Ari was going to find out what was going on even if it killed her.
It started one night when Hiro came back late from school looking rather dejected, he didn't give a clear answer when she asked him what was wrong. But then she noticed Fred pestering Hiro about something. Her guess was a superhero club considering their history with her heroic rescuers, but Ari wasn't going to get any answers by just watching in the background.
So one day she thought it would be a good idea to finally visit SFIT and see the problem at the source. She made sure to ask Cass permission if she could go at first, explaining that she was concerned about Hiro. The former was happy to let her visit Hiro's college, happy that Ari cared for her nephew. She got to the school by taking the public bus, and Wasabi thankfully gave her instructions on where to go.
Her destination was like she remembered except more clear in the day. The campus was huge and futuristic. Ari was unsure where Hiro was on campus but she hoped it wasn't in class because that would be awkward. There were a handful of students outside but none of them were Hiro. This is going to be harder than I thought. She sighed.
"Man, how hard is it to find a fourteen year-old genius in a campus full of college students?" Her feet tapped on the ground as she mumbled under her breath, until a hand softly poking her shoulder made her turn.
A rather short college student was behind her. She was wearing a cherry pink shirt, magenta skirt, dark pink flats with white stockings and a black vest. Her hair was wavy, a light shade of blonde. Her eyes were light and colored coffee brown, Ari noticed on her arms besides the peach pink wristband were very faint scars that looked years old.
"Excuse me, but are you looking for a Hiro Hamada?" She asked.
"Uh huh, I'm a friend of his and he's been acting weird so I wanted to check on him." Ari nodded. "I'm Ariel, Ari-for-short-Rosemary and you're...?"
"Sara Ferns, I'm in his thermo dynamics class." She gestured to herself. "Want me to help you look for him?"
"That would be awesome! Thank you so much!"
"No problem." Sara grinned. "The teen geniuses of this school could use lots of people looking out for them."
They first checked the food court. "I see Hiro and his friends here for lunch all the time, or they just talk about things." Sara explained, looking around the cafeteria. "I don't see them here, they might be in the labs."
"Hey Sara!" A student with a deep voice walked up to them. "Who's your new friend?"
"Hey David!" Sara smiled at him. "This is Ariel Rosemary, she's looking for Hiro. Ari, this is my bro David."
David was a little taller than Sara, he had raven black hair that stuck up a little. A little bit of his hair was dyed a light blue color and his blind eyes were a golden topaz. He was wearing a navy blue jacket that was zipped up, a blue-grey turtleneck, dark grey sweatpants and purple flats.
"I heard Hiro in the robotics lab awhile ago." David explained. "I think Fred was bothering him again. I heard the sound of Fred in his mascot costume walking around and Hiro slamming the locker door annoyed."
"Fred has been doing that for the past few days." The wavy-haired blonde grumbled. "If this keeps happening I have half a mind to report to Professor Granville."
"I have a weird question." Ari spoke up, interrupting the two's conversation. "Is David here your brother? You called him 'bro' but you don't look alike."
"Well yes, but technically no." Sara sheepishly answered.
"We don't share blood but we grew up together as siblings under the same house." David explained. "Forgot to say this but it's nice to meet you."
"Nice to meet you too." She waved for a few seconds, but then switched to a handshake. "You said Hiro was in the robotics lab, can I see him?"
"Sure." He chirped. "Can I finish my conversation with Sara first? We also need to plan a study group because I think we're getting a test soon in one of our classes."
"Okay, sure." Ari nodded. While they were conversing she decided to observe the cafeteria.
She watched other students converse and eat their food at the tables, but something or rather someone stood out to her. A girl sitting by herself surrounded by books, looking not much older than Hiro. Her hair was a long chocolate brown color, her eyes ,more on the reddish-brown and with olive-tan skin. She was wearing a turtleneck like David but it was a cream color, she wore a bright orange skirt with black leggings and flats. She had some accessories on, red earrings and a few bright colored wristbands. Ari noted that the student was scribbling something, perhaps taking notes? But most of the other students together, so seeing someone by herself was strange in this school.
The girl looked at her, seeing her staring back. Ari felt bad for the awkward staring, not sure what else to do but smile and wave. The girl just smiled as well, and gave a small wave back.
"Okay we're done planning three hours of suffering c'mon Ari!" Sara ended the moment by dragging her out of the cafeteria with David in the quest to find Hiro. But Ari just kept thinking about the girl with reddish-brown eyes. Sara mentioned genius, plural… guess Hiro isn't the only young student at SFIT. I wonder if I'll get to see that girl again...
She looked a little lonely, I think I'd want to be friends with her.
"Welcome to the nerd lab Ariel!" Sara shouted as they entered the robotics lab, it looked impressive as all sorts of science tests by students were being performed.
"Sara that's my line!" Gogo stomped over, glaring at the wavy-haired blonde before turning to the sweater girl. "Hey Ari, how come you're here?"
"Looking for Hiro because he's been acting weird for a while and if it's Fred's fault I am going to have some strong words with him because it's doing me a concern." Ari blurted out.
"You just missed him, Hiro went to his next class a few minutes ago." The engineer explained. "It's probably not something Fred's doing. He told me the other day that Professor Granville gave Hiro a lesson on balance, and took it to heart."
"Ohhh…" She felt glad there was no need to throw hands at the comic fan. "Wait, if it's this Professor's fault I'd like to have a few words with her."
Sara and David frowned. "That's a bad idea." The latter told her. "Granville is pretty strict and I've heard from my fellow student's that her glare is intimidating… even her tone of voice scares me sometimes when she's disciplining any class troublemakers."
"What's this about our new dean that's scary but cool?" The voice of someone entering the lab made them look over.
The newcomer was a girl with unusual snow white hair that had to be dyed. Her skin was much paler than Sara or David's, and was freckled around the cheeks. Her sharp green eyes reminded Ari of a serious person, for some reason. Her hair was long enough to fall over her black and purple sweater. She wore dark navy blue pants and black kicks.
"Ari, this is Mikan Ferns." Gogo was the one who introduced her. Ari's eyes widened in surprise. She shares the same surname as David and Sara!
"Yes she's our sister too I know you're going to ask that I've seen that face before." Sara quickly responded before she could speak.
"And that's all I'm going to ask." Ari crossed her arms. "I want to talk to the dean of the school, 'cause I'm worried about Hiro."
"Bad idea!" David and Sara exclaim.
"Sure." Mikan flashed a thumbs up. All three of them frown.
"Mika, do not have a bad influence on Hiro's friend." David facepalmed.
"What? I haven't seen anyone besides Hiro try to argue with the dean." The oldest Fern argued. "it might be interesting."
"Or irresponsible!" David fired back. "Don't make me tell Mom!"
Mikan gave an offended gasp. "You wouldn't!"
"Yes I would!"
"Tattletale!"
"No I'm not!"
"Are too!"
As the two bickered, Gogo noted two less people in the group. "Ahem." She cleared her throat. "You guys realize that Ari and Sara left right?"
"What?!" They exclaimed, then they realized she was right.
Gogo just shook her head, popping her bubblegum. "Yep."
Meanwhile, the missing two were standing in front of the dean's office. "Okay it sounds like she's in at the moment." Sara noted.
"I'm not going to get you in trouble, am I?" Ari asked her. As much as she wanted to find out what was going on with Hiro, she didn't want to get anyone in trouble or be a bother to someone else.
"Nahhh, David, Mika, and I might make it sound like the dean is scary." The wavy-haired blonde gestured. "But deep down she's a big softy that just cares a ton for her students, kind of like my Aunt Sally!"
"I'm flattered for the compliment Ms. Ferns." Sara yelped and jumped back in surprise. Ari looked up as the supposed dean entered the hallway. The woman was dark-skinned with short black hair and stern dark eyes. Her sweater was a black color, and had bright golden jewelry. Ari could understand why some students seemed afraid of the dean, she looked intimidating alright.
"Hi, I'm Ariel Rosemary..." She nervously waved. "A friend of Hiro Hamada, and you are?"
"Professor Grace Granville." The dean nodded."I don't believe you attend this school, care to explain why one of my students brought you here?"
She cleared her throat before speaking. "Well you see. I'm worried about Hiro a little, something has been bothering him for a while. And one of his friends mentioned that it might have to do with something you said." Hopefully that last comment wasn't too rude.
"Ah, recently I had explained to Mr. Hamada the importance of balance." Granville explained. "I am hopeful that perhaps he can follow in his brother's footsteps in terms of learning responsibility."
"That'll be the day." Sara muttered under her breath while the sweater girl frowned. She carefully picked her words before answering once more.
"Ms. Granville, will all due respect, I think that was quite unfair of you to do." Sara gave Ari this shocked look and took a few steps away. "Hiro isn't like his brother, I never met Tadashi and I don't know Hiro very well, but they're two different people with different personalities and goals. No offense ma'am, but while balance is important it's not fair to Hiro to compare him to someone else."
Granville didn't react at first. I hope I didn't make her mad... "I see." But the dean just had a thoughtful expression on her face. "It is very brave of you to speak up for your friend Ms. Rosemary."
"I just wanna help Hiro as much as he's helped me." Ari nervously chuckled."It was nice meeting you Ms. Granville."
"Likewise." The dean smiled. "I will think about your words Ms. Rosemary, have a good day." And went back into her office as the door closed.
"Phew," Sara gave a sigh of relief. "I thought she was going to get mad."
Ari gave Sara a look. "Were you scared?"
"Was not!" She huffed. "Do you still want to speak to Hiro?"
"Nah." Ari glanced back at the dean's office. "I think I'll head back, tell Hiro I said hello for me will ya?"
"Sure, see you around Ari." Sara waved to her, heading back in the direction of the labs. Ari waved back, and then began to head back to the cafe.
Later that night...
"Still reeling from the bitter taste of disappointment, the lone guardian of justice continues his watch over the city…" Fred narrated as watched the city with binoculars, wearing his superhero suit as he stood atop a building. All of his friends had declined the superhero offer, even Hiro! Instead his friend had dived into his studies taking the words Professor Granville said to him to heart. Despite Fred's badgering, none of his friends changed their minds. He felt cold isolation as he watched the city, sighing as he dropped the binoculars.
"Maybe they were right." He turned off the superhero spotlight he brought with him. "Maybe the city doesn't need halp…" As much as Fred wanted to be a superhero like in the comics he treasured, the freezing touch of reality chilled his core.
He took one last glance at the city and turned away in sadness, his binoculars lying down alone on the streets. Silence hung in the air until a metal foot crushed the binoculars. Then several pairs of feet were walking down the streets.
Metal skeletons shaped like Baymax's were roaming the street. With Yama watching them as they traversed the roads.
No surprise it ended up being the next breaking news.
"Seemingly indestructible robots have invaded Night Market Square. Annihilating everything in their path." TV reporter Bluff Dunder narrated. "We're also getting reports of destruction on Shimamoto Boulevard. I think it would be smart enough for you to avoid that area. Who is behind this robot rampage?" The TV in the Lucky Cat on showed several robots causing destruction on the streets. The nerd gang gasped, recognizing the robots were shaped like Baymax's skeleton.
Only one person could have done this, someone that had the skeleton in their grasp for a period of time.
"Oh no." Honey Lemon was horrified at all the chaos shown.
"Yama." Hiro frowned, mentally punching himself for letting the criminal get an opportunity to copy Baymax. He banged his knuckles on the table in anger.
"He bootlegged Baymax?" Gogo narrowed her eyes.
"Baymaxes!" Wasabi exclaimed. "Plural! So plural!"
"Okay, so a bunch of killer robots are loose in the city." Fred gestured, too close to the physics major, "You know what that sounds like?"
"A nightmare I had once?"
"No! It sounds like a job for Big Hero 6!" He shouted. "You guys are gonna love the name once you see the t-shirts."
"The police can handle this." Gogo told him The TV at that moment flashes to a policeman staring into the camera with fear.
"We can't handle this!" He shouted as the robots blasted destruction across the city.
Gogo sighed. "Let's suit up..." as much as she didn't want to get involved. None of them could stand idle as the Fake Baymaxes kept attacking the city, they had to help.
"Baymax needs his armor, I've got to finish it." Hiro ran out of the cafe. "I'll meet you guys there. Just be careful!"
Wasabi then spoke up. "Do you guys think the Fake Baymaxes are looking for Ari?"
"I hope not!" Honey Lemon gasped. "If it was and she finds out, she'd feel more guilty than ever!"
"Guilty?" Gogo raises an eyebrow.
"She feels bad for staying at the Lucky Cat and thinks she's gonna put Hiro and Aunt Cass in danger." Fred clarified for her.
"That's ridiculous." Gogo might've been wary at first, but it wouldn't be her fault if Yama broke into the cafe to abduct her back. the sound of the TV interrupted their conversation. "Finish another time, we have a city to save."
Hiro was pacing back and forth with his hands in his pockets, his shoulders slouched. "Come on, come on, come." He mumbled, wishing the armor would finish quicker!
Baymax got out of his charging station. "You appear to be… agitated." He stated.
"Yeah, the city's under attack!" Hiro pointed out
"And you feel responsible."
"What?" He turned around.
Baymax looks down at his screen. "Your body language, and lack of eye contact are strong indicators of guilt." He showed a picture of a slouching person, and a face glancing left and right but not giving direct stare.
"If I had just run Tadashi's diagnostics like you told me to, none of this would have happened!" Yama had also gotten close to getting whatever was on Granville's desk had he not been able to double-steal it back.
"Hiro, you would not have been able to rescue Ari had you ran the diagnostics." Hiro's eyes widened. He's right. But it didn't help the guilt in his chest.
The beeping from the machine brought his attention back, he went to collect the armor piece.
"You may be right in that Baymax..." Hiro sighed. "The sooner I finish this the sooner I can help the team."
The team was fighting the Fake Baymaxes at the moment. The robots were causing destruction, blowing up stuff and terrorizing the citizens. Someone tripped over debris and Gogo managed to rescue them before a robot could attack.
"I got you!" She brought them to safety, then turned her focus back on the robots. She threw her disks at them, hitting one in the neck. Honey Lemon made one of her chem balls and threw it at several bots, trapping them as they were rolled down the road.
Meanwhile Wasabi and Fred were hiding behind a car. "Wasabi, one of us has to be a decoy." Fred told him.
"Flip for it." Wasabi pointed to a car a Fake Baymax is about to throw. "Roof or wheels?"
"Wheels, obviously." The thrown car does land wheels up.
"How was that obvious!?" Wasabi gawked at the car then back to Fred.
"Watch a movie sometime, a flipped car always lands wheels up." Fred pointed out. "Come on,"
Wasabi ran from his hiding spot and threw a rock at the Fake Baymax. The robot turned to face him, it's eyes roaring a bloody red. Wasabi whimpered at the it's soulless stare, it being a dark mirror to the real Baymax's neutral expression. He screamed as the robot shot lasers at him.
"I DON'T THINK I'M CUT OUT FOR THIS!" He screamed while rolling from the attacks and hiding behind another car in fear. The robot kept firing, unaware Fred was sneaking up behind it.
"Fredzilla time!" Fred roared fire at it but much to his surprise the robot was unaffected by the heat. The robot turned and pinned him down. "Halp!" He screamed as it was about to fire a laser on him.
A laser blade saved him, his friend was panting and kneeling to the ground afterwards. "Wasabi are you okay?" Honey Lemon ran to check on them.
"No, I'm not." Wasabi gasped for air. "I'm… great?" he stared at his hands, a familiar feeling was in him again. "Adrenaline's flowing, I'm feeling it!"
Wasabi activated his plasma blades, no longer feeling anything but the exhilaration of adrenaline. "Okay, who's next? Bring it! I said bring it! While I'm riding this adrenaline wave!" He got up and charged into battle. "Woo! Oh yeah!"
Honey Lemon and Gogo just gave each other concerned looks while Fred flashed a thumbs up to their friend.
"Hiro, do you feel better now?" Baymax asked him as he finished placing the bottom half of the robot's armor on.
"I'll feel better when we beat Yama's robots." Hiro answered. While his healthcare companion reminded him that he was able to save Ari's life by not running the diagnostic, he still felt guilty for letting Yama get a chance to copy his robot. A distant crash caught his attention, he and Baymax tilted their heads at the sound.
"Hang on." He tiptoed out of the lab, a feeling of dread in his gut.
"Hang on to what?" Baymax did not understand the expression.
Hiro was crouching as he looked for the source of the noise. But as he peered around a corner, he saw Yama and a few robots.
"You, guard the door." Yama was telling one of the robots as he touched the screen that brought up a map of the school campus. Why was Yama in the school?
The paperweight! His eyes went wide. "Shh." He shushed the robot sneaking behind him.
"Shh." Baymax shushed back.
"Yama must have sent out those other bots as a distraction." Hiro noted. He was glad that Yama wasn't trying to get Ari back, but it was still bad that he was going to take something.
He got out his phone to warn the others. "Guys, Yama just broke into the school," He whispered. "I-I think he really wants that thing from Granville's office."
"Seriously?!" Wasabi screamed from the other line. "It's a paperweight!"
"Also we're kind of-uhg busy right now!" Gogo sounded like she was throwing her disks at the bots.
"Too… many… robots!" Fred wheezed.
"Hiro, you should get out of there!" Honey Lemon told him.
He couldn't sit and do nothing as Yama stole the paperweight for who-knows-what. "No, Baymax and I will find a way to hold off Yama."
"Ahg! We'll be there as soon as we-" Gogo's voice dissolved into static from the other line, he pocketed the phone and faced Baymax.
"Buddy, it's time to be a superhero." He said with a superhero chip in his hand.
They were hiding behind the corner and watching. Hiro narrowed his eyes at the Fake Baymax on lookout. "First, let's take out that guy, ready?"
"Yes." Baymax nodded back at him. The Fake Baymax stomped down the hall and Hiro snuck to another corner, Baymax tiptoeing after him.
But then his ringing phone alerted the Fake Baymax. It threw a fist he barely dodged. "Hello?"
"Hiro!" His aunt replied from the other line.
"Hey, Aunt Cass, I'm kind of busy." Hiro told her.
"Me too, the seafood market was jammed. But Ari and I got the most amazing deal on butterfish!"
"Hi Hiro!" Speaking of her. It was a relief to hear Ari's voice, reassuring him that Yama wasn't trying to get her after-all. He almost chuckled as he heard groans from people in the background, butterfish tended to smell rancid so he didn't blame them.
"Great but-" The Fake Baymax grabbed him by the hoodie.
Cass didn't hear the yelp. "We just got on the train, so I'll be home soon, okay? Don't snack!"
"Okay, gotta go love you bye!" He ends the call still in the fake's grip. Baymax tries to rescue him and it ends up with the robot being attacked instead.
"Violence is not a recommended solution." His robot was holding both of the robot's fist, restraining it from doing any more damage. Hiro leaped on the Fake Baymax's back and yanked out it's wires. He fell off as it shaked and it's metallic hands ripped Baymax's vinyl and collapsed onto the ground with its head popping off.
"Baymax!" Hiro ran to check on him.
"Oh no." Baymax stared at the vinyl going down his shoulders. "I am in need of repair." And it gave him an idea…
Meanwhile…
Fred and the rest of the nerd gang were finishing up the rest of the robots.
"I could do this all night!" Fred cackled. He didn't realize a robot was about to fire a laser at him but one of Honey Lemon's chem balls stopped it. She encased the entire robot and it dissolved into the wind.
"You okay Freddie?" Honey Lemon asked him as he coughed up the dust.
"Yes, I am thankful to you superhero. Wink." Fred supposedly winked. "You can't see it but there's so much winking going on in here." She gave him a weird look.
Gogo ended the awkward moment by reminding them they had to hurry to SFIT and help Hiro.
Back at the school, the Fake Baymaxes were trashing all the rooms in search of the paperweight. Hiro and Baymax hid behind a corner, the robot's vinyl removed to make him look like a fake.
Yama went up to a locked office. "Key card? Here's my key card." With the snape of his fingers the Fake Baymax bust in. "Tear it apart." Yama ordered.
"Uh okay, Baymax I need you to act like one of the bad Baymaxes." Hiro awkwardly explained.
He blinked. "'Act' is not a command I understand."
"Just do what they do, and get the paperweight."
As the robots are tearing through the rooms, Baymax waddling down the hall with his friend's nodes and gestures guiding him to the correct one. Hiro flashed a thumbs up as the robot went in. Baymax scanned the room to find the paperweight, picking it up and inspecting it once found.
"Hey!" Yama was staring down at him. "Aren't you the one that's supposed to be guarding-" He didn't see the paperweight and was just yelling at the poor robot who was merely scanning him. "Oh never mind, just help them." Yama gestured to the other two fakes in the room. "What are you waiting for?! Find that thing!"
Once looking away, Baymax went for the door as he was in the clear.
But then a book fell on Yama as he searched the shelves. "Ow!" The word made Baymax turn right back around.
"Oh no..." Hiro clenched his teeth with fear.
"Hello, I am Baymax." Yama turned around.
"What?" He stared.
" I was alerted to the need for medical attention when you said, 'ow." Baymax held up the paperweight. "On a scale of one to ten, how would you rate your pain?" Yama smirked.
"Get him." He snapped his fingers.
"Oh no." The Fake Baymaxes pin down the original.
"It's over, Zero!"
"The name's Hiro." Yama looked up to get smacked with a rocket fist Hiro fired. causing him to drop the paperweight on the ground and it cracked. A green light poured out of the paperweight and it attached to a Fake Baymax before Hiro or Yama can grab it.
Too much electricity pulsed from the robot as it twitched and lifted up Baymax. "Oh, no." Then threw him out the window.
Hiro gasped in horror as the robot was barely clinging onto the railing to prevent crashing down.
"Baymax! Hang on buddy!"
"Hiro, you are in danger." Baymax warned him. He saw the paperweight-controlled Fake Baymax creeping towards them. But before it could attack them, it broke from the sheer amount of power forced into its body.
Yama picked up the paperweight. "So that's why he wants it..." He muttered, running out of the door.
"This is not safe, if you do not let me go you may fall." Baymax saw Hiro's grip slipping.
Hiro refused, he couldn't lose Baymax all over again. "No, you'll break!" So he continued to struggle pulling him up, but Baymax slipped from his grasp. "No!" He jumped after him, bracing for the concrete's attack.
A pile of green goop broke their fall.
"This was a positive outcome," Baymax said. Hiro looked up to his friends standing in front of him.
He smiled. "Thanks, Honey Lemon."
"We're not losing anybody on my watch." She told him.
"What happened?" Gogo questioned.
"That paperweight isn't just a paperweight."
Fred gave the others weird looks. "Wait you guys really thought it was just a paperweight? "Whatever the villain's trying to get is never what it seems. That's comic book 101. Granville's paperweight probably has some cool untold power."
"But why would she have something so dangerous on her desk?" Wasabi pointed out.
"Maybe one of it's untold powers is holding down papers." They groaned at the comic book fan but it at least gave them some relief.
"What are we supposed to do now?" Gogo questioned.
Hiro smirked. "We stop Yama, together."
He finished the rest of Baymax's armor while the robot waited to refill with air. But not before putting on his own armor, something he hadn't done since ...coming back from the portal. As he finished up, Hiro was looking down at his brother's hat before placing it on the lab's desk.
"I'm gonna make this right."
They all looked at the city, all geared up, until Fred glanced away with tears in his eyes.
"I always knew we'd all be together again like this." He sniffles.
Honey Lemon placed a hand on his shoulder. "Do you need a tissue Fred?"
"No, I'll be fine." Fred wiped them away.
"Are you sure? Cause we probably should go catch Yama." Hiro asked, but Fred was alright. They were all superheroes now and they were going to save the day.
Meanwhile with Yama!
"This is not just an alloy, you could have told me." He was on the line with his boss, who was working on something on his end.
"Why would I do that? "You're a dog fetching a ball, bring me the ball." He groaned, last time he did something for his boss was to abduct that girl and keep her at his base for a while! Yama didn't know why his boss thought the girl was useful for anything, but he was just glad the man didn't care that she was broken out and didn't order him to go through the hassle of retrieving her.
Though it would be easier than carrying the glowing object in his pocket. "I'm on my way but uh… there is something else. Your ball is broken, just a little bit... bye." He quickly ended the call and picked up the running.
As for the heroes, they were flying atop Baymax. Hiro admitted it was nostalgic and nice again, but now was not the time.
They landed atop a roof. "Alright!" Fred exclaimed. "What do we do now?
"Time to fire up that super-sensor Baymax!" Hiro ordered the robot.
"Scanning for Yama." Baymax scanned the city while he tapped his helmet to analyze the paperweight.
The result horrified him. "Nano-induction…"
"Of course! Please explain though."
"That's what's happening inside the metal! It can amp up anything electric powered to a dangerous level!" Hiro explained.
"Yama is located there." Baymax pointed to where Yama was, sending the location to their helms.
"The train station!" Honey Lemon pressed her two hands together in worry.
"The electric train people!" Wasabi added, realizing what sort of harm could happen if Yama brought that paperweight near anything electric.
"Aunt Cass..." Hiro gasped with horror. "Ari…"
Unaware of the danger potentially harming them Cass was just humming a tune while holding her bag of butterfish.
"That stinks lady!" A passenger yelled. Ari rolled her eyes, the smell wasn't that bad. She was curious how it tasted though. Ari didn't remember eating butterfish ever in her life, though it could just be her amnesia telling her otherwise.
Then the train started speeding up.
The passengers jolted, Ari screamed and clung to Cass.
"Ari it's okay I've got you!" Cass ignored the butterfish slipping from her arms and focused on making sure the sweater girl was okay.
"Why is the train speeding?!" Ari was borderline on tears., "Make it stop!"
Luckily for them outside of the train, Honey Lemon was attempting to slow down the passenger cars that had been recently cut off from the engine thanks to Wasabi and Gogo. As Honey Lemon fired chem balls as Fred carried her, Wasabi on the other hand was in front of the passenger cars and kept getting the disgusting taste in his mouth until a yellow goop was the one that stopped the train in its tracks.
"Woah!" Cass sighed in relief as the train slowed down, she went to collect the dropped fish.
"Don't step on my dinner!" She told the passengers. "It's butterfish, better than other fish!" Ari kept breathing heavy, trying to calm down from whatever happened. She looked out the window to see something red and purple fly by.
"The rest is up to you and me buddy." Hiro told Baymax. "Someone has to help."
Ari squinted as someone in purple armor riding a red robot chased after the speeding engine. The red robot landed in front of the train and tried to slow it down, the purple armored person held his hands out and dragged something off the engine. The thing detached from the train, the red robot being able to stop it's movement. Ari noticed the train was close to the central station. It could've caused so much destruction if they didn't stop it! She realized, then noticed they looked similar to the superheroes that saved her from Yama. They must be their teammates, and I bet that stuff outside the windows is one of the chemical things from the pink one!
But then she noticed the object was glowing bright green, it overcharged the red robot, causing it to blast into the air. She pressed her face to the window, witnessing the purple armored person throw the glowing green object in the air and destroying it. An electrical wave in the air as the object was destroyed, Ari didn't know what it was but she knew it was deadly since it caused that.
But then she gasped as the red robot and purple armored person started falling to the ground. "Oh gosh." Ari couldn't do anything but watch as the purple armored person fell off the robot and just when he got back on they were almost at ground level. But just when it seemed they would crash into the ground, the red robot reactivated at the right moment and flew back into the air.
Ari released the breath she was holding. "Thank you Big Hero 6…"
"A little too close to disaster there." Wasabi pointed out as Hiro and Baymax flew down to them.
"But… it wasn't." Gogo smirked.
Honey Lemon smiled as she placed a hand on Wasabi's shoulder. "We saved a lot of people, together."
"Fred was right all along." Hiro realized as he climbed off Baymax.
The coming fan rubbed his hands with glee. "Yes, Fred was right all along. So what I'm hearing is that we're all fully committed to being a superhero team and we'll sign legally binding contracts to that effect."
"Fred, how about this." Wasabi reached his hand out, just like Fred tried once, his friend chuckled and put his hand in.
"To the power of six!" They all exclaim as they all put their hands in. Guess they were doing the superhero thing after all.
The next day, after Hiro got home from school he was in a better mood than he had the past few days.
"Hi Hiro!" Ari walked up to him waving. "You're in a good mood today, anything good happened at school?"
"Yeah, Professor Granville said I could work in my brother's lab!" Hiro replied. "I was talking to her about what she said to me on balance and it ended with that."
"Sounds great Hiro!" She pulled him into a hug "Glad you're doing better."
"Thanks Ari." He returned the hug. "But uh… Professor Granville mentioned that you visited the school looking for me, how come?"
Ari stepped back to explain. "I noticed how bothered you were for the past few days, I suspected Fred for a bit but decided that getting an answer at your school would be good." She described the whole story of how she was escorted by Sara and met her siblings to criticizing his professor on her words to Hiro.
"Oh, you didn't have to do that Ari." Hiro told her, though her concern for him felt nice, it reminded him of when Tadashi used to bail him out of his bot-fights. He mentally chuckled at those memories, oh how done his brother was with him in those days.
"I wanted to." She stared at him with her determined blue eyes. "You had been so nice to me, and I want to make up for all the kindness you and your aunt have shown me."
"You've been helping Aunt Cass a lot in the cafe." Hiro argued. "You don't have to make it up to me."
"I just don't want to be a burden…"
"You're not a burden Ari!" Hiro exclaimed hearing her say that for the tenth time was making him mad. "Stop calling yourself that!" He gave her a strong hug.
Ari said nothing as she felt the warmth of the hug. This feels… familiar. She couldn't place the memory but she did recall someone giving her a hug in this situation a long time ago.
"I'm sorry for making you upset." Ari sighed.
"Say that you're not a burden and I'll forgive you." Hiro didn't let go.
"You're not a burden."
"That's not what I meant Ari."
"Fine… I'm not a burden."
"Say it again like you mean it,"
"I'm not a burden." Hiro released her.
"Remember that, okay?" As he walked over to chat with his aunt, Ari repeated the statement. I'm not a burden… I'm not a burden… I'm not a burden to anyone.
Later, the heroes did their first night patrol together.
"We didn't set out to be superheroes."
Hiro flew on Baymax, they zoomed past buildings and left a trail of smoke past them.
"But sometimes, life can be unexpected."
Fred leapt into the sky, breathing out fire from his suit.
"The good thing is, my brother wanted to help a lot of people,"
Gogo sped past a train with her skates, outspeeding the machine. She jumped into the air and skidded down the street.
"And that's what we're going to do."
Honey Lemon traveled through the city using her chem balls, sliding to a rooftop with Wasabi cutting the goop left behind with his plasma blades.
"Who are we?" His friends leaped into the air, adrenaline in their veins as they embarked on the first steps to superheroism. And maybe… maybe they'll solve the mystery of Ariel Rosemary and why she was captured in the first place.
But none of them knew that the person who first captured Ari in the first place was staring at them on a screen in a dark, ominous room. He stared at the team of superheroes on screen, no matter who they were his plans would not be stopped.
"Big Hero 6…"
My nerd children the Fern kids have arrived! They're spunky aren't they? Tell me which one do you like the most in the review section!
Now you guys know why Yama wanted Ari, it's because a certain big bad wanted to obtain her. But she's in the clear now.
Also I am done with the "Baymax Returns" part of the fic, yayy!
Next time: Hiro meets another SFIT student, and Ari runs into some colorful characters *wink* See you next week for "Issue 188"
