I own nothing
After the line break, there is a TrunksxBlackfire scene. If you are of the pure of mind, do not read it.
Beast Boy landed the first blow, knocking Cyborg back. The robot man was amazed at the power that hit contained; from what he saw, his best friend hadn't even morphed into anything yet. "What's the matter?" Beast Boy taunted, bouncing on his toes. "Did I hit you too hard?"
Cyborg scoffed. "I was surprised," he said. "You're the last one to take the initiative in a fight."
"I'll slow down for you then," Beast Boy said, falling into an alien stance and spiking his aura.
"Big mistake, friend!" Cyborg shouted, rushing toward him with inhuman speed. Beast Boy fazed out, reappearing behind him with his fist cocked back.
"Yo, Cy!" Beast Boy said. Cyborg turned around in shock. "DODGE!" Garfield exclaimed, slamming his fist into Cyborg's cheek. Beast Boy refused to let up, driving the blocking cyborg further and further back.
"I see that you've learned some moves," Cyborg said, deflecting a palm strike. He sent a knee into Beast Boy's stomach and an elbow into the back of his neck. Cyborg spun around and slammed his heel into the green boy's cheek. Beast Boy flipped back and charged, clashing with Cyborg in a furious exchange that quickly took off into the air. They blew each other back and let out battle cries, clashing again and creating shock waves that shook the arena. Neither Beast Boy nor Cyborg gained any ground; the dodging and countering became a steady rhythm for them as they blurred in and out of vision.
Tien's third eye moved all over the place, watching blurs of green and blue appear then disappear. "They've really gotten fast!" Gohan said excitedly. Beast Boy landed another blow, repeating his earlier assault on his best friend.
"You've got some new ones too," Beast Boy said, "but it's not gonna matter!" He flipped forward, sending a heel kick toward Cyborg's head. Cyborg blocked and punched Beast Boy in the stomach, arching him over his fist.
Beast Boy fazed out. "Get back here!" Cyborg shouted, fazing out as well. Cyborg caught up with the ascending Beast Boy and threw a punch toward his face. Beast Boy dodged and flipped over his friend, delivering a knee strike into his back. Beast Boy clapped him on the ear and spun around, kicking him in the temple. Cyborg dropped to his feet and chuckled. "That was dirty, B. Are you getting tired?"
"Being four times my size isn't necessarily fair either, bro!" Beast Boy said, charging toward him again.
"If that's the case," Cyborg said, landing a punch on Beast Boy's face. "Then let's get dirty! Rocket Punch!" Cyborg's fist detached and burst a flailing, screaming Beast Boy out of the ring. Beast Boy grabbed it and barely removed it from his face, stopping himself from hitting the stands in midair. He looked up, watching his friend's rocket toward him with his other fist cocked back. Beast Boy ducked a punch and sent his own, opening his hand into a yellow wave of chi that blew Cyborg back over the ring. Beast Boy fazed out and sent a punch toward Cyborg's back. Cyborg fazed out and hit Beast Boy there instead, dropping him to the ground. Beast Boy hopped to his feet with two balls of chi resting on his hands.
"Scatter Shot!" Beast Boy shouted, beginning a volley of balls of chi.
Cyborg smirked and dodged one after the other, shocking his friend. "That was a nice little light show. Do they come in red? Or is that all you got?"
Beast Boy laughed. "I'm just getting started, Cy!" He started another volley of chi waves. Cyborg dodged them again and started laughing too.
"Stop trying to get lucky and hit me!" Cyborg said, charging toward him. Beast Boy flew back, continuing to chuck chi at him. "You're starting to get on my nerves, B! I'm gonna finish this now; no offense!"
Beast Boy stopped firing but kept his arms out. He heard Piccolo laughing from inside the waiting room. "Nowhere to run, Cy!" Beast Boy said.
Cyborg turned around and gasped, seeing all of the chi blasts trapping him inside a bubble with Beast Boy on the outside. "You little-"
"This is the end!" Beast Boy shouted, closing all of the energy in on his friend.
"Photon Barrier!" Cyborg exclaimed, bouncing the waves away with a blue barrier of chi. Beast Boy's jaw dropped. "You didn't expect that, did you, B?"
Beast Boy let out a battle cry and charged, running straight into a volley of rapid, powerful punches. One hit sent Beast Boy near the edge of the ring and Cyborg threw a kick toward Beast Boy's face. "Matrix!" Beast Boy said, leaning back to dodge the kick. He flipped back and fazed out, sparking an ugly, dirty clash that involved biting, sneezing, spitting, coughing, and tickling; just to name a few. Cyborg kicked Beast Boy into the air and saw eagle wings sprout from his back.
"A bit late for that, isn't it?" Cyborg said, sailing into the sky. Cyborg caught a gorilla fist and the changeling's head turned into a bear's head. Beast Boy roared out a yellow blast of Ki and smacked Cyborg across the face with a tiger paw. Cyborg punched him in the snout and plugged the bear's nostrils with his fingers, using his other hand to blow Beast Boy higher into the sky with a chi blast. Cyborg charged his friend and Beast Boy morphed into an armored pterodactyl, barely blocking Cyborg's skyward volley. Cyborg fazed out and slammed his fists into Beast Boy's back, sending him nosediving toward the ground with a volley of blue sonic blasts after him. Beast Boy landed with the leg power of a giant tarantula and spat out a yellow chi wave from his mouth, neutralizing the blasts.
"Beast Boy really is living up to his name, folks!" the announcer said, "but with Cyborg's relentless attacks, will the animal kingdom be enough to defeat him?" Beast Boy sprouted giant bat wings and fazed out, leaving several afterimages to confuse Cyborg. The machine man didn't expect the powerful arachnid strike from behind. Cyborg whipped around, barely keeping up with eight legs striking him from all sides. Cyborg caught four legs in each hand and smirked at the spider man.
"Booyah!" he shouted, blowing Beast Boy away with a wide blue wave of chi from his mouth. Beast Boy hit the ground and slowly morphed back into his human form. The announcer started counting, reaching seven before Beast Boy climbed to his feet. He looked down, seeing the ground moving under his feet. He spat, seeing black and red blood at his feet. He looked up, seeing Cyborg slowly descend. "Are you okay, B? If you wanna give up, that's fine. It'll just be like old times, right?" He started laughing, his laughter echoing through Beast Boy's head. "Booyah, you know?"
"Cyborg has graciously offered to let Beast Boy give up!" the announcer said, angering the boy even more. "Don't feel too bad; you fought well, but the slaughter has to end! What do you have to say, Beast Boy?" The announcer shoved the microphone in Beast Boy's face, filling the silent arena with Beast Boy's heavy breathing. He started to remember all of the times the Titans, before Gohan came, would ever spar or fight crime together. He was always the one to get beaten, tapped out, thrown aside, or not even to be considered a threat. The laughter of every villain he faced and even his friends swirled around violently in his head. He started to growl like a dog. His ears pointed out like Piccolo's and his teeth sharpened into three inch box-cutters. He slowly took the microphone.
"C'mon, B, don't be mad," Cyborg said. "I'll train you when we get back to the tower. I'm sorry if I hurt you too bad."
"Booyah this," Beast Boy snarled into the microphone. He crushed the microphone and tossed the announcer aside. "Booyah this!" He fazed out.
"B?" Cyborg said.
Beast Boy reappeared in front of him with a triangular, sparkling wave of chi in his hands. "Bakuhatsu Akuma Nami!" he barked.
Cyborg blocked the powerful wave of energy but it still blew him into the stands. "Where did that come from?" he said, looking at Beast Boy's demonic appearance. Beast Boy's victory was announced and the lean, green man hopped off stage. Cyborg slowly got up, wincing in pain every now and again. "Yo! Wait up!" He rushed over to Beast Boy. "Dude! What was that for?"
"That was a consequence of you not being serious," Beast Boy said. "I'm not just some low-level super anymore and I demand a rematch."
"You know I'm just going to kick your ass again," Cyborg said.
"Don't you ever learn?" Beast Boy shouted. "You think that because I was the weakest before, I'm still the weakest now! Piccolo beat me until weakness, failure, and pain were but a memory! I'm different than before, and I want to prove it to you."
Cyborg chuckled. "Okay, man. Calm down. We'll go right now." Beast Boy and Cyborg flew out of the arena. "Where do you wanna go, B?"
"Don't call me that," Beast Boy said.
"Dude, I'm sorry if I hurt-"
"You didn't hurt me," Beast Boy said. "I was just getting started."
"Where are they going?" Starfire said, watching the two Titans fly away.
"Beast Boy wanted a rematch," Gohan said.
"But why?" Starfire asked. "Beast Boy already kicked the butt of Cyborg."
"Cyborg was too busy playing around," Gohan said. "Beast Boy has become strong, and he wants everyone to know it."
"Let's get rolling with the punched in our next match, guys and gals!" the announcer shouted at the top of his lungs. "This one's gonna be a doozy, with two tournament titans clashing in a battle spanning three lifetimes! On one end, we have the son of the 23rd Tenkaichi Budokai winner, the powerhouse of the Titans with an IQ of well above the likes of any genius known to man and a nice body to boot, he's single, ladies, please welcome Son Gohan!"
"Single?" Starfire exclaimed.
"And his opponent, the three-eyed terror of the Crane School, winner of the 22nd Tenkaichi Budokai and the inventor of techniques like the Four Witches Technique, the Tri-beam, the only human capable of achieving true enlightenment, and single-"
"You better take that back!" Pantha shouted from the stands.
"Update: Mr. Shinhan is not single!" the announcer shouted.
"Nice catch, Tien!" Roshi shouted.
Tien and Gohan vanished, reappearing on the stage. The announcer let them begin and immediately disappeared, blinking in and out for more than ten minutes when one would land a glancing blow. After fifteen minutes, Tien landed a solid blow on Gohan's cheek. They hopped back and grinned at each other. "Tsk, tsk," Tien said. "You're getting slow. Do you mind shedding your weighted clothing?"
"So you noticed?" Gohan chuckled. "I thought Kid Flash would, but not everyone has as good of eyes as you."
"Announcer," Tien said, "I would like to call a time-out."
"A time-out?!" the announcer exclaimed. "You can't do that! We removed that from the rulebook five years ago!"
"That's too bad for your grass," Tien said. He turned around. "Quickly, Gohan. I won't look."
"This is embarrassing," Gohan said. He took off his blue wristbands and set them down in the grass. They sunk six feet deep through the mud, shocking the crowd and insulting some of his former opponents. He took off his blue boots as well, these being even heavier than the wristbands. He took off his orange vest and blue shirt, wincing as the vest took off the corner of the ring. The women swooned at Gohan's Olympian body, now rivaling the physique of Tien or Vegeta. "Alright, Tien, let's go."
"How much do those things weigh?" Superboy said in jealous awe.
"How much do those things weigh?" the announcer asked.
"Well, the wristbands are 40 each," Gohan said. "The boots are 75 each, and the shirt and vest are 135 each."
"Pounds?" the announcer exclaimed. "That's impress-"
"Tons," Gohan said. "It's in tons."
"What?!"' Tien shouted.
"I don't think I heard you right," the announcer said. "I thought you said it was in tons."
"Yes," Gohan said. "It's in tons. It's exactly one million pounds." The announcer's jaw dropped. "Can we continue, Mister Tien?"
Tien laughed. "You remind me of your father, Gohan. Let's give them a show."
"Are you ready?" Gohan said, falling into his father's fighting stance.
"This is all so incredibly nostalgic," Roshi said.
"Yeah," Yamcha said. "I really wish he were here now."
"I am, guys!" a happy, light-hearted voice said next to him.
"Goku!" Yamcha shouted, looking at the empty seat next to him. Tears swelled in his eyes. "Damn it! Why'd you have to go and die like that?!"
Gohan kicked Tien in the stomach, sending him sailing toward the stands. Tien caught himself in midair. "Even after shedding all of this weight, we're now just toe to toe," Gohan said.
"Don't sell yourself short," Tien said. "I've been going about 30 percent this whole time and you're just getting started."
"It's still going to take Super Saiyan One to defeat you at least," Gohan said.
"I'm not going to give you a chance to do that!" Tien said, rushing toward him and vigorously attacking him from all sides. Gohan blocked all of the strikes with ease and bounced Tien back. He spiked his aura and charged, beginning a lightning fast counter attack. Tien blocked a kick with crossed arms and smirked at his young opponent. A fiery aura burst all around him, blowing Gohan back. Tien's body started to grow bulges and tear in claw marks like another being inside of him was clawing its way out. Tien finally split in half, forming two Tien's. They split again, creating four. They surrounded Gohan and charged, attacking him from all sides. Gohan's senses went into overdrive as he blocked and dodged the blows. One landed a blow to the stomach and started a defenseless barrage of blows to everywhere. Gohan managed to lean back to dodge a kick and sent his own. He threw his fist back, hitting another in the cheek. He hopped into the air and did a split kick, hitting the other two. Gohan fazed out. The Tien's looked around furiously. "I can't find him!"
"Keep looking!" A second Tien shouted.
"There!" the third Tien shouted, pointing at the rapidly ascending beam of light. The four Tien's took off into the sky, quickly charging yellow beams of chi on their fingers. "Dodompa!" they shouted, hearing a yelp of pain seconds later.
"Not so fast, are you now?!" they exclaimed, rushing into the clouds. They surrounded Gohan and charged waves of chi in their hands. Blue lightning sparked around the balls. "Ki Blast Cannon!" they shouted, hitting the young Saiyan with the blasts. Gohan fell, horrifying his fellow Titans as he hit the ground. He climbed to his feet with a grin on his face, watching the four Tien's land.
"I like your technique, Mr. Tien," Gohan said, "but there are two flaws with it."
Tien chuckled. "What could that be? I'm immune to the Solar Flare, so if you're going to try that, you're out of luck."
"Your first flaw is that your clones can only act as one unit," Gohan said. "If they could act independently, I may have had a problem. Secondly, your power is split into four, making it easier for me to beat you!" Gohan fazed out, knocking all four Tien's out of the ring in a matter of seconds. The crowds erupted as Gohan reappeared in the center of the stage. Gohan's victory was declared and he walked off stage to collect his clothing.
"Not only have you become stronger," Tien said, forming back into one man, "but more deductive as well. I'm proud of you, Gohan, and I know your father would be too."
Gohan hugged Tien. "Thanks for being there. I don't know why, but I have the strangest feeling that I'm going to be seeing my father really soon."
"Don't say that!" Tien exclaimed. "The last thing we need right now is for you to die too!"
"I can't shake it," Gohan said. "Something big is coming, something dark." Gohan's voice had changed into one familiar and relative to Gohan's. His eyes became warmer and his skin fuller in tone. His face looked more aged and his expression happily pained. "This Ma-Djinn business is only the beginning. Stopping him here will awaken something much worse and I'm afraid we won't be enough. The ultimate battle between good and evil is coming. Watch the signs. Look through her, for she is the gate."
A vision of Raven passed through Tien's mind. "Gohan? What is this?"
Gohan turned toward Tien and placed his hand on his shoulder. Tien looked at the man before him. It wasn't Gohan. "I'll be here soon, Tien. The course of events cannot be changed." A gust of extremely cold wind swept throughout the arena and suddenly Gohan collapsed.
"Gohan!" Starfire exclaimed, rushing out to catch him.
"Mr. Shinhan, what happened?" Robin asked, running out to the grass.
"We have to go somewhere private," Tien said, tears running down his cheeks. He recognized who the man was. "Please, we must hurry-"
"Terra will fight Raven!" the announcer exclaimed.
"Damn it," Tien cursed. "Just on time too. I guess we'll have to wait."
They returned to the waiting room and Raven and Terra went up to the stage. "I've been waiting for this chance for a long time," Terra said, "witch."
"Traitors will be broken," Raven said, spiking her black aura. "However, I will leave nothing left of you."
"Somebody's mad that I was liked more than they were," Terra said in a playful tone. "Come at me; it won't matter anyway." Her aura spiked and the ground became mud. "The earth is my domain."
Raven's black energy coated the stage and the grass, petrifying the ground. "Your powers don't work against mine."
Terra shot her hands upward, crashing through the black energy. "Yeah, they do, bitch."
"It won't be enough," Raven said.
"Begin!" the announcer exclaimed.
The battle started with long range earth bending versus energy bending. Both fighters found that their techniques only canceled each other out. "Do you want to stick to hand to hand and energy blasts?" Terra asked. "This fight is getting boring."
"What? Are you going to move again if it takes too long?" Raven said tauntingly, making Terra's eyes glow yellow.
"With all of your friends by my side, creep!" Terra shouted, firing a yellow wave of energy at Raven.
Raven charged forward, dodging energy blasts and pillars of hard rock Terra said she wouldn't be throwing. Raven landed the first few blows, pummeling Terra in the stomach. She flipped back and landed in a Crane stance to Tien's pride and clashed with Slade's spawn. They landed a punch on each other's cheeks and they hopped back, spiking their auras. Terra whipped three razor sharp earth disks at Raven. "I thought you said you weren't going to use that!" Raven said, slicing through them with black energy. "Or was that just another mistake?"
"It was as big as a mistake as you trusting me, you lonely, naïve tool," Terra spat.
Raven let out a battle cry and charged forward, letting an afterimage run through Terra. The geomancer whipped around, cutting through air with a rock blade. "Dodompa!" she heard from behind her. She whipped around and shot out a pair of eye beams. Raven dodged and she charged toward her, initiating another collision. They brought the movement of the fight to a halt as they stayed in the center as flurries of punches and kicks. Raven landed a blow in her face and knocked her back. "What's wrong? New girl doesn't have any smart things to say?"
"I've just been testing the water," Terra said, hardening Raven's face. "I still have yet to go all out."
"What a coincidence," Raven said with a smirk.
"I'm not going to let you leave here alive," she said, "it goes for the other Titans—even Beast Boy."
Raven laughed. "You needed to stick around longer, Terra. Maybe you would have learned something."
"I did," Terra said. "I learned that you are all weak-minded and gullible, that you are all so lonely that even someone like me could infiltrate your tower and learn all of your secrets."
"I was thinking of a different lesson," Raven said. "Look up."
"You really think I'm that stupid?" Terra scoffed.
"Azarath Metrion Zinthos!" Raven exclaimed, dropping three layers of shattering black energy over Terra's head. Terra flicked her wrist upward, causing a pillar of rock to slam Raven's tailbone.
"That was a dick move," Terra said bitterly.
"Don't talk to me about dick moves," Raven spat back. "Leaving the only people who truly cared about you for a little boost in power is cheap. Letting the one chance you will ever have at a romantic relationship go is also cheap. Your only friends hate you now, and it's all your fault."
"I've had enough!" Terra shouted, rocking the arena with her energy. The Ma-Djinn symbol on her forehead started to glow red.
"Terra," Robin said, "she's changing!"
An unimaginable pain filled Terra's head. She started screaming until her throat got sore and uncontrolled explosions of her power were sent into the stands. The Z-Fighters, Young Justice, and the Titans rushed to the front stands to see if things were about to get out of hand. "Terra!" Roshi shouted. "Fight it! Fight it as hard as you can! It does not claim you, Terra! It is not you!"
"What is it, Master Roshi?" Yamcha asked.
"Look on her back," Roshi said.
"The claw mark?" Krillin said.
"Yes, just below her neck," Roshi said. "That is where it entered her."
"Damn it!" Piccolo said. "Raven!" he shouted. "Hit her now! Knock her out before she-"
Terra let out one terminating scream and her aura became blood red. Her pupils turned red as well. "Are you ready to see your father again, Raven?" she asked, charging her, "because you're about to see him real soon!"
Terra and Raven clashed in a furious exchange of black and yellow. Terra gained the upper hand and kicked Raven in the stomach. She grabbed the sides of her head and whipped her toward the stands. Raven flipped around and took a knee to her spine. Terra lassoed her over her head and slammed her face into the ground. Raven kicked her in the face and hopped to her feet, angrily growling at her opponent. She sent a barrage of quick strikes into Terra's face. "For a power-up, that's pretty meek!"
Terra laughed and arched Raven over her knee with another chi blast. She slapped her ass. "You'd make a good succubus!"
Raven whipped around and sent a heel strike into her head. "Ki Blast Cannon!" she exclaimed, firing a yellow wave of sparkling chi at an afterimage.
"Photon Wave!" Terra shouted from behind Raven, also hitting an afterimage.
"Azarath Metrion Zinthos!" Raven shouted, blasting Terra toward the stands.
Terra flipped around and raised her hands, lifting the entire grassy area around the arena. "Die!" she shouted, throwing hundreds of earth spikes at the demon spawn. Raven formed a black barrier around her and her eyes turned red.
Raven's barrier caved in and earth spikes stabbed her shoulders. She yelled in pain and her aura spiked. She started to grow and black tentacles flew out from under her hood, swiping and jabbing at Terra. Earth mounds formed into strong rock hands that grabbed her tentacles, dragging her down to the grass. "Terra wins!" the announcer said quickly. "Terra wins!"
The Z-Fighters and Titans poured onto the grass. "Raven!" Tien snapped, bringing Raven back into reality. "Remember your training!"
"You trained her to lose," Terra said. "Now she will pay for it."
A sharp pillar pierced through Raven's thigh, making her scream in pain. She dropped to the ground, stuffing her cape over the gash Terra opened in her leg. The pain and quick blood loss made her head spin and she blacked out. "Hey!" Tien shouted, hopping onto the stage. "I'll cave your head in for that!"
"Remember your training," Terra said mockingly.
"Once this is over, you'd better watch your back, if Gohan and the others let you keep your spine," Tien spat, going to tend to Raven's wounds.
"Tien," Gohan said, appearing in between him and her. "Let one of the Titans deal with her. Beast Boy will want to thrash her first, then me." He looked at her and his eyes changed. They were now light purple, lapping rings with six black tomoe spinning around a small, red pupil like electrons in a nucleus.
"Oh, you're all so caring," Terra said. Her sarcastic smirk faded as she stared into Gohan's eyes. She started to feel extremely nauseated and then she fell back. "What are you looking at?"
"That ugly thing you let inside of you." Gohan walked over to Raven and fired a green ball of chi at her thigh. "That will stop the bleeding for now."
Tien looked up at Gohan. "He's perfectly alright now! Goku, why did you have to do that? How long have you been watching?"
"Raven! Did you win?" Beast Boy shouted from above. He and Cyborg landed on the grass and ran toward their friends. "How did it go? Who'd you fight?" He saw the puddle of blood under her thigh. "Your leg, Raven! My god, your leg! Who did this to you? You need to get to a hospital!" He pushed through everyone and swept her away, holding her in his arms. "Did you do this?" he said angrily to Terra, seeing that she was the only person on stage.
"What's wrong?" Terra said. "Are you mad that I hurt your girlfriend?"
"If you ever touch her again, I'll," Beast Boy started to growl, "I'll kill you."
"You couldn't even defeat me in sparring," Terra said, "what makes you-"
An invisible chi blast bounced Terra off the stage. "Get away!" Vegeta ordered, stepping on stage with Slade. "Everyone get away! It's our turn to fight!"
"I'm taking her to the hospital," Beast Boy said bitterly. "I'm going to stay there until she can get up. Meet me there after this is over."
"Yes, please," Tien said. "I have something very important to talk to you all about. Young Justice should come too."
Starfire looked over at Wonder Girl who was sighing at Gohan. "I'd prefer it not."
The Titans and Z-Fighters moved back to the stands and the waiting rooms. Terra walked in as well, feeling the glare of five supers burning through her skull. She tried laughing it off but found herself again staring into Gohan's eyes. The tomoe started spinning again. "What is that?" Terra asked.
"What is what?" Gohan said. She blinked and his eyes were their normal onyx color. "Should you be talking to me right now? I'm in the right mind to bounce you around the room."
"Looks like some-"
"Think of a new insult while you're at it," Superboy said. "I've never heard such dry taunts."
Gohan smirked at Superboy. "Looks like someone doesn't have anything smart to say."
"Shut up," Terra said, leaning against the wall. "I killed your friend with the tip of the shard I sent into her artery."
"You mean the one Beast Boy found on the way to the hospital?" Gohan said.
"He's too stupid," Terra said, "he'll never find it."
"He just did," Gohan said. "One of the things about my new ability, Dojutsu as Mr. Popo called it, is that it allows me to see into the future if my target isn't moving too fast; I can see for up to a few minutes. Beast Boy will find it and remove it."
"I don't believe in psychics," Terra said.
"You don't have to," Gohan said, sitting on the ground.
Vegeta and Slade stepped onto the stage. "I remember you," Slade said.
"You do?" Vegeta said. His aura spiked.
"About twelve years ago, you and your partner came down from space and went into hiding after the military chased you out of the Rockies," Slade said arrogantly. "You might have been able to beat a couple second rate heroes and villains, but I can handle the likes of Superman and Batman. What makes you think you have a chance?"
The Ma-Djinn symbol appeared on Vegeta's forehead as black as night. "Is that what they told you?" Vegeta said, sounding a bit surprised. "How far my race has fallen."
"Your race?" Slade said. "It probably wasn't that great to begin with if the American military can take you down. They shot down your partner as well. Come here, beg at my feet, and I won't obliterate you. I'm glad the Master chose you too. I need an example."
Vegeta started to laugh. "Son of Kakarot! Are you hearing this clown? Your father has said some pretty stupid things, but this…" His smile faded and he fell into a Saiyan stance. "This has gone beyond idiotic." Vegeta's eyes turned red and his aura exploded, blowing everyone in the arena back, including Slade. "You know I have to kill you for that."
Slade laughed. "You? Kill me? Your power is nowhere near mine! I am now awakened! I am-"
"A blasphemer to the Prince!" Vegeta shouted. His hair flickered between black and blonde, scaring the villain as memories of a recent foe came back to him. His Super Saiyan aura shook the arena to the point that some of the spectators near the top of the arena became dizzy from the shaking beneath them. Red lightning sparked in his golden aura. "Now give me your best shot. You have one chance."
"You fool!" Slade shouted, flying up into the air and lighting up the arena with a long volley of chi blasts. The arena shook with the power generated and the stage was pummeled. When the dust cleared, there was no Vegeta to be found. "Arrogant little prick."
"What did you call me?" Vegeta's voice said from behind him. Slade felt a piercing pain and looked down, seeing Vegeta's glove covered in blood through his chest. He could no longer feel his arms or legs.
"Vegeta!" Gohan shouted. "Stop it! He can't fight back! Put him down!"
Vegeta whipped Slade into the air and fired a pink energy ball at him, sending chunks of Slade everywhere. "We have a casualty!" the announcer shouted. "Stop the-"
"No!" the Master shouted from his hiding place. "The tournament will go as planned! The death ban has been lifted!"
"You can't possibly expect the people to want that!" the announcer shouted. "This is life we're talking about here!"
"I do not care," the Master said. "It will go as planned."
The crowds cheered in anticipation of the new bloodshed. "Are they insane?" Chiaotzu said.
"This is even worse than the Mongul tournaments Superman told me about," Supergirl said.
"Then I quit!" the announcer shouted. "Find yourself a new announcer. I'll come back once you animals have come to your senses." He stomped out of the arena to thousands of taunts and jeers. Gohan flew out and into the sky, confronting the prince.
"What the hell, Vegeta?" Gohan said, only receiving a smirk in response. Gohan saw the Ma-Djinn symbol. "No way! How could you let them get to you, Vegeta?"
Vegeta pointed his hand at the crowds and fired. All of the heroes jumped up to protect them and all eyes were on Vegeta. "Listen up!" Vegeta barked, silencing the crowds. "By the end of this tournament, I shall have taken over Earth! You will become my subjects and we will roam through the stars, taking over galaxies as our own! The Saiyan dynasty of the universe begins today!"
"You sound like Frieza," Gohan said, receiving a slap from the prince.
"Those who reference the old regime shall be punished," Vegeta said. "You are either with me or against me, Saiyan. Those who are against shall die."
"Then you'd better blow my brains out," Gohan said, angering the prince. "I don't know what the Master has promised you, but while I'm here, you can forget about it."
"How much like our father have we become?" Vegeta asked, clapping him on the shoulder. "I'm giving you the chance I gave that idiot. Join me and be spared."
"Be on the ball, Vegeta," Gohan said, "because I'm not going to hold back."
"I see," Vegeta said. "You're wasting a Saiyan warrior's death."
"I don't plan on dying," Gohan said.
"I'll see you tomorrow, son of Kakarot," Vegeta said bitterly, bursting into the sky.
"Something tells me he won't be doing anything treacherous tonight," Gohan said. He activated his dojutsu and looked into the future. He sighed in relief. "That's the first break I've had in a while."
"Gohan!" Tien shouted from the ground. "Come with me! I need to speak with you! You know what; meet me at the hospital instead and find Ravager. It's important!"
Something also told Gohan that this wasn't going to be good. Anything involving Trunks and his company never was.
Blackfire's bedroom:
"Can you go again?" Blackfire asked sultrily, twirling her finger on Trunks' chest.
"We've gone four times," Trunks said. He smirked. "But if you insist, allow me to take it up a notch." His aura spiked and he went Super Saiyan, adding another scorch mark to the wall.
Blackfire's hand went back under the cover. Her eyes widened. "It's so… mother of klorbag!"
The island shook and the sound of Terra and Raven's battle cries from the arena filled the air. "It sounds like they're having fun."
"Are they having as much fun as you are?" Blackfire said. Her head disappeared under the covers and Trunks lurched forward. He sat up and flattened his back against the wall.
"That's your throat!" Trunks exclaimed.
Blackfire's head emerged from the covers with an audible pop. "I'll take that as a no." She stuck her white tongue out and kissed Trunks again, turning out the lights once again.