I did the unthinkable! I channeled a god and so now here we are with a finished chapter and the promise of a conclusion (to this arc) right around the corner! Because this chapter is Halloween which means catastrophe is coming in 3, 2, 1-
But seriously, I'm back from a pretty significant hiatus. I won't wait over half a year before I write chapter 15, I promise. I also recently finished the story Tropes, which explores a romantic relationship between Wasabi and Tadashi, and wrote a story called Labels which features my other two favorite OCs. And if all goes according to plan there will be a Big Hero 6 Christmas story out on the 22nd! It'll probably be sad.
Last but not least this is a reminder that this is a story that is first and foremost about my OCs and if that doesn't interest you then this is probably not the fic to read. I am, however, very grateful to everyone who reads and enjoys it and maybe even leaves a comment please and thank you.
"You have lightsabers?" Wasabi asked, as the real sabre he was holding clanged against the sabre Morgan was holding and Fred and Seth watched from the sideline and ate snacks.
"We have glowing swords that are legally distinct from lightsabers," Seth called, "I don't want that mouse to cut my life short."
"So, what makes it legally distinct?" Fred asked.
"Depends on which prototype you're using, actually. One of them is just a light-up katana, one is a fire sword, one is actually just a baseball bat with LEDs-"
"Tell them about my favorite one," Morgan said, dodging one of Wasabi's attacks.
"And the last one is a fire sword that's solar-powered! So if Morgan ever flies during the day it can charge up."
"But you're not going to do that, right?" Wasabi asked, raising his eyebrows. Most of the weapons Seth had described were light work for his laser swords but the solar-powered fire sword was more like Fred's gimmick than his.
"Oh no. I'm done. No more vengeance. Just building glowing swords to fulfill Seth's twisted Star Wars fantasy."
"Shh shhh shh, we can't invoke that name. They're gonna come for us."
"Just be careful, weapons are dangerous. Obviously. We don't have to tell you that." Wasabi knocked the sabre out of Morgan's hand.
"You're really good with these," Morgan said.
"Yeah, well, you're learning fast. But your days of fight or flight are over, right, Morgan?"
"Oh, yeah, we're not trying to be heroes. You have it covered, right? You don't want our help."
"It's not that we don't want your help, Morgan. It's just that fire and swords are way out of your element, Morgan. Not that you couldn't handle it, but fire is flammable and swords, well, take it from me, once you get anywhere near the realm of swords Momakase pops up. Now there's someone you really don't want to mess with."
"Momakase, Obake, don't you ever think that you should spend less time worrying about me and more time protecting yourself?" Morgan asked, picking up her sabre.
"All the damn time," Wasabi muttered.
"We're the professionals, we can protect ourselves and you," Fred said, "How do you know about Obake anyway?"
"Hiro told me," Morgan said, not mentioning the unfortunate hacking incident that she had still not told Krei about for months now.
"I didn't know Hiro told you things about our encounters," Wasabi said, frowning a little.
"Why does that bother you? I said I'd hang up the wings. We don't even have a functioning glowing sword yet. There's nothing we can do, so there's nothing for you to worry about." Morgan desperately wanted to help, but it was clear that Wasabi and the others didn't want her interfering. Which meant she'd have to help in her own way while staying out of theirs.
"We do too have a functioning sword," Seth protested.
"The only one that works is the LED baseball bat."
"I thought you said you liked that one!"
"It's fantastic, babe, you're perfect." Morgan blew Seth a kiss.
Seth accepted the false compliment and smiled and Wasabi took the reassurance that Morgan didn't have any of the cool weapons they'd been describing.
"Well, you don't have to deal with any of that," Wasabi promised, "It's not personal to you. You can just keep living your life and practicing your fencing."
"Will do. Thanks for letting us use your swords, Fred." Morgan had to admit, Tadashi's friends were warming up to her. At least Wasabi and Fred, GoGo obviously still didn't trust her yet, though GoGo and Seth had gotten close. Sort of.
"Yeah, no problem, but we should put them up. I've got to go to the school."
"Why do you have to go to SFIT at night?" Seth asks.
"This is gonna be the year I scare GoGo."
"No, it's not," Wasabi said, "Take it from me. She doesn't feel fear like a normal person."
"Something must scare her… And I'm going to figure out what it is." Fred had an evil grin on his face.
"He never does," Wasabi said, as they put up their swords.
"This is gonna be the Halloween when I do!"
"Ignore him. What are your plans for Halloween?" Wasabi asked the roommates.
"We're gonna dress up in matching costumes and hand out candy and watch stupid horror movies," Seth said, very excited.
"Oh, a couple's costume, cool," Wasabi remarked, noticing immediately that both of them turned red when he said that.
"Uh… Yeah," Morgan said, still blushing, "I mean we're partners. In crime. And stuff."
"Yeah, I'm not going to keep teaching you how to fence if you commit any more crimes," Wasabi said.
"That's okay," Morgan said with a shrug, "I already know how to use a baseball bat."
What Morgan did not know how to do was communicate one very specific feeling that apparently everyone had seen coming but her. In the few months Seth had been living here, Morgan had gone from seeing them as her best friend to seeing them as the person who made her heart keep beating. Waking up in the vicinity of Seth every morning was so incredibly precious to Morgan, but she didn't know how to articulate that to Seth.
They were already partners in crime, they already did so much together. Morgan could ask Seth right now if they wanted to go on a date and Seth wouldn't see it as any more romantic than the afternoon they'd spent together cleaning the kitchen just last week or the hours they'd spent collaborating over the ongoing lawsuit against a grocery store chain. She was doomed to fail from the start, having entrenched them in so much platonic affection that even a kiss on the lips would probably just be seen as a friend thing, not that Morgan would ever kiss Seth without Seth's permission first.
"Maybe I just have to go right out and say it," Morgan muttered to herself in the mirror as she situated the pink wig on her head. It was another thing Seth had gotten from Sadie, theoretically another wig in the angel's arsenal but tonight it signified her transformation into Jessie from Team Rocket. Seth was her eager James for the evening, and the newest addition to their family, Lulu, posed as an unwilling Meowth. Seth had already taken to calling Lulu, the kitten hoisted onto them by Seth's irresponsible older brother, their child. With easy jokes like that, how would Seth ever believe Morgan when she said she wanted more than friendship? It all sounded like rubbish in her ears.
"Maybe friendship is enough…" After all, there was no way Seth would reciprocate those feelings. Platonic love had to be enough because platonic love was all she was ever going to get.
Still, she couldn't help enjoying their Halloween together. The way Wasabi had called it a couple's costume, the way little kids squealed when they gave them candy, and the way Seth squealed when the old movies got weird or gross. The play fight they'd gotten into, feeding each other popcorn and the way their cat tried to attack the monster on the screen. And at the end of the night, when Seth had fallen asleep on her shoulder and gotten purple hair paint on her costume, Morgan decided to enjoy that too. Seth was in her life, and that was good enough. It had been a hard year marked with loss, but some things remained good. Halloween remained untouched by the grief that Morgan was still trying to shed.
Unfortunately, Hiro could not say the same thing.
"We need to talk." Hiro always said that whenever he'd pull her aside and tell her about some supervillainy that he didn't want her to get involved in. So far she'd done what he asked and stayed out of the way because so far it hadn't been personal.
"What's up?" Morgan asked when they were in private.
"Obake preyed on our fears and our weaknesses directly. He… He used augmented reality to make me see Tadashi, tried to talk me into behaving irrationally to serve his own purpose, using Tadashi's voice. I don't think he'd come after you, I don't know if he knows you're connected to me or Tadashi, but be careful, okay? Keep your head down until this all blows over."
"You mean until Big Hero 6 stops him?" Morgan asked, her blood boiling.
"Yeah. We're going to put a stop to this. It's going to be okay…" Hiro looked overwhelmed.
Morgan took a deep breath and then pulled Hiro into a hug.
"Hey, Hiro? You're allowed to take a step back. You're allowed to put yourself first, and I think Tadashi would agree with me. What Obake did was horrible and you're allowed to be furious with him, but you're also allowed to take yourself out of the fight. You don't have to save the world, Hiro."
"Maybe I do," Hiro murmured, hugging back and then taking a step back.
"Just be careful, please? I know you want me to stay out of trouble but I want the same for you."
That seemed to surprise Hiro. He had been protecting her as a favor for Tadashi, telling her about villains to avoid and speaking up for her in front of Krei. He realized now, for the first time, that she did genuinely seem to care about him.
"Right. I'll try. But I'm serious, Morgan. Don't do anything stupid for my sake."
"I won't, I promise," Morgan said, but that was a promise she didn't intend to keep.
Question of The Week- What's your dream Halloween costume?