Dragon Ball Prometheus

Disclaimer: I own nothing (unfortunately); all rights and characters in this fic belong to Akira Toriyama, and other respective owners and creators. I gain no profit from this; it's purely for fun. I only own my OC characters.

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Chapter 1

''Goten! Keep your head down!'' Chi-Chi yapped from the driver's seat.

''But I can see Bulma's house from here!'' The young half-Saiyan replied happily, leaning his body onto the front windshield of their car as it zoomed down the road.

Chi-Chi huffed and decided to just drop her argument. It's not like she had the same concern any mother would have if they saw their son's head practically hanging out of the open roof of their vehicle. After all, Goten could charge through brick walls and the thickest of tree trunks and appear unharmed. That being said, she didn't find it as something that she would want her son, whom she hoped would become as sophisticated as his older brother, to be doing on a regular basis.

Over the horizon, they could see the Capsule Corporation building grow larger. The sun hung in the sky, heating the air. People walked by on the sides with either a water bottle or delicious ice-cream cone in hand. Goten would occasionally glance around to see children march down the street with scoops of ice cream that screeched high above. He licked his lips, feeling a slight growl roll over his stomach. Before he could comment on his apparent hunger, Chi-Chi had already pulled their car up to the main gate.

After a quick look by the guard, recognising the mother as a friend of Bulma's, he beckoned for the gate to be opened and the Son family were allowed to drive in.

Impatiently, Goten hopped out as his mother parked in a secluded spot. Not wanting to come across as rude, he waited for her whilst on the lookout for Trunks. But he couldn't spot his friend anywhere.

The two marched into the building, careful not to get in the way of the employees strolling to their destinations, hard at work. Chi-Chi asked for Bulma, and one of the workers was happy to point her in the direction of the main garden area, where he claimed she was working on a new project. Taking her son's hand, they walked out of the back door, once again feeling roasted by the gleaming sun.

Goten looked up to see her wipe away a bead of sweat forming on her forehead, and he offered her a wide grin. ''Maybe we can ask Bulma for some ice-cream?''

Chi-Chi giggled and stared down at her son. ''That sounds like a marvellous idea,'' She titled her head back up, and stopped walking, causing her son to halt his movements too. ''If we can find her first.''

They scanned the open area, finding nothing by the greenery of trees and bushes. However, as her eyes drifted downwards, something did stand out. They noticed what appeared to be rough tracks scarred along the grassy ground, like an out-of-control vehicle had skidded along, not too long ago judging by the faint smoke that wafted into the air.

Just then, Bulma's voice called out. ''Hey, I didn't expect you for another hour.''

Goten and Chi-Chi searched, trying to locate Bulma. They could hear her but were unable to find her.

''Up here!'' Bulma shouted amusedly.

Both mother and son lifted their heads and were surprised to see Bulma calmly sitting on the branch of a tree next to them, gazing at them through a pair of binoculars.

Goten let out a laugh. ''What are you doing up there?''

Even Chi-Chi found it difficult to suppress a smile from growing over her lips. ''Sorry, I hope that I'm not interrupting your work.''

''No, no, you're both good,'' Bulma retorted. She then waved her hand to the left. ''Though, if you don't mind, could you take maybe two steps to the side?''

Bewildered by her instructions, Chi-Chi did as she was told and guided her and her son out of the way.

''Perfect,'' Bulma yelled happily before looking out into the open anxiously, seemingly following the tracks that the two had spotted. ''Now just stay right there for another…ten seconds.''

Chi-Chi and Goten exchanged a confused glance. That's when they could hear something coming towards them. At first, it sounded like the quiet rumbling of far-off thunder, before growing louder and becoming more defined. Chi-Chi recognised it as the sound of a car, possibly a truck charging around the corner. While Goten relied more on his senses, as he could feel a powerful, familiar, ki soaring at them. He beamed instantly. ''That's Trunks!''

Just as Chi-Chi was about to question what was happening, that's when she saw Trunks flying around the corner of the building and heading in their direction. Following closely behind appeared to be a hover scooter of incredible size, rivalling that of a large car, being driven by Pilaf, Mai and Shu. Their faces were stricken with panic, as they seemed to be holding onto the scooter for dear life, fearing that they would slip off and be sent hurtling into the distance. Trunks, on the other hand, had a confident smile as he glanced back at the gang before turning up the gear and flying at greater speeds.

When raced around the tree and past Chi-Chi and Goten, almost blowing away the startled mother. Meanwhile, the Pilaf Gang's scooter stuttered along, stopping completely next to Bulma's tree. The three flopped on their vehicle, each panting and letting out relieved sighs.

Above, the exact second that the scooter reached the tree, Bulma pressed a button on her watch and glanced at the time. After a moment of examination, she smiled and flapped her arms in the air. ''Yes, the time has improved. Less wind resistance and more power to the hydraulic-fuels were all that was needed. Great work everyone!''

Trunks turned his body around, darted over to the tree and grabbed Bulma. As he lowered her safely back to the ground, he glanced over to Goten waving at him. ''Hey, Goten! What's up?''

''Mum wanted to visit since she hasn't been over in a while, so I thought that I'd come along too.''

After Trunks helped Bulma back onto the ground, he glided over to Goten and the two buddies shared a quick fist-bump. ''So, what have you been up too?''

''Well, my mum has been helping me to look for a new school since I'm going to be moving to the next year after the summer,'' Goten explained, although it was plainly obvious that his attention had been diverted elsewhere. He couldn't tear his eyes away from the scooter, even with the sweat-drenched Pilaf Gang sprawled all over it. ''What have you been doing?''

Chi-Chi also fixed her eyes towards the scooter. ''Is this a new model you've been working on?'' She asked Bulma.

With a confident wink, the scientist wasn't shy about showing off her latest achievement. ''It sure is. According to studies, speed is all the rage in the market right now. There are more highways being constructed now than there have ever been, and with that, comes more demand for faster vehicles to travel around.''

Trunks folded his arms over his puffed out chest. ''Yeah, but no matter how fast it is, it'll never be as fast as me.''

Bulma rolled her eyes at her son's cockiness. ''I needed a good comparison and Trunks graciously offered to help. I was going to ask Vegeta…''

Chi-Chi sighed. ''But let me guess?''

Bulma nodded, and the women said in unison. ''Training!''

Trunks and Goten approached the scooter, Goten fascinated with its smooth, curved machinery while Trunks hurried over to help Mai, who was dizzily trying to stand on her own feet. ''Are you okay?'' He inquired.

Bashfully, Mai attempted to fix her messy hair that sprang out in all directions. Her hair was so tangled up by the mesmerising speed of their race, that when she looked directly at Goten, she was afraid that she was looking in a mirror for a brief moment. ''Yeah, we're all okay. Right, Shu?'' She looked away, hoping to hide her blushing cheeks.

Shu looked up at her with a pale-looking face. His body shivered as he cupped his hand over his mouth. ''I don't feel so good.''

Pilaf, shaking his head vigorously, clenched his fist as his expression turned from relief into one filled with annoyance. ''I knew that this wasn't going to work. If I were allowed to make some modifications of my own, I could have this rust-bucket moving at speeds of which the Earth has never seen.''

He flinched slightly when he heard Bulma clear her throat. Glancing in her direction, he saw her look down upon him with a charmed, slightly mischievous grin. ''As much as I appreciate the enthusiasm, I've told you that I want you guys to hold up before moving onto the more complex stages of construction. At least until you're all a little bit older.''

He growled and felt a comment slithering up his throat, ready to be tossed at Bulma. However, at this point, he knew it would be unwise to cross paths with her. Gulping his pride back down, he turned away and folded his arms, looking like a pouty child that didn't get his way. Frustration constantly bubbled up inside. He felt, no, he knew that his genius was being wasted because of his deceiving appearance.

If he were allowed to rank the hundred greatest minds the universe had ever seen, he would disqualify everyone and claim every position for himself. But, he knew that he could reveal the truth about their origin to anyone, especially to someone who has foiled his plans in the past. Honestly, he didn't know whom he would be most afraid of in this family if they were to turn against him.

Angrily, he beat his hand against the handle of the scooter. The lights flickered on and a rumbling noise roared from the dormant vehicle. Everyone looked on in shock as it hovered off the ground, and Pilaf didn't know what to say or do. He looked down at his two companions, ''Mai! Shu! This is all your fault!'' He accused.

Audaciously, Mai gritted her teeth and gave as good as she could take. ''Us? You're the one who hit it…''

Suddenly, the scooter rocketed forward, dragging the Pilaf Gang with them as their screams of terror echoed over the horizon.

The pair of mothers and sons watched on in bewilderment. Bulma rubbed the bridge of her nose and let out a quiet groan. From the way she reacted, Chi-Chi could tell that this wasn't the first time something like this had happened. In fact, the way she then seemed to amusedly giggle made it seem like this was a regular occurrence with them helping to test her experiments. ''I swear, those kids,'' She exhaled. ''I'm never going to get everything finished in time.''

Chi-Chi furrowed her brow. ''In time? Are you behind schedule? If we're disturbing you, we can always come back another day.''

Bulma waved her hands dismissively. ''No, I'm not behind. It's just…'' She paused, considering her next few words very carefully, wondering how she could tell her friend. ''I'm not going to have much time in the near future to work on any other projects.''

''Why's that?'' Chi-Chi questioned. ''Finally going on that dream holiday that you've been dying for.''

''I wouldn't call it a dream holiday…more, an obligated holiday.'' She jested.

Once again, Chi-Chi gave the woman a very puzzled look. ''I'm not following.''

Bulma's mouth opened, ready to continue with what she had to say when a dark shadow seemed to be cast over them. Goten and Trunks were the first to notice everything growing dark around the area. There hadn't been a cloud in the sky all day, and the weather forecasts seemed to indicate that the weather would actually be getting warmer throughout the day. They all looked upwards to see what was currently blocking the sun and were surprised to see a ship of some kind descend from the sky.

At their angle, it was too difficult to make it out as he lowered right above them, gradually getting closer. Chi-Chi took a defensive stance in front of Goten, while Bulma backed away, hoping to catch a better look at the ship. She cupped her hands over her eyes, almost blinded by the sun's rays as the ship moved out of the way. In doing so, she could finally get a proper view of the spacecraft and immediately recognised the design.

Trunks looked back at her. ''Mum? Is it trouble?''

''No, the ship isn't any trouble,'' She called back. ''What the ship will bring, that I'm not too sure about.''

Before long, the spaceship efficiently landed on the ground, prodding out half a dozen, strong legs that gripped into the grassy surface.

It took a moment for Goten and Trunks to recognise the ship, but once they did, they relaxed and became just as curious as Bulma was to see what kind of news the traveller would bring.

The spherical canopy opened wide, allowing room for Jaco to hop out and pose on the ring of his ship. ''Greetings!'' He called out.

''Hi, Jaco!'' Bulma responded, walking over to her old friend. ''Long time no see.''

''The feeling is mutual,'' He chimed. Shifting his body, he then jumped off his spin and effortlessly rolls his body to spin around in the air a few times. All eyes followed him as he fell to the ground. They were afraid that he might not stick the landing, however, he made no trouble of it, graciously settling on the ground. After that, he approached Bulma. ''I hope that you have been doing well.''

''Yeah, things have been fine on our end,'' She said before looking at him curiously, feeling a slight twist of worry in her stomach. ''You haven't come to bring us any bad news, have you?''

He snorted. ''No, there is nothing to fear. I haven't brought any doomsday warnings or threats of intergalactic scoundrels looking to wreak havoc on your quaint planet. In fact, the news that I'm bringing with me is quite astounding. You really should feel honoured.''

She arched an eyebrow. ''We should? And why is that?''

''You know that I have been a proud member of the Galactic Patrol for a number of years now. This job is a heavy burden, but a magnificent duty that not many ever manage to achieve in their lifetime. It's a responsibility unlike any throughout the universe. To be a Galactic Patrolman is to dedicate one's life to the betterment of all lives and…''

He droned on and on, leaving the others baffled by his out-of-nowhere speech and appearance, but also by what he was trying to indicate. Goten and Trunks looked at each other, hoping one would have the answer, however, they both appeared to be just as confused.

''Jaco!'' Bulma interrupted, and the patrolman stopped instantly. ''Look, can you just get to the point, because you lost me a while ago. What's all this about?''

Somewhat insulted by her cutting in during his speech, he scrunched his face. Pressing his clenched hand to his mouth, he cleared his throat before folding his hands behind his back. ''Right, well, while there is no trouble to speak of, I am here on official Galactic Patrol business. I have some monumental news that involves your respective sons, Son Goten and Trunks Briefs.''

Hearing that, Bulma froze and wasn't sure what to say next. This was the last thing that she expected to hear. Trunks and Goten tensed, fearing that they might have gotten themselves in trouble without realising it. Their minds raced back to try and remember if they stepped out of line at any point. Sure, they might have annoyed Jaco from time to time, but they never meant anything malicious by it.

Goten felt the wind get knocked right out of him as his mother wrapped her arms around him protectively. ''Whatever my baby boy did, it wasn't him! You can't arrest him! I won't let you take him from me!'' She shrieked.

Cracking a wry smile, Jaco wagged his finger. ''You have it all wrong. Your sons aren't in trouble. On the contrary, what I have to say is figuratively and literally the complete opposite,'' He pressed his hand under his chin and waited, entertained by their expressions as he left them hanging on the edge of their seats. ''By order of the Galactic King, he would like to offer Trunks and Goten the opportunity to join the Galactic Patrol!''

All four of their eyes bulged out of their sockets, and their jaws dropped to the ground, as his announcement needed a moment to be properly digested.

''You mean,'' Goten gasped. ''Trunks and I?''

''We get to be Galactic Patrolmen like you?'' Trunks finished.

With an affirmative nod, Jaco took a step closer. ''As I said, this is monumental. It's very rare that individuals who haven't been through rigorous years of academy training would be offered a position amongst our ranks. However, after reports on my recent missions, including Gryll's gang and the return of Lord Freezer, the Galactic King was impressed by what I had written about your sons. So, he asked me to ask you if they would like to join us.''

Everyone was too dumbfounded to respond right away. Bulma stared at her son, who looked just as shocked as she was. She shook her head and returned her gaze back to Jaco. ''Hey, this isn't a prank, right? This is real?''

Jaco let out an offended-sounding groan. ''Of course, it is! I would have no reason to lie, not to mention travel across the galaxy to deliver this news. That would be a waste of our resources.''

Finally, after letting the moment sink in, Goten and Trunks shared a look before their grins widened to super proportions. Before Goten could let out a yell of excitement, his mother beat him to it by wrapping her arms around him once more and hugging him tightly. Tears flowed down her face, though not for the reason Bulma first thought. ''My little man, I'm so proud of you! Not even out of school, and you've been offered your first job!''

Bulma creased her brow, befuddled by Chi-Chi's reaction. Although, she knew better than anyone at this moment what it felt like to be a proud mother. She blinked and Trunks dashed in front of her, holding his hands together and looking at her pleadingly. ''Mum! Can we join? Please! This is so cool!''

''You really want to join?'' She blinked with interest.

''Of course, we do!'' He exclaimed and Goten tried to do the same, however, he was finding it hard to escape his mother's grip, no matter how much strength he used.

Bulma released an amused laugh. ''Well, you've pulled my leg. How can I resist those faces?'' She turned to Jaco. ''It sounds like you have your answer. So, what do they need to do?''

''It's relatively easy. They merely have to attend the initiation ceremony with the Galactic King in attendance and swear the oath. All family and friends are welcome to come!''

Just as Bulma opened her mouth to speak, Chi-Chi responded quicker. ''We're going! I'm not going to miss out on seeing my Goten!'' Unable to hold in her snivelling, she rubbed her watery face against the fabric of Goten's shirt, much to the boy's dismay.

''Mum, this is embarrassing.'' He grumbled, trying his best to avoid the waterworks from splashing in his face.

Bulma placed her hands on her waist. ''I think that answers that!''

''Splendid.''

Quickly turning heel and hurrying over to Chi-Chi, Bulma smiled. ''I'm going to try and call Whis. Goku and Vegeta will want to hear this!'' With that said, she rushed over to a secluded spot to hopefully be within a good enough range for Whis's staff to receive.

As she did that, Jaco began marching over to his parked ship. ''I will report back to Headquarters and tell them to expect our arrival. I imagine you'll big a lot of guests considering the crowd you hang out with…''

Either he wasn't paying attention to his surroundings, or too deep in thought, Jaco failed to notice the Pilaf Gang's scooter zip along the ground and crash into the side of his ship. Before he could realise what was happening, his ship was scooped up and being pushed away. The weight of it didn't deter the runaway vehicle, going as fast as ever with Pilaf, Mai and Shu holding on for dear life.

Jaco's expression flattened and he let out a yelp as he saw his ship being carried away into the distance. ''What's going on? Stop! Come back here this instant!'' Knowing that yelling wasn't going to help, he started galloping after the ship. However, it was obvious that even with his long strides, he was never going to catch up to it. All he could really hope for was for the scooter to run out of fuel. But, knowing Bulma, she most likely designed it to run for weeks, if not, months without faltering.

Seeing the distress he was in, Trunks turned to his buddy. ''Come on, let's help him out.''

''Right!'' Goten responded. Managing to pry himself out of Chi-Chi's strong, yet loving grip, the two half-Saiyans glowed in a fiery aura before soaring after Jaco and his fugitive ship.

Chi-Chi stood up straight, watching as he son flew away. In no time at all, Bulma returned beside her. ''Well, they got my message. Hopefully, they should be on their way back,'' She looked to Chi-Chi and probed her with a curious grin. ''I have to admit I was surprised with how you took the news. I was expecting more reluctance from you with letting Goten go.''

Looking on proudly, Chi-Chi turned to her friend. ''I'm not letting him go. He's not going to be leaving home yet. But now, he's become a responsible young man, just like Gohan. Now my family has a fair balance between brain and brawn. As long as he doesn't do anything too dangerous, then I have no problem with him going off on adventures. Plus, not only will he be doing it with Trunks, but he'll be getting paid as well.''

''That's true,'' Bulma agreed, resisting the urge to laugh. There was no doubt, she was just as happy and proud of her son and what he achieved, just as much as Chi-Chi was of her own.

Elsewhere, a good distance further out along the open field, away from the Capsule Corporation building, Goku and Vegeta appeared out of thin air.

As Vegeta remained rooted to the spot, Goku walked forward, cupping his hands behind his neck and looking up at the bright sky. ''I wonder what Bulma wants to tell us. It must be important if she's called us away from training.''

Vegeta glared at Goku behind his back as if waiting for the happy-go-lucky warrior to notice him. However, as Goku continued on his way, Vegeta felt a nerve twinge and called out. ''So, you're not going to talk about it?''

Stopping in his tracks, Goku turned sharply, seeing Vegeta narrow his eyes at him. It was a solemn expression plastered over the proud prince. ''How can I talk about it? I don't know what Bulma wants to say!'' He gaped innocently.

Vegeta grunted. ''Not that! I'm talking about what happened with Beerus.''

There was an intense silence between them. Vegeta waited as Goku recalled what had just happened between him and Beerus. He remembered it. Yet, it seemed to pass by like a blur. Almost like a dream. The moment happened so quickly even he found it difficult to remember how he felt. Thoughtfully, Goku tried to understand how he felt, but he just couldn't place it into words. ''I don't know what to say.'' He finally admitted.

Frustrated, Vegeta paced forward until he was right in front of his rival. ''Don't play dumb. There is no way you could have reacted that quickly to Beerus's strike.''

''That's kind of what I mean,'' Goku shrugged. ''I didn't think. I just reacted.''

''You mean you weren't even intending to block that hit?''

Goku released a cheeky laugh and scratched his cheek. ''To be honest, I didn't even know Beerus was trying to hit me until I blocked him.''

While he could joke about it and move on, for Vegeta, this was no laughing matter. He pondered for a moment, trying to understand what Goku was telling him. ''I see, your body moved before your mind could comprehend what was happening?''

''I guess so,'' Goku chirped. ''But isn't that what Whis has been trying to teach us? What does it matter?''

Suddenly, Vegeta yelled through gritted teeth. ''It matters because, for the first time in a long time, I saw a look of genuine shock appear on Lord Beerus's face!''

Goku blinked and took a step back. ''What's gotten into you?''

''What's gotten into me is that once again, you've taken a step closer towards becoming the first in the universe to defeat the God of Destruction, and not have a clue about it! Sometimes I don't know how you function with that idiot brain of yours! Can you at least pretend you know what you're doing!'' He continued to shout, shaking his clenched fist at Goku's face.

Waving his hands defensively, Goku took a step back to give himself a bit of breathing room away from the angry prince. ''Vegeta, I don't know what you want me to say. It all happened so quickly. Look, I promise that the next time it happens, I'll have better control of it!'' He bounced back and bumped his fist, a look of excitement flashed across his face. ''Besides, shouldn't we be happy about it? It shows that we're making a lot of progress!''

Vegeta scoffed and mellowed out. ''Hmm, well, you're not wrong there. And if you managed to achieve these kinds of reflexes, then I can't be too far behind.''

Goku laughed and rubbed his head. ''Yeah, whenever something like this happens, you usually catch up with me pretty quickly.'' Despite the harshness of his words, his tone wasn't condescending.

Undeterred by Goku's unintentional jib, Vegeta grinned assertively. ''Laugh while you can, Kakarot. Soon, you and everyone else will be in awe when I become the first in Universe Seven to topple the great Beerus the Destroyer!''

Looking less than pleased, Goku nudged his elbow into Vegeta's side. ''Hey, I'm the one that Beerus wants to fight. So I should have a go first!''

Vegeta smirked and folded his arms. ''He'll have a change in tone when he witnesses the gap in our power. I will eclipse Beerus and even Whis, one day. I will ascend to become the greatest warrior throughout all the universes.''

With a thoughtful look, Goku stared at Vegeta intensely before smiling. ''If that's what you say, Vegeta. But I'm also going to go for the top as well.'' He leant in closer, cupping his hand over his mouth so that he could whisper in his friend's ear. ''Although, if you want to save a bit of time, we could always fuse again and…''

Vegeta's body froze and his eyes widened, staring sheepishly into empty space. The ground seemed to break beneath their feet as Vegeta turned and exploded in Goku's face. ''Don't even think about it, Kakarot! I'd rather face Beerus's wrath a thousand times over than fuse with you ever again!''

Goku covered his head to stop his eardrums from bursting. He wanted to prod and have a little fun with Vegeta. However, he was soon beginning to regret that action.

Continuing to lower his head as Vegeta ranted on, Goku spotted something in the distance heading towards them. It started out as a little black blob before it came closer and closer. He pointed out at it. ''What is that?''

That was enough to stop Vegeta's ranting, as the prince turned to see the same thing Goku was seeing, racing towards them at blistering speed. They watched, as it got close enough for them to see it clearly. Pilaf, Mai and Shu were hanging onto the edge of a large scooter, carrying what appeared to be Jaco's spaceship. The sight baffled the two Saiyans. Wasting no time, Goku teleported forward and held out his hand. The scooter stopped instantly, crashing against the palm of his hand, his fingers dug into the metal shielding around the vehicle.

It was briefly lifted off the ground by the momentum before crashing in a heap, and the three rolled off onto the ground. Their eyes spinning continuously as drool leaked out of their open mouths. ''T-thank you.'' Pilaf mumbled.

Before either of them could question what was going on, they heard a voice call out. ''Hey, dad!'' Recognising Goten's voice instantly, Goku and Vegeta looked up to see their sons flying over with beaming faces. Their curiosity grew when they saw Jaco running below them.

''Have we got some awesome news for you!'' Trunks declared.

To Be Continued…

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