The next day brought a lot of uncomfortable poking and prodding as Hiro went for the dreaded follow-up appointment. Thankfully, Tadashi accompanied him so he didn't feel as bad. But it still wasn't fun. At least the stitches had come out, even though he'd been given some very strict instructions that Tadashi promised to make him follow.
"I can't believe they won't let me lift anything over two kilograms!" Hiro complained. "And not for the next three weeks! How am I supposed to work on my project if I'm not allowed to do any heavy lifting?"
Tadashi shook his head as they left the hospital. Technically speaking, Hiro shouldn't have done a lot of things he'd already done, but there was no use crying over spilt milk. "Cheer up," Tadashi admonished. "You'll think of something. You just have to look for a new angle."
Hiro rolled his eyes as he climbed into the back of his brother's moped. Aunt Cass hadn't joined them due to having to man the cafe. "Ha. Ha. The only thing that would help keep me on schedule is if I have a lot of help, which I don't see happening." He rather thought he'd burned a few bridges the night before with Tadashi's friends. They had been rather cold about the whole super hero thing.
That earned him a chuckle from Tadashi. "I don't know about that. You did make some impressions last night. I'm sure my friends wouldn't mind helping you out, so long as you don't bring up the whole superhero thing again."
And that was the problem. Hiro sighed. Although Tadashi said it in a joking tone, Hiro felt sure he was serious about that. He doubted he'd made as big of an impression as his brother suggested.
Well, the night was young, as the saying went. He still had time. He just had to be careful how he went about it. In the meantime, there were other things to focus on, like convincing Tadashi to stop for some gummy bears on the way home. He'd been without the confectionery goodie for some time and was really craving them.
.........................
Hiro stared at the holographic projection of his microbots. Everything was ready: the design, the specs, everything. There was only one problem, the doctor's restrictions. He glared at the screen as if it were its fault he wasn't allow to do any heavy lifting.
Why did things have to be so difficult? Sure, he could get started, but he'd have to break everything to the smallest component. It didn't help that his incision still hurt, something he'd been told would happen. That didn't make it any easier. They'd also warned him that overdoing it could reopen the wound, which he definitely didn't want. He'd had enough of hospitals.
"You shouldn't make such a scary face," Tadashi admonished as he entered the garage from the outside. "You'll scare off the others."
That got Hiro to look up as he realized Tadashi wasn't alone. And who did he have with him? None other than the usual four Hiro had grown to know and love, just in a different lifetime.
GoGo sauntered into the space and leaned against the nearest worktable. She had her usual sarcastic "I don't give a ****" look on her face. "So Tadashi told us you need some help," she stated, chewing her usual pink gum. Once more, Hiro wondered at that, and why it was always pink. Maybe it was a flavor thing.
"He said you aren't allowed to do any heavy lifting just yet," Wasabi added as he walked in behind her. He folded his arms as he took up a position closer to one of the walls. "So we came to help with that."
Honey Lemon came next, giving a little wave, though Hiro noticed she blushed slightly when she accidentally brushed against Tadashi. "Just tell us what you need done and we'll do it."
And then there was Fred. "Yeah. Just let us know what you need, little fella." He moved towards the computer, looking like he was ready to play a video game instead of helping build something like a tiny robot.
Hiro smiled in spite of himself. He couldn't help it. This was so familiar, and it gave him the feeling that things would be okay. Besides, there was still time to implement the other part of his project, after he'd been cleared to lift more heavy items than his Megabot. They did have two months, after all.
Tadashi smiled encouragingly at Hiro as he continued to stare dorkily at his friends. "Hiro," he prodded. He cleared his throat when calling his brother's name didn't seem to do the trick.
"Oh. Right," Hiro said, coming out of his daydream. He took a moment to compose himself before going into lecture mode. "I'm working on making something I like to call microbots. They're these tiny robots," he pointed at the projection on his computer, "that I'll control with this." He brought up another image, this one of the transmitter. "It sort of works like a translator, turning my thoughts into commands the microbots can understand. I guess you could say it's kinda like a mental remote control."
Fred looked suitably impressed. And, thanks to the altered description of what he was doing, the mascot didn't go off on tangents about ESP, telekinesis or any of the other related pseudo-sciences. "With you so far. So, basically, you're just using your brain to change the channels."
Hiro nodded as he leaned back against his chair. Easiest explanation ever. "Yep." Only the science behind it was a lot more complicated.
Tadashi moved closer. "Looks like you've done a lot of work on it already," he commented. He sounded impressed, which meant a lot to Hiro.
The resulting shrug said it all, though. "I had a lot of spare time on my hands," Hiro confirmed. trying to not show any emotions. He wanted to act a bit tough, not like a dorky kid sucking up to his brother.
GoGo popped a bubble, her hands folded across her chest as she stared with as uninterested an expression as she could manage. Hiro didn't believe it though. "So, what do you want us to do?"
Hiro looked the group over. He didn't feel like giving them the same tasks he had the last go around, which meant he had to think about it for a moment. He'd learned a few things since then and wanted to test out a hypothesis. "Uh...GoGo, why don't you and Fred find me about a dozen clean garbage bins? I want to make a big splash so I'll need a lot of containers to put my microbots in." He rather suspected the adrenaline junky liked Fred and wondered what would happen if he gave them a project they could do together.
GoGo gave a mock salute as she pushed away from the workbench. She grabbed Fred by his shirt collar. "Got it. Let's go, Fred." She dragged him out of the garage, though he didn't look like he minded. In fact, Fred looked rather pleased with the idea and gave Hiro a thumbs up before they disappeared from sight.
Honey Lemon pushed up her glasses. "What would you like me to do?"
Hiro had to think about that one for a moment longer than the other two's assignment. He'd done this two times already now and should know the ins and outs, but he was having some difficulty thinking about giving her a task he shouldn't be doing. Not to mention one he hadn't asked her to do before. He already knew what he'd have Wasabi do. "Um...why don't you and Tadashi make sure everything's calibrated and ready to go? Mainly the 3D printer. I can't lift the material I'll need so I need you to make sure it's good to go."
Tadashi grinned at that as he moved to ruffle Hiro's hair. There was a faint hint of a blush there at being partnered with Honey Lemon, but he seemed pleased by the arrangement. "Sure. Let's go, Honey." The girl blushed at the way he said her name, but it was quickly hidden as she turned to follow her partner.
Then Hiro turned to Wasabi. "As for you, I need you to be my heavy lifter. Tadashi'll have kittens if I do any of the heavy lifting myself, so I'll need you to do that for me."
"You've got that right," Tadashi called from his post near the printer. He and Honey Lemon were already inspecting the machine.
Wasabi was about to protest when Hiro held up a hand. "And I'll need you to do the welding for me. Apparently it's on my "no can do" list. But if I'm going to get the transmitter done, someone will have to do it."
"I can do that," Wasabi agreed. He glanced at Tadashi for a moment, then back at Hiro. "What are you going to do?"
Hiro grinned. "I'm going to make sure I put everything in correctly. Even the smallest detail has to be insured or they won't work." That and he'd just remembered he needed to put in one feature to his design that he'd forgotten. His plan wouldn't work otherwise.
"You heard the man," Tadashi admonished in a joking tone. "Let's get to it!"
And just like last time, Hiro wondered if he could convince Fred to sneak him some gummy bears. He knew Tadashi wouldn't allow it.