The pod ascended back into space, once again falling into satellite orbit of the planet. Not even bothering to return to the mother ship, the sphere that was the interplanetary traveler Kana then spent the next few moments hovering there in solitude, safely above the earth's surface.
She remained there for an upward of several seconds. Reason being was that she needed to access the planet's Global Positioning System in order to find the address of this great Hercule Satan, also known as humanity's champion. After looking up the man's exploits on her return flight into space as well as reading into this Cell business that'd taken place over two months ago, the woman knew right away she was in for a very spirited discussion with the man.
This Cell person had been able to move at blinding speeds, wipe out an entire army without effort and destroy a mountain with a single blast, and Hercule Satan was able to defeat this tyrant with a single blow, or so the reports stated. If that were the case, then Kana knew she was bound to have one amazing fight.
So, upon locating Hercule's domain, the pod immediately course corrected and shot back down towards the planet, heading in the direction of the eastern part of the continent where Satan City was located.
Wow. The man even had a city named after him. If someone was able to have an entire metropolis christened after them in honor of their accomplishments, then this man had to be an amazing warrior.
XXX
(Meanwhile – Satan Manor)
"Wow. So you guys actually fought against the same guy that destroyed your home planet all those years ago?" Videl chirped, at the same time smiling at the image of Gohan she could see beaming back at her on the laptop. "That must have been one hell of a battle."
"Oh yeah. No joke. It was absolutely terrifying," the young demi-Saiyan replied, his voice coming through loud and clear over the speakers as he tried his best to recount his experience in brief. "This was back in the days when we were all still low level and nowhere strong enough to fight against someone of Frieza's caliber. The guy was ridiculously powerful back then and only my dad could actually fight him toe to toe. But nowadays… enemies like Frieza and his family are nothing to us."
Having opened up her laptop sometime ago, the daughter of the world champ had spent the past couple hours or so chatting with her best friend from the south. Since accessing his channel, the pair had talked about all sorts of things, but mainly about past trips to new places. Videl was really interested to hear about Gohan's first journey to planet Namek, which he'd only brought up about fifteen minutes ago. It was here he talked about how he and his friends encountered the prick that'd wiped his entire race from existence and fought some of the toughest battles of his adolescent life.
Needless to say, it sounded like an exhilarating and frightening tale.
"Man. You had the craziest adventures when you were younger." Videl murmured, propping her head up on her hands, "Frieza, huh? The biggest adventure I ever had at that age was going to the island to watch my dad dominate the last World Martial Arts Tournament and going to Central City for a month that one time."
"Well, I can say this for certain, you've been to two more places than I have," Gohan chuckled, wrapping his arms over his chest. "I've never been to any of the World Tournaments and I've never visited Central City before."
"Really?" the raven haired girl looked slightly taken aback. But that expression was then replaced by a cocky grin and a competitive gaze. "The boy who single-handedly defeated the greatest terror this world has ever seen and journeyed across an ocean of stars to a planet an entire galaxy away, has never been to two of the most well-known and most visited places on earth?"
Gohan had the right of mind to look sheepish, "I've had a very sheltered childhood?"
This prompted Videl to fold her arms and look at the boy doubtfully, "Somehow I find that hard to believe."
Yeah right. After everything she'd seen in the past couple of months.
Ever since the Intergalactic Martial Arts Tournament, the two of them had talked about so many things together. At the start of this entire venture, Gohan had told Videl all about the Cell Games and what'd happened leading up to it. This inevitably led him into a whole string of topics, most notably his encounter with Bojack and his henchmen, as well as the fact that he wasn't exactly human himself. However, Videl didn't seem to mind or dispute that realization at all. In fact, she seemed to accept it right off the bat, seeing as she knew an ordinary man wouldn't have been able to contest with a monster like that maniacal bug.
All of the important stuff was glossed over and soon enough Gohan began filling in the details himself bit by bit. When their conversations reached the same depth of emotion that he'd reached, the young Saiyan even got Videl to talk about the little mysteries in her life regarding her family, as well as a lot of the crap she'd had to put up with at school. Her father's fame brought her a lot of unwanted attention, either as popularity or negativity from people jealous of her position in the community. She had a lot of trouble coping with social structures and bullies at school, which meant she'd had to both physically and verbally defend herself on more than one occasion. By normal standards; that was a rough way to coast through primary school, an experience Gohan could relate to, only his were of the super-human variety. It was all a matter of perspective.
As it turns out, Videl hated being treated like a celebrity and just wanted to be viewed as a normal person by her friends. Unfortunately, a lot of people didn't give her that kind of privilege and it is a reality that has grated on her life ever since she could remember. What she really longed for was to have a normal family like what she used to have with her mother and father years ago… or at least a normal life, away from the fame and her father's postulating in front of the crowd. She wanted freedom in her life.
Gohan was deeply moved by her revealing these details to him, since he figured that it must've been incredibly tough for her to do so. That being said, the two of them found an emotional equilibrium between one another that made them feel a lot more comfortable talking with one another. They didn't have to be afraid of unintentionally revealing anything anymore, which made their conversations feel more wholesome.
It was almost like they'd been best friends since childhood, even though they were still technically children.
"I do live a long way from the city and have been homeschooled for most of my life. Even though I've been given more independence now, it doesn't change the fact that for a lot of my childhood, much of my free time has been spent stuck in this room studying," the demi-Saiyan replied honestly. Scrubbing his head and giving it a moment of pause, the young man smiled pleasantly, "I really have to get out more and see the world a little. I feel like I'm missing out on so much."
The young man's remark brought an excited smile to the raven haired girl's face, "You should come by my place then. I can show you around my house and take you on another guided tour of the city… show you all the hot spots you haven't visited yet. There's a really awesome market place and supermall down town."
"Yeah. That's a great idea," Gohan exclaimed from his end, grinning into the laptop's lens before sitting back a little. "And hey, since we're talking about visiting each other and stuff, why don't you come over to my house sometime. Mount Paozu is a really great place to hang out. I think you'd like it."
"Really?" Videl asked, seeing the boy nod and bringing a triumphant expression to her face. "That would be awesome, Gohan." Giving a very excited bounce that was an exact opposite to her usual, serious nature around other people, the girl quickly settled back down when she realized she was getting ahead of herself. Her visage becoming nervous seconds later, she then began pressing her fingers together anxiously. "And uhh… c-can I ask you something, Gohan?"
"Yeah? What's up?"
"You know that I like fighting and martial arts, yeah?" When she saw the boy nod and throw her a curious stare, Videl swallowed heavily and continued, "Well umm… if it isn't too much trouble… do you think… you'd be able to teach me a few things?" Feeling her body tense up, the girl pressed onwards. "You're the strongest person I've ever met and I saw all of the amazing stuff you were able to do. If… If it's possible, do you think I'd be able to learn how to fight like you?"
Appearing surprised at first, Gohan thought about her questions for a moment while rubbing his chin. Following a few seconds of deliberation, the youngster quickly gave her a response, "You're already a really strong fighter, Videl… much stronger than a lot of other people I've met. If you like, I would love to teach you a few things. But only if you really want to…"
Videl immediately appeared excited at his answer, "And to fly as well?" Oh. She really wanted to learn how to fly. That would be the greatest thing ever.
The boy chuckled, "Yeah. Of course, but let's take this one step at a time, alright. You can't rush into something like this." He could see how excited the girl was getting, so he quickly moved to calm her down some so she didn't give herself a heart attack. "These things take a lot of work."
"That's okay. A little bit of hard work doesn't bother me. Heck, I'll train all day and night if I have to." Literally rocking back and forth in her seat, Videl grinned across at the screen, "So… when do you think we can visit each other?"
Sensing she still had a lot of pent up vigor, Gohan chuckled and quickly checked his time slot. "I'll let you know in a little while. I've still got some chores I need to do around the house first, so as soon as I'm done with them I'll drop you a line, alright?"
"Sure," Videl nodded enthusiastically, quickly reaching forward to tap her keyboard. "Thanks so much for this, Gohan. I… you have no idea how happy this makes me. I really owe you one." When she said that, you could tell that she meant every word.
"No problem, Videl," the demi-Saiyan replied with a warm smile, "I'm just glad we'll be able to meet up and hang out some more."
"Yeah. Same here." She could definitely agree on that. Since they both loved martial arts, the two of them had a ton of reasons to look forward to visiting each other. To train and to hang out together, what was there to not get excited about? "I'll… be hearing from you soon, yeah?"
"Yeah," Gohan nodded affirmatively while reaching forward to tap his computer, "See yah, Videl."
"Later, Gohan." And with that, the transmission cut out.
Breathing out a long sigh, Videl leant back in her chair and placed a hand over her chest.
Damn. Her heart was literally pounding against her ribcage from excitement. Hearing that her friend from afar was open to the idea of training her to fight just like him and his friends made the girl all shaky and jumpy inside. The last time she felt something like this was when she was watching Gohan fight those alien guys back during the Intergalactic Tournament, and that wasn't very long ago.
This was a whole new ballpark she was stepping into, one where the stakes were infinitely higher than anything she'd ever encountered before. The world that Gohan was from, where people could touch the skies and smash mountains with a single punch… was an area of freedom and exhilaration that her father couldn't even dream of touching. And now she was being given an opportunity to try her hand at it.
She wasn't sure how she would go, but even though she was scared, the raven haired youngster was looking forward to it all the same. It was something that made her blood pump and her body quiver with anticipation.
"Get back to me soon, Gohan-kun," Videl thought, a warm smile pulling across her lips as she hopped up, stretched, and decided to plop down on top of her bed. Clambering across the large mattress, she then wrapped her arms around one of her pillows and stared out the window to her left for the next few minutes, Gohan's smiling face hovering in front of her eyes. After which Videl closed her eyes and drifted off into a peaceful sleep.
For some reason, she felt incredibly drowsy.
It must have been from all the excitement she's gotten from talking with her friend.
XXX
(Outside)
Descending from the sky faster than a speeding bullet, the small pod containing the alien traveler came to a stop just three feet off of the ground. Lurching when its momentum ceased, causing a cloud of dust to rise off of the pavement leading from the front gates to the steps of Hercule Satan's mansion, the sphere then began to unfold.
Just like wrapping paper, the metal bits pulled away and gently deposited its passenger onto the floor while it retreated into her back, disappearing seamlessly like wings on a beetle. With her fiery orange hair waving behind her, Kana took a moment to scan her surroundings, including the building in front of her and the walls surrounding the property.
Recognizing it from the pictures as well as the name 'Satan' stretched out atop its roof, the young girl then strolled forward. Heading down the path and across the palm tree dotted garden, she ascended the steps of the enormous mansion and stopped at the front door.
Having learned from her previous entry into a property on this planet that it was impolite to come crashing through a person's roof to speak with them, Kana adjusted her approach and instead went for the front, as it was customary on earth. Taking a deep breath, she reached up and gently rapped against the door, before lowering her hand and waiting patiently for an answer. Her glowing form drank in the sun's energy hanging high above, which she spared a momentary glance towards until the sound of approaching footsteps beyond the barrier drew her gaze forward once again.
The door opened shortly afterwards to reveal an old man with grey hair, a mustache, thin glasses, and wearing a black and white tailed suit with a handkerchief slipped into the breast pocket, standing before the celestial visitor. The butler of the house spotted the visitor immediately; glancing down at her while she craned her neck to face him, since he stood a head and a half taller than her.
"Yes?" the man spoke with an upward inflection.
"Excuse me. Is this the home of the one they call Hercule Satan; the current World Martial Arts Champion and the man that is regarded as the most powerful fighter on earth?"
The butler didn't even flinch, merely taking in the sight of the strangely dressed yet stunning young girl standing on their doorstep. "Yes. It is. To who is it that I am speaking?"
A smile appearing once again, the woman bowed to the household worker, "My name is Kana; I am a part-time privateer and freelancer for the Planet Trade Organization of the Four Quadrants of Space. I have journeyed far from the core systems of the universe seeking a world that has been completely terraformed to suit a variety of flora and fauna. As such, I have come to Satan City to treat with the great Hercule Satan in order to discuss rights and ownership over this world you call Earth." Same introduction as before, only she'd tweaked it a little.
Blinking, the butler stood at the door staring down at the smiling girl with the fiery locks for a good long minute of silence. Watching her hair wave behind her like a giant flame at the end of a candle, the man then looked over his shoulder and then back at the girl, before nodding to her in acknowledgement.
"Could you wait a moment, please?"
Kana nodded, "Of course."
The butler than promptly closed the door, leaving the girl standing there in silence and staring at the wooden barrier with an eager smile on her face.
XXX
The butler quietly and languidly made his way into the house via the great hall, hands behind his back and an unchanging expression in play. Turning right, he headed through the front lounge, decorated in all of the embellishments and commemorations awarded to the owner of the house, before then making his way into a secondary living space beyond that. Passing through several more rooms and another corridor along the way, the butler then stepped into what could only be described as a king's chamber.
Sweeping and expansive, with all the wealth and splendor you would expect from a person of high social standing, the room was warm and spacious. It had half a dozen small podiums set up along the walls with statues, all of which were dressed in the many uniforms Hercule Satan had worn over the years to his various competitions. The chamber also had paintings hung up along the walls with shelves of books stacked to one side and DVDs on the other, and a massive cinema screen TV setup above a superb surround sound system. To put it simply, it was decorated just as, if not more lavishly than all the other rooms put together.
Ignoring all of the trappings and ornaments surrounding him, the butler made a B-line straight for the owner of the establishment lying across the center couch. Coming to a stop beside it, hands behind his back and his game face on, the butler then waited patiently, listening to the large fighter's snickering as he perused through the girl magazine in his grip. It took several seconds of just standing there before the afro man in the bathrobe and slippers finally recognized the presence of his butler and addressed him.
"What is it, Alfred?"
"It's Jenkins, sir," the servant of the house replied stoically.
"Oh, yes, Jenkins. Sorry about that," Hercule cleared his throat, while not bothering to turn away from his article, "What's up?"
The butler was unfazed, "There's a girl at the front door asking for you, sir."
"Is it one of Videl's friends?" Hercule asked.
"No, sir."
"Is it somebody from the tabloids? If it is, tell them I'm busy." His expression twisting into one reflecting annoyance, the martial artist mumbled about 'stupid reporters' and how they were always coming to call on him. If he wasn't such a people person he would have sent all of them packing on the first swing. "I'm not interested in speaking with any vultures at the moment."
"No, sir," Jenkins replied while straightening up, "It's a young woman named Kana from something called the Planet Trade Organization. She says she's come to challenge you to a fight for the right to own the earth." The man said it in a way that sounded like the stupidest thing ever. Despite how impressive the girl appeared, no matter how she could have said it, no one could ever hope to take that kind of statement seriously.
Hell, even the butler thought it was some kind of joke. He figured it was just some hotshot who dropped by to challenge Mr. Satan to a one-on-one behind closed doors like they sometimes did.
Immediately catching onto what his butler had said Hercule threw him a suspicious look, "Is she hot?"
"Yes, sir. She is quite striking, if a little bit on the young side."
"Oh-ho. So it's a fan-slash-admirer, huh?" Hercule exclaimed, tossing his magazine aside before leaping to his feet. Snickering, the man gripped the belt of his robe with both hands and strode past his servant. "Well then, I'd better go over there and say hello. After all, I wouldn't want the people to think that Mr. Satan is a horrible person who wouldn't spare a moment to speak with one of the good people of his hometown."
Jenkins watched the man leave with a confident hop in his step, expression and position unchanging even when Hercule disappeared round the bend. Needless to say, it was impossible to tell what the butler was thinking. Of course, being a servant of the household, it probably made sense that the man was being tolerable of his boss's antics.
"Of course, sir."
XXX
Like a statue the girl remained, mostly staring at the door but every once in a while turning to look around the building's front yard. The mansion was massive, about as big as the palaces she'd visited on several other worlds she'd visited. It certainly bared all of the accouterments of a celebrity as well as a savior. The front garden was also quite beautiful, covered in a wide sheet of grass, bushes, and trees of all shapes and sizes, but mostly palms. The owner of the estate certainly spared no expense in making this a kingly home.
Absently, the fiery haired girl noticed the people walking past the home and taking it in, as well as the strange young woman standing at the front of the house. Ignoring them, the girl turned back to the door when she heard the sound of approaching footsteps once again. After waiting for several moments, she then looked up in time to see the entrance open and a large man twice her height appear in the doorway. His size immediately grabbing her attention, Kana's gaze panned upwards to look upon the chiseled face of the martial artist referred to by the people of the planet as the greatest warrior alive.
The sight of the girl with the fiery hair and the strange getup had Hercule stare at her for a moment, before a wide grin pulled across his face, "Why, hello there."
Cringing slightly at the man's booming voice, Kana then threw him a friendly smile, "Good day, sir. Are you the one they call Hercule Satan?"
The martial artist with the afro then grinned smugly, "Heh-heh. That's me, of course! What? Are you saying that you don't recognize the greatest martial arts champion in the world and the man who single-handedly defeated the mighty Cell?"
"I just wanted to make sure that I was speaking to the right man," the alien invader replied softly while bowing humbly to the imposing figure. "My name is Kana. I have journeyed far and gone to a great deal of effort to meet with you, Mr. Satan. I must say, the tales of your legendary exploits have certainly done well in encapsulating your magnificence. You are as impressive as the people of this planet said you were."
Hercule appeared flattered, "Why, thank you very much, young lady. The people sure do know the right things to say when they talk about me and my accomplishments. Words cannot fathom how deeply moved I am by their words of praise and gratitude." The man placed his hands on his hips and grinned down at the radiant youngster, who beamed back at him in return. "So… Kana, is it? Are you interested in having an autograph signed by yours truly? Or would you rather sit with me at my table and tell your friends at school that you ate dinner with the greatest martial artist in the world?"
"You are most gracious," Kana bowed, but then fixed her gaze back onto the giant of a man, "But I would much rather we move on to the negotiations as soon as possible, if that is alright with you?"
It was that very word that had the man stare at the girl in momentary confusion, "Uh? Negotiations? What do you mean by that?"
Kana beamed, "I have journeyed far across the galaxy seeking to battle the strongest warrior from this planet to determine its security status. It is a form of negotiation that has been practiced by members of the Planet Trade Organization for years. Even though I am not a fulltime employee of the group, as I am a freelancer, I still follow the codes and practices of the business to ensure a fair and equal exchange between both parties. It is the law, after all." Her response eliciting an even more bewildered look from the champion, the woman continued. "The concession must be made solely between the investigator and the guardian of this planet, otherwise known as the region's strongest warrior. This is to determine whether or not the sectors in question are adequately protected by the current populace, as the Planet Trade Organization views all planets containing life to be extremely valuable and must be preserved."
"Umm… okay," Hercule murmured, looking absolutely lost as to what this girl was talking about. From his point of view, it almost seemed like she was speaking in code. However, there were a few things he was able to pick up from her extended tirade, which inevitably brought a smile to his face. "So you wish to have a little sparring match with the Champ, is that it? You wanna tell your friends back home you were able to trade punches with the strongest man in the world?"
"Yes," Kana nodded, giving the man her answer. "It would be a great honor."
"Okay then!" the big man chuckled while sticking his chest out, "Since you obviously traveled a long way to meet me, I wouldn't mind spending a couple of minutes busting out some of my less destructive moves. A cute little thing like you definitely deserves a shot at greatness." The martial artist then leant forward and showed the girl the side of his face. "Tell yah what, seeing as how I'm a sportsman, I'll let yah have the first punch, okay?"
This statement had the glowing girl recoil a little when the owner of the house showed her his cheek, "You… wish for me to make the first move?"
"Of course! Being the most powerful man alive, it would be completely unfair to my opponents if I didn't let them land the first blow," Hercule continued, obviously under the impression that this young girl wouldn't be able to hurt him. Looking her over, the redhead didn't seem like much of a threat. He was also certain that if he was to try and hit the girl, even if it was just a game, he would not only hurt her, but bring a lot of unwarranted bad press to his reputation. 'World Champ hospitalizes fan' didn't look good on the front page. So, being the kind 'sportsman' that he was, Mr. Satan considerately gave his visitor a fair chance. "Since this is going to be a short bout between you and me, let's make the most of it, yeah?"
Blinking a few times, Kana smiled brightly, "So you agree to our terms?" When she saw the man nod, the girl's expression took on several serious contours before her fists clenched tightly at her sides. "Very well then. Let the negotiations begin." She then pulled her fist back, taking aim at the human male who just stood there, puckering up with his hands held comfortably behind his back. "Information on this man says he's able to crush mountains with his bare hands and catch objects traveling faster than the speed of light. That means his reflexes are on an astonishingly high level. I'll make sure this punch is slow so that I can avoid a possible counter." Making sure she had her timing right, Kana jabbed out at him.
It was a light tap, nothing too powerful. If the stats on this Hercule Satan character were right, she made sure to throw a low velocity punch so as to avoid receiving a hit of her own should her opponent suddenly pull a fast one on her. In spite of his good word, the girl didn't trust people as far as she could throw them.
In bullet time you could see her knuckles crash across the great martial artist's face and completely distort it for all of a few milliseconds. Then, once her fist had finished extending and the gunshot of impact rang out, the stunned Hercule was then lifted clean off his feet and sent rocketing backwards through his house, crashing through every single wall and fixture before eventually exploding out the back door and across the yard.
The man's trajectory through every single barrier and door in the enormous domicile caused the entire property to shake, which startled Videl out of her sleep and had her looking around in panic.
Traveling for a second longer across his back garden, Hercule eventually collided with the trunk of a firm standing palm tree. He remained splayed up against it with a look of abject horror slapped across his face, before his stricken body fell and landed on the edge of his enormous swimming pool with a splash.
His anticlimactic flight not only had his butler staring through all the holes he'd made in bewilderment, but it had Kana blinking in surprise as well.
Lowering her fist, the fiery haired woman strolled into the mansion and began making her way to the back through the many man shaped holes her opponent had made. She passed by Jenkins, ignoring his surprised visage while also failing to notice Videl when she came running down the stairs to see what was going on. When she saw the fiery haired teenager walk past through her ruined home, she could only stare after her in shock.
"What's going on here?"
Descending the back steps to where the pool was, Kana came to a stop by its edge and watched as Mr. Satan floated there on his stomach like a waterlogged corpse. Thinking he was dead, she then saw the man throw his head up with a gasp and a cry of pain, gripping the side of his face with his back turned completely to her. After whimpering and sniveling for a few moments, wondering whether or not he'd broken something, the man then turned around when he sensed a pair of eyes on him and freaked out when he saw the orange haired girl staring back at him.
Hercule scrambled out of the water to the other side, clawing his way across the grass of his yard before turning around and gaping at the girl in the plug suit. "Wh-Wh-What in the heck are you?" His question was promptly answered by his attacker levitating off of the ground and floating across the pool, which had his eyes bug out of its sockets. "Sh-She's just like those guys! The ones with the powers from the Cell Games!" When she landed on the other side, Kana then marched across the pavement and onto the grass where the man was still lying, only to see him backpedal away out of fear.
Kana stopped walking the moment Hercule moved, giving the man a confused stare, "I didn't expect this. I thought the strongest man in the world would be able to put up a much better fight than this." She tilted her head momentarily and raised an eyebrow. "For someone who is reputed to be earth's greatest fighter, credited with saving it from two completely different threats, you aren't as tough as the information says you are." She then smiled pleasantly and raised a finger to point down at him, the tip of which started to glow a brilliant gold, "Unless… you're hiding a major bulk of your strength in an effort to draw this conflict out?"
Seeing the girl start charging an energy attack prompted Hercule to cry out in terror and cover his face. But then, just when Kana was about to hit him with a blast that would cause more than a few burns, the teen was caught completely by surprise when something hard and fast slammed into the side of her head, cocking it to the side and causing her eyes to widen in surprise.
Unbeknownst to her, the celestial girl had been hit in the temple by a flying side kick executed by one Videl Satan, an attack which immediately had the star-child cease gathering energy and freeze.
When Videl saw her father cower in fear underneath their intruder when she raised her hand to shoot him, the raven haired girl reacted instantaneously and sprinted from her place on the back porch to stop her. At first the girl thought she'd be able to knock the intruder out on the first shot or at best stagger her enough to throw her off target. But when her leg unexpectedly crashed into something equivalent to a steel pole and the fire haired stranger didn't move beyond a slight head nudge, Videl immediately knew what she was up against.
Leaping away and back flipping across the grass, the eleven-year-old fighter skidded to a stop and took a stance. Setting a nervous glare upon the alien invader, whom she could feel nothing but bad vibes coming off of her, she saw her father's attacker robotically turn in her direction and narrow her eyes.
When Hercule realized he was still alive, he looked to see what was happening. "V-Videl! What are you doing?"
Identifying her attacker standing several yards away, Kana frowned. "A new opponent?" Marking her new foe, the woman straightened up and, without warning, fired two golden beams of energy directly from her eyes that flew towards her target at blazing speed. However, instead of traveling in a straight line, the beams zigzagged erratically and randomly through the air, bending and cornering at sudden angles while homing in on their intended target.
Videl immediately sprung into action, back flipping away from the beams when they attempted to hit her and continuing to run when she saw them chase after her. Sprinting across the grass, the youngster barreled out of the way to avoid the tracers a second time, before leaping over one of her dad's garden statues to hide behind it. The moment she concealed herself, the beams made a B-line towards the statue. But instead of hitting the Hercule monument full on, the beams shot up and over it, curling back down before homing in on their target once more.
Though initially surprised, the raven haired girl waited until the last moment before leaping out of the way, avoiding the beams that slammed into the statue, which exploded with concussive force. The blast not only caused a fireball and a shockwave that knocked Videl tumbling across the grass, it almost punched a ten meter wide crater in the ground. The statue meanwhile, lay in pieces across the ground.
Kana blinked in surprise when she saw Videl stagger back to her feet. "Impressive. No one has ever avoided my CircuitTracer before, even if it wasn't set to kill." She then rounded on the newcomer, whom she could see was glaring at her while covered in dirt and burns. "What is your name?"
The raven haired fighter frowned and took a step back, "My name is Videl Satan."
"Videl Satan?" Kana repeated, narrowing her eyes. When she did, she suddenly produced an orange hologram directly over her left eye resembling a scouter. As soon as the visor appeared, it focused a set of crosshairs on the girl and began crunching numbers at high speed. The beeping of the device stopped moments later. "Hmm… you have a power reading of 130 riki." She then turned her head and focused on Hercule, who was still lying on the ground and looking across at the girl fearfully. When the numbers stopped once again, the alien frowned. "And your father has a power reading of a 137 riki."
Contemplating the scores, the extraterrestrial teenager then decided to focus her attention outside of the house. Panning over the city, her scouter began producing thousands of numbers, all of which were focusing on people that were far beyond reach of normal sight. After a few seconds of scanning, Kana stopped and frowned. "Most of the readings in this metropolis average around 5 to 10 riki. You two are by far the strongest individuals in this region… and probably the entire planet if my mathematical algorithm is correct." She then looked back down at the ground and sighed. "It's a shame. And here I was hoping for a challenge. But I suppose if Hercule Satan is the most powerful fighter on this planet, then I'm afraid I'm going to have to declare myself the winner by default."
It was her last remark that quickly caught Videl's attention, with the girl looking up to see the fiery haired woman shake her head in disappointment and deactivate the hologram over her eye. The child's gaze fixing upon the ground as well, the daughter of Mr. Satan quickly began breaking down the situation and working out what she'd missed from what she'd been able to observe.
Videl quickly came to the conclusion that this stranger, whoever the hell she was, was looking to challenge the strongest person on this planet and defeat them, instead of having to waste energy going through the entire population. Her search had somehow led her to her father, which seemed like an obvious choice from a normal person's point of view.
However, now that her eyes had been opened and she'd been able to catch a glimpse of the world beyond the one she'd grown up in, and after feeling how strong this girl actually was, Videl knew for a fact that this opponent of theirs was way out of her father's league.
There was only one person she knew who could face someone like this.
Kana's attention then turned towards the sky and she raised her hand, pointing it towards the clouds. "Bit! Activate the composer unit of the Star Shooter and prepare to digitize this entire planet for transport."
Hearing the woman begin preparations to potentially destroy or capture their world, Videl gritted her teeth and threw her hand up, "WAIT!" Her shout successfully attracting Kana's attention, the young girl then glared firmly in her direction, "You said you were looking for the most powerful fighter on the planet to challenge them, right? Well… I know exactly who you need to look for."
This had Kana lower her arm and stare in unnerving silence at the girl, "Who?"
Videl, sprouting a grin, stared confidently back at the fire haired woman, "His name is Son Gohan."
"Son?" Remembering have heard that name a little while earlier, Kana quickly brought her left arm up and activated her hologram projector. Cycling through information at light speed, she immediately came up with a profile of Son Gohan, as well as all of the information attached to it, "Son Gohan… as in the son of Son Goku?"
The raven haired girl nodded, "That's right."
"You're saying he's the most powerful fighter on this planet… not your father?" Kana asked, a little bit skeptical. Even though the first name she'd heard had been Son Goku, a person that had come straight from the King's mouth, she'd unfortunately set her expectations a little too high when she heard about the people's champion Hercule Satan and researched into all of his accomplishments. Her hopes had been raised and dashed all at once in spectacular fashion, so you could understand the teen's immediate doubts regarding this girl's sudden declarations.
She felt like she was being sent on a wild goose chase.
"Yes," Videl answered again with continuing certainty, her eyes shimmering with pride as she soldiered on. "He's strong… stronger than you can imagine. And get this, not only is he the one who defeated Cell and those aliens at the Intergalactic Martial Arts Tournament," she added to this by shooting a glare at her father, which had the man turn slightly blue before Videl looked back at their planet's guest, "He and his friends also fought and defeated the space tyrant Frieza. Perhaps you've heard of him?" It was a shot in the dark, but she had to try.
Okay, now if the first bits of information didn't catch Kana's attention… THAT certainly did.
Looking up at the girl with an expression mirroring shock, the fire haired girl swore her heart skipped a couple of beats before her mouth started to move. "He… and his friends… were the ones that killed Frieza?"
"Yep," Videl nodded, cheering inwardly at finally rousing some sort of surprise out of the invader.
Eyes sparkling, Kana felt her excitement grow once more and grinned inwardly. "Frieza… he and his family were considered one of the most powerful family races in the Northern Quadrant at one time." They had also been the head of the Destruction Corps of the Planet Trade Organization, tasked with systematically destroying planets in order to create balance in the universe. Unfortunately, the family had gotten a little bit carried away in their duties and started wiping out planets off the record without prior consent from the core galaxies, which led to disputes between them and the heads of the organization. Nevertheless, they'd been one of the most infamous groups in the cosmos, known for their ruthlessness and efficiency. "But that was before they were all mysteriously wiped out several years ago by an unknown third party, leading to insurgency within their ranks."
While Kana silently pondered over this sudden development, Videl quickly edged around her and went to check on her father. Taking him by the shoulders, the girl stood by him protectively while their butler slowly moved around the swimming pool to see if there was anything he could do to help. However, after seeing what that woman had just done to the world martial arts champion, he wasn't sure there was anything any of them could do.
Kana's eyes closed meditatively as she stood in place, "Frieza was the second strongest in his family behind his brother Cooler. At maximum power, that pale lizard could generate 12,000,000 on the riki scale, which is more than enough to make even the strongest races think twice about crossing him." A chuckle escaped her lips as her fists clenched, causing the nodes on her body to glow a hot blue while the orange veins of her plug suit fluctuated. "Anyone who can defeat Frieza is definitely no slouch. I might get some worthwhile fun out of this planet yet."
"I made a grievous miscalculation," Kana spoke up, drawing Videl and Hercule's attention back to her when she smiled in their direction, "I'm sorry to have disturbed you and your family, and I apologize for any damages I may have caused to your property." With a low bow, she then took a few steps back and wrapped herself up in her metallic ball once again. As soon as she was completely incased, the metallic sphere hummed loudly and rocketed up into the sky at lightning speed, vanishing into the clouds with a sonic boom.
When the wind and dust finally settled, leaving the Satan mansion with a massive hole plowed through its center and the family scattered all across the backyard, Videl and Hercule spent the next few minutes recollecting their nerves. Following their close encounter with the kindest alien invader they would ever come across, who seemed like both an angel and Death incarnate sharing the same body, the pair could rest a little easy knowing that she was gone.
Videl however, being the smartest one there, knew for a fact that it wasn't over yet. Not by a long shot.
Reason being was that even though she'd just saved her father and the world from certain annihilation, she knew full well that she'd pretty much sent a rabid dog after her best friend in Mount Paozu.
Feeling immediate concern for his safety and knowing that he might be in trouble, Videl quickly made the decision to go see her friend and turned to glare down at her father.
The Champ, appearing so diminutive and pitiable before his daughter that he seemed physically smaller than her, looked up at his little girl with an ashamed and meek expression all in one. He gulped at the hard stare his child gave him, "Y-You know?"
The teen nodded, "Yeah."
"H-How long?"
"About a month now… though… I had a feeling much earlier than that," Videl replied, obviously referring to the man's supposed victory over the mighty Cell and sparing him a knowing smile as a result.
Hercule, murmuring uneasily, took a moment to suck it in before, with whatever strength he could muster, attempted to get to his feet. Hell, he spared no thought or consideration to the fact that the right side of his face, which had taken that monstrous hit from before, was practically swollen purple. "Videl… sweet pea… I… have a lot of explaining to do…"
"We can talk later dad," Videl said, pulling the man to his feet and seeing him look back at her from a timid, hunched over position. "But for now, I need to borrow your jet-copter…"