Chapter 2: Releasing the Prototypes
Hiro smiled anxiously as he fiddled with Baymax's newest scanner addition: a thermal camera that could read through walls to tell them if there was anyone hiding inside the building. It had taken him a while to figure out the proper laser type that could reach through brick and mortar, but with a little help from Wasabi, it was managed. Now, it was up to him to introduce his newest suit prototypes to his friends. They hadn't seen each other in a few days due to the finals taking place at SFIT. That didn't stop Hiro from finding ways to entertain himself however.
"Alright Baymax..." He nodded slipping the helmet over his marshmallow like friend. "Scan the next building!" He stepped aside giving the robot the space he'd need to perform the scan properly. He waited while the machine buzzed and whirred taking in the information to process.
"There is a single human, and thirty-two cats next door." Baymax cocked his head to the side softly. "Diagnosis...Animal Hoarder." Hiro stared at his closest friend before grinning and laughing lightly.
"Fantastic!" He clapped his hands smiling, "This is perfect!" He jumped from his seat, the chair rolling backwards before hitting a box in the corner. "We've almost got all of our grounds covered. With your new scanner, Gogo's new upgrades, Wasabi's new plasma blaster, all that's left is for me to upgrade Honey and Fred!" The young inventor clapped his hands together excited.
"Your body is showing signs of exhaustion, Hiro. You should consider taking a break, and getting a four hour nap. When was the last time you allowed yourself eight hours of sleep?" Baymax questioned softly as he watched the young Hamada turn around and begin to tinker with Honey Lemon's chemical mixer.
"I can't rest yet Bayman." Hiro absentmindedly replied as he began to take the keyboard off to view the inner workings of the machine. "I've got to finish these updates." Baymax sighed softly sending out a silent alert to the gang before returning to his station to pet Mochi.
"Hairy Baby," He cooed softly as he brushed his hand lightly against the purring animals back.
Wasabi was the first of the gang to arrive with a heavy sigh he made his way upstairs after sparing a soft wave to Aunt Cass. With an afforded wave back, she had to and calm down a customer who was throwing a tantrum about the customer service that afternoon.
"You know Hiro," Wasabi walked into the boys room without so much as a knock. He had given up on the custom some weeks ago. "You should really help your aunt out downstairs some days instead of working up here all the time." Hiro simply hummed as he slumped over the desk further and did his best to ignore the white blob standing beside him. Baymax looked up and greeted Wasabi accordingly.
"Hiro is configuring updates for your plasma blades," Baymax buzzed lightly as he watched his creator's younger brother tinker away. Wasabi sighed softly and collapsed onto the Asian boy's bed. If Gogo got wind of this, both of them would have to deal with her wrath, and that was going to be far from fun.
"Hiro," Wasabi reached over and grabbed Hiro's wrists softly, effectively stopping the younger from working. "You shouldn't spend so much time on our suits. What about your's? You need to reconfigure some things on your suit too. Remember when you and Baymax were running an investigation on a hostage situation?" The black male lectured irritatedly. Since Tadashi had passed, he had gladly taken over the bigger brother role; making sure Hiro was home at a decent hour, that he was staying out of trouble, and that he was eating his vegetables and drinking his milk.
"Wasabi," Hiro groaned pushing back from his desk and turning the chair to face his friend. "Look, I just need to keep my mind occupied okay? I'm going to finish updating the groups stuff then I'll work on updating my own okay?" Hiro brushed his black locks from his face rubbing the base of his neck.
"That's simply not good enough, Hiro." Wasabi frowned placing his large hands on the thin bony shoulders. He opened his mouth to continue his lecture when a scream erupted from downstairs. Hiro's eyes widened quickly as he rushed to the door without a second thought; grabbing the baseball bat from beside his bedroom door. "Hiro, wait!" Wasabi yelped jolting from his surprised stupor and quickly chased the young Hamada down the stairs and into the cafe.
"Hiro!" Aunt Cass yelped from the bottom of the second stair case. "You get your thin little self down here right now!" Oh boy, well that completely turned the situation around.
"C-coming Aunt Cass," Hiro muttered slowing his steps, heaving a heavy sigh. Wasabi smirked feeling a bit more confident about the situation.
"Hurry it up!" She called once more. Her foot was tapping heavily at the foot of the stairs. Hiro could just imagine his aunt with her arms crossed and her lips pursed in a straight line. Her hip would be cocked to the left, because an accident a few months ago left her right one feeling stiffer than it ever should have been. Wasabi slapped a hand onto Hiro's shoulder doing his best to cover the grin breaking through his lips.
"Good luck," He chuckled slipping around the younger and rushing into the crowd. Hiro watched his friend go with a heavy groan. With Aunt Cass being in this kind of mood, he would really need some back up that was for sure.
"Yes Aunt Cass?" Hiro bit his lip nervously, quickly rubbing his eyes trying to get the black bags to disappear. Cass snapped her attention to her youngest nephew and huffed her chest out defensively nodding towards the men clad in blue. Police Officers.
Hiro groaned lightly letting his feet drag as he stood next to his aunt, "I haven't done anything though! I stopped bot fighting years ago!" Hiro racked his brain in an attempt to remember a forgotten warrant, but he came up usual. He hadn't done anything illegal enough to have the officers after him lately.
"It's not about bot fighting," the mustached officer sighed at him. "However, we will certainly come back to that topic," He glared lightly at Hiro before sighing heavily and shaking his head. "Unfortunately, we need the help of Big Hero Six." The female officer stepped forward to place a manila folder down.
Hiro's guard instantly went up. He had worked with the police in the past, and it never ended pretty for his team. He could recall several incidents where one of his team members had to miss a few days of school because of injuries—none too major though. The young asian pulled a chair out from one of the tables and sat down motioning for everyone else to join him. "What do you need us to do? Exactly, please, so I can prepare the team properly." The female officer nodded intently joining the young man and his aunt.
"Well," She leaned forward on her freshly manicured nails, a few blonde hairs falling loose from her bun. "We've had a few gang break outs recently, and they keep pointing the fingers at a single instigator. We can get said instigator to come out, but we need your help in officially capturing him."
"Kind of like Callaghan. You bring him down, and break his powers, we'll make the arrest." The older officer sighed heavily waving away a bust boy who offered a milky cup of coffee. Hiro bit at his nail thoughtfully, leaning back heavily in his seat. Cass huffed and pushed her nephews knee down until all four legs of the chair were back on the ground.
"I have been making some upgrades to everyone's suits...and I have been wanting to try them out, work out some of the kinks." He leaned forward crossing his arms on the table and stared steadily into the officer's eyes. "But I need you to promise me something, sir, if I agree to this."
The older officer nodded leaning back in his chair. "Call me Brady. If you agree to the case, we'll be on even terms." Hiro nodded silently before reaching forward and grabbing a donut from the plate in the center of the table.
"I need you to promise that no matter what, you won't step in until it is time to make the arrest. We won't destroy the city, but if we have to worry about you and your men too, the chances of someone getting hurt is only raised. Statistically, this would only hinder the investigation. All I need from you, is some minor information, and Baymax can handle the rest as far as finding the guy."
"Now hold on short stuff," A soft feminine hand slammed onto the table. "Who says you get to agree on this without consulting any of the rest of us?" The pop of gum sent shivers down Hiro's spine.
"Yea little dude," Fred bounced into sight as he looked at Hiro worried. "Wouldn't it be better, safer, to try out these updates on the island first?"
"Fred's right, we should try them out before bringing them into a city like San Fransokyo," Honey crossed her arms softly. Typically she didn't argue with Hiro's ideas, but with the way the little asian had been tinkering away on her chemical bond machine, and how much time he had spent coming up with absurd ideas, well, frankly, the young blonde was a little worried. "What if it doesn't work properly, and someone gets hurt?"
Hiro sighed and rubbed his temples heavily. "We'll do fine guys. I've been trying them out as I upgraded them."
"And you haven't told us?" Gogo snapped throwing out a chair next to the Hamada and placing her self in it. She looked at him angrily and grabbed his shoulders. "What if you had gotten hurt? What would have happened if you couldn't contact anyone?!" Hiro groaned heavily reminding himself that Gogo and Aunt Cass had to stop having cooking classes together. She was definitely turning into a mini version.
"Guys," Wasab sighed looking at the group. "Relax, if Hiro says they'll work, they'll work. Remember, he did graduate with a Ph.D in Robotic Programming, and Physics."
"I want to see the upgrades first," Gogo frowned staring at Hiro angrily. "Before we use them on this case, I want to see them in action myself."
"I think that's a good idea," Aunt Cass puffed out her cheeks as she stared at the small group of friends. "After we all have some hot wings, and chocolate cake. I'm trying out a new molten lava cake recipe, and I need testers." Brady smiled, pleased with the idea that the group was accepting.
"Well, I guess we'll-" Cass looked as the man stood up and placed her hands on her hips. He wasn't going anywhere. The more people she could test her new recipe out on, the better.
"I insist you stay for dinner." There was no arguing with the tone in her voice, and Brady couldn't help but sit in the chair as fast as his old legs would give out. The blonde officer looked at him quizzically before noticing Honey giving her gestures to stay seated.
"I better go get the milk," Hiro sighed shaking his head before scraping his chair against the floor to go into the kitchen.
"Hiro Hamada, you had best sit yourself down mister! You aren't getting out of it either!" Cass called from the kitchen as the smell of spices and chicken permeated the air.
"I was just getting the milk Aunt Cass! I have a feeling we'll need it!"
"You bet we will!" She called out staring haphazardly at the mixture before her as she dipped the chicken in the breading before putting it into the fryer. "Oh boy," She whispered giggling to herself. "We are going to be feeling this one come out tomorrow."