"If those weirdos who keep the peace hadn't shown up, Apricot would've been beaten to death!" the boy finished, voice shaking.
Levos drew a long breath, forcing his anger down. "Weirdos?"
The boy hurried to explain. "I think they were aliens. After they grabbed Apricot, we ran to beg those guys for help… They looked scary, but they came and made the bad people let her go. They hated us thanking them, though. Didn't say a word and left…"
A few questions later, Levos had the full picture. The "weirdos" were Frieza Force troopers now patrolling Earth under Levos's orders. They had done only what they were told: free the girl, nothing more.
Levos stroked the little girl's hair, voice gentle. "I'll get your capsule back."
"Big brother, don't go," she said, eyes wide with worry. "There are a lot of them… and guns…"
"Relax. Even if they had cannons, they'd be useless." He smiled.
"Really?"
"Really."
She sniffled and wiped her face. "There's so much delicious food in that capsule. We hadn't even dared to eat any yet…"
"That's nothing. From now on, you'll see better meals than you can imagine."
He turned and walked away.
At the corner, Levos stopped before the entrance to Pilaf's old underground factory. A handful of gaudy guards loitered nearby, arms sleeved in tattoos.
A pimply fat man spotted him and shouted, "Hey! Private property! Beat it while you can!"
Levos ignored him and headed in.
The thug blinked, then yanked out a knife with a nasty grin. "Oh? Think you can ignore me? Boys carve him up and feed him to the dogs!"
The others charged.
Bang. Bang. Bang.
They never reached him. Each went flying, curling on the floor like boiled shrimp, clutching their stomachs and groaning.
Boom.
A single ki blast blew the factory door inward.
The thugs on the ground went dead silent.
Levos took in the room: a dozen men clustered around cards and bottles, mountains of food piled in heaps. They ate and played in the same breath, taking random bites and tossing the rest to the floor.
In one corner sat a small dog cage, speckled with blood.
Levos's eyes cooled.
"Who the hell are you?" Chairs scraped as men lurched to their feet, faces hardening.
Levos didn't answer. He stepped down the stairs and put the nearest thug through a wall with one punch.
A tall woman in tight black leather stood up, cards forgotten. "What do you want?"
"Hand over what isn't yours," Levos said, voice cold.
She laughed. "And who do you think you are?"
Her hand flicked.
Guns snapped up all around, barrels fixing on Levos.
"Heh. The kid can't read a room. Walked right into it."
"Scared yet? In front of guns, you're worse than an ant."
"Meddle with us and die."
The woman's smile turned syrupy. "But… you've got a decent face. If you crawl and swear yourself to me as a slave, I could spare you some pain."
Levos looked over them without a ripple and started forward. With each step, hairline cracks spread across the floor.
"Ah ! Ahhhh!"
Panic flared. Fingers squeezed triggers.
Bratatatatat
"You're done, boy!"
"You think you can mess with us?"
"Know your place!"
Their laughter died at once.
The bullets struck Levos and ricocheted, whining around the room in showers of sparks.
Faces froze. Eyes bulged.
"No way!"
"This can't be real!"
They staggered back until the wall stopped them, staring as Levos kept walking, the temperature dropping with each breath.
"What is he?"
"Is he human?"
"What kind of monster ?"
"W-wait! What do you want? We'll give it back, all of it!"
"He never said what he wanted!"
"Idiot! It's the capsule! Boss, hand it over!"
The leather-clad woman jerked as if waking from a dream, then fished a Capsule from her clothes with shaking hands. She knelt and held it up, trembling.
A glint of silver caught Levos's eye a ring on her finger, cool and smooth.
A Time Ring. Zamasu's. So it hadn't ended up with Frieza after all, but in this scavenger's hands.
Levos took the capsule, then plucked the ring free and let it sit in his palm. "Good. But…"
"I'm going to make you spit out everything you ate."
"W-what?"
"We… we'll do it! We'll do it now!"
"Stop!"
A barked order rang from the blasted doorway.
Two of the thugs Levos had floored stumbled in, dragging a handful of figures behind them.
"Officers! It's him! He blew up our entrance and disturbed the peace!"
"He tried to kill us!"
"Lawless scum! Arrest him!"
"Officers, please justice!"
The room exploded with wails as everyone pinned their hopes on the newcomers.
"It's not like that!" a little boy panted, sprinting in on shaking legs. "Those bad people stole from us first! Big brother's just getting our things back!"
"Shut up, brat!" one of the tagalongs snarled, and kicked him square in the chest.
The boy hit the floor hard.
The enforcers didn't move. They stood frozen then, all at once, terror washed over their faces. In the next heartbeat, they dropped to one knee as one.
"Lord Levos! How shall we deal with them?"
Levos arched a brow. "How did you punish rebels when you suppressed planetary riots before?"
A triangular-headed alien answered promptly, "Under Lord Frieza, we threw them into the mines as slaves for life. He believed rebels are still valuable labor. A lifetime of service in those pits is the proper penalty."
Levos nodded. Trust Frieza to make "waste" useful. "Do we have mines in our assigned sectors?"
"We do."
"Then follow procedure."
"As you command!"
Within minutes, nearly twenty street rats were marched out, wailing and cursing, the reality of their fate finally sinking in.
Silence settled.
Levos glanced at the air around them. "Frieza said Zamasu died here. Which means the last Super Dragon Ball should be close."
He layered Humanoid Great Ape atop Super Saiyan. Power surged. A ki blade formed in his palm. He sliced carefully along the air.
Crack
Like a mirror splitting, the void opened. Orange light pulsed beyond, bathing the factory in a warm glow.
Levos's eyes lit. Smooth. Almost too smooth.
The last Super Dragon Ball… found.
"It's too big to store. I'd need divine power to carve out a pocket space and I can't do that yet. I'll ask Vados to come collect it. But before that…"
He slipped through the seam.
The world flipped. Above him, endless dark; beneath, a sea of orange that stretched to the horizon, glowing softly.
He was standing on the Super Dragon Ball itself, a world-sized sphere well over three Earths wide.
"Since I'm here, I'll take a piece."
By Champa's account, the Namekian Dragon Balls were made from scraps of these. With enough material, perhaps a stronger set could be forged.
Earth's Dragon Balls were on a year-long cooldown, and the Namekian set was likely already in Moro's grasp. A spare set would be insurance.
Levos got to work. The ki blade traced a precise ring, then cut deeper.
Crack. Crack. Crack
He took it slow, not wanting to gouge more than necessary.
At last a clear snap rang out, and a chunk five meters across rose free.
"With this much material, the new set will dwarf the Namekian orbs."
Satisfied, he sheathed his ki, tore open space, and stepped back to Earth with the glowing chunk in tow.
No time wasted. He Instant Transmissioned to the Lookout.
"Mr. Levos what is that?" Dende yelped as the golden-orange boulder appeared.
"A fragment of a Super Dragon Ball," Levos said simply. "Once the Lookout is repaired, please use it to craft a new set."
Mr. Popo's face darkened. "Levos, this is reckless. Dragon Balls are not to be used without restraint. You cannot lean on them for everything."
"I know."
"Then why ask?"
"Because our universe is drowning in crises," Levos answered, earnest. "Without the Dragon Balls, some problems cannot be solved in time. I will not stand by and watch everything be erased."
Mr. Popo sighed. "I will only consider it if you tell me your wishes in advance."
Levos thought a moment. "For now, only one: to dissolve Fused Zamasu back into his components or seal off his corruption. As for anything else, I haven't decided."
Dende smiled. "Don't worry, Mr. Levos. It will take a while to finish repairs anyway. We can think through the wishes together and persuade Mr. Popo."
Levos nodded. Mr. Popo shook his head, resigned, and went back to setting tiles across the plaza.
Levos took his leave and returned to Central City.
"Big brother, you're back!"
"I didn't know you were that strong!"
"Everyone says Mr. Satan is the savior, but… you're the one who really saved the world, aren't you?"
The children crowded in, chatter bubbling over pain and hunger.
Levos winced and nodded.
"We knew it!"
"You revived so many people and made the world this nice again!"
"Nice?" Levos blinked. "Those bullies were just dragged out."
"Hee-hee! That's already amazing. Before, when we got bullied, there was no one to help us."
"But now we have you and your enforcers so we're safe!" the bun-haired girl cheered.
"We don't have to hide underground anymore!"
Their eyes shone with simple, unwavering trust.
Levos scratched his head. He had not expected to loom so large in their hearts. Responsibility settled heavier on his shoulders, but steadier too.
Whatever came next, he would protect this world.
"Big brother, do you know where Lord Pilaf is?"
"I'll take you to him right now."
"Yay!"
"Join hands. Make a circle. Hold tight."
They did it without question.
Zip
They popped into Capsule Corporation.
A grand banquet filled the hall soft music, the perfume of hot dishes wafting from lines of gleaming platters. The décor sparkled; laughter rose and fell like a tide as friends played games between refills, swapping stories and tears in equal measure.
The star of the evening was Future Trunks.
"So how did the me over there end up with Mai?" local Trunks whispered.
"Uh…" Future Trunks scratched his head.
"Actually," Gohan stepped in, sheepish, "I'm curious too. In that happy timeline, who did I end up with?"
"Gohan, not you too…" Future Trunks glanced helplessly at Videl, sweat beading.
"Hey! Trunks!" Krillin latched on next, eyes gleaming. "Who did I marry, huh? Tell me! I gotta know!"
"This is… complicated," Future Trunks mumbled, wilting under the barrage. His eyes flicked, almost against his will, to Android 18 standing alone beneath a tree. In this timeline, she had killed Krillin. How could he even start?
Krillin's shoulders slumped. "Figures. No girlfriend. No marriage. That's my fate…"
"That's not it," Future Trunks blurted. "You do get married. You have a wonderful family."
"To who?" Krillin brightened. "Is her name… Maron?"
"Maron? Isn't that your daughter?" Future Trunks blinked.
"My daughter? That's weird. Why would I name my daughter after my first love?"
Future Trunks's face went rigid. Naming your daughter after your ex what was Krillin thinking? Was that not… terrifying on several levels?
Unable to walk that minefield, he raised both hands in surrender. "Please, no more questions about marriages. You have to find your own answers. This timeline's track is already wildly different from mine…"
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