Chapters 2: The Sparrow, the Tempest and the Marvel
Summary: The framework for the Tadashi Hamada Memorial Foundation are coming together, as Professor Granville looks into two anonymous donors. Meanwhile, Hiro does his best to enact his part of the plan: Invite Karmi.
Note: I do not own Big Hero 6 or Big Hero 6: The Series.
At the San Fransokyo Institute of Technology campus, its fastidious dean worked fervently within her office. It was summer break for most students and even professors, but Professor Granville found herself working just as tirelessly as if the university were in session. This, of course, was thanks in part to her protégé entrusting her with the arduous task of standing up a scholarship foundation. And truthfully, Professor Granville was honored for this undertaking, as its namesake would venerate the university's hero and her own protégé's late brother, Tadashi Hamada. The young man who should not only be honored for having risked his life selflessly in a tragic circumstance, but for the life that he lived to make the world better.
Granville reflected on Tadashi, having regrettably not being part of the faculty during his time at SFIT. She could only remark that in his time as a student, Tadashi was a stellar scientist whose crowning achievement was the creation of the healthcare companion, Baymax. Professor Granville could only imagine what else the young man could have achieved. His legacy would live on through this scholarship foundation. Although personally, she actually regarded Tadashi's greatest achievement in swaying his prodigious brother, Hiro, away from his mischievous path towards a… well, mischievous but albeit more academic and altruistic path as a scientist and hero of his own right.
The dean continued to type on her computer, laying the legal foundation and business framework for this non-profit foundation. But thankfully, when it came to the monetary groundwork to stand it up and for the very first awarding of the Tadashi Hamada Memorial Foundation Scholarship, there were many generous donors that made it even possible. Among these donors included Alistair Krei and the Frederickson family, notably from the shaggy young man, Fred, who frequented her campus but was not even a student. Others included Richardson Mole, who appeared to be competing with the aforementioned young man in who was most generous. Of course, Mr. Frederickson having actually being a close friend of Tadashi, continued to out-donate Mole until he would concede defeat. A productive squabble, indeed.
There were droves of donations, large and small from many throughout San Fransokyo and beyond. All of those whom were inspired and touched by Tadashi's story of heroism and his life's work. This was especially after Tadashi posthumously receiving his honorary degree at the recent SFIT graduation, and the memorable speech given by his brother, Hiro. It was evident that many believed in the foundation's mission. For the most part, Granville was able to account for everyone who donated, as their names and even messages of support were providing with each generous donation. But curiously, there were two anonymous donors that had provided a rather exceedingly generous contribution.
As if on cue, she noticed the icon of a new video message on her desktop screen. With a mere raising of an eyebrow, she curiously clicked on it. The message was stated to be encrypted and secured, it simply reeked of secrecy that gave Granville pause to moving forward with the message. When she scrolled to see the written message to find a clue about the sender, she noted that it simply referred to her as "Auntie Grace." With her eyes widening, she knew it could only be one person… "It can't be… Could it?" She clicked to open the video file.
As it initialized, the screen was then filled by an unfamiliar place that appeared to be an economically small room with spartan-like simplicity and minimalistic style. But the face that greeted Grace on this pre-recorded message was an all too familiar face that both shocked and warmed her heart.
"Hey Auntie Grace… It's been too long. I wish I could meet you in person or even video chat with you but… I'm all the way across the world right now, so this will just have to do for now."
There was haughty smirk on the young woman's face, her brown hair tied up into a ponytail neatly behind her. She was wearing an odd white jumpsuit that appeared to be a sleek pilot suit with a single label along her left upper chest that simply read, "CALLAGHAN."
Professor Granville shifted forward on her seat, her elbows now resting along her desk as she rested her head along her hands with a soft smile, "Well, if it isn't little Abby. This is quite the welcome surprise." Granville was exceedingly fond of Abigail Callaghan; she was after all the daughter of an old friend and colleague. During her first tenure at SFIT, alongside Professor Robert Callaghan, she had grown quite close to the young girl during her visits to the campus. But fate was not kind to either Grace, Abigail or Robert, and their paths had diverged under too many tragic circumstances. Abigail was presumed dead for a time; she even attended the young woman's funeral. But Abigail returned miraculously from the other side. And here she was, on the screen smiling and having left Grace this surprise message.
"I hear your back at SFIT now as the dean. I can't think of anyone else better for the role. I know this might be out of the blue, with everything that happened…" Abigail gave a shy chuckle, but soon looked down with a soft but saddened smile, "But when I heard through the grapevine that you were making a memorial scholarship… for Tadashi. I just knew that I had to contribute, I needed to… I can't apologize on behalf of my father for what he did… But I want to honor Tadashi, I owe it to him and to his younger brother. I want to do right by his family. But, until I can meet Tadashi's brother, this is the least I can do."
In the background, Granville could hear knocking on the door as Abigail turned around on the screen to look off screen. In the recording, she could hear the door open, hearing an unfamiliar voice saying, "Sorry to interrupt you, Miss Callaghan. But they are moving the times up and Mr. Tanaka would like you to prepare for the test flight sooner than expected." Abigail nodded towards the unseen voice off screen, "No worries, I'll be down there soon. Thank you, John." The door closed carefully in the background, as Abigail smiled and shook her head.
Gazing back towards the video screen, Abigail chuckled, "Well, looks like I'm back to work. Before I go, I wanted to ask that my donation remain anonymous. I just wanted to drop you a message since I've missed you and I think it's wonderful you and his brother are doing this for Tadashi. I'll continue to support it from afar. I hope to talk to you soon!" Abigail stood up quickly, heading for the door before tapping beneath the screen. The image of Abigail abruptly froze as the message ended.
Professor Granville simply stared at the screen for a moment, then smiled as she chuckled softly to herself, "Yes, I would like that very much, Abigail." It was short message, but it was relieving to see that Abigail was doing well. After all that had happened, she heard that the young woman could not bear to remain in San Fransokyo with all that had occurred with her father. And now it was evident that she was continuing her passion of being a test pilot, undoubtedly somewhere far away on the other side of the world away from San Fransokyo where she left her heart. Professor Granville would just have to look forward to the next interaction she will have with that young daredevil.
Now that the matter presented itself, Granville looked at the two anonymous donors she was most curious about. She did want to look into them and now one was revealed. One of the donations was listed under the pseudonym, "The_Tongue-Cut_Sparrow." It was now most apparent that Abigail was referring to herself as such. At least that one was explained… Curiously, Granville looked to the other and searched if the anonymous donor provided their own hint. This next one was a remarkably large donation, a staggering amount that even exceeded the Fredericksons' and Krei's donations. Cryptically, it was donated under the pseudonym, "The_Tempest."
But it was just the hint Granville needed, as it was practically an invitation or a calling for her to pull the thread and unravel it all. The dean knew exactly who this was and got to work tracking them down for a seemingly long overdue chat.
Professor Granville found herself at the front of a skyrise building in downtown San Fransokyo, it was a commercial building that was home to several businesses taking residence along its many suites. She quickly passed through the lobby and took the elevator to the correct floor that she had ascertained previously, taking note as she walked down the hallway that there were numerous start-up small businesses that were headquartering themselves here. These businesses were most likely just getting on their feet, a stark contrast from the larger tech companies that enjoyed their own entire buildings in the greater San Fransokyo Bay Area. At the end of the hall, the professor stood at the door with a label that simply read, "TEMPEST BIOLABS."
Out of practiced courtesy, Grace knocked on the door three times and waited for a response. She waited for a moment, knocking once more. Once again, she was greeted with silence. Her hand twisted the doorknob to test it, feeling it turn with ease to realize it was not locked. Steadily opening the door, she was greeted with a sight that was not expected of whom she was to meet. Normally, the first room of these business suites would include a small lobby with a receptionist that would lead to small offices. But it was almost barren and empty, save for several stacks of papers, file folders and the occasional chair. "Hello? Is anyone here?" she called out cautiously, trying to announce herself and hoping for some kind of reception.
Noticing a single office door slightly ajar across the room, Professor Granville walked towards it to gain a better angle to peak into it. Within the sliver revealing into the office, she could see a desk with a stack of papers strewn about it. Immediately, her attention was set on the blonde hair of someone laying still atop the desk. With a gasp, the professor swung the door open and rushed towards them, "Miss Amara! Miss Amara! Liv?! Are you alright?" Granville shook the young woman's shoulder, which elicited a shocked response that seemed to startle the both of them. Liv Amara sat up immediately, wide-eyed in shock as she processed who had just woken her up.
"Hey, it's ok. It's me, Grace. Are you alright, Liv?" Granville said softly, stepping forward towards the young business executive with her hands up in a disarming manner to help calm the startled young woman down. The college dean took the moment to truly take her in, it was the first moment in quite a long time that she had seen Liv Amara. The real Liv Amara. And it was increasingly apparent that Liv was very much different from that imposter, on the simple fact that Liv was worse for wear. Even underneath her dress, her frame and posture seemed rather frail and there were notable bags underneath her eyes. It was a stark difference from the vibrance she had once shown, that even her imposter embodied, but now she lacked having had her body detrimentally affected by her own Parasynths.
A moment passed before Liv finally calmed her breathing, she had a palm along her forehead cradling her head momentarily before she swiped her hair back in an attempt to make herself more presentable. "I'm okay, I was just resting… It's so good to see you, Grace," Liv stood up steadily towards Granville and raised a hand towards her. Rather than shaking it, Granville surprisingly came forward as the two shared a hug.
Liv laughed a soft, incredulous laugh, "I wasn't sure you would visit me, Grace. Not after all that has happened…" Granville stepped away but kept her hands along Liv's shoulders, "Miss Amara, of course I would come to see an old friend." Liv couldn't help but smile at the words and its implications that she still considered Liv to be a friend. The professor continued, "And apparently it's been quite some time since we've actually seen each other."
Granville looked directly at Liv's tired eyes, "I'm sorry, Liv. I didn't know what was happening to you, that you were…" The young biotech executive smiled solemnly, "Of course you didn't. No one didn't, and I saw to that… I'm sorry that I deceived you, old friend."
With a fond expression, Granville simply smiled at her, "While it was disheartening to learn that I was not truly spending time with you again… I harbor no ill feeling towards you, Miss Amara. I'm simply relieved to see you, truly this time." With that, Liv smiled wider with a glint in her eye before she was the one to lean forward into another hug, "Thank you, Grace. That… means a lot."
"We have so much to catch up on." After a while, Liv walked away to a corner of the room and started a portable water boiler, "Would you care for some tea? English black tea, right?" As the young woman began to set up two simple Styrofoam cups with tea bags in anticipation, Granville replied tersely, "Yes, that would be lovely."
Shortly, Liv Amara made the cups of tea and handed one to the professor as they casually sat across from each other. Professor Granville continued to take the situation in. Another stark difference that Granville could not help but notice was the conditions in which Liv worked in, they were markedly different from the successes she enjoyed at her Sycorax headquarters and the luxuries they afforded.
As Granville sipped on her tea, Liv laughed lightly as she noticed the professor's observations, "Lovely, isn't it? It sure isn't Sycorax, but I'd like to think it's the beginnings of something greater. When I first came to, it felt like I was losing everything, and this is just a mere shell of a remainder of what I built…" But Liv continued to smile, as Granville simply listened and understood that perhaps Liv has not had the ability to confide in anyone about what's been going on with her. A lot has happened during her time in cryo-sleep, and she had to catch up on all that had had happened in her stead, in her name.
Sycorax fell, the backlash robbed everything from it, and this is what was left of it all. Her reputation was seemingly irreparably damaged, she lost much of what her financial success afforded her, and she lost those who faithfully worked for her and what they thought was an altruistic mission to make the world better. Liv Amara did lose so much in the aftermath, in the wake of her clone's rogue actions.
"But the truth is… I wasn't even certain I would get the chance to wake up again at all. It isn't an ideal world to wake up to, but it was a chance again. Then I remembered that I could start anew and build something even better, plant the seeds towards a better future again. And… plant the seeds for making amends for my mistakes," Liv said, looking outside the window towards a splendid view of downtown San Fransokyo. Granville understood that she was now referring to her donation to the memorial fund, it was a generous donation but under these circumstances, it seemed that it was more than Liv could afford to give. "I understand where you are coming from, Liv. I can appreciate your sentiment but is that amount okay to donate while you recuperate?"
Liv could only smile at the concern, "It's only a start, really. After what Di had done to those two young students, it's not nearly enough to truly help them heal. For my sake, that boy was kidnapped and nearly eaten by his friend. And Karmi… what was done to her was monstrous... I never intended for any of that to happen, Di had gone too far but I was the one who created her. So, I have to find a way to make amends to them. And this is simply a start."
"This scholarship will be for her, right? So that she can continue as a Biotech major?" Liv inquired, now looking towards Granville. "Yes, that's right. Thanks to the machinations of that boy, Hiro Hamada. He wants her to return to SFIT," the professor replied, as Liv nodded, pleased with confirming her theory.
"Good, he's a good friend. That young girl is brilliant and deserves no less, she has way too much potential to do good things in the biotech field. She helped to rid me of the Parasynths after all. It would be a terrible shame if she does not get to pursue it. People like you invested in me for me to pursue my aspirations. I'm relieved she will be afforded that same support," Liv remarked. "But… It's a shame I did not have the honor to actually work with her."
Professor Granville nodded, "I know you two would have gotten along very well. She looked up to you before she got to Sycorax. The real you. Someday, perhaps, you should try to make amends to her more directly. It may do both of you good."
Liv simply laughed as she shook her head, "Yes, perhaps. You've always been a wise mentor and friend, so I'll consider that. But with the trauma way too fresh, it won't be any time soon. So far now, contributing towards her continuing her future will have to suffice."
"Yes, I suppose it will suffice for now," Granville concurred, as the two continued to drink tea together. They would continue doing so for some time, as they would catch up for the first time in a while. Truthfully, Granville was relieved to actually spend time with the real Liv Amara she was fond of.
In a brightly lit bedroom with beige-colored walls and varying hues of purple-tinted furniture, a computer chair was suddenly flung back to the center of the room, nearly tipping and toppling over. "I can't believe it!" Even from outside the house, an ecstatic scream could be heard as a young teenage girl excitedly danced and ran in place. Her long brunette hair bounced atop her cream-colored, turtleneck sweater as she spun around in glee.
"I didn't even know I was among the nominees!" Karmi squealed as she jumped forward and placed her hands on her desk, leaning forward to her computer screen to confirm that she was not imagining it. The screen began to read, "Congratulations Karmi! You have been nominated to receive the San Fransokyo Creative Artist Award!"
Seeing that her eyes were not deceiving her, Karmi stood up again with a vibrant hop as she grinned happily. On her table, two miniature figures stood beside her computer. One was a miniature figure of her hero that she had once been so enamored with, the smiling Captain Cutie toy looking at her.
She reached towards the figure, but instead grabbing another miniature figure that stood right beside it. It was a similar style figure, but the design was different and less like a comic-book superhero. Her Big Hero 6 fanfiction web series allowed her to create a line of chibi Captain Cutie figures that avid fans enjoyed, but this particular one was a custom order just for herself.
With its messy black raven hair and blue sweater, it was her own "mini-Hiro" that has comforted her and kept her company during her time away from San Fransokyo.
She gleefully outstretched the miniature Hiro figure overhead as she spun around once again, until she stopped and looked at the smiling cartoony figure that made her heart melt. In a slightly deeper yet soft voice, not like her own impression of Captain Cutie's voice, Karmi spoke for the mini-Hiro, "Congrats Karmi! You deserve it!" She then squealed and hugged the toy to herself. With no one else in the house, she did not need to be self-conscious.
Then a thought occurred to the teenage genius… Her parents couldn't possibly allow her to return back to San Fransokyo, not after what happened last time at her signing. She was the sole target of the supervillain, Hardlight. While she did attempt to convince her parents that she could handle herself and indeed, she more than handled herself against the supervillain.
She was more than prepared for the arrival of any known supervillain active in the city, and that was why she was ready to take him down with his own technology. Her own personal autodidactic studies of coding and robotics, which was honestly inspired by her time with Hiro, was what allowed her to keep herself busy and prepare for every villain's possible appearance. But she was hoping that they wouldn't appear, as this made it more difficult to convince her parents to let her come back to San Fransokyo.
Karmi looked to the mini-Hiro toy, asking it, "How can I convince them that its safe for me to go back?" As she looked at the cartoon-version of the boy genius, her computer screen suddenly populated the comical image of Hiro with a red-hand print on his face, which meant that he was video calling her right now.
"H-Hiro!?" Startled and surprised beyond all measure, she became flustered and fumbled the mini-Hiro figure around until she finally caught it. She was admittedly not expecting for him to be calling her, as she tried to calm herself down and shyly placed the figure down on her bed to ensure that it would not be anywhere near in sight of the video call. Last thing she needed would be him seeing that she had a toy of him… That would be an embarrassing disaster she wouldn't be able to explain away.
Her olive tan skin was now a rosier tint flushed along her face, hoping that the video call would make it more difficult for him to notice. She took a deep breath and reached towards the widget on the screen to accept the call, when the screen changed for her to be greeted by a seemingly equally flustered young face.
"Hey Karmi!" Hiro said with a nervous smile, one hand clutching an elbow as he shyly wiggled his fingers through the screen. "H-Hey, Hiro!" Karmi greeted him back with nervous enthusiasm, as the two seemed to stare at each other for a moment in awkward silence that could only be eased by their smiles. But Karmi was first to regain her composure, asking the young boy, "What's up?"
As if he was woken from a daze, Hiro shook his head quickly and rubbed the back of his head shyly, "Oh, right! Umm… I just wanted to congratulate you for winning the Shimamoto Award! Your fans really love your work! Great job, you really deserve it!" Karmi's eyes seemed to sparkle for a moment as she leaned forward, her face an even rosier tint, "Oh, thank you! I was really surprised I even got entered for it!"
Then the biotech prodigy swayed her head to the side in a curious manner, "Wait… How did you know about that?" The boy genius' eyes widened and then he laughed shakily, raising a finger up, "Oh, well you see… I heard from… Honey Lemon! Her and her SFAI friends follow the Shimamoto Awards and… she was so excited to hear that you were nominated… and told me about it… Yeah, that's how. I'm sure you'll hear from Honey Lemon soon."
As the young boy chuckled, Karmi appeared to buy his answer and nod, "That's really sweet of you guys. Thank you, it really means so much to hear that from you guys…" But the ecstatic expression she held seemed to lower. While she still smiled, Karmi's face became more solemn as she looked down and hugged herself. Hiro noticed this, concerned, "Hey, are you ok? I would've thought you would be happier about the news?"
Karmi smiled softly at him, "No, I am. It's wonderful news… It's just… I don't know if I can convince my parents to let me go back to San Fransokyo after what happened with Hardlight…" Hiro leaned forward, with a look of determination, "But you were the one who handled him, Karmi. You were so brave. It wasn't even Big Hero 6 who defeated him, you did. You can handle yourself and you proved that, they should be proud and comforted that you can keep yourself safe."
"Hiro…" At that, Karmi was practically speechless and felt her face burning. She was moved by his reassurance and confidence in her, but she still felt like it was a losing battle to come back to the city. She continued to hug herself, "Thank you… But I was targeted… My parents are just worried for me and wouldn't want me to defend myself in the first place… So, I don't know if they would be okay with me going to the city if there is still a risk of me being targeted again."
Through the video screen, Hiro smiled sympathetically with her, "Well… What if I could make it harder for them to say 'no' to you? Make it even harder or deter anyone from even targeting you?" Karmi could only look at him puzzlingly, "What do you mean? How?"
Hiro smirked haughtily with an air of confidence, leaning slyly on his chair but it slipped and rolled away as he tripped for a moment. Karmi could only smile at him, as he coolly recovered himself by leaning on the desk instead, "Well… I have a plan to make it the safest event with the most security that would make any supervillain hesitate to crash." In the screen, he lifted a hand and used his fingers to list off his security plan, "For one, Mr. Krei is willing to loan a bunch of buddy guards. Two, Professor Granville will be bringing her own security bots from the SFIT campus that she's been upgrading… Three, I can get Chief Cruz and San Fransokyo's finest to provide protection-"
Karmi quickly interrupted his finger list, "Wait, wait… How do you have connections with the police chief!?" The boy genius held up his three fingers while he thought about his answer, he couldn't very explain that the police chief and he had a complicated relationship after he had revealed his identity and rescued his daughter, Megan, from Trina's attack on the city.
In an attempt to be cool and suave, the boy placed his hand on his hip and pointed his finger slyly, "I'll have you know I have many connections! And as for Chief Cruz…." His eyes travelled around his room, "Ummm… well, he happens to really like my aunt, so there's that…" It was an embarrassing excuse but plausible, he had to admit.
Karmi chuckled as she looked at him mischievously, "So, you're just asking your good ol' 'Uncle Cruz' for a favor then?" Hiro scowled in disgust, "Oh, no, no, no! He won't be my uncle. That's not going to happen. Mr. Krei tried and failed. Chief Cruz won't fare any better..." Karmi chuckled as the boy rubbed his hands together as if he was scheming, but he caught himself and resumed his finger list as he cleared his throat.
"Anyways…. Number four: Globby will be attending and wouldn't let anything happen to you, he always wanted to thank you when you and Honey Lemon worked hard to help him," he smiled as he held his fourth finger up. Karmi was touched, "That's really sweet of him." Even though the man chose to regain his "Globby" form, it was great to help him and that was when she and Honey Lemon became "bio-besties."
"And best of all, we happen to have access to Big Hero 6's 'halp' line thanks to Richardson Mole when he was San Fransokyo's temporary mayor. So, we have Captain Cutie and his team on speed dial, and I know he would rush over to keep you safe," Hiro held up his hand and beamed his smile at her, finding it funny that it wasn't a lie. For obvious reasons, he was actually speaking for Captain Cutie.
Karmi couldn't help but smile shyly back at the young boy, "You… really thought this through, didn't you? It's a great plan, it really is-" Hiro smirked as he continued for her, "Genius? I know." She laughed as she shook her head at him, "You still have such a big head. I see that hasn't changed."
"It's mostly hair, actually," the boy genius ran his hand through his messy hair as he chuckled, the two teenage prodigies shared a laugh together. When their laughter died down, Karmi asked, "You really think my parents would consider it, with all of that in place?"
That look of confidence and determination returned on Hiro's face, "I do, Karmi. I really want to see you…" He paused for a moment, almost losing that expression as he felt himself blush, "I want to see you get that award. You really deserve it." It was hard to notice his flustration, as Karmi was feeling rather flushed, too.
"But… what if they still won't let me?" she asked, fearing the worst. But Hiro continued, looking directly at her, "They'll listen to you. Don't give up, Karmi. Because I'm not giving up on you. So, you need to believe it can work and keep fighting as you have been." Hiro spoke with such conviction and confidence, even speaking the same words of his late brother, Tadashi. "So, please. We'll all support you, just don't give up. Talk to them, please."
"Hiro…" Everything he was saying, all that he had done to already support her… The doubt and fear were still there, but it was like so much weight was starting to come off of her. But what came next just completely threw it off of her, along with any semblance of composure she could muster around the boy.
Suddenly, Hiro clapped his hands together and, in that moment, Karmi could almost swear she could see stars twinkling in his eyes as he expertly pleaded with refined effect, "Please, Karmi." His voice was soft and pleading, lips pursed. The biotech genius was completely thrown off, muttering to herself, "Holy puppy eyes!"
That wasn't fair, she didn't know he could have such an expression. How could you say no to that? She could only cover her face as it felt ablaze, "Okay, okay! I promise, I won't give up, Hiro. I'll talk to them…" She looked to him, "Thank you… for supporting me."
Hiro grinned with the victory, "Of course, Karmi. That's what friends do. We care and support each other." At that, Karmi tried to regain herself, pulling along her long ponytail as she played with it nervously. But then she recomposed herself, as she slowly ran a finger along her ear to run a loose strand behind it and smiled at the young boy, "Thank you for caring about me, Hiro. I-" She hesitated, there was something she wanted to tell him but seemed to consider it.
But this time it seemed that Hiro would become the more flustered, as he listened to Karmi, he could not help but notice the way that she was looking at him. Her expression… He'd seen it before, but only when he was clad as her "Captain Cutie." It was a look of adoration he had seen when he… stepped towards her as his superhero self, when he was expecting a…
The young boy became overwhelmingly flustered and panicked, "Oh, would you look at the time! S-Sorry, Karmi, I have to go… do busy things… Can't wait to see you at your ceremony! Bye!" Hiro lunged forward to hang up the video call abruptly, as Karmi remained bug eyed at the sudden departure. Then she smiled to herself as she shook her head, endearingly commenting, "Weirdo."
She thought about their conversation, how he cared for her enough to make a plan to support her coming back to San Fransokyo for her award. It made her giddy. She leapt onto her bed and squealed into her pillow excitedly, turning to look at the mini-Hiro figure beside her. With a tender smile, she squeezed it as it sounded off with her best Hiro impression, "You're my friend! I care about you!"
Karmi hugged the figure closely, "He really does care about me!" With that, Karmi was filled with the courage and conviction she needed to get her parents on board with letting her go.
Back at Hiro's room, the boy just stared at the blank white vinyl belly of his healthcare companion, where Karmi's adoring expression had previously graced it. The boy genius couldn't believe his sudden panic as he chuckled to himself, "I'm… such a mess." He sat down and slunk down into the seat.
"/Hiro, your heart rate is elevated. Based on your heart rate and other nonverbal signals, I have determined that you are experiencing-/" Baymax pointed out, a heart-shaped symbol containing two people within it populating his chest. But the robot was immediately interrupted by his companion with a nervous chuckle, "That's ok, buddy. You don't have to point it out. Let's keep that a secret, Honey Lemon and the others don't need any more fuel."
The young boy gazed over at his desk, right beside his trusty MegaBot was the "Captain Cutie" mini-figure he got from Karmi when they last saw each other in person. He grabbed it and pressed on its chest, Karmi's Captain Cutie voice rang out, "I'm a dream boat!"
He chuckled to himself, still blushing as he thought about how she looked at him. That expression was no longer reserved for his superhero identity… He smiled goofily, "I'm her dream boat now."
Author's Note:
Well! This was a long but fun chapter to write. First of all, when I thought about how big having a Tadashi Hamada Memorial Scholarship was, I knew I wanted to explore other angles and that included the Callaghans (particularly Abigail) and Liv Amara. They really need to be included in the canon, they both have the same unfortunate fate of being rescued and then left out of the story when there is just too much potential!
PS. I characterized Abigail to be closer to how I present her in my other fanfic, The Penitent Sparrow. We just don't have much of her at all, and it frustrates me. Show my girl love and bring her into the show!
Anyways, I really loved writing Karmi and Hiro in this. Their dynamic is different now, and that presented a challenge for me to write it but I liked it. Karmi especially has changed, so I want to see how she interacts with Hiro. Especially with Hiro knowing how she feels about him.
I had to get this out today though, it's a big day! For other reasons yes, but for us BH6 fandom. It's Big Hero 6's sixth anniversary! So I hope you enjoyed this chapter in commemoration of an amazing film and series that continues to inspire and influence me!