"Brother," I called out casually, smirking as I stared down Cooler.
Roughly thirty feet in front of me was a towering throne, which was far too big for Cooler's frame. King Cold had made it with his measurements in mind, and the massive pure-gold structure was both too wide and too tall for Cooler. Despite that, the man sat casually, dripping with arrogance, as he leaned against one of the large armrests.
The man was in his fourth form, which was equivalent to my previous 'final form' - which was technically my base form, since my earlier forms were suppressing transformations - as his skin was smooth and muscular. His head looked almost like he was wearing a helmet, and overall, he looked like a taller and older version of my own body.
To the side of his throne were his typical lackeys: Members of the Cooler Force. More specifically, three members within the Cooler Force who were known as the Cooler Armored Squadron.
One was a brown frog-like alien with a squished head, the next a large, muscular, green ogre-like man who didn't look too dissimilar from Shrek, and finally, a… actually pretty normal-looking guy. He was thin, with a decently muscular frame, and looked like a typical blonde-haired human - aside from his blue skin.
"I don't know who got into your head, brother," Cooler spoke, his voice deep and slightly accusatory, "But I won't accept any apologies. Killing father is one thing, but mingling with the inferior species as if they have any value?! And, I even heard you were mating with another species! A blue-haired woman! Have you gone insane?!"
I blinked rapidly, staring blankly at Cooler for a second. So, killing our literal father was an afterthought, but treating the planets under my rule with a modicum of respect was insane? Sleeping with Bulma because she was drop-dead gorgeous was somehow worse than killing King Cold?
"...I don't think there's any reason in talking to you," I said bluntly, my tone dry as Cooler glared at me, "You wouldn't understand anyway."
If he thought that the idea of not instantly killing a weaker creature for looking at him funny was worse than killing his own father, then I didn't think I could reason with him. He wouldn't appreciate my explanation that, yes, I had to let Bulma say whatever she wanted to me when she was annoyed and, no, I couldn't just flex my power to scare her into doing what I wanted. It was one of the trade-offs that came from living with a hot woman.
"Hmmph. I had no intention of talking to you anyway," Cooler huffed, his lips twitching upwards into a very blatantly suspicious smirk, "Though I would hate to have to kill my own brother. It would be a shame to be the last remaining member of our race, so… I won't. Ginyu!"
"Surprise Attack! CHANGE!" Suddenly, from behind the throne, a very familiar figure popped out. A large, muscular man with purple skin, twin horns sticking out of his head, and a rather ugly face.
Captain Ginyu, captain of the Ginyu Force, lunged out from behind Cooler's throne with a confident grin on his face, and a beam of yellow light came striking towards me. It was the perfect plan - Cooler couldn't beat me himself, and he knew it! So, instead, he bought out the Ginyu Force to betray me!
It was a foolproof plan, and there was nothing I could do about it! Ginyu's change beam launched forward, and once it made contact, he would have control of the strongest body in the entire universe. All of my work would be for nothing, and my time in this world would end because of my own cockiness in barging into the throne room. Ginyu's change beam made contact, and his soul switched with-
"W-Wait, this isn't…"
-The big-ass Shrek minion!
"You seriously thought that would work?" I just smirked as, in the roughly two seconds it took for Ginyu's beam to shoot across the room, I used Instant Transmission. I appeared next to the big green member of the Cooler Force standing beside the throne, teleported back to my group, and simply held the big man in front of me as if he were a small child instead of a towering green monster.
Unfortunately for Ginyu, I could sense energy. Cooler's Ki was definitely large and overwhelming compared to the rest of the planet, but it wasn't so much higher than Ginyu's that I didn't notice not just one, but five decently large energies behind the throne.
And, even if I hadn't learned to sense energy, two seconds was pretty fast for an attack, but it wasn't nearly fast enough. Even an exhausted Goku on Namek had enough time to chuck a frog in front of the beam, and I was many, many, times quicker than that version of Goku.
Even without Instant Transmission, I would've had more than enough time to grab someone to block the attack. Even if Ginyu had trained in preparation for this moment, and the attack was many times faster, I wouldn't have been in danger. I could've simply chucked Nappa in front of it instead.
All of this was to say - the plan was doomed to fail from the start. Ginyu never stood a chance at taking my body.
"W-When did I get here?" Ginyu's body, which now inhabited the soul of the ogre-like alien, muttered next to the throne with a frown.
"You… you damn imbecile! How did you mess that up?!" Cooler hissed, glaring over at Ginyu's body, "You had one job!"
"W-What? I was supposed to do something? You didn't tell me-" Ogre-Ginyu's head disappeared in the blink of an eye as Cooler raised his hand and launched a point-blank Ki blast into his face.
"You can't blame him, brother. Even you could've dodged an attack like that, so what chance did it have of hitting me?" I smirked, enjoying the way Cooler's face twisted in annoyance at my words, "But, I should thank you for gathering the Ginyu Force here for me. I've been meaning to do this for a while now."
I unceremoniously dropped Ginyu-ogre onto the ground, causing him to stumble and fall to all fours, as he wasn't used to his new hulking frame. My arm rose up, and a single finger pointed at the back of Ginyu's head.
"W-Wait, Lord Frieza, you know I would never- GUH!" Ginyu stuttered as he pushed himself to his feet, sweat dripping down his neck as my Ki flared up, but he didn't get to finish his plea. A small bullet of Ki ripped through the back of his head, and in the same way it did to anyone on the receiving end of this attack, his brain turned to mush.
The 'small but condensed Ki blast' technique that Frieza used really was convenient in ending things quickly. The original Frieza had mostly used it to tear through his opponent's torso and put them in a 'not dead yet, but definitely going to die if they don't get medical treatment' state, but this way was much more efficient. No amount of sitting in a healing pod would save Ginyu's brain once a bullet tore through it.
While Ginyu could've been useful as a subordinate, he was just too risky to keep around. His 'Change Beam' was definitely appealing, as I had considered scenarios where I could use him to take down someone like Beerus or Zeno. If the man switched bodies with someone like Beerus, then he wouldn't know how to fully use the power, like what had happened when he originally stole Goku's body, and I could just kill him regardless of the powerful body.
The problem with that came from the same problem Ginyu had with taking my body - anyone far stronger than him would simply dodge the beam. I'd either have to train Ginyu up a shit-ton, or defeat far stronger opponents and give their bodies to him. Either way, making Ginyu stronger just increased the risk of my own body being stolen - either with some bullshit method, Dragon Ball schenanigans, or even when I was sleeping - which outweighed the usefulness of Ginyu's skill.
It would be nice to use him to defeat a powerful being, but risking my own body was too much. If someone else got this body, it was game over.
"C-CAPTAIN!" A panicked scream came, and the rest of the Ginyu Force showed themselves from their 'hiding spot.' First came Recoome, a tall, almost human-looking man with bulging muscles and a tuff of red hair.
Honestly, I was a bit impressed that the flamboyant and loud bunch had managed to stay crouched behind the throne for that long. Cooler must've been offering them a lot of money, or threatening them with a lot of death, to keep them from jumping out and doing their introduction prematurely.
"H-He killed the Captain!" The loud voice of Burter, a slim yet muscular blue alien with a head much too small for his body, shouted out with wide.
"He did! Should… should we do something?" Jeice asked as the red-skinned and long-haired man glanced over at me nervously.
"N-No way! That wasn't my idea, Lord Frieza! I wasn't even here!" Surprisingly, the cowardly Guldo - a short man that looked a bit like a frog - was the smartest one of the bunch, as he promptly… disappeared. Not from Instant Transmission, but from his 'pause time as long as I'm holding my breath' ability.
Which was actually pretty powerful, so I let him go. Well, 'let him go' was more like 'let him live,' as I just vanished and appeared behind the frog man since he only made it out the door and halfway out of the garden. Honestly, his lack of lung capacity was almost impressive considering how fast he could move.
He should've been quick enough at his power level to cross the entire planet in only a couple of minutes, and yet he couldn't even get a couple of miles before he had to take a breath?
As such, in a split second, I appeared behind Guldo, smacked him in the top of his head, and sent him soaring down to the ground. A crater appeared around his body from the force, and I left him there to pick up later as I Instant Transmission'd back into the building.
It wasn't like he could threaten me with it, as no amount of paused time would let him even scratch my body, and his ability could actually be helpful in the future. I could think of a couple of uses for it, especially after I trained him to at least a competent level.
"Ginyu Force," I hummed as I reappeared back in the palace, smirking as my eyes crawled over the fearful forms of Recoome, Burter, and Jeice, "Should I take this to mean you've betrayed me?"
"B-Betray you, Lord Frieza?! I would never!" Burter started hastily, but the not-so-intelligent Recoome glanced over at him curiously.
"Huh? But I thought we did betray Lord Frieza because Lord Cooler offered-"
"S-Shut up, moron!" Jeice hissed, but that caused Cooler to narrow his eyes at the red-skinned man.
"Oh? Are you saying that our agreement was a lie then?" Cooler smirked, enjoying the way Jeice squirmed at his words, even as I was standing in front of them.
"O-Of course not, Lord Cooler! W-We are completely on your side!"
"W-Wait, I think it would be better if we stuck with Lord Frieza… he seems pretty scary right now, y'know?"
"Shut up, Burter! We're fucked either way we go!"
"That's the first true thing you've said," I grinned at Jeice's last statement, and glanced over at 18, "I'll let Vegeta and Nappa take a crack at Cooler, but first, you can take these three. They shouldn't cause you much trouble."
"Hmmph. If you say so," Android 18 hummed, stepping forward as she glanced over at the three men.
"Ginyu Force," I called out as she did, causing the three men to stiffen at my words, "it's obvious that you've betrayed me, but if you defeat her, I'll pretend it never happened. Understand?"
"G-Got it! You're so generous, Lord Frieza," Burter nodded quickly, licking his lips a bit creepily as he glanced over at Android 18, "We just have to take down one little girl to get out of this? For the fastest creature in the universe, this will be eas- GRAH!"
Burter was promptly cut off as 18 shot forward, literally blurring to the eyes of the self-proclaimed 'fastest creature in the universe' as her fist slammed into his face. Burter stumbled back as his nose exploded in a fountain of blood, but then slouched forward as 18's knee shot up into his gut.
His eyes practically popped out of his head as pain coursed through him, and he hunched over 18's knee. A second later, 18's elbow slammed down into his head from above, and Burter was sent slumping on the ground - unconscious.
I nodded approvingly at the sight, though Jeice and Recoome didn't share my feelings as they stared with wide eyes. 18 was far above this version of the Ginyu Force, as they seemingly hadn't trained much at all beyond their original strength. Even Captain Ginyu himself was only a fraction of one million in terms of power level, and 18 had the power to give Super Saiyan Vegeta an ass whooping.
"D-Damn it! Take this!" Recoome shouted, lunging forward towards Android 18 with his arm raised, "Recoome Elbow- GUH!"
He was cut off as 18 blurred forward, slamming a fist into his gut and causing him to slump over it with wide eyes. A second later, her fist slammed into his face, and he was sent slumping onto the ground with a bloody nose and unconscious mind.
"L-Lord Frieza, d-don't you think this is a bit much?" Jeice tried to reason with me, glancing over at his two unconscious comrades with wide eyes as he took a shaky step back.
"Personally, I think betraying me was a 'bit much.' You're free to kill them 18," I hummed, causing Jeice's eyes to go even wider, but he didn't have much time to panic as Android 18 started to casually stride towards him.
"You said this would be fun, but this feels more like a chore," 18 said dryly as she approached the fearful Jeice, who did one of the stupidest things he could do at the moment.
He turned his back to his opponent, and promptly launched upward - seemingly intent on bursting through the ceiling overhead and escaping the situation. Unfortunately for him, there was no chance of escaping someone as powerful as 18.
The woman, in a rather casual manner, just paused, glanced up, and then jumped. She reached Jeice before he was even halfway to the high ceiling above, and her hand snapped around his ankle. Then, in one fluid movement, she came soaring back down and slammed Jeice roughly into the floor.
The floor cratered under the force, and Jeice let out a pained grunt, but the pain was the least of his worries. 18 raised her hand lazily, pointing her palm down at his prone form, and a Ki blast fired forward a second later. It slammed into the alien, and he was consumed in a cloud of smoke.
Considering he didn't try to get up and make another escape, I safely assumed he was dead.
"So much for the 'strongest squad in the universe,'" Cooler muttered, glancing over at the three defeated Ginyu Force members with a mixture of disappointment and disgust, "To be beaten just by just one small woman…"
"That 'small woman' would kick your ass," I smirked at his words, though I was exaggerating a bit. Cooler had definitely been training in preparation for this, as even in just his fourth form, his power level was nearing five hundred million.
18 would be able to hold her own for a bit, but ultimately, would probably lose even before Cooler pulled his secret fifth form out of his ass. But that didn't mean I wasn't enjoying the glare he gave me at my words, or the way 18 preened a bit at the compliment.
"It's your turn now, Princeling, muscle head," I called, glancing over at Nappa and Vegeta with a nod.
"Eh? Does Lord Frieza think I'm a prince, Vegeta?! Do I look like one?! I know I'm handsome, but-"
"I'm the Prince, you moron! You're the muscle head!"
"Whaaat!? But I don't even work out that much!"
"...Brother, if you want to go moron for moron, then I'll oblige," Cooler stated, looking dryly at the Saiyans as they argued, before he turned to the final two members of the Cooler Force standing by his throne, "You two, go defeat the Saiyans!"
"Yes, Lord Cooler!" The tall, lanky, and frog-looking man, whom I remembered was named Neiz, stepped forward first, looking eagerly at Vegeta and Nappa, "I'll teach these Saiyans a lesson!"
"You're not even worth my time," Vegeta answered as he stepped forward, his body stiffening as his head tilted downwards, a smirk crossed his face, and his eyes bored into his opponent, "But if I need to handle the trash first, then you can be grateful that you died to the Prince of all Saiyans."
I grinned lightly at the scene, as while I had seen a similar sight every time Vegeta challenged me, he was admittedly pretty badass when he wasn't about to get his ass kicked by me.
"Hey, Vegeta! Why am I getting the small one?! You should take the small one!" Nappa whined, instantly ruining the tension as he glanced between the towering frog-man and the short human-like one.
"Shut up, Nappa! Just get him, damn it!"
Vegeta didn't give Nappa a chance to retort as he shot forward, blurring through the space between himself and Neiz, and appeared in front of the Cooler Force member before he had the chance to react. The frog's eyes went wide as a fist slammed into his gut, and the massive figure hunched over the much smaller fist with pained eyes.
"You're just the warm-up," Vegeta smirked, staring up into Neiz's wide eyes, and then his body twisted. His leg soared through the air, cutting through the air in an arch as it slammed into the front of Neiz's face and sent him rocketing through the air.
"Hey, Vegeta! Were these guys supposed to be tough?" Nappa called out, holding the smaller man, Salza, in the air with a hand clamped around his throat.
The blue man's smaller hands clawed at Nappa's to no avail, and Nappa casually raised his arm and then chucked the entire man's body as if he were throwing a football. Salza went flying in the same direction Neiz had, and slammed into the wall of the palace in an explosion of dust and debris.
I nodded approvingly, as I had expected as much, but they truly handled the two men with ease. Both of the Cooler Force members had power levels that were similar in level to the Ginyu Force, and after training constantly against their own clones, Vegeta and Nappa had both grown much stronger over the past few months.
It wasn't the insane gains you could achieve by becoming a Super Saiyan, but their progress was still impressive. Vegeta was nearing ten million, an incredibly large jump from his initial sub-thirty thousand, and even Nappa was in the low millions now. It was no Super Saiyan multiplier, but being forced to your limits day in and day out, and doing nothing but training, had still propelled the duo of Saiyans to new levels of power.
"Don't regret our deal," Vegeta smirked, subtly glancing back at me, before he turned to Cooler, "Cooler, now you'll feel the entire power of the Prince of all Saiyans!"
Vegeta shifted into his fighting stance, his eyes staring at Cooler with a mixture of excitement and arrogance. But, as he did, the palace interior fell silent for a moment. Cooler just stared back at him blankly, before he slowly, almost robotically, turned his gaze to match mine.
"Brother, I know we're at odds now, but…" In a split second, Cooler moved.
To my eyes, I watched as he lunged out of his seat, flung himself forward with a single step, and then reached Vegeta and Nappa. But, to their eyes, I was sure that Cooler pretty much teleported. His hands lashed out, one snapping forward and grabbing Vegeta's neck while the other grabbed Nappa's.
"Are you trying to humiliate me?" Cooler finished coldly, raising his arms as he held the two Saiyans in the air effortlessly.
Vegeta reacted first as he slammed a fist forward into Cooler's gut, but my brother didn't even flinch, much less release him. Nappa took a different approach as he reached up, grabbing at Cooler's hand, and tried to pry his fingers off of his throat to no avail. Vegeta then raised his hand, a ki blast forming as he shot it point-blank into Cooler, and smoke filled the air.
"Pointless." Was the sole word that came out, mixed in with the sounds of Vegeta and Nappa choking, as the two Saiyans were suddenly chucked upward into the air.
Cooler shot upward, appearing above the Saiyans mid-air as his tail lashed out and slammed into Nappa's back. At the same time, his fist shot into Vegeta's back, and sent him launching downwards with his fellow Saiyan.
The duo slammed into the ground harshly, craters forming under their bodies, as they both gasped and grunted in pain. Cooler descended a moment later, rather casually landing not on the ground, but on the two Saiyans.
One of his feet dug into Vegeta's back, stomping downwards as he coughed out blood, and the other on Nappa's. Both of the men struggled against the force on their backs, but neither stood a chance at throwing Cooler off.
"I promised them a chance, and they got it," I answered simply, shrugging as I looked at the display.
Vegeta had become arrogant from his newfound power, and as such, had truly believed he would be able to defeat Cooler. In reality, he wasn't even close - Cooler, even not in his final form, was able to squash Vegeta like a bug. The difference between a power level of roughly ten million and one nearing five hundred million was simply too great.
This was a humbling the arrogant Prince needed, and I would never miss out on the chance to humble Vegeta. But, while I had set Vegeta up for failure, he was still my subordinate. He was someone who traveled with me now, and it wouldn't be far-fetched to say I was training him, even if not directly.
So, Cooler would have to learn what happened when someone harmed my subordinate. It was time to get revenge for Vegeta.
"Zarbon," I said as I stepped forward, casually striding towards Cooler as he stomped the struggling Saiyans into the floor, "Go prepare the ship for take off."
I paused as I was only a foot away from Cooler, my smaller frame staring up at him as a smirk crossed my face.
"This will only take a minute."
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AN: Thank you for reading! The next chapter will be posted in a few days!
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