Smoke And Mirrors

Chapter 3: I Am Soooo Dead

By raicho

# # # # #

"What are you doing kid?"

Gohan glanced back over his shoulder at the gruff voice to find the tall, green namekian he considered his mentor and closest friend, staring at him with a puzzled expression. As Gohan continued to hop back and forth in mid-air, eyes continued to follow him with the increasing fear that his student may have finally gone mad.

"Oh hi Piccolo" Gohan replied absent-mindedly, as he continued to dart forwards and back above the outskirts of Satan City.

"At the risk of shedding light on something better left hidden... what are you doing?" Piccolo asked, looking on as his young friend stopped his seemingly mad antics and drifted to a point in front of him. "I came thinking you might be in trouble... your ki has been fluctuating from something to nothing, over and over."

Gohan grinned sheepishly the way only a Son could manage, hand tucked behind his head.

"Sorry Piccolo, didn't mean to worry you, I discovered something rather odd this morning and I can't figure it out. Observe."

Piccolo looked on as Gohan turned sharply in the air, and proceeded in the direction of Satan City. Surely enough something 'rather odd' did happen as Gohan's life force disappeared, whilst Gohan himself remained floating meters in front of him. Looking past the boy, Piccolo realised that not one life could be detected from the city below, when clearly there were more than enough people present.

"Strange..." Piccolo muttered, reaching out and passing his hand through the boundary, "Some kind of universal divergence that suppresses our life force?"

"At first I thought whatever it is must be suppressing my energy too, however..." Gohan stretched out a hand as it filled with energy, releasing a beam that shot past Piccolo and into the distance. "If that were the case I wouldn't be able to fire a ki blast, or fly for that matter."

Piccolo stared in horror as the blast impacted a mountain on the horizon, levelling it and sending a shockwave of mass proportions towards them. Shielding himself with his cape, Piccolo kept himself hidden from the debris of rocks and branches that flew at him from afar. As the dust settled he turned with a look of disapproval to face his student, who once again had the famous Son grin all over his face.

"I guess not being able to sense the energy makes it hard to know how much force you're putting into something." Gohan explained rather apologetically.

Piccolo merely grunted in response as he turned his attention back to the mysterious barrier before him.

"I know of no power, natural or magical, that would cause something like this to happen" he stated, finally crossing the boundary himself. "Curious."

"Then maybe it's something else... I'll pop over to see Bulma before heading home, maybe she'll have some insight into what's happening." Gohan replied, tightening his belt and turning his head in the direction of Capsule Corp. "I'll let you know what I find out Piccolo."

Simply nodding in reply Piccolo watched as the bright aura of Gohan's power surrounded him, before jetting off into the distance.

# # # # #

"And so that's the situation." Gohan finished, looking at the blue haired genius before him, a contemplative look on her face. He'd spent the past half hour detailing the events of today to her, minus the incident at school and the slight re-landscaping he'd done to the Satan Peaks. Bulma talked, and should his mother find out... well let's just say he was in no hurry for another appointment with the frying pan.

"Sounds like my kind of mystery!" exclaimed Bulma, as she span in her seat coming to a halt in front of her computer. "It's about time something came along that challenged my genius!"

Gohan smiled as he watched her tap away at the console, bringing up some satellite imagery and read-outs of the area surrounding Satan City.

"This could take a while Gohan, why don't you go grab a snack or use the Gravity Room, I'm sure Vegeta won't mind." Bulma spoke up from the desk, leaning in to take a closer look at the readings on the screen before her.

Deciding Vegeta probably would mind quite a bit if he were to use the GR, he instead made his way out of the lab and opted for the kitchen. Capsule Corp always fascinated him, but yet he could never fathom living here. As he walked through the corridors with gleaming tiled floors, white-washed walls and nothing else but the occasional passing lab assistant and potted plant, he knew that it didn't hold a candle to the snug and comfort of his home, even if that home did contain an overbearing mother.

Finally making his way out of the labs and into the household area, Gohan quickly closed in on the kitchen and set about making himself a snack of epic proportions. Before he could tuck into his efforts however, he quickly found himself on the floor, courtesy of the purple blur that raced in and knocked him off his stool.

"I knew you were here Gohan!"

Gohan groaned as he looked up at the grinning face of the boy who could almost be called his second brother.

"Hi Trunks, it's good to see you too, now would you get off me, you're getting heavier as you get bigger."

Quickly hopping off of his idol and turning his attention to the table, his eyes proceeded to grow even wider as he stared at the feast laid out before him. Turning expectantly to the teenager slowly dragging himself off of the floor, he screamed in delight as he received a begrudging nod. Diving straight into the food, Trunks proceeded to stuff his mouth full as Gohan reached over the table and began tucking into the waffles.

"Sho Gohan, wha bwingsh ya t' ca'sule cor' today, ya wanna play wi' me?!" Trunks asked excitedly, spraying food across the table.

"Errr... no, not today Trunks, I just needed your mums help with something at school." Gohan replied, covering his face from the projectile crumbs.

"Oh ok..." Trunks said disappointedly, finishing off the last of the chicken wings, before his face illuminated once again. "I see lots of schools on TV! They look like so much fun! They're always getting into fights and stuff and they get detentions and attack their teachers and stuff! Is that what you do?!"

Gohan looked at the boy's expectant eyes, and knowing full well he'd regret it in the long-run, he decided to capitulate and tell him a little of what happened during his first day at school. Exaggerating in places for effect, Gohan enthralled Trunks as he sat on the edge of his stool, listening intently to his 'big brothers' story.

"Wow that sounds amazing Gohan! I can't wait to go to school, it must be full of awesome fighters!"

Gohan grinned slightly at the lavender haired child before him, before letting the day's events wash over him again. It had been a day of mystery; first an invisible barrier of some kind, and then a collection of fighters that were far beyond anything he would have expected outside of the Z Fighters. Where had they come from?

# # # # #

Hitting the floor hard, the beaten man let out a pained gasp as the air was driven from his lungs. The room was almost pitch black, and he could only just make out the vague shapes of his three subordinates sprawled across the cold, concrete surface beside him. Their sharp, laboured breathing, told him that they were in worst shape than he was.

Glancing above him he could make out thin slivers of light breaking through the painted out skylights. Recognition came to him as he realised he had somehow been taken to one of their many warehouses.

"You know it's against the rules to visit Orange Star High." a voice said to him, cutting through the tense atmosphere.

Recognition spread across the young mans face as he hung his head shamefully. "Kiyonari... I didn't mean to-"

"Save it Craig." Kiyonari snapped, looking down on the man as he struggled to his feet before him. Not long ago Craig had stepped out from under his wing and taken on his first 'job' with excellent results. Now cockiness had obviously gotten the better of him, and his desire to impress the new kids had led his young protégé to the floor before him.

"We're not just some petty gang anymore - the boss has seen to that. Rules are there to be followed. Don't let your first job with us be your last as well."

Craig nodded in humility, before glancing down once again at his subordinates, one of whom was beginning to drag himself off the floor.

"Are you going to... will the boss find out about this?"

Amused laughter rang out from a second individual shrouded in the darkness towards the back of the warehouse. Craig's eyes widened in fear as the dim light reflected off of steel blue eyes, a confident smirk faintly showing beneath them.

"I've already found out about this, so don't worry, I've had more than enough time to think up an appropriate punishment for you and your friends here." The face flashed yet another smirk before returning to the impassive mask it usually wore. "I'm feeling generous, so let's just say... 3 hours in the chamber."

Hanging his head in defeat, Craig turned to the three teenagers beside him, who had now only just managed to stand by themselves. Motioning for them to follow, they slowly headed in the direction of the subterranean levels, where the dreaded chamber awaited them.

Watching after them until they had disappeared to the levels below, Kiyonari turned his head back towards the blue-grey eyes in the darkness. The amused voice cut him off before he could say anything.

"Don't bother, I'm in a good mood, why spoil it."

Nodding thoughtfully, Kiyonari bowed to his superior before heading in another direction, focussing his thoughts on the curious predicament.

"Craig's headstrong and arrogant, but he's still got skill. Videl shouldn't have been able to do a number on him like that so easily, so what happened...?"

# # # # #

Finishing off the last pancake, Gohan leant back in the chair patting his stomach whilst watching a very stuffed Trunks do the same. Picking up the television remote, he began lazily flicking through the channels until a news broadcast suddenly caught his attention. On screen a reporter stood in the very car park he had been in just hours ago.

"-never-ending gang warfare has continued to disrupt the lives of many citizens here in Satan City, and once again all eyes have turned away from our law enforcement officers towards the vigilantes who continue to protect our city. I'm Tricia Takanawa reporting for ZTV News."

Gohan continued to stare at the TV in shock, processing what he'd just heard. "Gang warfare? Is that what I was involved in? Oh man, mum will kill me if she hears anything about this!"

"So Gohan, is that how you got that shiner?!"

Gohan stared blankly at Trunks, "What are you talking about Trunks?"

"Look in the mirror silly!"

Getting up from the table, Gohan made his way over to the mirror by the doorway. Stopping dead in his tracks, Gohan's eyes instantly locked onto the bruise that was slowly forming around his cheek and eye. Poking it lightly with a finger, he winced at the pain that shot through his face. The bruise seemed to become even more prominent as his face paled thinking of his next destination: home.

"I am soooo dead..."

# # # # #

So I'm obviously trying to go for the record for the longest amount of time between updates. Hopefully I'll be able to find some time to show some commitment to finally telling this story that is stuck in my head!

Chapter 3 is now up, as are some corrections to chapters 1 and 2, where I'd already managed to make some glaring continuity errors! Also, I couldn't help but throw in some recognisable names, my bad!

Finally, many thanks to all of you who have posted such encouraging reviews so far – it really is very much appreciated!