Chapter 9

Marron

After the attack at the Satan City Mall, nothing special happened for the rest of the week. There were no more attacks, and according to her Dad, Garbanzo and Cashew's investigation was going slowly, even though Pinto and Lima were reassigned to help them as well. Marron trained her heart out in the meantime, Goku was going to teach her the Kaioken technique, and she wanted to make sure that her body was strong enough to endure the power. It was only yesterday that she took a break so that her body wasn't overtaxed. These thoughts and others were in Marron's head as she lazily woke up that Saturday. Krillin had talked Goku into waiting to teach her until after he got off work. Marron sighed as she got out of bed and stretched herself out, not sure how she wanted to spend her Saturday. She was slightly disappointed that Goten hadn't tried contacting her since her birthday a little over a week ago, maybe she should call him and arrange…what? Marron wasn't totally sure if it would qualify as a date, one make-out session did not a relationship make…did it?

Marron thought about what her parents said about their relationship as she stretched out. Her Dad had first fallen for Mom when she had kissed him, after she and Uncle Seventeen beat the crap out of Vegeta, Tien, Future Trunks, and Piccolo. A little taunting kiss on the cheek, and he fell for her hook, line, and sinker. Eighteen admitted that she didn't really feel anything special for him until he used a wish from Shenron to deactivate the explosive embedded in her, and then he told her he only wanted her to be happy, because it was the right thing to do. Eighteen had told her that there weren't many guys out there who would do something for a beautiful woman just to be nice, but Marron herself thought her Mom was being overly cynical.

Marron got some clothes out and continued thinking about the relationships around her. Goku and Chi-chi's marriage was definitely the weirdest in her opinion, a childhood marriage promise? Meeting again as opponents in the World Martial Arts Tournament? How corny can a love story get!? Not to mention all the times she had heard Chi-chi complain about Goku's constant training. And yet, Marron also remembered the look on Chi-chi and Goku's faces when they were together, they were clearly happy with each other and wouldn't have it any other way. Vegeta and Bulma's marriage was the second weirdest, a world-famous inventor and heiress seducing an evil alien prince to the side of Good? Krillin still talked about that sometimes when Vegeta and Bulma were out of earshot, and after he'd had a few beers, wondering how she got him away from training. The most normal relationship was definitely Gohan and Videl's, and even that was pretty corny when one thought about it, high school lovers and superheroes, together for Love and Justice! Marron chuckled as she narrowed down what she wanted to wear to some shirts and skirts and a pair of shorts, wondering what she wanted to wear.

One skirt was red plaid, the other was blue plaid, and then there were her denim shorts. For shirts there was a purple sleeveless shirt, a green long-sleeved shirt, and a hot pink short sleeved t-shirt. Marron decided to wear the hot pink t-shirt and her denim shorts today, it was going to be mostly casual, but she could also fight in them if needed, and wear them for when Goku taught her the Kaioken technique. Marron put on some matching pink socks and some black tennis shoes before grabbing a brush and looking at a full body mirror in her room. She brushed her hair straight and put it in a normal ponytail, then headed downstairs for some breakfast.

She passed her family's gym room and Krillin inside, and Eighteen too. "Huh?" Marron thought as she went in the gym, her Mom didn't exercise, aside from sparring. After going in she saw what her Mom was doing, her foot was on her Dad's back as he struggled to do push-ups. "Ninety," Eighteen counted. She smirked a little and said, "I think I could get used to this. What do you think?" Underneath her Krillin grunted, "Not…Really! Oh, what was I thinking!" "Ninety-one," Eighteen counted then saw Marron. "Your Dad decided to push himself," she explained. "Come on, Dad! Keep going!" Marron encouraged as Eighteen counted, "Ninety-two." Krillin was struggling and sweating like a pig the whole time on the red carpet of their gym, his head turning cherry red, but he managed another push-up, "Ninety-three!" Marron counted aloud. Krillin started yelling out as he pushed himself harder, until he reached ninety-nine.

Now he was truly struggling, Marron was sure her Mom was putting more pressure with this last one. "You can do it Dad! You're one of the strongest people in the Universe! In all the Multiverse!" Marron encouraged him. His head was now dark red, as was the rest of his body, Marron even saw some veins sticking out in his bald head as with a final loud yell he did one more push-up, "ONE-HUNDRED!" Marron yelled, and that was when Krillin finally hit the ground hard, and Eighteen took her foot off his back. He laid there on his stomach breathing heavily as his body returned to its normal color before he sat up. "Whew, well, I still got it," he said happily. "Yep," Eighteen said as she crouched down and pushed on Krillin's chest, "Gotta make sure these pecs don't go soft on me after all." "Oh jeeze!" Marron yelled, and quickly left the gym, she didn't need to listen to her parents flirting.

Marron quickly got downstairs and made some microwavable waffles for breakfast. She ate slowly, today was a cheat day for her diet, might as well enjoy herself. As she ate Marron considered what she would do until her Dad was done with work and figured this was as good a day as any to talk to Goten. Marron finished breakfast and called the half-Saiyan. He answered on the second ring, "Hey, Marron! How's it going?" "Not a lot right now. I got no plans until your Dad shows me Kaioken. You want to hang out until then?" she told him. "Uh…YEAH! Sure thing! I can do that! Uh, want to meet up someplace say, for lunch?" Goten suggested. "Okay, where?" Marron asked him. "Um…How about at that Rocket Burger joint?" Goten suggested. She'd heard of the place, it was famous for a Giant Burger Challenge, finish the burger and fries that came with it in less than twenty minutes, and you get a gift card for free food for a year. "So, you're gonna take up the Giant Burger Challenge, huh?" Marron asked. "Yep," Goten happily admitted, "Free food for a year. What can go wrong?" Marron joked, "Your waistline might expand if you only eat burgers and fries."

"Hey!" Goten said defensively, "I've been training, keeping it up, I'm plenty fit!" Marron just laughed and said, "Alright, see you around 11:30." "See you then, bye," Goten answered, and hung up. Marron put her plate and silverware in the dishwasher and headed back upstairs to brush her teeth, as her parents came down. "So, I'm going to meet up with Goten at 11:30 and stay with him for the day, until Goku-jii-san comes over," Marron told them. "Arranging a date?" Krillin asked. "No! I just wanted to see him is all," Marron said. "Oh? You broke up?" Eighteen asked. Marron started blushing, almost turning as red as Krillin was when he was exercising as she quickly headed to the bathroom to brush her teeth. After brushing her teeth, she ran straight to her room and grabbed her purse and checked to see if she should wear makeup.

Marron's nose was back to a normal color, it had been bruised most of the week from the fight at the Mall, and she was sure that it was a little flatter now, and the scar on her forehead was still noticeable. Marron hadn't bothered hiding them, she was proud of the scars, they were proof of the fight, her first real fight, that she had won! Marron saw she had plenty of time before heading out, so she laid down on her bed and put on the headphones Trunks had modified for her and started playing the music and spent the next two hours reading the latest news online. Videos of her fight were still up, some even showed her Dad's part as he finished off the Mohawk Guy. A lot of stupid comments said that it was fake, but the people who were there stuck to the truth, defending the videos' veracity. One comment from only two hours ago caught her eye, and she recognized the screen name: Meg nek0765; Mya, said, 'This is my best friend Marron. She's really this badass!'

Thanks Mya! Marron thought to herself, she wasn't going to hide the truth if people asked, and she put up a reply with her screen name: eArTh GiRl1, she said, 'Thanks for defending my honor. And my family is full of badasses.' She put her phone away and put on some pink lipstick, then headed out. Eighteen stopped her and slipped a condom in her purse. "MOM!" Marron yelled, and took it out, "I'm not going to do that! Not today!" "Well, the world is full of unexpected things. I never thought I'd be marrying your Dad afterall," Eighteen said. "I don't need them," Marron firmly said, and gave her back the condom before passing her. Eighteen followed her to the door and said, "Alright, sorry for the joke. Just, be safe, alright?" Eighteen told her before kissing her forehead. Marron smiled, "I will be, Mom," and kissed her Mom on the cheek before walking out.

The teen decided to take things slow and walk the way to Rocket Burger. As she walked, she felt people's eyes following her, and she knew it was because of the videos. People were staring at her, some looked nervous around her as she walked through the streets and past the stores, while others seemed like they wanted to come over and get a better look at her, but the nervous ones were holding them back. Marron stopped at a street light and was waiting for the light to turn green when a little boy with bright red hair and wearing a red shirt with normal shorts and flip-flops went up to her and said, "Are you the superhero lady?" Marron chuckled at that and told him, "Something like that." "Then why aren't you flying?" the boy asked. "I just felt like walking today," Marron answered, and the light turned green as the boy's Dad grabbed him, "I'm sorry about that." "Don't be," Marron assured him with a smile, and decided to give the boy a small show by doing a front flip across the street, to a few people's surprise.

Marron kept on walking, until she finally saw Rocket Burger. Rocket Burger was designed like an old-fashioned diner with a glowing red rocket sign on top. Marron checked the time and saw she was about five minutes early and went inside. The teen texted Goten, 'I'm at Rocket Burger'. He replied back, 'Be there in a minute'. About thirty seconds later she saw through the window as Goten ran inside, sweating. He was wearing normal jeans and green sneakers, and a sweaty yellow shirt. "Sorry it took me a while," Goten said, "Dad wanted me to get in some quick training, see if I was keeping up with my training." A tall, elderly waitress came over and asked for their drinks, Goten ordered water while Marron got a chocolate malt shake. While they waited for their drinks Marron asked, "So, I take it you didn't do too good, since you didn't get a chance to shower."

"Come on," Goten said as he blushed, "Give me some credit here. Dad said I had made a lot of progress since the last time we sparred." "Rrriiight," a disbelieving Marron said as their drinks arrived. After taking a few sips, Goten asked, "So, what did you wanna do today?" "Window shopping, mostly," Marron admitted, "And, I want to talk…about us." Goten swallowed loudly at that and said, "Y-yeah?" Marron looked him in the eyes and asked, "Goten, do you think we can be a couple, a real couple?" Goten stared at her for a minute before saying, "Yeah, we can be." "Then why didn't you call for the last week?" she asked him. Their waitress came by just then and asked for their orders. Marron ordered a double bacon cheeseburger with extra tomatoes, while Goten ordered the Giant Burger Challenge. The waitress looked at him and announced, "We got another Challenger!" The cook at the grill pounded his spatula on the grill and yelled, "CHALLENGEEEEEEERRRRRRR!"

Everyone in the restaurant looked at Goten and a lot of them said, "No way! This kid can't do that! He'll pop like a balloon!" Goten and Marron smiled at this as the cook put down a large slab of meat about as big as a watermelon. A woman dark haired woman wearing glasses and a suit came over with some papers and said, "Hi, I'm Ramona, the manager. So, you want to try The Giant Burger Challenge?" "Yep," Goten said. "Then we'll need you to sign these, so we can give you the card, if you succeed," Ramona the Manager said. Goten smiled and read the papers, they were mostly waivers saying that he agreed to pay 10000 Zeni should he lose the Challenge, and that he would get the free giftcard if he ate the whole burger, fries, and extra-large milkshake that came with it. Goten quickly signed it and Marron couldn't stop herself from smiling, "Hope you're ready. This guy could eat a whole mountain if his Dad and Big Brother didn't eat it first." "A lot of people say that," Ramona the Manager said as Goten finished signing the papers.

Marron's own food arrived while Goten's own massive meal was still cooking. She offered some of her fries, but Goten refused, "Trust me, I'll be getting plenty of fries." "You didn't answer my question by the way," Marron reminded him. "Oh, yeah, that…" Goten said as he started to blush, "Look, I'm sorry, I just had a lot to do between College and my apprenticeship at the Zoo, and…I don't want to mess this up. I mean, all my other girlfriends, we just kind of met each other, I…didn't really feel that…spark. But, we've known each other since we were kids, and…I'm just trying not to mess up with us." Marron was blushing as she heard him explain, he's really taking this seriously, that's not like Goten… "Okay, but, I suggest not waiting a week to call," Marron told him, finally. "Alright," Goten said. A loud bell rang as Ramona the Manager declared, "We have a new Challenger! Son Goten, from Mt. Paozu, will take on the Giant Burger Challenge! Can he survive the fifty-pound burger, one-thousand fries, and extra-large, 85 oz vanilla milkshake!? Let's find out!"

Marron's eyes nearly bugged out of her skull at the size of the platter of food, the burger alone ws larger than her head, along with the milkshake, and fries, she realized that this challenge was impossible for a human. "I'm glad I go back on my diet tomorrow," Marron whispered. Goten licked his lips and said, "Can I get a bib?" Ramona the Manager handed him a large plastic bib that covered his whole chest, and he got ready. "On my mark! Get set! GO!" Ramona yelled. As soon as she yelled 'GO', Goten went at the food like a rabid wolf. Marron watched him dig into the Giant Burger and thought to herself, Chi-chi-ba-san would have a heart attack if she saw this! Everyone watched in stunned disbelief as Goten got through one-quarter, then half, then three-quarters through the burger. Goten stopped and covered his mouth and one kid yelled, "He's gonna spew chunks!" Instead, Goten let off a massive belch that actually shook the table. "Excuse me," the half-Saiyan said, and immediately went back to eating, finishing the Giant Burger in only fifteen minutes.

"Holy crap!" Ramona the Manager yelled as Goten got to work on the fries while barely stopping, "This guy ain't human!" Marron laughed out loud at this, "Go you stomach on legs!" Goten smiled back at her before he kept on going, eating all the fries in five minutes. Goten then grabbed the milkshake and drank it down slowly, enjoying it the whole time; all the while everyone but Marron could only start dumbstruck at Goten as he actually completed the Giant Burger Challenge! Everyone stared at him silently for a whole minute, before breaking out in a cheer. "That kid is something else! Did you see how fast he was!? What is he, all stomach!?" people exclaimed as a still shocked Ramona the Manager handed Goten his gift-card, it was all white with the symbol for Rocket Burger on it. "If you don't mind, we'd also like your picture, Goten, to show you as our winner," the Manager said. "Sure thing, if my girlfriend can be in it," Goten said. "Sure," Ramona the Manager said, and Marron got up and picked up the platter, putting it in front of Goten to show it was empty, while Goten showed off his gift card with one hand, and flexed his other. "Perfect!" Ramona the Manager said as she took the picture.

Goten used the gift card to pay for their food, and the two of them headed out. The rest of their day was pretty normal, just a boyfriend and girlfriend walking through the city, window shopping at numerous stores, looking at clothes, jewelry, movies, action figures, comics, and stopping by a video game shop to look around. Just the two of them, walking around for hours, enjoying the sights of the city together. Marron checked her phone and saw it was almost time for her Dad to get off work, "Well, I better head home to get ready." "Can I come with you?" Goten asked. "I guess, but, don't peep when I'm changing," Marron told him with a wink as they headed into an alley. A blushing Goten said, "I'd never do that!" Marron just laughed as she took to the air, and Goten followed her close behind as they flew back to her house. As soon as they arrived they went in, Eighteen was reading a trashy novel on the couch when she saw them. "Your Dad's almost off," Eighteen said. "I know, I just wanted to get changed into my gi first," Marron said, and ran to her room, leaving Goten alone with Eighteen.

Marron quickly changed into her orange gi with pink shoes and armbands, and put on the white sweatband Vegeta gave her for her birthday too. The teen girl came out of her room and went down the stairs to see Eighteen was grilling Goten. "So just remember, whatever you plan on doing privately, just think, 'What if her Mom was right behind me'. Because I just might be," Eighteen said to a much paler Goten, "You'd never see it coming." "G-G-Got it," a shaky Goten said as Eighteen smiled at him, "Good." "Mo-o-om," Marron groaned as she walked over. "Just giving him some friendly advice," Eighteen said as she 'playfully' punched Goten's chest. Krillin showed up just then, still in his police uniform. "Welcome back, Dear," Eighteen said and gave him a kiss as he walked in. "Welcome back, Dad," Marron said, giving him a kiss on the cheek. Krillin took a look at Marron and said, "Well, you're definitely eager. Go ahead and call Goku, while I get some regular clothes on." "Sure thing," Marron said and immediately got her phone.

Goku answered on the third ring, "Hey, Marron, is it time?" "Yeah, Dad's back home, he's taking a shower and getting some regular clothes on. You can come over whenever." "Alright," Goku said, and hung up. The next second, Goku was in the living room, carrying Pan on his shoulder. "Hey guys," Goku greeted. "Hey Dad, Pan-chan," Goten said, taking Pan off Goku and pulling her in for a hug. "Uncle Goten, you smell like a burger!" Pan yelled. "I had a really big burger for lunch at Rocket Burger today," Goten told her, "It was this big!" Goten held out his hands to show how big the Giant Burger was. "It's true," Marron said as she came into the living room, "I saw it and everything." "Whoa! I didn't think they made burgers that big!" Goku said, "Sounds like a great lunch. Maybe Chi-chi and me and go there sometime." Krillin came down to the living room in a regular red shirt and denim shorts and black shoes on. "Alright, Goku, let's head over to someplace quiet. Don't want to bother the neighbors, you know?" Krillin said. "Sure thing. Everyone that wants to watch, grab on to me," Goku said.

Everyone in the room took a hold of Goku or his gi, and he Instant Transmitted them away, far away into a deserted mountain range that looked like it had seen better days. "Huh? Where are we?" Pan asked as she looked around, it was clear an immense battle had happened here. "This is where we first fought Vegeta, years and years ago," Goku told her. "Oh wow, it is!" Krillin said, "Hey, that's the crater Gohan made when he fell on him." "Yep, man, hard to believe it was so long ago, he was a bad guy, trying to destroy Earth," Goku commented, "But anyway, there's no one around for us to bother. So, Marron, you ready?" "Yep," the teen girl said as she cracked her neck. "Alright, well, first, let's make sure you can handle Kaioken. Trust me, it'll really mess you up if you try it too soon," Goku explained as he took a fighting stance, "We'll spar for a little bit, so I can get a good read on your power."

"Alright," Marron said as she took her own fighting stance. Marron took a look at Goku as he stood there, analyzing him. She had no chance of winning against him. He had the height advantage by four inches, the reach advantage as well, he had the power advantage, and he had the most important advantage of all: experience. Fact was that he had been fighting and training for over twice as long as Marron had been alive, and knew all the tricks in the book, plus a lot that weren't. Nevertheless, she was determined to show him how strong she was. Goku made the first move as he flew at her, going for a kick to her head. Marron ducked under the kick and blasted a ki wave from below that Goku avoided. Marron went on the counter-attack and threw a dozen punches that Goku deflected easily before palm-heeling her stomach to force her back. Marron took the hit but stopped and cupped her hands together. "Ka-Me-Ha-Me-" Marron powered up her attack, and Goku Instant Transmitted behind her. Marron back kicked him away from her and turned around, "HAAAA!"

"HHHAAAAAA!" Goku launched his own quick Kamehameha Wave and the two attacks clashed, blazing like another sun. Marron poured more power into her attack, but Goku's own never moved back a millimeter. Marron realized she had no chance to match his power, and quickly ended her attack and ducked, allowing Goku's Kamehameha Wave to pass over her head. Marron jumped onto a mountain; and felt the sun was behind her as Goku followed her. Marron put her hands to her forehead and yelled, "SOLAR FLARE!" The bright flash of light dwarfed the light from the clashing Kamehameha Waves and Marron flew at Goku to try a punch, but Goku caught her fist and twisted it behind her back. "That was a good idea, but your setup was too obvious," Goku explained. "Thanks," Marron said before she elbowed his ribs and Goku let her go. Marron got ready to keep going, but Goku said, "Stop! I've seen what I needed to see. You're definitely ready for the Kaioken." "Marron, that was awesome!" Goten yelled from below.

"Yeah!" Pan agreed as Goku and Marron floated back to the ground. "Alright then, let me explain the Kaioken," Goku started. "Basically, the Kaioken is a technique that allows someone's full power to flow through their body. Usually, people can use about a third to a half of their full power, otherwise they risk tearing their body apart. But, the Kaioken allows you to use your body's full power, for a few seconds at a time, at first. As I grew stronger, I've been able to use it for up to five minutes at most before it started to affect me. As for you, Marron, I'd suggest not pushing it for more than, say, thirty seconds. Understand?" Goku asked, he had a very serious expression throughout the explanation. "I understand," Marron nodded, just as seriously. "You need to be very careful with this technique, push it too hard, and your body could explode from all the pressure! You can push it, but you need to be careful. I remember when I fought Vegeta, I had to go Kaioken Times Three in order to really match his power, and then had to use Kaioken Times Four to go even further. By the time that was over, even a friendly pat on the back from Yajirobe felt like someone shoved a spike through me," Goku said.

Marron gulped at that image and nodded, "Right." "Honestly, the most you could do is maybe Kaioken Times Two, for about ten seconds. Any longer, and you'll be in for a world of hurt," Goku continued to explain. "Now, how to use it, you need to focus your ki, imagine it flowing through your body like a river. Imagine that power starting to flow through you faster, like a river that's been filled up with rain. You need to let it flow all through your body, while keeping control over it so it doesn't overflow your body. You understand?" Goku explained to Marron. Marron took a minute to think about it before saying, "I got it." "The power will flow through your blood, and from there through your whole body," Goku explained then yelled, "KAIOKEN!" Goku's ki aura flashed red all around him, like a hellish fire. "This will make you able to push yourself beyond your normal limits!" Goku declared, then disappeared before reappearing behind Marron, then disappearing and reappearing again above her, then returning to his original spot, where he took a deep breath and let the Kaioken deactivate.

"Think you can handle it?" Goku asked Marron. "I think I can," Marron said. Like a blue bonfire, Marron's ki swirled and danced around her body, before it shrank down enough so her body was glowing. Marron felt it as her ki seemed to truly fill her body in ways she never felt before, and she yelled out, "KAIOKEN!" Marron's aura erupted out of her, a dark red fire with her at it's center. "Holy smoke! I've never felt so powerful before!" Marron yelled as she threw several punches and kicks as speeds she never had before. Marron cupped her hands together and powered up a Kamehameha and blasted at one of the mountains. "KAMEHAMEHAAAA!" Her Kaioken Kamehameha exploded out of her hands like a blast from a volcano, obliterating the mountain completely. That was when Marron felt the pain begin, like burning needles through her entire body. She took a deep breath to slow her ki, and the Kaioken deactivated. Marron fell on her butt, sweat covering her body as she gasped for breath. "Oh man, that was intense!"

"That was great, for your first time. And you stopped before you were really damaged, that was good thinking on your part," Goku congratulated her. Goten helped Marron up, his grip felt tighter, and his hands felt rougher than she remembered. "I still feel a little sensitive though," she admitted. "You'll get used to it, just remember to listen to your body. When it starts to hurt too much, you let it go," Goku told Marron. "Right," Marron agreed. Everyone grabbed hold of Goku again, and he Instant Transmitted them back home.

Author's Note: I'll switch the focus on Yamcha for the next chapter, sorry that I didn't show him on this one even though I said I would. This one seemed to be a little long as it was.