The Rubber Band Theory

Chapter 11: High Hopes

     "Come on, Hiro. You don't want to be late!" Tadashi called from the bottom of the bedroom stairs.

     "Coming, coming!" Hiro thundered down the steps, backpack in hand. He'd traded his normal jacket for an SFIT hoodie for the day, citing it as a special occasion.

     It was the start of a new term. Hiro's first day of Nerd School. With everything that had been going on, they'd almost forgotten.

     Tadashi grinned at him. "Ready, little brother?"

"Born  ready." Hiro jumped up and swiped Tadashi's cap from his head, stuffing it on his own and charging towards the Cafe.

     "Hey!" Tadashi caught him at the bottom of the stairs, reclaiming his hat and attempting to create a lightning storm in Hiro's hair. Hiro was still trying to calm it down as they walked through the door.

     "A massive cleanup continues today at the headquarters of Krei Tech Industries. Reports are still flooding in about a group of unidentified individuals, who prevented what could have been a major catastrophe. The whole city of San Fransokyo is asking, 'Who are these heroes? And where are they now?'"

     The brothers grinned up at the café television. It'd been almost a week and a half since the 'Krei Tech Incident' and the 'heroes' in question had decided to lay low and rest on their laurels. The scrolling news reel at the bottom read: 'WORLD RENOWNED ROBOTICIST DR. ROBERT CALLAGHAN IN CUSTODY FOR INVOLVEMENT IN KREI TECH INCIDENT.'

     Wasabi spotted them first, rising from his chair. Honey Lemon, Fred, and Go Go were quick to follow. "Hey, little man. Ready for this?"

     Hiro scoffed. "Please. I was born  for this."

     "Definitely nervous," Go Go said with a grin.

     Honey Lemon cooed, "Oh, Hiro. You're gonna do amazing!"

     "You're a secret superhero. This is nothing to worry about!" Fred said cheerfully. Tadashi bopped him on the back of the head.

     "Try saying that louder, Fred. I don't think the whole café heard you," he teased.

     They started making their way out of the café when Aunt Cass came up from behind them. "Hey, sweetie!" Cass handed a large paper bag to Hiro.

     Tadashi gasped. "Aunt Cass, I'm hurt. You made Hiro a home lunch and not me?"

     Hiro gave Tadashi a smug grin from inside Aunt Cass' hug and she just laughed, pulling away to hug Tadashi. "There's enough in there for you both," she chided.

     They pulled away and moved to leave before Hiro suddenly changed direction, almost tackling both his brother and  his aunt. "Last hug!" He let them go, running for the door cheerfully. "Bye!"

     Tadashi gave Aunt Cass a last hug of his own before following suit.

     They all chattered happily as they walked together. While they'd all been great friends before, they were now something stronger. They were comrades now, bonds battle-tested in both metaphorical and physical fire. They were united by common cause and common secrets. And things were looking up.

     Tadashi offered to share his lab with Hiro. They'd already been sharing anyway, Tadashi reasoned, so why not make it official? As a quiet little reminder of what they'd accomplished, They framed a few small pieces of Yokai's mask and hung it on the wall. They were careful to choose pieces that weren't easily identifiable, but they  knew.

     Hiro had stopped wearing his microbot after their dip in the bay, not wanting to feel it thrash every time Callaghan decided to call on his stolen bots. Now that the transmitter was destroyed and Callaghan was taken care of, Hiro had started wearing it again. Tadashi and Hiro joked sarcastically about taking souvenirs from every major superhero happening from then on out.

     Hiro fixed up their suits in his free time. While saving the day had been a one-time thing, it just didn't feel right to him to leave them as they were. He did  make a few small changes to their visors though. He swapped out the glass with colored duplicates. Tadashi had mentioned that the clear glass didn't do much for anonymity and Hiro agreed. He added a button that could make the glass opaque and one-way if necessary. No one could see in, but they could see out.

     Wasabi and Go Go asked why he bothered since they weren't planning on using them again. Hiro said that while they didn't plan  on using them, that there may come a time when they were needed. Better be safe than sorry, Tadashi had agreed. Better to have them ready and not use them than to need them and not have them.

     Suits or no suits, the Nerd Crew was looking towards the future with high hopes.