"You never know when to shut your mouth, do you? Repeating the same tired lines over and over like I won't actually kill you for it. 'Our battle powers are equal'? Don't insult me. Do you really think I'm the same Vegeta you knew?"
With those words, Vegeta yanked his fist back and clamped his hand around Quincy Yates's face.
Five fingers dug in like steel claws. Quincy's hands shot up, clawing desperately at Vegeta's wrist, trying to pry himself free.
Useless.
The gap was absolute.
18,000 versus 24,000.
Six thousand might as well have been six million.
BOOM!
Vegeta smashed Quincy head-first into the reinforced alloy wall. Metal buckled, spider-web cracks exploding outward in an instant. Red warning lights flashed; the base-wide alarm screamed to life.
Vegeta didn't even glance at it.
He simply opened his hand and let the broken man crumple to the floor in a heap.
"T-this… impossible…!" Quincy wheezed, blood trickling from his mouth, eyes wide with animal panic. "How… how are you this strong? Our power levels were the same…!"
Eighteen thousand was still enough to keep him breathing. Two hits from Vegeta no matter how brutal wouldn't kill him.
Not yet.
"So you really thought I was bluffing?" Vegeta sneered. "Quincy, you pathetic worm. You actually believed you were my equal? I ignored trash like you before, and you mistook mercy for parity."
He raised his open palm and aimed it squarely at Quincy's face.
That single gesture turned Quincy's blood to ice.
The alien thrashed, tearing himself free from the crumpled wall, stumbling backward in blind terror.
He tried to dodge.
Vegeta's palm tracked him without effort.
Death stared him down. Quincy's breath came in ragged, desperate gasps.
Then his outdated scouter let out a shrill, frantic beep.
"B-battle power… twenty thousand… still climbing !!"
The next second, the device overloaded and shattered in a shower of sparks.
"W-wait Vegeta!! I surrender! I was wrong! Please, I "
Quincy broke. All pride vanished. He groveled, forehead scraping the floor.
Over twenty thousand. The gap was no longer a gap it was a death sentence.
They both knew the rules of their world cold:
1,000–2,000 difference: a tough fight, but winnable with skill or luck.Over 2,000: total, merciless domination.
Only a cheap shot or dumb luck could save you now.
Vegeta looked down at the trembling coward and curled his lip.
"A dog through and through. Honestly? I preferred the old you the arrogant, loudmouthed version. At least that one had a spine."
Quincy was sweating buckets, head bowed, but his eyes darted side to side, still hunting for any sliver of a chance.
Vegeta saw it coming a mile away.
Quincy misread the prince's brief pause as hesitation and exploded upward, blasting straight through the ceiling and rocketing into the sky.
Just like the original story: treacherous, spineless, and too stupid to wait for a real opening.
Vegeta's lips twisted into a cold, predatory smirk.
High above, Quincy thought he'd won the split-second advantage. He spun, cupped his hands, and poured every last drop of ki into one desperate attack.
"Heh… heh-heh-heh… HAHAHA! Vegeta, you hesitated! Now die!"
A massive sphere of violet energy screamed downward, big enough to swallow half the base.
To any normal eye, it looked apocalyptic.
"Idiot," Vegeta said, voice calm as death. "You still don't understand the difference between us."
He was done playing.
A murderous glint flashed in his eyes.
"Galick Burst!!"
In a single heartbeat, an ocean of purple-white power erupted from his palms, tearing upward to meet the sky.