Chapter Text
The one Trunks had dubbed Goku Black appeared in a flurry of wind and dark clouds, stance elegant as he hovered above them. He looked down at them as if they were nothing more than worms.
“Damn you,” Vegeta heard his son growl beside him. The Saiyan Prince didn’t look away from the Kakarot imposter.
Goku Black narrowed his eyes at the group, silent for a second. “I could have sworn I destroyed your time machine.”
Chit chat won’t save you this time, imposter. Vegeta cut right to the chase. “There’s something I’d like you to see,” he smirked, immediately powering up to God Super Saiyan form. He wouldn't play around like Kakarot. Vegeta’s eyes didn’t leave Black’s. “This is Super Saiyan Blue, and it’s going to bury you in the ground.”
Goku Black’s eyes lit up the second the divine blue energy flooded Vegeta’s body. A smirk crawled onto his face, taking in the sight before him. The sound of his clapping filled the tense air.
“A most brilliant display,” Black praised, dropping his arms. His eyes rolled over Vegeta's figure appreciatively. “A Saiyan body enveloped in divine energy is beautiful, even if it’s wrong.”
Vegeta grit his teeth, his stomach turning at the words. Does he think this is a joke? Damn bastard. The smug look on the imposter’s face grated Vegeta’s ire like nothing else. He tensed to move, already planning his first attack, when suddenly he felt the air shift. He knew this feeling, it always came when Kakarot used that damn Instant Transmission of his. What in the world is Kakarot doing now-
Except it wasn’t Kakarot that moved.
In the blink of an eye Black was before Vegeta, two fingers tilting the Saiyan Prince’s chin up.
“But while you’ve trained to an incredible degree, you remain nothing more than a mortal being.” The gentle pressure of Black’s fingers against Vegeta’s neck forced him to look up at not-Kakarot’s incredibly familiar eyes. That dark gaze held him in place, an animalistic hunger pinning the Saiyan Prince to the spot. Not a sound was made as he stared up at the imposter clad in black.
Snapping out of his shock induced trance, Vegeta leapt back in a panic. How did he get through my guard like that? Black had appeared before Vegeta without triggering any of the prince’s automatic bodily reactions. It was as if his body didn’t feel threatened by Black at all. He must have already powered up since Kakarot fought him in our time. There was no other way around it; the imposter must have learned a way to conceal his presence if he was able to get so close to Vegeta without an inch of resistance.
The prince stared at the imposter, who gazed back calmly, that damned smirk on his face still. He really was a carbon copy of Kakarot, down to the way he met Vegeta’s glare with confidence. That cocky look on Kakarot’s face made Vegeta’s gut twist with anger. How dare he - a third class warrior - look so smug, so goddamned proud and elegant-
Ah, well, that means nothing-
“-when faced with Super Saiyan Blue!” Vegeta growled as he lunged towards Black, punching not-Kakarot with the force of a fighter jet. Black went flying, crashing through building upon building. Vegeta gave chase, pummeling him further beyond the wreckage of the city. This left them in a crater in the ground created with the force of Vegeta’s punches, the smaller Saiyan landing hit after hit on the imposter.
Through it all, it seemed Black wasn’t fazed. Vegeta spotted the smirk on the other’s face as he pulled back, a shiver running up his spine. The air around them had suddenly changed and Vegeta was spooked . The prince leapt back in shock once more, eyes wide at the sudden energy that appeared. What the? The energy began building, leaping higher and higher in power. I sense something. And suddenly it disappeared, the only trace of it lingering in the crater Black’s body created.
All was silent except for the pat-pat-pat of Goku Black’s footsteps as he climbed out of the crater, coming to a halt a few feet before Vegeta. The fake Kakarot brushed his tunic off, gazing at Vegeta with that same damn smirk and hungry leer . Without a word he flew at the prince, landing a solid hit against Vegeta’s abdomen before he could react. The prince flew with the heavy blow, coming to a stop near Kakarot and Trunks. Black chased leisurely, once more facing off with the Saiyan Prince calmly as the other picked himself up.
“Are you ok?” Trunks called, but Vegeta ignored the boy entirely. He was more taken aback with the being that wore Kakarot’s face and was able to get past his guards without breaking a sweat. It’s.. unbelievable. It’s like my body isn’t registering him at all as a threat.
“For a lowly animal you’ve come quite far,” Black commented, that odd energy Vegeta sensed earlier spiraling around him. It set Vegeta’s hair on end. “As a reward, I’ll show you how far I’ve come.”
“Say what?” Vegeta snarled, finding it impossible to believe that this imposter had found a way to hone his stolen body into a new power. But oh, was he mistaken. With a roaring cry Black’s energy level began to ascend, swirling around him in a dark manifestation. Vegeta watched on with a frown, in that moment hating Kakarot for allowing this fake to take on Saiyan power.
In a flash of lightning, Goku Black had transformed.
“What is this?” Vegeta growled, taking in the sudden energy flux and palette swap. He would have laughed if the energy Black gave off wasn’t divine like his own.
“What do you think of it?” Black asked, spreading his arms as if bearing a gift. His face was overtaken with pride. “Quite the color, is it not? Keeping with how you like to label your power levels, the name of this one is…” Black tilted his head, eyes locked with Vegeta’s.
“Rosé.”
This isn’t- Vegeta ground his jaw, glaring at the imposter as if his look could kill. Black simply smirked back.
“That’s right,” it was as if he could read Vegeta’s thoughts, “I have now reached Super Saiyan Rosé.”
“Super Saiyan Rosé?” Trunks stammered out, and Black replied with a laugh, floating higher above the group. He looked down upon the others as if they were nothing but dirt under his shoe.
“At last, I have not only mastered Goku’s powers - I have made them my own,” Black chuckled, eying the mortals below him. “Go on, Goku,” he motioned to the Saiyan whose body he stole in another timeline, “rejoice. Only through me will you finally reach the pinnacle of beauty you have sought for so very long.”
Goku gazed up at him impassively, if a little confused. “I don’t know what you’re rambling on about, but just get on with the fight.”
His darker clad lookalike snickered to himself. “Of course you don’t - your mind is too small. Your kind is incapable of understanding the grandeur of my success and the glory of my cause.” Black raised his arms as if in worship. “It’s like staring into the sun; you cannot see. The vast beauty of my being overwhelms you, for I am a breed apart and divine.”
“He’s starting to rub me the wrong way,” Goku muttered to Trunks, watching himself as he flamboyantly ranted on.
“Black!” Vegeta snarled, catching the imposter’s attention. How dare he ignore me! “What are you doing talking to Kakarot?” the prince growled, anger fueling his words. “You’re supposed to be fighting me.”
Goku Black turned to him disinterestedly. “Oh, you don’t understand, Saiyan,” he chided as if speaking to a child. “Your time is already at an end.”
“Like hell it is!”
Black shook his head, turning away from the prince in dismissal. “You were the opening act. Now leave the stage.”
How dare he.
Blinding rage propelled Vegeta forward, launching himself to the imposter with the intent to maim. His first punch was dodged, and looking back, Vegeta was foolish to think that such a thoughtless attack would land.
“You don’t know your place,” Black growled, intent on teaching the mortal a lesson. Vegeta heard his son yell something at him but it went over his head as he caught Black’s reciprocating attack. He held the other’s fist firmly, icy blue eyes piercing into gray. The surprise that flashed through those grays filled him with pride. Black was forced to power up to match Vegeta’s raging energy, but even then he was near helpless trying to quell the flurry of hits Vegeta delivered on him one handedly.
With a rising uppercut, Vegeta released the imposter. “I’m not the opening act,” he snarled, lunging forward for another blow, “I’m the star of this damn show!”
He froze.
“Y-you,” Vegeta choked out, staring at the hand in his chest in shock. “How’d you.. do that?..”
Goku Black stared back at him with a smug smile. He had called upon a Ki blade and stopped Vegeta’s follow up cold. The blade pierced the prince’s armor and chest - a clean stab through.
“Calling you the opening act is a weak metaphor. It’s much more like..” Black mused, “you’re just the appetizer.” The hungry look on not-Kakarot’s face pierced Vegeta almost as sharply as his blade. “That’s right, a light introduction before I commence with the main course.” The darker clad Kakarot raised a hand to Vegeta’s cheek, running a thumb along the corner of his bloody mouth. Black pulled his hand back and swiped his tongue at the blood smeared on his thumb, eyes never leaving Vegeta’s blue ones. He was surprised the prince was still able to hold his divine form, if only for a little.
“Wha..” the pain in Vegeta’s chest was making it hard to think, let alone form words. “You.. vile bastard..”
Black stared at him with a dark gaze, twisting the blade in Vegeta’s chest. The prince felt sick, choking out another mouthful of blood. He couldn’t feel his arms or legs or anything . And though there was hunger in Black’s eyes, there was also a steely cold. He pulled his blade from Vegeta’s body without hesitation and watched the blood spill from the wound in satisfaction.
The second the blade left Vegeta’s body he felt like he had been dunked in water. Suddenly there was no weight, nothing to focus on or hold him up. He saw the blood gushing from his body but couldn’t register anything. A last glimpse at Goku Black was all he remembered before the ground was rushing up to meet him.