𝑬𝒍𝒂𝒔𝒕𝒊𝒄 𝑯𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒕 - 𝑨 𝑩𝑯6 𝑺𝒉𝒐𝒓𝒕 𝑺𝒕𝒐𝒓𝒚

𝟏 - 𝐀𝐋𝐈𝐕𝐄

"I've got thick skin and an Elastic Heart"
❀❀❀

Darkness.

Bright lights...heat...burning...coughing...then darkness.

'I'm dead, aren't I?'

Is what the young man thought as his eyes opened and his blurred vision showed him nothing but total darkness. He couldn't move, and if he did, he'd immediately regret it as pain would shoot through his body like electric shocks set to 100.

'Oh, Hiro....Hiro...I'm so sorry-

Light. There was light in his vision. Perhaps he was entering some sort of heaven, an eternal paradise, maybe? But no, his vision clearing up completely showed him otherwise. The light hitting his face was but the sunlight shining in through a broken window. A broken window? He'd hate himself later, but he painfully pushes himself upright to reveal the true source of the darkness. Looking around, this place looked abandoned, and given the size it was most likely a warehouse.

'Where am I?'

It wasn't until his body came crashing down onto the cold floor did he even realize he was on a table. He winces and groans as he turns on his back. His body was sore, his head was pounding like it would explode any second, he had no idea where he was or what was going on right now. This was not how he imagined heaven at all. He forced himself to sit up and get a good look around the place again, blinking a few times to fully clear his vision. He caught notice of a part of the wall covered in papers and blueprints. He slowly stands and walks over to it with a slight limp in his step.

"You're up sooner than I thought you'd be."

Startled, he whips around, only for his legs to give out beneath him and force him to the ground again, looking up at the familiar face. "B...But you were....in....fire..." His voice was nothing louder than a whisper of disbelief and confusion.

"And you were stupid enough to run right into it, Tadashi." The man he once knew as Professor Callaghan approaches him with a cold expression.

"What....h-how did-" Tadashi held a tremble in his voice as he examines his ex-professor who was supposed to be dead. He didn't look himself. Any remanence of that warm expression he always gave him was gone. He was even dressed differently, in all black. What was happening right now?

"I had his microbots." Callaghan spoke darkly as he hovers over his former star student.

"But you're supposed to be-

"We're BOTH supposed to be dead right now. But you've seen too much that night, and I'm not risking your eyes getting out to the public." He glares down at him.

"What...." Tadashi looks away from his dark glare, as it all begins to return to him. He ran into the fire to save his professor. He found him inside, lighting more matches and tossing them to enlarge the fire. In that moment, he had never felt a harder betrayal in his life, and tried to get out of there before the fire got out of hand, but he didn't make it. He felt a large pain in his head, and all he could see was the dark expression of his professor before blacking out. "Y-You...you....did it....you did it..."

Callaghan chuckles. "You're right, I did. I needed a diversion to successfully get to Hiro's microbots. And what better method than a simple fire."

Tadashi looked up at him in disbelief, his stomach churning. Hiro...he had left Hiro behind without so much as a goodbye. His little brother, his Aunt Cass, his friends, they all think he's dead right now.

"Now, enough with the moping. You're up now, which means you can do what I need you to."

"What are you talking about...do what?" Tadashi spoke with unease, trying to be careful about his approach to this new and likely dangerous man.

"You're not here solely because you saw me, but I needed someone of high intelligence to continue the production of the microbots I already have." Callaghan approaches a table covered with papers and equipment. "You'll do just the trick, I taught you most of what you know after all."

Tadashi follows with his eyes to the table. He was kidnapped to create more microbots? "What for? What are you trying to do?" He mutters uneasily, already having a bad feeling about this.

"That's none of your concern. You're just to do what I ask of you, I know you know how to follow instructions Tadashi, don't act otherwise now."

"And if I don't?"

In a split second, Callaghan had the neurocranial transmitter on his head as the microbots come alive and tightly coil themselves around Tadashi's burnt and wounded body. He let out a pained yelp as they dragged him over to Callaghan.

"If you refuse me, I'll do more damage to you than what has already been done. And I'll make sure your family and friends don't see another day." Callaghan growled, his glare piercing into the young man's soul.

Tadashi was frozen, not able to tear his eyes away from his piercing gaze. He would go after Hiro and Cass, and his friends too without a second thought. He couldn't get his head around this....his favorite professor? His role model? The one he looked up to the most? It just can't be.

"Do not test me again, Mr. Hamada. You'll do what I say, or there will be consequences. And it'll be no one's fault but your own and your disobedience."

Tadashi could only nod, the words getting caught in his throat. For the sake and safety of the ones he loved most, this would have to be his life now. And he didn't dare refuse again...

❀❀❀

For 3 whole months, Tadashi was stuck creating more microbots as Callaghan continuously left and returned. At least, he can only assume it's been somewhere around 3 months, having no sense of the days going by being trapped in that abandoned warehouse. He didn't dare attempt an escape, knowing he was in no condition to try and outrun him or the bots. When Tadashi was in a more stable condition, Callaghan had forced him to pick up close combat and knife handling. To this, Tadashi had strongly questioned it, but Callaghan denied an answer, and would just start sending the bots after him, forcing him to fight back in order not to get hurt. It was probably another couple months of this cycle before Tadashi had it down pretty well.

One day, he was in an upper part of the warehouse in the middle of making more microbots, when the ones on the desk started moving around uncontrollably before exiting the room. That only meant one thing as Tadashi hurriedly got up to see what Callaghan was up to. His heart skipped a few beats when he saw a familiar young boy and white squishy robot trying to outrun a wave of microbots.

'Hiro...Baymax...'

He spotted Callaghan in his Yokai mask watching the microbots chase his little brother and robot down. With stealth, he follows their path with increasing worry and anxiety for their safety. Hiding behind a beam, he watches Hiro and Baymax get stuck in a window as the bots were quickly approaching. He knows he shouldn't, but he couldn't stand by and watch his brother get hurt. Someone had to help. Without a second thought, he took out one of the blades he practiced with, and at just the right time, throws it towards the window, breaking off one of its hinges so it spun Hiro out the other end. Baymax takes the blow of the microbots that had enough force to push him out. Tadashi hastily looks around and sees an opening in the ceiling just above him. He uses his practice blades to climb the beam and up through the opening, onto the roof. Witnessing his brother and robot running away from the property, he sighed in relief that they got away safely.

"Shouldn't have done that, Hamada."

Before Tadashi could respond.....darkness.