Chapter 3: The First Activation of 16

3 years ago...

Dr. Gero smiled. He loved the sound of birds chirping in the forest. It always calmed him down. He was ready to activate Android 16.

He moved the capsule outside of his lab (which is in the Red Ribbon Army ruins) and pressed the switch. The capsule opened. 16 came out. "Good morning, 16," said Gero calmly. "I am your creator, Dr. Gero." 16 didn't say anything. Perhaps he is shy, thought Gero. That usually happens when I first activate Androids.

"Well, as you already know (Gero created 16, so he knows as much as him), this lab and army unit was destroyed by Goku. I am still very thankful that he let me flee," said Gero. "But Goku is still a menace to me and my research. That is why I have created you, 16. Goku lives in the East District 437. If you pass the tests I have created for you, I will let you destroy him. Do you understand?" 16 didn't reply. "I said, do you understand?" he asked again. 16 still kept quiet. "I SAID, DO YOU UNDERSTAND!" Gero roared. 16 looked at him. "You scared the birds away," he replied. "You have a one-track mind, don't you, 16?" Gero rhetorically asked. Mental note to self, he thought. Make him follow directions.

"Okay, the first test is to blow up this mountain," Gero told his android. Gero and 16 flew to the Northern Mountains, where his lab will be in a year or two. "This test," said Gero, "is to determine your energy level." 16 nodded. As if he understood, thought the doctor.

16 faced the mountain. He put his hand in the air, facing the mountain. In a few seconds, a ball of light grew from his hand. He let it go. The blast headed straight for the mountain. In a flash, there was a huge explosion. The light was blinding, so Gero turned away. When the light disappeared, Gero turned around. There was a huge crater where the mountain had been. "Bravo, 16. You did great," exclaimed the doctor. He took out his checklist and began to write A under Energy Level. But something went wrong. 16 couldn't stop shooting energy waves! One by one, the mountains were destroyed. "No, 16!" Gero shouted. There must be a malfunction in the system, he thought. He reached into his pants pocket and pulled out an emergency shut-off switch, but just before he pressed the button, an energy wave hit him. There was another explosion, stronger than the Hiroshima bomb. When the smoke and light cleared, a black doctor and frizzy hair came into view. 16 smiled. "Who wants to make s'mores?" he joked.

"Okay, 16," Gero said. It took him several hours to rub the black off of his body. "Your second test is to withstand these missiles. The purpose of this test is to see how well-constructed your metal frame is, and to see if there are any dents after the bombardment of missiles," Gero explained. "So I just stand here?" 16 asked. "Correct," the doctor replied. "The test will begin in 3... 2...1... NOW!"

A thousand missiles came out of nowhere. They were heading for 16 and Dr. Gero behind him. 16 didn't know what would happen, and neither did Gero. I wonder how this will turn out, thought Gero. This will turn out either great or fatal. As the missiles grew nearer, 16 smiled. He decided to sidestep at the last second. Gero was shocked. "WHAT DID YOU DO THAT FOR!" he shouted. KABOOM! Every missile hit Dr. Gero except for one, which hit 16. "That tickled!" 16 exclaimed. "How did you fare, doctor? ...Doctor?" 16 searched the mountains. At the riverbed, he found Dr. Gero, with a stunned look on his face. "Doctor, are you all right?" he asked. Gero couldn't speak. He was too stunned to say or do anything. 16 decided to joke around again. "Well, that was a blast, wasn't it, Doctor?" Gero finally looked at him. "Shut up, just SHUT UP!" he roared.

"Okay, this is the last test," Dr. Gero said. He was now in a full body cast. 16 and Gero flew to the Red Ribbon Training Center. "This last test will determine how strong you are. Now step over here and I will give you a demonstration," he said. Gero showed 16 to the bleachers. Gero then stepped toward a computerized dummy. "This is my first invention for the Red Ribbon Army. It's called the Punching Trainer. You see, 16, this dummy's power level can be changed by using this computer," explained Gero. He pointed to a computer near the door. "There's a switch here that can change the power level of the dummy. There's 'HUMAN', 'NAMEKIAN WARRIOR', 'SAIYAN', and 'GOKU'. I'll put it on 'GOKU' so you can get used to what it's like to fight him," explained the doctor.

16 got off the bleachers and headed towards the dummy. "Are you ready, 16?" Gero asked. "I'm ready," replied 16. "Okay. The training starts in 3... 2... 1... now!"

The dummy jerked to life. Suddenly, the dummy changed shape. This surprised 16. "What's happening?" he asked. Gero just laughed. "The dummy changes shape into a hologram of the setting. So, since the setting is on 'GOKU', the dummy will turn into Goku," Gero explained. The dummy turned into Goku, with the perfect black hair and clothes. 16 assumed his fighting stance. Gero just couldn't help smiling. "Damn, I did a great job with the hologram!"

'Goku' charged at 16. 16 easily dodged it, and punched him. 'Goku' flew across the training center, landing on a pile of weights. He was really mad, because he used his Taiyoken (Fist of the Sun) to blind 16. Somehow, it worked. 16 was punching and kicking inaccurately. 'Goku' then used his Kaio-Ken (Lord of the Worlds Fist) times 10. He flew to 16. 'Goku' punched 16 so hard, he crashed through the wall and three other mountains. 16 was down for the count. His switch had turned off during the attack.

Gero was furious. "No, no, NO!" he roared. "If you can't even beat a dummy, you can't beat Goku! You're a FAILURE!"

Gero dragged 16 and put him in his capsule chamber. Another note to self, he thought, fix everything or take him apart.

A/N: No wonder Dr. Gero said 16 was a failure!