It happened rather unexpectedly. After a few more appearances following his return to Satan City, the Great Saiyaman began receiving wide media coverage. Suddenly, he was the hero everyone waited for in times of crisis.
A fan club soon emerged. Largely made up of young women, its members would gather near a scene of crime so they could take pictures with the Great Saiyaman and ask for his autographs once crisis was averted.
The first time Gohan realized why a throng of women was coming after him, he hurriedly fled the scene. He wanted to keep his true identity a secret after all and couldn't risk being unmasked with so many cameras around. But after a while, he couldn't help feeling flattered by the legion of adoring fans he had amassed and agreed to a few pictures.
"You must be feeling pretty good about yourself, huh?" Videl asked one day as they passed by a kiosk with magazines that featured the Great Saiyaman on the front cover. "You're all the rage these days. A teen heartthrob, I hear."
He blushed. "I didn't know being the Great Saiyaman was going to lead to this. I just wanted to help bring down the crime rates in the city. All the attention is making it harder for me to do my job."
"Don't worry, you are still doing good work. But I have to ask." She gave him a sly look. "You're pretty popular with the ladies now. With so many girls wanting to go out with you, do I have anything to worry about?"
He was shocked that she even thought he'd consider going out with anyone else over her. "Of course not! You're the only one for me. Besides, they're interested in the Great Saiyaman, not in Son Gohan."
"Hm. That begs the question: who is Son Gohan anyway? Which one is the real you?"
He looked at her quizzically. "Huh? What do you mean?"
"Well," she started to explain, "I've been observing you in different situations for several months now. There's Gohan the high school student. He's a people-pleaser, keeps a low profile and doesn't ask for much. As a son, he's respectful. As a brother, he's loving. As a friend, he's loyal. As a boyfriend . . ."
He perked up his ears, wanting to see how she viewed him, especially with all the attention he's been getting from his new female fans, which had led to this conversation in the first place.
". . . he has his quirks but makes me feel really lucky to have him," she finished her sentence.
He blew a sigh of relief. He could live with that.
"Then there's Gohan the Super Saiyan," she continued, "He's really strong, and I know without him saving the world at just ten years old, none of us will even be here right now. But he can be a little cocky and too sure of himself. When he fights, he doesn't want justice. He wants revenge. He wants blood."
This less-than-flattering description caught him off guard. "Wait . . . do you not like me as a Super Saiyan?"
His Mom didn't like Super Saiyans either, although it was more because she loathed the idea of him being the sort of person who would dye his hair, which in her old-fashioned mind made him a delinquent.
She hesitated. She didn't like being told how to be. Should she be telling someone else how to be?
"I know being Saiyan is in your blood," she eventually said. "It's just that if the Super Saiyan form is born out of anger and pain, and if it cancels out who you are by nature, then I'm just not sure I want you to be Super Saiyan again. Sorry."
"It's okay," he quickly replied. She wasn't wrong. He often felt different when he turned Super Saiyan, especially when fighting real battles. It wasn't that he just felt more confident—he felt downright invincible, which in his experience only led to his downfall. "No more Super Saiyan for me then."
"Are you sure?"
"I think it's for the best. I don't foresee a need for me to turn Super Saiyan again anyway."
His latent power, after all, had been awakened. Since then he'd turned Super Saiyan only when he was playing fight with Goten. "Hey, what do you think about the Great Saiyaman?"
"What do I think?" She thought they had been over this. She supported his endeavor, but she thought his intro could use a makeover. He disagreed and wouldn't back down, and with the recent rise in his fanbase, clearly the public was on his side.
"You know, Gohan the Great Saiyaman," he imitated her narrator voice. "What are your thoughts on him?"
"Ah." She remembered where she left off. "Finally, there's Gohan the Great Saiyaman, a true believer in justice. He doesn't have the arrogance of Gohan the Super Saiyan, but he's still flashy and enjoys putting on a good show. And unlike Gohan the high school student, he relishes being the center of the attention, maybe a little too much. Dare I say, a little bit like my Dad."
Gohan winced at the comparison to Mr. Satan, although he couldn't deny that the Great Saiyaman had been a great outlet for him to channel a more flamboyant side of him he didn't know he had.
Videl wasn't finished yet.
"Gohan the Great Saiyaman belongs to the public," she went on, her voice softened. She looked up and tugged at the front of his shirt, signaling him to meet her halfway. "The world will never know where he comes from or where he leaves to, but he will always be there for them. And I hope no matter where he is or who he's with, or how famous he gets, his heart will always belong to me."
"Nothing will ever change that," he said. He leaned down to seal his promise with a kiss.