Chapter III: The Great Saiyaman
Bulma tossed the magazine aside and collapsed in boredom. Vegeta had been hogging Trunks to himself all day, mostly in the GR, and Bulma had very little to do without playing with her son. You would think the owner and President of Capsule Corporation would have an entire list of things to do, not noooooo. Why is it that I never have any big projects unless the Earth is in peril?
There was never any need to search out the dragonballs, and everyone else had families of their own to attend to. Except for Yamcha and Tien, but she didn't feel as close to them as before. She wished the day would end so she could at least have her mate to herself. The nights were certainly the high points of her life.
A gentle knock came on the outer wall of the living room. Bulma lifted her head, and had a pleasant surprise to see Gohan standing in the entry. All of her friends were allowed to come and go freely, so it wasn't abnormal for her to see one of them looking for her in her own house. It made things more interesting to have truly spontaneous guests.
She waved him over, "Long time no see, Gohan! How is High School going for you?"
"Great. I actually came over because I could use your help with something."
"Oh, and what would that be?" Bulma listened as Gohan basically went step by step through his first day of school. She nodded her head every once in a while to let him know she had been listening. After her finished, she held her chin in a thoughtful pose, "So you want to be able to keep helping out with these crooks, but also not let anyone know it's you doing it, which roughly translates to a costume. I think the fashion division of Capsule Corp. came up with a nifty device that could help."
Gohan blinked, "Capsule Corp. had a fashion division? Since when?"
"Since I got bored and made one. Happens to be one of the better decisions made in the last five years. You wouldn't believe the amount of money we make off of the stuff we sell."
Gohan didn't want to ask about it, "You mind if I hang out with Trunks while you're working?"
Rather than becoming upset at the way he worded that, Bulma smiled, "Please! Vegeta's been pushing him way too hard. Besides, he misses you."
"Vegeta?"
"No, you dummy, Trunks. I swear, you're family must have some defect in the male half. Then again, except for Chichi you are all male." She pointed down a hall, "You'll find the GR off that way."
Gohan left Bulma alone and wandered the halls of their massive home. He could never see himself living in a place like this. He was just too much of a country boy. Memories of him and his father playing out in the forests came to Gohan. He really missed his old man. If had had bothered to teach him Instant Transmission Gohan could have probably visited him every day. Traveling to Other World and back was no problem as long as you were alive.
The GR's main door came into view as Gohan passed another set of rooms. Trunks stood outside wiping sweat from his face. He saw Gohan coming and waved, "Hey Gohan! What are you doing here?"
"I was asking your mom for a favor. She says I can hang with you while she works."
"Cool. Is Goten here?"
Gohan shook his head, "No, sorry. I came right from school." The door slid open, and Vegeta strolled out. He didn't have a shirt on, but there wasn't a drop of sweat on him. Gohan figured that the gravity setting had to be painfully low for him, since Vegeta's normal level would crush Trunks. Gohan waved, "Hey, Vegeta."
Vegeta tried to probe Gohan again, but the same result. It angered him that he couldn't break Gohan's shields, "Still hiding I see. I'm beginning to believe that you only hide your strength because you've become so pathetically weak." He turned to Trunks, "I'll be expecting you again before you sleep. We'll finish then?"
Gohan waited until Vegeta left to ask; "Finish what?"
"Energy attacks!" Trunks gave a grin that rivaled his father's, "Wanna see what I can do? I'll mash you into the ground this time!"
"Sure thing, but you have to promise not to cry when I win again. You're father looked ready to kill me last time!"
* * *
Bulma finished fastening the watch to Gohan's arm. She stepped back to her son's side and said, "That's it! Try it out, Gohan."
Gohan pressed the red button on the watch. He felt his clothes dematerialize for a brief instant, and they were then replaced with what had to be the strangest outfit he had ever worn. Gohan now adorned boots, baggy pants, a tight fitting belt, gloves, and a long sleeved shirt that exposed his chest. All of it was pitch black.
He glanced at her, "What's the deal with black?"
"Oh, I would have to say it is definitely you're color. Black clothing just screams out that you're a badass Gohan." Bulma slapped a hand over her mouth at the previous word. She glared at Trunks, "Make sure you never say that ever! And don't tell your father."
Gohan threw a few punches, and smiled at how easy it was to move. There was something missing, "Uh, I need something to cover my face."
Bulma pointed to his collar, "There's a small red button on the inside. Press it." As soon as he had pushed the button, a black visor formed on Gohan's head. It covered his eyes, and his hair. Bulma nodded again, "What do you think Trunks?"
"Wow, you look really cool, Gohan."
The teenager pulled the visor off and surveyed himself in a mirror. Bulma did not appreciate the look on his face, "Oh, come on! What could be wrong with it?"
"It's nothing, really, just . . . I was thinking something green, with a cape, and maybe some antenna or something on a helmet." Gohan couldn't help but grin at the image in his head.
"In other words, you wanted to like a fool?"
The dream shattered, "That was really harsh! But, this is still very nice. It looks a little familiar."
"I modeled it after Goku's orange suit. I thought you'd like that."
Gohan could see the resemblance. It warmed his heart, "Thanks Bulma. I should get going now." Gohan pressed the blue button and his normal clothes came back.
Trunks pulled on his mother's leg, "Hey, mom, can I have an outfit like that too? With the watch thing?"
"Maybe. I'll see you around, Gohan. Probably in the news if you're serious about this."
Gohan waved, "I am. Bye!"
Gohan reached the outdoors of Bulma's home, and then shot off into the night sky. A though occurred to him; Since I'm still in the city, maybe I should start making a name for myself. You can only go so far before see a . . . A small yellow car below him was driving too fast. Gohan could tell since it was moving as fast as he was. Pressing the watch button, Gohan donned the black suit and dove to the streets.
The driver temporarily lost control, and nearly killed three people on the sidewalk. Hhis friend passed a beer over and howled, "This is great! Man, I love this town. We can pretty much do whatever we want!"
The driver opened the can with one hand, and continued to steer with the other, "Beats the hell out of . . . holy shit!!" He slammed on the brakes as a stranger appeared right in front of him. His friend lost hold of the empty cans, and the half full ones, he was carrying. The two men exited the car, drenched in alcohol. The driver sneered, "Who are you, freak?"
Gohan altered his voice slightly, but not too much. Bulma's words of looking like a fool were ringing in his head. He spoke loudly, "You shouldn't be driving like that. Innocent people are going to get hurt, or worse."
"Oh yeah," the friend pointed at Gohan, "well what the hell are you supposed to be? Some kind of gothic superhero? That's a laugh!"
The driver joined in on the fun, "Yeah, what's you're great name punk?"
Gohan hadn't considered that. He ignored the two drunken idiots as he thought. What should my name be? I can't just go and call myself 'superman,' that's just lame. Wait a sec, that does give me an idea! He looked up with a grin, "I'm the Great Saiyaman."
He didn't think their laughter could get any louder. Even the crowd of people who were watching giggled. That pissed Gohan off, "Stop laughing!" He slammed his foot into the ground, causing it to break and separate, "I put a lot of thought into that name!" He slammed his foot again and trapped the car in a crevice.
The two men stared in shock, "What the hell are you!?"
The driver sank to his knees, "My car! How am I going to get home?"
Gohan didn't want to, but he felt a little sorry for the road he had just wrecked, and the car. Machines weren't evil, just used that way. Kind of like the Androids. Gohan stepped forward and grabbed the edge of the vehicle. With little effort, he lifted it out of the crack and onto solid pavement.
The entire crowd of people, now nearing thirty, collectively gasped. Gohan turned to the drunks, "Drive safely from now on, or else I might find you again." Gohan levitated into the air, and smiled as he heard clapping and cheering.
Then he cringed as he heard someone say; "Who was that guy again? The Great Singing Man?"
* * *
Chichi sighed at the outfit her son wore, "And why do you have to do this again?"
"Ah, come on mom. It's not like I'm fighting to save the Earth . . . again. I just figure that I could help out all those people in a way other than killing aliens, or Androids. There's been a lot of crime since the Cell Games, and the police have a hard enough time with the small fries."
Although she hated to see Gohan fight, and loathed his training even more, Chichi decided to let him have his way. She returned to the pots of rice and beans she had been preparing, "All right Gohan. But I want you to do better in school if you're going to be acting the hero."
"Mom, I scored perfect on every test I took. I don't think I can!"
"That is NOT an excuse, Son Gohan!!" Chichi screamed. Though on the inside she smiled, Nothing like a little intimidation to keep those academic juices flowing. She turned back to the food again, "Now, go get ready for supper. I'm going to want some help with the dishes this time, as you boys see fit to eat so much."
"Sure thing, mom." Gohan went straight into his room, and pressed the blue button. He removed the watch and set it on the nightstand. He saw Goten standing in the doorway. Gohan noticed the wide smile on his face, "What's up?"
"I've been practicing all day! I can beat you, no problem."
Gohan blinked, "At what?"
"At holding our breath underwater, Gohan! You promised me we'd have a contest when you got back."
He had nearly forgotten, "Oh, yeah. If you hurry, we can do it before dinner. Bad idea to swim after eating."
Goten did a back flip, "Yay!"
* * *
Gohan took his seat in the classroom. It was hard to hide the smile that continuously tugged at his lips. Everyone had been talking about the mysterious Great Saiyaman, and had almost forgotten about the gold fighter. Some of the students had been making comparisons between Saiyaman and the gold fighter, but no one really took them seriously. Most of the student body was dead set on the notion of a second superhuman warrior.
The school day wore on, and Gohan finished a test in his English class. The teacher, who had taken a liking to him, allowed Gohan to have the rest of the period to himself. Gohan had taken to wandering the halls when he saw Videl shoot past him. He called for her to stop, "What's going on? Did you finish already?"
Videl sneered, "Seems you finished fast enough. And no, I didn't. A bus full of tourists was hijacked by a group of armed thugs. I have to help them."
"What!?" Gohan couldn't believe what he heard, "Why would you go out and risk your life like that? Shouldn't you leave that to the police."
"Well sometimes I am the police. I really have to go!" She sprinted down the hall, and burst out the exit.
Gohan fumed, Videl is a local crime fighter? And I thought I had seen everything. But still, she's going to go up against men armed to the teeth, and I don't think she can dodge bullets. Well, I do have thirty minutes left. More than enough time to help out.
Gohan found the stairs, and made for the roof. Once on top of the school, he made a quick check around him. Satisfied that no one was watching, Gohan pressed his watch, and changed into his outfit. He still wished that he had the cape and helmet, but the outfit was very stylish. Gohan took to the air, and surveyed the area.
Off in the distance he noticed a Hovercopter moving at high speeds. As he had no idea where Videl could be, following copters would be a good idea. It could be a news crew hoping to get a scoop on the action.
The Great Saiyaman easily caught up to the flying machine, and held his distance so as not to be seen. After several minutes, he and the copter approached a bus being chased by three police squad cars. No doubt the hijackers.
The Hovercopter lowered itself to the bus, dodging automatic fire from one of the armed men. To Gohan's surprise, Videl appeared out of the cockpit. Once in range, she leapt on to the vehicle's roof, and jumped as more bullets came through it. Videl rolled to the edge, and swung through a window. Though Gohan couldn't see what was going on inside, his senses gave him the distinct impression Videl was having a heyday with the criminals.
The bus didn't stop. While Videl continued to fight, it left the road and headed out towards a cliff. Gohan increased his speed to move in front of the bus before it fell over. He wasn't fast enough, and the passengers screamed as the bus went over. Gohan dove underneath and grabbed the side. Enveloping the bus with his ki, Gohan lifted it back up to the ground level, gently placing it parallel to the cliff.
He didn't normally use his energy in such a broad, encompassing manner, so the effort had winded Gohan somewhat. He thought he was seeing spots from it. The superhero glanced to his side to see the tourists taking as many snapshots as they could. Though he was now blind, Gohan felt better that his energy use wasn't the cause of the spots. He waved to the crowd, giving a famous Son grin.
Videl walked towards him, a little flustered, "Thank you. I didn't realize I had knocked out the driver . . . and . . ."
"Don't worry about it. I was around, so everything turned out ok. Just be more careful in the future." Hah, listen to me giving advice. Then again, I have done some pretty incredible things in my short life. Why shouldn't I give advice?
Videl looked him up and down, "Just who are you?"
Gohan grinned again, "The Great Saiyaman."
"Saiyaman? Oh, you're the one everyone's been talking about. Tell me; are you the gold fighter as well?"
Gohan thought fast, hoping to keep that secret to himself, "Gold who? I'm sorry, I've never heard of him." Perhaps that wasn't enough, "Besides, my hair's not gold."
"Wait, I thought you said you hadn't heard about him. How do you know his hair color?"
Shit, I walked into that, "Yes, well . . . good-bye!!" Gohan shot into the air and streaked off towards the city without another word. He couldn't believe himself, acting so stupid when he consciously wanted to keep his identity a secret. Now Videl would probably be twice as suspicious as before. At least she wouldn't know he had been out of school.
* * *
Videl took her seat for chemistry. The Great Saiyaman bewildered her even more than Gohan did. He said he didn't know about the gold fighter, but then went on to say he didn't have gold hair. As though I could tell with that visor on.
Erasa leaned over with a grin on her face, "Have fun today?"
"What do you mean by that?" Videl didn't like it when Erasa got into these moods. They almost always involved boys.
"I know you were with him. He was late to class, just like you."
"Who are you talking about?"
Erasa pointed over her shoulder, "Well, Gohan. I mean, some of us figured you two were together. He was gone for ten minutes before the period started. And then you showed up now, which is only eight more. Kind of close, if you ask me."
Videl glared in Gohan's direction, "So why were you late, Gohan?"
"I just lost track of time." Which was in fact the truth. While it looked like on, the watch Gohan used wasn't actually a watch at all. He would have to take it back to Bulma and see if she could change that. How she could have not added in such a minor detail was nearly absurd.
Gohan knew that look in Videl's eyes, and he'd only been at school for three days. She was suspicious. At this rate, his stay at Orange Star High would only get worse, and much more complicated.