Chapter Ten: Bomb!

Several squad cars guarded the main entrance of the event center as Chloe drove up with Lucifer riding shotgun. Ella wasn't too far behind with a CSU van. The medical examiner's vehicle was already there and the detective noted they'd already cordoned off a large part of the sidewalk with police tape to keep the curious onlookers at bay.

Walking up to the senior officer, Chloe pulled on a pair of gloves. "What have we got?" she asked as she followed the man inside, Lucifer mostly behind her.

"Right in the middle of one of the fights, someone shoots one of the fighters with a poisoned dart," the man answered as he led her past the crowd of people being detained inside. "Since no one's sure where it came from, they locked down the whole building. No one's been allowed in or out. They did detain a kid who might have had something to do with it though."

Chloe nodded, turning to look for Lucifer. She spotted him as he ducked around a few of the straggling spectators who hadn't quite gotten behind the barriers. "Any idea how they got something like that past security?" She nodded at the metal detectors, knowing no security was perfect.

The officer shook his head. "No idea. It's possible the weapon was smuggled in yesterday before all the extra precautions were set up. They still haven't found the gun that fired the dart but my men are combing the area."

A few more turns, and a corridor later, they were led into the main arena where even more people were being escorted to another holding area in the building. Several guards made sure they kept moving while the medical examiner, along with a white giant balloon-looking thing stood up on the platform. "What is that?" Chloe pointed at the robot.

Shrugging, the officer stopped short of the metal steps leading up to the platform. "Beats me. Far as I can gather, he's some kind of healthcare robot. Might be one of Tony Stark's."

Before Chloe could go up the steps, however, Lucifer put out a restraining hand to block her. "Wait. Did you just say Tony Stark? As in the Tony Stark?"

"That's what I said," the officer shrugged before heading back to the main entrance.

Chloe gave an impatient grunt as she pushed past Lucifer. "What's the big deal?" she asked. "He's probably just some big time tycoon sponsor."

Lucifer followed her up, a frown on his face, though he caught sight of Ella about ready to lose her cool in a squeal. "Tony Stark is a big deal," he countered as he got in front of her once more. "Surely you've heard of him before?" He searched her face for any sign of recognition for the name but didn't get any. "Oh come on, Detective! Tony Stark! Billionaire genius, philanthropist, play boy?" When that didn't seem to ring any bells, he got a bit more irate. "Iron Man! The Avengers! Surely you've heard of them!"

The detective let out an exasperated sigh. "Yes, I've heard of them, but I still don't see what the big deal is. It's not like he's going to be here getting in the way, much like you are." She gave him a look to match her mood and slid past him. "Okay, what have we got?" she asked the medical examiner as she knelt to take in the victim's body.

"I can't believe she doesn't know who Tony Stark is," Lucifer complained as Ella moved to pass him, evidence collecting kit in hand.

"I know, right?" Ella agreed. "Who doesn't know who Iron Man is? He's an American icon!"

Lucifer nodded in agreement. "Exactly." He then paused as one of the men ahead turned towards him. "Hello," he said as he moved forward, not entirely sure he was seeing who he thought he was seeing.

Tony Stark turned at the sound of his name, sunglasses pulled down just a bit so he could see over them. "I hope you're not another reporter," he stated as he took in Lucifer's expensive attire.

The devil stuck out his hand for the billionaire to shake. "Lucifer Morningstar," he introduced. "I'm with the LAPD. My partner, the Detective, is over there."

Iron Man give him a once over before dismissing him. He stepped around Ella's case, which she'd set on the floor. "I wasn't here when it happened. I had an important phone call and had to step out into the hall so someone else was officiating the match."

Lucifer followed him around the scene, pausing when he did. "I see. So who was officiating? And who was the other contestant?"

At that moment, Baymax waddled over to Tony. "I believe I have done all I am capable of doing here," he announced. "Will you tell me where they took Hiro now?" If it weren't for the fact that some of the walls inhibited his usual sensors, he'd probably have been able to find where they'd taken his friend, but he couldn't. It would be another matter entirely if he had his super sensor, but he didn't.

Lucifer mulled over the name, trying to recall where he'd heard. "Hiro. Hiro." He looked up as realization struck. "Do you mean Hiro Hamada? One of the two teenagers competing?"

Baymax swiveled his head so he could look Lucifer in the eye. He performed a quick, non-intrusive scan of the man, as he was programmed to do on any new encounter. "Yes," he confirmed. "They took him away after we tried to resuscitate the patient. I believe he will require my care."

Tony pursed his lips, looking either thoughtful or troubled. It was sometimes hard to tell. "Hiro was the one going up against your victim," he stated as he looked straight at Lucifer. "I heard they took him to a room where they could detain him for questioning. But I want to make myself very clear on something. I do not believe, in any way shape or form, that he had anything to do with this."

"Ooooh," Lucifer all but cooed, looking intrigued. "So you know the young whelp." All he really knew about the teen came from what he'd learned from William Lawson, though he was still convinced that wasn't the man's real name.

Tony shrugged. "He and his friends were my guests this last spring," he admitted. "And while he can be a bit of a troublemaker, he's not the type who would take another person's life."

But before Lucifer could comment on that, Chloe joined them, brushing off her pants. "I hear they're detaining the person she went up against in the fight," she announced. "Since he was right there, either he's the one who did it or he knows something about it."

Lucifer cleared his throat as he gave a less than subtle nudge towards Mr. Stark. "Detective, I don't believe you've met Tony Stark. Mr. Stark, this is my partner, Detective Chloe Decker. He was just telling me how he knows the young man in question, a Hiro Hamada if I remember correctly."

With hands thrust in his pockets, Tony gave a polite nod of greeting. "That's right," he agreed. "And if you're looking for the culprit, he's not your man."

"I'll be the judge of that," Chloe said firmly as she signaled one of the other officers over. She then requested he take her to where Hiro was being held. When she noticed Baymax trying to follow, she had another officer restrain him.

"You're making a mistake by not letting him go with you," Stark called after her. "You'll need him soon enough! Just don't say I didn't warn you!" He shook his head as the detective and her partner disappeared from sight. He glanced over at Baymax. "I've got it from here," he announced to the officer guarding him. "Baymax, let's go."

Getting no further resistance from the officer, Baymax followed Tony out through the opposite door. Hopefully he would soon be reunited with his number one patient. Based off his most recent scans, he felt more than certain the teen needed him.

Hiro felt like the world had turned upside down on him. One moment he was in the arena, the next he was screaming for Baymax as he knelt over his fallen opponent. And he kept replaying that over and over in his head. It was like a song on repeat, going over and over and over again. Why wouldn't it stop?

The teen shuddered as he felt arms wrap around his body. It seemed almost as if he'd woken up, except he wasn't quite awake. And he didn't recognize the room he was in. But he recognized the scent of Aunt Cass, chocolate, cleaning supplies . . . among many others. He turned into her chest and hugged her back like a frightened child.

"Hey," Cass said, trying to smooth his hair. "It's okay. We're going to get through this." She hadn't seen him look this vulnerable in a while, not since he'd first woken up in Stark Tower still completely out of it thanks to the drugs that had run in his system. "I'm sure there's been some kind of mistake."

Realizing he was acting like someone half his age, Hiro pulled back and shook himself in an attempt to more firmly ground his mind. He still felt like he wasn't exactly inside his body, similar to when he'd somehow managed to disconnect his mind in that Hydra base. Except he wasn't sure where his mind was trying to go. It seemed to just be floating in the ether. And where was Baymax? Hadn't he been with him only a moment before? He wasn't sure.

The teen tried to pull himself together but it was difficult. Everything had a sort of hazy quality to it, like he was somehow out of tune with the rest of reality. "Where are we?" he asked. "What happened?" He wasn't sure he could remember what had happened after they'd forcefully ushered him off the stage.

Cass shook her head. "I don't know. They didn't tell me anything after leaving us in here. And I probably wouldn't even be in here with you if you weren't still a minor." She thanked her stars for that. Hiro didn't look in any condition to be left alone. She hadn't seen any of his attacks start up but wondered if he might be close to having another reintegration episode. Or an episode of PTSD.

The door opened and two people entered the room, a man and a woman. Both looked professional, though the man's clothes decidedly looked more expensive than the woman's did. They moved to sit behind a table someone had brought into the room, pulling out a pad of paper and a recorder.

"I'm Detective Chloe Decker and this is my partner, Lucifer Morningstar," the woman introduced as she made herself comfortable. She pulled out a pen. "Please take a seat." She indicated that both Hiro and his aunt should move closer to the table where two folding chairs waited. "I understand you were present when Rachel Amesbury died."

Hiro moved to the nearest chair without thinking, his aunt following behind him. She gave him a comforting squeeze as he tried to not pant. He felt trapped, like he was in a small room with no windows, no doors. And, in a way, he was. Aside from the table and chairs, the room only had a few shelves of random boxes against either wall. An overhead light gave the only light in the room. There were no windows and only the one visible door. It was too much like that cell at the Hydra base for comfort.

When Hiro didn't answer, Chloe pressed again. "You're name is Hiro, right? Hiro Hamada?" She noted how he seemed distracted, like he wasn't entirely mentally there. In a way, she supposed she couldn't blame him. It was a lot to take in for anyone, guilty or not.

After a gentle nudge from his aunt, Hiro focused on the female detective. "Yeah." His throat felt dry, like it was too hot in the room. He resisted the urge to pull at his collar. It was a sure sign of nervousness and he didn't need them thinking anything outside of what was already going on in their heads. He wasn't even sure he wanted to know what they thought either.

"And were you acquainted with the deceased?" Chloe continued while her partner kicked back in his seat to watch the show.

Hiro shook his head. "No," he managed. "It was the first time we'd met. But Kally knew her."

The detective looked at her notes and frowned. "Kally who? I don't have anything about her."

When it looked like her nephew either wouldn't or couldn't answer, Cass spoke up for him. "Kally Carmichael. She's a sixteen-year-old student at NYU. I think she was sharing a hotel room with Rachel."

Chloe noted the information down before looking back up. "Okay, why don't you tell us what happened."

Hiro glanced at his aunt, who gave him a subtle nod. He still wasn't sure how he felt. It was a combination of wanting to puke and still not quite being there. He shook his head to try and clear his thoughts but that only seemed to make things worse. "I was trying to keep her from destroying my bot in the ring," he recalled with an effort. "But she was trouncing mine. Her bot was using a plasma cutter to take mine apart. And-"

Lucifer sat up at that. "What? A plasma cutter? Are you certain?" His expression was unreadable until he frowned, arms folded across his chest in thought. "Sounds like there was more than one foul at play."

Not sure what her partner was talking about, Chloe glanced over at Lucifer. "What do you mean?" She had a basic idea of what a plasma cutter was, though she wasn't sure why he'd reacted that way when Hiro had mentioned it.

"Well," Lucifer began, not sure if he should go on or not, but decided he'd better. "Plasma cutters aren't allowed in the competition. They're considered too dangerous. Someone must have dropped the ball when they let her in with that addition. That or it was added after the bots were examined."

More than a little disturbed at this potential turn of events, the detective schooled her face and turned back to her detainee. "Okay, getting back to the sequence of events, what happened next?"

Hiro blinked rapidly, feeling suddenly light headed. Had he forgotten to breathe again? He must have. And then it didn't matter as he suddenly found himself not in the small room with the detective and her partner, but in the control room on Akuma Island.

There was something wrong with this and he knew it. One side of the control panels were missing. And there was something beeping. "What's making that sound?" He turned his head as if searching for the source.

Unable to hear what Hiro was, Chloe couldn't help but look confused. "What sound? I don't hear anything." She did note that Hiro suddenly seemed a lot more out of it than he had a moment before. He also seemed to look a lot paler than he'd been a moment before. She moved to stand but Lucifer stopped her.

"Allow me, Detective," the devil said as he stood instead and moved around the table so he could look Hiro directly in the eyes. Except the teen didn't meet his eyes, looking more like he was about to puke. In fact, his eyes appeared to be unfocused. "You know, I think he's having some kind of episode."

Cass immediately reached over and took Hiro by the shoulders, turning him to face him. "Hiro?" She didn't miss the unfocused glaze in his eyes. "Hiro, can you hear me?" She could feel his heart thudding pointedly beneath her fingers. Thoughts of two nights ago, before they'd come down to Los Angeles, filled her mind. She looked up at the detective. "Where's Baymax? He looks like a giant inflatable marshmallow."

Images of the vinyl robot filled Chloe's mind. "I had him detained in the main arena," she admitted. "Why?"

"That's Baymax and he's Hiro's healthcare companion," Cass explained with a sense of urgency. "You need to find him right now." She then turned her attention back to her nephew. "Sweetie, can you hear me? Please tell me you can hear me?"

But Hiro couldn't answer her, caught up in the memory of one of his many repeated timelines. He stared in fascinated horror at the small device on the floor, its red light flashing incessantly at him. There was something wrong about that light and his heart gave a lurch as he realized what it was. "Bomb!" he yelled, wrenching himself free from his aunt's arms. He then made as if to run out of the room, except he was heading in the wrong direction. "Run!"

The closest to him, Lucifer tried to restrain him as the teen ran right into him. "Detective!" he called out. "There is something very obviously wrong with this young man! I suggest you do something!"

Almost as if coming out of a trance, Chloe stood from her seat and headed to the door. "Yeah," she said shakily before turning the knob and calling for the officer stationed just outside. "I need you to go find that giant robot that looks like a white balloon. Hurry." She turned back at the sound of Hiro screaming.

It looked like Hiro was having either a seizure or some kind of fit. His body had tensed and he was now on the floor. His limbs had spread out as his back tried to arch away from the ground, except it only made it a few inches before his screams went up in pitch, his skin flushing almost scarlet. "No! Baymax!" he screamed and then his body went limp.

Cass threw herself to the ground by her nephew's side, feeling his neck for a pulse. Thankfully, she found one. "We need a medic in here! Now!" she cried out. And then the building violently shook.