A/N: Hey!! It's me again!! Finally!! I am soo sorry everyone, I have just been SOOOOO busy at work that I haven't even been taking real lunch breaks!! And no real lunch breaks means no time for me to write… :-( I am sooo sorry that it has been almost 2 months since my last update, and I hope hope hope that I didn't loose any readers during that time… And I hope that you all didn't loose faith in me. I feel really bad that I have left this part out of my life for so long… But like with all hobbies… responsibility takes precedence (as much as I wish it weren't true)… Also, I've been fighting with my car insurance company… I got hit in a parking lot by some jerk-off, and his insurance is refusing to fix my car… So I am kinda screwed financially due to that, so that means that I gotta work more, less lunch breaks… Anyone see where this is heading?
So, that is what has been going on with me, I know that most of you probably don't care, but if you did, you now know where I was, and what has been going on. I did find this really neat thing on the net the other day… It is a dbz podcast. It is on . The people who do it really know their stuff, and it is worth checking out if you want a somewhat analytical look into dbz.
But enough of my ramblings, on to the reviews!
Mecrolos: Here is another update for you… Sorry for the delay!!
Ryota: I have never heard of a "Mary Sue", thanks for teaching me something… But I will do my best not to do that, at least, my plans right now are not too… (hint, hint). And I intentionally mis-spelled it as San, but it looks like I forgot to have him correct his last name… Maybe I will go back and fix that and repost the chapter… We'll see… I took your advise (see below) about the last time thing. I did a summary AND the last few lines… I hope that works out. Thanks for the props and the loyalty, I REALLY appreciate it.
Yuki: It's nice to finally hear from you! Have you been reading since I started posting Part I? if so, thanks for your loyalty, and I hope to hear from you again!!
X-Danni: Thanks for the props, and I am glad that I could brighten up your day. I hope that when you see this chapter, it too will brighten you day!! Enjoy!
Shiva: Ok, I will give you "second-rate schmuck" your five minutes… HAHA!! I'm just playing… And while my use of the characters should be the "star", if it wasn't for you, I wouldn't have such a deep and multi-dimensional character to work with… He will definitely help out the story, although I will have to rethink some of my earlier plans on where to go in Part III. But I don't mind, not in the slightest… I see it as more of a challenge. Thanks for your loyalty and I hope you enjoy this chapter!!
One more quick note, in the Last Time section, it is a little different this time. Going off the recommendations of the readers, it will now contain a summary of last chapter and the last few lines of the chapter… The summary will be normal text, but the last few lines are in Italics. Let me know how this works out… If you like it, don't like it, don't care either way… whatever. Also, a round of applause to the reader Shiva the Sarcastic. This chapter intros a man named Celer, the character that he created from my challenge back in Part II (anyone remember that??) He has created a great character, and I hope I can utilize him to his fullest in this story. Side note: he is Videl's b/f, just throwing that out there because it is easier than explaining within the story, ya know what I mean?
So, now that's over, on to what everyone is here for, Part III of Welcome to My Life!! Enjoy everyone!!
Last Time:
It was Gohan's first day of school and he met with a few challenges… First, he had to deal with a police chase without being recognized, then he has to sit and wait for his tour guide…
Only to find out that it was none other than Videl herself. And after a rocky introduction, he was off to his first class, only to struggle through a silent and boring course.
Meanwhile, Videl goes to her class and tells Yami all about the new kid until they both get yelled at, postponing their conversation until between classes.
But she has a surprise in her next class.
Gohan's second class met him with a senile teacher that called him Gahon San, and the stares and ridicule of the other students in his class, not to mention Videl is in all but one of his classes
And to make the day worse, Vegeta had an odd urge to fight Gohan, trying to provoke him until Gohan stuns Vegeta without even hitting him!
When going inside, hoping to end the day, he has to put up with Bulma's worrying, and the "Twin Terror's" lightning round of questions
Goten and Trunk's lightning round of questions continued, but Gohan wasn't really listening. He looked up at Bulma and Bulma's face had on odd look on it. He couldn't quite read it.
It looked a lot like what he was getting from her when he first came back from Yaketsu, but it was a little different.
Maybe he would ask her about it later. But he had made a promise to himself, and that meant that he had a little brother to play with.
"Come on Goten and Trunks, I'll tell you all about it, but let's go into the other room," he said as carried the two out of the lounge area and into his bedroom.
WWWWW
"Hey, Bulma?" Gohan asked as he entered her lab. He usually announced his arrival when she was busy working, otherwise he would startle her, and if he did that, she would bring out the frying pan…
He shuddered slightly at the thought of that dreaded chunk of cast iron…
She turned her head to face him. Her small smile let him know he had her attention.
"I need you help with something, do you have some time?" he asked. He always hated disturbing her when she was working.
"Yeah, I can help you, I just have been working really hard recently. Somehow, Plano Industries keeps coming out with the same things as we are, only weeks before us. What do you need?" She asked as she brushed the hair out from in front of her eyes.
"I have been trying to come up with a way to have a disguise that I can take with me so if anything happens I can use my powers to help out without risking revealing my identity." he tried to explain.
"Did you ever think to just stay out of it?" she asked with a skeptical look in her eye.
Gohan just shrugged.
"Well, you are definitely your father's son. Let me see what you've got so far, and I will get back to you when I have something," she said as Gohan handed her some design blueprints. "What is going on with Plano Industries?" he asked.
A look fell over Bulma's face, one that made her look like she was going to vomit. "It's a new company based out of South City. They are in the technology industry, like us, but they seem to be releasing the same exact things as we have been working on, only weeks ahead of us. It just makes no sense. They are run by some guy names Bruin, yet no one I know has ever talked to him, or even seem him for that matter. It is almost like he doesn't exist…" her voice trailed off as she fell into thought.
Gohan took that as his cue to leave. "That's really odd. If I hear anything about him or that company, I'll let you know, ok?"
"Yeah, thanks, kid. Bye." She said as she turned back to her table.
"Bye Bulma, and thanks again," he said, them turned and walked out of the lab door.
AAAAA
Alexx stood at the front door of his new office building. It was exactly what he needed, and the exact layout he had hoped for. "It's perfect," he said under his breath.
"Yes," his monotone assistant said. "It will suit our needs flawlessly."
"Did you alert the crew yet?" Alexx said without his eyes leaving the building.
"Yes, they are already mobilized and on the way," responded the monotone voice next to him.
"Perfect," he said as a small smile found its way to his lips. "ETA?"
"Two point five hours," he said, sounding almost exactly like a computer.
"Even better. Lets go."
They both entered the lobby area and looked around, examining every thing, every wall, every inch of ground, and every door. They wandered down the various hallways, checking every room. Eventually, they made their way around the entire building. Just when they had finished, Alexx's cell phone rang. He lifted it to his ear, "What." he snapped .
Then his face changed into a smile. "Excellent. Start unloading the equipment into the lobby. I'll be right down." He nodded to his assistance and they both took off towards the entrance to the building.
Once they arrived there, 15 people stood there, surrounded by large boxes and crates. As soon as the people noticed Alexx enter the room, they all ran and lined up before him and his assistant.
"Welcome. I hope you are all ready to work, as we will have a long night ahead of us. Any complaints?" The men all stood silently. "Excellent. Now, you five, go down the hall on the right. The third office is where we will be setting up. Get it ready. You have one hour. Get to work."
The five people on the left took off running down the hall.
"Now, you three, prepare the second and third floors for the office work. You have one hour to make a floor plan. My office will be the third floor, front corner. The rest is up to you. Go."
The three on the right took off running.
He looked at one of the remaining men. "Is everything unloaded?"
"Uh, I'm not sure…"
Alexx cut him off by raising his hand up from his side. The man started sweating. "Not sure?" Alexx said. He snapped the fingers on his raised hand.
In the blink of an eye, his assistant reached behind his back and pulled a gun out from the holster hidden in his belt and brought it around in front of him. The instant it was in front of him, a shot was let loose before any of the men even saw it.
And instant later, the man who was unsure lay on the ground in a growing pool of blood, a hole the size of a coin in the center of his forehead, just above his eyes.
Alexx turned his gaze to the next man in line. "Is everything unloaded?"
"Uh, no, we didn't finish yet…"
His voice was cut off by another snap of Alexx's still raised fingers, which was followed instantly by another gun shot.
Alexx turned his gaze to the next in line. "Is everything unloaded?" he asked again, in a very annoyed voice.
"Um, we were just about to finish, sir," we said in a trembling voice, as he cringed in anticipation of the finger snap.
But it didn't come this time. Alexx lowered his hand. "See to it, you have one hour. If you are not finished, I am holding you responsible. Understood?"
The remaining men turned and ran out the front door.
Alexx let out a sigh. He turned to his assistant. "It is so hard to find good help these days. Good work, by the way; nice shooting."
His assistant just smiled and put the gun back into the hidden holster in the back of his belt.
AAAAA
"Videl, there is a phone call for you. It's Mr. Zionin." A voice called from behind the couch.
"Thanks, Richard," Videl said as she took the phone from her family's butler. She had been watching the news on the TV in the living room. They were doing a piece on the Raptors, showing as much as the network would allow, and were also asking if anyone had any information to contact the police department.
She picked the phone up to her ear. "Hey Celer, what's up? Feeling any better?"
Celer's deep voice boomed through the phone, "Yes, I am feeling much better. I think I might finally be over this damn flu."
"That's good news. It's about time." she said sarcastically
"Yeah, tell me about it. So, how did it go with that new student?"
Videl let out a growl. "Just another jerk-off suck up, pretending to be polite, like they think my dad will like them more if they are nice to me."
Celer's voice perked up a little bit. "Want me to kick his ass? I should anyways for talking to you like that. I hate it when people do that shit."
"Tell me about it, I am the one who has to hear it all the time." she said with a giggle.
"Yeah, but I do care how it makes you feel." he said, almost pleading.
"Awe, you're so sweet," she again let out a giggle.
"Seems like you're the only one who thinks so…" his voice trailed off
"Well, I AM the only one who matters, right?"
"Yeah, that's very true."
The two continued talking for a little over half an hour until Videl's cell rang.
"Hang on," she said to Celer before she answered her cell, "Yeah?"
The voice of the dispatcher rang through the phone, "Videl, there is double homicide at the old KF World office building. Your presence is required. Are you familiar with where that is?"
She let out a sigh, how could she not know where that was? It wasn't that far from her house. "Yea, I'll be right there." She said before she hung up her cell phone. The lifted the other phone to her ear. "Celer? You still there?"
"Yeah, what happened?" he asked, concerned. He hated it when she had to go to these calls. He always told her to let the cops handle it.
But she never listened to him.
"Double homicide; I gotta go. Talk to you later?"
"Ok, let me know how it goes."
"Will do, bye." She hung up the phone and put on her shoes, then ran outside and took off in her jet copter.
AAAAA
Videl touched down outside the KF World building, and found a bunch of trucks and vans parked out front. She looked around but she didn't see any other police vehicles. It made sense, she was closer than the police station, and her jet copter went faster then the police cars. She figured she had about 10 more minutes until the rest of the squad arrived.
So she decided to take a look around.
She walked through the front door and saw a man standing next to two dead bodies. Was this person the killer? If so, why was he just standing there?
The person just stood there with his back to her. He didn't seem to have noticed her, so she tried to approach him as quietly as she could. When she was a few yards away, she readied herself to spring and grab for the man.
"Do not be alarmed, I am not the killer. I reported the crime," came the monotone voice of the man. "I am an employee of Plano Industries. We just acquired this building today and were moving our belongings in when two of my workers were attacked. By the time I got here, the killer or killers had escaped, and stolen some crates of our equipment, about 30 million Zenie worth."
Videl relaxed her tensed muscles; somewhat. She didn't quite trust this guy, he seemed rather odd. "Turn and face me, slowly, and keep your hands visible."
The odd man complied, turning slowly after raising his hands. "I assure you, I am unarmed."
He looked like an average person, nothing too special. He had medium length brown hair and brown eyes. After a quick pat down, she found that he was telling the truth, at least about being unarmed. "Did you see what the shooter looked like?" she asked.
"No. Like I told you, by the time I got here, there was no one here and some of my crates were gone," replied the monotone voice.
Then the front door opened, and a swarm of blue shirts came in the door. And the group was followed by Jeff Hanley.
'Wow, they got here quick,' she though as she watched the scene unfold before her.
"Videl, what's going on? Why are you here?" the way he asked it, it almost sounded like a threat.
"I was called in, Jeff, get over it," she said back to him, with wickedness on her voice.
"We will take it from here, you can go."
"No, I can't. I was called in."
"Well, I am dismissing you. Leave."
A monotone voice cut into their bickering. "Do you mind?"
"I'll take care of this," Hanley said as he waved off Videl.
"Whatever…" she said. Sometimes she wanted to beat him, badly. In fact, there were a few times that she came very close to popping him in the face. But she couldn't. She didn't want to put something like that on her father. So she just wandered the lobby area trying to diffuse her anger; and to look for any clues.
As she wove her way through the sea of blue with flashing cameras and notepads, she heard a strange noise off to the side, coming from the hallway on the right side of the lobby. She looked over her shoulder and saw the odd man talking to Hanley, and all the blue-shirts were busy with other things.
So she slipped down the hallway, following the noise.
As she got closer the noise became louder and it became distinguishable. It was a saw and a jack hammer.
She continued following the sound until she came to a door, the third one down the hall.
The door was closed, so she reached for the handle and turned it, and then slowly pushed it open. As she did, the sounds got louder. She opened the door just enough for her to fit her slender body through, then quietly closed the door behind her.
The sounds were almost deafeningly loud, but the room was empty. It sounded like she was right on top of the tools.
So where were the sounds coming from?
"Excuse me, can I help you find something?" she heard over the loud sounds of the tools.
She turned to see a man, not much taller than her, that was wearing shorts and a T-shirt.
"Can I help you find something?" he asked again.
She felt her muscles relax, although she couldn't explain why. His voice was soothing, and it seemed to have an odd calming effect on her. She wished that he would keep talking, but he was waiting for a response from her. She tried to talk, but it was almost like her voice was stuck in her mouth. She coughed and cleared her throat. "I am here with the police force. I heard the noises and came to find out what they were from…" she was surprised by how timid her voice sounded right now.
"That's easy. They are clearing out under the floor of that room. The foundation there was unstable, so the team was making some… improvements to it." He said with a quick and sly smile.
She didn't catch the smile, her mind was too groggy. "Oh," was all she could say. Her legs felt like gelatin, and her stomach felt like butterflies…
"Let me show you to the lobby," he said before he ushered her out down the hall way in silence, the sounds of the tools getting quieter behind them.
Once they reached the edge of the lobby, he turned to her. "Now, if you have any other questions, please direct them to Mr. Jackson; he is right over there," he lifted his finger to point.
She followed his extended finger and found him to be pointing at the odd man she talked to earlier who was still being questioned by Hanley.
She turned back to the man to thank him and ask his name, but he was no longer there.
And suddenly, she could think straight and her knees no longer felt like weak.
Odd…
She went back to looking around the lobby, but found nothing of any interest.
They finished up the reports and had the coroner remove the bodies; then it was time to leave.
As she flew home, something was still bothering her about that Jackson guy. He just seemed way to calm and mellow for having two dead people right in front of him. Something about him just wasn't sitting well with her.
And that other guy… Something about him seemed weird too. He seemed too open, almost like he was inviting her to ask more questions, yet when he was around, her mind felt like a jumbled mess…
Maybe he was just being nice?
It just didn't make any sense… This whole day was peculiar. First the Gold Man shows up, again, then that new student, and then this…
She would have to think on this for a while.
But first she had to call back Celer.
AAAAA
'They have all left now," said a monotone voice.
"Finally," replied a smooth, soothing voice.
"Is something wrong, sir?" asked the monotone voice.
Alexx spun in the chair he was sitting in, in what was his new office. "Yes, that girl."
"What about her?" asked the monotone voice.
"Didn't you feel it, Jackson?"
The blank look on Jackson's face told Alexx he must not have.
So he continued. "Her energy, did you feel it?"
Jackson shook his head.
"It was so… noticeable. I could feel her leave the lobby from the second floor."
"Sorry, sir, I did not notice it. I was talking to those police officers." Jackson replied, so ashamed that there was almost variance in his voice.
"Never mind that now. Do you know who she is, or anything about her?" as he asked the question, he leaned forward in his chair.
"No, sir, nothing other than she works with the police force. She was the first one here."
"Interesting…" Alexx said as he turned his chair back towards the window behind his new desk. "Trail her;" his voice came out low and fast, in a very dangerous tone. "Find out who she is, and anything else you can about her. I want to know her name, where she lives, what her favorite sandwich is… EVERYTHING!"
"Right away, sir," Jackson said as he turned on his heels and quickly retreated out the door.
Once the door had shut behind Jackson, Alexx let out a sigh and reached into his pocket, pulling out his cell phone. "This girl could be trouble…" he said under his breath to no one in particular as he dialed some numbers on his phone and lifted it up to his ear.
A high pitch, squeaky voice on the other end announced, "This is Henry."
"Anything new to report, Henry?" the way he said it sounded more like an order than a question.
"Sorry, my friend, but I can't talk right now. Can I call you later?" the voice said.
"Understood," Alexx replied. "Check in when it is clear."
He shut is eyes as he hung up his phone and leaned back in his chair. He still had much to do, but Henry was late with his report; and that was unusual.
It might mean that he was busy working on something?
Alexx hoped he was, because that could mean big things for him…
AAAAA
Bulma made her rounds, like she did every few nights, checking in on all the labs to see what people were working on.
The first three went well, with everyone staying busy, but the fourth was having some difficulties.
The three techs in this lab were working on a wrist-mounted video phone that looked like a watch; Gohan's design he had been working on before had started school. They were trying to re-create the prototype that Gohan had made.
So she watched them working; putting in little pieces here and there or directing them to help out when they looked like they needed help and she had something to offer to them.
The phone on one of the desks rang, so a tall, gangly man with jet black hair broke away from the lab table to go answer the phone.
"This is Henry," he said in a high-pitch, almost squeaky voice. Then there was a pause. "Sorry, my friend, but I can't talk right now. Can I call you later?" Another pause. "Ok, bye." then he hung up the phone.
"Who was that, Henry?" Bulma asked.
"Oh… Just one of my buddies," answered his squeaky voice. "He wants to go drinking tonight. But I can't worry about that, I have to keep working on this."
She shrugged, "Oh, want to leave? I can work with these two, and then can fill you in tomorrow."
"No!" Henry screeched, but then his voice got quieter and much more controlled, but was still stern. "I will stay and work on this."
Again, Bulma just shrugged. "Ok, whatever," she said and they all went back to work.
WWWWW
A/N: So, what did everyone think? Did you catch my twist? Did anyone see that coming? Anyways… Thanks for reading, and I will get the next chapter up as quickly as I can, hopefully it will be quicker than two months from now… Until then… Bye!!
