Disclaimer: I don't own Dragon Ball Z. Toriyama does. I own Jeannie, Atomique, and other fan characters, but Christine is owned by Bulma the Babe.
Recuperation
Notes: this takes place during the first week after Radditzu 'rescues' Atomique from Nappa. Both Radditzu and Nappa are being confined to Capsule while Bejita tries to acclimate them to Earth's culture. Nappa has settled his score to pay Jeannie back for convincing him Atomique wanted him, while Radditzu is tending to Tomique's injuries from her fight with the Dragon Womyn.
"What the HELL is going on here?" Bejita demanded, and then glared at Nappa.
"Sire I didn't KILL her!" Nappa said quickly, dropping Jeannie at his feet. "She STARTED it!"
"I see, and you finished it? Nappa, you can't go beating up my students! This isn't Freiza's…"
"She tried to kill Radditzu. So was I supposed to let her trash him and his little bed slave?"
"Pardon me?" Bejita blinked.
"You know, Radditzu's bed slave. That girl who he rescued that first day. Anyway, I saw this lizard lady trying to kill that dark hair ningen, and I figured he might not want her damaged, because even though I wanted her, this stupid bitch lizard was smoking something…"
"Radditzu told me that Jeannie here hasn't exactly been truthful," mused Bejita. "Very well, take her to the med lab. Say nothing of this to any one. Hopefully we can sort out this mess before any of the Z fighters find out. Where's Radditzu now?"
"Probably looking after his whore," said Nappa quietly.
"Check on them. Make sure he keeps her there till she heals. I'll speak to my mate about this matter. But breathe nothing of this to anyone. I'll speak to Jeanie the minute she wakes…"
"I hit her pretty hard. I figure that she wont' remember much…" Nappa shrugged.
"It may be for the best. The last time I recall you hitting someone on THAT place on their skull they took quite a WHILE to remember much else… for your sake she had best only forget the last few hours, because I'm NOT reeducating anyone ELSE, got it?"
"Yes sire," Nappa bowed, grabbing Jeannie and carefully draping her over his shoulder. He saluted, following Bejita to the medical bay where the regeneration tanks were. Bejita frowned, not liking this turn of events at all. He had to do something about these distractions and fast. Without letting anyone know that anything was amiss.
Atomique blinked up as she saw someone huddled over her. Hands glowed as they smeared a paste over her body. She wheezed when she breathed in, gasping for air. "What the hell… I can't…"
"Shut up and lay still female," Radditzu gruffly ordered.
"I'm the biggest… cough… idiot… letting her… fight me like that…"
"You are. Somehow you gave her a good fight, but I had to intercede before she almost killed you. I still can't believe she took you down so easily because she's a sloppy fighter who's hardly worthy to wear Saiyan armor. She's a disgrace," Radditzu snorted.
"You… fought her, and WON?" she asked, blinking up at him.
"Of course. Because I wasn't squeamish, and I would not hesitate to use my full power. She was just toying with you, and holding back because you'd disoriented her with some gas. Lucky for you whatever you nailed her with slowed her down enough…" Radditzu mumbled, covering her with a space blanket.
"Where are we?"
"My quarters. I would have taken you to the med bay, but I don't trust leaving you there alone. You stupid female," he ranted.
"Thanks for caring," she mumbled. "But she was going on and on about how she was so powerful, and that I was so lame because I let myself get beaten by a third class? It's funny how you just kicked her ass… if I'm still alive…"
"She doesn't know what real fighting is," Radditzu snorted, sitting down on the bed next to her. "She can kill and maim, but she's not ruthless enough to cause any damage. She was looking for a clean way to kill you, but she had no idea of what destruction she can cause with the right use of her powers… A True Saiyan warrior doesn't let the enemy recover when they find a weakness to exploit. Since she was already blinded, I didn't give her a chance to get her equilibrium back. She couldn't sense where I was coming from, and she had wasted much energy trying to fight gravity…"
"So you took her down…"
"Long enough to get your ass away," Radditzu snorted. "You have three broken ribs, and nasty bruises… you could have had your neck broken…"
"Lucky me," she mumbled.
"This compound is ki activated. I'm trying to get your body's system to repair itself. It's not enough to warrant a regeneration tank…" Radditzu grunted. "Lie still… it won't be instantaneous… but the compound should form a protective cast to brace your ribs while my ki pushes your bones to knit…"
"I thought you were my shadow for a while there…" she gasped.
"I was, but I wasn't letting that idiot see me. I was hunting her as she hunted you," Radditzu answered. "But trying to get to you when you two were fighting was difficult. Unfortunately the only time I could act is if she knocked you down and in that second I could slip in and hit her fast and hard."
"She's invulnerable…"
"No warrior is truly unstoppable. She wasn't wearing her armor, and she wasn't anticipating me," Radditzu grunted. His rough hands were tickling her skin, pulling away the fabric so he could rub more of the healing salve, and then channel more ki into her body.
"Don't you need your energy?"
"Please don't mock me, fool," he grumbled. Cool air wafted against bare skin, causing Atomique to shiver convulsively. Only the warmth of Radditzu's ki kept her warm. Glancing down she saw that he had removed her top and pants, leaving her in her under things. In turn he had removed his armor, only wearing the shorts and bottoms of his armor so he was bare chested in the dim light. Scars covered his massive chest and back, bearing witness to multiple battles.
Her hand and arm tingled with their own heat. Glancing down, she gasped to see the blisters on her upper thigh and hand. "What the hell… how did this…"
"She burned you, idiot," said Radditzu, carefully smearing some of the ointment onto her hand and thigh as well. "It must have happened while you two fought.
"I don't remember her burning me…" she blinked up at him.
"I don't know how you stopped the flames. But you've got nasty second-degree burns. They're already starting to heal…" Radditzu said gruffly.
"Why don't I hurt… wait I bet you did something to…"
"Blocked the pain. Or else you'd be screaming right now," Radditzu shushed her. "Now lay back and rest. It's taking a lot of my ki to push your body to at least try and heal itself…"
"The regen tanks?"
"I don't know how to operate them," Radditzu flushed quietly. "But this salve is made from the same chemical compounds that are in a nutrient bath. It serves the same purpose for local injuries."
"Shit, what time is it?"
"Nine PM by this world's time," Radditzu answered.
"Kuso, I can't lay here… Goku and the others…"
"I've called my brother to tell you that you were injured and that you're being cared for. He'll come and get you, but I don't want him to move you till you're healed enough. I also asked that he remain with your brats…"
"But Jeannie…"
"Nappa's taking care of her," said Radditzu.
"NAPPA?" she gasped. "Oh shit!"
"He saw us fighting and didn't comprehend what was going on. Doubtless when he heard I was being attacked and overwhelmed he stepped in. Your friend's in a world of hurt right now in a regen tank… and I doubt she's going to want to explain herself.
"Shit… why… I thought he wanted to hurt me…"
"I'm Saiyan, and he was saving my ass. We might not care for each other, but since he thinks…"
A fist hammered on the door, and she yelped. "Hey, whelp, you and the bed slave okay in there?" came Nappa's voice.
"We're fine. Leave us be," said Radditzu.
"I brought some med supplies and food. Can't have you dying on me, or the Prince will nail my ass to the wall. Though why he bothers is fucking beyond me," came his voice.
"Fine, come in, but don't stay too long," Radditzu growled. She pulled the sheets around her, yelping in protest as the hulking great warrior strode through.
"Am I interrupting anything?" he grinned. She grasped Radditzu's bare arm, and the sheet dropped.
"What are you staring at!" she yelled up at him. Radditzu blocked Nappa's view of her body and he snickered.
"You're one lucky bitch. Amazing you're still alive. Smells like something cooking in here… like seared flesh… no wonder you wanted the extra med kit…" Nappa said, throwing a box towards him.
"Thank you, now get out," Radditzu grumbled.
"Brought you some food. Can't have you running out of energy while you're tending to your bed slave, can we? And you don't go dying on him before he's had his fun…"
"Knock it off, and get lost… but before you go, tell me… what of the female?"
"Oh her? She's floating in a regen tank in the Med bay," Nappa said. "I kinda wanted to have a bit of fun with my prey, but the Prince wouldn't allow it…"
"Uh oh, I'm afraid to ask," shivered Atomique.
"She won't be bothering you for a while. I think after that fist to her head, she's going to be lucky to remember her own name," Nappa laughed as he sat in one of the reinforced chairs. Radditzu opened up the second kit, and started pulling out various bottles and containers to arrange them on the bed next to him.
"Does Vegeta know…? I mean does his Majesty know?" she asked, correcting herself when Radditzu glared at her.
"Oh, he knows. That she got out of hand and attacked one of us without provocation," Nappa said. "Naturally I was just defending your ass and mine…"
"How badly was she hurt?" asked Atomique.
"Why do you care?" Nappa shrugged.
"Morbid curiosity… to see how powerful you are?" asked Atomique.
"She's strong, but she's no match for Saiyan elite," Nappa sniffed. "She's an amateur. Even Radditzu could beat her ass if he had enough time… got all that battle power and she can't use it."
"She relies on her invulnerability…"
"That's all she's got going for her. Sure she's fast, and savagely strong. But she can't generate the energy blasts that an Elite like I can," Nappa laughed deeply, smirking at his superiority.
"You didn't disintegrate her did you?" asked Radditzu.
"Tried, but her body's far tougher then that. It merely knocked her for a loop and I just acquainted my fist with her hard head. I actually fractured her skull, but it's as hard as a Saiyan's," Nappa said.
"I see…" Atomique murmured. "Thank you… for saving my butt… and Radditzu's…"
"No thanks necessary, female. Just show Radditzu a good time for me, and we'll call it even…"
"GET lost Nappa…" Radditzu snorted.
"You're welcome, whelp," he grunted, and gave a suggestive glance at Atomique, who was flushing red. The door slid shut after he exited.
"I apologize for his boorish nature," said Radditzu, shaking his head. He smeared some of the contents of a small tube onto her burn. The paste penetrated the skin, slowly tingling. Raising another bottle he sprayed a compound all over the surface to bond it. She realized it was a light polymer that acted like artificial skin.
"He saved both of us… I can't believe…" she whispered.
"That a killer would do such a thing?" asked Radditzu. "Nappa's far more ruthless than I, but he will lay down his life for his comrades when ordered. If he doesn't his superior has the right to kill him…"
"Why am I not surprised…" she shuddered, then laid her head back to rest.
"By the way, this should counteract the burn. The salve has a natural coolant as you've doubtless surmised. As the new skin regenerates, it will slough off the old. Yet there will still be a burn as the scar tissue forms.
"Yes," she flushed. "Wait, does it just accelerate the body's natural process?"
"Of course. It won't be pretty, but it will heal naturally, albeit a bit faster. Given enough ki the skin will be far tougher and stronger… you'll have the scars as a reminder of your battle…"
"I suppose in Saiyan culture…" she shivered.
"I had forgotten you humans are squeamish about your looks. Unfortunately the Saiyan medical supplies don't do foolish things for your stupid earth vanity. Scars are a badge of honor, something both males and females openly display to show how strong they are…"
"And if she sees it she'll remember that I survived and I know what happened," said Atomique.
"That's the other function. If an enemy survives their attacker, they will be shamed that they were too weak to finish them off and let them live. Sometimes it's best to let them live with the humiliation of defeat, that you survived, and that shame will keep them from harming you again."
"Who are you talking about?" she asked Radditzu. Already it was easier for her to breathe with his hands passing over her body infusing more ki.
"I wouldn't tell anyone what happened here if I were you…"
"So we just pretend like nothing happened? Why not?" she asked.
"We can't afford to have prying eyes here," said Radditzu. "Bejita will deal with her in his own time… telling Kakkarot will not help you, and it will endanger our welfare…"
"Damn it… "Jeannie's definitely put me on her shit list… and I don't know what to do about it… I'm surprised Vegeta hasn't… unless that's ANOTHER Saiyan thing…"
"She won't. Nappa already dealt retribution today. She won't toy with him or me again. And I don't think she'll want to admit that she was fighting you. So her own shame will keep her silent…" said Radditzu.
"I can't just let her get away with it! Shit…"
"What good would telling your Z fighter friends do? IT would only cause more trouble. She'll only deny responsibility, and they would believe Nappa and I capable of causing you the injury rather than your friend. Do you wish to betray me and Nappa when we've saved your ass from her?" Radditzu growled.
"You put me in your debt,' she growled. "Terrific…"
"It was not intentional. But I can keep you safe, and Nappa will step in as he has. So just rest and heal. And let me watch over you," Radditzu said, stroking her hair from her face. She turned her head to the side, catching the palm with a kiss.
"Thank you for saving me, Radz-kun," she murmured. He grunted, and then reached down to remove his boots, then his remaining armor.
"Move over, and stop hogging the bed," he murmured, stretching out alongside her. Sighing she felt his body nudge hers over while he covered them both. Against her he was incredibly warm, giving heat to her shock wrought body.
"It stinks, having you so close when I want to…"
"What?" he murmured.
"You know," she grumbled.
"It's not my affair you are so fragile," Radditzu chuckled, leaning down to steal a kiss. He smoothed her soft skin with his rough hand, caressing delicately as he could.
"Mm that tickles... your hair tickles…" she chuckled.
"Allow me…" he whispered, bracing his hand over her chest and kissing her more deeply. His tongue roved around in her mouth to taste and probe the new custom.
"It's infuriating not to be able to touch you… damn it…"
"I'll attempt not to hurt you…" Radditzu shushed her, gently picking up one leg and cradling the other. Keeping her hips raised, he slid himself into her with a grunt of need. Against the tops of his thighs, the bottoms of hers rested, while he placed her injured leg over his shoulder out of the way. Draping her uninjured arm over his neck, she felt his soft spiky hair tickling her bare skin. He avoided the band of material solidified around her torso that braced her ribs.
She clung to his massive body in the aftershocks, shivering with his ki. Sated, he dropped into a state of purring snores beneath her. Muscular arms held her protectively, while his tail twined around her uninjured thigh.
