40 miles outside of Topeka, Kansas
April 24, 2010
8:00 A.M. C.S.T.
Colin awoke from his dreams to the sound of his alarm. The few rays of sunshine splashed into his eyes soon as he opened them, forcing him to raise his arms to shield them. Deciding against hitting the snooze button, he pushed himself up and hit the stop button. Sitting up in the bed and letting out an isolated stretch, he then noticed the space next to him, typically reserved for his wife, was empty. However, the smell of cooking food clued him into her location. He got out of bed and slipped on a t-shirt, opting to remain in his pajama bottoms and slippers for the time being. Finishing his morning maintenance of brushing his teeth and hair, he headed downstairs to the kitchen. His wife, Natalie, was just placing the breakfast plates on the table: blueberry pancakes with bacon on the side.
"Hello, honey." Natalie greeted her husband with a warm yet groggy smile. "I woke up a bit earlier and decided to do some last-minute changes for the housewarming tomorrow."
"Really? I didn't know we had a housewarming tomorrow." Colin inquired as he sat at the table with a confused glance.
"Trisha didn't call you yesterday?" She asked and earned a quick "No" in response. "Damn it, I can't trust her to do shit." The woman scoffed, pinching the bridge of her nose to soothe the incoming headache at the thought of her sister-in-law. "Well, the basics of it is that the Powells have decided we weren't moving in fast enough, so she decided we should have a housewarming tomorrow to get everyone over here to help us pack."
"And we can't move in at our own pace because…"
"Because your sister is a control freak." Natalie finished as she took a seat next to him. Colin thought for a second, then nodded.
"Fair point. Anyway, I say we unpack our bedroom today." Colin suggested as Natalie smiled and nodded. They began eating and the small talk for the time being. Since they both mostly worked alternative shifts, they rarely managed to sit down and eat breakfast together. It was best to get every bit of happiness out of these types of moments.
"Oh, I've got a surprise out back." Colin interrupted as he hopped up from the chair.
"What is it?"
"That's why it's a surprise." He reminded as he led to the back door. Confused but also excited, she let him continue to walk her to the backyard. Once he opened the door, she laid eyes on what looked like…
"Oh my god, we're getting a pool?!" She asked excitedly, and he nodded with a smirk. "Oh my god!" She belted as she hugged her husband and planted a kiss on his lips. Just as they disconnected, the air around suddenly felt a bit thinner.
Then the sound slowly crept up in volume with every passing millisecond. It was almost like the sound of rushing wind. Holding his wife behind him, Colin walked forward and looked up into the sky. What he saw nearly made his heart erupt from his chest in pure, unadulterated panic: a giant, fiery meteor was barreling down towards their house.
"Get in the house!" Colin commanded as the duo turned and ran into the house. The second they crossed the threshold, the space rock smashed into the ground right behind their home. The shockwave from the explosion took the couple off their feet, carrying them through the kitchen into the living room. Everything made of glass in the house shattered, including the giant bay window installed in the living room, showering the couple in dust glass.
It took a few seconds for their thoughts to return to them as they lay on the floor, unable to move. Finally, Colin let out an almost strangled, "Natalie, you okay?"
"Yea, how about you?" She asked, her voice quivering.
"Yea, I'm fine," Colin answered as he stood to his feet. The house's lights flashed off on impact, leaving the sunlight emerging from the open doors and broken windows to offer a cloudy beam of the sun. "What the hell was that?" Colin muttered to himself before he began slowly walking to the doorless back entryway.
"Colin, what are you doing? What if it's radioactive?!" She said to no avail; her husband continued walking to the door. She quickly got up and continued after her husband, letting him lead the way. Whatever it was, it burrowed deep into the ground behind their house. Thankfully, it was a bit away from their home. Once they got to the edge, the husband and wife's breath stopped upon seeing the object. It wasn't a space rock.
"Coulson, Hill." Nick Fury greeted as he climbed out of the van and walked to the closed-off scene. His two trusted agents lifted the "DO NOT CROSS" tape and allowed him to enter the closed-off property. Coulson took a look back at the reporters beginning to swarm the house. It didn't take much for people to see and hear a meteorite crashing down on Earth and report it to the news. Thankfully it was just local news. He estimated that the national and international news would probably be there in an hour. It didn't take but a few seconds before Fury asked, "What happened?"
"An alien craft crashed into the homeowner's backyard at eight-thirty this morning. They called the police, and the local department called us in. It must've been moving incredibly fast. None of our satellites even picked it up."
"Is whatever came in it hostile?" Fury inquired, sparing a glance at the shaken couple before continuing across the house to the backyard.
"There's no way of telling just yet. Our guys are still trying to get it open." Hill answered as they finally reached the spot. It was an enormous crater with a white pod sitting at its center. Fury could see the red window far too tinted for them to see through. "It's definitely a ship, but we don't know what's inside it."
"It's a peculiar ship. There's no engine on it or propellers, but it struck the Earth with enough power to burrow into the ground at least twenty feet," Coulson added. They watched with silent curiosity until a shout from the workers caught their attention.
"Hey, we almost have it open!" One of the workers called out as they pushed on the rod inserted in the joint one more tough time and the door, after a groan, ripped open. The trio of superiors walked down to see their alien. It looked like a teenage human male with long black hair, a tan complexion, and possessed a slim yet muscular build. What caught their attention was the battle wounds riddling his body, judging from the red blood oozing from each of countless gashes, cuts, and what seemed to look like bullet holes across his torso. His black bodysuit, or rather its remains, clung to his legs and parts of his arm.
"Jesus Christ, what happened to him?" Coulson muttered as Fury looked over to the paramedics and gave the nod. They got a stretcher and proceeded to lift the unconscious alien from his pod and rushed him back to the ambulance. The trio got into the van and followed the ambulance to the nearest S.H.I.E.L.D. Agency headquarters.
Beep…
Beep…
Beep…
The steady beeping was what finally awoke the alien from his slumber. Finally opening his eyes after the third attempt to let his eyes adjust to the brightness in the room. It was pure white, nothing of interest to add to it. To his left was a mirror, reflecting his own confused glance back to him. To his right was the monitor that constantly let out that incessant noise. If it wasn't because his energy level was very dangerously low, he would've destroyed it with a ki blast.
His entire body felt numb, save for the dull pain that ached in his chest for some reason. He tried to sit up, but his arms were too sore to move. Instead, he leaned up and looked around. Now, he could see that the front of the room had a small table with a strange container. He looked down at his body to see he was clothed in a gown, and a few wires were sticking out from his chest and body, including a tube feeding something into his wrist.
"What the hell are these?" He muttered as he grabbed at the wires.
"I wouldn't do that if I were you." A voice stopped him in his tracks. He turned to see a tall, bald man with black clothing and a patch over his left eye. They stared at each other for a few seconds before he cocked an eyebrow. "It'll send off a bunch of loud alarms and annoy the hell out of both you and me."
"Then can you turn it off?" He asked as the man walked to the machine and flipped the switch, finally stopping the annoying beeping.
"So you know the English language?"
"You mean the common language?" The Saiyan questioned as the man's eyebrow cocked.
"Gonna have to remember that for later." He said as he walked closer and sat on the chair right next to the bed.
"Can you tell me what planet this is?" The galactic warrior pushed past his arm's soreness and rubbed his eyes when asking the question, still adjusting to the room's brightness.
"We like to call it Earth."
"No, I mean the planet's number." He inquired, giving the human an aside glance of confusion before continuing to rub his eyes.
"Number?" The Saiyan eyed his expression before his glance softened, putting his hands down.
"You mean to tell me you don't know your planet's Freeza number?"
"Not as far as I know. We only go by Earth." The Saiyan fell back on the bed, a breath of relief escaping his lips once he made contact with the pillow.
"Good, the last thing I need is to fight off his loyalists trying to avenge him." A ghost of a smirk crossed his face, continuing to stare forward at the white ceiling.
"What is a Freeza number?"
"It…it isn't anything anymore. That bullshit numbering system died along with the creator."
"Okay, now my turn to ask a question: why did you come to our planet?" The human asked, moving in closer to the alien in the bed.
"I didn't specifically choose this planet to land on, if that is what you're asking. I was in a very heated battle with Freeza after he killed off my race. If I thought I looked bad, you should see him." The Saiyan let out a small chuckle before a coughing fit seized his body. The human patiently waited for the fit to pass before he continued his line of questioning.
"So you're by yourself?" A sorrowful feeling quickly washed over the Saiyan, thinking back to the events, but he promptly swallowed the grief (not knowing the man noticed it).
"As far as I know, yes. I'm the only survivor of the Saiyan race."
"And your planet?"
"Gone. It was destabilized during our battle, and I only barely managed to get away before it exploded."
"Damn." The man muttered under his breath; a thought quickly crossed his mind before he looked back at the alien and asked," Just how powerful was this dictator that he could destroy a planet?"
"I take it, from the sound of your confusion, your species haven't figured out how to master ki?"
"Ki?"
"Sparing you the long-winded explanation I was taught; ki is life energy, every living creature has it of some form. Most beings in the universe don't understand how to draw it out, let alone manipulate it. My people were naturally able to draw it out." Deciding a demonstration was in order, the galactic warrior raised his right hand, creating a golden ball of energy in his hand. "And when you can draw it out, you can use it in multiple forms, such as energy blasts, flying, and defensive moves like barriers."
"So, that dictator had enough ki to destroy a planet?"
"How much ki you possess, whether from training or being naturally born with it, determines how powerful you are. Freeza naturally possessed the highest amount of ki in the universe, barring Beerus the Destroyer." The Saiyan realized he had mentioned the name and brushed off the man's confused expression with a slight shake of his head. "That's a story for another day. For that matter, he and many Saiyans could destroy planets very easily with energy blasts powerful enough."
"Can you destroy a planet?"
"Yes."
"How do you know you can destroy planets?"
The Saiyan's jaw clenched for a few seconds before he finally built up the nerve to admit, "Because I've done it before. I've done things I'm not particularly proud of, including exterminating planets across the universe for Freeza."
"How do I know that this is not a trick?"
"Because if it was, you would be dead now. No use at leading you all on when I could've handled this planet in a few hours tops." He bluntly stated, taking note of the steely gaze from the human. "But if you still feel unsafe with me here, I'll gladly leave as soon as you show me to my pod."
"Here's my last question: are there others who can destroy planets in our universe?"
"Yes, I've fought many of them. They're rare, but they are definitely are there."
There were a few moments of silence between the two as Fury assumed he was processing all he heard. He likely never knew much about the universe before this moment. So learning about the mechanics of something as complex as ki, the existence of a galactic monarchy like Freeza Force, and (perhaps most disturbing) the danger of being capable of destroying entire planets would be a lot to be introduced to so casually.
Finally, Fury spoke," I don't entirely trust you; that will take time…but I would prefer to keep you on this planet for the time being." The man said, earning a confused look from the Saiyan. He didn't trust him, but he still wanted him here. "If what you said is right and there are others in this universe with the power to destroy our planet, I feel we would be better off having you here where you can help." The man stated as the galactic conqueror nodded. He couldn't question that logic.
"So, I'll tell you this: as a representative of this planet, I am willing to give you housing and food to live off on one condition: you help us when we need you."
"From one glorbob-hill to another." The Saiyan sighed before he looked at the human and nodded. "I didn't catch your name."
"Nicholas Fury, the Director of S.H.I.E.L.D." He greeted as he extended his hand. "Nice to have you onboard, Mr…."
"Zuchino." He shook his hand.