Big Hero Six

by Disney Book Group

  Baymax reached down with a big puffy arm and waddled forward. “Does it hurt when I touch it?”

  Hiro backed up. “What are you doing? No. No touching. I’m fine.”

  Hiro tripped on the rug and fell, wedging himself between his bed and dresser. Baymax loomed over him. “You have fallen,” he said.

  Hiro rolled his eyes. “You think?” he asked, grabbing a shelf above his dresser to pull himself up. The shelf tipped and Hiro’s toys and speakers slid off. “Ow!” Hiro yelled as first a book and then a large robot toy hit him on the head.

  “On a scale of—” Baymax kept saying as more items hit Hiro on the head.

  “Ow!” Hiro shouted as the last thing fell.

  “On a scale of one to ten, how would you rate your pain?” Baymax asked.

  Hiro rubbed his head, clearly in pain, and said, “Zero!”

  Baymax reached down and picked Hiro up. Alarmed, Hiro tried to push the big arms away.

  “It is all right to cry,” Baymax said. “Crying is a natural response to pain. I will scan your injuries.”

  “I’m not crying!” Hiro shouted, struggling out of Baymax’s embrace. Hiro quickly backed away. “And you don’t need to scan me!”

  “Scan complete,” Baymax said in a flash.

  “Unbelievable,” Hiro grumbled.

  “You have sustained no injuries. However, your hormone and neurotransmitter levels indicate you are experiencing mood swings, common in adolescence. Diagnosis: puberty.”

  “Whoa! Okay!” Hiro said, grabbing for Baymax’s suitcase. “Time to shrink now.”

  “You should expect an increase in body hair, especially in your armpits and on your legs, chest, and—”

  “Thank you! That’s enough!” Hiro said, pushing Baymax toward his charging station. “Let’s get you back to your luggage.”

  “I cannot deactivate until you say you are satisfied with my care.”

  “Fine,” Hiro said. “I’m satisfied with my—”

  But before Hiro could finish, he tripped over Baymax’s foot and landed flat on the floor.

  As he lay there, he noticed a hoodie under his bed. It was the one he had worn to the SFIT Showcase. The hoodie was moving softly, causing dust to rise in little puffs. Then it started to vibrate and shake!

  Hiro pulled the hoodie out from under his bed. He sat up and quickly searched the pockets. “My microbot!” he said, pulling one out. It was the bot he’d used in his demonstration, and somehow, it was still vibrating. “This doesn’t make sense.”

  “Puberty can often be a confusing time for a young adolescent flowering into manhood.”

  “No,” Hiro replied. He put the microbot into a glass petri dish and placed a lid on top. The small bot continued to vibrate. “This thing’s attracted to the other microbots,” he said to himself. “But they were all destroyed in the fire. Dumb thing must be broken.”

  He tossed the petri dish on his desk and grabbed Megabot, turning his back on Baymax and the microbot.

  Baymax looked down at the petri dish. The microbot kept banging against one side of the glass.

  Baymax said, “Your tiny robot is trying to go somewhere.”

  Exasperated, Hiro stared up at the ceiling. “Oh, yeah? Why don’t you find out where it’s trying to go.”

  Baymax nodded and picked up the petri dish. “Would it stabilize your pubescent mood swings?”

  “Uh-hmm, absolutely,” Hiro said, hoping Baymax would finally leave him in peace.

  Hiro expected Baymax to ponder the problem. Instead he headed out the door! Before Hiro knew it, the big robot was gone!

  Hearing cars honking outside, Hiro looked out the window and saw Baymax heading into traffic, cars screeching to avoid hitting him. He threw on his hoodie and dashed out of his room. He was halfway down the stairs when Aunt Cass saw him.

  “Hiro!” she said. “You’re up and dressed. That’s great! Are you registering for school?”

  Hiro skidded to a stop and tried to sound casual. “Uh, yeah. That’s it. Exactly. Registering for classes.”

  “Are you sure you’re ready?” Aunt Cass asked.

  Hiro heard the sound of more horns honking outside. “So ready,” Hiro replied.

  “Okay, special dinner tonight! I’ll whip up some chicken wings, you know, with the hot sauce that makes our faces numb?”

  Hiro nodded quickly. “Sounds good,” he said. He was about to run off when Aunt Cass gave him a big hug. Hiro hugged her back, then dodged out the door.

  He ran down the street, but there was no sign of Baymax anywhere. He followed the sound of cars hitting the brakes and tires screeching until he finally got a glimpse of the big white robot. He was on the back of a cable car.

  “Baymax!” Hiro yelled.

  Hiro chased the cable car as it headed downhill. “Hey! Hold up! Stop!” he yelled. But by the time Hiro reached it, Baymax had hopped off.

  Hiro glanced in stores and down streets. He searched everywhere before finally looking up. A puffy white figure strolled along the edge of the elevated train tracks. Hiro gasped as a train rushed past and almost knocked the robot off of the ledge. “Baymax!” he shouted, but he had lost him again.

  He continued to follow the sounds of traffic chaos, knowing it was probably Baymax who was causing the commotion.

  Hiro was almost out of breath. He stopped and took a look around. He’d been too focused on Baymax to notice, but now he realized he was in a run-down, industrial part of town. Everything looked dark and abandoned.

  Then he saw Baymax! He was standing outside a grimy old warehouse.

  “Baymax!” Hiro shouted. “Are you crazy? What are you doing?”

  Baymax held up the glass petri dish. “I have found out where your tiny robot wants to go.”

  Hiro looked at the petri dish. The microbot was really banging against the dish in the direction of the warehouse. Hiro had thought the microbot was malfunctioning, but now he had to consider the possibility that maybe it wasn’t.

  Even so, how could he get into the warehouse? He ran to a metal door and pulled on it, but just as he had expected, it was locked.

  “There’s a window,” Baymax said, pointing to an upper story.

  Moments later, Hiro was standing on Baymax’s giant head. “Please exercise caution,” Baymax warned as Hiro partially deflated the robot’s head with the weight of his feet. “A fall from this height could lead to bodily harm.”

  Hiro climbed through the window and into the warehouse. In the dim light, all he could see were oil drums on a lower level.

  “Oh, no.”

  At Baymax’s declaration, Hiro looked back. He saw that the robot had gotten stuck trying to get through the window.

  Baymax suddenly made a rude noise. “Excuse me,” the robot said, “while I let out some air.”

  “Uh, okay.” Hiro understood that to fit through the window, Baymax had to deflate a bit, but the sound was really obnoxious—and loud. “Are you done?” Hiro whispered.

  “Yes,” Baymax replied, and Hiro pulled him through. “It will take me a moment to reinflate.”

  “Fine,” Hiro said, rolling his eyes. “Just keep it down.”

  Leaving Baymax behind to inflate, Hiro nervously went down a flight of creaky stairs. As he passed a row of oil drums, he thought he heard a low drone. “Hello?” he asked, but no one answered. He grabbed a broom.

  Hiro turned a corner and saw a sealed-off area in the middle of the warehouse, covered with tarps. He crept closer and peeked inside. He was shocked to see a large machine manufacturing...Could it be?...Yes! Microbots! Lots of them. They were being spit out by the machine onto a conveyer belt.

  “My microbots?” Hiro whispered. “Someone’s making more.”

  “Hiro,” a voice suddenly said.

  “GAH!” Hiro gasped and turned around. It was
only Baymax. “You gave me a heart attack!”

  Baymax nodded and waddled closer. “My hands are equipped with defibrillators. Clear,” he said as he rubbed his hands together and held them up to Hiro’s chest, ready to shock his heart into a normal rhythm.

  “Stop! It’s just an expression!” Hiro said, and he walked over to one of the oil drums. He opened the lid and looked inside. It was filled with microbots. He looked up and down the aisle and realized that all the drums in the huge warehouse were filled with microbots!

  Suddenly, the microbot in Hiro’s petri dish started to shake, this time banging the petri dish on all sides.

  “Oh, no,” Baymax said again as a low, angry buzz rose from the oil drums all around them. The thousands of microbots rose out of the drums in a menacing swarm and headed toward Hiro and Baymax.

  Hiro gave Baymax a look of terror and yelled, “Run!”

  Hiro dashed for the warehouse door, clutching the petri dish. He didn’t know who was controlling the microbots, but he knew they were behaving more like deadly insects than bots that were created to benefit mankind. Hiro looked over his shoulder and saw Baymax slowly waddling behind him. A wave of microbots was right on his tail. “Oh, come on!” Hiro yelled.

  “I am not fast,” Baymax said.

  “Yeah, no kidding,” Hiro said as he ran back and grabbed Baymax by the arm. “Go! Go!” Hiro told him until they had finally reached the door. Hiro pulled on it, then remembered it was locked. “Come on, kick it down!” he said to Baymax. “Punch it!”

  In what seemed like slow motion, Baymax kicked the door. It was like a balloon hitting a brick wall. Hiro hung his head. But there was no time to mope. He jumped into some service tunnels under the floor and pulled Baymax in after him.

  “Come on! Come on!” Hiro said, leading Baymax up the service tunnels to the second floor. They jumped out and headed for the window they had come in through. But again, Baymax got stuck.

  Exasperated, Hiro looked back and saw a tall, dark figure in a white-and-red Kabuki mask. He was lurking in the shadows. It was impossible, but he seemed to be directing the microbots. The masked man must somehow have a neural transmitter as well!

  Hiro was desperate now. He tried to shove Baymax through the window, yelling, ”Come on! Suck it in!” But Baymax only flipped over, leaving Hiro dangling outside.

  Suddenly, the microbots hit Baymax’s face and upper body, riddling him with tiny holes. Like a punctured balloon, Baymax began to deflate, and the force of the escaping air jetted him and Hiro toward the ground with a whoosh!

  Baymax cradled Hiro as they fell, his body absorbing the blow when they hit the pavement. They scrambled to their feet. “Come on! Let’s get out of here! Go! Hurry!”

  They ran for their lives. To Hiro’s relief, he saw the lights of a police station up ahead. “Go this way!” he yelled to Baymax.

  Hiro dragged Baymax inside the station and caught his breath. He gathered his thoughts and walked over to a policeman behind a desk. After twenty minutes of conversation with the sergeant, the officer said, “All right, let me get this straight: a man with a Kabuki mask attacked you with an army of miniature flying robots?”

  “Microbots,” Hiro replied, nodding. “He was controlling them telepathically with a neurocranial transmitter.”

  The officer scratched his head. “So Mr. Kabuki was using ESP to attack you and balloon man over here?”

  “He’s a robot,” Hiro said as Baymax reached for a piece of tape from the dispenser on the officer’s desk. The robot’s internal motors tried to re-inflate him, but the microbots had punched too many holes in his vinyl skin. The air coming out the holes made a high, squeaky sound. Baymax covered one hole with the tape and started the process over again.

  “Did you file a report when your flying robots were stolen?” the officer asked, moving the tape dispenser closer to Baymax. The noises coming from Baymax changed pitch with every hole he patched.

  “No!” Hiro replied. “I thought they were all destroyed. Look, I know it sounds nuts, but Baymax was there, too.” He turned to Baymax and said, “Tell him!”

  “Yes, Officer, it’s truuuuuue.” Baymax was suddenly slurring his words.

  “What the—?” Hiro said, looking at Baymax. “What’s wrong with you?”

  “Loooowww...baaatterryy...” Baymax replied. Hiro looked at him closely and saw that the robot’s eye lenses were having difficulty focusing. Baymax was starting to sway.

  Hiro took hold of his arm and tried to steady him. “Whoa, whoa, whoa. Try to keep it together.”

  “I’m health care!” Baymax shouted. “Your personal Baymax companion!”

  The sergeant had seen enough. “Kid,” he said, “how about we call your parents and get them down here.” He turned in his swivel chair and grabbed a notepad. “Just write your name and number down here....”

  But by the time he turned around, Hiro and Baymax were gone. All that was left was a long piece of tape that stretched from the sergeant’s desk to the precinct door.

  Outside, Hiro and Baymax were slowly making their way down the street. “I’ve got to get you home to your charging station,” Hiro said. “Can you walk?”

  Baymax took another step and plopped down on his butt. “I will scan you now,” he slurred. “Scan complete. Health care!” Baymax shouted, waving a partially deflated arm.

  “Sure, buddy. We’re almost there,” Hiro said, keeping the woozy robot moving. Finally, the Lucky Cat Café was in sight.

  As Hiro struggled to get Baymax into the house, he said, “Okay, if my aunt asks, we were at school all day. Got it?”

  “We jumped out a window,” Baymax said.

  “No!” Hiro responded. “Quiet! Shhh.”

  “Shhh. We jumped out a window,” Baymax repeated, his voice quieter as Hiro guided him up the stairs inside the house. But the robot missed a step and fell on his forehead with a thud.

  “We can’t say things like that around Aunt Cass!” Hiro reprimanded him.

  Aunt Cass yelled, “Hiro? You home, sweetie?” She leaned over the kitchen counter. From her angle, she could only see Hiro’s face at the top of the stairs.

  Hiro froze. “Uh, that’s right.”

  “I thought I heard you. Look at my little college man!” she said. “Oh, I can’t wait to hear all about it! Oh, and wings are almost ready!” She returned to the stove, and Baymax stuck his head around the corner.

  “Wiiiings!” Baymax said excitedly.

  “Will you be quiet?” Hiro whispered, pushing him up the second set of stairs, toward his and Tadashi’s room.

  “Yeah! Wiiiings! Get ready to get your face melted!” Aunt Cass said. She placed a platter of red-hot chicken wings on the table. “Now, sit down and tell me everything!” But Hiro was already halfway to his room.

  “Uh, the thing is,” Hiro called to her, “since I registered so late, I’ve got a lot of school stuff to catch up on.”

  Aunt Cass heard a loud thump and looked toward Hiro’s door. “What was that?” she asked.

  “Mochi, that darn cat!” Hiro said, shaking his fist, hoping the cat wasn’t in the kitchen.

  Aunt Cass sighed. “Well, at least take a plate for the road, okay?”

  Hiro dashed into the kitchen and grabbed a plate of wings. “Thanks for understanding,” he told her, then rushed into his room and closed the door.

  Baymax was sitting on the floor, cuddling the cat and mumbling, “Hairy baby, hairrry baby.”

  Hiro rolled his eyes and pushed Baymax over to his charger. He kept babbling, “Hello. I’m health care. Your personal Baymax companion.”

  “One foot in front of the other,” Hiro guided him.

  With Baymax in place, Hiro fell back onto his bed and finally took a breath.

  He was so confused. What were all his microbots doing in a warehouse? And what was he supposed to
do with this big white robot? “This doesn’t make any sense,” Hiro said.

  As Baymax slowly powered back up, he could feel Hiro’s distress. Baymax’s blurry vision quickly snapped into focus. He scanned the room. Then, standing tall, he said, “Tadashi.”

  Hiro sat up like a shot. Baymax had definitely gotten his attention. “What?” Hiro asked. He saw Baymax holding Tadashi’s baseball cap.

  “Tadashi,” Baymax repeated.

  Hiro nodded and said, “Tadashi’s gone.”

  “When will he return?” Baymax asked.

  Hiro lowered his head and said, “He’s dead, Baymax.”

  Baymax seemed confused. “Tadashi was in excellent health. With a proper diet and exercise, he should have lived a long life.”

  “Yeah,” Hiro replied. “He should have. But there was a fire...and now he’s gone.”

  Baymax pointed to his chest. “Tadashi is here—”

  “No,” Hiro cut him off. He pushed the robot’s hand away. “People keep saying he’s not really gone as long as we remember him. I don’t buy it. It still hurts.”

  Baymax scanned Hiro. “I see no evidence of physical injury.”

  “It’s a different kind of hurt,” Hiro said, watching the robot step out of his charging platform.

  “You are my patient. I would like to help,” he stated.

  Hiro shook his head. “You can’t fix this one, buddy.”

  Baymax couldn’t accept that answer. He was programmed to help his patient in any way possible. He turned to Hiro’s computer and began to access information.

  “Uh, what are you doing?” Hiro asked.

  “I’m downloading a database on personal loss. Database downloaded. Treatments include contact with friends and loved ones. I am contacting them now.”

  “No, no, no...I, I...don’t do that!” Hiro said, and shook his head. How could he explain to Baymax that he just didn’t know how to be around people right now? He couldn’t pretend things were okay, and he couldn’t be sad around them, either.

  “Your friends have been contacted,” Baymax said.