A/N: Well, this is going to be an adventure. I've never written any of these characters before, I don't have a beta, and this is basically a one-shot that spiralled out of control and grew a life of its own. Enjoy!

It wasn't exactly a secret that Honey Lemon liked video games. While it wasn't her passion or primary way of spending time, she was all to eager to join in on a round when invited. In fact, it was known in Hiro's circle of friends and acquaintances that she was surprisingly good at them. It didn't take long to come to light that, among the tight-knit group of superheroes, Hiro was perhaps the only one that hadn't been dragged along on one of Honey's occasional arcade outings.

Honey was all too eager to fix this.

"I used to come here all the time!" She said, her voice bubbling over with excitement as usual. "They almost got shut down a while back when Flynn's got built downtown..."

Her voice trailed off into stories of how the arcade's been owned by the same family for decades, how there were at least a dozen urban legend surrounding the machines inside, and even a few fonder stories like when she got the top score in Hero's Duty. There were some strange things about the arcade Honey had noticed over the years that she seemed eager to share as well: the owner treated every single game like one of his own kids - sometimes regarding the characters within as though they were actual people - and he never turned off the power when he closed up shop, not even for long periods of time. The place was full of oddities, but Honey was incredibly fond of it.

As it turned out, Litwak's was a quaint little arcade. Hiro had been to Flynns, which was notably more modern and made Litwak's feel retro in comparison. It wasn't necessarily a bad thing, of course, but it felt a little strange and took some getting used to. Honey, on the other hand, was right at home. The owner of the arcade seemed to be quite familiar with Honey, Hiro swiftly discovered. Almost immediately upon entry, he greeted her by name and the two drummed up a chat like they were old friends. Honey eagerly introduced him to Hiro, whom awkwardly accepted a handshake from the friendly old man and found himself invited to try out a few of the games on the house.

Most of the games were pretty old, some dating back to the eighties, but tucked away on one end were several newer ones (Hiro noticed Honey Lemon eyeing Hero's Duty curiously before passing it by), and every machine was remarkably well cared for despite showing apparent age. The machines had been fitted with point-card slots, although several of the older ones still had the option of slipping in quarters. When Litwak presented Hiro with a small pile of coins to play whatever he liked to start him off, Hiro gladly accepted and began browsing the arcade, looking for any interesting games that caught his eye. He ended up playing several rounds of Fix-It Felix Jr before moving on to Pac-Man. Before long he found himself on the other side trying out several of the fighting games, but he didn't dare stray anywhere near Dance Dance Revolution - not that he would even get a chance to, considering the long line of quarters indicating the number of people waiting their turn to try it out.

Hiro was about to slide a quarter into one of the racing games when he noticed Honey Lemon approaching Litwak, a worried expression covering her usual bubbly smile. Litwak seemed dismissive at first, but a few more words from Honey quickly shifted his expression into something a little more tired and serious. Hiro watched as their exchanged evolved into a worried discussion, their words shielded by the noise and music coming from the other machines. Hiro leaned in, angling his ear to hope and catch a few snippets of the conversation.

"They've been at it for a week now," Litwak said. "Always the same two, trying to find a way in. All black, wearing theater masks."

"Have you told the police?" Honey asked, worry evident in her features.

Litwak gave a dejected sigh and shrugged. "They're looking into it. I managed to catch one of 'em last night. Hit the side of his mask, gave it a nice big crack. Fella wasn't too happy about it, he kept yelling about how he'd be back."

But they still got away, Hiro noted. There were criminals on the loose, and they were targeting an old arcade at the edge of town. It made more sense for thieves to target jewel exhibits or banks or weapon caches; what would they want from an arcade?

"Do you know what they want?"

"Probably just want to get into the coin machine. There's nothin' else in here. Gotta say, though, they're pretty persistent for a few petty thieves..."

Hiro didn't buy it for a second. Unless someone was that strapped for cash, they wouldn't try for a week straight to break into an arcade to steal a bit of money. They would have moved on to an easier target by now.

Honey didn't speak with Litwak for much longer, and the rest of their conversation was drowned out by a few nearby patrons bursting into a playful argument about who won their last round in a fighting game. Hiro could make out Litwak placing a comforting hand on Honey's shoulder, and her smiling back before they exchanged a few more words and parted. Honey made her way toward Hiro immediately after, reaching in her purse for a quarter. "You heard the whole thing, didn't you?"

"Yeah."

"Litwak won't admit it but I think he's pretty worried," she said, glancing back at the arcade's owner. He was currently assisting the previously arguing patrons with Pac-Man; apparently the machine wasn't accepting their quarters.

"Want me to get the others?" Hiro offered, already reaching for his phone. It was a trained habit of his by now to contact the others at any sign of trouble.

Honey, however, shook her head. "This doesn't seem like a supervillain thing to me, Hiro. We might not need everyone."

She had a point, Hiro reluctantly admitted to himself. While typically he preferred to work with the entire group, there were times when they spread their efforts for smaller things. The incident with him and Baymax stopping a runaway tram car came to mind. Gogo had even single-handedly chased down a couple of bank robbers a few weeks ago ("Their getaway van was a joke."). He was about to ask what she had in mind when she walked past him towards the Sugar Rush console. "They're not going to show up here until night falls. We've got time to figure this out." And just like that, her worried expression made way for her usual optimistic, cheery smile. She slid gracefully into one of the seats and slipped in a quarter. "Wanna give this one a shot, Hiro?"

"I bet I can beat you in a race," Hiro said, feeling his usual competitive grin slide onto his face as he slid into the seat next to her.

Honey Lemon grinned playfully right back at him.

Hiro was convinced that Honey Lemon had cheated. The race was practically over before he'd even rounded the first turn in the track. Honey Lemon, as it turned out, was an expert at Sugar Rush, completely dominating just about any course they entered. She picked the same character every time - a hoodie-clad girl known as Vanellope von Schweetz - and through some crazy trick always managed to be one step ahead of him. It was quite blink-and-you-miss-it; if he hadn't known any better, he'd say she was exploiting a glitch to win against him. When he voiced this, Honey laughed it off, saying she discovered the trick ages ago and would be happy to show him how later. "Later" ended up being "next visit", however, since it was getting close to closing time and Honey had a few chores to finish up at home.

After being dropped off and saying goodnight, Hiro headed inside and went up the stairs, going straight for the kitchen. Aunt Cass had sent him a text message on the way back home telling him not to stay out too late and that there were leftovers in the fridge. Sure enough, there were leftover hot wings in a small plastic container next to some rice. Hiro pulled it out and headed for the microwave, noting that Aunt Cass had once again left the TV on. He'd flip it off before he went upstairs.

Popping the container into the microwave, Hiro made his way to the couch to sit down and turn over a few thoughts in his head. he couldn't fathom what anyone would want with an old, retro arcade like Litwak's. If they were after money, they were definitely being persistent. He couldn't brush the feeling that something else was up. Did they want one of the game machines, perhaps? Nothing behind the prize counter looked tempting enough for constant attempts at thievery either, unless someone was Fred-level hardcore at collecting certain things. Then again, even Fred drew the line somewhere...

The microwave beeped and Hiro pulled out his dinner - glancing habitually over at Baymax, whom was deactivated in his suitcase near the sofa. No doubt he'd be gently scolded and told to find something else to eat, but Hiro had too much on his mind to give that much thought. He was just reaching for a glass of water when his phone vibrated in his pocket. Setting down the hot wings, he pulled out his phone, swiping the lock screen and peering at a text message from Wasabi.

Turn on the news!

Hot wings lay forgotten on the counter as Hiro vaulted over the counter - and Mochi, incidentally - and grabbed the remote, flipping it from his aunt's favorite movie channel to the local news station.

"...ction known as Flynn's Arcade suffered a break-in earlier this evening. There appears to be massive property damage, and while it looks like no one was injured..."

Hiro sat up in his chair. Footage rolled by of the heavily-damaged Flynn's Arcade. There was an enormous hole in the wall, and a few of the game machines within appeared to be smashed. There were still sparks coming out of them, and there appeared to be another gaping hole further in, leading to what appeared to be a back office. There was debris everywhere and fire was still being put out in a few places. Policemen stood around warily, speaking with what appeared to be witnesses. Whoever pulled this off wasn't a run-of-the-mill crook; Hiro had made enough rounds with Baymax and the others by now to know a major threat when he saw one. His fingers twitched towards his phone; he had his friends on speed-dial in case anything was up. He hoped he wouldn't need it.

"...owner could not be reached for a comment. Authorities urge the public to contact the police if they have any information on the suspects."

Images appeared on the screen of the supposed suspects fleeing the scene on the security cameras. Two figures dressed in black, wearing theater masks. One of them had a crack spreading out from the left side of the forehead.

"Hit the side of his mask, gave it a nice big crack. Fella wasn't too happy about it, he kept yelling about how he'd be back."

Hiro's fingers flew over the keypad of his phone, pulling up a familiar group text chat and tapping in letters as he slipped his backpack on and grabbed Baymax's suitcase from beside the couch. He was already flying down the stairs and racing out the side door towards the garage by the time he hit send:

guys get ur suits n meet me at litwaks hry

Baymax hardly had time to finish voicing his concerns about Hiro's current emotional state by the time Hiro lost patience and hastily explained what was happening. Fortunately, the robot was compliant and patient as always, and he didn't need to delve into any detail while hastily assembling the robotic nurse's armor before tending to his own attire. After putting on his helmet, Hiro strode around back and climbed up onto Baymax's back. "The arcade's not far. We can't fly the whole way there or those guys might see us." Baymax on foot wasn't particularly stealthy either, but armored footsteps were still a lot quieter than his flight thrusters. "Scanner working?"

There was a moment as Baymax's head rose, turning carefully left and right before refocusing on Hiro. "My: enhanced scanner is functioning properly."

"Good. If you see anyone in a mask, scan them." If these two were slippery, he didn't want to lose track of them. Even so, Hiro was hoping this didn't end up getting out of hand. Being able to detect signs of life was a handy trick to have on board, and after several incidents where it inadvertently turned the odds in their favor he certainly didn't take it for granted.

Built as he was, Baymax was hardly stealthy, but by some miracle he and Hiro managed to make it to the arcade without drawing attention from anything aside from a stray cat or two in the alleys. Gogo was the first one at the arcade; she'd even showed up before Hiro and Baymax. Wasabi wasn't long after her, having brought Fred and Honey Lemon in his car (which he parked neatly away behind the nearby grocery store). There were no formalities when they all ran up to one another; by now they all knew that a rushed text from anyone meant that things were serious.

"Looks like this place is still in one piece," Honey Lemon commented, looking more than a little relieved.

"If we're lucky they haven't made it yet," Hiro replied, his voice hushed. "Did you guys see the news? About those guys that broke into Flynn's?"

"No," Gogo replied, "But I passed by it on the way."

"So did we," Fred said, jabbing his thumb behind him down the street. Even from this distance, sirens could still be heard as more police cars made their way to the scene. "The place was a wreck! The windows were busted, there was this huge hole in the wall-"

"-and they definitely stole something from Flynn's," Gogo interrupted. "There were marks all over the floor inside when I went to take a look. Something got dragged out of there."

So there was something bigger than cash at stake here. Hiro almost hated to be right about this. The only question now was what they took, and what they wanted from Litwak's. "D'you think they're here yet?" Hiro asked.

"There is a van."

One could always count on Baymax to be keenly observant at just the right time. Everyone followed the robot's gaze to a black van parked near the back of the arcade. Looking back up at Baymax, Hiro realized that he hardly even needed to ask; the robot had already finished scanning the premesis. "My sensors are detecting: two individuals inside the building."

Hiro's stomach sank with a sense of dread. The criminals had beaten them here. If they wanted Litwak's standing to see another day, they needed to move, and they needed to move fast. Litwak's was in a much quieter part of town than Litwak's, so the risk of injuries to innocent bystanders was low, but that was where the good news stopped.

"So what's the plan?" Fred asked, his usual enthusiasm present. He seemed to be the only one not immediately apprehensive about this particular outing, aside from Gogo who was stern and hard to read as usual.

"We're going to get in there and find them before they cause any trouble," Hiro said almost immediately. "Baymax, guard the back door and make sure they don't get out that way. Fred, get the front. Gogo, you stay outside in case one of them gets past us. Chase 'em down if you have to. Wasabi, Honey, inside with me. Either catch those guys or flush them out of one of the doors so the others can. We wanna catch them, but we also don't want anything damaged." He turned to Honey Lemon. "You know this place better than any of us. Anything we should know?

Honey nodded. "It's an arcade, so there should be enough noise to cover us, but there's a lot of light so it'll be harder to hide. The only places that are dark and quiet are the prize corner and the office in the back. And whatever you do, don't let them unplug any of the game machines."

There was a collective and silent "Wait, what?" from just about everyone in the group, save Baymax who opted for a soft, mechanical blink. Hiro quirked an eyebrow. "We won't, Honey, but...why?"

"It's one of Litwak's superstitions. I'll explain later, okay?"

This hardly seemed like the time for superstitions, but Honey seemed adamant about this. He'd have to trust her for now. "Alright. Move out, everyone!"

Gogo was at her post before anyone had even taken a step. Baymax followed Hiro, Wasabi and Honey around the back to see them in while Fred remained vigilant near the front door (he made some comment about being a valiant protector which took most of Hiro's willpower not to react to). The back door, predictably, had been pried open, but when the group stepped inside the criminals were nowhere to be seen.

"They've gotta be in here somewhere," Hiro whispered. "Split up and speak up if you see anything."

"Got it," Honey replied, gingerly darting off into the darkness and weaving her way around the machines. She hadn't the speed that Gogo had, but in small spaces she was particularly agile. Wasabi headed for the front of the arcade, leaving Hiro to inspect the office and the prize corner along with the section containing the older games.

For some time, there was no sign of the criminals anywhere. Nothing seemed to be out of place, although it was downright eerie hearing arcade ambiance when there was no one else around. Hiro was just about to head for the prize corner when he stepped on something uneven. Looking down, he noticed a thick wire underfoot. It snaked among the games and out of his view. He would have mistaken it for a power cord to hook up the machines with, but usually those were covered in some way by either tape or a plastic strip of some sort. This one was left bare. "Guys," he whispered. "I think I found something."

"What is it?" He heard Wasabi asked.

"Some kind of cable," Hiro replied. "Honey, do you remember any power cords running past the walkways in here?"

"Mr. Litwak keeps them out of the way so no one will trip on them, so...no, not really. Why?"

Hiro looked down at the cord again, this time following it in the other direction. It was heading straight into Litwak's office. "It's leading into the office," he said. "I'm gonna follow it and see if it's them. Be ready in case anything happens."

One of the upsides to not having anything else attached to or otherwise accessorizing his suit (aside from the powerful magnets built into the hands, feet and knees) meant that, on his own, Hiro could manage some relatively impressive stealth. He slid past the machines, the noise from title demo screens covering his approach, and leaned his head close to the doorway to Litwak's office. It was open, but it was too dark to immediately see anything. Instead, he opted to listen in. Sure enough, there were a few hushed voices coming from inside.

"-just use the computer?"

"Because the computer isn't hooked up to any of the games, moron. Besides, the computer doesn't have what we're after."

"Right, right..."

"Look, let's just set the thing up and get this over with, alright? The sooner we get those things, the sooner we can move on with the plan."

Hiro peeked around the corner. Sure enough, the two criminals were inside. Both dressed in black, both wearing theater masks. One of them was fiddling with what appeared to be some kind of machine. This must be what they took from Flynn's, Hiro thought. It looked like some kind of weapon, judging from the shape of the barrel, although it was odd that it sat on what appeared to be some kind of tripod. There were several panels coming off the sides (Light panels, maybe?) and there were three thick cables coming off the back, two of which were plugged into the nearby power outlets. Still, it was just the right size to sneak in through one of the doors and certainly small enough for two adults to carry in a hurry, although with its awkward bulk he could see the need for the van. But why set up a weapon in an arcade? More importantly, why did Flynn's have such a thing?

"Remind me why we're doing this again?" one of the men asked.

The man near the machine - the one with the cracked mask, Hiro realized - groaned. "Because we can get whatever the heck we want with this. Duh. We just gotta hook it up to the right game."

"What happens after that?"

"Were you even paying attention earlier?! Don't make me go through this again!"

Listening in should have provided him with clues, but instead it made him even more confused. It looked as though the two wouldn't be escaping anytime soon - the only other exit was the window, and it was close enough to the back door that Baymax would notice and alert Gogo if they tried to break the screen and jump out. Hiro slid back around the corner. "I found them!" He whispered frantically. "They're in the office! They've got something with them!"

"What is it?"

"I don't know. It looks like it should be some kind of weapon, but I can't get a good enough look from here."

"Wasabi and I are coming. Tell us what you can see from there!"

Hiro inched towards the door again, leaning around the corner again and hoping to get a decent view of the machine hidden in the room. He had a decent view of it, but there was something missing.

"They're gone!"

"What?!"

"I-I dunno, they juts vanished!" This made no sense. They were right there! The window wasn't even open, they hadn't slipped past him... "Did you guys see anything outside?!"

"Nope."

"Nothing here, buddy."

Hiro ground his teeth anxiously. "Baymax? Can you find them?"

"I am no longer detecting the: two signals from earlier."

His panic turned into outright confusion. That couldn't be right. There was no way that was right. They were right there, in that room! If they left through the window, it would be open, broken, or they would have known. If they'd gone through the door, Hiro would have seen them, and they'd still be in the arcade for Baymax to detect. How was this possible? More importantly, why had they left behind their cargo?

Honey and Wasabi appeared behind him within moments, and when he cast a glance at them, they looked just as stunned as he was. "Hiro," Honey began, "Are you sure they were here...?"

"Positive," Hiro replied, slowly walking into the room, Honey and Wasabi following him. "I heard them talking and everything. They said something about Litwak's computer not having what they were after."

"Did they mention anything else?" Gogo's voice asked over his earpiece.

"Just something about hooking it up to one of the games."

"What?" Came Wasabi's voice. "What do they want with a bunch of video games?"

"Not sure." Hiro scanned the room for anything else that the criminals could have left behind. There was a small toolbox full of various cables and cable adapters, as well as a small pile of lockpicks and a small crowbar. Oddly enough, most of the toolbox appeared to be empty, and judging from the scuff marks on the inside of it, it hadn't been that way recently. As he leaned forward to dig through, he felt his knee bump into something on the floor. Looking down, he realized it was some kind of button. Huh?

"Hiro?"

Uh-oh.

Hiro turned around to find himself face-to-face with the end of the machine. A bright light was forming at the end of the barrel, and various light panels sticking out from the sides appeared to be flickering to life. A high-pitched whining reached his ears, and his eyes widened in horrified realization: The machine was whirring to life, and he was right in the line of fire.

"HIRO!"

But Hiro found himself inexplicably unable to answer. Not a single limb in his body responded to every desperate urge he sent to run and pull away, and he rapidly felt his skin going painfully numb. Any cry of shock or pain was caught in his throat; his lungs screamed for air but could draw none. His hearing fluctuated, the desperate cries of his friends becoming louder and more blurred until it was an indiscernible mess of deafening sound. The dim lights of the arcade brightened until they threatened to blind him.

There was a loud whirring sound, and then everything went dark.