Growing Up

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Chapter starts now!

"Atom, its time to wake up." Briefs opened the blinds to shine a large amount of light over the boy's face. "Already?"

"Yes, so let's get you started on studying."

Atom looked at his alarm clock and groaned. "It's barely even 5:00 am."

"The lab doesn't wait!" Briefs chirped, picking Atom up by the shoulders and placing him on the ground outside of his bed. "I'll see you down there in 10 minutes, no later." Briefs left the room while lighting a cigarette before pulling the door behind him.

'I know I said I would do private education, but god, this guy's a slave driver.' Atom mentally groaned, picking up his shirt from the previous day and chucking it over his torso. "I'm glad he at least gave me some pyjamas to get into." Atom looked down at his pants. They were made of cotton with red rabbits sporadically placed around the legs.

'I should probably get down to the lab quickly, I don't want to wake Bulma.' Atom slowly crept out of the room and shut the door behind him.

Briefs was already tinkering in his workshop when Atom arrived, barely even noticing his arrival as he pointed to a stack of books. "Skim through those for the basics, then I'll get you to point out things over here."

Atom nodded and picked up the first book. 'Engineering 101, lets see if I'm still any good.' Several books later, and Atom's brain was positively fried. "I'm finished with them all." He called out.

Briefs stopped his movement for a second and stood up. "Then let's test you a little. I'm currently working on a new radar system to detect radioactive material in the ground, simple stuff. What material would I use for the probe or receiver?"

"Pallium, because it lets out florescent light when there is radiation nearby."

"Wrong, we would not use that material for a few reasons. Name 3."

"The cost?"

Briefs nodded his head and gestured to continue. "It oxidises relatively quickly and requires high maintenance?" Briefs repeated the same action and Atom cracked open a book he had just finished relating to geology and mineral's purpose in engineering.

"It's incredibly sensitive to thermal radiation?"

"Correct, and thermal radiation is?"

"A type of radiation that is emitted from materials experiencing high temperatures."

"Good, now come get a closer look at the request I have received. We will be creating a radioactive material sensing radar that will be used near an active volcano near South city, you can see why a heat sensitive material would not work right?"

"Yeah, so what would you use?"

"Pallium is heat sensitive, what is another material that was on the same page?"

"Alkium? But it was basically just lead."

"That's where you're wrong, alkium is incredibly useful in this scenario. It's cheap, and works as a radiation absorbent material, meaning it will detect and absorb much of the radiation emitted through the ground."

"But only gamma radiation would be able to pass through the solid ground that far down."

"Not true, that area is quite unstable and is only made up of dirt and ash, so even alpha rays could pass through the ground to some degree. There's another thing that makes alkium special though, it absorbs all types of radiation, even the ionising ones. It has such a secure atomic structure that radiation can't even begin to try and penetrate or destroy its bonds."

"Wow, that… is very impressive."

"I agree, that's why I love using it. Another one I love to use is farlite, but that is mainly for biological uses than geological, so we won't cover it for now."

Atom smiled and nodded. "So, since I finished the books, what now?"

Briefs took out a cigarette and lit it. "We build it of course, we have all of the materials, there's no point in delaying it."

"Woah woah, wait a sec, you want me to help?"

"Obviously, why else would I make you study? You learnt what you need, and if you need a refresher, the stuff is right there. If it was something volatile, it would be a different story, but this is easy stuff. Plus, I'll be watching over you."

Atom sighed and scratched the back of his head. "I don't know."

"C'mon, lets do it." Briefs took Atom's hand and moved over to a whiteboard in the workshop, flipping it over to reveal a completed blueprint for a radioactive material sensor.

"Any changes you propose?" Briefs asked. Atom squinted his eyes and shook his head. "I don't see anything that could be changed."

"Hmm, what about if we remove the large bar of alkium, and replace it with a small point? What would you think of that?" Briefs asked. Atom tapped his fingers on his head before sighing. "I haven't worked with the material before, or done any engineering work, so I'm not sure how that would affect the results of readings."

"It'll come with time, in truth, I made this plan a few days ago and I needed a second opinion. This is my 3rd blueprint, so let's make a small prototype."

Briefs brought up his remote and tapped a few buttons. "Bring in the materials I requested earlier." He commanded. A dozen robots soon pooled into the room carrying different materials.

"First, we'll set up the sensor itself. You'll be doing that Atom."

"Huh? Is it difficult to do?"

"Maybe, up to you to decide. Just follow these instructions and I'm sure you'll do fine." He handed over a long list of instructions and Atom's eyes became wide. "This seems a bit difficult."

"Give it a try." Briefs smiled. Atom nodded and began to pick things off of the floor. 'First we need the alkium rod, then the reflective shell.' Atom grabbed a small rod of metal, around 12 inches in length and a large reflective dish.

"Uh, there's no slot." He called out. 'How am I supposed to stick this in without a slot or anything?'

"Why would there be? You have all of the tools needed for welding here, and I guide you read."

"That wasn't reading, it was skimming! I could have missed something really important."

"Then go re read it, stay calm Atom."

The boy huffed and picked up a large book, flicking through the pages until he stopped and scanned every word in front of him. "Isn't this harder than it looks?" He called out. Briefs shrugged and picked up a welding hood and gloves, not even hesitating as he passed them to the 3-year-old in front of him.

"Put those on and then you can get started."

Atom grabbed them hesitantly, sliding the oversized gloves onto his hands and dropping the mask over his face. "Can you pass the welding tool?" The boy asked. Briefs handed it to him smoothly while dropping his own hood.

Atom fired up the tool and began to weld the two pieces together, sparks flying across the room. Briefs had a smile hidden under his mask as he watched the child work. 'I'm glad he's here, it hasn't been long but I think this'll be fun.'

Atom pulled the tool away from the prototype and took off his mask, wiping a few beads of sweat off of his brow. "How's that?"

Briefs looked around the project and nodded. "Very good, you still need a little bit of practice though. I'll finish up the rest of the prototype if you want to go have breakfast, its nearing 10:00 am after all."

"Already?! Time sure flies."

Briefs smiled and waved the kid off. "It sure does, so go eat." Atom nodded and jumped up the stairs to leave the lab while Briefs had his robots begin to build the remaining parts. 'Even if I can do it automatically, its good to have some hands on experience.'

Atom entered the dining room to see Bikini putting her hand straight into a ball of dough, pushing it forward to roll it out smooth. "Morning Atom!" She chirped, stopping for a second to pull Atom's plate out from below the oven. "Kept it warm for you, is Briefs coming up?"

"He's going to keep working, thank you for the food."

"No problemo!"

Atom smiled and dug into his food, spying a newspaper across the table. 'Shooting star spotted in west city, new capsule corporation space technology!?' He coughed a little before laughing out loud.

Atom absentmindedly flicked through the pages, reading out some of the important events to himself. "Pamput is starring in another film role. Widespread drought in the Central wastelands, suspected cause is a population of Giras north."

He finished the last of his meal and tried to take his plate up to the kitchen before Bikini stopped him. "Don't worry about it, I'll clean it up soon."

'What? But…' Atom was a bit dumbfounded, having simple things like washing your own dishes be the bare minimum in his world. Bikini stopped kneading the dough on the countertop and snatched the plate from his hand, washing it quickly before hanging it on the drying rack with a smile. "Briefs should be finishing up now, right? It's study time young man." She jokingly scolded.

The boy nodded and raced back down to the lab, passing several robots who were hauling large amounts of supplies down. He opened the door to see Briefs working hard on the real thing, a humongous satellite shaped contraption being actively worked on by Dr. Briefs, 4 robots, and 3 researchers.

"Ah, Atom you're back, how was breakfast?"

"Great… seems you're already pretty far ahead."

"Hmm, not really, I still got some things I want you to learn from this. Like this." He gestured to a large bolt he was holding. "Machines are fragile, you understand that, right?"

"Of course."

"But they aren't that fragile. Sometimes in movies they make a big fuss over a single screw, but no proper piece of mechanical engineering is held together by a single screw, especially ones fit for travel or human use. That being said, don't lose a screw anyway, everything plays a role, no matter how small."

"I understand."

Briefs smiled and brought out a screwdriver, tightening a few screws in the hull of the machine. "Each one of these screws is responsible for a small part of the overall machine, this one for instance, holds together the rear computing panel to the main part of the craft, protecting vital electronics and such. This one also does that." He pointed to another screw.

"Now, tomorrow would you like to learn about the electronics in this machine, or review what you learned today and further that knowledge?"

Atom shifted in place while looking at the huge craft in front of him. "I… think we should stick with this until I get the basics down pact, we can move onto electronics after."

"I don't think you understand Atom." Briefs chuckled, making the boy look at him in confusion. "What do you mean?"

"This is far beyond the basics, if you were in public school, and not using my curriculum, you would have to wait 10 years for this stuff!"

"10-10 years!?"

"Yep, that's why I have Bulma doing her own study. But that was her own choice to begin the studying, she asked me to hold her to it haha. Not to say school doesn't teach you important things, its just, going at your own pace makes it a little easier."

"I guess."

Briefs brought his screwdriver back and stood up, stretching his spine before retrieving a welding tool. "We have a few months before we have to ship this out, so you'll get to know this thing like the back of your hand by the time it leaves. And you can come to the test trials next week."

"Woah, big plans!"

"Hehe, of course." Briefs took a drag of his cigarette and placed a hand on Atom's hair, ruffling it around a little. "Big plans."

3 months later

Briefs stood on a balcony looking over an active volcano from far away. He put out his cigarette in an ashtray and picked up Atom by the armpits, fitting him on his shoulders. "Can you see any better?" He asked.

Atom smiled and nodded, both of them looking at the apparatus they had completed being used for the first time. A plane carried the device, which had shrunk dramatically over the past few months in development, straight towards the quarry zone.

A knock on the door made Briefs turn around to see their employer knocking on the glass, his purple suit fitting his skinny frame perfectly. He opened the door and lit up a large cigar, blowing smoke straight into the air.

"Dr. Briefs, you're really impressive. In just 4 months, you managed to revolutionise the mining industry, and your kid is no slouch either." He let a small grin glide across his face as he put a fist up to Atom. "I heard you did quite a lot of work on this, you're definitely Brief's kid to be doing something like this at 3."

Atom met his fist with his own and smiled. "I didn't do much, just learning and offering my opinion."

"You're humble as well! I wish my kid could learn a thing or two from you." The man chuckled.

"Beani, where is Cap anyway?" Briefs asked.

"He should be around here somewhere. Maybe he's with that Darwin kid again."

"Darwin?" Atom replied.

"Darwin Hana, his family are the most influential florists on the continent. A good kid, hopefully mine doesn't change him for the worst haha."

"You don't seem to have much confidence in your son." Briefs added.

"I love him to death, I really do, he just doesn't pick things up easily. I've had him tested in every way on the earth, but he's just not a bright kid."

"He's gotta have some sort of strength." Atom replied.

"Well, he does. It's just not something we need for business, he's my successor, my offspring, and I want him to succeed me in this business and take it to greater heights. But all he wants is to fight! I should have never shown him those budokai tenkaichi fights."

Briefs smiled and took Atom off his shoulders. "Atom also wants to fight, but he'll wait a little longer so he can grow. Why don't you set up a compromise? Like a little fighting a little studying?"

Beani took his cigar out his mouth and blew a cloud of smoke. "I don't know, I don't want to see him getting hurt. He's tough, but I'm still worried."

"Then get him as prepared as possible." Atom replied, throwing a punch out towards the air. "You won't have to worry Beani, if you give him the time, and he has the diligence and pride, there's no mountain he won't overcome!"

Beani smiled and chuckled a little. "That innocent optimism is something I envy you know; I'll try my best. Thanks Briefs, Atom." Atom threw up a mock salute as Beanie left to look for his son.

"Now Atom, lets look at our work." Briefs put Atom back on his shoulders and watched the radar being used for the first time, exactly according to plan.

6 hours later

After the meetings concluded and the contracts were signed, Beanie rode in a private jet back to west city with Briefs to discuss any further business partnerships.

"Alright Atom, what should we change for next time?"

"I'm thinking we use a different alloy for the hull, to minimise any interference."

Beani laughed and lit up a cigar from his seat across the aisle. "It's only been half a day since your creation was bought, and you're already thinking of new models?"

"There's no stopping the creation train." Briefs chirped, sharing a laugh with Atom. Briefs laid out the blueprint for the machine and highlighted each key component. "So we should change the alloy on the hull, anything for the sensor itself?"

"I'm not sure… I haven't memorised all of the elements yet." Atom replied, twirling a pen to his chin.

"What about a coating?" Briefs suggested. "Maybe if we use some sort of coating that can amplify the signal to increase the range."

"I'm not sure, I don't think that will work. Won't it also increase the readings from the things we don't want?"

"That's true, and it could also give amplified readings to small deposits that aren't worth the time."

"What if since we have it airborne right now. We use grounded radars to amplify the range. Like little range increases in or on the surface."

"That… might actually work. Good idea Atom!" Briefs complimented, writing the idea down before they began to discuss how they would be made, the size, and average cost.

Beani listened with great interest as the two geniuses discussed their next scheme. 'I just need to get that passion in Cap, then I'll have the perfect heir. But… maybe it won't be so bad to have an heir that can protect themselves.'

4 years later

"Rock, paper, scissors!" The two kids yelled at the same time, Bulma launching rock and Atom using scissors. "Damn." Atom pulled out his candy toy and gave 3 pebbles to Bulma.

Bulma cheered out loud while Bikini and Briefs chuckled at the front of the car. "You two are too excited for this." Briefs laughed. The two kids pouted and looked at him. "It only happens once every 5 years, an even where all of the top fighters in the world come together." They chanted.

"THE TENKAICHI BUDOKAI!" The kids both yelled, laughing wildly as Briefs pulled over to the sidewalk near the main entrance. Bikini laughed while she pulled the luggage from the back, handing the keys to a valet while she walked past.

"Reservation under the name Briefs." The doctor said to the cashier. They clicked a few things on their computer before handing two golden keys over to the parents. "Floor 5 room 9." She said.

Briefs nodded and walked towards the elevator on the end of the room. "Would you like to view from the room or up close in person." He grinned, pulling out 4 tickets for vip seating.

Bulma and my eyes shined brightly, "in person obviously!" Briefs laughed and put the tickets in his chest pocket. "I thought so." The elevator beeped to tell they had arrived, and the group all stepped out of the elevator, heading towards their room on the left side of the hall.

As soon as they entered, there was a large window facing straight towards the tenkaichi arena, the sun setting behind it. There were people sleeping outside the main entrance to the stadium hoping to get in as soon as possible tomorrow.

Briefs set down his things next to the master bedroom with Bikini. "There's a buffet downstairs if you two want to eat." He said. Atom's stomach rumbled and Bulma sighed. "How're you always so hungry? You don't do anything!"

Atom slapped his stomach and smiled. "Brain food Bulma, I thought you'd understand."

"There's brainfood and there's stuffing your face with anything edible." She deadpanned. Atom would have retorted but Bulma shuffled out of the room while pushing him. "Let's go eat."

A scene break

Atom's mouth began to water as he saw the array of dishes laid across the several tables of food. "Atom, where're we starting?" Bulma sighed. Atom snapped out of his trance and pointed to an owl created from pieces of pineapple.

"I need some of that!" He raced forward, leaving Bulma to stand at the entrance to the food hall. "I'll never understand him." She groaned, following after him slowly.

Atom began shoving his face full of different foods, savouring each of their tastes individually before he stopped and turned to Bulma. "Hey, why're you excited for the tournament? I thought you hated fighting."

"I don't hate anything, I just don't like fighting personally, watching it is a hell of a lot of fun though."

"Something about watching 2 shirtless dudes wrestle in the sun intrigues you?"

"We're seven you douche!" She lightly punch Atom across the bicep, interrupting his bite. "Meh, I can still make comments." He shrugged. Bulma rolled her eyes and picked up a strawberry from the large pile, half of which had been decimated by Atom. "Because it makes you soo mature."

Atom laughed before taking another handful of pear slices and shoving them into his maw. Much to the horror of all patrons around him. "What? I like fruit."

Bulma tugged his tail and Atom's face slammed straight into the platter. "Stop embarrassing me you idiot." She whispered into his ear. Atom weakly nodded and picked himself up. "Ah, sorry sis."

"Ah."

"Ah?"

"That's the first time you've called me your sister!" Bulma squealed, picking Atom up into a sweeping hug, swinging him around like a play toy. "Why're you so strong!?" He groaned, attempting to grab a chicken drumstick on his next rotation.

Bulma stopped swinging suddenly and Atom tripped over his own tail, slamming face first into the pineapple owl. Bulma burst out laughing while Atom picked himself up off of the carpet and wiped fruit pieces off of his clothes.

"My sister is a gorilla." He said to himself, just loud enough for Bulma to hear.

"Gorilla!? I'll show you gorilla monkey boy!"

Atom quickly shuffled out the way, dodging her first grab, only for his tail to get snatched and slam him to the ground. He groaned and blinked a few times, looking up to see the manager of the hotel standing above him.

"Y-Yo?" Atom said. The manager did not look impressed however and picked Atom up by the collar. "You will be leaving the dining hall now young man and take your sister with you."

"Yes sir." Atom slumped down and grabbed Bulma, who blew a raspberry at the manager while he dragged her away. Briefs was not impressed either at the mess they created.

The next day

"You two, lets get going!" Bikini called out. Bulma ran out of the bathroom wearing a blue sundress and a large brim hat with a red ribbon.

Atom straightened his jacket and swiped lint away from his black pants. He wore a crimson undershirt with a black jacket over the top and a black cap with the capsule corp logo. The hat barely covered his hair though as it flowed out under the sides over his ears.

The group took the elevator down and exited the hotel, walking down the street towards the tournament grounds, the large red tiled walls guiding their path.

"We have a reservation for suite 6 under the name Briefs." Briefs said, pulling out the tickets that were then each stamped with a green demon symbol.

The suite was luxurious with air conditioning, a stocked fridge and cooler, along with a lounge area sitting right above the arena, a perfect view for the bouts.

"We're just in time, I think the preliminaries finished yesterday, so today is the quarter final." Briefs said, taking a seat in a leather recliner with a cigarette in his mouth.

Atom and Bulma sat on the middle lounge, looking to their left to see the 8 fighters walking out of the building. A blonde announcer put a megaphone to his mouth and began to yell.

"ARE YOU ALL READY!?" He yelled out to the crowd, his voice booming over the in-suite speakers. The viewers roared, hundreds of people yelling for the fights to begin.

"The first round, consisting of 4 fights will contain these 8 warriors! Ziken Goff!" A tall pale skinned man with scars lining his body. He wore a robe with the torso part off of his chest, flowing down his legs freely. His hair was black with a large 3 clawed scar going straight across his neck.

"The second warrior, Juda Rapp!" A short blue haired girl with toned muscles wearing a band of prayer beads around her wrist with a grey tank top and black pants.

"Third, Alek Mact!" A medium sized brown haired man with a forest green fighting gi and no shoes, the symbol for 'adapt' plastered across his back.

"Fourth, Ruby Willow!" A girl with crimson long hair tied in a bun wearing a bright red Chinese qipao with golden flowers dotting the silk.

"Fifth, The crane hermit himself master Shen!" A small old man with a grey moustache and some sort of bird hat over his head. He wore a yellow long sleeved shirt with a green vest over the top, his signature 'crane' symbol plastered over the centre.

"Sixth, The reclusive turtle hermit, master Roshi!" Another old man wearing sunglasses and an orange suit with blue pants.

"Seventh, count Lucifer himself!" A tall, handsome blue skinned man with crazy spiky black hair and a tuxedo suit with a bowtie bowed to the crowd with a smirk, his sunglasses reflecting the sunlight.

"Finally, our previous champion King Chappa!" A tall dark-skinned man wearing a yellow robe hiding his muscles shot a punch out to the crowd with a smile, earning cheers in droves.

"Our first bout, consisting of a match between Ziken and Juda will soon begin!" The announcer screamed, all of the other fighters, except for the one's named left the arena.

"Round 1, Ziken Goff versus Juda Rapp… BEGIN!"

We'll stop it there for now. I'm not too experienced in well written fight scenes, especially those with martial arts, so be prepared for that.

I have a matreon under the same name where I'll be posting special polls for donators and early chapters for some of my other stories.

Cya! - tired