When You're a Superhero

3. You Better Keep Your Guard Up


Bulma, her father and Trunks had come to the inauguration of the new Capsule Corp. building and were by his side on the podium. There was a big crowd present to witness the grand opening, and of course, lots and lots of journalists. Countless cameras were pointed at Gohan and flashes went off from all directions.

The young scientist stood on the podium and tapped on the microphone, making sure it worked. He cleared his throat, his cheeks reddening, while the people quieted down and all eyes turned to him. He scanned the crowd for the familiar faces of his family and close friends, who had come to show him their support. The weight in his chest lessened as he spotted his mother, beaming with pride; his gaze glided over to his little brother, who had a big, happy grin on his face and waved at him; Krillin gave him a thumb up, and Yamcha winked at him. And though Piccolo wasn't there in person, Gohan knew the former god was watching over the scene from the Lookout.

This was a big moment for him, after all, and these people were his family. They had watched him grow up, they had always been there for him, so it was only natural for them to be present for one of the biggest milestones of his adult life.

He leaned closer to the microphone. It was time for his speech.

"Hello, I'm Dr. Son Gohan, and I'm the head scientist of the Capsule Corp. branch in Satan City. I have a PhD in physics, astrophysics, biotechnology, robotics, and engineering. " A murmur rose in the audience at his declaration. He gave a sheepish smile. "To tell you the truth, I didn't accept Bulma's promotion when she offered me the job at first. I didn't know if I was the most qualified, or the most experienced scientist for such an important position. I'm only twenty-three years old, and I was happy with the pace at which my career had been going. I'm not in any rush to get to the top."

He paused and swept his gaze over the crowd; they were listening to him in religious silence.

And then his heart skipped a beat.

He spotted Videl in the swarm of unknown faces. Her undivided attention was solely on him. The world around him seemed to fade away, and Gohan found himself getting lost in her beautiful eyes. Blood rushed to his face; his throat tightened; his heart pounded hard against his ribcage.

Bulma took a step toward him and called his name softly, jolting him out of his enamored daze. His blush deepened as he lowered his head, rubbing the back of his neck to try and calm his nerves.

It wasn't surprising that Videl had come to the inauguration, of course. It was a big event for the city, and a lot of people had come to witness it in person. Her friends from earlier were with her as well.

Still, he hadn't expected to see her again so soon after running into her at the coffee shop. And to have her eyes on him like that…

It rattled him.

Gohan frowned. It was annoying how much she affected him. Now was really not the time to get flustered.

He took a deep breath. He made a point not to look at Videl again as he reviewed his speech in his head, and where he had left off. And so he resumed speaking.

"If… If you think I only got the job because I know Bulma personally, you'd be absolutely right. But it's not that she put me ahead of other candidates because we're close. The truth is, there was no other candidate. Capsule Corp. is a family business. Bulma is like a mother to me, and I'm like a son to her ━ and that is why she gave me the head position. If her son Trunks were ready to take over, he'd be the one speaking to you today, not me." He motioned to the young boy standing by his mother and grandfather, who smirked and crossed his arms in a very Vegeta-like manner. Gohan smiled at Trunks and gave him a wink, before turning to the audience once more. "Anyway, despite my reservations about becoming the head scientist of Capsule Corp in Satan City, and while I'm still not sure I'm the best choice for the job, I am very much looking forward to it. I love science, I always have, and I want to be there to see it go forward. I want to be part of the progress, and I'm excited about what's to come. And I know I can make a difference. I may not be the most experienced scientist, but I'm capable, I'm hard-working, and I'll see that I meet all of your expectations ━ and exceed them. Most of all, I love what I do. I'm truly grateful to Bulma for the opportunity to keep doing what I love. I will keep striving to better myself and grow and, hopefully, become the leader Bulma believes I can be." He smiled. "I know I'm young, and I still have a lot to learn. Let's all work together and do our best, for science. Thank you."

The audience applauded with enthusiasm ━ it seemed that they liked his speech. Gohan smiled. And then he caught Videl's gaze once more, and a lump rose in his throat. He got flustered all over again, and yet he just couldn't look away. She was beaming as she clapped.

She was just too beautiful.

Gohan tore his eyes away from her, rubbing the nape of his neck uneasily. This silly crush truly couldn't have come at a worse time. With his new responsibilities as the head scientist of one of the most prolific companies in the world, he couldn't afford to get distracted.

Hopefully, he wouldn't be running into Videl again in the future ━ at least not as himself. Satan City may not be a big city, but it wasn't a small town either. Today was a special occasion, what with the inauguration. Sure, he had come across Videl at the coffee shop earlier as well, but that was just a fluke, right? How hard could it be not to cross paths with one person in a bustling city?


So that was how he knew her.

"Hello, I'm Dr. Eri," the brown-skinned woman introduced herself, holding out her hand to him. "It's an honor to be working for you, Dr. Son."

Gohan shook her hand dumbly, still trying to wrap his head around what was happening. He thought Videl's friend had looked familiar, but he couldn't have imagined that she would end up being his employee. Now he remembered where he had seen her before: he came across Eri a couple weeks ago, when he was walking out of Bulma's office and she was getting in. That must have been her job interview.

So, he happened to be the boss of Videl's roommate. That didn't mean he was necessarily going to meet her as himself. Maybe in passing, if she ever came to pick up Eri from work or something, but even that was unlikely. And even if it actually happened, avoiding Videl wouldn't be difficult. He was still determined not to get involved with her as his real identity.

The rest of the scientists introduced themselves to him, and Gohan shook many hands that morning. Most of his new employees were pleasant, but some of the older folks had sour looks on their faces and tried to hide it with forced smiles. Gohan supposed it couldn't be helped. He was young, and they probably didn't think he would be up to the task.

He knew it wasn't going easy to be taken seriously because of his youth and lack of experience, but Gohan hoped they eventually saw what he was made of. He knew he was good at what he did. Bulma didn't appoint him just because they were close friends ━ he was capable and diligent. Surely, in time, they would see it too, right?

After everyone introduced themselves, it was time to get to work. Unfortunately, since it was the first day and he was the head of the company, Gohan had administrative procedures to take care of. So he excused himself from the staff and went to his office.

He didn't really mind doing the paperwork, but that wasn't why he became a scientist. Gohan supposed it just came with the job.

Alone in his office, Gohan turned on a news channel on the radio for background noise. And, well, if the Great Saiyaman happened to be needed somewhere, he wouldn't mind taking a break from the boring paperwork for some action.

This morning was surprisingly uneventful, however. Or could it be that yesterday was the odd one out? Perhaps crime wasn't as frequent as it had been then. Four times a day did seem a little too much ━ and those were the crimes he had come across with.

Although, maybe listening to the news wasn't the best way to catch an ongoing crime. They would usually report what happened after the fact, right? Or it would have to be something really big to be on the news while it was going on.

Gohan frowned. This wouldn't do. If he wanted to help the police fight crime, he would need a better way to know when and where criminals acted.

Maybe he could fly around the city? He was at work, though. He couldn't just randomly leave for the possibility of finding bad guys to stop.

What would really help would be to get his hands on a police radio. That way he would always be caught up on what was going on in the city. He couldn't possibly steal one, though. That would be a crime, and he was supposed to stop them, not commit them.

But maybe… An idea was starting to form in his head.

Maybe he could hack into the police's frequency.

Okay, so it wasn't exactly legal, but neither was vigilanting for that matter. Sometimes, you had to bend some rules for the better good. And hacking a radio frequency was definitely the lesser of two evils.

Gohan looked back at the stacks of paperwork on his desk that he had yet to complete, but he found himself unable to focus on that anymore. Perhaps if the work had been remotely interesting… But he couldn't stop thinking about his idea, and Gohan itched to start on it right away. Besides, the stacks of paper weren't going anywhere, right? And he was the boss now, so it wasn't like he risked getting in trouble.

Having successfully managed to convince himself that he wouldn't be doing anything wrong ━ not that he had needed much convincing ━ Gohan got out of his office and walked to the elevator. While he waited for it to arrive, he made a mental list of all the parts he would need to build a radio and hack into the police frequency. It would've probably been easier to just go out, buy a radio and go from there, but Gohan liked building stuff. He did have a PhD in engineering, after all.


Erasa craned her neck, her head turning left and right as she scanned the Capsule Corp. restaurant.

"Where's your boss?" she asked Eri, who rolled her eyes at her blonde friend. "He doesn't have lunch with the rest of you?"

"It's our first day, so how would I know?" Eri shrugged. "I think I heard that he started working on something this morning and he hasn't gone out of the lab since then. I guess he must've lost track of time."

Erasa leaned back on her chair and crossed her arms, her lips puckering out in a pout. "Aww, that's too bad. I wanted to meet him!" She stared into space with a silly smile on her lips and a blush across her cheeks. "He's so dreamy! And he's our age, too."

Eri turned her head away in hopes of hiding her blush. It was hard not to agree with Erasa on this. Her new boss was undeniably a very handsome man.

"I liked his speech," Videl commented. "He seems very humble and down to earth, but also conscious of his own worth. I think Bulma made the right choice, making him the head scientist, even if he's pretty young."

"I don't think she was much older when she took the direction of the company," Eri added. "I met him briefly earlier, and he seems very nice. And it doesn't feel like an act or anything, he really seems like a genuinely nice person."

Erasa sighed dreamily. "You're so lucky, you get to see him every day. I should've been a scientist…"

Her friends shared a look at the idea of the bubbly blonde who barely passed math in high school working as a scientist, and they burst out laughing.

Erasa giggled along, unable not to agree that it was a ridiculous thought.

"I'm just saying, I wish I had an excuse to see him every day," she said. "He's totally my type."

"If you hang around here to see Eri, you're bound to bump into him," Videl reasoned with a shrug.

"So, what, now I'm just a means to get to a cute guy? I see how it is." Eri crossed her arms and turned her head away, feigning hurt.

Erasa giggled. "It's more like, I get to see you, and as a bonus I might meet a cute guy."

Eri smiled. "That's better."

"I wonder if he has a girlfriend," Erasa mused, her eyes glazing over to the ceiling.

"He's kinda known not to show interest in anyone," Eri said. "From what I've heard, women hit on him a lot, but he's completely clueless. And he was never seen with anyone, either. I guess he's just all about the work."

Videl titled her head at the information. She was pretty sure Eri's boss did a double-take when he saw her in the audience during his speech, and he got flustered when their eyes met, too. Bulma even had to snap him out of it. She wasn't sure what it meant, if maybe he recognized her as Mr. Satan's daughter and got starstruck, or if he just reacted to seeing a pretty girl. Either way, it kinda looked like he did show some interest, unlike what Eri had heard about him.

"Well, that's no fun," Erasa said with a pout. Then she perked up. "But maybe he just hasn't met the right person yet."

At that moment, the subject of their conversation walked into the company's restaurant. He looked around to find himself a table, but then he stopped dead in his tracks when he met Videl's gaze. His eyes widened and his face flushed, and then he quickly looked away and walked briskly to an empty table, using his menu to hide his crimson face.

Videl raised her eyebrows. That wasn't the usual reaction when one saw a celebrity. People would normally walk up to her and ask for an autograph, a selfie or something like that. But Eri's boss just got flustered and acted like he was trying to avoid her. How odd.

Erasa and Eri, who had their backs to the entrance, hadn't seen him walk in. Videl pondered whether she should tell them he just got here.

She saw him get a stack of paper out of his briefcase and start filling them in, a thoughtful frown across his face. He seemed busy anyway, and didn't look like he wanted to socialize right now, so maybe it would be best to leave him be. Which wouldn't be possible if Erasa saw him. Videl decided not to say anything.

She let her eyes trail on his features. She had to admit, Erasa was right. The man was very handsome. He had black hair that spiked up save from a lone lock curling over his forehead, but it didn't look like he was using any gel to make it look that way. He was wearing glasses, and the thin frame suited him. He had very fine traits, with dark eyes, a straight nose, high cheekbones, a defined jaw, and thin but full lips. His neck was quite thick too, and he had broad shoulders, hinting at a fit physique beneath his clean suit. Videl smiled in appreciation. It was no wonder that women hit on him a lot.


Gohan had decided to try and distract himself by getting some work done. He had finished the radio before lunch and was currently wearing an earpiece connected to the police's frequency which would turn on automatically any time something happened, but now he did need to catch up on the work he blew off this morning.

It was quite inconvenient that Videl was friends with one of his employees, but he supposed there was nothing he could do about it. He would just have to make sure to avoid meeting her as himself. Even if they kept crossing paths, that didn't mean they were bound to meet at some point. Even if Eri ended up introducing her to him, Gohan would just need to politely shake her hand and then excuse himself to avoid further contact. It should be okay, right?

He focused on the paperwork as he ate at a slow pace. At least, he should be done with this before the end of the day, and then he could finally do the work he was actually interested in.

He suddenly sat upright when the radio turned on in his ear. At the same moment, a beeping sound went off nearby. Gohan distractedly followed the noise as he listened to the police report. He raised his eyebrows as Videl stopped the noise by pushing a button on her wristwatch and started talking to it. From what he picked up, her interlocutor was telling her about what Gohan was listening to from the police's frequency. Was that how they contacted her when they needed her help?

It was a bank robbery and a hostage situation this time. Gohan quickly put his stuff away and rushed outside, leaving his unfinished lunch behind. He picked up the pace as he slipped into a deserted alley and jumped onto the roof of the closest building so he could transform into Saiyaman from there.

He saw Videl rush out of the restaurant and throw a capsule on the ground. She was most likely on her way to the same bank.

"Where is that bank, anyway?" Gohan wondered out loud. He was still new to the city after all. He supposed he should study a map of the area so that kind of thing didn't happen in the future. It was fortunate that Videl was going there as well. For now, he only needed to follow her.

She got in her jetcopter and took off. Gohan flew after her, making sure to fly high above her so she wouldn't see him. Looking down, he used the opportunity to take mental notes of the city from above.

Truth be told, he was kinda excited to be fighting crime with Videl again. While he couldn't allow himself to meet her as himself, he had no such restriction as his superhero self. They could even become friends. He smiled at the thought.

Too bad they could never be more than that, Gohan thought before he could stop himself. He blushed.

Soon enough, he saw police cars surrounding a bank in the distance, and Videl's jetcopter started to descend. His brow furrowed behind his visor, sensing many energy signatures inside the bank, most of them feeling terrified. That was a lot of hostages. He didn't know how Videl usually handled that kind of situation, but since she had been fighting crime for several years, he figured she knew what she was doing. Still, he was sure they could use his help.

She was already speaking with a ranked policeman when Gohan landed behind them. They turned around at the sound of his boots clacking on the pavement.

"Saiyaman," Videl said, her eyebrows raised in surprise. His lips twitched for a smile. She finally said his superhero name correctly.

"Hello, Videl. Captain," he added, nodding to the man in uniform. "May I be of assistance?"

"Actually, as I was telling Videl," the police captain started, "the robbers in there claim they have explosives."

Gohan's lips pursed tightly. This did not sound good.

"And they're telling us to back off and let them get away or they're going to blow up the place," Videl continued. "They say they strapped a bomb on one of the hostages."

"The SWAT team is on their way," the older man informed. "But from the look of it, I don't think we have a choice. We have to do as they say. We can't risk the lives of the hostages."

Gohan nodded gravely. "It's a good thing I'm here. I'll make sure nobody gets hurt and that the criminals don't get away."

Videl crossed her arms, a doubtful expression on her face. "And how do you plan to do that? If we try to stop them, they'll detonate the bomb. And we can't do anything until the SWAT team gets here."

"Let me take care of the bomb," Gohan said, placing a hand against his chest. "And once everyone's safe, we can catch the robbers."

She frowned deeply at him. "What do you mean, 'take care of the bomb'? You know how to disarm a bomb?"

"Don't worry about that and just leave it to me." Gohan cracked a smile. "You don't still think I'm a supervillain, do you?"

Videl blushed and looked away. "Of course not." She met his gaze again, her expression serious. Gohan felt his chest tighten at the way her eyes narrowed with suspicion. "But the fact is, we don't know you, and we can't be sure that we can trust you."

He tilted his head. "Do you have a choice right now, though? When is the SWAT team supposed to arrive?"

Videl pursed her lips. He knew he had her here.

"It's true that we don't know anything about you," the captain stated. "But we can't deny how helpful you were yesterday. The Chief is still on the fence about you, but she said to give you a chance to prove yourself. We certainly need all the help we can get."

Gohan smiled. "That's good to know. I promise to prove myself worthy of your trust."

The older man nodded and they shook hands. Videl was still frowning, however, her arms crossed defensively. She was clearly not convinced.

Gohan looked at her and held out his gloved hand to her. "Will you give me a chance to prove myself, Videl?"

Her gaze dropped to his outstretched hand, eying it warily. In the end, she sighed and let her shoulders relax, uncrossing her arms to shake his hand.

"Fine. Do your thing. It's better than waiting for the SWAT team and letting a bunch of criminals go free."

Gohan nodded his head, still shaking Videl's hand. He kinda wished he wasn't wearing gloves right now, unwittingly longing to feel her skin directly. He quickly pulled his hand away and berated himself mentally for such thinking. He had got to stop his mind from wandering there, especially when he needed to focus on something much more important than his silly crush.

"Let the robbers know they can go," he instructed the police captain. "Once I'm done with the bomb, you guys can go after them, and I'll quickly join you."

The man nodded in understanding and used his radio to inform his squad of their plan.

"How are you going to disarm the bomb?" Videl asked. "Can you really do that?"

Gohan could see her mind reeling as she observed him. Was she trying to gather clues as to who he really was? How cute.

He gave her a mysterious smile. "Not exactly. But don't worry, I know what I'm doing."

She was still frowning, clearly not satisfied with his vague answer. He figured telling Videl what he was actually planning to do would probably not be a good idea. She had no idea what he was capable of, and she might try to stop him, thinking he would be putting his life in danger. He had no time to explain to her just how strong he was, or to convince her he would be alright, so it was better to leave it at that for now.

The robbers were coming out of the bank. Gohan frowned deeply as they dragged a hostage with them despite having strapped a bomb to another one in the bank. Those guys weren't leaving anything to chance. Even after he dealt with the bomb, the police force would have trouble stopping them as long as they kept an innocent woman hostage.

They drove off in their getaway jeep. Gohan gave Videl a nod and rushed inside the bank, looking as though he had phased out of thin air and was replaced by a gust of wind.

The young woman blinked at the spot the superhero had stood just a moment before. How could anyone be that fast?

Shaking herself out of her astonishment, Videl ran into the bank, making her way through all the other hostages who hurried out to get as far away as possible from the explosives. Saiyaman was crouched down before the unfortunate man that the robbers had chosen to strap their bomb on.

He caught Saiyaman's hand, stopping the superhero from reaching the hook to unclasp the bomb around his torso. "Don't," the man said, his lips quivering. "If you touch it, it'll go off."

"I know what I'm doing," Saiyaman affirmed, his tone confident, doubtless. "Trust me."

The man gulped thickly. "I… I have kids, and a wife. I can't die."

"You won't. Not on my watch."

The hostage let go of Saiyaman's hand and shut his eyes tightly, nodding his head to give him the go-ahead.

"What are you going to do?" Videl couldn't help asking, taking a step forward. Saiyaman looked at her over his shoulder.

"No time to explain. Just trust me on this."

After he said that, everything happened in a blur. Saiyaman unstrapped the bomb so fast it took him less than a second, and Videl barely had the time to widen her eyes in shock at what he had done that he was already out of the bank and flying away.

A faraway detonation sounded off the next moment, and the earth shook. Videl held her balance; her heart was racing. What had Saiyman done? Did he just… sacrifice his own life to save that man? Or could he have somehow survived the explosion? Or maybe he threw the bomb far away enough so as not to get caught up in the blast? He said he would help catch the robbers as soon as he was done "taking care of the bomb". He meant that, didn't he? He didn't just die on them when he had only begun his superhero career, did he?

She ran outside, unable to stand the suspense. She had to know what happened, even if a part of her dreaded what awaited her out there.

Relief washed over her as the superhero floated down, dusting himself off. His suit was torn in some part and the edge of his cape was singed, but other than that he looked totally unharmed.

Did he actually just survive the explosion of a freaking bomb? Just how powerful was this man? How was it even possible?

He spotted her and smiled, holding out a hand to her. "Care for a lift? I think the police's gonna need our help stopping the robbers since they took a hostage with them."

She blinked and accepted his hand dumbly. He pulled her to him and carried her against him with one arm around her waist. She distractedly noted that the uncovered part of his face turned redder. He turned his helmeted head away and cleared his throat.

Videl couldn't help the smirk tugging at her lips. Was he getting flustered over holding her close to him? The same man who just got caught in an explosion and came out unscathed?

Without a word, he took off after the sound of police sirens. Videl wrapped her arms around his neck as he tore through the sky. She stared at the scenery zipping past in a blur, blinking at the wind in her eyes. Flying like this, with only this man holding her, it was so different than piloting an aircraft. It felt… invigorating.

And he was definitely not using any trick. She turned her attention to his helmeted head. Just who was this Saiyaman? How could he be so strong? How could any of his powers be real? Where did he come from? How did he come to be? In comic books, superheroes were either from another world or the result of an accident involving some kind of science experiment, not to mention those who simply devoted their lives training to be the strongest they could be. It was pretty silly to compare real life to comic book characters, but it was the only source material that dealt with people like the Great Saiyaman.

She felt the urge to take off his silly-looking helmet, but Videl figured now was probably not to best time for such an attempt. They had to focus on catching the criminals and saving the hostage first and foremost. Unmasking Satan City's new superhero would come after that.

The police cars were still chasing the runaway jeep. The robbers on the truck shot at them with machine guns. Saiyaman swooped in as one of the police cars got shot in the tires and swerved out of control. Without letting go of Videl, he landed on the pavement and steadied the car with his spare hand, stopping it dead in its tracks.

Videl stared in shock. His hand even left an imprint on the hood of the car. She recalled him saying he stopped the armored truck yesterday, and that he left an imprint of his foot on the hood, but seeing it happen wasn't the same as hearing about it in passing.

The man actually stopped a car with one hand, like it was nothing, like he was catching a slow ball. Videl raised her head to him, unable not to stare. Just who was this man?

"Everyone okay?" he asked the policemen. They nodded from inside the car, and Saiyaman nodded back before taking off to the sky again.

"How did you do that?" she couldn't help asking him. He chuckled.

"Would you believe me if I said I just trained a lot?"

"What do you think I've been doing all my life? And I'm nowhere near your level. You're like… a superhuman."

He turned his attention ahead. They had reached the robber's getaway jeep. "I guess that's not very far from the truth."

He dove to the road, flying over the jeep to land right in front of it. He stopped the vehicle dead in its track with his foot, thrusting the robber forward and over them from the impact, as they hadn't been wearing their seatbelts. Unfortunately, the hostage hadn't been wearing hers either, but Saiyaman reacted quickly and, without letting go of Videl, jumped and caught the woman in his other arm while the criminals landed painfully onto the pavement.

Saiyaman let go of both of them and turned to the criminals who were getting back to their feet, while the woman moved out of the way and quickly hid behind the jeep. Videl shook herself out of her astonishment at the superhero's feats and faced the law-breakers as well, clenched her fists as her traits hardened.

"There's five of them," Saiyaman said. "Shall we team up?"

She smirked. "Heh. Why not."


Gohan had trouble focusing on his task; his gaze kept straying to Videl as she fought two criminals at once. She was so… graceful. The way she moved, her skills, her technique… She was truly an amazing fighter.

She was so distracting that one of the robbers facing him managed to land a punch in his stomach. The hit didn't faze him, obviously, but Gohan blinked in shock that one of them actually managed to touch him. He frowned and forced himself to focus. It was time to put an end to this. He caught two arms and blocked an incoming kick with his knee, before pushing the two men he had a hold of into each other and kicking the third guy in the gut in the same motion. The three dropped instantly.

He glanced over at Videl, to see how she was handling herself. One of her opponents was already out cold, the one still standing didn't look like he would be lasting much longer.

Just as the thought left his mind, Videl delivered a powerful uppercut into the man's chin, the force of the hit throwing him back several feet.

Gohan felt a lump rise in his throat. His face burned. Why did he find her strength and skills so damn attractive?

The policemen came up to them with handcuffs. Gohan shook his head. He supposed his job was done now. He might as well get back to Capsule Corp.

"Hey, wait," Videl called him just as he was about to take off. He looked at her over his shoulder. She stepped closer. "Would you mind… taking me back? I left my jetcopter by the bank."

He rubbed the back of his neck. He was getting flustered just thinking of holding Videl against him again. It had been pretty brash of him, to offer Videl a lift like that earlier, but it had seemed like the most logical step at the time since he was much faster than any existing vehicle, and he knew Videl wouldn't want to be left behind to stop the bad guys.

He cleared his throat. "Um, okay."

She walked up to him the rest of the distance and wrapped her arms around his neck. Gohan felt himself flush. His breathing deepened as he found himself drowning in her deep blue eyes, staring back at him. She was so damn close. This was a bad idea. He just felt so drawn to her.

He tore his gaze away from her and swallowed thickly. Unknown to him, Videl smirked in amusement. He's getting flustered because of me again.

"Well? Shall we go?"

He nodded his head and picked her up in his arms, slipping one hand under her knees while the other rested against her back.

"Back to the bank, then?" he asked as he started levitating. He was glad the news crews hadn't made it to the scene yet, or they would have made the front page for sure.

"Actually, can you bring me to Capsule Corp.? My friends must be waiting for me there."

He turned to look at her. "What about your jetcopter?"

She shrugged. "It's fine. The police can keep it for a bit, and I'll go pick it up another time."

He supposed she must have more than one means of transportation. "Alright." At least this way, he wouldn't be making a detour before getting back to his workplace.

He took off and flew at a leisure pace, not wanting the wind to bother his passenger if he flew too fast.

His consideration went unnoticed as Videl had other things in mind. She couldn't believe her luck, that Saiyaman was holding her with both arms this time. It was an opportunity she couldn't miss.

But, with his superspeed, she supposed she wouldn't be able to get very far if she started to undo the clasp of his helmet. Even if he was at a disadvantage with both his hands busy, she wasn't sure she could just take his helmet off his head.

She would need to distract him. An idea started forming in her mind. He did get flustered just from holding her close to him… Videl didn't usually resort to that kind of thing, and she didn't really like it, but she would feel foolish if she didn't even try. She probably wouldn't get another shot at it ━ if she failed this time, it was unlikely Saiyaman would ever let her be this close to him again.

She twirled a finger on his torso in what she hoped was a flirtatious way. "So… do you have a girlfriend?"

She felt some pride as the almighty superhero faltered in mid-air for a second. He caught himself quickly and turned to her, the uncovered part of his face bright crimson.

"Wh… What?"

She smiled coyly, running her fingers along the bulge of his pectoral muscle up to his clavicle. "I mean… you're young, aren't you?" She traced the contour of his mouth. "You have no lines here. And you have a strong, defined jaw." She trailed her fingers along his jawline as she said that. "Surely you must be handsome behind that silly helmet, aren't you?"

She enjoyed the way he was completely frozen to her advances. He was blushing so much, too. His lips were parted, and rapid, shallow breaths were slipping in and out of them.

Perfect. She reached for the clasp of his helmet. He didn't seem to notice. Videl could've patted herself on the back. Who knew she could be so skilled at flirting? She certainly wasn't used to it, but it had done the trick. As long as Saiyaman's attention was on her, and not on what she was fiddling with, in a matter of moments, his eyes would be staring back at her instead of the black visor of his helmet.

She reduced the space between them, to make sure she kept him distracted as she tried not to get caught while she undid the clasp of his helmet. Videl felt her face flush despite herself as their lips were inches apart. Her breathing deepened. She swallowed.

"V… Videl?" he croaked out.

She found herself staring at his lips. Her throat tightened. It was just a physical reaction, she reasoned. She was a red-blooded woman after all, and Saiyaman was a strong, muscular man with a very enticing mouth.

Click. Videl bit her lip, hoping Saiyaman didn't notice the sound of her unhooking the clasp of his helmet. She grabbed the contraption with both hands ━ if she wanted this to work, she needed to work fast and not give Saiyaman a chance to stop her.

"Wai… Wha…?"

She had just uncovered his nose when the superhero pulled his head back and stretched out his arms to keep her out of reach. The strap of his helmet was dangling along his jaw.

Videl scowled. So close!

"You… You tricked me."

She couldn't help the smirk tugging at her lips. "Can't blame me for trying."

He swallowed hard. "So, just now… that was just an act?"

She tried to reach for his helmet, but Saiyaman's arms were longer than hers so her attempts were futile. "What, you're disappointed?"

He pursed his lips and turned away. Videl felt kinda bad to have misled him. She may not be able to see much of his face, but she could tell he was upset that she played him.

"Let's just go." He moved her in his arms to hold her with just one, hooking the clasp of his helmet with his now free hand. "And don't try that again."

"Can't make any promises here." She smirked, amusement dancing in her eyes. "Just because I failed just now doesn't mean I'm done trying to unmask you, Saiyaman."

He chuckled. His shoulders seemed to relax. "Fair enough. I guess I'll just have to keep my guard up, huh?"

He resumed flying, going faster this time. Videl observed his helmet, wondering what the young man looked like without it, and if, indeed, he was actually handsome under there. Her gaze dropped to his mouth once more, and Videl felt her face heat up. She quickly looked away.

The giant dome that was Capsule Corp. soon came into view. Saiyaman landed in a quiet alleyway nearby, obviously trying to avoid attracting unwanted attention, and let go of her.

"Thanks for the lift," she said. "But don't think this is over. I'm going to find out who you are eventually, one way or another."

He chuckled. "Good luck with that."

He turned, getting ready to take off when Videl's voice stopped him.

"And just so you know," she said. He looked at her over his shoulder, waiting for her to continue. She blushed and played with her hair. "Earlier… it wasn't all an act. I just wanted to make that clear."

Saiyaman stayed silent, his expression impossible to read because of his hindering helmet.

"Okay."

And with that, the superhero turned and flew away. Videl wasn't sure why she had felt the compulsion to tell him that, and she didn't really know what to make of his reaction.

Regardless, it looked like she just found herself a new hobby.

Up on the roof of a nearby building and freshly out of his disguise, Gohan looked down at the young woman with a smile on his face. He had a feeling Videl was going to make his life a whole lot more interesting.


July 2, 2021