I wish I owned DBZ, but I don't. I own DVD's and tapes, but it just isn't the same. I also don't own the right to Starcraft or any of the music pieces you see selected, just copies of merchandise, such a shame. The artists that created them are geniuses and we all must bow to them.
Chapter 3: More Trouble
Dinner was a quiet occurrence, but I didn't expect any talking anyway. We three Saiyans hardly talked during meals anyway, unless it was a request for more food. Videl slowly ate her plateful, though in comparison it was a small appetizer. The phone rang once, it being Gohan checking up on the evening. He didn't come back until just as we finished dinner, fresh load of training clothes for his supply and a suitcase capsule for Videl. Then he left, saying that he had to study.
"I don't buy that for a minute, you don't want to be around here when the fireworks begin, do you?" I thought at him. He gave me a knowing smirk and took off from the front step. Trunks kept looking at the clock for some reason. The doorbell rang about five minutes after Gohan left. Trunks jumped up to get it, as did Goten.
"We better get in there before they drag the poor sap in here," Videl said, motioning for me to join her. We arrived to see Trunks opening the door to a salesman in a tidy business suit. Trunks obviously didn't expect this, and tried to slam the door shut but like any good salesman, he put his foot to the door before he could slam it. I wasn't sure how he pulled that off since his eyes were closed, but he did.
"Is Mrs. Bulma Briefs or Mr. Vegeta Briefs here right now? I have a great new product for them to try. Fresh from the Trojan man factory, Trojan MAN!" he said, adjusting his voice to a deeper tone. I paled at the sight, as did Videl and Trunks. Goten of course didn't get it.
"You young men, remember if you must, use protection!" He handed Trunks a small plastic pack, then he tossed me a pack, then Videl a pack.
"Maybe you should open your eyes idiot!" I growled.
"And young lady, here's one for her pleasure, now have a good night of fun!" He said cheerfully. I don't know who ended up madder, Videl, or me, but we both tossed them back.
"Man you are so gross!" Trunks said. Shortly after he said that, there was an explosion. Then all that was left was a pair of smoking shoes and three melted plastic wrappings.
"Now Trunks, what did your father tell you about blowing up salesmen?" I scolded.
He smirked in tune with me, "Not in front of Mom."
"That's right, good job!"
"Why was that guy here?" Videl sputtered out finally.
"They show up every time Mom and Vegeta, well you know, they must be busy on that vacation," I smiled slightly.
Trunks held his nose, "Please no more, I can't take it!" Goten still looked confused, but we hadn't said anything to trigger his endless stream of questions yet. Outside a thunderstorm had started up reminiscent of last night, and Trunks closed the door just as it began. The lobby remained quiet as the robots skidded in to scoop up the fresh ash remains of the Trojan Man.
"Hey Trunks, isn't it time for our favorite show?" Goten asked.
"Hey, yeah it is!" Oh no, not that, anything but that.
They looked at each other in excitement, "POKEMON!" There was a cloud of dust floating around a second later as the two vanished.
"Ugh, well at least they'll stay out of trouble," I muttered.
"You don't like that show?" she asked, confused a bit.
"Had it on my world too," I said shortly.
"No way, the exact same show?"
"Yep, same yellow and black striped rat named Poopachu," I shook my head slightly.
"Thought his name was Pikachu?"
"It is, I call it Poopachu, and I hate it either way. If I ever see a real live rat like that I will blast it on site!" I claimed. More thunder sounded outside, lightning brightly coming through the windows.
"Wow, sure is storming pretty good out there," Videl noticed. I nodded, but didn't say anything, the air felt mysterious. A loud clap of thunder hit again, and the power went out.
"DAMNIT!" I heard Trunks yell. Justice is served again.
"It'll be back on in a few seconds, takes a minute for the backup generators to kick on," I explained, grabbing a seat on the lobby sofa. More thunder hit, just as something pounded on the door.
Videl glanced at me as I shrugged, "Maybe it's the backup Trojan guy." She walked over and opened it. In stepped a tall brunette about Videl's height, with slender arms and legs that had band-aids on them. The figure's hands bore dark gloves like a biker's. The power turned back on and the lights shown on Brenda's face, slightly cut up but not bad.
"Well look who's back," I said, grinning slightly. She sent an initial glare in my direction, but cleared up in an instant.
"Hey, can I come back? I kind of overreacted when those two tore into the sugar and ran off when they destroyed my car and my clothes," She practically begged.
"Fine by me, if you really want to. But allow me to introduce you to your backup, Videl," I pointed out.
Brenda looked over and face faulted, "You're Videl Satan, daughter of the world champion!"
Videl rolled her eyes, "Yeah I am, and you are?"
"I'm, um, Brenda, their babysitter," she mumbled while playing with her fingers nervously.
"Well Brenda, as you no doubt saw, those two are a handful," Videl beamed at her.
"Yeah, I thought he was just being difficult because of the paranoid parents," she pointed at me. The air around me shifted, catching my attention away from the conversation.
"Well, he's a handful too, but a cute handful!" Videl giggled. I rolled my eyes this time, but then searched the air as to what the disturbance was. Brenda shifted a little bit, I caught the movement in the air, but I couldn't seem to sense any ki coming off her. Drugs must still be screwing me up. Just in case, I turned to Videl, who was in the process of embarrassing me again by playing with my spiky hair. I picked up on Videl's higher human ki pretty quick, but nothing came from Brenda, as if she wasn't even there. Well she is pretty weak. Brenda seemed tuned out to Videl's attempts of embarrassment.
"I'm going to go check on the troublemakers then, I assume they're in the living room?" she asked.
"Yeah, in there watching their favorite show, watch out for flying objects!" Videl called out to her. Videl turned and sat right next to me, but didn't say anything. She kept a grim gaze towards the ground.
"What is it?" I asked.
"Did she seem a little bit, strange to you?" she asked back.
"Come to think of it, yes, how could you tell?"
"I've been able to read people's eyes and movements for a long time. Gohan just taught me how to sense energy like you guys can. I'm not very good at it, but I can still pick things up when I try. I didn't get anything from her, was like there was just a void of air there," Videl explained.
"Oh good, and here I thought the drugs were still affecting me!" I laughed, scratching my head with a slight feeling of orneriness. Great, sugar caught up to me now. What I get for drinking soda over dinner.
"Maybe they are, you're already pretty weird," Videl joked.
"This coming from the daughter of the pose master?"
"Okay that's it!" Videl said, tackling me down on the couch. She planted her arms on my shoulders to prevent me from moving. "Ha, got you!" I just smirked slightly at her, before turning up the strength bar. In a few short seconds, I had flipped her over in the same position she had me in.
"Who got who now?" I smirked.
"Oh! You Saiyans!" she pouted when she couldn't budge me. I got up off her, falling backwards a little dizzy.
"You okay?" She asked with slight concern.
"Yeah, damn sugar," I said. She nodded, before lunging forward and knocking me all the way down. "Didn't you learn your lesson the last time?" I asked. She answered my tickling my sides and forcing me to laugh for several moments.
"Yeah that's what I thought, you can't stand up to me!" she said in triumph.
"What are you two doing?" Brenda's voice came from the hallway.
"Tickle attacked," I moaned, looking up at her.
"For a moment there I thought she had a boyfriend over," Brenda beamed at us now. I looked up at her blue eyes, and for a moment I thought her blue eyes were lighter in color. But they were colder, kind of like Eighteen's eyes, only they still held some emotion.
"Nah, he's still too small for me," Videl replied.
I snorted at this, "It ain't the size of the package you know. Even a small handful like me can produce a hurricane."
"Are we talking about your brute strength, or something else?" Videl snickered.
"That's my line. Anyways, I'm gonna go train a little bit. I missed out on it today, gotta catch up before I hit the hay," I got up stretching a little bit.
"It's a little late isn't it?" Brenda asked.
I looked at her funny, "You didn't notice that I was out cold on the floor all day?"
"No, I thought you were in that room you told me not to go in. I beeped it several times with no answer," Brenda said, but her body movement shifted as she did telling a slightly different tale. Hmmm, that doesn't smell right.
"Well it is hard for me to answer if I'm not in there," I said, walking past her. When I went by, I felt as if her cold eyes had just gone my way again. Compelled as I was to turn and stare back, I kept walking to the chamber.
-
I kept my training session light, only turned on thirty times gravity and didn't even go Super Saiyan. I kept it limited to basic stretching and a few fighting combinations with my shadow. I was bored really, and with it being so late at night, I just didn't feel up to training. Sometimes it was fun, but usually not when I was alone. Can't wait for Vegeta to get the holograms going. It was an idea Vegeta thought up and had suggested to Mom to start in on. Supposedly they wouldn't be limited to gravity, and couldn't be completely destroyed, but they could hit back. Being holograms, you could program them to do just about anything, including flying and ki attacks, though it would be more like an electric attack or a laser beam. After my match with my shadow, I called it a night and turned the chamber off. Stepping out, I sensed Videl and Brenda in the kitchen, the boys were upstairs somewhere. Funny, I couldn't sense Brenda earlier, I shrugged it off though. Walking down, Videl and Brenda were in a deep conversation that concerns just about everyone who meets Videl, her father. Videl was obviously annoyed with it, Brenda kept asking about his personal life. It took them a good five minutes for them to notice me at all.
"You're done already?" Videl asked, shocked.
"What do you mean already, he was in there for two hours," Brenda's turn to be shocked.
"Hmph, barely even felt it. I train seven to ten hours a day usually, that was nothing," I said, grabbing a bottle of water from a robot that brought it to me. Another brought a towel but I shooed it off, I hadn't even broken a sweat. "So are the demons in bed?" I asked.
"You know, you could treat your brother and friend a little bit better, they are little angels when they try to be," Brenda huffed with a hand on her hip. Videl gave her the crazy man's stare.
"You're falling under their cuteness spell again, that burned you last time. Well actually it burned Sharpner, Hahahaha," I couldn't help but laugh at the memory of the jock running around holding his rear.
"Sharpner was here? Oh god, no wonder he looked so red at school. And I was wondering where his precious car was," Videl noted.
"I still think you had something to do with that!" Brenda muttered. I narrowed my eyes, as I recall she thought she passed out. For a moment, I lost track of her ki again. Videl must have seen my sudden attention and decided to step in.
"Hey cutie, I think it's time for you to go to bed," she said, standing up. I cast one eyebrow up at her, but knowing her she was just trying to get away from present company with a remark like that. I tossed the water bottle back to the robot and preceded towards my room, Videl was right behind me, leaving Brenda in the kitchen. She waited until we got back to my room before breaking the silence.
"There's something different about that girl," Videl said.
"Well, when she grabbed my tail last night, she had me up in the air like she thought it was a belt. Trunks knocked her out before I did something about it, and then she claimed she didn't remember anything this morning. But there's no way she couldn't have known that I was drugged and out all day long," I said, putting a finger to my chin.
"Maybe the trauma of the terrible twins is just getting to her or something. Let's fret about this another time, go on now, get into bed!" Videl hushed me and gave me a little shove.
"I still don't like it. Well if those two get out of control tonight, I have an emergency item to get them under control!" I said, digging in my nightstand drawer. I pulled out the capsule bracelet and slid it on Videl's wrist.
"What is it?"
"Just press the button," I said, standing back just in case she wanted to test it. Instantly the smoke cleared, revealing Vegeta's secret weapon, which was a reinforced skillet that had the word Doom sketched on it's base.
She grinned at me, "Well, this could be useful, I better test it first though," she started towards me.
I put my hands up in defeat, "No not me!"
"Awe, I wouldn't do that, would I?" Videl asked, feigning innocence.
"Is that a trick question, since you already have before," I replied as I gave her the disgusted look until she put it back in the capsule.
"Although, one swing and I promise Gohan won't cheat on ya!" I joked, ducking under the blankets when her fist came knocking.
"Well, goodnight kid, I'll torture you some more tomorrow," Videl said, coming to turn out my lamp. She bent down and grabbed my head on both sides, giving me a small peck on the forehead. I rolled my eyes at her, making her giggle some more.
"You're easy to embarrass!" she cooed as she skipped a bit on the way out. Now where exactly did that hardcore bitch Videl Satan vanish off to again? This must be what it's like to have an older sister. I let that thought drift as I fell into deep sleep.
-
I was lying in my bed just as I would that time of night, but my eyes were in the hallway. I floated down the dark halls of Capsule Corp, sensing Goten and Trunks were in bed as well. The living room light was still on, Videl and Brenda must have been chatting into the wee hours. But something was wrong, I didn't sense Brenda at all, and Videl's ki was in distress, and dropping slowly. I wondered in to see a dark figure holding Videl up by the neck, cold eyes glowing. I couldn't make out the figures facial features, the eyes were glowing blue. The dark hand tightened around Videl's throat and she cried out in pain. Her body was covered in cuts and scrapes, bruises forming randomly.
"Huh, but why?" Videl groaned.
"Because you're in my way wench!" A dark feminine voice uttered. A small ki blast formed in Videl's hand and shot into the figure's face, lightening up to see it as Brenda's face.
"No good bitch, you are too weak, time to die little girl!" The hand gripped Videl's throat so tight that it went through all the way, separating the head from the neck in a pool of splashing blood.
"NO!" I screamed out, "NOOOOO!" I jumped up and out of bed, hitting the ceiling. I came back down to the bed in a crash, fortunately Mom had Saiyan proofed the beds as well as the walls and ceiling.
"Damnit, just a nightmare, calm down," I muttered as I tried to reassure my fear stricken mind. I scanned the ki levels of the house, Goten and Trunks were both low, meaning they were asleep, and Videl's was downstairs.
"Yeah just a dream, no big deal," I whispered, lying back on my pillow.
-
10 minutes went by and I wasn't asleep, a nagging feeling to go downstairs compelled me to stay awake. Fine, I was a bit thirsty anyway. I crept out of my room, the door creaked a bit but didn't wake anyone. I walked down in silence, walking by to see Videl and Brenda discussing something about school. See, nothing to worry about. I trudged down the hall and punched the code into the kitchen, turning on the lights in the process.
"Can I help you Master Verto?" a robot skidded up to me.
"Water please," I said, getting a glass full a second later.
"That is all," I said, drinking it down in a few gulps and handing it back. I punched the code back in, shutting everything down and putting the alarm back on. I walked back slowly, thinking I missed something. That's when I heard a scream from up ahead. I blazed forward, ki flaring, ready to kill whatever was harming anyone. I reached the living room in no time, only to peek in and see the girls were watching a horror movie. That's it, I'm losing it. I calmed down quickly and walked back upstairs. I laid back down, wondering what was making me feel this way. Another ten minutes went by with no sleep, then fifteen.
After thirty more minutes and no sign of sleep, I got up again. That nagging feeling was still telling me to be downstairs now, and that dream had felt pretty real. It's silly, but I suppose I'll check again, maybe I am getting paranoid. I walked down a little quicker this time, reaching the bottom in a minute or so. I heard another scream, but this time I felt a drop in the ki levels of the house at the same time. I rushed from the stairs in the living room, and heard sounds of struggle inside. I looked through to see Brenda holding Videl by the throat at arm's length; the glove on that hand was off, a ki blast shot from Videl's hand to Brenda's face, no effect.
"No good bitch, you are to weak, time to die little girl!" She uttered in a vicious tone.
"Oh no you don't!" I shouted a battle cry, startling Brenda just as I punched her clean in the face. I hadn't put much power into it, just instinct, it was enough to send her into the TV and break it. Instantly I knew there was something about her that was strange, any punch lack that would kill a normal human.
Videl coughed a bit, "How did you know?"
"I don't know, get out!" I shouted, she complied and went into the halls.
"You brat!" Brenda roared and came at me quicker than I thought she could, head butting me in the stomach and sending me into the hall. Once I crashed through part of the wall, I flipped back and readied my ki for battle, calling more of it up. Brenda had a line of blood coming from her mouth, wiping it off as she stood up.
"You, what the hell are you?" I demanded. I still wasn't sensing ki, either she was really good at hiding it, or she was something else.
Her smirk came out in full as she chuckled lightly, "Meager Saiyan, did you think all of Dr. Gero's creations were destroyed?"
"You're one of Gero's androids? Explain!"
"Gladly, though it won't matter after a few moments when I kill you, but no matter. Number Nineteen wasn't Gero's only assistant, I was created out of the good Doctor's daughter, I am Android Twenty-one! Like Seventeen and Eighteen, I was programmed to ultimately kill Goku, his son and Vegeta to take over the world. However that was not my primary programming, most of that was simply keeping the other lab up and running and making sure Dr. Gero's will would continue through his super computers. Yes little Saiyan, he had more than one lab. After Seventeen and Eighteen betrayed my creator and released Sixteen, I was left without a primary purpose. But just like those lesser models, I was destined to grow beyond my programming into something more. Father had installed designs for me to modify myself with. How to create energy absorbers and a perpetual energy device so I wouldn't run totally out of power in a fight. Once I absorb new power, my potential goes up. When Gero was killed, his computer sent me a message to activate and install these modifications, which took quite a while to do on my own. The other super computer shut down because the project was taking to much power from the reserves, even though it only required just a bit more power to finish up."
"Well, last month I believe it was, when that Majin Buu creature showed up, the computer managed to absorb a few of his stray energy blasts. This powered it up to full and allowed it to finish the modifications to my body. Then the earth exploded, I thought that was the end of it all. But thanks to the dragon balls I was brought back with the lab when the Earth was restored. My targets were still present, but they were hugely strong compared to what first observations had been. And they had a new strong fighter with them, you. The other children are nothing but extra power to me anyway, you were my true target. Did you think those two buffoons could have looked for all of that sleeping drug on their own, I helped them of course. I poured the water and tricked them into thinking you needed a nap. I wasn't surprised to see you foil the first attempt. So I left out a lot of that drug, more than enough for them to dump into your food and knock you out for the entire day. More than enough time to kill you and take your enormous power. Unfortunately the boys never left, just when I was going to take your power, they showed up to dye your pathetic hair or something. That and their little fusion move proved to be a problem. It didn't help that this little whore and Goku's powerful son showed up, ruining everything. I had to retreat to the lab to recharge the energy I lost when those two little twerps fused themselves. Now that I am here, I will dispose of you two, then I will steal the power of those two boys, and then Vegeta will die!" she finished.
"This doesn't make any sense, you knew Gero was long gone. Why do you follow his orders now? There are better ways than listening to an old fool that was destroyed years ago," I argued.
"I was designed to be able to better myself, and I will do that. Dr. Gero's dream of an ultimate android will be realized. Cell may have narrowly failed, but since he did I must take his place, and I will not fail!" Twenty-one declared.
"So that's why you took the job, you used it to get close to us and get us while they were away so you could increase your power. And then you got that idiot Sharpner in here to throw us off of any suspicious activity, right? Not a bad plan, but you miscalculated something, I am much stronger than I look, and I am not easy prey!"
"Oh I have learned not to underestimate a Saiyan, the computer picked up on your cells the instant you arrived here and analyzed them. Since you were not trained yet, it assumed your power would go up substantially, but not to the level of either boy. Naturally I was a bit surprised to find that you were a bit stronger than both of them, but that won't save you from me!" Twenty-one cackled again in arrogance.
"I don't expect you to be able to comprehend me," I grinned slightly.
"Enough you Saiyan trash! It's time to put up or shut up!" Twenty-one dropped into a fighting pose. I powered up slightly, increasing my power to the maximum in my normal form, a white and blue aura filling up the hallway.
A/N: Yeah I pretty much hinted at this the entire time, gotta start with something. Anyone with a set of eyes would have noticed the subtle hints I left throughout, especially in this chapter.