Chapter 4
~Microbots~
'How do I get in?'
"Every year, school has a student showcase." Tadashi stapled a poster to the wall by Hiro's desk. "You come up with something that blows Callaghan away, you're in. But it's got to be great."
Hiro smirked. What? That's it? This is going to be a piece of cake.
"Trust me, it will be." He cracked his knuckles and buried his head into his sketchpad.
Only an hour later, Tadashi was lounging on his bed in his pyjamas, quietly reading a book.
Hiro growled, breaking the silence. He crossed out yet another design, angrily screwing up the paper and tossing it in the bin.
"Nothing!"
Thud
"No ideas!"
Thud
"Useless empty brain!"
Thud. Thud. Thud.
Hiro banged his head against his desk repeatedly.
"Wow, washed up at 14, so sad." Tadashi said, as he casually turned a page from the book.
"I've got nothing. I'm done." Hiro said, throwing his hands up in the air in despair. "I'm never getting in." His hands combed through his disheveled hair as he leaned back in his chair.
Tadashi stood up, finally having enough of Hiro being a drama queen. He spun the chair around and looked his younger brother in the eyes. "Hey, I'm not giving up on you!"
Without warning, Tadashi grabbed Hiro's legs and dangled them from his shoulders.
"Wha- what are you doing?" Hiro said, trying to break out of Tadash's firm grasp.
Tadashi started jumping around the room, jostling his little brother. "Shake things up! Use that big brain of yours to think your way out."
"What?"
"Look for a new angle." Tadashi said cryptically.
"Ughh…" Hiro gave up and let himself freely hang from Tadashi. He looked at his messy desk. Sat in the corner, was a prototype robot he had been working on for when he was completely obsessed with bot fights, before all the ghost stuff had ever happened. He turned his head to get a better view.
'Huh, maybe Tadashi was right…'
The day of the showcase…
"Next presenter, Hiro Hamada." A clear-cut voice echoed across the hall.
Hiro looked towards his brother with nervousness. "Well, this is me." He looked at the stage with fright. So much was relying on this presentation to be successful. He wanted so desperately go to this school but most of all he didn't want to disappoint Tadashi.
The days after Hiro had his epiphany, he never left the garage. There would be loud bangs and an occasional yelp disrupting the night, but whatever Hiro was creating was a mystery. He didn't allow anyone inside and if he did, all evidence of what he had been creating would have been hidden away.
On the third day, Tadashi went down to see what Hiro had built. Tadashi was left gobsmacked. The invention was ingenious.
"Okay Hiro, you're up! Fistbump!" Tadashi held his fist out to Hiro. But he didn't respond. "Hey, what's wrong?"
Hiro blinked.
"I really want to go here," he swallowed.
"You'll be okay, your invention is amazing!" Tadashi encouraged, trying to build some of Hiro's confidence, and nudged him towards the stage.
Hiro gave a shaky smile and a silent thank you before climbing up the steps. When he stood in the middle of the stage, he was blinded by bright lights and felt exposed. He picked up the microphone whilst trying to make himself as small as possible, and held it closely to his chest.
"Uh, hi. My name is Hiro Hama-"
Suddenly there was feedback from the microphone. Hiro jumped and held the device at arms length. He winced.
"Sorry! My name is Hiro Hamada and I've been working on something that I think is pretty cool. I hope you like it." Hiro smiled politely.
"This is a microbot." Hiro showed the sparse audience the tiny robot he had spent days designing and creating.
An audience member looked at Hiro and his tiny robot before awkwardly waddling away from the presentation. Hiro panicked. He started to shrink back even more, losing hope that he could get through this showcase with even one person in that audience that wasn't his brother or Aunt Cass.
He looked towards Tadashi.
His older brother had always believed in him. Even now his eyes were shining with proudness and urged Hiro to continue.
'Breathe' Tadashi mouthed and gestured with his hands in the hopes of calming Hiro.
Hiro closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Clearing his throat, he started again.
"It doesn't look like much, but when it links up with the rest of its pals." Hiro looked at the far end of the exhibition hall, willing the other microbots to gather on the stage. "Things get a little more interesting."
Suddenly, people around the exhibition hall started jumping when they felt something solid brushing past their legs. The microbots made their way to the stage, bringing with them a big crowd of people.
"The microbots are controlled with this neurotransmitter. I think what I want them to do, they do it! The applications for this tech are limitless. Construction! What used to take teams of people working by hand for months or years can now be accomplished by one person. And that's just the beginning." He beamed at the growing crowd around him and started to feel a little more confident.
"How about transportation?" He dangled freely upside down from the microbots as he navigated across the hall, causing gasps of wonder. Hiro hi-fived Tadashi as he made his way back to the stage. "Microbots can move anything, anywhere with ease. If you can think it, then microbots can do it. The only limit is your imagination."
"Microbots!" Hiro said and assembled his microbots one final time.
A round of applause sounded as Hiro bowed deeply.
"That's my nephew! My family! I love my family!" Screamed Aunt Cass as she punched the air with uncontainable excitement.
Hiro's eyes lit up at seeing his brother head towards him. He took off the neurotransmitter, threw it on the stage and jumped down to meet Tadashi. Both Hamada's fists met and flew away, imitating an explosion.
"Haha, nailed it!" Tadashi ruffled Hiro's hair, extremely proud of his little brother.
"Yes, with some development, your tech could be revolutionary." A familiar voice broke the brothers apart.
"Alistair Krei." Hiro said with disbelief. He wasn't expecting the millionaire to be wondering around a university science expo.
"So we meet again, Mr Hamada. May I?" Krei held his out his hand, wanting a closer look at the invention.
Hiro dropped a microbot into his palm.
"Extraordinary..." Krei said as he held the microbot to the light. "I want your microbots at Krei Tech."
Hiro jumped in surprise, looking at Krei with disbelief. The endless opportunities were running through Hiro's mind.
Seeing the brief amazement in Hiro's eyes, Tadashi took a step forward, worried that his brother might make the wrong choice. But as soon as he saw Professor Callaghan heading towards them, he relaxed a little.
"I wouldn't trust Krei Tech with your microbots or anthing else." Callaghan's eyes narrowed at Krei in a cold stare as he walked to them.
Feeling the tension increase and the atmosphere turning a little chilly, Hiro desperately wanted to break it. He looked up at Tadashi who was in turn staring at him. The message was clear. Make the right choice, Hiro.
"I appreciate the offer, Mr Krei, but they're not for sale." The young Hamada said confidently.
"I thought you were smarter than that." He threw the microbot back to Hiro and turned to leave.
Callaghan handed Hiro a sealed envelope. "I look forward to seeing you in class."
"Yes!" Hiro punched the air. Waving the registration letter in Tadashi's face.
The pair made their way outside, meeting Aunt Cass on the steps of the exhibition hall.
She waved at them.
"Alright geniuses! Let's speed those hungry brains to the café, I'll make more of those chicken wings you love!" Aunt Cass said in the singsong voice, skipping down the stairs.
Tadashi tapped Aunt Cass's shoulder. "Actually, Aunt Cass, we'll catch up."
"Oh, okay." She paused, still smiling. "Don't take too long! I'll be waiting in the car. Oh, I am so proud of you!" Aunt Cass pulled the brothers in a tight hug, happiness was radiating from her like the light from the sun. "I'm proud of both of you!"
"Thanks, Aunt Cass." They both chorused, enjoying the awkward embrace from their eccentric aunt.
Tadashi and Hiro watched Aunt Cass disappear into the sea of people that were leaving the building before heading over to the bridge that overlooked a pond and was gently lit by the lamps nearby.
"I know what you're going to say. I should be proud of myself 'cause I'm finally using my gift for something important." Hiro began playfully.
Tadashi looked nonchalant. "No no, I was just going to tell you your fly was down for the whole show."
"Haha, hilarious." Hiro laughed sarcastically but quickly glanced downwards just to make sure. To his horror he saw that his fly really had been down the entire show. "What?!"
He hurriedly pulled up the zipper, looking around to see if anyone had seen him before giving his brother a quick jab in the ribs.
"Ow," Tadashi laughed.
The two brothers stood in comfortable silence, staring off into the distance.
"I'm really proud of you, Hiro." Tadashi turned to face his brother. "You made some pretty bad choices deciding that you were going into bot fighting but I'm glad that you're finally using that big brain of yours. Welcome to nerd school, nerd."
Hiro couldn't help but beam back at his brother. Dropping his gaze back to the ground, he said, "Hey. I, um, I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for you. So, y-you know…" Hiro looked back towards his brother through the bangs that were shadowing his face. "Thanks for not giving up on me."
Tadashi smiled, opening his mouth to say something but stopped. A shrill alarm could be heard echoing in the distance. He narrowed his eyes, seemingly trying to recall where he had heard it before. He ran towards the source.
The two brothers were met with a building that towered over them, a building that they were in not five minutes ago, covered in flames that roared ferociously.
Suddenly, something green caught the corner of Hiro's eye. He looked over to the exhibition center and squinted.
Stood at one of the window panels above the door was Technus.
'Oh no, what's he doing here? Wait…Did he start the fire?'
Hiro looked around him. Everyone was running in all directions, scattering across the courtyard. Fire fighters and paramedics were on the scene, but no one had noticed the ghost in building. He squared his shoulders, feeling for his powers and ready to rush in head first to stop Technus, that was, if the fire didn't get to him first.
Hiro froze and looked to his brother. There was no way he could leave Tadashi on his own, in danger, but he had no way of protecting him. To his surprise Tadashi was no longer stood next to him. Instead, the older Hamada was running to help a woman who was hunched over, holding her arm gingerly as she escaped from the building.
Hiro ran after his brother.
"Are you okay?" Tadashi asked, helping to steady the lady.
"Yeah." She coughed but looked worryingly back at the fire. "But, Professor Callaghan's still in there."
The flames in the building were beginning to become tinged with green and raged with more ferocity. Hiro took a step back, the image of the flames were much too familiar. These were the flames that engulfed his parents… The last time he ever saw them.
Tadashi stood upright in horror. He gazed at the blazing inferno with fear and determination. Clenching his fists, he ran towards the collapsing building.
Hiro jumped. His brother's sudden movement broke him out of his trance. "Tadashi, no!"
He yanked on his sleeve, hoping to dissuade Tadashi from diving in to the fire. Hiro, wide eyed, gave Tadashi a fearful look that said: "Don't do this. I can't lose you too…"
Tadashi pried Hiro's hand from his cardigan and calmly looked him in the eye. "Callaghan's in there." Tadashi reasoned. "Someone has to help."
The older brother backed away from Hiro and made a dash for the building's entrance.
"But Tadashi-!" Hiro reached for his brother as he ran towards the fire. His fingertips brushed the soft fabric of Tadashi's cardigan. He wasn't fast enough.
"TADASHI!" Hiro screamed over and over again until his throat was raw. He was left to helplessly watch Tadashi disappearing into the fire, praying that he would come back in one piece.
The cap Tadashi was wearing fell of in his rush to get into the building and floated towards the ground. Hiro ran to pick it up, clenching it in his hands.
"Tadashi…"
AN – You guys are amazing and so I rewarded you with a kind of cliffhanger, muhaha! If you have time, check out the April Fools' Day fic for BH6 I've written? Can't wait to let you guys see what I'm doing with the microbots hehe. What do you think Technus is up to in the building? Did he start the fire or did Callaghan? ;) Thanks for reading! PLEASE REVIEW!
Review replies:
Papa Mario – Thank you for the review and all the questions! Hmmm maybe Hiro going fully ghost, as of right now he is only partially ghost, he doesn't have a full ghost form yet. However, like Baymac said last chapter, the ectoplasm in his bloodstream is increasing, so maybe he will become a full ghost. I do have a little plan though; hopefully things will be a little clearer and interesting as the story goes on. I would love to draw Hiro as a ghost, but I suck at drawing, I'll have to see if anyone is nice enough to draw one for me :) For now, it's BH6 only with elements of DPverse, but if all goes well and people like this fic enough, I do have some ideas of bringing Danny into it when the BH6 arc is over. We shall have to see!
Allanna Stone – Thank you very much! I'm glad you're loving the fic :)
Angela 3000 – Yay, thank you so much! Let me know again if you think I'm slipping! :) Thank you so much for reviewing every single chapter so far!
bro – Thanks for the review! Muahaha, maybe in the future, you shall see!
Yondaime Namikaze – Wow, your review absolutely made my day and I couldn't help smiling like an idiot at work :) I hope your workload lessens over time so you can have a little freedom. Haha, I kind of feel bad that my fic distracted you for a little bit ^^", it's a good job I don't update often! I just hope I can do both fandoms justice. I'll be focusing on the BH6 storyline for now and slowly introduce more DP elements as the fic goes on. See you in the next chapter! :) Thank you for reviewing every chapter so far!
Guest – Thanks for the review! Is that a good or bad thing? o.O
Madhatterloves Any ship – Thank you for the review! Here's your update! :)
ToscaThorCat – Thanks for reviewing! Haha, I know how you feel, I was bawling as well, haha. Personally, I feel that you are never too old for cartoons. Danny Phantom is one of the best, compared to what's usually on kids tv nowadays…
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