An Itchy Tail

Vegeta was a little puzzled. What was going on?

By his reckoning, Vegeta was already six years old. In the original timeline, Kakarot would have been sent to Earth when Vegeta was five, and Planet Vegeta would have been destroyed by Frieza that same year.

Vegeta guessed that his unauthorized actions might have changed Frieza's original plans, altering the course of Dragon Ball's history as well.

Since Frieza wanted to send him back to Planet Vegeta, Vegeta decided he might as well take a look at his home planet.

After all, Vegeta now had the ability to regenerate. It took a while, but that was still better than dying outright.

There was one other thing Vegeta was particularly thankful for: he had already obtained a training chamber capable of three hundred times normal gravity from Bulma's father.

And Bulma's father had really come through. Not only had he built the training chamber, but he had also put it into Hoi-Poi Capsule form, making it easy for Vegeta to carry around.

Recoome, who had been silent all this time, turned to Vegeta with a provocative grin. "Heh, what are you thinking about, you little brat? I'm warning you, don't even think about escaping. We're in the middle of space. You Saiyans can't survive out there, can you?"

"Oh? So you can survive in space?" Vegeta asked with a smile.

"Of course! My body's special. I'm nothing like you Saiyans-a bunch of wild monkeys that haven't even finished evolving. You think you can overturn the natural order?" Recoome sneered.

Vegeta said nothing more. He walked over to the spaceship's hatch and glanced out at the vast expanse of space.

"Staring won't help, you little brat. You think looking outside will let you survive in space?" Recoome gave Vegeta a mocking look and ran a hand over his bright red hair. "You'd better behave yourself. If Lord Frieza hadn't forbidden us from killing you, heh, do you think you'd still be alive?"

"What was your name again?" Vegeta asked, looking at Recoome.

Vegeta had trouble telling the members of the Ginyu Force apart, especially Recoome and Burter, and often mixed them up.

It wasn't that the two looked alike. They were simply minor characters, so Vegeta hadn't paid much attention to them back then.

"I'm Recoome," Recoome stated.

"Come here a moment." Vegeta beckoned to him.

"What for?" Recoome eyed Vegeta warily. Whatever else might be true, Vegeta's earlier display of strength had still frightened him.

"Don't tell me you're scared?" Vegeta smiled faintly. "You can check with your Scouter. My power level's only five, isn't it?"

"Go on, Recoome. I don't believe he can pull anything on us," Jeice urged from the side.

"Hmph." Recoome thought that made sense. What trouble could a little punk with a power level of five possibly cause?

So Recoome walked toward Vegeta, one step at a time, and said arrogantly, "You little brat, I've been itching for something to do. Heh, we're still several months away from your Planet Vegeta. Since I'm bored, I might as well take it out on you."

As he spoke, Recoome loosened up his muscles, ready to give Vegeta a thorough beating.

Vegeta was all smiles. After speaking, he yanked open the spaceship's hatch and, at the same time, lashed his tail in a graceful arc, striking Recoome squarely.

"Aah..."

Recoome let out a miserable scream as his entire body went flying out of the spaceship.

"Sorry, my tail was itchy." Vegeta stroked his tail and looked at Jeice with a cheerful smile.