Chapter 7: Front Row Seats & Heavy Metal
Year 749 (DB Calendar) — The Start of the Dragon Ball Legend
For sixteen years, Ron had enjoyed the quiet life. With his Tony Stark Template nearing 90% completion, his mind was a hyper-advanced playground of futuristic tech, nanotech physics, and orbital defense systems. But instead of conquering the world, he spent most of his time lounging on the balcony of Capsule Corp in his fat cat form, sipping iced tea through a bendy straw.
Down in the courtyard, sixteen-year-old Bulma and Tony Brief were packing up an all-terrain capsule car.
Bulma had just invented the Dragon Radar, fascinated by the legend of the seven magical spheres that could grant any wish. She was determined to find them—mostly so she could wish for a handsome, perfect boyfriend.
Tony Brief, on the other hand, was wearing a leather jacket and adjusting a sleek, metallic wristband. At sixteen, Tony was a dead ring for his dad: sharp eyes, a quick smirk, and an ego larger than West City.
"Are you sure you want to come, Tony?" Bulma huffed, tossing a duffel bag into the trunk. "This is my adventure. I don't need my annoying cousin playing bodyguard."
"Please, cousin of mine," Tony snorted, tapping his wristband. "Someone needs to make sure you don't get eaten by a giant dinosaur. Plus, I need a real-world field test for my baby."
Ron, lounging nearby on a lawn chair in his human form, took a sip of his tea and smirked. "Be nice, kids. And Tony—don't blow up any public monuments. Your mom will dock your allowance."
"No promises, Dad!" Tony grinned, tossing a thumb's up.
The Mark Series: Redefined
Unlike the original Tony Stark who built his armor out of scrap metal in a cave, Tony Brief grew up with Capsule Corp's unlimited resources, Dr. Brief's anti-gravity tech, and Ron's subtle guidance.
Tony's suits—which he proudly dubbed the Mark Series—were absolute works of art.
His latest iteration, the Mark V, didn't need a heavy briefcase or a gantry frame. Using compressed capsule-atomics combined with his father's force-field research, the Mark V materialized directly from his wristband in a wave of liquid-chrome nano-liquid, forming a razor-sharp, white-and-gold cybernetic suit with blue plasma repulsors. It was faster, sleeker, and vastly more powerful than anything Earth had ever seen.
"Alright, let's go find some magic dragon eggs!" Bulma shouted, revving the engine.
Ron watched them speed off into the distance, a fond smile on his face.
> [System Alert!]
> [Tony Stark Template] Synchronization: 95%
> Next Template Initialization: Pending Full Completion.
>
"Ah, youth," Ron chuckled, stretching his arms. "Time to grab some popcorn and watch the show."
Using a hidden satellite network he launched years ago, Ron pulled up a high-definition holographic feed right in his living room, watching his son and niece's journey unfold.
Hazel sat beside him, handing him a bowl of popcorn. "How are our adventurers doing?"
"Well," Ron laughed, pointing at the screen. "Bulma just accidentally ran over a little kid with a monkey tail... and the kid just threw her car into a cliff."
On screen, Tony and Bulma had just encountered a young, spiky-haired boy carrying a Power Pole: Son Goku.
Ron watched with absolute delight as Tony stepped out of the wrecked car, completely unbothered, and casually struck up a conversation with the small Saiyan. When a giant pterodactyl swooped down and snatched Bulma, Tony didn't even flinch—he just raised a single hand, his wristband flashed, and the Mark V armor encased him in half a second.
BOOM!
A single, hyper-concentrated repulsor blast vaporized the dinosaur's tail feathers, dropping Bulma safely into Goku's arms while Tony hovered mid-air on anti-gravity repulsors, cracking jokes the entire time.
"Yep, that's definitely my son," Ron wheezed, wiping a tear from his eye. "The banter is 100% hereditary."
The Red Ribbon Army Returns
While Goku, Bulma, and Tony were making their way across the globe gathering Dragon Balls, a dark shadow was stirring once again in the northern mountains.
Deep inside the Red Ribbon Army's central headquarters, Commander Red slammed his fist on his desk, glaring at Dr. Gero.
"Five years ago, you promised me an invincible super soldier!" Red barked. "And what did you give me? A crater in the mountains!"
Dr. Gero wiped sweat from his brow, his hands trembling slightly behind his back. Ever since Ron annihilated his dark-aura experiment sixteen years ago, Gero had been terrified of producing another one. Without Ron's living dark aura to harvest, he couldn't mass-produce the energy—it was simply too unstable and dense for normal human test subjects to survive.
"C-Commander Red, please!" Gero pleaded. "The energy source was an anomaly! I have shifted my focus to pure mechanical cybernetics—the Android Project! But in the meantime..."
Gero pulled up a holographic display showing seven glowing spheres.
"My surveillance drones have picked up rumors of the Dragon Balls," Gero said, his eyes gleaming with desperation. "Legend says they can grant any wish. If we secure them, we won't need super soldiers. We can wish for absolute world domination!"
Commander Red's eyes widened with greedy ambition. "Gather the generals! Mobilize the entire army! Find those Dragon Balls before anyone else!"
Back at Capsule Corp
Ron lay back on his couch, watching the Red Ribbon Army's troop movements update on his holographic map in real-time.
"So, Gero couldn't replicate my dark aura, gave up on super soldiers for now, and sent the army after the Dragon Balls instead," Ron murmured, tossing a piece of popcorn into his mouth.
He looked over at his sword, Gryphon, hanging peacefully on the wall next to a framed family photo.
"Well, Gero... if your boys get too close to my kid and my niece..." Ron grinned, his eyes flashing with a dangerous blend of Conqueror's Haki and Kayden's golden lightning. "...I might just have to step out of retirement for an afternoon."