Control Alt Delete (A BH6 crossover)

Chapter Twenty Five: There are ways around that.

The anticipated ride to the Ito Ishioka Robotics Lab was pretty quick, all things considered. And Hiro didn't complain once the entire ride there. "Is this where your lab is?" he asked the moment Tadashi parked his moped. He had to remind himself he hadn't been there yet in this timeline. That and it never hurt to stoke his brother's ego just a little.

"Yep," Tadashi replied with obvious pride. Hiro had struck the right note there. "They gave me a private space so I can finish my senior project without interference. I'll show it to you when we get up there."

Mindful that his brother was still recovering from major surgery, Tadashi watched Hiro like a hawk as they climbed the stairs to the front doors. But there wasn't anything to cause concern so he shrugged it off and headed towards the elevators. His brother was just a bit slower than usual, which wasn't unexpected.

Hiro tried to look impressed. The effort was, admittedly, a bit harder than he'd thought it would be, especially since he knew the building like the back of his hand, but he tried. His halfhearted attempts at complimenting, however, came out flat and he only hoped his brother would attribute that to still being in recovery mode.

When Tadashi led him to the open lab area, he took a moment before following him, just in case GoGo was trying out her bike. When he felt sure he'd given it enough time, he followed his brother inside. After all, all the previous times he'd done this had resulted in his almost being mowed down by the cycle.

GoGo was already making adjustments to the streamlined frame of her bicycle. Helmet sitting on top of a 3D printer, she popped her gum as she stood back to inspect her work. She had a wrench in one hand, making it easy for Hiro to imagine her wearing a bandana over her hair to keep it out of her face.

Tadashi beckoned Hiro over from near the workbench of GoGo's space. "GoGo, I'd like you to meet someone. This is my brother, Hiro." He said the last part as Hiro nervously came into view.

"Hi." Hiro gave a half-hearted wave, his heart running laps around his rib cage. He wasn't sure why he suddenly felt so nervous. It wasn't like this was the first time he'd done this. He should be a pro by now. "Electro-mag suspension, right?" He moved to wave a hand at the yellow vehicle. "Zero resistance, faster bike?"

GoGo raised a brow at him. "Right." She popped her gum again, clearly not looking impressed. "But not fast enough. Yet." She took off the back wheel and tossed it into the recycling bin like it was trash. And with that, Hiro knew this introduction was over.

Not ready to repeat some of his previously mistakes, Hiro turned to go around the partial wall separating GoGo's space from her more meticulous partner's area. His shoulders sagged just a little, until he remembered that his initial introduction to GoGo hadn't exactly gone that smoothly either.

As expected, Wasabi was making a few adjustments to his screen of laser-induced plasma. Since Hiro hadn't even come close to crossing the caution tape line marking out the safe zone, he didn't look up until Hiro cleared his throat.

"You must be Wasabi," Hiro said when the man in question looked up. He hoped he'd struck the right tone but wasn't sure. "Laser induced plasma, right?" He pointed at Wasabi's creation.

Wasabi blinked in surprise as he flipped the switch that would make the parallel lines visible to the naked eye. "How did you know? I haven't even shown it to you yet."

Hiro looked a bit wide-eyed at that, hedging an answer. "Well, I uh—"

Tadashi came to save Hiro from an awkward explanation, or sounding like a complete know-it-all. "Because my brother's a genius," he teased, cuffing Hiro's ear. "Wasabi, this is Hiro."