Alternative Care

Chapter 7

The large group walked to a nearby Japanese restaurant to enjoy a meal and share information. Sam finished off her beef, veggies and noodles, then set down her chopsticks.

"I wish we'd gotten there sooner," she said to Hiro, Wasabi, and Go Go with concern.

"Yeah, usually we're in hero suits," Wasabi said, "but we were trying to go undercover. I just happened to spot that robot in time."

Hiro and Go Go looked to him in appreciation, then back to Sam, Clover, and Alex.

"I still can't believe you guys..." Alex said excitedly, then looked around the medium-sized, sparsely populated restaurant, and stopped herself. "You're those superheroes," she whispered with a sly look.

Hiro looked at her with half-lidded eyes. "At this point, who doesn't know our identities?" he mused, then finished off his tea.

"Between us and WOOHP, we figured it out!" Alex said musically.

Clover smiled at Alex, then looked to Hiro and his friends. "No offense, but you should leave the spying to us," she advised.

Honey Lemon looked at her, about to argue, then reconsidered. "Maybe you've got a point. Hiro, Wasabi, and Go Go almost... " she trailed off. Hiro looked self-conscious at this and fiddled with his napkin.

"I wish we'd stayed in touch better," Honey Lemon admitted, "we don't have that--instant outfit changing power," she said with a flourish of hand gestures.

"It's okay," Sam replied. "So WOOHP analysis turned up the same info as you on the bowling alley robot," she said, "but we also got a trace of DNA. And it matches those found on this thing." She held out the small device she retrieved from the robot.

"What is that anyway?" Wasabi asked, and leaned in closer with a curious look.

"My X-Powder scan says it controlled the robot's actions. And was a camera too," she said.

"May I?" Hiro said, and held out a hand. Sam handed it over and he studied it. "Mind if I hang onto this?" he asked.

"Sure," Sam replied, "the DNA trace matches a former employee of the bowling alley named Dan Siu. We've got a home address. And he currently works at a health care company called CuraTech,"

Go Go looked at Sam with raised eyebrows. "You guys are good," she said, then tapped on her phone. "CuraTech's got an office downtown on Caravan Street... and a robotics lab south of there."

"Can I get you anything else?" a man asked them politely, which caught their attention suddenly.

The waiter held a pen and pad in expectation. Hiro gazed at the small device, stuffed it into his jacket pocket, and looked over to him. "No, we're good. Ready for the bill. Thanks," he said.

***

Wasabi drove his friends to Fred's home, followed in the air by the spies via their jet packs. Hiro and company exited the car, and the spies landed nearby, then shut off their jet packs. Everyone walked by beautiful landscaping and climbed a small set of steps to a palatial two story beige mansion with numerous tall windows. Hiro and his friends waited for exclamations of surprise, but Sam, Clover, and Alex just smiled appreciatively on their approach.

"Nice place. Reminds me a bit of where I grew up," Sam said to Fred warmly. Hiro and the others looked to her with raised eyebrows.

Fred introduced Sam, Clover, and Alex to his butler Heathcliff, who silently greeted everyone at the front door. The balding middle-aged man had a trimmed mustache and wore his usual suit and tie. He stood stiffly in respect until everyone entered, then closed the door.

Hiro and his friends excused themselves to change, while the visitors waited in Fred's lavishly decorated shrine to superheroes, science fiction, and fantasy. Sam and Clover sat on the long cozy couch and watched Alex, who flitted about in a state of joy.

"Guys, look at this!" she gushed, and pointed to figurines in a glass case. When neither budged, Alex gave a small frown and gestured to some nearby paintings. "Oh come on. This is so cool!" she implored.

"Ah, a woman of excellent taste," Fred said grandly from within his monster suit as he and his friends entered the room.

Sam stood and looked from Big Hero 6 to Alex. "Yeah, but I told you we could've gone on ahead, Alex," she chided her contrite friend.

"And come here after the mission," Clover said emphatically with a gesture to their surroundings.

Alex looked a bit guilty, then studied them with suspicion. "I wonder if we would've," she countered, "and visiting here was good for morale." Sam and Clover smirked at her. "And...splitting up is dangerous. What if were were caught and brainwashed to fight each other?" Alex asked.

Sam opened her mouth, then closed it and looked to Clover, who casually shrugged.

"Ooh, she's good," Wasabi noted with a smile. Honey Lemon nodded in agreement.

Fred gestured to the wooden glass-paned door which led to the backyard for a private takeoff zone. Heathcliff dutifully held the door for them as they approached and exited into the yard.

"Actually, our group's so big, we should split up. We can stop by Siu's home address. Then we'll meet you at CuraTech once we're done. If that works," Sam said to Hiro.

"Yeah, we'll wait for a bit. Check in if there's trouble or when you're done," Hiro replied with a concerned look as he stood on the grass of the exquisitely landscaped yard.

"See ya, Heathcliff," Fred called out, followed by farewells from the others. The butler nodded in reply, and watched Hiro and his friends board Baymax, who blasted off. They were followed by the trio of spies who rocketed skyward via their jet packs. Heathcliff blinked, returned inside, and closed the door, hopeful of young Master Fred and his friends on their latest adventure.

A/N: What did you think? Please vote and comment if you enjoyed!

Thanks very much for reading.