A Complicated Web

Chapter Seventy Four: All Those Times

Morning came almost sluggishly as the Big Heroes reluctantly made their way up to the penthouse level. They'd stayed up late to discuss the possible ramifications of their actions, especially now that Aunt Cass knew about them. They'd been unable to come to any definitive conclusion of potential consequences and had decided it best to let the woman cool down a bit before giving her the opportunity to confront them. Whether that was effective or not was yet to be seen.

Tony had, once again, provided a nice spread of food in the kitchen area. And, as luck would have it, they were the first ones in there, at least as far as they could see. However, upon further speculation, JARVIS informed them that Tony had already eaten, along with Banner, Phil, and Thor. Natasha was out and about somewhere outside the building, presumably making sure the area was secure. Aunt Cass was down in the medical suite with Hiro and Baymax.

Wasabi breathed a sigh of relief as he poured himself some coffee. It might only be a short reprieve, but it would give him time to fortify himself with some caffeine before the inevitable happened.

"I was kind of hoping we'd be able to get this over with," Honey admitted as she picked at her muffin. Despite feeling hungry, she didn't really have an appetite.

GoGo seemed to concur as she nodded in her usual manner, sipping at her own cup of dark brew. That was probably all the answer they were going to get from her too. At least until she'd woken up a bit more. Fred seemed to drag just as much as the adrenaline junky. Maybe it was just the letdown from the day before.

Thor walked into the room at the end of Honey's comments. He paused, not sure if he was intruding on anything, then correctly guessed what was going on. "If you are concerned about any repercussions your actions may have caused, it would be better to face them than to run from them," he pointed out as he found something to munch on. Though he'd already eaten, it had been over an hour ago and he was more than ready to fill in the corners, as it were.

"He's right," Wasabi sighed as he finished his coffee. "As much as I hate to admit it, he's right. The sooner we get this over with the better." He stood from his station near the table, coffee mug in hand. He wistfully glanced at the half full pot and decided to top it off.

Fred wormed his way to his feet, nodding in agreement. He snagged a muffin as he took Wasabi's lead. "Might as well," he reasoned. "Maybe she won't chew us out as bad if we're in front of Hiro."

Honey nodded. Chances were good Aunt Cass would be less inclined to yell if they were in front of her nephew, who would likely still be out of it for several more days at least. "Sounds good to me." She left her now crumbled muffin at the table, taking a mug of coffee instead.

GoGo finished her mug of brew and set it down before joining them. With all in agreement, they left Thor to his own devices and headed towards the elevator, hoping no one would mind them taking food out of the kitchen.

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

Cass sat near the head of Hiro's bed. She knew they were going to keep him sedated for a while yet, just to give him a chance to recover. But even with that, she couldn't help but want to be near him. She'd thought she'd lost him and it had torn her apart inside, perhaps even more so than Tadashi's death had. It was a miracle to have Hiro back with her, even if he was injured.

After talking with Natasha the night before, she did feel a bit better about things, though she was still a bit miffed. And she was definitely not letting Hiro's team off that easily. They'd kept this whole Big Hero thing a secret from her for two odd years and she was not going to let them forget it, nor the compounded worry she now felt due to that secret. She wasn't yet sure how she'd confront Hiro about it. That depended entirely on what happened with his friends, all of whom she saw as sort of her responsibility, even if they were technically adults. They should have known better!