Days began to blend together as it were as Takashi and Hiro spent more time with each other. The two sharing ideas or just hanging out together at SFIT or Takashi's place. Takashi loved every moment of it… He was with Hiro again… yet it also hurt… Despite how close they were becoming… it still didn't feel the same as it was back before the fire.
"You need to tell him eventually."
Takashi sighed, looking up at Tony. The man had decided to drop in for a visit, wanting to check in on Takashi and tune up any lab equipment that needed some tweaks.
"I know… Just… Ugh… I swear the words get caught in my throat. I want to tell him… but I can't…" Takashi looked at one of his hands, making a small flame. "I… I just don't know if I'm ready to tell him that… I'm not normal… and who I really am…"
Tony put a hand on his shoulder.
"Like I said to you once… It'll come to you…"
"Right…" Takashi put out the fire, running a hand through his hair. "Quite frankly I'd rather take care of the arsonists before I do reunite with him."
"Ah the psychos… How's that hunt going?"
"Could be better… They've been really sneaky the past few fires. They get the heck out before I find them."
"Cowards. Then again you gave them a scare with DVC."
"Yeah. The one time I actually made contact with them…" Takashi shuddered a little. "Their leader honestly creeped me out."
"Can't blame you." Tony messed with one of the monitors, pulling up a file. "Had a friend of mine do some digging. Look what they found."
Takashi looked at the screen, seeing three images of people being shown along with information.
"Yeah I remember those faces… specifically her." Takashi pointed to the picture in the center.
"Dragoness is her code name. Real name, no idea. What is known is she is down right insane. Just loves watching things burn along with the attention that comes with it."
"Some people just like to watch the world burn as they say…" Takashi narrowed his eyes.
"YOU WON'T BE SEEING THE LAST OF US PHOENIX!"
"Yeah I can agree on the insane… Could see it in her eyes… and of course just what she's doing in general along with her lackies."
"Yeah, Flint and Spark but they really aren't worth mentioning too much. Well least according to my friend. They may be part of the grand scheme, but really they're just in it for the attention and of course, having someone else to be insane with."
"I just wonder why they are…" Takashi looked to Tony curious. "I mean… There's usually a reason… right?"
Tony gave a nod.
"Yes… pyromania isn't just a term it's an actual impulse disorder… But for someone to go this far…? There's something else under there too… It's just a matter of WHY they're so desperate for this… It just seems to be attention seeking at this point… Go out with a bang."
"Must be some bang then." Takashi narrowed his eyes again. "Desperation like this is almost the signs of someone in denial about either just losing something or someone-" Takashi stopped himself, shuddering a bit before slapping himself. "Ignore that one. Or they're dying."
Tony hummed in thought. "That… could actually be a possible one… Make a big impact on the world before death.."
"I'm assuming your friend found no record of this being true? Seems they only found so much, considering their original names couldn't be found."
"Files can be lost kid. Records can go missing - You have no idea how hard some info is to track down some days- OR they got rid of those to get people off of their trail. This kind of striking is planned by someone smart but totally insane too." Tony ran a hand through his hair. "Unfortunately this is just speculation at this point."
"Got it…" Takashi sighed. "I just want this over with so I can get back to my regular fire duties… I rather prefer the normal fires over this crap."
Tony gave him a sympathetic look.
"I know… And I know another reason… You said it yourself you wanna wait until this is over to tell the kid."
"Yeah… I want him safe is the thing… and with what almost happened…" A haunted look came into his eyes, remembering the Sacred Flame incident. "I'm more scared of them hurting them, than me doing it by accident…"
Tony gave him an apologetic look, squeezing his shoulder gently. "I know… But that's why we're going to figure this out and get this done… Okay? I promise you will go home."
"Okay… Thanks Tony… I have to ask… What drove you to just be straight with everyone and tell them you were Iron Man?"
Tony smirked a bit.
"I didn't want to be anyone's puppet… I wanted to just be myself… And I was sick of people telling me what to do. I got handed flashcards and everything… Threw 'em aside because I was just so done. They wanted to come at me, they could come at ME not the suit."
"Got ya… I just want to have the same guts with telling Hiro… Telling everyone… I guess I'm just sick of hiding… I love my life here, and training with you and the others has been one heck of a ride but… If anything… I'd give up all of my powers if it meant going home."
"I understand… And trust me if I knew how, I'd get rid of them for you. I know where you really belong is back in the city with your family and friends. We all care about you and just want the best for you… But can you promise me something?"
"Sure… What is it?"
Tony gave a serious look. "Never forget your reason for fighting… And never forget that there's people who care about you."
Takashi was quiet for a bit before nodding.
"Right."
Tony smiled.
"Atta boy."
"Thanks Tony…" Takashi smiled a bit. "Really helps talking to you about this stuff."
"Anything for you kid. You're one of us after all."
"Heh… It's nice not being the only freak in the world."
He chuckled.
"Hey… We're all freaks here. Just a matter of how proud you are of being freaky."
"Well , learned from the best about that one." Takashi smirked. "Darn proud of it."
Tony smirked back.
"Good… Light 'em up."
oooooo
Hiro felt like he was in a slump today. Kokoro just wasn't working at all… and he really didn't care. His mind seemed to be elsewhere.
Well it is late at night… Maybe I'm just tired…
He decided to leave the robot at his station and decided to take a small walk around the lab… but couldn't help but make his way to Takashi's station. He peered in quietly… disappointment coming over him when he saw the station empty.
I know it's late but… he generally is still around at this hour...
"If you're looking for Takashi he left a few hours ago."
Hiro jumped, seeing Honey Lemon behind him.
"Geeze don't scare me like that!"
"Sorry, just thought I'd let ya know." Honey Lemon frowned a bit. "You seem really fond of him."
"Yeah… He's… just fun and…" He sighed. "Can… I tell you a secret?"
"Of course."
"... He… really reminds me of Tadashi… Just… how he acts… heck how he LOOKS save some small things but… It really feels like he's him…" Hiro lowered his head. "Sorry that probably sounded creepy didn't it?"
Honey Lemon shook her head.
"No… Because I feel the same. We all do."
Hiro's head snapped up.
"Y-You do?"
"Yeah… We actually thought it when we first met him… We just didn't bother to bring it up since we didn't want to hurt you… And that thought still holds true… even if we're not sure because of the small things that aren't like Tadashi."
"Is it wrong that I wish it was him?"
"We know how much you'd want your brother back… and we would be over the moon if he came back too. Tadashi meant a lot to us. He was our best friend." Honey Lemon cupped one of his cheeks in her hand. "He was your hero."
"And he still is…" Hiro sniffled a little, quickly wiping his eyes with his arm. "I just… I should see Takashi for who he is… but… I look at him… and I see my brother in his place."
"Shh… I know… Trust me… I know…" She brought him into her arms. "C'mere Hiro…"
Hiro brought his arms around her going quiet. He still felt guilty.
I can't help it though...
"He was in quite the rush when he left."
Both turned, seeing the rest of the gang present.
"Yeah was basically a blur." Wasabi crossed his arms. "Heck I think he was running faster than Gogo's bike."
"Hey don't talk crazy now." Gogo nudged him a bit before looking back to Honey Lemon and Hiro. "But he was moving fast… And he seemed to have this determined look in his eyes."
"I'd say weird but, everyone has important things going on in their lives." Honey Lemon shrugged.
"I dunno." Fred raised an eyebrow. "The way he was running honestly reminded me of how we are when running out for a mission."
Hiro narrowed his eyes. "Like us huh?" But where would he be running off to..?
"Maybe I'm thinking too hard but still… Just seemed weird."
"No I agree… That is weird." Hiro moved away from Honey Lemon humming a bit in thought. "Well… His mom is a doctor… Maybe he had to run home to watch his sister…?"
"That's true and we know how much he cares about his family." Wasabi mused. "Least from what we've seen. Especially with a girl like Lily, I'd be protective too."
"And he loves her a lot. So that's probably it. He was probably just hoping he'd get there quick enough so his mom wasn't late or she wasn't home alone."
"Mystery basically solved then." Honey Lemon sighed a little. "Shame though. Would've been nice to have him join in our night activities."
"... Big Hero 6 and a new guy?"
"Not THAT Fred!"
Hiro shrugged.
"Maybe another time."
And honestly… I would rather a quiet night.
oooooo
Just had to be in my home town this time…
The Phoenix growled as he went charging into a burning building, looking for any remaining victims. Like any other case, it had come out of no where. Least this time around the fire was under better control.
Thank goodness for this middle school it's only partly torched.
He narrowed his eyes as he picked up a reading on his radar. He hurried towards the source… but found no one there.
Did they move…?
"Fancy meeting you here, Phoenix."
He turned around… feeling a chill go through him as he saw Dragoness standing among the flames. Though she had a visor on over her eyes, he could still see her mouth, a sickly smile present on her face.
The Phoenix narrowed his eyes trying to ignore the chill he got.
"Could say the same about you Dragoness. What is it about this place? Bad memories?"
"I just knew it would draw your attention. Wanted to see you again." She narrowed her eyes. "I admit, I don't' like what you did to me at DVC. Really rude to make me and my gang look bad."
"You already look bad with what you do." The Phoenix growled. "You earn nothing from anything you've done thus far!"
She smirked.
"I earn your fear. I earn the attention from the media… This is my show Phoenix… I'm the star here."
"Then what does that make me?"
"The antagonist…" She brought out a grenade. "I'm not letting you get in my way. I will leave this world shining brightly. Everyone will remember me."
Tony was right…
"W-Wait…" The Phoenix held out his hands. "Please… Try to think about what you're trying to do… You can get help-"
"I can't be helped!" She shrieked. "I was told I was gonna die no matter what! I'm not leaving this world as a miserable mess! I'll make others understand what it's like to deal with what I deal with!" She threw the grenade, the object landing right at The Phoenix's feet.
His eyes widened in horror before he quickly started to run, hoping to be somewhat ahead of the blast.
I can't die easily… But this is gonna hurt!
BOOM!
He was thrown back a little, hitting a wall hard. He groaned a bit, getting up weakly. Dragoness was standing in front of him, her visor up this time. She had a look of blood lust in her eyes.
"Be wise and stay out of my way Phoenix… or I will find a way to make you wish you could die. For now…" She turned away. "I'll have some mercy on you… you were ruined by fire like I was with those burns of yours… but next time… watch your back."
Dragoness disappeared into the flames without another word.
The Phoenix growled a bit.
This woman is insane…
But it appears Tony was right…
Something was up… And he would find out.