The worst part of being a superhero wasn't the danger, or the worrying about keeping you're a secret identity, or any of the things people first think of, Honey realized. The worst part about being a superhero was that it was like a big game of whack-a-mole. One bad guy down, another one pops up out of nowhere, usually very badly startling you in the process (at least she had been able to hit that one robber good with a couple chemical balls when he mocked her high-pitched, girly scream of surprise). It had seemed like an eternity of chasing down criminals throughout the city before they finally decided, in Gogo's own words, "Forget this. Let's let the police do their jobs for the rest of the night. I'm getting myself some ice cream." So they had finally been able to strip off their sweaty super suits and take a rest in Fred's basement, or "The Secret Lair," as he called it.
"It's really weird not having Hiro or Baymax around," Gogo observed casually, finishing up the last of her bowl of ice cream. She scraped the edges of the bowl with her spoon.
"Yeah, I guess I never really realized how much they did for the team before," Honey said. "I mean, I knew they were important, obviously," she amended, "it's just that…it really does feel like something's missing, you know? It's a lot harder without them here."
"Agreed," Fred said. "Well, now what?" He asked, leaning back in the sofa, tossing his Stitch pillow up in the air and catching it on the way down.
Gogo shrugged, flopping over the side of the couch and doing a somersault-like movement to land sitting next to Fred. She blew a bubble in her gum. "I dunno. You tell me."
"Do you think they got there all right?" Wasabi asked, fretting as usual. Instead of eating the bowl of ice cream Fred had given him, he mixed it around in his bowl, making a sort of melty pinkish-colored soup.
"I'm sure they did," Honey Lemon reassured him over her steaming cup of tea. She took a sip, sighing happily in its deliciousness. She looked curiously over at Fred. "Where did you get this tea, Fred? It's delicious!"
Fred shrugged. "I dunno. My mom buys it. I'm not really into the whole tea thing." He stretched out, thinking for a moment. "I guess I prefer coffee. Or Gatorade." He sighed and closed his eyes. "Mmm, Gatorade. I could use a Gatorade right now." He straightened. "Anyone else want some?"
"If we have any more caffeine and sugar we're all going to have heart attacks," Wasabi said.
"Says you," Gogo said, casting an appraising look at Wasabi's melted ice cream slush. "I'll have one if you're offering." She settled back, looking up at the ceiling. Like the rest of his basement, the ceiling was slathered with superhero comic posters. One was a fairly recent one. She smirked a little and pointed at it. "Is that us?"
Honey and Wasabi craned their necks to look at it. Fred laughed a little and rubbed the back of his neck. "I saw it at the comic store and I had to get it."
"We look good," Gogo nodded her head approvingly.
Wasabi squinted. "The artist didn't draw my nose right."
Gogo rolled her eyes as Honey cocked her head. "I think your nose looks fine."
"No it doesn't. It's shaped weird, see?" Wasabi pointed.
"Weirder than usual?" Gogo asked Fred snickered, earning a glare from Wasabi.
"I'm serious. It's-"
"Hold on." Honey's phone buzzed in her pocket. She pulled it out and squealed in excitement. "It's Hiro!"
"Hiro?!" The rest of the team scrambled up from their seats and rushed over to Honey, who answered it. The boring blue and green calling screen was replaced by Hiro's grinning face. Honey held the camera out so that each of them were visible. They all huddled together to be seen more clearly.
"Hermano!" Honey squealed in delight.
Hiro smiled, the sun shining through a nearby window and in the strands of his hair. While it was either very late at night or very early in the morning in San Fransokyo (Wasabi hadn't seen a clock in a while), it must be only afternoon all the way in Metroville. "Hey, guys!" Hiro said cheerfully.
"Oh, man. It's good that you're okay. Eighty-seven percent of plane accidents happen on planes, you know!"
"Yeah, he wouldn't shut up about it the whole time you've been gone," Gogo said. "Plus, where do you get those statistics from? Paranoid Digest?"
"Actually, they're from People magazine," Wasabi corrected her.
"Dude!" Fred grinned. "You hit that seafood buffet yet? Did you try the lobster roll? It's really good, right?"
"Fred, we just got here."
"How is it over there? Is the family nice?" Honey asked.
An odd look flashed over Hiro's face, but for so brief a moment that it was barely detectable. "Yeah, they're really great."
"Who's in this family anyway?" Gogo asked, folding her arms.
"Uh, let's see. Um, there's Cass's friend Helen, and her husband Bob. And then there's their two sons. The youngest one's almost my age, his name is Jack, and then the oldest is about your guys's age, his name's Dash."
"Our age?" Asked Wasabi inquisitively. "Like, college age?"
Hiro nodded. "They're all okay, I guess. Except the Jack kid. I dunno what his problem is."
"Is he giving you a hard time?" Gogo asked, casually, but with just enough menace to make her tone seem threatening.
Hiro shrugged. "Nah, he's just a weirdo. Like, perpetually in a crappy mood." He cleared his throat. "How are you guys?"
"I almost set myself on fire!" Fred cheerfully volunteered before Wasabi nudged him in the ribs.
"We're doing fine. Fred's just being Fred." Wasabi said.
Hiro looked somewhat relieved. "Oh. So you guys have been able to take care of all the…the crime stuff?"
Gogo smirked. "Why wouldn't we?"
"Well, I know that-"
Gogo held up a hand, silencing him. "You shouldn't be worrying about us. Tell me more about Virginia. What's it like?"
Hiro gave her an odd look. "Why do you want to know?"
Gogo shrugged. "Maybe I've always wanted to go."
The statement surprised Hiro. Gogo Tomago always wanted to go to Virginia, of all places? "Uh…it's nice, I guess," Hiro said. "Different." He rubbed the back of his neck with his hand. The climate was rather like San Fransokyo's, so that part didn't change, it was just the environment. Where San Fransokyo was sleek and busy in its bustling sleek, East-West city, Metroville was clean, crisp and angular, a modern yet oddly 1960s vibe that mirrored some of the cities featured in Fred's comic books (Okay, so he had "borrowed" a couple of Fred's comic books once or twice. Shoot him). Since Hiro had always lived in San Fransokyo, a new place, especially one so different from his home, was jarring to him.
"OOH! I almost forgot!" Fred jumped into the frame, almost knocking Honey Lemon over. "If you see any superheroes, like the Incredibles or Frozone or anybody, get their autographs for me!"
Hiro swallowed. "Yeah. I'll do that!"
Aunt Cass's voice offscreen called Hiro's name. "Sorry, guys, I gotta go."
"Bye!" The friends waved.
"Adios, Hiro. We love you!" Honey said.
Fred held his arms out strangely. "I'm giving you an air hug, sent through Express Mail straight to you!"
"Bye," Hiro smiled as his friends' faces disappeared from the screen of his phone.
Honey lowered the phone and put it back in her pocket. "I'm glad he's doing okay," Honey said. "I was worried about him."
"Yeah. It's good he's actually enjoying himself for a change," Gogo said. "Besides, the kid needed a vacation. He works too hard."
"Yeah. Dude, you're killing me," Fred said, watching Wasabi stir the ice cream in his bowl for the approximate three hundred-thirty-seventh time. "Come on. Jeeves churned that ice cream himself."
Wasabi looked up. "He did?"
"No. It's actually Blue Bunny. But it's really good."
Honey shifted uncomfortably. She was a little bit worried. After all, they had had a little bit of a hard time getting the crime under control, something that Baymax and Hiro's presence would have made at least a little easier. For a fleeting moment she wondered if they would be able to keep the crime rate under control without their help. But she shook it off almost at once. Of course they would. Right?
Hiro flipped the top of his laptop down and got out of his swivel chair. The room he was staying in had been Dash's. Ever since the older boy had left for college the room had been stripped of Dash's band and movie posters, video game cases, track and field trophies and old clothes, all of which had been neatly put away in the closet. The result was a reasonably clean room with blue walls and a red carpet, both Hiro's favorite colors. Sunlight filtered through the blinds and onto the carpet and bed, which was occupied by Baymax (in suitcase form) and his actual bag full of stuff.
"Hiro!" Cass called again. "Time for dinner!"
"Coming!" Hiro replied.
Cass and Helen were finishing the salad. "…And then I had to pretend drive him to the hosipital," Helen said, grating the last hunk of cheddar over the chopped vegetables. "I didn't even know where the hospital was!" She chuckled fondly at the memory.
"That is hilarious!" Cass laughed, slicing the tomato in half.
Helen shook her head. "Oh, God. Weeks of scar makeup, Bob had to hide in the house for three days while he supposedly had surgery. It was a mess."
Cass scraped off the rest of the tomatoes from the cutting board to the bowl of salad, tapping it with the side of the knife for good measure. "That it?" Cass asked.
"Think so," Helen grinned and brought the salad bowl over to the table. Bob finished putting a slab of meatloaf on each plate and sat down at the head of the table. Dash and JackJack entered. Jack-Jack was glowering at his older brother.
"It wasn't funny, Dash."
"What are you talking about? It was hilarious," Dash said.
"What wasn't funny?" Bob asked, putting a helping of mashed potatoes on his plate.
"Dash turned everything in my room upside-down when I had my back turned," Jack-Jack complained.
Bob paused, his forkful of potato quivering in mid-air between his plate and his mouth. "Everything?"
"Even the bed," Jack-Jack said morosely. "I had to turn everything back over again."
Bob fought the smile that was slowly spreading across his face. "Dash," he said, unconvincingly angry, "you should know better."
Jack-Jack scowled at the floor. When he thought Jack-Jack wasn't looking, Bob gave Dash a high-five. Jack-Jack turned, affronted.
"Dad!"
"Oh, come on, Jack-Jack, where's your sense of humor?"
Bob ruffled Jack-Jack's hair playfully to let him know he was just teasing. Jack-Jack stared murderously at his dinner all the same.
"Dash, sit down," Helen commanded. "Where's Hiro?"
"Right here," Hiro said, taking the seat next to Cass. "What's this? Meatloaf?"
"Yep," Helen said, grinning. "Would you like some mashed potatoes, Hiro?"
"Sure, thanks."
"So you own a café, Ms. Hamada?" Dash asked smoothly, helping himself to a portion of the salad.
"Ms. Hamada? Whoo, that's formal. Like an English teacher or something. Seriously, just call me Cass." Cass smiled. "Yeah, I own a little place called the Lucky Cat."
"That sounds cool."
"It is. We even have beat poetry night." Cass said proudly.
Bob took a bite of the salad. And frowned. And took nother bite. He speared a piece of lettuce, dripping with Cass's own glistening salad dressing, and inspected it. Cass regarded him worriedly.
"Is it all right?" She asked.
"It's…really, really good," Bob said, "And…I don't know why."
"It's the dressing," Helen said. "What's it called again, Cass?"
"I don't really have like, a name for it yet. But it's like a sesame-oil based thing, with spices and herbs in it," Cass explained. Bob nodded in approval.
"It's good."
"Very good, Cass." Dash supplied suavely.
Cass beamed. Hiro started in on his meatloaf. It was pretty good…he noticed Jack-Jack wasn't eating any. In an effort to start a conversation, Hiro asked, "Not a fan of meatloaf, huh?"
Jack-Jack glanced sullenly up at him. "I'm just not hungry for meatloaf right now."
Hiro quirked an eyebrow. "So what are you hungry for?"
Dash grinned. "Penny Brewster," he coughed. Jack-Jack's head turned to him to quickly Hiro was surprised it didn't make a snapping noise.
"Shut up, Dash!" Jack-Jack yelled.
"Don't shout at the table!" Helen said. She frowned at Dash. "Really?"
"Sorry, mom. I'll behave," Dash took a sip of his iced tea to hide his smirk. He wiped off his mouth and turned to Hiro. "So. Mr. College Guy." He wiped off his mouth with the back of his hand. "What do you do in your free time?"
"Uh…work on my projects, I guess. And hang out with my friends."
"Friends?"
"Yeah. Uh, Wasabi, Gogo, Honey Lemon, and Fred."
"Is it a requirement in your city to have weird names?" Jack-Jack asked. Unseen by everyone, Helen stretched her hand under the table, where she gave Jack-Jack's leg a sharp pinch. Jack-Jack jumped up in surprise. "Ow!"
"Those are just their nicknames." Hiro explained, trying to keep his patience.
Dash narrowed his eyes, cocking his head to the side. "Must be weird, being the youngest kid on campus," he observed. "Just curious, how did you meet all your friends? When did the older kids start hanging with you?"
"Well, Tadashi…they were his friends. I started hanging out with them when I started college," Hiro said.
"Tadashi? Who's that?" Jack-Jack asked snidely. "Another nerd friend of yours?"
Had it been another circumstance, another choice of words, Hiro probably would have let it go. This kid obviously had no idea that there had originally been two Hamada boys, and he probably wasn't so much of a jerk that he would've said the same thing if he had known. But unfortunately, Jack-Jack had just by chance used the one word Hiro hated most to describe one of the people that Hiro had loved the most. Hiro stiffened in his chair, feeling Aunt Cass's comforting hand on his shoulder but barely hearing her words.
"Hiro, honey…"
"I'm fine," Hiro said, brushing her hand off of his shoulder and getting up. He left the room without another word.
Jack-Jack's parents glared at him. "Jack-Jack Parr!" His mother said sternly.
"What did I do?" Jack-Jack asked.
"Tadashi was his brother," Helen growled.
Jack-Jack paused, confusion turning into realization. Tadashi was Hiro's—oh. Oh.
"Go and apologize this instant," Helen said, pointing to the door.
"Now." Bob added.
Jack-Jack got up and followed Hiro.
Back in Dash's room, Hiro almost hit himself over the head. It's been almost a year now. Why was he being such a wuss about it all? Shouldn't he have moved on already?
Oh, but it still hurt. Hiro wished it didn't, but it did, and he really wanted it to go away…
Hiro set the suitcase on the ground. "Ow," he told it. The case immediately opened and out popped Baymax. He whirred to life.
"I am Baymax, your personal healthcare assistant. On a scale of one to ten, how would you rate your pain?"
"I'm not hurt, Baymax. I just needed to talk to somebody for a bit."
Baymax blinked. "My scanners indicate five other human beings in the residence. Why won't you speak with them?"
"Not in the mood," Hiro muttered as Baymax scanned him.
"Scan complete. Your brain's neurotransmitters are showing increasing levels of anxiety."
Suddenly, the door opened. Jack-Jack stepped in.
"Look, my mom says I have to say I'm so-" He began, stopping abruptly at the sight of the giant inflatable robot standing in the room with Hiro.
"Hello. I am Baymax, your personal healthcare assistant," Baymax introduced himself.
"What the heck?" Jack-Jack asked.
Author's Note- Once again, I apologize for the delay in updates. I really am. Hopefully you guys liked this chapter enough to make up for it!
A couple of quickies-for those of you who haven't read my story "English Class," the reason Hiro hates the "nerd" word may not have made a whole lot of sense. Read it. Seriously, it's all explained in there. Also, I practically copied the "Jack-Jack crush" dialogue at dinner with the "Violet crush" dialogue at dinner from the Incredibles movie. I love that piece of dialogue so much I had to put it in there. I just had to. And last but not least, the story that Helen is telling Cass while they're making salad is actually a deleted scene from the Incredibles. If you have the DVD, it's on the special features.
Thank you all for not only putting up with my sporadic updates, but also reading my story and letting me know what you think of it all. You guys are awesome.
See you soon!
Narwhals Forever
