Chapter 3 - My SI Stash #3 - Going Native by IdeasGuy (DBZ & Justice League) (2/2)
Vegeta looked up sharply, and even though I could only see the back of his head, I didn't need to see his face to know that he wore a shocked expression. That was made clear enough when King Vegeta's narrowed dangerously.
”Control your emotions,” he ordered with easy authority. He strode past his elder son, coming to a stop directly in front of me. His gaze roamed me for a moment, silently judging much like Vegeta had. His expression might as well be made of granite for all the emotion it showed, or ice for just how coldly he analyzed me before his gaze snapped to mine. He silently stared a hole through my skull, and silently came to a conclusion. ”To answer your question; he is a spare. You're mother thought it prudent given the...favor that Frieza has shown you.”
”Should I try to lose it?” Vegeta asked and his father didn't so much as blink.
”No. You are my son, you will never have to swallow your pride in the face of that creature,” King Vegeta said, a sneer in his voice even if his face didn't so much as twitch. However, his gaze darted down at his son, who didn't dare to look up at him, and I would swear his frozen expression warmed ever so slightly. ”You will be King Vegeta one day, perhaps the greatest of us all. Accept and conquer any challenge Frieza gives you. Let the trash in the Frieza Force know why they should fear you.”
Vegeta looked reassured by his words and it was obvious why.
Saiyans didn't have families. Our culture developed in a way that did away with the idea of family bonds with the use of incubation tanks and our warrior ways. But love didn't care about what you should feel. As stunted as it was, that's what passed between Vegeta and his father.
When King Vegeta turned to me, his gaze hardened, making it clear that he hadn't made room in his heart for me yet. ”That being said, I believe I may have to i_m_p_r_e_g_n_a_t_e your mother again for a proper spare.” If he ever would. ”He's strong enough to avoid an infiltration mission, but I will not allow a low-class saiyan of my blood.”
My blood ran cold in my veins as I stared into King Vegeta's eyes and it became all too clear what he meant by that.
Murder. If I wasn't up to snuff, he would...well, he'd snuff me out.
All of a sudden, the tank didn't seem so bad.
”Nappa,” King Vegeta barked suddenly, making the massive man stand a bit straighter inattention. Now that I wasn't memorized by my father and actually gave him a look. He was built like a bodybuilder, making his already impressive height that much more intimidating. A jaw so squared it could be used to measure perfect angels, a thin mustache, black eyes, and shortish black hair, though the sides of his head were bare.
”My king?”
”Make sure that Vegeta makes up for the time he wasted.” King Vegeta ordered, earning shallow bows from both Nappa and his son.
”Of course, my king.”
”I'll more than make up for it,” Vegeta swore, getting a curt nod of approval. Taking that as a dismissal, both of them turned on a heel before marching away. As they approached the door, waited for Vegeta to look back at me, or something, but the bulkhead door slid behind them with a hiss without so much as a glance in my direction.
”Thyme,” King Vegeta spoke again, bringing my attention to the other man that walked in with King Vegeta. An elderly man that wasn't treated kindly by time. His hair was gone at the top, what clung to the sides was a stark gray. Deep wrinkles ran across his forehead, tugging at the corners of his eyes and around his mouth. He might have been tall a long time ago, but now he stood with a slight hunch.
”What can I do for you, my king?” Thyme asked, his voice strong despite his appearance. It belonged to someone decades younger than what he appeared.
”How fares his education?” He asked, and I struggled to keep my expression blank. I didn't manage it, but the mask covering most of it helped a lot.
Education? What education? I just float around in this tank for...I don't even want to know how long.
”Extremely well! He's already gone through the basic lessons, and he's well into the advanced.” Again, what lessons was he talking about? I couldn't recall getting a single lesson from anyone since I got here. ”His brain his very developed, it just soaks up information like a sponge.”
What? What did that mean? A sense of unease filled me, my lips pressing into a thin line. It only took a moment to puzzle out what he meant, once I realized what other options there were. Either he was lying, or they were doing something to my brain. Considering I knew a whole bunch about saiyan culture, the truffle war, and important figures during it, it was clear which one it was.
They were downloading information into my brain.
”Hm. Expand the scope of his education, then. He still has some time before he's done incubating.” King Vegeta ordered, getting a shallow bow that he couldn't see before Thyme walked over to a computer and started typing away.
”Any particular field in general?”
”The Reach. Frieza is provoking them into a war,” King Vegeta answered, as he just stared at me. I stared right back, afraid to so much as blink.
”If I might ask my king, why are we going to war with the Reach? As far as I knew, things between
the Trade Organization and the Reach were great.” The old man commented, sounding nonplussed that we were going to war with the closest thing the Trade Organization had to an ally.
The Trade Organization, lead under King Cold and now Frieza, enjoyed a very profitable relationship with the Reach, a large empire that stretched over nearly 5% of the galaxy. Part of that was because of its own expansion methods, but it wouldn't be wrong to say that the main reason was its habit of buying premium planets from the Trade Organization.
It was hard to imagine that either side would want to end the relationship. Especially when it made the Reach extremely powerful and the Trade Organization extremely rich.
”Frieza took over,” King Vegeta replied with a scoff. ”I can't claim to understand what is going through that little monsters head, but apparently he was offended by something or another and caused a diplomatic incident. Regardless, relations have soured between them and I was...ordered...to prepare for war.”
The old man nodded his head, a slight smile of all things playing at his lips. ”So it won't be a minor skirmish. Good. I always wanted to fight in an intergalactic war at least once before these old bones give out on me.” Thyme noted with some humor. ”With any luck, Frieza will lift our population cap for it. It'll be a long war.”
”Anticipated wars always are and it's a possibility I've brought up with him. He said he would consider it,” King Vegeta agreed easily, a grimace passing over his expression for a split second. ”The Reach is a vast empire, and with other meddling flies buzzing around, he will need every soldier he can get. And saiyans are worth at least ten of every other pathetic species in his army.”
”Ah. The lanterns, then?” Lanterns…? I didn't remember anything about them either.
”I expect so. They want to check Frieza's power while it's still early in his reign, especially when they made that mistake with King Cold. The Reach's as well, though I suppose it's more likely they'll wait until we tire ourselves out against each other. Cowards.” It was amazing how much hate could be put into a single word. He muttered it like a curse.
”True, true. The Thanagarians have been looking to expand, and doubtlessly Darkseid will use the chance to stir up some trouble. And I've heard rumors about a race of warriors in the Vega system that sound like they would be fun to destroy-”
”Hmph. It's unlikely to expand into a galaxy-spanning war, Thyme.” King Vegeta shot down, earning a scowl from the older man. As if he sensed it, King Vegeta smiles ever so slightly. Well, sort of. It was more of a smirk that could have grown into a smile if it wasn't prem_a_t_u_r_ely killed by his usual smoldering expression.
”I know, but a man can dream. Annnd, there, his next batch of lessons will be starting shortly.” Thyme said with some flourish, getting a grunt from King Vegeta.
”Good. We've wasted enough time here.” King Vegeta announced, turning around and walking away without a second look, much like his son did minutes earlier. ”The war may be years off, but it's going to be a long one and we must prepare.”
”Very well, my king.” Thyme agreed, pressing a final button and the filtration systems hummed with life in response. I looked around sharply, trying to figure out what was going on, only for exhaustion to hit me over the head like a brick. Without any warning, my eyelids seemed impossibly heavy, my thoughts becoming fuzzy as if my head was full of cotton.
I struggled against sleep for no real reason other than spite long enough for Thyme to notice as he followed my father out of the room. Out of everyone, he was the only one to glance over his shoulder at me as he exited the room.
A crooked grin found its way onto his face - it would have looked creepy if it weren't for the look in his eyes. Amus_e_m_e_nt danced in them, like he was looking at a particularly stupid animal that managed to be cute instead of irritating. I glowered back in response, only making his smile grow a fraction.
”He's going to be a warrior, that boy.” Thyme observed, falling in step with my father as they exited the room. The heavy bulkhead doors slid up with little sound.
”If he survives,” King Vegeta dismissed, stepping through them.
”Ah, well, if you're worried about then-” Whatever Thyme had to say was lost to me when the doors slid shut behind them.
I lost the battle against sleep not long after, knowing deep down in my gut that I wasn't going to like it when I woke up.
This is a light fusion of universes. The only thing taken from the DB universe is the saiyan race and the things that directly influenced them. So, that means Frieza and the FriezaForce are a thing, but for the most part, things remain unchanged in the DC universe because Frieza isn't peerless when it comes to strength. That's it though. No kamis, kais, Beerus, Zeno, or namekians, thus no dragonballs.
I know that's going to turn some people off of the story, but a full blend of universes always feel like too much to me when I read them, That, and I'm not confident I could make the blend work without stretching peoples SOD to the point of breaking.