Chapter Eight

His Adorable Sidekick


Her steps were deliberately slow as she walked on the pavement, not in any rush to get home. But, at the same time, Videl knew that she was simply delaying the inevitable. She had to confront her father and she couldn't put it off any longer.

About halfway through, Videl sighed, her shoulders slumping, and pulled out her jetcopter capsule. She might as well get it over with.

As she flew the rest of the way home, her fingers drummed on the joystick and her leg wouldn't stay in place. Her chest felt tight and heavy, and the girl regretted not taking the opportunity to talk to Gohan about her father. Maybe it would've made things easier.

Much sooner than she felt ready for, Videl flew the jetcopter down unto the landing pad at the back of the property. And she just sat there for a while, unable to make herself get out of the safety of her vehicle to confront the truth.

Her face scrunched up in disgust. When did she become such a coward? Since when was she the kind of person who would let her fears take control of her actions, of her life? This couldn't go on. She couldn't keep being scared all the time ━ scared of what she could turn into, scared to face the truth, scared to confront her father.

Well, screw being scared. With a new determination shining in her eyes, Videl got off her jetcopter and marched to the front entrance. This time, she wasn't getting cold feet; she wasn't letting her fears get the better of her. She was going to look her father in the eyes and ask him what really happened.

And that was exactly what she did.

Once she got home, she hadn't needed to go looking for her father because he was already waiting for her ━ which wasn't surprising given the way she had run off earlier. He asked her what was going on, what that had been about, and he was showing a scarcely-seen serious expression on his face. Gathering her courage, her fists clenched at her sides, Videl stood tall and told him she needed to talk to him in private, giving a pointed look around them: they were in the entrance hall and a few members of the staff were busying about in the open living area behind Mr. Satan.

The man gave her a questioning look, and Videl said, "Let's go to your office."

Her heart was racing as her father slowly nodded his head and turned around. She followed him, pushing down any emotion that would get in the way of her goal. She had decided she would confront him and nothing was going to stop her, especially not herself and those blasted fears. She was stronger than them, and Videl was ready to prove it to herself.

"So, what is it?" Mr. Satan inquired when they settled in his office. Videl sat in the comfy armchair on the other side of the imposing oak desk. The wide window behind her father made him look intimidating, but Videl didn't let that get to her. She'd come this far; she wasn't backing down now. Even if it meant pretending not to be scared out of her wits until it was true and she actually wasn't afraid anymore.

"I want to know what really happened at the Cell Games." Her fingers clutched the fabric of her cargo shorts.

Throwing his head back, he started laughing that obnoxious, fake laugh that never sat quite right with her. "What do you mean, Videl? You know what happened ━ I killed that evil monster in one shot!"

Her lips pursed tightly as he kept cackling. He was lying to her face. Her own father was lying to her face and it didn't even seem to faze him. Or had he come to believe his own lie over the years? She wouldn't put it past him.

"I know that's a lie."

Her assertion made him stop laughing at once. He blinked at her stupidly, and Videl had an unpleasant sensation in her stomach, as though something was playing with her intestines.

"What are you talking about, Videl?" he asked, looking genuinely confused with his head tilted to the side and his brow furrowed.

He really did convince himself he wasn't a fraud, that he was the world savior. It was even worse than she had feared.

Videl found herself glaring at him and gritting her teeth. How could she have been so blind to his faults? She had believed him, believed in him, and he was even the reason she trained so hard and started fighting crime. He had been her hero, and all she ever did was try to be like him, to be rightful and honest and brave. But he was none of those things. He was really a con man. A criminal.

"I know you didn't kill Cell," she hissed through gritted teeth. Her fists were so tightly clutched on her lap that her arms were shaking.

He paled, his eyes widening slightly, for just a second. He let out a titter and tried to wave it off once more. "O-Of course I killed Cell. Who else could've done it besides me?" He was getting his confidence back as he kept going, "I'm the world champion ━ I'm the strongest man in the world!"

"Stop lying!" she snarled, getting on her feet so fast her father gave a start. Her fists were tightly closed at her sides; her blood was boiling.

How could he still try to deny it? Why wouldn't he just admit the truth to her? She was his only daughter, for crying out loud! Was it too much to ask not to be lied to?

"I can't believe you! I'm telling you I know the truth and you, you…" Her anger was such that she couldn't even find her words. "Ugh! You're the worst!"

Unable to stand his very presence, Videl turned on her heels and stomped on her way out, slamming the door shut so hard that the various paintings on the walls quivered and tilted out of place.


They had been walking around the city for a bit before spotting an ice cream truck a little ways ahead. Goten, of course, turned to his older brother with longing in his eyes, and Gohan didn't need to be told twice; he was craving some ice cream too anyway. A cool, creamy, smooth and refreshing dessert sounded absolutely exquisite right about now.

Then he paused, looking over his shoulder and up at the sky, past the buildings and skyscrapers. Not too far away, Videl's familiar ki skyrocketed all of a sudden, standing out like a sore thumb among the much weaker kis in the city. His first thought was that she was either training or fighting crime, but, focusing his senses a little more, they told him that it was neither. The vibrations that her ki emitted seemed a bit… troubled. More than a bit, actually. He could sense a peak of negative emotions, and he was more than a little familiar with the particular feeling her aura was giving off.

It was anger. Fierce, vivid anger, making Videl's energy blaze.

He frowned. What happened to her?

"Hey, Gohan! Gohaaan, are you listening to me?"

Blinking out of his thoughts, the teen looked down at his pouting little brother and couldn't help cracking a smile at the adorable sight. Any expression Goten made was always adorable, really. He had the cutest little brother ever.

"You said we were getting ice cream and then you spaced out," Goten muttered, his arms crossed to emphasize that he was indeed upset.

"Sorry, Lil' buddy," he said with a smile, ruffling Goten's already wild hair. "Let's get that ice cream."

Goten's pout quickly vanished and was replaced by a big, excited grin. "Alright!" he cheered throwing his fist up, and his big brother chuckled in amusement.

As they waited in line, Gohan couldn't help focusing his senses on Videl's ki once again. His brow furrowed. Still blazing with fury, her aura was erratic. It was holding steady at a fairly high level, but with occasional spurts of heightened energy output. Whatever was bothering Videl, it seemed that it made her bust a gut training. At least, it wasn't a sparring match; Gohan would've worried for anyone being at the end of Videl's temper.

Had they been friends, he could've gone to see her and ask what was wrong. Despite their earlier encounter and the pleasant conversation that followed, Videl had her reasons for keeping her distance from him. It appeared to be linked to what she had foreseen about his future, but, alas, that was something she was not willing to share. With things being the way they were, the only thing Gohan could do was worry about her from afar.

It sucked, but there was nothing he could do about it. Friendship couldn't be forced.

It was their turn to order. Gohan felt his features relax as Goten hopped up and down and eagerly pointed at the triple scoop ice cream cone. With a smile at his brother, he ordered the same for himself too.

The Son boys walked away from the truck, happily licking their respective creamy delights. The cold flavors tasted particularly nice on this hot day. Gohan glanced over at his brother as they walked side by side on the street, a smile on his lips at the carefree and happy look on Goten's face. He felt so lucky to have such an adorable sibling. Goten certainly made life livelier at the Son home.

He was so much like their dad, in so many ways. Gohan felt the usual pang in his heart as he thought that their father was missing so much of Goten's life.

But the thought that he may come back in a distant future lessened the pinch in his chest. He couldn't wait for Goten to meet their dad. They were going to hit it off right away ━ Gohan could not be convinced otherwise. He wondered when it was going to happen.

Sirens blaring interrupted his thought process. Police cars rushed past them, and Gohan frowned. Geez, the crime in this city wasn't getting any better, was it? There was no taking the weekend off for crime, apparently.

"Oh! Oh!" Goten exclaimed, a big grin on his face. "Gohan! Gohan! Can I help you today? Can I? Pleeeaaase?"

It took the teen a moment to understand what his brother was asking. "You mean…"

"Shhhh!" Goten cut him off before he could continue, apparently assuming he was going to say something incriminating. "Bulma actually made a watch for me, too!" he said in excitement, hiking up his sleeve to proudly show the similar-looking watch on his wrist. He looked left and right and beckoned the older boy over with his hand, and Gohan couldn't help his amusement as he obliged and crouched down to get closer to Goten. The little boy cupped his hand around his mouth and whispered in his ear, "I can be your sidekick!"

Well, there were tons of ways this could go wrong, but Gohan figured, as long as he kept an eye on his brother, he should be able to make sure nothing got out of hand. Besides, maybe when Goten was older he would take on the superhero mantle in Gohan's place, so this would be kind of like his training.

"Sure, why not."

"Alright!" Goten exclaimed, jumping and throwing his fist into the air. He apparently forgot he was holding an ice-cream cone, because the three scoops all dropped to the ground at his enthusiastic cheer.

He froze for a moment, and then he frowned and shook his head, as though there were more important things to think about right now. Gohan was honestly impressed as Goten turned serious eyes to him and said, "Let's go!"

Gohan wasn't sure what to do with his own cone, so he suggested that he and Goten share it on their way to the crime scene. The little boy lit up and happily accepted the offer.

They could always get another treat after they took care of the ongoing crime.

Getting into a deserted alleyway, Gohan motioned upwards to his brother, who nodded gravely, clearly taking his role as his sidekick very seriously.

Once they got on the rooftop, both boys pushed the red button on their respective watches while announcing: "Transformation!"

Goten was grinning from ear to ear under his helmet. The color of his tunic was blue instead of Gohan's green, and his helmet was silver instead of orange, but other than that it was basically the same costume. Gohan grinned. It suited his brother like a glove.

They could still hear the police sirens from afar.

"Ready, Great Saiyaboy?" Gohan asked his brother, who grinned even wider in response.

"You got it, Great Saiyaman!"


"Okay, Goten. I mean, Saiyaboy," Gohan corrected himself. He and his little brother, or rather, his sidekick for the day, were standing atop a building overlooking the current bank robbery that had turned into a hostage situation. "Rule number one: never say your real name or mine. Out there we're the Great Saiyaman and the Great Saiyaboy, but you can lose the 'Great' for short if you need to call me."

Goten nodded, his lips taut in a very serious frown. Gohan cracked a smile. His brother was so cute. He couldn't have asked for a more adorable sidekick.

"Rule number two: protect the innocent at all costs. But always control your strength not to hurt the bad guys too badly."

"Got it!"

"Rule number three: have fun with it!" Gohan said with a grin. "We'll work on a routine for another time if you want, but we'll try to look cool without practice this time."

Goten's lips broke into a grin, and even though Gohan couldn't see his eyes, he knew they were shining with excitement.

"Don't worry, Gohan, I've watched you practice, I know all your cool moves!"

Gohan chuckled. This should be fun. "Okay then, I think we're ready to officially introduce you as my sidekick. Ready, Saiyaboy?"

"You got it, Saiyaman!" Goten replied with enthusiasm, turning his attention to the ongoing crime below.

Gohan did the same, assessing the situation. Things seemed calm for now. The robbers were holding the customers and employees of the bank hostage, so the police were staying put while they tried to negotiate a deal with the criminals to let the hostages go unharmed.

"What should we do?" Goten asked, not really used to that kind of thing.

"Well, our priority is to keep all the innocent people safe, and right now the bad guys seem on standby while waiting for the police to answer their demands."

Goten nodded slowly to show him that he understood. Gohan cracked a smile. If this went well, he might take Goten along to be his sidekick more often. His little brother was just so cute. He was bound to become super popular with the people of Satan City, too, probably even more popular than the Great Saiyaman himself ━ but Gohan wouldn't mind. He got it, honestly. There was just no competition there. The cute factor was simply too strong with Goten.

"Let's sneak in. We don't want to give the bad guys a chance to harm anyone."

"Got it," Goten said, his tone serious. "How do we get in? Maybe we can use our superspeed to rush in without being seen?"

Gohan shook his helmeted head. "While it's not a bad idea, we don't know what's going on in the bank, where the robbers are, and how close they are to the hostages. It'd be too risky."

"Right. Protect the innocent at all costs," Goten repeated the second rule. Gohan couldn't get the grin off his face. His little sidekick was just so adorable. Despite the current crime situation, he couldn't help his high spirits. Goten had that effect on people.

Gohan took a moment to think it over. "I think our best shot is to find a window to some office inside the bank and sneak in."

"Oh, that's a much better idea! It shows that you're used to that kind of stuff already! You're so cool, Gohan!"

The teen laughed slightly. He patted his brother on his helmet, since he couldn't ruffle his wild hair like he usually did while Goten was wearing the silver contraption.

"Anyway, let's…"

His words died on his tongue as the familiar rumbling of an engine approached them from behind. Gohan turned around, and Goten followed suit out of curiosity.

The teenage superhero blinked behind his visor. It was Videl's unmistakable yellow jetcopter, with the name Satan written in big black letters on the side of the aircraft.

And it was flying straight at them.

"How did she…?" He trailed off as the jetcopter landed on the roof, a few feet away. Videl got off the flying vehicle, and Goten perked up.

"Oh! It's Videl!" He ran up to her with a big grin. "This is so cool! We're all gonna fight the bad guys together!"

Videl raised an eyebrow at the excited little boy in disguise in front of her, before turning a skeptical gaze on the older superhero.

"You're letting your brother come with you? Seriously?"

Gohan let out an awkward chuckle. "Well, he's stronger than he looks, and I'll keep an eye on him."

"And who's keeping an eye on you?" she shot back with a teasing smirk.

"You are?" he joked back with a grin.

She rolled her eyes, but she was still smiling. Gohan felt the weight lessen in his chest. He had been worried about Videl since he picked up her ki flaring with anger earlier, but his little brother seemed to have had a calming effect on her. Which wasn't surprising. There was no rivaling Goten's adorable factor.

"How did you find us, anyway?" Gohan inquired.

Videl snorted a laugh. "You're kidding, right? I was flying to the bank after I got the call from the police, so of course I'd notice two very colorful figures standing on a rooftop just over the bank. Your disguises aren't what I'd call… inconspicuous."

Gohan chuckled in embarrassment. She had a point there.

"We were just about to sneak in through an office window!" Goten cut in excitedly. "We can take you with us!"

Videl tilted her head. She seemed to think about it. Gohan smiled and rubbed the back of his neck.

"What do you think? Shall we actually team up for once?" he proposed.

"I guess I could use the help," she accepted, giving a shrug.

"Alright!" Goten cheered, throwing his fist up. "I'm going in first!"

With that, and without waiting for his "team", a white aura surrounded the disguised little boy and he took off to find an office window like they had planned.

Gohan grimaced. "Oh, geez. I can't let him out of my sight. Come on, let's hurry!"

With that, and without so much as a warning, Gohan wrapped his arms around Videl's waist and to go after his brother. He was too worried about what mayhem Goten could cause without his supervision to be aware that he was holding Videl all against him, or that he was doing anything out of the ordinary.

But the girl certainly did notice, and she flushed. Her arms moved around his neck. And then the world around them became a blur. It made her heart feel as though it was rising in her chest in a breathless kind of way, like in a rollercoaster ride. Videl held her breath as Gohan zipped after his brother, and what seemed like a second later, they were hovering before an open window. The office on the other side was empty. Apparently, Goten had been too excited to wait for them.

"Darn it," Gohan muttered under his breath, even though that wasn't even a real curse. "We have to hurry after him. I shouldn't have brought him along…"

She would've come up with something witty to say if Gohan's arms hadn't still been around her. His body heat had a weird effect on her, and Videl felt flustered and nervous. With the boy she secretly liked holding her so close, the girl was in no condition to hold a proper conversation, let alone focus on the problem at hand.

She hated how much she liked being in his arms like this. Why did it have to feel so damn amazing? She had to fight back the urge to lean in to him. It just felt so… right.

The embrace was short-lived, however. Gohan didn't waste any time and let go of her as soon as they went through the window and into the empty office. The next moment, Videl found herself alone, because Gohan was too worried about what trouble his little brother could cause to think about waiting for her to compose herself. Not that he had any idea that she needed some time to regain her bearing.

She swallowed, her face still beet-red as she stood alone in the room. Was it just her? Did Gohan just not see her in that way? Well, it wasn't like she had given him a chance to develop feelings for her like he was supposed to. Gohan was meant to fall in love with her in time, after all, but Videl was supposed to stop that from happening ━ not wish that he felt the same way as her.

Shaking her head sharply, Videl decided that she needed to focus on the matter at hand. She had wasted enough time as it was ━ she wasn't going to let Gohan and Goten do all the work on their own. She could use the chance to vent on some bad guys as well, today more so than usual.

Sneaking into the bank through an adviser's office had been a good idea, and Videl had to admit that she would've had a harder time to find her way into the bank if not for Gohan bringing her. As embarrassing and troubling as it had been to feel him so close to her, the crime fighter gave credit when credit was due, and his help had been quite useful.

Her steps were almost noiseless as she slid against the wall in the hallway, slowly making her way to the main office where the robbers were holding everyone hostage.

When she made a turn, she saw a small, red-caped silhouette, observing the scene over the wall so as not to be seen. She had to give it to Goten not to have rushed into the action without thinking, which had been what she assumed a boy his age would do in this situation. She was glad that she was proven wrong, but her brow furrowed as she swept her head around for the older superhero. How had Gohan not caught up to his brother by now? He'd left the office before her. Where was he? Did he get lost or something?

Well, at least she could keep the little superhero in check until Gohan turned up, whenever that would be. From what she knew about Goten, more from her dreams than by meeting him just earlier today, the boy could be reckless and inattentive, but he also knew to keep his head straight when something serious demanded it, so Videl was confident he would follow her lead without questions. She was, after all, the more experienced one on the field, and even though she was well aware that he was endlessly stronger than her even at his young age, Goten had been raised to always respect and obey his elders, so the girl wasn't too worried.

She sneaked up behind him and put her hand on his shoulder, hoping not to startle him. Goten simply turned his head toward her with a smile. Videl noted that the silver helmet he was wearing, while still having a ridiculous design what with the antennas on either side of it, looked slightly better than the orange one Gohan adorned. The color went well with the blue tunic that Goten had on too, and while Videl still questioned the fashion sense of the person who designed these suits, at least on a little boy it looked somewhat less absurd because, after all, there was nothing unusual about kids playing dress-up. On a teenager who could pass off as a grown man, however… Videl couldn't imagine ever thinking that Gohan's superhero persona was anything but lame.

"Goten," she said, and then figured he must have a superhero name to conceal his real identity.

"It's Saiyaboy," the child corrected her, unwittingly answering her before she could ask what she should call him.

"Right. Saiyaboy, you shouldn't have run off like that. You're still new to this kind of thing and you have to wait for your brother no matter the situation."

His smile fell and his lips parted in what she assumed was a look of horror, which was hard to tell because of the helmet covering most of his face.

"I… I just… Oh, no, Gohan's not gonna want to let me come along again now!" he realized, his voice rising in panic. Videl shushed him and he gasped, clamping his hands on his mouth, but it was too late. His outburst had drawn attention from the robbers, and one of them was stalking towards them in suspicion.

"Who's out there?" he called out.

Videl shot the superhero in training a stern glare that said, "See what you've done?" But she felt bad almost immediately as the helmeted boy hung his head in shame.

Thinking quickly, she took Goten's gloved hand. "You have superspeed too, right?" she whispered to him quickly, sneaking a glance at the armed and hooded man approaching them. "Get us out of here!"

His mostly concealed face seemed to light up, if his grin was any indication. Goten tightened his hand on hers, and the next moment Videl felt that rush in her chest once more, just like before, when Gohan flew after his brother to the office window. Distractedly, she wondered if there was any point in going on rollercoaster rides for people who could move at such speeds.

In a split second, the pair found themselves on the other side of the main office, behind some counter where transactions were made. Videl and Goten quickly crouched down, even though the young boy didn't really need to since he was shorter than the top of the counter.

"You're really smart!" he complimented in a hushed voice, a grin playing on his lips.

"Thanks." Videl cracked a smile. That kid was just as cute as she remembered from her dreams.

There was a kind of zip sound from behind them, and the pair turned round to a crouched down Great Saiyaman, his lips taut in annoyance. Goten's face fell, feeling what was coming to him.

"Rule number four," Gohan growled lowly at his brother, "never run off on your own and always stay within my sight."

"I'm sorry, Go━ I mean, I'm sorry, Saiyaman…" murmured Goten's small voice, his head hung.

Videl felt bad for him. He was still a child, and while one could argue that a boy his age had nothing to do in the middle of a crime scene, let alone to help stop it, Goten was no normal kid. It occurred to her that Gohan had been barely older than him when he'd faced Cell.

Videl swallowed at the thought. What kind of childhood did one have to lead to end up in a battle to the death to save the world at nine years old?

She wished she could ask him that and so much more. Alas, she was not willing to pay the price for satisfying her curiosity. It was bad enough that she was seeing him again today and they actually interacted instead of doing their own thing, each on their own side, to help the police fight crime. It was bad enough that she was already crushing on him despite her best efforts to avoid him. It was bad enough that her heart wasn't okay with the decision she'd made not to let destiny take its course and didn't miss an opportunity to protest painfully inside her chest.

Videl simply couldn't allow that future from coming true. She just couldn't. Even if a part of her would always wonder if this was the right decision. The risk was too big ━ it was just too big.

"Where have you been, anyway?" she asked Gohan, to distract herself from her troubling thoughts. "You went after… Saiyaboy before me." She'd hesitated, almost blurting out Goten's name. While they weren't in hearing range, it was the principle of things. No real name-calling when on the job. That was superhero rule number one ━ everybody knew that.

"I, uh…" He rubbed the back of his neck, probably itching to scratch his hair but unable to because of his silly-looking helmet. "I was following… Saiyaboy by his ki, which was a mistake because I took a wrong turn and hit a dead end."

"His… ki?" she repeated the foreign word which sounded vaguely familiar at the same time. Videl had a feeling this wasn't the first time she'd heard it, even though it had been in some of her dreams.

Yet another evidence that her dreams were visions of her future ━ a future that she'd hopefully erased by now, despite her growing feelings for Gohan.

As long as they never dated and eventually got engaged then married… As long as Videl made sure she never ended up as Gohan's wife, surely she wasn't going to become the mild-mannered and mellow woman from her visions, right?

"Oh, sorry," Gohan gave her a sheepish smile ━ which looked adorable even with that stupid orange helmet. Damn him. "I never told you about ki, did I? It's… um… It's kinda hard to explain…"

A distressed cry sounded, reminding the team of the hostage situation.

"I'll tell you later," Gohan whispered hurriedly. "We better move now."

Both Videl and Goten nodded in agreement. Videl peered over the side of the counter to get an idea of what they were dealing with.

"There's six of them," Gohan said, even though he wasn't even looking at the scene, still crouched down behind the counter with the other two. "And there are seventeen hostages."

Videl gave him a look over her shoulder. "When did you count them?"

"Just now. I can sense it in their kis; it's their life forces. I can tell the difference between those who are scared and those who feel aggressive and anxious."

So that's what ki was. Videl had a feeling it was something like that, but now she had a much clearer idea of what Gohan was talking about. That meant that earlier, Gohan was following Goten's ki instead of just taking the obvious route to the main room of the bank, and he got lost as a result, which was what had delayed him.

"What do we do?" Goten asked, looking both excited and anxious for his first time fighting crime.

"I say we take them out one by one, discreetly," Videl suggested. "It would be easier if we could create a diversion. Hmm…" She thought for a few moments. A smoke bomb would have been ideal, but she did have two super-powered half-aliens at hand. Maybe they could do something that would cause the same effect. "You guys can throw blasts with your hands, right?"

"Yeah, that's ki too," Goten replied, happy to take part in the plan-making process.

"Perfect. I need you guys to make a cloud of dust rise. Think it'll be possible?" she asked, turning to Gohan. He gave her a half-smile that resembled a smirk. Almost arrogant.

"Sure, no problem." He turned to Goten. "Leave it to me, okay? I have more experience with ki-control, so it'll be safer."

Goten's lips puckered out, obviously wishing he could be of use.

"There's six of them," Videl offered with a smile. "How about we each take two out?"

"Sounds fair," Gohan agreed with a chuckle. "What do you say, Lil' buddy?"

Goten nodded his head vigorously, obviously excited at the prospect of stopping two criminals all on his own.

The interaction between the brothers was… heartwarming. The way Goten seemed to simply adore his big brother, and the way Gohan talked with Goten, giving him pet names and always being kind and gentle with him…

It reminded Videl of how Gohan would be with their baby daughter. Always kind and gentle, even when she was fussy or throwing a fit. He would've been such a great dad.

Her heart sunk, but Videl forbade herself from going any further in her thought process. She wasn't allowed to regret what she was stopping from happening. She didn't get to wish it could still happen, if only it didn't mean marrying Gohan would turn her into a woman whose sole desire in life was to make her husband and children happy. Not that there was anything wrong with that… but why would it mean that she had to lose her vibrant fire in the process?

"Alright, I'll create the diversion, and then we'll split up and take care of the bad guys," Gohan concluded their plan. Videl forced herself to get her head back in the game. Lives were at stake here, this was not the time to think about the life she had turned her back to.

Goten was balancing himself on his feet, one after the other, like he couldn't wait to get started. His hidden eyes were most likely shining with excitement.

And so the three split up. A few moments later, a loud crack sounded, and, as promised, a cloud of dust rose from the rubble of whatever Gohan had hit with his blast. Meanwhile, Videl had been sneaking behind one of the hooded robbers, ready to knock him out swiftly.

Of course, the blast put the criminals on alert, and they were turning to every side with their machine guns pointing in all directions, shouting to call out the intruders. But with their vision impaired, there was little they could do.

Goten was following Videl's example, slowly advancing towards one of the bad guys with the intention to take him out with one blow. He felt like a ninja, and the little superhero boy was bubbling with excitement. Even after his mistake, Gohan was still letting him help, and Goten was determined to make his brother proud. He was going to be the best sidekick a superhero could ever ask for!

"What the hell…? Who's there?" yelled the robber Goten had been sneaking up to, turning around swiftly in his direction despite the cloud of dust rendering his vision useless. But, apparently, he could still make out the colorful silhouette of the little boy, and Goten pouted, disappointed that he hadn't been able to be swift like a ninja. The flashy costume, while super cool, hadn't been of much help to him, alas.

But he remembered Videl's quick thinking earlier, so Goten used his superspeed to phase out, and reappeared behind the armed man.

"What the…?" came the confused croak.

Goten tapped his leg. Since he had already been found out, and while he could've knocked out the robber right then and there, he felt like having some fun with the guy. Superheroes always had witty quips when they fought villains after all, right?

"Behind you," he teased the beefy man.

The smoke was beginning to clear. The criminal took a step back, his machine gun still raised, not quite sure what he was looking at.

"Who the hell are you?" he yelled, recognizing the familiar costume but not quite adding up why a kid dressed up similarly to the already famous superhero was facing him, seemingly fearlessly.

"Hi! I'm Go━"

Superhero rule number one: never say your real name. Come on, Goten, don't mess up already! the boy scolded himself.

"I'm going to stop you!" he caught himself, feeling like patting himself on the back for his quick thinking.

"Like hell you are!" Ruthlessly, the man hit the trigger of his machine gun and peppered the child with bullets.

Goten could see the small projectiles breaking the air like in slow motion. Not wanting to risk the lives of the innocent people around him by a bouncing bullet, the superhero boy made sure to catch all of them in his hands. He felt so cool doing that, and couldn't stop grinning all the while. It was just like what he'd seen Gohan do on TV!

To make a show of it, Goten crushed the metallic bullets in his hands, then opened them to let the dust drop on the floor. The masked criminal gulped loudly.

Goten figured it was time to cut it short, so he rushed the man, jumped high and delivered a mild yet devastating roundhouse kick, effectively knocking him out with one blow.

Landing on his feet, he stood proudly before his fallen adversary, his hands on his hips, his grin bigger than ever.

"Saiyaboy! You still have your second bad guy to take care of," his brother reminded him. "Videl and I are already done with ours."

Goten looked around the bank and, indeed, only one hooded man was left standing, shaking in his boots as the teenage crime fighters just stood there and waited for the child to take care of him.

"I'm Saiyaboy!" Goten introduced himself. He took a pose, raising a fist up in the air while his other arm stretched to his side. "The Great Saiyaman's most-trusted sidekick!" He crossed his arms in front of his head, bending his knees with his feet wide apart. "And I will not…" He straightened up and dramatically pointed his gloved finger at the last villain standing, "tolerate evil such as you! Prepare yourself, fiend, because I'm going to kick your butt!"

A scowl of disgust contorted the hooded man's lips. "No way I'm getting beaten by a brat…" he growled, no longer scared. Instead, a sudden wave of anger had risen within him at the turn of events.

He reached for the closest hostage, obviously intending to use the woman as leverage for his own freedom. But, like with the bullets, Goten was seeing him move in slow motion. The boy used his superspeed, slapping the man's hand away from his would-be hostage, before grabbing his wrist and skillfully locked his arm behind his back.

"That's no way to treat a lady," Goten berated, no longer amused. He didn't like to think that some people really were evil, that they would stop at nothing for their own benefit, even if it meant hurting people who did nothing to them.

"I'mma kill you! I'mma teach you some manners, you brat!" the criminal sputtered angrily, struggling against the boy's grip.

"Don't underestimate Saiyaboy just because he's a child," Gohan said to him with a smile, standing aside calmly, his arms crossed. "He is my brother, after all."

"Sure am!" Goten confirmed proudly.

"You guys are freaks! Freaks of nature!" the robber insulted them, trying to hurt them with his words since he was clearly outmatched physically.

"Hey, that's really mean!" Goten frowned. "You're a really bad man, you know that?"

"No shit, Sherlock!" The man struggled as hard as he could, but the child's grip was just too strong. "I'm gonna kill you!" he said, even though he was well aware that his threats were as empty as they were useless.

"Saiyaboy," Videl called, her face taut in a deep scowl, her arms crossed tightly. "Teach this man a lesson. Show him how what he calls "freaks of nature" fight for justice."

Goten nodded his head once, before turning his attention to the criminal in his grip. "I wish I had the power to make you good. Maybe you'll think about what you've done when you're in prison."

The struggling man was about to say something in response, probably more curses and insults, but before the air could leave his lung, Goten kicked him behind his knee and used the momentum of his fall to punch him on the side of his stomach. The pain was enough to make the criminal curl up on the floor and whimper helplessly, but since Goten hadn't hit any pressure point, the man, while out of commission, was not unconscious.

"Good job, Saiyaboy," Videl praised. "Couldn't have done it better myself."

Goten grinned proudly, his legs spread and his fists on his hips as the people they had just saved cheered for the crime-fighting team.

"Saiyaman!" the little boy perked up suddenly. "That's our cue!"

A grin stretched out the older superhero's lips, while Videl took a step back, dread filling her being at the words Goten had pronounced. They weren't going to… They weren't, were they? They wouldn't…

And yet, here they were. The brothers took several, uncoordinated poses while announcing that everything was safe now and introducing themselves once more, as the Great Saiyaman, champion of justice, and the Great Saiyaboy, his most-trusted sidekick.

Videl smacked her palm on her face, feeling embarrassed for their sake, despite how proud of themselves the brothers looked.

To think she would've become a member of their family if not for the warning she got from her dreams…


Now out of their untasteful disguises, Gohan and Goten were in a deserted alley with Videl. Saiyaboy, as expected, attracted a lot of attention, and the only thing the superhero duo were willing to tell the press was that the Great Saiyaman's sidekick was also his little brother. Then they both flew away, only to return moments later and discreetly coerce Videl into an alley.

"So, what did you think? What did you think?" Goten asked, jumping from one foot to the other, his fist clenched and raised by his head while the biggest grin stretched out his lips. "How did I do? I did good, didn't I? I mean, I wasn't as fast as you guys to take care of my bad guys, but I did good, didn't I? And people cheered for me, too! Boy, I can't wait to tell Trunks! He's gonna be so jealous!"

Videl chuckled. She had to admit, she had still been fuming at her father when she got the police call, but ever since seeing Goten on the rooftop earlier, his cuteness had managed to shoo away all her negative emotions. Gohan was lucky to have such an adorable little brother.

"You were great, Goten, even though you did have a bumpy start," Gohan reminded the boy, giving him a pointed look. Goten's grin became sheepish as he scratched the back of his head ━ the exact same way Videl had seen Gohan do many times, despite how hard she'd been trying to avoid him over the past week. The familiar habit made her heart melt. Goten was just too cute.

"Well, I guess we better get going," Gohan said with a resigned sigh. Videl turned to him ━ he was rubbing the back of his neck, and without her consent, a light blush made its way to her cheeks.

Damn it, this one was really cute too ━ but in a different way.

He started turning away. Before she could stop herself, her hand reached out for his sleeve. "Wait," she heard herself say, even though she was positive she never agreed to say that word.

Gohan looked at her, tilting his head in confusion.

The thought of them leaving reminded her that she would have to go home. Home to her father. To her lying father, a man who wouldn't admit the truth even when she told him she knew he was a fraud. A man who had come to believe his own lies to the world over the years.

A man everyone else on this planet worshipped like a god.

Videl needed to get it off her chest, somehow, someway. The distraction of their team-up had helped for a time, but now reality was catching up to her and she wasn't ready to face it.

She needed to talk to someone about all this ━ but who other than Gohan would understand what she was going through? Nobody would ever believe her if she tried telling them the truth about her father. They would scoff at her and call her a liar, even her best friends. There was nothing she could do about it ━ they were all brainwashed by the Satan mania.

Gohan was the only one who knew the truth. He was the only one she could ever talk to about her father. Even as risky as spending time with him was, the damage was done already anyway. She was already crushing on him, despite her best efforts. So what difference did that make? As long as she made sure that their relationship didn't evolve into something more, she should be safe from the visions of the future that she'd had.

At least, that was how Videl convinced herself that she wasn't being reckless, that she had no other choice. She had to talk to someone, anyone, but the only person who would listen and believe her was the boy she was supposed to avoid. It wasn't her fault things ended up this way. She had no choice.

She needed this. Videl just couldn't fathom going back home right now, going back to her lying father. She needed to talk to Gohan.

"What is it?" he asked.

"Can… Can we talk?" she croaked out. She ran her tongue over her lips, feeling a lump rise in her throat. Her mouth felt so dry. "You're the only one I can talk to about this. About my dad."

Understanding flashed in his coal eyes. His brow furrowed gravely, and then he turned to his brother. "Goten, go on ahead and go home, I'll join you guys later. Tell mom I don't know when I'll be back. This could take a while."

The little boy looked between the two teens, his head tilted in confusion. He opened his mouth, like he wanted to ask more, but his upbringing made him clamp it shut and nod his head instead. Goten just didn't have it in him to discuss a direct order from his older brother. He had been molded into a well-mannered child who always respected and obeyed his elders, especially family.

"Okay. See you later, then."

Videl had to give it to Chichi ━ the woman had raised respectful young men.

Goten flew off, and then Gohan turned to her once more, the seriousness never leaving his eyes. "Let's find ourselves a bench."

Videl nodded in agreement, and they went on their way.

Yes, indeed ━ this could take a while. Might as well be seated.