Chapter 26: Freaks
Out within the deserts of the southwest United States, a lone military base sat. On the surface, it consisted of a few buildings surrounding a lone runway, but deep beneath the surface, a labyrinthine system of tunnels, hallways and chambers were hidden from view, rivaling Home Base in size and scope. Through one of these hallways, Oh walked, escorted by General Monger.
"I must be thankings yous for allowings this visit, Warmaster Monger," Oh said as they walked.
"Warmaster?" Monger inquired as he looked down at Oh in confusion before smirking in amusement, "I suppose it has a more intense ring to it than general. In any case, I figured since you were working for us, you deserve a chance to see how your people are doing."
As Monger spoke, the pair reached a thick metal door. Placing his palm against a scanner built into the wall next to the door. After scanning Monger's hand for a moment, the device let out a beep before the door slid open with a woosh.
Beyond the door was a large room covered in white panels and illuminated by bright, fluorescent lights. Much of the area was partitioned off into small rooms that housed child-sized beds and other amenities. Scattered across the room were seats and tables as well as a number of televisions with various gaming systems attached to them. On the opposite side of the room, Oh spotted some computer stations along with various workbenches. The room was occupied by dozens of Boov dressed similarly to Oh, as well as a number of humans dressed in lab coats.
As Oh entered the room, a number of Boov looked over at him before smiling excitedly.
"Look!" one of the Boov exclaimed as they pointed towards the door, "It is being Oh!"
Immediately, the rest of the Boov all turned their attentions to the door before rushing over to Oh, quickly surrounding him and Monger, all trying to talk to Oh at the same time.
"Please, please, friends," Oh pleaded, waving his arms above his head and shouting as loud as he could, "I can nots be understanding yous if yous are all be attmeptings to speaks at me at once."
"Oh, have you been goings on more adventures with your many human friends?" one of the Boov inquired.
"We have made human friends alsos!" another Boov added.
"Yes, we have been teaching thems about our superior technologies," a third Boov continued, "And in return, they have beens shareings with us their primitives but much enjoyables entertainments."
"Alright, alright!" Monger shouted as he glared at the Boov and motioned for them to get out of the way, "Step aside, you little ankle-biters! Let us get our business done and then you can talk his ear off all you want!"
At the sound of Monger's loud voice, the Boov quickly scattered out of the way, many of their usually purple skin turning yellow with fright. Oh smiled apologetically at his fellow Boov as he followed Monger to the far side of the room.
"Good morning, General," one of the scientists greeted Monger as he and Oh reached the far side of the room.
"What have you got for me today?" Monger questioned.
"Well, we've been making great strides in replicating Boov shield technology," the scientist answered as they consulted a clipboard they were holding, "We estimate we're only a week or so away from being able to produce a fully working version ourselves. We're on a similar trajectory with the anti-gravity generators."
"It is good to be hearings that you are becoming more technologically advanced," Oh commented, "I am hoping that is meaning the Boov will be able to be in freeings soon?"
"It's a work in progress," Monger answered with a look of chagrin, "I know the Boov are something of an open secret right now, but I am having trouble convincing my superiors that we should be letting an entire species of aliens walk around in the open."
Noticing the disappointed look on Oh's face, Monger let out a tired sigh.
"Look, I'm sure once we have a handle on this whole Syndicate business, there will be more room to get your people released," Monger stated, "Until then, we'll do everything they can to make them comfortable. We just need to be patient."
Oh didn't look pleased by this response, but made no attempt to argue.
"What is beings the statuses of the Gorg's offsprings?" Oh inquired after a moment.
"Well, we're dealing with a species that we have no preexisting data for," the scientist answered as they turned his attention towards a section of the lab area that had been blocked off by a large, translucent, plexiglass cube, in which could be seen dozens of starfish-like creatures with faces at their centers, each roughly the size of a human hand, who were wandering about the enclosed area while being observed by Boov and other human scientists, "But as far as we can tell, they are all healthy and happy."
"Are Smek and the Gorg beings kept here as well?" Oh inquired as he looked around.
"Yes, but in a more secure part of the facility, as punishment for their crimes," Monger answered with a grim expression, "Smek is as obnoxious and uncooperative as he ever was, but the Gorg has proven to be a model inmate as long as we keep him up to date on the status of his offspring."
"Well, it is good to be hearings that some things are being gone well," Oh stated as he turned away from Monger and the scientist, "I will leave yous to be speakings with your scientist, Warmaster. I must be consultings with my own peoples now."
With that, Oh turned and made his way back over to the group of Boov who were watching them from a short distance away. As he left, the scientist turned and regarded Monger with a confused expression, but the general waved off any potential question.
"Oh, you are retunings to us!" one of the Boov exclaimed happily.
"What are the goings ons in the Outside?" another Boov questioned eagerly.
"I must make apologies to you, my many friends," Oh stated, a worried expression on his face, "For I am bringing with mes tidings of grave."
A worried rumble went through the crowd as they glanced nervously at one another.
"My human friends and I have recentlys done battle with an evils most great," Oh continued, his tone ominous, "A collection of nefarious criminals knowns as the Syndicate."
"What is this Syndicate wantings?" one of the other Boov questioned, turning yellow as they spoke, "Are they wishing to be enslavings the planet!?"
"I am not knowings," Oh admitted with a shake of his head, "But I am knowings that if they not stoppeds, the Syndicate will be great sorrows for humans and Boov alike."
"What can we dos against evils such as that?" another Boov inquired.
"I am happy that you are askings that question, friend," Oh replied as he pointed towards the other Boov, "For I have made my appearances before you todays to request you help. One of my human friends needs better equipment to be fightings against the Syndicate with. Will you help me construct such equipments?"
A mumble ran through the crowd of Boov once more, though this time it had an air of agreement and excitement to it.
"We wish to be assisting," one of the Boov said as the others nodded and smiled eagerly.
"Excellent," Oh replied as he rubbed his upper tentacles together excitedly, "Let us be beginning then."
Meanwhile,
Standing in Hiro and Megamind's shared laboratory, Baymax watched as Hiro sat at a computer terminal and entered inputs into the machine, lines of code whizzing across the screen as he worked. After a few moments, Hiro let out a tired sigh and leaned back in his chair before pushing one final button. The computer let out a whirring sound for a few moments before beeping happily as a red datachip with a skull and crossbones drawn upon it popped out of the side of the computer.
"Alright, buddy," Hiro said as he spun around in his chair and held the datachip up towards Baymax, "Got some upgrades for your combat software ready to go."
"Does it contain new combat protocols?" Baymax inquired as he tilted his head to the side.
"Nah, nothing like that," Hiro replied as he hopped out of his chair and touched the dataport on Baymax's chest with one finger, causing it to open and reveal a trio of chip slots, two of which were already occupied by blue and green datachips, "This just beefs up your firewall protections. This should keep anyone from messing with your systems in the future."
"Like Phantasma," Baymax observed.
"Yeah, obviously," Hiro confirmed with a chuckle as he inserted the datachip and closed Baymax's dataport, "We can't have her undoing all that hard work Tadashi put into programming you the next time you two throw down. I've even thrown in a nasty surprise for her if she tries it again."
"What kind of surprise?" Baymax inquired.
"Basically, if she messes with your code again, she'll stumble upon a little Trojan Horse virus I've left her," Hiro replied as he sat back in his chair, a smug smile on his face, "It will throw her own hack back at her and destabilize whatever program that keeps her united across all those microbots, so she'd just fall to pieces, basically."
"So, you would destroy her code?" Baymax asked.
"Essentially, yeah" Hiro confirmed as he laced his hands together behind his head.
"I wish for you to remove this virus then," Baymax said plainly, though the surprise of hearing them almost caused Hiro to fall out of his chair.
"Wait, what?" Hiro asked as he regained his balance and looked up at Baymax in confusion, "Why?"
"If you destroy her code, that would be killing her," Baymax explained, "I do not wish for that to happen."
"I mean, we can't really kill her," Hiro argued, though his expression was uncertain, "She's a robot. She's not alive."
"Agreed, as a robot, she is not biologically alive," Baymax confirmed with a nod before he lifted a hand with one finger extended, "But, I must now present a query. Would you have been sad if my datachip had not been recovered following our battle with the Gorg?"
"I mean, yeah," Hiro confirmed, confusion returning to his face, "Of course."
"And why would that have been?" Baymax inquired.
"Because….you would have been gone," Hiro answered, a sorrowful expression crossing his features, "I would have never seen you again."
"So, in essence, I would have died," Baymax pressed, "As a robot, my body can be rebuilt, but without my programming, I am not the same unit I was before, in the same way you would not be the same person you once were without all your memories."
"Yeah….yeah, I think I can see where you're coming from," Hiro relented with a nod of his head before smirking up at Baymax, "You know, I think attending those therapy sessions with Riley is rubbing off on you."
"I agree," Baymax replied, "Dr. Freeman has taught me much about understanding the plights of others. It is for that reason that I have a request to make."
"Uh, sure, Baymax, what is it?" Hiro inquired.
"I wish for you to continue working on my emotion datachip," Baymax answered.
"Uh, you sure about that, buddy?" Hiro questioned as he blinked in surprise, "That didn't really work out well the last time we tried it."
"True, but that was only the first try," Baymax retorted, "If we can learn from our failures, we will perform better next time."
"Okay, now I know you've been spending too much time with Riley," Hiro observed with a chuckle as he stood up and opened Baymax's dataport again in order to retrieve the red datachip, "But you make a good point. So, how about we get started?"
"That would be acceptable," Baymax replied as Hiro sat back in his chair and got to work on his computer.
Meanwhile,
In one of Home Base's many other laboratories, Doctors Cockroach and Nefario stood before a workbench, looking over the white, watch-like device sitting before them.
"So, you see, after I read your paper about your study of the shrink ray, I realized it would be the perfect solution to Susan's size problem," Doc explained with a grin.
"But how did you counteract the Nefario Principle?" Nefario questioned as he rubbed his chin thoughtfully.
"Simple, really," Doc replied as he picked up the device and showed it to Nefario, "When the device is activated, it emits a constant, calibrated beam, thus keeping the subject at the desired size. I've found this, in fact, excellerates the Nefario Principle to the point that the subject reverts back to its original size as soon as the device is turned off."
As Doc finished speaking, he noticed Honey standing at the doorway to the laboratory with her chempurse slung over her shoulder, the door swooshing closed behind her.
"Ah, good day, my dear," Doc greeted with a charming grin, "What brings you here this fine morning?"
"Oh, I was just hoping to use the lab for an experiment I wanted to run," Honey explained with an apologetic smile, "But I can come back some other time, Doctor."
"Nonsense," Doc replied with a dismissive wave of his hand, "There's plenty of room here for all of us."
"Thank you, Doctor," Honey said with a smile as she stepped further into the room, "Did you mention something about publishing a paper?"
"Of course," Doc confirmed with a laugh, "What self respecting scientist wouldn't publish his work?"
"Right," Honey agreed as she glanced nervously at Nefario, "But, and excuse me for saying this, Doctor, but aren't you a wanted criminal? How could you get your work published?"
"Aw, well, that's easy," Nefario answered with a chuckle, "Along with plenty of other things, us villains have created a network for publishing and distributing research papers over the years. After all, you never know if some random mad scientist is going to discover the exact thing to fix your death ray's cooling problem."
"I suppose that does make a sort of sense," Honey agreed with a nervous chuckle.
"Obviously, I didn't have any way of accessing that network during my time of imprisonment," Doc explained, "But once I started working for General Monger, I was able to catch up on my backlog, which included Dr. Nefario's findings on shrinking technology."
"Is that the Nefario Principle I heard you mention?" Honey inquired.
"Indeed!" Nefario exclaimed, "The idea is relatively simple. Essentially, the more mass an object has, the faster the effects of shrinking will wear off on it. For instance, when Gru shrunk the moon, the effect wore off in less than an hour!"
"Wait, Gru shrunk the moon?" Honey questioned as her brow furrowed.
"Of course," Nefario replied with a shrug, "How else could he steal it?"
Honey blinked in surprise at this and seemed to take a moment to process the information.
"I guess I owe Fred an apology," Honey muttered to herself.
"What?" Nefario questioned, "You're going to have to speak up, missy. I don't hear so good anymore."
"It was nothing, Doctor," Honey replied with a shake of her head.
"Now, correct me if I'm wrong but you're our local chemistry expert, aren't you?" Doc observed, "Doctor Chemistry, was it?"
"Miss Chemistry, actually," Honey corrected with a chuckle, "I'm still a grad student right now."
"Chemistry, huh?" Nefario asked with an amused chuckle, "Back in my day, we used to say chemistry was nothing but applied physics."
Nefario's chuckle died down as he noticed the offended look Honey was giving him.
"Joseph, wasn't there some experiment you were telling me you needed to run?" Doc inquired with an arched eyebrow.
"Er, yeah," Nefario agreed as he took the offered opportunity to retreat, "I should go….do that."
With that, Nefario left the laboratory, Doc shaking his head as he watched him leave.
"You'll have to forgive old men like us, my dear," Doc said to Honey with an apologetic tone, "We have a tendency to be stuck in our ways."
"It's alright," Honey replied as she shook off the apology, "It's not like either of you told me that a woman has no place in the laboratory."
"Perish the thought!" Doc scoffed, "So, what experiment were you looking to perform today?"
"I had come in to try out some new chemical combinations," Honey explained as she set her chempurse down on one of the tables, "I want to be ready the next time we get called into the field."
"Certainly a wise endeavour," Doc replied with a grin as he took up a position on the other side of the table, "Perhaps I could be of some assistance?"
"I'd love some assistance, Doctor," Honey answered with a smile of her own before she held out her hand, "I don't believe I ever properly introduced myself. I'm Pamela Rodriquez, though my friends call me Honey."
"It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Miss Rodriquez," Doc said as he shook Honey's offered hand, "As you may have guessed, Doctor Cockroach is not actually my name. Once upon a time I was Dr. Vincent Delambre, though that feels like centuries ago. Most people just call me Doc now."
"Dr. Delambre!?" Honey repeated, blinking her eyes in surprise, "The geneticist?"
"Oh my, you've heard of me?" Doc questioned with a chuckle, "It's so strange to think people out there still talk about me."
"I mean, of course, you pioneered some of the greatest advancements in genetics!" Honey went on, still clearly trying to process what she just learned, "Your discoveries cured….I don't know how many diseases! But, I was told you died….that the DNA resequencer you were working on malfunctioned and exploded."
"Ah yes, the whole "the government faked my death" part," Doc said with an amused chuckle, "I think they figured that was easier for people to swallow than "Nobel prize winning scientist turned himself into some kind of human/insect hybrid in an illegal experiment." At the same time, I'm surprised the truth isn't more widely known. I mean, as you can see, it's not like I'm trying to keep it secret these days."
"This is crazy!" Honey commented with a laugh, "I mean this is like if I found out that Marie Curie was still around as some kind of radioactive zombie."
"Not as far as I know, but it's certainly in the realm of possibility," Doc replied with a chuckle and a shake of his head, "Now, since you know about me, I must confess, I'm pretty sure I've heard of you before, and not just in regards to your activity as a superhero."
"You have?" Honey questioned as she blinked in surprise.
"I believe I have," Doc confirmed as he rubbed his chin thoughtfully, "Susan mentioned meeting a young woman who fits your description a short while ago."
"S-Sue?" Honey inquired, her eyes going wide as her face went pale, "As in, Ginormica?"
"Yes," Doc answered, his brow furrowing as he noted Honey's reaction, "Have I misspoken? I could have sworn she was speaking about you."
"N-No," Honey replied with a shake of her head as she looked away from Doc, "It was….It was probably me she was talking about. It's just-"
Before Honey could finish, the door to the lab swooshed open and Susan stepped in.
"Hey, Doc!" Susan greeted sunnily, "You want to grab some-"
Susan cut herself off mid-word as she spotted Honey standing between her and Doc, her eyes going wide as she spotted the taller woman. An awkward moment passed as the young women stared at each other in shock, while Doc glanced between them in confusion.
"P-Pam!" Susan greeted in surprise while she forced a smile onto her face, "H-How's it going?"
"It's...um, it's going good," Honey replied as she looked away from Susan, "I was….I was just leaving actually."
"Leaving?" Doc questioned as his brow furrowed in confusion, "But you only just arrived."
"It's fine," Honey answered as she slung her chempurse back over her shoulder.
"Pam, you….you don't have to leave," Susan argued, her expression stricken, "I can go."
"I said it's fine!" Honey snapped as she shot a glare at Susan before storming out of the lab.
An awkward silence fell over the room as Susan sadly looked at the closed door Honey had disappeared through, while Doc looked at her in bafflement.
"Pardon me, Susan, if this seems intrusive," Doc spoke up after a moment, "But what was that all about?"
"It's just my life being a disaster like usual," Susan replied as she put both hands against her face and dragged them down her cheeks.
"Did something happen between the two of you?" Doc inquired, his confusion giving way to concern.
"What happened was I kissed her and now she thinks I'm a freak," Susan groaned as she sat on the floor with an audible thump, resting her back against one of the work stations.
"Kissed her?" Doc repeated as he quirked an eyebrow at Susan, "I was always under the impression that you preferred the company of men."
"Well, turns out I have a thing for both," Susan groaned as she leaned her head against the work station, "As if I wasn't enough of a freak already."
"Come now, Susan, you're not a freak," Doc admonished her.
"I am a freak, Doc!" Susan snapped as she glared at her friend, "All I ever wanted out of life was to be normal. To feel like I belong. Instead I turned into a fifty foot giant with white hair who makes out with girls! I'm the definition of a freak!"
"Oh, I won't listen to this rubbish," Doc replied dismissively as he shook his head, "If you had your way, you'd be no one married to someone who didn't love you. As a "freak", you're a hero who saved the world. All this new element means is you're more likely to find the person you're actually meant to be with. You were made for better things than you ever thought Susan."
"Then why do I feel like crap?" Susan questioned as she rested her arms on her knees and hung her head. Unbeknownst to any of them, Honey was still lingering by the door to the lab, listening to the muffled conversation. As Susan spoke these words, a regretful and sad expression crossed Honey's face before she quickly stepped away from the door and hurried away.
Doc, for his part, looked at Susan sympathetically before he let out a small sigh.
"Did I ever tell you about my first love?" Doc inquired as he walked over to Susan's side and sat down next to her.
"No," Susan replied, lifting her gaze to Doc's and shaking her head.
"I met them back when I was fifteen," Doc said, before shaking his head, "No, I knew them before that, but I didn't truly see them until then. Do you know what I mean?"
As Susan nodded in reply, Doc sighed and turned his gaze away from her, a faraway look in his eyes.
"They were perfect, as all first loves are," Doc went on, his tone wistful, "Eyes like sapphires. Lips that tasted like honey. And these gorgeous, golden curls. My love was the most beautiful creature to ever live."
Doc paused, smiling as he turned his gaze back to Susan.
"His name was George," Doc said simply.
Susan blinked in surprise at this, and took a moment to digest what she had just learned.
"Doc, are you coming out to me?" Susan questioned in surprise.
"Is that what they're calling it nowadays?" Doc asked with a chuckle, "I lost track of the lingo while I was imprisoned."
"What happened?" Susan inquired.
"Well, back in those days, it's not like we could prance down the street, hand in hand," Doc explained, "But we managed a secret, loving relationship that lasted years. He was everything to me. And then, he got drafted to the Army, sent overseas, and never came back."
"Oh, Doc," Susan said, her expression heartbroken as she reached over and lay a comforting hand on his arm, "I'm so sorry."
"It was an accident that killed him," Doc went on as his large eyes became watery, "They were doing all sorts of testing with radiation in those days. Something went wrong and the container for some nuclear waste he was helping transport ruptured and spilled all over him. He was dead before anyone could even come to his aid. Afterwards, his face….God, his face…."
Doc trailed off as he took a moment to recollect himself, while Susan gave his arm the barest of squeezes.
"After that, my work became my obsession," Doc explained, "I wanted to find a way to improve humanity, to make sure something like this could never happen again!"
"And that's what led you to this," Susan observed as she gestured at his current state.
"Well, not all at once, of course," Doc corrected while gesturing at himself, "Baby steps needed to be taken on the road to the magnificent creature you see before you."
Grinning as Susan chuckled in reply, Doc let out a sigh.
"Though, I will admit, I did miss the camaraderie I had with my fellow scientists that my obsession cost me," Doc went on, a wistful look on his face, "Sure, I proved the world wrong, but, as I saw by talking with Ms. Rodriquez, the thing that the human race truly remembers me for is the work I did during those baby steps, mastering the genetic code with my colleagues."
As Doc spoke, he pulled an old, folded photograph out of his pocket and unfolded it. Glancing at it, Susan saw that the picture showed a group of people, all dressed in white lab coats, standing in front of a machine that looked like a domed, metal pod slightly larger than a person that had four thick cables running into it. Doc, in his original, human form, stood at the center of the room, next to a young man in his twenties, with Doc resting a friendly hand on the young man's shoulder.
"I've seen a couple of pictures of you back before your transformation, but I have to say, Doc, you definitely used to be a looker," Susan observed with a friendly smile.
"I'd like to think I've aged like a fine wine," Doc countered as he ran a hand through his antena before he smirked at Susan, "Though perhaps it's a bit of an acquired taste."
"Who's that?" Susan questioned as she pointed at the image of the young man.
"My old protege," Doc explained, looking back at the picture with a wan smile, "Robert Callaghan. A brilliant young man. More of an engineer than a geneticist, but he was still eager to learn everything I could teach him."
"Why do I recognize that name?" Susan asked as her brow furrowed in thought.
"You might recognize him as the "father of robotics," Doc answered before sighing sadly, "Or as the supervillain Yokai, who the Syndicate recently helped break out of prison."
"That was him!?" Susan asked, her eyebrows raising in shock.
"Indeed," Doc replied with a nod as he turned his gaze back to the photograph, "How odd life is to entwine us again like this. I wonder what the Syndicate has him doing?"
Meanwhile,
Callaghan stood in the center of the large chamber dedicated to the gene resequencer, looking over the device with a studious eye. The device looked almost identical to the one in the faded photograph, with only a few modifications here and there to update it with modern technology.
"Alright," Callaghan said as he looked over at one of the many mercenaries that Enigma had hired to do the grunt work around the base standing near a console, "Power it up."
Nodding in reply, the merc turned his attention towards the console and grabbed a large switch and shifted it into the on position. As he did so, there was a loud, mechanical thunk followed by a humming noise that grew steadily louder. A moment later, lights sprung to life on the inside and outside of the device and the humming reached a steady volume.
As Callaghan continued to watch the device, his arms crossed over his chest, a strange clapping sound caught his attention. Glancing over his shoulder, Callaghan found Enigma walking up behind him, clapping his gloved hand with his mechanical one, Phantasma, Gru and Lucy trailing behind him.
"I knew I was getting the right man for the job when I looked into you," Enigma said, his electronic voice grating to Callaghan's ears.
"I was the only man for the job as far as I can tell," Callaghan replied coldly.
"Exactly," Enigma agreed as he pointed a mechanical finger at Callaghan, "I'm a genius, but that doesn't mean I can build everything. Sometimes, you just have to bring in an expert."
"Who are your friends?" Callaghan questioned as he nodded at Gru and Lucy.
"Dr. Callaghan, allow me to introduce you to Felonious Gru, one of the world's greatest thieves, and his bodyguard, the new Scarlet Overkill," Enigma said as he gestured at the pair before he looked at the two while motioning towards Callaghan, "Gru, Scarlet, let me introduce you to Dr. Robert Callaghan, one of the world's best engineers and foremost expert in robotics."
"Eet's good to meet you, Doctor," Gru said as he nodded at Callaghan before looking past him at the machine, "What are you buildeeng here?"
"It's called a gene resequencer," Callaghan explained, "Basically, it rearranges your DNA, usually by adding something into the mix."
"What do you need that for?" Gru inquired as he turned his attention towards Enigma and arched an eyebrow at the man.
"It's necessary for the next phase of my plan," Enigma explained as he turned his attention towards Gru, "Which means we've come to your role in things."
"What could be so important that only I could steal it?" Gru inquired as he furrowed his brow.
"Not what," Enigma replied as he snapped his fingers, prompting Phantasma to pull out a tablet, on which was displayed an image of Jack-Jack Parr smiling at the camera, "Who."
A/N: And we're back with another chapter! Wanted to squeeze some more character development stuff in before we push forward with the plot once more. Hope you all enjoyed it! As usual, feedback and critiques are always welcome, so please review! Later!