*Important A/N*

I changed the name of Cell's alias from Lec to Mitochondria (Mito for short). I added a little bit to Chapter 1 regarding this during Cell's initial meeting with Gohan and his friends. More info at the bottom A/N.

Chapter 3 – Testing the Waters

The grass covered the landscape with indications of small saplings and trees. Over the past seven years, the land was beginning to rejuvenate. Boulders still sprawled randomly across the landscape. It was evident the land had suffered a cataclysmic event not long ago.

Mito (Cell) felt the brisk northerly wind as he surveyed the area where he had the Cell Games to remind him of his goal. That day was historic not only for Earth, but for Mito himself because it had not gone as planned. He had grand plans, far greater than any earthling could understand. The plan was to test his strength and defeat his creator's enemies. Unfortunately, things did not go as planned and he had to suffer in hell for it.

He walked over to a large crater, where his fate stood still. It was so unexpected. His enemy, Son Gohan, had suffered an arm injury beyond healing in an attempt to save Vegeta, however, Gohan still managed to defeat him. It was as if he summoned strength that did not exist in the final blast. Seeing the crater let him relive the vivid memory, even seven years later, which caused his anger to boil.

Through his time in Hell, he suffered, but Mito could only assume it made him stronger. He trained every waking hour for what he thought was no reason at all; however, fate has given him another shot, and this time, he will not make the same mistake.

Another intense flashback occurred when he remembered his final moment when he thought he had the edge, but then a Saiyan Prince he carelessly forgotten gathered enough energy to damage him. While remembering this, his anger continued to rise, and thus yelling, releasing huge amounts of energy in the process. It had been since the last moment in Hell with Frieza that he had powered up. Immediately, his head cleared, and he realized he might blow his cover, and thus he quickly powered down. He could not risk the others finding him out, so he quickly flew off releasing as little Ki as he could yet still being able to fly fast. It was just enough Ki for him to go off the radar, unless someone was nearby.

Gohan jolted up as a high-energy reading flooding his senses. His heart pounding at the unfamiliarity of it, he quickly jumped up from meditation position. He looked around trying to determine where it came from, unsure if it was close or far. It happened so quickly as if it was a single strong pulse of energy.

Gohan closed his eyes, trying to sense where it came from, however, he could feel nothing. It came as fast as it was strong. He took a deep breath to try and calm down.

"Big brother, are you okay?" said Goten opening his eyes at the sudden change in Gohan's demeanor. Trunks looked at his role model quizzically. It looked like Gohan was sweating out of nervousness.

Gohan took another deep breath to calm his nerves. "Yeah, I'm fine. I thought I sensed something. Never mind. Let's just get back into our meditation positions."

Gohan had taken the boys, Trunks and Goten, training and one of the methods was to meditate for a few hours. The boys had a tough time sitting still for two hours; however, Gohan assured them that it would help their power.

"But Gohan, we don't like meditating. Hasn't it been two hours yet?" Trunks whined teary eyed.

Gohan once again attempted to sense that energy reading he acquired. He hardly had enough time to sense it previously, so he wasn't sure what he was looking for. Instead, he sense Piccolo flying far away from the Lookout fast. He typically didn't leave the lookout, so Gohan wondered if Piccolo had sensed the same energy.

"Umm, on second thought, I think we have meditated enough today. Why don't you guys go back to the house and play a game. Big brother needs to check something out," Gohan explained. He tried his best not to show he was worried when he talked, but he would be lying to himself if he said he wasn't.

"Okay!" the boys responded. The two raced back to the house leaving Gohan alone.

He decided he needed to meet with his master to see if he had sensed the same thing. He needed to do this to calm his nerves. Perhaps it was some sort of energy from something else, however to Gohan, it felt like it was close.

Gohan powered up and flew towards Piccolo. After a minute, Gohan could feel Piccolo changing direction and heading toward him. Both warriors flew toward each other and it didn't take long for them to meet. The two floated quite some distance from the ground in the cloud deck, staring at each other. Piccolo nodded greeting his former student.

"Did you feel that?" asked Gohan. Piccolo nodded.

"I thought so," said Gohan.

"Were you able to tell where it came from?" Piccolo asked.

"No, I was hoping you were able to."

Piccolo closed his eyes searching for the power level he had felt earlier, but with no success. "It was on this planet and it was incredibly strong but I could not pinpoint who it was."

"Was it someone we know?"

Piccolo paused. "It was so fast, I couldn't tell but it felt empty yet limitless."

"Empty?" Gohan asked.

"Yes. There is the possibility that Vegeta or someone is trying out some new method of training, but I doubt that. I think I would have been able to place that surge of power if it was from someone we know," explained Piccolo.

"Do you think this is related to the vision you had?"

Piccolo closed his eyes and paused, "I don't know."

Gohan was really confused regarding the whole situation. Perhaps it was some sort of android, but he was certain that none existed except Android 18 who surprisingly married Krillin. All of Dr. Gero's beings were destroyed when Krillin and Trunks destroyed them and his lab. This burst of energy created more questions in an already strange set of events for Gohan including his adventures in high school.

The next day, school was in session once again. Gohan flew toward school in his Saiayman outfit, hoping that there wasn't any crime because he was running a little late. He would have taken the Nimbus, however, he knew if he really wanted to, he could fly much faster than his father's cloud.

He didn't sleep too well the previous night because of the unknown power that made itself known yesterday. Landing on the top of Orange Star High, he pushed the red button on his watch and detransformed into his normal school outfit. He ran down the hallway but realized he was actually a few minutes early. He opened the classroom door and walked up to his seat but realized Videl and Mito were arguing.

"I don't appreciate you telling off my best friend Mito."

Mito looked toward the front not even bothering to look at Videl, which only increased Videl's frustration.

"I don't care if you look at me or not. Let me make myself clear. If you mess with my friends again, there will be consequences," Videl said sternly.

Mito turned his head toward to Videl with a smirk plastered on his face. "As if you could do anything to me."

Gohan slid past them toward his seat in the middle of the row.

"Oh, I most certainly can. I can get you kicked out of the school and maybe you forgot, I happen to be the strongest fighter on this planet aside from my dad," Videl said triumphantly.

Mito burst out laughing. "You have got to be kidding me."

Videl's smirk immediately turned into a frown. "I don't see what is so funny about that."

Gohan intently listened in on their argument. He remembered that Mito told off Erasa that previous Friday and could only assume that was what Videl and Mito were arguing about.

"You always say that you are strong but why don't you prove it?" Mito said with a smirk.

"If it would make you shut up, then gladly. What do you have in mind?"

"Easy, all you have to do is land one single punch on me."

Gohan didn't like that idea so much. "Umm, maybe you should try to find another way to make up."

"No," Videl said. "He has insulted my father and I so many times. He denies that my father defeated Cell and also treats my friends like crap. Enough is enough."

Gohan was confused by those statements. Was it really true that Mito didn't believe Mr. Satan defeated Cell? Gohan was curious to his reasoning yet didn't want to get involved with the feud between Videl and Mito. He wanted to live a normal life, but Mito and Videl made it increasingly difficult to do this. Was there something that Mito knew that he didn't know?

"Very well girl. After school, meet me out front and I prove to you that you are nothing. Only one punch. That is all you have to do," Mito said confidently.

At lunch, Mito was nowhere to be seen. Videl confidently took this cue that Mito would not show. The four teenagers, Videl, Erasa, Sharpner, and Gohan sat underneath a tree and enjoyed the pleasant fall temperatures.

"Can't wait for you to show that idiot who's the real fighter," Sharpner praised.

Videl smirked, "He won't even have a chance. I might just use one arm to prove how pathetic he really is."

"Guys, is this really the best course of action?" questioned a concerned Gohan.

Videl rolled her eyes. "Come on Gohan. The guy is not very nice and needs to be put in his place. He was incredibly rude to Erasa. It's not like I'll hurt him except for one soar spot where I punch him."

"Umm, I guess," murmured Gohan.

"Say Videl, did you like ever find out why he doesn't think your dad defeated Cell?" asked Erasa.

Videl pondered for a moment. "Maybe dad defeated him in a tournament or something. It would make sense that he would be upset at my dad but either way, after this fight, maybe he'll finally understand."

It was finally the end of the school day and Videl was ready for the sparring match. She wasn't expecting it to last very long because all he had to do was successfully punch someone who probably hasn't even fought before. That would take less than a few seconds for someone as skilled as Videl.

"Lead the way," Videl offered as all the kids got up and quickly left the school grounds.

"Gladly," Mito said with a smirk.

The two walked ahead leaving Sharpner, Erasa, and Gohan to follow shortly after. The five wandered to the back entrance of the school away from anyone.

"I decided to go back here to save you the humiliation you are about to witness," Mito confidently said.

Videl snorted. "Whatever. Let's just get this over and done with. It won't take long."

"Of course."

Videl got in her sparring position while Mito stood there without even budging. On the sidelines, Erasa, Sharpner, and Gohan watched, wondering why Mito was so confident.

Guess I should double check, Gohan thought as he searched for Mito's Ki signature. It was a challenge to determine strength on regular humans because they were so weak compared to him. Gohan's eyes enlarged slightly due to his surprise. Apparently, Mito did possess some power, but his Ki was low enough to be that within a regular human. Gohan quickly compared it to Videl and noticed that they were not far off from one another. Maybe this guy can put up a fight against Videl?

The magnitude of difference in power levels was hard to decipher compared to say someone like Krillin and Tien. Although Krillin and Tien both had similar strength, it was easier for someone trained in the art of Ki to sense their difference. Normal humans were a challenge, however, Gohan believed that Videl still held the upper hand.

"Son Gohan!"

Gohan left his thoughts and looked up toward Mito who seemed to call his name. "Yes?"

"Give us a countdown," Mito said then turning back to Videl. "Remember Videl Satan. One punch. That is all you need to do then I surrender."

"3."

"2."

"1."

"Go!"

Videl charged Mito who in the last second got into position. Videl threw her first punch confident it would hit, but Mito caught it at the last second. Surprised that Mito could move that fast and even more surprised that Mito's hand was not broken, Videl attempted another punch but only to miss. She immediately jumped back landing in a sparring position.

Seems this guy wasn't joking. He is good, Videl thought trying to decide what her next move was.

Gohan, Erasa, and Sharpner looked on quite surprised. Any other person, those punches would have damaged someone's hand if they had tried to catch them.

Not bothering to wait, Videl decided a fury of punches would do the job. She only had to land one, so she believed that Mito would slip up eventually. Not underestimating him, she used as much power as she could to unleash a fury of punches. As fast as she could, each punch seemed to either be blocked, caught, or missed. Over the course of a minute, she punched faster than one could anticipate, however, Mito seemed to be handling this without a problem.

"W- What?" Gohan was stunned. He quickly shook his head and rubbed his eyes if this was actually what he was witnessing. Through his fights with Saiyaman, Gohan knew Videl was among the strongest humans aside from Krillin, Tien, Yamcha, and Chiaotzu. She excelled were so many others couldn't. In fact, Gohan was convinced that she was stronger than her father, but what he was witnessing was shocking.

He quickly searched out Mito's Ki. It was significantly stronger than before, but still extremely weak compared to him or even someone like Yamcha. Mito's Ki appeared to be a bit stronger than Videl, which suggested that he might have some control of his Ki. While it is true that when one is fighting, their Ki goes up naturally, but this seemed too much of a coincidence. Gohan made a mental note to investigate this at a later time.

After a few minutes, her punches were becoming slower because she was becoming exhausted. She realized she needed to stop because she was not having any success. She abruptly stopped her fury of punches and jumped back into a confident fighting position, however, in her mind, her confidence was waning.

Panting, she stared at Mito who continued to have a smirk on his face. How can he be so confident? What is his secret? Videl thought as she was trying to recuperate so she could try a different method.

"Who are you?" Videl asked between breaths.

Mito frowned. "Someone out to disprove your ingrained belief."

"Lies! Nobody has that type of strength except my father. Did you train under him? Did he piss you off or something?" Videl asked.

"Piss me off? No. I don't walk on the ground your father touts. Like I said, your father did not beat Cell. Your father is not the strongest in the world. Live with it. I'm done with this pathetic fight. You have failed."

He turned around and begun to walk away from the school grounds leaving a speechless Videl along with her friends. She collapsed to her knees completely humiliated in front of her friends and punched the grass out of frustration. What was worse was the fact that Gohan had to witness this. She would have felt more comfortable with just Erasa and Sharpner, but to have a new friend see her like this was unimaginable.

Erasa quickly approached Videl on the ground and patted her back.

"It's okay Videl," Erasa assured her.

Sharpner was speechless. He wanted to ask the questions. Why. Who. What. However, he couldn't even muster up a sentence.

Gohan on the other hand watched Mito walk away in the distance locked on his ki signature. It had decreased back to that of a normal human. He must have control of his Ki. How many humans out there actually know Ki besides us?

"I- I don't understand?" Videl said to Erasa.

"Shhh, it doesn't matter. He probably just got lucky." Erasa suggested.

Sharpner, still mouth gaping open in shock, nodded his head. "That must be the case!"

No. I couldn't even lay a punch on him. Videl realized. She knew better than to sugarcoat it. It was defeat in the purest form possible. Mito had given her proposition to successfully land one punch, a single punch, and she couldn't even do that. She had failed.

Gohan realized he needed to understand where Mito got his power. He deduced that there must be some on this planet that have a vague understanding of Ki similarly to Master Roshi or Mercenary Tao did. Maybe this guy learned under Tao or someone like that? He thought.

Videl finally decided to turn back to Sharpner and Gohan to see their looks. She assumed that Sharpner would look disappointed and that Gohan wouldn't care that much, but what she found was not that. Sharpner actually had a soft friendly smile and Gohan seemed to be pondering something. Disappointed in herself, she managed to get back to her feet.

Feeling the need to take responsibility, she murmured, "sorry you had to see that. It didn't go as I expected."

"That guy just got lucky, you'll show him next time," Sharpner once again said, affirming his belief that Videl was one of the strongest humans alive.

Gohan frowned. "No apology needed. You tried your best in the short time he gave you and gave it your all. That's all one can do."

Of course, he would have some profound thing to say and pivot anything negative in a positive light, Videl thought as she rolled her eyes.

"Guys, I'm going home. Obviously, I have a lot of training to do," She said looking away in embarrassment.

She threw her capsule on the ground revealing her copter. She quickly jumped in and took off not saying another word leaving her friends wondering if she was okay.

The rest of the week went as planned. Videl and her friends stayed away from Mito as much as he could, however, Gohan felt that Mito was always nearby as if he was watching them. He wondered if Mito had something to say to them. He had been curious all week where he got his power, but decided that his Ki was weak enough not to be a cause for concern. Although he was not the nicest person, he didn't seem like the type that would go on an evil rampage like others who have control of their Ki have done in the past.

Videl had also kept quiet about her sparring match with Mito on Monday. Erasa, Sharpner, and Gohan made sure not to talk about that subject worried that they would upset her. Even Gohan knew not to cast a negative light on Videl's pride because she lived for martial arts.

At the end of the day on Friday, Mito left quickly leaving the four behind. Sharpner also got up quickly. "I have to head out and help my dad with some moving."

"Well, I guess I'll see you on Monday Gohan! Have your phone on Videl. We have got to go to the mall on Saturday!" Erasa said as bubbly as ever.

Videl rolled her eyes at the prospect of spending yet another day at the mall with her best friend. She would make her try on clothes and talk about boys the entire day. Honestly, Videl just wanted to continue ramping up her training schedule and going to the mall was not included in this.

Erasa and Sharpner left, leaving Videl and Gohan left of the four friends. Videl gathered her bag signaled a goodbye to Gohan about to leave. "Guess I'll see you on Monday."

"Wait!"

She turned back around facing Gohan. "Yes?"

"Umm, I was wondering if we could talk for a little bit," Gohan suggested.

Videl was surprised by Gohan's proposition. Erasa had been the one to reach out to Gohan and she only made a little bit of an effort because she believed he was hiding something. However, within the past week, Mito had taken up her attention, not Gohan. She decided that she had to give him a chance at least.

"Umm, sure, my house is about a 20 minute walk, mind if we start walking home?" Videl suggested. Usually she would fly home, but she could also walk since it wasn't that far.

"Yeah, that would be good," Gohan added. The grabbed their bags and then walked out of the school grounds heading toward Videl's house.

"So what is that you wanted to talk about?"

He paused. "It's about Mito."

Videl let out a huge sigh. "I don't really want to talk about that whole incident."

"You can't run away from it forever," Gohan pushed. He knew that the sparring match with Mito had affected her in so many ways.

"Yeah, but why can't I talk about it to my best friend, Erasa, first?" Videl demanded.

"Because, you know you never will. I don't want to talk about how you weren't able to land a punch. I don't care about any of that. I already know you are one of the strongest fighters on Earth, you push yourself to become stronger every day, heck, you even save peoples lives. There's a lot to be proud of and one little sparring match is really nothing in the grand scheme of things."

Videl softly smiled at the praise Gohan gave her. It was just so sincere despite the belief that Gohan held secrets from her. "Right, but I have never really failed like that before, so I really need to spend some time and think about where I went wrong."

Gohan stopped. "Like I said, I don't care about that. That isn't you. I can tell it's getting to you. If you let it get to you too much, you'll struggle finding a clear path to become even stronger."

Videl was surprised at what Gohan was saying. It was as if he had experience in the area of training. That can't be though, Videl affirmed in her thoughts.

"The Videl I know is the bravest person in the world. You save people Videl. That's what really counts… not some stupid fight with Mito"

Videl frowned. "Thanks Gohan, but how would you know I am the bravest person ever?"

"The situations you get in to save people you don't even know. The way you fight in those situations. That's bravery," added Gohan.

Her whole demeanor softened. She needed this. It's hard to go day in and day out saving people without being reminded that she is doing good in society. "Thanks Gohan, but I have a question."

"Yeah?"

"You said the way I fight. How would you know that? Are you Saiyaman or something? Because nobody but the bad guys know how I fight when I'm saving people," Videl said half-jokingly.

She did have a little suspicion in the back of her mind that Gohan was associated with Saiyaman. Every time got called by the police, Gohan went to the restroom. She had heard from Erasa and Sharpner that he was in the restroom for an extended period, which only added to her suspicion.

Gohan nervously laughed. "You know me, I couldn't fight like that."

"Like what?" Videl asked.

"Ummm, like Saiyaman."

Videl smirked. "Sure Gohan, sure."

Gohan isn't half bad. I really should be more open to spending time with him even if I think he is being suspicious. He is the most positive compassionate person I know, Videl thought.

"So, I was wondering… Did you find out any information on Mito? Like where he lives and stuff? Since I know you have access to that."

Videl was surprised. How did he know about that? "Umm yeah, but I came to a dead end. It's like he never existed."

Gohan frowned. "Is that normal?"

"No, but he could have come from some tiny country village in the middle of nowhere for all I know," suggested Videl.

That's odd, Gohan thought. "So you aren't going to try to figure him out anymore?"

"I don't know yet… I'm more likely to find out your secrets rather than his," Videl explained carefully looking at Gohan's expression.

Gohan nervously laughed, "Well- umm, let's hope you don't dig too deep."

"Sorry Gohan, but if we are going to be good friends, you have to tell me more about you. So far I know very little about you. What's not to say you are trying to become my friend just to get close to someone rich and famous like my dad?" proposed Videl.

Despite saying that, Videl knew deep down this was not the case. It was so against Gohan's nature to do something like that. Even after knowing him for a month, her intuition told her that he was trustworthy, but for some reason, in order for her to trust someone, she needs to know about him.

"Actually, I don't need to do that. I already know someone rich and fam-" Gohan said but quickly put his hands on his mouth realizing what he was about to say.

"Gohan? What were you about to say? You know someone rich and famous? Who might that be exactly?"

"Eep" was all Gohan could say realizing he just let out one of his secrets. So much for trying to blend in.

"Well, Gohan? I'm waiting."

Gohan sighed. "Umm, well does you count?"

"Gohan…"

"Fine, my family is close with… ummmm… Bulma Briefs?" Gohan said slowly wondering what Videl's reaction would be.

"WHAT?" Videl yelled.

"Umm yeah. Is that okay?"

"Gohan… who are you fooling? You can't possibly expect me to believe that."

Gohan was taken aback. She thinks I'm lying? Videl realized that Gohan meant what he said.

"Prove it."

"What?"

"You heard me."

Gohan sighed and wondered what he got himself into. Then he remembered that he actually had a family photo with the Briefs family, one of the very few photos that included Vegeta. He reached into his pocket taking out his wallet and then he reached in pulling out a small photo. Videl peered over to see what he had pulled out and gasped.

On the left side stood a woman with black hair, who she assumed was Gohan's mother. Next to his mother on the right were Gohan and two children, one with wild black hair and one with lavender hair. Then stood Bulma Briefs, heir of Dr. Breifs, owner and founder of Capsule Corporation, the largest richest company on the planet. To the right stood a shorter man frowning and not smiling like the rest of them. To Videl, it looked like he didn't want to take part in that picture.

"See? That's my mom, brother, his best friend, Bulma, and for lack of better terms, her husband," said Gohan.

Videl couldn't believe it. How was it that some kid in the mountains was connected with the most famous person on the planet? Everyone knew of Bulma Briefs. She was certain that Gohan was lying but now that she thought of it, Gohan was not the type of person to lie per se, but just withhold secrets. These were secrets that she believed she had a right to know.

"Wow, I guess I was wrong about you," Videl slowly explained.

This had huge implications according to Videl. If he withheld something like that from her, who knows what else he is withholding? More importantly, Videl realized that Gohan was not friends with her so he could get close to her father. Heck, he had even more famous people in his life than herself or her father. She pondered this for a second, but suddenly, recalled seeing that woman Gohan claimed his mother before. She scratched her head, but where?

"Anyway, I actually wanted to ask you something personal?"

Videl sighed. I guess it was only fair. She had finally learned a secret of Gohan's, a big one in fact. "Yes?"

"Umm, what do you think about what Mito said? About your father not being the one who defeated Cell?"

Videl frowned. What is it with people questioning that these days? First Mito… now Gohan?

"I think it's preposterous. Of course my father beat Cell. We all saw it happen. Cell was there, dad was there, then Cell was gone."

"…Right."

Videl looked peculiarly at Gohan. Why would Gohan bring that up? No matter. According to Videl, Gohan was the only guy she knew (besides Mito) that wasn't obsessed with her father. Gohan was actually friends with Videl because she was Videl, not 'the daughter of Mr. Satan.'

Gohan on the other hand realized that the lies of Cell's defeat are so ingrained in society, that even the daughter of Mr. Satan doesn't know the truth. Gohan was disappointed that even Mr. Satan would lie to his own daughter. The young Saiyan was concerned that with all the talk of the Cell Games, that his deepest darkest secret might eventually come out. He had to make sure that it never got out if he wanted to live a normal life, but it would seem certain events were beginning to make that a challenge.

A/N: I changed the name to Mitochondria (Mito for short). Thank you Guest reviewer on Oct 10 2016 for the suggestion. This is the most drastic change I have ever done in the middle of writing a fanfic and I hope the readers approve. I made the change for all chapters. I didn't really like the name Lec to begin with. Anyway, the plot will begin to thicken in the coming chapters as Gohan's life turns upside down. I am realizing that this story may become a bit darker than I normally write, so heads up for that. Again, sorry for the long delay for getting this chapter out. Hopefully, I'll get the next one out in the next few weeks. Thank you all for reading!

Please review! Any suggestions are great!

Note to reviewers…

Smithback: Thanks for the review. Yeah, Cell coming back will hopefully be a change from other stories.
Gokuu the carrot: Thanks for the review.
Yunayuu: Appreciate the review. I am trying to slow, but I expect this story to be roughly 50k words, so the plot will have to thicken eventually!
BlankingOut: Thank you for your review. I admit your review got me going.
Guest: Thank you for the idea of the name change :) Much appreciated.