Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction ❯ Protection the Raditz Way ❯ A Lab Saiyan is Handy to Have ( Chapter 6 )

Chapter 7 A Lab Saiyan is Handy to Have

The next day or so she felt Raditz's presence as she walked towards the lab. With long legged strides he shadowed her, his constant presence a comfort. Still her body tingled from the residuals of their encounters, making her feel far better than she had in ages. As she passed the GR chamber she saw Nappa emerging with Trunks.

 

"Hello Atomique-san," Trunks waved.

 

"Hello, how's things?" she asked.

 

"Your majesty," said Raditz, inclining his head.

 

"You look well," Nappa glanced at her, his eyes falling on the strange purple bruise on her neck. "You behaving yourself, whelp?"

 

"Depends on what you mean," said Raditz, giving a suggestive smirk to Nappa.

 

"You treating him good?" Nappa winked at her.

 

"The best," she said.

 

"What am I missing?" Trunks asked.

 

"You'll find out when you're older, your Majesty," Nappa laughed. "C'mon, let's go find the Prince, he'll nail my butt to the wall if you're not up in time for lunch!"

 

"Later!" Trunks waved. "By the way, Atomique-san, my Mom told me that she's cool with the last batch… whatever that means!"

 

"Thanks! Bye…" she waved to Trunks and Nappa. Her face flushed pink, causing Raditz to raise a brow in question.

 

"Are you all right, Tomique-chan?" he asked. She flushed even more pink.

 

"How embarrassing!" She whispered. "No offense Radz, but he's looking at me like a piece of meat still!"

 

"He's jealous," Raditz grunted with a self-satisfied smirk. His hand nudged her shoulder, urging her in front of him.

 

"I'm wondering if I'm tempting fate coming here…" she mumbled, stopping at the lab. Raditz reached around her shoulder to tap in the numerical code. Only he, Bulma and Tomique knew the combination, in case Jeannie or someone else would try and bother her.

 

The door slid open, and Raditz glanced warily around, urging her in with a hand on her shoulder. Nodding, he followed her, then let the door slide shut. He took up a position right inside, arms folded across his chest. Atomique slid on her lab coat, then bustled about the lab turning on equipment. "Okay, this is going to be an interesting project. I have the starting material…"

 

Glancing over her shoulder she saw Raditz standing there like a statue, watching her. It made her nervous and excited at the same time. Off the shelves she grabbed her notebooks, then grumbled because the reagents she wanted were too high up. "Damn it… hey, Radz, could you help me?"

 

"Of course," he mumbled, striding over, and standing right behind her to reach for the jar of reagent she wanted. "Foolish girl you should have asked if you wanted…"

 

"Thank you. I hate being short," she mumbled. "Say, would you like being my lab assistant?"

 

"I would not wish to disrupt her Majesty's work…"

 

"Well, you're a smart guy, so if I direct you, why not? I need an extra pair of hands… and well, if Saiyans are from such an advanced race… or am I babbling?"

 

"You're babbling," Raditz grunted in amusement.

 

"Are YOU a scientist?" she asked, turning on him.

 

"Why would you say that?" he asked with a wry grin.

 

"You know about quantum energies. Or is that child's play to an advanced civilization like yours?"

 

"Hardly," Raditz snorted, then grabbed the glassware she directed him to get. He hefted a huge drum of acetone up and filled the reagent bottles she brought.

 

"Thanks. They get empty so fast cleaning this dang glassware. Now I'm going to be making another batch of the polymer, and I need just the right conditions… can you generate UV light?"

 

"UV light?" he asked. "You mean to polymerize?"

 

"Yes, exactly. Since you can create energy, maybe YOU can generate the specific wavelength I need. Radiant energy's not my forte…"

 

"Show me," he said, and she pushed the notebook over so he could pick up her research notes. Raditz mumbled as he glanced through it, then watched over the top as Atomique assembled the glass reactors. He shot out his hand to steady the top of the condenser so she could screw clamp it down, then fasten the clamps in place. Putting down the notebook he then watched her pour nasty starting reagents into the round bottom flask, then clamp it in place as well.

 

"Okay, just cup your hands around the bottom here… I need something of a wavelength between 220 and 190 nanometers…" she said.

 

"Metric," he mumbled. "That would be 40,000 radver… all right… I got it…"

 

"You catch on quick," she said, slipping her glasses on with the filters. "Now just give it a few bursts…"

 

Raditz closed his hands around the round bottom flask at the base of the glass setup. Atomique turned on all the appropriate water coolant valves and vapor traps. The magnetic stirrer swirled the opaque white mixture in its reaction flask. Concentrating, Raditz's palms glowed a faint purple as he struggled to get the appropriate wavelength.

 

"Okay, I'll take aliquots out and see where we are," she said, inserting a needle into the septum port on one side of the reactor. Drawing out a bit of liquid in her syringe she walked over to the gas chromatograph and injected it inside. A series of peaks in a few minutes came out to indicate retention times before they were fed into a mass spectrometer. From the pattern of upright bars the computer whirled through its database of millions of chemical compounds.

 

"Not too long, I trust…"

 

"M244, we've got it," she said.

 

"Was this the material our replacement armor was to be constructed of?" Raditz asked, glancing at the spectral pattern. "Because the molecular composition fragmentation pattern looks exactly like… one of the components of Saiyajin armor."

 

"A polymer as dense as diamond, but lightweight enough to be formed into any shape. That's it…" she nodded.

 

"You discovered this without your alchemy powers?"

 

"Yes," she nodded. "I deduced how to synthesize the material…"

 

"She could have simply asked one of us… but knowing the Prince he wasn't knowledgeable of the technology, since only a few of us are left alive," said Raditz. "Unfortunately between Nappa and myself much of our technical knowledge is lost…"

 

"A damn shame. All this… the regeneration tanks, the scouters, all of this is extremely advanced. It would be a shame to lose it," she said.

 

Sheepishly Raditz regarded her. "Can I stop the irradiation now?"

 

"Of course,' she said.

 

"Tomique-chan, the inventions you describe were only perfected by the Saiyans, not invented," he murmured. "The Prince would have my HEAD for admitting this… but since you're a scientist like myself… I think you should know."

 

"It's not necessarily always who invents something first, it's what the people after them do with it. You realize that nobody cared about half the things Edison invented till he found a use for them. Marie Curie had to work in a damn horse stable to isolate radium, and it was only when she discovered it did they even give a damn and give her any recognition! It took years for the significance of her work and others to make any impact…"

 

"I've read much about Earth scientists. Some don't impress me, but those in chemistry and physics are interesting," he said.

 

"You purged planets I take it. I supposed you'd have to know some science to know it they could be worth selling to support life," she said.

 

"I was an expert in exobiology, and atmospheric chemistry," Raditz said proudly. "I was on the teams that determined the viability of transplanting customers to habitable worlds… before we… purged them of their native life…"

 

"Humans are JUST as guilty as you are. Remember the Spaniards, or the English? We would kill the natives to take their land, JUST like you Saiyans did with your worlds. So we're not as different as we thought," she reminded him. "And we're doing it in my century. Purging planets of their native life so we can colonize them… it's a principle called Scientification…"

 

Raditz's eyes widened. "You don't say…"

 

"Well, Arthur C. Clarke talked about the human need to colonize other worlds. But others said that humans had no right to leave our world and pollute space with our race. But many scientists and technologist wouldn't hesitate to colonize other worlds regardless of what was there. We build oil wells in areas that we clear of wildlife… and build our homes in habitats and kill creatures we regard as 'vermin…' so you see…"

 

"Indeed. And some humans would say Saiyans were savage. Your race has an innate capacity for violence that rivals our own. Perhaps that's why the Prince wished to live here?" Raditz said.

 

"It's our pride and shame. We're not so different, Raditz. We're even simian in our ancestry. Humans descended from apes, according to the latest in theories…" she said, opening a textbook for him to see. She punched keys on the computer and rung up a website about Neanderthal and Australopithecus. "That's an ancestor called Lucy. She was an Australopithecus apherensis…"

 

"Looks very Saiyan," he mumbled. "But the tail's already lost…"

 

"We're basically only 1 percent different in DNA composition to chimpanzees," she shrugged. "We're hairless apes who've lost our tails. You Saiyans have retained them, but adapted to higher gravity worlds. We're just more fragile…"

 

"Humph, interesting. No wonder the Prince was able to have viable offspring. And my brother as well," Raditz nodded slowly. "Perhaps it was wise to leave this world unpurged. The Saiyan race is hardly surviving. We were so fixated on purging that we had neglected the survival of our own species. But I was anxious to find my brother Kakkarot because he was what remained of my family…"

 

"Raditz, didn't you ever have a mate?"

 

"No. My world was destroyed before I chose one. Frieza didn't think highly of breeding. He said Females were for sexual satisfaction only. Breeding was to be done in labs…" said Raditz. "Only third class Saiyans and Royals bred the old fashioned way. There weren't many females by the time our world blew up… or was blown up… by Frieza…"

 

"You know?" she asked.

 

"The Prince told Nappa and I. That's another reason we aren't returning. He lied to all of us. And slowly he slaughtered all Saiyans by sending them on suicide missions. My friend Turles, my father and mother, Nappa's mate Cabernet… and her comrades Merlot, Chablis, Chardonnay… and all the others I'd ever known…" he said angrily. "It was so much easier to kill and purge."

 

"You're the last of your kind," she said. "As am I. My world is ashes Raditz. Blackwell is much like Frieza. He destroyed my family… all I have left are my sons Bohr and Fermi…"

 

"I share your anger," Raditz said, grasping her shoulders. "Perhaps my Prince will lead a mission to avenge you as well as us. Because the Destroyers in the reality Nappa and I originate from were in Freiza's pay…"

 

"WHAT?" she asked.

 

"It's true. Destroyers were one of the races Saiyans sold planets to. They inhabited worlds and needed ones that had requisite habitations for their experiments. They hired Nappa and I to help them purge your world, but we saw it was already in ashes and not worth our time. Then they sent us after you and your friends… in exchange for information on our Prince's whereabouts…" said Raditz. She pushed away in anger, beating the table as she gritted her teeth.

 

"Kuso…" she sobbed. "It never ends…"

 

"If you have enmity towards me I understand," Raditz said. "But I did what I had to… for my own survival…"

 

"So did I," she said, raising her head. She moved over and buried her face in his armored chest, beating her fist on it. Raditz swallowed hard, not sure of what she expected, but he recalled watching on television what the humans called comforting. Either that or she wished to mate.

 

"Don't cry female, you've every right to your anger,' Raditz said.

 

"IT never goes away. You were sent to kill me… and you spared me… why?"

 

"You should know the reason now, Tomique-chan. I had my needs, and wanted you even then, because no female before had your power level," Raditz purred, stroking her back and running his hands down to squeeze her backside.

 

"Thank god for horny monkey men," she sniffled.

 

"Hmm, speaking of… perhaps you'd be… improved in disposition if I attended to a need," he murmured in her ear, grasping her up and setting her on a nearby lab counter that was emptied. He climbed on top of her, pinning her beneath massive muscular thighs, his hands squeezing and kneading her sizable breasts.

 

"Don't tear the coat please," she whispered. Raditz managed to unbutton it then helped peel her out of it. Slowly he pulled her hands up to his chest, and she undid his armor. Once unhindered, he rubbed his fingers inside her body, then withdrew them to lick her sweetness off.

 

"You taste delicious," he whispered, taking his time instead of being wild. Again he teased her with his tail, while moving his head down to nip and suckle her breasts. Moaning she held his face by burying her hands in a vast spiky forest of his hair. Thankfully it acted as a privacy screen to any prying eyes. Under her body was the lab coat, keeping the cold of the lab bench from harming her.

 

Raditz slipped inside of her with a tortured moan of relief. She winced, closing her eyes, and he teased her clit for added moisture. Then he managed to slide the rest of the way in till he had filled her completely. "Oh hell I don't know if I'll get used to this…" she gasped.

 

"You're sheathing me perfectly, I'm almost fully inside you, Tomique-chan," he growled, biting at the scars on her shoulder. She raised her legs to wrap around his hips, crossing her ankles at the base of his tail. Using the appending to secure her hips, he let his fingers rub between them. She kissed and bit on his mouth, muffling her grunts and moans against his face. For a time he lazily moved in and out, letting her have a break from his usual savage pounding. She was likely still sore from their frequent encounters.

 

"Ohhh, Kami," she gasped, biting on his shoulder but avoiding his neck. Raditz relished the tight squeezing of her thighs, flickering his tongue over her lips as he thrust harder and faster. She squeezed down on his cock from within, shuddering under his massive body.

 

"Indeed," he growled. He bared his teeth while staring directly into her eyes with those bottomless pools of black she found so intriguing.

 

"Radz-chan," she groaned, reaching for him, and he crushed her lightly to his muscular chest with those massive arms.

 

"Would you like more, Tomique-chan?" he purred then disintegrated into a series of intelligible harsh syllables.

 

"As much as you can give… I can take it… I can't get enough…" she begged. "Please Raditz, I need you… I need more…"

 

"Patience, female, and I enjoy how you're begging me so nicely," Raditz purred, his vibrations rumbling through her with greater force. Finally he emptied himself inside her, stabbing violently one last time. She reached down to caress his velvety underside for added stimulation, while holding his neck down with fingernails digging through his hair.

 

Groaning, she lay there, feeling his hot breath pulsing on her neck. Shakily with one hand he braced his torso off her, taking most of the weight on his knees. His fangs sank into that juncture near her jugular, and he was sucking lightly on her blood like some blasted vampire. Tomique let him, and then felt dizzy. "Hey… I'm going to pass out…"

 

"Hmm, how rude of me, here," he said, pushing her face to his shoulder. "You may partake… it is still freshly scabbed."

 

"Vampire," she mumbled, tearing into the scab and letting some of his blood trickle into her mouth. Raditz closed his eyes, humming in pleasure at the feel of the human drinking his blood.

 

"That's it, take as much as you need, love," he whispered, holding her on his lap as he straightened up. She withdrew her lips when the blood clotted, looking up at him as she licked the excess away.

 

"I never though blood could taste good. This is WEIRD," she whispered.

 

"It will increase your strength, Tomique-chan. Give you the energy you need to keep up with me," he said.

 

"It tastes like human blood," she said as he kissed her. A round mark on his shoulder matched one on hers, and that nasty purple bruise on her neck. Finally she tried to disengage.

 

"I'm not done yet, Tomique," he snorted impatiently, grabbing her hips and thrusting his hardening cock back inside. She groaned in protest.

 

"Won't your Prince get suspicious?"

 

"I'm guarding you, and your polymer needs to sit for ten hours. So I can't think of a better way to amuse ourselves, can you?" he said with a smirk.

 

"True, but it's not THAT comfortable, buddy…"

 

"What?"

 

"On a lab counter pounding your ass. Now like THIS I'm pretty comfy…" she said, shifting her hips on his thighs.

 

"I'm surprised I'm not DEAD. I'm black and blue all over…"

 

"Saiyan sex is rough, Tomique…" he laughed. "And you've left your mark on ME as well…"

 

She saw he was red in places where her nails had dug into his skin. Small half moon shapes and bite marks mottled his chest, thighs, and shoulders. Raditz smirked and reached up on his upper arm to pull off one of the matching arm rings then latched it around her upper thigh.

 

"Hey, what's THAT for?"

 

"Interesting how it fits you there so well," he said.

 

"This is yours, you dummy I can't take this…"

 

"Don't refuse a Saiyan's gift," he growled mock threateningly. He reached around her upper right arm, and fitted another matching armlet that he had pulled out of his boot somewhere. Now he only wore the band on his right thigh, and upper right arm.

 

"I'm not even going to ask," she said, fingering the strange metal, which gleamed like copper with a shiny luster. "But if it makes you happy I'll wear them…"

 

"So you don't forget who you belong… I mean who protects you," he caught himself.

 

"IS there something you're not telling me, huh?" she asked, grabbing his cheek. "You biting me HERE where I'm not supposed to bite you, and now you're giving me jewelry…"

 

"None of your concern. It's meaningless to a human," he snorted.

 

"Hey buddy…" she snorted. "Don't give me THAT attitude…"

 

"Fine if you don't want them," he snorted.

 

"I want them damn it. I'm sorry I opened my mouth, sheesh!" she grumbled. "It's just that it's been ages since a guy's given me jewelry that's it!"

 

"Ah, I see," Raditz said, finishing his last gasp into her, and she lay against him, sated as he lay back on the lab counter. Resting atop his body, she stroked patterns on his scarred chest. He ran a finger up and down the burns that were healing on her hands and upper thigh.

 

"It won't go away, but the color's better…"

 

"It looks good on you. A female always looks good with scarring. IT shows her strength," said Raditz.

 

"You'd probably think Yamcha was attractive…"

 

"Hmm, yes," Raditz nodded. "Although don't misunderstand… I have had… experiences with males, but it was only out of desperation or humiliation…"

 

"Doesn't bother me," she laughed. "Bisexuality isn't unknown on this planet. Just as long as you've had all your shots…"

 

"Saiyans don't get weak diseases," he snorted.

 

"Then you're clean. What a relief," she mumbled.

 

"IF that means I'm free of sexual parasites you are correct…"

 

"Don't worry I'm on the pill… I mean I'm not going to get pregnant…"

 

"What a shame," he mumbled.

 

"Huh?" she asked.

 

"Nothing, don't concern yourself," he mumbled, rubbing a hand over her body and wishing that he could plant his seed in this human. Her body was built for child bearing. Suddenly Raditz tensed, sitting up. He let out a loud snarl, and blocked her body with his.

 

"What?"

 

"Get dressed, we're not alone," he said, pulling away and grabbing his armor. She quickly struggled into her clothes, and Raditz rushed to the door, only wearing the bottoms of his armor. He tugged on his wrist guards, and stood just outside the door, raising his palm with ki flickering.

"Who is it?" Atomique asked, struggling to slide back into her clothes.

 

"Behind me," Raditz hissed, reaching out and grabbing her by the front of her bra. He swung her round and hugged her to his hip, holding his other hand out to slam whoever it was with a bolt of energy.

 

"This is ridiculous, who the HELL is it now?" she griped.

 

"Shh, quiet," he hissed. Atomique groused silently about Saiyan warriors, unsated desires, and other things when the door blew open. Raditz hurled a blast forwards with a shout, grabbing Tomique's lab coat to wrap around her.

 

Slowly the figure covered in masonry staggered to their feet. They glanced at Raditz glaring down at them with his hand overtop blazing with energy. "Whoa, hey WAIT!" Yamcha gasped.

 

"What the HELL are you doing in here, trespasser! This area's OFF limits!" Raditz growled. "You have FIVE minutes before I make you ROT in hell for…"

 

"Raditz, calm down… what are you doing here?" Tomique gasped while Raditz shielded her with his body.

 

"Um...I was looking for Bulma… but I kinda… heheh got lost, and then someone…"

 

"You stupid idiot!" yelled Vegeta's voice. "What in the hell is that loser doing here?"

 

"I only hit him with a low grade blast," Jeannie said angrily.

 

"You'd better get out NOW," said Tomique.

 

"Hey wait… you'… you're… holy CRAP!"

 

"Leave now, Yamcha… he won't hurt you…"

 

"But… but…" Yamcha stammered.

 

"Drek," Raditz grumbled.

 

"Let me, and hold your breath," she said, raising her hand. Chloroform filled the room, knocking Yamcha out in seconds.

 

Raditz put her down and slammed the door shut again. Luckily it was reinforced with wood. He then turned back to her and tried to help her button the rest of her outfit up with his large hands moving clumsily over the fastenings. "Fricking ningen clothes… too many damn buttons…"

 

"Hey, I can dress myself, you," she snorted, slapping his hands away. For a minute she staggered on her shaky legs, feeling the stickiness of Raditz's excitement still coating the inside of her body. Grumbling in Saiyan, the warrior was gathering the other pieces of his armor including his scouter and putting them back on. Vegeta kicked the door open, glaring down at Yamcha.

 

"Great, that's ALL we need… what the hell happened here? Is the female…"

 

"I knocked him out," said Tomique, straightening up her hair.

 

"Good. I'm going to have to take this clown back to Bulma, and see if she can sort out this sorry mess. Or else my plans are going down the rat hole," Vegeta cursed.

 

"Speaking of, my lab…" she started, then shut up when Raditz glanced anxiously at her.

 

"Sire, this place seems to be dangerous for her to continue her work… is there an alternate," asked Raditz.

 

"I'll arrange it. Meantime, take her out of here, and wait for my further orders. I don't want any more problems on my hands. I've sent Jeannie out to guard the Princess so she'll be out of the way. Don't go anywhere without him, because I can't risk any more stupid crap happening to the woman's friends," Vegeta mumbled.

 

"Thanks," she nodded, inclining her head. Grunting, Vegeta picked up Yamcha and dragged him away. Tomique grumbled staggering till Raditz caught her.

 

"Are you incapacitated?" he asked.

 

"I'm bloody sore," she gasped.

 

"My apologies," he said quietly, picking her up in his arms.

 

"Are you going to carry me everywhere for the next day then, you big baboon?" she grumbled. Carefully he carried her back towards his quarters, so she could rest.

****

The phone rang, jolting her out of sleep. Grumbling she reached for the lamp, almost knocking it onto the floor. Bold upright in bed Tomique sat, feeling the bed next to her. Nobody was there, to her sorrow. For a while she could almost swear Paul had been there. Judging from the soreness aching between her legs, she had rough sex with someone.

 

"I'm coming damn it," she grumbled then realized the ringing was coming from a cell phone at her hip. Tomique grabbed the flip phone, opening it to see Goku's number flashing.

 

"Hello?"

 

"Uh hi, are you okay?" said his voice. "You didn't come back for lunch and we got worried…"

 

"Kuso, I'm sorry Son-kun, I had something to do today at the lab!" she cursed, gathering the blankets around her. She stumbled about Raditz's bachelor quarters, struggling to find something to wear. A few large civilian outfits were neatly folded, and she finally grabbed a pair of black silk boxers that must belong to him. Bulma had argued to Vegeta that his soldiers needed to practice wearing human clothes. So Raditz had adopted a biker look, according to Trunks' suggestions. She grabbed a Harley Davidson T-shirt and threw it on, pulling her legs in to sit Indian style on the bed. Then she got up and rooted through his full sized fridge to look for something to eat.

 

"Oh that's okay… don't beat yourself up… I was just hoping you were all right. Radz said you'd been… burned… and well…"

 

"Goku I'm sorry I wasn't there to visit the boys, I hate not being there…"

 

"Hey, easy there, no biggie," Goku cheerfully said. "I know that it's hard when you got something to do. I should know about getting sidetracked. It's just I figured you might want to come by and eat with us. We're having egg rolls…"

 

"Does Gohan know about… Nappa and Raditz?" she asked.

 

"Well, he's pretty much heard rumors from Yamcha… and well…" Goku said, and she heard him twisting the phone cord around his index finger.

 

"Shimatta, that idiot!" she cursed.

 

"No it's okay! Relax!" Goku said hastily. "I've got it under control! Gohan knows, but Videl's keeping him in line. They've got this big chemistry test… and they were hoping you could come and…"

 

"I'll stop by. Tell Fermi and Bohr I'll be there in an hour… oh damn…" she groaned, stumbling about. She landed headlong across the floor.

 

"Are you okay?"

 

"I've been… um training," she said quickly.

 

"You're breathing awfully hard, so it must be something! You practicing your Kamehameha wave? Cause Krillen said you knocked 18 flat on her back…"

 

"Goku, I feel SILLY shouting that!" she groaned.

 

"Well it WORKS," Goku laughed. "I'm just steaming the rice now. C'mon over and bring your appetite. And don't' do a guilt trip. It ain't necessary cause your boys know you're a busy woman!"

 

"Start without me, and I'll have the leftovers…"

 

"There's plenty… and tell my brother I said hi…" he said. "Bye!"

 

"Bye," she said, then grumbled as Raditz entered the chamber.

 

"Are you all right? What in the name of the Legendary are you doing on the floor?" he scolded her.

 

"Don't start with me, you annoying baboon! It's not me leaving my crap all over the floor!" she grouched.

 

"Silly female, little wonder you need me to look out for you," he scolded, picking her up effortlessly and sitting her on the bed. "I've brought something to eat…"

 

"By the way, your little brother says hi and he wants me to come back ASAP for dinner…" she said. "My kids are forgetting what I look like!"

 

"My apologies for detaining you," he said. "I'll take you back at once…"

 

"But your Prince told you NOT to leave the compound!" she despaired.

 

"He told me it was safe as long as I wasn't seen," said Raditz. "Besides, he mentioned that Kakarot had informed the Earth's Special Forces, and that I was fine as long as I came immediately back… and besides I'd like to see where my brother lives…"

 

"Um, I don't think that's wise…"

 

"I will NOT hear any further objections. You cannot fly that distance yet, and I'm taking you. End of story," he grunted.

 

"You're not the boss of me," she grumbled, throwing her cell phone down and reaching for her clothes. Raditz had neatly folded a set of the Chinese robes that Goku had given her, belonging formerly to his grandmother.

 

"Why do you not wear what the Princess provides?"

 

"Because I don't like owing people favors," she snorted.

 

"Wise choice," Raditz said, watching her dress. When she was buckling her china flats, he held out his hand to steady her.

 

***

 

"Damn pain in the ass," she mumbled, brushing his hand away as she leapt up into the air. He shot after her, leaving a long trail of white ki blasting into the atmosphere.

 

"This way, correct?" he asked. "I can trace his energies…"

 

"You could ask for directions, but you males never do," she grumbled. Fortunately he was wearing the jeans, boots and leather jacket instead of his armor. All that remained of his Saiyan outfit was the ever-present scouter for detection.

 

"You know, Goku could teach you how to sense ki without that thing," she said.

 

"Prince's orders. One may never know when an enemy might strike… and the Princess upgraded it to account for higher battle powers…" Raditz explained. His arm slipped around her waist, pulling her along.

 

"Hey, what are you…"

 

"You wanted to get there fast, don't argue," he grunted, surrounding them both with his ki envelope. She shrieked as they rocketed at double her speed through the skies.

 

"Kami, almost nobody flies THIS fast… except your brother and Ve… I mean the Prince," she said.

 

"This is nothing. I can outpace most primitive native aircraft on this small world," he bragged.

 

"No doubt… but can you break the sound barrier?"

 

"Indeed I can," he laughed, increasing his speed to mach 1. Tomique gasped, clinging to Raditz when he sliced into the atmosphere, causing a faint boom that was muffled by his ki envelope. They shot over farm fields, and high mountains. Within the hour they approached the landscape resembling a Chinese wall scroll.

 

"Slow down, we're coming up on it… Mt. Paozu," she said, pointing.

 

"A pleasant environment, with much prey," he said, glancing at the pterodactyls winging their way around the place.

 

Suddenly out of nowhere, Goku zipped into existence, causing them both to be startled. "What the hell?" Raditz gasped. "Brother, MUST you do that?"

 

"Um, hi, didn't expect you to come here. Gohan nearly flipped out when he sensed both your kis, and I figured I'd see what it was… and well…" he trailed off.

 

"Sorry," Tomique said. "But Radz here insisted that he bring me…"

 

"My apologies brother, to disturb your repast, but you did wish her to return here quickly," he said looking a bit sheepish.

 

"Well, if you'd like to join us…" Goku said quietly.

 

"That is not necessary," Raditz said. "I'm not supposed to be out this long. Shall I see you tomorrow, Tomique-c… Tomique-san?"

 

"Yes, wouldn't miss it. See you tomorrow, bright and early, Radz-kun," she waved. Inclining his head he released her so she could levitated under her own power.

 

"Bye-bye, and see you soon I hope," Goku waved.

 

"Till later, Brother," Raditz nodded, then turned to streak away to a small glimmer on the horizon.

 

"What a shame," Goku said wistfully.

 

"You're worried about Gohan… right?" she asked.

 

"He'd throw a fit if he saw Raditz carrying you like that… but we know better. You two are getting to be good friends, huh?" Goku winked at her.

 

"It's merely professional," she said quickly.

 

"Then why are you blushing?" he teased her.

 

"Oh shut up will you?" she snorted as he grabbed her hand and touched his fingers to his forehead. That quick snatching sensation deposited them both in Tomique's room. The sun was going down, and Tomique asked to go right to bed. Goku left her, and slowly closed the door behind her so she could rest.

 

***