However, all of this was secondary. The surroundings, his appearance, or his voice were all pushed to the background by his power. The only thing that filled my senses now was only its might. It was downright frightening and that wasn't even counting the telepathic energy I saw it use to hover around with.
"W-what do you preserve?" I couldn't help but ask, even though I had an inkling of what it would say, but I just hoped that I was wrong.
"I preserve species that are threatened with extinction."
Oh god, fuck me. Just my luck. I have only been in space for half a day, and I was picked up by this Universe's equivalent of Marvel's Collector.
It continued, unaware and probably uncaring of my inner dilemma, "Even after all my years of seeing different planets and species I have never seen your kind before, capable of transforming into a giant ape. If it weren't for your energy blasts and the size as an ape, I would have taken you for a variant of the cursed homo sapiens."
"Sorry, to disappoint you but I am a Saiyan, and we are certainly not extinct. Far from it actually. We also belong to the Cold Force for a while now."
I just hoped that the name of King Cold would deter it from putting me into one of his glass tubes that I see in the background. Besides, the Saiyans weren't his target group since we should still exist in abundance.
It narrowed its eyes as it sought out any deceit in my demeanor.
"A Saiyan? Cold Force? Never heard of them, which can only speak for your rarity. Either way, I will take you in for now and preserve you. I will confirm your words, and should they ring true, I will release you."
Fuck… Well, better than permanent imprisonment. I will just have to wait for him to release me after he sees my race wrecking planets across the galaxy.
"I have taken some data for the entire time of your dwelling on the primitive planet Arva, so I should be able to sustain you for a period. Just to be sure is there anything you Saiyans need to survive?"
Eh…?
That- maybe I can use this!
"Actually, yeah there is! Several conditions for a long life."
I paused thinking about anything that I could use to guarantee that I would get stronger during my temporary stay here.
"Go on then." It finally asked after getting impatient waiting for me. I just need to sell it right.
"You see I chose this planet because of its environment. However, its gravity is a lot lower than planet Vegeta's, my home planet. For Saiyan's to stay healthy we need to push our bodies to their limit, otherwise, we fall sick and die quickly afterward.
If I don't push my body to the limit, my immune system is weaker and sickness can easily befall me, and I will wilt away. Most of the time we Saiyans die of a heart attack if we are too inactive for a longer time.
So, to sustain a healthy lifestyle, this is usually done by a periodic increase in gravity. That is why we are often seen moving to different planets and fight their inhabitants too."
Now even if he found other Saiyans conquering different planets, he will just believe we are doing it due to survival reasons. If he learned of Frieza, I could just say that we are benefitting from our natural instincts, which was technically correct. The best kind of correct!
"I see. So that was why you had been fighting the wildlife on Arva."
"Yes, yes exactly! I also need to eat a lot of food and sleep as well. Changes in the temperature are also a good way to preserve my health!"
I wasn't really lying since the stronger I was the healthier I was. He could only blame himself if he granted me perfect training conditions, which made me consequentially strong enough to just break out of my imprisonment whenever I want. I just needed time.
"Hmm… I see. I had wondered why you have changed biomes that often while seeking constant conflict. It seems like your body is of the adaptable sort. A few other species prefer environments with rapid changes to extreme temperature or different levels of pressure, be it in the air or underwater.
Now that I think about it, most species that needed constant changes in the environment would die out rather quickly if they didn't get the needed stimulation. Most of the time they died out of boredom.", now he is looking into the distance. Was he having a flashback memory?
"Most of them had died under my care since they were usually too dumb to convey what they needed or wanted.
I didn't know better back then and had lost several species I wanted to preserve. *Sigh* What a shame. Good for you that over the years I have bought several tools to simulate any environmental condition." He finally finished on a high note as he looked at me expectedly.
"I-I guess. The adaptability rate isn't instantaneously, however, and I need rest as well." I hope he doesn't just chuck me into an oven, but then again, he seems to have learned from his previous mistakes, right?
I didn't just revise my own torture chamber, right? Right??
"You don't have to worry about that. I will have a response system in place that will automatically regulate the needed stimulation to keep you active and healthy. If there are other things, you can just speak to it, and it will try its best to fulfill your new conditions."
"T-thanks?"
The preserver then ordered some robots to guide me to my new home. Didn't really expect that. He seems like a nice and responsible guy. Well except for the fact that he had kidnapped me for life.
…
...
That asshole duped me like a chump.
He had obviously seen through my lies the very moment they left my mouth. He just agreed to my claims, so I wouldn't resist my imprisonment and I have to say he got me good…
Maybe I am a bit hard on him since he had fulfilled the conditions I had laid out. It was just that he didn't want me to die. How could he remain unmoving if he thought a unique specimen seemingly wanted to kill himself?
How dare he care about my life!!
In the end, he gave me the increased gravity, the change in temperature and climate, he gave me robots to fight with. The only problem with all this was the fact that he wouldn't let me go beyond my physical limits and would only increase the intensity of the conditions once a blue moon.
The moment the AI evaluated a too extreme change in data that represented my health, it would release a nerve gas to completely paralyze me and incapacitate me from harming myself further.
Additionally, even after I built up a resistance for the gas, the AI would soon come back with a new toxin.
I had already pleaded for the AI to increase the intensity of the conditions, but it had refused on the ground that I showed no signs of getting sick.
I remember how worried I was to have designed my own torture chamber. Now I wished it was a torture chamber otherwise my growth wouldn't be this meager. Unfortunately, the preserver wasn't a researcher and had no interest in finding my limits if it meant an increase in the risk of my demise.
So, until now the Preserver had commanded the AI to lock my growth to the rate, I had on planet Arva. After the first few months, I had hoped it would increase the conditions according to my current level of fitness, so a percentual increase in strength.
If it was that way it would mean, it would try to help me multiply my strength by 16! I would be out of this prison in 4, 5 years tops! I would have a power level of 100 million in my base!
Unfortunately, the AI wasn't that kind, and it actually meant an increase of only 1.500 power levels per year!
I had spent over a year in this prison, only for my power level to increase a measly 3 thousand and that was with abusing a Zenkai in the first month. With that kind of increase, it seemed like I would spend the rest of my life in this shithole.
When would I be able to contend against the Preserver? Even if I spent over 10 years in this enclosure, I felt that I had no chance against it. With more than 10 years my power level would only pass 16.500 if I didn't find new ways to severely injure myself.
I was already stronger than Nappa would be in another decade and by the time the two Saiyans arrived on earth, I would probably be even stronger than Vegeta after his Zenkai boost from his fight against Goku, but I was still frustrated with my progress.
If I had been able to follow through with my plan, I could have already been in the high hundred thousand at the very least! Maybe I would have been a Super Saiyan by now!
I couldn't help but sigh at that thought, a common occurrence of the last year.
Any other intelligent beings in this prison were scattered across the ship, so I was unable to contact them in person, but it wasn't like I hadn't contacted them at all… Okay, it was more like they had contacted me, same thing.
In the last few months, someone had hit me up and we shared information with each other, so we had made a lot of progress for our escape.
I stretched my neck and tried to scratch the itch that hadn't left me since the preserver put the damper around my neck. It would activate as soon as I used my telekinesis or a ki blast, both of which I had used to injure myself with. I would be instantly put to sleep by it, so I would be 'safe'.
Another reason for the collar's inhibition was probably because of my ability to fire ki blast. The Preserver was most likely worried about the destructive power of it or maybe he knew that I could use my ki to trigger my transformation.
I could break the collar in an instant but the AI or the preserver would be instantly alerted, and this room had all sorts of devices installed that I couldn't contend with, so I didn't hamper with it for now.
I just needed a single opportunity, and I would bolt. My current aim was to head to Earth, which I already stole the coordinates for.
The thought that at least earth seemed to be a thing had calmed me over the last year, but I still wasn't sure if I truly was in the Dragon Ball Universe. In all the months I had spent here and the few things I heard from the guests never indicated of a galactic emperor named Frieza or Cold or even Cooler.
I put that thought away and focused on the glass cabinet that was meant to deliver something for me. Just a moment later, I pulled the improved scouter out of the glass cabinet.
Since my power level would soon surpass the scouter's former limit of 22.000 when I was able to train like I want to, I had requested the AI to improve it, so it could withstand a higher power level.
In the beginning, I thought it was weird that the scouter itself had the possible explosion influence the design of it, but now I knew why.
When it exploded it would do so by pushing the fragments out, in order to protect the user of any damage the explosion could bring.
After I had asked the AI to improve the scouter to handle higher power levels, it told me that it wouldn't be able to prevent the explosion. It was caused by the electric or magnetic flux generating too much current for the conduits to handle or something.
Either way, the new scouter would be able to handle a higher power level up to 400 thousand. I pressed on it, and it gave me the results after a few seconds.
5.300
Huh. Higher than I thought… Maybe because of my growth spurt? I didn't know how much I had grown, but I knew I would stop growing in a few months when I turn 18. I estimated that I would grow to be about as tall or maybe a bit taller than I was as a human, so roughly 1.80m.
A substantial part was my upright hair, but I knew that I would have another growth spurt in a few years when I turn 25 if both of my memories served me right.
I walked around my enclosure and find a familiar scorching landscape. It had been like this for the past few months, and if any human would have been here, they would have already combusted already, but to me, it was only annoyingly warm like a too hot summer.
Maybe if I suppressed my power level it would have been a good environment to train in, but unfortunately, I couldn't allow myself to suppress my power.
I had done it once and the AI had taken that as an indicator that the condition it had set was too extreme. So, the stronger I grew due to being able to train in a suppressed state, it would dial down the intensity of the environment.
Since it was observing me in real-time, it would have decreased the conditions to zero before I could actively benefit from them. It also didn't dial it back to the previous settings, so I would have to wait until I had 'earned' the old settings.
It was really a bitch of an AI. I wasn't able to fool it yet and I had already run out of ideas.
The only thing I was actively improving in was my ki control since I could meditate to my heart's content. My mind was probably the strongest by now.
Just as I was about to start my meditation session the lights went out. An indication that the Preserver was expecting a visit from an intelligent species, and he wanted to put on airs.
The Preserver was unnecessarily dramatical like that, even if his invited visitors were usually only poachers. They would be given a job to hunt especially dangerous creatures or creatures that were just too far away for the Preserver to make a personal move.
I saw the light of the transporter that would pull in the poacher's spaceship, but it was too far away for me to see their appearance. Besides, between me and the platform, the visitors landed on was an entire forest with different creatures dwelling inside of it that obscured my view. Thankfully if I wanted to, I could somewhat hear their conversation. My hearing range was pretty awesome.
Although I had little interest in them haggling an appropriate price, it was the only source of intel I could get from the outside. I closed my eyes and strained my ears to hear their conversation, but albeit it seemed like the preserver had easily convinced the poacher this time.
Usually, the quick ones were amateurs that were blinded by the wealth and didn't think much in general or were confident in their abilities.
Some poachers were elites and already had multiple dealings with the Preserver, but those were few and far in between. They knew each other's prices and conditions, so there was obviously no need for haggling.
Combined with the enormous lifeforce I sensed from the guest, I was almost convinced that it was just a professional poacher, though this time it appeared to be a different case.
After they were done with their deal, I heard the Preserver talk about catching two dodo's with one cage and how greedy that last Czarnian was.
Since that poacher seems to be the last of their kind, the preserver will obviously want to 'preserve' them.
Maybe I could use them as bait when I make my escape. Even though I don't really need them since I had already optimized my escape plan for a few months already, it wouldn't hurt to add another layer of protection in form of live bait.
Since this Czarnian seems incredibly strong, he should be able to fight a round or two with the Preserver. I wasn't entirely sure if he could since their strength was so high above mine that it made a detailed assessment incredibly hard.
If someone put early DBZ Full Power Frieza and Super Perfect Cell in front of me and asked who was stronger, I wouldn't be able to answer it without using any foreknowledge.
For all I knew, their strength far exceeded mine, if they were even remotely in the same strength range respectively was something they had to decide between themselves. I had no room to talk.
I put that thought away and prepared myself as usual. Just like the many times before when external forces would frequently visit this place, I put on my armor and wore my amulet.
I would need the increased strength it would give me and although I had only tested it underwater, it might give me the ability to breathe in outer space as well.
Additionally, with the increased health regeneration it granted me, it will be my greatest failsafe if I get stranded in an undesirable place after my escape.
The holopen was secured in an inner pocket of my armor. It had all the information I got from my little helper these past months including the coordinates of earth, though I have already memorized them just in case.
There is only one thing I can do now. I sat down to meditate and said out loud, "TUS-364".
…
The transporter lit up just the next day. It seemed like the hired Czarnian was a professional or at least was very well equipped. Usually, it would take a few weeks for the poacher to bring in the specimen.
Since the Preserver needs to make a move before the Czarnian boarded his spaceship again, I can use the distraction caused by his struggle and leave.
They talked a bit about the payment while the new specimen was probably put in their enclosure by the robots. It seems like the captured creature was intelligent as well, at least they talked about him that way.
The unconscious creature was incredibly powerful as well. His lifeforce was quite…radiant to say the least. It was like its lifeforce embodied the sun, but that wasn't important right now. Since he had been captured, I assume that he might be weaker than the Czarnian. Either way, they would serve as a great distraction.
Hmm? They walked further away from the transporter platform and towards a cluster of enclosures. There were even some open enclosures if I remembered correctly. It was near another forest a good distance away from my enclosure.
That Czarnian leisurely headed towards the Preserver and the one he had captured. Was he really that stupid? Tsk. He should have tried to leave the moment he got his money.
Didn't he realize that the Preserver might be out to get him?? Hellooo, he 'preserved' rare creatures, which included you, you dumbass!
Oh, the other guy was awake. Seems like the Preserver gave the new guy an introduction.
"…last Kryptonian-"
Wait, what? Did I hear that right?
"Therefore, your place is here."
"I think not."
*Thud*
Was-was he just able to punch the glass? Wait, hey why isn't his glass protected by a forcefield??
"Like Krypton's Red Sun, this light cancels the unnatural abilities given to you by the Yellow Sun of earth. I always strive for complete accuracy."
"Swell."
No, no no no. That can't be Superman, right? Fuck me, it was him, wasn't it?
Great, now the Czarnian and Superman are bantering with each other. Aaand, I already see the glass tube being moved by the robots. Now it's being filled with gas, and he was captured. Wow.
Someone that beat Superman was this easily taken out…
Okay, stay focused. This didn't change much. I just had to give them an opportunity, they would probably be able to fight their way out or maybe even defeat the Preserver.
Considering that we were talking about Superman here, it was more probable that he would defeat him. Still, I didn't want to take any chances, so I would stick to the plan.
I sat down cross-legged at my usual spot and pretended to meditate for a second before I said out loud, "TUS-364".
The moment I finished the AI's camera turned off and a loop would be played of me meditating. I could have it only loop for a couple of minutes at a time before the AI would notice something.
"Any changes or can we start now?" The AI's voice rang out in my enclosure.
"Soon, there are two more captives that will be helpful. Can you find out in which enclosure they are?"
I asked my cyborg friend known as Minion, who had hijacked the AI's function to have some leverage in a few sections.
"Yes, but I won't be able to do much for them. Their security is especially tight, at least from a software standpoint since their enclosure doesn't seem as restrictive as your own. Maybe he has grown arrogant after you have shown no signs of escaping like a docile pet for the last year."
I ignored the little jab that I had already grown used to by the resentful teenager, "I heard them talk about the light of a Red Sun. You think you can turn it off?"
"Without tipping off the Preserver and possibly risk your security being scrutinized by the main AI? No, but I can work with the Kryptonian instead."
I could only roll my eyes, "What about opening their enclosure?".
"Again, it would alert the Preserver-"
"Who cares about that?! Do you think he will have time to focus on the 'Why' when his prisoners are escaping? The main AI will be coordinating the robots and as long as I reach its mainframe and insert the virus, it will be effectively paralyzed. We will give the Czarnian a few hours to wake up and the moments he does, we will go full out, so inform the others."
"Alright, I will prepare everything. Who made him the boss…?"
I ignored his mumbling before I closed my eyes and started meditating for real now.
…
"We are starting now!" The AI that was obviously taken over by Minion suddenly spoke out. I wasn't startled since I had been waiting for this.
I opened my eyes and saw a light show in the distance, where Superman and the Czarnian had been kept imprisoned. I ignored them as I saw the lights of the forcefield flicker before vanishing completely.
I didn't hesitate as I crushed the collar and immediately thrust my arm out, releasing a nameless ki blast at the same time. It crashed into the glass wall before I had it explode. I raised my arm and shielded my eyes with my forearm from the debris coming my way.
I lowered my arm and saw the destruction I unintentionally caused. I realized that I had to readjust my power output. It had been too long since the last time I had released a ki blast.
I easily stepped out of my enclosure with the glass wall now being nonexistent and dashed along the route that I and Minion had concocted over the last few months.
As per plan I encountered no 'security probes' as the Preserver lovingly called his robots. I blew up a door opening the path to the mainframe of the AI controlling the ship.
I inserted the modified holopen and waited for a few seconds before the lights went out and with it the robots that were the only threat besides the Preserver.
"Step 1 complete," I said to no one in particular. I rushed out of the room and headed for another section that was surrounded by nature.
A singular door with nothing surrounding it and with no technology around for Minion to have direct access to. I didn't know how he was able to hack into the ship's AI without it knowing it while having no access to any technology, apart from the dampener that surrounded his cage and his shackles.
So, how he was infiltrating the AI was a question beyond me, but I could only blame Anime logic- or rather Comic logic, I guess… Damn, I felt like crying now. I spent over a year on Arva and inside my prison planning my future only for it to be all for naught. *Sigh*
I put that thought into the back of my mind and quickly found his enclosure. I blew up the machine that I knew would have his cage surrounded and sent another ki blast to blow up a hole into the cage.
Minion stepped out of it and almost towered over me. The only way to describe him was a muscular, hulking, silver behemoth on two legs. Any bodybuilder would envy his physique and it was definitely intimidating.
I ripped the collar and his shackles off his skin or rather his suit. He had told me that his suit was an Omegadrome or something. From his description, it was honestly an impressive piece of tech.
The Preserver was lucky to have found him when he didn't know how to use it, though he still only had a rudimentary knowledge about it since he couldn't do much with the dampener surrounding his enclosure and the shackles that obviously did something as well.
I shook the hulking body's hand before we separated ways. We already had said everything that needed to be said. We had our plan to execute and after that, he had his own mission of vengeance, and I had no intention of following him into the depth of space.
I followed the route we had devised and freed the few intelligent beings that were held captured on this ship while Minion was surely doing the same.
I didn't worry about Superman he was probably strong enough to contend against anyone on this ship and the Czarnian will surely be on his side, I on the other hand made my way to the hanger.
I saw a few others step into their ship after they gave me a nod of acknowledgment and I did the same.
The hangar was opened, and several ships raced outside. Everyone was prepared for the escape, and no one would take any chances by hanging around for too long. The moment we were outside, every ship started scattering into the depth of space in every direction possible.
The Preserver's ship would take a while before it was operational again, so we didn't have to fear for his pursuit and since we took off in different directions there was no chance for him to capture all of us.
As I shot away inside my attack ball, I sensed the lifeforce of Superman, the Czarnian, and the Preserver together. No doubt, they were engaging with each other.
It kind of irked me that I fled with my tail between my legs, but it was the same as asking me to help Goku fight Frieza in the final 5 minutes on planet Namek.
In the best-case scenario, I would do no damage. Worst case, I drag down the good guys as well and we all die in that ship or worse be imprisoned for life.
It was the smart thing to do, but it didn't make me any happier to have fled instead of fight. Even though I was eager to have some action after all the months of inaction, but this just wasn't in my playing field.
Like everyone else I acted as a distraction in case the Preserver didn't want to let us go. He would need to reboot his navigation system and by then we will be several light-years away. I couldn't contemplate my choices any longer as I drifted off to sleep,
I was thankful that everything still worked, and the Preserver hadn't messed with the spaceships' system, otherwise, I would have to participate in plan b and that wasn't a smart plan, though it would have warmed my Saiyan heart.
…
As I entered the solar system, I was alerted by my attack ball that I would arrive soon. It didn't take long until the earth came into view. The attack ball slowed down considerably, but it would still be a violent landing.
The blue planet quickly came into view, and I immediately recognized the continents as the same as in my past life. I was mostly happy that I would return 'home', but I also felt gloomy since it wasn't the earth of the Z-Fighters.
I didn't really want to think about it, but I really was in the DC Universe, wasn't I? Both were death worlds, but at least I knew the Dragon Ball Universe like the back of my hand.
From DC I knew not even half as much if we considered all the existing comics. Not to mention that the DC Universe was honestly frightening and a fucked-up place.
If I had to choose, I would want to be reincarnated into the Dragon Ball Universe and not here. I could only hope that it is an amalgam between both universes.
------------------------------
A/N: Boy, I can already imagine the complaints and questions in the comments, so let me get some of them out of the way.
Would he have been stronger if the AI helped him with its full capacity? Well, duh! However, the Preserver isn't a dummy. You don't just fulfill all the wishes of your prisoners even if they say that it would be detrimental to their health.
He only wants to preserve his caught species. He has no intention of strengthening them and increase the possibility of escape. If he kept humans, he would have given them something to read to keep their minds active, but he wouldn't give them books on how to escape prisons or how to build weapons MacGyver style.
Would the Mc be stronger if he hadn't been caught by the Preserver?
No. Despite what the mc himself believes about reaching Super Saiyan if he hadn't been caught, he would have been weaker if anything.
What else?
Is Lobo stronger than Superman? Perhaps? I haven't researched Lobo enough yet. I think he had killed the entire DCU or something. I personally had only watched a few episodes where he made an appearance, so I can't say much in that regard.
There are probably some who will also complain that the Preserver is presented to be a lot stronger than he was in the cartoon. He had traded some blows with Superman and Lobo in STAS and since I already have Superman's power range in mind, I will have to highball any opponents he faces seemingly seriously.
Hope that answered any questions you might have had during reading.