Ok! So I went on vacation for a couple of weeks. Realized a lot of the latter chapters I've written haven't been up to par, kinda rushed. So I did a little spring (summer) cleaning. Sorry if you enjoyed one of the fics I deleted, but I had to do it. This new fic is part of my Marvel Universe. It started out as kind of a plot bunny, and turned into kind of a monster. 35 pages so far, and it's not even halfway written.
That's *also* a new feature! This fic is pre-written, so I'll just update it every monday until it's done. Assuming I can keep writing it, that is. The purpose for this is establishing Big Hero 6 in my Marvel Universe. There will be one or two more, where the team meets another aspect of this Universe.
Fair warning: this fic is a multi-crossover. Other Marvel elements (Avengers, S.H.I.E.L.D., etc.) and Rise of the Guardians included, but not necessarily important to the plot.
Enjoy, then! - Darthkvzn
Disclaimer: I own nothing but the plot of this story. Any other things belong to Disney, Marvel, etc.
It all started with a burning building.
Such emergencies were relatively commonplace, usually occurring once or twice a day. Most of the time, San Fransokyo's Fire Department could handle it with little to no problem. On the off chance that they could not, well, they called us.
Big Hero 6. Not exactly the most glamorous or imaginative name, to be sure, but one we'd cheerfully adopted. It wasn't like our superhero names were all that impressive, either: GoGo, Wasabi, Honey Lemon, Fredzilla, Baymax, and myself, Hero.
I know. Hiro Hamada - alter ego: Hero? Not really the best moniker for a team leader. In fact, it might seem kinda childish. And you'd be right, it is - a little girl gave me the name, early on in my career as a superhero. Immature or not, I like it just fine. We made no real attempts at hiding our identities other than using voice modulators and tinted visors, more to give the SFPD an excuse not to bring us helpful vigilantes to justice than anything else, anyway. People liked us, and so did the press, even being courteous enough to use our hero names instead of the civilian ones they no doubt knew about. San Fransokyo was weird, that way.
In any case, our standing in the city was extremely good, after 3 years of hard work, countless bruises and injuries, and sleepless nights. I wasn't at all surprised when the Fire Marshall called us for help with a 'particularly tough' burning building.
Big Hero 6 was not really an offensive team of superheroes; while big names like the Avengers actively sought to take the fight to the villains, we'd made a reputation for being first at the scene to protect civilians, something that we personally thought was much more important than hunting down the bad guys. Of course, we fought criminals; while most of the baddies we fought were your regular, garden variety crooks, enhanced individuals did attack every once in a while, though none more than our archenemy, Yokai.
I felt bad about the fallen Professor Callaghan. I really did. He was a victim of his own self-pity, which I was fairly certain we'd just made a hundred times worse when he discovered his own daughter had preferred to join us as our mechanic and pilot, a few months after the team's formation.
Fortunately, as the years passed, the old man fought us less and less often. Either his age was getting to him, or his funds were dwindling, since, after all, he had to replenish his Microbot supply and keep up with our tech. And so, we were mostly there to avoid civilian casualties in San Fransokyo's day to day life.
It didn't get any easier, I thought as I flew on top of Baymax, no matter how much experience we had. Sealed suits or not, the sight of calcined remains and the screams of the damned were always deeply unsettling. We were very efficient, but even then, some deaths simply could not be avoided. It was a lesson we'd had to learn the hard way. Myself, first, with my brother's untimely passing.
The site of this most recent disaster was an abandoned warehouse on the outskirts of the city, one slated to be condemned within the year.
-"Guess they saved some cash from the demolishing op." -I quipped, doing my best to keep my voice steady. I hated fires with a passion. A few chuckles rang back on my comms.
-"Yeah, well, let's hope no one was inside, or those costs are going up again." -said GoGo, zipping into the scene after me.
Fire ops rarely required more than three or four members of the team; Baymax, obviously, provided medical support and his enormous strength. Fred was, for all intents and purposes, fireproof, so he was the best choice for going into the thick of it -plus, he was very good at bringing victims back from shock. GoGo could transport those we rescued very quickly, Honey Lemon could provide cushioning blobs for jumping out from high places, and Wasabi could provide his pinpoint cutting abilities. Me, well...I had the best sensors. I usually just directed my team, and coordinated with the Fire Dept.
Quickly surveying the scene, I made up a plan. "Alright, guys, listen up: the fire is messing up the sensor data. I think it might have been something that was inside, but I can't be certain yet. Fred, you're on search and rescue. Keep us posted on what you find inside."
My Kaiju-themed friend saluted. "Aye-aye, boss dude." -he said, passing by the firemen who desperately tried to stem the inferno.
I turned to GoGo. "Circle the building, make sure we're not missing anything or anyone. I'll go up and cover the air." -I ordered, and GoGo nodded, skating away.
Patting Baymax, I ordered him up. "Anything out of the ordinary, Baymax?" -I asked. I had a bad feeling about this place, and, after two years of near constant action, I'd learned to trust my gut.
-"Other than Fred's bio-signature, I cannot find any other life forms inside the warehouse. However, the flames' higher than average temperature may be interfering with my sensors." -he explained.
I frowned as Fred put in his two cents. "Can confirm, dude. It's hot-a-f in here. Two thousand Kelvin, and going up."
My eyes almost bugged out. "That's almost half the temperature of the sun...anything inside?" -I asked, growing more anxious by the second. There was something fishy going on here. Fires were not supposed to be that hot.
-"Nothing but the world's largest fire pit, dude. Wait, I've got something, in the middle...looks like some kind of half melted door...kinda like a vault?" -he said, walking closer.
-"Get outta there, Fred! We'll check it out after we put out the fire!" -I said, frantically. A giant metal door inside a condemned building, which was doing its best to burn as hot as a star? Too many weird things at once. This wasn't good. At best, it was an odd coincidence. At worst…
-"WHOA- " -was all we heard before the whole building exploded, knocking Baymax and myself out of the sky. I landed on my head, and promptly passed out.
I dreamed of Tadashi, going into the Exposition Hall again. I felt helpless, seeing his heroic face, once more diving head-first into the fire. For a split second, I even imagined him disintegrating before me, something I knew I hadn't actually seen. Just my cruel imagination, punishing me for failing to stop him.
When I came to, it was to hard knocking against my helmet.
-"Hey, dork, wake up. Don't make me make Fred give you CPR." -said GoGo, half annoyed, half worried. Though we weren't exactly past the 'will we, won't we' stage, most people thought we were an item. I kinda hoped we would be, some time when any dates we might go on wouldn't be interrupted by city-wide threats. Ever since the tattoo incident, I had a feeling she thought something along those lines, too.
I tried to ask 'Fred's ok?', but it came out as 'Frs...k?'. GoGo rolled her eyes, nodding. "The suit is almost as hard as his head. He was just shaken up a little by the blast, but he's back on his feet now. We don't really know what happened yet, but you should've seen the fire plume" -she said, offering her hand to help me get up.
I took it, rising slowly. A quick shake of my head got rid of some of the dizzyness, and I surveyed the scene. I'd landed some 50 yards from the building's entrance. The warehouse itself still glowed with heat, but the blaze appeared to have been mostly extinguished. I even spotted Baymax hovering over the place, directing a hose at the worst spots.
-"He checked up on you, before declaring you to be ok. Said he saw something interesting inside - y'know, whatever's left of it, so he's trying to get the fire out asap." -she explained, wincing. She must've gotten caught in some of the blast, since the paint on her armor was partially singed, and she favored her left leg.
-"Didn't run away fast enough?" -I asked, teasingly. She shrugged. "Fireworks looked interesting."
I rolled my eyes. "Only you would think being caught in an explosion would be an interesting experience. One of these days, it's gonna get you in some real trouble." -I warned jokingly.
She scoffed. "I am a superheroine, aren't I?"
I chuckled. She did have a point, there.
-"Hey lovebirds, come over and look at this." -said Fred over the comms, clearly having listened to our exchange. We both groaned, turning slightly pink, but went over anyway.
Our armor was well suited for any environment, so the lingering heat from the fire didn't affect us. Over the years, I'd made all sorts of improvements to the rather crude designs we'd taken Callaghan on with, and I was very proud. No longer were our armors made from flimsy carbon fiber -I'd invented a hybrid material, combining the best properties of plastic and metal, resulting in my patented Plasteel compound. It was relatively easy to produce, and didn't negatively impact the environment, being produced from recicled materials. The licenses helped fund the team, and we were much safer from major injuries now, so it was really a win-win. Plasteel was about a dozen times stronger than Iron Man's original Gold/Titanium alloy, only being surpassed by pure, refined Vibranium as the toughest material known to man.
-"What's up?" -I asked Fred, even as I saw what he meant.
Our friend was standing beside a warped vault door, half melted in some places. The logo on it was rather obvious, though, and I thanked my lucky stars that Tadashi had been a history nut, because otherwise I'd completely miss the significance.
A red, tentacled skull grinned back at us, the emblem devised by Johann Schmidt, better known as the late Red Skull. HYDRA had been revealed to have a presence in San Fransokyo, and so our biggest adventure yet had started.
HYDRA is just the best plot glue out there, isn't it? It's so...global, it can be everywhere, and behind everything. Speaking of plot glue, this is a triple crossover for a reason. Guardians are what I'll be using to break into the whole fairy tale world that surrounds Frozen, but that doesn't mean I'll ignore that Big Hero 6 is really a team of scientists (and Fred). I think you'll like it!
Until next time! - Darthkvzn