Chapter 7: Gohan's Problem

Touching down gently in the roof, Gohan glanced at his watch. He had been gone for a little over five minutes. Sprinting down the staircase and through the intricate corridors, he soon found himself at the door to his classroom. Breathing deeply, he stepped into the classroom. The teacher glanced over, nodded at Gohan, then went on with her lecture. As Gohan approached his seat, he thought "That was incredibly simple. I saved Videl and stopped a crime in the average timeframe of a bathroom break!" Sitting down, he looked at the clock, then the schedule in his pocket. "After this class is over, which is in.. five? Yes. Five minutes, the I have... PE. Oh sweet Kai, why?" Gohan began fidgeting. "How am I going to hide my strength? If they see how strong I am, everyone will think I am a freak! How bad would that be, being called a freak AND a nerd. Ugh. I don't know how I'll be able to handle this. Maybe I can just pretend to-" "Hey, Gohan." Gohan jumped.


Videl slumped into her chair. Thinking quickly, he responded. "Oh hey, Videl. How'd the crime-fighting thing go?" She glared at him for a second, before letting her face relax. "I still don't get how he managed to keep out of contact with the whole world for so long. I mean, he doesn't even seem to care who I am!"

"Although you don't really don't seem to mind it."

"Shut up! I'll bet he's faking or something."

Temporarily dismissing her internal conflict, she responded "Oh. It was... Different. This glowing guy who I'm pretty sure is the same "Gold Fighter" from this morning showed up and helped me... Not that I needed his help! I had the situation totally under control and he shows up with his flashy light tricks and pointlessly tried to assist me! Who does that guy think I am, a damsel in distress?"


Videl was growing more and more agitated. Gohan, all the while, was trying to hide discomfort with the scenario. "Why do I even bother? People don't seem to like me no matter what I do! I thought I was helping..." Scratching the back of his head and chuckling nervously he exclaimed "Well, I don't know you all too well, but I'd bet that you're right."


Videl looked at him oddly. "I totally forgot that I thought he was the Gold Fighter just a couple hours ago. It's ridiculous, when I think about it now. He's so happy and upbeat, I don't think he would have the heart to fight crime. Plus, he's probably way too weak." The bell rung, indicating the end of the fourth period. As the class shuffled out, Videl and Gohan made their way to gym.


As Gohan trailed the raven-haired girl, he was still reeling from her comments prior. "Wow. She claims that she doesn't need help, but the fight she was engaging in hardly seemed like a battle she could win. Then again, the police called her... So she must be better than I thought at martial arts." Gohan continued pondering this as he trundled behind Videl, not realizing she had stopped before bumping into her.


Videl had stopped when she saw Erasa and Sharpner walking towards her. To her surprise, her cessation of motion was short-lived. A large solid object bumped into her from behind, sending her sprawling on the floor. Turning around furiously, she opened her mouth to angrily say "What the hell?!" when she was rudely cut off by "OhmygoodnessVidelIamsososorryIdidn'tmeantoIswear!" Videl's words died in her throat. Gohan was staring at her, his cheeks painted a bright, vibrant red, though his hands were attempting to hide this feature, and his whole face in general. Instead of her initial retort, she adopted an angry expression. "Watch where you're going, Gohan!" He looked down in shame. "I-I'm sorry, Videl. I wasn't paying attention."

He extended his hand out, an offering that mirrored the situation that just occurred hours before. Grabbing his hand, she swiftly pulled herself to her feet, paying no attention to the minuscule tingling she felt in her abdomen, instead noting how strong his grip was. As she straightened her knees, Erasa approached them. In a sing-song voice that Videl swore was a bit sweeter than usual Erasa asked "Sooo what happened here?" Videl felt a light flush reach fall over her face. "I know what you're thinking, Erasa. I'll get you for this. I can only hope that Gohan doesn't understand." Looking at the person in question, she saw that (naturally) he had no idea what Erasa implying. Videl attempted to end the awkward pause that had seized the air. "Well, I saw you two, then Mr. Blumbering Idiot here walked into me. And IF YOU'RE DONE ERASA, WE SHOULD GET TO CLASS?"


Videl heavily emphasized the last few words, leaving Gohan wincing and rubbing his ears. "Jeez. Why did she have to yell like that?" As the four teens walked towards PE, Gohan continued massaging his ears. They stopped at the front of the gymnasium, where the rest of the class was accumulating. The PE teacher held the door open and hustled the students through. "C'mon! Let's go! We don't have all day!" As the students shuffled through the doorway Gohan couldn't help but wonder what fresh hell he had in store for him.

The huge gym facility was well-kept and clean, the air smelling of the mix of paint, cleaner, and sweat. One of the advantages of being a school in Satan City was the money constantly flowing from Hercule that paid for maintenance and upkeep of the gymnastic equipment. Gohan was amazed. The sheer size of the building adjacent to the school had impressed him from the exterior, but it seemed much larger on the inside. Sharpner caught his stunned expression. "Pretty impressive, huh, Brains? I don't blame ya. Even after all this time, this place still gets me." He smirked. "One of the many great things about living in Satan City, I guess. Not only do we have the Savior of the World, but we also get kickass workout gear." Gohan could see the soundness of the blonde male's logic. "Except for the fact that the Savior is weaker than my seven year-old brother." Gohan suddenly was hit with the memory of Hercule flying into a mountain while 'fighting' Cell. Snickering, he realized Sharpner was looking at him oddly. "What's so funny?" Clearing his throat, he stammered "Oh, i-it's really nothing. I just remembered something." The teacher, seeing as all the students had been corralled into the huge basketball area, began taking roll. As he glanced between his clipboard and the mass of students who were roving around. Frowning, he called out "Is there a 'Gohan' here?" "Right here, sir." "Okay... I'm sorry, but don't recall you from the last two weeks." "Today's my first day." "Oh. Well then, when I'm done taking roll, you come and talk to me." Taking a minute longer, Coach Allenarsi finished his roll call and addressed Gohan, who was patiently waiting. "Well Gohan, let me give you a walk-around. Our workout facility is quite large, so we don't want you getting lost." As the two disappeared through the door to the training room, Gohan's acquaintances were having a discussion. What about, you ask? Well, who other than our adorable adolescent Son?


"I'm just not too sure about him, Erasa. He's hiding something. I know it." Erasa glared at her. "And yet you fail to give any reason why." "Whatever. He's probably just some shallow jerk with no personality and just happens to be good at lying." Erasa frowned. "Videl, you need to be a bit more trusting! What makes you so against Gohan? You seem to be cool enough with him around. He's done nothing but be awkward, which is something that I would imagine any normal person would do, given that they hadn't hung out with anyone their own age their ENTIRE LIFE!" Sharpner followed with "I agree with Erasa. You're being a real bitch to the bookworm." In reply, Videl punched his arm. The result was Sharpner crying on the ground. Getting off the ground unsteadily, he tearfully asked "What was that for?" Videl just rolled her eyes and said "Just shut the hell up, Sharpner." "Videl! Don't use that language!" The trio whirled around to see Coach Allenarsi nearing them, Gohan behind him. "You full well know we don't support the use of that language at this school."

"Sorry, sir." "On a different note, I was wondering if you three would be as kind as to let Gohan tag along with you three for the day. In fact, I might as well make this a free activity day, just so that you can show him the ropes." Gohan's face paled. "No thank you, Coach I think I-" "Alright! That sounds awesome! Sure, we'll let Gohan hang out with us!" Sharpner shouted. "Great. It's settled then. Gohan, these people will show you around. Now everybody!" He addressed the entire class. "Sorry to keep you waiting! Today will be a free activity day." He paused as a loud cheer rose from the students. "So get into your lockers and get ready for an exciting day of PE!" He frowned. "That reminds me, Gohan. we need to get you your locker."


Once the class reconvened in the indoor basketball court, Videl spoke to Gohan. "Alright. So on days like these, we basically get to choose whatever we want to do. And as long as it involves burning calories, we probably have it. So... We might as well start looking for something now."


They ended up playing a nice game of baseball. It was the only sport that they could agree on. Videl wanted to fight, but Erasa vetoed her, on the grounds that they were to "show Gohan around, not beat him up" and that she didn't feel like getting "all gross and wrestling other people". Sharpner agreed with her, but Videl knew it was because he didn't want his macho appearance to Gohan ruined by him being beaten by her. This process of conflicting opinions and overruling ideas for ten minutes before they could agree on playing baseball with some other students. The teams ended up with Erasa and Sharpner on one side with Videl and Gohan opposing them. Videl was the pitcher for her team, while Gohan was playing second base. The first two batters struck out before Sharpner got up. Smirking, he stepped up to the plate. Videl said "Get ready to be struck out!" Sharpner responded smugly "In your dreams." Surely enough, Sharpner's swing made solid contact with the ball, sending it flying on course of a home run.


Gohan was extremely bored. Prior to the game he was in, he had never played baseball. He had merely read books that touched on the subject. He probably could have played a game against Yamcha, who last he heard was doing nicely in the baseball world, but it never struck him as too interesting. It didn't help that the first two people struck out, making the game all the less exciting for the half-Saiyan. Suddenly, his thoughts were disrupted by a loud crack. Looking up from the dust he was kicking up, he saw Videl, Sharpner, and the rest of the players looking up. Following their eyes, Gohan saw the ball flying overhead. Turning, he saw that the center-fielder was just gaping at the ball, the former unaware that the outfielder already knew that he couldn't get the ball. Gohan, recalling that it was his job to catch the ball, took off. Trying his hardest to keep at human speeds, he speedily passed the center-fielder. "The ball has passed its vertex and is beginning its descent. If it continues its path, it will be out of the park, which is a home-run, which also means that the other team would get a point." Leaping into the air, he caught the ball and let himself fall to the ground as though he were subjected to the laws of gravity. As he stood up, he smiled. "I caught the ball, which must mean that Sharpner is out." Walking forward, he continued remaining completely and blissfully unaware of the shocked stares he was at the receiving end of. "HEY VIDEL!" He yelled. "I CAUGHT THE BALL. THAT'S AN OUT. HOW MANY OUTS DO WE NEED? ISN'T IT THREE?"

Videl realized that her jaw was once again slack. Clenching her teeth, she glared at him. As he walked up to her, he saw her anger and suddenly realized the looks he was getting from the people, which varied from complete and utter awe to gazes that almost look like they were of fear. "What? What's wrong?" Videl lost her fiery look in less than a second, substituting it for what she really felt: Shock. "WHAT DO YOU MEAN WHAT'S WRONG? WHAT'S WRONG IS THAT YOU JUMPED TEN FEET IN THE AIR!" Gohan's face drained. "Oh sweet Kami above." "Um... Oops? I got new -um- air-cushioned shoes! They really help, you know? These things certainly put a spring in your step." Videl opened her mouth for another assault on Gohan's ears when he interrupted her. "Videl! Three outs is a change of innings, right?" To his great surprise, he sensed that Videl's power level, however small, was swelling to about 1/500,000 of his own. The rise quickly subsided, however, and she just scowled at him suspiciously. "... Yeah."

Soon everyone began shuffling to their respective dugouts, many of whom coming to accept the validity of air cushions and their abilities to defy gravity. Next, Videl and Gohan's team went up to bat. Videl was first, so she naturally got triple (and that's only because her concentration was still on Gohan). For Gohan, the wait on the bench to get up to bat seemed forever, despite him being the fifth up to bat. Around him, people whispered and occasionally asked him where he got his shoes. He would then reply that his mother got them for him as a gift. He managed that for the first two minutes, before Videl got batted in. When she came into the dugout, she had a look on her face that made Gohan wish he knew Instant Transmission. She sat down where there was only one person protecting Gohan from the... Eyes. But that quickly changed when the person (meat shield) between them stood up because of the discomfort from Videl's calculating glare. "Oh no! DON'T LEAVE ME. I swear if she could use ki she would learn to use the beam eyes. She has a natural talent for it." Gohan almost burst out laughing before he remembered the situation he was in.

It was about ninety agonizing seconds before he was up to bat. Walking up to the plate, he called out to Sharpner, who was pitcher, asking what side he should be on. Sharpner shook his head. "If this guy had any less of a life he would be a zombie." "Whatever works for you, Gohan!" Gohan then positioned himself on the right side of the plate. "Hey, Gohan! You sure you want to stand there?" Gohan looked inquisitively back. "Um... Yeah?" Sharpner shook his head once more. "All right. Let's see what this guy is made of." Gohan was in a different place. "This is really difficult. How am I supposed to suppress my strength to the level of these people? Shrinking my ki is easy, but this is impossible." Continuing to rant in his head, he failed to pay attention to the outside world until the ball left Sharpner's hand. For the bystanders, the ball was but a blur, but for Gohan, it was slow enough to find an analogy for his situation, then realize the ball was right in front of him. Completely forgetting his mental conference less than one second prior, he decided it would be best to tap the ball. Wrong choice.

The bat in Gohan's hand shattered. The ball flew across the field, passing the bleachers before it even began noticeably curving, and disappeared into a tiny dot in the distance. Gohan took off running to first, then to second, then third, and finally home. Stepping on the plate, he felt a great sense of euphoria on getting a home run on his first try. The euphoria died when he saw that the people who had just excused his catch from earlier as special shoes were, once again, staring at him. Looking around, he noticed that Videl, Erasa, and Sharpner were no exception. Gohan nervously chuckled and scratched the back of his head. "Well... I'm sure it was an old bat. The force that was exerted on it at that specific point probably applied too much pressure in that area, which led to the systematic destruction of the material." Gohan knew full well that he was rambling lies, but he spouted random long words to make it sound more valid. After a second or two of comprehension, the players started nodding. Videl's eyes narrowed. "He thinks he can deceive me. Gohan, I'll figure you out if it's the last thing I do."


As the baseball players returned to the mass of students milling around in the indoor basketball courts waiting for access to the locker rooms, Gohan heard whispered conversations of the misadventures at the field. He also noticed that a lot of girls were smiling at him and greeting him. After managing to escape back to his 'friends', Gohan just resigned himself to the idea that girls his age were weird. Walking up to the trio, he was met by a smile from Erasa, a glare from Videl, and a nod from Sharpner. The blonde male suddenly frowned and said "Hey bookworm. Why aren't you sweating? It was easily 85 degrees out there, and you're wearing sweatpants and a long-sleeved shirt!" Gohan glanced at his clothing, then looked up. "Well, there wasn't much of a workout, and the sweat from then must have -um- evaporated." He smiled sheepishly and looked at the ground. Videl studied him. "Bizarre! Sharpner's right! Gohan looks like he hasn't sweat a drop. And even I had some sweat! And he thinks he didn't have a workout!... Which reminds me..." Shooting a glare at Gohan, Videl said "I'll be right back, guys." She briskly walked to the coach, who had just finished supervising the teens in the workout room. "Hey, Coach Allenarsi? I was wondering, how old was the bat that we use for the baseball field?" He frowned. "What an odd question. We only started using it five days ago. Why?" Videl grinned, happy that she'd managed to solidify some of her incriminating evidence against Gohan. "I've got one on you now, Gohan." "Oh. It's just a student managed to break it." The coach raised an eyebrow, then chuckling. "Wow. I'm impressed. Tell Sharpner to go easy on the bats when you see him." Videl nodded mindlessly, her mind elsewhere. "Okay. I'll talk to you later, Coach."


Gohan speed-walked down the street. After saying goodbye to his new "friends" he sped away, desperate to get away from the school, the city, and Videl. After returning from talking to the coach, she had a look in her eyes that made Gohan fear for his life. Her eyes took on a strange look, which he felt had the chilling feeling of... Dissection. Shaking off the shivers in his body, he walked along the main road, then ducked into a small alleyway. Probing for nearby kis, he found nothing close to him except for a small animal ten feet away.

Gohan took a deep breath and took off into the air. Pausing only when he was 1500 feet off the ground, Gohan looked down at the tiny buildings below him and their even tinier occupants. Peace fell over him in his calm state brought by the relative quiet of his position. Gohan then looked above him to the clouds. "NIMBUUUSS!" His Saiyan hearing immediately heard the cloud's unique and strange noise closing in on him. Gohan only waited a few seconds before the orange transport flew underneath him, allowing him to gently descend into a cross-legged position. Speaking to the cloud, Gohan said "Alright, Nimbus. I want to go to Bulma's house in West City. Can you do that?" In response, the miniature and miscolored cumulus began humming with power before shooting off at a speed that almost sent Gohan flying off. Scrambling on his hands and knees, the Saiyan barely managed to stable himself as Nimbus sped towards the Briefs household. "Woah there, Nimbus! You almost made me fall!" Seemingly out of spite, his unconventional method of transportation began doing flips and spirals, all the while maintaining its high-speed course. Smiling to himself, Gohan allowed himself to enjoy the bliss freedom he felt on the orange cloud.


In little time, Nimbus glided down in the back of the Capsule Corporation's main compound. Before jumping to the ground, Gohan made sure his power level was still extremely low so that he wouldn't have to train with The Prince. It wasn't that Gohan was weak, seeing as he had managed to juggle his studies with training to keep his mother happy and satisfy his Saiyan need for conflict. If anything, Gohan was far stronger than ever. However, he didn't feel like having to talk to His Royal Highness about school and have Vegeta poke fun at him. As he made his way through the hallways that rivaled his high school's in both intricacy and length, Gohan felt Vegeta's power rise and fall repeatedly, indicating the obvious fact that he was training. Entering the Brief's huge living area, he was, for the second time that day, nearly knocked to the ground, this time due to a purple-haired maniac tackling him in a hug. "Hey Gohan! What's up? Are you here to play? Is Goten with you?" Laughing at the excitedness of the small and energetic Trunks, Gohan couldn't resist the pleading look the Saiyan heir had. "Poor Trunks. He probably only really gets to play with Goten, and that's only once or twice a week! Well... Since I'm here... I might as well play with him..." "Sorry, Trunks. I don't have Goten with me. But I can play, only for a little while, though. I still have to go home and do homework." Trunks' face slightly grimaced in disgust. "Why do you HAVE to go to school? You're already smarter and stronger than everyone there! You know that Dad gets bored and forces ME to train with him instead of you, right?" Gohan rolled his eyes. "It's just what my mom wants me to do. Speaking of which, where's Bulma? In the lab?" "In the lab." "Thanks, Trunks. I'll talk to her for a bit, then I'll be able to play. But only for a little while, okay?" The young half-Saiyan nodded happily. Gohan turned and walked through the house to Bulma's lab.

"Hello? Bulma?" "Over here, Gohan!" Glancing in the direction of the sound, he located her at a workbench studying some diagrams for a robot. "Hey! Whatcha got there?" Bulma stood up, rubbing her temples and shaking her head. "Oh, just a project I'm doing for Vegeta." Sighing, she opened her eyes and smiled at Gohan. She quickly pulled him into a hug, then began launching her inquiries. "How've you been? How was school? Did you make any friends?" Gohan shrugged. "I've been doing okay. School was... Manageable, I guess. The people there were confusing and mean, and it's weird meeting people of MY generation. As for friends... I don't know. I guess I could say that I've met a few people that I got along with..." He paused, casting his eyes to the ground in tiredness, then focusing on the drawings on the nearby papers. Tilting his head to see fully upright, Gohan was quite interested. "So Bulma, what is this? Why would Vegeta need anything other than food and the Gravity Room?" Bulma once again shook her head. "Well, ever since Chi-Chi started prepping you to go to school, Veggie was upset because after 7 years of having you around, he'd have no one to train against. Then, I had the idea that there could be robots that he could test himself against in the Gravity Room. That way he'd have a challenge. The problem is is that they need to be extremely durable and energy efficient. Of course in order to make something engaging for HIM I need to make something which is turning out to be impossible to power. Kami forbid he MAKES SOMETHING EASY FOR ME!" Gohan winced and rubbed his temples, but continued staring down the designs. She continued, a lighter tone in her voice. "Although... he has been taking Trunks to the park lately, which is nice..." "Bulma, I think I found your problem. You need to make the designs capable of external charging so the Vegeta releases in his blasts and his aura can be used. I think that nanocrystal solar structures would be best, so that it absorbs more energy and they don't break as easily." Bulma examined the diagrams, anticipating the substitutions she would have to make and their outcomes. "That's... Very good, Gohan! Thank you!" Gohan smiled. "It's no problem. By the way, I was wondering if you could do me a favor..." He paused, inhaling deeply. "I was wondering if you could help me with fighting crime."

Bulma grinned, then laughed. "Wow! Fighting crime? This is interesting. Sounds like you've got a bit of your father in you." Gohan's face faltered into a look of sadness for a fraction of a second, before reappearing just as fast. "Gohan, I don't understand how you need help protecting people. What is it that you exactly need?" Gohan paused, attempting to get his thoughts in order. "Well... There's this girl in my class..." Bulma's eyebrows nearly jumped off of her face. "What?! Really, Gohan? Do I need to let Chi know?" Gohan blushed a deep hue of red. "Not like that, Bulma! Anyways, she helps the police with fighting criminals. The police chief calls her for help! She's a great fighter and does her job well, but she's not..." Bulma nodded. "Immune to bullets? Able to fly? Can sense life forms?" Gohan shrugged. "Basically. Today, I fought criminals twice as a Super Saiyan. Everyone seems to know about me now. They even call me 'The Gold Fighter'. The thing is, this girl is very suspicious of me, and I'm afraid that she will eventually find out that I am the Gold Fighter. And I can't imagine how angry Mom would be if she found out that I ruined our private life do fight some crooks." Bulma regarded Gohan with a partially thoughtful, partially sympathetic look, nodding slowly. After some time, she finally spoke. "Well, Gohan... It looks like you need a disguise."

Gohan was pleasantly surprised. "A disguise? I wasn't expecting that. It's almost like... like..." "Like I'm a superhero?" Bulma chuckled. "Well, Gohan. You do have all of the traits of one." Gohan dwelled on that statement for a few seconds before nodding slowly. He grinned as he said "I can't wait to see what Goten will think of this." "Speaking of which, Gohan, did you tell your mother you would be here after school?" Gohan nodded. "Yeah. I told her I would stop by to check in on you guys. She also mentioned something about a dress?" Bulma gasped. "Oh yeah! Hang on. I'll go get it." She quickly departed to her room on the other side of the massive complex. Hurridly leaving him, Gohan was left in the laboratory to find something to entertain himself.

Sighing, Gohan walked about the massive room, in which a few remnants of the past laid scattered about. In one corner of the room, the severely damaged scouter worn by Raditz sat in a glass container. Further along the wall, a piece of Nappa's pod lay on the counter, heavily dissected. Gohan continued his walk along the vertical patchwork compilation of his life. Here, a preserved blade of grass from Namek. There, a remnant of Saiyan armor. Nearing the end of the walk of memories, he saw something that made his heart stop. A large picture was mounted on the wall. On it, a group of people crowded around. Goku, Chi-Chi, Bulma, Krillin, Yamcha, Puar, Tien, Chiaotzu, Oolong, Roshi, Turtle, and the Ox King all were smiling at the camera. Gohan slowly got closer. "This must be from before I was born!" He smiled at the way his father was laughing and how his mother was beaming into the camera. Gohan felt himself being drawn into the group photo, wanting beyond anything and everything else to enter that distant world and stay there eternally. "Gohan?" He jumped as he returned to the real world. Whirling around, he caught sight of the intruder and subsequently relaxed. "Oh. Hey, Bulma. Sorry. I was just looking at your collection of memoirs." "It's nothing. I've got your mom's dress in this." She tossed him a capsule. "And I was thinking about your outfit. I already have a prototype sort-of waiting for the occasion, but I can make a few quick adjustments if you need them. What exactly are you looking for?" Gohan rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "I don't really know. I didn't really put much thought into my costume... Maybe something cool, but practical." Bulma laughed. "I think I know what you mean. How about you go play with Trunks while I work on it?" "Sure thing. I already promised to play with him anyways. Thanks, Bulma!" As they exited the room, she said "Don't thank me yet, but I think you'll like it."


Twenty minutes later, Bulma found Gohan and Trunks playing tag. Calling a halt to the game, the blue-turquoise haired scientist told the elder of the two to switch his watch with the one she was holding. Confused but interested, Gohan did as he was told. "Alright. Now press the red button on the side of the watch." He looked down to his wrist and found what she instructed him to push. Pressing it once, Gohan and Trunks watched in amazement as his body flashed with pulsating light that seemed to expand from his watch and creep slowly over his body. When the flickering ceased, Gohan found that his eyes had some sort of shading on them and numbers were running across his vision. Running in front of nearby mirror, he felt his breath catch.

Gohan's head was mostly covered by a red helmet with a black visor, which not only shaded and hid his eyes, but also seemed to have a scouter-type device built into the display. Glancing at a grinning Bulma, he saw that it locked onto her face and gave him her name, power level, age, and occupation. Turning back to the mirror, Gohan noticed a movement from behind him, before realizing he had a sweeping cape that matched the deep red hue of his helmet. Gohan smiled. "This is awesome!" Assessing his figure, he realized that it was covered with a lightweight black body suit that clung to his form, covering almost all of his skin. From his armored shoulders to his mid thigh, a lime green tunic loosely fit his form. Gohan's hands were covered with long white gloves that reached up his forearm. His feet were clad with white and yellow boots that appeared to be from Saiyan armor. As his eyes continued wandering over his own structure, Gohan caught sight of something he did not expect on his belt buckle.

"Bulma... Is that the four star dragon ball?!" Bulma nodded. "Yep. I built the basics for the whole suit as the perfect armor for any of the Z Fighters, should the occasion ever arise. I figured that having it on someone who I entrusted this suit with would be a great way to keep it safe and have a way to track the wearer's location with the dragon radar. Plus, if the watch somehow breaks, the dragon ball will be released. Isn't it cool that it's the same one you wore as a child? Anyways, that's really unimportant compared to the other stuff I've got on here. The helmet is my favorite, in my opinion. It has advanced GPS and uses news sources, social media, and Capsule Corporation's data records from all across the world in order to identify a person. It will also automatically tune into police radio frequencies. As for the armor, it's got very little, since most human weapons can't touch you. The gloves are a special blend of high-grade polyester and carbon nanotubes that are actually able to remain solid with ki movement, though it isn't too durable if you're using anything like the kamehameha wave. The boots and shoulder pads are lightweight variations of Vegeta's that I synthesized. The black undersuit is another slightly modification I made off of his suit, but I made its better, now being capable of stopping the most powerful bullets and surviving upwards of about... say... about 1000 degrees celsius. And... That's everything, I think. How do you like it? Does it fit?"

Gohan struggled to truly emphasize how awesome he thought he looked. "It's... It's..." Gohan breathed deeply. "Amazing! This is so great! Thank you so much, Bulma!" Beside himself in excitement, Gohan couldn't wait to use his new alternate persona. "I can beat up bad guys AND look awesome!" "What do you think, Trunks?" Gohan turned to the young heir to the Saiyan Throne and Capsule Corp. Trunks, in turn, looked at his mother and asked pleadingly "Can I be a superhero, too?" Bulma laughed and said "I think he likes it, Gohan! And Trunks, only when you're older. Now say goodbye to Gohan. I imagine he wants to fight crime now, but still get home before his mother kills him." Gohan looked at his new wrist watch to find that it was already 4:00 "Oh no! I've got to go! Thank you so much, Bulma! I owe you one! Bye, Trunks!" Capsulating his bag, he flew out the back entrance and skyrocketed to the mid-troposphere. Looking down with new vigor, he saw a tiny Satan City barely visible in the distance and began flying rapidly towards it. "If I'm going to be a crime-fighter, I may as well start now."


In a matter of minutes, Gohan entered the city limits and began patrolling for any wrong-doers. "If I'm right about this city, there is bound to be a misdeed happening somewhere in this huge place." Searching with his hand for the rumored controls to his helmet, he found a button just on the interior. Gohan's hearing was flooded with static before it began adjusting to the Satan City Police Department radio frequency. Slowly yet steadily the channel became more audible and the voices became less fuzzy. "-robbery in progress at Red's Donuts at 2059 Curifel Street." Gohan grinned. "Time to give the city something to talk about other than the Gold Fighter!" Divebombing down, Gohan pulled up about ten feet off the ground and began weaving past street lights and trees. Below him he heard shrieks and gasps as the occupants of Satan City saw a caped individual fly directly overhead. Following the arrows pointed out by his helmet, Gohan was soon at the crime scene. It did not look good. The police and robbers were exchanging fire, but there were ten robbers in total, all equipped with semi-automatic rifles, while there were only seven officers carrying handguns. Gohan dropped to the ground, doing a flip in the air and landing gracefully on one foot. Both sides paused their firefight and stared in shock at the thin person who had seemingly just flipped out of midair. After a few seconds, a cop finally called out "What're you doing, kid?! Get out now! This place is dangerous!" Gohan turned away from the police and to the criminals before him. Three were trembling in fear, while the rest were chuckling. "You heard the the pig, shrimp!" One criminal called out. Another chimed in "Yeah! Now get your caped ass out of here before you leave in a body bag!" Gohan responded with great bravado. "Excuse me, gentlemen! Please drop your firearms and surrender to the police, or I will have to assist you... Forcefully." At that, all of the crooks laughed. The one who spoke first, seemingly the leader, said "Like hell we will! Boys, shoot this joker." All the criminals fired a volley of bullets at Gohan, who didn't flinch. The police all took cover behind their vehicles, bracing themselves for the unknown individual's blood and the bullets that would tear through his body and hurtle towards them. However, as soon as the rain of metal reached him, Gohan swiftly caught each projectile.

After a few seconds, the criminals stopped shooting, figuring that the caped idiot before them was going to crumble to his knees. But to their great surprise, he continued standing. He held out his downwards-facing fist and opened his hand. A pile of squished bullets fell to the ground from his gloved palm. Two of the criminals passed out then and there, while another threw his gun down and walked to the police with his hands behind his head. The police who peaked out from behind their cruisers gasped or let out a cry of relief. The crime boss croaked out "What the hell are you?" Smiling, Gohan said "Ten seconds are up, gentlemen!" Leaving those words hanging in the air, he disappeared. The criminals jumped, and the boss had just begun relaxing when there was a strangled scream next to him. His right hand man collapsed, sporting an impressively large lump on his head. Another uttered shriek sounded off, and he and his men spun to see one of the demolition men in their group hit the ground hard. All around the leader, his gang fell one by one to an unseen force, each falling as though they hadn't put up a fight. At last, it was just the leader and one of the better poker players in the group (which was not a very applicable skill at the moment).

As a barely audible whoosh was heard right in front of him, the boss turned to see what had become of his comrade. The poker-player crumbled to the ground as Gohan vanished again, then materialized in front of the boss. Grabbing him by the front of his shirt, Gohan lifted the criminal off the ground and spoke. "Tell me, Richard Dieb, why? Will robbing a donut shop be worth decades of time in prison?" The thief didn't even bother to ask how the caped freak knew his name, instead opting to shudder, soil himself, and pass out in fear. "You there! Freeze!" Gohan whirled around, still holding the now-unconscious crook with his feet dangling. Seeing the source of the outburst, he paled and dropped the senseless malefactor. Videl was marching towards him, and group of tactical police with riot shields were about four paces behind her, not being quite as willing to interact with the strange man who had caught bullets and single-handedly beat up a gang of dangerous criminals. Gohan began perspiring nervously. "Uh oh! What am I going to do? If she hears my voice, she'll know who I am. And if I just fly away, then I'll look like I'm a criminal myself!" Videl's march ended right in front of the sweating superhero, her eyes attempting to pierce the shield that prevented her view of Gohan's eyes. After a short session Videl glaring and Gohan squirming, she spoke menacingly. "Who are you?!" Gohan's mind blanked. "What? I didn't think about that! What should my name be...?" Clearing his throat, he said in his new 'superhero' voice "My name is..." Pausing a moment to collect his thoughts, Videl interjected. "IS?"

"The Great Saiyaman!" Videl felt a sweatdrop formulate on her forehead, as she wondered how to start fathoming what was going on and how to reason with how ludicrous it was. The police behind her had similar expressions of bewilderment as she did, and more than one of them was wondering how stupid the name was for someone who could perform the feats he did. "The... Great... Saiyaman?" Gohan smiled proudly, and drew himself up as he felt empowered by the sound of his new alias' name. "That's right!" "I'm so glad I came up with such a great name on the spot!"


Videl, in the meantime, had shaken off her marveling of the stranger's- no, the Great Saiyaman's idiocy. "He may be a clown, but he's a clown who can catch bullets, or pretend he can catch bullets." She thought. Clearing her throat, she poked Saiyaman's chest. "Ouch. That kind of hurt my finger." "Listen buddy. I don't know what you're doing around here, but I don't like it. I think it's pathetic that you have to resort to tricks when beating up people, but it's still dangerous to you and people around you. Next time, leave the job to the police and myself. Got it?"


Gohan's brow furrowed. "Tricks? What trick- Ohhh. That must be what she was talking about when I helped her as a Super Saiyan earlier! That's probably how Hercule explained the Cell Games to everyone!" "Well, Miss Videl, I'd be awfully inclined to... But... I still think that I can help around a bit, and look at the time!" He leaped into the sky, stopping for a moment and looking down from twenty feet in the air. "See you around, Miss Videl!" Pausing for but a second, Gohan spiraled up to 600 feet above the large crowd that was collecting around the crime scene. Taking a deep breath, he powered up slightly and blasted off towards home. Meanwhile, in the masses of people gaping below, Videl moodily threw the capsule to release her jetcopter. "Two tricksters in one day! Who are they? What do they want?" As she took flight, Videl was buzzing with questions that were sure to keep her awake most of the night.


As Gohan touched down in the meadow near his house, he clicked the red button on his watch, causing his outfit to flicker out of sight. "I don't want Mom to see it yet. Only if I need it to convince her." As he began approaching the small white dome he called home, Gohan couldn't help but heed the building amount of anticipation that swelled with each step. Upon reaching the door, Gohan inhaled deeply through his nose and exhaled from his mouth. "Alright. This is it. I need to get Mom to let me help the people of Satan City. They NEED my help! Plus... It's really fun." With that mission clear in his mind, Gohan opened the door. As soon as the door was sufficiently opened, Goten ran towards his big brother. "Gohan! You're finally back! It's been forever!" The two of them laughed as Gohan hugged Goten and tossed him into the air three times. Still chuckling, Gohan set his little brother on his shoulders. When nicely seated, Goten leaned forwards and whispered secretively in his big brother's ear "I'm not sure if mom's angry at you, but I think she is. Does that mean that you can't train with me?" Gohan gulped. "Uh oh." Taking his brother off of his shoulders, Gohan said "We'll see. It depends on how mad she is. Now go play before she gets the frying pan!" Goten's eyes widened in fear before he turned and madly dashed out the door. Now slightly trembling, Gohan made his way to the kitchen.

His mother sat at the table drinking her favorite rose tea and reading a magazine. As soon as Gohan stepped through the threshold, she looked at him and narrowed her eyes. Freezing on the spot, Gohan felt the adrenaline rush preparing him for combat, but he knew this was no battle he could win. Clearing his throat, he managed to squeak out "Hi, mom." She glared piercingly at him for awhile, before sighing and calming down. "Hey, Gohan. How was school?" Gohan was shocked. "What... Was that?" "Um... It was okay?" She nodded, her eyes not leaving his. "Bulma called me. She told me about what you plan on doing..." Gohan suddenly felt the need to power up for his own safety. "And I support it." Gohan's jaw dropped. Chi-Chi observed this and sighed. "Gohan, I know that you are your father's son. Fighting is in your blood, and you thankfully grew up with the idea of helping people with your power. I know that I can't stop you from doing that, especially after Cell. And as long as your only fighting regular humans, I will let you." She paused, her eyes beginning to take on a more steely look. "However, that does not justify coming home late AND NOT CALLING!" Her voice elevated to a scream, and she hit Gohan on the head with a frying pan (where she got it and how she moved so quickly, nobody knows).


"Today just isn't a good day." Videl thought to herself as she collapsed on her bed. She now had TWO strange tricksters who were stealing her job. "I probably wouldn't care as much if they had let me known that I didn't need to help BEFORE I left..." She thought tiredly. Rubbing her temples, the teenager stared at her ceiling. "It's times like this that make me wish I didn't do what I do. It would be nice if I could hang out with Erasa after school without some idiot threatening people's lives." As she slipped around her thoughts, Videl found herself reflecting on what they were discussing at Erasa's house just forty-five minutes prior.


"So Videl, you never did tell me how that call earlier went." Videl looked warily at her best friend. She saw that her friend was suppressing a grin. "You already know. What do you want me to tell you?" Erasa giggled. "Well, I want to know what the Gold Fighter looked like! Was he as handsome as some of the people said he was this morning?" Videl shook her head and rolled her eyes. "I don't know, Erasa. I wasn't exactly paying attention to his body. I was kind of busy fighting criminals." "That's not what the police say! My friend told me that you specifically said that after all of the bad guys were defeated, you had a good look at him!" Videl looked at her oddly, before asking "Where do you get your information?" Erasa laughed. "Ask no questions and I'll tell no lies!" Videl sighed. She knew that her friend will grill her to no end to get information. "Alright. He was really... Wierd. He had a very powerful stance. His hair was gold, and he glowed. But I'd bet those things are just from light tricks or something. His eyes... were are a weird blue-green. A turquoise, I think." "Was he cute?" "I AM NOT GOING TO HOOK UP WITH THE GOLD FIGHTER, ERASA." "Fine! Geez! It was just a suggestion." There was a momentary pause. "What about Goh-" "NO!" "Aww! But he's so cute! I would probably go after him if it weren't for Sharpie!" Videl pounced on the change of topic. "Why don't you just hint at it with Sharpner. He isn't clueless, you know." "Yeah, but I'd be so embarrassed!" Videl scoffed. The most outgoing person she knew was too nervous to flirt with her second best friend. Erasa shook her head. "Whatever. Now isn't the time to talk about my crush. Let's talk about you!" "Ugh. Erasa, I swear to-" "Videl, you need a boyfriend or girlfriend or something! Why can't you at least try?" "Just because, Erasa! It's not that I don't like guys! It's just that all these boys try to 'proclaim their love' to me, but they don't actually like me! They just want the money or the popularity or to be able to say 'Oh, I dated the daughter of Mr. Satan!'" "Yeah, but Gohan didn't even know who your father was this morning! And when I told him, he acted as if it were no big deal! I think he doesn't even care!" "You don't know that, Erasa. Just wait. I'll bet you that by the end of this week, he'll show his true colors. He's probably just masking his intentions by acting so innocent and clueless." "Okay. If that does happen, I'll accept full responsibility and give you a bottle of shampoo from my mom's salon. However, I'll only do this if you are actually nice to him and treat him like a person. We probably are the only people at the whole school who haven't totally alienated him yet, and I like him." Videl rolled her eyes once again. "Fine. But when I win, be sure to pick out Mangue Parfumée." The conversation dropped as Erasa began surfing through the television channels, but Videl knew that the war was far from over.


After doing the simple homework he had amassed over the course day, Gohan was able to train with Goten. The 7 year-old was always able keep Gohan on his toes, often possessing surprising amounts of energy that could make a task quite difficult to manage, even for a being as powerful as Gohan. In this case, it was the rocks that Goten was throwing at Gohan. They each were in designated zones, and Goten was to throw rocks as hard as he could at Gohan, who in turn tasked himself with dodging them. This game helped improve Goten's motion-tracking and aim, while Gohan was able to develop his spatial awareness and reaction time. The thing that Gohan didn't count on was Goten's capability to fling rocks at speeds that were double that of the bullets that Gohan was capable of catching. While Gohan had been in more perilous situations with his response time being stretched even further than that training session, he had not expected the first rock to be traveling so fast. The drill lasted a total of twenty minutes, with short breaks every few minutes to collect rocks for Goten to throw. Afterwards, they went and swam at one of the many beautiful lakes up on Mount Paozu. Goten's favorite part of swimming in the lake was riding his brother's shoulders, which led to more than one instance of Gohan inhaling water. At the end of their swim, they raced each other home (Gohan letting his brother win) to eat. After a massive meal of Chi-Chi's amazing cooking, the two boys cleaned up and turned in. Soon, the two Son children were asleep, and the house was quiet. Walking down the hallway, Chi-Chi looked lovingly through the doorway at her two primary sources of pride and joy "They're growing so fast." She thought contentedly. Her smile died when she noticed that Gohan was whimpering ever so slightly. Walking from her youngest to her eldest, Chi-Chi sat on the bed, kissed his forehead, and wiped the tears trickling from his closed eyes. Leaving the room, Chi-Chi looked back at Gohan and Goten. "I worry so much for Gohan. Goku's death was tragic for everyone, but Gohan's life seems to be pure torment from it." Entering her own room, Chi-Chi prepared herself for sleep. As her head hit the pillow, her mind was still mulling over Gohan's dilemma.