Author's Note: I just wanted to say…OVER 1k VIEWS?! This has been looked at more than Bad Idea, my most popular fic at the moment. Thanks everyone. Can I get some reviews from you guys? It feels great that you all love this story,
Also wanted to respond to some reviews:
Jettmanas: Glad I didn't accidentally spoil anything. I tried to imagine how the counseling scene would have gone based on personal experience (just having someone to talk to with a non-bias stance was wonderful) and trying to flesh out Rogers' character was nice, too. I felt bad that Hoffman didn't get much characterization, but I didn't know how to do it.
Superavenger212: What I have in store really isn't much and I wish I could have fleshed it out more. But all things must come to an end and I hope you like it nonetheless.
Lexrilfrostvale: I already sent you a PM in response and I wanted to thank you again for your critiques on how Tadashi was treated. I didn't really know how to focus on him without distracting from the story (which really wasn't much to begin with XD) and I might write a sequel – MIGHT, maybe a one shot – in the future following up on this with Tadashi getting better treatment. I'm also addressing it here, too. Thanks again for your observations.
Wanted to get this chapter out before Countdown to Catastrophe…and failed. I didn't get this thing written out as I wanted to before then, but I'm amused and impressed (without spoiling anything to anyone who hasn't seen it yet) with how the season finale went.
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They stayed in the embrace for a full minute. It might have lasted longer if Hiro didn't start feeling uncomfortable about a few things; the iciness in his chest, the things he needed to talk to Tadashi about, the fact that few people would want a hug that lasted too long. But he hated having the hug to end, nonetheless. Hiro gently pushed himself away from Tadashi and looked up at him.
"We need to talk."
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Fred offered to let them talk at his place, thankfully. The private lab was a little too close to Granville – and Hiro really didn't want her fainting away at the sight of his brother – and the cafeteria was way too public and Hiro wasn't sure if he was comfortable heading there after his scene with Karmi – he needed to apologize to her somehow. The library would have just been too easy for anyone to eavesdrop on the conversation due to the "No Talking" rule obviously enforced.
Heathcliff drove them and then led the two brothers into Fred's room – which the gang had typically hung out in anyways. He and Fred closed the door behind them, but Hiro knew that they were right outside the door in case anything happened. Hiro gestured to the couch and they both sat on opposite ends.
"Look," Hiro took a deep breath, "Tadashi. I'm still not over it. And part of me wants to strangle you for doing exactly what I would do that got under your skin."
"And that is…?" Tadashi asked nervously.
"Being reckless," Hiro glared at him, watching his brother shrink a little. He winced, realizing that the others might have already chewed Tadashi out several times already. He had to rethink this a little. "Don't get me wrong, I want you here. I still care about you. You're my bro, that'll never change."
Tadashi's expression softened a little.
"I promise I'm not going to keep secrets from you, starting now," Hiro continued, "Because you deserve that right. First off…"
He took a deep breath, but Tadashi cut him off.
"You're a part of Big Hero 6. And go by the name of Captain Cutie."
Hiro's face went red, "That was not my choice! Karmi made it up in her fanfic –"
His face went even redder when he saw Tadashi smirking at him. Jerk.
"What would you want to be called, then?" Tadashi asked gently.
Hiro paused, "Okay…you got me there…wait, you know already?!"
"The others told me the first day back. Honey Lemon said that they felt like they had to."
"Sooo...you're not upset…?"
This proved to be the wrong thing to say, Hiro realized, as Tadashi's face went pale.
"Actually, I am."
"Does Aunt Cass know?" Hiro asked quietly.
"Only if you told her."
"Wow," Hiro chuckled quietly, "this makes my whole 'being mad at you for being reckless' point…pointless."
"I just don't get it, though," Tadashi said quietly, "The others said you wanted to do this to get closure."
"You know that, too?"
"Yeah," Tadashi dropped his head, either in apology, shame, or repressed sadness, "About Callaghan. And the portal…"
"And Baymax?" Hiro asked nervously.
"You mean how you built him that giant suit? And took out his Health Care chip and ordered him to kill Callaghan? And how his first body's still in that dimension?"
Hiro paled. The shame of what he nearly turned his brother's creation into, what he nearly destroyed, made him want to sink into the floor with shame.
"Or that he helped you snap out of that funk and stopped you from doing something you'd regret later?" Tadashi's voice, Hiro realized, wasn't at all accusatory like he had imagined it would be. Just matter of fact. Except for the last bit, where there was an underlying sense of warmth and relief.
"There's a whole lot I want to tell you," Hiro looked over his shoulder, trying to master his emotions, "And I don't think I can tell you in one sitting."
"Why are you still doing this, bro?" Tadashi asked in that same quiet voice, "Why are you doing something like that every night?"
"Well," Hiro started, "We don't do this every night. Just a couple of times a week or if we hear something on the news. I mean, it's not like we're in the worst place on Earth."
"That…" Tadashi tried, but then stopped. He took a deep breath and tried again, "That…is a lot better than what I was expecting. You're still getting enough sleep?"
"Trying to," Hiro admitted, "And then there's SFIT. I know Granville's on my case a lot if I'm running late on an assignment."
"You haven't answered my question, Hiro," Tadashi said more firmly. Hiro looked in his direction again and found that he wasn't glaring. More inquisitive. Anxious.
"I already told you that we formed the team just to get closure on what happened," Hiro explained, picking up the television remove and holding it in different angles, keeping his brother in his line of vision, "Then Fred wanted to continue doing it because of how fun it was. To him, at least. We all thought differently. Wasabi said he felt even more nervous about everything. Go Go thought it was stupid, since we didn't live in a comic book and villains wouldn't magically appear out of nowhere, now."
Hiro smirked, now, "Fred still hasn't let her live it down ever since the baddies started coming."
"And what about Honey Lemon?" Tadashi asked quietly.
The smirk fell from Hiro's face, "We already lost Baymax's body in the portal. And you. And they almost lost me. If he hadn't taken the memory chip out and slipped it into his rocket fist, he would have been gone forever. She didn't want to lose another friend."
Tadashi looked down, trying not to remember how everyone reacted that first day. Go Go still wouldn't look at him, like she was afraid of hitting him again. Wasabi tried to act as though things were back to normal, but Tadashi could tell that he was forcing it, making every word Wasabi said seem fake. When they were alone, Honey Lemon had told him that she was hurt that he had put his life in danger and asked what he was thinking when he did that.
Even Fred showed moments here and there that things weren't completely normal, too. He seemed more cautious, nervous, almost panicking when Tadashi wanted to conduct the experiment. Where was the old Frederick Fredrickson that went giddy when comics were brought up? Who volunteered to be a test subject for the last three projects Tadashi worked on before the idea of Baymax was conceived? What had happened to one of his best friends in the world, the one Tadashi saw as a brother?
"And what about you?" He found his voice.
Hiro went quiet for a moment, "I wanted to move on. And rebuild Baymax when I found his memory chip. And make you proud."
"I'm always proud of you, Hiro. You know that."
Hiro smiled and felt the iciness inside melt a little, "I just wanted to keep doing that, then. Make sure you didn't get me into SFIT for nothing. And Granville is always on my case about following the rules and stuff. I mean, she doesn't really bully me, but it feels like…like…"
"Like she didn't want you to do something dangerous?" Tadashi offered.
Hiro shrugged, "Maybe. I don't know. I don't hate her, she just really scares me sometimes."
"What about the supehero stuff" Tadashi finally asked, "Why did you decide to make 'superheroing' a full-time thing?"
"Yama stole Baymax's exoskeleton and Fred and I tried to get it back," Tadashi flinched, biting back the almost reflexive 'What were you thinking?' that came to mind, "And the others saved us before anything happened. Then, it turned out Yama cloned the first exoskeleton and made an army that the police couldn't handle, so we had to go out and stop them before anyone got hurt. Then that paperweight from Professor Granville's desk turned out to be something that supercharged anything that ran on electricity and ended up on the train and we had to destroy it…"
Hiro huffed, "And by the end of the night, we decided that…well…someone had to help."
"And you've been doing this for…a month?" Tadashi asked. "I mean, it took me months to get Baymax's exoskeleton right –"
"Actually," Hiro chuckled nervously, "It took me about a week to rebuild Baymax, and half a week before his body was functional."
Tadashi shook his head, a low chuckle rumbling from his chest, "You always were a showoff."
He paused, thinking on what else he wanted to say.
"So…how are you doing, otherwise? Have the, uh, panic attacks…stopped?"
Hiro's grin slid off his face. He spoke quietly, "I don't know…I mean, I'm still taking medication to stop them from happening and so I can talk to you. But…I don't know. I mean, it's like trying to fight off some kind of…I don't know…a cold. When the attacks happen, my body just goes numb. And the medicine helps, but I can't rely on them forever. But I'm feeling a lot more in control now, after talking to Mr. Rogers and seeing you for real.
"Maybe the panic attacks will go away forever. Maybe they won't. But I still want to see Mr. Rogers and I still want you in my life. It was…nice, being able to talk to someone who could listen. I mean, the others, they listen to me and offer solutions, but…there're still stuff I'm not comfortable talking to them about. I just hope that…when the time comes, I can talk to them about anything."
"Are you mad at me?"
"Yeah," Hiro muttered, "And scared. And hurt. You looked me right in the eye and still ran in."
Tadashi flinched, "Hiro, I –"
"Look," Hiro held up a hand, "I know you can't pass up the chance at being a hero because it's the right thing to do, but there are limits! I mean, you aren't even a firefighter dammit! That's their job to rescue people when its possible. Don't you remember all those fire drills when we were younger? Never go back into a burning building! You just give the firefighters another person they have to risk their lives to save!"
"I'm sorry. For putting you all through that…"
A though occurred to Hiro, something he realized was overdue in contemplating.
"Tadashi?" He started, "How are you doing?"
"Me?" Tadashi blinked.
"Yeah…the fire and…" Hiro's voice trailed off.
Silence.
"Tadashi?"
"Sorry," Tadashi shook his head, rubbing his left eye, "I think that's the first time that anyone's asked me that for real…"
He didn't finish talking as Hiro rushed into him and wrapped his arms tightly around his brother's neck.
"Well, I'm going to ask," Hiro muttered, "Are you okay?"
"I will be," Tadashi wrapped his arms around Hiro, "Now that we're talking to each other."
Hiro took another deep breath and continued, "The only thing I'm still trying to figure out is how you're still alive…you still trying to figure that out?"
Tadashi rubbed the back of his neck nervously, "That's…uh…kind of what I wanted to tell the others when I was ready to."
Well? Hiro wanted to say, but he remembered his own struggle just getting to this point and thought against the idea. Tadashi gave him his space, now Hiro had to pay him back in kind.
They both jumped when they heard a loud buzzing! coming from outside the door. A moment later, Fred barged in, holding his phone up to show the brothers Go Go's face on the screen.
"Globby's at it again!" He said, "Downtown."
Hiro pulled away from Tadashi, "Let's suit up, then."
Fred's face faltered a moment later when he realized who he was talking to, "Hey, Hiro, you don't have to…–"
"I've been taking a break for a month, I'm done resting," Hiro stood up and pulled out his phone, ready to contact Skymax.
"But Hiro," Tadashi began.
Hiro looked at his brother with a determined expression, "Tadashi, I'm not going to get hurt. I promise."
He started walked when he felt a hand on his shoulder.
"I was just about to say I wanted to come with you. I have an outfit ready."
Hiro stared, "What."
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Go Go ducked at a gooey tentacle lunged at her and tossed one of her discs. It hit its mark, but Globby let his body stretch like rubber, keeping the disc from exiting through him and let it pull further, further, further, until…
Thwung!
Go Go ducked as the disc flew back at her, at heard it slice through a telephone pole. She moved out of the way right as it fell and darted after Globby.
"Honey Lemon, ice him," Go Go ordered, "Wasabi, get ready to slice him."
Honey Lemon threw an ice-blue Chem Ball at Globby, only for it to be pulled back and catapulted at her like Go Go's disc. Wasabi flung himself at Honey Lemon and pulled them both out of the oncoming projectile.
"I'm really starting to hate this guy, now," Wasabi groaned.
"I'm used to it," Globby smiled and threw his left hand at them again, this time, shifting its form to metal…before it collapsed on the street.
"Oh yeah," he muttered, "Metal's heavy…"
A moment later, his arm rose from the ground, Globby smiling again, "That's better."
"What did you just do?" Wasabi asked as he pulled Honey Lemon up. He pulled her to the ground again as the metallic arm shot out at them, hitting the wall behind them.
"Just coated the outside with metal and kept everything else the same," Globby pulled back his arm and molded his body to form a wolf, "Like armor."
"I have to admit, that's pretty clever," Honey Lemon nodded enthusiastically.
"Hey HL, maybe we can talk about his battle strategy later!" Go Go dashed in front of the two and charged forward.
"No, think about it," Honey Lemon pulled Wasabi up and tapped her Chem-Purse, pulling out a pink ball a moment later, "An outer coating is easier to maneuver than his original idea, but he's still turning a part of himself metallic."
"Your point?" Go Go somersaulted over Globby as he charged at her and started closing in on Honey Lemon. She started moving to the left, right as Wasabi swung his blade at the villain.
Globby separated as his body connected with the blade and reassembled behind Wasabi.
"Ew!" Wasabi jumped from one foot to the other, "Now I'm covered in Globby! I need sanitizer! I NEED SANITIZER!"
Go Go tapped the communicator in her helmet, "Fred, where are you and Baymax?"
"Um…we're getting really close," Go Go rolled her eyes at this, "I can see lots of purple…no, no wait, I'm sorry. That's Hiro's outfit I'm looking at and – whoops…"
Go Go's eyes widened as she took this all in.
"Hiro's here?!"
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"Fred," Hiro gazed at the streets beneath them, trying not to scream with delight from flying on Baymax again, "I thought we agreed that we'd keep me a secret until we got there!"
"No," Fred corrected him, "We agreed to keep Tadashi a secret until we got there. Right, Tadashi?"
He turned his head over his shoulder, catching Tadashi's eye and repeating himself, "I said, right Tadashi?"
"Uh, yeah, sure," Tadashi nodded and tightened his grip around Fred's waist, "Remind me to make seatbelts for this."
"We flew in the air for a few seconds on your moped," Hiro countered, "Besides, this is so cool!"
"Tadashi," Baymax added, "Your heartrate is: elevated. Indicating: distress. And your body temperature is low."
"I didn't have much time to make a suit for this, okay?"
Hiro snorted, "Yeah. That ninja outfit sure looks half-assed."
"At least it covers most of my face," Tadashi said dryly. It was true, only his eyes could be seen while the rest of his body was covered in black. Head to toe, his face even covered with a mask, Tadashi stood out in the light of day.
"See, you're just trying too hard," Hiro continued more casually, "If there's anything that Fred's comics have taught us, it's that people believe what they want to believe."
"Well, I believe you need to put in more effort in disguising yourself in public."
"And I believe we're seeing Globby now, so we'll pick up on this later," Hiro pointed downwards, "You know what to do, Baymax."
"Preparing for landing," Baymax said and dove down. A moment later, he finished his touchdown to the street and got down on one knee, "Proceed with caution when exiting, as you may experience: vertigo or: nausea."
"Definitely feeling the nausea," Tadashi held a hand to his head as he dropped down. Fred followed suit, landing on top of him with a crash!
"Sorry, man."
"Hey guys," Hiro waved as he got off Baymax a moment later, "Did I miss anything?"
Wasabi, Go Go and Honey Lemon all stared. Globby looked pleasantly surprised for a moment, before he seemed to realize what he was doing and shook his head.
"Well, if it isn't Captain Cutie, the Human Backpack," Globby sneered.
"Urgh!" Hiro gritted his teeth, "That is not my superhero name, first off. And second off…"
His eyes widened, and he grumbled, "Point taken on the second bit…"
"Which means I don't have to worry about any laser-eyes," Globby stretched his arm out, transforming it metallic. Hiro simply raised a hand and let loose a pulse of magnetic energy. Globby's eyes widened as his metallic arm didn't stretch further. Hiro smirked and moved his hand toward the ground, slamming the arm into the concrete.
"Huh. Magnet gloves," Globby muttered, "So that's how he stays on that robot all the time."
"FIRE BREATH!" Fred jumped and let loose a stream of fire. Globby let it wash over him and suddenly absorbed the flames, coating his entire body in it.
"HAH!" Globby smirked triumphantly, "I'm FINALLY HOT! TAKE THAT, MOM!"
"Not for long," Tadashi said, jumping in. Globby rolled his eyes and tossed a fireball at him, smiling when Tadashi was quickly enveloped in flame.
"TADASHI!" Go Go screamed. Honey Lemon covered her mouth. Wasabi collapsed onto the ground.
Hiro went pale and started muttering, "Come on, come on, come on, come on…"
Fred simply looked at his watch, as if expecting something to happen.
A moment later, the flames vanished, leaving no trace of ashes or Tadashi behind.
Globby's smile slid off his face, "Huh?"
Go Go stared as a flicker of flame appeared and went in an instant, leaving Tadashi standing in front of her.
"Phew," Fred sighed, "he was having trouble with that one."
"Wasabi," Honey Lemon fanned him, "Wake up, Tadashi's alright."
"Didn't see that coming," Globby stared. Tadashi started to glow brighter and brighter, raising his hand similar to how Hiro did a moment ago. Suddenly, Globby was choking as the flames surrounding him began to dwindle, "Ack! What's happening?!"
"Fire uses up oxygen," Tadashi said in a deeper voice. Hiro shook his head, trying to comprehend what was going on. Even with the warning earlier, he still couldn't understand, "And you're just a walking lit match."
Globby started coughing as the fire began to draw away from him and come towards Tadashi, enveloping him in a cloak of flame. He quickly turned into a puddle of water and slithered towards the nearest sewage drain.
"I got it," Hiro raised his hand towards the fallen telephone pole and guided the loose wires towards the puddle, missing Globby by mere moments as he disappeared into the sewers. He shook his head and sighed, "We'll catch him next time."
"Wh-what?" Wasabi groaned, finally reviving from Honey Lemon's amateur administrations, "What happened?"
"It's, uh…" Tadashi rubbed the back of his head, "Kind of a long story…"
Go Go looked at him and smirked, "Maybe you could tell us after you put pants on?"
Tadashi's eyes widened underneath his mask, "Wait, what?"
"Your clothes are gone," Go Go said bluntly, "Like the underwear, though. Way to stick close to accuracy."
"It was one of the few pieces of fabric that didn't burn on contact," Tadashi gritted his teeth as he covered himself.
Wasabi finally looked up and saw Tadashi standing in the middle of the street wearing nothing but his mask and the fundoshi. He fainted away once more.
"Wasabi, come on!" Honey Lemon groaned until she noticed what he was looking at and blushed.
"Too easy," Hiro muttered, though a small smile graced his face.
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Author's Note: The epilogue should wrap a few things up and leave a cliffhanger for a possible sequel. I'm not planning on writing that sequel anytime soon since I barely have any ideas for it and want to focus on other ideas that are older and more developed.
I am more than happy to let anyone else try working on the sequel, though, if they want to. Just PM me or say something in the reviews.
I decided to make a little joke out of Hiro's story from the hospital here, if you eagle-eyed readers paid attention to detail.
Sorry, Tadashi, I just wanted things to be a little more lighthearted…then again, you did choose the outfit to begin with. I promise you will have more of the spotlight in the epilogue, Scout's Honor (I'm not a scout, though). I also had a little fun with the action scenes in this chapter and trying to have the dialogue match the show. Let's hope Season 2 expands on these characters, they deserve it. Let Hiro take the supporting role for a bit.
Lexrilfrostvale, I tried to have Hiro be a little action-oriented here. I'll try again in the epilogue, if that's not enough. The gloves can repel or draw in things, they showed that in the show like in "Food Fight."
Thanks again and please review!