The Curtain Rises

Kai stared at himself in the mirror.

Eight months of war-forged training stared back.

Gone were the shredded shirts and scuffed pants. Now he wore a sleek, jet-black battle suit threaded with cobalt-blue highlights, flexible and armored, tailored to fit like a second skin. Bulma called it the Elastic Combat Hi Mk II. Kai called it a luxury onesie that survived high-speed kicks to the face.

His physique had changed. He wasn't massive like a pro wrestler — more like someone who'd been forged in pressure. Dense, lethal, balanced. The kind of strength that didn't need to shout to be terrifying.

He exhaled.

He'd felt them enter the atmosphere six minutes ago. Two power levels, enormous and distinct, like twin storms. One flared and unrefined. The other… heavy. Controlled. Regal.

The Saiyans were here.

"Hey."

Bulma stood in the doorway, arms crossed, eyes sleepy but sharp.

"You heading out?"

He nodded, strapping on his boots. "They've landed."

She stepped closer, brows pinched. "Where?"

"Somewhere near East City. Pretty sure it's not there anymore."

"…You think they're just here to blow stuff up?"

"I think," he said carefully, "they're not here for tea."

She bit her lip. "You're really going to fight them, aren't you?"

Kai smirked. "I was thinking about writing them a strongly worded letter, but… yeah."

She hesitated. "Just… come back alive."

He looked at her for a beat longer than usual.

"I'll do my best."

Then he hovered into the air and took off, leaving only a ripple in the clouds behind him.

By the time he arrived, the others were gathered on a rocky plateau just outside the remains of East City. Gohan stood close to Piccolo. Tien, Chiaotzu, and Yamcha formed a loose triangle. Krillin paced nervously in the back.

Kai landed beside them.

"You guys start without me?" he asked.

Piccolo gave him a sidelong glance. "You're late."

"Fashionably."

Krillin looked up. "You feel that too, right?"

Kai nodded. "Yeah. Big trouble. Two signatures, strong. Getting closer."

Then — like clockwork — the air trembled.

Two figures shot over the horizon and landed hard, the shockwave cracking the ground beneath them.

Nappa and Vegeta.

Nappa was huge, bald, built like a bulldozer with fists. Vegeta was short, lean, arms crossed — his scouter blinking with quiet beeps.

The Saiyans looked them over with disdain.

"Tch. These are the defenders of Earth?" Nappa snorted. "I was hoping for a challenge."

"Let's see what kind of trash this planet breeds," Vegeta muttered, pressing something on his scouter.

The device beeped as it locked onto energy signatures — unfamiliar ones.

"Power levels are… pathetic," he said. "A few over 1,000. One of them higher…"

He narrowed his eyes at Kai. The scouter beeped again.

"Hmph."

Nappa laughed. "None of these guys look like a threat."

"That's the problem with judging by appearances," Kai said, stretching his neck. "Sometimes the real threat is the guy in the background making finger guns."

Nappa pointed at him. "You talk a lot for someone with hair gel."

"You punch a lot for someone with no neck."

Before fists flew, Vegeta reached into his armor and tossed a handful of small, greenish pods onto the dirt. They burst open, hissing, as six Saibamen clawed their way out of the soil — screeching, hunched, and eager to kill.

"Test them," Vegeta said.

Yamcha cracked his knuckles. "I got this."

Kai muttered under his breath, "He's dead…"

Yamcha actually held his own for a few seconds — landed a few punches — but as expected, the Saibaman latched on and self-destructed, vaporizing him in an instant.

A crater. A body. Silence.

Krillin's face went pale. "No way…"

Piccolo tensed. Gohan started shaking.

Kai didn't flinch.

'Canon Yamcha death. Check.'

Then it exploded into chaos.

Tien blasted one Saibaman to pieces. Chiaotzu narrowly dodged acid breath. Krillin managed to take out two at once with a wide blast. Gohan hesitated again — a Saibaman lunged at him.

Kai didn't move — he appeared.

A blur. A punch.

The Saibaman's head hit the ground before its body realized it was dead.

Gohan blinked. "You… didn't even—"

"Focus," Kai said simply, stepping back.

Nappa stepped forward now, cracking his neck with glee. "Alright. My turn."

The others were bruised, tired, running on fumes.

Kai exhaled and dropped his weighted gear. His gloves hit the ground with a heavy THUD, cracking the rock beneath him.

Nappa grinned. "You ready, smart mouth?"

Kai rolled his shoulders.

"You could say that."

The fight was one-sided.

Nappa lunged — missed.

Kai appeared behind him — elbowed him in the ribs.

Nappa tried to swing — Kai ducked and uppercut him into the sky.

A moment later, the mountain exploded as Nappa crashed back down.

He groaned, spitting blood. "Wh-what are you?!"

Kai cracked his neck, casual. "Just a guy with really high metabolism."

Vegeta's scouter went haywire — beeping erratically. The number it had shown earlier — 8,000 — was long gone.

"You're not human," Vegeta muttered.

Kai gave him a wink. "Maybe I just moisturize harder than you."