New Judgment

Chapter 2: Power to Change the Universe

West City became visible in the distance, and with it the Capsule Corp. building. Once I got close enough, I was finally able to feel the ki signature of Goten and Trunks as they were playing around in the backyard. I say this because up until now all I could feel was Vegeta powering up like his life depended on it in the gravity room. He's only ever doing that or "sparring" (I use that term loosely) with dad. I'm honestly not sure how Bulma has managed to sustain a relationship with him, but whatever, I know not to mind other people's businesses. Goten and Trunks start calling for us once they notice us approaching.

"Mooom! Siiiiis! Over here!" That Goten is the spitting image of my dad. If I didn't know better, I would have thought that he was born to take my dad's place!

"Goten! C'mere, lil' bro!" I gave him a big, tight hug as I usually do.

"Hey, Court! What's up with those clothes?" Trunks proceeded to ask. "They kind of look like the ones that cat god guy wears."

"Oh, you're right! Wait, sis, does that mean… you passed?"

"Yup! It was… easy! F-For the most part… heh…" I still can't shake the feeling of guilt off my shoulders. I don't think I ever will. I'll just have to do my best to hide it.

"O-Oh… So now you're…" Oh, please Goten, not you, too! I already had to deal with this with mom…

"You can blow stuff up now?! That's awesome! I wanna be a god, too!" Rash as it may have been, I appreciated Trunks' interruption to break the awkward silence.

"Trunks! That is not something you should aspire to be!" Mom to the rescue. "Your mother has ensured that you receive the best possible education so that you grow up to be a proud successor of Capsule Corp."

"Awww, but I wanna—"

"Chi-Chi is right, Trunks!" Bulma's here now. "Besides, there can only be one God of Destruction, and I have a feeling Court here will manage herself just fine for many years to come." She gave me a welcoming smile while saying this, like a smooth, silent transition into a hello.

"It's good to see you, Bulma." Already I could tell that Bulma was understanding of my decision. Being a genius scientist, I think she was able to see things from my perspective without letting emotions cloud her judgment. That, and this meant that Beerus wouldn't come to annoy her anymore. If anything, I did her a favor.

We spent some time in Capsule Corp., meeting up with Bulma's parents, both of which had a similar reaction to Bulma. Some of the employees in the building greeted me with the same politeness they always did, while others were practically trembling with fear. Either way, we were having a great time! Goten was playing with my tail as usual, which the fact that he was playing with me at all meant that he wasn't scared of me! It's unfortunate that he got his tail cut off as an infant, but I guess the risk of him turning into a Great Ape was too dangerous. Personally, I've never turned into one, which is simply avoided by going to bed early on full moon nights. The down side is that I've never seen the full moon outside of TV and books. But rather than going with the disturbing route of amputating myself, Bulma promised me that some day she would invent some kind of device that would allow me to see the moon in its full beauty without getting into some bad "monkey business." The other Briefs were also a fascinating bunch to talk to, what with their extensive knowledge on scientific research. This is the kind of stuff that would bore my dad to death, but Gohan and I loved it! Speaking of which, that was where our next destination was; Satan City, home of the "almighty" Hercule Satan, but more importantly, my brother and his wife, Videl. As much fun as I was having at Capsule Corp., though, I didn't want to be there too long, otherwise a certain someone might show u—

"Well, well. If it isn't Kakarot's female brat." Damn it, spoke too soon…

"… Nice to see you too, Vegeta." Just seeing that arrogant face of his made my blood boil. What kind of insults was he going to throw at me this time?

"I see you've gotten yourself a cheap ticket to power boost land. And you call yourself a Saiyan warrior! Pathetic."

"No, I don't call myself a Saiyan warrior. Unlike you, my entire life doesn't revolve around my race and its stereotypes." Vegeta was always going on about Saiyan pride, Saiyan warriors, Saiyan power, blah blah Saiyan blah blah. What kind of prince was he supposed to be, giving his people a bad image?! I mean, yeah, they're all dead now, but still… I refused to believe that an entire race of living creatures lived only and exclusively to be violent. Even if me and my brothers were hybrids, we still managed to see much further than just fighting and getting stronger. There must have been some Saiyans that cared more for other things in life. Again, it just didn't make sense for an entire race to - not survive - thrive by being so one-dimensional. But that is how it was, at least according to this… piece of…!

"I should be grateful, though! With Beerus out of the picture, only that clown of your father remains as the single obstacle between me and my rightful spot as the most powerful warrior in the universe!"

"Vegeta! Watch what you're saying!" Bulma tried to defend me, but unfortunately that wasn't enough to stop that trash compactor from spitting more garbage.

"Hey, it's not like Beerus is dead, you know! He's just sleeping… for… for probably half a century, but that's not the poi—"

"And what's he gonna do when he wakes up, huh? Grab a glass of milk and go back to sleep? If he's not the God of Destruction anymore, then what does it matter?"

"… You're right, he's not the God of Destruction…" I gazed furiously at Vegeta, my eyes shooting daggers at his aggravating smirk. "… I am." I lifted my arm towards him in the same way Beerus would when he was going to destroy something. Everyone around me gasped in shock… except my target. Even if he knew full well the power that I possessed, that brute refused to change his daring smirk, almost inviting me to destroy him.

"Go on. Do it. I promise I won't move!" He was just standing there, teasing me with his very existence. I had him right where I wanted. All I had to do was say the words and I would rid the world from that plague. It was so easy… And yet… I couldn't do it.

"… We're leaving." I turned around with my head down. I needed to get out of that place ASAP.

"Heh… Weak."

Even though I loathed Vegeta with every fiber of my being, even though I longed for the day to see him curl into a ball from defeat, I simply couldn't bring myself to kill him. Not so much for him, but for his family. Just because I hated him doesn't mean that I had the right to take him away from Bulma and Trunks. After all, he was both a father and a husband… s-somehow. Whatever, I needed to stop thinking about him. I flew in the direction of Satan City, with Goten and mom following right behind. But I still made sure to fly ahead of them; I didn't want them to see the tears flowing down my face.

Whoever came up with this flying ability needed a box of chocolates delivered to their door on a daily basis; we were already in Satan City! It would have taken us hours, days even in standard vehicles. No matter which part of the city you come in from, the first thing you'll always see is a billboard of Mr. Satan with the word "WELCOME" on it. Even if he "saved" the world, I think it was still kind of narcissistic of Hercule to accept the city to be renamed after him. Then again, it's not as bad as Vegeta having an entire planet named after hi—NO. STOP. THINKING. OF. THAT. MORON. COURT. GOD. We were here to meet with Gohan and Videl. Not to get grumpy. Ughh…

"That's big brother's house, isn't it? It's huge! Mom, why don't we move in with them?" Goten was just as excited to see Gohan as I was. Or well, his house at least. Truth be told, our house back in Mt. Paozu was really humble, especially considering it was home to the man who saved the world on more than one occasion and the daughter of the mighty Ox King.

"You know, mom, Goten has a point. Not to mention, you're going to be a grandma soon. Wouldn't you want to be close to your granddaughter at all times? I'm sure Gohan, Videl, or even Hercule could help you find a place to live around here."

"I've told you all already, our house back at Mt. Paozu is a gift from your grandfather and it also holds many fond memories I've formed with you and your father. Besides, that Piccolo freak hangs around here often, as well as Buu… Eugh, just thinking about him gives me the creeps! But I am excited to become a grandmother, though! Oohh, how my sweet Gohan has grown…!"

"Yeah, and you've gotten older!" Goten, do you want to get smacked? Because that's how you get sma— "OW!" Told you.

Thankfully it was a Sunday, so Gohan shouldn't have been at work that day. And indeed, once we knocked on the door, he was the one to open it. Now that he was a scholar, husband, and soon-to-be-father, he had a much more professional air about him. By which I mean, he no longer looked like one of the strongest people on the planet, possibly the entire universe, but probably the only one upset about that would be dad.

"Oh, Court! It's nice to see you!"

"Nice to see you too, Gohan!"

"And mom, and Goten! Come on in, everybody!"

Once inside, we were also greeted by Videl and Hercule. Videl was cooking something, so naturally my mom's instincts kicked in and she went to help her out, with Goten following suit. That left Gohan, Hercule, and me at the living room.

"Hey, Court, those clothes…"

"Yup, it's exactly what you're thinking."

"I see… Well, congratulations!" I think there was a slight hint of discomfort in Gohan's voice, but he did the best he could to hide it. He was smart, and we'd been together for years, so I knew he understood things from my perspective. Still, I feel like a private conversation could help clear things up further. I wanted everyone to accept my decision to become a Goddess of Destruction, but a simple "please understand!" wouldn't be enough.

"Well, I'll be! I would'a thunk you'd end up doing somethin' like Gohan here, Court, but this's certainly a surprise!" I think Hercule was happy with me. I wanted to think that it was because he legitimately understood where I was coming from and supported me, but let's face it, it's probably because he was more scared of Beerus than me. Then again, he had a gift for cheating death, so either way I don't think he had anything to worry about.

We continued a pretty basic conversation, with me explaining how the test went (without mentioning the climax), while Gohan talked about his future plans with his wife and daughter. Videl chimed in on a few occasions but still primarily focused on the kitchen. After a while, however, Gohan approached me with a more serious expression.

"Court, umm… Can I speak with you outside for a second?"

"Oh? Eh, sure." We stepped outside onto the balcony, which had a nice view of the city. Maybe Gohan chose this spot because it felt peaceful, and we both needed to be level-headed for the conversation we were about to have.

"So… It probably sounds a lot more menacing than it truly is, but I have to know: what exactly is the job of a God of Destruction?"

"Hmm… Well, I'm supposed to work alongside the Supreme Kai to keep a 'balance' in the universe. Essentially it boils down to having to visit different planets and determining if their 'moral ranking' is high enough. If it's not, I…"

"You… have to destroy the planet…"

"Eehh… y-yes…" I wasn't even going to try to sugarcoat it. Genocide isn't really something you can undermine (unless you're Frieza, of course).

"And… that's it, right? No buts, no maybes, it's just a life or death decision."

"That's how 'the best' Gods of Destruction handle it, at least. As strong and menacing as he is, I'm starting to understand that Beerus wasn't very good at his job precisely because he was lazy and left things half done. If I do a better job than him, then it'll ultimately be better for the universe as a whole."

"OK… So…! So my main question is: will you ever have to destroy Earth?"

"T-That's…" The thought had crossed my mind, but I didn't want to think about it too hard. But now that Gohan was asking me directly, I couldn't avoid the question anymore. "I… I… sincerely hope not…"

"That's… not the answer I was expecting…" Please, Gohan, don't make this any harder than it needs to be… Maybe it was time to switch from emotions to facts.

"Aahh… OK, OK, listen: I won't ever have to do anything like that as long as the Earth remains calm. If any outer threats come – which is usually the case – that won't be the Earth's fault, so everyone will be safe. Any threats within Earth, they'll have to be eliminated quickly. Thanks to my new powers, I can easily dispose of any single enemy that puts the planet in peril. But there's more complex issues happening across the world, like organized crime and corrupt politics. Those, unfortunately, I don't have much control over." That was probably not the best way to end that, I have to admit.

"Then…" I could tell Gohan was deep in thought. "… Then let me take care of that."

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"As a respected scholar, I may be able to influence important corporations and gain information on any suspicious activity they engage in. And…"

"… And…?"

"I… still have my Great Saiyaman suit in there."

"… PFFFT—HAHAHA!" OK, that caught me off guard. How could anyone forget about the guardian of the city, the Great Saiyaman? Look, I know why he said it, but I still couldn't help but laugh like a maniac! "Aahhhhh… Gohan, I love you."

"Hehe, I love you too, sis."

It started off really awkward, but I'm still glad we had that conversation. I know Gohan trusted me from the get-go, but now that he understood what was going through my head better, he felt at peace. He was going to do everything in his power to make the world a better place for his family, just like I was. We just had different approaches, that's all!

Once we came back into the house, mom and Videl had already finished cooking, so we started eating. Even if we were half-breeds, there were still three Saiyans in that room, so the amount of food was colossal. And by the time we were done, not a single crumb remained on the table. The sun was starting to go down, so it was time for us to head back home. We said our goodbyes and I gave Videl my best wishes with the baby. Just like Hercule, she seemed fine with me being a Goddess of Destruction, though I think she was holding her judgment until after she talked with Gohan. I'm sure he'd put in a good word for me – after all, he was the best big brother anyone could ever ask for.

I think dad had been out training somewhere all day. When we were traveling from West City to Satan City, I did feel his energy way in the distance, so he was probably somewhere in the arctic. That was not really a place of a heart-warming (emphasis on the warming) reunion, so I had hoped that he'd be back home by the time we returned. And to my pleasant surprise, I was right! He was outside the house chopping wood (with his bare hands), then stopped when he noticed us coming down.

"Oh hey, guys, you're back!"

"Daddy!" Goten was the first to rush to him so he could get a hug.

"Hey there, squirt! Did you have fun today?"

"Yup! We went all over the place, it was awesome! And look, Court is all godly and stuff now!"

"Huh? Oh, Court, those clothes… How come they look like Beerus'?" … I guess dad was the first one to not connect the dots.

"I got these because I passed the test, dad! I've taken over Beerus' place as the new Goddess of Destruction."

"Whoa, you did?!" It's like he forgot all about it… "Soooo, does that mean you're as strong as Beerus now?"

"What—no! No, no, I'm still the same as before. I'm nowhere near his or your level."

"Aww, come on, there must have been some kind of power boost, right?" Was he…? He wasn't planning on doing what I was thinking, was he?

"No, not… not really. I-I mean, I guess I got a thing or two to help me out, but it's really nothing—" Bad choice of words, me.

"Aha! Come on, Court, I wanna see how strong you are now!"

"What…?! Dad, no, wait, I'm serious, I'm really not—!" Before I could finish my sentence, dad was already charging at me at high speed. I had to do something quick. Almost on instinct, I reached into the sheath on my hips and invoked the power of the sword – "Mediator!"

A large wave of semi-transparent energy radiated from the Mediator when I called it. Suddenly, I felt my reflexes sharpen as if I'd gone into an extreme adrenaline rush. My dad's charge went from looking like a speeding bullet to a walking turtle, and I don't think it was just because I got faster – I think he also got slower. This sudden shift in speed threw him off balance, and even though I didn't want to fight, this was also the perfect chance to really stop him from even trying. I replied to his charge with one of my own. Before I knew it, I was already right in front of him. This was the power of the Mediator, it was unbelievable! But I wasn't going to get a chance to truly get used to such a massive shift in power, so I had to act quickly. I used my free hand to deliver a devastating blow to my dad's gut, sending him flying across the sky. Once he fell back down, he was gasping for air. Never in a million years did I think that I'd be able to do that much damage to my dad in a single attack, but here I was. And it felt… not very satisfying at all, honestly. I felt really guilty after hurting dad so much, but that whole scene flashed by in like a second, I didn't have time to think!

"UGH… Whoa… That was… That was really something there, Court…! But… I'm not done yet…! Let's g—"

"GOKU!" Mom to the rescue. Again. "IS THAT ANY WAY TO TREAT YOUR OWN CHILDREN?!" And to my surprise, mom was actually holding dad back with her own hands! That's right, the Mediator affects everyone within an area, not just me and my opponent. Even if she didn't realize it, at that moment, mom was probably as strong as a Super Saiyan. If she heard those specific words, she would go into a panic attack!

"Ow, ow! Chi-Chi?! When did you get this strong, too?! Hey, what's going on around he—"

"BACK IN THE HOUSE, NOW!" Dad looked super confused as he was quite literally being dragged into the house by mom. Once things settled down, I would take the time to explain him what happened and hopefully he wouldn't try to fight me again. Hopefully.

Having to "fight" dad was an unpleasant experience, but the rest of the night went by smoothly. He didn't really understand what it meant for me to become a Goddess of Destruction (and to be honest, I still didn't understand it fully myself), but he was just happy that I was happy. That was simplistic, but reassuring – typical of dad. Though of course, I avoided all of the serious subjects that were discussed that day. I had a very unclear future that I was both scared and excited to uncover. Once everything was said and done, I went back to my room and slept as comfily as I could. This was probably the last time I'd get to enjoy this bed for a long time.

Author's Note: Hey, everyone! I think there's something I should have made clearer earlier, but this story is set shortly after the events of the Battle of Gods arc. So Goku has achieved Super Saiyan God, but that's as far as he can go right now; he hasn't received training from Whis to achieve Super Saiyan Blue. Pan is still several months away from being born. And Frieza hasn't been resurrected yet. I think that should give you a good idea of what time this is set on.

Also, I feel kind of bad that I have to point this out, but I know a lot of fan fictions revolve around romance, so: there is no planned romance in this story (outside of what the show has already established). When I say that Court and Vegeta hate each other, I mean it. When Court says that she loves Gohan, she means it in a normal sisterly fashion, not an incestuous one. If two characters are really close to each other, they're either family or very good friends, but not lovers. While I have nothing against romance, I'm personally not a fan of it and don't see myself implementing it in my stories.

Finally, this will follow the general idea of the events that have occurred in Dragon Ball Super, but it won't follow them letter by letter. There'd be no point on writing this if I was just copy-pasting Super's plot while adding "oh, and my OC was there." Expect drastic changes to what has happened in the show, as well as original events that will have a lasting impact in the story thereafter. Hope you're enjoying this fic so far!