A/N: Alrighty, so another long chapter today. There's a lot going on in today's chapter. Some of my favorite lines are in this chapter, including the best Baymax line that ever popped into my head. Also the "What we do" conversation that Vera has with Hiro is very similar to a conversation that Vera has with her friends in her original story. It's one of the most influential themes in Vera's original backstory and I mainly put it in simply for my own benefit.

As a side note, if you want some mood music to go along with this chapter please look up "Beethoven's Five Secrets" by the Piano Guys. Yeah, I didn't mean for the song to become the theme for the chapter especially considering my soundtrack for the rest of the story. However when it came on when I was writing this chapter, the words on the page mixed with the music in my head in a way that I totally wasn't expecting. After that I knew I had to include "Beethoven's Five Secrets" as part of the soundtrack.

As always, please enjoy the chapter!

"Be careful, please. Watch your back. I have to go." Tadashi said into Vera's cell phone. She'd loaned him hers after he'd failed to get ahold of Hiro. Out of pure desperation she'd suggested calling Krei's personal assistant. The gamble had paid off. Now, however, Tadashi was acutely aware of every burst of static that erupted through the earpiece. It had gotten progressively worse the closer they'd gotten to Krei's oceanside private airport. Vera was now driving parallel to the tar mat, trying to find an easy way on to it. Her driving was less than drivers' ed standards. It was no wonder why Hiro sounded slightly freaked out between the connection and screeching tires. He pushed the thoughts aside. "The connection is going bad and… oh holy shit! Vera watch out!"

Vera wasn't paying attention to him, not one bit. The car had veered off the road abruptly. His eyes went wide as the chain link fence that separated the road from the airport's tar mat raced forward to meet the front end of the car. In his panic Tadashi accidentally hit the end call button on Vera's phone but not before they crashed through the chain link fence. That wasn't going to freak Hiro out at all. Somehow, some way, he'd managed to pull his arms up so that his head hit them instead of the dash. It still hurt though. It was like someone really wanted him to have a concussion today.

Vera muttered something under her breath as the car ran over the rocks and uneven dirt that made up the ditch beside the tar mat. "Who taught you how to drive?" Tadashi cried as they hit another vicious bump at the top of the ditch that sent them airborne for a split second.

"Romanoff," Vera said in a deadpan voice. Romanoff taught her how to drive like a freaking maniac but not how to hotwire a car? He turned to make some sort of snarky comment about it but then he saw the tiny, subtle smirk playing on Vera's face.

"Unbelievable," he mumbled under his breath. How could she crack jokes at a time like this? Then Vera slammed her foot down on the gas and the car shot forward. "Vera!" he yelled, clutching the armrests for dear life.

"Help me look for Krei's plane." she told him. Of course she needed his help trying to find the stupid plane. She was going too fast to see it herself.

"We don't know what it looks like," he reminded her.

"It will be a nice private jet, probably two engines and a custom paint job. It's gonna make the plane that Travis and I fly look like an ant. Look for Krei. He'll probably walking to it. He should be here by now." Vera said as she continued down the tar mat at break neck speed.

He fought down the nausea and looked out the window. Off in the distance, there was a lone plane sitting on the tar mat. It's door was open and the stairs were down. Sure enough, a little farther away, was the figure of Alistair Krei. He was striding towards the plane and flanked by two other men. "There!" Tadashi called out, pointing them out.

Vera yanked the wheel around so hard that he slid off to the side and into the window. His elbow hit the glass. Yeah, he definitely didn't want to hear Vera complain his driving or his moped ever again after this. "Slow down. Slow down. Slow down!" he yelled as the plane, Krei, and the two men with him came closer rapidly.

Tires and brakes squealed as Vera slammed to a stop. Burnt rubber had always been one of his favorite smells. The car whipped around right in front of Krei and the two men with him. Tadashi could see Krei's eyes go wide with shock as he jumped backwards, mouth hanging open. Vera threw the car in park but didn't stop the engine. "Mr. Krei!" she yelled, flinging her door open wide and stepping out. Tadashi was right behind her.

"Miss Delle?" Krei called in genuine confusion. His eyes ran up and down, taking in her outfit most likely. "What are you…"

Tadashi stopped listening. He caught his first really good look of one of the guys who was with Krei. The one with a massive black eye. Yeah, he definitely recognized that guy. Tadashi had punched him out the night before after all. "Vera! Hydra!" he yelled in warning.

It came just seconds too late. Both the men flanking Krei stepped forward and pulled out their hand guns. Vera cursed loudly and jumped behind her still open car door. He dropped to the side outside the car as the footsoldiers peppered the side of their car with bullets. Thank God someone in S.H.I.E.L.D.'s field department thought bullet proofing cars was a good idea.

Both footsoldiers emptied their clips into their car. Vera leapt forward before either of them had the chance to reload. One of them saw her coming and rushed forward to meet her. Vera ducked as the man's fist sailed over the top of her. She reached up and grabbed his arm, twisting it violently and disarming him.

Tadashi didn't really see what Vera did next because he sprinted around the front of the car and threw himself at the second footsoldier. He used his surprise charge well and grabbed hold of the footsoldier's outstretched arm. He balanced himself against the guy's arm as he drove his knee into the man's side, hard. The footsoldier gasped in pain but had enough of his wind still in his lungs to turn around and grab Tadashi's hand. Sharp nails dug into the skin of his forearm, leaving gouges. Wincing, Tadashi latched on too. He didn't see the fist aimed at his own middle until it was there. Okay, now he definitely felt like he was going to throw up.

He staggered backwards and tried to keep Aunt Cass's breakfast down. In his peripheral vision he saw the footsoldier's fist swinging at his downbent head. Tadashi got his breath and arm up just in time to block. Without wasting another moment, he threw a hard uppercut into the footsoldier's chin.

The footsoldier stumbled back slightly, eyes wide but pupils unfocused. He shook his head and shook it off. Tadashi raised his arms in a defensive stance. Then the footsoldier's eyes rolled back and he collapsed to the ground, unable to continue fighting.

There was another heavy thud as the footsoldier Vera had been dealing with hit the ground too. Krei lowered his arms from his face, he raised them to protect himself when the fight had started, and stared at Vera in shock. "What just happened?" he sputtered and not quite convinced that he wasn't next on the list to be beat up.

"Is that your plane?" Vera asked as she pointed to the private jet behind them.

"Well, yes but" Krei answered in confusion, "what is going on? Does this have anything to do with that bomb that Big Hero 6 is searching my company for? Hey!"

Krei shouted after her but Vera had already turned on her heel and was sprinting towards the plane. "Sorry about the panic." Tadashi said quickly. "Official S.H.I.E.L.D. business."

The color drained out of Krei's face. "Ta...Tadashi Hamada?" he gasped, eyes going wide.

"Hi, yes. Did I know you before? Sorry don't remember, retrograde amnesia. Nice to meet you again though." Tadashi told him distractedly. It was rude and had it been any other time he would've been appalled with his own behavior. At the moment, however, he was slightly distracted. "Vera! Wait for me!"

He managed to catch up to Vera with Krei right on his heels, following him most likely out of utter confusion at what was going on. Krei was also calling question after question at his back. Tadashi caught "Hydra" and "Hiro" and a few other familiar terms but really wasn't paying attention. He followed Vera up the stairs and into the plane. Then Vera stopped suddenly.

It was big, bulky, black, and was sitting squarely for all three of them to see on the first seat of the jet's passenger seats. If he had to take a guess, he'd have to say that it was put together rather quickly. His criteria for reaching this assumption were the several wires that sprouted out from the box chaotically and the electrical tape that held them together. However, seeing as how it was Hydra and Dr. Robert Callaghan they were dealing with, Tadashi didn't doubt for a moment that the inner workings of the device were top of the line. It was just hard to put the polishing touches on a bomb that you had roughly less than twelve hours to finish. The most prominent thing on the front was glowing, red countdown that read 45:00 and was steadily ticking down.

"I know that I'm not exactly of genius intellect but that, uh, that looks like a bomb." Krei pointed out nervously from over his shoulder.

"It is." both Tadashi and Vera said at the same time. Vera stepped forward and crouched down next to the bomb. She didn't touch it, which was probably a good thing, but she examined it closely. Tadashi came close behind her, kneeling down beside her.

"God have mercy." Krei moaned. There was a light thump and when Tadashi cast a glance over his shoulder, Krei was leaning heavily against the doorway of his plane. "Where's my pilot? Please tell me that those guys didn't kill him."

"I don't know. I'm sorry," Vera told him sincerely without really looking back at him. She exchanged a quick look with Tadashi before looking pointedly at the bomb. He saw the muscles and tendons in her jaw tighten as she stared down at the bomb.

"Are your bomb defusing skills as up to par as your car hotwiring skills?" he asked. Something in him told him that he already knew the answer though.

"Unfortunately," mumbled Vera.

"Well, maybe I can do something then." he suggested hopefully as he reached for the bomb. Gingerly, he lifted up the face plate to reveal the inner workings of the bomb. No matter how many steadying breaths he took, though, could make his hands stop shaking.

"You should go," Vera said suddenly as she stood up and faced Krei. "Take the car we came in and drive as far away from here as possible. Hydra made you a target because they knew that Big Hero 6 would try to rescue you. Those two men down there, the fake bodyguards, were probably planning on holding you here as a hostage. Someone, most likely Callaghan, would have dropped the hint that you were in danger to lure Big Hero 6 here. And once Hydra had what they wanted, they would've blown you, your plane, and everyone else still in the bomb's range to kingdom come. Take our car and get out of here."

Tadashi turned to look at Krei. The color had drained from his face and the poor guy was visibly shaking. Not that he blamed him. "Miss Delle," Krei said haltingly at length, "I should have listened to you from the start."

"Yeah, I know." Vera snorted. "Now go! Before Hydra's reinforcements show up."

Krei turned away without another word. He and Vera turned their attention back to the bomb. His stomach was in knots as he took in the intricate components. It was incredibly simple and yet so complex. The inner workings were definitely robotic in nature, especially the trigger itself. The vial of stolen Poseidon formula was suspended in a larger vial of something filled with another compound. There was a tiny hammer poised over the top of Poseidon formula's vial which would in turn, he guessed, react with whatever the other stuff was and then… boom! Tadashi pulled his hat off and raked his hand through his hair.

"Well?" Vera asked nervously as she hovered over his shoulder. The anxiety was clear in her voice.

"Working on it." he told her with more bite than what he meant. He winced but went back to examining the device.

Carefully, he ran his fingers over the top of the timer. One wrong move and the bomb could accidentally detonate, killing them all. The timer was slowly ticking its way to zero as he wasted time trying figure the damn thing out. His hands trailed up the various wires. He wasn't stupid enough to try and yank them out. That was a particularly good way to risk the bomb going off. The wires all lead to the trigger mechanism which was firmly locked behind another clear plate. His fingertips hit the indentation of the screw that held the plate together. A simple phillips head screwdriver would take the screw off the front plate and he was certain he could find one of those laying around the place. However, underneath the clear plate he could clearly see the piece that kept the trigger together, the part that would most likely stop the countdown and defuse the bomb. He recognized the piece and he knew for a fact what tool would be needed to take it apart. Tadashi also knew that was not a tool he would just find laying around. A horrible, sinking feeling rolled over in his gut.

"What is it?" Vera questioned him as his shoulders slumped forward.

"I can't defuse this." he whispered, not wanting to believe his own words and wanting to be sick. He looked over at Vera. She blinked in confusion for a half second and then the weight of his words settled over her. She drew back her hand, shaking. Vera didn't question him but he still felt the burning need to explain, "This piece right here, the one that holds the trigger mechanism together, I need a special tool to take it apart. Anything else would…"

"Most likely blow it sky high." Vera finished for him, quietly. She bit her lip and looked around. "We need a new plan."

"We need to evacuate the area." Tadashi told her emphatically as he rose to his feet.

"And what's the radius of that evacuation? How big of an area do we need to clear? How big is this blast going to be?" Vera reminded him in frustration and waving her arms in the air. Tadashi grimaced. She was one hundred percent right. "Then on top of that Williams and Callaghan are still coming here along with your brother and the rest of Big Hero 6 I'm sure."

"No!" he breathed. He felt as though he'd been doused with ice water. Oh, this really couldn't get any worse. There was no possible way! "What do we do then?" he asked brittlely, looking at her desperately.

"Move the bomb," answered Vera skeptically.

"How?" he nearly shouted.

However, Vera was no longer looking at him. She was staring towards the open door of the cockpit. Her eyes were calm and her face unreadable. Vera mouthed something to herself, raising her hands to point in a direction that only had meaning to her, before chewing on her lip. That's when he remembered, quite randomly, how Travis and Vera had met.

Flying lessons…

He suddenly knew exactly what was going through Vera's mind. "Absolutely not!" growled Tadashi, putting as much ferocity into the edge of his voice as he could summon up.

Vera turned to him. Her eyes blazing with the same fiery determination he'd seen hundreds of thousands of times before. He'd seen it when she'd laid eyes on her Superhero costume. Again, he'd seen it just a few days ago when she'd set out to interview Callaghan's neighbors. He could trace that same burning determination all the way back to the day they'd fled Hydra. "I can fly this plane out of here. Take the bomb with it." she explained, "I bet I could have this bird out of here and over the Pacific Ocean a safe distance away before it goes off."

"And you'll be killed when it does go off knucklehead!" he told her. How could she even be considering this at the moment? They were wasting their time with such a stupid suggestion. "There has to be another way."

"Chiune," Vera took hold of his arm and squeezed it gently. "With what we were given, this is the only way.

He squeezed his eyes shut, as if that would be enough to block out the reality of the situation. As if it would be enough to change the fact that the quickest way was to fly the plane and the bomb out of range. As if it would magically make Vera's words sound ridiculous. It didn't. Something inside of him began to wither as he came to the sickening revelation that Vera had a point.

Tadashi looked over at the cockpit and inspiration bloomed in his chest. He grasped at it. "What about autopilot? Maybe this jet has autopilot, like Coulson's team's plane does!"

The corners of Vera's mouth ticked up slightly. "I'm sure Alistair Krei, tech mogul, has some sort of autopilot on his personal jet."

"Then we program that to…"

Vera cut him off with a simple shake of her head. "No, there's only so much autopilot can do. It can't take a plane through take of procedures."

There had to be another way. He forced himself past Vera and stared into the cockpit. Some other way. If he could somehow figure out a way to get the plane up off the ground without a human pilot then Vera wouldn't have to do it. "I can build something. A really simple little robot." he said desperately.

"No, you can't."

"Yes I can! I made a hovercraft out of a shopping cart, a fan, and the setting panel of a washing machine when I was, like, ten! I can build a robot to fly this stupid metal carcass!" he told her, recalling a story that Hiro and Aunt Cass had told him the night before. He could come up with something on the fly like that. It was all just about looking at a problem from another angle. He just had to find a new angle. He just had to find a different way. There had to be a different way.

"I know you could Robot Boy" Vera's voice cut through his desperate thoughts. Her hand was cupped around his cheek, forcing him to look at her She was smiling now. It wasn't a happy smile. He didn't like that look on her, not one bit. "I don't doubt it for a single second. There's just no time."

"There has to be another way," Tadashi whispered. Vera shook her head. How the Hell could she seem so serene? What gave her that right? Tadashi grabbed her hand from his face and squeezed it hard. Maybe if he held on tight enough, she'd come to her senses. Vera squeezed back with equal strength.

"You know…" Vera said slowly with a little laugh, "I was just thinking. You've seen me at my very worst, but you've never really seen me at my very best."

"What are you talking about Vera?" he asked in exasperation. Honestly, all he really wanted to do was smack her upside the head. Maybe that would put her senses back into her. However, before he could really think any more about that particular thought, Vera flung herself at him. She wrapped her arms tight around his neck, crushing him into a bear hug. It took him a moment but he returned it, tightening his arms around her back and head.

"Let me show you my very best." she whispered in his ear.

"Wha… Ahh!" he hissed in pain as something sharp stuck him in the back of his neck. Vera let go of him as his vision began to swim in front of his eyes. She took a step backwards, fiddling with the square, black band around her one wrist. The one that administered the sleep inducing drug.

His world tilted as he fell forward. She drugged me, he realized right before black claimed his vision, the bonehead.

X X X

Baymax landed on the ground, feet away from Krei's private jet. The two bodyguards that had left with Krei were lying on the ground, out cold. Krei himself was no where to be seen. However, what really made Hiro's heart stop cold was the sight of Vera stumbling down the plane's stairs and trying to support Tadashi's sagging body.

Hiro leapt off of Baymax's back and sprinted towards the stairs. "What happened?" he yelled, heart hammering in his chest.

"Help me!" Vera yelled from underneath Tadashi.

Hiro didn't need any further encouragement. He sprinted up the stairs and met Vera. He grabbed Tadashi under the arm and hoisted him over his shoulder. Together he and Vera managed to pull Tadashi down the stairs successfully. Hiro also made a mental note to tell Tadashi to lay off the candy. He was heavy!

"What happened to Tadashi?" he asked again as they laid Tadashi on the ground, making sure that his head was set down gently.

"It's alright," Vera answered as she pushed her hair out of her face, "he's just sleeping is all. I knocked him out."

"You did what!" screamed Hiro as he looked at Vera, jaw hanging open.

"It appears as though all of Tadashi's vital signs are normal. He is unharmed and simply sleeping as Vera says." Baymax reassured him. Baymax had made his way over to their side.

Hiro pushed back the anger that was threatening to choke him. He would deal with Vera and how she'd seen fit to knock his brother out later on. There was still something more pressing at the moment. "Where's the bomb?" he asked through grit teeth.

Vera jerked her thumb over her shoulder. "On the plane, first seat. Can't miss it."

Hiro scrambled to his feet, waving for Baymax to hang back with Tadashi. The bomb was right where Vera had said it was. He only needed to look at it for a moment or two to realize that there was no safe way to defuse the thing. Damn! "Okay, we've got forty minutes to figure this out." he mumbled under his breath as he programed the numbers on the timer into his watch as close to the last second as he could.

He turned and rushed down the stairs again, back to Tadashi's side. His mind was burning itself up trying to think of a solution. "He's going to be pissed when he wakes up." she told Hiro, perfectly aware that he was standing behind her again.

"I'll say," snorted Hiro as he rolled his eyes. "You knocked him out. You're never going to hear the end of it when he wakes up. What'd you even use on him?"

Vera didn't answer him. She reached forward and brushed some of Tadashi's hair out of his face tenderly before fixing his ball cap that had been knocked askew. Maybe it was the way she performed the gesture or maybe it was just the way her hand shook as she did it but there was something in the act that put Hiro immediately on guard. "I only gave him a partial dose so he'll probably won't be out long. Tell him…"

Vera's voice broke off, hitching in the middle somewhere. She drew a deep breath and closed her eyes. Her hands clenched tightly around Tadashi's wrists momentarily. Then she pulled back and reached for the mother of pearl bracelet she was wearing around her wrist. Vera took it off, took Tadashi's hand, and slipped it on to his wrist. "Tell him I'm sorry it had to be this way. Try… try to keep him from thinking too hard about what else could have been done." whispered Vera.

"I don't understand," Hiro told her, shaking his head in utter confusion. He had no clue what she was talking about but it really didn't sit right with him. Hiro flicked a glance up at Baymax but the robot offered no help in the situation. Vera bent over Tadashi's unconscious figure and kissed him on the cheek. Hiro shifted apprehensively but then shook it off. "In case you've forgotten, there's a bomb on that plane and…"

"I've got it under control." Vera told him, flashing a grin at him. It didn't reach her eyes though.

Hiro crossed his arms over his chest, "Oh yeah? How?"

"Listen to me Hiro," Vera said suddenly urgent, "Hydra is on their way here. You have to take Chiune and get yourselves as far away from here as possible. Lay low until S.H.I.E.L.D. gets here. Chiune will brief them on the situation. You'll probably need to help him through it."

"What are you talking about?" he demanded. He really didn't like the way that Vera kept avoiding his questions. He didn't like it at all. "S.H.I.E.L.D. is your territory. You can help Tadashi brief them. Right now, though, we really need to focus on the bomb. Y'know the one that is slowly ticking down to zero as we waste time standing here talking!"

Vera laughed a little under her breath as she stood. "I told you, the bomb is under control."

"And yet you haven't quite explained that one."

"I'm gonna fly it away from here." she told him with a smirk. The simple brilliance of the plan blew him away. Why hadn't he thought of that?

"I have some concerns." Baymax said suddenly. All the astonishment he'd had evaporated. No! This plan was not brilliant. It was horribly, horribly flawed. His entire mind was screaming abort, abort.

"I agree with Baymax." he said dryly. "You can't do this. It would be suicide."

"I know," Vera said simply. She plastered on a bright smile as if it were enough to excuse the stupid plan of hers.

"On the contrary," Baymax interrupted, "There is nothing in your scan data that indicates a current depressive mood or intention for self harm. I would feel confident in saying that Vera is making a decision based in clarity of mind."

Hiro stared up at the sky in exasperation. "Not helping Baymax." he groaned.

"I apologize."

Vera nodded though. "Hiro, I've thought about it and, under the circumstances, this is the only option we have."

"Evacuation," Hiro countered hotly.

"How big of an area should we evacuate? I know nothing about this Poseidon formula other than it's strong enough to cause earthquake like tremors for miles. Presumably the whole thirty milliliters that Callaghan stole is in there. Add that to the fact that Hydra is coming here, with the express purpose of taking you and your friends hostage while using this bomb to cover up the abduction, and that cuts down our response time even more. There is no other option except to get the bomb out of here." she explained.

Hiro grit his teeth. How could she be so calm? So rational? No wonder Vera and Tadashi got along. Stupid, self-sacrificing, self-destructive martyrs the both of them! "Do you have any idea of what this will do to him?" hissed Hiro, resisting the urge to grab Vera by the shoulders and shake her. She was about to do to Tadashi exactly what Tadashi had done to him three years ago. Where the Hell did she get the idea that was an okay thing to do? "He thinks of you as a sister. That's what 'imouto' means. Did you know that?"

"He'll have you." Vera told him. Her words hit him like a sucker punch to the gut. She sounded so... so resigned.

"If this about you proving something because of your panic attack last night or your post traumatic stress disorder..." Hiro started emphatically, gesturing pointedly. Vera, however, cut him off.

"This is about stepping up and doing what others can't or won't. You're a Superhero. You've been through this. You understand. We don't do it to prove something to someone because God knows there are easier ways of doing that. We do it because we can. Because we have the abilities to do something. We do it because if we don't, then who will? It's what we do."

"What we do?" repeated Hiro. Then he finally took notice of what Vera was wearing and a rock settled into his throat. If he didn't know any better, he'd have to say that she was wearing was a Superhero's costume. That was ridiculous though. There was no way that Vera was...

Vera pulled out a purple domino mask from the pocket of her leather coat and held it towards him. He suddenly found it very hard to think as he stared at the mask. It suddenly occurred to him that, yes, Vera was indeed a Superhero. Or at least had been in the past. Vera reached forward and grabbed his hand. She wrapped his fingers around the mask, forcing him to take it. "It's what we do." she said again.

Hiro swallowed the lump in his throat. "What about you?" he asked her, quietly.

Vera looked back at the plane and then up at the sky. A small smile spread across her face. It hurt to look at it though. There was nothing happy about it. She turned back to Hiro. "I guess I'll be dying on top of the world. Not a bad way to go if you ask me."

"This is going to devastate him beyond words." Hiro murmured.

"I'd extract a promise from you to look after him for me, but I think that would just be a waste of the little time we have left." Vera joked. Then her face became serious again. "It will take me about fifteen minutes or so once I'm in the air to get the plane a safe distance away. Remember, Hydra and Callaghan are probably not far away. You have to get yourselves out of here as quickly as you can.."

She turned on her heel and started for the plane. "Vera!" Hiro called after her pain settling into his chest. Vera looked over her shoulder, quirking an eyebrow up in question. "I promise."

Vera grinned one last time before sprinting up the stairs. As she disappeared into the plane, the stairs rose after her. It wasn't much longer after that the jet's engines fired to life. Hiro ducked his head against the sudden kick up of displaced wind but watched as Vera taxied the plane down the tar mat towards the runway. Numbly, Hiro backed up beside Tadashi and sunk to his knees at his head. He pushed Baymax away gently and gathered his brother's head into his arms, hugging him to his chest. "Hiro," Baymax said softly, "I believe there is something wrong with my coding."

Hiro looked up at Baymax with a raised eyebrow. Now really wasn't the time to be complaining about upgrades. "I understand Vera's decision to act in this manner despite the fact that it will ultimately prove fatal to her. My programming allows me to concede the point that she will save many others' lives in the process yet it is conflicting with the programming that requires me to act in a way that will keep her from harm. This would then defeat the purpose of Vera's decision and would allow more people to be fatally harmed. I am unsure how to proceed."

Krei's private jet and the bomb that was in it, took off several miles away from him on the other end of the tar mat and flying off for the ocean. Hiro pressed his face into the top of Tadashi's head, squeezing his eyes shut. What was he going to tell Tadashi when he woke up? "You and me both buddy." he mumbled into the top of Tadashi's hair.

With agonizing consciousness, Hiro watched both the plane shrink away in the distance and the timer still going on his watch count down closer to zero. He'd been jealous of how close Vera was to Tadashi, still was in fact, but he didn't want anything to happen to her. It would only bring his brother pain and agony. He definitely didn't want her to die. Hiro didn't want Tadashi to know what it felt like to lose a sibling, even if that sibling wasn't blood related. He didn't wish that torture on anyone.

"Hiro!" screamed Honey Lemon. Her voice drew his eyes up and behind him. Honey Lemon, GoGo, Fred, and Wasabi were all rushing towards him. GoGo, of course, reached him first.

"What happened to Tadashi?" she asked as she knelt by his side.

"Vera appears to have used some sleep inducing drug on Tadashi. He is unharmed." Baymax explained.

"We got a call from Krei. He says he's safe for the moment but he, um, has a lot of questions. Particularly about who Hydra is exactly and how they managed to sneak two of their people into his bodyguard unit and put a bomb on his plane. That, and he also wants to know if we knew that Tadashi is back from the dead and how he managed to pull of his modern day Lazarus." Wasabi said.

"Dude! I thought you said there was a bomb on Krei's plane." Fred pointed out as he whipped about, searching the tar mat.

"Where's the plane and the bomb?" GoGo asked, clearly concerned as she had every right to be. Though it was surprising how no one was really freaking out.

Then Honey Lemon noticed the crucial detail the others were missing. "Where's Vera?"

"She took the plane and the bomb… about five minutes ago." Hiro said soberly. His hand clenched around the domino mask that Vera had given him.

"What… what do you mean she took the plane and the bomb?" Wasabi sputtered.

"She flew off. The bomb couldn't be defused and it was on a timer. So she took it away." Hiro answered. He wasn't sure where the pain was coming from in his jaw. Maybe he'd been clenching it too along with his fist around the mask.

"But won't that…" Fred started. No one had the strength to finish the thought though. Baymax, however, summed it up pretty well.

"The explosion and shrapnel dispelled by the bomb will prove fatal to the pilot, in this case Vera."

Honey Lemon gasped while GoGo looked at him with wide eyes. Fred and Wasabi exchanged horrified looks. Hiro couldn't look any of them in the face. How was he going to look Tadashi in the eye ever again? Instead he stared up at the sky. He could still see the jet in the sky, though it was almost miniscule by now, as well as the plumes of exhaust coming from it's engines. How far would it be when it exploded? Vera hadn't said how long Tadashi would be out for. If there was any mercy in the world, he wouldn't be awake to see the explosion.

No. If there was any mercy in the world, Vera wouldn't need to die. Tadashi wouldn't ever know what it felt like to lose a sibling. If there was any mercy in the world, there would be another way! He felt Baymax's hand on his shoulder, pulling him back for a hug. That's when he realized it. There was another way.

Hiro pulled himself away from Baymax with a hard jerk and spun around to face him. "I have an idea. It's crazy and stupid and probably risky to my well being but it could work." he told Baymax with the hint of his mischievous smile on his face.

"The sudden rush of epinephrine in your nervous system indicates that you are excited." Baymax said, almost warily.

Hiro only grinned broader. "There's nothing that says she still has to be on that plane when it explodes." he told Baymax slyly.

He could almost see Baymax's internal computer brain circuits whirring and grinding as his A.I. made the connection between Hiro's sudden mood change and words. "I believe I understand," he said at length.

"What do you say?"

"It would be a resolution to the conflict in my coding but I do believe that it is, as you say, risky to your own well being."

"Not if we time it right." smirked Hiro. Baymax's only response was to stand straighter, stretching himself to his full height. "Wings Baymax!" Hiro called as he jumped on Baymax's back.

"Hiro!" yelled Wasabi in shock.

"Um, did you forget that there are crazy people still chasing after us?" GoGo snapped.

"Vera told me to get Tadashi away from here. You guys get a head start on that. I'll catch up."

Wasabi reached up and grabbed Hiro's ankle, keeping him from blasting off right away. "Hiro what are you going to do?" Honey Lemon demanded, her accent becoming more pronounced under her dismay.

Hiro glanced down at the purple domino mask that was still clenched in his hand. In doing so, he caught a glimpse at his watch and the timer he'd set to coincide with the bomb's timer. He had thirty minutes. Hiro stuffed the mask into his pocket, shook off Wasabi's hand, and looked at all his friends seriously. "I'm going to make sure that Tadashi never has to know what it feels like to lose your sibling. Thrusters Baymax!"

The ground and everyone fell away as he shot up into the sky again. Because, the thought, if not me then who?

Sneak Peek at Next Week's Chapter:

"Centuries of Immortals"

The vibration slowed and drones no longer stung. What he did hear, though, was the cocking of a gun over the top of his head. Cut and bleeding, Tadashi looked up. "Hello Scientist." Williams sneered down at him.

X X X

"No!" Hiro said quickly. "There has to be another way! We just need to think of a new angle."

Special thanks to all who favorited, followed, and reviewed!

Espe Kuroba: Yeah, the last few chapters are pretty break neck in terms of pacing so you probably will be on the edge of your seat. Hopefully it will be worth it though. As always thank you for your awesome compliments.

Tony18: Vera putting on her suit back on was a really big moment for her symbolically. It is truly the embodiment of her attempt to take back a part of her identity that was stolen from her. I feel like this has been turning in the back of Vera's mind for awhile now, the desire to at least try and get back in the field, even if it wasn't precisely shown. As far as Hiro's ringtone on Tadashi's phone, there really isn't one set song. I guess it would be any happy, upbeat song that is always being played. I think when I first wrote that scene it might have been a Taylor Swift song, but it could quite possibly be "Uptown Funk." It's open to interpretation.

DaydreamDepartment: I already had a car chase scene! I don't think I could pull off another one lol. Those scenes are hard to write. I've never actually seen "Non-Stop" but I will take your word for it. As for what happened to Vera while she was in Hydra custody, the short answer is she was tortured. I haven't really put much more thought into it than that because it makes me uncomfortable to think about. What I do know is that her torture involved needles in some capacity as that was how Hydra administered the chemicals that took away her powers. I will probably never write or post her torture scene simply because I don't want get into that.

Shoyzz: Yes, lots of things are happening. Several story threads are starting to weave themselves together. The climax is fast approaching.

UntitledJoy: Cliffhangers are going to be more and more prevalent in the next few chapters. Glad the plot has you completely engrossed. I had so much fun coming up with the plot while I was writing. The plot was probably my most favorite thing about writing Scientist.

Butterscotch 12: I actually told one of my friends not to talk to me until he had seen the movie. I don't think anybody quite understands the level at which I love this movie.

lilnightmare17: Thanks so much for your amazing compliments!

Ember Neutron: I got almost all the way through this story and was really upset that I hadn't been able to put in that fist bump thing from the movie. It's just one of those things that I knew had to be in the story but I couldn't find a place to put it in until the last chapter. Fun fact, Scott Adsit came up with that ba-la-la sound and the animators looked for other places to animate a Baymax fist bump just so they could use it more. LOL.

CrazyFeralVigilanteDragonLady: Of course you can use that "God bless... nevermind, God don't bless..." joke. I don't mind at all. As for Krei, I quite like him as a character. In the last chapter, I think I just kinda ran with the comedic personality and it definitely carried over into this chapter.

Silver-09: The only two that I'm confirming as Hydra would be the two guys posing as Krei's bodyguards lol. As for the others, the technician is just a guy trying to do his job. And Hiro's professor is just very tired of a teen genius who doesn't seem to think much of deadlines lol. Coulson and his team are definitely on their way at this point but will they get there in time...

WhiteWinterStar: Hiro definitely has that "lost you once, not gonna lose you again" feel to his thought process but I think it's kind of understandable. He did just get him back after all. I don't know if Vera lived up to your expectations in this chapter but just having her put on the suit was a moment of badass for me. There's just something about a Supersuit reveal, y'know!