In a barren wasteland, Piccolo stood alone, his arms crossed as he meditated. Suddenly, his eyes snapped open as he sensed an immense power rapidly approaching.
"Wh-what is this energy?! It can't be Goku!" Piccolo muttered, turning toward the source. A figure descended from the sky, landing in front of him.
The armored stranger scanned him before speaking. "You're not Kakarot."
Piccolo narrowed his eyes. "Who the hell are you? And what do you want?"
"I'm looking for someone," the invader said nonchalantly.
"Then unless you're in a hurry to die, I suggest you keep moving," Piccolo warned, his stance shifting slightly.
The invader chuckled. "Feisty, aren't you?" He pressed a button on his scouter, which beeped as it scanned Piccolo. "Hah, a power level of 322? Almost respectable. Almost."
Piccolo clenched his fists. "You bastard... Do you have any idea who you're talking to?"
"Doesn't matter."
'Tch. What's with this guy? He acts like I'm nothing… but there's no way he's that strong,' Piccolo thought. 'Guess there's only one way to find out.'
"AHHH!" Piccolo roared, firing a powerful ki blast. The explosion kicked up a massive cloud of dust, and Piccolo smirked.
But as the dust settled, his expression changed to one of disbelief.
"That was supposed to be an attack? Pathetic," the invader said, standing completely unharmed. "Though I will admit, it was effective at stirring up dust."
Piccolo gritted his teeth. "You…"
The invader ignored him as his scouter beeped again. "Hm? Another strong power level?" He turned, floating into the air. "Range 1,909 and closing… Wait, there's another one with a similar power level. These two must be the strongest on this pathetic planet. One of them has to be Kakarot."
With that, he took off, Piccolo dropped to one knee, his breath heavy. His hands trembled.
Who… was that? Even from miles away, my body won't stop shaking…!
---
The Kame House Reunion
Meanwhile, at Kame House, Bulma's plane landed, and she stepped inside.
"Hello, everyone! Guess who?" she called out.
"Bulma!" Krillin exclaimed, grinning.
"Yup! I got your invitation, so here I am!" she said cheerfully.
"Good, good. Wasn't sure you'd make it. It's been way too long," Master Roshi said, raising his beer mug.
Bulma looked around and smiled. "Wow, this place hasn't changed a bit."
"You don't need an invitation, you know," Roshi said, taking a sip of his drink.
Bulma smirked and pulled out a box. "Well, I brought you some goodies."
"Aww, that's sweet of you, but you didn't have to—" Roshi stopped mid-sentence as he reached toward her chest. "I mean, you could just give me a sample of those goodies instead—"
BAM!
The box of sweets slammed into Roshi's head.
"Ow! Still can't take a joke, I see," Roshi groaned.
"And I see you're still a pervy old man," Bulma snapped.
Krillin, trying to change the subject, asked, "Hey, where's Yamcha? Thought he'd be with you."
Bulma scowled. "Ugh, that jerk? Who cares?! He's probably chasing girls in the city for all I know!" She crossed her arms. "I'm done with him. I didn't even tell him about this reunion."
Krillin laughed nervously. "Guess some things never change."
"Oh yeah, Alex! I totally forgot you were here!" Bulma said, noticing him.
Alex shrugged. "No worries."
Bulma looked around. "Wait, where's Launch? She wasn't here last time either."
Krillin sighed. "She left years ago, chasing after Tien."
Just then, another plane landed on the island.
"Huh? Who else is coming?" Bulma asked.
"Oh, that must be Mellon," Alex said, stepping outside. The others followed him.
Mellon hopped out of the plane, her blonde hair catching the sunlight, and immediately spotted Alex. With a bright smile, she ran toward him and jumped into his arms.
"Alex! I'm here! Did you miss me?" she said playfully.
Alex caught her and set her down. "Yeah, I did. Come on, let me introduce you to everyone." He turned to the others. "Hey, guys, this is Mellon. Mellon, these are my friends."
Mellon waved. "Oh, I already know Master Roshi, Turtle, and Krillin. And hi, Bulma!"
"Huh?" The others turned to Bulma.
Bulma smirked. "Yeah, we've known each other since we were kids. Her grandpa is a business partner of Capsule Corp."
Krillin blinked. "Wait, really?"
Mellon grinned mischievously. "Oh, and Bulma, last time we talked, you said you'd get the perfect boyfriend. Sooo… where is he?"
Bulma's eye twitched. "Mind your own business! Besides, at least I had a boyfriend! You've never even had one!"
Mellon smirked. "That's not true! I have Alex, and he's the best!" She hugged Alex's arm.
Krillin chuckled. "Congrats, Alex! Didn't know you had a girlfriend."
Master Roshi stroked his beard. "Hmm… No student of mine can have a girlfriend without my approval first."
He adjusted his sunglasses and stepped forward. "Now then… let's see if you meet my high standar-"
Before he could finish, Mellon instinctively punched him in the face, sending him crashing into the sand.
"Ahhh! Get away from me, you old perv!" she yelled.
The others sweatdropped as Mellon opened her eyes and realized what she had done. "Oh… um, sorry! I panicked!"
Just then, a golden streak flew across the sky.
Goku landed on the island, hopping off Nimbus with a small boy in his arms.
"Hey, guys! Were you waiting for me? Oh, Alex, you're here too, huh?"
Everyone turned to Goku with smiles, but then their eyes drifted toward the boy in his arms.
Bulma blinked. "Uh… Goku? Who's the kid?"
Krillin crossed his arms. "You babysitting for some extra cash or something?"
Goku laughed. "Nah! This is my son, Gohan!"
The group collectively gasped.
"You… you have a son?!"
Gohan bowed politely. "Hello, everyone."
Bulma smirked. "Wow, he's so polite. Guess Chi-Chi's been drilling manners into him, huh?"
Goku chuckled. "Yeah, she's pretty strict. She won't even let me train him."
Krillin frowned. "Really? What a waste. I bet he'd be strong like you."
"He might be," Goku admitted, rubbing the back of his head. "Hard to say, though. Chi-Chi won't budge on it."
Bulma noticed Gohan's four-star Dragon Ball hat and smiled. "Aw, you gave him your grandpa's Dragon Ball?"
"Yeah, got it from Alex," Goku said.
Bulma chuckled. "Man, that takes me back. We had some wild times searching for those things."
Suddenly, Goku tensed up.
"What's wrong?" Roshi asked.
Goku's expression darkened. "I… I don't know. Something's coming."
"You sure?" Krillin asked.
Before Goku could answer, a shadow loomed over them.
A figure landed on the island, his scouter beeping rapidly.
Finally, he looked at Goku and smirked.
"So, we finally meet. You've grown up, but I could tell it was you at a glance… Kakarot."
To be continued...