The successive few days after Shen's return to the hideout were nonstop work...
He had to make arrangements for the 100 or so kids to stay at the hideout temporarily until a more permanent solution was found. With so many people, It was hectic for a while, to say the least.
The solution came in the form of a company-sponsored orphanage... the company obviously being his own: Crane Enterprise.
At any rate, even after the matter was settled and most of the kids—except a few—were transferred to the new orphanage, contrary to Shen's presumption, instead of delight, the children were filled with an unclear uncertainty regarding their situation.
Although these well-trained kids, who had been taught strict military discipline from a young age, wouldn't display their emotions outright, they were nonetheless wary of the strange man's intentions.
They were inwardly worried Shen might abandon them. Staying in an orphanage means losing their usefulness as soldiers going forward... Because of this, Shen had to reassure them that they would always be of use to him, as when they become adults, he would employ them at his company.
However, even with Shen's assurances, the kids were riddled with doubt, yet they still obeyed his every command.
The lingering wariness gradually subsided and dissolved due to the overwhelming freedom they got to experience for the first time in their lives at the new orphanage... at the end of the day, they were still children. When provided with a comfortable home, they forgot their worries.
Before the kids were sent to the orphanage, Shen selected three of them as his new disciples...
Two of the three were, of course, Silver and Violet. The last one was an even more impressive kid named Blue... Shen naturally remembers General Blue, the first villain in the series to pose an actual challenge to Son Goku, rather than being just a minor roadblock.
These three, alongside Launch, Android 7, and Major Metallitron, had joined Crane School this time.
Right now, Shen was at the large training ground of the hideout. Before him, the whole gang was together, all of whom were connected to Dr. Gero and the Red Ribbon Army in one way or another.
Having recently become part of the School, each of them would be assigned a role today. At Shen's command, they stood upright in a U-shaped formation, seriousness shining on the faces of all but one individual—who was also breaking symmetry of the formation. a unforgivable Sin to Shen.
'Tch! Tch! Who else but Launch?? Be it intentional or unintentional, she is always hampering my big moment.'
Ignoring the distraction, Shen began his address. "Major Metallitron and Android 7 will work as helpers for Dr. Flappe in the lab. You two will also assist with his research as much as possible, though you are exempted from anything life-threatening," he announced, radiating a sense of authority.
"Moving on to the colors trio... I will be instructing the three of you in your daily training. In the event I am not present, your senior brothers will take over... Bora, Giran, and Namu—I don't think I need to introduce them to you."
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"Lastly, Launch—You..." He hesitated for a second. "You come with me."
"So, you obtained a long lifespan as a side effect from the experiment?" No wonder Shen felt something was amiss.
"Yes, I haven't aged a bit since the day I woke up. Pretty cool, right?"
"I agree... That is... pretty cool," Shen stroked her ego.
Launch, bringing her hands to her waist, proudly filled her lungs, expanding her chest.
"By the way, do you know where Chad—sorry, Dr. Gero's son, Gevo, went? The other day, I inquired about his identity. He willingly told me everything I wanted to know, but I haven't seen him since."
Launch looked confused. "Why ask me? How should I know?"
"I just thought you would, as no one else I've asked seems to know what he's up to or where he went... It's such a shame. I thought I could use him to make a good impression on Dr. Gero."
Shen got lost in thought, contemplating his options...
Dr. Gero—a genius scientist who would one day be responsible for creating extremely powerful androids, and moreover, he also conceptualized and initiated the Cell project, inadvertently fathering an artificial lifeform with the combined genes of Frieza, Piccolo, and Goku—the topmost heavyweights of the universe.
'To find him, I could search for his secret hideout, but it's highly unlikely that Dr. Gero would willingly work for me, who destroyed the Red Ribbon Army. Although he may have been distrustful of the army, he seemed loyal enough to have made it his life's mission to kill Goku after the latter destroyed the organization.'
'Either way, I don't want the man to stop his research on androids and Cell. At the end of the day, Android 17 and 18 will end up as allies after being defeated, and naturally, I'm confident that by the time they appear, either I, Goku, or the rest of the Dragon Team will be strong enough to defeat them.'
Shen had also entertained the idea of becoming a scientist himself, but soon gave up on the idea. First of all, he hates studying, but more importantly, when he had asked Shenron to increase his IQ, Shenron was unable to do so.
It seems IQ, in itself, is equivalent to power level, so Shenron is unable to increase Shen's IQ beyond the capabilities of its original creator, Kami...
First and foremost, one has to understand that Shenron isn't an all-encompassing god that can accomplish anything as per the summoner's wishes...
He can create a lifeless body but can't create a soul, nor does he have the ability to create new life. According to the series, even Porunga, a dragon greater than Shenron, couldn't restore the weather conditions of Planet Namek. The limits of the Dragon Balls are evident from this.
IQ is an abstract thing, like time, soul, and talent. These things largely depend on the natural order of things and chance. Only the true gods like Kaio-shen are allowed to interfere in the creation of life, and even they can't just conjure up an all-powerful being with a thought...
—All this time, while Shen was in the world of thoughts; Launch had been blankly staring at Shen, wondering how long he would stay still. Realizing his lapse, Shen snapped out of his daze. "Sorry, that tends to happen sometimes."
"Where was I? Ah yes, I haven't given you anything to do, have I?"
"What do you think about learning magic?"
"Magic? What are you talking about all of a sudden? What makes you think I can learn magic?"
Shen subtly smiled at her question. "Remember the book I gave you?"
"Book?! You mean that weird book with strange words all over it?"
"Yes, that one. It's a magical book created by a master in that field. Maybe you can meet him someday. That book glowed after coming in contact with you for a while."
"So, what of it?"
"It means you have an affinity for magic. I personally can't use magic, but I know people who can. I want one of them to teach you..." Shen stops to look at Launch, trying to discern what she thinks about it.
"Go on!!" Launch says.
"This person i am talking about.. She is even better at using magical powers than the one who made that book."