Lunch was nice and quiet.
Chi-Chi had cooked enough food to feed a small army, and Goku was happily proving that theory correct. Gohan sat across from him, eating politely, occasionally glancing at his father with the practiced patience of a kid who had grown up around Saiyans. I sat nearby, halfway through a bowl of rice, enjoying something I hadn't had in a long time.
Normalcy.
No screaming.
No exploding.
No Tyrants, or Assholes.
Just a nice family meal.
And then...
My chopsticks froze.
The air changed.
I felt it first.
A pressure, distant but growing fast, like a storm forming far out at sea and racing toward shore. It wasn't subtle. It wasn't hidden. Whoever it was didn't care if they were sensed.
Goku stopped chewing.
Gohan looked up sharply.
Chi-Chi blinked. "What is it?"
Goku swallowed. "Uh… that's Vegeta, and he got alot stronger."
The table was empty a second later.
....
We took to the sky without hesitation.
Goku led, calm but alert. Gohan stayed close, eyes narrowed with focus. I followed slightly behind, scanning the horizon. Piccolo's ki flared ahead of us, he'd felt it too. Krillin, Yamcha, Tien, and Chiaotzu joined from different directions, converging instinctively like veterans who'd done this crap, way too many times to count.
Vegeta's presence burned brighter with every second.
The Asshole was showing off [base Vegeta = 6,000,480].
"He's not even trying to hide it," Yamcha muttered as we flew.
"He wants us to know," Piccolo replied.
We reached the landing site quickly.
A scorched patch of land, cracked and smoking.
A ship stood there, sleek, alien, unmistakably Saiyan.
The hatch hissed open.
Vegeta stepped out.
With his armor.
A smirk, with something else in it.
A cold, but focused rage.
"I've come back for some payback," he said flatly, eyes scanning us, as he looked goku. "Just You....Me....and my Victory."
Goku floated down in front of him, hands relaxed.
"Hey, Vegeta," he said like they'd just run into each other at the market. "You look better."
Vegeta's eye twitched.
Before he could answer...
Another presence appeared.
....
A sharp crack echoed through the air.
A figure dropped from the sky, landing between us and Vegeta in a controlled crouch. Dust billowed outward in a neat circle, settling quickly.
He stood.
A teenager.
Purple hair, cut straight. Blue jacket. Sword strapped across his back.
He looked around slowly.
Confused.
His eyes moved from Piccolo… to Goku… to Gohan… then finally locked onto Vegeta.
"…Where's Frieza?" he asked.
The silence was immediate.
Vegeta's aura flared violently.
"What did you say?" he growled.
The teen blinked. "Frieza. He should be here, as he is dangers."
That was a BIG mistake.
Vegeta exploded.
Golden light erupted around him as his hair flashed upward, turning brilliant yellow. The ground beneath him shattered as his Super Saiyan aura roared to life.
"I am done answering questions!" Vegeta shouted, launching forward. "DIE!"
He fired a massive energy blast point-blank.
The teen didn't dodge.
He slapped it aside.
The blast curved away, detonating harmlessly in the distance.
Everyone froze.
"…What?" Yamcha whispered.
The teen stared at his hand, then back at Vegeta.
"…That's not supposed to happen, what's going on...?"
And then.
His power surged.
Golden light enveloped him.
His hair stood on end, turning the same impossible yellow.
A Super Saiyan.
Right in front of us.
Goku's eyes widened.
Vegeta staggered back a step.
"No," Vegeta hissed. "That's impossible."
The teen frowned. "Why is goku here, why do you have Super Saiyan, your where is Freiza..?…"
As Vegeta roared and flew at him.
And then they clashed.
...
Their collision sent a shockwave tearing through the battlefield, throwing us backward despite our distance. Mountains cracked. The sky darkened.
They moved faster than sight.
Blurs of gold smashed into each other, fists colliding with thunderous force. Vegeta fought with raw fury, every strike loaded with pride and hatred.
The teen fought differently.
Cleaner. Sharper. More precise. Like he's trying to not hurt Vegeta, as i knew why.
He blocked instead of overpowering. Redirected instead of redirting blasts when he could.
And slowly...
He began to push Vegeta back.
Vegeta screamed in rage, firing blast after blast, but the teen cut through them, weaving effortlessly, closing distance.
"You think you're a REAL Super Saiyan?" Vegeta roared. "I AM THE ONLY TRUE SUPER SAIYAN!"
He began charging energy, power climbing rapidly.
'Shit, he's using Final Flash'
The teen started to mirrored him.
Both raised their hands.
Both unleashed everything.
Their blasts collided midair.
The explosion was blinding.
We were thrown back, slamming into the ground.
One blast easily overpowered the other.
And.
BOOOOOOOM.
....
The teen stood in the air, alone.
Vegeta did not.
He lay crumpled in a smoking crater, armor cracked, breathing shallow.
The teen landed beside him, knelt, and gently lifted him.
"…This wasn't supposed to happen, none of this was supposed to happen, what's going on..?.." he muttered.
He carried Vegeta toward us.
And soon Stopped.
Looked at us, and really looked at goku.
As he asked.
"…Do you have a senzu bean?"
Ben's power level: 210,800