san_fransokyo | I've got a dark alley and a bad idea

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out of context fall out boy

I've got a dark alley and a bad idea

[Hiro's really, actually sneaking into a bar called the Mean-Eyed Cat. The irony doesn't escape him.

He could be at home, at The Lucky Cat, but no. Mean-Eyed Cat it is.

That he even manages to sneak in behind a couple of conversationalists in ill-fitting suits is dumb luck; it's freezing out (it's snowing, it hasn't snowed in years), business is slow, whatever bouncer should be watching the door is hanging out at the counter instead where he doesn't have to deal with the drafts from the door. That he makes it to the other opposite end of the taproom and into the back hall before the bartender manages to mutter a hey wait is because he's small and knows how to duck behind obstacles and look inconspicuous.

Nobody comes after him, so that's a plus. He pauses at a corridor corner to get a good look around and listen to the noise, see if he can get some kind of direction.

He has a small port of Baymax's scanner, but it doesn't have the power to give him more than a general location. From there it was always going to take his own resourcefulness to find the guy. But he's definitely in this building - Hiro asked around, got some incredulous talk about the old-timer, yōkai, guy with the metal creepies, doesn't talk much, at that one bar down the street - stuff like that.

There's a couple of empty rooms - couches and televisions and darts, chipped paint and cracked baseboards, low hanging ceiling bulbs and so much dust and secondhand smoke he fights off a coughing fit - and then there's one with voices, near the back. He peers through the cracked door and finds who he's looking for, skulking on a couch in the back. Between the two of them, though, there's a couple of thugs playing pool and talking shit at each other.

Okay. He was sort of hoping Callaghan would be alone.

He tightens his grip on the folded duster tucked under his arm and stuffs the other in his pocket, fingers tightening around the solid metal object inside. And then he shoulders his way through the door.]

Hey. Delivery for the guy with the metal creepies.

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[Hiro lets go a sigh of relief once the microbots release him, the subtle undercurrent of anxiety that's been chasing him since they grabbed him finally easing. God, but he hates those things. He hates that he hates them. He made them, intended them to do good things, and now they scare the shit out of him.

But there's another problem robot on their heels, and they shouldn't stick around to see if it'll find another way or plow through two buildings to get at them. Hiro said he'd help, so he will. Though he can't help remarking as he slips past Callaghan -]

Life's not fair, boo hoo. Now c'mon. Hope you're not afraid of the dark.

[He shouldn't prod, maybe. Shouldn't give him any reason to leave now, because who knows where he'll go or what'll happen to him. But there's only two ways out, he has to go through Hiro or that thing, and Callaghan doesn't have enough microbots to make himself a third - speaking of which -

Hiro stops at the other end of the alley, peering both ways down the street to make sure it (not he, not Baymax) hasn't found them.]

Where's the rest of the microbots? You had way more than that. I know that thing's kinda huge and terrifying, but you could've taken it easy with more microbots.

[He doesn't mean it as a compliment, exactly. Just that he knows what Callaghan's capable of - what the microbots are capable of - and it seems suspicious he has so few of them with him.]

[EYEROLL. god damn, Hiro, worst student. he doesn't even care about the sigh of relief, because /good/ that he's uncomfortable around the microbots, nevermind they're his original invention...

...he looks upwards, towards the rooftops, frowning a bit. was this Hiro's master plan? hide in an alley? Callaghan rests a gloved hand on the wall, judging the distance to the nearest fire escape.]

Baymax's strength is enough to punch through them. He's too heavy to throw unless I have the entire mass with me, and I thought it'd be prudent to leave most behind during the meeting. I hadn't...considered...it being interrupted so quickly.

[his mistake. he doesn't sound contrite, not by any means, but as though he's berating himself for not allowing for that. nothing else has gone to plan, as of late...]

They home in on me when I need them. I figure they're still about...[he considers that as well]...two minutes away, if they're using the rooftop routes I've gone over with them.

[which they should. he doesn't want them going through traffic unless he's there to direct them, he doesn't want them causing more of a scene then they already do, he doesn't want them being used to track him...]

Was this your plan? Hide in a dark alley? He'll smash right through the buildings.

No, that's not the plan.

[Hiro exhales harshly through his nose. Two minutes is a long time to have to stall with something that can exert two tons of force at any given time on their tail; on the other hand, he's not looking forward to trapping himself in a cramped, dark space with somebody who doesn't like him and, in two minutes, could have hundreds and thousands more microbots at his disposal, provided they find a way in through a grate or something.

He could die down there and nobody would find his body. It'd be easy.

But he could've died twenty minutes ago, too, or a few weeks ago at the pier, or a few months ago in that portal, and he hasn't yet, and today's a day for bad decisions. So.]

That - [Hiro points out a manhole cover at the end of the street, near the corner -] is the plan. Sixteen feet of concrete and earth, blocks fists and scanners alike.

[he'd very much like to hear the plan, because he hates this feeling of being trapped, of just waiting for Baymax to catch up and plow through- and then he's following the point, furrowing his brow as it clicks.

for a few seconds, it's all he can do to stare before admitting, only so reluctantly-]

...good plan.

[to the point where he's kicking himself for not thinking of it sooner. there may or may not have been a motion of microbots somewhat reminiscent of a facepalm, insomuch a flatter grouping colliding with a rounder grouping. but then they're moving for the manhole cover, Callaghan not far behind them, sliding it aside]

Why thanks, I came up with it myself.

[Hiro chimes in and he is smug as hell. He'll hold this one over your head forever, Doc. Manhole cover dragged aside, Hiro goes down first, just to prove there's not water or say....dozens and dozens of snakes at the bottom. There aren't. But there are spiders.

He stands in the narrow shaft of light at the bottom and waves his phone to prove he's on the ground and fine.]

You're welcome, by the way. Watch out for spiders. And don't bother trying to seal me in and run, because I can still find my way out, thanks.

[push your luck, why don't you, Hiro? but after watching him land, it's only a moment of looking behind him before the light falters, the microbots move over- and then lower him down as though via a rope. it's relatively graceful, with Callaghan setting down on his good leg, first, before the microbots are able to pull back and then give him the support to the other.]

You've got me good and reliant on you. If I was any more paranoid, I might accuse you of orchestrating this whole thing.

[it's not - quite - an accusation. but it doesn't sound purely hypothetical. there's a subtle rattling of the microbots, amplified in the small space, that seems akin to a rattlesnake offering a warning.

if the mood struck him to seal Hiro in - he'd find a much better place to do so.]

If I'd orchestrated this, I would've thought to bring a flashlight with me. I wasn't planning for this.

[He grumbles that as he messes with his phone to try and max out the brightness, hopefully to provide enough light to at least navigate by; it's not much, faint and blueish, but at the very least he can see the ground in front of his feet. The extensive graffiti on the walls indicates this is a well-used tunnel, even if Hiro wasn't already familiar with it.]

Bot fighter's best kept secret. Formerly used for sewage and maintenance, now commonly used for outrunning cops and sometimes hosting matches. And now I guess you can add "hiding from violent robots" to that list.

[He has the exact number of steps memorized to get them to a particular point in the tunnels; after that, his knowledge is a little fuzzy. Hopefully he doesn't run them into a gas pocket or a cave-in and get them both killed.]

But seriously. Has it looked like that since it started chasing you? Because it looks like Baymax's carbon fiber skeleton, but last time I checked, which was oh, this morning, the Baymax at home still had vinyl on him and not concrete jammies. So either it's a really good knockoff or -

[But it's impossible. But then Callaghan surviving the fire was impossible, Abigail living inside that portal was impossible, the microbots functioning without a transmitter was impossible, Tadashi showing up from the dead months after the fact was impossible -]

- Or, impossible stuff's happening again.

Your plans tend to start bare and only get fleshed out as time goes on. [in other words, you end up flying by the seat of your pants. but he's grateful enough at the knowledge that Baymax will find it a lot harder to smash through all the concrete than he will a building, and doesn't keep pushing.

for the moment.

he moves slowly, even with the bracing of the microbots. this is...hardly the most welcoming of places. he's glad he hasn't a fear of enclosed spaces, or spiders...

...but wouldn't this be the best time for an earthquake. he grimaces, and focuses on the question, deeming it simple enough to answer. he sounds a bit...tired, but that could be attributed to the adrenaline surge beginning to wear off]

Yes, it has. I don't exactly have a scanner of my own, but I watched your brother build the thing- I know its' framework. Same motion pattern, same innate dynamic. It's not taking the care it's supposed to, but that could be attributed to whatever program it's running- or not.

[a beat. and then, quietly;]

You're still thinking Krei?

[When Hiro had yelled for Baymax to stop, he had paused for a brief second, comparing that instruction to his previous one. There was a discrepancy between the two, his first command was to destroy, the new one was to stop, they were completely incompatible with each other. After a moment, Baymax decided to continue on with the original order, he was programmed to fight, so destroying Callaghan was in line with his purpose.

He thundered on after the pair, as they darted off on their microbot-aided escape, the distance between them widened until Callaghan was no longer within his scanner's range.

This isn't a problem, it's happened before. Baymax continues on towards where he had last saw his target, stomping right past the sewer entrance several minutes after the two had gone down the manhole.

Baymax will keep on going in that direction until he cannot go any further. Without his assignment in sight, he'll go back to combing the city block by block. It didn't matter how long it would take, he'll keep hunting until he successfully eliminates Callaghan.]

[Hiro doesn't say anything right away, still thinking about it. In the pause, the ring of light still coming through the manhole cover behind them goes dark, obstructed momentarily. He can feel the hair on the back of his neck prickle nervously; but then the light's back, and there's the slow and steady rumble of huge footsteps passing overhead at street level.

He lets out the breath he was holding only when it's gone.]

I don't know -

[He admits, at least, that Callaghan's rattled his certainty a little, frowning down at the ground while he's counting steps to a left turn. Thirty-five, thirty-six...]

- but the current Baymax isn't the one Tadashi built. Same materials, same programming, same design except I upgraded the batteries, but the original was lost inside the portal when - when we went in to rescue Abigail.

[That other awkward elephant in the room okay moving on -]

He took the healthcare chip out himself and sent it back with the pod, before I lost him. I didn't think about it at the time, because I didn't find the chip until weeks later, but now...

[the momentary plunge in to darkness stills Callaghan, as well. even the microbots freeze, and they remain that way for a long few seconds after the light returns. so far, so good...

...and hn. thinking back, he does remember Hiro coming out alone...he closes his eyes at the reminder, swallowing a lump in his throat. Abigail...]

...I had a chat with Alistair not long ago. He's probably stepped up his security since then, but I doubt it'd be difficult to pick him up, again, and find out what he knows. If anything.

[he pauses. and then...wryly-]

Depending on how manipulative you do feel, you could always 'save' him. I'm sure he'd be open to talking, then.

[Forty-three. There's the branch, curving diagonally away from the main tunnel. Some small amount of light from the entry bounces off the wall into the left turn but beyond that, it's well and truly dark. Hiro swallows hard, skirting around the remains of a dead rat to follow to take that path, palm flat against the wall to trace the curve of the passage. And he starts counting his steps again.]

N-no. I don't trust you anywhere near Krei. That's not even what I meant when I asked for your help -

[Hiro knows he's already toying with ethical lines in the sand - he should be calling the cops right now, should've called the cops half a dozen other times he's met with Callaghan before or given them access to Baymax's scanning technology. He'll do a lot of things, for his brother. But the way Callaghan just casually suggests kidnapping and extortion makes his conscience dig in its heels and say wait, what?

And it says it conveniently in Tadashi's voice.]

I'm not here to plot a high-profile crime. I just want information. Everything you know about Krei Tech and Silent Sparrow. That's all.

[at that? that makes Callaghan halt, and bark out a loud, bitter ha of a laugh. what else can he do? an hour ago he was still planning on killing the boy if he ever saw him again, now he's letting himself be led through not-quite-sewer tunnels while a murderous robot hunts for him above ground, and the local he gave himself a few hours ago is starting to wear off.

he may be trying to distract himself from the pain.]

Worried about your hands getting dirty, Hamada? You're already aiding and abetting a- what was it you said on the pier-, 'a criminal with unpredictable tech'. Which, mind, is the only reason I'm still alive, because I don't doubt a jail cell would have been easy for Baymax to smash in to.

[think about that for a moment, Hiro. because one way or another- he's still convinced you had a strong hand in it all.]

Then again, I suppose shattering those damned NDAs at this point won't dig me any deeper. I've nothing left to lose.

[In the dark of the tunnel, silhouetted against the faint light of his phone, Hiro winces. Right. There aren't really a lot of excuses he can make for himself, and if it got right down to it and it was between Tadashi's life and his own conscience, he'd probably do it.

And then Tadashi would be super mad at him, probably. He's giving Tadashi a lot of reasons to be mad at him, lately.]

I made a mistake, and I shouldn't have gone after you like that, but I'm not taking back what I said. You're dangerous, and those microbots are extra dangerous.

[A beat.]

But honestly? I dunno what to do about you.

[There's faint light ahead, now. He puts away the phone and walks without it, until the tunnel curves into a larger room, a four-way intersection curving down into a shallow basin of a floor with about four inches of standing water in the middle, glinting under light from an overhead grate. He pauses there, turns to face Callaghan with his hands in his pockets, frowning.]

I could turn you into the cops, but that'd just back you into a corner and they'd get hurt or killed trying to catch you, even if you didn't do it on purpose and it was just the microbots. So maybe it's safer for everybody if I just let you lay low, for now.

[He huffs.]

I don't have a better solution. Until I do, I'll help you fix the microbots, I'll help you stop that thing, but nobody else is digging graves because of you if I can help it.

[how nice to hear. doesn't change the fact that he did...

wait, what?

Callaghan seems a bit taken off-guard by the frank admission, watching Hiro turn towards back as a faint ripple goes through the microbots near him. and as Hiro continues to speak...

he's right. he's thought as much, as well, understanding that the more agitated he is, the more the microbots tend to act for him - there's a few exceptions, but in general, the more active his mind the more active are they. the more of a chance he has to think on a set of options, to remain calm...

the more control he tends to have.

there's another few moments of consideration; and then, he speaks, none of the previous snarl in his voice. he sounds...pensive, really, closing his eyes as he reaches down to rub at his leg.]

Back when...before you said that. Before things went the way they did. [he's not taking blame ~~yet~~ but he's not placing any more upon Hiro.] What, exactly, were you trying to do?

[Oh. Well that went over...better than expected. At least he's not getting yelled at any more, or otherwise lectured like he'd expect from a guy who used to be a professor. Both of Hiro's eyebrows shoot up, and he scans Callaghan's face uncertainly for a solid eight seconds.

If he's being asked questions, he's being trusted, implicitly, to give truthful answers, so that's a plus.]

...It was just a basic, second signal that was meant to override whatever commands they were already picking up from you. I thought it'd be a way to get them under control. I didn't - it wasn't supposed to affect you. That's supposed to be a one-way connection.

[He scuffs his feet and skirts the edge of the room, peering down tunnels, because from here? He honestly doesn't know which way to go. And then he glances back over his shoulder at Callaghan. Dude looks rough.]

Maybe you should sit down and rest for a second.

[Callaghan looks tired.

he looks tired and worn and old, and at least for the moment, may not seem to be the professor who thought it would be a good idea to set a fire, to turn upon his former students, to not give himself a chance to think or to do anything but react

but just a man who, if he's not already there, is nearing the end of his frayed rope.

he doesn't straighten up, but he doesn't sit down, either. he does, however, seem satisfied that Hiro's intentions were pure...or at least pure enough.

~~and if they're not, then he'll simply kill him.~~]

I'll be fine until we reach the next storm drain.

[because if his timing is right, the microbots should be close enough that if he gets a line of sight to the surface, they should be able to slink in from there]

...Suit yourself.

[Hiro watches him a moment longer, struck by how different this situation is from the one he'd imagined when Callaghan had handed him that acceptance letter and said see you in class, what feels like a hundred years ago now. He'd thought, at the time, he'd be sitting in class listening to an old professor in a tie and a knitted sweater lecture on robotics, not walking a beaten old man around the sewers under the city, running scared from a man-made horror he left behind months ago.

Things change, and they change fast. And they're still changing now.

He resolves to make sure Baymax - the real Baymax, the one with Tadashi's healthcare chip - can look at that leg, at least, before this is over.]

...Maybe this way. There's a draft -

[He pauses at the mouth of the rightmost tunnel, frowning.]

To be honest, the only way I know out of here is back the way we came.

[you know what, Hiro?

he had meant those words, and then, ten minutes later- had realized that he was on the cusp of never teaching again.

but now, straightening back up...he does feel like a professor, if only because Hiro's momentarily acting like a student who had forgotten their homework. at least he admits it, but it still brings a prompt from Robert-]

Are you lost, or is this just a dead end?

[Hiro fidgets uncomfortably. God, this is so weird. Callaghan's not his professor, he's not even his friend, and yet here they are. Hiro feels like he just bombed a test and is having to stay back after class for a serious conversation about his grades.

Or maybe his behavior. His grades were always top notch; not so much his attitude.]

...A little of both. I've never explored any farther than this, and there's - [A beat. Hrrrm.] - hazards?

[Don't kill him. It seemed like a good idea at the time. Options were slim.]

Gas pockets. Flooding. Or getting really lost, that'd be bad. Stuff that makes it a bad idea to go charging around down here without thinking about which way you're going, first.

[..................

he's really too tired for this shit. he's just- no. he's not going to stumble in to a gas pocket, he's not going to /drown/, he's just...

he's just going to ease against the wall and let out a heavy 'ugh' of a breath. some Hero you are. sure, he's alive, but you know what?]

I'll take that minute, after all.

[he doesn't...slump, but he isn't supporting himself as much as he was. the microbots are doing quite a lot to keep him upright, really, probably most of the work. with his hands reaching to cover his face, the heels rubbing in to his eyes...]

...maybe two. I'm going to try something.

I'm sorry. I swear, I'm trying my best -

[And he really does mean that, genuinely. They may not be friends, there may always be that faint, bitter note between them, but even Hiro starts to feel bad for a guy that looks this beat down. Maybe he shuffles his feet uncomfortably and grips tightly at the hem of his jacket; maybe he bites his lip and eyeballs his sneakers, looking almost guilty.

He could've thought this through a little better, maybe.

Regardless, though, he stays where he is, and then after a second seats himself cross-legged on the floor, watching Callaghan intently. So maybe he's a little curious. Just a tad.]

What exactly are you gonna try?

[on some level, he knows Hiro is. he knows he's only ever given his best, in a situation where he really wants to get something, such as a botfight or even trying to impress Callaghan himself. or going after his brother's 'murderer'. Hiro is a very driven person, and Robert understands they have that in common.

he also thinks he understands that Hiro is not trying to kill him. or- at least hadn't meant things to be that way. there's another thing they have in common- in the heat of the moment, things tend to go...

intense.

they're not intense now. but they're not over yet. as Callaghan slides down to the ground, eased down by the microbots, there's a part of him that knows there's still a distance to go, even if they are so close...]

...I realized there had to be a two way connection after the pier. I...hadn't been sure before, but that confirmed it.

[his voice is somewhat muffled by his hands, and the low volume doesn't help. but his breathing is slowing to a forced sort of calm, as he tries to concentrate and- think? not think?

already, his head's aching, a bit. he's not sure if it's from this or the exhaustion, though. nonetheless, he talks..]

...so I tried to theorize how it worked. How...the programming would allow that. Or what it evolved in to.

[and oddly enough, it's probably good that Hiro's here, because as the programmer...]

...and I ventured that if they can home in on me, where-ever I am...then on some level...they're not responding as to a controller, but to another piece. And every piece, by necessity...understands where the others are, and has to be able to convey that information, somehow...

[For once, Hiro is quiet. He's not mouthing off, he's listening with rapt attention and holding his breath until he remembers not to do that, because this is easy to do - it's just programming, robotics science, things he knows and understands that don't have to involve messy feelings or arguing over intentions. He can block out everything else for a second, make it about robots, and that's so much more simple.

Besides, before he was a convicted felon, Robert Callaghan was a leader in the field of robotics. Hiro hasn't forgotten that altogether. This isn't a class lecture, but it's the closest he'll ever get, probably.]

...They think you're just another, bigger bot. [Tentatively he reaches for one of the microbots swarming at the edge of what small number Callaghan has with him now and drags it from the group, feeling the faint pull of resistance, like prying apart magnets -] That was - how I found the warehouse where you were keeping them, originally. I had one microbot left, and it was trying to get back to the others, and I didn't know that because I thought they were all gone but Baymax decided to see where it was trying to go and -

[Goddammit, Hiro, breathe. He lets the microbot go and it snaps back into formation with the rest.]

- And turns out, it was just trying to rejoin the group. Like bees in a beehive. But if it goes two ways, that'd mean - what, you're getting feedback from them? They `talk` to you? Like, like you were part of the hive, or -

[well, that explains that. Robert makes a short 'hnh' of acknowledgement before lowering his hands. his eyes are closed, face a bit pale- he leans it back until the back meets the stone of the tunnel they're in.]

...something like that. They take commands, but they also will...resist, if something goes against the programming, or pick up something they understand more clearly...

[no, that's not what he means to say. he grimaces, shoving that thought ~~and everything attached to it~~ aside]

They're not far, because they're still communicating, they're trying to make it clear where they are and what they're doing so that it can all work together as one, it's just...difficult, to understand the language.

the subliminal need
to be one

[his brain doesn't /work/ that way. and maybe things have changed a little with how it does work, but when he's trying to focus, like now...

...if he lets himself just go, a little bit, then maybe he can guide them. he lets out a heavy breath, though, because maybe it's not about focus at all, maybe it's just about...stopping trying to control them...

and just let them do the talking

he almost seems to pass out. at least, he stops talking, and doesn't seem still aware of his surroundings. there's only the constant shift-rustling of the microbots on him until eventually, there's a shift-rustling from further down the tunnel.

and more begin to creep through. a lot more.

callaghan still doesn't seem aware. he doesn't even respond. aside from his slow breathing, he could be a statue.]

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