American Superhero

Ch. 16 - FINAL

Disclaimer: Do not own.

A/N: Mature. Language and sexual content

"Videl, are you sure this is a good idea? What if they find out?"

"Trust me, Gohan."

The half-Saiyan cocked an eyebrow as he eyed Videl's notes on their English presentation. It was the duo's turn to present their project tomorrow – something Gohan felt tremendously nervous about.

He was afraid one of his classmates might solve the identity of the two superheroes they planned to use in their presentation. Both of which would unveil but a single person. Him.

Gohan's mind flew all over the place as he imagined all the possibilities of what might happen if anyone were to find out. Would he become an outcast? Would the press be notified and hunt him down? Would his family's peace be destroyed? What if word were to come out that he was an alien? Maybe they would make a reality TV show of his life. Maybe they would somehow capture him for scientific research.

All because of an English presentation.

He shook his head, attempting to clear the most exaggerated fears he had concocted from his mind. He chuckled to himself in reassurance. There was no way any human could restrain him if they wanted to do DNA testing.

But more realistically, Videl would never back out of her word to keep his identity a secret. He loved her, and he knew she loved him. Things were certainly different now than it was back then. Back when Gohan was unclear of the pigtailed girl's intentions. Back before Videl knew of all his secrets. Before the two shared their first kiss together. Shared their first experience with lust together. With love together.

He had no reason not to trust her at this point.

With a final sigh, Gohan placed the piece of paper blueprinting their plan down on the table.

"Alright, Videl. I trust you."

A playful grin then formed on his face as his voice deepened. "But if anybody finds out, you're gonna get it!" Gohan reached for Videl and pulled her in by the waist, squeezing her sides. He laughed, watching her arms and legs flail about as she squealed.

She ripped herself out from his ticklish grip and swung her head around, glaring at him menacingly. It wasn't long until her frown quickly transformed into a defeated smile. She couldn't stay mad at him even if she tried. Her signature scowl was useless against him now. His charm and loving heart overpowered her defenses.

"OK, Gohan, whatever you say." She chuckled, rolling her eyes. "But for real now, let's get serious and practice this, so that there's no chance that we might slip and reveal your identity."

The two spent that evening perfecting their roles for their presentation.

"No, not like that, like this! Wait until I give you the cue, Gohan!"

"Er, like this?"

"No, you're too early! More like this."…

The next day rolled along.

The couple practiced their presentation routine one last time on the roof of the school before class was about to start.

Videl grinned. "I hope you're ready."

Gohan nodded as he swallowed hard.

Noticing his nervous composure, Videl smiled before she stood on her tip-toes to plant a gentle kiss on his lips.

She stared into his eyes as her lips curled into a devious smirk. She then leaned in and practically whispered against his neck. "If we do well on our project today, I'll make sure to reward you with a tasty treat at my place later tonight."

Gohan shivered as he felt her moist lips brush against his skin. He never felt so determined to ace such a simple assignment before in his life. Nonetheless, it was also the most difficult assignment he's had to deal with in all his life.

English class proceeded, and the couple waited patiently for their teacher to prompt them to share their team project.

Finally acknowledged, the two got out of their seats up to the front of the class and presented their assignment.

"…And so when you compare the superheroes in America to the ones in Japan in a more global perspective, you can see that both cultures cherish similar depictions that represent their country as a whole: Powerful. Indestructible. For the common good of peace and justice." Videl finished off her final point.

A classmate raised his hand.

"The general claim of your presentation is fine and all, but I don't understand why you're comparing apples to oranges. Aren't all American superheroes just characters some comic book writer created?" He asked. "The superheroes of Satan City are all real. How can you justify comparing the Golden Warrior to the X-Men? Or the Great Saiyaman to Superman?"

Videl slyly grinned.

"Don't think that we were completely blindsided by this fact. We came prepared in case this skepticism arose. My fellow classmates, and teacher, Gohan and I did some investigating. As you all may know, the Great Saiyaman has become a strong ally of mine, helping me fight against crime throughout the city." She peered over at Gohan. "He was kind enough to unveil to me his deepest secret."

She dug into her pocket.

"This, my friends, is what makes Satan City's superheroes like Saiyaman fake."

She pulled Gohan's watch out and dangled it in front of the class for everyone to see.

"I was able to obtain this from the Great Saiyaman himself. This watch here is the device he uses in order to utilize super powers. The Great Saiyaman doesn't actually have superhuman abilities; he is just as fictional as Superman. This gadget here is the very source of his powers." She smirked. "And to prove it, Gohan here will wear the watch and show to you that he will suddenly acquire super strength!"

The whole class hushed attentively, as if Videl had just coerced all of them into a sales pitch.

Grinning, she handed over the watch to Gohan, nodding to him to proceed.

Nervously, Gohan scanned the classroom, feeling everyone's eyes on him. He fumbled with his watch and slowly slipped it on. He watched as all his classmates craned their necks forward, eyeing the gadget around his wrist.

"U-uh, I just want to say first and foremost, it is a complete and utter coincidence that the Great Saiyaman and I are the same height… and build… and that we might look a lot alike… But I'm not. We're not. I'mnotSaiyaman!" Gohan stammered as sweat dripped down his forehead.

Videl furrowed her brow and rolled her eyes. 'Just get it over with!'

With that said, Gohan hesitantly pressed the activation switch to his disguise. In a flash, particles of the Great Saiyaman costume engulfed his body, wrapping him in the superhero's signature outfit, helmet and all.

Gasps emitted from the classroom.

Here he was, dressed in his Saiyaman costume for all his class mates to see. He nervously gulped as he sweat bullets, thinking there was no way that there wasn't going to be at least one person in this classroom that was going to catch on that he was, in fact, the superhero in question.

"…So, he's got a Saiyaman costume on. What's the big deal?" A student blurted out.

Videl walked over and opened the classroom door. She reached out and wheeled in a large piece of machinery, placing it in between Gohan and herself.

"This here, is what is called a punching machine. I was able to borrow this from the Tenkaichi Tournament my father helps fund. It's as simple as it sounds – you punch it, and it rates the strength of your punch."

She shot her arm out, pointing at the boy who just spoke. "Why don't you give this a try, Mr. Skeptic?"

The student frowned, slowly shrinking into his seat. He had no desire to display his weak punch.

Videl smirked. "Looks like someone's not up for the task. Any volunteers?"

Sharpner stood up with a grin. "Let me try."

He walked up to the machine and eyed it as he grounded himself in a stance. Taking a deep breath, Sharpner jabbed at the machine and watched as the numbers on the display screen began to fly.

106.

'Ooh's and 'aah's echoed throughout the classroom.

Smirking with satisfaction, Sharpner headed back to his seat without another word. He leaned over to Erasa, nudging her with his elbow as he snickered. "Twenty bucks says Gohan can't push over 90."

"Now Gohan here will punch the machine with the Great Saiyaman's disguise. The machine will tell us just how strong he is with this watch in comparison to the average person's punch."

Videl peered over at the disguised half-Saiyan in anticipation.

Gohan's mouth twitched as he nervously laughed, rubbing the back of his neck. He stiffly walked over to the punching machine and gulped.

'Here goes…'

Before anyone could fully register what happened, Gohan's fist rammed into the machine, inevitably causing it to fly backwards and smash into the wall.

His classmates gazed at the crater caused by the smoke-spewing scrap of metal in utter disbelief. Their mouths agape, their eyes the size of dinner plates.

An uneasy silence filled the room.

Sharpner looked on at the smashed up device with his jaw to the floor. Erasa blinked a couple times, making sure she wasn't dreaming. She quickly turned to Sharpner and stuck her palm out as she grinned. "Looks like you owe me twenty!"

The English teacher finally managed to speak up. "U-uh, well, t-thank you, Gohan and Videl for your very informative presentation. It was, um, that was, uh, wow. Hm. Yes. You can go ahead and take a seat now."

Videl turned her head to the masked Gohan, making eye contact. The two smiled at each other in triumph. They had done it.

School ended. The student body began to pack their belongings. Gohan and Videl began to walk out the classroom.

"Gohan!"

The half-Saiyan turned around to see who was calling him. Erasa caught up with the couple, with Sharpner following close behind.

"Wow, Gohan, that was some crazy strength you showed off back there! I had no idea you were so strong." Erasa poked at him.

"Hmph. The only thing strong about that was the watch he was wearing." Sharpner huffed. "Let's see you try and punch another one of those machines without Saiyaman's help!"

Gohan nervously laughed in reply.

"G-Gohan!"

"Oh, Gohan!"

"Hi, Gohan!"

Befuddled, the boy looked around, only to see a crowd of girls beginning to form around him.

"Gohan, are you free, sometime?"

"Hey, Gohan, want to go to the movies with me?"

"I know a nice spot to have some coffee together. How about it, Gohan?"

Girls began to pester him one by one with questions. Clearly his display earlier caught the interest of several girls in his class, despite the fact they masked his strength as "fake".

Overwhelmed by the swarm of young and interested women, Gohan blushed as he began to sweat bullets, unsure of what to do. How to respond.

He felt a sudden tug at his arm drag him out of the enclosing crowd. Regaining his senses, he looked over, only to see a scowling pigtailed girl pull his arm.

The two managed to get to the roof of the school.

"Wow, thanks, Videl, I wasn't sure how to escape." Gohan sighed in relief.

Videl crossed her arms and huffed. "Looked to me like you were enjoying the attention."

Gohan scratched his head, slightly befuddled.

Finally realizing her jealousy, he grinned. He walked up to Videl and hugged her from behind. "Those girls bother you?" He asked her softly against her ear.

Videl scowled in denial. "Not one bit."

Gohan laughed internally as he took note of her poor attempt to mask her emotions. He found it quite adorable.

"C'mon, Videl, there's no need to get jealous – you know I love you."

Videl's cheeks turned pink as her scowl slowly began to wash off her face. She couldn't stay mad at him.

"Besides." Gohan hugged her tighter as he growled a soft whisper in her ear. "You told me you had a tasty reward waiting for me when we finished this presentation." He smirked. "Or was I mistaken?"

Videl could feel the heat rise to her blushing cheeks.

She turned around and faced Gohan. Her eyes gleamed as her lips curled into a smirk.

"No mistake."

Fin.

A/N: Tada?

I hope my ending wasn't disappointing to you, readers.

I'm very grateful to read all your kind reviews. This was my first official fanfic. I understand some of you have read the first fic I posted before American Superhero, A Game of Cat and Mouse. It was short, and honestly a preview of my writing for you all, just to see how well I could potentially pull it off. I may rewrite the fic in the future to make it long and plot-worthy to read.

But for now, I must focus on school, work, and life. It's beginning to suck the energy out of me!

Final reviews are much appreciated – comments, criticisms, etc. Thank you for reading American Superhero!