Disclaimer: Once again, see prologue.

A/N: This chapter has some fighting in it and I'm not very good at fight scenes. So keep that in mind and tell me what you think about it!

Uncertain Futures

Chapter 2

The crowd was hushed and still as the figure began to remove their outer wear. First, they pushed back their hood that slapped against the cloak as it was removed. Everyone in the crowd was breathless.

Underneath that ugly hood was young woman. She flipped out a messy French braid from inside the cloak that was immediately thrown off. The woman took off a pair of dark glasses and also tossed them aside. Now they were looking at the real person behind the hood. She was a plain-looking woman with long black hair that whipped in the breeze. Her eyes were an icy blue that sent shivers into everyone's bodies.

She might have been pretty if her face wasn't so completely smudged with dirt and dried blood. She wore no make-up whatsoever. A ripped dark green tank top and black baggy pants hung to her thin frame. A worn pair of black boots peeked out from under the tattered hem of her pants. A pair of black leather biker gloves covered her hands and ended just below her long fingers.

Everyone, even Trunks, stared at her in surprise. She, on the other hand, had not forgotten the matter at hand. Before anyone could react, she flew upwards and landed on top of a flat roof near the center of town.

"If you idiots won't stop staring at me like I'm a museum display then maybe I should blow you to the next dimension!!" the girl snapped as she slowly raised her hand as if to fire a blast.

The crowd gasped with horror and quickly averted their eyes to the ground. Trunks's energy flared as he flew up to join the hot-tempered female. He glared angrily at her while setting up his usual fighting stance. The girl responded by flashing a surprisingly familiar smirk that caused Trunks to blush. She took advantage of his distraction to attack him head on. Before he knew what was happening, Trunks was lost in a flurry of powered punches and kicks. He tried to block, but noticed that her energy had mysteriously raised once she removed her black cloak.

The crowd stood in shock as the girl seemed to now overpower their hero. Bulma and ChiChi also were surprised that this strange girl seemed to match Trunks in nearly every aspect of martial arts. But, they reassured themselves, Trunks still hadn't gone Super Saiyan.

Trunks was actually struggling now. The female warrior was faster and stronger than ever. He nearly fell over with surprise when he sensed her energy. She had a power level that actually passed his power when he wasn't Super Saiyan. She easily outmatched Krillin, Tien, and Yamcha. And they used to be considered the most powerful humans on the planet. He didn't know how to react to this new foe. Also, in the back of his mind, he wondered how a fighter with such skill could have hidden from the androids over the past twenty years. The girl sensed something weird about him as she viciously attacked him constantly. He seemed to be out of it right now. So, she flew backwards and waited for him to notice.

It didn't take but a couple seconds for Trunks to realize that his attacker had abruptly stopped pummeling his aching body. He looked strangely at her, while she simply stared at him with those blue eyes, which were now filled with annoyance. He again noticed something familiar about her, this time in the way she stared at him so intensely.

"Why did you stop?" Trunks asked the girl curiously.

She tossed back a piece of unruly hair and exclaimed, "Because you were too distracted to pay much attention anymore. I don't want to fight someone who isn't going to give me some decent fun. I thought that maybe the person who defeated the androids could help me measure and challenge myself. So, if you aren't going to at least try I might as well leave."

Trunks looked in surprise at her response. He thought she was fighting him so that she could destroy this neighborhood in peace. Now that he knew she just wanted a good fight, like him at times, he was willing to give her what she wanted.

"Well, if that's the case, then let's dance! And this time, no holding back!!" Trunks ordered as he began to power up his energy. The girl looked in surprise at him as he floated a couple feet above the air. Bits of rock and debris swirled around his glowing body. Then he let out an intense warrior cry and his chin-length lavender hair shot up in gold spikes. His azure eyes snapped to a sharp green color while a bright golden aura surrounded him.

She couldn't speak as she stared at the now fully powered up Super Saiyan. But, the surprising look on her face didn't last very long. ChiChi and Bulma smiled at each other as they caught the girl's surprise. The crowd began to chat amongst themselves until the female shot them a very pissed off look. Trunks just stared in disbelief as the girl did a repeat version of her satisfied smirk. Usually, people ran away scared when they saw him transform.

He didn't have much time to ponder this thought before the girl launched herself at him. Soon, those two were engaged in a flurry of professional punches and kicks. Trunks was happily surprised that she put her whole heart and soul into this fight. He hadn't had a good fight since he killed Cell three months ago.

On the other side, the girl was thoroughly enjoying herself fighting this young man. He dodged most of her attacks, but when a couple did get through he always made her pay back for hitting him. They had been duking it out for awhile when they broke apart for a quick breather.

"Well, I can tell that you are very skilled in the category of hand-to-hand combat, but let's test your ability of energy blasts," the girl suggested as she wiped a bit of blood from her chin.

Trunks quickly agreed and began powering up his favorite attack. He moved his hands in many complicated positions before putting his index fingers and thumbs together. Then he let out a holler, "Burning Attack!!" The humongous blast shot from his hands and headed straight for the girl. The girl screamed with terror as the blast enveloped her. She was badly wounded, but forced a repeat of her now annoying smirk.

"Not bad! Now it's my turn!" the girl cried out as she flew straight up from the roof. She raised her arms above her head with her wrists touching and fingers curled.(A/N: Think the KameHameHa hand position) Then her arms began to twirl above her head while red energy gathered in the middle of her palms. Suddenly, she stopped and brought her arms down in front of her with her fingers spread and her right hand placed behind her left. Then she yelled, "Psychic Flame!!" An immense reddish blast shot from her hands and headed straight for Trunks. He prepared to dodge it, but, all of a sudden, he was frozed in a position. He looked up at the girl. She seemed deep in concentration as she fired her blast full force towards him.

Trunks squeezed his eyes shut and readied himself for the impact. When it hit, he felt a pain beyond almost anything he had ever felt. The blast tore through his body as his energy drained rapidly. After the blast passed through his body, Trunks simply fell to the pavement below.

The girl gasped in horror as she saw her opponent head towards the ground. She cleared her mind and concentrated. The spectators screamed in surprise as Trunks's burnt body came to a halt just three feet above the cement.

Bulma and ChiChi dashed forward in terror. When they reached his body they noticed it was quivering with tension. ChiChi looked with curiousity at the mysterious girl and noticed that she was clutching her head with her eyes squeezed shut. It was apparent that she was under an immense strain. Her body violently shook with exertion as she struggled.

"You think that you could help out a bit?! I can't hold him forever!" she snapped angrily as Trunks's body quivered even more and inched closer to the cement. Quickly a policeman ran up and put his arms underneath Trunks just as the girl lost her concentration. The crowd could hear her heavy panting as they swarmed around Trunks, Bulma, and ChiChi. She floated down and dashed towards her opponent.

<Please be okay! I didn't mean to kill you!> she silently pleaded. She pushed through the smothering crowd and fell to her knees at Trunks's body. Bulma was too occupied with her son to notice the girl. But, ChiChi stared daggers at the weakened female. The girl winced at the sight of the elderly woman's angry glare. She now knew what it was like for someone when she shot them one of her famous deadly stares.

"I am so sorry! I didn't think it would hurt him tha....."the girl trailed off as she collapsed with exhaustion on top of Trunks's unconcious body. The crowd buzzed with questions as ChiChi gently removed the young woman and held her as a group of police helped Bulma pick up her beloved child. Then the group headed for Bulma's aircar and softly placed the two youths in the back. Then ChiChi, with Bulma in tow, took off for Capsule Corporation and rejuvenation tanks.

A/N: I just want you to know that I am not saying that Trunks is weak because he was damaged so severely by the Psychic Flame. I just wanted to demonstrate exactly how powerful that attack actually is.

Chapter 3 | Go Back