With my training nearing its completion, my year with King Kai was approaching its end, and the Saiyans Vegeta and Nappa were soon to arrive on Earth.
Dropping the gargantuan weights on my wrists and ankles, King Kai approaches me, "I'm having a hard time recognizing you Adder, you've grown so much."
"It's thanks to you King Kai," I responded as I began to remove my dirty clothing.
Stopping me before I remove my shirt, King Kai says, "Don't bother with that, here."
Pointing his antenna toward me, a small beam of yellow energy shoots toward me, cleaning both my body and my clothes.
Smelling my shirt, I comment, "Doesn't smell like sweat, thanks King Kai."
"The Saiyans will arrive in two days," King Kai said.
Suddenly a bolt of concern hits King Kai, "Oh no, I forgot to take into account the trip back!"
Waving my hand toward King Kai, I respond, "Don't worry about it, I'll make it back in less than ten hours!"
"Adder, I'm glad you're confident in your abilities, but snake way is a tremendous length, ten hours is a lot for even me!" King Kai retorts.
Hovering up off the ground, I say, "Then I better get a move on."
Waving my hand at King Kai, I smile as I say, "Thanks again, see you soon!"
Moving forward, I vanish, barreling down snake way. My power has grown tremendously over the duration of my stay, with my speed being many times greater than before.
I'm excited to see them, I thought to myself eagerly.
Within nine hours, I quickly land at the check-in station, all present looking on in shock at the person they see standing before them.
Turning to look at me, Yemma asks, "Are you… Are you Adder?"
Throwing a thumbs up at Yemma, I respond, "Yup, I need to get to Earth asap."
Seemingly instantly, Kami appears in other world, standing in front of Yemma, he says, "I sensed a great power here, my assumption was correct it was you."
Approaching one another I greet Kami, "Hey Kami, been a while."
"That it has," Kami says, before placing his hand on my shoulder.
Waving Yemma off, I say, "Peace out Yemma."
Suddenly, I appear on the lookout, stepping out into the sun I take a deep breath.
"It feels good to be home, I missed the warmth," I spoke my thoughts aloud.
Kami interjects, "Make sure to be cautious of the Saiyans."
"Certainly…" I respond, rocketing toward Gero's lab.
Arriving in minutes, I knock on the door, saying into the intercom, "Hey Gero… I'm home."
The door opens, revealing an android of peculiar design, looking oddly human.
"Thank you kindly," I say, walking inside.
Several dozen androids of similar design work, some are building, others are cleaning, but all are working.
"Hello? Gero?" I shout through the lab.
Walking through the lab, I feel a power in the sublevel, dropping down the opening I spot Raditz.
Hearing me drop to the floor, Raditz spins around, "You!"
Noticing a strange device on his neck, I ask, "Where'd you get the bling Raditz?"
Gero appears from the bathroom, spotting me he is surprised, "So, you've finally returned?"
"Yup, and what a wonderful time it was," I responded.
Walking to his work area, Raditz is obediently quiet, noticing this I ask, "So what's up with Raditz?"
Chuckling, Gero explains, "He wasn't too keen on listening to me, at first he tried to break out, but the androids were more than enough to stop that."
Walking toward Raditz he points to his collar, "Despite that, each time he was beaten by the androids I observed that power you explained to me."
"At the rate he was going, eventually he was bound to get out," pulling a remote out of his pocket, Raditz is visibly irritated at its presence, "It both siphons ki from him for use in power as well as allows me to reign him in with a strong electrical impulse."
You'd think he's Paragus with a thought process like that, I thought to myself with a chuckle.
"While I'd argue he's definitely evil, he'd be a greater ally than a guard dog," I argue.
Looking toward Raditz, Gero comments, "I believe he is approaching the same power level you had upon your departure some time ago, he'd likely give you a run for your money."
Grinning at this, Raditz speaks, "Once I escape this device I'll slaughter everyone on this worthless planet."
Gero waves the remote in Raditz's face, saying, "Don't delude yourself, as long as you're acting like that you're not even gonna slaughter us."
"Raditz, how about I give you a chance at that," I announce.
Looking my way, Gero says, "Adder, the danger he poses is tremendous, I can't have you two fighting."
"Your androids… What would you put their power level at now," I ask.
Quickly, Gero responds, "Exactly eight thousand each."
"And what about Raditz's power level," I ask further.
Looking at Raditz, he looks back to me, "Four thousand."
Clapping my hands together, I loudly declare, "Perfect!"
"Gero, let's head over to the training room," I say, walking toward it.
Anxious yet curious, Gero brings Raditz to the training room along with several android guards.
Soon we arrive, at a highly durable room made by the genius of Dr.Gero, able to withstand considerably powerful blasts.
"Take his collar off," I demand.
Gero is shocked to hear this, asking, "What?"
"Don't worry about it, just take his collar off," I persisted.
Concerned, Gero asks, "Have you lost your mind?"
"If you really think I can't move across this room fast enough to stop him from killing you, then you have less trust in me than I thought," I chided Gero.
Sweating, Gero presses a button on the side of his collar, but Raditz remains transfixed on me, rubbing his neck, he asks, "You couldn't have gotten that much stronger since we met, where is this confidence coming from?"
Gero quickly backs away, sealing the training room shut, speaking on the intercom shortly after, "I'll be watching, if it starts to look bad I'll send in some androids."
Looking at Raditz, I catch his glare, his fists balled in anger and brow furrowed in rage.
"I've been a prisoner… Me, Raditz, a Saiyan," Raditz says through gritted teeth.
Unleashing his power Raditz roars at me, "I haven't forgotten the man who did that to me!"
Raditz rushes toward me like a bulldozer, arms outstretched and veins popping, until he gets within my range.
Suddenly, Raditz drops to the floor, with only his fingers barely twitching.
Over the intercom, Gero yells, "What happened?"
Raditz slowly rises to his feet, struggling to stand, before looking up at me in shock.
"I couldn't see it…" Raditz says, coughing profusely, "Your fist, it never moved, but I felt it."
Looking at Raditz, I retort, "You did a good job, I hit you square in the jaw, you're definitely more durable than before."
"Don't lecture me on fighting!" Raditz yells as he secures his footing, taking a swing at me.
Grabbing his fist I squeeze it, "Raditz, you can't detect power levels right?"
Pulling against me with all his power, Raditz can't budge an inch, "Shut up!" He yells.
"Raditz… Calm down," I say sincerely.
Letting go of his hand he dips backward, looking at me in anger, "What is happening, I was getting so close to your power, but now you're so much further away!" Raditz yells in anger, slamming his fist into the floor.
"Do you hate me?" I ask.
Looking up at me, his eyes tell me all I need to know, Raditz yells at me, "I'll kill you!"
Rushing forward Raditz builds energy in his fist, lunging at me with a punch, connecting with my chest.
Unharmed, I ask, "Let me help you."
Mouth agape, Raditz asks, "How is this even possible, a full power strike… You didn't even have to guard!"
Pulling his arm back, a well of energy manifests itself as a sphere of ki, "Then tell me how you like this!"
Throwing his arm forward a tight wave of energy rushes toward me, pulling my arm back, I throw my fist toward the beam, destroying the attack.
Dropping to his knees through heavy breaths, Raditz groans to himself in anger, muttering, "My attack…"
Approaching Raditz, I offer my hand, "You can become stronger, after all, you're part of one of the fiercest races."
Swatting my hand away, Raditz angrily responds, "Just put the damn collar back on me."
Walking toward the door, it opens, turning around before exiting, I say, "The offer will continue to stand, I'd like to have an ally like you, your progress is… Unexpected."
Leaving, I walk to the upper level, sitting in front of the TV.
After a short time, Gero appears, anxious as can be, "I was able to register your power level while you were fighting…"
Grinning, this should be good, I thought to myself.
"Oh yeah, what did it register at?" I ask as I flip through channels.
"Fifty thousand," Gero says bluntly.
Fifty fucking thousand? I'm almost as strong as Goku was during the Ginyu Saga, I thought to myself.
"I'll be honest, that shocks even me," I said aloud.
Leaning back on the loveseat, I kick my legs up on the coffee table, "I'll be heading out in the next day or two, some more Saiyans are coming."
"I hope you won't be gone as long as you were last time, having you around beefs our security up tremendously," Gero commented.
"In the future, my presence will be… Spotty, but as of now, you can rely on me," I responded.
Relaxing on the loveseat, Gero leaves me to my devices, drifting off to sleep, I prepare for what is to come.
Waking up, I sense several strong power levels, far off toward East City.
Escaping my daze, I quickly realize what has happened, "It's already started," I mutter, before jetting out of Gero's lab, racing toward the fight.
Of course, I overslept, everything was going so perfectly, if I was weaker the energy would've disturbed my sleep, damn it, I thought to myself.
I arrive in minutes, and a disaster is in front of me, Goku is on his last leg against Vegeta and is furiously attacking him.
"Goku!" I yell in anger as I rush to his aid.
Collapsed on his back, Goku reaches toward me before Vegeta fires a blast into his chest, killing him.
Landing on the ground I am shell-shocked at the sight, the Z-fighters are dead.
My pride, that is what killed them, I tampered with the timeline too much, I thought to myself.
Vegeta floats up into the air, only minorly damaged, taunting me, "So, who might you be?"
Powering up to my limit, Vegeta's scouter rapidly beeps, gradually Vegeta's face turns from shock to concern, "What the?" Vegeta manages to squeak out in shock.
"Transform… Right now!" I yell at Vegeta.
Not hesitating, Vegeta forms a power ball, lobbing it into the air, taunting me further, "You've missed your chance to kill me!"
Vegeta's body shakes as he becomes a Great Ape, his armor stretching, and power swelling.
As Vegeta transforms, I feel my rage build, until Vegeta laughs at his transformation's completion, saying, "In this form, my power level is around 180,000, you won't last a second!"
I'll never be able to atone for this mistake, but I can at least destroy this bastard right here, right now, I thought to myself.
Crossing my arms, the energy around me shifts, a heat permeates the air, and my aura grows a deep-red, "Kaioken times five!" I yell, my veins popping and my aura exploding.
A look of fear smears across his face as I race toward Vegeta, charging my True Cannon, I frustratedly yell, "Die you bastard!" throwing my hand forward, and a dense beam of energy rips through the air toward him.
Smashing into his chest, my beam fires straight through him, shooting upward into the sky it rockets into space, where it explodes in a brilliant light show
A hole is left where his heart used to be, dropping to the ground I feel the energy of kaioken leave my body, and the pain comes like a vicious tide.
I watch as the behemoth of a creature crashes down, gradually shrinking until he returns to his normal form.
This pain is crazy, I only really mastered times two while with King Kai, he warned me not to jump the gun, I thought to myself.
Collapsing onto my back, I stare up into the sky, clouds obstructing the sun from assaulting my eyes.
Eventually, a ship comes into view, landing next to me, Chi Chi, Master Roshi, and Korin step into sight. I watch as Chi Chi storms past me, running off beyond my sight.
Korin steps next to me alongside Master Roshi, Korin reaches forward, offering me a Senzu bean, averting my mouth, I say, "I don't deserve it."
"Eat the damn senzu Adder," Korin demands.
Forcing myself upward, my limp arms are unusable, barely able to move them an inch.
Likely recoil from using my technique on top of such an intense technique, I thought to myself.
"I don't need it," I say through winces and groans.
Interjecting, Master Roshi asks, "What happened?"
Averting my eyes, I quietly say, "Nothing."
Pain shoots through my legs as I mindlessly walk toward Gero's lab.
How pathetic of me, to not be able to protect those… I thought to myself, stopping my thought before it can continue.
Suddenly, Chi Chi can be heard crying, abandoning trying to aid me, they quickly run to her side.
Gritting my teeth, I mutter to myself angrily, "What arrogance…"
***
Knocking on the door to the lab, I am met with Gero when it opens, concern on his face.
"It's been two days, what happened to you?" Gero asked.
Before I can respond, I drop to the ground and lose consciousness.
Suddenly, I am in a white room, lying in a bed with an IV hooked up to my arm.
Seemingly alerted to this, Gero soon after enters the room, saying, "You finally woke up, it's been a week since you got here, I did my best to fix you up."
Gero quickly orders an android to bring food, before he asks, "Anything in particular you want, I will say to avoid anything tough to digest."
Looking at Gero, I slowly raise up in bed, asking, "Bananas and toast…"
While eating, Gero says, "I don't know what happened to you, but it's like a bomb went off inside of your body."
Not bothering to explain in detail, I take a bite of toast, saying, "I had to push myself to my limits."
"Something pushed you to your limit!" Gero said with shock.
After eating, I get out of bed, much to Gero's displeasure, "You're going to hurt yourself, a normal human would have to wait months just to move!"
"I've dealt with worse, a weeks worth of rest gets the necessary stuff healed," I retorted.
I'm going to make this right, but I can't do it alone, I thought.
Getting dressed, I ask Gero, "Where is Raditz?"