Piccolo didn't know who cursed him and the others.
He never laid eyes on them, nor would he ever get a chance to. It happened far too quickly for it to be possible. It was during one of his countless days of mediating when he felt it. He felt the Dragon Balls being activated halfway across the world. Piccolo didn't know if it was his Ki senses picking up the Dragon, or if it was his Namekian blood doing that. A deep part of him wondered if it was Kami's old link to the Dragon Balls that made him aware of the Dragon's usage. Either way, Picolo foolishly decided not to investigate it. He assumed it was Bulma using Shenron again as a personal groomer and stylist. Piccolo swore that woman was both the idiotic and smartest person he had ever met. Using wish-granting orbs, ones that can make entire planets and bring thousands of dead back to life, to do make-up and body touch-ups that could take an hour to do at a beauty salon? Talk about shallow and impulsive. Looking back now, Piccolo wished that it was her using the Dragon Balls at that cursed moment.
A moment after Shenron was summoned, whatever wish the one who summoned him had activated and took hold over Piccolo. He felt the grasp of the mystical Dragon wrap around his being. A familiar feeling that graced him back on North Kai's planet in Other World all those years ago. Piccolo quickly tried to break free- tried to refuse the influence of Shenron, but it was fruitless. Somehow, the Dragon overpowered him, and he felt himself being wrenched away. He tried using Instant Transmission to escape. He scanned for his allies' Ki signatures. The only one he was able to find in time was Gohan's. If he could teleport to him before he disappeared, then Gohan would know something was wrong and try to rescue him! He locked on to his signature and-
He was gone.
Piccolo's only reaction was a stuttering gasp. He was silently mortified. He… He felt him disappear. It felt like the dimming warmth of a dying fire. He felt Gohan leave him, leave this world. As Piccolo felt himself being pulled away into the unknown, he desperately searched for the others. Goku, Vegeta, Videl, Pan, Krillin, Tien Shinhan, Buu, Yamcha, Trunks and Goten. They were gone or Piccolo just caught them disappearing into nothing. He even looked for the others like Bulma, Chi-Chi, Dende, Mr Popo, Master Roshi, and even Mr. Satan of all people. They were gone. All of them. The last thought Piccolo had in this world was the fact he was all alone with no one to save him.
The Dragon dragged him away into a bright light. It was blinding and disorientating. Piccolo felt an incredible force push against him. He tried to power up to brace for any sort of impact, but the force was too great for him to concentrate. It felt like he was thrown into a rapid river current. He was shoved under the raging waters and tossed about by the different currents. He felt Shenron's hold on him dissipate. The familiar touch of the Dragon, gone forever. Piccolo flailed his arms and legs about, trying to upright himself and get a sense of direction. He even tried to exert his Ki power to fly. All proved to be in vain as whatever power swarming over him proved too much. Eventually, the blinding light that could pierce through his eyelids dimmed ever so slightly. Piccolo opened his eyes slowly, adjusting to the shining light. The light was gone, and in its wake was a churning ocean of bright stars and swirling galaxies.
Piccolo was left speechless at the sight. His roars of discomfort and horror were replaced with silent awe at the sight of so many galaxies rushing past him. Some were spiralling congregations much like his own while others looked so alien and impossible that it had Piccolo's head spinning just looking at them. The sights went on for minutes. Piccolo zoomed past every single one and tried his best to stop the force propelling him through this weird space. What was this power that entrapped him?! How was he even able to breathe out here in space?!
Moments later, he saw something ahead. The sea of multi-coloured stars and spiralling constellations all abruptly ended before a massive wall made of the backs of giant beings. So giant were they that they dwarfed the massive galaxies Piccolo flew past. Some of the beings making the wall looked partly humanoid. Others so alien in their posture that they looked ridiculous. Piccolo started to panic when he felt the force wasn't slowing him down as they neared its surface. Piccolo roared and tried to brace himself for the impact. At the very last second, the wall peeled away and made a hole that fit Piccolo perfectly. He flew through it at insane speeds. His eyes were sealed closed as the insides shun with a blinding gold that hurt Piccolo's eyes. After a solid minute of transversal, Piccolo came out of the other side. With the darkness dissipating, Piccolo opened his eyes. Despite his tumbling form, Piccolo managed to see the faces that made the wall. They were all alien beings that Piccolo didn't recognise. Half organic, half mechanical. Some were a mix of both. All of them had their arms outstretched to the sides and looking forward with stern faces. Like gatekeepers preventing anyone from entering.
Focusing back on the sight around him, Piccolo again saw a sea of stars and galaxies. Just not as colourful or bombastic as the ones on the other side of the wall. There was a sight that left him truly astonished: North Galaxy. There it was! His home galaxy! Relief flashed through Piccolo's systems at the site of the Milky Way and how the force was propelling him towards it. If he was correct about his trajectory, he would be relatively close to Earth. One Transmission jump and he'll be home. Despite the familiar sight of his galaxy, Piccolo knew something was amiss. He went through that wall and out the other side. How could he be going back home if it was on the opposite side? His question tempered his relief and braced himself for disappointment.
His form shot towards one of the galaxy's arms. His prediction was true; he was nearing the vicinity of Earth's Solar System. The further he was driven through space and past stars, the more he began to realise he was heading straight to Earth. He thought as much when he flew past Pluto. The force driving him back to Earth waned and slowed down his momentum. Piccolo was given enough strength to tilt himself in a horizontal position, but not enough to break free from the force holding him. He watched as he zipped past Saturn and Jupiter, skimming over Mars and the Moon, before bearing witness to a bastardisation of Earth.
It had the same colours as Earth, the same terrain and blue oceans, but it wasn't his home. It looked nothing like his home at all. There was no massive landmass that covered the majority of the planet's surface. The landmass was broken up into smaller parts. Some broke off into bigger chunks that came close to the size of his home continent but not by much. The force threw him into the planet at speeds that burnt the space around him as he reentered the planet. Piccolo would've been cooked alive if it weren't for his aura protecting him. Eventually, with one final gasp of energy, the force cushioned his landing and planted his feet firmly into the earthy soil. With the force finally gone, Piccolo's anatomy was returned to him. Quickly, he tried to establish a telepathic connection with his allies. 'Gohan! Goku! Where are-'
There was nothing.
He couldn't feel their energy or their minds. They were nowhere to be felt on this Earth. He turned his head around and scanned the environment. He was in a different area than he was before his forceful transportation from his home. He was still in a tundra with rocky mounds covered by grass and sparse trees, but the foliage was a deeper green. The air had a chill to it and he was surrounded by peaks that weren't there before. He launched himself out of the alpine valley and up towards the top of the peaks. He leapt back and forth from rocky outcropping to another as he made the summit in less than a second. Up top, he saw he was surrounded by an unfamiliar environment of sprawling winding mountains. As if gaining height would help him, Piccolo broadcasted his message again. Same as before, he could not feel his friends' minds or energies. Instead of homing in on their nonexistent minds, Piccolo changed tactics and broadcasted his pled on a 'global channel'. Essentially sending a mental call to anyone with telepathy. He sent it around the globe and even further beyond, yet it was not perceived. He sensed that some creatures around the planet and, surprisingly, on Mars perceived his call but they weren't powerful enough to contact him. It doesn't matter, none of them were the Z Warriors. If they were, Piccolo would've sensed them and they would've contacted him back.
Out of an act of desperation, Piccolo resorted to using his own power like a beacon. With a growing roar, Piccolo summoned his power. Turning his body into a font of pure energy that anyone who can sense KI could easily detect it. He hoped that if the Z Warriors were out there, they would feel his energy and announce themselves to him. His roar echoed far across the valleys of the alpine heights. However, the power he was accumulating reached farther than his roars and was felt more by the inhabitants of this planet. The ground below Piccolo cracked and exploded outwards from the rising pressure. The earth within the alpine heights and the surrounding environments violently shook from powerful earthquakes. The weather above crackled with lightning as the gathered energy disturbed the atmosphere. The clouds parted to reveal the starry night sky. Though none would see the stars as Piccolo's bright white aura shun just as bright as the sun itself.
Piccolo growled and roared as he flared his power. He was only showing half of his power, enough so it could be felt from one side of the galaxy to the other. He held out for several minutes, waiting with desperation for anyone to sense him, call him or appear before him. A few painstaking moments caused the hope within him to vanish. With no response, he snuffed his power output. Ending the supernatural earthquakes and weather patterns he caused. With his options completely drained, Piccolo did the only thing he could do in a situation like this: Meditate.
Hovering a few feet into the air and positioning himself into a Full Lotus, Piccolo took in a deep breath and cleared his mind. Panicking and worrying won't help him. Flying into a rage or crying his heart out won't help him. He needed to be calm. A clear and calm mind was a focused mind, and right now, he needed to focus and plan his next moves. He took deep and steady breaths. Exhaling his fears and concerns, and intaking clean air that stifled any more negative thoughts from forming in his mind. A brief few moments later, Piccolo's mind was clear enough to focus and think clearly.
He was on a planet much similar to Earth, that much was certain. Eerily similar, as Piccolo sensed the local lifeforms all across the planets shared the same Ki signature as the humans back on Earth. There were a few thousand or so that held different unique Ki signatures. Each of them feeling like a different colour, in a sense, compared to the rest of the Ki signatures. Some vibrant and lively, others dark and twisted. All of their levels were well above the rest of the humans in the world. Piccolo would've chocked them to being the Ki of Beastmen and Dinosaurs, but they didn't match those at all. They were undoubtedly humanoid, just twisted in a unique way. Kind of like Goku's was when he was younger in the 23rd Tenka-Ichi Budoukai. Back when everyone thought he was a mutated human rather than an alien. Were these creatures he sensed here aliens? He felt something on Mars intercept his mental transmission. It was a possibility…
Regardless, seeing as this planet was closely similar to Earth, there might be a chance that there were powerful beings that could help him return home. Did they have their own Guardian of Earth? Their own set of Dragon Balls? Piccolo highly doubted the latter. Namekians were a rare species, the Dragon Clan rarer. There was no way they had a set of Dragon Balls here. A mighty blow to Piccolo's plans of returning home, but that didn't mean he was out of options. He felt this planet had a strong connection to magic. Just like Earth and Namek, this planet was resting on a magical 'super-highway'. The planet was essentially resting in a pool of magical energies. Having such a powerful font of magic flow within the planet itself meant that it was likely some of the population here would have acclimated to its presence and start to harvest it. Like the Dragon Clan Namekians and the Earthling Fortuneteller Baba.
Piccolo grimaced at the thought of the money-hungry witch and the possibility of his potential aid being just as materialistic as the Fortuneteller back home. He guess sharing a few techniques or summoning some gold should be enough payment for some help. If not, he could beseech the planet's Guardian for their help. If they were as benevolent as Kami was, at least after he met Goku, then there was a chance they could help him. If they had a connection to Other World, then that was even better. He had to gain their tru-
Piccolo's ears picked up the whines of engines. Planes. Something beelining straight towards him from the South. Piccolo remained still, willing to stay and see what the humanoids look like. Of course, that wasn't the only reason. He wasn't going to venture around this planet without some knowledge of the land and the language used on the planet. He needed to scan the mind of someone knowledgeable.
The planes neared closer and closer till they flew over Piccolo. Piccolo watched as the planes, four military jets, circled back around to the ruined peek Piccolo was meditating in. They circled above, no doubt looking down at him and reporting back to their superiors. Piccolo stared back at them, his face holding a scowl turned into a look of confusion.
Those jets were old. Not rusted or rickety old but design-wise they were old. Piccolo remembered seeing them in a museum once when he accompanied Gohan, Videl and Pan on a family trip. Hell, Piccolo recalled Kami's memories of seeing them in flight several decades years ago. Capsule Corp's recent technological innovations gave those old jet's the boot and replaced them with compactable jets with improved weaponry. How technologically backward were these people? Next thing Piccolo would know, they'll still be using wheels on their cars!
The jets, sleek and sharp rather than bulky and round like the ones Kami once knew, finally finished their circling and flew off back where they came from. Piccolo thought about following them but refrained from doing so. Recalling the Cell Games, he remembered how important figureheads of the government and knowledgeable people flocked to Cell after he declared the Cell Games. Some pleading him to reconsider the destruction of the world while others just wanted to know who their soon-to-be mass murderer was. Banking on that reaction, Piccolo hoped whoever ran the show on this planet was willing to send someone with the right smarts to show Piccolo the ins and outs of this planet.
In the meantime, Piccolo returned to meditating. Floating calmly above the crater he made. Time was dulled to the Namekian. For him, a few moments had passed when he heard the chopping sounds of several helicopters approaching. Opening his eyes, he saw hours had passed. The stars above had shifted considerably and, given the height he was at as well, he could see peeks of light threatening to glare over the horizon. A stark contrast to the pure darkness he saw ages ago. Patiently he waited for the helicopters to near. Again, this a sign that these people weren't as technologically advanced as his back home. The last time the people of Earth used helicopters was several decades ago during the Red Ribbon Army's uprising.
Finally, the helicopters arrived. Three black copters were leading a white one. The three spearheaded the formation as they flew over Piccolo, shining a spotlight on the Namekian. The white one hovered still a few paces away from Piccolo's position while the others flew around him. Their spotlights left him and moved around the environment. Piccolo was puzzled for a brief moment until he realized they were looking for a place to land. Being in the alpines, that was near impossible. There were some flat lands below the peak he was on but that was several kilometres away and traversing to him would be near impossible. Providing a solution, Piccolo thrust his arms outwards and manipulated the ground around him. With a rumble, the peak crumbled and flattened out. Piccolo pushed his arms downwards, forcing the summit to flatten down to the ground. His telekinetic manipulation widened and flattened the summit but cut the mountain's height in half. The rumbling ceased and Piccolo eased his stance. He looked back up at the helicopters, hovering unharmed, and gestured to them to land. He pointed to them and then to the flat ground. A few seconds passed before the helicopters decided to move.
Using their lights, they illuminated the ground to ensure a safe landing. Not that there were any uneven surfaces or objects to snag their landing gears. Piccolo flattened the mountain peak to a perfectly flush 180-degree surface. The black helicopters landed in between Piccolo and the white helicopter. Piccolo sensed that each black helicopter had twelve passengers, with each ranging from a power level of 125 to 140. Piccolo concluded that they were soldiers. Sensing the white helicopter, he felt one with a power level of 150 surrounded by several fifties and seventies.
The doors on the side of the helicopters opened up and the soldiers filed out. They had weapons; machine guns or some variants Piccolo didn't recognise. They did not aim them at Piccolo but they did make sure that he saw they were armed. They set up a defensive perimeter before the helicopters and eyed Piccolo off. Piccolo could see how nervous they were. Despite looking like disciplined soldiers, they were still humans subjected to emotions and fears of the unknown. At least, that's what Piccolo is led to believe. They looked like humans and had the same power levels and Ki signatures as the ones back home. Yet again, Frieza does have some human-like aliens under his empire. Were these people like them?
The doors on the white helicopter opened and out came a few men and women in black suits. One of them looked important. A middle-aged man with bolding hair and a pudgy figure but eyes that held cunning. He looked at Piccolo not with fear but with awe and a sense of giddiness. Piccolo was slightly off put by that. Compared to the understandably on-edged soldiers and other government men and women, the man's positive look was off-putting. While Piccolo might have relished a warm and easy exchange, the look behind those eyes told Piccolo that he had some ulterior motives. The man walked to him, flanked by an entourage of men and women in suits and electrical gear. Piccolo investigated him further and saw he was the one with the power level of 150. One look at him would've told anyone with Ki sense that the man's level wasn't based on his physical attributes, purely his mental ones. Someone Piccolo needed to be cautious around.
The man pushed past the line of soldiers and spoke to Piccolo in a crisp but inviting tone. "Saluti! Mi chiamo Alessio Mancini. Sono un ambasciatore del governo italiano. Siamo un paese della Terra, una repubblica democratica e una democrazia. Ti diamo il benvenuto. Ti imploriamo anche di non usare più i tuoi poteri. Hai causato dei danni strutturali alla nostra infrastruttura. Tuttavia, siamo aperti al dialogo e vorremmo sapere perché sei qui".
Piccolo didn't understand a single word he said and that was apparent on his face. His confusion sparked activity behind the important figure. During the man's introduction, the several men and women accompanying him had set up whatever electrical devices they had. They looked like several computers as they had keyboards and screens on them. The men and women hit a few keys before sounds started to play from some speakers. They repeated the speech the man said but obviously in a different language. Again, it was a language Piccolo didn't understand. Wasting enough time already, Piccolo launched himself to the important figure.
Faster than anyone would ever perceive, Piccolo flew up to the important man and pressed his palm over his forehead. By the time the group released that Piccolo had moved, Piccolo had started reading the man's mind.
His name was Alessio Mancini, a four-star ranked ambassador for the country of Italy. His rank was owed to familial positions in parliament and paying the right people. Ignoring that, Piccolo searched for broader topics. He learnt, shockingly, that this planet was also called Earth. Thankfully, that is where the similarities ended. There were over hundreds of countries with their own unique culture and history. Far richer than his own country on Earth, as most of it was lost during King Piccolo's first conquest. Those countries had their own language, which Piccolo quickly learnt through what the man knew. Italian, Chinese, Russian, Japanese, Swiss, German, French and English. Those were the language Alessio, and now Piccolo, knew fluently. Piccolo continued to pry his mind. The current year on this planet was 2003, with New Year's just a week ago. Piccolo search for a mention of a Guardian or any known magic users. Piccolo found mention of a Green Lantern Guardian, but that knowledge was second fiddle to the information about a prolific magic user here in Italy: Zatara the Magician.
Piccolo saw the Alessio's memories of Zatara in action. Using magic like weather manipulation, telekinesis and psychic attacks to defeat his enemies. This magician styled himself as a hero who defeated criminals and protected the innocent. With no incentives for payment, Piccolo had to add with a relieved smile. Already this man dressed in a silly performer clothes and a top hat outshined the Fortuneteller in Piccolo's mind. Piccolo scoured Alessio's mind for the location of Zatara and found the hero frequented talent shows around Italy, where he performed his magic to entertain people. Piccolo just hoped the magician had the ability to help him or knew people who would.
He was satisfied with the knowledge he had gathered but a small part of him, his curiosity, got the better of him and ushered him to search through Alessio's intentions for Piccolo. He found that the man was ecstatic to learn about a friendly but powerful alien appearing in Italy. Not for the possibility of Piccolo using his powers to protect the nation but to use him for the man's own goals in parliament. Alessio was giddy with excitement at the thought of using Piccolo as Italy's own Superman.
Superman? Piccolo inquired and found the knowledge that Superman was the superhero in the lands of the United States of America, across the North Atlantic Ocean. The man's feats were extraordinary. Faster than the speed of sound, superhuman strength, x-ray vision, heat vision, cold breath, nigh-invulnerability, and many, many more. From what Piccolo saw, he had the potential to be the Guardian of this planet. Instead of seeing the Man of Steel as a warrior against evil or those that wish to hurt the innocents, Alessio saw him as a bargaining chip. Due to Superman being in Metropolis, a city in America, the United States has been throwing its weight around the United Nations with silent threats about using Superman if a country didn't conform to its wishes. Alessio saw Piccolo as his Golden Goose. A way to challenge Superman and the U.S and have Italy's parliament use a superhero as a way to force others to agree to their demands.
Piccolo growled in disgust at the thought of the puggy man manipulating him. He threw his hands back from the man's forehead. Time resumed for Piccolo. Alessio's smile faded to confusion and then to fear when he saw Piccolo towering over him. The group of scientists and Alessio's assistances leapt back with yelps and the Italian soldiers cussing and drawing their weapons. They aimed them at Piccolo and yelled at him to freeze. Piccolo ignored them as his ears picked up a cry from above. "Mih dnib! Htrae eht fo sniahc!"
Piccolo felt a power rumble under his feet. He somersaulted back just as metal chains burst from the earth and try to bind him in place. He was moving too fast for them to catch him. He flipped to a safe distance away from them and looked upwards at his would-be trapper. Piccolo smirked when he saw it was none other than the man he was about to look for: Zatara.
The man, dressed just like he was in Alessio's mind, hovered above him with his arms crossed by the forearms. He looked down at Piccolo with fierce determination, ready to unleash another spell at him. Piccolo quickly put a stop to the hostilities by raising his hands up in the air and speaking out in perfect Italian, "I'm not here to fight. I apologise for the mind read. I'm not from here and I didn't understand the language… or where exactly here is".
Hearing his perfect rendition of Italian had the people present, sans Zatara, stupefied and relieved at the same time. The scientists behind the troops all were relieved they didn't have to spend hours translating Piccolo's and Alessio's words to each other. A few of them were even amazed that Piccolo could read minds and understand a language in under a second. Alessio meanwhile was rightly angered by the invasion of his privacy but remained true to his plans for Piccolo. He called out to him asking his intentions, where he is from and if he needs their help. All questions were left ignored as Piccolo solely focused on Zatara. He floated upwards and kept his distance from Zatara. The magician looked calmer after Piccolo's apology but was still on edge. A smart move Piccolo thought.
What Piccolo was doing could be considered a trick from Zatara's perspective. From what Piccolo preened from Alessio's mind, there were evil men and women here with a variety of powers at their disposal. Villains as the people here called them. All of them use their powers, not for the betterment of society or themselves, but rather to spread misery and hurt for their personal enjoyment. A notable villain was Wotan, a magic user that once used trickery magic against Zatara and was declared his rival and archnemesis.
To appear as non-threatening as he could, Piccolo kept his distance and presented himself as clearly and straightforwardly as he could. "Zatara. I mean you no harm. I just wish to talk to you privately" Piccolo beseeched, casting a sideward glance down at the yelling ambassador and his entourage below.
The magician looked at him skeptically, weighing his words carefully and mulling them over. Eventually, Zatara gave him a nod "Alright then. Follow me but keep your distance" Zatara warned before flying off.
Piccolo quickly gave chase, leaving his welcome party behind to wallow in their failure of acquiring him. Following his orders, Piccolo left a good few meters between Zatara and himself as they flew down from the alpine mountains. Grey rock and snowy caps gave way to lush green foliage. They were going at a slow pace of 200 km/h however. As much as Piccolo wanted to tell Zatara to pick up the pace, he didn't want to push a potential ally away with demands and make an already bad first impression even worse. Besides, this might actually be Zatara going at his fastest.
A few moments of silent flying later, Zatara led Piccolo to a small structure on a lone grassy hill. A windy cobbled path led to the building and its tiny courtyard. A fountain, mosey and desolate, stood in the middle of the weed-infested courtyard. The building itself was made of brick with white paint all over it. The windows were frosted and stained with an amber colour. There was a tower attached to the building behind it. It was two and a half stories tall and had wooden shutters as opposed to the stained windows the rest of the building had. The large centrepieces of the building were the cross-like symbols atop the door and towering above the tower. The crosses were peculiar, as the horizontal line on both was off-centre and positioned higher. Was it a symbol of sorts? Maybe he should've scanned Alessio's mind for any symbols tied to their culture.
Zatara floated down near the fountain with Piccolo following him. Upon landing Piccolo walked up to him, looking at the structure with a questioning look. "What is this place? Is this your home?" Piccolo asked.
Zatara didn't respond, turning his back to Piccolo and staring down into the fountain. Piccolo waited for a response or for him to do anything. When a few seconds passed by with nary a word or movement coming from the magician, Piccolo stepped forward and peered into the empty fountain. "What are you looking at-"
"Reirrab Etavitca!" Zatara yelled and slammed his cane down into the fountain.
The whole thing lit up in a blinding light. Piccolo growled and shielded his eyes. When his vision adjusted, he saw water made of pure light shoot up from the fountain. It scaled right over the building and courtyard and sprayed out to encapsulate the surrounding area. It had made a bubble of running energy. The bubble surrounding the place moved and shifted like water running down a window. Piccolo looked back to the fountain and studied it further. He sensed it was magical, that it was a literal fountain tapping into the magical energies flowing through this planet. "What on Earth are you doing?" Piccolo turned to Zatara just in time to see the magician being eaten up by his top hat.
Piccolo gasped and his mouth flew open in disbelief just as Zatara feet went inside and the top hat fell to the ground. Piccolo snatched up the hat and peered inside. No Zatara, just the interior of a regular top hat. Piccolo looked around, honing his senses to detect Zatara's. Despite being with the man for only a few moments, Piccolo could easily detect the magician's power level. He felt it suddenly appear behind him. Piccolo spun around and saw Zatara standing near the entrance of the courtyard. On the other side of the bubble- more appropriately called the barrier. "I apologise for the deception, but I need to make sure that I can trust you" Zatara said.
He fed his fingers through his right sleeve and pulled out another top hat. Piccolo quickly looked down to see the top hat in his hand was gone. Piccolo growled and glared back at Zatara, who was busy putting on his hat. "Do not worry. If you are an ally, then this will only take a few minutes" Zatara explained as he began to fish through his pockets.
"And if I'm your enemy?" Piccolo growled.
Zatara froze and levelled an inquisitive look at Piccolo. "Are you?" he asked.
Piccolo could sense the bubbling hostility in his voice and quickly adverted it. "No" Piccolo said as he eased his glare and turned away from Zatara.
The rigidness of his voice was gone as Zatara said, "Then this will only take a few moments".
The magician resumed digging in his pockets while Piccolo looked at the barrier entrapping him. He scanned it with his senses and had to stop himself from laughing out of humour and pity. He could easily break out of this if he wanted to. Hells, even Pan could break out of this without a sweat. The fact that this was supposed to be the magician's best defence against him was just adorable. Despite the fact he could break out of here with a flick of the wrist, Piccolo thought it more prudent not to do so. He was best off letting the magician think he was in control of the situation. Being more trusting and open towards the Namekian. After a brief few seconds, Zatara pulled out three objects from his pockets.
A circled amulet with an eye in the centre, a crooked crystal and a wooden necklace that held a glass container in the centre filled with vibrant sands of different colours. "Please step forward closer to the barrier. Not too close mind. The walls will give you a nasty shock" Zatara warned.
Piccolo smirked, finding the whole hostage-demand situation humorous, but obeyed nonetheless. Once he was close, Zatara held the eye amulet to his own eye and peered through it. He looked at Piccolo head to toe and hummed to himself. As he pocketed the amulet away, Piccolo asked. "Are you examining me?"
Zatara gave him a nod and held out the crooked crystal towards him. "Yes. I apologise but I must do this. You are not the first person who has come to me requesting my aid under the guise of good intentions. One time being tricked like that was enough to last me a lifetime" Zatara bitterly informed.
Piccolo felt his paranoia was justified. From what he saw in Alessio's memories, the adversary who tricked Zatara almost destroyed the city of Palermo. "Wotan. He was the one who tricked you. Put you in a bottle and used your powers to destroy parts of Palermo in order to excavate the burial place of an artifact" Piccolo said.
Zatara held from speaking as he closely examined the crooked crystal. It pulsed a bright purple light that illuminated its whole form. On and off it pulsed until whatever it was doing finished and glowed a bright orange colour that looked and felt eerily familiar…
Zatara seemed to perk up and give Piccolo a more friendly attitude. "Indeed, you are correct. He came to me under the guise of a teacher of magic. He offered to teach me, and I gullibly accepted it. However, that is all in the past now. He's locked away by a dear friend of mine" Zatara told Piccolo as he pocketed away the crystal.
The last artifact Zatara had was the necklace filled with sand. It swirled about inside its glass container like wind was blowing inside it. Zatara held it out to him and spoke. "My name is Zatara. Magician and showman. May I ask your name?"
"Piccolo"
The sand within the glass changed its colour to bright green, though Piccolo was more focused on Zatara's confused expression. "Piccolo? Spelt and pronounced like the woodwind instrument?" he bafflingly asked.
Piccolo quirked a brow. "Like a musical instrument or?"
"Never mind. Forgive me. Now, you might be wondering what I have been doing to you. Do not worry, they are harmless. The Amulet of Malza is used to reveal the true form of the person being viewed from the amulet. It effectively lets me see through disguises, masks, and anything that hides your true identity. The other one was the Alignment Crystal, and it shows your morality".
"I'm guessing if it glows a light colour it means I'm good?"
"If by 'good' you mean you pass it, then yes. Orange is a good colour. If you mean 'good' as in you're pure of heart…" Zatara looked at Piccolo with a sceptical glance.
Piccolo responded to the look with a shoulder shrug. "The rock and I can agree on that".
Piccolo glanced down at the necklace and pointed at it. "I'm not a betting man, but if I were, I'd put my top Zeni in guessing that's a lie detector of sorts" Piccolo guessed.
"And you'd hit the jackpot if you were. The Sands of Amun. I am told it was blessed by the sun god himself. 'Let no man spill foul lie or break oath atop the sands that grace my light'. That was the words he used upon the sands in here".
"So, if the sands are green, I'm telling the truth?" Piccolo asked.
Zatara nodded. "Yes. Green for truth. Red for lies. Now that we established how the necklace works and why I have you trapped inside, we can talk about why you wished for a private audience with me" Zatara said.
Piccolo stopped himself from grumbling out 'finally' and instead flat-out spoke, "I need your help. I'm not from this planet and I need your help getting back home".
The sands turned green, and Zatara looked at Piccolo with sincere sympathy. "I am sorry to hear this Mr. Piccolo. Judging from your… actions a while ago? How you made those lights and made half of Italy quake, that you have just arrived here on Earth. Is that right?" Zatara asked.
Piccolo nodded. "Yes. I was using my powers to try and contact my allies back home, but I fear the same thing that happened to me, happened to them. They aren't here on this planet, but they might be elsewhere… far from home…" Piccolo accidentally let a brief amount of sorrow show but quickly put up his stern expression.
Zatara caught the Namekian's sorrow but said nothing about it. "Do you know the method of how you came here?"
"I was brought here by magical means".
Zatara pondered curiously and asked "Which planet are you from? I recall a few planets that have magical fonts that allow long-distance teleportation…"
"Earth"
Piccolo's flat statement threw Zatara in a confusing loop. His befuddlement was exacerbated when the Sands of Amun turned green. He was telling the truth. He always was when he answered previously about not being from this planet, and that left Zatara immensely bewildered. "…Excuse me Mr Piccolo, but I'm confused" Zatara admitted.
Piccolo spoke as clearly as possible. "I was wished to this planet, which somehow has the same name and human species on it, but not the same landmass. I still don't know if this place has dinosaurs or Beast Men here" Piccolo confessed.
The befuddled look remained firm on Zatara's face as he stared dumbstruck between Piccolo and the still green sands after his mention of dinosaurs still alive. Piccolo guess from his expression that dinosaurs and Beast Men did exist here on this Earth. That explains somewhat as to why he couldn't sense or hear them. Slowly finding the current conversation track pointless, Piccolo continued. "Someone took me from my home, shot me through space and Kai knows what else, and I ended up here. I've tried everything to contact my friends and I'm now trying to find a way back home to save them! Please, I need your help to get back to Earth. My Earth" Piccolo pleaded.
Zatara, recovered from his bout of confusion, mauled over Piccolo's words and spoke. "We might be dealing with dimensional or multiverse experiences here. Oh ragazzo" Zatara cursed and rubbed his brow.
Piccolo mentally grumbled. Great, more multiverse stuff. As if the Tournament of power wasn't bad enough. Zatara's face look like he was gearing up for a major headache to explain multiverses. Thinking it was out of the magician's area of expertise, Piccolo side "Listen, I've heard and travelled to multiverses but this time I was transported unwillingly. If you can't help me, then perhaps you could point me to someone who can, or at least put in a good word for me?"
Zatara gave him weary smile. "You're right. I do not know much about the multiverses or how to travel to them, but I do know someone who might. I will take you to my mentor. He is wise and knows himself well around the magics of this universe. I just… thought it would be better to tell you that your prospects for returning home are slim. We here on Earth have thousands of scientists and even fewer magicians who are struggling with the magics and science behind the multiverse. There might not even be a chance to…" Zatara didn't continue, letting the silence fill in the dread of his continued statement.
Piccolo however blew it off with a scoff. "Thanks for your input, but I've done and experienced the impossible before" Piccolo reassured.
Zatara smiled at the Namekian's bravado and self-assured tone. "Alright then. I will take you to him. First things first, let's get you out of here. Rei-"
"No need".
Piccolo flicked one finger upwards, and the barrier was sliced in half. Overloaded by the sudden power, the barrier was forced to dissipate in a shower of bright sparks. Zatara stepped back in shock and watched the sparks and embers of magic flow around him. "H-How long… Y-you could of-"
"I could've broken out of here in the beginning" Piccolo smirked as he walked past Zatara. "Just thought I should stick around and see what you had to say when you thought you had me cornered" Piccolo admitted.
Zatara snapped out of his shell-shocked state and turned to Piccolo with wide eyes. "H-how… Do you even know how powerful that barrier was?!" Zatara fitfully asked.
Piccolo quirked a brow and looked back confusingly at the disappearing barrier. "It was pretty weak when I sensed it" Piccolo said.
"Yes! As it should be! It's meant to be perceived as weak so demons and foul spirits can be fooled by it. As soon as they attack the barrier, it saps them of their strength and uses it to strengthen the barrier's defenses. To utterly destroy it is impossible! It's never been done before!" Zatara spoke with utter disbelief in his voice.
Piccolo stared sheepishly at where the barrier once stood. "Oh. Sorry about that. Is it possible that it'll come back?"
Zatara signed. "With some repairs, maybe, but a lot of time to do so. Even more research as well. It was made during the first iterations of the Vatican and the Church. Used to trap reality-wrapping demons, some that can bring down mountains and slaughter armies of men, to hold them in the house of God and purify them. It will take days going through old tomes to figure out how to repair it" Zatara mournfully said.
Piccolo looked away awkwardly and murmured an apology again. Zatara in turn gave him a sign and asked, "just… just how powerful are you Mr. Piccolo?" Zatara fearfully asked.
Piccolo watched the remaining sparks dissolve into nothing before responding. "Too powerful for this world".
|SALEM
|January 8th, 23:47 EDT
|2010
It was the dead of night in one of Salem's largest but least frequented parks when the figures of Zatara and Piccolo materialized in a flash of bright light on the street boarding the park. Piccolo blinked away the stinging sensation after a blinding trip. Zatara had spent the better part of half an hour chanting a teleportation spell. Not even a warning before they were engulfed in pure white and taken halfway across the globe. Piccolo was tempted to use Instant Transmission when he thought Zatara's teleportation spell was taking too long. However, Piccolo couldn't use the technique because he didn't have a Ki signature to lock onto and the fact he'd never teleported anyone with him when he used it.
Piccolo found Instant Transmission to be an unruly beast of a technique. A powerful tool but one with high requirements and one needing exceptional skill. Piccolo mastered hoping place-to-place on a continent, but teleporting on a planetary or even galactic scale? Piccolo might accidentally fuse with a wall if he wasn't careful. He remembered how he lost an arm when he teleported a few meters into far on the Lookout.
This wouldn't be an issue at all if Goku had actually taught them the technique. The thick-headed idiot seemed to always forget to teach him that. Granted, most of the times Piccolo interacted with Goku they were busy training on more combative techniques and styles, or they were facing off against an enemy. It didn't help that he was dead for several years when it was the perfect time to train. Even when he came back he still hadn't the time to teach him the technique. Fortunately, Goku did offer a few bits and pieces of the technique when he tried to explain it. It was enough for Piccolo to start experimenting with. Essentially, Goku provided the broad strokes, enough so Piccolo could fill in the gaps with his own techniques and testing. Kai, the damned painful testing…
"Are you alright? Most people are not comfortable with first-time teleportation-"
"I'm fine. It's not my first time" Piccolo replied.
Zatara gave him a once-over before walking off into the park. Piccolo followed behind. There was a brief moment of silence before Piccolo broke it. "By the way Zatara…" Piccolo took a second before continuing, "Thank you for helping me. I don't have any zeni on me- Hell, I've never had any to begin with, but I'll try and make it-"
"Do not worry Mr Piccolo. This is what we heroes do. We help those who need help and save those who need saving. Be they need rescuing from a villain or simply need a guide home" Zatara said with a smile.
Piccolo gave him a small grin and a nod, then he went straight back to his resting scowl. Both walked in silence till they came across a wide field of freshly cut grass. Zatara brought his hand up to stop Piccolo. With the same hand, he flicked his wrist and a key shot out from his cuffs. He then stuck it out in front of him. Piccolo's keen ears heard the faint sound of a tap then a click when Zatara turned the key. Suddenly, a door shimmered into existence in front of Zatara. Piccolo was mildly surprised but that was soon turned into pure shock when a whole tower appeared! Piccolo craned his neck up and saw the brick and motor tower reach high up into the sky. What was more shocking, and partly disturbing, was that the tower had a Ki signature.
It was… unique. Greatly so. The very brick was full of latent magical infused Ki. Pure and orderly. Piccolo mindlessly walked up to its face and placed a hand on the tower's surface. He felt the warmth of the stone, like it had been baking in the sun. The powerful energies coursing through it and how it reacted to Piccolo. It was like the tower could sense Piccolo and even scan his Ki. Such powerful magic…
"Are you… a magic user Mr Piccolo?" Zatara asked.
Piccolo grunted and removed his hand from the tower's walls. "Used to be… but I still use some spells… it's complicated" Piccolo signed.
Zatara hummed. "The Tower of Fate recognizes you and you recognize it. No ordinary individual can do that" he informed.
"Can you do that? See it's energy?"
"Not at first, no. It took a bit of training, but I managed to sense the Tower. Come. My master is inside" Zatara opened the door and invited Piccolo in.
Piccolo walked in after Zatara and as soon as he did the door behind him closed and vanished. Piccolo snapped his head back to where the door once was when he couldn't sense the outside world. He widened his range but felt only what the Tower was allowing him to sense. His Ki senses felt like water trapped in a container. He could only sense the Tower's power and the powerful magical artifacts inside. Piccolo rightly concluded that he was in another dimension. He had to tread lightly, even if Zatara said his master had good intentions.
Piccolo turned back around and followed Zatara. The interior of the Tower looked posh and expensive. Oak wood panelling and polished stone on the walls with torches and fancy chandeliers hanging above. Walking out from a hallway they came upon a waiting room of sorts. With luxurious red and wooden couches and chairs and a cozy hearth in the centre. No smoke rose from the steady flames. When Piccolo took one step into the room, he felt the walls flare in power and cast something just before the hearth.
Feeling the familiar energy of the Tri-Form, the Tower projected the image of an old man. Dressed in a clean suit and neatly trimmed grey hair, its voice was stern and commanding. "Greetings Giovanni Zatara, student magician of Kent Nelson".
Zatara gave a showman's bow. The image turned to Piccolo. "Greetings unknown magician. The Tower of Fate sees you and your great potential. It welcomes you so long as you respect it and its keeper" the image ordered.
Piccolo gave it nod. Zatara spoke, "I apologise for visiting with a guest and at such a late hour but this man, Piccolo, requests urgent aid. Could you please inform Mr. Nelson" Zatara asked.
The image did not respond right away. It held its stiff posture for several moments before responding. "Mr. Nelson will see you in his office. Please take the elevator" the image gestured to the back wall that opened up.
Inside was the small interior of an elevator. It was a tight squeeze with Piccolo's broad body and large shoulder pads, but Zatara and he managed to pack themselves in. A few awkward moments later, the doors opened, and the duo walked out into an elegant and elaborate office. It looked more like a showroom with a variety of objects in different conditions, sizes and shapes inside glass cabinets or hanging on the ceiling. Piccolo felt the magical energies radiating off of them. He felt a bit uneasy when he felt some of them were alive and in agony. He heard the groans of a chair sliding back to his right. Turning around he saw the same image of the Tower's old man behind a large elaborately designed desk. Piccolo could sense this old man was real. "Good to see you Zatara" the man greeted the magician.
Zatara tipped his top hat to him. "Mr. Nelson. I'm sorry about the late call-"
"Nonsense. Glad to see you again" the old man waved him off.
Nelson made his way to Piccolo, not once showing any fear or intimidation over Piccolo's less-than-hospitable presence and imposing build. "And you must be Piccolo. Welcome to the Tower of Fate. I'm Kent Nelson" Kent greeted with an open hand.
Piccolo reciprocated the greeting with a firm shake. "Impressive tower" Piccolo commented.
Nelson withdrew his hand and smiled about the room. "Isn't it? Though I doubt it's a drop in the bucket compared to what you've seen".
"Excuse me?"
Nelson shrugged his shoulders. "You've lived for over nine centuries. Can't say you haven't seen some more impressive stuff than this place" Nelson chewed.
"How the hell do you know that?!" Piccolo yelled defensively.
Zatara started to panic while Nelson calmly rose a hand in a surrendering gesture. "Forgive me Mr. Piccolo. The Tower sensed your magical potential and found your age through that. Think of your magical potential like a wine. You've been brewing in magical energies for quite a long time. Basically the Tower put a unit on parts of your magical potential and calculated the amount you had on it and- You know what? I'm droning on. Forgive me. I didn't know your age was private. I apologise" Nelson explained.
Piccolo calmed down and crossed his arms. "It's… It's not private. I just… didn't know how old I was. Didn't know you can calculate it like that."
"Well, a happy accident, but I don't think you came here to see what your birthday was" Nelson gestured to a seat in front of his desk. "Tell me what you need help with. You should stay too Zatara. It'll be a good lesson for you" Nelson said as he walked back behind his desk.
Piccolo and Zatara followed his advice and took a seat before his desk. "Now, tell me what you're here for," Nelson asked.
"I'm here because I need your help and Zatara said you're the best person to go to. I'm from an Earth different to this one. Zatara said that it has to do with something involving multiverses" Piccolo reiterated.
Nelson hummed in thought. "A tricky subject multiverse. It's incredibly dangerous to venture into without great power and preparation. How did you traverse it?"
"I didn't. Not of my own volition. I was wished here by the Dragon Balls".
"Dragon Balls?" Zatara confusingly asked.
The Z Warriors would call him foolish to start divulging the secrets of the Dragon Balls to complete strangers, but what choice did Piccolo have? They were willing to help him go home and it wouldn't do much good holding back key information that could help them help him. Plus what good would the Balls do for them when he was around? He and the other Z Warrior could easily hold back a Ball from them if they chose to go after them. Regardless, the two magicians did seem to type to use the Balls for their own greed, and ambitions or to harm others. Piccolo cleared his throat with a grunt. "The Dragon Balls are wish-granting orbs created by the Guardian of the Earth. If you collect all seven of them, You summon the Eternal Dragon named Shenron and he'll grant you three wishes. Someone- don't know who managed to collect them and wish me and my allies away. I ended up here" Piccolo explained.
Piccolo noticed both Zatara and Nelson digesting the information with confused and thoughtful expressions. Zatara asked, "These Dragon Balls and Shenron, is there a price to using them?"
"Other than the journey around the globe to collect them? No".
"What about any side effects?"
"No, unless the one asking the wish wishes for something stupid or harmful to themselves" Piccolo explained.
"What's the extent of Shenron's abilities?" Nelson ask.
Piccolo took a few seconds to come up with an answer. "Honestly, I can only give you a handful of restrictions. Shenron can't kill anyone more powerful than its creator. He can't grant the same precise wish twice. Can't force a person to fall in love with the wisher or make them powerful. Other than that, the sky and then some are the limits. My allies and I wished back planets back from destruction and even revived mine and the human race from extinction after two separate genocidal attacks".
After Piccolo's explanation, both Zatara and Nelson were left flabbergasted and truly baffled. Half by his words and the other by how brazen and dull Piccolo described the events. Piccolo picked up on that and scanned the surface thoughts of Zatara's mind, wondering what's got them in a loop. Piccolo heard Zatara's thoughts wondering why his species and his human race dying never invoked a more guttural reaction. Zatara even briefly thought that Piccolo was heartless, but quickly retracted that with the flimsy assumption that Piccolo was putting up an uncaring and brass exterior to hide his true sorrowful emotions about the events. Piccolo internally groaned that the statement. He wasn't sad or mournful over the events, he was furious. All his strength and abilities, years of constant practice, all came undone by Frieza and Buu. One by pure genetic strength and the other by underhanded trickery. Piccolo was mad because he let both genocides happen. However, the topic to discuss this was neither here nor there as Nelson revived the topic of the Dragon Balls. "A group of wish-granting objects like that with little to no consequence? I would say that's too good to believe if you weren't being wholly honest with me right now Piccolo".
"We have a few wish-granting objects here in this reality but none as powerful or user-friendly as the Dragon Balls" Zatara informed "Do you know if this power can be traced?" he asked.
"No. I would've tracked it by now. Once the wishes are made, the energy that Shenron and the Balls generate are gone until they're revived for next year" Piccolo bitterly remarked.
"So, you just need to wait a year till someone gathers the Dragon Balls again?" Zatara hopefully asked.
Piccolo scoffed. "If I'm lucky. Everyone who knows about the Dragon Balls had the same treatment as I did" Piccolo lent forward, "I'm not going to wait who knows how long till someone comes across and figures out how to use the Dragon Balls. I need to go back" Piccolo pressed.
"We'll try our best to help, but right now we're drawing blanks" Nelson sternly responded. "So we can't detect Shenron or the energy he produced. Can you sense where your home is?"
"If I could, I wouldn't be here" Piccolo groused.
"Was there anything you saw when you were sent here? Any notable landmarks or energies you sensed?" Zatara asked.
Nelson beamed with pride at his student as Piccolo thought about his journey. "I saw galaxies. Constellations and stars that were so colourful and alien that I couldn't even dream of imagining. After that, I saw a wall. It stretched across space and had a dull golden hue. I went through it and came out the other side. That side was shining pure gold with giant men, robots and aliens making the bulk of the wall. All of them staring out…at space…" Piccolo's voice tapered off when he saw Nelson staring at Piccolo with a paled look.
"Mr. Nelson?" Zatara picked up on it too and concernedly asked his master.
Nelson lent back stiffly and drew in a tired breath. "There… there are several old accounts- very old, about a golden wall the sizes of several Earths spanning from space to space built out of the colossal bodies of creatures humanoid and not. They call it the Source Wall" Nelson calmly spoke.
"Now the Source wall is what the Lords of Order and Chaos refer to as the Edge of the Universe. It was built by creatures much older than humanity, Earth and even predates the Guardians of the Universe. The reason for its construction varies from protecting an energy source to preventing the answer to life and the universe itself from being known. No one in this or other realities knows what is beyond it. Those who do… well they become the Wall. No one who ventures through it ever lives to tell the tale. Technically that's not true anymore…" Nelson explained.
The news shocked Zatara and frustrated Piccolo. The Namekian grumbled and scoffed. "Well, it's quite obvious I did come beyond the Wall and I didn't become a part of it. If you can point me in the right direction, or better yet, take me to the Wall, then I'll be on my way"
"I wouldn't recommend that" Nelson flatly spoke.
"Why? What's stopping me from going back through it?"
"When you were traversing through it, you didn't become one with it because you were under the influence of a magical wish-granting dragon. A dragon who has the power to revive, I'm guessing, billions of lives and can spawn celestial bodies. I'm guessing here that the dragon was preventing the effects of the Source Wall from taking hold of you. If you go through it now, without the dragon's protection, you'll definitely become one with the Wall" Nelson potently explained.
Piccolo slumped back into his chair. His clawed hand pinching the bridge of his nose. 'Fantastic. So, the bastard who wished me here sent me through an unpassable wall' Piccolo rested his hand back down to his lap. "So you can't help me?"
"I didn't say that" suddenly the walls around them slid to the side and showed a massive, interconnected maze of bookshelves. Above them, below them, bookshelves angled to the side or upside down connected to one another like they were glued together. A whole void made just out of bookcases and shelves. Piccolo gasp at the sight and how far the series of bookshelves went on deep into an endless void of brown oak. Even with his heightened visual senses, Piccolo could not see the end of the void. Nelson stepped up from his desk and gestured to the void of bookshelves. "This is the Library of Fate. Here every account, event, information, description and thought ever sensed by the Lords of Order is recorded here. While your solution might be within billions of books and scrolls recorded here, the likelihood of finding it is slim but not none. What is certain is the time to find it. The Library is vast and stretches from eons of collected works. It will take a while to sort through it Mr. Piccolo. I'm not talking days or weeks. Months and years. It will be a long time" Nelson explained.
Piccolo sat in silence. He stared into the realm of books and knowledge with a heavy brow. Trails of thousands of books flew in the air from one collection to bookcases to the other. Some were written in a language he could not understand while others didn't contain words at all. He saw a sphere made of bookcases pass through a wall of one like an object going into water. He watched as several more of these occurred elsewhere in the void. Piccolo mentally groaned. He wanted to look for the answers himself but a part of him knew it would be futile. It would take longer just to understand the library's contents than it was to search it. Piccolo looked to Nelson and settled on letting someone with experience handle it. The question now: was he willing to wait that long for a miracle?
Goku, Gohan and the other fighters can handle themselves. The others were no slouches either and Piccolo trained Pan to handle anything and ran if she couldn't. She was much like her father that one. Piccolo knew she'll live long enough for Piccolo or the others to rescue her. Piccolo took in a deep breath and asked Nelson "Are you truly going to help me?"
Nelson responded with a smile. "I will Mr. Piccolo. That is what decent people do".
With no foreseeable alternative, Piccolo made his choice. "I'll wait then".
Piccolo stood up from his seat. "Thank you for your help. Both of you" Piccolo said and turned around to walk out of the Tower.
As far as he was aware, they were done here. "Wait! What are you going to do now? Where will you go?" Zatara hastily asked.
"None of your concern" Piccolo grumbled.
He took two steps before stopping and retracting his statement. "If it makes you feel any better, I'm going to explore around. Don't worry, I'll keep a low profile and stay out of your way" Piccolo said.
He made to walk away but stopped when he heard Nelson laugh. Piccolo snapped a glare at him. It only made Nelson smile. "If they're one thing you need to know about this place during your stay, is that people like you and us find it very difficult to stay out of the way".
"Meaning?"
Nelson's mirthful smile intensified. "Oh no, don't worry. I'll let you figure that one out yourself. Take care Mr. Piccolo. I'll send an owl to retrieve you if I found anything" Nelson bid Piccolo farewell.
Piccolo narrowed his eyes, trying to find out if Nelson's mirthful jap was a threat or not. Piccolo ended up chalking it up as an inside joke at his expense and stomped out of the office and towards the elevator. As he walked through the elevator doors, his ears picked up Zatara's worried voice. "Mr. Nelson, are you sure you are ok with letting him go? I showed you my memories- what he did to the ward!"
"I'm well aware Zatara. I'd advise you not to worry about it or pursue the issue any further. The Tower has seen our guest and the potential inside of him. The power he holds did not come without severe discipline and restraint. He won't go destroying whole cities by accidentally flicking his wrist" Nelson said.
As Piccolo stepped into the elevator and the doors started to close, he heard Nelson give one last comforting statement to Zatara. "Do not worry about his morality Giovanni. He is more capable of great good than evil. Trust me, trust in faith and fate to hold that true".
This chapter is written to be the origin story of Piccolo in the DC Universe. A lot of exposition but a good introduction for Piccolo and the universe. One of the first few 'flashback' chapters. The next chapter and then most of the next ones will move to the present timeline; the events in the first season of Young Justice. In between them, I'll pepper in a few flashback chapters detailing Piccolo's early adventures like witnessing the Justice League form, his dealings with them, his exploration of Earth and Mars, and other events that shape this world. This is because most people, myself included, would rather like to see Piccolo and The Team together more than Piccolo's solo adventures.
If you so wish, support me on Pat r eon to receive chapters early and to see sneak peeks of developing chapters. This chapter was on my Pat r eon for the past week and snippets of it weeks beforehand. I upload this and other content at least once a week. I'm also making 3D animation projects as well, so if you want to see some, head over to my YouTube channel to check them out. Same name as this account.
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Thank you all for reading and look forward to the next chapter of Learning the Ropes: The Proposal