Chapter Eighty One: Where Are You?
There was no denying the fact that Hiro looked a little green, despite agreeing to at least give the idea a shot. Loki had reassured him they needed delve into his memories for the exercise. All he had to do was concentrate on the memory of that miasma of energy associated with Rachel Amesbury, then see if he could find traces of it spread out from him. Chances were good it was still somehow attracted to him, even if just slightly. The trick was to concentrate.
Despite some minor protests, Hiro sat on the couch, on the right side, back into the corner. He hadn't exactly wanted an audience, minus his Aunt and Baymax, but the others wouldn't be excluded. In the end, he supposed it couldn't be helped. Too many weird things had happened and it only seemed fair to at least let them in on a little of what he could now do.
Baymax shuffled into position just off the side of the couch, turned to face his young charge. As usual, it was his duty to monitor the teen's vital signs for any complications. At the present moment, he detected the usual apprehension and anxiety in his patient.
For his part, Loki had pulled up the chair Tony had brought into the room the night before. He'd forgotten to return it to its previously location, making it the easiest perch for the god of mischief to use. He adjusted the angle to face Hiro head on, glancing over at Cass, who sat on the couch as well, with about a foot between her and her nephew.
Across the room, but still in the line of view, sat Wasabi and Fred. Kally had taken up residence on the left side of the couch, legs curled under her as she faced her teen counterpart.
"I want you to close your eyes," Loki instructed, doing his best to ignore the others in the room. His sole focus had to be on Hiro and guiding him through this, even though the scent of Cass's perfume was quite alluring. "Try to relax as much as possible."
The reminder wasn't necessary, Hiro thought as he complied. He settled back a little more in the cushions, focusing on his breathing as Loki's voice took on an almost hypnotic tone.
"Breathe in and out. In and out."
The world around the teen seemed to melt until he felt the familiar sensation of standing on nothing but thin air. All other stimuli faded into the background, with the exception of Loki's voice. His tenor tones seemed to whisper directly into his ear, except it wasn't in a whisper, just calm, even tone.
"I want you to look back to the clearest memory of Rachel's energy. Are you there?"
Hiro nodded, though he wasn't sure if it was just in his mind or if his body had as well. Just to be sure, he verbally confirmed that he had.
"Good," Look all but purred. "I want you to focus in on that signature. Remember, it is as unique as a fingerprint. You can find it no matter where it is."
The 'flavor' of Rachel Amesbury's energy filled all of Hiro's senses, like he was drinking into every fiber of his being. Part of him wanted to choke on it, but he held that reflex at bay. There was no way he could confuse this signature with anyone else's.
"Now slowly return to today," Loki encouraged. "You are sitting in the house of Tony Stark, with your friends and family all around you, but don't lose sight of that energy. Filter out the others until only the one is left."
As Hiro mentally returned to Stark's place, the signatures of his friends popped into his field of sensitivity, shining bright like beacons. Fred's emitted an almost aquamarine blue, while Wasabi's was a bit more frenetic with a mix of red and blue that didn't combine. Aunt Cass had an almost peach coloring to her aura, and Kally had something more like an orange-yellow. Loki's was a complicated mass of deeper greens and blues that were almost midnight in color, snaked in with hints of silver and gold. Baymax didn't exactly have the same kind of aura, but there was a decided hum about him.
The hardest part was dimming all of these pillars of raw energy so he could focus on the faintest of traces of something more akin to the color of antifreeze. It took a lot more mental concentration than he'd originally thought it would. Mental sweat broke out on his incorporeal body as he forced those signatures into the background once more. He even had to shove the residue of Tony's aura, something more red and gold, like his Iron Man suit, into the background.
It took a bit more time than he thought it should, but the task was done, though only the faintest of tastes of Rachel's energy remained, and it clung to him like spider silk. He'd have to spread his awareness out further. Not waiting for Loki's guidance on that end, he pushed his mental awareness out into the grounds. A pillar of intensely white energy almost blinded him as his consciousness brushed past the patio table where he, Loki, and Dirk Gently had pseudo shared breakfast the day before.
Cass resisted the urge to take Hiro up in her arms as his body stiffened, his face contorting in an obvious flinch of pain, but she refrained. Baymax had said nothing about an increase of energy around her nephew, and she didn't want to interfere with Loki's ability to guide the teen in the subconscious world.
"Are you all right?" Loki inquired, leaning forward in his chair, hand also slightly raised as if to touch Hiro lightly on the knee. But, like Cass, he refrained from making contact. "What do you see?"
Another shudder ran down Hiro's entire body. "It's so bright," he complained. "I never knew someone could have so much energy. And he's not even here."
Fred, Wasabi, and Kally exchanged confused glances, not sure what was going on.
"Where are you?" Loki asked.
Still cringing, Hiro took in a deep breath. "I'm in the backyard, near the patio where we had breakfast. I think it's residue from Dirk. Nothing else makes sense."
It was Cass and Loki's turned to exchange glances. After having heard the entirety of what had happened between the holistic detective and her nephew, Cass couldn't say she was surprised. But, if what she'd heard about Hiro's own abilities had anything to say about the matter, she somehow thought Hiro couldn't see his own energy, which sort of made sense, once she stopped to think about it.
"Try to push it into the background like you did the others," Loki instructed, returning his attention to the task at hand. Based off of what he'd seen of Hiro's energy, the teen definitely had no idea just how powerful it was in comparison to the Brit. And it was probably just as well. It might scare the young man into a tight shell.
A faint groan escaped Hiro's lips. "I'm trying. It's a lot more persistent than the others." A cold sweat broke out on his forehead, a drop of moisture sliding down his nose. And then, after another moment or two of strain, his face relaxed again. "I think I got it," he admitted, his voice a bit gravely.
At a look from Cass, Loki nodded. "Just take a moment to compose yourself," he advised. "We don't have to rush things."
"I'm okay," Hiro assured. "I'm going to keep going. Any traces here are too faint to track."
Fred raised his hand like a kid in school. When Cass looked his way, he scooted just a bit closer to the edge of his chair. "I don't know if this is relevant or not, but wouldn't it make more sense to have him look around the areas where the bombs went off yesterday? If there are any traces, they'd be stronger there, right?"
The notion made sense, Loki had to admit, giving Fred a calculating glance. There was more to this guy than he let on, but now was not the time to worry about that. It wasn't wise to keep Hiro in such a state for too long so he instructed the teen to focus in on the most recent areas hit by the bombs, mainly the college campus, the arena, and the Chinese Theatre. With luck, that would give them better results.
…..
Birds flew as the sound of a shotgun blast echoed through the area. Coarse laughter followed soon after as the man holding the gun roared his amusement. Things hadn't quite gone as planned, but they'd made off with more than enough crypto currency, not to mention bank account information, to keep them in business for a long time. They just had to be careful about how they spent it and moved it for a while.
"Enough of that racket!" their leader shouted as she exited her tent. With luck, they'd be breaking camp and heading back to the east coast in less than a few days. They had to give some time for the heat to die down, maybe try and lay a few false trails. They'd followed the dead traitor like moths to a flame. For the most part, it had given them the time they needed to get their real goal.
But then something had happened. Someone had somehow figured out what was going on sooner than anticipated. And the word had spread. Unfortunately, they'd also discovered there were insiders in the police forces. Those damn cops had found out most of them, and those they hadn't found out had quickly made their escape. While it was good they'd managed to get away, it meant their connection to information in the precinct was gone.
Well, lightning rarely struck in the same place twice, as the saying went. They'd manage. And, even though it was obvious those so called cops were trying to trace the digital currency, they'd not yet been able to best her hackers. They'd easily stayed five or more steps ahead of the game.
"Come on, boss!" one recruit complained. "Let us blow off some steam. It's not like we got to go out there with everyone else. No one will hear us out here."
That might be true, but it was better to err on the side of caution if they were to make sure they didn't get caught. At least they'd managed to retrieve the bomb plans from that lab before everything went to the crapper. She supposed a little celebration was in order. "Fine. Just don't get too loud."
A shout filled the air but was quickly muffled at the authorization. At least for now, it was probably best to keep the drinks stowed away. But, in the meantime, they'd more than make up for that lack by having a little fun.
At this time of day, with the areas cordoned off, there were plenty of spectators near Hollywood Boulevard. Unfortunately, none of them were allowed on the actual block or two in question as the bomb squad finished up their final sweep for any missed bombs. A few fragments had been found, along with a few duds. Nothing too crazy, but there was still plenty of damage near the Chinese Theater from the suicide bomber who'd tried to take out Jack Harkness.
Hiro's consciousness floated around the area, trying to push back all of the energy signatures of those sweeping the area. Thankfully, there weren't too many, but the crowd certainly didn't help with their emotions swelling the usual energy around them.
The faint whiff of Rachel's essence came from one of the bomb squad vehicles where some bomb fragments waited for transport. Unfortunately, the signature didn't seem inclined do to anything but gently waver around the vehicle in question, almost as if it only loyally held onto the creation but nothing more. With a sigh, Hiro realized there would be no tracking it. The scent wasn't strong enough.
Not sure if the same would hold for the other areas, he ported himself to the sports arena, only to find the same results. With a bit more discouragement, he decided to check out the college campus. The place was a mess, almost like a miasma had taken over the energy of the area affected. So many signatures twined together; especially in the area he assumed Stark had experienced the suicide bomber's actions. But the "scent" there was particularly strong, more dark blood red in color and he decided to follow it.
Like a child chasing a will-o-the-wisp, Hiro wove around the buildings, streets, and people of Los Angeles. And now that he had a new signature to follow, he found it touched the other two sites in question. He even found a concentration of it on Skid Row, where the walls seemed stained with crimson. Part of him couldn't help but think the place had seen death and fairly recently if he was any judge of things. But the scent egged him on and so he followed, tracing it away from the city.
Before he knew it, the trail led him north of the city, through the surrounding areas of Alhambra and Pasadena. It continued up into the mountainous region above these cities, using dirt roads that looked like they'd scene recent use. And the further he traveled, the stronger the energy signature became, almost as if someone had turned up the color saturation on a photo manipulating program. And then it stopped, with a high concentration flashing out like a beacon, except the energy appeared darker instead of brighter, like the last, oxygen-deprived drop of blood from a nasty wound.
With a start, Hiro came back to his body, his back arching as he drew in a huge lungful of air. His eyes flew open, pupils dilated to their largest as his conscious mind tried to process what he'd seen. He let the air out, and then took in another deep breath, just slower this time.
Five pairs of anxious eyes watched as Hiro regained control of his senses. Baymax merely observed the return of the teen's normal rhythms, which had slowed considerably during his time of meditation, only to return almost violently as he'd reinhabited his body. But the accelerated pulse and respirations were quickly brought under control, leaving the robot no real cause for concern.
"What did you see?" Loki asked, voicing the question they all had as he leaned towards the recovering youth.
Hiro looked up, his eyes glowing with blue energy, despite their usual brown color. He blinked and the blue was gone. "I think I found where they're hiding out," he stated. "It's north of here, up in the mountains."
"Think you could be a bit more specific?" Wasabi asked, sounding a bit grumpy. He'd been on pins and needles watching various expressions cross Hiro's face as he'd navigated the unseen world. It had been more than a little unnerving.
But Hiro shook his head. "Not without a map to compare things with," he admitted. "It all went so fast. But I think I could figure out where it is from the landmarks I saw. I know it's north of Pasadena though.
"That is most helpful," JARVIS stated. "And while I cannot project a map here without further equipment, I believe I can do so down in the lab. However," and he emphasized the word as Fred got up like he wanted to head down there at that precise moment, "I would recommend waiting until everyone else has returned."
It made sense, Hiro supposed. It was, after all, Tony's lab. "I'm more than willing to wait for them to get back," he admitted. "I wouldn't mind a shower and at least a snack while we wait." He glanced at his aunt, almost as if asking permission.
Cass looked at Loki, who had a thoughtful expression on his face. "I think that would be a good idea," she replied, still intent on staring at Loki as if she could read his mind.
Now that the hard part was over, Loki had settled back into his chair, one leg crossed over the other. He hadn't delved into Hiro's head this time, but he'd felt the energy the teen had given off, and it was more than enough to get him thinking. Something had changed mid-search and he wasn't sure what it was. But if Hiro said he'd located the terrorists, he wasn't going to question him. He would, however, like to hear the details after the teen had a chance to clean up and eat something.
Fred whipped out his phone. "I'll send Tony a text to let him know," he said.
"I have already informed him of the situation," JARVIS interrupted. "The others should be finishing up their meeting and will be heading back shortly."
Well, he was nothing if not efficient, Fred thought with a shrug. "Sounds good. I'm going to go find something we can all snack on while we wait."
Kally watched as Hiro got up, a bit stiffly she noted, and headed down the hall to his assigned bathroom. "Think he'll need a nap?" she wondered out loud.
"I don't see why he should," Loki answered. "He had a decent night's sleep. Outside of a little sustenance, I'm sure he'll be more than up to whatever the day may bring."
Reassured, Kally decided to help Cass as she headed to join Fred in the kitchen, leaving Wasabi and the god of mischief alone to their thoughts.