It was perhaps unwise to surprise a Saiyan warrior, but Bulma had practice in surviving the unwise.

Vegeta jumped out from the shadows and without further ado, slammed Bulma against the nearby desktop. Perhaps it was to scare her, perhaps only out of reflex, she didn't care either way as she bounced off the flat surface and landed on the floor with a gasp.

"Where are the other androids, woman," he growled, folding his arms and walking towards her, white boots, silent on the hard floor. "The ones that you two are tracking next."

Bulma pushed a few long strands of blue hair out of her eyes and looked up, not in fear, simply understanding. She quietly asked, "So you know who I am, then?"

Vegeta hated the way she, a weak, human woman, looked at him, the strongest fighter in the universe, like that. He wanted to see her afraid, wanted her to understand that she should look up to him, should fear him. He reached down and pulled her long ponytail forcefully, so that the backs of her feet grazed the floor.

Still nothing. If anything the intensity of her gaze increased and she calmly stood up. "If you think that you can or ever have been able to break me, you honestly have a serious revelation coming up."

Vegeta growled. "I won't take your insolence, woman!" He grabbed her shirt, right at the neckline, pulling her towards his scowling face. To his surprise, she did not even look phased in the slightest. Quite the contrary. She was now smirking, blue eyes boring into his ebony ones with such intensity. He'd never seen eyes like that before.

Vegeta was so stunned by her illogical behavior that he let go of her shirt and took a few steps backwards. In a second, he regretted his reaction. He had just shown her exactly what she had wanted to see. Curse you, woman! What kind of a man—what kind of Prince, for that matter—did that make him?

As if the older woman could read his mind, she whispered, "Look, Vegeta. I don't want to hurt your pride. I am one of the few people who understand what it means to you. You are the last Prince of a noble race of fighters and that title comes with a whole set of rules." She stepped back a few paces and knelt to search through her handbag.

Vegeta sniffed, not sure what she was up to, but folding his arms to show that it didn't really matter to someone like him.

She continued, "I'm not asking you to give that up. After all, someone has to beat Goku, and I think one day it will be you."

That had gotten under his guard all right. Vegeta was completely taken back by this woman. Was she serious? Is she simply teasing me so I do not kill her? No, he was sure that was not the case. She has already shown that for some unexplainable reason, she does not fear me.

He wasn't sure what to think of her. In fact, it was the first time he remembered looking at a woman with any form of respect whatsoever.

She was…incredible. She really knew, really understood…and was the strongest woman he had ever known. Perhaps not physically, but in spirit, she had to be the strongest woman in the world.

The courageous woman stood back up, saying, "My name is Bulma, as I am sure you are vaguely aware of." She took a step forward, tracking device in one hand and deactivator in the other. "I don't expect you to take me with you. And I know you want to fight androids 17 and 18, so here are the tools you'll need."

She handed him the two devices, and he took them stunned. "Why are you helping me? Is this a trick?"

Bulma smiled and sighed, "No, silly. It's not a trick. It's symbiotically advantageous. You want to fight the androids and you are the strongest fighter in this world. I want the androids destroyed by any means possible." She pointed to the deactivator and explained, "That device has the power to do to the other two androids what it did to these two, but the catch is, only from within 10 meters." She backed up and shrugged. "You're probably the only one who even has close to a real chance of achieving that feat without being killed."

Vegeta could not believe it. She was serious. She and Kakarot were both crazy for trusting him. He just didn't get it. But if she was giving him these offerings, he wasn't going to say no.

"If you can beat the androids with your own strength, that would be best, and if that's the case, please bring the deactivator back."

"Of course I'll beat them," Vegeta snapped, glaring at the woman once more. "I'm the Prince of all Saiyans. No androids can beat me!"

Bulma nodded as she would to a temper-ridden child. "I know. But if you can't, I am going to ask you this. Please. For all our sakes, use the deactivator. That way we can get you stronger and you can face the androids back in your own time." Before Vegeta could butt in with a series of undoubtedly colorful statements, Bulma held up one finger and said, "I, for one, think you ought to consider it, since after fighting the androids once, you will have picked up their fighting styles and then can have an advantage to show Goku in your time. Otherwise, you very well might die here and in the afterlife listen to how, once again, Goku defeated the nasty androids and was the infallible hero again."

She knew just what buttons to push, all right. With some effort, Vegeta managed to not smash the devices in his clenched fists as he thought about Bulma's words. The woman really had a point. He couldn't stand it if that low-level Saiyan outdid him…again… If it turned out he wasn't strong enough yet, then he would use the stinking device.

He turned on one heel, heading back towards the entrance.

"Wait!" Bulma yelled, starting to reach for him and catching herself. "Can you tell me how you got here? The time machine holds only one person."

To Bulma's surprise, Vegeta laughed, a sound she had not heard in far too long. She frowned, not sure what a Vegeta this young would have done to make him laugh, but sure it wasn't good.

He stopped and without turning around, said, "Ask your self to take a look at the modifications she made to the time machine."

And without another word, he slipped out of the doorway, leaving Bulma standing, bruised and with one hand still outstretched in a silent plea towards the Saiyan Prince.