Author's Note (I hate long A/N's, but this is necessary background set up that will be casually mentioned or implied later on):

I never really liked the portrayal of Gohan after the Cell Arc, a sentiment that is shared by many fans of Gohan in the DBZ fandom. The powerful, brilliant fighter who had risen to take his father's place as the most powerful fighter in the galaxy. Potentially, a game changer from his fight-happy father to a protector who would do anything and everything to protect his people and loved ones. Then Toriyama nerfed the crap out of him and made him a little bitch to keep Goku in the spotlight.

This is Gohan as I see him. Piccolo forced him to train and to deal with his emotional issues through meditation, so he did not lose his power like in the canon, although his mother continued to insist that he keep up with his studies with Bulma acting as an occasional teacher. Because Vegeta was the only other significant sparring partner on the planet, Gohan grew somewhat closer to the prickly Prince, learning more about Saiyan society and culture while they both pushed the boundaries of their power, as well as picking up some of his personality traits. Not long after his sixteenth birthday, Gohan discovered a new well of power inside him, one that dwarfed even the vast Ascended Super Saiyan form, but the experimentation with that power almost shook apart the planet. For safety, Gohan borrowed a ship and left to master his new power somewhere less prone to destruction than the Earth. He was on his way home from that trip when a purple portal appeared in front of his pod…

Chapter 1

All Might POV

All Might and Izuku were working out on the abandoned beach. Well, Izuku was working out while All Might sat atop various objects which he told the teenager to move.

"Come, Young Midoriya! If you wish to control One For All, you must continue to train your body! Pull!" The young teenager strained to pull the large refrigerator that All Might was sitting on, sliding it over the sand gradually faster.

The older hero contemplated the massive steps Izuku had made over the past nine and a half months. The young man had exceeded every single expectation, his spirit and desire to be a hero exuding from every pore of his scrawny body. All Might was confident that Midoriya would be ready to receive One For All when he finished his training in a couple of weeks.

Suddenly, a thunderous sound echoed across the beach. Both All Might and Izuku whipped their heads around to locate the source of the sound. The older hero stood, squinting at a rapidly approaching round object shooting out of a purple flash of light.

"All Might, what is it?" Izuku looked up at his mentor, curious as to what the older man could see.

"I'm not sure, young Midoriya. It was moving exceptionally fast and appeared to be a sphere." The object jetted over the pair in the night sky as both tracked its position with their eyes. "Young Midoriya, continue your training! I shall go find the object and uncover what is going on!" All Might struck a heroic pose, giving Izuku a thumbs up.

Izuku threw his mentor a salute and went back to dragging the trash off the beach. All Might turned away from his student to look into the distance after the flying object. A flex of his massive leg muscles launched him into the air, his sharp eyes still tracking the descending object. It was coming down somewhere close in the forested mountains of the Shizuoka Prefecture, relatively close to Mount Fuji.

Several miles outside of the city of Shizuoka, the object crashed into the ground, coming to a rest inside a hundred-yard diameter crater. The object was a large white sphere with a circular black panel on the front. White steam hissed out of a seam that ran around the sphere. All Might narrowed his eyes at the sphere, wondering what could be inside.

A hydraulic sound echoed across the barren landscape, followed by the front of the sphere opening forward. White steam erupted from the interior of the sphere, obscuring whatever was inside. All Might tensed, ready to confront whatever monster would leap from inside the sphere. The steam cleared, revealing a young man seated within the sphere.

The man had spiked black hair and a narrow, masculine face. He had a scarred, muscular torso under a torn martial arts top and tattered pants. A strange pink band covered the lower half of his torso and bound his arms behind his back. A smaller pink band covered his mouth.

All Might slid down into the crater, stopping just before the open sphere. He could recognize now that it was some sort of pod, almost like a spacecraft or escape pod. The figure inside the pod was obvious a humanoid male, likely human. All Might reckoned that the male was around Young Midoriya's age, perhaps slightly older, yet he was built like a seasoned fighter with the scarring to match. One scar covered the boy's left shoulder and upper part of his left pectoral, an ugly scar that spoke of massive trauma.

All Might reached into the pod to check the pulse of the boy, his fingers just brushing against the boy's skin when the boy lashed out with a front kick to the older man's chest. All Might stumbled back, more surprised than injured, and his eyes snapped up to see the boy step out of the sphere. The pink band constricting his arms seemed to have no impact on his ability to balance himself on the edge of the pod, aided by a brown tail, similar to a monkey's tail, which lashed angrily behind the boy. Now that he was standing, All Might could see that the boy was only around a foot shooter than the older hero, a rarity in Japan.

"Young man, do not fear for I am here!" All Might gave his winning smile to the boy, hoping it would calm the situation down. Unfortunately, the boy hopped down from the ship and shifted his feet into a more aggressive stance. "Young man, I only want to help you!" All Might gestured toward the bonds holding the young man.

The boy narrowed his eyes at the hero but reluctantly allowed him to come closer. All Might tentatively reached out and began to tug on the pink band covering the boy's mouth. The hero frowned at the unexpectedly tough material. Another tug pulled the material away from the boy's mouth, though it refused to come loose entirely. A hiss of pain came from the boy's exposed mouth.

"One more tug should do it, young man. Hold still!" All Might pulled the band away from the boy's mouth until he could get a hold of the band with both hands. The Number One Hero yanked on the band, forced to exert his full strength on the substance before finally ripping it apart. The boy gave a shout of pain, revealing elongated canines, as the band disintegrated. "Are you alright?"

"Who the hell are you?" All Might was taken aback by the vicious tone of voice and the harsh rasp of the boy's voice.

"I am All Might! What is your name and how did you come to be here?" The boy frowned at the name.

"My name is Gohan. Son Gohan. What sort of name is All Might?" All Might frowned. Not to be arrogant, but who hadn't heard of the Number One Hero All Might?

"I'm the Number One Hero, son. All Might, the Symbol of Peace."

Gohan blinked and furrowed his brow.

"Number One Hero? Symbol of Peace? What kind of titles are those? Are there multiple heroes running around or something?"

It was All Might's turn to furrow his brow. Superheroes had been around for several generations now so it didn't make any sense for someone, especially a young person, to have not heard of the profession. The teen shifted uncomfortably, causing All Might to realize he hadn't removed the larger pink band yet.

"Young Son, where are you from?" As he asked, the large hero reached down and ripped off the large band. Like the smaller one, the band disintegrated as soon as it was broken.

"I'm from East District 439, near Mount Paozu. How close am I to West City?" All Might looked thoughtfully into the distance.

"I've never heard of that city before. Nor that mountain. What nation are they in?"

Gohan looked up curiously. "Nation? What is that, another name for a District?"

All Might blinked. "No, nations are political bodies ruled by governments. We are presently in the nation of Japan." Gohan narrowed his eyes in confusion. "What is the last thing you remember, young Gohan?"

Gohan thought for a moment.

"I remember training on Frieza Planet 442, heading home in the pod, then… nothing. I woke up here." The black-haired boy turned back towards the pod, his head tilted. "What happened? This didn't feel like I hit a gravity well or a cosmic disturbance. It was too smooth to be anything random or even natural." He looked around, eyes flicking around the landscape before landing on All Might. "All Might, right? Can you explain exactly where we are?"

All Might nodded and explained that they were currently in a deserted area outside of the city of Shizuoka in Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan. He pointed out the most recognizable landmark in the area: Mount Fuji.

Gohan gazed at the famous mountain with no recognition, something that baffled All Might. Everyone in the world knew about Mount Fuji, even if they had never seen it. And the boy spoke perfect Japanese with a slight rural accent, all without seeming to have to think about his words. This would only happen to a native speaker or a speaker with many years of experience. There were no signs of amnesia outside of his lack of knowledge of basic aspects of the world.

All Might was well aware of the fact that, although he was by no means an idiot, he was not the smartest man in the world. But he did know one of the smartest beings on the planet, as well as some of the best investigative minds. Perhaps they would be able to help him figure out this mystery boy.

"Young Son, I am unsure how I can help you. However, I believe that I know of someone who can help! Will you come with me and meet them?" All Might held out his hand to Gohan, his vibrant smile on full display. Gohan looked into All Might's eyes before sighing.

"Alright. I'll follow you to them. Where are they?" All Might pointed to the northeast again.

"They are in Musutafu, a couple hours away by train. If you'll consent to being carried by me, I can get us there in just a few minutes." A deadpan stare was his answer.

"Just go. I'll follow you." With that, the teen turned back to the pod and tossed something at it. A plume of smoke surrounded the pod and a small pill-shaped object was left on the ground in place of the pod. Gohan picked it up and floated up to eye-level with All Might.

'Does this boy have multiple Quirks? He miniaturized the pod as well as flight. But how is that possible? Was he an experiment by All For One who escaped? That might explain his lack of knowledge! I must get him to Principal Nezu and immediately if that is the case!'

All Might jumped into the air towards Musutafu, expecting to need to slow down for the young man to catch up to his prodigious speed. A backwards flick of his eyes revealed the young man to be directly behind the Pro Hero. He smirked and used a New Hampshire Smash to propel himself forward at full speed, eager to see if the young man could keep up. All Might laughed with joy as he saw Gohan effortlessly keep pace with him.

"You are certainly skilled, young Son! Surely you could become an amazing hero yourself in the future!" Gohan smirked slightly, as if he just remembered an inside joke. Several minutes later, All Might called back to the young Saiyan.

"Young Son! I apologize, but we must take a small detour before I can introduce you to my associates!" All Might turned his head to look backward and was startled to see Gohan's face inches from his own.

"For what reason do we need to stop?"

"Oh dear Kami!" All Might stammered in surprise at Gohan's close proximity. "Oh, I have a student who is presently training on a nearby beach. I left him to his own devices when I went to find you, so I need to tell him it is time to go home!"

Gohan contemplated for a moment, resting his hand on his chin. All Might was fascinated by his complete comfort in the air. It seemed like the boy wasn't bothered by gravity or his own orientation. Even the best flyer-type heroes were constantly aware of their orientation toward the ground while in flight, yet this boy was moving through the air as if he was standing firmly on the street.

"Fine. It would be cruel to leave him without his master for too long."

All Might grinned at the teenager and launched himself down toward Dagabah Beach.

"Young Midoriya, I am here! Again! With a new friend!"

Izuku looked up from his exercises in confusion.

"A new friend?" he said. "Is he from that sphere thing that fell out of the sky?"

Gohan grinned, exposing a sharp canine. "You're brighter than you look, kid. Good eye. Yep, that was my pod. I'm Gohan." He turned to All Might, his lips dropping into a thin line. "There, we checked on your student. He's still alive and it doesn't look like there's anything that will kill him on the beach except maybe tetanus."

All Might sighed. "Young Midoriya, you may go on home. We will pick up tomorrow, bright and early!"

Izuku nodded tiredly, his eyes never leaving the other teen. Izuku's eyes became wide as Gohan launched himself into the air, hovering several hundred feet over All Might and himself.

"All Might, who is this guy? Does he have a flying Quirk?!"

"I'm not sure yet, Young Midoriya," All Might muttered. "But I must bring him to a friend at UA who may be able to help! I will see you tomorrow and explain things if I can!" With that, All Might threw himself into the air.

The unlikely pair landed on the roof of UA significantly later, All Might landing with a mighty 'thud' while Gohan landed with a much lighter step. All Might coughed heavily, ending in a spray of blood from between his clenched teeth. The massive, muscle-bound man erupted into steam, obscuring Gohan's view briefly.

"Ojii-san Are you ok?"

The steam faded away, revealing an emaciated man in place of the muscular All Might. The skeletal man had blood dripping from between his teeth, his bones almost jutting out of his skin. Gohan rushed to his side.

"Where is the nearest medical facility that can treat you?"

All Might shook his head furiously.

"No, no." Even his voice had changed. "This is my new normal, I'm afraid. Besides, my doctor is here, ironically enough."

"And where is here?" Gohan asked, looking around.

"UA High," All Might stated proudly with a massive smile, even as blood dripped from his mouth. "My alma mater and the place where the smartest individual I know works." The skeletal man stood up, wiping the blood from his chin. "Come on, I'll show you who I want you to speak with."

Gohan followed the hero into the school, All Might's lanky and shriveled form moving quickly and purposefully. The hero politely knocked, displaying manners that seemed to be out of place from the gregarious personality he had displayed previously. Once the doors opened, both eyebrows shot up as high as they could go.

"Yes, All Might? How can I help you this evening?"

The being who opened the door looked… unusual. It almost looked like a mouse or dog or maybe a very small bear. A large scar slashed vertically across the animal's right eye, though the eye seemed to function perfectly fine.

"Well sir, I assume you noticed the object that flew out of the sky this evening," All Might asked.

"Of course," the animal replied. "I even asked a few hero agencies close to the disturbance to check it out. They said it appeared to be an empty crater, however."

All Might and Gohan simultaneously reached up and rubbed the back of their heads.

"That may have been my fault, Principal Nezu, sir," All Might said with a sheepish grin. He gestured back to Gohan. "That's actually why I'm here. This young man was that object, or at least was inside it."

Principal Nezu peered at Gohan, then he turned and gestured the pair inside.

"Alright, All Might. Let's hear what has occurred."

All three stepped into the small suite of rooms. Principal Nezu quickly prepared a pot of tea and poured three cups. Struggling up on the couch, the small animal picked up his own cup and took a sip. After a few moments, he opened his eyes and looked directly into Gohan's own eyes.

"I'm listening."

The pair relayed the strange circumstances which had led Gohan's ship to crash into the ground. Nezu looked concerned at implications that All Might laid out concerning All For One while Gohan just looked confused.

"Hold on, who is this All For One person? I already told you, I don't remember anyone involved in me arriving here! You're making a lot of connections with some shaky evidence."

"I would tend to agree," Nezu said as he shook his head. "Although All For One is known for moving in these unusual methods, there is no concrete evidence in his involvement." Nezu was interrupted by a jaw-cracking yawn from Gohan. The animal smiled indulgently. "Though I do believe that we should cover this in the morning. The mystery of how you arrived here can certainly wait for tomorrow. We have a room that you can sleep in for the night." Nezu motioned for his visitors to leave. Both men stood up, bowed to the small principal and left.

Later That Night: Gohan POV

Gohan shifted on the long couch, his lanky form spilling over the edges. A tortured groan came from the young half-Sayian, his back creaking as he moved. It hadn't been more than a couple of days since he had finished the harshest training he'd experienced since the Hyperbolic Time Chamber prior to the Cell Games.

An amethyst light swirled into existence, throwing colored light across the walls of the staff lounge where the young Sayian was resting. Gohan leaped off the couch, throwing his thin blanket across the room as he settled into a ready stance. A tall male humanoid with lightly tanned skin, a red mohawk, and pointed ears, stepped out of the purple swirl of light. The figure was huge, well over seven feet and covered in muscles, and wore a gold-edged black tunic over loose green clothes.

"Greetings, young Sayian. I am South Supreme Kai. I have come to tell you about why you are here."

Gohan narrowed his eyes and maintained his stance. From what little he understood of the Kai's, they were usually reluctant to interfere with mortal affairs in any meaningful way. His understanding, based on his discussions and lessons with Piccolo, Dende and Mr. Popo, was that the Kai's could not actively intervene in mortal matters unless someone broke a major law of nature like gaining immortality.

"Please, take a seat. I am not here to harm you."

"Pull the other one, it has bells on," Gohan scoffed. "Generally, involuntary dimensional transportation does not indicate a lack of hostility." It was the ginger's turn to narrow his eyes. Gohan's lips quirked up into a slight smirk. "Yes, I figured out that I'm in a different dimension. It wasn't a hard deduction." The Supreme Kai continued his narrow-eyed stare at the young Sayian.

"Yes, you were transported between dimensions by me. You pose a danger to our universe, young Sayian, a danger that I was unwilling to allow to remain." Gohan felt a foreign energy constrict his muscles as he began to move. "I did request that you take a seat. As a Supreme Kai, I am… unused to being disobeyed by foolish mortals."

"…. Fine," Gohan growled, his tone far closer to his mentor's than usual. "Let me free and we can have a civil conversation, Supreme Kai-sama."

The agitated teen strode back to the couch, his usually graceful steps more stiff than usual. The Kai conjured a chair and took his own seat, casually crossing his legs over each other.

"Young Sayian, I will explain your exile and the conditions for your return. First, your exile is both your own doing and the doing of the Fate's. The newest transformation that you were attempting created aftershocks in the World of the Kai's, something that is rarely done and never taken lightly.

I have been observing you closely since your fight with that Cell creature five years ago. I saw the rage and fury that you used to support your transformation. This history of beserk rage and cold-blooded violence prompted me to continue observing you, hoping that you would gain control over your transformation and continue your father's tendency to meddle for the good of the universe." Gohan leaned forward during this explanation, his onyx eyes giving away nothing of his emotional state. "As you could imagine, I was quite happy when you trained alongside your planet's former Guardian to harness your power and removed the emotional component of your transformation. However, your continued pushing for more power continued to concern me. This urge for power, admittedly one that both species you belong to share, caused you to discover your latest transformation. One where the successful transformation caused aftershocks in the Spirit Realm!" The Supreme Kai took a deep breath, his now-reddish complexion fading back to its normal color and his fists unclenching. "I made a decision to not allow this threat to the universe in which I guard to remain."

"You decided to transport me away from my home, my friends, family, my responsibilities, in hopes that I would NOT give into my rage and fury? That seems like a terrible decision." Sparks began to leap off of Gohan's body, his black hair beginning to wave in an ethereal wind. "Please, give me reasons to not rip out your spleen and waterboard you with the fluids until you send me back. My master taught me to have respect for the Kai's, but he also taught to not take shit and think it's gold."

"First," said the Kai as he subtly straightened his back, his neutral expression not shifting, "I am a god, boy. Show some respect. Secondly, I have determined a pair of methods in which you can be allowed back to our own dimension."

The light wind surrounding Gohan ebbed slightly while the sparks surrounding him remained flickering around his seated form.

"How?"

"First: Should you die a heroic death, one where you retain your body after death as your father and master did, you will be granted entrance back to your home dimension to live out your afterlife with your family and friends. Second: Should our dimension come under mortal threat that none but you would be able to defeat, you will be allowed to come back to defeat the threat and your exile will be reconsidered at that stage. Do you understand these conditions?"

Gohan considered the options for a moment. A heroic death was almost a guarantee, given his proclivity for finding tyrants and toppling them. Eventually, that would catch up to him like it had for his father. However, it would mean that he would never see his family alive again and that was a gut-wrenching thought that he didn't want to continue considering. But a threat that would require his specific power? That would be a hit-or-miss proposition, even with his dimensions' track record. It could happen, and then he could die anyway, making it a moot point. Perhaps there was a choice 'C'…

"What about a third option? One where I can return while still alive and my universe is not under threat." Gohan locked eyes with the Kai, determination in his eyes. "What if I can find the limits of my power? Push to the limit of my power and show that it is mastered, the emotional trigger no longer required just as I have shown with the Ascended Super Saiyan form? Would the Council of Kai's permit me back in that instance?"

South Supreme Kai looked taken back at the knowledge that Gohan displayed concerning the Kai's. Piccolo had told Gohan that few mortals had ever heard about the Council, outside of the individual Guardians for each planet. Obviously, the Kai had not been prepared for anyone to know about it.

"Of course. If you show that you have reached the limits of your power and can control it without being consumed by the rage and fury which drives you, then the Council will consider your request." Gohan got a suspicious vibe off of the way that the Kai said the word Council. He stood and bowed anyway.

"Thank you, Supreme Kai-sama."

The Kai stood, his conjured chair disappearing as he did so. As he began his gesture to open the portal back to their home dimension, he was interrupted.

"Just one more request, Supreme Kai-sama. I would like to contact my old master and inform him about my present condition and whereabouts. Just so that they know what has happened to me and do not worry what has happened. After all," a sly tone entering the boy's voice "you wouldn't want people like my father and master asking inconvenient questions in the Spirit World, would you?"

The Supreme Kai threw a confused look at the boy.

"I don't know what you mean, boy." Gohan's smirk had made its reappearance and the young Saiyan knew it irritated the Kai.

"I noticed that when you were explaining your reasons for exiling me, you only ever referred to you. You observed, you decided, you could not allow. The only time the Council of Supreme Kai's was mentioned was after I brought it up. Then there was the inflection of your voice when you said the Council would consider my case when I offered my third option, like the Council didn't matter. And finally, from what I remember from my lessons on the structure of the Kai's decision-making system was that major, universe-level decisions on the level of the Supreme Kai were made by the Council of Kai's. Not an individual Kai. So if you did what I suspect you did and made this decision on your own, you'd rather whispers didn't get back to the Council. So I'll play your game for the moment as long as you allow me to contact my master and explain what's happening." Gohan was standing with his back straight and eyes boring into the Kai.

The Kai ground his teeth, but eventually relaxed and nodded, stepping through his amethyst portal to leave the room in darkness once more. Gohan could guess what he was thinking, that it didn't matter if he contacted Piccolo. What could a former Guardian do against the word of one of the Five Supreme Kai? The young Saiyan grinned. Being underestimated was a familiar feeling for him.

End Chapter