Alternative Care

Chapter 10

"Wasabi, can you cut a hole for an exit?" Hiro said quietly after he forced his gaze from Fred.

"On it," he replied, jogged off to the shutter, and ignited a plasma blade. He sliced a large opening with focused precision.

Hiro's belt pouch emitted a low vibration, and he quickly opened it, withdrew his phone and answered. "Hey, where are you guys?" he answered.

***

"We were at CuraTech and noticed someone take off in a hurry," Clover replied loudly over the sound of rushing wind. She, Sam, and Alex flew at a fairly high altitude, away from CuraTech. "We're following by jet packs and he hasn't spotted us."

"Good, thanks." Hiro replied. "Fred... got hurt and Baymax is checking him out," he finished glumly. Basically, things are getting out of hand.

"Oh!" Clover said in concern with a sympathetic tone.

"But listen: this Dan Siu guy has CuraTech robots getting shipped who knows where," Hiro rattled excitedly. "To brainwash and turn people into armored cyber-warriors!"

The line was silent for a moment except for the rush of wind. "Whoa. I'm passing that info onto WOOHP," Sam replied over her own X-Powder. "They should get agents from here to stop CuraTech packages from getting shipped anywhere," she replied.

"Wow. Okay," Hiro said, a bit overwhelmed by being allied with people who had access to an organization of incredible resources. "We'll join you ASAP. Let's check in soon."

"Alright, bye," Clover replied. Sam made a sound of agreement, and everyone hung up.

"Wonder if we could get a tracker on the car in case we lose him," Alex said to the others loudly over the ever-present rush of air. Clover put away her X-Powder carefully and pulled out her tracking device launcher to aim at the compact black car below.

"Good idea, but we're too far away," Clover replied tersely. "I don't want to move in closer or we might get spotted."

Alex and Sam both gave a slight nod of agreement. Sam then made an X-Powder call, and focused on passing on all the info she'd received to WOOHP. Soon after she ended the call, the vehicle pulled into a nice residential area that looked familiar. It stopped on the curb before a mansion.

"Fred's home?!" Alex said to an equally surprised Sam and Clover." How does he know this place?"

Sam and Clover glanced at her in concern, then the trio focused on a suitable landing spot for hidden surveillance. Wary of being spotted in the car's rear view mirrors, they only dropped in altitude when they reached the opposite side of the peaked red roof of the mansion. They landed on the bottom edge of the roof near one of the many dormers where they could hold on for support.

Clover put in her M-Ray contacts which allowed her to see through the roof and down to the parked car on the other side. Dave was in the driver's seat on a call. Clover took the opportunity to bring her X-Powder out again and made her own call, frowning a bit in thought. They'd need to pass on word of this and be ready to act on a moment's notice. Clover's call ended, and Sam pulled out a hairpin.

"Hairpins everyone," she said. Clover and Alex quickly took their Anti-Mind Control Hairpins out, and they all put them in place. These gadgets were invaluable in the past, and as long as they weren't removed by the enemy, could be of use once again.

***

Back at the CuraTech Lab, Hiro and Wasabi were crouched down to help Baymax remove Fred's suit so he could examine him. The struggling armored CuraTech workers were a concern. Honey eyed them warily and heard sirens in the distance. Go Go darted to each man where he was stuck, ready to alert Honey Lemon if any of them looked as if they might escape. We've got to get them back to normal before they bust loose, she thought tersely.

"Aaa!" Hiro and Wasabi cried in unison as Fred sprang up to his feet without warning. He swiped a clawed hand at them, which they managed to dodge by stepping back. Baymax moved in to protect them.

"Hiro, I believe Fred is being controlled via a chip, similar to those implanted in the CuraTech workers," Baymax said.

"Yeah," Hiro replied, and thought quickly of how to deal with this information.

Fred's suit, with its mouth opening, was the only one with such a weakness. Everyone else was covered head to toe. Instead of forming armor around Fred, it just enacted the mind control.

So targeting him was no accident, Hiro thought.

Fred quickly took up a familiar stance, and Hiro's thoughts snapped back to the battle. A stream of fire shot out from Fred's Kaiju suit toward Wasabi and he, and they prepared to dodge. The massive Baymax, thankfully, moved into position to shield them both with his fireproof armor.

"Guys. Sorry-- not in-- control," Fred managed to spit out in distress. He turned suddenly and bounded across the room, out the opening cut through the shutter over the exit.

"Let's go, Baymax," Hiro said, hopped onto the robot's back and connected to him. Wasabi stepped over to allow Baymax to carry him. Honey Lemon looked from the struggling workers to Hiro in distress.

"I'll stay here in case they get loose," she said, "and free them if they go back to normal." She detached a magenta ball from her purse strap and handed it to Hiro. "Bring him back safely,"she said.

Hiro nodded at her and put the ball in a belt pouch. Go Go glided over to them. "I'll stay with you," she said to Honey Lemon.

"Alright, go!" Hiro said to Baymax, and they, with Wasabi flew to the exit.

Hiro and Wasabi hopped off so they could fit through safely. They'd re-board Baymax and fly once outside the building. Distant sirens filled the air, and Go Go and Honey Lemon turned their attention back to the mind-controlled workers. One started to finally tear free of his constraints, and Honey held a magenta ball aloft to re-stick him before they or the police who were on their way could be attacked.

A/N: Did you enjoy this chapter?  I hope so!

Your vote and comment matter to me, so feel free. Thanks very much for reading.