A/N: Welcome back everyone! So you all know how I said there wasn't really any ships in this story... I may or may not have been mistaken. I think I might have started shipping Tadagail (or is it Abidashi) a little bit. I don't know but I this chapter is about the extent of it. I'm not ultra shippy in this story.
Anyways, other notes for this chapter include another promise that Hiro and Tadashi will meet! It is actually much closer than I realized too. Some people really want to know, judging by the numerous reviews asking when they'll meet. I'm not going to give it away in full but Hiro and Tadashi will have their first in-person interaction in a chapter entitled "Catalyst." I'll just leave that little tidbit there to tide you all over. Once Hiro and Tadashi meet that marks the approximate dead center, middle of the story. On another note, happy Easter everyone! Please enjoy the chapter!
Abigail's voice drifted through his work induced fog.
"Huh? What?" he replied in confusion as he looked up. Abigail was standing in front of one of his many piles on the ground with a coffee cup in each hand.
"Um...I said, I made coffee." she repeated, raising the coffee cups a little. "I don't know how you take it or if you even drink it but I thought..."
Her glance wandered rather pointedly to the neat piles of her father's work that he'd surrounded himself in. He'd completely taken over Abigail's living room while sifting through Dr. Callaghan's old notes and project details. Apparently, he'd built himself a research nest with it. "Uh, yeah sure thanks. Black is fine." he said quickly reaching up and taking the coffee cup that he was being offered.
A small smile crossed his face as he took a sip. Abigail didn't feel the need to trick him into drinking decaf like Vera. Good thing too because in the process of reading through Dr. Callaghan's notes, he'd found his eyes starting to droop. Not because he was bored of course, but because he'd spent the better part of three hours reading. The world had lost a great scientist when Dr. Callaghan had decided to become a Supervillain. Seriously! He had a steadily growing list of things that he'd compiled in his head. Research and projects that needed to be continued. Things that would make the world a better place. Now, he wasn't saying that he was the perfect person to pick up the famed Dr. Robert Callaghan's work, but he felt that he might just have a shot at completing it or at least furthering it.
"Your father was brilliant." he told Abigail sincerely. Abigail smiled a little as she picked her way over to her couch and sat down. She'd warmed up to him immensely after he hadn't interrogated her about her father like she'd been expecting him to. Hence the kind offer of coffee and the silence over the fact that he'd completely taken over her living room and destroyed it.
"It means a lot to hear someone say that." she admitted.
He picked up another notebook from the current box he was sorting through and held it up. "I mean it Abigail! Your father's work brought a lot of good to the world. There's so much that he left unfinished and untouched." he told her, the excitement impossible to disguise in his voice. "Do you think that he might be willing to let someone pick up his work? Do you think if I wrote him a letter that he would be willing to let me take over some of his research and projects? I would give him full credit of course for his work."
Then he stopped when he saw Abigail frowning. Oh yeah, Robert Callaghan was at large somewhere in California and probably cooperating to some extent with Hydra. Oops. Very smooth. He could have slapped himself but instead he only turned bright red. "After he's found of course I mean." he added in a mumble as he opened the notebook up to the first page.
Abigail didn't say anything for a moment. In fact, he'd scanned through the entire notebook before she finally said quietly, "I think he would really like it if someone continued his work. I'll give you my vote if you ask Daddy for his permission."
He looked up and offered her an apologetic smile. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to dredge up that old wound."
Abigail shrugged. "I should be used to it by now I guess, but sometimes..."
She let the sentence hang in the air. She really didn't need to finish it for him to understand the hurt and pain going through her mind. There was nothing he could say to her so instead he picked up the next file. Unlike the other files, which had been mostly notebooks with handwriting and flash drives that he'd opened on his laptop, the file he now held was quite clearly made up of photocopied documents. The Krei Tech logo and header was prominently displayed on the paper. They were all fairly old documents, probably at least five years old or so, and spanned at least over a year. The file itself was titled 'Project Silent Sparrow' in large, bolded, red letters. He squinted at it in confusion. "What is this?" he asked Abigail as he flipped through the file. His eyes narrowed as he looked down at it. He shook his head. "This isn't Dr. Callaghan's work."
Abigail shot off the couch, nearly spilling her coffee as she sat it down on the table in a rush. "That's the case file on the project I was assigned to at Krei Tech. The one where I disappeared! Why is that in there?"
"You mean this was the portal to nowhere project?" he clarified, raising his eyebrow.
Abigail waded through his piles, pushing a couple of them aside so that she could sit down next to him. Wordlessly she gestured for the file and, wordlessly, he gave it to her. Abigail's face dissolved into confusion. "This shouldn't be in here."
Something flipped over in his stomach. He was no expert on Supervillains but somehow he got the feeling that he knew exactly why Dr. Callaghan had a copy of the file for his only daughter's doomed project. He licked his lips to moisten them. They'd suddenly gone bone dry as had his throat. Somehow, this felt as though this was Vera's territory. "Your father's... um... his debut act was trying to suck Alistair Krei and Krei Tech into a portal to nowhere right?" he asked her though it was more of a reminder. His tongue felt like lead as he formed his words. "He had to... uh... you know, research how to recreate that technology. Something tells me that in one of those remaining boxes I'll find a flash drive with the stolen plans for said technology."
Yeah. Vera would definitely want to know about this development for her research into Callaghan. She would probably find it very useful in determining his future actions. Abigail drew a sharp breath and threw the file down in a fury. He jumped a little at the outburst. Then he saw that Abigail had tears streaming down her face. "It was an accident." she whispered.
"It wasn't your fault." he told her as he took the file back from her. She continued to stare at her hands as if she were still holding it. He opened the file once more. "Abigail... what happened, on that day, if you don't mind me asking? I mean. If you don't want to talk about it, I totally get it but... I was just wondering. You know."
Abigail was silent. He was nearly certain that he'd ruined any sort of trust that he'd managed to gain with her with that one question. Why else would she be so quiet? Why else would she be pointedly looking anywhere but at him? He'd overstepped himself. "I'm s..." he started to apologize.
"We were demonstrating Silent Sparrow for the military. Daddy came to watch too. It was my first big assignment and I was so certain that it was going to be amazing." she said abruptly and cutting him off. Her voice was low and shaking as she spoke. "And then, in the middle of the demonstration, right before I took the pod in... the readings spiked."
"What made them spike?" he asked.
"I don't know. Other tests and simulations hadn't spiked like that. I mean some of them had run with similarly high readings in the past. They were well within the safety parameters but Mr. Krei never did figure out what caused the random spike." Abigail explained. He turned to the page that the portal's tests and simulations had been recorded. Every single one was documented with painstaking preciseness and attention to detail. There was not a test or simulation that didn't have at least two other verification signatures on the line. He thumbed through the pages in the file until he found the summary from the demonstration. Abigail was right. The spike had been well within the safety parameters and there were at least three other documented cases where the readings had been just as high during previous tests.
He frowned, "Had you ever flown into this thing before?"
"Of course. Mr. Krei never would've done a demonstration that he'd never tested thoroughly before hand. I flew that pod in and out of that portal at least five times before that demonstration was even scheduled."
Something bumped the back of his brain. It was the same feeling he got whenever he felt as though that Vera should be disorganized mess. It was as though there was something telling him that he was used to hearing something or living a particular way and it was being challenged. Only now, he felt as though he could swear on his life that he'd heard someone somewhere say that Alistair Krei's projects weren't always fully tested. That Krei sometimes cut corners and disregarded sound science. He rubbed the back of his neck as he thought about it. The evidence was right in front of him, proving the contrary, but for some inexplicable reason he truly felt as though he'd heard differently at one point, or many. Who knew? Maybe he'd read it in one of his journals. Yeah, that had to have been where he'd read it. There was no other logical explanation.
He shook his head and refocused on the file. Dr. Callaghan must have scoured it if the worn edges and small tears were any indication. He wondered how many times Callaghan had read through the file to find some sort of wrongdoing on Krei's part. Dr. Callaghan must have found something in it. Perhaps it was Krei's failure to call off the demonstration after the spike. Perhaps it had been the failure to investigate what had caused the spike. However, even without Vera's expertise in Supervillains, he knew that Callaghan hadn't even really needed a reason any further than the wholehearted belief that his daughter was gone forever. Dead. Whether Alistair Krei was within his rights or had trespassed on the ethics of science didn't matter. He wondered how much Vera knew about this particular detail of the matter. "Abigail, do you mind if I take this file with me? To show my partner. It might help her figure out how to find your dad."
Abigail nodded stiffly. "Take it," she murmured, "I don't want it in my apartment."
He slid it into his bag and out of sight. Abigail continued to sit on the floor, numb to what was going on around her. He touched her shoulder gently and repeated. "It wasn't your fault. You made your choice and your dad made his."
"I just don't understand and... I wish I could but I can't. Even after asking Daddy about it many, many times, I can't ever wrap my head around why he tried to take revenge. Now he's out of prison and off who knows where doing who knows what and..." Abigail broke off. Tears were streaking down her face again. She buried her head in her hands and shook her head.
"And what?" he pushed gently.
"And I'm scared for him." she said chokingly, "Everyone is out looking for him and I'm so scared to even consider what they'll do to bring him back in. I'm scared to think about what Daddy will do in response. I'm terrified to think about what they'll do to him if he resists being caught again, if he decides to make a stand against them."
He rubbed a small circle on her back soothingly as he watched her shake with tears. He bit his tongue to keep from saying anything that would upset her. He knew enough about Vera's own Superhero career to know what she had done to Supervillains who had wanted to evade being caught. He knew enough about the Avengers' missions to know some of the length they went to keep Supervillains from wreaking havoc. He knew enough about S.H.I.E.L.D. to know how they responded to threats. Eliminating a target, killing a Supervillain, wasn't completely out of the question if the situation called for it. If it got too dangerous and there were too many people in the line of fire. Not that he thought S.H.I.E.L.D. wouldn't exhaust every other possible avenue before such extreme measures were taken.
However, if Hydra was involved as was suspected, there was a very high chance that, before this was all said and over, that there could be a lot of bloodshed. There was no chance under any circumstance that he was about to share that information with Abigail Callaghan though. She didn't need some random scientist from S.H.I.E.L.D. giving her more to worry about. "You must think that's stupid of me. Crying over a Supervillain and worrying about what will happen to him when he's found." Abigail told him bitterly.
"He's your dad. You love him. I can understand." he shrugged. "Not many people have the guts to have a relationship with a convicted criminal, Supervillain or not."
Abigail sat up and scrubbed away the tears from her face with the back of her hand. She offered him a weak smile. "You know what Kris," she said, "I think I kinda like you. You aren't anything like the other agents that S.H.I.E.L.D. has sent to my door."
"It's because I'm a consulting scientist and not an agent. My job is different." he replied brightly.
Abigail cocked her head to the side and stared at him thoughtfully. After a moment she pursed her lips and shook her head. "No, that isn't it." Abigail said. He raised his eyebrow in confusion, waiting for her to continue. There was definitely more to that sentiment. Unfortunately it appeared as though Abigail Callaghan had no intention of finishing it. She gave him another smile, the tears in her eyes completely gone now, before patting his knee and standing up again. "My coffee's gotten cold. I'm gonna go top it off with some fresh stuff. Do you want some more?"
"Uh..." he said looking at her still confused. "No, I'm fine. Thanks. I need to get back to work."
"Alright, if you need me I'll be in the kitchen then." Abigail informed him. He watched her pick her way over the piles he'd created for a moment before turning back to the box he'd been going through. Absentmindedly he took another sip of his coffee, which was now indeed cold, and went back to the now halfway emptied box. He gave his knuckles a crack before reaching inside.
The next file on top was a thick manila colored folder that was crammed full of various different research. So full, in fact, that when he pulled it from the box that things started to slip out of it. A couple of flash drives clattered on the floor as loose leafs of paper slid from the folder. He winced as he hurriedly realigned the fallen papers before grabbing the flash drives off the floor. Okay, so obviously whatever project Dr. Callaghan had put inside this folder was huge. Though why Callaghan hadn't split it up into multiple folders like he had with some of his other large projects was a bit beyond him. Seriously, the man had been extremely meticulous in his organization with the other projects so why not this one? He scrunched his nose up as he opened the file folder. Instantly he saw why. It wasn't just one large project. It looked like several different ones. Maybe whoever had cleaned out his office or apartment had just crammed all the odds and ends to various different projects without a designated space into this one particular folder when they were getting ready to move Callaghan's things. It kind of made sense... at least maybe it did?
He took the notebook that was sitting on top and it felt as though a rock fell into the pit of his stomach. There was something wrong with the notebook. For starters, it had absolutely nothing to do with robotics. It looked as though it was someone's notes on an advanced chemistry project. Dr. Callaghan had never done anything chemistry related, at least not to his knowledge. The handwriting definitely didn't match up with any of the handwriting he'd seen in the rest of Callaghan's notebooks and files. No, it was a curling, delicate cursive script that had a definite feminine undertone to it. It made his blood go cold and his fingers tingle. The third and final thing that really made his stomach churn though was the fact that this particular notebook page was photocopied. There was no question in his mind, this particular project was stolen from someone else.
Fighting down the nausea, he took hold of the next paper clipped stack of papers. Again, the project had nothing to do with robotics and the handwriting definitely didn't look like anything Dr. Callaghan's. It looked as though the project was something to do with high intensity lasers written in big, neat block letters. He didn't even need to read through the entire packet of paper to know that there was nothing in it that remotely belonged to Robert Callaghan.
He threw the pile of papers down on to the previous stack of chemistry project notes and examined the rest of the contents of the manilla folder. Another stack of paper clipped notes as well as two flash drives. Without even looking at which flash drive he grabbed, he plugged it into his computer and let the documents open. The author's name on the files wasn't there but he was certain that it wasn't Dr. Robert Callaghan. Someone had come up with a brilliant idea for a magnetic suspension system with virtually no airspeed resistance. Industrial design and applied physics judging by the materials. He pulled his hat off to rake his hand through his hair in frustration and disbelief. He had to remind himself to safely eject the flash drive before ripping it out and throwing the second one in. At least the next one was actually a robotics project. Not that it helped at all. Oh no! The opposite actually. He could feel his insides turning over at a frightening pace and threatening to make him physically sick.
The robotics project was definitely built off of Callaghan's own research and work in robotics. Callaghan was a pioneer in the field after all, but the similarities dropped off quickly and spiraled into something completely different and awesome. A medical companion robot was rooted in Callaghan's theories and laws of robotics but there was no way that this idea could have been his brain child. None whatsoever. He was as sure of that as he was of all the other projects not belonging to Dr. Callaghan. He pressed his hand to his mouth to suppress the urge to... to gasp... to throw up... something. He wasn't entirely sure. However, he knew one thing beyond a shadow of a doubt in his mind.
Robert Callaghan had stolen the research of several different people. None of the things in this folder belonged to him. None of it!
The sudden realization shook him more than it should have. He had known that Callaghan had stolen the microbot technology from some robotics prodigy. That had been well documented. Hell! Callaghan had even readily admitted to stealing another's ideas and prototypes during his trial. Chiune had discussed it at length as well as listened to Vera rant, quite loudly, about the intellectual theft. He'd never known just how... how deep Callaghan's deceit had run. Instantaneously, he found himself losing a lot of the respect for the so called father of modern robotics. The pioneer of the field. The disgust that this man had gone through the lengths to steal not one, but many others' hard work and research was overbearing. He couldn't bear to look at his computer anymore so he snapped the lid shut and shoved it aside roughly. How could someone do such a thing? How had Callaghan even gotten ahold of this work? Most of these projects didn't even fall into his area of expertise!
He pressed his eyes shut and massaged the bridge of his nose. Then something pierced through his disgust. A little spark of memory. He cast a glance at the stack of stolen paper clipped research and notes that he'd pulled from the manila folder. As he lifted the papers pertaining to the laser project, he fished around in his bag for one of the many folders he'd brought with him. Quickly he found the one that he needed. A black folder with the S.H.I.E.L.D. eagle emblem in gray emblazoned on the front. He tore the file open and pulled out the research that both he and several other analysts had compiled on Big Hero 6. It was the fuzzy grained picture that he wanted. The one that showed all six members of the Superhero team. There was a tall African American man that favored laser swords. High intensity laser swords that matched up perfectly with the high intensity laser project that Dr. Callaghan had stolen. It was too perfect to be a coincidence.
He grabbed the second stack of papers, the chemistry ones, and compared them to the notes that had been amassed on the blonde Superheroine that enjoyed throwing chemical filled orbs at her opponents. There were several chemical reactions that matched up between the two documents including, but not limited to, rapid metal embrittlement. The girl seemed rather fond of that chemical reaction. There were also ties to the kaiju's fire breathing abilities in the stolen notes. Again, too perfect to be a coincidence.
Then there was the magnetic suspension system. The girl in yellow had magnetic wheels and discs that seemed to use the same airspeed resistant technology that was saved on the flash drive. Too perfectly matched up to be a coincidence. His head swam as he stared at the papers in front of him in disbelief.
He sat back, rubbing his neck. Once more he grabbed the laptop and opened it. The screen came right back to the health care companion robot. It was a bit more of a stretch than the others but robots could be repurposed and reprogrammed to do different jobs and there was a robot on Big Hero 6's team.
These notes belonged to Big Hero 6. There was no other logical explanation for how precisely the notes matched up to the Superheroes' gadgets and abilities. That meant that Callaghan knew Big Hero 6 in some capacity. They had been students he'd worked in close proximity with at one point in time and had found access to their notes. Callaghan might have even mentored one of them. The robotics' student, he one who'd created the personal healthcare companion robot, he was the most likely candidate! This was how he was going to find Big Hero 6. Find that student and he would find the rest of the team! A rush of adrenaline filled his system.
He scrambled to his feet, tripping over his laptop's power cord and nearly taking out several of his piles of papers. He shook himself free of the power cord and rushed into the kitchen. In his hand he balanced the manila folder, it's contents, and his laptop, still opened to the documents on the personal healthcare companion robot. "Abigail!" he called out as he slid to a stop on the linoleum in her kitchen. His chucks made a stringent squeal but he didn't pay it any attention.
Abigail looked up from the sink where she was washing dishes. "What's wrong Kris?" she asked him, most likely noting the wide eyed look on his face.
"I'm sorry but I have to ask you a few questions about things your dad might have told you when you visited him in prison." he explained rapidly. His words came out so fast that he wondered if Abigail had truly understood them all. She gave him a guarded look but he ignored it. Instead, he stood beside her and sat the manila folder and the stolen notes on the counter beside her and set his laptop on top of it all. "Did your father ever talk about any of his former students to you? Anyone he might have mentored? Anyone who he worked with on a regular basis or was closer to than all his other students?"
Abigail gaped at him. Her open hanging jaw and wide eyes sort of made her look like a fish out of water. It was quite clear that she was having a hard time figuring out what she was even going to say to him. He continued anyways. "Did he talk about any students that might have had some sort of medical robotics project that they were working on in particular. Something that may have looked or been described as similar to this?" he waved his hand in the direction of the laptop.
Abigail looked from him to the picture of the inflatable balloon robot and then back to him. "I'm not sure if I understand where you were going with this." she told him shaking her head.
"Your dad..." he started to say but that's when he first felt it. A strange but vaguely familiar vibration humming through the floor, up his legs, and into his spine. Both he and Abigail paused to look at one another in complete and utter confusion. There was a fainting tingling sound as Abigail's glasses, plates, and other kitchen utensils started to shake in their cupboards. A wave of sound crashed over them. At first he thought that the faucet had suddenly been turned on full blast but he quickly realized that the rushing sound was way too loud for the kitchen sink.
"What is that?" Abigail breathed. She looked around. Her hands were shaking now because of the force of the vibration. His hands were shaking too. A glass vase that had been sitting on the windowsill behind the sink crashed down, shattering into tiny pieces. Abigail gave a scream in surprise. The fallen vase drew his eyes to the window. His eyes went wide when he saw how hard the glass panes were shaking. He might have been a robotics engineer but he still had a decent handle on physics.
"Abigail, get away from the window!" he yelled suddenly as he latched on to her arms. Just as he pulled her away from the window, a horrible shattering sound blew threw the kitchen. The concussive force of the air pressure that had been applied to the glass was enough to knock them both off their feet and send them to the ground. He grabbed the brim of his ball cap and pulled it down over his face to protect himself while simultaneously throwing his other arm over Abigail's head as he both felt and heard the rest of the window in her apartment shatter to bits.
Then suddenly and without warning, the vibration stopped as though it had never existed in the first place. "Abigail?" called a voice from the living room. "Abigail! Where are you?"
"Daddy?" Abigail gasped.
Sneak Peek at Next Week's Chapter:
"I need you to grab your things. Clothes, books, whatever you think you'll need to get out of San Fransokyo for awhile, and come with me." Callaghan told her.
XXX
"Abigail, the world is broken. There should be rules, laws, that govern it. Keep it from destroying itself."
XXX
Callaghan hasn't given up his revenge fantasy! The sudden thought struck him across the face like a slap.
Thank you once again to everyone who followed, favorited, and reviewed. Special Thanks to...
Vanellopes (Anon reviewer): You know... I hadn't actually thought about Abigail noticing similarities between Hiro and Tadashi. You bring up a good point. Abigail does know who Hiro is and has met with both him and his friends on occasion. However, I think given the circumstances at the moment Abigail is a little more preoccupied to be noticing that the consulting scientist in her living room bears some noticeable similarities to Hiro Hamada. Maybe if things were different, Abigail might definitely be suspicious.
UntitledJoy: The brother-sister relationship is one of my favorite things between Vera and Chiune/Tadashi too. Rest assured, we will find out who is older as well. As for Chiune/Tadashi's insecurities, that was a really important characteristic for me regarding him. I wanted to give him some flaws to make him more relatable and human such as his prankster antics and insecurities. I don't think there is anyone in the world who feels confident with themselves one hundred percent of the time. His scars from the fire are pretty dominating. Something like that would definitely affect a person.
Silver-09: Yes, Vera has an eye for shiny things. And expensive Italian suits. And sharp high heels. She's not a fashionista but she treats the clothes she wears like battle armor. And yes, Abigail calls Callaghan Daddy (most of the time). It just felt right somehow. I picture Abigail as a huge Daddy's girl with a very strong bond between the two.
InsanityIsClarity: Tadashi and Hiro will meet soon! I swear it. Bear with me just a little while longer!
Allanna Stone: Glad you're enjoying the story so far! We've still got a ways to go so I hope I can continue to keep your interest!
akizaki114: I actually have a hard time hearing voice actors/actresses in my head for my own characters. It's kind of hard to describe what my original characters sound like to me actually. Emma Stone though is a tremendously talented actress, Oscar nominated at such a young age, and would probably do a stellar job with Vera's character and voice. Including some of the more challenging parts that are coming for Vera.
bukalay: I imagine that if Baymax scanned and found Chiune/Tadashi in the area and pulled the "Tadashi is here" bit, Hiro would be incredibly confused. Most likely he would think Baymax was malfunctioning... that is until Chiune/Tadashi came over and started geeking out over how cool Baymax was. Then there would be pandemonium! And a lot of screaming I think. As far as the Marvel/Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. references, don't worry about it. Basically all you need to know is Coulson is Vera and Chiune/Tadashi's boss and he's in charge of the organization. I'm not as up to snuff on the canon!Marvel verse as I would so like. I quite enjoy DC comics as well.
