Chapter 24: Too Big to Fail
The next day, Riley found herself sitting in the waiting room of her therapist's office. As she sat in one of the chairs set aside for waiting, Riley began to nervously bounce one of her feet while rubbing her hands together in agitation. As she did, images of the illusions that Mezmerella had inflicted on her flashed through her mind, causing her to wince and pinch at the bridge of her nose.
"Hey," Hiro said from the chair next to her as he reached out and took one of her hands into his, "Are you alright?"
"Yeah," Riley replied with a nod, shooting a small smile at Hiro as she shifted her hand so their fingers were interlocked, "I'm alright."
"Your increased heart rate and breathing would suggest heightened anxiety," Baymax spoke up from where he stood next to Hiro.
"I thought he wasn't supposed to scan people without their permission anymore?" Riley commented as she looked at Baymax in annoyance.
"I thought you didn't like people telling lies?" Hiro countered as he gave Riley a pointed look.
"Okay, you got me," Riley replied, looking away from Hiro as her face flushed with embarrassment, "My head still feels kind of messed up after what Mezmerella did to me. That's why I wanted to come see my therapist today."
"Alright, but why did you want to bring Baymax along?" Hiro inquired as he gestured towards the robot.
"I thought he might get something out of it," Riley explained with a shrug, "He also had someone in his head recently, after all."
"You're talking about what Phantasma did to him?" Hiro asked, his brow furrowing in confusion, "She was trying to rewrite his programming. That's not really the same thing."
"Isn't it though?" Riley inquired, "I mean, our brains are just a bunch of signals and impulses, just like a program, right?"
"I don't think it's really like that at all," Joy spoke up from inside Riley's head.
"Aren't we partially controlling Riley by pushing buttons on these consoles?" Sadness questioned.
"...I mean, that's not the same thing," Joy replied uncertainly, "Right?"
"I guess so," Hiro conceded as he scratched at the side of his head.
"I've been thinking a lot about that emotion chip you made for Baymax," Riley said.
"You mean the one that didn't work?" Hiro replied with a bitter tone.
"But it did work," Riley insisted, "I sensed the emotions myself. The only problem was that Baymax was overwhelmed by the emotions because he doesn't know how to process them. I think that talking with a therapist might help him do better next time."
"But I already possess a database full of psychological and therapeutic knowledge," Baymax said matter-of-factly.
"Baymax, do you remember when you claimed to have mastered tai chi, and then Sensei Takahito kicked your butt?" Riley inquired with a smirk.
Baymax seemed to consider this for a moment, his head tilted to the side.
"Knowledge of a subject is not mastery of it," Baymax said after a moment, "This is a logical conclusion. I shall accompany you to therapy."
"Great," Riley replied as the door to her therapist's office opened, prompting Riley to rise to her feet, "Just in time too."
"I guess I'll just hang out here while you guys do that," Hiro stated as he settled into his chair and pulled out a tablet device.
"You don't have to if you don't want to," Riley replied sympathetically.
"It's fine," Hiro countered with a dismissive wave of his hand, "I don't mind hanging out here. It will give me a chance to get some work done."
Smiling and nodding in reply, Riley turned her attention towards the door that led into the therapist's office. As she did, Riley stopped in surprise as she found Abigail exiting the room. As Abigail caught sight of Riley, she froze, her wide eyes darting rapidly between her, Hiro and Baymax.
"Oh, uh, hey," Abigail finally said after a moment, "What are….what are you guys doing here?"
"This is, uh…." Riley began to say, struggling to find the words, "This is my therapist's office."
"Oh, wow," Abigail responded with an awkward chuckle, "Small world then, since it's mine too."
"That's pretty crazy," Riley agreed with a nod as she scratched at the back of her leg with one of her feet, "So….how are you doing?"
"As good as can be expected," Abigail replied as she rubbed one of her arms with her hand while looking at the floor, "What with my dad and all."
Abigail blinked as she seemed to realize something and looked at Hiro with wide eyes.
"Of course, I'm sure you guys know all about that," Abigail mumbled, "And are even more messed up than I am about it."
"I don't think it's a competition, Abigail," Riley replied sympathetically.
"And, to be honest, I think there are other things that happened that night that have got us more messed up than your dad escaping prison," Hiro added as he leaned forward and glanced over at Riley.
"Yeah, I saw what happened," Abigail observed, "Are you all okay?"
"I've been better," Riley answered, "Haven't been feeling myself lately, which is why I wanted to talk to Dr. Freeman."
"Well, I don't want to keep you," Abigail said as she stepped to the side, "And sorry again about….my dad."
"You know you're not responsible for what your dad does, right?" Riley asked with concern, "Even when he claims to be doing it for you?"
"Now I'm wondering if you've been to too many of these sessions," Abigail commented with a bemused smile, "Because you sounded an awful lot like Dr. Freeman just now."
"I'm just good at noticing these things," Riley replied with a shrug.
"Well, be careful or you'll end up making a career out of it," Abigail stated as she waved at the trio while making her way towards the door, "I guess I'll see you guys around."
"See you," Riley replied as she returned the wave, turning to watch Abigail as she left.
"Riley Andersen?" the secretary sitting at a desk next to the door Abigail had emerged from, "Dr. Freeman will see you now."
"Thank you," Riley replied as she turned her attention towards the secretary and nodded at her before looking up at Baymax, "Come on."
Wordlessly, Baymax followed Riley as she walked through the doorway, not noticing the strange look the secretary gave him as he passed. Beyond was a smaller room that seemed like a mixture of an office and a library, with one of the walls dominated by a bookcase stuffed full of leather bound books. The rest of the walls were paneled with dark wood, and a number of windows set into the wall opposite the door looked out onto the San Fransokyo skyline. A wooden desk sat in front of the windows, while the space between the door and the desk were a pair of overstuffed chairs and a lounging couch, all of which matched the dark red carpet that covered the floor.
Sitting in one of the chairs was a plump African American woman with short, curly brown hair and warm brown eyes that looked out from behind a pair of half moon spectacles. She was dressed in a navy blue blazer with a matching skirt over a white blouse. She held a notepad in her hand, her nails painted the same dark red as the lipstick she wore.
"Ah, there you are Riley," the woman greeted with a warm smile, before blinking in surprise as she took note of Baymax's presence, "Oh, I see you've brought….a friend."
"Uh, yes, Dr. Freeman," Riley answered with a nervous chuckle as she closed the door behind her and the android, "I've mentioned it before but this is-"
"Greetings," Baymax interrupted as he gave the woman a small, circular wave, "I am Baymax, a personal healthcare companion."
"Oh, so this is that Baymax," the woman, Dr. Freeman, said as understanding dawned on her, "The one built by Tadashi."
"Yes, ma'am," Riley replied as she sheepishly tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, "That's him."
"And is there a particular reason you brought him to your session today?" Dr. Freeman inquired as she arched an eyebrow at Riley.
"I am here to learn how to properly process emotions," Baymax explained, drawing Dr. Freeman's attention to him.
"I was under the impression that robots didn't have emotions," Dr. Freeman commented as she gave Baymax a curious look.
"Normally, no, they don't," Riley confirmed with a nod, "But Hiro has been working on a datachip that can help Baymax simulate emotions. The problem is that Baymax has been having trouble dealing with the output."
"Well, I suppose helping people deal with their emotions is part of my purview," Dr. Freeman allowed, "Though I'm not sure what a robot would want with emotions."
"I hypothesize that having emotions will allow me to empathize with my patients better," Baymax explained.
"I can certainly agree with that," Dr. Freeman concurred with a smile and a nod, "Very well, Baymax, you can stay and observe, but I ask that you don't talk while Riley and I are having our session."
"Yes, Doctor," Baymax agreed before he walked over to a corner of the room and stood observing them.
"Alright, with that settled, why don't you have a seat, Riley?" Dr. Freeman requested as she gestured to the open chair next to her, "It seemed like you had something urgent to talk about in your message."
"Yeah," Riley agreed with a hesitant nod as she sat down in the chair.
"What would you like to talk about today?" Dr. Freeman inquired as she adjusted her position in her chair.
"Well," Riley began as she tucked another strand of hair behind her ear, "Everything I say here is between us, right?"
"Yes, everything is confidential," Dr. Freeman confirmed with a nod, "Unless you told me you were going to commit a crime or harm yourself."
At this, Riley's eyes widened and her face went pale.
"Uh oh," Fear whispered in her mind.
"How bad of a crime?" Riley squeaked.
This instantly put Dr. Freeman on alert, a concerned expression formed on her face, as Riley felt worry radiating out of her.
"Riley, you can trust me," Dr. Freeman assured her, "What is it that's bothering you?"
"Well….have you ever..." Riley mumbled as she tried to put what she was thinking into words, "Have you ever dealt with someone who….wasn't normal?"
"Well, I know general society would consider just about everyone I deal with to not be normal," Dr. Freeman replied, "But that's not something you should worry about."
"That's not really what I meant," Riley stated with a shake of her head, "I mean, have you ever dealt with people who can do things that others can't do? Things that should be impossible for people to do?"
"Riley are you talking about supers?" Dr. Freeman questioned as her brow furrowed.
Hesitantly, Riley nodded in affirmation.
"Why do you bring this up, Riley?" Dr. Freeman inquired.
"...Because I'm a super," Riley answered, looking at Dr. Freeman nervously.
Riley didn't have to be an empath to register the shock on Dr. Freeman's face.
"Well, I must say, I've heard a lot of things in my time as a therapist, but that's certainly a first," Dr. Freeman commented as she recomposed herself, "If you don't mind me saying that."
"Not at all," Riley replied with a shake of her head, "It would honestly be weirder if you weren't surprised."
"So then, what is it that you can do?" Dr. Freeman inquired.
"I'm...an empath," Riley explained, "It's kind of like being telepathic, except instead of hearing people's thoughts, I feel their emotions."
"That must be….overwhelming," Dr. Freeman commented.
"It can be," Riley agreed with a nod, before a look of confusion came over her face, "Wait, you believe me? Just like that?"
"Well, you've never given me indication you suffer from any kind of delusion, Riley," Dr. Freeman explained, "And it would be foolish of me to dismiss the idea that one of my patients could have superpowers out of hand in this day and age."
"I guess that makes sense," Riley said thoughtfully.
"Now, is this why you came to see me today?" Dr. Freeman inquired, "Because your powers overwhelmed you?"
"Something like that," Riley replied as she fidgeted in her seat, "See, the other thing I needed to tell you is that I try to use my powers to help people."
There was a long, quiet moment as Dr. Freeman seemed to study Riley.
"Riley, are you trying to tell me that you're one of the Big Hero 9?" Dr. Freeman finally questioned as she arched an eyebrow at the girl.
"Y-Yes?" Riley answered nervously.
A hush fell over the room again as Dr. Freeman took another moment to digest what Riley had said.
"Well, I can see why you were worried about me reporting crimes," Dr. Freeman stated with a sigh before she smiled at Riley, "But you don't have to worry about me reporting this. I've seen the good you do and your secret is safe with me."
"Thank you, Doctor," Riley replied, an immense sense of relief washing over her as she smiled broadly.
"Now that that is all out of the way, what was it that you wanted to talk to me about?" Dr. Freeman inquired.
"Well, since I ran into her out in the waiting room, I know that Abigail Callaghan is one of your patients," Riley explained, "So, I'm sure you know all about her father."
"Yes, and his connection to you," Dr. Freeman confirmed with a nod, "So, I imagine this has to do with his recent escape from prison?"
"Yeah," Riley answered with a nod, "So, we were there to try and stop him. Only he was helped by some other villains, and one of them….got into my head."
"Got into your head?" Dr. Freeman echoed as she furrowed her brows.
"One of the villains was a woman named Mezmerella," Riley elaborated, "She has powers similar to mine, only she can get into people's heads and make them see things that aren't there."
"And she did that to you?" Dr. Freeman asked, encouraging Riley to continue.
"Yeah," Riley answered as she cast her gaze down towards her lap, "She made me think that the world had swallowed me whole and I was suffocating. I couldn't breathe, I couldn't..."
Riley gasped as she felt a jolt of pain rush through her skull while the images that Mezmerella had inflicted upon her flashed before her eyes.
"Riley?" Dr. Freeman asked in concern as she leaned down and placed a hand on the girl's shoulder, "Are you alright?"
"Yeah," Riley confirmed with a grunt, shaking her head as the images faded, "But that's the problem I've been having. Every once in a while, I just get hit with images of what she made me see. And I don't know how to get them to stop."
"It sounds like you're dealing with something akin to post-traumatic stress disorder, though the psychic nature of the trauma might make it very different," Dr. Freeman mused, "I'm also wondering if your own powers make you more susceptible to trauma like this."
"That's what I was worried about as well," Riley replied as she ran a hand through her hair and looked at Dr. Freeman hopefully, "Do you think you can help me?"
"I believe so," Dr. Freeman replied with a nod, "It will take time and it won't be easy, but I think we can work through this. Together."
Riley could only smile at this as tears began to well up in her eyes.
Meanwhile,
Halfway across the country in a downtown urban center, Gru and Lucy stood outside a small bank built into a larger building with a black and teal color scheme. No customers could be seen inside the building, with the only occupant appearing to be a teller snoozing at his post.
"This is the place?" Lucy, currently wearing a red sundress, black leather jacket and dark sunglasses, asked as she quirked an eyebrow.
"Your secret base ees een a mountain," Gru countered, "Ze AVL ees not ze only organization zat knows how to hide een plain sight."
Noting Lucy's doubtful expression, Gru sighed and stepped into the building, prompting the agent to follow behind him. Without pausing, Gru marched past the teller and stepped through a door into a unisex bathroom. Lucy paused in front of the door for a moment before sighing and following him inside.
Inside the bathroom, Gru stepped up to one of the urinals and leaned down until he was face to face with the pipes above it. After a moment, a small panel opened in the pipe, revealing a camera with a glowing red lens. Once it was fully revealed, a beam of light shone out and seemed to scan one of Gru's eyes. When the scan was completed, there was a beeping noise before the wall the urinals were attached to suddenly slid open, revealing a hidden hallway on the other side.
The hall, from the floor to the walls to the ceiling, was draped in a dark shade of red accented in gold. A pair of tall, dark red, wooden doors decorated with dollar signs sat at the opposite end of the hall, above which were golden letters that spelled out "Bank of Evil".
"Bank of Evil?" Lucy questioned, following Gru as he made his way down the wall, "That's a little on the nose, isn't it?"
"Some of us just like to be upfront about our eententions," Gru replied before he turned and looked back at Lucy with a grave expression, "Now, zees ees ze dangerous part. I need you to speak as leettle as possible and follow my lead, okay?"
"Will do," Lucy replied with a nod, noting the seriousness in Gru's tone.
Gru nodded in reply before he stepped through the doors, which opened for him automatically.
Beyond the doors was another hallway twice as large as the last, but decorated in the same reds and golds. The tall, vaulted ceiling was supported by a dozen red columns that flanked the red and gold carpet running the length of the hall in even rows. Part of each of the columns had been removed and replaced with marble statues depicting men struggling against, and in some cases, being crushed by, the weight of columns above them.
Walking down the hall, the pair approached an impossibly tall desk that sat before an even larger, golden vault door. A pair of staircases flanked the vault door and curved up to a landing on the next floor.
"Gru to see Mr. Perkins," Gru said as he looked up at the severe woman sitting at the desk.
"Ah, yes, Mr. Gru," the woman said as she ran an appraising gaze over both him and Lucy, "Mr. Perkins has been expecting you. You can go on up."
Nodding in reply, Gru turned away from the woman and began making his way up one of the staircases, Lucy following behind. At the landing at the top of the stairs, the two found themselves in what looked to be an office, the rich reds of the first floor giving way to the green of old dollar bills and dark shadows lurking in the corners. At the center of the room was a desk, before which sat a pair of chairs and behind which was one of the largest men Lucy had ever seen.
Tall and broad of shoulder, the man seemed to tower over everything in the room even as he was sitting down. The man was mostly bald except for two small cones of black hair just above his ears, and he possessed a set of beady, green eyes. He was dressed in a tailored blue suit with a green tie and white, collared shirt.
"Gru," the man greeted, his voice a low rumble like distant thunder, "It's been awhile."
"I suppose eet has, Mr. Perkins," Gru agreed with a nod as he stopped behind one of the chairs, prompting Lucy to do the same.
"I have to say, I was surprised when I got your message," the man, Perkins, mused as he leaned forward in his chair, "I had figured you got out of the villain game after our last encounter."
"Oh, you mean ze moon robbery?" Gru asked with a friendly chuckle.
"Yes," Perkins replied as he rose to his feet and gripped the sides of his desk with his thick, meaty hands, "The one you stranded my son on."
A deadly silence fell over the office at this and Lucy nervously glanced at Gru from behind her sunglasses. Gru, for his part, chuckled and shrugged helplessly.
"Sorry about zat," Gru apologized, "I deedn't mean for zeengs to play out that way. Everyzeeng got….out of hand."
"Yes, I suppose that's to be expected since the shrink ray did not work as you advertised," Perkins all but growled.
"Well, zese are ze risks you take weeth stolen, experimental technologies," Gru replied with a helpless shrug.
"That's true," Perkins allowed, his beady eyes glaring a hole through Gru, "Would seem that you brought me a bad deal. Neither one of us was ever going to make any money off of this scheme."
"Look, Mr. Perkins, I know you're mad about what happened to Vector, but you and I both know zat ze villain game ees cut throat," Gru said as he shrugged again, "Maybe Vector just wasn't hungry enough."
Another tense silence fell over the room as Perkins attempted to glare a hole through Gru, and though the smaller man maintained his composure, Lucy noticed Gru's grip tightened on the chair in front of him until his knuckles turned white.
"I suppose that's true," Perkins replied as he retook his seat, "But even then, I wouldn't be talking to you if you hadn't caught the eye of one of my associates."
"Oh, and how deed I manage zat?" Gru inquired as he and Lucy took their seats as well.
"You may not have gained any money from the moon debacle," Perkins explained, "But you did get something else."
"What's zat?" Gru asked as he quirked an eyebrow at Perkins.
"A reputation," a new electronic voice said from the shadows.
Starting in surprise, Gru and Lucy turned their attention towards one of the office's dark corners and watched as Enigma strode into view, his glowing red eye visible from under his hood.
"Oh, um, hello," Gru greeted, his voice on edge, "Were….Were you standeeng een ze shadows zis whole time, waiteeng to make an entrance?"
"What can I say?" Enigma replied with a helpless shrug, "What's the fun of being a supervillain if you can't indulge in a little drama?"
"Let me introduce my associate, Enigma," Perkins said as he gestured towards the villain before turning towards Enigma and motioning towards Gru and Lucy, "Enigma, may I introduce Felonious Gru and…."
Perkins trailed off as his eyes settled on Lucy and the woman realized that the massive businessman had only just now noticed her presence.
"Gru, I don't believe you've introduced your associate here," Perkins said, his gaze focused on Lucy.
"Oh, er, right," Gru mumbled before he gestured at Lucy, "Zees ees, er-"
"Scarlet Overkill," Lucy answered as she took off her sunglasses and clipped them to the neckline of her dress, "I'm his bodyguard."
"Scarlet Overkill?" Perkins repeated, his expression incredulous, "Scarlet Overkill is dead."
"Yeah, that means the name's free," Lucy replied with a shrug, "Think it fits me better anyway."
"Miss, I knew Scarlet Overkill," Perkins said as he rose to his feet and walked around his desk, "Scarlet Overkill was a friend of mine. You are no Scarlet Overkill."
Lucy remained unphased as Perkins loomed over her. Then, quick as a flash, Lucy was on her feet knocking over her chair in the process. In the same motion, she drew a gun with a red, glowing barrel before she struck out with her foot, driving one of her high heels into Perkins' knee. Grunting in pain, Perkins fell to one knee, allowing Lucy to stick the pistol underneath his chin.
"How about now?" Lucy asked nonchalantly as she looked up at Perkins, who had frozen in place, "You know, I'm honestly insulted by the lack of security you have around here."
A tense silence fell over the room as Gru stared at Lucy and Perkins with wide eyes.
"Alright, I think that's enough posturing for one meeting," Enigma said as he walked over to Lucy and Perkins. Gently, Enigma reached up and grabbed Lucy's gun with his robotic hand before forcibly lowering it. After a moment, Lucy relented, stepping away from Perkins and stowing her pistol.
"Honestly, after that display, I think we should let her have the name," Enigma said with a chuckle as Perkins rose back to his feet, "It's not like Scarlet is using it anyway."
Turning his attention towards Gru, Enigma pointed his robotic finger at Lucy.
"Where'd you find this one anyway?" Enigma questioned, "Would have thought I'd have heard about a new Overkill."
"I was lookeeng for some new muscle and she came highly recommended," Gru explained.
"Oh yeah?" Enigma inquired as he turned his attention back towards Lucy, "What's your resume?"
"Served multiple tours in black ops," Lucy answered evenly, "Decided they weren't paying me enough so I branched out into the private sector. I've gotten a couple of hits under my belt since then."
"Anything juicy?" Enigma asked.
"You hear of the Domingo Compound?" Lucy questioned in return.
"That was you?" Enigma inquired with an impressed tone, "Damn, you really did earn the Overkill name then."
Enigma shook his head before turning his attention back towards Gru.
"But to get back on task, I'm here to talk to you," Enigma said as he walked up to Gru and held his metal hand out to him, "And I got to be honest, it's an honor to meet a legend like yourself."
"Um, zanks?" Gru replied as he gingerly shook the offered hand, shivering slightly as the cold metal touched his flesh.
"I was pretty excited when Perkins told me you had reached out to him," Enigma explained as he withdrew his hand, "You see, I find myself in need of the services of someone like yourself."
"What kind of serveeces would zose be?" Gru inquired, "I've heard rumblings about a man named Eneegma gathereeng villains together, but the details were pretty light on what you all were doeeng."
"Well, I can explain the details to you later, all you need to know for now is this," Enigma explained, "I have recruited all manner of brutes, mad scientists, sadists and killers, but what I'm severely lacking in is thieves."
As Enigma spoke, he leaned forward so his glowing red eye glared right in Gru's face.
"And I find myself in need of something stolen," Enigma finished.
A/N: Been awhile since I updated, so happy to get another chapter out. Not much action here but I had fun with the character interactions and the story beats, and I hope you all did too! As usual, feedback and critiques are always welcome, so please review! Later and happy holidays!