After his ordeal with Videl Gohan decided he couldn't go back while she was there and decided to take some of his pent up aggression to the skies. He would come back for Lime after school. With this in mind he looked around and felt his surroundings with his senses and decided that no one was around and shot into the sky, flying high up into the sky. He let forth a warcry and began putting out crazy amounts of energy to relieve his stress and frustration. His skin tingled and burned as the familiar energy of transforming into a Super Saiyan surged through him like lava in his veins. His muscles seized and his fingers drew blood from his palms. Suddenly his hair flashed a brilliant Gold for a split second before reverting to Black. Golden orbs of energy rose from his hair that waved around like he was underwater. A blinding flame engulfed his form and his pupils disappeared momentarily before returning a teal color and with a final scream he completed his transformation.
He straightened out and raised a palm for him to look at. He knew he was still more powerful than Vegeta since he had only ACTUALLY stopped training the day he put the inhibitor on which was roughly 3 years ago. For the first four years he had continued his training and he was at least twice as strong then he was back with Cell but he had no way of knowing if his max now was better than his max then since he hadn't made the jump to ascend in 6 years. As he thought that he felt the hot itching beneath his skin, begging for him to unleash that power but he resisted the urge. It was too risky for him to make the jump. Especially after last time...
Now that he had released a lot of his energy he decided another prudent step would be to talk to Bulma about getting some kind of implant to stop him if he ever lost control. He nodded to himself in satisfaction at his foresight and shot off to Capsule Corp. West City. He knew that West City was about 3700 miles from here. In his base form he was a little faster than the speed of Sound. But he was about twice as powerful as a Super Saiyan and so he could almost make Mach 3 relative to sea level. (Mach speed is specific to how fast sound moves in certain air densities and other variables, so from here on Mach 1 will always mean 761mph. Every mach above that multiplies that number by the number following it e.g Mach 2 is Mach 1x2, Mach 3 is triple Mach 1 etc.)
He could move at almost 2284mph so it would take him almost 2 hours to get there. School would end in 3 hours. Shit, he wouldn't make it back in time. He'd have to send Nimbus with a message for Lime. Gohan reached out with his Ki and made sure that Goten wasn't using the cloud. Sure now that he wasn't going to accidentally pull his brother all the way out here he called the cloud. It arrived in about 6 and half minutes as the cloud maxed out at about Mach 6. It actually amazed Gohan how fast that cloud could go. "Hey Nimbus, in about 3 hours can you go to the roof of my school and wait for Lime for me? Hide from anyone else who comes up there though, got it?" He asked and the cloud putted in response. Gohan took that for an affirmation and pulled out a piece of paper and wrote a message on it 'Lime, I'm sorry I left suddenly but I was...unsettled. I'm at West City at Capsule Corp. Nimbus will give you a ride home okay? See you tomorrow." He put the note on the center of the Nimbus cloud and instructed the cloud not to drop it not that he thought it would. Nothing ever seemed to fall off of Nimbus since the puffy cloud sort of lightly held on to you.
He thanked Nimbus and took off for West City determined to see Bulma.
Capsule Corp: 2 hours later
Gohan had arrived at the massive building and was currently making his way through the maze of hallways, knowing where to go not only thanks to his acute 6th sense but due to the fact that he had walked these halls many times throughout his short life and had a sort of mental map of most of the building. He arrived at Bulma's lab and the steel door slid open automatically as he approached it. Bulma was tinkering with some kind of gadget that looked somewhat like a scouter. The bluenette looked up at the hiss of the door opening.
"Gohan? Wait shouldn't you be at school?" She asked with a stern expression, filling in Gohan on the fact that she knew he was supposed to be at school and was giving him a chance to explain himself. Gohan explained the situation with Videl to his godmother who looked like she didn't quite understand him but felt sympathy all the same.
"Anyway, I was wondering if you could create some kind of micro-chip that would stop me if I was ever to lose control like all those years back?" He asked broaching the subject to avoid any questions about his personal matters.
"Eh? Gohan don't be rediculous, WHERE in the world would I place such a chip on you anyway huh?" She asked glaring at the boy, daring him to give her the response she thought he was going to. Her suspicions were confirmed when she saw Gohan's Adams-apple bob as he swallowed hard and his gaze averted from her eyes.
"Er-well...I was thinking it could...you know...work neurologically and be inserted at the base of my sk-" But Gohan never got to finish as Bulma's face tinted red as blood rushed to her cheeks in anger at such a reckless suggestion. He saw it all as if in slow motion. Her fists clenched, her legs straightened and tensed and she leaned in towards Gohan, her lips stretching as she prepared to berate him and he merely flinched his head away.
"ABSOLUTELY NOT GOHAN! I REFUSE to perform such a dangerous surgery on my OWN godson!" She scolded, "And what would your MOTHER say!?" She continued, her volume not sounding as if it would ever return to normal but eventually it did just that. Her cheeks returned to their normal colour and she relaxed with one long exhale. "Besides, doesn't your inhibitor thing already prevent you from doing anything violent? That was the whole point of you making it in the first place." She reasoned with the taller of the two who looked shy.
"Yeah I guess, it's just...I wanted extra measures beyond the inhibitor..." Gohan muttered before they both heard the sliding of the door and turned to look there.
"Ha! As if that puny human contraption could ever truly stop you." A deep gravelly voice remarked in mirth. There at the doorway, leaning on crutches stood the mighty Saiyan Prince himself.
"Vegeta?" Gohan vocalised queryingly, "What are you doing here? Aren't you normally still rehabilitating at this time of the day?" Gohan asked innocently receiving a slight glare from the proud warrior.
"Normally yes but I sensed your energy just after you left your blasted school or whatever. It felt erratic and unchecked so when I saw that you were heading this way I thought to reprimand you for it." Vegeta gave Gohan a once over with his eyes and noted his attire, lingering slightly on the inhibitor. "A true warrior is prepared for battle at all times brat, even in times of peace." He scolded lightly.
Gohan merely sighed in response to that, "I told you Vegeta, I don't fight anymore. It's too dangerous. Until you're rehabilitated no-one alive has the slightest chance of stopping me. That's WHY I stopped training." Gohan reminded the Saiyan prince who grumbled in dissatisfaction. "Besides, you're wrong about what you said. My inhibitor is designed to stop me. I designed it."
"Gah! No contraption of gears and metal can hold back a Saiyan's pride." Vegeta shot back proudly with his chin up.
"Oh really? Too bad pride isn't an actual quantifiable force or I'd look into it." Goku's son replied scornfully, annoying Vegeta, "I work with facts and science Vegeta and no amount of good intentions or saiyan talent can overcome the specially produced plotdeviceium thatabsorbs excess energy and rebounds it into an electrical shock that freezes all neuro signals and stops any form of thought or emotion in it's tracks." Gohan finished with a smirk on his face thinking he had won. It turned to a scowl when Vegeta shook his head sadly.
"If only you could hear yourself. Pathetic really. And I had such high hopes for you." Gohan snarled and a low growl rumbled up his chest and out his throat, "Maybe you truly believe that, maybe you don't. Either way, if you wanted you could overcome that anytime you wanted." Vegeta said and, without any enjoyment, left the lab having said what he wanted to say.
"No I-HEY! VEGETA! COME BACK HERE I'M NOT DONE WITH YOU!" Gohan bellowed at his back as it disappeared down the hallway until eventually he was out of sight and all Gohan could hear was the steady clacking of the prince's crutches on the marble floor of Capsule Corp. Gohan's rage simmered but he was now in a foul mood and, with a quick thanks to Bulma for her time he stormed out the lab and down the halls on his way home.
While flying Gohan vented to the open sky in frustration, "Who does he think he is? Some kind of genius? I'm a scientist I know what I'm talking about, meanwhile he's talking with his ego like it means something to anyone! What part of "Stops me" does he not understand?!" He yelled to no-one in particular, a cone of air surrounding him and exploding like a gunshot as he broke the sound barrier and shot off across the horizon.
Gohan arrived home and landed feet from his front door. However due to the fact that he was kind of angry he wasn't paying attention to his speed upon landing. Gohan's leading foot sunk ankle deep in the Earth and he lost his balance slightly, falling forward onto his hands and knee. Normally he would slow himself down just before he touched down so that he would only actually be fully visible to people once he was still and on the floor. Gohan got angrier yet and yanked his foot out, uprooting a fair chunk concrete leaving a hole in the ground. He stood up straight and looked around to make sure no-one had seen. Satisfied that there was no-one around he grumbled as he walked to the front door of the apartment complex. A happy Orange blur shot out of said door and barrelled straight for Gohan's chest. He wasn't in the mood today however and, without even taking his eyes off of the distant space he was staring into, caught Goten by the face. "Human speeds" he scolded absent-mindedly. The child kicked and squirmed in his grip before Gohan released him and he dropped to the floor on his behind.
Goten blinked for a moment looking stunned before jumping up turning and hurrying over at a normal human pace and tugged on his sleeve, "Gohan, Gohan! Mama told me to come by and tell you to call her since she doesn't have your number yet! Okay? Okay bye Gohan!" And with that the little guy looked around before shooting up, jumping as high as he could and just as he reached the peak of his jump the Nimbus cloud rushed by and caught him. Seeing the cloud reminded him of Lime and he hoped she wasn't too mad at him for making her ride nimbus home alone. Gohan sighed exasperatedly and stepped into the elevator which had a man wearing a Grey hoodie in it. The young Saiyan noticed that he had what looked like a tattoo of a snake that started with the head on the back of his hand and disappeared assumingly up his arm but due to the sleeves he couldn't tell for sure. Gohan looked suspiciously at the man who had his hands in his pockets and was looking at the floor. Gohan knew that there was something off about this guy but firstly, this man was of no threat to him, and second it wasn't his job to stop him, especially since he didn't have any real proof that the guy was up to no good.
Gohan stepped off at the last floor before the top and, giving one more glance at the strange man, said, "This is your stop isn't It? My apartment takes up the whole floor above us so I need you to step off so I can go." Gohan explained patiently. The guy mumbled something to him and stepped off the elevator. Gohan rode the elevator up another floor. The elevator doors opened and before him was a short hallway with only one door at the very end of it. The door was rather large and Gohan walked up and swiped his card in the door and a light on the panel turned Green and with a hiss not unlike that of the doors at Capsule Corp. Gohan stepped into his apartment. It was massive and while Gohan hated to take money from his friends he had to admit he did like the apartment.
Gohan called his mother and talked to her about his first day at school, of course, Gohan left out the part about him losing it around Videl. Knowing Chi-Chi she would immediately jump to conclusions about how he felt about the girl and would be completely off in her estimation but would never accept that she could be wrong and would keep up with calling her his girlfriend for months at least. After he finished calling her he went and showered. As he cleaned his body he couldn't help but think about the weirdo in the elevator. The more Gohan thought about him the more of an uneasy feeling settled in the pit of his gut like a warning. He almost wished he had called someone at least about the guy, something about him seemed very foreboding. Once Gohan stepped out of the shower and dried himself off and threw on sweatpants he walked over to his phone, deciding it would be a good idea to apologize to Lime for just leaving like that.
He dialed her number in and on the third ring she picked up, "Hey Lime, its Gohan." He said, already sounding apologetic, "I was just calling to apologize for taking off like that, I didn't really consider you and it was unfair." Lime sounded as if she were in a huff but with a sigh she forgave him and reasoned that whatever it was to make him take off must have been good enough for her and he did sound legitimately sorry for it. "Great! So do you need me to pick you up again tomorrow or?...no?...Ah I see, well I'll see you in the morning then." And with that he hung up. Apparently she was waking up a bit earlier and driving to Gohan's apartment complex with her new car.
Gohan looked at the time and noted that it was only evening. He did his school work and did about four hundred handstand pushups using only his left arm, before repeating the exercise with his other arm. Then he jumped up and hooked his legs on a metal bar that he had built in that was about 7 feet off the ground. He began doing hanging crunches and situps for about half an hour. As he did this Gohan realized he shouldn't have showered when he got home because now he was just going to have to shower again anyway. Then he dropped down and back flipped, landing on his feet in a crouched position. Then he did 600 chin ups before deciding that was enough. He had another shower and saw that it was now 8pm. He was very bored he realized and so turned the giant TV that was mounted on his wall facing his bed on. He watched various shows in bed for about 2 hours before he started to get tired as a news update ran. They were talking about some criminal loose in Satan City when Gohan nodded off and eventually passed out on the couch. Unfortunate as if he had managed to stay awake and pay attention for another 5 minutes he would have heard the news presenter describe a highly dangerous hooded man with a snake tattoo on his forearm...
The Next Morning
Gohan woke up and went about his usual morning routine. He ate a huge breakfast that was prepared by 2 robots that Bulma had given him when he moved in. As they finished making his breakfast they automatically moved back over to the cupboard where they rolled to their chargers and shut themselves off. He ate, showered and dressed, this time choosing loose-fitting brown cargo pants, black sneakers, a White long-sleeved shirt and on top a black hooded sweater. After getting done doing everything he needed to do he reached out with his energy and sensed Lime at the ground floor. He grabbed a water bottle from his fridge and made his way out his apartment, locking it behind him, and heading for the elevator. He walked through the lobby and out the front doors where he saw Lime.
"Hey Gohan!" She greeted cheerfully, receiving a smile and a nod in return from the quiet boy. "Would you rather we drove in my car or walk?" She questioned knowing what his answer would be. Gohan eyed the capsule in her hand in distaste, he hated being cramped in those things and only used them if he absolutely had to.
"Uh, let's walk." Gohan decided. The two began walking to school together, Lime telling Gohan about anything new while he quietly listened and occasionally made a comment. They got to the school and Gohan had the uneasy feeling they were being watched. However due to the fact that there were plenty of people walking in, out and around the school he couldn't merely reach out with his senses and find them since it could be anyone. Gohan shook off the feeling and they walked through the main gates of the school. They walked to their first class of the day and he sat down next to Erasa in his spot from the previous day.
"So Gohan, where'd you disappear off to yesterday?" The blonde girl asked and he saw Videl glance in his direction. He couldn't let them know anything.
"I just didn't feel all that well and I needed to blow some steam." He explained, proud of himself for not having to lie to someone whom he hoped could be his friend. She merely nodded in understanding before moving on in the conversation, telling him this and that about him and her. Gohan merely listened with one ear and nodded between taking notes to show that he was listening to her. About half an hour later the group was pretty quiet except for the occasional murmur until Erasa perked up suddenly.
"Oh! Gohan! Videl, Sharpener and I are going to hang out this afternoon, I was wondering if you'd like to come with us?" The bubbly teen asked politely and generously and Gohan smiled. He was lucky to have met such a nice girl who was so polite on his first day here. He might finally have that life he had wanted since all those years ago, he could finally have normal friends and live a normal life just as he pleased.
"Of course Erasa that sounds great. I just have to walk Lime home first since she has to help around her grandfather's place today, but afterwards I'll call you and we can hang out till whenever." Gohan explained to her and Videl looked surprised. That's funny, she'd imagined he wouldn't be able to go due to a strict mother or something. I mean, it was only logical that she was strict. For him to have been homeschooled his whole life and still be topping the school academically he must have been worked to the bone. She decided to voice her thoughts.
"Won't your parents mind?" She asked, trying to make sure she didn't come off as rude and trying to get rid of him. For a moment Gohan's face darkened and he looked down at his notes trying to block the thoughts of his father. He scribbled in silence for a few seconds and just when Videl thought he wouldn't answer.
"My mother doesn't care, I don't live with her anymore remember? I live alone in the city." He reiterated for her and she 'oh'ed in remembrance. With that settled they went back to paying attention and over time Gohan's mood lifted once again to normal levels and he was happy to have the opportunity to spend time with people his age other than Lime. The bell for the class ended and the students were making their way out of the room and heading for their next period.
The day passed by slowly and lunch came around. Gohan and Lime were making their way to the staircase so he could eat on the roof but his plans were interrupted when he knocked shoulders with somebody and sent them to the ground. "Sorry." Gohan said on reflex turning and seeing a guy on his ass on the floor. As the guy's friends laughed at him Gohan offered a hand. However the guy's face turned red with humiliation as his friends laughed and he pushed Gohan's hand away, getting up for himself.
"What's your problem asshole!" The guy shouted at him, shoving Gohan in the chest, who allowed himself to be pushed a few steps back. Immediately they stopped laughing at him and ooh'ed in anticipation. Gohan could tell this was turning bad fast and knew it was a bad idea to get into a fight. Gohan gently guided Lime away from them so she was a few feet away.
"I'm really sorry man. I didn't see you and I was in a hurry is all. I don't want any trouble." Gohan explained politely, thinking he had made it out of the woods...apparently not.
The equally tall student scoffed in Gohan's face and grabbed him by the front of his hoodie, pulling him in close, "No way a scrawny pick like you could have knocked me over by accident. I'm too heavy for someone your size. You HAD to have been trying to knock me down, to humiliate me. Well newsflash man. You're about to get REALLY humiliated." He seethed in the warrior's face before shoving him off and throwing a huge punch.
Gohan sighed internally and watched the punch in slow motion. He checked his surroundings to make sure of who was around. Only a couple of students were watching this hallway and no one appeared to be anyone he knew by name, besides Lime of course. With a deep breath Gohan crouched and ducked the swing. The guy had obviously put a lot into the punch because he stumbled when his fist kept going. This seemed to both confuse and infuriate him. He threw another punch, sturdier this time, but Gohan again ducked it. A straight, a hook, an uppercut, left jab right cross combo, nothing the guy tried was hitting Gohan and for the life of him he couldn't figure out why.
"Why won't you stay still!?" The confused student raged as his punches gradually got sloppier. Meanwhile Gohan needed a way to end the fight without actually fighting. He couldn't even fight back if he wanted to because of his wrist suppressor. An idea struck Gohan like lightning from his inhibitor and he had an idea.
"This will probably get me a bit of a zap but I should be fine." He thought to himself as he tilted his head to the side to barely avoid a straight. Gohan took advantage of the fact that people were focused on his head and the student's hands as this way he could perform some slight of hand. See to move unseen Gohan would have to move his hands at a speed that would likely end with his fist protruding from this kid's back. However since they were focusing on a certain point away from his hands he could pull some magician level slight of hand with a speed boost that wouldn't kill his opponent.
Faster than anyone would notice Gohan ducked another wide hook and as he came up he shot his pointing finger out just under the speed of sound and poked the kid on multiple pressure points in his upper leg, side and arm. Gohan stepped back after he had done this and waited a second. Immediately the guy looked kind of tired and his fist sagged at his side. Gohan heard him mutter something like 'what the' and he went to take a step forward but found his leg asleep and so instead he just stumbled forward. "What's...wrong with...me..." He said as he took another step forward and fell to the ground. He couldn't seem to stand and his friends helped him into a sitting position and Gohan merely bowed to him.
"It looks like you're having a bad day, I'll just go." Gohan said to the guy who's face seemed to boil over a second in fury before he breathed deeply and exhaled with his eyes screwed shut. "Yeah yeah just get out of here." The student said as his friends helped him to his feet. And with that Gohan continued on his path to lunch with Lime right behind him.
"You handled that really well Gohan!" She complimented as they walked up the stairwell. They made it to the roof and ate in peace with no further interruptions. Gohan remembered as he sat there rubbing his stomach that he should tell Lime about the afternoon he had coming up.
"So Lime, I'm hanging out with the human peeps after school today." He informed her casually and a surprised look came over her face. Gohan socializing with other people was definitely a good sign in her books and a small smile came over her face.
"That's great Gohan! Am I catching Nimbus home today then?" She asked the relaxed teen before her who appeared to be looking up at the clouds. He shook his head no to her question before continuing.
"No no, I thought I'd take you home myself." Gohan told her and she raised a brow at him. She could just as easily catch Nimbus and not have to worry about impeding on Gohan's day whatsoever. In fact Lime thought that she would much prefer doing that and giving Gohan more time with his other friends than him walk her just for the sake of it. She decided to voice her concerns.
"Gohan, I can catch Nimbus just fine, I don't need you to take me yourself. Besides if I go myself you'll have more time to hang out with them and enjoy yourself." She said to him, adamant about her point. Gohan knew she was right and trying to be considerate of him and a small frown came over his face. He just felt like it was a bad idea to go with Videl straight from school.
"Thank you Lime but I just feel I have to do this that's all. You won't change my mind." Gohan told her firmly but with a gentle tone that told her he had a lot on his mind. She frowned in concern at his words but figured it was best left alone. It didn't really matter anyway she supposed.
After School that day
The group of 5 were walking towards the school gates chatting. Under normal circumstances Gohan would have tried to get Lime home via the roof but as they were about to turn to the stairwell Erasa walked out the room and suggested that they walk together to the gates before Gohan split off to take Lime home. So now here they were, with Gohan thinking of the nearest alleyway he could use to fly off with Lime soonest while Erasa gushed about how much fun they would all have and Videl eyes him suspiciously in her peripherals when she thought Gohan didn't notice.
The group stepped out the front of the school and Gohan turned to the teenagers. "I'll see you all at the food court then in roughly 20 minutes. Videl wanted to ask how he planned on making the trip to Lime's place and back then to the mall in only 20 minutes but was distracted by Sharpener talking to her about something or another as Gohan and Lime walked in the opposite direction to them in the direction of Lime's village.
Gohan's eyes darted back and forth as he searched for an alley and succeeded in spotting one a few minutes down the road. He pulled Lime in that direction and noticed she seemed to be looking at him in thought. As they walked Lime thought about the big change Gohan had gone through in only the past 2 days. In the beginning he rarely talked, even to her. He seemed to like to avoid using his words as much as possible and in only the two short days he had spent at school he spoke in full sentences and could hold a conversation. "School really has been good for him. And I know he's been having trouble with Videl but I'm sure they'll get past that and become good friends." She thought as they walked.
Gohan eventually grew curious at her small smile and smiled back due to its contagiousness. The older teenager chuckled slightly at her blank smile and queried about her expression, "What?" He asked her jovially, "What's with the look?" He asked to which she simply sighed and looked forward, not responding at first. However she eventually thought of what she wanted to say and responded with.
"I'm so glad to have you as my best friend Gohan." She said and Gohan chose not to respond to that. His smile widened, stretching his lips happily across his face and he shook his head slightly at how soft he was becoming. They took a few steps into the alley when Gohan felt something funny. Something that irked at the pit of his stomach, telling him something was extremely wrong. His fighting sense was obviously trying to tell him something but he generally tried to ignore that sense. He kind of wanted to stamp the fighter right out of himself but this time it was...different. It was trying desperately to warn him of something that he couldn't quite place. That's when he felt a presence behind him and he heard a noise that would forever engrain itself into his memory and his being. The sound of a knife entering human flesh, followed by the strangled gasp of a female.
He spun around so fast that wind blew down the alley and caught Lime as she began to fall. "LIME! NO!" He bellowed, his energy seeping into his voice and booming down the alley, slamming into the criminal like a gale force wind and unnerving him slightly. He held his ground however brandishing his knife.
"If you want that bitch to get help you better give me everything of value you have, and IF you do that, I MIGHT just let you get past and to a hospital Mr Top Floor." The guy said and Gohan glanced up at him and immediately recognition tore through him like he was the one who had been stabbed.
*FLASHBACK*
Gohan sighed exasperatedly and stepped into the elevator which had a man wearing a Grey hoodie in it. The young Saiyan noticed that he had what looked like a tattoo of a snake that started with the head on the back of his hand and disappeared assumingly up his arm but due to the sleeves he couldn't tell for sure. Gohan looked suspiciously at the man who had his hands in his pockets and was looking at the floor. Gohan knew that there was something off about this guy but firstly, this man was of no threat to him, and second it wasn't his job to stop him
*FLASHBACK*
The memories ripped through Gohan's mind as he saw the snake tattoo on the hooded man's arm and immediately realised he could have stopped this guy right from the beginning. He had obviously targeted Gohan for his apparent riches and the young man hated himself for not even calling someone about it. "This is...all my fault." He realised with a stab in his heart that came of no action from the man with the knife. He kept running the scenarios in his head as Lime gasped in his hands and he tried to stabilise her, pressuring the wound trying to staunch the bleeding but the blood started spilling out of her mouth and Gohan had to sit her up more so she didn't drown in her blood but it just kept coming. Obviously the criminal was no artist with the knife and had hit something vital. She gargled and moaned his name as her face was stricken with fear
Gohan sat on the side of the street in an alleyway in pure agony. In his arms lay an Auburn-haired girl gasping for air that she so desperately needed as her lungs began to fill up with blood due to the knife wound she suffered. Gohan, almost in tears, desperately tried to comfort her, hoping that she'd make it but as her Ki faded he knew that there was nothing he could do for her. Blood was spilled that night and a life that Gohan would never get back left him.
Gohan sat there with Lime's now lifeless body in his hands for another 30 seconds quietly sobbing as he rocked her in his arms as blood stained his hands and halfway up his forearm on his left hand. Watching her lifeless eyes locked onto his slowly sucked the life out of Gohan until he merely sat there, no longer sobbing, no crying, no rocking. He felt numb. He was so conditioned to be devoid of emotions that could result in violence he froze for a moment. "Well shit, she's dead huh? Maybe if you were a bit faster this wouldn't have happened eh? Money. Now. Or you get it like the girl did." He threatened, completely unfazed by the fact that he had just ended an innocent life.
His words seemed to jump start something in Gohan and his eyes darkened and his jaw tightened. He brought his hand down to her face, closing her eyelids. "I'm sorry Lime. I know you always wanted me to be what was deep within me. To be a hero and keep on helping people, and I PROMISE you I will. But this time...just for now...I'm not going to be a hero. I'm going to be an avenger." And he meant every word of it.
The murderer simply thought Gohan had broken from the trauma of the girl dying in his arms and just sighed. Hoping the kid would give him the money soon, he seemed like a nice guy after all. He didn't want to kill him too if he didn't have to. Just then the wind started to pick up. Gohan stood up, still clutching her body in his arms. "YOU!" he shouted accusingly at the man who murdered his best friend. The man took a nervous step back as the very street seemed to start shaking. "How...DARE...you!" He struggled to force out between his clenched jaw.
"Wh-what the fuck are you!?" He said as lightning started to dance off of Gohan's skin. His pupils disappeared and his head rocked back slightly for a second as golden orbs of energy seemed to emerge from his hair.
"AGH! HRRRGH!" Reveberated from his throat as he growled in a mixture of physical and emotional pain. His body was screeching for him to stop due to the pain the inhibitor was causing him. If he had been a human he would have been killed 5 times over by now but he kept pushing...for Lime...
He began to doubt whether or not he could overpower his own inhibitor. Logically he knew it was impossible, it was designed custom for his own energy signature. But he couldn't just let Lime's death go unavenged. Go without JUSTICE. He couldn't but he also knew that it just wasn't humanly possible to overpower hard facts and technology. At that thought however another memory shot through him like a bullet.
*FLASHBACK*
"Ha! As if that puny human contraption could ever truly stop you." A deep gravelly voice remarked in mirth. There at the doorway, leaning on crutches stood the mighty Saiyan Prince himself.
"Vegeta?" Gohan vocalised queryingly, "What are you doing here? Aren't you normally still rehabilitating at this time of the day?" Gohan asked innocently receiving a slight glare from the proud warrior.
"Normally yes but I sensed your energy just after you left your blasted school or whatever. It felt erratic and unchecked so when I saw that you were heading this way I thought to reprimand you for it." Vegeta gave Gohan a once over with his eyes and noted his attire, lingering slightly on the inhibitor. "A true warrior is prepared for battle at all times brat, even in times of peace." He scolded lightly.
Gohan merely sighed in response to that, "I told you Vegeta, I don't fight anymore. It's too dangerous. Until you're rehabilitated no-one alive has the slightest chance of stopping me. That's WHY I stopped training." Gohan reminded the Saiyan prince who grumbled in dissatisfaction. "Besides, you're wrong about what you said. My inhibitor is designed to stop me. I designed it."
"Gah! No contraption of gears and metal can hold back a Saiyan's pride." Vegeta shot back proudly with his chin up.
"Oh really? Too bad pride isn't an actual quantifiable force or I'd look into it." Goku's son replied scornfully, annoying Vegeta, "I work with facts and science Vegeta and no amount of good intentions or saiyan talent can overcome the specially produced plotdeviceium thatabsorbs excess energy and rebounds it into an electrical shock that freezes all neuro signals and stops any form of thought or emotion in it's tracks." Gohan finished with a smirk on his face thinking he had won. It turned to a scowl when Vegeta shook his head sadly.
"If only you could hear yourself. Pathetic really. And I had such high hopes for you." Gohan snarled and a low growl rumbled up his chest and out his throat, "Maybe you truly believe that, maybe you don't. Either way, if you wanted you could overcome that anytime you wanted." Vegeta said and, without any enjoyment, left the lab having said what he wanted to say.
*FLASHBACK*
"Not humanly possible...true...but I'm NOT human! I AM A SAIYAN! AND A SAIYAN WOULD NEVER ALLOW THE DEATH OF THEIR FRIEND TO GO UNAVENGED!" He bellowed and thought about how badly he wanted to kill the man. To hurt him. The lightning danced off his flesh and seared his nerves. But he fought through it, screaming ever louder in defiance of his own creation. Now the lightning was arcing off of Gohan to hit the floor and the walls around him, leaving scorch marks that still smoked. Now a wispy yet barely visible blue flame began to rise off of him like steam.
The inhibitor pushed back on him and so he threw himself against it mentally, crouching lower and screaming louder.
"No contraption of gears and metal can hold back a Saiyan's pride." Vegeta's voice echoed in his mind.
Gohan began repeating this mantra over and over again in his mind. Over and over and over and over he kept saying it while hurling himself at the barrier that was restricting him from fighting. From doing what his blood so boiled for him to do.
"NO CONTRAPTION OF GEARS AND METAL CAN HOLD BACK A SAIYAN'S PRIIIDE!" He bellowed before throwing his whole being at the wall with a scream that ripped through the air and caused a shockwave that threw the murderer against a wall. And with that the wall shattered like glass and his scream intensified and the ground began to crack around him. The lightning that seemed to be sticking to his body was blown off of him and it danced along the ground and walls as if he had blown a net off of his body. "HAAAAAAUUUUUUUUUGGGGGHHHH!" And with that final air-renting bellow his hair shot to gold and his inhibitor exploded, his eyes flashing Teal. The murderer tried to struggle to his feet to run away but he appeared to be frozen in fear and pain.
Gohan layed Lime's body on the floor before standing straight and staring at the criminal who killed her. He wasted no time in his rage and shot at the guy who reached for his knife. Gohan got there first and kicked the knife and it flew off and sunk into a concrete wall like it was gelatin. The criminal simply looked stunned with his jaw dropped onto the floor. Gohan leaned down and grabbed him by the throat. The man struggled and kicked but it meant nothing to Gohan who just squeezed tighter. "You really got unlucky today huh buddy?" He muttered to the criminal with a grim look on his face. Without another word to him he crushed his threw him against the wall where he hit his head on the bricks and died on impact. The dead body of the killer just slumped against the wall.
Gohan simply looked at it for a while and while he felt a slight bit of remorse for having killed him, he knew the world was better this way. He dropped to his knees and fell to his base form simply looking at the lifeless corpse of Lime and wishing he had just let her catch Nimbus home. Why...? WHY HADN'T HE LET HER!? And with that the tears began flowing again and sirens could be heard in the distance approaching.