Chapter 19: Medical Care
The sound of the plane engines filled the belly of the vehicle as it shot through the air, largely drowning out the commotion that was happening within. While the plane's cargo hold was relatively large, it was packed with personnel and equipment, leaving space at a premium. Currently, most of the Big Hero 9 were laid up on small cots, while the rest of the heroes were standing around, watching as the medical team that had rode in on the plane worked to see to the Big Hero 9's injuries.
"Sir, if you'd just let me look at-" one of the medics said as she hovered over Hiro.
"Look, I get it, you're just doing your job," Hiro interrupted as he brushed her off, "But despite almost dying I'm actually fine. My friends need your help a lot more than I do, and I need to help him."
As he spoke, Hiro pointed at Baymax, who was currently laying on the floor of the compartment, completely deflated. The medic looked between Hiro and Baymax for a moment before nodding in acquesance and moving away. Hiro watched her go for a moment before sighing and turning his attention back to Baymax.
"H-H-Hiiiiro," Baymax mumbled, his words coming out heavily distorted, his head lolling limply on his neck as he shifted to look at Hiro, "Yooou sh-sh-should be heeelping th-th-the others."
"No, pal, I'm the only one who knows how to fix you," Hiro said as he crouched down next to Baymax, giving the android a reassuring smile before glancing over his shoulder with a frustrated expression, "There's not a lot I can do now to help them."
"I'm alright, I'm alright," Fred insisted as a pair of medics helped him to one of the cots.
"Fred, I saw Oni beat you into the pavement," Violet said as she hovered nearby, still in her costume but with her mask removed, "Let the medics look at you."
"Alright, alright," Fred relented with a sigh as he sat on the cot, allowing the medics to help him out of what remained his costume, "How are you feeling Violet?"
"I'm alright," Violet replied as she wrapped her arms around herself and shrugged, "Yokai didn't land many hits on me. I'm more shaken from having to use my powers so much than anything else."
As the medics set Fred's ruined costume to the side, the young man could only look at it and sigh.
"Happy Hiro made a back up," Fred commented.
"I'm happy he made it tough enough to withstand that beating," Violet said as she watched the medics lift up Fred's shirt to examine his back, causing the young man to let out a small hiss of pain, "If you hadn't been wearing that, you'd be in a lot worse shape."
"I'd say," a voice agreed as Joan Leiber walked over to them, "I almost had a heart attack when I first saw you."
"Mom?" Fred questioned in surprise, "What are you doing here?"
"What do you think?" Joan replied, crooking an eyebrow at her son before turning her attention to the medic examining Fred as she lowered his shirt, "How does he look?"
"There is some bruising and contusions, doctor," the medic answered, "We should X-Ray him for fractures, but all in all, he seems alright."
"Well, that's good to hear," Joan replied with a sigh, "Why don't you see if you can help with one of the others?"
"Yes, doctor," the medic agreed with a nod before she hurried away.
"How is everyone else?" Violet questioned as she crossed her arms over her chest.
"It depends," Joan answered with a sigh as she looked around at the confines of the aircraft, "Your friend Yuri has a fractured leg, and Darron has a dislocated shoulder along with being a walking bruise. Hiro and your little alien roommate made it out alright, but Tip has some pretty bad lacerations to her throat, and she seems shaken up by the whole thing, poor dear."
"And Riley?" Fred prompted.
Joan paused as she looked over to where Riley was. Currently, she was sitting on one of the cots, her arms wrapped around her legs as she curled into the fetal position. A nearby medic had a comforting hand resting on the girl's shoulder and appeared to be speaking quietly to her, but Riley did not seem to be listening, her red-rimmed eyes staring forward at nothing.
"From what I understand, she went up against some kind of psychic?" Joan questioned as she looked back at Violet, who nodded in confirmation, "Then I honestly don't know what I can do to help. I'm simply not that kind of doctor."
Fred and Violet shared a troubled look at this, before starting in surprise as they felt the aircraft slowdown and jerk about.
"What was that?" Fred questioned as he looked around in confusion.
"I think we just arrived," Violet replied as she looked back at him.
"Arrived where?" Fred asked.
"Oh, just the government's secret superhero bunker," Violet explained with a shrug.
Violet couldn't help but chuckle as Fred stared at her in wide-eyed surprise.
"I suppose this is the part where a welcome you to Home Base," Violet said with a grin as the aircraft began to slowly descend.
A few minutes later, the plane had settled onto a landing pad at the center of Home Base's large, underground hanger, its engines set in a VTOL configuration. The moment after the plane's wheels set down, the door into its cargo plane slid open and the medics quickly began transporting the most injured members of Big Hero 9 off the aircraft via stretchers, directed the whole way by Joan.
With Violet's help, Fred made his way off of the plane. As he stepped off of the loading ramp, he took a moment to look around the hanger in astonishment.
"You say this is built inside a mountain?" Fred questioned, still looking around.
"Yeah," Violet confirmed with a chuckle, "Your tax dollars at work."
"Not bad if you ask me," a new voice said, prompting Fred and Violet to turn their attentions towards it.
"Dad?" Fred asked in surprise as he spotted Stan making his way over to the two of them.
"Hey there, son," Stan replied as he stopped in front of Fred and place a hand on his child's shoulder, "Happy to see you up and about. How are you feeling?"
"A little sore, but not as bad as some of my friends," Fred explained, his expression turning worried, "Do you think they'll be okay?"
"They're under your mother's care now," Stan answered with a reassuring smile, "They're going to be fine."
"Thanks again for calling in the cavalry sir," Violet said as she smiled at Stan, "My mom mentioned you were the one who saved our bacon."
"All I did was make a phone call," Stan replied with a dismissive shrug, "It was your folks and the others who did the important stuff."
"We couldn't have done it if we hadn't been there in time," Bob spoke up as he walked over to the group, now without his domino mask and held his hand out to Stan, "Good to see you again, Stan."
"You too, Bob," Stan replied as he shook Bob's offered hand before he gestured towards Fred, "I think you met my son, Fred, already."
"We bumped into each other in the field," Bob commented with a chuckle as he turned his attention towards Fred and offered his hand, "You're Kaiju, right?"
"You're Mr. Incredible," Fred said, his eyes wide with wonder as he held his hand out but didn't actually take Bob's hand.
"I think that's what you said last time," Bob commented with a chuckle as he took Fred's hand and shook it, "Though when we're out of costume, you can just call me Bob."
"I'm think I'm kind of dating your daughter," Fred blurted out as he continued to stare at Bob, causing Violet's entire face to turn red as Stan sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose.
"I'll try to not hold it against you," Bob replied, clearly trying not to laugh as he did before turning his attention back towards Stan, "How about we go check on the others?"
"That sounds like a good idea," Stan agreed before he and Bob began walking in the direction the medics had headed in.
"Are you kidding me right now!?" Violet hissed as she and Fred followed behind their parents.
"I'm sorry, I panicked," Fred apologized, "He's Mr. Incredible, you know? I wanted to be upfront with him."
"You kill me sometimes," Violet said, sighing as she smiled at Fred, taking his arm to help support him, "You're lucky you're cute."
As the others made their way out of the hanger, Hiro helped the damaged Baymax stumble down the ramp leading out of the aircraft.
"Come on, buddy," Hiro said as he tried to keep Baymax upright as the deflated android stumbled forward, "I'll get you to a workshop or something and get you all fixed up."
"Here, allow me to assist you," a voice said, and as Hiro turned his head toward it, he found Megamind at Baymax's other side, looping one of the android's arms around his shoulder and guiding him down the ramp.
"Oh, uh, thanks but I think I got it," Hiro mumbled in reply as he tried to pull Baymax out of Megamind's grip.
"Please, I inist," Megamind replied before turning his attention away from Hiro and cupping his mouth with his free hand, "Minion!"
"Here, sir!" Minion replied as he came hustling over to them, Hiro blinking in surprise as he took in the bizarre sight of the alien fish and his mechanical body.
"Minion, take our robotic friend here to my workshop," Megamind said as he indicated towards Baymax with his head, "We're going to need to repair him as soon as possible. Get started and our new friend and I will catch up when we can."
"Right away sir," Minion replied with a nod before he turned his attention towards Hiro, "May I?"
Hiro looked uncertainly at Minion for a moment before he turned his attention towards Megamind, who gave him a reassuring smile.
"It will be alright," Megamind insured him, "Minion wouldn't hurt a fly."
"Unless he ordered me to," Minion replied with a warm smile, "Which he hasn't."
"Look, I appreciate the offer, but really, I should be the one to fix him," Hiro said as he tried to gently pull Baymax out of Megamind's grasp again.
"Don't you want to see your friends?" Megamind asked in confusion.
"Why would I want to do that?" Hiro replied, frustration clear on his features, "I can't help them. It's my fault they're in this situation to begin with."
"I would argue that the supervillains who you all fought are at fault," Megamind argued with a quirked eyebrow.
"Maybe," Hiro grumbled, his tone suggesting that he didn't agree with Megamind, but also didn't feel like arguing.
"Come," Megamind insisted, "Let Minion take your robot and we'll go check on your friends. I promise nothing bad will happen to your robot here."
Hiro paused for a moment with a thoughtful look on his face before finally nodding his head at Minion.
"Alright, just let me…." Minion said as he stepped forward, wrapped his arms around Baymax's stomach and hoisted the android over one shoulder. After taking a moment to settle Baymax, Minion nodded at Megamind before he turned and began carrying the android away. As they left, Hiro watched them with a nervous expression while Megamind looked down at him sympathetically.
"He'll be alright," Megamind assured him, "He's a robot after all. Every bit of him is replaceable."
At this, Hiro looked up at Megamind in confusion, prompting the alien to give him an embarrassed smile.
"That was probably the wrong thing to say, wasn't it?" Megamind mused.
"No, it's fine," Hiro answered with a sigh, "I mean, you're right. I've replaced just about everything he has at this point."
"You know, I don't think we've been properly introduced," Megamind commented as he held his hand out to Hiro, "Megamind."
"Excelsior," Hiro replied as he shook Megamind's offered hand, "Though I guess you can just call me Hiro."
"It's good to meet you, Hiro," Megamind replied with a nod before he gestured towards the way out of the hanger, "Why don't we go check on your friends?"
"Yeah," Hiro agreed with a nod and a sigh, "Let's do that."
Together, Megamind and Hiro made their way out of the hanger and into the labyrinthine halls of the base. A few minutes later, the pair walked through a door into the base's medical wing, the grey, concrete floors giving way to white, sterile looking ones. The walls of the hallway were occupied mostly by large windows that looked into various examination rooms containing beds and medical equipment. Medics ran back and forth through the hallway, quickly going in and out of rooms as they went about their business.
Stopping at the first occupied room, Hiro looked in and saw Wasabi laying face down on the bed inside, his armor removed so that the medics could get a better look at his back. Currently, Joan was in the room, looking at some charts that another medic was showing her.
Turning his attention to the room across the hall from Wasabi, Hiro could see Go Go laying on the bed, her armor also removed with her legs elevated. Honey was also in the room, the taller girl sitting in a chair with her helmet off as a medic examined her ears.
Walking to the next set of rooms, Hiro peered into one and saw Tip sitting on the bed inside, the angry bruises on her throat being examined by one of the medics. What Hiro saw in the other room made his blood run cold.
"Riley!" Hiro called as he rushed into the room, causing the girl, who had been sitting alone on the bed, staring at her hands, to look up in surprise.
"Hey," Riley greeted as she let Hiro pull her into a hug.
"I'm sorry that I wasn't with you on the ride here," Hiro apologized as they pulled apart, "After we all got on the plane, I saw how damaged Baymax was and I-"
"It's okay, Hiro," Riley interrupted as she smiled gently at Hiro, "You were there when I needed you but afterwards Baymax needed you more. You're better at fixing machines than anything with…."
At that, Riley trailed off, gesturing vaguely at her own head in an effort to get her point across.
"Yeah, I guess," Hiro agreed with a nod, "How are you feeling, by the way?"
"I….I still don't know," Riley replied, a lost expression spreading over her features as she looked down at her hands again, "I feel….lost in my own head. What happened, what that woman did."
"Mezmerella," Megamind spoke up from where he was standing in the doorway, observing the two children.
"Mezmerella," Riley agreed with a nod, "Those things she showed me. They seemed so real. She made me so convinced that I couldn't breath that my lungs stopped working. Do….Do you know what that feels like?"
After a moment's hesitation, both Hiro and Megamind shook their heads.
"It's terrible," Riley went on with a small shudder, "Feeling your own mind turn against you. Even now, part of me isn't convinced that what I'm seeing is real. That she isn't trying to trick me again. That I'm still not in the prison yard, choking to death."
Hiro looked at Riley in horror for a moment before he reached out and put a hand on the girl's shoulder.
"This is real, Riley," Hiro said reasuradely, "I'm here. You're okay."
Riley looked at Hiro for a moment before turning towards him and hugging him again, pulling him tightly against her.
"I'm sorry, Riley," Hiro whispered as he held her tightly.
"Sorry?" Riley questioned in confusion as she pulled away from Hiro, "Sorry for what?"
"This is all my fault," Hiro replied as he lowered his gaze.
"Hiro, no," Riley replied with a shake of her head, "It's the people we fought that did this to us, and even then, we all knew what we were getting into when we became superheroes."
"No, you don't understand," Hiro growled, his hands balling into fists as he raised his gaze to meet Riley's, "That guy, their leader? He stole from me. Took my tech and used it to hurt the people I care about. Used it to break my worst enemy out of prison."
Riley was caught off guard by the sudden blast of anger she felt roll off of Hiro and flinched back as he lowered his gaze again.
"I'll make him pay for that," Hiro mumbled under his breath.
Riley was troubled by this comment and the now boiling rage she felt coming from Hiro, and began reaching towards him.
"Riley!" a voice called from down the hall, snapping the girl out of her thoughts, "Riley, where are you!?"
Looking down the hall in the direction the voices had come from, Megamind spotted Stan leading a group of people towards them. Along with Hiro's Aunt Cass, there were three other people in the group. The one other man in the group was a Caucasian man with dark brown eyes, short brunette hair, a mustache, and stubble on his chin. He had a slim physique over which he wore a grey t-shirt and blue jeans. Next to him was a woman roughly the same age, with Caucasian features, long brown hair that she wore in a ponytail, and light brown eyes that were framed by red glasses. She had a slim physique over which she wore a yellow and grey striped sweater, and tan slacks. The final person was another woman of roughly the same age, with olive skin, brown eyes and brown hair that hung down to her shoulders. She had a slim build over which she wore a white, button-up shirt and blue jeans.
"Mom!?" Riley called in surprise as she looked towards the door while Hiro lifted his head, "Dad!?"
"Riley!" the woman with a ponytail called as she and the man ran down the hall following the sound of the girl's voice.
Stepping to the side, Megamind allowed the man and woman to enter the room. Rushing over to where Riley was, the two adults quickly enveloped the girl in a hug as Hiro moved out of their way.
"Oh my God, Riley!" the woman exclaimed as took the girl's face in her hands and looked her over, "We saw the news and Stan told us what was happening and-"
"Are you alright, monkey?" the man asked as he took one of Riley's hands in his.
"I….I'm not sure," Riley replied, her expression turning stricken, "I'm not hurt, not physically anyway. Not like…."
Riley paused and straightened her neck to look across the hall into Tip's room. Following her gaze, the others could see the other woman they had been with rush into the room and embrace Tip, the girl gripping the woman tightly as she buried her face into her shoulder.
"God, poor Tip and Lucy," Cass said as she stepped into the room, looking into Tip's as she did, before turning her attention towards Hiro.
"Hey Aunt Cass," Hiro greeted as he walked over to the woman, who leaned down and embraced him.
"Please tell me you're alright," Cass said as she pulled back and cupped Hiro's face with her hands, looking at him with a concerned expression.
"A little bruised, but I made it out better than a bunch of the others," Hiro replied, with a shrug.
"See, I hear you saying that, but all I can think about is how some supervillain tried to cut your head off," Cass replied, anxiety seeping into her features.
"I'm….I'm sorry you had to see that, Aunt Cass," Hiro said, his expression stricken, "I never wanted to put you through that. If I could change things so that you didn't-"
"But you can't change things, and I do know," Cass replied as she affectionately ran her hand through Hiro's hair, "I could never ask you to stop. You and your friends help too many people. But a selfish part of me wishes you would all the same. If I lost you too, I don't…."
As Cass trailed off, Hiro quickly stepped forward and embraced her again, the woman eagerly accepting it and pulling the boy tightly against her.
As Megamind watched the scene unfold, a wistful expression crossed his face and he quietly stepped out of the room.
"Meg," a familiar voice said as Megamind walked into the hallway, and he turned to find Roxie approaching him.
"Roxie, hey," Megamind greeted her before accepting her hug.
"Saw you and the team's big debut," Roxie said, a look of concern on her face as she pulled away, "You okay?"
"I'm fine," Megamind replied with a sigh as he looked around, "Can't say the same for some of our new friends."
"God, I know that AVL is looking to recruit as many heroes as possible, but these are kids," Roxie said as she crossed her arms over her chest, "And I don't mean that in the usual "I'm getting old and these college students look so young" way. Some of them are actual children!"
"The AVL isn't the one who made them choose this life," Megamind explained, "They chose to become heroes because they wanted to make a difference, like the rest of us."
"I doubt their parents care about that," Roxie observed.
"Probably not," Megamind agreed as he turned to look at Hiro speaking with Cass, "I suppose we'll just have to see what they think when Dicker and the higher ups lay out their plans to them."
Noticing where Megamind was looking, Roxie observed Hiro for a few moments before looking back at the alien.
"You take a shine to that one?" Roxie questioned with a playful tone.
"Perhaps," Megamind answered with a sigh and a shrug as he looked back at Roxie, "If I'm being honest, he reminds me a bit of myself."
"No offence babe, but I'm not sure that's the compliment you think it is," Roxie replied with a smirk, "You did use to be a supervillain, after all."
"I know," Megamind agreed with a nod, a serious look on his face as he looked back at Hiro, "That's what worries me."
A/N: Been awhile, but I'm happy to get another chapter out! Hope you all liked it! As always, feedback and critiques are always welcome, so please review! Later!