Krillin had been the only one originally to answer Gohan's call to join him. Yamcha was officially retired from fighting and was focused on his lucrative sports career, Tien and Chiaotzu were secluded and had been difficult to find. Gohan therefore respected their wishes and left them to their own devides. Piccolo's new found status as a pseudo-guardian accompanying Dende due to his fusion with Kami prevented him from directly intervening in mundane affairs unless such concern was warranted. As for Vegeta, Gohan had conveniently avoided broaching the subject to him. Gohan cringed at the thought of what the prince would do should he happen upon a band of too inquisitive scientists.
There was one surprise from Krillin's end though, 18 was coming along as well. Gohan wasn't sure if she would be welcome due to her affiliations with Gero and Cell, but his contacts had alleviated his worries. In fact, they sounded practically giddy over the phone when Gohan had told them 18 was coming. Was she really that important to them? Maybe they didn't know about her connection with Cell. The three were now headed off to the agreed upon rendezvous location at some facilities in the mountains.
How the monk managed to convince her, Gohan was still a little unsure of. Though watching how the two flew together Gohan was beginning to develop an inkling; he had after all spent several lessons studying the nature of human sexuality. They were flying side by side, trailing Gohan; Krillin's flickering aura of ki emanating from his body almost touching the android. Almost, but not quite – apparently they weren't that close yet.
"How have things been at home?" Krillin shouted forwards at Gohan. "Sorry I haven't been around to visit lately, but I've been busy with things. You know, helping Roshi refurbish the house, helping 18 readjust to living along with humans, making sure that 18 doesn't kill Roshi when he gets into one of his moods, that sort of thing."
"It's okay Krillin, I understand," Gohan replied. "But things have been fine at home. Goten can be a bit of a rascal but nothing I or Mom can't handle. Besides, I've still got my animal friends and studies to keep me busy."
"That's what I was thinking about Gohan," Krillin started hesitantly. "Maybe secluding yourself in the mountains isn't such a good idea you know? I don't know the exact mechanics of Saiyan biology, or how you guys are supposed to interact when growing up, but people are social animals, and at the very least you're half-human, so it might be better if you and your family had more opportunities to make friends or something. Even your dad was flying around the world when he was your age meeting new people. Just because you're a little bit different from everyone else doesn't mean you should cloister yourself away. I mean I was ecstatic when you told me about this opportunity, 18 too. I think that beneath her sometimes dour attitude, she also wants to be around people like her or can at least help support her, isn't that right 18?" Krillin grinned eagerly at his android companion. Unfortunately for him, she just rolled her eyes and continued avoiding the conversation. "Hehe, Gohan, I swear she's usually more sociable than this."
"How are things between you and 18 Krillin? You guys seem to be spending a lot of time together."
"Oh you know me, we're just becoming good friends is all. Even though we wished her brother back, we've still caught no glimpse of him. He might just want to live a quiet life in seclusion, who knows? Anyways, I was worried she might be a little lonely so I invited her over to Rosih's to stay. I'm just trying to be a good friend, support her, and be someone to talk to."
"Really Krillin, just a friend? But I thought you liked 18 or was I wrong…" Gohan trailed off at the sight of his friend turning different shades of red.
"Well would you look at that, we've arrived," Krillin hurriedly interrupted, not noticing the smirk that had appeared on 18.
A familiar figure greeted the trio, familiar to Gohan at least as he hadn't yet Krillin or 18. He was floating above a large squat compound with a tall chained fence surrounding the perimeter. Gohan noticed a large hole under repair on the side of the building.
"Hi Hamilton, these are the friends I told you up," Gohan said. "But what happened over there?"
"Oh that? Apparently some maniac decided to do some interior and exterior redecorating of the building while the general was still in the room with him. Said his name was Vegey something, you know of him?" Hamilton said.
"You met Vegeta and he did that?" Krillin exclaimed sharply. "And you're still alive? Man, you guys must be stronger than I thought."
"No I didn't meet him personally, several of my associates did. Two of them even fought with him and I think they've just been released from the hospital. Not sure though, I'd have to check." The burly dark man in green offered his right hand to Gohan's two companions. "The name's Agent Hamilton, but don't call me Ham. The last person who did so couldn't speak after that," he deadpanned.
"Errr…" Krillin began.
"Haha, that was a joke, don't sweat it guys. We're all one big happy family now," Hamilton said smiling. "I especially wouldn't mind getting to know you better," he said looking coquettishly at 18.
Gohan nervously scratched the back of his head. He knew Krillin would be used to, or at least could get used to this type of ribbing but he didn't know how 18 would react. He hoped she wouldn't do anything rash. Luckily for him, she merely rolled her eyes and started descending towards the base, Krillin close behind.
"Reminds me of my partner," Hamilton said.
Once they were inside, what seemed like a horde of scientists descended upon 18 asking her questions, each eager to find out more about one of the famous Dr. Gero's greatest creations, all the while hurriedly scurrying down notes. Growing more and more annoyed at the intruders trespassing upon her personal space, 18 flared a burst of energy around her and sent most of them flying backwards. Just as quickly as the locusts had assembled, they dispersed, terrified of what the blonde avatar of terror would do to them if angered.
"Sorry about that," said an approaching Burdett, emerging from the wake of the flight. "They're usually a bit more behaved than that. I'll see to it that they'll learn some more restraint in the future."
"You do that," 18 dryly replied. "Otherwise next time I might forget some restraint as well."
"I'll be sure to tell them that when I lay down the law," Burdett laughed. "If you three would follow me this way please, the general is waiting for you."
"Hello," a large figure adorned in the same camouflage outfit as the two agents who led the trio in said. "My name's General Slater and I'm in charge of this place. Pleased to make your acquaintance."
Gohan had heard of him from Burdett and Hamilton. They told him that this Slater person was the director of the programming and was in fact one of the first people to receive the enhancements. Gohan had done a little bit of research and found that the man was probably an ideal candidate, having an extensive background in martial arts and the military.
After the proper introductions were made, Slater delved into the purpose of the visit. "The reason you fine folks are here is, well there are actually quite a few reasons but the main thing is we need you to train my men and women in how to manipulate energy, specifically in situations that you might consider dangerous."
"You want us to train you?" Krillin asked. "Seems like you guys already have it pretty fine, I mean two of your men even survived encounters with Vegeta."
"That's the thing though," Slater said. "They had both received extensive damage, several more rounds and they might have been killed. However, outmatched they might have been, our analysis and data indicate they shouldn't have been that woefully outfought. I personally believe it's because they just don't have the requisite experience necessary in controlling their energy or in doing so in a 3d environment. That's where you all will come in."
"But how is that possible?" Krillin continued. "If your guys are anything like 18, then they should've at least been able to hold their own. I guess you guys must still be playing catch up with Dr. Gero's designs."
Slater seemed to bristle at that. "The reason my men and women could possibly be considered inferior is because we actually possess ethics and morals here." Or at least enough to be terrified of the public backlash should they find out we went as far as Dr. Gero did. "The reason Dr. Gero was forced out of the project was his insistence on altering and interfering with a subject's brain. The goal was to make them think and process things quicker. In short, their reflexes like your companion here would be fast enough to fully utilize their built-in capabilities."
"Then why don't you do that?" Krillin asked.
"Because apparently it could potentially have some very major after effects. I'm not really qualified to speak on that subject though, you'd have to speak with our lead scientist Dr. Caldwell."
18's eyes narrowed at that. "Adverse side effects, like what exactly?"
"Like I said, I'm not really qualified to adequately explain all that. If you could but wait several moments, Caldwell should be here to join with us shortly." Sure enough, at that moment a squat, pale, balding man with unkempt hair wearing a white lab coat walked into the room. Before he could introduce himself, however, 18 was already bearing down on him.
"You there, are you Dr. Caldwell?"
"Yes, a pleasure to make your acquaintance Ms…"
"What did Dr. Gero do to me?" 18 angrily interrupted.
The doctor took a noticeable gulp and glanced at Slater. Slater nodded. Tell her.
" I suppose I should start from the beginning, you see I used to be one of Dr. Gero's colleagues. It was he who actually started the initial work that eventually formed the basis for this project, but he was, to be put bluntly, fired. Part of the reason for his dismissal was his insistence on supplementing bodily energy enhancements with neural ones as well. According to what Gohan has told us, you, 18, here received the operation from Gero which included these neural alterations. In short, her brain is now half human half mechanical. Your reflexes and cognitive capabilities are massively superior to that of a regular human's. So much so that you can control your energy enhancements far beyond the extent of what a normal unenhanced person could. We would like to do some more testing mind you, with your full explicit and informed consent of course," he added in response to the glare he proved from 18. "However, the side-effects of your changes are potentially massive, not even we know the full extent of them, but what we do know isn't good. For example, 18 do you remember your life before your sojourn with Dr. Gero?"
She shook her head in the negative.
"That confirms with what Gohan here has told us. But we believe there are possibly more. For example, we have done some animal testing on mice and prime-apes which included neural alterations similar to the ones you've received 18. The results were mixed, they all exhibited increased energy control, though subconsciously. Moreover, as time progressed they began behaving erratically."
"What do you mean 'erratically'?" 18 growled. Krillin tried to put a reassuring hand on her shoulder but she brushed him off, stepping menacingly closer to the increasingly nervous doctor. Gohan slightly tensed up, he noticed Slater was doing the same.
"They began exhibiting signs of mental instability, sadism, sociopathic tendencies, isolationism, and for some, eventual insanity," he squeaked out.
"No this can't be…" 18 muttered to herself, her knees starting to wobble. Faint creases of wrinkles began appearing upon her normally smooth façade. Images of what Krillin had told her flashed through her mind. Why the elder Trunks had come back, it was to stop her, her and her brother from becoming monsters intent on annihilating the world. But she hasn't killed anyone, except for Gero but that was justifiable, after the things he had done to her, said to her, made her do. But she wasn't that monster, she wouldn't turn into the monster Gero had intended for her to be. But what if she had no choice?
"No, I refuse to believe this," Krillin angrily burst out. "There has to be something you can do, it's been years! Surely you've progressed with your research, I'm sure you'll find a way to cure her."
"Uh yes," Caldwell nervously fitted with his glasses, already foaming with fog from the sweat drenching down the back of his neck. "There is the possibility that nothing could go wrong. The symptoms in our test subjects usually exhibited themselves within a few months, but it's already been a couple of years and I don't think 18 has done anything that could be construed as uh…" Caldwell trailed off, not willing to tempt fate anymore.
"See 18," Krillin happily exclaimed. "That means that it's not certain you'll turn into that other monster in Trunk's future time! There's still hope." 18 managed a weak grin at that.
"About that time travel business," Caldwell began, glancing towards Gohan's direction. Gohan nodded, he supposed he would have to get to that business and the ugly implications associated with it eventually.
"How about we discuss that another time?" Gohan asked diplomatically. Caldwell nodded in agreement before turning back to the original issue at hand.
"Anyways 18, I'd like to ask you to come to my lab periodically for some check-ups. You know, to see how you're faring."
"You mean you want to check to see whether or not I've gone crazy and am about to start on a genocidal rampage?" 18 responded bluntly.
"It sounds a lot worse if you put it in those terms, but yes, that's part of the reason. There is another aspect to my request. What do you know about your energy supply 18?"
"It's unlimited, I can last forever," she answered.
"Yes, that's technically true. The energy generators interface with your remaining organic parts and manipulate them so as to vastly increase their capacity for storing energy, then projecting the stored energy through energy emitters. This process is done artificially, so detecting the after effects is a bit tricky, but I digress. See though theoretically this process can be carried out indefinitely, it does take a massive toll on your body and even your enhancements. Over time, perhaps not now or even a few years from now, but perhaps a few decades, your capabilities will gradually decrease until you shut down. Unless of course you receive regularly maintenance. We'd be more than willing to assist you in that area, if you'd be willing."
That explains how Trunks defeated the Androids in the timeline Cell came from without the additional training he received by travelling backwards in time. Gohan thought to himself.
"I suppose this will require some sort of catch?" 18 asked warily. "You and your four eyed friends going to put me on a table again and make me your test guinea pig in exchange for your assistance, am I right?"
"Now 18," Krillin said trying to placate her. "He's just trying to help." The monk turned to the doctor. "What would these maintenance visits entail?"
"Oh nothing much to be worried about, it's actually quite easy and fast to do. It's actually kind of similar to a regular physical actually."
"I've never been to a doctor's physical, or at least I don't remember it." 18 replied, her suspicion slightly waning.
"All the more reason for you to agree then," Slater finally interjected, having watched the entire exchange silently from afar. "If you don't feel comfortable undergoing additional tests, that's fine as well. We can settle upon the deal I originally made to Gohan: training for my men and women. Does that sound fair?"
"I think that sounds great, 18, this is a great opportunity for us. Besides, we'd be receiving a government income, we could move out of Roshi's! Doesn't that sound awesome? With the government's help, maybe we could even find 17, you two could be a family again. Hell, they might even find out who you guys were before Gero abducted you two," Krillin chattered away excitedly. 18 nodded slowly, already feeling her defenses being slowly chipped away. "It's settled then!" Krillin turned to Slater and offered his hand. "We accept."
Gohan felt happy that they had managed to resolve this issue so peacefully. He was especially happy for Krillin, he really did seem to care for her, and if he felt this way towards her, then it probably meant that 18 couldn't be that bad of an individual now that she was out of the clutches of Cell and Dr. Gero. Still, he felt rather at unease. His senses were telling him something was wrong, something was amiss, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it. Better to wait and see how things would play out first.
Geographically close by, but in a separate dimension entirely, Babidi sat aboard his ship watching the events play out in his magical visual globe. These monkeys were so easy to manipulate, so easy indeed.