{Chapter 7} Breathing Easy, Under the Stars

The sound of gentle bubbling filled my ears as I awoke, floating in the warm, healing liquid of the medical pod. My body felt weightless and I didn't even feel the pain I should be feeling from the fight with Prince Vegeta. The memory of our fierce fight brought a smile to my lips. Damn, I felt like a badass, even though I got my ass kicked. But while fighting I had felt myself becoming stronger, Just how much stronger had I become? The feeling of my muscles ripping and then coming back together was crazy, These smart atoms were crazy broken.

Right, what else could they do again, let's see if I could remember properly. The first was Environmental Adaptation. Because of this, most extremes wouldn't be a bother to me. I could survive in space, Hell I could even walk around or in the sun. For how long though I wasn't sure. Hell if I fought someone long enough I would gain a small resistance to punches or kicks, but it wouldn't work if they switched to ki attacks. My cells could only adapt to one thing.

The second ability it gave me was Flight. Now it was a bit more than just that, I could fly without using ki and maybe if I combined it with ki I could reach crazy speeds. Hell, I could move my body without really moving. plus I could save on energy more. And then it also gave me the ability to travel in space.

Which brings me to the third ability, my lungs. I would be able to hold my breath for a week, So I could travel through space without needing a ship or suit.

Fourthly It gave me the ability of a lesser immortal. Don't get me wrong I could still very much be killed, but I won't be dying of old age any time soon. Plus a neat little power of Atom memory, which means if I train my cells would remember what I had done. So if I stopped training I wouldn't be getting weaker. I would stay as strong as I was without losing gains. Hell, my guts could be out of my body and I could have lost a leg or arm but with enough time it would regenerate. And I even had a small healing factor. Normal things that could kill people might not be able to kill me. Kind of like Cell, ah shit fuck fuck fuck.

If Cell got my abilities I don't think even Super Saiyan 2 Gohan would be able to kill him....fuck. Shit, I really fucked up here. The only good thing was that my body felt fully healed already.

My gaze drifted towards the other medical pods in the room, each containing a member of my team and Raditz's team. Among them, I could see Gine, she was tending to Raditz's injured pride. All the while She moved gracefully from one pod to another, monitoring their progress and offering words of encouragement.

"Stupid... Why did I have to lose?" Raditz grumbled, his frustration palpable. "I can't believe I and Turlus were beaten by Celera. Even her team members Tato and Hanasia were surprisingly strong. How could they be so strong?"

"Don't be so hard on yourself, Raditz," Gine replied softly, her hand resting on his shoulder "You fought well, and I'm sure you can feel how much stronger you have gotten."

As I watched the tender moment between a mother and her son, I couldn't help but gag at the display but that was just me being a ass. Among Saiyans, these kinds of connections were rare since they generally didn't pay much attention to them. Hell even Bardock, too, had a similar touch of humanity beneath his rugged exterior. but that was mostly with his family and sometimes friends.

"Even if they are strong, I won't let them surpass me. I'll train until I'm stronger," Raditz vowed, clenching his fists. His determination was admirable, but I couldn't help feeling a pang of sympathy for him. There was no fucking way id let him surpass me hehehehe. But I'd make sure that idiot wouldn't be killed by Goku and Piccolo.

As I floated in the warm embrace of the medical pod, I couldn't help but think of Tato and Hanasia. Tato, with his boundless energy and relentless optimism, was a bit of a pain but I could work with him, And I would force him to train properly. And as for Hanasia, she reminded me of a dear friend I had on Earth. Silent but would always get the job done, She needed work though, I couldn't blame her for being naive at the end of the day they both were still kids. I was the odd one cause I was isekaid here.

But for now, it was time to get the hell out of this pod, After spending years in one I didn't like being in them. Pressing a button on the inside of the pod it opened, letting the liquid fall into the drain placed around it. Stepping out I stretched and looked at Raditz's. I just now noticed that there were still bruises on him, it looked like he got out early. Tilting my head I gave him a smile.

"Looks like I was right" The angered look on his face as I said those words was priceless.

The door to the medical bay hissed open, and Queen Brassica entered with a regal air about her. She approached me, her eyes appraising me as I stood there still dripping healing fluid. We just kind of stood there staring at each other. It was like what happened in schools when you would meet a boss bitch from an older gang. Besides I wasn't going to bow to anyone unless they had my respect and even then it was very unlikely.

"Your performance against Prince Vegeta was impressive," she said, her voice cool yet with a hint of warmth. "It takes great courage to stand up against someone far stronger than you."

"Thank you," I replied, still looking her in the eyes, which caused her to smirk a bit. "Man, I really wish I could've taken him down, you know?"

"Sometimes, young one, it's not about victory or defeat," she mused, her hand resting on her hip. "It's about the growth we experience through our battles. You've shown great potential, and I'm curious to see how far you can go."

What she said gave me a shiver of excitement. What person didn't like to be praised and the idea that I was good enough to attract the queen's notice was really cool. And then she slipped in, so slyly, "Maybe you could even end up as a fitting partner for Prince Vegeta in the future."

Her suggestion seriously rubbed me the wrong way, and I couldn't help but feel annoyed. Like, come on, the queen playing matchmaker for me? Don't get me wrong Prince Vegeta was and wasn't my type. At least with his current mindset, he wasn't. "I'm gonna keep busting my ass in training, Your Majesty," I said, my tone slightly edged. "But just so you know, it's for me, my team, not some matchmaking scheme."

"Very well," she said while nodding with a hint of amusement before turning to leave the room. "I expect great things from you, Celera."

It had been a week since that day and I wasted no time in resuming my training. My power level had gotten much bigger. 3,000

I had caught up or at least I thought until I found out prince Vegeta had gotten his power level up to 5,000.

My teammates Tato and Hanasia joined me, well I had to kick their asses before they even started. Sometimes Saiyan's pride in doing things a way was annoying. We pushed each other to new heights, Sadly I didn't know proper fighting styles so there was only so much I could do to help them train. Guess we had to do it the old-fashioned Saiyan way.

As we trained, I couldn't help but think about Queen Brassica's words. Which Annoyed me cause ever since that day I noticed a few Saiyan observing me everywhere I went.

"Ready for another round?" Tato called out, his grin as infectious as ever. As he and Hanasia were both fighting with me. They had raised there power levels up to 1,200 and 1,150 respectively.

"Always," I replied, settling into a fighting stance. "Let's do this."

Together, we pressed on, our sweat mingling with the dust in the air as I fought them. I was pushing them and they knew it, but they kept smiling all the while. After training, I went to the hustle and bustle of the Saiyan shipyard, I landed atop one of the towers. The sun dipped lower, casting a warm, soothing glow over everything. Below, the shipyard was a whirlwind of activity. Ships took off while others were landed, space pods or the classic Freeza-style ships. With a few other types of ship. It was weird but I enjoyed watching them.

On the tower's edge, I leaned back and rested my head, my obsidian black hair catching the last rays of daylight. Despite the chaotic symphony around me, this was nice. I could sense the eyes of others on me, my actions and demeanor being observed, but I didn't let it bother me. Taking in a breath before crossing my legs as I tried to meditate.

I had only managed to get an hour in before a sudden crackle of the coms device in my scouter came to life. an alien voice started to speak.

"Listen up, Team Celera," he said, his voice dripping with disdain.

"Your performance in the recent battle has earned the right to do missions for our lord, Lord Freeza. You are to travel to a remote planet and eliminate its inhabitants. Do not fail us."

Well shit, I had forgotten that the Queen had given me and my team the ability to do a mission. Tapping my scouter that was linked with my team. "Alright you two, I'm already at the shipyard, come and meet me here." With that, I left my spot and moved to one of the terminals. With my scouter, I was able to log into my account and check the mission status.

Mission Type: Extermination

Description: Planet Velaris IV is a lush jungle world located on the outskirts of the universe. It is still inhabited by a primitive and non-technological species known as the Velari, who are known for their physical strength and adaptability to their harsh environment.

Power Level of Velari Inhabitants: The average power level of the Velari inhabitants is around 300 to 1,500. This was going to be easy if I could get used to the idea of kill...

Still, I kept reading.

It seemed to be a Mineral planet, with lush planet life. It also had Three moons Around it. Well, we would be turning great ape at some point. This could be a problem, I would need to chart a course to avoid seeing them and hide the ship as well. whichever one was given to use for this mission. As the other two made it I turned to face them.

"Looks like we'll have a chance to put our training to the test," Tato remarked, clenching his fists.

"Indeed," Hanasia agreed, her expression solemn. "Let's make sure we're ready for whatever awaits us on that planet."

"Right, it seems the Queen was kind enough to give us a single ship." I pointed to the Mini school bus side ship on the far end. Thankfully it had an AI so I could just set up the cord nets and we should be okay.

As we boarded the ship from the back, Its insides had a set of two seats on either side. while two people could sit in the driver's seats. There was a ladder to a hatch on the top. There was a small fridge with pellet sides foods in them. Right, Fasha told me they would fill your stomach once eaten, but that they tasted horrible. Well, at least I was taught how to use a ship while I was in the pod as a kid.

Moving to One of the driving seats, while Tato and Hanasiacould fit together in the other one. Going through the starting buttons on the ship I watched as from outside a Saiyan with glowing red sticks motioned for me. As he looked around before turning the lights on his stick green, giving me the go-ahead to take off. With a pulse the ship began to hover in the air, and as I pushed forward on the drive it took off at high speeds into space.

As our spacecraft hurtled toward the remote planet, I couldn't help but feel a gnawing doubt in the pit of my stomach. The prospect of killing innocent beings weighed heavily on my conscience, and I only had a week's time before we arrived. It thankfully was close by to Planet Vegeta.

"Are you alright, Celera?" Tato asked, his brow furrowed with concern as he caught sight of my troubled expression.

"Uh, yeah," I said, attempting to mask my inner turmoil. "Just thinking about the mission."

"Remember, we're doing this for Lord Freeza," Hanasia chimed in, placing a reassuring hand on my shoulder. "We can't let Frieza down."

I had waited for them to fall asleep as I kept thinking things over in my head.

Despite their words, the unease continued to fester within me. Desperate for guidance, I activated the coms device, hoping to reach my Aunt Fasha as she had done plenty of missions.

"Hey, Aunt Fasha," I whispered when her face appeared on the screen. "I… I need to talk to you about something." She appeared to be in her pod resting.

"Of course, what's up?," she responded, her eyes looking at me with pride "What's troubling you?" As she said many other faces of her team members came on the screen as well. Well, shit guess this would be more of the veterans than my aunt just helping me out.

"I don't know if I can go through with this mission," I admitted, my voice cracking a bit. "How can I kill innocent people? I've never killed anyone before?"

All of them ended up breaking into laughter, while Bardock looked at me and shook his head. "You'r over thinking things, kid. You got no reason to feel anything when killing those weaklings." He said

"Bardock is right Celera, I get it's your first mission but you got nothing to worry about. If things get hairy just look for the moon. We heard how you did on your training, and I'm Proud of you so don't go being weak-willed on me now kiddo. " Fasha Said with a stern voice. Right, I don't know what I expected from them. They were used to killing unlike me.

Though her advice didn't help at all to quell my fears, I just had to focus on the mission for now. I thanked her and ended the call, steeling myself for the challenges that lay ahead.

As I watched the blanket of stars around us as the ship flew through space I tried to calm down. "This is what I signed up for when I chose to be a Saiyan" I mumbled. " No use bitching about it now."