A/N: Hi! It feels like years since I've last done this. I hope everyone is well and having a good festive period so far. I'm not! I've a covid test tomorrow.

But whatever. Wash your hands, wear your masks. Review, etc because I do really appreciate every single one.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!


'HIRO!'

Gogo was stood in the doorway to the garage, motorcycle helmet in one hand. She looked impressive, stood tall against the night. But she was also angry and confused.

Hiro looked up from where he was sitting by the monitor. It had been stuck on 64% for fifteen minutes and he was beginning to panic again. 'Heyyyy Gogo.' He said hesitantly.

She threw her helmet onto the ground and stormed over to him, hands on hips. She looked at him for a long moment before throwing her arms around him. 'For fucks sake, you scared me!'

Then, in true Gogo fashion she let go of him and slugged him on the arm. 'What the HELL is going on?'

'I'm sorry! I just... I'll show you.'

She perched on the edge of the desk as Hiro clicked onto his emails and located the video he was sent. He clicked on the play icon and looked away as the video played.

Gogo watched Rena get hit with a horrified expression on her face. Halfway through, she seized the mouse and clicked off it. Her hand was shaking. 'Holy shit.'

'Yeah,' Hiro said numbly, 'holy shit.'

'I can't... Oh my God...'

'Baymax has contacted everyone else. I don't know if they're coming or not.'

'They will. They better fucking had.'

Hiro's phone buzzed in his pocket. He pulled it out and squinted at the text on the screen.

Fred

Hi, I'm not coming. Can't. Extremely busy.

'Gogo... Come read this.'

She walked over to him and grabbed the phone, reading the text. Her face reflected the same confusion that Hiro was feeling. 'That's not...'

'That's not Fred. Yes.'

'That's definitely not Fred. Busy doing what? Since when has Fred used proper grammar? Since when would he ever pass up the chance to do anything like this?'

'Which means...'

They looked at one another with horror. In unison, they said 'they've got Fred!'


Rena was stood leaning against the wall in the filthy room. A chair leg was clutched in one hand and she was positioned next to the door. Her head was pressed against the wall, listening intently to the voices outside. Was she going to be able to overpower the men outside?

Probably not. But she'd be damned if she didn't at least try.

The door flung open, almost smacking her in the face. She skirted around the edge, just making out a huge black coat and a flash of orange. She stood behind the man, holding the chair leg above her head, ready to strike when-

'Get off me!'

A familiar figure was thrown onto the floor. Rena gasped loudly and dropped the wood onto the floor.

'Fred! Oh my god! Holy shit!'

Despite her own injuries, she practically threw herself down onto the floor next to him. 'Are you okay? What have they done? Fred!'

He sat up, coughing. She noticed that he also had a black eye developing, and he was holding his arm in a way that suggested broken bones. 'Rena!' He gasped, eyes wide with shock.

She threw her arms around him, careful of his injured arm. 'Oh my god, what did they do to you?'

'What did they do to you?! You look awful!'

She laughed, but it quickly turned into a sob. Soon, she was crying onto his shoulder. 'What the fuck is going on?'

Fred hugged her back tightly, clearly unsure of what to say. 'I don't know... I don't know...'

Rena pulled away and wiped her eyes on her bloody sleeve. 'Tadashi.' She whispered.

Fred nodded. 'Yeah. He uh... barged in when I was in the middle of a game. Stole my phone. I was just about to go to your house.'

'Why you were going to my house?'

'Because I got one of those crisis alerts from Baymax.'

'Why would you... Oh.' She said softly, 'oh.'

Fred bit back a sob. 'Why would Tadashi do this?'

'I don't know. I really... I really don't.'

'He wouldn't though. He would never.'

'Well... He did.'

'It's fun in comics. Not in... Not in real life though.'

Rena laughed dryly. 'No. Not fun at all.'

Fred cleared his throat awkwardly and looked at his arm, grimacing. 'Do you reckon it's broken?'

'Let's have a look,' Rena shifted her position and examined his arm carefully. She placed her hand on it and pressed down gently. The slight pressure made him howl. 'Yeah. I'm pretty certain it's broken.'

He sighed, 'thought so.'

'We need to get out of here.' Rena said, standing up with some difficulty. 'You also need a sling.'

'What about you? Your arm looks pretty fucked as well.'

'Sprained. At least, I think.'

'Right. What's the difference?'

She shrugged, 'different kind of injury. Besides, it's irrelevant.'

'Ah. Okay. Do you... need a bandage or something? There's uhh... quite a lot of blood there...'

Rena took her hoodie off with some difficulty, considering her ribs and arm. 'I'll survive.' Funny how half an hour ago, she didn't even consider surviving an option. 'Do me a favour and grab the sleeve with your good arm.'

Fred stood and grabbed it, 'okay... why?'

Rena stepped backwards and pulled. Luckily, it was an old hoodie and the sleeve tore off with ease. She grabbed it and beckoned Fred forwards. Gingerly, she wrapped his arm up in a semi-decent sling. 'It's not perfect, but it'll have to do for now.'

'Thanks! Uhh... Now what?'

'You said you got a crisis alert? That means they'll be on their way.'

'I mean... Hopefully.'

'We have one job now - get out of here, alive.'

'Can't we just wait for them to come?'

'And endanger them? Fred, we might as well try. Save anyone else getting hurt.'

'Okay, true. And we are superheroes, after all. Right?'

Rena smiled. 'Yeah. Sure. Superheroes.'


86% complete.

Hiro, Gogo, Wasabi and Honey Lemon were sitting in the Hamada's garage. They were all kitted out in their superhero gear, crowded around Hiro's computer watching the number slowly rise.

'I still can't believe that this is actually happening,' Wasabi sighed, 'I mean, it's just our luck isn't it?'

Honey Lemon nodded, 'gosh, I really hope they're okay!'

Hiro was drumming his fingers on the countertop, 'they're not.'

'No need to be such a pessimist.' Gogo said, elbowing him, 'they're okay.'

Hiro sighed, 'I can't believe they got Fred. Why Fred? Out of all of us?'

'He's rich. And his dad is a superhero - with a lot of enemies.' Wasabi said, 'I'm gonna go ahead and assume that's why.'

'Why Rena though? And why Tadashi?' Honey Lemon questioned.

Hiro gave a weak laugh. 'I know why.'

'Humour us then.' Gogo said.

'They want to get to me. I can't be sure, but there's this guy. Uhhh, Fournier.. Or something. Anyway, he's like, biggest name in the game. Like, he can beat experienced players with his eyes shut. He's also a psycho. More than once he's killed competitors in the ring. With his bare hands. Everyone's terrified of him. And they know his name. The guys always say not to mess with him. Because you'll regret it.'

Gogo groaned, 'and let me guess... you beat him?'

Hiro was quiet for a long moment and then nodded slowly. 'Yeah. I was cocky. I knew I was good, I could beat him easy. And it... it was easy. Well, he wasn't happy. Like, at all. As soon as the game ended he went after me with his... henchmen, or whatever. And this woman. Well, this guy had me pinned but I managed to break his nose.'

'Good on you.'

Hiro grimaced. 'That guy was Caine. That's why I freaked out when I saw him earlier. Now it makes sense why he's trying to avoid me.'

Honey Lemon gasped, 'all this time, Rena's been friends with this guy that wants you dead?'

Gogo was shaking with anger, 'I'll kill him!'

'Yeah, so then this woman had a knife to my throat. I was fully convinced I was gonna die. Fournier aimed his knife at me and was about to throw when I managed to break free. I was running for my life, but I did still hear what happened when I left.'

'What happened?' Wasabi asked quietly.

Hiro had tears in his eyes, 'the knife... It killed the woman. I could hear screaming. I should've known they'd come after me.'

'Jesus christ.'

'I haven't told anyone that before. But now... Rena and Tadashi and Fred are at his mercy. And it's all my fault.'

Honey Lemon hugged him tightly, crying as well. 'It's not your fault!'

'I shouldn't have gone up against him!'

'Hiro, you're fourteen. Jesus christ, this guy shouldn't go after a kid.'

'I know! But... still.'

Wasabi placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder, 'it's okay, we'll get them out.'

'Yeah, we're a lot better than some mediocre criminals.' Gogo said.

Hiro looked back at the screen. 92%. 'Do we actually have a plan of action?'

'We can figure that out once we get there. We need a chance to do some surveillance and figure out how many guys they've got.' Gogo said.

'We do need an actual plan though... We all know what happens when there is no plan.' Wasabi said nervously.

'And we need Baymax to take care of any injuries. Going by the video, Rena's probably pretty hurt. It's probably safe to assume that the others are as well.' Honey Lemon said, 'we can't have him fighting.'

Hiro nodded. 'That judgement can be made when we get there. The priority is getting them out alive.'

'Yeah, of course.'

94%. 'I'm sorry for getting you guys roped into this.' Hiro said quietly.

Gogo punched him on the arm, 'don't apologise! We'd do this any day. No matter what.'

'They're our best friends.' Said Wasabi, 'of course we're gonna help.'

They sat and watched the number slowly rise. 96%. 97%. 98%. 99%.

When it had completed, Hiro yanked the wire out of the helmet and ran over to Baymax. He jammed the helmet onto his head. 'There! Is it working?'

'My sensors are operational.'

Hiro breathed a sigh of relief. 'Good. Now, let's get up somewhere high to scan the city.'

Baymax stepped into the cold outside and Hiro clambered onto his back. He stretched his hand out for Honey Lemon, who climbed on next to him. Gogo got on the other side.

'Yeah, sure. I don't mind being dangled in the air again.' Wasabi said wearily.

'Sorry dude, but we can't change positions now!'

'Yeah, yeah, whatever.'

'Okay Baymax - rocket boosters!'