Chapter Three: Complications

Five sites later, Hiro scuffed his boots in frustration. "They all look the same," he complained. And it was true. Each of the previous locations barely differed, even when it came down to size and depth. He'd had Baymax measure them.

Wasabi finished carving out their sixth sample and handed it to Honey Lemon. "That's way too many for coincidence," he agreed.

GoGo moved around to the far side of the melted metal. "Someone else's been here," she called out as she stared at the ground. "I've got footprints."

"Maybe a seismologist?" Fred suggested.

"Maybe," GoGo answered, but didn't look convinced. "If so, why only in this one? Enough time's passed they could have visited them all. It doesn't make sense."

Baymax swiveled his head to encompass the area. "I do not detect any other life signs within a one mile radius. And those life signs coming from within a two mile radius are not human."

Hiro winced as a high piercing shriek filled his head. He pressed a hand to his helmet, just over his left ear. When he looked around, however, no one else seemed to notice. "Can anyone else hear that?"

Honey Lemon and Wasabi exchanged glances. "Hear what, Hiro?"

"Do you hear anything?" GoGo looked to Fred, who shrugged.

Hiro went down on one knee, both hands now clutching at his helmet. "Ah! Make it stop!"

For all of two seconds, Baymax appeared to contemplate shedding his armor. He thought better of it, though, and moved to the boy's side. "Hiro seems to be experiencing distress. Scans indicate an increase in nociceptor activity, indicating pain. I also detect swelling near the eardrums, increased respirations and pulse."

"Time to get out of here," GoGo nodded towards their fallen leader.

Baymax needed no extra encouragement to scoop the boy up in his arms and engage his wings. GoGo and Honey grabbed onto the robot's wings as he engaged his thrusters, leaving Wasabi and Fred to fend for themselves.

Fred grabbed Wasabi and had him wrap his arms around his lizard suit as he prepared to jump clear of the crater. Thankfully, they weren't too far from decent cover, though they would likely take longer to return to home base than the others.


Baymax shot straight up to clear the fissure they'd been in. Once clear of any obstructions, he changed course to skim just under the lowest clouds while Honey and GoGo clung for dear life. The robot was moving much faster than usual.

Hiro let out a scream, almost flailing like a fish, causing Baymax to lose some altitude as he adjusted for the boy's motions.

From somewhere behind them, a low rumble filled the air. Looking back, Honey gasped in shock. A cloud of dirt and debris shot up from the wooded outskirts of town. The longer she watched, the more obvious it became as to what was going on.

"Another quake," Honey half whispered, her words whipped away by the speed of their flight.

Hiro suddenly went limp and Baymax looked down at his still form. "Oh no," the robot intoned, then looked forward with seeming greater determination. Making a snap judgment, he altered course, heading not for Hiro's house, but for Fred's.

With the Whitmore family usually out of town, Fred's house had become a sort of second base of operations. There, they had more room to move around and do things. They'd even set up a small lab and medical area, in case of injuries that needed to be treated. After all, they couldn't just waltz into a hospital if they were injured doing super hero stuff.

Honey relayed the change of location to Fred and Wasabi, wincing as she heard Wasabi's terror-filled cries over the link. "Might want to stock up on some Dramamine," she mentally noted, well aware of Wasabi's many issues. But if those two could get to a clear enough area, it wouldn't be hard for Fred to radio for help from his butler, Heathcliff.

Using the equivalent of a garage door opener, Baymax sent a signal to open the hidden doors Fred had installed to their wing of the house. He carefully fired off his repulsers to land securely inside the structure before the roof segment moved back into place.

The moment it was safe to do so, Honey and GoGo dropped from Baymax's back, moving to give the robot room. The medical bot moved to a cot and put the unconscious boy down. They could hear his ragged breathing through the helmet, which GoGo removed.

"He doesn't look so good," GoGo commented as she looked at Hiro's sweaty face. The boy was still pale; his lips now tinged purple. "Not good at all."

With the help of Honey Lemon, Baymax shed his armor. "Hiro is in shock," he announced, "though I cannot detect any signs of internal trauma. I will apply oxygen now." He moved to retrieve an oxygen tank nearby. Attaching the necessary accessories, he placed the mask over Hiro's mouth and nose.

Oxygen flowed through the tubing and Honey thought Hiro looked a hint better than before. She thanked her lucky stars they'd thought to make sure their little trauma unit was well stocked. Fred's idea, really. And with Heathcliff more than willing to follow whatever instructions the fan boy gave him, the whole thing had come together rather quickly in a short amount of time. The butler must have some serious connections. "Please be okay," she whispered.

Baymax looked over his patient once more, completing a more thorough scan. "I still cannot detect any internal trauma, other then the previously observed swelling near the eardrums. I do detect a decrease in certain neurotransmitter levels, as well as an unexplainable drop in blood sugar levels."

"What!?" GoGo exclaimed. "That's not possible. We saw him stuffing his face like no more than an hour or two ago. There's no way his body would burn through all that protein and carbs so fast."

Baymax nodded. "I agree. There must be another explanation. I will consult the medical databases online." His face seemed to go blank as he connected to the WI-FI. "Download complete," he announced. "I cannot find any information that explains Hiro's condition."

Honey pressed her hands together. "That's not good." It was very rare that Baymax was stumped. In fact, she couldn't think of a single time when he'd been unable to give a correct diagnosis. "It's not something autoimmune, is it?"

The robot shook his head. "I detect no abnormalities on the cellular level." He paused. "There does seem to be in increase in brain activity," he observed, leaning back towards his patient.

"Tadashi. No!" Hiro gasped from behind the oxygen mask. His words were barely audible. His arms seemed to move of their own accord, reaching out for some unseen object, before falling back to the bed's firm mattress, like limp spaghetti. Tears leaked from his closed eyes and he seemed to wince against some kind of force. "No!"

"Is he dreaming?" GoGo asked, moving closer.

Baymax blinked. "Brain activity indicates that to be a possibility. Probability suggests night terrors. Diagnosis, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder."

"PTSD?" Honey's eyes widened. It wasn't exactly unexpected. Hiro had witnessed his brother's murder, after all. Not to mention all of the crazy missions they'd been on. But what did PTSD have to do with rapidly decreasing blood sugar levels?


Hiro felt like he was falling. The ground would rush up and meet him at any moment now. He just knew it. It was only a matter of when.

The last thing he remembered was head-splitting pain, but it was gone now. Instead, there was an almost cottony numbness. He blinked and found he was back in the portal.

Swaths of cotton candy looking clouds filled his view, most notably in hues of pink and blue. Debris floated around him, the remains of Krei Tech's demolished building. And something else.

Hiro moved his arms and he shot forward, narrowly avoiding various giant shards of glass and steel. Looking around, he realized he was moving without the aid of Baymax. In fact, he couldn't see Baymax at all. Nor was he wearing his custom-built suit. But he was distracted from that thought as he saw a familiar object just ahead.

Navigating around more debris, Hiro came abreast of the capsule they'd found Professor Callaghan's daughter in. The window was frosted over, just like it had been when he and Baymax had found it. He half thought he heard the robot say, "I have located the patient," but wasn't sure.

He grabbed a hold of the capsule, pressing his fingers into a crevice for support. With one hand, he wiped at the frost, his own breath coming out in a fine mist. But when he looked past the glass, his heart seemed to stop.

Instead of Abigail Callaghan's sleeping form facing him, he saw Tadashi. Only he wasn't the same. Burns covered his exposed arms and face. His clothes were blackened. And he was wearing his black cap.

Something knocked into the small ship, sending him spinning away from it as he lost his grip. "Tadashi! No!" he called out, reaching uselessly towards the slowly moving capsule. "No!"

His body turned without him telling it to and his eyes went wide. A giant piece of concrete was heading straight towards him. He flailed, but made no progress. The projectile kept coming and he put up his hands to cover his face, flinching against the inevitable blow.


Hiro let out a strangled scream, making both Honey Lemon and Fred jump. Fred ducked for cover, knocking over everything in his path, including the oxygen tank, which clanged like a clarion bell.

Wasabi went into combat mode, his plasma blades activating as he waved his arms around. He and Fred had only just returned to the Manor after a rather bumpy ride on Fred's back, before Heathcliff had caught up to them with one of the family's many cars. He let out a sound that sounded half scream, half wail as he flailed around.

"Turn those off before you hurt someone!" GoGo yelled, ducking to avoid the frantic man's waving arms. She shot out a leg, sending Wasabi to his back, the sushi chef landing with a bit of a whump as the air was knocked out of him.

Baymax moved closer to Hiro's side, concern somehow showing on his minimalistic face. "I detect an elevation in blood pressure," he announced. "Also, the increase of nociceptors, indicating Hiro is in intense pain."

Honey righted the oxygen tank, checking to make sure everything was still attached while Fred peered up from his seat on the floor. "I wish I knew what was going on," she said, trying not to tear up. Despite having a fairly positive attitude, she was finding it hard to stay cheerful.

Hiro clenched his teeth, groaning as his fists clenched inside his suit. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry," he whispered. Another growl of pain filled his lips, fogging up the oxygen mask as the tears leaked from his eyes.

The door opened and Heathcliff entered the room. "Pardon me, sir," he said, address Fred, "But there is someone at the door."

Fred wormed his way to his feet, confusion written all over his face. "Who?" He shook his head, glancing at his companions. "Uh, hey, guys, guess I'd better go see what's up."

Not wanting to leave Hiro's side, Honey nodded. "Okay. Don't take long."

"I'm going with you," GoGo announced. "Just in case."

Heathcliff looked as non-committal as ever. "Might I suggest removing the suit before greeting your guest, sir?"

Fred twisted around, realizing he was still wearing his gear. He quickly climbed out with a sheepish shrug. "Right. Forgot about that." He and GoGo followed the butler out of the room.

Wasabi finally caught his breath again and was about to cuss GoGo out for flipping him when he realized she was no longer in the room. "Hey, what's going on?"