Locals and Freaks [Vanto]

[Frosvite]

"W-Wait up!!"

Chasing some cat through the streets of West City was an unknown bandit with the body of a "lizardman", hidden through a large turban and gauntlets, as well as boots in addition to his normal human clothing. Nobody would suspect a small kid chasing some cat, would they? Then again, this guy only looked like a kid by now because of his height and his rather high-pitch tone. In truth, he's not an earthling and not a lizardman, nor is he a kid but in fact is a 54 year-old Changeling. This could easily explain the weird purple face this person wears.

Frosvite chased some cat in West City after deciding to go and act as a bandit, attack rob someone and escape but got the distraction once the cat passed by him in a dark ally, running away from a dog which the lizardman escaped from as well, holding the cat and flying away. Now the cat appears to fear the alien. "Wait, wait! I don't mean to scare you!!" Frosvite was terrified of the people looking at him as he ran passed them. They looked him with the same odd glare he got off from anybody else that went pass him when they saw his face, that glare that immediately classified him as 'different' and as a 'freak'. The locals in West City were humans too, so that much should not be a surprise.

His only missing clothing pieces at the moment were his robe which he used for disguise as a bandit and the scouter he kept with him when coming to Earth in the first place. They were left back at Mt. Paozu, where he resides. "Please wait, I'll treat you to some fish!" Half-hearted, the Changeling chased the cat, running after it with a matching speed and not realizing his words won't reach the animal.

How unlucky.

[Vanto Lux]

"You know, hun'. So, how's it going with that girl?" a soft voice rang out. The voice came from an middle aged woman, long black haired pulled into a pony tail. She had a dark black eyes, but they were full of life. Her skin was pale, and she was clad in a red sun-dress, enjoying scarce summer air. The women, with a basket hanging from her forearm, paced around the nearby organic food market; her son pacing lazily behind her.

Vanto mumbled something, looking up at his mother before staring back down at his electronic tablet. Over-ear headphones silenced everything else; Vanto didn't even the hear the question his mother asked. He did have a general idea as to what it was about; that Capsule Corporation girl, Bulla. Ever since he came back from his little 'walk', all beat up and tired, his mother asked what happened (she knew that Vanto secretly went to train, but she had to play dumb in front of her husband, who strongly disliked fighting). He told her about how he met the bandit and Bulla, then found himself rambling on about pretty the blue haired girl was. Now, Mrs. Lux had the strangest idea that Vanto liked the girl; yeah, right.

His dark orbs on the tablet, he didn't blink even one time. Once again, he was mesmerized by Son Goku's performance in the Tenkaichi Budokai. Vanto had been watching this fight for hours now, trying to grasp his idol's fighting style, wanting to mimic the energy waves he used. Vanto thought that Goku was awesome, and wanted to meet him. He needed to work on that; after all, he knew that his idol lived somewhere secluded, but didn't know where for sure. The raven haired boy blushed, kind of feel like a stalker now.

"Well, are you gonna answer me?" Mrs. Lux said just as the fight finished and Vanto was pulling off his headphones. The boy clicked a button on the side of headphones and in a puff of smoke, it along with the tablet reverted back to its capsule form. Vanto, not wanting to be rude to his mother, stuffed the capsule in his pocket while giving her a thumbs up, hoping that would be a good answer to whatever she asked.

"So, you like her!? Its going good!?" the mother exclaimed excitedly, causing Vanto to take a step back.

"No, wait--" he said before cutting himself off. The sounds of footsteps reached his ears and the fighter turned around, ready to attack if it were an enemy. What he saw wasn't an enemy but a small black cat, running for its life as if somebody were chasing it.

Somebody was. The same bandit from Mt. Paozu, in fact! Vanto looked at his mother then back to the bandit. "Mom, I'll be home for dinner!" he shouted then took off after the bandit, leaving his mother standing there, confused.

[Frosvite]

It didn't take too long until Frosvite the bandit managed to catch the kitten and treat him to that fish he promised. Thanks to his superior speed, even amongst humans he could go unseen or unsuspected thanks to an altering of his leg's speed for a small while, just enough for a chase like this that could make him look a like a normal Furry kid. His actual speed could surpass easily anybody that surrounds the alien at the moment, that includes the few fighters that are probably hidden here and there amongst the crowd and just minding their own business. His actual speed isn't even in the form he currently wears, but at one he would have to go a little stronger for.

"Ha! Gotcha!!"

The Changeling said, hoping on the cat and rolling on the floor shortly after catching the cat to prevent any damage done to the animal itself. The cat's life was important for the Lizardman, only because it hasn't done anything wrong yet in the boy's eyes and the Changeling only got to meet the kitty just a few moments ago. He held on to the animal, trying to reason with it while the poor little black cat struggled to leave Frosvite's grip.

"That mean dog won't hurt you, I promise! Now, if we can just get to find you some fish, it would be great! Don't worry, you just stay here, I'll be back right away- Ow!!"

The cat finally managed to get a release from the Changeling's grip and scratched the alien's face. When the boy left the smaller animal in order to cover his face instinctively, the kitten ran away back to the alley it came from. Pretty unfortunate for the Changeling, but not much could have been done to prevent that. He was free and Frosvite couldn't reason with animals just because he claimed to be half one.

"Owie~... Hmph! And I was only trying to- Huh?"

It didn't take too long after the scratches (the lizardman still sitting on the floor from the roll earlier) until Frosvite noticed a person he seems to identify correctly coming closer to him. Was it really possible that the two met again? Yes, actually, no reason not to. Both were 'humans' and both were going around cities as a daily life basis because of their race. All that differed them was the status and their personality.

"Hey, you're!...

[Vanto Lux]

Vanto sprinted down the West City streets, moving through the crowd of people in front of him rather quickly and efficiently. His wide eyes were set on the cloaked individual only feet ahead, chasing the cat. That voice and that face were unique and unmistakable: that had to be Frosvite! "Hey, wait!" Vanto shouted, cupping his hands around his mouth in a null attempt to amplify his voice. The changeling didn't seem to hear him, which infuriated him a bit. The boy picked up his speed, his feet moving like wildfire against the pavement as he approached the purple-faced "lizardman".

Seeing Frosvite hop forward and pounced onto the cat, Vanto stopped dead in his tracks. He watched the changeling, the guy he somewhat despised for all the wrong reasons. As the teen watched Frosvite interact with the animal, Vanto smiled, realizing that the alien wasn't as bad as he was made out to be. So what if we related to Frieza's family? From what Vanto knew: the two were polar opposites. Frosvite was a kind soul that has been judged solely on his appearance, something Vanto has did, while Frieza was a power-hungry tyrant. They may have looked alike, but they sure as hell didn't act it.

Vanto walked forward slowly, hands in his sweatpants pocket, a rather misplaced smile on his face. The thirteen year old didn't smile often but he wanted to show that the two could be on friendly terms now. "Hey Frosvite! Nice ta' see ya' again." he exclaimed in mock joy. Sure he was excited but he wasn't THAT excited.

[Frosvite]

Perhaps the human boy was not as glad as the alien was to see the other person, but the Changeling really felt good about seeing his friend approaching him like that. Without any doubts, he would soon jump right up and stand back on his feet with a happy face on his orange-black-silver head. He couldn't help but feel happiness, simply because he got to be visited by one of the only friends he ever managed to make on this planet, one that sure, suspected him at start but turned out being as good as a brother for the 'little' Changeling. That little cat earlier probably ran back to his gang, and now that Frosvite had a small gang of his own (namely himself and the human kid) how could he not feel the same way?

"Vanto! Haha, it's so good to see you again!"

He declared with cheerfulness, jumping right up only to shake the boy's hand compulsively. Although he didn't want to seem so rude and excited, how could he help it when really he was as excited as he showed, enough to force Vanto into a quick handshake like that (even using both hands on this and not using force at all with the grip itself). Really, he was just glad one of his friends arrived, even though one he just tried making ran out. Animals were not really the best of friends he could make, but they sure were the only types of creatures that trusted him easily without judging him according to his appearance and therefore the only type of creatures Frosvite ever got to bond with, through speech alone and pretending to understand what they were saying. The cat that ran away probably wasn't the type to trust you on your appearance, as expected of course. He was a stray cat living in the city, how could he trust a complete stranger that just ran away from the same dog?

"I really didn't expect meeting you here! What are you searching for in West City anyway?"

Frosvite asked with a smile. He had this idea that maybe his friend Vanto is searching for Bulla, the girl he first met the boy with, but had no real idea where the girl was. Sure, she probably hanged around the cities in some kind of large factory for anything flashy or showy (after all she was a teenager), but the guy couldn't really put his finger directly on where or why.

[Vanto Lux]

The boy's face twitched as Frosvite's lit up. Yeah, there were friends and all but such an excited reaction wasn't expected. He watched at his friend shot up from his crawl, his face still as bright as a lightbulb, his high-pitched voice ringing out in delight. The expression on Vanto's face soften, the smile returning. It was a joy to know that he had made the Changeling happy, considering his back story and such (something Vanto still found amazing). The human took a step forward and as he did, Frosvite charged forward, startling Vanto. A vice grip was around his hand seconds after, making the teen wince in slightly pain, his body bouncing up and down from the force of his friend's rather forceful handshake. Completely alarmed at the strength of the changeling, Vanto let out a loud gasp before quickly catching his breath.
"Hey there, Frosvite..." Vanto said, trailing off toward the end as he focused on ripping his hand loose from his comrade's grip. Once he did, Vanto rubbed his now red hand, his eyes narrowed.

"Hey, Frosvite." the boy reiterated, the humans' eyes moving from Frosvite to the black cat behind him. Vanto watched as the black cat scurried off in fear then looked back to Frosvite. He wasn't even that scary to Vanto anymore, at least. Still rubbing his hand, he blinked awkwardly in response to Frosvite's second question. What why Vanto in West City? Vanto's smile returned once again, as he dropped the bruised hand into his pocket and let his other arm dangle at his side.

"Well, I live here. I was with my mother until I saw you." Vanto replied, raising the dangling hand up to his neck, grasping his necklace.

[Frosvite]

There wasn't much Frosvite could do about his friend Vanto's excitement about this whole deal, but it's also important to say he didn't want to do much about it. Making the boy as excited as the alien would be quite weird, and that could also conclude to the two not being on the same terms they are now. Heck, that could have even made Vanto not knowing the Changeling, neither did the girl that kind of made the bond between the two anyways. Frosvite was glad he had a friend, even more he had such a variety with the people he knows (people includes animals and the like that seemed to be protective yet somehow naughty in a way). He was happy his friend treated him in the way he did at the moment, although the two almost ended up being enemies thanks to the lizardman's occupation to make a living for himself and for all his beast companions.

"Oh, really?" He began, sounding a little surprised at Vanto's comment. He replied with a slight shock and small worrying, needless to say - a small amount of fear. Maybe Vanto's a nice guy, but who knows how is mother is? "You were here with your mother? Well, I'm sorry for drawing your attention away from her... She's probably worried about you, don't you think?" Honestly, Frosvite was worried that Mrs. Lux would be searching for her son for some reason and find him discussing with a guy that has a look similar to Frieza, thus concluding to some kind of bad conclusion of the sort making the Changeling have to run away and never show his face around West City again. Then again, his disguise as a lizardman should have been more than enough and his own confidence in what costume he wears is his own business - and weakness, actually.

"Ummm... So, how have you been ever since...?" In truth, the high-pitched alien was quite ashamed to specify the event in which the two first met each other. He didn't want to remind himself that the two ended up being friends because they broke out ins some kind of fight which could have damaged Vanto quite much unfortunately, but he ended up doing so with even bringing up that subject. With an ashamed smile, he scratched the back of his chestnut-like head (through the turban of course).

[Vanto Lux]

The smile on Vanto's face widened in response to Frosvite's enthusiasm. Besides smiling at his acquaintance, Vanto wasn't overly excited at meeting the changeling once more. Given, he wasn't exactly sad about it either, but he was rather..indifferent about it. It was extremely noticeable that Frosvite thought the two were closer than they actually were, which Vanto had no problem with as of now. Frosvite was a cool guy and maybe the two could actually become that close. For now, although he was still dwelling on the fact Frosvite was related to Frieza, which automatically put the boy at a certain distance. Vanto looked into face of the gentle alien and saw that of a cruel tyrant, which was truly horrible. It was painful for Vanto to look at Frosvite , for he had to resist the occasional urge to scream and attack. Maybe Vanto would completely warm up to his new 'friend', but for now, Vanto would not be surprised if Frosvite turned out to be just like Frieza.

"Nope. My mom knows I went off. I told her I'd be home later." Vanto said, now folding his arms behind his head. The bandages wrapped tightly around his forearms unraveled slightly, the ends hanging down and slapping against his ears.

Maybe he could recruit Frosvite to his cause now. Bulla warned him Vanto during their little scuffle that Frosvite was stronger than him, and from what they gathered, he was the good side. Not on Frieza's side, which is what mainly mattered. Vanto abruptly dropped his arms back to his side upon the changeling's second question. He listened intently, his face scrunching into a frustrated look. The reason that Frosvite stopped short on his sentence was obvious and a light blush ran across the human boy's face, embarrassment washing over him. "Huh." he said, exhaling sharply. "I've been fine." That brought him to another reason why Frosvite would be able to aid him greatly: his speed.

From what Vanto remembered, he couldn't even afford to blink during their fight. Frosvite was just that fast. It was as if Frosvite was in front of him, within range of the two-piece attack, then he was back, completely away and out of striking distance. A smirk took the place of Vanto's ashamed pout as the boy poked his head up, looking around cautiously. The two were in the rather crowded West City streets, people passing by occasionally, looking at Vanto with disgust as he conversed with the Lizard-man.

"Hey!" Vanto whispered. "Follow me." The boy walked into the alley the cat ran into, his eyes scanning the area guardedly. Once reaching a good distance away from the alley-way entrance, Vanto would turn and face Frosvite, who hopefully followed.

[Frosvite]

It was all alright. Frosvite was really happy to meet his friend out here randomly, the excitement of actually getting to have a friend and discuss with him about everything in general alone made him feel bliss. He was an alien but after a small amount of talking, it appeared that Vanto more than just accepted the Changeling and even made it all the way here to talk to him after noticing him running through the streets of West City, running away from his mother which to the lizardman was a little rude act but still very considerate towards himself. He was happy to manage to bond with humans at last, even if it was only two humans out of 6 billion all around the world, and yet he managed to meet one of those two here today, at this moment. Fate bought them together after that accident in Mt. Paozu, and apparently for the next couple of minutes, Frosvite wouldn't have to worry about finding new friends.

He really was in debt to the humans, those two at least, for accepting him like he really is although he revealed to them his actual past. It's a good thing he didn't really tell them every single detail or this might have gone differently, but the alien's pacifism really was what kicked him out of Frieza's planets and onto a planet where he was soon to be looked upon with complete disgust, being forced to walk around hidden from everybody else. He was in debt to those two humans since now he knew not all of the more intelligent beings inhabiting this planet are evil by nature, not all would look at someone and judge him immediately according to his appearance alone. Frosvite could have waited a little more though with taking those two to his own home as a host.

"Oh, I see. If your mother's okay with it, there shouldn't be a problem, huh. Well, ummm," Frosvite didn't manage to complete his sentence before his friend Vanto told him to follow him to the same alley the cat from earlier fled to. It was logical that the two couldn't speak with each other normally on the streets like that, there were so many other, judging humans in the streets who would not fear making fun of whatever they see or scream in terror, causing a commotion. "Ah, yes." Of course, the Changeling's train of thought was cut in that moment and he followed the teenager to that same dark alley quite quickly, not wasting any unnecessary moment.

Once they got in, Frosvite understand why the cat fled there and not anywhere else like a regular animal he knew: the place ricked of fish, rotten fish and junk. They were right next to a dumpster, between two large buildings who would more than just serve them as a place to hide from the casualness of the streets. The ground itself was a little dirty and painted dark gray and a little black, but the sort of 'cool' part about this area was the way you can look up to see the sky - if you manage to look carefully between the strings of dirty laundry. "Woah... Umm, so, how's Bulla doing?" He asked quickly, his sight still focused on looking up to see 'tunnel vision' in the first time in his life. He did pay attention to whatever Vanto said though.

[Vanto Lux]

The two stood in the alley way, the rancid smell of the nearby dumpster stinging Vanto's nostrils. He scrunched up his face in response, looking at Frosvite then to the sky. It seemed to shine brightly in contrast to the two dark buildings overhead, the afternoon sun rays barely reaching the two. This wasn't as weird as he initially thought. If one subtracted race and social status from the equation, when it boiled down to it, Vanto and Frosvite were just two people having a nice conversation. A nice conversation in a somewhat dark alley way. "Huh." he said, his eyes now falling back onto Frosvite. "My mom doesn't really care: as long as I come home and stay active, I'm good." he joked.

How's Bulla? How was Vanto supposed to know that? He hadn't seen the girl in a week. Usually, he would've spotted her around Capsule Corp if he went to visit his dad (more like go to ask him for money), but Vanto hadn't really gone there. After she rejected him, Vanto decided he couldn't face her unless he had something new to say. He didn't answer the question, but rather, stood there awkwardly, staring at the ground in thought. The black haired boy's head whipped up, his eyes wide. "I really wanna talk to you, bro. But, I have to go do something.." he said. It sounded like he just trying to escape the conversation but Vanto truly did have something to do. He had to go free some slaves.

Vanto smiled at Frosvite as his aura appeared around him. "I'll see you around!" he said just before shooting into the air, high above the buildings and toward South City.

End Thread.