"My healthcare protocol has been violated. I regret any distress I may have caused."
Tadashi survives the fire, but not without consequences. Callaghan takes advantage, Hiro mourns, and Abigail slumbers, but nothing is as it seems.
…
Part I: Let the Flames Begin
Flames roared loud above the cries of the desperate escapees of the blaze. Hissing, spitting, crackling, the fire drowned out the otherwise guilt-inducing sounds, and with it any possibility of remorse in Robert Callaghan's pain-seared heart. This was only necessary, he reminded himself, gritting his teeth. Klaxons blared and blinked, but the vengeful professor was undeterred, forging through the destruction.
Had he been in any state near to stability, he might have questioned the extremity of his actions. As it was, he was nowhere near any such thing, that clipped exchange with Krei having rekindled a festering rage he'd thought long gone. Oh, he'd tried to move on, seeking therapy and counsel in the months after Abigail's death, but empty words and sympathetic looks only went so far. He'd let the initial blistering fury die down, cutting off contact with that blasted company, and found himself with a hole, a blankness where there should've been emotion. Callaghan had been sinking for a while, and hadn't done anything to stop it, deciding it was better than the murderous mania that he hated to admit had scared him in the beginning.
But no longer. Krei's appearance, though fleeting and ineffectual, had reignited that burning passion, and Hiro Hamada's microbots were all too convenient. It had been, by all means, a spontaneous and undoubtedly risky plan, but Callaghan had lost all too much to care anymore.
Barreling through the exhibits and displays, most having been trampled as presenters and observers alike fled the inferno, the professor headed toward the presentation that had so utterly stolen the show earlier that evening. He just needed the neurocranial transmitter, and then he could make his escape, the key part to his revenge plot secured. Triumphantly seizing the device, he slipped it over his head, ready to command the microbots.
"Professor! Professor Callaghan!" A voice familiar to the professor's ear called, searching.
Callaghan's eye widened. There was no reason for the other Hamada to be here. Had he suspected? What was he doing here?
No matter. There was no time to be lost, and especially with the imminent explosion. He'd set up a particularly explosive array of experiments in just the place to destroy remaining evidence. It would take out the building with it, and cover his escape. He called the microbots to him, summoning up a protective shell-
Tadashi Hamada rounded the corner, eyes wide and anxious. "Professor! Are you hurt? Hurry, we need to-"
A rumble cut off the student, as the burning building's very frame began to shake. Callaghan eyed a beam above his favorite pupil's head in concern. The boy had come for what? To save him? Clearly caring, but foolish- diving into danger without any knowledge of what he'd have to do or where to look to save his supposed victim- it would have been too late, anyway. Hamada's eyes were wide with wonder as he spotted the microbots. Blast, thought Callaghan, aware he'd now have to deal with a witness. He didn't know what there was to do, however, and with the building beginning to collapse, he was out of thinking time. A crack sounded, and the beam above Hamada's head began sliding. All too aware of the impending doom for both of them if he didn't act soon, Callaghan sighed.
He shot forward, forming a seething shell of microbots around him and the student, just as a explosion rocked the structure, and the beam descended. A surge of heat somehow breached the buffer formed by the bots, but it was too dark to clearly make out what was happening. Callaghan heard, just above the crash of the beam, a scream, but could not stop, focusing on the more important task: escaping the building.
In the vehicle provided by the microbots, Callaghan began to head home.
...
Author's Note: Hey y'all. Just doing some spring cleaning of my fanfiction inventory, I've had this one sitting around for about a year so I decided to actually try and write it. Lo and behold, it's actually working. I've got a plan all laid out and everything. This should be about six parts, and the next few parts will probably be a lot longer.
I'm actually really excited for this fic, it was initially inspired by a Winter Soldier!AU fan comic I saw of BH6, and once I started plotting everything unraveled. I hope to finish this before school starts again. The title of the first chapter was inspired by the song by Paramore.
Leave a review to tell me how it is, how you are, or how I am as an author!
