Disclaimer: I make no claim to DBZ. I'm just funnin' with the characters for a while.

Notes: This is more or less a scene that would have appeared in an old GF fanmanga I had started called "The Posing Blues," in which the Ginyus survive the Namek encounter and are transported to Earth along with all the others. Upon their arrival, they find themselves being kept in check by Vegeta and the Z Fighters, including Goku, who has also survived. Since it has no hope of completion, I'll do this instead. Enjoy?

"Ginger Logic"

By Son Rhandi

She could feel his heavy steps as he made his way down the hall, into the workshop. Escorted by a top-line security bot, he towered over all he surveyed. She was suddenly very grateful she had the foresight to develop ki suppressors…

"You're a big one, aren't you?"

He raised an eyebrow. "Am I?"

"Well, you're big by human standards…"

"By Earth human standards, you mean? I'm human too, y'know, and actually below average for my species. Don't tell anybody." He drew a finger to his lips in jest.

Bulma allowed herself a small smirk and continued her work. "It's been a while," Recoom took a seat on a refused steel cylinder. "Since I've seen a human woman. Our women were small, too, but not like Earthlings. It's really different. But then, our women weren't anywhere near as attractive…" He shot a smile her way.

The comment and attached smile didn't go unnoticed, though she acted as such was the case and continued on with her tinkering. "Hey, you think you can take care of these for me?" He held up his wrists, both bound in clasps.

"Why? So you can fry me to a crisp and take off with your buddies?"

"Relax, lady, relax. Cap already told us not to go crazy while we're being held, and even if we're all at weakling status, none of us'll dare go against him. And anyway, this thing around my neck is taking care of the flash frying, right?" He pointed as best he could to the ki suppressor as best he could. "I take it Earthling strength can't break it off?"

Bulma puffed out her chest. "If you try, it'll explode."

The behemoth reeled. "Yeeeesh, you Earth women don't kid around, do you?"

"Well, we've seen our fair share of hostile aliens over the past two years…"

That earned a hearty guffaw. "Who're you telling'?" Recoom wiped a tear from his eye. "I like you, sweetheart. What's your name?"

She cast a backward glance. "Bulma. Bulma Briefs."

"I'm Recoom. Or better yet…" He stood. "Ginyu Special Force… RECOOM!" It wasn't the best, posing with his wrists bound, but what he had to work with was what he had to work with. The Earth woman just blinked, not sure what the appropriate response was to this display of his. "It's posing, our style!" He beamed. "O' course, it'd be waaaay better without these things on, but you can't have everything, right?"

The Earth woman blinked. He had a cheery disposition that didn't match his reputation at all. It was an unexpected surprise, and a little disconcerting. "…It's hard to believe a guy like you could be a killing machine."

Recoom's face faulted a little at that. "Well, it wasn't exactly by choice, y'know, but I won't act like I was a golden child to begin with…" He looked about curiously for a bit. "…So, like, does Earth have any good soaps?"

"What?"

"Y'know, soap operas. Can't do without 'em."

Bulma couldn't help herself. "R-Really!? God, I should introduce you to my mother. You two would be best friends!"

"Oh, wow, meeting the folks already?" Don't you think we're moving awfully fast?" The behemoth drew his hands up to his face in mock coyness, and they both enjoyed a good laugh at that.

Suddenly Bulma caught herself. She was getting awfully comfortable with the space pirate, but he possessed a strange, sociable quality that was not often seen in hardened soldiers. Gohan's vivid description of when he and Kuririn dealt with him on Namek, she imagined letting the members of the Ginyu Force have scheduled outings would be akin to letting a bull into a china shop. To her surprise, he seemed optimistic and bright, or at least, not as much of a dim bulb as he did at first glance. She shook the notion from her head and continued on, rising to retrieve a hefty generator from the other side of the shop. After a few labored grunts and watching her struggle with the contraption, he shook his head, bemused.

"Hang on a sec."

Recoom strolled over to her and squatted, extending his arms toward her. "If you can angle it off the ground and toward me, I'll carry it over for you. Even if I can't use ki, I'm still pretty strong."

Bulma raised an eyebrow in questioning, but since all the worker bots were off repairing damage from Vegeta's latest temper tantrum, and she obviously wasn't going to get this by herself, resigned and managed to tip the generator with a few good tries. Recoom grunted a bit as he lifted the generator, from the knees as he remembered from his more youthful days in construction. To his surprise, he actually found the thing to be a tad weighty. How did these Earthlings function with this degree of weakness?

"Where d'ya want it?" He asked, really starting to feel its weight.

"By the toolbox there is fine. Thanks."

He set it down with uncharacteristic care. "So, like, what's all this that you're working on?"

"His highness, the great Vegeta insists that a gravity chamber be built so that he can train. Anything to keep him out of my hair and damaging company property…" She huffed.

"Sounds like Vegeta-baby, all right. He was always an uptight little guy. We always figured the kid just needed someone to play with, but granted, maybe we weren't the best playmates." He ended with a chuckle.

"…You know, somehow, you're different from the others."

"O' course. They are who they are, and I'm myself." He held up his wrists again, grinning ear to ear. "So, how about it?"

Bulma half-smiled. "If you're good, we'll see."

"All right! It's a step up from a definite 'no', at least."

And maybe, just maybe, being stranded on Earth wouldn't be so bad after all.