Cosmic Crisis 3 - A New Enemy

And so begins another installment of Cosmic Crisis...

Chapter 1 - Airline Adventures

Bulma sat in her seat, looking out the window at the clouds below her. They had been on this flight for two hours already, and there were an easy five still to come. She let out a bored sigh, looking over at Vegeta, who was dozing next to her with his seat reclined. Goku was on the other side of the cabin, snoring loudly.

<Good thing we used the private jet; Goku's snoring would have caused an uproar among the passengers.> Bulma thought to herself. Chi-Chi was sitting next to the sleeping Saiya-jin, looking quite annoyed. Gohan and Videl were in the back, trying to get some sleep amidst the noise.

Vegeta opened his eyes and looked around. Trunks and Goten were sitting adjacent to the young girls, Bra and Pan. Goten was listening to his Discman while Trunks leaned against the window, trying desperately to get some shut-eye, despite Goku's loud snoring.

"Mmph...no, wait Vegeta...don't eat that..." Goku muttered in his sleep. Trunks was about to slam his head into the side of the cabin in frustration when Goten tore his headphones off and handed them to Trunks.

"Wanna listen?" he asked his friend, who was on the brink of temporary insanity. Trunks looked up at Goten with an "I-have-a-headache-and-don't-want-to-hear-it" look on his face.

"Nani?" Trunks asked.

"Nevermind. I guess he forgot to bring his "Breathe Right" nasal strips for the trip." Goten said, gesturing to his sleeping father. Suddenly, the door to the bathroom swung open and Natalie came bounding out, waking Goku in the process.

"Huh? Wha -?" Goku said, sitting up.

"Oh, gomen, Kakarotto-san." She said, walking toward her seat. She passed by Vegeta on the way, elbowing him affectionately. He growled in annoyance and looked out the window. She continued until she came to where Goten and Trunks were sitting.

"Goten. Can I listen?" she asked, pulling one of the headphones off his left ear while looking at him with her sweetest expression. He looked up into her eyes and tried to mutter something, but failed.

"H-hai." He said, handing her the CD player. Trunks looked at his friend with a smirk on his face as soon as the girl headed for her seat in front of them.

"Man, Goten. Feminine persuasion really gets to you!" Trunks joked.

"Hey!" Goten cried, punching Trunks in the arm. "You're the same way." He muttered. The long flight had made them all cranky, so Goten decided to stretch his legs. He got up from his seat and walked towards the cockpit, drawing back the curtain to see Dr. Briefs piloting the airplane.

"What can I do for you, my boy?" the man asked without even turning around.

"How did you know -?" Goten broke off, looking rather confused.

"Oh, I saw you come in." he said in his gruff, but friendly voice. "Only a few more hours until we reach the island. What can I get you?" he asked, opening a cupboard filled with food and beverage capsules. Goten inspected the contents, but declined, knowing that dinner would be served soon.

"Arigatou, Briefs-san." Goten said, returning to the passenger cabin to discover Bra and Pan arguing over who would get to eat the last piece of chocolate in their bag. Deciding to end the quarrel, Goten walked over and took it, throwing it up in the air and catching it in his mouth. "Problem Solved." He said wryly and walked away, chuckling. The two girls stood with shocked expressions on their face until Bra's jaw dropped and Pan's lips quivered. Natalie glanced over at them, producing a look of surprise when she saw their faces and then watched as Goten passed by, winking at her. She shot him a questioning look and then turned and looked out the window. She could hear Trunks say something to his friend but couldn't make out the words with the headphones on. The sun was slowly setting over the horizon, producing a brilliant golden light, which shone through the windows and danced on everyone's faces and figures.

"Excuse me. May I have your attention, please?" Dr. Briefs said over the loudspeaker. Natalie ripped off the headphones to listen. "According to the charts, we have another seven hours to go. We have to fly off course as a result of passing storms." Groans were heard throughout the cabin. "Tonight, we have a wide variety of food capsules to chose from, so help yourself! There's plenty to go around." He finished, turning off the speaker. Natalie rolled her eyes at the thought of sitting on this stupid airplane for any longer.

<I wish I hadn't packed all my stuff into the stupid cargo bay. I could really use my sketchbook right now.> Natalie thought to herself. If there was one thing she loved, it was art. She had numerous drawing books filled with pictures that she had kept. Her mother used to keep them in a safe box to preserve them. Natalie quickly dismissed the thought, since thinking about her mother tended to upset her. Ever since the accident almost a year ago...

"Natalie!" a voice shouted, startling the girl. She looked around, intent on telling that someone off for scaring her, when she saw Trunks looking at her from behind her seat.

"Nani!?" she said, taking off her headphones for the third time now. This was beginning to irritate her.

"What do you want for dinner?" He asked. She looked towards the aisle and saw Mrs. Briefs standing next to a cart full of food and beverage capsules. The blonde-haired woman smiled and handed the girl a menu. Natalie opened it and quickly scanned its contents.

"Um...I'll have..." she began, looking at the various selections. "Curry Chicken with extra rice." She finally decided.

"And to drink?" Mrs. Briefs asked.

Natalie couldn't make up her mind, and seeing the rather impatient looks on the people behind her, she blurted out, "Surprise me!" Mrs. Briefs looked at Natalie with a doubtful grin and then proceeded to pull out a capsule. She depressed the top and set it on the cart to manifest itself. When the meal appeared, she quickly shoved it into the high-powered microwave to warm it up.

"My husband is still working on developing food capsules that heat themselves. Unfortunately, he still has a few bugs to work out." Mrs. Briefs said while waiting for the food to cook. When it was done, she handed the steaming plate to Natalie. The girl looked at the food hungrily and was about to dive in when Mrs. Briefs shoved a bucket of beverage capsules toward her. Natalie buried her hand into the container, drawing out a random capsule. Mrs. Briefs moved on, giving Natalie some plastic-ware and packets of soy sauce on her way. Almost instantly, the girl forked a bite of food into her mouth. Unfortunately for her, it hadn't cooled down yet and she cried out in pain as tears welled up in her eyes. She forced herself to swallow the piping hot food, wincing as it traveled down her throat. Everyone on the plane turned and stared at the now embarrassed Natalie. She flashed a grin that resembled one of Goku's cheesy smiles and looked down at her food. After what seemed like hours of silence, but was really only a few seconds, Mrs. Briefs finally spoke.

"And what would you like, Trunks, sweetie?" She asked, smiling sweetly at her grandson. While everyone else ordered, Natalie depressed her beverage capsule to see what she had gotten. When a can appeared, she quickly looked at the label.

<Oh, man. I hate root bear.> she thought as she reluctantly opened the can. She didn't want to waste the stuff, so she took a sip and swallowed it, trying not to acknowledge the taste. She turned around to see what the boys had gotten after taking another bite of her now-cooling-off curry. Trunks and Goten had both gotten steaks with fries. She then noticed that they both had five more food capsules set aside. <Those pigs!> she thought to herself. She knew that being a Saiya-jin meant that you had a big appetite. She sure had one, but it wasn't as big as theirs. There were a few other differences between her and all of the others. For one, she couldn't go Oozaru when she had her tail. Bulma once explained that since humans are neutral, their anatomy didn't affect any of the Saiya-jin characteristics when the two were combined. In fact, it enhanced them. But Sidra-jin anatomy, like Saiya-jin, had special characteristics to it, that when mixed with other races with the same characteristics, could produce several outcomes. She wished that she knew more about her past, but she was thankful for the little information she possessed. It was all she had.

"Do you need something, Nat?" Trunks asked, snapping her back to reality. She realized that she had been staring at him the whole time.

"O-Oh, no. Um...sorry." She said, becoming flushed and turning around quickly. Her dinner was now cool enough to eat enjoyably and she ate another bite, thinking about the week ahead. Her birthday was in a couple of days, and she would be turning sixteen! She could hardly wait. Trunks and Goten had already had their birthdays, and so far, she was the youngest of the three. Bulma and her family had decided to take a trip to Hawaii to celebrate, as well as to get away for a while. She was so deep in her thoughts that she hadn't noticed the bite of chicken that slipped off her fork and onto her shirt, leaving a red stain on her light grey pullover. "Man..." she muttered, her mouth full of food. She rummaged through her carryon bag for another shirt, finally locating a short-sleeved yellow shirt with "Capsule Corp." printed in navy on the front. She hurried to the airplane bathroom to change but it was already occupied. Looking around the airplane, she immediately noticed that Goku's chair was empty. Just as she was turning to leave, the bathroom door swung open, narrowly missing her face, to reveal Goku.

"Gomen, Natalie." Goku said, moving out of her way. He slapped her on the back on the way out.

"No problem, Kakarotto-san." She muttered. Just as she was about to walk into the room, Vegeta raced past her and slammed the door in her face. She narrowed her eyes and growled in frustration, leaning against the opposite wall with her arms crossed. She could hear Trunks and Goten snickering from their seats. After a few minutes, Vegeta emerged from the bathroom and she shot him a glare, proceeding to bump into him on her way past. She went into the tiny stall and shut the door behind her and changed into the new shirt, trying to stay standing as they went through some mild turbulence. Finally, after five minutes of torture, she emerged from the bathroom with an annoyed look of her face. Her hair was pushed to one side messily and her cheeks were burning. She could feel Goten and Trunks watching her as she strode past, trying desperately to keep her cool.

<Okay, so it's not exactly my day. It happens to everyone.> she thought reassuringly to herself. Plopping down into her seat, she sighed. She was DEFINITELY not looking forward to the flight ahead...