Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

"Come on!" he cried, grabbing on to the younger girl's arm. "Hurry! We don't have much time."

"Where are all the guards?" screamed the girl.

"Putting out the fire I started in my lab." he answered simply. The very thought of the flames made his heart beat erratically. Though he didn't remember the fire that he'd first been involved with, he still had the horrible burn scars to tell him that something bad had happened before he'd woken up in this God forsaken compound with no memories to speak of. "We only have one chance at this imouto otherwise Hydra will kill us both."

"No," the girl, well she was a young woman actually, shook her head. "They'll kill me. You're too valuable to them. They wouldn't do anything to hurt their robotics genius."

"Not since I made my refusal very clear. I won't work on their projects. Not anymore." he told her. The girl faltered a step but didn't lag enough for him to drag her.

"Y...you didn't!" she gasped in surprise. There was something completely awestruck in her face then it melted away into pride. "Good for you robot boy. I knew you had it in you."

"Don't thank me just yet. We aren't out of this place yet." he told her, trying to keep the smile off his face. He needed to be serious. He had to focus on how to get them both out of the underground Hellhole they'd both been stuck in. Suddenly the girl jerked to a stop. He felt her fall a little and turned back to look at her. She was staring down one of the connecting tunnels they'd just passed.

"This way," she said as she raised her hand to point.

He looked at her, raising his good and unscarred eyebrow. "What makes you so sure?"

"The Hydra agents, they brought me this way when they first captured me."

"Hate to break it to you bonehead but all these tunnels look the same." he told her.

"No!" the girl told him emphatically, "I remember them dragging me down this hall. I remember those tiles. I remember that stupid shade of pink and thinking if they were actually going to kill me here then maybe I could laugh at the stupid tiles as I died."

"Morbidity aside, that's not a lot to go on imouto."

She turned to him, green eyes blazing with determination. "Please, trust me." she told him. "Call it instinct. Call it highly advanced training. Call it whatever you want but I know the way out is this way."

Something in the way she stared at him pleadingly made him break. "After you then."

The girl didn't let go of his hand. They both clung to each other as if their lives depended on it as they raced down the cold, metal halls. In reality, their lives probably did depend on staying together. The girl looked strong on the outside now, but he'd heard her crying in the room she was kept in enough to know the truth. She was scared and the people who had kept them both prisoner had broken her in some of the worst ways imaginable. It was little wonder to him that she was able to look at the idea of death and laugh. Death was probably easier than surviving through her torture. However, there had to have been a reason for her fight through. A reason to live. That was why he'd taken the risk to himself in order to get them, but mostly her, out of the Hydra's grasp.

They heard footsteps racing their way. He grabbed the girl around her shoulders and pulled her around a corner, into a small cubby for the ventilation piping. Hydra footsoldiers ran past them with their weapons. "Where's the Scientist? He did this!" called one of the cacophony of voices.

He winced but that didn't stop him from pulling the girl closer to him.

"That S.H.I.E.L.D. agent is missing too!" one of the soldiers yelled back. The girl, the agent in question, pushed herself against his chest. Her bony shoulders dug into his side. There was something incredibly familiar about the way she clung to him, the way her body quivered. It was like a far off aching memory of another time, another place, and another person he so desperately knew he had to protect.

The footsteps died away into the distance and the shouting got fainter. The girl pushed herself away from him, apparently her training taking over. They both peered around the corner. For a brief moment her face grew panicked as if she wasn't certain which way to go anymore. "Calm down and think about it from another perspective. Look for a new angle." he said as he placed his hand on her shoulder.

The girl took a deep breath and went still underneath his hand. Her hand fluttered in front of her body and her mouth moved in silent words. Slowly she turned around in his grip and that's when he noticed that her eyes were closed. She stayed like that for what seemed like an eternity. Every breath he took was spent worrying that the footsoldiers would come back and find them. Suddenly the girl's eyes snapped open. "This way." she said.

He didn't ask her reasoning this time. He trusted her. They both peeled away from their hiding spot and tore down the tunnel side by side. They turned corner after corner, trying not to trip over their own two feet as they slid around the slick polished metal surface. Then they turned another corner and the girl stopped abruptly. He nearly took her out from behind. "Oh crap!" whispered the girl in horror and he couldn't help but agree.

At the end of the hall was a flight of stairs, quite clearly labeled 'exit'. However, standing between them and their way out was a group of men. There were three of them in total, two footsoldiers and their boss, a particularly not nice guy named Williams. For as long as he'd been in Hydra's underground compound, he'd been under the distinct impression that Williams was in charge of everything that went on. Williams was in charge of finding him tools, supplies, and anything else he needed. Williams had also been the one who'd given the order to torture the girl. Oh crap indeed. "Leaving so soon Agent?" Williams asked the girl. "And are your accommodations not to your liking Scientist?"

"Oh well you know how it is," he said starting to put himself in front of the girl, "places to go and things to do. Can't say that I don't appreciate the top notch medical care you gave me with my horrible scarring burns but...your ideals don't exactly mesh with mine."

"A fine way to show your gratitude, going on this little excursion along with the sending hundreds of thousands of dollars up in flames in order to facilitate it." Williams said scathingly. Then Williams looked directly at the girl. "Apparently since you're able to walk and run about our facilities then you should be more than up to another interrogation session."

He felt the girl go rigid under his hand. He saw as her face went blank. No doubt she was reliving whatever torture Hydra had put her to. There was some inexplicable anger that rose up in his chest. These men wouldn't touch her. Not while he could still help it. Williams gave his men a nod and the two minions began their way towards them.

Without really thinking, he jumped forward and met the first one head on with an open handed strike to the chin. The footsoldier reeled backwards but not before getting a roundhouse kick to the side. He came back to his center, acutely aware of the unpleasant pulling and tightness where his scars were. What really grabbed his attention though was the fact that he apparently knew karate. First the robotics engineering and now karate? Alright, robotics was fine and somewhat understandable. That was a logical, intellectual thing. Not too much of a stretch. But karate? Really? Then again, Hydra hadn't really ever given him the chance to practice hammer-fist and spear hand strikes. Where had he learned all this stuff exactly? He'd make it a point to find out once he got himself and the girl out of this place.

The girl cried out. His attention snapped back to the present. In his moment of confusion, he'd forgotten that there were actually two men that had come after them. He'd struck the first but the second had gone straight for the girl. "Imouto!" he yelled out as he turned to help her.

Of course that was about the same time that she hauled off and performed a flawless front kick straight into her attacker's chest. The footsoldier went flying across the room. He stared at the girl in surprise. Oh, yeah! She was some sort of secret agent spy or something. He'd forgotten about that. She also no longer looked as though she was catatonic. "Behind you!" she yelled out in warning.

She was a breath too late. The footsoldier he'd gone after was back on his feet and had wrapped his arms around his middle. The second footsoldier was back on his feet and swinging punches at the girl as well. Most of them she either dodged or blocked. He on the other hand couldn't do anything, not until he was actually away. In what was really a wild flail, he sent his elbow into his captive's face. There was a crack and flow of sticky, warm blood that fell down his arm. Gross as it was, it meant success. His attacker let go of him in favor of coddling his now broken nose. The attacker staggered away from him but he chased after him. He sent a brutal fist to the side of the man's head. The footsoldier groaned before slumping to the ground. Immediately he turned to help the girl. Instead, however, he nearly got taken out by the second footsoldier as she delivered a high, spinning kick to the guy's head.

What he didn't miss was the way she was panting for breath. This girl could obviously take care of herself on a good day. Today, though, wasn't a good day. Whatever Hydra had done to her had taken a toll on her. He jumped to her side to back her up.

Williams simply looked at his two downed men and shook his head. "Full of surprises aren't we Scientist." he commented, "Obviously we didn't try hard enough with you girl."

"Wanna try me?" the girl asked with a hiss. He wondered how much of it was false bravado and how much of it was a desperate bluff. "I'm not going back there! You'll have to kill me."

"Figured as much," shrugged Williams as he pulled out his gun and raised it at them both. Willaims looked at him, "I'll give you to the count of ten Scientist to turn around and go back to your room before I shoot you too."

He didn't dignify that with a remark. He simply raise his chin and glared at Williams while silently moving in front of the girl. Williams sighed, "Suit yourself then."

Williams squeezed the trigger. "No!" screamed the girl, voice filled with terror.

He felt her hand wrap around his own as her body collided against his. He didn't even have time to close his eyes. The gun went off with a bang. The girl outstretched her arm in front of both of them….

And the bullet stopped.

Both he and Williams looked wide eyed at the shimmering blue shield that was around him and the girl. Both the casing and the spent bullet hit the ground. The girl's eyes widened as if she was in shock that she'd pulled a shield up at the last minute to protect them. Then it was gone. It must have been second nature to her because she pushed the shield away from them and straight into Williams.

Williams hit the opposite wall with a loud smack. The ringing noise the impact made resounded all around them in the metal halls. The shield disappeared as soon as it made contact with Williams. The man slumped to the ground in a daze. He turned to the girl. "You're a metahuman?" he asked her.

"Yeah, I mean I was...I mean I am...I haven't been able to do that since they took me prisoner. Believe me, I tried." her voice broke at the end. She bit her lip and stared at her hand, flexing it. Trying to form another shield he realized. Trying...and failing. Her eyes started to water and the impression her teeth made on her lip grew deeper. He stepped in front of her and took her hand.

"We're almost out of here imouto." he told her giving her hand a gentle squeeze. "You can figure that out when we're safe."

The girl nodded stiffly. She followed his lead wordlessly as they stepped past the Hydra men who'd tried to stop them. He opened the door to the stairs and pulled the girl up them.

Light. Bright and stinging light hit his eyes. He turned and looked at the ground blinking away the tears that it brought to his eyes. When was the last time he'd seen the sun? He literally couldn't remember. It must have been before Hydra had taken him from wherever they'd gotten him from and nursed him back to health but he didn't remember anything farther back than the two years he'd been in the Hydra facility. The girl tugged on his arm.

"We have to keep going before…" she told him. Sirens went off. Her face paled. "Before the sirens go off."

"Hurry!" he told her. He only hoped that they could actually keep running. Scratch that, he only hoped that there was some place to run.

The stairs that had lead them up and out of the Hydra compound had taken them to an abandoned warehouse. Nothing but miles and miles of concrete and pipes was laid out before them. He turned to look behind them. Spilling out from every possible doorway were Hydra soldiers. The girl pulled her hand from his and gave him a shove away from her. "Go! Get out of here!" she told him in an incredibly even voice.

He shook his head as he went to take her arm again, "I'm not leaving you behind."

"You have to. It's the only way." she said. She ducked away from his reaching hand.

"Don't be stupid." he snapped at her. It was a little more fierce than what he'd meant it as but she was no longer paying attention to him. Her eyes were locked solely on the oncoming Hydra soldiers.

He grit his teeth and went for her arm again. This time, because she was distracted, he managed to take hold of it. She turned to look at him in shock, probably fight him a little too, but the sound of screeching made her pause. Made them both pause. A black van with an eagle emblem on its side came careening around a corner, tires squealing against the pavement. It had been hidden from eyesight by a rather large pile of rusted steel beams. Now, though, it was in full view and coming straight for them.

He went to yank the girl out of it's path but the action wasn't necessary. In a haze of smoke and burning rubber, the van slid to a violent stop in front of them. The doors flung open and both the driver and the front passenger jumped out, guns raised. He went to pull the girl close to him to protect her but before he could she let out a strangled gasp.

"Get in the van! Now!" yelled the passenger, a balding man in a charcoal gray suit.

He stood there, not really sure about what exactly was happening, but the girl took the lead again. She twisted her grip around so that she was holding his hand and dragged him around the side of the van. As soon as they were both out of the line of fire, the passenger and the driver, a woman of Asian descent, opened fired on the pursuing Hydra agents. The van's back doors sprang open and another young woman with dark hair took their arms and hauled them in. Two more nondescript people pulled the van doors shut while the woman who'd helped them in screamed, "Go! Go! Go!"

There was more doors slamming, tires screeching, and rubber on asphalt as the driver threw the van in reverse and pulled it around in the opposite direction. Shots fired around the van. Some even sounded as though they hit the side of the van. It must have been reinforced though because none of the bullets pierced the vehicle. "Friends of yours?" he asked the girl with an upraised eyebrow.

The girl didn't respond. She gave a strangled sob and doubled over on the floor mats of the van. Her entire body shook as she sobbed. Both he and the young woman rushed to her side to comfort her. "It's over imouto. It's over." he whispered the promise in her ear.

For the first time in two years, he felt as though he'd truly lived up to an expectation. What that expectation was he couldn't exactly say.

X X X

Three very long hours later, he sat in the comfy seat of a huge private jet. He ruffled a heavily scarred hand through his jet black hair. Now that all the excitement was over he felt tired except for the fact he couldn't sleep. He closed his eyes and massaged the bridge of his nose, thinking all the while about how he was never doing something like that ever again. . He hadn't seen the girl since they'd ushered her to the medbay of the plan they called 'the bus'. She desperately needed it. He hadn't realized just how bad she'd been hurt. He was pretty certain that he'd overheard someone talking about how she had a broken ankle and several broken ribs. It was a miracle that she'd managed to run away from that compound with him. A small cough made him open his eyes once more.

The passenger from the van, the balding man in the charcoal suit, was standing in front of him with his hand extended. He rose immediately and shook it. "Director Phil Coulson, S.H.I.E.L.D.," he said. "She told us all about your grand escape plan...thank you. You saved her life."

He rubbed the back of his neck and laughed nervously, "Don't mention it. Any decent person would have done the same."

"There's not a lot of decent men in Hydra." came the voice of the driver of the van. Apparently she was also a pilot. A pilot who wasn't flying the airplane.

"I'm not Hydra," he explained quickly, "Um...shouldn't someone be flying this thing?"

"It's called autopilot robot boy." the girl said. She emerged from the same door that the driver/pilot had come from. Her face was taped up and she had what looked like a cast boot on her foot. Director Coulson shot her a look and she slid into one of the other comfy chairs with an audible, pained hiss. The girl pushed some of her own long black hair out of her face before offering him a weak grin. "Didn't they teach you about autopilot in whatever fancy school you went to? It's kinda a robotics thing. Should be right up your alley."

He rolled his dark brown eyes. "I'm sure they did." he replied sarcastically. Then he paused. "I'm sorry, I never got your name."

"Vera," she said softly, "my name's Vera."

"Good to meet you properly." he responded.

"What's your name son?" asked Director Coulson.

"Well, that's the thing." he sighed as he sat back down. "I don't know."

"You don't know?" the pilot repeated skeptically.

"Agent May…" Director Coulson waved his hand through the air slightly, "let him speak."

"I woke up in that compound nearly two years ago with these…" he raised his scarred arms and pointed to his equally scarred left side of his face for emphasis. "I don't remember anything beyond that. Not how I got these or even my own name."

"Why did Hydra want you?" Agent May asked. From the look she was giving him, he felt as though this was turning into an interrogation.

"He's an ace robotics engineer." Vera answered for him quietly. She was picking at the upholstery on the chair. "I saw some of the things he's built and designed while Hydra was...holding me captive."

He didn't miss the evasive tone in her voice as she said it. Pain rose in his chest. He'd saved her from the physical threat but it was obvious that she wouldn't be free of the mental pain that Hydra had caused her anytime soon. "They had me making little things first, writing software and building pieces mostly. Then they slowly began having me build bigger and bigger things. Weapons, I realized. Some sort of hive drone that was controlled in mass via neural receptors."

He looked over at Vera. Neither one of them could look at the other. "By the time I knew what was going on...I don't know...I was too scared to stop." he whispered.

She didn't turn away from him. He took that as a good sign that she didn't blame him. "You were just trying to survive."

"When I set the fire in my lab there, I made sure that the hive drones would go up in the blaze." he told them, trying to make the situation better somehow.

Director Coulson cleared his throat once more. It served to diffuse some of the tension that had arisen in the room. "I can't make any promises, but I have pretty computer savvy person on my team. I'll ask her to try and find your family, if you have one that is."

He looked up at Director Coulson in shock. He blinked a few times as he tried to register what had just been said to him. His family. He'd always assumed he had one out there somewhere, Williams had made enough barely veiled threats against to make that clear. He himself hadn't wanted to say anything about where or who they might be. He hadn't wanted to give them any more ammunition to use against him. Hurting him was one thing. Hurting another because of him, that was something else entirely. "Are there any clues that you can give us. Anything that might help us figure out who you are?" Director Coulson prompted him.

"Uh, there was a fire, obviously." he floundered. He raised his hands again for emphasis. He wracked his brain for more. "I'm a robotics engineer. I think I would hold a rather advanced degree with the level of knowledge that I have. Um...I also seem to know karate?"

He added the last part more for humor than anything else. However, Director Coulson took him seriously as he made a note on a small notebook he'd pulled from his suit pocket. Vera at least snickered. He looked over at her. She was now sitting with her knees pulled up to her chest and her feet on the seat. The posture made her look tinier than what she was.

Vera looked up at him, locking eyes with him suddenly. "What does 'imouto' mean?" she asked him.

"Imouto?" he repeated in confusion.

"Yeah, you called me imouto a few times while we made a run for it." she reminded him.

Then his brain clicked on. "Oh! Um, it's Japanese for little sister."

"Little sister," she scoffed, offended. "How old do you think I am buddy?"

"Sorry," he winced, "it's just that you look so young."

"Because you're obviously an old geezer." Vera snorted as she rolled her eyes. Then she grew serious again. "Do you know Japanese? Speak it, I mean?"

He closed his eyes and focused. At first only a few words and phrases came to him. Nii-chan, or older brother, was very prominent and painful in his mind for some reason. Then it was like a file cabinet opening and a whole different language popped out. "Yeah, I speak Japanese." he finally answered, surprised at himself.

"I'll add 'speaks Japanese' and 'possibly Japanese in ancestry' to the list." Director Coulson said as he put the finishing marks on his paper. Then he looked up at him. "The next thing we need to do is get you set up somewhere safe. Hydra will probably be looking for you for a little while yet. We're more than happy to furnish the necessary documents for you to have a somewhat normal life. Especially after you saved one of our own."

"Th...thank you sir." he stammered. Again he rubbed the back of his neck. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Vera shift slightly in her seat so that she was facing towards him.

"You need a name. Any suggestions?" Agent May asked him.

"Tony Stark," he said quickly, jokingly. Vera snorted.

"We have enough Tony Starks running around so perhaps a different name? It is good to see that your knowledge of current culture and sense of humor is intact though." Director Coulson smiled.

"What did Hydra call you?" Agent May questioned.

He bristled. "Just the Scientist but if it's all the same I'd rather not go by that or anything else they might have called in that Hell." he answered crisply.

"What do you want to go by then? Please don't say Bruce Banner either because I doubt he would be amused. You don't want to see that guy when he's unamused either, trust me." Director Coulson continued on, obviously using the joke to lift some of the tension that had settled in again. He thought about all the names that were available. The sky was the limit. Unfortunately, nothing seemed to fit him. He wanted his own name, his real name. He shook his head. He had nothing.

"Chiune…" Vera suggested quietly. They all turned to look at her in confusion. She was once more playing with the upholstery on the chair. "After Chiune Sugihara."

"Who's Chiune Sugihara?" he asked in confusion.

It was Agent May who answered him. "A Japanese diplomat during World War II. He saved the lives of over six thousand Polish and Lithuanian Jews from Hitler and the Nazis by writing exit visas for them. He was a quiet, humble man and very few of his own countrymen knew about his heroism. It wasn't until after he died that most of what he did came to light."

"I don't think…" he started. That name was way too heavy for him. He wasn't a hero. He didn't deserve to call himself after one.

"I'm just one person," Vera said quietly as she looked up to meet his eyes, "but I'm probably more grateful for what you've done for me than all six thousand of those people put together."

"Chiune…" he repeated the name thoughtfully. It wasn't his name. He knew that for a fact. Chiune wasn't a bad name though. It was so far away removed from 'Scientist' that he wouldn't feel like Hydra was constantly hanging over his shoulder. Who was to say that Director Coulson's computer person wouldn't find his own name relatively quickly? He could always change to his true name once he found out what it was. He gave a slow nod. "Chiune, it will work for now. I think I can grow into it."

"Excellent," Director Coulson smiled. "Let's talk about your security then and protecting you from Hydra...Chiune."

Chiune nodded. Again, the name felt as though it was an ill-fitting shoe but it was so much better than not having a name or simply being referred to as 'the Scientist'.

Chapter Text

It just takes some time; you're in the middle of the ride.

Everything will be just fine. Everything will be alright.

-The Middle by Jimmy Eat World

One year later

"Don't tell me you stayed up all night," groaned Vera. Chiune heard her walk up behind him, her heels clicking on the linoleum.

He didn't look up at her. He just kept working. "Alright, I won't tell you that then." Chiune told her with a shrug.

Vera gave a snort as she sat something down by his hand. The aroma of coffee hit his nose and he smiled broadly. God bless Vera. He took a sip and instantly gagged. Nevermind, he took it back. God don't bless Vera. "What are you trying to do?" he sputtered as he stared at the cup in distaste. "Kill me?"

"Quit being such a baby Chiune." she told him as she rolled her eyes. Currently she was searching through the files on her own desk.

Chiune took another careful sip. "Is this decaf? Why did you make decaf this morning?" he whined.

"Um, because I know you were up all the night before and you don't need anymore caffeine to keep you up." she explained. He was certain an eye roll accompanied it but since Vera had her back to him it was hard to tell for sure.

"Excuse me, but I'm pretty sure some other bonehead pulled an all nighter last week because she decided that she just absolutely had to read just about every case document dealing with electronic property and corporate data storage to prep for a discussion the next day." Chiune told her as he leaned over the back of his chair to watch her.

"That was different," she insisted without looking at him.

"Oh? How so?" he said.

"It just was alright. Ugh! Have you seen my case notes?" she asked him in exasperation as she threw one folder closed and grabbed another one.

It was Chiune's turn to roll his eyes. "In the green folder, where you put them every day." he reminded her.

Vera looked up at him and blinked. "Oh! Right!" she said, snapping her fingers together. She began rifling through the green folder in the bin she kept all her folders in. The two of them had shared an office space since they'd first began living together a year ago and it was almost comical to him just how organized they both were. It was weird to him. He felt as though Vera's space, at the very least, should've been organized chaos. It wasn't that there was anything in her character or mannerisms that made him believe her to be disorganized. She obviously hadn't gotten to be top of her law class at NYU by being disorganized. It was just something he'd expected, like he was used to sharing space with people who were disorganized. That little niggling fact bothered him sometimes. He wondered if it stemmed from who he'd been before Chiune, before the Scientist. It must have been because there was no other logical explanation for his feelings. "Yes!" Vera said, pulling her notes from the folder, "Here they are!"

"Big day in court today?" he asked her.

Vera nodded, "Professor Harnwell is letting me shadow him on the big Briorsworth case today. I'm the only one he's letting do it."

"Teacher's pet." he teased her.

"And worth every second of it if I get to actually participate in big cases like this." Vera turned to him with a grin. Chiune returned it with equal brightness. It was good to see her happy. She'd been so broken for so long after the incident at Hydra that there had been weeks where she'd gone without even cracking the hint of smile. She still had bad days where he would go into her room and find her curled up in a fetal position but they were getting fewer and farther between. Besides, when she did have those days...well, that was the reason he'd moved in with her. To look after her as she battle her post traumatic stress disorder. It had made him feel useful. Still did.

Chiune shook off his thoughts. "Briorsworth, that's the guy who was assaulted by that police officer and nothing was ever done right?"

"Yeah, the DA refused to press charges so he's going after a civil suit. Prof Harnwell is pretty positive that we can get this resolved today though in a settlement. And that's all you're going to get out of me nosy." she said.

"I wasn't asking for the full court briefing." He told her simply. "You volunteered that. Guess midterm break doesn't mean much to you does it?"

"Nope! Not one bit especially when there are exciting things going on in the courtroom. I am definitely glad midterms are over now though. What are your big plans today robot boy?" She asked him. Now she was rearranging her briefcase, double checking to make sure she had everything she needed for her day in court.

Chiune shrugged, "Still working on this project Coulson asked me to work on."

"I hope you plan on sleeping at some point today..." she reminded him with an upraised eyebrow. Then she took another look at him. "And make sure you eat something while you're at it. I think I can see your ribs through that t-shirt."

He looked down quickly. "You cannot." he mumbled under his breath as he sat back in his chair and pulled his Yankee's ball cap down over his head to hide his face from her. Truth was that he couldn't remember the last time he'd actually had something substantial and not the standard sour gummy worms and coffee. It couldn't have been that long ago. Vera had made lunch the day before. Sheesh! He hadn't eaten since lunch the day before! His thought must have played on his face because Vera laughed a little under her breath. She snapped her briefcase closed and walked over to the coat rack. "Did you want to go to the gym and spar tonight after class?" Chiune asked her, trying to change the subject.

"Travis and I are going to meet up to go do some park clean up and then we're going to get dinner tonight so probably not." Vera answered apologetically.

"That's fine." he shrugged, "Guess some habits die hard for you former Superheroes. Good deeds and all that fun stuff."

She turned to give him a brief, cold glare though the look on his face made it obvious that he was only joking with her. "My therapist says that community service is good for me and I like hanging out with Travis." she told him, sticking her tongue out at him.

"Which is why I have to slave away all day and night working for S.H.I.E.L.D. to pay the bills."

"You are not paying the bills by yourself you big baby."

"Tell me, exactly how is it a former Superhero and spy turned law student helps pay the bills?"

"By being an assistant to Prof Harnwell in his undergrad classes."

"Yes because that makes such a huge dent in the expenses Miss Teacher's Pet."

Vera responded with an oh so mature raspberry. Chiune laughed. He then caught a glimpse of the clock on the wall. "You need to get going otherwise you're going to be late and I'll have to drive you on my moped that you hate so much." Chiune said as he pointed to the clock.

Vera made a face but started to scramble to put her coat on over her crisp suit. "Who buys a moped in New York City?" she mumbled under her breath.

Chiune let her continued hatred of his moped go as she turned to look at him. "Seriously though Chiune, eat something and take a nap. Be a functioning member of the world today."

She came over and kissed his cheek. Then pulled back with a grimace on her face. "And maybe take a shower before you decide to go outside. You reek."

"Of course imouto." he laughed as he reached up and ran his fingers over the top of her head. He was careful not to muss the tight bun she'd put her hair into.

"Okay, come on Chiune. We're the same age. Stop calling me your 'imouto'." whined Vera.

"Or you could just give in and call me Nii-chan every once in awhile." he suggested. He kept his tone playful but a small part of him wouldn't have minded Vera calling him her older brother. Not in the least.

Vera hugged his shoulders before pulling away. "You are like my brother Chiune but you can't be an older brother because we're the same exact age." she told him in exasperation.

"You don't know that!" he told her. "I'm amnesic so I could technically be older than you."

"Yes, because the fancy doctors at S.H.I.E.L.D. have definitely not verified that you are most likely twenty-two, just like me."

"Do you want me to explain to you all the ways that there could be an error in their tests?" he offered.

"No," Vera shook her head a little too quickly, "because you'll get all science-y and techno-babble-ly and it will all go over my head anyways."

Chiune laughed. "Have a good day Vera."

"You too roomie." Vera gave him a wave before turning and heading out the door to catch a cab downstairs.

His lips twitched at the sight of the caller ID. He could almost set his watch by these phone calls he thought as he hit the answer button on his phone. "Vera's trying to kill me." he said dramatically.

"Do I need to send an extraction team?" Director Coulson asked him jokingly.

"She tried to poison me with decaf coffee this morning. I am in serious fear for my life right now. Who knows what else she's done. There could be some sort of trap in my bedroom for all I know!"

That earned a laugh from Coulson. "You stayed up all night again didn't you?"

"That's besides the point." he answered.

"Speaking of Vera, how's she doing?" Coulson asked, his voice sobering.

"Do you want the answer that she tells me to give you every time you call to check up on her or do you want the truth?"

"The truth if you please."

"Better." Chiune answered after a moment of thought. "I thought she was having another nightmare last night because she kept tossing and turning. I went to wake her up but by the time I got to her room she seemed alright again. She was quiet for the rest of the night."

"Is she taking her anxiety medication?" asked Director Coulson.

"When she needs it." he answered.

"She's going to her therapy sessions?"

"Hasn't missed one. Apparently her therapist told her she should try community service would help her deal with her post traumatic stress. She and her boyfriend are going out and cleaning up the park tonight." Chiune said as he walked away from the window.

"And her studies?"

"Goin' great. She getting to sit in on some big case with her Prof today. Really excited about it."

"And her powers?" Coulson asked.

Chiune slammed on the mental breaks. And this was why he was always wary when he informed on Vera to Director Coulson. "Director, you've asked me that how many times and how many times have I actually given you an answer to that question?"

"I just thought that I'd try asking anyways." Coulson said.

"I gave Vera my word that I wouldn't talk to you guys about her powers or lack of them. She doesn't even like talking about losing her powers to me." Chiune told Director Coulson firmly. He twisted around to look at the door just to make sure that Vera wasn't going to come bursting through it again. Even just discussing the fact that he wouldn't discuss her powers with S.H.I.E.L.D. felt like a betrayal.

Hydra had robbed her of her metahuman abilities. The last time she'd formed a shield was as the two of them were escaping. Vera never really talked about it but it was clear that she'd never gotten over it. Or used to it for that matter. She still sometimes, in a knee jerk reaction, would throw her hand out in front of her if something was falling towards her or being thrown at her as though she was going to form a shield. There was never a shield and Vera always looked incredibly lost for hours afterwards. In fact, there were some days when that sort of incident happened that he would find her curled up in bed crying. He didn't need to be the genius that he was to realize just how badly that sort of thing had messed her up.

"Besides, even if she does get her powers back, she's not coming back to S.H.I.E.L.D. You know that right."

"I know that." Director Coulson admitted. "Doesn't stop me from hoping that her powers do come back some day."

Coulson fell silent on the phone and Chiune rubbed the back of his neck. Guilt. That was what he heard in Coulson's voice. Vera was, or had been at least, a Superhero and law student with a keen eye for details and picking things apart. Coulson had taken her and trained her to be a spy. It had been his orders that had sent Vera into the Hydra compound the day she'd been captured. Of course Director Coulson hoped her powers came back. He felt responsible for Hydra taking them in the first place despite the fact that he couldn't possibly have predicted what would happen that day. Coulson was well aware of the fact that Vera would never be a Superhero or a field agent again. They both were. He sighed and mumbled, "Me too."

Coulson cleared his throat. "I also called to talk to you about something else..."

"Let me guess," Chiune started to say. His eyes were drawn to the notes he'd been working on throughout the night. "How's project BH6 going?"

"Any headway?"

Chiune picked up the notes and frowned. "Director Coulson, I'm gonna be honest with you. I'm not sure if I see how this is much different than what Hydra likes to do. Tracking down metahumans and Superheroes…"

"The difference...Chiune, is that we're trying to figure out how these kids from San Fransokyo got their hands on these gadgets and somehow managed to become Superheroes so we can protect them."

"Coulson, one of these kids can't be any older than, like, seventeen." he pointed out. There was a blurry picture of the so called Super team Big Hero 6 taped to the top of his desk. Even though the picture wasn't clear, he could make out the youngest member perched on the back of the biggest member which appeared to be an armored robot.

"Which is why we need to keep these guys safe even if we never approach them. I don't want to see what happened to Vera, happen to these guys." Coulson told him.

Chiune winced. Director Coulson knew exactly how to play him. Bring Vera into the matter was a bit of a low blow in and of itself but there wasn't a single agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. that didn't know just how far he'd go to help someone in need. He sighed and skimmed over his notes. "The technology itself is fairly new but it's sophisticated. These kids have to have someone really influential footing the bill for their gear because it isn't cheap. Have you talked to Stark to see if he's funding any new prodigies lately? He's been known to encourage young scientists with both materials and financing."

"Sources tell me no. Stark's not in this one and neither is Oscorp."

"Have you talked to Alistair Krei? His company is based out of San Fransokyo and these people did save his life as their opening act."

Coulson groaned, "Krei remains evasive and more irritating than Tony Stark."

"I would keep looking into him. He might be your best bet to figure out who these Superheroes are."

"What have you been able to determine about the technology they use?"

"Not much. None of them appear to have metahuman abilities and Vera agrees with me. From what I can gather their tech ranges from chemical reactions to plasma laser swords, which is really cool by the way."

"Incredibly so." Coulson agreed before he continued.

"There also seems to be a bit of robotics throughout all of their suits to hold it all together. That chemist heroine girl... her purse alone must be pretty impressive on the inside as well as the inner workings of the kaiju hero's suit. I'd love to be able to get a closer look at those."

"Would it be possible to trace that technology back to it's creators."

"Possibly," he said hesitantly as he rubbed his chin, "All technology is fairly unique to those who invent it, almost like a thumbprint. No two inventions alike y'know. There would definitely be a personal stamp on each of these guys' equipment but..."

"It would be difficult."

"Really difficult." he nodded. He pulled the picture of Big Hero 6 off his desk and raised it up to his face to study it. Plasma lasers. Chemical reactions. Magnetic suspension. Exosuits with flamethrowers. Robotics. There was so much diversity in just that small group, all over the map as far as science went. That made them really hard to pin down.

"What if we were to send someone to San Fransokyo to talk to some of the leading experts of the fields?" Coulson asked him.

"Huh?" he was thrown out of his reverie. It took him a couple of moments to actually recall what Coulson had just said. "Yeah, that would be a good start I guess especially if you can't get Krei talking. The people at San Fransokyo Institute of Technology might be able to provide some more insight into the team."

"It would have to be someone who had a better working knowledge of science than the basic principles." Coulson told him.

"Oh most definitely. I can guarantee you that these people, whoever they are, are pioneers in their given fields themselves. It would take someone who could think on their level scientifically." he agreed as he replaced the picture back on to his desk. "Fitz-Simmons would probably get a kick out of chatting up today's up and coming scientists. They'd be good people to send."

"Chiune..." Coulson sighed, "I'm trying to hint at you going."

"Wait, what?" he sat up a little straighter in his chair, eyebrow shooting up. "Are you serious?"

"Yes," the answer was completely serious. He hadn't left New York City since he'd moved in with Vera. Coulson was still worried about Hydra looking for him. He'd never been authorized to go on a field trip outside of the city. To go to San Fransokyo, a place where some of world's most leading experts on robotics and other sciences, now that would be something! He'd wanted to visit San Fransokyo Institute of Technology and bury himself neck deep in their labs and libraries. He'd kill to get that chance. "Or at least we're considering it..."

And just like that he felt all the wind taken out of his sails but he kept his voice light as he replied, "Right of course. It's probably just as well. I don't think that I'd be comfortable leaving Vera on her own just yet and I don't think she'd want to take an impromptu trip to San Fransokyo at the moment... even if she's on midterm break right now."

"Now hold on a minute." Coulson said quickly. "Don't act so deflated. There are some... things going on in San Fransokyo and California at the moment and we're trying to get to the bottom of it before we make any decisions."

"What's going on in San Fransokyo?" he asked curiously as he raised his eyebrow and leaned back in his seat.

"Don't worry about it. I've got a couple of field agents looking into it." Coulson said. He got the distinct feeling that he was getting the brush off. Why he wasn't certain but after working with Coulson for the better part of a year he was more inclined to trust him than he had with Williams. Coulson had never kidnapped and tortured anyone at least... or forced him to make weaponized robots. Besides, Vera trusted Coulson and he trusted Vera, so he let Coulson's obvious dismissive action go for the time being. "I'll keep you updated about going to San Fransokyo. We really need to find these kids."

He sensed the conversation coming to a close. However, Coulson's words sparked something in the back of his mind. Well, something that was always there whether he was conscious of it or not. "Hey Coulson, uh, one more thing before I let you go."

"Yes Chiune?"

"Um, have you... have you found anything else about me yet? Y'know about who I was before Hydra?" he asked, shifting forward nervously in his chair as he waited for Coulson to answer him.

Coulson was silent for an imperceptible moment. That was enough for him. "Skye is working on it. Hydra did a bang up job erasing your past or at least hiding it. Skye seems to think that if she could narrow down when you came to with your burns and how long Hydra spent rehabilitating you then she might be able to work backwards from there."

"Of course that would work so much better if I actually knew that." he mumbled as he pinched the bridge of his nose. Chiune hadn't realized just how tightly he'd been wound until he slumped forward. He sagged deeper into his desk chair, pushing away the notebook he'd been writing in. Disappointment surged through him. It had been nearly a year and nobody had been able to find anything out about him. He really didn't know what he'd been expecting. He shouldn't have expected anything. He lifted his ball cap off his head and threw it down on the desk. "You know Director...I try to stay pretty upbeat but sometimes you guys make it really difficult." Chiune said as he massaged his temples tiredly. Maybe he shouldn't have stayed up all night to make sure Vera wasn't going to have a nightmare.

"I know it's hard but you need to stay positive Chiune. Hydra is good, but Skye is better. I've seen her hack some of the most secure computers in the world. If you existed before three years ago, she'll find you." insisted Coulson.

"I hope so. I'd like to know if I've got a family somewhere out there in the world."

"Until then, we're glad you're with us. Please just give us some more time."

"There really isn't much more I can do about it." he said at length quietly. He raked his hand through his hair in frustration and desperately tried to shake off the disappointment he still felt. Then he grit his teeth and tried to force himself to smile despite the lackluster information he'd received. "I know and trust me, I'm glad I'm with S.H.I.E.L.D. now too. I'll let you go. Vera says I need to shower, eat, and be a functioning member of society today."

"Yes, and knowing you, you should probably take a nap."

He rolled his eyes at Coulson's suggestion. "Sir yes, Sir!" he told Coulson lightly.

"I'm serious Chiune. You should probably take a nap." Coulson insisted.

"Have a good day Sir." he told Coulson before hitting the end call button on his phone. With a groan he tossed it down on to his desk. It slid across his notebook with a muted thud. He rubbed his face, suddenly exhausted.

X X X

Approximately Twelve Hours Prior

"Lights out Doc." the correctional officer said, banging on the bars of the cell with his nightstick. Robert Callaghan looked up from the science journal he was reading in the dim light of a dying flashlight. Somewhere on the other side of the cell his cellmate groaned his agreement with the correction's officer. He shot the correctional officer a dirty look as the man continued to walk away. Unfortunately, when you were serving twenty-five to life no one particularly cared if you had waited nearly three weeks to read the article on advanced robotics. It should also be noted that no one cared if you'd previously been one of the leading scientists in the robotics field before incarceration. Everything that Callaghan had been known for, everything he'd achieved, everything he'd worked so hard for had been wiped away. All that was left was Yokai and the travesty he'd inflicted upon San Fransokyo.

Alistair Krei should've gotten what was due him. Krei should've been sitting in a cell just like he was now. Krei was just as guilty as he was. It had been his technology that had led Callaghan to stoop to revenge. Sometimes the world didn't work the way it should. The very laws of nature were thwarted against all possibilities. Yet, there were times when even impossibilities worked in a person's favor. Abigail, against all odds, had been returned to him. His only child, his pride and joy, was alive and breathing because the world had decided to break its own laws. That had been the only good thing to come out of the entire mess. He'd lost everything in his bid for revenge, but in doing so had gained back the one thing that mattered the most.

Callaghan shook off his thoughts, stowed his science journal under his pillow, and turned off his flashlight. He'd just settled himself into his bunk when a loud blaring noise ripped through the cell block. Instantly he jerked upright. His cellmate did the same. Neither one of them even tried to move any farther than that. Officers ran up and down the cell block, yelling directions to lock down the area. "Hey! What's going on?" yelled his cellmate as one correction's officer passed.

There was no response. From farther down the hall there was an unmistakable banging sound. "That's gunfire." Callaghan mumbled to himself.

"Prison riot?" his cellmate suggested.

"And where exactly would prisoners get guns at when the correctional officers don't carry one." he replied. He got out of bed and ventured to the bars of the cell. As he craned his neck to get a better look, another loud bang shook the cellblock. Heavy white smoke accompanied it and exploded down the hall. Callaghan jumped back in the middle of a violent coughing fit but it didn't do much good. Smoke poured through the bars and into his cell. Both he and his cellmate backed away from the smoke, coughing and sputtering.

There was a click and a metal deadbolt fell from its place in the cell door's lock. Callaghan looked up from his doubled over position. Through his watering eyes and hazy smoke he made out the shadow of man at the door. "Doctor Callaghan," the man said as he stepped through the smoke.

Callaghan stood. The man in front of him was young with dark hair. He tossed something to him. Callaghan barely caught it, clutching it close to his chest. It was a familiar, stark white kabuki mask with red stripes. A Yokai mask. Callaghan looked back up at the man before him. "I am Agent Williams. I represent Hydra. We have a proposition for you."

Chapter Text

"And then this one," Travis pointed his chopstick at a very agitated Vera, "yells out 'hold on! I'm coming to help you!'"

Chiune looked over at Vera and grinned. "This so did not end well for you did it?" he asked her.

"The next thing I know is that there's this huge splash and Vera looks as though she's just surfaced from a high dive in an olympic swimming pool." Travis cackled with glee. Chiune burst out laughing, grabbing his sides and trying not to fall out of his chair at the kitchen table.

"That's right," grumbled Vera, "just laugh it up buddy. Just laugh it up?"

"What about the little old lady? What happened with her and her shoe?" he asked through his tears.

"She lost the shoe and called me a good for nothing lazy kid." growled Vera as she stabbed her fork into the white Chinese food container so hard that he was fairly certain it was going to come out the bottom. "Seriously! I remember intercepting counterintelligence agents that were more grateful to see me than that little old lady."

Travis had to set his carry out container on the table because he was laughing so hard that it was liable to spill all over the floor. "I had to take her to my apartment to dry off before we could even go get dinner."

"Which is why you showed up here wearing a pair of his sweat pants and a shirt twice your size." Chiune added.

"Well I wasn't about to put my suit back on when I was wet now was I?" muttered Vera hotly.

"No one is blaming you babe." Travis assured her as he squeezed her shoulder gently. Vera's sour mood lifted slightly. Travis looked as though he were going to say more but at that exact moment, both Chiune and Vera's phones went off.

He picked his up first. It was a text from Director Coulson. He opened it up and read it in confusion. "Turn on your tv?" Vera read the same words that he had on his phone.

Travis pushed himself out of the chair and walked to the back of the couch where the remote control had been thrown. "What channel?" asked Travis.

Vera looked at Chiune, holding her phone up for him to see. Just like his text from Coulson, there was no indication as to what channel or what exactly it was they were supposed to be seeing. "I don't know. It doesn't say." he said.

Vera rose to her feet, "Try the local stations first. It's Coulson so it's probably big news."

He followed Vera over to the couch and stood on the other side of Travis. Travis played his part dutifully, flipping through the local stations. Evening news and commercials mostly. "Wait! Stop! Go back a channel!" Vera cried out.

She'd taken the remote from Travis before he'd even gotten a chance to do as she'd asked. Vera flipped the tv back what appeared to be the national news. The scrolling title read, "California prison confirms Supervillain escaped last night." Something from his previous conversation with Coulson earlier that day clicked in his head. Hadn't Coulson said something about some sort of incident in going on in California that S.H.I.E.L.D. was investigating? Was this it?

In the top right hand corner of the screen was a picture of man clad in black and wearing a white and red kabuki mask.

"Isn't that…" Chiune started. His breath caught automatically as he looked at the image on the screen. He'd have been a pretty half rate robotics engineer to not recognize one of the greatest pioneers in his field of expertise.

"Yokai," finished Vera grimly. "First Supervillain to be convicted and sentenced to life in prison in California. It was a huge legal step in hero/villain and metahuman politics."

"Doctor Robert Callaghan, renowned robotics engineer and inventor. A real groundbreaker." he added reverently despite knowing that Vera vehemently disagreed with his admiration of the man. For some reason, though, she didn't comment as she usually did. Then again, the reason became strikingly clear to him when he looked at her.

"Old friend of yours?" asked Travis. The worry was clear in both his voice and his face. Chiune watched as Travis battled not to reach out and clutch Vera protectively to his chest. The pair had been dating before she'd been captured by Hydra. He was a flight instructor and had apparently given her flying lessons after a break up with a previous boyfriend to help her get over the other guy. Travis had been in the Air Force and his instinct to protect her was just as strong his own was.

"No, never met him but…" her voice trailed off. Vera's fingers started to twitch sporadically. She looked she was trying to force herself to watch the tv screen. He moved around to her other side and took her hand gently.

"You think it's Hydra, don't you imouto?" he asked her quietly.

Vera's hand curled around his subconsciously. "Call it instinct. Call it highly advanced training. Call it whatever you want, but this just smells of Hydra."

There was a knock at the door. Vera gave little scream and jumped. Travis latched on to her and pulled her close against his body. He started whispering something into her ear, most likely trying to take her mind out of whatever moment she was reliving. There was another knock on the door. It wasn't demanding or threatening but it made Vera quake all the more. "Stop knocking!" Chiune snapped before swearing under his breath in Japanese. "I'm coming."

He stalked to the front door while Travis tried to soothe Vera's frayed nerves. A quick check in the peephole told him that it was Director Coulson. Chiune let him in without hesitation. "Is everything alright in here? I thought I heard someone scream." Coulson asked in concern.

Coulson looked past him and saw Vera. Her face was bleached of any color and her eyes were wide. However, she was no longer clinging to Travis. She took a deep breath to steady her nerves. "I had a… um, a brief flashback... when you knocked. The news...it took me off guard for a moment." she said by way of answer.

He bit back a smile, glad for once that Vera hadn't immediately started apologizing for her flashbacks. He was proud of her for coming so far in her recovery. "I'm sorry, I didn't know." Director Coulson told her with genuine remorse.

Vera waved a shaking hand through the air to dismiss it. "Wasn't intentional." she murmured. Then she swallowed and looked up at Coulson. "Was it Hydra's doing?"

"Aaand...this is something that I probably don't have security clearance for." Travis grumbled, recognizing the situation right off the bat. He rubbed his forehead and sighed in defeat. "I should go."

"Thank you for your understanding Airman." Director Coulson replied. Travis gave a grunt in reply. He gave Vera a quick kiss on the lips and whispered something in her ear. Probably more reassurement before he left.

"Call me if you need me." Travis told Chiune as he grabbed his coat from the back of the chair. The door clicked shut, quietly, and it was just the three of them in the room.

Coulson motioned for them to sit down. Vera wrapped her arms around herself and made her way back to the table. He placed his hand on her back, just to let her know he was there. Unlike Vera and Coulson, he remained standing close to Vera's side. "We have a few field agents looking into it...but I think it is a pretty safe bet that yes, this was most likely Hydra's doing."

"Fantastic," Vera said quietly with a grim look on her face. She pushed away the forgotten take out containers so she could prop her chin up on the table. He pulled a file that neither Chiune or Vera had seen him carry in. Coulson flipped it open in front of he and Vera. Vera took it as he bent down to read over her shoulder. It was a basic rundown of what S.H.I.E.L.D. knew about Callaghan. Vera repeated her earlier words as she twisted her head to the side, "Dr. Robert Callaghan Supervillain and top dog of the robotics' field. Also Chiune's idol."

He winced at her disapproving tone. "Dr. Robert Callaghan is one of the prolific names in robotics Vera. His work paved the way for a lot of people. Yes, he is a Supervillain but that doesn't change what he did before that. Dr. Callaghan did a lot of good work." he reminded her emphatically but knowing it was futile.

"Until he had a so called psychotic break and plunged himself into a revenge fantasy that nearly killed Alistair Krei and several innocent bystanders." Coulson added.

"He most likely also killed one of his students to get the micro-robotics technology he used to try and fulfill his revenge. The prosecutors weren't able to prove it but many think that he set the fire in the San Fransokyo exhibition hall that killed his one of his students." Vera said with complete and utter distaste. "We studied the case pretty thoroughly last semester in one of my classes. Or at least as thoroughly as we could. The majority of the court records were sealed because of the fact that one of the victims involved was a minor."

"Callaghan said he was driven to a mental breakdown because he thought Alistair Krei was responsible for the accident he thought killed his daughter." he recalled.

"Alistair Krei was definitely responsible." Vera said fiercely. Her eyes took on the deadly flash that he knew just a little too well. He held up his hands pacifically in a sort of 'I know, I know' gesture. "A court should have found him guilty of negligence and manslaughter. For some unknown reason, they didn't."

"Callaghan's obviously no saint either." Coulson pointed out. "As Vera said, he claims he suffered a psychotic break during the fire and thought he saw the chance to right the wrongs that Krei had done to him. His defense attorney argued extreme emotional distress."

"They all do." Vera said scathingly, "It's either extreme emotional distress or mental disturbance. You can't be a proper Supervillain without a 'I'm crazy' defense."

He and Coulson both ignored her comment. Any indulgence and she would be off on a tangent, ranting and raving about Superhero/villain politics. Coulson continued, "Before his 'break down,' Callaghan was a pioneer in his field as Chiune said. Had some really good ideas and inventions. He caught many people's eyes from governments to intelligence agencies."

"Including Hydra you think." he said thoughtfully as he took the file from Vera's hand. The picture of Robert Callaghan was familiar to him in a way that went beyond the normal familiarity of recognizing a well known and respected robotics engineer. Then again, he'd seen it dozens of times in the science journals he liked to read as well as in the newspaper articles he'd been studying. The sensation was probably just because of the fact that he'd seen Callaghan's face so many times.

"Again, I still have field agents trying to confirm that but I think it's suspicious that nearly a year after you escape from them that now, all of a sudden, a Supervillain with similar expertise breaks out of prison."

Vera leaned back in her chair and cocked her head to the side thoughtfully. "Any indication that he had plans to break himself out? Supervillains don't exactly find prison of any kind their ideal home away from home." she asked.

"None," Coulson answered with absolute certainty. "His daughter visits him regularly and told investigators that he seemed content to serve his sentence in peace. There's that and the fact that videos indicate that Callaghan didn't escape without help. That was pretty clear."

Vera stiffened, "You don't think that…"

"That Hydra is still on a kick to find ways to strike at metahumans?" Director Coulson finished for her. Chiune wrapped his hand around Vera's shoulder. She'd been doing so well. "I think they still are and I think the team called Big Hero 6 might be in danger." Coulson added.

"They aren't metahumans though." he pointed out.

"No but they are Superheroes and they did stop Callaghan." Vera said quietly. "Supervillains can't usually resist going after those who first brought them down. It's a bit of an ego thing for them. Ego and revenge. On top of that, if Hydra were to figure out how this team was able to build such advanced equipment then it could be used to augment their own weapons arsenal for their war on metahumans and freedom."

"Big Hero 6 could be an important component to them." Coulson said simply. Director Coulson looked at Vera and the implication was evident. Big Hero 6 might be just as important to Hydra as Vera had been. From her they'd pieced together how to seemingly block a metahuman's Superhuman abilities. Another opportunity to pick something apart and hurt it beyond all logical comprehension. His heart clenched at the thought of someone as young as that seventeen year old boy falling into Hydra's clutches. Who knew what and just how much they would learn from Big Hero 6 and how far they would go to learn it.

"What do we do?" asked Chiune.

"We switch directions with project BH6." Coulson stated. He reached into his suit coat pocket and fished out and a long packet. He slid it across the table towards Chiune. It had his name on it, he saw as he picked it up. Inside it was an airline ticket to San Fransokyo. "You leave tomorrow morning." Coulson told him simply.

"Coulson," he said, eyes going wide is shock, "Wait! Are you serious?"

"Very," answered Coulson as he gave a nod.

Chiune rubbed his chin as he looked down at the plane ticket. "This is…" he stammered, "wow!"

"I'll say." Vera mumbled under her breath as she looked at the ticket with an unreadable expression. That's when he realized something.

He couldn't leave Vera. Not after she'd just had another flashback. Not after she'd just been told that Hydra was possibly looking to go after another group of Superheroes. He shook his head and held the ticket back out to Coulson. "You should send someone else." he told Coulson before giving Vera a pointed look, "I have things here I need to make sure are alright."

"I knew you'd say something like that, so..." Coulson gave an understanding nod and reached back into his pocket. He withdrew another long packet from inside his suit and slid it across the table.

Vera picked it up in confusion. "You want me to go to San Fransokyo too?"

"We could really use your help again." Coulson said sincerely.

Both his and Vera's eyes narrowed. "Absolutely not Coulson." Vera said snapping the airline ticket back down on the table and shaking her head violently. "I'm not coming back to S.H.I.E.L.D."

"For the record I agree." he added. "You want to send her back into a snake's nest."

"What I want to do is someone who knows Supervillains on hand to help my agents predict what Callaghan may possibly be doing for Hydra." Coulson explained.

"You forget that I'm a basket case, ticking time bomb that could explode into a mental breakdown at the drop of a hat and at the worst possible moment most likely." Vera told him. She crossed her arms over her chest and pointedly refused to look at the the airline ticket that Coulson had placed in front of her.

"I wouldn't go that far." Chiune told her with a wince.

"Hydra...tortured me." Vera stumbled over the words. Her hands were shaking, badly. She fought through it though. "Do you know what set me off when you got here? It wasn't you knocking on the door. I was already rattled by the news report. The one about Callaghan. I knew he was a robotics expert. His skills are similar to Chiune. Hydra doesn't stop, won't stop, until they have what they want. I could tell this was them just by watching the news report. That's what caused my sudden anxiety attack. Something as little as that set me off Coulson."

"Vera," Coulson started. Chiune tensed as Vera's face became hard.

"You want to send me back into a situation with known Hydra involvement. It won't be a matter of if I have a break down. It'll be a matter of when and how bad. If you put me in San Fransokyo as a field operative, I could jeopardize the entire mission and everyone involved." she said fiercely.

Coulson didn't push the ticket back into her hands but he stared at her piercingly. "You'd be a consultant. No field work or spying involved. That I promise you."

Vera didn't say anything and neither did Chiune. When Coulson realized that they weren't going to respond, he pushed forward. "No one knows Supervillains the way you do Vera. No one has the experience with them like you do."

Vera swallowed hard. Slowly, she took the ticket from the table once more. He and Coulson both watched as she opened it to stare at the plane ticket. He squeezed her shoulder gently. "You don't have to do this if you don't want to. It's your choice Vera."

Vera looked up at Director Coulson. "Consultant only, no field work?" she asked him uncertainly. Coulson nodded. "I won't be anywhere close the investigating agents or Hydra?"

"Not likely," Coulson gave her as much assurance as he could. Vera shifted. It was as good as they were going to get.

Vera picked up the airline ticket again. She flicked it back and forth between her fingers as she stared at it blankly. He bit his lip as he waited for her to do or say something.

"You won't go if I stay." Vera said quietly as she reached up and grasped his hand on her shoulder. He started to say something, what he wasn't entirely sure because it was the truth, but Vera gripped his hand harder and cut him off. "Don't even try to deny it. I know you way to well robot boy. You won't go because you think that I need to be watched twenty-four seven."

She looked up and locked a hard gaze on Director Coulson. "What's your detail plan for Chiune?"

"Wait, what are you talking about?" he asked in confusion looking between Coulson and Vera. Vera twisted around in her chair. She looked at him with the same hard gaze that she'd given Coulson. It was very reminiscent of the fierce look she'd given him when they'd made their escape from Hydra and it made him stop, just like it had the last time.

"Your protection detail." she answered him matter of factly. "If we're going to San Fransokyo and most likely into the thick of a Hydra nest then we need to discuss S.H.I.E.L.D.'s plans to keep you from falling into Hydra's greedy little hands again."

"But you never gave an answer as to whether or not you were coming." he told her in confusion.

The chair scraped across the floor as Vera stood up. She laid both her hands on his shoulders, not an easy feat since she was so much shorter than he was, and a small smile twisted on to her lips. "We have to find Big Hero 6 and we have to keep them safe. You're S.H.I.E.L.D.'s best hope of figuring out who they are and you can't do it from behind a desk. As far as me going, unfortunately Coulson is right. I probably have the most first hand experience with Supervillains that isn't tied up in the Avenger's project. I have to get inside Robert Callaghan's head and I definitely can't do that from behind a desk here in New York either, so we might as well talk with Director Coulson about how he plans to keep you under Hydra's radar."

Chiune smiled back at her, "You mean to keep us under Hydra's radar."

"Precisely," nodded Vera. Her smile was plastered tightly on to her face but there was something in the way that she hung on to his shoulders with trembling hands that made him want to wrap her in a hug and not let her go.

X X X

"Hiro, your blood pressure is elevated and your heart rate has accelerated quite rapidly. I suggest that sitting down and taking deep breaths as a possible treatment." Baymax said. His voice was its typical monotone but yet somehow still managed to convey worry. Of course that was impossible seeing as how Baymax was a robot, but still!

"He was supposed to be locked up!" Hiro said. His words came out like a hiss between his clenched teeth as he stared at the footage on the television. His hands curled tightly around the chair he was standing behind.

"Hiro?" called Aunt Cass as she looked over the stair railings at him. "Are you alright sweetie? Why is Baymax activated?"

"Callaghan is supposed to be in prison!" growled Hiro. Anger raced through him, making his entire body cold and shaky.

"What are you talking about Hiro?" Aunt Cass shook her head as she came down the stairs towards him. "Dr. Callaghan is in prison."

"It appears as though Dr. Robert Callaghan, also known as Yokai, is no longer located at the penitentiary facility he was placed in." Baymax supplied.

"He escaped!" Hiro yelled. "How could he possibly have escaped? He was supposed to stay locked up for what he did to Tadashi!"

He gave an angry yell and stomped his foot, pacing back and forth in the kitchen as he ran his hands through his hair. Vaguely he was aware of Aunt Cass staring at the ongoing news report. The one that said that California's first convicted Supervillain had escaped from prison. He heard her gasp in shock but he was too wrapped up in his own anger. How dare Callaghan do this! How dare he try to avoid the punishment he'd been handed down for killing Tadashi! "Baymax," he growled, "call everyone else. We need to talk about how we're going to track Callaghan down."

"Hiro I am not sure if this is the wisest…" Baymax started to reason with him.

Hiro wasn't listening. He waved his hand through the air. "Just do it. It'll help my adolescent mood swings."

Well sort of. Putting Callaghan back in prison would definitely do him some sort of good.

He went to grab his coat off the table. Before he got more than half a step though, someone caught his arm. He whipped around, still fuming. That is until he saw Aunt Cass's worried face. The anger that had been burning inside of him started calm to a dull roar. "Hiro, sweetie," she said pleadingly, "Be careful alright."

Hiro grasped her hand gently and pulled it from his arm. He wrapped his arms around his aunt and tried to infuse every ounce of reassurance he had in his body into his hug. "I will." he promised her, whispering over the top of her head, "Don't worry."

He pulled away from her and gave her a kiss on the cheek. "Come on Baymax. We can't let Callaghan get away."

Chapter Text

He shifted uncomfortably in his seat. In doing so he angled himself closer to Vera but made sure not to disturb her. She was currently asleep with her head pressed against the airplane's window. The woman across the aisle was staring at him. She'd been staring at him ever since he and Vera had shown up at the airplane's boarding gate. Of course it had to be his luck that she was seated close to him. Of course she seemed to have the same fascination with him as a spectator at some kind of freak show. What was he? The bearded lady?

Simultaneously, he pulled the collar on his blazer up and his ball cap down over his face. The majority of his scars were facing away from prying eyes, towards Vera and the window, but even with that and the adjustments to his clothes it didn't feel like it was enough. Subconsciously, he brushed his good hand over the opposite side of his face, covering the scars he had there. His scarred hand clenched around the armrest of his seat.

"Hey, are you okay?" Vera asked him softly as she touched his scarred hand on the armrest.

He jumped in surprise, startled. "I thought you were asleep." he admitted, rubbing his jaw.

"No, I wasn't." she told him. She raised an eyebrow at him. Then she looked over his shoulder. He saw her eyes narrow at the woman across the aisle. Vera cleared her throat harshly and drew the woman's attention to herself. It was almost crazy just how quickly the woman found something more interesting than him. Vera looked back at him, face softening. "I think you spend so much time worrying about my scars that you forget about your own." Vera murmured giving his hand a squeeze.

He shrugged. "Everyone I talk to and hang out with make it easy to forget that I have…" his voice trailed off as he gestured to the side of his face in elaboration.

"It's Travis and I, and Coulson and his team that sees you on a regular basis." supplied Vera. "You've never been this far from the apartment before."

"I know." he sighed, "I just didn't think that, well, that so many people would stare."

Vera looked at him sympathetically. She probably understood what it felt like to be stared at. He knew that with her post traumatic stress disorder she often felt like people were watching her like a bug underneath a microscope. Even when she wasn't showing visible signs of her anxiety. He was the last person that would ever try to compare his scars against Vera's. They were like apples and oranges in many respects, but wow! The damage the fire had done to him was always out in the world for all to see and he hated it. That one fact alone was enough to make him want to crawl back into his small hole. Why had he thought going to San Fransokyo was going to be a good idea?

"I know it will only get worse in San Fransokyo." he mumbled. There were lots of people to stare at him in a giant city.

"If anyone says anything," Vera whispered in his ear, "I'll kick their ass for you."

He burst out laughing, trying to cover his mouth with his hand. Several people turned to look at him in confusion. "Sorry," he muttered as his face started to turn red.

Vera had a devious smile on her face but nonetheless was pleased with herself for making him laugh. She settled back into her seat, crossing her legs and folding her arms over her chest. Vera twisted her head to the side to look at him. "Do you want to go over the plan again?" she offered. She made sure to keep her voice low so that those sitting around them wouldn't hear what she was saying. "Focusing on something else takes your mind off of what you're trying to avoid."

"That I understand imouto," he told her rolling his eyes, "but what is your fascination with talking about the same plan we've been over six or seven times already."

"You're the one who rambles on and on about different designs and theories all the time. I can't tell you how many times I've had to hear about your plan for that fire search and rescue robot." she replied, also rolling her eyes.

"Alright, sure. Fine, whatever." he told her waving his hand dismissively. The woman across the aisle was back to staring at him. He could feel her eyes on his back.

Vera shrugged in her seat. "Alright, we're going directly to San Fransokyo while the field agents are starting in Crescent City at Pelican Bay."

"Again, so glad we don't have to go there." he said under his breath. The idea of hanging around a supermaximum security prison didn't sound beneficial to his health. Vera only nodded in agreement.

"We're both going to start at Callaghan and then work our way into our respective roles. I'm going to get inside Callaghan's head. You're going to see if you can find any basis for Big Hero 6's technology in his work."

"There should be at least some connection. Robert Callaghan's work is foundational for a lot of robotics. However, I really feel like that I'm going to end up at San Fransokyo's Institute of Technology talking to more current pioneers."

"Also, this is completely subjectionable from a former Superhero, but…"

"Some of those current pioneers could also be the team we're looking for. Yes, you've said that. Multiple times in fact."

"All I'm saying is that you put the right kind of people with the right kind of abilities, add in the right kind of scenario and you have a strong possibility for a particular outcome."

"Tell me," he said teasingly, "what science and research is that based on again?"

Vera snorted, "Remind me to tell you about how I actually managed to become a Superhero when I didn't actually want to be one in the future."

"Do you really think that you're going to be able to predict Callaghan's actions?" he asked skeptically.

"It depends. That's why I have to talk to those he knew and see how he used to live. At the very least I may be able to get a good enough feel for him to tell Coulson whether or not Callaghan will cooperate with Hydra or if he'll break and try to follow his own agenda. A lot of it is subjective to Hydra's plans."

Vera's voice dropped off. He watched as her face went blank. "Vera," he said as soothingly as he could manage.

Then she shook her head. "We won't know that until the field agents can get us the intel so we just have to make do."

"Coulson said that we only have to be in San Fransokyo long enough to gather our data and give our reports then its back to New York. Every step of the way we're going to be watched by S.H.I.E.L.D. There is no radio silence. We have subdermal tracers that have been tested in the remotest parts of the world. They aren't going to lose track of you like they did last time." he told her.

Vera turned to look out the window again. "Us…" she amended, "They won't lose track of us. I heard the same spiel you did from Coulson. Doesn't mean that…"

Again her voice trailed off but he was able to fill in the blanks. She was scared. Perhaps that was why she wanted to keep going over the plan. She wanted it ingrained in her memory so that she knew how to react. It was how she coped he realized. Something inside of him understood that too. There was something reassuring in knowing exactly what was going to happen. However, he'd been a scientist long enough to know that anything rarely went the way it was planned. He'd never breathe a word of that to Vera though.

"So what things do you want to see while we're there?" he asked brightly trying to change the conversation and distract her.

Vera turned to look at him once more. Again her eyebrow was raised. "This isn't a vacation Chiune. We're supposed to be working."

"Has anyone ever told you that you really aren't much fun." he pointed out.

"Yes, you and Travis both have a tendency to do that." she told him, unimpressed.

"Come on, just humor me. Say we can go anywhere in San Fransokyo. Say we get a couple hours to ourselves without having to worry about Superheroes, Supervillains, and evil organizations. What would you like to do?"

Vera sat back and thought. "San Fransokyo Tower. The tallest radio tower in the country. I want to see the view from there. What about you and please don't say the SFIT library."

"I've heard Fisherman's Wharf is the place to go for fresh seafood."

"I wanna see a bot fight." she said suddenly.

He whipped around to glare at her. Again her face had the broad, mischievous grin on it. "Those are illegal Vera." he told her crisply.

"No, just betting on them." she informed him primly. There was an unspoken 'I would know, I'm a law student' attached to it somewhere. His face didn't move from its deep deadpan scowl. "I bet you could come up with a bot that would crush them all." she added with another grin.

"You are unbelievable sometimes. You know that." he grumbled.

"Oh relax grumpy pants. I'm just kidding." shrugged Vera. "Mostly."

"I'm just gonna sit over here and pretend I don't know you."

Vera only laughed. She would find the entire thing funny. He checked his watch. There was still another hour and a half before they landed. This trip was going to be a long one in more ways than one.

X X X

Honey Lemon handed him a cup of tea before turning to her own much and squeezing liberal amounts of honey and lemon into her own. No wonder Fred had given her that nickname. Seriously! Her tea probably didn't even taste remotely like black tea anymore. Hiro watched her mash her tea bag against the side of her mug nervously. He looked around Fred's bedroom. Everyone was looking at him with various degrees of masked worry.

GoGo was perched on the back of Fred's couch, smacking her gum and easily looking the most calm about the situation. Just a front though. GoGo was typically pretty good at hiding her emotions. Wasabi on the other hand kept twisting the ring on his finger as he didn't even try to hide the fact that he was watching Hiro like a hawk. He was also vaguely aware that Baymax's little red light, the one that alerted him to when the robot was running a scan and the one that Hiro had installed mainly so that he would know if he were being scanned, kept going off. Continually, he might add. As for Fred, he was currently sifting through a mountain of comic books on the floor.

"I'm telling you guys!" he said with absolute conviction, "Callaghan is coming back here. For sure!"

"We have no proof of that Fred." Honey Lemon said emphatically, still grinding her tea bag into the side of her cup.

"It's common knowledge!" Fred insisted, "Supervillains always come back to get revenge on the Superheroes that locked them up in the first place!"

He held up a comic book for emphasis before chucking it at those who were sitting on the couch. Wasabi caught it. "Fred this is the real world. Not some comic book adventure." he reminded him.

"He's coming for us!" Fred continued. Then he paused and tapped his chin thoughtfully, "Or Krei. Could be Krei too seeing as how he was never charged for anything that happened."

"I'm more interested in how he got out in the first place." GoGo said, redirecting the conversation. "Has anybody looked into that yet?"

"No data has been published on the subject." Baymax informed them, trying to be helpful. Hiro had had his doubts when upgrading Baymax's artificial intelligence to learn and adapt even quicker in everyday interactions but there were some moments when he was glad he had. This was one of those moments.

"Has anyone tried, I don't know," Hiro waved his hands through the air, "to find it themselves?"

"Cyber invasion and hacking into private computers is a federal crime, punishable by both time in jail and a monetary fine." Baymax added.

Nope! Nevermind, this was one of the times that Hiro slightly regretted upgrading Baymax's A.I. Hiro gave a sigh. "Listen, I don't know how Callaghan got out but he did. I don't know if he's coming here to confront us or to try and kill Krei again. What I do know is that we need to find him and put him back in prison."

"But if we don't even know where to find him…" Honey Lemon started.

Hiro slammed his cup down on the table. Hot tea spilled everywhere. It burned his hand but he didn't care. Hiro looked up at his friends with cold fury in his eyes. "Tadashi died because of him. He would've killed every single one of us to get what he wanted. He would've killed hundreds of innocent people that didn't even know him to get back at Krei. We can't let him get away with escaping just because we don't know where to find him." he snapped angrily. "We found him once, we can find him again."

"Where should we start then?" GoGo asked him. It wasn't a desperate plea for him to calm down or to 'think rationally.' She was genuinely trying to support him just as she had the first time he'd suggested going after Yokai those few years back.

Hiro raked his hand through his hair. Where did they start? Frustration gripped him. He could solve physics equations that would make even the most pedigreed doctorates cry. He could design Supersuits for every one of his friends that incorporated their own unique strengths and technologies. He could even go out and save San Fransokyo late Wednesday night and still be able to get up and function through his eight a.m. class on Thursday morning. How come he couldn't figure out how to even begin looking for Callaghan? It wasn't like the last time he'd gone after him where Baymax had scanned the entire city. What was Hiro supposed to do? Scan the entire state? The country? He didn't even have a scanner that was big enough! If he was so much as to attempt to scan for Callaghan he'd need access to, like, a satellite or something!

Wait! That was it!

"Krei." he said looking up at everyone else.

"I'm not sure if I follow you dude." Wasabi said shaking his head.

"We're going to scan for Callaghan. Like Baymax did last time. We have his stats and we can find him the same way. Krei has access to one of the largest communications satellites. If we set up some sort of perimeter…"

"Narrow down the search field into something more manageable…" GoGo picked up immediately on his train of thought. She was nodding along with him.

"It's only been, like, a day or something right! He can't have gone too far." Fred added with a big goofy grin on his face. He was now listening with rapt attention with his comic books forgotten for the moment.

Hiro continued, "and then wire the scan operation down through the satellite we can cover a wider range. We collect the data and…"

"Find at least a hundred people who fit the same basic description of Callaghan." pointed out Wasabi. Hiro glared at him. Wasabi winced and waved his hands through the air. "You scanned a single city last time dude. One city, fewer candidates. Larger area, more candidates."

"He is right. There is a high probability that many people in such a range share the same physiological markers." said Baymax.

Hiro grit his teeth. He clenched his hands into fists. He hadn't thought of that but it made sense. "I don't know where else to start. It's the best I've got right now." he shot back, trying but failing to keep the anger out of his voice.

"It's a good place to start Hiro," Honey Lemon said encouragingly. She tapped her chin thoughtfully. "Every question asked has to have research done in order to facilitate the scientific method. Once we have our baseline data we can form a hypothesis...chose from multiple candidates who would be the most likely to fit and investigate them. Eliminate the dead ends, form new hypotheses, and eventually find Callaghan."

"That could take ages!" exclaimed Wasabi.

"You're right," grumbled Hiro as he raked his hand through his hair some more. "Scanning isn't enough."

"There's going to be tip hotlines." GoGo said simply and drew everyone's attention on to her. She shrugged. "You don't break out of a supermaximum prison without causing a stir. People are going to be looking for him. I bet there will be sightings of him everywhere and people bragging about how they saw the escaped Supervillain."

"Who brags about that kind of thing?" groaned Wasabi.

There was a click-click-clicking noise from both Honey Lemon and Fred. "Thirty google webpages under 'Yokai Sightings!'" smiled Honey Lemon as she held her phone out for all to see.

"I've just set up my own blog page devoted to it. Anonymous of course." Fred announced as he flashed his touchscreen tablet to the rest of the room.

Wasabi let out a loud groan and buried his face in his hands. "You guys are crazy."

Hiro, GoGo, and Honey Lemon were already hanging over Fred's shoulder staring at his handiwork. "Oh!" gasped Honey Lemon, "'Stop the Scourge of San Fransokyo, Yokai.' I like that!"

"I know, catchy right! It's an alliteration. Rolls off the tongue like a marshmallow." Fred smiled broadly. "I'll have to work on updating the artwork and stuff but I think I should have it operational by tomorrow morning. I'll throw it out in a few online gaming forums that I like to frequent to get traffic."

"Do not put it in the Star Trek roleplaying forum!" Wasabi said menacingly as he shifted over on the couch to watch Fred's progress. "I don't want to see a bunch of crazy story threads about Big Hero 6 teaming up with Spock and Kirk to stop Yokai. I'm tired of being shipped with Bones."

Hiro bit his lip to keep from laughing. It wasn't exactly the time to laugh. There was something incredibly reassuring about the way his friends rallied around him. Hiro pushed himself to his feet, pulling his phone out as he went. Honey Lemon sat up straighter when he started to turn away from them. "Hiro, where are you going?"

"Calling Krei. I want to get that scan started as soon as possible. He can prep the computers while I'm on my way there."

"It's way too late Hiro." GoGo told him, checking her watch. "He isn't going to be there. No one is."

Wasabi nodded in agreement. "It can wait a few more hours until morning."

"Besides we all go into work tomorrow there anyways so..." Honey Lemon added.

"Yeah we can totally meet Krei all together first thing in the morning." Fred told him. "Besides I'm tellin' ya that Callaghan is coming here."

"The probability of there being any major change in the matter of a few hours is unlikely Hiro." Baymax informed him.

Hiro gave a sigh and hit the lock button on his phone. They were right. It was too late to do anything at the moment. There was no way that Krei was going to wake up in the dead of night, go down to his office building to let them in, and fire up his servers. He shoved his phone back into his pocket and rejoined the others. He could've sworn he heard Honey Lemon sigh in relief as he settled himself into position behind Fred to watch his progress on the blog page he was setting up for them. Then there was the fact that Wasabi visibly seemed to relax. Hiro didn't think that they were worried about him going off the deep end again and trying act as judge, jury, and executioner once they found Callaghan once more. That phase had long since passed. No it was probably the fact that, deep down, he knew that as long as Callaghan was still alive and somewhere free in the world while Tadashi laid in ashes on the Earth, he would never have peace. Callaghan could never be allowed to walk freely. Not while Hiro still had breath in his body.

Chapter Text

"I'm not so sure I like you kids doing this." Alistair Krei said hesitantly. Hiro spun around in the chair in front of the large computer desk. Krei had his arms folded over his chest and was leaning against the wall. Sunlight filtered into the spacious private office through floor to ceiling windows. There was a small part of Hiro that couldn't wait until he'd graduated and began working at Krei Tech with all his buddies. Their labs, they all had their own privates labs, were the same way. Alright, so it was a large part of Hiro that was chomping at the bit to work for Alistair Krei. Somehow, some way, he'd come to respect the man he once viewed as his enemy.

A lot of that had certainly had something to do with Callaghan. His initial words of warning against Krei followed by Hiro's own discovery of the failed portal demonstration had skewed his opinions of Krei. However, in the months following Callaghan's defeat and subsequent arrest, he'd seen the case files from the failed portal experiment for himself. Krei's gesture of goodwill towards him and the team, to show them that there was no bad blood between them. It had also been to show them that he genuinely wanted to help them out in the future. Krei's science hadn't been as dodgy and risky as Callaghan had originally led him to believe.

Hiro gave him a hard look, "How is this any different than what we do on a regular basis? How is this any different from stopping Callaghan like we did last time?"

"Oh I don't know, maybe because Callaghan just happens to be the man who killed your brother? That, in and of itself, makes this completely different than what you do on a regular basis. Callaghan isn't some run away cable car or some falling bridge. It's personal." Krei was looking directly at him but then paused and looked up at Wasabi, Honey Lemon, Fred, and GoGo with the same stern look that he'd given Hiro. "It's personal for all of you. Did any of you stop to think about how Callaghan escaped from a supermaximum security prison? He didn't do it without help."

"I did." GoGo said with a shrug. She was leaning against the computer desk. Hiro shot her a scowl from the corner of his eyes.

Krei shook his head and massaged his temples before continuing. "I'm not going to lie to you guys. There are people out there that you really don't want to attract the notice of. There are people you've already attracted the notice of."

"Are we talking about S.H.I.E.L.D. again?" Honey Lemon asked in confusion.

"Yes," Krei started.

"I thought you were taking care of them?" Wasabi pointed out.

"I am but…" Krei tried again.

"Then why are we still on their radar?" GoGo pressed. She blew a bubble and pulled it back into her mouth without popping it.

"Because you guys are doing things like this!" Krei finished in exasperation. He waved his hand towards the computer that Hiro was currently working at. Baymax's helmet was wired and configured to the computer tower as Hiro worked to scale up and increase the scanning procedures. "I told you kids that I would handle S.H.I.E.L.D. for you but I'm letting you know here and now that there are people out here who may want to know more about you that I doubt will play nice and let me dodge questions from them. People that break a known Supervillain out of a supermax prison cell!"

"Another Supervillain maybe!" Fred offered. His voice, as always when talking about certain unsavory things in the Superhero line of work, sound way, way too enthusiastic. "How cool would that be!"

"Yes, because more people who want to kill us would definitely be cool." Wasabi said sarcastically.

Krei stared at Fred, blinking and trying figure out if he'd actually heard him right. After a moment of deliberation, Krei gave a heavy groan. "Sometimes I wonder about you Frederick. Sometimes I wonder." he mumbled under his breath.

"If it was another Supervillain that broke Callaghan out…" Honey Lemon said tentatively, as if she were still trying to piece together the thought herself, "Do we really think that he or she will come after us? I mean we haven't done anything to anyone. Right?"

"I got it!" Fred yelled, snapping his fingers. "What if we're just so awesome that this new villain wants to challenge us for supremacy."

There was a collective groan from the entire group. Krei continued to massage his temples, digging his fingers deeper into his skin. Hiro rolled his eyes and turned back to the computer screen. It had been configuring itself while they'd been talking but now it was ready for perimeter coordinates. "Alright guys, what's our search perimeter?" he asked as he typed away on the keyboard.

The cursor blinked in the coordinates box as he waited for the others to help him out. "A hundred miles radius." suggested GoGo as she peered over his shoulder. "He probably hasn't gotten very far. He's most likely trying to lay low and travel when there aren't as many people on the roads. Less people to spot him."

"You can rule out any distance into the ocean." added Honey Lemon.

"Not unless he decided he really wanted to go for a swim first thing after escaping." Wasabi agreed.

"I'm leaving it in." Hiro told them shaking his head. "There are islands off the coast. We all know how much Callaghan likes island getaways."

"Keep it under twenty miles though. I don't think Callaghan would go for any islands that are much farther than that." suggested GoGo.

"Stretch it farther south." Fred offered. "I still say he's coming our way."

Hiro hesitated for a moment but plugged the coordinates in afterall. It wouldn't hurt to know if Callaghan was indeed moving towards San Fransokyo. All the better to be ready to greet him with one of Baymax's rocket fists when he arrived.

With no other suggestions, he hit enter. The progress bar appeared on the screen and the loading icon spun slowly. "It will take awhile to run the scan maybe twenty-four hours or so but until then we can keep an eye on our other intel feeds. Fred, Honey Lemon. That's all you."

"Right!" both of them chimed together. Fred did a ridiculous kind of salute that made Honey Lemon giggle.

"Alright, now that you five have usurped my office for the morning and my main computer for the next twenty-four hours…" Krei said, "some of you owe me time in the lab today and work done on your other promising projects. Fred, that advertising report you told me you'd have finished yesterday… yeah still waiting on it. And some of you, Hiro, should really think about getting back SFIT to study for the engineering midterm coming up."

"Pfft," snorted Hiro and waving his hand dismissively, "I've got that in the bag."

Krei only rolled his eyes. Tadashi probably would've done the same thing while proceeding to drag him back to nerd school.

The sudden thought brought a pang of grief to his chest. Tadashi would've graduated with Honey Lemon, Wasabi, and GoGo the year before. Hiro wondered what he would've been doing with his education. He thought about that every day. Probably working on something that would've helped a lot of people. Tadashi probably would still be working on Baymax rather than it being him.

A sudden buzz burst through his thoughts.

"Mr. Krei," Krei's assistant said through the intercom, "someone's here to see you."

Krei frowned and checked his watch before crossing the office to the desk. "I don't have any appointments until noon." he told his secretary.

There was a moment of silence as Krei waited for his secretary to respond. The intercom buzzed again. "She says she doesn't have an appointment. Her name is Vanellope Delle, an investigator from S.H.I.E.L.D."

Hiro and everyone else turned to look at Krei. Krei openly winced. He picked up the phone and hit the privacy button. "Get rid of her. Tell her I'm not available...I don't care how. Just..."

There was a pause as he listened to what his secretary had to say on the other end. His face got more and more agitated the longer he listened. He growled under his breath. "Oh I'm sure she doesn't." he muttered darkly. "Alright fine, just give me a moment...wait a minute! Hold on!"

He hung up the phone, slamming it into the cradle. "Yes, you look like you've got S.H.I.E.L.D. covered." GoGo told him sarcastically.

Krei was actually flustered enough that he didn't say anything about it. He turned to them all. "Like I said. You kids have gotten people's attention and it looks like S.H.I.E.L.D. just ran out of patience with me dodging questions. Head out the back door and hurry! I've got a meeting with Vanellope Delle apparently and she just can't wait to see me."

Hiro got out of the chair and then froze. Baymax's helmet was still hooked to the computer. There was no way to remove it without disrupting the search. "Krei," he said pointing to the helmet.

Krei groaned again. He pulled his suit jacket off and threw it over the helmet. "Go! Quickly. My secretary said that Delle blew right past her."

"Come on Hiro." Honey Lemon said, taking him under the arm and pulling him to the back door that Krei had in his office that would take them down to Krei Tech's many labs.

They all piled through the door and not a moment too soon. There was a solid knock on the front door to Krei's office. Hiro didn't have enough time to shut the door after him. "Welcome Ms. Delle." Krei said brightly, as though he'd never been agitated by her appearance at his office building. Hiro couldn't see him but he heard the door close and saw Vanellope Delle walk into the room.

She was a lot younger than what he would've pegged an investigator from S.H.I.E.L.D. for. Much younger, probably early twenties. Despite her youth, Vanellope Delle was dressed sharp and professional in a suit and black stiletto heels. Her black hair was pulled into a sleek bun at the back of her head and she was wearing a pair of black framed glasses over her green eyes. "Mr. Krei, thank you for seeing me." she said.

Vanellope Delle's voice was sweet and pleasant but there was something just off about the way she spoke. It put him immediately on guard. "Well, I must admit that you did put me on the spot Ms. Delle." Krei told her with a curt kind of tone. He must have made some sort of motion for her to come farther into the office because she disappeared from eyesight.

"I'm so sorry to come bursting in without an appointment but I'm afraid my bosses are quite concerned with the turn of events up north." she told him rather primly, "It seems that there is a Supervillain on the loose. One that you have close ties with."

Someone pulled on his arm to drag him away, most likely Honey Lemon, but Hiro shook his head. "Dude come on!" hissed Wasabi.

"No, wait!" Hiro hissed back. "She's talking about Callaghan. Maybe she knows something!"

"What if…" GoGo started to protest but Fred immediately cut her off with a 'shh.' He fell in beside Hiro at the crack in the door. Neither one could see anything but thankfully Delle's voice carried.

"Robert Callaghan was a renowned scientist. His daughter is a valued member of my research and development staff." Krei admitted readily.

"Yes, I've heard that she still works for you even after her father's conviction and incarceration. Must aggravate Dr. Callaghan to no end that the child he thought dead by the man he held responsible still works for you." Vanellope Delle said conversationally. It sounded incredibly forced though. Not to mention bold and rude.

"Yes," Krei answered, sounding equally forced. "I'm sure that Dr. Callaghan is less than thrilled about the fact that Abigail still works for me. Though Miss Delle, I'm wondering exactly why you're here."

"I'm acting as an investigator for S.H.I.E.L.D. You've been avoiding my higher ups. They're concerned. Especially about the fact that the Supervillain who attempted to kill you a few years ago, has just recently escaped from prison."

Krei laughed a little. "And here I thought you had only barged into my office to grill me about people I know nothing about."

"Big Hero 6 you mean." Delle said innocently enough but there was still something that sounded fake to him. "Any insight you can give us into them would be helpful as well."

"Ah...and thus it begins. Unfortunately I can't help because I don't know anything about them." Krei said in a tone that was clearly meant to be dismissive and close the subject.

"So you keep insisting." Delle told Krei. Hiro didn't miss the note of disbelief in her voice. Immediately he bristled. Who exactly was this girl? To think that she could just shove her way into a private office and shove her nose into their business, it was incredible really. "Have you thought about how you might know more than you realize by any chance?"

"I'm not sure if I understand what you mean." Krei responded with deliberate calculation. He knew exactly what Delle was talking about. There was no way though that he was going to let on to that though.

There was the sound of someone shifting. "What I mean, Mr. Krei, is exactly that. There was a reason that they showed up to stop the Supervillain that was trying to destroy your company and kill you. Did anyone from Big Hero 6 appear to know Dr. Callaghan? Did they seem to have any prior connections to him?"

"I fail to see how this has anything to do with the situation at hand." Krei said stiffly.

"Let me put it to you this way Mr. Krei. Robert Callaghan, aka Yokai, is a Supervillain. A special combination of social and mental instabilities all rolled into one body with nasty intentions. You are only one person that Dr. Callaghan may have a lingering vendetta against. The other person, or rather people, is Big Hero 6. Supervillains fixate. They can't help it."

"Boom! I told you! He's coming here!" crowed Fred as he pumped his arm through the air. Immediately, GoGo's hand was wrapped around his mouth and everyone was hissing at him to shut up. Hiro moved closer to the door to see if he could see Krei and Vanellope Delle. He couldn't.

"I'm still not sure if I follow you Miss Delle." Krei said crisply.

"Tell me this. After Big Hero 6 saved Abigail Callaghan, did the good doctor give up his desire for revenge?"

"Where could she possibly be going with this?" Honey Lemon asked in confusion. She scooted closer to the door so that she could hear a little better.

"She's fishing for something. For what I don't know but she's definitely fishing." Hiro mumbled under his breath.

"You mean after all the grief you people at S.H.I.E.L.D. have given me you can't tell me that you don't know that answer to that question." Krei snorted.

"Just answer the question Mr. Krei." replied Delle. Any and all pretense of politeness dropped away. Vanellope Delle's voice went from pleasant to abrasive in nothing flat. He decided then and there that he really didn't like Vanellope Delle, S.H.I.E.L.D. investigator.

"It seemed like he had at the trial. In fact, I even believe that it was part of his own attorney's argument. The driving force behind his emotional distress was removed and therefore he was no longer a danger...or something along those lines." Krei told her crisply, bordering on waspish. It wasn't hard to imagine Krei moving his hand through the air dismissively.

Delle matched his tone, "Yes, well, one does wonder if he was sincere or putting on a show. What do you think Mr. Krei?"

"I really couldn't even begin to tell you just like I couldn't even begin to tell you where your line of questioning is supposed to be leading me." Krei told Delle in exasperation.

"Do you think it's at all possible that this team of Superheroes knew Dr. Callaghan? Had some sort of prior connection to him?" Delle pointedly ignored Krei's question.

"How would I know that?" Hiro didn't miss the subtle way that Krei stumbled a bit.

"Exactly who is this woman?" growled GoGo. Her hand clenched into a fist.

"I don't know but she is way, way pushy." Wasabi mumbled back, his eyes narrowing.

"The way they reacted to him, anything they said to him?" prompted Delle.

"I was a little busy trying not to get dragged into the portal to nowhere Callaghan had set up over top my company." Krei replied icily. "Where are you going with this and why are you people so bent on finding Big Hero 6?"

"All I'm saying is that, at the moment, my bosses are considering Callaghan armed and dangerous. It is possible that Callaghan could be coming straight here to San Fransokyo in search of either you or Big Hero 6, especially if his attorney's line about giving up his vendetta was just that…a line. You're a smart man Mr. Krei. You connect the dots."

Krei laughed openly at her. "Is this S.H.I.E.L.D.'s way of telling me that they are worried about me and my company? Because let me assure you that I think I am safe from escaped Supervillains."

"I see…" Delle said in a tone that he could only describe as completely skeptical.

"This is insane. Robert Callaghan's desire to kill me was mitigated when Abigail was found alive and rescued. I think S.H.I.E.L.D. is just a little too paranoid about the entire situation. You people are blowing this way out of proportion. I highly doubt that I'm in any sort of danger whatsoever. I'm sure Callaghan will be found soon enough and he will be back in prison." Krei told her. The confidence in his voice was astounding, even to Hiro's own ears. The amount of faith Krei placed in him and the others was unbelievably awesome.

There was a long pause. So long in fact that the atmosphere around them all got downright chilly. "Your arrogance is really quite astonishing." Vanellope Delle told Krei critically. "Everything about your demeanor is flippant, cocky. You robbed a man of his daughter for several years. As I said, Supervillains like to fixate. To think that you're completely safe is unrealistic."

"I assure you, I am quite untouchable. Miss Delle, please ensure your bosses over at S.H.I.E.L.D. that I don't need their help. If you could tell them as well that I don't know anything about Big Hero 6 while you're at it, I would be grateful."

"Mr. Krei," Vanellope Delle's voice grew strangely quiet. "You fail to see the gravity and the danger of the situation. You aren't untouchable, not by a longshot. You may think that your money, your prestige, your newfound philanthropy work may grant you that status but you are gravely mistaken."

"Miss Delle…" Krei hedged in warning. Krei was done with Vanellope Delle. He was about to make that crystal clear. However, Delle cut him off before he could do just that.

"I want to make one thing very clear Mr. Krei. This isn't a threat. This is a warning." There was a heavy note in Delle's voice. Something that took Hiro off guard. Something that forced Hiro to listen to every word she said now. Gone was the abrasive tone. Gone was the show of politeness and pleasantries. This was pure and unadulterated seriousness. "Any information on either Callaghan or Big Hero 6 would be a tremendous help to us at S.H.I.E.L.D."

"I'm afraid I don't have any information to give you." Krei insisted flatly.

It was deadly silent. He was certain that Krei and Delle could hear he and the others breathing from the back hallway because it was so quiet. There was a scraping sound as someone, Delle most likely, pushed the chair back and stood. "If you change your mind about cooperating with us, please give us a call."

"I doubt my mind will change but I will keep it in mind." responded Krei in a bright voice that sounded just as forced as Delle's pleasantness had. There was more movement. It was as loud as thunder in Hiro's ears because he'd stopped breathing. Actually, he was certain that his heart had stopped beating. A chair scraped against the tile and it sounded as though both Krei and Vanellope Delle had stood. Then there was a muted thud, two of them. One was quieter and the second much louder. It sounded suspiciously like when Baymax's carbon fiber armor hit the ground. Krei swore under his breath and Hiro froze. There was a very, very long pause after someone, probably Krei, scrambled to pick up whatever had fallen.

"I could be wrong though." Vanellope Delle was smirking. He couldn't see her but he knew it beyond a shadow of a doubt. "Perhaps your sense of untouchableness is born out of the sense that you have friends who can protect you. Have a good day Mr. Krei."

Vanellope Delle's back reappeared in his line of sight at the front door. She turned back and flashed Krei a grin that almost seemed feral to Hiro. Then she was out the door, closing it with a soft click.

Hiro opened the back door. Standing at his desk was a stunned Krei. In one hand was his suit jacket and in the other was Baymax's helmet. Hiro's stomach dropped. There was a collective groan from everyone behind him. "I get the distinctive feeling that that woman really doesn't like me." Krei said stiffly before looking over at them apologetically the mask still in his hand.

Chapter Text

The door to the safe house slammed shut. He winced as he heard Vera come stomping into the small living room. He didn't even need to look at her to know that she was angry. No, the loud unintelligible screech she gave as she flung her briefcase on to the couch was more than enough to tip him off. "Went that well huh?" he asked her.

"Arrogant is the word I would use to describe the man!" Vera snorted in answer as she flopped down on to the couch. He twisted around from his seat at the small dining room table to look at her. Vera was busy rubbing the side of her head and squeezing her eyes firmly shut. "Either that or infuriating! I think I could murder Alistair Krei and argue justified homicide as my defense and be acquitted." growled Vera

"And I'm sure you we were the picture of politeness and civility." he pointed out knowingly and trying his best to hide the little smile that was tugging at the corners of his lips.

"I did what I thought I had to do to get the answers I needed." Vera huffed. Which he was certain meant that she'd opted for a more aggressive approach, most likely stemming from the run around Coulson had gotten from Krei in the past. He rolled his eyes and got back to the crux of Vera's disgruntlement.

"Dare I ask why you formed this particular opinion of Alistair Krei?" he asked her. He knew quite well that he was asking for a long winded rant. Vera, if anything, was the queen of long winded rants.

"I can't tell if he really thinks that he and his company are safe from Callaghan or if he's just bluffing to get S.H.I.E.L.D. off his back about Big Hero 6. Honestly I think it could be both because that man definitely knows something about Big Hero 6. Regardless of what line of BS he's been giving Coulson."

He sat up a little straighter at the mention of Big Hero 6. "Why do you say that?" his tone pressing.

Vera cracked her eyes open and turned to give him a smirk from her reclined position on the couch. "As I was getting ready to leave, I went to shake his hand. Krei bumped into the side of his desk and something fell off of it. It looked like one of Big Hero 6's masks. The robot's mask I'd bet. The look on his face was priceless. I think if his eyes and mouth had been any wider there would have been no room for his nose on his face. It was great! So satisfying after the freaking run around he gave me."

"I'll have to call Coulson later on just to tell him that I called it. I had a sneaking suspicion that Krei was working with Big Hero 6." he smirked back at her. Then he frowned, "The trick will be getting Krei to help us find them."

"Yeah, good luck with that one. He was all too eager to grab the mask up off the ground and try and hide it from me. Not that it would've done much good anyways. I'd already seen it so…" Vera shrugged. "It looked as though it were hooked up to his computer. I thought that was odd."

He shrugged back. "Maybe there's some sort of communications system in it?" he suggested without any real confidence.

"I don't know. I let it go and left. Big Hero 6 isn't my main mission. That and I'd already pushed too hard."

"Did you get what you needed from Krei?"

"Pfft!" snorted Vera again. She was back to rubbing the bridge of her nose now. "It took me forever. Do you know just how excruciatingly difficult it is to get straight answers from someone on a subject like that? It felt like I was pulling teeth at times. I eventually got some of the background information that I needed though about that final confrontation between Big Hero 6 and Callaghan and the aftermath of it. Long story short, Callaghan definitely has some sort of prior connection to Big Hero 6. However deep or big it may be is yet to be determined. Krei claimed to not know but the way he stuttered over his answer was a dead give away contradiction. Though Krei did also say that Callaghan appeared to have given up on his revenge fantasy at his trial."

"Do you believe him?"

"I'm inclined to..." Vera said slowly with a scowl on her face. He waited for her to finish the thought. "But if Hydra is involved, then who knows what they've put in his head. What about you? Any luck on your end?"

"Well after calling several consortiums and libraries and speaking with secretaries who probably couldn't tell the difference between a hard drive and a microchip, I was finally able to track down where Callaghan's research and project notes ended up after he was incarcerated. His daughter actually still has them. I go to see her tomorrow."

"Make sure you wear your fancy-schmancy disguise and learn your cover." Vera gave him a smile as she touched the fake glasses on her face.

"Uh...yeah, about that…" he gave a sigh and rubbed the back of his neck. He reached behind him and grabbed the packet that was sitting behind him on the table by his laptop. He flipped open to a page. His nose wrinkled as he read the name someone had given him as a cover. "Kris Calhoun? Seriously? I don't even look like a Calhoun."

"Well how exactly is a Calhoun supposed to look?" snickered Vera.

"I don't know, pretty yet still scary and tough? Not some guy with burns over one side of his body. And can you tell me if the people who create these covers really believe a pair of fake sunglasses is really going to disguise me?" he pressed.

Vera pulled herself up to a sitting position. "Does it really bother you that much? Your cover is just a temporary thing. It's only meant to be used here in San Fransokyo, outside the safe house to keep any undercover Hydra agents from figuring out who we really are. Once we get back to New York it will be like Kris Calhoun never existed."

He shrugged. "I don't know. I guess I just find it stupid is all. I mean Kris Calhoun or Chiune...they're both covers aren't they? Place holding names? The only difference with Kris Calhoun is that I don't have to feel like I'm trying to live up to something that I'm not." he mumbled the last part.

"Chiune…" Vera said quietly. She suddenly looked hurt and he suddenly realized just how ungrateful he sounded. Ungrateful and cynical. It had been Vera who had suggested his alias. He raked a hand through his hair in frustration.

"Vera, I'm sorry." he told her just as quietly. "I didn't mean it that way. It's just… hard… sometimes. You know. I know Chiune isn't my real name and it's been over a year and I still don't know my real name. It's like…" his voice trailed off.

"It's like if I had to go by Vanellope Delle for the rest of my life. It isn't my name and I would feel like I had a hole in my heart for the rest of my life." she finished for him.

"There's this nagging feeling in my chest. It's constantly telling me that I'm not really Chiune and it… I think it bothers me a lot more than what I realize at times because if I'm not Chiune and I'm not Kris Calhoun then who am I?" he explained. He didn't expect her to have an answer for him.

"We'll find out who you are Chiune…" swore Vera, her voice dripping with determination. "I promise you. After San Fransokyo, we'll start our own investigation. We stop waiting for S.H.I.E.L.D. to do it and we figure it out ourselves."

"Vera, I didn't mean for…" he started to say. Great! Now he felt guilty. He hadn't meant for her to feel like she needed to start taking matters into her own hands. However, Vera slowly began to smile.

"I want to. You've done so much for me. Helping you figure out who you are and where your family is, that's the least I can do for you Chiune." she told him as she stood up and crossed the room. She pressed a kiss on to his cheek. "Besides, if I happen to murder Alistair Krei you can use my desire to help you as proof of my good character and wanting to make the world a better place."

He snorted, loudly, trying to hold his laughter in. "You would never get away with it." he told her.

"Sure I would! Prof Harnwell would definitely get me off. He loves me and wouldn't let this protege go to prison."

"He would if she committed murder."

"It would be completely justifiable. Trust me!" she snickered. Vera stopped laughing and looked over his shoulder. His laptop was still sitting open on the webpage he'd been browsing for the last half hour before she'd come home. "What's that?"

"A new blog. Went live this morning shortly before we got here this morning. Found it while I was looking for local info on Big Hero 6." he explained as moved it closer to her so she could examine it.

Vera raised her eyebrow. "Stop the Scourge of San Fransokyo, Yokai? Really?"

"It's an alliteration. Kinda rolls off the tongue like a marshmallow don't you think?" he told her.

She shifted her up-raised eyebrow look to him. "And you call me knucklehead sometimes?"

"It was set up by someone who's obviously looking for tips on where to find Callaghan. Found it in one of the Superhero watch blogs. I think someone really wants to know where Callaghan is… if you catch my drift."

"Big Hero 6 you mean?" she said as she scrolled down the page. Vera hit refresh and a whole new list of entries and tips appeared on the screen. The fuzzy looking picture of a photoshopped big foot against the Hollywood sign was new and rather ridiculous to him. He nodded.

"That's what I thought. The page is anonymous though so there's no way to tell for sure."

"Sure there is. Have you tried hacking it to see if you can trace it back to the originating source?" suggested Vera.

"Alright two things," he glared at her. He knew Vera was watching him from the corner of her eye so he knew that the glare was well seen. "First of all, cyber invasion is a federal crime. I'm sure you could tell me exactly what the monetary fine and prison sentence is."

"You're right, I could." she admitted with her mischevious smile.

"And secondly, what makes you think that I know how to hack? Did you forget what exactly my degree is in because it definitely isn't computer sciences."

"Sorry," Vera said rolling her eyes. "You write programs for your robots all the time."

"Software and hardware for robotic brains is completely different than computers Vera. You'd better talk to Skye about that if you want any hacking done."

"Alright, alright." shrugged Vera. She was once more scrolling through the tips on the blog page. "It makes sense. The complete information around Callaghan's escape hasn't been made public yet so of course this team of Superheroes want information on where he could be."

"They'll definitely go after Callaghan?" he asked, unsure.

"As I said, these guys have some sort of connection to Callaghan. It goes way beyond 'catching the villain' I'd bet. Mark my words Big Hero 6 definitely has their sights set on him."

His gut clenched anxiously. "They could end up delivering themselves on a silver platter to Hydra."

"You'll find them first." Vera told him confidently as she patted him on the shoulder. "Did the field agents get back to Coulson? They know for sure it's Hydra?"

He paused and grimaced. He shouldn't have said anything to Vera about Hydra. That was a catastrophic screw up on his part. Damn! Now he had to tell her. He had talked to Coulson. It hadn't been the most informative conversation he'd ever had with the Director of S.H.I.E.L.D. We haven't heard from our field agents yet that we sent to Pelican Bay to investigate yet. When he'd asked when the field agents were expected to get back to them, Coulson had only said, soon. There had been something in his voice. Something that still made Chiune uneasy.

"Not yet according to Coulson. He checked in with me a few hours ago." he answered her. Vera went very still next to him. He turned to look at her. Vera's lips were pressed together in a thin line and it looked as though all the color had drained out of her face. Immediately he was on guard himself. "Vera, what is it?"

"S.H.I.E.L.D. was supposed to be two days ahead of us on this. If there was no radio silence then why haven't the field agents gotten back to Coulson yet?"

"I'm sure they've made some sort of contact." he told her quickly, trying to soothe her. The damage was done though and he fought back the wince that threatened to break across his face. That was it he realized. That was what had made him so uneasy! It had been two days and it had been more than enough time for those field agents to get back to Coulson. Vera's face didn't change. Slowly he felt the worry rising up in his gut as she continued to stare unblinkingly at the computer screen.

"Two days, Chiune… two days." she whispered under her breath.

He gripped her hand supportively as he fought back his own suspicion and worry. He couldn't let her see him worry about this. If he worried about it then she would worry about it and if Vera worried about Hydra, she'd make herself sick. If Vera made herself sick then neither one of them would be able to do what Coulson had asked them to do and then what was the point of them being in San Fransokyo. "Focus on the task at hand imouto. You're digging up as much as you possibly can on Callaghan. You've got to focus on that. Don't think about Hydra. Think about your next steps. Where are you going tomorrow to find out more about Callaghan? Who do you plan on talking to? Focus on your plan. You like your plans. They're predictable."

Vera pressed her eyes shut tightly and breathed through her nose. He bit his lip as he watched her try to redirect her thoughts. The battle showed on her face. Finally she expelled a breath with a heavy puff and he just barely managed to suppress a sigh of relief. "You're right. I've got other things that I need to worry about." she said at length. "Coulson will deal with it. You've got your game plan and I've got mine."

"Precisely!" he agreed still determined not to let her see him worry.

"If Hydra…" Vera paused. Her face looked absolutely white for a half second. He thought he was going to have to prompt her to redirect her focus again. Then she took another breath, shook her head, and continued. "If Hydra pops up then we'll deal with them when we get to that bridge… somehow."

Her eyes went far away again and he sensed the danger. Some small part of her was on the verge of going down the dark road she was determined to keep herself from going down at the moment. It was time for him to deploy his next strategy. Very quickly, he changed the subject again.

"In the meantime, I'm hungry." he told her with a broad smile. He took the laptop away from her and clicked on the second tab on the internet browser he had up. Vera made another face at him. "I found a sushi place that's close to the safe house."

"I've never had sushi." she pointed out to him uncertainly.

It was his turn to give her a mischievous grin. "All the more reason for you to try it in the place where the seafood is the freshest imouto."

"Um… I'm pretty certain that I like my seafood cooked Chiune." Vera told him emphatically.

"Come on! It'll be fun." he told her. Hopefully it would be fun and any lingering worry about Hydra and field agents that had failed to make contact with Director Coulson would be banished from her mind. Vera didn't look convinced. He resorted to bribery. "It's on a boardwalk with lots of shops. I'll buy you something."

Vera snorted and crossed her arms. Every inch of her looked as though she was telling him no way, no how. Still, he kept his grin plastered to his face. "It had better be shiny." she said finally muttering under her breath.

She turned away to grab her purse and he pumped his fist through the air in triumph. Hopefully tonight she would be alright without her anti-anxiety meds. "Wait until you try unagi imouto. You'll love it."

"I am not eating raw eel." she told him crisply. He winced a little. Oops, apparently she knew was unagi meant. Well, that didn't mean that she wouldn't recognize it if it were put in front of her. He fought back the mischievous smirk. Vera turned to look at him, "And stop calling me your little sister. We're the same age!"

"You don't know that for sure. I could be older than you and I could really be your nii-chan. Seriously, you can call me that. I don't mind." he grinned at her.

Vera scowled at him, "Prove it and then maybe I'll call you nii-chan."

"I'm gonna hold you to that."

X X X

He rubbed the back of his neck tiredly. He hadn't slept well the night before. Every time he started to doze off, he was certain that he heard Vera tossing in her room across the hall. She had ended up taking one of her medications to help her sleep but it didn't stop him from wanting to get up and check on her every five minutes. Part of it was guilt he realized. It had been stupid of him to mention Hydra to her. It had been even stupider to tell her that Coulson had yet to hear back from his field agents. How could he, an obviously gifted robotics engineer, be so incredibly dumb? Travis would've had his head for making Vera so nervous. Oh well, it was too late now.

Vera had woken up in a fairly decent mood especially considering the fact that he'd managed to really irritate her the night before by sneaking unagi on to her plate and into her mouth. He'd had had to buy her a relatively expensive mother of pearl bracelet to assuage her wrath. On top of that, Vera hadn't seemed worried about Hydra or unresponsive S.H.I.E.L.D. agents. Instead she had the passionate fire burning under her skin to talk to Robert Callaghan's former neighbors and colleagues. He just wish he had the same enthusiasm. God help him! He really wished he had the same enthusiasm.

Nervously he pulled the collar of his blazer up around his neck and pushed the black sunglasses closer to his nose. Anything he could do to hide the scars on his face. He mentally prepared himself for any remarks that Abigail Callaghan might give him when she answered her apartment door. He'd warned her that his appearance was a bit, well, different but hadn't gone into much more detail than that. Of course, he'd quickly decided that the stares were much worse than remarks. The doorman of Ms. Callaghan's building had been much too forthcoming with the staring. He should've taken a picture, he thought snappishly, it would've lasted longer.

He gave his Yankees ball cap one last tug for good measure before knocking on Abigail Callaghan's apartment door. As he heard her approaching footsteps, he drew out his fake credentials. The door opened and the young face of Abigail Callaghan appeared before him. "Hello... oh," she said as she looked at him. Her voice dropped away in shock as her eyes went wide. "Dr. Calhoun I presume?"

Her tone was enough to make him turn beet red. He rubbed the back of his neck and tried to force a smile on to his face. "That would be me." Well, sort of anyways.

He handed Abigail Callaghan his falsified credentials but she only gave them a passing look before giving them back to him. She was trusting. Or maybe he'd just taken her off guard with his face. "Come in, please Dr. Calhoun." Abigail Callaghan said as she stepped out of the way of the door and opened it wider for him.

He gave her a nod, "Thanks Ms. Callaghan and thanks again so much for agreeing to meet with me."

"Don't mention it and call me Abigail, please. I'm a little tired of people calling me Ms. Callaghan."

He turned to look at her in surprise. Abigail's voice was incredibly bitter and sharp, like a razor. Immediately he felt some sympathy for her. "Everyone's been asking you where Dr. Callaghan is huh." he commented gently.

Abigail closed the door after him, slipping the deadbolt back into place with a click. She gave a tired sigh and faced him once more. "As if I know anything about that."

He winced. "I'm sorry that S.H.I.E.L.D. has been so rude to you. I'm sure that a S.H.I.E.L.D. scientist is the last thing you wanted in your apartment today."

Abigail's face softened. She'd been holding her jaw and mouth so tightly that he'd seen her veins popping in her face. Now though, he thought she just looked exhausted. Abigail Callaghan looked exactly like a young woman who'd been caught in the crossfire long before her father ever escaped from prison. "It isn't just S.H.I.E.L.D. It is literally everyone. The police, the government, the prison, even my own boss has asked me where Daddy is at. Some of them have asked me so many times in the last few days that I'm beginning to wonder if they even remember talking to me. It's like they think that if they ask me, for the sixth time, my answer will magically change!"

"Which of course it won't." he agreed, giving her a sympathetic smile. Abigail gripped her elbow and shook her head. He was actually having a hard time trying to figure out if she was staring at the ground in frustration or if she was just trying her best not to stare at him. It honestly could have gone either way with how her eyes kept flicking up to his scars and then back down at the ground quickly. He cleared his throat. "So… um… your dad's files." he prompted her, not really knowing what he should say or do.

"Oh! Right!" Abigail said suddenly. She seemed to shake off her frustration and walked past him. "This way Dr. Calhoun."

"You can call me Kris if you want." he told her trying to be friendly as he followed after her. Of course he nearly screwed up and told her it was alright to call him Chiune but, hey, he stopped himself! Abigail flashed him a small smile over the top of her shoulder but didn't say anything immediately as she led him into her living room.

Abigail Callaghan had to have been paid quite nicely for the four years she'd spent in hypersleep in the portal to nowhere or Alistair Krei had felt so guilty that he'd just blown all the money he could on the ultra classy, super modern chic apartment that she now lived in. He'd noticed when he'd first gotten to the building that it was a luxury high rise sure but now that he was actually standing in it he felt a surge of envy. Vera's and his apartment was lucky if it got any natural sunlight with all the other buildings that surrounded it. Abigail's living room had no need for lights in the daytime, not with the wall to wall, floor to ceiling windows that panelled the outer wall. Several plants thrived in the room and were set carefully on the end tables and coffee tables that sat by the plush sofas. He even felt guilty about wearing his beat up, dirty chucks on the plush carpet.

He was so in awe of the room itself that he tripped over the first box that Abigail had brought out for him to look at. He went down with an oh-so-graceless and unceremonious thud. His satchel fell to the ground as well and half of the things he had in it came spilling out on to the carpet.

"Okay, ow..." he groaned as he pushed himself back up.

"Are you alright?" Abigail asked worriedly as she hurried to his side.

"Don't mind me. S.H.I.E.L.D. employs utterly klutzy people to lull their targets into a false sense of security. I'm really a highly trained agent here to kidnap you to lure your dad out of hiding." That earned him a laugh from Abigail at least. He laughed nervously as he grabbed at the things that had come out of his bag. That's when he noticed the sheer number of boxes. There had to be ten of them and all of them were decent sized boxes. "Wow!" his voice dropped in quiet reverence, "This is everything Dr. Callaghan worked on?"

"Everything that I have access to." Abigail sighed. She had a few of his notebooks in her hand that she gave back to him before moving to the couch. Abigail sunk down on to it tiredly. There was an unfathomable sadness on her face as she looked at the boxes that were piled in her living room.

"He must've been a good dad." he commented sincerely. Abigail smiled weakly.

"He was. He was always encouraging me to go for my dreams. Well, except the time that I wanted to be a bot fighter." she laughed a little then shook her head. "Even I wonder how a man as good as Daddy, as brilliant, could become so..."

"Grief can make a lot of good people do bad things." he told Abigail quietly. He met her eyes in the same moment that she looked up at him. She looked slightly shocked at what he'd said. However, the only thing more he offered her was a small smile. Abigail Callaghan had probably heard every balk, laugh, and sigh that had ever been offered to her when she'd refused to let her father stand alone in his sins. She definitely didn't need his own words to weigh her down. Besides, who was he to judge? He'd done some awful things at the behest of Hydra. There were still some nights he laid awake in bed thinking about the hive drones that he'd created and worked on while in Hydra's captivity. He couldn't understand Abigail's pain of losing her father in such a manner but he understood what it felt like to be stared at like a bug under a microscope.

Then without further ado, as it seemed that Abigail was too stunned to say anything, he grabbed the first box. He had a job to do. A Superhero team to find and protect.

Chapter Text

Abigail's voice drifted through his work induced fog.

"Huh? What?" he replied in confusion as he looked up. Abigail was standing in front of one of his many piles on the ground with a coffee cup in each hand.

"Um...I said, I made coffee." she repeated, raising the coffee cups a little. "I don't know how you take it or if you even drink it but I thought..."

Her glance wandered rather pointedly to the neat piles of her father's work that he'd surrounded himself in. He'd completely taken over Abigail's living room while sifting through Dr. Callaghan's old notes and project details. Apparently, he'd built himself a research nest with it. "Uh, yeah sure thanks. Black is fine." he said quickly reaching up and taking the coffee cup that he was being offered.

A small smile crossed his face as he took a sip. Abigail didn't feel the need to trick him into drinking decaf like Vera. Good thing too because in the process of reading through Dr. Callaghan's notes, he'd found his eyes starting to droop. Not because he was bored of course, but because he'd spent the better part of three hours reading. The world had lost a great scientist when Dr. Callaghan had decided to become a Supervillain. Seriously! He had a steadily growing list of things that he'd compiled in his head. Research and projects that needed to be continued. Things that would make the world a better place. Now, he wasn't saying that he was the perfect person to pick up the famed Dr. Robert Callaghan's work, but he felt that he might just have a shot at completing it or at least furthering it.

"Your father was brilliant." he told Abigail sincerely. Abigail smiled a little as she picked her way over to her couch and sat down. She'd warmed up to him immensely after he hadn't interrogated her about her father like she'd been expecting him to. Hence the kind offer of coffee and the silence over the fact that he'd completely taken over her living room and destroyed it.

"It means a lot to hear someone say that." she admitted.

He picked up another notebook from the current box he was sorting through and held it up. "I mean it Abigail! Your father's work brought a lot of good to the world. There's so much that he left unfinished and untouched." he told her, the excitement impossible to disguise in his voice. "Do you think that he might be willing to let someone pick up his work? Do you think if I wrote him a letter that he would be willing to let me take over some of his research and projects? I would give him full credit of course for his work."

Then he stopped when he saw Abigail frowning. Oh yeah, Robert Callaghan was at large somewhere in California and probably cooperating to some extent with Hydra. Oops. Very smooth. He could have slapped himself but instead he only turned bright red. "After he's found of course I mean." he added in a mumble as he opened the notebook up to the first page.

Abigail didn't say anything for a moment. In fact, he'd scanned through the entire notebook before she finally said quietly, "I think he would really like it if someone continued his work. I'll give you my vote if you ask Daddy for his permission."

He looked up and offered her an apologetic smile. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to dredge up that old wound."

Abigail shrugged. "I should be used to it by now I guess, but sometimes..."

She let the sentence hang in the air. She really didn't need to finish it for him to understand the hurt and pain going through her mind. There was nothing he could say to her so instead he picked up the next file. Unlike the other files, which had been mostly notebooks with handwriting and flash drives that he'd opened on his laptop, the file he now held was quite clearly made up of photocopied documents. The Krei Tech logo and header was prominently displayed on the paper. They were all fairly old documents, probably at least five years old or so, and spanned at least over a year. The file itself was titled 'Project Silent Sparrow' in large, bolded, red letters. He squinted at it in confusion. "What is this?" he asked Abigail as he flipped through the file. His eyes narrowed as he looked down at it. He shook his head. "This isn't Dr. Callaghan's work."

Abigail shot off the couch, nearly spilling her coffee as she sat it down on the table in a rush. "That's the case file on the project I was assigned to at Krei Tech. The one where I disappeared! Why is that in there?"

"You mean this was the portal to nowhere project?" he clarified, raising his eyebrow.

Abigail waded through his piles, pushing a couple of them aside so that she could sit down next to him. Wordlessly she gestured for the file and, wordlessly, he gave it to her. Abigail's face dissolved into confusion. "This shouldn't be in here."

Something flipped over in his stomach. He was no expert on Supervillains but somehow he got the feeling that he knew exactly why Dr. Callaghan had a copy of the file for his only daughter's doomed project. He licked his lips to moisten them. They'd suddenly gone bone dry as had his throat. Somehow, this felt as though this was Vera's territory. "Your father's... um... his debut act was trying to suck Alistair Krei and Krei Tech into a portal to nowhere right?" he asked her though it was more of a reminder. His tongue felt like lead as he formed his words. "He had to... uh... you know, research how to recreate that technology. Something tells me that in one of those remaining boxes I'll find a flash drive with the stolen plans for said technology."

Yeah. Vera would definitely want to know about this development for her research into Callaghan. She would probably find it very useful in determining his future actions. Abigail drew a sharp breath and threw the file down in a fury. He jumped a little at the outburst. Then he saw that Abigail had tears streaming down her face. "It was an accident." she whispered.

"It wasn't your fault." he told her as he took the file back from her. She continued to stare at her hands as if she were still holding it. He opened the file once more. "Abigail... what happened, on that day, if you don't mind me asking? I mean. If you don't want to talk about it, I totally get it but... I was just wondering. You know."

Abigail was silent. He was nearly certain that he'd ruined any sort of trust that he'd managed to gain with her with that one question. Why else would she be so quiet? Why else would she be pointedly looking anywhere but at him? He'd overstepped himself. "I'm s..." he started to apologize.

"We were demonstrating Silent Sparrow for the military. Daddy came to watch too. It was my first big assignment and I was so certain that it was going to be amazing." she said abruptly and cutting him off. Her voice was low and shaking as she spoke. "And then, in the middle of the demonstration, right before I took the pod in... the readings spiked."

"What made them spike?" he asked.

"I don't know. Other tests and simulations hadn't spiked like that. I mean some of them had run with similarly high readings in the past. They were well within the safety parameters but Mr. Krei never did figure out what caused the random spike." Abigail explained. He turned to the page that the portal's tests and simulations had been recorded. Every single one was documented with painstaking preciseness and attention to detail. There was not a test or simulation that didn't have at least two other verification signatures on the line. He thumbed through the pages in the file until he found the summary from the demonstration. Abigail was right. The spike had been well within the safety parameters and there were at least three other documented cases where the readings had been just as high during previous tests.

He frowned, "Had you ever flown into this thing before?"

"Of course. Mr. Krei never would've done a demonstration that he'd never tested thoroughly before hand. I flew that pod in and out of that portal at least five times before that demonstration was even scheduled."

Something bumped the back of his brain. It was the same feeling he got whenever he felt as though that Vera should be disorganized mess. It was as though there was something telling him that he was used to hearing something or living a particular way and it was being challenged. Only now, he felt as though he could swear on his life that he'd heard someone somewhere say that Alistair Krei's projects weren't always fully tested. That Krei sometimes cut corners and disregarded sound science. He rubbed the back of his neck as he thought about it. The evidence was right in front of him, proving the contrary, but for some inexplicable reason he truly felt as though he'd heard differently at one point, or many. Who knew? Maybe he'd read it in one of his journals. Yeah, that had to have been where he'd read it. There was no other logical explanation.

He shook his head and refocused on the file. Dr. Callaghan must have scoured it if the worn edges and small tears were any indication. He wondered how many times Callaghan had read through the file to find some sort of wrongdoing on Krei's part. Dr. Callaghan must have found something in it. Perhaps it was Krei's failure to call off the demonstration after the spike. Perhaps it had been the failure to investigate what had caused the spike. However, even without Vera's expertise in Supervillains, he knew that Callaghan hadn't even really needed a reason any further than the wholehearted belief that his daughter was gone forever. Dead. Whether Alistair Krei was within his rights or had trespassed on the ethics of science didn't matter. He wondered how much Vera knew about this particular detail of the matter. "Abigail, do you mind if I take this file with me? To show my partner. It might help her figure out how to find your dad."

Abigail nodded stiffly. "Take it," she murmured, "I don't want it in my apartment."

He slid it into his bag and out of sight. Abigail continued to sit on the floor, numb to what was going on around her. He touched her shoulder gently and repeated. "It wasn't your fault. You made your choice and your dad made his."

"I just don't understand and... I wish I could but I can't. Even after asking Daddy about it many, many times, I can't ever wrap my head around why he tried to take revenge. Now he's out of prison and off who knows where doing who knows what and..." Abigail broke off. Tears were streaking down her face again. She buried her head in her hands and shook her head.

"And what?" he pushed gently.

"And I'm scared for him." she said chokingly, "Everyone is out looking for him and I'm so scared to even consider what they'll do to bring him back in. I'm scared to think about what Daddy will do in response. I'm terrified to think about what they'll do to him if he resists being caught again, if he decides to make a stand against them."

He rubbed a small circle on her back soothingly as he watched her shake with tears. He bit his tongue to keep from saying anything that would upset her. He knew enough about Vera's own Superhero career to know what she had done to Supervillains who had wanted to evade being caught. He knew enough about the Avengers' missions to know some of the length they went to keep Supervillains from wreaking havoc. He knew enough about S.H.I.E.L.D. to know how they responded to threats. Eliminating a target, killing a Supervillain, wasn't completely out of the question if the situation called for it. If it got too dangerous and there were too many people in the line of fire. Not that he thought S.H.I.E.L.D. wouldn't exhaust every other possible avenue before such extreme measures were taken.

However, if Hydra was involved as was suspected, there was a very high chance that, before this was all said and over, that there could be a lot of bloodshed. There was no chance under any circumstance that he was about to share that information with Abigail Callaghan though. She didn't need some random scientist from S.H.I.E.L.D. giving her more to worry about. "You must think that's stupid of me. Crying over a Supervillain and worrying about what will happen to him when he's found." Abigail told him bitterly.

"He's your dad. You love him. I can understand." he shrugged. "Not many people have the guts to have a relationship with a convicted criminal, Supervillain or not."

Abigail sat up and scrubbed away the tears from her face with the back of her hand. She offered him a weak smile. "You know what Kris," she said, "I think I kinda like you. You aren't anything like the other agents that S.H.I.E.L.D. has sent to my door."

"It's because I'm a consulting scientist and not an agent. My job is different." he replied brightly.

Abigail cocked her head to the side and stared at him thoughtfully. After a moment she pursed her lips and shook her head. "No, that isn't it." Abigail said. He raised his eyebrow in confusion, waiting for her to continue. There was definitely more to that sentiment. Unfortunately it appeared as though Abigail Callaghan had no intention of finishing it. She gave him another smile, the tears in her eyes completely gone now, before patting his knee and standing up again. "My coffee's gotten cold. I'm gonna go top it off with some fresh stuff. Do you want some more?"

"Uh..." he said looking at her still confused. "No, I'm fine. Thanks. I need to get back to work."

"Alright, if you need me I'll be in the kitchen then." Abigail informed him. He watched her pick her way over the piles he'd created for a moment before turning back to the box he'd been going through. Absentmindedly he took another sip of his coffee, which was now indeed cold, and went back to the now halfway emptied box. He gave his knuckles a crack before reaching inside.

The next file on top was a thick manila colored folder that was crammed full of various different research. So full, in fact, that when he pulled it from the box that things started to slip out of it. A couple of flash drives clattered on the floor as loose leafs of paper slid from the folder. He winced as he hurriedly realigned the fallen papers before grabbing the flash drives off the floor. Okay, so obviously whatever project Dr. Callaghan had put inside this folder was huge. Though why Callaghan hadn't split it up into multiple folders like he had with some of his other large projects was a bit beyond him. Seriously, the man had been extremely meticulous in his organization with the other projects so why not this one? He scrunched his nose up as he opened the file folder. Instantly he saw why. It wasn't just one large project. It looked like several different ones. Maybe whoever had cleaned out his office or apartment had just crammed all the odds and ends to various different projects without a designated space into this one particular folder when they were getting ready to move Callaghan's things. It kind of made sense... at least maybe it did?

He took the notebook that was sitting on top and it felt as though a rock fell into the pit of his stomach. There was something wrong with the notebook. For starters, it had absolutely nothing to do with robotics. It looked as though it was someone's notes on an advanced chemistry project. Dr. Callaghan had never done anything chemistry related, at least not to his knowledge. The handwriting definitely didn't match up with any of the handwriting he'd seen in the rest of Callaghan's notebooks and files. No, it was a curling, delicate cursive script that had a definite feminine undertone to it. It made his blood go cold and his fingers tingle. The third and final thing that really made his stomach churn though was the fact that this particular notebook page was photocopied. There was no question in his mind, this particular project was stolen from someone else.

Fighting down the nausea, he took hold of the next paper clipped stack of papers. Again, the project had nothing to do with robotics and the handwriting definitely didn't look like anything Dr. Callaghan's. It looked as though the project was something to do with high intensity lasers written in big, neat block letters. He didn't even need to read through the entire packet of paper to know that there was nothing in it that remotely belonged to Robert Callaghan.

He threw the pile of papers down on to the previous stack of chemistry project notes and examined the rest of the contents of the manilla folder. Another stack of paper clipped notes as well as two flash drives. Without even looking at which flash drive he grabbed, he plugged it into his computer and let the documents open. The author's name on the files wasn't there but he was certain that it wasn't Dr. Robert Callaghan. Someone had come up with a brilliant idea for a magnetic suspension system with virtually no airspeed resistance. Industrial design and applied physics judging by the materials. He pulled his hat off to rake his hand through his hair in frustration and disbelief. He had to remind himself to safely eject the flash drive before ripping it out and throwing the second one in. At least the next one was actually a robotics project. Not that it helped at all. Oh no! The opposite actually. He could feel his insides turning over at a frightening pace and threatening to make him physically sick.

The robotics project was definitely built off of Callaghan's own research and work in robotics. Callaghan was a pioneer in the field after all, but the similarities dropped off quickly and spiraled into something completely different and awesome. A medical companion robot was rooted in Callaghan's theories and laws of robotics but there was no way that this idea could have been his brain child. None whatsoever. He was as sure of that as he was of all the other projects not belonging to Dr. Callaghan. He pressed his hand to his mouth to suppress the urge to... to gasp... to throw up... something. He wasn't entirely sure. However, he knew one thing beyond a shadow of a doubt in his mind.

Robert Callaghan had stolen the research of several different people. None of the things in this folder belonged to him. None of it!

The sudden realization shook him more than it should have. He had known that Callaghan had stolen the microbot technology from some robotics prodigy. That had been well documented. Hell! Callaghan had even readily admitted to stealing another's ideas and prototypes during his trial. Chiune had discussed it at length as well as listened to Vera rant, quite loudly, about the intellectual theft. He'd never known just how... how deep Callaghan's deceit had run. Instantaneously, he found himself losing a lot of the respect for the so called father of modern robotics. The pioneer of the field. The disgust that this man had gone through the lengths to steal not one, but many others' hard work and research was overbearing. He couldn't bear to look at his computer anymore so he snapped the lid shut and shoved it aside roughly. How could someone do such a thing? How had Callaghan even gotten ahold of this work? Most of these projects didn't even fall into his area of expertise!

He pressed his eyes shut and massaged the bridge of his nose. Then something pierced through his disgust. A little spark of memory. He cast a glance at the stack of stolen paper clipped research and notes that he'd pulled from the manila folder. As he lifted the papers pertaining to the laser project, he fished around in his bag for one of the many folders he'd brought with him. Quickly he found the one that he needed. A black folder with the S.H.I.E.L.D. eagle emblem in gray emblazoned on the front. He tore the file open and pulled out the research that both he and several other analysts had compiled on Big Hero 6. It was the fuzzy grained picture that he wanted. The one that showed all six members of the Superhero team. There was a tall African American man that favored laser swords. High intensity laser swords that matched up perfectly with the high intensity laser project that Dr. Callaghan had stolen. It was too perfect to be a coincidence.

He grabbed the second stack of papers, the chemistry ones, and compared them to the notes that had been amassed on the blonde Superheroine that enjoyed throwing chemical filled orbs at her opponents. There were several chemical reactions that matched up between the two documents including, but not limited to, rapid metal embrittlement. The girl seemed rather fond of that chemical reaction. There were also ties to the kaiju's fire breathing abilities in the stolen notes. Again, too perfect to be a coincidence.

Then there was the magnetic suspension system. The girl in yellow had magnetic wheels and discs that seemed to use the same airspeed resistant technology that was saved on the flash drive. Too perfectly matched up to be a coincidence. His head swam as he stared at the papers in front of him in disbelief.

He sat back, rubbing his neck. Once more he grabbed the laptop and opened it. The screen came right back to the health care companion robot. It was a bit more of a stretch than the others but robots could be repurposed and reprogrammed to do different jobs and there was a robot on Big Hero 6's team.

These notes belonged to Big Hero 6. There was no other logical explanation for how precisely the notes matched up to the Superheroes' gadgets and abilities. That meant that Callaghan knew Big Hero 6 in some capacity. They had been students he'd worked in close proximity with at one point in time and had found access to their notes. Callaghan might have even mentored one of them. The robotics' student, he one who'd created the personal healthcare companion robot, he was the most likely candidate! This was how he was going to find Big Hero 6. Find that student and he would find the rest of the team! A rush of adrenaline filled his system.

He scrambled to his feet, tripping over his laptop's power cord and nearly taking out several of his piles of papers. He shook himself free of the power cord and rushed into the kitchen. In his hand he balanced the manila folder, it's contents, and his laptop, still opened to the documents on the personal healthcare companion robot. "Abigail!" he called out as he slid to a stop on the linoleum in her kitchen. His chucks made a stringent squeal but he didn't pay it any attention.

Abigail looked up from the sink where she was washing dishes. "What's wrong Kris?" she asked him, most likely noting the wide eyed look on his face.

"I'm sorry but I have to ask you a few questions about things your dad might have told you when you visited him in prison." he explained rapidly. His words came out so fast that he wondered if Abigail had truly understood them all. She gave him a guarded look but he ignored it. Instead, he stood beside her and sat the manila folder and the stolen notes on the counter beside her and set his laptop on top of it all. "Did your father ever talk about any of his former students to you? Anyone he might have mentored? Anyone who he worked with on a regular basis or was closer to than all his other students?"

Abigail gaped at him. Her open hanging jaw and wide eyes sort of made her look like a fish out of water. It was quite clear that she was having a hard time figuring out what she was even going to say to him. He continued anyways. "Did he talk about any students that might have had some sort of medical robotics project that they were working on in particular. Something that may have looked or been described as similar to this?" he waved his hand in the direction of the laptop.

Abigail looked from him to the picture of the inflatable balloon robot and then back to him. "I'm not sure if I understand where you were going with this." she told him shaking her head.

"Your dad..." he started to say but that's when he first felt it. A strange but vaguely familiar vibration humming through the floor, up his legs, and into his spine. Both he and Abigail paused to look at one another in complete and utter confusion. There was a fainting tingling sound as Abigail's glasses, plates, and other kitchen utensils started to shake in their cupboards. A wave of sound crashed over them. At first he thought that the faucet had suddenly been turned on full blast but he quickly realized that the rushing sound was way too loud for the kitchen sink.

"What is that?" Abigail breathed. She looked around. Her hands were shaking now because of the force of the vibration. His hands were shaking too. A glass vase that had been sitting on the windowsill behind the sink crashed down, shattering into tiny pieces. Abigail gave a scream in surprise. The fallen vase drew his eyes to the window. His eyes went wide when he saw how hard the glass panes were shaking. He might have been a robotics engineer but he still had a decent handle on physics.

"Abigail, get away from the window!" he yelled suddenly as he latched on to her arms. Just as he pulled her away from the window, a horrible shattering sound blew threw the kitchen. The concussive force of the air pressure that had been applied to the glass was enough to knock them both off their feet and send them to the ground. He grabbed the brim of his ball cap and pulled it down over his face to protect himself while simultaneously throwing his other arm over Abigail's head as he both felt and heard the rest of the window in her apartment shatter to bits.

Then suddenly and without warning, the vibration stopped as though it had never existed in the first place. "Abigail?" called a voice from the living room. "Abigail! Where are you?"

"Daddy?" Abigail gasped.

Chapter Text

"Daddy!" gasped Abigail. Her entire body tensed under his arm.

"Abigail! No, wait!" he hissed desperately. It was too late though. Abigail pulled herself out from under his arm and pushed herself to her feet. Without even looking back, she sprinted to her living room.

He stumbled to his feet and followed after Abigail. He got as far as the doorway before he froze in place. Abigail had flung herself into the arms of a tall man dressed completely in black save for the white and red kabuki mask pushed up on the top of his head. They both held each other tightly, as though they were afraid the other would disappear like a wisp of smoke in the wind. It was probably the first time in a very long time that they had hugged, let alone touched, one another. As stomach churning as it was to him to see the infamous Supervillain that Vera was supposed to be predicting the actions of, the one who was probably definitely working with Hydra in some capacity, he ducked behind the corner of the wall to give father and daughter some privacy.

"Daddy," Abigail demanded as she pulled away from his chest. She still clung to his coat tightly enough to leave marks on the leather. "I've been worried sick about you! What were you thinking? Where have you been?"

"I know, I know." sighed Dr. Robert Callaghan, "I'm sorry I made you worry."

"I'm just glad you're safe." Abigail told him before hugging him once more. "They've been looking everywhere for you."

Dr. Callaghan didn't look dangerous. Well, okay, the red and white kabuki mask a bit sinister looking but other than that Callaghan wasn't anything out of the ordinary. He looked like a father and a college professor underneath all the black and leather. It was so easy to see the bright, innovative scientist that Robert Callaghan was in this moment. He felt a surge of awe run through his body. This was the man who'd invented magnetic bearing servos and written the laws of robotics! He almost wished he had a copy of popular science for Callaghan to autograph. He could only imagine Vera's response to that. She'd probably rub her temples and remind him that Callaghan was a Supervillain.

Callaghan was a Supervillain! He felt his nerves steadily creeping upwards. Suddenly that significant fact came rushing back to him like a freight train. Sure Dr. Callaghan looked benign enough at the moment but that didn't mean much of anything. He'd spent enough sickening time in the company of various Hydra agents to know that just because a person looked benign didn't always mean that a person was benign. There was a reason that Robert Callaghan had been sent to prison. He'd tried to kill a man and several other innocent bystanders. He'd stolen the intellectual property of several students, not just the one student as previously believed. Callaghan had probably use one of his students to gain access to the rest of Big Hero 6's work, one of which had been turned into an intended murder weapon. Then there was the fact that many people believed him guilty of arson and murdering a student though the court was unable to prove it.

"Again, I'm so sorry sweetheart." Callaghan told her, "Now I need you to do something for me."

"What do you need?" Abigail asked. She gave him another worried look. Callaghan, however, didn't seem to notice. This time it was he who pulled away from Abigail. He looked down at her, meeting her eye with a piercingly desperate look, while keeping a firm grip on her shoulders.

"I need you to grab your things. Clothes, books, whatever you think you'll need to get out of San Fransokyo for awhile, and come with me." Callaghan told her. His voice, like his eyes, were dripping with desperateness.

"Daddy, what are you talking about?" Abigail laughed a little as she squeezed Callaghan's hands on her shoulder. Nervous laughter he realized. He wondered if maybe it was time for him to step in. Let Dr. Callaghan know that Abigail wasn't alone in the apartment. Before he even had a chance to think anymore about it, Dr. Callaghan shook his head.

"Abigail, you need to come with me." he told her giving her a light shake.

"Come with you where? I don't understand. Daddy, I love you but you're supposed to be in prison. What you did to Krei was wrong."

Callaghan's face changed. Suddenly, he didn't look so much like a father or a college professor. He looked like a man who was haunted. The way Callaghan frowned at Abigail definitely made him nervous. Callaghan let go of Abigail's shoulders and took a step back from her. Shaking his head, he said, "I've had a lot of time to think in prison."

Abigail didn't say anything. Neither did he. Instead he hid behind the doorway corner and listened. A small niggling feeling burrowed through his mind. What exactly would Callaghan do if he realized that Chiune was there... watching and listening. He definitely didn't want to think about what Callaghan would do to him if he realized he with S.H.I.E.L.D.

Callaghan waved his hands through the air as he spoke. "Abigail, the world is broken. There should be rules, laws, that govern it. Keep it from destroying itself. Something has made those laws turn on themselves though. Something has made our society ineffective and turned it on its head. I've been given the chance to fix it Abigail. To fix society. To use my skills to make the world a better place again. I want your help. I want you to stand beside me, just as you always have."

"Daddy," Abigail said slowly, "I have no idea what you're talking about. Do you realize how… how crazy you sound right now? With all this 'the world is broken' and 'I want to fix it' stuff?"

Chiune bit his lip. That really didn't sound like the best thing to say to someone who sounded crazy. Because every nut job liked to have it pointed out how crazy they sounded. Callaghan only sighed though. It was a good thing that he was talking to his daughter. At least there would be restraint on any anger that Callaghan felt towards her. He didn't know where this was going. He just knew it wasn't going to be good. "I know, this sounds like the rantings of a madman Abby but the people who broke me out of jail, they agree with me."

"Agree with what precisely?" Abigail asked. He didn't miss how her voice dropped down an octave sharply. It was the same angry tone she'd spoken to him when he'd first arrived at her apartment. The one she used to describe her frustration towards the authorities not believing her when she told them she had no idea where her father was. His fingers dug into door frame as he listened on baited breath.

"That too many criminals walk free while their heartbroken victims are sent to prison to rot for the rest of their lives. Any and all good work they might have done, fading into obscurity." Callaghan told her in a grim tone. What made it even worse was the fact that the way he said it, didn't sound crazy. It just made him sound bitter.

Callaghan hasn't given up his revenge fantasy! The sudden thought struck him across the face like a slap. His jaw fell open in shock. He had to cover his mouth to keep himself from gasping and giving away the fact that he was there at all.

"After all this time…" mumbled Abigail, shaking her head. "After all this time you still blame Krei!"

"He took you away from me!" Callaghan growled.

"But I came back!" snapped Abigail. The anger in her voice was raw, demanding. "That used to be enough for you. What happened to make you change your mind?"

"The people who broke me out of prison, Hydra, made me think about it. Made me realize that Krei and so many others still have to atone for their crimes. Why should it just be me sitting in prison when Krei is just as guilty as I am?"

And bam! There it was. The hard and fast proof Coulson had been waiting on, straight from the culprit's mouth. Doctor Robert Callaghan had indeed been broken out of prison by Hydra and now seemed to be operating under the assumption that he was going to play some dark anti-hero. He felt like he was going to be sick.

"I made a choice!" Abigail shouted. "I had a choice in the matter and I chose to do the demonstration. I knew the risks Daddy. You think I didn't but I did! I made a choice just like Krei did. Just like you did!"

Callaghan looked like he was about to say something more but then Abigail gave a heavy sigh. Her shoulders slumped forward and she stared at the ground. "I'm sorry," she whispered shaking her head, "I don't want to fight with you. I've just been so worried about you is all."

"I don't want to fight with you either sweetheart." Callaghan admitted, sounding just as he had before he'd gone off on his tirade about the world being broken. Abigail let her father take her hands in his. He gave them a squeeze as he smiled gently at her. "But I do want you to come with me."

"No, Daddy," Abigail told him firmly. "If you keep running, if you go through with…whatever it is that you and these Hydra people have planned, something bad is going to happen to you. I can feel it."

Callaghan laughed lightly, "Nothing will happen to me."

Abigail's firm look didn't falter from her face. "You have to turn yourself in. If you go peacefully, everything will be alright."

His gut clenched as he saw Callaghan's face change once again. The change was subtle. He doubted that Abigail even noticed it. The way Callaghan's eyes darkened and his mouth pulled at the corner. There was a deep pain behind it and Abigail was causing it. His anxiety rushed through him, stabbing at his middle.

"I can't turn myself in Abigail." Callaghan said, his voice cold. "It's too late for that."

"No, it isn't Daddy," insisted Abigail. She was squeezing Callaghan's hands now. The look on her face was a mixture of determination and softness. She just wanted her father safe. Judging by the look on Callaghan's face, he didn't quite see it that way. "It will be alright."

"No it won't Abigail." Callaghan said sternly.

"I have a friend who works with S.H.I.E.L.D. He's a scientist, like you. I can have him call his…" Abigail started, even turning towards the direction of her kitchen where she must have assumed that he was still in. However, she cut herself off with a sharp cry of pain. "Daddy!" she gasped in shock.

Callaghan's hands were wrapped around her forearms in a vice grip. "You're working with S.H.I.E.L.D.?" he demanded angrily.

The vibration that had preceded Callaghan's arrival began to hum through the apartment again. He could feel it through the wall, shooting up his arm and down his spine. He swallowed the hard lump that had formed in his throat as he drew his hand away from the doorframe. He cast a nervous glance at Callaghan and Abigail.

"Ow! Dad!" hissed Abigail as she jerked away from Callaghan's grip. "I'm not working with anyone but did you really think that no one would come and ask me questions? I visit you every other weekend in prison. They thought I knew something!"

"They sent some of their agents after me. They tried to kill me, did your scientist friend tell you that?"

"No… he didn't but," Abigail answered quickly. "They didn't really try to hurt you, did they?"

"Hydra had to eliminate them so I could get away." replied Callaghan. Chiune winced at the coldness in Dr. Callaghan's voice. Well. Now he at least knew for sure what had happened to the investigating agents. "And now you're telling me you've gone and made friends with S.H.I.E.L.D.? Do you have any idea what they could do to you? What have you told them?" demanded Callaghan.

"N...nothing." Abigail stammered as she took a step away from him. It was like she was seeing the Supervillain everyone had told her Robert Callaghan, esteemed doctor of robotics, had become for the first time. Her eyes were wide with shock and horror. That's when Callaghan finally noticed what he was standing in. The research nest that Chiune had built. Every single file from nearly eight of ten boxes worth of project notes and data was strewn at his feet.

The look he gave Abigail was heartbreakingly disappointed. It marred his face for a split second before it vanished without a trace. A grim sort of controlled anger settled over him instead. He waved his hand in the direction of the files on the floor. "He's here now isn't he? The S.H.I.E.L.D. scientist. He's in the apartment."

There was no denying it. Abigail was a pilot, not a scientist. It wasn't like she could say it had been her that had been going through his old research.

"Daddy! You're scaring me." Abigail told him as she continued to back away from Callaghan. Callaghan didn't even seem to notice the blatant fear in Abigail's eyes. The vibration continued. It didn't grow or ease, but remained at a steady pace.

"Where is he?" Callaghan snapped, slicing his hand through the air. When Abigail didn't answer him right away, he took a step forward. His boots stomping on his research and creating a dull thud. He raised his hand threateningly, stabbing his finger in Abigail's direction. There was a darkness in his eyes. Chiune didn't think. He leapt from behind the door frame.

"Abigail!" he yelled as he sprang forward into the living room.

Abigail spun to face him while Callaghan's eyes flashed up to him. Their eyes met and Chiune grit his teeth. He let every ounce of warning fill his eyes as he glared straight at the Supervillain. Then Callaghan just simply stopped.

Callaghan's eyes went wide. He drew back a few steps in surprise. His entire face was pale, as though he'd seen a ghost. His lips formed soundless words as he stared directly at Chiune. He shook his head in disbelief, grabbing at the mask at the top of his head. "It's not possible!" he sputtered right before he pulled the kabuki mask down over his face and cut Chiune's view off.

The vibration suddenly grew louder. The broken shards of glass that had once been Abigail's living room windows began to bounce rapidly on the floor. Then, joining the vibrating, came the whooshing sound they had heard earlier. His eyes went wide.

Rising into view outside the broken windows were the hive drones he thought he'd destroyed before leaving Hydra.

Abigail gasped at his side and he felt as though he were about to be violently ill. Apparently, he hadn't done a very good job at destroying everything. The little bee-like robots were tiny. There were enough of them that their little helicopter wings sounded like a dull roar of thunder. With a series of clicks and whirs, shining metal barbs appeared on the hive drones fronts. Those were new. He hadn't put those barbs on them despite the fact that his Hydra supervisors had wanted the drones even more weaponized than what they were. They hadn't thought being sliced to ribbons by hundreds of little wings sufficient. The barbs were probably Hydra's addition. They bobbed up and down menacingly, following the movement of Callaghan's hands. That's when he noticed Callaghan's gloves.

Wires rose from the black material around his hand and wrapped around his arm. A small pang of irritation went through him. Dual controls, both manual and neurocranial to accommodate for the increased capabilities of the hive drones. Why hadn't he thought of that? Callaghan could control a few select drones manually with his mind while programming the others to perform a set function at once and then reprogram them at the drop of a hat. It was brilliant. The power of the hard drive on Callaghan's glove had to be immense to perform the necessary actions.

The crescendo of ringing made him remember what exactly was going on. "Daddy! Please stop!" begged Abigail.

Callaghan didn't say anything. He simply shook his head. "It's too late for that now."

The hive drones rushed through the shattered windows. Hundreds if not thousands of them swarmed the living room. Abigail screamed as they came. The force of air displaced by their propellers created a tornado of wind in the living room. Callaghan's abandoned research notes and projects whipped around the room combining with the broken shards of glass to create a deadly maelstrom. The power and force was enough to move some of the furniture in the room. Abigail cried out in pain and raised her arms to protect her head and face. He winced as he felt both barbs and wings cut into him. Vaguely he was aware of the trickles of blood that were streaming down his skin. He didn't care though.

He threw himself against Abigail, latching on to her middle and dragging her to the cover of her overturned coffee table which was now thrown against the far wall. He pressed himself against Abigail, barely feeling the stinging of the hive drones, glass, papers, and debris.

What felt like hours later, though it was probably only seconds, the maelstrom stopped. The vibration stopped. The debris stopped spinning. Everything went silent save for Abigail's ragged breathing.

He looked up. Callaghan was no longer in the apartment. The hive drones were gone. The living room was in shambles with paper, furniture, knick-knacks, and glass strewn about. The only thing that was left was a beat up and devastated Abigail Callaghan.

X X X

"Howard Stark's breakthroughs in the area of applied physics, blah… blah… blah… Yes! Gummi bear!" Hiro picked up the green gummi bear that was sitting in the middle of his textbook and smiled at it triumphantly. He hated studying as a general rule but with Fred's super awesome gummi bear technique, Hiro was pretty certain that he could make it through his chapter. Granted, he already knew most of this stuff but he'd rather not get to his exam and choke. Honey Lemon had urging him to study more as of late and she had really been pushing it since he and the rest of the team had discovered Callaghan's escape. Hiro suspected that they were desperately trying to get him to focus on anything else besides Callaghan. Even Baymax was no exception. All night before, Baymax had done nothing but play dumb cat videos on his video monitor in his chest. There was a conspiracy going on. Hiro could smell it.

Speaking of Baymax…

Hiro swiveled around his seat. The robot was still deflated and his charging suitcase in the back corner of his lab. Hiro frowned and scrunched his nose up in displeasure. It had been over twenty-four hours and the search had yet to be completed. Baymax was supposed to activate the minute it was completed so that he could share the results but there hadn't been so much as a blip yet from him. Hiro turned back around to face his desk, folding his arms against his chest and staring down at the words on the page of his textbook. Absentmindedly, he picked up the red gummi bear that was covering a paragraph towards the bottom and popped it in his mouth. He hadn't read to that passage yet but he didn't particularly care.

God! He wanted that scan to hurry up and be completed. Tadashi would've laughed at him and called him impatient or bonehead or possibly even both. A pang of sadness pierced him. Hiro cast a glance up at the framed picture up on the shelf above his head. The group shot of Tadashi and the rest of the gang that GoGo had taped him into in the corner of. He'd sat it above his head on purpose just so he could feel as though Tadashi was literally watching over him. "Don't worry Nii-chan." he whispered under his breath in promise, "Callaghan isn't going to get away with this."

Hiro stared up at the picture for a little while longer, just until his eyes started to sting and water. He shook it off and looked back at his textbook. Again he scrunched up his nose in irritation. Hiro ate the last gummi bear of the page and snapped the book shut. Studying was dumb anyways. He grabbed his project notebook, the one with all his ideas and schematics for Baymax in it. At this point he was just digging for something other than the search for Callaghan to focus on. It was more than a little difficult though when he was staring at the schematics for something that had been Tadashi's brain child. He gave a loud groan and flung himself backwards in his chair, throwing the worn and battered notebook over his face. Yep! Tadashi definitely would've had something snarky to say about his impatience.

"Several of Professor Callaghan's former students used to have labs in this part of the Institute." a voice drifted through the closed door of his lab. It was followed by a pair of heels clicking on the floor. "Some of them are still graduate students here but have labs in another part of the building."

"I see," came the familiar voice of a particular investigator from a particular government agency that Hiro didn't care for in particular. He sat bolt upright in his chair. There was no mistaking Vanellope Delle's shadowed silhouette as she followed her tour guide down the hall. Hiro jumped out of his seat.

"What's Delle doing here?" he growled under his breath as he cracked his lab door open to get a better look at her.

"Did Dr. Callaghan have a lot of students?" she asked curiously. Hiro had to duck back out of sight as Delle turned about to look at the hall of labs. She seemed completely oblivious to his presence.

"He was the Department Chair of Robotics so yes, I'd say he had quite a few students." the secretary showing her around said. He sounded a bit irate with her which was no real problem to Hiro. It was good to know that he and the rest of his friends weren't the only ones who couldn't stand Delle.

"I read somewhere that he personally mentored quite a few students. Is that true?" she asked her tour guide.

Both Hiro and the tour guide snorted under their breath. The tour guide, however, got a venomous glare from Delle. He cleared his throat awkwardly before answering. "Yes, ah, Professor Callaghan did chose three or four of the most promising students to mentor each year. Some of them continued to work with him after they graduated from the Institute, right up until he, uh…"

"Faked his death?" supplied Delle matter of factly. The secretary only nodded.

"I suppose the last group of students who really knew him well have all graduated now." Delle mused. She said it so quietly that Hiro doubted that she had meant for it to be even heard by her tour guide. He raised his eyebrow. What exactly did Vanellope Delle want? What was her angle? First Krei Tech and now SFIT. The lady was up to something and a rather large part of him wanted to know what it was. Perhaps he and Baymax would suit up and follow her back to where ever it was she was staying at to find out. Maybe he'd even confront her. The leader of Big Hero 6 could be incredibly intimidating, no matter what GoGo said. He smirked a little as he envisioned the possibility.

The secretary started to say something else, possibly to move Delle to another part of the building. However before he could, a cell phone went off. Delle reached into the pocket of her suit jacket and pulled out her phone. She flashed a smile to her tour guide. "Will you please excuse me a minute. I've got to take this." she told him, moving off to the side and closer to the door of Hiro's lab. She turned towards the door, giving him a full view of her sneaky little face.

"What's up?" she answered brightly. Then she blinked in confusion before pinching the bridge of her nose. "Chiune… Chiune! Slow down. I wasn't ready for that Niagara Falls word dump. Now what about a hospital?"

Delle listened for the other person's response. The color drained out of her face and her eyes went as wide as one of GoGo's discs. "What do you mean you're at the hospital. Are you alright? Just hang on a moment. I'll be right there."

She started to turn away but the person on the other end must have said something to stop her because Delle froze in place. "Say that again?" she whispered in complete and utter horror.

There was an icy pause as she listened to what the other person had to say. There was a beep from inside Hiro's lab as Baymax activated and inflated. "Greetings Hiro. The results from the scan you initiated are ready to be compiled and analyzed."

"Are you sure he really attacked her?" she pressed. "Are you positive that it was Callaghan attacking his own daughter?"

Hiro froze. What he'd just heard, that wasn't possible! There was no way! "Hiro, you're neurotransmitters are indicating that you have just received some kind of shock. Possible treatments include…"

"Shh Baymax!" hissed Hiro as he pushed himself closer to the door.

Delle pressed her phone between her head and shoulder and twisted the mother-of-pearl bracelet around her wrist for a couple of moments. Her face was still pale and her hands seemed to be shaking. What had happened to the cold, rude Vanellope Delle that he'd seen in Krei's office? The one that didn't seem to have any issues bullying another for the answers that she wanted. This definitely didn't jive with the image he had of her in his mind.

"No!" Delle said suddenly, "Just… just stay where you are. I'll come get you. Just sit tight. I'll be there as quick as I can."

Delle pulled the phone away from her ear and ended the call. She stood there, in complete and utter silence, for awhile. She massaged her temples and shook her head as though she were trying reconcile something in her head. "Maybe he has gone crazy," she whispered to herself in complete disbelief.

"Miss Delle?" called the secretary. He was visibly annoyed with her now. "Is everything alright?"

A quick and sudden change came over Delle. It was like someone had flipped a switch. Turning to face the secretary, she smiled a smile that was too wide and turned to face her tour guide. "I'm so sorry but something's just come up. Do you mind if I come back another time to finish the tour?"

The secretary scowled but said, "Of course. That won't be a problem."

"Thank you. I'll just show myself out." she told him with a cheery wave. However, as she started back down the hall, Hiro noted that the color still hadn't returned to her face. He was a little preoccupied though to give it much more thought.

He closed the lab door with a soft click and looked at Baymax. He swallowed the lump that had formed in his throat. "Call the others Baymax. We don't need to analyze any scan. Callaghan's here… in San Fransokyo."

And apparently, he'd just attacked his daughter. Hiro had a very bad feeling about this.

Chapter Text

"The doctors at the hospital tell me that Abigail Callaghan is in stable condition. It's kind of a miracle when you consider just how tore up her apartment was. I got the photos Chiune took on his cell phone before he left the place. " Coulson informed them over the phone. "She'll be alright but Vera, I have to ask… do you think Callaghan will go after her again?"

Vera's eyes grew sharp. He winced. It was a good thing Coulson wasn't physically there with them. Vera would've roasted him on the spot with the glare she was conjuring up. "If you plan on molding a protection detail for her based on what I have to say, then I'm gonna have to tell you that's a lot to stake on my word Coulson." she told him in a clipped tone. Chiune couldn't help but agree.

"I know your work Vera." Coulson told her simply.

Vera sighed. She dropped her head into her hands momentarily before saying, "Based on what I knew before this all happened, the most I would've said Callaghan would try was kidnapping her. Now… I don't know. Something spooked him. Maybe it was the fact that Chiune was there? I don't know but he went off script."

Vera paused again. She bit her lip, deep in thought. "I don't think he'll go after her again. He'll feel too guilty to even look her in the eyes. Callaghan will focus on whatever his main goals are now."

"What do you think those main goals are?"

"Fixing the laws of the world? He could be going after Krei again?" suggest Chiune.

"If only it were so easy." grumbled Vera. "Coulson, H… Hydra is involved which means nothing is what it seems."

Her hands curled into fists against the armrest of the couch. "What are you thinking of Vera?" Chiune prompted her as he sat down next to her.

"Callaghan knew Big Hero 6 personally. Or at least one of the members. There's no other possible way that he could've gotten his hands on that research he stole from other students." she paused, "I knew there was a connection there. I could sense it when I talked to Krei but if Big Hero 6 did indeed know Callaghan personally and vice versa then, well… it takes something to create a Superhero just as much as it takes something to create a Supervillain. Something about Callaghan made Big Hero 6 into a Superhero team. I don't know what it is but I'd bet double the money I'm paying to go to law school that there's bad blood between them. Whether it's old fashioned betrayal or something darker, it's there."

"Okay…" he said, in confusion. He wasn't entirely sure where Vera was going with this. Coulson was silent on the other end of the phone.

Vera sensed his confusion because she turned to look square at him. "Callaghan's escape from prison and return to San Fransokyo isn't something they'd overlook. You've already found a blog that seems to prove that. Big Hero 6 is looking for him… and, well, Coulson. You said it once. Who would have a keen interest in finding Big Hero 6?"

"You think Callaghan's escape is a ploy?" Coulson clarified, "To draw out Big Hero 6 for Hydra?"

His mouth fell open. Vera was brilliant. There was just one thing though. "If Callaghan knows who Big Hero 6 is then shouldn't we assume that he's probably shared that information with Hydra?" he asked nervously.

"Of course. Hydra probably knows the identity of every single member." Vera shrugged.

"Then why go through all the subterfuge?" he asked.

"Because you can't just kidnap five kids and a robot without people noticing. If Hydra wants Big Hero 6, then it would be safer to go after them as heroes rather than when they're civilians. People will ask less questions if something happens to a team of Superheroes in the line of duty." explained Coulson.

Vera nodded in agreement, "Exactly, hence breaking their biggest nemesis out of prison. Hydra's ploy is probably to stage some sort confrontation between Big Hero 6 and Callaghan and use it as a smokescreen."

"That makes sense," he mumbled as he rubbed the back of his neck. Then he remembered the blog he'd found. The one asking for whereabouts on Yokai. His heart fell into his stomach. "A ploy that's working. If Big Hero 6 goes after Callaghan, they'll end up offering themselves to Hydra on a silver platter."

"Just like I did." murmured Vera. His attention snapped over to Vera. She had her arms wrapped around her middle and was rocking subtly on the couch. He grasped her hand and squeezed it with every bit of strength he had.

"I'll find them." he told both Coulson and Vera with determination that surprised him. He jumped off the couch and went to the table. Thank God he'd moved his laptop and the manila folder of stolen research into Abigail's kitchen before Callaghan showed up. It probably wouldn't have survived had he not. "I have their research. That's just as unique as a person's fingerprint. I just need time."

"Chiune," Coulson said slowly, "you might not have time. Hydra works quick. Word is already getting out the Yokai is back in San Fransokyo."

"We have to try." Vera said quietly. Her voice was still shaking yet she sounded so adamant. He looked over at her. She was still curled in on herself but she was no longer giving herself bruises from holding on too tightly to her arms. Then, the moment passed and she was sitting straight again with a fire burning in her eyes. "I have a few leads on some students who used to work with Dr. Callaghan at SFIT. I was planning on talking to them anyways. One of them could be a part of Big Hero 6."

"SFIT has a quarterly science journal they put out. I'll compare the research I found to the journals. I'm sure someone has published something there. These people are way too promising to not be noticed in academia." he added.

"Alright, I'll give you two clearance to stay in San Fransokyo for another couple days. As soon as the field agents get there though, you're both coming back to New York. Agreed?" Coulson told them seriously.

"Agreed," both he and Vera said at the same time.

"I'll talk to you soon." Coulson said before the line clicked off.

For a few minutes he and Vera stood in silence. "Are you alright?" he asked her.

"Coulson sent three field agents to Pelican Bay. They all pursued Callaghan and now they're all dead. Killed by Hydra. So, no, I'm not really alright." she told him. She reached over and grabbed the bracelet she was wearing and twisted it around on her wrist. He was really starting to regret buying her that bracelet at the boardwalk. She'd already managed to bruise her wrist from twisting it so much in anxiety. However, before he had a chance to go over and stop her from chafing at her wrist, Vera stopped on her own. "But there are a group of people out there that are in danger and don't even know it yet. I will take my anti-anxiety meds. I will cope. I will find a way to keep these people from sharing the same travesty that happened to me."

Vera crossed the room and sat down at the table. She pulled out a chair as she grabbed one of the notebooks from his hand. He looked at her warily. She was still shaking a little. Vera seemed determined not to look him in the eye as she opened the notebook and began reading. It only lasted roughly thirty seconds, much longer than he expected. She looked up at him with an upraised eyebrow. "How do you even understand any of this?" Vera asked him incredulously.

He laughed a little under his breath and sat down beside her. "It's really quite simple when you get down to it."

"I must look like an idiot to you," she snorted as she passed him back the file.

"You? Never." he promised her. He stared at the chemistry equations in the notebook before sighing. Did the person even realize the danger she was in? If Callaghan had indeed shared the identities of Big Hero 6 then they were literally sitting ducks with sharks swimming in circles around them. "I'm just surprised you haven't made some sort of 'I told you so' remark about Callaghan."

"You mean about the fact that he stole a lot more than just one student's work?" commented Vera as she quirked an eyebrow. He gave a small nod. Vera gave a long sigh before answering, "I could say I told you so. I could say a lot of things about Callaghan's level of deceit and spell out exactly what it means but what would it prove? The only thing it would do is hurt your feelings which is the very last thing you need after this afternoon. I am sorry, though, for you. Contrary to how I act sometimes, I know just how much you admired Dr. Callaghan."

He felt the nausea rising up in his chest. He didn't understand how he could feel so utterly repulsed by and yet still harbor respect for Callaghan. It seemed so wrong. God help him.

"What about you?" Vera asked suddenly. He looked over at her. "Are you going to be alright? Y'know, between discovering that your idol committed one of the most heinous crimes in academia and, uh well… Those hive drones that Callaghan was using were your's robot boy."

His hand clenched around the complex chemistry notes he was holding. All the horror of seeing those monstrosities again came rushing back to him with a vengeance. Unlike the first time seeing the hive drones, though, there was another feeling mixed in. Fury. Pure and unadulterated fury. He designed them and they had every capacity to kill someone. Abigail could have been killed. She'd been extremely lucky that she hadn't. That fact made his blood boil more than anything else, not the fact that his work had been stolen. His creation being used to hurt, maim, and destroy was unacceptable. That was why he'd set the damned things on fire in the Hydra compound. He'd wanted to wipe them from existence. He hated them and never would have created them had Hydra not forced him too. Science was supposed to be used to help people, not hurt. Now, though, Hydra had resurrected them and given them to Callaghan to use and abuse. How dare they. How dare they! It was absolutely incredible. The lengths that some people would go to just to hurt innocent people! How far Hydra would go. "I'll see every last one of those hive drones in pieces before this is said and done." he told her darkly.

"Save a couple for me. I'll gladly help."

They fell silent again. Vera flipped through the contents of the manila folder. His rage had begun to cool again by the time Vera spoke again.

"I wish we had some way to warn them." whispered Vera. "To tell them not to rush headlong into anything."

"I know, but…" he started to agree but then suddenly froze. "We do!"

His eyes were wide as he looked at Vera. She returned it with a confused look. "Chiune, what are you talking about?" she asked him.

He grabbed his laptop and pulled it open. In a matter of moments, he had his web browser opened up and his favorites tab open. "The blog, the one they set up for tips on Callaghan! That's how we warn them!"

"It's a public forum. If we announce that Hydra is after them, Hydra might just go after them without using subterfuge. We could put them in even more danger."

"So we put it in code."

"They probably don't even know who Hydra is!"

"I'm sure they'll figure out something's wrong if I post something about a trap hanging over their heads."

He looked over at Vera. She had her arms crossed over her chest as she stared at him in disbelief. "Vera, we have to protect them. If we can't find them before Hydra does then we have to warn them. This is the only way we can do it. This could save their lives. It may buy us some more time to find them and, who knows, maybe they'll reach out to us."

Vera's shoulders sagged. "I sure hope you know what you're doing Chiune." she said with a sigh.

He shot her a grin before clicking on the 'submit' button. "Don't worry about this one. I've got it. Worry about your own plan. Which, by the way, do you have one yet?"

"I finished up early with Callaghan's neighbors today so I went to SFIT. I think I'll start there tomorrow. I'll interview some of the robotics students, maybe some of the graduate students who might have worked with Callaghan that are still there. I'll see if any of them knew who the student was that created the healthcare companion robot. It will save me some time and eliminate a few names on the list."

"Find that robot and its creator and we'll probably have the first member of Big Hero 6. Have I mentioned how cool that healthcare companion robot is yet?"

"Not in the last few hours. Maybe you'd like to tell me about it again?" mumbled Vera.

He ignored the obvious sarcasm in her voice. "Well while you're at SFIT tomorrow, I'm going to see if I can find our brilliant pioneers in the school's academic journals."

"Will you be coming to SFIT with me then tomorrow?" she asked. "I know how much you've been dying to get into their labs and libraries."

Nerves made his stomach flip. He shook his head, "Nah, not tomorrow. I plan on hitting up the public library. They have the complete SFIT journal database as well as a few other scientific journal databases there."

"Why not just come to SFIT? Why do you need all the other databases?"

"I just want to cover my bases. These people may have graduated already and might have published something more recent outside of SFIT's quarterly journal. As for library instead of SFIT, they're knee deep in midterm prep. Their library is going to be busy. I want some peace." he explained. He left the sentiment of not wanting to be stared at by a bunch of college kids unsaid. It must have shown on his face though because Vera reached over and rubbed his back supportively. She didn't need to say or do anything more than that. He hit the enter key one last time. "There! Finished. What do you think?"

He waved his hand towards the computer screen, inviting Vera to look. Instantly she let out a groan and smacked her head into her palm. "You are a giant nerd. Has anyone ever told you that?" she muttered as she stole another glance at his expertly crafted, coded warning.

"King of the nerds I believe and don't you ever forget it imouto." he smirked.

Vera rolled her eyes, "How could I ever forget?"

X X X

"All recent scans for Dr. Callaghan have not yielded any data. The patient does not appear to be within scanning range." Baymax told the group.

GoGo groaned in frustration and flopped back on the couch in Fred's bedroom. "How can a masked Supervillain just… just disappear without a trace?" she growled.

Hiro understood her frustration. He didn't understand it either. He also didn't understand how a man who had once been so bent on avenging the apparent death of his daughter had attacked said daughter. It didn't make any sense whatsoever and the mere thought of it made him want to be physically sick! He raked a hand through his hair in frustration. "He's got to be in San Fransokyo somewhere." Honey Lemon insisted. "Maybe he's underground or something?"

"Maybe I should take Baymax out for another scan…" Hiro suggested as he moved to stand up.

"That would be unwise Hiro." Baymax replied simply.

"How so?" demanded Hiro.

"Because I feel that more repeated attempts to scan for Dr. Callaghan would be detrimental to your mental health."

Hiro ground his teeth. "Dude, Baymax is right. You've already gone out and scanned the city for Callaghan three times since we came back. You haven't even changed out of your suit yet." Wasabi pointed out.

He looked down at himself and then back up at his friends. He blinked for a moment until he realized that he was, indeed, the only one still suited up for hero business. Someone, he was betting Honey Lemon, had even removed Baymax's armor. "I feel the best possible treatment for the current situation is rest and some mentally calming activities." Baymax said, raising his hand in the air.

Hiro sent him a dark look but it was of course lost on Baymax seeing as how he was a robot. "Fresh eyes are always better. Besides, tomorrow morning we might go out looking and find something we missed because we were too wound up on adrenaline or something." Fred added with a shoulder roll.

Obviously they were right. Repeated search attempts had resulted with absolutely nil! It was like Callaghan had completely dropped off the radar after leaving Abigail's apartment. With a groan, Hiro sunk back on to the floor where he'd laid out a map. There were markers all over it indicating places that he and the team were monitoring. He pulled off his gloves and grabbed a marker, uncapping it with his teeth. Very deliberately he drew a wide circle around the marker that was on Abigail Callaghan's apartment. "We searched a five mile radius this evening." he sighed, "Maybe tomorrow we should try something else?"

"What do you have in mind?" asked GoGo as she sat up.

"I have no clue." he admitted. Hiro shook his head. Again he raked his hand through his hair. There had to be some other way of finding Callaghan. Callaghan had found some way of hiding from them and was doing a fantastic job of it for the time being. Very methodically, Hiro began to bang his head into the heel of his palm. Find a new angle. Find a new angle. He chanted his brother's mantra over and over in his head. That was the thing though. He'd been searching for a new angle ever since he and the rest of the team had come back from searching around Abigail's apartment. It was really too bad that Vanellope Delle hadn't repeated what had happened after Callaghan had fled the scene to the other person on the phone like she had with everything else.

"Vanellope Delle…" Hiro gasped suddenly at the realization. He looked up abruptly and met every one of his friends surprised glances. "That's it! She's our different angle!"

"What are you talking about Hiro?" Honey Lemon shook her head in confusion.

"She knows something that we don't know about Callaghan. I'm sure of it!" he explained in a rapid rush. It was probably a good thing that they'd been friends for awhile otherwise there was no way they would've been able to understand him with how fast he talked. His friends all shot him a worried look. He shook his head and continued. "When I overheard her at the Institute, whoever was on the other end of the phone called to tell her about what had happened at Abigail's apartment. She has to know something. We find Delle, and we may find Callaghan."

"Slow down Hiro." Wasabi urged him.

"Do you even know how to find her?" GoGo asked him skeptically. She had the dubious look on her face that reeked of 'this will never work.'

Hiro smirked. "She's supposed to be coming back to SFIT to finish her 'tour'. When she does come back, I'll find her and make her tell me what she knows."

"Hiro, are you sure about this?" Honey Lemon asked as she chewed on her lip a little.

"We have no other choice." he insisted, "Not with Callaghan dropping off the map and no other leads available. Vanellope Delle could be our only chance."

"Isn't this investigator girl from S.H.I.E.L.D.?" pointed out GoGo. Her dubious look still hadn't faded off her face. "If she works for some government agency, she isn't just going to tell us."

"Leave it to me." he told her with a broad grin. "I'll figure it out somehow."

Again there was a collective groan from the group. He was fairly certain that they were considering just how he was planning on convincing Vanellope Delle to share information with him. Hiro shrugged it off. He became deadly serious. "In the meantime while we're waiting for Delle to resurface, I need you guys to keep an eye on Krei while you're at work. Any sign of Callaghan moving against him, we mobilize. I'm going to keep monitoring the scan sweeps. If Callaghan pops up again, we're dropping everything to go after him. Honey, Fred, keep an eye on the social media. If Callaghan resurfaces somewhere and the tip seems legitimate I want to follow up on it. Callaghan needs to be brought in as soon as possible!"

He looked at them expectantly. He knew he sounded borderline desperate but he didn't care. However, as he was waiting for them to respond, Fred broke the silence.

"Hey, uh, not to interrupt or anything but…" Fred started as he frowned at the computer screen before him, "you guys might want to take a look at this."

"What is it Freddie?" Honey Lemon asked as she bent down to look. Hiro and the others quickly crowded around Fred.

"We got a hit on the blog I set up." explained Fred.

"Your blog has gotten hundreds of hits?" GoGo replied, rolling her eyes.

"Is it viable?" Hiro asked as he moved closer.

"Just look at this you guys." Fred told them. He clicked on the file that had been uploaded to the blog.

Immediately sound started blaring through the computer speakers, chanting 'it's a trap, it's a trap' as a gif of a Yokai kabuki mask danced superimposed on the monster from Disney's Hercules, the one that grew, like, three heads for every one that was cut off over a picture of someone's living room. "What the…" snorted GoGo as she looked at the crazy image.

"That's the voice of that squid headed dude from the first Star Wars! Isn't it?" Hiro pointed out as he looked at the image on the computer in absolute confusion.

"General Ackbar." both Fred and Wasabi supplied at the same time.

"I don't get it…" Honey Lemon said, scratching the back of her head.

"I too am confused at the meaning of this particular web based post. How is this supposed to make us more efficient heroes?" Baymax agreed.

"There's nothing to get." GoGo replied waving her hand dismissively. "Someone is obviously trying to troll us."

"I am confused…" Baymax started to repeat.

"It's alright buddy," Hiro assured him, "It's just an expression. She means that someone is just giving us a hard time online."

"I shall add 'troll' to my expression database." replied Baymax as the hum off his computer brain started to file away the information.

"I'm not so certain it's someone trolling us." Fred said rather skeptically. Hiro caught his tone of voice and moved past the others to stand beside Fred. He raised an eyebrow at the computer screen as he studied the image right along with Fred.

"What makes you say that dude?" asked Wasabi.

"You ever get one of those tingly feelings? You know the one that runs down your spine and makes the teeny tiny hairs on the back of your neck stand up? I don't know man… I just…" Fred shook his head as he rubbed his chin thoughtfully.

The more Hiro stared at it, the more he was certain he felt the same thing. He couldn't explain it, not logically anyways, but for some reason he found himself agreeing with Fred. He wasn't so certain that this wasn't just someone trying to irritate them on the internet. It was posted anonymously which wasn't entirely strange. It had also been custom made, he was sure of it, but that didn't mean much either. What was it about this image that bothered him so much?

That's when he noticed the gif's background. It wasn't a still from the movie or just some random color. It was a picture of someone's living room in a high rise. However, what was downright chilling about it was the fact that every single window in the background appeared to be busted out. Every floor to ceiling window he could make out in the background was destroyed and the glass that had once been in them was strewn on the ground behind the animated monster. The view behind the broken window seemed familiar too, as if Hiro knew that skyline. But why? Then he saw the golden plaque lying on the ground in the corner of the image. His heart clenched and his stomach rolled over itself. "That's Abigail Callaghan's apartment." he whispered in horror.

"What?" gasped Honey Lemon.

"Fred, blow that corner of the image up if you can." Hiro told him, while pointing to the corner with the gold plaque. Fred gave him a look but did it anyways. There was a collective gasp from the others in the room. Fred wasn't able to blow the image up huge but they were able to make out what Hiro had. The Krei Tech symbol on the plaque. They'd all been in that apartment at one time, helping Abigail Callaghan move in. That was why the skyline in the background was familiar. This was why Hiro got bad vibes from the image.

"That's Abigail Callaghan's place." Wasabi breathed in shock as he shook his head.

"After Dr. Callaghan trashed it." pointed out GoGo in a surprisingly quiet and awestruck voice.

"The police haven't released any photos to the media and they've got the crime scene guarded as well as Fort Knox. Which means that…" Honey Lemon started.

Hiro swallowed the lump in his throat. "That the only possible way that someone could have gotten a picture of Abigail Callaghan's destroyed apartment was if he or she had been in there."

"Perhaps it is possible that the person who uploaded this image to the weblog's page was in the apartment before the police arrived and took the image. If this is so then it may be logical to suppose that he or she was there when Dr. Callaghan was present." suggested Baymax.

"Any idea who posted this?" Hiro asked Fred.

"No, the original poster kept him or herself anonymous." Fred answered.

"Change in plans then guys… we're not going to go chasing straight after Callaghan. Someone went out of their way to give us this warning about Callaghan and… whatever the rest of that is. I'd rather play it safe than sorry."

"Agreed!" Wasabi chimed in quickly. Honey Lemon gave a serious nod while GoGo just continued to stare at screen.

Fred tapped his chin thoughtfully. "We should see about cracking the code behind this secret message to see if we can get any more information."

"We'll leave that to you then Fred." Hiro told him before turning to face the rest of the group. "The rest of us will stick to the plan except…"

"Yeah, no one goes after Callaghan if they see him." GoGo supplied. "We got that."

"At least not until we know why someone is obviously trying to warn us not to." added Honey Lemon.

"I for one would like to know who is sending us warnings." Wasabi pointed out as he rubbed his jaw tiredly. "Who and why?"

X X X

His hands were wrapped, white knuckled, around the work table. Even that wasn't enough to stop the shaking. The table was moving back and forth underneath his grip. He suddenly realized this and pulled his hands away from the table abruptly. He didn't want to risk damaging any of the delicate parts that sat on the surface.

No matter what he did, Callaghan couldn't banish the last image he had of Abigail from his mind. He saw her with her eyes wide with fear and pulling away from him. She'd never pulled away from him before and she'd definitely hadn't ever looked at him that way before either. He'd lost his temper. Callaghan had come close to kidnapping his own daughter. He hadn't even realized taking her against her will had been his intention until he'd returned back to the underground Hydra base. The revelation was threatening to drown him. Callaghan clutched the sides of his head, trying desperately to shake his shame and anger with himself. Abigail was his little girl. His only child. How could he even come so close to hurting her? He would have taken her had Tadashi not been there…

Tadashi had been there! In Abigail's apartment. How could that even be possible? Callaghan pressed his eyes shut but the livid, warning look on Tadashi Hamada's face didn't fade. He hadn't even seemed to recognize Callaghan. No. His former student definitely didn't seem to remember him otherwise Callaghan was certain that he would've had a lot more to say in Abigail's apartment.

"Well done Doc," snarled Agent Williams of Hydra. Callaghan snapped his head up and out of his hands to meet Williams's icy glare. Williams was standing just outside the door to the borrowed lab Callaghan was working out of. Williams stared him down. "I tell you to lay low for a day and what do you do? You go out and you try to kidnap your daughter. You could have ruined everything!"

Callaghan chose not to react. He was still too stunned to have much of a reaction. However, Williams didn't need a reason to continue. "After everything that Hydra has done for you... this is how you repay us? Nearly compromising the mission." Williams said coldly.

Callaghan choked back a wince. "You don't understand Williams." he muttered under his breath.

"You're right, I don't. Also, I really don't care." snorted Williams.

Callaghan's eyes narrowed as he shot the most withering glare he could manage at Williams. Unfortunately, the look was lost on Williams. Cold and detached from the world around him was Williams's typical modus operandi or so Callaghan was coming to understand. He wondered if there was really anything at all that Williams actually cared about. Callaghan grit his teeth and shook his head. "It wasn't just my daughter in her apartment..."

"You shouldn't have been there in the first place. I told you to stay put and to work on your half of the project." Williams cut him off, his voice reverting back to nonchalant and unaffected.

"There was a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent in her apartment." Callaghan pressed insistently.

"Of course S.H.I.E.L.D. is poking around. What did you expect?"

"The agent... I knew him... he's supposed to be dead." he murmured. Pain gripped him and his hands began shaking once more. Callaghan clutched the desk again so hard that the color bled out of his knuckles. He could feel Williams's eyes on him. "He was one of my students."

"Ahh... you saw the Scientist. Didn't you?" Williams said.

Callaghan shoved back the twist of pain that his mind sent shooting through his body. It might have been his imagination but he could've sworn that the wooden desk groaned in protest. "I saw a ghost." he growled.

Williams let out a short amused laugh. "No, no. He's no ghost. That's for certain. Hydra made sure of that."

Callaghan tore his eyes from his hands and stared in shock at Williams. "Hydra?" repeated Callaghan, nearly breathless.

"He was our last asset." shrugged Williams. Then a dark look came over his face. "Until he grew a back bone and a pair. Burned nearly a million dollars worth of research and equipment to cover an escape. Stupid and ungrateful."

"His name is Tadashi Hamada." Callaghan told him tersely.

"Was it? The poor sap didn't even remember his own name when he came to. We just called him the Scientist. The idiot Scientist. Still, he wasn't a complete waste of time and effort though. Those hive drones of his, they are quite remarkable."

"What exactly are you saying?" demanded Callaghan. "Did you... were you..."

"He didn't survive that fire by miraculous conventions if that's what you're wondering."

Callaghan narrowed his eyes. Pieces began to fit together in his mind like a puzzle. He'd always thought that night at the showcase had been too convient but he didn't think that he would ever have another chance. He hadn't even questioned it then. Now though... Williams and Hydra were way too organized and way too prepared. Williams had been too ready with his plan already set when he'd broken Callaghan out of jail. It was as though Callaghan had just been fitted into a place that had been cut out for him beforehand. No, maybe not for him. Just for a well educated roboticist. "Well planned is what I would call it."

"There was a bit of a hitch in that plan you see. We made due with what we could." Williams answered in a tone reminiscent of a handwave.

A cold weight settled into his stomach as the cryptic words registered in his mind. He looked down at the parts on the table. Bits and pieces of a larger device that was waiting to be assembled. He was waiting on just one more crucial thing before he finished putting it together. Callaghan had told Williams at the very beginning, after hearing the plan, that the entire idea lacked any finesse whatsoever. Williams had only snorted and reminded him of where all his "finesse" had gotten him last time. At the time Callaghan had let it go. Now, realizing just what exactly Hydra's connection to Tadashi Hamada was, unease was starting to roll through his nerves.

"Williams," Callaghan called without looking up. "What does Hydra get from all of this again? From me helping you?"

"Freedom from oppression and the understanding of the incredible." Williams answered. His voice was the same deflective and dismissive tone he'd used to describe the "Scientist's" arrival at Hydra.

"How precisely?" insisted Callaghan. He raised his head to look at Williams. There was an icy glint in Williams's eyes.

"Don't tell me you're losing your nerve over this." he sneered.

"Of course not." Callaghan snapped back.

The malevolent expression didn't leave Williams's face. "Good, because just remember... I will take those hive drones back and you'll just have to find some other way to fix the world like you want to do so badly, if you fail to hold up your end of the bargain. We got you out of prison, but don't think for a minute that we won't send you back. "

"I said I would." he said through clenched teeth.

"Then we're on the same page then still." Williams nodded. He turned back towards the door. "I'll leave you to your work. I've got to go prep my team for tomorrow evening. Goodnight Doc."

The door clicked shut. Callaghan released the desk again. His hands weren't shaking as badly as they had been as he let them fall to his sides. He watched the place where Williams had disappeared through while his mind jumped down many different avenues at once.

Chapter Text

"And that should do it buddy." Hiro said as he zipped the vinyl siding that hid Baymax's internal computer.

There was a whirring sound as Baymax's internal computers rebooted and analyzed the new programs that had been coded into his internal memory. Hiro pushed himself back in his chair and folded his arms behind his head as he waited, bouncing his wrench up and down.

"Updates complete." Baymax said as his eyes flashed green in coordination.

"Those new updates should fix a lot of the bugs you had in your coordination. Should make suturing and stitching easier for you." Hiro told him before adding under his breath, "And easier on the rest of us when we need to be patched up. How do you feel buddy?"

"I am a robot. I do not feel." Baymax reminded him. Hiro snorted and rolled his eyes. Of course. "However, under the circumstances I believe I can be certain that I will find these upgrades most beneficial and make me a better healthcare companion."

"Awesome," he smirked. He spun in his chair back to his computer.

"Has there been any progress on locating Dr. Callaghan?" inquired Baymax.

"No word from the others at Krei Tech, no hits on the website, and none of the sweeps have shown anything." Hiro answered with a sour voice. "And Vanellope Delle hasn't popped up either."

"Very little time has passed since Vanellope Delle first came." Baymax reminded him.

"I know, I know." sighed Hiro as he jiggled his computer mouse across the mouse pad. The screen lit up and the image that had been posted on the blog danced across his screen sans audio track. He hated waiting. Waiting sucked.

"Has an analysis of the image that was posted on the weblog revealed any useful data?"

"The monster that the mask is on top of the hydra. It's from Greek mythology. Why our mystery tipper chose it is beyond me. Fred swears there's a reason but I'm starting to agree with GoGo. It's probably just a random animation clip they found and used. Fred's still looking into it though." explained Hiro, "Other than that, no. There's absolutely nothing else to learn and our mystery tipper hasn't come out again."

"That is a very unsatisfactory result. It is no wonder that your neurotransmitters are lower than usual." Baymax pointed out. Then Baymax's hand appeared in front of him and Hiro found himself pinned forcibly to Baymax's chest. "It will be alright." Baymax reassured him as he repeatedly patted Hiro on the head in 'treatment.'

Hiro rolled his eyes. "Yeah, thanks buddy."

There was a knock on the lab's door. Hiro's eyebrow quirked up. It definitely wasn't any of his friends visiting him. They never knocked. Well, Honey Lemon did but it was always as she was walking in anyways. Maybe it was one of his professors. His midterm project report was coming up and he had been less than forthcoming with his notes. Mainly because he kept forgetting where he'd sat them down at. He winced. Yeah, it was definitely his robotics professor coming to make sure that there was actually some sort of project being worked on in the lab.

He bit back a groan as he looked up at the door. "Alright, I think it's about time for you to go back to your charging station Baymax." Hiro said as he began to shuffle papers from one end of his desk to the other. "I'm satisfied with my care."

"I will be ready should you need me." Baymax responded as he waddled over to his charging port. There was a hiss as he deflated and his metal skeleton collapsed on to itself. There was another knock on his lab door.

"Hold on! Hold on!" he called as he thumbed through some of the notebooks on his bookshelf. "Be right there. Yes! Here they are."

He scrambled to the door, project notes in his hand. Well, some of his project notes anyways. He slid the door open. "I know, I know Dr. Raymond. I've been promising you for weeks now but I swear I just…"

Hiro looked up from the notes. It wasn't his robotics professor at the door. Vanellope Delle, S.H.I.E.L.D. investigator, stood at the threshold with her hand still raised to knock. "Hiro Hamada?" she asked in confusion.

Her eyes scanned over him, most likely taking in how young he was. She turned her head to the side very briefly before shaking it off. Oh this was just perfect! "Uh, yeah. That would be me." he told her, plastering his most brilliant smile on his face. Time to turn on the charm. "Can I help you Miss…"

"Delle, Vanellope Delle." she told him not missing a beat. She held out a badge with her name on it. "I'm a consultant with the Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement, and Logistics Department."

"That's a mouthful." commented Hiro as he took her credentials and studied them for a moment. The stern picture of Delle seemed to match perfectly with the girl he'd seen at Krei Tech a few days prior. "You're nicer looking in person." he complimented her smoothly as he gestured to the picture on her credentials.

"That's why we just call it S.H.I.E.L.D." she informed him as he handed her back her badge. Wow, she just completely ignored his compliment. "I was hoping you had a few minutes to talk to me."

"Uh, sure. Why not?" he answered as he stepped aside from the door. All the better for him if Delle wanted to talk to him. Though he wasn't particularly sure what she wanted from him.

Delle entered his lab and nearly immediately tripped over a discarded tool. She stumbled but kept herself upright. "A bit disorganized I see." she told him as she surveyed his lab space disapprovingly.

Okay, yeah sure. Wasabi and Honey Lemon both had been urging him to clean up his lab lately. Well all the time really. Wasabi was particularly vocal about it and Honey Lemon just suggested that it might be easier for him to keep track of his notes if he didn't have papers lying all over the place. Fred didn't mind it though. GoGo just kind of rolled her eyes as she sidestepped his various tools on the floor. He laughed a little nervously as he rubbed the back of his neck. "Well, y'know how it is… Midterms are coming up and I've been kinda busy."

Delle's lips twitched in a small smile. "I can relate." she said with a small shrug.

She turned her back to him and walked further into his lab, continuing to take it in. Hiro took a breath through his nose before exhaling through his mouth. Softly he cracked his knuckles. It was go time! "Soo… what did you want to talk to me about?" he asked lazily as he shut the door to his lab with a light click.

"I was actually hoping that you could answer some questions about Dr. Robert Callaghan." Delle said as she turned to face him. She was holding a yellow legal paper pad in her hand with a ballpoint pen. It looked as though she already had several pages filled judging by the way she'd curled them over then end of the cardboard back.

Involuntarily, Hiro felt his jaw and throat tightened. It was an absolute struggle. In order to retain his 'secret identity,' he and the others had long ago decided that they knew nothing about Callaghan's villainous plot beyond what had been revealed on the news. In other words, when asked Hiro would get reasonably angry at the theft of his work and completely oblivious to the fact that Callaghan hadn't cared whether or not his brother had lived or died in the fire he set. It had been torturous to sit in the trial and listen to the defense swear up and down that Callaghan hadn't set the fire and that he hadn't known Tadashi had come in after him. Fury burned through him. Had he just said something, Callaghan would've been convicted for killing his brother too.

It suddenly occurred to Hiro that Delle was staring at him and he was in dangerous territory. He couldn't manipulate her into telling him anything about Callaghan like this. So instead he heaved a sigh. Delle took it as reluctance. "I understand that you might not want to. It was your work Dr. Callaghan stole and used for heinous purposes. I'm the last person who wants to dredge up old wounds but I promise you it's important."

Shock spread across his face. That was supposed to be sealed information. "I know that your name was redacted from the court files because of your age but some of the other students I talked to earlier today told me." Delle explained. "Please. Your help above all would be the most helpful."

"Anything I can do to help a lady such as yourself." he told her brightly, stomping down the bitterness in his throat.

Delle gave him a smile. He was so glad that he was a better actress than she was. His early years of conning back alley bot fighters was just a warm up for him. She had no idea just what Callaghan had stolen from him. Delle looked around her for somewhere to sit.

Hiro rushed to oblige her. He made a great show of scrambling to get one of his extra chairs cleaned off for her to sit. She thanked him as she sat down. If Delle wanted to talk about Callaghan then that might make his job a little easier. Though he was definitely going to tread carefully. Delle was way too sneaky to not be up to something.

As she settled into her chair, he leaned against his desk nonchalantly. Very subtly he pushed the sleeves of his hoodie up before crossing his arms over his chest. He was acutely aware of the fact that his muscular arms were on display for Delle's viewing pleasure. That was kind of the point though. Crime fighting had some perks and one of them was definitely biceps to make any girl go gaga. "So, how can I help?" he asked lightly with a bright smile.

Delle flipped to a blank page on her notepad, adjusting her glasses as she did so. If she had noticed his arms, she sure did a good job pretending she hadn't. Okay, no problem. Maybe she wasn't an arm kind of girl. He had a few more tricks up his sleeves. "I was hoping that you could tell me more about how you met Callaghan." she told him with genuine politeness that took him off guard.

"How I met Callaghan?" he repeated in confusion.

Delle nodded and put her pen to her paper. "Yes. He recruited you specifically didn't he?"

"Yeah, I guess so." Hiro shrugged. Well actually it had been Tadashi that had somehow managed to convince him that he absolutely had to go to SFIT. However, for the intent and purpose of this conversation, he'd stick to Callaghan. It would be easier to transition her that way.

"Did Callaghan offer to pair you up with any of his other students to mentor you or did you work on your microbots by yourself?"

"Nah, it was just my brother and some of his friends. Between all of us we managed to get the microbots fabricated before the SFIT showcase." he told her. He craned his neck to look at her paper. Delle had written something down on it but he couldn't quite make it out. Maybe if he moved closer he'd be able to make it out. It was time to deploy his next strategy anyways.

Hiro pushed himself away from his desk, grabbed his desk chair, pulled it close to Delle and sat down in front of her. Right in front of her. He leaned in close so that there was no way that she couldn't help but look at him if she happened to look away from her notepad. Her tiny notes on the pad read 'no Cross' and 'Robinson?' He had no idea what that meant. Delle looked up and he tore his eyes away quickly, flashing another dazzling smile. "Can't tell you just how many all-nighters I pulled just to make sure those little suckers were ready to go. Came out of my lab at home one night and my aunt just looked at me and said 'it's alive!'"

Hiro raised his hands and did his best impression of Dr. Frankenstein's shaky, maniacal voice. Delle's eyebrow quirked up. He'd meant to be funny. That joke made everyone laugh. Everyone! Even GoGo. Apparently not Vanellope Delle though. She was clearly unimpressed with his gameplay strategies. Hiro laughed it off nervously.

"What about after you presented them at the exhibition. I'm not science-y but judging on what some of the people who saw your microbots in action said to me, you were really excited about everything they could do. After that did Dr. Callaghan want you to keep working on them?"

"Yeah," nodded Hiro. He wasn't sure how he was going to turn this around to his advantage but he figured it was better to let her talk. If he let her ask her questions, Delle might perhaps slip into more relaxed conversation. "Alistair Krei wanted to buy them from me but Callaghan suggested that I keep developing them. Y'know make 'em better. Didn't want to see me sell out to Krei." he went on, making sure to keep his tone light and conversational and his eyes directly on Delle's. The smile on his face also never left.

Again, however, Delle seemed to notice none of the attention he was paying her. It was like he was flirting with a brick wall. Actually, a brick wall would've given him more of a response than she was.

"Must've been infuriating to see Callaghan with your microbots after he resurfaced again. All that pushing you to develop them and then he turned around and stole them. I can't imagine."

"More than," Hiro admitted cautiously. Bad territory. Very bad, dangerous territory. Hiro couldn't think about what Callaghan had told him when they'd discovered it was in fact Callaghan behind the kabuki mask. He'd lose it again.

"How long did it take you to start working on your microbots again? If you don't mind me asking."

Hiro shifted uncomfortably, "I never did."

"You stopped working on your microbots completely?" she asked in surprise. Her hand had been poised to write something on her notepad but instead she froze.

"Yeah. Couldn't stand to look at them after the fact so I decided to work on something much more meaningful." his voice was tinged with bitterness. There had been a few microbots left after the portal had collapsed but knowing that his creation had been what had caused so much damage, what Callaghan had given up his freedom and taking his brother's life for, the thought of touching the microbots was just too physically painful.

"Were you the only one?" Delle asked softly, kindly, as she tapped her pen against her chin thoughtfully. "Do you know if any other students of Dr. Callaghan's that stopped working on their projects after he was arrested? Perhaps because they were afraid that he might have stolen their work too and used it for something so despicable? The fear alone would be enough to put anyone off but add on top of the fact that Callaghan mentored so many of them..." Delle's sentiment hung in the air unfinished as though she were still trying to find the word to describe what she meant. She shook her head in disbelief. "The sense of betrayal, do you know anyone that it could've been overbearing for?"

"A lot of people took Callaghan's actions hard. He was... is brilliant. He inspired so many people here. I don't think anyone really broke off what they were working on though."

"It was just you then?" Delle's voice was hesitant. Absentmindedly almost, she scribbled something down on her notepad.

Hiro decided it was time to turn the tables then. Delle seemed distracted enough. Maybe, just maybe, that would be enough to get the information he wanted. "Do you really think it's possible that one of Callaghan's former students is helping him?" he asked innocently.

Was someone, one of his former students, helping him out? Suddenly he realized that in order for Callaghan to disappear into thin air, there had to be someone helping him. GoGo had also said something about someone helping Callaghan escape prison. He was running down a list of people who could be helping Callaghan in his mind.

"Maybe... we never rule out options until we're certain." Delle said. Her voice was distant though and her eyes really seemed as though she were looking through him rather than at him. It was pretty clear she was thinking about something else entirely. Then, like lightning, whatever had distracted her a moment before passed. Once more Delle scribbled something illegible down on her notepad, eyes burning as she did so. "Is there anyone you think would help Dr. Callaghan after what he did?"

Hiro paused. On his mental list there was no one that really stuck out as a possible accomplice. Not a single person. Sure, before the trial Callaghan had had some supporters among his students. However, even the ones who'd been so steadfast in showing their support to Callaghan had been disgusted with him once word got out about him starting the fire that had killed Tadashi. No one had wanted to be associated with Callaghan after that. Hiro shook his head. "Drawing blanks, sorry."

"I didn't think the list would be very long. It's probably easier to list those who felt particularly betrayed." Delle commented with a little nod. Her pen was poised to write.

Hiro nodded, "Yeah, that list would be a bit longer. Most people managed to move on eventually though."

"Most of them?" Delle questioned, picking up on his wording. Hiro shrugged. Delle tapped her pen against her chin for a moment, like she was debating on saying something. She didn't though. She let his words go without pressing him. However, he saw her jot something down on her notepad. "Let's get back to Callaghan."

Yes! That was a great idea. He was gathering steam. He just knew it! "You know!" Hiro exclaimed suddenly. "I think it's really weird. Callaghan, California's first convicted Supervillain, escapes from supermaximum security prison, and comes back to his old stomping grounds, and launches an attack on a luxury apartment building, and then disappears into thin air? Like... how is that even possible?"

The words rushed out in a tumble. He'd spoken so fast and without even fully thinking them out that they'd all run together. He should've at least stopped to think about what he was going to say. This was important after all. It warranted a little more forethought. However, the rush of inspiration had struck him so abruptly that he hadn't bothered. Delle sat blinking, mouth hanging open in astonishment, at him in a way that he was certain meant that she hadn't caught a single solitary word he'd said. He smiled sheepishly and started to repeat himself, much slower this time. Delle held her hand up and shook her head. "I understood you the first time. I, uh, I actually have a friend who does the same exact thing so I'm used to it I guess." Delle scanned him up and down with a slightly confused look, the same one she'd worn briefly when introducing herself to him.

"I mean, you'd think that someone like Callaghan wouldn't be able to go invisible or something. Shouldn't that be impossible? Someone has to have seen him since yesterday. Right?" he asked her. His grin was fully plastered on his face but his words were definitely more calculated this time. Pointed and sharp, probing for the answer he so desperately wanted Delle to give him. Where was Callaghan?

Delle's eyebrows furrowed as she started to form her answer. Yes! He was getting where he needed to be now. This was perfect! He was on the edge of his seat in anticipation. Delle was about to... there was a knock on the door of his lab. "Mr. Hamada," called the voice of one of his professors.

Hiro and Delle both jumped a little in their seats. He muttered a Japanese curse word, one he'd picked up from an unsuspecting Tadashi, and rose out of his chair. At the door was a very unimpressed Dr. Raymond. "Mr. Hamada, were you aware that you promised to give me your notes by the end of my office hours today?" he asked him archly.

"Uh," stammered Hiro. Of course he'd been aware. He'd made the promise. He was pretty certain that... oh wow! Hiro looked back from his clock to his professor, laughing nervously. "Look at that, it's a little after five."

Dr. Raymond said nothing, clearly less than thrilled with him. Hiro winced. "I have my notes around here somewhere. I swear. I had them in my hand a little while ago. Just hold on a minute."

Hiro twisted about, eyes scanning the room. He couldn't remember what he'd done with his notes after he let Delle into his lab. Shoot! This was just great! Damn! And he'd been getting somewhere with Delle too. How was he supposed to get back the momentum he had?

"Here," Delle said suddenly as she rose out of her chair. She crossed the room to his desk, the one he'd leaned against when he was trying to make her go googly eyed over his arms. "These are some of them right? You put them down here after you realized that I wasn't your professor." she told him, holding up the few sheets of notes that he'd had. Then she made a face, "Um, do you realize that you're missing a few pages here? Judging by the way that..."

"Doesn't matter." Hiro said as he rushed to her side and took them from her hand. However, he was acutely aware of the fact that she was still thumbing through papers on his desk as he turned away from her. Had it been any other time, he'd have been more than a little irritated that a stranger was going through his notes but at the moment he was too busy to really worry about it. Hiro handed the professor the notes that he'd managed to collect. "Here, I hope this works for you Dr. Raymond." he said apologetically.

Dr. Raymond took one look at his notes and obviously came to the same conclusion that Delle had. "For now it will Hiro, but I expect the rest of them on my desk tomorrow morning." Dr. Raymond told him seriously.

Really? He was trying to catch an escaped Supervillain and Dr. Raymond was interfering in his investigation, and he wanted to know where his notes were? Come on! Give him a break. Hiro flashed his biggest smile that basically said, 'whatever you say sir.' Dr. Raymond turned and left. He slid the door shut with a heavy sigh. Back to work. "Sorry about that." he told Delle with a light laugh. He had to set the mood back to what it had been before. "Midterms are coming up and everything seems to be due at once y'know."

Then he stopped suddenly. Delle was still standing at his desk, it looked like she'd even found a few more pages of his notes, but she seemed to be frozen in shock. Her eyes were locked directly on the group photo above his desk. The one that GoGo had given him. Without so much as asking him permission, Delle took it off the shelf and stared at it with astonishment. "What..." Hiro started to ask, anger starting to creep into his voice.

Delle suddenly looked up and straight at him. "Who is this? In the back of this picture? The one with the ball cap?" she asked him. Her voice was tight and unreadable. It was almost like she was turning into the same person he'd overheard yesterday on the phone. But not quite.

Hiro knew exactly who she was talking about. "That's my brother, Tadashi." he answered slowly and very, very cautiously. This was the very definition of dangerous territory for him.

Delle didn't say anything which kind of weirded him out. The level of distraction she'd shown earlier was nothing compared to this. He watched her stare at the photo for nearly a solid minute before the deafening silence became too much for him. "His name was Tadashi Hamada. He was a robotics engineering student here. He died a few years ago." he said quickly just to fill the oppressive silence that had settled over the lab.

"How?" asked Delle quietly. Hiro froze. There it was. The dangerous territory. He wracked his brain for something to say. He should say something. Something that would put Delle off from the particular course of conversation. End the road they were going down. He should just walk up to her, take the picture from her hands, and tell her that it happened awhile ago. Close the issue without even broaching it. However, she looked up at him and there was something in her eyes that was pleading. Just like that he couldn't stop the words from coming.

"There was a fire. He ran inside because Callaghan was still in there."

Delle's mouth dropped. A realization dawned across her face. He could literally see the gears turning in his head.

"He was the student who died when Dr. Callaghan stole your microbots. The one they couldn't pin on Callaghan because there wasn't enough proof that Callaghan set the fire." her eyes went wide as her voice filled with absolute horror. "The Hamada Memorial Building is named after him! He's your brother and... oh my God. I'm such an idiot! I'm so sorry. I wouldn't have..."

She dropped off. She mumbled something under her breath and shook her head in disbelief. Hiro cocked his head to the side and gave her a curious, skeptical look. "They didn't tell you? The graduate students you talked to I mean."

"No. What they told me about your work being stolen is confidential but the fire, losing your brother… They must have thought that I already knew because it's common knowledge here." Delle shook her head. She looked up at him apologetically. "I'm sorry. Had I known I... I should have been more sensitive. There's a lot of things that still aren't well known about the case because of how the records are sealed and…"

"It's alright." he told her, rubbing the back of his neck. The slight action made Delle lose her focus again. She was looking at him but it was as though she wasn't really seeing him. He shifted uncomfortably. This was just getting weird. "What?"

"Nothing, nothing. It's just… it can't..." Delle started but then broke off again. She looked back down at the picture in her hand. She brushed her fingertips over the glass of the frame. "Chiune..." she mumbled under her breath.

Then she looked up at him again. "I'm really sorry but do you mind if I make a phone call really quick? It's important."

"Yeah, sure. Not a problem." Hiro nodded. He was feeling more uncomfortable by the minute with the way she kept looking at him and then back at the picture.

"I'll be right back I promise." she told him as she handed him the picture. Hiro went to take it from her. As his hands closed around the frame, Delle's eyes went sharp again. She looked at him and for the first time he got the feeling that she was truly seeing him. Not in the 'he's extremely hot' kind of way he'd been shooting for earlier to get her to answer his question though. No, it was as though she were slowly putting something together in her mind. Delle released the picture and gave him a little smile. "I'll be right back. Just give me a minute." she told him before disappearing out through the door.

He listened for her heels down the hallway before letting out a groan of pent up frustration. Then he set his face in determination. Vanellope Delle would tell him everything she knew about Callaghan when she came back he decided as he drove his fist into his palm. He reached for his phone and dialed the first number on his recent call log. Incidentally it happened to be Wasabi's number. "Hey Hiro, what is it?" Wasabi asked.

"I've got Vanellope Delle in my lab. I need you and the others to get suited up and over here as fast as possible because as soon as I get what she knows about Callaghan out of her, we're making a game plan." Hiro explained quickly.

"Wait? What?" Wasabi questioned in absolute confusion. "Hiro are you sure this is a good idea?"

"Absolutely." he said with conviction. "See you soon!"

With that he hung up his phone and turned towards his desk. He had only a few more minutes to come up with a fool proof plan to get Delle to tell him what she knew about Callaghan's whereabouts and activities. He cast a glance at the photo, seeking out his brother's face, and smirked. He could do this. He was Hiro Hamada, leader of Big Hero 6 and robotics genius.

X X X

He couldn't do this. Chiune had been staring at the scientific journal articles all day and he'd yet to find a single thing. He felt like he was beating his head against a brick wall trying to find something that resembled the stolen work he'd found among Callaghan's research. Actually, that wasn't true. A brick wall would have given him more than this. It was way too frustrating. He scrubbed his face with his hand to try and push some of the exhaustion away. What he really needed is some coffee, like Abigail had brought him the day before in her apartment. At the San Fransokyo Public Library, he doubted that he'd get so lucky. He had to get through these articles though. Hydra was closing in on Big Hero 6. If he stopped now before he might miss that one article that could help him find the Superheroes before Hydra did.

He raked his hand through his hair and clicked on the link to the next article. Then his phone rang. Well, in reality it buzzed against his hip seeing as how he had it on vibrate. He pulled it out, surreptitiously looking around to make sure no one would throw him dirty looks for answering his phone. "Please tell me that you've had better luck at SFIT than I have here." he told Vera with a barely contained groan.

"Tadashi Hamada…" Vera's voice was soft, hesitant. He went rigid in his seat, hand curling tightly around his phone. He could feel his heart speed up. That was not a tone he liked hearing out of Vera. Very rarely did it herald anything good and it scared him to death.

"Vera, what's wrong?" he asked her, not caring if he was talking too loud.

"Does the name Tadashi Hamada mean anything to you?" Vera asked him. Her voice started to even out.

He shook his head, "No sorry. What's going on? Is he a member of Big Hero 6 or something? Did you find them? Please tell me you have some sort of lead."

Vera was quiet on her end of the line for a moment. He had to check and make sure that his phone hadn't actually dropped the call. Finally, very stiffly, Vera replied, "How fast can you get to SFIT? I… I have something that you need to see."

"Vera, what's this about?" he repeated in confusion. He massaged the bridge of his nose. It wasn't like Vera to be so hesitant.

"Can you just come please? It's important."

Her voice was heavy and serious. He didn't even think twice as he closed out of the article he'd pulled out up on the library's computer. He grabbed his blazer from the back of his chair. "I'm on my way. I'll be there in twenty." he promised her as he made his way outside to hail a cab.

Chapter Text

God bless us everyone;

We're a broken people living 'neath a loaded gun.

And it can't be outfought, it can't outdone;

It can't be outmatched, it can't be outrun.

Catalyst- Linkin Park

"You are going to look Delle straight in the eyes when she walks back in here. You are going to smile at her and tell her the last place Callaghan was seen at was his daughter's apartment before going completely invisible. You are going to tell her that you want to know where he's disappeared to and how. You will start off subtle and grow more aggressive about getting your answers."

Hiro looked up from his computer desk. Confidence surged through him as he talked himself through his plan. He hoped it wouldn't come down to him having to reveal his secret identity as the leader of Big Hero 6 but if he needed to then God knew he would. The others might not be thrilled with him but they would understand. It was Callaghan they were talking about.

Delled didn't knock this time as she came back into his lab, "Sorry about that."

Hiro turned to face her. He had a winning smile on his face as he watched Delle close the door after herself. Look her in the eye. Get her back to talking about Callaghan. "I forgot to check in on a friend." Delle explained. For some reason she looked incredibly happy.

Ask her where S.H.I.E.L.D. thinks Callaghan is. Make her tell him everything she knows. Don't take no for an answer. "That's alright." he told her.

"He…"

Whatever Delle had been about to say was replaced by a high pitched, surprised shriek. The tool that she'd nearly tripped over the first time caught her the second time around. She tumbled to the ground and hit with a hard 'thud,' her ankle twisting out to the side awkwardly. Delle let loose a pretty impressive string of curse words as she hissed in pain. Slowly she sat up and massaged her ankle. Hiro was at her side in moments, bending down to her level.

"Are you okay?" he asked. However, before the words were fully out of his mouth there was the sound of a familiar beep from the corner of his lab and the sound of inflating vinyl. Delle's head snapped up immediately.

"Greetings. I am Baymax, your personal healthcare companion. I was alerted to your need for assistance when you said several curse words and exhaled sharply." Baymax said with a wave.

Delle's eyes went wide and her mouth hung open in shock. "Personal healthcare companion? Did I hear that right?" she asked Hiro.

Hiro stifled a groan. This was going to make things difficult. It wasn't like he could start interrogating her with Baymax hovering over her and offering her lollipops. "Yeah," Hiro answered, drawing the word out.

"Oh holy shit." Delle breathed as she continued to stare in mystification at Baymax. Then under her breath she muttered, "I friggin' knew it!"

"You've fallen." Baymax informed her.

"What was your first clue." Delle said, rolling her eyes. He shot her a harsh glare. That was his brother's pride and joy she was dissing. Notwithstanding the fact that something similar had happened to him in one of his earlier encounters with Baymax.

Baymax was unperturbed by Delle. His pain index scale appeared on his chest. "On a scale of one to ten, how do you rate your pain?"

"N...none, zero. I'm fine thanks." stammered Delle.

"I will scan you for injuries now."

"That really isn't nec… oh, okay." she started to protest, hand up in the air. However, she gave up when she saw Baymax's scan light flash. Protesting was futile.

"Scan complete."

Delle made a face at Hiro, "Can you tell your robot that he can disengage or something? Whatever it is you tell him that makes him stop?"

"Yeah, good luck with that." he sighed.

"You have twisted your ankle which has aggravated a previous injury sustained approximately a year ago to the same area. There is also a contusion on your left wrist with minor swelling."

Delle looked at her wrist. Her mouth made a little 'o' as if she hadn't even realized that there was actually a bruise there. Now that Hiro looked closer, there was no way she could've possibly missed it. It was rather large even hidden underneath her mother of pearl bracelet. It was also on the same wrist that he had noticed her twisting said bracelet on the day before. She clasped her wrist to her chest in surprise.

"Recommended treatment: ice the affected areas. Shall I administer treatment?" continued Baymax.

"Sure... I guess?" Delle answered hesitantly.

"Hiro will you please help the patient to a chair?" Baymax asked him.

"That isn't…" Delle said quickly. "I can walk."

"That would be unwise as it would risk further aggravating your ankle." Baymax informed her matter of factly.

Delle raised her eyebrow in irritation. "I once ran on this ankle when it was broken. I think I can manage walking on it when it's twisted." she told Baymax primly.

"Don't try arguing with him. It doesn't work." Hiro explained as he shook his head.

To his surprise, Delle's lip curled upwards in a dry smile. "I have a friend who's the same way."

Hiro offered Delle his hand. She took it and he hauled her to her feet, carefully ensuring that she was leaning her weight against him and not on her injured ankle. He managed to get her back to her chair without incident. Baymax huddled closer. Delle shot him a wary look. "He isn't actually going to, like, make ice come out his hand is he?"

"Just watch." Hiro told her. There was a whir from one of Baymax's internal motors as he held out his hand to Delle. She flinched slightly but allowed Baymax to put his hand on her ankle. "There are pumps in his hand that move cooled water through the digits that serve as a cooling pack." he explained.

"What else does he do? Fly?" asked Delle in a slightly amused tone. He shot her a bemused look. She really had no idea. "Is this the project you gave up for your microbots?"

"Yep," he nodded. He started to form his question about Callaghan but Delle cut him off.

"Personal healthcare companion, way different from something that was used as a weapon."

"My brother built him." he explained. He'd meant to say it casually and brush it off as no big deal but the pride in his brother seeped into his words. Delle ran her eyes over Baymax in obvious appreciation. There was a small smile on her face.

"You followed in your brother's footsteps didn't you. You're studying to be a robotics engineer too."

"Uh, yeah." he replied unsure of what she was trying to get at.

"And you built your microbots at fourteen right? Now you're, what? Seventeen I guess?" she said without taking her eyes off of Baymax. Hiro just nodded. "Impressive for someone your age."

"Uh, thanks." he said with a shrug. "Listen about Callaghan…"

Hiro tried to get back to the flow that he'd had before his professor interrupted them. However, it appeared that it really wasn't his day. There was a loud bang from outside the hallway. Delle looked up at the sound of it, eyebrow raised and instantly on alert. It wasn't untypical to hear banging in the lab. Several loud noises happened to be of his own making. It was just something that kind of happened in a science laboratory. Chemists were frequently blowing something up and some of the engineering students were really uncoordinated, dropping all sorts of metal parts on the ground. It was just typically one loud bang and maybe some cursing or sirens sometimes. What made him raise his own eyebrow was the second, third, and fourth bangs that followed the first. "Is that normal?" Delle asked.

"It's midterms. I'm sure someone's just knee deep in their project." Hiro explained. As if on cue, there was another loud crash followed by a muffled yell. Hiro frowned. "I better go check on whoever it is really quick."

Hiro started for the door.

Crash!

The door slid open so hard that the glass in it shattered and rained down on the floor. Hiro jumped back in shock and the chair Delle had been sitting in flew backwards as she jumped up. For a split moment, Hiro only saw the gun that was pointed into his lab and the tensed finger around the trigger. The gun went off with a resounding bang, ricocheting through his eardrums like thunder. There was a loud pop and almost instantly there was the sound air rushing out from a confined source mixing with a high pitched mechanical whine as something computerized failed.

Hiro lowered his arms, he hadn't realized that he'd raised them to protect himself, and turned to face the sound. His eyes went wide with horror. "Baymax!" he screamed.

It looked as though Delle had tried to catch him as he'd fallen backwards but had quickly become overwhelmed by all the vinyl and metal skeleton. She was sagging under the awkward bulk. Rage poured through him making his hands shake. He whipped around, venom on the tip of his tongue, to see who dared to pull a gun on Baymax. What he saw was enough to make him nearly swallow his tongue.

Wasabi, Honey Lemon, GoGo, and Fred were standing in the hallway and suited up just as he'd asked them to come. However, each and everyone of them had their hands on their heads with varying expressions of anger, fear, and nerves dancing across them. Not that Hiro could blame them. Not when there were four men standing behind them with guns trained on their heads.

There were five of them in total. The four behind his friends and the one still holding the smoking gun. The four men were wearing military fatigues with some sort of strange octopus looking symbol embroidered on their chests. They were wearing hats and scarves pulled up over their noses and mouths to conceal their identities. The man leading the assault didn't seem to have the same worry. He was tall with dark hair and eyes and wearing a sharp suit.

"If you don't want to end up with a hole in yourself like your robot," grinned the man who'd shot Baymax, "I suggest that you put your hands on top of your head Mr. Hamada."

"Williams…" breathed Delle. There was a dull thud as she let go of Baymax's deflated form. Once more anger roiled in his chest. Apparently Delle knew this Williams person and this Williams guy had just shot Baymax. As if he really needed another reason to not like her. Damn! "Do as he says." she whispered.

Hiro turned to tell her exactly what she could do and where she could take herself. Then he saw her face. She had gone as pale as a sheet and she was staring wide eyed at Williams. He was also deadly certain that her hands were shaking as she raised them into the air. That was the Delle he'd seen and overheard the day before. She may have known Williams but she definitely didn't seem to be working with him. Hiro grit his teeth together hard and slowly raised his hands into the air.

"So good to see that you have some common sense." sneered Williams. "The rest of your team here thought they could fight us. Didn't work out so well for them."

Williams waved a hand behind him at the others. GoGo audibly growled and earned herself a warning glare from both Wasabi and Honey Lemon. It was kind of a toss up as to who looked like they wanted to puke more, Wasabi or Honey Lemon. Fred was busy staring at the armed men around him, probably concocting half a dozen theories as to who these guys were exactly. "Now, if you'd be so kind as to invite us in." Williams directed him, taking a moment to point the gun at him.

"Sure, why not. I love having visitors. Come on in. I think I have some tea I can brew up." spat Hiro. He stepped back and came to stand beside Delle. Williams took a step into the room. As Wasabi, Honey Lemon, GoGo, and Fred were all forced into the room by the men behind them, Williams eyes landed directly on Delle. A sick smile spread across his lips and Delle went completely rigid.

"Well, well. We meet again Agent. I'm sorry, I forgot your name. What was it again?" Williams asked Delle. She didn't respond. In fact, she was clenching her jaw so tight he could see the muscles and tendons straining under her chin. Delle also seemed to be looking through Williams and not at him. Williams snorted, "Just as talkative as the last time I see. All of you stand over there."

Williams jerked a nod at the opposite corner of Hiro's lab. Stiffly, with their hands still on their heads, they walked to where they'd been directed to. Hiro forced himself to swallow the lump in his throat. None of them had their weapons. Nope, the men who were holding guns on them had them all in their hands. As his friends lined up against the wall the armed men dumped the weapons in the corner farthest away. This wasn't looking good at all. Alright, alright! Just calm down and think! There had to be a way to turn this around to their favor. Too bad Hiro couldn't see it yet.

"What the Hell is going on?" GoGo finally exploded. "Who the Hell are you?"

"Secret evil organization bent on world domination." Fred answered sagely. Seriously, it was scary sometimes just how calm and collected he could be.

"Secret, yes. Evil, no. I'm Agent Williams from Hydra. We have a proposition for you Mr. Hamada as well as your friends." Williams said. It was also scary sometimes how Fred seemed to right about these sort of things.

Williams finally tore his eyes away from Delle and looked at him. Hiro shot her a worried look out of the corner of his eye. She seemed to have stopped breathing. "Not so sure I want to be associated with anyone who holds guns against my friends and shoots my robot. Which, by the way, I really don't appreciate. I just finished upgrading him so thanks for that."

"My sincerest apologies." said Williams sounding decidedly insincere. "Now about that proposal…"

"Take it and go to Hell." hissed Delle. Her hands were still raised and shaking. There was still no color to her face. Her voice was even trembling a little. The conviction, the hatred, in it though. Man! That was something else.

"Oh! You do still speak." Williams laughed.

"He's a child." Delle growled. Hiro opened his mouth to tell her that he was not, in fact, a child. Delle didn't give him a chance to. "He's not even a metahuman. None of them are."

"But they're all damn good scientists. Your microbots in particular." Williams started speaking to him once again. "Now those were something special. We were wondering if you'd be interested in furthering the technology. We've had some of our own scientists put their own spin on it. We'd love for you to come down and see what we've done. Maybe give us a few pointers and work out some bugs together?"

"This does not sound like a good idea." Wasabi called from the corner. Williams snapped his gaze in Wasabi's direction and immediately Wasabi winced. "Well it doesn't." he muttered under his breath.

"I kinda have to agree with my buddy over there so I'll have to pass on your very generous offer." Hiro told Williams through a smile that wasn't in any way, shape, or form friendly.

"Unfortunately Mr. Hamada, that wasn't so much of a suggestion as it was me telling you what you will be doing. Otherwise, the consequences for you and your friends will not be pleasant. I'm sure the S.H.I.E.L.D. agent over there could tell you in detail what happens to those who are too resistant to Hydra's requests." Williams answered with the same kind of smile.

"You really don't make a convincing argument. Wielding guns, backing my friends into a corner, pumping my robot full of lead. Not very persuasive. Sorry." Hiro growled. He sent a very pointed look at Baymax on the ground at Vera's feet.

"On the contrary, I find it the most persuasive of all measures." Williams's smirk didn't fade from his lips.

"We aren't coming with you." Hiro said firmly with the confidence that he gained after three years of crime fighting.

"You seem to think that you have a choice Mr. Hamada." Williams said again derisively.

Something spiteful sat on the tip of his tongue. His eyes flashed over the men in the room. There were five of them in total. Six now, actually. Another one had slipped into the lab quietly and was standing behind the other four uniformed men. One for each of them. That is if Delle could even fight and going by the look on her face, there wasn't a high likelihood of that being a possibility. She really didn't look so good. Their weapons were in the corner and he was the closest to them. Maybe, if he was quick enough, he could get to them. A well placed elbow to Williams side might take him off guard and give Hiro a chance. Williams seemed to be oblivious at the moment. All it would take is a quick sudden movement. He smirked back, his weight shifting from foot to foot.

"Hiro," Honey Lemon called anxiously through clenched teeth. He looked over at his friends. Williams might not have known what was going through his head but it was obvious to every single one of his friends knew exactly what he was thinking. Hiro flashed them a grin to try and reassure them. Wasabi mouthed 'no' as Honey Lemon, GoGo, and Fred shook their heads in a subtle way.

"What are you going to do? Fight us? Your friends could tell you just how well that worked out for them. As for you Miss Agent," Williams said as he turned to Delle, "You have one way to leave this room alive. Where's the Scientist?"

Horror washed over him. Williams couldn't be serious! Yet, he didn't doubt it for a moment. The look on Williams face was dead serious. He looked between Williams and Delle. Hiro had no clue what Vanellope Delle had done to earn the ire of Hydra but he highly doubted that it was bad enough to warrant Williams killing her.

A muscle in Delle's jaw twitched. Hiro didn't think she was going to answer. "I… I don't know what you're talking about." whispered Delle.

"Well that's a surprise." Williams said sarcastically. "I haven't heard that out of you before. Just shoot her and put her out of her misery."

The guard the farthest back started to move. "Wait!" Hiro called, raising his hand towards Williams. "If you want us to even consider coming with you, you don't lay a hand on her."

Williams turned to look at him with an ugly sneer on his face. He raised his gun at Hiro. "Again, you seem to think you are in the position of bargaining with us. That isn't the case."

Hiro grit his teeth. As if Williams needed to give him another reason not to like these Hydra people. He wasn't the only one. From the corner of his eye he saw Fred slowly start nodding in silent support. GoGo followed with Honey Lemon quickly agreeing as well. Wasabi gave him one curt nod. He clenched his hands into fists. They would have one shot at this or…

There was a scraping sound and an ungodly scream rang through the lab as a barefoot Delle flung herself at Williams. So much for not aggravating her ankle any further.

X X X

How fast can you get to SFIT? I have something that you need to see. Vera's words made something twist his gut into a tight knot. He really hoped Vera had had better luck than he. They were running out of time to find Big Hero 6. Chiune had no clue what it was that Vera needed him to see. He didn't doubt that it was important though. Very rarely did Vera ever pull him away from something that he was doing on a whim. Tadashi Hamada? Who was he and why exactly had Vera asked him if the name was familiar? Maybe Vera had found a lead on Big Hero 6 connected to Tadashi and wanted to know if he'd come across the name in his own research. He rubbed the back of his neck and sighed.

The cab he was in turned down the street and the San Fransokyo Institute of Technology came into view. The beautiful glass and metal building was still dimly lit in the darkening evening light. A pang of jealousy ran through him. There was something about SFIT that made him breathless. It was like a dream come true. Only, he'd never envisioned a mad search for a Superhero team and a group of bloodthirsty mad men pursuing them in his dream of visiting SFIT. "Here's fine." he told the driver as the cab pulled up to the sidewalk in front of the building.

He passed the driver some cash and hopped out of the cab. As he slammed the door after him, he noticed there was someone hanging around the building's front door. His heart stuttered to a stop and nausea rose in his throat. The cab driver pulled away from the sidewalk and drove away, quite clearly not seeing the man in military fatigues and an assault rifle in his hands. What really freaked him out though was the insignia on the man's arm. The man was Hydra and he and Vera were too late.

That's when he realized another crucial thing. Vera was supposed to be inside the Institute… with Hydra. Chiune let loose a Japanese curse under his breath. He had to get in there and find Vera. There wasn't a shadow of a doubt in his mind about what would happen to her if Hydra found her. When they found her. If they hadn't found her already. She was a dead girl. He couldn't let that happen.

He gave one hard look at the lone Hydra footsoldier. A lump formed his throat. "I am going to get shot." he muttered to himself as he strode towards the footsoldier without giving any second thoughts.

"Campus is closed." the footsoldier called to him as he approached. He ignored him, keeping his face as neutral as possible, and kept coming. The footsoldier twisted the gun he was holding for emphasis. That would've been enough to keep others dissuaded from coming any closer. Assault rifle toting pedestrians in military fatigues definitely didn't give off a 'come over for a casual chat' vibe. Not that Chiune particularly cared. He'd gotten too close to the guy to back down. "Hey! Did you hear me?" the footsoldier demanded.

Chiune balled his hand into a fist. Without breaking stride, he sent his fist into the footsoldier's face. The other man yelled in pain and completely taken off guard. He launched a hard, heavy strike to the neck with his forearm. The footsoldier crumpled to the ground with nothing more than a weak groan. "And just so you know, yeah, I did hear you." he mumbled in response as he bent down to look at the footsoldier.

The footsoldier was out cold though. The guy was probably just one of God only knew how many Hydra men that were present. There was no way that he was going to be able to pull the same stunt again. He had to find a way to get in, get to Vera, and get out without being noticed. His glance flashed down to the unconscious footsoldier. "I am so definitely going to get shot." he grumbled under his breath as he massaged the bridge of his nose momentarily. "I really hope you're wearing something underneath this buddy."

Within a few minutes, he'd stripped the footsoldier of his fatigues and had thrown them over his own clothes. Thank heavens that the guy was, indeed, wearing something under the fatigues. The jacket was definitely too big but at least the pants didn't sag on his waist. He pulled the scarf that the footsoldier had been wearing over his nose and mouth and the hat down low to hide his eyes. At least they won't be able to tell that I'm not one of them. The thought crossed his mind as he shoved his Yankees cap in one of the pant's many pockets for safekeeping and tucked his messenger bag into one of the inside pockets. He just hoped that no one from the Hydra strike team recognized him as "the Scientist." Grabbing the footsoldier's assault rifle to complete the disguise, he ran into the building. His heart pounding with each step he took.

At first glance there didn't seem to be anything wrong in the building. However, as he quietly snuck down the halls and past the numerous labs, it became quite clear that something wasn't right. The hallways were littered with papers and there were a few picture frames on the ground. Judging by the glass in the frames was broken, some hadn't just taken them off the wall. There had been a fight. About the only thing that kept him from completely freaking out was the fact that there was conspicuously no blood. Of course, he had to shove away the fact that there were ways to kill and maim without leaving blood. Where were all the students though? It was midterms. He'd have thought the SFIT labs would be chock full of students working on projects. Someone should've heard the struggle, yet it was way too quiet. On impulse he cracked open a random lab's door. A faint, lingering odor touched his nose and made him want to sneeze. The student who was utilizing the space was on the ground, unconscious. And that would be why no one heard the struggle, he realized.

He swallowed the lump in his throat and closed the lab's door softly before continuing down the hall, following the light trail of destruction. Somehow, someway, Hydra had managed to knock any and all witnesses out. This really didn't bode well. For a split second he wondered if he should've called Director Coulson but then shook his head. There was nothing that Coulson could've done at the moment. Then he heard muffled voices coming from a lab further down the hall. He hurried towards it.

"I'm sure the S.H.I.E.L.D. agent here could elaborate on some of the consequences Mr. Hamada." a painfully familiar voice said from inside the room. His blood ran cold.

"Williams..." he breathed in horror. The door to the lab was still open, mainly because someone had busted the glass straight out of it. Several tools, papers, textbooks, and other various equipment littered the floor along with the shards of glass that had come from the door. Sure enough, Williams stood in the lab with his gun raised and aimed at a boy probably no older than seventeen. The boy's cocky, gap toothed grin was venomous and not at all afraid even though his hands were up in the air. He wondered if this was the Tadashi Hamada that Vera had asked him about. Now that he saw the kid there was something strangely familiar about him. It was almost painful just how familiar the kid was.

Vera stood beside him and looked catatonic. Her hands were in the air but her entire body was rigid like stone. Her eyes were dead and her face drawn and pale. He bit back a curse as he slid silently into the room behind the four footsoldiers behind Williams. She was literally too paralyzed to do anything. At least she seemed to have found Big Hero 6.

Four of the team members stood against the back corner in their suits and masks. He noticed, however, that their weapons were directly behind him. None of them looked terribly happy though with their teeth grit tightly together and their hands on top of their heads. The boy gave a snort. He shook his head, making his unruly black hair fly all over the place. "You really don't make a convincing argument. Wielding guns, backing my friends into a corner, pumping my robot full of lead. Not very persuasive. Sorry." he growled.

Chiune looked to the side of Vera. There was a massive puddle of white vinyl and metal skeleton beside her. He winced. That was probably the robot member of Big Hero 6 and they probably weren't going to get any help from it. "On the contrary, I find it the most persuasive of all measures."

He cast another sideways glance at the weapons. If he could just cause a big enough distraction, maybe the Superheroes could use it to get to their weapons. Williams wasn't even paying attention to what was going on behind him. All he needed to do was just kick one of the other footsoldiers in the leg or something. That would split Williams attention pretty well. Of course it was probably going to get him shot but he'd already come to that realization outside so whatever. "We aren't coming with you." the boy told Williams firmly, confidently.

"You seem to think that you have a choice Mr. Hamada." Williams sneered. Chiune saw the boy shift his weight between his legs, bouncing subtly from side to side. The boy was looking for an opening he realized.

"Hiro," the girl in the pink armor called anxiously. He was no expert but gauging the reactions of the kid's friends, they thought he was looking for an opening too. Well, Chiune would give them their opening. Apparently, too, this boy was not in fact Tadashi Hamada but rather Hiro Hamada.

"What are you going to do? Fight us? Your friends could tell you just how well that worked out for them." Williams said scathingly. Hiro looked like he had something to say but Williams turned to look at Vera. "As for you Miss Agent, there's only way you're leaving this room alive tonight. Where's the Scientist?"

He nearly gave himself away. Vera's lips and fingers twitched. He saw her swallow and her eyes flash. She gave a quick look over the men that were assembled and realized that it would be her firing squad. She licked her lips. "I… I don't know what you're talking about." she stammered quietly.

He couldn't see the look on Williams face, but he'd spent enough time in the man's company to picture it. Absolutely nothing merciful about it. He fingers twisted around the assault rifle. "Well that's a surprise." Williams said sarcastically. "I haven't heard that out of you before. Just shoot her and put her out of her misery."

In a knee jerk reaction, he moved to protect her. "Wait!" Hiro Hamada yelled, throwing his hand in the air and taking a step towards Williams. A pang of respect ran through Chiune as he looked at the boy. "If you want us to even consider coming with you, you don't lay a hand on her."

Williams gave a barking laugh. "Again, you seem to think you are in the position of bargaining with us. That isn't the case." he told Hiro as Williams pointed his gun at him.

For one very tense second, no one moved. No one so much as breathed. Something hit the ground with a quiet thud followed by a scraping sound as the same object went skittering across the floor. Then Vera let loose an ungodly, wordless scream as she flung herself, barefoot no less, at Williams.

Williams went down, bent over double and groaning, from the sucker punch that Vera had delivered straight into his middle. Hiro Hamada swore loudly in shock as his friends stood behind him gaping. It was only for a moment though because what followed next he could only describe as chaos. The footsoldiers jumped into action as Big Hero 6 made a dive for their weapons. One of the men raised his gun against Vera but didn't realize his mistake until it was too late. The footsoldier was standing beside Chiune. He reached over, grabbed the footsoldier's arm with one hand, snapped the palm of his heel hard into the crook of the guy's elbow. With a cry, the gun fell from the footsoldier's hand. With a quick and merciless blow, he drove his knee into the man's chest, forcing him to double over, before cracking him over the back of his head.

He caught a glimpse of Vera as she rounded on the next footsoldier that approached her. There was nothing but a cold determined look in her eyes as shot a punch into the man's face. A thick orange haze exploded into the room. Apparently the chemist heroine had gotten to her bag. A blur of yellow zipped past him through the haze. She hit some footsoldier behind him with a move that must have taken the guy off his feet judging by the sound it made. There was a low pitched whir sound and the cracks of gunshots from somewhere else in the haze before a loud thud followed by an excited whoop echoed from the same direction.

"Stupid move, Agent." snarled Williams from somewhere in front of him in the haze. His heart gave a jolt. He turned towards the sound, where Vera had to be, but couldn't see her. Her name was on the tip of his tongue but there was yet another sickening crack and another heavy thud. "Fall back! Everyone fall back!" Williams ordered in a strained voice.

The orange haze cleared. The room was completely empty except for them. However, he could still hear the racing footsteps from the retreating Hydra footsoldiers. He tried to ignore the weight that settled into his stomach. They would be back. It was just a matter of time.

Hiro Hamada was standing in approximately the same place that Williams had been standing in, holding a fire extinguisher as a bludgeon and a dark look on his face. The chemist heroine was standing off to the side, four multicolored orbs in each hand. The yellow blur he'd seen was beside her with her disc raised in the air to throw. The big guy with lasers was currently shaking his head at the kaiju hero who in turn looked rather pleased with himself, flexing his arms inside of his suit. There was also a puddle of what looked like blood and spit between the two of them. As for Vera… Vera was coming straight at his head, hand balled into a fist.

"Holy shit!" he gasped as he barely managed to duck underneath her swing. It was only because they'd sparred so many times that he was even able to reach up and grab her outstretched arm out of the air. He spun her around, pinning her arms to her side, and held her against his chest. Vera gave a scream and thrashed in her grip.

"Let her go!" demanded Hiro as he rounded on the pair of them, raising his fire extinguisher. He wasn't paying attention though.

"Easy, easy! Vera, it's me!" he ground out as he took a blow to his shin from one of Vera's thrashing kicks. He winced as he realized just how much the scarf distorted his voice. "It's me imouto."

Vera fell limp in his grasp as she recognized the term of irritating endearment. "Ch...Chiune." she gasped.

"I told you I'd be here in twenty." he laughed weakly. Vera's grip became like iron as she clasped his arm for support. Her weight sagged.

"I found Big Hero 6," she told him in shaking, giggly voice as she pointed towards said group of Superheroes. Well at least she seemed to be winning the battle against falling into a pit of hysteria. She was also not catatonic. Those were both good things right? Then again he could feel her nails clawing into him through the fabric of his stolen military fatigues.

He patted her on the head and looked at Big Hero 6 with a dry, wincing smile. "Yes, I can see that. You also appeared to give Williams a minor heart attack."

"Hmm, too bad it didn't kill him." she said in a slightly strained voice. Oh look! His favorite borderline hysterical morbidity was resurfacing in Vera. He hadn't seen that in awhile. Not since she'd commented on the pink tiles at the underground compound. He gave her a squeeze around her shoulders.

"What… the… Hell!" spat Hiro Hamada. Both he and Vera's attention snapped back to the teenager. Vera went razor rigid in his grasp. "What the Hell just happened?"

Chapter Text

"And who the Hell are you guys?" demanded Hiro. He lowered his fire extinguisher a hair. Chiune took that as a positive sign. However, the rest of the Big Hero 6 crew were already advancing towards them, coming together in an impressive show of intimidation.

Vera threw his arm off from her and stepped forward to meet Big Hero 6 head on. Well at least she no longer seemed borderline hysterical. She pulled her cover story credentials from inside her suit jacket's pockets. "I wasn't lying when I said I was from S.H.I.E.L.D." she informed them crisply.

"Would one of you two possibly care to tell me why you're here?" Hiro growled. He took a threatening step towards Vera. Immediately he jumped forwards to tell the kid to back off but Vera stepped up to the challenge with confidence that he wasn't so certain she should have at the moment.

"Gladly Mr. Hamada, but you and your friends are going to have to come with my partner and I." she told them simply.

"Uh, yeah and we would want to do that why?" snorted the girl in the yellow armor. She raised one of her discs in the air for show. His eyes nearly bugged out of his skull when he saw the discs. That was the airspeed resistant technology he'd seen and the girl looked like she'd weaponized it. It was just as incredible as he pictured it to be.

"The other guys just tried to tell us that and we definitely weren't on board with it then either." the big guy with the lasers said, he pointed towards the hall with his awesome glowing laser sword for added emphasis.

"One evil secret organization taken out by another evil secret organization just to simply have us all to themselves." the kaiju hero said with suspicion that went to a whole new level. He gave them both a shifty look. He drew back slightly and stared at the kaiju hero in mild discomfort. At least the guy couldn't see his scars.

"What's the difference between S.H.I.E.L.D. and Hydra. Both of you have tracked us down for some purpose." the chemist heroine pointed out in a critical and analytical tone that knocked the discomfort right out of him and made him wince.

"Counter offer," Hiro Hamada said as he sat his fire extinguisher on the ground and crossed his arms over his chest. The only word in the English language that he could come up with to describe the look on the kid's face was cocky. "You tell us where Robert Callaghan is hiding and why exactly you've been looking for us. Oh! And we aren't going anywhere with you."

Vera flashed a feral grin at Hiro Hamada. "So you can be direct. Your flirting tactics need some serious tweaking… jail bait."

Hiro Hamada blanched at the term 'jail bait' as all his friends did their best not to snigger behind his back. Some were more successful than others. However, he wondered just how hard the kaiju hero was even trying. It would have been funny, Vera calling him on his blatantly obvious flirtation skills, if the situation had been just a hair different. However, seeing as Hydra was still in the building it probably wasn't the best idea for Vera to be antagonizing someone at the moment. Hiro Hamada went red in the face right to the tips of his ears. He lifted his finger threateningly and started to say something but suddenly a loud bang echoed through the halls.

Vera jumped and twisted around to the door. Chiune was fairly certain that he was the only one who saw the color drain out of her face this time and her hands shake subtly. "They're coming back." she whispered. Then she regained control abruptly. Vera whipped around, determination blazing in her eyes. "They're coming back. You want your answers, you have to come with us. We can explain everything. You just have to trust us."

"So says she whose name is a fake and works for a secret organization whose only been trying to find us for the last few years." Hiro Hamada said tersely.

Vera smirked. "The name's Vera kid. As for S.H.I.E.L.D., we didn't point guns at your friends' or your head the first time we met."

"You know," the chemist heroine said, "she has a point."

The rest of Big Hero 6 wasn't as convinced. He could tell that by the dubious expressions they wore. Another loud bang emanated from the hall followed by voices. He couldn't be absolutely sure but one of them sounded like Williams. "I hate to be that guy but whatever you guys want to do, we kinda need to do it fast." he said, jerking his thumb over his shoulder towards the concerning sounds.

Hiro Hamada looked between he and Vera, his jaw clenched tightly. He gave a huff and glared at Vera. "You will explain what's going on to us." he told her.

"Of course," she started but the voices came into clarity suddenly.

"They're still inside Hamada's lab sir." some Hydra footsoldier called from down the hall.

"Time to go!" Vera growled.

"Not without Baymax." Hiro replied in a tone that was clearly meant to say "not up for debate."

"Chiune, help him out." Vera told him as Hiro Hamada turned for a red suitcase in the back of the room. By the time he got to the downed robot, Hiro was throwing the suitcase down on the ground and had it opened to reveal an intricate charging port.

"Supercapacitor cell batteries, nice." he whistled. He couldn't help himself as he stared down at the work. It was too awesome not to be appreciated. Maybe when this was all said and done, he and Hiro Hamada could sit down and talk robotics. The kid obviously knew what he was doing. He didn't miss the smirk that Hiro gave as he began to pack the personal healthcare companion robot into it's charging station. Though he'd be lying if he said that the kid obviously wasn't thrilled with the way that he immediately butted in. The way Hiro shoved his hands out of the way multiple times was enough to clue him into that fact.

Between the two of them, they somehow managed to wrangle the massive amount of vinyl into a somewhat orderly stack around the collapsed metal skeleton quickly. The chemist heroine and the girl in the yellow armor were at the door. "Here they come!" cried the chemist heroine as she threw an orb down the hall.

There was a small explosion followed by some shouting. The girl in the yellow armor threw one of her discs. "Try and get a sneak attack on us this time!" she yelled challengingly.

Of course it was met by bullets. The big guy raised his laser swords, seriously how cool was that, and the bullet sliced into harmless pieces. "I really think we should go now!" the big guy said as another shot went off, too close to his head for him to block.

He held the charging port's side panels together as Hiro Hamada snapped the top of it into place. Hiro fumbled for a pair of straps that were on the side and he immediately reached over to help him. "I've got it. I've got it." he snapped, whipping the charging station on to his back like it was nothing before turning towards the door, "Let's get out of here. Where to?"

"Out of the building and on to the street would be a good place to start." Vera called over her shoulder. He looked over at her in confusion. She was standing at the desk, currently shoving something into the inside pocket of her suit jacket.

"Vera what are you doing? Get over here and let's go." he yelled.

"Coming," snapped Vera as she hurried to the door, jumping over the fragments of glass on the ground and wincing as she landed on her feet again. She gave a little limp as she hobbled to the door and waved everyone out of the room.

"Shoes! Shoes! Grab your shoes Vera." he balked at her, realizing she was still barefoot. He started to turn back to grab her shoes for her. She shot him an incredulous look as the kaiju hero jumped past her, pulling his hood back on.

"Leave them!" she shook her head.

"But," he started.

"Running in heels? Are you insane? Yeah freakin' right." she snorted as she latched on to his arm and pulled him into the hallway. Another gunshot rang out. Vera twisted and started to throw her hand out behind them but then stopped. He'd seen her pull that move only once successfully, a year ago when escaping Hydra. Not once since then had she ever been able to throw a shield up. A pained look spread across her face as she curled her hand into a fist and dropped it to her side. "Everybody run for it, now!" she demanded.

"Oh trust us, we are." yelled the big guy over his shoulder. Vera shoved Chiune hard in the back to get him moving. He stumbled forward but caught himself. Vera matched his pace as they fled down the halls of SFIT.

"After them!" snapped Williams's aggravated voice from behind them. Footsteps chased after them. He turned to look. Sure enough, Williams and his men were chasing after them. Another gunshot whistled past them. He ducked down, pushing Vera's head down as well, trying to make them smaller targets as several more shots rang out.

"Um, we probably should've thought about this sooner but where is everyone else?" asked the chemist heroine as she turned to lob an orb behind them. It sailed over their shoulders and exploded on to the ground. There were a few shouts of surprise as one or two of the footsoldiers slipped in the sticky yellow goop that coated the floor.

"Knocked unconscious." he answered quickly. "Probably before you even got here I'd wager. They'll probably wake up in an hour or two after Hydra's cleared out of here."

"We need to help them!" the chemist heroine insisted.

"It's us Williams's after. They'll leave them alone as long as we don't give them a reason to use them." Vera assured her.

They rounded a corner so fast that Hiro Hamada's feet nearly slipped out from underneath of him to send him to the ground. The big guy immediately grabbed him under the arm and hauled Hiro back to his feet. At about the same time Chiune cleared the corner, a bullet gouged out a section of the wall. "On a scale of one to ten," he asked looking at Vera, "how pissed do you think Coulson will be with us?"

"We just engaged Hydra," Vera replied back with an upraised eyebrow, "I don't think a scale to ten begins to cover it."

"Door!" Hiro Hamada yelled as the building's front doors came into view. Hiro and the big guy threw themselves against the doors and held them open as everyone rushed through them. One determined footsoldier tried throw himself out the doors, lunging for the back of Chiune's stolen military jacket. However, Hiro Hamada chose that particular moment to slam the door shut in the man's face. The footsoldier yelped in pain and collapsed to his knees while holding his bleeding nose. Hiro Hamada let go of the door and jumped down the steps. Vera ran down the stairs and stopped in front the street, turning quickly and looking for something.

"Chiune! Where's the car?" she yelled at him as she apparently looked for the car.

"Uh, what car?" he asked in confusion as he came to stand beside her.

"You didn't bring a car?" demanded Vera in wide eyed shock, her voice rising an octave.

"Hey you two?" the big guy called to them as he shot a wary look at the door. Big Hero 6 fanned out behind them, getting ready to go another round with Williams and his men. Vera wasn't paying attention to them. She jerked and waved her hands through the air frantically.

"You didn't bring a car!" she yelled. "How'd you get here?"

"I took a cab!" he answered. Vera's jaw dropped in shock and she shook her head in disbelief. He threw his arms out. "I'm sorry Vera but when you said that you needed me to see something I didn't think that I'd be orchestrating an impromptu rescue mission when I got here."

Vera stared at him, blinking. Her face was slowly starting to crumple into panic. "What if you hotwire a car?" he suggested desperately as he noticed a van, parked on the street beside them.

"Hotwire a car!" she repeated. He winced at her shrill voice. "What the Hell makes you think that I know how to hotwire a car?"

"I don't know?" he yanked the cap off his head to rake his hand through his hair in frustration. "You were a super secret agent slash hero. I just thought that maybe you were trained to do stuff like that!"

"Trained? Trained? You want to know what my field agent training entailed? Fury sent me on a mission with Romanoff and told her to show me the ropes. We were supposed to investigate something in sunny, beachy Rio de Janeiro. Showing me the ropes consisted of us somehow ending up in some small town in Wales, cold and covered in mud and slime dressed in skirts and tights. I dressed for Rio but ended up in Wales. Wales, Chiune! Wales!"

"Move!" the girl in the yellow armor snapped at them as she forced her way through them and to the van. She ripped her helmet off and used one of her discs to break the glass in the front driver's side window. She had the door open in moments and was underneath the dash immediately. The van roared to life. The girl hit the button to unlock the doors. "One hotwired car at your disposal. I'll drive."

The big guy hopped into the front passenger seat as the kaiju hero and the chemist heroine threw themselves into rear most bench. He and Hiro Hamada pulled themselves into middle bench with Vera sandwhiched in between them. "Drive GoGo!" Hiro yelled.

Before Hiro even had the van's door shut, the girl in yellow armor had the van in gear and was tearing away from the curb. Both his and Vera's heads slammed back against the head rests as they took off. "This should totally get them off our tails!" the kaiju hero exclaimed.

A bullet shattered one of the side mirrors. He twisted around and felt his heart sink into his chest. A big black SUV pulled up next to Williams and his men. Sitting in the driver's seat was an angry looking footsoldier with a black eye in a white undershirt. Chiune grimaced. He didn't need three guesses to figure out that was the footsoldier who he'd taken his disguise from. Williams, who was now sporting two black eyes and a nose dripping with blood from being smashed in the face with a fire extinguisher, jumped into the SUV. His men followed without hesitation.

"Don't be so certain." he muttered under his breath as he shook his head.

"Fred sometimes I swear you are just trying to jinx us!" snapped the big guy, rounding on the kaiju hero. The eye on the kaiju hero's hood flipped open to reveal his sheepish expression.

The girl in the yellow armor gave a wordless snarl as she whipped the van around the corner and slamming them all hard to the side. Vera ended up in his lap with Hiro Hamada's face buried in her back. "Can you lose them?" Vera asked as she wiggled her way out from under Hiro.

"What do you think I'm trying to do?" the girl snapped back. The van flew forward through an intersection. Horns screamed and brakes screeched as other cars narrowly avoided hitting them.

"Take the back alleys GoGo." Hiro Hamada told her as he sat forward, grasping the backs of the front seats. The girl complied but there were more horns and brakes as the Hydra vehicle came around the corner as well. His head bashed the back of the front seat and nearly dragged the scarf off his face.

"I never want to hear you complain about my driving or my moped again. I will be extracting your promise from you as soon as we get out of this tin can and back to the safe house." he told Vera as he massaged his nose.

Vera turned to him with a dry grin. "It's absolutely adorable that you think I will be a functioning individual later tonight. I plan on spending the rest of the night in a drug induced stupor."

That's when he noticed just how badly Vera was shaking. She was constantly turning the bracelet on her wrist as if she were praying on a rosary. It was like she couldn't even bear to keep her hands still. He bit his tongue. How stupid could he be? He had no clue how Vera was still functioning at the moment. The man who had tortured and broken her was feet behind them, chasing them down. He grabbed her hand and gave it a squeeze, trying to infuse every bit of his support into it. "I won't let anything happen to you." he whispered in her ear.

Vera shot him a deadly look. "I won't go back. I won't!" she hissed.

The girl in yellow armor ran over something. The van bobbed up and down violently and a sound he could only classify as not very good exploded from behind them. He twisted around and looked out the rear window. The SUV was perilously close, swerving to avoid the trash can that they'd run over. "This feels like really bad deja vu." the chemist heroine commented before uttering something in Spanish under her breath.

"What is with these guys?" growled the girl as she looked back at the SUV through her rearview mirror. "They just won't quit!"

Another hard turn threw him against the window. He tried to brace himself but the assault rifle that he'd thrown over his back when he'd stolen the disguise dug into his back painfully. He twisted around and pulled it off of his back. Vera gasped and looked down at the gun in his lap. "Is this thing loaded?" she asked him pulling it off of his lap.

"I don't know. I just grabbed it when I…" he started but Vera was already checking to see if the assault rifle was loaded. Judging by the look on her face, it was indeed loaded.

"You had a loaded gun the entire time and you didn't say anything?" she cried.

"How was I supposed to know if it was loaded or not? I'm the robot boy, remember?"

Vera clearly wasn't listening anymore. "You! With the lasers! Cut the top of van off." demanded Vera.

"Woah! What?" sputtered the big guy. He twisted around to look at her with wide eyes. He wasn't the only one. Hiro Hamada, the kaiju hero, and the chemist heroine were all staring at her in shock. "You can't be serious!" the big guy yelled.

"Trust me," groaned Chiune, "she is very serious."

"NOW!" yelled Vera.

"Okay, okay," the big guy said placatingly. "I would just like to point out that this is not safe in the least bit!"

"Just do it!" Vera snapped. The big guy slipped out of his seat and activated his lasers. An awful screech grated on their ears as the roof on the van sheared off. A gust of wind exploded on to their faces as the big guy shoved the metal back. He grabbed the scarf around his face to keep it from flying off.

"Vera, what's your plan?" he yelled as Vera started to stand up in the moving car. Vera didn't answer him. He saw the look on her face. Her teeth were grit together and her face was pale and drawn. "Vera, please tell me you have a plan."

"What is she doing?" Hiro Hamada asked as he ducked out of Vera's way as she turned towards the back of the van. The kaiju hero and the chemist heroine continued to stare at her.

"Vera!" Chiune called after her.

"I'm going to make them stop chasing us." hissed Vera as stumbled again. She climbed up on the bench between he and Hiro and stood. "Brace me."

"You aren't going to try and shoot those men in the SUV?" Hiro demanded. He shot him a worried look. Unfortunately, he had no real answer for Hiro Hamada. All he could do was trust Vera and God help him because he definitely did. Vera was moving, standing up on the bench, and pulling herself through the hole in the top of the car.

"Vera," he yelled, anxiously.

From somewhere above him, Vera raised the assault rifle to shoot. The girl in the yellow armor swerved to avoid something on the road and Vera was knocked into the jagged corner of the hole. If she noticed it, Vera gave no indication. She raised the gun again. He and Hiro Hamada locked eyes. Without a word of communication they both latched on to Vera, Hiro Hamada taking hold of her legs while he pressed his own hands against her back. Chiune looked up at Vera. From his angle the only thing he could make out clearly was the thin set of her mouth as she stared down the sight of the rifle. "Hydra can have my corpse." he heard her spit in disgust.

The gunshot sounded like a crack of thunder over the top of his head. He cringed into the back of Vera's legs. The force of the gunshot drove Vera backwards but between he and Hiro, the pair managed to keep her upright. Another shot rang out. This time the thunder was coupled with a loud pop and hiss. "You hit their tire!" cried the chemist heroine, clapping her hands together in excitement.

"That was so awesome!" yelled the kaiju hero as he pumped his hand through the air, "Can you do it again?"

Metal met metal as Williams's SUV forcibly swerved into a pole. He looked up to late from Vera's legs to see the impact but saw as Williams and several of the footsoldiers picked their faces out of the deployed airbags. Sirens went off as the girl in the yellow armor kept driving. Vera dropped back into the van, tossing the assault rifle on the ground at her feet. "You alright?" he asked her as he laid his hand on her shoulder.

"Yeah," Vera mumbled weakly. "Everyone else?"

There was a chorus of 'yeahs' and 'we're fines' from around the car. "I'm just trying to figure out how you know how to aim and shoot an assault rifle but not hotwire a car." Hiro Hamada smirked at her.

"Eh aheh aheh." muttered Vera, "You're a real riot you know that junior robot boy."

"Hey!" whined Chiune, "I thought I was robot boy?"

"He's junior robot boy.' Vera jerked her thumb over at Hiro. They both shot her a confused look. "I'll explain later. Is there anywhere out of the way that you can pull off into? We need to ditch the car. Both Hydra and the police are going to be looking for this van."

"I know a place," the girl in yellow armor said as she slowed down and started to turn down another quiet, steep side street. The girl pulled to a stop behind a dumpster. "Here's our stop. Everyone out."

On her command, they all stumbled out of the car. Hiro Hamada offered his hand to the chemist heroine to help her out of the van before offering his hand to Vera. As he followed her, Chiune realized that his hands were shaking a little. However, he couldn't help but breathe a huge sigh of relief. They'd made it away from Hydra again. "Everyone got everything they need out of the van?" Vera asked.

"Yeah,"

"I think so."

"Uh huh,"

Hiro Hamada touched the red charging port that he was wearing on his back to make sure it was safe as the rest of Big Hero 6 chorused their answers. "Good...now torch it."

"Wait a minute!" shouted the big guy.

"We can't let them find the van." Vera said rounding on him. "Torch it."

"Leave this to me!" the kaiju hero said as he stepped up, cracking his knuckles in his suit. "Get ready to be astounded."

Fire erupted from the kaiju hero's suit. He guessed that there was a mounted flamethrower inside the kaiju hero's suit. Everyone took a step back and covered their eyes. "I really hope that van's owner has some decent insurance on that thing." the big guy sighed as he wiped his face.

Hiro Hamada turned to Vera, crossing his arms over his chest, and said, "Now, I think you owe us an explanation."

"I think we should keep moving." he countered. He was desperately trying to think of some way to keep Vera occupied now that he was certain that her adrenaline would be tapering off. He was scared to death to think about how she would react after their second narrow escape from Hydra. "We have a safe house uptown." he suggested as he moved to take off the scarf around his neck.

Vera's hand shot up and clenched around his outstretched hand, tightly. He looked down at her in confusion. She shook her head and mouthed 'wait.' He raised his eyebrow at her. It was getting kind of warm under the scarf. Not to mention the fact that he didn't think being in a Hydra uniform would be good for Vera's mental health. It had to be some kind of trigger to her, he was certain. That and it wouldn't be too far off the mark to say that Hydra probably had some sort of GPS tracking unit inside the uniform.

"No, that's too far." Hiro Hamada said frowning. He hiked the straps of the charging port higher up on to his shoulders. "Not only that but I can almost guarantee that you don't have the right tools to fix Baymax. My Aunt's cafe isn't far from here."

He bit his tongue. He could almost guarantee that he did in fact own the tools that Hiro Hamada needed to fix his personal healthcare companion robot. Not to mention he had the detailed plans sitting in the inside pocket of the military fatigues along with the rest of Big Hero 6's research. However, now didn't seem to be the appropriate time to hang that over their heads. Instead he said, "Right then, let's get going then. The more distance we put between Hydra the better."

Once more, Vera's hand shot out and latched on to his wrist. "We need to talk." she said seriously, and so deadly quietly that it immediately set him on edge.

"Vera, what is it?" he asked hesitantly.

"Yeah, we need to talk about the fact that you look really familiar Miss Delle." the kaiju hero said as he pushed his way between the two of them. He pulled his hood off and got in Vera's face to give her a scrutinizing look. Vera shot him a look. "Name's Fred by the way. People call me Fredzilla."

"My name isn't Delle. I thought we established this, Fred." she told him in a short voice.

"Have we met before? Maybe doing volunteer work. Done anything with the food pantry? Habitats for Families? Brothers from Other Mothers?" kaiju hero Fred asked her in rapid fire succession without giving her time to answer.

"Freddie." the chemist heroine called to him with a bit of nervous laugh. Hiro Hamada was staring at the sky in clear exasperation while the big guy and the girl in yellow armor had their faces buried in the palms of their hands.

"I really don't think here and now is the time to have this conversation." Chiune pointed out as he held up his hands in a placating sort of gesture meant for Vera. He could see her patience already wearing thin. "Is he, uh, always like this?"

"More or less," shrugged Hiro Hamada as he massaged the bridge of his nose with his thumb and forefinger.

"It's just that you seem extraordinarily familiar." Fred insisted as he began to circle around Vera as if seeing her from behind would make a difference.

"No I have not volunteered with any of those groups." Vera informed him as she massaged the bridge of her nose.

"You sure? Because I swear I've seen you before." continued Fred.

"Have you ever been to New York City or Ohio?" snapped Vera.

"No but..."

"Then I am pretty sure that you and I have never met." Vera told him firmly. She successfully brushed him off but Fred seemed unphased. He continued to look at her curiously. However, Chiune decided not to pay it a whole lot more attention as none of Fred's friends seemed to dwell on it.

He looked over at Vera and saw that she was suddenly serious again. Serious and looking right at him. "Does this have anything to do with why you asked me if I knew Tadashi Hamada?" he asked her.

Vera nodded, neck stiff. Hiro Hamada jumped forward angrily. "What did you tell him about Tadashi?" he snapped as he jabbed his finger towards her.

"Hey!" he snapped at Hiro as he jumped forward to stand in front of Vera defensively. Vera threw her hand up and stopped him midstride though. Her jaw was tight and she was biting her lip. The rest of Big Hero 6 had come to the defense of Hiro Hamada. As they closed ranks around him, Chiune felt his hand curl tight into a fist. Once more Vera's hand was on his chest and held him back.

"Don't or you'll really regret it." It wasn't a threat. Her voice was so low though that it jarred him. He unclenched his hand.

"What is going on?" he asked her.

"This…" Vera said as she pulled a framed picture from the inside pocket of her suit jacket, "is what I wanted to show you back at SFIT. This is why I asked you to come in the first place."

"Hey!" growled Hiro Hamada as he lunged forward for the picture. "You stole that from my lab! That's my picture, now give it back!"

Vera easily sidestepped Hiro and pressed the picture into his chest. He barely had time to keep it from falling to the ground, let alone keep Big Hero 6 from yelling at Vera. Angry shouting filled the tiny street as the group of Superheroes all took turns lashing out at Vera verbally. Hiro Hamada was the loudest. However, right as he went to back Vera up, his eyes landed on the photo.

It was like looking at a far off object through a thick wall of fog at first. Everything was blurred around the edges and only a few distinct shapes visible. Except there was only one shape in this picture that made him feel that way. Then, as if he had blinked a few times and in all honesty he probably had, the edges became crisp and the shape came back into focus. One shape, one person, in this photograph had his undivided and rapt attention. "This is me…" he whispered in shock.

He brushed his hand across the picture of the tall boy standing behind the rest of the group, the one with the baseball cap and goofy grin. Then he touched his own face, dragging the scarf down away from his nose and mouth in the process, just to be sure that what he was seeing actually meshed with what he knew and felt. He didn't hear the collective gasp from those around him. He didn't notice the way every single one of the Superheroes' faces went slack jawed on the spot. "Imouto, this is me… without my scars."

"Ay dios mio!" whispered someone in front of him.

"Tada...Tadashi?" the broken voice of Hiro Hamada snapped through his haze.

Chapter Text

"Ay dios mio!"

"Tada… Tadashi?" Hiro Hamada choked out.

It was almost unfathomable for him, how when Vera said the name Tadashi Hamada, he felt nothing whatsoever. Yet when the seventeen year old kid who he'd never met or even interacted with called him Tadashi, there was something that pulled at the deepest and darkest most parts of his mind. Maybe it was the way Hiro said it, said 'Tadashi.' He sounded so broken and small. The voice so incredibly tiny, like that of a child and not a nearly grown teenager.

No, that wasn't it. There was something else to it. Then he recognized the feeling. It was the same feeling he'd had when he'd rescued Vera from Hydra almost a year ago. It was the feeling that he should be living up to some sort of expectation that he hadn't ever realized he'd had for himself. This feeling made his heart ache and his head pound. Looking at Hiro Hamada was even worse. It was almost like Hiro Hamada was the expectation he was trying to live up to in human form. The kid was nearly as tall as he was but the way tears ran down his face and he shook his head made him look tiny. Currently the boy looked like he was fighting a painful, long dragged out, losing battle with himself to not rush at him. He couldn't bear to look at Hiro any longer. He turned to look at Vera instead. "Who's Tadashi?" he asked her, his voice almost pleading with her to make the situation he was suddenly in comprehensible again.

Someone let out a stifled sob. He wasn't sure who. He couldn't bring himself to look. Vera stepped forward and took the framed picture from his hands gently. She held it up to him. "You're Tadashi. That's your name Chiune. Your real name." she told him very carefully, very clearly.

Chiune, the name he'd gone by for a year had always felt dry and brittle on his tongue. To this day, he'd had a hard time associating that name with himself. The voice he spoke to himself with inside his head rarely called him Chiune. Tadashi, though, Tadashi Hamada, there was something so poignant to that name that it overwhelmed him when Hiro Hamada said it. When Hiro Hamada looked at him.

"No," he said suddenly, "This is impossible. There's no way that I'm this person. It would be too easy!"

"What the hell are you talking about Tadashi!" snapped Hiro Hamada angrily as he stomped his foot on the ground. He jumped at the sudden ferocity of the statement. When he turned to look, he felt the color drain out of his face. There were tears streaming down Hiro's face as well as everyone else's'. Hiro swallowed a sob and glared straight at him, "Quit screwing around nii-chan."

Nii-chan. That was what he'd always secretly hoped Vera would call him. Was this kid the reason why? Had Hiro Hamada called him nii-chan once upon a time ago? No. It was too easy. A person didn't just come out on a mission to find a Superhero team and wind up finding his long lost family. It just didn't happen. Not after so many years of wondering and not knowing. Not after S.H.I.E.L.D.'s top computer analyst had spent months scouring every inch of the virtual world for him. "Look at him." Vera whispered quietly, taking him by the hand and giving him a squeeze.

She turned him to face Hiro, standing him square in front of the kid. They stared at one another. Nerves rolled through him as he watched Hiro cry unabashedly. "He looks like you." Vera pointed out.

Something in him broke. He couldn't deny it. Even under all his horrible burns and scars, he couldn't deny it. Hiro Hamada looked like him. He could swear up and down that to be certain that they'd have to wait for DNA tests to come back and he could even bring up the fact that those tests weren't beyond error. However, what he couldn't dismiss was the fact that Hiro Hamada looked almost exactly like him. "I'm… I'm Tadashi Hamada." he whispered to himself in shock.

Hiro lost his battle with himself and threw himself forward. Chi… Tadashi couldn't even brace for the solid impact. He stood there in shock as Hiro sobbed into the front of his stolen military jacket. "I missed you so, so, so much." Hiro cried.

Hiro's fingers dug into the coat just as tightly as Vera could grip in her worst moments. He found himself thinking about the way Abigail and Dr. Callaghan had clung to each other in her apartment before something had set Callaghan off. It felt like exactly the same thing, as though Hiro were afraid he was going to disappear again. That was all the thought he was able to give to the matter because a split second later four other bodies piled on top of him. He rocked backwards, taken off balance for more than a moment before he managed to get his feet underneath himself. Suddenly everyone around him was crying.

"I'm going to kill you," hissed the girl in yellow armor as her body shook against his, "You are a dead man Hamada. I'm going to kill you."

"Don't you ever do this to us again, ever!" the big guy told him, adding a bone crushing hug to the mix. "Never do that again."

"I'm going to kill you. I'm so going to kill you." the girl in yellow repeated.

"Padre nuestro que estás en los cielos, santificado sea tu Nombre…" the chemist heroine chanted. Her arms were wrapped so tightly around his neck that he was certain he was turning blue in the face. Seriously, he felt as though she were trying her best to strangle him. The rest of the chemist heroine's words were drowned out by the loud wails of Fred the kaiju hero.

"I'm going to kill you." repeated the girl in yellow.

Once his brain registered all this, he realized he had no idea what to do. He panicked. "V... Vera," he called uncertainly, looking over at the girl he'd lived with and treated like a sister the past year for some much needed guidance.

Vera was standing off to the side, out of his reach. "You dolt," she mouthed as she pantomimed wrapping her arms around an invisible person in front of her.

Very slowly, he brought his arms up and around the closest body to him, Hiro Hamada's. "I'm sorry," he whispered into the side of the kid head. And God above, he really was sorry for all the pain that he had unwittingly caused in the past three years. He buried his face in Hiro's hair.

He wasn't sure how long they all stayed together in that tight little huddle, clinging to one another, but it a sudden movement all the tenderness was gone. Hiro forced himself away from his chest with a hard shove, pushing everyone else off as well. Chi… Tadashi stumbled backwards again and might have fallen over if not for the fact that Hiro wasn't still latched on to his sleeves. The look on the kid's face was the first thing that tipped him off to the fact that he was in for it. The next was the hard punch that landed squarely on his shoulder. "Ow!" he yelped, drawing backwards, "What was that for?"

"Where have you been for the last three years Tadashi?" demanded Hiro. Hiro stabbed his finger into Chi… Tadashi's chest forcefully enough to be felt through the stolen fatigues. We thought you were dead! Do you know what that did to us? What it did to me?"

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" he said quickly holding up his hands placatingly.

"Dude, we watched them lower your casket into the ground." the big guy added in a deadpan voice.

"Watched them throw dirt over it and everything." Fred the kaiju hero put in.

"Sorry is not going to cut it." the girl in the yellow armor told him fiercely.

"Tonto," agreed the chemist heroine giving a nod of support. Oh boy! He really needed to figure out what their names were. However as he looked between their livid faces he didn't think that particular moment would be a good time to ask for them. It seemed a bit insensitive. Especially when he considered the fact that he'd been dead to them for three years and now was all of a sudden not dead.

"For the last year he's been living with me in New York City and working as an expert consultant for S.H.I.E.L.D. in the field of robotics. Before that, he was held prisoner by Hydra. The same guys that just tried to kidnap you all." Vera came to his defense quickly and jumping in with the much needed explanation. God bless Vera. Let someone make her a saint or something because right here, right now, she deserved it as for some reason he found himself having a hard time forming the words he wanted to say into sentences.

Hiro gave him a hurt look that felt like a stab to the gut. "Why didn't you come home after you got away?"

"I…" he started but the words froze up in his throat. Vera's hand closed around his, squeezing it supportively.

"He didn't remember where home was." Vera answered for him gently. She motioned to the red charging port that was still on Hiro's back. "You work on a personal healthcare companion bot. Are you familiar with retrograde amnesia?"

Hiro took a giant step back. The way his eyes widened made his chest constrict. The chemist heroine wrapped her arms around Hiro's shoulders comfortingly. Everyone was staring at him in shock. "No! I just thought… I didn't… I thought maybe that… You don't remember any of us do you? That's why you keep looking at us with that stupid confused look isn't it? You don't remember me." Hiro's voice trailed away as more tears started to well up in his eyes.

He couldn't answer that. He physically found his tongue feeling like lead. "Which isn't to say that he won't eventually remember." Vera insisted comfortingly. They were words for Hiro and his friends just as much as they were words directly for him. "He just needs some help and some support. Something that I'm sure you and your friends can give him."

For a long agonizing moment, no one said anything. "Names would be a good place to start… for all of us I think." suggested Vera.

Hiro's eyes flashed with determination, not much differently than the way Vera's did at times. There was something desperate behind the determination though. "I'm Hiro, your brother. You were, are, my best friend."

"Wasabi," the big guy said as he stuck out his hand. He took it tentatively and shook it lightly.

"Name's GoGo." the girl in the yellow armor told him as her hand took Wasabi's place. Actually the girl physically manhandled Wasabi out of the way.

The chemist heroine jumped forward and planted a kiss on both of his cheeks rather than shaking his hand. "I'm Honey Lemon. You're definitely going to get your memories back. I'm sure of it." she said as he tried very hard not to blush profusely. He also noticed that Honey Lemon hadn't so much as flinched when her lips had brushed over his scarred cheek.

"Fred or..."

"Fredzilla," he finished as he took Fred's outstretched hand, or rather suit arm. Fred gave him a goofy grin as he continued to pump his arm up and down. "I gotcha."

"Yeah, I kinda do all the nicknames." Fred told him proudly. Fred kind of seemed like the kind of person that would give everyone strange pseudonyms.

He smiled, "Somehow I don't doubt that. Nice to meet you all… again."

Wow, okay, this was beyond weird. He felt weird.

"I feel compelled to point out that we are still standing in front of a stolen burning car. Perhaps we can continue this conversation while we walk so that we don't get caught here by the police. It would be more than a little awkward." Vera said as she cleared her throat pointedly.

"She's right. We need to get moving." GoGo said as she looked back at the burning van. "We blew right past some cops on our way through here. I'm surprised they haven't come investigating yet."

"Maybe we got lucky and Williams and his cronies weren't able to get away from the cops. That would be a rather useful detour for them to take. I can almost guarantee you that they'll be on their way." Vera said. She turned to Hiro, who was still hovering close to his arm. "You said something about your Aunt's cafe? How far is it?"

"About five blocks that way," Hiro informed her as he pointed down the narrow side street.

"Excellent." Vera sighed in relief. She looked at Chi… Tadashi. "Get rid of those clothes and let's get out of here."

"Way ahead of you!" he mumbled in relief. Already he was pulling off the military fatigues and throwing them at the burning van. It was incredibly satisfying to watch the polyester shrivel up and twist in the extreme heat. He slipped his messenger bag over his shoulder as he shoved his Yankees ball cap back on to his head, pulling it down in an unconscious move to try and put some his scars in the shadows. That's when he happened to catch Hiro's eye. Hiro was staring at him unblinkingly, staring straight at his scars. Nervously, he fiddled with the collar on his blazer. "What?" he asked, knowing full well what 'it' was that Hiro was staring at.

Hiro opened his mouth and looked like he so desperately wanted to say something. However, he snapped his mouth shut again and just launched himself at Chi... Tadashi's neck once more. His Yankees hat went sideways, once more allowing the scars on his face to be in the dim light. "You're a traitor for wearing that Yanks hat." Hiro muttered in his ear. "I'll make sure we get your Ninjas hat back on your head and then we're burning that abomination."

He allowed himself to laugh. He knew that was what Hiro had wanted to say in the first place. Not by a long shot and he was pretty certain that both of them realized that. He felt grateful though that Hiro had decided against it. "Come on you two." Wasabi said with a grin as he threw his arm around Chi... Tadashi's shoulders, "You guys will have plenty of time to catch up. Let's get a move on before GoGo and Vera have coronaries."

"Right," both he and Hiro said at the same exact time. They looked at each other from the corner of their eyes. He couldn't help but notice that Hiro wore the same exact smile that he did. Hiro once more detached himself from his neck but didn't let go of his arm. It was clear that he still wasn't convinced that he wasn't going to disappear again. He gave Hiro's arm a squeeze. It was the least he could do anyways. Then he turned towards Vera.

Currently she was picking a pace, dancing on her road blackened toes as she went, a little ways off to his left. Yeah, that definitely seemed safe. "Hey, imouto, what do you think you're doing?" he called to her.

She shot him an agitated look. "Trying to get to this cafe where I'm hoping I can get a good strong cup of coffee." she told him matter of factly.

"You aren't walking there on your own." he snorted as he disengaged himself from Hiro and Wasabi before starting for Vera's side. She half skipped, half limped over a rough piece of asphalt. Vera gave him a snort.

"Oh? How am I going to get there then? Fly?" That's when she saw the look he was giving her. Her face grew hard and she frowned. She raised a finger threateningly. "Don't you dare."

Too late though. He'd already made the lunge away from Hiro for Vera. Vera tried to duck out of the way but with her being barefoot, she was also worrying about where she put her feet. He used his advantage and grabbed on to her forearms. Vera shouted in protest as everyone around them burst out laughing. He didn't give her a chance to do much more than shout because as soon as he had her by the arms he'd twisted her around so that she was draped across his back with her legs dangling limply. "Put me down," she whined in a very undignified manner as she kneed him in the back lightly. "Come on, I just fled SFIT and Hydra with no shoes. I think I can make it a few measly blocks to a cafe."

"Imouto, I see it one of two ways," he told her lazily with a glint in his eyes that was mischievous. "You can either hang up there like a sack of rice or you can put your legs around my waist and get a free piggy back ride."

Vera grumbled something unintelligible about a "brother complex" into the back of his blazer but brought her legs around his waist. As he readjusted his grip to carry her by the legs she looked over at Hiro with what he didn't even have to guess was a sour look. "Has he always been like this?" she asked Hiro.

"You're lucky you're right side up and not staring at the ground with your knees hooked over his shoulders." Hiro told her dryly. Chi... Tadashi tried to hide the wince on his face when he saw the look Hiro was giving Vera. It was downright chilly.

"Oh good, I'm not special then. That makes me feel better." Vera replied. He wasn't sure if she was just ignoring the icy look Hiro was giving her or if she didn't notice it. She wrapped her arms tighter around his neck as they all fanned out in a line and started down the street.

"Besides, wouldn't want to aggravate your ankle any further?" Hiro told her sounding somewhat snippy.

"Um, Vera..." he started to ask her about it. However, before he got the sentence fully out, he had an elbow between his shoulder blades and digging in painfully.

"Don't worry about it." she said dismissively. She pulled her lips closer to his ears and whispered to him, "Ask him something nitwit."

"So this cafe... your aunt owns it?" he asked, trying to be conversational.

"Our Aunt owns it." Hiro corrected him stiffly. He was still giving Vera a cold glare as they walked. GoGo seemed to notice it too because she reached for Hiro's shoulder and squeezed it reassuringly. It suddenly occurred to him what was going on. He might not remember Hiro, or any of these people really, but he could recognize jealousy. Yeah, not the best way to rekindle his brotherly bonds with his long lost younger brother.

"Our aunt." he repeated as he bumped Hiro's shoulder with his elbow. Hiro broke away from glaring at Vera to look at him quizzically. He shot Hiro a weak grin. Nervously, he wondered if touching Hiro had been the wrong decision. Maybe he wasn't touchy-feely in his affection. Slowly, but surely, Hiro's icy front started to melt until he returned the smile with one of his own. Hiro slipped closer to him. They were walking almost elbow to elbow. Then the pleasant grin cracked into something that was dangerously impish.

"Wait until Aunt Cass finds out you're alive. Your ass is so grounded." Hiro snickered.

He raised his eyebrow at Hiro. "I'm in my twenties. How can I get grounded?"

"Ten bucks says Hamada is grounded for a month." GoGo wagered as she popped a gum bubble with a smirk. She shot him a look that was scary and sort of said 'I will take delight in any trouble you get in after what you put us through.' Or so he assumed.

''I say a month and a half," Fred countered. Oh gee, these were supposed to be his best friends? They seemed a bit sadistic.

"What are you guys talking about? Tadashi's not going to get grounded." Wasabi challenged.

"Thank you!" he said, relieved that someone else clearly agreed he was beyond the age limit of being grounded.

"Aunt Cass will be too busy crying that she'll forget to ground him." tacked on Wasabi. He whipped around to glare at him. Seriously? Did no one think that he was actually an adult?

"Should I be afraid of Aunt Cass?" he asked only half joking.

Hiro laughed a little under his breath. "Nah, Aunt Cass is cool. She's, like, the greatest guardian ever. She's totally cool with us being Superheroes and everything."

GoGo let out a huge snort of derision. Hiro smiled sheepishly and amended, "Well for the most part anyways. So long as we're careful and don't put ourselves in unnecessary risk."

"Your definition of careful is incredibly lax, Hiro." muttered Wasabi. He also added something that Chi… Tadashi couldn't quite make out fully. Something about cars and going off the sides of bridges. Hiro shrugged it off though.

"She's really proud of everything we've done. She always has been whether it's Superhero business or school stuff. She still keeps your Presidential scholarship award and high school diploma hanging in the cafe." Hiro explained.

He wondered about his parents. Where were they? Something heavy settled into the pit of his stomach. If his parents had been in the picture then Hiro would've mentioned them first. Not only that but his parents also would have surely had all his mementos tucked away at their home. For some awful reason he couldn't place he got the feeling that something terrible had happened to their parents. However, the tightness that wound its way around his heart and the fact that Hiro seemed quite excited to talk about the happy things in their life made him hold his tongue.

"She also makes the best bagels in town." Honey Lemon chipped in which effectively snapped him from his trail of thought. He still wanted to know about his parents and why this Aunt Cass was apparently their guardian but there was probably plenty of time to broach that subject.

From that point on, the conversation flowed naturally and easily. They walked and Hiro chattered aimlessly in a rush that he had a bit of trouble keeping up with. It wasn't the fact that Hiro talked fast but rather the amount of information he shared. It was overwhelming and it sent his head spinning. It was mostly stories, anecdotes of things that he and Hiro had done together when they were younger. The rest of Big Hero 6 chimed in frequently as well and added their own stories to the mix. Several of them had him laughing. He could see why he had been friends with them all.

Their easy, joking nature and clear camaraderie was something he enjoyed wholeheartedly. That and the way they seemed to always be shooting Hiro furtive glances just to make sure he was alright. Even if he had no memories of these people, the way they looked after Hiro was beyond words of appreciation. If he had to guess Honey Lemon, Fred, GoGo, and Wasabi had filled the void he'd left in Hiro's heart three years ago. He had a lot of making up to do.

Vera for the most part didn't say anything. In fact, she was so quiet that had he not been carrying her he might have forgotten that she was there. He thought she'd fallen asleep even at one point but he quickly realized that was not the case as she grumbled a protest when he shifted his hands into a bit of different grip after feeling his fingers fall asleep. It surprised him that she wasn't making any comments. Not even one particular story that featured him being thrown in a jail cell with a bunch of pissed off bot fighters elicited a sarcastic comment from Vera about him having a criminal record. That was something that should've given her quite a bit of material since she'd deemed fit to tease him about going to a bot fight on the flight to San Fransokyo.

Suddenly Hiro picked up his pace as they rounded a corner. He was still talking a mile a minute about some sort of invention the pair had once worked but it was obvious that he was desperately trying not to reach over, grab his arm, and drag him across the street towards a massive three story Victorian Queen Anne house on the corner. "Home sweet home," Hiro told him, flashing a grin at him. "Come on!"

Hiro charged across the street with a few of the others in tow, yelling something about how he couldn't wait to see the look on their Aunt's face when she saw him. That didn't sound nerve wracking and intimidating at all. "Are you alright Tadashi?" Honey Lemon asked kindly.

He looked over at her. There must have been something in his face because Honey Lemon smiled reassuringly at him before patting his arm. "It's a lot to take in I know but all of us are beyond ecstatic to have you here with us." she told him soothingly.

"They've really missed you." Vera finally broke her silence from his back. She squeezed his shoulders tightly with her forearms in an awkward kind of hug.

"More than you can even imagine." Honey Lemon affirmed. She gave his arm a squeeze and another reassuring smile.

"I think if I remembered… I would've missed you guys too." he said quietly apologetically.

"It will take time is all." Vera promised. "Now let's get across the street so you can put me down. I can't feel my legs anymore."

He choked back a laugh but Honey Lemon openly giggled. Just be a bit of a snot, he threw Vera a bit higher on his back so that her body jostled against his. She reached over and flicked his ear in irritation. "Vamos, you two." Honey Lemon said to the pair as she started across the street after her friends.

He faltered a moment. He could feel Vera's eyes on him, watching him carefully. However, before she could ask him if he was okay he started for the Queen Anne house on the other side of the street. "Let's go meet my Aunt." he told her with a smile.

There was a beautiful hand painted sign on the door that identified the first floor of the house as the Lucky Cat Cafe. Though it was dark inside the dining room, it looked cozy and hospitable. Hiro had lead the others around the corner to the side entrance. "Okay, here's what we're going to do," Hiro said as he waved his hand through the air as he opened the door to the cafe. "We'll all go upstairs, Aunt Cass will probably be in the family room watching some cheesy B list horror flick. Tadashi will stay in the kitchen. I'll tell her that we have something to show her. We drag her into the kitchen where you'll be standing there. She'll be so surprised. Honey Lemon you'll film the entire thing on your phone so we can have it for later."

"I'm no expert on this sort of thing but if I've been dead for three years then maybe surprising her wouldn't be the best idea." he pointed out skeptically.

"It'll be fine." Hiro waved his hand dismissively.

"Totally going to be awesome." agreed Fred as he ducked into the cafe's industrial kitchen.

"Yeah, kinda have to agree with Tadashi. There's gotta be a better way to do this." Wasabi pointed out as he followed Fred into the kitchen.

"We'll probably wake the neighbors up and get the police called on us." GoGo added.

"Maybe we can just, y'know, break it to her gently." suggested Honey Lemon.

"Trust me guys," insisted Hiro as he ushered Chi… Tadashi and Vera into the cafe. At the first sight of linoleum, Vera broke herself out of his grip and slid off his back to stand on her own feet. She straightened her slacks and suit jacket out as Hiro closed and locked the door after them.

"There's got to be a better way to do this though." he said emphatically. He looked at Vera. However, Vera merely shrugged her shoulders and offered no help in the matter whatsoever. Instead he looked to Fred, Honey Lemon, GoGo, and Wasabi. "Really, there has to be a better way."

Hiro was literally bouncing. "If you've got any of your world famous ideas Hamada go for it." GoGo said gesturing towards Hiro.

"Come on, come on!" Hiro urged as he waved them towards a flight of stairs. Obviously, he was not going to have any time to think of any supposedly 'world famous' ideas before Hiro gave their Aunt the shock of her life.

"I hope Aunt Cass doesn't have a heart condition or something." he mumbled to himself as he followed everyone up the stairs. Vera followed after him, clearly not wanting to be in the way.

"Hey! Aunt Cass!" Hiro yelled as he headed up the stairs.

"Sweetie, you're home already?" came a feminine voice from close to the top of the stairs. Wasabi stopped suddenly and Chi… Tadashi collided into his back. As he rubbed his nose, he craned around to look around Wasabi. Hiro was standing at the top of the stairs waving his hand frantically back at them. Apparently Aunt Cass was not watching some cheesy B list horror movie but was actually in the kitchen.

"What do you mean home already?" Hiro asked lightly.

"Well what with the break in at Fox Labs and all, I just thought you and the gang would all be over there helping out. Did you guys already deal with it or something?" questioned Aunt Cass.

"What break in?" Hiro said in confusion.

"There was a break in at Fox Labs. It's all over the news." Aunt Cass repeated.

"What?" gasped every member of Big Hero 6.

"Fox Labs…" whispered Vera from behind him. A bell of recognition rang through his mind. He knew that place. Well, he knew of that place anyways.

"Fox Labs is a huge chemical research lab." he explained quickly to Vera.

"One of the largest in the country." Honey Lemon added as she sprinted up the stairs, eagerly wanting to find out more information. A break in right at one of the biggest chemical research labs right around the same time that Hydra was busy chasing them through SFIT and the streets of San Fransokyo? Something heavy settled into the pit of his stomach. He cast a glance back at Vera. Judging by the look on her face, she'd come to the same realization as well. She jerked her chin up towards the top of the stairs in a silent 'go, go, move!'

"Wow! You guys mean to tell me that I actually know something in the seedy underbelly world of San Fransokyo before you do? I'm in shock!" Aunt Cass teased.

"What was stolen?" GoGo asked hurriedly. He reached the top of the stairs. The brightly painted kitchen of the living quarters wasn't the most spacious thing but there was enough counter space and a breakfast bar with stools. The small dining room table had various papers and other odds and ends piled on top of it. There was a fat tabby cat lying on one of the chairs at the table.

"I don't know. I guess some chemicals and stuff seeing as how it's a chemical lab. Seriously? You guys aren't investigating this? I thought you guys would be all over this." Aunt Cass replied as she waved her coffee cup around in the air. The confusion was evident in her voice. The uncertain answer greatly worried him. With an masked Supervillain as well as an evil secret organization running loose in the city, he really didn't want to hear 'I don't know' in reference to stolen chemicals. Who knew what someone had planned for that stuff. Then he got his first real look at Aunt Cass.

Whatever had just been freaking him out a moment ago, disappeared in a snap.

A vague, foggy memory eeked through the back of his mind. It was more sensation than anything actually. He remembered a stark white room that made the walls too bright to look at directly. There were stiff backed chairs that were impossible to get comfortable in. He could hear the even breathing of someone smaller beside him. That smaller someone had cried himself to sleep. No real indication as to how he knew that. He just did. However, the most poignant feeling was the horrible, sharp feeling in his chest as though someone had just cut his heart out and then salted the wound. It was so unbearable that he thought he might breakdown. He desperately wanted to break down but yet he couldn't. He was the older brother. He had to stay strong. Someone had to stay strong for Hiro.

Then there was another sensation. One final feeling that permeated his brain from the darkest regions. A warm touch on shoulder, feather light and hesitant, that drew his attention to the woman sitting beside him with his younger brother in her arms. Her eyes weren't as green as Vera's but they were tinged with red and tears that made them stand out. Her touch became firm and comforting. "Tadashi…" she said with a smile that bore no happiness in it, "It's alright to cry sweetheart. You can cry."

And cried he had. For some reason, he vividly remembered burying his head in Aunt Cass's chest and sobbing like a baby.

The sound of shattering plaster brought him back to reality with a heavy crash. The coffee cup Aunt Cass had been holding was now in pieces on the ground with still steaming liquid pooling around her feet. "Ta... Tadashi." she stammered with wide and unbelieving eyes. She stepped forward, reaching her hand out hesitantly.

He stepped forward past Honey Lemon and GoGo. Past Fred and Wasabi. Past Hiro. He took her hand gently and squeezed it with all the reassurance he could muster. "Hey Aunt Cass… tadaima." Tadashi whispered back.

Chapter Text

"Coulson, just tell me…" Vera growled into her cell phone. Tadashi raised an eyebrow, wondering what it was exactly that she wanted Coulson to tell her. Vera had been pacing on the front porch of the Lucky Cat Cafe for way too long in his opinion. She'd borrowed a pair of his Aunt's fuzzy slippers just so she could stand outside and talk to Coulson. Vera went silent as she waited for whatever she wanted Coulson to tell her, face hard as stone. However, Coulson must have answered her question satisfactorily because she visibly relaxed. Her shoulders slumped forward and face slackened. "Thank you Coulson." Vera said, nodding despite the fact that Coulson couldn't see her. "I'll keep you updated on what's going on Sir."

Vera pressed the button on the top of her phone to disconnect. She gave a heavy sigh and beat her phone on her forehead lightly. "Hey," he said quietly, "Are you alright? You've been out here for, like, twenty minutes pacing the front stoop and talking on the phone."

Vera nodded slowly. "Yeah, sure whatever." she said waving her hand through the air dismissively. "Just giving Director Coulson a full briefing and getting the latest update. So how's your aunt?"

He laughed a little under his breath. Aunt Cass, as it turned out, was indeed capable of grounding him regardless of the fact that he was twenty-two. Actually, he was grounded until the second coming of the Messiah as he had so been informed. At least his punishment had come after he'd convinced Aunt Cass that, yes, he was really here and that, no, she wasn't seeing things. "She's great. You'll like her once you decide to stop working and come join the rest of the group." he told her.

"Someone has to slave all day and night working for S.H.I.E.L.D. to pay the bills," she teased him with a brittle smile. He laughed openly at her little jibe.

"You don't slave away." he told her firmly. "So what does he have?"

"Fox Labs is still inventorying their missing stock but their video cameras show Robert Callaghan, Yokai, in the lab."

"Let me guess, the time stamp on this security footage is the exact same time that we were all playing bullet tag with Williams and his cronies."

"You got it," sighed Vera. "Which means…"

"Hydra was the distraction this time around." he finished for her with a tight voice. "They're planning something."

"Yeah, I'd say." Vera agreed. "But what Coulson doesn't know. I can't even begin to guess either other than Hydra clearly wants your little brother and your friends for the same reasons they held you captive. To build and create their hell devices. Coulson says the field agents will be on the ground here in San Fransokyo tomorrow."

"Good," he replied. That was a relief. Breaking into SFIT and rescuing Vera and Big Hero 6 from Hydra definitely was outside the job description of robotics expert/consultant. He'd do it again in a heartbeat but he really wasn't cut out for field work. Then he thought of something else and, not for the first time that night, his gut twisted into a knot. It was the one thing that he'd found himself thinking and worrying about since learning about it. Frowning he asked, "Did you tell him about how apparently Dr. Callaghan was apparently my greatest mentor before, well, you know…"

"Yeah, I gave Coulson the full briefing or as much as I could give anyways. He says congratulations by the way. Coulson and everyone at HQ is really happy for you."

Tadashi felt his stomach unclench. He really couldn't stop the smile that crossed his face. He still had a lot of questions about his past and he still really only had that one memory of Aunt Cass from a long time ago, but for the time being he was thankful for what he did have. He had a family. "What did Coulson say about Big Hero 6?" he asked, trying to redirect her attention.

She rolled her shoulders, "Good job on finding them before Hydra."

"That's it?"

"That's it." she nodded, chewing on her lip a little.

"Did he tell you that we could share information with Big Hero 6? Did he tell you that we could tell them about Hydra?" he pressed. Seriously, after all the work they'd done, Coulson wouldn't simply just tell them "good job" and leave it at that. There had to be something more that S.H.I.E.L.D. wanted them to do with Big Hero 6 now that they'd found them. Vera didn't say anything. "Vera?" he said.

"I don't know okay!" she said in frustration throwing her hands up into the air. "Coulson wasn't exactly focused on the conversation while I was talking to him. There was obviously something bigger on his mind."

Tadashi winced at her outburst. He didn't blame her though. Hydra had gone through the trouble of distracting Big Hero 6 while Callaghan had broken into Fox Labs. They were planning something but no one seemed to be able to figure out what it was. That little notion made him uneasy too. He rested his hands on her shoulders. "It'll be alright. I'm sure Coulson will call one of us back soon with the details."

"We're still a step behind even though we got to Big Hero 6 before Hydra?" she muttered under her breath.

"It's going to be fine. The important thing is that we got to them before Hydra could. We were able to turn the tables long enough to get Big Hero 6 out of danger for the time being. We'll give Hiro, Baymax, GoGo, Wasabi, Fred, and Honey Lemon every bit of info we have on Callaghan and Hydra while we wait for Coulson and S.H.I.E.L.D. to get back to us. Best offense is a good defense right?"

"Yeah, sure." Vera said deflatedly in response. Not exactly what he'd been hoping for.

"Come on, let's go back upstairs. You can admire the super awesome healthcare companion robot that I built while everyone swaps stories about how many times I came home with a black eye after rescuing my little brother from bot fighting mob bosses." he told her with a grin, desperately trying to draw her out of her worry.

Vera laughed a little under her breath. "I've met your robot. In fact, now that I think about it, it's quite obvious that you wrote its programming."

She made no move to turn with him back for the house. Vera stood still in her spot on the front porch. "Vera?"

"No, I'm fine." she answered with forced cheerfulness. Vera waved her hand, "You go on up and catch up with your friends and family. I'll stay down here and see if I can figure out any more details we might have missed about Hydra and Dr. Callaghan."

"Oh, come on. I know you've got your own stories you're dying to tell them." he insisted.

Vera only shook her head. "Seriously, don't worry about me."

He raised his eyebrow and crossed his arms over his chest. "You have ten seconds to tell me what's wrong and why you won't come upstairs and hang out with the rest of us." he told her seriously. Vera didn't turn around to face him. That's when he really started to worry about her.

"You aren't coming back to New York." Vera said abruptly. Her tone was matter of fact.

Her words weren't lost on him. Very painfully he realized that she hadn't called New York "home." Suddenly, he also realized that he hadn't even thought about what would happen after this entire fiasco with Callaghan, Hydra, and Big Hero 6 was over. Though to be fair, it had been a rather whirlwind kind of night. His initial gut reaction was to tell her not to be ridiculous, of course he was coming back to New York. Then he stopped himself because he knew that wasn't true. In the few short hours he'd spent with Hiro, Aunt Cass, Wasabi, Honey Lemon, Fred, GoGo, and Baymax, he knew he was home. Damn it all if he couldn't remember anything, but this cafe and these people... this was where he belonged. The realization sent jolt of pain into his chest. It hurt all the more that Vera had her back to him and absolutely refused to look at him.

"Vera, look at me." he pleaded with her. He knew she understood. The way she spoke told him that. However, he still felt like he owed her some sort of explanation. Like he needed apologize. She shook her head and stood staring straight ahead across the street.

"Chi..." Vera started but then abruptly stopped. Her voice sounded brittle as though she was holding back tears. "Tadashi, I'm trying really hard not to make your decision to stay here hard on you."

He hadn't heard anything past "Tadashi." The name that sounded so right when Hiro Hamada, Aunt Cass, and all his friends said it just sounded plain wrong to his ears when Vera said it. Just the way she stopped herself from calling him Chiune and stumbled over the syllables in "Tadashi" was enough to make him stop. Without warning he threw his arms around Vera's shoulders, taking her by surprise and pulled her flat against his chest. Vera squawked in protest, tugging at his arms to try and loosen his hold. "Tadashi! Let go! Oh for God's sake!" whined Vera.

"Let's get one thing straight imouto." he told her as he tightened his hug, "To them I might be Tadashi but to you I will always be Chiune. Got that?"

"If I say fine will you quit trying to break my ribs?" she complained.

"Maybe," he teased her lightly.

"Get off," she told him in exasperation. He could hear her eyes rolling. However, he let her go and Vera turned to face him.

"Vera, I..." he started but Vera held her hand up.

She gave him a soft smile. "I get it. You've been wondering about who you are and your family for a long time. This is what you've wanted. I'm beyond happy for you. I would never ask you to stay in New York for me. I have no right."

"You have more of a right than you think imouto."

"Not more than your brother up there, who idolized you even after he thought he lost you. Not more than your Aunt, who raised you after your parents passed. Not more than the friends that watched you sweat, cry, and knowing you bleed over your projects and helped you when you needed it."

Vera fell silent. She wrapped her arms around herself as a gust of wind breezed past them. The action made her look so small. "I need you to promise me something." he told her quietly. Vera looked up at him and raised an eyebrow. "I want you to at least consider letting Travis move in with you."

It took a moment for his words to register in her mind. When they did though, Vera shook her head. "I'm a big girl. I don't need someone to live with me. Contrary to what you believe, I can pay rent by myself."

"That's not what I mean and you know it." he shot her a hard look. Vera sighed and stared up at the sky momentarily. "Please Vera. Just think about inviting Travis to live with you. I really can't stand the thought of you all alone when you might need someone beside you during a flashback or a nightmare."

"I know, I know." she mumbled. "I'll think about it."

"That's good enough for me. Now come upstairs and actually act like a semi-social human being." Tadashi threw his arm over her shoulder and started dragging her back towards the door. Vera promptly shot him a dirty look and ducked under his arm.

"Please tell me you did actually see your brother's face when you were giving me that piggy back ride. I'm not exactly welcome in any conversation between the pair of you at the moment."

He winced. Apparently Vera had indeed noticed the insanely jealous looks that Hiro had been shooting her. It also now made sense as to why Vera had requested a pair of fuzzy bunny slippers from his Aunt and then disappeared downstairs to talk to Coulson for nearly twenty minutes. She'd been trying to give him, Hiro, Aunt Cass, and his friends some space and trying not to look like a threat to Hiro. Oh, this was not going fly. Like it or not, they were all linked now and he was not about to have his blood brother not get along with his sort of adopted sister. Vera and Hiro were going to have learn to be friends at the very least. There was just no other option. "Oh c'mon imouto, you two just need to get to know each other better is all." he told her.

"Alright!" Vera told him as she pressed her fingers to the bridge of her nose in irritation. "Now you really need to stop calling me that. There are a bunch of people upstairs who, I can promise you, will prove to you that you and I are the same age."

Something clicked in the back of his mind, recalling a quick memory of something Vera said only a few nights prior. A promise she'd made about her calling him "nii-chan" if he could prove it. "I could still be older than you, if even just by a couple of months. Bet they could prove that you really are my imouto too. Then you'd have no excuse to not call me 'nii-chan.'" he said simply with a shrug.

A mischievous smile stretched across his face as he watched Vera's look turn sour. She turned to glare at him. His hand was on the doorknob. Her eyes met his and, in one short glance,Vera saw the thought going through his mind. He smiled broader. "Don't start with me." Vera warned him as she raised her finger threateningly.

"Too late," he informed her as he twisted the doorknob and threw himself into the cafe.

"Chiune!" Vera yelled as she charged in after him.

If this worked out the way that he hoped it did, he was never going to let her live this down. Ever.

X X X

"I can't believe how… similar but different he is." Aunt Cass said for what seemed like the zillionth time. She was currently peering out the window, looking at Tadashi on the front porch with Delle, or rather Vera. In her hand she continuously worried at mug of tea that Honey Lemon had put into her hand. She paused every so often to wipe at the tears that still slipped down her cheek once every couple of minutes or so. "He's the same person and everything, he just…"

"Just doesn't remember us." Hiro finished for her. He stepped up to the window beside Aunt Cass. Tadashi was lingering close to Vera's shoulder as she made some sort of maniacal hand gesture through the air with her cell phone in hand.

"Patients with retrograde amnesia oftentimes do not lose the fundamentals of who they are. Personality remains mostly intact while the ability to recall memories from before the trauma are impaired." Baymax informed them. In the twenty minutes after Aunt Cass had stopped crying, lecturing, and grounding Tadashi, Hiro and Tadashi had worked together to patch Baymax up.

Thankfully, the gunshot had harmed any of Baymax's internal structure or computers. It had just punched a hole in his vinyl which was a fairly easy fix. Hiro had had a hard time figuring out who's reaction was better: Tadashi upon realizing that Baymax was his creation or Baymax upon realizing that Tadashi was alive. One had been comically over reactive and the other had been comically and confusedly logical about how the deceased did not come back to life. It had lead to a beautiful scene of nerding out that no one had been able to keep themselves from laughing at. It had taken about five minutes for Tadashi to calm down long enough for anyone to talk to him. Vera had courteously excused herself to go talk on the phone with her boss from S.H.I.E.L.D. Good riddance.

Aunt Cass turned away from the window to face Baymax. She had a sad smile on her face as she wrapped her arms around Baymax's frame and squeezed him hard in hug. "There, there. It will be alright." Baymax told her.

"He'll be washing dishes from now to kingdom come in penance but yes, I think you're right Baymax. It will be alright." she laughed lightly before moving to scrub a few more tears away from her face with the back of her hand.

"Oh by the way Wasabi," GoGo gave a smirk as she popped a bubble, "You owe me ten bucks."

"Wait! What? How?" demanded Wasabi as he sat bolt upright in his chair at the kitchen table.

"You bet that Aunt Cass would be too busy crying to ground Hamada. He's grounded. You owe me ten bucks." GoGo informed him triumphantly.

Wasabi raised his hands in an argumentative gesture but Fred suddenly cut in, "Au contrare! GoGo owes me ten bucks because she only said Tadashi would be grounded for a month. It's way longer."

"You only said a month and a half. Aunt Cass said he was grounded until the second coming. Much longer than a month and a half Freddie. I don't think anyone technically wins." Honey Lemon said primly as she shook her head. She shot Hiro a sneaky smile, clearly enjoying stirring up trouble at the moment.

"Baymax, when do you think Tadashi will get his memories back completely?" Hiro asked, ignoring his friends' argument. However, his question was heard by all and they suddenly stopped talking just to listen.

"It is difficult to say." Baymax told them. His automated voice sounded almost remorseful. Of course that was impossible because Baymax was a robot. "Patients with retrograde amnesia frequently recover their memories spontaneously. However, with therapy and support from those closest to him, Tadashi may recover more quickly."

"My poor baby," whispered Aunt Cass. Her voice broke and there were tears streaming down her face again. Honey Lemon got out of her chair and wrapped her arms around Aunt Cass along with Baymax.

A hot stab of pain pierced Hiro's chest. His brother didn't remember him, or any of them. He didn't know what he was thinking when he saw Tadashi take that scarf off of his face in the alley. It was stupid.

Hiro realized it now but there had been that desperate hope that Tadashi had been playing the amnesiac to protect him. Vera had said that he'd escaped from Hydra. He'd allowed himself to think for a few seconds that Tadashi was trying to keep Hiro and the rest of his friends and family from getting involved. For a few brief seconds, that was how he rationalized why Tadashi hadn't just said, "Hey knucklehead, it looks like I'm still having to bail you out of trouble after all this time." Or something to that effect. Then he'd seen the look on Tadashi's face. Hiro had thought he'd seen a small flicker on Tadashi's face when he met Aunt Cass, something that brought hope bubbling back to the surface. However, nothing more had really come from it.

"Hang in there little dude," Fred said softly and suddenly he felt a bunch of people on top of him, hugging him. That's when Hiro realized he was crying again. Damn! Tadashi was going to think he was some sort of giant baby or something.

"I'm alright, I'm alright." he told them all, waving them off. "You guys heard Baymax. We just have to help him remember is all. Give it a week and I'm sure he'll be back to the way he was before the fire and Callaghan… mostly."

He added the last part under his breath when he thought about Tadashi's scars. Everyone had kept silent about them. It was obvious by the way that Tadashi was constantly arranging his hat and the collar of his blazer that he was self-conscious about them. Though as he moved to the window again to spy on Tadashi and Vera some more he noticed that Tadashi didn't have the same reservations around Vera. Goody for her. He really wished that Tadashi would come back upstairs especially since it was so obvious that Vera didn't want to be around them. That had probably been the nicest thing she'd done since she'd revealed that Tadashi was alive. Oh! And she still owed him an explanation about Hydra and Callaghan. He wasn't about to forget that one. Then again, maybe Tadashi could help them out seeing as he apparently worked for the same organization as Vera.

"Hiro, come sit down." GoGo told him as she grabbed him under the arm and lead him away from the window. "He'll be back up soon, I'm sure."

He collapsed into a chair next to Honey Lemon. "We'll have to go to the store tomorrow and buy all the things to make his favorite sushi." Aunt Cass commented distractedly. She was at the window again. "We can have a small party, something to welcome him home y'know. Nothing too big. We don't want to overwhelm him."

"That'll be great Aunt Cass." Wasabi agreed quietly as appeared with the teapot to pour more tea into her mug. Hiro smiled at the look on Aunt Cass's face. Her family was back. It was little and broken, but still so strong and resilient. Hiro sighed and slumped down in his chair. He didn't even want to think about the fact that someone had broken into Fox Labs at the moment. He'd have to deal with that along with Callaghan and Hydra, but that could wait until morning couldn't it?

"Chiune!" roared Vera's voice. There was a slam and a bang followed by heavy, running footsteps up the stairs.

Tadashi appeared at the top of the stairs in the kitchen. "Someone! Quick!" he panted, "Tell me when my birthday is!"

"Don't answer that!" Vera yelled as she appeared in the kitchen behind Tadashi, equally winded, but still managing to raise her hand in… anger? Pleading? Desperation? Hiro wasn't entirely sure what she was trying to convey at the moment though her face was a rather awesome shade of purple.

"January 13th." Hiro and Aunt Cass answered together in confusion.

Tadashi whipped around and grinned triumphantly at Vera. "I proved it! Now pay up imouto!" he told her.

Jealousy burned under Hiro's skin. He crossed his arms over his chest and glowered at Vera. Tadashi had called him "otouto" when they were younger. It really wasn't right that he called Vera imouto. They weren't even related! Not only that but Tadashi hadn't once called him otouto since coming home.

Vera shook her finger, "Two months Chiune. That's it. Two months."

"Say it," Tadashi told her with a wide grin. "You said if I could prove it…"

"I might consider it." Vera cut him off quickly. "We're still the same age."

"I'm two months older, now say it."

"No!" snapped Vera.

"Fine," shrugged Tadashi, using a mock resigned voice. The look on his face was anything but resigned. Uh-oh. This was not going to end well for Vera. "I'll just have to make you."

Nope, it was not going to end well for Vera. Tadashi tackled Vera, wrapping his arms around her head and forcing her head underneath his arm. An amusing look of shock colored Vera's face but it only lasted for a minute because that was about the time that Vera started to grab at Tadashi's hands. Tadashi was unphased as he proceeded to give Vera a noogie that Hiro could attest was more embarrassing than painful. "Say it!" he told her emphatically. Vera contorted her face in anger. "Come on, say it!" Tadashi continued to urge her as he ducked a wild swing from Vera.

Vera let loose an inarticulate screech. "Let go of me right now nii-chan unless you want an elbow to your gut!" she snapped. The grin on Tadashi's face grew even bigger if possible. "Happy now?" demanded Vera in a huff.

Tadashi relinquished his hold on her. "Quite," he told her with an air of superiority as he brushed his hands off.

Vera huffed again, straightening out her clothes and hair. "I'm going to go do some more work." she muttered under her breath. She ducked past Tadashi and grabbed his laptop that was sitting in his messenger bag on the end table. "Jerk."

"Oh come on," laughed Tadashi. "Don't be like that. Sit with us and talk."

Hiro really didn't want her to accept the invitation. For a split second, her eyes met his. Vera's affronted demeanor changed. "There's still a lot of things that need to be checked on." she told Tadashi with a quiet sigh. "You'll be fine without me Chiune. Do you mind if I use your living room Ms. Hamada? I don't want to disturb everyone else."

Aunt Cass gave Vera a very warm smile. "Of course, go right ahead. And Vera… it's Aunt Cass."

"Thank you," Vera said returning the smile. She rose on to her toes and pressed a kiss against Tadashi's cheek. It was hard for Hiro to miss the way that Vera didn't so much as blink at kissing Tadashi on the livid red, mottled burn scars. He also couldn't miss the way that Tadashi reached up and patted her on the head, smoothing down the hair he'd messed up from his headlock. They were so familiar with each other, so comfortable with one another, that it hurt Hiro. He and Tadashi had been like that once. Tadashi had never hesitated to ruffle his hair or pat him on the back. Now, though, it was like Tadashi was constantly worrying about whether or not he was going to offend Hiro by so much as touching him on the arm. "I'll be in the other room if you need me." she told Tadashi.

"Vera," Baymax called to her, making her turn back to face him. Hiro turned to look at Baymax too. His red scanning light was going off repeatedly on Vera. Vera cocked her head to the side and looked at Baymax curiously. "Are you at all feeling stressed? Recent scans seem to indicate that your neurotransmitter levels have not returned to normal since earlier this afternoon."

Tadashi gave Vera a dubious look. Vera however laughed it off. "I'm fine, thanks." she told Baymax.

"I would still recommend getting some sleep. I think you will find it most beneficiary."

"I'll consider it." Vera told Baymax in a dry voice that really didn't make Hiro believe that she was going to even remotely consider the idea.

"Also please take care not to aggravate your wrist or ankle anymore otherwise swelling and pain might occur. Your wrist especially…" Baymax continued.

"Yes, thanks. Got it." Vera cut him off abruptly. Hiro glared at her. Vera only forced a smile before going into the family room.

"Hey, real quick." Tadashi said. Vera popped her head back and shot a questioning look at him. "What were you asking Director Coulson about on the phone, y'know, what you were so adamant about knowing?"

Vera's smile looked like a cross between fake and dry. "Just confirmed our location is all." she shrugged, "Now stop talking to me. Talk to your family."

She gave one last little wave before disappearing to commandeer the family room. Hiro's eyes burned a hole in the spot she'd last stood.

"I've been teasing her about our ages since I first met her. She can be a bit rough around the edges. I'm sorry she isn't being more friendly at the moment." Tadashi apologized for her quietly as he came to sit in the chair that he'd been sitting in before he'd gone downstairs. The one next to him.

"I'm still trying to figure out where I've seen her before man." Fred said as he rubbed his chin. "Call me crazy but she really seems familiar."

"You're crazy," he, GoGo, Wasabi, and Honey Lemon all said at once. Tadashi shook with silent laughter.

"Why does she call you 'Chiune?'" Hiro asked sourly, arms still crossed over his chest.

"Well, since I couldn't remember my own name and I didn't want to go by what Hydra had been calling me, Vera suggested 'Chiune.' Apparently, it was the name of a Japanese hero during World War II who got hundreds of Jews out of Lithuania when the Nazi's invaded. Vera thought it was fitting." he explained sheepishly as he rubbed the back of his neck.

"So, how did you meet Vera?" GoGo asked as she swung her legs up on to Fred's lap.

"And why did she think 'Chiune' was a fitting name?" Honey Lemon tacked on.

"That's a long story." Tadashi said dismissively as he waved his hand in the air.

"We've got awhile," Wasabi pointed out. For one very quick, half instant, Tadashi's eyes darkened and the look on his face grew cold. It was so jarring that everyone went stiff on seeing it. Hiro couldn't recall a time when that look ever graced his brother's face. However, Tadashi must have realized everyone's wide eyed looks and the darkness was replaced by a forced smile.

"It isn't important." Tadashi said simply and with a note of finality. The door to that conversation was effectively shut tight. "Sorry, I didn't mean to snap." he mumbled as he raked a hand through his hair.

Aunt Cass reached across the table and squeezed his hand reassuringly. "Don't worry about it sweetheart."

"So I really went to SFIT?" Tadashi said with an apologetic smile. Trying to redirect the flow of conversation into a territory that was more comfortable for him. Hiro leaned forward, eager to help.

"Yep," he nodded but then tacked on, "Didn't graduate though... you kinda, well..."

"Ran into a burning building to save Dr. Callaghan." supplied Tadashi dryly. Another dark look crossed his face. Not as dark as the look earlier but still enough to give them pause. To Hiro, it almost looked as though Tadashi was lost in the ghost of a memory. Maybe he was trying hard to remember what he'd lost. Hiro couldn't tell. All that was obvious was that the news of Callaghan's betrayal had struck Tadashi hard. He'd sat dazed for a few minutes after they'd told him that Callaghan had been his greatest mentor and the reason he'd been presumed dead. Tadashi let out a groan and buried his face in his hands. "And here I thought that with my level of knowledge I had at least a Master's. Maybe if I'm lucky Coulson won't take my degree away and make me go back and finish it." he laughed lightly, "Really? I never graduated?"

"Nope, sorry dude. You're just a genius." Wasabi shook his head.

"You would've graduated with us." Honey Lemon added.

"Maybe you can get college credit or something for all the super spy work you've done." suggested Fred.

That made Tadashi laugh loudly. "No offense to any of you who earned it the traditional way but I think I might deserve my Master's after everything I've been through in the last three years."

"None taken Hamada but if you ever step out of line, I reserve the right to hold your lack of finishing school over your head." GoGo informed him.

"Fair enough," nodded Tadashi. Without realizing it, Tadashi leaned sideways in his chair and draped his arm over the back of Hiro's chair. He couldn't stop the smile that came to his face as he leaned back, tilting his head against Tadashi's arm. Of course that made Tadashi realize what he was doing which sent a jolt of surprise all through his arm. For a split second Hiro panicked and a weight sunk into his heart. He was almost sure that Tadashi would jerk his arm back. He met Hiro's eyes with an equally, slightly panicky look before laughing lightly under his breath and relaxing. The weight lightened but only a little. Hiro had no clue how long it would take to get back to the level of familiarity they'd shared. At least this was a start. That was something wasn't it.

"Okay, next question." Tadashi said, "Where exactly did I learn karate because, I'm not gonna lie, that one kinda threw me for a bit of loop."

"You took lessons down the street at local dojo for, oh gosh! How many years?" Aunt Cass exclaimed. She held up her hand and started counting the years on her fingers.

"A lot of them," Hiro answered with a shrug Then he smiled, "You had all my high school bullies running scared."

"Wow…" whispered Tadashi in awe. Absentmindedly, Tadashi rubbed the back of his neck. "Always a protector, huh?"

"Definitely," everyone all said at once. For some reason that made Tadashi nod contentedly.

"I think I can live with that fact."

"Why does that surprise you Hamada?" GoGo asked him as she leaned forward.

"It doesn't," Tadashi sighed. "It's just after everything I've been through, everything that happened in that compound, and all the questions I still have about what happened in that fire… it's reassuring to hear something like that."

There was a lingering pain in his voice. One that Hiro had no clue how to fix. He reached over and grabbed his brother's hand, the one that was hanging over his shoulder. Again, Tadashi seemed to jump at the touch. He wasn't about to let Tadashi slip away from him again. He'd learned the hard way what happened if he let go. He was never letting go of Tadashi again. Hiro gave him a reassuring smile. "You've always been my hero."

Tadashi nodded, a slight smile on his lips. For a moment he looked as though he wanted to say something but them but then he bit his lip as though he'd thought better of it. However, the way that Tadashi's hand tightened around Hiro's shoulder told him that wasn't the case. "What?" Hiro asked him.

Tadashi shifted uncomfortably, clearing his throat. "I was, um, well… I wanted to know… what were our parents like?"

Just like that all the color drained out of Hiro's face. His mind came to a screeching halt. How many times had Tadashi asked him in the past about what their parents would say about some of the more stupid things he'd done? He had always just shrugged it off. He'd been three when their parents had died. He could barely remember them. That had been Tadashi's job. Tadashi had been the one to remember their parents. Tadashi had been the one to tell him about their parents. Not the other way around. Never the other way around. Hiro sat up, pulling himself from Tadashi's grasp and leaning forward to hide his face. Suddenly he now understood all the looks of mortification that Tadashi had given him when he'd brushed off the stern lecture of "Mom and Dad would be appalled." Hiro understood and white hot shame rose in his throat. Why had he never paid attention? He should've paid more attention.

"I'm sorry," Tadashi said quickly, "I just… I didn't want to hurt… I'm so sorry."

"It's alright sweetheart." Aunt Cass told Tadashi just as quickly, reaching forward and taking his outstretched hand. It was then that Hiro realized that Tadashi had, once again, hesitated in comforting him. This was just great! The perfect way to reestablish their brotherly bonds, admit that he didn't know and couldn't answer the questions about their parents. A soft hand touched his cheek, drawing his face up again. Aunt Cass was smiling her understanding but brittle smile. "Let me take this one okay sweetie." she told him.

Hiro nodded wordlessly as Aunt Cass began to talk about their parents in depth. God bless Aunt Cass for being able to fill in the blanks he couldn't. He completely sucked as a brother. The familiar feel of Baymax's hand on his head snapped him from his thoughts. Hiro cast a glance up at him as he proceeded to pat his head reassuringly. Okay, maybe he didn't completely suck as a brother. He'd managed to continue on Tadashi's work with Baymax hadn't he? Hiro had upgraded Baymax, made him a better healthcare companion and had turned him into a hero. That was something wasn't it? He looked over at his and Tadashi's friends. They were all giving him sidelong glances from the corners of their eyes. Hiro knew at the bottom of his heart that, even in his darkest moments, they didn't think he'd ever failed Tadashi. He gave them a small smile just to show them he was going to be alright.

Slowly the conversation began to filter away from their parents. Tadashi had taken what Aunt Cass had told him about their parents' death and how they'd come to live with her when they were younger in stride. It felt wrong that something that used to bother Tadashi so badly was now reduced to a simple head nod with a slightly confused look. It was as though he knew it should hurt, but couldn't quite unlock the full reasoning behind it. Vaguely, Hiro wondered why Tadashi had been more affected when he'd heard about his connection to Callaghan and then Callaghan's betrayal. He'd file that away in the category of things to ask Tadashi later when they were alone and probably after they got the whole deal with Hydra and Callaghan sorted out.

In the meantime, Fred had launched into a gut busting story about Tadashi had once ended up at his house after a failed test with Baymax. It included Tadashi wandering about the huge mansion in a state of confusion, not being able to hear half the things Fred said, and Tadashi yelling every response that he gave which was typically not anywhere remotely close to an answer the question Fred had been asking him. Tadashi had asked that no one tell Vera or his colleagues at S.H.I.E.L.D. about that mishap.

In the middle of Honey Lemon and GoGo's story, recounting the time that they'd suckered Tadashi into playing traffic cone for a test involving GoGo's bike that had turned into a gnarly crash, Wasabi got up to get something out of the family room. When he came back he was tiptoeing out of the room. "Guys try to keep it down." he whispered as he waved his hand up and down, "Vera's sacked out on the couch."

"That's good," both Tadashi and Baymax replied at the same exact time.

Tadashi twisted around with a huge, cheesy grin on his face. "Vera was right. I so totally programmed you."

Hiro had only rolled his eyes and prompted GoGo and Honey Lemon to continue.

"I'll tell you what man," Wasabi said pointing to Tadashi before gesturing wildly to Hiro, "I have never loaned so many tools to you as I have that one over there. I mean! You saw his lab! It's a wonder how he finds anything in there and now I know for a fact that he's completely busted the shelves that you and I worked so hard to install that day."

Wasabi had eased his way into a story after Honey Lemon and GoGo had finished. Of course Fred had thought of another story but had been forced to wait his turn by Aunt Cass.

"My lab is not that messy. And I do know where everything is." Hiro snorted. Then he thought about the fact that he still had to find a few more pages of his notes for his professor. "Well mostly," he amended.

"You sure about that because I'm pretty certain I could hide the cat in there and no one would find him for days." Tadashi teased.

Hiro rolled his eyes, "You'd have to catch him first and you forget how fat and loud Mochi is. Besides, everyone knows Mochi prefers me over you so…"

A blood curdling scream cut through apartment. Hiro's smirk evaporated off his face as he jumped to his feet. He wasn't the only one. Honey Lemon, GoGo, Wasabi, Fred, and Aunt Cass all leapt out of their chairs. However, one person was quicker than all of them. Tadashi. His chair went flying backwards as he whipped around towards the family room. Tadashi let loose a series of colorful swears both in English and in Japanese as he sprinted for the family room. "Tadashi! Wait!" cried Hiro as he raced after him.

Tadashi wasn't listening though.

Chapter Text

He knew that scream way too well. He'd become familiar with it in the labs of the underground compound that Hydra kept them at, it had pierced through the walls and into his lab. He'd woken up to it several nights in a row after he'd first moved into Vera's apartment those few weeks after escaping from Hydra. Yes, he knew that scream all too well. "Vera!" he called frantically as he stumbled into the family room.

Vera was still asleep, screaming bloody murder and thrashing on the couch. It took every ounce of him not to grab on to her shoulders and shake her awake. Even after all this time, that was Tadashi's first instinct. He'd learned not to shake her awake fairly quickly after he'd tried it one of the first times and Vera had nearly punched him out. "Vera! Vera! Wake up!" he shouted over her screaming and instead taking her hands in his.

Vera jerked awake, eyes flying open wide but one look was enough to tell him that she wasn't out of the nightmare yet. Her screaming became strangled noises in the back of her throat as her eyes flitted around the room, far away and terrified, looking for enemies that she wouldn't find. "Vera, look at me." he told her insistently. Her breathing was shallow and gasping. Panic still had a firm grip on her senses. "Look at me imouto."

Suddenly, she snapped around and met his eyes. Chest still heaving and face still white as a sheet, awareness finally came back into her eyes. "Chi...Chiune," she choked out.

Without a further sound, Vera launched herself at him. She tore her hands from his to throw them around his waist. Unlike when Hiro had tackled him earlier, Tadashi was ready for her. He caught her and wrapped his arms around her head, pressing one ear closer to his chest while blocking the other ear and her eyes with a constant reassuring pressure. He could feel Vera's wracking sobs against his chest as he purposely timed his own breathing. "Just breathe Vera. I've got you. Just breathe." he whispered into her hair.

"Respiration and heart rate have increased to unhealthy levels. My scans also indicate that brain activity has increased in areas the regulate fear and response to fear as well as overstimulation to the nervous system. Diagnosis, panic attack. Treatments include…" Baymax informed the room oh so helpfully as he started towards them.

"I've got it." he snapped Baymax more fiercely than he'd intended. He winced and waved Baymax back. "I've got it." he said again but this time much gentler.

"Order understood. I shall defer treatment to you, Tadashi." Baymax stepped back again. Vera's legs gave out underneath her so he lowered both of them to the couch again, never once letting go of Vera's head.

"You're safe. I've got you. Nothing's going to happen. You're safe. Just breathe. There you go that's it." he told her quietly as he felt Vera's breathing even out in time with his heart beat and his own breathing. Every so often Vera would give a shudder against his chest as another sob was wrenched from her mouth. The front of his cardigan was wet with her tears but he didn't really care. Slowly he stopped cradling her head so he could rub a small circle on her back. "It's alright." he assured her.

"Tadashi, does Vera suffer from a chronic anxiety disorder?" Baymax asked.

"Huh?" he responded in a not very helpful way. Tadashi looked up. He didn't think it was possible for a robot to look clinical and yet that was exactly the way Baymax looked and sounded as he continued to regard the scene through his sensors. That's when he also caught sight of Hiro and all the others.

Wasabi and Fred were ready for action with respective blades out and hood on. GoGo and Honey Lemon also looked as though they could defend the family room at the drop of a hat. Interestingly enough, Aunt Cass was holding a broom over her head but the look on her face made Tadashi think that she'd forgotten about that little fact when she saw him with Vera. As for Hiro… Hiro had been right behind him into the room. His hand was still clenched into a fist and he was staring straight at Vera's prone figure in Tadashi's lap. The look on his face was something of shock mixed with a hint of confusion. However, Hiro's eyes flashed upwards and met his for one brief second before darting back to Vera in a wide eyed and open jawed expression. It was if he was truly realizing and seeing something about Vera for the first time. He brushed off Hiro's look though.

Tadashi looked down at Vera. She'd stopped sobbing finally but was still shaking underneath his hand. However, she was aware enough to nod her head against his chest to give him permission to speak about her mental health. "She suffers from post traumatic stress disorder." he answered.

"I see. That would offer adequate explanations for some of my earlier scans regarding her abnormally high stress levels." Baymax replied sagely.

His hand froze over Vera's back. He frowned. Abnormally high stress levels? Baymax had to have had that wrong. He would've noticed if Vera was acting off. That's when he also recalled Vera's words to him earlier. You are absolutely adorable thinking I'm going to be a functioning human being tonight. I plan on spending the night in a drug induced stupor. He placed his hand against Vera's shoulder soothingly. "I thought you said you were going to take your medication tonight Vera?" he asked her gently.

Vera peeled her head away from his chest. The color still hadn't returned to her face but she managed to muster up a superb disgruntled look. "I don't have any on me. They're all at the safe house." she told him bitterly.

It was like someone had thrown ice water on him. "Why didn't you say anything!" he demanded.

Vera's only response was a subtle nod towards Hiro, Honey Lemon, Fred, GoGo, Wasabi, Aunt Cass, and Baymax. He looked up at them and suddenly felt like he was choking on his own guilt. Of course Vera hadn't said anything. He'd been too caught up in rediscovering his friends and family. Of course she would've kept silent, thinking that this was more important than she was. She hadn't wanted to ruin it. How could this have happened? How had he managed to get so wound up in himself that he'd neglected Vera? He was so stupid.

He had seen the signs, Tadashi realized. She'd mentioned a strong cup of coffee earlier probably because she knew she didn't want to fall asleep for fear of nightmares. Baymax had commented on her stress level. He'd even noted that her wrist was swollen from twisting her bracelet, her nervous tick to try and hide what she was feeling. She'd even asked, no demanded, that Coulson tell her exactly where her GPS reading was coming from just so she would know that it was actually working. Just so she knew that no one would lose her again. How had he been so blind? "Vera…" he said, deathly quiet, "I'm so, so, so sorry. I should've…"

"Chiune," Vera muttered as she turned her head back into his chest, fingers still twisted tight into the wool of his cardigan, "shut up."

Tadashi shut his mouth but the guilt still weighed hard on him. Someone touched his shoulder hesitantly. It was Hiro. "I… uh… I think I understand where she's coming from." Hiro told him haltingly. He rubbed the back of his neck nervously before taking a seat on the other side of him. "She let you have priority over her needs. I know you don't… I know you don't remember your life before the fire but you were always putting everyone else's needs before your own. You were always doing it for me. Always."

"I just thought after the last year of focusing on my scars and wounds that you ought to have the chance to focus on your own life." Vera whispered before falling silent. She let go of the front of his clothes and laid her head in his lap, pulling her arms up over her face and tucking her legs up on the couch. Tadashi laid a hand on her wrist and hand. She was absolutely freezing which wasn't uncommon for her after one of her panic attacks. Biting his lip he turned and reached for the throw blanket that was tossed over the back of the couch. He laid it over top Vera's head and torso, blocking everyone's view of her.

No one said anything for a long time. Hiro sat next to him on the couch, leaning against him in a silent show of support and for once didn't seem bothered or jealous of Vera's closeness. That was a good development despite all the mayhem that preceded it. Honey Lemon and Wasabi took a seat on the smaller adjacent sofa while GoGo perched herself on the arm rest. Fred chose to flop down on the ground. Aunt Cass stayed standing until she disappeared into the kitchen.

Tadashi found himself looking everywhere and anywhere else besides their eyes. His laptop that Vera had borrowed was still sitting open on the coffee table. Though it had gone dark with nonuse, Vera's notes were still spread around it. Various different tidbits about Dr. Callaghan, his daughter, Alistair Krei, Fox Labs, and Hydra were jotted down in a pattern that only Vera would be able to understand. It looked like she'd been trying to draw pieces of a puzzle together and had fallen asleep right there on the couch in the middle of it. He was certain that her work hadn't helped her nightmares any. "Is she, uh, gonna be okay?" asked Fred from his spot on the ground, obviously concerned.

Tadashi felt Vera nod her head even though the question hadn't been directed at her. "Yeah, she'll be okay."

"It just takes time is all." Hiro added quietly. Tadashi looked over at him and wondered if he was speaking from personal experience.

"Recovering from a panic attack can take up to several hours but may be helped by calming activities or relaxation techniques." Baymax chipped in.

Aunt Cass came back from the kitchen. In her hand was an extra tall mug, filled to the top, and steaming. Very carefully, she knelt down by Vera's head and touched her on the shoulder. "Vera dear, I made you some tea if you'd like it. It's chamomile."

Vera sat up, the blanket slipping down over her shoulders. "That would be great," she mumbled. "Thanks Ms. Hamada."

Aunt Cass handed her the mug and patted her on the leg. "It's Aunt Cass dear." she repeated her earlier words.

Vera smiled weakly before taking a ginger sip of her tea. Tadashi grabbed the blanket from around her shoulders and tugged it up over her head. No one really said anything for a few minutes as Vera sipped at the tea.

"So Vera," Honey Lemon said at length brightly, "New York huh? Living there must be exciting."

"I suppose," Vera shrugged, pushing back her hair from her face. "I'm always pretty busy with classes and everything."

"I thought you were like a spy or something." Wasabi pointed out in confusion.

Vera gave him a dry grin, "I was for awhile, among other things. I'm a second year criminal law student at NYU. Much more rewarding in my opinion."

"I can see it." GoGo told her as she turned her head to the side.

Before Vera had a chance to say anything in response her cell phone buzzed against the coffee table. It was perfectly timed with his own phone going off. Vera leaned forward out of his grasp to grab it off the table as he fished into his jean pockets for his own phone. "It's Coulson." Vera murmured as she looked at her own phone.

A stab of worry coursed through him. "Vera just leave it." he told her, half pleading. He didn't want her to put herself in anymore stressful situations for the time being.

"He has more information on Callaghan and the break in at Fox Labs." Vera said disregarding him.

"Wait! What about Callaghan and Fox Labs?" Hiro gaped at her. Then he abruptly shut his mouth and shook his head violently. "Forget I said that. It can wait."

"No, no. You're right." mumbled Vera as she pressed a few buttons on her phone and read through the message that Coulson had sent her. "We still owe you an explanation on Hydra and Callaghan as promised."

"Seriously, it can wait if you're not up to it." Wasabi insisted. Vera's eyes snapped up at him.

"Don't start with me please. I came to San Fransokyo to do a job. Now let me do it." she informed them all seriously. Tadashi winced at her tone. There was something about this somewhere that couldn't be healthy, throwing herself into work like this without any regard for her own mental health. He also knew though that there was no way to dissuade her. "The short version of explanation is that Hydra broke Dr. Robert Callaghan out of his supermaximum prison cell with the express reason of luring you, Big Hero 6, out into the open." Vera told them.

"I knew it!" GoGo growled. "I knew someone had helped him escape!"

"It wasn't just escape that Hydra helped him out with." Tadashi added. He tried, but utterly failed to keep the bitterness out his voice when he thought about the fact that Hydra had resurrected his hive drones and given them to Callaghan to use and abuse. He shook his head and continued, "Hydra also seems to given him a new focus. He had some half insane line about the world being broken and wanting to fix it that he gave Abigail."

"That makes absolutely no sense." Wasabi said with a skeptical look on his face. "And how could that be construed as only half insane?"

"You weren't there when he said it. Trust me. He didn't sound crazy when he said it." he explained.

"You were there?" Hiro gaped at him. "You were in Abigail Callaghan's apartment?"

He shrugged, "Well, yeah. She had all his research. I thought looking through it might help me find Big Hero 6, you guys."

Tadashi didn't think that was exactly an Earth shattering bombshell but the way that Hiro, Fred, Honey Lemon, and GoGo all went bug eyed at the news told him differently. The only one who didn't look at him as though he'd grown a second head was Aunt Cass and Baymax. Baymax, he was sure, didn't react because he was a robot and hadn't been designed to go bug eyed. As for Aunt Cass, she was only looking at them all in undisguised confusion. "Is there something that I don't know?" she asked before pinching the bridge of her nose. "Nevermind, forget I said that. There are many things I don't know nor do I want to know."

"You were in Abigail's apartment!" repeated Hiro.

"Dude!" Fred exclaimed loudly. "You were the one that posted that gif on our tip blog! The warning. Holy mother of Megazon! You used the hydra monster to literally warn us about Hydra! That is freakin' awesome."

He stared at Fred in confusion. What was he… oh yeah! "I did post that! That was me." he laughed.

"You rock man. You rock!" Fred told him reverently as he stood up and gave him a high five.

"King of the nerds." Hiro grumbled as he ground the heel of his palm into his forehead.

Vera gave a snort, "So he told me not to forget."

She got up without saying anything more as she read through the text that Coulson had sent the pair of them. Hiro's hand clenched around his arm. "You were there when Callaghan attacked Abigail." he whispered in horror.

"Yeah, that too." he winced at Hiro's mortified look. "I was hoping that some of his research notes would prove useful in helping me find you guys, more specifically Baymax. Between what I found and Callaghan showing up, I got way more than I anticipated."

Vera jerked to attention, twisting around to face him. "Oh my God," she whispered as a realization dawned on her, "It was you that threw Callaghan off his game. You were the reason that he went off script. He literally saw the ghost of his past come back to haunt him!"

A twisted smile spread across her lips and her eyes danced. "Can you please not act so excited about that fact?" he asked her bitterly and shooting a glare at her.

"You don't understand. This is a missing piece of the puzzle. Another tidbit to help us figure out what the he and Hydra are going to pull next." Vera said as she fell to her knees in front of the coffee table. She pulled all her notes around, grabbed a legal note pad, and began skimming through things like a demon possessed. Fred scooted closer to her and started reading over her shoulder.

"You said that Hydra gave him a new focus. Did they also give him more microbots or something because her apartment was torn to shreds. That Williams guy said that he made some improvements to my technology and wanted my input." Hiro asked him seriously.

"That would probably be the damned hive drones." he grumbled bitterly. "Nasty weaponized mini-robots operated through dual controls, neurocranial and programmable technology. Perfect for all your destructive and evil needs."

"Wow, bitter much?" GoGo commented.

He bit his cheek to keep himself from answering without speaking. "I have every right to be. I was forced to make them by Hydra. I thought everything relating to them was destroyed. Obviously not because someone managed to recreate them and then proceeded to update them." he said with tone that sounded just barely controlled to his own ears.

"Tadashi," Hiro's voice was quiet as he squeezed on his shoulder. Subconsciously, he wrapped his own hand around Hiro's. He couldn't really explain why but for some reason he found it easier to temper his rage as he clung to Hiro's hand. Easier to breath and think logically.

"I'm okay," he mumbled under his breath. He gave a heavy sigh before looking up. Vera was shooting him a furtive glance from over the top of her papers. Then there was the fact that he could feel Hiro's eyes boring into his back. He went to pull his hat down over his head but stopped short when he realized that it was still sitting on the kitchen table. Instead, he ran his hand through his hair in frustration. "I'm okay." he reassured them with a weak smile.

Vera looked down back at her notes and Hiro's hand squeezed his shoulder reassuringly. Tadashi pulled his hand away from Hiro's before it got too awkward. "Why was Hydra so keen on us coming with them tonight?" asked Honey Lemon.

"They have an interest in 'making the unknowable knowable' or something like that." he answered as he looked at Vera with careful regard. He was not about to say the wrong thing and set her off again. She appeared to not even be paying attention but he knew better because he saw Vera take a deep breath in through her nose to steady herself. Her eyes never left the papers she was going through though.

"What's that even supposed to mean?" GoGo shook her head in confusion.

He started to answer but he faltered. How was he going to explain this. "Let's put it this way..." Vera said grimly, "Big Hero 6 used their brains and skills to give themselves Superpowers. Hydra loves Superpowers, everything about them. You guys are like fruit, ripe for the picking, to Hydra. They'd love nothing more than to leech off of you and use your abilities for their own gain."

"You're saying that they would try and force us to work for them?" Fred said. The skepticism was clear on his face as if he didn't think it was possible for him to be put up to anything he didn't want to do. Tadashi was about to tell him not to be so certain. Hydra had somehow managed to force him into doing their bidding despite the fact that he had no memory of who he was. However Vera spoke before he could.

"Or find a way to actually give you metahuman abilities." she said with a shrug.

"Can they even do that?" Wasabi raised his eyebrow, clearly uncertain.

"Wouldn't surprise me. I know they've come close in the past but their test subjects haven't always fared well after the fact. I wouldn't be surprised if they've rectified that in the last year seeing as how they managed to take away a metahuman's abilities."

He went pale and his eyes went wide. They were clearly in not good territory. "Vera," he started but Fred jumped in.

"No way! They took away someone's metahuman abilities?" he gasped.

"Like permanently?" questioned Aunt Cass with surprise.

Vera pressed her lips together into a thin line as she reached for her mug of tea. "So it would seem," she muttered under her breath before taking a long drink.

"Vera it seems as though your stress levels are rising..." Baymax started.

"Alright, new topic if you don't mind." Tadashi said quickly, cutting Baymax off as he eyed Vera from the corner of his eye. Though everyone seemed to be looking at her in confusion, Vera seemed to able to block it all out. Vera shuffled through some of her papers, handing some to Fred, before picking up her phone.

"Coulson said that he got away with… I can't even pronounce that and they make me learn latin law terms in school?" she read off her phone. Alright, at least Vera had moved away from the trauma that Hydra had inflicted on her.

Tadashi frowned as he looked at his own phone. Instantly he found the word that Vera meant. "It's Greek, for Poseidon… I think." he said as he stared at his phone with furrowed eyebrows. "Looks like he got away with quite a bit of it too, 30 milliliters... whatever it is. Coulson doesn't say what it is or what it's used for."

"Pity because that would actually be really useful information." muttered Vera as she shuffled through papers. She must not have been paying a lot of attention because she handed a couple of them over to Fred. Fred promptly began reading through them as well.

"Hey Honey Lemon, chemicals are your thing. Any idea what this Poseidon formula is or does?" Fred asked as he looked up at her briefly.

Honey Lemon shook her head apologetically, "Sorry, Fox Labs hasn't gone public with any of their latest research. They got a military contract not that long ago though. I don't know if that helps any but..."

"No worries. We'll figure it out." Fred assured her as he bent his head and continued reading. His eyebrows furrowed as he went through Vera's notes. "These two forces are definitely up to no good."

"Bit obvious don't you think?" GoGo snorted.

"And whatever they want this Poseidon formula is important enough to them that they sent Williams and his men out to be the distraction tonight." Vera agreed. She probably hadn't heard GoGo's retort.

"Whoa! Back up a minute!" sputtered Wasabi. "I thought you guys said that these Hydra people broke Callaghan out of jail to distract us."

"They did." Vera said simply.

"Only tonight, Hydra needed us busy otherwise we would have totally rained on their parade." Fred told them with a solemn nod before pulling his cell phone from his pocket. He tapped Vera on her arm and motioned to her phone. She gave it up without a protest.

"Had word gotten out that Yokai was at Fox Labs, Big Hero 6 would've been right on his tail making it a living nightmare for him to get what he needed done."

"But word didn't get out." Aunt Cass pointed out in confusion. "The news only reported that there was a break in."

"It's a pure freaking miracle that Dr. Callaghan's involvement is still hiding underneath the rug." Vera acknowledged with a single nod. "Hydra couldn't take the risk though. They couldn't guarantee that their buddy would go unnamed in the public eye."

"Better to have people chasing us around then leave something like that up in the air." Fred said. "Besides, if they somehow managed to succeed in capturing us..."

"All the better for them." Vera finished.

"But why would they still need the Poseidon formula if they thought they could take us tonight?" Hiro asked as he raked a hand through his hair.

"Easy answer is that Hydra's plan involves you and the Poseidon formula in some way." Vera told them simply.

"Um, that doesn't exactly make me get a warm and fuzzy feeling inside." Honey Lemon pointed out with a nervous laugh.

"What could it be though?" mumbled Vera without hearing Honey Lemon. She stood up slowly and started pacing back and forth with her hand tucked on her chin.

"It would have to be something fairly big," Fred added as he stood up to join her. He stared at his phone, still scrolling on the screen, as he paced.

"But not necessarily something they would need to lure you guys out into the open with. It would have to be something that could function as a distraction and as whatever else Hydra has in mind."

"A flexible plan to say the least."

"Or adaptable."

"The military contract Honey Lemon mentioned Fox Labs winning looks like it was from the U.S. Army. No word on what exactly it's for though. Totally top secret and need to know basis only."

"Of course not. There are ways of getting around that though." Vera smirked. "Any mention in the local papers about strange happenings after Fox Labs picked up the contract?"

"No but certain city blogs say that there have been weird earthquake like tremors outside a well known Fox Labs' testing area recently. Some residents called Fox Labs' public relations department to complain but the representative just kept telling them that they were just working on some new compounds that they referred to as the... get this, the Earth-shaker formula."

"Earth-shaker," Vera paused, "correct me if I'm wrong but wasn't that an epithet for..."

"Poseidon? Yeah... Do you think..." Fred's voice trailed off but Vera picked up on his train of thought.

"Do you?"

Fred scratched his chin thoughtfully. "It's too much of a coincidence. Can you see if your buddies at S.H.I.E.L.D. can confirm?"

"They're trying too but you know how government agencies are. No one likes to play nice and share information."

"Anyone else officially lost?" Wasabi asked as he looked around the room.

There was a chorus of nods and a couple of yeps from everyone but Fred and Vera. The pair were completely lost in their own swing of things.

"Shall we operate under the assumption that Earth-shaker formula and Poseidon formula are one and the same?" Vera continued.

Fred nodded, "Let's. With that in mind, the next question is…"

"What could this formula actually be? What's it's purpose?"

"As cool as it would be, I don't think it is actually mimicking an earthquake. Wrong kind of science."

All of a sudden, they both froze in place. They'd been facing away from each other but spun around quickly to exchange looks with wide eyes and open hanging jaws. "No!" gasped Vera in shock.

"Can't be that easy..." agreed Fred with an equally surprised look on his face.

Vera shook her head as a rather disturbing grin broke across her face. "But it is!"

"It isn't Callaghan's M.O. though." Fred pointed out but didn't sound all the way convinced.

"But it's Hydra's though. Quick, simple, and efficient."

"Will one of you please tell the rest of us what the Hell you two are talking about." demanded GoGo. However, it was obvious that Vera and Fred hadn't heard her.

"And it's sure to pull the heroes out into the open." Fred started to grin himself. There was something that wasn't quite right about that smile in Tadashi's opinion.

"It's brilliant." Vera smirked. Okay, there was something that definitely wasn't right about her smile either.

"It's ingenious." Fred smirked back at her.

"Horrible!"

"Unthinkable!"

"Despicable!" The shared conclusion was accompanied by an enthusiastic look that really didn't match the conclusion.

"What is!" yelled Hiro. He jumped to his feet in frustration. Both Vera and Fred turned to face him.

"A bomb," they both answered completely in sync with one another and so much so that it was scary.

"Okay! Now I swear that I've seen you somewhere before. Your level of awesome is way too great to escape notice." Fred said emphatically as he looked at Vera with a healthy dose of respect.

Vera rolled her eyes but said good naturedly, "Been through this before buddy, never seen you in my life but I thank you for the ego boost."

"Excuse me," coughed Aunt Cass, bringing their attention back to the matter at hand. Her face had gone as white as a sheet.

"Um, Vera... maybe you ought to calm down a little." Tadashi suggested as he cast a nervous glance over at his Aunt.

"I do not think that is possible. Both Fred and Vera have a large amount of norepinephrine in their systems. It will take some time for it to fully cycle out." Baymax stated as he looked between Vera and Fred almost curiously.

"Is she always like this?" Hiro asked him dryly.

He bit back a groan. "At times. You ought to see her when she's all fired up about metahuman and Superhero politics."

"They have a point." Honey Lemon said timidly. "The Poseidon formula could very well be explosive which is why people surrounding the testing area have reported tremors."

"I'll see if I can get Coulson to confirm it." Vera said as she grabbed her phone. She started typing out a text message to him.

Fred bent down and grabbed a few of her notes about Callaghan. "Where do you think he's planning on detonating?" he asked as he flipped a couple pages over.

"Are we seriously going with this bomb theory?" Wasabi interrupted them. He was twisting his ring around his finger as he looked around the room.

"Like Honey Lemon said and those two over there said, it would make sense." GoGo agreed, "Blowing something up would be a good way to get us to show up. Though, I think we're forgetting the simple fact that Hydra doesn't really need to invite us anywhere when they already know where they can find us most of the time. They didn't just randomly show up at SFIT. They knew where to find us once, they can find us again. In our own homes for that matter."

"That I'm sure we have Callaghan to thank for." Hiro muttered under his breath.

"The fact that Hydra hasn't come after you in your own homes is pretty telling. It probably wouldn't surprise me to know that they plan to use the bomb to help them abduct you or cover up your abduction." Vera said as she tapped her chin thoughtfully.

"I don't think I like that plan." Aunt Cass muttered darkly. Tadashi didn't blame her. Aunt Cass lived in a constant world or Superheroes and Supervillains but was completely powerless. Hiro got up off the couch and crossed the room to wrap his arms around Aunt Cass so tightly that she was nearly lifted off the floor.

Tadashi sent Vera a pointed look before saying, "No one is being abducted. Bomb or otherwise."

"Wasn't planning on going with those thugs tonight and I don't plan on going with them any other time." GoGo said grimly.

"Amen to that." Wasabi added.

"I do not have a full working knowledge of Hydra but I do not believe that their ideologies or principles have the best in mind when it comes to the physical and emotional health of any persons." Baymax said with the express purpose of reassuring Aunt Cass.

"Don't worry. Nothing will happen to us. We'll think of a way around it. We always do." Honey Lemon drove her fist into her palm in determination.

Aunt Cass parted from Hiro, a dry, tired smile on her face. She touched Hiro's cheek gently. "I know you guys will." she said at length. "I think though, that for my own sanity, I need to leave you guys to do your Superhero thing. I'm going to go to bed. Wake me up if the world is ending and you need snacks."

Aunt Cass pressed a kiss to Hiro's cheek before patting it. Then she crossed the family room and stopped in front of him. Tentatively, she reached up and brushed his bangs back over his forehead. "I've missed you so much Tadashi." she whispered as a few tears ran down her face.

It was weird. He had no clue how he could feel this stifling sadness that was constantly threatening to choke him but yet be so incredibly happy at the same time. Tadashi wanted to tell her that he'd missed her too, but he wasn't sure he had the right to say it. Instead, he wrapped his arms around her just as Hiro had and buried his face in the top of her hair. "Good night Aunt Cass. We'll see you in the morning I'm sure."

Very slowly she let him go but not before pressing a kiss on to his cheek. Nobody said anything until she was out of the room and out of earshot. "We need to figure out what Hydra and Callaghan maybe planning to blow up. Anyone got any ideas?"

"It would have to be large," Fred supplied immediately.

"And public." Vera agreed.

"He's still holding a grudge on Krei." he reminded them.

Wasabi shook his head, "Callaghan's already attacked Krei Tech though."

"And it didn't work." GoGo added.

"If Callaghan still has it out for Krei though…" Hiro started before breaking off to rake his hand through his hair. "We need to get him out of San Fransokyo."

"He isn't going to want to go." Honey Lemon frowned.

"Then you'll have to convince him." Vera said. "I'd also convince Krei to evacuate the entire building until we're sure that Callaghan and Hydra haven't rigged it to blow."

There was a muted buzz as Vera's phone went off. She picked it up and read the text that had just come across. A small smirk flickered over her face. "Coulson says he tired of getting the run around from Fox Labs and being a step behind Hydra. He's coming here personally with a group of field agents. They'll be on the ground here in San Fransokyo by late morning tomorrow."

"Thank God." he sighed in relief as he rubbed the back of his neck. Then he paused when he noticed the way Vera's eyebrows furrowed and the confliction that was playing on her face for all to see. "What is it?"

"He wants me on the plane and back in New York within hours of them landing." she said quietly.

Hiro's jaw fell open as the rest of his friends all looked at him with varying degrees of confusion, disappointment, and hurt. Hiro was the first to recover, pulling a broken smile on to his face. "I… I didn't realize that you were going to be leaving so soon." he said quietly.

There was something else behind his words. There was the disappointment, hurt, and sadness but there was a level of acceptance. That weak smile on Hiro's face told Tadashi that Hiro understood why he might need to leave again. He was so stunned that he forgot how to speak.

"Chiune's staying here. I'm the only one going back to New York." Vera answered for him. Her voice was only an inch away from monotone. He opened his mouth to say something to her but the look of shock on Hiro's face froze his tongue in place.

"I… I just thought that…" he stammered.

Vera looked at him. Her expression was understanding. "I get it, but the minute I knew the truth about Chiune and you… well, I knew that I was going to be losing my roommate. I've had him for the last year. He deserves to be with his family. Maybe you can help him regain his memories."

Hiro stared at her in continued shock, still not sure what to make of the situation. "I'm surprised that your bosses at S.H.I.E.L.D. don't want you on hand to help out with stopping Hydra and Callaghan." GoGo said critically.

"Especially seeing as you seem to have a specific skill set in butt-kickery. I mean c'mon! Having Wasabi slice off the top of the van and taking out Williams's vehicle by shooting his tires out…" Fred nodded enthusiastically.

"I'm not exactly fieldwork cleared if you hadn't noticed." Vera pointed out with just a hint of bitter in her voice.

"Post Traumatic Stress Disorder can be coped with and a normal life can be lead." Baymax told her comfortingly.

"Emphasis on normal. Nothing normal about the world of Superheroes and spies." she said shaking her head.

"You must have been amazing in the field." Honey Lemon said so quietly that it was almost inaudible.

Vera smiled thinly, "I was."

"Do you miss it?" GoGo asked, raising her eyebrow.

Vera didn't answer but it was answer enough. Her eyes went far away and that was the first time Tadashi realized just how tired Vera actually looked. Vera shook off whatever memory she was in and wandered to the couch, sinking down once more on to it.

Hiro turned to look at the rest of team. "If the bomb isn't at Krei Tech, we have to find the bomb or the Poseidon formula. We can't let something like that stay in the hands of either Callaghan or Hydra. We may be able to use their trap to trap them." a smirk began to spread across his face.

"Can we not do something rash and stupid." Tadashi said pleadingly.

"Nii-chan," smirked Hiro, "I'm seventeen. I don't do rash and stupid."

There was an open snort from more than one person in the room that was less than promising. He buried his head in his hands and sunk to the couch again with a groan. "What if after we clear Krei Tech we use ourselves as bait? Make Callaghan and Hydra come to us." Honey Lemon offered brightly.

Tadashi went to tell them just how ridiculously dangerous the idea was. It was too late though. Hiro, Fred, Wasabi, GoGo, Honey Lemon, and Baymax were already off on an in depth discussion of how they could somehow turn Callaghan's next appearance into the perfect moment to trap him or to somehow tempt him into coming to them. There was a light touch on his shoulder, supportive and calming. He looked over at Vera, who was once more nestled in the blanket and was leaning against the back of the couch only inches from his arm. On her face was a sympathetic smile. "Welcome to the world of Superheroes, robot boy." she told him quietly.

Chapter Text

I start again and whatever pain may come,

Today this ends, I'm forgiving what I've done.

I'll face myself to cross out what I've become.

"What I've Done"- Linkin Park

X X X

"You didn't tell them about Dr. Callaghan stealing their research." Vera said as she tucked her hair behind her ear.

"No, after everything that happened last night it just didn't seem like the right time." he told her.

"Ahh," was the only response Vera gave him.

Absentmindedly, Tadashi ran his fingers over the brim of the black San Fransokyo's Ninja ball cap. Hiro had nearly stapled the thing to his head. He'd spent nearly five minutes chasing the kid around the house to get his Yankee cap back. Hadn't helped that his Aunt had played keep away too. It was only after Vera suddenly appeared, looking much more fresh faced than someone who'd barely slept had any right to be, and informed the group that if they were going to put their plan into action then they needed to get a move on.

Tadashi really didn't like the fact that his brother and his friends were going to purposely draw a villainous organization and a Supervillain into the open just so they could get the drop on them. He liked it about as much as he'd like knowing that Vera had been within breathing distance of Hydra at SFIT the night before. Not at all. He'd tried really hard to convince them to maybe wait, at least until Director Coulson showed up. In the end he knew it was a pointless argument. Hydra and Callaghan needed to be stopped and at least Big Hero 6 now knew that they were in Hydra's sights. They wouldn't be caught unawares again… hopefully. Tadashi took some degree of comfort in that fact as well as the fact that Coulson and the rest of the field team would be here in a few short hours to assist. It would also only be a few short hours and Vera would be back on a plane, bound for the relative safety of New York. He knew for a fact that he wouldn't be able to sit still waiting for Hiro and the others to return so he'd willingly gotten in the cab with Vera to help her pack up her stuff at the safe house.

''Do you think I should've told them about the stolen research? Would it have helped them with their plan?" he asked. Suddenly he found himself wondering if by holding back that information, he was putting Hiro and their friends in even greater danger. However, Vera merely shrugged. It wasn't the most reassuring gesture but still.

"It's hard to say. Most likely not. If anything it probably would have made them even angrier and spurred them into a quick decision." Vera told him. Alright, that was a little more reassuring. He'd take that. "Try not to look so nervous Chiune. Your brother and your friends have been doing this thing for nearly three years. They have lots of experience. You've got to trust them. Besides, you gave them a really good reason to come back alive tonight. You came home."

"Everything seems so surreal." he murmured as he ran his hand over the Ninjas hat again. "Two nights ago I was complaining about not knowing who I was. Now I have more people than I ever imagined telling me about myself. I still have so many questions that I don't think anyone will be able to answer but I've already gotten so much more than I ever anticipated."

"Like… " Vera asked.

"Like how Hydra managed to even take me in the first place." he answered. "Do you realize how close they would've had to been to the showcase hall the night of the fire to capture me while still making it look like I died?"

"They would've had to be in the building while it was burning." Vera answered. Her face twisted as she started to stumble over the same confusion he had had when he'd realized the same thing.

"Which meant that they must have had some knowledge as to who I was and what I could do before they made the conscious decision to rescue me."

"You think they somehow planned for you to run into the fire to save Dr. Callaghan just so they could capture you and make you disappear?" Vera frowned as she thought about it.

"Or something like that." shrugged Tadashi with a sigh.

"You realize that the next logical assumption would be that either Callaghan was working with Hydra all along or that Hydra has eyes and ears at SFIT." Vera pinched the bridge of her nose before shaking her head. She looked at him seriously, "I would add this to the list of things to maybe hold off on telling your brother about. At least until Coulson can get an official investigation into it."

"I think you're right." he agreed full heartedly.

The cab they'd taken pulled up to the curb of the safe house. Vera handed the cabbie his fare and the two of them climbed out. "I don't want to get your hopes up Chiune," she told him as the cab drove away, "but if we ever get Williams in S.H.I.E.L.D. custody then Coulson might be able to get some of those answers."

"If I never see Williams again, I will be extremely ecstatic." he muttered under his breath. Vera gave a humorless laugh, apparently hearing him anyways.

"Come on. There's only a few more hours before I'm supposed to be on a plane. You can hang over my shoulder and make sure I remembered all my stuff." she teased him as she grabbed him by the hand and started to lead him up the stairs. That's when his phone went off, blaring some annoyingly upbeat pop song at the top of its speakers. Both of them stopped. A mischievous grin spread across Vera's face. He could literally see the snarky remark forming on Vera's tongue.

"Don't even start imouto." he told her threateningly as he jab his finger towards her. The grin didn't fade off of her face but she held up her hands placatingly. She shook her head and turned to head up the stairs by herself. Her entire frame shaking with laughter as she went. He hit the button to accept the call. "So, um, should I take a wild guess as to who is calling me based on the awesome new ringtone that's been programmed into my phone?" he said, a pretty good guess at who was on the other end in his mind.

"Aw c'mon Nii-chan. You always liked pop music before." snickered Hiro. Oh someone help him. Tadashi could hear the smirk on his face. Very briefly he wondered what exactly he was getting himself into with Hiro Hamada.

"I'm sure." Tadashi said rolling his eyes and rubbing the bridge of his nose.

"Listen, I just wanted to tell you that Krei is on his way to his company airport with a couple of his security guards. He's going to take a spontaneous vacation. We're helping the police and bomb squad to clear Krei Tech." Hiro told him with a certain degree of seriousness that took him by surprise momentarily. "I just thought that you might like an update... y'know so you didn't have to worry."

A small smile broke across his face. He still didn't like the fact that his little brother was involved with dangerous Superhero business. He was trying really hard to relax and trust that Hiro had the necessary skills like Vera was urging him to but his mind was still not entirely able to wrap around the thought. Tadashi had a feeling that was something and Aunt Cass could bond over.

"Thanks," Tadashi replied. "I appreciate it. Be careful and tell everyone to watch their backs."

Hiro laughed brightly on the other end of the phone. "Will do Tadashi. See you at home later on tonight."

"Yes, where we're going to have a discussion about you stealing my cell phone and changing ringtones."

A laugh was the only response he got before the other line clicked off. Tadashi sighed as he hit the end call button on his own phone. With a little smile on his face he shoved his phone into his pocket and put the Ninjas hat on his head. He had to admit that it felt like it fit his head perfectly. Tadashi shook the feeling off before climbing up the stairs to the safe house.

Vera had left the door open for him so he walked right in. "Vera!" he called.

"In the bedroom." she called back.

"That was Hiro. He said that Krei is on his way to the airport. They're sweeping Krei Tech for any trace of the bomb now." Tadashi informed her as he walked into the bedroom and found her bent over her suitcase. Despite the fact that there were closets and dressers in the safe house, neither he or Vera had really bothered to unpack their suitcases into them. Since they both hadn't planned on staying in San Fransokyo for very long it had just made more sense to live out of their suitcases.

"Good." Vera said simply without looking up from the wad of dirty clothes she was trying to shove back into her suitcase. "Why is it that these things never go back in as well as they came out?"

"Maybe if you tried folding the dirty clothes instead?" he offered.

"How am I supposed to know if they're clean or dirty then?" snorted Vera.

He gave a shrug. "Hey, do you think that they'll find anything at Krei Tech?"

"Hard to say." Vera told him apologetically. "There are hundreds of targets in this city. They might be able to narrow some of the possibilities down once the field agents get here. It wouldn't surprise me if Coulson already has a list to work off of when the Bus touches down. Hey will you go into the bathroom and grab my toothbrush and stuff?"

"Yeah sure. Not a problem." he told her. He turned towards the door again, walking past the bedroom's closet.

And then he found himself stopped abruptly and a sharp pain seared across the back of his head.

Vera screamed something. It might have been his name but he was so disoriented from the blow to the back of the head that the only thing he really understood was her fear. He stumbled but caught himself before he fell to the ground only to feel something wrap tightly around his neck. Tadashi gasped. The thing that was on his windpipe, an arm he realized as his senses started to come back to him, tightened harder against him. Tadashi clawed viciously at his attacker's arm, thrashing and kicking. Anything to get loose as black spots began to dance in his vision.

Then suddenly all the force that had been on his neck disappeared. Air rushed into his lungs as he took a gulping, gasping breath. This time he did fall to his knees on the floor. He managed to look up in time to see his attacker stagger backwards to avoid a roundhouse kick from Vera. Of course that meant that he barely had any time to scramble out of the guy's path. Tadashi found his feet as the attacker threw himself forward at Vera again. The guy threw a quick series of jabs at Vera's face that she managed to block with her raised forearms, wincing as the blows fell over top her arms.

Anger flushed through him. Anger mixed with fear. This was Hydra. There was no doubt in his mind about that fact. He had no clue how Hydra had gotten into the safe house or how they'd even found it in the first place. It didn't matter now because they were both under attack.

The Hydra footsoldier advanced on Vera, pushing her back with punch after punch. Nuh-uh. That was not acceptable. Tadashi jumped forward. The footsoldier wasn't paying attention to what was behind him and was repaid in his mistake with Tadashi's low, sweeping kick to the inside of his leg. The man cried out, more in shock than anything else, as he went down to one knee. Vera lunged forward and sent her fist into the footsoldier's middle before twisting her arm, body, and fist around to punch the man across the face.

The guy's head whipped around from the force of the blow and his entire body fell to the ground with a heavy thud. Vera pulled back, breathing heavy. Her stance was still wide and her fist was still raised to attack. She'd dropped the few articles of clothing she'd been holding to jump to Tadashi's defense. "Are you alright?" she gasped, looking at him with huge eyes.

He winced as he felt the pain again in the back of his head. Gently he ran his hand over the tender area. There was no blood on his hand when he pulled it away though. It just hurt like a son of a gun. "Yeah, I think so." he answered after a moment, fixing his hat as well.

"He just jumped out of the closet as you went past." Vera told him, still in shock. However, her stance relaxed and her fists dropped lower.

Tadashi bent down towards the man. Sure enough there was a Hydra symbol on the front of his clothes. Vera gave a wordless hiss. "S.H.I.E.L.D. has a security breach." he muttered under his breath.

"I'll say." she agreed as she joined him at the footsoldier's side. At that particular moment, the man stirred and gave a rather pitiful groan. "You still conscious buddy?" Vera asked grimly as she took hold of the guy's chin in her hand to twist his face to her's.

The only response she got was another groan. "How'd you find us?" she tried again.

"Just... the... girl..." the footsoldier moaned back. Both he and Vera looked up at each other in confusion.

"What do you mean just the girl." Tadashi asked as he moved into the footsoldier's line of view.

"Here... Williams said that you wouldn't be here. Just the girl." said the footsoldier. He was clearly so out of it that he didn't realize that he was talking to the enemy.

"Did Williams send you here to kill me?" Vera growled. Her fingers clenched hard enough around the man's chin to leave indentations of her nails.

"Tidy up… loose ends. Then rendezvous at blow point." he mumbled.

"Figures," hissed Vera under her breath.

"Blow point? Do you mean the bomb?" Tadashi pressed.

The man gave a grunt as his response. His eyelids were drooping lower and lower with each passing moment. He was passing out. Tadashi and Vera exchanged a quick glance. The same fear that was running through his mind was spread across her face. She quickly wiped it off though.

"Where's the bomb?" Vera demanded. The man gave another low moan. Vera cursed under her breath and shook the footsoldier's by the shoulders. "Not yet! Don't you dare pass out on me you rancid sack of... where's the bomb!"

"The plane... it's on Krei's plane." Then he promptly passed out.

"Dammit!" Vera spat.

Something cold ran down his spine. "Alistair Krei is on his way to his company's private airport." he murmured in horror.

"It's an ambush." she whispered in the same exact tone. "Somehow, some way, Hydra's going to try and get Big Hero 6 all together at that airport."

"How are they going to do that?" Tadashi asked, looking at her desperately.

"I don't know but we've got to stop them. Once Big Hero 6 is all there, Hydra will abduct them." Vera said scrambling to her feet. Tadashi followed her.

"They'll use the bomb to cover up the abduction. Everyone will think their dead. No one will go looking for them. Just like with the fire three years ago and me." he realized as the pieces started to fall into place. "Should we call Coulson? Maybe he can..." he left the idea hanging in the air.

"There's nothing he could do. Call your brother and warn him. Hydra's making their move and the final location is Krei Tech's private airstrip." Vera said stepping over the footsoldier and to the closet. What exactly was she going in there for.

He shook his head. "They'll go charging right in. They'll play right into Hydra's hands!"

Vera flung the closet doors open wide and started flinging hangers aside violently. There was a whole slew of ready made disguise outfits. Tadashi still had no idea what she was looking for in particular but she seemed to have a pretty good idea because she kept tossing outfit after outfit aside. "No, they won't." Vera replied. Her voice was as sharp as steel.

He rose to his feet again, looking at Vera in utter confusion. "Then what are we going to do!" he snapped as he raked a hand through his hair in frustration. That was a bit of a mistake. He could still feel the crack he'd taken to the back of his head. It still hurt really, really bad.

Vera didn't answer. She was still digging in the closet. Seriously, how could she be searching through a closet at a time like this? Couldn't Vera have possibly found a better time to do this. Say, when there wasn't an imminent disaster on the horizon that would result in the end of everything he'd suddenly found again. Big Hero 6, his long lost little brother and best friends, were inches away from walking into an elaborate trap set by Hydra. The least she could do was show a little more concern if not worry. Not to mention the fact that there was still an unconscious Hydra footsoldier on the floor of their safe house. But hey, who cared? She was busy throwing clothes that weren't hers around in the closet! "Vera!" he yelled.

Vera's hands suddenly froze over a garment. For a moment her eyes went far away and he suddenly panicked. He shouldn't have screamed at her. She'd had a panic attack the night before. She'd had a flashback. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry." he said quickly, jumping forward with his hands out towards her. "I didn't mean to yell. I'm sorry."

"Remind me to kill Coulson after this is all said and over." Vera muttered under her breath as she yanked the article of clothing of the hanger. She turned to face him, draping the clothing over her arm as she did so. That was when Tadashi realized that he hadn't set her off at all. There was a cold, determined look on her face. Her eyes flashed with the same icy determination he'd seen when they'd first ran from Hydra. Her entire body was shaking but the most telling was her hands. She'd clenched them into fists to keep from showing it too much but it wasn't really working. Vera met his gaze evenly. "I'll tell you what we're going to do Chiune..." she started in a voice so quiet and deadly that even Williams would have to take notice of it, "We're going to get there before Big Hero 6 does and we're going cut off Williams's and Callaghan's plan off at the source."

"Wait... what?" he stared at her blinking.

"I'm not going to sit by and let this happen. If we move now, we can get to the airstrip before the others do. We can get Krei away and do something about that bomb. No bomb, no way for Hydra to cover up an abduction. Also evens the footing a bit don'tcha think?"

He wrapped his hands around her shoulders supportively, clutching them and trying to infuse every ounce of feeling into them as he could pull from his being. "Vera, you don't have to do this." he told her emphatically.

Vera reached up and grabbed one of his hands. Her nails left marks on him as she held him tightly. "Yes I do. I've been afraid for so long. It's held me back but it has to end right now. There are people in danger and we may be the only ones who can do anything about it. I made a lot of mistakes, mistakes that landed me in captivity a year ago, but I have to let go of what those mistakes have turned me into. What I've become because of this fear. They… they may have robbed me of my powers, but I'm still alive. I can still do something. I want to do something."

"Vera if this has anything to do with what Baymax said last night, about living a normal life. If you think that you have to do this, you don't." he started to assure her.

"Yes, Chiune, I do."

Before he could even come up with something to say, Vera had wrenched herself from his grasp and had thrown her arms around his middle. She gave him one quick squeeze before jumping back once more. "Get your brother on the phone. I'm gonna go change really quick."

"What about this guy?" Tadashi asked as he nodded pointedly to the downed Hydra footsoldier. He really didn't want the guy waking up and tipping his buddies off.

"I feel a little insulted. Sending what appears to be the bottom of Hydra's barrel to get rid of me." she muttered as she looked down at the footsoldier. Then, a smirk broke on Vera's face. "I have an idea." she told him simply. "Go! Hurry!"

She gave him a shove out the door before closing it behind him. Tadashi spared one last look at in her direction, slightly worried about what exactly Vera was planning to do with the footsoldier, but pulled out his cell phone anyways. He hit the redial button. There were three rings.

"Hey this is Hiro Hamada's cellular device. You know what to do and if you don't, well, I probably don't want to talk to you either." the answering machine was cheeky in only a way that Hiro could be.

Tadashi grit his teeth and hung up. Then he dialed again. After a few rings, he got the same response. The answering machine. Once more Tadashi didn't leave a message. He hung up before the message even got all the way through. "Come on, come on." he muttered under his breath as he dialed once more and pressed the phone to his ear. "Pick up. I literally just got off the phone with you."

On the third time dialing, Hiro's phone went straight to voicemail. "Damn it!" he growled, hitting the end call button once more.

He heard the bedroom door open once more behind him. "He isn't answering." he told Vera without turning.

"Do you have anyone else's number? Fred's? Honey Lemon's? Wasabi's? GoGo's?" she pressed.

"No, I..." Tadashi shook his head. Whatever else he was going to say was instantly forgotten when he saw Vera. He now knew exactly why she'd mumbled about killing Coulson. It was a dark hunter green, fitted shirt with a high neck and a matching pair of pants that molded around her muscles, all reinforced with flexible yet durable padding he was sure. She wore a royal purple leather jacket over the top of it for extra protection and the royal purple pair of boots rose all the way to her calves. Despite the fact that he'd seen an exact copy of the outfit buried in her dresser in their shared apartment, he'd only ever seen her wear it once before. The day they'd escaped Hydra. It was what they'd captured her in. Tadashi had never seen any pictures of Vera as her Superhero alter ego but he knew a Superhero's suit when he saw one. His mouth and throat went dry as he looked her up and down. Badass though she looked, he really wasn't sure how he felt about seeing her in Superhero gear. Probably about as good as he had seeing Hiro and the others leave in their own Superhero gear.

"Please tell me you didn't expect me to go out and tackle Hydra in an Armani suit." she teased him mildly.

"Where's your mask?" he asked her stiffly.

Vera patted the pocket of the leather jacket. "Give it a couple minutes and then try your brother again." Vera told him as she pulled a set of keys from the opposite pocket. "Let's get out of here."

"What about the guy?" he questioned as he looked over her shoulder.

"He'll be out for another few hours. I dosed him with sleep inducing drug." Vera explained as she held up her arm, pulling back the sleeve on her jacket to expose what looked like a square watch. Tadashi could only guess that it wasn't really a watch and housed some sort of chemical compound that could be injected some way. "And even if he does happen to wake up, he's going to find it hard to do anything handcuffed to the bed."

Tadashi blinked in slight surprise. He was about to ask where she'd found all this stuff, handcuffs and sleeping drugs. Then he remembered that he was in a S.H.I.E.L.D. safe house. It was probably loaded with hidden compartments in the silverware drawer for pity's sake. Hell, he wouldn't have been all that surprised if he'd been sleeping on a small armory of guns. "Let's get going then. Do you know where to find this private airport?" he asked her as they both started for the front door again.

"No, but the GPS inside one of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s undercover vehicles will know." she responded simply. "Try your brother again. And let's hope he picks up this time."

X X X

"Are you really sure this is the wisest action?" Krei said as he rubbed his chin thoughtfully as he stared over Hiro's shoulder at the wide array of emergency response vehicles now parked outside of Krei Tech. "Me going away I mean. I don't care if my company has been shut down for the day to comb for this bomb. I really don't. It's just that..."

He broke off short to shake his head and to wipe his face with his hand. "It's just that you don't think it's right to leave while everyone else is still here." Hiro supplied helpfully.

He knew Krei couldn't see the reassuring smile he was giving him through the tinted visor of his helmet but his tone was enough to fill in the gaps. It couldn't be easy for him, Hiro knew that. He was asking that Krei to hide while something he worked hard for and cared about was under siege… again. Had it been Hiro in the same position, he wouldn't have even considered it. He'd spent nearly an hour trying to desperately convince Krei to leave. Krei tugged on the sleeves of his suit jacket nervously. His eyes didn't leave the swarm of vehicles. Hiro subtly moved to the side, blocking off Krei's view. Krei gave a sigh and looked at him. "Some fearless leader I am." he mumbled under his breath, shaking his head.

"Trust me Mr. Krei, with what's going on, it might be legitimately safer for you to go away for a little bit. We have no clue where Callaghan planted this bomb but we know that he really still doesn't care for you."

"Think that might be a bit of an understatement, don't you?" Krei smiled dryly.

"Point is that you're the only potential target that we have real, tangible evidence for." Hiro explained, trying to logic the argument home in Krei's head.

"Suppose you're right. And maybe Vanellope Delle of S.H.I.E.L.D. had it right too. I guess a little vacation wouldn't be so bad right now. Only for a few days though."

Hiro only nodded. Shoot! He'd forgotten to tell Krei about Vera and Tadashi. It had kind of slipped his mind in the midst of "Hey! We think you could be in a boatload of danger. Time for you to get out of the city while we tear your company apart looking for some super powerful bomb planted by our favorite Supervillain!"

They had, however, made sure to tell Krei about Hydra. Granted he hadn't really grasped the concept of how dangerous they were but Hiro would worry about that later. Krei looked at him seriously, "If you find anything, I want you to call me. Immediately."

"Right! Of course! Not a problem." Hiro assured him with a bright smile. He grabbed Krei around the shoulders and turned him towards the car that was parked and waiting for him on the curb. Hiro really needed to join the search. It was time for Krei to go. Krei gave a groan as he looked at the two security guards waiting at the car. Hiro quirked his eyebrow up. "What?" he asked.

"These two lug heads." Krei said waving his hand in the security guards' direction. "They're new and absolutely no fun. Not a single ounce of a sense of humor to be had between the two of them. Can't believe you're leaving me with them."

Hiro rolled his eyes, "Yes because we as Big Hero 6 are sworn to keep you entertained as well as safe."

"See, your snarkiness, that's why I like you. Never too broody for a joke." Krei nudged him with an elbow. Then he leaned over conspiratorially, "Just between the two of us, those two probably aren't going to last. Did you see the black eye that the one has? Probably got into a bar brawl or something. I can't have security that goes fighting and has no sense of humor."

Hiro groaned. He would've pinched the bridge of his nose but he was wearing his helmet so he couldn't do that. "Just get in the car Krei before I throw you in there myself." he told him in exasperation.

Krei laughed and thumped him on the back. Then his hand became like an iron vice on his shoulder. "Hiro," he said so quietly that no one but the two of them would be able to hear, "please… be careful. You heard what Vanellope Delle said a couple of days ago in my office. With all this happening, the bomb and Callaghan and Hydra, I'm starting to think that she was on to something. So please, just be careful, alright."

The show of concern made warmth surge through him. Hiro grasped Krei's hand on his shoulder before letting go and raising two thumbs up. "Gotcha!" he told him brightly. "Don't worry about me. Try to enjoy your vacation."

Krei brushed off his look of concern and replaced it with his favorite winning smile. "Good luck Mr. Leader." he told Hiro with a small salute as he climbed into the back of waiting car.

Hiro waved a little as the car pulled away. He was about to turn back to the scene before him when something ignited in his chest. Krei's worry for him made him think of another who hadn't done as good of a job hiding the fact that he was freaking out horribly. Tadashi, though he'd tried really hard, still hadn't been able to brush off his worry. Hiro pulled out his phone. Touching base with Aunt Cass every so often in the beginning had really put her mind at ease. He dialled the number that Tadashi had programmed into his phone to get ahold of him. As it began ringing, he couldn't help but smirk at the look he envisioned on Tadashi's face as the current, most annoying chart topper blared from his phone, courtesy of Hiro of course.

"So, um, should I take a wild guess as to who is calling me based on the awesome new ringtone that's been programmed into my phone?" Tadashi asked when he picked up on the other end of the phone. Hiro could practically hear his brother smiling.

"Aw c'mon Nii-chan. You always liked pop music before." snickered Hiro. He couldn't stop the smirk that crept on to his face. This was just going to be part of the fun. Showing his brother just what he was getting into, or rather getting back into.

"I'm sure." Tadashi replied sounding unconvinced.

Hiro shook off the playfulness. Time to be serious. Act serious, get taken seriously. "Listen, I just wanted to tell you that Krei is on his way to his company airport with a couple of his security guards. He's going to take a spontaneous vacation. We're helping the police and bomb squad to clear Krei Tech. I just thought that you might like an update... y'know so you didn't have to worry."

"Thanks," Tadashi replied. "I appreciate it. Be careful and tell everyone to watch their backs."

Hiro gave a laugh before promising, "Will do Tadashi. See you at home later on tonight."

"Yes, where we're going to have a discussion about you stealing my cell phone and changing ringtones."

Hiro laughed again. Tadashi's irritation over the changed ringtone was one hundred percent Tadashi. He was still laughing as he disconnected. Another bout of surrealness hit him. He was laughing with Tadashi again. He was going to go home tonight and see his older brother again. Of course he didn't doubt that there was a good old fashioned Tadashi lecture coming his way but he wouldn't complain. He wouldn't complain about Tadashi's lectures ever again.

Hiro switched his phone to silent before sliding it back into his pocket. Then he turned back towards the giant congregation of firemen and police. The entire area around Krei Tech was cordoned off with yellow police tape. However, when you were one of the city's most well known heroes police tape didn't really stop you anymore. In fact, there wasn't a lot that could be done to keep Hiro out of a crime scene. Though that wasn't to say that nobody had tried.

"What's the word?" he asked as he came to stand beside Honey Lemon, Wasabi, Baymax, and the fire chief. Fred and GoGo were on the other end of the building, talking to some of the police officers.

"I was telling the rest of your team that we need work from the basement up. Unfortunately, with the size of the building as well as the fact that there are several lab spaces, we'd need a small army of searchers to clear the building…"

"Which if the bomb detonates…" Honey Lemon continued.

"Then serious bodily harm is imminent." Baymax finished, which he would know. It was his main programming.

"Can we use search bots to clear the building?" Hiro asked. Though the real question was, could they find enough search bots to use and people trained to use them effectively.

"That's what I suggested," Wasabi said, "but…"

"We don't know how much time we actually have and getting that technology here could take at least a half hour." the fire chief said with obvious frustration. "I have to send in a team."

"We can go in too." Hiro offered immediately. Honey Lemon cringed, raising her hand into the air. However, Wasabi beat her to whatever she was going to say.

"Yeah, no. We shouldn't do something that we aren't trained to do. Doing a thorough floor by floor, room by room search for a bomb isn't something that we're qualified to do."

Hiro scrunched his nose in irritation. He had his protest on the tip of his tongue. They were Superheroes. They couldn't just stand at the sidewalk, gaping up at building. It was also Krei Tech they were talking about. The very industry that belonged to the man who was one of their biggest supporters and confidants. They couldn't just let this happen. "Young man, I know that you're Superheroes but there comes a point where you have to realize that there are some things you just can't do. And that's alright." the fire chief told him.

Hiro bit his lip and forced himself to concede. He'd worked with the fire chief before during one of Big Hero 6's many exploits and he really had to give the man credit. He knew his job and he did it well. Hiro looked up at Krei Tech again, the glass plated sides reflecting the clouds and sun back. Then he looked back at those around him. Immediately his eyes landed on Baymax. A smirk tugged on the corners of his lips as an idea popped into his head. "We might not be trained to clear bombs from buildings… but we can help scan rooms for foreign objects that could be explosive."

"What are you thinking?" Honey Lemon asked, tilting her head to the side curiously.

"We can use Baymax's scanners to help clear the room."

Wasabi massaged his temples, "We just said…"

"I know! I know!" Hiro said waving his hands in the air. The smile hadn't left his face. "We can't go in but Baymax can. Think of how much quicker the teams can clear a room. Or how many rooms we can clear using both the bomb squad and Baymax. What do you say buddy?"

"I think that it would be well within my coding parameters to use my scans to identify potentially lethal materials." agreed Baymax. Oh boy, if robots could smirk. Hiro held out his fist to Baymax. The robot made his strange "ba-la-la" sound as they shared a fist bump.

Hiro looked at the fire chief. He was smiling winningly, but the man couldn't see that of course since he was wearing his helmet. The fire chief touched his chin thoughtfully before giving a slow nod. "What would you need to get this plan working?" he asked.

"A computer to sync up Baymax's cameras and someone who knows more about searching for bombs to help me direct Baymax where to look hovering over my shoulder."

"I'll get someone to help you set up while I get the bomb squad in place." the fire chief said turning towards said group.

"I'll stay with you Hiro. I think I might be able to help identify certain chemical compounds scanned and tell you which ones could be explosive too." Honey Lemon said definitively.

"I'm gonna go and coordinate with some emergency responders to isolate the most potentially hazardous labs so when the squads get to them they know to take extra precautions." Wasabi said as he turned away.

"Uh Wasabi!" Honey Lemon called brightly, raising her hand into the air after him.

"I got it Honey Lemon. We'll add your's automatically." he replied without breaking stride. Honey Lemon laughed nervously. Hiro rolled his eyes as he thought about all the really flammable stuff in Honey Lemon's lab.

"Hey, will you check and see what the other two are going to do for me please?" Hiro called after Wasabi.

"Sure thing."

"Heard you guys needed some help syncing up a robot's cameras." a technician said as he walked up to them, a heavy gear bag over his shoulder. Standing beside him was one of the members of the bomb squad.

"And I'm here to do the hovering." the bomb squad member said giving a wave. The technician moved past him and began opening up his gear to set up. As he pulled an impressive array of computer equipment out of his bag the bomb squad member looked over at them. "First things first. If either of you have a cell phone on you, turn it off. I'm sure we're far enough away from the bomb to prevent accidental detonation but I'd rather not take the chance."

"Right," Hiro and Honey Lemon said together as they both moved for their phones. Hiro didn't even look at his phone as he pressed the power button. He vaguely remembered that there were some wireless signals that could cause bombs to go off.

"Alright I'm all ready for you guys over here." the technician called to them.

"C'mon Baymax," Hiro waved for Baymax to follow him. Honey Lemon came too and wordlessly began helping Hiro sync Baymax up to the technician's equipment. It was satisfying to watch the screen blink to life, mirroring the same images that Baymax was seeing through his cameras. It took a couple minutes to test and confirm the connection.. "You ready Baymax?" Hiro asked as Baymax finished swivelling his head from side to side.

"I believe so." Baymax nodded.

"Once you're inside the building, just listen for our instructions." the bomb squad member told him. "I'll relay them to you through your partner's communication link."

"I understand," said Baymax.

"Alright buddy, let's move you into position. Start off with the rest of the bomb squad members and then we'll have you split off once you're inside." Hiro told him as he stood in front of the computer monitor, ready to survey Krei Tech.

"Excuse me! Get out of my way! Do you people even know who I am?" snapped a female voice rather waspishly. Hiro and everyone else turned to look at the commotion. It was Ms. Stevens, Krei's personal assistant. She was dressed immaculately, ever present clipboard tucked under her arm, and her cell phone glued to her ear.

"Hey! What are you doing behind the police line? Get that cell phone out of here!" the bomb squad member called irritatedly as he pointed back towards the police line. Police officers were rushing towards them.

"Wait! It's just Ms. Stevens." Honey Lemon told them. The sound of Honey Lemon's voice drew Ms. Stevens attention directly to them.

"Oh thank God." she muttered under her breath before growling into the phone. "Keep your shirt on buddy. They're right here."

"Ms. Stevens what is it?" Hiro asked her, raising his eyebrow in confusion. It only made sense for Krei to leave his right hand woman behind supervise things. She was the only other person, besides Big Hero 6, that Krei trusted completely with his company. There was no reason that she'd break the police boundary other than absolute necessity. Hiro pulled away from the computer screen to meet her, wondering just what exactly her reason was.

"Here," she said as she shoved her cell phone at Hiro, "It's for you."

"For me?" he repeated. He was still confused by Ms. Stevens remained resolute.

"Some friend of Vanellope Delle's. He says it's important." she explained.

A friend of Vanellope Delle?

Tadashi!

Hiro's eyes went wide as he shoved the phone underneath his helmet to speak. The technician and the bomb squad member looked at him with exasperation. Honey Lemon looked concerned and Baymax would've as well if he'd been able to. "Tadashi?" he asked quickly.

"The bomb is on the plane! The bomb is on the plane!" cried Tadashi frantically and fast into the phone.

Hiro nearly dropped Ms. Stevens phone in shock. "What!"

"The bomb isn't at Krei Tech! It's on the plane." Tadashi said again. Somewhere in the background there was a concerning screech and squeal of tires. Hiro desperately tried to push the thought away and focus on Tadashi. He was still rattling off, rapid fire, a stream of information that Hiro had mostly missed in his shock. "Hydra setting the trap. They're making their move for you and the others, luring you guys."

"Tadashi!" Hiro yelled, "What plane?"

"Krei's plane!"

"Are you sure?" he questioned though he felt like he already knew the answer.

"Of course!"

His blood ran cold. He'd sent Krei off to the airport to fly off in a bomb laden plane. It suddenly occurred to him that this show here at Krei Tech was just another diversion meant to keep him and his team busy long enough for Hydra to put the finishing pieces of their trap together. Once Hydra was all ready for them they'd probably lead them on a wild goose chase straight to Krei Tech's private air strip. Hiro wasn't sure if the next thing that rose in his stomach was anger or nausea. Probably a little bit of both. He clenched his hand to keep from shaking. Then he realized Tadashi was still talking.

"Vera and I are on our way to the air strip to see if we can get rid of the bomb."

Horror rushed through him. "Tadashi! No!"

Tadashi said something but it was all garbled with static. Crap! Crap! Crap! The call was breaking up! No! This could not be happening. His brother was not about to drive into a dangerous situation to save someone again. Not after he'd just gotten Tadashi back! No! This wasn't happening. Hiro wouldn't let it happen. "Tadashi, listen to me. Don't do anything stupid. Do you hear me?"

"What is wrong?" Baymax asked as he felt Honey Lemon appear at his side.

"We're going to see if we can even the footing for you guys. If Hydra doesn't have their bomb it's going to throw a huge wr…" a burst of static cut Tadashi off.

"Tadashi! I can't hear you. You're breaking up!"

"Be careful, please. Watch your back. I have to go. The connection is going bad and… oh holy shit! Vera watch out!"

The line clicked off right as there was a loud crash.

Hiro pulled the phone away from his ear shakily. "What happened? What did Tadashi say?" Honey Lemon asked urgently.

Hiro's tongue turned to lead in his mouth and his throat went bone dry. He licked his lips to moisten them but not even that was enough. "The bomb isn't here." he finally managed to choke out. "It's on Alistair Krei's plane."

Ms. Stevens gasped in horror, covering her mouth.

"Cielo nos salve!" murmured Honey Lemon as she crossed herself.

"Baymax! Come on!" Hiro yelled as he shoved the phone at Ms. Stevens and sprinted towards Baymax.

"I am unsure that leaving would be the wisest action." Baymax protested.

Hiro wouldn't listen to it. "Wings Baymax," he ordered. "Thrusters!"

"Hiro!" screamed Honey Lemon into their communications link. Immediately a chorus of concern rang up from the rest of his teammates.

He didn't care. Tadashi was about to run head first into trouble again. Vaguely, he was aware of GoGo giving the order to get to Wasabi's car.

X X X

"Your man failed." Callaghan told Williams over the phone. He watched as Hiro and his robot took off like a shot. The rest of his team wasn't far behind him. They shouted some things back at the amassed police officers and firefighters that, from his distance high atop the adjacent skyscraper, was unintelligible before racing after him via car. "They're heading straight for Krei's airport it looks like."

Williams cursed loudly into his phone. This was not according to his carefully constructed plan. Good, whispered a small part of him.

"Go after them. The rest of us will meet you there." snapped Williams. The line went dead with no further instructions.

Chapter Text

"Be careful, please. Watch your back. I have to go." Tadashi said into Vera's cell phone. She'd loaned him hers after he'd failed to get ahold of Hiro. Out of pure desperation she'd suggested calling Krei's personal assistant. The gamble had paid off. Now, however, Tadashi was acutely aware of every burst of static that erupted through the earpiece. It had gotten progressively worse the closer they'd gotten to Krei's oceanside private airport. Vera was now driving parallel to the tar mat, trying to find an easy way on to it. Her driving was less than drivers' ed standards. It was no wonder why Hiro sounded slightly freaked out between the connection and screeching tires. He pushed the thoughts aside. "The connection is going bad and… oh holy shit! Vera watch out!"

Vera wasn't paying attention to him, not one bit. The car had veered off the road abruptly. His eyes went wide as the chain link fence that separated the road from the airport's tar mat raced forward to meet the front end of the car. In his panic Tadashi accidentally hit the end call button on Vera's phone but not before they crashed through the chain link fence. That wasn't going to freak Hiro out at all. Somehow, some way, he'd managed to pull his arms up so that his head hit them instead of the dash. It still hurt though. It was like someone really wanted him to have a concussion today.

Vera muttered something under her breath as the car ran over the rocks and uneven dirt that made up the ditch beside the tar mat. "Who taught you how to drive?" Tadashi cried as they hit another vicious bump at the top of the ditch that sent them airborne for a split second.

"Romanoff," Vera said in a deadpan voice. Romanoff taught her how to drive like a freaking maniac but not how to hotwire a car? He turned to make some sort of snarky comment about it but then he saw the tiny, subtle smirk playing on Vera's face.

"Unbelievable," he mumbled under his breath. How could she crack jokes at a time like this? Then Vera slammed her foot down on the gas and the car shot forward. "Vera!" he yelled, clutching the armrests for dear life.

"Help me look for Krei's plane." she told him. Of course she needed his help trying to find the stupid plane. She was going too fast to see it herself.

"We don't know what it looks like," he reminded her.

"It will be a nice private jet, probably two engines and a custom paint job. It's gonna make the plane that Travis and I fly look like an ant. Look for Krei. He'll probably walking to it. He should be here by now." Vera said as she continued down the tar mat at break neck speed.

He fought down the nausea and looked out the window. Off in the distance, there was a lone plane sitting on the tar mat. It's door was open and the stairs were down. Sure enough, a little farther away, was the figure of Alistair Krei. He was striding towards the plane and flanked by two other men. "There!" Tadashi called out, pointing them out.

Vera yanked the wheel around so hard that he slid off to the side and into the window. His elbow hit the glass. Yeah, he definitely didn't want to hear Vera complain his driving or his moped ever again after this. "Slow down. Slow down. Slow down!" he yelled as the plane, Krei, and the two men with him came closer rapidly.

Tires and brakes squealed as Vera slammed to a stop. Burnt rubber had always been one of his favorite smells. The car whipped around right in front of Krei and the two men with him. Tadashi could see Krei's eyes go wide with shock as he jumped backwards, mouth hanging open. Vera threw the car in park but didn't stop the engine. "Mr. Krei!" she yelled, flinging her door open wide and stepping out. Tadashi was right behind her.

"Miss Delle?" Krei called in genuine confusion. His eyes ran up and down, taking in her outfit most likely. "What are you…"

Tadashi stopped listening. He caught his first really good look of one of the guys who was with Krei. The one with a massive black eye. Yeah, he definitely recognized that guy. Tadashi had punched him out the night before after all. "Vera! Hydra!" he yelled in warning.

It came just seconds too late. Both the men flanking Krei stepped forward and pulled out their hand guns. Vera cursed loudly and jumped behind her still open car door. He dropped to the side outside the car as the footsoldiers peppered the side of their car with bullets. Thank God someone in S.H.I.E.L.D.'s field department thought bullet proofing cars was a good idea.

Both footsoldiers emptied their clips into their car. Vera leapt forward before either of them had the chance to reload. One of them saw her coming and rushed forward to meet her. Vera ducked as the man's fist sailed over the top of her. She reached up and grabbed his arm, twisting it violently and disarming him.

Tadashi didn't really see what Vera did next because he sprinted around the front of the car and threw himself at the second footsoldier. He used his surprise charge well and grabbed hold of the footsoldier's outstretched arm. He balanced himself against the guy's arm as he drove his knee into the man's side, hard. The footsoldier gasped in pain but had enough of his wind still in his lungs to turn around and grab Tadashi's hand. Sharp nails dug into the skin of his forearm, leaving gouges. Wincing, Tadashi latched on too. He didn't see the fist aimed at his own middle until it was there. Okay, now he definitely felt like he was going to throw up.

He staggered backwards and tried to keep Aunt Cass's breakfast down. In his peripheral vision he saw the footsoldier's fist swinging at his downbent head. Tadashi got his breath and arm up just in time to block. Without wasting another moment, he threw a hard uppercut into the footsoldier's chin.

The footsoldier stumbled back slightly, eyes wide but pupils unfocused. He shook his head and shook it off. Tadashi raised his arms in a defensive stance. Then the footsoldier's eyes rolled back and he collapsed to the ground, unable to continue fighting.

There was another heavy thud as the footsoldier Vera had been dealing with hit the ground too. Krei lowered his arms from his face, he raised them to protect himself when the fight had started, and stared at Vera in shock. "What just happened?" he sputtered and not quite convinced that he wasn't next on the list to be beat up.

"Is that your plane?" Vera asked as she pointed to the private jet behind them.

"Well, yes but" Krei answered in confusion, "what is going on? Does this have anything to do with that bomb that Big Hero 6 is searching my company for? Hey!"

Krei shouted after her but Vera had already turned on her heel and was sprinting towards the plane. "Sorry about the panic." Tadashi said quickly. "Official S.H.I.E.L.D. business."

The color drained out of Krei's face. "Ta...Tadashi Hamada?" he gasped, eyes going wide.

"Hi, yes. Did I know you before? Sorry don't remember, retrograde amnesia. Nice to meet you again though." Tadashi told him distractedly. It was rude and had it been any other time he would've been appalled with his own behavior. At the moment, however, he was slightly distracted. "Vera! Wait for me!"

He managed to catch up to Vera with Krei right on his heels, following him most likely out of utter confusion at what was going on. Krei was also calling question after question at his back. Tadashi caught "Hydra" and "Hiro" and a few other familiar terms but really wasn't paying attention. He followed Vera up the stairs and into the plane. Then Vera stopped suddenly.

It was big, bulky, black, and was sitting squarely for all three of them to see on the first seat of the jet's passenger seats. If he had to take a guess, he'd have to say that it was put together rather quickly. His criteria for reaching this assumption were the several wires that sprouted out from the box chaotically and the electrical tape that held them together. However, seeing as how it was Hydra and Dr. Robert Callaghan they were dealing with, Tadashi didn't doubt for a moment that the inner workings of the device were top of the line. It was just hard to put the polishing touches on a bomb that you had roughly less than twelve hours to finish. The most prominent thing on the front was glowing, red countdown that read 45:00 and was steadily ticking down.

"I know that I'm not exactly of genius intellect but that, uh, that looks like a bomb." Krei pointed out nervously from over his shoulder.

"It is." both Tadashi and Vera said at the same time. Vera stepped forward and crouched down next to the bomb. She didn't touch it, which was probably a good thing, but she examined it closely. Tadashi came close behind her, kneeling down beside her.

"God have mercy." Krei moaned. There was a light thump and when Tadashi cast a glance over his shoulder, Krei was leaning heavily against the doorway of his plane. "Where's my pilot? Please tell me that those guys didn't kill him."

"I don't know. I'm sorry," Vera told him sincerely without really looking back at him. She exchanged a quick look with Tadashi before looking pointedly at the bomb. He saw the muscles and tendons in her jaw tighten as she stared down at the bomb.

"Are your bomb defusing skills as up to par as your car hotwiring skills?" he asked. Something in him told him that he already knew the answer though.

"Unfortunately," mumbled Vera.

"Well, maybe I can do something then." he suggested hopefully as he reached for the bomb. Gingerly, he lifted up the face plate to reveal the inner workings of the bomb. No matter how many steadying breaths he took, though, could make his hands stop shaking.

"You should go," Vera said suddenly as she stood up and faced Krei. "Take the car we came in and drive as far away from here as possible. Hydra made you a target because they knew that Big Hero 6 would try to rescue you. Those two men down there, the fake bodyguards, were probably planning on holding you here as a hostage. Someone, most likely Callaghan, would have dropped the hint that you were in danger to lure Big Hero 6 here. And once Hydra had what they wanted, they would've blown you, your plane, and everyone else still in the bomb's range to kingdom come. Take our car and get out of here."

Tadashi turned to look at Krei. The color had drained from his face and the poor guy was visibly shaking. Not that he blamed him. "Miss Delle," Krei said haltingly at length, "I should have listened to you from the start."

"Yeah, I know." Vera snorted. "Now go! Before Hydra's reinforcements show up."

Krei turned away without another word. He and Vera turned their attention back to the bomb. His stomach was in knots as he took in the intricate components. It was incredibly simple and yet so complex. The inner workings were definitely robotic in nature, especially the trigger itself. The vial of stolen Poseidon formula was suspended in a larger vial of something filled with another compound. There was a tiny hammer poised over the top of Poseidon formula's vial which would in turn, he guessed, react with whatever the other stuff was and then… boom! Tadashi pulled his hat off and raked his hand through his hair.

"Well?" Vera asked nervously as she hovered over his shoulder. The anxiety was clear in her voice.

"Working on it." he told her with more bite than what he meant. He winced but went back to examining the device.

Carefully, he ran his fingers over the top of the timer. One wrong move and the bomb could accidentally detonate, killing them all. The timer was slowly ticking its way to zero as he wasted time trying figure the damn thing out. His hands trailed up the various wires. He wasn't stupid enough to try and yank them out. That was a particularly good way to risk the bomb going off. The wires all lead to the trigger mechanism which was firmly locked behind another clear plate. His fingertips hit the indentation of the screw that held the plate together. A simple phillips head screwdriver would take the screw off the front plate and he was certain he could find one of those laying around the place. However, underneath the clear plate he could clearly see the piece that kept the trigger together, the part that would most likely stop the countdown and defuse the bomb. He recognized the piece and he knew for a fact what tool would be needed to take it apart. Tadashi also knew that was not a tool he would just find laying around. A horrible, sinking feeling rolled over in his gut.

"What is it?" Vera questioned him as his shoulders slumped forward.

"I can't defuse this." he whispered, not wanting to believe his own words and wanting to be sick. He looked over at Vera. She blinked in confusion for a half second and then the weight of his words settled over her. She drew back her hand, shaking. Vera didn't question him but he still felt the burning need to explain, "This piece right here, the one that holds the trigger mechanism together, I need a special tool to take it apart. Anything else would…"

"Most likely blow it sky high." Vera finished for him, quietly. She bit her lip and looked around. "We need a new plan."

"We need to evacuate the area." Tadashi told her emphatically as he rose to his feet.

"And what's the radius of that evacuation? How big of an area do we need to clear? How big is this blast going to be?" Vera reminded him in frustration and waving her arms in the air. Tadashi grimaced. She was one hundred percent right. "Then on top of that Williams and Callaghan are still coming here along with your brother and the rest of Big Hero 6 I'm sure."

"No!" he breathed. He felt as though he'd been doused with ice water. Oh, this really couldn't get any worse. There was no possible way! "What do we do then?" he asked brittlely, looking at her desperately.

"Move the bomb," answered Vera skeptically.

"How?" he nearly shouted.

However, Vera was no longer looking at him. She was staring towards the open door of the cockpit. Her eyes were calm and her face unreadable. Vera mouthed something to herself, raising her hands to point in a direction that only had meaning to her, before chewing on her lip. That's when he remembered, quite randomly, how Travis and Vera had met.

Flying lessons…

He suddenly knew exactly what was going through Vera's mind. "Absolutely not!" growled Tadashi, putting as much ferocity into the edge of his voice as he could summon up.

Vera turned to him. Her eyes blazing with the same fiery determination he'd seen hundreds of thousands of times before. He'd seen it when she'd laid eyes on her Superhero costume. Again, he'd seen it just a few days ago when she'd set out to interview Callaghan's neighbors. He could trace that same burning determination all the way back to the day they'd fled Hydra. "I can fly this plane out of here. Take the bomb with it." she explained, "I bet I could have this bird out of here and over the Pacific Ocean a safe distance away before it goes off."

"And you'll be killed when it does go off knucklehead!" he told her. How could she even be considering this at the moment? They were wasting their time with such a stupid suggestion. "There has to be another way."

"Chiune," Vera took hold of his arm and squeezed it gently. "With what we were given, this is the only way.

He squeezed his eyes shut, as if that would be enough to block out the reality of the situation. As if it would be enough to change the fact that the quickest way was to fly the plane and the bomb out of range. As if it would magically make Vera's words sound ridiculous. It didn't. Something inside of him began to wither as he came to the sickening revelation that Vera had a point.

Tadashi looked over at the cockpit and inspiration bloomed in his chest. He grasped at it. "What about autopilot? Maybe this jet has autopilot, like Coulson's team's plane does!"

The corners of Vera's mouth ticked up slightly. "I'm sure Alistair Krei, tech mogul, has some sort of autopilot on his personal jet."

"Then we program that to…"

Vera cut him off with a simple shake of her head. "No, there's only so much autopilot can do. It can't take a plane through take of procedures."

There had to be another way. He forced himself past Vera and stared into the cockpit. Some other way. If he could somehow figure out a way to get the plane up off the ground without a human pilot then Vera wouldn't have to do it. "I can build something. A really simple little robot." he said desperately.

"No, you can't."

"Yes I can! I made a hovercraft out of a shopping cart, a fan, and the setting panel of a washing machine when I was, like, ten! I can build a robot to fly this stupid metal carcass!" he told her, recalling a story that Hiro and Aunt Cass had told him the night before. He could come up with something on the fly like that. It was all just about looking at a problem from another angle. He just had to find a new angle. He just had to find a different way. There had to be a different way.

"I know you could Robot Boy" Vera's voice cut through his desperate thoughts. Her hand was cupped around his cheek, forcing him to look at her She was smiling now. It wasn't a happy smile. He didn't like that look on her, not one bit. "I don't doubt it for a single second. There's just no time."

"There has to be another way," Tadashi whispered. Vera shook her head. How the Hell could she seem so serene? What gave her that right? Tadashi grabbed her hand from his face and squeezed it hard. Maybe if he held on tight enough, she'd come to her senses. Vera squeezed back with equal strength.

"You know…" Vera said slowly with a little laugh, "I was just thinking. You've seen me at my very worst, but you've never really seen me at my very best."

"What are you talking about Vera?" he asked in exasperation. Honestly, all he really wanted to do was smack her upside the head. Maybe that would put her senses back into her. However, before he could really think any more about that particular thought, Vera flung herself at him. She wrapped her arms tight around his neck, crushing him into a bear hug. It took him a moment but he returned it, tightening his arms around her back and head.

"Let me show you my very best." she whispered in his ear.

"Wha… Ahh!" he hissed in pain as something sharp stuck him in the back of his neck. Vera let go of him as his vision began to swim in front of his eyes. She took a step backwards, fiddling with the square, black band around her one wrist. The one that administered the sleep inducing drug.

His world tilted as he fell forward. She drugged me, he realized right before black claimed his vision, the bonehead.

X X X

Baymax landed on the ground, feet away from Krei's private jet. The two bodyguards that had left with Krei were lying on the ground, out cold. Krei himself was no where to be seen. However, what really made Hiro's heart stop cold was the sight of Vera stumbling down the plane's stairs and trying to support Tadashi's sagging body.

Hiro leapt off of Baymax's back and sprinted towards the stairs. "What happened?" he yelled, heart hammering in his chest.

"Help me!" Vera yelled from underneath Tadashi.

Hiro didn't need any further encouragement. He sprinted up the stairs and met Vera. He grabbed Tadashi under the arm and hoisted him over his shoulder. Together he and Vera managed to pull Tadashi down the stairs successfully. Hiro also made a mental note to tell Tadashi to lay off the candy. He was heavy!

"What happened to Tadashi?" he asked again as they laid Tadashi on the ground, making sure that his head was set down gently.

"It's alright," Vera answered as she pushed her hair out of her face, "he's just sleeping is all. I knocked him out."

"You did what!" screamed Hiro as he looked at Vera, jaw hanging open.

"It appears as though all of Tadashi's vital signs are normal. He is unharmed and simply sleeping as Vera says." Baymax reassured him. Baymax had made his way over to their side.

Hiro pushed back the anger that was threatening to choke him. He would deal with Vera and how she'd seen fit to knock his brother out later on. There was still something more pressing at the moment. "Where's the bomb?" he asked through grit teeth.

Vera jerked her thumb over her shoulder. "On the plane, first seat. Can't miss it."

Hiro scrambled to his feet, waving for Baymax to hang back with Tadashi. The bomb was right where Vera had said it was. He only needed to look at it for a moment or two to realize that there was no safe way to defuse the thing. Damn! "Okay, we've got forty minutes to figure this out." he mumbled under his breath as he programed the numbers on the timer into his watch as close to the last second as he could.

He turned and rushed down the stairs again, back to Tadashi's side. His mind was burning itself up trying to think of a solution. "He's going to be pissed when he wakes up." she told Hiro, perfectly aware that he was standing behind her again.

"I'll say," snorted Hiro as he rolled his eyes. "You knocked him out. You're never going to hear the end of it when he wakes up. What'd you even use on him?"

Vera didn't answer him. She reached forward and brushed some of Tadashi's hair out of his face tenderly before fixing his ball cap that had been knocked askew. Maybe it was the way she performed the gesture or maybe it was just the way her hand shook as she did it but there was something in the act that put Hiro immediately on guard. "I only gave him a partial dose so he'll probably won't be out long. Tell him…"

Vera's voice broke off, hitching in the middle somewhere. She drew a deep breath and closed her eyes. Her hands clenched tightly around Tadashi's wrists momentarily. Then she pulled back and reached for the mother of pearl bracelet she was wearing around her wrist. Vera took it off, took Tadashi's hand, and slipped it on to his wrist. "Tell him I'm sorry it had to be this way. Try… try to keep him from thinking too hard about what else could have been done." whispered Vera.

"I don't understand," Hiro told her, shaking his head in utter confusion. He had no clue what she was talking about but it really didn't sit right with him. Hiro flicked a glance up at Baymax but the robot offered no help in the situation. Vera bent over Tadashi's unconscious figure and kissed him on the cheek. Hiro shifted apprehensively but then shook it off. "In case you've forgotten, there's a bomb on that plane and…"

"I've got it under control." Vera told him, flashing a grin at him. It didn't reach her eyes though.

Hiro crossed his arms over his chest, "Oh yeah? How?"

"Listen to me Hiro," Vera said suddenly urgent, "Hydra is on their way here. You have to take Chiune and get yourselves as far away from here as possible. Lay low until S.H.I.E.L.D. gets here. Chiune will brief them on the situation. You'll probably need to help him through it."

"What are you talking about?" he demanded. He really didn't like the way that Vera kept avoiding his questions. He didn't like it at all. "S.H.I.E.L.D. is your territory. You can help Tadashi brief them. Right now, though, we really need to focus on the bomb. Y'know the one that is slowly ticking down to zero as we waste time standing here talking!"

Vera laughed a little under her breath as she stood. "I told you, the bomb is under control."

"And yet you haven't quite explained that one."

"I'm gonna fly it away from here." she told him with a smirk. The simple brilliance of the plan blew him away. Why hadn't he thought of that?

"I have some concerns." Baymax said suddenly. All the astonishment he'd had evaporated. No! This plan was not brilliant. It was horribly, horribly flawed. His entire mind was screaming abort, abort.

"I agree with Baymax." he said dryly. "You can't do this. It would be suicide."

"I know," Vera said simply. She plastered on a bright smile as if it were enough to excuse the stupid plan of hers.

"On the contrary," Baymax interrupted, "There is nothing in your scan data that indicates a current depressive mood or intention for self harm. I would feel confident in saying that Vera is making a decision based in clarity of mind."

Hiro stared up at the sky in exasperation. "Not helping Baymax." he groaned.

"I apologize."

Vera nodded though. "Hiro, I've thought about it and, under the circumstances, this is the only option we have."

"Evacuation," Hiro countered hotly.

"How big of an area should we evacuate? I know nothing about this Poseidon formula other than it's strong enough to cause earthquake like tremors for miles. Presumably the whole thirty milliliters that Callaghan stole is in there. Add that to the fact that Hydra is coming here, with the express purpose of taking you and your friends hostage while using this bomb to cover up the abduction, and that cuts down our response time even more. There is no other option except to get the bomb out of here." she explained.

Hiro grit his teeth. How could she be so calm? So rational? No wonder Vera and Tadashi got along. Stupid, self-sacrificing, self-destructive martyrs the both of them! "Do you have any idea of what this will do to him?" hissed Hiro, resisting the urge to grab Vera by the shoulders and shake her. She was about to do to Tadashi exactly what Tadashi had done to him three years ago. Where the Hell did she get the idea that was an okay thing to do? "He thinks of you as a sister. That's what 'imouto' means. Did you know that?"

"He'll have you." Vera told him. Her words hit him like a sucker punch to the gut. She sounded so... so resigned.

"If this about you proving something because of your panic attack last night or your post traumatic stress disorder..." Hiro started emphatically, gesturing pointedly. Vera, however, cut him off.

"This is about stepping up and doing what others can't or won't. You're a Superhero. You've been through this. You understand. We don't do it to prove something to someone because God knows there are easier ways of doing that. We do it because we can. Because we have the abilities to do something. We do it because if we don't, then who will? It's what we do."

"What we do?" repeated Hiro. Then he finally took notice of what Vera was wearing and a rock settled into his throat. If he didn't know any better, he'd have to say that she was wearing was a Superhero's costume. That was ridiculous though. There was no way that Vera was...

Vera pulled out a purple domino mask from the pocket of her leather coat and held it towards him. He suddenly found it very hard to think as he stared at the mask. It suddenly occurred to him that, yes, Vera was indeed a Superhero. Or at least had been in the past. Vera reached forward and grabbed his hand. She wrapped his fingers around the mask, forcing him to take it. "It's what we do." she said again.

Hiro swallowed the lump in his throat. "What about you?" he asked her, quietly.

Vera looked back at the plane and then up at the sky. A small smile spread across her face. It hurt to look at it though. There was nothing happy about it. She turned back to Hiro. "I guess I'll be dying on top of the world. Not a bad way to go if you ask me."

"This is going to devastate him beyond words." Hiro murmured.

"I'd extract a promise from you to look after him for me, but I think that would just be a waste of the little time we have left." Vera joked. Then her face became serious again. "It will take me about fifteen minutes or so once I'm in the air to get the plane a safe distance away. Remember, Hydra and Callaghan are probably not far away. You have to get yourselves out of here as quickly as you can.."

She turned on her heel and started for the plane. "Vera!" Hiro called after her pain settling into his chest. Vera looked over her shoulder, quirking an eyebrow up in question. "I promise."

Vera grinned one last time before sprinting up the stairs. As she disappeared into the plane, the stairs rose after her. It wasn't much longer after that the jet's engines fired to life. Hiro ducked his head against the sudden kick up of displaced wind but watched as Vera taxied the plane down the tar mat towards the runway. Numbly, Hiro backed up beside Tadashi and sunk to his knees at his head. He pushed Baymax away gently and gathered his brother's head into his arms, hugging him to his chest. "Hiro," Baymax said softly, "I believe there is something wrong with my coding."

Hiro looked up at Baymax with a raised eyebrow. Now really wasn't the time to be complaining about upgrades. "I understand Vera's decision to act in this manner despite the fact that it will ultimately prove fatal to her. My programming allows me to concede the point that she will save many others' lives in the process yet it is conflicting with the programming that requires me to act in a way that will keep her from harm. This would then defeat the purpose of Vera's decision and would allow more people to be fatally harmed. I am unsure how to proceed."

Krei's private jet and the bomb that was in it, took off several miles away from him on the other end of the tar mat and flying off for the ocean. Hiro pressed his face into the top of Tadashi's head, squeezing his eyes shut. What was he going to tell Tadashi when he woke up? "You and me both buddy." he mumbled into the top of Tadashi's hair.

With agonizing consciousness, Hiro watched both the plane shrink away in the distance and the timer still going on his watch count down closer to zero. He'd been jealous of how close Vera was to Tadashi, still was in fact, but he didn't want anything to happen to her. It would only bring his brother pain and agony. He definitely didn't want her to die. Hiro didn't want Tadashi to know what it felt like to lose a sibling, even if that sibling wasn't blood related. He didn't wish that torture on anyone.

"Hiro!" screamed Honey Lemon. Her voice drew his eyes up and behind him. Honey Lemon, GoGo, Fred, and Wasabi were all rushing towards him. GoGo, of course, reached him first.

"What happened to Tadashi?" she asked as she knelt by his side.

"Vera appears to have used some sleep inducing drug on Tadashi. He is unharmed." Baymax explained.

"We got a call from Krei. He says he's safe for the moment but he, um, has a lot of questions. Particularly about who Hydra is exactly and how they managed to sneak two of their people into his bodyguard unit and put a bomb on his plane. That, and he also wants to know if we knew that Tadashi is back from the dead and how he managed to pull of his modern day Lazarus." Wasabi said.

"Dude! I thought you said there was a bomb on Krei's plane." Fred pointed out as he whipped about, searching the tar mat.

"Where's the plane and the bomb?" GoGo asked, clearly concerned as she had every right to be. Though it was surprising how no one was really freaking out.

Then Honey Lemon noticed the crucial detail the others were missing. "Where's Vera?"

"She took the plane and the bomb… about five minutes ago." Hiro said soberly. His hand clenched around the domino mask that Vera had given him.

"What… what do you mean she took the plane and the bomb?" Wasabi sputtered.

"She flew off. The bomb couldn't be defused and it was on a timer. So she took it away." Hiro answered. He wasn't sure where the pain was coming from in his jaw. Maybe he'd been clenching it too along with his fist around the mask.

"But won't that…" Fred started. No one had the strength to finish the thought though. Baymax, however, summed it up pretty well.

"The explosion and shrapnel dispelled by the bomb will prove fatal to the pilot, in this case Vera."

Honey Lemon gasped while GoGo looked at him with wide eyes. Fred and Wasabi exchanged horrified looks. Hiro couldn't look any of them in the face. How was he going to look Tadashi in the eye ever again? Instead he stared up at the sky. He could still see the jet in the sky, though it was almost miniscule by now, as well as the plumes of exhaust coming from it's engines. How far would it be when it exploded? Vera hadn't said how long Tadashi would be out for. If there was any mercy in the world, he wouldn't be awake to see the explosion.

No. If there was any mercy in the world, Vera wouldn't need to die. Tadashi wouldn't ever know what it felt like to lose a sibling. If there was any mercy in the world, there would be another way! He felt Baymax's hand on his shoulder, pulling him back for a hug. That's when he realized it. There was another way.

Hiro pulled himself away from Baymax with a hard jerk and spun around to face him. "I have an idea. It's crazy and stupid and probably risky to my well being but it could work." he told Baymax with the hint of his mischievous smile on his face.

"The sudden rush of epinephrine in your nervous system indicates that you are excited." Baymax said, almost warily.

Hiro only grinned broader. "There's nothing that says she still has to be on that plane when it explodes." he told Baymax slyly.

He could almost see Baymax's internal computer brain circuits whirring and grinding as his A.I. made the connection between Hiro's sudden mood change and words. "I believe I understand," he said at length.

"What do you say?"

"It would be a resolution to the conflict in my coding but I do believe that it is, as you say, risky to your own well being."

"Not if we time it right." smirked Hiro. Baymax's only response was to stand straighter, stretching himself to his full height. "Wings Baymax!" Hiro called as he jumped on Baymax's back.

"Hiro!" yelled Wasabi in shock.

"Um, did you forget that there are crazy people still chasing after us?" GoGo snapped.

"Vera told me to get Tadashi away from here. You guys get a head start on that. I'll catch up."

Wasabi reached up and grabbed Hiro's ankle, keeping him from blasting off right away. "Hiro what are you going to do?" Honey Lemon demanded, her accent becoming more pronounced under her dismay.

Hiro glanced down at the purple domino mask that was still clenched in his hand. In doing so, he caught a glimpse at his watch and the timer he'd set to coincide with the bomb's timer. He had thirty minutes. Hiro stuffed the mask into his pocket, shook off Wasabi's hand, and looked at all his friends seriously. "I'm going to make sure that Tadashi never has to know what it feels like to lose your sibling. Thrusters Baymax!"

The ground and everyone fell away as he shot up into the sky again. Because, the thought, if not me then who?

Chapter Text

You're a cherry blossom, you're about to bloom.

You look so pretty but you're gone so soon,

(I try to picture me without you but I can't)

- Centuries of Immortals a mash up by Shannon Godwin

He looked down at the timer on his watch. About fifteen minutes was all he had left. Fifteen minutes to get to the plane, get Vera out of it, and get away again. Baymax's thrust capacity was holding steady at nearly a hundred percent and Hiro was carefully monitoring Baymax's power levels as well. However, the plane was still too far out of reach. Hiro grit his teeth. "Baymax, take us higher!" Hiro called over the wind. If they increased the altitude, they'd close the distance between them and the plane quicker. Fifteen minutes and counting.

X X X

There was a muffled sound over his head. It sounded vaguely like someone was arguing. It definitely wasn't doing his probable head injury any favors. Tadashi groaned and tried to sit up. "He's coming around!" yelled someone over the top off his head. Their voice was loud. Too loud.

Of course when he tried to tell whoever it was this, all that came out was another pained groan. "Easy man, don't push yourself." another voice said. It sounded like Wasabi. Yeah, definitely Wasabi's.

Hands and arms helped him as he struggled to sit up. His back was stiff and there was weird groggy, dizzy feeling that swam in front of his eyes every time he tried to focus. After a couple of blinks, the fuzzy shapes in front of him became people who were staring at him in concern. "You alright Hamada?" GoGo asked warily as her hands floated hesitantly by his shoulder, just in case he tipped sideways. At this point in time, that was a very likely possibility.

"Yeah," he said, not entirely sure. He had a funny taste in his mouth that nearly made him gag. "What hit me and can I hit them back?"

There was a collective but weak laugh from Wasabi, Honey Lemon, Fred, and GoGo. "Guys, I really think we should get out of here." Honey Lemon urged. She sounded nervous but he couldn't place why. That and he couldn't quite remember what had put him on the ground in the first place.

He hadn't taken a knock out hit from one of the footsoldiers had he? No. That didn't sound right. He distinctly remembered doling out the knock out blow to one of them. Then what had happened? He massaged the back of his neck as he struggled to remember. The last thing he recalled was discovering the bomb with Vera on the plane and Vera saying that... Oh God!

"Vera!" he yelled as he scrambled to his feet. He knocked Fred and GoGo away from him the process. However, as he stood, another bout of dizziness hit him like a freight train. Tadashi swayed on his feet, clutching his head.

"Woah!" Fred said as he latched on to his arm and kept him upright. "Take it easy."

"You don't understand!" yelled Tadashi as he whipped around to stare. The plane was gone. No where in sight. "The bomb is on the plane. Vera was going to... oh God!"

His knees shook underneath him as he stared out over where the sky met the bay. He could still make out the jetstream from Krei's jet. It was too late. She was gone. Vera was flying away to certain death. She was gone. That's when he realized that the mother of pearl bracelet he'd bought for Vera a few days ago was around his wrist. It felt like an iron weight on him. She'd left him with it as her parting gift to him. As something to remember her by. His hand fell limply to his side. "Tadashi," Honey Lemon said softly as she reached out and touched his arm gently.

He turned to look at her numbly. That's when he realized Big Hero 6 was missing one teenaged genius and a healthcare companion robot. Ice filled his veins as he scanned the tar mat. "Where's Hiro and Baymax?" he asked, dread coursing through him.

No one could look him in the eye. "Where's Hiro and Baymax?" he asked again, desperately.

It was Wasabi who looked up at the direction of the plane's jetstream. "No," he whispered. "No, no, no, no! He didn't!"

"He took off before we could stop him." GoGo told him.

"He's going to try and get Vera off the plane before the bomb goes off." Honey Lemon added.

This time, Tadashi's knees did give out. Fred gave a startled cry as he struggled to keep Tadashi upright. Wasabi rushed forward to help him. Tadashi fought the violent urge to be sick. No! Not Hiro too. Not his brother! Not after they'd found each other again. Not ever. No! This couldn't be happening. "Tadashi!" snapped GoGo.

Mechanically, he looked up at her. Judging by the look on her face she'd been trying to get his attention for a little bit. "Listen to us Tadashi," GoGo said emphatically, "Baymax won't let anything happen to Hiro. And if anyone can save Vera, it would be Hiro."

"We have to trust him." Honey Lemon insisted with a bright smile that was evident that not even she believed what they were saying.

"Dude, Hiro's totally got this!" Fred agreed enthusiastically and wholeheartedly. "He's got loads of experience at swooping in at the last minute to rescue people."

Fred was nodding with an assuredness only he could come by. For some reason, Tadashi found himself nodding right along with Fred. It was at a slower pace, sure, but he was nodding. Not because he agreed with Fred but because at this moment in time it was the only shred of hope he could cling to. And he grabbed on to it with both hands and a white knuckled grip. Not Vera and Hiro. Not both of them. He couldn't lose them both.

"I hate to be the one to remind everyone of this but Hiro told us to get out of here. We've got a whole lot of trouble coming our way." Wasabi said as he cast an anxious glance around them.

"Right, let's go." GoGo gave a curt nod. Tadashi allowed Fred to take him by the arm and half pull, half drag him in the direction everyone else had turned for. He didn't want to leave. The rational and logical side of him knew that it was the smartest decision. To get away when they had the chance. However, his mind was screaming bloody murder at him. Don't leave. Wait for Hiro. Wait for Vera. Wait for them to come back and if they didn't… another wave of nausea hit him full force. Fred tugged again at his arm and said something encouraging to him but Tadashi didn't really register what it was.

Then something else pierced through the fog in his head. A dull, familiar vibration that rose around them in the air. He could feel it in his shoes, up his legs, and through his arms and back. Fred froze in place as he watched the tiny pebbles on the tar mat bounce up and down. GoGo had stopped too and was glaring at her wheels in confusion as they trembled underneath her. "What the…" she growled.

"Oh no!" gasped Honey Lemon as she jumped back a step.

Fred's hand tightened around his arm. Wasabi's jaw fell slack and his eyes went wide. GoGo and Honey Lemon could only stare. Tadashi raised his eyes to the sky, where everyone else was looking. A thick cloud of black spread through the sky in front of them. Tiny, silver helicopter wings beat the air, blowing dirt and sending vibrations up around them. In the middle of the cloud was Dr. Robert Callaghan, Supervillain Yokai. His black clothes melded with the black of the hive drones and the only really perceptible feature was the red and white kabuki mask he wore. He didn't know whether to let the nausea take over and let himself be sick or he should start spew angry curses. Both of them felt equally appropriate at the moment.

"What are those things?" Wasabi wondered quietly as his voice shook.

"You know how I told you guys about the hive drones?" Tadashi mumbled under his breath. Cold dread flushed through his body, taking the place of his nausea. Everyone turned to give him a sideways glance from the corner of their eyes while trying to keep Callaghan in their sights. Tadashi swallowed the hard lump that had formed in his throat. He gave a curt nod towards the hive drones. "That would be them."

"You always did the coolest work." Fred laughed nervously. However, Fred pulled up the hood of his costume. There was a whirring sound as Wasabi fired up his laser swords. GoGo raised one of her discs into the air. Honey Lemon held three chemical orbs in each hand.

Then, Callaghan descended on them.

Hive drones rushed towards them, their dangerously sharp wing blades angled towards them and their sharp barbs pointed at them. Before Tadashi could raise his arms to block his face, Fred had jumped in front of him. A stream of fire took out the first batch that rushed them. Wasabi leapt forward and swung his blades around to shear as many drones in half as he could in one sweep.

GoGo and Honey Lemon stood back to back a little farther away from him. GoGo's discs split the mass of drones in half, into smaller but still formidable formations. Some drones went down but the ones that didn't exploded into pink dust as Honey Lemon's chemical orbs hit them and released rapid embrittlement compound. Bits and pieces of the hive drones hit the ground around them. There were still so many of them though.

Tadashi tried to push away the numbness in his mind and struggled to find a way to help his friends. However, as he was looking around, that's when he spotted Callaghan's movements. He was still suspended in the air by the hive drones but was typing furiously into the computer on his wrist. Two groups of drones broke away from the main formation, rising high into the air above them. His eyes went wide when he realized what was happen. Tadashi let loose a curse before calling out, "Look out! He's flanking us!"

He was just seconds too late. The hive drones crashed into them on both sides as well as rushed them from the front. There was a scream of shock, surprise, and pain as the hive drones crashed into them. GoGo was the first to go down when the hive drones swept her wheels out from under her and bore down on her. All she could do was cover her head to try and protect herself. Honey Lemon and Wasabi went down next within seconds of each other, too quickly overwhelmed by the onslaught. A huge wave crashed into the side of Fred and knocked him sideways straight into Tadashi. For the second time in less than a week, he felt the hive drones cutting into his skin and his ears ringing from the force the air was moving at. He grit his teeth against the pain. Damn it! There wasn't anything he could do!

Then suddenly the roar around them dulled. The vibration slowed and drones no longer stung. What he did hear, though, was the cocking of a gun over the top of his head. Cut and bleeding, Tadashi looked up. "Hello Scientist." Williams sneered down at him. "I didn't get a chance to say anything to you last night. You left so quickly."

"Williams." Tadashi snarled, trying not to grind his teeth together. There were three other men behind him hovering over GoGo, Wasabi, and Fred. Callaghan was now on the ground and acting as the fourth man, hanging over the top of Honey Lemon. The hive drones all hovered in the sky, waiting for commands.

"Your friends seem to be down two team members and you seem to missing your half-witted Agent friend. Where as we seem to be missing our bomb and bait. Why don't you tell us where they're at."

"Your bomb is gone." he hissed. He stared Williams down, meeting his cold and dead eyes unflinchingly. Williams shoved the gun up against his temple in response.

"Where is the bomb?" Williams all but growled like the dog he was.

"It flew away," answered Tadashi, "along with your fantastic plan to blow up witnesses and fake the deaths of Big Hero 6."

Pain exploded across the side of his head. "Tadashi!" cried his friends as he fell sideways on to the ground, holding the side of his head.

Idly, he wondered if he'd programmed a CAT scan as one of the ten thousand medical procedures that Baymax could perform because after as many times he'd been hit in the head today he was going to need one. "I suppose that your Agent friend is the one flying the plane?"

Tadashi bit his tongue hard enough to taste blood to keep himself from saying anything. It must have played on his face though. The way Williams lips twisted into a sick knowing smirk made his stomach churn. "And where is Mr. Hamada and his robot?"

Tadashi didn't need to respond. He didn't even get a chance to respond. Williams put it together in his own head and as soon as he did, the smirk fell from his face. "Callaghan!" he barked, turning towards him, "Go after him and bring him back."

Callaghan, for the first time Tadashi realized, wasn't looking at Williams. In fact, he was only just barely paying attention to Honey Lemon despite the fact he was supposed to be guarding her. Dr. Callaghan was instead staring directly at him. There was a mixture of confusion and concern on his face. Tadashi glared at him icily. How could someone so brilliant, so prolific, really throw his lot in with a bunch of murderers and torturers? This was supposed to be the pioneer of robotics, not some Supervillain with a desire for revenge. "Callaghan! Go get Hiro Hamada."

Callaghan jerked his eyes away from Tadashi as if he'd been startled. It took him a moment to fully register what he was being told to do. He scowled at Williams. "I'd never be able to catch him. Hiro is long gone." Callaghan told him simply.

Williams muttered something venomous under his breath about stupid kids and their damn heroics these days. Then he turned to look at Tadashi with a cold hatred. "I guess that means you'll have to do. Hope you enjoyed your year long vacation Scientist."

There was a scathing remark on the tip of his tongue. "You guys are insane if you think we're ever going to help you." spat GoGo as she glared over at Williams.

"I guess we'll have to see about that. As I told Mr. Hamada last night, you really don't have much of a say in the matter." sneered Williams. He looked at the men who were looming over them. "Get them on their feet. The transport should be here any moment now."

The men with guns reached down and yanked their captives up roughly under the arm. Only Callaghan was mildly gentle in pulling Honey Lemon to her feet but that was all relative though. Williams jerked his gun upwards in a silent command for Tadashi to stand. He clenched his jaw but did as he was told. He wasn't nearly as dizzy as he had been even though Williams had pistol whipped him. Tadashi raised his hands into the air as he continued to meet Williams gaze. Something burned in the pit of his stomach. There was nothing he wanted to do more than haul off and deck Williams in the face. He didn't think that would end well though, for anybody in the group. Instead he lashed out verbally. "You might be able to make me disappear again but if you think that you'll be able to wipe Big Hero 6 off the radar, you're sadly mistaken." Tadashi informed Williams in an even tone that surprised him.

Williams gave him a mirthless smile, "Yes, thanks to you and that stupid S.H.I.E.L.D. Agent. We'll think of something though. The thing about Superhero work is that any manner of accident can befall a poor hero. Getting blown up is just one of them. The important thing is that everyone, excluding Hiro Hamada and his robot, is here just as we planned. A bit too early we were afraid, seeing as how you could have flown the coop, but we somehow managed to make it work. Besides, now we don't have to worry about how much time we have before the bomb blows. Perhaps we ought to thank you for that."

His heart clenched. How much time before the bomb went off? He turned to look over his shoulder behind him. There was no hint of the plane nor the red swatch of Baymax's armor. It was like his blood turned to ice water, chilling him slowly from the core out. Tadashi didn't doubt that Williams knew exactly how much time was left on the bomb's timer. How much time Vera had left to live. How much time Hiro had to save her. He couldn't breath. It took every ounce of his being to drag air into his lungs and push it out again.

"How long have you people been planning this?" Wasabi asked incredulously as he stared past his own crony at Williams.

"A long time," Williams said dismissively.

"At least three years if not longer." Tadashi bit out. Williams raised an eyebrow in mild surprise. Tadashi bit back a snort. "What like it was some sort of secret? You guys were in that convention center. You guys were ready to pull me out of it which means that someone had to plan the fire way in advanced. "Though I am curious... at what point did you start working with Hydra Callaghan? Was it before or after you faked your death?"

"Less than a week ago." answered Callaghan quietly.

"Sure! Of course you did." Tadashi told Callaghan scathingly.

"I never set that fire." Callaghan insisted vehemently. "I've done many horrible things but I swear that fire was already burning when I went took your brother's microbots."

"It's true." Williams said unaffectedly. "Hydra set that fire. SFIT, MIT, Havard, and so on and so forth are breeding grounds for great ideas and brilliant minds. Hydra likes to its finger on the pulse, so to speak, and keep a sharp look out for up and coming talent..."

"Hiro," something clicked in Tadashi's mind. His stomach flipped over on itself. "You were after Hiro."

"Yes, we were after your brother. At first we were just at that convention hall ready to burn it to the ground if we saw something we liked. When we saw Hiro Hamada's presentation, I changed my mind. Fourteen years old and already building tech like that. It was incredible. So we tweaked our plan. There were some risks involved but the potential pay off was better than the damage of failing."

"What risks?" Honey Lemon asked tersely, her hand twisting around the strap of her bag.

"Well, we couldn't be sure that the kid would actually give us a chance to take him but when one of our contacts saw him toss that neurotransmitter off to the side after his demonstration. I thought for sure he'd go running back in to save all his hard work. Things didn't quite go as planned though…"

The nausea was steadily creeping back into Tadashi's throat. Hydra had always been after Hiro. There was a miniscule comfort though that his capture had put Williams's and Hydra's plans on hold. "You got me instead."

Williams nodded sharply. For someone whose plan hadn't gone smoothly, he seemed pretty okay about it. "Our contact had told me that the good doctor over there had been making a habit of photocopying students' work in an attempt at some sort of revenge fantasy."

"Wait! What?" sputtered Wasabi as there was a collective gasp from the rest of Big Hero 6

"We weren't counting on him actively stealing Hamada's microbots though. Nor were we counting on you running in after him. Hell, we could have gotten both of you had the building not blown so quickly seeing as how he started to chase after you. Shit happens, though, as the phrase goes and our plan didn't quite pan out."

"Must have been so difficult." growled Tadashi.

"Everything worked out well in the end. We knew about you of course and your own abilities so we took the opportunity presented. You ended up being quite the asset until that stupid S.H.I.E.L.D. agent came along and gave you a pair and a back bone."

"And when we got away, I left a gaping hole in your research team that you decided to fill with my little brother." spat Tadashi.

A sick smirk spread over Williams's face. "Second chances and all."

"Dude," whispered Fred in disgust as he looked around at the men. "That's messed up."

"How does it make you feel to know that you're being taken advantage of for a change?" GoGo hissed at Callaghan. Callaghan sent an icy glare at Williams for a second.

"Our deal still holds?" Callaghan asked dryly. "You get what you want..."

"And then you get to take the hive drones with you to raze Krei and his company to the ground. Hell, you can even tag along with us afterwards to make sure your old favorite here is happy." Williams sneered in response before looking over at Tadashi, "Well, as happy as he could be anyways. Isn't that right Scientist?"

"You know how GoGo said earlier that you were insane for thinking that we'll cooperate. I'm gonna second that comment you foul piece of garbage." Tadashi said threateningly. There had to be something he could do. Someway to get them out of this situation. It looked like, however, that his friends seemed to have something in mind.

Tadashi caught Honey Lemon exchanging subtle looks with Fred, Wasabi, and GoGo. She was the only one without a gun pressed against the temple of her head and a weapon in easy range. Not to mention the fact that Dr. Callaghan was once more paying more attention to him, shooting him sympathetic looks, rather than Honey Lemon. Her fingers twitched over the keyboard of her purse and he forcefully pulled his eyes away to keep from giving her away. Instead he looked at the nondescript van that was pulling around on to the tar mat in front of them. Apparently, the transport Williams had been talking about had arrived. Tadashi had no idea what was going through Honey Lemon's mind but whatever it was, he really hoped it worked.

The driver jumped out to slide open the van's side doors to reveal a Hellish inside of silver chains and shackles, Honey Lemon's fingers moved towards the keyboard with lightning speed. However quick her reflexes were, she wasn't able to hit more than two buttons in her combination before the huge boom of an explosion far behind them.

X X X

Ten minutes until the bomb blew and Hiro and Baymax were directly overhead of Krei's private jet. Ten minutes. They could do this. Someway, somehow, they could save Vera. As Vera had said, the plane was a safe distance over the Pacific Ocean. The water was dark blue and shimmering far underneath them. "Alright Baymax, now or never!" Hiro yelled.

Baymax rolled over in a barrel roll causing Hiro's stomach to fly into his throat. On a good day it would have been a thrilling feeling. Today, though, was not a good day and it only made him want to puke. Baymax's maneuver put them in line with plane's cabin. He could just make out Vera's outline through the tinted windshield of the plane.

Hiro lifted his hand from the magnetic port on Baymax's armor and touched the radio relay button on his helmet. Radio frequencies appeared on his visor and he could hear static as he rapidly flipped through channels, desperately trying to find the right one. He picked up on the closest signal. "Vera! Are you there? Come in Vera!" he said desperately as he craned his head around to look through the windshield.

"Hiro?" Vera's voice answered him. Her utter confusion was clear in her voice. He saw Vera raise her hand and touch the headset that was over her ears. "Hiro is that you? How do you have this frequency?"

"Oh, well y'know, just looked for the closest one to where I was at. Fairly easy even if you aren't a super genius given that I'm flying parallel to you at the moment." he said lightly.

"WHAT!" squawked Vera. Her response was so loud that it caused feedback in his communication's link. He winced in pain but watched as Vera snapped around to look at him through the windshield. Vera let loose a string of curses that were rather impressive and, again, loud enough to cause feedback.

Hiro raised his hand to wave at her. "Can you please not scream? You're kinda causing feedback and it's too loud for my delicate little ears. That and Tadashi wouldn't approve of your language. You're talking to virgin ears."

"Do you have a death wish or something kid?" snapped Vera. Wow! She was beyond angry. That much was obvious. "The bomb is going to go off any minute now and you're flying parallel to me!"

"In about nine minutes and eight seconds." he gave her the exact time.

"Turn around and go back... now!" she demanded.

"No!" he yelled back fiercely. This time he was the one who caused the feedback. He winced again as it hit his own ears. "I'm not letting you die!"

"You and Chiune are definitely brothers. Only two people from the same gene pool would be this stubborn." snorted Vera, "I give you time to get yourself, your brother, and the rest of your team away and this is how you use it? At the rate you're going, you're going to be caught up in the blast. Is that what you want to happen?"

"Three years ago, I watched Tadashi run into a burning building. I thought he died. I mourned him. I was so grief stricken that I nearly killed someone for revenge! What you're doing... you can't imagine the pain that you'll be subjecting Tadashi to."

"And you think that by joining me in this suicide mission will make it easier on him? Hiro, he can't lose you too."

"He can't lose either one of us." Hiro countered.

There was silence over the radio. Then he heard, "Turn back Hiro. Before it's too late."

"No!" Hiro said quickly. He couldn't give up. At this point it wasn't an option. Vera didn't say anything. He glanced down at his watch again. Less than four minutes and counting. He felt lead slip into his heart. No, at this point, if Vera didn't do anything they were both dead. He licked his lips to moisten them before speaking again. "There has to be another way!"

"There isn't." Vera told him firmly. Hiro caught another look at his watch. It had just flipped to six minutes. "Hiro, please... just go."

Her voice sounded so faint over the radio. Hiro grit his teeth. It couldn't end like this. "Hiro, there is not much time left." Baymax pointed out and he didn't doubt that Baymax would turn around to save his life without permission. It was in his coding after all.

"I know, I know," he growled. "Just give me a few more seconds."

He stared up through the plane's windshield. It was as though he could feel Vera's eyes on him, watching and waiting. "Listen to me Vera. There is another way. There is always another way. I just need you to think for a half second and help me. You're smart. I can tell that just by the way you speak. That crazy Sherlock deduction mumbo jumbo you pulled with Fred last night proves it too. Between the two of us, we can find another way. We just need to think of a new angle."

There was absolute dead silence on the radio. Hiro's heart pounded against his ribcage. This was it. Vera was giving up. Baymax was going to turn around and haul them out of range. Vera was going to die. Oh God! What was he going to tell Tadashi? Then a quiet laugh came through the radio. "Your brother once said that to me." Vera told him in a very, very different tone. Hiro held his breath. They were down to less than five minutes. "How close can you get to the door?""

What are you thinking?" Hiro questioned her.

"The plane should be far enough away now. Krei has some pretty nice autopilot software that I can flip on to hold the course. With the plane flying by itself, it will leave me free to exit the situation." Vera said. He could hear the gears starting to turn in her mind as she sorted out all the particulars.

"Baymax and I come in close so that way when the door opens, I reach over and grab you." Hiro caught on to the idea.

"You pull me on to that robot of yours and we get out of dodge." finished Vera.

"Think you can do that Baymax?" he asked.

"I believe so." answered Baymax.

"Excellent. Hurry up Vera, we don't have much time." Hiro called into the radio. He looked down at his watch and cringed. No they didn't have much time at all. They were closing in on three minutes.

"Get yourselves into position but don't fly too close to the door. I've still got to get it open and the stairs might hit you."

"Be careful." Hiro and Baymax called at the same time. However, it was too late. Vera tore the headset from her head and jumped up. Hiro grit his teeth, trying to ignore how badly his heart was racing, and let Baymax maneuver them into position. They dropped back in line with the door, ready and waiting.

The plane's door came open. At first it was just a small crack between the frame of the plane and the door itself. Then the rushing air caught it. Hiro cursed in surprise, his eyes going wide, as the door was torn from the plane and Baymax had to drop several feet downwards to avoid it at a split moment. The door hit the plane's wing with a horrendous sound that he could hear even over the torrent of wind, before skittering off towards the ocean below. A new rock settled into his stomach. Well, Vera had said that it might hit them.

Vera stood in the doorway. Her hand was twisted in some kind of rope that she must have had looped over something inside the plane and was clinging to it for dear life. Her hair was whipping around her face so violently that he doubted she could see anything. She ran her hand through it to push it over her shoulder and down wind. Then she flashed a brilliant smile.

"Baymax, get in as close as you can." Hiro told him. "We can't risk missing her and having her fall. There isn't enough time to catch her."

"A more likely scenario would be that Vera would be knocked into the wing of the plane. At a force such as the one we are currently experiencing she would have severe bodily trauma." Baymax corrected him, not sparing any details.

"All the more reason not to miss." mumbled Hiro as he tried to banish the sudden image of the door hitting the wing and the sound it had created.

Baymax pulled himself in close, or as close he could, to the plane. His long wings kept him from pulling in right up close to the plane. There was at least seven feet with nothing in between them but open air. Hiro disengaged the magnets on his hands from Baymax's armor and stretched his arm out towards Vera. Though his growth spurt had been more than generous to him at the age of fifteen, his arms were nowhere long enough to reach Vera on his own. Desperately, he pushed the limits of his body and leaned his torso out into the open space. Vera reached out with her free hand, struggling to meet him in the middle. Her grip was white knuckle around the rope as she tried to grab for him. Her teeth and jaw were clenched together. She took a risk and used the rope as a safety net in order to extend her reach by leaning out of the doorway. Her foot slipped from the plane and she cried out as she nearly fell. His heart leapt into his throat. Only her white knuckle grip saved her. "Come on," Hiro whispered under his breath, craning his arm towards her.

Vera regained her footing and tried again, her body nearly at a forty-five degree angle. Her fingers found his and he grabbed hold in a death grip. "Let go! I've got you!" he cried.

An imperceptible moment passed. The hand that was twisted around the rope loosened and then let go. For a heart stopping second, Vera was airborne and dangling in the air over the ocean. Then with all his strength Hiro yanked her up and on to Baymax, her body slamming into his armor hard. Pride flushed through him. He'd done it! They'd done it! Vera was safe!

Pinning her body underneath his as he slammed his magnetic holds back into place, he called down to Baymax, "Get us out of here!"

Baymax twisted away from the plane with another barrel roll and shot up into the sky, over above the plane at full speed. A sudden beep cut through his radio link as the timer on his watch hit zero and they were still so close. "Oh crap." breathed Vera.

Hiro's eyes went wide and adrenaline slowed the seconds after into an eternity. Heat exploded underneath them and metal screeched. Air was displaced and shrapnel careened through air around them as flames leapt upwards. Vera twisted in his arms to look down, one hand clamping down hard on his arm with one hand and casting the other over the side of Baymax. "Please!" she breathed in horror.

Part of the plane's wing was spiraling up straight towards them and the flames rose up to meet them. Sorry Tadashi, he thought as the reality of his failure crashed down on him and threatened to strangle him. He bowed his head into Baymax, guess I was too late.

A rush of scorching hot air hit them as time sped up again...

Chapter Text

We don't have a choice to stay

We'd rather die than do it your way

With our backs to the wall, the darkness would fall

We never quite thought we could loose it all

— Ready! Aim! Fire by Imagine Dragons

Crackling heat burned around Tadashi. Everywhere he looked, fire rose up around him. Flames twisted like vines up the walls, around the pillars, and across the demonstration stage. He felt the heat of the fire on his skin, savage and unmerciful. His arm itched then burned as he felt the flames dancing up them and on to his face. They tore and seared his skin as they went. He nearly screamed in pain but choked it down as he fought his way through.

Smoke choked out the air and made it hard to breathe. Made it hard to see. He took a gulping breath and immediately coughed hard enough to make him bend over double. His eyes stung and watered from the constant irritation of the smoke. However, if he looked hard enough through the impenetrable dark black curtain of smoke and roiling flames he could just make out the figure of Dr. Callaghan. He was close enough to call out to him if he tried hard enough and fought through the suffocating smoke. Callaghan was sure to hear him and look over at him. He raised his arm, reaching for Callaghan, to do just that before another body wracking coughing fit grabbed hold of him.

Something over the top of his head gave a horrible crack. He glanced up and saw a ceiling beam groaning and protesting under the force of the fire. The showcase hall was coming down around him. Coming down on top of him!

No! Wait! That wasn't really happening. He wasn't standing in the middle of a fire. The flames weren't licking at his arms and face. The smoke wasn't strangling him. It was only a nightmare.

Tadashi shook his head. No, not a nightmare. A memory. Yes, that was it. It was a memory. If he just closed his eyes, everything would disappear. None of this would be happening. It was in the past. There was no fire.

However, when he opened his eyes again, there was still fire. It was just much, much farther away.

The horrid crack he'd heard above his head hadn't been the showcase hall collapsing down him. It was the sound of Alistair Krei's private jet exploding. The sound crashed around he, his friends, Williams, and his men. Though it was miles away, Tadashi could feel the explosion in his chest. He whipped around and ran towards it. Not very far, only a few feet down the tar mat. It wasn't like he could go very far.

Horror flushed through him. A strangled cry rose in his throat as froze in his spot and stared up at the sky over the ocean. Tendrils of orange, red, and yellow flames snaked into the air, twisting in some sort of macabre dance. For a brief moment the fire hung suspended in the air and roared around the silver glints of what was left of the plane.

It was though time slowed down, just enough, for Tadashi to register what was happening. Then he blinked and time sped back up again. The flame covered plane fell into the ocean at a sharp arc far, far in the distance. The collision into the water snuffed out much of the fire though some jet fuel still burned on top. Tadashi could see a huge wave rising up around the spot the plane had fallen. Vera, Hiro, and Baymax were no where to be seen. "No," whispered Tadashi as the weight of realization hit him like a sucker punch. He felt his knees, hands, and head shaking but could control it. "No!" he screamed.

Tadashi sank to his knees, gripping his head in his quaking hands. No. Tadashi bowed his head into his lap. This wasn't happening. He squeezed his eyes shut and forced himself to listen to the hollow sound of his breathing. When he opened his eyes he would be somewhere else. Anywhere else. Vera and Hiro would be at his side asking him what was wrong. Unfortunately, when he opened his eyes, nothing had changed.

In the past three years, the years he could actually remember, he'd felt like he'd been trying to live up to an expectation. He was supposed to be a protector and a brother. After talking with his friends, brother, and aunt, it seemed that had always been the case. He'd always been a protector. That was always his expectation. He had failed. He had failed to protect both Hiro and Vera.

Tadashi felt Vera's bracelet around his wrist. It felt like an iron chain binding him to the ground. He brushed Vera's bracelet, her obvious goodbye memento, and cradled it to his chest. A sob clawed at his throat and made it impossible to speak. Damn it! It was almost impossible to even breathe! What was he going to tell Aunt Cass? Travis? Director Coulson? He had failed.

Someone was screaming behind him. People were crying and sobbing. "We'll kill you for that you son of a…" someone spat before the rest of the sentiment was lost to a gut wrenching sob. He couldn't tell who it was. His own chest felt as though someone had stuck a knife through it.

Tadashi felt someone at his arm. A gentle touch urging him to stand. It wasn't demanding or angry, just gentle. "Come on son," a quiet voice said in his ear. Tadashi had heard that voice so many times. He could almost remember the words of encouragement that voice had spoken to him. Numbly, he registered Dr. Robert Callaghan beside him guiding him to his feet. "There you go. Just like that."

He stared, unseeingly, for a moment at Callaghan. His former mentor's face was sympathetic and understanding. A savage feeling tore through Tadashi. He was only just barely beginning to understand it. "Don't touch me." He hissed angrily as he wrenched his arm from Callaghan's grasp.

Callaghan stepped back quickly, raising his hands into the air placatingly. The look on his face was reminiscent of the one he'd given Abigail. Fatherly. It only made Tadashi angrier. "Tadashi," Callaghan started sympathetically.

"Don't!" Tadashi snapped as he stabbed his finger in Callaghan's direction violently. "Don't you even talk to me!"

Callaghan took a step towards him but Tadashi stepped away from him. He raised his hands in an obvious threat. Callaghan froze in his tracks. "This is your idea of fixing the world then? Helping a group of murderers and watching people die? If you hadn't been so Hell bent on revenge, maybe this world wouldn't have needed your 'fixing.'" he screamed.

Callaghan stared back at him. His face was blank. Perhaps he was in shock. Tadashi had the overwhelming urge to hit something. He had an even stronger feeling that "something" should be Dr. Callaghan's face. Tadashi grit his teeth together. He shifted his weight towards Callaghan.

"What a waste of talent." mused Williams. "Shame about the Hamada boy. That girl outlived her usefulness ages ago."

"What… did… you say?" hissed Tadashi. His entire body went rigid as he slowly turned to face Williams. There was a frigid coldness surging through his body that chilled him to the core. Tadashi examined Williams, trying to find a shred of human decency in him. Anything at all that would prove Williams was a man and not a monster.

There was nothing. Absolutely nothing. Not one damn thing! Williams used people for his own gain and then threw them away like they were trash. He always had and always would.

Hate was not a feeling that Tadashi felt. However, as he looked at Williams, that was the only word he could think of to describe the pure and unadulterated fury that was rushing through his veins. Even in the depths of the underground compound, Tadashi had never felt this way. Never! Not even when Williams was forcing him to continue work on the hive drones. Not even when Williams had made half veiled threats against family and friends he couldn't remember. Not even when he realized that it was Williams who had given the go ahead to torture Vera. There had been several words he'd used to describe his feelings towards Williams then: fear, loathing, disgust but never hate. Then again, Tadashi couldn't ever remember this churning feeling in his stomach, or the pounding in his ears, or the frigid chill creeping through his limbs during his two years in the underground compound. Tadashi hated Agent Williams of Hydra with every strand and fiber of his being.

"That girl's name was Vera." he spat as he stalked towards Williams. Vaguely, he was aware that Callaghan made a move to grab his arm and hold him back. Tadashi, however, merely stepped away and jerked his arm out of Callaghan's reach. "Her name was Vera and she was top of her class at NYU law. That boy, Hiro Hamada, was a survivor. He overcame depression and was going on to build one of the greatest things to ever help mankind. That wasted talent and that girl were both so young and bright… and promising! They wanted to make this world a better place. They wanted to help lots of people. What have you ever done Williams? Maim and mutilate? Tear apart and dissect? Torture and murder? They didn't deserve to die!"

Williams didn't say anything. He was as cold and silent as the grave and unfeeling as a statue. The longer he stood there staring at Tadashi, the more Tadashi felt his blood boil. Williams rolled his eyes at him. That was the only visible reaction he gave to Tadashi's words. Nothing else. Dismissive and apathetic. Completely uncaring. It was infuriating. Tadashi highly doubted though that there was anything in the world that Williams actually cared about.

Williams faced his men and barked an order. "Load them up."

That was it then. They were just going to be loaded up and hauled away like cattle to some unknown place where no one would ever see them again. Tadashi grit his teeth as he watched the footsoldiers shove and manhandle his friends. He had sworn a long time ago that he would never do Hydra's bidding again. Williams might have recaptured him, but that didn't mean he was going to go quietly. He would fight Williams and all of Hydra tooth and nail. Tadashi would spend the rest of his life fighting against them… no mater how long, or short, that was!

A scream tore across the tar mat. He didn't realize that it came from his own mouth. "Tadashi!" everyone cried out in terror as he flung himself forward at Williams.

He really didn't know what he was doing. He definitely wasn't thinking clearly enough to be of any sort of threat to Williams. He just leapt blindly and paid the price for it.

Pain shot through his middle as Williams caught him with a sucker punch. It didn't put Tadashi on the ground. No, the brutal elbow and forearm strike to the back of his neck was what sent him to the ground. He collapsed on to his hands and knees, dizzy and dazed, but the pain didn't end there. Agony poured through him as blow after blow fell on him. Williams's hands and feet connected with any part of him that was exposed. He could hear his friends screaming for Williams to stop from somewhere off in the distance. Well, it looked like the rest of his life was going to be a short one.

"That's enough!" snapped Callaghan as the hive drones buzzed in the air. The blows stopped raining on him.

Tadashi looked up through the blood that was starting to drip into his eye from a cut above his brow. Callaghan was standing over him with his hand gripping Williams's still raised arm. The hive drones continued to bob up and down erratically despite the fact that Callaghan had his mask on top of his head. Whatever was going through his mind must have been potent enough to cause some of the residual energy to be transferred to the drones. "Do you plan on beating him to death?" Callaghan growled.

Callaghan and Williams stared each other down for what seemed like a long time before Williams sneered. Callaghan's face remained dark and stone still even after Williams ripped his arm from Callaghan's grasp. "Get him up." snapped Williams.

Callaghan stepped back and grabbed Tadashi under his arms before hauling him to his feet. He let out a pained hiss. He was going to be bruised all over. Tadashi could already feel it. It was evident that Callaghan was trying to be gentle about it all. Callaghan had most likely used the personal connection he'd had with him to gain access to his friends' notes. Yet that was when Tadashi got the unshakable feeling that this man, the one he'd idolized despite the whole Supervillain thing, had once cared about him in a personal way. Like that of a father. What was even worse was the unshakable feeling that, without his father in a large portion of his life, Callaghan had probably been the closest thing he had to a dad. A dry, humorless, brittle smile tugged on his lips. Perhaps that was Callaghan's views were starting to make a little more sense in his head. "You were on the right track you know." mumbled Tadashi to Callaghan as Callaghan slung his arm over his shoulder.

Callaghan leaned Tadashi's weight against his side and looked at him in confusion. Bile rose in Tadashi's throat but he swallowed it down again. "What you said to Abigail in her apartment a few days ago… about the world being broken. How there should be rules, laws, that keep it from destroying itself. But they aren't broken. No… those rules, those laws, they're gone if they ever truly existed at all to begin with. If there really existed then that man would be dead." he said nodding in Williams's direction.

"So damn sentimental Scientist." Williams told him unaffectedly before shaking his head, "Never did like you much. Maybe that's the reason why."

"I won't ever work for you. As long as I'm breathing you won't have anything from me. I'm done." Tadashi infused every bit of his hatred into his glare and words.

Williams walked up to him and bent his head closer to him. Callaghan's grip tightened on him. A sickening smile spread across Williams's face. "We'll see, won't we?" he sneered as his glance fell on Fred, Honey Lemon, Wasabi, and GoGo.

Tadashi clenched his teeth together and lunged for Williams face once more. Williams quickly stepped back though, the smile never leaving his face. Callaghan's hand closed around his arm like a vice and he placed a hand on Tadashi's chest. "Easy Tadashi," Callaghan warned him, voice dripping with concern.

"After everything that's happened…" hissed Tadashi to Callaghan, "are you satisfied with the way it all came out?"

Callaghan was silent.

"Two dead, five of us abducted, all our families being lead to believe we're dead."

Callaghan didn't say anything.

"But hey, at least you'll have your revenge right. With those hive drones you'll be able to pay back Alistair Krei for all those years you thought your daughter was gone."

A muscle twitched in Callaghan's hand. He could feel it against his arm. The hive drones jumped a few feet higher.

"I'll never see Vera and Hiro again… and I just got back to him. You were right. The world is broken." Tadashi murmured more to himself than to Callaghan. His throat tightened up. The anger that had been fueling his words fizzled into despair.

"You need to be smart and use your head. Think of your friends." Callaghan said quietly and fiercely as he gave a subtle pointed nod towards everyone else. A reminder.

The comment made him look up. All of his friends were staring at him with fear in their eyes. Fear for what was going to happen to them. Fear for how Williams was planning on controlling them. Fear for what they were definitely going to be forced to do. Tadashi didn't blame them. He knew first hand what they could expect. A drip of blood ran off his nose and on to his lip. It suddenly occurred to him that a large part of his friends' fear might also be for him. He must have really been a sight he realized as he wiped the blood away with his free hand. "They're going to need you Tadashi. You've got to keep your head." Callaghan continued to whisper in his ear.

Tadashi fought back the surge of disgust and anger at both Callaghan's concern and support as well as for Williams's coldness. Tadashi's eyes fell on Vera's mother of pearl bracelet around his wrist. He took a deep breath and tried to remember the feel of Hiro's hand under his from the night before. Vera's bracelet grounded him physically, helping him remember exactly where he was and what the reality of his predicament was. The memory of Hiro's hand helped him to clear his mind and think logically.

There was a slight itching sensation in his arm, right above the crook of his elbow where Callaghan was supporting him. That's when he realized that there really wasn't an itch there. It was just a subconscious reminder to what was actually just below his skin in that particular area. The subdermal S.H.I.E.L.D. GPS tracker they'd put on him. He nearly gasped at the sudden recollection but stopped himself just in time.

He looked at Fred, Honey Lemon, Wasabi, and GoGo. Callaghan was right. He needed to keep his head for his friends' sake. That was first and foremost. He couldn't let himself do anything stupid that would cause Williams to separate him from them. Tadashi had to keep them all together for another couple of hours someway, somehow. Just until Director Coulson of S.H.I.E.L.D. came looking for him.

A grim sort of determination settled over him as he pressed his lips into a thin line. Vera had always liked her plans. Once she had her plan memorized like the back of her hand she could act and react accordingly. Her plans had given her comfort when she was scared. They had been one of her coping mechanisms. He just had to bide his time with everyone else and wait for Coulson.

Hang on and wait for Coulson. Hang on and wait for Coulson.

Tadashi repeated the thought over and over in his head like a calming mantra. He'd been a scientist long enough though to know that the best laid plans sometimes went awry. Tadashi just had to make sure that it was Williams's plan that went awry. He hadn't been able to save either Vera or Hiro, but he could still save his friends. He would save his friends.

Tadashi smiled at them, hoping they would take it as a reassuring gesture. He was met with a confused blink from Wasabi and Fred, a pained and sympathetic smile for Honey Lemon, and an angry promising look from GoGo that read 'we'll get these guys!'

Williams waved his hand and they were all pushed towards the van. Tadashi swallowed the lump in his throat and tried to school his face into something neutral as he passed by Williams. He couldn't tip him off to anything. He couldn't risk jeopardizing the plan. Besides, he might need to save mouthing off for later. Tadashi was already working out how he could possibly distract Williams later on if he needed to buy time just to keep them all together for a little while longer if needed. "Not bad for a day's work." Williams commented offhandedly, "I love it when things all work out in the end."

"Uh…" Fred started. His eyes were trained up on the sky above them and his mouth was hanging open in shock. The hive drones shook in the air. "You might not want to say that just yet dude."

Chapter Text

And just one mistake is all it will take to go down in history,

You'll remember me for centuries.

- "Centuries" by Fall Out Boy

A rush of scorching hot air hit them as time sped up again. Then the heat just… dissipated, like it wasn't even there anymore.

More importantly, he wasn't dead. Not that he was complaining or anything but... how? How were they not all burnt to a crisp or being smashed into nothing by shrapnel? Seriously, that explosion had been huge. How were they not dead?

Hiro picked his head up from Baymax and looked at what was going on around him. His jaw dropped so fast and he was fairly certain his eyes nearly popped out of his skull in shock. Vera was clinging to him but also hanging off the side of Baymax. Her hand was stretched out flat with tendons popping out on the top. Underneath her hand, underneath Baymax, a shimmering blue light was spread out and blocking off the raging inferno below. Metal pieces hit the light and bounced off harmlessly. The flames licked it but came no higher. "A shield?" gasped Hiro as he gaped at Vera, "You can make shields? You're a metahuman?"

"If you can make this robot of yours go any faster I suggest doing so because I don't have a lot of confidence in this recent turn of events." Vera said through clenched teeth.

"You can make shields? Why didn't you do this earlier? Do you realize how helpful that would have been last night? You know, when we were getting shot at?" Hiro yelled.

"Because I couldn't do it earlier. Honestly, I'm not sure how I'm doing it now nor do I know how long I'm going to be able to hold it. I highly suggest we book it out of here." growled Vera.

"What do you mean you couldn't do it earlier?"

"Ask our mutual friend Williams. I'm sure he'd be more than happy to explain the particulars." Vera snapped. The thing Vera had said about Hydra knowing how to take away a metahuman's abilities, seemingly forever, came rushing back. Horror struck him hard. Vera had been that metahuman. She'd been the one who'd had her abilities removed. That had been bitterness in her voice when she'd talked about it. Tadashi had demanded a quick change of subject and now it made sense. It took every ounce of his being not to stare at her in utter shock. "Listen, I wasn't joking about not being confident about this. I don't know how long I can hold the shield. It's been so long since I last succeeded in projecting one so…"

Her voice dropped away and for the first time Hiro could see just how pale and drawn her face was. Her jaw was clenched so tightly that he could see the strain in her neck. Vera shut her eyes as if she were trying hard not to lose her focus. This wasn't easy for her. "Baymax! Let's book it!" he called.

Baymax's thrusters kicked into high gear and the wreckage quickly fell away from them. Vera let her shield fall once the fire and debris started to crash towards the ocean. She gave a relieved sigh and pushed herself back into the center of Baymax. Her face was still burning with determination. She held her hand up over her face and another, much smaller shield formed around it. A deliriously happy grin broke across her face. "I think they're back." she whispered as she let the shield fall away.

"That's great…" Hiro told her and he honestly meant it. Really he did. It was just that the airport tar mat was coming back into view and there were a lot more people on it then when he left. They didn't look friendly at all. "Because, I think we might be needing them again here really quick."

Vera twisted under his arm to get a better look. He felt her go deathly still when she saw the people that were all clustered together around a nondescript van and a strange black cloud of drones hovering over everyone. "Hydra," she murmured, face pale.

"Hiro, my scans indicate that one of the individuals is in fact Callaghan." Baymax informed him.

Hiro couldn't help the smirk that spread across his face. "Perfect!"

Then he got a better look at the black drones that were floating over the tar mat. There were so many of them that their little helicopter wings kept a constant wind blowing across the area. Even from his vantage he could see the drones' metal barbs. However, no one seemed to be holding a remote control or a relay system. That's when he remembered what Tadashi had said about the things he'd created called hive drones and how they were dual controlled through a neurocranial transmitter and a hand computer. Those must be them. He found the person who had control over them rather quickly. Dr. Robert Callaghan.

It figured.

Hiro let loose a growl when he saw Callaghan's arm wrapped around Tadashi, holding him up as he was forced towards the van. His friends weren't far behind. Apparently they were in the process of being abducted. How dare Callaghan. And how dare Hydra and Williams!

"Make a pass over Williams. I call first dibs." Vera's firm grip on his wrist brought him back to reality. He looked down at her. "You know how every hero has that one favorite move they like over all others?" she asked him mischievously.

He looked at her, slightly confused. "Yeah."

"Show you mine if you show me yours." she told him simply.

"Deal!" Hiro agreed as the same sort of mischievous smile cracked across his own face.

Without warning, Vera rolled herself out from under his arm and fell feet first towards Williams.

Vera's foot slammed straight into Williams's face, crushing his nose. It would go very well with the pair of black eyes that had come courtesy of Hiro the night before with the fire extinguisher. Williams hit the ground hard with a rather pathetic cry as Vera landed and jumped back deftly in a reflex born from years of experience and brought her arms up in a defensive position. On her face was an absolutely feral cat like grin. Tadashi stared at her in shock. "Oh yeah! Classic heroic maneuver. Smash the bad guys' plans to pieces after they get done with their villainous monologue! Cliche but so perfect!" crowed Fred.

Before he could call out to her, there was another Earth jarring impact. The ground shook violently, nearly taking them all off their feet. Tadashi turned, along with everyone else, towards the source of the sound. Baymax's fist was crouched on the ground from his strike with his fist buried in the concrete. Chunks of the tar mat stuck up around him. As Baymax straightened again there was a long, impressed whistle. Hiro Hamada jumped off of Baymax's back and over the wreckage, gestured to the Hydra footsoldiers, grinned and said, "Wow! Look at all the people who're going to jail Baymax!"

Then he turned and looked at Callaghan, "Or back to jail in some people's cases."

"Hiro!" cried Honey Lemon, Wasabi, GoGo, and Fred all at once. Tadashi could only stare in shock. His mind had stopped working. He could only register the fact that Vera and Hiro were standing in front of him, completely unscathed. They were alive.

They were alive!

He didn't know how but he didn't really care. They were alive.

There was a flurry of sudden activity. Hiro's sudden appearance gave them the distraction they needed. GoGo jerked her head backwards into her guard's chin before spinning around and slamming him in the side with one of her discs. Orange smoke exploded at the feet of the footsoldier who was holding Honey Lemon and Wasabi as Honey Lemon was finally able to use the chemical orb she'd wanted too before the explosion. The man began coughing and hacking as the pair of them broke away. Fred threw his weight hard and knocked his guard off balance. It gave him the chance to turn the tables and grab on to the footsoldier. Just like that, none of Big Hero 6 was being held captive.

As for him... Tadashi pushed himself away from Callaghan, shoving him, and sprinted for the two of them. Hiro was already doing the same thing. Tadashi caught the pair of them in his arms. Vera let out an oh so dignified yell of surprise as she found herself pinned between his and Hiro's chest. "Aw c'mon Tadashi!" whined Hiro but he was laughing as he said it and wrapped his arms around him just as tightly.

Tadashi held them both close. He needed to feel them to reassure himself that they weren't a figment of his imagination. That they were actually there and alive. They'd survived. They were alright. Everything was going to be alright. They were alive.

And he was going to kill them both!

Vera and Hiro yelped in startled pain as Tadashi reached up and grabbed both of their earlobes. "What were you two boneheads thinking?" he demanded angrily as he tugged on their ears.

"Owowowow!" shouted Hiro as he pulled on Tadashi's wrist in a futile attempt to free himself.

"Chiune, let go!" growled Vera, face twisted in discomfort.

"Do you have any idea how scared I was? I thought I lost you guys. Don't you two ever, ever do that to me again. Ever!" he yelled.

Hiro glowered up at him. Tadashi was eerily certain that there was some sort of sarcastic remark on the tip of his tongue. However as Hiro opened his mouth it seemed like the words died in his throat. "Wha... what happened to your face?" he choked out, noticing the cuts and bruises he'd received during Williams's curb stomp session.

"Guys!" screamed Honey Lemon from somewhere behind him.

"Look out!" Wasabi yelled.

Vera and Hiro pulled away from him abruptly as he turned to look behind him. Williams was on the ground holding his bleeding nose, and pointing a gun at squarely at them. His eyes went wide as Williams tightened his grip on the trigger. "No!" yelled Hiro as he threw himself against Tadashi.

There was a scream and the crack of a gun. Tadashi hit the ground with enough force to drive the breath from his lungs and Hiro laying over the top of him protectively. Vera was still standing with her arm outstretched. Fear latched on to him. A scream froze in his throat. He tried shoving Hiro off of him but it was too late. The shot had already gone off. Someone screamed again. He somehow succeeded in shoving Hiro off of him to push himself up.

Between he, Hiro, and Vera, and the homicidal Williams was a large blue shield. His jaw dropped. "Your powers…" he whispered, "they're back."

That was how she, Hiro, and Baymax had survived the explosion.

"Impossible!" hissed Williams as he climbed to his feet, still pointing his gun at Vera. He was glaring at Vera and her shield with as much hatred as he could manage.

"And yet here we are." Vera replied. Tadashi didn't miss the way the slight way that her voice shook as she spoke.

"Your refusal to die is incredible." Williams told her.

"After as many times as you've tried, I thought you'd have figured out by now that it takes a lot more than a bomb to kill me." Vera said. With every second that her shield held up, her confidence grew. Williams might have taken it once upon a time ago but now it was back. And her response to getting something that was so intrinsically important to her back was clear. She was never letting Williams have it again.

"Or you're just incredibly lucky." Williams snarled.

"More than likely." admitted Vera rather sincerely as she cast a sideways glance at he and Hiro.

Hiro pulled himself up off the ground, brushing himself off before offering his hand to Tadashi. "It's over Williams." Hiro said stoically as he came to stand beside Vera in front of Williams.

"You're outnumbered man." Wasabi pointed out.

"Your plan is pretty much shot to pieces." Fred added with a shrug.

"There really isn't much you can do now." Honey Lemon said as she nodded. Tadashi didn't miss the fact that she was tossing an orb up and down lazily.

"Though if you want to try anyways I wouldn't mind. I might enjoy the chase and beat down." GoGo smirked.

"It would be better for everyone's health if you surrendered peacefully." Baymax informed Williams.

Williams looked around, appraising the situation. Wasabi had his laser blades pointed at one. Honey Lemon held another orb at the ready. Fred still had the one footsoldier in a headlock and GoGo had her discs raised and ready to throw. Williams could see that just as well as he could. However, a sneer spread across his face as his glance flicked upwards and then over Tadashi's shoulder. He got a really, really, really bad feeling. "Take 'em out." Williams growled.

There was an explosion of mass chaos. Someone cried out in surprise as one of the footsoldiers jumped towards them. Colored smoke erupted and laser blades whirred. Vera dropped her shield and lunged for Williams. She pulled back out of the way and under Williams's fist as he started to counter her. "Baymax!" Hiro yelled pointing at Williams, "Rocket fist the van!"

However, before Baymax had a chance to pull off whatever move had been dubbed "rocket fist" by Hiro, there was another teeth chattering vibration. Tadashi's eyes went wide as the hive drones all swept down at once on Baymax, pushing him high into the air and away from Williams. Hiro spat a curse and had to drop back as Williams lunged past Vera for him. "Hiro!" he yelled as he started forward.

He didn't get a chance to help his brother because one of the footsoldiers tackled him from behind. Somehow he manage to roll himself sideways to keep his arms from being pinned. His last image of Hiro was Vera grabbing him by the back of his armor and throwing him backwards to take on Williams herself. His focus was lost as he found himself more preoccupied with the brute trying to shove his fist in his face repeatedly.

Tadashi fought past the brain numbing vibrations that were shaking his entire body and reached up to grab the footsoldier's hands. With a massive effort, he managed to wrap his legs around the guy's torso. He flung his weight sideways and flipped them over so that he was on top of the other man. Tadashi ducked his head sideways as the footsolider managed to free one of his hands. Too bad for the guy because Tadashi used the following opening to bring his fist down on the footsoldier's jaw repeatedly in a series of hook punches. The force split his knuckles but knocked the guy out cold. Unfortunately, as he stood and shook his throbbing hand out, he saw that one man down was not enough.

Hive drones swarmed the tar mat. Muted 'ping-ping-ping' sounds echoed through the air as they zipped around Baymax. It looked as though they were trying to find to get through his armor, especially at the joints. Once they were through that, they would tear him to shreds. Poor Baymax could only attempt to swat them away. There were just to many.

GoGo frustrated yells were interspersed with tearing metal as a second swarm of hive drones kept her from really doing anything. The fabric, the parts not covered by metal plating, was torn and blood was running from scratches. Wasabi was right behind her but with the footsoldier who kept charging him, there was no way he could offer GoGo support.

Honey Lemon also had her own personal swarm of hive drones. Her fingers were flying as she typed command after command into her bag. Gel, chemical metal embrittlement, hard shells. Anything she could possibly use to slow down the drones or protect herself. None of it was working. Every time she threw an orb, it seemed like she had less and less time to produce a new one before the hive drones began piling on again.

Between the hive drones, the footsoldiers, and Williams, Tadashi felt a lead weight sink into his stomach. This isn't going anywhere, he thought. He forced himself to look around at what else was going on. Wasabi was facing off with a footsoldier who didn't seem to have any concern for his own well being as he darted in close and past the laser swords to land hits on Wasabi. Fred was just barely keeping away from another footsoldier's onslaught, jumping circles around in order to dodge the knife the man had pulled after his gun had been knocked away. Vera and Hiro were trying to tag team Williams. It wasn't going well. Hydra was beginning to overwhelm them and when they finally did… Tadashi didn't even want to begin contemplating what was going to happen. It was another long stint in some underground hell hole doing only God knew what.

He bit his lip. He had no fancy suit or metahuman powers. If he didn't do something, though, Hydra would win. He couldn't let that happen! Then he turned and saw the last piece of the puzzle… Callaghan.

It hurt to think of how he'd idolized Dr. Robert Callaghan as Tadashi started towards him. Grief made a lot of good people do bad things, but it still hurt to know that this man had once used a personal connection with him to exact revenge. It hurt to know that his one time hero and mentor was part of the reason he'd been held captive by Hydra. It hurt to realize that all the pain and agony of healing as well as scars that served as a gruesome daily reminder were partly Callaghan's fault. If his sudden memory of the fire was correct then Callaghan could've saved him but chose not to. Idly, as Tadashi curled his hand into a fist, he wondered what Callaghan had thought when he saw him run into a burning building after him. What hurt the most though was the fact that Dr. Robert Callaghan, his mentor and hero, was partly responsible for the greatest anguish Hiro Hamada— his otouto— had ever known. It was only Abigail Callaghan's desperate fear for her father's safety that kept Tadashi from beating Callaghan within an inch of his life.

Tadashi slammed his fist into Callaghan's side, as hard as he could against the rib cage. Callaghan gasped and stumbled sideways but managed to stay upright as he grabbed at his bruising side. The hive drones surrounding GoGo immediately fell to the ground. She must have had the group that Callaghan was controlling directly. GoGo raced for Wasabi to switch places with him. Wasabi wordlessly let her take over fighting hand to hand with the footsoldier so that he could help slice the hive drones attacking Honey Lemon in half. "Tadashi," was Callaghan's muffled gasp of shock as he looked up at him.

The hive drones that had been attacking GoGo rose into the air again. However, there was a hesitance in Callaghan that hadn't been there before. Tadashi felt a twinge of pain. Not for what he was doing or about to do but rather what had once been. That was when the hive drones started for him. Callaghan was no longer hesitating. Then again, neither was Tadashi. He jumped forward, knowing he'd only have one chance. With a heavy handed forearm to the older man's neck, Callaghan staggered to one knee. He tried to raise his hands to block but Tadashi was younger and stronger. He fell on top of Callaghan with reaching, grasping fingers. He found purchase on the bottom edge of the red and white kabuki mask and, without missing a beat, tore it from Callaghan's face.

Once more the hive drones fell, the nearest one inches from him.

Callaghan looked up at him with wide eyes. He balled his hand into a fist and swung at Tadashi. Tadashi fell backwards in order to protect the mask. He needed it. While he was off his guard, Callaghan brought the arm with the attached wrist computer up. He presumed that Callaghan was trying to reprogram the rest of the hive drones to protect him and quickly. Tadashi was quicker. He latched on to Callaghan's free arm and squeezed as hard as he could where the radius and ulna of the wrist met the carpals of the hand. Callaghan cried out in pain. "Let me help you reprogram those." grunted Tadashi.

Somehow he managed to rip off the glove housing the wrist computer with the same hand holding the mask. "Wait!" yelled Callaghan.

"Sorry, not sorry." Tadashi told him before pushing Callaghan to the ground hard enough to daze him. Tadashi shoved his hand into the glove, yanked his hat from his head, and slammed the mask down over his face.

It was disorienting at first. There were cameras in the mask. Depending on which eye lens he focused on, he saw the hive mind of one particular grouping of drones. In the left was the swarm pummeling Honey Lemon and in the right was the one attacking Baymax. Tadashi shook his head to physically clear the jumble. Of course that meant that the hive drones under the direct control of the neurocranial transmitter shook too. The camera view of their angle flipped on in both of the mask's eye lenses. He'd need to work on that. Obviously Hydra had managed to do a good job figuring out the camera controls he'd never gotten to or tested. He could at least appreciate that. "Now how do I change these little bugs' orders?" he mumbled.

The camera angle switched again as he found himself thinking about wanting to be able to see the wrist computer. Actually, it just disappeared and allowed him to see normally. This must be what it feels like to be Yokai, he joked dryly to himself. He grit his teeth and set to work, trying to remember the command combos.

There was a high pitched scream of pain. "Vera!" yelled Hiro as he turned towards her. Vera hit the ground and immediately gripped her injured ankle. Williams was hovering over her, leg angled from the kick he'd dealt her. Hiro rushed for Vera but Williams reached out and grabbed him by the front of his armor. Tadashi's heart leapt in his chest. "Control, shift, N." Callaghan told him from the ground.

"What?" Tadashi asked, looking down at Callaghan on the ground.

"Control, shift, N." repeated Callaghan. The look on his face was desperate. Tadashi grit his teeth and punched one last combo into the wrist computer as Williams dragged Hiro towards him.

The computer went blank. There was a click inside his mask. Suddenly the right eye lens camera fired to life and he was looking once more through the hive drones linked sight. Bingo. Right combination. He had every single hive drone under his manual control. Tadashi smirked underneath the mask and thought a command at the drones.

There was a gasp of surprise as the hive drones suddenly pulled away from Honey Lemon and Baymax. Baymax broke away and zipped to Vera's side to attend to her injuries. Williams paused, his fist still raised to punch Hiro across the face. The look on his face was priceless in it's confusion. "Hey Williams." growled Tadashi. Williams looked up at him and his jaw dropped. "You really should have left these things in the scrap bin."

With one single thought, the hive drones rushed Williams from the side in a narrow line. They collided into him and wrenched him away from Hiro. Williams shouted. Whether from surprise or pain, Tadashi wasn't sure but neither did he really care. As Williams flung his hands up to protect his face, Hiro scrambled out of the path as quickly as he could. "Nice one Tadashi!" Hiro laughed loudly.

Williams hit the ground with a loud thud. Tadashi spun around, ready to unleash fury on anyone else who warranted it. However, the rest of Big Hero 6 had used the distraction he'd created to once more gain the upper hand. Fred was standing on top of the footsoldier who'd been wielding a knife against him. GoGo, looking absolutely livid, had managed to twist the other footsoldier's arm behind his back painfully. Wasabi had gone to assist her while Honey Lemon had begun to use some of her chemical orbs to glue a few of the footsoldiers to the tar mat.

Hiro pulled his helmet off his head so that Williams could see the dark smile on his face. "You deserve so much worse than prison." he told him scathingly.

Williams started to climb to his feet. Tadashi shot his hand out instinctively as the hive drones rumbled threateningly above him. "I'd stay down if I were you Agent Williams." Vera suggested snidely as she brushed Baymax off and climbed to her feet. Tadashi really didn't like the wince that crept on to her lips. Not the time to comment on it though.

"You stupid little…" Williams cursed venomously.

"They're actually quite brilliant if you ask me. Then again, anything more sophisticated than a dual core processor is pretty mind blowing to me." countered a very familiar, not to mention very welcomed, voice.

"Director Coulson!" both he and Vera exclaimed together. Without meaning to, the hive drones jumped about five feet higher into the air. Coulson looked up briefly as he came around the wreckage of the van, gun pointed, before shooting Tadashi a glance with an upraised eyebrow.

"Oops," winced Tadashi as he rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. He typed in a command combo for all the drones, letting them hover at standby so he could remove the mask.

From behind Coulson came an entire team of S.H.I.E.L.D. field agents all with guns drawn. Hiro spun around as the rest of Big Hero 6 raised their weapons. However, it became clear in seconds to them that Coulson and the field agents weren't a threat to them. It definitely helped that Williams had a colorful reaction to seeing Coulson. Williams dropped enough swears to make a sailor pale. "Good work you two." Coulson told he and Vera, rolling his eyes at Williams cursing. "We're… uh, going to have to have a talk about what it means to be a consultant only though."

"Don't worry. This was totally a one time thing." Tadashi insisted as he waved his arms in front of him to make a point.

"Seriously though, Tadashi," Coulson smiled at him as he used his real name, "not bad for someone who's never taken the field agent assessment."

"He's not interested." both Hiro and Vera shouted at the same time. They exchanged a quick look. For a moment Tadashi was worried that Hiro wouldn't take sharing an opinion with Vera so well and was about to give her a dirty, jealous look. He was surprised though when they both nodded to each other in silent and unified agreement on the fact. Why did he get the feeling this really didn't bode well for him?

"Agents, I think these folks from Hydra would be more comfortable in the back of our car and not glued to the tar mat." Coulson said pointedly. He gave a nod and the field agents proceeded to cuffed Williams and his men.

Tadashi tried hard not think about how he was going to explain to Hiro, and Vera for that matter, that Williams had planned just about everything from the fire to now. Williams glared at Coulson for only a moment before turning his attention to him. The old saying 'if looks could kill' came to mind instantly. Then again, Tadashi had done a lot to screw up his best laid plans and it had all started the very moment he'd lit the fire in the underground lab. He didn't need to expert on Supervillains like Vera or a comic book conspiracy theorist like Fred for him to guess what would be on Williams's mind if he ever escaped from S.H.I.E.L.D. Tadashi swallowed the lump that had suddenly formed in his throat.

Someone bumped against him. He looked over. Hiro had crossed the tar mat to stand beside him protectively. He grabbed Tadashi's arm possessively and met Williams's death glare evenly. The challenge was clear on Hiro's face, 'you can try but no way in Hell will I let you.' Somehow, he didn't even need to look to know that the look was on every single one of his friends' faces.

As one of the agents moved past him for Callaghan, Tadashi remembered his conversation with Abigail Callaghan.

"Coulson… about Dr. Callaghan. His daughter is…" he started by Coulson waved his hand through the air.

"He'll be returned to Pelican Bay for the time being until the red tape can be cleared and the judiciary system can figure out the right course." answered Coulson.

Something akin to reassurance washed over him. He wasn't exactly sure why or what prompted it. However, as Callaghan passed he and Hiro, there was something nostalgic in the man's eyes. Nostalgic and pained. It hit Tadashi like a sucker punch. "You were always one of my favorite students Mr. Hamada. We had the longest conversations about your brother and your plans for the future." murmured Callaghan as he paused his movement.

"I can't remember them." Tadashi answered just as quietly as he once more thought about Callaghan's role in the entire thing. He wrapped his hand around Hiro's for strength. He met Callaghan's gaze evenly though it was painful to do so. "Y'know, I admired you even when I didn't know my own name. Even when I knew you'd become a Supervillain, I still respected you for the good that you did. I'm sorry it had to turn out this way."

"I am too." Callaghan answered.

Bitterness choked his throat. He couldn't tell if Callaghan was being sincere or not. His mind spun just trying to weigh the words. Hiro squeezed his arm supportively. The field agent started to prod Callaghan forward again. "I'll tell Abigail that you're safe." Tadashi promised Callaghan. Not for him, but for Abigail.

Vera joined his side as he and Hiro watched as Callaghan was lead away. He didn't hear her approach. In fact, he only knew she was there when she threaded her arms around his middle and hugged him. "It's over Chiune." she whispered.

"Yeah…" was all he could think of to say. He vaguely noticed that she wasn't putting a lot of weight on her injured foot.

"I must say, it's quite an honor to finally be meeting you all." Coulson said brightly as tried to break up the mood. "Really, I'm a huge fan. Big Hero 6 has done some incredible work in the last few years."

"We know." Hiro shrugged with a cocky grin on his face. Tadashi scowled at him a little. Wasabi beat him to the reprimand.

"He means thanks."

"Always nice to be appreciated though." Fred said as he nodded sagely.

Coulson stifled a laugh as he looked at Tadashi and Hiro. "I can see the family resemblance. If you guys haven't already figured it out I'm Phil Coulson, Director of S.H.I.E.L.D. I'm the boss of those two."

"Hi," Honey Lemon said in a friendly enough tone though she gave Coulson a wary look.

"Nice to meet you." GoGo said. Her tone was much less friendly.

"I have a few questions guys that I would really appreciate you answering," Coulson said before his look fell on Vera leaning on him, "but first… does anyone need medical attention."

"Tadashi has sustained multiple lacerations and contusions but does not require medical attention. My scan has indicated that Vera, though, has a sprained ankle. Treatments include rest, ice, compression, and elevation."

Vera went rigid. "When exactly did you scan me?"

"Yeah, sorry about that." Hiro apologized but didn't sound all that sincere especially since there was the ghost of mischievous smile on his lips.

"And I am also concerned about Vera's mental health."

Coulson's eyes snapped over to Vera warily as did his own and Hiro's. Vera turned bright red. "Your robot's a traitor." mumbled Vera. "I'm fine for the moment thanks."

"Vera, you can barely stand on your ankle it looks like." Honey Lemon pointed out.

"And you just kinda survived a…" Wasabi started but Vera turned around and made a violent shushing sound. Of course in doing so she managed to put weight on her leg. She jumped sideways with a ragged hiss and leaned on Tadashi heavily again.

"You," Coulson nodded at an agent, "get her back to the car and have May look at her ankle."

Vera turned bright red and scrunched her nose. "Go on imouto," he told her. "You'll probably be grateful that you did."

"Don't call me that," she whined in response. It wasn't as insistent as it usually was. Maybe he was wearing her down after all. Or maybe she just felt a little guilty that she'd knocked him out and then taken off with a bomb laden plane.

Vera pressed a kiss to his cheek before allowing the agent to help her limp away. She hadn't gotten very far when Hiro suddenly broke away from him. "Hey Vera!" called Hiro as he began fishing around in one of his pockets.

Vera turned back, looking at him with an upraised eyebrow. "Yes?"

Hiro pulled out a piece of stiff purple fabric. He raised it into the air for a moment for her to see before wadding it up and throwing it to her. Vera caught it effortlessly and stared at him in confusion. "Don't ever do something that stupid again." he told her hotly.

A grin spread across her face. "But if not us…"

"Yeah, yeah then who will? I get it. But seriously. Don't ever do that again." finished Hiro.

"Something you'd like to share with the group Vera?" Coulson asked her in a way that made Tadashi feel he knew exactly what had happened to the bomb. "Maybe about why you're GPS unit placed you over the Pacific Ocean around the same time a huge explosion went off?"

Well, that definitely confirmed it.

Vera didn't get a chance to answer because Fred let out a long gasp. Wasabi let out a yelp of protest as Fred latched on to his arm with a death grip. "I figured it out! I figured it out!" he yelled as he shook Wasabi hard enough to rattle him before raising his hand to point at Vera.

Vera stepped back nervously, mask still in her fingers. "What?"

"I know who you are! Where I've seen you before!" Fred continued to yell. He broke away from Wasabi and sprinted to Vera.

"Uh, Fred!" Hiro and Tadashi said together as they watched worriedly. Fred skid to a stop in front of Vera before he could knock her over.

"The first teen to put on a mask and deal out justice to evildoers! You were the youngest Superhero ever!"

Vera blinked for a minute, completely in shock, then laughed a little. "I was." she admitted. Then she threw a sidelong glance at Hiro and said, "For a little while anyways… until others came along."

"You're… you're…" Fred sputtered. His eyes were wide with amazement as he looked at Vera as though he'd found something more awesome than he'd ever be able to describe

Vera shifted a little in embarrassment but smiled nonetheless. "It's not that big of a deal. I'm not a superhero any more."

She shoved the mask into her pocket, patted Fred on the shoulder, and started away. "Nice to have you back Vera." Coulson smirked.

"I'm not coming back," Vera said quietly, "but yeah. It's good to be back."

Vera patted the agent who was helping her on the shoulder and the pair of them limped away. "We were in the presence of greatness the entire time." Fred said reverently.

Tadashi bit his tongue to keep from laughing. It wouldn't have been very nice. He highly doubted that Vera would appreciate that sort of attention.

"Correct me if I'm wrong, Tadashi, but aren't these the things that you said you destroyed?" Coulson asked as he pointed up at the hive drones.

Everyone looked up at the still hovering devices. Tadashi scowled as he looked at them with complete hatred. "Williams rebuilt them. Guess I could use a lesson in destroying things." he said as he glared at the machines.

"They really aren't that bad." Hiro told him helpfully. "You were able to use them to help us out of a tight situation."

That didn't change anything. If they stayed operational, someone else might use them as a weapon. Use them to hurt and killl. His hands tightened over the kabuki mask. There was no way he could let that happen. Vaguely he was aware of Director Coulson discussing what could be done with the hive drones with GoGo, Wasabi, Fred, and Honey Lemon. They were all more than happy to throw out suggestions. Tadashi, going off of what he knew about Coulson, was probably in favor of locking the technology down in some unknown S.H.I.E.L.D. base. That didn't seem fitting though. Not really. If Tadashi was being honest with himself, he'd wanted the hive drones gone and he wanted to see to it personally.

"You alright, nii-chan?" Hiro asked. His quiet voice weaseled its way through his thoughts and made him start. He saw that, once more, he was gripping Hiro's hand in his own. He'd done it without really noticing it. He started to pull away, not wanting Hiro to feel to uncomfortable. Then he thought better of it and just squeezed a little tighter.

"Yeah," he answered before looking up at the hive drones. Then he got an idea. He knew exactly what to do with abominations. "Hey Coulson." he called.

Coulson turned to face him. "Yes?"

"Let me deal with these things." Tadashi told him. Though even if Coulson told him no, Tadashi was still going to do what he wanted. He was the one holding the controls after all. Coulson must have realized that particular little fact because he sighed in defeat and waved his hand.

"I trust you." was Coulson's only response.

A smirk came to his face as he slipped the kabuki mask on to his face again. "What are you doing?" Hiro asked him.

"Well, fire obviously didn't do enough damage to these things." he told them all as he started to plug commands into the wrist computer. "Let's see how they hold up against water."

The drones jumped to life as he brought them back under his direct control. With one thought, they were all flying straight towards the ocean and in another they were all throwing themselves beneath the water. There was a short high pitched whine as the drones began to fail. The cameras in the eye lenses flickered once, twice, three times before cutting to static and then to black all together. The hive drones he'd been forced to create by Hydra were gone.

Tadashi pulled the mask off and ripped the glove off before placing his ball cap back on his head. He cast a glance at his friends, Hiro, and Baymax as extreme happiness welled up in his chest. He wasn't the Scientist anymore. That person was free. He wasn't really Chiune anymore, despite the fact that there would always be some people who referred to him as that. Chiune was no longer him, the amnesiac with no family. He didn't need a place holder name now.

He was a S.H.I.E.L.D. consultant whose work helped a lot of people. He was Vera's right hand Robot Boy and roommate. He was the creator of a personal healthcare companion robot who also doubled as a Superhero. He was best friends with the Superhero team Big Hero 6 despite the fact that he couldn't remember them... yet. He had a little brother who looked up to him, who saw him as a hero. He was a protector, a robotics engineering genius, and a half way decent super secret agent.

He was Tadashi Hamada and he was finally home.

Chapter Text

'Cause I've been housing all this doubt and insecurity

I'm stuck inside this rut that I fell into by mistake

I've gotta get outta here

And I'm begging You to be my escape.

- "Be My Escape" by Relient K

"Thanks for sending me that info on patent laws by the way." Hiro told Vera as he shifted the box on his arm into a more comfortable position in his arms.

"My pleasure. I hope some of it was helpful to you." Vera answered as she lifted her foot and somehow managed to open up the door for the both of them.

"It was." he assured her as he quickly shoved his back into the door so that she wasn't awkwardly balancing the box in her arms and the door with her leg.

"I know a good business lawyer if you're interested in pursuing the patents too. Well, actually Prof Harnwell knows a good business lawyer that owes him a favor. Say the word and I'll pass his name along to you."

"Thanks. I'm still thinking about it though. Mr. Krei is pretty interested in helping me get my patents but it's always good to keep your options open." Hiro told her as the pair of them started up the stairs past the cafe. Again he had to pause and readjust the box in his arms. "Remind me why we are carrying Tadashi's stuff up the stairs?"

Vera snickered, "Because your friends monopolized Chiune the minute he stepped off of Travis's plane."

"Ahh, of course how could I forget." Hiro rolled his eyes.

Vera only laughed again, "Leave him be. They've missed him. They weren't able to skype every night with him like you were the last three months. I think Chiune said the last time he actually got to talk to beyond the standard 'hey' was a week ago. He's been so busy packing and making sure all his papers were in for his transfer. Then on top of that he had to finalize his admissions' papers for SFIT."

"Yeah, yeah. I know." Hiro rolled his eyes. Tadashi had stayed for about a week after Vera had gone back to New York but had eventually gone back to take care of the necessary affairs. Hiro didn't think that Tadashi had meant to take three months. Then again, there had been some "outside" forces that had prevented anything from happening sooner. Vera had probably hit the nail on the head when she'd confided to him that she was pretty certain Coulson was stalling to make sure that Hydra wasn't on their tail anymore. "How've you been by the way? Y'know with your PTSD and flashbacks?" he asked genuinely curious.

"Better." she answered. "My psychiatrist changed my meds after the incident at the airport so that's really helped with some of my nightmares. I think what's been most reassuring is the fact that Williams is in custody."

Coulson had assured him, Tadashi, Vera, and everyone else that it had been Williams at the head of the kidnap scheme. Tadashi agreed and backed Coulson up on that one. He seemed to have knowledge that supported the idea from when he was held captive by Hydra. Not that Tadashi had actually told him what that knowledge was. Tadashi would never tell him when he asked. He always got really quiet and got a dark look on his face. Hiro hoped that one day, at least, Tadashi would trust him enough to tell him what had happened while he was with Hydra.

"Good," he smiled at her supportively. Vera rolled her shoulders noncommittally but there was a ghost of a smile on her lips. After one or two painfully awkward skype conversations that Tadashi may or may not have engineered, the two of them were trying to get along. They'd started off in a rocky place for sure but it was quite evident that Tadashi wanted them to at least try to get along. For Tadashi, he would do his best.

Okay. So Vera wasn't so bad. Besides, she was making a genuine effort. He could appreciate that.

"Oh! There you two are!" cried Honey Lemon as they came up the top of the stairs.

"Thought you two were eaten by the van." GoGo teased. Everyone else must have thought it was a great joke because they all started laughing.

"Ha ha. Very funny you guys." Hiro snorted as he rolled his eyes.

"Where's Chiune?" Vera asked as she looked around the kitchen for him. "Thought you guys would be playing twenty questions."

"He's upstairs with your boyfriend. Travis, right?" Aunt Cass supplied as she sat a tray full of cookies down on the counter. Fred immediately started eyeing them with great interest. As he reached for one Aunt Cass smacked his hand with a spoon.

"I think they're airing it out or something." Wasabi added as he sat a second tray of cookies down. He wasn't quick enough to keep Fred from snatching a cookie off of his tray.

Hiro and Vera exchanged a quick look. Of course Tadashi was slacking off upstairs. "Typical," they muttered in sync with an eye roll on Vera's part.

"Come on, let's get this stuff upstairs and see about getting Tadashi to pull his weight." Hiro told Vera.

"Right behind you." Vera agreed.

"Fred don't eat all the cookies." Hiro called over his shoulder as he and Vera started for the stairs to his and Tadashi's bedroom.

"I make no promises." Fred informed him.

Wasabi made some indignant noise that had everyone laughing again.

A cloud of dust rose into the air as Tadashi and Travis pushed open the screen that separated Hiro's side of the room from his. "Well, at least your Aunt and brother tried to air this place out... I think. Ugh." Travis said before dissolving into a coughing fit.

Tadashi waved his hand in the air to try and clear the dust. However, the action was so futile that he wound up covering his nose and mouth with his arm instead. "It's the thought that counts right?" he replied weakly as he looked around his room.

It was obvious that someone had definitely tried to clean up a little before he came. The books on the shelf were straight. The sheets on the bed were clean. The deep layer of dust that was hidden on top of the screen as well as behind the books though told him that before that the room had been rarely visited. Tadashi idly wondered how many times this side of room had been visited after his supposed death. Judging by the still musty smell, not very often. He felt heartache starting to sink in again as he looked around his room. Then his eyes fell on the battered wooden floor at the foot of the bed.

"No, Hiro don't try to force it." Tadashi could almost hear the voice of a younger him saying to a pint sized Hiro. There was vivid image in his head of his little brother, maybe age five, trying to shove the head of a red toy robot on to its body. Hiro had been sticking out his tongue and scrunching his nose up as he came perilously close to breaking the connecting joint.

"It won't go on Nii-chan." whined little Hiro.

"Here," little Tadashi said patiently as he reached forward, "like this otouto."

"Chiune?" called a voice from far away. The hand on his shoulder brought him out of the memory. Travis was looking at him with evident concern. "You alright bro? You kinda zoned out there."

Tadashi laughed a little and rubbed the back of his neck. "Yeah, just got caught up in a memory is all."

"A good memory or..." Travis question trailed off as he shifted nervously. Though he'd managed to reclaim a lot of his memory, not every memory was a good memory. Travis knew that.

"A very good memory." he assured Travis as he thought about how determined little Hiro's face had been.

"Good," nodded Travis as he visibly relaxed. Travis squeezed his shoulder once more before letting go and surveying the room. "You think you're going to be okay here?"

A smile tugged on Tadashi's lips. "Yeah, I think I'm going to be alright."

"You're gonna be a crazy college kid again." smirked Travis.

He suppressed a derisive snort. "I highly doubt as a doctorate candidate I'm going to have time to do anything wild."

"Eh," Travis shrugged, "you're no fun."

"What about you and Vera?" asked Tadashi quietly. "You think you two are going to be okay?"

Travis exhaled slowly and was silent for a few minutes. Then he gave a nod. "Yeah, it will probably take a bit of time to adjust again but yeah. I think Vera will be okay. She's come a long way in just a year."

"She has." Tadashi agreed. They stood silently for a moment before Tadashi asked, "You two will be heading out of here tonight right?"

"Yeah, Vera and her internship with Prof Harnwell." laughed Travis. "It was a miracle I convinced her to even take a pit stop in Las Vegas before heading back. I really can't pull these long distance flights back to back and I'm not letting Vera anywhere near the cockpit after her last foray with a plane."

"Yeah I don't blame you." Tadashi muttered. "Oh and by the way, I swear to God if you and Vera get drunk and have a quickie wedding in Vegas I will end you."

Travis laughed, albeit nervously. "It's funny you should say that."

"Wait, hold on a second." he said in confusion as he watched Travis fish around in his pocket. "What exactly are you saying?"

Travis pulled out a ring box in response and gingerly opened it before handing it to Tadashi. His breath caught as he opened it. A diamond solitaire ring on a gold band was nestled inside. "It's not much but I think she'll like it." Travis explained sheepishly as he rubbed his forearm.

Tadashi pulled the ring out of the box to get a better look. Oh yeah, Vera would love it! He was certain of it! Tadashi offered a huge grin to Travis. "How long have you had this?" he asked.

"A little over a year..." Travis murmured. Tadashi froze. A little over a year. That meant Travis had had this ring before Vera was captured. A cold feeling dropped into the pit of his stomach. Travis cleared his throat as if he were trying to cover the silence as he thought of something to say. "I was going to propose after she came back from that mission."

"Travis... I'm so sorry." whispered Tadashi. He wasn't exactly sure what he was apologizing for but he didn't know what else to say.

"No, it's fine. It just didn't seem like the right time after all y'know. Not with the way Vera kept trying to push me away and break up with me every other day."

"I'm not supposed to tell you this." Tadashi bit his lip, "She didn't want you to see her like that. That's what she told me."

Travis laughed dryly, "I figured as much but I love her you know. If she never wanted to see me again then I'd move across the country to make sure she got what she wanted. Maybe... maybe now though she's ready."

"She'll say yes." he assured Travis with a smile.

"I hope so." Travis replied with a smile as well. "Listen, if this all goes like I hope it does then I want you to be my best man."

"Me? I'm flattered but..."

"I owe you a lot Chiune. For everything you've done for Vera. You're my best friend and there's no one that I want more standing beside me than you."

"Wow, yes! Of course." laughed Tadashi.

Travis clapped him on the shoulder. "Excellent! That's one thing settled then. Figured I ask you before Vera got a chance to recruit you as her maid of honor or something." Travis snickered.

"I didn't realize that Vera would plan enough ahead to have a maid of honor." snorted Tadashi, "You realize that you'll probably be planning the majority of this wedding right?"

"Maybe a quickie wedding in Vegas doesn't sound so bad." grumbled Travis.

"I will kill you." he threatened. Best friend or no, he was not about to let someone marry his imouto in front a preacher dressed like Elvis without him being there.

"Watch your step Vera." Hiro called from the stairs.

"Why is everything in San Fransokyo so steep?" whined Vera.

They looked at each other in shared lack of comprehension. Then they looked at the ring that was still in Tadashi's hand. Travis cursed under his breath. Tadashi stuffed the ring back in the box and all but threw it at Travis. Fumbling and nearly dropping the box, Travis shoved it back into the pocket he'd pulled it from. By the time Hiro entered the room, they both had ginormous cheesy grins on their faces.

Hiro took one look at them and his eyebrow rose. "Um, what are you two doing in here?"

"Nothing!" both he and Travis replied a bit too brightly before wincing.

"Sure," Vera said rolling her eyes. "That sounds convincing."

Vera and Hiro didn't push the matter. Vera did, however, press the box she was holding into his chest. "You two are slacking. There's a whole slew of boxes downstairs that need to be brought up and Hiro and I are not doing it by ourselves."

"We're getting there. Don't rush it. Besides, the sooner we get me settled in here the sooner you two will be leaving right imouto?" Tadashi teased her complete with a crooked grin. Vera opened her mouth, no doubt to tell him not to call her 'imouto.' Unfortunately for her, he cut her off. "Or are you in a hurry to get away from me?"

"Excuse me?" huffed Vera as her face turned bright red.

"C'mon kid, let's give these two a moment alone." Travis said as he took the box out of Hiro's hands and set it on the ground.

"Might as well get another couple of boxes since Tadashi doesn't seem to be interested in helping out." Hiro shrugged, a smirk on his lips. Tadashi rolled his eyes. He heard Hiro snickering to himself as he followed Travis out of the room.

Vera crossed her arms over her chest. "Trying to get away from you," she muttered, "coulda got away from you a long time ago buddy."

"No you couldn't." he countered, "You enjoy my presence and wit too much."

"You mean your sarcasm? Yeah, probably won't miss that."

"Not even a little?" Tadashi pressed as he held his thumb and forefinger up in measurement in front of his eye.

"Alright, maybe just a tad." Vera conceded. Her shoulders slumped. "I'm going to miss you Chiune."

He wrapped his arms around her. "I'll miss you too but I have every intention of skyping you every night until you're sick of me." he promised her. "That and I have this feeling we're going to be seeing each other again sooner than we think."

"Probably," she mumbled as she returned the hug. Vera pulled away and wiped her eyes before smiling. "Travis is already talking about coming out this way for midterm break next semester."

"That would be awesome. We would totally make it a better trip than our last midterm break foray."

"Yes, no Supervillians or homicidal Hydra agents to chase down or chase us. That would be nice."

"I'll get planning a list of things to do." Tadashi promised her.

"I still want to see a bot fight." Vera told him with a grin.

"Still illegal Vera." he scowled. Vera laughed loudly. Heaven help him.

"And I'm still only joking... mostly." she smirked. Then she gave a sigh. "We need to get the rest of your stuff up here otherwise no one is going anywhere. That and there are other people who want their time with you."

"Huh?" was his oh so clever response.

"He's all your's Hiro." Vera called over her shoulder.

Hiro poked his head into the room with a confused look on his face. "Okay, that was creepy. How did you know that I was here?"

"Former Superhero and lawyer trained to spot little details junior Robot Boy," she responded as she rolled her eyes. Hiro looked at him but the only response Tadashi had for him was a shrug. It was better not to question it sometimes. Vera reached up and kissed him on the cheek before turning towards the door. "I do expect you to help drag some of your own stuff upstairs Chiune." she told him over her shoulder.

"Alright, alright. Sheesh!" he laughed a little. Vera gave a nod and disappeared past Hiro down the stairs.

"Does she ever scare you?" Hiro asked as he came over to stand next to him.

"The better question is when does she not scare me." sighedTadashi. "But what can I do."

"You once threatened to duct tape me in a box and lock me in a closet." Hiro offered. "Though I doubt Vera would be on board with that. I definitely wasn't."

"Was I going to duct tape you into the box and then lock you in the closet or..." he asked with a raised eyebrow.

Hiro shrugged, "I don't know, I was kinda still shaking too hard to fully pay attention. It was the first time I'd ever seen a gun up close."

"Unbelievable," Tadashi groaned as he rubbed his face. And he thought Vera terrified him. When he looked up Hiro was staring at him with a huge grin on his face. "What? Did I do something?"

"Nah, it's just good to finally have you home Nii-chan."

"Aside from the gaping holes in my memory, I feel whole. There's a long way to go and there are some things that will take some time to get used to but I'll get there."

"You mean my Superhero job?"

"That I don't think I'll ever be used to. Sorry, not ever going to be comfortable in the world of spies and Superheroes. At least the action side of it anyways."

"Eh, you'd be surprised. Aunt Cass is perfectly okay with it."

"Which is why she spent an hour and a half screaming at you over scaring her to death after the whole bomb on Krei's plane incident." Tadashi reminded him pointedly.

Hiro had the good grace to at least look sheepish as he rubbed the back of his neck. "I hadn't realized Aunt Cass knew that many curses in either English or Japanese."

"Do you realize that she managed to scare the ever living daylight out of my boss. Do you know how difficult that is to do? He faced off against a Norse god and lived to tell the tale."

"Well, I'm happy to report that I've made a lot of promises to a lot of people to exercise a little more caution in my Superhero escapades." Hiro explained as he jabbed his elbow into Tadashi's side. He also had a winning grin on his face that Tadashi was fairly certain said something along the lines of "come on, you still can't be angry about that whole thing."

Tadashi sighed in defeat and shook his head. "I suppose this is just like old times then?"

"Give or take a few things but yeah. We've both changed. You with your amnesia and whatever Hell Hydra put you through. Me with becoming a Superhero and dealing with the Hell that your death put me through. But you know something?"

"We're still the same people we were underneath it all." suggested Tadashi.

Hiro smiled and nodded, "Exactly."

Tadashi hesitated for a moment. Then he reached out and pulled Hiro to his chest. At this very moment in time, Tadashi didn't care if it was awkward. Hiro went stiff in surprise but it was only a fraction of a second. He wrapped his arms around Tadashi's shoulders.

"We better go and help otherwise we'll incur the wrath of Vera." Hiro told him after a couple minutes as Tadashi pulled away.

"I can firmly say that is definitely not something you want to experience first hand." he agreed as they both made their way to the door. "By the way otouto, do you still have that little red robot that we built as kids?" Tadashi asked Hiro as they left the room.