It wasn't until late afternoon that Hiro finally convinced Tadashi all was well with the world and that he wasn't going to go and do something stupid. It had taken some doing, including emotional manipulation on his part, but he'd done it. Tadashi had gone back to the school to work on Baymax, leaving Hiro to his own devices.
As a pretext, he'd gone back down to the garage and started working on some random project, allowing himself to get lost in it until Tadashi was satisfied he wouldn't get into any trouble. But the moment Tadashi was out of sight, Hiro dropped the act like a hot potato.
He'd had a lot of time to think things through while he and his brother had played video games, something they hadn't done in a long time. He'd felt a bit childish about that, but it was fun to beat Tadashi over a fighting game. After all, he did have the edge only bot fighting could give him.
And now, well now Hiro prepared himself for battle by putting on his favorite dark blue hoodie, stuffing the neuro-transmitter inside the deep pocket. He could use that to call the microbots back, making it impossible for Callaghan to use them. Then, he would destroy them so no one could use them. It was a simple plan really. The expected success rate was high. And, if he did things right, he could be home in time for dinner.
Making sure no one was following him, Hiro made a mad dash down the street, following in the same footsteps he'd used over a year ago when chasing down Baymax over his "tiny robot". The memory made his heart squeeze just a little, as it was one of the major milestones towards becoming a super hero, but he didn't have time to think about that. At least he'd thought about bringing a lock cutter with him, remembering that last time there had been a lock on the warehouse door.
After a trip that seemed to take forever, Hiro finally made his way to the abandoned warehouse where Yokai had originally set up his lab to replicate the microbots. The place looked just as deserted as before, the mesh fencing open in one area in front of the two-story building. If he was going to think things in a technical manner, the last time he'd been there had been right before the asteroid had exploded in the sky. That had been a trip, one he didn't want to think about at the moment. It threatened to bring back the massive headache he'd had at the time.
Hiro made a quick check of the perimeter. Being a super hero for about a year had taught him a few things. Sure there was no one around, he pulled out the lock cutters and snipped the expected lock on the door. That took a bit more effort than he'd anticipated, but then he hadn't had the same physical experiences as the previous timeline. And there was no way he could climb up to reach the window Baymax had boosted him through the first time there either.
But the lock snapped and he was in. It was all so easy. Maybe too easy. Taking a moment to calm his pounding heart, Hiro removed the chain from the door and pushed it open.
Up ahead, Hiro could see the basic outlines of a lab coming together. Callaghan hadn't had enough time to really get thing going yet. After all, it had only been a day. But he could confirm that at least one blue bin had been moved to this location because he could see it standing a good dozen or so meters inside the building.
Moving as cautiously as possible, Hiro slipped inside. Yokai didn't have the transmitter yet, which gave him some confidence. There would be no surprise attack from the microbots. But maybe, just maybe, if he came across Callaghan, he could reason with him, let him know his reason for doing all this was flawed, that his daughter was still alive. And maybe convince him to let him help him get her back.
Okay, so he'd only thought about telling him that after he'd realized the man had gone through with the theft anyway. Hiro wasn't perfect, nor could he think everything through. But he was trying. His brain did still feel a bit mushy inside.
Moving more cautiously now, Hiro tiptoed further in, realizing the clean-lab he'd been expecting hadn't been set up yet. The plastic sheeting was there, as were the frames, but they hadn't been put together. These things took time, as Hiro was well aware.
The building looked momentarily deserted. Breathing a sigh of relief, Hiro let his guard down. There was nothing in the shadows. If he really wanted to he could use his transmitter to call the microbots out and be on his merry little way. It would be just that easy, right?
Hiro put a hand in his pocket and clasped the thin metal band, ready to pull it out when something changed. Was it a sound? Was it something else? He wasn't sure, but the hairs on the back of his neck prickled like someone was watching him. After only a year of doing super hero work, he'd started to develop certain sensitivities to danger, and the alarm bells were going off in his head right now.
Slowly, Hiro turned to face the door he'd foolishly left open. As he did, he realized a long shadow stretched towards him from that open area as a figure blocked the light from outside. Two figures, actually. One stood right in front of the other, slightly offset. But it wasn't until they moved closer that Hiro realized who they were.
"Tadashi!" Hiro took half a step forward before stopping. There was something decidedly wrong with this, aside from his brother being there. The other person was Professor Callaghan, and he had Hiro's older brother at the point of a gun.
Hearing his brother's voice, Tadashi looked up in shock. His arms were pinned behind him, probably tied with something, and Callaghan's gun was pressed against his ribs. The look of betrayal and hurt in his brother's eyes almost tore Hiro's heart into a million pieces. "Hiro," he began but was cut off when the gun pressed more firmly against his rib cage, probably causing a deep bruise by the look of things.
"Keep moving," Callaghan said. He was dressed in an outfit that was far too familiar, black with more black. Yokai. The only difference was that he wasn't wearing the kabuki mask yet.
Hiro grit his teeth, his expression going hard as he stared at the one man who had taken everything from him in another time, and who wanted to do so again. "Professor Callaghan," Hiro spat with all the venom he could muster. "Let my brother go."
Tadashi stumbled on some debris on the floor but managed to maintain his balance despite his hands being out of commission. "Hiro!" He looked directly at his brother. "Don't play the hero!"
Behind the hurt and betrayal, Hiro could see fear in his brother's eyes. Tadashi was afraid. Hiro did a double-take. Tadashi wasn't supposed to show fear. He was the older brother for crying out loud! He was supposed to be the one protecting! But part of Hiro knew that was wrong because he'd set out to protect his brother from all of this. And he'd failed.
Callaghan shoved Tadashi to the ground. Hiro could hear his brother's knees collide with the cement and it sounded like hammer blows in his head. This was wrong. On so many levels, this was wrong. "Tadashi!" Tears laced his voice as he stared at his big brother, realizing just how much he relied on him to be his rock of strength. As long as Tadashi was on his feet, as long as Tadashi was okay, Hiro could do anything.
"I want that transmitter," Callaghan said in a gruff voice, bringing Hiro back to the present. "It wasn't there at the showcase. I know you have it."
Hand still in his pocket, Hiro gripped the cold metal with a white-knuckled fist. "Callaghan, you don't have to do this," he called out, his voice a bit shaky. He was so not prepared for this! "It's not what you think! There's another way!"
But Callaghan didn't seem to soften at all. In fact, his face seemed to harden. "I want that transmitter, Hiro. Give it to me or your brother is going to die." He released the safety on his gun, sliding the action back to chamber a round.
Hiro gulped. He couldn't help it. Tears started to leak from his eyes. He looked down at Tadashi, who looked up at him. His brother's brown eyes were steady, despite the swell of emotion inside them. He suddenly realized there wouldn't be enough time to put the transmitter on before the man pulled the trigger and all his work would be in vain.
"Why?" Hiro rasped, the tears thickening his throat. "What did we ever do to you? It was all Krei. You know that!"
Callaghan nodded, not even shocked that Hiro seemed to know this fact. "That's right. It is all about Krei. You and your brother have nothing to do with this. If it hadn't been for the fact that Krei showed an interest in your project, I'd probably have left it alone. But, no, he had to stick his finger into the pot, tainting it. And whatever Krei touches must be destroyed, just like he destroyed my life."
"Professor-" Tadashi tried to speak, only to have the gun slammed into his shoulder, making him go down again. He grunted in pain.
Hiro could imagine the growing bruise that had caused, wincing at his brother's discomfort. Things were definitely not going how he'd planned. How did he get out of this one? "It doesn't have to be like this!"
Callaghan took a step forward, coming even with Tadashi's sprawled body. "You're right," he said, looking directly at Hiro. "Give me the transmitter and I'll let you both go."
Sweat had broken out on Hiro's forehead. He knew Callaghan wouldn't let them go. Call it a gut instinct or experience. He knew the look in the man's eye. It was the same look that madman in the hospital had given him before he'd taken aim and fired with his armor-piercing rounds. How the man had gotten them was beyond him, but that didn't matter in the present. "I can't do that."
"Sure you can," Callaghan replied, his voice going as cold as his expression. "In fact, I'll give you a bit of motivation." He aimed the gun at Tadashi's leg and fired.
Tadashi cried out in pain as the bullet penetrated his thigh, somewhere near the kneecap. The sad thing was that he couldn't wrap his arms around the injured limb because of the ropes binding his hands behind his back.
Even though it was a bad wound, one that might leave his brother lame, Hiro knew it wouldn't take his life if he could get things to the point where he could stop the bleeding. All he had to do was stop Callaghan.
Maybe the professor saw something of a plan beginning to form in Hiro's eyes, or he just recognized obstinacy when he saw it. It didn't really matter, but he aimed the gun again and shot Tadashi through the shoulder, adding to the student's agony. Blood pooled on the ground, now from two locations.
"Stop! Just stop it!" Hiro shrieked. If he didn't give in, admit defeat, Tadashi was going to die. But if he did, a lot more people were going to die instead. Lots of innocent people. But wasn't this what he'd wished for? A chance to save Tadashi? It was his dying wish. He made his decision.
Hiro slowly pulled the neuro-transmitter from his pocket, holding it up so Callaghan could see he had it. "It's right here," he announced, his whole body trembling as he saw his brother wreath in pain, the blood draining out of him through the unstaunched wounds. "Let my brother go and I'll give it to you."
"Hiro! No!" Tadashi called out, his voice washed in pain. "Don't do it!"
Callaghan smiled at that, but gave Tadashi a kick with his booted foot, causing him to roll to one side. Something snapped, possibly one of the older Hamada's bones, causing a new cry of pain to escape the inventor's lips. "Bring it to me nice and slow and I'll contemplate it."
Hiro had been about to take another step closer but stopped at this development. "No. Let Tadashi go first and then you can have it." His voice was more commanding this time. His decision had been made. So long as Tadashi lived, he didn't care if he made it out or not.
"Give me the transmitter!" Callaghan snarled, striding forward, gun aimed at Hiro's chest.
But Hiro was ready for that move. He knew the building. He'd been in it a few times before. He also knew he wouldn't have time to put on the transmitter and call the microbots to protect himself, not if Callaghan really wanted to hurt him. It felt like the scenario in the hospital all over again, only he didn't have his team to back him up. Nor did he have the extra protection of the bulletproof vest laced with meteor metal.
Pulling up the information from his memory, Hiro bolted, heading towards the labyrinth of old equipment and pillars further in.
Callaghan gave a growl of frustration, then took after him. The boy was too cocky for his own good. He didn't bother placing the safety back on the gun, still holding it ready as he played a game of cat and mouse with his prey.
Hiro narrowly dodged a bullet aimed for his shoulder, ducking at the last possible second. The bullet rammed into the concrete pillar he'd been standing next to, causing him to skitter across the ground for several meters before regaining his balance and nerve. The transmitter flew from his hands, sliding under one of the shelves. Callaghan didn't seem to notice, too intent on his moving target.
That was close. Too close. Abandoning the idea of retrieving the transmitter, he wove around some old crates, hoping to lose the man in them. Callaghan was fit, but Hiro was small and he squirmed between the spaces of two boxes that a grown man wouldn't be able to fit between.
"Come out, come out where ever you are," Callaghan called as he made himself slow down. There was no way he would lose to a kid.
Hiro rapidly ran through calculations in his head. If he could slip past the professor, fake him out a little, he might be able to get to his brother and get them both out of there before anything else happened. He had his cell phone on him. All he had to do was call 911 and hope they'd figure out what was going on. He reached into his pants pocket and pulled out the device, momentarily letting his guard down.
"Got you!" Callaghan fired another round, clipping Hiro's phone, sending it spiraling out of the boy's hands.
In an almost panic now, Hiro forgot all he'd learned as a hero and simply ran. He wasn't Big Hero Number One anymore. He was a scared fourteen-year-old boy running for his life. Another bullet ricocheted off a pillar in front of him and he changed course.
Callaghan was herding him like a wild animal, using his bullets to send Hiro where he wanted him. And where he wanted him was back where he could see his brother. If he saw his brother, he'd give in. He fired another round.
Realizing what the older man was doing, Hiro couldn't help but put on the speed, hoping he'd at least be able to get out of the building to find help, even if it meant leaving Tadashi behind. Chances were good Callaghan would go after Hiro and leave Tadashi alone. But such was not the case.
The sound of the gun firing once more filled the air. Less than a second later, Hiro felt the hot metal pierce him through the back, shattering his spinal column as it sped through his heart. He had time to blink once in confusion before the world went black. For the briefest of seconds, he thought he heard Tadashi scream.