When a Hero Disappears

Interrogation

Chapter 8: Interrogation

It was quiet. The only thing that made a sound was the frequent dripping in the background. Other than that? Nothing. It felt so lonely, and to top it all off, it was very cold too. Goosebumps appeared on her skin. Videl couldn't bear the thought of lying here on the ground for six days, consumed by emptiness. Not knowing what was going on in the outside world, not knowing if help was on its way, not knowing if... or better, when you were going to die.

Fortunately it was all over now. Her friend was in capable hands, and although the near future of his well-being was uncertain, he would now have the best chance of recovery. At least that was what the shorter man told her. And though she didn't know who they were, these strange men seemed genuinely concerned about Gohan. They must be close to him.

"Videl? ...Videl? I'm not sure if you can still hear me, but I'm sorry, I have to go. They are here. I'll keep you posted," a voice echoed through her cell phone speakers, followed by a click. She had forgotten her connection to Bulma, but now that Bulma had hung up, she felt even more alone. What should she do now? At this point, she'd done all she could, and now it was in their hands. Staying here in this depressing building wouldn't help either.

Videl got up and reached for her water bottle on the ground, which had fallen to the floor when Gohan had risen so suddenly from her lap, and had emptied its contents in the process. Next to the bottle, however, something caught her eye. It was a kind of hypodermic needle with a red plume attached to it. This had to be one of the darts that hit Saiyaman at the state bank. Suddenly she knew what to do!

The teenage crime fighter ran from the abandoned storage building to her jet-copter. There she searched through the contents on the passenger seat that she had thrown from her backpack and took an eraser out of her pencil case. She made her way back to the storage building and very carefully picked up the dart at the end of the plume. Whatever residue was in it, it wasn't something to be taken lightly. She knew she couldn't take any chances with it, so she stuck the tip into a small piece of the eraser. That way she couldn't accidentally stab herself with it. She stuffed the whole thing into the empty water bottle and put it back into her backpack before heading back to her vehicle.

Videl threw her backpack on the seat next to her and noticed the flyer from this morning lying on the floor. She picked it up and unfolded it, only to be met with the smiling picture of Gohan. She never really got a good look at the boy and she had to give it to him, he was quite handsome in that photo – dorky – but handsome. No wonder Erasa had a crush on him. She blushed a little unconsciously as her eyes went over his features. Though his posture was quite slim, it was still respectfully muscular. Everyone used to joke about how wimpy, nerdy and weak he was. It was almost humorous how wrong they all were, how wrong she used to be.

Her eyes lingered on the word 'missing' written above the picture. That's old news, she thought, and tore the word off. Much better! And with that, her mood lifted. Everything is going in the right direction from now on, she decided. She pinned Gohan's photo to the right side of her dashboard so he could keep her fictitious company on the long journey back. If she rushed, she'd be back in Satan City within 2.5 hours and was still able to do whatever she had in mind to do.

An hour into her journey, Videl saw a strange yellow dot in the distance. As it got closer, she was surprised to see a cloud flying very quickly toward her, carrying two traditionally dressed individuals: a little boy and a woman in her mid-thirties. Another boy with lavender-colored hair flew next to it. This strange occurance lasted only a few seconds, though Videl was sure she and the older woman were making eye contact at some point.

When it was all over, she looked at the picture on her dashboard and sighed. "No wonder you never talk about yourself, I wouldn't have believed you if you told me your mother is flying around on a yellow cloud," she muttered to the photo, "or that you are friends with a green alien-like creature with fangs and pointed ears; or that you are the godson of the Bulma Brief; or that you are actually a flying superhero in a goofy costume who can deflect bullets with his fingers." She paused for a moment and added with a chuckle, "I still doubt everything, even though I've seen it with my own eyes."