Before I could even scream, "You idiot!" gunfire filled my ears and a heavy wave of bullets were blowing holes in the police cars and chipping concrete. Yelping, because obviously no human was bulletproof, I ducked behind a car and dragged the mayor with me. He sucked in an unsteady breath at my amazing speed.

Alright Videl, think. How can you get out of this?

"What are you gonna do now, Satan?"

"Who are you?"

I breathed sharply, trying to repress the bruise the nightmare had left on my mind. It was childish to dwell on a bad dream from hours ago and for God's sakes, I needed to focus.

"Videl? Are you okay?" the mayor rasped. He was vibrating like strummed guitar strings.

"I'm fine," I said strongly. "We're gonna win this, okay? So calm down."

He swallowed and nodded.

Very cautiously, I poked my head to the side of the trunk. A dozen more snipers had appeared and were on the offensive. By the startled look I knew I was seen by one of them, and I pushed back behind my vehicle shield just in time. I heard metal being grazed by a zipping bullet, and the mayor's shoulder shook against mine.

"Shoot, I don't know if I can sneak around and help," I muttered under my breath.

But the mayor heard. "This is a gun fight, Videl. You've done your part, and now you should be trying to get home."

"I haven't done my part until every last one of those crooks are in the slammer," I replied stubbornly. Closing my eyes, I tried to think, but my mind felt foggy with the persistent horror of my dreams. If Gohan were here next to me, I knew I would be thinking clearly. It was almost like a psychic connection, the effect he had on me.

"Videl..." The mayor stopped, probably thinking better of any more protest. Because we all knew criminals in the city were frequently a heck of lot more funded in the guns department than the police.

I had a gruesome thought just then: If only the Gold Fighter was here. To, you know, steal my job some more and save our butts.

"I'm gonna have to try..." I trailed off and got down on my stomach.

"Videl? What are you doing?"I ignored the mayor and slithered underneath the car. Now I had a good look at the gigantic gunslingers firing their supply. I found a weak spot in their troop after a thorough ogling.

"Pssst!" I hissed at a cop's feet. He didn't answer. "Psssst!"

"Huh?"

"Keep shooting, they'll know something is up!" I warned when I heard the gunfire pause from his direction. Upon command, the exploding bullets restarted. "Listen carefully. Spread the word to your officers. Close in on them."

"But sir, I really have to go!" Gohan protested indignantly. Some giggles were irked.

The biology teacher shook his head sternly. "I'm sorry Gohan, but you'll have to wait until the end of this class. If you don't finish your frog dissection, both you and and your partner fail. It's not Videl's fault that she has to defend the city."

I have to defend, too, Gohan thought. How was he going to get out of here? More importantly, would Videl be okay?

Everything was going just fine.

I grinned triumphantly and informed the mayor from underneath the car, "They're cornering them. Those criminals don't have a chance."

"Thank God," be breathed. "I can't believe you thought of this and not the police squad."

"That's always the case." 100% truth for once.

But suddenly, out of the bushes, from behind the building, all so well hidden, the victory flames were extinguished. New gunmen were joining in out of the blue and surrounding the police in a circle just as the police had to the first batch of crooks. Now the offensive policemen were sandwiched by hordes of gunmen.

"Dang it!" I hissed.

"What is it?" the mayor asked worriedly.

I bit my lip, not exactly wanting to frighten the man more than he already was. "Oh...nothing. Everything is going as planned."

"Videl?" The head of that imbecile that foiled my first plan poked under the car. And then he said louder, "There you are Videl! Why are you under the car?"

I felt the veins at my temple throbbing like mad as I shoo'ed him away. "Shh!"

"Why do you want me to be quiet?" he asked, brows furrowed. By now my eye was twitching involuntarily, but before my fist could tell him why, the boss that had escorted the mayor shouted above the storm of bullets.

"Hold your fire!" Boss shouted. And just like that, not a hint of hesitation, the bullet storm tamed like the flip of an off switch.

I was wired with anticipation. Whatever reason that guy made the command, it couldn't have been for a good cause.

"Haru," he thundered and pointed...next to me? I felt a shock of realization and backed up hastily, scraping my knees and elbows I noted with distaste, just as he said to Haru what I had predicted: "Videl is under the car nearest to you! Grab her!"

A hand shot towards me and I mouthed a finger psychopathically. Haru yipped and retracted his hand, and I started backing up again.

"Arata, grab her legs!" Upon the command, unpleasantly sweaty hands sleeved my ankles, but I rolled out of the way just in time.

"Pretty stupid to be yelling out your strategies!" I screamed.

"Did you not hear me?" Boss bellowed. "Grab her! Kenji, get the mayor!"

While I was hussling under the car trying to dodge grubby fingers in a tight space, I heard the trampling of feet and more gun fire and immediately knew the police were protecting the mayor and I. The poor mayor was squawking like old men did regularly when they were probably having a panic attack, and I knew both sides were wrestling for him. The best I could do to help was not give them another bait for ransom.

Just then who I presumed was Haru's body knocked to the ground with a huge throb on his jaw. The brainless cop's head poked underneath and his triumphant eyes met mine.

"I took him out by hitting him with the gun barrel, Videl. Hurry on out!" he said. I didn't take my time and felt utterly grateful, those I was graced with a new layer of brush burns on my skin, when he yanked me out to speed it up.

"Thanks," I said, half forgiving him for initiating this chaos with his stupidity.

"Not so fast!" a voice broke in and I heard the flip of a gun at my temple. It came from a gunman who unlike his beefy comrades sported a disgraceful pot belly. "You run and I'll shoot."

Donut Boy scowled and whipped out his own gun. "Then I'll shoot you," he threatened.

The gunfire shut down like a song's slow, echoing ending as all heads turned to the spot.

"Cops can't kill," Pot Belly pointed out, though some less confident sweat collected on his forehead.

"They can shoot the leg or arm," Donut Boy countered.

Suddenly there was another whoosh of gun being readied and it appeared at Donut Boy's forehead, who froze. "You shoot him, I'll shoot you," the sniper said.

Another gun whistle. "Then I'll shoot the mayor!" a criminal declared. A pattern was beginning to unwind and the next thing I knew, everyone had a target. My head darted back and forth as declarations of a murder fell like dominoes.

"Then I'll shoot you!"

"Then I will shoot you!"

"Oh yeah? Then I'll shoot you!"

It's time like these one loses their pride and has to face the facts. We needed a bullet-proof super hero STAT.

Author's Note

I got some writer's block on this battle, so I rested a day or so and suddenly I was an industrial giant of creative juices. Sorry if I missed any typing errors, I was rushed and plan to go back and fix them soon.