Cosmic Crisis

Chapter 1 - Introduction

"Natalie, you're going to be late!" a teenage girl said to her friend. Another girl, who was slowly walking down the sidewalk, just mumbled something about her test that morning. Both were wearing their school uniforms.

"Hurry up!" The first girl said, pushing her friend down the walk, trying to persuade her to move faster. Suddenly, Natalie looked at her watch and facefaulted.

"Oh no! It's 8:15!" She shrieked, and ran down the sidewalk. The first girl just sighed. "That's Natalie," she chuckled to herself. She tucked her short blonde hair behind her ears, and followed after her friend. She decided to take a shortcut, to meet up with her friend at the school.

Natalie was running as fast as her skirt would allow her to, before it would fly up, exposing her underwear. She turned to look for her friend, but saw that she wasn't there. "Hmm...must have taken that shortcut again." She thought. Suddenly, right as she turned her head to look in front of her, she smacked into something and fell to the ground in a daze. She looked up, and observed a guy about her age, looking at her with question in his eyes. He was about 6 inches taller than she was, with purple hair that fell just above his earlobes, and blue eyes. She admired his build, but tried not to stare. He reached his hand down to help her up.

"Are you okay?" he asked.

"Y-Yeah I'm fine." She said, standing up. She tried to regain her composure, but wobbled a bit to the side.

"Do you need any help?" he asked her again, putting his hand behind her back to stabilize her.

"Huh? Oh, no...it's okay." She said, still dazed from the impact. He stared at her with curious eyes. "Beautiful." He thought. She had straight, silky brown hair that fell just below her shoulders, with green eyes and a slight tan. She had a white ribbon in her hair to match her school uniform.

"So what's your name?" She asked. Trunks snapped out of his daze looking rather embarrassed.

"Trunks...yours?" he replied feebly.

"I'm Natalie." She said, and then looked back at her watch. "Oh! I am so late! I'm gonna have to practically fly to make the first bell!" she cried. "Sorry!" she called back to Trunks as she sped down the street. He watched her figure until it was out of eyesight. He turned back and continued to walk down the street, but the thought of her distracted him. He decided to follow her. He shot up into the air and sped forward, scanning the streets below for any sign of her. He stopped when he noticed her in an alley corner. He looked close, and realized that someone was trying to attack her.

"Come with me, baby." A tall, scrubby-looking guy said, moving closer to her. He repeated to take steps towards the frightened schoolgirl, when she suddenly brought her foot around and kicked the back of his knees to send him crashing to the ground. "Aaah! You'll pay for that you tramp!" he yelled, and attempted to get back up onto his feet. He moved forward to grab her shirt, but she blocked his hand with her left arm and punched him in the stomach with the second. Before he could get back up, she flipped over him and proceeded to leave the alley.

"Wow, where did she learn to fight like that?" Trunks thought to himself as he hovered above the scene. This furthered his interest in her. She continued to run down the street until she came to a rather large private school. She ran through the yard and into the main building, just as the first bell rang. Although she was late for class, she had made it in one piece.

Trunks studied the school for a minute longer, and then turned and shot across the sky and back to Capsule Corp. When he entered, Bulma was standing in front of him with a worried look on her face.

"Where have you been? I thought you'd still be sleeping by now!" his mother said rather loudly.

"I just went out for a walk. Why?" He replied.

"Well next time tell me where you're going so I don't have to wonder where you are!" Trunks was about to offer a weak excuse, but Vegita entered the foyer and interjected.

"He can take care of himself, woman. He isn't some human weakling." He said harshly.

"I don't care what he is! He's my son and I plan to watch out for him!" she yelled back at Vegita, who was leaning against the wall with his arms crossed.

"He's my son too, and I know that he can take care of himself! He's sixteen!" he shot back at her.

"Mom! Dad! Just shutup!" Trunks yelled at the arguing couple. They both turned around and looked at him with menacing eyes.

"Or...not." He said, and stumbled up the stairs. He went up two flights to get to his room. He peeled his clothes off and took a shower. He couldn't get her face out of his head. He sensed something different about her. He turned off the water and wrapped a towel around his waist. When he opened the door to the bathroom, a cloud of steam flew out. He walked into the living area of his room and slipped into a pair of cargo pants and a tight black tank top.

"TRUNKS!!" He heard his mother's cries below, and ran downstairs to see what the matter was. When he got to the bottom of the stairs, he raced into the kitchen where his mother was.

"What!?" he asked while catching his breath.

"Your father and I are going out for the afternoon. Watch your sister." she said, walking out into the foyer. He looked in Bra's direction, and she sat in the living room holding a doll, with a grin across her face. He sighed. He knew what was coming. He saw them to the door, and then turned around to discover Bra clinging to his pants.

"Whatcha want to do, huh?" he said to his sister, rubbing her hair. She looked up at him with a grin from ear to ear and held up two Barbies.

"Oh no! Are you sure you don't wanna do anything else?" he said hopefully. Bra just shook her head back and forth, and proceeded to run into the living area. He followed, and then remembered a time when he caught his dad playing dolls with his sister a few weeks ago. He laughed to himself as he recalled the look on Vegita's face when he was discovered.

He sat down on the ground next to Bra as she set up her dolls for a tea party. Trunks' thoughts drifted back to Natalie. How did she learn to defend herself like that? Why was she so intriguing? Suddenly, his thoughts were interrupted when Bra jumped in his lap.

"Huh? Oh, hey." He said, snapping back to reality.

"Play with me!" She demanded. Trunks willingly say down in front of the small table and sipped pretend-tea.

While he was enjoying the company of his sister, Natalie sat in school, half asleep. She hadn't gotten any sleep the previous night. She had a recurring nightmare that wouldn't allow her to get a decent night's rest.

"Natalie, I suggest you listen if you want to get a decent grade on your biology final this week!" The teacher snapped at her. There were chuckles heard within the class. After the bell rang, Natalie went to the bathroom to freshen up.

"What's wrong with me? I usually do so well in that class!" she thought as she splashed water onto her face.

"Natalie, hurry up! We'll be late for French!" her friend yelled down the hall. She picked up her things and dragged herself to 4th period.

"Here. Take one of my homemade muffins." Bra said, handing her brother an imaginary muffin. He reached out his hand and accepted it. They sat and "ate" for a few minutes, and then Bra interrupted the silence.

"Trunks, tell me a story." She requested.

"What kind of story?" he asked.

"A nice one with a happy ending." She replied, while settling onto the sofa.

"Well, I'll try." He said, and began a story about fairies and princesses and other things that little girls liked to hear. Soon, Bra was fast asleep in a little ball. Trunks picked her up and carried her to her room, where she slept. He closed the door and went back downstairs. His stomach was growling, and he was craving some real food, as opposed to the pretend things he had been "eating" earlier. He went into the kitchen and piled things onto a plate, and then headed for his room. He sat out on his balcony and ate, enjoying the slight breeze that rustled through his hair. He kept getting a strange feeling about Natalie, as if she was in danger.

When he finished his huge portions, he returned to the kitchen for more. He saw a scouter sitting on the counter, near the entrance to the science wing.

"Must be one of mom's." he thought as he picked it up curiously. He put it on and pressed a button. It began to pick up on familiar Ki's, which he recognized at once. Suddenly, it detected a significantly large one near downtown. He sat up and stared harder, alarmed. Who could it be? He took off the scouter and decided to go check it out. Before leaving Capsule Corp., he set the alarm system to keep his sister safe. He flew out the door, his mind racing.