Nicholas Bledsoe's author's notes: Another long-awaited (well, long to get done at the very least) chapter of Mashed Mangled and Mall(ed) by a Princess. Here's my second chapter (of what has become four, thanks to my long-windedness). This story has also now been written in California, Nevada, Oregon, Idaho, and Montana. No one has yet guessed the theme I have chosen for naming my chapters (or if they have, they haven't acknowledged it). Hope you enjoy it, and please review. It makes us authors all very happy. Special thanks to all my pre-readers, and to Mia Elf and Vegeta's lil' Princess for prodding me along.

VLP: MMAM!

Nick: -- … Yes, I finally updated Mashed Mangled and Mall(ed)…

VLP: MMAM!

Nick: You can stop saying that now.

VLP: MMAM!

Nick: --; … Do you people see what I've had to put up with the last few months?

VLP: MMAM!

Nick: Stop that!

VLP: MMAM!

Nick: AAAAHHH! Stop it!

VLP: MMAM!

Nick (runs away, screaming): Make it stop! MAKE IT STOP!!!!

(Mia Elf appears, holding a tape recorder. She presses the switch and…)

VLP: MMAM!

Mia: Heehee! This is waaaay too much fun. And now…

Attack of the… Fluffy Things?

. . .

After about five minutes of nonstop laughter, Trunks was beginning to question Android 17's already debatable sanity. The android rolled on the ground, holding his sides, and Trunks could swear he saw tears of laughter streaming down his face.

"Oooookay… "

"Look, I don't know what you think is so funny," Trunks said, grabbing the android by the collar and shaking him.

"You… HAHAHAHA… you thought… hehe…" The android took a second to calm himself before continuing. "You thought I was going to do something perverted to Bra, and that's why you tried to blast me all the way to New Namek?"

"So, you're telling me you're not stalking my little sister?"

"Oh please, give me some credit," 17 said as he removed himself from the half-Saiyan's grasp. "I have much better taste than that."

"Then what the hell was that unholy shrine to the dark goddess of shopping?!" Trunks shouted, "I'm surprised there wasn't a gold statue, incense and the pictures of the time she cosplayed as Sumire from Sakura Wars."

"One, gold's too expensive. Two, the incense would set off the smoke alarms in the room. And Three…" He grinned evilly. "…I'm saving the Sumire pics to hand out at her school."

Judging by Trunks' expression, he didn't find the attempt at humor all that amusing, even though 17 was completely serious about handing out those cosplay pics. He had to wonder who had talked her into that one, because the pictures he had found were not that old.

He did recognized his niece, Marron, in some of the pictures with Bra, wearing a dark wig and dressed as Sakura, and guessed that she had something to do with it. It even looked as though they had recruited (or abducted) Goku's granddaughter, Pan, for their cosplay, who they had clothed as Iris and who looked none too happy to be wearing a dress.

"Look, this is just a stupid prank, okay. Nothing really evil." 17 shrugged his shoulders. "You might actually say I'm fighting evil here."

"So, nothing perverted?" Trunks questioned, still not believing the formerly (and quite possibly still) evil android.

"No, I just want to make her life a living hell," 17 waited for the spoiled, rich boy's reaction, unable to tell what the purple haired stooge's reaction was going to be, and ready to bolt at the first sign of trouble. He might have been able to take on Trunks, but once the rest of the Z fighters…

"Can I help?" trunks asked, the idea of putting his bratty little sister through torment was just too tempting to resist.

"Please," 17 scoffed. "What would I need your help for?"

"If you're going to pull this off, you're gonna need what I've got up here," Trunks said, tapping his head.

"What? Half a bottle of mousse?"

Trunks growled at the Android. "Look, I can get you into the house a lot easier, and without leaving any evidence that you were ever here. And I'm sure you won't want to stop after one prank."

"What makes you think that this isn't all I have planned?"

"You're not the only one that's had to go shopping with Bra before," Trunks said grimly. "One prank just isn't nearly enough."

Ah! So there was more to this than the average sibling conflict. Trunks too had been to Hell and back, making an extended stop in Purgatory when the vicious little purple monster on the wing had chewed through the fuel lines. 17 smirked and extended his hand towards Trunks. "Partners?"

Trunks grinned evilly and shook the android's hand. "Partners!"

At a Pizza Hut across town, a certain Namek dressed in a green and black flame shirt shuddered and dropped the glass of water he had been calmly sipping only moments ago.

"Whats wrong?" Mr. Popo asked from across the booth.

"I sense a great disturbance in the force…" Dende said, the dread in his voice unmistakable.

"You know that that's a completely different universe, right?" Popo pointed out.

Dende shook his head to clear it and fixed Popo with an annoyed glower. "Just shut up and eat your pizza."

Popo shrugged and went back to consuming his garlic and tomato pizza as Dende went back to the counter to refill his water.

. . .

Bra moved silently along the outside of the Capsule Corp mansion, which was a feat in itself considering the shoes she was wearing were never meant to be stealthy. Finally making it to the garage, she silently slipped her key in the door, holding the other keys tightly so they wouldn't make any noise as she turned them.

She knew it was well past her curfew, but she hadn't meant to be out so late. She had just lost track of time. She tended to do that a lot though, especially when she went out for a late-night shopping spree, or dancing, or flirting with pretty guys with pretty hair. She had become fairly good at sneaking in undetected, though she dreaded the thought of opening the door one time and seeing her father glaring at her. If there was one thing that kept her in line, it was that.

Of course, she still managed to miss her curfew by more than an hour (again) , and she could only hope that she could slip into her room undetected. She really needed to learn how to fly… eventually. It would be so simple to just fly up to her room and sneak in the window, but it would take a lot of practice and she had so much else that she had to do this being her last year of high school.

Opening the door just a crack, she slipped her makeup compact inside, using the mirror to check to the left and right before slipping in herself. Thankfully, her parent's car was gone, meaning they were still out at dinner. Sighing with relief, she shut and locked the door behind her. She was already tired from dancing, and the covert operation she had been on for the last few minutes had completely exhausted her.

She made it to her room, grabbing her silk pajamas from her wardrobe before heading to the bathroom to wash off her makeup and brush her teeth. When she came out, she literally collapsed on the bed, pulling the comforter around her like a cocoon. She lay like that for about a minute before the air got too hot and stuffy and she was forced to rearrange the bed in a more typical manner.

Closing her eyes, she reveled in the comfort of the soft mattress and pillows. Her normal battle cry of 'fashion over comfort' did not apply here, where comfort and fashion went hand in hand. After a long night of partying, it was great to just relax in peace and quiet.

…skritch.skritch.skritch.

Bra sat up, unsure if she heard the noise or not. It had come from next to the wardrobe, a light scratching noise. In the darkness though, she couldn't see anything that could make the noise, the only thing over there was a few plushies. A couple of tiny purple tigers with silver wings she had won at a carnival (frightening the carnie nearly to death by shooting out the paper bull's-eye while he was still tacking it up), a little purple super-deformed mecha she had bought at that anime convention, and a giant pink bunny she had bought after Trunks had taunted her into buying it with his devil-on-the-shoulder routine ("You know you want to buy it. Just admit it. Get the bunny… Geeeet the bunnyyyyyyyyyyyy!) .

Still a little uneasy, Bra lay back down, pulling the comforter up to her nose. She listened to the empty room for a few moments before closing her eyes and relaxing again.

Skritch.skritch.skritch.

Bra jumped up on her mattress, readying a small ki blast (though pretty substantial for her, considering she never spent time practicing). The glow of the energy ball illuminated the room, casting long shadows around her. She glared back and forth, searching for her target. Spotting movement, she let the blast fly.

A very surprised and toasty moth learned why to fear the Saiyan Princess that evening, crashing to the floor below in a blaze of horrific glory.

Though she was surprised at what she had blasted, Bra showed no remorse. Though she disliked bugs in general, moths held a special place of disdain in her heart. They were a security threat, a danger to the most precious commodity in her room, clothes. Smirking evilly, Bra muttered, "Rest in peace, you wool-munching menace."

From atop the vanity mirror, the nimble mosquito saluted his slow-moving compatriot, as the moth joined the spirits of many a ficus plant in another dimension. Wisely, he decided to postpone his attack run for another night when the princess wasn't quite so jumpy.

Satisfied that she had annihilated the source of the noise, Bra settled back into her bed, smiling happily. She closed her eyes, and started to drift off.

Across the room, a pair of glowing crimson eyes opened and glared at the Saiyan Princess. Its mouth opened in a wide grin, revealing a set of VERY pointy teeth. Silently, it stood up, padding softly across the carpet.

Placing its paws on the edge of the bed and digging its claws into the material, it pulled itself up peering at the back of the girl's head. It growled softly and menacingly, too softly to be heard. Its crimson eyes glowed brighter for a moment.

Feeling the heat of the creature's gaze on the back of her neck, Bra opened her eyes. She gulped loudly and rolled over in her bed, but by the time she looked, there was nothing there.

In the darkness under her bed, the crimson eyes narrowed maliciously.

Bra looked around again, still seeing nothing, so she pulled up her covers. The covers slowly slipped back down, so she pulled them up again. This time the covers were yanked out of her grasp. Bra yelped. Grabbing one of her pillows like a weapon.

She leaned over the edge of the bed, peering into the darkness, feeling a little self-conscious. She hadn't been scared of monsters under her bed since she was seven. Well, at least now she could handle the problem herself instead of calling daddy to check for her.

With her eyes closed, she leaned over and swung the pillow back and forth wildly, jumping when it connected with something and that something growled. There was a skittering of paws on the floor as whatever it was ran from under the bed.

The door of her wardrobe clattered, whatever was inside making irritated noises. Bra gulped nervously, retrieving the pillow and hefting it over one shoulder. She padded silently over to the wardrobe, grabbing the handle and yanking it open.

A mass of claws and furred fury jumped out, causing Bra to scream and fall over backwards.

"Kenshin!" Bra yelled, more surprised than anything, as the little orange cat bolted for the bedroom door. She let out a relieved breath and turned around on her hands and knees…

Her nose bumping against another in the darkness, her eyes focused on two points of burning red right in front of her, a mouth with gleaming white, razor-sharp buckteeth opening in front of her in a snarling grin. Bra screamed, throwing herself backwards into the wardrobe and against the hanging clothes. She fired a panicked ki blast. managing to catch the demonic pink bunny squarely in the middle of its fuzzy chest, sending it flying over the top of her bed and across the room. She heard an annoyed snarl and the sound of skittering paws, as the bunny scurried off unseen into the darkness. Bra slowly stood up, her eyes darting left and right as she searched for the demonic plushie. She readied herself by powering up her own version of a 'Big Bang Attack' (or what Trunks referred to as her 'Bubblegum Pop Attack') .

Come on, where are you?" Bra whispered, she swept her outstretched hand back and forth, using the glow to light up the room. The little monster had to be somewhere, she climbed up on her bed, which might prevent her from getting her feet clawed off. She peered over the sides, hoping to catch glimpse of a bunny with a gaping hole in its pink hide, smoldering stuffing leaking out on the floor.

Instead, she saw nothing. Nothing but the glow of ki energy on the floor and walls. she sneezed as some dust went in her nose. More dust landed on the tip of her nose, then chunks of plaster hitting her hair. She looked up. The bunny released the hold its claws had on the ceiling, flipping around in midair like a cat and dropping towards Bra with its claws extended. She screamed and rolled out of the way, the comforter becoming tangled around her feet. She landed on the floor with a thump.

The bunny landed on the bed, turning towards her with its arms extended, Bra fired off her attack, the blazing ball of energy streaking towards the possessed plushie and flaring as it made contact.

When the light had faded the bunny stood there, grinning, the two red crystals imbedded in its paws glowing as they absorbed the last of the energy from the attack. It hopped off the bed, slowly stalking towards the Saiyan Princess. Bra grabbed the nearest weapon she could find and hurled it at the rabid rabbit.

The plush tiger bounced off the bunny's head. She grabbed another as she tried to skooch away, the comforter still wrapped around her feet. The purple dragon landed square in the middle of its face, momentarily blinding the bunny, and each subsequent strike further slowing the demonic doll. Normally a plushie barrage was a devastating attack, especially with the amount of ammunition in the Saiyan Princess's bedroom, but the bunny just kept coming.

Gathering the comforter protectively in front of herself as she backed into the corner of her room, Bra soon exhausted her supply of plushie projectiles. Bra closed her eyes and raised her ki level, the counterpart of the words simultaneously departing her mouth in a terrified shriek.

"DAAAAAAAAADYYYYYYY!!!!!"

. . .

Oh what he wouldn't give for an excuse to blast something…

Anything at all, even if it was just to tenderize a steak that was a bit too tough for a knife to cut without the assistance of vast quantities of destructive energy. No such luck. Among all the endless dishes of food there was nothing tough enough to excuse such a deliberate use of force. Chi-Chi must have been frightened that, with the way he ate, Kakarrot would choke and die on anything that couldn't be swallowed without chewing. Vegeta smirked briefly at that one blissful, malice-filled thought.

It was bad enough that he had to eat dinner at the same table as Kakarrot, but he had to do it every damned week, like clockwork, suffering though endless hours of mindless gibberish and annoying small-talk in Kakarrot's blasted (oh how he dreamed of doing the blasting himself…) house.

He glared across the table at the Chief of the Baka Clan himself, the buffoon stuffing his face between brief bouts of idiotic insight accompanied by showers of Chi-Chi's cuisine. Oh how sweet it would be to wipe that moronic smile off his face with a unexpected Gallic Gun attack. He wouldn't expect it. Just one powerful attack upside his stupid face and…

NO! He was a Saiyan. More than that, a Saiyan Prince! He would not sink to the level of some two-bit minion by attacking an unsuspecting enemy.

Besides, after he was done with Kakarrot, he'd have to face the women, and that was one battle he did NOT want to fight.

Bulma and Chi-chi were both laughing at something, and Goku was trying not to choke on his food as he tried to defend himself.

"Oh, that's funny," Bulma chuckled. "The same thing happened to Vegeta when he tried to get his license. Isn't that right dear?"

Vegeta grumbled in response, trying to ignore the insipid exchange.

"Of course there was probably less property damage with Goku…" Bulma added.

The vein on Vegeta's forehead started throbbing. "Drop it, woman."

She took a sip of her drink and added, "Then again, Goku wouldn't blast the car in front of him."

"Hey! No one cuts me off!" Vegeta shouted in his own defense. "That old woman had it coming!"

Chi-chi chuckled at Vegeta's tirade, finding the way he and Bulma argued quite cute. "Well Goku had to take the test a few times, and I think it took Piccolo a couple of tries before he got his. Its nothing to be ashamed of if you didn't get one on the first try."

Vegeta smirked. "Who says I didn't."

"What?! You mean they actually gave you a license?" Chi-chi yelled in disbelief. She turned on Goku. "They gave this maniac a license on his first try and you had to go back five times?!?!"

Goku laughed nervously and actually seemed to be breaking out in a sweat "Well, it's a lot harder than it looks. There's all those pedals and buttons and I can never tell if I'm in forward or reverse…"

Vegeta stabbed another piece of chicken with his fork, watching Goku's cowering with amusement. This almost made up for the rest of the evening, though he still felt an intense desire to blast something. It was good to know he had something else to hold over Kakarrot's head besides his superior table manners and royal bloodlines (the question of who was the strongest fighter was a moot point, as they had not had a real reason to battle one another in ages, and sparring was not an adequate gauge in such a contest).

"Don't be too hard on Goku, Chi-chi," Bulma said, pulling Goku's (metaphorical) tail out of the fire, "the only reason Vegeta got his license is the DMV thought it was safer to have him on the road, than it was to tell him 'no'."

Vegeta glared at her, and opened his mouth to protest when he froze. Bulma stared at him as he sat there, his expression turning to one of dread. "What? What is it? Is something wrong?"

"I feel it too," Goku said. "Someone's in trouble and they just raised their Ki level."

"Its Bra!" Vegeta yelled as he jumped up from the table and ran to the door.

"What?! Bra? But how do you know its her?"

"A father knows," he said looking back. Then with an explosive boom of energy he took off into the sky.

. . .

"What do you think? Should we stop now?"

"Nah," Trunks said as he watched the action through a pair of binoculars. The mechanically-enhanced bunny poke at the blanket Bra had encased herself in through a pair of , eliciting terrified squeals from the chewy filling inside. "She's fine."

"And I thought I was cold," 17 chuckled as Trunks tossed another piece of popcorn in his mouth. He kept on filming with one hand, reaching over and grabbing some popcorn and feeding it to Sesshoumaru with the other. The pup happily munched away, sitting calmly between the two partners-in-crime, wagging his tail happily when 17 scratched his head.

"Hehe. I wish I'd had enough time to install systems in ALL her dolls," 17 said as Bra kicked the bunny through the blanket. He had originally planned to mechanized an entire army of plushies, but cut his plans back to a single large doll to save time, though it allowed him to add the energy-absorbing nodes in its paws. Lucky thing too. With those energy attacks, Bra might have singed it.

"Well, looks like fun time's over," Trunks grumbled.

"What?" 17 took his attention away from the camera and looked up. He immediately spotted the incoming form of Vegeta, looking very much like a capeless, extremely-pissed Superman.

"Damn…" 17 muttered as Vegeta crashed through the window.

"Damn!" Trunks exclaimed as his father delivered a series of punches and kicks to the relentless, but still fairly stupid rabbit.

"DAMN!" they shouted in unison as Vegeta threw the plushie out the window, blasting it with a real 'Big Bang' attack and turning it into a crater. 17's home-made energy-absorption system might have been able to handle Bra's low-powered attacks, but Vegeta's power was simply too much for it to handle. When the smoke and dust had cleared, there was nothing but an empty hole in the ground and a smirking Saiyan Prince.

17 turned off the camera, just in time to avoid having to edit out a tender father and daughter moment later so he wouldn't be sick every time he watched the video. "Well, this won't do at all."

"What? What are you talking about?" Trunks said. "That was funny as hell until my dad showed up."

"Exactly my point," 17 said. "Vegeta has got to go."

17 smirked, as Trunks looked at the android as though he had gone insane (well… MORE insane…).

. . .

"What were you thinking?!" Bulma shouted at Vegeta the next morning.

"I was thinking that I really needed something to blast after the torture you put me through at Kakarrot's house, and since you won't let me blast him I thought I would blast the thing attacking my little Princess!"

"But did you HAVE to vaporize it COMPLETELY?!" She yelled.

"No, but I thought I would damage its pride by asking it to surrender. Besides, it's a Saiyan's duty to be thorough," he said smirking.

"This is serious, Vegeta!"

"I know it's serious, woman!" he shouted back before dropping his voice to a harsh whisper. "But can't we wait to discuss threats against Bra's life until she is out of earshot?"

Bulma followed Vegeta's gaze, catching a glimpse of Bra as she ducked behind the curtains in her room.

"Sorry," she said as she and Vegeta turned back towards the crater in their lawn. "It's just frustrating not being able to do anything. If there was something left of that thing I might've been able to find out where it came from."

"Sorry, but I was a little preoccupied with saving our daughter at the moment." Vegeta muttered.

"I know," Bulma said wrapping her arms around him and leaning her head against his, trying to keep from shaking. "I'm just... I'm worried about our little girl."

"Don't worry," Vegeta said, his arms crossed in front of his chest. "I have a few ideas of my own on where that thing came from. And I'll be damned if anyone hurts my little princess."

Bulma felt reassured hearing her husband say that. If there was one thing Vegeta stood for, it was his family. The crater in front of them was evidence of that. They stared into the scorched abyss for a long time before Vegeta broke the silence.

"Well, one thing's for certain…"

"Hmm?"

"The landscaper is gonna be pissed when he sees this."

. . .

17 appeared calm on the outside, but he was nervous as hell on the inside. Of course who wouldn't be. It wasn't every day you got called in to Capsule Corp. by the Saiyan Prince himself. And something told him Vegeta was not the kind of person who found practical jokes humorous.

He went over the events of last night in his mind, double checking to see if he had left any evidence that he had been there. He couldn't find any, besides one witness. But if Trunks knew what was good for him, he'd keep his mouth shut. Vegeta surely wouldn't find it amusing that his own son had helped the android to set things up.

No, he was safe. Bulma and Vegeta were probably covering every possible angle. He knocked on the door and Bulma answered.

"17. Thank you for coming so promptly," she said. "Please, come in."

I was right all along… 17 thought as he walked in to the room. Standing off to one side of the room was Trunks, his arms crossed and a defiant smirk on his face. …he is an idiot.

"Please, sit down," Bulma said, gesturing to one of the couches.

"Thank you,"17 said, smiling politely. Sitting down across from the glaring Vegeta. "You went through some trouble to get my cell number from my sister, so I take it this isn't a social call."

"No, not exactly. You see…" She started sitting down next to Vegeta.

"My daughter was attacked last night." Vegeta snarled.

"What happened?" 17 asked, deciding it was best to sound seriously concerned but completely ignorant.

"Something attacked her in her room last night. A stuffed rabbit."

"A Rabbit?"

"We think it was an android," Trunks added, his voice sounding accusatory. "wouldn't be a long lost relative of yours by any chance?"

17 glared at the purple-haired fool, just enough to sell the idea that the two hated each others guts/circuits (not that it was too hard, just hard to do without the sarcastic grins). "Watch your mouth kid, or I'll relocate it somewhere where you can see it better."

"Why don't you try it you scrap-metal meatball!"

"Trunks! Sit down!" Bulma hissed. Trunks growled and sat in an armchair facing away from the two groups. Bulma sighed and explained. "It was one of Bra's stuffed animals which she has had for some time. She described two red crystals in its hands that absorbed her attacks in the same way the ones on Gero and Android 19 did."

Vegeta snorted disdainfully. "Wasn't nearly as tough as them. The puny thing exploded when I blasted it."

"Can I see the remains?" 17 asked, already knowing what Bulma's answer would be.

"No, it was completely destroyed."

"Hmm…" 17 thought for a moment. "Well, without seeing some of the circuitry, I couldn't be sure, but it sounds like one of Doctor Gero's prototypes for the energy-absorption system. One of the more primitive designs from the sound of it."

"What makes you so sure?" Trunks chimed in.

"Because if it was one of the final designs," 17 explained, "nothing short of Final Flash would have enough destructive energy to overload it. And I'm fairly certain it could stop even that."

"Do you know who could make something like that?" Bulma asked, polite enough not to accuse the android directly.

"Well, myself and my sister, obviously," 17 said. "And you and your father, since you both have seen Gero's designs. Aside from that, anyone with a soldering gun, the plans, and enough money to buy the materials could build a rudimentary android. But since Capsule Corp. has the only other copy of the plans, that narrows the list of suspects considerably."

Bulma blushed as she suddenly remembered something. "Actually, we've had a few incidents where the lab database has been hacked into, mostly by government and military agencies. We keep all the important plans in a secure vault, but some of the less-advanced plans may have been stored there."

Of course, 17 already knew that. He had hacked the database from a public library and had printed out a few copies of the plans to throw anyone off his trail and onto a false one.

"Still," 17 said, "The list of people who would want to hurt your family is pretty short, the ones that are still alive that is. Can you think of anyone that would have it out for Bra personally? Or maybe someone that thought it was all just a harmless pra…"

"That's it! I've had enough!" Trunks interrupted, turning to his mother and father. "You can't tell me you actually believe this cybernetic psychopath. He's probably the one behind it all! This whole thing practically has 'Android 17' written all over it! I say we blast him now and be done with it."

"Trunks. Please be quiet." Bulma said. "I don't believe 17 would ever want to hurt your sister."

"But…"

"Boy! Sit Down and shut up!" Vegeta yelled. Not that he necessarily disagreed with the boy. He suspected the android as well, but he was not going to argue with his wife in front of 17 and neither would his son.

"I can't believe you actually trust this con artist!" Trunks shouted in disbelief. "Why don't you just go ahead and ask him to be Bra's bodyguard while you're at it?!"

Bulma sat there for a moment after Trunks again took his seat. "Actually, that's not such a bad idea."

"What?!" Trunks, Vegeta and 17 (and had they been listening close enough, Bra in the next room) all shouted in unison.

"Yes," Bulma said, liking the idea the more she thought of it. "If there is another android attack, what better way to fight one than with another android. 17's power supply is virtually limitless, so he wouldn't be vulnerable to a direct attack. His sensors are probably the only way to sense another android, unless you've suddenly developed a new skill you haven't told us about. And if Bra is going to have a bodyguard with her all the time, she would probably object less to one that at least looked and acted her own age."

In the other room, her ear up against the vent as she stood on top of a leaning tower consisting of several books and two chairs, Bra whispered, "AS IF!"

"This is ridiculous," Vegeta said. "Bra doesn't need a bodyguard. She has me to protect her."

"You can't go everywhere with her Vegeta. Do you think Bra really wants her father hanging out with her at school? At cheerleading practice? When she goes on dates?"

The more Bra thought about it, the more she had to agree with her mother. As much as she loved her dad, no teenage girl wanted to be seen at school with her parents. And 17 wasn't exactly hard on the eyes. He'd probably make all the other girls green with jealousy.

"I still don't like it," Vegeta said.

"Neither do I," Trunks agreed.

"Well, tough!" Bulma closed her eyes and crossed her arms in front of her chest. "I've made up my mind."

"Do I get any say in this at all?" 17 asked, wondering if the others had forgotten he was still there.

"Oh," Bulma exclaimed. "Of course, 17. But please consider it. Would you be willing to act as Bra's bodyguard until we get this whole thing sorted out?"

17 looked at the smiling woman. Then he looked at the two glaring Saiyans. Saying no might alienate Bulma from his side of the argument, and then there would be no one to keep Vegeta in check. Well, the only thing he had to lose was his sanity. Smirking, he answered, "Why not? It might be fun."

There was a loud crash and a high-pitched yelp from the next room, and everyone sat up and rushed over to see what it was. They found a dazed Bra lying on the ground underneath the vent, surrounded by books and the heel of one of her boots through a chair cushion. She groaned as she opened her eyes and looked up.

"Oh," she said waving timidly from her upside-down vantage point, "hi Daddy."

"Hi Princess."

. . .

While Bulma and Vegeta stayed behind to talk to Bra about the new arrangement, Trunks took 17 outside to give him a few 'pointers' about his new job.

"Well, that was fun," Trunks said while keeping up a angry mask so that anyone that saw them would think he was threatening the android, so long as they didn't hear them.

"What the hell is your problem?!" 17 shouted. Not exactly stealthy, but it would fit well in any conversation he would normally have with Trunks, so it didn't matter.

"What?!"

"Its not bad enough I had to go shopping with her once, now I'm forced to hang around her every day!"

"I didn't really expect Mom to go for it, but it actually works in our favor," Trunks said with a malicious smile.

"What are you talking about?" 17 said.

Trunks smirked. "You know what they say, android. Keep your friends close and your enemies closer."

17 thought about it for a moment.

"Besides," Trunks added, "the mutt needs to spend time with both its parents."

17 glared at the purple-haired fool for that last remark, but the yuppie had a point. Being Bra's bodyguard would make it much easier to work in secret. And it would give him a much better excuse if he were caught. But its still left one problem.

Vegeta.

Bra's father was by no means stupid, and would catch on sooner or later. And he was not likely to be merciful when he did. They would still need to find some way to get him out of the picture.

Killing the Saiyan Prince wasn't exactly a viable solution. Oh he could do it, of that he was fairly certain, though it would take a lot of effort on his part. But doing so would bring the rest of the Z-fighters crashing down on him like a rouge planetoid. Besides, killing just didn't have the lure it did so many years ago. Too often lately he'd thought of it as a cowardly solution (though that didn't make it any less entertaining to scare some hapless soul out of their wits by threatening their very existence with a well-placed energy blast).

But he had to find some way of getting Vegeta out of the way long enough for him to pull off what he had planned next.

"So, any ideas on how to keep my dad out of…"

The was a loud boom from the courtyard, and both 17 and Trunks turned towards it.

"What the hell was that?" Trunks shouted.

"I don't know, but whatever it is, its throwing off raw energy like mad." 17 checked his sensor readings again. "This isn't like any form of energy I've ever detected before."

Both flew over to investigate, finding Vegeta and Bulma already there. A spinning pinwheel of light pulsating in the center of the courtyard. With each flash of light, there was an crash like thunder, the energy vortex growing larger and larger until it was taller than any of the people present.

There was another flash, and the energy solidified into a spinning loop of light, the air between its edges warped like a scene viewed through rippling water.

"What is that thing?" Trunks asked. His eyes went wide as a very familiar form stepped through.

17 smirked evilly. "An opportunity."