Big Hero 6: The Crossover
Chapter 9: You'll never believe this
The ride to Fred's house feels like a millennium to Hiro. He dreads each second, waiting with bated breath for Tadashi's condition to worsen as Aya yields to stop signs and red lights. As he grips his brother's hand, the young hero subconsciously rubs his thumb down his wrist, reassured by the steady pulse as well the rise and fall of Tadashi's chest and the fog forming and waning inside his oxygen mask.
As if sensing his unease, Aya grips his shoulder and gives it a soft squeeze. "Everything will be okay, Hiro."
"… I lost him once before to a fire."
The nurse turns back to the wheel to focus on the road. "I know. But his condition's not life-threatening. You don't have to worry. I won't anything happen to him under my watch." She smiles at him through the rearview mirror, and his grip on Tadashi's hand slackens slightly.
Finally, the millennium ends and they arrive at Fred's place. As soon as the car is parked, Hiro runs to the entrance and tells Heathcliff to get Baymax. The butler comes back with the giant marshmallow a few minutes later, followed by the rest of BH6.
"Hiro, what's going on?" asks Honey Lemon.
Before he can answer, Aya exits her car and walks to the other side so they can unload their smuggled patient. When they see who it is, the rest of BH6 gawks.
"What the hell is he doing here?" demands GoGo. "You were supposed to take him to the hospital!"
Hiro ignores his friends as he helps Aya lift Tadashi into Baymax's arms. "So that's what he looks like," Aya muses as she walks next to the healthcare robot. She carries the compressor with care as she monitors Tadashi, making sure not to accidentally pull off the oxygen mask. Heathcliff leads them to the closest guestroom where they setup Tadashi and the compressor. Hiro reaches to close the door, but a foot steps into the threshold before he can.
"Explain, Hamada." GoGo glares down at him with the malice of a viper, but Hiro is too concerned about his brother to care about his own safety.
"I'll explain later. I promise." He shuts the door and locks in an afterthought. After slamming the door in her face, he doesn't trust the speed demon or the others not to barge in.
Joining Aya and Baymax at the bed, Hiro watches them work as he observes his brother. His breathing hasn't changed, but the pallor in his skin has gained some color. While Aya makes some adjustments to the compressor, Baymax does a diagnostic scan on the unconscious young man. "My sensors are detecting a long-acting beta-agonist and corticosteroid solution in Tadashi's respiratory system."
"What does that mean?"
"It means Tadashi is starting to breathe on his own again," Aya clarifies. "Right now, the compressor is circulating an anti-inflammatory drug along with the oxygen into Tadashi's lungs. We usually only use it on people who suffer from asthma attacks."
"Is that what happened to Tadashi at the clinic?"
"Basically. Since he doesn't actually have asthma… does he?" Hiro shakes his head. "Since he doesn't have asthma, he should recover within a few days."
"Based on the dosage of the long-acting beta-agonist/corticosteroid solution, Tadashi's respiratory system should recover in approximately twenty-four hours with proper bedrest."
Aya looks at Baymax, unamused. "Thanks for clarifying."
"I sense you are being… sarcastic."
"That is correct."
Hiro snickers at their banter. Aya may seem annoyed, but he knows she's fascinated with Baymax. "Thanks, Aya. I owe you big."
"No, you don't. Your aunt already gave me free coffee for life. Your debt's been paid a hundred times over." She checks her phone before heading towards the door. "Mind pointing me to the closest bathroom?"
"It's just to the right. But I have to warn you my friends will probably pounce on you for answers as soon as you leave the room."
She gives him a wry look. "Six days a week I deal with loud families, hypochondriacs, and people who shouldn't be licensed to practice medicine; I think I can manage." The nurse unlocks the door, slides through the jamb, and closes it in a blink of an eye. Shortly after, Hiro hears his friends questioning her, and the voices fade further into the hallway.
He's never felt more indebted to a stranger. He has no idea what he'd do without Aya. Tadashi may have built Baymax to be deal with medical emergencies, but he obviously forgot to include a few things. Baymax wasn't equipped to help Tadashi back in the alley. He'll have to fix that later.
Right now, Hiro confronts the millions of questions that have multiplied since he'd found Tadashi with that stranger.
First question: what the hell was that knucklehead thinking!? They've only been reunited for less than a day, and Tadashi had nearly died—again! And minutes after escaping the inferno, he's with the arsonist. At first, Hiro thought the fire freak had confronted his brother, but it turns out Tadashi was the one doing the confronting. Now that he's thinking more clearly, he doesn't remember seeing any signs of a struggle; Tadashi must have led him there all on his own. You'd think someone who has survived more than one fire would have a reinforced sense of self-preservation, but not Tadashi. No, he always has to be the "hero".
Second question: why? Why would Tadashi lead the arsonist away? Unless he was right and Tadashi really was his target from the start. But why was this guy after his brother? What had he done to gain this maniac's attention? It must have something to do with the fire from three months ago.
Which leads to the ultimate question, a question that's been haunting him since the night of Tadashi's return:
What happened to his big brother?
A groan comes from the occupant beside him, and Hiro watches as Tadashi shifts in his sleep. He doesn't wake up, much to Hiro's relief. Tadashi would definitely not be okay with his next actions. "Baymax, scan Tadashi again. Look for anything that shouldn't be there."
Baymax's eyes buzz softly as his scanners analyze Tadashi. A few seconds pass before the buzzing stops, and the healthcare robot reports his analysis. "There is nothing wrong with Tadashi. However, I do detect something strange in his nervous system, particularly in his cerebral cortex."
Hiro blanches. "W-What is it?"
"I do not know. The substance is not in my database. But it is not affecting Tadashi's nervous system in any way. It is completely harmless." That comforts the teen a little, but barely.
Hiro runs a hand through his scruffy hair in exasperation. He'd hoped his hunch was wrong, that there was nothing different about Tadashi, that this was the same brother he'd known since he was born. Now that Baymax has confirmed it, he can't deny it any longer. It's moments like this that make him deplore his own genius.
Before Hiro can ask more, Aya slides her way back into the room with a glass of water. "Next time you tell someone where the bathroom is, be more specific! There are, like, a million rooms 'to the right'!"
Hiro puts his jittery hands in his pockets. He stumbles to reply, still flabbergasted by Baymax's discovery. "S-Sorry. Wasn't thinking…"
Aya doesn't seem to notice his agitation as she heads over to the other side of the room to take a seat at the desk. "Thankfully, the butler told me where it is. Your friends were no help, either. Every time I asked them a question, they just answered with another question. Guess who they were asking about." Hiro rubs the back of his neck guiltily. "You should really go out there and explain what's going on, Hiro. They're just as worried about Tadashi as you are."
He shifts away from her, and Baymax, and Tadashi. Even with his back turned to them, he knows Baymax can still sense his uncertainty. Thankfully the robot has the tact to not say anything to the other conscious occupant of the room. He knows he needs to tell his friends about Tadashi, but he still has so many questions. He'd rather wait for his brother to wake up and get some answers than explain his paranoia to his friends.
Sighing in defeat, Hiro heads toward the door. He hesitates as soon as his hand grasps the knob. "You'll watch him, right?"
He can practically feel Aya roll her eyes. "Of course I will. It's kinda my job."
"Thanks… Will you tell me when he—"
"Go already!"
"R-Right!" Hiro hurries out the door before the nurse can physically throw him out. As he meets GoGo's ice-cold stare, he can't decide which of the two young women is scarier.
O—O
"Hiro, this doesn't make sense."
"Yeah, why would that guy be after Tadashi?"
"I don't know, but…" Hiro looks around at the faces of his friends, who are all giving him similar looks of puzzlement. He expected this reaction.
After calmly informing the rest of BH6 of Tadashi's condition, he explained the reason behind his rash decision of bringing the comatose man here instead of taking him to the hospital. Needless to say, the older members aren't convinced (except for Fred, who looks distracted for some reason). But being the obstinate teenager he is, their doubt makes him want to prove his theory even more.
"Look, just—just hear me out!" Everyone quiets down, taken aback. They haven't seen Hiro this worked up since he almost made Baymax end Callaghan's life. "I know it sounds crazy, but why else would Tadashi have gone to that alley?"
"How do you know Tadashi was there of his own volition?" Honey Lemon asks. "The arsonist—"
"Fire Starter!" Everybody stares at Fred. Seeing the attention suddenly on him, the superhero fanatic apologizes, "Sorry, don't mind me. Just thinking of a villain name."
"… Like I was saying, the arsonist could have taken Tadashi."
"Cass said he ran off," GoGo remembers. "But that doesn't mean you're right."
"Anyone else think it's weird that the fire and the theft at Krei Tech happened within a few days of each other?" asks Wasabi.
Noting the spontaneous glint of excitement in Fred's eyes, Honey Lemon struggles to quell the brewing storm of exposition that's about to come. "That's just a coincidence! Crimes happen all the time!"
"But what if—"
"But what if it's the same villain," Fred interjects, standing and pointing to the ceiling for emphasis, "who's committing these crimes?"
Honey Lemon massages her temple. "Oh, boy…"
Wasabi crosses his arms and pouts, irked at having his thunder stolen. "Yes, Fred. Thanks for that."
"So what you're saying," GoGo says, looking pointedly at Fred and Wasabi, "is that the person who stole the portal from Krei is the same person who not only set the café on fire also the same guy who you—" she switches her gaze to Hiro "—think is trying to kidnap Tadashi."
The male members of BH6 exchange glances before replying with a concurrent, "Yeah."
"Okay, then. So assuming you're right—"
"And that's a really big if," Honey Lemon hastily adds.
"—that still doesn't answer our earlier questions. Who is this guy, and what does Tadashi have to do with any of this?"
"I think I can… shed some light… on this." Everyone jumps up when they hear the breathless intruder. Tadashi leans against the door of Fred's room, supported by his alleged night nurse, who looks uncomfortable for having to intrude on their "superhero meeting".
"What do you think you're doing, man?" Wasabi cries, outraged.
"You need to go back to bed!" says Honey Lemon. "You can barely stand!"
Tadashi ignores them and continues further into the room. Seeing him struggle to breathe, Wasabi goes over to help Aya quickly usher their friend into the closest seat. GoGo pointedly glares at the night nurse, who merely shrugs and mouths something that Hiro can barely make out.
Once he's seated, Tadashi takes a moment to examine the room. "Why doesn't it surprise me that Fred has a secret double life as a millionaire and a superhero?"
"Actually, my parents are millionaires. But I get that a lot."
Hiro walks over to his older brother, rubbing his arm insecurely. "You… don't seem so surprised by any of this. Does that mean you know...?"
"Aya pretty much told me you all are superheroes as soon as I woke up."
Everyone looks to the nurse again, who again just shrugs. "He was going to find out sooner or later."
"But this is nothing compared to what I've been through these last few days. Or I guess I should say these last three months." Tadashi chuckles darkly under his breath. Hiro balks at him, unfamiliar with this cynical side of his brother.
"So you do know this arsonist guy?" Wasabi asks.
The older Hamada nods somberly. "His name's Sunfire."
"Cool villain name," Fred quips, earning an elbow jab from GoGo."
"He's the first person I encountered when I… fell into this world."
A pause fills the room with palpable feelings of shock, disbelief, and a teensy bit of anger. No one knows how to react. Not even Fred can come up with some otherworldly explanation to Tadashi's weird statement.
"Now neither of you are making sense," says GoGo irately. She looks ready to punch anyone and anything within range, including the young man who's still struggling to breathe. "What do you mean you 'fell into this world'?"
"Just what I said. I fell into this world."
"This is crazy, Tadashi," says Wasabi.
"Yeah, this isn't funny," says Honey Lemon, though Hiro can tell just by looking at his previously deceased brother that he believes every word that he's saying. He knows Tadashi would never joke under such humorless circumstances. Then again, according to Tadashi himself, he may not even belong in this world at all, which would also explain his weird behavior from the day before.
Because of this, Hiro's not ready to dismiss this bit of enlightening news as quickly as the others. "Why do you think that?"
Tadashi sits silently for a moment, and Hiro can see the metaphorical cogs spinning behind his analytic gaze. "I need you guys to explain something to me first. What happened to me when I disappeared?"
"You didn't disappear."
"Hiro, maybe you shouldn't…"
"If he doesn't know already then maybe what he's saying isn't nonsense!" He doesn't mean to snap at Honey, but he has to know. He has to know why the Tadashi he's looking at feels like a complete stranger to him, and why his being from a different world is making more sense than anything that's happened since his homecoming.
And so Hiro tells him about the showcase and the fire that supposedly ended Tadashi's life. He tells him about finding Yokai, who was later revealed as Callaghan, and his plot to avenge his daughter by destroying Krei's livelihood and the billionaire himself. He tells him about the formation of Big Hero 6 and stopping Callaghan, smoothly glossing over the part about trying and failing to make Baymax destroy the former SFIT professor.
And while he's telling him all this, the others lapse into a solemn, reminiscent silence. None of them like remembering that bleak part of their lives. Even Aya, the outsider, looks saddened by the recollection of these events. Tadashi, on the other hand, looks like he's trying to piece together a 1000-piece puzzle in his mind. When Hiro first brings up his fiery death, he initially looks devastated, but as the story continues his face slowly transitions from horrified to confused to a myriad of other emotions Hiro can't even read.
Once he's done recollecting the last three months, Hiro and the others watch Tadashi's reaction with bated breath. "So… basically I should be…" No one wants to answer the silent inquiry, but Hiro nods all the same. Tadashi lets out a breath, wiping a hand over his forehead. "Okay… that explains a lot."
"You shouldn't have survived."
"Hiro!" The others gap at him like he's committed blasphemy, but he ignores their judgmental looks.
"So how did you?"
Tadashi isn't put off by the blunt question. "The day of the showcase, I didn't die in a fire. I fell into the portal Callaghan built to find his daughter."
"But Callaghan didn't know Abigail was still alive."
"Yeah, and he didn't build the portal," says Fred.
"Well my Callaghan did. And Abigail was helping him. Long story short, she got stuck on the other side, and all he wanted to do was get her back. I wasn't so sure if she was still alive myself, but when he asked me to assist him, I wasn't going to deny helping a father reunite with his daughter. We were making the final adjustments to retrieve Abigail when Hi—" Tadashi pauses, catching Hiro's eye, and corrects himself. "W-When someone broke into the lab. By the time I got to them, the portal was destabilizing. I saved him, but then I got hit by a metal beam that came loose due to the vacuum generated by the portal. The next thing I knew, I landed here. I didn't realize I was in the wrong world until after I talked to Hiro."
Silence takes over the room once more as everyone tries to fathom the unbelievable veracity of Tadashi's story. "H-How is this possible?" stammers Honey.
"It's not," GoGo insists. "This is something out of Fred's comic books."
"Like a bunch of college kids being superheroes?" Tadashi quips.
"Tadashi, man, this is a lot to take in," says Wasabi.
Tadashi immediately looks contrite. "Sorry. I know this doesn't make sense, but I've spent the last twenty-four hours trying to understand it, too. It's the only logical explanation for why none of my memories match any of yours, and it's the only reason I can imagine as to why Sunfire is after me in the first place."
"But, dude, if what you're saying is true," says Fred, "that means—"
"You're not our Tadashi." The words, as bitter as they are to say, ring with truth. "You're… not my brother."
Tadashi—the fake one who he almost replaced with his true brother—meets Hiro's disappointed gaze and grimaces. "No, I'm not. I'm so sorry, Hiro."
"… I knew it was too good to be true." Without pause, Hiro runs out of the room. He had a hunch—it was just a stupid hunch, but knowing that he was right doesn't make the truth any less excruciating.
O—O
As soon as Aya steps outside of the mansion, she takes in a deep, rejuvenating breath. The tension in there was suffocating, even after Hiro left the room. But she can't blame him; she'd be upset, too, if she found out her dead sibling who came back to life turned out to be from some alternate universe…
Scratch that. This whole situation is way out of her depth. First the discovery of BH6's identity, then learning of Fred's affluent background, and now, the icing on the cake, Tadashi's other-dimensional origins! It's like she's living every comic book nerd's dream!
Aya heads to her car, intent on running some errands before returning to the mansion. Hopefully things will settle down while she's gone.
Fred let her stay the night, but there are still a few things that she wants to get done before it gets too late. She doesn't know how long she plans on hiding out with the superheroes, and she wants to get as much done as possible before hunkering down for who knows how long to take care of Tadashi. And after spending a few minutes with Baymax and learning the extent of his medical programing, she figures the danger-prone moron can survive a few hours without her.
Tadashi didn't pull out any stops when creating the giant marshmallow. She wouldn't be surprised if Baymax knows just as much as, maybe even more, medical procedures than she does. And with such a soft, huggable appearance he's basically the perfect healthcare companion. She would have been miffed at the fact that his very existence made her job obsolete if she wasn't so impressed by Tadashi's ingenuity, not to mention his ambition to help others even at the risk of his own safety.
Tadashi's caring capacity amazes her. The look on his face after Hiro left breaks her heart just thinking about it. He may not be his real brother, but everyone in the room could plainly see that Tadashi definitely cares about this Hiro just as much as his own. He couldn't lie to him, but he didn't want to hurt him, either. And as much as she wanted to follow Hiro, she and everybody else agreed to leave him alone for now. Tadashi looked ready to bolt after him, but his friends pretty much trapped in the chair to prevent such a predictable move. Even though she's only known them for less than two days, Aya knows that both of the Hamada brothers, no matter which dimension they come from, are equally stubborn. They will make up, eventually. And if they don't by the time she gets back, then she'll make them.
Her first stop is her apartment. Sunfire doesn't know where she lives (thank goodness) and he probably doesn't even remember her face, but she still doesn't feel comfortable leaving BaoBao alone overnight. After packing a few extra clothes, some toiletries, and BaoBao's essentials, she and the Jindo make their way to the hospital.
Aya hasn't talked to Nicki since yesterday. There are only 30 minutes left before visiting hours are up, and she doesn't want to get kicked out of the hospital as soon as she gets in. Thankfully, neither Nick nor the nurse charged with Tadashi's care are in sight, and she and BaoBao make it to the ICU without running into any trouble.
"Hey, Kim," she politely greets the woman at the front desk.
"Hello, Aya." BaoBao goes behind the desk, begging for attention. "And hello to you, too, cutie. You look like you're trying to hide from someone."
"I'm not trying to hide... This is completely unrelated, but Nicki's not around, is she?"
Kim laughs and shakes her head. "She's been busy in the pediatric ward all day. What'd you do this time?"
"Nothing, I swear!" Kim gives her a disbelieving look. "It's a long story."
"I'm sure I'd love to hear it."
"I'm sure you would, too, but I'm saving it for someone else."
"Well, you got an hour, so you better make that story quick." Kim goes back to her paperwork, and Aya smiles gratefully at the older woman.
"Thanks, Kim. You're the best."
"And don't you forget it."
Coaxing the Jindo along, Aya makes her way down the hallway until she reaches the room on the end. Inside is a woman. From the pristine way she's lying in bed, blissfully unaware of her visitors, no one would suspect that she's sick. Or that she may never wake up again.
"Hey, Mom. You doing okay?" There's no response, and the only noises filling the room are the beeps and clicks of the machines keeping her mother alive. Aya sighs, disappointed. No progress so far. That's to be expected, but it still leaves her wanting. A twitch, a wiggle, some sort of sign that her mother will eventually come back to her. But she receives nothing, and the hope in her heart falters.
BaoBao immediately runs up to the bed, but he doesn't jump on. He's been weaned of that particular behavior since their first visit. "Okay, BaoBao. You can go up." Permission given, he gently climbs onto the bed, lying by the woman's feet. They both miss her constantly, so Aya makes sure they visit every day, even when it's late. And as much as she's afraid of Sunfire, she isn't going to allow the threat of his existence stop her from visiting the only family she has left.
"Sorry we're late." Aya settles into the chair next to the bed. "You'll never believe the day I just had…"