Set about 6 years after the series ended. Hiro and Karmi alternating first-person perspectives. Follows very close to canon, but may take a few slight plot liberties. It is fanfiction after all! lol
Ships: Hiro/Karmi with slight Gogo/Fred.
Chapter 1 (Karmi's POV)
Science wasn't exactly known for its subtlety. Correct or incorrect, black or white. There wasn't room for much in between. If I was honest, which I always was, I'd say that was what I loved about it.
If I knew one thing for sure, love equaled this giddy feeling in the pit of my stomach. It translated to this ridiculous smile on my face. So basically, science was love.
And I loved being in love.
"Good morning, 83b4!" I smiled down into the petri dish, my eyes fixed behind the lens of a microscope. The virus in question seemed to wiggle out a tiny wave back. At least I thought it did, it sure looked like it to me.
"And before you ask, no I'm not nervous. Not even a little bit, you know I'm completely capable. Besides, it's only a part-time assignment, it's not like teaching is going to be my main thing. And," I added, all but reading the little microbe's mind. "It's not weird that it's SFIT. It's an honor, and not ironic in an awkward karmic sorta way. In fact, I'm happy about it!" I pulled back from the microscope.
"After all...6 years is a long time. Maybe it's good to go back home…?"
Home.
A funny word with a very basic definition. And yet...it could be so full of subtlety. The grey in-betweens that made more sense from an emotional standpoint than a logical one. But...I wasn't in the mood to get hung up on them. Today was all about the new and exciting, not the old and depressing. So I put all those feelings in a little box, wrapped them in tape, and threw them in the back of my mental closet. For later examination, which meant...probably never.
In fact, never was good. So I inked that into my schedule of constantly ignored emotional baggage.
Pressing my fingertips together I recentered my thoughts. My car was already filled with boxes and ready for departure. Moving day had finally come! All that was left was to pack up my last microscope and 83b4 of course. "Don't worry, you'll be riding upfront with me!"
Having graduated so long ago, it only seemed right that I be as independent as possible. That meant an apartment as soon as I turned eighteen. I liked living alone in some ways, the time to focus on my work. Not that it was all roses, but...well I'd had a few years to get used to it anyway. My parents had always been worrywarts, but I'd done a lot to prove my trustworthiness. I'd earned their respect, undoubtedly they were proud of me. Moving back to San Fransokyo though, I guess they weren't quite ready for that. But this time, it was my choice…
When an opportunity knocked I was determined to answer, no matter where that opportunity might be.
Pressing on the ignition button my car's electric engine silently hummed to life.
They assumed that I was biased, that I had more than strictly logical reasons for going back.
Well, obviously that was wrong.
This wasn't about the past repeating itself, no it was about the future instead.
A future that I wanted to build for myself.
This was the start of it, the start of everything.
I wasn't sure what I'd been expecting, but maybe something a little less…
Crusty?
I frowned. The pictures had looked better online, but looks didn't really matter, right?
I stepped out onto the sidewalk, surveying my new apartment through the jaded eyes of denial. But I couldn't lie to myself for long. "This place is a dump…" I finally breathed in frustration.
But no sooner than I'd said anything the door next store flung open. I was already assuming battle posture when my new neighbor came into view. The young woman looked a few years older than me, but much less disturbed by the rough neighborhood. She lifted the lid on her trash can, stopping just short when she glanced up at me.
For a second, I felt a chill run down my spine. In her own way, she was scary intense!
But all at once, things seemed to click for both of us.
"Gogo?"
"Yep, and you're...taller."
I rubbed my arm awkwardly. "It has been a while."
"No kidding." She smiled slightly. "So, any reason you're in one of San Fransokyo's highest crime districts?"
My heart sank into my stomach. "I live here…"
Her eyes widened as she jerked a thumb toward the vacant apartment next to hers. "Here? You live here?"
"Apparently…" I mumbled.
"Well," Gogo went on, not skipping a beat. "Keep a spiked bat behind the door and you should be fine."
"Seriously?"
She smirked. "No, I'm kidding...a little bit."
I deflated with a sigh. "My parents definitely can't know about this…"
"Well, my lips are sealed. Now, do you need a hand?"
I nodded, knowing I could use all the help I could get. She wasn't exactly a superhero, but I still felt better knowing Gogo was next door. We'd never been close during school, but I got the idea she could break someone's arm without breaking a sweat. And even as a secondary acquaintance, she was at least on my side.
Not to say I wouldn't be looking for a better apartment later, but for now… Well, I thought she made a nice...bodyguard.
Within half an hour my car was unpacked and I was frantically knocking spider webs from the corner of every room of my new home. I was telling myself the musty smell would go away, but I wasn't thoroughly convinced.
Giving up on cleaning for the moment I turned back to Gogo. "Thanks… I needed the help, I'm sorta overwhelmed, to be honest."
"Don't mention it. Anyway, speaking of mentioning, I think Hiro might have said something about you moving…"
I nodded. "Yeah, SFIT and all that."
She raised an eyebrow. "SFIT?"
"I'm going to sub part-time as an instructor. It's not my main gig but…" A part of me felt self-conscious suddenly. Was it weird, me teaching, and at SFIT at that? Would she think I was trying to dig up the past just like my parents had?
"Hmm, well you seem suited for it." I relaxed, grateful for her relative indifference.
"Anyway, I guess it's a small world, Karmi."
I tensed again. "Yeah...it is, isn't it…?"
She blinked at me silently, seeming to puzzle at my sudden awkwardness. But glancing down at her phone she tapped out a short message. "I let Hiro know you're here, ok? I mean if you haven't already?"
"No, that's fine, I was going to, but...that's fine."
Hiro and I weren't secondary acquaintances. I'd even dare to say we were friends. The years and miles in between had tested that definition, but we still spoke sometimes. Sometimes…
No sooner than she'd sent the message her phone started to ring like crazy, only it wasn't Hiro on the other end. In fact, it seemed completely unrelated. "Gogo get gogoing, because we have a massive rampaging-"
"Zip it, Fred!" she shouted curtly, before glancing back at me nervously. Now it was my turn to wonder why she was acting weird, but she didn't give me the chance to ask.
"I gotta go, but if you need anything later, just knock on the wall or whatever." With that she ran for the exit like the building was on fire. Only coming back to offer one last piece of scary advice.
"Oh and...lock your door."
I wasn't sure it was a great start, but it was a start, and I supposed I should, at least, be grateful for that…
As cruel irony would have it, I spent my first night back in San Fransokyo listening to the tremors of chaos erupting downtown. I wasn't immediately in danger, but my Petri dishes were threatening to vibrate off the shelves. Not to mention the video call with my parents I had to sweat through.
"I've gotta go, love you guys, ok…yes I'm fine! I'm fine, ok bye!" I slammed the lid of my laptop shut just in time before the lights started to flicker. The only consolation for constant mayhem? I climbed out the window and up the fire escape.
The chance to see Big Hero 6 in action.
Pulling myself onto the roof I scanned the horizon. Beyond the fire and smoke, I caught a glimpse of the familiar figures I knew by heart. Leaning into the railing I let myself find calm in the mayhem. Might as well get used to it, I thought.
A certain captain was taller too. Because it had been 6 whole years, somehow it really had…
Standing there that night, with the first stars burning into the sky, I found a lot more baggage to tape up. To stash away and hopefully forget about. Except...that never was in full view now. I was starting to remember exactly where I'd left off. And where...I'd been left out.
I was back…
But was this a completing circle or...had the time already passed?
With a final strike, the monster in question fell in one mighty heap. Even before the dust settled you could hear the sound of them celebrating. Captain Cutie tossed his arms into the air; his head thrown back in celebration. From the back of Red Panda, he went by like a blink of light, but the image burned into my mind, framed so ironically.
Because all of them were friends first, weren't they? Whoever was under the disguises were the best of friends. And I envied that… More than being superheroes, it was that sort of connection that seemed too amazing to be true.
But in spite of all the ways I knew I'd always be on the outside looking in…
I smiled.
Because circle or not, I was home.
San Fransokyo, I was home…