I had been in a number of tense conversations in my life. More than once, a single word could be the difference between life and death. I wouldn't go as far as to call myself a gifted conversationalist, but I did understand how to read a room. It was a necessary skill for me to develop. Not that it had really mattered in the end.
However, I think this was the first time I was ever in an intensely awkward conversation. The awkwardness being born from the fact that only Koriand'r spoke for the most part. Whenever she fell silent, there was only tension in the group. Everyone felt like they were walking on eggshells, and it couldn't possibly be more clear that I was the cause of that tension.
"If you're going to be weird about this, then leave," I told the Titans, and they had the audacity to looked surprised at the blunt dismissal. As if it had come completely by surprise. Though, Koriand'r seemed genuinely puzzled. I'm not sure if she couldn't read the room, or if she just didn't care to. "You are the ones that approached me. You don't have the right to make things awkward when you've voluntarily chosen to be my guides on Earth."
Tact was one of the many skills that I never quite managed to master. Why waste time by talking around an issue? Especially one as blatant as the tension that was there? They saw it, I saw it -- I was just doing something about it. After all, the awkwardness would vanish if they left. Or I did.
"No, that's…" Robin began, sounding frustrated as he met my gaze, only to flounder when he couldn't argue my valid point. "We aren't leaving because you feel awkward."
"I don't. All of you do," I refuted, meeting his dull look. "It's painfully obvious and it's irritating. Koriand'r shouldn't be forced to carry a conversation on your behalf." I added, earning a sigh from Raven, while Koriand'r appeared uncertain. Kid Flash shared a look with Beast Boy, both seemed like they were considering taking the out I had offered them. Robin, however, proved to be as stubborn as they came. I might be impressed, but the trait, in this context, was far more annoying than impressive.
"Everything doesn't have to be a fight," Raven remarked lightly, the distinct lack of irritation in her voice betraying how irritated she was. "Just order your food," she requested, bringing my attention back to a menu that sat in front of me. There were a variety of choices, all of which were once again in English. Humanity didn't even have a unified language.
"How much do you even need to eat?" Beast Boy questioned, looking around at the restaurant that we were seated at. He smiled and waved to reassure a family of three that everything was okay as they looked at me fearfully.
I ignored them easily while I answered the question, "At a minimum, a Saiyan in their third growth spurt needs around ten thousand calories a day. But twice that is closer to being comfortably full." The menu did have convenient calorie counts by each listed item. My eyes roamed the various names before they lingered on something that felt familiar. Pizza.
I saw Raven look at me, but I ignored her. The Titans were here to act as guides. I tolerated their presence because it put them and others at ease. After all, if I was in their view at all times, then I wasn't off causing trouble. It made sense. Even if they understood that they couldn't realistically stop me, it made them feel at ease. Given that I had no intention to senselessly massacre my own citizens, the Titans guarding people from me just meant I had a convenient source of answers for my questions.
"Your profession as heroes -- what do you do when you aren't protecting the world from me?" I questioned -- I would be asking that question a lot. Each person was different and that difference only became more profound with species. But, if I asked enough people, I would see the trends. With Ada'la providing a rough draft of real estate laws, I could focus on learning about the people I would rule over.
Beast Boy gave me an odd look, "What did you do?" He shot back the question, seemingly determined to not give any ground to me, even on mundane topics. It was obvious that he still considered me an enemy, but almost like one he didn't know how to handle. Uncertain best described him, and he naturally became defensive.
It was tempting to block his prodding, but I calmly took a sip of my carbonated beverage. "I trained," I answered instead. Beast Boy's eyebrows drew together.
"And?" He prompted, gesturing for me to continue.
"And I trained. There wasn't time for anything else. Well, besides the occasional interview for propaganda purposes," I amended a moment later. I saw Robin work his jaw for a moment, seeming almost pensive. It was obvious what he wanted to say. "There was a war. Every moment I wasn't fighting or growing stronger was wasted. My soldiers would pay for it with their lives."
Robin seemed to mull that over. Robin seemed… different from my first impression of him. He seemed rather brash -- determined to stop me even though he only knew the bare bones detail about me. He seemed to have good intentions, but also seemed a little hot-headed. Now, he seemed more composed. Cautious, even. "So, this is your first time hanging out?" He questioned, and Koriand'r let out a gasp that was far too dramatic for what was said.
"Prince Tarble has plenty of friends-" she started, almost as if she felt compelled to defend my honor.
I shook my head, "I spent time with the st, but they're all dead now." I said, feeling a pang of regret for their loss. Brolly and Shayera were the last members and they didn't seem to be on Earth. Koriand'r looked remorseful and sad, as if feeling the loss of the st just as keenly as I did. It wasn't the first time I thought it, and it wasn't likely to be the last -- but Koriand'r really couldn't be more different from her sister.
"And your Team?" Kid Flash pitched in, eyeing me warily. "You had a team, too, right?"
I saw them die in my mind. And I saw myself kill them. Ruthlessly, I crushed the rage and betrayal I felt, but not before Raven noticed it. Thankfully, she said nothing. "They're dead too," I answered curtly. Precious few had managed to see the end of the war. My sister and mother were one of those few.
There was something akin to pity in Kid Flash's eyes before he looked away. Robin let out a breath as he leaned forward, pinning me with an intense look that I felt even from behind his domino mask, "What happened at the end of the war?" He asked me directly, and I raised an eyebrow at the interrogative tone.
To my surprise, Raven spoke up, "Let's not," she voiced, looking at Robin, her tone leaving no room for argument. "That conversation will only end in an argument. Leave the war and who owns Earth alone. It's going to be addressed in a few days anyway." She pointedly didn't look at me as she spoke, earning a brief frown from Robin.
I idly watched the exchange -- it was simple enough to parse their chain of command even with our brief interactions. Robin was clearly the leader, Koriand'r fell into the role of second in command, but the others seemed to be free-floating. But, a small interaction like that hinted that Raven carried a great deal more sway than I originally expected. It made sense considering that she was the only one able to wound me.
Though, I was curious why she was preventing the integration. It was possible that she had benign reasons, but it was just as likely that she had an ulterior motive. Or, it was possible she sensed my anger and decided that the war was a sore subject that might set me off.
"We play video games," Kid Flash said, my question finally receiving an answer. "And watch TV. Well, most of the time. Sometimes we just go out to chill."
I mulled that over for a moment, "Isn't that a waste of time?" I asked, making Kid Flash open his mouth, but he failed to respond and looked to Robin for an answer instead.
"Being with friends is never a waste of time. Each moment you are able to do so should be cherished," Koriand'r offered her opinion on the matter.
"Your duties as heroes and protectors of the weak -- can you afford to slack off?" I clarified my issue with hanging out. I understood it in principle, but it seemed dangerous. That time could be spent training, thus preparing yourself for situations you would otherwise be unprepared for. Not only could it save your life, but it could save the lives of others.
Beast Boy gave me an odd look, leaning forward onto the table, "You seriously never just took a day off? To do nothing?" He questioned, sounding like he couldn't believe it.
I thought on it for a moment before I slowly nodded, "When I was younger, I used to sleep between missions. It was when I was behind enemy lines, so I would be asleep for days at a time." I offered and Beast Boy looked at me with an expression of incomprehension. It was an expression that said he fundamentally couldn't understand me. Like I was a puzzle that just didn't make sense.
"Do you even know what fun is?" Beast Boy bluntly asked, earning a frown from me. Not because I took offense, but because what he said echoed something someone I actually had a measure of respect for. Froot, the ancient Saiyan that had served Larfleeze, had accused me of nearly the same thing. He said that I had never laughed before, and he had been right.
I… was doing this wrong, wasn't I? When I first arrived on Earth, I resolved myself to… enjoy myself, in a way. To fight the Justice League because it sounded like a worthy challenge, regardless of if I won or not. Earth, as a prize, wasn't supposed to matter. It was just a planet.
But, a few days later, I fell into old habits. I was treating the conversation of my ownership of Earth as a conversation I
had to win. I was provoking fights that had stakes rather than just because I wanted to fight. I was treating this almost as if it were another war to win.
It was maddening. I really had no idea what to do with peace. How could I ask my race to keep it when I was falling into old habits myself? No, it was worse than that -- Saiyans naturally fought for the sake of fighting.
I was looking for another war to fight in.
I let out a small breath, "No. Show me what is fun," I ordered curtly, catching Beast Boy off guard. He looked at Robin, who seemed just as surprised, though he hid it better. Koriand'r, however, gasped in absolute delight. She looked absolutely ecstatic at the request.
"Of course! I will help you bear witness to the glory of video games!" She declared, flying up. She gestured to the building that we were still waiting for the waitress to return for our food orders. Customer service in Japan was far better than in America, I decided as I followed her inside. People watched anxiously from the inside of the building, families seated that eyed me with fear.
Was it a mistake to release the information about myself? I did believe an informed opinion prior to the discussion with the UN was necessary, but in the wake of the leaked conversation between me and Superman, it seemed to create only more fear and hostility.
Words wouldn't make that go away, so I just ignored the various families that stared at me in fear. Apparently, they hadn't been afraid enough to stop eating, though. And it wasn't like a glass pane would have protected them. Koriand'r seemed willfully ignorant of the stares as well, leading me to a machine that spat out change after feeding it money.
"Make your selection," Koriand'r said, gesturing to the small area that was filled with various machines. The pixelated screens showed racing cars, humans boxing, and humans shooting various creatures. The screens were unpleasant to look at -- I never considered myself spoiled in terms of technology, but using LED lights was… almost unwatchable. How hologram technology hadn't reached these people yet, I would never know.
Which brought my attention to a game that had no screen. Just a moving hoop and balls. I approached it while the rest of the Titans entered, deciding that it was in their best interest to keep all eyes on me at all times. Feeding it the necessary amount of money, the balls were unleashed, and a timer began to tick down. Palming a ball, I looked at the hoop and saw that it was more of an oval. Not misshapen enough so to prevent the ball from falling through, but warped enough to lower the allowed margin of error.
The way to win was simple.
Don't make mistakes.
Idly, I began tossing the balls, each one sinking through the hoop as points were racked up quickly. The minute on the clock went by rather quickly, and when the buzzer rang, the high scores were revealed. I was not on the leaderboard, much less the high score, which belonged to someone with the initials ASS. Eyeing ASS's high score compared to my own, simple math told me that I needed to double my previous rate of gathering points.
"Did you have fun?" Koriand'r questioned as I began feeding more coins into the machine. There were three balls available and sixty seconds on the clock. If I wished to gain the high score, I needed to get two scores per second. But, if I wished to ensure that no one would be able to take the high score from me, then I would need four scores per second, which was the optimal amount you could possibly get outside of cheating.
I didn't reply as I began the second round, picking up a ball with a hand each and began idly tossing them into the hoop with perfect accuracy. It was a steady rhythm, almost like juggling. I threw a ball, it sank through the hoop, followed by another, and by that time, I had sent the third ball flying and the first ball had reached the starting area. The points shot right up, and this time I secured the high score with a near double lead.
I didn't have initials, so I just put a KT and left the last space blank. Looking over at Koriand'r, she had her hands clasped under her chin, smiling at me as if she was expecting me to have religious experience of some kind that would deliver unto me the concept of fun. I could see the question in her eyes, repeating the one that had gone unanswered.
The truth was…
"It was fine," I hedged, knowing that she wouldn't take it well, but I regretted not lying outright when I saw the disappointment on her face. Though, it quickly became determination as she seemed to accept the challenge.
Raven spoke up, "You've won a free sundae," she pointed out, nodding at the ticket that was printed out. I grabbed it before I looked at her -- sundae was a day, wasn't it? In response to my confusion, she pointed at the menu that was above the front desk, bringing my attention to a cup filled with various things.
I searched my memory for a moment, to see if it was familiar, but I came up with nothing. Walking over, I presented the ticket to a man named Donald based on his name tag, who seemed frozen stiff. "I will take a sundae. As well as pay for the beverages since our waitress is avoiding our table," I told him, tossing a capsule to the side.
He swallowed thickly, "I-I apologize for that sir. Please have your drinks on…" he began, only to fall silent when I dropped a brick of gold onto the counter. He stared at it for a second, then at me. "Thank you for choosing Pizza Place," he said, grabbing the brick and finding that it was deceptively heavy. It seems that he wasn't so afraid that he was incapable of greed.
After taking the gold into the back, I heard him urging the cooks to make a perfect sundae. A few minutes later, I was presented with one that seemed similar to the one on the menu. I accepted it, digging my spoon into it and tasting ice cream for the first time. Despite not remembering it, the taste was somehow nostalgic. Looking at the door, I saw the Titans were waiting for me for our next endeavor.
"Thanks for paying?" Kid Flash spoke up, earning a look from Beast Boy, and he shrugged in response to it.
"If you aren't careful, you'll crash the value of gold for Earth," Robin pointed out to me, earning a brief frown.
"In that amount?" I questioned, and he looked like he didn't understand why I couldn't understand that would crash the value of gold. "Earth isn't mining asteroids?" I asked, and then it clicked.
He let out a small breath of irritation as we left the building and I continued to enjoy my ice cream. By the time we reached the sidewalk, I was looking for a trash can to dispose of the empty container. "We don't. Our metals come from Earth's crust," he answered, while Beast Boy and Kid Flash looked at me with slack jaws.
"Dude, what about brain freeze? You can't just eat ice cream like that?! " Beast Boy pointed out but it came out more as a question. In response, I tossed the container in a nearby trash can as I looked out at Jump City from another angle. We returned to it since the Titans knew it best. So far, it seemed rather calm. There were no major riots protesting me or the Justice League.
To my surprise, the Teen Titans were left alone for the most part. Naturally, there were some that were taking advantage to protest the teenage heroes, but all of the major protests across the world were rather silent about them. I wasn't entirely sure why, but it was convenient.
"Was your first outing in human society enjoyable?" Koriand'r pestered, treating my enjoyment as if it were made of glass and easily shattered.
I offered a small shrug, "I don't see the appeal. I feel like I wasted time," I admitted to them. If I stretched my awareness across the planet, then… there was so much going on. If I were to turn on a news site that wasn't dominated by my presence, then there were countless newsworthy events happening across the world. And while they were happening, I gained a meaningless high score in a pizza parlor that I was unlikely to ever visit again.
I should be doing something. Even if I was learning about how civilians behaved, it still felt like a wasteful use of time. Especially when the confrontation with the UN was nearing.
"Then how about a game of skill," Robin said, catching my attention. He looked at Raven, who nodded before the shadows under us began to expand. The others began to sink into the ground, but I remained afloat, the shadows brushing against me, but they couldn't take me without my permission.
I looked at Raven, who seemed unsurprised. "Would it make sense for us to betray you now?" She asked me, her tone even, but soft.
"This could just be an attempt to make me lower my guard," I pointed out, noting that she didn't ask for my trust.
To that, Raven offered me a thin smile that almost appeared pitiful. "You never let your guard down once today," She voiced, knowing that she was right. "If we know that you haven't… that you won't, then what would we gain by tricking you now?"
I met her gaze, searching it for any sign of deceit. I found none. But… "I know where the others are. I'll go to them," I told her, flying up away from the shadows. There was no trust in me. Not anymore. Not after what Bardock and the others did. There were only three people in this universe that I trusted now -- Elery, Mom, and Broly. There was no room for anyone else.
Raven almost appeared sad, but was overall unsurprised by my decision, "We don't have to be enemies, but a sure-fire way of becoming one is treating everyone else like they already are." My eyes narrowed, and she met my look unflinchingly. "Your past isn't as unforgivable as you like to treat it as. It's your actions now that you're being judged by."
"Not according to Superman. Apparently, I'm being judged quite harshly because of my actions in the war," I remarked, knowing where this conversation was leading, but I wasn't sure how to argue it so definitively that it died. I doubted that what I did during the war could be forgiven. I wasn't searching for it either. It was only relevant because several powerful people on the planet were moral paragons that found me lacking.
"He doesn't speak for the planet. Even if you say he does," Raven stated firmly. "You just have to find the ones that can look beyond your past." She said, and I opened my mouth to counter, but she continued before I could utter a word. "Like I did."
That killed my retort before it could leave my mouth. I doubted that our pasts could be remotely comparable, but Raven spoke like they were. And so far, Raven displayed enough insight to deserve my full attention… as well as to find myself unnerved at just how accurate her insight was.
There was a beat of silence that was broken by my earpiece coming to life, "King Tarble -- we've performed the scans as requested. The country known as Rhelasia has restricted your broadcast."
I had threatened to destroy the nation that did such a thing. To murder all of its leaders responsible for the coverup. Part of me had done it to prevent anyone from being so foolish as to actually restrict the broadcast. But, now, I was forced to wonder if I made that threat because I knew it would provoke an escalation from the UN and the Justice League. Because that wasn't something they could leave unanswered.
Just like I couldn't leave this direct insult unanswered.
It felt like I was standing at a crossroads. On one path, I would tread familiar ground. On the other, there was a complete unknown.
It was so very tempting to walk the road less traveled, but… before I was a Saiyan, I was a King. A King of an unstable empire that was held together because it was
my empire.
"Where are you going?" Raven questioned as she looked up at me, sensing the shift in me and seeming nervous because of it. Uncertain.
"To make do on a threat," I told her, my tone blank as I slipped deeper into the Wrath State until I settled comfortably in Stage Ten. "This was… maybe not fun, but it was an experience. Thank you for it. And thank Koriand'r for her efforts for me."
Raven's lips thinned as she rose up to my level, her hands glowing, "If that threat is what I think it is, then you know we have to try to stop you. Murder isn't acceptable." She told me uncompromisingly. Either I backed down, or I collided with her. With the Teen Titans. With the Justice League and the world.
"Neither is denying citizens the right to an informed opinion," I refuted, every bit as uncompromising as she was.
"This isn't something you can take back or undo," Raven implored one final time, magic gathering in her hands as she clearly suspected my answer. A warning and a threat.
"I don't intend to," I returned before I moved. Raven expected for me to head directly at her. She was so convinced that she threw up a counterattack in the form of a wave of black magic that rushed over the space between us. She only realized when it was too late that she wasn't my target at all. Raven was powerful enough that there would be casualties amongst the bystanders if we fought seriously. The entire city could be destroyed if we weren't careful.
Instead, I flew directly up towards the edge of space until I left the atmosphere, before I turned around and headed back down towards the country of North Rhelasia. If Raven gave chase then we would fight where the population density was far lower, but I didn't sense her presence following me. Blasting through heavy clouds, I descended on the country of Rhelasia.
It was easy to spot from orbit. In the low light of night -- it was nearing dusk in Jump City, but it was the middle of the night in North Rhelasia. Along the border that divided the Rhelasias, along the southern border, the country was filled with light. North of the border, there was only one city that had any light pollution.
I descended as I quickly gathered intel -- the dictator that ran the nation, the top leaders, and where they would be located along with important landmarks. However, as I descended from the skies into the city of Peyonyang, I noticed something.
Humans were weak. So weak that when they were weakened, it was almost to impossible to tell. When a Saiyan was injured, it was easily apparent -- their power level would drop dozens, or hundreds, or thousands of points. When a human was sick or injured, it would drop only a single point. From five to four. When you spread your attention across a planet, that small difference was easily missed.
The people of the nation felt weak. Too weak. Whereas America had an average of five or six, there was a huge swath of people in North Rhelasia that had a power level of three or four. A nearly insignificant drop, but when you were that weak, every point mattered. To a human, that was the equivalent of being half dead.
I used my descent to gather more intel -- web articles about the nation. The regime that ran it. The horror stories associated with it. How its population was starving, the workers being force-fed drugs to keep them productive…
"Hm," I uttered as I crashed through the ceiling of the palace, my scans of the planet telling me exactly where the dictator was. There was surprised shouting as I fell from the ceiling, but they soon proved that they had expected this. Instantly, bullets bounced off of my body from all sides, but the only damage that was done was to the soldiers by the ricochets. I made eye contact with the leader of the country, a clearly Asian man dressed in a general attire that was heavy with medals.
He opened his mouth to speak, but I didn't care enough to listen. I raised a hand and a ki ball hovered in my palm. The dark blue ki flashed before well over a dozen small balls of ki erupted from the ball, each one racing to a soldier to destroy their gun. The room that was filled with the sound of gunfire a moment prior suddenly fell silent before I flicked the ki ball forward.
The dictator caught the blast to the head, killing him instantly. The sheer anguish I heard coming from around me almost made me second guess my decision to kill him, but I still resolved that it was the best decision.
"As of now," I began slowly, waiting for the guns to click empty when the soldiers and other officials went to their sidearms. "The country of North Rhelasia has been destroyed. Your borders will be dissolved. Your military will be dismantled. Your citizens will be freed to migrate to whatever nation they wish."
"You… who gave you the right to decide such things?!" I heard one shout, an older man with more white in his hair than black. There was fury in his eyes as he glared at me with an expression of murderous hate.
I met his gaze, "I did," I answered simply. "In addition, all top leaders of the nation are being placed under arrest for violating the rights of my citizens." I tacked on, my tone quiet and deadly. I didn't even know what rights my citizens had, but I did know that this was a clear violation of them. Several looked absolutely rebellious and infuriated, those same ones being government officials that I recognized from my brief look at the intel I had. Ki gathered around them, encasing them in a ball. They tried to escape as I rose out of the hole that I made, taking the dozen officials with me.
I felt a few powerful presences racing towards me, but I ignored them for now. I had another task to focus on. Shifting my attention, I raced towards the border with the officials in tow, ignoring their indignant shouts and curses. Once I was in range, and with the help of imaging from my fleet in the system, I raised my hand once again above my head.
Blasts of ki erupted from my hand, almost like wisps that lit up the night sky as they traveled to their targets. The nearest gate on the border was demolished in an explosion -- killing no one, but scaring the hell out of both sides. Naturally, both sides assumed that the other was responsible, but before even the first bullet flew, a ki blast would strike the North Rhelasia soldiers. Nonfatally.
In a handful of seconds, the border and its guards were gone.
Then, I turned to the streak of colors approaching me. A young woman dressed in familiar colors -- a bodysuit of blue, red boots, a red skirt… and a red shielded S on her chest. Her blonde hair was pushed back by the speeds she traveled, her cape billowing in the wind.
And she seemed rather angry as she didn't slow down even as she raced to close the distance.
She slammed into me, but I caught the fist that she attempted to strike me with, even if it cost me some broken bones to do so. I met her gaze with a glare of my own, every bit as angry as she was.
"I can't imagine how you're going to justify this," I told her bluntly as we clashed over the destroyed border of the country that was once known as North Rhelasia.
...
A reminder -- I will be taking a break between the 24th to the 1st to celebrate Power Corrupts ending. Fool's World will be posted on the 9th to give myself an extra week to add a little more polish on the story.
The next chapter is currently available on my Patreon and Subscribe Star, so if you want to read it a week early, all it takes is a single dollar in the tip jar. Or, for five dollars, you can read the chapter after that two weeks before its public release! I hope you enjoyed!
