“That’ll be decaf, the caffeine makes me jittery. Can’t think straight, ya know?” A heavyset man was sitting in the chair in front of Kye as he approached the end of his first day working at Parveys Burger Den. It was essentially a diner with the orange-colored booths and stuffed to the brim with people who all seemed to have their own special seat, perfect for a newbie looking for any job he could get.
“Uh-huh, and that’ll be all?” Kye, now sporting a black dress shirt and apron, had been taken in almost instantly by the regulars here, but he couldn’t help but notice the looks they were giving him. They looked similar to how Parvey stared at him, a mixed bag of pity and sadness that put him on edge.
“For now, take the menu,” the man scrunched up his face before he reached out to take it back from Kye’s hand. “Actually, I’ll, no…. Ah, whatever I’ll keep it. Never know if I get to craving something else.”
“Well, if you want a recommendation, I would go with the pot pie,” Kye offered.
“At a burger place? Nah, it be like asking for a dollar slice anywhere else but the big apple.” the man replied. Just then Parvey came out of the kitchen and slid a couple of plates that the pair of other waiters took with practiced ease, a long shot compared to the newbie Kye was.
“Ah, see you poisoned the new kid with your brand of menu items,” the man waved from his corner booth.
“He has good taste.” Parvey winked at the man, before giving Kye a nod. Just as quickly as he came, back he went into the kitchen leaving Kye to continue with work.
Kye had fallen into a rhythm serving the customers as they came and went. It was his first time waiting tables, but it wasn’t as terrible as he expected. Maybe it was the fact every customer seemed lost in their thoughts or that they all seemed to have their order planned out beforehand, either way, it was such an easy shift he had started cycling Ki throughout his body to get used to it. He messed up a few times cracking a plate with a light touch, but otherwise, it was strangely comforting having the energy flow through him.
While he went about a business he tried to start feeling out the energy of the people surrounding him. He knew he should have the potential, or he expected it, but he had no luck so far. It could be that no one on this earth had Ki to speak of, but since it was simple life energy he decided that his inability to sense it was due to this body naturally not having the instinct to do so. It was the case for many of the characters in Dragon Ball, so he left it be and kept at it. The method he was using for the moment seemed to leak out some Ki at every attempt, which led to the broken plates, so he figured he might be farther off than he thought.
I need to get used to sensing Ki, reinforcing myself and flight. When I get those three down I can get myself out of most small-time situations. But, the question is how do I find the mystery scientists… They are my only lead to figuring out how I got here and I doubt they would make finding them as simple as going back to that place in the woods…If I can even find it again...
Thinking it over he continued to do the dishes.
I could just run to the nearest superhero asking for help, but then there's the small chance I could be in one of the universes with the heroes as villains or brainwashed or something, better to learn about them before contact. Not to mention I don’t think I’m cut out for the hero lifestyle.
A tap on the shoulder broke him out of his train of thought as Parvey had practically snuck up on him.
“Hey kid you alright? You’ve been scrubbing that same dish for a while now.”
Looking down Kye noticed the same grey plate in his hand, with a small but noticeable crack in the center. It was an improvement over the last few at least.
“Ah, sorry been in my head. Got a ton I was thinking about,” Kye replied. Rinsing off the plate while quietly keeping track of the number of plates that had cracks in them he turned to face the older man.
Parvey seemed to look him over a moment, his eyes lingering on Kye in a way that made him feel a bit self-conscious. “That's only part of what I was asking about.” A chime from the front caught Parveys attention as one of the few waiters left for the day.
“Anyway we are closed for the day, mind sitting down for a chat real quick?”
“Er sure…?” Following him out into one of the booths he slid across from the man, but not before grabbing the two of them a cup of coffee.
Parvey accepted it quickly and took a sip. His face slipped into a grimace before placing the cup down.
“So what's the deal, runaway?” Parvey asked. “You seemed roughed up, family problems…?”
“I can see why you would think that but no. You could say I’m lost,” Kye replied.
“Did you try to contact your folks then?”
Kye leaned back in his side of the booth and took a sip of his coffee, and then promptly put it down.
“Don’t really have ‘folks to contact. Plus I have a feeling any of the friends I could call wouldn’t pick up.”
“I guess we are all down family lately. You are no different.” Tapping his finger on the table Parvey looked out the window for a moment. Kye joined him, watching the city lights spring into life as fewer and fewer people walked the roads every minute.
“Look, I don’t have a place, but I think I could find someone to house you for a while.” Parvey volunteered. “Get you someplace more personable and not wherever you are at the moment.”
“People around here seem quick to help,” Kye mentioned. “I’ve been lost all for a day and people are throwing things my way.”
“Yeah well, with all the people in spandex gone everyone is getting used to going without them, ya know?” Parvey replied.
Kye’s eyes widened at that. “Gone..?”
“Yeah, should be six months the day after tomorrow?”
Kye didn’t know how to respond. He had figured something was going on for him to be here, but that was beyond what he expected.
“Wait gone as in… dead?” he asked.
“Who can say, they gave their big speech and poof. Only the big guy Superman was left, he flew off for a bit and came back with nothing,” Parvey explained. “Plenty of people are still in mourning and plenty of the criminals have been having a field day. Superman’s been doing overtime all over the country.”
I wish I read more comics, I have no clue what any of this could mean.
Kye took a sip of the coffee as the two of them sat in relative silence watching the nightlife of the city pass outside, the only sound within the diner being the late-night news reports.
“And we cut from our report to give you live coverage from The Man of Steel himself in the heart of Metropolis, where we have Lois Lane on the scene.”
Kye looked up at the screen to see a press briefing. A podium stand was center amidst a sea of reporters from the shaky hands of whoever currently had the camera. After a couple of flashing lights, he saw him. The suit wasn’t traditionally bright, but he couldn’t mistake the red S centered on his darker, underwear-free suit.
“Speak of the devil huh?” Parvey turned up the volume as the two of them watched Superman float down to address the people more directly.
“I wanted to thank you all for your bravery and dedication during this difficult time,” Superman said with a sincerity that seemed to calm even Kye from where he was.
“These past few months have been trying for all of us… Now more than ever there are those who seek to divide when we all should care for our neighbors.” He paused for a moment letting his words hang.
“I know we all want answers, and I came today to say there has been a breakthrough. The method for the transport of the league and the cause for the mass disappearances six months ago has been identified and we have a working theory for reversing the damage. Within the coming weeks, we expect to have a working solution and-”
A wave of questions hit after that, but Kye had gotten the most important part.
Thousands of people went missing at the same time and some of those people were the heroes of this planet.
Even then it seems weird for me to be here… I’m still missing something.
“That's good news,” mumbled Parvey. “Bout time someone starts to figure things out…”
“You don’t sound too happy about it though?”
“Well, the transport didn’t discriminate. Some people who couldn’t afford to disappear did…” Parvey’s eyes seemed far away for a moment. “But it happened, and we’re left picking up the pieces right?”
Parvey took the remaining plates and still full cups leaving Kye in the booth alone with his thoughts.
“You should get to wherever you’ll be staying, I’ll lock up right after you go.” Looking at the cups he added. “And for next time, don’t use Krissa’s special blend. It's an... acquired taste.”
Kye was meditating again, a hike outside the city limits he had made in mere minutes and he found himself in a nice spacious area perfect for Saiyan style training hopefully. He had a good grasp on his Ki so now for the first time he would actually try to use it beyond his body. Standing up he started to focus, letting the feeling build. First, it came from his metaphorical center, some part of himself that held it all. Grabbing a sliver of it he let it circulate in a familiar pattern, feeling its energy enrich his body with a strength he was growing all too familiar with.
Next, he pooled it into his hands, feeling the energy grow volatile while he tried to press it through. It was only moments after that his body's instincts took hold and a small yellow ball of energy started to form. He held it there for a moment, getting used to having it float between his fingers.
Just as he got used to holding it there it vanished, the little energy he used spent completely.
“Ok, good first attempt, next would be…”
Gathering Ki, he again repeated the process, but this time he used much more energy. It pooled in between his hands at a much faster rate. When he had taken a sizable chunk, the ball hovered stable above his hands.
The news gave me enough to go on for now, whatever I do I can expect for it to be alone. I need to get decent at Ki manipulation so I can block or run from whatever these guys have. Then I can go about crossing off a sizable number of questions on that list.
Thrusting his hands forward, the energy ball flew forward striking one of the many trees surrounding him. Not missing a beat the ball crashed into the bark leaving a sizable chunk missing and the rest sporting embers.
“Holy shit. And I have no idea what I’m doing…”
Never thought I would be the one in a situation like this, but for now, it's going to be routine.
Kye spent the rest of the evening training like that, using up his Ki to reinforce his body and manifest it outward.
Saiyans are natural ki users and he obviously isnt goku powerlevel of 2 so he shouldnt need more than a couple weeks to be a decent ki user, for crying out loud half saiyan baby's can fly