Chapter 2: Home Base
Flying across the cityscape, Baymax and the van began drawing closer to a more affluent area, where apartment buildings and storefronts gave way to large homes. Tucked away in one corner of the city along the coast was a sprawling mansion surrounded by a perfectly manicured lawn. Passing over the high walls that surrounded the property, the group flew around to the back, where a helipad had been set into the lawn. As the group stopped to hover over the helipad, it began to open, revealing a large shaft hidden underneath. Once the door had finished opening, the group lowered themselves into the shaft, the door closing behind them as they descended.
The shaft was illuminated by flood lights placed along the walls at regular intervals, allowing the group to see where they were going as they descended beneath the manor. Coming to the bottom of the shaft, which had been set up like a miniature hangar, the van settled onto the ground, it's thrusters sliding back into the vehicle as its tires shifted back into place, taking on the appearance of a normal van as Baymax landed next to it.
As the van settled to the ground, Riley, who had been clinging to the top of the van with the aid of her robots, relaxed her grip before sliding off the vehicle's roof.
"Well, I don't know about you guys, but I think that went well," a chipper female voice said in Riley's head.
"I'm just happy we got there soon enough, Joy," a morose female voice answered, "Our friends could have been hurt without us."
"What about us, Sadness!?" a panicky male voice questioned, "That van almost ran us down! I don't think we should have tried that move."
"And what should we have done instead, Fear?" a snooty female voice asked acidically, "Just let those creeps get away?"
"Disgust is right," a gruff, male voice added, "We did the right thing taking those punks down. Though, if you ask me, I don't think we put enough hurt on them. If I was in charge-"
Sighing as she closed her eyes and shook her head, Riley did her best to tune out the voices in her head as she took off her mask, revealing the metallic headband she had on underneath.
"Voices in your head acting up again?" Hiro questioned as he walked over to Riley, removing his helmet as he walked over to her.
"Just Anger being his normal, violent self," Riley admitted with a shrug.
"I heard that," the gruff voice grumbled.
"Well, thanks for helping out back there," Hiro said with a smile, "I know you guys still have homework and stuff to do. Do you need me to come over and-"
"I know I'm not a super genius in college like you, but I can still handle my math homework by myself, thank you very much," Riley interupted, giving Hiro a sly smile as she spoke, "I think you can come up with a better excuse than that in order to spend time with me."
"W-What?" Hiro asked with a nervous laugh, his face turning red as he spoke, "I'm not making-"
Hiro was interrupted again as Riley reached out and put a finger to the boy's lips.
"Hiro, what have I told you about lying to me?" Riley questioned gently as she pulled her hand back.
"That it's impossible because you can read my emotions?" Hiro guessed with an embarrassed smile.
"Exactly," Riley confirmed before leaning in and kissing Hiro on the cheek.
"Ugh, you know it be great if you two could go five minutes without being all mushy towards each other," Tip said as she she walked over to them, both blushing as they pulled apart while Riley tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.
"Sorry, Tip," Riley apologized as she gave her friend a smile.
"Yeah, whatever, you friggin' love bird," Tip said as she looped her arm around Riley's shoulders and began leading her towards a large door that led out of the hanger, "Come on, I'm sure Stan is going to want to talk to us."
Together the group made their way over to the door. As they went, Go Go rolled up behind Wasabi before hopping onto his back, knocking the young man off balance for a moment as she wrapped her legs around his stomach and looped her arms around his neck. Regaining his balance, Wasabi chuckled and grabbed hold of Go Go's legs before he continued on towards the door.
"So," Go Go said conversationally, pausing to blow a bubble with the gum she was chewing before pulling it back into her mouth, "What's for dinner tonight?"
"Well, I was thinking of making some teriyaki chicken," Wasabi answered as he grinned at Go Go.
"Yes," Go Go hissed with excitement as she hugged Wasabi from behind, "Man, if I had known the benefits of dating a cook, I would have asked you out years ago."
"Wow, so you only want me for my cooking skills, huh?" Wasabi teased.
"Among other things," Go Go purred in Wasabi's ear, causing the young man to blush.
As this went on, Honey, who had been walking next to Wasabi, smiled wanly at the pair, an action that didn't go unnoticed by Go Go.
"Honey, why don't you join us?" Go Go suggested as she looked over at the young woman, prompting Wasabi to look as well.
"Oh, no thank you," Honey quickly answered with a shake of her head as she took off her helmet and placed a pair of glasses with magenta rims over her eyes, "I was going to head back to campus and work on a few things at the lab."
Go Go and Wasabi shared a look before turning their attention back to Honey.
"Pamela, you've been spending a lot of time in the lab recently," Wasabi observed.
"When you're not helping Cass out at the Lucky Cat or fighting crime with us," Go Go added.
"I just like to stay busy," Honey argued, "The new semester is starting up soon, and I wanted to use the lab while it was still relatively empty."
"Honey," Go Go said, a concerned look on her face, "Are you sleeping?"
Honey stopped walking and looked at Go Go and Wasabi with a friendly but serious expression, prompting Wasabi to pause as well.
"Guys, I haven't had nightmares about….about Tadashi's death for awhile now," Honey stated evenly, "I promise you, I'm fine."
"Alright," Go Go relented as they began walking again, "But still, all work and no play makes Jill a dull girl."
"We'll hang out again soon," Honey insisted with a warm smile, "I promise."
By that time, the group had reached the large hangar door, which had begun to slide open as they neared it. As the door slid open, they revealed a man standing patiently behind it. He was a tall, middle aged man with a small mustache and bald head except for the black hair at his temples. He was dressed in a traditional butler's uniform and watched the group approach with impassive brown eyes. He held a silver tray in one hand, on which was balanced a number of water bottles. In the other, he clutched a grey backpack.
"Heathcliff!" Fred greeted cheerfully as he pulled the head of his suit off, "What's up, my man!"
"Good evening, Master Frederick," the man, Heathcliff, replied with a nod of his head before holding the tray out to Fred, "Would you care for a vitamin water?"
"Oh, you know it!" Fred exclaimed as he snatched one of the waters off the tray, "Crime fighting always leaves me parched! Thanks dude!"
With that, Fred opened the bottle and began pouring its contents into his open mouth as he walked past Heathcliff. The others followed suit, politely thanking Heathcliff as they took the offered refreshment and made their way through the door.
"Miss Andersen," Heathcliff said as Riley, Tip and Hiro reached him and held the backpack out to her, "I took the liberty of bringing one of Master Stanley's custom made backpacks for you to store your microbots in."
"Thanks, Heathcliff," Riley replied with a smile as she took the backpack. Placing it on the floor, Riley opened the backpack before making a lifting motion with her hand, causing the swarm of microbots that had been trailing behind her to gather and rise into the air like a surging wave. Then, with a downward motion of her hand, Riley compelled the microbots to flow into the backpack, stacking themselves as densely and efficiently as possible in the process. After a few seconds, the microbots were all contained in the backpack, the grey material bulging noticeably but retaining its overall shape. Walking over, Riley took off her metal headband before tossing it and her mask into the backpack as well. Then, flipping it closed, Riley grabbed the backpack's straps and slung it over her shoulder, the servos hidden inside the straps whirring quietly as they helped her support the weight of the bag's contents.
"Does that thing actually work?" Tip questioned in surprise.
"It feels about as heavy as if I stuffed it with textbooks," Riley answered as she settled the backpack onto her shoulders, "So, way lighter than it should be."
"Stan's apparently a wiz with this sort of stuff," Hiro explained as the trio made their way through the hangar door, "He used to have a briefcase that he carried around all his Excelsior equipment in that worked on similar principals, back in the day."
Beyond the hangar was a short set of stairs that led up to what looked like the control room for a top secret government agency. The walls, ceiling and floor were all made from reinforced steel, which looked dark blue in the dim lighting. One wall was dominated by a large computer console with multiple screens, many of which were displaying news feed covering the team's capture of the bank robbers. At the center of the room sat a large table while the wall directly across from the hangar door was occupied by a workbench strewn with tools and half finished pieces of equipment. Directly across from the computer was a heavy metal door set into the wall, which was flanked by cases displaying eight mannequins, four on each side.
Each of the mannequins was naked except one which wore a red and blue colored costume with yellow highlights. The costume had a heavily armored blue chestplate along with red boots and gauntlets. A yellow utility belt was wrapped around the waist and the face was covered with an armored blue cowl with red lenses set in the eyes.
As the group entered the room, the man who had been sitting in front of the computer console stood up. He was a late middle aged man with a slim build and dark brown hair that had gone white at the temples and a white mustache. He wore a navy blue sports jacket over a salmon-colored button-up shirt and khaki pants. Brown loafers covered his feet and a pair of yellow-tinted aviator shades obscured his squinted gaze.
"Now that was crime fighting," the man said as he clapped while approaching the team, "Nice work out there gang."
"Thanks, Dad," Fred replied as he placed the head of his suit on the table before plopping himself in one of the chairs surrounding it.
"How'd my old taser darts work, Hiro?" Fred's father questioned.
"Like a charm, Stan," Hiro replied with a chuckle as he set his helmet on the table as well, "I can see why you liked them so much."
"Tech's always getting better but some things you just can't approve on," Stan stated with a nod, "Besides, I figure if you're going to be using my old name, you might as well use my old equipment."
"The Excelsior name wasn't my idea, Stan," Hiro said apologetically, looking away and scratching the back of his head.
"You misunderstand me, Hiro," Stan stated, "I'm happy that people are calling you that."
"You are?" Hiro questioned in surprise.
"Of course," Stan replied with a chuckle, "I know some of the heroes from my time are chomping at the bit to get back in the action. But me? I'm too old for this gig. But there are people in this city who remember what I did, and I'm sure they take comfort that there's an Excelsior still protecting San Fransokyo."
Hiro could only smile in response to the statement.
As the others talked, Baymax wandered over to one of the mannequins. Stopping in front of it, Baymax reached out and pushed a button on a panel next to the mannequin. A moment later, a panel above the mannequin opened up, revealing a camera that whirred to life.
"Scanning now," an electronic voice announced, followed by another whirring noise, "Subject identified. Subject: Baymax, Codename: Big Guy. How may this unit assist you?"
"Please engage in disarmament procedures," Baymax requested, his voice now sounding lighter.
"Acknowledged," the electronic voice answered, "Disarmament procedures commencing."
A moment later, a half dozen panels opened up around the mannequin before six slender, robotic arms emerged. Working in tandem, the arms quickly began to remove the armor from Baymax. In less than a minute, the armor had been completely removed from Baymax and transferred it to the mannequin.
With the armor completely removed, Baymax now stood before the mannequin in his natural state. He stood roughly seven feet tall with a, pot-bellied, balloon-like appearance. His skin was white and rubbery and a low hum came from the inner machinery that was keeping him inflated. He had relatively long arms that ended in four-fingered hands and short legs ending in nubs instead of feet. His head was tiny relative to the rest of his body and his facial features consisted of two black eyes with a minalimst mouth connecting them. A small panel was inset into his chest approximately where a human's heart would be.
"Thank you for your assistance," Baymax said as he turned from the mannequin and made his way over to the table where all the others had sat.
"Well, that was being quite excitings," the alien creature stated as he pulled himself into one of the chairs and grinned at the others, "I am believings we have performed a tasks possessings the qualities of good."
"Who's this 'we', Oh?" Tip questioned as she quirked an eyebrow at the alien, "I don't remember you doing much other than sitting there."
"I was offering the supports of both the technical and moral kind," Oh argued. Tip rolled her eyes at the comment but also smiled and offered no argument.
"I was feeling the love, little buddy," Fred spoke up, "We still on for our game tonight?"
"Oh yes, I would very much be likings to be participatings in the games of video," Oh agreed with a broad grin.
"Thanks again for looking out for Oh, Fred," Wasabi stated.
"Don't sweat it, Wasabi," Fred said with a dismissive wave, "Having an alien roommate was one of like my top five wishes, so it's pretty awesome to check that one off the list. Besides, I know you and Go Go like to use your apartment for 'alone time' and I figured having Oh puttering about was cramping your style."
Wasabi blushed and looked away as Fred gave him a knowing look, prompting Go Go to roll her eyes and sigh in exasperation.
"Speaking of Oh, did we ever figure out what happened to all the other Boov?" Go Go questioned, clearly looking to change the subject.
"No idea," Hiro admitted with a shrug, "My best guess is they got taken to wherever the Gorg and its egg was."
"So, like Area 51 or something?" Riley suggested.
"Your guess is as good as mine," Hiro replied.
"Well, in other news, it would appear that all your hard work over the last few months is paying off," Stan spoke up, "Crime statistics are down across the city and I'm sure those numbers are only going to drop further after you showed the criminal underworld what you can do even if they come out in force. I do have a concern though."
"What's that?" Honey questioned.
"If you're battle with the Gorg didn't catch people's attention, your crime fighting certainly has," Stan explained, "And I'm not just talking about the media."
"What are you talking about then?" Tip inquired.
"The AVL," Stan answered simply.
"Who's that?" Riley questioned with a furrowed brow.
"The Anti-Villain League," Fred answered, "They're like a combination spy and peacekeeping organization. After the Supers Ban, they took over fighting supervillains."
"So, do you think they're going to come after us for operating as superheroes?" Wasabi questioned.
"It's hard to tell," Stan admitted with a shrug, "A number of things have happened in recent years that have led me to believe that the AVL are easing up on their restrictions, if no outright looking to do away with the Supers Ban altogether. But that fact of the matter is that the Ban is still law, and I believe that means your going to have a run in with AVL agents at one point or another."
"Wait," Hiro spoke up as a thought occurred to him, "Do you think they could know our identities?"
A hush fell over the room as the group considered what Hiro had asked.
"It's entirely possible," Stan admitted after a moment, "You have to understand, the AVL was formed from government organizations that existed back in my heroing days. These organizations were in charge with dealing with superheroes in an official capacity and they managed to become privy to the identities of all superheroes. Now that they've all been combined into a single body, I can't even imagine the information and resources at the League's disposal."
Meanwhile, in an undisclosed location
A middle aged man with long, dour features sat alone at a metal desk in a cramped, windowless office illuminated by a fluorescent light set into the ceiling. The walls were off white in color and were bare except for a few hanging frames holding diplomas and accommodation awards. The man had short, greying brown hair, dull brown eyes and wore a dark grey suit. His gaze was focused on the monitor for the out of date computer he using, the rest of the desk occupied by a small, framed photograph and a name plate that read "Special Agent Richard Dicker."
Growling in frustration, the man, Dicker, smacked the side of the boxy monitor.
"Damn lowest bidder piece of crap," Dicker mumbled to himself before a knock came from the office's one door, "Enter."
A moment later, the door swung open and two women entered. The first, the taller of the two, had fiery red hair with bangs that she wore pulled back in a bun, bright blue eyes, and a prominent nose. The second had long, platinum blonde hair that fell to one side of her face, green eyes and a seemingly permanent knowing smirk. Both were slim of build and dressed in matching suits similar to Dicker's own.
"Agent Wilde," Dicker greeted as he looked at the redhead before turning his gaze towards the blonde, "Agent Mirage."
"You wanted to see us, boss?" Wilde questioned, her voice high and peppy.
"Is this about your Initiative?" Mirage added, her voice low and smooth.
"It is," Dicker confirmed with a nod, "Close the door."
Closing the door behind them, Wilde and Mirage stood side by side in front of Dicker's desk.
"So, the paperwork for the Initiative has finally gone through," Dicker stated.
"It's about time," Wilde commented with an annoyed huff as she crossed her arms, "You got the green light from the Director for it months ago."
"That's government work for you," Dicker replied sardonically, "I think the recent uptick in villain activity has helped."
"Uptick?" Mirage questioned with a quirked eyebrow.
"We've had villains that had gone dark years ago like El Macho and Bomb Voyage who are suddenly on the move again," Dicker explained, "But the big thing was this."
As Dicker spoke, he turned the monitor around for the women to see. It displayed was appeared to be a devastated military base somewhere in an arctic climate. Numerous buildings now lay in ruins, and a few gaping holes had been left in the ground.
"What are we looking at?" Mirage questioned.
"You're looking at what's left of a top secret Russian military base," Dicker explained, "They were attacked last night by an unknown force."
"Why were they attacked?" Wilde asked.
"Our intel tells us that the Russians were working on some kind of biological enhancement for their soldiers," Dicker elaborated, "Specifically, a mutagen called PX-41."
"What does it do?" Wilde inquired.
"We're not sure," Dicker answered with a shrug, "All we know is that it's bad news."
"And let me guess," Mirage said with a sigh, "Whoever attacked the base stole all of it."
"Got it in one," Dicker replied with a smirk.
"Do we have any idea who's responsible?" Wilde asked.
"Nothing solid yet, but we have been hearing chatter about something or someone called Enigma," Dicker explained.
"Catchy," Mirage commented dryly.
"These things have got the bigwigs upstairs worried," Dicker continued, "Which means that now they want the Initiative started yesterday."
"So, we're going on a recruiting run," Wilde surmised with a grin.
"Exactly," Dicker confirmed with a nod, before he opened a drawer on his desk, "I'll be handling the Parrs. I've already got an in with them, and through them it should be pretty easy to pull in Frozone as well."
Pulling out two files, Dicker handed one to each of the women.
"Wilde, you're headed to Metro City," Dicker stated as she opened the file.
"Megamind, huh?" Wilde questioned as she looked at the contents of the file before quirking an eyebrow at Dicker, "We sure we want to bring a former villain in on this operation, boss?"
"Ever since the Titan incident, Megamind has been doing good work in Metro City," Dicker explained.
"Megamind was never much of an overall threat to begin with," Mirage added, "I mean all of his crimes consisted of property damage and robbery. He never even killed anyone."
"Except for Metro Man," Wilde argued.
In response, Mirage raised a questioning eyebrow at the other woman as Dicker stared blankly at Wilde.
"What?" Wilde asked in confusion.
"Didn't you read the memo?" Mirage questioned.
"What memo?" Wilde replied even more confused than before.
Another quiet moment followed as Wilde looked back and forth between the two before Dicker sighed and turned his attention towards Mirage.
"You're heading to Area 51," Dicker stated as Mirage opened the file, a slightly troubled look falling over her features, "You're to rendezvous with General Monger and pick up his band of monsters."
"Wait, you're just sending her on a glorified errand?" Wilde asked, her previous confusion forgotten, "An intern could do that!"
"It's out of my hands, Wilde," Dicker explained calmly.
"I knew it!" Wilde hissed angrily, "This is because she used to work for that Syndrome guy! Ramsbottom still hasn't gotten over that!"
"Weren't you the one just suggesting we shouldn't bring in Megamind for being a former villain?" Dicker questioned skeptically.
"That's different," Wilde argued as she angrily crossed her arms, "Megamind isn't my best friend."
"Lucy," Mirage spoke up as she reached out and placed her hand on Wilde's shoulder, "It's alright."
Wilde looked at Mirage for a few moments, taking in the woman's warm smile before sighing sadly.
"Fine," Wilde relented, "I'm not happy about it though."
"I'll note that in the file," Dicker replied, "Any other questions?"
"Wait, aren't we forgetting some people?" Wilde asked, "That new superteam out in San Fran. The uh, what was it? Big Hero Six?"
"Nine," Mirage corrected.
"Whatever," Wilde replied with a wave of her hand, "What about them?"
"Well, unfortunately, we don't have any solid intel on them yet," Dicker explained before sighing, "Our information gathering just isn't what it used to be, it seems."
"So we don't know anything about them?" Mirage inquired.
"Well, we know they're based somewhere in the city and are relatively young," Dicker explained as he typed a few commands into his computer, causing a few blurry images of the Big Hero Nine to appear on screen, "The oldest of them can't be more than their early twenties."
"What about the old San Fransokyo hero, Excelsior?" Mirage questioned, "They must have a connection to him."
"We certainly suspect that the group has some connection to Stanley Lieber," Dicker concurred, "But nothing solid yet. At least, not as solid as our main point of interest."
"What's that?" Wilde inquired.
With a few more keystrokes, Dicker pulled up the logo for the San Fransokyo Institute of Technology.
"SFIT?" Mirage questioned, "What's the connection?"
"All the members of the team are equipped with state of the art technology," Dicker explained, "Given their age, we suspect at least some of them are students at the college."
"So, you're saying we're dealing with a bunch of science nerds?" Wilde asked with a chuckle.
"Something like that," Dicker confirmed with a nod, "This is strengthened by one of the team members using what appears to be microbot technology, which was shown at last years SFIT Expo. The same tech was used by Robert Callaghan, a.k.a. Yokai, who was formerly a professor at the school."
"Alright, so why don't we have someone go and look into it?" Wilde questioned.
"We're stretched thin as is," Dicker answered, "We don't have the resources to go sniffing around SFIT. Not while we're also setting this operation up."
"So what do we do?" Mirage inquired.
"Well, as I mentioned before, I have an in with the Parr family," Dicker explained, "And it just so happens that I know someone who can serve as our eyes and ears for us."
As he spoke, Dicker input a few more keystrokes, causing the picture of a young woman with long black hair and dark blue eyes to appear on the screen.
"Off to college?" Mirage inquired with a knowing smile.
"Her parents are very proud," Dicker replied with a smirk of his own.
A/N: After an action filled chapter last time, let's have a little exposition, shall we? I had fun with this one and decided to get it out quick after all the feedback I got last time. As always, feedback and critiques are always welcome, so please review! Later!