A/N: And here it is guys... the last real chapter. There's just an epilogue after this and that will probably be out on Wednesday along with some final notes and comments. In short, I'll save all the mushy reminiscing for then. Actually, I'll not say a whole lot just because you probably want to get to the chapter itself.
Happy 4th of July to all my fellow American readers and a belated Happy Canada day to all my Canadian readers!
Previously:
Part of the plane's wing was spiraling up straight towards them and the flames rose up to meet them. Sorry Tadashi, he thought as the reality of his failure crashed down on him and threatened to strangle him. He bowed his head into Baymax, guess I was too late.
And just one mistake is all it will take to go down in history,
You'll remember me for centuries.
- "Centuries" by Fall Out Boy
A rush of scorching hot air hit them as time sped up again. Then the heat just… dissipated, like it wasn't even there anymore.
More importantly, he wasn't dead. Not that he was complaining or anything but... how? How were they not all burnt to a crisp or being smashed into nothing by shrapnel? Seriously, that explosion had been huge. How were they not dead?
Hiro picked his head up from Baymax and looked at what was going on around him. His jaw dropped so fast and he was fairly certain his eyes nearly popped out of his skull in shock. Vera was clinging to him but also hanging off the side of Baymax. Her hand was stretched out flat with tendons popping out on the top. Underneath her hand, underneath Baymax, a shimmering blue light was spread out and blocking off the raging inferno below. Metal pieces hit the light and bounced off harmlessly. The flames licked it but came no higher. "A shield?" gasped Hiro as he gaped at Vera, "You can make shields? You're a metahuman?"
"If you can make this robot of yours go any faster I suggest doing so because I don't have a lot of confidence in this recent turn of events." Vera said through clenched teeth.
"You can make shields? Why didn't you do this earlier? Do you realize how helpful that would have been last night? You know, when we were getting shot at?" Hiro yelled.
"Because I couldn't do it earlier. Honestly, I'm not sure how I'm doing it now nor do I know how long I'm going to be able to hold it. I highly suggest we book it out of here." growled Vera.
"What do you mean you couldn't do it earlier?"
"Ask our mutual friend Williams. I'm sure he'd be more than happy to explain the particulars." Vera snapped. The thing Vera had said about Hydra knowing how to take away a metahuman's abilities, seemingly forever, came rushing back. Horror struck him hard. Vera had been that metahuman. She'd been the one who'd had her abilities removed. That had been bitterness in her voice when she'd talked about it. Tadashi had demanded a quick change of subject and now it made sense. It took every ounce of his being not to stare at her in utter shock. "Listen, I wasn't joking about not being confident about this. I don't know how long I can hold the shield. It's been so long since I last succeeded in projecting one so…"
Her voice dropped away and for the first time Hiro could see just how pale and drawn her face was. Her jaw was clenched so tightly that he could see the strain in her neck. Vera shut her eyes as if she were trying hard not to lose her focus. This wasn't easy for her. "Baymax! Let's book it!" he called.
Baymax's thrusters kicked into high gear and the wreckage quickly fell away from them. Vera let her shield fall once the fire and debris started to crash towards the ocean. She gave a relieved sigh and pushed herself back into the center of Baymax. Her face was still burning with determination. She held her hand up over her face and another, much smaller shield formed around it. A deliriously happy grin broke across her face. "I think they're back." she whispered as she let the shield fall away.
"That's great…" Hiro told her and he honestly meant it. Really he did. It was just that the airport tar mat was coming back into view and there were a lot more people on it then when he left. They didn't look friendly at all. "Because, I think we might be needing them again here really quick."
Vera twisted under his arm to get a better look. He felt her go deathly still when she saw the people that were all clustered together around a nondescript van and a strange black cloud of drones hovering over everyone. "Hydra," she murmured, face pale.
"Hiro, my scans indicate that one of the individuals is in fact Callaghan." Baymax informed him.
Hiro couldn't help the smirk that spread across his face. "Perfect!"
Then he got a better look at the black drones that were floating over the tar mat. There were so many of them that their little helicopter wings kept a constant wind blowing across the area. Even from his vantage he could see the drones' metal barbs. However, no one seemed to be holding a remote control or a relay system. That's when he remembered what Tadashi had said about the things he'd created called hive drones and how they were dual controlled through a neurocranial transmitter and a hand computer. Those must be them. He found the person who had control over them rather quickly. Dr. Robert Callaghan.
It figured.
Hiro let loose a growl when he saw Callaghan's arm wrapped around Tadashi, holding him up as he was forced towards the van. His friends weren't far behind. Apparently they were in the process of being abducted. How dare Callaghan. And how dare Hydra and Williams!
"Make a pass over Williams. I call first dibs." Vera's firm grip on his wrist brought him back to reality. He looked down at her. "You know how every hero has that one favorite move they like over all others?" she asked him mischievously.
He looked at her, slightly confused. "Yeah."
"Show you mine if you show me yours." she told him simply.
"Deal!" Hiro agreed as the same sort of mischievous smile cracked across his own face.
Without warning, Vera rolled herself out from under his arm and fell feet first towards Williams.
X X X
Vera's foot slammed straight into Williams's face, crushing his nose. It would go very well with the pair of black eyes that had come courtesy of Hiro the night before with the fire extinguisher. Williams hit the ground hard with a rather pathetic cry as Vera landed and jumped back deftly in a reflex born from years of experience and brought her arms up in a defensive position. On her face was an absolutely feral cat like grin. Tadashi stared at her in shock. "Oh yeah! Classic heroic maneuver. Smash the bad guys' plans to pieces after they get done with their villainous monologue! Cliche but so perfect!" crowed Fred.
Before he could call out to her, there was another Earth jarring impact. The ground shook violently, nearly taking them all off their feet. Tadashi turned, along with everyone else, towards the source of the sound. Baymax's fist was crouched on the ground from his strike with his fist buried in the concrete. Chunks of the tar mat stuck up around him. As Baymax straightened again there was a long, impressed whistle. Hiro Hamada jumped off of Baymax's back and over the wreckage, gestured to the Hydra footsoldiers, grinned and said, "Wow! Look at all the people who're going to jail Baymax!"
Then he turned and looked at Callaghan, "Or back to jail in some people's cases."
"Hiro!" cried Honey Lemon, Wasabi, GoGo, and Fred all at once. Tadashi could only stare in shock. His mind had stopped working. He could only register the fact that Vera and Hiro were standing in front of him, completely unscathed. They were alive.
They were alive!
He didn't know how but he didn't really care. They were alive.
There was a flurry of sudden activity. Hiro's sudden appearance gave them the distraction they needed. GoGo jerked her head backwards into her guard's chin before spinning around and slamming him in the side with one of her discs. Orange smoke exploded at the feet of the footsoldier who was holding Honey Lemon and Wasabi as Honey Lemon was finally able to use the chemical orb she'd wanted too before the explosion. The man began coughing and hacking as the pair of them broke away. Fred threw his weight hard and knocked his guard off balance. It gave him the chance to turn the tables and grab on to the footsoldier. Just like that, none of Big Hero 6 was being held captive.
As for him... Tadashi pushed himself away from Callaghan, shoving him, and sprinted for the two of them. Hiro was already doing the same thing. Tadashi caught the pair of them in his arms. Vera let out an oh so dignified yell of surprise as she found herself pinned between his and Hiro's chest. "Aw c'mon Tadashi!" whined Hiro but he was laughing as he said it and wrapped his arms around him just as tightly.
Tadashi held them both close. He needed to feel them to reassure himself that they weren't a figment of his imagination. That they were actually there and alive. They'd survived. They were alright. Everything was going to be alright. They were alive.
And he was going to kill them both!
Vera and Hiro yelped in startled pain as Tadashi reached up and grabbed both of their earlobes. "What were you two boneheads thinking?" he demanded angrily as he tugged on their ears.
"Owowowow!" shouted Hiro as he pulled on Tadashi's wrist in a futile attempt to free himself.
"Chiune, let go!" growled Vera, face twisted in discomfort.
"Do you have any idea how scared I was? I thought I lost you guys. Don't you two ever, ever do that to me again. Ever!" he yelled.
Hiro glowered up at him. Tadashi was eerily certain that there was some sort of sarcastic remark on the tip of his tongue. However as Hiro opened his mouth it seemed like the words died in his throat. "Wha... what happened to your face?" he choked out, noticing the cuts and bruises he'd received during Williams's curb stomp session.
"Guys!" screamed Honey Lemon from somewhere behind him.
"Look out!" Wasabi yelled.
Vera and Hiro pulled away from him abruptly as he turned to look behind him. Williams was on the ground holding his bleeding nose, and pointing a gun at squarely at them. His eyes went wide as Williams tightened his grip on the trigger. "No!" yelled Hiro as he threw himself against Tadashi.
There was a scream and the crack of a gun. Tadashi hit the ground with enough force to drive the breath from his lungs and Hiro laying over the top of him protectively. Vera was still standing with her arm outstretched. Fear latched on to him. A scream froze in his throat. He tried shoving Hiro off of him but it was too late. The shot had already gone off. Someone screamed again. He somehow succeeded in shoving Hiro off of him to push himself up.
Between he, Hiro, and Vera, and the homicidal Williams was a large blue shield. His jaw dropped. "Your powers…" he whispered, "they're back."
That was how she, Hiro, and Baymax had survived the explosion.
"Impossible!" hissed Williams as he climbed to his feet, still pointing his gun at Vera. He was glaring at Vera and her shield with as much hatred as he could manage.
"And yet here we are." Vera replied. Tadashi didn't miss the way the slight way that her voice shook as she spoke.
"Your refusal to die is incredible." Williams told her.
"After as many times as you've tried, I thought you'd have figured out by now that it takes a lot more than a bomb to kill me." Vera said. With every second that her shield held up, her confidence grew. Williams might have taken it once upon a time ago but now it was back. And her response to getting something that was so intrinsically important to her back was clear. She was never letting Williams have it again.
"Or you're just incredibly lucky." Williams snarled.
"More than likely." admitted Vera rather sincerely as she cast a sideways glance at he and Hiro.
Hiro pulled himself up off the ground, brushing himself off before offering his hand to Tadashi. "It's over Williams." Hiro said stoically as he came to stand beside Vera in front of Williams.
"You're outnumbered man." Wasabi pointed out.
"Your plan is pretty much shot to pieces." Fred added with a shrug.
"There really isn't much you can do now." Honey Lemon said as she nodded. Tadashi didn't miss the fact that she was tossing an orb up and down lazily.
"Though if you want to try anyways I wouldn't mind. I might enjoy the chase and beat down." GoGo smirked.
"It would be better for everyone's health if you surrendered peacefully." Baymax informed Williams.
Williams looked around, appraising the situation. Wasabi had his laser blades pointed at one. Honey Lemon held another orb at the ready. Fred still had the one footsoldier in a headlock and GoGo had her discs raised and ready to throw. Williams could see that just as well as he could. However, a sneer spread across his face as his glance flicked upwards and then over Tadashi's shoulder. He got a really, really, really bad feeling. "Take 'em out." Williams growled.
There was an explosion of mass chaos. Someone cried out in surprise as one of the footsoldiers jumped towards them. Colored smoke erupted and laser blades whirred. Vera dropped her shield and lunged for Williams. She pulled back out of the way and under Williams's fist as he started to counter her. "Baymax!" Hiro yelled pointing at Williams, "Rocket fist the van!"
However, before Baymax had a chance to pull off whatever move had been dubbed "rocket fist" by Hiro, there was another teeth chattering vibration. Tadashi's eyes went wide as the hive drones all swept down at once on Baymax, pushing him high into the air and away from Williams. Hiro spat a curse and had to drop back as Williams lunged past Vera for him. "Hiro!" he yelled as he started forward.
He didn't get a chance to help his brother because one of the footsoldiers tackled him from behind. Somehow he manage to roll himself sideways to keep his arms from being pinned. His last image of Hiro was Vera grabbing him by the back of his armor and throwing him backwards to take on Williams herself. His focus was lost as he found himself more preoccupied with the brute trying to shove his fist in his face repeatedly.
Tadashi fought past the brain numbing vibrations that were shaking his entire body and reached up to grab the footsoldier's hands. With a massive effort, he managed to wrap his legs around the guy's torso. He flung his weight sideways and flipped them over so that he was on top of the other man. Tadashi ducked his head sideways as the footsolider managed to free one of his hands. Too bad for the guy because Tadashi used the following opening to bring his fist down on the footsoldier's jaw repeatedly in a series of hook punches. The force split his knuckles but knocked the guy out cold. Unfortunately, as he stood and shook his throbbing hand out, he saw that one man down was not enough.
Hive drones swarmed the tar mat. Muted 'ping-ping-ping' sounds echoed through the air as they zipped around Baymax. It looked as though they were trying to find to get through his armor, especially at the joints. Once they were through that, they would tear him to shreds. Poor Baymax could only attempt to swat them away. There were just to many.
GoGo frustrated yells were interspersed with tearing metal as a second swarm of hive drones kept her from really doing anything. The fabric, the parts not covered by metal plating, was torn and blood was running from scratches. Wasabi was right behind her but with the footsoldier who kept charging him, there was no way he could offer GoGo support.
Honey Lemon also had her own personal swarm of hive drones. Her fingers were flying as she typed command after command into her bag. Gel, chemical metal embrittlement, hard shells. Anything she could possibly use to slow down the drones or protect herself. None of it was working. Every time she threw an orb, it seemed like she had less and less time to produce a new one before the hive drones began piling on again.
Between the hive drones, the footsoldiers, and Williams, Tadashi felt a lead weight sink into his stomach. This isn't going anywhere, he thought. He forced himself to look around at what else was going on. Wasabi was facing off with a footsoldier who didn't seem to have any concern for his own well being as he darted in close and past the laser swords to land hits on Wasabi. Fred was just barely keeping away from another footsoldier's onslaught, jumping circles around in order to dodge the knife the man had pulled after his gun had been knocked away. Vera and Hiro were trying to tag team Williams. It wasn't going well. Hydra was beginning to overwhelm them and when they finally did… Tadashi didn't even want to begin contemplating what was going to happen. It was another long stint in some underground hell hole doing only God knew what.
He bit his lip. He had no fancy suit or metahuman powers. If he didn't do something, though, Hydra would win. He couldn't let that happen! Then he turned and saw the last piece of the puzzle… Callaghan.
It hurt to think of how he'd idolized Dr. Robert Callaghan as Tadashi started towards him. Grief made a lot of good people do bad things, but it still hurt to know that this man had once used a personal connection with him to exact revenge. It hurt to know that his one time hero and mentor was part of the reason he'd been held captive by Hydra. It hurt to realize that all the pain and agony of healing as well as scars that served as a gruesome daily reminder were partly Callaghan's fault. If his sudden memory of the fire was correct then Callaghan could've saved him but chose not to. Idly, as Tadashi curled his hand into a fist, he wondered what Callaghan had thought when he saw him run into a burning building after him. What hurt the most though was the fact that Dr. Robert Callaghan, his mentor and hero, was partly responsible for the greatest anguish Hiro Hamada— his otouto— had ever known. It was only Abigail Callaghan's desperate fear for her father's safety that kept Tadashi from beating Callaghan within an inch of his life.
Tadashi slammed his fist into Callaghan's side, as hard as he could against the rib cage. Callaghan gasped and stumbled sideways but managed to stay upright as he grabbed at his bruising side. The hive drones surrounding GoGo immediately fell to the ground. She must have had the group that Callaghan was controlling directly. GoGo raced for Wasabi to switch places with him. Wasabi wordlessly let her take over fighting hand to hand with the footsoldier so that he could help slice the hive drones attacking Honey Lemon in half. "Tadashi," was Callaghan's muffled gasp of shock as he looked up at him.
The hive drones that had been attacking GoGo rose into the air again. However, there was a hesitance in Callaghan that hadn't been there before. Tadashi felt a twinge of pain. Not for what he was doing or about to do but rather what had once been. That was when the hive drones started for him. Callaghan was no longer hesitating. Then again, neither was Tadashi. He jumped forward, knowing he'd only have one chance. With a heavy handed forearm to the older man's neck, Callaghan staggered to one knee. He tried to raise his hands to block but Tadashi was younger and stronger. He fell on top of Callaghan with reaching, grasping fingers. He found purchase on the bottom edge of the red and white kabuki mask and, without missing a beat, tore it from Callaghan's face.
Once more the hive drones fell, the nearest one inches from him.
Callaghan looked up at him with wide eyes. He balled his hand into a fist and swung at Tadashi. Tadashi fell backwards in order to protect the mask. He needed it. While he was off his guard, Callaghan brought the arm with the attached wrist computer up. He presumed that Callaghan was trying to reprogram the rest of the hive drones to protect him and quickly. Tadashi was quicker. He latched on to Callaghan's free arm and squeezed as hard as he could where the radius and ulna of the wrist met the carpals of the hand. Callaghan cried out in pain. "Let me help you reprogram those." grunted Tadashi.
Somehow he managed to rip off the glove housing the wrist computer with the same hand holding the mask. "Wait!" yelled Callaghan.
"Sorry, not sorry." Tadashi told him before pushing Callaghan to the ground hard enough to daze him. Tadashi shoved his hand into the glove, yanked his hat from his head, and slammed the mask down over his face.
It was disorienting at first. There were cameras in the mask. Depending on which eye lens he focused on, he saw the hive mind of one particular grouping of drones. In the left was the swarm pummeling Honey Lemon and in the right was the one attacking Baymax. Tadashi shook his head to physically clear the jumble. Of course that meant that the hive drones under the direct control of the neurocranial transmitter shook too. The camera view of their angle flipped on in both of the mask's eye lenses. He'd need to work on that. Obviously Hydra had managed to do a good job figuring out the camera controls he'd never gotten to or tested. He could at least appreciate that. "Now how do I change these little bugs' orders?" he mumbled.
The camera angle switched again as he found himself thinking about wanting to be able to see the wrist computer. Actually, it just disappeared and allowed him to see normally. This must be what it feels like to be Yokai, he joked dryly to himself. He grit his teeth and set to work, trying to remember the command combos.
There was a high pitched scream of pain. "Vera!" yelled Hiro as he turned towards her. Vera hit the ground and immediately gripped her injured ankle. Williams was hovering over her, leg angled from the kick he'd dealt her. Hiro rushed for Vera but Williams reached out and grabbed him by the front of his armor. Tadashi's heart leapt in his chest. "Control, shift, N." Callaghan told him from the ground.
"What?" Tadashi asked, looking down at Callaghan on the ground.
"Control, shift, N." repeated Callaghan. The look on his face was desperate. Tadashi grit his teeth and punched one last combo into the wrist computer as Williams dragged Hiro towards him.
The computer went blank. There was a click inside his mask. Suddenly the right eye lens camera fired to life and he was looking once more through the hive drones linked sight. Bingo. Right combination. He had every single hive drone under his manual control. Tadashi smirked underneath the mask and thought a command at the drones.
There was a gasp of surprise as the hive drones suddenly pulled away from Honey Lemon and Baymax. Baymax broke away and zipped to Vera's side to attend to her injuries. Williams paused, his fist still raised to punch Hiro across the face. The look on his face was priceless in it's confusion. "Hey Williams." growled Tadashi. Williams looked up at him and his jaw dropped. "You really should have left these things in the scrap bin."
With one single thought, the hive drones rushed Williams from the side in a narrow line. They collided into him and wrenched him away from Hiro. Williams shouted. Whether from surprise or pain, Tadashi wasn't sure but neither did he really care. As Williams flung his hands up to protect his face, Hiro scrambled out of the path as quickly as he could. "Nice one Tadashi!" Hiro laughed loudly.
Williams hit the ground with a loud thud. Tadashi spun around, ready to unleash fury on anyone else who warranted it. However, the rest of Big Hero 6 had used the distraction he'd created to once more gain the upper hand. Fred was standing on top of the footsoldier who'd been wielding a knife against him. GoGo, looking absolutely livid, had managed to twist the other footsoldier's arm behind his back painfully. Wasabi had gone to assist her while Honey Lemon had begun to use some of her chemical orbs to glue a few of the footsoldiers to the tar mat.
Hiro pulled his helmet off his head so that Williams could see the dark smile on his face. "You deserve so much worse than prison." he told him scathingly.
Williams started to climb to his feet. Tadashi shot his hand out instinctively as the hive drones rumbled threateningly above him. "I'd stay down if I were you Agent Williams." Vera suggested snidely as she brushed Baymax off and climbed to her feet. Tadashi really didn't like the wince that crept on to her lips. Not the time to comment on it though.
"You stupid little…" Williams cursed venomously.
"They're actually quite brilliant if you ask me. Then again, anything more sophisticated than a dual core processor is pretty mind blowing to me." countered a very familiar, not to mention very welcomed, voice.
"Director Coulson!" both he and Vera exclaimed together. Without meaning to, the hive drones jumped about five feet higher into the air. Coulson looked up briefly as he came around the wreckage of the van, gun pointed, before shooting Tadashi a glance with an upraised eyebrow.
"Oops," winced Tadashi as he rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. He typed in a command combo for all the drones, letting them hover at standby so he could remove the mask.
From behind Coulson came an entire team of S.H.I.E.L.D. field agents all with guns drawn. Hiro spun around as the rest of Big Hero 6 raised their weapons. However, it became clear in seconds to them that Coulson and the field agents weren't a threat to them. It definitely helped that Williams had a colorful reaction to seeing Coulson. Williams dropped enough swears to make a sailor pale. "Good work you two." Coulson told he and Vera, rolling his eyes at Williams cursing. "We're… uh, going to have to have a talk about what it means to be a consultant only though."
"Don't worry. This was totally a one time thing." Tadashi insisted as he waved his arms in front of him to make a point.
"Seriously though, Tadashi," Coulson smiled at him as he used his real name, "not bad for someone who's never taken the field agent assessment."
"He's not interested." both Hiro and Vera shouted at the same time. They exchanged a quick look. For a moment Tadashi was worried that Hiro wouldn't take sharing an opinion with Vera so well and was about to give her a dirty, jealous look. He was surprised though when they both nodded to each other in silent and unified agreement on the fact. Why did he get the feeling this really didn't bode well for him?
"Agents, I think these folks from Hydra would be more comfortable in the back of our car and not glued to the tar mat." Coulson said pointedly. He gave a nod and the field agents proceeded to cuffed Williams and his men.
Tadashi tried hard not think about how he was going to explain to Hiro, and Vera for that matter, that Williams had planned just about everything from the fire to now. Williams glared at Coulson for only a moment before turning his attention to him. The old saying 'if looks could kill' came to mind instantly. Then again, Tadashi had done a lot to screw up his best laid plans and it had all started the very moment he'd lit the fire in the underground lab. He didn't need to expert on Supervillains like Vera or a comic book conspiracy theorist like Fred for him to guess what would be on Williams's mind if he ever escaped from S.H.I.E.L.D. Tadashi swallowed the lump that had suddenly formed in his throat.
Someone bumped against him. He looked over. Hiro had crossed the tar mat to stand beside him protectively. He grabbed Tadashi's arm possessively and met Williams's death glare evenly. The challenge was clear on Hiro's face, 'you can try but no way in Hell will I let you.' Somehow, he didn't even need to look to know that the look was on every single one of his friends' faces.
As one of the agents moved past him for Callaghan, Tadashi remembered his conversation with Abigail Callaghan.
"Coulson… about Dr. Callaghan. His daughter is…" he started by Coulson waved his hand through the air.
"He'll be returned to Pelican Bay for the time being until the red tape can be cleared and the judiciary system can figure out the right course." answered Coulson.
Something akin to reassurance washed over him. He wasn't exactly sure why or what prompted it. However, as Callaghan passed he and Hiro, there was something nostalgic in the man's eyes. Nostalgic and pained. It hit Tadashi like a sucker punch. "You were always one of my favorite students Mr. Hamada. We had the longest conversations about your brother and your plans for the future." murmured Callaghan as he paused his movement.
"I can't remember them." Tadashi answered just as quietly as he once more thought about Callaghan's role in the entire thing. He wrapped his hand around Hiro's for strength. He met Callaghan's gaze evenly though it was painful to do so. "Y'know, I admired you even when I didn't know my own name. Even when I knew you'd become a Supervillain, I still respected you for the good that you did. I'm sorry it had to turn out this way."
"I am too." Callaghan answered.
Bitterness choked his throat. He couldn't tell if Callaghan was being sincere or not. His mind spun just trying to weigh the words. Hiro squeezed his arm supportively. The field agent started to prod Callaghan forward again. "I'll tell Abigail that you're safe." Tadashi promised Callaghan. Not for him, but for Abigail.
Vera joined his side as he and Hiro watched as Callaghan was lead away. He didn't hear her approach. In fact, he only knew she was there when she threaded her arms around his middle and hugged him. "It's over Chiune." she whispered.
"Yeah…" was all he could think of to say. He vaguely noticed that she wasn't putting a lot of weight on her injured foot.
"I must say, it's quite an honor to finally be meeting you all." Coulson said brightly as tried to break up the mood. "Really, I'm a huge fan. Big Hero 6 has done some incredible work in the last few years."
"We know." Hiro shrugged with a cocky grin on his face. Tadashi scowled at him a little. Wasabi beat him to the reprimand.
"He means thanks."
"Always nice to be appreciated though." Fred said as he nodded sagely.
Coulson stifled a laugh as he looked at Tadashi and Hiro. "I can see the family resemblance. If you guys haven't already figured it out I'm Phil Coulson, Director of S.H.I.E.L.D. I'm the boss of those two."
"Hi," Honey Lemon said in a friendly enough tone though she gave Coulson a wary look.
"Nice to meet you." GoGo said. Her tone was much less friendly.
"I have a few questions guys that I would really appreciate you answering," Coulson said before his look fell on Vera leaning on him, "but first… does anyone need medical attention."
"Tadashi has sustained multiple lacerations and contusions but does not require medical attention. My scan has indicated that Vera, though, has a sprained ankle. Treatments include rest, ice, compression, and elevation."
Vera went rigid. "When exactly did you scan me?"
"Yeah, sorry about that." Hiro apologized but didn't sound all that sincere especially since there was the ghost of mischievous smile on his lips.
"And I am also concerned about Vera's mental health."
Coulson's eyes snapped over to Vera warily as did his own and Hiro's. Vera turned bright red. "Your robot's a traitor." mumbled Vera. "I'm fine for the moment thanks."
"Vera, you can barely stand on your ankle it looks like." Honey Lemon pointed out.
"And you just kinda survived a…" Wasabi started but Vera turned around and made a violent shushing sound. Of course in doing so she managed to put weight on her leg. She jumped sideways with a ragged hiss and leaned on Tadashi heavily again.
"You," Coulson nodded at an agent, "get her back to the car and have May look at her ankle."
Vera turned bright red and scrunched her nose. "Go on imouto," he told her. "You'll probably be grateful that you did."
"Don't call me that," she whined in response. It wasn't as insistent as it usually was. Maybe he was wearing her down after all. Or maybe she just felt a little guilty that she'd knocked him out and then taken off with a bomb laden plane.
Vera pressed a kiss to his cheek before allowing the agent to help her limp away. She hadn't gotten very far when Hiro suddenly broke away from him. "Hey Vera!" called Hiro as he began fishing around in one of his pockets.
Vera turned back, looking at him with an upraised eyebrow. "Yes?"
Hiro pulled out a piece of stiff purple fabric. He raised it into the air for a moment for her to see before wadding it up and throwing it to her. Vera caught it effortlessly and stared at him in confusion. "Don't ever do something that stupid again." he told her hotly.
A grin spread across her face. "But if not us…"
"Yeah, yeah then who will? I get it. But seriously. Don't ever do that again." finished Hiro.
"Something you'd like to share with the group Vera?" Coulson asked her in a way that made Tadashi feel he knew exactly what had happened to the bomb. "Maybe about why you're GPS unit placed you over the Pacific Ocean around the same time a huge explosion went off?"
Well, that definitely confirmed it.
Vera didn't get a chance to answer because Fred let out a long gasp. Wasabi let out a yelp of protest as Fred latched on to his arm with a death grip. "I figured it out! I figured it out!" he yelled as he shook Wasabi hard enough to rattle him before raising his hand to point at Vera.
Vera stepped back nervously, mask still in her fingers. "What?"
"I know who you are! Where I've seen you before!" Fred continued to yell. He broke away from Wasabi and sprinted to Vera.
"Uh, Fred!" Hiro and Tadashi said together as they watched worriedly. Fred skid to a stop in front of Vera before he could knock her over.
"The first teen to put on a mask and deal out justice to evildoers! You were the youngest Superhero ever!"
Vera blinked for a minute, completely in shock, then laughed a little. "I was." she admitted. Then she threw a sidelong glance at Hiro and said, "For a little while anyways… until others came along."
"You're… you're…" Fred sputtered. His eyes were wide with amazement as he looked at Vera as though he'd found something more awesome than he'd ever be able to describe
Vera shifted a little in embarrassment but smiled nonetheless. "It's not that big of a deal. I'm not a superhero any more."
She shoved the mask into her pocket, patted Fred on the shoulder, and started away. "Nice to have you back Vera." Coulson smirked.
"I'm not coming back," Vera said quietly, "but yeah. It's good to be back."
Vera patted the agent who was helping her on the shoulder and the pair of them limped away. "We were in the presence of greatness the entire time." Fred said reverently.
Tadashi bit his tongue to keep from laughing. It wouldn't have been very nice. He highly doubted that Vera would appreciate that sort of attention.
"Correct me if I'm wrong, Tadashi, but aren't these the things that you said you destroyed?" Coulson asked as he pointed up at the hive drones.
Everyone looked up at the still hovering devices. Tadashi scowled as he looked at them with complete hatred. "Williams rebuilt them. Guess I could use a lesson in destroying things." he said as he glared at the machines.
"They really aren't that bad." Hiro told him helpfully. "You were able to use them to help us out of a tight situation."
That didn't change anything. If they stayed operational, someone else might use them as a weapon. Use them to hurt and killl. His hands tightened over the kabuki mask. There was no way he could let that happen. Vaguely he was aware of Director Coulson discussing what could be done with the hive drones with GoGo, Wasabi, Fred, and Honey Lemon. They were all more than happy to throw out suggestions. Tadashi, going off of what he knew about Coulson, was probably in favor of locking the technology down in some unknown S.H.I.E.L.D. base. That didn't seem fitting though. Not really. If Tadashi was being honest with himself, he'd wanted the hive drones gone and he wanted to see to it personally.
"You alright, nii-chan?" Hiro asked. His quiet voice weaseled its way through his thoughts and made him start. He saw that, once more, he was gripping Hiro's hand in his own. He'd done it without really noticing it. He started to pull away, not wanting Hiro to feel to uncomfortable. Then he thought better of it and just squeezed a little tighter.
"Yeah," he answered before looking up at the hive drones. Then he got an idea. He knew exactly what to do with abominations. "Hey Coulson." he called.
Coulson turned to face him. "Yes?"
"Let me deal with these things." Tadashi told him. Though even if Coulson told him no, Tadashi was still going to do what he wanted. He was the one holding the controls after all. Coulson must have realized that particular little fact because he sighed in defeat and waved his hand.
"I trust you." was Coulson's only response.
A smirk came to his face as he slipped the kabuki mask on to his face again. "What are you doing?" Hiro asked him.
"Well, fire obviously didn't do enough damage to these things." he told them all as he started to plug commands into the wrist computer. "Let's see how they hold up against water."
The drones jumped to life as he brought them back under his direct control. With one thought, they were all flying straight towards the ocean and in another they were all throwing themselves beneath the water. There was a short high pitched whine as the drones began to fail. The cameras in the eye lenses flickered once, twice, three times before cutting to static and then to black all together. The hive drones he'd been forced to create by Hydra were gone.
Tadashi pulled the mask off and ripped the glove off before placing his ball cap back on his head. He cast a glance at his friends, Hiro, and Baymax as extreme happiness welled up in his chest. He wasn't the Scientist anymore. That person was free. He wasn't really Chiune anymore, despite the fact that there would always be some people who referred to him as that. Chiune was no longer him, the amnesiac with no family. He didn't need a place holder name now.
He was a S.H.I.E.L.D. consultant whose work helped a lot of people. He was Vera's right hand Robot Boy and roommate. He was the creator of a personal healthcare companion robot who also doubled as a Superhero. He was best friends with the Superhero team Big Hero 6 despite the fact that he couldn't remember them... yet. He had a little brother who looked up to him, who saw him as a hero. He was a protector, a robotics engineering genius, and a half way decent super secret agent.
He was Tadashi Hamada and he was finally home.
A/N: No sneak peek this week. All that remains is the epilogue. I will probably post that on Wednesday!
Thanks to everyone who favorited, followed, and reviewed the last chapter!
narniac4aslan: First of all, thank you for all your wonderful compliments. I couldn't stop smiling after I read your review! I worked really hard on characterization for Tadashi and Hiro. I especially wanted to show Tadashi as a flawed character because there is such a huge perception of him being perfect. Keeping characters "in character" in fanfiction is difficult so it means a lot to know that you and other readers think that I've done a good job with it.
FireandIce128: It was fun (absolutely heartwrenching) to explore Tadashi's emotions after witnessing a tragedy. We get to see Hiro's reaction, both grief and anger, to Tadashi's death and the revelation about Callaghan during the movie. Tadashi's anger and blind charge at Williams was something that I knew I wanted when I sat down to write the scene. It was so important to me to show that Tadashi has not only flaws but could succumb to the same anguish and pain that Hiro did.
HTTYDHiccupFanGurlSquealHuggle: I'm glad you've enjoyed the story so much! I had a lot of fun writing it and sharing it.
Tony18: It took me a long, long time to settle into an understanding of Callaghan's character but I think by the end I finally got it. Callaghan is torn. On one hand, he really feels as though he's been wronged. On the other hand, however, he literally sees the ghost of his past coming back to haunt him. It makes him question a lot of things he's done. I imagine that there was a huge battle going on in his head during the last fight sequence before Tadashi overpowered him. What was going on at the time really made it hard for Callaghan to weigh Tadashi's words. There is very little doubt in my mind that, had Vera, Hiro, and Baymax not shown up when they had, Callaghan probably would've broken from Williams and Hydra eventually to help the team escape. It probably would've cost him his life.
Realdone Fiction: Thank you for your compliments! I'm happy that you have enjoyed the story. And thank you for pointing out my typo. I was trying to remember the acronym from memory when I wrote that and apparently it didn't go so well lol.
jaymzNshed: I was waiting for someone to call my bluff :) You were correct with all your predictions for this chapter. There was only one other person who reviewed and openly called my bluff. I hope the climax lived up to your expectations. It was incredibly fun to write, even if I did have to heavily tweak it lol.
bukalay: Tadashi did retaliate. It just didn't work out so well. He charged in blindly and got his rear end handed to him. Sometimes rage/grief fueled charges work out, sometimes they don't. As far as GoGo not retaliating, or anyone else for that matter, they had the start of an impromptu plan going but then the plane exploded and they were a bit preoccupied. I think as the shock started to ebb away after the explosion, when they were being forced to the van, GoGo and the others were just waiting for the right time to act. Sometimes it's better to wait for an opening than to just power through something. Brains over brawn sometimes you know?
PerrythePlatypusGirl: All good things must come to an end I guess. Believe me! I've enjoyed this ride just as much as you have. I only hope that my conclusion was as great as you hoped it would be.
Purpalz Miner: Don't panic! Hiro is alive! Baymax is alive! Everyone is okay!
UntitledJoy: I can't believe this story is finished either! It was a huge emotional roller coaster for me as well as I was writing it. As far as a oneshot series, I do have a few planned. I'll talk a little more about them in the final notes/acknowledgements after the epilogue. Which relationships did you mean by the way? Tadashi and Hiro? Tadashi and his friends? Tadashi and Coulson/S.H.I.E.L.D.? I'm open to all sorts of ideas.
DaydreamDepartment: Callaghan's role in the story changed so much. I started out not really knowing who or what I needed Callaghan to be. I think I finally figured it out by the end though. As far as your comment about Tadashi getting his butt kicked, no I don't think that sounded all that bad. I went into the chapter knowing that it was going to be that way so if anything I'm the real jerk. I wanted to show Tadashi, who had been a strategic and careful fighter throughout most of the story, just throw it all out the window because that's what grief and anger does. I can work well, as it did for Vera at SFIT, or it can blow up royally. It really is luck of the draw when you're fighting and I wanted to show that. Also, you're welcome for the review. I've got a steadily growing list of fanfictions I need to catch up on/start.
CrazyFeralVigilanteDragonLady: I think someone at S.H.I.E.L.D. could be bought off to open the cell door for you to beat up some Hydra agents. Wish granted with Tadashi hitting someone. Callaghan had it coming.
Espe Kuroba: Originally, the last chapter wasn't supposed to be a cliffhanger. It was supposed to just run right into the first part of this chapter as one big long chapter. Structure wise it wasn't working for me so I had to use one last cheap cliffhanger. The conversation between Tadashi and Callaghan was probably the best thing to come out of the rewrite for last chapter. It dictated a major change in this chapter in Callaghan's role in the final battle.
ZebraFinch (Anon reviewer): Hiro is alright! He's alive (though Tadashi might just kill him for scaring the snot out of him).
Ember Neutron: Everyone lives. Just this once, everyone lives!
Forever Me: Glad you enjoyed the last chapter. I quite enjoy Imagine Dragons as well. When I heard "Ready! Aim! Fire!" after writing the last scene I knew it fit the chapter perfectly. There were so many lines that matched up with what was going on. It made it hard to chose a lyric for the opening.
WhiteWinterStar: You called my bluff lol! Yes, it was Hiro and Vera that Fred saw and it was kind of a miracle he didn't give them away. That sort of excitement is hard to contain. I hope the climax lived up to your expectations. No one died (which for me, as a writer, is unheard of) but I agree with the idea that it would be out of character for the BH6 crew to kill Williams. Neither would Vera.
Masking What Remains: They made it alright. Everyone is fine. Sad thing is that I knew going in to write the last chapter that everyone was going to be alright but yet I still managed to sob my way through most of the first draft.
tadashi fan (Anon reviewer): Nope, Tadashi lives. Everyone lives. No one dies in this story. In all honesty, I couldn't have killed either Hiro or Tadashi... or any of the canon characters for that matter. As far as a sequel goes, I don't really have any ideas for a sequel so probably not. I do plan on writing some oneshots that go along with this AU that I've established. That isn't to say in the future I wouldn't be open to writing a sequel. The story just has to be there for me, y'know?