9

Gohan gritted his teeth when the hooded man pushed Raven forward roughly, pointing his automatic at her menacingly. She gave him a nasty look in response, which the crook didn't appreciate.

White rage boiled inside of him as he saw the worthless man raise his hand to strike Raven. He saw red, and before he could realize what he was doing, Gohan found himself tackling the robber face down, his knee pressed painfully between his shoulder blades and twisting the arm on his back – that offending arm had attempted to hurt one of his dearest friends.

A chorus of gasps sounded around him. The whimpering man's accomplices yelled at Gohan and pointed their weapons at him, ordering him to let go of their partner.

"Let him go, you little piece of shit!" yelled one of the guys. Then he tugged at Raven's arm, making her yelp in pain at his rough grasp, and pointed his gun barrel against her temple. "Let him go or I make her brain splatter everywhere!"

Reluctantly, Gohan did as he was told. He had to remember the plan. Let them leave and then go after them as they attempt to escape. He wasn't wearing his special watch anymore, but Gohan figured he could use his Super Saiyan transformation to keep his anonymity like he had done on the first few days of starting to work in Satan City, before he decided to ask Bulma for a disguise.

This city was rotten. Despite the police's hard work, crime still prevailed. Ever since he stopped helping out, for that matter, the crime rate had been steadily going up, even with Satan City's finest doing anything in their power to protect the city and the civilians.

It wasn't going to get better. In that moment, Gohan realized that the city needed him. The people needed a hero. They needed the Great Saiyaman to come back.

Tonight, however, they would have to make do with the Gold Fighter.

Raising his hands as though he feared to get hurt by their bullets, Gohan obediently went back to his spot next to Vegeta. Raven sat on the ground next to him.

"Thanks," she whispered to him with a grateful and relieved smile. "You were amazing. That was super badass. I didn't even see you move."

Gohan nodded his head with a reassuring smile. But he could see how frightened his friend was feeling and he hated the way her eyes shot all around the room as she watched the heavily-armed robbers with dread.

He leaned closer to her and murmured in her ear. "Raven, it's going to be okay."

She bit her lip, but tears were gathering in her eyes. She quickly brushed them away with the side of her hand. "Yeah, I know."

"I'm not just saying that. I'm telling you, Raven. Everything's going to turn out fine."

She shook her head and sniffed, unable to stop her tears. "You don't know that."

"I do." He lowered his voice even more, "Listen to me closely, Raven. Do not react. Do not freak out. I'm going to tell you a secret."

She gave him an intrigued look but nodded her head, before leaning closer to him again, tucking her curly afro behind her ear as she waited anxiously for his revelation.

"This isn't the first time I've handled this kind of situation," he started. "I've never had any casualties so far, and I fully intend to keep it that way."

"What are you talking about, Gohan?" she mumbled in confusion.

"I'm talking about my secret identity, Raven," he whispered, his lips so close to her ear that they almost grazed it. "I'm the Great Saiyaman."

Her eyes grew as big as saucers and her breath hitched. Gohan gave her forearm a warning squeeze, reminding her not to show any reaction.

"For… For real?" she uttered in disbelief.

Gohan pulled back and winked at her. "I told you. It's all going to be okay."

At last, a real smile curved her lips. Raven sighed in relief and leaned her head on his shoulder. Gohan wrapped his arm around her and held her close, offering her some much-needed comfort.

"What are you waiting for, then?" she asked him, still keeping her voice low so as not to attract the criminals' attention.

"It'd be safer for everyone if we just let them finish up here and then try to escape. That's when I'm going to stop them, that way no innocent life will be endangered."

Raven nodded her head in understanding. Gohan did sound like he knew what he was doing.

She couldn't quite wrap her head around his revelation. Being a citizen of Satan City, Raven had witnessed her fair share of crime and had even seen first-hand the superhero in action as he stopped some crime in the city. His feats were famous and looked surreal, like something out of a comic book or a science fiction movie.

To think that had been Gohan all along… Wow.

Her heart tingled with a pleasant glow and a smile curved her lips as she snuggled closer to her friend. She felt honored and privileged that Gohan would trust her with his secret. She loved him like a little brother, and now more than ever, she was so happy that she'd met him.

An ironic chuckle came from Gohan's other side. She frowned as she glanced at the attractive older man with the weird gravity-defying hair who had raised almost as much money as Gohan at the auction.

"And here I thought you were as naive as your father," Vegeta smirked in amusement. "Turns out, you're actually quite the ladies' man, huh?"

Gohan scowled at the man. "Is it really the time to make jokes?" he hissed in disapproval. "For your information, Raven is one of my best friends and I have zero romantic feelings for her, and neither does she for me. It's called platonic love. Look it up."

She giggled at Gohan's taunt.

"My, my, look who grew a backbone," Vegeta shot back deviously, mirth dancing in his eyes. "You've got some wit, boy, I'll give you that. Not like your father who was a clueless moron."

Gohan pulled back from Raven to face Vegeta fully, his fists clutching his pants at the knees. "Do not insult my father. You're just salty you never got remotely close to his level while he was still alive."

Raven's throat tightened at the information. Gohan never talked much about himself, and she had no idea he had lost his dad. She felt her heart break a little at the way he was defending his deceased father. They must have been close.

Vegeta's eye twitched at the jibe. "Says the bastard Saiyan who doesn't even keep up with his training." He sneered at the young doctor, disgust distorting his features. "You realize what a waste of potential you are? Do you have any idea what I would give up for a fraction of your natural talent? Yet you content yourself living your life in a semblance of human normalcy when you're never going to fit in, not with them and not with us either."

"Us who?" Gohan shot back heatedly, seeming to forget to lower his voice, maybe even forgetting about their surroundings. "You're the only Saiyan left. At least I fit in with my brother and Trunks who are hybrids like me, unlike you who will always be the last of your kind."

"Hey!" yelled one of the robbers, who was, incidentally, the one Gohan had tackled earlier. He pointed his machine gun at them with an ugly sneer on his lips. "Shut up over there!"

"Or what?" Vegeta hissed, his aura giving off murderous intent as he scowled at the armed man like he was some hindrance.

The criminal cowered despite himself. His hands trembled as he pointed his weapon at the scary man. Vegeta smirked and got to his feet, advancing slowly towards the frightened crook.

Raven was reminded of the typical serial killer character in horror movies.

"Vegeta!" Gohan hissed in annoyance, but the man ignored him royally. "Vegeta! Get back here!"

"Go back to the floor, you sick weirdo! Or do you want a bullet in your head?" he yelled in alarm, his hands shaking more and more, to the point that he was making his machine gun rattle in his hold.

"Go ahead," Vegeta challenged him fearlessly. The guests gasped both in horror and admiration at his guts. "See how that works for you."

"You think I won't shoot you? You think I've never killed before?" spat the criminal, his hold on his weapon getting firmer, as if he just remembered he was the one with the gun.

"Oh, no, you're mistaken." Vegeta's smirk widened as he faced the taller man, putting himself purposely right in front of the barrel of the automatic. "I'm hoping that you will. I want to see the look of pure horror on your face when you realize these pathetic excuses for arsenal won't do anything to me."

The other man scoffed. "As if! That's impossible!" He pushed the barrel of his weapon against Vegeta's chest.

"Oh, is it, now? Yet I seem to recall a certain costumed fellow who could catch bullets with his hands."

The robber started shaking again. His lips quivered as he stammered, "That can't be… You're bluffing. That can't be you – Saiyaman was taller."

Gohan couldn't help smirking at the remark, and at the way Vegeta scowled in response. He didn't appreciate how the other Saiyan didn't listen to him, but really, knowing Vegeta, he wasn't surprised at all. He would just have to make sure nobody got hurt in the crossfire.

The Saiyan prince sneered in distaste. "Obviously. I would never wear such a ludicrous attire. But what makes you think he's the only one that's bulletproof?"

"You're bluffing," mumbled the crook, yet he took a step back and was staring at the man with wide, fearful eyes.

"Hey, the hell is going on here?"

Another robber came up to see what the commotion was about. When he saw Vegeta obviously defying his partner, he scowled darkly and pointed his gun at the insolent hostage. "What the hell are you doing up, you stupid fuck? Go back to the floor, now!"

Vegeta turned to the newcomer, a dangerous glint in his black eyes. "What did you just call me?"

But the ignorant criminal had no opportunity to reply because the next moment, a powerful elbow was planted deeply in his abdomen. He collapsed holding his stomach with a whimper of agony, while Vegeta slowly straightened up, looking down at the impertinent human with a disgusted sneer.

"That's Prince Vegeta for you, you disgraceful buffoon."

A murmur of awe and confusion rose about the hostage. The first robber backed away and ended up tripping on nothing, landing on his behind as he stared at the gravity-defying haired freak with wide, terrified eyes.

"Still think I was bluffing?" he taunted the ill-intentioned perpetrator with a cruel smirk.

Gohan heaved a deep sigh as more guys rushed over to get the situation under control again, or, well, fail to do so. Well, he didn't want to blow his cover and he didn't really have an opportunity to go someplace out of sight and turn Super, so he might as well let his prince handle these robbers.

But then something caught his eye in his peripheral vision. Or, rather, someone. He saw Videl look over from behind a turned over table.

Damn it. She was going to intervene, he just knew it. Well, how could he expect her to stay put while a crime was going on right before her eyes?

He might need to get involved in the end, if only to make sure that nothing happened to her.

He murmured to Raven that he would be right back, giving her as an instruction not to draw any attention to herself and to lay low. She nodded her head in understanding and Gohan nodded back, before sneaking away from the commotion in a crouched position.

He got behind Videl and she turned around, having obviously sensed his presence.

"You don't have to step in," he whispered to her. Although, with Vegeta beating the crap out of the criminals, there was no point keeping quiet anymore. "See? My friend is taking care of it."

"How do you know there isn't more of them, waiting for the right moment to strike?" she shot back at him in a harsh whisper, not taking her eyes off the fight scene. Although, "beating" seemed like a more accurate description.

"There is, yes, but we'll take care of them too. You don't need to risk your life; you can leave it to us. You didn't even bring your gun with you tonight, did you?"

"I don't need my gun to kick their asses," she scoffed.

Gohan couldn't help cracking a smile. "I know. Still, we have the situation under control. So just stay here and leave it to me."

She finally turned to him, her eyes narrowing as their locked on his. A grimace of disgust distorted her feature.

"You mean, trust you?"

Gohan felt a lump rise in his throat. He swallowed thickly and lowered his gaze, unable to withstand the way she was looking at him.

He shouldn't be surprised. He had lost her trust. Videl couldn't even rely on him to take care of some criminals anymore – not that she had ever been thrilled to get his help.

This time felt so much worse though.

"I know you don't trust me, Videl," he murmured hoarsely, still looking downward. "But you know I can handle this situation easily. You know what I'm capable of and how efficient I am." He finally raised his head and implored her with his eyes. "I don't want you to get hurt, Videl, I couldn't live with myself if anything ever happened to you, so, just, let me take care of these guys, okay? Please."

"Whether something happens to me or not is none of your concern," she spat in disdain. "Now get out of my sight. I'm the police here and you're the civilian, so I'm in charge of this crime scene, not you."

"Don't be like that, Videl. You know I'm more than a simple civilian."

She scowled at him. "Would you rather I arrest you for illegal vigilantism? You do know there's a warrant against you, don't you?"

He sighed in aggravation. "Do what you want. But please, promise me to be careful, okay?"

Her glare darkened. "I'm a certified police detective. What are your qualifications, huh?" She turned away from him with a scoff. "Don't tell me how to do my job."

Gohan observed her with a stabbing sensation in his heart. He really did lose her, huh? There was nothing he could do to turn the tables. It was irremediably over. Videl would never trust him again.

"My qualifications?" he repeated in a breath. Closing his eyes, he let his power skyrocket with that familiar burn and turned Super Saiyan in a flash, almost noiselessly.

Videl whipped her head around at the brief gust of wind that the transformation caused. Her eyes widened as she was met with teal instead of black, a golden lock of hair curving between his eyebrows.

"I killed Cell," he murmured, watching her carefully. "Is that qualified enough for you?"

Gohan wasn't sure what possessed him to tell her another one of his secrets. Maybe he figured he had nothing to lose. Maybe he hoped that if he showed her that he trusted her, she could learn to do the same with him eventually. Maybe he wanted her to know him, the real him, alien half and all. Maybe he wanted her to see that he was capable of being completely honest with her, that being a liar wasn't in his nature – that was why he was so terrible at lying, after all.

He leaned over and brushed her bangs out of her eyes with the tip of his fingers before whispering in her ear, "I trust you with my secret."

She gave a shiver; her breathing deepened. Gohan offered her a wistful smile, stroking her cheek with his thumb.

"Don't be too reckless, okay?"

Unable to resist, he pressed his lips on her temple. And then, without pulling away, he phased out of sight, vanishing into thin air before she could react to his kiss – and most likely push him away.

Gohan reappeared on the very top of the carpeted stairs leading to the rooms on the second floor. Looking over at the commotion, he saw that Vegeta was still toying around with the robbers and was seemingly enjoying himself a lot, which explained why they were still standing when the prince could've taken them all out in less than a second.

Okay, so this side of the robbery was being taken care of. Gohan reached out with his senses to locate the rest of the criminal crew and went on his way to take care of each and every one of them, thinking of handling it Die Hard style. If he took them out one by one without attracting attention, there was more of a chance to keep the hostages out of harm's way.

In the back of his mind, he kept constant tabs on Videl's energy signature. He sent a silent prayer to any god listening to watch over her and make sure nothing happened to her.

He wondered what she was thinking right now… After showing her his transformation, surely there must be a million thoughts running through her head.

Gohan let out a sigh as he noiselessly hid behind a wall while an armed man walked along the hallway. Unable to stop them, his thoughts went back to what happened behind the curtains after his auction. The still vivid memory of that kiss made his throat go dry. He swallowed thickly. They had been so close to giving in completely to one another… If Vegeta hadn't turned up and interrupted them, Gohan had no doubt that he would have claimed Videl possessively right then and there, uncaring of their surroundings.

The thought that it had been the very last time he had ever touched her made him want to die.

The criminal passed him. The next moment, the poor, unsuspecting fool fell face-first onto the luxurious carpet after a swift chop to the back of his neck. Gohan picked up the unconscious fellow and carried him on his shoulder, opening a random door in hopes to find a place to hide the first fallen robber. Luckily for him, it was a storage room with cleaning supplies. Gohan let go of the criminal who flopped down ungracefully, face down and ass up.

He dusted his hands off then quietly closed the door, before getting on his way to keep on his task.

Just as he was about to knock out the fifth criminal with the same swift jab, Gohan suddenly picked up Videl's ki flaring up, indicating that she was fighting.

The robber suddenly turned around, apparently sensing the danger behind him. Gohan frowned and snatched the gun he was pointing at him so fast that it looked like the lethal weapon had vanished into thin air. The unlucky law-breaker widened his eyes when he saw his gun in the golden-haired man's hold. His jaw dropped when Gohan crushed it like it was playing dough. Only dust was left of the gun as he opened his hand and let it dribble to the carpet.

In the back of his mind, Gohan felt that Videl was facing three of the robbers at once. Just how many of them were there? Did they summon the whole gang for this hit?

He could tell that they were strong, too. They were giving Videl trouble – yet her aura felt thrilled and exhilarated. She was having fun.

She did like a challenge, that one.

Gohan smiled to himself as his fist connected with the criminal's gut, making him gasp for air. He collapsed on his knees holding his stomach, before dropping face-first on the carpet.

When he opened the door to the cupboard, Gohan frowned as he mused that he would need to find a new room for storing the bad guys he knocked out after this one.

His sixth sense told him that another robber was moving in his direction. Using his super-speed, Gohan phased out of sight just as the man turned the corner.

Vegeta was done with the robbers in the ballroom. Well, that took a while – the prince must have really enjoyed himself. Videl was on the top floor, still fighting the three bad guys.

And another robber was down before he could realize what was going on. Gohan kind of felt like a ninja with the way he was handling his part of the job.

He picked up the man and carried him on his shoulder, walking along the hallway in search for another place to store the unconscious criminal.

He found an office room, so he dropped his charge in there. With a quick scan of the castle with his sixth sense, Gohan counted the remaining robbers roaming about.

Another fifteen. Scratch that – Vegeta just knocked out one of them. Gohan frowned. He actually heard the commotion on the floor below as more men rushed to the Saiyan warrior. Vegeta wasn't even trying to be discreet. Gohan scowled. Didn't he realize how risky attracting the criminals' attention could turn out? They could get desperate and use the guests of the gala as shield hostages. Lives were at stake here. This wasn't a game.

Clucking his tongue in annoyance, Gohan rushed back to the ballroom.

The sight that met him there made his throat go dry. A criminal with a demented look in his eyes was holding a candlestick, threatening to let the curtains catch fire if Vegeta didn't get away from him.

Damn it, this was even worse than what he had imagined. And yet the prince made a show of yawning at the threat, as though he had nothing to worry about. With his arms crossed, the prince took his time walking to the desperate criminal.

"I'm warning you, freak! I'm gonna burn this place down if you don't back away now!"

Gohan clenched his fists as anger boiled inside of him.

How reckless. How dangerous. How idiotic.

How predictable of Vegeta.

He had to act quickly. Gohan used his super-speed to reach the robber. He phased in behind the guy and twisted his arm behind his back, snatching the candle with his other hand and quickly blew at the flame to put it out. He knocked the man out with the same jab on the back of his neck.

He scowled darkly at Vegeta.

"You just can't help yourself, can you?" he hissed. Gohan turned to Vegeta fully as he berated him. "Don't you care at all that he could have harmed everyone here? Did you forget Bulma is still in the estate?"

Vegeta rolled his eyes. "I had the situation under control. Do you seriously think he would have been faster than me with his silly candle?"

"People may surprise you when they get desperate," Gohan said coldly. He shook his head and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Just, stand back and let me handle this. I have enough on my plate already, I don't need to worry about your reckless behavior on top of everything."

It was only thanks to his Super Saiyan transformation that he was able to sense Vegeta's incredibly fast punch rush at him. Gohan managed to cross his arms in front of him just in time to block the powerful strike. He was pushed back from the force of the blow, his dress shoes scraping the floor as he managed to skid to a stop.

To think Vegeta wasn't even transformed. Gohan tried not to wince at the throbbing sensation in his arms from the hit. He really did get rusty over the years, huh…? Should he have taken his training more seriously? Was it smart to let the formerly bloodthirsty warrior become the most powerful being in the universe?

"Do not tell me what to do," Vegeta ordered, his tone deadly cold. "Don't forget who is the superior warrior."

Gohan gritted his teeth. "I don't care that you're stronger than me, Vegeta. You do not put innocent lives in danger just because you think it's more fun. Think a little. What would Bulma say?"

"Bulma is safe, that's all that matters," Vegeta said with a sneer of contempt.

Gohan was so tempted to get back to training and grow stronger than this insufferable Saiyan just to spite him.

"Right, because as long as the person you care about is safe, who cares about the rest of them, right?" He motioned to the guests still sitting on the floor with a wave of his arm. "Are you incapable of feeling something even resembling empathy? Do you really not care about anything but yourself?"

"What you think of me doesn't interest me," Vegeta said, his eyes narrowing to slits. "I do what I please, and that is that."

"Then just get out of here already!" Gohan snapped. "Take Bulma with you and leave! I don't need you to make this situation even more complicated!"

And then his breath hitched and his eyes widened. Videl was in trouble. The remaining ten men had just joined the one still standing out of the three she had been fighting. They were rushing her all at once.

They were overwhelming her by their number. Worse: they were skilled fighters too, and Videl wasn't in her top condition after facing the three all at once.

Gohan didn't even finish the argument with Vegeta, he simply turned away and hurried off, not even bothering to let him know where he was going.

The Saiyan Prince scowled darkly at the empty space where Gohan had been standing and yelling at him just a second ago.

Just who did that insolent boy think he was, telling him what he could and could not do? Did he forget he was addressing his prince? Did he seriously believe Vegeta would obey the bastard offspring of a third-class warrior? He would do as he damn pleased, and Gohan had absolutely no say in the matter.

"Tch."

A quick scan of the castle told him where the insolent hybrid was rushing off to. There was a big fight on the top floor. He counted eleven ki signatures against one. Vegeta raised an eyebrow at the level of that human fighter and couldn't help being impressed. Not bad. Not bad at all.

He turned to the guests, who were watching him in a mix of silent awe and apprehension.

"The robbers are as good as taken care of now," he told his audience. "You can go home."

He didn't care to see if they reacted in any way to his announcement. Vegeta hurried after Gohan, curious as to who the human fighter was. That person was handling eleven men all at once and doing a fine job at it, too. It was intriguing. Save from Kakarot's human friends, Vegeta had never encountered any Earth fighter that would have been worth taking an interest in. The so-called world champion himself was a disgrace of the martial arts world.

Hey, on this boring planet, he had to find some ways to entertain himself, didn't he?