Fanfic / Empathy

Fanart Cover by Roma0303

In the city of San Fransokyo, the tech industry is booming since "The Battle in the Bay". Small companies are joining the tech empire Krei Tech, and new families are moving into town for work. One such family are the Andersens, including Bill, Jill, and their daughter Riley.

Unfortunately due to some mental struggles, Riley has had a rough first few days around San Fransokyo, and almost ran away back to Minnesota. However she realized her folly in time, but got lost and stumbled upon a bot fighting match. This chance encounter would eventually entwine her with the life of Hiro Hamada, with new friends, new challenges, and an adventure that would change their lives forever.

Empathy is a Fusion Fic crossover between multiple animated franchises by Finmonster. It's the story of how Riley found a new home, how Hiro Hamada found a purpose, and how through empathy, compassion, and care with their friends, they became heroes.

The story would later be followed up with the sequel Unity.

Now has a character page. Needs wiki love.

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This fic contains examples of

• Adaptational Heroism: Callahan. He's still responsible for the death of Tadashi, but not by his intentions. He even tells him to get out after his partner attacks him.
• Adaptational Villainy: Captain Smek. He's the one who assaults Tadashi in the expo and his first proper introduction to the story has him level a shotgun at Big Hero 6.
  • Played with in regards to the Gorg. In canon, it just wanted its egg container back. Here, it appears to be a Galactic Conquerer... who ultimately just wants its egg container back.
• The Alcatraz: Akuma Island, where Yokai is based, appears to be an alternate universe version of the Trope Namer, being a former island prison that's become a tourist attraction.
• Alien Arts Are Appreciated: Played straight with Oh, who (while sometimes confused) seems curious about Earth culture, and seems to genuinely enjoy his time learning about it. The sequel establishes that he's grown fond of Earth food and video games. Averted with Smek, who (despite spending several months on Earth) refuses to see humans as equals and mocks or injures them whenever he can (even making fun of Co-Dragons Yokai).
• Aliens Speaking English: Played with. The Boov, namely Oh and Smek, speak a crude form of English that can still be understood by the main cast. The Gorg, however, needs a universal translator to make himself understood, and is unable to speak anything but his native language when outside of his suit.
• All-Loving Hero:
  • Baymax. While he's willing to fight robots and even aliens to protect Hiro and his friends, he's also willing to give an enemy medical attention and is always polite. After all, he's a healthcare companion first and foremost.
  • Riley has moments of this, too, even before she gets her powers. It's her sympathy for Oh that gets the others to agree to hide him from {=Krei Tech=}.
• Amazing Technicolor Population: Oh, along with the other Boov, has normally purple skin that changes colors to show his mood (yellow for fear, red for anger, blue for sadness, green when he's lying, orange for joy, and pink for affection).
• Amusing Injuries: Subverted; any injury the group receives, be it physical or emotional, is played completely seriously and depicted realistically.
• Autobots, Rock Out!: Along with being the group's pilot, Tip picks songs for them to fight to (with Fall Out Boy being her go-to). This continues into the sequel, with Fred refusing to fight without music.
• Bad Boss:
  • The Gorg. Before the events of the fic take place, the Boov had been conquered and enslaved by the Gorg. Said Boov follow him out of fear. Smek also counts; while he answers to the Gorg, he's still technically the leader of the Boov and can give them commands. Rather than try to protect them from the Gorg, however, he willingly goes along with a majority of the conqueror's plans and is more than willing to throw one of his own kind under the bus if it means things will go his way.
  • Averted with Krei. While he's far from an honest businessman (he still tries to steal Hiro's microbot and was ultimately responsible for the portal incident), he clearly cares about his employees (as shown with how he treats Riley's dad), and is genuinely horrified by what the villains force him to do. He's even willing to get Bill and Riley medical care after the battle, and comforts Abigail when she learns what's happened. All in all, he's a bit of an Adaptational Nice Guy.
• Bait-and-Switch: At the start of Chapter 21, Wasabi's neighbor says she knows his secret... he has a pet in his apartment. Wasabi assures her there's no animal in there.
• Best Friend: There are many friends among the cast, but only 1 pair of best friends: Riley and Tip.
• Beta Couple: In this continuity, Tadashi is going out with Honey, and the latter was the one who advised Riley to move forward her relationship with Hiro.
• Big Brother Instinct:
  • Tadashi, of course. While he doesn't spend much time in the fic, he's kind and protective of Hiro, Riley, and Tip, and does his best to help them with their problems, whether those problems be throwing a surprise birthday party, getting into a school, crushing on a girl, dealing with your newly-gotten superpowers, or hiding an alien refugee in your garage.
  • Fred, of all characters, has his moments, too. He seems to form a big brother bond with Riley, as he is the first one to believe her about having empathic powers, pays for her therapy after she's traumatized, comes up with the idea that snaps her out of her Heroic Blue Screen of Death, and gifts her a kitsune mask that she admired (which becomes her superhero costume).
  • Wasabi has moments of this, especially when it comes to Riley's powers (seeing as how he introduces her to Takahito and helps her start to understand and control her powers). Not to mention how he agrees to help Hiro out and lets the team convert his van into a flying car.
• Big Brother Worship:
  • Hiro clearly has this for Tadashi, trusting him to always be there for him and know what to do (even in the craziest of situations). To his credit, Tadashi is such a good brother/person that he's earned his little brother's respect...and this is what makes Chapter 13 even harder to read.
  • A gender-swapped version with Riley and Gogo. While they aren't related, it becomes clear to everyone that Riley looks up to Gogo like an older sister. Gogo quickly proves herself capable of looking after Riley, and tells Riley's parents at the end of the fic that she'll stop at nothing to protect the kid.
• Big "NO!": Riley gives one when she refuses to let Yokai's microbot attack kill her.
• Big Red Button: Oh had one installed in Wasabi's van. Pushing it turns the van into a Flying Car not unlike "Slushious".
• Big "WHAT?!": Disgust's reaction to Wasabi stopping at a red light during the car chase.
• Birthday Episode: Riley turns twelve in Chapter 6, and the soon-to-be hero team spends the day preparing a party for her at the ice rink while Gogo takes her on a motorcycle tour through San Fransokyo.
• Bizarre Alien Biology: Discussed, as Fear at one point wonders if Oh has an actual heart or is "filled with candy on the inside".
• Break the Cutie:
  • Hiro takes his brother's passing (and the reveal of who killed him) the same way he does in canon.
  • Riley, who's only just gotten used to her powers, is overloaded by the trauma and spends the next week stuck in a catatonic state.
  • Applies to Oh as well, since he was not only enslaved with the rest of his people, but was captured and experimented on by Krei Tech when he got to Earth.
• Brick Joke: When Riley first meets her emotions, Anger happily talks about the panel of curse words at his disposal. During the fight with the Gorg, he finally and gleefully gets to use it, as Riley delivers a Precision F-Strike.
• Both Sides Have a Point: As Takahito points out, Hiro and the others are right to keep Riley and Tip away from the fighting since they're not prepared physically for it, but that the girls are also right that the others are being hypocritical.
• Character Development:
  • Riley gets a significant amount of it through the fic. At the start, she's an average girl who's trying to adjust to her family's move to San Fransokyo. By the end, she's not only become a superhero who's capable of going head-to-head with alien robots, but is arguably the most emotionally mature member of her friend group.
  • Oh starts out as a friendly, slightly awkward coward who is constantly making mistakes, hiding, or screaming in terror. After becoming closer with Tip, Hiro, Riley, and their friends, however, he gains enough confidence and courage to not only stand up to Smek, but to remove him as the leader of the Boov and to stand up to the Gorg, basically freeing the Boov from his control.
• Character Tics: Riley tends to tuck a strand of hair behind her ear when nervous or embarrassed. Which happens a lot around Hiro. Tip often causes it too with her teasing.
• Chekhov's Gun:
  • A minor one. When the group first visits Fred's room, Riley admires a kitsune mask he has lying around. It ends up serving as part of her superhero costume later on.
  • Baymax's defibrillator hands, which are ultimately used as a finishing move against the Gorg.
  • Tip's skills at a video game come in handy after Oh modifies Wasabi's van and bases the controls off of the game, meaning she's the only one who can pilot the car.
  • When Oh meets the rest of the group, Tip promises that he's not a threat by showing the others how Boov turn green when they're lying. Later, Oh calls Smek out for his fear of the Gorg by pointing out how he can tell that Smek is lying.
• *Click* Hello: How Smek is introduced.
• Cliffhanger: Let's just say that episode 27 ends on a big one with a building collapsing on the Big Hero 6.
• Collapsing Lair:
  • Yokai's lair on Akuma Island ends up collapsing due to damage sustained by the fight with him and the Gorg.
  • The Gorg's ship slowly blows apart and ultimately explodes as a result of damage from the fight with the Gorg.
• Contrived Coincidence: This is referenced in the first chapter's title: Chance Encounter, which was when Riley wandered into the beginning of Big Hero 6. Also brought up by Riley's parents and Lucy Tucci when they acknowledge that the Anderson and Tucci families are moving into the same neighborhood in such a short time.
• Cool Big Sis: Riley considers GoGo as the coolest person ever. GoGo, in turn, takes good care of Riley and takes her around on her motorcycle for her birthday. By the end, their bond is strong enough that Go Go promises Mr. and Mrs. Anderson that she won't let anything hurt Riley.
• Cool Car: Once Oh upgrades it, Wasabi's van can fly and has a weapons system. Tip is the only one who can fly it, though, as Oh based the flight controls off of her favorite video game.
• Cricket: Tip's favorite sport, which to her annoyance most people in America have never even heard of, let alone play.
• Creepy Stalker Van: Played for laughs. See Does This Remind You of Anything? below.
• Cryptic Background Reference: When Fred mentions the existence of people with superpowers and the moon being stolen, though both come across as tabloid garbage.
• The Cuckoolander Was Right: Fred might seem a bit...out there, but what he talks about is actually spot on in the context of their universe with shrink rays, flying and psychic superheroes, and knowing the difference between Telepathy and Empathy. (Not to mention he's the first to outright believe Riley when she spills her secret).
• Dating What Daddy Hates: Bill Anderson makes it very clear that he's suspicious of Hiro, and his attitude doesn't change once the two start dating. Mildly justified, as Bill did meet Hiro shortly after he, Tadashi, and Riley were bailed out of jail. He drops this attitude at the end when Hiro makes it clear that there's nothing he won't do to keep Riley safe.
• A Day in the Limelight: Since Riley and Hiro are in "shut down" mode during the immediate aftermath of Tadashi's funeral, there's focus on Wasabi, Cass, Honey, Jill, Gogo and Fred instead during those chapters.
• Deadpan Snarker: Gogo and Disgust can't go one chapter without making one sarcastic joke. Tip, Hiro, and Anger all have their moments, too.
• Disc-One Final Boss: Yokai/Callaghan is just an unwilling servant of the Gorg.
• The Dreaded: Even Boov know of and fear Gallaxhar. The mere mention of him is enough to make Oh uneasy and ask to change the subject.
• Does This Remind You of Anything?: In chapter 16, Tadashi's friends parked next to Tip and asked to get in the van. Tip quipped that it looks like they're kidnapping her.
  Wasabi: Why do you guys always have to make this weird?
  • Riley did this earlier with Wasabi when they talked after she revealed her powers.
• Doomed by Canon: Yet again, Tadashi dies trying to rescue Callaghan.
• The Dragon: Smek serves as this to the Gorg. It's later revealed that Callaghan is, too.
• The Empath: Thanks to a technology accident, Riley becomes this, able to sense not only others feelings, but hear the emotions inside her head.
  • She's also eventually able to use emotions, namely anger, offensively though she can't really do this on purpose and frequently puts too much power into the attacks.
• Ensemble Cast: While Riley is the closest thing to the hero, this is also very much Hiro's story as well.
• Escaped from the Lab: Oh had to do this after he wound up on Earth by accident and was held captive by Krei. Whatever happened to him there, he clearly does not want to go back.
• Establishing Character Moment:
  • Riley establishes herself as an Adaptational Badass when she introduces herself to Hiro by saving him from thugs at the bot fight.
  • When Tadashi shows Hiro, Riley, and Tip the lab, every one of his friends gets one of these (all of them go the same as in canon).
• "Eureka!" Moment: Riley unintentionally provides this a lot for Hiro, giving him inspiration for how to build his Microbots.
• Evil Cannot Comprehend Good:
  • Smek is flabbergasted by the heroes being willing to keep fighting the Gorg, even when it's clear they can't win.
  • The Gorg himself can't understand why Baymax is willing to provide him with medical aid after beating him.
• Evil Gloating: Defied by Smek, who says there's no point gloating over his plans to Big Hero 6 when he and Yokai are about to kill them anyway.
• Exact Words: During the Hostage for MacGuffin exchange, the Gorg says he'll spare all the humans on his ship if they give him his egg. He never said anything about sparing the rest of the planet.
• Expecting Someone Taller: Fred says this about Smek.
• Extradimensional Emergency Exit: Ultimately subverted. The Krei teleporter, instead of leading to a pocket dimension, accidentally creates a portal to the Gorg mothership. Abigail tries to run back through the portal, but is captured by the Gorg shortly after. During the chaos, Oh tries to escape the Gorg ship via the portal (taking the Gorg egg with him by accident) and ends up in San Fransokyo. It isn't an escape for him, either....
• Eye Beams: Oh claims to have these. No one believes him.
• Fastball Special: During the fight with the Gorg, Riley uses the microbots to toss Wasabi and Fred at him. Fred naturally lampshades it.
• Flat "What": Disgust's reaction to Fred's reveal that he wears the same underwear over and over again.
• Foreshadowing: When he meets with Mr. Krei in Chapter 7, Mr. Anderson asks him why he believes that a space exploration probe needs a weapons system. He nervously dodges the question. That same chapter reveals that Krei had been holding Oh prisoner, and the video on Akuma Island reveals that he knows about the Gorg.
• Freak Lab Accident: A full on accident, in the sense that nobody involved really saw what would be coming due to a genetic issue. In this case, Riley puts on the Neurotransmitter, but since Oh finished it according to Boov brainwaves rather than human brainwaves, the transmitter bounced Riley's brainwaves back on themselves. This scientifically sent her into a kind of REM, but it also transported her consciousness into Headquarters. And when she came out, she became The Empath as a side effect.
• Genki Girl: Joy has her moments of this. Justified in that she's the embodiment of Riley's happiness and excitement. Honey Lemon also has moments of this, especially when Hiro meets her in the lab and she shouts how excited she is to meet him (shouting because the music in her earbuds is too loud).
• Good Parents: Mr. & Mrs. Anderson, Lucy Tucci, and Aunt Cass all qualify. Riley's parents do their best to be there for Riley whenever she needs them, making sure she always knows that they love her and are proud of her. Aunt Cass, despite spending most of her time running a business, does all she can for the kids, even if she isn't fully aware of what they're dealing with. Lucy Tucci, while not having as big a role as her daughter, is definitely a good mother considering how much Tip looks up to her (both in canon and in the fic). Stan and his wife also deserve a mention; while Fred isn't a kid anymore, his parents clearly did a good job of raising him based on the amount of love and respect he has for them.
• Heroic BSoD: Riley suffers a nasty one in Chapter 13 due to emotional overload in the aftermath of Tadashi's death. It's still in full effect in Chapter 14; her emotions are worried since it reminds them of Riley's depression when she was running away.
• Heroic RRoD: Riley overpowers her empathic abilities to hit the Gorg with a massive psychic attack. This gives her a Psychic Nosebleed and causes her to fall unconscious.
• Heroic Sacrifice: Baymax stays behind to Hold the Line against the Gorg to give the others time to escape its collapsing ship. And after defeating it and learning the true nature of it and its egg, he places them in Abagail's pod (leaving no room for himself) in order to escape before the ship explodes.
• Hero Worship: Riley has this with Gogo, who finds this both amusing and adorable. It even turns out she's got a new Core Memory island dedicated to her hero worship, called Idol Island. It's hinted that Hiro has (or, had) a bit of this with Professor Callaghan.
• Hope Spot:
  • For that moment, it looked as though Tadashi could be Spared by the Adaptation.
  • In Chapter 31, it appears as though the heroes are about to beat the Gorg. And then Smek opens a portal, allowing a whole invasion fleet to come swarming in.
• Hostage for MacGuffin: After chasing the Gorg aboard his ship, he captures Tip and Oh. In exchange for their lives and that of the captive Abagail's, Hiro and Riley hand over the Gorg's egg.
• How Did You Get It?: Somehow, Fred got a hold of a piece of Gallaxhar's probe robot. When questioned as to how, Fred claims that "stuff like [that] slips through the cracks."
• In Spite of a Nail: Despite the Boov never invading Earth and abducting the humans, Oh and Tip still meet and become friends (although this time, Oh has just escaped from Krei Tech after being held prisoner there).
• Internal Reveal:
  • Just like in canon, Fred's family's wealth (as well as his Big Fancy House) is this for the rest of the team.
  • Because Riley and Tip weren't on the island when Callaghan, Krei, Smek, and the Gorg appeared, they have to be told about the contents of the video, along with the fact that Callaghan set the fire, has been working for the Gorg to get Abigail back, and has kidnapped both Alistair Krei and Oh.
• It Has Been an Honor: In Chapter 31, Joy starts to say this when it looks like Yokai is about to kill Riley. Anger cuts her off, having none of it.
• I Know Mortal Kombat: Tip can fly Wasabi's van in "Slushious" mode because Oh based the controls off a video game he saw her playing. Justified due to Oh thinking that was standard for all Earth vehicles (he assumed Wasabi was using an outdated model).
• Kick the Dog: Smek has a couple of these. Before he's even fully introduced, he knocks Tadashi unconscious from behind to leave him for dead in the fire, mocks Callahan for feeling bad about betraying Tadashi's trust, and then laughs when the distraught professor tries to retort.
• Last Kiss: Gogo and Wasabi have one when they think the Gorg ship is going to kill them.
• Legend Fades to Myth: Apparently, the golden age of superheroes was in the backstory of this universe, but a lot of that has passed into history or lost to the public eye due to apathy. That is, except for savvy people like Fred.
• Little "No": Go Go gives a flat one when Fred suggests that they call the Big Bad "Microbotto, the Masked Menace".
• Lock-and-Load Montage: Chapter 23, appropriately called 'Lock and Load'.
• Lovely Assistant: Riley acts as one to help Hiro in his demonstration of his microbots.
• Luckily, My Shield Will Protect Me: Oh's contribution to Baymax's armor: an arm mounted force field. Sadly, during the chase scene, Callahan quickly rips it off.
• Massive Multiplayer Crossover: Overtly, you have the end of Inside Out, and the whole story of both Big Hero 6 and Home (2015) as the main plotline. But in the backstory, you also have references to Despicable Me, The Incredibles, and even Monsters vs. Aliens and Megamind.
• The Mentor: The 3 kids get most of the college students for this.
  • A more direct example though is Sensei Takahito.
• Minion with an F in Evil: The Boov. With the exception of Smek, most Boov are benevolent (if not cowardly). However, they have been enslaved by the Gorg for who knows how long, and follow his commands out of fear. Once the Gorg is no longer a threat, they leave him and escape, with several of them helping Hiro's team get out.
• Mood Whiplash: The first dozen chapters of the fic are largely light-hearted, focusing on the kids getting to know each other, preparing Hiro for the expo, hiding Oh from the authorities, and getting Riley used to her powers. Then Chapter 13 happens...
• Muggle Best Friend: Tip doesn't have any super smarts or superpowers (yet), so for the moment, she's the foil for all the oddities and craziness going on in this universe. She is, however, the only one who can drive Wasabi's van after Oh upgrades it. Not to mention her incredible taste in fight music.
• The Muse: Fred refers to Riley as this to Hiro, so that when Hiro has issues with his projects, he suggests Hiro see Riley to get a new view.
• Mythology Gag: The songs used by Tip as fight music are all songs that are either by Fall Out Boy (who wrote the song "Immortals" for Big Hero 6) or Rihanna (who voiced Tip in Home).
• Named by the Adaptation: The rest of Hiro's team, who were Only Known by Their Nickname in the original film, is given proper real names here.
  • Gogo: Yuri Park.
  • Wasabi: Darron Waylans.
  • Honey: Pamela Rodriguez.
  • Conversely, Tadashi is nicknamed "Magic Man" in this verse, whereas he's the only member of his group of friends who doesn't have one in the movie.
• The Nicknamer: Fred. He's the one behind the nicknames of the whole group. He gives Riley the nickname of "Fargo", as a reference to Minnesota. But he can't find anything that beats "Tip".
• Noodle Incident:
  • The Battle in the Bay. Apparently due to an incident years ago, Krei Tech became a leader in robotics, even taking business away from Metroville in the process. Some details are clear, in that there was Alien Tech taken from the fight, but nothing confirming anything yet. Later references suggest that it refers to the fight against Gallaxhar's robot probe.
    • Confirmed in Chapter 22.
  • Fred references something happening to The Moon in regards to a shrink ray. (which for astute viewers references the first Despicable Me)
  • Whatever happened that got Fred both an autograph and the threat of a restraining order from Roxanne Ritchie (he claims that it was Worth It).
• No-Sell: The Gorg is able to take anything Big Hero 6 throws at them, from Fred's fire breath to Wasabi's plasma blades.
• Odd Friendship: Riley and Tip. One's an all American, hockey loving, shy superpowered Caucasian. The other is a Caribbean, cricket loving, outgoing Muggle Token Black Friend.
• Official Couple: Hiro/Riley
• Only Sane Man: Or, woman. Tip is this to most of the group. Despite dealing with murder, arson, grief, superheroes, supervillains, robots, aliens, flying cars, and hanging out with a bunch of geniuses almost twice her age, she retains her cool in most situations, points out problems with various plans, and calls people out when they're acting ridiculous or going too far (Hiro gets a few of these...).
• Opposites Attract: Wasabi and {=Go Go=}. The former is a germaphobic perfectionist who is a genuinely nice guy, while the latter is a tough-as-nails, fearless cyclist/rollerskater who pulls no punches. The two are good friends, and are a couple by the end of the fic.
• Outgrown Such Silly Superstitions: Callaghan's partner ridicules him for "cling[ing] to such silly superstition" when he's a scientist.
  • Smek repeats this sentiment in Chapter 26, finding it amusing that creatures that claim to be logical believe in concepts such as God.
• Papa Wolf:
  • Played straight with Bill Anderson, who is at first weary of Hiro dating his daughter (as he's not only two years older than her, but they met at a jail), and is clearly very protective of her. Later, he takes it to a whole new level when he jumps in front of a wave of microbots to protect her.
  • Played for Drama, and deconstructed, with Callaghan. While his motive to save Abigail is understandable, it doesn't condone the fact that he allied himself with an alien dictator/warlord, burned down a building (killing Tadashi in the process), stole the microbots, attempted to intentionally kill nine people (three of whom were literal children) several times, and indirectly almost started an alien invasion. Abigail makes it clear when they reunite that, no matter how badly he wanted her back, his actions are inexcusable.
• Paper-Thin Disguise: In order to move Oh around without anyone noticing him, they bundle him up in clothes that don't fit at all. As Disgust notes, it would only fool a blind person.
• Parrot Exposition: Parodied in Chapter 30, when Oh introduces himself to Riley's dad.
  Oh: I am beings friends with your offspring, Riley Andersen.
  Bill: Riley?!
  Oh: Yes! Why are you repeatings what I has already says and at much too loud a volume?
• Pet the Dog: The Gorg admits towards the end of the fic that he really did just want to come to Earth to get his egg back. Without the complications with Abigail's abduction and Big Hero 9, he wouldn't have tried to conquer/destroy Earth.
• Power Incontinence: Riley has a bit of trouble with her new powers as The Empath, as not only are her own emotions distracting and hard to focus with, but feeling other people's emotions can either lead to conflicts or spikes in her own emotions.
  • She also experiences similar troubles with using her powers for offense.
• The Power of Friendship: This is what holds all the friends together, and what eventually convinces Riley to break The Masquerade to them.
• Precision F-Strike: Riley tells the Gorg that she and the others are "going to f*** you up". The others are stunned silent by this, until Go Go breaks out laughing.
• Promotion to Parent: Aunt Cass had this happen to her.
• Psychic Link: Riley and Hiro have one, of a sorts, that lets her feel his emotions even when they're not near each other. It helps her sort out her own trauma after Tadashi's death, and helps him calm down from his Unstoppable Rage before he goes after Callaghan again.
• Ragtag Bunch of Misfits: Hiro is a fourteen-year-old genius, Riley is an empath, Baymax is a healthcare robot who can do karate, Wasabi is a neurotic physics expert/black belt/chef, Gogo is a fearless engineer/cyclist, Honey Lemon is a brilliant chemist and sweet as the come, Fred is a surprisingly wealthy comic book expert, Tip is an average girl who can drive a car better than some NASCAR racers, and Oh is an alien on the run.
• "The Reason You Suck" Speech: Oh gives one to Smek during the final battle, having decided that he's more afraid of losing Tip, Riley, and their friends than he is of being hurt by the Gorg.
• Redemption Rejection: Riley uses her empathic powers in an attempt to invoke a Heel Realization on Callaghan. It almost works, but then the Gorg threatens to kill Abagail if he doesn't hold up his end of the bargain, so Yokai goes right back to fighting the heroes.
• Relationship Upgrade: In record time. All it took was 6 chapters for Riley and Hiro to go from strangers to young love.
  • Also seen in Riley's mind as Romance Island.
  • In a meta way (compared to the canon), there's also Tadashi/Honey Lemon.
  • Eventually, Go Go and Wasabi.
• The Reveal:
  • Callaghan is working with a Boov Smek to achieve his goals.
  • How Oh got to Earth.
  • Callaghan's plan is not revenge on Krei (although he clearly hates the guy), but is instead to get the Gorg to Earth in exchange for Abigail's safety.
  • The fact that the Gorg is actually a tiny, harmless starfish in a huge mech suit (although this isn't much of a surprise to anyone who watched Western Animation/Home).
• Robot Buddy: Baymax, Riley in particular notices how soft and huggable he is compared to the kind of robots her father works with.
• Running Gag:
  • Bill Anderson making it clear that he doesn't approve of Hiro dating Riley.
  • Oh not understanding human phrases.
• Screw This, I'm Outta Here: In the face of her friends and Hiro not allowing her to help them in the confrontation with Yokai, because they're afraid of being hurt if something happens to her, Riley says she's done and walks away, Tip right behind her.
  • Also, this appears to be the Boov's default response whenever something goes wrong.
• Secret-Keeper: Riley's parents, Tip's mom, and Aunt Cass.
• Sequel Hook: The story ends with the National Super Agency deciding to recruit the Big Hero team to work under the Anti-Villain League and a mysterious villainous figure visiting Callahan in jail and forcibly recruiting his services.
• She's Not My Girlfriend: Used by Hiro to his future team, and for good reason since she was only 11 at the time. Then of course she turned 12, and things changed.
• Ship Tease: Go Go/Wasabi, though it's one-sided on Wasabi's part, pay attention when Go Go takes Riley out to the sushi restaurant where Wasabi works and Go Go takes off her jacket, and later when the two crash into one another while ice skating.
  • In Chapter 14, Gogo suggests they share a shower so they "don't waste water". One-sided no more or her just messing with him? You decide!
  • In chapter 15, they have a one night stand, but Gogo shoots down the idea of a Relationship Upgrade with Wasabi, out of fear of losing someone else. However, it's still relatively early in the story, so this could change.
  • Mochi and Pig.
• String Theory: Fred has a setup like this in his bedroom dedicated to deciphering the in-universe mystery surrounding the existence of Gru.
• Spared by the Adaptation: Due to a little tinkering from Oh, Wasabi's van becomes a flying car, and doesn't end up at the bottom of the bay.
• Take That!: Dicker gives one to Ramsbottom and the AVL for dropping the ball with regards to villain activity seen in Despicable Me (namely the thefts of the Pyramids of Giza and the freakin' Moon, the latter of which was thwarted by a third party).
• Teeth-Clenched Teamwork: Despite his fury at Krei for what happened to Abigail, Callaghan's only reason for going along with the Gorg's plan is so he can get his daughter back. This is obvious in practically every interaction he has with Smek or the Gorg.
• Tempting Fate: When Riley volunteers to help Hiro with his presentation at The Expo, she takes a page from her Joy by saying "What's the worst that could happen?" Oh Riley, if only you knew.
• Tired of Running: Seeing his friends willing to fight the Gorg even though they must be terrified inspires Oh to fight despite his fears as well, starting with fighting back against Smek.
• The Unseen: Riley's emotions (minus their appearance in Chapter 8) are heard from inside Riley's head, but never seen (nor do the other characters ever see them).
• Unstoppable Rage: As in canon, Hiro dissolves into this when confronting Yokai but so does Honey Lemon.
• Unusually Uninteresting Sight: Fred's butler Heathcliff only inched an eyebrow upon seeing Oh and Baymax.
• Unwanted Assistance: In an attempt to help Hiro perfect his neurotransmitter, Oh tampers with it. Because Boov brains work differently than human brains, the result knocks Riley unconscious, altering her brain chemistry and ultimately imbuing her with psychic powers. Later averted, as Hiro enlists Oh in helping to design suits/weapons for the team and upgrades for the van, and has Oh feed him instructions on how to commandeer a Gorg droid.
• Use Your Head: Oh does this to end his fight with Smek. Afterwards, it hurts him too and he admits that it's an awful fight move.
• Viewers Are Geniuses: Finnmonster is under this assumption when it comes to spotting continuity in his story, though he does choose to spell out higher concepts to the viewers thanks to the need to explain big science to younger children.
• Villain Team-Up: Callaghan is working with a Boov. Specifically, Captain Smek. And Smek is actually working for the Gorg.
• Vitriolic Best Buds: Go Go with pretty much everyone (except Riley).
• Wave-Motion Gun: As a further upgrade to Wasabi's van, Oh gives it one of these.
  • The Gorg's ship has one capable of destroying a whole planet.
• Wham Episode:
  • Chapter 7: Strange Visitor. We get hints of a secret conspiracy in Bill Andersen's company working with Krei Tech, but the big whammer is when something stows away in Bill's car, and the 3 kids discover that it's Oh the Boov.
  • Chapter 13: Features the death of Tadashi, and hints at a greater Villain Team-Up in the story.
    • Also, the other half of the Villain Team-Up is implied to be a Boov.
  • Chapter 25: The implication about the Villain Team-Up is confirmed. Furthermore, unlike in canon Abagail didn't end up in hyperspace, but instead encountered the Boov.
    • Other revelations include: Callahan's partner being Captain Smek, the Boov apparently working for the Gorg, and the Gorg egg container falling through the portal back to Earth.
• Wham Line:
  • From Chapter 9:
    Fear: I think Riley can hear us.
  • From Chapter 13:
    Unknown: You are faking the deads, aren't you? You cannot be deads if someone knows you're alive.
• What the Hell, Hero?: Tip is none too pleased to find out that Hiro won't bother to show up to help Riley with her problem, since all of them were affected by Tadashi's death but they all managed to show nonetheless.
  • She has a similar reaction when Hiro says that he has nothing left to live for right in front of Riley; you know, his girlfriend.
  • Then of course, there's chapter 24, where Riley and Tip both call out the Big Hero 6 for trying to sideline Riley from their Island exploration. Riley was mad that they're holding her arms length when she's grown so much, and Tip was mad because they never knew that she was only there BECAUSE of Riley.
• You Are Better Than You Think You Are: When the others show doubts about being able to beat Yokai, Fred takes a minute to point out how much they're selling themselves short.

  Fred: Look at this team we've got here! Hiro is a boy genius inventor! Wasabi is a theoretical phsyicist with a black belt in karate! Go Go is a brilliant engineer and as badass as they come! Honey is the greatest chemist of her generation, if not others! Fargo has literal superpowers! Tip just piloted a hover car like she's been doing it her whole life! Baymax is a state-of-the-art android and Oh is a freaking alien!

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