Issues: The Beginning, Ch14
Title: Issues: The Beginning, Ch14
Fandom: Issues
Characters/pairings: Ensemble
Rating: PG-13
Summary: A group of college students find a way to travel to other worlds.
Warnings: Mary-Sue self insert with bad characterizations.
Notes: Old writing, from waaaaay back in the day, in it's mostly original format (very minor corrections may have been made)
o o o
Teri stood in a patch of grass, trying to not let her nervousness show. Trunks slowly walked around her in a circle, looking her up and down, trying to estimate her potential. Teri held her head up. She knew that he was testing her power level and that he was not finding much. Finally he stopped in front of her and fixed his gaze on her face. Teri swallowed nervously and forced herself to look him in the eye. She hadn't even felt this nervous when she was taking the test to get her black belt. Maybe that was because her martial arts instructor wasn't as good looking as the young man who stood before her.
"I think," Trunks said "That this will be difficult," Teri's heart fell to her feet "But not impossible." Heart back somewhere around her belly button. "You don't have the power to fly yet." Trunks continued. "But with training it can get there."
"Question, Sensei." Teri said, raising her hand. "Trunks looked a bit startled at being called sensei but didn't object. " About how much power does one need to fly?"
Trunks frowned. "I'm not quite sure on that one. More than it takes to create a ki blast, but less than one would need to blow something sky- high." He bit his lip and thought for a second. "If five or six is a normal human adult, then about thirty. Yours is at perhaps six now. So we need to make you five or six times as powerful as you are."
"Question two. What would, say, a human strong man be at?"
"Nine at the very most."
Teri nodded. So she was about to start a training that would make her three or four times as powerful as the strongest person on her planet. Oh, peachy- keen. Just . . . peachy.
"So, how do we start?"
"Well, I'm not teaching you to fight, so we won't spend a lot of time with that. But you've seen our 'show' You should remember how. Come with me." Trunks led Teri around the side of Capsule Corp.
The gravity room? Teri thought wildly. No, that's too much for me, even at two. Sparring sessions? No, he'd knock me flat in two seconds. Wait, I'm thinking in the wrong show. How did Goku get stronger as a kid? Then it hit her.
"Um, Trunks-sensei?"
"What?"
"Y-you're not gonna make me deliver milk, are you?"
Trunks gave her a wicked grin. "Of course not. I'm using another part of Master Roshi's training." He stopped in front of a small shed and opened it. Teri's face fell when she saw what he grabbed from within. A turtle shell. The size of a card table. "Here ya go!" he said, handing it to her. She nearly dropped it, not expecting the weight. She managed to get it on her back and strapped on without crushing her toes.
Standing there, watching his new student struggle to get her balance with the heavy shell on her back, Trunks wondered what the hell he was getting himself into. He had never taught someone anything before, much less teach a strange girl how to fly. Yet he was determined, seeing it as a challenge. Although the real challenge at the moment was to not laugh at Teri as she managed to get the thing on her back.
"Well, what now, sensei?" Teri asked, accenting the last word as she hunched over to keep the shell on her back. It wasn't as bad now that the thing was strapped on, her book-bag could get pretty heavy as well, though not quite like this. Trunks thought for a moment then gave her another wicked grin.
"Why, I thought we'd take a little walk. Around the city outskirts."
Teri blanched at the thought, then her face took a determined look. "Fine, Sensei." She said. "Do your damnedest. I'll walk around your damn city. But if I die from exhaustion, it's your fault." She stood a bit straighter, holding onto the straps of the shell, and look Trunks in the eye. "Lead the way, Sensei."
o o o
Teri trudged along the road, the shell's straps biting into her shoulders. Just ahead, Trunks flew lazily along, reminding her of the goal she was going through this torture to reach. The thoughts running through Teri's mind at that time would turn this fic rated R, so we won't mention them here. Yet she was determined to make it all the way around the city. A quick glance at her watch told her that she had been walking for well over two hours. They had started out at ten in the morning. Teri kept hoping that Trunks would stop them for a lunch break, but he didn't say anything so she kept walking. The road she was following curved through the abandoned outskirts of the city so they met few cars. Whenever someone drove past, Trunks put his feet to the ground and walked along side Teri, waving at the people in the car. A few of them gave Teri an odd look, but most just waved back.
Suddenly Teri tripped and fell to her knees. Trunks stopped and watched her silently. For a moment, the woman wanted to give up, or beg for a smaller shell. Then she realized she couldn't do that, that she simply would not allow herself to appear weak to Trunks. Old Irish pride flared up and demanded she get up.
"Screw it." Teri said. Trunks looked surprised. "Nope," she continued, getting slowly to her feet. "I'm through. I give up." She began walking again. "I just can't do this. Nope, nope, nope. I'm a weak, pathetic human. I should just lay down right here and say screw the world. But you know what? Humans are too stupid to do what's best for them. So I'll keep going. Because I'm an idiot who wants scoliosis for Christmas. Yep." She shot Trunks a glare, as if he'd contradicted her. "So don't get your hopes up. I ain't done yet."
Trunks felt like gapping at her. Instead he nodded and watched her continue on. She had to be the most confusing person he'd met since Piccolo. He stared as she began to sing in a different language. After a moment he realized he understood this language as well. English or something similar to that. He didn't recognize all of the words but he knew enough to follow the song.
"Every thing you know is wrong. Black is white, up is down and short is long. And everything you thought was just so important doesn't matter. Every thing you know is wrong. Just forget the words and sing along. All you need to understand is that everything you know is wrong."
After that, Trunks was sure he was misunderstanding her. The words made little to no sense. If he was understanding her correctly, she was insane. Deciding to question the matter later, they continued. Teri meanwhile sang song after song, most in English, one or two in Japanese, and one in a language Trunks couldn't identify. Teri wasn't exactly the best singer in the world but the singing seemed to help her continue so Trunks let it go on. Some of the lyrics confused him while others made him come close to laughing out loud. This woman surely was weird.
Bulma drove towards Capsule Corp. It was about two o'clock in the afternoon, bright and sunny. Two figures ahead of her made her slow down. She gaped as she drove by. Her son, waving cheerfully. Teri trudging along side him with one of Master Roshi's old shells on her back, looking like a slave. Bulma stopped the car and got out. "What in Kami's good name is going on?" she asked both hands on her hips.
Trunks opened his mouth to say something but was cut off by Teri. "'S okay, Bulma-san. This is only the first part of my training with Trunks-sensei. Now if you'll excuse us, we've still got, what, a mile or two?" Trunks nodded. "Well, see you back at the dome." With that Teri walked around the car, starting on another song. Trunks followed, giving his mother a wave.
Bulma stared for a moment before jumping in her car again. She pulled up along side the two and matched their pace. "What do you mean, training?" she asked out the window. "Trunks did you-"
"It was my idea." Teri said. "I asked Trunks to train me. Trust me, I consider it worth it." She managed a small smile. "Just go on home. We'll be there within twenty minutes." Bulma stared a moment longer then sped up. She was going to ask a lot of questions when they got back.
"There." Trunks said as he lifted the shell from Teri's back. "Better?"
Teri collapsed to the ground and lay there, spread eagle. "Four hours without a break." She muttered. "I will never forgive my foolish pride."
Trunks look surprised. "If you wanted a break, you could've asked." He said with a frown.
Teri cocked an eyebrow at him. "If I ever asked my old instructor for a break, he'd make me work that much longer until he gave me one. I learned to not ask. I'll get there soon enough. Not my fault you didn't give one."
Bulma walked around the corner just in time to hear this conversation. "Trunks!" she snapped "You made her walk for four hours without a break? She's human, not a stone Saiya-jin!"
"It's okay, Bulma-san." Teri said, sitting up. "I'm fine. I walk everywhere and with a heavy book bag as well. It's nothing new."
"That doesn't look like a book bag to me." Bulma said, pointing at the shell. "Why on earth are you doing this?"
"She wants to learn how to fly." Trunks said as Teri massaged her lower back. "She really seemed to want to learn, so I said I'd train her."
"She's to learn how to fly with a magenta shell on her back?"
"No, she's to gain enough power to fly with a magenta shell on her back. She'll learn to fly when she has enough power."
Bulma shook her head. "You'll end up killing her. Now come inside, both of you. I'll make something for lunch."
"Food good." Teri said, standing up. "Food good, yes, yes. Teri like food, yes, yes." Trunks gave her an odd look as they walked around the house.
o o o
Teri smiled as she sat back. Lunch had been some strange, delicious soup and sandwiches. As she ate she watched Trunks eat with a lazy curiosity. The Saiya-jin ate a good deal, but politely. He didn't shovel down the soup like a hog, but his spoon moved in a blur. After they ate Bulma led the way into the lab to work on the GPS's. Now the first one sat on the lab table before the two women, its' plastic case sitting next to it.
"I'd never thought of adding a second processor." Teri mused "But it makes sense. I really owe you, Bulma-san."
"What can I say, I'm a genius." Bulma replied. "And being a woman, I'm a genius who's always right." Both women laughed as Teri flipped open the laptop. A few clicks later she turned it towards Bulma.
"Here's the program as I wrote it." Teri said, clicking on one page. Bulma scanned it and nodded. "And here's as it is now, after I ran it the first time. Not totally different, but still not the same."
Bulma took the laptop and clicked back and forth between the pages, looking at the differences in the programs. "Do you know what caused the change?" she asked.
"No idea." Teri replied. She had already told Bulma what the program was intended to do. "Maybe the fates of the universe wanted me to find the portals. Or maybe a weird virus hit it. Or maybe it was magic leprechauns from mars." Bulma gave her an odd look. "So I'm insane. Sue me."
Bulma shook her head. "Weird, yes. Insane, I think not. I've seen insane. You are not insane. Insane is watching a city get demolished in thirty seconds and knowing your only son is in there, somewhere." A dead look filled Bulma's eyes. "Insane is sending said son twenty years into the past in an untested machine." Teri bit her lip, not knowing what to say. "Insane is trying to change the past." Bulma finished in a near whisper.
"Not insane." Teri said. "Wanting to change the past, human nature. Having the ability to change the past, genius. Actually trying, true bravery." She offered Bulma a smile that felt entirely inadequate. "And I happen to know that you made life a heck of a lot better for certain counter-parts of yours. My friend recently visited the alternate timeline Trunks made when he went back. You saved a world full of lives in doing that."
Bulma sighed and, to Teri's relief, the dead look left her eyes-to a degree. "I know." The scientist said.
"Although," Teri said slyly. "The Trunks in that time had his hair still in a bowl cut and he don't look nearly as good as the one here." Bulma snorted back laughter.
Fandom: Issues
Characters/pairings: Ensemble
Rating: PG-13
Summary: A group of college students find a way to travel to other worlds.
Warnings: Mary-Sue self insert with bad characterizations.
Notes: Old writing, from waaaaay back in the day, in it's mostly original format (very minor corrections may have been made)
o o o
Teri stood in a patch of grass, trying to not let her nervousness show. Trunks slowly walked around her in a circle, looking her up and down, trying to estimate her potential. Teri held her head up. She knew that he was testing her power level and that he was not finding much. Finally he stopped in front of her and fixed his gaze on her face. Teri swallowed nervously and forced herself to look him in the eye. She hadn't even felt this nervous when she was taking the test to get her black belt. Maybe that was because her martial arts instructor wasn't as good looking as the young man who stood before her.
"I think," Trunks said "That this will be difficult," Teri's heart fell to her feet "But not impossible." Heart back somewhere around her belly button. "You don't have the power to fly yet." Trunks continued. "But with training it can get there."
"Question, Sensei." Teri said, raising her hand. "Trunks looked a bit startled at being called sensei but didn't object. " About how much power does one need to fly?"
Trunks frowned. "I'm not quite sure on that one. More than it takes to create a ki blast, but less than one would need to blow something sky- high." He bit his lip and thought for a second. "If five or six is a normal human adult, then about thirty. Yours is at perhaps six now. So we need to make you five or six times as powerful as you are."
"Question two. What would, say, a human strong man be at?"
"Nine at the very most."
Teri nodded. So she was about to start a training that would make her three or four times as powerful as the strongest person on her planet. Oh, peachy- keen. Just . . . peachy.
"So, how do we start?"
"Well, I'm not teaching you to fight, so we won't spend a lot of time with that. But you've seen our 'show' You should remember how. Come with me." Trunks led Teri around the side of Capsule Corp.
The gravity room? Teri thought wildly. No, that's too much for me, even at two. Sparring sessions? No, he'd knock me flat in two seconds. Wait, I'm thinking in the wrong show. How did Goku get stronger as a kid? Then it hit her.
"Um, Trunks-sensei?"
"What?"
"Y-you're not gonna make me deliver milk, are you?"
Trunks gave her a wicked grin. "Of course not. I'm using another part of Master Roshi's training." He stopped in front of a small shed and opened it. Teri's face fell when she saw what he grabbed from within. A turtle shell. The size of a card table. "Here ya go!" he said, handing it to her. She nearly dropped it, not expecting the weight. She managed to get it on her back and strapped on without crushing her toes.
Standing there, watching his new student struggle to get her balance with the heavy shell on her back, Trunks wondered what the hell he was getting himself into. He had never taught someone anything before, much less teach a strange girl how to fly. Yet he was determined, seeing it as a challenge. Although the real challenge at the moment was to not laugh at Teri as she managed to get the thing on her back.
"Well, what now, sensei?" Teri asked, accenting the last word as she hunched over to keep the shell on her back. It wasn't as bad now that the thing was strapped on, her book-bag could get pretty heavy as well, though not quite like this. Trunks thought for a moment then gave her another wicked grin.
"Why, I thought we'd take a little walk. Around the city outskirts."
Teri blanched at the thought, then her face took a determined look. "Fine, Sensei." She said. "Do your damnedest. I'll walk around your damn city. But if I die from exhaustion, it's your fault." She stood a bit straighter, holding onto the straps of the shell, and look Trunks in the eye. "Lead the way, Sensei."
o o o
Teri trudged along the road, the shell's straps biting into her shoulders. Just ahead, Trunks flew lazily along, reminding her of the goal she was going through this torture to reach. The thoughts running through Teri's mind at that time would turn this fic rated R, so we won't mention them here. Yet she was determined to make it all the way around the city. A quick glance at her watch told her that she had been walking for well over two hours. They had started out at ten in the morning. Teri kept hoping that Trunks would stop them for a lunch break, but he didn't say anything so she kept walking. The road she was following curved through the abandoned outskirts of the city so they met few cars. Whenever someone drove past, Trunks put his feet to the ground and walked along side Teri, waving at the people in the car. A few of them gave Teri an odd look, but most just waved back.
Suddenly Teri tripped and fell to her knees. Trunks stopped and watched her silently. For a moment, the woman wanted to give up, or beg for a smaller shell. Then she realized she couldn't do that, that she simply would not allow herself to appear weak to Trunks. Old Irish pride flared up and demanded she get up.
"Screw it." Teri said. Trunks looked surprised. "Nope," she continued, getting slowly to her feet. "I'm through. I give up." She began walking again. "I just can't do this. Nope, nope, nope. I'm a weak, pathetic human. I should just lay down right here and say screw the world. But you know what? Humans are too stupid to do what's best for them. So I'll keep going. Because I'm an idiot who wants scoliosis for Christmas. Yep." She shot Trunks a glare, as if he'd contradicted her. "So don't get your hopes up. I ain't done yet."
Trunks felt like gapping at her. Instead he nodded and watched her continue on. She had to be the most confusing person he'd met since Piccolo. He stared as she began to sing in a different language. After a moment he realized he understood this language as well. English or something similar to that. He didn't recognize all of the words but he knew enough to follow the song.
"Every thing you know is wrong. Black is white, up is down and short is long. And everything you thought was just so important doesn't matter. Every thing you know is wrong. Just forget the words and sing along. All you need to understand is that everything you know is wrong."
After that, Trunks was sure he was misunderstanding her. The words made little to no sense. If he was understanding her correctly, she was insane. Deciding to question the matter later, they continued. Teri meanwhile sang song after song, most in English, one or two in Japanese, and one in a language Trunks couldn't identify. Teri wasn't exactly the best singer in the world but the singing seemed to help her continue so Trunks let it go on. Some of the lyrics confused him while others made him come close to laughing out loud. This woman surely was weird.
Bulma drove towards Capsule Corp. It was about two o'clock in the afternoon, bright and sunny. Two figures ahead of her made her slow down. She gaped as she drove by. Her son, waving cheerfully. Teri trudging along side him with one of Master Roshi's old shells on her back, looking like a slave. Bulma stopped the car and got out. "What in Kami's good name is going on?" she asked both hands on her hips.
Trunks opened his mouth to say something but was cut off by Teri. "'S okay, Bulma-san. This is only the first part of my training with Trunks-sensei. Now if you'll excuse us, we've still got, what, a mile or two?" Trunks nodded. "Well, see you back at the dome." With that Teri walked around the car, starting on another song. Trunks followed, giving his mother a wave.
Bulma stared for a moment before jumping in her car again. She pulled up along side the two and matched their pace. "What do you mean, training?" she asked out the window. "Trunks did you-"
"It was my idea." Teri said. "I asked Trunks to train me. Trust me, I consider it worth it." She managed a small smile. "Just go on home. We'll be there within twenty minutes." Bulma stared a moment longer then sped up. She was going to ask a lot of questions when they got back.
"There." Trunks said as he lifted the shell from Teri's back. "Better?"
Teri collapsed to the ground and lay there, spread eagle. "Four hours without a break." She muttered. "I will never forgive my foolish pride."
Trunks look surprised. "If you wanted a break, you could've asked." He said with a frown.
Teri cocked an eyebrow at him. "If I ever asked my old instructor for a break, he'd make me work that much longer until he gave me one. I learned to not ask. I'll get there soon enough. Not my fault you didn't give one."
Bulma walked around the corner just in time to hear this conversation. "Trunks!" she snapped "You made her walk for four hours without a break? She's human, not a stone Saiya-jin!"
"It's okay, Bulma-san." Teri said, sitting up. "I'm fine. I walk everywhere and with a heavy book bag as well. It's nothing new."
"That doesn't look like a book bag to me." Bulma said, pointing at the shell. "Why on earth are you doing this?"
"She wants to learn how to fly." Trunks said as Teri massaged her lower back. "She really seemed to want to learn, so I said I'd train her."
"She's to learn how to fly with a magenta shell on her back?"
"No, she's to gain enough power to fly with a magenta shell on her back. She'll learn to fly when she has enough power."
Bulma shook her head. "You'll end up killing her. Now come inside, both of you. I'll make something for lunch."
"Food good." Teri said, standing up. "Food good, yes, yes. Teri like food, yes, yes." Trunks gave her an odd look as they walked around the house.
o o o
Teri smiled as she sat back. Lunch had been some strange, delicious soup and sandwiches. As she ate she watched Trunks eat with a lazy curiosity. The Saiya-jin ate a good deal, but politely. He didn't shovel down the soup like a hog, but his spoon moved in a blur. After they ate Bulma led the way into the lab to work on the GPS's. Now the first one sat on the lab table before the two women, its' plastic case sitting next to it.
"I'd never thought of adding a second processor." Teri mused "But it makes sense. I really owe you, Bulma-san."
"What can I say, I'm a genius." Bulma replied. "And being a woman, I'm a genius who's always right." Both women laughed as Teri flipped open the laptop. A few clicks later she turned it towards Bulma.
"Here's the program as I wrote it." Teri said, clicking on one page. Bulma scanned it and nodded. "And here's as it is now, after I ran it the first time. Not totally different, but still not the same."
Bulma took the laptop and clicked back and forth between the pages, looking at the differences in the programs. "Do you know what caused the change?" she asked.
"No idea." Teri replied. She had already told Bulma what the program was intended to do. "Maybe the fates of the universe wanted me to find the portals. Or maybe a weird virus hit it. Or maybe it was magic leprechauns from mars." Bulma gave her an odd look. "So I'm insane. Sue me."
Bulma shook her head. "Weird, yes. Insane, I think not. I've seen insane. You are not insane. Insane is watching a city get demolished in thirty seconds and knowing your only son is in there, somewhere." A dead look filled Bulma's eyes. "Insane is sending said son twenty years into the past in an untested machine." Teri bit her lip, not knowing what to say. "Insane is trying to change the past." Bulma finished in a near whisper.
"Not insane." Teri said. "Wanting to change the past, human nature. Having the ability to change the past, genius. Actually trying, true bravery." She offered Bulma a smile that felt entirely inadequate. "And I happen to know that you made life a heck of a lot better for certain counter-parts of yours. My friend recently visited the alternate timeline Trunks made when he went back. You saved a world full of lives in doing that."
Bulma sighed and, to Teri's relief, the dead look left her eyes-to a degree. "I know." The scientist said.
"Although," Teri said slyly. "The Trunks in that time had his hair still in a bowl cut and he don't look nearly as good as the one here." Bulma snorted back laughter.