#32 What's New?

"Good night Aunt Cass. I'm just gonna call Karmi and go to bed," Hiro informed his guardian as he saw her sitting in the living room on his way upstairs.

She smiled and waved while petting Mochi on her lap and told him, "Have fun and don't stay up too late."

The teen genius merely replied, "I won't," and continued up the steps to his room. At the top of the staircase, his beloved robotic companions already stood asleep on his charger, making Hiro smile affectionately as he moved to the computer and opened up his video chat app. Currently, it was the middle of September and the two teens had been keeping their regular calls to each other for about a month now. Hiro proceeded to tap the desk as he waited for the call to go through, which ended up only taking 10seconds this time for a familiar teenage face to pop onto the screen.

"Hey Karmi."

"Hey Hiro. What's going on?"

The robotist's noted that the young biotech woman was in her pjs again, except they were dark blue and covered with white stars that had the constellations marked; he on the other hand, was still in his navy hoodie and had a purple shirt on with his SFIT emblem stitched in.

Hiro smiled warmly at seeing her and answered, "Oh, not too much. I got a break today from mentoring Rishi though since he started his seismic project for Granville, so I'm only on as a standby unless he does something dangerous."

Karmi gave a small giggle at remembering what happened with his design before stopping and looking a little embarrassed for doing so.

The teenage boy quirked a brow at her reaction for a moment until it clicked why she did so, making him flash a knowing look as he said, "You were thinking about the disaster of a tower I submitted, weren't you?"

The ponytailed genius avoided his gaze and bashfully replied, "Maybe."

Hiro smirked in amusement, followed by consoling her with, "It's okay. It was my own fault for pushing it to the last minute. I'm just glad people stopped giving me death stares for wrecking their buildings too." He gave a short, nervous laugh on the last part as that had certainly been a tough time for him.

He then shook his head quickly to get back on track and more cheerfully added, "Anyway, it's been mainly mentoring, working on my own projects and relaxing when I can, which is few and far between if you ask me."

Karmi's smile returned as she listened and asked, "So, how's the city holding up? I know there are still reports of trouble coming out."

Hiro sighed at knowing what she meant as he experienced said trouble firsthand, but he still found himself unable to reveal his and his friends' secret though he did want to; instead, the robotics expert gave a shrug and told her, "Yeah, there's still the occasional bad guy, but thankfully they're ones Big Hero 6 usually faces like Steamer and El Fuego." He then popped his eyes open wider as he realized something and wondered, "Oh hey, how's the chibi stuff coming along?"

Karmi took on a surprised expression with the shift in the conversation, but recovered as she replied, "It's going pretty good actually. I've added a few new villains into the chibi roster that'll lead up to that team up I told you about. Oh, and I've made more Lab Lady appearances in it as well as two with Globby for the first time."

The messy-haired teen gave a small, genuine laugh of excitement for her, followed by commenting with a wink, "Wow, sounds like you've been busy. I'm sure they'll be great and that Globby will be flattered too."

Karmi proceeded to scratch the back of her head with a touch of uncertainty showing as she replied, "Yeah, I hope so. I typically try to do the characters justice." She then sat up straighter at remembering something and remarked, "It's still really cool and crazy you knew him before he made it big as a superhero."

Hiro avoided her gaze for a moment as he began to reiterate the cover-story they came up with for how they knew Globby. "It's crazy alright, but since he loves Joe's Diner and it's so close to Honey Lemon and Go Go's place, they were bound to run into each other; you know as well as I that Honey Lemon is just such a bubbly, nice person who can make friends at the drop off a hat," he said in his best convincing voice.

The other teen let out a giggle in agreement and simply added, "Yeah."

They were then silent for a few seconds as they felt the comforting presence of one another before Hiro gave a small cough and went, "So uh, anything else happening back home you want to talk about?"

Karmi gazed off in thought as she tried to recollect recent events, making her hum briefly until she answered, "Let's see, my mom is out for a few days on a business trip in Nova Mexilia, so I'll be helping my dad with meals. There was also…oh."

It was then that the younger of the two couldn't help but notice her shifting in her seat, looking a mix of eager and apprehension. "What's up?" he now asked with noticeable concern and confusion.

"It's just…" Karmi started off only to stop almost immediately. She sighed loudly and scratched the back of her head again until she managed to put on a small smile as she found the right words. "I just want to tell you something, but I don't want to worry you because rest assured, everything is fine," she vaguely informed him as she finally looked at the tech wiz again.

"Oh…I see," Hiro slowly stated, nodding in understanding. He then pointed out, "Well, if it's about some big news from Carseñora, I can probably find out from the internet, but getting your take on it may help ease those fears."

The biotech major listened to her crush's logic and uttered "Okay" while feeling a bit more confident in what she could reveal. She quickly looked behind her to make sure the door was shut, then leaned in closer to her monitor, much like if she was sharing a secret. "The thing that's been happening for several weeks now is that a string of robberies has been going on, and it wasn't until a couple days ago that the suspects were caught," she quietly told him, but with excitement evident in her voice.

"Oh wow. I didn't hear about that. What were they stealing?" Hiro inquired as he honestly didn't know; he sometimes forgot that other cities got plagued with crime too, although supervillains were a rarity in those places.

"It was mostly a lot of high value items like jewelry and ATMs; luckily, no one seemed to get hurt, but the police didn't seem to have any leads or weren't 100% certain they were being committed by the same people," Karmi continued, building suspense and intrigue.

The robotist's took the bait though as he questioned her again with, "So, what changed? Did they leave some evidence behind or switch up their MO?"

Karmi then shifted her eyes to the right before lowering her voice again and answered, "The report released said they eventually figured it out that the robberies coincided with when new shipments or deliveries were coming into the places, meaning they knew when the stores and ATMs would be filled to the brim."

Hiro nodded again and hazarded a guess. "So, they were all inside jobs?"

The young woman returned the gesture enthusiastically and told him, "Yep! Apparently, the group had like a dozen people in it, spreading themselves across all the locations so that each inside man would have an alibi for the thefts."

Hiro leaned back in his chair as he crossed his arms and admitted, "Not too bad a plan actually. Different body types, voices and optimal robbing times." He proceeded to bear an uneasy expression as he leaned forward again and warily asked, "Hey Karmi, you don't have to answer me if you don't want to, but why do you seem so nervous telling me this?"

The aforementioned 17yr old avoided his gaze as if she felt guilty for some reason. She then sadly sighed before she managed to focus on Hiro and softly replied, "I'm worried if my dad overhears me, he'll start thinking I'm trying to insert myself into the action to help and all that; he and my mom are proud of all the good I've done, but they've already reprimanded me when they learned I stopped Hardlight and even watched me while I've worked a few times. They're stuck in a narrow window of supporting my interests and protecting me. I just want to help you know, and problems won't solve themselves without getting a good look at them first."

Karmi's words stuck into the teen genius like an arrow, aching from how much she sounded like Tadashi right now and wanting to assure her what she believed in wasn't wrong. "If it makes you feel better, I think it's the same way with my Aunt Cass. I know she loves me and I know I can get into trouble because there's stuff I didn't account for, but I want to make a difference for the better too." He then gave her a warm, supportive smile, which she reciprocated with a small, appreciative one.

"Thanks. It's kind of actually because of all the stuff that's happened this past year that I realized I could do more; your speech was also pretty inspiring."

"My speech? Oh," Hiro said in confusion before he realized what she meant. "I didn't know you saw that," he nervously stated as he subtlety blushed. "What'd you think?"

Karmi's smile widened as she sincerely answered, "It was really great! It was sweet, you put your heart into it and I think a lot of people got the message. I know I did."

Hiro's cheeks turned redder at her comment as he averted his eyes and he simply replied, "Thanks," making the other give a tiny chuckle at his reaction. After a few seconds, the robotics expert returned his attention to Karmi with a small cough and stammered, "So, u-uh, anything else you uh, want to talk about?"

The 17yr old once again looked off in thought again for a few seconds before half-jokingly telling him, "No, I think that's it, but try me in a couple days and we'll see just how exciting it's been."

This got the other to laugh a little and informed her, "I'll do the same if things get even crazier here."

"So, chat again on Sunday?" Karmi suggested.

"Sounds good to me. Hope everything goes well with your mom's trip and that you have a fun time with your dad," Hiro said as he gave a warm smile and a brief wave.

"Thanks, and good luck with classes," Karmi told him as she grinned and mirrored his actions, followed by severing the connection.

The teen genius laid back in his chair and sighed contently, absentmindedly swiveling in his seat while his mind continued to wander. I sure hope Karmi succeeds in whatever she's working on. It's so amazing how much she's done already and, in all honesty, I can't blame her for getting interested in the local crime happenings. He then smirked and remarked to himself, I guess I'm one to talk given what I do in my spare time. Although…darn. Now she's got me curious to learn more.

Hiro proceeded to sit back up and began typing on his computer to search the internet for the story his friend told him about. In a matter of seconds, various pages appeared to display the multiple robberies, including locations, values of their hauls and where they were apprehended. It was after he was halfway through one of the articles that a statement from the police was inserted, which mentioned they had received a tip as to the bad guys' lair. Huh? the messy-haired teen wondered as a funny inkling began to nag at him. He read a little further where it was discussing the raid on the place and his eyebrows shot up in intrigue and surprise; here, the report described how they found the suspects inside unconscious with no trace of a third party being present. Based on the scenario they discovered, the cops had to admit that at this time, they could neither confirm nor deny whether outside help came to incapacitate the criminals or if it could have just been a gas leak; the bad guys themselves also claimed they didn't know what happened to wind up like that.

"Well, isn't this interesting?" Hiro quietly said to himself in disbelief as he recalled Karmi's nervousness earlier, comparing it to his own when a particular topic came up. It could just be a coincidence, or she got part of the story wrong. If it is true though…her going out and doing what we do is a whole other level above what she's previously done, the young superhero thought with a touch of denial before transitioning to admiration and respect. I'll let her tell me then when she's ready if my hunch is right. I guess that would mean we have something else in common too, he fondly remarked to himself. I'm sure she'll do great, was the last thing Hiro thought before he let out a loud yawn, reminding him that he had to go to bed. Eh, I can figure it out later. I might be making a big deal out of nothing and correlation doesn't equal causation, he reminded himself as he began to change into his pjs, doing his best not to dwell on something he had no control over.

At the same time in Carseñora

Once she hung up on Hiro, Karmi's smile dipped as she let out a tired sigh. She continued to stare at the black screen of her monitor as she internally debated, I hope I made the right decision. I'll tell him eventually…once I'm sure it's safe to do so and it's what I really want to do. A little bit of her smile returned as she fleetingly thought, At least I made a difference this time.

Karmi proceeded to pull open her desk drawer and remove a pile of papers to reveal her holo-gauntlet along with a few spare tranquilizer patches hiding underneath. The biotech genius then smirked while she stared at her creations and silently told herself, It was also a lot of fun if I'm being honest. She delicately placed the cover back over her things before she let out a big yawn and smacked her mouth a couple times. "Man, I'm tired. Guess I better get some sleep or else my cognitive abilities will be severely impaired," she muttered to herself, making her give a small snort.

With that said, Karmi began the process of getting ready for bed, unaware of what the next day would bring, but still willing to face it confidently nonetheless.

NOTES

Since they had Karmi make that hologram gauntlet as well as her transdermal patches are very useful, I wouldn't be surprised if she did try her hand at being a superhero. :) I'll try to write more about her in the future, although currently I'm thinking it'll be about her adjustment back to living with her parents, but we'll see if I change my mind or do both. ^_^

The next story will be about how Mr. Sparkles and Yama became partners for the drone car racing scheme. O_O