Angel: I did not see this until like 2 pm today, and I waited so long! I also watched Bad Boys for Lifeeeeee! Bad boys, bad boys, whatcha gonna do~
I originally wasn't going to have the 'study-get together' in the episode, but I decided to make it part of the plot. I just think it benefits more here than by itself. And I also added to the reason why Diego hates superheroes, because it's just too similar to Batman, like come on…I was expecting something with a little more substance.
Hiro paces around the bedroom, Baymax watching him. The boy has a frown on his face.
"More pacing, much like with Aunt Cass," He points out, pulling up a video of Hiro and Hana pacing in the living room. The way he's doing it now is very much similar to that. And who could blame him?
"I still can't believe you're going on a date!" Hiro grumbles towards the door, crossing his arms in disapproval. Hana is inside, sitting in front of the sink as she's attempting to pull this off like Honey Lemon showed her. Much to her chargin, after Mikey asked her to study together, the tall girl insisted on taking the young teenager on a shopping trip, with GoGo, Karmi, and Megan. To say Megan wasn't excited was an understatement. Shop after shop, she had brought bundles of clothes over to the girl to wear, and most of them Hana did not agree to. She's not a shopper, so she usually never bought anything whenever she went for clothes.
Finally, she settled on something that was comfortable and stylish to satisfy everyone...15 stores after the fact, with the promise from Honey Lemon that she'll expand Hana's closet soon. As exhausting as it was, Hana just might take her up on that offer. Nothing in her closet had sufficed, perhaps because she's always wearing the same thing...
"Not a date," Hana deadpans towards the door, turning back to the mirror. "We're just studying at Joe's Diner. We do that all the time."
"Yeah, but not alone!" Hiro argues back. "What do you think happens when two teenagers are left alone, hm?"
"We won't be alone. Joe's Diner always has people," Hana smirks in amusement and he grunts. If she hadn't locked the door, he'd march right in there and cuff her to the bed.
"Studying what?" He changes the subject and she takes a moment to look at her phone.
"He's falling behind in French. Since I'm kinda fluent in it, he thought I was the best choice," She goes back to fixing her hair.
"As in the romance language! Don't you see where I'm going with this?" He asks towards the door in exasperation.
"Relax, it's just a basic lesson," Hana rolls her eyes.
"Then why are you getting all dressed up?"
She blows a bang away from her face. "I'm not dressing up. I'm disguising myself so that I don't get recognized from the diner. Most people might be okay with it now, but I'm not taking any chances—and not because it's a date! Learning a language requires focus."
"Are you emotionally upset about Hana dating?" Baymax turns to Hiro.
"What?" He takes him a second to realize what the robot was asking. "N-No! Course not...maybe a little. Look, you're still 14, and a young teenager! I just think that-"
"You want me to wait until I'm old enough," She interrupts, shaking her head. "We're twins, remember? Did you really think I wouldn't know what you were gonna say? And besides, shouldn't it be my choice to decide what I wanna do with my love life?" She puts a pin in her mouth as she's fixing her hair.
He clamps his mouth shut as she was right—again. But his older brother instincts tend to take over logic sometimes.
The door opens and she finally steps out. She's wearing a white long-sleeved fleece sweater and short blue jeans. A red-and-black plaid sweater is tied around her waist, giving the appearance of a skirt that stops at her knees. She's wearing light brown ankle-boots, with her hair tied in two buns with the bangs sticking out. Her locket is around her neck still as she's wearing black sunglasses over her face, and a red fedora hat over her hair.
"...Wow," Hiro blinks at her. "This is different."
"I hope you mean good different," She moves her sunglasses down a little to look at him.
"It's nice! Great, actually...but do you really need the sunglasses? I don't think that many people are gonna interrupt..."
They stare at each other for a few seconds. "Yup," The two say in agreement.
"Well, I'm off. I gotta sneak out of here before Aunt Cass-"
A loud squeal is heard and the woman herself launches herself at her niece, engulfing her into a hug. "Aww, you look so adorable, Hana! I can't believe it, your first date!"
"Not a date..." Hana groans, pinching her nose. Hiro just smirks at the sight, crossing his arms.
"There there," Baymax pats the top of her hat.
Hana takes a deep breath, unsure of how this was gonna go. It wasn't every day that she went out on a-
Nope! It was so infectious from her family that she had to stop herself from saying it. Because it's not a date. Definitely not.
Not at all...
...At least that's what her mantra is for it.
She's now just arriving on the street, almost 2 pm, still in her clothes she was wearing when she left. Luckily, no one seemed to recognized her on the way over, mostly because she kept moving her hat over her face. The last time she spoke to Mikey was to confirm the time earlier this morning.
It was nearly impossible to leave the Lucky Cat without Aunt Cass taking at least a dozen photos. The last time she was that excited was when she set up the twins with Megan and Mikey. And Hiro...well, he's still very against the matter, and she had to convince him to not come with her...by bribing him with at least a month's worth of gummy bears.
Hana slowly opens up the door to the diner. She scopes around for Mikey and when she sees him, she blinks in surprise.
He's actually wearing a black leather jacket that honestly looks good on him, a red shirt, dark blue jeans, and white sneakers. His hair looks a bit combed, and there's...something in the air she hadn't felt from him before.
His eyes blink as he looks up at her, seeing the girl as he looks straight at her. His blush becomes evident to her as he stands up, taking a few steps forward until they were a few feet away from each other.
"Hi."
Hana swallows the lump in her throat.
"...Hi..."
He runs a hand through his hair, something telling her that the combing was intentional. "The patrol get called off today or...?"
"Oh...well," She takes her seat across from where he was sitting. "I told the others to go on without me if they wanted to do it...since I'm gonna be busy, I have a feeling they won't go until later."
Mikey chuckles as he sits down as well. "Always so loyal, aren't you?"
Her cheeks actually get hot as she looks him over. "Um..." She scratches her cheek, feeling a bit awkward like she does with other boys all of a sudden. "You look...nice."
He smiles at her, his blush getting darker. "Thanks. You do too."
She looks away, brushing a loose bang away from her face. "...Did you order?"
"No, I wanted to wait for you. And don't worry about lunch, I got it covered. Since you're helping me study...I figured that we're even this way."
"...Nobody followed me, right?" Hana asks suddenly, trying not to look suspicious as she looks around.
"No," He chuckles at the girl. "Why, did your aunt want to?"
"God yes. For pictures," She groans, rubbing a temple. "But she had customers regardless."
"Yeah...I don't think we need to be bombarded with pictures," He holds up his menu, realizing that there's only one copy. "Oh...Joe did tell me that he was running out of copies...I guess we'll have to share...?"
"That's fine with me," She smiles, regretting it instantly as he stands up, strides over, and scooches next to her, their arms touching. She bites her lip as she feels the jolt from the fabric.
Aunt Cass giggles to herself as she looks at all the pictures on her phone. Of course she was excited for her niece. After everything that's happened, she deserved a break. Just thinking about marrying her off makes her heart swell.
"I hope your sister has a good time," Cass replies as she grabs a muffin for a customer. Hiro is sitting nearby, frowning deeply as he's still pacing. "She really deserves it."
"I'm not saying she doesn't deserve it, Aunt Cass, but how is a date a different change of pace? I-I mean, she's still young here! She should think about this kind of thing first."
"Uh oh," Cass leans in towards him from the counter. "Looks like someone's only seeing Hana as the one from when you were kids."
"..." Hiro looks away, standing in place. He won't lie, sometimes he does see the old Hana in her...but this is entirely different from that. She's older, and yet she's out alone with a boy. "Not true. I'm just...concerned about her, that's all."
"Maybe you should talk to her later," Cass suggests to him, placing a hand on his shoulder. "Clear your head."
"Maybe I will...thanks, Aunt Cass."
"No problem, sweetie," She ruffles his hair just as the others come in. "Hi everyone!"
Everyone greets her as they take their seats at the table. "Hey..." Wasabi notices the only empty seat. "Where's Hana?"
"She's out on her date!" Honey Lemon exclaims excitedly, Hiro grunting a little as he takes a seat between her and Fred.
"Wait, that's today?!" Fred's eyes pop out of his head.
"Should we call?" GoGo glances at everyone.
"Please don't," Aunt Cass turns towards them. "I don't wanna ruin it for her."
"Aunt Cass," Fred keeps a stoic look. "We're just here to have a good lunch and then probably read comics later. We won't say anything about this to Hana."
A few seconds later, Hiro pulls out his phone, making sure Aunt Cass is not watching. He looks at his device.
They never agreed about phones saying anything, though...He sends a group text to everyone but Hana.
Fred, Baymax, and I will watch them from the front. We have a date to chaperone!
HL: Just to make sure it's going well!
GoGo: Mikana mission is a go.
Fred: Glad that we all agreed on that ship name!
Wasabi: Why are we doing this again?
"I just can't believe the reason why you kept flaking was because of...you know," Mikey looks away nonchalantly.
"Just remember not to say anything about it in public," Hana glances around quickly. They've already ordered their food and were just talking to pass the time. She had no idea why they didn't start already, it felt a little weird.
"Right, right," He clears his throat, pulling out his backpack from underneath the table. He pulls out his French book...
Which is literally titled French: A Language of Romance.
...You know, she kept telling herself that this wasn't a date.
But clearly everything else was saying otherwise.
"So...what are you having trouble with?" She asks curiously, deciding to ignore it as she opens up the book.
"...Um...basically everything."
She drops the book slowly, turning to him. By the sweat on his face and the bite from his lip... "...You're kidding."
"I wish I was," He laughs sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck.
"Just how far behind are you into the class?" She wonders incredibly.
"Basically if I get another F, my dad's gonna ground me."
Her eyes widen, slowly leaning her back on the booth seats. "...So it's that kind of far behind."
"Surprise...?" He smiles nervously.
"Wow, um..." She runs a hand through her skirt, unsure of how to respond to that. "Okay!" She exclaims, sitting up and clearing her throat. "So let's just start with saying hello. You listen to me speak the different ways to say that, and then you repeat."
"Sounds simple enough..."
"Bonjour," Hana says slowly, hands on her skirt.
"Bonjour," He replies in the same manner.
"Salut."
"Salut," Mikey smiles once she nods in approval.
"And this is how you say hello when you're on the phone. Allo."
"Allo," He playfully waves, causing her to giggle.
"Okay..." She doesn't have a chance to teach him further than that because she suddenly gets the feeling of a familiar presence...one that she knows all too well.
"What?"
"...They're here. They have to be."
"Who?" He asks in confusion.
"The guys; they're here!"
"How do you know that?" He looks around the diner. "I don't see any of them."
"Oh, that's because they're somewhere outside," Hana waves towards the streets. "My twin sense doesn't lie; my brother's nearby. From where, I don't know."
Mikey suddenly notices a flash of purple from the back of Hana's shiny hat, looking briefly behind him and realizes that it's coming from the building across from Joe's. "...Well..."
"He's right outside looking at us, isn't he?" Hana places her elbows on the table, rubbing her temples. "That little sneak!"
"Fred, move! I can't see anything!"
"Hey, I told you guys to get camouflage suits, but you didn't get the message!"
"That's because you're the only one with invisibility!"
Around the corner from the office building across the diner, the four are standing behind, trying to get a good look inside. Hiro and Baymax are standing on the roof, seeing Hana's hat and Mikey's hair, but other than that, not much else.
"Hiro, maybe we should let them be," Wasabi looks up at him. "Your sister can handle herself."
"You guys didn't have to come. I still would've came here."
GoGo glares up at him. "Well, it's a little late for that. Besides, they're not facing this way. What's the chance they'll see us?"
"I mean..." Mikey speaks up after a few tense seconds. "Why should we care? We've already told that this isn't a-"
"Here you are, darlings!"
One of the waitresses hands them their food. Hana gets a salad while Mikey gets a hot dog with ketchup, mustard, relish, and onions on it, and fries for the both of them. She also hands them one milkshake...with double swirl straws.
"On the house for the cute couple!"
"Oh, no, we're not-"
Before Hana can clarify, she walks off and the girl sighs.
"Take one out and share?"
"Take one out and share," Hana agrees and he hands her the milkshake with only one straw. She takes a sip. She wasn't going to let anyone ruin...whatever this is.
"I'll, uh..." Mikey slowly takes one fry. "I'll just grab one of these." He eats a small bite, noticing how silent she's been. "Are you okay?"
She looks at the milkshake and shakes her head. "I need a Xanax. A big one."
"You can't even if you wanted to," He raises a brow at her. "That'd be switching your meds."
"What no one knows won't hurt 'em," She replies back, swirling the drink with her straw. Neither of them knew what to say at the moment.
"...This is a date...isn't it? Coming here. Everything that's happened. It always was. I was just...trying not to make things awkward by calling it that," He rubs at his eyeballs in exasperation.
Hana turns to look at him as he just stays silent. Between her friends, her brother, and her aunt, the whole meal, everything has changed between them very, very fast. Mikey looks like he wants to crawl underneath the table and die. All she wants to do is forget that this even happened.
She couldn't do that, though. She cared about him too much.
"Mikey..." She speaks up, scooting closer and slightly touching his arm. He looks up at her to see her kind smile. "I've...been thinking about it a little too."
"...R-Really?"
"Yes..." She smiles bashfully, rubbing her arm. "But I don't care anymore. Why should I? We're having a good time, aren't we? We don't have to do anything else that sums it up as a date. Come on. You said you wanted to get to know me, so...let's just do that."
He smiles at the girl. "And...are you okay to see if...?"
"I mean, you only live once...right?"
He takes a hold of her hand that's still on his arm. "I'm glad you said that...because this boy sitting in front of you wants to get to know all of you, Hana Mae Hamada."
She smiles with a soft chuckle. "You know, I don't even know your full name, and yet you know mine."
"Miguel Ernesto Cruz at your service," He grins, bowing a little. "But I prefer Mikey."
"Good to know. Now hurry up before your food gets cold."
"I still can't see anything!"
The other four have been like this for a while. The corner gives them the worst view since they're too far away, but they couldn't let them know they were here.
"Because you're crowding me, Fred!"
"Guys!"
GoGo pushes past them with a huff. "I can notice a bird from a mile away. I've got this."
Honey Lemon just sighs at them, Hiro giving a blank look. "Baymax, zoom in."
"Enhancing sensors," He zooms in and sees the two holding hands. "Mikey and Hana seem to be enjoying their date. Holding hands is a sign of progress when two people are enjoying a lunch date."
"What?!" Hiro's eyes pop out of his head. "I'm going down there!"
"No!" The others warn him, seeing Hiro climb down the ladders. He slips and falls into a trash pile, but he gets right back up. The four hold him back to stop him.
What they don't notice is Ian out of his office for once. He walks right past the diner, looking at everyone inside briefly. Then his eyes widen and he plants his face against the glass to see Hana and Mikey laughing together.
"French is really beautiful. I love learning it," Hana smiles and he stares at her. She's since taken off her sunglasses, revealing the brown eyes that look like little chocolates. Her cheeks are slightly pink, a nice change.
"Yeah...you are..."
Hana blinks slowly and looks away bashfully, smiling playfully. "Are you trying to woo me?"
"...What?" He realizes what he said a bit too late. "Um...I..."
She eyes him closely and he darts his eyes around, sweating as his heart beats rapidly. "If you are...I'm not complaining."
He really wants her to come closer, but then she leans back and takes a fry, slipping it into her mouth. Mikey just blushes, confused on what just happened as she keeps a smug smile on her face.
Ian makes his hands into fists. That's supposed to be him in there with her, not some...random boy! Why wasn't that him?
"It's just puppy love, darling," His Hana appears next to him, seeing the sight. "She doesn't know any better. It doesn't mean she loves you any less."
"...You're right," He closes his eyes. "But shouldn't I do something about it?"
"Of course..." The adult Hana leans in towards his ear.
"You'll just need Officer Cruz to do it."
"Ahh…I see. A little white lie…"
"Rise and shine, co-workers!" Fred announces in the conference room early the next morning. "I brought roles with holes!"
"Bagels," GoGo corrects him. Everyone around Fred has their hair messy except for Wasabi, of course. The twins' hair are more of a mess since they already have messy hair every single day.
"If you wanna be formal, sure."
Hiro yawns, stretching his arms. "Sorry..."
"One half of human adults, will unconsciously yawn after seeing another person yawn," Baymax holds up a finger.
"Contagious yawning isn't a-"
Honey Lemon interrupts Wasabi with a yawn. Fred yawns next, followed by the twins, and then GoGo. Wasabi yawns soon after. "It's totally a thing!"
"So, uh, what's the emergency, Fred?" Hiro butters his bagel, handing Hana one with cinnamon swirl. She takes a bite.
"Yeah, I don't do early," GoGo grumbles, taking a bagel as well.
"A very pressing matter," He starts off. "...Maybe just re-instating night patrol?"
"Freddy, you know Officer Cruz has units all over the city just waiting to arrest us. And after the shooting, I'm just not sure if we should risk Hana's life like that," Honey Lemon looks towards the girl in slight worry. "If she wasn't being careful, she could've been hurt by him."
"But I haven't shot out my Fredmeleon tongue in days! It's gonna dry out!" Fred complains, resting his chin on the desk.
"There there," Baymax pats his head.
"Sorry, but we have to lay low," Hiro explains to him.
"Fred, my life is on the line here," Hana gestures to herself. "I hate it, but staying low is probably the only way that I'm safe around Officer Cruz."
"Unless it's a great catastrophe," GoGo adds in, throwing a piece of bagel into her mouth. His eyes widen and he smirks, looking away.
"Guys, there's been a catastrophe! Obake's back!" Fred announces to them the next day, pulling up a video of himself dressed as Obake in his lair.
"Hello heroes, did you miss me? I am about to release a devastating catastrophe!" Fred maniacally laughs and the video ends there. "We have to stop him, right?"
They all groan at this tactic. "Fred, I get it. You miss night patrol. But even if the same guy who mind-controlled me was back, we still can't go! Drop it."
"But-"
"Drop iiiit," She warns him again, pointing a finger. "Now I'm late for therapy thanks to you." Hana stands up, leaving the room with her brother.
Later that evening, he calls them in again. "Guys, there's been an alien catastrophe!"
He plays a video of Honey Lemon dressed up as an alien. "Meep meep meep meep meep meep," She wobbles onto the floor. "Ow."
"He really wanted my help, and it was really fun dressing up. Like with Hana on her date!" Honey Lemon explains to everyone else.
"Really?" Hana deadpans at Fred, sighing slowly. She knew that he wanted to go out on patrol like superheroes do, but he needs to understand that they couldn't. They would be arrested on sight from the police, one of them a very pissed off officer who wants his position back as chief.
"Guys, monster catastrophe!" Fred tells them that night, playing a video of himself dressed as Bluff Dunder.
"Breaking news, the city is under attack by a giant monster!" Then it cuts to Mini-Max dressed as the Kentucky Kaiju.
"Roar!" The background falls over him in the kitchen.
"Heathcliff, you're in the shot!" Fred whispers to his butler, who walks away.
"Roar!" Mini-Max falls off the counter and he ends it there.
"So, we better suit up, right?" He turns around to see that everyone has left, to his dismay. He wasn't asking for Hana to be dead; he just misses night patrol!
Mini-Max moistens the tongue from the Fredmeleon suit, and the area around it. "This should keep your creepy slug-like mouth apparatus in proper working condition," The robot jumps onto the ground. Fred lets go of the tongue, which shoots up into the mouth.
"Maybe we should test it out...on a secret night patrol!" Fred reveals while waving jazz-like hands.
"But what about the multiple warnings from your more responsible associates?" Mini-Max wonders as Fred slips into the suit. He takes his phone into his hand.
"They said the police are looking for 'Big Hero 7.' Not a dashing superhero duo," Fred points to himself and his friend.
"Ha ha ha! Your logic is complete nonsense!"
Fred frowns at this, turning around and looking towards the ground. He should've known that he'd get the same answer...
Mini-Max jumps and lands on the pipe in front of him. "But I do not need sensible logic! Defend justice!"
"That's what I'm talking about, Mini-Maximus!" Fred cheers, placing the robot down on the floor. "Justice and nonsense!" He does a little dance.
"To justice...and nonsense!" Mini-Max spins around so rapidly that he ends up flying towards the ceiling. He lifts up a floor panel a few seconds later. "Asparagus spear?"
What Fred doesn't know is that his phone in his hand had called Hana, which had gone to voicemail and recorded the whole conversation.
The girl is just exiting Wasabi's car, waving to him. "Thanks for picking me up from my therapy session, Wasabi."
"No problem," He smiles at her. "But no jaywalking."
She rolls her eyes silently as she watches him leave. Hana walks up to the café, entering through the entrance that leads to the home. "I'm home!" She calls out as Hiro walks around, using his laptop. She runs up the stairs and he smiles at her.
"How was it?"
"Well...it went fine, but I need to talk to you about-"
Aunt Cass suddenly bumps into them, causing Hiro to drop his laptop. "Watch out!" He warns, Hana holding out her hand and catching the computer into her hands. She hands it back to him perfectly fine. "Thanks..."
They turn to see Aunt Cass hopping as she slips on a black heel. She's in the same outfit she wore on that...date...with Krei. "Going somewhere fancy, Aunt Cass?"
"You only wear that when you go out," Hana raises a brow, tilting her head.
"Fancy? No!" Aunt Cass waves it off. "I'm just...going to dinner...with a friend!"
"In a purple dinner dress?" Hana asks skeptically, the door knocking. The twins open it to see Diego standing in front of them wearing nice clothes.
"Officer Cruz?" They both question in surprise. Megan and Mikey are standing next to him.
"Hello, Hamada Twins..." He awkwardly places his hands behind his back. "Uh, how's, uh, robot school?"
"Dad!" The two whisper at him, elbowing their father.
"I didn't wanna say nerd school," He whispers back.
"School is fine..." Hana says slowly, it still felt weird talking to him ever since what he's done. And she can tell that Mikey felt the same way.
"Hi..." He murmurs to her and she smiles bashfully.
"Hey," She giggles at him. Aunt Cass walks down the stairs slowly and Diego's mouth opens in awe, smiling. She smiles back.
"Cass, you look so-"
The twins clear their throat and he glances at the four teenagers, seeing their looks. "Uh, presentable," He smiles widely.
"Oh, well, thank you."
"Both of your heart rates have elevated significantly," Baymax reports to the two of them.
"Oh, that's because we're running late," Cass looks up at him.
"Yeah, better get going," Diego jerks a thumb behind him, wanting to leave as soon as possible. "Oh, Hana, do you want me to give you the turnips before I-"
"No, no, just give it to Aunt Cass!" Hana says rapidly. She cannot handle anymore turnips.
"Dinner's in the oven, Hana knows what to do, be back soon!" Cass says quickly, bumping into Diego.
"After you," He gestures for her to go first.
"Thank you..."
"Your heart rates are once again-"
"Okay bye!" Cass interrupts, Diego bumping his head before she closes the door. The four blink, wondering what just happened.
"...That was, uh...weeeird."
"You can say that again," Hiro stares at the door.
"Ditto," Mikey and Hana say in unison. Baymax looks at them briefly.
"That was...weird. Would you like me to repeat the phrase again?"
"No!" The four quickly reply at the same time. Hana's phone beeps from her pocket and she looks to see a voicemail.
"I'm gonna go check on dinner while I listen to this new voicemail I got from Fred," Hana tells them, walking away.
"Ugh, not again," Hiro sighs at this. "He's been trying to get us to go on night patrol."
"Isn't that dangerous, though?" Mikey frowns a little, looking towards the kitchen. He doesn't want Hana to get hurt or worse because of his father.
"Yeah, the police are still looking for you guys," Megan states to Hiro.
"Yeah, but Fred's the most eager when it comes to this stuff," Hiro crosses his arms. "I'm sure that we'll get to do it again someday, but just not right now. My sister just needs to stay safe, away from the police...she means a lot to me, you know? We have a strong bond."
"We can tell," Mikey winks at him. A drone with the Krei Tech logo flies through the open window of the twins' bedroom, seeing the closet open just a crack. It opens the door to see Hana's ultra super suit hanging from the back of the door. She had to secretly bring it back home after Fred got Yaki Taco sauce on it. It took a lot of effort to wash on her own without Aunt Cass' knowledge, but Baymax had finished up the rest while she was out, leaving it shiny and new. The drone plants a tracking device underneath Hana's boot...
"Oh, he DIDN'T!"
Eyes go wide at Hana's sudden shout. They turn towards the kitchen, Hana rushing past them. "What?"
"Fred went on night patrol with Mini-Max in secret!"
"What?!" The three exclaim in unison as she runs up the steps.
"I'm gonna go suit up and bring him back, preferably alive before I kill him for going against our orders!"
"But sis, the police!" Hiro calls out to her and she comes to a stop. "You can't go out alone. At least let Baymax and me come with you."
"There's no time," She whips around to him. "Baymax has a lot of armor pieces and Fred could be in danger right now. I'll be back before anyone even catches notice that I'm out there."
He stares up at her as their friends look on in slight worry. He knew he didn't have a choice, and that she was right...
"Go," He nods at her. "But be careful."
"I will...but we really need to talk later. It's important."
Mini-Max flies around the city, Fred using his tongue from his suit to get around. "Your emotion is outstanding!"
"Isn't it, though, Mini-Max?" He chuckles a little as they land on a roof. "Now where were we?"
"You were advising me on my narration technique," Mini-Max reminds him.
"Right. So the key to self-narration is to always know the location and time. Oh, and insert dramatic pauses. Exterior: street, night...Our courageous hero...pause, mentors his sidekick, another pause. Once again. Okay, now you try," He turns invisible and flings his tongue.
"Exterior, street, night. Our noble sidekick looked at his...pause...comrade in arms and said...longer pause."
Fred suddenly smacks into a billboard. "Watch out!" Mini-Max says too little too late. Fred falls onto the sidewalk below, his tongue all over the place. The robot lands next to him.
"I'm okay...whew!" Fred sighs in relief, only for his tongue to get stuck to the back of a bus. He screams, bumping into the road as the bus goes down the street. He bumps into a mailbox and a few street poles before landing in a trash can. It hops onto the street and he grabs a lamp post. He cries out in pain as his tongue is stretched. The driver pulls on the lever as the vehicle is stopped in its tracks. The driver manages to get the tongue off, driving away as Fred flies into the air and lands in front of a Noodle Burger.
Hana glances around weirdly as she can feel someone following her, seeing Fred on the ground. And her instincts are right as the tracking device is blinking, making a quiet sound. Officers from police cars and a helicopter trail after her, silently.
"Fred!" She hisses as she lands next to him. "Are you okay?"
"Ow..."
"I'm guessing that's a no," She murmurs as Mini-Max scans him.
"You have suffered no major injuries! But your invisibility mode is malfunctioning."
"So not only did you sneak out, you malfunctioned your suit?!" Hana exclaims in disbelief.
"Pst! Hana," He whispers to her.
"What could you possibly say to get out of this?!"
"Don't move..." Fred turns them both around and Hana's eyes widen to see a bunch of police cars behind them. The one in front was eating a Noodle Burger, the contents dropping onto the street. Hana cringes at this, silently wondering how long they were there. "I don't think freezing in place is working."
"Exterior. Noodle Burger...pause...the intrepid sidekick had an idea!" And then Mini-Max says nothing else.
"What is it?"
"...I'm still pausing..."
"Whatever, just run!" Hana shouts at the top of her lungs.
"No time, run for it!" Fred takes off after the girl, the robot flying after them. This was supposed to be a simple grab and run, but no! Somehow half of the police managed to track her down!
At the same place Aunt Cass went to with Krei, Sydney is pouring them some champagne. And some people are glaring at him, which he notices. Even the maître d up front didn't want to seat him, but he had to since he had a reservation. "Welcome to the waitlist. We do small plates meant to be shared," He hands both Aunt Cass and Diego a menu.
"Oh, uh...what should we order?"
"For two people, we suggest 14 if you're not very hungry...I'll be back to take your order in 30 minutes..." And with that, he leaves.
"Who wants small plates? Remember Joe's, where plates were big and the waiter didn't hate ya?" Aunt Cass reminisces.
"I used to love going there," He laughs a little. "Till we moved..."
"You never told me why you moved," Aunt Cass stares at him curiously.
"Yeah, I don't talk about it much...ah, what happened was-"
His phone buzzes before he can continue further, seeing that it's one of his officers, or rather, Luisa's. "Officer, we have officers in pursuit of the lizard vigilante and Lady Electrica!"
"Really sorry, Cass," He puts his phone away. "I gotta do this."
"Oh..." She looks at him in disappointment. "Okay...well, I'll make sure the twins get home safe. Well, your twins."
"Thanks, Cass...I'll make it up to you next time. I mean, if you want a next time. No pressure. I gotta go!"
"And so just you know..."
He pauses, looking towards her. "What you did to that superhero...it wasn't right. But...I can tell that you have a job to do, and...well, I've known you for a long time, Diego. So I will eventually forgive you, but...that's not the way you should be doing things."
"..." He rushes towards the exit, Sydney staring at her.
"Sooo, seven plates, I assume."
She huffs a little at this.
The police cars chase after the duo, Fred jumping onto a car and landing back on the street. Hana is flying above the two.
"I can't believe that you went out on your own, I had to come here to bring you back to your senses, and now we're running away from the police!" She shouts as more cars arrive. "How'd the others even find us?!"
"The number in pursuit is increasing rapidly," Mini-Max reports, Fred landing on top of a car.
"Pardon us," He says to the elderly woman inside. Her eyes widen at him, speeding past all of the police cars. They turn around and start following them. Hana does a loop to change direction. The woman inside the car gets annoyed that she can't see and slams on the brakes, sending him onto the road. He quickly gets up as Hana flies after him. She grabs a hold of his hands, a Buddy Guard appearing. It flies up to the girl and shorts out her electricity, sending her onto the ground.
"Wow, way to make it unfair," She mutters under her breath, grabbing Fred's hand and running off. They hide in an alley, running down the path.
"Fortune smiles upon us! We are in the clear!" Mini-Max exclaims joyously. They stop running as police cars block their way. They try to go the other way, only to be blocked from that direction as well.
"Oh no," Fred and Hana murmur at the same time.
"We are not in the clear! Fortune is a liar!" Mini-Max crosses his arms.
"Come on!" Hana waves them forward and they take off in that direction...but it's a dead end. Hana stomps on her foot, but her electricity is still shorted out. Fred tries to jump, but he can't climb up the walls.
"We're trapped! Mini-Max, you need to go get the others!"
"I will return with help, may fortune stop toying with us!" He flies away, Fred silently panicking.
"Exterior: Street, night...The brave heroes faced their...pause...unavoidable fate as we...another pause...cut to black!"
"...Are you self-narrating again?" Hana asks after a few seconds.
"Ohh, I still can't unpack that our dad and your aunt are...friends," Megan states to Hiro in the café.
"Based on their heart rates and other non-verbal signals," Baymax shows the three a chart. "I have determined that they are experiencing romantic attraction."
The three just stare at him, looking at each other. "Based on your heart rates, and Mikey and Hana's as well-"
"No!" Hiro interrupts, hiding the screen.
"We're good," Megan holds up her hands.
"Yeah, no need to tell us that," Mikey rubs the back of his head. The door suddenly opens and they look to see Aunt Cass arriving...with seven plates to go.
"Hey guys."
"Aunt Cass?" Hiro asks in surprise. "You're home early."
"Where's our dad?" Megan notices that he's not with her.
"He got a really important call at dinner. Something to do with a lizard guy and an orange girl. Where's Hana? She's not with you?"
"S-She went to go...get groceries! At the store! Because she wanted to give you a break! But..." He glances to Mikey and Megan. "What about a lizard guy and orange girl?"
"They're chasing them or something...you know. Anyway, twins, I promised your dad I'd get you both home safe."
"Oh...okay," They state, giving Hiro a quick look. "Thanks."
Aunt Cass opens the door for them. "Good luck," Megan whispers to him.
"I'll call your sister back later," Mikey whispers as well, leaving with the woman. Hiro frowns in worry for them, and then it turns into a yelp of surprise as Mini-Max hits the window right behind him.
"I am here to report a catastrophe..." He slides down the window until he falls.
A police chopper flies past the others as they've suited up and hid on the roof. The chopper's spotlight falls on the two, Hana putting an arm in front of her helmet.
"Give it up, Big Heroes! We have you surrounded," Diego says through a megaphone.
"Poor Freddy and Hana..." Honey Lemon frowns at them.
"How do we save them?" Wasabi frowns as well.
"Yeah, the whole police department is down there," GoGo points out.
"We need a plan," Hiro tells them.
"Or we need a new lizard guy and Hamada Twin 2," They all look at GoGo incredulously. "Just trying to lighten the mood. It's what they would want."
"Yeah, no," Hiro shakes his head at this.
"Surrender, fugitives!" Diego orders the duo.
"You know, this is just like the scene in Ranger Stranger issue 233, where the ranger and the police chief realize they both have a mother, so they agreed to let all their differences go," Fred explains, trying to get him to reconsider.
"Yeah, that's not happening," Diego snaps his fingers, Buddy Guards appearing. "Put. Your. Hands. Up!"
"No way!" Hana yells at him as they're surrounded. He leans in towards the other officers.
"If she moves, restrain her with these." He holds up a pair of handcuffs, but they're light blue.
"But Luisa-"
"I'll deal with her later," He holds up a hand.
"Okay, but...just because your pauses are fire!"
"Tell you what..." Officer Cruz steps up to Hana, leans in towards her, and she had the urge to spit in his face. "We might consider letting you go...if you tell us who Hardlight is."
She glances up at Fred stunned by the offer. Even if she knew his identity, and she doesn't, there was no way she would ever tell him. "And why would I do that?" Hana chuckles incredibly.
"He's very...infatuated with you," He clears his throat, looking away. "So no doubt he would've already informed you of his identity. He trusts you, for some reason I'll never understand, and won't harm you."
"Sorry, but I don't know who he is," Hana shrugs at him carelessly. "Guess you caught me for nothing."
"Oh, not just for nothing." He digs into his pocket, holding up a photo of Mikey and Hana in her superhero form…flying through the city together. Both their eyes widen at it.
"I want you to stop seeing my son."
She blinks after a few seconds to snap out of it. "...How'd you get that?"
"That's confidential," He puts the photo back. A concerned citizen sent the police the photo earlier that evening, and the same source told them that he had a way to track down Lady Electrica herself, and that he would handle it. Diego was at first skeptical, but after they were sent the device that would track the girl, they went along with it.
"Even if I did know, I still wouldn't tell you, so get out of my face," She hisses at him and pushes her away. Once they have a clear shot, the officer with the handcuffs throws them at her. They immediately trap her arms, shocking the girl.
"NO!" Hiro shouts at this. She yells out in pain as it touches her body, Fred looking on in horror. After a few seconds, she falls onto the floor, spazzing out as her body twitches.
"Hana..." Honey Lemon whispers in fear, putting a hand to her mouth.
"We have to go in there," GoGo is about to jump off when Wasabi stops her.
"If we rush in there now, they'll just hurt her more and then we'll be caught too..." He looks up at Hiro, who visibly shakes.
"Lady!" Fred gasps out, trying to reach her, but Diego blocks his path.
"I've waited a long time to do this..."
"No, no, no, no, no!" Fred wiggles around as Diego tries to unmask him. "You can't unmask a hero!"
"Watch me," Diego glares at him and Fred cringes inside the suit. The suit's mouth, however, is stuck as the officer tries to pull it apart. "It's stuck!"
"...Which is exactly what I was getting at!" Fred smiles confidently, glad for once that the suit is malfunctioning.
"Whatever shorted out Fred's invisibility..."
"Might be locking him in," Wasabi finishes, Hiro nodding. The man tries as hard as he can, even pulling on the tongue, but it doesn't budge. He pants in exhaustion.
"Ha ha!"
"We'll just drag you both to the station," Diego takes a hold of his tail.
"No, no, no, no, no!" Fred shouts, the man having a grip hold. With his other hand, he grips both of Hana's pigtails in one hand, dragging her body away. "This is sad...even for me...oh, wait, wait! I know who Hardlight is! Yes, yes, I do!"
Hana blinks a little, her vision hazy. "If you let my friend go, I'll tell you everything!" Of course, he's just lying.
"Mm..." Diego looks to the girl.
"She's got nothing, but I do! I'm much more valuable. I got all the deets."
"You never said you needed both...just one," Another officer points out. Diego sees that with her current state, she's in no shape to do much of anything, let alone talk.
"Alright then..." He lets go of Hana, her voice weak from the electric shock.
"N-No, don't do it..." She murmurs in a hoarse voice. "Please..."
"Exterior: alley, night. The brave hero sacrifices himself to save his teammate...pause...and is now being taken away to be interrogated..."
"Fred..." She whispers, trying not to cry. She attempts to get up, to stop them, but she's still too weak as she kneels on the floor. She's then given a minor electric shock to keep her on the floor. "Oh my god..." She murmurs to herself in devastation. She didn't want him to be taken away, but she can't do anything like this.
"We have to do something!" Honey Lemon exclaims as they saw what happened.
"Fast," GoGo adds in. "Hana needs help."
"I'll keep them busy and get Hana. You get Fred," Hiro tells them, Baymax flying into the sky.
"Ouch!" Fred is pushed into the transport van. "Interior: police vehicle, night. The feeling starts to sink in for our protagonist...he was going to jail...having given himself up for a friend...wait! Jail?! I always just enjoy the fun parts of being a superhero, without worrying about the consequences!"
He tries to break himself free from the handcuffs, ultimately failing.
"Doomed to repercussions of their actions..." A deep voice speaks up and Fred looks to the other side. "Is a difficult, but important part of growing up."
"Felony Carl?!" Fred shouts in surprise.
"It is an egregious misunderstanding, which brings me to this place..."
"Prepare to move the prisoner! Stay focused, people."
"Hello, officers," Baymax gets their attention, flying into the air. "Thank you for your service."
"He's here to save their friends," One of the officers states, "After him!"
"No! Stay with the lizard. The big one's mine," Diego declares, running into a helicopter waiting for him.
"But Chief Marquez gave us orders to detain them peacefully-"
"Well, if she did, then she would be here to GIVE THEM!" He screams at the police and they clamp their mouths shut.
Baymax lands in an alley, grabbing Hana into his arms. "Baymax...is she..."
"Hana has suffered minor electric shocks to her body, which has garnered her unconscious. I will administer cold liquids to the patient."
"We don't have time for that now. Come on," Hiro urges as the robot flies away.
"Sooo, that didn't work," Wasabi sees them leave.
"Now what?"
"There's only one thing left to do..." GoGo starts off, Honey Lemon gasping.
"Improv..." She uses her boots to skate off the roof.
"She loves improv," GoGo states, flying off on her hover disc.
"How is improv the only thing left to do?" Wasabi couldn't help but ask. "I can think of lots of other things left to do." He slides down after Honey Lemon and lands on the road. The Buddy Guards immediately start attacking them, Honey Lemon tossing a few chem balls to trap them. GoGo jumps a bit from her disc, throwing one at a Buddy Guard. It bumps into another and they glitch, flying away. One of them flies up to her and fires, but she deflects it back with her disc.
Wasabi dodges a laser with his shield, using his dagger to slice some into pieces. Honey lands and her bunny armor activates. She rushes forward, the Buddy Guard's projectiles having no effect on her. She hits them and kicks one away.
Baymax flies past buildings, Diego staring at them from the helicopter. "Let's at least get these off," Hiro points to the handcuffs around her wrists. "First they shoot at her and now this?! ...Am I gonna lose her too...?"
"Hana is my patient. By attending to her medical needs, I have determined that this will help my other patient," Baymax looks up at the boy, who blinks at him, smiling softly.
"Thanks, Baymax..."
Baymax grips at the handcuffs, ripping them off.
"Stay on them!" Diego orders the pilot.
"He's too fast..."
"Our Buddies will slow 'em down!" Diego activates the robots from the helicopter, which chase after the trio, firing at them.
"Baymax, watch out. And please be careful with Hana..." Hiro looks at his sister, seeing her breathe slowly. Baymax spins around and hugs the girl close so that she's not affected by the lasers. One of them hits Hiro in the back and he turns around, firing a magnet. Once activated, it gathers up all of the surrounding Buddy Guards and soon they all explode. "Yes!"
A laser hits his glove. "No...the magnets are jammed!"
"Perhaps we should seek shelter. Muirahara Woods is ahead," Baymax scans the area.
"Guys, we're gonna try and ditch Cruz and go to Muirahara Woods," Hiro tells the others.
"What about the Bessie monster?" Honey Lemon asks in concern.
"Bessie being around tech doesn't affect it anymore," Hiro states, giving his sister a quick glance. "And Hana needs to be somewhere safe to recover."
"Yeah, she has to blast it directly," Wasabi adds in.
"it's still dangerous," GoGo grits her teeth, as she doesn't like this. She turns around and strikes a Buddy Guard with her disc.
"GoGo is correct."
"You are under arrest! I order you to land," Diego demands them.
"Gotta go," Hiro says quickly as the robot flies forward, Diego glaring fiercely.
GoGo swerves left and right from her hover disc, knocking into some police officers. Honey Lemon slips out of her bunny armor and fires her bunny bazooka, sending the transport vehicle into the air. Fred stumbles back, falling onto the ground. Honey creates a bouncy goop, sending her and Wasabi to the top.
"Wasabi, you're up!" GoGo calls out while she and Honey Lemon deal with the Buddy Guards.
"On it!" He brings out his dagger and cuts through the roof. He pops his head in once the hole is made. Fred cheers happily upon seeing him and Wasabi pulls him out.
"Man oh man, am I glad to see you guys!"
"Where do you think you're going?" Wasabi demands Felony Carl, who climbs through the hole.
"Myself and the reptilian gentleman shared a potent moment."
"Sorry, Felony Carl..." Honey Lemon freezes him in place.
"Let's go!" GoGo shouts and Honey makes a slide. Fred waves to Felony Carl, running up the slide.
"Ooh, that's cold..." He forces out of his mouth.
An owl hoots in the woods, only to get spooked by Baymax flying by. It flies away just as the Buddy Guards come by, followed by the helicopter. Baymax flies deeper into the woods.
One of the lasers causes Baymax to get hit from behind, dropping the girl. "No, no, no, no, no!" Hiro shouts, crawling over to try and catch her, but it's too late. Luckily, she lands in a pile of leaves that break her fall.
Baymax turns around and fires his rocket fist at all of them. "Baymax, can you scan for Hana?"
"Scanning..." Before he can locate her, more Buddy Guards arrive and they fly off. Finding time for getting her back and trying to distract Cruz was gonna be impossible. So for now, they have to focus on Cruz." Baymax swoops into a log and flies out of it, the robots destroying it into pieces. Baymax slides to a stop, Hiro growling at the robots. They fly after the two, but Baymax holds up a log and throws it right at them, destroying all of them in one throw.
"Oh...now for Hana. Come on, Baymax—oh no," He looks to his right. "Buddy Guards at 3 o'clock!"
"It is not 3 o'clock. It is 7:33-"
"Right!" Hiro points to his right.
"Thank you, Hiro."
"No! On your right!" Hiro elaborates as two Buddy Guards approach, only to get blasted away. Hiro looks in that direction...as Bessie comes out of hiding. "Oh no, Bessie..." He taps for Baymax to leave and the robot does so. Bessie hits them directly, knocking them towards the trees. Baymax hugs Hiro protectively, landing on the grass and eventually shutting down. "No, no, no, no, no!"
He jumps off the robot. "Guys? C-Can you hear me? Hana? Can anyone hear me?! Hana...!"
As her hair has gotten out of her pigtails, it spreads out in every direction onto the leaves, her arms outstretched onto the bush. Her eyes shake a little as she tries to wake up.
Bessie removes the trees blocking her way, growling at the boy. She slowly steps up to him. "Bessie, no!"
She snorts out some air and he cringes.
Hana gasps, sitting up in alarm, having the sense that her brother is in trouble. "Hiro..." She slides down the pile and onto the grass, looking around in every direction. The same sense is felt again to her right and she takes off in that direction.
"Member of Big Hero 7, stay where you are!" Diego orders the bear, the spotlight briefly flashing on her. It's enough to drive her attention away from Hiro to run off, the helicopter chasing after her. And for once in his life...he's grateful that the police came to his rescue. He looks towards Baymax: there's no way he can carry him on his own. He'll get spotted and then no one would be able to reach Hana.
"You'll be safe here, I have to see if sis is okay," Hiro moves some leaves on the robot to cover him in case the police come by. "Well...this is useless," He takes off his helmet. His tech is already malfunctioning and he can't even use it to defend himself if needed.
As Hana is running, she slips off her suit and the pieces go flying off into the grass. All that's left is her red crop top, her skirt and jeans, and boots. She knew that Diego is still out there, and she can't risk being spotted while looking for them.
Hana stops short when she goes for her boot, seeing the tracking device onto it.
"What...?"
The helicopter is being attacked by Bessie, the pilot flying away from the beams. Diego grits his teeth at the bear, who roars and slams her fists onto the ground. She fires again. "Incoming!" He ducks out of the way, but while she's firing, he falls out of the helicopter and through a tree, until landing roughly on a small hill. He rolls all the way to the ground.
Hana stops in front of a clearing, closing her eyes. She just knows that her brother is close...she can feel it.
Hiro flinches as he gets a feeling that Hana's not too far away. "Hana?" He murmurs slowly.
She runs to her left, pushing past bushes and swerving past trees, her sense getting stronger and stronger. Eventually she comes to a stop, seeing up ahead to her relief.
"Hiro...HIRO!"
He turns around and sees her standing right there. His suit is long gone, leaving him in his red shirt and pants. "Hana!" He engulfs her into a tight hug and she returns it. "You're awake...! Are you okay?"
"I mean...I didn't see any burns," She inspects herself. "At least you and Baymax saved me before it could get worse. Where is he, anyway?"
"I'll explain on the way, but right now, we just have to run!" He takes off and she follows next to him. "By the way...how'd you find me?"
She turns to look at him. "I guess it's because I sensed that you were in trouble...and that I had to find you."
He smiles at his sister.
The rest of the team slides down the road, still being chased by police cars. Honey Lemon turns around. "They're catching up!" She continues running in the lead, and they slide down a steep road, to Wasabi's chargin as he's not steady.
"They're closing us off!" He notices that some cars are trying to block their path, but she just moves out of the way from them. She suddenly smiles as she turns right into an alley, gesturing for the others to go up ahead. They slide sharply and she leads them to an abandoned building.
"Up there," GoGo gestures to the roof.
Honey creates another bouncy goop and one by one, they jump on, with Fred holding onto Wasabi. Honey Lemon jumps last just as the officers appear at the building. GoGo pops it before anyone could follow.
"You did this," GoGo accuses to Fred.
"I couldn't help it...I have a problem!" He kneels onto the roof in shame.
"We know, Freddy, but...don't worry about that right now, or about Hana. She'll be fine with Hiro and Baymax."
"Yeah, let's focus on finding a way out of this!" Wasabi points to below them. Fred frowns deeply, looking towards the ground. Because of his irresponsible choice, Hana got hurt regardless of his sacrifice...and got all of his friends into trouble.
"Hiro, we need to have a talk about-"
"Uh, not now!" Hiro sways away the moths nearby, sighing. "The woods...why did it have to be the woods?"
"Can't win 'em all, bro," Hana replies next to him, waving a hand in front of her face. He trips, accidentally kicking a rock...right into a hornets' nest. It falls down and they notice it.
"Oh no..."
They scream while running away from the insects, tripping onto each other. Hiro gets up first and turns the corner.
"I wish I brought my bug spray!" Hana mutters as she slides around the corner. Hiro bumps into someone, hitting Hana and causing her to fall.
"Sorry...Officer Cruz?"
"Huh?" Hana's eyes widen as she looks up to see the man. Well...this day couldn't get any worse...
"Twins, w-what are you doing here?" He asks in shock.
"Uh, w-what are we doing here...?" Hiro laughs nervously. "Interesting story...ever since we came out here for our internship project..." He stands up, Hana getting onto her feet and dusting herself off. "We fell in love with the woods."
"Sure, that's believable..." Hana crosses her arms.
"You're supposed to help," Hiro whispers to her.
"I'm not trying to help because of what you did at Joe's Diner!" She whispers back in defense and his eyes widen. He laughs nervously as she gives him an accusing look, hearing a frog and yelping in surprise. "And now we come here a lot...to clear my mind and think!" He steps right into a spider web, getting it into his hair.
"Well, I've gotta get you both out of here. I'm chasing the big red guy from Big Hero 7, and-"
Bessie suddenly roars and they turn around to see her. She knocks down a few trees. "That thing is chasing me!"
They all run off, ducking underneath a tree. Bessie runs right into it and the twins suddenly stop, trying to figure out where to go. Diego bumps into them and they slide down into mud. "Mud..." Hiro laughs a little, remembering what Krei said about scents. "Nice," He rubs it all over himself, Hana doing the same thing.
"Uh, what are you two doing?" Diego asks them in confusion.
"Masking our scent. Here!" Hiro holds out a clump of mud to him.
"Umm," He looks up at the two.
"Trust us."
"If you want Bessie to stop chasing you, this is the only way to do it," Hana points to herself and Hiro.
The helicopter circles around the team. "We can't fight the police," Honey Lemon speaks up.
"Well...we could, and they definitely deserve something for what they did to Hana," GoGo points out. "And we'd win, but..."
"It would be very un-superhero-ish," Wasabi finishes for her. Fred steps out of the shadows.
"I know a way. I'll take all the heat while you guys slip out the back. And don't try to stop me. I deserve it."
"Fred, we're a team," Wasabi tells him as they watch Fred step up to the edge. "Don't even think-"
"Exterior: rooftop, night. Pause...Our hero took in his last moments of freedom...painful pause...before facing justice."
"Fred, wait!"
"Fred!"
He jumps off the roof despite their protests.
Bessie sniffs around for the three, growling as she steps forward. She sniffs the air, ending up right above the muddy trio. She ends up right next to Diego's face and he cringes...but she gives up and leaves them there.
They all sigh in relief, watching her crawl away. "What is that thing, anyway?" Diego asks them.
"Bessie. We've crossed paths with her before...when we were out with my thoughts," Hiro grins widely. "The last time we saw her, she was a lot nicer. I wonder what's bothering her."
"It's gotta be big for her to go after us like that when she knows us..." Hana whispers to him.
"I'm impressed, twins. Most people would panic in a situation like this," Diego compliments the two.
"Eh, we've seen worse."
"And Hiro's done enough stuff to me in my lifetime," Hana waves it off, Hiro wincing a little. "This is nothing compared to what he's done or what I've seen."
"Big Hero 7 put us in this mess..." He bends down, hovering his pants over the mud and they glance to each other. They take a few moments before kneeling as well.
"...Why do you hate Big Hero 7 so much?"
"And why are you gunning for Lady Electrica so bad?" Hana adds in, wanting an answer.
"You ever hear about a guy named Boss Awesome?"
They flinch for a second. "He sounds kind of familiar..." Hiro scratches his cheek. "He was a superhero, right?"
"They made that statue of him before it disappeared, right?" Hana chuckles nervously.
"I was a kid when Boss Awesome first showed up in the city. And so did a bunch of bad guys all wanting to be the one to beat him. One night, on the way home from a movie, my dad and I got in the way of a supervillain. Dad saved me...but he paid the ultimate price. Boss Awesome showed up too late...but the nail in the coffin was when my wife became a superhero."
Their eyes widen as they slowly turn to him. "Your...wife was a superhero?"
"The twins were only 4...I warned her not to take on so many supervillains, but she wouldn't listen. Said that it was her duty to protect the city. Well...one day, her greatest enemy managed to track her down...to us. My children were in school, and I had only just become a rookie in the force. She fought him with all of her might, but...she was ultimately mortally wounded in battle. And by the time the kids were finished, I...had to tell them that their mother..."
He sobs a little, covering his eyes with his palm. The two stare at each other, feeling awful for him. The guy lost his father and his wife all because of supervillains trying to defeat superheroes...it just goes to show that anything can happen while juggling that kind of life.
"And that's why I don't want my son to be involved with Lady Electrica," He sniffles, wiping his nose. "I love my son, and I can't handle losing him or Megan...the way I did with her...being with a superhero only guarantees risk."
"We're...sorry," Hiro states, looking away. Her eyes soften at him. So that's why he was so focused on her...because he wants to protect Mikey, and to prevent what happened to his wife from ever occurring again.
"...Superheroes can't save everyone...not even themselves. I know you've lost people too..."
The twins just look at the ground, Hana placing her hand on top of Hiro's. He interlocks fingers with her hand and squeezes it.
Fred lands in front of all the police cars. The officers immediately whip around, pointing their tasers at him.
"A responsible person makes mistakes, but when they do, they accept responsibility and make things right," Fred declares, the others looking on in worry. Wasabi covers his eyes, peeking anyway. "Take me away." He holds out his wrists.
The spotlight falls on him as one of the officers steps forward with handcuffs ready. Before she can cuff him, Mini-Max comes flying in, tackling Fred onto the ground.
"Ow!"
"I have researched the error with your invisibility mode from comrade Hana's notes," Mini-Max quickly works on the back of the head. "This should correct it!"
The tongue goes back in and the mouth fully closes, but he's not trapped inside. Fred stands up, his suit flickering.
"He's going invisible!"
"To justice and nonsense!" The two declare as the officers tackle them, but they disappear.
Bessie lets out a roar as she's trying to find something, looking underneath a rock. She punches it away out of frustration, pushing another. The twins and Diego are up in the mountains, watching her.
"It's just that Big Hero 7 have kind of saved a lot of people," Hiro states to Diego.
"Yokai, Obake, Di, if it wasn't for them, the city would've been in danger a while ago," Hana counts off.
"I'm sure Big Hero 7 have good intentions, but they're harming more than they're helping, and I'll do whatever it takes to protect my children and all the citizens of San Fransokyo. Even if that means risking my job on the line." He clenches a fist, Hana sighing at this.
"...Protecting family," Hiro looks away, finally realizing why Bessie is acting like this. "Maybe..." Hana notices his look.
"...Hey, yeah!"
They jump off the rock. "Maybe what?" Diego asks, but they don't answer as they continue jumping. "Hiro, Hana? Twins!"
They move a bush, unable to find what they're looking for. They look inside a cave, Diego just confused as he follows after them. They check a log, moving away more bushes. "Twins, are you gonna let me in on what's going on?"
"We'll do you one better..." Hana grins as she looks to her left, running off. They slide to a stop and she gestures down below. "How about we just show you?"
"Look," Hiro points to the sight and they all see a trio of meteorite cubs playing in the mud.
"Cubs? The monster is a...mother?"
"Weird things happen in these woods," Hiro shrugs a little.
"I'll save my questions on how this happened in favor of THEY'RE SO CUTE~!" Hana squeals and the three cubs look up at her. They roar a little, tackling her and nuzzling the girl. "Aww! Even monster animals are cute. Well, most of them."
One of them lands on her shoulder and she giggles. Hiro takes one from her lap. "We've gotta get them back to her."
Diego looks at the one he's holding, hearing a rustle and a roar. "I'll do it. It's too risky."
"Let's do it together..." Hiro replies, and he nods at them. Hana lightly pokes the nose of the cub on her shoulder and it coos, playing with her finger.
"Can we talk first?" She stares at her brother seriously. "Now."
"I'll, uh...be over here," Diego moves away a safe distance from them.
"Hiro, why did you and the others follow me to Joe's?"
"I-I don't know what you're talking about," He stammers, waving a hand. "Look, we can have this talk later-"
"You said you wouldn't come!" She interrupts sharply. "Stop trying to get out of this because we both saw you there."
"I promised not to come with you. You didn't say anything about following you."
"Quit changing the subject and just tell me why," She deadpans and he sighs slowly. "If you had such a problem with me going out with a boy alone to study, why couldn't you just tell me?"
"I do not have a-" He grunts in defeat. "...I dunno...I guess sometimes...I just see the old you, before high school. And...my older brother instincts just acted first before logic." She sighs at him and he closes his eyes. "I'm sorry, really. Sometimes...sometimes I feel like that's what I have to do: protect you. How do you think I felt when I saw what happened to you tonight? It hurt me just as much as it hurt you. I just...don't want to get hurt again like you did with...him..."
She closes her eyes at the mention of him, then hums lightly as she pets the cub she has. "Well...I guess after your honest explanation, I can't get too mad...but you have to understand that I'm not the kind of person who needs to be looked after all the time. And that I'm not that little girl anymore. Yes, Cruz did go overboard, but both of you have a need to protect your family, just like with Bessie, in different methods...well, somewhat. So I forgive you...as long as I hear it from you that you won't do that again."
"I'll try," He chuckles, watching her and the cub. "Just...don't grow up too fast, okay?"
"I won't," She laughs at him. "Now come on."
Bessie knocks away a tree, roaring as she pushes down another. She fires a beam as the three step up. She notices them and roars, charging up to the trio. They step forward and show her the cubs. Bessie slides to a stop, the one Hiro's holding smiling at her.
"We mean no harm, Bessie," Hiro places one down.
"No harm at all!"
"We found your cubs...that's why you were so upset, isn't it?" Hana takes the one off her shoulder and they hold up their hands. Bessie calms down upon seeing them, nuzzling one on the cheek. It hugs her and Hana clasps her hands, cooing at the sight. She affectionally licks all of them on the cheek and they crawl onto her back. And with that, they all leave.
"We make a pretty good team, twins," Diego holds out his fist to them.
"Yeah...I guess we do," Hiro and Hana fist bump him.
"I can see why my children like you."
They flinch upon hearing that. "Wait...what did she say?!" Hiro chases after the man as Hana giggles, brushing a bang behind her ear. She runs after them to catch up.
The next morning, Fred yawns, stretching his arms. The others had called him over here to the conference room and his eyes widen to see his friends. Hana looks better than she did last night, and Baymax has been repaired.
"Good morning," Baymax waves to him.
"Hana!" Fred exclaims upon seeing her. He runs up to the girl, spinning her into a hug. "You're alright!" He looks down at her, expecting his friend to be mad at him, but she just smiles.
"Sure I'm alright!" She beams up at her friend. "Baymax and Hiro took really good care of me, but you sacrificed yourself for me, Fred. Thank you."
"Are you mad at me?" He sniffles a little.
"Nah!" She shakes her head at him. She did get to see cute monster cubs, and if it wasn't for his stupid choice, she wouldn't have seen them. "But if you go out for night patrol again alone…" Her expression changes to an intense look, pointing at him. "I will haunt you when I die for the rest of my life."
"Got it! No more night patrol alone!" He shouts nervously, sweating a little.
"Rise and shine, co-worker!" Wasabi greets him.
"We called this emergency meeting to tell you how impressed we are. And that we're proud of you for risking yourself to save Hana. Thanks for saving her, by the way," Hiro tells his friend gratefully, putting an arm around her shoulder.
"Yeah, you really stuck your neck out for us back there," GoGo smiles a little.
"We got cock-a-noodle breakfast burgers in your honor!" Honey Lemon reveals a tray of them. He starts crying joyously, wiping his face and sniffing. He takes one eagerly.
"...Interior: hideout, mor-"
"Fred," GoGo shoves the burger into his mouth. "No narrating breakfast."
"I almost forgot!" Hana shakes her head rapidly, showing her boot and the tracking device. "When I was taking off my suit in the woods, I found this on my boot."
"A tracking device?" Honey Lemon gasps at it. "But why?"
"To find her last night..." Hiro theorizes as he takes the tracker in his hand, examining it. "Did Officer Cruz have a tracker?"
"He must've, but how it got onto my suit...I have no idea."
"What if it wasn't Cruz?" Wasabi asks slowly and they turn to him. "What if someone else was behind it?"
"...Oh god," Hana pales a bit. "Whoever planted this on me and gave Cruz that photo...they're the same person."
"But why would they do that?"
"...I wish I knew," She looks at the tracker.
Hana is wearing a red one-piece bikini as she steps up to a diving board. She jumps, back flipping and then swan diving into the water. She swims back up to surface, whipping her hair around a little.
"Hey."
She looks up to see Mikey. "Hey," She smiles, swimming over to the edge. "How'd you know I was here?"
"Your brother told me that sometimes, you like to practice here. Listen… I'm really sorry about my dad-"
"He spoke to you about the photo, didn't he?" She asks knowingly. "I don't know how he got a hold of from this informant of his, but-"
"It's fine…really. Though I am grounded until who knows when. Chief Marquez got really mad at him for what happened last night, too. Said she won't take him off-duty, but she'll be keeping a close eye on him from now on."
"…He told me about your grandfather, you know. And your mother."
"...Yeah," He looks away, clearing his throat. "But I don't want to talk about it. Not like this."
"I get it," She smiles a little.
"I got told about the tracker," He winces a bit. "Do you think that Trina is behind it?"
"She would've bragged about it to me by now," Hana shakes her head. "The suspect list is pretty high too..."
"It could be anyone," He hums, waving as he leaves. "Anyway, I'll see you later."
"Mm," She gets onto her feet.
Ian is working on more Buddy Guards for Krei (or rather Cruz), when Hana lightly knocks on his door. "H-Hana!" He immediately stops what he's doing, standing up. "It's good to see you today, h-how are you doing?"
"To be honest, I don't know," She sighs a little. "Lots of...stuff has been happening, and I've been talking to my therapist, but...what if one day this is all too much for me to handle? I mean...don't get me wrong, I love all my friends and my brother, but...it just feels like I can't control it all sometimes."
"Well..." He looks away for a second. "You'll figure it out. You're Hana Hamada. You can do anything you can put your mind to."
She hums, smiling a little towards him. "I guess I can, huh?"
"Of course! You're an inspiration to all of us!" He gestures to the office. "Who else is gonna visit us at the office during work?"
"It'd be pretty much Krei being an egotistical jerk," She shrugs slowly, stepping forward and hugging him. "Thanks, Ian. You're a good listener."
He smiles happily, hugging her back. When she closes her eyes, he puts on a glare. Thankfully his plan had worked: he got Hana away from Mikey.
She shouldn't be going for a jerk like him. He doesn't care about her. I know what he is: just another pretty boy who would just use her and walk away. She was about to give herself away to him, so I did what I had to do with Chief Cruz. I only know how to take care of her, worship her, the way she deserves.
I won't let anyone take that away...
Angel: PS, I don't really know if Diego's wife was a superhero or not, but I also don't know what happened to her since she's not talked about at all in the show. I already know she's not in the picture or else Diego wouldn't be liking Cass. I wish they would bring this topic up, and I was theorizing that her being a superhero was why Diego doesn't like them, but oh well, that's what I wrote and I'm sticking with it. Maybe in some episode, Megan and Hiro will get close enough for her to tell him what happened to her mother in canon.
Thanks for reading and hopefully it'll take quicker for next week's episode to be released online!