Videl was in the passenger seat of a helicopter, hovering over the burning building she was called in to take care of. By the time she'd gotten there, most the floors had already gone up in flames, forcing the workers to flee to the roof. She had planned on just swooping down and rescuing them all, but according to the helicopter's pilot, there were…complications.

"The fire's causing a massive updraft, we can't get any closer!"

"What do you mean we can't get any closer, we have to!" Videl spat back at the pilot, too stressed about the situation to act politely. The pilot just shook his head in response, leaving the teenage crime-fighter to rack her brain for other solutions. That's when she saw the water tank. A perfectly perfect water tank, conveniently right there on the roof. She quickly informed the pilot of her new plan to rid the roof of flames and parted with no more than a 'wish me luck', despite the pilot's protests.

She jumped from the copter and landed on the roof a few meters below her with ease. It was when it came time to actually release the water from the tank that problems began to emerge.

Her first instinct after approaching the tank was to grab the valve to turn it—an instinct that she unfortunately obeyed. She hissed and flinched away upon touching the scorching valve. However, after shaking her hands lightly for a moment, put them back on said valve, fighting through the pain to try and turn it.

The second problem that arose was turning the valve itself, Videl didn't know if the heat had welded the valve to its axle, or if it was always this hard to turn, but being unable to actually release the damn water was really throwing a wrench in her plan. Her annoyance overtook her thoughts for the first few seconds of struggle, but it was soon replaced with a growing panic. Her stomach sank as she considered that she might not be able to turn the valve—that she might've just doomed herself by banking on this hunch she had.

Wait. She thought she felt the valve start to loosen, if only slightly. With newfound hope, she threw her bodyweight into each pull, tuning out the explosions she heard all around her. Videl was certain she could pull this off. Nothing could stop her now. Not even-

Boom. Another explosion, this one too impossibly close to ignore. She jumped slightly and looked up to find the tank falling toward her: the tank that was filled with hundreds of gallons of water. She opened her mouth to scream, but no sound came out. This was it. She covered her head and braced for the impact, knowing full well there was no chance of surviving it.

This was the end.

Thunk

"Jeez, Videl, that was close!" The loud noise and sudden exclamation brought her fearful and confused gaze up to some weirdo in a bright green costume holding up the very tank that had been set to collide with her head. Saiyaman…

The helmeted hero gulped under the perceived scrutiny of her wide-eyed stare. "I mean, um, Miss Videl." He cleared his throat and muttered a soft apology under his breath. After another moment of being silently stared at, he promptly sat the tank back upright and punched his fist right through it, letting all the previously contained water gush out like a fountain, grunting slightly as he did so. The released water immediately got to work dousing the surrounding flames.

The no-longer-trapped workers cheered as a few helicopters descended to save them, all stopping to thank Saiyaman before they left. The hero had a goofy grin plastered on his face as he assured everyone that it was simply all in a day's work. His grin faltered slightly, though, upon remembering who else was on that roof with him. He turned to look at Videl, trying his best not to look like a child being scolded.

Videl knew that she should take this opportunity to interrogate the masked vigilante. This was exactly the opportunity she had wanted, after all. She stood back up on shaky legs, not having realized she had fallen to her knees in the first place, and shook the soot from her legs. She opened her mouth to finally grill the guy that'd been pissing her off ever since she first met him, and…

Nothing came out. She shook her head and tried again, opening her mouth for a second time, but again, she was at a loss. She sighed.

"Miss Videl, I-"

"Thank you," she finally managed to choke out, "...for everything."

And with that, she took her leave.

so its been almost exactly a year since i last updated this. ive learned 2 different instruments since posting the last chapter. wild

as always, suggestions are much appreciated. thanks for reading