Chapter 14: Chemical Mixer

Leiko reveled in the normal day that had been bestowed upon them, and she took advantage of it by continuing to work on her bike. Damon was with her as well, working on his laser project. It was getting better, as it now had the ability to cut an apple into paper thin slices.

Leiko on the other hand was still a tad bit frustrated that she couldn't find the perfect wheels that would let the bike go the speed she wanted. Because, after all, faster was better in her opinion.

Damon had almost perfectly rearranged his tools on his desk the way he saw fit, but unfortunately, the force of a nearby explosion had them all falling off the table and onto the floor. "Aiko! Why did you do that?!"

Leiko, rolling her eyes a bit, walked away from working on her bike and headed towards her friend's lab. She slid the door open, and as expected, found a tall girl wearing glasses and a lab coat, covered in a pink substance. "Oops, sorry, but on the bright side, my experiment was a success!"

Leiko rolled her eyes, but smiled. "After you clean off all that, do you wanna get some lunch with me and Damon?"

Aiko nodded, smiling. "Sure, and we could ask Tadashi if he would like to come with us!"

"Well, actually, this is his day off, but we could go and eat at his place. The Lucky Cat isn't far from here."

"Then it's agreed!" Aiko chirped.

She happily bounded over to her desk, where she stored emergency towels in case something like this happened, while Leiko walked back to her lab, past Damon, who was still trying to properly arrange his tools.

Hiro had plans to go visit Baymax at the hideout. As per usual, he didn't wear one of his hoodies as a precaution to make sure he wouldn't be followed. However, he had barely left his room, when he saw a very familiar group of three walking in. Leiko was wearing her same bored expression, but it immediately brightened upon seeing him. "Hey, Hiro!"

Damon looked his way and smiled. "'Sup, little dude."

Hiro exchanged greetings with both of them, and his eyes landed on the tallest one there. "Oh, it's little Hiro! So nice to see you again!"

Hiro was unable to avoid her as she swept down and pulled him into a big hug. "S-Same here, Aiko."

Hiro remembered Aiko Miyazaki as someone he had met the same night Tadashi had introduced him to Baymax. She specialized in chemistry, and the compounds she had come up with were really something. Hiro internally groaned at the sight of his older brother walking down the stairs. Oh sure, he would take time off of his busy schedule to spend time with his friends, but he wouldn't even spare Hiro a glance. Sure, because that was perfectly fair and justified. "Hey guys, what's up?"

Leiko shrugged. "Nothing much. We just came over for lunch."

Tadashi shifted his eyes to his little brother, who only shrugged. "Well, I have plans, so I'll be leaving now."

Hiro, with an air of coldness, had his hand on the bar, but was abruptly stopped by a beeping noise. Tadashi looked around for the source. "What is that?"

Hiro immediately bolted to a secluded corner in the café, hoping not to get his brother suspicious. Tadashi could only blink. "What's wrong with him?"

Leiko shrugged. "Who knows. Anyway, how are you coming on that super complicated calculus assignment they're having us do?"

Aiko looked up and thought to herself. "The assignment is pretty hard. I hear that it's even hard for some of the smartest students."

Tadashi only shrugged. "I'm doing okay I guess, but it is hard as you say."

And speaking of it being hard for smarter kids, there was one person who entered Tadashi's mind. Someone who just might be able to figure it all out. He could see Hiro out of the corner of his eye, sitting in a secluded booth, far away from them. For some reason, he looked as if he was talking. And into a watch, no less. "Tadashi? Are you listening?"

He looked back at the group at the sound of Damon trying to get his attention. He blinked once. "Yeah, I am?"

Leiko squinted her eyes. "Really? It looks like you've been zoning out for the past minute."

He nervously rubbed the back of his head. "Oh really? Sorry about that."

Hiro, having finished his conversation with Baymax, was now heading out the door. However, as he passed Leiko, he didn't forget to leave an important message. "Baymax wants to speak with us. Let's meet at the hideout."

Leiko understood the whispered message, and silently sent the signal over to Damon with her eyes. He nodded in understanding. "Well, I think it's about time me and Damon started heading back. You two can talk some more about school and junk."

And so, they left, walking out the door, trying not to make it look like they were in a hurry. "But guys! We haven't even had lunch yet!"

"So, Aiko is the Chemical Mixer?"

Baymax stood in the doorway of the kitchen, giving an explanation. "Yes, that is true. She is the next member of our team."

Hiro thought to himself. "I can see that working out. She likes pink, so it shouldn't be hard to come up with a suit for her."

He was brought out of his thoughts due to a thunk on his head. "Ow."

He sent a glare Leiko's way. "Think of suit ideas after we figure out a way to get her on the team."

Damon shrugged. "Well, we're all friends. Why don't we just ask her."

Leiko nodded. "You do make a good point. And besides, even if we do tell her and she says no, she likely won't tell anyone about it. She's not one to do something like that."

Baymax intervened. "You have to get her on the team. The future of the city is depending on it."

"Yeah, I know. You know what, let's just ask her. I don't really see anything wrong with that."

"Alright, where?"

"Let's try bringing her here and then asking her."

"Sounds like a plan."

Leiko walked into the lab the next day, ready to continue her work. Yep, absolutely nothing abnormal about today.

"Kono Koro Hayari No Onna No Ko! Oshiri No Chiisana Onna No Ko!"

Leiko found herself a tad puzzled by the singing coming from another lab. But she knew that the particular voice could only be coming from one person.

"Onegai! Onegai! Kizutsukenai De! Watashi No Haato Wa! Chuku Chuku Shichau No!"

Curious, she peaked inside her best friend's lab and saw Aiko watching an anime show on her laptop.

"Iya Yo! Iya Yo! Iya Yo! Mitsume Cha Iya!"

And that was when Aiko excitedly shouted. "HONEY FLASH!"

Impressed by her rather good singing voice, Leiko started clapping slowly. Aiko was startled by this and paused the video. "Leiko, don't do that!"

She shrugged. "Sorry. You just looked like you were having fun. So, what are you watching?"

Aiko smiled. "It's this old anime show called Cutie Honey. It's about a robot girl who's also a magical girl!"

Leiko nodded. "I see."

Her eyes wandered to the desk, where she found a hot cup. "Hey Aiko, what flavor of tea is that?"

The taller girl answered, "Honey Lemon. Why do you ask?"

Slightly, Leiko smiled to herself. "Oh, no reason. None at all."