Bringer of Death

Heroes Saga, Part 1: Legacy and Ambition

Heroes Saga, Part 1: Legacy and Ambition

Interstellar space

Space was lonely, but at least it was warm in the engine room of the Bringer of Death. The slipstream engines hummed just loud enough to drown out the ball that thumped against the wall every few seconds. With luck, no one would find him until it was too late to turn around. Trunks had developed a knack for slipping around unnoticed.

The boy knew he'd be in trouble once he finally emerged from his hiding place, but he didn't really care. It might not be the best way to get his father's attention, but it was better than staying at home on Earth. Besides, what other kids got the chance to ride starships into the dangerous unknown? He'd get to see new stars up close, meet freaky aliens, maybe even watch a space battle unfold. It was any eight-year-old's dream come true.

He closed his eyes and threw the rubber ball against the metal bulkhead hard. A split second later, it thudded back into his hand. The boy opened his eyes and stared at the small sphere, willing it to respond to his gaze, but nothing happened. Nothing ever happened.

He wasn't like the others. Gohan, Krillin, his father...they could all lift objects with their mind, fly, and do all kinds of marvelous things. Even ugly old Muten Roshi could fire bolts of plasma just by lifting a hand. It had been a long time before his mother finally explained why he was different: how a powerful wizard had stolen his powers and left him without any of the abilities that came so easily to everyone else. She always smiled sadly when she told how Vegeta had reacted. Knowing the truth didn't really make it any easier, but he was glad to know how fiercely his father had defended him.

Worse than his present helplessness were the memories that still floated to the surface from time to time, vague flashes of a different life. He could remember how it felt to fly, remember his father's proud smile. Now, the only looks Vegeta gave him were brief, awkward glances. When he was younger, his father would show him the stars and tell him endless stories of the Saiyan race, of battles and explosions and the mysteries of the universe. But they never really talked any more.

It wasn't that Trunks was weak. Even at just six years old, he had already been fast enough to outrun a motorcycle and was stronger than a grown man. Now he was even stronger than that. But though he trained endlessly at more than a dozen times the gravity of Earth, his father never took the slightest notice.

Why couldn't his father understand? He was trying as hard as he could...wasn't it enough? He was still his father's son even without his ki, wasn't he? Trunks ground his teeth and squeezed the ball until it split into fragments between his fingers.

Sneaking onto his father's spaceship had been the only thing he could think of to get his father to notice him. The boy adored Vegeta...the prince was, after all, the strongest fighter in the galaxy! He didn't care how much trouble he was in, as long as he got to spend time with his dad. Whatever it took, he would show his father that he could be a great son.

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Vegeta floated in midair, surrounded by seven of the training drones his father-in-law had built. The spheres maintained an intricate dance as they deflected his own energy blasts back and forth between them. Dr. Briefs had found a way to shield them from the artificial gravity, allowing them to almost keep up with Vegeta's base form when the room's gravity was elevated to its maximum setting.

His eyes darted back and forth as he zipped around the room, nimbly avoiding the glowing spheres. Ordinarily, he could dodge the blasts easily by ki-sensing alone, but not today. Oniya's years of research with Broly had resulted in several new compounds which could suppress or enhance different parts of a Saiyan's ki, and he had intentionally taken the one which removed his ability to sense energy signatures so he would be forced to train his eyesight alone. It was with an eye towards his experience with the androids, but mainly Majcnavn, that he determined himself to prepare for this kind of challenge.