I'm Still Here (Hiro x Reader)

Chapter Twenty-Three

| Your POV |

The car is filling up quickly. Everyone is standing up, trying to move in between the seats and get away. You reach up and take one last breath to hold down. You try to shove the door open, but the pressure is too much.

Suddenly, something catches your eye. Baymax's armor floating, to the sand. You look up and see the robot clinging to the car to stay down. He reaches a hand down. You grab Honey Lemon and Fred. While they climb, Wasabi and Go Go follow. You turn to Hiro, who is still struggling with his seatbelt. You tug on it and pull him with you.

Your lungs are aching and your head feels like it's going to explode by the time you're in Baymax's arms. He releases the car and floats up. Once he breaks through the water, everyone falls on his stomach. Hiro coughs before turning to you. You're struggling to get a breath in.

"Are you okay?" Hiro asks, his hand falling on your back.

You grind your teeth and nod. It's obvious that you're not happy with him. Maybe he can tell, but you seriously doubt it. He doesn't think things through enough for being the smartest kid in San Fransokyo.

"I told you we'd make it!" Honey says happily.

"Your body temperatures are low," Baymax states.

"We should get out of here," Hiro suggests.

"I know a place," Fred says from beside you.

Soon enough, you're walking down a sidewalk towards the nicer part of San Fransokyo. You hold your arms tightly against your chest. Your clothes are dripping, your hair stuck to your forehead and cheeks, and your teeth are chattering.

"I'm sure Fred has towels at his place," Hiro says to you. You don't look at him. You nod slightly and concentrate on squeezing your wet hair out as you walk. Hiro sighs but doesn't push you to talk.

Everyone stops when Fred turns into a yard. You look up at the house. The house is huge and beautiful. The lawn is freshly mowed and the bushes freshly trimmed. "Fred!" you whisper to stop him. He jumps up on the porch.

"What are you doing?" Hiro asks.

"Oh! Welcome to mi casa!" Fred explains cheerfully. "That's French for 'front door'." You roll your eyes.

"It's really. . . not," Honey Lemon replies.

"Listen, nitwit," Go Go says harshly. "A lunatic in a mask just tried to kill us. I'm not in the mood for-"

Suddenly, the front door opens. A well dressed man, a butler, steps out. "Good evening, Master Frederick," he greets.

Your jaw drops. "Heathecliffe, my man!" Fred exclaims, giving the guy a fist bump. "Come on, we'll be safe in here."

You hesitantly follow your friend into the mansion, giving Heathecliffe a wave on your way. Once inside, you shake your head. "Wow, Fred. I had no idea. . ."

"Freddie, this is your house?" Honey asks in disbelief.

"I thought you lived under a bridge," Go Go comments.

"Technically it belongs to my parents, but they're on vacay at the family island. We should go there sometime. Frolic." He claps and the doors to his bedroom open. You stifle a laugh at what's in front of you. Huge statues of videogame characters, shelves of comics, ridiculous paintings of Fred as heroes all fill the room.

You look around at his statues while everyone chats. You turn around and look at Hiro, who is scribbling on a sheet of paper. Baymax waddles over to him and leans over. You notice the red glow on him and shiver. Everyone dives to the robot and snuggles into his warmth.

"Thanks, Baymax," you breathe, patting his back.

"It's like spooning a warm marshmallow," Fred adds.

"So nice," Honey whispers.

"Good robot."

"Does this symbol mean anything to you guys?" Hiro asks. You look up at the paper he his holding. You recognize the bird shape from the abandoned warehouse.

"Yes!" Fred exclaims, "It's a bird!"

Hiro rolls his eyes. "No! When ___ and I first found the guy in that warehouse, this was on the wall. I need to know what it means if we're gonna catch that guy."

Everyone steps away as Hiro pushes himself up. Baymax looks at the group. "Apprehending the man in the mask will approve Hiro's emotional state."

"Apprehend him?" Go Go asks in disbelief. "We don't even know who he his!"

"I have a theory," Fred states. He drags everyone to his sofa and passes out comics. He gives a brief summary of each.

"Oh, just get to the point!" Go Go exclaims, knowing that Fred could go on about comics for hours. Fred jumps up to his TV.

"Don't you guys get it? The man in the mask is none other than," he flips the TV on, "Alistair Krei." You immediately start putting the pieces together as Fred explains his theory. "He wanted your microbots, but you didn't give him them. Rules don't apply to a man like Krei."

"He's got a point," you say. "Krei is a selfish guy who only cares about money, and those bots are the key to a lot of it."

"Exactly!" Fred points at you. "Fred agrees with your agreement!"

You shake your head, "Please don't talk like that," you say, laughing at how he spoke in third person. Fred shrugs.

Hiro stands up. "If we're going to catch him, Baymax is going to need some upgrades. Actually, I'm going to need to upgrade all of you."

"Upgrade us?" you mumble. "Wait. You mean-"

"I like where this is heading!" Fred says excitedly.

"We can't go against that guy! We're nerds!"

"Hiro, we'd love to help, but we're just. . . us," Honey Lemon says gently.

"No," Hiro assures everyone, a smile growing on his face, "you can be way more."

Everyone looks up at the painting of seven heroes on Fred's wall. You try to picture yourself in one of those suits.

"Tadashi Hamada was our best friend," Go Go says.

You nod. "I'm in."

"We all are," Honey says.

Fred is overly excited. "Do you guys feel this? Our origin story begins. We're gonna be super heroes!"