Chapter 20
Yama made his way back to his cell from the prison mess hall after another breakfast of unidentifiable gruel. How far the mighty kingpin had fallen. A few weeks ago he'd had access to the best food in the city from his tower, but now he was stuck in jail. Regular jail, at that. Big Hero 6, the police, nor the judge thought he was dangerous enough to go to the special supervillain prison, so he'd been sent right back to the place he'd always been sent to when he'd been picked up for his various crimes. By this point in time he knew most of the inmates and guards, and every inch of the facility. It was fairly simple to break out of if one had the proper tools. But for some reason, Yama hadn't been rescued from the clutches of captivity yet. This angered him. But not as much as what he found when he got back to his cell.
Inside were streamers and balloons, and a banner which read "Happy Anniversary!" taped to the stone wall. The guards escorting him suppressed a few chuckles at the scene inside Yama's cramped cell. There was only one inmate in the entire prison that cared enough to do this, and he was Yama's least favorite inmate there.
"Surprise!" a voice cried out, popping out of the neighboring cell. Mel Meyer, former employee at Krei Tech, and serving a one-year sentence for attacking the CEO in the bathroom of a restaurant. Krei hadn't cared too much about the potential theft of his property, that happened fairly often, but laying a hand on him? That was a no-no. So Krei had the book thrown at Mel, landing him in jail for a year. Although with eleven of those months up, there was talks about the man getting off early for good behavior. He wasn't bad per se, he'd just made a mistake. Yama didn't like that he'd potentially be getting off early, but what angered him more was his constantly cheery disposition.
"Mel?! What is the meaning of this?!" Yama roared.
"Well, I did a little math, and I tallied up all of your various prison stints over the years. Today marks you third non-consecutive year in jail, which means you've only got fifteen more to go and then you're a free man!" Mel popped the string on one of those birthday-popper things, confetti raining down on the ground. Yama's eye twitched in frustration.
"You're letting him do this?" Yama asked the guards.
"Hey, he's trying to improve lives here and has atoned for his actions." One of the guards answered. "That's way more than we can say for you, Yama."
"Next time I get out of here, I'm coming right back so I can turn this place into dust." He grumbled.
"Now, now, Yama. Is that anyway to act on your anniversary?" Mel chided. He truly was the worst cell neighbor imaginable.
"Eat a sock." Yama said angrily. "Next time I get out-"
"Oh, would you quit with that nonsense?" the second guard complained. "Word on the street is that your cousin in restructuring the old family business and going legit. She's not coming for you ever again."
"She will. Mark my words, she'll get me out. She always does."
"Doubtful."
Before anyone else could say anything, the alarms started blaring and a ruckus outside could be heard. Yama smiled and turned to the guard he'd been arguing with.
"You were saying?" The guard didn't get a chance to respond as Yama lashed out, punching the first guard and the slamming the second one into the wall, rendering both of them unconscious. Yama popped his knuckles as the sounds outside got closer. "That felt good."
"Now Yama, this is going to throw off my math. You're probably going to get an extra thirty days for this-" Mel quivered.
"I'm not getting any more time added to my record, because I'm leaving and never coming back!"
"Except to turn the prison into rubble?"
"That statement was rhetorical!" Mel cowered as Yama rubbed his hands together, something now just outside of his cell wall. Suddenly, a bright maroon light lit up on the other side, and a hole was cut through the wall. The bricks fell away, revealing Hardlight poised atop his floating disk.
"Good morning plebs!" Hardlight said with a twirl of his sword.
"At last! I knew Sari would get me out eventually." Yama laughed.
"I'm sorry, and you are?" Hardlight asked. Yama raised an eyebrow in confusion.
"Yama. I run the largest crime syndicate in the city. Surely, you're here for me, right?"
"Mmm, sorry, not today, dumpling man. I am here on a quest to retrieve one Mel Meyer!"
Yama's jaw dropped as Mel looked at the supervillain in shock. He slowly raised his hand. "Um… I'm Mel."
"Excellent! Sir Mel, your chariot awaits!" Hardlight conjured up a holographic chariot for Mel, complete with a flaming skeleton steed. The door opened up and Hardlight gestured for Mel to step inside, but the man took a half-step back instead.
"Um… I'd rather not. See, I'm probably going to be released soon for good behavior, and-"
"Oh come on!" Hardlight complained. "I can't just make this big grand gesture of breaking into a prison and leave empty handed."
"The nerd doesn't want to go. Take me instead!" Yama ordered. Hardlight didn't even look at him as a holographic sword appeared and pinned the rotund gangster to the wall. Yama stared at the seemingly magical weapon in fear from where it rested mere inches from his face, embedded in his jumpsuit.
"Last chance to come willingly, Mel." Hardlight threatened. Mel gulped and adjusted his glasses with a trembling hand.
"Um… no thank you. I'd rather stay here and serve my time as intended."
Hardlight sighed and facepalmed, the metals of his gauntlet and mask creating a loud clink. "Fine, I guess we're just going to have to kidnap the princess."
"Kidnap the wha-" Mel didn't get to finish as a holographic ogre appeared. It grabbed Mel and stuffed him into the awaiting chariot, slamming the door shut. Mel looked through the window and tried jiggling the handle to the door, but it wouldn't budge. "Yama, tell the guards I'm not going willingly! I'll come back to prison as soon as I can!"
With a crazed laugh, Hardlight took the reigns of the chariot and kicked the flaming steed into high gear, sending them crashing through another wall of the prison and into San Fransokyo proper. Once they were gone, more guards showed up and looked around, surprised to find Yama still there. One of them whistled at the wrecked wall.
"The chief ain't going to like this…"
Hardlight finally stopped the holocarriage when he reached his underground lair. The police had attempted to give chase, but he'd easily given them the slip by spawning in two duplicates to lead them away. Disembarking from the makeshift vehicle, Hardlight clapped his hands together once and it disappeared, sending Mel crashing to the floor two feet below.
"Welcome to my lair, I know its not much, but what I have is also yours." Hardlight pointed to a minifridge he'd stolen from a department store display. "Want something to drink? Fruit punch, energy drink?"
Mel dusted himself off and looked at the villain warily. "Look, I think you've got the wrong guy. Yama was the bad guy you should want, not me."
"No, it's you I want, Mel. I've done my research on you…" Hardlight held up his gauntlet, a hologram displaying Mel's former Krei Tech qualifications and his arrest record. "The main developer behind Krei Tech's camo material, a couple degrees in engineering, arrested for assaulting Krei after he stole your technology… no, I have the right guy."
"So what do you want me for?"
"Let me tell you a story, Mel. See if it sounds familiar to you. Once upon a time there was a young genius. He was brilliant, good-looking, smarter than everyone else in the room, but everyone hated him for it. The kids at school laughed at him. Called him four eyes, as stupidly unoriginal an insult as it was, and relentlessly mocked him for his interests and hobbies. Once he grew up and got his degrees, he thought he was finally done with the bullies, but no. They followed him, and the bullies turned into CEOs and other money-grubbing executives. Once again, the bullies were in control. Finally, the boy had enough and tried to fight back. But where did it leave him? Nowhere! Thrown in prison. The bullies always win. Who does that boy sound like to you, Mel?"
Mel rubbed the back of his head and looked at his shoes. "Sounds like me."
"I know. It's your life story. But its also mine." Hardlight leaned on his worktable and removed his helmet, exposing his true self to Mel and the pain in his eyes slowly turned into a burning rage. "It's all our story's. Every nerd who's ever been picked on, every engineer that has the credit stolen from them so the big boss can continue to fill their pockets. When I was younger, I dreamed of making a difference. Being on the cover of Engineer Digest. IAN: THE MAN WHO SAVED THE WORLD. And I suspect you had similar dreams as a kid. Tell me, what did you want to use the stealth tech for?"
"I never got a surprise party as a kid. No one really cared about me enough to throw one, let alone a regular birthday party. So I thought I could sell it as a fun party game. Help make the surprise better, play hide-and-go-seek with your friends. But Krei turned it into a weapon by putting it on his buddy guards."
"See? Surprise parties! Hide-and-go-seek! Such noble intentions, Mel! And where did those intentions get you? Where did Krei put you?"
"In prison…" Mel mumbled.
"Exactly! In prison."
"I did sort of attack him and tie him up in a bathroom, though."
"He didn't leave you any choice though, did he Mel? He fired you, dumped you on the street, and even since then has made lots and lots of money off of his Buddy Guards. Off of tech that you designed! There's no reasoning with bullies like Krei. He didn't give you the time of day until you did what you had to."
Mel took a moment to consider this. Finally, he looked up and studied Hardlight's face. "What do you want with me?"
"I think we can help each other, Mel. Admittedly, you knew Krei better than I did. He at least remembered your name, he barely spoke to me. I doubt he even notices that I'm gone. But if we put our heads together, I think we can really figure out how to hurt him. Take away what he cherishes most."
"We're not going to hurt him physically, though, right?"
"Not physically, of course not. We're just going to make him cry a little bit."
Mel finally nodded, getting on board with the idea. "Ok. I think I have a few ideas. Just as long as no one gets hurt."
"Mel, I think this is the start of a wonderful friendship." Hardlight stuck out his hand and Mel grasped it, shaking. Unfortunately, he didn't notice that Hardlight's other hand had disappeared behind the cover of his cape, fingers crossing as they finalized their deal.
Hiro was halfway to the cafeteria when he was suddenly yanked into an empty classroom. The door shut behind him and was locked, a stern-looking Go Go greeting Hiro.
"Where have you been? We've been trying to contact you." She angrily told him.
"Sorry, phone is charging in my lab. What's up?"
"Breakout at the regular prison this morning. Hardlight grabbed Mel Meyer and vanished. No one else got out."
"The surprise party guy? Why would Hardlight want him?"
"No clue, especially since Cruz said the guy was going to be let off for good behavior soon. So it's unlikely they're teaming up, this was a smash-and-grab."
"Great. One more thing to worry about. What's the team's status?"
"Honey Lemon, Fred, and Globby are on the lookout right now, but so far, no luck. Abigail and Wasabi are at work. Nothing to do now but wait."
"Right. Thanks, Go Go. Let's get going before Karmi misses us." Go Go nodded and unlocked the door, both of them stepping out into the hallway. Unfortunately for them, Karmi was coming down the stairs right in front of them on the other side of the hall, catching them in the act of leaving their covert meeting place.
"Hey, guys!" she greeted. "What were you two doing in there?"
Hiro froze, not having an answer prepared. Go Go however was quick with the recovery.
"Just schooling Hiro on some personal hygiene stuff. Aunt Cass texted and said that she thought someone forgot to put on deodorant this morning. Y'know, honorary big sister things." Go Go quickly reached into her backpack and removed a stick of deodorant and tossed it to Hiro, who clumsily fumbled to catch it. "Don't want our favorite doofus here to smell bad when you two go to the Blackhole dance together."
Karmi blushed, awkwardly moving some hair behind her ear. "Oh… he told you guys about that already."
"Yeah, he did." Go Go smirked, ignoring Hiro's glare. Go Go crossed the hall and put an arm around Karmi, pulling her close, and turned her to start their walk toward the cafeteria. With Karmi distracted by their closeness, Go Go mouthed 'go get your phone'. "Why don't we have some girl time and talk for a bit while he goes back to his lab to freshen up."
"Um, ok… see you in a few minutes Hiro." Karmi waved shyly. Hiro waved back but didn't bother to hide his glare for Go Go, who only teasingly winked at him. As Go Go led Karmi away, Hiro turned and made his way back to his lab in the robotics building. When he got there, Rishi was standing by the doors, his tablet in his hand. He looked up as Hiro approached and smiled, waving.
"Oh, there you are. I was wondering…" Rishi's eyebrow went up as he spotted what Hiro was holding. "Is that women's deodorant?"
"Yep, don't ask. Go Go thinks she's funny." Hiro scanned his student ID at the door, unlocking the lab. The doors slid open and the two walked in, Hiro tossing the deodorant onto a pile of spare parts. "Did you need something?"
"Yeah, I need advice."
"Shoot." Hiro said as he grabbed his phone off the charger. There were various missed texts from the team and a few calls, all of them related to the Hardlight breakout.
"So for extra credit in Robotics III, I built a pigeon and turned it loose in the city." Hiro bit his tongue and didn't complain that the eleven-year-old freshman was in a robotics course ahead of Hiro. "It's blended into the flock and I've got it observing their movements and activities and stuff. I was scrubbing through the footage from last night and this morning, and I found this:"
Rishi flipped his tablet around, and the bird cam video played. It wasn't much at first, just black-and-white footage of a city street from a literal bird-eye-view as the fake bird and its real brethren rested on a billboard. Then there was some form of commotion. All the pigeons resting on the billboard turned and looked down the street and the robot copied their movements. What the camera feed captured was Hardlight driving down the street in a holographic carriage and phasing though an obviously holographic "KEEP OUT: WORKZONE" sign that was positioned at the entrance to a dilapidated subway tunnel in the older part of the city.
"That's one of the bad guys that escaped during the earthquake, isn't it? Should Big Hero 6 know about this?"
Hiro scrubbed back through the footage again and watched it for a second time. Finally, he nodded. "Yes, they absolutely should."
"What do we do? How do we get it to them?"
"Send me a copy of it. My aunt is friends with the police chief, she can get it to him, and he can get it to Big Hero 6."
"Your aunt knows someone who knows Big Hero 6?! That's so cool!"
"You know, Karmi knows them too."
"Pfft, yeah right. She just says that to get popularity points for her fanfiction." Rishi laughed to himself as he sent Hiro a copy of the video. Hiro's phone buzzed in his hand, confirming he had it. "Well, I gotta get going. I'm actually supposed to be on a bathroom break right now. So I'll talk to you later."
Rishi turned to walk out the doors but Hiro called out to him before he could leave. "Hey Rishi. Thanks for this. This might really help."
"No problem. Enjoy lunch with your girlfriend!" Hiro blushed hard as the eleven-year-old walked away, laughing his head off. Hiro shook his head to clear his thoughts and then sent the video in the team group chat.
Hiro, 12:07 PM: Little gift from Rishi. Turns out he's got a robo bird out in the city and it picked up this. *video attachment sent*
Wasabi, 12:09 PM: Ugh, that leads to the old subway tunnels from prior to the Great Catastrophe. The old UNMAPPED tunnels.
HL, 12:10 PM: Don't worry, Wasabi. Globby can glow in the dark. We'll be fine.
Fred, 12:11 PM: Focus on work, Wasabi! We got this. :)
Wasabi, 12:13 PM: I'm on break! Just be careful.
Hiro, 12:14 PM: Ditto. We don't need you guys getting lost. Stay safe and report in when you can.
HL, 12:15 PM: Globby says can do!
Hiro smiled at the picture Honey Lemon sent of Globby saluting. Hopefully by the time school was out they could find Hardlight and corner him, putting another villain back in lockup. For now though, he had to survive lunch with Karmi and Go Go. Let the inevitable teasing commence.
Hardlight studied the holographic schematics of what Mel had suggested to him. It seemed almost too easy and like it wouldn't leave much of an impact.
"Are you sure about this?" he asked.
"Oh, yes." Mel said pointing to the mansion in the hologram. "His childhood home is one of the few things Krei actually cares about. He has a picture of it in his office and his mother still lives there. She is the only person he'll interrupt a meeting for."
"Krei interrupted meetings with me all the time." Hardlight argued.
"Those weren't serious interruptions. He'd do that as a tactic to make him seem aloof so you couldn't tell what he's thinking and so you know that your beneath him. But for the really important meetings like investors and stuff? Those he would never interrupt, unless his mother called him. Take out that house and Krei will crumble like a paper swan under an elephant's foot."
"Alright, good. We'll strike tonight. Finally, San Fransokyo will see us for who we are and for who people like Krei really are."
"And what's even better is his mom isn't even home right now! I think she's at the Krei's winter chalet in Vermont. So there's no way anyone is going to get hurt!"
"We wouldn't want that, now would we?" Hardlight mumbled. Something on his gauntlet beeped and he switched the hologram over to his security feed. "Speaking of getting hurt…"
The two watched the holographic security feed show two members of Big Hero 6 and the Globby guy enter the tunnel system. Hardlight huffed in annoyance.
"They're too early."
"What do we do?" Mel asked.
"Follow me, there's multiple ways out of here. We can lay low until they leave and then strike at Krei's heart."
"Metaphorically speaking."
"Yes, metaphorically speaking!"
"Ok, cool. Just double checking."
Hardlight put on his helmet and kept his complaint to himself. This ruse he was putting on for Trina was going to be harder than he thought.
Hiro paced around in his lab, Baymax watching him walk back and forth in front of him. Normally he'd be pacing about he bad guy situation going on, considering Honey Lemon's text said they'd found Hardlight's lair but no Hardlight, but he was about to do something far scarier. He was going to help Karmi with homework. Well, partially. He was also going to have an important conversation with her, one that could potentially shatter their fragile relationship. But if they were going to become… more… then there couldn't be any secrets. Or at least one like this.
"Hiro, I am detecting an elevated heartrate and an increase in activity in your sweat glands. Are you feeling nervous?"
"Yeah, you can say that."
"Is it because you are going to tell Karmi that we are part of Big Hero 6?"
"Uh-huh."
"This is the truth. Why would telling her the truth make you nervous?"
"Because she's been crushing on superhero me since before we met. Then that crush went away and now she has one on me me, but she hasn't told me me about having a crush on me, only superhero me. But then she asked me to the dance, meaning that she did tell me me that she liked me, but I was an idiot and didn't realize what she was saying. And now we might start going out, and I'm about to tell her that I've been living a double life this whole time. I don't know how she's going to react but… she needs to hear it from me. Her finding out another way could be disastrous."
"Oh. It appears that this situation is… complicated."
"Honestly, pal, that's the biggest understatement I've ever heard."
Baymax ran a quick scan, detecting Karmi approaching the lab. "Karmi will be here in 10… 9…"
Hiro panicked as Baymax continued to count down, quickly shuffling some loose papers into the corner out of the way and sniffing under his shirt. Grimacing, he grabbed the deodorant that Go Go had jokingly gave him earlier and applied it, not caring that it was a scent meant more for females. He put the cap back on it and shoved it into his desk drawer right when Karmi knocked on the door.
"Come in!" Hiro croaked. Karmi opened the door and gave him a smile, instantly settling some of his nerves.
"Hey, ready to get started?"
"Yep!" Hiro set up the card table in the middle of the room for them to share as Karmi got out her robotics textbooks and homework. Two hours flew by, both of them focusing on the schoolwork. Baymax noted silently that while both were calmer, they were still slightly on edge. Baymax's diagnosis: teenage hormonal imbalance. With Karmi's final question answered, she flipped her book closed and stretched in her seat, getting the kinks out after having sat for two hours straight. Hiro offered her a water and she took it. They sat in silence for a moment before Karmi cleared her throat to resume conversation.
"So, you told your friends about us going to the dance."
"Uh, yeah. Was that ok?"
"Yeah, yeah! Of course it was. They're your friends, of course you can tell them."
"You know, they told me some things about the dance that I didn't know about." Hiro admitted as he rubbed his neck.
"Oh really? Like what?"
"Like that uh… it's apparently the go-to social event for couples on campus and also bigger than Valentine's Day."
"Is it?" Karmi chuckled, trying to play it off. "I didn't think it was that important."
"Well, sounds like it is. So I just wanted to make sure we were clear before we really went any further. You uh… you didn't want to go as just friends, did you?"
"Nope." Karmi squeaked. "Did… did you just want to go as friends?"
"Well, at first that's what I thought we were doing, but then when I heard about the significance of the dance, I realized that's the opposite of what I want. I want to go as… more than… friends." Hiro finally managed to croak out. Karmi smiled and fell onto the table, relief flooding through her.
"Thank goodness. I was so nervous you were going to say no. We didn't get off to a great start, and then the Di Amara thing happened, and I've only been back for like a month, but I… really like you Hiro."
"I like you too, Karmi." He blushed with a smile. But then he frowned, his face growing serious. "But before we go any further, there's something I need to tell you."
"Yes?" Karmi sat up, slightly worried now.
"Don't worry it's not bad per se, it's just…" Hiro was cut off as his phone buzzed. He reached over to turn it off so it wouldn't distract him but then he saw what the message said and his eyes grew wide. He shot out of his chair in a panic. "We've got to go!"
"Hiro, are you ok?"
"Fine, there's just an… emergency at Krei Tech! Mutant plants or something, so Baymax and I need to go."
"Maybe I can help?"
"No!" Karmi looked at Hiro in surprise, but he quickly recovered and started again. "I mean, no, it's fine. There's not really any danger, Krei just needs my help with cleanup and paperwork and stuff, but it needs to be done, like now, so Baymax and I really need to go. I'm sorry."
Karmi smiled softly and got up to leave. "It's fine, I get it. I guess we can talk tomorrow about what you were about to tell me."
"Tomorrow, yes. It's a date. Or not a date, more like an appointment, err…"
Karmi giggled and wrapped Hiro in a hug to shut him up. After a moment she let him go and turned to leave, opening the doors but stopping to say one last thing. "Oh and Hiro, you smell nice. Remember to thank Go Go."
Hiro flushed red as she left, the door shutting behind her. When she was well away from the door, Hiro yanked out his phone and signaled Skymax. There was big trouble, and they needed to get across town FAST.
Hardlight blew the cover off the manhole, allowing him and Mel to emerge onto the street. Mel looked around, noticing that they were on the wrong part of town.
"Hey, what gives? Krei's old house is on the other side of the city."
"Indeed it is. But we're going to take the scenic route. What's the fun of taking out the house if no one knows it was us?"
"Ok, I guess that makes sense. But how are we going to get there? Big Hero 6 and the cops will probably try to stop us."
"Of course they will. But trust me, it's all a part of the plan." Hardlight activated his glove, maroon pixels pouring out of it like an overflowing sink. They started to build around both Mel and Hardlight, a platform raising the two of them up as the structure around them began to take shape.
"What's going on?" Mel asked.
"I'm making sure everyone will be able to see us now. It's time for the Hardlight Boss Level!" Hardlight laughed evilly as his creation took its final form, a towering version of himself that stretched over most of the buildings in the city.
"Attention San Fransokyo!" Hardlight announced, his voice being carried across most of the city. "I challenge Big Hero 6 to try and stop me this time. The objective: defeat me before I pancake Alistair Krei's boyhood home. The winner receives the coveted high score, while the loser, or losers go crying home to mommy! Let the games begin!"
The giant Hardlight took a step forward, scattering the pedestrians that were on their way home for the night. Go Go opened one of the windows in her apartment and stuck her torso out, getting a good look at the monstrosity as it began walking to the other end of the city. She scowled, knowing her homework wasn't getting done tonight, and took a picture of the Hardlight construct with her phone and sent it with one sentence:
Go Go, 5:32 PM: Suit up.
Karmi slid into her seat in her private lab and opened up her biology homework. The robotics stuff wasn't as easy as she thought it would be, but with Hiro's help, she was coming a long way. Biology though would be a breeze. She started getting her materials together when her phone buzzed in six rapid fire tones, her custom notification for Big Hero 6 news alerts. She pulled out her phone and pulled up the early news stories and live reactions for social media. She gasped as numerous images showed a giant holographic construct of Hardlight walking through the city. Karmi slid her chair over to her window and opened the blinds. She could easily see the giant all the way from campus, and it was slowly making its way from one end of the city to the other. Her mind immediately went to Hiro, but by this point he'd be able to take shelter at Krei Tech. He and Baymax would be safe. Probably lucky he'd left when he did, otherwise he could've been in the thick of it. And speaking of…
Karmi tapped her bracelet, the nanoglove forming over her hand. This thing was even larger than the Kentucky Kaiju mech that used to occasionally rampage through downtown. Big Hero 6 would need all the help they could get, and Karmi could replicate and deflect Hardlight's powers. They'd need her help. She quickly switched off the lights to her lab and ran out of the building. Someone had to help.
Hiro held on for dear life as Baymax's jetpack upgrade sent the duo shooting through the sky much faster than usual and grabbed his helmet before it flew off his head, the chin strap having broken in his haste to get ready. Due to the severity of the situation, Hiro had suggested that everyone don their Ultra Armor for the first time since the spring. There was no telling what was in store for them. Baymax set down on a rooftop as Hardlight ambled toward them. The others were standing there ready, with Abigail now in her new Big Hero 6 themed suit to match the others. It was similar in concept to her white test pilot's suit, but now had red stripes going down the arms and the Silent Sparrow emblem printed on her chest plate. In addition to that, the helmet showed less of her face, with slits designed in the inspiration of a sparrow allowing her to see, and for a final touch, the word 'Sparrow' written on the side of her helmet in place of 'Callaghan'. And for good measure, a stylized red '6' in the square of her back so it was abundantly clear who's team she was on.
Hardlight stepped into an intersection, crushing several cars that had been abandoned by their owners when they saw what was coming. He laughed evilly as the cars crunched underneath his holographic heel.
"Boo-yah! Extra bonus score for destruction of property!"
Go Go rolled her eyes behind her helmet. "Did this dweeb really just say 'Boo-Yah' in place of an evil catchphrase?"
"I know!" Fred agreed. "That's so early 2000s. So what are we thinking here? MegaMax?"
"We can't risk a giant mech battle in the middle of downtown. If things get out of hand, we'll save that for a last resort. Globby, do you think you can slow him down?" Hiro asked. Globby looked at the giant hologram warily.
"I've gone pretty big, but this might be stretching it a tad. I think it would be easier to stretch out across the road and trip him up."
"Alright, do it. The rest of us will distract him. Everyone, try to find a way inside. If we can get to Hardlight and remove his glove, then this is all over."
"To the power of six plus two!" Fred yelled, leaping off the building in his ultra-armored Fredzilla costume. Honey Lemon created a slide to allow the others to travel to ground level as Hiro and Baymax took flight and went straight for the head. Inside the head Hiro could see Hardlight and Mel. Hardlight was controlling the larger version of himself, it mimicking his movements from inside. Meanwhile, Mel looked very uncomfortable. Hiro used his HUD to take a snapshot and sent it to Abigail.
"Abigail, see the guy in the mask? See if you can teleport in there and grab his glove."
Abigail looked at the image as it appeared on her HUD and up at the actual thing as it walked by. She smiled. "On it!"
Abigail thought of where she wanted to go and disappeared off the street, but instead of appearing inside the holo she simply bounced off it and started falling back down to the street. Baymax caught her in time, and she growled in frustration.
"Hold on, let me try again." She blipped out of Baymax's arms, only to smack into the head and slide off again. Baymax caught her again and safely lowered her to the ground. "I don't know what's wrong, there's some sort of containment field keeping me from getting in."
"Ok, we'll figure out the science later." Hiro said. "Anyone able to get inside?"
Wasabi slashed at the heel of the thing, but even his upgraded ultra plasma blades couldn't pierce the hologram. "No luck so far. Hardlight upgraded his gear!"
Honey Lemon took a firing stance with her chem launcher and launched a volatile reaction towards the hip. Acting similarly to a rocket launcher, the chem ball shot out of the chamber and impacted, but it didn't even make a dent.
"Honey Lemon just hit it with a homemade RPG and nothing happened!" Fred said, his voice starting to show panic. Globby stretched himself across an intersection as Hardlight got near, hoping to trip him up. Instead, the power of the illusion meant it simply walked through Globby's mass, ripping him in two. He reconstituted himself and frowned as the thing kept walking.
"Well that didn't work!" he said. With nothing else left to try, Hiro and Baymax defaulted to the tried-and-true rocket fists, but they simply bounced off. Hiro groaned as Hardlight continued to walk unimpeded, his mind searching for answers. He had Baymax fly into Hardlight's path so he could at least study the thing as it operated. Maybe that way he could identify a weakness… but any analytical thinking left his brain when he heard a voice cry out on the street below.
"Captain Cutie!"
Hiro's eyes went wide and he looked down. Karmi was running towards the scene, her glove on and glowing. She couldn't be here, it wasn't safe. She'd helped out before but in much more contained and less dire circumstances when they at least had a plan. He couldn't risk her getting hurt. "Karmi, no! Stay back!"
Distracted trying to get Karmi's attention, Hiro nor Baymax saw the giant fist until it was too late. The thing slammed into them and sent both flying down towards the street. Baymax hit the pavement face first, skidding for at least two blocks before finally coming to a stop, but Hiro fell off and kept going. He bounced along the pavement, and he felt a piece of his suit come off, but he couldn't tell what. He mercifully came to a stop and just put his face down on the pavement to stop and breathe. The armor had kept him from being seriously injured but he hurt. He registered footsteps behind him as Karmi ran up to help him. Hiro got to his knees and Karmi helped him up.
"Are you ok?!" she asked frantically.
"Yeah, I think so." Hiro said as he turned around to face her. As he did, Karmi gasped in shock and took a step backwards, hands going up to cover her mouth. "Karmi, what is it? What's wro-"
And then he saw it. Over Karmi's shoulder, still spinning in the street several feet away from when it had come off, was Hiro's helmet. Hiro felt the cool late summer air of the sea hit his face and the breeze in his hair. Karmi stared at him as Hiro stood before her, helmetless and exposed.
"Hiro?"