A Complicated Web

Chapter Sixty Five: Fred Time

Cass Hamada couldn't help but cringe as an image from below blew up on the screen. She could see a lot of soldiers duking it out with the enemy on the ground. Once the field around the base had gone down, a lot of people had swarmed out of the compound, engaging SHIELD's forces. She'd seen a few colorful blips as the Avengers entered the mountain stronghold. She thought she recognized a few of them but wasn't sure. They were too far away for her to accurately identify them, though she had some suspicions.

"This is so nerve-wracking," she said while chewing on her nails. "I don't know how you guys can stand it!"

Maria Hill stood calmly and confidently at her command post, directing the ground troops. The Avengers would do their own thing inside. It was her job to coordinate what was happening on the outside. If they took prisoners that was fine and dandy, though with the way the Hydra agents fought, she wasn't sure how many there would be. They had a funny habit of committing suicide when it looked like capture was eminent. Call it dedication to the cause, or what you will, she thought it a waste.

The woman watched as Cass cringed. "You get used to it after a while," she offered as explanation before ordering her men to fire energy cannons from the floating air base. Explosions ripped the earth below them.

Cass resisted the urge to hyperventilate. It was one thing to see this kind of stuff on the news, once it was done and over with. It was a completely different thing to watch it happen in real time, knowing she was right above the action. If it weren't for the fact that she knew Hiro was down there somewhere, she'd run back to her assigned room and hide. But her nephew was down there and she'd endure this for him. She just couldn't help but wonder where Hiro's friends were. Shouldn't they be up there with her? Or were they viewing events from a different observation area?

Then Cass realized just how close some of those blasts were to the mountain. "Are you crazy!?" She almost grabbed on to Maria but stopped at the looks on several people's faces around her. "You could bring the whole place down on all of them! Including on my nephew!"

Maria didn't so much as change her expression, all business. "Believe me when I say I know what I'm doing," she admonished. "If I were going to destroy the compound, I'd be using a lot more firepower." She waved her hand to signify permission for another volley.

Cass wasn't sure if she should believe her or not but her hands balled up into fists as she watched the display. "So help me, if any of this hurts my nephew, you'll be sorry."

.................................

It was the weirdest sensation Hiro had ever felt. Okay, maybe not the weirdest, but it definitely was high up on the list. When he'd sensed Baymax on the outside, he'd tried to contact him, except no words would come. It frustrated him no end, but he at least hoped the robot knew he was still in there, alive and somewhat kicking. And if not, well, it was what it was.

He'd thought about trying to stand using the powered cylinder as a brace, but decided against it. His physical pain had returned two-fold now that the painkillers had run their full course. It hadn't taken long, probably because of all the energy running through him from the machine he leaned against. It made everything seem to burn up that much faster.

Despite this observation, Hiro couldn't help but feel something completely different. If he let his mind drift, he almost seemed one with the machine, which, in turn, gave him access to the computer systems. It was really a bizarre kind of feeling, but it reminded him so much of everything else he'd been through, the raw potential flowing through him from the energy of so many different things. It was almost like he could hack the system with his mind.