Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction ❯ Lab Monkey ❯ Imprisoned ( Chapter 1 )

Disclaimer: I don't own DBZ or Vegeta. I think we all know what I would do with him if I did.

Lab Monkey

Chapter One

Imprisoned

He stared listlessly at the ceiling of his cell. Twenty-four thousand six hundred and seventy-two. That was how many tiny pinprick holes there were in the panels above his head, surrounding a single halogen tube, bracketed into the ceiling with naked metal clamps. His cell was exactly eight and half footsteps wide and ten steps long. He paced it everyday just to be sure that it didn't magically morph into something smaller, though his mind clamored otherwise. It housed a solid coiled spring cot with a firm mattress, a toilet and a sink. Nothing more, nothing less. The walls were polished steel and if he turned his head to the right he could see his obscured reflection, a shadow of piercing raven eyes and simmering hatred. But if he turned his head to the left…

That entire wall to his cell was nothing more than a ki dampening force field. It was completely invisible, its presence only made known by the subtle humming that could easily be mistaken as the zing of electricity in the lighting filament. It looked as though he could walk right through it and into the waiting arms of freedom. Of course that was completely illusionary. He was right properly caged. A beast trapped behind bars.

He had rushed the seemingly nonexistent wall several times when he had first been imprisoned, but he had been thrust back forcibly, only earning the smell of singed hair as a reward for his efforts. He had howled, he had cursed, he had threatened, but still he remained, behind the fragile wall of his sanity.

Being enslaved by Frieza was by far a better fate than this one. While under the tyrant's command he had been able to walk around freely. He had the ability to travel to other worlds and vent his frustration and anger on the innocent races he was sent to annihilate. He may have been nothing more than mass murdering assassin, slaying all his master bid him too, but at least he had room to move, to breathe.

Beyond the wall lay another world filled with activity and excitement. People constantly moved in and out, their white coats swishing behind them as they teased him with their easy departures. They would stand just outside of his reach, jotting notes on clipboards while muttering unintelligible words under their breath before walking away. At first they had been afraid of him, even with their barrier in place, but as the weeks had gone by that fear had diminished.

Once it had become apparent to him that he couldn't fight his way out of this new hell hole, he had tried mouthing his way out. After he had sent several people fleeing in tears a new rule had been issued not to speak directly to him. He continued to harass and terrorize, but soon his cutting remarks slid off the scientists like oil on water. No one spoke to him; no one barely even dared look at him, except her.

After he discovered that his empty words cease to frighten anyone he had fallen silent, only rousing himself when she came in the room. He began to slip into a deep depression. He could see it within himself, growing with each passing day. A shadow that threatened to engulf him. A Saiyan was not meant to be caged. They needed to be free. To roam about, fighting, eating, and conquering.

She was the only one who lifted the weight of his despair, but it was not light that she brought into his barren world, but something far more sinister than his ennui. With her she brought the foul stench of hatred. She was the reason that he was imprisoned. She was the reason that he rotted away in this cell, day after day. She was the one who ordered the tests and demanded that he submit to her prying eyes. He hated her and she hated him.

He had been so close that day, so many weeks ago. He had held Kakarot's frail body in his hands, felt his life blood seeping through his beastly fingers. He had roared to the heavens, his fangs glistening under the hot desert sun. He could feel the power of his Oozaru form coursing through his veins and the heady frenzy of blood lust filled him.

He held the only other remaining Saiyan close to him, that half breed freak excluded and he had inhaled the scent of sweat and blood. A traitor to his people, to the throne and to himself, the third class should be so honored to be slain by his prince. Once he was finished disposing of the filth that dared to call himself human, disavowing his Saiyan heritage, he intended on razing the cities of Earth to the ground, destroying everything that walked.

Victory had been in the palm of his hand, literally, but then she had come. He hadn't even known what had happened until days later when he woke up in this devil spawned cell. He had felt a slight prick in his hide then a lessoning of his power. It drained away rapidly until nothing remained, ignoring his panicked attempts to try and regain it. He had fallen into unconsciousness as his body reverted to his humanoid form, his strength only a fading memory.

He found out later that he had made a mistake of killing the green freak, denying himself the pleasure of making a wish. He was not unaware of the irony. He had come to this forsaken planet to gain his freedom from a ruthless tyrant only to find himself in the tighter grasp of a heartless witch.

She claimed to be a genius and then she proceeded to prove it. She commandeered his and Nappa's pods along with the remains of Raditz's ship, creating a larger ship from the scavenged parts. She then sent her friends off to another world, a planet called Namek. They would search out the original inventor of the Dragon Balls and they would make their wishes. They would get what they wanted while he sat here, awaiting her next torturous decree.

The door to the outside world slid open to reveal the blue-haired demoness. His piercing eyes narrowed as they followed her around the room. While she was within his sight he never allowed her to escape his heavy glare. He stewed in the juices of his own righteous vindictiveness. Lavishing himself with thoughts of her screams as he punished her for all of her crimes against him, the Saiyan Prince.

She could feel his cold hard gaze on her and she had to suppress the urge to shudder. She had learned quickly enough that showing any signs of weakness in front of the warrior was an invitation to disaster. His biting remarks could tear down the most self confident person and his ruthless demeanor was enough to strike terror in most hearts. The key to surviving his hostility was to coolly ignore his comments, while going about your business. Unfortunately for her she found that it was easier said than done. That bastard knew exactly what buttons to push and he did so with sadistic relish.

She had first hit on the idea of ki technology when she had observed how strong Goku had become. She had always known something was different about him and the appearance of his brother, Raditz, a year ago had proven it. While the Z fighters had stolen away to their respective hideouts to train for the coming fight, she had spent countless hours in her lab, perfecting the idea that had run loose in her head for so many years.

Seeing her best friend with a hole in his heart had motivated her unlike anything else in the past. The echo of his widow's screams of denial prodded her out of her sleep at night, until she surrendered to the inevitable and put a cot in her offices so she only had to return to the main house when necessary. In her overworked fervor she finally succeeded. Her pride and joy was a serum she called the X factor. Once injected into the blood stream of an attacker, it neutralized their ki in much the same way a vaccine cures a virus. It sucked away every iota of energy they had until nothing remained, leaving them unconscious and helpless to her will.

Through Baba's crystal ball she had watched with stunned horror as her love, Yamcha was murdered by the invaders. She sat slack-jawed while they brushed away the bullets of the army and hacked through her friends one by one, until only Krillin, Gohan and Goku remained. Only the small one lived, but he contained more power in his compact body than all of her friends combined. When he transformed into a giant ape, she knew that she could no longer sit idly by and watch, leaving her friends unaided.

She had popped the capsule to her air jet and raced to the desert, landing just in time to see the monster crushing Goku in his hands. She had broken out into an instant sweat and her hands shook when she raised the rifle, carefully adjusting the sights. She remembered the eerie sense of calm that had come over her while she targeted her enemy. Her hands became steady and her breaths were even. Without a shred of regret she slowly squeezed the trigger and she viciously ignored the small voice inside of her that relished his screams of pain as he shrunk down to his normal size.

Quickly they had gathered up his prone body and transported him back to her lab at Capsule Corps. She already had a the cell designed and thankfully he remained unconscious long enough for her to construct it. She had felt a flutter of uncertainty when he first woke, but her craftsmanship held up to the test and he remained imprisoned.

Her eyes flickered over to his cell under the cover of her lids and her smooth brow furrowed at the sight. When he had first come to her lab he had been bursting with life, hurling punches at her wall, nearly as fast as he was lobbing around threats. Once he realized that he could not bust through her magnificent invention he had paced the cell like a caged panther, radiating power and virility. As the weeks had passed she saw that energy drain away, until a listless stranger remained.

He hardly did anything more than lay on his bed, staring at the ceiling. Only when she entered did he rouse himself in the slightest. She found herself trying to engage him in conversation, egging him on in a fight, just to see a spark in his dark eyes once again. The dull lackluster aura that was growing around him began to disturb her and she actually began to fear for his wellbeing. If he was to die in her care, she would be the one to blame. That small part of her whispered that he shouldn't be so lucky to escape into death, while she had to remain here without her lover.

All she could see when she looked at him was his evil smirk as he watched Yamcha die. He was the reason her heart ached. He was the reason she was alone. She hated him with such a vengeance that it had made her physically ill. With a nod of his head he had stolen her joy and she had felt undeniable delight at the thought that she had stolen some of his happiness right back.

Goku had fought venomously against her imprisoning the prince. He had said that it wasn't right to cage him. She had countered with the argument that he was a cold-blooded killer. What would he have her do with him? Set him free and pat him on the head like a good puppy? If he ever escaped from his cage, he would destroy the entire world and no one was strong enough to stop him. She shivered at the thought of his maniacal laughter as he leveled one city after another in revenge.

She shot another quick look at him, before glancing back down at her paperwork. She saw the glint in his eyes when he stared at her. If he ever did get out of the cell, she would be the first person he would look for. She would not live to hear his laughter; she would already be cooling in a pool of her own blood.

Now that Goku, Krillian and Gohan had left for Namek, she felt especially vulnerable. There were no fighters left on Earth to defend it if something heinous were to happen. She had desperately wanted to go with them, to experience interstellar travel first hand, but her responsibilities held her here. She was the only one who was brave enough to care for the dark prince. She had captured him, now she had to keep him, whether she wanted too or not.

Unable to look away for long, she lifted her head once again. This time her sapphire eyes locked with his unyielding gaze and she felt her breath hitch in her throat. Time ceased to move and insidious invisible tentacles drew tighter around the pair, binding them inextricably to each with every passing moment.

Love and hate is divided by a very thin line called lust.