The more Vomi combed her way through Doctor Wheelo's research, the more convinced she was of his utter madness.
Growing up, she had heard stories of Wheelo and his legendary accomplishments. Doctor Wheelo had revolutionized the field of biomedicine during the seventh century, leading to all sorts of advances: he had helped create miraculous cures to diseases long thought impossible to eradicate, pioneered cloning technology, published scientific theories that helped to further their understanding of the natural world, and so on and so forth. Wheelo had even helped to found the Royal Academy of Science with King Furry III, a school that Vomi herself had attended in her youth. For a time his genius had been celebrated the world over, and he'd become just as famous and popular as Doctor Briefs was in the modern era.
Around fifty years ago, however—just a few years after Vomi herself was born—Wheelo had vanished from public view and retreated to his major laboratory in the arctic wastes. It wasn't long after that that the rumors and whispers followed: that Wheelo was engaged in dark experiments, creating biological monstrosities with which he planned to take over the world. As a result, the worldwide admiration for him had slowly turned to fear and scorn, and even Furry the Third—the current King's predecessor—had issued a warrant for his arrest. Despite this turn in fortunes, however, Wheelo's tale had no dramatic finish to it. From the perspective of the world at large, it just seemed as if Wheelo had disappeared: and thus over time, he and his legend had faded into obscurity, only remembered by scientists such as herself.
For the longest time, Vomi had been a skeptic of Wheelo's supposed turn to darkness. She had thought it more likely that he'd simply turned into more of a secretive reclusive as he'd gotten older, which just spurned false rumors about his work. It wouldn't be the first time that the work of a great man had been misinterpreted by a fearful and ignorant populace, after all. All sorts of scandalous rumors had swirled about Capsule Corp and Doctor Briefs back in the day, and Briefs was still well liked by society. So Vomi had never truly believed in the tall tales and rumors surrounding Wheelo, and had instead continued to view the man as an aspirational hero.
Alas, it seemed that the rumors had been right. Whatever had become of the supposedly kindhearted man he'd been at the height of his career, Vomi could not say. Perhaps it had all been a façade, a mask Wheelo had worn as he carried out his real research in the shadows. Or perhaps his goals had become twisted over time, as his mania and lust for power overwhelmed his better judgment. Whatever the case was, Wheelo had been every bit as evil and insane as the stories had painted him as.
What else could he have been, now that she had his actual research notes laid out in front of her?
Meticulous, detailed logs on human experimentation, monstrous cloning projects, detailed notations on the capacity of human pain and how best to maximize it: and all this data was incomplete and fragmented. Who knew what awful secrets and revelations hadn't been recovered from the ruins of his laboratory?
Perhaps the saying about never meeting your heroes held true with Doctor Wheelo.
Regardless, Vomi knew she should be absolutely horrified at what she was reading. The research data and accompanying experiments were absolute nightmares, and would have upset those with even the strongest stomachs. At the start of her career, she certainly would have found this horrific beyond belief.
And yet…she found it hard to muster up the necessary emotions. She found she could only look at the information in front of her with the cool, clinical gaze of a heartless scientist. Because that was what she was, at the end of the day. Whatever puffery Gero gave about her being a better person…
It was a lie. Because, as Vomi dove more and more into Wheelo's research, she found that it was all so achingly familiar. And it was familiar because everything he had done, she had done too. And much, much worse.
She had worked eighteen years at the Red Ribbon Army: first as a senior researcher in its Bioweapons and Biological Research Department, and then as its Department Head. She had done everything Wheelo had done, and more, at the orders of Commander Red. She had experimented on unwilling test subjects, cultivated terrifying and horrendous diseases, engaged in unethical cloning of not just animals, but actual human beings, and so much more: all to satisfy the vanity of a tiny little man desperate for more power.
In a way, Gero had been lucky. His hands were relatively clean. He'd only worked on robots and his precious Mechanoids. He'd rarely, if ever, experimented on living people. He'd never had to hear the screams of a man as she conducted a live vivisection: he'd never transplanted a fungal parasite onto a teenage girl just to see if it could be weaponized; he'd never had to help create batch after batch of distorted human clones, monstrous abominations that had begged for death the moment they had been born.
His fingers were only stained with motor-oil. Vomi, meanwhile, would never be able to wash the blood off of her hands.
So when Vomi poured through Doctor Wheelo's research, she only saw the glimpse of what she had been, and what she might have become had the RRA not been destroyed. And she had become so dead inside, so numb to all the everyday horrors she had committed with the Army, that Vomi couldn't muster even the smallest ounce of humanity in the face of these new horrors.
Vomi knew that fact should horrify her, too. And yet she continued to remain numb: a remnant of her main defense mechanism, born from her days with the Army. Certainly, deadening her emotions had been one of the only ways she had coped with the abominable things she had done each and every day. It had helped her stay sane during those near twenty years under Commander Red's thumb. Or perhaps there was more to it than just that. Maybe...
Gero had clearly abandoned his morality long before they'd joined the Army. But Vomi herself? She'd had to chip away at it, piece by piece as she worked to refine the RRA's war machine. She had compartmentalized, repressed, done everything under the sun in order to live with herself as a scientist. And what had remained of her afterward? A husk of a person, so repulsed by the idea of picking up a scalpel again that she'd burned her doctorate. She had never intended to put her skills as a Biologist to use again, until Gero had wandered back into her life: until he had given her a reason to to pick up the metaphorical blade once more.
Vomi told herself it was for a just cause, this time. She was using her skills for the greater good, and not to further some madman's schemes. She was going to protect her family, protect the world, and...
And it was a lie. It had to be. Because Vomi had never felt more alive, the moment she had joined Gero in this mad crusade. Browsing through his Android's schematics, digesting the research of Doctor Wheelo, imagining the new experiments she could undertake, the new creations she could give birth to...
Maybe she was every bit the monster she had denounced her dear husband as. Maybe she and Gero weren't as different as she liked to think.
Perhaps they really did deserve each other.
And just like that, it felt as if something snapped inside of her. That single thought disrupted Vomi's concentration, bringing her back to reality.
She blinked in a daze, a potent mixture of disgust and fury now boiling within her. Those unwelcome feelings caused her to grimace, though she swiftly found her attention pulled elsewhere. For that sudden awareness of herself brought her own physical state back to her attention, and she became intimately aware of just how out of sorts her body felt: how her knees ached, how her hand was starting to twitch, how queasy her stomach was starting to feel. And with the eruption of those symptoms, Vomi knew that she needed another dosage of her medicine, and quickly at that.
So she rose from her seat, her hand keeping a tight grip on the computer console to stabilize herself. Her legs felt shaky, but she managed to remain upright all the same. Her free hand, however, started to shake and tremble even worse, drawing an immediate note of alarm from her throat.
She clutched at the offending wrist, her teeth bared in a silent snarl. That proved to be a mistake, however: her knees buckled in that moment, and she found herself tumbling to the floor.
Vomi let out a hiss of pain, stars flashing in her eyes as her forehead smacked against the metallic surface beneath her. She curled up on herself, gritting her teeth as she did her best to ride out this wave of weakness and pain from her treacherous body.
Thank the gods Gero wasn't here to see her like this.
Vomi's relief was short-lived, however, as she heard the march of footsteps echo through the lab. For a moment she panicked, terrified that Gero was already back. But instead of her ex-husband, she saw the lumbering form of Android Fourteen stomp into view.
"Doctor Vomi?" Fourteen stopped short as he entered her section of the lab, his head cocked as he stared down at her prone form. "I thought I had heard a disturbance back here. Do you require assistance?"
Vomi bit back an instinctual, venomous retort, and instead counted herself lucky that it had been one of Gero's creations who had found her like this rather than the man himself. In a clipped tone she managed to say,
"Yes, please. Just…help me to my room."
Fourteen gave her a curt nod and moved to ease her back to her feet. From there, he escorted her over to the living quarters, Vomi leaning against him the entire time.
Once they were inside the bedroom, Vomi practically collapsed onto her bed, giving a soft sigh as she let her body relax. A moment later she reached over, plucking a pill bottle from her nightstand, before popping it open and dispensing a trio of pills into her palm.
She swallowed them dry, doing her best to not gag at the awful, artificial taste. After that, she settled back onto her mattress, letting the medicine course its way through her system.
When she focused back on the world around her she noticed that Fourteen was still in the room, his towering figure now seeming somewhat awkward as he leaned against a nearby wall.
"You may leave," Vomi said, giving him a dismissive wave.
Fourteen nodded and proceeded to do no such thing.
Vomi's brow twitched in annoyance, and she moved to sit back up, leveling a glare at the taciturn Mechanoid. "I do not require your assistance any longer, Fourteen. Please leave."
Fourteen nodded a second time, yet he still made no move to exit. Instead he said, "My medical knowledge indicates that a period of observation is necessary after an elderly human has suffered a fall, to ensure there is no further distress or potential of additional injury."
"Oh, please. I'm not that old," Vomi retorted, giving a scoff. With a biting tone to her words she added, "I might have a grandchild but I'm not at the age where I need to be confined to a retirement home."
"Then if it was not old age, what was the cause of your tumble?" Fourteen countered, giving her a critical stare. "Are you ill, Doctor Vomi?"
Vomi stilled at that, glancing off to the side as she folded her arms. She gave no verbal reply to Fourteen's query, but that was an answer in and of itself.
She decided to ignore him instead, and so Vomi closed her eyes, letting her body rest. Though as she relaxed, she felt her scalp start to itch, which in turn alerted her to just how hot and humid her head was starting to feel. She reached up to scratch her head, but it only helped to dull the itching sensation, and it didn't make her scalp feel any cooler. So it was with an irritated growl that she sat up and reached for her hair with both hands, meticulously peeling back her auburn locks until her wig finally came off. She scratched at her now bare scalp a moment later, letting out a satisfied sigh.
Fourteen raised an eyebrow at that but notably decided to remain silent.
Vomi tossed her wig to the side thereafter, content to go without it for the moment. Then she closed her eyes once again and settled back against her mattress, trying to lull herself into an impromptu nap.
Alas, her quest for peace and quiet was once again foiled by Android Fourteen.
"Does Doctor Gero know?" he asked, his voice surprisingly gentle and soft.
Vomi gave another scoff, sitting back up as she gave the Mechanoid a baleful stare. "Of course not. He's one of the most brilliant men on the planet, and yet he cannot read people at all. He didn't notice our marriage falling apart, so I doubt he'd notice me now unless I was literally dying in his arms. I have no plans to tell him, either. I won't let him hold that weakness over me."
Though even as she dismissed her ex-husband out of hand, she felt a twinge of discomfort and guilt in her stomach. Even after all these years, a part of her still recoiled at thinking of him in such gruesome, awful terms. Yet, with all that had happened between them, what else was she supposed to think? The simple fact was that man she had loved had been twisted by his ambitions and pride, and turned into a monster she didn't even recognize by the end of their relationship. Whatever fragile kinship they had shared utterly broke at that point, and now, Vomi didn't consider her ex-husband anything close to trustworthy.
Self-interested and cowardly? That, on the other hand, she could buy. Whatever he proclaimed about the Saiyans, Vomi just knew his desire to stop their invasion was rooted in selfishness. Saving the planet was just a means of prolonging his own survival, and giving him time to carry out his perfect revenge. Vomi was almost certain he'd abandon the Earth entirely if he could: but to do that would mean admitting defeat to these alien invaders, and Gero's stubbornness and arrogance would never allow for that.
And yet…
Would the monster she had divorced really apologize to her? Repeatedly, at that?
Vomi did her best to push past that doubt and confusion, and not for the first time she tried to convince herself that it was a façade: a trick Gero was pulling to try and get back in her good graces. But that explanation was becoming harder and harder to swallow, as she witnessed more cracks develop in her husband's armor.
Fourteen must have noticed the uncertainty in her face, given what he said next. "I don't think you believe that, Doctor Vomi. And I do not believe that either. Doctor Gero, as he is now, does not seem the type who would take advantage of you over an illness."
Vomi felt another flash of doubt flare up inside of her, but she pushed it away as quickly as it appeared. She covered up her ill feelings with another scoff, crossing her arms as she shook her head.
"You weren't married to him for twenty three years, Fourteen. I know Gero inside and out, better than he knows himself even. You give him an inch, and he'll take a mile. He is definitely that kind of person, and I'd sooner trust a perfect stranger with my troubles than him."
"Like me, I presume?" Fourteen pointed out, a small smirk gracing his lips.
Vomi snorted in amusement at that, dipping her head as she said, "I suppose so. Still, I can at least trust that you won't use this as psychological leverage to pursue whatever mad scheme Gero has running in the background. I doubt you're that much in his confidence."
"Hm," Fourteen gave a noncommittal grunt, a frown now marring his features. "I suppose you are right in that regard. Gero has not divulged the full details of his master plan to us, even when it makes us act in direct opposition to our programming. This lack of information has proven…vexing to my brothers and I."
Vomi smirked at that. "That proves my point beyond a shadow of a doubt. In the end, Gero trusts no one but himself, and he'll do whatever it takes to accomplish his goals. He's a selfish bastard of a man, through and through."
Fourteen remained silent for a long moment, his eyes closed as if in thought. Then in a small, quiet tone he said,
"And yet, he's changed. Hasn't he?"
Vomi froze at that, the surety in Fourteen's tone taking her aback. When she stared back at the Mechanoid, she saw that his eyes were focused right on her.
"Gero did not have us awake for long during our initial activation phase. You see, my brothers and I, we were built years ago by Gero. He sought to make us the perfect killing machines, but there were defects that resulted in him shelving us. Years passed and we remained untouched; to be honest, I never thought we'd awaken again. And yet, several weeks ago, Gero turned us all back on. Upgraded us, even. And the differences my brothers and I observed in his behavior and personality, between the Doctor Gero who made us and the one who reactivated us…they were stark indeed," Fourteen declared, giving her a meaningful look.
Vomi felt her heart skip a beat, though she tried her best to maintain a stoic façade. But that was oh so hard to do, because now, she had validation. Now, she had outside confirmation of something she'd started to suspect the moment Gero had walked back into her life.
Gero had changed, and she wasn't the only one who had noticed.
No, wait. She couldn't get ahead of herself now. To even think something like that, it was…insane! Gero wasn't the type of person who'd just turn around on a dime like that. He never apologized, and he never admitted he was wrong!
Whatever he was doing now, it was a ploy: a trick meant to deceive her. It had to be!
"People are capable of change," she finally said, her voice hardened and steely. "We grow older and our attitudes can shift. But Gero is different. He's utterly incapable of change; or rather, incapable of changing for the better. I witnessed his downfall for over twenty years, and he never even hesitated in his fall, not once. So even if his anger has started to lessen, even if he's gotten better at pretending to be nice, he'll never truly change. His hatred will never go away, and he'll go to the ends of the earth to carry out his mad vendetta. Of that much, I'm sure."
"Are you?" Fourteen countered, giving her a knowing look. "Who are you trying to convince here, Doctor Vomi? Me? Or yourself?"
Vomi scowled at the accusation, a mixture of anger and fear surging through her. She pointedly looked away from Fourteen, though her mind couldn't help but race, the implications of his words turning over and over inside her head.
Her mind flashed back to Gero's emotional breakdown over dinner: she still didn't know what to make of that. It had been so jarring, so unexpected…part of her wanted to forget it, to ruthlessly purge it from her memories. But she wasn't one of her husband's simple machines: she didn't have the capacity to do something like that. So Vomi had instead tried to ignore the event, and tried pushing it far back into the corner of her mind.
But that wasn't the only instance of Gero acting…abnormally. He'd apologized to her, twice over now. He'd compromised with her, forgoing his revenge for the sake of this partnership. He had even surrendered his bedroom to her without a fight.
The Gero of the past would never have done any of that. Which begged the question: why was he doing it? Why now, after all this time, would he have tried to change? Why now, and why not...
Why not before their little boy had died?
Unshed tears pricked at her eyes, and Vomi desperately wiped them away, scowling as she tried to clamp down on her emotions. Unnoticed by her, Android Fourteen's face morphed into an expression of pity, before it smoothed back to his default, neutral state.
"I will not trouble you any longer, Doctor," Fourteen spoke up, drawing her attention back to him. "It seems you are in better physical shape now. And I give you my word that I will not tell Doctor Gero of what transpired this morning."
Vomi started at tat, giving him cautious, uncertain stare. Frankly, she was surprised he'd even say something like that. She hadn't thought Gero's Mechanoids were capable of such independence. "I…appreciate that. But aren't you compelled to obey him?"
"Oh, of course. There is a control chip that is hardwired into our positronic brains that ensures our loyalty. But there are…gray areas we can navigate, should we so choose. I may be loyal to the Doctor, but I am not compelled to tell him everything, not if he doesn't know to ask first. Which means that as long as he does not ask the right questions, your secret is safe," Fourteen gently assured her.
With that explanation made, he moved to leave the room. He hesitated near the entrance, however, and turned back to look at her.
"The Doctor is not the same man he once was. My brothers are not yet sure what to make of that. I, however, believe that this change should be embraced. We all have the power to evolve beyond our limits. Even Androids."
And then he left, closing the door behind him.
Vomi stared after him for a long moment, not sure of what to make of his final statement. Clearly, there was more to Gero's Androids than she initially believed. And clearly, there was more to her ex-husband than she'd been willing to acknowledge.
For the briefest of moments, Vomi allowed herself to fantasize. That now, a decade after she'd truly needed it, Gero had finally come around. That slowly, oh so slowly, he was starting to change, and become something similar to the man she'd initially fallen in love with. Maybe this was all the start to a new Doctor Gero, a prelude to the man she'd always wanted him to be. Maybe...
Alas, those hopes and dreams faded away, for the foolish optimist in Vomi had died almost twenty years ago. Her hopeful musings were thus replaced by the well-honed cynicism Vomi had used to survive the latter half of their marriage. So Vomi closed her eyes, donning the persona of the heartless scientist she had become so accustomed to wearing. She looked again at Gero with that cynical gaze, and considered what else this change could be a prelude to.
It didn't take her long at all to come up with a plausible hypothesis.
Perhaps Gero had changed: he'd certainly acted strangely enough to show that something was going on with him. But just because he had changed, didn't mean that it was for the better.
Gero had wanted to go after Gevo's murderer as a team. He had believed that united, the two of them could create the perfect being, one strong enough to destroy Son Goku. Vomi had rejected him, and Gero had gone off on his own. Now, a decade later, and where was he? Older and more bitter, but perhaps with age, had come some modicum of wisdom. Perhaps he had finally evolved his social skills to become a better liar and manipulator, and was now running the greatest con of his life on her. And what lies weren't made better without a sprinkling of truth to them? The Saiyans were a threat to everyone, after all, and he'd taken advantage of them to worm his way back into her life. And it had worked, hadn't it? She was here, now, working with him to try and combat the upcoming invasion. And after those aliens were taken care of...
Gero had promised her he wouldn't use her research against Son Goku, and perhaps he was even telling the truth. That didn't mean he still couldn't use the fruits of her labor to refine his own projects, and give him the edge he needed to successfully enact his revenge.
If anything, that prospect seemed far more likely than Gero suddenly growing a conscious. Though as appealing as this idea was, Vomi had to admit there were some holes in her theory. This entire chain of logic relied on the fact that Gero had finally learned how to handle interpersonal relationships, and that felt like something of a stretch.
Hmph. She needed more data to further refine her theories, and find out just what her husband was really up to. So she would need to investigate further, and carefully observe Gero going forward. Perhaps with enough time and dedication, she could find out what he was really up to. In which case, she ought to take advantage of the fact that he was outside of the lab. She could look around without him being any wiser: and with her having unlimited access to his laboratory, it wasn't like the Androids were going to get in her way. The only potential issue she had would be accessing his computer files...no doubt Gero had those heavily protected.
Perhaps a physical search of the lab could be done first, then. Explore every nook and cranny of this place, and see just what Gero might be hiding from her. And speaking of...
He'd yet to really show her the basement, hadn't he? That seemed as good a place as any to start her search.
With a gleam of determination shining clear in her eyes, Vomi rose from her bed. She snatched her wig, securing it back in place within moments. From there, she proceeded to leave the bedroom, heading straight toward the lab's elevator.