Versus 4: Temporal Distortion

--Waves and Favors--

Had she had the opportunity to track her father down now, she could have. Surely, the great Saiyan was out training, as he always did. Bra studied the clock on the stove. 12:10. She'd missed breakfast and it was almost time for lunch. Her father would certainly be here soon. Unfortunately, Bra happened upon something--or rather someONE--else as she prepared to go out and find him. When she walked into the kitchen, her mother was sitting at the table, talking on the telephone. Bulma had signaled for Bra to stick around for a little while.

"Alright, ChiChi. I'll get to the bottom of this," Bulma said over the telephone. "I'll talk to you later." She hung up and looked at Bra for a long time.

Now what was this all about? Bra stood beside the kitchen table with her hands on her hips, waiting for her mother to say something.

And she did.

"What's going on with you lately, Bra?" Bulma questioned her only daughter. She sounded like she was already tired.

"What do you mean?" Bra asked. It obviously had something to do with the conversation her mother had on the phone with the mother of the man she loved.

"I was just talking to ChiChi on the phone," Bulma began.

Yeah, like Bra didn't know that part already.

"She told me that Goten showed up at her house before six o'clock this morning," Bulma went on. "He was talking to her about the way you've been acting lately."

Oh, no...

"How you won't open up to him. How you've broken his heart. What have you done? She'd never seen Goten so down. And to tell the truth, it doesn't sound like Goten either," Bulma continued.

Bra sat at the table. Had there been more? Had Goten told his mother that she tried to kill him? He couldn't have told her. That would have been the first thing her mother mentioned. Bulma, The Great Chatter Box, would have gotten straight to that part without hesitation. And of course she wouldn't have asked Bra what was going on.

"Things haven't been right with me lately. I admit that. But I don't understand what it is," Bra said. "Some of it, I can't even remember." She wasn't about to tell her mother about being the last true Saiyan. It would only make things more complicated.

"You can't remember? Honey, that's not good. Talk to me. Tell me what's going on," Bulma demanded.

Bra frowned. What was there to tell? She could tell her that she'd recently tried to kill Goten and left him to die. But then, she'd probably want to send her to an insane asylum. That wouldn't help much because doctors there wouldn't be able to diagnose a person like her. She was a Saiyan. Obviously, whatever was going on with her was natural for their race. Or was it? She never told her father about the fact that she sometimes couldn't remember her actions.

But at least her mother had steered the subject away from what Goten and ChiChi had been talking about.

"Some days I do things and don't remember what I've done," Bra said simply.

Bulma frowned. "Do you black out? What do you feel like when this happens?"

Bra shrugged. "I don't know. One minute I'm doing something and the next thing I know, I've lost time."

"Lost time?" Bulma asked.

"I...I look at a clock or something and time has gone by without me knowing it," Bra went on.

Bulma folded her arms across her chest and thought for a while. "Really? When does this happen? I mean, what are you doing when this happens?"

Bra sighed loudly. Here her mother was, giving her the third degree. She never should have stayed here and held a conversation with her. "Um, usually I'm training or fighting, but it's happened..., like, at school."

"Okay. And how do you feel before and after it happens?" Bulma asked.

Bra rolled her eyes. "I don't know. It's hard to say. I feel lost... Or like I've been living a dream... I don't know. I can't describe it. Why are you asking me this?"

"I have a theory. But I'm going to need you to cooperate with me. I want to get an electroencephalogram," Bulma said. "If I'm right, I'll be able to tell you exactly what's happening."

An EEG? Bra had no idea that her mother even had one of those machines.

--in the lab--

Bra sat on an examination table and sure enough, she had electrodes placed on her head. Her mother actually had an electroencephalograph.

Bulma was at one of the many computers in her lab, typing away. "Now, if my theory is correct, you have nothing to worry about." She frowned. "Well, I shouldn't say that you'd have nothing to worry about. What I should say is that we'll have a handle on what's happening."

Why in the world had Bra agreed to this? What was this going to prove anyway? This stupid machine would do nothing but record the electrochemical activity of her brain. There was nothing this machine could say that she didn't already know. There was constantly a lot of activity up there.

"What I need you to do is relax. I can put you to sleep to reduce the brain activity," Bulma began.

"No thanks. As much as I need the sleep, I think I'd rather be conscious for this," Bra insisted.

Bulma shook her head. "That's not going to give me a very good reading." She started taking out needles and vials.

Her mother sure kept a lot of strange things in her lab. It made her wonder if she'd done this kind of thing before. Of course, it only made sense that she had. She seemed so confident about this procedure.

"Well, can I meditate instead? I don't like the idea of things forcing me to sleep," Bra said. She eyed the medical equipment and frowned.

"Just like your father. Fine. Meditation is just as good," Bulma told her. She put the needles away.

Bra sighed.

"I'm already getting strange readings, but it may just be the fact that you're still active," Bulma said. "Go ahead. I have a feeling your father's back for lunch. I'll be back to study the readings."

Her mother left the lab.

She would soon have to figure out what song she should sing to Goten, but now was not the time try to find out what that song would be. She had to concentrate on the task at hand...

--after quite a while--

Bra yawned and stretched a bit. She'd fallen asleep during her meditation. That was a sure sign that she really needed the rest. Usually when she meditated, she couldn't fall asleep for the life of her. Well, this time she had. Looking around, she noticed that she was still in the lab. She had been laying on the examining table, but there was now a blanket covering her. Her mother must have put it there.

She felt around her head for the electrodes. They were no longer there. And the electroencephalogram was gone as well. But at the table beside her lay a note scribbled in her mother's handwriting:

Bra,

I found an interesting wave hidden on your EEG. I'm taking it to the main lab in order to study it more. I'll do all I can to find out what this is, but it's going to take some time. There are a couple of packages of sliced roast beef in the fridge in case you're hungry. I'll see you later.

Mom

Boy, it was like her mother was able to read her mind. She was starving. She hadn't eaten all day. And for a Saiyan to go all day without eating was a sin.

After she stretched one last time, she made her way into the kitchen and raided the fridge. She put together 8 roast beef sandwiches and grabbed a bag of chips. Strangely enough, she was eating light. She sat in front of her light meal and sighed.

Her mother was studying a strange wave she'd found on Bra's EEG. What could it mean? What could this hidden wave tell them?

Just as Bra was about to bite into her 3rd sandwich, Nick came into the room.

"Good afternoon, Ms. Bra," Nick said to her. He looked at the pile of sandwiches strangely. Of course, he knew that she had a healthy appetite. Maybe it slipped his mind.

There was no malice today. She didn't feel as angry as she normally did when she encountered him, so luckily he would receive some pleasantness today. Besides, she wanted a favor.

"Hi, Mr. Carnage," Bra greeted a little too cheerfully.

Nick raised an eyebrow.

That must have been a dead give away. "What have you been up to all day?"

Nick sighed. "Well, I've been talking to your mom. She seems to have created this little machine, kinda like a lie detector, that measures changes in the atmosphere of the room to determine whether a person is leaving something out of a conversation or not." He frowned.

Now, that was the machine her mother was using on him the other day when he ended up telling her mother that he was attracted to her. Why would she be using it on him again? Hadn't she caused enough trouble for this poor guy?

"Needless to say, your mother now knows that I'm in a band," Nick went on. "Among other things I would rather have kept to myself."

Yeah, like the fact that he had been pining over her secretly since he arrived.

"She's also told me that she was running some sort of test on you," Nick said.

They just HAD to talk about that.

Before he was able to question her or say anything else about her end of things, she figured it was time to end the small talk and get on with what she'd wanted to talk to him about.

"Um, listen. I wanted to ask a favor," Bra began, completely ignoring his last statement.

"Favor? What kind of favor?" Nick asked.

Hook, line and sinker.

"A really big favor. A huge favor," Bra told him.

Nick looked at Bra strangely once again.

Bra sighed. Asking for someone's help had never been on her list of specialties, but when the stakes were this high, she'd gladly do anything. Especially if it meant at least POSSIBLY allowing Goten and her to be friends again. "I don't know if this is possible, but I really need your help. Actually, I need all of Eroder's help on this one."

"I'm listening," was all Nick said.

"I want to sing a song during your performance tonight," Bra blurted out. Damn! She'd wanted to say it in a better way.

Nick looked surprised. "What? Why?"

There was no way she was telling him about her relationship problems. No way.

Bra had clammed up.

"I mean, our set list was given to this particular club owner not long after we get the gig. If we make changes, it could seriously effect Eroder's reputation around town," Nick said.

Bra frowned. "I know. And I know that if I get up there and screw up or sound terrible, it could destroy what you've worked so hard to gain in this city. But believe me, it's for a good cause."

"I'm sorry, Bra. I can't do that. I mean, what about the rest of the band? Even if I did say yes to you, they wouldn't know about it till it's too late. And that wouldn't be very fair. I'd like to help you, but I just can't," Nick explained.

Bra looked a little surprised. She couldn't believe he was saying no to her. What was she going to do now? What if Goten decided to come to the show and she wasn't able to sing to him? What then? Well, she could still sing to him. It wouldn't be in front of a crowd or with accompanying instruments, but she could sing to him any time. This was a stupid idea anyway. She was stupid for thinking something like this would work.

"J. Geils Band was right. Love stinks," Bra muttered to no one in particular. She collected the rest of her late lunch and was about to depart when Nick stopped her.

"Hold on, there," Nick said. "You didn't say anything about love. I'm a real sucker for love. Is that what this is all about?"

Bra rolled her eyes. She shouldn't tell him anything. He hadn't even put forth an effort to try to help her. He held the key to her possible happiness, yet he was about to throw it all out the door before he even knew why she wanted to do a song with them.

"I've lost someone very special to me and I'm trying to win him back," Bra responded rather plainly. She may have sounded like she didn't care, but she did. She cared almost a little too much.

Nick nodded. "Well, that changes everything. I know you probably don't want to talk to me about it. That's okay. I understand. But I'd like to do whatever I can to help."

Yeah, yeah. Blah, blah, blah. Why couldn't he just help her before. He knew he had the power to help her. What a jerk!

"Now, I've been known to give really good advice when it comes to relationships," Nick started.

"No thanks. If you could reserve a spot for me to sing, that's really all I need," Bra cut him off. Not a good idea. That was kinda rude of her. Especially when she was the one who wanted a favor.

Nick smiled and shook his head. "I don't even know why I suggested it. I should know better by now. Alright. You can do your song. But I'm warning you, singing on stage is nothing like singing in the shower."

"I know that," Bra told him. "I don't sing in the shower anyway. That's ridiculous."

Nick thought for a minute. "No. No, you don't. As a matter of fact, I've never even heard you sing."

"I'm not the singing type," Bra informed.

"Well, you'd better become the singing type quick," Nick said. "If you tell me what song it is, me and the guys will get it ready. I'll make it the last song of the set, so you'll have plenty of time to prepare."

--End Waves and Favors--

--Messed up ending for an episode, huh? Anyway, that's it. Hope you enjoyed it. Thanks for reading.

--Thank you for the reviews, as always. Let me know what you think about this chapter. I know it seems a bit out of place, but...well, you'll just have to see where things go from here. Until next time...