Chapter 6
Back to two days ago
Bulma's heart was racing as she closed the door behind her. She had just put Trunks to bed. They had only arrived home from having dinner with the Son family just before that.
How could ChiChi have not told her that Gohan had started going to Orange Star? It wasn't that she didn't believe Gohan wasn't capable of having a normal high school experience, it was just that she wasn't sure that Videl mixing in would be such a great idea. Bulma had grown very attached to Videl and while she had shared many secrets with her, the actual truth about Mr. Satan and Cell wasn't one of them.
Bulma's phone began buzzing in her pocket instantly pulling her out of her thoughts, but only briefly. Videl Satan's name flashed on the screen. SIghing at the coincidence she answered.
"Hello?" Bulma said inquisitively, it really wasn't like Videl to call. She usually only texted and definitely not this late at night. Maybe Videl really had figured everything out and the whole jig was up.
"Hey Bulma, could I come over after school tomorrow? You texted before saying that those new gadgets are done."
Bulma blinked as she remembered she had messaged Videl earlier that day. Well, that was much better than she anticipated. "Oh really? Yeah of course," she said, relieved.
"Okay great, I'll just get the fast train."
Maybe that was it and Bulma would get away home free without any questions from Videl. While she usually adored Videl's drive and the lengths she would go to for answers, Bulma did not want to be on the receiving end of it.
"Oh yeah Bulma, there's one more thing, I keep forgetting to mention it to you."
Bulma held her breath, "What?"
"Your godson or whatever he is is in my class now. Gohan, right?"
Bulma could hear Videl's cheeky smirk on the other end. She sighed out of defeat. "Yeah, you're the second person to tell me that today you know… just come over tomorrow."
And with that Bulma hung up.
At six o'clock precisely the next day Bulma was greeted by Videl's presence. Everyone in Capsule Corporation was familiar with the teenage girl's visits as they had been a regular occurrence for a number of years now.
"Okay, Bulma, first thing's first, the suit." Videl stated as soon as she came into the room still wearing her blazer and book bag. She was quick to detach the watch on her wrist and tossed it across to Bulma.
The blue haired scientist barely had a second to react before catching it.
"Right, it shouldn't take me long to attach some of these new gadgets to it. I think you will really like them," Bulma said as she opened up the watch with her tools and began to tinker.
An hour passed by as Bulma went through the new alterations and items added, what they were and how to use them. Then the topics began to change, they discussed how Trunks was doing and what Videl had been up to in the new school year.
"About Gohan…", she said, knowing Bulma may be uncomfortable.
And she was definitely uncomfortable. While Bulma didn't want to hurt Videl she also didn't want to hurt Gohan either. "Yeah, what about him?", Bulma asked, now she was the one avoiding eye contact.
"He's capable of more than he seems...right? Like…", Videl hesitated, obviously choosing her words carefully, "He's in league with your husband and stuff, right…?"
Bulma sighed. Videl obviously knew what subjects to avoid. Videl had met Bulma's family and had seen a taste of what they were capable of, but the two ladies' relationship had been built on other things and conversation on other topics.
That was probably why Bulma had insisted on keeping Videl and Gohan, or really those friends separate. She actually enjoyed Videl's company and that their friendship wasn't based on catastrophic world-saving experiences. Videl had become the little sister Bulma never had.
Knowing there wasn't a point to being stubborn, Bulma lamented, "Yes, he is."
The two were silent.
"Well, I won't bother him, I know you wouldn't want that.", Videl said, breaking the silence. "But, you should know, he was claiming to use the wrong train station…. I saw him at Satan City Central the other morning, actually it was the morning after I had stayed here last."
Bulma's stern expression changed into one of curiosity, "Oh really? He takes the train?"
"No, I don't think so… I'm guessing he um…" Videl stopped knowing that acknowledging this sort of stuff made Bulma uncomfortable and hell, it made her uneasy since she didn't understand anything about it, "He can do that flying thing, right? Anyway, trains from Mt. Paozu come from Orange Star East, so I told him to use that train station instead... "
Bulma simply leaned back in her chair, pondering as she stared upwards at the ceiling. "Videl, we have spoken many times since then, why didn't you tell me about Gohan before?"
"Because it wasn't until this week that I realized who he was! At the time of that train station incident I thought he was just lying about where he's from, making himself seem edgier or something, teenagers are always doing that. Paper in my class lied that his mother was an ex-army officer and Marker…" she began to go on and on, Videl was a teenage girl after all.
Bulma threw her hands up not wanting to listen to these high school type stories, "Videl, Videl, okay I get it! Now, focus, how did you figure out Gohan then?", Bulma really was curious, Videl had absolutely fantastic deductive reasoning skills.
"Well… I don't have many classes with him since he's in the science-based curriculum..", Videl began, "But I know that appeared earlier this week in gym class they were playing baseball and he supposedly jumped twenty feet in the air….Erasa told me"
Bulma rolled her eyes. "Great."
"But….I think people might have been exaggerating or didn't believe what they saw…That's when I finally made the connection and realized he was, you know, with them. Otherwise, I would have told you sooner." Videl's voice was getting quieter and more serious, "There is something you should know though.."
Really? There was something else that Bulma needed to know? Hadn't there been enough bombshells of knowledge dropped on her lately. Still leaning back in her chair she put her hands up to her forehead as though she had a headache. "Oh god, what is it?"
"He saw me, wearing the suit on his first day, Gohan did. I'm sorry, I didn't realize who he was at the time, it was before school, and I just told him to get out of the way. It was when I took care of those low lives at Satan City bank.", Videl said, looking as though she had known this a while and was finally getting it off her chest.
Bulma shut her eyes, this wasn't good or bad but could be an issue if Videl really wanted to keep her identity serious. "Well, I designed the suit to um...keep your energy shielded per se, so he won't be able to sense that it's you."
Videl blinked for a second, "He can sense me?", she asked alarmed.
Bulma's eye twitched. Oh god, this was the sort of stuff she had wanted to avoid bringing into her relationship with Videl. She was a friggin' tech genius and she didn't even have a great understanding of how the whole energy-sensing situation worked.
Making an awkward face Bulma sat up in her chair and faced Videl, "I think he can sort of sense how strong people are? I'm really not sure, but you don't need to worry about it. Gohan's really smart but if you haven't noticed he can be…", Bulma paused attempting to think of how to phrase Gohan's specific nature.
"Naive?", Videl responded bluntly.
"Yes, naive, that's exactly it. He's not you and suspicious of people.", Bulma said smirking, she loved to tease Videl.
"Hey!", Videl said in response.
The awkwardness of their conversation had finally lifted and the rest of their night was spent laughing and messing with one another.
—-
Back to the present.
Moving swiftly through the night sky the vigilante now known as the Satan City Heroine approached the back gate of the Satan estate. Squinting her eyes as she clenched her grappling gun, she aimed for the top of the iron gate. With one click the hook ejected and latched on; with a second click she was propelled to the top. Gracefully she hopped down, as though she had done this many times, and made her way to the main house.
Slinking her way up to a specific window like a gymnast, she didn't make a sound. The lock on this particular window looked to be in perfect working order but the disguised figure pried it open with ease. Carefully, she stepped into the room and quickly closed the window behind her.
The sensation of her heels sinking into the familiar carpet relaxed her. Putting her gloved fingers on the hidden latch on her helmet, it released and she lifted it up over her head. Revealing a flushed Videl Satan underneath. The contact of fresh air against her face felt exhilarating.
Videl couldn't believe it. She had just debuted this new suit and while, for the most part, it was a brilliant success, she just happened to run into him? It was far too strange of a coincidence that he had been there though… maybe he had sensed her like how Bulma mentioned? Her stomach felt uneasy at the thought.
Reaching for her phone she rang Bulma. She had to tell her and it had to be now. The call went to voicemail. Frustrated Videl tried again. And then once more. Still unanswered.
Throwing her phone on her bed Videl conceded. Bulma must have been busy. She paced back and forth, still worked-up from the previous events.
Besides Gohan though, everything else went smoothly. The new suit, the smoke bomb, and even some of the weirder gadgets Bulma had managed to pull together. One, in particular, were these grenade-like things that exploded into ropes that ensnared around their target. All of that worked flawlessly.
Videl grinned widely to herself as she remembered the look on that crook's face as she had managed to catch up to him! It was priceless! Not to mention she was able to knock him out cold with just one tap on the neck!
Focusing on the positive moments of the night Videl managed to calm down enough to put the helmet she discarded back on. She mused to herself that it was really stupid that the entirety of the costume had to be worn before dematerializing it. Bulma had warned her over and over that if she were to leave the helmet off it would not disappear with the rest of the suit when she wanted to change back. Pressing the all-important button, a whoosh sound followed and the Satan City Heroine's outfit disappeared; leaving just an ordinary Videl in school clothes.
Collapsing onto her bed face side up, she relaxed. Maybe everything would be okay. Maybe Gohan wouldn't say anything to anyone. He had already seen her in the costume and hadn't mentioned it to Erasa and Sharpener. Even when they had all been discussing it.
…but why hadn't he? It struck Videl as extremely strange that Gohan didn't even come close to mentioning his run-in with her other self. Videl did muse to herself that Gohan apparently had secrets of his own to keep as he was capable of more than he appeared. Maybe he was just as self conscious as she was? ...probably not though.
And then... She gulped… there was their most recent encounter. How he turned that corner intent on stopping that petty thief. She didn't know what it was but he seemed so much taller and more….masculine. Something about it had made her feel strange and it was a feeling she had never had before.
Luckily for her though she wouldn't have to wonder much longer as her phone went off. Jumping up she grabbed it and felt some relief. It was Bulma.
"Bulma! I have so much to tell you!"
—-
A few days later Videl found herself walking around the art museum. It suddenly dawned on her that she was alone. It wasn't a complete surprise that she had managed to separate herself from the group as she knew this place like the back of her hand from spending so much time volunteering there.
She briefly wondered whether any of her classmates were nearby before taking a step into one of the individual galleries. Her thoughts stopped when she saw him there.
Videl felt the warmth rise on her face and that odd sensation again as she was suddenly reminded of her last time alone with Gohan. While she had seen him at school, there were always others around to put some comfortable distance between them. Her last conversation with Bulma ran through her head.
"I doubt Gohan will say anything…." Bulma reassured Videl through the phone.
"What do you mean? Have you spoken to him?" Videl asked Bulma, border-lining on interrogation; she didn't believe her.
"...Well…"
Videl gasped, "He called you already?" Up until this point in the conversation she had been lying down and was now sat up as she began to freak out. Alarms were going off in her head, this was not good. If Gohan figured out her secret identity and told others and it got back to her Dad…
"...Yes, he c-called me…" Bulma said her voice sounding odd at the word called but Videl was too deep in her own anxious thoughts to catch it for once.
Videl had risen up from her bed and was now pacing back and forth in her bedroom clutching the phone to her ear.
Somehow sensing this Bulma attempted to reassure her. "This is good Videl! I told him not to worry!"
That snapped her out of it. "Not to worry?" Videl asked Bulma as if she was an idiot. What good could telling Gohan not to worry possibly do? He was apparently capable of flying and jumping 20 feet in the air, she really doubted he would listen to Bulma instructing him not to worry.
"Yeah, I'll let the attitude slip since you're freaking out…" Bulma chastised Videl. She was still the adult and the mentor in their relationship. "Gohan is a good kid and I think I convinced him that you, well not Videl you, but crime fighting you have good intentions and to just leave you alone. Not to mention…" Bulma had to pause to take a breath because she had to say all of this as fast as possible knowing that Videl could start questioning her endlessly. "I told him to come to me again before anyone else, so don't worry!"
Videl was silent as she processed Bulma's words. A lot of what she felt was confusion. While she had a vague idea of Bulma's husband, lover, or father of her kid, she had long given up on what to call him or label him as he was unique and obviously had ties to the fighters at the Cell games… It had been news to her that Bulma even knew Gohan. She wouldn't deny that she felt the tiniest bit of envy that the two of them were acquainted with each other and it made her wonder why Bulma had kept it so secret even if their mentorship was supposed to be kept confidential.
"Okay, I guess…I'll just take your word for it…. I guess you guys must be pretty close…" Videl said with little energy to her words. Were her and Bulma not close? Was their relationship mostly just based on a deal she had made with her father all those years ago?
No, of course not. Bulma had done so much for her, especially after the incident. She had listened to her and even went as far as developing these suits for her. Videl just needed to take a step back and respect their boundaries.
Bulma was also quiet on her end of the line and had taken in a sharp breath and was about to say something before Videl cut her off.
"Really, it's fine... It's just the way he looked at me, that's all…" Just thinking about it now still gave Videl chills.
"The way he looked at you?" Bulma asked clearly interested.
Videl couldn't have explained even if she tried, so taking the easy way out and wanting to ignore these strange new feelings she decided to just listen to Bulma's original words about not worrying about Gohan. Even though her gut didn't want to in the slightest.
"Okay, I'll trust you...and Gohan I guess…" Videl told Bulma, obviously not okay with it.
"You know…" Bulma trailed off as gears turned in her head, "Maybe you should try to get to know Gohan then…"
The idea of that after seeing Gohan so intense earlier nearly made Videl fall over.
"What? How?" She asked alarmed.
Luckily for Bulma, Videl could not see how giddy she was becoming over this. How could she have not seen this before? "You're a smart girl, figure it out."
Videl was just about to respond and question what difference would it make if she got to know Gohan but Bulma beat her to the chase and spoke first.
"Maybe if he gets to know you as normal Videl 'annoying student' Satan, he won't suspect you as the Satan City Crimefighter…" Bulma smirked as she knew that would be a perfect motivation!
So now here she was. Alone with Gohan. The perfect chance to speak to him. She wouldn't deny that the thought had crossed her mind earlier in the week, but again, there had been no natural opportunities.
Thinking well here goes nothing, Videl spoke, "Hi Gohan…" Inwardly wincing at how shy she sounded, she instantly looked away from him so he couldn't see her face. She now longed for the beginning of the school year, when she had no problem approaching him at the train station. Hell, she had even found the whole experience funny back then.
Back when she thought that he just seemed weird, now she knew he was definitely weird and that intimidated her. But it was that specific sort of intimidation that meshed with fascination and she couldn't deny that she wanted to know more about him.
Seeing the lone painting on the wall she began talking just on autopilot, as she would often do to control being nervous. "Oh, this one is nice, isn't it?"
Yeah, if she kept talking maybe this awkward interaction would end up okay.
It had been tremendously awkward at first but Videl's conversation with Gohan became easier. She had offered to give him some background information regarding the painting and, much to her surprise, he had actually accepted! Videl had wrongfully assumed that since Gohan was in the science curriculum and got along with Sharpener and Erasa that he, like them, would turn his nose up at her fascination with art, but it was actually the complete opposite. He was a complete gentleman and actively listened to every word she said. So much so that she may have gone overboard a bit, but he never stopped her! Not one eye roll, huff, or anything!
He seemed so gentle right now and his gaze was considerably softer than during their previous run-in. It wasn't like she didn't have any exposure to boys her age, but there was something about Gohan now that she couldn't shake off. Such as sometimes finding her eyes lingering on his hand whenever he readjusted his tie, triggering her to then notice how solid his chest appeared beneath it. So solid...but she would brush these observations off, not sure as to what to make of them as she had never had thoughts like that before.
Just as she was about to tell him about Le Pomme's famous quarrel she was cut off by the ear-piercing alarms. The two of them jumped out of their seats in unison.
Her heart leaped at the sound continued at the security lights were turned on. The flaring and flashing by them were disorienting. Something was wrong.
"OKAY EVERYONE ON THE FLOOR! THE RED SHARK GANG HAS TAKEN OVER THIS MUSEUM DO YOURSELF A FAVOR AND GET DOWN. WE HAVE TAKEN DIRECTOR TOMOEDA HOSTAGE AND WE WILL HURT HIM IF YOU DO NOT COMPLY" boomed from the loudspeakers.
Was the director taken as a hostage? Videl became infuriated. She had known director Tomoeda for years. He was such a kind man! Clenching her watch with her fingers she knew she had to step in.
Gohan began to kneel on the floor, obviously following the instructions broadcasted over the pa system. Videl reassured herself as she saw this, believing that it was good since it meant she could easily ditch Gohan and go.
Maybe Gohan was scared. Even if he did have some weird history or situation and was indeed the son of Son Goku, something Videl had managed to piece together in her free time over the last few days since talking to Bulma, he was still just a teenager. Seeing his knees make contact with the ground and his eyes look downward Videl saw her chance and took it, running out of the room.
Running down the long hallway she placed her back against the wall. Peering past the corner stealthily, she saw that no one was around. Now was the perfect time. Just as her fingertips were going to make contact with the all-important button on her watch a strong, masculine, and familiar voice made her look up.
"Videl, what are you doing?!"
It was him. And Videl got that feeling again. He loomed over her, his shoulders appearing so broad and his brow furrowed as his gaze penetrated her.
She was almost scared, but there was no time for that. Her sense of duty was too strong. She had to come up with an excuse and get Gohan off her case and quick.
"I'm...I'm…." She said floundering. In her head she was screaming at herself to say something, anything. No words would come to mind though; the pressure she was under was too much. The alarms, lights, and now Son Gohan staring her down…
Gohan's intense gaze fell through and he visibly relaxed. Before Videl could fathom why, he took her by surprise by standing right next to her.
"Hey, it'll be okay…" he said, trying to comfort her and even though he was being anything but intimidating, now that strange feeling had come back and was now even worse?
He then grasped her hand. The skin on her hand began tingling. It was too weird and she immediately took her hand back.
Mr. Tomoeda~ She suddenly remembered! That was what this was about, forget Gohan!
Turning away from him she saw that the coast was clear and ran. Sure it was highly risky, but she didn't have time for this!
As soon as she was out of Gohan's eye line, she finally managed to press the button on her watch and transformed. He was probably right behind her, not to mention he had some special abilities, but none of that mattered to Videl right now. Knowing the layout of the museum, she did manage to get some distance.
"Hey you!" a useless red shark gang goon yelled seeing her. Right as she stepped towards him, Videl reached into one of her suit's many hidden pockets and pulled out what appeared to be small pebble-like objects. She hurled one at the offender and he let out a sharp yelp as suddenly ropes enveloped him pinning him to the ground.
Videl kept moving and threw a few more when she was approached by more red sharks. Reaching into another compartment her fingers felt something Bulma had warned her to use only in an indoor emergency and with great caution. Well, this was obviously one of those times. Still running as fast as she possibly could, she clenched the object with one hand as she pressed a button on the side of her helmet with her free one. A layer of some kind of breathable material appeared protecting her mouth and nose.
"Well here goes," she remarked to no one as she threw what was in her hand down at the ground and didn't look back.
She was finally in the museum's main collection. As she ran she could see a pink transparent gas surpassing her and several thud-like sounds accompanying it.
Sensing danger Videl slowed down approaching the atrium. This would be the most likely populated area of the building. The sight that she was met with threw her off, however.
Everyone was sleeping. Tourists, red sharks, everyone was sound asleep, curled up on the floor.
Wow, I can't believe Bulma's sleep bomb really worked… Videl thought as she tiptoed her way through the many slumbering bodies on the floor. She even saw Sharpener drooling next to Erasa who was snoring. She chuckled at the sight.
Videl didn't have time to bask in the sleeping bomb's success though, she had to help Mr. Tomoeda!
Finally managing her way to his office she saw that both the director and the Red Shark gang members had all fallen under the sleeping bomb's effects. She briefly remembered Bulma instructing her that it was a very potent gas and was capable of infiltrating an entire building's air circulation system.
As she surveyed the gang members she stopped, immediately recognizing the gang leader. His body was the closest to Mr. Tomoeda. He was one of the senior security guards! Her father had even helped him get his position here! Videl scowled. She almost wanted to strike him, but that wouldn't be right.
She did shove him to the side roughly and didn't feel any remorse. Taking his seat at the director's desk, Videl typed some at the computer. She discovered that the security system had been tampered with. The alarm and lockdown had initiated but not the notifications to the police.
With a few keyboard strokes, she managed to fix that along with deleting the security footage of her in the isolated wing. This was so no one could discover her changing. With one last sweep through her mental checklist, she opened the office's sole window and escaped. She would hide until the police arrived.
After spending an hour in the bushes, Videl clicked her watch and emerged. Her hands and knees ached from being in contact with the ground for too long. She shivered and noticed that the sun was setting now, the suit had been much warmer than her school blazer.
Approaching the courtyard, her eyes scanned for her friends. She saw long perfectly straight blonde hair and immediately knew it was Sharpener.
"Videl!" He yelled at the sign of her. Erasa turned as she was right next to him.
"Oh my god I'm glad you're alright! We were really worried about you!" The blonde girl praised nearly in tears as she enveloped Videl into a hug.
"Y-yeah, I'm fine. What happened?" Videl asked. She had to play dumb. Plus she was curious what their perceptions of the entire ordeal would be.
"I don't really know… the alarms went off and we all got down as the Red Shark gang told us…." Erasa had to pause several times while telling her story due to shock. "And then this smelly gas stuff came out of nowhere! I just remember closing my eyes and then being woken up by a paramedic after that!"
Videl felt guilty. While the sleep bomb had been of the utmost convenience for her and had resulted in literally no one getting hurt, she had not taken into consideration how disorienting it would be for those affected by it. With dread, she hoped that there weren't any other side effects…
"Where were you Videl? We've been searching for you and Gohan for 20 minutes!" Sharpener scolded her as though she was a child. Over the last few years, Videl had developed a bit of a knack for disappearing off on her own at times without any explanation. This really irritated her friends.
"Oh well, you know me… I went off on my own to admire that visiting collection…" Videl said avoiding eye contact with the blonde male. She desperately hoped they would buy her excuse; it hadn't been a complete lie.
"Well, was Gohan with you?" Sharpener inquired sharply as he was peering over the crowds.
"Uh...no…" Videl lied as she held one elbow with one of her hands attempting to comfort herself. Invasive thoughts released into her mind as though they had been let free from a cage.
Gohan would be alright, he had to be. He probably was the closest to the sleep bomb's explosion, but Bulma hadn't mentioned any side effects… He would wake up. He had to wake up. Oh god, what if he didn't wake up?! And what if when he did he came after her looking for answers!
"Oh, Gohan!" Erasa exclaimed rushing past Sharpener and Videl.
Turning her head, Videl saw him. He looked tired, as there were clear bags under his eyes, but otherwise seemed ok. That image of him towering over her flashed in her mind briefly and her chest tightened.
Taking that as a sign to leave, Videl clumsily slapped her hand on Sharpener's back.
"Welllll, Gohan looks okay, I'm gonna go now, I bet my Dad is wondering where I am, yeah, oh look at the time, gonna go now, bye!" She said very quickly as she waved to Sharpener, not letting him get a word in and ran, in the opposite direction, as fast as possible.
—-