[12] Satellite
The word that came to mind that best described how Fred felt was 'cotton ball'. He imagined himself as light and fluffy as a cloud, and literally thought he was floating like one. No.. no… this was…
The light over him looked like the one at his dentist. The laughing gas really must have been doing its job this time. Fred didn't even remember coming in for his check-up now! Hopefully his teeth were okay, since the fanboy hadn't brushed very well that morning. Everything felt so numb.
Someone nearby was singing like a drunkard, as if he was at a karaoke bar. But why?
Maybe the other guy was floating high on a cloud too, and for some reason that gave Fred the giggles. This had to have been the weirdest dental visit he's ever experienced. He gave in to the desire to also throw in one of his favorite Katie Perry song. "Baby.. you're a fiiiiirework! C'mon, show 'em what your worth! Make 'em go 'Oh, ohhh, ohhhhhh!'"
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"When are you going to silence them?" the older man, the senior scientific officer of their operation, questioned his partner - his neurotic genius twin brother whom seemed to have sadly missed his share of common sense. They both were redheads with pale freckled skin, but many grey hairs from age and stress now peppered their auburn hair. The main reason why the eldest brother worked with his twin was that he wanted to make sure he stayed out of irreversible trouble (which seemed to be getting harder to do lately).
The two of them worked in another room apart from the holding cells where their test subjects stayed. The room was above the holding cells, looking down, and shielded with one way glass. Even if any of the people below could see clearly, the two scientists and their assistants would not be seen.
"But this is good… good, Aiden! They won't feel a thing now," Aric rubbed his hands together, then turned back to the computer monitors as his hands glided over the holographic keyboards as he typed quickly. "What is it that every human desires? The core essentials for survival? Things like food, money, and sex are great… but without a home or a safe place for us to enjoy all of this, what are we?"
"Still humans," the more docile twin sighed, rubbing his clean-shaven face. Yes, he was the oldest of the two, but only by a minute difference. His younger, more domineering twin managed to always have everything his way.
"No, we are more vulnerable. So frail and short-lived! Everyone seeks security. Protection from the storm! Even if it is just a false sense—"
"So developing monsters will further secure our safety from the unknown?" Aiden crossed his arms.
"No, not monsters! Secret weapons. These people I chose have the kindest of heart. No evil desires, and so optimistic and free. These are the strongest qualities to ensure the most protective of my guardians!" turned to face his dubious brother to stress his point.
"Hmph… I am still shocked that you chose the Fredrickson's boy. Might as well have grabbed the governor's daughter too!"
"But he was among the best matches!" Aric stood up to carry his point, right to his brother's face. The younger was taller just by a couple inches as well.
"And also one of the best ways to have our operations exposed! His father is still affiliated with SHIELD, among other things!" Aiden yelled back angrily.
"Which is why I'll be done and have him back out before they notice…" the maniacal twin growled. What he meant by 'before they notice' also included covering up their involvement. "Now please stop arguing about this."
Aric turned back to his seat, staring at the monitors for only a moment before going forth with the administration of the formulated genetic serum into the muscle tissues of his test subjects. His previous attempts fed it directly into the blood stream. While the transformative results appeared quickly, his success rate was a failure. Not very many survived the sudden shock from having the radiated genetic material ravage their nervous system.
Of course, it could just be in the nature of the serum itself, being of something they had designed from the DNA obtained from dinosaurs and transformed by a rare radioactive substance taken from an asteroid. Not exactly like the Godzilla DNA from legend, but it was pretty close, he thought. The glowing yellow formula he had now was the result of years of research.
Aric was convinced it would work now!
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"This is it?" GoGo scrutinized the sealed flask containing a clear, slightly pink liquid that Honey Lemon lifted out of her refrigeration unit. The three stood in the chemist's work area at the labs in SFIT.
"I doubt it's been switched out… that label is my handwriting. And it's still my pretty shade of pink," Honey Lemon was doubtful of their claims.
"They could switch the label around.. and match the dye," Wasabi apparently was not accepting her reasoning as positive proof.
"I can run a test to be sure," the tall blond countered their concerns.
"Does it look like the label was peeled off?" the buff physicist moved in closer to the flask to inspect the label. Fortunately, all of the corners and edges looked clean and firmly adhered, not like they had been picked at all for a removal.
"What about dusting for fingerprints, Sherlock?" GoGo said with her arms crossed, finishing her question with a pop of her gum.
"I'll run a test on it before you do that," Honey Lemon pulled open a drawer at her desk to get out some gloves and a face mask.
"Oh.. you know what? I'll stand by to keep watch," Wasabi decidedly walked backward a few steps, before turning around to take post by the wall divider separating work areas.
"Right," Honey Lemon sighed, noticing his apprehension. The tall chemist had been aware the uneasiness from the two regarding this serum, and the hazard it posed. She played it safe by opening the lid for her clear, isolation chamber and placed the flask inside. Then she located a tray of pencil thin test tubes to collect the serum for testing. Once both were inside, Honey Lemon accessed them through the heavy-duty gloves built-in to the box to take eye-dropper full amounts of serum from the flask to the test tubes.
Such a tedious process just to make sure this wasn't tampered with… GoGo thought to herself impatiently. They already had a long night helping Hiro's friend, and then this. Just to stay one step ahead, the speed queen wondered what else they could do. She imagined once Honey Lemon took out the samples for testing, they could check the flask afterwards for fingerprints. That is, after they found something to dust it with. "You have anything, like talcum powder, for us to dust with?" the engineer asked Honey.
"Probably… check that third drawer down, over there," the blonde pointed that way.
The results on that produced no clear prints, since it was handled by gloved fingers. "That settles that…" Gogo twisted her mouth.
Once the computer beeped, the girls both looked at the new printout of the readings with a previous report that Honey Lemon had. Both had matched, exactly.
"It's the same," the tall chemist proven to them that it remained untouched.
"Now what?" Wasabi had ventured back over, after over hearing the results.
"We should take it with us," GoGo crossed her arms.
"I rather we destroy it," Wasabi voiced his own opinion. "That was made in secret, not a school project. You know how Professor Granville gets when we do stuff like this! It was a miracle that other time Hiro wasn't-"
"And that's why we need to chill," GoGo interrupted him. It wasn't so much in Hiro's defense, despite the boy genius's history of challenging himself to do the impossible. She also didn't want Wasabi's hysterics to attract the wrong attention. "Going on like this is gonna get us caught too,"she explained sternly with a hushed tone.
Wasabi sighed rather audibly, shifting his weight from foot to foot a couple times to demonstrate his unease.
"We'll take it with us," Honey Lemon quickly decided, in her effort to keep the peace.
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Hiro's thoughts felt increasely conflicted and hopeless. Fred was not coming up anywhere in Baymax's scans. They also used different settings that used bio signs and heat signature read-outs, but nothing. Was he somewhere that was able to jam a scanner? Who had him and why? The hero genius worried if it was someone who had been affiliated with Obake. That maniacal tech-genius excelled at finding ways to block the technology Hiro used for scanning, among other things.
"Where is he..?" Hiro grumbled in defeat. Fatigue began to weigh down on him, making his arms grow weak as he held his postion on Baymax's back. He had hope earlier when Baymax positively declared that his scanners would find Fred. Being with Baymax usually gave him that comforting feeling of power, that everything will be all right.
"I am unable to tell you, Hiro. I am sorry," Baymax responded in kind through his helmet's intercom.
That motivation long since left him now. Hiro brought his helmeted forehead down on Baymax's armored back as he leaned back on his elbows.
"You need to sleep for at least eight hours for: optimal rest," his companion told him as his way of showing his concern.
"I know…" Hiro breathed, closing his eyes. That did sound like a tempting idea, except there was still so much to do before Monday.
"Your age group requires: eight to ten hours of sleep to function best."
"Yeah… but that's not going to bring Fred back," he argued, feeling even more annoyed.
"It will help your concentration and mood. Not sleeping is not hero-worthy," Baymax already had an answer for his saltiness. By now, his dear healthcare companion had built quite the database on how to respond to Hiro's moods.
"Just… head back." Despite his attitude, the young hero succumbed to letting his body relax some more. His magnetized ports on his knees and gloves would still hold him in place if he did somehow drift off.
Hiro's weary mind ended up wondering if this was how Pidge felt, when she didn't find anyone as quickly as they hoped. Her resilience was somehow.. inspiring, however. Did she make contact with them now? Would Pidge say goodbye to him before she left?
Why was he even thinking about her now.. worrying about her…? Argh.
The younger Hamada squeezed his eyes shut as he willed himself to wake up again. In his dilerium, he forgot that Ronin was still with Pidge. He could just contact him to get an update.
Then his senses were further jarred awake by a beeping tone coming in through his helmet's intercom combined with the buzz of his phone on his belt. He had turned on the blue tooth connection with his phone earlier to stay in touch with his teammates. His com-link connection with them was too far out of range.
"Hey," Hiro answered the call, the tired evident in his voice.
"The serum's not been tampered with," Goods voice informed him. "There aren't any clues here."
Hiro took a moment, silently cursing at the fact he also had nothing. "I haven't found Fred either."
"He's not coming up on anything?" GoGo asked, sounding a bit more disappointed.
"No, nothing," the lights of the SFIT campus grounds came into view on the horizon as Baymax flew closer.
He heard the others also talking in the background as they overheard the news. "Well, maybe he's not in Sanfransokyo?" someone said.
"Should you expand the search area?" Honey Lemon asked, her voice not as clear as she was probably standing next to GoGo.
"Maybe after we regroup..." Hiro explained to them, all the while wishing that was brought up sooner. He jumped down off of Baymax. They landed in an ally way between buildings by a loading dock to stay out of sight, and in an area where the security cameras were not. He wasn't in the mood to attract unwanted attention right now. "I'm already back at SFIT now."
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The weightlessness of space combined by the pull of the Lion's center of gravity to keep her in her seat was a sensation she found to be strangely reassuring. It was like that sink-into-your-seat force she felt when a high speed vehicle took off, but not nearly as strong. Without Green's artificial gravity, she would be weightless and floating around. Altean tech was so remarkable in that again made her think about the earlier conversation she had with Hiro's teammates, and sighed. She could tell, without even hearing them say it outright, that they were genuinely curious about space. Reading text and watching videos about outer space is not at all like the real experience of actually being in it. The hopeless spacenerd wished there was a way to share that with them.
The view below her from what she saw through Green's dash made Pidge smile again. Ronin had alerted her earlier, waking the paladin up from her nap. He was concerned about the 'green smoke' that he saw in the earth's atmosphere.
They were currently orbiting in the Low Earth Orbit around the planet. This area was also where the all the satellites and the space stations orbited, so she had asked Ronin to warn her of any approaching space stations. She didn't want Green to be spotted by them or any other suspicious-looking satellites. With the earth's speed of rotation and her wish for Green to save energy by not flying made the planet rotation go by at a quicker rate. Green doubled back to fly a little more in pace so they could see the aurora once more.
Ronin's interpretation of the vibrant, colorful 'smoke' that flickered and danced in the fading light in the dark atmosphere below amused her. "That's the Aurora Borealis, aka the Northern Lights," Pidge explained to the robot. "It's nothing to worry about."
"This is light?" Ronin asked for more understanding.
"It's what happens when the radioactive particles in the solar wind collide with atoms and molecules in Earth's magnetosphere," the green paladin explained further, not holding back on her secondary passion for space. "The magnetic field around Earth is what protects the planet from the sun's radiation."
Pidge heard the robot's gears in his head whir and click. She imagined he was further analyzing the green-blue aurora with different optical settings to understand it. The light show was a cool phenomenon when she thought more about it. "It's the resulting ionization and excitation of atmospheric constituents that creates the light that we see."
"Under different filters, I detect other colors…
Pidge found herself smiling again, but this time just from the pure admiration of what it was. The chemical breakdown was just too perfect to imagine, as she visualized the mathmatical algorithms that composed the molecular reactions. Earth was amazing in how could something so necessary and practical could also be so eerie and beautiful. Every planet had its qualities, but it wasn't until that moment that she understood again her purpose as a paladin. Earth was one of a kind, so vibrant and diverse with life. It must be protected.
She really shouldn't stay after she reconnected with her team, just to ensure that the Galra don't find their way to Earth. A brown rock drained of all its energy was the last thing she wanted earth to become.
The night side of the planet passed by again when Pidge turned off Green's thrusters. Time almost seemed irrelevant when in space, and she seriously wondered if flying against earth's rotation would turn back time. That was a silly thought, she did know that.. but it was pretty much the basis of some time travel theories. It was a definite that Hiro's time was different than the time she perceived from where ever she was in orbit. It looked like it was the new day beginning for the North American continent below, since it was night when she left earlier.
"I have recorded the Aurora Borealis for reference," Ronin told her.
"Oh.. good idea," Pidge suddenly felt that was a thoughtful move. Hiro probably would like to see this too. Of course, she also wondered if Green had a say in that action. The paladin's wonder lasted fleetingly, before reality took over. She still felt no amount of video feed or written journals would do justice to the real experience of seeing it with one's own eyes.
How safe would it be for them to stay a bit longer just for a trip to space after the others arrive? Just as a cool way for her to say thank you for their help? That thought ran through her head again, unwarranted.
Of course, that would be if they did arrive. Or if Hiro had found his missing friend. The green paladin hadn't heard back from either party yet. Then there was calling her mom too. She sighed, leaning on her hand.
Ronin turned his head to look at her, then redirected his optics back on his watch and his scanner readings. "What is your concern?"
Pidge raised an eyebrow, turning her head to look at him. Another curious question. She still rested on her hand until she spoke. "Something else just occurred to me," Pidge straightened up, deciding to talk about a different matter with him. "I didn't have the time to show Hiro how to rig a cloaking effect."
The tech genius paused in thought, then looked at him again with a slight smile. She had lots of free time anyway. "Or, I could show you instead…"
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The plan was to head back to Hiro's garage to review and recharge before moving on, or it had been. It was the call from Heathcliff that immediately sent the team booking back the Fred's place.
Fred had returned, completely unaware of the distress he caused everyone. He had been dropped of at his front doorstep by a taxi.
"You were chasing after some.. purse snatcher?" GoGo asked the hopeless fanboy more slowly, to confirm the story he told them. She stood facing Fred, a hand on her hip, and fully playing the role of a protective big sister. "All night?"
"Yep," Fred simply nodded. He was sitting on the creme colored couch in his room, holding an ice pack on his jaw. Honey Lemon sat next to him, her hand on his back.
"I was so worried!" Honey Lemon told him, again. "How come you didn't call us.. somehow?"
"Sorry, it was so spur of the moment.." Fred apologized sheepishly, taking the ice pack down so he could talk. "I didn't realize my phone was dead. That's why I couldn't alert you guys or Mini-max."
Hiro stood by GoGo, watching the exchange between Fred and the speedster. This matter was one they had discussed with Fred before. Well, to be fair it applied to all of them. For safety reasons, they weren't allowed to engage and pursue a criminal or villain on their own. They needed to be with a 'buddy'. This rule had been set forth by SHIELD to keep things more in their jurisdiction. Heaven forbid that they as super heroes cause unwarranted mayhem and destruction in the midst of their rescues. Unfortunately, Fred (...and Hiro, whenever Baymax started to malfunction and crash into things) had been cited the most for being reckless. Hence was the reason Hiro created Mini-max, Fred's little robotic sidekick who looked like Baymax but acted like Scrappy Do. Because trying to tell Fred he couldn't be a superhero was like digging a hole in lose sand. However, Fred had been doing better about reaching out to them, so it felt weird that the fanboy didn't follow protocol this time.
The younger Hamada rubbed his neck before adding his thoughts. "After following the guy in a trolley to Good Luck Alley, he knocked you out there… how come you weren't coming up on Baymax's scanner?"
"I was underground..?" except that sounded more like a question than an answer.
"Why was that even a question?" Wasabi thought out loud.
"It's because I can't remember!" Fred pouted, starting to look a little more desperate.
"Do you remember what he looked like, at least?" Hiro asked Fred. The whole thing about Fred being undetected in Good Luck Alley bothered him. Did Yama's gang have that kind of tech now?
"No…" the redhead made a strangled expression as he contorted his mouth in an effort to think. The others just exchanged looks with each other again. Well, even though he wasn't very bright, Fred usually had a good memory.
"There was this weird dream I had about singing karaoke in a dentist office," Fred thought to add, looking up while working his sore jaw from side to side.
GoGo just raised an eyebrow in response. Hiro noticed, also not liking how that sounded.
"Baymax, do a computed tomography scan on Fred," he ordered his healthcare companion. Fred was scanned earlier, but just to check for injuries. Performing the CT scan was more invasive and thorough, and only done when absolutely necessary. That was due to how much radiation that the person being scanned was exposed to. However, it was sure to detect anything suspicious.
"For your safety everyone, please step away from Fred," Baymax warned. "Close your eyes, Fred."
Fred stood up as the others stepped away. Far, far away, to the other side of the room. "Wow… okay. Will this.. tingle?" Fred laughed nervously, squeezing his eyes shut. He lifted his arms up a bit as they heard Baymax whir from the different systems being activated for the advanced tomography scan.
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AN: Things that make you go "Hmmm.." Yesssss. (and have a happy Thanksgiving, y'all!)
This time, this chapter breaks the mold, by being very different from the Hiro vs Pidge POV trend I had going previously.
Secondly… has a year gone by since the start of the BH6 series? It has! I have so many thoughts of 'argh' from how the new BH6 series ended though. I still liked some of the unexpected ideas, and yet amused by the similarities that I have already seen in fanfic.
As for Voltron… I hope the fact that this story is still caught back in season 2 isn't too disorienting. I have to remind myself the same. Alas, doing my best to keep the energy going... and that Voltron was also known for some pretty cool space scenery.
