Chapter 60: Earth's Defence
All right, so I've started work on the special. Also, plenty of interesting replies to my question from last chapter. I'll discuss further at the end of this.
Music for this chapter is Overtaken from the Japanese One Piece soundtrack, because why not.
Now, it's true that the techniques in this book will give you the means to unlock your potential, but be aware: There is always someone stronger. I guarantee, if you are a member of the human race, there is someone whose power dwarfs yours by a factor of millions. Don't entertain any illusions about becoming the greatest fighter in the universe. Now, this isn't to say you can't become great—with true mastery of martial arts, you can become a being that would be considered godlike scant years ago—but don't treat life as a competition. It's not about competing. It's about bettering yourself.
—from Groundbreaking Science, by Son Gohan
"So, I arrived just over there," Tien recounted, "between those mountains. Krillin got there about the same time as me...we could already sense Nail and Yamcha inside, along with the strange ki we'd all sensed before..."
"Inside?" Goku asked.
"Well, it's gone now...but there was a fortress here, half-buried in the ice."
Not long ago...
Tien and Krillin stood side-by-side looking up at the imposing fortress. It was made of black, highly reflective metal, and covered in ominous spikes and ridges. "I, uh...don't like the look of that," Krillin said anxiously. "Man, I wish we had a Super Saiyan or something to throw at it..."
"Come on," Tien argued, "we don't need Goku or anybody! We've been practicing martial arts our whole lives. We've both been trained by King Kai, the Lord of Worlds. We're the two strongest humans on the planet. There's nothing in there we can't handle, okay?"
"All right..." Krillin nodded, and they began to stride up to the cavernous archway, melting the snow around them with their auras. The entrance immediately became a tunnel which seemed to stretch on endlessly into the darkness. "Hey..." Krillin cocked his head to one side. "You hear—" He stopped talking and started moving. Four short, black creatures burst out from the snow, instantly surrounding the two fighters and leaping at them, red eyes gleaming in the gloom. Tien leaned back, dodging two swipes and preparing to counterattack. Krillin was already in the air, grabbing the first creature by the neck and slamming it head-first into the second. Tien swung an open-handed chop, severing the right hands of the two monsters attacking him as they attacked again, then punched twice in rapid succession, sending them both flying back into the wall.
"Heh...not bad." Krillin grinned, relaxing. "We make a pretty good team, huh?"
"Yeah," Tien agreed, checking that all four of their attackers were incapacitated. "Not at all like when we were rivals...remember those days?"
"Yeah, when you were a total ass and broke Yamcha's leg when he was already down? Sure, I remember."
"Don't remind me..." the reformed warrior grumbled.
"Hey..." Krillin crouched over one of the fallen creatures, examining it closely. "Funny. These things look kind of like the Saibamen the saiyans used when they attacked Earth." He shrugged. "These things are a lot more powerful, though, whatever they are. I guess our training over the years really has paid off."
"Tell me about it," Tien said as they walked on. "It's just that, in recent years, all we ever seem to fight are overwhelmingly powerful monsters. Let's hope this enemy is in our league, because it looks like we're on our own here."
"That's just it," Krillin muttered, melted ice slushing around his feet. "I'm really not sure if we can handle it...we've got so used to helping from the sidelines..."
"Come on, Krillin. Have a little more faith in yourself than that."
"I'm trying, believe me."
The tunnel finally opened out into a wide, ice-coated chamber, totally empty. The floor was also ice, with deep water beneath. "Just what is this place?" Krillin wondered.
"I don't know..." Tien looked around, searching for an exit. "...But I'm starting to like it less and less." Something caught his eye. "Look out!" They jumped away, Tien left and Krillin right, as the ice beneath them began to crack. As they skidded to a halt, it burst out from underneath—a fat, lumpy yellow being wearing only a dark red jacket. Its misshapen maw opened in a fang-toothed leer. "Heeeeehhh..."
The martial artist duo were preparing to attack this new enemy, when a whirring noise emanated from the ceiling—a large hatch opened up, from which hundreds of hovering mechanical drones poured, electricity crackling up and down shimmering metal blades that protruded from all sides of the robots.
"I've got the big guy!" Tien shouted above the buzz of the descending machines. "Cover me!"
"Gotcha!" Krillin leapt into the air, flying over to the opposite corner of the room and drawing the drones away from Tien. "You know, I'm starting to think somebody doesn't want us here..."
Tien faced down the strange creature as it lumbered towards him, hooked claws wavering in anticipation. "Oh, you want some of this?" The three-eyed warrior yelled, challenging the beast to attack. It did so, right on cue, and as it closed the distance he raised his hands in a triangle formation. "TRI-BEAM!" The yellow bolt of energy lanced out from between his hands, slamming into the creature's belly and making a huge dent—but no sooner had it done so, than the thing just grinned at him, flexed its rolls of fat, and its doughy body sprang back into shape. More than that, it reflected Tien's blast right back at him, crashing into his body full-force.
Meanwhile, Krillin swooped and dived around the room, dodging between swarms of drones with artful precision. "I'm starting to get tired of this...let's try a more direct solution, shall we?" He came to a halt in mid-air, throwing a two-handed energy wave into the centre of the room. "And...go!" With a quick hand motion, he split it into hundreds of smaller blasts, arcing every which way, homing in on each individual drone and smashing it to dust. When it was done, he looked down to the creature Tien was fighting, which was standing in front of a rapidly-expanding smoke cloud.
"Eh-heh. Heeeghhh..." The beast hissed, stomping towards the centre of the cloud.
Oh, man, that's not good, Krillin thought. Wait a minute...Tien's power hasn't dropped at all...did he really have time to block? No, wait...now it's increasing!
"KAIO-KEN!" The smoke blew away, scattered by the wave of force that rolled out from Tien's body as a red aura enveloped him. "Hey, ugly," he said, raising his fists, "ever heard of the Four Witches technique? Haven't used this one in a while..." With a grunt, he forced his ki into physical form, manifesting as a second pair of arms sprouting from his shoulders, above the first. "So, you can withstand a lot of punishment...how much, I wonder? Haaaiii!" Putting on a burst of speed, he rocketed into the bewildered creature, his four fists flying furiously. Punch after red-tinged punch rained down on the blob-like monster, supported by the occasional flat-handed deflection whenever it made a clumsy swipe with its claws. The seconds dragged by, with no relief for Tien's opponent, until finally the pummeling was too much—its eyes rolled up in its head, its short limbs gave one last flail, and it flopped backwards, falling right through the ice and sinking into the depths below.
"It seems these two warriors are more powerful than you anticipated. They have bested Misokatsun."
"Oh? Indeed."
"In fact, it is quite likely one or both of them is superior to the scar-faced one. I warned you not to use the control chamber's second charge so hastily on him. There's no way it'll recharge in time to use it on these two."
"Don't worry, old friend. We have the demon himself. None of the others matter."
"I suppose you're right. As for these two...send the other Bio-Warriors."
"I shall. Where one failed, two might well triumph."
Aside from the one that led back to the entrance, there was only one corridor out of the water room, so Tien and Krillin sprinted down it. Shortly, it opened out into a pitch-black room.
"Hey, what gives?" Tien yelled into the darkness.
"Yeah, what's with all this empty-room crap?" Krillin agreed. "Just who are you—where are you—and what have you done with our friends?"
"You are not welcome here," a scratchy voice hissed from overhead. Blindingly bright lights flashed on, revealing them to be standing in a large, sandy room—in fact, it appeared to be a stadium of some kind. "Now, meet the rest of my Bio-Warriors!" the voice continued. On cue, two figures appeared silhouetted in the blazing lights. Krillin and Tien readied themselves as the Bio-Warriors—one bulky muscular, one tall, lean and slender—charged. "Ebifurya! Kishime!" The voice screeched. "Destroy them!"
"Sounds simple enough!" Krillin grinned. "This time, I've got the big guy!"
"If you say so," Tien said, stepping up to intercept the thin one. The entire fight was made disconcerting due to the dizzying brightness—all four fighters only ever appeared as black outlines against the dazzling glow that surrounded them.
Krillin cupped his hands by his side as the large Bio-Warrior faced off against him. "KAMEHAME...HA!" He launched his signature energy wave straight at the imposing creature, which didn't even attempt to dodge, but instead made an almost identical motion to the Kamehameha wave technique, throwing out a storm of icy ki. "Toketsu-ken!" It hissed. Krillin had just enough time to think, Hey, this one speaks— before the frosty blast overwhelmed his Kamehameha, hurling him backwards. Shaking his head to clear the dizziness, he tried to stand, only to find one leg encased in a block of ice and stuck to the floor. "Oh, that's not good..." Not ordinary ice, either! I can't break it!
On the other side of the room, Tien was on the defensive as the skinny Bio-Warrior swung both arms frantically at him—having, moments before, sprouted what seemed to be biological cables from each arm, wrapping them around its forearms, igniting them with menacing arcs of electricity and beginning to swing them at its stubborn human opponent. Tien dodged back, left then right, trying to analyse the creature's attack pattern. Finally, he saw an opening, stepping in with a vicious right that caught it across the jaw, stunning it. Then, he threaded his fingers together in a two-handed upward swing, launching the Bio-Warrior into the air. "Time for another classic—VOLLEYBALL FIST!" He flew up above his flying enemy, preparing to hit it back down to the ground two-handed. "SPIKE—" Without warning, it vanished—no ki signature, nothing—and appeared behind him just as suddenly. Instant Transmission! he realised, finding himself with no time to dodge as it slashed down his back with an electrified arm, sending waves of pain coursing through his body. "Aaaagh!"
The bulky Bio-Warrior slowly approached its trapped enemy. Krillin grimaced. Gotta break out! "KAIOKEN—HAAA!" In a blaze of crimson light, the ice shattered and he flipped backwards to his feet. Keeping the Kaioken aura burning steadily, he rushed in, throwing an upwards elbow strike that struck the Bio-Warrior just below the neck, driving the breath from its lungs. As it staggered about, he dashed around behind it, sending it crashing to the ground with a back kick.
"Grr..." It dug its nails into the ice, screeching to a halt and standing up. Quickly, it fired its Kamehameha-like ice attack again, a desperate look on its face. "Toketsu-ken!"
"Sorry, not gonna work twice!" Krillin raised one hand, rapidly forming a spinning energy disc and launching it right into the ice beam's path. "KIENZAN!" The razor-edged attack scythed through the beam, neatly bisecting it so that the halves were diverted off to either side of Krillin. Meanwhile, the Kienzan continued on its path towards the Bio-Warrior, who just ducked in time, a deep gash opening up on its chest from the glancing hit. It bellowed in pain, but before it could recover, Krillin was right in front of it, drawing his fist back. "Yaaa!" One Kaioken-powered punch brought the creature down for good.
Tien bit his lip, drawing blood, focusing on the tiny point of pain in an attempt to block out the sensation of the larger agony of his opponent's electrocution attack. Spinning, he flung it off his back, disentangling himself and resuming his combat-ready stance. "I bet this bright light's meant to disorientate us, huh? This is nothing." He flicked his body left to avoid another arcing swing from the grinning monster. Seeing his opportunity, he jumped over its next strike, closing the distance and bringing its face right up to his. "How about the full brightness of the sun? SOLAR FLARE!" At his command, the blinding attack shone forth, outshining the dazzling ambience of the room and sending the shrieking creature leaping away. Howling in pain, the Bio-Warrior jumped back, then vanished again. Trying to sneak up on me with Instant Transmission...well, too bad. He raised one hand up to his shoulder, nonchalantly pointing one finger backwards. "DODON—" The oblivious Bio-Warrior materialised, electrified appendages raised... "—RAY!" ...Only to be hit full-force in the face by a thin yellow beam, bowling it over and knocking it out cold. "Sorry," Tien said as he lowered his hand, "but you did make it pretty easy for me. In that panicked state, you weren't likely to be thinking too clearly. Where else would you appear but directly behind me?" He looked over to Krillin, noting the smaller warrior had also been victorious, and the two exchanged a thumbs-up. "Not bad so far, huh, Krillin?"
"Sure. A pretty good workout," Krillin agreed, grinning. "I hope we find out who's in charge of this mess, though; I'm kinda getting bored of beating on sideshow freaks and remote-control planes." Again, only one exit to the room; again, they left promptly, without ceremony, both anxious to know what had become of their friends.
"Dr. Wheelo!" The raspy-voiced, elderly scientist squawked. "They've beaten our Bio-Warriors! Damn those weak excuses for guard-dogs! They'll be here any second now!"
"Calm yourself, Kochin, you fool," a deep voice rumbled from the shadows. "We still hold the upper hand. The strongest being on this planet is ours to command." The hidden speaker paused. "Ah, here they are now. Calm yourself, and eliminate them. This is the critical point, I need not remind you. I will not tolerate setbacks. Eliminate them quickly!"
"But of course." Dr. Kochin turned to see Tien and Krillin entering the darkened laboratory. Their eyes locked on him, and he smiled, his inner fears concealed by the need to maintain composure. "Ah, I see you've made it past our security...welcome, simpletons. WELCOME...TO DIE!"
There was a long pause.
Krillin opened his mouth.
Krillin closed his mouth.
Finally, he managed to say: "...What?"
"Er..." Kochin stammered. "...Sorry. That, uh, that sounded better in my head."
Tien raised an eyebrow, a motion that had an interesting effect on his third eye. "Your head must be a scary place."
"Enough of this!" Kochin struck the floor with his ornate, dragon-headed cane. "Remove them!"
"Who are you talking—" Tien began, then his eyes widened. He stepped forwards in a flash, intercepting Yamcha, who was leaping at them out of the dark. The two hung there for a second, then separated, Yamcha dropping into a mobile, offensive stance. Tien noticed he was wearing his Turtle School gi. So...he came out here looking for trouble...what happened to him? "Hey, Yamcha. Not to point out the obvious, but you're kind of attacking the wrong guy here."
"Raaah!" Yamcha lunged, swinging a high kick at Tien, who somersaulted over it, propelling himself backwards with his ki and landing some distance away. "All right, if it's a fight you want...whatever kind of mind-control they've put on you, I'll beat it out of you!"
"You may find that a difficult proposition," Kochin chuckled. "He already has a deep-seated desire to defeat you. Amplifying that was not difficult...you'll find his tenacity truly extraordinary."
"All right, then. It's me you want?" Tien raised his guard. "Let's do it!" He and Yamcha sped off around the room, periodically clashing and shaking the cavernous chamber with the shockwaves generated by the opening moves of their battle. With each strike, both fighters used a little more power, slowly building towards their maximum.
Krillin looked warily over at Dr. Kochin. "I wouldn't be so calm if I were you. What if I said: Let him go, or I'll start blowing limbs off." He raised a hand, energy flickering between his fingers.
"Then I'd say: Attempting to do so would merely play right into our hands! You are no match for our magnificent plan!" Kochin cackled.
"Let me guess. You've got some convoluted psychological method of getting me to stand in the right spot so you can do some kind of mind control thing on me?"
"Ah, good guess. But unfortunately, our mind control device is still recharging...and anyway, that plan is far inferior to any plan that involves a cane laser!" His arm snapped up with far too much speed for a normal human, let alone one his age, flipping open the top and pressing a small button. And indeed, a high-powered laser burst from the cane, lancing straight towards Krillin, who gathered energy in one foot and swung it upwards, kicking the laser bolt straight up into the air, deflecting it away from him. He lowered his leg, wincing with the jarring pain. "Okay, you're having way too much fun here. Just who the hell are you people?!"
"I can't blame you for not recognising me...you're hardly the kind of intellectual whose social circles me and my glorious comrade once graced..." Kochin preened. "My name is Dr. Kochin. But of infinitely more importance is my comrade Dr. Wheelo...he is the future ruler of this world!" His eyes misted over as he spoke. "Yes, the world used to mock us. Human beings never understood our genius! Not even the tragic avalanche all those years ago could stop us. Though his body was destroyed, Dr. Wheelo's magnificent mind lives on! Such is his genius that even with only his notes, I was able to construct a machine which saved his brain from the frostbite that consumed his body—that sustains him to this day!"
"Wonderful. You're taking orders from a brain in a jar," Krillin said drily. He dodged right on instinct as Tien and Yamcha appeared next to him, arms locked, pushing against each other. At this close distance, Krillin was able to see the physical changes Yamcha had undergone—the whites of his eyes were an unhealthy red, and a vein-like plastic circlet adorned his head. The two fighters' auras sprung to life, their power building, burning first white, then red as they simultaneously tapped into the Kaioken technique. Just when the light and heat had reached unbearable intensity, Tien's shone even brighter for a brief moment, and Yamcha was hurled back. Pressing his advantage, Tien darted off in pursuit of his opponent.
Krillin turned back to Dr. Kochin. "So, how exactly are you planning to rule the world? I mean, it's not like everyone'll just roll over and let you waltz into the Royal Palace."
"Oh, but they will," Kochin enthused, rubbing his hands together gleefully. "Did you hear about the recent disaster in Nickytown?"
"Yeah..." Krillin nodded. "A sudden heatwave. The surrounding forests burned down—all the crops burned up—people were dying of heatstroke...well, it's practically a desert now." He thought for a second. "Ah, hell, that was you, wasn't it?"
"Indeed it was!" Kochin cackled. "And that was merely a taste of our power! Our ultimate work is nearly complete—a device with the power to wipe all life from this planet! With it, we can hold the world to ransom...live as kings!"
"Good for you." Not natural deaths, then, Krillin decided. Note to self: When we're done here, gather the Dragon Balls.
"Oh, it is, it is," Kochin continued. "You see, we have the brainpower...we have our weapon...all we need now is a body! A mortal shell to house the fabulous mind of Dr. Wheelo! And we've managed to find one that fits the bill just about perfectly..."
"Enough of this," Dr. Wheelo's computerised voice rumbled from above them. "Kill them, and prepare my mind for transfer."
"As you command." Kochin grinned, extending one hand. "Well, it's been fun. I do so love to gloat. But now we must part ways." With a dramatic sweep of his arm, he drew back his sleeve. A loud whirring noise emanated from within him, and his arm suddenly underwent a metamorphosis—fingers became gun-barrels, an ammo-belt burst from his wrist, gears and pistons emerged from beneath his skin. In under a second, his hand had become a chaingun. "Now, stand still!" Kochin opened fire, tearing up the floor beneath Krillin, who hastily dodged. What the hell is that thing? he wondered, used to being able to easily avoid bullets, but finding himself only barely faster than the unique projectilesd Kochin was firing at him. "Wha—hey—stop—damn it, enough already!" He hopped back and forth, feeling the slipstreams of the shots as they whistled by, inches from him.
Tien and Yamcha's battle paused as they landed on opposite sides of the room, each surveying his opponent. Simultaneously, they charged.
"Wolf Fang—"
"Volleyball—"
"—Fist!" They chorused, clashing together in an explosion of energy and leaping off again.
Krillin backflipped away, taking cover behind a bulkhead jutting out of the wall. Okay, okay, think... He smiled. Got it. "Multi-form—go!" Twin clones of the martial artist dived out from behind his cover, making straight for Kochin.
"Hah! I know this technique—it won't work! It cuts your power and speed in half!" Kochin yelled above the din his weapon was making, firing on the lead clone. However, as the bullets tore through his image, the copy of Krillin vanished, and the remaining one rapidly put on speed, reaching Kochin in the blink of an eye. One hand sliced downwards, severing the gun-arm in a spray of flailing wires and sparks; the other swung sideways, catching the scientist on the side of the head and sending him sprawling to the floor, out cold.
"Impressive," Dr. Wheelo noted. "Using super-speed to create the illusion of two of you...then when he attacked, revealing that copy to merely be an afterimage, and that you still had your full power...you almost fooled my sensors, too."
"'Almost'?" Krillin frowned. "Why didn't you warn him, then?"
"He was beginning to bore me. I knew he would fail...which is why I have already sent for the one who will kill you."
"Uh...I don't like the sound of this..."
Wheelo chuckled. "Indeed, I can hardly blame you. You have exceeded my expectations, getting this far...but you will all fall before the demon...Piccolo."
This bit will probably only take one more chapter, if all goes to plan.
Seems like a lot of people like Dr. Myuu and the direction his character's taken. Thanks! He's interesting to write.
Thanks to the people who replied to my question about similarities between Superman, Doctor Who and Goku! Before I get into this, I should warn that I do discuss some religions here, and although I don't mention my own beliefs, if you have strong opinions on religion, please DO NOT INSULT ANYONE'S BELIEF IN YOUR REVIEWS. This is a discussion, a shared journey towards greater knowledge. It is not an argument, and if anyone chooses to make it one, don't expect your opinion to be considered valid. Okay? We cool? No arguments? Right. Not that I thought you would. My readership are pretty awesome people. Just making sure. Anyway, here's some replies:
Now for personal hero, well I don't (unfortunately) know any South African folklore, but personally (after Gohan) my hero would be Tails from Sonic the Hedgehog. He's a character who never gives up and advances from being bait for the hero, to becoming a hero in his own right, not to mention having tremendous potential.
-Supersaiyaninfinitygohan
Well...honestly, the Sonic series in recent years seems to have become kind of a DBZ parody/homage. I mean...Sonic=Goku, Shadow=Vegeta, Silver=Trunks, right? That's what I've been able to pick up; I don't really have too much experience with the games...and there's the whole seven magical artifacts thing...and the glowing golden hair with the super mode...yeah...you see where I'm coming from? But still, I suppose it's a good point. I mean, I'm sure Goku was at least partially inspired by Superman. The backstory and all. Hmm...though that was added piecemeal, it wasn't one decision, so maybe not...Anyway, not to knock Sonic or anything, but since I'm looking for similar heroes that have separately emerged with similar elements to them...well, seeing as Sonic seems so directly DBZ-ish, I'm not going to take the series into account.
Fictional heroes in each country? In Spain the most popular fictional characters are Mortadelo & Filemon a pair of incompetent secret agents. They are no exactly heroic characters like Goku or Superman, they are more similar to Loney Toons, with lots of slapstick humor.
A more traditional hero would be SuperLopez, a parody of Superman he is not incompetent but tends to end in weird situations.
-Hektols
Hmm...fair enough. I guess not every country's favourite character is going to be a hero in the traditional sense. I guess they'd be the equivalent of the more down-to-earth iconic character, which in Britain I guess would be James Bond. Hmm, these are pretty much all male. I guess a lot of them have been going on for a long time, and female heroes weren't as popular when many of them were created. I guess that'll change at some point (come to think of it, though, Wonder Woman, while definitely not a rip-off of Superman, given how she's all magic-y and he's an alien, is kind of that archetype...the greatest Amazon warrior, sent to the human world, etc., etc.)
As for SuperLopez, I know there are a lot of Superman parodies/homages out there (the Sentry, whatsisname from Stormwatch or whichever Wildstorm team it was (Majestic, was that his name?), the Homelander, Mr. Incredible kind of?), but I'm discounting them—seeing as they aren't an example of separate people coming up with similar ideas, like Superman and Goku. They're direct references to a specific character. And while a lot of other anime heroes were inspired by Goku, like Naruto and Luffy (so their authors say), they don't really fit the archetype—they're human, for one thing.
And thanks especially for this in-depth reply:
Dear Captain,
I've been following your story from Portugal and Germany, and this is the very first time I am commenting your work. First, let me tell you that I am quite satisfied with it, you've been developing your stories in an interesting manner, with some plots and twists able to get my attention, even if your writting style isn't exactly my style, you do know how to get readers hooked :) Please keep the good work!
I am essentially commenting as a way to answer your... Thoughts about heros and the pattern you seem to have noticed. You see, that has been studied, and it is, quite accuratelly, portrayed in here: wiki/Monomyth
This article (please, do take the time to read a bit about it, as it is most fascinating) shows us about the parttern of the development of heros. Further psychological work had found out that humans do tend to portray the hero on this generic way, regardless of time or place, due to, and at this point I must say that your guesses are concomitant with mine, this need to be better, to have someone better, to save us from the hardships, in this world. Every culture has this stories, in Latin Europe: Portugal (for example, my name, Viriatus, is an homnage to a Lusitanian General, that used to fight the Romans, and is seen as a national hero, giving birth to a legend), Spain, France, Italy and Romania, with some common traits with Greece, we have several stories based on the Romano-Greek gods and heroes interacting with them; In Scandinavia, you have the nordic gods tales of heros, like Odin and Thor; The slavic people have their own stories, even the Chinese and the Japanese, and so on, and they all follow the same pattern.
I guess this might have to do with some pre-historic need, programmed within our brains of a greater purpose, a better life, and also a need to get answers that humans, as individuals, are not able to answer, but as a group, might be reacheable.
As to stories/heroes with the same pattern as Goku and Superman, in Portugal, or even in Latin Europe, I'd say you could see a little bit on that in the "Odyssey" (Ullisses), "The Song of Ilium" (Aquiles), "The Lusiadas" (Vasco da Gama), even though they are much more... Down to Earth than DBZ, they seem to direct the reader for what you've been discussing here.
I am glad that you've made said question, and I am very much interested in watching the results :)
Thank you
-Kaiser Viratius
Indeed, I'm aware of the hero's journey/monomyth. Thanks to some of my family, I've been familiar with the story structure it outlines since quite a young age—we're all pretty keen on film, literature, fiction in general, I guess. It's very interesting how the same story pattern seems to emerge in so many different mythologies, long before the modern age when we can be consciously aware of this pattern thanks to global communications technology.
It's interesting to note that the saviour figure is prevalent in modern religions, too—Jesus, Buddha, etc. (I'm pretty sure that after writing the Islamic prophet's name, you're supposed to add some form of short sentence, something about peace I believe (feel free to correct me on what it actually is, the ignorant heathen that I am)...so, I'm not going to risk it, but...yeah, him too)...and my knowledge of Hindu mythology is somewhat lacking, but is it Rama? The heroic one? One of the avatars of that other one with all the avatars, I believe.
Anyway, yeah. It appears in religion too. I'm not going to try and interpret it; thorny territory, there. Can't really go into it without offending somebody.
But. Anyway. The pattern does seem to repeat itself across Europe as well...Greek and Norse gods and such. Hold on, I just went to another religion.
Are superheroes our modern, secular 'gods'? Grant Morrison, in his book 'Supergods' (which you should definitely check out, it's a great read), says that when he was called on to revamp the Justice League from its floundering 80s and 90s comedy period, he chose to recreate them as the Greek pantheon:
Superman—Zeus
Batman—Hades
Wonder Woman—Hera (which is confusing, seeing as she...knows, and has spoken to Hera...huh.)
Flash—Apollo
Aquaman—Poseidon
Plastic Man—Dionysus (did I spell that right?)
And I might have forgotten one. Martian Manhunter, maybe. But you get the point.
Minor Trigun spoilers if you haven't watched/read it, and plan to (if so, just skip to the EFB preview underneath):
Hey, here's a character who fits the Goku/Superman archetype! Vash the Stampede. Superhuman being, strange powers, sent down to Earth (well, planet Gunsmoke, but whatever) from another realm, fights an evil member of his own kind, makes allies among humans, main ally has a less black-and-white morality (and wears darker colours, that seems to be a thing), etc.
Even Further Beyond Preview #7: Kronos Shenron
Goku sighed deeply. "Wow...that wasn't easy."
Raditz nodded, thankful he'd escaped the battle against Prometheus Shenron largely unscathed, unlike his brother. "I kind of feel sorry for the guy...he didn't seem as overtly evil as the others."
"Well, you know the stakes. It's them, or the whole universe—ah!" The two saiyans jumped back as a black-scaled creature materialised out of thin air. "Where did you come from?"
"I was tired of waiting for you eliminate those weak creatures," it hissed. "My name is Kronos Shenron. And if you're done playing around, I'd enjoy killing you, warriors of Earth."
"Go ahead and try!" Raditz yelled, leaping at the dragon. Its eyes narrowed, there was a flash of light, and the saiyan was gone.
"Wha—" Goku blinked. "Where did he go?! What the hell did you just do?"
"Heh heh heh..." Kronos flashed a fanged grin. "Oh, he's alive. I made sure to land him on a habitable planet...New Namek, I believe you called it."
"Oh, is that all?" Goku smiled, relieved. "Joke's on you—he'll be back here in seconds, when he realises where he is...ever heard of Instant Transmission?"
"Indeed I have..." Kronos replied. "Which is why I took the liberty of displacing him not only in space, but also time. He is currently occupying a time period billions of years from now—long after the end of all civilization in this galaxy. Perhaps it will emerge again, but not for millenia after he passes. He's alone, in an empty world...at least it was considerate of the Namekians to use their Dragon Balls to preserve their planet at some point, and keep its environment intact from the ravages of time, which'll means he'll be allowed to slowly starve in lieu of immediately suffocating."
"You bastard!" Goku growled, making fists. "Let me guess...he can't come back until I destroy you, right?"
"Nope," the dragon said happily. "He's gone for good, I'm afraid." Noting Goku's stunned expression, he continued. "Now, I can't do the same to you, as that technique is a once-per-day thing...but that just means I get to kill you slower."
Goku flared up his aura, eyes wide with anger. "You want a fight? Come get it!"
"Oh, I don't need to. You'll destroy yourself-from within." Its eyes began to glow a brighter blue. "You know what they say...no matter what you do, the past will come back to haunt you..."
Q: Also, great work with Myuu this chapter. He's probably one of the better portrayed characters in your story, and I can't wait to see where you go with him. I think that the only reason he's allowing himself to be unsure of his purpose is because Vegeta - the one who he views as responsible of this crime - is now dead. He questions whether he could bring himself to kill the father-son duo in this chapter-I say he wouldn't have done so. Vegeta, yes, but not Goku and Gohan.
One question regarding his appearance, though: he looks like Baby of GT, right? I just want to be sure I'm picturing him correctly.
A: Yeah, that's his main body's appearance.
Q: Out of sheer morbid curiosity: I'm guessing that the Z fighters took on Wheelo from world's strongest?
A: Good guess!
Q: Does Vegeta really have to die? Good chapter by the way!
A: Ye-es, I'm afraid...but what will become of him in the afterlife?
Q: I'd like to say without a doubt that this is the 3rd best out of the dozens of DBZ related things I've read! 2nd being BoD. 1st being DBM!
But there are two things that made me mad while reading this and that is: Break being a SSj as an infant, and Bulma and Zarbon. Oh wait there's one more thing, is why was Turles so OP? (over powered) and you put a charecter from GT in this! O_o
A: So...four things, then?
1. I did try to set that idea up-remember Broly, the other LSSJ, could always access his power from an early age, so...yeah, just trying to stay true to that, and imply the present version of her has the same potential as the future one.
2. Eh, Vegeta wasn't going to be a hero, and Bulma seemed attracted to pre-transformation Zarbon on Namek.
3. Because he's spent years eating the Tree of Might's fruit. Given that in the movie, just one took his power from under 30,000 to over 300,000 (he said Goku's PL was 30,000, and was losing, then ate the fruit, and beat Kaioken x10 Goku)...yeah. That's why.
4. I did! I've said before that I think there were good ideas in GT, but they were poorly executed.
Q: Hey I just started reading BTtL last week and love it, so sad about Vegeta's death though :(, will he be making an appearance again? Maybe in hell in fusion reborn movie, perhaps with Piccolo? (Yes yes I know you probably can't answer due to spoilers) :(
A: Indeed I cannot, sorry. But Fusion Reborn will be...interesting.