Alternative Care

Chapter 13

Police officers entered the lab to assess the situation, relieved that the ladies of the city's superhero team had helped trap the four armored warriors. Honey Lemon looked to the officer nearest to her and gestured with resignation.

"Thanks for coming, but we all need to get outside," she explained. "They're being controlled. I think bullets will ricochet off their armor. And I've used up almost all my chemical balls to hold them."

The veteran policeman gazed at the violent movement of the warriors in their steel armor, thought for a moment, then gestured to the other police. "Let's make our stand behind our cars where we can at least take cover. We can't let them hurt any bystanders, but I don't want anyone dying in here," he said.

Honey Lemon nodded, then tossed the last freeze ball at the armored man who seemed closest to escape. He rained blows on the ice with a focused ferocity. The police left with Honey Lemon right after them, followed by Go Go, who kept an eye on their potential pursuers. Everyone reached the lobby, then exited the building quickly. The sounds of the armored warriors' rapid heavy footsteps rang out.

Officers, followed by the heroine duo, raced to take cover behind police cars. Go Go held two disks, ready to toss them, when all four warriors smashed open the front doors and flew towards them.

And miraculously, they halted their attack.

Their armor then vanished, head to toe, and the four weary CuraTech workers looked on in shock at the situation; they seemingly were about to fight the police and two of Big Hero 6.

"They did it!" Honey Lemon cheered.

Police smiled at the charismatic heroine's cry and moved in with emergency medical technicians to check on the four men. Go Go breathed a sigh of relief and stashed her disks. Honey Lemon gave Go Go a big hug, and the speedster smiled and patted her back in return. The taller girl ended the hug and looked at her friend.

"That means Fred should be okay too," she said hopefully. Go Go raised her brows and smirked at her friend knowingly.

"That guy? Count on it," she said.

***

Stress was a part of life for Wasabi, but this was a whole new level. The taffy ball had worked well at first, but Fred's fire blast softened it up quickly. Once he got a clawed hand free and tore into it, he was nearly free. And Wasabi couldn't think of a plan.

What orders was he given? Run amok? That's pretty vague. How can I stop him without slicing him with a blade? How can I protect any bystanders?

Wasabi looked intently around the small office parking lot for anything useful to slow down or stop Fred for when he broke free.

Nada. I need a utility belt with cool stuff like Hiro.

Fred finally broke loose and prepared to bounce off again. Wasabi watched carefully, ignited his plasma blades, and waved them broadly with the hope of getting his attention. While Fred's altered mind considered an attack, Wasabi had already darted behind him.

He stayed clear of Fred's spiked tail which swung menacingly. Suddenly, Fred leaped and shot a flame burst down from midair. Wasabi was able to dodge most of it, and his armor was able to protect him from the rest.

"Gah! C'mon Fred!" Wasabi implored.

He watched Fred, but caught movement in his peripheral vision of a car that moved down the street towards them. Keeping innocents from harm was top priority now. Fred landed and swiped a claw at his friend, which just missed, thanks to Wasabi's timely dodge. Fred then swiftly surged forward towards him and the small white car which drew closer.

But before Fred could strike with both claws, he froze in mid-swing and lowered his limbs.

"Wasabi? What's going on?" Fred asked in a daze, "where are we?"

"Fred? You're back!" he cried in relief. He extinguished his blades and slumped in relief. "You remember the CuraTech lab?" he asked. The car passed by them, the driver a bit confused at the two heroes who stood and chatted.

"Um, yeah," Fred replied. He would've nodded, but was unable to visibly do so since his monster suit's head was essentially one with its body.

"Well you got mind-controlled and went nuts!" Wasabi said excitedly with exaggerated gestures. "Thankfully, no one got hurt."

Fred processed this for a moment. "Aw man. Classic villain technique," he said in disappointment. "So I guess someone managed to stop it."

Wasabi smiled and patted Fred's back. "Yeah. Too bad we might miss the finale. I was keeping an eye on you," he said in resignation and looked into the distance. He activated his com link. "Hiro? Fred's 'normal' again and we could use a ride."

A/N: I enjoyed writing this, and hope you like how it turned out. 

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