Greg pulled up in his van with Connie in the back. She was excited to be celebrating Steven's Birthday. She had never been to a birthday party before their than her own. She had gotten him a brand new shirt and she was sure he would love it. She was also hoping to meet this new gem Steven had told her about. She was apparently one of the gems that was sent by homeworld to work on the fusion experiments, but now she was helping them...for some reason…
Connie jumped out of the car to find a large crowd of people standing around, many of which she hadn't seen before. Steven was at the center of them. As he noticed her, a smile came to his face. "Connie!" he called, running over to her.
"Oh, Hey Steven!" she said, snapping out of her surprise. "Happy Birthday!" she announced, handing him the present.
"Aw, thanks Connie!" he said, "You didn't have to."
"Hey, what are friends for?" she said.
"So this is your little friend we heard so much about," a voice said. They both turned to see a tall, three eyed man standing over them. Connie's eyes widened at his presence.
"Yup!" Steven chirped. "Connie, this is Tien Shinhan. He used to train under the Crane Hermit," Steven introduced, "Tien, this is Connie."
"A pleasure to meet you young lady," He said, kneeling down and offering his hand.
Connie smiled at him. "Likewise," she replied, shaking his hand.
"Hey! Aren't you going to introduce us too?" a voice called. They turned to see a short bald man with incense burns on his forehead, another, shorter man that looked a bit like a mime, a fairly tall man with long black hair and a scar, and a floating cat.
"Of course!" Steven said with a nod, pulling Connie over. "Connie, this Krillin, Goku's best friend," he said pointing to the bald man who waved. "And this is Chiaotzu. He lives with Tien," he explained, gesturing to the pale one who simply nodded and smiled. "And this is Yamcha and Puar!" he finished off.
"Nice to meet you little lady!" Yamcha said, stepping forward.
"Yeah! We've never gotten a chance to meet one of Steven's friends before!" Puar chimed in.
"It's good to meet you too!" she said, "I hope you don't mind me asking, but are you like a familiar? Sorry, it's just that I finished a books series about them and-"
Puar and Yamcha chuckled. "No it's fine!" Yamcha said, "In a way, Puar kind of it my familiar. He's one of my closest friends and used to help me out all the time in the desert when we were in a pinch!"
"What do you mean used to? I still help you get out of trouble!" Puar teased.
"That's so cool!" Connie said.
"Hey! Don't forget me!" a voice called from inside the barn. Steven and Connie turned to see Bulma stepping out of the barn, wiping engine oil off her hands.
Connie's jaw dropped as she saw her. "Oh right! I almost forgot!" Steven said, "This is another one of Goku's friends. Her name is-"
"HOW DO YOU KNOW BULMA BRIEFS?!" Connie shrieked.
Steven practically jumped in surprise. "What do you mean?" he asked.
"She's one of the most influential scientists in the world right now and head of Capsule Corporation and all its affiliates! She's developed and patented hundreds of new technologies that have revolutionized how we live our lives! She is quite literally, one of the most powerful women in the world!" Connie chattered, "How do you know her?!"
"That's a long and crazy story," Bulma said with a chuckle as she stepped forward, "I'd be happy to tell you later, but for now, let's just say it all started with a few boys with monkey tails and one hell of a road trip!"
Connie nearly jumped as she heard her idol acknowledge her. "Oh my gosh, I am so sorry for freaking out like that ma'am!" she gushed in embarrassment, "It's just such an honor to be in your presence! I and the rest of my family are such huge fans of your work! Your technology has really revolutionized my mother's field! I've always dreamed of getting a chance to meet you but I never thought I'd-"
"Ok, kid," Krillin said, "I think you've stroked her ego enough! We don't need it growing so big it engulfs the earth!"
Connie flushed in embarrassment while Bulma pouted. "Oh shush! Like you're one to talk about ego!" she snapped. "Don't mind him," she said, turning to Connie, "But I would appreciate it if you just treated me like everyone else. Honestly, half of why I'm here is to get away from being the most powerful woman in the world!" Connie smiled and nodded.
"So are you going to be working in the barn for the party or will you be hanging with us?" Steven asked.
"I'll be out here," she answered, "I need a break and Peridot was happy to take over with the drill for now."
"Hey, can I say hello to the B-day boy too?" Greg called as he ran up to them. "Happy birthday!" he said, hugging his son. "Boy, time sure flies huh?" he said as he set his son down, "It seems like yesterday you were only a baby and now you're fourteen!"
Connie gave a look of shock for the third time that day. "You're fourteen?!" Connie repeated, "But I'm only twelve and three quarters! You're older than me?!"
"Well yeah I guess," Steven said with a shrug.
"Well sure! I'll show you!" Greg said leading them over to a picnic table where the Z fighters were setting up the party near by. He grabbed a scrap book from his van and walked back over to them. "You see we have infant, toddler, adolescence…" Greg said as he flipped through the book, but they quickly noticed that the pictures of Steven seemed to stop changing after a while. "Huh...still stuck on adolescence, I guess," Greg noted.
"...Mr. Universe, could I show you how the defibrillator works?" Connie said with a worried expression.
"uh...sure…" he responded, sensing the tone.
Steven sat down at the table frowning. Goku noticed this and floated over to him curiously. "Hey what's wrong?" he asked, "This is your birthday party, you should be happy!"
"We have everything under control, Steven," Piccolo said as he and Vegeta sat down at the table, "You should relax."
"I know but…" he started, "I'm just worried, cause I think I've stopped aging."
The Z fighters blinked in surprise for a second before sharing amused expressions. "That's what you're upset over?" Vegeta said, "That's ridiculous! Of course you're still aging, all of us are!"
"But I'm not growing up!" he cried, "Look!" He opened the scrapbook and flipped through it. "I haven't changed since I was eight!"
"So?" Goku questioned, confused.
"So, I should be going through puberty right now!" he retorted, "Humans are supposed to!"
"But you're not a human Steven," Piccolo said, "the rules don't apply to you." Steven looked confused until Piccolo explained. "Steven, different species mature at different rates," he said, "Namekians like me reach maturity in only a few years."
"And Saiyans like us don't even start puberty until we're halfway to twenty!" Goku added, "My voice didn't even start cracking until I was sixteen!"
"But I'm not half Saiyan, I'm half gem!" he cried, "What if I just stop growing period?"
"Does it matter?" Vegeta stated, "So what if you're short? It's not like you're going to die from it."
"Yeah, just look at Krillin or Chiaotzu!" Goku noted, "They're short and they're perfectly happy! Heck, Krillin even won a world tournament!"
"Yeah but…" Steven started, before frowning and pausing, "What if Connie doesn't want to be around me anymore?!"
The Z fighters stared at him blankly. Suddenly, Vegeta burst out laughing. Piccolo glared at him before holding his face in his hands and sighing. "Steven," he said, "When she met you, you two were attacked by a giant worm, and almost every time you two have been around each other since then, you've been in some kind of danger. I can say with utmost certainty that she is not going to stop liking you because you're short."
"You sure?" he asked.
"Positive," he stated, looking up at the boy. Steven smiled at him at that.
….
"Goku stop!" Chichi scolded as she put the finishing touches on the cake, "You can have some when the cake is finished." It had taken her hours to bake the multi tier cake
So long that she had to bring it to the party to finish decorating it. Because of this, she was having to deal with one and a half Saiyans trying to sneak frosting.
"Come on Chichi! Can't we just lick the bowl?" Goku pleaded.
"The bowl isn't even empty yet!" she argued.
"That's because you made too much!" Goku argued.
"Please mommy?" Gohan begged, giving her puppy dog eyes.
However, his mother had long since grown immune to it. "No," she stated firmly, "Now run along both of you, or you won't get any cake!" She shooed them away with her spoon and the two Saiyans grumbled as they walked off.
When the cake was finished being decorated, they all gathered around the picnic table. Two candles sat at the top of the cake in the shape of a one and a four.
Due to the dessert's height, Steven had to climb a small ladder to reach the candles.
Steven thought for a moment to decide what he wanted to wish for. As he did, a high pitched whistling could be heard. Everyone paused for a moment as the whistling got louder and louder. Before anyone could say anything, something zoomed overhead, causing a rush of wind and blowing out the candles. Peridot peaked out of the barn door to see what was going on.
"The hell is that?" Tien commented.
"It looks like someone flying," Chiaotzu observed.
"That's impossible! Everyone on earth who knows how to use their ki to fly is right here," Krillin denied.
"Then maybe they aren't from Earth," Piccolo noted darkly. All of the fighters prepared themselves as the figure stopped mid-air and turned around, heading straight for them. The Z fighters moved to the front of the group. Vegeta narrowed his eyes as he watched the flight pattern. It wasn't like Tien's sky dancing technique or any other like that of earth. However, it was still familiar, because it bore a striking resemblance to the technique all members of Frieza's army learned, and the fact that he couldn't get read on the intruder's power level didn't help.
"Gohan, Connie, get inside the barn," Goku said, taking a fighting stance.
"but-" Gohan started, but was cut off by his father turning and giving him a stern look. The boy suddenly nodded before grabbing Connie's hand and running inside the barn.
"You too Steven," Vegeta ordered.
"But I can help!" he protested, "I've been training with you guys for years."
"Steven, under normal circumstances I'd agree, but if this is anything like we think it is, then no you can't!" Vegeta argued, "Now get inside before-" He was cut off however, as the figure landed. The Z fighter's eyes widened as they looked upon the alien, particularly Vegeta, who looked like he had seen a ghost. The being was tall, with massive black hair. When he stood up, the figure was revealed to be wearing old, beat up Frieza Force armor, although the emblem had been scratched off. Around his waist, a tail sat firmly wound.
"It's a Saiyan!" Steven whispered.
The man had a severe expression. As the man looked them all over, his eyes widened as they fell on Vegeta and a smile broke out across his face.
"I knew it! That energy signature had to be you!" he cried, "You stubborn litte brat! Deep down, I knew the universe wasn't going to get rid of you that easily!" He suddenly jumped in front of the prince and knelt. "It has been so long, and we all thought you had died! I'm glad I found you, my lord."
...Aaaaand cliffhanger! What will happen next? What is Raditz doing on earth? What will Steven make of this new alien? Find out next time on Dragon Ball Steven!