because I need you. I chose you because you and Zarbon are clearly my two strongest fighters and because I want these rebellions taken care of quickly." He sipped more blood red liquid from his glass and then raised his burning orbs back up to the Saiyan. "You're dismissed 'Vegeta-sama'".

****** *****

*On Planet Freeze, Pod Station, TIME a week later*

"So the Prince finally left, did he?"

The orange creature in-charge of keeping up with what ships came and left and what times, checked his chart. "Yeah. About five hours ago."

"That lucky monkey."

******* **

*Earth, Tomoe Apartments, PUEBLO, TIME a year later*

"This just in: in a recent shooting 17 ½ miles away from SUCIA, 27 were wounded and 14 were killed including a promising youth from the Courtier family, young Aaron Alexander Courtier. The two parties involved in the shooting are suspected to be the Buchanan Blade-runners and the Clemens Sharks.neither Brandon Buchanan nor Nicholas Clemens could be found for questioning or to be arrested. In other news."

Bulma turned the television off and angrily threw the remote control through the screen. She stared sullenly at her TV as it burst into flames. "This wasn't supposed to fucking happen," she said aloud to no one. She picked up her capsules which contained everything she really needed to keep her business going. {Aaron would have wanted me to go on: to keep things going}. She slammed the door behind her, her eyes tearing up a bit because of memories or the smoke.she wasn't sure which.

The female didn't bother signing out. In about--she glanced at her watch--8 minutes, the complex was going to blow up anyway; to get rid of any evidence she may have inadvertently left behind for the cops to find. Bulma slipped her black sunglasses on and brought her head up as she strolled purposefully to her black Porsche. Life had been good to her. She'd never lost a person, or came up on the bad end of deals.until this morning.

"Damn that bastard Clemens to hell," she cursed, revving up the engine and taking off down the roads of PUEBLO. {I've had it with him.I've had it with- -}. She cut herself off as she realized what she'd been thinking. {Am I really tired of all this? I have everything I need. I'm the wealthiest woman on Earth and my influence is galactic.but then again.I'm alone, miserable.and I'm-I-I'm a.}. The words were hard for her to say at first. "I'm a cold bitch," she said aloud, her face a cold mask, but her eyes full of disgust and hatred for the woman she felt was responsible for all of this. {Besides.Aaron is dead and he wanted me to.}.

She took a right down 7767, and sped up to about 90. Her black air car swooshed through the air with nary a sound. That's why she'd bought the car. It was quiet. Bulma's mind went back to this morning's incident as she turned onto the dirt road that would lead her to SUCIO. ***FLASHBACK***

"Now listen up; all of you. This deal has got to go smoothly, do you understand? Nothing can go wrong or we're going to lose 25 mil, do you all completely understand what I'm saying?"

"Yes ma'am!" her men said aloud, saluting their leader, some confused about the money she had mentioned.

Bulma nodded at them coolly. "Excellent. So when that bastard Clemens comes around here asking if Buchanan is dead, what are you going to tell him?"

"To go to hell." Aaron spoke more loudly and clearly than the others and she blinked once to acknowledge him.

"That'd be an acceptable response, but what I was looking for was something along the lines of, 'yes, but we have a new leader now," she said, standing up from her chair at the end of the table. In the dark, she could just barely make out the faces of all of her men, but she knew that they'd all follow her to the death. {But there will be no deaths tonight. We will seize Clemens' men and maybe scare him a little. Nothing can go wrong}. But in anticipation of a failure at any moment, Bulma had made sure that from the very beginning, her men could never give an accurate description of her since she could easily change her appearance, and that they didn't know her name. Not even Aaron knew.and she trusted him with her life.

She flipped her lime green hair over her shoulders and cleared her throat. "Team leaders, start taking your teams out like we talked about earlier. Waste no time. Lookouts, get to your positions, make sure you use the tri- whistle code we discussed last week. What the fuck are you guys waiting for? Permission from your mommies? Move out!"

"Nice touch, secretive one," Aaron said, a dry smile on his face as he stood beside her.

Bulma sighed. "Aaron, I told you that it's not personal. It's something I have to do for your safety and my own." They'd had a minor argument only an hour before; once Aaron had finally realized just how little he knew about her.

The young man sighed, the humor leaving his handsome face. "I know. I just wish we could get to know each other better Angelique.I don't even know what color your hair really is."

The currently lime-green haired female crossed her arms over her chest and sighed. "If you ever got caught by the police, Aaron."

"Oh for Ima's sake, forget I said anything." He left her, his feelings obviously hurt.

Bulma snorted disdainfully as she watched him go. "Pouting. How juvenile can you get." She put her hands by her sides as she heard one low long whistle, and two high short ones. "Clemens," she growled, checking her appearance. As Claudia the assassin, she looked legit but for some reason, looking at her reflection in the mirror made her sad. She slammed the compact shut before letting herself dwell on it, and found a place to hide it within her black leather outfit. Putting a cool and confident smile on her face, she sashayed out of the door of the abandoned candy shop and out into the morning sun. Clemens was there.and he wasn't alone.

Nicholas whistled when he saw her. "Well, well. So this is the little dame my men were babbling on about."

Claudia's expression said nothing. "Where's my money, Clemens?"

The handsome older man nodded his blonde head at one of his men, who stepped forward and dropped the suitcase at Clemens' feet.

Bulma could feel herself growing anxious. {The longer this lasts, the more chance there is that things will screw up}.

Clemens' smiled coolly. "Here's the deal gorgeous. I'll give you twice as much if you kill Buchanan's little messenger boy. I don't know what the hell his name is, but I'm sure you could find him if you ask around."

Her eyes strayed from the silver suitcase for only a second. "Kill the messenger?" She hid a grin as she thought of what Aaron's reaction would be, to hear that he was important enough to have this rival mob boss try to acquire a hit on him. {but he's somewhere nearby, waiting for my signal}. "All right, Clemens. I want the 25 now and I'll want the other 25 once I finish off the boy." She had no intention of killing her second in command, of course.she wasn't going to let things go that far. In the back of her mind.she wondered where all her men were, her head moved about slightly as she glanced around for any trace of them. {How odd.they were supposed to take Clemens' men down so that I wouldn't have to bother with them.}.

Nicholas Clemens smiled. "Looking for someone my dear?" Just the way he said that made her blood freeze. Something had gone wrong. "I'm afraid all of your little fighters were taken care of.quite sadly in the line of duty." He threw the suitcase at her and it spun around twice as it hit the ground about a foot away from her. "But don't let that mishap get in the way of our business dealings. I want the messenger dead. Now."

Bulma clenched her teeth as she realized just how poorly this whole deal was going. {I'm in so much shit right now.what the fuck am I supposed to do? I only have my dagger within easy reach.my pistols are underneath my outfit. But there are 14 of them including Clemens'.Ima save me}. She said nothing, staring blankly into Clemens' light blue eyes.

He nodded at something he saw there and waved his hand at one of his men. "Bring him out."

Bulma bit back a gasp as she saw who they had. Aaron was alive but he was gagged and his arms and ankles were shackled by an odd sort of metal that shone gray in the morning sun. His black eyes locked onto her purple eyes. Bulma looked away from the words she could sense Aaron was thinking. She knew he wanted her to do it, to kill him so that she could possibly get away without suspicion. Claudia inhaled through her mouth slowly, her face becoming instantly composed. Her purple eyes were unreadable as she pressed the button on her wrist that made Brandon Buchanan's famous blades pop out of the sleeves of her black outfit. Holding one expertly in each hand, she quickly glanced in Clemens' direction. He and his men were standing nearby and from the leer on Nicholas' face, he was sure that this woman would not kill the messenger boy.

Her face, which had been completely devoid of expression, slowly blossomed into a seductive pout. Her purple eyes seemed as if they were full of unshed tears as she held the two deadly blades in front of her. "You.you want me to kill this guy? When he was so nice to me?"

Nicholas stepped back slightly as he got the full picture of Bulma in her leather attire, her face in an alluring pout. His voice wavered only a little. "Just do it Claudia. Either that or drop the weapons."

{Yes,} Bulma thought, hiding a smile. She briefly met Aaron's eyes and nodded slightly when she saw a question there. He rolled his black eyes and then tightly shut them in anticipation. He knew the move she was about to pull. He'd watched her practice it over and over again.

The green-haired girl bent her elbows and brought her arms closer to her body. She locked her eyes on Nicholas and smiled slightly. "All right, I'll drop them." She very slowly and deliberately turned her wrists over. dropping the two blades in front of her.

Bulma watched her rival intensely as his blue eyes followed the steel weapons' path to the ground and smiled when she saw he and his men relax considerably. {The fools.} she thought putting her arms by her sides.

{Now what shall I do with her, since she refuses to kill this boy? Perhaps I should kill him myself,} Clemens thought to himself, cracking his knuckles in anticipation. So caught up was he in his thoughts, that he did not notice when one of his men grunted, clutching at his stomach.

"Mr. Clemens!" Seymour cried in alarm, pointing at the swiftly dying man at Clemens side. "Rogers! He's been hit!"

"What the fuck?" Nick said, his tone more full of irritation than anger as he yanked the blood tinged blade from Rogers, who face-planted in the dirt. He turned his gaze to the green haired female in front of his posse, who was cutting away the legs of her outfit quickly. "No fucking way," he said beneath his breath, his baby blue eyes widening in surprise as he took a good look at the telltale engraving on the hilt of the dagger in his hand.

Bulma tossed her hair behind her. "I'm afraid so, Clemens. I'm working for Buchanan. I'm one of his closest employees you might say," she said, smiling coldly at the stunned men watching her. She slowly leveled a gun to Clemens forehead and laughed when she saw him flinch slightly. "What's the matter Nick? Are you afraid to die?"

"Stand down Seymour," the mobster said softly as he sensed his second stirring at his side. "Listen here bitch, I'll give you the boy if you want him that bad."

The female smiled softly as she caught sight of the sun reflecting off of someone else's gun. {So they want a shoot out do they? I guess I'd better show them how I work.} "My name is Claudia, you shit stain. And don't presume to act as though you're doing me a favor when I'm the one being gracious to you." Silence stretched on for what seemed like an eternity after her words. The still scene was then interrupted as six men groaned and fell dead to the ground.

Clemens cursed. "What the fuck is going on here!?"

Bulma laughed prettily, lowering her left hand which she'd used to shoot those men. The gun in her right hand remained fixed on Clemens. "Just a little something I cooked up one day. By Ima's good graces and by the miracle of physics I was able to invent a noiseless gun." She paused and laughed teasingly. "There go four more."

Four bodies hit the ground. Seymour couldn't take it any more. He withdrew the pistol- which Bulma had seen a hint of earlier-from the holster at his side. "Die bitch!" he screamed, squeezing the trigger five times in rapid succession. A large cloud of dust rose between the group and hovered there for a while. Some of the men coughed, but they were silenced until they heard it; the sound of a body hitting the ground.

Clemens had flinched as the loud sound of the gun broke into the relative silence of this whole encounter. "I said to stand down, Seymour," he said in his cold voice, his tone icy.

Seymour dropped the gun, his eyes full of disbelief. "But sir, she was going to kill us!"

Nick sneered at the man. "That female was no danger to me."

The remaining three men stared at their leader in shock. Never before had they fully realized just how expendable they were to "Slick Nick" Clemens. They didn't find that thought very comforting. A low laugh came from somewhere behind them all.

The four Clemens Sharks turned swiftly.only to see the messenger boy, free. "Well, well. Looks like you let a girl get the best of you Clemens. Isn't that a bitch?"

Clemens snatched up Seymour's gun and pointed it at the dark-haired youth. "You shut your mouth, you fucking piece of filth."

Aaron pushed down the grief. {She's dead. They killed her somehow. But I guess I always thought Angelique was invincible.}. He forced an overconfident sneer onto his face. "Why don't you make me you candy-ass mother-fucker?" A tired grin came onto his features as he felt the bullet go through him and then heard the shot. He was still able to remain standing somehow, even as a small stream of blood trickled down his chin. "Is that all you got, you despicable excuse for a human being?" Two more bullets went through his body, like a hot knife through butter. He fell to one knee, panting heavily, his curly Italian hair hiding the pained look on his face. "Angel.Angelique," he managed to get out, ignoring the pain that was slowly overtaking his body and mind.

"Seymour, what the fuck are you doing on the ground? Seymour.? Damn it! She's still alive!"

Aaron's black eyes opened wider when he heard this. "Angelique," he rasped as loudly as he could. Somehow, he could sense her hesitation as she was faced with a tough decision; get rid of her archenemy or tend to her dying friend and partner. She ran to his side.

"Aaron," she said softly, her purple eyes full of sadness as she put her arm around him. "Here, I'll help you stand up. Come on."

He coughed as he tried to laugh at her determination. "My pillar of strength," he said affectionately, gazing into her eyes. He leaned on her heavily, trying to get on his feet.

Bulma's voice shook at her efforts to keep up both her façade of calm and the weight of her partner. "I've got to get you to a doctor or something. Clemens will pay for this," she swore, once she realized that the mob boss had run off.

The wealthy youth seized her wrist and held it with surprising strength. "No Angelique! Enough of this life. Look what it's done to someone as beautiful and as young as you," he said, his eyes full of passion.

She swallowed hard, trying to get rid of the lump in her throat. "All right, Aaron, I'll think about it," she said after a moment of silence, her voice husky with emotion.

Aaron released her, his strength swiftly waning. "I just.want.happiness.for you," he said, his eyes slowly closing, and his body feeling colder and heavier in her arms.

Angelique shook him, near hysteria. "Aaron! Wake up you spoiled bastard! You can't fucking leave me here!" As she spoke, she was forced to slowly lower his body to the asphalt, his weight too much for her to endure for long. She lay his head in her lap and brushed his hair from his face.

He chuckled with effort, coughing violently. "I love it.when you talk .to me like.that," the wealthy heir said, shaking at the cold that was beginning to take over his body. "Goodbye.Angelique."

Bulma could find no tears to shed. Yet she knew she was sad for this man that she'd known since the beginning of her 'second life'. "Farewell Aaron."

He smiled as he shut his eyes for the last time, exhaling softly.

Bulma gently lowered him to the ground, her face devoid of emotion once again. She ignored the blood she found all over her hands as she used the ground to get herself onto her feet. She picked up her weapons and paused for a moment as she heard sirens approaching from the north. She gazed one more time at her good friend who would have gladly been her lover if she'd only allowed, and took off running in the opposite direction. She just needed to pick up her stuff from Tomoe Apartments, one of her many hideaways. ***END OF FLASHBACK***

{SUCIO,} Bulma thought to herself, looking around the dirty little town. {This place is not my real home.so leaving it will be easier than I originally thought}. For the first time ever, she was able to drive to her mud hut. She got out easily, radiating confidence and irritation, so that the other villagers wouldn't bother her. It only took seven and a half minutes to put all of her stuff in the vehicle. She sighed as she closed the box full of capsules and took off toward the big city. {Ima help me in my third life and give me the patience to put up with any son of a bitch that gets in my way}.

**** **

*Planet 5957, TIME five weeks later*

"I am Vegeta. Prince of all Saiyans, future ruler of Vegetaseii, and First Class Officer in Lord Freeza's army."

Zarbon nodded his head in approval of the Prince's Standard. "Much better, Vegeta. Your accent is still a little funny though."

Vegeta raised his dark eyebrows languidly. "You're one to talk."

"Oh, go on with you." The blue-skinned alien lost his grin when he noticed something. "Trouble brewing at 12 o'clock."

The two officers watched as a small group of UMERANS began to curse Freeza in loud voices, obviously trying to irk them.

Zarbon lowered his head slightly to hide his amusement, his golden earrings gleamed in the artificial sunlight. "Shall we silence them?"

Vegeta quickly checked their power levels, hoping for some kind of challenge. He snorted in disgust, turning his back on them. "Forget them. The strongest power level there is 14."

His 'partner' raised his eyebrows. "Really?" he asked pushing the button on his scouter. "Oh shit, you were right Vegeta. You finally got that technique down, did you?"

The Prince nodded absently. "Yeah, it was easy to learn but a little harder to master it." He glanced down at the red-orange ground beneath his feet. "Are we done here?" he asked, not looking up.

"I believe so. What planet's next?" he answered, watching one of the female UMERANS watch him as she walked by.

Vegeta crossed his arms over his chest and started walking in the direction of his pod. "None. We've completed all of the errands 'Lord Freeza' wanted done," he rasped angrily.

The blue skinned alien snickered at the audacity of his 'partner'. "Have you no respect for Master Freeza?"

The Saiyan got in his pod and slammed the door shut. "He'll never be MY master."

****** *******

*Planet Vegeta TIME: Six months later*

"Oh shit, Vegeta! You're still." a look on the Prince's face made him change the word he'd been about to say. "I mean, you're still stronger than me."

The heir to the throne nodded solemnly. "I've been training everyday since I've been gone, at least 5 times a day Nappa. And what have you been doing?"

Nappa sighed. "You wouldn't believe me if I told you."

"Try me."

He took a deep breath. "Studying."

Vegeta said nothing at first. He eyed his friend carefully, trying to discern if he was serious. Once he ascertained that he WAS in fact, telling the truth, he grinned. "You're right. I don't believe it."

"Your father suggested it."

The Prince allowed his gaze to return to his sire and it hurt him to do so. His father looked about the same as when Vegeta had last talked to him, but there was a hallowed look in his eyes that said he was about ready to reunite with his maker. "Father," he said, his voice full of barely-kept emotion.

"My only son," the older Vegeta said, a smile reaching his face. "So the great Freeza allowed you to visit home?"

"It's about time," Nappa mumbled lowly.

"I.well, yes he did." Vegeta crossed his arms over his chest, his face unreadable, but his eyes full of mixed emotions. "So," he began, trying to lighten the mood. "What else have I missed besides Nappa becoming the next genius of the ages?"

********** *******

*Vegetaseii, TIME two hours later*

"QUET PRESENTAC TI A NO-MUJA Aileen."

Vegeta raised his brows in question as he acknowledged the lady's presence. "Who the hells is she," he asked Nappa quietly, watching her trip in her high stilt like shoes.

Nappa rolled his eyes. "She's the worst of the lot, I promise. The next one's much better." He nodded at another Saiyan and cleared his throat before he spoke, a grin on his face. "QUET PRESENTAC TI A NO-MUJALOSOMA JES, LAT MAYORAC LINDAT MUJA ENT VEGETASEII."

And she was indeed the most beautiful woman in Vegetaseii. But Vegeta could only watch her in barely-concealed shock, as the Jez look-a-like was presented to him. She looked meekly down at the ground.something that ascertained the fact that she COULDN'T be the girl Vegeta had cared about long ago. That girl was much too proud and gutsy to act so submissive before anyone. Vegeta found himself standing to get a better look at her. "MESAMO VERT," he commanded gently, his hand beneath her chin.

She obediently looked up at him, her long black hair falling back to reveal her glorious blue eyes. She blushed slightly as she met his gaze. "LOTA SIENTAT," she said, looking away quickly.

Vegeta released her, a frown coming onto his face. "Don't apologize," he said gruffly. "Get her out of here Nappa. Let her go, let them all go."

The girl couldn't understand what was going on as Nappa led her away. She watched the Prince as she left, a woeful look in her deep blue eyes.

Vegeta retired to his quarters and after showering, lay in his bed with a grunt. It'd been a long time since he'd thought of women as anything other than a tool of gratification. Hell, he preferred the drone-like women of planet 597 to other females, only because the drones came with a promise of no-strings attached. Though he begrudgingly believed in emotions such a love, he was hesitant to partake of them himself. {Yet when the time comes, I must find a mate so that I may have an heir.} He closed his eyes as memories from long ago came back to haunt him for the first time in years.

***FLASHBACK***

"Vegeta-san, do you think I'm beautiful?"

The fifteen year old looked up with shock in his face. "What?"

Jez pouted, batting her long black lashes at him. "Do you think I'm pretty?"

Vegeta could feel himself burning in embarrassment. "What kind of question is that," he said irritably, turning away from her and crossing his arms over his chest.

She laughed that soft and somehow musical laugh of hers that he liked and he turned to look at her. Jez smiled and hugged him tightly, resting her dark head on his young shoulder. "TI A LOTA AMORAT, VEGETA."

He tensed considerably at this. First, she had the guts to hug him, and then she declared that she loved him? {What is going on here?} Vegeta wondered, hesitantly putting arm around her shoulders.

"UHAVAT AHUSSEIXE SUMILE," she purred looking up into his stunned face.

"QUET LET MERDET." Vegeta exclaimed; releasing her. "Having sex with you is not on my to-do list, Jez. You're going to have to ask someone else."

She scowled angrily, putting her hands on her hips. "Vegeta! It's not fair, damn it! I can't control it!"

The Prince sniffed haughtily. "Then learn to. I have. Why can't you?"

Jez stiffened at this. "Are you suggesting that I am inferior to you in some way?"

Vegeta laughed, enjoying seeing his companion in such a state of discomfort for once. "If you can't control your body any better than you just were--"

"I hate you, Vegeta," she said, her blue eyes full of frustration.

"That's odd. You just said that you loved me a second ago." He raised his brows after delivering the reminder, amusement written all over his face.

Jez sighed wearily and held out her hand. "I concede to you, O Sarcastic One. Just tell me.how do you ignore it? Isn't the heat written into the body's natural impulses?"

Vegeta shook her hand solemnly and then released it. "Yes it is. The trick is to think about something else. Either do some training or think about something that will counter the arousal."

His female friend braided her hair, something she'd learned from another visitor to Vegetaseii. "Like what?"

The Prince grimaced. "Dodoria.naked."

The two teenagers looked at each other and laughed. "That is a major turn- off," Jez admitted, smiling at Vegeta.

Silence lingered in the air between them for what seemed like an eternity. Vegeta couldn't look away from the eyes of the half-human female and she found herself drifting ever closer to the Saiyan Prince until she somehow ended up in his arms. Jez's mouth opened slightly as she saw Vegeta leaning down toward her. She closed her eyes in anticipation, awaiting his kiss. At almost the same time, they both seemed to realize what they were doing and they both pulled back with a slight gasp, looking into each other's eyes. "Dodoria naked," she found the breath to whisper.

The Prince's face slid into a handsome grin. "It's not working," he whispered back, kissing the nape of her neck.

She closed her eyes in acceptance and lifted her mouth to him. Jez then opened her eyes in disappointment when he seemingly ignored her lips, concentrating instead on her neck. "Kiss me already," she demanded, her eyes full of urgency.

Vegeta scowled at her. "What the fuck does it look like I'm doing?"

"Giving me a super hickey! I want you to kiss me!" she said, her voice getting louder.

The Prince winced inwardly, not allowing his facial features to move at all. "I think the human part of you is muddling up the Saiyan part of you, woman. You no longer know what you're talking about."

Jez pulled away from him, her eyes full of both anger and sexual tension. "You're the one who doesn't know what he's talking about. Thank Ima I'm going home tomorrow." She turned and left towards the direction of the castle, leaving the Prince alone.

Vegeta scowled. "Women. Who needs them," he growled, taking off in the opposite direction.

******* **** *******

*TIME: The Next day.*

Vegeta sat up from his bed and cursed the underling who'd put so many covers on his bed. The teenager kicked them onto the ground and then just lay on his bare mattress, staring at the ceiling. He thought about Jez. A half-breed who was raised with her mother and father on Earth. Her father came to Vegetaseii about once or twice a year and usually stayed for a week or so. He acted as an informer on the planet and an advisor for all things that had to do with Earth. Jez, his daughter, usually accompanied him on these trips and that's how she met the Prince.

He'd known her since he was 7 years old but he'd only found her presence bearable since he was 12 years old. For the first few years, they'd taken turns torturing each other in one way or another, but right around the time they'd both turned 13, they'd noticed an odd sort of tension between them. Something they hadn't acted on until yesterday. But as Vegeta looked back at the whole incident, he came to realize that he had some kind of feeling for the female.{do I love her?} he wondered, putting his arms behind his head.

"Maybe so," he admitted aloud. {But either way, I won't let her leave without saying goodbye to her first}. He sat up in bed and quickly got dressed, not bothering with his cape. He strode purposefully down the halls of the castle and took off in the direction of the space port. It only took him about ten minutes to fly there and it wasn't long after that until he found the Saiyan in charge of the port. "Has she left already?" he demanded, his voice raspy.

The Prince's juvenile attachment to the half-breed was common knowledge to the people of Vegetaseii, and the officer nodded his head. "Yes, sir. She and her father left about 20 minutes ago. She, uh, told me to give this to you." He handed the Prince an envelope with his name written on it.

Vegeta stared at the envelope for a while, without moving. He then took off into the sky in the direction of the castle. About 26 minutes later, once he reached his room and had made himself comfortable on the floor, he reached in his uniform for the letter again. {It smells like her,} he thought, as the scent of the delicate earth roses reached his sensitive nostrils. He tore the top of the envelope open and pulled the folded piece of paper and a silver necklace from it. Putting the necklace aside, he opened the note carefully, slowly reading the words to himself.

Dearest Vegeta; I purposefully had Father leave before I knew you'd be awake, because I am too cowardly to tell you this to your face. Vegeta, I really did care about you.but I think you must have realized like I did that there's no way we were destined to be mates. I know we were initially attracted to one another, but I thought about it all night and realized that we would make better friends or siblings than mates. We're too alike to be romantically involved, but then again we're too different in a different aspect. I hope you understand.

It is almost time for us to go. But before I close this letter, I want to leave you something to remember me by. If you look closely on the small charm on the necklace, there is a forget-me-not. Please don't hate me, my friend, and please don't forget me. Yours truly, Jezebel Lazier

Vegeta threw the note away, his face devoid of expression. He picked up the necklace, prepared to give it a similar fate, but found himself hesitant to do so. He scowled and crushed the delicate piece of jewelry between his fingers into dust, tossing it into the waste disposal bin, determined to forget the only girl he'd had feelings for.

***END OF FLASHBACK***

Vegeta laughed humorlessly. {That obviously didn't work}. He opened his eyes as he realized something. Today was his 20th year. He had only 12 months until he must become King of all Saiyans. {And when I do become King, I will kill Freeza} he thought, a smirk on his face.

******** **

*Heart of RICA, RICA University. TIME; 12 days later

"Impossible! That just isn't heard of!" the Dean protested.

"But I'm telling you, Mr. Murphy, this girl's a genius! She aced all of the tests we gave her, and placed beyond senior year!"

"Give me her file," Murphy demanded, drumming his pudgy fingers on his desktop.

Saunders made a face, as he pulled a slim folder from his briefcase. "That's the only weird thing. There is no real file for her. I asked my secretary to pull it up last week when I got all of her results, and there was none at all. But like magic, a file popped up this morning."

The dean snatched the file from the principal and opened it up. The first thing that came to his attention was a picture of a beautiful young girl smiling hauntingly at the camera. "My god," Murphy muttered, as he looked at the scores. All perfect, not one mistake made anywhere. He glanced up again at Saunders who was waiting eagerly to hear his opinion. "I suppose she qualifies, but it's never been done before."he trailed off, as he imagined this girl graduating with his senior year college students, even though she'd never even gone to high school. "Saunders," he said, looking at the picture again. "Tell Crinoline to be here with her cap and gown at 1:00 sharp."

******* ****

*Riverplace (subdivision of RICA) TIME 2 days later*

Bulma Angelique Briefs/Angelique Buchanan/Angelique Crinoline hung her diploma for RICA University up on the wall of her house, a smile on her face as she recalled all the commotion she'd caused that day when she was announced as being only 17 and graduating with honors.

This was all the first big step of her plan. Now that she was a graduate, she would be respected. No one needed to know just how young she was. Her rough life not long ago made her appear to be older anyway, so she wasn't too worried about having to use any sort of disguises.

She sat down in her plush white leather chair and turned on her wide screen plasma television, stifling a yawn. She'd stayed up all night, researching recent hot topics in the news. She'd found a GOOD one.

According to articles she'd read in several magazines, earth was soon going to be taken over by a distant planet by the name of Freeze. There were those who thought this takeover would help earth out financially and trade- wise and others who said this takeover would be a preliminary to earthlings being wiped out entirely. Bulma decided to take the position of the pessimists. "Now the thing is to figure out how the hell I going to get my message out."

One glance at her computer was all she needed to prompt her to get started.

******** *******

*Riverplace TIME 3 days later*

"This just in: Never before has a riot been recorded in the history of RICA, until today. And just to think, it was all brought about by a columnist, who simply refers to his or herself as Misunderstood, has stunned the local police department. Other law enforcement officers have promised swift punishment to those who participated in the riot in which three government buildings were demolished, and several others were damaged. The riot was apparently brought about by a heated argument over Misunderstood's article on whether or not earth should allow itself to be taken over by Planet Freeze for financial gain. In other news."

Bulma smiled slightly, placing her spoon back into her cereal. "So it worked," she said aloud. {They're going to all be watching me now. Which means I'll have a following.} She frowned slightly as she recalled the last time she'd been the leader of anything.it seemed as if those days had been only a dream rather than reality. {I'm no longer that person. I'm working for the good of the people now} she thought to herself, a determined look on her face. She turned on her monitor and laughed when she saw how many hits her column had received: over 2.1 million. By the end of the day, the entire population of RICA had read the article, not to mention people from several nearby cities.

"When shall I post my next column?" She wondered aloud, tying her long straight hair up into a ponytail. She glanced at her calendar. {In seven days I will post my next column, and I will make it much more potent than the last one.}

********* *******

*Vegetaseii TIME 13 days later*

"As you wish Lord Freeza," Vegeta said bowing. Once Freeza ended the communication he cursed aloud to himself.

His father looked up from where he'd been studying a chart which predicted that his son would become the Legendary Super Saiyan. "I suppose you are being called back to duty.?"

Vegeta nodded once angrily. "I must leave for earth. Zarbon is already on his way there. If I leave today, I should arrive at around the same time as him."

"Farewell my son. Take care."

"I always do."

***** *****

*Earth. Briefs Mansion TIME that same day*

Silence reined supreme throughout the mansion at all time and the only person capable of having such a strong a hold over the occupants was Vanessa Briefs. Over the years, her bitterness and hatred for the world had only grown more and more immense. To suggest that this was due to the absence of her 'daughter' was to sign one's own death certificate.

Surprisingly, over the years, Dr. Briefs had grown less and less afraid of his wife. Nowadays, he was able to look her straight in the eye and hold a conversation with her if he so desired.which he usually did not.

At this moment however, Vanessa was once again poring over the weekly Misunderstood column, which she claimed was an Ima-sent omen that there was intelligence somewhere in the universe. "Whoever this Misunderstood person is, they are among the sharper crayons in this raggedy box! Just listen to this Briefs, 'There is no possible alternative other than war to keep our planet from being made the doormat of other planets. It is blatantly obvious that this Planet Freeze wishes only to USE us for their OWN financial gain. In this columnists humble opinion, the Cold Empire wishes only to act as the schoolyard bully, and like the bully, must receive it's comeuppance one day soon.' Now how's that for common sense? I swear, you can't find anyone else out there with the guts to say that!"

Dr. Briefs only nodded absently, turning the page to his science journal. "Yes of course."

Vanessa switched off the computer, her normally expressionless face alight with a aura of satisfaction. "I will meet that writer one day and shake their hand."

"Of course you will."

****** ********

*Riverplace, TIME 1 day later*

Bulma nodded contentedly as she finally posted her column for that week. The last one, she felt, was one of her weaker writings. For some reason, she'd had difficulty coming up with things to say. "I need more to say about things. I need to see events first hand to get experiences of my own."

She ignored the beeping sound as her computer alerted her that she'd just received 1,000 hits and changed out of her black capris and white baby-tee into an elegant purple dress. Using hair spray, she pulled her hair back into a slick no-nonsense bun. Last, she grabbed her purse and slid her feet into a pair of black heels. "It's time for Misunderstood to make her first 'incognito' appearance."

********** ********

*Space, TIME 2 days later*

"Shit," Vegeta cursed as he was woken from his slumber by the computer. "What the hell is it computer?" he growled angrily.

"FORWARDED MESSAGE.FROM.LORD FREEZA.". The computer droned on in her bored tones, until the message was finished.

"Oh great," the Prince grumbled. "So there's been another one. Computer," he barked. "Cause of protest is?"

The Computer was silent for a moment. "PLEASE RESTATE QUESTION."

"Who is responsible for the protest?"

"UNKNOWN. SUSPECTED: ANONYMOUS COLUMNIST, MISUNDERSTOOD."

"Him again," Vegeta said, switching the computer off. He grunted as he switched the light in his pod back off so he could sleep some more. {Misunderstood is surely a nothing, considering that one; he's a weakling using words rather than action, and two; he uses others to express his own discontent. Once I finish him off, I can go back home.}.

******** ******

*Earth, Office of Information Bureau, TIME sometime that same day*

"Myers! What information have you collected on Herndon?"

Myers cleared his throat. "Well, sir, he was spotted at 7:00 a.m., jogging down Main Street with his sister, Melissa. At eight, they went to Starbucks. About an hour later they split up and the traces followed him back to his girlfriend's house where he stayed for about 3 hours helping her re-decorate. At one, Herndon went to the movies alone and at a quarter 'til 3, we busted him right where the lead said he'd be, selling on Morioka Boulevard."

The chief nodded in satisfaction. "One less black market guy out on the streets. You'll make my perfect day complete if you tell me you've found out who that Misunderstood joker is, Myers."

The older guy chuckled nervously. "Well actually chief, I did.kind of. We traced the signature of their computer and everything.and then we checked to see who the owner of that computer was."

"And? Who is it?"

Myers cringed at the excitement in the chief's voice. "It said Brian Halide, sir."

The chief's jaw dropped. "You mean.me?"

"Yes, sir."

"Oh, he's good. He's real good," Halide murmured, rubbing the stubble on his chin thoughtfully. "Did you locate the signature?"

Myers nodded eagerly. "Well, yes sir. The first few times we checked it, it said Riverplace, but after about the 4th time, it started saying different places, like SUCIO, and Tomoe and Morocco."

"Hmmm.that's interesting. Let's stick with Riverplace. Tell your men to keep a sharp eye on everyone there, especially those with records of hacking."

"Yes, sir."

The chief glanced down at his intercom as it beeped, and pushed a glowing red button. "Yes, Marie?'

"Lieutenant Shore here to see you, sir."

"Send him in." He looked up at Myers, who was standing as if to leave. "Stay Myers, I want you to hear this."

"Yes sir," he said sitting back down. "Who's Lt. Shore, sir?'

"A Criminal Profiler. I figured it couldn't hurt to hire one," the chief said, cracking his beefy knuckles.

Myers raised his graying brows. "A Criminal Profiler sir?"

"Quiet," Halide said, as a knock sounded on the door. "Come in," he said loudly, giving Myers a meaningful look. He stood up to greet David Shore. "Thanks for coming Lieutenant." He shook the solemn looking man's hand and indicated the chair next to Myers. "Take a seat," he said as he sat behind his desk.

Shore ignored Myers, his attention on the chief. "Would you like me to read the profile I've prepared for you?"

Brian's brown eyes widened in surprise. "You did it all beforehand? Impressive, Shore. Please proceed."

The Profiler cleared his throat before beginning to read from a piece of paper before him. "Misunderstood is obviously very literate, due to his advanced usage of computers and by the style of his columns. Misunderstood is male, due to the fact that women are incapable of getting men to sympathize with their side, and obviously, several men are devout followers of this man. Misunderstood is more than likely rich, spoiled, moody, bored and young, which as we all know is a dangerous combination. He probably is just looking for something to do in his free time. As noted by an observant investigator, his posts are always at the same time, which shows that he is probably a control freak. His sentence structure is very advanced, so he is probably very refined, he may live in the Upper East Side of RICA, around Lenexa or Topeka." He glanced up at the bureau head. "That's all I've got."

Halide tapped his finger on his desk. "Do you have a copy of that report I can have?"

"Of course," Shore said, handing it to him.

"Myers," the chief said, handing the paper to the older man. "I want you to find this man for me. And I want him in my office. Use this to find him."

"Uh, yes sir."

********** *******

*Earth, Swahili Airport, TIME two weeks/ two columns later*

"Listen here maggot, I could kill you with the greatest of ease. If you don't tell me where this Misunderstood person is, I'm going to blast you from here to the real Swahili."

The flight attendant cringed at the Saiyan's threats. "No one knows who he is! I swear I don't know! If anyone knows, it'd be the IB or FBI or someone.not me, man."

Vegeta tossed the human away from him, his face full of disgust. {What pitiful fools these humans are! I hope this Misunderstood is as sniveling as that last baka was. I'll take great pleasure in ending his meaningless existence for him.} Vegeta hesitated slightly as he was about to take off into the sky once he realized what had just crossed his mind. A Freeza-like thought? {Fuck it,} he thought, as he flew off in the direction of Zarbon. {I'm not like that monster}.

In mere seconds, he found the blue alien. "What'd you find out?" he asked, as he touched down.

Zarbon grinned triumphantly. "I heard you talking to that weakling through my scouter, and I got someone to tell me where the Information Bureau is."

"Who?" Vegeta asked, since he could sense no one nearby.

"Him," Zarbon answered, pointing in the direction of a smoldering pile of ash on the ground.

The Prince said nothing, watching as the ash was carried off by a sudden gust of wind.

"Let's go," Zarbon said, not waiting for the younger guy.

Vegeta stayed where he was for a moment, silently promising himself that he would never let himself get as 'Freeza-like' as Zarbon had become.

********** ******

*Earth, Briefs Mansion TIME 24 hours later*

"Ima above.Briefs! Misunderstood posted again. Odd.they usually only post once a week, on Saturdays." Vanessa quickly read through the article to herself, holding the flaps to her blue silk robe more tightly around her. "The column is in response to the invasion. Misunderstood claims these are the initial steps toward the takeover by Planet Freeze, and is calling for the coming together for all opposed to protest in the Ambassador's front lawn and make him sever the deal between that planet and our own." She looked at her husband, her face full of glee. "How rich! Finally, some REAL action is being taken . I can only imagine how very out of control it could very well become."

******** *******

*Earth, Riverplace TIME 20 minutes later*

For the first time ever, Bulma allowed herself to go out as herself. Dressed in a red tank top, black jazz pants, her favorite pair of sneakers, and with her hair French braided, she left her house, slipping on a pair of sunglasses and dropping a few capsules into one pocket. She reached into her other pocket, pulling out her cell phone and dialed the number for the local news station as she started her car.

Bulma turned down the stereo once she heard a voice answer the phone. "Hello? This is Kibitzer News Channel 1."

"This is Misunderstood. I think you'd better get over to the Ambassador's house PDQ. There's about to be one hell of a protest."

"Wait! Misunderstood--"

Bulma hung up, dialing the next news station. She wanted this televised. Now was the time to reveal her identity, and she wanted everyone to know that she meant business.

******* ***

*Earth, Office of Information Bureau, TIME 37 minutes later.

RING, RING! RING, RING! RING, RING!

Halide gulped nervously at the loud noise and glanced at the two glowering aliens standing before him. "Can-can I answer that?"

Zarbon nodded once in approval. "Put it on speakerphone."

Vegeta hid a snicker as the chief scrambled to answer the phones. He and Zarbon had been in the IB office since yesterday, and never once had he spoken a word to Halide. The man was more terrified of him than he was of Zarbon. {Complimentary, but not warranted. He'd better be more worried when it comes to that blue freak}.

Halide pressed a blue button. "Halide here," he said in a gruff voice that didn't give way to his fear.

"Bullseye? This is Parker from Channel One. About 30 minutes ago, we got a phone call here at the station from-get this-Misunderstood. HERSELF."

Halide scrunched his eyebrows up. "What?! What'd he-I mean she-what'd she say?"

Parker's voice-that of a longtime smoker- filled with the amusement of someone who appreciates a good story. "Well, she called the office like I said, and Smith answered the phone. She told him, and I quote, 'This is Misunderstood. I think you'd better get over to the Ambassador's house PDQ. There's about to be one hell of a protest' end quote."

"Hmm." Halide said to himself, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. "How do you know that she was the real deal and not just some wannabe?"

"It was real weird. We traced it somehow and looked the number up. The phone company said it belonged to someone who wished to be called Misunderstood. We even got her real name. Angelique Crinoline, 17 year old graduate of RICA University, no criminal record, a GENIUS by all accounts, but with no real past. We suspect--"

"Hold on one damn minute Parker.since when have I wanted to hear the 'suspicions' of the press? Thanks for the info, but keep your opinions to yourself. They have no place in my job." Halide hung up and turned to face the two aliens, who stared at him impassively. "There you go gentleman. The whereabouts of Misunderstood."

"Where is this Ambassador's house?" Zarbon asked, ignoring Vegeta's glare as he powered up slightly.

Brian, who certainly could not sense Zarbon's surge in power, reached in his desk drawer and pulled out a map. "It's--"

"Spare me the visual, just tell me how to get there from here," Zarbon drawled, his accented tones growing harsher as he grew impatient.

Chief Brian "Bullseye" Halide gulped nervously, tossing the map to the ground. "Just go north to the end of this road and turn left. It'll be the huge brown house with the white door."

"Excellent," the long-time officer of Freeza said to himself. "Well, I suppose it's time for our farewells." He watched as Vegeta left through the same hole in the ceiling they had come through. "One more thing Halide". Zarbon blasted the desk the earthling had been leaning against and grinned when the man fell to the ground, looking up at him with shock. "Just a little gift from me to you, so you won't be tempted to send any men after us. After all, you're a smart guy and you don't want to be responsible for the extinction of mankind do you?"

Bullseye shook his head dumbly.

Zarbon nodded approvingly. "Good. See you on TV Halide."

******** ******

*Earth; Ambassador Avenue TIME 5 minutes earlier*

She cursed as someone else stepped on her foot. She'd come to the conclusion that she didn't like being in the midst of a protest. She would much prefer leading one; which like most things, is easier said than done.

At long last, Bulma made her way near the platform she'd watched someone put up long ago. A piece of paper taped to the microphone stand in the middle of that platform read, 'Reserved for Misunderstood'.

To say that there was a lot of people was an understatement in her opinion. The cliché, 'packed as tightly as sardines in a can' came to mind. The Ambassador's lawn was full of those protesting the presence of the Planet Freeze men, and all were waiting peacefully for Misunderstood to make a grand appearance. They'd heard from some of the reporters that Misunderstood was actually a woman. Most were shocked at this, others weren't bothered in the least by this bit of news. Among that group was Vanessa Briefs.who had felt that it was her duty as 'the only other intelligent life on the surface of the planet' to attend. Somehow, she'd gotten her husband to come along with her, and she was trying to get him to join her and the crowd in chanting 'Misunderstood'.

And finally it happened. Someone dared stand on the platform. A young girl with sunglasses on and blue hair. Her face was young, but as she took the dark glasses off, they could see that her eyes were those of someone much older. Vanessa squeezed Briefs arm in an attempt to keep from fainting.

"It-it's Bulma," the doctor said in surprise, his former boredom disappearing.

Vanessa closed her eyes briefly until the dizziness left her, and then opened them again. "I can't believe this is happening," she said, stupefied.

Bulma Angelique smiled as silence reined supreme over Ambassador Avenue, and she picked up the microphone determinedly. "And so we all come together. I, Misunderstood, and you all, the people who are just as angry about the current situation as I am." Her voice as started off gentle, and as she spoke, it seemed to grow louder and bigger. "How many of you are just like me? Angry by the government's concession to this Freeza freak! How many of you are as opposed to becoming 'extinct' as I am?"

The crowd seemed to wake up from their surprise as one. "I am!" they shouted.

Misunderstood nodded solemnly. "And what are we going to do about it? Blow up buildings? Hold people hostage? Wreck the Ambassador's house?"

"Yeah!" some people cried. Others just looked around uneasily, not sure how to respond.

"No!" Bulma said quickly in response. "Because we're better than that." She looked straight into a nearby camera. "We're going to propose an ultimatum to all who oppose us! Either we get a representative to hold audience with this Freeza buffoon or chaos ensues. And not just in this town or the little towns nearby! No, the chaos will take place around the world! What other choice do we have? Some one please tell me that!"

"None!" the crowd said as one.

"Exactly," the former mob boss said, not seeing two additional people arrive. "We'll give them two weeks. And after that, well, I think we all know just how ugly the situation can become."

"Yeah!" The crowd exclaimed. They began chanting her name as she took a slight bow before them all and the cameras.

"Just one bloody moment," an accented voice said.

Bulma raised her eyebrows as she watched two odd looking men advance toward her by walking through her followers, who silently moved to let them go by.

Zarbon stood at the base of the platform and tossed his green braid over his shoulder. "So you're Misunderstood."

Bulma's eyes moved from the one who'd spoken to the one beside him who remained silent and nodded slowly as she looked back into Zarbon's eyes. "I am the misunderstood, Misunderstood, yes." She tensed slightly as she sensed something basely evil from one of them, and she lowered her brows as she realized who they were. "You-you're those aliens who were in the IB."

"Smart isn't she?" the blue one said to the shorter man with the flame like black hair.

His partner only scowled more deeply at her, as if that was something about her he found adverse.

Bulma switched off her microphone, keeping her eyes on the two men. "I have a feeling you two aren't here to promote the cause. What do you want from me?"

"You're coming with us," Zarbon said, leaving no room for argument.

Vegeta chuckled darkly. "You should feel fortunate. Freeza usually wants those who speak against him killed, but he wants to speak to you."

Bulma decided then and there that she preferred the attitude of the first alien. He didn't act as though he hated her personally, while his glowering friend with the odd hair did. "Well, don't I just feel special!" she said, sarcasm creeping into her voice. She silently thanked her luck stars that she'd anticipated police interference, because now she had something to aid in her escape. Reaching into the pockets of her black jazz pants, she came upon one of the capsules she'd bought a week ago. Smiling, as she hid the tiny capsule in one hand, as she pushed the remote control button on the side of her watch for her air car.

Zarbon and Vegeta hesitated a bit as they saw her smile. And her followers- who were watching the whole episode dumbly-were taken aback by how truly beautiful their new leader was.

It didn't take the two officers quite as long to recover as it took some of the men there, but Bulma didn't care much. Silently hovering several feet above her head was her air car, and nestled in her hand was her light capsule. Bulma slipped her dark protective sunglasses on and smirked confidently. "Maybe I'll see you later boys!" She threw the capsule at their feet and it exploded with a burst of bright white light, much like the Solar Flare. Unfortunately, her followers were affected to. {An unfortunate thing. But it IS only temporary.} She fixed the location of her air car, hopping in and ignoring the indignant cries of her would be captors as she tried to take off in the direction of her house.

The sly female screamed when she felt her air car stop with a rough jerk, as if she'd hit something. Against her will, she was dragged out of the vehicle by the dark haired man, who had a triumphant grin on his face.

"Not so fast. You didn't think you could get away that easy, did you?" he said mockingly, holding her by her shoulders.

Bulma stared into his eyes, and it was obvious he couldn't actually see her. "How did you--"

"I merely focused on your ki signature, and was able to track you using that."

Zarbon was cursing as he blindly held his arms out in front of him. "Vegeta! Where the hell are you?" He cursed as his shin hit the podium, a few feet away from where the girl and the Saiyan were standing. "Don't let that girl get away!"

"Relax buddy. I'm not going anywhere," Bulma said, knowing that further resistance would be futile. She took advantage of her proximity to the Saiyan to examine him more closely. He seemed familiar in an odd sort of way.yes, she was positive she'd seen this guy somewhere before. Maybe it was before The Day.the day she began her second life. "I have the feeling I know you from somewhere," she said slowly, looking into his blank eyes.

Vegeta blinked twice as he realized he was beginning to be able to see things again. "MERDE," he cursed, as he wondered why this girl stirred something in his mind.

Zarbon sat down gingerly on the platform. "Hold the phone, I think I'm starting to get my vision back," he said squinting in their direction.

Bulma ignored him, still staring at the man before her who reminded her of someone. {But who? Wait.I think I remember! He's that--}.

"Saiyan," Vegeta's coworker barked. "You can contact the computers of the ships, right?"

The Saiyan growled lowly at Zarbon's tone, but didn't acknowledge the obvious disrespect. Releasing the girl, he began to enter the order straight into the ship's computer, obviously having the keys committed to memory.

Once released, the daughter of Dr. Briefs and Melinda Corset gave a little laugh. {This is the guy I went to Vegetaseii for a long time ago.for his birthday or some shit like that. Well isn't this an odd way to meet him again.}. She licked her dry lips unconsciously as she watched the two aliens. They were obviously regaining their sight. {What will happen to me next?} she wondered, turning her attention to her followers. Some were still down on the ground, unable to see, but most were fleeing as they saw the two alien space ships flying across the darkened sky. These included the Briefs'.

"You're a troublesome little bitch. All females are." Zarbon eyed her coldly, impassively as he brought out something he'd had concealed in a case in his armor.

Vegeta suddenly stood behind her, holding her in place, his grip relentless.

The female tensed as she realized what was going to happen. Her blue eyes widened behind her black sunglasses and she took a step away from the blue alien as her eyes rested on the syringe full of a cloudy purple liquid being brought in her direction. "No," she said in something close to a whimper. She closed her eyes, in self-disgust rather than fear and reopened them, meeting Zarbon's eyes.

Zarbon smiled coldly, stopping about half a foot away from her. "Beg me to stop," he said tauntingly, his eyes shining with malice.

Vegeta said nothing, he merely kept his hold on the female, even as he felt her quiver with rage.

But she hid it well. She only smiled at the vicious man before her.

It took a moment for Zarbon to see the cold calculating look behind that smile, but once he identified that, it was too late. The human female planted a sharp kick to his wrist in an attempt to send the syringe flying out of his grasp.no go.

Zarbon merely cursed as he eyed the bruise on his wrist, not looking at his Saiyan counterpart's face. "You dumb bitch," he said. His eyes widened as he read an increased power reading on his scouter. He angrily lowered his brows at the smiling girl before him. {So she's able to fight is she? Well, I'm not going to give her the chance}.

Bulma felt her mouth drop open as she felt a sharp prick on her arm. She looked at Zarbon, who smugly dropped an empty syringe to the ground.

Vegeta released her, dusting his hands off in dismissal; as if to remove all traces of the human from his person, and watched her carefully, awaiting the moment when the drug took full affect on the human.

Five scowling Saiyans, and three smirking blue men danced before her eyes for a moment, and Bulma held her arms out before her, as if to ward the images away. "This.can't." She fell heavily to her knees, her eyes half shut. While her movements were drunken and awkward looking, her mind raced, trying to come up with possible ways out. There were none. She'd been bested. Again. She fell flat on her stomach, and turned so that she was looking up at the dark sky. Before she fell unconscious, she managed to utter one phrase. "Aaron.damn you for not.being here." She fell still.

Zarbon grunted as he crushed the syringe beneath his boot. He glanced at the Saiyan, who was gazing impassively back at him. "What are you waiting for? Put her in the pod."

"You forget yourself," Vegeta heard himself saying.

Freeza's long-time officer guffawed, crossing his arms over his chest. "You think just because you saved my life a long time ago that I am supposed to be grateful to you? Well I'm not in case you haven't noticed. I am the senior officer here, and you'll answer to me."

The Prince smirked. "I'll answer to you when your power level is higher than my own."

Zarbon's arrogant look quickly left him. It'd been painfully obvious during all of their missions that Vegeta was the stronger one, and even more obvious that he was holding back a great portion of his energy. {How do I defeat this stupid monkey?} he wondered, thinking rapidly to himself. His eyes widened. {He's a monkey! Monkeys have tails, and tails are the Saiyans' weakness. If he hadn't grown that bloody thing back, I'd be in major trouble right now}. A diabolic grin made itself at home on his face. "Now Vegeta, you and I both know that there is no bloody way YOU could ever beat me."

Vegeta scowled. "That's ludicrous. What BS are you spouting now?"

Zarbon laughed to himself as he sensed Vegeta's defenses were down. {Perfect}. He inched nearer to the Prince, with the pretence of looking down at the human female. "Because I'm too damn smart for you." He grabbed the brown tail wrapped around Vegeta's waist and squeezed for all he was worth.

Vegeta's face quickly changed.from a scowl to a triumphant sneer. "Don't waste your time. I'm immune to that particular Saiyan weakness." His gloved hand shot out and grabbed Zarbon around the neck, squeezing tightly. "I don't want to kill you Zarbon.but I know that if I don't, you won't rest until I'm dead." With military preceision, he broke the alien's neck and dropped him to the ground.

Zarbon gazed up at him blankly, dead.

The Saiyan ignored the pang of self-disgust he felt after doing that and scooped up the unconscious troublemaker, carrying her to Zarbon's pod. He fastened her in and fixed the breathing mask apparatus over her face carefully, not disturbing her sunglasses in which he could see a reflection of himself. This girl was worth a lot to Freeza alive. He set the destination point for her pod and then got himself situated in his own. As his ship left earth, he suddenly realized something blatantly obvious, yet he'd missed it at first nonetheless. There were only two pods. They'd brought none for the female. Which meant Zarbon had planned on returning to Planet Freeze alone.

Vegeta found himself partaking in Nappa's habit of thanking Devin.he could have been left here to rot on earth. One more thought crossed his mind before he drifted off to sleep. {What is Freeza going to do once he figures out that Zarbon is dead?}

********** ********

*En Route to Planet Freeze*

TIME an hour later

MESSAGE FROM.LORD FREEZA.

Vegeta awoke with a hiss. "Relay Message, Computer."

RELAYING MESSAGE.ESTABLISHING CONNECTION. CONNECTED.

"Ah, my young Saiyan. Have you obtained the upstart from Earth?" Freeza asked, his cold voice filling the tiny space pod.

Vegeta scowled. "Yes, Lord Freeza. The troublemaker has been taken care of."

Freeza sighed contentedly. "I knew I could count on you Vegeta. So loyal.bring him here immediately."

"Yes sire."

CONNECTION BROKEN. END OF.MESSAGE.

Vegeta sneered angrily as he went back to sleep. {Won't Freeza be surprised to see that the person who had nearly been responsible for earth's rebellion is a mere female.}

******* **********

*Earth; SUCIO*

TIME 5 minutes later

"Ima Above!"

Goku winced at the hysterical shout. "What is it Chichi?"

The shaken girl pointed at her tiny television. "It's Angelique! She's on TV!"

"Who's that?" he asked, scratching his head pensively.

His girl friend rolled her eyes dramatically. "That's only the girl responsible for all of those riots.she's Misunderstood! We used to talk. She helped me out with trigonometry and I helped her with her GED and stuff.I haven't seen her in a year I guess."

"Looks like she got taken away by the aliens."

Chichi sighed sadly, going back to her studying. "That's sad. Those poor aliens."

Goku's jaw dropped. "I thought you two talked!"

"Yeah.but that doesn't mean I liked her! There was always something kind of sinister about her that I just couldn't accept," the brunette said, shrugging her shoulders. "Want some cookies?"

"Yeah!"

********** *********

*Planet Freeze* TIME two weeks later

Sleep. Darkness. Silence. That was all she knew since the time of her alien abduction. She dreamed a great deal, but it all mattered little. The Moment she awoke, she was steadfast on the course of action of kneeing her captors in the groin, but she'd have to do it at a time when they wouldn't expect it, and hope that they didn't beat her.

POD LANDING. WELCOME BACK, PRINCE VEGETA.

Bulma's eyes flew open quickly and she quickly shut them again as she remembered her scheme. In a matter of moments, her pod was opened. She didn't move a muscle as she sensed someone standing there watching her, as if unsure as to what to do with her. The female was hefted out of the pod from under her arms, much like a child and when she made a move to kick out, she found that she had no energy.

Her eyes opened and she looked around her curiously. Wherever she was, it was a dark little planet.quite cold actually, and she felt her body shiver against her wishes. The man with his arms around her ignored her as he shouted at some other alien standing nearby who ran over to them.

"Take her to Freeza," he ordered. "And inform him that I will be along shortly."

"Yes, Prince Vegeta." The soldier obediently dragged Bulma there, ignoring her completely.

She tried to move, to say something, to scream, but found she could nothing but look around her. As she was dragged to only Ima knows where, she got to see several different types of aliens. {Whoa, there are so many other planets out there than I ever realized} she thought, fighting the foggy haze that encircled her thoughts right then.

Zeon, the soldier who was carrying her, paused at a pair of heavy steel doors. He dropped her unceremoniously on the floor and entered the room behind the doors made of steel; which shut behind him.

Bulma made a mental note to give the creep a piece of her mind once she recovered and looked up at the ceiling, which seemed to be made of steel also.

Zeon returned, a look of relief on his face as he dragged her through the doors. Bulma instantly felt the urge to scream. Something about the room was giving her extremely bad vibes. {For Ima's sakes, don't leave me here!} her eyes implored him as the alien's eyes met hers for the first time. He quickly looked away, turning her to face a throne in the back of that room. He exited, saluting the man in that throne.

Bulma felt genuine fear for the first time since this whole fiasco began.

"Well! This is a pleasant surprise," the white creature seated on the throne said jeeringly in smooth Standard. "So you're the one who's been causing trouble on earth." He eyed her carefully, his white tail wrapping about his ankle.

The blue haired girl shut her eyes, wishing that this was another one of her dreams: that this wasn't really happening to her.

"I am the ruler of this empire," he stated coldly, standing with his arms crossed. "You will address me as Lord Freeza."

She opened her eyes, managing to meet his gaze.

Freeza's face filled with impatience. "Can you not speak?"

"She's been drugged, sir."

The white creature sighed, sitting down, gazing behind Bulma. "Ah, Vegeta. There you are."

The Saiyan bowed respectfully, his eyes low to the ground.

Freeza eyed him carefully. "Stand my young prince, and perhaps you can tell me where Zarbon is." He waited patiently for the Saiyan's response, his eyes hard.

Vegeta hid his discomfort, advancing past the female who was sprawled on the ground. "He's dead."

"I see. And would you explain how this came to be?"

Bulma shivered at the anger she could sense behind these words and she emitted a tiny squeak.

The Saiyan didn't even spare her a sideways glance as he answered Freeza. "He was going to kill me sir, so I killed him first."

A long tense silence filled the room for what seemed like an eternity, and then powerful Ice-Jin chuckled. "Very wise of you, young Prince. Now," his eyes moved to the beautiful female on his red carpet. "This is that Misunderstood.no doubt about it?"

"None, sir. She's the one."

"Stand her up."

Vegeta quickly hid his dislike for the task and he pulled the girl up by her arms, putting one of her arms about his neck and supporting her weight effortlessly.

Freeza made a satisfied noise as his eyes roamed over her youthful figure. "I suppose she's pretty enough." He gazed into her blue eyes for a long moment before turning to Vegeta. "When will she be back to normal?" he asked, his voice gentle and almost concerned.

The Saiyan Prince hid his disgust by readjusting the girl's arm about his shoulder. "By tomorrow morning."

"Good, good. And once she awakes then, I want you to attend to her Vegeta."

Vegeta's surprise plainly showed. "Me.attend to her?"

Bulma's face remained expressionless. She was actually secretly relieved that she wouldn't be staying with this odd looking Freeza creature.

"Yes, my Young Prince. Who else?" Freeza chuckled. "You may leave."

"Yes Lord Freeza." He took the girl from the room in that fashion.

{Great,} he thought as he walked the halls. {Now I must act as nursemaid to Freeza's plaything.} He stopped before room 547 and placed his hand on a black sensor. It beeped twice and the door opened with an electronic whir. Vegeta flicked on the light and deposited her on the couch, not really caring how she landed. He flicked off the light and left, letting the door close behind him. {Just wait until Father finds out about this.} he thought, a scowl on his face.

******** ******

*Planet Freeze; Room 547*

{This is just great. I'm stuck here.like this, and I'm pretty damn sure I'm going to wake up with one hell of a crick in my neck thanks to that ass. Not only that, but he's going to be playing the part as my nanny during my less than pleasurable stay here. Ima, when will this torture end?} Bulma thought, closing her eyes in both exasperation and defeat.

*********** **********

*Planet Freeze; Room 547*

TIME 0700

"Angelique!" a familiar masculine voice called.

Bulma smiled and turned towards the sound of his voice. "Aaron," she whispered.

He grinned at her, grasping her by the shoulders. "Wake up."

She frowned. "But what are you talking about."

His grin turned to an impatient scowl and he shook her roughly. "Wake up you stupid girl.damn it I don't have time for this shit."

Bulma opened her eyes, looking deeply into the scowling Saiyan standing above her. "Ass," she hissed angrily.

Vegeta ignored her insult crossing his arms over his chest impatiently. "Come," he ordered in Standard. He walked through the doors, not waiting to see if she would follow him.

The human female scowled after him, stretching like a cat on the couch. Her neck hurt a bit, but not as badly as she'd thought. {Thank Ima for that. I'd rather not go off to my death with a crick in my neck} she thought, an ironic smile on her face. She sat up slowly taking her time. She was in no hurry. {Besides, the Ass has to stick by me. That Freeza guy said so}.

The Ass himself reappeared at the doorway, his face livid. "What part of 'Come' are you having trouble understanding girl?" he growled.

Bulma raised her eyebrows, standing up slowly. "Listen here.whatever your name is, I don't give a flying flip what kind of big-shot you may be considered here. That amounts to exactly zip in my book, all right?" She shot him a glance, attempting to gauge his reaction before she continued. "You ever heard of something called 'Courtesy'? We use it a lot in civilization. Wouldn't hurt you to try it out for yourself every once in--"

"I said," Vegeta said slowly, a vein pulsating in his forehead. "Come. And I mean NOW," he thundered.

She held up her hands. "All right all right, I'm coming. Ima, there's no need to get your panties in a twist."

He glared at her and left #547for the second time that day, this time with the human female following closely behind him. So closely in fact that she stepped on the back of his boot once.

"Oops, sor-"

Vegeta whirled to face her, his eyes promising her a long painful death. "You walk thin ice," he warned, his ebony eyes burning with ire.

Bulma felt something in her mind-commonsense maybe-tell her to lay off torturing this guy.at least for a while.

"Sorry," she whispered, looking down at the ground.

The First Class Officer said nothing, but turned to continue his walk down the long seemingly deserted hallway.

The earth female sighed, as she caught sight of herself in a reflective surface. "Great, just great. Thanks to Pompous Maximus, I look like living hell," she grumbled in English. She scowled at his ramrod straight back. "Rude bastard. Ignorant ape, stupid, conniving--"

"Hold your blather," the rude bastard barked in Standard. {Devin, this girl will drive me crazy.} Vegeta stopped suddenly, looking around the foyer they had just entered for someone to carry out his demands. "You there, Xenon."

"Sir!" the officer said, snapping to attention.

Vegeta jerked his head in the direction of a slightly groggy looking, wide- eyed female of irregular coloring. "Take this girl to get something to wear."

The officer grimaced, her face wary. "Something to wear sir?"

"Did I stutter officer!? Yes! I said get her something to wear! Civilian clothes!"

Xenon nodded her head slowly in understanding after quickly hiding an angry gleam in her eyes. "Yes sir."

Prince Vegeta gave the earth girl a withering glance that was supposed to frighten her, but ended up only making her grin back at him. His coal black eyes locked with those of Xenon's. "Once the bitch is clothed and cleaned, have her sent to my quarters."

The soldier nodded. "As you wish, sir." She visibly relaxed once the obtrusive Saiyan had departed. She turned to get a good look at the female she was responsible for, her tumultuous almond shaped eyes full of distaste. "Let's go," she barked in Standard.

Bulma rolled her eyes, but followed the soldier obediently. It wasn't easy for her to follow someone else. She was too used to being the one giving out the orders.

"You are Vegeta's new whore?"

Misunderstood's eyebrows nearly flew off of her forehead. "WHAT!? Hell no..at least.No, I'd die first."

Xenon ignored what the human had just said, sighing wistfully as she extracted a silver security card and held it up to a computer scanner. "You are fortunate. He treats whores better than he treats us." She winced as she seemed to realize what she had just said. "No, not true; I suppose he treats us pretty decently, but he treats those of you better."

Bulma scoffed at this barely comprehensible statement as she walked with the soldier through revolving doors that led to a much nicer part of the Freeze Castle. "Then you soldiers must be treated like ultimate shit if he treats you better than he does to-" she stopped in her tracks. "Who says I am to be a whore?"

Xenon turned to face her, her almond-shaped pale blue eyes on Bulma. "Why else would you be here?"

The human female said nothing, following the soldier silently as she pondered that question herself. {Why am I here? And why haven't they killed me yet?}

********* ********

*Somewhere on Planet Freeze*

TIME 0950

"Am I the only one here with a brain that actually functions!? Think you morons! Where do you think those boxes of medical supplies belong? The medical wing perhaps!?"

"Yes sir!" the men chorused, their faces flushed with shame as they quickly began moving the boxes and crates in that direction.

Vegeta scowled angrily and stormed away from those men. He had lost his temper with those three men back there. He didn't think they were actually as ignorant as he made them out to be. Those three soldiers had been up for the past 84 hours, and since their brains were similar to those of humans, they weren't functioning too well on their feet at that moment.

It wasn't their fault he was in such a foul mood.no the cause of his ire was that little blue eyed, blue haired, human that he was responsible for, thanks to 'Lord Freeza's kindness'. "There are three words that don't belong together," Vegeta said under his breath as he had his card scanned for entry to the officers' wings of the palace. Just a moment ago, he'd received two messages (at the same time).

One had been from Xenon.

PRINCE VEGETA, YOUR ORDERS HAVE BEEN CARRIED OUT. FEMALE IS IN YOUR ROOMS. XENON

Somehow this one had upset him.just the idea that that annoying girl was in his rooms irritated him for some reason he didn't particularly care to dwell on. The second one had put a scowl on his face.

Vegeta, You and the girl will be dining with me this evening. Inform your father that your stay on this planet will be much longer this time. Lord Freeza

If the first one had upset him, this one had driven him nearly insane. He growled low in his throat as he remembered the messages. {This is all that bitch's fault} he thought his eyes full of rage, as he opened the door to his wing.

He closed it behind him, his ire lowering slightly as he saw that the human female was fast asleep in one of his chairs, snuggled up in a ball, looking vulnerable. Vegeta's brows furrowed as a flash of recognition hit him for the second time since he had first seen this girl; only now.he could remember talking about her to his father.

***FLASHBACK***

"How strange," the King said softly to his son. "That piano player isn't here. I wanted you to meet her son."

Vegeta absently glanced at the empty chair on the other side of his father. "I already met her."

"Oh?" the King said, lifting his eyebrows. "And.?"

"I've never met such a cold fish."

King Vegeta IV couldn't lift his eyebrows any higher. "What! What are you talking about Vegeta?"

His son dropped his eating utensil and looked his father squarely in the eyes. "I hope you weren't playing matchmaker or something Father. I found her to be childish and very unseemly. Her attitude was contemptible to put it nicely."

***END OF FLASHBACK***

{She's still beautiful} he thought unconsciously. He flushed slightly and moved away from her as he realized just how close he'd been standing to the sleeping teen. {So what? I've seen better looking. And Devin knows how many problems are attached to this particular girl.}

Bulma stirred slightly, a little disappointed that Vegeta had moved. Now that she was through with feigning sleep, she stretched out like a cat, yawning delicately. "I see you're back," she said, glancing in the direction of the door.

Vegeta ignored her, gazing at a sheet of paper with a look of intense concentration on his face as he fought to keep his gaze off of the alluring female.

She shrugged unconcernedly, crossing her long legs lazily, grinning when she saw the Saiyan stiffen slightly. {Good. I have his attention.} The iridescent dress she wore complimented her curves very well in her opinion, and she had allowed Xenon to convince her to wear it. But she'd gone a bit overboard with her resistance act.and had been adorned with a dainty pair of bracelets with the Prince's name engraved in them. She rose slowly, a smile on her face. "Perhaps you could tell me what exactly you expect from me."

The Prince lowered the paper and grinned suddenly as he realized something, his voice was full of warmth as he spoke. "Come here, girl."

{Good going Bulma! Now.after I seduce him, I can use him to help me escape}. She obediently began walking toward him, switching her hips enticingly, a smug expression on her face.

"Sit down," Vegeta said suddenly in Saiyago.

Bulma found that her bracelets burned hot onto the sensitive skin of her wrists and in the same instance a voice in her mind compelled her to obey. Just sit, Bulma, it'll make things easier on us. She suddenly found herself sitting on the carpeted floor, her tailbone aching from how quickly and suddenly she had been forced to sit. The human scowled at Vegeta, not noticing when the bracelets had stopped burning. "You piece of shit! How dare--"

"Shut up and stand up," the Saiyan ordered, a smirk on his handsome face. A second later, once she had been forced to obey, he chuckled. "Well, well, how nice of Xenon to adorn you with these for me. I have the feeling girl, that you will do exactly as I tell you, or else you will suffer the consequences."

{If I could only say something right now, I'd let this asshole have it!} she thought, seething silently before him.

The Prince chuckled at the look of rage on her face. "Something tells me you aren't finding this as amusing as I am," he mocked. He sobered suddenly, a look of utmost seriousness on his face. "Now listen carefully girl. We will be eating dinner with Lord Freeza tonight. You will not speak unless spoken to, and when or if that happens, you will be on your best behavior, do you understand?"

She nodded silently, her dark blue eyes burning into his with the fierce intensity of her anger.

Vegeta waved her in the direction of the chair. "Go sit over there and don't speak."

As she was forced to obey, Bulma clenched her fists in anger. {Just wait Pompous Maximus. This won't last for long. No one will ever hold Bulma Briefs for long. And my revenge is always a bitch.}

******* ****

*Freeza's Palace: The dining hall *

TIME 0730

"Is your servant not hungry, Vegeta?"

The Prince looked up at the sound of his name. "My servant sir?"

Freeza sipped from his wineglass, peering at the female curiously as he did so. "Yes, your servant. I have decided to give her to you to do with whatever you wish."

{Great}. "Your generosity is extensive my Lord, I thank you."

Freeza met Bulma's eyes. "Why aren't you eating my sweet? Aren't you hungry?"

{I'm starving!} Bulma thought, her stomach growling. "Yes, Lord Freeza, but I am unfamiliar with any of the foods that are being served today."

"Pity," the Ice-Jin said in a seemingly sympathetic manner. "I do hope she doesn't starve to death before you get the full use of her Vegeta."

The Saiyan officer said nothing; he continued eating as though nothing had been said.

Bulma seethed at Freeza's words and she found her mouth opening to speak, only to have the bracelets burn her and she closed her mouth again, her eyes a swirling dark blue tempest. The meal seemed to drag on forever for Bulma, who would have done almost anything for even a salad. She obediently trudged after her owner a dire scowl on her face.

{This is ridiculous! I should be wreaking havoc.causing mayhem. I've been kidnapped, starved, tortured, ridiculed, humiliated.Ima above, I can't take this anymore.} She stopped in her tracks, refusing to walk anymore.

It took a moment for Vegeta to realize she wasn't behind him anymore. "What are you doing, girl?" he asked, his tone that of someone confronted yet again by an everlasting problem.

"I demand you release me this very moment! And I want you to start treating me with the respect I deserve! I'm hungry, uncomfortable, and.I'm tired of this! I want to go back to Earth! I--"

Vegeta snickered at her. "Well, well, looks like I have a bit of a shrew on my hands."

Bulma stamped her foot angrily, tired of not having control of anything anymore. "Don't you fucking laugh at me you bastard! I'll have you know that--"

"You're very lucky to be alive," he interrupted, the amusement gone from his voice. "Those that cross Freeza are usually killed.did you know that?"

"I'd rather be dead than be owned by a pig like you," she hissed angrily.

The Saiyan frowned at her. "Maybe that's why he did it."

The human lowered her voice slightly, looking away from his somber eyes. "So this is how I will spend my days.unless I starve to death first." She turned to Vegeta again, her eyes moist with unshed tears as she walked up to him, her lip quivering slightly. "Kill me."

The Prince took a step back from her, not sure what to make from her sudden mood changes. "No."

"Why not!?!" she screamed, wringing her hands together. "You enjoy seeing me suffer?"

"Quiet girl!" he roared in Saiyago, suddenly tired of hearing her voice. She was forced to be silent, but her eyes still stayed on his, silently begging him for mercy. "You will speak of this no more," he said brusquely. "Now, follow me back."

***** ****

* Vegeta's Quarters *

TIME 5 minutes later

As the seventeen year old lay alone in Vegeta's bed, her mind raced with plans of escape. {I'm a genius.I should be able to find a way past all of this high-tech mumbo jumbo}. She sat up, making as little noise as possible as she eased out of the bed and quietly crossed the room to switch on a light. {My first job will be to get these damn bracelets off} she thought, her brows furrowed in concentration. "But how do they work?" she said lowly.

She glanced in the direction of the door that separated the bedroom from the rest of the living quarters. Vegeta had silently shown her in the bedroom and had left her in there alone, much to Bulma's relief. Somewhere in the back of her mind she had been afraid he'd use the bracelets to his advantage in making her do as he asked when it came to fornication. Her heart beat rapidly, and her breaths grew shallow in fear. The last thing she wanted out of this guy was sex. She calmed herself down and turned out the light, lying on the bed her mind racing. {I can't really go to sleep, or I won't be on my guard when he comes in here. I better just wait for him.and think of a course of action in the meanwhile}.

ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE BEDROOM DOOR.

Vegeta sighed, running a hand through his unruly hair. "Are you finished?"

Nappa finally finished laughing at him. "This is just so rich Vegeta! Devin above, you're an unlucky fucker."

"Tell me about it," the Prince grumbled.

"So," the older Saiyan began, completely serious for the first time all evening. "Does she look the same as she did then?"

"Like a little snot-nosed brat, you mean? Yes, she's still just as delightful." Vegeta frowned suddenly. "Where's my father?"

Nappa scratched his head for a moment, and then his eyes lit up in remembrance. "Ah, now I remember! He said he would be dining with some foreigners and wouldn't be back until late."

Vegeta rolled his eyes. "It figures."

"So, Vegeta, what are your plans for the girl?" his old sparring buddy asked, a devilish gleam in his eyes.

The Prince made a disgusted sound in the back of his throat. "Damned if I know! What do I need that girl for? For Devin's sake, Nappa she's probably only about 16."

"And you're twenty! So what's the problem?"

"Not interested!"

Nappa shrugged. "If you really want her off your hands send her this way."

Vegeta frowned disapprovingly. "You're a sick son of a bitch Nappa." He smirked as he thought of something. "Now that I think of it, I should unload the bothersome wench on you. She's brought me nothing but grief from the moment I first saw her."

The older Saiyan held up his hands as if to ward the girl off. "No thanks! You know my motto; fuck 'em and duck 'em. And it's a lot harder to duck the bothersome ones. I'll take a 597 girl anytime."

Vegeta glared in the direction of his bedroom, and thought back to his last encounter with one of the ever-willing and infinitely obliging Planet 597 girls. "You and me both. I don't need this headache."

Nappa grinned at the frustration in the Prince's voice. "If that ain't true I don't know what is!"

******* ****

END OF PART TWO

And so ends this chapter of Under Different Circumstances! Misunderstood.or Miss Understood was a lot of fun for me! And the scenes with Bulma/Angelique and Aaron were a lot of fun also. Let me know what you think of it, I know it was really long and a lot went on in a short span of time. Send all comments, questions, suggestions, etc to clairesse0123@yahoo.com and I'll do my best to get back to you promptly! Thanks for reading!

~Bulma16 (Claire-Chan)

Preview of PART THREE: "I know what you are! You are my servant, my slave and you belong to me girl!" he snarled angrily, throwing her to the floor.

Bulma cried out as she felt her ankle break beneath her, and she struggled to fight back the tears that threatened to overflow. "Bastard!" she screamed at him, her eyes filled with hatred.

Vegeta's obsidian orbs seemed to have the very fires of Hell burning in their depths as he got on one knee before her and seized her by her throat, strangling her. "I should have done this from the beginning!"

Bulma fought to breathe, scratching at the hands that were wrapped around her throat.and as the world began to fade.and as she felt herself growing more and more tired, the Saiyan prince smiled gently at her. "I love you," he whispered as he lowered her lifeless body to the floor