I wish I owned DBZ, but I don't. I own DVD's and tapes, but it just isn't the same. Nor do I own any legal imprinting of whatever theme I'm using, such as a crossover with another anime, movie or TV series. Did I think it up? Yes. Was I the first to think it up? Probably not, but I digress. I also don't own the rights to any of the music pieces you see selected, just the merchandise, such a shame. The artists that created them are geniuses and we all must bow to them.
Chapter 1: Earth, One Year Later.
Birds chirped happily as the bright yellow sun peaked over the horizon of West City. The taller buildings glistened in the warm light, bouncing the reflection down towards the surface. It was still early, so all was quiet save for a few cars on the road. It was relaxing enough for young Trunks Briefs to ignore his alarm and roll over to catch a few more minutes of slumber. Like sleep though, all silence comes to an end eventually.
"Trunks! Get up or you'll be late for school!"
Trunks rolled his eyes slightly, "I'm coming."
"TRUNKS!" Bulma called out again.
"I'm coming already!" Trunks shouted.
It had been about eleven months since the battle with the demon Vang and it had passed fairly quickly without many notable incidents. There had been plenty of changes with time as there always are, but this kind of peace had been rare ever since Majin Buu's appearance. Trunks still felt the need to hurry and dress, but only to avoid the possibility of his mother suddenly barging in. He could sense both her and his baby sister Bulla downstairs, likely preparing breakfast. He didn't sense his father Vegeta, but that was hardly any different than any other day due to the properties of the gravity room. By now, the Saiyan Prince would normally be well into his morning training and would not want to be disturbed, even for food.
Trunks slipped on a loose jacket and headed downstairs as he continually rubbed the sleep from his eyes. He wasn't looking forward to this day to say the least. Bulma had enrolled him into junior school, which was not even required to attend high school for them. For Trunks, it was only a path to boredom, as there was a very good chance he would be above the average teacher's level of intelligence. That aside, since Chichi had also signed up Goten, he agreed so that he could at least be with his friend. Due to the distance involved, both would attend in Satan City; nearby where Gohan and Videl had just finished and graduated from Orange Star High. The newlywed couple had opted to stay at the Satan Mansion until Gohan had built his own house. Despite many offers from Hercule Satan, Gohan hadn't budged on the idea of building their house himself without any help aside from his father occasionally. That project still had yet to get very far off the ground though, as Gohan was also attending Orange Star University. College seemed to be a long ways off for Trunks, making him dread his first school day even more.
I wish Verto had to go too. At least then it wouldn't be completely lame. Trunks remembered the conversation that his mother and Verto had, though it was very one-sided. Trunks could still recall Verto's answer nearly word for word.
"I went through it once, never again. Try to make me go and I will get myself expelled before the lunch hour," Verto had said at the time.
The more Trunks listened to those memorable words, the more he wanted his mother to push the issue. Verto's in-school creativity would have likely entertained him and Goten for at least a month. He silently held onto hope that there would be a surprise this morning, but Verto was nowhere nearby. The older, adopted brother was likely up and training already or possibly making his rounds before his own study session began. Only in this case, Verto was the teacher. Several months prior, Verto offered Trunks some energy sword training at his place in the woods. Trunks had accepted since he didn't have anything better to do and he wanted to improve his Ki Sword technique. When he had gotten there though, he hadn't expected to have to cut through a hard metal block right off the bat. Verto had explained that it was only there for a goal, but invited Trunks to try anyway. The first time his Ki Sword had bounced right off. He didn't know what the metal was, but when he couldn't even damage it with his fist or an energy blast, it clearly wasn't normal. The other big block had been sliced up into randomly sized cubes, many with scorch marks dotting their surfaces. This showed Trunks that Verto had perfected the same technique to an extreme, even without his Mystic Psionic powers. He even showed off a new technique he had developed from that training, one that Trunks hoped he never had to go up against. After explaining that "our energy is a muscle too", Verto set Trunks to a specific training method that he came up with himself. Trunks' assignment was rounds of chopping wood with his Ki Sword. The first several times he splintered and incinerated every piece of wood he cut into. Verto then went through an entire tree with barely even a burn mark, demonstrating how precise he had gotten with his own Ki Sword. It took Trunks nearly two months of practice to get close to that point, but eventually he was able to manipulate his golden blade to slice the Kachin block in half and cleanly cut wood with barely a breath. This precision training had helped him immensely with energy output control, something that his father even struggled with at times. His most powerful attacks no longer took nearly as much energy to use, and he could use them more often or make them stronger as needed. It didn't necessarily make his power level that much higher, but it would make him much more proficient in battle.
During the training, Verto had called Mister Satan up there to help him build a small open arena similar to the World Tournament stage, but with a roof overhead. He overheard them speaking of trainees but Trunks was too caught up in his own work to notice. Eventually, Verto told him that he and Satan intended to give advanced training to martial artists who applied for it. Since Satan himself was onboard, getting a starting list of trainees was quite easy. Keeping them was a tad more difficult, but only due to the unruly and impatient ones. Trunks had yet to witness one of these classes, but had heard that out of over five hundred initial applicants, two had made it through the first day. Many of them were kicked out for failing to take Verto seriously, and the rest were booted for not knowing a thing about martial arts. Trunks even heard of one poor guy that had the nerve to tell Verto to go back to kindergarten. Knowing Verto like he did, he had probably let that one go without much aside from a disparaging comment. Apparently that particular person had also made the mistake of insulting Verto's human family in some way, which Trunks knew from experience was over the line of acceptable insults. He didn't know what the man had said, but Verto had been kind enough to call for a helicopter instead of an ambulance due to the blood loss and distance to the nearest hospital. After regrouping, Verto and Satan elected to give it a tiered approach. The applicants who were very green or even moderately skilled trained under Satan at his dojo. Only the very advanced would train under Verto once Satan deemed them worthy. There was another incident that Trunks heard about regarding Verto bumping heads with a former colleague of Satan's that hadn't fared as well as the world champ in the martial arts world. Trunks didn't get all the details of the incident, only that it was a very rich man that was very angry after something Verto did but he never heard what. Needless to say, that gave the now teenaged half-Saiyan a lot of free time. Trunks was still in disbelief that Verto had aged so quickly compared to him. He understood the circumstances somewhat, but it did annoy him a little bit. He never asked Verto directly about it, but at the same time he figured that Verto acted older so he might as well look older too. Trunks never asked what Verto spent his time on, but there were more than a few instances of a crime spree coming to an abrupt halt.
Trunks sighed slightly, I'd rather fight crime than go to school. As he made his way down for breakfast, his younger sister suddenly bolted over to him. Bulla, now age two, had a habit of suddenly charging towards whoever came into the room to greet them.
"Twunks!" Bulla squealed.
Trunks glanced at his mother, "When is she going to get that right?"
"Oh I remember when you were that age. You couldn't pronounce any other word besides 'food' most days," Bulma reminded. Trunks grimaced before looking down as Bulla tugged at his shorts for attention.
"Come on Bulla, say Trunks. Tra-unks," Trunks said as he slowed down his words.
Bulla turned her head in question, "Unks-Tra?"
"I give up," Trunks grumbled as he moved towards the table.
Bulma chuckled as Bulla gave off another squeal and ran across the room, "At least she isn't flying around or turning Super Saiyan yet. It's hard enough to keep track of her as it is. Hope you're hungry for eggs and bacon."
Trunks smiled as he sat down, "Always am!" Bulma set down a large plate in front of him before picking up Bulla to sit her in a booster chair. The plate was empty before Bulla was in her seat.
Bulma rolled her eyes, "Saiyans." Before Trunks could ask for more, the doorbell suddenly rang.
"Who could that be so early? We don't have anyone to answer the door at this hour," Bulma wondered.
Trunks got up, "I'll get it." Trunks scampered out of the room, nearly tripping over a few stray toys before reaching the front door. He was more than a little surprised when he saw who was on the other side.
"Officer Satsu?"
Sonny Satsu frowned slightly, "Detective, but close enough for you I suppose. Is your mother around? I'd like to speak with her if she'll have me."
Trunks turned his head a bit in question, "Sure I guess. Mom, it's for you!"
Bulma scowled in the dining room and promptly dropped a small plate in front of Bulla, "Now of all times? Why can't people come here when I'm not busy?"
"Hmph, you're always busy woman," Vegeta said as he made a sudden appearance, stinking of sweat from his morning workout.
"Training life must be nice. Well while you're eating can you…" Bulma started to ask.
Vegeta nodded, "Go on, I'll watch her." Bulma gave him a grateful look before pulling off her apron and walking quickly to the front lobby. It had been a pleasant surprise in the last year that Vegeta had taken extra time to spend with his kids, more than usual anyway. With all of the projects Bulma was working on, she really needed the help looking after the kids too. Trunks wasn't as much of a problem as Bulla was, but that was a given due to their age differences and activities. She discovered that Vegeta would often take over watching her, whether it was during his usual training times or even meal times when Bulma was too swamped. It was a welcome sight since it didn't happen much at all when Trunks was younger, except of course when it was time for Trunks to train as well. With Trunks starting school, she hoped that it would take some of the pressure off of her so she could get work done more quickly, but that wasn't a guarantee. Vegeta had yet to pull the 'if they can walk, they can train' trick with Bulla, but he seemed much more relaxed with his daughter than his son.
Bulma rolled her eyes at the thought, Of course, that's his little princess.
As she rounded the corner, she was a bit taken aback when she saw Sonny, "Oh Officer Satsu. What a pleasant surprise."
"It's Detective, may I come in?" Sonny asked.
Bulma gave Trunks a look of discouragement, "Certainly. My son should have already invited you in. Speaking of which, he should be getting ready for school."
"But I am ready Mom," Trunks claimed as he pointed to the bag on the lobby chair.
"Oh, well it's a long flight to Satan City so get going," Bulma hinted.
"An hour if I'm going as slow as the birds. School isn't for another hour and a half," Trunks replied.
Bulma grumbled inaudibly while Sonny couldn't help but laugh, "It's alright, this isn't confidential or anything. Actually he might be able to help me with some police work if he wants to."
Trunks' eyes lit up, "Awesome!"
Bulma folded her arms, "Trunks, school, now!" Trunks sulked and picked up his school bag before stepping out with a dejected expression.
Bulma shook her head, "Sorry you had to see that but I don't want him missing anything to go play hero. We have enough kids running around to cover that."
"If you're referring to your other son, then you would be correct. Is he here too by any chance?" Sonny asked.
"No, he doesn't stay here for more than a night or two per month anymore. Too busy with his training project or something," Bulma explained briefly.
"Well I understand busy. Ever since the merger I've had maybe three days off in the last four or five months. And lucky me, I get to travel the most," Sonny said in an annoyed tone.
"Oh that's right, the Global Police Force. Every section of the world is now under the same jurisdiction right?" Bulma asked.
"More or less. The original precincts are still the same and patrol the same areas. However for some of us without the uniform, it's becoming a pain in the ass. I'd say I make three trips between here and Satan City every day. Not so easy for us lowly humans, especially if I get called out to North or South City to investigate or consult on a simple case of jaywalking," Sonny explained.
"So, now there's another drawback to being a detective, I'm glad I didn't pursue that career."
"For me, there wasn't any other choice. The Satsu family has always been either military or law enforcement. I am proud to say though that I was the first detective."
Bulma nodded in approval, "Speaking of family, how is your brother Marcus doing?"
Sonny cleared his throat, "Cousin actually. Marcus was acquitted of all charges. They polygraphed him several times and found no evidence that he murdered his wife."
"Despite the guilty plea? And the fact that he shot that girl right in front of the police?" Bulma asked in surprise.
"Funny thing about that, the two that were with her testified that she had been controlling them with her odd ability. They both were polygraphed and passed. Added to that, the girl had multiple felonies and other suspicious activities noted on her rap sheet. Known association with a certain mad doctor that was the head of a former defunct organization didn't help. Marcus got a few months of probation and some re-education on how to properly use police channels. Barely a tap on the wrist," Sonny stated, motioning to tap his wrist a bit.
Bulma smiled, "Well that's great to hear. What is he up to now?"
"As of four months ago he is officially an officer of the GPF. There's even a detective's badge waiting for him if he decides to pursue it. He only needs to keep his nose clean for a few months. He's been doing a lot of undercover work around Satan City," Sonny said with a hint of pride.
"Well tell him I said good luck," Bulma said.
"I will. Speaking of those who don't use proper police channels, where can I get in touch with your other son?"
"Verto? Well you can find him out in the middle of nowhere. I can get you the location if you need to speak with him, but it would probably be easier if I asked him to just meet up here instead. I'm not sure how often he's actually there," Bulma explained.
"A location would do just fine, I've seen firsthand how stubborn that kid can be," Sonny said with a chuckle.
Bulma gave him a suspicious glance, "So is he in trouble for something?"
Sonny shook his head, "Not right now. I just want to remind him that the police are around for a reason. We don't need vigilantes running around and taking the law into their own hands. A crisis is one thing, a case that hasn't even gotten a suspect or even been reported is a whole difference can of worms. I understand that he has a strong sense of justice and wants to make sure some of these scumbags know it. But one slip up could bring unwanted attention by all the lawyers in the world. And because you're the legal guardian, you need to know what your kid is up to."
Bulma sighed heavily, "I knew he was looking into some very disturbing crimes. He hasn't killed any of them yet, has he?"
"No, but he's crippled a few. Don't get me wrong, those guys deserved it. He just needs to be more careful. Going up against crime bosses with a lot of money can be difficult because of the system that we have. They get anything on him and things will get hairy very quickly, so I stress the need to exercise caution," Sonny reminded.
"On that we agree. Here I'll pull up his current location on the tracker," Bulma said as she reached into her pocket. She pulled out a small white tablet with a blue screen and antenna on top. She turned it on and two light blue dots appeared on the screen.
"Ah you're in luck, he's pretty close by. I'll call his cell here in a minute," Bulma said.
"You have your kids low jacked?" Sonny asked.
"We've run into enough problems where we couldn't find each other. Verto fought it a bit until I gave him just a cell phone with GPS installed into it. Trunks has a microchip in his gloves so he doesn't have to wear a bracelet or something. You know kids and how they want to protect their image," Bulma said with a shrug.
"Still it's pretty nice. Ever consider making a few thousand of those for the GPF? We could use several for the parole violators.
"I'll think about it, I've got enough projects going on around here." A loud squeal pulled their attention as Bulla bounced into the room, with Vegeta following behind.
He promptly gave Sonny a nod, "Detective."
Sonny grimaced, Of course he would be the one to get it right. Another loud sound broke the thought process, coming this time from Sonny's cell phone inside his jacket.
"Satsu. What? Why is that bank open already, were they waiting for the manager to open the door or something? Fine I'll be right there, call all local officers in. I don't care who you have to wake up!"
Bulma's eyebrow went up, "Problem?"
"It seems we have a bank robbery in progress, even at this hour. Since I'm the second highest ranking officer in the region, I have to go deal with it. I don't suppose your husband could rush over there and handle things quickly?" Sonny hinted.
Vegeta's eyes darted to the right, "That's hardly necessary. My son won't even break a sweat with those cretins." Bulma glanced at her new radar as one of the blips suddenly turned around and moved south and west.
"Damn it, I should get him a set of headphones so he doesn't hear the alarms," Bulma noted in disgust.
Sonny chuckled, "Well at least it'll be quick."
Trunks quickly turned around and shot towards the sound of the bank alarms. He had nearly missed it due to the distance between him and the south side of town. The police sirens were easier to hear from where he was though, so he knew something was up when there were suddenly multiple flashing lights racing south. He arrived just as the police were setting up their lines outside the bank. He literally dropped in and startled them, but they relaxed slightly once they recognized him.
"What's going on?" Trunks asked.
The Sergeant was busily strapping on body armor, "Hostage situation. It seems the perps were waiting for the bank manager to open the doors this morning. What they didn't count on was a state of the art lock on the vault. We think they're trying to cut through while keeping the manager at gun point. Can you help?"
Trunks nodded, "No sweat!" He crossed the police line and was halfway up the stairs when a pudgy man in a suit stumbled out and fell down the stairs.
Trunks realized it was the bank manager and helped him up, "Are you alright? What happened?"
The manager stared at the police line, "You might want to call an ambulance!" Trunks' eyes widened and he rushed inside. Once he entered the building, he found a masked man lying on the floor, whimpering slightly with a large rifle laying a few feet away. Upon closer inspection, he saw that the masked thug had both arms broken and an easily shattered left leg, judging by the noticeable dent just under the knee cap. Trunks kicked the rifle away just in case, but the man was none too eager to even move towards it. He waved the police to come in as he moved on, slanting towards a large set of double doors. He could hear a lot of shouting coming from the vault room and attempted to sense the exact location of each life form present. Gunfire suddenly went off, breaking the glass on the doors and causing the officers to duck down. Shouting was replaced by painful screaming as several bodies suddenly hit the floor. Trunks gulped and levitated upwards to peer through the small window, noticing the hole in the ceiling first.
"Watch out Duke!" one of the remaining thugs managed to shout before his body came flying at the door Trunks was behind. He hit the doorway just right that he didn't go through and dropped to the ground. Trunks carefully repositioned and watched the last thug in the room, Duke, turn circles as if he was trying to pinpoint something.
"Stop moving so fast!" Duke ordered. Trunks' eyes narrowed as he picked up on the fast movement, but it was difficult even for him.
He finally sensed who had beaten him to the scene and sighed heavily, "How does he get here so fast at half strength and while suppressing his power?"
"Who?" The Sergeant asked.
"My brother." Another barrage of bullets went off before the last thug went down, or in this case, flying across the room. He gasped painfully as he slid down the wall opposite the door. A teenaged half-Saiyan with spiky shoulder length hair touched down in front of him, methodically snapping the machine gun that Duke used to have, into pieces as he landed.
Duke looked up at the green and blue martial arts uniform in fear, "You? Oh no!"
"Oh yes. Tell me something, scum. Who put you up to this?" Verto asked.
"No one! It was only me and my crew!" Duke claimed in fright.
"Come on, I wasn't born yesterday. This was too well planned for a bunch of misfits. Now tell me who it was and you'll only get jail time. If you don't, well let's just say that you'll be choking down more pain medication than these other fools combined for a long time," Verto warned.
Duke grinned, "You're bluffing! I know all about you and your friends! You won't hurt me, it goes against your code of honor and stuff!"
Verto grinned, "That's what they all have said, until the pain starts. Most living creatures want to avoid pain, it's a survival reflex. Where shall we start?"
Duke remained defiant, "You won't do anything! Not with the cops right outside and cameras all over the place! Torture wouldn't get you anywhere with me anyway! I've got balls of steel…"
Duke doubled over when Verto's boot slammed into his groin, "No Duke, you don't. But thanks for giving me a place to aim." Duke slumped to his side and appeared to go into a daze as only a slight wheeze escaped his mouth.
Verto shook his head in disgust, "Idiot. Come on in Trunks." Trunks slowly pushed the door open, brushing some loose papers out of its way, as well as the thug who had landed next to the door. The room looked like a tornado had come through with tables, chairs and cabinets strung about randomly. Duke and the rest of his men were scattered into similar painful postures, not one of them spared.
"You were a little rough on them," Trunks noted.
Verto shrugged, "Not really, but it's no less than they deserve. I gave them a warning. I am curious as to who put them up to this. Thugs like these are too stupid to plan it out this well, knowing that someone like you or me might drop in. They usually hit much later in the day."
"Well they clearly didn't plan for you though, how'd you get here so fast?" Trunks asked.
"Call it luck, I usually patrol West City first on Mondays. Not my fault you were slow getting here," Verto said.
"Well I start school today, otherwise I would've been here ten times as fast!" Trunks boasted.
"No, you would've been training with Vegeta by now. By the way, don't drop any teachers from the roof, I may not be fast enough to catch them," Verto reminded.
A groan from Duke pulled their attention as he managed to get to a sitting position, "You little bastard! I'm gonna rip your head off and shit down your…" Verto's foot found his jaw and he slammed into the wall again, completely knocked out.
"Try a different ripped off catch phrase, maybe I'll laugh," Verto spat at him. The doors pushed open as a swarm of police led by Sonny Satsu barged in.
"Ah hell, you didn't kill any of them did you?" he asked.
Verto smirked, "They'll live, painfully. I suspect that these are underlings though, let me know if you need help with the interrogations. I can lend my services."
One of the other thugs popped up as he was being surrounded, "Please arrest me! Anything but that kid again!"
"Looks like we have a volunteer," Verto said as he took a step.
The thug's pants became wet, "I'll tell you anything, just get me away from that kid!" Sonny stared at the begging crook as his officers spread around the room and checked on the rest of them.
"You really have a way with these guys don't you? Anyways I need to speak with you about something I'm working on," Sonny started.
Verto cut him off, "Later, you can find me eighty miles west-northwest of Satan City or about two hundred and fifty miles east of here. If all else fails, call Bulma for the exact location. Come after nightfall." Verto then blasted off through the hole in the ceiling, knocking a few pieces of drywall off as he passed.
Sonny watched him go with a frown, "All business as usual eh?"
Trunks nodded, "Yep, never changes. Run if it ever does."
"Maybe he needs that girl to calm him down some," Sonny suggested.
Trunks went pale, "You probably shouldn't mention her around him, like ever."
"Why is that? The two were damn near inseparable before. Did something happen?"
Trunks gulped again, "Yeah, that's one way of putting it."
Mid-Afternoon in Satan City was usually uneventful. Today was the exception for one woman that was desperately fleeing from a would-be mugger.
She found herself in a dark alley barely illuminated by the sun. "What do you want from me?!" she screamed.
The crooked man grinned, showing some missing teeth as he pulled out his knife, "Guess."
"You want my purse? Take it, all of my money is in there. Easily a thousand zeni!" she claimed. She threw it to him, but he brushed it aside and advanced instead, twirling his blade in his hand.
"No, I don't want your stinking money bitch, just you," the man claimed.
The woman screamed for all she was worth, which only made the man laugh, "So you gonna give up the goods or is this gonna get messy?"
"No! Please no! My husband is rich, he'll pay you to leave me alone!" the woman shouted.
The lowlife scowled, "You think I give two shits about your husband's money lady? I'm only after one thing and only you can give it to me. Now strip, or I'm gonna have to leave a few scratches behind!" The woman continued to scream, only to suddenly stop and gasp as a pair of dark boots followed by light green pants lowered down behind the creepy man.
"Really? You're going to rape a woman in broad daylight? You Satan City bums are getting pretty bold," Verto said. The man turned and tried to stab at Verto's head, but the blade was stopped with a single finger.
"Bad move," Verto warned. Before the man could do anything else, he was thrown hard into the right side wall, where he slumped and passed out.
Verto turned to the surprised woman, "You alright?" She nodded, staring at the limp body of the man who intended her harm.
"Take off, and if this guy ever bothers you again, call this number," Verto said as he handed her a card before launching into the air and leaving them behind. He didn't fly far before he landed on a nearby rooftop that was overseeing a large playground. There were dozens of children present, most of them supervised by a parent or guardian, but not all of them. Those few caught his attention, but only because Verto knew that he wasn't the only one watching them. He spotted a dark van just on the edge of the park and considered taking a closer look. Before he did though, a sudden spike in nearby Ki energy grabbed his focus. Upon identifying it, he relaxed and continued to stare at the van while the power signal moved towards him. Only when two sets of boots landed on the roof behind did he actually turn around. Verto let out a sigh when he saw the turban and shades decorating one of them and a helmet with a heart on it for the other.
"Honestly, is it really worth the disguise at this point?"
Gohan shrugged, "Maybe not, but it's still stylish."
Verto snorted at this, "Really making some assumptions there."
Gohan grimaced while Videl took the chance to change the subject, "How's the patrol today?"
"One bank robbery stopped, one rapist dropped, but otherwise quiet. I've got some intel about a creep that likes kids a little too much and he hangs around this place. I suspect he'll turn up when it's busy, like now," Verto said as he glanced over the playground.
Videl looked thoughtful, "Well there have been a few missing children reports recently, but all of them came back as runaways. You think there's really a child predator on the loose?"
"There's always one somewhere, I'll find him," Verto said in low tone.
"Not to change the lovely topic, but my dad was wondering if you'd come by the dojo today," Videl said.
"I take it he wants my opinion on a trainee? I'll head there once I'm finished with my route for the day," Verto replied.
"He kinda needs you there before three. That's when his advanced class is. We just finished school for the day so we can keep an eye on things until you get back," Videl suggested, earning a nod from Gohan.
Verto cast an eye up at the taller half-Saiyan, "Dark gray van at the end of the street. Don't let it out of your sight and nothing unless he grabs a kid and drives off."
Gohan nodded, "I know."
"Thanks, I'll be back soon," Verto said as he flew off, leaving the married couple in the dust.
"He sure takes things seriously, more than he used to," Videl pointed out as they watched him go.
"Losing Lenz hurt him so much that he felt the need to close himself up considerably. Because of the person he is, he also feels the need to keep busy. Having some of his power sealed away didn't help matters. But in a way, I think he's happier like this," Gohan said.
Videl stared at him, "How so?"
Gohan smiled, "Even though he appears to be very closed up with his feelings, he's also very focused on doing what's right and stopping what's wrong. Before, he didn't do much other than train, now he helps others every day. I think it's his way of coping with the loss and I think Lenz would've been proud of him for it. After all, you want to live for your friends, even if they're not here with you."
"That makes sense I guess. I kind of miss the endless sarcasm and occasional dirty jokes, but if he's happy it's fine with me," Videl said with a shrug.
Gohan nodded, "Well I don't think the sarcasm has gone anywhere, but otherwise I agree, I think it's for the best."
Hercule Satan was meditating along in his dojo when Verto landed outside. It was a very large building with various pictures of Satan plastered all around the walls. In the far corner was an array of exercise equipment, but despite the sheer number of machines, it still only took up about a fourth of the dojo. Satan had spared no expense building it alongside his rebuilt mansion after the Zerg War. Finding enough trainees to fund it was a bit of a problem initially, but things had rebounded as of late. When Verto had come to him about joining forces so to speak, Satan had been quite anxious to begin advertising. What he didn't realize was that because so many normal people looked down on Verto and up to him, he would have to handle most of the workload. He didn't mind training others all the way up from the most basic steps of martial arts, but it did hamper his free time. That and people still had trouble believing that anything involving energy was not a cheap parlor trick. Satan sighed, still regretting his own words from long ago. He got up and straightened his white sash as Verto walked in.
Verto frowned at the empty room, "I thought you had class soon?"
Satan could sense the agitation already, "In about an hour actually. I wanted to ask you for some help teaching, not the advanced stuff."
Verto frowned, "Look, I told you that it's better for you to handle the martial arts aspect. They don't take me seriously."
"I don't think it's just that, I think they're also just afraid of you. You were kind of rough on that first batch," Satan pointed out.
Verto snorted, "Some of them deserved it. They connect with you better than they do me. You're their hero, so they'll follow you off a cliff."
Satan nodded, "True, but I'm not nearly as skilled with energy techniques as you and Gohan. Heck, I'm an amateur myself by comparison."
Verto grimaced, "Most of them aren't ready for that. They're not disciplined enough and frankly there's a few that would probably abuse it."
"And that's exactly why I need you, to help pass on those morals. Most of these guys won't make it all the way anyway, but there are several that are very promising. I'll even pay you if you want. You know, hire you on as an instructor or something. It's the least I can do after you helped me with that whole Jaguar thing," Satan suggested.
Verto snorted again, "If I recall, it was more of you helping me a little, if you can call it that. Is that rich nutcase still pitching a fit?"
Satan looked smug, "No, I doubt that old midget will bother either of us again. Not after what you did to all those bio-fighter things he let loose. I'm just glad he didn't have access to something truly powerful."
Verto's eyes narrowed, "Yeah I suppose." There's another timeline change that should be positive.
Satan looked at him eagerly, "So, will you teach?"
Verto's eyebrow went up, "Alright, I'll think about it."
"That's all I ask."
"Consider asking Yamcha or Tien as well, they probably aren't doing much. They have more experience with basic martial arts than I do. And they're a bit more human too."
Satan chuckled, "Heh, well I suppose you're right about that. Thanks for stopping by. There's food in the mansion if you want some."
"Tempting, but I've got somewhere to be," Verto said as he stepped away to the door.
Satan watched him go, Hard to believe that's the same kid that was so bitter to me a few years ago just before Majin Buu. Then again, a lot has changed since then.
Verto returned to his rooftop and relieved Gohan and Videl from spy duty. The van hadn't moved according to them, but they did describe a middle-aged man stepping out and watching the children play for a long time. That didn't necessarily mark him as guilty, but it did ring a few suspicious bells. As the sun started to set, the park emptied out. Some of the kids rode off on bicycles, and others were taken home by parents. The old man yet to leave though and Verto caught him inching ever so closely to the few remaining stragglers that were likely waiting for a ride home. He paced slightly until he saw the man wave a boy of around eight or nine over to him. They appeared to talk quietly for a long time before the man took the kid by the hand towards his van. Verto's pacing abruptly stopped and he waited anxiously until the child climbed into the back of the van.
Yep, that's the guy, I'm sure of it. I'll have to try not to kill this one. He quickly took off into the air, moving just above the van and hovering there. The van shifted a bit, signaling a lot of movement inside. Verto touched down lightly on the van's roof and listened carefully. He could sense a large amount of tension in the air, and quite a bit of fear.
"I said hold still, or you won't get any candy!" an older, adult voice said.
"You're hurting me! My mom said no one can touch me there without my permission. My dad will kick your butt!" the child shouted.
"Well you'd better give me permission then, or you'll never see your parents again!" Verto's eyes filled with anger and he punched a hole through the roof before grabbing onto the metal and peeling it back like tin foil. The surprised old man inside looked up, giving Verto a very clear view of what he had been doing.
"I suggest you put your pants back on, that way they'll soak up the shit you're about to drop into them," Verto growled.
He then gave the younger boy a distinct glare, "You, home, now!" The boy scampered out of the van and took off running without looking back. The child predator attempted to pull Verto down by his leg, only to be kicked in the head and sent sprawling across the van. Verto lowered into the van as the evil man was quite dazed from the impact of his light kick.
"Tell me, are you right handed or left handed?" Verto asked.
The man struggled to get to his knees as the world was spinning for him, "Uh, right?"
Verto grimaced, "Here I'll clear your head for you." He promptly stomped on the man's left shin, shattering both bones instantly.
The man screamed in agony, "Left! Left! I'm left handed!"
Verto snorted, "Good, now I've got your attention. Listen up…"
Sonny Satsu sipped some coffee as he looked over a stack of police reports provided by the Satan City precinct. The man on the other side of the desk, a Lieutenant, folded his arms in disgust.
"Lieutenant Reese, how many cases of these are we up to now?" Sonny asked.
"That's five in the last week, all of them seem to be chosen at random," Reese replied.
Sonny rubbed his chin a bit, "Pepper City has had eight reports. Have there been any leads or witnesses?"
Reese shook his head, "Nothing concrete. A few vague reports of hearing a noise and a backdoor being left open, but no trace evidence nor any signs of struggle. It's as if these people just up and left their lives behind for no reason."
"The exact same situation. Globally it adds up to about thirty-six vanishing cases, and those are the ones that we know about. Definitely not a coincidence," Sonny said as he put down his empty coffee cup.
"I don't suppose you can pull some strings and get us some more manpower to handle this? Just today I had to pull my best off a child predator case and we were on the verge of an arrest," Reese mentioned with a low tone.
Sonny glanced at him before his eyes returned to the paperwork, "I'll see what I can do. You'd think it would be easier to transfer a few bodies from another precinct after the merger. Damn unions, sometimes they're not so good to have."
Another officer suddenly barged into the office, "Lieutenant Reese, you need to see this!"
Reese and Sonny got up and walked out, following the officer outside. There, among a cluster of uniformed men, was an older man that looked like he had gotten into a fist fight with a bear and somehow lived to tell the tale. He was shaking in general shock while the EMTs administered first aid. His right arm was covered in deep welts that looked like small impact spots going from shoulder to finger. By the way he was holding it, each impact spot represented where bones were broken. Both of his legs had also been treated equally rough. Both sides of his head were swollen and bruised with blood leaking out of his temple and nose. Only his left hand and arm appeared to be alright, though it was hard to tell.
The first officer handed Reese a note, "We found this on him Lieutenant."
Reese took the paper and quickly started reading it, "This is a confession note."
"Isn't this the guy we've been tracking for all the local child molestation reports?" the officer asked in realization. Reese's eyes widened once he got a better look at the man, or rather, what was left of him as he whimpered a response.
"So, Mister Stevens, who saved us all the trouble?" Reese asked, "I doubt you would've turned yourself in without some convincing." Sonny examined the injuries from a few feet away, but he already had a fairly good idea why and how this suspect ended up on their doorstep.
Reese frowned when Stevens didn't answer, "Well, are you going to tell us who did this, or should I just go with your handwritten confession?" Stevens grumbled slightly and pointed to the note with a nod.
Reese's patience ran thin, "Speak up. Use words we can all understand like any other grown adult."
Sonny noticed a fair bit of swelling around Steven's face and bent down to look closer, "Sir, open up your mouth." Stevens hesitated, but did so. Several sets of eyes popped open before one of the other officers promptly lost his lunch. The inside of the child predator's mouth was a bloody and burnt mess. Multiple teeth were missing or hanging and his whole tongue had been scorched black.
Reese's nose wrinkled in disgust, "Looks like we have a vigilante on our hands. This scum is lucky to be alive."
Sonny stood back up, fanning the burnt smell away from him, "I don't think luck had anything to do with it." He glanced at his watch briefly, drawing the gaze of Reese.
"I don't suppose you know who might've done this? One of your special forces contacts maybe?" Reese asked blatantly.
Sonny grimaced, "Maybe. Consider your case closed, you've got your suspect."
As Sonny began to walk away, Reese gave chase, "What if this creep presses charges? These injuries are well above simple assault and battery. This would be one hell of a case."
Sonny stopped and glanced at old man Stevens, "True, it would create a hell of a stir everywhere. I guess he could do that. That would virtually assure that he would see his attacker again." Stevens went white in the face and frantically shook his head from side to side.
Sonny smirked, "Yeah, that's what I thought."
Well after dark, Sonny drove his car up a wide, beaten dirt path, taking care not to hit any wild animals. There was almost nothing but forest around him, and the path wasn't exactly a straight line either. He silently wished his superiors had supplied him with a hovercraft, but that had yet to be approved despite how much easier his days would then become. His headlights eventually illuminated a large clearing and two buildings in the middle. The smaller dome shaped one was a Capsule house with the lights on inside. The other was more of an arena or dojo with no walls. Only a large wooden roof about twenty feet off the ground gave it any sort of structure. The tiling around it didn't look complete yet, nor did the flooring.
Kid's been busy, Sonny thought to himself. The door of the capsule house opened just as he stopped the car, revealing Verto with his arms folded.
"Heard me coming I take it?" Sonny asked.
Verto shrugged, "Sensed actually, but close enough. Come in if you want. What did you need to speak to me about?"
"A few things. First, can I assume it was you that left that pedophile in such a brutal state?" Sonny said.
Verto snorted lightly, "He'll heal eventually, hope he wasn't too butt-hurt about it. I spared him a total beat down so the lowlifes inside had something left to play with."
Sonny grimaced at the tone, "I understand why you did what you did, I would've too if I was the victim's parent. But why rip out his tongue?"
"Technically I burned it," Verto corrected.
"Close enough, there's no tongue left. Isn't that just a little extreme?" Sonny suggested.
Verto's eyes darkened, "Extreme would be sending him to Hell now. I left him with a lesson he won't soon forget."
"How do you figure? He's the repeated offender type. Once he gets out…" Sonny trailed off.
Verto cut in, "If he gets out, he won't be sweet talking any more children now will he? That is a pedophile's strongest weapon, their words against an innocent child that doesn't fully understand when he or she is being misled. From here on, every time he opens his mouth to speak or even looks at a child, he's going to remember what that sick behavior cost him."
Sonny sighed, "I suppose you're right. He wasn't too eager to press any charges. I doubt that would've meant anything to you though."
"Nope."
Sonny frowned, "Look, I get that. You're only trying to do the right thing, but you can't live outside the law like this. Vigilante justice is not the answer. You'll only ruffle the feathers of the higher-ups and it will come back to bite you someday. Their money and influence will turn everyone against you and your family. I realize they may not be able to do much to you physically, but they can push you mentally until you break and lash out. That's all it would take to turn the world against you, your family and your friends. I don't want to see that happen."
Verto's arms unfolded for a brief moment, "Only the really corrupt would want to go there out of fear. Fear of losing their power."
"And I suppose you're purer than clear water?" Sonny countered.
"Hardly. Let's just say that I've seen a society that is far more deprived than this one. But the signs are coming. Maybe it's because there hasn't been much room for evil people lately and it's a long overdue tipping of the scales. There is a lingering stench of corruption that's been here since a certain incident prior to the Zerg War and it's gotten worse. I don't intend to let it fester."
Sonny stared at him, "You make it sound as if you can control what happens, like a god or something."
Verto frowned and folded his arms again, "First off, gods are overrated. Second, no, I don't want to be one. Like you, I want to do the right thing. Letting scumbags like that work the system and walk free isn't how I roll. I'm sure you would do the same thing if our roles were reversed."
"Well, I don't know if I would or not. But I'd like to believe that I would, within reason and by cooperating with the proper authorities," Sonny said sternly.
"This coming from the hostage taker?" Verto countered quickly.
Sonny threw his hands up, "Okay, you've got me there. Look, just be careful not to go overboard. If you're not, one of these creeps may actually grow a set and push back. Super strength or not, that won't be pretty and it could potentially bring down your whole group of friends and family."
Verto nodded, "I suppose there are a few dumb ones left that could try. Hate to see what happens to the one who tries to arrest Vegeta though."
Sonny cringed, "Good point. That being said, have you heard anything about missing people?"
"A few news headlines, no real leads though. Need some help with it?" Verto offered.
"Not yet, but I'll let you know. We haven't had much of any evidence either. It's as if they've just packed up and left, without any luggage. As of today, there's been thirty-six seemingly random disappearances scattered across the globe."
"That's well past a coincidence. You have my cell number so call if you need help. Bulma has a signal locator installed on this phone, so I'll be able to trace the location if needs be."
Sonny looked impressed, "Your mother certainly goes out of her way to keep track of you and Trunks."
"Adopted mother, and yes, it's a little annoying. But when your kids can fly around the world in less than an hour or two, yeah. Good night Detective," Verto said as he showed him out. Sonny gave him a final nod as he walked towards his car. Once inside, he noticed his phone had a new text message. He opened it up, noticing it was from his cousin Marcus.
It only had one odd word: "REDIC".
"Shit," Sonny muttered. As he drove away, Verto watched him go from the window, concerned about the sudden hint of distress he sensed.
A/n: And we're off with Saga 8. And yes there were quite a few future lost chapter references put in here.