Hovering several feet above Orange star High, Gohan looked down at the school to see that a swarm of news hungry journalists and their cameramen had already formed a blockade around the school's main gate.
There is no way I am ever getting through that entrance unscathed. Gohan thought, and then shuddered at the thought of ever being surrounded by that many cameramen.
He then shifted his attention to the roof top of the school. While there were still journalists up there, there were not even half as many as there were down below. But besides the journalists, several students were also currently on the roof, and several more kept arriving as that was where the helipad for the capsule copters were.
Well I definitely can't fly down onto the roof, too many witnesses. And I would rather avoid any and all journalists if I can.
So deciding against landing on the roof, Gohan scanned the school and its surrounding area to find a safe place where he could land and then safely enter the school without running into too many people. He then noticed the wide ground behind the main school building.
While there were absolutely no journalists on the school ground, there were still several students practicing football before the classes started, as well as their coach.
I can't just directly fly into the school ground, I'll be spotted. And there doesn't seem to be any back entrance to the school ground either.
Gohan tried to look for a small gate or some such entrance that directly led into the school ground, but there wasn't one. The entire school ground's perimeter was bordered by a wall that was several feet tall.
Wait! I can't directly fly in because that would be too noticeable, but I can easily jump over the wall! Plus the ground is extremely large, and the students seem to be busy in their practice, so they won't even notice someone jump over.
At least Gohan hoped that no one would notice him jump over, as the wall was not something a normal human could ever jump over. If someone sees me, I'll be in trouble, but the ground is large, so if I jump from a spot that is further away from the students, it's unlikely that they will see me.
Deciding to land right next to the outer side of the school's perimeter wall, Gohan was about to fly down, when he luckily realized that he was still in his Saiyaman costume. Wow! If I am seen in this then I am definitely busted!
Gohan had already depowered from his super Saiyan form, right after he flew into the sky after stopping the bank robbery. The aura of super Saiyan was rather conspicuous due to the light it emitted, so Gohan had depowered so that no one could spot him while he was flying, but he had forgotten to change back to his normal clothes. He pressed a button on the side of his helmet, which immediately caused the costume to start glowing. In a few seconds, the bright glow of the costume subsided, and the saiyaman costume had vanished, leaving behind Gohan's original school uniform.
Alright, now time to fly down. Gohan flew down towards his landing spot at inhuman speed. To an untrained human eye, he would appear as nothing more than a blur. Within a matter of a few seconds, Gohan landed on the ground from his spot several hundred feet up in the air.
Hopefully no one saw me fly down. And even if they did, I would only appear as a blur, so they would hopefully think that I am just a bird.
Gohan now stood only a few feet away from the wall, behind which was the school ground.
Just as Gohan was about to make his jump, he sensed a familiar ki up in the sky above him. He promptly looked up to a capsule copter fly down towards his location.
That ki...it's the girl who fought alongside grandpa against the red ribbon army general!
Inside the copter was Videl, who had decided to enter the school through the back entrance today. Of course there wasn't a back entrance, but the perimeter wall wasn't really much of a challenge for her to jump across. There were too many news men at the front gate as well as on the roof, and Videl was in no mood to deal with goddamned paparazzi. As she lowered her copter towards the ground she suddenly sensed a strange but familiar ki. She looked down at the ground and saw a singular man standing there, who had noticed her presence, just as she had his, and was looking up in her direction. That is the prince of the Ox kingdom! Videl realized. She had seen him during the attack of the red ribbon army on the city a few weeks ago.
That's Videl Satan! I hope she didn't see me fly, Gohan thought worriedly. The copter landed a few feet in front of him, the wind from its blades ruffling his hair and clothes.
The engine of the copter shut down a few seconds after it landed on the ground, and its blades stopped rotating soon after. And then the hatch of the copter opened, and out from inside of it jumped Videl. As soon as her feet touched the ground, Videl pressed a button on the side of the copter, causing it to revert back to its capsule form. She then pocketed the capsule and turned to face Gohan.
"You are...Son Gohan, the prince of the Ox kingdom, right?" Videl asked.
I don't think she noticed me fly, Gohan thought. "Yeah...and you are Videl Satan if I am not mistaken, Hercule Satan's daughter".
"Yup, that's me alright", she replied.
A few moments passed with an awkward silence between them. Then, breaking the silence, Videl spoke, "We met before".
"Yeah", Gohan said, scratching the back of his head he added, "Well, wasn't really much of a meeting...but we did see each other", after which he chuckled nervously.
Her power...is much greater than Hercule's! Who whould have thought, that guy's daughter would be so powerful, Gohan thought. She wasn't nearly as powerful as the Z fighters, even Yamcha was much more powerful than she was, but for an ordinary human her ki was impressive.
"Yeah, the first time we met, the city was under attack by a bunch of nut jobs", she then grinned and said, "not the most ideal welcoming committee huh?"
Gohan once again chuckled and said, "Yeah...but you guys beat them right? I mean the city police and all. You too, I saw your fight against their general, it was really impressive".
"Thanks", Videl said with a smile, "but it was your grandfather that landed the knockout blow. Without him I would have been destroyed".
"You did pretty well against him too".
"Ha! I almost got killed! Truthfully he was out of my league. Your grandfather really saved my ass back then", then raising her eyebrows inquisitively she asked, "By the way, why didn't you help out?"
"Huh!? Me?" Gohan asked in surprise, and then he remembered how Videl had dodged that man's versatile tornado like ki. The only way she could have done that is if she could sense it. Is she really Satan's daughter? Gohan wondered.
"Well..." Gohan looked down at the ground trying to avoid eye contact with Videl, "I...I didn't know if I was strong enough. And also, I didn't really want the world to see me fight. I know that was kinda selfish, but.." Gohan didn't finish the sentence, because he really couldn't find a way to explain what he felt, and also deep down he knew that what he did was selfish. He could have easily ended the attack on the city within minutes, but he was afraid of publicly showing his powers, and that could have gotten several innocent people hurt.
"Didn't want the world to see me fight? That, is a lame excuse for potentially putting lives at risk, Mr. Prince", Videl said harshly.
Gohan winced at her tone, especially when she called him Mr. Prince, which she said in an extremely mocking tone.
"Yeah...I know. I...I'm sorry about that", Gohan muttered timidly.
Videl sighed, and then said, "Well, what's done is done. A pity you didn't take after you grandfather, but I guess courage isn't hereditary".
Gohan winced once more at her words, and then muttered, "Sorry", once more.
"Yeah, whatever", Videl said, then shifted her attention to the wall behind Gohan, "Guess you were planning on taking the back route as well, huh?"
"The back route?" Gohan asked confused as there wasn't a back gate to the school, then he suddenly realized what she meant and said, "Ooh! Ah...yeah, the back route. Yup, that right".
"Hate those paparazzi, huh?" Videl said, then smiling she added, "me too. They piss me off".
Gohan chuckled, and then turned to face the wall as well. He was glad that Videl had stopped mocking him for the fact that he didn't help in the fight against the red ribbon general, but he could tell that she was still bitter about that.
Gohan turned his head to face Videl, who was now standing next to him, and he asked, "Miss Videl, no one will see us if we jump this way right?"
Videl looked at him and frowned, "What's the problem even if they do see us?"
Gohan gulped and tried to articulate a response, "Well...uh..you know...well.."
Thankfully Videl just rolled her eyes and cut him off, "Don't worry, the guys who are in practice right now are too busy, plus they won't be facing us. No one will see us; I have done this before, and have never been caught".
"Ah...that's good", Gohan said. Reassured he turned back to face the wall.
"Well then, shall we", Videl said, and then she got into a crouching position, with her body weight concentrated on her feet.
"Wait!" Gohan suddenly said.
"What?" Videl asked, with a heavy undertone of annoyance in her voice.
"Um...Well, I wanted to ask something", Gohan said.
"Ask away".
"You can feel it, can't you?"
Videl immediately knew what Gohan meant by it, "Yeah, I can sense the energy of every living thing", she said.
"Was it your father who taught you that?" Gohan asked.
"Well it was my father who taught me how to fight", Videl said, "But the ability of sensing energy, was something I developed by myself. I don't think my father even knows that you can do it".
I pretty sure Satan doesn't know anything about ki, Gohan thought. Yet, his daughter learned about it herself? Is that even possible? Gohan wondered.
"You can do it too right?" Videl asked.
"Yup", Gohan replied, there was no point in hiding it from her.
"Well now that you asked me a question, can I ask you one?" Videl asked with determination in her eyes.
Shit! What is she going to ask now! Gohan wondered worriedly.
"Uh...yeah sure, ask me your question", Gohan said, with a nervous quiver in his voice.
"Your energy, why does it stick to your body like that?" Videl asked, "It doesn't flow freely like other people's energy".
Gohan suddenly realized that she was right, his energy was indeed so over suppressed that it appeared as if his it was a tight layer over his body. Gohan had long since learned to suppress his energy, both to hide his presence, as well as to not overuse more strength than required, which could end up hurting others around him. But over the years after beating cell, he had no reason to use his powers, so he kept them completely suppressed. But due to always having his energy suppressed, he had developed a certain fear for his own power, for if he ever lost control over it he could end up causing catastrophic destruction. And due to this uncertainty, this fear, he had suppressed his energy to such an extent that it appeared unnatural.
Well, there is no point in lying to someone who can sense ki, Gohan thought.Of course he wasn't going to show her his full power, but he did release his to a small extent, which immediately made his ki flow freely like a normal human's would.
Videl's eyes widened at the sudden change in his energy. "It's a technique, called ki suppression", Gohan told her, after which he immediately restrained his energy once more, causing it to stop flowing freely and once more appear as a thin blue sheet covering his body.
"Can you teach it to me", Videl asked suddenly.
"Huh? Te...teach it?" Gohan asked, surprised by her sudden request.
"Yeah, teach it. You know, help me do it as well", Videl said.
"Well...I have never taught anything before, but I could try", Gohan said with uncertainty.
"Good", Videl said, "Teach me sometime after school".
"O..Okay".
"And another question", Videl said.
Oh now what! Gohan nervously thought. "Alright, what is it?"
"What do you know about the golden fighter?" Videl asked.
"Golden fighter?"
"Yeah. Well, he calls himself the great Saiyaman, but social media has been calling him the golden fighter", Videl said.
Wait, what! She is talking about me! But how did she know! I stopped that robbery not more than half an hour ago!
"N...No idea!" Gohan said loudly, and with a sliver of nervousness, "Saiyaman? Golden fighter? Never heard of him!" He added, hoping that Videl didn't realize how nervous he was.
"Is that so", Videl said, and then gave Gohan a deep inquisitive glare, that seemed to reach into his very soul, and that almost compelled him to tell her his entire life story.
Shit! She is almost as bad as mom! But I won't break so easily! I have been interrogated by mom! You are nothing Videl! Gohan thought. But deep down he knew that if she kept glaring at him like that, and kept hitting him with questions, that he would eventually break. Stop looking at me like that!
"Never heard of him? Well it could be possible, since he just appeared half an hour ago...but are you really telling me that you didn't even see a single post about him, on any social media site? Or heard about him on the radio while flying your copter? I find that unlikely, Mr. Prince", Videl said, with the same interrogative tone that a cop would use on a suspect. And Gohan, just like a guilty suspect, was showing all the signs of lying.
"Well I don't use the radio while flying a copter!" Gohan said defensively, "And I am not on any social media website either!"
"Really? You aren't on a single social media platform?" Videl asked, her tone clearly implying that she found that unlikely.
"Well...the Ox kingdom doesn't really have a strong internet, so most people don't use the internet at all!" Gohan said.
"Well that's true...but aren't you royalty? I am certain that the prince of the Ox kingdom at least has one wifi router at his palace".
"Yeah...well...uh...but you see, my mom doesn't let me use the internet! She doesn't like it!" Gohan said, though this wasn't untrue.
Videl glared at Gohan for a few more seconds, but then she finally gave up and looked away.
Gohan sighed in relief. Thank Dende...she stopped giving me that look.
"Um...Miss Videl, if Saiyaman appeared only about half an hour ago, then how is there already news about him on social media?" Gohan asked.
"Well...if you compare journalists and their camera men to rabid dogs, think of social media as a rabid wolf. It's bigger, badder, and ten times more aggressive. There are already half a dozen picture of the Saiyaman with thousands of shares. News travels fast on the internet, really fast".
"I...I see", Gohan said. Cities are scary.
"Shall we go now?" Videl asked.
"Yeah, lets. We are getting late", Gohan said, and then got into she same crouching position as Videl, ready to jump over the wall.
They both jumped at the same time, the force of their leap scattering the dust around their feet. Videl landed right on top of the wall. Then she turned her head to Gohan's direction, and saw that he had leapt several feet over the top of the wall itself. His body stopped its upward moment just a few feet above Videl's head, and stayed still in midair for a split second. Then gravity finally regained control of his body, and he swiftly fell onto the school ground, landing with perfection.
"Nice jump", Videl said with a grin on her face, and then she jumped off the top of the wall and landed besides Gohan.
I overdid it, Gohan thought and winced. His jump had been vastly superior to Videl's, which would have made Videl even more suspicious. Gohan had suppressed his power even below Videl's level, and someone with a lower power level could not out perform someone with a higher power level in a feat of strength, unless they were hiding their true strength.
But Videl didn't seem to notice Gohan's mistake, and simply smiled at him and said, "Mr. Prince, you may not be a fighter, but you sure are a damn good jumper".
She doesn't know! Someone with a lower power shouldn't be able to physically top a person with a higher power. But she doesn't seem to understand that...she really is self trained! Even back when Gohan had been a child, he had been taught this basic principle by Mr. Piccolo.
"Haha! Yeah, I guess my legs I stronger than I realized", Gohan said, standing up from the crouching position his body had fallen into after landing on the school ground.
Videl stood up as well, and then said, "No one seems to have noticed".
And indeed, not a single athlete practicing on the ground was looking in their direction. They were busy conducting the final moments of their morning practice.
"Ah! You were right Miss Videl! No one noticed us!"
"Told ya", Videl said, and then she dusted off the dirt that had stuck to her shorts, and said, "Anyways, you know which class you are in?"
"Nope! I have to go the the principal first and get my time table", Gohan said.
"Well, I'll be going to class directly, so I guess I'll see you around".
"Oh...Okay! Bye Miss Videl!"
Videl gave Gohan a slightly amused look, "Desperate to get rid of me?" She asked.
"Wa...no! I didn't mean that! I mean, you have to go to class, and I have to go to the principal! That's why!" Gohan said defensively.
Videl chuckled and then said, "Yeah but we still have to walk to the same building you know".
"Oh...Oh yeah", Gohan said, and then he laughed nervously and said, "My bad".
Videl and Gohan walked together in silence towards the school building. They walked around the football ground where students were still practicing, and then passed a large audience stand opposite to the boundary wall, after which they reached the back entrance to the school building.
"The principal's office is on the second floor. You will reach faster if you take the stairs to your left", Videl said, and then waving goodbye she added, "My class is in the other direction. So, bye for now, Mr. Prince".
"Bye Miss Videl", Gohan said, waving back at her.
Then they both turned their backs to each other, and walked in the opposite direction.
Well, I am a little late, hope the principal doesn't mind, Gohan thought as he walked towards the principal's office.
Meanwhile, Videl could not help but wonder about the prince of the Ox kingdom. Both the times I felt the Golden fighter's presence, the prince was in the city. Is it a coincidence? Is he telling the truth? Does he really know nothing about the golden fighter? Or is he hiding something?
Unbeknownst to Videl and Gohan, a singular figure sitting on the audience stand had seen them jump into the school from the other side of the wall. That figure watched them with great interest, though they did not notice his gaze upon them. The figure did not avert his eyes from the duo until the very moment when they entered the building and were out of his sight. But they never once spared even a single glance at him, not even when they passed right by the audience stand.
The man sitting on the stand was none other than Amelette Osparagus, aka the bomb king. He was also sometimes called the Leeacher, but those who once called him so had all been killed by Amelette himself, for the simple fact that he did not like being called the Leeacher That code name made him sound like an insect, and so he hated it. Plus the bomb king was much cooler in all regards.
Amelette had been sitting on the audience stand eating an apple, for no particular reason other than he felt like it. He had come early to school, and he preferred to sit in the open air before class, rather than stay cooped up with his moronic and horny teenage peers in the classroom.
He had not been expecting the arrival of the two people, who he recognized as the prince of the Ox kingdom and Videl Satan, but he was certainly glad that he had decided to come to the ground, as that had allowed him to prematurely see the prince; Son Gohan, and had also allowed him to sense his ki. And what he sensed in Gohan excited him a great deal.
When Gohan had first flown down and landed outside the school wall, Amelette had immediately sensed his presence. At first he had thought that it might have been another one of the devil's generals, as they were the only other people he personally knew who could fly. But then he quickly remembered that he was the only ordinary human out of all the generals, the rest were all a bunch of weird creatures, ranging from pterodactyls, to demons and vampires, and finally tipping the absurd scale at immortal faceless shape shifter.
Naa, that ki is too human to be one of my colleagues, Amelette thought. The most interesting thing about the man on the other side of the wall was not that he could fly, but it was the way his ki was stuck to his body.
He has suppressed his ki to such an extent that it can't even flow naturally, Amelette thought while chuckling. There were only two reasons for which a ki would be so over suppressed. One was that the man was an armature at ki control and did not know how to properly suppress his energy, and the other much more interesting reason would be that the man feared his own power.
And considering that he flew while his power level was suppressed to a point barely above normal humans, I can clearly tell that he is no armature, Amelette thought. So that only left the latter of the two possible reasons, which greatly piqued his interest.
Only about a quarter of a minute after the man with the suppressed ki landed outside the school wall, a second person with higher than normal ki arrived in a capsule copter and also landed on the outer side of the wall, right besides the first man.
This ki was one that Amelette recognized. It was the ki of Videl Satan, the daughter of Hercule the idiot Satan, a spoilt brat who overhyped her own strength and constantly put herself into situations that she barely survived.
She was also stronger than an average human, though that wasn't really very impressive. Amelette already knew of her strength. Though her strength was greater than most of the human race, Videl was still very much a weakling.
But it wasn't her that he was interested in. It was the man besides her, the one with the suppressed ki. Who are you? Amelette wondered.
Amelette also knew that Videl had a strong sense of ki at close range, and it was very likely that the man also was an adept at ki sensing. So Amelette also began to suppress his ki, till the point that it was completely internalized. This made it impossible to sense his ki, unless someone specifically tried to find him.
For a minute or two, Videl and the man stood on the other side of the wall, talking to each other, and once they finally jumped into the ground, Amelette recognized the man almost instantly.
That's the Prince of the Ox kingdom, Son Gohan! Amelette realized. Videl and the man who Amelette now recognized as Gohan, started to look around to see if anyone noticed them. Of course no one except for Amelette had seen the two of them jump. The ground was large, and the football field did not face the wall. Also the fact that the jocks were all engrossed in their practice made it very unlikely than any of them noticed the two of them jump over.
The only reason that Amelette saw them himself was because of the fact that the audience stand was right opposite the wall, as well as the fact that he could easily sense their ki. The duo of Videl and Gohan did not seem to notice him, and that was to be expected. Since Amelette had completely internalized his ki, he was absolutely invisible to their sense. Of course they could have always seen him with their eyes, but the ironic thing about strengthening your sense of ki was that you eventually became dependent on it. If one keeps enhancing their sense of ki, it become like a sixth sense and this sixth sense dominates over all other senses, even over sight itself.
And indeed, that already seemed to be the case for Videl and Gohan. They had become too dependent on their sense of ki, and so when Amelette hid his ki from their sense, he was virtually undetectable. They sensed that no student or teacher had seen them, and were convinced, but they did not consciously look for someone who noticed them, for they weren't really looking with their eyes. And so, even though Amelette was right in front of their field of vision, they did not see him. Depending too much on your strengths will eventually turn them into weaknesses.
Soon the two started to walk towards the school building. They eventually entered a range in which Amellete's own sense of ki was the strongest. And it was at that moment that Amelette extended his senses right into Son Gohan. The technique of invading another man's body with your senses was one that allowed you to determine their true level of strength.
And so like a miner digging for coal, Amelette dug into Son Gohan's spirit to see just how deep his ki strength truly was. His outer coating of ki was as thin as a sheet of paper, and was easily bypassed. Amelette dug deeper and deeper, and found more and more energy.
As each second passed, the expression of disbelief on Amelette's face kept on getting more and more intense. Does...does this man even have a limit? Amelette asked himself in disbelief. He kept digging into Son Gohan's spirit, but he still could not find the end.
It was like a bottomless well. Amelette kept trying to find the end, but all he did was swim deeper and deeper down. Soon the vastness of Gohan's strength started to crush Amelette's ki that had invaded into his body. Agh! The deeper I go the greater is the pressure! But...but the end has to be near! There is no way a human could have ki any larger than this!
Amelette was wrong. He was nowhere near the end of Gohan's vast ki. The duo of Gohan and videl had already reached the school building, and were now out of Amelette's sight, and would soon be out of the range of his expanded sense as well.
As the duo walked deeper into building and further away from Amelette, the ki that Amelette had used to invade Gohan's spirit was starting to be ripped apart, both by the sheer pressure of Gohan's ki as well as due to the increasing distance between Amelette and Gohan.
If...If I pry into his spirit any longer...or any deeper...I am going to be destroyed! Amelette realized. But I still haven't found the end of his ki damn it! Only a few seconds later, the pressure was so great that Amelette's invading senses were almost completely destroyed.
"Agh!" Amelette yelled in agony, as he was finally forced to pull out his senses from Gohan's body due to the seer amount of pressure being excreted. If I had stayed even a millisecond longer...my invading ki would have been destroyed and my brain would have been put into shock! Amelette thought while gritting his teeth in sheer disbelief and anger. He also felt fear, for he had never experienced such a monstrous strength before, not even from the other generals of the devil. At that moment there was only one man who intimidated Amelette more than Gohan, and that was his master, the Devil himself.
This man...is he even human? Son Gohan can't just be an ordinary prince! No way! He is something much greater!
In a few moments, the disbelief, fear and anger were all gone, and all that remained in Amelette was a singular feeling...Curiosity. Overwhelming curiosity.
"Who are you?" Amelette muttered to himself, his voice trembling with excitement.
I am going to find out what you really are Son Gohan, by any means necessary.
"This is the first time I have seen anything like this!" Jonatar said. In all the years he had spent as a cybercrime and robotics specialist at the Satan city police department, this was the first time he had ever laid his eyes on anything as advanced as what lay in front of him.
Jonatar was currently standing in the quarantined testing laboratory inside the Satan city cybercrime department headquarters. Next to him stood Monica and Nerdo, two other talented robotics experts that had been hired by the police department. Standing behind the three of them and looking over their shoulders to see what they were doing, were the police chief as well as a young officer named Tristan.
"Same for me! I have never seen an advanced Android in my entire life! This is groundbreaking tech!" Nerdo said excitedly.
"And to think that such an advanced machine was used as a tool to loot a bank! What a gross misuse of science!" Monica said.
"I agree. But nonetheless, whosoever made this android may have had malicious intentions, but he or she is still an amazing genius!" Jonatar said.
"An amazing genius huh!?" The chief grit his teeth, "There ain't nothing amazing about this! There is a freaking robot on the table in front of you!"
"Well its more specifically an android si-" Jonatar was cut off by the chief yelling, "I don't care!"
"I already had that damn Satan girl playing superhero in my city! But now I have to deal with a crazy golden haired punk wearing a power ranger costume, WHO CAN FLY!" The chief was almost frothing from his mouth in absolute rage, "And turns out the guy he supposedly killed, wasn't even human! It was a Goddamn robot! THIS CITY IS GOING CRAZY! ABSOLUTELY GODDAMN CRAZY!"
"Uh...calm down sir, you-", Tristan couldn't complete his sentence, as the Chief angrily turned towards him and growled, "Don't order me around boy. And don't you bloody tell me to calm down! Not when this city is going to shit!"
The door of the quarantine room suddenly burst open, causing everyone to shift their attention towards the now open door, adrenalin now shooting into their veins due to the sudden loud noise. Both Tristan and the chief stood with their hands on their gun holsters, while the three specialists cowered and peeked at the door from behind the backs of the cops.
For a few moments the five of them stared at the door intently, and then their expressions slowly started to turn into that of confusion, as there was absolutely no one behind the door.
"It...it open on its own?" Monika asked.
"Of course it didn't open on its own lady!" The chief glowered, "This is a really bad time for a prank goddamn it! Whoever did this is going to lose their fucking job!"
Jonatar, who was standing closest to the table, felt something more behind him, and immediately turned around. What he saw then made him cry out in alarm.
The others in the room turned once more to face the table, and Tristan even pulled out his gun and aimed it at the general direction.
Tristan tried to locate the source of Jonatar's distress, but he could see absolutely nothing that would pose any danger. It took a few more moments for Tristan to realize that the fact that there was absolutely nothing was the cause for Jonatar's outburst.
"It's...it's gone", Tristan said weakly, the gun in his hand quivering.
"That's...how the fuck is that possible!" the chief yelled.
On the table upon which the body of the android lay just a few seconds ago, was now completely empty, as if noting was kept on it in the first place.
"What the hell is happening in this city", the chief muttered, his body shaking with anxiety.
Taking a deep breath and clenching his fists tight, the chief collected himself and then commanded Tristan, "Check the cameras! Check each and every single goddamn camera! I want that damn android found in the next ten minutes goddamnit!"
The camera footage did nothing more than confuse and distress the chief even more than he already was. On the footage he saw that the door to the quarantine room had burst open, its lock had been shattered, but no one had ever burst it open in the first place, or at least no one that was visible on the camera. It was as if the door had opened on its own.
And as the five people in the room looked at the door that was the moment when the body of the android on the table simply vanished. One moment it was there, and the next it was gone, as if it was never there to begin with. No one had entered the room, and no one had stolen the body. It had simply vanished, like a ghost, and no one had any idea how. And the chief doubted that they would ever find out how this absurd event had actually transpired.
The chief was right of course, the police department never did find out how the android's body disappeared without trace right in front of their eyes. After all, they could not have predicted that Android model IV22 had the ability to turn himself, as well as anything he touched invisible, and that he would be tasked to recover the body of his defeated brother android model AB77 from the Cybercrime headquarters.
By the time the police started to look through the camera footage to try and find an explanation for the missing android, IV22 had already carried off his brother's body in his arms, bridal style, and had flown away from the vicinity of the building.
Soon he and his brother AB77 were already at the outskirts of Satan city. It was at that moment that IV22 removed his cloaking matrix, turning both him and his brother visible again.
While flying, IV22 turned his head to look at the space above AB77's neck, where his head should have been, and spoke as to the body as if it still had its head, "We are still unable to find your head brother. But don't you worry, we will find it eventually".
Then IV22 flew silently for a few more seconds before once again speaking to the headless body, "The bank heists in the other cities were a success. You were the only one to fail brother. But don't worry, mother doesn't blame you. The arrival of the Saiyan was unexpected, and just a stroke of ill luck for you".
Mother had sent one android into each major city in the world, to perform a single bank robbery in each city simultaneously. She needed the money to continue producing more artificial sons and daughters to serve in her army. Her production procedure was still not completely self sufficient and hence still required occasional purchases from external sources.
"Usually failure is punished by incineration, but as the Saiyan was not an expected parameter, mother has decided to forgive you and give you another chance", IV22 saw a plane flying ahead of him and recoated his and AB77's bodies with the cloaking matrix, "Don't worry brother. We will kill off those pesky Saiyan's soon enough".
IV22 then smiled at the air above the headless body's neck and said, "In fact, I myself have been chosen brother. Now that the Saiyan will frequent the city to go to a public school, it is an optimal time to assassinate him. And that job has been assigned to me brother".
"Of course, the chances of my success are only around 30%", the smile on IV22's face turned into a worried frown, "It is unlikely that I will succeed. But mother believes in me, and is willing to risk the odds".
Then he smiled again and said, "Mother trusts me to succeed. I do have the best chance out of all of us to be able to kill a Saiyan. After all, he would never see me coming".