Author's Note: Before I begin, I just wanted to say I found the artist who did the baby!Hiro fanart that inspired another story of mine, Compassion. Really a relief and I just sent a request for this fanart idea I never saw done before. Too bad they only do commissions and those are pricey. Maybe after college is done... I'm just glad to see they're still around.

Jathagarth: Yes, The Force Awakens is definitely going somewhere in this story. Don't worry, Rey won't be superpowered like the fandom thinks she is. I plan on making her more down to earth based on her upbringing, which is hinted in this chapter. How it turns out is mostly based on what I have in mind for the tale.

(Guest/Lucy): I'm glad you are enjoying the Hamada Bros' interactions. Though, I do intend on adding things to make them feel more realistic, so watch out. Oh yeah, Judy and Bogo are a big part of the story, too.

On to the story, then!


Rey's up before the sun rises, the previous night being a physically exhausting one. She barely had time to lie down on her bed before sleep overtook her in an instant.

She never realized that was possible until she experienced it, it always sounded a lot like an exaggeration on exhaustion. Rey rubbed the sleep out of her eyes and stumbled into the little bathroom in her apartment. She jumped at the sound of mechanical chirping and spun around, grabbing an old baseball bat on the floor as a weapon. Seeing it was just BB-8, Rey sighed and let the bat drop to the floor with a loud thud!

"Don't scare me like that." Rey grumbled, stifling back a yawn as she knelt down and pat the bot's head in greeting. She winced, remembering the bruises from the previous night. "I'm going to take a shower, now. I'll be done in a few minutes. Don't leave this room."

One day of knowing him and I'm treating him like some sort of pet. Rey mused as she turned the water to hot and let it stream down from the shower head. She grabbed a bar of soap and stripped down to nothing. I hope he finds his friend, whoever that may be.

She had given up the prospect of learning anything else about BB-8 aside from the few words he gave out freely. If he wanted to keep secrets, she ought to respect it to the best of her ability. Just like BB-8 respected her privacy.

Rey finished scrubbing the grease off her hands and wiped them off with a used rag. Her boss, Mr. Plutt – fat bastard never lets me have a moment! – stomped over to her with that frozen scowl of his on his face, as if everything he saw was a disappointment.

"You almost done, girl." He snarled. Plutt would never call Rey by her actual name, she knew that much from living the past 14 years under his roof.

"Yes." Rey said quietly, her hand touching a monkey wrench as she dropped the rag.

Don't do anything you'll regret. She told herself. He's the reason you're working here. He got you a job, he's paying you, you just need to tolerate his presence for ten hours a day with weekends free.

"Good." Plutt waved his hand dismissively at her. "Finish up and you can leave."

The words didn't get out fast enough; Rey worked on placing her equipment back in their original spots and went into the restroom to scrub her face. Two minutes later, she did everything in her power not to run out of the shop like a kicked dog with its tail between its legs.

She was never so thankful for her birthday until last year, when Rey finally became of age and could move out of Plutt's home. Being dropped on his doorstep with hopes that someone would come back for her didn't make life easy.

Thank goodness, he never made her sleep in a broom closet, though.

Rey couldn't for the life of her understand why she was left in the hands of someone who valued money over others. Why was she placed into the custody of a man that treated her like a nuisance if she did nothing wrong to deserve it? Why?

"You want to live here, earn your keep." He growled at her on her twelfth year. The first week since that declaration was spent struggling to figure out how. Maintaining house wasn't enough, apparently. And then, it came to her when she was kicking a can on the street in frustration after school on day. It wasn't much, even in quantity, but it kept Plutt off her back. Rey started becoming more daring, looking for pieces to salvage beyond bottles and cans, started fixing them up when she could and then selling them to buyers.

There wasn't much money to be kept from those sales, however. Plutt began charging her for food, board and lodgings, water, and electricity; leaving her with only scraps for herself.

The only decent thing he has done recently was giving her a job to work at his mechanics' shop. The apartment didn't come up until several months of living on the curb, storing whatever money she got into a recently acquired bank account She never thought she'd miss a bed so much until the day she moved into her new home.

Rey felt her phone buzzing in her pocket and pulled it out. A text message from Tadashi, asking if she's seen his little brother. A photo was sent several moments later, but she had several conversations with Tadashi to know who he was talking about.

She smiled at the picture sent; a small boy with messy black hair sitting crisscross on the floor using a small screwdriver on a robot made of assorted parts – was there a doorknob in it? – clearly not aware that he was having a picture taken of himself.

Well, how far could the kid have gone? Rey thought. A third text had her eyebrows going up.

P.S. He Bot-fights.

Rey didn't know where to start looking, since she never participated in the temptations of the underground challenges, but her first guess would be somewhere secluded. Unknown or out of sight. The Gray District would be the first place to go, then.

Within ten minutes of jogging, Rey realized belatedly how hard it was to trek on foot, clutching a stitch at her side. Asking for directions wasn't able to accomplish much, either, since she was potentially taking the chance of talking to someone that would create disaster or be undercover and arrest her under suspicions.

That was when she heard him.

Rey had to blink several times to make sure her eyes weren't going out on her. Something was rolling as fast as it could towards her, beeping incomprehensibly for attention. The code the little robot was using was something Rey had brushed up on in school. Kids had found ways of making it so that their robots could communicate in codes that only the children could understand. Since her only other option was going back to a place where she wasn't wanted or needed, Rey found it easy to spend time after school watching her peers construct models and work on a completely different language.

The funny thing, however, was that all of the codes that the kids worked on to sound unique ended up being the exact opposite. Like Latin was the basis for English, the codes ended up follow a similar root – how this could have been achieved when all you could hear were beeps and bops, Rey wasn't sure – and so, all the kids accomplished was creating a language that got people in the outside world interested.

It was only a small blaze, though. Rey didn't know anyone outside her peers from school that were able to understand – or teach – the Robotic, as it was deemed, unfortunately.

So, it ended up being embarrassing that Rey was the only person in the area who knew that the robot rolling down the street was saying hello.

"Hello to you, too." Rey said directly to the robot. The robot had a circular lower body and a small half circle that must act as a head, if the lens meant anything. The lower body had several orange rings around it while the rest was white. Rey felt herself smiling at the sight, wondering how people would react if they saw a young woman in the streets cooing at a robot. Would they join in?

"What are you doing here?" She asked.

The robot chirped frantically.

"Looking for a friend, eh? Who are they?"

Several beeps and chirps left Rey nodding serenely. "Ah, top secret. Understandable."

The chirping and beeping sounded more indignant than previous. "Alright, I won't be sarcastic again. What's your name, or is that 'top secret' too?"

The robot beeped in response.

"BB-8." Rey repeated, putting the name to memory. "I'm Rey."

She pointed to the path behind her. "Keep going that way, you'll be a lot safer there. If you need help, the police station is –"

Rey looked back to find that BB-8 wasn't listening to her. It was rolling around, as if it were trying to find someone. Then she remembered how far away the police station was from here and sighed.

"Well, I can take you to the police station, if that helps. But…a friend needs my help. Could you stay with me for a little bit?"

BB-8 nudged her gently, like he was happy to have someone accompany him.

It proved to be a good thing, having a second set of….lens'…with her. When she mentioned the word, Bot-fight, BB-8 extended an antenna and showed a hologram of the area. Several beeps from the robot told Rey that he was accessing the internet for any Bot-fights scheduled that night. They went to the nearest one and Rey began looking for any signs of the boy in the picture. Twenty minutes in and she was about to leave and look somewhere else when she heard a small voice speak up at the fat man, Yama's, challenge. The first thing she did when she realized that the boy, Hiro, was about to Bot-fight was contact the police and message Tadashi. He responded back, saying to get Hiro out of there before anything happened.

She did that…and ended up being surrounded by four bulky men for her trouble in the end. BB-8 was slowly being cornered and Hiro was still going to Bot-fight with someone that looked like he wasn't familiar with not getting his way.

Rey took a punch to the face while someone held her from behind, her cheek swelling with pain. As her attacker raised his fist again, Rey noticed that his buddy was also raising his fist to strike. If she could lean just a little to the left…

That proved to be easier to do than she thought, as Rey realized that the one behind her was not expecting someone to struggle so suddenly. It still wasn't that effective, since she felt a fist graze across her face, but she heard a thud! behind her that was followed by a loosened grip. Rey shoved an elbow behind her and got a punch to the gut before she ducked and rolled away. Two thuds! behind her gave Rey an idea of what kind of intelligence her opponents had. She looked back to see two of the thugs on the ground, unconscious. Rey turned to face the last one, who had a foot and at least fifty pounds on him if she was actually good at math like people thought she was.

He got into a fancy fighting pose; shifting his legs with one in front of the other, his arms spread out like waves on the sea, and his eyes taking a sudden shift in expression, turning into a cold-steely gaze that would not yield.

And while he was getting into the pose, Rey kicked him in the crotch and in the face for good measure. She looked to where Hiro and the fat man, Yama, were just in time to see Hiro's tiny robot squeeze its opponent's head off.

The chase afterwards proved to be a bad idea, her new bruises aggravated by the action.

As she gained a good distance from the Hamada brothers – Hiro had definitely weirded her out a little – Rey realized belatedly that between walking to and from the police station with no mode of transportation, she wouldn't be able to make it that far with the energy she had left.

"I'm afraid you're on your own." Rey crouched down and said apologetically. She pointed to a building north of where they were standing. "Make it to that building and…"

And what? Rey thought. Hope that no one else would try coming after him? Try not to attract attention with his size and obvious inhuman appearance?

She sighed. What a soft shell, I'm becoming.

"My place isn't far from here." Rey said slowly. She continued when BB-8 looked up at her eagerly. "It's just for tonight. I'll drop you off at the police station in the morning."

BB-8 chirped and beeped with joy until Rey repeated a little more sternly. "Just. For tonight. Then you're on your own when I drop you off."

BB-8 couldn't help but beep once more, trying to get the last word in.

"You're welcome."

He failed.

Rey traced her stomach absentmindedly while she let the soapy oil slick across her skin in the lukewarm water. The bruises were more prominent, a mixture of black, blue and yellow skin. She lifted a hand to her cheek, trying to ignore the flaring pain when she touched it. The hot water was obviously not the best idea, but cleanliness came first.

After rinsing and drying herself, Rey put on some fresh undergarments and reached into her single drawer for clothing options. She pulled out an old pair of jogging pants, a blue short-sleeved shirt, and a tan sweatshirt. They were a size or two larger than she could get – Plutt never bothered with purchasing clothes that girls her age wore – but at least they were wearable. The sweatshirt felt more relaxed to wear today, she had the day off, thankfully. Once she dressed herself, Rey looked into her small fridge for a reusable ice pack, planting it gingerly on her bruised cheek. She winced at the mixture of cold and pain, hoping that there wouldn't be any swelling.

"Alright, BB-8, I'm ready." Rey turned to face the robot, who had turned his head around to give the young woman some privacy, apparently. Assured that he wouldn't be accused of being a pervert – at least from Rey's perspective – BB-8 turned back to face her and looked up and down at her before chirping a sound that Rey suspected was meant to be wolf-whistling.

"You're not trying to flirt with me, are you?" Rey asked as they made their way out the door. For once, she was thankful that she lived on the first – and in her opinion, worst – floor. BB-8 could traverse up hills and extend cables to pull himself places, but without feet, he couldn't move up platforms without assistance. "Because I have a policy against dating anything under the age of 16."

She ignored the looks thrown in their direction, or at BB-8. More chirping from BB-8 earned a chuckle from Rey, feeling the sunlight warm her skin with the entrance door opened with a push.

"Ah, a smart-ass. Lovely."


Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep!

Fred groaned and continued to ignore his alarm clock, half of his body dangling off the bed with the blood rushing to his head. His head was groggy, his mouth was dry and felt like paste, and he just wanted to sleep for five more minutes. Instead of granting his wish, the alarm clock on his bedside roared! in the voice of the Great Kaiju, Joey, before speaking.

"Awaken, puny human, before I eat you! Rooooaaaaaaaaarrrrrr!"

Sound effects for firebreath now filled the air, the rough grating in the mechanical voice box ruining the illusion. Fred decided to take it as a sign to wake up, he had to get ready for work anyhow. He opened his crusty eyes and abruptly fell to the floor, forgetting the awkward sleeping position he had woken up in.

Fred placed his palms against the floor and pushed up, pulling his legs underneath while he did this. Straightening himself up, Fred stretched and jumped back onto his bed, leaning in to turn off his alarm right as Joey was making death threats again, holding a miniature car in one hand and miming the action of eating it. The silence wasn't unwelcome, but wasn't doing anything for Fred's head. He scratched his rear, absentmindedly wondering what the weather would be like outside today.

Why do I care? Fred realized. I just wear the same thing most days.

The lights were still on from last night, the newest comics proved to be too tempting to ignore and would forever be the bane of Fred's existence. But the cover was too tempting; the hero of Super Mega Ultra Awesome was confronted by someone that resembled them closely in a mask. The story itself was not a disappointment.

It was so interesting how they could use a cliché of the villain being related to the hero and turn it into something interesting. Sure, there was an abduction – or so it seemed – and they both fought, but the villain didn't try forcing the hero into joining him. He just had to tell someone about it today or else it would never get out of his system. Or maybe if he starts fanboy squeeing. The latter felt more likely at the moment.

Shower first, or breakfast? Fred thought. If I get washed, then I'll just stuff on my face from eating. But if I eat first, Heathcliff will have my head and throw me into the shower himself. Something about cleanliness. Ah, a tough decision to make. Which was the lesser of two evils?

He imagined Heathcliff armed with a scrub-brush and fire hose, stoic-faced and ready for anything.

Shower. Definitely shower.


Three Candy Tarts, a bag of chips, and EnergyJuice. Breakfast of Champions in Fred's mind, Breakfast of Fatty Foods in Heathcliff's. The Battle of the Breakfasts would always be a passionate one for both sides.

He tried to ignore the raised eyebrow that said so much in that one expression. It always made him feel guilty for not listening to Heathcliff. He had been working for his father ever since before Fred was born, maybe ever since Dad was his age. Whatever hair was on his thinning head was a dark-gray and kept in perfect order. A thin moustache was above his lips, it could have been shaven off and replaced with stencil markings and no one would be the wiser. His neck had a few rumbles, it wouldn't have been much of a shock if he started gobbling at random.

The older man kept a stoic face on like a mask – so worth majoring in English, he could make cool similes – as Fred munched and chewed and swallowed the food he got from his pantry back in the bedroom.

"Master Frederick, I received a message from your father that he wished to relay back to you." Heathcliff said in a dry, English accent.

Fred looked up expectantly. Was Dad finally coming back from the island? Was it today? Maybe he could tell him about the comic and get his opinion on it. Dad never did enjoy stuff like that, but Fred thought he would at least listen for his son's sake.

"He regrets to inform you that he and your mother are extending their vacation on their private island for another three weeks. He sends his love and expresses his sorrow for not coming home as promised."

Something got caught in his throat, maybe a chip, and there was a hard WHACK! on his back that allowed Fred to breathe again. Heathcliff gave him a concerned look, but Fred waved him away carelessly.

"Aw, don't worry Heathcliff. If I were retired, I wouldn't want to leave a vacation and go home, either."

"Perhaps you could call him –" Heathcliff began but Fred continued speaking.

"What my Dad does is his concern." He said and added with a grin. "Besides, it's kind of cool to have the whole place to myself."

Heathcliff gave him a look. That look.

"And you, Heathcliff." Fred said quickly. "No one else to get in your way."

"That was not the point I was wishing to make, sir." Heathcliff said. "You don't have to be by your –"

"You're late, puny human!"

"Whoops!" Fred looked at his Kaiju-themed watch showing 7:34 and stood up, grabbing the last Candy Tart and stuffing it into his mouth. "Go'a o, 'Eefciff."

"Chew and swallow, Master Frederick, or I will have to apply force on your back again." Heathcliff frowned. Fred felt the prediction come true again and was rubbing his back several moments later, Heathcliff giving an apologetic look that also said 'I warned you.' For a man in his mid-fifties to early-sixties – Fred wasn't sure how old Heathcliff was and wasn't going to press for answers – the man could give one hell of a back whack.

The comic from the night before came back to the front of his mind. Maybe…

"Hey, Heathcliff." Fred said as he stood up from the kitchen table. "There's this comic I read last night that I think you'll love to hear about –"

"You and I have our days ahead of us, Master Frederick." Heathcliff said, walking out of the kitchen. "Perhaps later today."

"Yeah." Fred shrugged. Perhaps.

Today was Wednesday, and aside from being the source of dorky jokes – which Fred was guilty of making from time to time – it meant only one thing.

I hope the others are coming in, today. Fred thought hopefully. He jogged out the front hall and onto the streets. Their schedules are so different, I can't be sure.

He mentally listed the schedules of his four friends based on meal hours they were certain to show up at. Okay, the only two people I'm certain will come in today are Honey Lemon and Tadashi. That's good. And since Mister Nerd spends the mornings in class, I guess Honey Lemon will need some company. I sure hope she doesn't think I'm going to flirt with her, though. If Gogo can get like that when pissed off, I pray to whatever god exists that I never see Honey Lemon mad.


Traffic had been surprisingly light – they were able to shave off at least ten minutes, something that Dashi wouldn't stop talking about – and they made it to Dashi's school. The Nerd School. SFIT or the San Fransokyo Institute of Technology. The place where Dashi had been constantly talking to Hiro about applying to. And they were walking into the building without so much as an argument. No retorts, no counter-arguments, no attacks on Edison and his works.

Maybe I should have stayed in bed today. Hiro thought. Maybe I'm not feeling as great as I thought.

The college building on the outside was a combination of castle-like structures and slanted rooftops like other buildings in the city, following the tradition of combining American architecture with Japanese when it was first constructed in 1930. Of course, Hiro only knew this because he had to listen to teachers at least drill that into his brain almost a hundred times!

He couldn't get much of a look when they parked, though, Dashi grabbed him hand and ran into the building next to it as fast as they could. The one covered in glass and was hopefully thick enough for a rock to not break it. Either they were the advanced solar panels that also functioned as windows or it was a designer's choice.

You could have done this after classes. Hiro fumed a little while Dashi went from running while he tugged at Hiro's hand to placing the young boy on his back. You're going to be late and it'll be my fault. I don't want to get in trouble again.

"Sorry." Dashi said sheepishly. "I can't be late for class, so we gotta get there ASAP."

"I'm not a baby!" Hiro complained. He was too old to be carried around like this! The last time he was placed in a carrier was when he was...he didn't know, but it was a long time ago!

"You're not?" Dashi asked in a surprised tone. "Huh. This whole time, I just thought you had a growth spurt. It feels like I was just changing your diaper yesterday when – OW!"

Dashi glared at a smirking Hiro, who was whistling innocently while his legs swung a little, his left foot tapping lightly on Dashi's side.

"Did you have to kick me?" He growled.

"Did you have to make fun of me?" Hiro stuck his tongue out.

"Grow up."

"You first."

"Troll."

"Nerd."

"Unbelievable." Dashi sighed. "What am I going to do with you?"

"Let me Bot-fight?" Hiro suggested hopefully. He sniffed, his nose in desperate need of a nostril clog. Maybe he could invent that…

"Not without Megabot, you can't." Dashi countered as he took a turn down the hall, his backpack whacking Hiro a few times – Dashi had managed to shift his bag over one shoulder so Hiro could be carried.

We'll see about that. Hiro thought.

Several turns later, Dashi started slowing down where the hallway started showing opaque windows on each side. Hiro sighed with relief when Dashi finally let him drop to the ground, wasting no time in stretching his stiff limbs. His brother opened one of the doors and gestured inside.

"We got twenty minutes before my class starts, so we better make this fast." Dashi said as Hiro walked in. "Welcome to my lab."

His mouth dropped as he let the sight before him sink in. It was at least the size of their bedroom with a large window at the end showing the rest of the city. The sun was now shining brightly and showing a grassy park below. A bookcase containing reading material based in medicine, engineering, and physics was pushed against the wall to his left. Holo-screen computer spanning 70 inches detailing schematics for some project that Dashi might have been working on earlier.

Two additional desks containing hardware and a workspace along with a microwave on the side. At the end of the room, in front of the window, was a small red box. Everything in this area belonged to his big brother. An entire room to himself for working on projects, studying, or just relaxing. It was like a dream come true!

A warm hand cupped over his chin and moved it upwards. Hiro looked to see Dashi grinning at him.

"If you keep your mouth open for long, a fly might buzz inside." Dashi then started making a buzz! sound, moving closer and closer to Hiro's ear before the boy started giggling and pushing his brother away. Dashi started chuckling himself before Hiro started sniffing again.

"Stupid nose." Hiro grumbled as he wiped it with his sleeve. Dashi ruffled his hair and pulled out a rolling chair from one of the desks. The chair was gently pushed in Hiro's direction. He scanned the room for another human being, frowning as he did so. "Where's the friend of yours?"

"He's coming, you'll see. You're gonna love this, buddy." Dashi smiled. Hiro rolled his eyes as he sat down on the rolling chair offered to him. He started pushing the chair backwards on instinct, unaware that his brother was walking right behind him at that moment. Dashi yelped and hopped on one foot while Hiro stood up and started apologizing profusely. "Ow!"

"Dashi, are you alright?"

Dashi waved him off. "It's nothing, buddy, just stubbed my toe."

"I didn't see you, I'm really sorry, Big Brother!" Hiro said frantically.

He jumped when he started hearing a beeping noise, looking around frantically for the source. Then he heard a hissing sound and felt his head being turned towards the window at the end of the room by Dashi's hand. Something was coming out of the red box he saw earlier, something white and large and plump. Like a marshmallow. Only bigger.

It stopped inflating and now looked like a large snowman; with a small oval head that contrasted with its plump torso and limbs. The Thing that came out of the box had two black circles for eyes and a black line that connected them together, standing over six feet tall. It looked at Hiro and Dashi for a moment before walking towards them. Or waddled. It could be a penguin with that strut. Hiro felt Dashi crouched behind him and place an arm around his shoulders. The most interesting thing that the Thing did was blink. There weren't eyelashes or pupils, but Hiro felt a bit more comfortable around it now. It felt…human. When the Thing started talking – where the calm, expressionless voice was coming from, Hiro didn't see a mouth on the face, but thought there was a voicebox in it – Dashi was whispering it in unison, as if he had rehearsed it for hours.

"Hello." The Thing waved its hand in a small circular motion. "I am Baymax, your personal Healthcare companion –"

"I was alerted to the need for medical attention when you said: 'Ow'." Dashi concluded right as Baymax did.

Hiro stared at the robot. So large. So soft and plushy looking. Urges were twitching throughout his body. The temptation was just so difficult to refuse. But, no, he had to resist. He had to be more mature now, use that big brain of his like Dashi always tells him to. But he just wanted to –

"You can hug him if you like, Hiro." Dashi said behind him. "He was built for that, you know."

He didn't even finish speaking when Hiro rushed headfirst into Baymax and pressed into the body, all dignity forgotten. The fabric was vinyl, Hiro noted, as he felt it between his fingertips. Baymax didn't respond to the contact and continued speaking. While this was going on, Hiro pressed into Baymax hard enough to get a look at what was keeping the robot up, a thin metallic skeleton with extendable limbs.

"On a scale of 1 to 10, how would you rate your pain?" Hiro jumped back when he saw a screen flash in front of him on Baymax's chest, showing a diagram of facial expressions; 1 showing a broad smiley face and 10 showing a red face screaming in agony.

"I'd say a 3." Dashi said. "Nothing major."

"I will scan you now." Baymax looked up and down at Dashi, blinking twice during this short process. The chest lit up again with a basic human diagram, one area highlighted red where Dashi stubbed his toe. "Scan complete. You have a small sprain on your: toe."

It – or he, since Baymax sounded like a man – held up a stubby index finger like he was about to make a point. "I suggest: a small ice pack."

Dashi nodded at this like it was a brilliant idea. Hiro would have just left the toe alone and went about his business. He just didn't understand why Aunt Cass thought it was a bad idea the last time he tried doing that. It wasn't his fault the oven was left open.

"Baymax, could you scan Hiro, too?" Dashi pointed to Hiro. Baymax tilted his head and blinked. He looked up and down at Hiro before responding. "Scan complete. You have minor inflammation in the: sinuses. Furthermore, your sinus region is suffering from congestion. Diagnosis: common cold."

Hiro smiled in interest.

"I suggest a decongestion tablet. It is most affect when placed in: water." One of Baymax's fingers opened up, and a circular pill popped out of it. Hiro looked on in amazement before an idea came to him.

"What's in the – sniff – medicine?"

"The primary ingredient is: sodium bicarbonate." Baymax's chest lit up again and showed a diagram of the chemical formula mentioned.

Hiro frowned, all of those times Bot-fighting helped him keep the expression from changing. "Really? I don't think it'll help."

Baymax tilted his head. "Why is that?"

Hiro shrugged. "Cause I'm allergic."

"You are not allergic to: sodium bicarbonate." Baymax said automatically. The screen on his chest faded away. "You do have a mild allergy to: peanuts."

"W-what?!" How did he know that?! I didn't tell him! Hiro gaped at the robot in shock, trying to wrap his head around it. He automatically looked to Dashi for answers.

Dashi shrugged sheepishly. "I might have downloaded your medical files into his programming."

"Might have?" Hiro repeated in confusion. What did that mean? Why would his brother –

His eyes widened, looking between Dashi and Baymax a few times. He was sick this morning, Dashi suggested coming here, Baymax knew about his peanut allergy...

"Did…did you want Baymax to know about me?" Hiro asked slowly as Baymax placed the pill in his hand. Then, the robot's chest lit up again, showing a map of the general area. Hiro sniffed and wiped his nose on his sleeve again.

"The nearest water fountain is approximately 20: meters to your: left. Paper cups or other water containers may be found in the: school store. Approximately 500 meters to your: right."

"It's a good thing I brought a water bottle." Dashi smiled as he walked over. He reached into his backpack, leaning against his left shoulder and rummaged through one of the pockets for a minute before brandishing a plastic bottle with the cap sealed on. He tossed it to Hiro and winced when the boy fumbled with the catch. Hiro rubbed his shoulder for a few moments while Dashi picked up the bottle and handed it to the boy.

"Why?" Hiro didn't know what he meant by that. Why did Dashi download his medical files into a robot? Why was he here? Why did he create Baymax? The possibilities kept branching out.

"Why what?" Dashi asked.

Hiro said the first thing that came to mind. "Why did you make Baymax?"

"Um…" Dashi started rubbing the back of his neck. "That's…actually a difficult question. I…I don't know, really. I made Baymax for…reasons."

"Why is he made of vinyl?"

"Would you rather he looked threatening and dangerous?" Dashi raised an eyebrow.

"What's the skeleton made of?"

"Oh, you saw that? It's carbon fiber, so it's strong and light in case Baymax needs to float. Can't have a Healthcare robot look like a balloon and not be able to float."

Hiro chuckled. "I can see it now –"

He held up his hands in a grand gesture and spoke in an equally grand voice. "Introducing: Baymax. He's a Healthcare companion. Great with kids. Can do everything but float. Coming to a store near you!"

Dashi laughed as he looked down at his watch. His face went from bright red to pale white in an instant. "Aw crap –"

He looked at Hiro and added. "…ier."

Hiro scratched his head in confusion, wondering why his brother would try making the word "crap" sound different.

"Class is starting soon. We can talk about this later. Take the medicine now."

"Bye Baymax." Hiro waved to the robot as he walked out of the room. "It was nice meeting you."

Baymax blinked and waved back in his odd, circular gesture.

"Um…" How do you turn him off? Hiro thought. He looked to Dashi with a questioning look on his face.

"Say you're satisfied with your care." Dashi answered.

"You're satisfied with your care." Hiro repeated. Dashi facepalmed himself. Hiro blushed when he realized his mistake. "Oh. I'm satisfied with my care. Why?"

Baymax then ignored him, turning around and waddling back to the red box he popped out of. He planted both his feet on it and then a whrring! noise filled the room as Baymax began deflating into the box. Once he had completely shrunk inside, the red top closed on it and Baymax closed his eyes, as if he were falling asleep.

"Hiro. Medicine. Bottle. Now."

Hiro pulled on the cap until he heard a snap! and had the cap in his other hand. He dropped the pill into the water and watched it quickly dissolve into the water. He replaced the cap back on the top and shook it a little, to stir the contents a little as Dashi gently pushed him out of the doorway.

Dashi stopped and pulled out his phone, the device vibrating for a moment. He tapped at it for a few moments before a large grin broke on his face.

"Guess what, buddy?"

"What…?" Hiro wasn't sure where his brother was going with this.

"Just got an email. Morning class is cancelled!" At this, Dashi began whooping in delight. "How about I show you around campus? We have some time to kill, after all."

Hiro looked back at where Baymax was stationed – was he sleeping or just turned off? I don't know if there's a difference. – and smiled. He blushed when he felt his stomach gurgle loudly.

Dashi just smiled. "How about we get something to eat first. My treat."


His head was throbbing. Blood was starting to dry over several cuts around his chest and face, but he knew that the wounds would be re-opened soon enough in the next session. This was the longest time he had to wait, but Poe could take it. He had to.

Within the course of…maybe a day…Poe had been subjected to at least four torture sessions by people who clearly didn't know anything about interrogation. It was that fact alone that kept Poe sane.

The only light he had, came from overhead, but without windows showing the outside world, he would have no idea how long he was actually in here. He did a rough estimate and thought that it was at least six hours since his capture. But he needed sleep, and Poe sincerely doubted that his captors would let him enjoy that until they got what they wanted from him.

He heard a door slide open behind him and sighed. Break-time was apparently over, now. Poe couldn't turn his head to see who it was. That made the anticipation a bit more suspenseful, he supposed. Though he almost laughed when they had just finished shackling him to a table reminiscent of Frankenstein's monster.

Footsteps behind him and he saw the swish of black – how dramatic could these people get?

He lifted his head slowly, expecting to get backhanded by some wannabe torturer who thought the best way to getting information was giving the torturee a potential concussion. Instead, Poe was able to lift his head up to see a tall figure dressed in a black long-coat. This would have been the end of it if his torturer-to-be wasn't wearing that mask, a fusion between a welding mask and a space helmet.

"So." Poe said hoarsely. "You talk first? I talk first?"

The figure didn't speak. Silence. And then…

"The droid." The figure spoke, their voice muffled and altered to the point of obscurity. "Where is –"

The figure paused, noticing the small chuckle escaping Poe's lips.

"Sorry." Poe tried stifling his weak laugh. "It's…kind of hard to hear with all that noise in the back."

He would have loved making a dramatic gesture, but his hands were restrained. He received no response, but it felt like the temperature in the room was beginning to drop. Poe waited for something, anything, from the figure, but only received silence.

"We know about the droid you're after." The figure continued in that distorted voice. It strangely came off as more…welcome? Patient. "You need the droid to complete your mission, and we need the droid to complete ours. Maybe we can help each other out."

Strange how a question could sound more like an order to answer yes. Work with them?! Poe thought. They must be crazier than the reports implied.

"I don't want to be your enemy, Poe." Poe blinked wearily, the tone trying to convey familiarity.

Poe took a deep breath, struggling to form the words in his mind. After many hours of no sleep, this took a while longer than it usually would. The figure looked at him expectantly, before Poe could get the words out in a defiant snarl.

"Sorry, I don't work with terrorists."

Disappointment. That was what Poe could sense in his "host's" body language. Body sagging a little, hands clenched and unclenched, the distorted sigh that came out.

"I was hoping to avoid this." The figure said. They raised their hand at Poe, palm spread out, the leather glove covering it crinkled a little. Poe half-expected lightning to come out of his hand for a moment.

But still, he felt nothing but agony within a few seconds. His teeth clenched together to silence any screams from coming out, the hammering in his skull felt haunted and alien. Unbidden, random memories began to flood across his mind, trying to find something connected to the conversation.

He refused to even think of using the name, should it give it away to his enemy. There were odd moments where he could feel emotions, almost pleading like one begging a lover to stay.

– a woman placed a hand on his shoulders and started speaking –

No. Must…fight.

– dressed in black and looking down at two coffins lowered into the ground –

Poe felt a wave of grief overcome him for a moment, his throat tightening in the same manner as the boy did in the memory.

– the heat of sex fading, he pulled his lover close to his chest –

Poe bit his lower lip.

" – I'm counting on you, Poe –"

No.

"– we need to get that –"

He would not let him see it.

Poe could feel excitement from across the room, the one standing before him, they knew...

– a file listing names, Poe leaned over to look at them closely –

He wasn't able to force the memory away, his lip dripping with blood. He couldn't even feel the pain and surrendered to the onslaught. The figure kept on probing more and more into that memory, more enthusiastic as Poe's energy drained.

Please… Poe pleaded. Stop.

He got no response nor reprieve. He was helpless. But Poe still fought, trying to throw them out of the memory, thinking he succeeded for a moment when he started recalling another one until he realized it was that memory.

"– we need to get that droid before the Starkillers do. You are to rendezvous at this location and wait for the delivery, then –"

The last thing Poe could recall before blacking out was screaming.


Author's Note: Things have definitely happened differently now. Baymax is introduced first and we get a first look at Fred's morning routine. I know the movie was just trying to introduce all of the team as fast as they could for time and story development, but it didn't really feel realistic.

How could all of Tadashi's friends, including the school mascot, be together exactly when Tadashi needs them to in order for Hiro to get a good first impression of the place?

Smiley-Nami, you did observe references to other movies first, although The Force Awakens and Zootopia weren't what I had in mind. Shot myself in the foot there, but you still won the chance to make a suggestion for a scene in the next chapter.

New challenge for you guys: what movie reference has been made in this chapter? Hint: It's connected to a song, one of the last lyric to it, actually. First person who gets it right is allowed to help me with writing out Hiro meeting one of the team (Wasabi, Honey Lemon, Gogo, Fred). Though I already know what order he is going to meet them. Feel free to answer in the reviews or PM me. I will let you know.

Next update will be between the 28th of July and the 4th of August. Writing lengthy chapters takes time for me. Thanks for reading! :)

In the writing world, I will see you.