Outcomes
Tadashi grunted as he was slammed into the side of a building, Honey’s cushion barely absorbing any of the impact, and quickly activated his rockets to catch Hiro before his brother could crash into a car.
“What’s the plan Hiro?” He asked as Hiro attached himself to his back.
“Fred’s been taken out and Honey is still routing the civilians. Me, Gogo and Wasabi were holding him off but…”
Tadashi got the idea as Wasabi was sent flying with Gogo following close behind him.
“New approach?”
“We need to get that mask, that’s the key.” Hiro mumbled as Tadashi took off into the sky to avoid a hit, “Honey, are the civilians clear?”
“All clear.” Honey chimed in, “Last of them crossing city limits now.”
“And Fred?” Tadashi asked, firing off one of his rocket fists.
“He’s out for the count. Nothing serious but he won’t be up for a while.”
“Then we need you here. I have a plan.” Hiro added in as Tadashi performed a quick barrel roll to catch the returning fist.
“I hope it’s a good one.” Virginia’s voice cut in as a car soared through the air towards them.
“Pulse!” Tadashi barked and Hiro’s magnetic pulse barely deflected the incoming vehicle in time.
“Honey, Gogo, Wasabi, take the armor.” Hiro triple encrypted the comm channel quickly as Tadashi regained his balance, “Try and break line of sight. Me and Tadashi ae going for the mask.”
With a unified affirmative, the two teams split into action.
Wasabi quickly pulled up a map of the section ofthe city they were in and marked a back alley, “Gogo, can you get it here? If we set an ambush we should be able to distract it long enough.”
“Got it.” Gogo nodded, marking it on her HUD, “Just make sure you have something to keep it down for the count.”
“I might have something.” Honey nodded, the look on her face implying that she was doing quick, complex calculations.
“Then let’s go. Good luck.” Wasabi nodded to Gogo before they set off to enact their plan.
Hiro ran the calculations as Tadashi dived towards where Virginia was standing amidst all the chaos. It was a risky plan, but if the others could keep the armor busy they might have a chance to get the mask.
Virginia didn’t wait to talk, tossing a huge chunk of rubble at them as soon as they landed. The brothers split and Virginia targeted Hiro first, launching a series of blows that Hiro only managed to block half of. Tadashi was there a heartbeat later, breaking the barrage up with a kick of his own. Hiro took that moment to roll under his brother and snatch at the mask. Virginia caught the kick with one hand and countered Hiro’s grab with another throw. Twisting in midair, Hiro managed to land on his feet with a grunt as Tadashi launched another series of attacks, using the micro-thrusters in his suit to speed up his attacks. Hiro saw his opportunity as Virginia caught one of Tadashi’s attacks and leapt forward.
“I’m coming in hot!”
Gogo’s voice was a welcome sound as Wasabi and Honey waited in cover, the time it had taken the speedster to check in had worried them. The armor, even when Virginia was distracted, was deadly and could take them out if they weren’t careful.
Just like it had Fred.
Wasabi nodded to Honey as Gogo drew closer, his hands full of her containment solutions ready in his hands. Honey returned the nod and quickly tapped away on her bag, her fingers dancing with a strong sense of urgency.
As soon as Gogo zoomed by, and the terrifying whine of the Armor moving at high speeds filled his ears, Wasabi tossed all the solutions as fast as he could. His timing had to be perfect, too soon or too late and their plan would fail with fatal consequences.
Wasabi had never been so happy to see foam in his life as the armor was locked up. Experience told him it wouldn’t last long, the foam was already straining to contain it, but Honey’s timing was as impeccable as his as she launched the black sphere.
“Hit it now!” Honey shouted as a rust-red cloud enveloped the armor.
Gogo was faster than him, launching one of her disks at fatal speeds. There was a thunk as it embedded itself in the wall opposite her.
Than the helmet thudded onto the ground.
Wasabi whirled into action, grim determination etched into his face as he dismembered the suit limb by limb.
Virginia grabbed Hiro’s outstretched arm and slammed both boys into the ground in one fluid motion. A kick to the ribs sent Tadashi into a storefront as Virginia lifted Hiro into the air by the helmet. Their eyes met for a moment and Hiro made an attempt to free himself. It was all in vain as Hiro found himself colliding with his charging brother, unable to bite back the scream from the impact of the rocket propelled tackle.
Virginia took advantage of Tadashi’s distraction, he was kneeling and attempting to comfort his brother, and slammed his knee into the boys head with enough force to crack the armored helmet. Hiro gasped as Tadashi crumpled to the ground, but Virginia had subdued him with a quick stop to the chest.
Then he stumbled, hands cradling his head as his nose started to bleed.
“Now!” Hiro rasped.
“Super-Kick!”
Virginia was unable to stop the kick to the face and the mask shattered as Fred flipped away and prepared for another kick.
“Simulation complete.”
Virginia strode forward, like nothing had happened, as the city around them disappeared in a wave of pixels, pulling Tadashi to his feet and checking the boy’s eyes.
“Go get cleaned up. You all did well.” Virginia let Tadashi, having not found any signs of a concussion.
The team gave a weak cheer and helped each other back to the locker room as Virginia gave the silent command for his armor to reassemble. It was regrettable, Virginia mused as he ordered his armor to the repair station, that he had to take the violent path to get them ready. He hadn’t decided to use it lightly, this method of training ran an 80% chance of irreparable psychological harm to all the trainees.
Virginia keyed the last command and watched the repair chamber seal itself, using the reflective surface to clean the dried blood from his face.
It was better than the 100% chance that they would die if they faced Yokai unprepared.
Tadashi bit back a wince as he pulled the helmet from his head, he had saved it for last on purpose, and inspected the spiderweb of cracks branching their way across the red metal and onto the visor. If he had been hit harder, or if it had been the prototype suits, he might not have been able to walk away from a hit like that.
He really needed to thank Virginia for that.
“Here,” Honey offered him an ice pack that Tadashi took with a muttered thanks, “You might not have a concussion but you need to keep that swelling down.”
“I’d need a tub of ice of that,” Tadashi hissed as he pressed the pack to his face, “I feel like a giant bruise.”
“I’m sure Virginia could arrange that if you asked.” Honey joked as she readjusted her bag, “I feel like I could sleep for a week.”
“Sleep is for the weak.” Tomogo added in as she walked by, “Pizza is better. You want in?”
“I could go for some. Tadashi?”
“Yeah, we could.” Nobody mentioned how he answered for both himself and Hiro, “Pizza sounds amazing.”
“Pizza? Awesome! I know the perfect place.” Fred added as he made his way in.
“Who invited you?” Tomogo said, her smirk being the only indication she was joking.
“You wound me Gogo. Right in the heart. Wasabi, you’ll eat pizza with me right?” Fred leaned dramatically against the taller boy, who shoved him away.
“I’ll eat with you the day you learn what napkins are. And how to chew with your mouth closed.” Wasabi shuddered a moment, “But I could definitely go for some pizza.”
“Perfect circle, even number of slices.” Tadashi added as he stored he helmet and pulled out his hat, “Wasabi, I’m amazed you eat any other food.”
“It’s the toppings.” Wasabi muttered, “They’re never even.”
Tadashi smiled at the banter, he had missed it in recent weeks, but it faded slightly when he realized that his brother was missing. Excusing himself from the conversation, they were debating the ‘perfect pizza’, Tadashi quickly homed in on his brother’s hiding spot.
The younger brother was sprawled out on one of the benches behind the armor racks, hood pulled over his head.
“Hey,” Tadashi sat next to his brother on the bench, “we’re going to go get pizza.”
Hiro shook his head.
“I know.” Tadashi felt the same way, “But they’re our friends and we owe them this much. Ya know, hanging out with them without being in mortal peril.”
“Ice cream.” Hiro mumbled as he sat up.
“We can definitely do that.” Tadashi smiled as he fixed his brother’s shirt, couldn’t leave his pull-up poking out for every genius in the room to see.
“Hurry up or we’re leaving you.”
Tadashi clamped down on the attack instinct as Tomago surprised them, his hand on Hiro’s waist being the only thing stopping the smaller boy. She had a smirk on her face but he didn’t miss the small disks she slipped back into her coat pocket.
“Yeah, we’re coming.” Tadashi pulled Hiro up and kept a tight hold on his hand, “I hope you’re not driving Tomago, I’d like to make it there in one piece.”
“Wimp.” She shot back as she turned.
“Ice cream.” Hiro insisted.
“Yeah, we won’t forget.” Tadashi reassured his brother, “Pizza and ice cream.”
Virginia was restless in a way he hadn’t been in a very long time. He now had a team, one he was mentoring, and it was going against every instinct to let them be out and about without going with them or shadowing them because there was an active villain after them. There was also the fact two members were suffering trauma and the other four were at risk for aftereffects of his training.
On the other hand, Virginia thought as he keyed a few commands on a keypad, he knew that space was critical to them at this point in time. How they settled after training, weather they were truly stronger for it or cracked under the strain, was important.
Several sheets of metal, varying in size, came flying at Virginia from multiple angles and he knocked them aside or dodged with ease.
That’s why he had settled for bugging them. Any radical changes in their vitals would trigger an alarm and he would respond.
The sound of rending metal filled the air of the empty base as Virginia continued his training, upping the speed to near-maximum.
They would be okay, he would be sure of it.
“I thought you lived under a bridge.”
Tadashi nearly choked on his ice cream as Tomago spoke up. Sure, the large mansion hadn’t been what he had expected when Fred said they were going to eat the pizza at his place but he didn’t say it.
He quickly pulled his cone out of Hiro’s reach as the smaller boy tried to take it. His brother was exhausted and hungry, which meant if he had to keep walking he would go from adorable Mogwai to evil Gremlin.
Tadashi was not in the mood for that, nor was he in the mood to share his ice cream. It was his and it was Hiro’s fault he ate it so fast. With that in mind, he snagged his brother’s hand and followed his teammates into Fred’s mansion. He nodded politely at the butler, nudging Hiro to do the same, before starting to follow the group through the halls.
Hiro was giggling at Fred’s narrations of the various portraits when Tadashi heard a polite cough as the butler fell slightly in step with him.
“In the event either you or your brother require the bathroom, I highly recommend using the one four doors to the right of master Fred’s room.”
Tadashi blinked, a half formed question ready to fall out of his mouth, but the butler had already made his way to opening the door to Fred’s room and ushering them inside.
“Whoa.” Tadashi gasped.
“Awesome.” Hiro stole Tadashi’s ice cream before it fell.
Tadashi had expected some superhero stuff in Fred’s room, it was a given, but there was just so much. The comics were organized on the shelves, there were replica costumes in display cases, and a giant TV dominated a large part of the wall.
“So, what do we watch first?” Fred’s grin was huge as he gestured to a set of shelves stacked with DVD’s.
Cass was closing down the shop, it was poetry night so she had been open later than usual, when the door chimed. She really should learn to lock the door first before closing down, she thought with a sigh, this happened far too many times for her liking.
“How can I help you? Sorry, I was closing up so there’s not much left.”
“I was actually hoping that you could recommend some movies to watch.” A very familiar voice responded.
Cass nearly dropped the pot as she turned around to look at the speaker, “Virginia? Why are you here? And asking about movies?”
Virginia’s head tilted for a second, a sign she had come to learned he was strongly considering his next answer, before he responded.
“There is no crime happening tonight. It makes patrolling boring and unnecessary.”
“Hiro and Tadashi?” She pushed. Sure they had called her but their story might be different from what Virginia could tell her.
“With their friends.”
The twitch of the hand told her all she needed to know: he was giving them space and having a hard time doing it.
“Are they safe?” That was her only concern, well her only important one with the boys right now.
“Safe, yes.” A small smirk tugged at the corners of his mouth, “Dry, probably not.”
“Both of them? That’d be something new.” She chuckled as she moved around him to lock the door, “But I have more than my fair share of movies, have you ever seen Tremors?”
“I…haven’t watched a lot of movies.”
“What do you know about monster prehistoric worms?” The grin was working its way across her face, she needed a new movie buddy.
“You need explosive ordinance to take them out.” Virginia stated seriously before adding, “Or a really sharp machete depending on the size.”
“Then you’re really going to like Burt. Come on, I’ll make some popcorn and we’ll relax.” When he hesitated to follow her up the stairs she added, “The boys will call one of us if they need us.”
“Alright.” He agreed slowly, “But shouldn’t you finish closing up?”
“Oh. Yeah.” She groaned, just as she had gotten excited about movies.
“I will help.” Suddenly he was behind her, holding the broom gingerly, “Sweeping is something I can do.”
It was inevitable that, Tadashi realized in hindsight, Hiro was going to fall asleep. The boy had eaten half a pizza, voted on a comedy, claimed a spot on the floor next to Tadashi, and was asleep ten minutes into the movie. The other’s had made a few comments about how cute he was, and Honey had taken a picture, but Tadashi had managed to get a blanket on him before the thumb made its way into his mouth.
When the movie was finished, Tadashi carefully sidestepped the debate for the next movie and stepped over his brother. He had to go potty and if he didn’t go now….well, he didn’t want to think about that right now. With that in mind, he carefully counted the doors and slipped into the bathroom the butler had mentioned.
When he flicked the light on, his went red. It was clearly a child’s bathroom, Fred’s from ages ago if the superhero motif was anything to go by. Step-stools, potty seats, a cabinet with pull-ups stacked on top of them. The room was clean but clearly hadn’t seen use in a number of years.
Tadashi hesitated, eyeing the toilet and the attached potty seat. He could probably make it to the bathroom Fred had mentioned if he ran. He didn’t want to use this toilet, not really. It would have been perfect for Hiro though, most toilets were a bit too big for him and he always ran the risk of falling in.
It was in that moment his bladder twitched, causing his hands to fly to his crotch as some pee spurted out. Almost as if it was telling him no, he couldn’t make it to another bathroom when there was a perfectly good one in front of him.
Tadashi decided, as he sat on the seat peeing, Hiro would never find out about this. And that one of these seats might find their way into the brothers’ bathroom.
For Hiro. So he wouldn’t fall in.
Then he eyed the pull-ups stacked neatly on the stand. He didn’t need one, he didn’t pee himself. But he was sleeping here, and he didn’t know he wouldn’t have an accident when he was asleep. And maybe, just maybe, he was the tiniest bit possibly curious.
Besides, nobody would know.
“Ass blasters is a completely ridiculous name.” Virginia stated as he kept his eyes on the screen, “And you would think they would be prepared with more than those trivial defense measures.”
Virginia fought back the small grin as Cass threw popcorn at him, he understood enough that he wasn’t constantly questioning the movie but he also knew that she enjoyed the banter. Well, he hoped so, she was only throwing popcorn and not the remote.
The two fell back into their comfortable silence, broken up by the crunching of popcorn, and Virginia found himself enjoying it far more than he had thought he would. Cass Hamada was good company.
Then their phones went off simultaneously and they both scrambled for them, hoping it wasn’t an emergency. Especially considering it was coming from Tadashi’s phone.
Virginia opened the message and snorted to himself as Cass cooed over the picture. It had clearly been taken by Honey, Virginia could pick out the others in the background. Hiro and Tadashi were curled up together on the floor, Hiro’s thumb in his mouth and Tadashi chewing on his shirt.
Taking a closer, Virginia chuckled before zooming in and showing Cass.
“I told you so.”
Looking close enough, Tadashi’s shirt rode up just the slightest and the blanket wasn’t quite fully covering him and the blue of a pull-up was poking out above his waistband. Internally Virginia sighed in relief; everyone was safe and stable.
20% chance of success indeed.