Chapter Sixty: Too Weird
Cass almost shot to her feet the moment she saw Loki, in the guise of Samuel Jackson, carrying Hiro into the common area of the house. If it weren't for her knee brace, she probably would have. As things stood, there was no way she could have, but her blood pressure went up a few notched all the same until she saw the teen weakly wave.
"I'm fine," Hiro stated before Cass could even ask. "Just had an unexpected collision with another energy entity. Nothing to worry about." Despite his words, his voice was still a bit out of sorts, almost gravely in texture. If Cass had to put a word to it, she'd say overused.
Not sure if she should entirely believe him or not, mostly because he looked just about as done in as he had only a few months back, Cass struggled to her feet as she followed Loki and Baymax into Hiro's room. She managed to close the door behind them, somehow feeling Hiro didn't want the others to know what was going on, or Loki for that matter. "Okay, boys," she said in her best stern tone as she leaned against the closed door. "What's really going on?"
Loki glanced towards Baymax as he settled the teen on the mattress. As the robot didn't make any sign, he took it upon himself to make the decision. "We were just eating breakfast out on the veranda with Dirk Gently, when Hiro made unexpected contact with them. For whatever reason, that seemed to create a discharge of energy not unlike when I delved into Hiro's memories. Except instead of incapacitating Dirk, it rebounded and did the same to Hiro."
While not strictly true, it was close enough to count. Loki only hoped Cass hadn't caught the slight hesitation before he'd answered. But, seeing the look in her eye, he knew he needed to give her just a bit more. "After visiting with Lucifer Morningstar earlier, we learned that Dirk is actually somehow related to the man, with similar abilities." And that would have to suffice because he didn't feel comfortable indulging any further information at the moment.
Cass let out her breath, slumping even more against the closed door. She was only mildly surprised when Loki appeared by her side, helping her towards the bed so she could sit in better comfort. "Will these kinds of things ever end?" she wondered out loud.
"Probably not," Hiro quipped from his prone state. He didn't have enough energy to lift his head and so didn't even try. "But then I honestly don't know if I could deal with something more 'normal' anymore. It would be too weird."
A bit of a laugh escaped Cass's lips, having to agree. Things had never been normal at their house, not from moment one. Having two equally smart young men certainly had kept them on their toes. And then all the various adventures, some she'd only recently found about, going on, well, it wasn't something she could deny. She'd always known Hiro would be different. She'd just wished she'd had an inkling of just how much back when she'd first taken him and his brother in. It might have changed how she'd handled things.
Baymax tilted his head as he observed everyone in the room. He could tell that Cass might need something for her pain soon, though he chose not to comment on it. Hiro obviously was out of commission, and Loki seemed unusually thoughtful. His synapses were firing at a rapid rate, not unlike when Hiro was mulling over a problem. "You appear to be contemplating something with unusual intensity," he stated as he looked at the disguised Asgardian.
Looking up, Loki couldn't help but appear slightly distracted. "Hmmm?" He quickly brought himself back to the present, though the thoughts he'd been mulling over lingered as though they didn't want to be dismissed. "Oh, yes," he added as he caught Cass's eye. "I admit part of me wonders if now might not be a bad time to try and delve back into Hiro's mind while I'm less likely to receive a similar negative outcome as last time."
Cass seemed to blanch at that idea, remembering the looks that had crossed both males' faces. She wasn't sure she wanted to see that again. "I don't understand why you'd need to do that," she admitted, trying to sway him away from the idea.
Brows creased, Loki couldn't help but frown as he thought about it a bit more before answering. "I find there are some things that trouble me about the whole ordeal and I can't seem to put a finger on it. However, if I am allowed to look back on those memories once more, I might have a clearer picture." He glanced over at Hiro, widening his eyes just a fraction as he mentally conveyed a desire to look at the memories of his other past experiences, with permission this time.
"In a way, I'm already out for the count," Hiro pointed out. "Either way, I'm sure the others will have questions when they get back so I guess it's more a matter of just what else might happen. And since I have no idea why this happened in the first place, I can't say one way or the other. But I'm not exactly thrilled that it keeps happening." He didn't look forward to more scrutiny from Tony, wondering what had happened in his absence, or if he'd seen something more, which seemed the usual case as of late.
He could see his point, Loki supposed. If it were him, he'd probably feel the same way, which was why he hadn't wanted to bring it up. But all things happened in the order the Universe wanted anyway so he supposed it was inevitable. "I would merely like to point out that since you are in such a state, the chances of something similar to last time happening are far less than they would be otherwise. And if you permit me access to those memories in question, I'm sure it will be less painful for the both of us."
Chances were good it was true but Hiro could see the look of disapproval coming from his aunt, sure he knew what was going through her mind at that moment. "I've been through worse," he admitted. "And you're probably right. I don't have a lot of energy at the moment so we'd both likely be safe, more or less." It wasn't rocket science, but it was the best assurance he could give Cass, knowing it was probably better to get it over with while they still had a window of opportunity. If the others weren't there, they were less likely to be disturbed. Somehow, he doubted Wasabi would come barging in, and with the others out… well, it was now or never.
"Are you sure about this?" Cass asked, looking more worried than usual. She'd seen her baby go through so much over the past few months and still couldn't help but think of him as something fragile.
Hiro somehow managed to turn his head enough to look towards Baymax for conformation before giving the barest of nods. "I'm sure. And, worse to worse, I get a fantastic nap out of it all." His tone was perhaps a bit to forced, but it conveyed the right amount of humor to help diffuse her concern.
Seeing the look of resignation in Cass's eyes, Loki moved to press a hand against her uninjured shoulder. "With Hiro guiding me this time, I should have more control and can pull back should the need arise," he comforted. "All the same, it might be best to help you move to that chair." He indicated the one near the head of the bed but still far enough away not to get in the way.
Before Cass could answer one way or another, the god of mischief slipped his hands under her knees and back, easily carrying her over to the chair in question. He then had Baymax help him move Hiro a bit further over on the double mattress. There just wasn't quite as much room as there had been in the hotel suite and he didn't want to take any chances.
"I will stand behind you in case you should experience another overload," Baymax stated as he waddled into position. There really wasn't much room for Loki to sit on the bed, even with Hiro moved over a bit. But there was enough so long as the two didn't react as Hiro and Dirk had earlier. Chances were good they wouldn't, but it paid to be prepared.
Loki moved his right hand to rest over Hiro's eyes. "Now, I want you to close your eyes and try to enter a meditative state. " I can't promise this won't be uncomfortable, but if you try to recreate the exercise from last night, I think we will both find it more beneficial.
Taking a deep breath, Hiro gave the faintest of nods as he closed his eyes. It made sense, in a way. And, hopefully, he'd have more control over the whole encounter, unlike last time. He wasn't sure if Loki really wanted to look back on the more recent memories. Some sixth sense said he really wanted to look at the older ones, the ones dealing with the Makt, the Doctor, and Q. but he could be wrong. "I'm ready," he said, feeling a bit breathless as he envisioned a workroom not unlike his lab back home. Hopefully that would help give them a good starting ground.
Lucifer felt the oddest sensation overcome him as he stopped at a red light. A wave of Celestial energy seemed to sweep through the air, giving him a momentary bout of what could only be called vertigo. A horn honked as the light changed as he quickly put the car back in gear long enough to find a safe place to pull over to the side of the road and park.
His phone vibrated in his pocket and he impatiently took off his seatbelt in order to retrieve it, not surprised to find Maze calling him. "I take it you felt it too," he stated before she could say a single word.
"That would be the understatement of the millennium," Maze retorted over the line. "Just what was that?"
The energy had felt vaguely familiar, and yet not at the same time. It was far older than anything he usually encountered, but with hints of a younger being, though more akin to his own age. "My only guess is that an angel unleashed his or her powers," he finally answered, still shaken from the raw wave.
"Well, whatever it was, you need to figure it out fast before you know who sends down all his angels to investigate."
Lucifer certainly didn't need the reminder, not wishing to see any more of his brothers or sisters come down to Earth, at least not any more than already had. And he certainly didn't want any of them to suddenly pop out of the woodwork and mess things up. He was barely getting a grip on what was going on as things stood. "I might have an idea where to look," he admitted, thoughts of Dirk and Hiro entering his mind.
"Better hurry before the mortals get antsy," Maze admonished. "With something that big, at least some of them are bound to notice."
The devil found he had to agree. While not everyone was as sensitive to spiritual things as others, there were more than enough who were who might cause problems if he didn't nip things in the bud. Making sure no cars were coming, he put his car back into gear and sped out onto the streets.
This was nothing like last time, Loki thought as he found himself standing in an area not dissimilar to the lab Hiro had used in the Hydra base. There were some obvious differences, such as the size and the actual configuration, but the idea was the same. And there was a large rounded window at one end to let in natural light, though he couldn't see any discernible details out the glass.
Hiro appeared next to him, looking a bit more spectral than usual, but it wasn't unexpected. "Welcome to my brain, I guess," he said with a bit of a shrug. "I think I can safely say I'm a bit better prepared this time."
Loki looked around at the more organized space. The last time had certainly been a lot more hectic and disorganized, though part of him supposed that might be because he was enforcing his will a lot more strongly than he was now. "It's certainly not what I expected," he admitted.
"It helps that I'm the one in control this time," Hiro stated. He'd gone into this with a lot better idea of what to expect, which certainly helped. But now they were going to do things on his terms. "So, what memories do you want to see? Because I'm pretty sure you're not as interested in the more recent ones, at least not as much as you are in the older ones."
The Asgardian prince nodded. "You're right. I'd like to see those associated with your encounters with the Makt, the Doctor, and that entity you call Q. Hopefully, seeing those will help me better understand your potential abilities and the changes to your physiology."
Hiro gave a slight eye roll. "So just the last two years of my life," he quipped. He supposed it made sense, though that was a lot of material to go through. "Not sure we can cover it all at one go so why don't you pick just a few small instances. Either way, it's not going to be fun for me, especially if you want to see any of my repeated timelines."
Loki had to think about that for a moment. Which memories would be the most likely to reveal what he was hoping to understand? Perhaps it would be best to start near the beginning, when all the crazy mutations started. He'd already had a glimpse of the Portal once or twice, before Hiro had kicked him out the first time. And the fact that the teen seemed to still be reintegrating many of the repeated timelines, he thought it might be better to go back a bit further. "Why don't we try the one where you took the Makt back to the Rift?"
Chances were good that would give him the best idea of what might have changed in the teen during that encounter. If he could get a sense of the energy alien, he might have a better idea of what it had done to his friend, and what he might be able to expect from him in the future.
It wasn't entirely surprising, Hiro supposed but he gave a nonchalant wiggle of his shoulders before moving towards one of the far walls. "Sounds good to me. It's one of the ones I have more organized, if you know what I mean." He gave a brief indication of the opposite wall where the work areas seemed more cluttered. He reached for something that resembled a tesla coil, holding it out to Loki. "Just don't say I didn't warn you."
More than a little wary after that comment, Loki hesitantly reached out a hand to accept the implement. The moment his skin made contact with the object, he became immersed in the memory and lost himself to it.