The shields shattered as they hit the water, but still managed to protect both the car and Baymax from most of the damage. They sank to the ocean floor, the car settling with a soft thunk on the sand. Hiro struggled with his seat belt for a moment before closing his eyes and using his telekinesis to free the mechanism. All six people streamed out of the car, looking a little disoriented. Hiro quickly started pulling Baymax's armor off with both his hands and mind.
'Grab Baymax!' The brothers weren't sure who said it and they didn't care. Their friends hadn't seemed to realize that they'd heard speech underwater either. They all grappled onto the vinyl surface as Hiro pulled off the last of the armor, lifting them all to the surface.
They broke through like a breaching whale, sputtering and coughing and just relieved to be breathing air.
"I told you we'd make it!" Honey Lemon said cheerfully. The others were still too busy breathing to do more than stare.
"Your injuries require my attention," Baymax said, scanning them all, "and your body temperatures are low."
"We should get out of here," Hiro said, shivering. Tadashi hugged him closer, trying desperately to send him his warmth.
Fred made a face, waggling his eyebrows. "I know a place."
They shivered as they walked, all soaked to the bone. There wasn't much talking, mostly just the occasional 'turn here' and 'right over there' from Fred. Not even Tadashi and Hiro had much to say, out loud or silently. But Tadashi could feel Hiro's mood shifting as they walked. He was slowly drawing into himself, and Tadashi wasn't sure why. Tadashi fidgeted with his hat in his hands. He didn't remember grabbing it when they were swimming out of the car, but he'd had it in his hand when they broke the surface.
The next time Tadashi looked up, they were in a fancy neighborhood.
"Where are we?" Honey Lemon asked, eyeing the nice houses and manicured lawns.
Fred said nothing, just turning and walking up another sidewalk to the steps of the biggest house on the street.
The others hung back on the sidewalk, unsure. "Fred," Hiro whispered. "Wh-Where are you going?"
Fred turned at the door, looking back at them in confusion. "Oh." He straightened with a grin, throwing his arms wide. "Welcome to mi casa. That's French for 'front door'."
They just blinked at him.
"It's really... not." Honey Lemon tilted her head, looking at her friend in concern.
"Listen, nitwit. A lunatic in a mask just tried to kill us." Go Go was shaking, but Tadashi wasn't sure if it was the cold or her growing rage. "I'm not in the mood for any-"
The door swung open to reveal a tall butler. "Welcome home, Master Frederick."
Fred turned to him with a wide grin. "Heathcliff, my man!"
Go Go froze, her words lost in the incredulity of the moment. Everyone just stared at Fred and Heathcliff, hardly daring to believe what they were seeing.
"Come on in, guys. We'll be safe in here." Fred turned back to the butler, raising his fist in the air between them. "Gimme some."
They shared a fist bump, and Fred just walked in the door. They followed him one by one, only Baymax taking Heathcliff up on the offered fist. They looked around, taking in the large foyer.
"Freddie, this is your house?" Honey Lemon spun in place, taking in the art on the walls.
"I thought you lived under a bridge," Go Go said, eyeing the high ceiling.
Fred shrugged, leading them through a hall of family portraits. "Well, technically it belongs to my parents. They're on a vacay on the family island. We should totally go sometime. Frollic." He clapped twice, a door sliding open.
He led them through the doorway, allowing them all a moment to take in the sight.
And boy was it a sight. It was like someone threw everything about comic book culture into a blender and then turned it into a room. As everyone else drank in the 'view', Hiro made a beeline for a table. The others chattered idly as Tadashi and Baymax followed the youngest Hamada. Hiro grabbed a pen and paper, starting to sketch.
"Your body temperature is still low," Baymax warned.
"Yeah, uh-huh," Hiro mumbled, clearly either not listening or not caring. Tadashi frowned. There was something else. Hiro held the pen too tight, his shoulders and neck tense.
Baymax leaned forward, pressing his squishy body against Hiro's. Hiro looked up, confused, until Baymax turned on his heater. Hiro rolled his eyes, continuing to sketch. Tadashi leaned against Baymax too, watching Hiro carefully. 'Hiro?'
Hiro ignored him. The rest of their friends quickly joined in on the Baymax-cuddling.
"It's like spooning a warm marshmallow," Fred sighed.
Honey Lemon sighed too. "Ah, so nice."
"Oh yeah," Wasabi agreed. "Ah, that's toasty."
Go Go patted Baymax's side appreciatively. "Good robot."
Hiro put down the pen, putting his face in his hands. Tadashi realized that his hands were shaking. Tadashi pushed off of Baymax, the movement jostling the robot and his friends away from the small boy. "Hiro? Hiro, look at me. What's wrong?"
Hiro just curled in on himself further, the pens and pencils rising from their cup on the table. Tadashi's eyes widened, feeling the fear and panic and anxiety radiating from his brother.
"We almost died, Tadashi. You almost died." Tadashi froze, his hands on Hiro's shoulders. You could hear a pin drop in the room. The pens rose higher, joined by the cup and probably a number of other things all over the room. "Again. I can't-"
"Hiro, Hiro look at me." When he finally looked up, Tadashi squeezed his shoulders. "I'm here. I'm fine. I told you, I'm not leaving you again, alright? Rule number three."
"Hamada brothers always trust each other," Hiro mumbled.
"Right, Hiro. We're okay. I'm not going anywhere." Tadashi spared another glance at the pens, watching them slowly fall back towards the table. He heard the gentle squeak of vinyl approaching.
"Tadashi, your brain waves have increased and are affecting Hiro's. Is this intentional?"
The Hamadas froze. Tadashi let go of Hiro's shoulders like he burned.
Tadashi's eyes widened, looking between his brother and his robot. He wasn't using any shields, so why would Baymax think he was using his powers? "But, I wasn't... was I?" Hiro took a step towards him and Tadashi flicked a hand up, making a shield between them. "No, Hiro. I don't know-"
"What were you trying to do?" Hiro's calm voice made him stop talking. How could he be so calm? Tadashi had just asked his little brother to trust him while he was messing with his head!
"You were starting to panic," he said, stammering a little. "I was just trying to help you calm down like I always do."
Hiro's eyes widened a little, still staring at him through the rippling air. "Define 'always'."
Tadashi ran his hands through his hair, exasperated. "I don't know, Hiro, always! Ever since..." His eyes widened. "Ever since we were kids," he breathed.
Hiro grinned at him, a real grin. "How's your head?"
Tadashi blinked. "It's... fine. Normal." He let the shield fall. "Holy shit, Hiro."
Hiro skipped forward, punching him in the shoulder. "You've been holding out on me!"
"I have detected similar readings before." The boys turned back to Baymax, distracted. "Before and during the attack in the warehouse, your activity was fluctuating rapidly. Every time the man in the mask got ready to attack, your brain started to show signs of 'ability usage'."
Tadashi looked down at the carpet, scrunching up his face in thought. What was the link? What did they all have in common? Baymax said he had been doing it just before every attack. Intent, he realized. He'd always been able to tell when someone was about to do something, he could always read what they were feeling easily. He'd never realized it before, but it was beyond normal limits.
"Empathy," he said finally, catching Hiro's eye. "Hiro, I'm an empath."
There was a sudden and unholy screech. Hiro and Tadashi tensed, the former creating a floating army out of writing implements and the latter setting a shield between them and the noise. What they saw? Fred, his mouth covered by Go Go's hands, with Honey Lemon and Wasabi staring at them with wide eyes.
Hiro immediately dropped the pens, letting them fall uselessly to the ground. Tadashi shattered the shield, returning the air between them to its natural state.
"H-hey, guys." Hiro tried, kicking the carpet. "What's, uhh... what's up?"
Tadashi just closed his eyes in a silent 'kill me now'.
'Nope, if I have to live through this, so do you.'
"God damn it," he muttered. Hiro jabbed him in the side with his elbow.
"You said that out loud, Tadashi," he hissed.
"I know, Hiro. There's not much point in the silence anymore."
"Uh, guys?" Wasabi said quietly. "Still here."
Fred managed to free himself from Go Go's muffling. "Powers!" he cried. "You two have POWERS!" He jumped forward, moving too fast too quickly. Tadashi threw up a small barrier at the edge of his personal space, immediately followed by the 'thunk' of Fred running into it.
"Personal space, Fred," Tadashi chided.
"That... thing that you're doing," Go Go started, taking a step closer. "I kept seeing it in the car. I thought it was just... a trick of the light or something. What was that?"
Tadashi sighed. "Shielding. I can make these... barriers, I don't know. I was trying to shield the car. Between you and the microbots, I had my work cut out for me."
Go Go turned, pointing at Hiro. "And you! How did you do that? With the pens?"
Hiro smirked. "The same way I pressed the buttons on your controller to let Fred win." He pointed to his head, his grin taking a maniacal edge. "With my mind."
Fred looked almost beside himself with glee. Wasabi looked like he was about to pass out. Honey Lemon just looked like she was in shock. Hiro's grin grew. Tadashi caught the look and pointed at Hiro sharply.
"Do not-"
'We can do this too!'
The room gasped, hearing Hiro's voice in their heads without him actually speaking.
"-Unbelievable! Hiro!" Tadashi threw his hands up in the air.
'Pretty cool, huh?'
"Hiro Hamada, cut it out. You'll freak them out!"
Hiro just grinned up at his brother. "I think we're well beyond that, Tadashi. What do you think, Baymax?"
"Wasabi and Honey Lemon are exhibiting signs of shock."
Hiro winced, and Tadashi slapped him upside the head.
Go Go shook her head. "Explain. Now."
Tadashi and Hiro fessed up with the real story of what happened at the showcase. They told them about testing their powers and about chasing Baymax.
Their friends just slumped on the couch in varying stages of concern, shock, and disbelief. Now that Tadashi knew what he was capable of, he recognized that he was reading their emotions. He closed his eyes in thought. Baymax said that he'd been affecting Hiro when he was trying to calm him down. What if he could help everyone else? He slowly brought the mood of the room back to healthy levels. It was hard to influence the emotions without outright changing them, but he did it anyway. He didn't feel comfortable forcing a change and playing with them like that, even if it was to help out.
They all started to talk a bit, trying to wrap their heads around it all. Tadashi helped where he could, telling them what they knew and what they guessed.
By the time they'd sort-of accepted it, Hiro was done drawing. He held the paper up for everyone to see. "Does this symbol mean anything to you guys?"
Tadashi narrowed his eyes. He'd seen it before, but he couldn't place it.
"Yes!" Fred said excitedly. "It's a bird!"
"No!" Hiro shook his head, a small smile appearing for a moment before it was gone. "The guy in the mask was carrying something with this symbol on it."
Tadashi's eyes widened. "Hiro, the warehouse. It was on that board, remember?"
"Apprehending the man in the mask will improve their emotional states," Baymax said, looking at the Nerd Crew.
"Apprehend him?" Go Go said, pulling back a few steps to look at them critically. "We don't even know who he is."
"I have a theory." Fred gave them his best devilish grin. He started handing out comic books like evidence, describing the main villains in each and their secret identities.
"Just get to the point!" Go Go implored.
"The man in the mask who attacked us is none other than..." He waved his hand dramatically, turning on the TV. "Viola! Alistair Krei."
As they continued talking about it, Tadashi tuned out, focusing instead on how he could feel Hiro's anxiety rising.
"His blood type is AB-negative. Cholesterol levels are-"
"Baymax, you scanned him?" Hiro surged forward, watching Baymax with wide eyes.
"I am programmed to assess everyone's healthcare needs."
Hiro laughed, but it didn't feel right. Tadashi tensed up. "I can use the data in your scan to find him." Hiro began to bounce around a little, a wild light in his eyes. Baymax tilted his head at him.
"Uh, you'd have to scan everyone in San Fransokyo. That might take, I don't know, forever?" Go Go waved her comic, watching Hiro.
"No, no, no, no," Hiro said, pacing the room. "I just have to look for another angle."
That proud grin was back as Tadashi watched his little brother. Clearly he'd taken some of his advice to heart. Hiro stopped in front of one of Fred's action figures. "Got it! We'll just have to scan the whole city at the same time!" Hiro turned to Tadashi with bright eyes. "We just have to upgrade Baymax's sensor."
He turned around, looking at all of them in turn. "Actually, if we're gonna catch this guy, I need to upgrade all of you."
Tadashi choked a little. "What?"
"Upgrade who now?" Wasabi glanced at Tadashi, eyes uncertain.
"Those who suffer a loss require support from friends and loved ones," Baymax said calmly, watching the group.
Fred laughed, almost shaking with excitement. "Oh, okay. I like where this is heading!"
Wasabi leaned forward, equal parts pleading and reasoning. "We can't go against that guy! We're nerds!"
"Look, we want to help," Honey Lemon said, earnest and soft. "But we're just... us."
"No," Hiro insisted, stepping up onto the couch. He looked up at a scroll of heroes on the wall. "You can be way more."
Go Go stood up, cracking her knuckles. "Professor Callaghan was the best teacher I ever had. I'm in."
"Can you feel it? You guys, do you feel this? Our origin story begins!" Fred pumped his fists. "We're gonna be superheroes!"
The next hour flew by as Hiro and Tadashi talked to an over-eager Fred about their abilities. When Hiro had said he wanted to 'upgrade everyone', Fred had been hoping that they could give him powers of his own. The brothers had to break it to him that it didn't really work that way. Now that the cat was out of the bag, Tadashi asked them to help figure out how and why he and Hiro had somehow developed their abilities.
After a lot of discussion and questions, they reasoned that it was somehow triggered because of the high stress of their situations. They noted that they'd both been trying to protect each other when it happened, but none of them were comfortable calling any of those 'rules'. For all they knew, Tadashi and Hiro were born with the abilities and just never realized it, reaching for them instinctively when in danger. Tadashi was evidence of the possibility since his empathic powers didn't seem to have an origin, and he had been passively using them for most of his life. The telepathy had them a little stumped, but Fred insisted it was probably a side effect of the close bond the brothers had, coupled with the fact they both had ESP.
Tadashi had a silent conversation with Hiro about what was still freaking him out. While Hiro's anxiety had mostly melted away by the time they had a chance to 'talk', it was still worrying. It didn't take much prodding for Hiro to fess up. After their chase through the city, Hiro had realized that they couldn't do anything as they were. Their efforts would get them killed. With the upgrades he had in mind, he reasoned they might actually be able to pull it off.
After another hour or so, they all called it a night and headed home. They agreed to meet up at the Hamada Garage the next day to get started on 'upgrades'. The brothers carefully snuck back into their house, Aunt Cass still none the wiser.