A Complicated Web

Chapter Two: Similar Letters

Several hours after entering the garage, Hiro had managed to create a way to reduce the storage size and was in the process of fabricating the improved parts when the garage door flipped open. Bright sunlight shown into the previously dim work area and he had to shield his eyes, hoping he wasn't about to reveal something to someone who didn't need to know about it.

With a sigh of relief, he realized the individual who had invaded his space was one of his friends, Fred to be precise. "Hey, man," the mascot greeted as he ducked into the open space. "Hope you don't mind me crashing here for a bit." He found the couch near the back and flopped onto its surface. "I got a little bored back at my place. Figured I could just chill for a bit until everyone decided to meet up." He glanced briefly over at the still open garage door, debating on closing it or just leaving it open.

Hiro solved that debate as he grabbed the rope tied for the purpose of pulling the door back down. The light diminished significantly and the teen genius took that opportunity to flip on the overhead light. "Hey, Fred," he returned the greeting. "I was just working on improving some of our gear." He returned to the 3D printer as the arms inside came to rest, the piece inside finished.

Fred wormed his way back to a standing position. "Looks good," he said as he watched his friend attach the piece to one similar to it. He then gave a funny kind of grin as Hiro demonstrated how it could fold in on itself, making it more compact. "That's cool. Think you could do that with my suit too?"

"Uh," Hiro dithered. Fred's suit used a lot of silicon rubber and was really only in two pieces, if he was being honest, the body and the hood. "Let me get back to you on that." He finished with the piece of armor he'd been working on and stood back, wiping his brow. Later, he'd have Honey apply that metal coating she'd discovered when the asteroid had rammed into the earth a few months back. His stomach grumbled a bit, reminding him he'd been at this for several long hours and that lunch time was fast approaching.

Fred couldn't help but grin at the noise. "Sounds like lunch time," he observed. He never missed a meal if he could help it. Of course, with the rate at which they all burned off calories, they all needed to eat more often than they used to. Hero work was hungry work. "Right, Baymax?" He turned toward the white robot who remained near the door leading into the house.

Baymax seemed to contemplate his statement for a moment, swiveling his head from side to side as he performed a quick scan of the area behind the door. He detected several familiar individuals inside. Was this the signal he'd been told to anticipate? When Fred winked at him, he decided it was, though he was still working on understanding all the little visual cues people used. "Yes," he agreed. "Perhaps it would be wise to obtain sustenance to enable you to continue to work."

Grinning, Fred moved towards the door, grabbing Hiro on the way. "What he said," he added. "Let's go see what your aunt's got in the cafe. I'm sure she's got a few sweet things set aside for us." The woman usually had a way of knowing when one of Hiro's friends had stopped by, and which pastries they liked best.

Hiro couldn't help but roll his eyes as he allowed himself to be dragged up the short flight of stairs leading to the door. Baymax opened the door and and waddled through ahead of both of them. He thought he heard a few hurried shushing sounds before Fred triumphantly led him through the doorway separating the private part of the house from the more public part that housed the cafe.

"Surprise!" several people shouted all at once as Hiro entered the room and confetti flew in the air.

Hiro stood, looking dumb-founded as balloons filled the air, tied to the chairs and tables. All of his friends were there, along with the usual customers he'd grown up knowing. And Aunt Cass smiled happily at him as she brought over a quarter sheet cake decorated with gummy bears and lit candles.