Welcome back to another story I've decided to add to my plate. I've been on a bit of a Dragon Ball kick lately, so I figured why not add another fic to my name?
As per usual, let's set some of the groundwork here and now. This story won't follow the traditional models I usually go with. If anything, I'm calling it an experiment to see what I can do with a different style.
This fanfic will take heavy influence from the narrative of Dragon Ball GT, with a lot of emphasis on adventure and exploration. We'll have an overarching narrative, but I'm not going to rush myself with a heavy-handed plot. We'll ease our way in on this new journey I've concocted.
Going off of that, I won't concern myself too much with power scaling. If you've read my other works, I try to be fair when I can, but I'll never sacrifice story and narrative for something as trivial as "Who could beat who because of XYZ?" I never stretch things to the point where it's asinine, but I take liberties when I need to. I'm just that sort of person.
I am taking a similar approach with how I'm writing both DBZ and DC universe continuity, loosely following the xeno timeline of the former, at least to the extent that we're working with a de-aged future Trunks, just picture he came to the past a bit earlier so instead of being in his twenties by the end of the cell-saga, he's still 18 and has time to grow.
I always wished we got more of those early days in the Time Patrol, seeing him change as circumstances developed, so that's what we're doing. It's a good old-fashioned adventure with a character practically everyone agrees deserves a break, with plenty of action and interactions in between; hopefully, you like it. If not, that's fine.
I will merge certain aspects of both universes for the sake of storytelling, so while I'll definitely expand upon this as the series progresses, I will state the Saiyans did exist in the DC universe in my continuity, the ramifications of which we'll explore in depth. There will be other things; trying to combine the Kais' and the laws of DC will be a debacle in its own right, but that'll come later.
I have two other stories under my belt as it currently stands. I can't promise rapid updates while I'm also working my way through my second Master's degree, but I promise to try. If you have any questions, please DM me; I'll try to respond as best I can!
Sidenote: This story follows the DCAU. Expect power scaling on that level or amped up whenever necessary. I am avoiding the comics like a plague because strength feats go off the walls, and that's not the sort of narrative I plan on going for.
With all that said and done, let's dive into another story!
...
"It's up to me now... I'm... I'm gonna change the future!" -Bardock.
...
A cluster of rock drifted through the endless reaches of space, its vibrant green surface reflecting the light of a nearby red dwarf star as it passed through the system.
It had lay adrift for decades, its point of origin long since destroyed and lost, a relic of a fallen civilization. At one time, advanced beings would walk upon its surface, their society beyond anything normal beings could comprehend.
There was nothing to be seen. The asteroid would drift across a broad spectrum of places, passing by worlds large and small, a few inhabited, most not, and none seemed to pay it any mind. It was unchanging, with little interaction to speak of. Its momentum carried it to a predetermined destination, its surface the same as it was during its creation well over twenty years prior, and it would remain that way so long as it stayed adrift.
*FWOOSH
A swirling vortex of distorted chronal energy opened some distance away, its spiraling surface reflecting a distant reality of lush green trees and water beneath three looming suns, only to shimmer into darkness as two figures exploded out of the gateway in an explosive discharge.
Their strikes were precise and all-powerful, each point of contact sending pressurized waves through the vacuum as if the very universe around them shook at their mere presence, uncaring that neither could breathe in the endless void.
Where one wore a foreign armor with jutting struts along their shoulders, with bulging muscles exposed across their arms and legs, the other wore a military leather jacket, its rim coated in a fur lining that did little to protect against the boundless chill of nothing surrounding the pair.
Where one's black hairs jutted out in each and every direction, their coal-like eyes shimmering with hatred, the other's short purple locks swayed with the artificial breeze from their clash, his blue eyes radiating an untold power as he bellowed, "It's over Turles, I won't let you destroy another timeline!"
His opponent let out a dark chuckle, soon turning into uproarious laughter as they went blow for blow, "You couldn't save your own world without crawling back to daddy, and you have the gall to think you stand a chance against me!? You'll die like the rest of her precious Time Patrolers, you halfbreed brat!"
Turles flickered out of sight, moving at speeds far beyond comprehension, reappearing above the purple-haired warrior, his hands raised overhead as crackling waves of dark energy danced along his palms as they came slamming down, but the hybrid could read him with ease.
He lurched back, his entire body compressing as he fell back, his right leg crashing straight upward, his brown boots slamming straight into the Saiyan's exposed chin with a thunderous crack as spittle sprayed out, the force sending the man flying with the halfling taking off after him, enveloped in a shimmering white aura.
As the time traveler flew across the void, an unseen voice rang out through his mind, "Trunks, wait! You don't know what you're doing!"
He bristled for a split second, still not used to interacting with his boss through a mental link of all things. It still sent shivers down his spine whenever he heard someone else's voice in his head, "Supreme Kai?"
The time goddess spoke at a breakneck pace, always in a rush despite having lived for millions of years. Her work never seemed to be done, even with the hybrid's recent recruitment into the Time Patrol; things could never lie still for even a moment. "Turles led you into an unexplored timeline; how did he even find it?! Either way, it's too dangerous for someone inexperienced like you to take this on, fall back!"
Trunks briefly gazed back at the spiraling vortex leading back to Namek in the distance, thinking back on the last few months.
Trunks was recruited into the Time Patrol as a punishment for what he had done; his adventures in the past had broken more laws than Chronoa cared to list. She might seem sweet and benign, but she had a short temper, and the halfling shuddered to remember how mad she was. He was lucky that the Kai realized he meant no harm in doing it, but rules were rules.
He was given a choice: serve out his sentence or have his entire timeline erased, meaning there really wasn't much of a choice in it at all, but it wasn't all bad. Trunks soon came to realize the work Chronoa did was important and just how overburdened the goddess and the Time Patrol were; it didn't take long for him to believe in the cause.
Their purpose was simple: maintain the stability of her domain. There were hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of timelines under their watch, with actors across existence trying to destabilize them for their own gain. It was backbreaking work with hardly a day off, but that never bothered him. Trunks grew up in a broken world, he was always training or trying to fight off the Androids, wanting to make himself useful in any way he could, even now...and so-
The time traveler turned back toward Turles as the pureblooded Saiyan struggled to regain control over his momentum, gradually slowing to a halt. The halfling had every opportunity to turn and head back to their headquarters, but that burning desire deep inside wouldn't let him. He clenched a fist tight, his knuckles popping as he shook his head, "...No, if I don't get rid of him, who knows what he could get up to here! There's too much risk in letting him live; I'm ending this!"
Trunks took off, with planets passing by in seconds, his short purple locks shooting straight up as a golden aura exploded across his form, enveloping him in its light as he burst from the cloud, his once blue eyes now a vibrant green as power surged through him as a new voice rang out in his mind, this one withered and nasally, giving off the daze of a life longer than the hybrid could even fathom, "She's right, Trunks, and believe me, there are things out there even we Kais' wouldn't touch. You're treading on untouched ground the longer you stay in that reality. Face it, you can't breathe in space, this is moronic!"
The swordsman gritted his teeth, exposing his sharpened fangs to the world beyond, "I know, Elder Kai, but I can't stand seeing him take another life! You saw what he did to the Namekians. They didn't deserve this!"
The Kai let out a frustrated huff, "You're still young, you don't understand how these things work, and all you'll end up doing is getting yourself killed!"
The hybrid didn't slow; if anything, he sped up, driven by memories of a life of war and conflict, growing up in a world with nothing and no one, losing more than most could hope to endure. Trunks couldn't let this go, "I lived my entire life running from people like him. I won't let anyone else suffer through it!"
Golden light blasted off of him in droves as the fighter blazed across the solar system, feeling the intense heat rolling off the red sun as he drew closer by the second. Turles was right there, clenching his throat as he struggled to take a breath; this was it!
Trunks flickered out of sight, reappearing above the pureblood, left arm extended as a blinding light appeared in his grasp, yellow static exploded outward as he braced himself to fire, "It's ove-"
His eyes widened as Turles' pained gasps turned upward oh so slightly, but the pureblooded Saiyan took the initiative, his palms having never even touched his neck crackled in a yellow furry as a burning circle blazed into existence, forming a veritable ring of pure energy in his grasp, his smirk only growing at the hybrid's dismay, "You're still just a foolish brat! Taste the full might of my KILL DRIVER!"
The blast launched toward the hybrid, rapidly expanding as it surrounded his entire frame; he screamed in pain as bursts of burning energy shot toward him on all sides, scorching his skin on impact as the ring of light shot off into the distance, carrying him along for the ride.
Turles let off a satisfied sigh, having outsmarted a far superior foe once more, ever the strategist; the invader pondered going for the kill himself but knew better. "You fall for such a simple trick and have the guts to call yourself a Saiyan?" He spat a mixture of blood and saliva into the void, "pathetic."
With a tilt of his head, an unspoken order went through as another tear in the fabric of space-time materialized behind the commander; as he turned to face the vortex ahead, he could only mutter through his damaged pride, "When I've achieved the power I need, you'll be the first to die for what you've done, mark my words."
With that, he vanished, the breach in reality soon simmering before disappearing entirely.
Meanwhile, Trunks struggled to break free, with even the slightest resistance burning away at his skin; the halfling briefly considered brute forcing his way through the attack but stopped, deciding to use his head for once.
He was flying at incredible speeds, crossing entire solar distances in seconds, only able to watch helplessly as Turles disappeared into time-space once again, leaving Trunks there without anything to show for his insubordination...
While the halfling lacked most of the famous Saiyan pride, he definitely had a conscience. The time traveler couldn't bring himself to risk getting hurt and then come crawling back to Chronoa after what he did...she was probably mad enough as it was. He needed to figure something else out.
But as he soared through the vastness of space, a question loomed in his mind: what could he do? The attack could fizzle out on its own, but even he needed to breathe and could feel his lungs starting to burn...not an option, but what else was there?...
The swordsman glanced around in frustration, humming in disbelief; there was nothing, absolutely nothin-
*Woosh
Trunks winced as a sudden glare overwhelmed his vision. He followed it, turning away from the sun to see its rays reflecting off the surface of something in the distance. His eyes narrowed; using all the enhanced biology the Saiyan race had to offer, spotting a lump of bright green rock...an asteroid?...no atmosphere to crash through, no potential life to risk...that could work.
Without a second thought, the halfling flared his ki, feeling the ring resisting the motion but pushed through, sending himself hurdling toward the glowing rock back-first as he braced himself. It didn't take long before he felt the crunch of solid surface beneath him as the light burned even brighter as the ring finally cracked.
*BOOOOOOOM
A resounding blast went off, with enough force to wipe an entire planet off the map and more. Seconds passed before Trunks waved a hand through the glowing shroud of green no worse for wear, knowing just how durable Super Saiyan was. An attack like that couldn't even scratch him. He briefly scowled at falling for such a simple trick to get caught out in the open like that, knowing exactly what he needed to say, "...You were right."
Chronoa let out an indignant huff, "No... it's my fault for not stopping you sooner. Honestly, you Sayians are always like this... Someone jingles something interesting in your face, and you take off after them...get back to base, and we'll talk about your punishment later."
Trunks winced, knowing it was going to be another few weeks of watching Tokitoki at best, but soon slumped over, accepting his fate, knowing it could have been a lot worse if Chronoa was in a bad mood...there was always an entire day with Elder Kai.
The Saiyan raised a hand, rubbing it along the back of his golden locks as he powered down, allowing them to shift back to their natural purple hue, unable to see a thing through the haze around him, "Understood, I'll be back s-"
*BRRRRRRRRRRRRRR
...
...
FWOOOOOOOOSH
A beam of light shot through the haze, with the surrounding void shaking as though something had hummed to life. The Saiyan winced, raising a hand as the glare overwhelmed him; all the while, Supreme Kai's voice rang out in his mind, "Trunks!? What's happening down there?!"
The sound of rapid punching could be heard as Elder Kai chimed in during one of his senile rants, "Damn crystal ball and its lousy reception, I can't see a thing!"
Trunks held his ground, lowering his hand slightly to blast the cloud of dust aside with a burst of ki, "I'm not sure, but I'll check things ou-Woah!"
As the cloud dispersed, the hybrid was met with a jolt of lightning, barely able to lean aside as it rocketed past him; his eyes widened as crackling bursts continued to blast outward in every direction. Pushing caution aside, the time patroller flew forward, a golden light washing over him through the haze until it cleared. He stopped, almost dumbfounded, "... That's not possible!"
Supreme Kai all but shouted in his head, highly impatient for someone 75 million years old, "Well...what is it? You shouldn't leave a lady waiting, you know!"
Elder Kai scoffed, "HAH! As if anyone would see a munchkin like you as a lad-"
*BANG
"OW, SHE HIT ME, THE BRAT HAS CLAW-
*BANG
"OW!..." he seemed to turn, only accompanied by the sounds of a rabid beast as he cried out, "YOU THERE, GET THIS SHE BEAST OFF OF ME!"
Trunks paid the conversation no mind, too engrossed in the sight before him; it was...beautiful...The average person might have used another word to describe a spaceship, but he was the son of the great Bulma. They were a family of inventors, and technology was their life.
The hybrid took it all in, from the immaculate golden plating with carvings he had no hope of translating for the time being, his blue eyes scanning across the small yet robust frame, with such a small cockpit it could likely only hold one person if that. He grimaced as he tried to inspect the thrusters, with one side completely blown to bits with pulses of unstable energy shooting out as lightning...it still had power?
To say Trunks was confused was an understatement; this craft was lodged inside of an asteroid for who knows how long. How did it even get here? Driven by his curiosity, the Saiyan floated toward the ship, hovering over it as his naturally mechanical mind worked through it bit by bit, coming to a realization that this thing was advanced...putting a lot of emphasis on advanced.
Trunks had worked with spaceships before; smaller ones were usually used in local operations. The longer the mission, the more stuff you needed, simple logic, but this was...everything all in one. It hardly went longer than the length of a small plane, if that...even Capsule Corp ships weren't that small yet...but his thoughts soon came to a halt as his lungs started to burn, he was running out of air, he might need to-...hang on...if it still had power, there just might be a life support system in there.
With Chronoa...preoccupied with assaulting her fellow Kai, Trunks trailed a tan hand along the craft's smooth surface, "Oxygenator is up here...connecting to a cargo bay...so the manual override would have to be...here." He pushed against it, feeling something click beneath his thumb as air fizzled out of the hold until it slowly opened up.
The halfling didn't think to question his orders; he was driven by an inherited curiosity for all things new, and so he flew in without a thought, landing on a solid floor as the entrance sealed behind him. As the sound of atmosphere flooding the room filled his senses, the Saiyan took a breath, only to whistle as the lights flickered on, seeing the same intricate carvings leading up to a pilot's seat and an all too tempting console...all written in a text he couldn't understand.
He exhaled, watching as his breath escaped as steam, rising to the frozen ceiling above. It was just as cold inside the craft as it was out there...the power must have kicked on just after he broke it free. Trunks marveled at the orange glow passing through the grey floors and walls. He could only wonder what kind of power source could fuel a craft like this for so long and still remain stable.
The craft was otherwise very barren, with almost no side rooms to speak of; calling it spartan felt like an understatement. It made no sense...why have all those systems if no one could actually live in this thing? A sudden static blared out across the chamber, the sound making the warrior instinctively raise his guard as a synthetic voice echoed out, distorting at times, speaking complete gibberish to the halfling, with only his mental connection to a time goddess giving him any idea what it meant through her knowledge...saying something like "It CRRRR been ten thousand CRRRR five-and one revolutions since departure...onboard survivors...unknown quantity."
The words settled in his head, having to be sent to Chronoa's mind and back into his. Calling it a headache felt like an understatement, but the Saiyan's focus pushed far away from that, with one looming question on his mind as he took off running across the chamber, with burning lights overhead stretching his shadow as his steps thundered over the metal floor. Could anyone still be alive on this thing!?
It was a stupid question, and Trunks knew that even the most advanced life support couldn't keep someone alive if they were trapped in an asteroid. That meant years, if not decades, and even the best ships available didn't have those kinds of resources on hand, but still...if the warrior had learned anything from his time in the past, fighting alongside a younger version of his best friend and all the fantastic people his mother told him about, you have to try, even if it seemed impossible.
Adorning the walls were small inlets covered in a protective glass with text displayed across them, but the halfling didn't need to read it to know what had happened. The first was shattered; inside lay a decayed skeleton, their long blonde hair covering their face. He frowned, glancing down at the text, ignoring the pounding headache as he read, "Kala...In-Ze."
Trunks was used to death in his life; it was a given growing up in a wasteland like his Earth, but unlike many others, he never once gave up his heart, always caring for his fellow man. His eyes dropped, realizing he had disturbed a gravesite on some quest for knowledge; he felt ashamed.
*BZZZZ
Suddenly a bright light erupted across the room, intermingled with the sound of static, the system blipping to life in acknowledgment, with the blank nothing across the screen changing to choppy footage...it was a planet...orbiting a sun...no...two sister worlds, with the same people inhabiting them...what was this?
Trunks didn't know what to say; they looked so...human, in every way, shape and form. He watched as men and women flew through the skies on advanced hovercraft, dancing between buildings that shot up into the sky, it was...amazing...then-
*BOOOOOOM
He could only watch as one exploded in a fiery blast of green light, the same hue that clung to the craft he stood within. Footage swapped about, but he saw the ramifications of what had occurred. The sheer force of the world imploding had knocked the other out of orbit...he saw the people struggling through a winter that would never end, then grainy footage of the ship's inhabitants getting into the pods one by one, men and women, young and old.
The body he had just seen was an elegant woman wearing doctors' robes, standing beside who he could only guess was her husband, entering the pods. He turned to look over his shoulder, observing what had happened to them, leaving nothing more than barren skeletons inside...the last survivors of a now-dead race were gone.
The screen turned black, leaving him there in stunned silence, with the silent ghosts of the dead.
The comparison wasn't lost on the hybrid. He didn't know these people or anything about their worlds or culture, but the Saiyan knew what it was like to lose everything. His race had lost their world, and he had nearly lost his own, too. It was a pain he didn't wish on anyone; he could only stare at the body, muttering an honest, "... I'm sorry."
Trunks didn't know what to do with himself; every bit of himself said he should leave, to let this coffin drift away into the eternity of space and let these people rest, but some part of him thought otherwise.
The Saiyans were wiped out decades ago, their home world blown apart by Frieza, and even though Trunks had put the emperor down, the Saiyans still loomed in the minds of many across the universe, nameless and terrifying, all-powerful and unforgiving.
He knew they were capable of good. After all, his father once conquered worlds and now defended his new home and the people he cared for, but your average person didn't know these things. Rumors and speculation defined the Saiyan race, and it would stay that way...these people deserved to at least have their true names remembered; it was something and more than his race ever got.
He passed by the pods one by one, reading their names aloud bit by bit, their meaning a complete mystery, but he felt it was right to at least try and give their deaths more meaning than a silent end, and as he neared the final capsule, he stared down at the text, "...Kara In-Ze...you must have been related to that doctor, huh?"
He looked up, not expecting a response, but wasn't met with the same skeletal gaze as before; he stopped, seeing the same blonde hair atop a dazzlingly tan face, unmoving just as the others but...he looked down, studying the ice laden suit adorning the girl, realizing it wasn't torn or decayed like the others, "...No way."
The halfling traced a finger across the monitor strewn over the container, scraping away the frost and dust, revealing a slow but steady pulse of green beneath the girl's name; he nearly stumbled back, staring in disbelief, "Supreme Kai, are you seeing this?! She's alive in there!"
The sounds of a violent scuffle echoed through his mind, with Elder Kai screeching out, "I KNOW SHE'S ALIVE; SHE'S BITING MY HEAD! AND WHAT ARE YOU STILL DOING OUT THERE ANYWAYS? GET BACK HERE AND GET THIS DOG OFF OF ME!"
He tried to call out, "You don't understand, just please give me a second of your ti-"
Chronoa only growled as the call cut short, leaving Trunks with clear directives to follow; it made his heart sink.
He stood there for a moment, his hand still on the screen as he stared at the unmoving body...she looked about his age, still alive, frozen stiff, unable to age or even move...he couldn't help but wonder how long she had been in there, and was he really capable of leaving someone like this?
Questions flooded the Saiyan's mind. What would she do if she woke up to find her family was gone?... Would she wake up at all?...it felt awful to even think that, and just leaving her here sounded even worse. No, it was unforgivable.
Trunks couldn't turn away, not when he might have stood as this girl's only chance of escape, but…he had his orders, and the halfling knew what would happen to his own timeline if he disobeyed. Would he really risk everything for someone he didn't know?
Trunks didn't think about it; he already knew the answer.
He pressed what could have only been the release switch along the console as the sounds of whirling machinery filled the room. The frozen fog along the glass rapidly thawed as the glass seal opened with a hiss, and the moment it did, she fell into his waiting arms.
He slowly stood upright, looking down at the Argoan, letting out an anxious sigh as she unconsciously took a breath. He sent out a return signal, feeling the distinctive weightlessness of temporal travel funneling through him, forcing a smile as he stared down at the survivor, "… I'm sure it'll all work out."
They disappeared in a flurry of light.
….
Minutes later
In a space beyond time, nestled in the comforting sanctum of the Time Nest, Chronoa's small pink form hustled back and forth. The Kai's usual smile was gone, hidden behind the palm of her hand as her golden earnings shook with each step while planets lazily rotated around the ethereal location. "I can't believe you would do something so stupid! Do you think I'm an idiot?!"
Standing before the deity, Trunks deflated with each word hurled in his direction, failing to meet her glare. To an unknowing bystander, it would seem insane that a Saiyan bent the knee to someone so tiny, but this was no ordinary woman; he could only mumble, "You know I'd never say that about you, Supreme Kai. I have too much respect for you to do something like that."
The goddess stiffened, her angry demeanor almost shifting into an adorable smile, only for her to shake it away, placing her hands on her hips, "That won't work you-"
Her dark eyes shimmered as they met his shining blue orbs, not sensing a trace of deceit in his words or actions, "you-" she tapped her feet in frustration as she desperately tried to stay mad.
Chronoa might have been a Kai, but that didn't mean she had no emotions. Eons of isolation had left her all too lonely. Trunks never tried to manipulate her, but she was easily flattered by the honest truths he spoke.
Chronoa gave in, her head slumping over as she dropped the act, "…I know you wouldn't…but you've gotten us into a real mess here, Trunks…"
The goddess glanced to the side at her small dome-like home where the sole survivor was resting. She crossed her arms over her small chest, letting out a gentle sigh, "That girl wasn't meant to be unthawed yet. She needed another four years in that pod at least."
Trunks wasn't one to make excuses; he looked at the deity with a grimace, "Supreme Kai…I-"
She raised a finger, a childish pout on her face, "I told you that it's okay to use my name when it's just us…calling me that name just makes me feel old…"
Trunks sweatdropped, the irony of a several million-year-old goddess who hardly looked a day past twenty, albeit she was far shorter than most people, but it wasn't the time for semantics. "Right..Chronoa-"
She gave a pleased smile as he continued, "If you could see the inside of that ship, you wouldn't question why I took her out of that awful place…those bodies were her family. I couldn't just leave her like that, even if she was asleep."
The Kai silently listened but soon sighed quietly before meeting his stare again, "Trunks, do you know why I recruited you? It's not just because of you breaking some law or something silly like that… It's because of your heart. You were willing to risk life and limb to save another timeline just so it wouldn't end up like yours…and I watched it all."
She gazed up to the green sky above, overlaid with the dark winding branches shooting off the giant tree stemming from the Time Vault. "The world just kept throwing curveballs at you, but every time I thought you were finished, you somehow got back up and fought for a better future."
She gave him a gentle smile, "I recruited you because I liked what I saw. You never knew a thing about the rules you were breaking, but you broke them with the best intentions, and I wanted to meet more good people like you."
She let out a prideful giggle as the hybrid awkwardly blushed at her praise, but the moment soon faded as she gazed back toward her home, "But her timeline...and all the others like it are… complicated…while we might patrol and maintain so many others, those ones just can't be saved…all we can do is keep them afloat, that's it."
Trunks' eyes narrowed, taking a slow gulp of air, "What are you saying?… Isn't the Time Patrol meant to protect all people in all times? Why shouldn't we help them?"
Chronoa bit her cheek, kicking at the ground as she glumly hummed, "You're right. Our job is to keep threats against time away. Internal or external forces need to be eliminated if they threaten the natural order of things."
She waved a finger, magically drawing a series of interconnected circles with her bright pink energy, "The overwhelming majority of timelines, even yours, have minimal interference in the grand scheme of things…you were actually the first to cause a problem with your own reality, most are done by invading distortions like Turles and his Master, Towa..but that girl's time is far too different."
She counted down her fingers before giving up, spreading them wide open as she spoke, "There are many realities with circumstances similar to yours, and the majority function just fine, but hers?-" the goddess frowned, "I hate to say but…out of the thousands of iterations I've seen, none have survived in the long term…always destroyed or reset by someone inside…we don't maintain those timelines because they're destined to destroy themselves sooner or later."
Trunks' head hung low as he listened. He trusted Chronoa more than anyone else; the two would never lie to each other, but it didn't sit well with him. He glanced toward the house once more, "…and where does that leave Kara in all this?"
The Kai slowly exhaled, tapping a hand along her silken robes absentmindedly, "She still has an important role to play. We might not be able to save their timelines, but that doesn't mean we can't try to prolong them for as long we can."
She raised a set of fingers toward the Saiyan, "In four years' time, she was meant to be found by her cousin and brought back to their version of Earth…I can't tell you much until I have an answer from you. Right now, we have two options: either we can restore her ship and the asteroid to what they were and let things happen naturally-"
Trunks frowned.
The Kai huffed, already knowing his answer, "or we can bring her there ourselves."
Trunks' expression lightened a bit, but he raised a brow, "But wouldn't that violate the rules?… We'd be interfering where we shouldn't."
Chronoa clicked her tongue, shaking her head in disapproval, "Trunks, Trunks, Trunks, I've told you before, all we need to do to keep things stable is have the event happen in a certain time frame, and it shouldn't mess things up toooo bad~"
She smiled, giving the halfling a wink while raising her fingers in a peace sign, "A few years difference won't be the end of the world…"
The halfling let out a baited breathe, "so that means-"
Chronoa nodded in approval, "Mhm! It'll be your mission to get her to Earth-" she opened one eye as she stared at him from the side, "that is if you're up for saving your little damse-eh?"
Trunks had lunged forward, clasping the Kai's hands in his, bowing his head low, "Thank you, Chronoa. I just knew I could always count on you!"
The goddess flushed, with bubbles filling her vision at the sudden praise as it lulled her into a stupor; she groggily raised a hand, patting him on the head affectionately, "Of course, you can; I'm great after all!…I hope you know this won't be easy, and I expect you to figure out what Turles was to there…and to come running if something important comes up, you hear?"
Trunks nodded along in agreement, "Right!" and like that, the swordsman took off running, calling out over his shoulder, "I'll get started right away!"
Chronoa shook her head as she watched him go, quietly admonishing herself, "…You really need to learn to tell him no…" but seeing him smile made the goddess think otherwise. She had spent so long alone. It felt nice to be appreciated, especially from him. She turned, bouncing on her heels toward her home, intent on checking on her guest, humming a happy tune as she went.
…
Hours later
*BEEP-BEEP-BEEP
Trunks reappeared in the Time Nest at record speeds, racing across the ornately decorated miniature world, responding to an emergency call given mere moments prior. He crossed the planet in nanoseconds, hearing a flurry of shouts and yells mixed with angry bird cries, with one unfamiliar voice joining the mess. He had more than an idea of who had just woken up...
He skidded to a sudden stop, kicking up a burst of dust, "I came as soon as I could, Supreme Kai, what's wrong?!"
Chronoa huffed in annoyance, snapping a finger, restoring the debris to its rightful place across her world, "You tell me!"
The Saiyan's vision cleared, revealing a hooting Tokitoki pecking at his boots before cleaning his golden and white frame up toward the sky, "Cyoo-Cyoo!"
He followed the chronal deity, only to freeze up; the sight before him was… Something.
Elder Kai stood at the base of the tree looking overhead, his pink withered hands raised placatingly, "Now, now, let's not be hasty-"
*BONK
A stick cracked him over the head, sending the Kai tumbling over as a voice called out in a foreign tongue, and it didn't take a translator to understand she was telling him to get back.
It was her, that girl the Saiyan had broken out of her icy prison hours prior. She was standing in one of Tokitoki's spare nests, pointing a stick like a spear at the Kai, a terrified look on her face as she looked between the old deity and Chronoa, coming to a pause as their eyes met, her bright blue orbs shining in his direction.
It didn't take a genius to realize why she was scared; she woke up surrounded by pink aliens on a foreign planet. Trunks was likely the only thing remotely similar to anything the girl knew at the moment.
Trunks looked to Chronoa, the small goddess tilting her head toward the girl; the message was clear. The Saiyan nodded, taking a slow breath, knowing he had to approach this as carefully as possible.
He raised his palms, taking slow steps forward as she pointed the stick toward him, he knew it wouldn't do a thing to him, and if it came down to it, the hybrid could just make her leave the tree, but he wasn't going to do that. "…Look, I know you're confused, but no one here is going to hurt you. We're with the Time Patrol."
The survivor narrowed her eyes, mouthing the words he spoke, seeming all too confused. The hybrid slowly raised a hand, pointing it toward himself, "Trunks," he gestured toward the small Kai beside him, "Chronoa."
A second passed before the girl responded, "…Kara."
Trunks nodded, grumbling to himself, knowing that they weren't going to make much headway if they couldn't talk normally…but he had an idea.
Slowly approaching, the hybrid stood at the base of the tree, pushing just enough energy out to slowly hover off the ground, watching her gawk in surprise as he flew to her level as the In-Zel shouted something in disbelief.
Trunks tapped his head with a finger, but she only tilted her head in confusion, but she had at least stopped pointing the stick at him. He slowly reached out with the same hand. She leaned back, wincing, expecting something bad to happen, only for a finger to poke her forehead, her eyes widening as a voice rang out in her head, "Is that better?"
The Argoan shot up, looking around wildly for some unseen person, "Woah, who was that!?"
The Saiyan raised a thumb, pointing it toward himself, "Me."
Her eyes lit up, "You speak Kryptonian!?-" She looked him over from her perch, taking in his clothes, his demeanor, all of it, with a hum, "You look like one, but you don't dress like a Kryptonian…nice hair though, what dying agent you use to get it so natural?"
Trunks bristled at the compliment but shook his head, "Sorry, but I'm afraid you're wrong. I'm not a…you called it a Kryptonian, right?" she nodded, so he continued, "I'm a Saiyan, and the two pink ones down there are Kais'… right now you're on Chronoa's personal world, we call it the Time Nest."
The goddess chimed in with a hum, "Mhm, and right now, you're sitting on Tokitoki's tree; I'd get down before he pecks you."
Trunks pointed the girl toward the belligerent bird below as it raised its wings and hooted, "Cyoo-Cyoo!"
Kara looked back and forth between the Kai and her Saiyan counterpart, "…Oh, I didn't…wait, did you just say HER planet!?"
Chronoa puffed her chest out in pride, hands on her hips, "Yep, perks of being a god, silly. Every Kai gets their own world after proving their worth!"
Kara just stared down at the seemingly benign goddess like a deer in headlights, "…please don't tell me I'm dead."
Chronoa shrugged the question off as if it wasn't serious, "If you were, you wouldn't be on my planet, you goof! I'm the Supreme Kai of Time; souls aren't my jurisdiction…though you just might have been if Trunks there didn't pull you out of that ship."
Kara seemed to come to a realization, "Ship…oh Rao!" she turned, looking across the small world before yanking on Trunks' jacket as she stared at him with desperate eyes, "You didn't see my family, did you?!"
The Saiyan winced, looking off into the horizon for a moment, "Let's talk about this somewhere else." She took a sharp breath, taking in her surroundings before giving him a slow nod, but before she could try to clamber down the tree, Trunks just picked her up by her arms and gently took off into the skies, with a sinking feeling in her stomach, Kara couldn't find any excitement in flying for the first time.
They landed on the other side of the planet before a small pond of various colorful alien fish Chronoa seemed to enjoy. As Trunks set her down, Kara looked around her, taking in the lush greenery and the distant worlds rotating overhead, "You know, the first thing I thought when I woke up was how warm it was…I couldn't even remember the last time I didn't need to wear like eight layers of clothes to not freeze my butt off."
Trunks nodded, slowly sitting down beside the water, staring at his reflection, "I saw the recording on your ship… I'm really sorry for what happened to your planet. I know what it's like to lose everything."
The Argoan huffed, dropping down beside him, tucking into her knees, "How could you know? Our sister world, Krypton, exploded, and the blast sent Argos out of the solar system. That ship was our last chance to escape a frozen planet."
Trunks took a slow breath, thinking back to his adventures in the past and how different that reality was from his own, "Something similar happened to the Saiyans a long time ago, our home world…Planet Vegeta was destroyed, with almost our entire race annihilated in an instant…my dad was one of the few survivors, and now, I'm the only one left."
Kara hardly reacted. She just stared off into the distance at one of the gas giants floating about in orbit, "…my family's dead… aren't they?"
Trunks turned to face her, knowing the pain she was going through all too well, "… I'm sorry."
He looked away as she sniffled, with tears bubbling toward the surface as he spoke, "I buried them on one of the planets near your ship…I can take you there if you're up for it."
The Argoan took short breathes, pulling at her gloves before throwing them to the wayside, gently rubbing away her tears as she struggled to compose herself, "Let… let's talk about s-something else…" she shakily exhaled, "What do you here?"
Trunks nodded, cupping his hands in idle thought, "Right…like I said, we're what's called the Time Patrol. Our job is to monitor timelines for any…disturbances…things that shouldn't happen but do for one reason or another."
Her lip quivered, "…so, my planet was meant to freeze?…is that what you're saying?"
Trunks glumly nodded, "…Not everything is set in stone, but some major events can't be avoided…a long time ago, I lost someone important to me, and not a day goes by that I don't wish I could stop it from happening."
She stiffened up, eyes narrowing, "Then why don't you?…if you could make things better, shouldn't you at least try?"
She seemed so downtrodden; it hurt the Saiyan to watch, knowing just what that feeling was like and how unbearable it felt in the moment, "… That's why you're here-"
She turned to face him, a bewildered look on her face as he spoke, "…You weren't supposed to thaw out yet, but after seeing what happened to your planet, I just couldn't leave you there…and I know it's not the change you want, and I wish I could have done more, but it's not my place."
The exile's face scrunched up as she struggled to keep her nerves steeled, "…I-I get it…" She went quiet for a second, "We never introduced ourselves, did we?…well, we weren't really talking, so I don't count it."
She looked to him once more, this time speaking without their mental link, "Kara In-Ze."
He nodded, opening his respond, but she cut him off, struggling to form the words as if the language was all too foreign, "T-Trks…Tr-un-ks."
Internally, she hummed in annoyance, "What, no family name, or do you Saiy-ans not do that?"
The hybrid huffed, leaning back against his palms, "Unless you wanna keep saying 'House Vegeta,' it's just Trunks."
Her demeanor seemed to change as the subject shifted, blowing air through her blonde hair, "So, you're all a bunch of aliens?" she huffed, leaning into her knees, "never thought this is how I'd meet one of you."
Trunks shrugged his shoulders, "It's a big universe. You get used to it… How'd you think it would happen anyways?"
Kara lazily grabbed a rock, chucking it into the pond as she watched the resounding waves bounce against the shore, "I don't know, I thought it would be like one of those cheesy holo-flicks, you know? With a big gross monster trying to eat your brains, not a bunch of pink people and you."
She looked him over from over her shoulder, taking longer than before to study any differences between their races, only noticing the teen's almost rectangular eyes with small blue pupils. Something about it just bothered her, "Seems kinda lazy that we don't look all that different."
Trunks pointed a thumb behind the pair, "Take it up with the Kais'. They're the ones that make all the planets."
Kara forced a gag, "And talk to that creepy old geezer again? No way, I'm staying right here."
Trunks shuddered as a thought came to mind, "He didn't try anything, did he?"
The Argoan scoffed, crossing her arms, "If you mean that creepy voodoo schtick, then yeah! When I woke up, he was dancing around my bed all crazy; it freaked me out!"
Trunks let out a breath of relief, knowing how Elder Kai was around women, especially pretty girls like Kara. It's a miracle he didn't try something, "He usually means well, but Elder Kai is technically a witch, so he has his moments."
She raised a brow at that, "…wait, so if they're gods, they still get old? How's that work?"
Trunks shrugged, "They're sort of mortal like us. They just live a really long time; wanna take a guess how old Chronoa is?"
Kara tapped a hand against her knee, "She was the adorable little one, right? She watched him nod, "I don't know…fifteen?"
Trunks shook his head, "Try seventy-five million, and Elder Kai is apparently way older, but I haven't been able to get a straight answer out of him."
…
…
"Kara?"
The Argoan just stared at the ground, he could almost hear the gears turning in her head, "…Sorry, I'm just…trying to figure out what my life is right now."
She glanced at him, a look of dread crossing her face, "… You're not secretly old, right?….like I'm not gonna ask, and you're gonna be like a thousand, right?…"
Trunks shook his head, letting the evening breeze wash over his short purple hair, "Kais don't usually involve themselves in the actual Time Patrol work because of the rules they need to follow, so they recruit people like me," he looked back to the girl, "I'm eighteen."
Her shoulders slumped, "Oh thank Rao…I was starting to think I was gonna be stuck on some primitive planet with a bunch of crazy old people with superpowers."
Trunks clicked his tongue as months of memories flooded to the surface, having to break up more than enough fights between the Kais' and even Tokitoki, sometimes all three at once. He looked to the sky above, dejectedly saying, "… that's half the job."
"Pffttt."
He glanced to the side as Kara tried not to laugh at his expense before raising a fist, slugging him in the shoulder, a slight smile on her face, "Oh, come on! It can't be all bad! Don't tell me I'm actually stuck on some planet with a whole bunch-a nothin going on."
Trunks ignored the statement, having endured far too much insanity from the Time Patrol leadership in such a short amount of time. The group sounded serious, but behind closed doors, it was like a circus. Still, he shook his head in denial, "You're not stuck here. You're free to leave whenever you're ready."
She grunted, leaning back against the grass, leaning against her elbows as they propped her head up, "Hello? No home world to go to; what would I even do out there?"
Trunks looked down at her flowing blonde locks before refocusing with a shake of his head, not understanding how she could be comfortable around a complete stranger, "She wouldn't tell me any specifics, but Chronoa said something about you needing to go to Earth…something about a cousin."
Alarm bells seemed to ring in the Argoan's head, "Cousin?…Oh Rao, I have one of those!" She shot to her feet, holding her head in disbelief, "Oh no, Kal-El!"
She looked around in a panic, "My baby cousin, how am I supposed to find him out there on one little planet in the whole universe!? What could be happening to him, oh no no no no no-"
Trunks looked up, "I know where Earth I-"
In a split second, she was in front of him, grabbing the Saiyan by the collar of his jacket, her blue eyes glowing in determination, "WHERE!?"
*Snap
*SPLASH
Kara shrieked as time seemed to freeze and start up again, with her suddenly appearing over the pond, cartoonishly kicking her legs in the air before crashing into the waters below. She surfaced with a gasp as a familiar pink figure hovered overhead, "I'd appreciate it if you didn't attack my strongest agent. Let's try to keep cool heads here, okay?"
The Saiyan shot to his feet at attention, "Supreme Kai-" Chronoa dismissed his concerns with a wink.
She turned back to face the Argoan as the girl clunkily sat in the waters as fish circled around her, "…We already discussed the issue before you woke up, but it's only fair I give you a say in this. We can one, reset all of this; you'll stay frozen for a few more years and not remember a single thing that happened here-"
The goddess noticed the girl shiver at how casually she said that, making a mental note to work on her tones when she had the time, "Or I give you an exemption."
Kara's eyes seemed to flicker to attention, "What's an exemption?"
Chronoa put her hands on her hips, swaying back and forth mid-air as she spoke with a gentle hum of thought, "Well, sometimes what's meant to happen isn't always the best for a timeline. Take Trunks, for example. In his set of timelines, Earth was meant to die off, but he made a few changes to another timeline to stop it from happening there. According to the laws, I should have erased him and both realities, but things worked out better after what he did, so I decided to leave them be."
She dropped a bit lower, her boots just grazing the surface of the water without so much as making a ripple. "Timelines come in sets, and not one of yours has ever worked out, so I'm willing to give you a chance to change things for the better…but I'll have to follow some guidelines here to keep things from getting out of hand. I can't just set you loose on the universe, you know! You'll need a Time Patroller to get you to Earth, and Trunks here happened to volunteer!"
Kara looked toward the halfling as he awkwardly looked away, "…You did?"
Trunks rubbed a hand along the back of his head, "Look, it's my fault you've been dragged into this mess in the first place. I couldn't live with myself if I didn't try to make things right."
Chronoa hummed in approval, flipping overhead with a burst of energy, landing on the Saiyan's shoulders as she took a seat, resting her elbows against his head as she propped her chin against her palms, "That's why he's my favorite!… So, what'll it be? Go back to the way it was, or get out there and try something new?"
Kara looked down at her reflection for a second, seeming to contemplate her entire existence before gazing back at the Kai perched on the Saiyan's shoulders. She reached her hand out. Chronoa smiled, taking it in hers, "Great cho-WAAAAH-"
*SPLASH
...
Later
Trunks stood in the ship's loading bay, a hand over his face as he faced the cargo door as the Kryptonian shuffled around behind him, digging her things out of who knows where "…I can't believe you dunked her. You seriously have a death wish."
Kara stopped working, poking her head out of a storage compartment, a fine layer of dust coating her hair, but she didn't seem to notice or care, "You worry too much. What's the worst she could do?"
Trunks huffed, "Whatever she wants, gods pretty much have a free hand to do everything you can imagine as long as it doesn't cause trouble for the ones above them."
Kara shrugged off the threat of total annihilation as if it wasn't a big deal, "Oh please, she's all talk, even I can tell she likes you too much to lay a hand on you…actually, what's the deal with you two anyways?"
Trunks bit his cheek, trying in vain to sigh away his frustrations with the all too-lax Kryptonian, "Honestly, I'm not sure either. I sort of started as her assistant, but over time, we've become really good friends….she was by herself for so long, and I hardly had anyone to talk to on my Earth; I guess we were both lonely."
The Argoan hummed, smooching her cheek into her palm, "Was your world really that bad?"
Trunks didn't give much of a reaction; he just raised a hand toward the lever that opened the hatch to the vastness of space below, with Kara just watching him with a lazy interest, knowing the ship would stop the air around her from depressurizing, but before he leaped out, he spoke in a blunt and simple tone, "…it was, but things got better."
With that the Saiyan took the great leap down, flying toward the broken thrusters in a burst of ki as Kara wiggled her fingers in a mocking way, "Ooooh, so mysterious, try not to break my ship again, huh?"
Trunks didn't respond, but she silently snickered, knowing she was getting to him. Every answer with him was blunt: How does he have superpowers? He's an alien; they just do that.
Kara appreciated it in a way when you're living on a dying planet, and honesty isn't something you hear very often, but on the other hand, she never felt satisfied with a single answer he gave, so it turned into a game of twenty questions, with her asking pretty much all of the questions,
"So, what's your master plan? Cause we're sort of dead in the water here."
She caught herself as the entire ship shook from below; checking a datapad along her suit, she saw her Saiyan companion holding the whole thing with his bare hands, looking as if it wasn't taking any effort, with him responding in the same matter of fact tone as usual, "I figure I'll fly us to the nearest inhabited planet and fix up your ship with whatever parts I can scrounge up."
The Argoan silently scoffed, her ego seeming to rise by the second, "You sure you can handle that big guy? Kryptonian tech is really advanced, maybe the best in the universe."
Trunks closed his eyes, spreading his senses over light years in all directions, homing in on a distant cluster of life signatures; he nodded to himself, figuring this wouldn't take all that long before responding, "Good thing my mom's the smartest person in the universe. If we could invent time travel, I can figure this out."
Kara snorted, not buying the act for a second, but as she dug through a container, she lazily kicked her feet back and forth, "So what, your mom is some kinda Saiyan inventor or something?"
Trunks stared ahead into the void as they took off at breakneck speeds, "No, my mom's human. They're the race that inhabits the Earth. My family runs the biggest company on the planet in my dimension, and it's all based on her inventions."
Kara snorted, not seeing Trunks as a rich kid at all, but shook the thought away, "My mom was the head Physician of Argos, so I kinda get where you're coming from."
Trunks took the initiative, asking, "What was she like?"
The Kryptonian let off a quiet sigh, drumming her fingers against the metal walls surrounding her, "Well, there was the Kala In-Ze the public knew, all stern and focused on her work, but at home, she was just a mom, you know?…always worrying about someone else, and right before the big freeze, she told me we need to find Kal-El as soon as we thawed…guess that's on me now, huh?"
Trunks, without missing a beat, answered, "We'll find him."
Inside the ship, Kara took a sharp breath, but despite their circumstances, she couldn't help but feel a little excited. She approached the pilot's seat, pulling it back before plopping down, kicking her feet up against the command console, a smile gracing her features, "Think you can keep up?"
Kara couldn't quite place her life; everything had turned upside down so fast it was a miracle she wasn't going crazy, but she kept rolling with the punches, and now she was on some great journey with a boy she just met. Still, she somehow found a way to look forward to this, like there was some grand opportunity just out of sight, or maybe, after spending so much time in a frozen wasteland, she was just happy to talk to someone new.
It was crazy, but who says it can't be fun?
They shot off into the distance, headed off unknown horizons, set to change the course of the universe itself.
…
Later that day
Kara sat in her chair, lazily spinning around as she kicked a foot against the ground, leaning back into her seat as she tried to mouth a few words, "Hel-lo…m-my- name i…is- Kara."
Inside her head, she listened in as her self-proclaimed tutor hummed, "…Better, but you gotta work on your flow. You sound like a robot."
She sputtered, slouching into her chair in utter boredom, "…One of your primitive robots maybe, ours were smart enough to know how to talk…not like me apparently…how are you hearing me from out there anyways? No, lemme guess, you're an alien?"
Trunks audibly sighed in her head, "You really need to stop being so down on yourself; you're already getting the basics in just a few hours.…and yeah, I don't question how I can do things; I just do them."
She rolled her eyes at that, "And you're alright not understanding how any of that works?… you can lift a freaking spaceship and fly it through space for an hour without taking a single breath, and I'm the weird one for asking what the deal is?"
She could almost picture Trunks shrugging in her head as he responded, "Saiyans were never inventors or scientists. We're a warrior race…your people might have loved that sort of thing, but to me, it's just not that important."
She scoffed, "You can supposedly rig a spaceship to fly with scrap metal, but you can't tell me how you fly?" She dragged a hand along her face, "Rao, help me…-"
Her blue eyes shimmered as something appeared in the distance, a small orb that just had to be a planet, "Ooh, is that where we're going shopping?"
Trunks seemed to go quiet for a moment as they got closer, soon realizing the planet..at least its surface, was entirely metal, with giant thrusters strewn along the sides. Kara only got more interested, "Coool-"
Her hands danced along the console in front of her, tracing her way through some local server with practiced ease; one of the perks of living in one of the most advanced societies in the universe, this sort of encryption was legitimately child's play to her, "It says here this place is called…War World, Rao is that lame…they specialize in…fights, fights…and more fights-"
Trunks decided to speak up as their momentum dropped, "…I don't think going here would be a good idea for you; I'm sensing a lot of pretty high power levels in there."
Kara indignantly huffed, "…I handled Argos when it was every Kryptonian for themselves; I can deal with some fight-hungry locals."
She looked around the site for more info, scrolling with a free hand as she mumbled, "And they just so happen to have a nice little scrap market for former contestants' stuff going at all times."
The Saiyan was still hesitant, "I don't know, Kara, you haven't seen the universe, not really. These kinds of places can get pretty crazy…you never know what can happen."
She crossed her arms, a confident smirk growing, "Well, that's what I have you to protect me for, right, tough guy?… Come on, live a little!"
A second passed before the Saiyan relented, taking off toward one of the platforms below, "Fine, but try not to draw any attention. You never know who you'll run into at one of these places."
She smugly grinned in self-satisfaction as they flew downward, passing by a vast array of military-grade weapons strewn along the platforms as rotating cameras turned to scan their vessel, and soon they dropped down on one of the many landing spots around the planet.
As Trunks stood on the platform, he heard the distinctive slam of metal behind him as Kara popped up beside him, arms raised overhead as she cracked her knuckles, "This is gonna be fun, you'll see."
She took off, dodging through the crowds of various alien races with ease, leaving Trunks in the dust as she called out for him in the distance. The halfling sighed, running after her, and soon, the pair were walking side by side through a maze of corridors, unaware of a looming figure watching them from a distance, lazily leaning against his bike as his red eyes observed the alien spacecraft, "…Kryptonian, huh?"
He kicked off with a grin, his boots slamming against the platform, the sheer force sending any near him tumbling as he sauntered off after the pair, running a hand through his long black hair, "Looks like the main man found his entertainment for the evening."
Moments later, Trunks and Kara wandered across the station, with her stopping to gawk at nearly every stand selling random nicknacks. It was mostly junk, but she was curious about everything. The Saiyan meanwhile felt on edge, glancing over his shoulder, sensing a presence again and again, only for nothing to be there.
As Kara leaned back after something in a nearby shop tried to take a bite out of her, she strolled by the hybrid's side, turning red as she tried to speak his foreign language, and even with the boost of being connected to a Kai, it still made her head throb, "H-How we… gonna payee- for all this?"
Trunks' eyes seemed to widen as he understood what she said; he slapped his forehead. The Saiyan, having spent so much time with the gods, wasn't used to needing anything. If you wanted it, then it usually just appeared with magic, or it wasn't hard to get, but that wasn't an option now, "…I have no idea…-" he looked around, rubbing his chin, "We'll have to figure something out, maybe I could-
*thud-thud-thud
Trunks instinctively braced himself as a massive power level appeared out of nowhere, a deep, gravely voice escaping with a dark enthusiasm, "The main man couldn't help but notice you two are in a bit of a bind."
It was obvious who said it. Out of a crowd of average-sized beings, one stood out at seven feet tall, his blue and white skin coinciding with the dark leather jacket and form-fitting blue jeans coated in sharpened metal spikes. The giant raised a giant hand, pointing a thumb toward himself as he bellowed, "The name's Lobo, and you two just might be my one ticket outa boredom city on this scrap heap."
Before Trunks could even try to push Kara back, she shot up next to him, crossing her arms with an interested grin on her face, "… We're…listening."
The Czarnian crossed his arms, tilting his head as a smirk crossed his features, "Pretty bold of a little lady like yourself to approach the Bo without a care in the world. Lobo likes that-"
The alien reached into his jacket, pulling out a cigar the size of a regular person's hand, lighting it with a snap of a finger as he leaned back against a nearby stall, nearly crushing it under his weight. He took a lazy puff, running a hand through his wild black hair, "You see, this planet don't work like most do; what with your fancy healthcare and salary jobs, the main man wouldn't step foot here it was!"
His fist came crashing down, destroying the stall roof as the owner dove for cover. Lobo rose from the ashes, pointing off toward a projected screen against one of the concrete walls, displaying a colossal arena surrounded by hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of alien spectators as they roared in excitement as the sounds of clashing metal rang out, "The only way to make some real scratch here is fightin', and the man with the plan wants to cover your entry fee."
Kara glanced at Trunks from the corner of her eye, realizing he wasn't even paying attention, way too engrossed in watching the fight going on as two giant creatures, one with smooth grey skin, the other rugged and green charged, their battleaxes and swords sending sparks as they collided again and again...an idea was forming.
She slyly grinned, turning back to the space biker, crossing her arms, "And... w-what's the catch? Y-You don't seem the giving type... Mr. Main Man."
Lobo grinned, his cigar held loosely in the corner of his mouth as he pointed a thumb toward himself, "The main man only gives out beatings, little girl, and don't you forget it. Lobo lives for Lobo and no one else, but when you live a real long time like I have, sometimes you just wanna kick back and watch a good throwdown, and that bastich Mongul's had a lousy lineup lately."
Trunks glanced at the man from the corner of his eye, "Mongul? Never heard of him."
Lobo scoffed, kicking off the crushed remains of the store as he beckoned the two to follow him with a lazy whistle, with entire crowds parting like a sea before him as he spoke, "Tch, can't blame ya on that one grape-boy, he's the strongest person on this rock, and he don't do none of the fightin' it's a waste I tell ya! All he does is sit on that throne of his while his slaves keep him from gettin' bored, but let the main man tell ya, doing nothing all day ain't worth nothin."
The Saiyan took a sharp breath, gripping a fist tight, his blue eyes narrowing as he asked, "...Did you say slaves?"
Lobo shrugged off the question as if it didn't mean anything to him, "Mhm, entire planet's a piece of old alien tech, needs an army to keep things runnin', but a lot of em' end up in the arena, it's this junkyard's biggest money maker, people all over the galaxy and beyond come here to see some good old fashioned family violence...apparently Mongul found this place a real-long time ago, made it his own cozy little empire."
Kara seemed slightly bothered but not surprised; she just shook her head, glaring at the foreign technology surrounded by markets and shantytowns made out of whatever scrap the people could find, "...primitives."
Lobo didn't pay it any mind, taking another massive puff from his cigar as he blew a cloud so strong it swept a squid-like alien off its many feet; the biker chuckled as it hobbled away, "It might be, but the old things are sometimes just as good as the new, blondie. People been killin' and slavin' each other since time immemorial, but Mongul made a whole business outa it. There's a hustle in that you just gotta respect."
Trunks silently trailed behind the pair, practically growling every time the halfling exhaled. He was fuming, taking every bit of self-restraint to not take off into the structure and kill that monster then and there.
The more he looked around, the more things made sense: the rampant poverty, the disheveled masses walking about one of the most advanced places he had ever seen. This tech was far beyond his Earth, but it all went to the benefit of one man. Trunks wasn't just disgusted; it enraged him.
It was everywhere, from the young children running around wearing tattered rags as clothes, chasing some kind of alien vermin for fun, to their sickly or dying parents watching from some shadowed crevice away from prying eyes. He could see it on their faces, the weakness, the fear, the absolute terror of existence in this world.
It didn't stop there; who knows how many beggars desperately raised their hands toward him. Seeing the finely woven clothes gifted by a goddess herself made the halfling stand out to them, but he had nothing to give. He felt terrible...what they were living through was inhumane.
Trunks had always believed that the more the world advanced, the better things would get for everyone. Like all Saiyans, he was simple, but it didn't take a genius to realize where the money went. The closer they got to their destination, the more opulent things seemed to get, with squaller and rotting patchwork homes turning into immaculately clean passages with soldiers stationed at all sides, keeping the destitute away from the luxury ahead.
He was furious, unbelievably so, at someone he had never seen or met, but his actions spoke more than enough for what kind of person this Mongul was: a despot and a greedy tyrant, the sort of person Trunks despised more than anyone else. The type he swore to destroy at all costs, no matter what.
Growing up on a planet devastated by the whims of a few demented Androids, he understood these people's plight. It was unforgivable; he struggled to even reign in his ki, but his companions were none the wiser of just how close the hybrid was to wiping this entire place off the map.
As they passed by some security checkpoint or other, an array of armored guards briefly flickered their energized rifles toward the group but immediately clambered aside as they lay eyes on Lobo, terrified beyond description. Kara couldn't help but wonder who they had joined forces with, but Trunks paid no mind, his inherited temper only getting closer to the breaking point the more he saw.
As they passed the final threshold in the seemingly endless tunnel, it opened up into a planetary stadium, housing millions of spectators with screens dotting nearly every corner of space imaginable as they gleefully roared. At the center stood an arena, a hobbled battlefield of rocks, ruins, and debris scattered about as various slaves ran about, organizing the field for the next battle, with one dragging the limp body of the green alien from before away into some corner or other.
Lobo didn't pause to take in the scenery; if anything, the mercenary felt right at home. These were his people, not that anyone would want to associate with the man who murdered his entire species on a whim. The biker pushed ahead, only stopping as a booming voice echoed out, the whole crowd going silent in both reverence and fear, "These are the pathetic excuses for warriors you bring before me?"
Trunks paused, his blue eyes practically shaking as he lay eyes on the monster in charge of this place; he was massive, a hulking figure at least eight feet tall, his sickly yellow skin a stark contrast to the armored purple jumpsuit that clung to every inch of hardened muscle along his body as his gleaming red eyes glared down at the shivering servant beside him as he tried to speak, "Sire please, I-I assure you that-"
*BOOM
The giant swatted the man like a bug, sending him flying through the skies and into the arena below with a thunderous crunch, barking out a simple command, "Kill him for his incompetence."
The crowd went wild, a diverse mix of aliens from all walks of life, each screaming for the man's head as a set of gates opened along the arena walls, a band of armored slaves charging out, weapons in hand, as they raced toward the withered old man, unable to even move from where he lay.
As Kara turned to look away, Lobo could only cross his arms with a smirk, "Good old execution, always does the crowd right, don't i-huh?!"
*FLASH
It all happened in a split second, a flicker of motion so fast only two beings in the audience could see it happen. In a burst of energy, Trunks took off, flying across the stadium at unbelievable speeds, appearing above the downed man just as a blood-rusted mace came crashing down toward his head.
*CLANG
It shattered against his outstretched hand, breaking into pieces as the gladiator stood dumbfounded at the Saiyan's sudden appearance; he stumbled back, his exposed grey heels dragging along the dry ground, "h-how did you-!?-"
Trunks didn't move so much as an inch from where he stood; he raised his outstretched hand for all to see, and with a simple swing, he backhanded the warrior, a resounding boom echoing out as the man went flying, sailing straight into a concrete wall, crashing straight through.
The Saiyan stood there, his mere presence forcing the horde of barbarians to stop in their tracks, "I've seen enough."
From the audience, Kara watched in dumbfounded silence, unable to comprehend how Trunks had moved so fast in so little time, but that didn't seem to matter. She found herself pushing her way to the front of the crowd, unable to get through until a giant hand scooped her up as Lobo held the Argoan on his shoulder, storming through the masses like nothing as he bellowed, "...Here the main man was, hoping you'd be the one to jump out there...but this just might do it for the Bo."
Kara tilted her head in confusion, "W-why would...I go...out there?"
The biker stopped in his tracks, looking up at the girl from the corner of his red eye, "You two are Kryptonian, ain't ya?"
She shook her head, pointing a figure out toward the arena at their Saiyan ally, "...Not...h-him."
Lobo raised a brow, rubbing a finger along his chin, "...The main man coulda sworn he saw that walking piece-a lavender fly...unless?...you're something else entirely, ain't ya boy?-" His grin returned, their momentum only increasing as the killer biker pushed his way ahead, "Eh, he's probably dead anyways, but it should be plenty o' fun 'til th- oof-"
Kara kicked him in the chest with a huff, ignoring the splintering headache from the translation process. She might not have known much about Trunks, but if the Argoan could say anything about him, he seemed the type to stick his neck out for anyone, whether it was her or these people, and if he was the best that sassy-gum lady had at her disposal, she'd at least give the boy who saved her the benefit of the doubt. "...Wanna...bet on...it?"
Lobo hummed, rubbing a finger along his chin, "Hmmm, while the main man don't usually pass on a contract, it ain't like you got much to offer little ol' me anyways-"
Kara interjected, "-...my ship," that seemed to get the biker's attention, so she continued, "...Kryptonian made, all yours if he...l-loses."
Lobo's eyes widened a bit as he glanced off toward the hybrid down below. He didn't seem like much, but this girl was putting an awful lot on the table. Maybe there was more to him than meets the eye...not that he cared; the mercenary was a betting man by nature, and that hunk of metal would be worth a few bar hops at least.
The biker raised a hand toward the girl perched on his shoulder, "The Bo' bets fifty big ones that Mongul takes him out real fast. Let's test your metal, little lady. Think you got the chops to follow through?"
Kara shook his hand without a moment to consider the consequences, "...Deal."
Despite her bravado, the Argoan couldn't help but watch the halfling with a pit sinking into her stomach, not understanding why he was doing this. This was a station full of primitives doing their primitive thing; what was there to save in backward people?
It's not that Kara wasn't compassionate; she did feel bad for the less fortunate, but she lacked a connection to them. She came from a society of splendor and fantastic technology; even through hardships, they still had better means than most of the universe. The distance between her and your average alien was massive; the Kryptonian didn't understand a thing about them and their way of life. All this left her confused as she watched the Saiyan holding his own in the face of adversity, wondering what he had gone through to get like this.
Trunks stood there, holding an entire army back with the sheer aura erupting off of him as a burst of white energy, kicking up dust as it billowed toward his opponents, who, along with the audience, remained locked in utter silence. It lasted moments, only to be followed by a simple hum of interest as Mongul loomed overhead from his throne high above the masses, "It appears we have a new contender, a powerful one at that. I could slaughter him now for his insolence, or shall we see what he is made of? What say you, my subjects?"
The crowd went wild, throwing obscenities, hurling random garbage and debris toward the arena as their energy rose by the moment, their various cries turning into an uproarious shout of "Fight! Fight! Fight!"
Trunks just stood there, a disgusted look across his face as he stared the warlord down. Mongul's expression perked up at the sudden defiance, a savage grin crossing his features as he waved a hand over the crowd, "Very well, you shall have your spectacle and more, for I am a benevolent leader, am I not?"
As the people cried out his name, the dictator simply stared down at the Saiyan, "And to you, interloper, if you survive, I might find it in my graces to hear your name."
He glanced to his side, his former organizer already replaced by a rival claimant, "Activate the shock collars; if they do not attack on their own, make them."
A high-pitched wail escaped as voltage exploded around each of the gladiator's necks as they tugged at them in agony. One by one, they charged across the battlefield, each deadset on tearing the halfling apart as he just stood there, watching their panicked expressions as they raced toward certain doom, trying to keep themselves alive just a bit longer by doing as they were told.
Trunks simply raised a hand, his palm wide open as the audience voiced their confusion, his enemies would reach him in seconds, yet there he was, doing absolutely nothing, until- "HAAAH!"
*BOOM
A pulse of sheer energy exploded through the artificial atmosphere as an invisible force slammed into the warriors, kicking up hurricane-like winds across the stadium as watchers scrambled to stay grounded; one by one, the men flew off, crashing across the arena, dropping where they landed.
Trunks turned to glare at the warlord, energy blasting off of him as the conqueror only grinned wider at the display of power, but it soon faded as the downed warriors groaned and rolled about; they were all still alive. The Saiyan spoke with a sudden gravity to his voice, "I won't play along with your sick games, Mongul."
The tyrant leaned over the railing with interest, his palms crushing solid metal into dust with the slightest twitch of a finger, "A slave that dares to speak? Feel honored that you're worth my words at all, and tell me, what sort of creature are you? I can't say I'm familiar with your race."
Trunks huffed, his narrow eyes gleaming toward the dictator as his purple hairs fluttered in a breeze of rust-filled air, the taint reminding him of what monsters like this did to all the people they encountered. He spoke with a pride only acquired through years of experience with a father he never knew in his own timeline, "My name is Trunks, and I'm the Saiyan that's going to kill you."
Mongul's boasts stopped for a moment, his eyes widening just a bit as though he faintly recognized something about that name, "...A Saiyan, you say?-"
Trunks didn't expect an answer from this, but his father had taught him to honor his heritage and to use it to crush anyone who threatened the peace. He knew nothing of this reality and its inhabitants. Chronoa only told him what was necessary for a mission, nothing more, nothing less...but to his surprise, Mongol chuckled, then he laughed, his booming shouts of glee echoing out as the audience joined in its wake, "A Saiyan he says!"
The entire railing collapsed as the giant let a fist slam against it, with the structure collapsing down onto the crowd below, though the tyrant paid their shouts of agony no mind; if anything, it only made his day that much brighter. He stood there, arms crossed, looming above the hybrid, "The Saiyans were wiped out generations ago, and you expect me to believe one simply turned up on my doorstep?..."
Mongul continued to bellow out a chuckle as the crowd followed suit, with many clearly not understanding what they were laughing at, yet did so out of fear. The tyrant didn't care what they thought, so long as they obeyed, "So tell me, boy, if that were true, where is your tail?...where is the spiked black hair and rampant destruction akin to your kind? You were planet conquerors once, were you not? All I see is mercy, a weakness they would never show. You mock a name so feared they were wiped out for a simple legend-"
"It's more than a legend."
Mongul paused as a smirk grew along the hybrid's face as he stood upright, bracing himself for something the warlord couldn't quite fathom, "I might not be a full-blooded Saiyan, but if you're looking for a Super Saiyan-" his eyes closed, reopening, no longer a gentle blue, but a violent green hue, "I can fill the part."
Mongol began to laugh once more, but a sudden pressure soon washed over him. He was a conqueror of worlds, an annihilator of countless civilizations, and yet the warlord paused, watching as clusters of rock began to rise as the white aura surrounding the halfling burned brighter, "What-What is this!"
He could only observe as the veins along the Saiyan's skin bulged to the surface, as though some unseen force inside was trying to fight off the changes yet continued to buckle and gave way as he roared into the planetary arena, the ground around him beginning to crack and give way.
The floor gave way as Trunks sank down, his sharpened fangs exposed through gritted teeth, his entire body shaking as his hair flashed a brilliant gold, only to dwindle back into purple again and again, his blindingly green eyes focused solely on the conqueror as steam rose from the surrounding machinery, spinning around the chamber's giant ceiling in a whirlwind of power, with Mongul in utter disbelief, "That's impossible!"
Trunks exploded in a burst of white-hot light as it engulfed him whole, nearly blinding the millions of onlookers with its sheer intensity. Mongul could only stare in disbelief as the entire arena broke beneath his weight, shattering into countless pieces, and as the dust cleared, his eyes widened, meeting the ethereal golden aura engulfing the intruder, observing the sway of his shining yellow locks of hair as they stood against gravity, his sheer aura a sight to behold, the legend brought to life.
Where most would buckle in fear, Mongul stood his ground, his smirk turning into a maddened grin, his dark chuckles ringing out for all to hear, "A fascinating display?... You'll make a fine spectac-"
*FWING
Time slowed to a crawl as the Saiyan disappeared from sight, flickering out of existence, reappearing beside the conqueror, his right leg lashing out as he spun, wheeling around as his heel slammed into Mongul's exposed face, sending a spray of spittle as he slammed straight into the arena below.
Trunks hovered over the tyrant as he lay face-first in the dirt, "You're right about one thing: I don't act like a Saiyan should. I don't care about getting the best fight out of every opponent because it's my job to keep the peace-" he raised a palm toward the fallen conqueror, his digits igniting as a fiery ball of energy burned to life within his grasp, "so I'm sending you to hell."
As the halfling readied himself to fire, the ground exploded around the downed warlord so fast that he couldn't comprehend it. A sudden force clenched around his leg so tight the halfling could feel the bone creaking as Mongul reappeared, his enhanced muscles clenching as he pulled the hybrid straight down, slamming a fist into his face, the knockback sending him flying across the battlespace as he roared, "You can burn without me!"
Trunks slammed back-first into a mass of rock and rebar, the material turning to dust as he landed in a heap, coughing up a storm as he struggled to get to his feet. He swiped a hand across his face, catching a trickle of blood falling from his nose, the sight instinctively making his heart race in anticipation as the crowd roared for more.
As the dust cleared, Mongul trudged across the barren landscape, each step a thunderous echo as his booming voice seemed to travel for miles on end as he opened and shut his jaw, with each motion being met with the distinctive crack of bone, "I was wrong about you boy, only a Saiyan would dive headfirst into a battle he has no chance of winning. You always were a race of incompetents...never a thought behind those eyes, always bouncing from one fight to the next like the apes you are...if only I kept some of you in a pen, my people would be entertained for years to come."
Mongul stopped his march at the center of the arena, allowing his people to bask in his glory as he spoke, "Once I've beaten you into submission, you'll make a passable display...the last living Saiyan, my personal slave."
Trunks laughed at that, spitting out a mixture of blood and saliva to the side as he pushed himself to his feet, his green eyes glowing in an instinctive excitement, "...There'll be nothing left when I'm done with you. I'll free each and every one of the people whose lives you've ruined...you're a leader; you're supposed to take care of them, and all you've given them is misery and injustice."
Mongul shrugged it off, uncaring for the plight of his people; they were his to play with, after all, "Yet, it is my name they cheer, not yours. I am their champion, the true inheritor of War World. You are nothing, the last flicker of a dead race, but you'll learn your place soon enough."
Trunks braced himself, his right arm swinging back as he raised his left, his golden locks swishing about as his power level continued to rise, his anger growing by the moment, "You govern them with fear; they're terrified to go against a word you say, but no more. I'm gonna make you pay for all the lives you've ruined!"
Mongul allowed himself a brisk chuckle as the pair stood off, a calm quiet overtaking them, both from war-mongering races hellbent on destroying as much of creation as possible, yet where one embraced his destiny as a conqueror, the other swore to protect all that he could, rejecting the evils of his race for something more.
The warlord raised a hand as one of his countless servants threw a glowing axe toward the colossal tyrant, its black base and burning white blade a stark contrast to his sickly yellow skin. The ground shook as he charged, thudding his way toward the Saiyan as he raised an arm high, his inherited sword sliding out of its sheathe with an audible screech of metal.
Trunks didn't wait for the tyrant to arrive. He roared, taking off in a burst of yellow energy, the ground blasting apart in his wake as Mongul traced his every move; the tyrant raised his blade overhead, taking an executioner's stance as it came crashing down.
At the last second, the hybrid's boots made contact with the ground, sliding to a halt as he held his sword sideways, raising it high as ki ran along its sharpened edge. The two weapons met with a booming clang as sparks rained down, the two sources of energy mixing together in an unstable mass between them, but neither gave way.
Mongul's booming voice roared out over the hiss of their blades, "Do you have any idea how many of your kind have tried to stand in my way?! The same foolish lot that thinks their lives serve any purpose but to live beneath me!"
The floor beneath the Saiyan buckled as massive cracks spread out all around him as his muscles burned; even holding the tyrant back was unbearably taxing, but his struggle wouldn't last long as the despot kicked a massive foot back, slamming forward into the time traveler's stomach, with Trunks only just dodging the man's blade as it broke through his defenses, crashing through the ground like nothing as a massive blast of wind burst around them.
Mongul gripped the hilt of his weapon as it lay embedded in the ground, "...To think, all these myths and legends surrounding your kind, and the first one I encounter is a sorry disappointment...you won't survive this encounter long if that's the best you have to offer me."
Trunks slid back, but took off again, wasting no time as he flew toward the tyrant as his blade came flying out of its tomb, crashing straight toward the hybrid, aiming to cleave him in half. He reacted, swinging to his right with one hand; he deflected the strike as it went sailing past him, cutting chunks of fur from his coat. Using the opportunity, the halfling flew beneath the despot's giant arms, slamming his left fist straight into Mongul's stomach, sending the man flying back.
Trunks' fist shook in pain, his nerves on fire, feeling as though he had just punched a block of katchin steel, but the time patroller pushed through it, taking off at higher speeds, he blitzed behind Mongul, intercepting the conqueror with ease, his boot exploding into the man's back, sending him sky high.
Trunks reappeared above the conqueror, sword raised high as he went crashing straight down, ready to slice the madman straight through the middle, but with a simple motion, the hairs on the back of his neck stood on edge. Mongul tilted his head upward, his red eyes glowing in untold power. Trunks could hardly blink as scorching hot rays of fire shot out of the man's eyes while he shouted, "Burn for your insolence!"
The lasers slammed into the Saiyan's sword as he tried to deflect the attack to no avail, sending him crashing into the ceiling above, forced to keep himself upright, his knees buckling as the skin along his palms melted away, all the while Mongul slammed into the ground below, staring up at the hybrid as he taunted him, his attack refusing to relent as its glow shimmered across the stadium, "...Come now, I was told your kind could drive entire planets to extinction, surely you have more to offer than this."
Trunks' head dropped as the heat became unbearable, with a mixture of sweat and blood trickling down his face, a Saiyan could withstand lava like it was nothing, but it felt like he was melting from the inside, he could hardly feel his hands anymore. From below, Mongul briefly smiled as the crowd cheered his name, relishing in their approval and his approaching victory, but it was short-lived. His eyes narrowed as he saw a crackle of orange lightning spark to life along the Saiyan's core, traveling upward, "...What are you-"
At that moment, Trunks' head shot up, mouth agape as a massive energy blast shot out from his throat, expanding as it sailed by the tyrant's dual beams of fire, the man could hardly stagger back before the attack crashed into his skull, sending him tumbling back.
The Saiyan refused to wait; his knees almost buckled as he pumped more and more energy into his shaken muscles, forcing himself to act, the ceiling exploded as Trunks shot down, sword raised over his right shoulder, swinging with every ounce of strength left in him, slashing the tyrant across the chest, his alien biology too rigid to allow a killing blow, but the splatter of blood and resounding shout of pain spoke volumes.
As soon as Trunks landed, his ki burst to life, flickering out of sight; he appeared before the conqueror, his red eyes only seeing the palm of the Saiyan's hand as he roared, an explosive blast shooting out, engulfing the tyrant whole as it blasted across the arena, colliding with a distant pile of rubble as it burst, the resounding explosion shaking the entire stadium with its might.
As the halfling landed, he winced, looking down at his scorched hands as blood flowed freely from their melting flesh. He heard the distinctive clang of Mongul's axe hitting the ground, the warlord having dropped it sometime during their scuffle.
Trunks slowly raised his sword, allowing it to slide into its sheathe, not seeing any use in it if it couldn't kill his opponent, but it wouldn't be much use to him anyways...right now, he could hardly form a fist; using a blade effectively was a pipe dream in his current state.
His brief respite was soon cut off as the dust cleared, revealing a battered but still very much alive Mongul rising to his feet with ease, a giant hand running along his chest. He stopped, glaring down at his own blood with a savage grin across his features; looking toward the Saiyan, he spoke, "...Better...but still not enough!"
With a growl, he tore his purple suit clean off, revealing his statue-like form, a giant slash running across his torso; he smiled at the sight of it, "...To think a being like you could even damage me?... I've underestimated you, Saiyan, but no longer!"
*BOOM-BOOM-BOOM-BOOM
The warlord moved so fast, even in Super Saiyan, Trunks struggled to keep pace. The time traveler could hardly react as he practically teleported in front of him, his giant leg blasting toward him. The Saiyan winced in agony as he tried to deflect the blow with his hands, feeling the scorched skin tearing on contact as it broke through his defenses in an instant, knocking him off his feet; he could hardly cry out as the tyrant's fist closed around his skull, slamming him into the hard ground, running about at breakneck speeds, dragging him face first through metal, rock, and even pieces of former gladiators buried beneath the countless piles of debris, all the while the warlord shouted, "Who are you to speak out against my reign!?-"
He threw the halfling upward, slamming a fist straight into his stomach as the sound of his ribs snapping reverberated across the stadium, sending him flying as blood shot out of his mouth. Mongul reappeared before the hybrid could land, catching him by the leg, slamming him back and forth into the ground again and again like a ragdoll, "Words are meaningless without the strength to bolster your claims-"
He paused, raising the Saiyan by his torso, locking his arms to his sides as he met him at eye level, "You are sorely lacking to make such assertions on my planet, boy. Your Super-Saiyan is nothing compared to me, the great Mongul!"
Mongul leaned back before slamming his head down, his rock-solid skull smashing into the Saiyan's face, splattering blood across the arena over and over as he squeezed his hands tighter, laughing all the while as the halfling screamed in pain, only to falter as his cries went silent, the warmonger briefly thought he had ended the teen's life too soon, but that wasn't it...no, where once his hands were on the brink of shredding the boy's skeleton into dust, he couldn't move so much as an inch further...what was going on?
*BZZZZT
A jolt of white lightning crackled along the Saiyan's skin as he suddenly pushed back against the conqueror's mighty grasp, his once solid grip suddenly shaking as an unbelievable power surged forward from the time traveler to Mongul's shock.
He squeezed with all his might, deadset on popping the swordsman like the bug he was. The Saiyan didn't react, with more white lightning surging around him by the moment, his muscles clenching as he lurched back, his boots slamming into the conqueror's chest as he pushed off of him, practically tearing his arms out of their sockets before rocketing forward, headbutting the tyrant straight in the face as the sound of crunching bone broke out.
Mongul sputtered, his grip slackening, allowing the hybrid to land on his feet while he staggered back, a hand grazing his face, realizing the blood was his own, flowing freely from his shattered nostrils, "W-..What!?"
Trunks took slow, sharp breaths, facing the ground as every inch of his body seemed to resist moving at all, "You're right about me; I'm no one special."
He gripped a fist, raising it toward his jacket, gripping it along its seamed he ripped it off, revealing the simple black tank top beneath as blood ran freely down his chiseled tan skin, "There's always been someone stronger than me, pushing me to go just a little bit further, but it's because of them, that I can stand up to monsters like you...to stop them from ruining anyone elses' lives like they did to mine."
Despite the pain, the Saiyan found himself chuckling, his head slowly rising to face the tyrant once more, "...All that talk about how you're so much better than the Saiyans...and what we're capable of...but you've only seen the first stage."
Mongul was taken aback, but before he could respond, the time patroller took action, his voice shifting, taking on a more vicious tone as his green eyes glowed against the harsh lights above, "How about I show you the second?"
From the stands, Kara and Lobo watched as the hybrid's golden aura washed over him once more as he bellowed out a warcry, the entire stadium...no, the whole planet was shaking because of him.
The Kryptonian winced as golden beams of light shot out of the ground around the Saiyan as lightning crashed through the metal frame of War World, dancing along every surface it could find, with distant machinery exploding across the entire structure as even the might of alien technology seemed to give way before the power of the Saiyan race.
As the glow dwindled, Mongul stood, his nonexistent hairs on edge at the sight before him. The Saiyan had changed. His golden hair that once frayed in each and every direction, now shot straight up as white-hot lightning coursed along his flesh. His entire demeanor seemed to shift, his rage no longer visible, his expression furious but suppressed, a simple frown and a glare that sent shivers down even the tyrant's spine...so much so that he threw caution to the wind, shouting out, "No...No! Send in Draaga and the rest. That's an order!"
Trunks remained unmoving, even as the sound of howling metal gates creaking open rang out; he did nothing. As hundreds of men emerged from behind, one man pushed ahead of the rest and emerged from the darkness, his grey flesh sticking out against his sporadic pieces of golden alien armor, his sole functioning eye honing in on the Saiyan with a fury only known to those who had endured a life of conflict. He led the charge as countless warriors pushed to kill the halfling; it was their lives or his, the trade-off was just that simple.
Mongul grinned as Draaga charged without fear; he was his finest warrior, and their strength was nearly on par; the boy would stand no chance against him, but he didn't seem to notice the beast-like man as he raced across the battlefield. He reached Trunks in an instant, raising his rusted battleaxe high before-
*BOOM
With a simple flick of a wrist, Trunks' hand tore straight through Draaga's torso, ripping him clean in half with almost no effort. The man couldn't blink, nor could he cry out; his eyes only widened oh so slightly as he exploded into a fine purple mist, wiped out in a single blow.
The audience went deathly silent as the remaining forces slid to a terrified halt. All the while, Trunks' eyes remained firmly locked on Mongul, for the first time, driving genuine fear into the conqueror's heart as he calmy walked forward, each calculated step seeming to echo on for miles on end as no one made as much as a sound.
Mongul took a step back before stopping, knowing that if he were to run now, he would lose the support of his people forever; he shook in silent rage, his eyes glowing once more as he roared, firing his heat rays as they scorched the land itself, racing toward the Saiyan, only for Trunks to slap the attack aside, it sailed off across the stadium, straight toward a group of Mongul's guards as they screamed in terror, only to be vaporized by their own leader's attack.
The tyrant raged, with every vein along his frame bulging as he took a deep breath and charged, his right fist raised high as he screamed, "You'll die by hand!"
His strike came barreling down, breaching through the sound barrier as a massive blast rang out, set on taking the Saiyan's head clean off, only for the sound of broken bone and twisted flesh to ring out. Mongul briefly grinned, thinking he had won, but a sudden pain drew his gaze downward, his mouth opened in shock, only for a torrent of blood to erupt from his throat.
From below, Trunks' fist crackled in white lightning, vaporizing the despot's blood along his fingers, having slammed a hand straight through his armored torso, "Remember this, Mongul...you brought this on yourself."
The ruler couldn't respond, at that moment Trunks spun on his heels, the pair becoming a complete whirlwind as a typhoon formed across the stadium, coming to an abrupt end as the Saiyan threw the man into the sky, flickering out of existence.
He reappeared above the tyrant, his fists coming together, slamming straight down on his skull with a thunderous crack, and as he crashed into the ground, Trunks shouted, "This is for all the lives you've ruined!"
Mongul groaned, trying to lean forward, only to spit out more blood, but a sudden glow caught his vibrant red gaze, he looked around him, seeing trickles of golden particles emerging from all directions, each shooting toward the Saiyan looming overhead, culminating in an unstable mass held within his grasp, hands cupped over his head as his aura billowed out for all to see.
It was so bright, it was as if a miniature sun had burned into existence in their arena; the sheer magnitude of it sent audience members scrambling for safer ground, but Mongul couldn't so much as move; he could only stare through the ethereal glare, meeting the stare of his opponent as he roared, "You're DONE FOR!"
*FWOOOOOOOSH
Trunks fired, and the Masenko rushed straight toward the despot, its golden flame-like appearance widening by the second, appearing as a veritable tidal wave of pure energy. Mongul could only gasp as the glow grew brighter and more intense by the nanosecond until it impacted; witnesses would only see his body briefly bounce off the ground, carried into the maelstrom by a sudden force, only to be torn into vaporized shreds within its radius, disappearing into nothing.
*BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM
The explosion engulfed most of the arena, a concentrated blast that annihilated anyone and anything that fell within its radius, the only victim being Mongul himself. Although the force had thrown countless bystanders across the stadium, they soon rose, standing in utter disbelief as they saw the sight ahead...a massive crater where their battlefield once was...their leader was nowhere to be seen, only spotting the Saiyan hovering overhead, his green eyes glaring at the nothingness below...they all came to the same silent realization-
Mongul was dead.
As Trunks hovered over the crowd, he turned, observing the bystanders and armed guards and warriors, all facing him, their weapons at the ready; he was about to brace himself to wipe them out, to destroy the last traces of Mongul's reign on this planet, but...they dropped their weapons...and one by one, each and every person besides Kara and Lobo took a knee.
Their voices rang out in droves.
"All hail the Super Saiyan!"
"The tyrant is dead; long live the new leader!"
"SAIYAN-SAIYAN-SAIYAN!"
Trunks bristled, not expecting such a massive turnaround, but it left him feeling sad for these people. This way of life, the rampant poverty, the life and death struggle just to make ends meet, all to fuel some gladiator-style combat. This world was theirs, but it was wasted on petty entertainment for an elite minority and the wealthy visitors who happened upon the station...this needed to change, but he wasn't a leader.
The time traveler looked around, his gaze falling on the cloaked old man whose near-death encounter had started all of this; hovering over to him, he spoke, "Hey...you."
Trunks landed, watching as the cowering figure slowly looked up to see him; he reached out, gently pulling the figure to his feet as he looked at him with unease, not knowing the Saiyan's intentions, but he said a simple phrase that sent his world spinning, "...Do you know how to hold elections?"
"...I'm sorry, what?"
...
A few days later
On the same platform the two aliens had arrived on sat a mismatched pair once more, one blonde and bored, the other sporting a wicked black hairdo and all too annoyed.
Kara lazily bounced a rubbery ball she had picked up from one of the stalls strewn about the planet, bouncing it off a wall, only for the advanced AI housed within to maneuver itself to perfectly bounce back toward her, one of the many gifts she bought herself on Lobo's dime. She smirked, watching his eyebrow twitch with each impact, reminding him of how badly he lost, but she couldn't help but mock the biker, "Oh come on...y-you...gotta admit...it w-was pretty...cool."
The mercenary huffed, kicking a nearby support beam as the material buckled beneath the force, "Oh, the main man knows what's cool and what ain't, little lady. It's why he's stickin' round' for your walking pile o' purple to fix himself up so I can get a taste of the action..."
The Argoan hummed at that, stretching back, feeling the fabric of her new clothes pulling against her skin; it wasn't anything fancy; Kara wasn't the type to wear girly stuff anyways. Good old t-shirt and shorts, having bought herself a nice little wardrobe while she waited, that suit was getting stuffy.
It had been a crazy few days, to say the least, and while she didn't like the idea of killing or even hurting other people, she couldn't help but feel the results of what Trunks had done. It felt so spur of the moment; she wouldn't believe it unless she saw it herself.
Almost immediately after the Saiyan wiped Mongul out, he started working toward fixing this place as their proclaimed new ruler. Trunks only made a few changes, banning any gladiator fights from ever taking place on War World ever again, or should she say Peace World?
She snorted at that name. Rao, was he cheesy or what?... But besides that, Trunks only really called for an election and let the people decide what they wanted for themselves, and with that, he just stepped down, keeping things free and fair by sticking around on the planet; after all, nothing seemed to keep people honest like a Super Saiyan.
Peace World was still counting the votes, but it seemed like their new democracy was here to stay; all the while, Trunks went to work fixing up her ship. She pitched in here and there. After all, she was Kryptonian and had way more experience working with their advanced tech, but the Argoan was surprised at how fast he picked things up...Trunks was no dummy, Kara admitted that much, and he seemed to like working on these pet projects, so she left him to it, figuring the guy deserved some reward for doing something so selfless.
They had just started to get to know each other, but Kara could definitely get why Chronoa liked the guy so much; he was just a good person, trying to do right by anyone around him. Whether it was her or these people didn't matter, she didn't understand it, but some part of her wanted to...maybe someday she'd learn to understand how these primitives worked, but still-
Never in her wildest dreams could she imagine someone like him; she saw how bad Mongul had messed the guy up, with more broken bones than not. Trunks was working almost around the clock, wrapped in bandages and slings, but still, he pushed on. He gained nothing out of this unless you wanted to count Mongul's old ships the station had no use for; the Saiyan pretty much tore them apart and dragged whatever parts he wanted up one by one.
Your average person probably couldn't move, much less run or fly, in his condition. He had so many powers it left her kinda jealous, but Lobo kept hinting at wanting to bring her around a yellow sun for some reason, so maybe there was something there? Who knows? It was only between his rants on getting tired of waiting for his chance to fight the Saiyan.
At that moment, the ramp to her ship opened, revealing the Saiyan in all his grime-covered glory as he marched out with a stiffness to him, still not recovered from his injuries, he spoke with a casual smile, "Well, if my math's right, the engine should be up and running again."
The Argoan smirked, glancing at him from over her shoulder, "Want me to check it for you?"
Trunks shook his head in refusal, running a dirty hand through his short purple hair, "A Saiyan has his pride...you ready to get outa here?"
Kara shrugged, leaning back before kicking off her perch against a metal crate, having bought more than enough supplies to last for some time, having come to the horrible realization at how much food Trunks...ate on a daily basis.
She paused, looking toward Lobo as the giant biker didn't budge so much as an inch, "You coming, Mr. Money bags?"
Lobo grumbled at that but shrugged it off, "Nah, the main man's gonna follow on his ride. No one drives Lobo nowhere, you got that?" He pointed a finger toward Trunks, "And you!"
The time patroller glanced toward the mercenary as the pair stood off, the latter spoke first, "...You're gonna get a lot of heat for what you did here...can't picture the universe will take too kindly to your kind comin' back, but Lobo gets first dibs on you next...been itchin' for a good fight for months!"
Trunks lightly sighed at the man's antics. Lobo had completely refused to leave them alone after watching him kill Mongul; it stirred a fire in the mercenary that refused to go out. To the average person, Lobo wasn't just dangerous; his blood-thirsty nature and grotesque attitude were downright annoying, but to a Saiyan, he was average.
Trunks smirked, turning back into the ship, following Kara as he raised a thumb toward the biker, "...I'll hold you to it."
Lobo couldn't help but smirk, raising a brow at the teen's response before kicking off his perch, mounting his rocket bike as he revved its engines as the spacecraft did the same, and as they took off into the distance and closer toward the Earth, he couldn't help but say, "Hmph, if things stay like this, the main man just might stick around."
They blasted off into the horizon, leaving behind a world designed as nothing more than a cold-hearted weapon and its people with a new opportunity; they weren't going to waste it.
...
And there we have it; the adventure begins.
As I said, I have no plans to rush this story. Instead, it will take time to explore the fascinating DCAU. We'll go places, meet interesting characters, and see the ramifications of a Super Saiyan roaming about; it's gonna be fun.
Most of my narratives are very serious, but I decided to kick back and enjoy the ride with this one; hopefully, people like where it goes. With all that said and done, take it easy, and I'll see y'all in the next one; cheers!
