Gone Native: Token Exchanges (ch. 5) (Patreon)

"No," I dismissed him, "I need time to investigate your real estate laws. I can say with certainty that America is mine, but I understand that Earth is very fractured in terms of unity. I will have to visit all the nations on earth to compare," I told him, the Kryptonian not so much as blinking as he leveled a look at me.

"And if you find that they don't support your case?" He questioned in an even tone.

"Buyout, I suppose," I said with a small shrug. "There are other planets that humans can be relocated to. I'm sure that the Federation will welcome them."

Superman's eyes narrowed, "Then why not go to one of those other planets?"

"Why don't you?" I returned the question without hesitation. "You are quite powerful. Stronger than me even. But you stayed on this small, rather unremarkable planet. You may look like a human, but you are anything but."

His eyebrows drew together, not predicting this line of questioning. "Earth is my home," he pointed out. His tone left no room for argument. That's how he felt, stated as simple as fact.

"Hm. As I understand it, home is where the heart is," I pointed out. "You have the physical capacity to throw this planet into the sun. Given that you are a Kryptonian under a yellow sun, it would be simple for you to build a spacecraft capable of serving as a colony ship. Why not leave Earth and find another planet and start new Krypton? Why not save your race from dying out with you?"

The more I spoke, the more uncertain Superman appeared. It was easy to see that he was suspecting that he was being led into a verbal trap, but he wasn't. It was a genuine question, though it was one that his reaction answered better than words could.

Small. For all his power, Superman had such a small view of everything. He could probably fly to another planet in the system in a couple of hours while holding his breath, but he just… didn't. He could push a planet into the green zone to promote a natural atmosphere forming, but he didn't.

It was just so different. For years, I had looked at how my actions should shape the galaxy and trillions of lives. We were on two completely opposite extremes in view, it would seem. The people of Earth only thought of Earth as the center of the universe because they didn't comprehend just how vast the galaxy is. And they didn't understand how small and narrow their scope of vision was from where I stood.

I sighed, finding myself disappointed. "I grow tired of repeating myself -- Earth is my property, and the inhabitants of Earth are my citizens. Not slaves, citizens. That includes you if you so wish it. I am not Frieza. I won't genocide a race because I find it convenient."

"Only in war, huh?" Superman prodded, making my eyes narrow a fraction.

"Yes. A war you have no right to speak of because, for all of your strength, you sat on this rock and did nothing," I returned with a biting remark. "You had the power to make a difference and you did nothing with it."

That remark seemed to sting a little, I saw because Superman met my glare with one of his own, though it was lacking any real anger, "I didn't know about the war." He argued, and that…

Small. Narrow. So very small and narrow.

"You would have if you bothered flying a couple of light-years out of the system. The Vega system isn't that far from here, and it was there trillions of lives were snuffed out in the final battle of the war. You could have flown there and been back in time for dinner," I said, finding myself annoyed. Angry, even. "You had every chance to learn about the war. You had every opportunity to interfere to make a difference. You could have stopped me. You could have stopped Frieza. You could have stopped the Reach. Yet, you didn't."

I expected anger in response to my words, but Superman looked more ashamed than anything. I took in a breath and let it out.

"Judge me for my actions all you like. But don't presume to speak of the War of Light when you weren't there," I said, walking past him. I heard him let out a sigh of his own before he was quick to follow me.

"I… understand that the trade Organization legally owned Earth," he admitted, catching my attention. "But the people of Earth don't want to live under the thumb of a tyrant."

"Frieza is dead," I pointed out, looking at him flatly.

"I meant you," he pointed out. Ah. That made sense.

I frowned as I floated up, Superman joining me. It seemed that my admission that he was stronger than me put him at ease. How very short-sighted. "I haven't done anything worthy of calling me a tyrant," I argued. My first action as a true ruler was to end a galaxy-spanning war. I freed countless people from slavery. I wasn't Frieza. I didn't enslave races. I didn't torment people for my own amusement. I didn't murder those under me for mistakes, or for doing their jobs because I felt like it. I was in no way a tyrant.

Superman looked down at Gotham as if he was uncertain how to phrase his next words. "But you have come to Earth, laying claim to it regardless of the wishes of those that live here." He pointed out, turning his gaze to me.

"That isn't the actions of a tyrant. They're the actions of a King. Whether the people of Earth like it or not, I do have a claim to Earth. I'm also giving you the chance to argue against that claim. Should you fail to, if being a citizen of my empire is so distasteful, then I will arrange transport to the Federation." I argued, frowning at him.

"Not the Trade Organization?" He asked, and that was an odd question. He was fishing for information.

"Did you not receive my broadcast? I have left the Trade Organization. Not only would humanity be enslaved by the Trade Organization, Cooler would likely exterminate the race to prove a point to me," I told him, earning a sharp look from Superman. "Those are the actions of a tyrant," I added to drive my point home.

Superman was silent for a moment, so I looked around. Overall, Gotham had proven to be disappointing. I didn't care for the city, nor its living conditions. As of right now, fixing it would be my first priority. But, I suspected that it would get bumped down the list the more I inspected Earth. Looking over, I saw another city in the distance so I began flying over, uncaring of my new self-appointed guard that was trying to debate the definition of a tyrant with me. As if he knew the meaning of the word.

"That's Metropolis," Superman pointed out as we neared, "it's the city that I protect. It's my home. And who is Cooler? I thought the leader of the Trade Organization was Frieza?"

So, they didn't get my broadcast. But surely the Titans would have passed on that information, wouldn't they? I did mention it, right? Were they purposely withholding it or did they mistake the importance and forget to mention it?

"He was. I killed him," I answered bluntly, flying over Metropolis. It was better than Gotham. Much better. It still seemed rather primitive overall -- glass, steel, and concrete serving as the building materials still, but it seemed to be a much better version. Clean streets, nothing appeared broken, no graffiti for the most part… however, my gaze dipped down to the ocean. Where a bridge connected Gotham and Metropolis. "You only protect a city?"

It was the same problem I saw in Gotham on a much larger scale. The sheer disparity in quality was right next to each other. A simple bridge connected the two cities, yet one was on the verge of collapse and the other was a shining example of was a city should be. Where was the logic?

"With your power, you could protect all of Earth. Is there a reason why you aren't?" I asked him, picking the tallest building. A Lexcorp, based on the sign. This city was better. It felt healthier, more alive. Was that because Superman focuses all of his attention on one small city? It seemed utterly backward.

Superman opened his mouth to make a comment but swallowed it down. However it was easy enough to guess what he had been about to say.

"Other than protecting it from me, naturally," I remarked in a sarcastic tone. Superman winced ever so slightly, the remark hitting the nail on the head.

"There are… some laws in place. The Justice League is held accountable by the UN," he said, but I could hear what he didn't say just as easily. A dismissive scoff escaped me.

So very small, narrow, and apparently stupid.

"It keeps us accountable. Unchecked power, no matter how many good intentions you have, will always lead to disaster," Superman pressed, standing next to me with his arms crossed. "The world wasn't ready for the appearance of people like me, Wonder Woman, or Martian Manhunter. Just like it wasn't ready for those with the power to ignore the law, and the lives of others."

"You restrained yourselves to put those in charge at ease. It's understandable. Admirable, even," I said, taking a seat on the ledge of the Lexcorp building. "But if those restrictions are so binding that you are unable to take a thirty-second flight to Gotham and stop the man who has just been murdered as we speak, then you gave those in power too much power over you," I told him, making him look down at me as I made an effort to remember the presence that fled the scene of said crime.

Superman mulled that over, "Is this the part where you say that those restrictions would be lifted if the Justice League accepts you as the owner of Earth?" He asked, sounding like he thought I was trying to manipulate him. It was a sad thing, because I had just been poking holes in his argument.

"Is it up to you?" I asked him, looking out at the city. "Or is it this UN that I have to convince?" That was the thing about willingly giving up power -- you had less power. I'm sure the Justice League would be unhappy if the UN did accept my ownership of Earth, but would they do anything about it other than grit their teeth and suffer in silence? "To answer your question -- yes, I would. But you would be responsible for more than just a single city. I think I would like something similar to the Justice League in my empire. Autonomous agents protecting parts of my empire from external and internal threats."

That was the goal to turn my race into -- protectors. But… that was going to be a long, bumpy road. My people were a warlike species, and like me, they grew up at war. We didn't know anything but war. I was leading them into peace when I had just discovered what it was myself. The blind leading the blind, as it were.

"You aren't going to convince them. Or us," Superman pointed out. "As you said -- you're being judged for your actions during the war. Harshly." He admitted before he took a seat next to me. "Not just for the war either. Within five minutes of landing on Earth, you murdered a man in cold blood. Perhaps you are right that I have no right to judge you for the war, but I can judge you for that."

"Adonis was a coward that betrayed his team by attempting to flee. He had no clue that I wouldn't kill and eat them. Or this planet. He was a coward. I sentenced him to die for it. Which I believe is in my right as king," I dismissed, feeling… disgusted with Adonis all over again. The traitor deserved worse. His power armor was not so impressive as to forgive that betrayal to his team and his planet.

"That might hold some weight if Earth recognized you as it's king. But it doesn't and we don't," Superman argued. "I'll admit, this has gone down very differently than I expected, but I cannot accept you murdering whoever you find disagreeable."

I looked at him, cocking an eyebrow. "Is this where you ask me to turn myself in?" I asked him, earning a thin-lipped look from Superman, his dark blue eyes conveying the message that yes, this was when he asked that.

"You murdered a man, Tarble," he told me, almost sounding sorry for the fact that I didn't understand that I did something wrong.

Only I didn't agree that I had. "I executed him," I corrected. "The world will be better off."

"You argued that you weren't a tyrant -- don't you see that executing a man without due process is wrong? No one man should play judge, jury, and executioner. Especially not men in the position that we are in," He argued, his tone as unbending as his narrow moral outlook.

I shook my head, "If I were a tyrant, I would have dragged out his friends and family and had them draw straws to see who lives and who dies as punishment for his actions."

Superman leaned back ever so slightly, his eyes narrowing in an unspoken question.

"When I was… four years old or so, I saw Frieza do exactly that with an entire race when they refused to immediately surrender their planet and accept that they were now his slaves. One of them ended up joining the 501st, my military unit a few years later," I explained. "That is a tyrant. The execution of Adonis was completely justified. He was a traitor and traitors are executed. Do I need to pick up one of your law books to prove that to you?"

However, Superman shook his head, even if he looked a bit stricken by the story. "Perhaps that would be true if you were the secular power in the United States, but you aren't." He continued to argue the point.

It was becoming increasingly clear that neither of us would back down from our positions. He called it murder, I saw it as a justified execution.

"That depends entirely on how you look at it. My laws superseded the laws of this planet. I am… the Federal government to your state government," I recalled the convoluted mess from the law books I had studied. "Whether it was murder or a legal execution is a matter of semantics until you can definitively disprove that Earth is not my property. Then it would be a case of a foreign power executing a man on your soil. Though, as I understand, I would fall under diplomatic immunity… immunities which are ridiculously broad."

Superman frowned, "You're using the law as a weapon," he pointed out.

"A little," I could admit that much. "But it's a learning experience for me as well. As of right now, my empire has no laws officially. Millions of planets, trillions of citizens, and hundreds of thousands of races. My legal structure must be fair across the board. Your laws have been instructive on what not to do."

"Would these laws be applicable to you as well?" Superman questioned, and it sounded like a genuine question. I wouldn't say that he was going as far to revise his opinion on me, but he was trying to find something to work with. Because, despite all of his strength, he wasn't looking for a fight. He wanted to be able to reason with me.

However, I shrugged. "As much as they can be. In the end, it's not an easy thing to check a king's power. A court of my peers would always be biased one way or the other. When I can effortlessly destroy my opposition, it makes it unlikely to form."

Superman nodded, seemingly agreeing with my view. "Is that what happened with Frieza?" He asked me, sounding curious, but it was a loaded question. Even a fool could see that.

"The entire Cold Family," I answered. "They were all incredibly powerful. They could destroy planets and armies effortlessly. The war only went on for as long as it did because they couldn't be bothered to end it. Cooler profited from the war too much to make it stop, even if he saw it as overall wasteful. King Cold couldn't be bothered to come out of retirement. Frieza just enjoyed the death and destruction."

My hands curled into fists and I only realized when I looked down at them. "It was only recently that anyone could stand up to Frieza. And even then, without Bardock… and the Warworld, Frieza would have likely killed me and my race out of spite." Frieza was still the single most powerful entity that I had encountered. I'm unsure if that would ever change. He had been stronger than me when he only used half of his true power.

Without Bardock, I would be dead. Without the Warworld, I'm uncertain if I could have lasted long enough to deal a finishing blow rather than pushing Frieza into a black hole.

"Genocide should never be an option. Much less the default one," Superman remarked, earning a dull look from me as I unclenched my hands.

"The rest of the galaxy disagrees. At least everyone I've met seems to think so." How many in the Federation or Trade Organization or the Reach would kill every last Saiyan if they had a chance? How many of them thought the galaxy would be a better place without any of us? I'm guessing that the answer was a lot. And, to that, Superman looked away.

I couldn't say for certain, but it seemed like those blinders that kept his eyes solely on Earth, on this city, were becoming a little loose. I imagine that finding out that trillions were killed on your metaphorical galactic doorstep would do that.

Better to let him mull over his own conclusions on the matter. I had no interest in explaining myself or my actions. I understood that my actions were evil. I made no excuses or justifications for that irrefutable fact. In light of it all, I… I don't think I could defend them even if I wanted to. The entire war had been a gross waste of life for petty profit margins. But that didn't change what I did. It just made my reasons feel hollow.

A hand went to my necklace, pinching the green Lantern ring and the knucklebone it rested on. I had my reason. The galaxy might not care for it, but it was mine.

"I'm going to continue to explore Earth. If you're going to follow me, then make yourself inconspicuous. I wish to observe what civilian life looks like without distractions," I told Superman as I stood up.

He rose to his feet as well, giving me an even look. "We aren't done here, Tarble. You murdered a man."

"Executed," I corrected again. "You strike me as a good man, Superman," I told him, and he seemed a bit caught off guard by the praise. "But, for all of your power and kindness, you don't understand how vast the universe is. If we fight and you somehow defeat me, then what happens?"

He met my gaze evenly, knowing that this was a leading question. "You tell me," he said instead, unwilling to take the bait.

"My empire is in shambles. It was forged in war and for the entirety of its existence, it has merely been a tool for me to win the War of Light. That has changed with the death of Frieza, the war ending, and my leaving the Trade Organization," I told him, my tone blunt. "We have no laws. No economy. The only thing holding the Empire together is the fact it is mine. The only thing stopping our enemies from attacking is me -- I killed Frieza and for the entirety of my life, I have been at war. I mastered it, until the entire galaxy declared me their enemy, and they were still defeated."

Superman clenched his jaw, and I think he got a peek at it. At the scope of the ramifications his actions would have. He could defeat me. He was strong enough to. Just like how I was strong enough to potentially defeat him. And with my defeat, my empire would fall apart. The Federation would invade. The Trade Organization would ravage my empire to reclaim their slaves. The Reach would invade for revenge and to reclaim their lost territory.

"Unless you are willing to step up to ensure that countless people aren't killed and enslaved on a galactic scale, then it is in your best interest to let me observe humanity and their laws," I told him.

Superman scowled, "You're hiding behind civilians," he accused, an edge in his voice.

"I hide behind no one. Actions have consequences, Superman. All of them. Unfortunately, it's not just a matter of being the larger you are, the harder you fall -- the larger you are, the more people you crush when you hit the ground," I told him, and there was a flicker of surprise in his eyes. It took me a moment to figure out why -- that was a human idiom, wasn't it? "I'm willing to fight you over this. It's simpler. But you are a good man, Superman. If you defeat me, then you will be compelled to protect my empire -- both from collapse and its enemies."

There was a moment of silence as our eyes met. Superman was not the type to be daunted by something like that. "And if you defeat me, then Earth will be as good as yours, is that it?"

"No. But, I imagine that after defeating you, the Justice League would be lesser for it. After I defeat them, then Earth is mine," I told him. That was the impasse that we stood at. No matter what, everyone would win.

If I was defeated by the Justice League, Superman and his allies would be compelled to fill the void I would leave behind. If I won, then Earth would be mine, the citizens of Earth would have a choice of their next action to stay or leave, then Earth would be turned into the Saiyan home planet and the Capital of my empire. From where I stood, there seemed to be no downsides. Though, based on the look I was getting, that wasn't a sentiment that Superman shared.

I said nothing else, simply meeting his gaze and letting him pick which road that we went down -- violence or diplomacy? I think both of us would prefer the former. It was simpler, less messy, and faster. But both came with issues and stakes that had to be considered.

"We will be keeping a close eye on you," Superman stated, making his choice. His tone was firm and even, not saying the words lightly. It was clear that he found the idea distasteful, but it was easy to guess his reasoning.

He needed time. Time to prepare the Justice League's arguments on why Earth wasn't mine. More than that, he needed time to think about the situation -- the Justice League and I were going to come into conflict. That much was inevitable. If not over the topic of the ownership of Earth, then my actions during the war, if not that then the execution of Adonis. No matter what, we were going to come to blows. They would find a reason.

So, he chose diplomacy to give himself and the Justice League time. Time to consider what happened next if I was defeated. If I was victorious. If I simply changed my mind and left Earth altogether.

"I'd be disappointed if you weren't," I responded, dismissing his warning. And with that, I stepped off the building and plummeted to the ground. Once again, I slowed myself down until I lightly landed in front of the Lexcorp building. A few people flinched back, looking to me, then up at the sky, then back to me. I ignored them as I walked down the streets, feeling Superman's gaze on me as I crossed a street. Then I felt him dart off to a different part of the city, I'm guessing to communicate with the Justice League.

I let out a sigh as I walked, watching people go about their day. I wasn't sure if it was one of disappointment or relief.

Part of me wanted to just get it over with. I knew we were going to fight, so just skip straight to the fight. But I kept that part in check. Waiting helped me just as much as it helped them. For example…

"You, human," I started, stopping a random man on the street by placing a hand on his shoulder. He stopped cold to look at me, his expression confrontational until that bled away when he met my gaze. "What do humans do to relax?"

The man looked like he had no clue what I had just said, and feared that the wrong answer would mean death. Still, he found his courage and answered. "I… go to a coffee shop… and read while drinking coffee…?" He tried, swallowing thickly.

That sounded a great deal like doing nothing. "I see. Where is the nearest available coffee shop?" I asked him, letting go of his shoulder when he pointed to the building next to us. I looked inside through the glass planes at something that resembled a mess hall, but far less organized and smaller.

"Thank you, human," I told him before I went to enter the shop. There was a ding to announce my arrival. A few people sitting at the tables stopped their idle chatter to look at me. I ignored them before taking my place at the back of the line, the people before me looking up at a board marked with names and prices before picking one. They handed over a green piece of crumpled fabric in exchange for a cup filled with what I presumed was coffee.

Once again, I was confronted by my lack of understanding of an economy. Money, in the end, was nothing I ever truly cared for or even understood. The extent of my experience with it was making sure the income was higher than the expenses, but I never interacted with how that happened directly. Or understood the value of those two numbers. Ada'la had run that aspect of my empire during the war -- all that I had cared about was that my empire made money and goods, which I then used to support the war effort. Now, not only did my empire more than double in size, but Vegeta's had been in a considerable amount of debt and the war was now over.

Ada'la had yet to respond to my idea of restarting the economy from scratch, but there was a fundamental issue that I had to address first -- what gave a good value? What made it worth a seemingly arbitrary amount of money?

"Welcome to… is that a tail?" The woman behind the counter started to greet me, before looking at the tail coiled around my waist. Her name was Danny according to her name tag.

"It is, Danny. I would like to try coffee," I told her, looking up at the board, though I still saw her look a bit put out by me knowing her name. Not sure why. Wasn't that what the name tag was for? The names and prices of coffee meant absolutely nothing to me. I couldn't understand the difference between a latte and a frappuccino.

Danny blinked a few times, seemingly very excited, "So, you're, like, an alien? Like Superman?"

"No. I am a Saiyan, he is a Kryptonian. What is a latte?" I asked her, frowning at the board.

"Oh, it's… espresso and milk heated up with steam. You can add syrups or simple sugar if you like -- my favorite is white chocolate chips melted down with a little bit of raspberry syrup," she told me, sounding very excited.

I had no clue what any of those things were. "I will try that, then." I decided, figuring I had to start somewhere. I would drink my coffee, sit in the store, and watch humans go about their daily life.

The war was over. It would stay over. I understood the military, but if I was going to lead my citizens, I needed to understand my civilians.

"That'll be three twenty," Danny said, a giddy smile on her face.

I tilted my head, “I have no currency of Earth.” I admitted to her -- this was an oversight on my part. I was used to receiving the things I needed by asking for them. They would be paid for automatically from one of my various accounts -- which were now filled with useless currency considering that it was Trade Organization credits. I could trade them for Earth currency, in theory, but that would be a trade in bad faith. “Do you accept valuable minerals?”

Danny appeared a bit hesitant, but still excited, “Like… gold? Yeah, I think we can accept that?” She said though it sounded like a question. I doubted that it was their policy, but she didn’t want to tell me no. That shouldn’t be the case, but I’ve ignored my fair share of military guidelines until I was in a position to rewrite them.

“I will be back before you are done,” I told her before I walked outside of the coffee shop, where I crouched down and launched myself into the air. In seconds, I reached Earth’s upper atmosphere-

“King Tarble? Do you come in?” I heard through my earpiece, “King Tarble?”

Hm. “Earth is blocking or transmissions. Are you in position?” I asked the fleets as I looked around me -- Earth seemed to be making an active effort to clutter up their orbit. If they didn’t do something about it soon, then they wouldn’t be able to send anything up at all without hitting space debris.

“We are at the edge of the system, sir,” the head admiral answered me.

“Remain there for now. Earth has some unexpected developments. Have you performed a scan of the system?” I asked, looking around me. I really missed the Warworld. The mental connection I shared with the machine planet made things like this vastly simpler. “I’m looking for the nearest deposit of gold nearby.”

In response to that, I received a set of coordinates to a small asteroid in Earth’s orbit. I flew over towards it while that Admiral continued, “Do you require anything else, my king?”

I reached the rock and grabbed hold of it, With my hands coated in ki, I made quick work of cutting off the stone and lesser metals until only gold remained. It was a couple of tons of it based on my estimation. Grabbing it, I turned back to Earth, “No. Work on subverting the jamming tech -- I need constant updates and I can’t afford to pop back into orbit at all times.”

“Of course, my king,” the admiral responded before I flew back down to Earth. Metropolis was easy to find, even without following Superman’s ki signature. Lowering myself down to the ground, I looked to the massive amount of gold I carried above my head. Given that it was roughly the size of a car, I set it in one of the parking spots on the side of the street. People stopped to gawk, but I ignored them and cut off a sliver of the gold to pay for my coffee.

Danny didn’t initially notice my return because she was busy talking into a phone. “-like, are all aliens just super good looking? Can’t wait for mister smoldering eyes to- er,” Danny cut herself off when I dropped the misshapen brick of gold on the counter. She whipped around, pointing the camera in my direction while she gaped at me, then the gold, then back at me.

“Is this sufficient?” I asked her, eyeing what I suspected to be my drink on the counter.

“Er… y-yeah. That’s like, about… a thousand lattes?” She tried, gaping at the amount as she failed to so much as lift it. I nodded, glad to hear it before I grabbed my coffee. Glancing down at it, I brought it to my mouth and took a small sip. It tasted… good.

Good enough that I quickly took off the top to get rid of that small hole I was supposed to drink out of to gulp down the contents of the cup. Steam erupted from my mouth when I let out a small breath, tasting the sweet aftertaste of the coffee. Danny smiled broadly, looking thoroughly happy with herself. She should -- that was the single greatest thing I have tasted. My entire life, I only ate rations or meat from aliens -- sentient and animals alike.

It was the first time I’ve tasted anything so sweet in my life. “I would like as many of those as this will allow me,” I decided, presenting the now empty cup back to her.

“I’d pay for one of those,” I heard a woman say. Looking over, I saw a dark-haired woman with blue eyes in a form-fitting purple dress thing. When our eyes met, she stuck out a hand and her lips curled into a smile. “Lois Lane, journalist for the Daily Planet. Would you have time to answer a few questions, Mr…?”

“Tarble. King of the Saiyan race,” I said, tentatively taking her hand to avoid crushing it.

This should be interesting.