The Worlds Smartest

This Is The Enforcer Speaking,

Thank you, my constant readers. In this chapter we will spend some time in Vegeta's point of view and likely in future chapters as well. This is a little used POV in this fic so I hope it doesn't upset anyone but I feel it is necessary for the way I plan to tell move forward with the next couple of chapters.

Now…On To The Story!

Sunrise

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Tugging her gloves Bulma stared at herself in the mirror. Her hair, now long, was pulled back in an elaborate series of brides and then twisted tight to the nape of her neck. She wore her battle armor all blue, white and gold. Two swords road in their sheaths across her back. No cape. Her abdomen swelled slightly, nearly unnoticeable, but her suit curved easily over her changing shape. Resting her hand on her abdomen, feeling that growing energy, Bulma met her own eyes in the mirror. The effects of the last several months had left undeniable marks. Not on her flesh but on her soul. She could see it in her eyes. Innocence well lost. In her lived something darker now. But that something darker was necessary. She wanted it. Needed it.

Looking at this new version of herself one last time Bulma turned away and left the room. Her eyes hovered over the empty bed, the still dark sky, Vegeta's discarded shirt as it lay draped across the back of a chair. Would all this still be here at the end of the day? Would he? Would she? Bulma ran her hand around the edge of a half empty glass of water left on the nightstand before turning her back on the room and leaving. The sun would be up soon and Frieza was coming with it.

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"You're leaving." Bulma crossed her arms, looking away from Vegeta, eyes glued to the western horizon. The view unobstructed from the palaces launchpad. The Saiyan army spread out behind them.

"Yes."

Bulma didn't need to look to know his pose mirrored her own. They stood in silence. Watching the sky lighten. They were leaving much unsaid, she knew that, but really, they didn't need say anything else.

It was time.

"Lie to me." Bulma said.

"Everything will be fine." Vegeta replied.

Her heart lurched and Bulma spun, capturing Vegeta's face in her hands she kissed him. He stiffened at first, likely startled by the public display but quickly relented and returned the fevered kiss.

The sun crested the horizon.

They broke apart, bathed in the golden glow and looked to the sky. Somewhere up there Frieza closed the distance between them. Him and his goons. Vegeta looked down at her.

"I will return to you." The words held the weight of the universe. He stepped back from her, moving away, leaving her.

Panic swelled but Bulma squashed it, biting back in the words she wanted to say, to plead him to stay. She would not dishonor him in front of his army. Bulma watched the sudden rise of Vegeta's small ship as he launched himself into the sky. She struggled to keep her eyes on the vessel as it rose higher into the atmosphere. Struggle not to lose sight of him but eventually the ship winked out of sight.

Turning around Bulma faced the Saiyan army. The sharp lines and rows of elite warriors, the groups of freed slaves who'd chosen to stay on what was the only home they'd ever known, the lower classes spreading out through the city. They all stood, all prepared to fight from the butcher to the King, for their planet.

There would be no grand speech, no motivational banter, or hollowed assurances. They knew what needed to be done. Knew the war was moments away. Saiyan's did not need coddling.

"Prepare for war." Bulma commanded.

Fists met chests in a thunderous salute and the army disbanded to their posts in a wash of energy. They shot across the sky's, pounded down the streets, and within moments they were gone. All that remained in the palace was her personal guard. Toma, Zuc, Krillin, Piccolo, Bardock and Kakarot, who was the only warrior who Vegeta believed to be powerful enough to protect her.

"Are we sure this will work?" Bulma asked quietly.

"Nothing in life is certain." Piccolo answered.

Her scouter beeped wildly, drawing her attention to the screen. "He's here."

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Vegeta stood alone on the desolate moon. The atmosphere was breathable, but the weather generated by the satellite was unpredictable at best. Wind whipped around them and he knew at any moment he could be subjected to an electrical storm

.

As Frieza's ship came into sight of Vegetasai Vegeta allowed his Ki to rise in order to trigger Frieza's sensors. At the same time, he felt his army rise theirs in a tempting display. If the plan worked out Frieza would come to him and direct his Ginyu forces to wreak havoc on the planet, saving the destruction of the planet as a whole for later. Though he was unsure where the lizard would send his lackeys, Zarbon and Dodoria. They may come with their master and would add another layer of trouble for Vegeta.

Flexing his gloved hands Vegeta knew the odds were not in their favor, no matter what he told his mate. That was why he left Kakarot with direct orders to force her to evacuate if it looked as though their plan would fail. Whether she was willing or not.

The woman and his son were all that mattered. They must survive. Vegeta knew he was not prepared for this battle. Standing amidst the lonely desolation of his moon Vegeta thought it only fitting that he died alone. Yet his very nature rebelled at the idea. He would fight, he would win, he tried telling himself, but he knew his reality was likely much bleaker.

It took only moments for him to feel Frieza's Ki coming his way and the lizard was alone. This was both good and bad. Vegeta could focus on Frieza alone, which was good, but that meant the two lackeys were going to be on his planet, with his mate, which was bad.

Frieza landed on the moon in a small ship, designed to hold him alone. The lizard was an ugly beast. His skin a combination of white and pink. Two black horns protruded from his white and purple skull. The creatures armor matched its colors and his tail whipped behind him as he stalked toward Vegeta on three toed feet. His current power level felt below that of Vegeta's, but the King was no fool. This was Frieza's base form, the one he used to try to trick his enemies into thinking him weaker before transforming and crushing them.

"My lovely Monkey Prince, how are you?" Frieza's creepily feminine voice slithered along Vegeta's skin making him twitch.

"I am the King of all Saiyan's now Frieza. You will show me respect." Vegeta pulled his tail tighter to his waist and crossed his arms. Trying to mask his nervousness. "You should leave while you still have the chance."

Frieza tittered, the high brittle laughter echoing in the rocky nothingness.

"Oh, you are amusing for a monkey but I'm afraid I can't let your little rebellion against me go unpunished. You should have taken me up on my offer princeling. We could have been great together; I would have even taken that brat you have on the way off your hands once he was old enough to fight. Given him a proper upbringing. Though I'm not sure what good a Saiyan/human mutt would have done me. Likely going to be ask weak as its mother. What a waste of genetics. One would have thought you'd have had better taste than making such a weakling your Queen." Frieza focused more on his claws than on Vegeta as he spoke.

Of course, Frieza new about the young. Vegeta was not surprised by Frieza's knowledge of the unborn and yet hearing him speak of his son, of taking him away, of doing the Gods knew what to him made the young King's blood boil.

"You talk too much." Vegeta snapped, powering up. "Let us end this now."

Frieza laughed again, "This is to be such a short battle. Truly such a waste of my time perhaps I should have just sent Zarbon to do away with you while I destroyed your wretched planet.

"What would be the fun in that? I am stronger than you realize." Vegeta taunted. His ego not being able to handle being called weak again. He powered up slightly, his Ki whipping around him dangerously. "Come and get it lizardman."

"This might prove to be some fun after all." Frieza squealed before launching himself at Vegeta.

Vegeta met Frieza head on, grabbing Frieza's fists in his own stopping him dead in his tracks.

Power erupted around them, cratering the ground around them, throwing debris in the air in a whirlwind of power. They screamed in each other's faces. Frieza's eyes wide in surprise as his scouter let out a series of increasingly hectic beeps before exploding in his face.

It was Vegeta's turn to laugh. "Is this the best you can do?"

Ki blazed around them swirling, crushing the ground beneath them. Finally, growing irritated with the stalemate Vegeta shoved away from Frieza spinning up into the sky. Frieza followed him as they spun around each other briefly before colliding in a series of kicks and punches. Surprised, Vegeta realized he could hold his own against Frieza in this form without even fully powering up. A flare of dangerous hope swelled within him and he struck Frieza hard, drilling him down into the surface of the moon. Frieza disappeared in an explosion of rock and dust.

Landing near the crater Vegeta cautiously approached. He could feel Frieza in there, the beasts Ki roiled in its anger. The fight wasn't close to over and the Saiyan King knew it.

"Why you arrogant little monkey!" Frieza's voice preceded him as he crawled out of the heap of stone. "You think you can defeat me that easily?" He raged. "Prepare yourself monkey king for my first transformation."

Frieza began screaming as red energy surrounded him. His body began to grow, his power level skyrocketing, and Vegeta took a half step back. The real fight hadn't even begun and as the ground shook beneath him Vegeta felt a sliver of fear. He wasn't strong enough, but he had to be, had to somehow find the strength within himself to protect everyone. To save the entirety of the universe. As Frieza's body grew Vegeta braced himself for the real battle that was to come.

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It was pure chaos. They Ginyu force and Frieza's two head henchmen were doing their best to destroy everything in their path as they search for her. Bulma wanted to fight them, wanted to step in and stop them from killing any more of her people but she'd been caught off guard when her personal guard turned into her jailors. The first time she'd made to enter the fray Kakarot stood before her with a truly menacing look. One she'd never seen on his face before.

"Vegeta said to keep you safe and out of the fight." Kakarot had told her. She'd attempted to argue with him but was only met with a firm resistance. "I swore on my mate's life I would follow his command."

That'd pretty much stopped her on the spot. Kakarot meant it and as strong as she might be she didn't hold a candle to the idiot Saiyan's strength. So, she stood, protected by the strongest warriors left on the plant, like a coward, as her army fought alone. Well, not truly alone. They had their generals but Bulma always felt like she should lead from the front, not the rear.

The palace shook as another bolt of energy struck the shields that Bardock erected around the palace. Another secret that'd been kept from her.

"Do you think they realize they've been trapped here yet?" Toma asked. He stood off to Bulma's left as she watched the battle unfold.

Bulma shook her head. It'd been an hour since the fighting erupted. She could sense her mate, even from the vast miles away. His Ki sang loudly, called to her, comforted her with the knowledge that he was still alive.

"Not likely, they will once Frieza calls for them as reinforcements. Have we killed any of them yet?"

"No." Bardock reported. "They're incredibly strong and gifted with unique abilities that make them that much more difficult to defeat."

Rounding on the group Bulma said, "We need to be out there fighting."

"Our orders are to protect you and ensure you stay within the palace walls." Krillin had the balls to speak up but quickly snapped his mouth shut at the look Bulma tossed him.

Another shock of energy hit the shields. "When these shields fail, and they will fail, those fighters will come for me anyways. In the meantime, they are destroying our city! Our army can't hold them off forever!" Bulma felt helpless and a Queen was not meant to feel helpless.

"Perhaps you should go find something to do to take your mind off the battle for a while." Piccolo told her.

Bulma opened her mouth to ask him how exactly she was supposed to ignore the monsters destroying their planet when he gave her a meaningful look and spoke again.

"Some time in your quarters my help you think more clearly." He hedged.

The wheels in her mind began to turn. Piccolo was trying to help her.

"You're right, perhaps I need some time alone." Bulma whipped around heading for her private wing.

"Not a chance." Said Zuc, who'd fallen for her escape plans before.

"Fine, just take me to my rooms. You guys can post up at the windows and doors if it makes you feel better, but I want a few minutes without you all breathing down my neck. Am I your Queen or am I your prisoner!"

The group exchange a nervous glance but eventually relenting and allowing her to have her way. She was their Queen after all.

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As the doors shut behind her Bulma gave once last flick of her eyes to Piccolo before they were block from her sight. He held up three fingers. Thirty minutes. He'd stall them from checking on what she was doing for half an hour.

Rushing across the room Bulma dove for her desk. She didn't keep much of her scientific endeavors in their rooms, but she never went without her tablet. Withdrawing the small device from the draws she smiled at it in triumph. Bulma would not be cage while her people fought and died, not matter Vegeta's wishes.

With a few flicks of her fingers she accessed the programs monitoring the shields surrounding the palace. Of course, they were encrypted but now that she knew they were there she could eventually break the encryption. Glancing at the clock Bulma began to type rapidly, recalling as much as she could from her father's lessons.

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Vegeta screamed as he found himself pummeled into the ground. This second form of Frieza's was much larger and insanely powerful but he hadn't been able to kill Vegeta with it yet. Breaking free from the rubble of the mountain Vegeta returned fire at Frieza, forcing the lizard off of his current trajectory and giving Vegeta a split second to disappear.

Diving into a crevasse he hid. The mighty Saiyan King was hiding but he needed a minute to catch his breath. He could taste blood and his armor bore heavy cracks from the lizard's abuse. The tail had caught him off guard at first. In this evolved form Frieza's tail was much more dangerous. Vegeta knew he had at least one broken rib. Thankfully Frieza couldn't sense Ki and his scouter was destroyed. From what he knew Frieza had two more forms, each more powerful than the last. Already he was ten times as powerful as he'd been before.

Maybe he could trick Frieza into making some sort of mistake? Hit him with an attack powerful enough to kill him in this form? Not bloody likely. He had not put a dent in him yet. Though he believed he had managed to aggravate him and the more he aggravated Frieza the more likely he was to transform. The lizard needed to die before he powered up again.

"Come out, come out, where ever you are!" Frieza sing songed. Vegeta rolled his eyes. He felt Frieza as he searched around from him. He would try a surprise attack, even if it failed, it was better than simply hiding here until Frieza grew bored enough to simply destroy the moon as a whole.

Gritting his teeth Vegeta began powering up. As soon as the lizard flew across his path, he would hit him with everything he had. He hoped it would be enough.

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She had five minutes to go before her "guard" would be checking in on her and Bulma typed away furiously, breaking through the last layer of protections on the shielding system surrounding the palace grounds.

"I am no coward." Bulma hissed to herself as she found the right coding she needed. "And I will be held prisoner by no man, ever again."

She swiped her finger along the last serious of numbers and the castles shields fell. Alarms began to sound and Bulma bolted at a full run for her balcony winds. Typing in the override she heard her guards shouting at the room's doors, but they weren't going to be fast enough. The steel shutters opened just far enough for Bulma to fit through and she shot through the still closed baloney doors, glass shatter around her as she flew past Piccolo who'd obviously offered to take the outside guard and into the sky to join the fight.

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The ground around him began to shake as his Ki peaked. Sweat trickled along his brows but he continued to force more energy into the palms of his hands. Channeling his life force into a single ball of energy. His Ki erupted around him as he called on more power than he ever had before.

He had to be strong enough, he had to stop Frieza. There was no other option.

Come and get it, Frieza. Vegeta's thought whorled. Even if he failed at least the woman would be safe, his soldiers would ensure she stayed protected and out of the fight. If it came to it, they would take her across the universe and far away from Frieza's reach. Forever.

Frieza's Ki approached quickly, giving Vegeta the warning he needed to be ready. Seconds later Frieza charged into Vegeta's hiding place. As soon as he saw the tyrant Vegeta brought his hands over his head and flung all of his energy and power directly into the incoming monster.

-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-

The explosion on the moon drew Bulma's attention skyward. The sharp rise and fall of Ki stopped her heart. What had happened? With little time to focus on the sheer terror of the moment she brought her attention back to the immediate concern in front of her. The short, ugly, four eyed space alien who called himself Guldo. They had to kill these Ginyu forces before anyone could go to their King.

"Frieza is going to reward me handsomely for your death." It hissed at her. Panting.

"Not a chance fatty." Bulma taunted. This creature could freeze time she'd discovered but he could only hold it for as long as he could hold his breath. So Bulma had been running the out of shape alien ragged as she fought him. He wasn't all that powerful but being frozen every few seconds was putting a damper on the fight. When he'd taken one of her swords, she'd nearly lost her mind. She'd get it back as soon as she took his head.

"I will kill you with my mind freeze technique!" He screamed but before he could freeze her Bardock landed between the two of them taking the brunt of the attack.

Bulma, wide eyed, mouth "sorry" at the now frozen and very aggravated looking warrior before moving as fast as she possible could. With her back up swords in hand Bulma charged the weapon with her Ki and promptly sliced the green fighters head from his shoulders. The head rolled away still cursing until Bulma disintegrated it with a blast of Ki. Too easy.

As she retrieved her main sword from the dead aliens hand, she felt the rest of her guards fall from the sky, landing with solid thumps around her.

"Don't look at me like that." She growled, sheathing her swords. "I am the Queen, not some prisoner and I will not hide while our planet is razed. Either help me kill the rest of these goons or get out of my way."

"That was the weakest of them." Bardock snapped. "You're just lucky I got in between you and that ridiculous mind freeze attack."

"See, still doing your job, protecting me and I'm doing mine. Protecting everyone else." A sudden explosion drew her attention over to the main city. Bulma flared her Ki, calling to the monsters that wanted her so bad.

"Come and get me." Bulma whispered as she watched six dark shapes rise high into the air from various parts of the city and come her way. The power levels were insane. So ridiculously high that Bulma knew there was no way she'd be able take any of them alone. "Alright boys, you're either with me or against me. What's it going to be?"

Six pairs of eyes met hers before each and every one of them powered up.

"With me it is then." She turned, preparing for the onslaught.

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A/N: I'm sorry this chapter took so long to get together and hasn't quite turned out the way I'd like. I have super-duper struggled with how to write this and how this fight is going to go. It's gotten heavier and more detailed as I've gone along trying to figure out what I want to do. Anyways please review if you have time. Lots of love. ~The Enforcer