Sora meets Big Hero 6

by Puterboy1

Ten years after Kingdom Hearts II, Sora, Donald and Goofy meet Hiro Hamada, whose life has been catapulted at the mercy of the notorious Big Boy Caprice and the all powerful Sandman. With the help of an inflatable robot named Baymax, his closest friends, Sora, detective Dick Tracy, Ultimate Spider-Man and his team of rookies, they band together as "Big Hero 6" to solve the mystery.

5. Microbots

By the next morning, Hiro's inventions were beginning to work perfectly and he turned down one bot-fight after another. Sora, Hiro, Donald, Tadashi and Goofy carted the bins off into the wagon of Aunt Cass' truck after a hearty breakfast of boiled eggs held by chopsticks. Hiro imagined creating a jet plane out of the microbots, hoping that it would impress the judges once they saw a flying machine that could reassemble itself after being shot down, but Tadashi had advised him to save the idea for the air force. After all, it was a science fair that they were going to and not an air show.

When they arrived at the school by 9:30, Sora, Donald and Goofy went on ahead into the office, but Aunt Cass dashed into the student store and bought two blue SFIT hoodies for the brothers. She was planning on photographing their first moments at school, as she had done almost seven times in the past and any article of clothing from that school would help her to identify the name in case she would forget.

Cass placed the hoodies onto Hiro and Tadashi and took them to the entrance, positioning the brothers to create the optical illusion as if their hands were grabbing onto the dual towers of the institute like giants. Hiro stood on his right foot while Tadashi was balanced on his left.

"Almost got it," Cass was trying to adjust the camera in a crystal clear focus, but Hiro felt as if his left arm and his left leg were beginning to fall off of his joints.

"Aunt Cass, we're gonna be late!" he protested.

"Of course you won't, it's right across the street."

Then, like what any other professional photographer would do, she instructed the brothers with clear words and actions.

"Okay Tadashi, move your arm…up, a little bit and…."

The camera snapped.

"There! That one's a keeper."

In the picture was Hiro holding up his right thumb up while his left foot was against the side of the right tower while his hand looked like he was clutching the roof, while Tadashi's position was almost exact with his right hand placed over the roof of the left tower and his foot looked as if it were going to knock it down.

Pleased with the memory, Cass locked her nephews in a tight embrace and went off to park the truck in a spot closer to the showcase hall.

Hiro was excited. "Come on! Let's go, Tadashi!"

And without even bothering to look both ways before crossing the street, Hiro would have been run over by a speeding bus had it not been for Tadashi pulling him back by the pullover of his hoodie.

"Who'd look after you if I wasn't around?" Hiro asked his brother as they entered the institute hand in hand.

They signed in at the front office and it was arraigned by Diet Smith that Tadashi would present Baymax first and Hiro would show his microbots later near the end of the day at 5:00 PM. With that being settled, Hiro and Tadashi would have enough time to walk around the campus and chat with Sora and the research team before going on to present their inventions, unaware that on this very day in history, their lives would soon change forever.

---

In the meantime, Big Boy was going about his business inside the art deco conference room of Club Ritz, but things weren't going so peachy keen for the biggest crime boss in the city. The benefactor had not yet specified the demands for what Breathless was going to steal at the showcase later on that evening and she was already getting dressed for the occasion. Caprice had been waiting outside her dressing room for over the last eight minutes and she stepped from behind the door, surprising him with a silver lamé dress, silver slippers, silver star earrings, diamond studied bracelets, and a pair of Swarovski diamond rings on both fingers.

"How do I look?" she asked him.

"Like a sheet of aluminum foil," said Big Boy.

"I was thinking more of the crystalline type."

"Either way, it's a nice choice, honey. No one 'ill be suspecting you that pretty dress."

"Other than going to steal an invention piece that will win the show, what do you mean by 'suspecting'?"

"I mean, is there anyone you know at the Tech? Or at least somebody who knows you?"

The very person came into Breathless' head. "Other than Tadashi Hamada?"

Big Boy rolled his eyes. "Oh, that son of a bitch."

He sat down in front of the desk, having walked their way up the stairs as they talked.

"I have had my connections with him before and if he's the guy we want, then maybe that is what the benefactor wants."

Lips was observing a map of the campus grounds at SFIT on Big Boy's right. He had printed it off the school website just an hour ago and when he had overheard Big Boy commenting over the demands, he just had to express his doubts.

"Why risk it, Al? The benefactor hasn't given us the specifics yet, and if he has, we should know when he plans to strike next. Time is of the essence."

Then with a sigh, he added: "We might as well be orchestrating an improvised robbery."

Flattop, who was opposite from Lips' side of the table, smirked at the chance of a nonchalant suggestion.

"You know Big Boy, you did say last night that the showcase was a perfect opportunity for a break-in. With all focus on the expo hall, much of the campus will be shut down to save electricity and with only a few guards for us take care of, it should be piece of cake. So I say: we break into the main building, raid one of the labs, make off with whatever documents we can find, and say it never happened."

Big Boy smiled.

"Smart thinking Flattop, even though they are bound to find out sooner or later."

Flattop responded with a serious grin. "You want me to handle this personally?"

"Yes." But Flattop was in a quandary.

"Sure you don't want to send somebody else? I could get caught in there."

Big Boy shook his head no.

"Nope. Just you. You see, Flattop, the first step to the crime of the century can be a very important job...and you-"

He pointed his left index finger at him.

"Are the number one rogue of San Fransokyo."

Like the número uno pícaro that he was, Flattop stifled a laugh.

"Have you got your gang with you?" asked Big Boy, lowering the finger.

"I've already discussed it with 'em," replied Flattop. "In fact, the boys and Crewy are already in the car. Shaky will meet us at the rendezvous point while Breathless takes the stage."

Big Boy was puzzled. "Shaky? What's he got to do with this?"

"We had a change of plans, Big Boy," Lips confessed. "Shaky and I agreed that he would drive Breathless over to the showcase. He is her stepfather after all and I'm not in the mood for going out."

"Not to mention that someone has to run the club while I'm gone," Breathless added. "Shaky hasn't driven me too often and last night you said something about a pretty teacher going solo, right Big Boy?"

Big Boy remembered himself. "You're right. I did a mention a pretty teacher from a distant boarding school, but I did not say anything about a fat guy accompanying her."

Lips was taken aback by the comment. "You could have at least said something more decent like 'big' or 'heavy' for my sake."

"And what about you and the oysters?"

"Forget about the oysters, I've got plenty. But that was before you suggested the idea."

After Lips, Flattop and Breathless left the room, Big Boy felt his cell phone vibrating. He answered it and immediately recognized the voice that said back to him.

"How's it going, Big Boy?"

"Hey, Alistair. How's business in the world of techs?"

"Wonderful, stocks are up by seventy percent, the revenue is up and low costs for the construction of the Krei Tech headquarters is the reason why I have decided that I will not be needing your services any longer."

Big Boy glowered as if his caller was a rival crime boss. "What?"

"Krei Tech has found new stockholders, so it looks like I won't be using anymore of your money."

"Why wasn't I told about this?"

The caller tried to sound reasonable. "The last thing I want to tell the press is that I have been financing the company with illegal tender. About $600,000 in the main coffers."

As if they had been consciously doing a good cop/bad cop routine, Big Boy tried to score a point.

"Haven't you heard of a thing called lying?"

"I have to be honest," the caller stepped in. "Otherwise, they'll have me arrested for laundering your money. I expect that with the number of stocks going in, the completion of the San Fransokyo headquarters should be within about a month or two. So you should be thanking me that I'm giving back your money."

"But I gave you that money to help with your bills, your taxes, your employers and your fees!" Big Boy hissed as if it were a sick joke. "Do you know how much it means to run a business, fifty-fifty?!"

The caller tried not to argue with him incisively as he drove the stake home.

"Big Boy, I have my word, but I have my freedom. I'll confess my actions to the authorities after the grand opening of the new headquarters. Hate to say this to you but….looks like I'm out."

"NO!" Big Boy refused to believe his words. "You are not out! When-"

Before he could say anymore, he heard a dial.

"Hello? Alistair!? GET BACK HERE!"

Knowing his informant had hung up on him in the middle of a rant, Big Boy shut the cellphone and calmly placed it on the fiberglass table with defeat. All alone in the conference room and thinking about getting chopped suey for dinner.

"Shit," he muttered quietly to himself.

---

Flattop, not particularly a gentleman so to speak, walked to the garage with pounding footsteps to where his car-a red 1991 Toyota Corolla-lay dormant behind Big Boy's Caddy. He pulled the rear door open and what he saw next did not put a grin on his cupid's mouth. In the back was Crewy Lou, sitting on the right, B-B Eyes in the middle and Measles on the left side door. Itchy was in the driver's seat while Mumbles was riding shotgun, and Flattop (out of all the times he actually had to drive the car himself) knew that there was a solution or two to his seating problem.

He dragged Crewy out from the back seat by her right hand with his left, and almost before she could react, took her seat. Crewy pouted and fretted like a child as she lowered her fists to her waists.

"Where am I supposed to sit?" she whined.

"In the trunk."

"Can't I just sit on your lap like always?"

"Sorry, Crewy, I heard on the morning news that there have been a string of cars getting pulled over for lack of safety restraints like wearin' a seat beat an' such."

Crewy shook her hands furiously. "Who cares?!"

"I care!" Itchy called out from the driver's seat. "Even a crook's gotta follow traffic regulations, and besides there's no room. Now you can either take the trunk or we'll just leave ya here."

"Igree," added Mumbles, pointing his right thumb at Itchy.

After such a rebuff from three of her fellow men, Crewy had seen that there was no use in arguing with Measles or B-B Eyes as well, and so with a sigh of defeat; she stomped over to the trunk, opened the decklid and while placing her left leg against the black leather, scooted the firearms taking up her space to the very back of the trunk where the rear seats were located on the other side. Then, with her other hand, she pulled the decklid down.

With her arms wrapped around her bodice and her legs wheeled up to her behind, Crewy Lou lay on her back, staring up at the enclosed ceiling. She prayed silently that the ride would be a short one. Not only was she aware that riding in the trunk was a dangerous and discreetly illegal decision, but it also made her difficult to breathe due to the lack of oxygen from the outside. The first time she had to suffer being locked in a trunk was when Flattop's "advances" became too much for her in what had been a miserable dinner date at The Dragon's Gong three months ago. To escape his lust, she hid in the trunk of Toyota parked outside the restaurant, hoping that Flattop would calm down and look for her in anguish before she nearly died of asphyxiation. Thanks to Flattop's logical process, her plan was successful.

In the present, Flattop waited for Crewy to enter the trunk. After hearing the sound of a decklid opening and closing, he turned his head back to make sure that she was nowhere in sight, and with the lid closed; he knew that she was aboard.

Turning back to face his colleagues, Flattop called to Itchy, "Let's go."

Itchy moved the stick shift into second gear, his right hand clutching the throttle, left hand on the steering wheel and his right foot on the gas pedal. After a short rev of the engine, the car rolled out of the garage and drove off into the sunset.

---

The Expo Hall of San Fransokyo Tech was built in 2000 at the dawn of the new century. It was one of the brightest gems on the campus and ran almost entirely on solar power. The pagoda roof was decorated in the style of the Miyajima, Saikoku-ji and Fudion temples and was almost the height of the East Glorious Gate of the Forbidden City in China. It spawned for one acre over the river that led straight to the ocean, where the towers of the Golden Gate Bridge could be seen a half-mile away above the trees and towards the bay. Two long vinyl banners advertising the showcase hung from the left and right sides of the building with a pair of turquoise colored glass fountains by the entrance. A concrete staircase of eleven steps were lit by four street lights, two at the top and two at the bottom and led to the major paths of the school with an intricate design of three squiggled lines. Twenty pedestrian lanterns, a total of ten on each side of the building's foundation, lit the rich wood and amber green features of the hall with three ground lights on either side of the front to flood the banners with a strong degree of light. Four doors of blurred glass allowed the students to enter the antechamber and from there would cross into the large room of cherry red and black fixtures decorating the wall and sixty six floodlights of blue, green and purple hung from six rigged trusses going in an S-shaped direction. On the ground was the presentation zone where the inventions would attract the VIPs of the science industry and stars of large companies seeking to find a new talent (as well as plagiarizing a few ideas), including a hydrodynamic engineering display of a diver exercising through green liquid, live digital display screens of holographic projectors, a touch screen display panel showing the statistics of crops and livestock, a food cart of red lanterns and four cream booths, an enormous fifty inch screen television monitor and a remote controlled red and white blimp powered by a pair of small electronic fans. To put it simple, it was a buzzing live show where contenders were given strictly controlled booth-space to set up their projects and present their ideas. Then, the judges would mark the votes and offer the winner and the best candidates a coveted spot at SFIT. It was definitely a battle of the brains amongst an influx of freshman students who wanted to share a piece of their technology that would help to change the future.

Breathless parked her sleek lavender sports car-a 1935 Auburn 851 Boattail Speedster-alongside Aunt Cass' truck, knowing that it belonged to Tadashi's family. Shielding herself to make sure the temperature was not too cold, she stepped out of the car and turned back to face her stepfather, who was clutching the steering wheel and looked like he was suffering from a soft breeze that was as bitter as the Pacific Ocean on a cold, dark night.

"Are you sure you don't want me to be your chaperone?" Shaky asked in a wobbly voice.

"Anyone won't recognize you if you stay behind," Breathless instructed him. "I'll be out before you know it."

"You have your cellphone?" Shaky continued to question her.

Breathless pulled out a mauve colored BlackBerry from her pocket above the right knee of the dress. She shoved it in front of Shaky and shook it in the motion of his juddering body to make sure he was seeing it clearly when he could without her doing it.

"Let me know when Flattop and his little friends are here," she reminded him. "If not, he'll call me."

"He might," Shaky replied doubtfully. "I left mine at home."

Breathless had little time to bother with this act of remorse, she placed the BlackBerry back into her pocket and walked her way to the expo hall like the star she was. With nothing better to do than wait, Shaky opened the glove compartment, containing five pages of paperwork and application of the car's ownership and seventeen music albums; including I'm Breathless (her only album to be released to the public). Shaky reached his right hand into the compartment for the top album of the stack, The Best of Ritchie Valens, and inserted the disk into the CD player, a special add-on for future owners of the car. Immediately, he was tapping his fingers to the beat of La Bamba on the steering wheel, feeling less "shakier" than usual.

After walking the path for three minutes, Breathless finally came to the expo hall. She was aroused by the design of the building as she entered the second door on her right and cautiously approached the desk manager. He was a thin man with brown hair at the sides, and wore black specs, a berry red and grey striped polyester shirt and black pants. Breathless thought that the manager was her own depiction of how she viewed the other students of the institute besides Tadashi. But keeping that thought to herself, she rested her right arm on the desk, tapped her finger nails five times and had successfully gained his attention.

"May I help you?" the desk manager asked politely.

"I've come to pay a surprise visit," Breathless answered like she was trying to seduce him.

"Do you have an invention to present?"

"No, but I am here to entertain the guests."

"I'm sure that whatever the students have to present will be enough entertainment for tonight."

Breathless craned her head closer to the desk manager, his eyes met hers with full concentration on that face of natural beauty.

"I don't think you understand, I'm Breathless Mahoney."

The desk manager studied her face carefully.

"The Breathless Mahoney?"

"Have you seen me before?"

"Just a couple of posters," the desk manager admitted in a guilty face.

"But all the same," Breathless started to reason. "Would it hurt not to have a live singer in front of a crowd of hundreds?"

The desk manager just handed Breathless the sign-in sheet on a clip-board. To her expectations, Hiro and Tadashi's names were already listed at the bottom under "Contestants". Breathless carefully signed her signature and with a proud moment of glee, eased her silver-clad bodice into the hall.

It was crowded inside, enough for a single person to slip away without being noticed. Breathless inched along, wondering if anyone would or would not recognize her as she made her way to the very end of the one hundred foot hall, scanning the crowd for Tadashi. There, a rectangular stage that was the average size for a band concert was waiting for her, telling her to take center stage and raise her voice to perform what she thought was the most beautiful song known to exist: "Something to Remember". A ballad that she had written to express her emotions towards lost love and treasured memories of that relationship with a relic that had been left behind by that person who was deceased or divorced. Perhaps she would sing a more upbeat song like "Vogue", a pop single that displayed her intelligence of beauty, the soul of dancing from within and household named actresses from the Golden Age of Hollywood like Greta Garbo to Bette Davis.

While taking her time to prepare for the impending robbery, Breathless looked around with awe, impressed by the magnificent machines and cutting-edge inventions by students from all twenty three districts and thirty six neighborhoods, including a Ruku Ruku kitchen serving foods and beverages, an "ecobot" to save on electricity, a microscope sitting on a booth for hiring new members for Innovative Healthcare Solutions, and even the more casual souvenirs like pamphlets, leaflets, shirts, mugs and caps. A hundred people stood amongst a few well-dressed individuals here and there, to whom Breathless assumed were the judges and VIPs of the showcase.

"It's like science fiction come to life," she muttered out loud. "Too bad I have to steal one of their inventions though."

She checked the presentations up and down with wide-eyes and came to the Ruku Ruku kitchen where beverages were being served on a violet topped table.

"Then again, I am a little thirsty."

Breathless zipped over to the table and greeted the presenter and his acquaintances with a flashy grin.

"Hello folks, is this the blackjack table?"

"Do I look like a pit boss to you?" the presenter, a twenty-two year old male with dirty blonde hair and a white button up shirt glanced at her oddly. "This is a drinking table."

"Of course it is," Breathless replied sarcastically. Then her voice got serious-almost monotone if one were to ask her.

"It's a joke about me growing up in a speakeasy."

She checked the menu. They were all commercial drinks.

"I'll have a diet coke with two lumps of ice and make it free. My purse is still in the car."

The presenter went over to the soda fountain attached to the back wall of the display and poured the diet coke and two lumps of ice into a plastic cup. He handed it to Breathless and she stirred the drink into a miniature whirlpool with her left index finger as if it were a cocktail.

"So what's this about you and a speakeasy?" the young man had asked her. He was curious and didn't quite get the joke about Breathless' comment about a blackjack table.

"Well, when you live a speakeasy for that long," Breathless half-lied. "One might think that you had gambling on the brain."

She lowered her hand holding the cup to gain a fully unobstructed view of the presenter laughing his heart out at this quirk, but he wasn't. He had taken her words as sheer stupidity, as if the charming chanteuse was a stereotype blonde. The look on his face meant "I don't know what you're talking about," and she was looking back at him with a tiny smirk.

A corpulent woman with tanned skin, a purple headband, black hair, a thistle-colored shirt, black shorts and vermillion slippers was the only one who laughed. Her unequally thin daughter, another student of the school, curled her lips into a polite smile and the remaining three witnesses, a pair of Native American women and a slightly muscular man in a yellow shirt and a ponytail in his light-colored hair did not bother with her at all.

As Breathless moved away from the table to keep her eyes open for Tadashi, she suddenly came in close contact with the sweater of Professor Robert Callaghan. Her drink nearly spilled and having prevented herself from bumping into him, she let out a startled gasp and spluttered at the very sight of this prestigious man.

"May I help you?" Callaghan asked in a tone that matched his smile.

"I beg your pardon, sir. I was just lea-"

Breathless took in every detail of his face. She had seen him before…in person.

"Robert Callaghan?"

The professor nodded.

"It's been three months, Miss Mahoney."

"I see."

She moved her free hand toward a seat, but he continued to smile and made a waving gesture that said, "No thank you."

"So this is how you've made all those billions," Breathless squeaked a friendly chuckle. "For future generations of this city."

"Actually," Professor Callaghan rectified. "It's giving future generations the opportunity of attending the institute. Once they've graduated, they can look back and feel proud of having the chance to have been a student here."

"Your secret to success may be that simple," Breathless said as she took a swig of her diet coke. "Me? I'm just a minor celebrity singing my life away on a club stage and on local radio."

"Too bad it has to be run by a mobster," Callaghan sympathized. "You should have a record deal."

"That's what Lips says, but he never really keeps his promises."

She tried to match his smile with her own as she took a third of the coke down her esophagus.

"So what are you doing here?"

Breathless remained true to her mission.

"Well, when I heard about this showcase, I thought that your students would need some songs for their presentations. Someone like me, a star who knows how to carry a tune."

"I think the inventions are just about all the entertainment we need, Breathless. Although, it would be nice for a star like you to make a special appearance in front of all my students. We haven't had a band for these events in almost seven years."

"Didn't care for their music?"

"Nope. Budget cuts."

Breathless looked down at the cup she had been holding in her right hand for four minutes. Her diet soda was half empty at the bottom. She reared her head back to Callaghan and put forth each word into her objective without revealing the true nature of her reason for being here.

"Robert, before I forget…do you know if any of the inventions presented here would make a good piece for, I don't know…a portal?"

Callaghan's smile dropped into a cold, humorless glare. The very mention of the word "portal" seemed to have a negative effect on him.

"Why do you ask?" he said sternly.

Breathless flinched. It was not the first time she had seen Callaghan's emotions turn into the polar opposite of his public image.

"Just curious," she confessed in a scared voice.

Professor Callaghan leered his head closer to Breathless as if he was about to rape her.

"I'd be ready for a world of destruction if I had to deal with those VIPs all day long."

Breathless wanted to know if Callaghan was referring to a specific someone, but all she said was, "I know how you feel. Big Boy's rehearsals are such a pain in the ass, but it's still worth it."

Professor Callaghan played it cool as he tried to keep his temper. Breathless on the other hand, took one final sip of the coke, bit her teeth into the ice and threw the plastic cup into a waste bin by the soda fountain.

"Who says you can't recycle plastic over Styrofoam?" she cracked to the presenter. This time, he just smiled in agreement with the school's environmentalist motivations.

Then, with free hands, Breathless asked Callaghan something that would put the smile back on his lips.

"Do you know where Tadashi is?"

"He should be preparing for his presentation."

"And what is his presentation?"

"He calls it a healthcare robot. He should be at that stage over there."

He pointed his left index finger to the rectangular stage that Breathless had been looking at six minutes ago. The fair-haired singer placed her left hand on her forehead as a visor and narrowing her eyes, could make out a male figure in an olive green blazer and a black shirt on the right side of the stage. She recognized the figure as Tadashi and casually walked her way over to the stage, but not before turning her upper body back to thank Professor Callaghan, whose smile was returning.

"I hope you enjoy the show, professor."

She walked away, her head focused on Tadashi as she approached the stage with strong feelings. The young man was leaning by a red-baggage like device that Breathless had not seen before (or at least not fully aware of its existence). When Tadashi stood up, he turned his head at the shimmer of silver lamé fabric and his face was jumpy when he asked, "Breathless?"

"That's my name, don't wear it out."

"What brings you here?"

"I heard about the showcase and I thought that you would need an assistant for your presentation."

Breathless moved closer against Tadashi's personal boundary. In return, he tried to give her some space.

"I was thinking of having someone else be my volunteer, but you can come up if you'd like."

"I accept."

Breathless fiddled with a lock of Tadashi's black hair and the elder Hamada turned counterclockwise towards the three steps of the stage. He walked up the steps with Breathless following behind and he took out a microphone with an earplug from his toolbox by a stand on his side of the stage. Hiro stood nearby, ready to see his brother's magnum opus in full action, while at the same time he was aroused by the aurora of Breathless Mahoney's silver lamé grown. The reflective lights emitting from her jewels had caught Sora's eye and almost blinded Goofy, who was by the stage with Donald and Hiro while the presentation was just getting started. Honey Lemon, Go Go, Wasabi and Fred were serving as initial witnesses, and Aunt Cass could not wait to see what her oldest nephew had in store for the science world.

"May I have your attention, please?" Tadashi said into the microphone.

A small crowd was forming before the stage, along with Professor Callaghan, Diet Smith and the other judges.

"Before I begin, I would like you all to know that our local singer Patricia 'Breathless' Mahoney has paid a surprise visit to our fair institute."

The audience applauded, and for lack of a spotlight, Breathless grinned sheepishly.

"Thanks. It's an honor," she lowered her head.

"Now," Tadashi addressed the audience. "Who besides our special guest would like to volunteer for my presentation? I need someone who is in pain."

Almost immediately, Fred jumped onto the stage like a tiger.

"Oh, oh, oh! Pick me! ME!"

He whispered into Tadashi's right ear. "Do you have piece of tape?"

Unfortunately on Tadashi's part, Breathless overheard them.

"I'll do it," she said.

She went over to Fred and he pulled up his shirt to give her a good look at his scrawny chest.

"Do you like what you see?" he asked her.

"Nice abs," Breathless said dryly. "Too bad they look a little…vulnerable."

Tadashi whispered to his subjects.

"Breathless, Fred doesn't actually have to be in pain."

"No, she's right Tadashi. If I'm gonna do this, I have to do it right. Tape please."

Breathless obeyed and she walked over to the toolbox to get the tape out, the same tape Tadashi used on Hiro almost two weeks ago. She placed a six inch placed over Fred's heart in-between his abs, held onto it for three seconds, and much to the shock of the audience, pulled it off in a swift reflex, leaving behind a red burn mark and some miniscule drops of blood in the place of twelve hair follicles that were stuck to the discarded piece of tape. Fred tried to hold his breath, but his cheeks burst into a "YEOOOOOOWWW!" as he felt like a butcher's knife had carved into his heart.

With a beeping noise, a roll of the wheels up and to the right of Fred and a full-blown inflation sequence revealed Baymax in all his kawaii glory.

"Hello, I am Baymax, your personal healthcare companion."

The audience awed and clapped as Baymax took two steps out from his baggage. He took six more steps closer to Fred and the judges: Callaghan, Smith and two women named Annie and Sally made the votes on their tablets. Even Hiro was more impressed than before by this secondary introduction. Tadashi made the announcement.

"Meet Baymax, the world's first robotic medical aid."

"I was alerted to the need of medical attention when you said 'ow'," Baymax interrupted, continuing his "check-up" with Fred. "What seems to be the trouble?"

"Duct tape ripped out my man-hair," Fred replied meekly.

Baymax's chart of faces appeared before Fred.

"On a scale of one to ten, how would you rate your pain?"

Fred pointed to the eight face with his left pinky finger.

"Crying face…"

"I will scan you now."

Tadashi turned out to the audience as Breathless made the typical gestures of a hostess holding her hands out toward the special attraction. Baymax's actions were shown on the screen behind them.

"Baymax is equipped with hyperspectral cameras," Tadashi continued. "He can scan a patient, diagnose the condition, then recommend a course of action."

Baymax scanned Fred up and down as he found the injury and displayed Fred's symptoms at the bottom of the screen, his heart rate and blood pressure appeared to be normal.

"You have a small epidermal abrasion on your upper torso."

"Please be gentle with me," Fred winced like an infant.

"Don't let Baymax's nonthreatening huggable design fool you," resumed Tadashi as his robot turned his right index finger into the spray of bacitracin. "He has a composite fiber pneumatic skeleton that makes even lifting the heaviest of patients a breeze."

Baymax held out his arms for Fred and the teen climbed into his arms. The robot held him bridal style and the judges continued to make their votes.

"I feel so safe in your arms," Fred said in a light feminine voice. "It's like being hugged by a cloud."

He held his arms around Baymax's head. The robot looked at him with no feeling whatsoever other than concentration.

"The heart of Baymax," Tadashi continued. "Is his healthcare chip, programmed with over thirty thousand medical procedures and home to his caregiving matrix."

Fred snuggled his nose under Baymax's neck, while the robot replied, "I cannot deactivate until you say you are satisfied with your care."

"In that case," answered Fred, patting the marshmallow's heart. "I am satisfied with my care...and your warm embrace."

Baymax put Fred down and sidestepped three times to the left.

"And that," finished Tadashi. "Is Baymax. Thanks."

The audience clapped with joy and the final poll results were made. Cass came up from behind Professor Callaghan, shouting "That's my nepheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeww! YEAH!"

Keeping herself from feeling left out, and as part of her "distraction", Breathless offered the microphone from Tadashi and he politely agreed.

"And as special bonus, let's all give a warm welcome to your favorite starlet-myself."

She held out her karaoke CD.

"Can I get a DJ?"

Tadashi took the CD.

"Allow me, ma'am."

He placed the CD in a disk player in front of the screen and the instrumental backup of Breathless' #1 single Vogue began to play. As the crowd went along with their business, Sora, Donald, Goofy and a few other witnesses remained to hear her sing.

C'mon,

Vogue!

Let your body move to the music!

Hey, hey, hey!

C'mon,

Vogue!

Let your body go with the flow!

You know you got to do it!

Go Go found Breathless' music somewhat enjoyable, but an envious Honey thought that she was a show-off, considering how many days and months Tadashi spent with Breathless over her. Wasabi approved of her hygienic skills and Fred was glad to be demonstrating a variety of movements; the tango, the swing, the waltz, the foxtrot and a samba with his favorite "dance teacher". When the song was finished, they left the stage with Hiro and Tadashi as they went back to retrieve the microbot bins from Aunt Cass' truck in the parking lot. Shaky who was still in Breathless' car, hid under the driver's seat, fearful of being caught while he was still next to the truck. He did not even dare to turn up the radio until the brothers and their friends were out of sight.

---

The Ito Ishioka Robotics Lab was deserted when Itchy parked the Toyota in front of the steps. Flattop's first objective was to get Crewy out of the trunk and when he opened it, her hair had flattened with sweat and she was still breathing at a normal rate.

"Next time," Crewy sighed with her breath returning. "Buy me an inhaler."

"At least you didn't complain all the way," Flattop replied as he helped her out with his hands.

The hoodlums obtained their signature firearms from the trunk; Flattop with his prized 1927A1 Thompson machine gun (also known as the "Chicago Typewriter" with a rare 100 round drum), Itchy with his .45 caliber M1A1 Thompson submachine gun, Mumbles with his 6.5 barrel Smith & Wesson Model 27, B-B Eyes with his S&M Model 17-4 (with a barrel two inches longer than Mumbles'), Measles with his M3 Grease Gun and Crewy Lou with her Winchester Model 1912 pump action shotgun that could hold up to 20 gauge bullets in six rounds of shots.

Flattop took out Lips' map of the building that he had taken from the conference room before he left and folded it out on the decklid of the trunk. He shined a flashlight over the map and made a circling gesture on the rooms that he and his buddies were intending to infiltrate as they observed the layout of the interior with sharp eyes and heavy concentration.

"Take a good look," he reminded his fellows.

After thirty seconds of preparation, they were ready to pull off the job.

"Will we even need these?" Measles asked Itchy, referring to the gun.

"A good crook's always got to be prepared," said Itchy, scratching the bottom of his neck with his left hand.

"What if they hear us? I forgot my silencer."

"Then we don't use 'em."

He left for the stairs, leaving Measles a bit confused if one might say that.

"Well isn't that a waste of time?" he muttered to himself.

Being certain to make sure that no one had locked the doors, Itchy grabbed the right side handle and to his surprise, opened it without a cinch. It was very likely that the doors were only open to visitors and staff members working the last minute night shift while enjoying the showcase. Itchy popped his head through the doors with Mumbles and Flattop by his sides. The mush-mouthed hood surveyed the vacant office with his sulky eyes peering left, right, then back again to his peers.

"Cosiscler."

Itchy turned to Flattop in desperate need of a translation.

"Mumbles says the coast is clear."

"I knew that," Itchy shrugged.

Mumbles was the first to enter as he said, "Lezgo."

He rushed to the other side of the office by the elevator, avoiding any signs of a security camera from the walls and ceilings. Itchy went second, then Flattop, Measles, Crewy and finally B-B Eyes. B-B could see a small camera above the desk and was almost relived by this close shave.

"What if there's more?" Measles whispered to B-B.

"We just avoid them the same way those kids did it in Catch That Kid. Did you see that movie?"

"Only the Dutch version."

Crewy Lou's grip on her shotgun was firm as she loaded the chamber with an amber colored shell.

"Well, I don't speak Dutch," she said with ferociousness in her voice. "Just English, Persian and Chinese."

Flattop pressed the up button to the elevator and they all climbed aboard. Measles looked back, almost as if someone was watching him before Crewy took his right arm and dragged him into the elevator before the doors closed.

"What is your problem?!" she whispered in his right ear.

"I thought that someone was following us."

"Just pray that it'll be the guard's night off, Measles," Flattop said irritably. "Cause they'd better not be watching us."

Most of the security on the campus was mostly concentrated on the showcase, therefore a robbery in the expo hall would be the least of their concerns compared to what might happen if someone were to rob another part of the school.

On the second floor, the criminals held their breaths and walked quietly in a single straight line with Flattop leading the way. The hallway was dark, no one knew they were there except for a guard or two that might have been a little suspicious. Breaking and entering was the key element to this mission, but did not require a forced entry due to the open door and because of that, it was not specifically called "breaking and entering" under the terms of Japanifornia law. Burglary wasn't too common in the state either, with only the violation of trespassing in Penal Code 602 and acts of vandalism in Penal Code 594 to add an alibi of charging the accused with other committed crimes. In their case however, it was no wonder why San Fransokyo was advertised by some sources as the one of the most safest cities in the country.

At the end of the hall was Callaghan's office, the crooks slipped silently to the door and discovered that it was locked when Itchy tried to open it. Fortunately, Crewy Lou always kept a bobby pin on her person for two reasons: keeping her hairstyle straight and picking locks. She inserted the pick into the top part of the lock, wiggled it for three seconds and her comrades slipped quietly into the office one at a time when the door was unlocked.

"See what you can find," Flattop instructed his cronies. "But it's gotta look worthy."

Callaghan's office was plain, but sleek with only a desk, a laptop, a chair for visitors and three file cabinets with some personal effects. Crewy closed the door behind her just as she thought to have heard the footsteps of a guard coming from the other side of the hallway. The sounds actually came from her fellow criminals along with a small rattling noise from the ventilation shaft, faint at first but echoed with intensity for only a few moments.

Flattop opened the desk drawer and ran his hands over the documents for anything that would be useful for a so-called portal. Itchy, B-B Eyes, Mumbles and Crewy scanned the file cabinets and Measles had the door opened by a crack to keep a look out for anyone else inside the building.

"You think we should have bought some disguises like a ski mask or something?" he asked his partners.

"Nothing makes me itch worse than a ski mask," Itchy seethed.

"And besides," B-B Eyes agreed. "Disguises are for modernists. You see anybody else who wears a disguise?"

"Other than a few superheroes," Measles admitted in a voice that could not be heard from the outside.

Each of the felons had a black leather shopping bag for stolen goods, while Flattop took three of what he thought were the most important files and a wall sized map of San Fransokyo, leading his eyes to the blueprint of a circular-shaped device with the letters "PSS" at the bottom.

I wonder if that's what the benefactor wants. Flattop knew very well that there was more to this mission than meets the eye. But knowing very well to not steal too many items so as to avoid anyone from getting too suspicious, he signaled his accomplices to stop and they left the room with only twenty three documents in a single bag. With any luck of breaking into the other labs, they would find something else worthy of constructing a portal.

---

Back in the expo hall, Hiro, Tadashi, Sora, Goofy, Donald, Honey, Go Go, Wasabi, Fred and Cass were carting the twelve microbot bins toward a circular stage on the right end of the rectangular stage where Tadashi presented Baymax just ten minutes ago. Hiro's heart was pounding in a mixture of excitement and uncertainty as they walked by the astounding exhibitions, a unique feeling of greatness and a remorse of failure should he not win an acceptance letter. Tadashi and the others were also counting on Hiro to groom him into the number one student of San Fransokyo Tech, but Sora was too distracted by the inventions, gaining a closer look at what purpose they could do for his and for the needs of others.

"A lot of sweet tech here today," Sora uttered to the brothers, but Tadashi was nudging Hiro's right elbow, asking him, "How are you feeling?"

Hiro's reply was that of a braggart.

"You're talking to an ex-bot fighter, nii-san. It takes a lot more than standing up to the yakuza to rattle my brain for good."

Go Go, having had her time spent with the yakuza, couldn't agree more. But what she really said was:

"He's obviously nervous."

"What makes you say that?" Honey looked at her. "He looks happy to me."

Hiro's alleged nervousness was hidden by his faltering smile.

"You obviously can't see it in his eyes," Go Go said rudely. "My own halmeoni could sense a weakness in a man's eyes from a mile away, and her eyesight is extraordinary."

"I'm not nervous!" Hiro snapped to his new female friends. His smile dropped along the way with every word of pity.

"You're not, Hiro!" Honey called back with a positive sweetness. "Your microbots are amazing! Tell him, Go Go."

"Stop whining and woman up!" was her catch phrase.

Hiro was hard to please with the quartet of nerds that had recently entered his life.

"I'm fine, guys! You don't have to worry about me!"

"That's what they all say," Sora added. "But I'm always the one to disagree. People need each other to create a well-balanced lifestyle."

"Thanks for your wisdom," Tadashi said, agreeing with Sora's comment. "Hiro and I need each other because we are inseparable."

And in a rare moment of pessimism, Sora's reply would have some foreshadowing on what would become of the Hamada brothers. Uncertain as to who he would be talking to, he rotated his head in both directions as he spoke.

"Well, what if you woke up one morning and realized that he wasn't there anymore?"

Hiro assumed that Sora was referring to Tadashi and Tadashi thought the same, but the both of them were perplexed by the quote.

"Likely, but highly improbable," Hiro said. "Like what Tadashi said, he and I are inseparable."

Sora wasn't clairvoyant, but there were moments where he thought that a seemingly innocent and all-the-more perfect of events would go terribly wrong, as he had seen many times in reality and in fiction. Karma was cruel in a twist of Mother Nature's opinion on values of modernism and the outcome of a person's destiny was no joke at all. It was true amongst the wisest of men that nothing was as simple as black and white and nothing in life, as it seemed, was truly, virtuously perfect.

Wasabi interrupted the silence with a smooth smile. "What do you need, little man? Deodorant, breath mint, fresh pair of underpants?"

As they stopped at the stage, Go Go was the one to be outspoken as she said.

"Underpants? Really? I think you need to see a psychologist about your OCD."

Wasabi just shrugged. "My parents have a little OCD in 'em and they think psychiatrists are a bunch of quacks. Besides, I always come prepared in the event of an emergency."

Fred sat himself down on the edge of the stage.

"You should talk, Damion. I haven't done laundry in six months. One pair lasts me four days. I go front, I go back, I go inside out, then I go front and back."

After his hands gestured with every movement describing his actions, Wasabi dry-heaved at the morbid thought of folding soiled laundry.

Tadashi, however, was not the least bit moved by Fred's words.

"Wow, that is both disgusting and awesome."

"Don't encourage him," Go Go was offended.

"It's called recycling, FYI," Fred retorted.

"As much as I like to hear about your life story, Fred," Hiro butted in. "I do feel a little worried that I could mess up the whole thing if my microbots malfunction or something."

Fred laughed and pointed to his chest. "Worry not little fellow! Freddie wore his lucky Megazon shirt! Worn by the creator of Megazon himself."

Wasabi frowned at the pungent odor. "Smells terrible."

"I know right?" said Fred. "The creator died of a heart attack in this shirt…adds to the value!"

Go Go was appalled. "Oh my God!"

"Are you some type of necrophiliac?" Sora asked in repulsion.

"Actually," Fred disputed. "I got it from a charity auction."

Before he could go into any more detail over how he was able to purchase the shirt, a woman's voice came over the loudspeaker and announced, "Next presenter, Hiro Hamada."

Photo op! Honey excitedly drew Sora and the six friends into a group. Cass, Donald and Goofy stayed out of the way. She took out her iPhone, holding it in her right hand as she shouted, "Everybody say 'Hiro'!"

"Hiro!"

And thus, the group selfie was taken.

Sora and the others left to take their places in the audience, leaving Tadashi to spend some solitary pre-show moments with his brother. He placed a comforting right hand on Hiro's left shoulder blade.

"You're going to bring a great honor to this family name, you know that?"

Then he noticed Hiro's eyes having a steel gaze that had once showed enrapture before it had dissolved into skepticism.

"Hey what's going on, huh? Whatever happened to Mr. Battle Bot?"

"Mr. Battle Bot is long gone," Hiro said with maturity in his voice. "I really want to go here…just like you did."

"And you will!" Tadashi clutched his hands on Hiro's shoulders.

"But what if I mess this up?" Hiro fretted. "I even brought the blueprints to make sure I don't blow it."

During his time creating the microbots, Hiro recorded the schematics and workings of the bots on sheets of blank paper with some documents containing his research. He was planning to present the plans on a document camera behind the microbots so that everyone could see how he was able to invent the impossible. Hiro had placed the plans in the vest pocket of his hoodie and he showed them to Tadashi by means of proving himself worthy of a place in his older brother's alma mater.

As Tadashi looked over the plan, Breathless came to the stage and asked.

"Will you be needing a certain someone to sing for your presentation?"

Hiro held up the palm of his right hand in a polite refusal. "I've got this covered, Breathless."

She noticed the documents in his other hand.

"May I see what your invention is?"

Hiro was skeptical over this question, treating the chanteuse as if she were a con artist. But he handed them over after three seconds of silence.

"Sure."

Breathless studied the plans carefully. She flipped meticulously from page to page, achieving an epiphany that this was what the benefactor had in mind.

This could come in handy. She thought quietly.

But out loud, she handed the plans back to Hiro and said, "They would make a fine dress for my wardrobe."

"I don't think they're meant to act as clothes," Hiro said with an I-don't-know-what-you-are-talking-about expression on his face. He re-obtained the documents and Tadashi was resuming his private moment of great inspiration.

"Hey, just take a deep breath and you have got this."

So Hiro obeyed and he lifted his right foot onto the stage, almost certain not to set it onto the edge, if he should lose his balance and fall off. But with every ounce of courage within his heart, soul and brain, he procured the microphone sitting on the steps and took five small steps onto the very center of the stage, facing Callaghan and the judges with heaved breaths. His cheeks were nearly red and he looked like he was going to say something awkward and rude. Tadashi smiled after him, glad at having nothing more from Hiro other than butting his mind to the best of his advantage. He joined Sora, his aunt and his research team at the foot of the stage where Hiro cleared his throat, clutching the microphone with both hands in a death grip.

"Uh, konnichiwa, my name is Hiro-"

Before his last name could be said, Hiro raised the microphone in front of his lips and a small feedback struck the ears of those within a ten foot radius like an electrical charge striking a metal rod, causing the victims to cringe and Hiro turned his head away from the microphone. But the young genius regained composure, not be taken in by his own captivation that was found from within the pensive areas of his mind.

"Sorry," he apologized before attempting a double-take.

"My name is Hiro Hamada, I'm fourteen years old and I have been working on something that I think is pretty cool…and hope that it will amaze you. I hope you enjoy it."

As Tadashi and Sora placed a nearby Epson docucam in front of the stage, Hiro reached into his left pants pocket for his headband and placed it on his forehead. Five pale cerulean lights glowed under his bangs as he lifted the core microbot from his left hoodie pocket.

"This is a microbot," he announced, holding the said object in his left fingertips.

But at four inches tall, the microbot was almost invisible from at least a half-mile away, not even for a blind man to see. The top "thimble" half of the microbot's body bowed twice in a blink-and-you'll-miss-it reflex, but a stout man with black hair; Professor Aquino, couldn't have cared less about the inferior size of the microbot given his harmless but presumptuous personality. He turned on his heels and walked away in search of an invention that was (in his own mind) literally larger than life.

Hiro watched him go. There was nothing he could do from a recently obtained illness of stage fright, but his gaze turned to Tadashi, and his big brother came to the rescue by pantomiming his hands as he mouthed a single word in a mute comforting tone:

"Breathe."

Behind Tadashi were Sora, Donald and Goofy, who were waiting in the shadows for something extraordinary to happen. Aunt Cass was staring at her nephew with a casual expression, showing a sign bewilderment in her eyes. Go Go had her arms crossed, a bit disappointed with what she had seen so far. Wasabi waited patiently, putting his mannerisms to a proper vantage point in his IQ level of 136. Fred's jaw was slightly dropped as if he were expecting it to happen like in the number of comic books he owned and chastised for being too predictable. Honey Lemon was in the rear section of the group, a pleading expression on her face as she prayed silently in Spanish.

Tadashi always encouraged Hiro to never stop inventing, and he was not going to let his little brother stop in the middle of the presentation that would change his life forever. Seeing this, Hiro nodded his head by two inches and absorbed a large huff of breath through his nostrils and into his lungs. His heart was calm with complacency and he resumed his speech, smug and confident that he would win an acceptance into the school with his own brother for a teacher. With a quick sigh, Hiro's lips formed a big smile of exhilaration and he continued, this time with courage.

"I know it doesn't look much, but when it links up with the rest of its family-"

He paused for a dramatic effect, and Hiro used his mentality to obey the microbots to link up with one another. The bins rattled and the remaining 1.99 million microbots tipped the bins down on their backs. The lids opened and each group of the ten thousand microbots contained within the bins were reunited with their siblings. The crowd of one hundred and one felt a stirring underneath their feet and gasped as they moved out of the path of the nanobots. Tumbling across the olive green carpeting like stones in a rockslide, the trio of judges looked down, following their eyes at the river of microbots climbing up the stage in a smooth, reciprocating pattern. In their total number, the microbots began to take the form of four pillars, bonding together through electromagnetism into the rectangular shape of a seven foot tall container with circular window structures.

"Things can get a little more interesting," Hiro exclaimed.

He released the core microbot from the grip of his left thumb and index fingers and the bot took off like lighting, generating a jet black ripple as it made contact with its fellow bots. A crowd of people who had witnessed the microbots sliding under their feet (including Professor Aquino) drew a large audience for Hiro, amazed, dazzled and overwhelmed by this new invention. Breathless stood far behind the young genius as Tadashi set up the docucam and projected a schematic document of the microbots' functions on the wall behind the stage, proceeding with one file after the other like a slideshow.

"The microbots are controlled by this neurotransmitter," said Hiro as he pointed his left index finger to the headband. He removed the transmitter and held it above his head with both hands, smiling oddly as the base of the microbots subsided and the entire structure collapsed into a molehill of inactive knucklebones. As the crumbling slowed to a stop, Hiro placed the neurotransmitter back on and the microbots repeated their construction of the container, followed by a chorus of "oooh's" from the witnesses.

"Nanowires feed directly into my neurocranium, allowing me to use the microbots through mental imagery without processing an inappropriate thought. Mentality is the only response of artificial intelligence in the microbots at a high efficiency, even if I do not command them to do so. They cannot self-replicate, but they can be manufactured into large amounts if they should be used for heavy tasks like building the tallest tower in the world. Without a huge load of this stuff, they'd be weak from the fragility of their size, but they are fireproof and they can be used for the good of society. Or in brief, I just think them what I want them to do…"

The microbots whirled around in a vortex, forming the shape of an open right hand waving back and forth on its sides in a friendly way. Behind him, Breathless held her arms and hands out in a universal manner of display, like any showgirl would do in presenting the star attraction.

"And they do it!" finished Hiro.

By now the witnesses were even more impressed by such an incredible display. Sora just stood there in awe. Donald's eyes nearly popped out. All Goofy could say was a quiet "Gawrsh." Honey Lemon's hands were clasped together like she was singing Hallelujah in Latin Spanish. Go Go just smiled with confidence and acceptance on her mouth. Wasabi grinned, Fred's smile was open and Aunt Cass was playfully imitating the hand with own. Tadashi just smiled in satisfactory of Hiro reaching the true potential of his creative genius. In his mind he could only say, He's going to make okaasan and otoosan very proud.

"The applications of this tech are limitless," explained Hiro as he took three steps to the front of the stage.

"For example."

He turned his head to the microbots and shouted, "Construction!"

The microbots slunk to the floor and slithered their way to the pieces of unused stainless steel material hiding behind the stage: a circle, a cylinder, wires, four sets of blue fiberglass, thin bars, a silver lid designed with a plus symbol and gold plating. The construction was hidden by hexagonal shapes windows formed by the microbots.

"What used to take teams of people working by hand months or years to do can now be done by one single human being."

Not even wanting to think about the union panting their picket signs for a riot, Hiro hid behind the microbots and three seconds later he was standing on top of an eighteen foot pillar made entirely from the pieces. The crowd was even more amazed by the spectacle before Hiro said, "And that's just the beginning. How about…?"

He took two steps forward and swung his right leg over the edge of the platform. He balanced it in suspension while his left foot was standing on its toes. Pushing his body further off the edge, the audience would have witnessed a fatal impact on the stage had not been for the quantum levitation of the microbots. They caught Hiro by the bottom of shoes and served as a portable platform that created a path for its owner in the front and collapsed from behind once she or he had already crossed it.

"Transportation?"

Hiro was now walking like a giant with extended tractions of his legs. Smith and the two female judges Sally and Annie smiled politely in agreement while Callaghan was befuddled (or least that is how his face was at seeing Hiro's ability to walk on the nanobots), and was trying his best to take in every little detail of the microbots' functions and abilities. His mind was tapping at work on the similarities of his own set of robotics, which had also worked through electromagnetic elements. Breathless kept her eyes on Hiro, then Tadashi, and finally on Callaghan with a sense of trust from the roots of her loyalty to the Apparatus.

"Microbots can move anything, anywhere with ease," Hiro dramatized as the head of the microbots grabbed ahold of the rigged truss. The pitch black mass concealed the overhead lights, creating a tiny spark from the friction of contact with the wires that held one of the purple lights in their place. Hiro was now waist-high in his own microbots, they tipped him over but he did not fall the floor. Instead, they carried him upside down from the interior of his shoes, using the trusses as tracks for a rail vehicle. When he approached Tadashi, both brothers knew that they were in for a high five. At the exact moment, Hiro hung his left hand downwards while Tadashi lifted his right hand and almost as if he wanted to grab Tadashi off the ground and take him for a ride on the microbots, their hands made contact in the best high-five greeting they ever had. Sora who was behind Tadashi, did get the chance for a ride. Wanting his own high-five for all the help he had contributed in the creation of the microbots, Sora prepared for the coming hand, gripped it…and was pulled away from the floor. He was taken by surprise as the microbots turned Hiro right side up from the end of the truss and created their platform for him. Sora just laughed as the presentation was filling up with more and more fun at every second that counted down within the minute.

I haven't had this much fun since my first quest! He squealed from the inside of his head.

Some patrons on the ground took photographs of Hiro and his aerobatic skills with the microbots from their iPhones and iPads. The young Hamada surfed his way to a giant lightbulb looking bubble of plastic glass with a male gymnastic inside and the microbots lifted the bubble nine feet above the ground, forming a flat bridge with a circular arch underneath it. Surprised, the young athletic threw both thumbs up at Sora and Hiro as the bots lowered the bubble back down again.

"If you can think it, the microbots can do it!" Hiro announced as if he were in some sort of commercial.

Now Callaghan was even more impressed, yet almost unfazed. His eyes, along with the entire audience, were completely locked on to Sora and Hiro, who were making their way to the stage. As they were near the column, the microbots formed a spiral staircase; somewhat functioning like an escalator that brought the two boys down onto the stage floor as Hiro landmarked the penultimate tagline of his speech with victory.

"The only limit is your imagination."

Then he jogged his way to the front with Sora moving behind. The microbots fell to the stage in a pile of mount and, what could have been seen as an earthworm shooting up from the earth's surface, was actually the grand finale of the presentation, with all of the bots in their electromagnetic state transforming into one single microbot.

"Microbots!" finished Hiro as the last piece was attached. He held out his left hand to the micro-crafted sculpture. Sora and Breathless did the same. The audience (and a pair of white mechanical hands) clapped their hands together for a standing ovation, Hiro preformed a saikeirei in near-syncronization with the microbot, doing the same with it's upper body. Sora bowed like a gentleman for his own endorsement and Breathless sang an improvised jazz tune about the invention.

They're microbots!

(Microbots)

They can change in…any shape!

(Any shape)

Look at 'em go!

Look at 'em change!

They're the microbots.

The microbo-o-o-ots!

It was like a big band number with an acapella and no orchestra. But even as she held the last note for one second, her voice had been drowned out by the sounds of claps, cheers and Aunt Cass' second hoot of "THAT'S MY NEPHEW! WHOO! THAT'S MY FAMILLY! I LOVE MY FAMILY!"

With all the excitement and promising potential for his brother, Tadashi had not felt so proud in his life from the moment Hiro was born. He put the docucam down and ran over to the stage. Goofy and Donald made quacks and guffaws while Tadashi's research team clapped and whooped at the performance.

Throwing the microphone to the stage and leaping his way to the ground, Hiro was met by an overjoyed Tadashi and the two performed their very own hand greeting that was secondary to the fist bump in the act of accomplishment. Hiro clapped his left palm with Tadashi's right, on the back with the knuckles, clashed both fists together and locked their foreheads in close contact followed by the impromptu shockwave of an atom bomb, represented by sound effects and blowing each other away before the pendulum reunited the brothers into a great big hug. The others and Aunt Cass also congratulated Hiro with respectful comments, and even Honey Lemon shared her own hug with Hiro from behind, squeezing him sweetly while Tadashi ruffled Hiro's nappy hair.

"They loved you!" she cried with excitement. "That was amazing!"

"Yes," a male voice agreed with her. "With some development, your tech could be revolutionary."

Honey dropped her smile and the group turned their heads to face a thin tow-headed man who appeared to be thirty four years old, if not older. He wore a dark navy suitcoat with matching jeans, black soled shoes and a vanilla colored polyester shirt. Behind him was a slim, dark-haired woman of twenty eight holding a tablet. She wore a rubicund pair of cat's eye glasses, a brownish-grey sport coat, snow white shirt, black pants and sensible shoes. Hiro recognized the pair was none other than Alistair Krei and his attractive secretary/assistant, simply known by the press as Alice.

Alistair Krei was the chief executive, president and managing director of his own technological and scientific company Krei Tech and its subsidiaries. His chief rivals were Oscorp and Stark Industries, both of which were located in Manhattan Island along with Krei Tech's central headquarters. He had been fascinated with technology ever since a childhood trip to Carnegie Mellon University, where he later studied there as a student before moving on to SFIT, making his profits towards the formation of Krei Tech and set up shop in New York, later on to a secondary headquarters in Chicago, which later sparked his idea of a third headquarters to be built in the financial district of San Fransokyo. As a pioneer entrepreneur and a tech guru having studied at two different universities and even making charitable donations of his fortune on poverty-stricken citizens, Krei was always on the hunt for the next big thing, but he had a dark secret, something that even the most honest (and dishonest) of businessmen could not live to share.

Earlier, Krei had his eyes on a brain-wave analyzer near the stage when Hiro's microbots caught Alice's attention and she tapped her right hand twice on his shoulder. When Krei responded, Hiro's speech and his skills with the microbots had drawn his attention, witnessing the impossible dream of nanotechnology in the form of fire ants building a column on top of each other coming true into the face of reality. He decided to wait until the presentation was finished in order to thank Hiro in person. The entire concept of the microbots in all their strength was just what he needed to raise a bonus for all of his employees and even use them to impress the board of directors. So he held out an offering right hand to Hiro, and said a kind and gentlemanly tone.

"May I see it?"

Hiro was bemused at first upon the initial sight of this king of technology and present day interpretation of Steve Jobs. He just stared at Krei with his mouth gawking while Tadashi remained in his curbed state of peace. After remembering himself, Hiro reached into his right hoodie pocket and presented the core microbot into Krei's open hand. Krei held the core in-between his left index and thumb fingers, gaining a sharp view of the object while studying the thimble-like design held by a ball joint.

"Extraordinary," he murmured as he peered three inches closer into the core. He flipped it over like a cigarette and turned to make eye contact with Hiro. What he said next had its charm on those down on their luck.

"I want…your microbots at Krei Tech."

Hiro felt like he had instantly become a major celebrity. Sora and Tadashi exchanged glances of shock when they heard Hiro's star-struck reply of, "Maa nante koto nanda, really?"

"You're about to become a very wealthy kid," Krei grinned like a spendthrift with the tone of a thrifty saver. "Let's say…$100 million?"

"$100 MILLION?!"

The others drooled over their wildest dreams with that large quantity of money.

"I'm not sure what I could do with that load of cash," said Sora, knowing that Donald and Goofy were already wealthy as the closest aides of the king.

"I could give it to the people at ComicCon," Fred suggested.

"I could run a whole chain of sushi places," Wasabi exclaimed.

"I'd open up an international speedway for bike racers," Go Go advised.

"I would have a real boutique store!" Honey squeaked. "Maybe even my very own chemistry school!"

Cass, being a café proprietor who knew how to handle money properly, could think of nothing but an upper class life of mingling with celebrities and getting down with the grandeur of social events.

"With that money, I could run the LARGEST café in the whole wide world!" she said with fangirlism.

All Tadashi could say was, "Hiro, that's amazing! You've been scouted! Krei Tech has promoters from all over the world! This could be your key to making your dreams come true!"

Hiro felt like he was, indefinitely, the luckiest kid in the world. Everything it seemed, had been handed out to him on a silver plate.

"ME? Work at Krei Tech?" he exclaimed in a mixture of happiness and disbelief. Then, in his own impression of Mia Thermopolis from the film version of The Princess Diaries, he added girlishly. "Shut! Up!"

But then Professor Callaghan appeared, as from nowhere.

"Mr. Krei is right, Hiro, your microbots are an inspired piece of tech, and it is incredible that someone so brilliant like you could come up with at age fourteen, but there is always more than just one path: you can either continue to develop them," his voice went strict and deadly serious. "Or you can sell them to a heartless man who is only guided by flaunting his money, abusing his fame and his own self-interest."

Krei rolled his eyes, unfazed by the comment and his smile was locked in place.

"Robert, I know how you feel about me, but this won't be anything like-"

He was cut off by the sound of Callaghan clearing his throat.

"Like I said: It's your decision, Hiro. But you should know that Mr. Krei has cut corners and ignored sound science to get where he is." Callaghan's voice went. "I hear he's been working with the mafia."

For the second time, Krei rolled his eyes. He tried to be civil with Callaghan.

"That's not true," he replied.

"I wouldn't trust Krei Tech with your microbots," Callaghan directed his eyes at Krei with a cold, icy stare. "Or anyone else."

As they quarreled, Breathless had taken the liberty of sneaking her way over to the stage where Tadashi presented Baymax, thinking that a document of the robot was nearby. Within the document, she would a piece that be useful for the portal. So far there was nothing she could see, but she was seen in Callaghan's field of vision as he stared at Krei. The rest of the group had been taken aback by Callaghan's statement and did not even bother to look for Breathless, whose absence had been noticed by Sora.

Krei just clasped his hands together, somewhat reintroducing his proposition to Hiro as Callaghan continued to shoot that stare of anger and fury into his face. His eyes twitched, focused between Hiro, Krei, and Breathless over by the stage.

"Hiro, I am offering you $100 million and that's more money than any fourteen year old could imagine," Krei restated. "With more research and development, they could go beyond disaster relief. They could be used as industrial robots or even weapons."

"Weapons?" Hiro's reply was dry of sound.

He does seem like a nice guy, said the inner voice in his head. I could be famous. It's all happening right in front of me and joining Krei Tech will make me as big as Tony Stark or Norman Osborn.

He thought for three minutes and turned his head to Tadashi, almost telling him nonverbally "don't leave me."

At last, Hiro made his decision, knowing Tadashi's place in the institute was where he truly belonged.

"I appreciate the offer, Mr. Krei, but they are not for sale."

"Are you sure?" Krei smiled with the temptation of a used car salesman. "$100 million is a lot of money."

"Not every genius has to be wealthy," Hiro confessed. "Besides, all ever I wanted was to invent stuff with Tadashi. I think it'd be best if we'd change the world on our own."

Krei's smile faltered. Aunt Cass' dreams of upper class life were dashed, but she felt happy with her nephew's decision.

"I thought you were smarter than that," Krei tried not to complain. Then he placed a small white piece of cardboard in Hiro's right hand.

"My card."

The top and bottom halves of the card where blood red with the logo of Krei Tech Industries, a black line with two perpendicular designs, and the name in a market font underneath it. On the back was a picture of Krei with a serious expression on the right and his name "Alistair Krei CEO" on the left. Hiro placed the card into his right hoodie pocket just before Krei and Alice were walking away.

"Mr. Krei?" the two stopped at the voice of Tadashi, whose right hand was extended to reach after them.

"You still have my brother's microbot."

Krei remembered the core microbot in his left hand.

"You have a good eye, Mr. Hamada," Krei replied as if he already knew Tadashi's name. "Almost too good."

And given his experience as a little league baseball player, tossed the microbot back to Hiro and caught it just in the nick of time.

"If you change your mind, let me know okay?" Krei said to Hiro one last time before walking away. Alice took a final look as well, following her boss at distance of three meters.

"I wonder if he's right?" Hiro murmured

The words made him reconsider, but Callaghan laid his right hand on his shoulders.

"You did the right thing, Hiro, and I'll be sure to have your microbots in safe keeping."

He removed the plans from the docucam and produced an envelope with the SFIT seal in his right hand.

"I'll look forward to seeing you in class," he said and he left the group towards the stage where Breathless was looking around.

Hiro took the envelope, opened it, folded out the paper and the others crowded in to see him read the letter with excitement.

"Dear Hiro Hamada,

Congratulations!

It is with great pleasure that I inform you of your acceptance to San Fransokyo Institute of Technology. I am confident that you will benefit from the wide range of academic and extracurricular programs at SFIT and contribute to the technological existence that defines this remarkable university.

We recognize you for your already exceptional achievements in robotics-most notably your microbot technology. Now, through your admission to SFIT, you will have to opportunity to with an elite group of students from around the world. We are confident that you will be a valuable addition to the student body and will uphold the university's tradition of technological excellence.

The faculty and students are looking forward to welcoming you to our campus this spring and helping you make a smooth transition to university life. In the meantime, we encourage you to visit the Academic Center to learn more about the programs we have to offer,

On behalf of the entire San Fransokyo Institute of Technology community, I extend a warm welcome and best wishes to your success.

Sincerely,

Robert Callaghan, Ph.D."

"I'm in!" cried Hiro with zeal.

After some whoops, jumps and cheers from brother, aunt and new friends, his fate had been disclosed.

On the stage, Callaghan found Breathless, her back turned, searching vainly for anything Tadashi would have left behind.

"Looking for something Ms. Mahoney?" Callaghan startled her. She turned around to face him with a low gasp.

"Oh, Mr. Callaghan, I thought that since-"

"Are you looking for these?"

He showed her the plans and she caressed them carefully into her hands.

"Why are you giving these to me?"

"You're the only one I can trust, Breathless. I need a third party to keep them safe from Krei."

He whispered into her right ear.

"He's planted a bomb inside the building."

Shocked, Breathless cupped her right hand to her mouth.

"A bomb?!"

"Shh," Callaghan hushed her. "I don't want to cause a panic."

He looked left and right, certain as to make sure that no one was watching them.

"Go ahead and get out while you still can. I'll try to locate the bomb, and if I do, leave the plans at my house."

"And if you don't?"

"Wait until your benefactor gets wind of this."

Callaghan disappeared behind the stage. Breathless, fearing that there was little time left for the bomb to go off, had no time to say a proper goodbye to Tadashi or any of the other guests.

"Goodbye, Tadashi," she whispered to herself and she scurried her way out of the building as she held a firm grip on the plans, making sure that none of the documents fell out of the envelope. As she pushed her way to the door, Tadashi, who still by the sage, noticed something.

"Has anyone seen Breathless?" he asked Fred.

"No clue, buddy," Fred replied.

"Do you think she left?" Go Go wondered in suspicion.

"Not without saying goodbye, she wouldn't," Wasabi observed. "I'd never leave my folks without a proper good bye."

"Maybe she's gone to check out the snacks," Sora said simply.

"Well, wherever she is," Honey muttered to herself. "She's gone now."

Tadashi was still uncertain as to her whereabouts, but he couldn't wait until the reception when Hiro would be officially awarded into the institute. In a most unusual act of relationships, the brothers would now become teacher and student in the field of robotics.

On the other hand, Breathless was already back in the entrance by now. The desk manager, who had been busy recording the final results of the showcase in his notebook, noticed her huffed breaths as if she had running from a wild animal that tried to attack her.

"Done so soon?" he asked.

Breathless saw the manager and forced a plastic smile as she said hurriedly.

"Yes, it's been a long evening. I've got to get some rest for tomorrow. Goodbye!"

She waved her right hand for a split-second and the manager did the same, albeit slower as he thought that she was going somewhere very important. Then she dashed out of the building, hurried down the steps, down the path to the parking lot and stopped. She remembered Flattop and the BlackBerry in the right knee of her dress. Breathless took it out and rapidly dialed Flattop's number, looking back to see if Tadashi's party had left the building, yet they had not.

---

Back in the robotics lab, Flattop and his gang had broken into Tadashi's lab (again with the help of Crewy Lou's bobby pin). With their flashlights, they inspected the area for anything useful. Mumbles meticulously scanned the file cabinets, taking anything he could see into his right vest pocket. Itchy and Crewy Lou did the same, looking through the named labels of the files and envelopes for anything portal-related. Measles, silent and still as a soldier, stood on his guard for any members of the security team from the frosted smart glass. Lastly, Flattop and BB Eyes were hacking into the computer, copying all of Tadashi's files from the machine with a junk drive (or at least half of it given the disk space allotted).

"I just hope we don't get ratted out for this," Flattop muttered. His left hand was curled on the desk drawer he opened it to find a sketch of Baymax with some technicalities and specifications of the material he needed. BB Eyes, observing from his vision on the junk drive, tried not to laugh at how ludicrous he thought it looked for a robot.

"What's that? A doodle?" he asked to Flattop. But the anvil-headed crook was imperturbable, and without even having to respond, he heard his cell phone ring.

Certain that it was Breathless, he answered, "Where've you been, toots? The guys and I have been in here for almost an hour."

"I got what I came for," Breathless responded hastily on the other line. "But we've got to leave, NOW. I heard from Professor Callaghan and he says there's a bomb in the showcase hall."

Flattop heard every word based on her speed, but at first he was doubtful. "Ya sure about this?"

"Yes," Breathless, said a little slowly this time. "I think it's time we went back anyway. So get the car ready and I'll meet you by the entrance."

She hung up, taking one last look at the expo hall and raced her way to the front office on fast feet. Flattop closed the cellphone and placed it back into his pocket. He understood that Breathless was aware of the time, but he seemed unsure as to taking her story about a bomb in the building too seriously. He called to his fellow hoods quietly.

"Let's shake a leg, guys!"

With their bags full of one hundred and fifty five documents and plans for the supposed portal (and perhaps a little more so as not to be upset from going over a wild goose chase). Flattop and the hoods peeked their heads out of the corridor to witness a heavy-set guard with chocolate-brown skin and night black hair walking down the hall with a flashlight in his left hand in the opposite direction. He disappeared from sight into the main laboratory.

"Lezmov," uttered Mumbles, and the criminals rushed to the elevator, but not before Crewy Lou went back and made sure that the door to Tadashi's laboratory was shut and locked all the way, as it had been when they first arrived. When she came to the elevator, the guard heard the sound of the doors closing, and they were by the time he went over to investigate. He could have sworn to have made out six figures from his sight just before the door closed and went to check the security footage to get full look of the suspects from the security room, but by the time he got there, the perpetrators had vanished and all that could be seen was the silhouette of a car driving away from the entrance.

Now the first thing Crewy Lou did after informing Flattop, was run straight to the parking lot. She did not wish to suffer a repeat of riding in the trunk and had more than likely assumed that Shaky would be kind enough to let her ride in Breathless' car for the trip back to Club Ritz. When she got there, Shaky was listening to Ritchie Valens' Donna, the second song on slide two of the album in a state of relaxation with no vibration from his body. It soon returned, however, when Crewy knocked her right hand on the window the passenger seat four times and startled him. At first he thought it was Breathless, but closer inspection with her hairstyle while carrying almost the same shade of blonde, recognized as Crewy Lou.

"Do you mind if I ride with you back to the club?" Crewy asked in fast haste.

Shaky lowered the volume dial down by thirty decibels.

"Where's Breathless?" he asked from the closed window.

"We're switching cars," replied Crewy as she tried to open the door. "The job's been done."

She succeeded and Shaky spared no time for an argument now that the heist was over. He backed the car carefully away from Cass Hamada's pick-up and forwarded towards the entrance.

At the front office by the gates, Flattop's Toyota was waiting for Breathless. It had taken no less than a minute for her to show up, as she came in with the microbot documents cradled in her arms and was running as fast as her heeled shoes would let her. There was no time to put Breathless in the trunk, so she ran to right rear door where Flattop was seated and was taken by surprise when he took her into the car on his lap.

With his seatbelt fastened, Flattop called to Itchy, "Okay, drive! Drive!" and the irritable hood slammed his right foot down on the gas petal, worried that someone back in the robotics lab had called security. The Toyota sped off down the street and the Auburn followed after them in quick pacing. Budged in-between Flattop and Measles, Breathless showed him the microbot plans, relived that none of the papers had fallen out as she regained her breath from a long-needed exercise.

"Maybe the benefactor will make a portal outta these," Flattop chuckled.

"Do you think we'll come back tomorrow night for some more?" Breathless asked. "Just in case we didn't get the right stuff?"

"Not exactly. As wanted men, it'll be a week before we do that again."

"Did anyone see you?"

"Depends on who you ask," Flattop said. "Anyone who looks at me can see why."

The car squealed away into the night.