Chapter Sixty One: Undermine
After some debating, Tony and his charged had decided on an all you could eat breakfast buffet. It was the easiest on the wallet and allowed the largest selection of food for all involved. And even though the billionaire was more than happy to pay for it, Fred insisted, beating him to it, which was probably just as well. He'd worn dark shades and a baseball cap to try and blend in, though part of him wondered if that made him stand out all the more. But since his face was so well known, it was worth the occasional stare, though most people there seemed more intent on their food than on who else was in the area.
Strictly speaking, this was more of a place that families would go to if they were looking to feed a large family on a relatively decent budget. That being said, at this time of day, there weren't as many people there as could be. And that suited the group just fine. So, after paying, they chose a table and loaded up at the buffet line.
"I have a serious question," Fred announced as they all tucked into the meal. He addressed Tony, his expression serious.
Hearing the tone in his voice, Tony couldn't help but look up to meet his gaze. "What is it?"
The mascot put his fork down as he leaned back against the cushioned bench, glancing quickly around to make sure no one would overhear them. "Back when all that mess happened in New York, you invited us to join up with the others. You know, be junior Avengers. Of course we said no, but now you're acting like you never asked. Why?"
Honey looked a bit shocked at the question. "Freddie," she said with a hint of warning in her voice. She looked like she wanted to just silence him but GoGo held out a hand to keep her from doing anything.
"No, he's right," GoGo stated. "You were all so gung-ho about asking us. So what gives?"
Looking more than a little uncomfortable, Tony did his best not to resort to the thought in his mind, run. Instead, he cleared his throat to buy himself some time before answering. "You remember that, do you? Wasn't sure if you would, all things considering. A lot was going on after all."
Kally looked more than a little interested in all of this. "I didn't know he'd asked you guys to join," she admitted as she looked a bit awed at the idea. They didn't ask just anyone to be an Avenger. Of course, it would have also been so they could better keep an eye on them. But still, it was a great honor to be asked. "I mean, after hearing Tony rail into Hiro about you guys being active in the area, I'd never even think he'd offered."
This was news to the others, probably because Hiro hadn't really done anything more than potentially quickly breeze over it, for whatever reason. "Did you really do that?" GoGo demanded as she glared at the Iron Man.
Tony couldn't help but feel a bit caught in all of this but he knew this would escalate if he didn't say something so he held up a placating hand. "Yes, I did go after Hiro about your recent activities, but I was upset about everything that had happened and what could have happened."
"What, you forgot everything we told you about our various adventures?" GoGo quipped, still not looking appeased. "I mean, come on! We've dealt with things you've only ever dreamed of!"
The Avenger looked around as GoGo's voice escalated. He made shushing motions as her tones caught the attention of a few people passing by their table on the way to the buffet line. He pinched at the bridge of his nose the moment those curious people moved on. "As I recall, you all refused. And if you hadn't, I probably wouldn't have said a word, but you did. I was just trying to protect you."
It was hard for Honey Lemon to not look a bit maternal as she gave him a somewhat understanding look. "You weren't thinking about us, were you? When you confronted Hiro? You were just worried about him and his getting hurt. I see the way you look at him. It's almost like you're trying to be his dad. But you know he doesn't see you that way, and I'm pretty sure he doesn't appreciate you trying to step into that roll."
He had no rebuttal to that and Tony knew it. He could only sit there with a look of surprise on his face as his brain tried to come up with reasons he could give to deny it. But he slumped back down in defeat, knowing she was right.
"Tadashi was the closest person to his dad," Honey stated gently. "And even though he really was Hiro's older brother, I don't think anyone else can even close to that. Nor do I think anyone should try. Hiro's old enough it would undermine his confidence."
Kally looked from Honey to Tony, seeing the varying expressions. Even GoGo and Fred had interesting ones. Fred's was more of a "See, I told you so," kind of look while GoGo's was simply smug. "He did say something about him not being his dad," she said in half her usual voice, not looking up from her plate now. "Hiro, that is." And she couldn't blame him for saying it either. Tony had come on rather strong that morning.
Silence filled the group, only broken by Honey and GoGo starting back on their food. After that, they all decided it was better to keep conversation to more convention things, like the weather.
During a lull of conversation, Kally stood to get another plate of food, only to have what she could only call vertigo fill her. She sort of wobbled back into the bench, one hand to her head. From the corner of her eye, she could see the others wince just a bit, as if from a passing headache.
"You okay?" Fred asked before anyone else could? He was perhaps the closest to Kally, mostly because he was sitting between her and GoGo. He reached out a hesitant hand, not sure how to read the expression on her face. The slight twinge of a headache no longer lingered, but left the mascot's head certainly less than happy.
"Momentarily got dizzy," Kally confessed as she tried to shake it off. Deep down, she knew it was more than just a passing case of vertigo, but something more akin to a wave of energy, not unlike that incident up at the hotel pool. The only question was what had caused it? It didn't feel quite the same as that previous incident, which only confused the matter more. "Maybe I just need to go splash my face." She resolutely stood once more and headed towards the bathroom.
"I'll go with you," Honey stated as she slid from her seat next to Tony. She gave the others a look of assurance as she followed the teen across the room.
Inside the bathroom, Kally headed directly to the sinks and turned on one of the faucets, letting the cold water run. She leaned against the base, head facing down, arms braced as if to steady herself.
"What's going on?" Honey asked as she made sure the door was closed behind her. "You okay?" if she was being honest, Kally did look a little pale. Maybe something she'd eaten hadn't agreed with her.
Not sure how to respond to that, Kally simply didn't say anything. Whatever it was that had caused the vertigo was strong, sending a jolt through her system. She closed her eyes as if to block it out, residual energy tingling almost painfully down her body.
"Is it because of that bit of vertigo earlier?" Honey pressed, sure she was right. Perhaps it had unnerved Kally more than the others, which wasn't hugely surprising. Technically speaking, it wasn't the first or even second time the others had felt it. There had been similar episodes back when Q had decided to accidentally send Picard and his people to their dimension. It wasn't quite the same, but there were certainly similarities. And it had been no less disorientating and alarming.
The teen released the tension in her shoulders as she exhaled. "It was more than just vertigo," she stated. She still had her eyes closed, though she wasn't sure if that was to block out what was going on or simply because she wasn't ready to deal with it just yet.
Honey moved closer and put a gentle hand on Kally's shoulder. "I know," she said softly. "It's a lot like at the pool, and even more like when Q's energy got displaced when he and his friends got stuck in this dimension. Something powerful must have collided somewhere."
That caused Kally to look up, her eyes a bit wide at the admission. "I didn't know you'd felt it too," she confessed as she turned to face her. She didn't recall hearing they'd felt the displacement of energy when Q had come visiting. She racked her brain for any details she may have missed during that tale back at Stark Tower, but it eluded her. "I guess it makes sense, though I'm not sure why I feel like I felt it more strongly."
A smile crossed the chemist's lips. "You're not entirely human anymore," she reminded. "The rest of us, for all our experiences, are. It's only natural you'd feel it stronger. The real question is why did we feel it in the first place and where did it come from? I wouldn't mind also knowing why."
Kally had to nod at that. "You're right. I thought I caught a hint of Hiro in there, though." She looked thoughtful now, turning her face slightly down as she contemplated the idea. "It's not the first time I've kind of felt his energy. I mean I'm sure part of that wave I felt at the pool was him."
"Makes sense," Honey agreed. She wasn't sure if there was a way she, or the others, could be sure it was Hiro's energy, one way or the other, but with Kally, anything was possible.
Realizing she'd made an odd admission, the teen looked up sharply. "I mean there's a bit of a 'flavor' to everyone's energy, like the way a person's voice sounds. It's not something I feel strongly, but it's there, subtly. And I can really only sense Hiro's because I've become used to it. I don't know if I'm making any sense." She ran one hand through her hair, got it caught in her pony tail and yanked out the band holding her hair in place.
"Actually, that makes a lot of sense," Honey disagreed. "Baymax could probably tell us for sure. He says there are different wavelengths to the way everyone is so it supports what you said. And I'm sure GoGo and Wasabi would agree with them, though that's more their field than mine. But if you say it somehow had something to do with Hiro, maybe we should try and contact him, or at least have Sammy ask Baymax to tell us."
Kally rolled her eyes. "I somehow doubt Hiro will answer his phone right now, considering what Tony hinted. But maybe Baymax would be willing to tell us." She pulled out her phone. "Hear that, Sammy? Want to see if Baymax is willing to let you know where they are?"
"I can already tell you they are back at Mr. Stark's house," Sammy answered, having heard the entire conversation. "Baymax says Hiro is currently resting."
Honey let out a slight shrug. "Well, I guess that answers that. If we want any more answers, we'll just have to wait until we get back."
The teen nodded. At least Baymax wasn't blocking them like last time. She only hoped that meant nothing bad had happened. Maybe it was just one of those random things that sometimes occurred, though there didn't really seem to be any precedence for that. The only times she knew about his energy discharging like that had left him in a more than vulnerable state. Part of her couldn't help but feel a bit protective of him, knowing his strengths didn't lend to physical self defense. Irrational or not, she felt protective of him.
"Speaking of which, maybe we should head back to the others," Honey continued. "Before they send someone to look for us."
The hint wasn't unwarranted, Kally supposed, but she wasn't sure she was ready to head back just yet. "Just let me use the facilities," she said with a nod towards one of the stalls. "Promise I'll be right out."
It was entirely possible Kally just wanted a moment alone, Honey reasoned so she gave the girl a bit of a hug. "Okay, just don't take too long or I'll have to send GoGo in after you. I really don't think you'd want it to be Tony." With that, and a bit of a smile, she left Kally to herself.
"That was weird," GoGo commented as they watched Honey follow Kally to the bathroom. She wasn't entirely sure if she was talking about what had happened to them with the twinge of headache or Kally's behavior. Either way, it certainly wasn't typical.
Fred gave a one-sided shrug before continuing with his meal. "I don't know," he disagreed. "I mean it kind of reminded me of that Q thing."
Not entirely sure what was meant, Tony looked at the two of them in turns. He'd felt next to nothing, maybe a bit of a pinch, like he'd turned his head wrong, but that was all. "Q thing?" It took him a second to recall the many episodes they'd related earlier that year, but when he made the connection, his eyes widened just a bit. "Ah, that alien entity that came from another dimension."
"One and the same," GoGo said with a sigh. "Except it didn't feel quite like that so I doubt it's him coming back. Hopefully he'd know better." A scowl crossed her face as she thought about it some more. The man had said he'd eventually come back and try and collect Hiro, or at least that's what she remembered hearing. But if it wasn't Q, the Universe had decided some other power had to be canceled or equaled out, and that didn't bode well, not when they were in the middle of a potential terrorist attack scenario. Whatever it was, chances were good it was out of their league, and so long as the Doctor didn't show it, it couldn't be anything too serious.
At that moment, Honey returned to the table, looking thoughtful. She looked up as Tony cleared his throat. "Hmm? Oh. Right. Kally'll be a few more minutes. I think she needed to use the facilities." She reclaimed her seat, her lips turning down a bit as she realized her eggs were now cold.
"As long as it's nothing we need to worry about," GoGo inserted as she moved the contents of her plate around. The whole incident had left her appetite decreased. It was just as well. Part of her wondered if something might not have happened to Hiro again. "You check in on the half pint?" she asked, hoping she sounded casual as she glanced over at her chemist friend.
Honey debated on getting a new plate and then decided it hadn't been long enough to do any harm. "Baymax says he's resting." She couldn't give anything more than that without lying and so focused on her food.
Tony grunted. In a way, it made sense. "JARVIS did say he was up late last night," he mused as he leaned back in his chair. He frowned as he caught the looks from his table companions. "He and Kally were up talking in the common areas." It wouldn't do to make them feel like they were being spied on all the time, not like in Stark Tower.
"I still think you need to tone it down with him," GoGo quipped. "I get that you feel responsible for him and everything, but you don't have to. We all know the risks when we go out. And he'll never accept you as a father figure."
Her statement seemed to make Tony back up inside of himself as his eyes went wide at the assumption. But, in a way, he had to admit, when put like that, that it was true. He quickly smoothed over his expression and gave her his undivided attention. "It's not that I'm trying to be a father figure for him," he countered. "I recognize a bit of myself in him and I don't want him making the same mistakes I did."
Fred tisked a few times as he set his fork down. "Tony, my man, for a genius, you sure are dense sometimes. The point is that he's going to make mistakes. We all are. It's part of being human. I mean if none of the characters in my comic books made mistakes, they'd never be where they are."
"Not sure that's such a good example," GoGo interrupted. "After all, some of them get themselves into their own messes."
The mascot had to accept that point. "All that aside, though, without those mistakes, a person doesn't really learn. I mean you can learn a bit from others' mistakes and all that, but everyone has to do their own thing. It's part of being growing up. I can't even begin to go into the mistakes I've made over the years without boring you all to death. All that aside, I honestly think if you try to 'save' him from making those mistakes, you're doing him a disservice."
"That… actually makes sense," Honey spoke up a bit hesitantly. "After all, even normal people make mistakes. And yes, some of them are really bad ones, but we get over them." She held up a hand to keep Tony from interrupting. "And yes, we all know Hiro's been through a lot, just as you have, but that doesn't mean he hasn't got a handle on it, or a support system to help him get through the tough times. That's why we're all part of a team."
Fred nodded firmly. "Exactly. And, don't get me wrong, I know you kind of want your slice of pie in that, but I figured you'd be more like my dad with the whole advisory thing. He's not going to tell me how to do things or what to do, unless I ask for advice. I think, if you want to get Hiro to respond to you, you gotta give him his space and not assume he's going to be stupid just because you were growing up. He's not you. Not to mention he's got Aunt Cass watching his back now, which will help keep him out of too much trouble."
The conversation broke off as Kally rejoined them, looking a bit closer to normal than she had earlier. "Sorry about that," she apologized. "I just needed a few minutes."
Fred got up and held out her chair for her. "No problem," he stated. "You didn't miss out on much anyway." He gave the others a knowing look before returning to his chair.
Tony let out a sigh but decided it best to leave things where they'd dropped so he turned back to his plate of food. Once they were all satisfied, he'd herd them back to the house and go from there.