A Complicated Web

Chapter Eighteen: No Longer Safe

Hiro couldn't help but bounce on the balls of his feet as he waited impatiently for the elevator to reach the desired floor. He had a sneaking suspicion of what might have happened and he hoped against hope he wasn't right. But there was only one way to find out.

Finally, the elevator chimed their arrival, the doors sliding open. Hiro almost bolted out the door but Tony held on to his shoulder before he could exit the doors. "You're not going out there until I know it's safe," he admonished. "JARVIS, status update."

"I do not detect any movement from this floor," JARVIS informed them. "The area is secure. Should I wake the rest of our guests?"

Tony shook his head. "No. We'll do that in a minute. Just make sure no one else gets in who shouldn't." He knew his order would be obeyed without confirmation from his butler. "Okay," he released Hiro's shoulder. "If I tell you to do something, you do it. Got it?"

Hiro nodded his understanding. The two exited the elevator, Hiro behind Iron Man, both wishing they had their super suits in hand. Well, soon enough, Hiro thought. His was in his room. At least he hoped it was still in his room. It had been there when he'd gone to bed, after all.

Tony signaled him forward as they approached his room. He held up one hand as they reached the slightly open door. He peered around the jamb, realizing the wide open space was empty. "Clear," he announced unnecessarily, motioning for Hiro to wait at the door while he checked out the adjoining bathroom and closet. Satisfied, he motioned the teen inside. "Okay, take a good look around and see if anything is missing."

Hiro dived for the far side of the bed, where he'd stashed the suitcase full of microbots. He almost breathed a sigh of relief when he saw one suitcase there, but sucked it back in when he realized it was the wrong one. "My microbots!" he exclaimed. The suitcase containing them was gone. He frantically reached under the bed, feeling for the safe. It was still there. A few antsy seconds later, he was able to confirm that his neurotransmitter was there as well.

"That your expo project?" Tony asked as he noted the thin headband. "What's it do?"

Hiro moved out from under the bed. "It controls the microbots that are missing. They're useless without it. But I can activate a remote detonator to fix that problem." He reached for his laptop, which was somehow left behind, hidden under the edge of the quilt on his bed.

"Whoa!" Tony called out, halting him. "Let's just hold up a minute and think about this. Can you track them?" He gave Hiro a serious look, all business.

The teen took a moment to calm down before answering. "We've done it before," he admitted. "Well, Baymax did the first time something like this happened. I had a microbot still with me, which he used. Of course I didn't have the transmitter to go with it. That had been stolen at the same time as most of the microbots were, which is why I installed a few safety measures in case that ever happened again. I'm not sure if the transmitter will be enough though. I didn't think to add any kind of tracking device to the overall design."

Realization struck Tony like a bolt of lightning. "That's right. I seem to remember reading something about that a few years back." He nodded in understanding. "Good thinking on the upgrades, but let's hold off on destroying them just yet. We might be able to find a way to track them and find out who's behind all this."

Hiro nodded, realizing he'd made a good point. But there was no way he was going to let that transmitter out of his sight. It was probably pure dumb luck whoever had taken the microbots hadn't realized they'd left something behind. Speaking of leaving things behind, he had to check on one other thing before they woke the others. He moved to the bathroom, pulling open the cabinet under the sink to pull out a duffle. Thankfully, what he'd hoped would still be inside was. "Okay, let's go wake the others," he suggested. "They'll need to know what's going on."