Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry for not updating sooner! I'm starting college next month and things have been really hectic :/
I'll try and update more frequently, but in the meantime hope you guys enjoy this next chap!
[And there, clear as day, under the list of main engineers who have complete access to the project, was the one that the team had hoped they would never have to see again: Callaghan, Abigail.]
The team was silent for a while, letting the entire implication of the information they had just accessed sink in. Why on earth would Abigail be back on the Silent Sparrow team, and to be so involved as to have full access to the entire project? That thing almost killed her, and set in motion all the events that lead to her father terrorizing the city and now serving two life sentences. Wouldn't a normal person want to get as far away from something like that as possible?
But for all that the six brilliant minds had running through their heads, the best anyone could verbally produce was Wasabi's weak "Wha-?"
"Look, maybe she wants to go back to ensure that nothing like what happened to her ever happens again," Tadashi offered after some time. After all, given how he had gone to see Callaghan in jail after all that had happened to him, he figured that he understood her frame of mind.
Baymax agreed with him, "Some people cope best with personal tragedy by going back to the scene of the trauma to receive closure, and possibly the satisfaction of overcoming the obstacles they had faced."
The rest of the team nodded, all of them slowly accepting the explanations offered to them. It did kind of make sense that Abigail would want to go back and see what they were doing now, on the project that had cost her so much. All of them, that is, except Honey Lemon.
"I don't know guys," she subconsciously twirled her hair as her eyebrows furrowed deep in thought. "Something about this seems a bit fishy to me. I mean, if she just wanted to see what was going on, I'm sure Krei would have let her in as a visitor, or she could have taken a low level job. Why take on such a massive responsibility again so soon?"
"Maybe so that she has a say if they keep doing reckless things?" Wasabi really didn't want to think of the worst-case scenario.
Something in Honey told her better than to let the issue go. "Why not just report them for the first incident so they wouldn't even be able to think about it again?"
"Yeah, but Krei is backed up by the top secret military and God knows who else, I don't think talking to your friendly neighborhood cop would get her anywhere," Go Go wondered out loud.
Hiro frowned lightly and began typing something again, this time pulling up Callaghan's prison visitor records after a few minutes.
"Okay, you really need to stop hacking government datab-" Tadashi's warning to his brother was cut short as the page began to load. Apart from Tadashi's visit last year, there was only one other name on the list. Granted she was his daughter and she probably wanted to see her father, but the visits were increasingly becoming too long too frequently to be purely innocent.
He might be its youngest member by far, but Hiro was also his team's leader, and he turned to face all of them. "I hate to say it guys, but I think we might possibly have to go through Callaghan 2.0, literally." He sighed, running a hand though his messy hair before he continued. "We need to buck up our skills again."
While the team was safely in the Hamada household learning about the possibility of a repeat Callaghan incident, Abigail found herself in the warehouse just beside the one her father had used to manufacture and store his microbots- until Hiro and Baymax had stumbled their way in, of course. The police had shut down said original warehouse upon Callaghan's arrest to search for more evidence. And besides, Abigail thought, using the exact same warehouse is a little too predictable and unimaginative.
She lay out the blueprints of Hiro's microbots in front of her, as well as that of the Baymax Tadashi had made. Her father had given her clear instructions to use the microbots as he had- to destroy as much as she could. He didn't really have a problem with her hurting Krei and some of the other top guns, but she just could not bring herself to do so, no matter how much she and her family had suffered because of them.
Such a blatant disregard for human life, as bad as those people were and how much they had it coming, would make her no better than the worst of them. Abigail just wanted to be a whistleblower. Yes, she had a far more elaborated and high-tech plan than most others who just brought the incriminating evidence to media companies, but said others probably weren't stuck in hyperspace for months thanks to the recklessness of their bosses. Plus, she had no intention of being a murderer. That was not part of the plan.
She didn't have the blueprints for the armor Big Hero 6 had made for Baymax, but Abigail knew she would be able to quickly create a basic one, albeit without any weapons unfortunately, that should be able to hold off any opponents until she could complete her task. Being on the Silent Sparrow team both times, she had gained valuable knowledge- and materials- on how to make protective armor. Gathering all the materials she had sourced from her father's lab and Krei Tech itself, thanks for giving me access to build your company's demise Krei, she set to work, determined to finish making the neurotransmitter band, and a new armor and chip for Baymax by the end of the night.
Re-building the neurotransmitter mask based on the specifics Hiro had faithfully jotted down in the blueprints was no issue. Abigail was genuinely impressed that a kid almost 15 years younger than her could have come up with something like this all on his own, and in a matter of just a few weeks. She did feel a bit bad that said brilliant kid would have to go through something as horrible as this all over again, but she knew he was just collateral, something that might have to be sacrificed in the crossfire. She knew what she had to do, and she knew she would do it.
Sure enough, Abigail managed to build the neurotransmitter and Baymax's armor in a matter of a few hours, and write a new chip for the robot that would ensure it recognizes her and only her as the person it would take commands from. As the clock crept just past eight, she grabbed the band and the chip and got into her hatchback, headed straight for Krei Tech Industries where she knew the portal holding area would be empty by then.
Time to get my bots.
The team was thankful that the semester had only just begun and that there was hardly any homework or projects to do as they drove over to Fred's mansion, a.k.a. their training base. As much as they hated to admit it, months of fighting petty criminals armed with little more than a few hand guns had toned down their ability to take on evil super villains and after all, Tadashi had never had to go into full combat yet so he needed to be taught the ropes.
With Heathcliff's help as a stand-in villain again, the team ran through their criminal apprehension skills, this time both individually and in various sub-teams. ("We might have to split up and attack from various angles," Go Go had noted. "It's best to try out in pairs or trios."). Needless to say, Tadashi, Hiro and Baymax were automatically cast as one sub-team, especially with Baymax being the only one between the three of them with any offensive weapons.
"You need to go on a test flight," Hiro commented to his brother as they observed the other four trying out various pairings and attack methods. "You haven't gone on a real combat flight, it gets pretty rough."
"Combat flight?"
"Try holding on while Baymax does air karate to break off microbot chains. It's not exactly a joyride."
"Would I really have to be flying though?"
Hiro glanced up at his brother (I really need to hit my growth spurt soon, he thought to himself), "Yeah, I mean you're the one with the defensive power, you need to be getting a bird's eye view of the whole thing so you'll know if anyone needs help."
Tadashi nodded, thinking over what Hiro had said while watching his friends sparring on Fred's expansive back lawn. Protecting the team, especially his little brother, was his top priority after all. "Let's go," he turned to head towards his robot, slipping his helmet on along the way.
Shouting across the lawn to let the rest know they were headed off, Hiro climbed on the Baymax, showing Tadashi how to carefully latch on to the second set of electromagnetic catches he had placed on Baymax's armor. "We'll do a few loops and drops and stuff, then head over to the old district so Baymax will practice his fighting without whining."
"I do not whine, I am a robot," Baymax might be encased in impressive and fearsome armor, but he was still the kind-hearted yet slightly confused robot inside. "But yes, I am hesitant to practice dangerous maneuvers above the main city."
"You're too innocent for your own good, buddy," Hiro shook his head, latching on to Baymax himself. "Let's show Tadashi what we really got. You know the drill- wings, thrusters, fly."
The robot obediently followed the commands, and soon Tadashi found himself hanging on for dear life as what he had meant to be a cumbersome healthcare robot performed death defying stunts off of anything he could find.
Hiro laughed at how scared his brother was. "Enjoy it, you big baby. You know Baymax won't let anything happen to us."
"Yeah but-" Tadashi bit back a scream as Baymax entered the railway tunnel, barely out flying a high-speed train, knowing Hiro would never let him live it down if he did.
"Just relax," Hiro sighed, unlatching his hands from Baymax's back and raising them up, reveling in the freedom flying gave him.
"No Hiro don't-" Tadashi unlatched his own hands to hold on to his brother, only to realize just how exhilarating this whole flying thing was. "Wow," he breathed as Hiro smiled, remembering the feeling of flying for the first time.
"Okay buddy," the younger brother leaned down toward the robot, "let's head over to the old area and show Dashi what real showboating is, shall we?"
"Fine, I'll admit it." It was simply impossible to deny how fun unrestricted flying was, even for Tadashi. "This is pretty cool."
Hiro perked up, ecstatic that Tadashi was finally agreeing with his stance on flying. "I told you. What took you so long big br- woah Baymax! What's wrong with you?" Both brothers nearly slammed face first into Baymax's back plate as the robot uncharacteristically halted mid flight without any warning.
"I am sorry for the unexpected stopping Hiro, but my scans revealed the presence of Abigail Callaghan, over there." The robot pointed to an old warehouse just beside the one Yokai had decided to set up shop in.
"You have got to be kidding me," Hiro muttered as he ordered Baymax to find them a quiet entry point. "Hope you're ready Dashi, looks like your first stealth mission is coming up a heck of a lot sooner than expected."
There we go!
I don't have a beta, so I apologize for any mistake in spelling/grammar/vocab etc.
Please to let me know what you think!
I love all you amazing people!