Name: KC
Email: animekitty@angelfire.com (okay to post)
Rating: R
Fic: The Great Saiyaman Vs. The Legion of Terror
Pairings: Gk/V, Gh/P, Tr/Gt
The Great Saiyaman Vs. The Legion of Terror
by KC
Disclaimers: Don' own nothin' of this.
Pairings: GkxV, GtxTr, GhxPi
Warnings: Sexual themes and adult language. If you can't deal, ditch.
Other Info: I kinda played around with their ages. Just go with me on it, 'kay?
~*~*~*~*~*~
His arms crossed, Vegeta hovered several hundred feet above the pink and red carnival
tents and stared down at
the crowd below him. No one looked up, but even if they had, his blue fighting suit
matched the darkening sky. He
looked at the tacky timepiece in the center of the carnival, a black and white sundial
large enough to land an aircar,
and read the digital display in the center. Ten to eight.
"Brats better hurry up," he muttered to himself.
A strong ki force flew up behind him, but he didn't turn around. "Namek."
"Vegeta." Piccolo stopped a few feet away and looked down at the same spot.
"What are you doing here?"
"The woman is experimenting on Kakarrotto and Gohan, so I have to see the brats
home." Vegeta glanced sideways
at the green man. "And you?"
"Gohan asked me to make sure Goten came home."
Vegeta smirked and raised an eyebrow. "Aw, you're so cute domesticated. Does he make
you wear a leash when
you two--?"
"Don't push it, Saiyan." Piccolo turned as if looking at the setting sun, the
rose light hiding his blush.
Beneath them, the already dense crowd grew even larger, concentrating on the yellow tent
in front of the sundial.
From the fighters' vantage point, they could see people pressing closer to the tent as
"ooh"s and "aah"s drowned
out the tin carnival music playing on the speakers. A siren went off inside, flashing red
and blue lights, and the
crowd cheered.
"What the hell?" Piccolo said.
A moment later the crowd parted down the middle and two teenagers walked through, each
holding a stuffed animal
larger than themselves. The one with black hair skipped ahead, clinging to his huge yellow
ducky, and stopped at
the hot dog stand. The other ran after him and together they cleaned the vendor out of
every last hot dog in the
stand.
"They eat as much as Goku does," Piccolo said, his eyes wide.
"Of course. They're sixteen."
"Goten's only fifteen."
"They're both at a growth spurt." Vegeta shrugged and stared at the giant zebra
his son held. "Trunks," he said.
"Time to go. Get up here."
Halfway through his hot dog, Trunks stopped and looked up at the sky. He narrowed his
eyes, searching the
skyline until he spotted first Piccolo, then Vegeta. He grinned and waved once before
turning back to Goten. A
moment later, they both zoomed up into the air.
"Hey dad," Trunks said, maneuvering his zebra onto his back. "Where's
mom?"
"Experimenting on Kakarrotto and Gohan. Are you finished?"
Goten nodded and squeezed his ducky. "Yeah, I don't think we could carry much
more."
"Or eat more," Trunks said. "I'm stuffed."
"Speak for yourself," Goten said. "I could eat a lot more cotton
candy."
"You can't be serious," Trunks said. "You ate like fifteen."
Vegeta shuddered and turned towards Capsule Corps. "If you two are done, try to keep
up."
When he wasn't looking anymore, Goten stuck his tongue out at him. No one saw it, though,
since Trunks flew
beside Vegeta and Piccolo assumed he was behind him. He sighed and followed after them,
catching up enough to
grab his friend's hand and squeeze once.
"Wow," he said, looking down. "The city sure lights up at night."
"Yeah, I guess they do," Trunks said. "I didn't notice them much before.
How do people get to sleep at night?"
"Hey, look," Goten pointed at one green and orange sign. "The new Saiyaman
movie's coming out in a month."
Piccolo grumbled something, and Vegeta glanced at the Namek. "What's the matter?
Don't you love the great
Saiyaman, righter of wrongs and paragon of virtue?"
Piccolo shook his head with another grumble. "I still don't understand why the boy
wears that costume and acts like
that."
"Isn't it obvious?" Vegeta motioned at the demi-Saiyans. "These two get to
act however they want, but Gohan's
been under his mother's thumb for so long he actually thinks he's a human."
"He knows he's not human," Piccolo said.
"Intellectually, yes, but when does he ever act like even half a Saiyan? His mother
has him so tamed he has to
pretend he's someone else to even begin to use his Saiyan abilities."
Goten let go of Trunks' hand and shifted his duck plush to his other side so he could see
his friend's father. "But
what about me? I don't act like I'm full human."
Piccolo smirked. "Of course not. You and Trunks act like nightmares."
"Hey!" they both yelled.
"It's true," Vegeta said. "You two piss off everyone with your
pranks."
Trunks smirked and turned around so that he was flying on his back. "Yeah, but it's
fun. It's a shame we can't pick
on Gohan while he's in that dumb costume."
"We could be his super villains," Goten said as he laughed.
Vegeta and Piccolo stopped flying and hovered in the air. They exchanged a look, the same
thought running
through their heads, and then both of them smirked.
When he saw their faces, Trunks stopped and looked at them. "Uh oh. What're you two
planning?"
"It's not a bad idea," Vegeta said. "We could force that brat to act in
accordance with his instincts."
"And get him out of his mother's programming," Piccolo said. "I don't think
he could handle the both of us."
"Three of us!" Goten said nearly squeezing his ducky in half. "If you two
are gonna have fun, I want in."
Vegeta looked at his son. "Well, brat. You interested?"
"We're not gonna dress up in costumes, are we?" he asked.
Piccolo nodded. "We're too recognizable otherwise. We'll need masks at the
least." He glanced sideways at
Vegeta's hair. "And maybe more turbans."
The Saiyan prince glared. "No turbans."
Trunks smirk grew to match his father's. "Fine, but I pick my own costume."
Vegeta looked towards Capsule Corps to make sure no one was coming to see why they weren't
back yet. "This is
going to take some coordination. We'd better start planning."
"The video game room's always free," Trunks said. "No one'll bother us
there."
All of them nodded in agreement, and the small group flew back to Capsule Corps, their ki
sparking in little bursts
around their flight auras in anticipation.
~*~*~*~*~*~
Four days later, Gohan whistled as he changed on top of the school roof. He reached down
to his wrist to tap his
special watch but remembered that the bank robbers the day before had shot it out. He'd
have to do this the old
way. Still, that was no hardship. Classes were done, his father was training with Vegeta
and the boys, and Bulma
didn't need him for any more tests for the rest of the week. He dug his helmet out of his
bag and held it up, wiping
the visor clear.
"It's the perfect time for a little..." he put on his helmet and struck a pose,
one hand in the air and one against his
chest as he knelt. "Saiya-action!"
Once all of his buttons were done right and the visor re-adjusted, he looked into his bag
and the suit neatly tucked
with the tie on top. The ironing press hadn't even come out. He knelt and stared at the
clothes, his class books
visible along the edge. He lay his hand on the shirt, pushing down the brown tie and
running his fingers along the
starched cloth and the high school badge, then pulled back and shut the capsule bag,
stuffing it in a pocket and
shoving that part of his life out of his mind.
He went to the ledge and looked down. Students milled around in groups, some running out
the front doors and
others curled up on the grass writing in notebooks.
"Hey, look!"
Gohan glanced to his right and spotted a bunch of girls pointing at him and waving. He
waved back, and one of
them fainted. Not sure if he should be flattered or concerned, Gohan dived off the roof
and flew over the campus,
gradually rising as he flew through the city. Half a minute later, he passed construction
workers on the top rails of a
new skyscraper.
Sunlight warmed the top of his costume, so he turned on to his back and flew upside down
awhile. People in the
glass buildings around him rushed to their windows to see. He waved and looked back down.
No crime, no
disasters, just a nice breeze and some curious onlookers.
Well, it is kind of nice, he thought. But it's also pretty boring. I wish something
interesting would happen.
"Terror Twins, Attack!"
Without giving him any time to look, two bodies slammed into his stomach at once, sending
him several stories
down before he caught himself and stared up. His eyes widened.
"What the hell?"
In front him was his little brother, he was sure of it, but Goten wore a purple gi with a
black slash, black boots and
gloves, and a black mask around his eyes. Floating beside him, Trunks had a black gi with
purple boots, gloves and
mask, along with his usual Capsule Corps jacket with the label covered. Both of them
grinned and raised their
hands, ready to fire ki blasts.
"We're the Terror Twins," Trunks yelled, making sure all the people now pressed
to their office windows could hear.
"And we're gonna kick your ass!"
Gohan's jaw dropped. "What the heck are you two doing?"
"What's the matter?" Goten smiled, his face a total contrast to his voice.
"Afraid of getting your ass handed to
you?"
"Are you nuts?" Gohan put his hands on his hips. "Do your mothers know
where you are?"
That wiped the grins off the Terror Twins' faces.
"They don't, do they? Maybe I should make a phone call. I bet they'd really like to
know their little boys are playing
'super villains and--yow!" He dodged to his left as a ki blast sailed past him and
left a burnt streak on his sleeve.
"Hey!"
Trunks lowered his hand and glared, looking exactly like his father. "Don't call us
little."
"Like you can talk," Goten said, sticking out his tongue. "You're a real
mama's boy anyway."
Gohan's hands clenched into fists. "I think you've been hanging out with your friend
a little too much."
"Enough talk," Trunks said. "Terror Twins charge!"
Moving as one, they charged towards him, fists back ready to punch. Gohan flew backwards
as fast as he could
and moved up as the last second, flying over their heads and smacking his hands in the
middle of their backs,
shoving them down several feet. Goten and Trunks turned and fired up, nailing Gohan's
chest, then flew up again
and buzzed around him.
That wasn't as bad as it could have been, Gohan thought. His shirt wasn't even burned. He
heard their laughter,
and he smiled. They're really just playing. He launched a ki blast up at them and they
dodged, cackling like real
villains.
"Is that the best you can do?" Trunks demanded, shaking his fist. "I heard
that the Great Saiyaman would give
me--er, us a real challenge."
Goten did a loop-de-loop. "If this is worst we have to fear, taking over the world
will be a snap."
Spreading his arms out and waving them around, Gohan struck a pose and tried to keep from
smiling. "Not so! Evil
such as yours will never triumph. I, the Great Saiyaman, will stop you!"
Half a mile away on a sky scraper, Piccolo and Vegeta watched the battle unfold. Neither
looked at each other.
"What was the point of letting those two go first?" Piccolo asked.
"They'll loosen him up so he isn't so damned fixated on acting perfect." Vegeta
smirked and clenched a black gloved
fist. "And then we go in for the kill."
"You know if we hurt him, Chichi'll have our hides."
"Mm. He'll heal. He's Saiyan."
"Half-Saiyan."
"Fine, we'll just goad him into acting like a Saiyan and hope he doesn't fry our
asses off. You like that better?
Maybe you like it--"
Piccolo twitched. "Watch it, Saiyan."
The wind whipped around them for a moment, nearly blowing off Piccolo's black turban. It
only ruffled Vegeta's
cloak. "On the other hand, we may not get any reaction at all."
"You thought about that too?" Piccolo grumbled low in his throat. "I wonder
if this is all for nothing."
"Well, let's go find out."
"I'm not saying it."
Already floating in the air, Vegeta turned and glowered at him. "What do you mean? We
agreed on this."
"It's stupid."
"You came up with it!" He narrowed his eyes, already hard to see through the
hood on his cape. "If you don't, I'll
tell the brats to tell Chichi this was your idea."
Piccolo's growling grew louder, but he nodded one. "Fine. Bastard."
Vegeta's smirk only grew.
Side by side, they flew towards the three fighters still shooting small bolts at each
other. Vegeta raised his hands
together and launched a massive bolt at Gohan, who turned just as he fired. The mighty
Saiyaman shrieked and
raised his arms in an x-block, stopping the blast and then redirecting it towards the sky,
where it exploded like a
yellow firework.
"What the hell?" Gohan gasped.
"We are the Torture Twins," Piccolo said in a deep voice, flinging his white
cape over one shoulder and pushing up
his turban.
Gohan, the brats, and everyone in the windows stared at him, their jaws dropping at once.
Even Vegeta flew a few
feet away. Apparently Piccolo had misunderstood the definition of torture Vegeta and
Trucks had been aiming for.
Whereas the other three villains dressed in masks or dark hoods, his mask was a shiny
latex that covered his entire
face except his eyes and mouth, which had an open zipper on the corner. With black thigh
high boots, strappy
leather bands around his chest and a tiny black thong, a nasty looking whip coiled on his
hip completed the outfit.
"Prepare to--what?" His voice trailed off when he realized even Trunks and Goten
looked startled. "What?" He bent
forward a little to see if he'd done a strap up wrong.
Everyone in the Namco Bank on the fifty-ninth floor suddenly had the best view ever of a
Namekian ass.
Vegeta glared at his son, who glared back. "Brat! You said you were going to tell him
how to dress."
"He said he didn't need any saiyan's help and he kept saying he expected you to show
up in some pink shirt." He
tilted his head. "What did he mean?"
Vegeta turned and threw a ki bolt at Piccolo, who ducked too slow and found his antennae
tips singed. "Bastard!"
He floated back several more feet away and raised the edge of his cloak over his already
masked face. "Now I'm
really glad no one can see who we are. This is humiliating."
"More than a pink shirt and yellow pants?" Piccolo growled.
Still hovering in the sky, Gohan stared at the green dominatrix before him and tilted his
head to the right. "Wow," he
whispered. "Nice whip."
A flock of pigeons flew between them, breaking them out of their collective shock. Trunks
and Goten began to
power up, and Vegeta flipped his cloak over one shoulder, revealing his black spandex and
usual white boots.
"Fuck the names and the stupid costume," Vegeta said to himself. In a loud
voice, he pointed dramatically at Gohan.
"Saiyaman! Defend yourself or be destroyed!"
When he saw Vegeta power up, Gohan raised his own ki and backed to one side so he wasn't
surrounded. "I had no
idea things were so boring now," Gohan said so only they could hear. "Grown men
playing in costumes?"
"Like you can talk," Trunks said. "Running around and making stupid
poses."
"Hey!"
Vegeta nodded. "And either the woman designed your costume or you've got just as bad
taste as she does."
"I guess you'd know," Gohan said, crossing his arms.
Trunks nudged Goten. "Remember, when this is done, we gotta go back to my place and
see if there're any pictures
of what they're talking about."
A ki blast rocketed towards Gohan, who deflected it upward. Yellow and white light
exploded in the air above them.
The Terror Twins rammed Saiyaman, Trunks aiming for his chest while Goten nailed his legs.
Gohan grunted as their
impact forced down and to the left, heading towards rush hour traffic. Below them, cars
honked and tried to drive
out of their path.
Turning golden, Gohan stopped in midair, all three of them hovering a few inches from the
top of a school bus. He
looked over his shoulder at the crowd gathering and tried to glare through his helmet at
the two demi-Saiyans.
"Dammit, you two, this has got to stop. We nearly hurt these kids."
The pair looked at each other, still holding Gohan down while they spoke.
"He's right," Goten said. "Maybe we should take this someplace else."
"If he's so worried," Trunks said, shaking his head, "then he should act
like a superhero and stop us."
A flicker of light caught Gohan's attention, and he looked up between the Terror Twins at
a ki blast coming straight
down towards them. His eyes widened and he powered up another level, flinging Trunks and
Goten into opposite
brick walls and rising to meet the blast head on with an x block. It dissipated easily but
his heart still pounded in his
ears and the adrenaline surge made him feel cold and sick.
"You idiot," he heard Vegeta yell, "we're trying to make him act wild, not
drive him into a murdering rage!"
"It hardly singed his stupid outfit, shorty." Piccolo still held his hand out,
palm up, towards Gohan, as if getting
ready for another burst.
"Fool! Your mask's on too tight. Can't you feel his ki going up--?" Vegeta
looked at Gohan, whose whole body
glowed bright yellow under his suit. The younger Saiyan's face twisted into a snarl.
"Uh oh."
The crowd gathering on the street began to chant "Saiyaman, Saiyaman" over and
over, pumping their fists in the
air and shouting encouragement.
"Go get 'em Saiyaman!"
"Rip their heads off. You can do it!"
"Pull 'em apart like flies. Show 'em not to mess with you!"
Embedded three stories up in the brick walls of two opposite buildings, Trunks and Goten
lowered their ki and
silently stared at Gohan's increasing power. His growling worried both of them, and they
glanced at each other long
enough to nod their heads once and slip around the buildings and disappear.
To the crowd, Saiyaman seemed to vanish from sight. They all gasped and looked at each
other, but a moment later
the children in the school bus all pointed up. "Look, up in the sky!"
"It's Saiyaman," the crowd screamed. Several women fainted.
Piccolo backed away when Gohan appeared in front of him, glowing brighter as his power
level kept going. "Gohan,
wait, I didn't hurt anyone!"
"He's beyond hearing," Vegeta tried to tell him, but his voice faded in Gohan's
yell.
"Trunks is right," he said, baring his teeth and flipping his cape back over his
shoulder. "I'm gonna end this fight
right now."
Glancing between Piccolo and Gohan, Vegeta came to a decision and dropped his ki just a
little. He backed quietly
from the fight until he could slip behind a skyscraper and fly out towards the city
limits. Halfway there, Trunks and
Goten came up and flew alongside him.
"Hey, Dad," Trunks said. "Isn't this running away from a fight? I thought
we weren't supposed to do this."
Vegeta yanked his mask off and blinked a few times, a smirk slowly creeping over his face.
"Brat, there's a difference
between running and setting someone up. We've just done the latter, and it wouldn't work
as well if we were still
around. Besides, Gohan got angry. That's all we were after, remember?"
"Oh yeah."
"But who'd we set up?" Goten asked.
Coming from Satan City, Piccolo's voice carried all the way to their sensitive ears.
"Now hang on, I can
explain...no--aaah!"
Hovering in the sky, they turned and watched the lightshow. A blast of ki sent smoke into
the air and they spotted
a green dot sailing up over the city, leaving a gray trail behind it. Another dot, green
and orange, flew up after it,
firing another yellow burst.
"Maybe we should go back and help him," Goten said.
"Gohan won't hurt him bad," Vegeta said. "And it serves him right."
"Yeah, his costume was scary," Trunks said.
"Can we do this again?" Goten asked. "This was fun."
Vegeta's laugh would have sent a shiver down anyone spines except Trunks, who truly was
his father's son in more
ways than one, and Goten, who'd spent more time with Vegeta than his own father.
"Of course, brats. Don't your comic books always have the same villains in every
issue?"
"Yeah, but still..." Trunks said, crossing his arms. "I don't think
Piccolo'll help us anymore."
"Who cares? We don't need him." Vegeta turned and led them back towards Capsule
Corps again. "Tomorrow we'll
whip Gohan into a furor again, and every day after that, until he isn't so damn human
anymore."
Evil laughter ran through the sky as the three flew away from Satan City and the small
blasts of ki coming from the
pissed demi-Saiyan.
~*~*~*~*~*~
Birds twittered in their nests and bees buzzed flower to flower, ignoring Goku as he sat
cross-legged in the middle of
a grassy clearing. He breathed deep and grinned, letting his shoulders drop, and listened
to the creek babbling
beside him. He still didn't know why Vegeta and the boys hadn't wanted to train, but maybe
the ki spikes in Satan
City were the reason.
"I hope Gohan had fun training with them," he sighed. "Still, I did miss
'Geta..."
A breeze blew over his face, bringing with it morning glories, forget-me-nots and...his
nose crinkled. Scorched
Namek?
"Hey, dad!"
Goku opened his eyes and waved as Gohan, dressed in his Saiyaman outfit, flew closer and
landed in front of him,
carrying Piccolo in his arms. "Hi Gohan. Wow, what's he wearing?"
"I have no idea," Gohan said. "It's just a bunch of leather straps and
stuff."
"Oh, there are straps?" Goku leaned over and looked. "I hardly see
any."
"Um, there were more," Gohan said, "but I kinda burned 'em away."
Blushing bright pink, Goku waved his hands and squinched his eyes shut. "Whoa, too
much information there."
Gohan turned the same color as his father. "No, not like that." Not this time
anyway, he thought. He lay Piccolo on
the grass and knelt next to him. "It was a fight. Well, it was kinda like a fight. I
got a little too angry and knocked him
out."
"How'd he get you angry?" Goku asked.
"He fired at me when I was over a school bus."
"He what?" Goku's eyes widened and he stared at the green fighter. "He
tried to kill you and a bunch of kids?"
Gohan shook his head. "Not really. The blast was pretty weak, but Trunks and Goten
were holding me down at the
time, and then I didn't know what Vegeta was planning and the crowd was cheering me on
and...I guess I kind of
over overreacted."
"They picked a fight with you in the city?" Goku frowned. "They know better
than that. I thought Vegeta wouldn't
ever do that again."
"It wasn't like that," his son said. "They weren't trying to hurt anyone.
It was weird. They were all dressed up and
talking like super villains."
"Like Majin Buu?" Goku's jaw dropped and he grabbed Piccolo's head, turning him
one way or the other. "Are they
possessed? I don't see any M symbols..."
"No, dad. Like the bad guys in the comics Trunks and Goten read."
Goku dropped Piccolo's head with a thud on the dirt. "Oh, I know those. Goten lets me
read them sometimes."
"Uh, right. Anyway, I think they're gonna try it again sometime soon. I know the
terrible duo will, and I'm sure they'll
talk Vegeta into it. Or maybe it'll be the other way around. Either way, I'll need your
help."
"Sure, son. You know you can count on me."
A groan signaled that Piccolo was half awake, and they both peered at him. When Piccolo
opened his eyes, he
blinked, wondering what the two blurry shapes were, then froze and held his breath when he
saw Gohan staring at
him.
"Wait, I can explain," he said, but Gohan covered his mouth with his hand.
"I know you can," Gohan said, smiling so much it made Piccolo nervous. "But
first you have to tell me something."
"Um...yeah?"
"Will you give up your evil ways and join the forces of good?" Gohan felt proud
that he'd said that without
laughing. "Or will you persist in your dastardly deeds of darkness?"
Smirking, Piccolo titled his head so he could see Gohan out of the corner of his eye.
"What happens if I don't?"
Gohan took the whip at the Namek's side. "Then we get your explanation...and you get
whipped."
"And if I do?"
"Then you give us your explanation...and you get whipped later on."
Goku groaned and looked away.
"Well, if you put it that way," Piccolo grinned, "how can I say no?"
~*~*~*~*~*~
On Capsule Corps' roof, the three super villains changed their clothes, shivering slightly
in the cold morning air.
"You told them we were sick?" Goten asked, adjusting his mask. "But won't
they call my mom to make sure?"
Trunks shook his head as he placed his own mask over his face. "Nah, papa calls me
out all the time and they never
call mom. The school knows better now."
"Knows better?" Goten pulled on his gloves and watched Trunks finish his
costume. "What do you mean?"
"He had a talk with the principal," Trunks said. "I don't know what
happened exactly, but they found him crying
under his desk later. No one calls after me now."
Finished with his own costume, Vegeta smirked as he pulled the cloak over his head.
"I remember that. Been awhile
since I had that much fun. Ready, brats?"
Goten grinned. "I'm ready."
"Yeah," Trunks said. "Let's go piss off Saiyaman."
As one, they rose into the air and shot off towards Satan City. When they arrived at the
city limits, they flew low
through the streets, buzzing cars and buses for a few minutes before strafing the Satan
City mall parking lot and
scaring hundreds of pigeons into mass crapping on the cars.
"Hey, look," Goten said, pointing at the mall entrance. "It's Mr.
Satan!"
Trunks and Vegeta both looked at the doors where Earth's champion stood, frozen as he saw
the three hovering in
the air. Mr. Satan's eyes widened and his jaw dropped, his hands twitching. Floating
closer, the three super villains
all grinned and stretched their hands out.
"Save us, Mr. Satan," a fat lady with thick blue eye shadow and lipstick wailed.
"Save us."
"You can do it," said a ten year old boy through a mouthful of gum. "You're
our Champion."
"Uh..." His Afro twitched as he looked left and right, but shoppers surrounded
him, gathering around the one to
save them. No place he could escape. With a deep breath, Mr. Satan set his hands on the
huge gold buckle on his
belt and took a step forward. "Listen up, you! We don't want any trouble. Leave now,
or you'll have to suffer the
consequences."
"Ooh, I'm so scared," Goten said, sticking his tongue out. "Big bad man
gonna hurt me?"
"He can't even fly," Trunks said. "I wonder if he can dance." He
raised his finger and zapped out short bursts like
bullets into the ground at Mr. Satan's feet, making the giant man jump up and down.
The crowd collectively screamed and scattered, sprinting to their cars and leaving their
hero behind.
"I'm serious," Mr. Satan said, still dodging Trunks' ki. "You'd better stop
now before I'm forced to hurt you."
Vegeta added his own ki blasts. "Or else what? You can't fly, can you? How can you
possibly imagine hurting us?"
"With a bazooka!"
At the unexpected voice, everyone turned and saw Videl standing in her air car seat, a
bazooka larger than herself
on her shoulder. She flipped a red switch on the side, aimed at the Vegeta, and fired. As
smoke poured into her air
car, the missile streaked towards the Saiyan, who lowered his head so his face disappeared
in shadow and extended
his hand. Trunks and Goten rose higher into the sky as the missile exploded, sending
flames and smoke in a broad
circle.
"You okay, dad?" Videl waved the smoke out of her car and sat back down, intent
on the pair she'd missed.
"Doing great," Mr. Satan said, grinning and putting his fists on his hips.
"You seem to be handling this so I'll let
you take care of the other two."
Before Videl could close her car again, though, they both heard low laughter coming from
the remnants of the blast.
The flames cleared and revealed Vegeta, wisps of smoke sliding around his unscathed cloak.
He lowered his hand
and laughed a little louder.
"Nice try," he said. "I am impressed. At least one of you weak humans had
the balls to attack. Figures it'd be a little
girl."
"What?" she yelled. "Who're you calling little?"
A pulse of ki a mile away caught his attention and he looked towards the skyscrapers.
"Ah, it looks like Saiyaman's
found an excuse to get out of school. Let's see if he's already pissed off." He flew
across the parking lot, leaving
Videl squawking in her car, and passed Mr. Satan as the champion stared at his crapped
upon luxury car, the red
convertible covered in bird excrement. Vegeta grinned and sent a huge burst down on the
engine, charring the car
and singeing Mr. Satan's afro.
"Hey, dad!" Trunks dropped down to his father's level. "Something's weird.
I felt more than one ki up there, but
then the power level suddenly went down again."
"He's probably planning something to stop the fight quickly," Vegeta said.
"Whatever it is, we can't let it work. He
has to learn that he's not a human, he's a Saiyan."
"And Saiyans aren't momma's boys," Trunks said.
"Exactly."
"Are you two coming?" Goten shouted several yards above them. "Or am I
gonna have to take care of him on my
own?"
"On our way," Trunks said.
"Hey, get back here!" Videl flew her car towards them, still fighting to clear
the smoke out of her sight. "I'm not done
with you yet."
"Well," Vegeta said. "She certainly walks around a big pair, doesn't
she?"
"She's got more guts than Krillin or Yamcha, and they're stronger." Trunks fired
a short blast at her engines,
sending the car spiraling down. Videl jumped and landed safely on the pavement, but her
car landed on Mr. Satan's
convertible, squashing it flat. The Champion of the Earth sank to his knees and bawled.
"Let's go already!" Goten turned and flew towards his brother, soon flanked by
his fellow villains. "Do you feel
that?"
"He's not alone," Vegeta said. "His spirit's stronger this time and it's
eclipsing the Namek's."
"Piccolo?" Goten squinted at the approaching golden dots and nodded. "Yup,
it's him."
Between the two highest skyscrapers, Vegeta pulled slightly ahead of the teens and
stopped, letting them float on
either side. Gohan and Piccolo stopped several yards away, powered up to match their
adversaries. The Saiyan
prince tilted his head when he saw them. "Got a costume change? Did you dress out of
your closet or his?"
No longer in bondage gear but rather a green and orange suit like Gohan's, Piccolo's
costume matched his usual
pointy shoulder wear. He growled and curled his hands into fists. "You son of
a--"
Gohan lay his hand on his friend's shoulder. "Calm down. He's just trying to rile
us."
"Looks like it's working," Goten said. "I thought you were on our
side."
"I've seen the error of my ways," Piccolo said. "Now I get to fight with
Go--Saiyaman instead of against him."
Like his father beside him, Trunks smirked and crossed his arms. "You mean now you
get to fight without getting
your ass handed to you."
Piccolo purpled with rage and bared his fangs. "You rotten little--"
"He took away your whip, huh?" Goten laughed and did a little flip in the air.
"I guess the great Saiyaman likes
giving but not receiving."
Saiyaman turned pink under his mask. "That's not true!"
"Oh?" Vegeta asked. "You like being whipped, then? And speak up." He
motioned at the people watching from the
surrounding buildings. "I don't think everyone can hear you."
"That's it," Gohan said, his face twisting more and more into a snarl. "No
more waiting around. Now you'll see our
secret weapon and newest teammate."
"New teammate?" Trunks looked at Goten. "Since when does Saiyaman need a
team?"
"Since he turned into a total wimp."
Growling, Gohan flared his ki twice, signaling Goku to transmit in close. A flicker of
white blurred next to him, and
then they could all see Goku clearly. Dressed in green spandex, Goku wore white underwear
on the outside of his
pants and a ring of huge daisy petals around his face.
For a moment, no one spoke. They heard a cough or a gasp out of the buildings, but the
rustling of their cloaks and
capes in the wind sounded like yells. Everyone stared with wide eyes and Goku kept his
battle face on, sure that his
grimace had startled them back. At first no one could tell who was snickering and they
looked around, but then
Vegeta lost control and doubled over. Trunks and Goten soon followed, floating on their
backs with their arms
around themselves. Vegeta laughed so hard he began to drift down towards the street.
"Dad, what are you wearing?" Gohan hissed.
"You said to look strong but good," Goku said, staring wide-eyed at the three.
"Well, the spandex shows off my
muscles, and no one would mistake a flower as bad."
Trunks gasped for breath around his laughs. "And what's your name? Sailor
Daisy?"
"Maybe Superflower?" Goten said.
Slowly rising back up, Vegeta wiped a tear from his eye. "No. We'll just call him the
Pansy."
Goku's jaw dropped.
"Cut it out," Gohan said, hands on his hips. "That's just mean."
"We can't help it," Trunks said between breaths.
"Y'know, Gohan, you look just like mom," Goten said. "When she gets
mad."
"No, he's half-right," Vegeta said, waving down Goten. "This is a fight,
not a comedy act." He caught his breath and
let the snickers die down, standing straight again. He looked back at Goku, his face
circled by petals, fidgeting in his
briefs.
He fell backwards laughing even harder.
"That's it," Piccolo yelled. "I'm starting this right now!" He ended
his words on a yell and fired a blast at Trunks.
"I'll take him," Trunks said, blocking the attack and shunting it towards the
sky. "Goten, you get Gohan."
"No problem." Goten charged his sibling, firing rapid shots to back him up.
Scratching the back of his head for awhile, Goku stared at Vegeta as he slowly stopped
laughing a second time. The
two Saiyans stared at each other, one smiling as usual and the other smirking under his
hood. Vegeta tilted his head
again. "Why the hell did you choose petals?"
Goku's eyes widened and he blushed. "I remember someone saying how soft my lips
are." He smiled when Vegeta
glanced away. "I wish you weren't wearing that cloak or the mask...or the
spandex."
"And I wish you weren't wearing that ridiculous costume." Vegeta backed up and
let his power level drop. "I refuse
to fight you in that stupid suit."
"Take off your cape, then." Goku ducked the ki blast aimed at his head and lost
the top petals. The rest of the petals
slipped off and floated down until it came between Piccolo and Trunks, whose clashing ki
incinerated it. "Geez,
Vegeta, I was just joking," Goku said. "Don't be so serious. I mean, it's not
like any of us are fighting for real."
A bit of ki sparkled under Vegeta's hood as his eyes flashed, and Goku wondered if he'd
just given the prince an
idea. A moment later, a rapid fire gallit gun attack forced him up into the sky with the
sun behind him. With the sun
in his eyes, Vegeta squinted, trying to find Goku. Gohan and Goten battled past him,
cooking pigeons that flew too
close and zapping each other's hair. He felt a ki materialize behind him and he leaned
forward as if about to perform a
summersault, then mule-kicked Goku's jaw.
"Quit trying to transmit behind me," Vegeta said, sweeping Goku's legs out from
under him, then clasping his hands
together and slamming Goku's stomach. The younger Saiyan grunted as he plummeted several
stories before
stopping his fall. As he caught his breath, Vegeta appeared next to him and kicked him
skyward.
Goku passed between Trunks and Piccolo, nearly knocking the purple-haired boy over and
grazing the Namek's
antennae.
"Ow!" Piccolo massaged his bruised antennae, his eyes watering as the sensitive
parts throbbed. Distracted by the
pain, he didn't see Trunks' next attack and caught the ki blast in his stomach, tossed
down until he struck a
horizontal flagpole on the side of a skyscraper. He lay folded over for a moment, letting
the pain in his antennae die
down, then lifted himself up again.
"What's the matter?" Trunks asked as he flew down to meet him. "That was
just a love tap. I'm sure the Great
Saiyaman gives you love taps all the time."
"Will you quit it with the insinuations! I'm not--"
"Oh please." Trunks crossed his arms. "Everyone knows. I don't know why you
keep trying to hide it."
A purple hue colored Piccolo's cheeks. "But...I'm not..."
"It's not like there's anything to be ashamed of," Trunks said. "Maybe our
high ki levels just make us that way."
Piccolo's eyes bugged. "You mean, you and Goten--"
Trunks smirked and glanced at Goten, watching him zip around Gohan's shots. The Great
Saiyaman flew in close,
grabbing at the evil Terror Twin, but his hands closed on empty air. Goten went over his
head and delivered a swift
kick to his brother's butt.
"You're getting slow," he said. "You don't train enough."
"I don't train with a former psychopath, you mean." Gohan ducked forward and
caught Goten's chin with the back
of his boot. "Your style's too cocky."
"And yours is weak. Why don't you ever come and train with us?" Goten stopped
punching and stared at his
sibling. "You're supposed to be really strong, but you never fight except in that
stupid costume. How come?"
"I do a lot of good in this 'stupid costume'," Gohan snapped, firing another
blast that missed. "I've saved a lot of
people. I don't need to train with--" he stopped.
Goten shook his head as Gohan cut himself off. "What? Don't need to train with me or
dad, or Trunks an' his dad? Is
that it?"
"Goten, I didn't mean--"
"Yeah you did. You don't wanna train with us. You just wanna screw Piccolo's brains
out."
"That's not fair!"
"It's true." Goten dragged his hand across his eyes, and Gohan realized his
little brother was trying not to cry.
"You're not there, Dad's hardly there...Vegeta and Trunks let me train with them. I
don't care what you say about
him. Vegeta can't be bad."
"You don't know him like everyone else," Gohan said. "Yeah, he's changed a
little, but he was a real monster
before."
Goten didn't say anything for a moment, the sounds of everyone else's ki blasts echoing
off the buildings around
them filling the silence. Gohan chewed his lower lip and wondered if he'd pissed his
brother off too much.
"Then maybe I should be with the other monsters," he whispered.
Gohan blinked in surprise. "What?"
"That's what mama called me. A monster. She saw my tail and yelled that I was a
monster." Goten wiped his eyes
again and glared at his brother. "Vegeta doesn't call me that. Trunks is my friend.
They talk to me like I'm one of
them, not some little kid or monster."
"Goten...I didn't know..."
"You never tried." Goten turned his back to his brother. "Congratulations,
Saiyaman. You win."
As he watched his brother fly away, Gohan felt like he'd been losing for a long time.
Pressed against the glass wall of the tallest skyscraper, Piccolo heard the frantic yells
and howls from the humans
inside, along with a few catcalls from the people who remembered his previous outfit. He
turned his head to one
side, expecting Trunks' next punch, and made a mental note to become evil again just long
enough to smack the
catcallers.
The punch he thought was coming didn't connect, though, and he looked back. Trunks' fist
hovered inches from his
face and the demi-Saiyan stared up at something Piccolo couldn't see. Piccolo pulled his
own hand back, ready for a
sneak attack, but Trunks backed up and lowered his hand.
"You win, uh...whatever your name is. Later!" He blurred out of sight, and when
Piccolo looked around, he spotted
the teen flying after Goten.
"Hm. If Trunks is gone, and Goten's gone," he looked at Gohan to make sure he
was still there. He forgot about
fighting when he felt his ki, already sad and spiraling down into depression. Deciding to
let Goku finish off Vegeta,
he flew towards Gohan and lay his hand on his shoulder. "Kid, you all right?"
Without looking at him, Gohan shook his head. "No, Piccolo. I'm not."
Piccolo reached down and grabbed his hand. "Come on, the brats took off, and Goku's
handling Vegeta. Let's get
out of here before the cops show."
Gohan nodded and let Piccolo lead, flying just behind him at his shoulder.
On the other side of town, Goku and Vegeta dispensed with the play fighting and threw real
punches, never
noticing that they'd left the main battlefield. For the twelfth time Goku tried to grab
Vegeta's cloak, burning at the
edges from a ki blast, but the smaller Saiyan dodged his hands and launched another blast
in his face. Goku growled
as he slapped the smoke from his eyes.
"This isn't fair," he said between punches. "We can't power up here, so I'm
at a disadvantage."
"Whine whine whine," Vegeta said between kicks. "I fight you even though
your ki's...stronger," he bit the word
out. "You're just pissed I'll always be better skilled than you."
Sirens rushed after them as dozens of police cars swarmed through the streets. Cops and
armed civilians fired at
them, missing every shot but hitting the buildings around them.
"Vegeta, we've gotta fight somewhere else. People could get hurt if we keep this
up."
"Hmph. I think I prefer you stuck at your lowest level."
Goku backed away, dodging a sudden sweep kick, and rocketed up over the city. "Then
catch me!"
His smirk turning into a grin, Vegeta followed after him, hands extended and firing.
Without any warning, Goku
turned and dived back at him, transforming and taking the hits as he dropped. Vegeta froze
for a second, startled by
the move, and Goku grabbed his friend's hand before he could dodge. He put his fingers to
his forehead and
concentrated, hearing Vegeta's enraged yell as they transmitted from Satan City to their
usual sparring grounds in
the desert.
"Dammit, Kakarrot, I hate that technique!" He snapped to Super Saiyan level two
and fired at Goku. "What's the
matter? Can't handle a fair fight?"
"Not at all." Goku matched his level and blocked the shots. "I just wanted
to take this fight to a different level."
Vegeta landed on a ledge and watched him approach. "Well, at least I know you can't
beat me without resorting to
Super Saiyan levels."
"Not that kind of level," Goku said with a grin. He ripped off the white
underwear and then the top half of his green
spandex.
As he landed, Vegeta took off again, intent on putting as much distance between them as
possible. "Kakarrot, you
have a sick one track mind!" Goku's ki disappeared, and he turned around to see where
he'd gone. Instead he
slammed back against a rock solid body. Before he could move, Goku dragged him down out of
the air and slammed
him into the ground.
When Vegeta opened his eyes again, he found himself face down in the hot dirt with Goku on
top of him, pinning
his hands down near his head. He felt Goku's warm breath on his neck and jerked underneath
him, but Goku only
pressed him harder. "Get off of me."
"I guess I don't have to ask if you'll stay still." He let go of Vegeta's right
hand but leaned his elbow on it, holding it
still while he slipped his hand under Vegeta's mask and gently tugged it off. He nuzzled
his prisoner's cheek and
throat, nudging the cloak out of the way.
"No, stop it," Vegeta growled, thrashing under him. "Don't you dare!"
"Uh-uh, you get to be on top too much," Goku said. He kissed the soft skin at
the base of Vegeta's throat and bit
into the hard muscle, releasing Vegeta's hands once he had a secure grip.
Groaning as Goku's hands roamed along his sides, Vegeta tried to push himself up only to
feel the teeth in his throat
tighten. Unable to move more than a few inches, he dug his fingers into the ground and
squeezed his eyes shut.
A strong breeze told him all of his clothes were gone, and he heard Goku tossing their
clothes aside. "Kakarrot--"
He winced as Goku bit harder but kept going. "Let go. I won't run."
Goku pulled back and licked the remaining blood away. "Promise?"
"Yes. And for God's sake, sit up a little. You're too damned heavy."
"Oh, sorry." He shifted his weight off of Vegeta's back and lay beside him,
keeping one arm around his shoulders
just in case he broke his promise. "You look better without the mask."
"And you look better without the petals."
"Vegeta, why were you and the boys dressed like super villains? I mean, you even got
Piccolo to join in."
"It was half his idea. We were just sick of Gohan acting like a weakling." He
sighed as Goku's hand started rubbing
his back. "We wanted to piss him off, make him remember what he is."
"In a crowded city?"
"No one got hurt." He glared at Goku. "Though it would've been faster
otherwise."
"I'm glad you didn't." Goku raised Vegeta's hand to his lips and kissed his
palm. "I'm glad you held yourself back.
You and the kids. I'm surprised you could keep them under control."
"They know better than to screw with me."
"Still, that was kind of fun. Kinda deserves a reward."
Vegeta smiled, narrowing his eyes, and turned on his back, allowing Goku to climb over
him. "Just no more biting."
"I promise."
~*~*~*~*~*~
Trunks followed Goten out of Satan City and landed next to him on the Capsule Corps roof.
Neither of them spoke,
but as they sat down on the edge, Trunks put his arm around his friend's shoulders and let
him cry quietly. He
didn't ask any questions since he wasn't sure what to ask. After a few minutes Goten
stopped, but he didn't move
away. The sun gradually set on the horizon, stars shimmering in the violet sky. City
street lights came on as the sky
scrapers began to glow. One large billboard glowed neon green and orange, advertising the
next Saiyaman movie.
As the night air cooled, Trunks shrugged off his jacket and put it over Goten. "You
better?"
"Yeah," he said, putting his arms around him. "Trunks?"
"Yeah?"
"You don't think I'm a monster, do you?"
"No. You're not a monster." Trunks smiled and squeezed him. "Wanna sleep
out here tonight?"
"Really?" Goten looked at the cloudless sky and nodded. "That'd be great.
We haven't done that in awhile."
Gently pushing Goten up, Trunks eased their bodies apart. "I'll go get a blanket.
Don't go anywhere."
While Trunks disappeared over the roof, Goten lay back and stared at the stars. A moment
later, he felt Trunks lay
down beside him and stretch the blanket over their bodies. He snuggled closer, laying his
head on his shoulder, and
listened as Trunks pointed out the constellations.
~*~*~*~*~*~
Gohan flew out of Satan city for miles, ignoring how far he had traveled and how fast, not
noticing that Piccolo was
straining to keep up until he landed in the middle of a forest and heard his mentor
breathing hard next to him.
"Where are we?" he asked, looking around. "I didn't think I'd gone so
far."
"You had your mind on something else," Piccolo said. "What's wrong?"
"Something Goten told me." He sat down against a tree and stared at the silver
clouds racing across the stars. "Do
you think I don't act right?"
"You mean playing at superhero?"
"Actually, I thought I was doing that right." Gohan lowered his head. "I
guess maybe I'm not."
Piccolo sat down beside him. "What did Goten say?"
"A lot of things. That I only fight when I'm Saiyaman. That I won't train with him.
That I'm never around."
"Did he mean it?"
"Yeah. He...Piccolo, he said mom called him a monster. When she saw his tail she
yelled and called him a monster."
He pulled his knees up to his chest and hid his face. "No wonder he spends so much
time with Trunks and Vegeta.
They're the only ones who'll train with him."
"Or anything else."
"It's weird. Dad' s great but he was gone for so long. Vegeta's always been here.
Trunks always had his father."
"A father who beats him up."
"I think that's the only way they train. Dad really doesn't know how to train us, I
think." He raised his head and
leaned against his mentor's shoulder. "Maybe he's too easy on us. I mean, he demands
our best, but still..."
"You mean there's no edge. You know he'll stop before he hurts you."
Gohan shook his head. "No, not that. He's satisfied with our best. I think that's why
Trunks is stronger than Goten.
Vegeta pushes him for more than his best. And maybe that's why Goten's stronger than I was
at his age."
"You're kidding, right?" A breeze toppled his turban off his head and onto his
lap.
"No, Piccolo. He's stronger. If Cell came back somehow, Goten wouldn't hesitate to
fight. Hell, he'd probably enjoy
it. Me?" He kicked a rock over the ledge. "I had to be pushed into it."
"You didn't enjoy the fight?"
"Of course not," Gohan said. "Everyone was counting on me, and--"
"Quit thinking like that," Piccolo said, smacking Gohan's head. "You're not
the only one who's felt that pressure.
Trunks and Goten knew what was at stake when they fought Buu, and they still wanted to
fight."
"Piccolo--"
"No. I want a straight answer. You have to be honest, at least to yourself. Do you
like fighting? Hurting someone
and being hurt, feeling your heart race, knowing the next punch could be your last?
Covered in your enemy's
blood?"
"But that's wrong!" Gohan said, pushing away. "Fighting like that, it's
wrong. Barbaric. No one should enjoy it."
"Is that you or your mother speaking?"
They stared at each other for a moment.
"I..." Gohan whispered. "I sound just like her, don't I?"
"Mm, not quite. Sounds like you're missing her backbone." He put his arm around
Gohan and tugged him close.
"Maybe you shouldn't be so worried about acting human and just act like
yourself."
"But mom would be so angry and disappointed, and I really like teaching..."
"Don't give up teaching, then. But don't give up on the other parts of you just
because of your mother. You love
the fight, or else you wouldn't have become Saiyaman."
"Yeah." Gohan closed his eyes and breathed deep. "I looked forward to that
everyday, when I could stop being Son
Gohan, total nerd and momma's boy, and become a great superhero."
"Have you tried combining the two, so that Son Gohan, total nerd, is the great
superhero?"
"No. But it's a good idea."
"Just don't get rid of the glasses."
"Huh?"
"Your glasses, keep 'em." Piccolo smirked and ran one finger down Gohan's nose.
"It's fun taking them off you."
"You know, for someone who says he's asexual..." Pouncing on Piccolo, he pushed
him onto the grass and held him
there, leaning over him with his hands on Piccolo's shoulders. "You'd better remember
who's the stronger one here."
"Physically, maybe."
"You know, I think I still have that whip."
~*~*~*~*~*~
Birds chirping and machines humming roused Vegeta, making him open his eyes and scowl at
the sunlight
streaming through the window. He burrowed his head under the blankets, almost disappearing
under them and the
Saiyan asleep next to him. After a few moments, he blinked and looked up again. Bed?
Window? He sighed and sat
up.
"Stupid transmission," he said, not caring if he woke Goku. He grabbed a black
training suit out of his dresser and
headed for the shower.
Still fast asleep, Goku turned and patted the mattress, frowning when he didn't find
another warm body. He woke up
alone with the covers kicked down to his ankles and the air conditioner going full blast.
Why does Bulma keep the temperature so low? he thought. He heard the shower going full
blast and grinned.
Knowing Vegeta, the water would be hot and the bathroom all steamy. He put his fingers to
his forehead and
concentrated.
~*~*~*~*~*~
Cold morning air coursed over Trunks and Goten, waking them up at once. They both sat up
and winced at the
bright sunlight, enough to blind them for a moment. While Goten yawned and stretched,
Trunks rolled the blanket
up and tucked it under his arm. "Coming? We'd better get down before anyone notices
two super villains on
Capsule Corps."
Goten nodded and crawled after Trunks to the edge of the roof, pitching forward and flying
through Trunks'
bedroom window. "I hope mom doesn't get angry that I stayed out all night," he
said, sitting on the bed.
"She'll probably think you stayed over." He lay his hand on Goten's shoulder,
making him look up. "I'll call and tell
her we stayed up late studying and forgot to call."
"Okay. You lie better than I do."
"Got that right," Trunks said as he pushed the blanket in his linen closet
filled with other rolled and stuffed
blankets. "You always look guilty when you lie, and you always think up really weird
excuses that no one'd
believe."
"I do not. I have good excuses, it's just no one ever believes them."
"Good excuses?" Trunks sat down and pulled his hair into a ponytail.
"Remember that pillow fight we had where we
tore all the feathers out?"
"Yeah?"
"Remember what you told papa when he came in?"
"I said a chicken flew in and exploded." Goten stuck out his tongue. "Well,
it could have happened."
"We were lucky papa just laughed and went away. If mom had found us before we cleaned
up, we'd of been in deep
shit."
Goten opened his mouth to say something, but his voice drowned in the sudden roar
downstairs.
"Kakarrot, get out--I don't care if you're cold, you walking brick wall, get out of
the way...put me down!"
"What the hell?" Goten asked.
"Sounds like the Pansy caught a Torture Twin," Trunks said, not bothering to
hide his snickers.
"Ewww," Goten said, sticking out his tongue again. "There's something I
don't need to imagine."
"I agree. Get changed," Trunks said. "You can't hear the shower from the
kitchen."
"Woohoo, food." Goten went to the trunk on the far wall and dug through the
clothes he kept over. "Remember,
you gotta call my mom."
"I remember." As soon they looked like respectable demi-Saiyans, each in their
own training gi, they ran down the
stairs, Goten taking the banister and beating Trunks to the breakfast Mrs. Briefs and her
robots had spread on the
table. Trunks grabbed the phone with a plate and sat down, dialing the Son residence.
"Hello, it's me, Trunks...yes,
he's here. Sorry we didn't call, but we were up so late studying we fell asleep on our
books...math, as usual. Goten's
having trouble with simplifying radicals...okay, we'll see you later. What? Oh, yeah, I
think I saw Papa and Goku
sparring yesterday. I guess he didn't wanna wake you up. Okay, take care. Bye." He
hung the phone up. "See, no
problem."
"I am not having trouble in math," Goten said between bites. "Mom's gonna
think I'm retarded if you keep saying
that."
"Hey, you didn't wanna talk to her."
A few minutes later, Vegeta walked in with Goku following close behind, a bruise on his
right eye slowly going
down. They sat down opposite their sons and started on the other half of breakfast.
"Good to see you brats left us something," Vegeta said.
"Looks like you gave Goku something," Trunks said.
"It's worse than it looks," Goku said. "See, it's already going down."
"Hmph. That'll teach you to sneak up behind me."
"It's just instant transmission," Goku said between bites. "I thought you'd
be used to it by now."
"And I thought you'd be discreet with it by now, not popping in on people at the
worst moments."
"That wasn't a bad moment. I liked it."
Trunks and Goten groaned and squinched their eyes shut. "Ewww!"
"Shut up, brats."
"Oh, boys..."
They all turned around to see Bulma walk inside, her arms crossed as she did a very good
imitation of Vegeta.
"What's this I hear on TV about super villains attacking the Great Saiyaman?"
Three of them became fascinated with their plates. Vegeta stood up and faced her. "No
one was hurt, woman, so I
don't see why you should get all pissy as usual."
Goku and Goten gasped. Trunks went back to eating.
"Pissy? You're the one talking the boys into acting like bad guys! That's all the
Earth needs, three of you." She
jammed a finger at his chest and wished she hadn't as it started to throb. "And how
the hell did you talk Piccolo into
doing it? That mask of his..."
"The whole thing was partially his idea. And he's the one that came up with his
stupid costume." He smirked and
leaned against Goku's chair. "Although I thought for sure you'd designed that
horrible thing, knowing your lack of
taste."
"Oooh..." Bulma nearly slapped him but remembered how hard his skin felt.
"And knowing your lack of
intelligence...don't you think people are gonna make the leap that you guys are the only
ones capable of fighting
like that?"
"How?" he asked, his familiar smirk widening a little. "We didn't
transform, no one saw our faces, we never said
anything loud enough for anyone to hear--"
"Except things like 'Prepare to die, Saiyaman," Trunks said.
"--and no one would expect Kakarrot to dress up like a pansy."
Goku blushed bright red.
"Piccolo--" she tried.
"--is not at Capsule Corps nor anywhere near humans. So what is the problem
again?"
Silence. Ignoring the wide-eyed looks the three at the table gave her, Bulma tapped her
foot, trying to think of
something. She growled something under her breath. "Damn. Well, you better get rid of
any reporters that figure it
out."
"There won't be any."
She turned to leave, then whirled back again, startling everyone at the table and making
Vegeta back up a step.
"Before I go, was that you and Trunks and Goten who humiliated Mr. Satan and his
daughter?"
"Yes, and he'll probably get another visit sometime soon," Vegeta said.
"The bastard deserves anything he gets."
"Wait a sec," Goku said, resting his hand on his lover's arm. "You attacked
Mr. Satan?"
"No, Trunks did," he said. "I just blew up their cars."
"It was cool," Goten said. "Just like in a western."
"Yeah, and he kept threatening us," Trunks said with a broad grin, "and
saying he was gonna do stuff, but Videl
only fired a bazooka at dad before her car crashed on Mr. Satan's."
"I'm starting to see what you mean by a bad influence," Mrs. Briefs said.
"I'm surprised they don't get into fights at
school."
Trunks and Goten exchanged a look and smiled.
"Well, any that we hear about," Vegeta said. "Are you three finished? We
woke up late, so we have to catch up on
the day's training."
"I'm done," Trunks and Goten said at once, jumping from their chairs and running
outside.
Staring at the food on the table for a moment, Goku sighed and wolfed down what was left
on his plate. He followed
Vegeta out and then bumped into him, nearly sending the prince onto their sons in front of
him. Acting on instinct,
he grabbed Vegeta and pulled him up straight, then looked up at what had surprised all of
them. "Gohan?"
Standing on the ground in front of them, Gohan and Piccolo were dressed in the usual
purple training outfits and
trying not to notice the looks a few of the workers gave them from the labs on the side.
"Gohan?" Goten whispered.
"Yeah," he said. He looked at Vegeta, who'd just smacked Kakarrot's hands off
and missed giving him another black
eye. "Is it all right if we train with you guys?"
"That'd be great," Goku said before anyone else could. "It's been a long
time since we trained together."
"But we're not going easy on him, right?" Piccolo nudged Gohan forward. "He
needs to get his edge back."
"No, we won't go easy on you," Trunks said.
Piccolo grinned to show off his fangs. "Great. That's just what we want, right?"
"Yeah," Gohan said. "Right."
"Perfect," Vegeta said, crossing his arms. "Then our first training
exercise will be a dogpile on the Namek."
"What?" Piccolo looked from Vegeta to the boys and Goku, then back at Gohan, who
now wore the same evil look
the Saiyan prince did. "Uh, guys..."
"Get him!" the boys yelled as they lunged.
Piccolo soared into the air, reaching a hundred feet before someone grabbed his waist from
behind.
"Let me go!"
"You're the one who wants me to get my edge back," Gohan said. "Don't
complain about it now."
"Ewww," Trunks said as he flew closer. "No one wants to see you guys
screw."
"We're not--" Piccolo tried to say, but he found himself tipped upside down and
falling towards the ground.
When the dust rose from the impact site and Trunks and Goten disappeared into the dust
cloud, Goku glanced
down at Vegeta, who hadn't moved to join the fight.
"Um, aren't you gonna fight with them?"
"I said dogpile," Vegeta said. "Not how many. They seem to have things in
order for awhile, and I have something
else I want to take care of right now." He put his hand in Goku's. "Take us back
to the bedroom."
While the four in front of them wrestled and yelled, Goku transmitted himself and Vegeta
out.
End