Vanadis reached the city as the sun started peaking over the horizon, she looked around and saw there were some people out and about this early she saw some of them walking around with a rectangular device in their hands. They were some holding it to their ear talking into it, others seemed to be taking pictures, and some were typing into it, “What is that I thought it was some sort of radio, but by the looks of it I might be wrong.” She mumbled, looking around seeing there were lots of people using the device.

Her eyes landing on a page of a newspaper floating across the ground near her, she quickly stepped on it before picking it up, her eyes going wide when she saw the date ‘Age 770.’

“W-what!?” she whispered, not believing her eyes, her hands started trembling as she clutched the newspaper tighter. “I… I’ve been gone for 6 years!?” she started feeling faint as her breathing became short and quick, she quickly sat down on a nearby bench.

No one paid much attention to her as they just went about their business, “Are you ok dear?” a soft voice called out to her. Vanadis turned to the voice seeing an older woman staring at her with concern, she had shoulder length red hair that was greying, green eyes, she was wearing a dark blue shirt, pants, and boots. “Do you need me to call an ambulance for you?” the women asked taking out a rectangular device like the ones she saw other people using, on the back of it she recognized the Capsule Corp Logo.

“I-I… I’ll be fine... just a panic attack.” Vanadis answered, slowly trying to get her breathing back under control. The women sat down next to her worry clear on her face.

“Ok, if, you are sure.” The women said still watching her with concern as Vanadis, “Better?” the women asked after a while.

“Y-yes, thank you for your concern.” Vanadis replied giving the women a smile.

“It was no trouble dear.” The women answered smiling back. “My name is Martha.”

“Hello, Martha. My Names is Vanadis.” Vanadis answered.

“Hello, Vanadis, I hope I’m not overstepping but do you mind if I ask what caused you to have a panic attack?”

Vanadis didn’t want to answer at first but there was something about Martha that made her feel like she could trust her, so she decided to tell her about how the last thing she remembers is going to sleep 6 years ago, before waking up in a strange place. Martha took her for her word and even asked if she wanted her to call the police to see if they could find out who was responsible, but Vanadis told her no, that she didn’t really remember how to get back to where she escaped from.

After listening to her story Martha decided to take her to a small motel, she owned named ‘Martha’s Motel’ letting her have a room free of charge. Vanadis refused at first, but Martha pointed out that she probably didn’t have any money and that it was no trouble for her to give her a room since they were closed at the moment since they were renovating. Vanadis eventually agreed, thanking her profusely, and promising to pay her back as soon as possible. Martha just nodded and smiled at her saying that there was no rush that she could pay her back by helping around the motel.

“Here you go dear.” Martha said opening the door to room 21, the room was on the second floor, it had a full-sized bed, a small table, a dresser, a tv, and a couch. “I know it’s not much but…”

“No! It’s perfect, thank you.” Vanadis said smiling as she walked back to her.

“No, problem dear, there’s hot water in the bathroom so why don’t you take a shower, while I try and find you some clothes and bring some fresh towels ok.” Martha said, pointing to the bathroom. “There should be some shampoo, conditioner, some unopened toothbrushes and toothpaste in there as well.”

“That sounds like a great idea. Thank you, Martha.” Vanadis replied smiling at her as she headed into the bathroom after Martha left closing the door.

Once inside the bathroom she stripped down, looking at her reflection she got a better look at herself and noticed the changes with her body one was that she was taller, her body was a lot more filled out, she had actual curves, and her eyes were somehow bluer. She looked like an actual woman now, “What the hell happened to me?” she muttered, reaching out to touch her reflection.

“Vanadis, I brought you some clothes and towels, I’ll leave them on the bed for you.” Martha called out knocking on the door startling her. “I’m also leaving the keys for the room on the dresser for you.”

“O-oh ok thank you.” Vanadis replied quickly.

“It’s no trouble dear, I’ll let you settle in peace ok.” Martha said.

Vanadis heard her walk out of the room as the door closed, she opened it, peeked out and saw that the room was empty, she locked the door before grabbing the clothes and towels and walking back into the bathroom.

“I need to figure out what happened but first… a shower.” Vanadis muttered to herself seeing her reflection again.

After showering for who knows how long she got dressed in the clothes that Martha left her while trying to remember what happened to her, “Let’s see what’s the last thing I remember… I remember checking into my room going to sleep and then…Argh!” she fell to her knees, grabbing her head as she felt a sharp stabbing pain in her brain. She stayed there until the pain slowly went away, “O-ok no trying to remember right now.” She muttered rubbing her temple.

“Hello, dear I brought you some food.” Martha called out knocking on her door.

“…c-coming.” She managed to answer, standing back up once the pain subsided, she took a few deep breaths then went to answer the door. “Thank you.” She answered, taking the tray with beef stew and water on it.

“No, problem dear.” Martha smiled, “Do you need anything else?”

“N-no thank you, just some sleep.” Vanadis answered shaking her head.

“Ok, make sure you eat first, then leave the tray outside your door when you are done, and I’ll will come collect it later.” Martha said to her, standing up.

“Sorry for troubling you.” Vanadis replied nodding at her.

“No, trouble dear, you looked like you needed help, and I was in the position to help you.” Martha smiled at her. “If you need anything else or if you want to talk my room is next door.”

“Thank you.” Vanadis replied, returning the smile.

“You can take it easy for a few days, since most of the motel is still under renovations so we’re not expecting any visitors at the moment.” Martha explained to her. “I’ll let the workers know that this room is taken so they don’t bother you.”

“Thank you, ma’am.” Vanadis replied with a smile.

“It’s no trouble, dear, sleep well, once you rested for a few days then we can talk about what you can do to help out around here.” Martha said before leaving.

“Ok, thank you.” Vanadis replied, waving goodbye.

Vanadis honestly didn’t feel hungry, but she still ate the eggs, bacon, and toast and she drank the orange juice Matha brought her, it tasted amazing, she cleared her plate, after finishing everything she left the tray outside her door. She brushed her teeth, then went to lay down in her bed, telling herself that she would investigate tomorrow after getting some rest, even if she didn’t really feel tired, but she did manage to fall asleep eventually.

--

Vanadis spent the next few days resting and using the computer in the motel trying to find out what had happened to her over the last 6 years, but she wasn’t having much luck until she found two news articles from around the time she went missing. One reported that she was planning a trip around the world before furthering her education, the next one reported that there had been no word about her in a few years leaving people speculating on what happened to her.

She could remember almost everything of her life up until the night she disappeared and then nothing else besides a few flashes of dreams that she couldn’t make out or recall. The few flashes were from dreams or memories about a man with long white hair standing over her, while she slept but she could never make out his face.

She called the number of the place she was staying at before she disappeared, but it no longer existed leaving her clueless of where to look next, she decided to leave finding out what happened for later, especially with the repeated headaches she got every time she tried to remember. After realizing that she wouldn’t find any answers soon she decided to think over what she could do next and decided to stay here for a while to save some money.

After coming to her decision, she had a talk with Martha explaining her situation a little and asking her what she could do to help around the motel. Martha asked if she had any experience cooking or cleaning, which she didn’t have much, but Martha told her it was no problem that she would teach her.

That’s how Vanadis found herself learning from Martha, Vanadis didn’t really like the work much since it wasn’t what she was used to, but she didn’t really complain much since it was how she would pay Martha back for her help while saving some money. She would also help fix anything that broke down, which surprised Martha when she saw how good she was with her hands, making Martha ask her if she would like to be the temporary mechanic/handywoman for the motel, which Vanadis agreed too.

Vanadis learned more about Martha during the time they spent together, she learned that her son Clark and his wife Helena bought her the motel a few years after her husband Jonathan had died due to a heart attack. She told them that she needed to do something instead of spending all day in the house, so she decided on a motel because it would allow her to put her business degree to use, and it was something she believed that she could manage on her own which she proved to be true by keeping it running successfully for years.

This went on for a few months until the renovations were finished, Vanadis kept busy helping Martha around the motel especially after it reopened, she helped whenever Martha needed it, weather in the kitchen or fixing things that occasionally broke down. This left her so busy that she kept pushing trying to investigate more about what happened to her out of her mind until she eventually forgot about it.

Once guests started showing up Martha started paying Vanadis a little more for helping much to Vanadis’s refusal, but once Martha pointed out that she would be able to buy her own clothes instead of using some of Martha’s old clothes she relented. Vanadis ended up buying a few tops, pants, underwear, and shoes with her money and she also bought Martha a nice thank you gift which brought tears to the women’s eyes.

Vanadis was cooking breakfast for the two of them early in the morning one day when Martha came into the kitchen excitedly, “Vanadis dear come here and take a look at this.” Vanadis looked through the small window and saw her waving the morning newspaper enthusiastically.

“Coming Martha.” Vanadis replied, turning off the stove and loading the food onto their plates taking them to the dining room where she placed the plated on the table in front of Martha. “What has you so excited Martha?”

“Here look.” Martha said pointing to the headline, ‘Capsule Corp Looking For Researcher.’

Vanadis was surprised reading the headline as she started reading the article, ‘It has been reported that Capsule Corp is looking to hire researcher for a special position within the company, but no further details of said position have been given at this time. The only thing reported is that those wishing to apply may come to headquarters at the end of the month…’

The news article didn’t say anything else about the job, it just went on to talk about everything Capsule Corp had accomplished, including their most recent invention, the Capsule Phone. Vanadis put the newspaper down after reading the article to see a smiling Martha looking at her, “I-is this real?” she asked, not believing it.

“Yes, it is dear, it was also reported on the radio.” Martha answered nodding her head.

“This is incredible, it has always been my dream to work for Capsule Corp.” Vanadis said smiling.

“I know dear, that’s why I brought it to your attention so you can apply and follow your dreams.” Martha said, smiling at her.

“… thank you.” Vanadis said smiling back at her.

--

Vanadis had found herself back at Capsule Corp a few days after passing her interview, if she wanted to call it that, since she wasn’t really asked many questions after she helped Bulma fix and improve the training robots that her husband Vegeta had destroyed. Vanadis had to sign a non-disclosure agreement stating that she would not tell anyone about the things she saw, heard, or worked on, before starting.

Vanadis didn’t know what to expect when she started working at Capsule Corp, but nothing could prepare her for her first day when she found out that she would be working directly under Dr. Briefs and Bulma. She also wasn’t prepared for the occasional explosions followed by the shaking of the building and how no one seemed worried by the occasions, which Bulma explained that it was her husband training.

When she asked how that was possible Bulma went on to explain what she understood about her circle of friends and the things they could do, leaving her with more questions than answers. Although, it did help clear up some doubts that Vanadis had about certain things she read about when catching up on major news she missed over the last 6 years.

Vanadis was thrown headfirst into work, working on things that she never imagined, like improving a gravity room Bulma had built for her husband, a spaceship that was laying around, and so many other incredible things. Her time was split between helping Dr. Briefs and Bulma where they treated her more like a partner than an assistant listening to her ideas with an open mind.

“Mrs. Bulma who’s this boy, with you?” Vanadis asked, one afternoon pointing at a picture that was hanging on the wall of the lab. It was a picture of Bulma with a young boy with dark hair who looked about 10 or 11 years old they were bent over a lab table working on something.

“Hmm… oh that’s Gohan!” Bulma said smiling fondly seeing the picture, “You might have heard his name mentioned a couple of times around the house.”

“…oh right! I remember now.” Vanadis said nodding, remembering hearing his name around the household from different members. “He’s a scientist?”

“Sort of, he helps us out around the lab from time to time.” Bulma nodded.

“Oh! how come I haven’t seen him around?” Vanadis asked, curious about having not seen him in person yet.

“Oh! that’s because he’s currently not on earth.” Bulma said.

“W-what!?” Vanadis asked confused, looking at Bulma thinking she misheard.

“Yeah, he left to go train on some distant planet, he said he should be back in about a year.” Bulma said shrugging.

“W-what… didn’t anyone go with him?” Vanadis asked.

“No, he’s a big boy he can handle himself.” Bulma said shaking her head. “Remember he defeated Cell, so there’s probably nobody who would pose a challenge to him.”

“R-right.” Vanadis said slowly nodding, “But, if he’s already so strong why would he want to get stronger?”

“Honestly I don’t know, I tried telling him that, but he wouldn’t…” Bulma started explaining.

“He’s doing what’s in his blood women!” Vegeta interrupted walking into the lab, armor torn, bleeding from various cuts, and carrying the broken remains of some training robots.

“DAMN IT VEGETA! WE JUST FIXED THOSE!” Bulma yelled at him seeing the broken robots.

“Don’t yell at me women! It’s not my fault that they can’t stand up to my power.” Vegeta scoffed, setting the robots on a free table in the lab. “Just fix them.”

“…fine but you’re spending the rest of the day with Trunks.” Bulma said after taking a deep breath, “This isn’t a request, Vegeta.” Bulma asserted seeing that Vegeta was going to interrupt, “I’m telling you; you want these fixed? Then you’re spending the rest of the day with Trunks, or I might just push fixing these robots to the bottom of my to do list. Am… I… Understood!”

“....” Vegeta didn’t say anything, he just turned around and strolled out of the lab, muttering something about stubborn women. Vanadis let the whole interaction play out having gotten used to it during her time working at Capsule Corp.

“Now that, that’s sorted out where were we?” Bulma asked, turning around with a smile.

“You, were going to tell me about Gohan.” Vanadis said pointing at the picture again.

“Oh! right. Let me tell you all about him.” Bulma replied smiling widely as she began telling Vanadis about the first time she met Gohan, and about their many adventures.

--

Vanadis found herself looking forward to meeting Gohan after hearing Bulma, Dr. Briefs, Trunks, and even Vegeta speak highly of him, and if half of the things they said about him turned out to be true then she believes they would get along well. Although she hadn’t had much luck meeting him yet, even after he had come back from space somehow not working the days he had stopped by to visit, until one day she was helping in the lab when Bulma’s phone started ringing.

“Oh! It’s Gohan.” Bulma said checking the phone, “Excuse me.” She put down the tools she was using and walked away a little.

“Ok, dear tell him I said hello.” Dr. Briefs replied not looking up from his work.

Bulma gave a nod in reply before answering, “Hey, Gohan what’s up?”

Vanadis couldn’t make out what was being said but she could hear that he sounded excited about something, “Oh, really that’s great. I see, yeah stop by, pick me up and so we can look at the place. Ok see you soon.” Bulma said hanging up and walking back towards them.

“What did he want dear?” Dr. Briefs said putting the tools down and looking up.

“He said that he believes that he found the perfect place for his lab.” Bulma replied.

“Oh, that sounds…” Dr. Briefs started saying when a young boy suddenly appeared right in front of Bulma.

“SHIT!!!” Bulma cursed, jumping back a little.

“… s-sorry Bulma.” The boy said scratching the back of his head.

“… Damn it, Gohan give somebody some warning before you just pop into existence like that.” Bulma said, hand on her chest taking a few deep breaths.

Vanadis’s eyes went wide seeing him in person, “So this is Gohan?” she thought getting her first real look at the boy, he was about 4’11, had black spiky hair, and was wearing some purple martial art outfit with some diving goggles around his neck.

“B… but you knew I was on my way, we just finished speaking to each other a few minutes ago.” Gohan said, tilting his head looking at Bulma confused.

“I believe that she wasn’t expecting you to appear right after getting off the phone with her.” Vanadis spoke up seeing the expression on Bulma’s face.

This caused Gohan to fully turn around in surprise noticing her, his eyes went wide, and his mouth slightly opened when he saw her, she was used to getting those looks from men she came across in the city. She knew that whatever was done to her made her look like a model according to Bulma, but this was the first time that she found that she didn’t mind it much since it came from someone who wasn’t looking at her with lust. She noticed that while he did take a quick glance at her body, he didn’t stay focused on it, he was staring directly into her eyes seemingly captivated by them.

“Gohan my boy is it true?” Dr. Briefs spoke up from beside her.

“I… what?” Gohan mumbled shaking his head, a touch of blush reaching his cheeks.

Vanadis smiled at his actions her opinion of him rising a bit as Gohan looked away in embarrassment realizing that he had been staring. She noticed that Bulma was also grinning behind him looking at him.

“He’s asking about the place for your lab.” Bulma said as Gohan turned to her, “Remember you said you found the perfect place for your lab.”

“… oh! yeah, I have Bulma said that she would come with me to take a look at it.” Gohan nodded, looking back at Dr. Briefs.

“Ah! perfect, let me know if it’s up to standards.” Dr. Briefs said looking at Bulma who nodded, “If it’s as perfect as you say then we can start working on it soon.” He said smiling at Gohan.

“Right” Gohan nodded, before turning his attention back on her, “… I’m sorry but may I know your name…”

Before she could answer Bulma snapped her fingers, “Oh, right sorry. Gohan this is Vanadis, a researcher we’ve hired to help around the lab, you don’t have to worry about anything she has our full trust.” Bulma said gesturing towards her, “Vanadis this is Gohan, you may have heard his name mentioned around the house a couple of times.”

Vanadis stepped from behind the table she was working at and held her hand out, “Ah! Yes, it’s nice to finally meet you, Gohan.”

“Nice to meet you too.” Gohan said smiling, she noticed that he had a nice smile, as he shook her hand, she noticed that he had callouses on his hands which she guessed was from all the training he did. “If Bulma and Dr. Briefs trust you then so do I, I look forward to working with you.” He said, surprising her at how trusting he seemed to be after just meeting her.

“Same, and if half of the things I’ve heard about you are true then I look forward to working with you as well.” Vanadis said, returning his smile.

“I… thank you?” Gohan said blushing at her compliment.

“… I hate to interrupt but Gohan we should probably go see this place you found.” Bulma said from behind them grinning at him.

“R-right, sorry.” He said releasing her hand, “It was nice to meet you.”

“It was nice to meet you too.” Vanadis replied nodding her head at him.

“Take my hand.” Gohan said walking up to Bulma holding his hand out, she took his hand while he placed two fingers to his forehead and closed his eyes, before they suddenly vanished.

“… wow that’s an incredible technique.” Dr. Briefs said walking up next to her staring at the place where they disappeared.

“Y-yes, it is.” Vanadis nodded, thinking of asking Gohan how the technique worked.

“Well, let’s get back to work.” Dr. Briefs said walking back to the table.

“…right.” She nodded, taking one last look at where Gohan had disappeared, thinking that she would love to pick his brain, before following Dr. Briefs.

--

As time flew by, she found herself enjoying spending time with Gohan working together, exchanging ideas with each other, it gave her a chance to get a better understanding of the teen and what drove him. At first, she was worried about him after what she had learned he had been through but after talking with him and Bulma, she found herself amazed at his resiliency.

This was a boy forced to grow up too quickly facing dangers no boy should have to face but he did it just because he had the power to do it and because he felt like it was the right thing to do. That he managed to retain his pure soul after everything he had endured was a testament to his character and it made her feel a certain way about him, a way that she didn’t clearly understand.

That they also had some similar interests like certain books, how they went about learning, wanting to better understand how things worked, how they felt alone while growing up although for different reasons, and a few others. She found herself inspired by Gohan’s drive, focus, and infectious attitude leading to her coming up with a few inventions that proved very useful for him and for Capsule Corp.

Including the current project, she had been working on for Gohan, an advanced training room, that would create holographic enemies for him to fight, after inputting the necessary data, but she was having trouble with making it durable enough to survive his power. Which is why she was currently standing in the Gravity Room’s observation center, they had built, watching Gohan train in 150x earth’s gravity dodging energy blasts coming from a robot in front of him while four other ones floated around him with beams coming out of them, boxing him in like a ring.

She was supposed to be monitoring his vitals, but she found herself distracted by Gohan’s sweaty muscular form as he dodged the blasts, the sweat on his skin glistening after his shirt was destroyed earlier in the training session. “Puberty did him good.” She found herself thinking while watching him train, “What!? Where did that come from?” she thought shaking her head trying to clear the thoughts that were creeping up.

“See something you like?” A voice teased from behind her, startling her.

“… w-what?” Vanadis exclaimed straightening up, trying to fight the blush from appearing on her face as a smirking Bulma walked up next to her. “I-I’m just observing his vitals.”

“Really then why aren’t you monitoring them from the computer where they are.” Bulma teased. “There’s no shame in admitting you were staring. I do the same with Vegeta from time to time. There’s something fascinating about watching Saiyans train, it makes you feel a certain way.”

“I- I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Vanadis mumbled, refusing to look at Bulma.

“It’s alright, I’ve seen him steal looks at you too whenever you are working on something.” Bulma said with a grin.

“Real-?” she started saying but stopped herself, “No, nothing can happen between us.” Vanadis said walking away to a nearby computer, to check on his vitals like she was supposed to.

“What why not!?” Bulma asked, following. “If you’re worried about Capsule Corps dating policy then don’t Gohan is more of an outside contractor and you don’t have to worry about what me and my dad think we won’t care, if the two of you date each other.”

“… no, it’s not that.” Vanadis said shaking her head.

“Then what is it?” Bulma asked. “you clearly like him, don’t try and deny it I’ve seen the way you look at him when he’s not looking.”

“I…I… Wait why do you even care?” Vanadis asked, stopping to look at Bulma.

“Besides the fact I think the two of you will be good for each other, you’re both very smart, driven, you clearly enjoy each other’s company, and you have similar interests.” Bulma explained looking at her.

“I…I look Bulma please just drop it.” Vanadis sighed.

“Why, Vanadis, please you have to give me something, I’ve seen you push yourself trying to finish this training room for Gohan, and working yourself to the bone making all these training equipment for Gohan and making me take the credit for some of them shows me that you clearly feel something for him.” Bulma said looking at her.

“Of course, I like him!” Vanadis exclaimed as she started pacing around, “How can I not, he’s kind, smart, funny, passionate, considerate, he always has a smile on his face, and his attitude is infections, I could go on and on, Bulma but nothing can happen between us.”

“Not until I figure out what happened to me.” Vanadis thought shaking her head.

“Why not? If you feel this strongly about him, why not take a chance, it’s not the age difference is it because five years isn’t that much.” Bulma said.

Vanadis shook her head, “No the age difference doesn’t bother me that much, my parents were six years apart.”

“Then what is it?” Bulma asked again, “If you’re worried about him feeling the same way then don’t it’s obvious, he has a crush on you.”

“No, it’s not that either, I’m not clueless I’ve noticed how he looks at me but I…” Vanadis was interrupted by the timer she had set up to signal the end of the training session. She walked back to the computer shutting down the training robots. “Thanks Gohan, that’s all I need for today.”

“Ok, no problem Vanadis, I’m going to shower and head home, if you don’t need anything else.” Gohan replied.

“That’s fine, I got all I need, we’ll see ourselves out.” Vanadis answered.

“Ok, have a safe trip back and a good night.” Gohan answered back before leaving. Vanadis switched off the intercom while waiting for the data to finish transferring to her Capsule Corp computer.

“I’m sorry for being so pushy Vanadis. I honestly don’t know what came over me.” Bulma said apologizing from next to her.

“... It’s fine Bulma, I’ve needed to confront what I’ve been feeling for Gohan for a while, you just provided the push I needed.” Vanadis answered sighing, “Just give me some time Bulma there’s some things that I need to figure out first.”

“That’s fine take all the time you need, again I’m sorry for being so pushy.” Bulma said sighing, “If you need any help, please let me know.”

“I might take you up on that offer.” Vanadis said nodding at her. “Now let me wrap up before we leave.”

“Alright.” Bulma said, as she began helping Vanadis pack her things.

____

(AN: This chapter took awhile for me to get out because I was trying to write Vanadis like how Android 21 was written in FighterZ, but after taking some time to think about things I realized that I was going about things the wrong way. That while Vanadis is based on Android 21 and while they may end up sharing some similarities down the line, I need to write Vanadis how I want to write her and not how someone else wrote her.)