Chapter Summary: Big Hero 6 did some practice and patrolling. Tadashi discovers a horrifying truth about his professor.
Disclaimer: I don't own Big Hero 6 and its characters.
A couple of days passed, the rest of the Big Hero 6 team had not seen Tadashi and Baymax since the trigger incident though Tadashi contacted them and told them he's doing some "meditation and a minor therapy" with Baymax that would help him get well-adjusted and not freak out around around dangerous situations that remind him of the showcase accident. In the mean time, he tells them to practice more on their gear and promised that he will return to them as soon as possible when he's ready.
One afternoon, Gogo came over to the Lucky Cat cafe and to find Tadashi surfing on the Internet in his room. Tadashi didn't even seem to notice her until he heard Baymax politely greeting her. He spun around in his swivel chair and to see her.
"Gogo, what brings you here?" he asked, confused. "Shouldn't you be in classes right now?"
"I only had three class periods today, I'm free for the rest of the afternoon," she replied coolly. She is carrying a plastic shopping bag full of curry bread and holds it up for him to see. "Your aunt told me you were 'sick' today, so I came by to drop you off some snack to make feel you better." She then puts on her most stoic expression as. "Apparently you seem pretty healthy for someone who was supposed to have the runs, unless your aunt was lying to me."
"Tadashi was in good health the entire day," Baymax explained. "He made me lie to his aunt so he can stay home and do online research."
"And you did a fine job, so why don't you go down and help Aunt Cass in the cafe a bit?" Tadashi said in a sweet voice that seemed rather forced.
Baymax obeyed and left the two alone. Gogo turned to look at Tadashi.
"Um, what's he talking about?" she asked. She noticed some newspaper and blogsites clippings scattered all over one side of Tadashi's bedroom wall. "And what are those?"
Tadashi glances at the clippings and began to explain, "Just some evidence. Apparently, another Krei Tech employee is presumed to be missing or dead since a mysterious explosion happened in his home not so long ago and the police couldn't find any evidence. Even I couldn't find any clues on my last patrol."
"Patrol? What are you talking about?" Gogo demanded, raising an eyebrow.
"I did some patrolling around the city every night in my supersuit. I usually do it alone," Tadashi replied. "Why do you think I didn't want to leave it at Fred's mansion?"
"You mean to tell me you're still looking for random criminals to beat up so you can play superhero? This isn't a game, Tadashi! What if you seriously get hurt, or worse-caught and get your identity revealed?"
"I'm never hurt... that bad," Tadashi shrugged but he gave her a tiny apologetic grin. "Baymax patches me up whenever I come home and the bruises heal sometimes quickly."
"And how long you've been doing this?" Gogo demanded quietly, her voice filled with worry and anger.
"Ever since that night that masked man chased us in Wasabi's car. I did some patrolling while taking breaks to upgrade your weapons and suits. I even went back to the warehouse to find more clues about that mysterious bird symbol but all the stuff there are gone..."
Gogo shook her head and drops shopping bag on Tadashi's bed.
"Really, Tadashi? You're still on that Project Silent Swallow and Akuma Island?" Gogo groaned.
"It's Silent Sparrow," Tadashi corrected her standing up from his seat. "And besides, I need to know why they're related to the masked man, but I found nothing about Silent Sparrow on the net."
Tadashi then picked up a page of a website he printed out and showed it to her. "The only thing I got on Akuma Island that it's used as a government testing facility after World War II where it helped created San Fransokyo using state-of-the-art technology and other scientific researches. And get this, one of the scientist who helped started it is Ito Ishioka. The Robotics Lab at SFIT was named after him."
"This sounds like an interesting coincidence, but I don't see what that information got anything to do with the masked man," Gogo said. She skimmed through the entire paper. "It says here the island has been abandoned for a couple of years and it's off-limits to the public."
"It didn't say why it was abandoned, but I still wanted to know why the masked man is so interested in it," said Tadashi. He crossed his arms and furrowed his eyebrows in deep thought. "I think Silent Sparrow might be some secret project that was tested on that island. It sounds strange but it sounds plausible."
"I don't know, your pajama pants are strange. Didn't know you have a preference for green plaid," Gogo commented, glancing down with an amused smirk.
Tadashi gasped when he realized he's still wearing his bed clothes, especially in Gogo's presence.
"Sorry, this is going to take a sec!" he told her shyly as he pull the divider that closes his side of the room.
While Gogo waits for her friend to change, she strolls slowly around the room and looking wistfully at Hiro's side of the room. Even though the two didn't talk so much before the showcase incident, she was actually fond of the kid even though he cracked jokes of joining a "nerd lab". She stood in front of Hiro's bed and stared at the dark blue hoodie lay before her.
Hiro, she thought sadly, hoping the younger Hamada brother is listening to her. Sometimes I wish you were still around. Not only because I missed hanging out with you, but because you don't understand how much your brother misses you every day. Tadashi used to smile so much, always full of ideals and ready to help out people no matter what the cost is to him.
She paused and her face is now full of worry. If you're hearing this, I have one favor to ask you... Make him stop whatever he's doing before he burns out or does something he might regret. He's a sweet guy, I just don't want to see him sad anymore.
Gogo heard the divider opening behind her and she turned around to see Tadashi wearing his white ninja shirt and dark pants. His cheeks were noticeably red.
"Sorry, that took a while," he apologized. He scratched his head shyly before offering a single curry bread to Gogo. "Um, do you want to share. I mean, you brought a lot of these and I don't think I can finish them all..."
Why is Gogo making him act so weird; he wasn't like this when he first met her. Maybe Baymax is on to something about him developing an infatuation towards her. After all, she's smart, modeled and build her own bike, and even save the group from the masked man without losing her cool. In a way, there are a lot of things Tadashi admire her for, but he's still unsure whether if it's alright to see her something else other than a friend.
Gogo swiped the curry bread from his hand and began to head out. "Actually, I need to leave. I gotta finish some homework before we meet up at Fred's home for more training." She stopped and gave him a thumbs up. "Take care of yourself, Tadashi."
Tadashi returned the gesture and watch her go, feeling that certain longing in his chest again. A part of him wondered if he should have said something to make her stay.
Hours later, the group are back in Fred's estate and they continued practicing their skills without further incidents since Tadashi's trigger. Heathcliff managed to bring in some makeshift dummies for the team to destroy and obstacles to maneuver around; a single dummy is even provided to practice stealing the Kabuki mask. While the team are getting better stealing the substitute mask, Tadashi felt secretly irritated that they're wasting so much time here in this estate while the masked man keeps getting away from him. But he wanted to become stronger so the next time Tadashi crosses paths with the masked man, there won't be any failure.
He wrapped a dark-blue scarf around his neck, adding the final touch to his supersuit. It seemed a bit unnecessary to have a scarf but the color reminds of him of Hiro's hoodie and Tadashi felt wearing the scarf will make him feel Hiro is closer.
"Great job, everybody!" Tadashi exclaimed as everyone finished today's training. They all sat, relaxing, on the chairs outside while Heathcliff served them drinks. "I think we're all ready to catch the masked man. We're just missing one thing: I need to install the microbot trackers into your headgears so we can all pinpoint the location of the masked man whenever he uses the microbots."
Everyone gave Tadashi their helmets (or in Fred's case, his Krogar head); Tadashi uses some light tools he's carrying with him and began implanting each microchip into them before returning the headgear to his friends.
"Okay, one last thing," the inventor tells them. He's wearing an eager expression like he cracked the answer to a Sudoku puzzle. "Baymax is going to scan us."
"Um, why? None of us are sick," Wasabi said, confused and nervous. "Though I'm not sure in Fred's case..."
"No no no," Tadashi shook his head. "I've made a better scanning system within Baymax's helmet. This would help him scan people from far away distances and this would give him the ability to track anyone using only their medical information. Plus, if one of us gets lost or kidnapped, he can use it to locate one of us."
"Oh, that means that you'll be able to use it to find the masked man then!" Honey said in realization.
Tadashi nodded. "However, we still need to find the guy so Baymax would scan him. And that's where we come in."
"It seems to improve our chances locating the masked man with the microbot trackers, we would all have to split up and patrol around San Fransokyo," Baymax finished for him while he's standing nearby.
"Whoa, wait a minute!" Wasabi stood up, holding up his hands. "You want us to venture around the city, alone? What if one of us gets mugged or worse?!"
"Oh yeah, we're totally helpless with our carbon-fiber suits and super-tech weapons," Gogo said sarcastically. She looked straight at Baymax. "Okay, big guy. Start scanning us."
Baymax walked in front of them and scanned all four of them.
Gogo then turned to Tadashi. "It seems like a good idea, but I have one question: Are you really going to let Baymax to wander around the city by himself? The last time I checked, he's pretty slow on his feet... especially with the new armor you've given him."
"I haven't shown you Baymax's new upgrade yet, huhh?" Tadashi grinned wider as he walked over to his robot to give him an order. "Baymax, show them what you got."
Baymax stared at him, as though he didn't understand him.
"The thing!"
Baymax lifted up his hand, moving his fingers. "Bata-latala..."
"No, not that! The other thing!" Tadashi said. He cleared his throat. "Baymax, wings."
At this moment, Baymax's carbon-fiber wings were deployed. Tadashi's friends oohed.
Tadashi then climbed onto Baymax's back. He locked on to the huge, armored robot by using the magnetic pads on the bottom of shoes and pushing his hands inside compartments inside Baymax's armor shoulders.
"Thrusters," Tadashi directed. Then Baymax began to rising into the air.
"I fail to see how flying makes me a better health-care companion," Baymax commented.
"I fail to see how you fail to see that this is awesome," Tadashi replied back with an excited smile. "Full thrust!"
Baymax took off like a rocket, shooting straight up to the sky while everyone else watched with their jaws dropped.
"Too much thrust! Too much thrust!" they heard Tadashi screaming.
Fred started to snicker, "He said-"
"Fred, I swear I will laser-hand you in the face if you finish that!" Wasabi silenced him.
Tadashi, in his fear, immediately lost his grip and fell off from Baymax's back and the ground is so far away. Honey screamed from below.
"Tadashi's falling!" she shrieked in horror.
Wasabi, Fred and Gogo hurriedly readied themselves to catch him but Baymax was already alerted. The caregiver bot swooped down, catch his creator in his arms.
"You have fallen," Baymax told him.
"Gee, you think?" Tadashi asked, smiling at the obvious. But he was grateful that Baymax managed to save him.
Tadashi hurried climbed on to Baymax's back and rocketed Baymax back into the sky much to the relief of the others. Baymax flew like a pro as he zipped over the city, weaving through buildings and wind turbines gracefully. They flew past a high-rise that reflected their own image back at them.
A serene melancholy fell over Tadashi as he stared at his reflection. For one quick moment, he saw Hiro riding behind him with his arms wrapped tight around his big brother's waist. It made him remember that upgrading Baymax into a flying robot isn't the first aerial invention he created...
Seven Years Ago.
"You ready?" Twelve-year-old Tadashi asked his little brother Hiro.
The Hamada brothers have managed to make a homemade hovercraft using some parts they scavenged from the junkyard. With the two of them working together, they managed to build the flying object and they're ready to make their first flight test inside their garage.
Seven-year-old Hiro cling tight to his brother's back. "I wanna be the pilot!"
"Nah, you're not big yet," Tadashi told him before slapping a helmet on top of their heads. Then he flipped on a switch.
The hovercraft rose and flew out of the garage, and glided down the steep road much to the thrill of the young brothers. They narrowly avoided an oncoming cable car but they weren't frightened at all.
"This is amazing!" Hiro laughed with joy, raising his hands into the air. Tadashi laughed with him.
Current Day.
Tadashi was so happy at this memory that he felt his chest tightening and tears began to form in his eyes. Baymax carefully landed on top of a tall bridge.
He turned to Tadashi and blinked. "Your neurotransmitter levels are rising. This indicates you are very happy."
Tadashi nodded, "I am. I really am!"
"Yet, you are crying even at the absence of emotional distress."
"This is a different kind of crying," Tadashi replied as he dried his eyes. "We should head back to the others, we'll be heading out to patrol when night comes."
Baymax did not fly yet. "Tadashi, you are a good boy."
Tadashi frowned, surprised by this comment.
"When you first started making me, you never gave up trying to get me to work," Baymax continued. "You said that people need me even if I don't understand it back then."
Tadashi though back all those difficult tests that made him pull his hair and lose his sleep. And seeing Baymax working him on his eighty-fourth test brought him so much joy that he couldn't wait to get Hiro to meet his robot.
"Of course, I wanted you to help a lot of people," Tadashi said softly.
"That's why I'm not going to give up on you as well," Baymax said before flying back to Fred's mansion.
Tadashi remained quiet the entire time while different conflicting thoughts are running through his mind.
It was quiet in the late hours of evening. With the streets nearly empty and quiet, Big Hero 6 began patrolling around the city in hunt for the masked man. The team decided to split separately into three separate groups to cover more ground; Wasabi and Gogo for one group, Honey and Fred for the second group, and then Tadashi and Baymax for the third group.
Tadashi and Baymax stood on top of a building overlooking the industrial downtown of San Fransokyo. He turned on his communicator.
"Did you guys find anything?" he called.
"Not yet, though Wasabi's kept refusing to leap over rooftops," Gogo answered.
She and Wasabi are located in the Marina, an area where many Eastern shops sell everything from exotic teas to fresh fish and imported vegetables.
"I'm afraid of heights and you know it!" Wasabi shouted.
"Also, Wasabi and I managed to take out this group of punks who are harassing this old lady running a shop," Gogo continued, ignoring Wasabi.
"For some reason, she dresses inappropriately for an 80-year-old," Wasabi added, disgust in his tone.
"Mrs. Matsuda," Tadashi whispered in horror, remembering how Aunt Cass keeps mentioning a certain customer who often visits the Lucky Cafe.
Fred excitedly scream into his ear. "Honey and I just defeated a couple of bank robbers over here at Union Square! Honey uses her chem-balls to cover their getaway car in chemical goo while I fought them valiantly! I think one of them pissed their pants."
"That's because your costume scared them, Freddie," Honey told him.
"Have anyone of you seen the masked man, yet?" Tadashi demanded impatiently.
"No, everything's cool here," Wasabi replied. Everyone else made sounds of agreement. "Look, Tadashi, you got to fix that anger of yours..."
Tadashi shuts off the communicator. He then turns to Baymax. "Okay, buddy. Let's do another flying around the area..."
Suddenly, his visor began to blink. The microbot tracker worked-the masked man is nearby! Baymax pointed a finger towards a lone house sitting on high hill surrounded by trees further away from the city.
"It appears the sensor is telling us the masked man is hiding there," the robot said.
Tadashi went quiet and his expression turned cold. He immediately climbed onto Baymax's back. "Let's head there!"
"Shouldn't we call for the others to join us first?" Baymax asked.
"We will, but first I need to check that place out."
Baymax landed a good distance away from the house which appears to be a 2-story modern contemporary house. The house seemed dark except for light coming from the second story. The microbot tracker had stopped blinking but Tadashi knew the masked man is located inside. He tells Baymax to remain in his spot and hidden while Tadashi crept towards the house. The inventor peeked inside through a closed glass window and saw the house is dark inside and noticed the furniture and other personal belongings seemed to be covered in light dust. Tadashi saw someone moving in the shadows and going through a door that appears to be leading to the basement.
Tadashi looked around to find an entrance when he noticed an open window in the second story. He used his cable wire to pull himself upwards and climbed through the window. He found himself what looked liked to be a huge office; the walls are filled with all kinds of books about science and technology. Sitting on a mahogany desk is a laptop with a picture frame next to it.
Tadashi picked up the picture and recognized the man in the photo.
"Professor Callaghan?" he said in shock.
His professor looked a little younger. Standing next to him is a young woman he didn't recognize. He didn't even know her name until he saw a name written in the bottom of the picture.
"Abigail... So this is Callaghan's daughter?"
That means this is Callaghan's home, Tadashi thought. Why would the masked man come here?
Tadashi noticed there was a USB linked to the laptop. Tadashi opened the laptop and paused video screen appeared. He saw an image of Alistair Krei. Now even more curious and confused, Tadashi turned on the communicator.
"Guys..." he quietly called out to them.
"Tadashi, where are you and Baymax!" Gogo shouted angrily. "You cut us off! Now we're tying to look for you!"
"The both of us are fine," Tadashi replied, trying to keep his voice low. "I'm at Callaghan's home."
"Hey, why are you at some dead guy's house?" Fred asked, bewildered.
"Tadashi, what's going on?" Honey asked worriedly.
"Shush, I'm letting you guys know I found something. I'll call you back soon."
Tadashi turned off the communicator. He then pressed play on the video. It showed Alistair Krei walking in a lab that seemed sleek and new. A small audience that included military officials was listening as Krei said, "We were asked to do the impossible. And that's what we did. We've reinvented the very concept of transportation. Friends, I present Project Silent Sparrow."
Krei gave his audience a broad smile to two large circular structures that vaguely resembled portals of some sort. Tadashi recognized the bird symbol on them. He listened to Krei talking about how teleportation is the transport of matter instantaneously through space, and not science fiction anymore. He watched Krei leading the audience up to the control room and Tadashi recognized the engineers and technicians there being the missing Krei Tech employees.
"Ladies and gentlemen, you're here to witness history." Krei spoke into a microphone. "Ready to go for a ride, Abigail?" he asked.
Another video showed Callaghan's daughter climbing into a flight pod set up to enter one of the portals.
"We've invited all these people; might as well give them a show," she said.
Tadashi continued watching, his eyes glued to the screen. An expert told Krei there was a slight irregularity in the field harmonics but Krei continued to pushed forward. Soon the pod shot into the first portal, but at that moment it entered, alarms screamed.
"We've lost all contact with the pilot!" a technician yelled.
Krei began to panic, his eyes filled with fear. He tried to press some buttons to gain control but the second portal exploded. A spinning vortex was forming at the center of the first portal and items began flying into it. The place was going to implode. Krei was forced to hit the kill switch and first portal shut down. But the pilot has now disappeared inside the portal and no way of exiting.
Tadashi to find his words but he stared numbly at the screen. "I don't understand... Why would Callaghan have a video of this...?"
To his shock, he saw Professor Callaghan running into the control room. He looked furious and ready to strangle Krei but he was held back by the engineers and the military officials.
"Krei, you knew it wasn't ready!" Callaghan shouted. His voice was full of anguish and venom. "I want my daughter back!"
Then the video ended and a cold chill ran down Tadashi's spine. Wanting to confirm something, he checked the drawers of the desk looking for something and found it at the bottom drawer.
A Kabuki mask.
The exact same one the masked man wears.
Now Tadashi understood why Callaghan seems to hate Krei and why the fire started in the showcase.
"Callaghan's faked his death and he's using my brother's microbots to get back at Krei," he muttered. "I can't believe this, but..."
His professor, the man he looked up to and tried to save from the fire is actually a ruthless criminal.
Tadashi immediately stood up, he has to tell the others.
Suddenly, someone appeared behind him and struck Tadashi in the back of the head with a blunt object. The inventor fell to the floor and lost his consciousness.
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