All had been quiet in the Rosemary household for the morning. "Mom! Dad!" Until Rachel came speeding into the kitchen, her phone in her hands. She ran around the counter squealing with excitement.
"Slow down, Rach." Sarah gestured for her to slow down and take a seat on one of the counter stools. "What's got you so excited?"
"Yeah, you haven't even had breakfast yet." Katie meowed. Her feline companion was enjoying a bowl of kibble on the opposite side of the counter.
The blue used to throw fits whenever the bowl was on the floor, and knocked stuff off of the kitchen counter as retaliation. Her parents thankfully understood why Katie was so upset about her food bowl being on the floor and would always save room for her at the kitchen table.
"Right, sorry." Rachel sat down and awaited her plate of pancakes that had maple syrup and whipped cream with a side of challah slices before wolfing it down with vigor. She had eaten around a quarter and drank some of her milk before speaking again. "Ari texted me an invite to hang with her at this event in town."
"How's Ari?" Elio's green eyes glimmered with curiosity at the well-being of his oldest daughter.
Rachel gestured with a shrug. "Okay I'm guessing, she's not exactly open about her mental health, even to me." That fact hadn't changed, amnesia or not, Ari had a tendency to bottle her emotions.
Speaking of lost memories... "Has she talked about her memories?" Sarah asked her.
"She remembers a bit more about us, like when we were moving to San Fransokyo and the road trip there." It had been fun reminiscing about the road trip shenanigans where they had a fun time at the zoo they stopped at, including when Rachel was able to befriend all the petable animals compared to her poor sister, and when they drove their parents nuts asking about places to eat every few hours.
Her favorite memory of that road trip was when they both sat close to each other in the car, sharing a pair of headphones as they binged old Scooby Doo cartoons. "She hasn't really remembered anything related to the pirates, goes to show how much they messed her head."
Elio frowned. "Rach, I get that you're frustrated. But let's not refer to her amnesia as it messing her head up, she's still-"
"Recovering, I know." But knowing that they had tampered with her memories for their own benefit still made her blood boil thinking about it.
Katie looked up from her kibble. "So what did Ari text you about the event?"
Rachel looked happy to change the subject. "Oh yeah, she said she's going to see a mech wrestling match!"
"She's going to see what?!" Sarah exclaimed. "Maybe I should text Cass to persuade them to see something less… risky."
Rachel pouted. "Mom! What's the worst that could happen?"
Elio sipped some of his coffee as he explained for her. "Some of their matches end up with collateral damage, a couple audience injuries. Why just a few days ago the old owner was arrested because she committed the federal charge of trying to bust someone out of jail."
She hadn't heard about that. "Wait, who was she trying to bust out?" Please don't be any pirates or someone from Sycorax…
"Oh, just Yama." Elio casually explained. "The old owner fixed up that giant mech bot he forced Trengrove to upgrade and it was close to breaking him out. Luckily Big Hero 6 stopped Mega Yama and helped track down who ordered him."
"I bet your boss wasn't happy about that." Katie grumbled.
At the mention of the chief of police, Elio let out a groan. "Oh don't remind me, he's thinking of adding some security bots to the prison. Which will take a bit of the budget mind you, but also I'm paranoid he's gonna order those bots to shoot Big Hero 6 if they even step one foot by the perimeter."
"Have you considered reporting this behavior to the mayor?" Sarah asked him.
"Well if he does something stupid like, arrests someone without evidence or tries getting rid of Big Hero 6, I will." He explained. "At this point, his blood pressure concerns me."
Katie leaned over to Rachel. "Bet you that the chief does the latter first."
"Oh come on, he's not that crazy." She huffed. "Anyways, I'm sure the new owner has taken care of safety measures. Can I please go to the match?"
Still, her parents looked skeptical. "I'm not sure…" Her dad shook his head.
"Please! It's with Ari! And I promise to be super duper careful!" Rachel was practically begging, puppy eyes and all. "Pretty please? I'll do the dishes for two weeks and take out the trash if you let me go!"
"Hmmm." Sarah turned to Elio, and they both nodded. "Alright. But make sure to sit somewhere safe, and don't forget your noise-canceling headphones." She reminded her. "Matches can be pretty loud."
Rachel squealed, wrapping her parents into a hug. "Thank you so much, love you!"
"We love you too, sweetie." Elio told her as both her parents hugged her back.
"Can I come too?" Katie's ears perked up.
"You can come too." Sarah nodded, and the blue let out a delighted squeal.
"Mom, do I have to bring Katie?" Rachel had other ideas. "She'll embarrass me in front of my friends!"
Sarah didn't budge. "I'd feel better if you were with someone on the way there."
"Fine…" But she wasn't happy about it.
The blue looked offended. "Hey I do not embarrass you!"
Rachel sent her a glare. "Remember that one time you told everyone I slept with a nightlight until I turned 12?"
"Oh… right." Katie blushed, recalling that time her lips were loose. She had gotten better at keeping secrets since then!
"Why are you like this?"
"Because I'm too cool for this world."
Ferns and Nerds group chat:
Mikan Ferns: What's poppin?!
Sienna Kline: I cannot believe you said that
Sara Ferns: Technically she typed it
Rachel Rosemary: Hey Ari my parents said I could go see the mech wrestling match with you!
TheLittleMermaid: Omg yayyy!
Fredzilla: Cool I'll buy an extra ticket
Rachel Rosemary: No it's fine you don't have to!
Fredzilla: Too late. Now you have extra snack money!
David Ferns: Wait, they sell snacks now?
TheLittleMermaid: Yeah and the only chocolate is white chocolate I hate it
Rachel Rosemary: Also speaking of visitors Katie is coming with me, smuggled.
Wasabi: Why are you smuggling your cat?
Rachel Rosemary: Because I love her and also most people aren't allergic to her?
Rachel Rosemary: No seriously this one guy at a party petted her once and didn't sneeze even though he was allergic to cats
Mikan Ferns: That is so weird I wanna study it. Can I have a fur sample?
Rachel Rosemary: You can try : D
TheLittleMermaid: Doesn't Katie hate biotech majors?
Rachel Rosemary: Why do you spoil my fun
Mikan Ferns: Um I'm right here?!
"It's time for mech wrestling madness!" The stage was set, the audience roared with excitement as spotlights appeared on top of the ring.
The red audience seats were much softer than the itchy blue seats in the Krei-Tech auditorium in Ari's opinion. She looked to her left, Rachel had a pair of green headphones to muffle the cries of the audience and was sharing her popcorn with Katie. I should've bought a pair too, it's louder than any party I've been to.
"Are mech wrestling matches usually this loud?!" Honey Lemon exclaimed. Earbuds rammed into her ears to try and keep the screaming from dulling her hearing. "I've never been to one before!"
"Yeah they usually can get pretty crazy!" Mikan yelled back. The eldest Fern kid had tagged along with the nerd gang since she enjoyed the art of mech wrestling, and had suggested the idea to see a match in the first place. "Guess everyone is excited the league is back up and running."
Ari noticed that Honey Lemon was talking about something with Baymax but the cheers were too loud for her to pick up the full conversation. She did note that the healthcare companion showed the audio levels of the arena, which were really high.
"Why do you guys like mech wrestling so much?" Gogo frowned, not amused by the hype.
Hiro filled in for her. "It's fun! Y'know, cheering for the face, booing at the heel, watching the kayfabe play out in front of you?"
"It's too loud, too fake, and too macho for me." She rolled her eyes.
"Y'know." Ari leaned over to her brother. "I'm surprised you didn't try mech wrestling instead of bot fighting since you seem to like it so much."
"I tried, they said no." Hiro whispered to her.
Fred noticed they were talking about mech wrestling so he chimed in. "Y'know, I love mech wrestling as much as the next San Fransokian so I tried buying the league."
Mikan perked up. "Did you win?"
"I was outbid by someone anonymous." He crossed his arms. "Shame, I was planning on making a match between The Butcher and Celeste."
"Oooh I love Celeste!" Mikan grinned. "Did you see that match where she had to face her ex-lover turned heel the-"
"Maestro? Heck yeah!" Fred pumped up a fist. "The part where they sang a duet about their old romance tugged at my heartstrings!"
"Yeah, she's definitely my favorite face out of the industry! Such a trooper, who's your favorite face?"
"Probably Thunder Foot! He's such a dork even when fighting the baddest of the bad like The Craaaaazy Eyes."
Mikan hummed in amusement. "Ooh interesting choice, Thunder Foot's underrated because he's not as violent driven as the rest of the wrestlers."
"What are you two even talking about?" Wasabi groaned.
"Kayfabe!" They chorused.
Wasabi just shook his head at them.
"I'm excited for the violence to begin!" Katie cackled.
Rachel rolled her eyes. "Of course you are."
Fred was eyeballing the blue feline. "Wait a minute…" He was staring at her eyes, which were strangely red. "Did you put contacts in?"
Katie blushed. "Oh… um…" Her ears flattened. "My eyes are naturally red but I'm self conscious about it so Elio bought me blue contacts that help cover them up." She used to not like her eyes, thinking that they were a scary color.
"Oh…" The comic fan hummed. "Well, your natural eyes are pretty!"
Katie smiled. "Thanks!" She wanted to stop wearing eye contacts for a while, but only now got the chance to do so.
The lights dimmed as the announcer began speaking, bringing everyone's attention to the ring.
"Everyone, put your hands together for the new owner of the Mech Wrestling Federation-" A small figure was being raised to the stage. His dark jacket pressed and finely cleaned, his brown hair combed, but the group's eyes widened as he turned around and they recognized the arrogant face with a mole under his eye. "Richardson Mole!"
"Oh-" Ari blinked.
"Dear-" Mikan winced.
"Goodness-" Honey Lemon clung to her girlfriend in concern.
"Why." Rachel finished with a deadpan tone. She and Gogo were both not happy about this considering their past interactions with the spoiled boy.
Their reactions were nothing compared to Fred. His eyes widened into slits and his jaw dropped as a wailing scream rose from his throat.
"Fred, you okay buddy?" Wasabi tapped his shoulder.
"Oh-ho-ho I will be!" Fred cackled, making the others slightly scoot away as his blue eyes burned with fury. "Once I take something from Mole he wants more than anything!"
Ari leaned on her sister. "How come Richardson can buy a wrestling league, isn't he eleven?" She whispered.
"I know, I'm older than him and I had to ask my parents to come here." Rachel whispered back.
"Probably got his parents to buy it, Moles like to cheat with their kind of cash." Katie grumbled.
"And now for the main event!" The announcer thankfully brought their attention back to why they came to the arena in the first place. "He brings the heat, he loves to cheat, he's a bad guy with bad breath-"
Mikan instantly perked up. "Oh hell yeah if it's who I think it is."
The arena rumbled as a wrestler leapt into the ring, making the ground shake. "El Fuego!" Fire roared as he posed. The mech suit was red with flame patterns and black highlights, the wrestler wore a mask that matched his outfit and his brown eyes gleamed as the crowd jeered.
"Keep booing, keep booing, it's just more fuel for the fuego!"
"Aw yeah it's El Fuego! The most flaming heel in this! Prepare to have a bad time when he's in the ring!" Mikan cheered. "He's my favorite baddie in the league."
Even Fred looked happier at the appearance of the bad guy. "Yeah, I love seeing his matches. The one where he knocked the socks off of Puppet Master and overthrew his title of baddest heel was the best match of the year!"
"Get ready to get extinguished, El Fuego!" Their conversation halted as they heard the exclamation from someone they didn't expect. "You're going down, son!" Honey Lemon of all people was throwing herself into the spirit of things.
The gang and several other audience members that were fellow SFIT and SFAI students scooted away, aghast at the chemist's sudden switch in attitude. Except… "Babe." Gogo wrapped a hand around her shoulder. "I am so proud of you."
"And his opponent-" The announcer continued as a figure clad in red, white, and blue stepped in. "He's mech elite, he can't be beat. He's a good guy with a smile that lights up a room."
"Thunder Foot?" Fred perked up.
"Uncle Samurai!"
"NOOOOOOOO-"
Hiro groaned. "Yeah I'd prefer a better face, Uncle Samurai isn't good at shoots."
"What's a shoot?" Ari asked him.
"Unscripted match, hopefully not this one."
Despite that, the audience still cheered. As any match with El Fuego as the heel was bound to be exciting. And it started off with him taunting Uncle Samurai to make the first move, they clashed fists at a stand-still. "Feel the revolution!" Uncle Samurai tossed El Fuego into the corner and started punching his chest.
"End him Uncle Samurai! You're doing great!" Honey Lemon cheered as the face prepared to body slam into his foe.
"Uncle Samurai, he's our guy, if he can't do it, great." Mikan's cheer was more deadpan.
"Gee, it's almost as if you don't want him to win." Katie snarked.
As Uncle Samurai launched, El Fuego grabbed him and delivered a punch that made the audience look away. "Oh my gosh that was brutal." Ari winced.
"Fake." Gogo claimed as it knocked Uncle Samurai to the ground. The crowd booed as he spun around.
Fred's eyes lit up. "Aw snap, El Fuego's about to do his signature mech slam: The Sparkler."
"He hasn't done that since his fight with Lion Eyes." Mikan added. "That was such a brutal match it made some of the superhero fights look tame."
"Highly doubt it." Gogo rolled her eyes at the dramatics.
El Fuego screamed his signature cheer while spinning Uncle Samurai like a ragdoll. "Da-da-da-da!"
"I'm getting dizzy just watching." Rachel made a face.
"Extreme dizziness can lead to extreme nausea." Baymax turned to her. "Do you need a bag?"
"Don't worry Baymax, it's just for show." Hiro waved it off. "Try to look away if it's bothering you."
Rachel nestled her face into her bag of popcorn. "Easier said than done, ahhh I hate spinny moves."
Fireworks went off as El Fuego finally tossed Uncle Samurai out of the ring, people screamed and ducked out of the way as he landed and crashed a bench.
"Woah, does that normally happen?" Ari's eyes were wide. "Is that legal?"
Before either of her siblings could speak up, Richardson ran into the ring, tearing off his jacket to reveal a black and white striped shirt underneath. "Hey! That's against the rules!"
"Oh come on! You can't be the owner and the ref, that's a conflict of interest!" Fred jeered.
"You just got your first warning!" Richardson jabbed a finger in El Fuego's direction.
El Fuego did not care. "A warning! Ooooh I'm so scared!"
"Uncle Samurai may need medical attention-"
"He's fine, Baymax." Gogo told the robot as the face leapt back into the arena and the crowd cheered.
Uncle Samurai waved to the audience. "No surrender!" Unaware of El Fuego grabbing an empty bench.
"This is classic!" Hiro grinned. "While the ref is conveniently distracted, El Fuego is able to cheat."
"Uhg. Speaking of the ref…" Ari noticed Richardson was facing their direction and definitely noticed the two girls he tended to hit on. She shot him a killer glare in case he tried flirting with her sister while she was watching. Hiro noticed what she was doing and also sent a glare in the boy's direction.
She liked to think that made him decide to not target Rachel this time, to poor Gogo's annoyance. "Hi dream girl! You pinned my heart." He waved at the engineer. She just rolled her eyes and leaned onto her girlfriend's shoulder.
Honey Lemon held her hand in comfort. "Want me to chew him out?" She offered.
"Eh don't give him the attention." Gogo reassured her. "I'm fine." They watched as El Fuego smacked Uncle Samurai with the wooden bench and punched him into the ground.
"That gives a whole new meaning to 'getting benched!'" The announcer shouted while the face was pinned.
"He cheated!" Gogo jolted as her girlfriend shot up and she had to quickly grab her from running up to the ring. "Tag me! Tag me in!"
"Welp. I knew El Fuego was gonna win all along." Mikan shrugged. But then El Fuego looked at the ref and suddenly, Uncle Samurai was picked up and slapping El Fuego.
"Oh no, how are you doing this?" He deadpanned.
"Is this kayfable?" Ari questioned.
Her siblings shook their heads. "If it is, it's a horrible example." Katie grumbled.
Uncle Samurai turned to the crowd. "Let freedom ring!" He picked up El Fuego and slammed him into the ring. "Loser!"
"One! Two! Three!" The crowd chanted and cheered as the face won the match.
Well, everyone except Mikan cheered. "Boooo! That was rigged! He was unconscious for that last bit!" She growled. "Worst match I ever saw!"
"Shhhhh." Wasabi shushed her. "Do you want the crowd to go all angry mob on you?"
"Yeah! That's what I'm talking about!" Honey Lemon's reaction was the opposite.
"You are being dangerously loud." Baymax warned her.
She paused, lowering her hands. "Sorry. But that was so much fun."
"It wasn't the best match, I don't think Uncle Samurai is a good face." Ari frowned. "I don't think freedom means beating people up."
"It's called freedom of speech!" Katie exclaimed with her paws outstretched. "With violence!"
Rachel lightly swatted the blue's ears. "No."
"There's still more matches guys." Hiro reminded them. "C'mon, save the debate for next round."
Despite Hiro's optimism, Mikan found herself with a bitter taste in her mouth as she went home. All the matches today had ended with the faces winning, even against heels that would obviously defeat them in shoots. She even noticed that Richardson was gesturing for the heels to lose on purpose!
Well, technically Rachel had noticed that little detail, the scruffy brunette had eyes that could solve the mystery of Waldo's location in under an hour.
"Why are you glaring holes at the TV?" Sara huffed. "Are you that bothered by the news?" Action 7 News was replaying a clip about Big Hero 6 preventing a jail breakout and talking about how the city was lucky to have good fighters.
"It's not the news." Mikan groaned.
She switched the channel to a nature documentary as Sara took a seat. "How was the mech wrestling match you saw?"
"That was the problem, the new owner is an idiot." She explained. "The good part was that I managed to get El Fuego's autograph today, but he complained that the new boss was making him lose matches for the past week to make the faces 'look good' and that 'bad guys don't win in wrestling.'"
Sara blinked. "Wow, I don't know wrestling and even I know that's dumb."
"Ouch." David mumbled. He was chilling on the couch listening to an audiobook. "Did you get the guy's name?"
Mikan nodded. "Yeah, it's Richardson Mole."
The sound of a cup and ice clattering to the floor made them look over to the kitchen. "Mole?!" Juniper had caught the tail-end of the conversation and dropped her cup of water in shock. She quickly cleaned up before speeding towards the couch.
"Oh, you know about him?" Sara raised an eyebrow. She hadn't personally met the kid, but she heard about the harassment stories from Fred and Gogo.
"Yeah, he uh… back when I was y'know, a supervillain, he insulted me once." Juniper explained.
"Aww." They gave her sympathetic frowns.
Her eyes lit up a little at that. "Don't worry though, Mama made sure he never made that mistake again!" A nervous chuckle went up her throat. "I think she zapped him too hard, according to Ari, he forgot that happened and told me to never bring that up if I met him."
The sweater girl told her that the comic store owner was following Big Hero 6 for some sort of "meet your heroes" thing that he forgot, which was why he was in a red suit that was a terrible bootleg of Lizard Guy's. Ari was very adamant that she didn't talk about that detail for some reason, but she guessed that Richardson must've been that annoying for the superheroes to not want to talk about their day with him ever again.
"Nice." Mikan gave a thumbs up. "I'm mad at that twerp for ruining one of my favorite leagues! Where else am I supposed to get entertainment from?"
"Going back to watching food fights?" David suggested.
"Don't you usually watch bot fights?" Sara added.
The younger blonde of the siblings rolled her eyes. "And I thought I was the one with the most illegal activity, jeez."
"Hey! Your friend isn't exactly a clean slate either!" Mikan blushed. "Watching the bot fights isn't the same without betting with Trina." Her green eyes flickered with sadness at the mention of her robotic sister, but only for a moment. "And the food fights are boring without Mommykase to spice them up-"
A snort went up David's nose. "What did you just call my mum?!" He and Sara started choking from laughter.
"Dare you to say that to her face, I dare you." Sara said in between wheezes.
Juniper sighed. "Please don't, she knows where you sleep."
Click!
The front door opened and Sally walked in, shaking her hair. "Hi Mom!" Mikan waved to her. "Did you go on a walk?" She noticed the professor's coat was dirty. "Let me put that in the washing machine for you-"
"No, don't!" She jerked away as the snow-striped girl went to reach for it. "It's fine, I can do it myself, I didn't mean to yell."
Mikan was taken aback by Sally's sudden shout, but wasn't upset about it. "Okay, where did you go then? You've been gone all day."
"Oh, I was just out and about." Sally placed her shoes away, which had a bit of sand on them that Juniper noticed. "You went to the mech wrestling league today, was it fun?"
"I wish I didn't, the new owner is that kid that bugs some of my classmates." Mikan grumbled. "I know I shouldn't talk bad about an eleven year old, but he's an entitled brat."
Sally patted her shoulder to try and comfort her. "Well the best thing you can do is just avoid those kinds of people."
She kept her jacket close to her chest as she went downstairs. "She's probably going to her home office that we're not allowed in." Sara commented. "She always locks it, not that I don't blame her."
"Huh." Juniper noted.
It was still on her mind when she was later chilling in her room and petting Jackie. Why was she acting so weird about her coat? Why were her shoes sandy? In the weeks she had lived in the Ferns household, it was the strangest behavior she saw from the physics professor. And where was she all day? She wasn't even here for breakfast at 7, and it's almost 5PM…
"Squeak!" She looked down. Jackie was staring up at her in confusion, and she realized she had been tugging his ears a little too hard.
"Sorry buddy." Juniper frowned. Dragging her hand across his back and scratching his neck fluff. "It's just that Sally was acting weird today, don't you think?"
Jackie shrugged, rolling his back over and wiggling his paws in the air. "I see where your mind is today." She tsked, rubbing his belly as he squeaked with delight.
The sound of footsteps made her look up from her bed. "Juni?" Her mama opened the door and walked in, placing a bowl containing her dinner on the nightstand. "Are you doing okay in there?"
"I'm fine, thanks Mama." She smiled. Then noticed Jackie staring at her food, fresh vegetable soup, which had carrots in it. "Jackie no, you already had treats the other day."
The rabbit continued staring at her, his paws gesturing to the bowl, blue eyes lasered in on the food. "Squeak?"
"Nooo stop looking at me like that!"
Barb tried her best to muffle her snickering, she really did. "You really know his act by now, don't you?"
"Yeah, he's not sneaky." Juniper nudged the rabbit away from her food. "Um Mama, can I ask you a question?"
Her mama sat next to her on the bed. "You can ask me anything."
"Do you think Sally's been acting weird lately?" She questioned. "She came back today really late, and got mad at Mikan when she tried taking her jacket."
Barb raised an eyebrow. "I did notice she's been out of the house a lot, I'll ask Steven if he knows anything about it later." She then noticed her daughter fiddling with her sleeves. "Is that all that's bothering you?"
"Yeah." Juniper lied, looked away so her mama didn't notice.
But Barb had sharp eyes to notice when something was up. "Juni, I know you were lying there. Is something going on?"
"Not really, but do you remember that annoying boy who owns the comic store that made fun of my dancing?"
"The one with the mole?" She frowned, and Juniper gave a nod. "Did he say something to you again?"
The younger blonde shook her head. "No, but I just remembered that he still has our orb." Despite it being a period of time since they had it in their grasp, she still missed using it. "Do you miss it?"
"Of course I do, I made that orb myself." Barb sighed. "But not as if we can ask that boy to get it back."
A lightbulb lit up in her daughter's head. "That's it! My friend knows where he works so we could just ask him for it back! I'm sure he wouldn't mind trading it for cash, we did kind of wreck his store."
"Right…" Barb trailed off. "Well, you can try, but I wouldn't expect any miracles."
"Worth trying." Despite her warnings, Juniper appeared optimistic, until she saw her rabbit reaching for her soup. "Jackie! Knock it off!"
Barb couldn't help but laugh as Juniper gave the rabbit a death glare as she grabbed her bowl and started eating. "I'll leave you be then, enjoy your dinner."
"Thanks Mama!" Juniper waved as she continued eating and making sure Jackie didn't try to swipe a carrot when she wasn't looking.
The next morning…
"Guys! Why aren't you listening to me?! I'm vowing revenge here!" Ari let out another huff as Fred's whining bounced off of the walls of the Lucky Cat cafe.
The few patrons there for the morning had plugged in their earbuds so as to not listen to Fred trying to explain to his friends his plans for getting on Richardson this week. Something tells me Fred is still angry about mech-wrestling. Not that it was her business, but it was starting to hurt her ears too.
"Excuse me." One of the older patrons, a kind old lady, tapped Ari on the shoulder. "Do you think you could ask the young man over there to lower his volume?" She gestured to Fred, like the bandana girl suspected.
"Sure thing ma'am." Ari refilled her cup of milk and walked over to her brother and friend's table, as the others were warning Fred that his previous attempts didn't go so well and so would this time, even Baymax of all people agreed.
And if Baymax agrees that your plan is a bad idea, you listen to him. "Fred, mind taking your revenge plotting outside?" She asked once reaching the table. "There's other people in the cafe who'd like to enjoy their breakfast in peace y'know."
He listened wisely and sat back down. "Sorry, I'm just so angry Mole is out there ruining one of my favorite sports with his terrible kayfabe-ing!" Fred slammed his fist on the table. "But I'll have the last laugh!"
The rest of the gang just sighed and shook their heads, even Mochi, who was curled up in Baymax's arms and earning well-deserved pets. "Hey, where's Honey Lemon?" Cass asked them. There was an untouched coffee cup where the chemist major would sit.
"Her new 'happy place.'" Gogo gestured.
"Okay then." Cass went back to delivering customers their cup of coffee, but not before glancing at her niece. "Ari take a break, you've earned it!"
Ari couldn't argue with that, so she sat in Honey Lemon's spot. "Anyone else curious how Richardson is gonna run his shop plus the mech wrestling league?"
Just as Wasabi opened his mouth to answer her question, there was a light tap on her shoulder. "Are you guys talking about that Mole kid?" Ari turned around to see-
"Hi June!" She waved to her. "Uh kind of, Fred's still mad he outbidded him for the league."
Juniper raised an eyebrow. "Okay?"
"I'm not mad, I'm fuming with rage." Fred grumbled, a pout on his face and his arms crossed.
Baymax patted him with one arm. "There, there."
"Sorry to hear that, feel better soon." The former crime-dancer genuinely offered. She turned back to Ari. "Can you help me with something?"
She beamed. "Anything!"
"I'd like you to come with me when I go to talk to Richardson."
Her face fell. "...Anything else but that."
"I should've seen that coming." Juniper sighed.
Hiro curiously looked up from his phone. "Why do you want to talk to Richardson?"
"That's what I'd like to know as well." Gogo looked skeptical. "Are you trying to steal your energy orb back?"
"No! No more stealing stuff, that's why I want to ask him." Juniper crossed her arms, glaring at the engineer.
Fred looked up from brooding to her. "I envy your naivety you sweet summer child, Richardson never gives away anything he gets his grubby hands on, even if you asked nicely."
"Yeah, he's not a nice person, he hits on my sister and Gogo all the time." Ari chimed in. "Don't do it."
That seemed to tick her off. "Thanks for your support." She deadpanned.
"I'll tag along." Everyone turned to Hiro in mild shock. "What? She asked nicely."
Juniper flashed him a warm smile. "Thanks Hiro! Do you know where I could find him?"
"Probably where Honey Lemon is, the mech wrestling league." He scooted off his chair. "I know a quick way to get there, been there a few times."
"Have fun on your trip." Ari mumbled to them.
Her friend rolled her eyes at her. "Oh, now you tell me that."
"Hey!"
Ferns and Nerds group chat:
Mikan Ferns: I'm tempted to host a funeral rn
Sienna Kline: WHAT WHY?!
Mikan Ferns: An 11 y/o killed one of my favorite sports ;-;
Sara Ferns: I'm sorry guys
Honey Lemon: Today didn't seem that bad
Mikan Ferns: HE FIRED MY FAVORITE HEEL FOR WINNING
Mikan Ferns: REMEMBER THAT MATCH HL?!
Honey Lemon: What?! He fired El Fuego?!
Rachel Rosemary: He did not
Fredzilla: WHAT?!
Gogo: F in chat
Hiro Hamada: Oh great. I'm already dreading interacting with him
TheLittleMermaid: That's a you problem
Hiro Hamada: I'm showing June this text
TheLittleMermaid: OMG PLEASE DON'T
Sara Ferns: Explain plz.
Hiro Hamada: Your sister wanted to ask Richardson something and I'm tagging along for emotional support
Sara Ferns: Did you bring Baymax?
Hiro Hamada: …..
TheLittleMermaid: You forgot a whole robot. WOW
Hiro Hamada: I hate you
Hiro Hamada: June says hi btw
TheLittleMermaid: 83c
By the time they had gotten to the mech wrestling league, it was after all the matches had been done. Richardson was enjoying a nice can of Fountain Bleu while an employee next to him was sorting papers. "Make sure you organize tomorrow's matches now that we're down a heel, I don't pay you for nothing!" He told the poor man in an snotty tone.
"Wow." Hiro stage-whispered to Juniper. "What a reasonable guy."
"Sh, I'm mentally preparing my speech." She stage-whispered back.
But they just awkwardly stood at the entrance until Richardson noticed them. "Uch, you're that friend of Fred, what do you want?"
"Well, it's not what I want, it's what my friend wants." Hiro nudged the blonde next to him.
Juniper meekly waved. "Hi uh, so I wanted to ask a fav-"
"Wait a minute!" Richardson shot up, he pointed to Juniper. "You're a member of High Voltage!"
She stiffened. "I was, but I'm not anymore, anyways I-"
"You and your hag of a mother trashed my comic book store!"
Ohhh no. Hiro paled, already anticipating what'd happen next. Instantly, Juniper's eyes widened from shock for a brief moment, and then switched to fury.
"How dare you say that about my mama you little brat-" She would've lunged were it not for Hiro grabbing her torso and keeping her rooted. "Let me at him Hiro, let me at him!"
Richardson looked to relish in seeing her struggle. "Oh feel free to let her loose, I'll just put her back in jail where she belongs if she lays a finger on me."
"Give me back my mom's orb!"
"It's my orb now." That just made her angrier.
"No it's not! She made it!"
"Well tough luck, you should've reconsidered wrecking my store then, you'll never get it back!" Richardson taunted. "Never!"
Hiro winced as Juniper continued screaming for him to let her go, so he did the only thing he could think of. He lifted her up and dragged her out of the arena like she was a misbehaving kitten until they were out of earshot.
"Are you done having a hissy fit?" He dropped her flat on the ground.
"Owww…" Juniper got up, rubbing her head. "What the heck was that for?"
The robotics genius glared at her. "You would've been charged with assault if you swung a hit at him! You're welcome for holding you back by the way!"
She shot up and opened her mouth to snap at him. "Hey I-" She recoiled, letting it sink in. "Thank you, I messed up, didn't I?"
"Well in your defense, I would've been fuming if he insulted Aunt Cass too, so no problem." He waved it off.
"Ari was right, I was really stupid." Juniper slumped to the wall, burying her face into her palms. "Why did I think that he'd hand it over no problem? Uhhhg."
Hiro sat next to her. "You tried your best."
"Still didn't matter in the end."
He vaguely wondered if she was thinking about something else, based off of the faraway look in her eyes. "Did Barb actually make the energy orb?"
She perked up. "Yeah! Mama helped me connect the gauntlets I invented to the orb too!" Juniper rolled up one of her sleeves, and gestured to her wrist. "Those things were really tight when I made them, see here?"
Hiro squinted, and was surprised to see the faint outline of scarring around her wrist. "Oh, jeez, that must've been painful."
"Not really, I've had worse." She shrugged, and that concerned him a little. "What about you? I'm sure you have some cuts from your work."
"I do, but it's under my shirt." Hiro gestured. "During one of my first days at SFIT, I was rebuilding Baymax's exo-skeleton and it got a good hit on my chest as it went haywire." He gestured to the spot on his chest where the oddly shaped scar rested. "I don't mind it, if I didn't rush to fix up Baymax, I wouldn't have met Ari."
"Wow." Juniper looked intrigued. "Talk about a heck of a butterfly effect."
"I know, right? I don't think I could imagine never meeting her." She had been a welcome company after everything that happened with Yokai and losing Baymax in the portal, and was the best sister he could ask for.
Juniper gave a small nod. "Yeah, we probably wouldn't be friends if it wasn't for her."
"Yeah." Hiro glanced over to the blonde. "Do you feel better now?"
"Little bit." She got up. "Let's get out of here before Mole shows up."
"Sounds like a plan." He followed after her, glad that she was feeling alright and that the rough part of his day was over. He'd just do a little patrol in the afternoon, just in case anything exciting happened, but he doubted it since things were peaceful as of late.
Hiro underestimated the power of jinxing.
To his frustration, something happened, said thing being one angry El Fuego who installed a flamethrower on his mech suit and was causing a ruckus downtown for obviously being angry at getting fired.
And then he tried picking a fight with Baymax when he and the healthcare companion flew into the scene, and despite telling him to, Baymax refused to fight.
Which made El Fuego mad and the former mech wrestler had the nerve to throw insults as he issued for an unscripted match.
"I thought he was a cutting edge fighter bot! But turns out he's nothing but junk!"
"I want a fair fight with your chicken bot!"
"Tomorrow evening we will tango at Night Market Square, or everyone knows that the mighty 'Red Panda' is actually the cowardly Red Chicken!"
It made his blood boil thinking about what that poor excuse of a heel said!
"You're pretty angry." His sister's voice rang. Ari was leaning over the garage door, watching him yank off Baymax's cracked pieces of armor with anger.
He shot her a look as he pulled the healthcare companion's helmet off. "Didn't you catch the news? You already know why I'm mad."
"Aunt Cass changed the cafe channel to Pokemon when the news got to the part with El Fuego." She sat down on one of the chairs in the garage. "What happened?"
He let out a sigh. "He insulted Baymax."
"That's mean, I don't think I like that guy anymore." Ari crossed his arms.
"It's stupid." Hiro corrected. "He's not junk! He's one of the most sophisticated robots ever built." He gestured to Baymax with his right hand. "State-of-the-art AI, kinesthetic force sensors, high dynamic range cameras, not to mention saving the city multiple times!"
Baymax looked down at the worked up boy. "You are right, Hiro. I am not junk."
"Mhm!" Ari nodded. "Why are you letting this heel get to you?"
"Because I-" Hiro turned away. "Because I hate that he thinks he's right!"
His sister frowned, still confused why her brother let the words of some disgraced wrestler bug him. "C'mon, not like anyone's gonna believe him after how much good Baymax does." She tried placing a hand on his shoulder, but he pushed it away.
"You don't get it Ari! It's not that he's saying my work is junk…" Hiro's gaze landed on a photo, plucking the taped photo off the wall, frowning at the image of his family before the fire. "He's saying Tadashi's work is junk too."
Oh… Ari's eyes felt watery. She didn't know how to comfort Hiro whenever the topic of his late brother came up, it was a hit or miss situation and she hated playing the risk.
Luckily, Baymax knew what to do. "El Fuego's opinion does not diminish Tadashi's achievements." He waddled up to Hiro, placing a soft vinyl hand on his shoulder.
"Yeah." Hiro's voice was soft and shaky. "I-I know you're right, Baymax."
The healthcare companion held him tight. He just clung to him with his other arm, his eyes glazed over to Ari. She quickly joined the hug, wrapping her arms around his shoulder.
Eventually, Hiro wiped away his tears. "I'll try not to listen to that jerk next time."
"They should've named him El Jerko in the ring." Ari teased, which caused her brother to laugh. "C'mon, let's go watch some funny dog videos instead."
"I like that idea." Hiro smiled.
He was able to keep the words out of his mind at dinner later that night. "Remind me to get a lock for the garage." He told his aunt as she handed him dinner, cooked salmon with fried rice.
"Why?" She raised an eyebrow.
"Fred broke into the garage and stole something, again."
There was a snort across the table. "I can't believe you said that in front of my dad, the police detective." Ari giggled.
Oh right, they had invited the Rosemarys for dinner, Hiro shot Elio a sheepish look. "Well, I don't arrest people for shenanigans in the friend group, your friend didn't steal anything valuable, right?"
"Eh, it was just Fred being Fred." Hiro shrugged it off. "Wait, have you arrested people for friend shenanigans?"
Elio chuckled. "Only when it was an actual robbery, some kids really don't make the best life choices."
"Hey!" Both of his teenage daughters complained.
Hiro broke into a grin. "He's just telling the truth, I mean you haven't been the best decision maker in the past, Ari." He nudged his sister's shoulder, if looks could kill, he'd be dust on the floor.
"Says the former bot-fighter." Ari retorted.
"Oh come on! You didn't know me back then!" A round of laughs echoed around the table.
Sarah gestured for everyone else to cease laughter as Hiro's face turned a bright shade of red. "Oh, we've all done embarrassing things as teens. I used to hoard bubble wrap for pranks, they backfired a lot." She sheepishly added.
"Do I want to know what kind of prank that involves bubble wrap to backfire?" Cass shot her a concerned look.
"I kind of want to know!" Katie poked her head under the table, she was sitting on the top of the couch, chatting with Mochi for the most part. "Did it involve explosions?"
"Goodness no!" Sarah frowned. "Why do you always jump to such blasting conclusions?"
Groans echoed from the kids. "Mom why, Dad's supposed to be the parent with terrible jokes." Rachel grumbled.
"If you think dad jokes are terrible, they're nothing compared to aunt jokes." Hiro told her. "No offense, Aunt Cass."
"None taken." She waved it off, clicking up the volume of the TV in front of the table as an Action 7 News segment played.
To Hiro and Ari's surprise and annoyance, it involved El Fuego.
"We've stopped by for a quick interview with former heel of the local mech-wrestling league, El Fuego." Bluff Dunder reported, gesturing the mic to the heel. "El Fuego, how do you feel about your upcoming match with the red robot of our beloved Big Hero 6?"
"Oh not this again." Katie grumbled from the couch.
El Fuego grabbed the mic. "If that chicken bot has the circuits to show up, I'm going to eat his CPU for lunch!"
Ari turned to her brother, noticing his expression turning into mild rage. "Hey it's-" She tried placing her hand over his but he pushed it aside as the heel continued to rant on the news.
"It sounds like you're expecting victory." Bluff Dunder commented.
"Clean out the earwax Dunder, whichever idiot programmed that pathetic bag of bolts had no idea what they were doing! I'm going to blast its lousy carbon fiber skeleton back to the junkyard where it belongs!" El Fuego roared, tearing the background of the interview and crushing the mic.
Bluff Dunder turned back to the camera as if he didn't see the destruction of the set. "I'd like to thank El Fuego for this evening's report, and now, back to the latest segment of 'City Cuisines' featuring Bolton Gram-"
Click!
Cass shut off the TV, noticing Hiro standing up and glaring at the TV with the burning hatred of a scorned teenager and Ari sharing a similar look. "Y'know, sometimes I wish there was another local news channel." She turned to Elio. "Was it better in New York?"
"Eh, more reports on superheroes since it was close to where the Avengers operated." Elio gestured. "I've heard some stories about some guys on the force who got the honor of working with them when they weren't going through insane amounts of insurance paperwork and criminal records."
"That's cool." Ari smiled, turning to her brother. "Hey Hiro, which Avenger is your favorite? I'm honestly a fan of Ms. Marvel."
He didn't respond, even when there was a knock on the door. "I'll get it." Cass got up and walked downstairs to answer the knocking.
"Speaking of superheroes." Rachel poked her dinner, peeling a piece of salmon and tossing it to Katie. "Dad, do you think we could continue self-defense classes? We haven't done any since we moved."
"Of course!" Elio grinned. "Ari, what about you? Wanna continue classes?"
Ari shot her dad a confused glance. "What classes?"
"What are you saying sis? Dad used to teach us self-defense like those senseis in kung-fu movies, but cooler! Remember-?" Rachel paused. "Oh, right."
Sarah sighed as she saw her daughters look down at their food, internally cursing at the pirates who were responsible for the gap in Ari's memories. "Hiro, why don't you join the girls? A little knowledge in defense never hurts anyone."
Hiro thankfully answered, the question temporarily bringing him out of his daze. "Um, sure, I'm a little busy though so I can't join all the lessons."
"That's okay, you can join whenever you'd like to join for a day." The police detective didn't look bothered by that.
"It's official!" The conversation ended as Cass opened the door to reveal Fred. He danced in while holding a piece of paper. "Guess who secured rights to the name 'Kaiju Space Wrestling Federation?' This guy!"
The adults exchanged concerned looks. "Do I want to know?" Rachel whispered to Ari and Hiro.
"No, no you don't." Ari whispered back, but Fred's next line gave her a clue.
"Can't wait to see Richardson's face when we launch!" Fred paused his walking to face Hiro, who had picked up his tablet and was sketching something. "And that pun was intended."
Both felines on the couch groaned.
"Who's Richardson?" Cass walked back in, picking up the empty plates and glasses.
"Fred's arch-nemesis." Hiro explained.
"Annoying boy that flirts with me." Rachel added.
Elio turned to his youngest. "Still?!" He had the face of a worried parent. "Do we need to get a restraining order? Should I make a report about it?"
"Dad I'm fine-" She waved it off, but was cut off by Fred.
"Don't worry, I'm going to destroy him!" He gestured with his fists. "And his tacky mech-wrestling federation too!"
Ari shook her head. "Tone down the vows of revenge with the police detective in the room, why don't you?"
Cass placed the dishes in the sink and turned to Fred. "So, this boy likes to make you mad."
Fred huffed. "Yes."
"He does stuff, says stuff."
"And I get mad, yes." He nodded.
"Hm." Cass frowned. "Sounds like you're letting him win."
Fred didn't seem to get what she was trying to say. "That is why I must destroy him!"
"That's not what she means." Sarah pointed out. "Cass is trying to say by expressing frustration and anger at his actions, he knows he's getting to you and he'll keep doing that kind of stuff."
Elio nodded in agreement. "Yeah, I've faced people like that back in school, the best way to handle that kind of stuff is to let it go like water off of a duck's back."
Fred looked at the adults in the room. "So what you're saying is… if I don't let Richardson get to me, I'd win?" A grin broke on his face. "That's genius!"
"It's actually called being mature." Cass explained. "But glad that could help."
The comic fan continued grinning as he exited out of the house the same way he entered.
"I'm starting to think your friend eats strange food objects." Katie twitched an ear. "He's weird."
Ari glared at the blue. "Fred's just eccentric!"
"I know how he feels though." Cass sat back down the couch. "It's hard to not let jerks get under your skin."
"Tell me about it." Sarah gestured. "Happens at so many events I've lost count, the social politics at parties are the worst."
"Agreed, people just low-key insulting each other and dancing around easy-to-solve issues." Elio added. "Amiright, kids?"
Rachel and Ari nodded, Hiro continued to focus on whatever he was doing on his tablet. Ari shot him a glance, she knew when her brother was plotting something.
"Psst." The bandana girl leaned over Hiro's shoulder. "What are you working on?"
Hiro propped up his table to show he was making a Baymax-shaped mech suit. "Something to teach El Jerko a lesson."
"Cool. Can I help?" He did a double-take, not expecting that answer from her. "I know I said to not listen to him, but talking smack in public is one thing, talking smack on TV is another."
"Fair, I could use a hand." Hiro nodded. He knew how she felt, it was one thing for the heel to insult their family in public, but spreading insults on TV? It was on.
Katie poked her head from atop the couch. "Why are you whispering?"
They both yelped. "Katie!" Ari slapped her with a pillow and the blue crashed into Mochi, and they both fell behind the couch.
Ferns and Nerds group chat:
Mikan Ferns: popcorn,jpeg
Mikan Ferns: I'm ready for El Fuego vs. Red Panda, finally some entertainment
Sara Ferns: Why is our brother's gf there
Sienna Kline: I brought snacks
Wasabi: Did you guys seriously get street food?
Fredzilla: Omg its not the end of the world
Wasabi: You don't know what's in it! It could be cooked from a rat caught in an alleyway!
Honey Lemon: Oh no the poor rat D :
Gogo: Good
TheLittleMermaid: Wait what does cooked rat taste like
Mikan Ferns: Idk
David Ferns: That'd be cannibalism for Mika
Mikan Ferns: H E Y
Fredzilla: ddjsijijsjisajisjiijzxji
Sienna Kline: Guys you should come join us!
TheLittleMermaid: I don't think my parents would like that
Sienna Kline: Someone set up a dessert stand, I'll buy you a chocolate milkshake
TheLittleMermaid: OMW
Rachel Rosemary: *sigh*
Rachel Rosemary: I can't believe my own sister is lured by melted cacao
TheLittleMermaid: Chocolate is more than melted cacao you uncultured swine!
Mikan Ferns: This is killing me. And the main event hasn't started!
"Hasta luego, El Fuego! Hasta luego, El Fuego! Hasta luego, El Fuego!"
"Boo all you want! But your hero is a big chicken!" In Night Market Square, citizens circled the place, setting up stands and chairs to watch the epic fight between El Fuego and the big red robot of Big Hero 6.
At least Mikan hoped, otherwise she bought a plate of mystery meat sticks for nothing. "Don't worry, I think Red Panda will show up." Sienna chimed in. "At least to help El Fuego get his anger out so he doesn't try throwing hands with random villains."
"If El Fuego got into a fight with any villain, which one would you put him against?" Mikan asked her.
Sienna placed a hand on her chin. "Steamer, totally Steamer, what about you Ari?" She looked down at the bandana girl.
Ari took a large sip of her slightly expensive large chocolate frosted milkshake. "I'm a mix between NBB and Sparkles, both would annoy him to death."
Mikan snorted. "Can confirm the former is annoying, to this day I still have the Noodle Burger jingle in my head. I'd do anything for a Noodle Burger-"
"No! Don't get it stuck in my head too." Sienna shoved her away. "Man, Red Panda is running late."
Coincidentally, El Fuego let out another boast. "The mighty El Fuego is so powerful, even Red Chicken can't face me in a fight!"
"I am not a chicken." Everyone turned to the opposite end of the street as "Red Panda" flew in. "I am your worst nightmare."
"No freaking way." Mikan almost dropped her plate of mystery meat sticks. Ari giggled at her reaction, she was the only one in the crowd aware of who really was going to throw hands with the heel.
Hiro striked a fighting stance. "On a scale of one to ten, how would you rate your stupidity?"
"OHHH BURN!" The snow-striped girl called out. "EL FUEGO JUST GOT ROASTED!"
That triggered El Fuego to make the first move, pounding his fists together and launching himself at Hiro. He met the heel in the middle and they were at a standstill, until El Fuego extended his arms and flew Hiro into the ground.
"Da-da-da-da!" He leaped into the air and blasted the ground with fire. Ari let out a sigh of relief as Hiro dodged the flames.
"Y'know, this is the first match with El Fuego where I'm rooting for the face." Mikan commented, taking a bite of her mystery meat. "What about you two?"
"I'm hoping H-Red Panda wins." Ari mumbled.
Sienna nodded. "Yeah, El Fuego has zero experience in fighting robots, he's so gonna lose!"
They looked back at the fight as Hiro flew up and launched at El Fuego, rolling on the concrete as Hiro kicked the heel up and flew in pursuit. "Oh yeah, and also he can do that." The artist pointed out.
But El Fuego did more than add a flamethrower to his mech suit, fire boosters launched from his feet as he and Hiro exchanged punches in the sky. "He's about to need medical attention." Ari quipped as the heel was about to get slammed into the ground. The explosion kicked up debris and smoke clouded everyone's eyes.
As the dust settled, El Fuego was back on his feet and he launched himself back, sporting a few bruises from the crash landing. "Pah! Thunder Foot has more punch than you!"
He jumped back into the fray, catching Hiro off guard and lifting him up, spinning the mech around. "Ha-ha-ha!"
He jumped up in flames and prepared to body slam Hiro, but was pushed back by a rocket fist. El Fuego crashed onto a roof and Hiro flew after him as he struggled to get up.
"You have been a bad boy. You will not get a lollipop." Hiro wagged his finger before striking a punch. But El Fuego intercepted the blow and got back up.
"This fuego is just getting started!" He kicked him down to the ground, almost hitting a familiar looking car.
Oh no… Ari paled, seeing the gang step out of the car. They found out. But then her attention turned back to the fight as El Fuego tossed her brother like a ragdoll. "Oh no!"
"Yikes, poor Red Panda." Mikan winced while Hiro was tossed into a lamppost and endured punches galore.
"I never should've helped Hiro build that mech suit, why didn't I talk him out of it?" Ari hissed aloud.
Unfortunately, she said that too loudly. "Wait, what?!" Sienna did a double-take. "Hiro's the one fighting El Fuego?!"
Ari paled in horror. "Um…" Oh she had made a mistake, a very huge mistake.
"Well why are you surprised? Hiro's a huge Big Hero 6 fan." Her saving grace came from Mikan's silver tongue. "They caught Yokai, who caused the fire that took away his brother, of course he'd defend the honor of one of them from someone trash-talking."
"Oh you good point." Sienna shrugged it off. "I guess I shouldn't bug Hiro about the details then." She went back to watching the beatdown, Ari shot Mikan a thankful look before gluing her eyes to the fight, praying intervention would save her brother.
That intervention came in the form of the real Baymax waddling in front of Hiro and raising his arms in a protective stance.
"I don't know who you are, but congratulations." El Fuego scoffed. "You get to be the first victim of my new finishing move: The Flying Butt!"
"Oh." Baymax titled his head.
As the heel flew up to attack, several citizens covered their ears as Ari let out a wail of terror. "NOOO!" She screamed, about to run into the thick of things were it not for both Mikan and Sienna holding her back. "DON'T HURT MY BROTHER'S ROBOT!"
El Fuego ignored her, crashing into Baymax with his behind. The fall was luckily cushioned by Baymax's soft body. "You may have anger related issues." The healthcare companion pointed out. El Fuego lifted him up by the head and tried punching him, but like a typical wobbler toy, he just swayed from side to side. "Unprovoked aggression is usually a sign of insecurity."
"Huh, explains why he's such a violent heel." MIkan noted.
El Fuego panted. "Phew! I'm just… getting started-"
Baymax waddled up to him. "Would you like a hug?" Before the heel could protest, Baymax's soft arms wrapped around the mech suit. The crowd "aww'd" at the scene.
"What the-" El Fuego did not expect to be hugged by his foe. "Well, I do think I act out because I don't feel good about myself." He sniffled.
The crowd continued to "aww" as their hearts fluttered with sympathy. Even Ari stopped squirming as she genuinely felt bad for the heel.
That vanished when his frown turned upside down into an evil smirk. "Ha! You fell for my fake emotional breakthrough!" He picked up Baymax and began squeezing him like a balloon. "Time for a power hug!"
"No, let him go!" Ari cried out from Mikan's grasp.
The snow-striped girl even chimed in her own protest. "Yeah let Baymax go! He's just a robot doctor! You can't beat up a robot doctor!"
"You deserved to get fired if this is how you treat civilians!" Sienna shouted.
That got his attention. "You think you can order me around?! You're next!" El Fuego turned to the trio, the crowd gasped as he began stomping over, anticipating if he was going to attack the audience.
But as his foot prepped to swing at the closet person-
"You win! You're the toughest, El Fuego!"
El Fuego turned to Hiro. "What was that? I can't hear you!"
"You're tougher than me! Just don't hurt anyone else!" Hiro pleaded. Begging for the heel to not hurt any of his family or anyone else for his stupid reckless choices.
But El Fuego cackled, drunk off of his victory. "Pathetic! Your groveling isn't doing you any favors!" He continued squeezing Baymax with one hand, but used his other hand to slam into the ground towards Ari, Mikan, and Sienna, causing a shockwave.
"Gah!" Mikan ducked out of the way, still holding onto Ari.
Sienna glared at El Fuego, who was laughing at the audience's panicked cries. "You've really gone full supervillain!"
But luckily, rescue came in the form of Hiro's flying mech suit, with a kaiju head worn on its head. "Stop right there!" Fred's voice rang from the speaker. "You've stepped too far for a heel, El Fuego! Time to face justice!"
The heel took one look at the newcomer and laughed. "What are you going to do, fly weight?" He dropped Baymax, the healthcare companion waddled over to anyone injured in the crowd to check on them.
"Something really smart!" Fred clicked a button, activating the mech suit's magnets.
Before El Fuego knew it, he was lifted up, the bolts and nuts of his own suit started to unravel. "No! That's cheating!"
"For mech-wrestling yes, but not in this fight!" Fred exclaimed, pushing El Fuego down. The heel whimpered as he dodged falling pieces of his suit, then screamed as he came face-to-face with Baymax.
"Would you like another hug?" The healthcare companion held his hands out, Ari was sitting on the top of his shoulders, she stuck her tongue out at El Fuego.
He screamed. "No! Everyone leave me alone!" But his escape was halted by the group of police cars waiting at the base of the street. "Hello officers…"
"Freeze El Fuego! You're under arrest!" Detective Rosemary poked his head out of a car, the face of an angry parent on his face. He turned to his other officers. "Cuff him."
"Yes sir." One nodded, getting a pair of handcuffs. He had seen the tail-end of the fight when the heel attacked the audience, his daughter included when the crowd was voicing their protests, and he'd be danged if anyone tried messing with any of his kids again. Elio glanced up to his daughter, and sent her a reassuring smile that things would be handled.
Thanks Detective Dad. Ari smiled back. She hopped off of Baymax's shoulders and walked over to her brother. Fred landed the mech suit and they were wrapping up a conversation.
"-maybe someday I could coach you in the mysterious ways of maturity." Fred boasted.
"That would be nice." Ari chuckled. She turned to her brother. "I'm sorry for scaring you like that."
Hiro frowned. "Don't be! I shouldn't have fought in the first place, even if El Jerko was talking trash on the news." He groaned. "Mech-wrestling is not as fun as it looks…"
"Are you in need of medical attention?" Baymax asked him.
He deflated. "Yes, yes I do."
The rest of the gang had reacted to the incident from light scoldings by Honey Lemon, to a jab on the shoulder from Gogo.
Even Mikan and Sienna had some talks that maybe they should avoid public flights in the future, but for the most part everyone was okay, which was all that mattered. Hiro sighed as he pushed the remains of the mech suit he made into the last cardboard box. "Next time someone insults Baymax, remind me to not throw hands."
"Noted!" Ari grinned, she placed a hand on his shoulder. "Do you feel better though?"
He nodded. "Yeah, I know that no one's going to tarnish Tadashi's memory, his work speaks for itself."
Baymax blinked at him. "His work has become your work."
"Aww, buddy-"
"He's right though!" Ari added. "You continue his work by saving the city, amiright Baymax?"
The healthcare companion wrapped the two siblings into a hug. Hiro chuckled, his eyes lighting up. "Hiro has Baymax against the ropes!" He gently pushed him.
Ari got the idea. "And Ari counter-attacks with her signature move!" She launched at Hiro, but he was in the midst of tackling her so they both crashed into Baymax, falling on top of him.
"This is safe because it is fake." Baymax stated as both Hiro and Ari laughed.
Play wrestling was way more fun than mech-wrestling, especially with their family.
AN: This ep was weirdly fun to write. El Fuego was fun character... as a one time villain, I don't know why the show had him show up so many times n.n;
But I hope you enjoyed this chapter! I think my favorite part was writing the mech wrestling match, it def was a lot longer than I expected, worth it tho
Thank you so much for reading, be sure to check out Karmi's Camden Adventure next week which takes place the same time as this fic!