Dragon Ball: A Better Bulma

"Ah, they're so pretty up close," Bulma said, admiring the seven Dragon Balls in front of her, which began to flicker and make a distinctive buzzing sound as they were all gathered and placed together. 

"They don't look like much," said Goku, who tried to touch one of the Dragon Balls, but Bulma slapped his hand, causing the boy to look at Bulma with a pout. 

"Don't get your greasy hands on it," Bulma pointed out the dirt still on the boy's limbs, causing Goku to burst out laughing. 

"That's right! I should wash my hands," Goku said matter-of-factly, forgetting his earlier embarrassment. 

"Then... what could someone like you want?" asked Yamcha, who was close to the group and even ate with them. 

"I know! You want to be young forever, don't you? That's what I would wish for," Oolong answered for Bulma, though it fell silent when the girl gave it a cold look. 

"If I can achieve it myself, it's better not to ask for it as a wish. Youth? I may not even see wrinkles on my face until I'm several centuries old, and by then I'm sure I'll have some invention that will remove them," Bulma replied to Yamcha, though she gave the young man a curious look. 

Yamcha looked shaky in her presence, but as if he had overcome some kind of obstacle, the boy even deigned to talk to her, which she recognized as a good step forward. 

To Bulma, a true warrior is not the one who can punch better or smash rocks with one punch, but the one who can gradually overcome his problems by himself or with the help of others, recognizing that he needs to improve. 

She recognized Yamcha as a true warrior. So Bulma did not want to see that flame extinguished in Yamcha. Perhaps of all the characters in the original Dragon Ball, Yamcha was the one who received the most psychological blows. 

Ignoring the fact that he was relegated to a mere pose referencing perhaps the worst moment of his life, or that he was categorized outright as comic relief, Yamcha is the human who realized that even with all his talent, he could not keep up with the heels of his former partners. 

Yes, Ten Shin Han didn't quit, Krillin fought again, but it was Yamcha who took the easy way out by using his superior strength to play baseball, a sport for normal humans, perhaps because it made him feel important and powerful.

Bulma didn't want that for any of the human warriors, so she looked at Yamcha before throwing a capsule at him. When the young man gave her a doubtful look, Bulma simply fixed her hair as she replied. 

"It has some resources you can use, they have clear instructions and directions. If you want to solve your psychological problem, you can go to the address there, my father can recommend a good psychologist," Bulma's words made Yamcha squeeze the capsule tightly while his body shook. 

Bulma felt the young man's emotions, gratitude, amazement, deep sadness, but most of all... determination. Yamcha made a formal bow to Bulma, making the atmosphere very solemn. 

"Thank you for what you have given me. I don't know why you do it, but when we meet again, I look forward to fighting you," Yamcha said before straightening his back, and although he was still nervous about talking to a woman, he was able to look Bulma in the eyes without freezing. 

"I am waiting for you to challenge me, Yamcha. By the way, my name is Brief, Bulma Brief," Bulma said her name, causing Yamcha, Oolong, and Puar to look at her in amazement. 

"No wonder your blue hair looked so familiar! You're Doctor Brief's daughter!" Oolong pointed out in disbelief, then looked at all the equipment around it, like the grill, the table, and the ice chest, all with the Capsule Corps logo. 

"No wonder you have so much Capsule Corps merchandise, you don't have to pay for it," Oolong muttered enviously, while Yamcha carefully put away the capsule Bulma gave him. 

"I see; I didn't expect a rich lady like you to come here or to be so powerful? Goku, we'll fight when I see you again," Yamcha picked up Puar and put him on his shoulder as he slowly took off, but before he left, he pulled a small pamphlet out of his clothes and threw it on the ground. 

"My payment for your resources," Yamcha waved goodbye before his body was covered in a white aura and he took off into the sea of clouds, even breaking the speed of sound. 

"Bulma, look! A flying technique!" Chi-Chi, who had caught the flyer thrown by Yamcha, glanced at it before exclaiming in amazement. 

"Let me see it, Chi-Chi!" Goku came up behind Chi-Chi, resting his chin on her shoulder as he read the opened booklet. 

"Hey, why is your face red? Do you have a fever?" asked Goku suddenly, noticing that her friend's face was as red as a tomato, he even seemed to see a cloud of white steam rising from Chi-Chi's head.

"Fool, respect her personal space," Bulma grabbed Goku's tail, pulling him away from Chi-Chi.

"Don't touch my tail!" complained Goku, trying to hit Bulma with a blow that even caused wind, but the blonde girl only used her open palm to casually parry his attack.

Well, the ground beneath her cracked and even sank a little, but Bulma released Goku from her grip, ignoring the evil look he gave her. Bulma looked down at her hand, which was a little shaky from the impact, and a smile appeared on her face.

"Goku looks like you got stronger," she said suddenly, calming Goku's anger and making him scratch his neck as he laughed. 

"Of course I have! And if you grab my tail again, I'll beat you, Bulma!" said Goku, his tone changing from cheerful to serious.

Bulma nodded, knowing that her previous action had upset the boy, so she put her hand in his hair before speaking. 

"I'm sorry, Goku, I didn't mean to make you feel uncomfortable," Bulma said softly, causing Goku to touch his nose before he hugged Bulma.

"No worries," Goku easily forgave his older sister before walking over to Chi-Chi, this time without invading her personal space.

"It's an interesting technique, does it make you blush?" he asked curiously, and the no longer blushing Chi-Chi nodded. 

"Yes, and it even has notes from Yamcha. It says that it's a technique from the Crane School, the enemy school of the Turtle School," Chi-Chi pointed out before she handed the booklet to Goku, who quickly read the technique. 

"Hmm... Grandpa told me that this school trains dangerous assassins. Is it a good idea to use their technique?" asked Goku hesitantly as he put what he learned in the booklet into practice.

Soon, the small Saiyan floated several centimeters in the air, but his lack of mastery and balance caused him to fall sitting on the ground, his eyes glowed brightly as he stood up. 

"Don't worry about them," Bulma said, causing Chi-Chi to relax.

Then she became interested in the young girl, who approached Goku a little shyly. Goku looked at her questioningly, but when he saw her friend in the brochure, he had an idea. 

"Chi-Chi, do you want to learn to fly so we can fly together?" Goku's suggestion caused Chi-Chi to touch her cheeks as the temperature of her face rose rapidly, turning red and even emitting white steam.

Bulma saw this and felt that maybe there was something more to Chi-Chi's strange physique, how could someone blush as angrily as she did? It could be something special, but she would test her friend another time.

"Yes! Show me how to fly and I'll tell you about the technique I'm working on," Chi-Chi replied, causing Goku to look at her friend in awe this time.

"You created a technique too!" the Saiyan exclaimed, genuinely excited by the situation. 

"Bulma and Uncle Gohan have so many ideas, I wanted to try something unique, it's not finished yet, but... When it is, I'll show it to you," Chi-Chi said with relative ease as her blush faded.

While Goku explained the details that allowed a person to fly, Bulma read the pamphlet and several ideas came to her mind, looking for a way to improve this technique to make it more like her. 

"Energy boosters? Flying by simulating antigravity? So many ideas..." Bulma's mind boiled as many different thoughts collided and sparks flew as she mentally simulated the changes she wanted to make to the flying technique. 

Bulma didn't want to just fly, she wanted a technique that would allow her to break through the limits of the atmosphere, a technique that would turn into a way to survive in space. 

However, she didn't know how to approach this topic until she heard Chi-Chi's idea about her technique. Bulma paid closer attention to what the young woman was saying, and her mind seemed to explode as the basic framework of a technique appeared in her mind.

Though it would take many attempts to get it to work at even half its capacity, it was enough to get her started. Bulma then watched as Goku and Chi-Chi got along and narrowed her eyes as a few different ideas popped into her head. 

Making them stay together is not enough, Goku must not die and leave her alone," Bulma thought, remembering a big project she had been working hard on, but now was not the time. 

"Hey, I'm going to make the wish, get ready," Bulma said to the trio of youngsters, causing them to approach with interest. 

"So, Bulma, what are you going to wish for?" Oolong asked curiously, he wanted to know what someone who already had life figured out like Bulma would want to wish for. 

"You'll see," Bulma replied mysteriously, pointing her palms at the Dragon Balls.

"Eternal Dragon. In your name, I summon you, Shen Long!" Bulma shouted the keywords, causing the Dragon Balls to glow brightly before a beam of golden light shot into the sky. 

Black clouds covered the whole earth, and many people who knew the legend of the Dragon Balls or not looked at the sky in awe at this dignified and unusual sight. 

Pilaf, who was flying in an airship with Mai and Shu, looked at the stormy sky with a bad face, but just shook his head to dispel his thoughts of defeat. He would return after the Dragon Ball when he was ready, no one could stop him!

Gohan, Roshi, Krillin, and the sea turtle watched as the sun was hidden by the thick storm clouds, although only three of them knew the reason for this situation. 

Bulma's family also looked to the sky. General Red was angry at the realization that someone could wish for something that he did not. The King of the World looked longingly at the cloudy sky, once he also wished for those mystical Dragon Balls. 

Soon, a huge body of mostly green scales appeared. It was longer than any living creature on Earth, and its body wriggled through the clouds like a snake. Five-toed claws adorned its form, and the characteristic head of an Eastern Dragon gazed at those who had summoned it with its red eyes. 

"I am Shen Long, what is your wish?" The booming voice of the large creature did not intimidate Bulma, who looked at the creature with curious eyes. 

With her ability, she could clearly feel Shen Long's emotions, it was obvious that she was not only a sentient being, but also highly intelligent. Bulma then thought of her wish, one that would nip in the bud the worst development that could happen in her current timeline. 

"Shen Long! I wish that the twins known as Lapis and Lazuli can maintain their self-awareness when they are finally transformed into cyborgs!" Bulma's wish was extremely strange to those who heard it, including Kami-Sama. 

"What... what was this wish, some preparation for the future, but why? Bulma... Can she see the future?" Kami-Sama wondered, but his words didn't stop the dragon. 

"That's too easy," Shen Long's eyes flashed before his figure blurred and the clouds dissipated.

All the Dragon Balls spun around before scattering all over the world. Bulma could just catch them, but what would be the point? The best part was the adventure that came with searching for them. 

Besides, their journey was just beginning.