Chapter 9: Aftermath
"I can't believe you gave up our secret identities!" Go Go exclaimed as she glared daggers at Fred.
Together, the Big Hero 9, minus Hiro and Baymax, were riding in Wasabi's van along with Violet. Tip piloted the van as usual, with Oh in the seat next to her. Wasabi, Honey and Riley sat in the second row, while Violet was awkwardly squeezed between Fred and Go Go in the third.
"Look, it's not a big deal!" Fred argued, the headpiece of his costume resting in his lap, "She's a superhero too!"
"That's not the point, Fred," Wasabi replied with an exasperated tone, "You didn't know that when you told her."
"Look, I was with her when you guys called me," Fred stated with an annoyed tone, "You know how crappy a liar I am. I don't know what else you expected me to do!"
"I'd expect you not to give up your friends' secrets just because you have a crush on a girl!" Go Go snapped back.
At that, Fred and Go Go looked away from each other, Fred angrily pouting at his feet while Go Go glared at the wall, her head propped up by her hand as her arm lay on the back of her seat. An awkward moment passed as nobody spoke.
"This is going well," Disgust commented sarcastically.
"So, I uh, hate awkward silences, so I'm just gonna, uh, reintroduce myself to all of you," Violet spoke up as she took off her domino mask before giving everyone a nervous smile, "Hi, I'm Ultraviolet, and I'm a superhero."
This seemed to cut the tension and everyone chuckled slightly at her words.
"Hi, Ultraviolet," the humans all said in unison.
"Oh, uh, hellos," Oh said with a hint of confusion.
"So, I think I know who everyone is, but if you wouldn't mind reintroducing yourselves as well?" Violet requested.
"Torque," Go Go said with a small, reluctant smile.
"Miss Chemistry," Honey stated with a wave.
"Laserblade," Wasabi provided with a nod.
"Kitsune," Riley said with a broad smile.
"The Driver," Tip answered with a lazy wave.
"And I am being knowns as the Strange Visitor!" Oh announced.
"And you're actually an alien?" Violet questioned as she pointed at Oh.
"Yes, I am being of the Boov," Oh replied with a broad grin.
"Very cool," Violet stated, "So, I'm guessing the two flying outside are Excelsior and the Big Guy."
"That's right," Honey confirmed with a nod.
"So, all of you use tech?" Violet questioned, "None of you are supers?"
"I am," Riley spoke up with an excited smile.
"This is our chance to shine!" Joy exclaimed excitedly.
"You are?" Violet questioned in confusion, "But I thought you used all those little robots?"
"Yeah, they were invented by Hiro," Riley explained, "But I can do other stuff too."
"Like what?" Violet inquired as she leaned forward with interest.
In response, Riley remained quiet as she held Violet's gaze.
"Okay, Sadness, go!" Joy whispered.
As Violet looked at Riley, tears suddenly began to well up in her eyes. Sniffing, she leaned back and wiped them away.
"I-I'm sorry," Violet sniffled, "I d-don't know what just came over me."
"Anger!" Joy said.
"So why don't you all just stop looking at me!" Violet suddenly exclaimed, as she ran her hands through her hair in frustration, inadvertently pulling it out of the ponytail she had it in. Everyone leaned away from Violet in surprise at the outburst, except for Riley, who continued to stare at the young woman.
"Fear!" Joy ordered.
All at once, Violet's anger left her and she seemed to shrink in on herself, her loose hair curtaining around her face as she looked around with wide eyes.
"I'm sorry," Violet whispered, "I shouldn't….I mean…."
Instead of finishing her sentence, Violet suddenly vanished from view, though the seatbelt wrapped around her waist marked where she still was.
"Alright Fargo," Go Go spoke up, "I think that's enough of a demonstration."
At that, Riley closed her eyes and let out a long, slow breath as she disconnected the empathetic link she had formed with Violet. A moment later, Violet reappeared, brushing her hair out of her face as she looked at Riley in amazement.
"Was that you?" Violet questioned.
"You know it, sister!" Anger exclaimed with a laugh.
Riley merely nodded in confirmation.
"Wow, so, are you psychic or something?" Violet asked as she pulled a headband out of her jacket's pocket and put it in her hair to keep it out of her face.
"Empathetic," Riley clarified.
"What's that?" Violet inquired with a furrowed brow.
"It means I can sense and manipulate other people's emotions," Riley explained.
"That's pretty cool," Violet replied with an impressed expression, "A little scary, but also cool."
"It can be, though it feels like I have a lot of annoying voices in my head sometimes," Riley said with a straight face.
"Hey!" Anger snapped, causing Riley to smirk.
"So, what's the plan now?" Violet inquired as she leaned back in her seat and looked at the others.
"Now we take you to our secret base, I guess," Wasabi answered with a shrug.
"Secret base?" Violet parroted with a quirked eyebrow, "You guys have a secret base?"
"Yeah, it's under Fred's house," Riley said nonchalantly.
At this, Violet turned her questioning gaze towards Fred, who looked away while scratching the back of his head.
"We're here!" Tip announced as the van began to lower towards the ground.
Looking out the window, Violet's eyes widened in surprise as she saw the large mansion outside, before widening even further as the helipad beneath them opened up, revealing the shaft leading beneath the mansion.
A few moments later, the van landed at the bottom of the shaft and the occupants quickly exited, with Baymax and Hiro landing besides them. As everyone made their way towards the door leading out of the shaft, Violet trailed behind, looking around with an expression of surprise on her face.
"Mineral water, miss?" Heathcliff asked, bringing Violet's attention to him.
"Uh….sure, thanks," Violet replied, taking one of the offered water bottles as she looked at the butler with a baffled expression.
"And for you, Master Frederick?" Heathcliff inquired as he turned his attention towards Fred, holding the tray of water bottles out to him.
"Uh, no thanks, Heathcliff," Fred replied as he waved the butler off.
Heathcliff nodded in reply, before turning away and heading in the direction the others had gone in. Violet watched him leave before turning her attention towards Fred.
"So, that's your…." Violet began to say, her voice trailing off awkwardly.
"Butler, yeah," Fred confirmed with a nod, his expression embarrassed.
"So are you like….rich?" Violet inquired, her brow furrowed.
"A little bit," Fred replied, raising his hand with his finger and thumb held close together for emphasis.
"Were you trying to hide that?" Violet asked.
"Sort of," Fred answered with a shrug.
"Why?" Violet inquired as her eyes narrowed, "Did you think I was some kind of gold digger or something?"
"What!?" Fred replied in shock before quickly waving his hands in front of him, "No no no no, nothing like that. I mean, not really."
"Then what did you mean?" Violet inquired as she crossed her arms over her chest.
"All I'm trying to say is people treat you differently when they know you're rich," Fred explained, "Money can make people do weird things."
"You sound like you're talking from experience," Violet observed.
"Well, as you can imagine, I went to some pretty preppy schools growing up," Fred explained with a pensive look on his face, "For a long time, I thought I had friends there, had girls who I thought liked me, but all they really wanted is what they thought I could do for them. What they thought my dad could do for them, really."
"That sounds pretty lonely," Violet observed, her expression becoming sympathetic.
"It was," Fred agreed with a nod, "I didn't really have any real friends until I started hanging around SFIT."
"Did you hide it from them too?" Violet inquired, nodding towards where the rest of the Big Hero 9 had gone.
"For awhile, yeah," Fred admitted with a nod, "It wasn't until after I knew that they liked me for who I am that I let them know. Even then, it took awhile."
Letting out a sigh, Violet placed her hands on her hips.
"Look, I get where you're coming from," Violet said, "I know what it's like to keep something from someone because you're worried about how they'll perceive you. I also know what it's like to have someone you care about not like you for being you."
"What do you mean?" Fred questioned, his brow furrowing in confusion.
"Let's just say that my high school boyfriend wasn't a big fan of the whole superhero thing," Violet replied, looking uncomfortable as she turned her gaze away from Fred, "Or the whole super thing."
"Oh, wow," Fred said in surprise, "I'm….I'm sorry to hear that."
"It's fine," Violet replied with a wave of her hand as she looked back at Fred, "I'm sorry for getting defensive before."
"It's alright," Fred stated with a shrug.
"So, this has been a pretty revealing day," Violet commented with a chuckle, "Anything else I should know about you?"
"Well, there is one thing," Fred replied with a knowing smirk, "But it might be better if I show you."
Violet raised an eyebrow at Fred as he walked past her, but followed along as he went into the next room.
Entering the room, Violet looked around in amazement as Fred joined his friends at the central table.
"Nice hideout, guys," she complimented as she continued to look around.
"Thanks," Stan said as he walked up toward Violet, bringing her attention to him, "It cost a pretty penny to keep all the contractors quiet, but I think it was worth it."
"Oh, I'm sorry," Violet said as she turned towards Stan, "I don't think we've been introduced."
"No, I don't believe we have," Stan replied as he held out his hand, "Stanley Lieber."
"Violet Parr," she replied as she moved to shake Stan's hand before hissing in pain.
"Is something wrong?" Stan questioned, lowering his hand as Violet pulled her arm back to her, a pained expression on her face.
"It's fine," Violet replied with an apologetic smile as she lowered her arm, "Just feeling a little beat up after that hostage situation."
"Hmm, I think I know just the thing for that," Stan commented before turning towards his butler, "Heathcliff, can you go get the missus for me?"
"Of course, sir," Heathcliff replied with a nod before he made his way over to the elevator.
"Oh, you don't have to do that," Violet tried to argue as Heathcliff entered the elevator.
"Nonsense," Stan said, waving off her argument with his hand, "You're a guest in my house, and you'll be treated as such."
"Thank you, sir," Violet replied with a small smile.
"So, you said your last name was Parr, huh?" Stan questioned with a chuckle, "That's a name I haven't heard in a long time. How are your parents?"
"They're good," Violet answered as she gave Stan a befuddled smile, "How do you know them?"
"Ah, knowing Bob and Helen, they were good about not using my real name, which is probably why you don't recognize it," Stan surmised, smiling as he adjusted his glasses, "Tell me, does the name Excelsior ring any bells?"
"Wait, you're Excelsior? The original Excelsior?" Violet questioned, an astonished look on his face, "My dad used to say he always thought you were a little bit crazy for being a superhero without any superpowers."
"That sounds like Bob, alright," Stan commented with a chuckle, "Though I'd argue that everyone in our line of work is a little bit crazy. You'd have to be to do what we used to do."
"I guess so," Violet agreed with an amazed shake of her head as she turned to look at Fred, "Any other surprises you got for me?"
"Hey, in my defense, I didn't know about this until a couple of months ago," Fred argued, holding his hands up defensively.
"I should have known that he would find a way into the business, whether I wanted him to or not," Stan commented with a chuckle.
"Well, that's a trait you both share," a new voice chided, "Always having to stick your neck out for other people, heedless of the consequences."
Turning towards where the voice had come from, everyone watched as a woman stepped off the elevator, followed by Heathcliff. She was a middle aged woman, with dark blue eyes, Caucasian features, auburn hair and a slim build. She wore a simple but stylish looking blue dress and black, high-heeled shoes.
"Ah, there you are, sweetheart," Stan commented as he smiled broadly at the woman.
"Here I am," the woman replied with a smile of her own, "But why am I here? Heathcliff made it sound like it was important."
"Well, Fred brought a new friend of his back from one of his outings," Stan explained as he gestured toward Violet, "Seems as though she might have hurt herself."
"It's really nothing," Violet argued as she tried to wave Stan's worries off, before hissing in pain and pulling her arm back to her chest.
"That doesn't sound like nothing," the woman observed with a serious tone as she made her way over to Violet, "Let me see your arm."
"I don't know if-" Violet began to say.
"I'm not sure what you know, young lady, but what I will tell you is that I'm not some pampered trophy wife. I'm a doctor," the woman cut her off, her tone brokering no argument, "A doctor with a lot of experience dealing with injuries like this."
"It's true," Stan confirmed, "I can't tell you how many times she stitched me back together."
"Sorry," Violet said as she gave the woman an apologetic smile.
"Don't worry about it, dear," the woman said with a dismissive wave, "Now, why don't you get those gloves and coat off so I can get a look at your arms? My name is Joan, by the way. Dr. Joan Lieber."
"Violet Parr," Violet replied as she slipped off her coat and began pulling off her long, black gloves.
"Parr, huh?" Joan questioned as she gently took one of Violet's now bare arms and began examining it, "You wouldn't happen to be related to Bob and Helen Parr, would you?"
"They're my parents," Violet answered, cringing in pain slightly as Joan examined her arms.
"Ah, I thought as much," Joan said with a smile as she began examining Violet's other arm, "How are they?"
"As good as can be expected," Violet replied with a small shrug.
"That's good to hear," Joan stated as she turned her attention towards Baymax, who had shed his armor and was standing nearby, "Baymax? Can you be a dear and get me a pair of compression sleeves?"
"Yes, Doctor," Baymax replied with a nod before he made his way over to a cabinet sitting against a wall. Rummaging through it, Baymax pulled out a pair of bundles which he brought over and handed to Joan.
"Thank you, Baymax," Joan said as she took the bundles, "I swear, you're the best nurse I've ever worked with."
"Thank you, Doctor," Baymax stated with a nod.
"You know, as much as I think there should be at least one of him in every hospital," Joan said conspiratorially as she unfurled the bundles, revealing them to be elbow-length, fingerless navy blue gloves with small electronic screens built into the back of the hands, "Part of me wants to steal him and keep him all to myself. Hold your arms out for me, dear."
Violet chuckled as she did as she was asked, allowing Joan to gently roll the gloves down each of her arms.
"Now, I believe you have some minute stress fractures in both of your arms," Joan explained as she finished putting the sleeves in place, "Nothing terrible to worry about, but you should wear these compression sleeves for a few days to keep them from getting worse."
As she finished putting the sleeves on, Joan touched one of the screens and selected one of the options that popped up, causing the sleeves to constrict on Violet's arm until they were tight and somewhat uncomfortable, but not causing her any pain.
"I'd tell you to not put any more stress on them for the next couple of days but I know how your kind can be," Joan commented with a roll of her eyes as Violet flexed her hands experimentally, "What happened anyway?"
"There was a hostage situation at KreiTech, Mom!" Fred called, "We kicked butt but one guy did get the drop on us with some kind of grenade launcher."
"A grenade launcher?" Joan repeated as she looked at her son in shock before she turned her attention towards Violet, "I'm surprised you're not more injured."
"I can be pretty hard to hurt, thanks to these," Violet explained as she held up her palm and formed a small force sphere, "But if they get hit with something hard enough, it can feedback on to me."
"Fascinating," Joan observed, "Tell me, when-"
"Mom!" Fred groaned, "We're trying to have a team meeting here!"
"Fine, fine," Joan replied as she held up her hands, "You're the one who called me to look after your nice, young lady friend here, remember?"
Fred rolled his eyes as his friends smiled and snickered.
"We'll have to continue this another time, Violet," Joan said to the young woman before she headed towards the elevator, giving Stan a kiss on the cheek as she passed him.
"Come on over, Violet," Fred said as he pushed the empty seat next to him away from the table, "We've got an empty seat for you here and everything."
"Alright, I'm coming," Violet said with a chuckle as she walked over and sat in the offered chair, "So, what is this. Some kind of debriefing?"
"Something like that," Wasabi confirmed with a nod, "I, for one, would like to know what happened tonight."
"Well, it's like we talked about earlier," Fred replied with a shrug, "A bunch of guys took people hostage at KreiTech."
"Did you find out why?" Honey questioned.
"I presume they were hoping to ransom the hostages, especially Krei," Violet answered, "They might have been looking for some tech to steal, but I didn't see any evidence of that."
"But they never made any demands to the police," Go Go observed, a pensive expression on her face, "Seems weird to me."
"It gets weirder," Hiro said, looking at his phone as he spoke, "Check this out."
Turning towards the large screens mounted on the wall, Hiro held up his phone before flicking his finger it towards the screens. A moment later, one of the screens displayed a photograph depicting Yama being arrested by the police.
"Wait, I know that guy," Riley stated in surprise, "Isn't that the guy you were hustling the night we met?"
"Yeah, Yama was his name," Hiro confirmed, "Seems like he was trying to move up in the world."
"Wait, I remember Tadashi telling us about this," Fred said with a laugh, "Didn't he have to save your butts from this guy?"
"Who's Tadashi?" Violet questioned.
A hush quickly fell over the room as Fred stopped laughing and the group turned their collective attention towards Violet.
"Tadashi's….my brother," Hiro explained awkwardly, "He's the one who actually built Baymax."
"Oh wow," Violet said in amazement as she looked over at Baymax, "I can see this sort of thing runs in your family. I'd love to get the chance to meet him."
"That will not be possible," Baymax stated plainly as everyone else looked pained.
"Why not?" Violet questioned in confusion.
"Because….a few months ago….Tadashi died," Riley explained gently.
"Murdered," Hiro quickly corrected, "My brother was murdered."
As she digested this information, all the blood seemed to drain from Violet's face.
"Oh my God," Violet whispered in a panic, "O-Oh my God, I am so, so sorry. I didn't realize-"
"There was no way you could have known," Hiro cut her off with a dismissive wave of his hand, "It's not your fault."
"Still, I'm so sorry for your loss, Hiro," Violet said, giving the boy a heartfelt look, "Did...Did they ever catch the person who did it? Did you?"
"Yeah, we got him," Hiro confirmed with a nod, a hard look on his face, "He's exactly where he belongs."
Meanwhile,
The visiting area in the San Fransokyo County Jail was as busy as it ever was, with half a dozen or so people making use of the tables lined up in a row at the center of the room, divided by plexiglass windows. One side of the room was occupied by men dressed in orange jumpsuits, while people in plainclothes were on the other, each side observed by men dressed in correction officer uniforms.
Near the center of the room, a middle-aged man sat across from a young woman. The man had Caucasian features, blue eyes and short, salt-and-pepper hair and was dressed in a orange uniform with white sneakers. The woman had similar features, with matching blue eyes and brown hair that she had pulled back into a small ponytail. She wore a black jacket over a grey sweatshirt and blue jeans with black flats on her feet.
"I-I don't think I can do this anymore, Dad," the young woman said into the corded phone she had held up to her ear, a pained expression on her face as she looked down at the table in front of her.
"What do you mean, Abigail?" the man questioned, a look of confusion on his face.
"I mean, I don't think I can keep coming here," the woman, Abigail, explained, "My psychiatrist….she says it's not good for me."
"What are you talking about?" the man asked, still perplexed.
"What I'm talking about…." Abigail began to say before pausing as her breath caught in her throat, "What I'm talking about is the fact that every time I see you, when I go to bed that night, I see his face."
"Who's face?" the man inquired.
"Tadashi Hamada's!" Abigail snapped as she raised her gaze to glare at her father, "The man you murdered, Dad!"
Callaghan said nothing, having been shocked into silence.
"Did you remember introducing us, Dad?" Abigail practically spat, "When I visited you during one of your lectures. You said he was your star pupil!"
Abigail angrily slapped the desk in front of her, catching the attention of everyone else in the room.
"Your star pupil!" Abigail screamed, "And you killed him!"
"I didn't intend for Tadashi to die!" the man argued, a desperate look in his eye, "I did it to save you!"
"Don't you dare put what you did on me!" Abigail roared, shooting out of her chair so fast it toppled over behind her, "Don't you dare try to put that on my conscious! I knew what I was signing up for when I agreed to do the test! I knew the risks! I'm a full grown woman! I didn't need Daddy to come and rescue me!"
"Abby, I-I was just trying to-" the man tried to say but Abigail cut him off.
"I don't care what you were trying to do, Dad," Abigail snarled, angry tears running down her face, "All I care is what you did. You were Robert Callaghan, the Father of Modern Robotics. Now look at you. You threw it all away, and for what? For me? You just lost me anyway. All you gained was the blood on your hands."
With that, Abigail hung up the phone and hurried out of the room, ignoring her father's cries to come back as she wept.
The man, Callaghan, looked towards the door his daughter had left through forlornly before slumping in his chair. As he sat, staring at the ground, he barely notice one of the guards come up behind him.
"You know what they say, Yokai," the guard mused, "The road to Hell is paved with good intentions."
"Don't call me that," Callaghan snarled, his lost look turning into a glare.
"I'll call you whatever I damn well please, inmate," the guard countered as he placed his hands on his hips, "Now, on your feet. Visiting hours are over."
Still fuming, Callaghan rose to his feet and made his way out of the room, the guard following behind him.
Opening the door, Callaghan stepped into the bare, grey, cement hallway beyond and turned sharply to the right, walking directly into a larger man who had been walking down the hall.
"Whoa, easy there, pal," Yama said as he looked down at Callaghan, now dressed in a prison uniform, fresh bruises covering his face, "Where's the fire?"
"Sorry," Callaghan apologized as he caught himself, "I was just…."
"Don't worry about it," Yama replied with a dismissive wave of his hand.
"You going to make your phone call or not?" the guard following behind Yama questioned.
"Sorry, sorry," Yama apologized before moving past Callaghan and giving him a small wave, "See you around, pal."
As one of the guards led Callaghan past Yama, the large man spared him a glance before turning his attention towards the corded payphones that hung from the walls near the door to the visiting area. Picking up the earpiece, Yama glanced at the other guard, who was standing a respectful distance away, before punching in a number.
"Thank you for calling Salsa and Salsa," a perky, female voice said after a single ring, "How may I direct your call?"
"This is Yama," the large man said simply.
"Hold please," the female voice replied, followed by a clicking noise.
"Report," Enigma's electronic voice ordered from the phone a moment later.
"I'm in," Yama answered, "Everything went according to plan."
"Have you located the professor?" Enigma inquired.
"Yeah, I bumped into him already," Yama responded with a chuckle.
"Good," Enigma stated, "Keep your head low until you get our signal. You remember what to do?"
"Yeah," Yama answered with a predatory grin, "I'm looking forward to it."
A/N: Simple but fun chapter. Hope you guys liked all the character interactions in this one. As always, feedback and critiques as always welcome, so please review! Later!