#7 A Visit to the Café
It was a mid-August morning at the Lucky Cat Café and all the Big Hero 6 members were enjoying their breakfast. Hiro's aunt was in the back cooking while the reformed robot Mascots were attending to the customers.
"Howdy and hello! Welcome to the Lucky Cat," Noodle Burger Boy greeted the two new customers, although one of them had actually been there before.
"Uh…hi."
"Salutations."
The first one looked over and saw six familiar faces and gestured for the second one to follow.
"Hi guys."
The six heroes turned to see Dibs (Globby in his human form) and Felony Carl heading over to their table.
"Hey 'Dibs,'" Honey Lemon greeted with a wink, "And Felony Carl. What brings you here? I'd ask what the disguise is for, but I know," she said with a touch of sympathy for the last part.
Dibs scratched the back of his head, looking a bit embarrassed. "Yeah, I didn't know if I was banned from this place or not and I promised to bring Felony Carl here since he had never been," the disguised shapeshifter explained.
"Why the urge to come now?" Hiro curiously asked.
"You see, after seeing your aunt's performance at the Krei-oke night event, which was a lot of fun until well…you know," Dibs said while pointing a thumb at the fast-food robot standing at the door.
Felony Carl nodded in agreement and added, "It was a melodically entertaining night until the robotic upstaging and subsequent destruction of the facility."
"Anyway, I mentioned that she's the one who gave me a job back in February; albeit only really for one day, but it was still nice," the reformed criminal continued.
"So, I informed Globs here that I had a previous interaction with her in the unsanctioned food-fighting arena, where I provided security and was enthralled by her ability to dominate the competition," the husky biker proceeded to recall.
"Then, I told him that makes a lot of sense because she runs a café, which was cat-themed and had lots of great food there," Dibs remarked as he finished the story. The other heroes nodded in agreement over Aunt Cass's amazing cooking ability and love of cats. A moment later, their conversation was interrupted by Hangry Panda coming over to take their order.
"Do you know what you want to eat or are you just going to stand there all day?" she sassily inquired.
The two former felons looked at each other and then took their seats next to Big Hero 6. "We'll be ready in a minute," Dibs informed the waiting robot as he grabbed the menus.
"Fine, but you better be ready when I come back. You got 60 seconds," the panda-bot responded and looking noticeably irritated as she walked away.
Instead of browsing though, the disguised shapeshifter leaned over to his friends and asked, "Are you sure you got all the Obake stuff out of them?"
Hiro gave a small laugh and answered, "Yep. They've been scrubbed of all of it and are back to being dedicated food service robots. She's just crankier than the others."
Dibs let out a sigh of relief. "Good riddance to bad programming I say." He then turned to his menu with 40 seconds to spare. His eyes immediately landed on the double chocolate muffin and thought that would be good. "Hey Carl, got something picked out yet? I'm going for this muffin right here if you want to share it?" Dibs offered as he pointed to his food choice.
The husky biker nodded and answered, "After browsing through the options, I believe I will select a cranberry-orange scone and iced tea to satisfy my thirst."
"Oh, so you want something sweet and tart," Dibs cheekily commented just as Hangry Panda returned to their table as promised.
"You made up your minds yet?"
"Uh yes, we'll have a double chocolate muffin, a cranberry-orange scone, a glass of iced tea, and a glass of water please," the blonde man ordered promptly.
"Good. It'll be here shortly," the robotic waitress quickly wrote down before shuffling off again. A few seconds later, Hyperpotamus was seen hovering over another customer's table to drop off their coffee and pancakes. Afterwards, Crushroom came by carrying a stack of dishes into the back kitchen to get washed.
"Wow, it sure is weird seeing so many robots at the café," the reformed mutant remarked.
"Any weirder than our shapeshifting friend coming here in disguised because he's worried he'll get kicked out by Hiro's aunt?" Go Go flatly inquired before sipping her boba tea.
"That's fair," Dibs agreed as he leaned back in his chair. He then looked over to Felony Carl and asked, "Liking the place so far?"
The bandana-clad man nodded. "It does have a delightful ambience that differs from the Joe's we've been accustomed to."
Just as Dibs was about to ask his friends another question, Hyperpotamus came by balancing a tray with their order on her head. "Here you go! Enjoy and have a super day," the hovering hippo cheerfully exclaimed as she set the food down.
"Thanks," Dibs said before she rushed off to get the next order. The two former felons stared momentarily at their treats before Dibs once again offered, "I'm up for sharing mine if you are." Felony Carl nodded again as the disguised shapeshifter formed a simple butter knife in his hand and cut both of the pastries in half. After swapping each other's breakfast and absorbing the knife, Dibs leaned over again to quietly asked Hiro, "Hey, feel free to say no, but if you know where Mochi is, Felony Carl's a huge fan of Slow-Clap Cat and he'd get a kick out of seeing him."
Although slightly off putted because no one had popped that question on him before, Hiro said, "Sure, if we can find him. Hey guys, anyone seen Mochi lately?"
The other five members were pondering until Go Go pointed out, "Just have Baymax scan for him."
The inflatable robot lifted his head to briefly scan the place. "Mochi is on the upstairs couch. He is currently asleep."
"Ooh, I'll go get him once I finish my latte. I'm always up for petting that fluffy kitty," Honey Lemon offered before sipping some of her aforementioned drink.
Now Hiro leaned over to Dibs and jokingly said, "This way it won't take 20 minutes for Baymax to get up and down the steps."
"Thanks guys," Dibs sincerely told them as he returned to his meal. The gelatinous mutant decided to try his double chocolate muffin first. He took a bite and immediately loved how soft, light and extremely chocolatey it was. He then took another bite to savor the flavor once more before taking a sip of water. He turned to his boyfriend and wondered, "Your scone good?"
"It is a delicate balance of tart and sweetness while bountiful in fruit flavor; the ice tea is also quite refreshing," the husky biker answered.
"Oh really? Well, don't mind if I do," Dibs said to himself as he tasted the pastry. It was as Felony Carl said and yet was somehow more delicious than that. He was definitely happy they shared their meals and he doubted he could even create one as yummy. "You have great taste Carl and it's no wonder Cass kicked so many people's butt in those food fights," the disguised shapeshifter praised.
Felony Carl took a drink of his tea and responded, "Undoubtedly. Her culinary skills were so exemplary that she defeated the black and blue haired owner."
"Wait. Black and blue hair? You mean Momakase?"
"I do believe that was her name."
"Dang! She beat Momakase?! Wow. Man, I wished I could have seen it. Did you know that Momakase repeatedly cut me in half? Not nice."
"I did not. It is most fortunate you can regenerate though."
The two just stared at each other for a second before sharing a genuine laugh at their own banter. They then went back to finishing their food, which only took a few more bites. As Dibs took another sip of water, he peeked out of the corner of his eye to see Honey Lemon leave the table and made a small wave. "So Carl, if you wait a minute, there's something else I'd like to show you," he informed his boyfriend. Felony Carl then raised part of his unibrow up, clearly intrigued.
The moment was interrupted by Crushroom coming by to remove their dishes. "You were done, right?"
"Uh…yep. I think we're good."
"Then Crushroom take these now." After she grabbed the dishes, Hangry Panda came back to drop off the bill. "Here you go. It all comes to $7.82 with tax, tip not included. You can pay here or at the register. Have a nice day," the mechanical panda promptly told them as she handed them a slip of paper.
The two guys looked at the bill, then at each other. "I got the bill if you got the tip," Dibs suggested.
"That is an agreeable arrangement," Felony Carl replied as he pulled out his wallet for a buck or two. He set the money on the table for the tip while Dibs formed a gold coin about the size of a nickel in his hand (which obviously was worth more than their meal). The disguised mutant then turned to the other table and cleared his throat to at least get Hiro's attention.
"Here," he said as he handed the coin to the teenager. "Your aunt might not believe it's real otherwise."
Hiro looked a bit reluctant to accepting it. "Are you sure? You don't have to you know?"
"Yeah, it's fine. I figure I still owe her for the mess I caused last time and besides…it's just another benefit of being a mutant," Dibs remarked as he gave a playful jab to Felony Carl, who smiled in response. The teen genius gave a shrug as he put the coin in his pocket for now. They all then turned their heads to the sound of Honey Lemon coming down the stairs with her furry surprise.
Dibs now turned to his boyfriend and asked, "Now Carl, remember when you told me how much you love that hit video 'Slow-Clap Cat?'"
Felony Carl nodded and answered, "Yes, it would have been mid-October of last year. It may have been a Tuesday."
"Well, ta-da!" The blonde man proceeded to gesture behind him as Honey Lemon stepped out with Mochi in her arms. She was petting him gently and making him purr loudly.
The husky biker just stared for a few seconds, unsure of what to ask next. He finally settled on saying "Do I have your permission to hold him?"
The chemist smiled and replied, "Sure, if he'll let you." Felony Carl held out a large hand first, allowing the calico to sniff him and decide whether he liked him. A moment later, Mochi went "mreow" and wiggled out of Honey Lemon's arms to jump into those of the former felon. Mochi meowed again as he began to be petted, making Dibs and Big Hero 6 go "aww."
The disguised shapeshifter grinned as he turned towards his friends and commented, "Yeah, Carl's been great with animals for as long as I've known him. He just has a way of putting them at ease. Heck, he managed to calm our cat Jasmine down when she was first a stray and trying to rip my face off."
The other heroes proceeded to give varying degrees of "What?!" expressions at him in response to hearing that last part. He noticed their stares and with a sheepish smile, elaborated. "I was fine. It was after I first got mutated and couldn't work anything on this body, so she was understandably ticked that I plucked her off the street. Anyway, good thing Carl was there to help."
The aforementioned man was enjoying the purring, fluffy cat in his arms when he looked up and asked, "Would you perchance want to pet this sensational feline?"
Looking a touch nervous, Dibs briefly looked at the others before answering. "I uh, guess I can try…if he'll let me of course." The reformed mutant took a few steps forward and held out his hand just as Felony Carl had. Mochi turned to the reformed criminal and proceeded to sniff his hand, then tilting his head in confusion as he didn't know quite what to make of the shapeshifter. Finally, he let out a meow of approval and didn't hiss when Dibs went to scratch his head.
Upon petting, Mochi immediately started to purr louder and snuggled deeper into the motorcyclist's large arms; this caused everyone to go "aww" even louder too. "Animals like this cat truly bring joy to life through the simplest of actions," Felony Carl poetically remarked.
"Yeah, he is just so soft. What a good kitty," Dibs added as he continued to pet the contented cat.
"Well, he can sometimes get into trouble, but for the most part he's a good cat," Hiro commented with a small smile.
"What's going on here?"
Everyone but Baymax essential was startled and rapidly turned their heads to see Aunt Cass, who they had all missed coming out of the kitchen. Hiro glanced briefly at the two former felons, where one was doing his best to look inconspicuous. "Oh, hey Aunt Cass. They're just some friends of ours that came here to eat and…being avid animal lovers, hoped they could see Mochi, the Slow-Clap Cat," her nephew informed her while trying to give a convincing smile.
The café owner looked Dibs and Felony Carl up and down, unsure of what to make of them petting her beloved cat. "So Hiro, how did you come to meet these two?" she inquired, still wary of the situation.
"They, uh…," Hiro stammered before Honey Lemon interjected.
"We met when I was moving in with Go Go. I was exploring the area, we struck up a conversation and have been in touch ever since. Very nice guys I must say," she explained while vouching for them.
Felony Carl stepped forward now to hand Mochi back to his owner as he formally introduced himself. "The name is Carl, but everyone typically refers to me as 'Felony Carl' on account of my past infractions against the law. I have been an admirer of your culinary work since you battled in the food-fighting arena."
Cass's eyes lit up at him mentioning that. "Oh…you were one of the bouncers at the event. I thought you looked familiar and hey, weren't you at the Krei-oke night debacle a couple of weeks ago?" she asked and visibly looking more relaxed.
"Indeed I was. Your performance was a major highlight of our evening."
"Our?" Cass wondered.
Taking that as his cue, Dibs stepped forward and tried not to look nervous. "That would uh, be me. Hi. Name's Dibs and I agree with Carl here that you have a lovely singing voice," the disguised shapeshifter complimented her.
Cass blushed and replied, "Aww, thanks. My mother was a talented singer and she would sometimes joke that's where I got it from."
"I'm betting the cooking though is all you. We tried the cranberry-orange scone and double chocolate muffin; they were delicious," Dibs said and garnering a nod from Felony Carl.
"Well, I'm glad you enjoyed them. Sorry if I came off as overprotective of Mochi. He's part of the family you know, and I don't know what I'd do without him," the café owner explained.
"We completely understand. We took in a stray cat last year and can't imagine life without her now. Just hope this awkward encounter won't prevent us from being allowed back in the future," the blonde man responded a bit apologetically.
Cass looked briefly to the calico, who only tilted his head and meowed. "I'd say there's no problem here and Mochi didn't seem to mind the attention; next time though, a little heads up so I'm not so surprised to see someone holding him," she requested with a smile.
"I think we can do that," Dibs replied while self-consciously scratching the back of his head. He looked to Felony Carl and then to Cass again. "Well, we're sure you're busy and we've taken enough of your time, but thank you for being so forgiving of us holding your cat and the excellent food. We'll sure to be repeat customers. Ready to go Carl?" the former felon asked.
Felony Carl nodded and added, "It was an amicable time and a pleasure to have held your delightful cat. Thank you."
Dibs then gave a small wave to his six friends (who were watching intensely to see how this interaction would go) and said with a smile, "Bye guys. Thanks for the favor and if you ever need anything, just let me know." The two men proceeded to head for the door, coming across Noodle Burger Boy once again as he held the door open.
"Have a tasty day!"
"Uh, thanks and you too, I guess."
Right as they were exiting, Cass couldn't help but go "hmmm."
"Something bothering you Aunt Cass?" Hiro wondered.
"It's probably nothing, but I can't help but feel I've met that Dibs person before," she answered. The cat lover then turned to their table, only to find the $2 tip there. "Hey, they didn't pay their bill. I thought you said they were nice guys?" Cass inquired, clearly looking confused and a little bit angry.
Hiro quickly responded, "They are, they are. They, or rather one of them, just was a little nervous about the payment method." The teen prodigy proceeded to reach into his hoodie and pull out the gold coin Globby made before giving it to his aunt.
She stared at it for a moment before asking, "Is that…?"
"Yep."
"Why would he pay like this?"
"Probably because he doesn't really carry cash around and it'd be counterfeit if he made the bills himself," Hiro casually informed her as he gave a nod to the window across the café.
Cass turned to where Hiro was gesturing to find Felony Carl and Dibs curiously watching with the smaller one waving sheepishly when spotted. Hiro gave the disguised shapeshifter a "go ahead" look, garnering an apprehensive look from Dibs. He then sighed before letting his body relax and proceeded to transform back into his usual pink and purple gelatinous self. Cass's eyes went wide-open when she saw this happen and simply said, "Oh."
Globby again waved sheepishly with a small nervous smile to match as the café owner continued to stare. Honey Lemon tried to help as she gave an encouraging smile and waved back, making the shapeshifter feel a little better and smile a little bit more. He then took Felony Carl's hand and turned to leave. "How much do you want to bet this hurt my chances of being allowed back?" Globby anxiously wondered.
"Unsure, but at least there are no false pretenses between you two now should you return to this establishment," Felony Carl wisely responded.
"Yeah, you're right. Still was a nice place. Now, how do you want to spend the rest of the day?" the reformed mutant asked a bit more joyfully.
"I believe our current leisurely walk will suffice for the time being," the husky biker answered. They both smiled in silent agreement and leaving the rest of the day's plans up in the air.
After the two former felons were out of sight, Aunt Cass shook her head out of her stunned state and asked, "Could he uh, always do that?"
"Uh no. He just learned that a few months ago," Hiro honestly answered.
"Well, that would have made things easier when he worked here," she quietly noted with a touch of irritation.
"Yeah, it would have. Oh, and since he's probably going to ask us eventually, is he allowed back?" the teen inquired on behalf of his friend. "He was telling the truth about everything else."
"I uh…well…," Aunt Cass stammered in her indecisiveness, not sure what the right answer was. She then saw Hiro and his friends' looks of concern or intrigue (depending on the person) and sighed. "Okay. He can come back, but he has to promise not to make a mess in here…or help out with anything since that led to some less than desirable results last time."
"Yay!" Honey Lemon exclaimed as she hugged the older woman, who was still holding Mochi.
"Yes Honey Lemon, 'yay.' Now, if you'll excuse me, I do still have a café to run. Here. You can take care of him while I go in back," Aunt Cass quickly said as she handed the calico to the chemist before heading to the kitchen to wash up.
"Well, that was an interesting," Go Go flatly remarked as Honey Lemon sat down next to her and petted Mochi.
"At this point though, can we expect anything less?" Wasabi added as he gazed at the various reformed robots now working in the café.
Then with a small smile, Hiro said, "Yeah. Really hard to imagine life being any other way now."
NOTES
I had a lot of fun writing this story, both because of the cute/fun banter between Felony Carl and Globby, and because I really wanted to see those two at the Lucky Cat Café. I just thought it was funny that they both have encountered Cass a few times, but had never actually seen them as customers. Also, the fact that Felony Carl is a big fan of Slow-Clap Cat would make for an adorable moment if he got to actually hold him. ^_^ In addition, I think if it wasn't for Globby's past experience with Cass and for his appearance, they might actually have hit up a conversation or something since Globby is a really nice guy. :)
In terms of how Globby could pay for things, the making a coin out of precious metal seems like the best way since it's no trouble for him, the person he's paying is getting something highly valuable and as pointed out, would be counterfeit if he made some actual bills. ;)
The next story will have Juniper and Barb get to have their first live performance since reforming. ^_^