When All Q Breaks Loose

Chapter Thirty Nine: Oh No

James probably ran two or three red lights as he sped onward in the car he'd stolen. Okay, if he was being truthful, it was probably more like ten or twenty, but who was counting? The little toddler had remained unresponsive as he swerved around traffic like a mad man. It was probably a good thing he'd thought to at least secure the boy with the seat belt in back, though it was a far cry from the usual safety restraining harnesses someone his size should have used.

At least the child wasn't screaming anymore. Once outside the warehouse, he'd gone as limp as a noodle in James' hands. After that, he hadn't really cared how many lights he ran, or who he ran off the road. He just hoped there were no cops out as he went about his mission of returning the young boy to his family, regardless of the consequences. If that power he'd felt only days before wanted to help him out, fantastic. But if not, so be it. He would take his medicine like a grown man. After he took a hit from some weed he'd found, to calm his nerves.

But, as he unbuckled the child and carried him up to the front steps, he couldn't keep his legs from shaking. His knees practically knocked together as he wondered just what would happen the moment he pounded on that door. There was no real turning back, though. Either way, he was in for trouble. It was best to just get it done and over with. So, shifting Hiro to lean against one shoulder, he marched as resolutely as he could up to the door and rang the bell. When that didn't produce any immediately results, he pounded on the door.

Looking rather like a deer in headlights, he stared as the door opened to reveal the chauffeur who'd driven the kid's mom and dad around. And behind him, a whole slew of people, including the brat's parents. He felt his knees go weak beneath him and he almost went down before the butler forcefully pulled him into the front foyer and closed the door.

Fred couldn't help but stare at the familiar mop of hair showing over the blanket bundle over the man's shoulder. "Who are you and why do you have Hiro?" he asked, getting into James' face. His eyes were uncharacteristically hard. He didn't know who this guy was, but he had a feeling there was decidedly more going on than he liked.

Before anyone could say anything else, Honey had taken Hiro from James' arms. "Oh no!" she whispered when she saw his state. "Baymax!" She turned almost fearfully to see if the healthcare bot was just behind them. She didn't miss the unmistakable smell of the weed on him, and only hoped the man hadn't tried to share.

James was in so much shock he didn't know what to do except stare with his mouth open. He blinked several times, trying to gather his thoughts but they wouldn't connect in his head. "I uh... I uh..."

"Perhaps it would be wise to take this man somewhere where he can gather his thoughts," Deanna suggested as she moved forward. She could feel the fear, confusion, dread, and some other emotion she hadn't expected to feel, concern. There was no doubt in her mind that this was the man who had held Hiro captive. But there was decidedly something off about him. and it wasn't just the smell.

GoGo strode up to the man in question and pulled back her arm to punch him but Heathcliff smoothly moved between them. "Allow me," he said in his clipped British accent. "With your permission, Master Frederick, I will take him to that room."

Fred continued to scowl at the man in question, his teeth clenched. "Yes," he agreed, his voice just as hard, if not harder, than it was when he'd first addressed the man before him. His suddenly proper language gave GoGo a start as she stared at her mascot friend, momentarily forgetting she wanted to deck the stranger.

As all this transpired, Baymax waddled over to Honey Lemon and the unconscious Hiro. "Oh no," the robot intoned as he quickly scanned the unconscious tot. "We must take him for immediate medical treatment."