Okay, people, it's here. Chapter four, well, it's really part of chapter 2 but it's technically chapter 4. Anyway, here it is. It continues where the last one left off so it should be pretty easy to follow.

Well, like in the show, this chapter deals mostly with the Hyperbolic Time Chamber, and other set up things. A lot will be happening this chapter so don't get lost, kay?

Okay, time to get this party started (sorry).

~~~~~~*** A MATTER OF TIME ***~~~~~~

"Goku! You're out early! Why?"

Alex lost interest in the conversation, she already knew what bad cooks those Saiyans were. She didn't need to hear it straight from the horse's (or maybe pig's would have been a better comparison?) mouth. Especially one so full of food as Goku's.

Then, when the plans for the use of the hyperbolic time chamber were laid out, it was decided that Alex would be spending some quality time with the Namek, Piccolo.

"Well, Piccolo? You ready?"

"Yes, what about you?"

"Intense training in another dimension. That's what I came here for, isn't it?"

Piccolo smiled a little, she had already told him all about how she got here, and why. For some reason, he didn't seem to think she really needed the training in that chamber. But why miss a chance to see her power as this? After all, he WAS the only one with whom she had entrusted her little 'story'.

"Yes, I suppose it is. Okay, let's go."

And they both entered, looking forward to a year's worth of training under intense condition.

Once they had both settled in Piccolo hit her with another question. "What for?"

"Huh?"

"What for? Why do you fight like you do? If you're this strong, there has to be a reason for it."

Alex looked like her best kept secret had just been exposed, but she trusted Piccolo. So she decided to tell him, well, everything. "Sit down Piccolo. This is going to be a long story."

The images Piccolo got out of her story were so vivid, he had trouble processing it all. Frieza, Kinkilla, family, friends, all dead, not even the right to having a soul in death. An entire universe, no, an entire dimension, complete with souls and a world of the dead. Reduced to no more than an empty void, with a few smears of his energy scattered here and there.

But the most impressive thing to him, was her drive for revenge. Even Goku didn't show this kind of determination. Even when Krillin was killed before his eyes, Goku was mad. But this, this was on a whole different level! And it was understandable. She had lost her friends and family, not only by death, but there wasn't even the consolation that they could have an after-life.

Kinkilla. A cold-blooded transformation of Frieza, a killer of worlds, of entire dimensions, but what's worse, a killer of souls!!!

When she was finished, Alex simply turned to the forever-white horizon of the time chamber, and walked away. Leaving Piccolo to his own thoughts.

And Piccolo only watched her leave. 'Poor girl. No one should have to live through that. Not even the pure evil should have to go through that. No wonder she's so determined. An average human, put through beyond average circumstances. It was all by chance, but just the same. It was all so terrible!!' Piccolo only fought through a shudder, something told him, that this wasn't it. There was more. And he would see it all here. She would show him things here, that none of them had ever seen before.

~~~~ A/N ~~~~

Sorry to interrupt again, but I thought you just might want to know, if you want to know the full story then you should read the pre-quel to this story. 'Internal Flame' It tells the story in its entirety. It's not quite done yet (who knows when it will be), but it is still pretty good. I recommend it to anyone who wants to know the full story. It's got all sorts of twists, and goes pretty deep, but that's how the cookie crumbles!

Anyway, back to the story.

~~~~ Meanwhile, at the Son household ~~~~

Krillin was prodding Goku for the inside scoop about his meeting with Cell. "Come on, Goku. You can tell me! You can beat him, can't you?"

"No, Krillin. The truth is that he's got me out-classed in every way."

Krillin was going to prod further, but felt it was unnecessary. He wasn't going to get any more out of his friend. But if he couldn't beat him, who could?

~~~ Back in the chamber ~~~

"Hey Piccolo?"

Piccolo stopped what he was doing and brought his attention to Alex, who was watching him intently. "What?"

"Uh, do... you think... you can..."

"Would you spit it out?"

"Um, do you think you can teach me that 'Split-form' technique of yours?"

Piccolo only smiled. "Why not? We've got plenty of time. And I don't think I will be much of a sparring partner. Will I?"

Alex laughed slightly. "Uh, hehe, I guess not?"

"Okay. The first thing you need to do is..." And Alex went on to learn the Split-Form technique, keeping true to the hope of learning a new technique for each dimension.

~~ Meanwhile, on the outside ~~

Cell had just intruded on the news-station and was now making his announcement. "In ten days I am going to hold a tournament. I expect the world's best fighters to come, and it will be a string of matches, one after the other so I won't be able to rest. If your warriors succeed in killing me. Then I guess that means that you can all go on with your lives. But in the event that none of my opponents manage to kill me. Then I will destroy your planet, it's as simple as that!"

Cell smirked a little more evilly. 'Why not? I think I'll give them something to chew on.' Just for good measure, he pointed his palm towards the wall behind him and looked into the camera. "And, before I leave, I'll give a little sample as to what you will all be facing." And without a second thought, he blasted a hole through the wall, and half the city behind him. Slowly, menacingly, he returned to the crossed-arms position. "Ten days, and then the fate of your world will be decided." And then he left out the hole he created, going off to the site of his battleground. To wait the fight to decide the fate of the world. As well as the Universe.

But to Alex, it was all little more than a distraction. Cell was not the final fight. That honor was reserved for someone else. Someone far worse, and far more dangerous.

The Perfect Being was nothing compared to Kinkilla, and honestly, neither was Alex...

~~~ Back in the Time Chamber ~~~

In the Time Chamber Alex and Piccolo were off fighting themselves in the intense gravity of the chamber. Each of them staying in the highest gravity they could stand.

But something was still bothering Piccolo. He had still not seen Alex's maximum power. And he was curious to see what she could really do.

But Alex was off in her own world; she had gotten used to fighting herself by now, and was finding that it was a rather valuable technique.

'Maybe when we go back for dinner. I think it would be dangerous to interrupt her now. I don't have a death wish. Not here, not now.' Wiping away the sweat that had accumulated on his forehead, Piccolo decided that it would be a good idea to go back to the room.

It wasn't long after he got there that Alex showed up. "Hey Pickle. Whatcha' doin'?"

Piccolo sighed at the nickname Alex had given him, but he fought the urge to ignore her and asked a question. "Hey. After we're done eating, do you think you can..."

"Can...?"

"Do you think you can show me your full power?"

"Huh? Why?"

"Because you haven't fought for REAL since you got here. I'm just curious as to what you can REALLY do!"

"Oh, well. Okay. After dinner I'll power up to maximum. But you're going to have to be ready to be surprised."

Piccolo was going to ask why, but he let it go. She was going to answer his last question. He didn't need any more than that.

~~~ Two hours later, which was really more like a few seconds later ~~~

"Well Piccolo? I promised I'd show you my full power, and I will. So stand back, and get ready."

"I'm ready. Just don't worry about me."

"All right..."

Alex went into a powering-up stance and told Piccolo just one more thing. "This is something I first did a couple of years ago. I was surprised at first, and then it made a little more sense. I'll explain it soon, but first I'll do it. So, keep your socks on!"

One more second and Alex started powering up in earnest. Piccolo was having enough trouble standing up under this gravity, but now her energy was trying to blow him away!

But Piccolo stood his ground; if he was going to explain it to anyone else he needed to be there when she showed it to him.

"Aaaahhhh!!" Alex started shouting in a low pitch, then it got higher, until Piccolo's ears threatened to bleed just from listening to her!

One more surge of power, and then it happened.

At first Piccolo wasn't sure what he was seeing. Her hair was rising, going into a similar style to Vegeta's, except that it was beginning to glow, not a golden color. Instead, Alex's hair was turning... brown!! Her jet-black hair was turning to a shimmering, pure brown color. Piccolo could tell that her power was skyrocketing, but the more significant changes, would have been subtler if he hadn't been there to watch them happen.

As her hair changed color, the entire tone of her skin went a few shades darker, as if she had gotten a rather thick tan. Not only that but, after a short flash, her eyes also turned from bright blue, to a bright brown. And, more significantly, her pupils went from there to, well, not there. Her eyes were now nothing more than the whites and the big brown ovals of her irises. But how could she see? Maybe she couldn't? She could get away with that if her hearing could make up for it!

With one final explosion her transformation was complete. She had gone to the Hyper level. Something no human had done in over 1,200 years. Not since Merlin had there been another human to go beyond the normal level. And hers was more powerful than any before.

But Piccolo didn't know this. All he knew for now was that something very strange had happened, and if he didn't get an explanation right now, he was going to start yelling until he did.

The stress of her transformation over, Alex allowed her deep-brown aura to disperse, and went on to explain a few things. Like how she could transform in this way, and why.

"Okay, Piccolo. I owe you an explanation, and I know it. First, I have to tell you that what I am now is known as a Hyper-Human. It's kind of like Super-Saiyan, except for humans. But unlike the Saiyans, there were no legend for this so no one knew of it. But there were humans who achieved this form, most who did used the great power it gave them to perform great and powerful magic. The last one to do this was a man known as Merlin. His magic was the most powerful up to that time, and since. And nobody knew it, but he had achieved this form, and used it to perform his most powerful spells."

Piccolo was beginning to understand, but Alex wasn't finished yet. "Oh, and before you ask, the reason no one knew about it was because, well, brown hair and eyes are a pretty common combination among humans. Those in this form would have blended in perfectly with the crowd."

Piccolo understood now, but he had only one more thing to ask. "Okay, I understand. But, if you have this kind of power, then why are you traveling around like this? From what I sense your power far outreaches even Cell. So, why are you doing this?"

"Well, Piccolo. Believe it or not, even like this, I still don't stand a ghost of a chance against Kinkilla." Alex took this opportunity to float into a reclining position and stare blankly into the pure-white sky. "His power, it seems endless. He's on a completely different level. Even if I were to go to a level past the level past this one, I doubt it would be enough to even faze him." Alex stared blankly at the sky for a little while, as if it might offer some comfort if she stared at it hard enough. "So I train. And I try to get stronger. If he can do it... then I'm sure that I can too. And I'm not stopping until one of us is dead. Even if it means destroying his soul, or the destruction of my own."

Piccolo watched Alex blankly for a while, then came up with something helpful to say. "Well, then I suppose you should keep training. But, wouldn't it be more productive if you trained at that level?"

Alex looked warmly at Piccolo, obviously showing that she could see through those eyes. "Well, no. Not really. I can get a more powerful workout if I do everything on the normal level. Even though I can go to higher gravity on this level, my power would increase more quickly if I were to train on the normal level."

"Okay. I understand. But, I have just two more things to say. The first is a question, and the other is just a thought."

"Oh, really? What's your question?"

Piccolo looked Alex straight into her pupil less eyes, which was hard enough, and asked the question. "How can you see through those eyes like that?"

Alex's first reaction was confusion, then she started laughing as she realized why he had asked that question. "Well, I think the way they work is that they just have two layers. The first one determines the color and intensity, and the second one figures the direction. For some reason they seem to work even better than the regular kind, and with the full range of color too!"

"Oh. Okay." Piccolo didn't quite catch all of what she had just said, but it sounded logical enough. At least he affirmed she can see well enough.

"Now what were you going to suggest?"

"Huh? Oh. Well, I was going to suggest that you train on that level for a while and try to reach the next one, if there is one, while you're here?" For some reason, before he even finished the suggestion, he felt stupid just for bringing it up.

"Oh! Well, yeah. I probably will. But that's not really my priority right now so, yeah, I think I'll try, but I'm just focusing on my overall strength right now. But thanks for the concern!" Alex relaxed as she went back to normal and her black hair and blue eyes returned.

"Okay. But you know what?"

"What?"

"That is going to take a long time to get used to..."

"Yeah, I can't blame you. I took a long time to get used to it too. I even had to start hiding my power from my sister, just to keep from killing her!"

"And she knows about this?"

"Know about it?!?! She can DO it!!!"

"Oh..." Piccolo just went back to the room, and plopped in bed. And he almost NEVER sleeps!

"I think he just needs some time to let it sink in. Shall we go?" Now she was talking to herself, literally as she had split again and was headed off into the distance to train some more.

But Piccolo wasn't thinking about training. 'Such... incredible power! How can one person have so much power!?!? And I thought Goku was the only one who was full of surprises... Now the Humans have gotten into the act. What a world.' Then another thought snaked its way into his mind. 'But I almost feel sorry for Cell. He doesn't know what he's getting himself into. He's in for a BIG surprise.' Feeling a bit better, Piccolo went back to his training, now with a new vigor for his sparring. He had hope, overwhelming hope. The world was safe from Cell. How could it not be?

Maybe if she didn't fight? That still remained a possibility.

Oh well. Nothing he could do about that. That was up to her, and her alone.

~~~ Back outside ~~~

As the door opened and the Namek stepped out, Vegeta complimented him on his progress. "Not bad, Namek. But not good enough." But Piccolo didn't respond, he only walked on.

Then the girl came out. Vegeta had no idea what to think of her. Her power had barely increased from before, but it was obvious that she was going to great lengths to hide as much of it as she could. He didn't say a word as Popo walked by him to re-stock the chamber with food. A Saiyan never interrupts the flow of food.

So, to keep himself busy, he decided he would confront the newcomer.

"Hey."

"Hm? What is it Vegeta?"

"Tell me. Just how powerful are you?"

"Powerful enough, for a Human."

"Don't play stupid with me!!! No Human can be even as powerful as you show yourself to be now! And even now I can tell that you are going to great lengths to hide most of your power!! Now tell me!! How powerful are you? And what are you, really?!?!" Vegeta was angry now. That incident between her and Cell had sparked his curiosity, he was beginning to wonder if he had found another Saiyan.

"Well, the answer to the first question is, far too powerful. And the answer to the second question is that I am, fully, 100%, bonafide, homebred Human Being, Homo sapiens!! There's no way around that. Now I hope I have answered your question?"

Now Vegeta was more than angry. He was FURIOUS!! She was throwing out power that he had never seen before!! Even from himself!! It just didn't make sense to him that she was human. NO HUMAN COULD BE THAT POWERFUL!! He grabbed the front of her shirt and roughly pulled her right into his face. "Look! If you aren't going to tell me what you REALLY are, then I'm just going to have to BEAT it out of you!! I already told you that no HUMAN can be THAT @#$% POWERFUL!!!"

"Wow! Pretty strong language from the prince of the Saiyans!" Then she grabbed HIS shirt, and got in HIS face. "Now listen to me Vegeta. I'll say it slowly so you don't miss it. I... AM... NOT... SAIYAN!!! I... AM... A... HUMAN!!! Which pretty much proves that a human really CAN be that powerful. Doesn't it?"

Shocked out of his wits, and slightly scared by this, apparently human, woman, Vegeta released her and walked slowly off. Still looking and acting angry, but Vegeta always looks and acts angry.

'How. How? HOW?!?! There's just NO way!! Hmph!! Whatever she says. She'll have to do more than just tell me she's human to convince me!!' Still convinced he was right, Vegeta went to the Hyperbolic Time Chamber, having been signaled that it was ready, and retreated to his training. 'Saiyans are the most powerful race. How can a human be that powerful? Oh, well. No matter what she is, I'll find her out either way.' Smiling, he closed the door, and went on with his training.

Alex took a couple minutes to calm down, and then went to talk to Mr. Popo. "Excuse me, Mr. Popo?"

"Yes? What can I do for you?"

"Uh, have we missed anything while we were in there?"

"No, I don't think so. It's been pretty quiet on Earth for the past day."

"Oh, right. One day. I forgot. Uh, thanks Mr. Popo!"

"Of course."

'Well, where next? Eight days. I've got eight days to waste, but where?' Alex sat down for a bit to think out the next eight days. 'Well, I could go talk to Goku! Or maybe even Bulma! Geeze, eight days and nothing to do! I've done enough training, so I should probably find something else to do. But what?'

Alex looked over to where the others were, and saw Trunks swinging around at top speed. 'Why not? We're in pretty much the same situation, so what could it hurt?' She floated over to the half-Saiyan, attempting to spur some kind of conversation.

"So, Trunks?"

"Yeah?"

"Hey, you wanna spar?"

"Sure, why?"

"Well, honestly because I'm bored. I get bored easily."

"Oh, I'd rather have nothing to do than lead the life I have now."

"Yeah, I can imagine so. But, anyway. Where you wanna' go?"

"Uh, follow me."

"Sure! I'll race ya'!"

Trunks laughed a little, "Are you sure you wanna' race a Super Saiyan?"

"Well, I'll let you decide that. If you lose me you can just raise your power and I'll follow that! Agreed?"

Trunks only smiled and got ready. "On three?"

"Sure!" Alex got right beside him, in the ready position. "One!"

"Two!"

"THREE!!" They both said it together and raced off at incredible speeds.

"Hehe, I'm losing you!"

"Don't be so sure Trunks!"

"Okay then," Trunks put on an evil smirk. "I'M GONNA LEAVE YOU IN THE DUST!! HAHAHA!!" Trunks powered up to full and zoomed off, leaving Alex behind.

But Alex only smirked. "He really doesn't know what I'm capable of, does he?" Nope, doesn't know.

Alex powered up until her entire body was one white glow and zoomed off after Trunks, catching him within seconds.

"Huh? Where'd you come from?"

"Where do you think?" Alex pointed back to where she 'came from', "Back there!"

"Well, you must have improved in the Time Chamber!"

"Oh, don't worry, you haven't seen the half of it! Now where are we headed?"

"To a special place in the mountains, but I guess you win the race so you can just follow me."

"Oh, okay!"

"We're here!"

"Well that was fast!"

"Well duh! We were only going like a million miles an hour!!!"

"Oh, I guess you've got a point."

"No, that would be my sword."

"Huh?"

"My sword's got a point! I don't."

"Oh, hehe, uh, that's funny, hehe, yeah."

"You don't have to pretend, I know it's bad."

"Well, as long as you know. Anyway, shall we begin?"

"Sure!" Trunks took up a defensive position, as did Alex. Alex was the first to throw a punch, which Trunks tried to doge, getting nicked in the side and spinning around in fantastic fashion.

"Uh, looks like I still need to work on the speed thing."

"Geeze! No kidding!"

"Well, anyway. Let's get back to what we were doing, kay?"

"Sure, but this time, you go on the attack."

"Okay!" Trunks launched himself and started throwing punches and kicks, all of which were either dodged or blocked. "Come on!"

"Try harder!!" Alex was trying to get Trunks to give it his all; she wasn't worried about being hurt. But Trunks didn't take the hint. "Look, Trunks. I want you to try your best. Don't be worried about hitting a girl, I've gone through much worse so just let it all go and PUSH!!"

Trunks looked angry for a bit, then nodded. Quickly he powered up to incredible levels and zoomed off after her.

"That's better!" The two went into an incredible volley of punches and kicks, leaving explosions high up in the sky.

It didn't take long for them to get bored with their volley of punches so Alex dove down to the ground and Trunks followed. On the ground Alex jumped to the side and kicked Trunks in the side just as he came the rest of the way down. Trunks flew away and crashed through a nearby mountain.

Alex watched for Trunks for a while, then when a bright light made its way towards her she dodged downward, and then fell downward as Trunks slammed her in the back, sending her straight into the ground, where she made a rather large crater.

Not yet satisfied, Trunks went into a volley of ki-blasts that would have made Vegeta jealous! But he was stopped when Alex appeared behind him and tapped him on the shoulder.

"Ahh! Hey, how'd you get out of there like that?"

"Don't worry about it. Look, how about if we do this later?"

"Uh, sure, but why?"

"Uh, I would like to talk about a few things with you."

"Really? Like what?"

"Oh, well, that's a long story." And she went into the story about how she got here, and how similar it was to his predicament.

~~~~~~*** End of Chapter 4 ***~~~~~~

Okay, that's a pretty good place for a stop, don't you think? Well, anyway, next chapter should be out soon so look for it.

Alex: Hey, you seen my sister?

Jennifer: What?

Alex: There you are! There's someone on the phone for you!

Jennifer: Who?

Alex: Uh, he says his name is Bobby... [Alex stares as Jennifer grabs the phone and flies off]

Alex Ultra: Well, I wonder where she gets that from?

Alex: I think she gets it from mom.

Alex Ultra: You think?

Alex: Yeah! How do you think she met dad?

Alex Ultra: -_- Oh. Right.

Alex: Yeah! I know!

Gohan: Hey, you guys seen my brother?

Goten: Here I am!

Alex and Alex Ultra face vault: Hey! Where'd you come from!?!?

Goten: The kitchen.

Alex Ultra: -_- Oh. Right.

Anyway, see you all

LATER