A Complicated Web

Chapter Twenty: You Know How To Drive?

Tony seemed to calculate his offer, muttering to himself in a tone so low neither of his conscious passengers could hear him. "That just might work," he finally stated. "You are sixteen now, right?" He glanced back just to confirm what he already knew. "You know how to drive?"

Hiro gave him a hesitant grin. "Yeah, I mean I've been practicing when Fred or Wasabi will let me. We just find a fast food place, stop maybe a block away, switch out drivers, and have me drive in, get the food, then drive another block or two to a place we can switch back. Easy."

"One problem with that, little dude," Fred spoke up, obviously holding back due to the pain, "someone might see us switching up a block away from whatever place we go to. Probably be wise to switch sooner than later and just hope no cops pull us over. You don't have your license yet, remember? And I don't remember how the permit thing works out here."

How could he forget? Hiro wondered as he smacked himself in the head. If only Fred hadn't been shot, or Tony was less well known, it wouldn't be an issue. But it was an issue. "I don't know," he finally sighed.

"Now hold on there a minute," Tony called back to him. "I didn't say we weren't going to go that route, but Fred does make a valid point. We can't just go switching too close to wherever we're going. I'm going to have to stop for gas soon anyway so we can switch there. Sound like a plan?"

"I sure hope you know what you're doing," Natasha said over the Bluetooth.

Spotting a nearby gas station that could be considered "out of the way", Tony pulled in. He made sure to slide on a pair of dark sunglasses and pull on a baseball cap before he got out to fill the tank. "Fred, you should sit in back," he instructed. "That way I can be up front to make sure nothing happens. That and I look more like I could be his dad than you do."

Hiro opened his door, Fred doing the same. If the mascot was a bit slower about it than usual, no one commented. Hiro had to help him out though as he got out of the front and moved to the back. "You good?" Hiro asked before shutting the back door, glad this was a four-door model.

Fred gave him a thumbs up before trying to settle his arm more comfortably around the seat belt so it didn't cause problems. "Kind of makes me feel like a kid again," he tried to joke.

Hiro slid into the driver's seat as Tony finished filling up the gas. He had to manipulate the seat so he could reach the pedals and see out the front window, which vexed him no end. He was still waiting for that supposed growth spurt to happen. An inch or two didn't count. Short of sitting on a phone book, this was probably the best he was getting, he sighed as the seat refused to move any closer or higher. "Well this should be fun," he mused. He wasn't about to ask for some kind of booster seat.

Tony finished pumping gas, getting a receipt from the pump, glad he hadn't had to inside to pay. That would not have ended well. He slid into the front passenger seat. "Okay, everyone buckled up back there?" He glanced back to make sure.

Kally was mostly upright with the shoulder harness across her chest, her head leaning against Baymax's side. The healthcare robot was buckled in around the middle so he could be partially inflated for added comfort to their unconscious member. Fred was good to go.

Hiro started the engine, his heart pounding a bit. He'd never actually been behind the wheel of a moving vehicle like this before. It wasn't like he was just going around an empty parking lot or anything. He was about to head out onto a real road with real cars. And this car, though not exactly new, had a lot of bells and whistles. "You got this," he told himself, his knuckles white on the steering wheel.

"Relax, kid," Tony told him, still wearing the sunglasses and hat. "Driving's just like riding a bike. Think about it too much and you mess up. Just go with the flow and you'll be fine."