46 Break (1/2)

The teens watched from the air as the gunmen herded the protesters into a nearby alley. The pig tailed girl couldn't let things continue down their current path. She had encountered similar situations in the past dealing with criminals. Videl swiftly turned to her friends to let them know she had everything under control.

”Wait here. I'm going to stop them.” she ordered.

Her friends, Erasa and Sharpner, looked completely stunned by her statement. She couldn't understand why they would react in such a fashion, they had seen her stop criminals before. In fact, they had also been known to stop a mugging or two.

”What's wrong?” she asked nervously.

”Look.” Erasa was pointing towards the alley.

Videl slowly turned around following the direction her friend was pointing. She was afraid one of the gunmen had already killed someone in the few seconds she wasn't looking. The pig tailed girl's jaw dropped from what she saw. The protesters were running away freely out of the alley and all but one of the gunmen was on the ground broken and unconscious.

Videl continued to stare as Reiss slowly floated back towards the group, and he wasn't alone. The blue haired teen was holding one of the attackers by the back of his shirt. She heard the man sobbing as he and Reiss approached the group. She couldn't believe that in the time she explained to her friends her plan to save the protesters, Reiss had already done her job.

”H-how?” Sharpner stuttered. He was looking the entire time, but couldn't make out exactly what happened in the alley.

It appeared to him Reiss disappeared from the sky and resembled as a static-like blur as he moved through the gunmen.

”What?” Reiss asked. ”I thought this guy probably could tell us what was going on.”

He held out the sobbing criminal like he was a bag of garbage. The criminal was long past any thoughts of trying to resist. He quickly spilled the beans about how his groups was hired by the circus owner to scare the protesters way. The circus routinely captured rare animals, illegally, to maximize the profits of the show. If the protesters were allowed to continue drawing attention to the circus's treatment of its animals, the authorities might have gotten involved.

According to the masked gunman, the circus was currently targeting the lands near Mt. Paozu. Gohan was troubled by the news hunters had targeted the area near his home. When the police arrived on the scene to arrest the gang, Reiss handed over the gang member he interrogated.

The prince filled the authorities in on what his prisoner had shared. They were angered to hear about the tactics the circus was using. After a few handshakes, the city police promised that the second they returned to the station an investigation would be launched. When all the relevant information was exchanged, Reiss returned to his group.

”Sorry guys.” Reiss apologized to the waiting teens. ”Even though I wrapped the goon problem up as fast as possible, it still took a long time to wait on the city police.”

”No problem. It happens more often than you think.” Erasa shot a teasing glance to Videl.

With no more delays, the group of teens arrived at their original destination. Erasa's house wasn't extravagant, but it was comfortable. The teens gathered in a spacious living room where the blonde girl interrogated Reiss on his life growing up. His classmates never realized he actually spent most of his childhood aboard spaceships. They were also shocked to learn the unassuming Gohan had been to other planets before and assisted in missions.

”Are you guys going to fight in the World Tournament at the end of the month?” Erasa asked. ”I'm sure one of you would win.”

Sharpner almost laughed. From what he witnessed, if Gohan was comparable to his cousin, no one else stood a chance. Videl was thankful Erasa shifted the conversation to the topic she most wanted to bring up.

”No, I don't think I'm going to participate.” Gohan answered. His family didn't need the money and he was trying to focus on his studies.

”I don't have any plans to fight either, it would be pointless.” Reiss bluntly replied.

”Are you saying winning would be too easy for you?” Videl didn't want to believe he was truly unsurpassable.

”Of course,” Reiss replied. ”There are very few people on this planet I could have fun fighting, Gohan being one.”

Videl was going to push back against his statement, but a rapid beeping sound interrupted her. Reiss quickly rose from his seat and removed his Scouter from his Dyno-cap container. Gohan watched his cousin exit the room. He knew from the time he spent with his cousin that the beeping indicated a priority message.

”It probably is a work call.” Gohan explained to the confused teens.

While Reiss was gone, the group shifted their focus over to Gohan. It was his turn to be interrogated by their friendly host. Unfortunately, he didn't have as many exciting stories of his own to share. He was going to tell them about the time he fought on Planet Namek when his cousin returned.

”It looks like I will be fighting in the tournament.” Reiss declared.

This change of heart was a surprise to the rest of teens.

”Are you going to take a break from school to train?” Videl asked. ”You can get a special allowance for the tournament.”

”Really!” the blue haired teen was happy to hear he could get out of going back to school.

”Well, you can take off, at most, two weeks.” the pig tailed girl explained.