Agent Baymax

Early in the morning, soft sunlight streamed through the enormous floor-to-ceiling windows and spilled into the bedroom.

Luca, sleeping soundly, gave a couple of soft little grunts and rolled onto his other side, hoping to soak up more of the morning sunshine.

But the sunlight, which had felt pleasantly warm on his face, seemed to have dimmed a little.

Still half asleep, Luca sensed something was off and instinctively opened his eyes.

In his blurry vision, a "white steamed bun" nearly filling his entire field of view was squatting motionlessly beside the bed, staring at him.

"Good grief!"

A chill shot from his toes straight to his head.

Luca felt that it had taken every ounce of willpower he had not to let out a startled scream.

Even though he hadn't yelled, there was no trace of sleepiness left in him.

His eyes were as wide as saucers as he stared at Baymax in front of him.

"What are you doing now?!"

"Detected: You cried out in pain during sleep. I am waiting for you to wake up so I can provide effective treatment and care." (●-●)

"A cry of pain? Did I have another nightmare? Why can't I remember anything?"

Now fully awake, Luca propped himself up with his left hand and sat against the headboard, then felt around for the prosthetic limb he had removed and plugged in to charge before bed.

"Wait, didn't I change your startup voice? Oh, right. The modified chip is still downstairs uploading data."

Having figured out what had happened, Luca wiped his face carelessly. As he fastened the prosthetic Stark had made, he casually asked, "So? How are you going to treat me for having a nightmare?"

"Test results: Your hormone levels have returned to normal."

"...All right. Next time, remember not to squat beside me while I'm asleep. You nearly scared me to death just now. Even though you're pretty cute, Baymax."

"Understood. Recording new instruction."

Looking at Baymax, Luca reached out in revenge and rubbed its marshmallow-like belly before getting out of bed.

He put on his shoes, washed up, and wandered downstairs.

In the dining room, Shamira was just having breakfast.

"Young master, you're up—"

Shamira had been about to greet Luca when she immediately noticed Baymax following right behind him, taking tiny steps down the stairs.

She had already met Baymax and knew the robot might be able to help treat Madam.

Still, getting used to Baymax's presence so quickly wasn't easy.

"Morning, Aunt Shamira."

Luca yawned as he came to the dining table, grabbed a still-warm sandwich from a plate, and stuffed it into his mouth.

"Young master, I'll have someone—"

"It's fine, leave it as it is. I need to go to the underground lab first. Once I'm done, we'll head out."

"All right, young master. The commercial bulletproof vehicle I asked the company to send last night should arrive soon. You can take care of your work first. We have plenty of time."

Luca gave a distracted nod, gulped down a big mouthful of milk, grabbed another sandwich, and eagerly dashed toward the basement.

In the corner, the 3D Printer was still chugging away.

Several finished parts had been spat out by the machine and were lying in a jumbled heap on a nearby padded mat.

Luca glanced at the printed armor pieces, whose support structures and connecting plates had yet to be removed. Without hesitation, he decided to wait until all the armor components were done printing before sanding and adjusting everything at once.

Turning to the computer, he saw that the motion data he had started analyzing and uploading last night had finished processing.

"Heh heh, starting today, you're Agent Baymax!"

Excited, Luca wrote the word "Agent" on the new black chip with a childlike enthusiasm, then eagerly inserted it into Baymax's chip slot.

Once the data had finished loading, Baymax, who had been standing blankly in place, tilted its head toward Luca. Its voice was filled with a confusion no robot should have had.

"These combat and tactical movements don't seem to help me become a better medical care robot?"

Hearing Baymax's puzzled tone, Luca laughed and patted its round belly, teasing, "But they'll help you protect me better, understand? The best medical care is preventing every possible danger before the patient gets hurt."

At that, Baymax blinked its big, dark eyes several times, then replied thoughtfully, "Understood. I am Agent Baymax!" (▇━▇)

Luca couldn't help smiling.

He looked at Baymax, then at himself.

"Hmm. A fat guy and a little boy? That sounds like a fearsome team."

Though he really wanted to test out the upgraded Baymax right away, one look at the absurdly expensive lab equipment was enough to convince Luca not to try it there.

He called Baymax along and dashed upstairs to the courtyard, where he prepared to begin the test.

By then, Shamira had finished clearing the dishes and followed the sound out to the courtyard, curious to see what new thing Luca had been working on for so long.

"Baymax, show us what you can do!"

"??" (●-●)

Seeing Baymax's confusion, Luca slapped his forehead and explained, "Try out the new combat module. Start with Military Boxing."

Upon receiving a clear command, Baymax immediately brought both hands to its sides and stood at attention.

Then it launched into a series of moves: a bow stance and straight punch, a throat strike and snap kick, a horse stance and sweeping strike...

The moves came fast and furious, and Baymax showed none of its former goofy, bumbling demeanor.

The whistling force of its punches sent grass and dirt flying all over the courtyard.

Shamira was just about to speak when Luca beat her to it and issued another command.

"Baymax! That tree!"

Luca pointed at the tree.

Baymax didn't hesitate. It kicked off the ground with both feet and shot forward like a round snowball.

The next moment, Baymax threw a powerful punch.

"Boom—"

A tremendous crash rang out.

The tree in the courtyard, thick enough to be circled by one person, exploded. Its sturdy wooden fibers burst in every direction as the whole tree slowly toppled toward the pool behind it.

But before the broken upper half could hit the water, Baymax rushed over and caught the tree. Then, taking its tiny steps, it leisurely carried the crown over and set it down in an empty spot nearby.

Luca's grin widened at the sight, and he gave Baymax an enthusiastic thumbs-up.

"Impressive!"

Shamira, who had been about to ask if she could spar with Baymax, was completely stunned.

But after hesitating for a moment, she couldn't help blurting out, "Young master... That redwood must have cost around twenty thousand dollars."