Chapter Text
Robert stiffened as he heard loud knocking on his apartment door. His landlord knocks when Robert is late on rent, but Robert’s rent and bills have already been paid off this month (Dad had it done last week…) and his landlord’s knocking isn’t as heavy and is usually accompanied with yelling. The only other person he ever talks to in this building is the older lady who lives next door who’ll knock when she needs help with her wifi, but her knocks are light and she only taps 3 times (and she’s been busy preparing to move. She won some sort of free housing a few days ago that she’s really excited for). Would he have… he wouldn’t…
Robert stares up at the door before gathering Beef into his arms. There's a large shadow on the ground, the person waiting for Robert to answer. He got a look at his ‘new neighbor’ last night. That man has a more lean build, so can’t make a shadow that big. It’s early in the morning and Shroud wouldn’t send anyone to just knock on his door. He knew Robert would never answer so they always ‘bumped into him’ whenever he went out, just so Robert couldn’t avoid them.
Robert carefully places Beef in a box hidden behind the mech suit wreck that lays sitting up in his living room. As Mecha Man stalks towards the door, he adjusts his grip on his crutches to find a switch. Robert didn’t plan on going back to the hospital anytime soon, so unfortunately for them this pair was now his, and so he added a few… modifications in case some old villain tried to mess with him in his sorry state. It wasn’t anything big, just a taser.
Mecha Man carefully approached the door, before opening it up, just a crack.
“Hey bruddah,” Royd’s bright smile greeted him, and Robert sighed in relief. “I’m here for the suit.”
Robert stepped back and moved aside in order to make room for Royd to enter his small apartment. Royd leaned down in order to fit through the door, his smile still bright on his face until he looked around Robert’s place. “Woah, this some serial killah shit. You couldn’t furnish ya safe house?”
“This… isn’t a safe house. I live here,” Robert replied. Picking Beef up from where he hid him.
“Ah…” was all Royd had to say. It wasn’t that bad really. It had walls, a floor, and a roof. What more did you need? It wasn’t the best place sure but it was cheap and no one asked questions. He was 23 when he moved here, some villains started stalking out his place so he left. It was a good thing he learned then that furniture was nothing but a waste so he only needed to pick up a few boxes and he was out of there.
7 years ago, when the work of the Red Ring began to pop up here and there. Robert didn’t think of them much then, just a small wannabe villain gang causing a ruckus. He was too focused on other shit to realize what they were building up until it was too late and he escaped. To think that the damn gang had been years in development, that Shroud had been recruiting villains while in prison, and all they needed was for the day the first members started getting released. Specifically, a doctor Dad had been friends with in college before life came in and they went their separate ways. They reconnected back in prison, and now that doctor is now credited as helping Shroud create the augments.
Some days he wonders if the villains at his apartment were looking for Mecha Man or for Robert.
He and Royd spent that early morning pulling the mech apart and gathering stuff into boxes. After pulling the arms and legs and head off, Robert had begun to dig through his boxes to look for the tools to pull the pieces apart when Royd just… threw a leg over his shoulder and marched out the door. Huh. Cool.
At least his neighbors have seen weirder come in and out of his place.
While Robert was gathering screws and other fallen parts into a smaller box, he heard a loud crash from outside. He ran over to the balcony and looked down, where he saw Royd oh so casually throwing parts into his truck. And missing, the leg crashing onto the ground.
“Hey! What are you doing?” Robert yelled from the balcony. Royd grunted as he picked up the fallen leg. Robert rushed out the door nd down the stairs the best that he could (Fuck he hated stairs, why did the elevator stop working the second he needed it) to Royd and his truck. “How can you just toss it around like that?”
“No worries. I pretty strong,” Royd explained. Like everything about him didn’t explain that.
“That’s not what I’m saying,” Robert relented, putting the box into the truck before checking over the suit leg. Royd leaned against the truck, “How you got dis thing inside your apartment anyway? Suppah heavy da buggah and you uhhh…”
“I disassembled it and took it in little pieces, which is what I thought you would be doing.” He was so lucky that the heroes who saved him had the foresight to keep what remained of the suit in storage. Mecha Man had contacted them after getting out of the hospital, but apparently some people had tried breaking in to either steal or do… something to the suit’s remains so it was a struggle to prove that Robert was in fact the real Mecha Man.
“And how long dat take you?” Royd asked.
“3 or… no it was 4 days.” He was lucky that's all it took considering he was hobbling around to get the parts in. Robert learned pretty quickly then how much strength he’s lost in his four months long nap, and how much he would now hate staircases. The crutches didn’t make it easier, but he got it done. Some new neighbors in his building offered to help, but he accepted until he saw them clearly searching for something in his boxes, and finally caught a glimpse of the implants hidden under the collar of his shirt. Robert quickly took his stuff back and refused any help that came after. Dad didn’t like him gathering back the suit parts… that's when he put the tasers into his crutches.
“I get 20 minutes,” Royd smiled, walking back into the building.
They eventually got the rest of the suit into the truck, by they he unfortunately means Royd. Robert wanted to help but Royd saw how much it hurt for him to go back up and down so Robert mostly helped gather parts and blueprints into boxes. Robert looked around his apartment as he waited for Royd to come pick up the last box. The place was much more spacious. It felt empty.
“Evy time I walk in this place I get sad, that not happen to you?” Royd asked as he watched Robert gather Beef’s things up into a box, before eventually reaching towards the dog. It wasn’t too bad of a day so Robert decided to just leave one of his crutches at home, so his other arm was free to carry around the box, Beef happily inside. He didn’t have the muscle to effortlessly carry his sweet dog but Robert would carry him regardless. His boy deserved the best.
“I put all my focus into being Mecha Man,” Robert explained, securing Beef’s leash. “It was kind of a full time thing.”
“Right, and you only got time to buy that bubblegum chair,” Royd laughed as he walked towards the last box. He started digging around inside it, looking for something. “Where da Astral Pulse at?”
Right. That.
“Lost in the blast when I was flying. No clue where it landed. I spent weeks trying to track it down.” To no success. Days were spent searching the crash site, and then searching the warehouse, and then searching everywhere he flew over before he fell out of the sky. He even cashed in some favors from some other heroes (not many, so many stupid reporters were shit talking Mecha Man after the fall that none of them wanted to associate with him. So much for being fucking heroes) to try and locate it but all their searches came up empty. The pulse was gone.
“It power da whole suit.”
“I know. It's the only part Dad didn’t leave any schematics for.” Dad said he had jotted down the pulse’s schematics on some notebook that he lost, Dad’s handwriting was always shit anyway. The pulse was one of his greatest creations, only second to Robert is what he used to say.
He cried when he learned that everything in the Brave Brigade labs was being confiscated. Every notebook and invention, Vitalia said that Dad was a genius but they couldn’t understand his work so they couldn’t risk someone else using it for evil. Robert managed to save a few photos that Dad kept there before it was all gone. Most of them were of him and Dad together—just the two of them—but there was one from what must’ve been him and Pop’s wedding. Both of them in suits, Pops giving Dad a kiss on the cheek, both happy and alive. Robert kept that one in the very back of a photo album, hidden away in one of his boxes.
“Eh, minor. We figure em out,” Royd said, picking up the last box and walking out of his apartment. Robert followed along and turned to lock the door when a new set of footsteps approached. Robert looked up to see his newest neighbor, long sleeves covering up what Robert knew were red ring implants. The man smiled at Robert, “Mr. Robertson.”
Only one or two of these goons had ever gone up to actually speak to him face to face, it always meant Shroud was leaving a message. One he didn’t want to be trashed. Not that it mattered really, every stupid detail of every stupid note—including the stupid number he’d rather kill himself than call—just burned its way into his skull and he couldn’t get it out.
“You got mail this morning, it somehow ended up in my mail box instead,” the man held up a thick plain envelope. It was Monday. Dad was giving him his “weekly allowance”. The envelopes of cash that started appearing after a week of Robert hunting down the pulse and cutting corners to try and keep shit together. He would get dizzy looking at his laptop so he couldn’t do any work, and Dad must’ve found out somehow. Of course he fucking did. Robert donated everything the first time, he didn’t want anything from that bastard, but then—
“The boss doesn’t like you being stubborn. He’s worried you aren’t taking care of yourself. He’s been thinking that if you can’t take care of yourself, you won’t be able to take care of that little dog of yours. Maybe you’d do better for yourself if he watched over the little guy for a bit.”
Robert carefully took the envelope, his grip tightening on Beef’s box. He didn’t want it. Robert hated how much he needed the cash. Robert hated how much he needed his help.
Royd was here and Robert didn’t want to make a scene. SDN didn’t know what was happening and it would fucking stay that way if Robert had any say in it. The man’s eyes narrowed seeing the box in Royd’s arms. “You working on a new project Mr Robertson? Are you sure you should be doing that? Especially since the last one took your leg?”
Are you sure you want to fix the suit? Are you sure he would let you?
Robert felt his leg ache as he adjusted his crutch. “I’m sure. Thank you.”
Royd looked confused as Robert not so subtly shoved the man out of the way and headed back down the stairs. Robert hitched a ride in Royd’s truck to work and Royd honestly did all the heavy lifting from there. Robert felt like dead weight as Royd hoisted all the suit parts in his arms and marched towards the lab. Robert could only manage a small box or two as he held onto Beef. He was Mecha Man, he should be doing more.
Royd’s lab was amazing to say the least. Man, so SDN does have money for good tech. It reminded him of being a kid and sitting beside Dad in either the Brave Brigade labs or the Robertson family garage. He remembers Dad explaining the Astral pulse to him, the energy pulse with the stellar core inside. Pops may have helped with a few suggestions here and there but, the whole thing was Dad’s creation through and through. Robert loved looking at it as a kid, staring up at the little star and awaiting the day it would be his.
When Dad’s trial ended, Robert got his hands on the pulse. He laid in bed with it tucked against his chest, closing his eyes as if he could pretend just hard enough that it was Dad’s heartbeat. That he was right there, by Robert’s side, just like how their family should have stayed.
Royd told Robert that he met Pops once, apparently his old man had caught Royd when he was trying to steal from a Radio Shack. They talked for hours about tech before Royd was taken to jail. Robert joked that that was longer than any conversation Robert ever had with Pops. Royd looked at him with pity. Probably best not to joke about that then.
Royd was going to be the one to fix Robert’s suit and he would also be the one creating Robert’s new prosthetic leg. Robert watched as Royd turned a table in the front, and his schematics of the mech suit appeared. Tall and strong, like the hero Mecha Man was meant to be.
“That one oveh der, that your faddah suit. We gonna make dis one da Robert suit.” Royd beamed with pride as Robert’s eyes widened in awe. “We make the man mecha again.”
“Royd… I don’t even know what to say,” Robert laughed, looking up at Royd. His suit, not his grandpa’s or pop’s. His. What a strange idea. “Thank you.”
—
Robert made his way to his desk with Beef in tow. He knows that maybe he should have asked before he brought his dog here, but he just couldn’t leave his poor son at home alone. He set down Beef’s little bed under the desk along with some things he brought to decorate the cubicle (not much, Robert didn’t own much, just some pens and a pack of sticky notes).
Chase had very quickly fallen in love with Beef, picking him and proudly proclaiming that he would let all, including Robert, melt in eternal hell if anything happened to Beef. It was comforting that Beef was in good hands… better than the other ‘option’.
Blazer walked over and smiled brightly at seeing Beef lapping up attention in Chase’s arms. Robert felt relief knowing he wouldn’t have to send his dog away from the office anytime soon. Blazer reached over to give Beef some belly rubs, “Aww, what’s your name little guy?”
“My name’s Beef and I’m naked,” Robert answered, in his best impression of a muppet on crack. Chase gave him a tired look, knowing all too well what the voice was. Dad used to use it when playing games with Robert, so Chase unfortunately had to listen to a child Robert trying to recreate Dad’s bad play voices. It never did grow on him. At least there's no pillow for him to punt at Robert here.
“Oh no, I refuse to believe that is what he sounds like,” Blazer said, shaking her head in disbelief. “Robert. You got a sec?”
Robert nodded, giving Beef a few more head scratches before following Blazer into her office, leaving Beef with Chase who seemed happily content to have Beef in his arms. Blazer immediately went to sit behind her desk and leveled Robert with a serious expression.
“I was thinking about it over the weekend and… I am going to cut someone from the z-team,” she explained. What. Robert stares at her, this has to be a joke. What. “or, you are, rather.”
“I’m sorry… what?” Is Blazer trying to get him killed?
Blazer looked confused. Confused. “If we cut someone at the bottom of the leaderboards then it’ll show them that we’re serious.”
What the fuck was SDN management. This is why Robert never wanted to go corporate, that and lawyers have swindled him out of too much money when he was a teen. Like hell he was going to risk that again. “You think that the best way to make a reform program work is by cutting one of the people you are trying to reform? Are you serious?”
Blazer’s expression tightened at his words. “We've been letting them get away with a lot of stuff Robert, and they’ve chased off so many dispatchers already.”
“Oh yeah, I did some research” Robert began, “Last dispatcher’s car got set on fire. I wondered about that when Flambae first said it, sure he’s got anger issues but something had to have set him off. I dug around and oh would you look at that, apparently the man decided to steal Invisigal’s inhaler and she might’ve died on shift if Malevola hadn’t been there. Which I believe you already know about.”
Blazer stared at him, wide eyed and horrified, but Robert continued. “And I was confused yesterday why the z-team’s scores were so low considering they’re competent at the stuff I’ve sent them too so I looked at the logs and honestly these people keep thinking they can just… send them wherever to whatever mission. Most heroes may be adaptable to most situations, but seriously? Sonar’s been sent to fucking drug busts as if the fact he’s a recovering addict isn’t a well known fact.”
“Then Coupé. I was surprised that she, of all people, was one of the lowest scoring members. Then I look through logs and what do I see? The former assassin for the mob who specializes in stealth gets sent to public speakings. What did they expect?”
“How did you get this information…” Blazer asked, concerned.
“Look, I wanted to better understand the z-team and their history and I might have just… hacked into SDN files,” Blazer looked outright horrified at that admission, which… fair he guesses, “your security is shit, it was way too easy.”
“Robert–”
“Thats besides the point, look. I told you on Friday. You can’t treat them like a hero team. Do you honestly think that threatening to cut a former villain is going to go well? That it won’t just make them go back to crime?” Robert demands. “And why am I the one who's going to cut someone. I just got here. I just told you they need to respect me, this is going to make them hate me. Why am I being thrown under the bus here?”
“You are not being thrown under the bus-”
“Blazer. Who are they going to get mad at when they hear the news? Who are they going to blame when someone gets cut and left to rot?”
Dad and Pops were arguing about the Brave Brigade again.
Pop’s dead body, shot wound still clear and bleeding as the medics took him away.
Blazer took a deep breath, before levelling Robert with a serious look. “You have until the end of the day to make the choice, we plan on cutting whoever scores the lowest on the leaderboard. I had already informed the team this morning.”
“Isn’t Invisigal currently the lowest– wait.” Robert stared at her, appalled. “You told them before me?”
Blazer grimaced at Robert’s words. She really was trying to kill him wasn’t she? What the fuck. “Look I thought it’d be for the best. Good luck out there, Robert.”
Robert quietly got up and out of Blazer’s office and made his way towards his desk. Fuck. How was he going to get through this? The second Robert got on comms, he instantly hit with a distress call before he could even say anything. It was from one of his team members; Sonar… who was still in the building.
“Coop seduced me,” Sonar sighed, tugging his hand from where it was trapped.
“No. I said ‘hey wanna see something cool’ and then I handcuffed you to a squat rack,” Coupé corrected.
“But you said it with a hot voice, so I assumed you meant boobs.” Maybe Sonar deserved it.
That was only a preview of the mess that was going to be that day. In order to prevent being at the bottom of the board, the Z-team decided the best solution was to start fucking sabotaging each other.
First it was Golem getting pushed into wet concrete and getting stuck (How does one push Golem–).
Then Flambae ended up shoved into a sensory deprivation tank (“Nobody sabotages me except me! But that’s like… kind of an existential thing” “Why get in the pod in the first place?” “I don’t want to talk about it”). Where they were being sent didn’t even have one of those things, how did Flambae even get near one. Flambae was panicking so Robert stepped in and hacked his way into opening the damn thing so Flambae could finally fly out of there.
“Drowning in a sensory deprivation tank is not the kind of wet I like to be, Robert,” and Robert did not need to know that. Thank you, Flambae.
Then someone found a way to play a loud sound that deafened Sonar, and only Sonar (“I’d be impressed by this if I wasn’t in ever increasing pain!”).
Punch Up’s coffee had laxatives in it (“I set my fucking coffee down for two fucking seconds”).
Malevola got led to a cult that apparently worships her (“They keep trying to touch with their weird fucking clammy hands”).
Sonar shoved Coupé into a pool during some sort of class that wouldn’t let her leave (“Sonar. You have signed your death warrant”).
Prism’s location got doxed so her fans crowded her (“Damn, seeing my followers all swarmed together like this… it’s intimidating”).
Some kid was paid to stalk Invisigal with a camera of all things (“Fuck, I hate these little degenerates”).
Coupé walked into Malevola’s sword “with her face a little bit” (“I don’t believe in punching women, but I do believe in punching demons” “Yeah, try it”).
Then it was all this shit again and again and again and Robert was getting ready to smash the damn monitor.
Another call came in; a burglary in progress. Malevola assigned herself to the job (again, how?) and went off. She fit the requirements well enough that Robert honestly didn’t mind it being her. What he did mind was Invisigal following after her. Robert rushed to turn on the cameras in that area. “What are you doing Invisigal?”
“Not getting cut,” she said, tying a chain she got from fuck knows where to a the side of a garbage dump in an alleyway. “This leaderboard game only has one rule; don’t lose. Blondie said so herself.”
“I am very sure that is not what she said.”
“I am very sure that it was.”
He watched as Invisigal takes a breath of her inhaler, and wait as the perp ran down the alley with Malevola hot on his tail. Just as Malevola got near him, Invisigal pulled at the chain and tripped the terrifying demoness. Malevola had no qualms against hurting children today it seems, as she swung her giant sword at Invisigal. Mecha Man went hunting for the perp on the cameras and ran the scan. Lightningstruck.
“Invisigal, the perp that just ran was Lightningstruck. This is the second time you’ve let him get away.”
“Oh shit, really?” Invisigal then had to vanish again when the demoness swung the giant sword at her a second time, this time cutting into the wall. Invisigal managed to find her way up a fire escape and then narrowly dodged Malevola sending her sword right up through the fire escape’s floors. The members of his team were trying to kill each other after just losing a perp for the second fucking time. That is fucking it.
Robert groaned, switching his comms so the whole team could hear him, "Everyone on the Z-Team report back to SDN right now and be in the conference room in 20 minutes!”
Chase was leaning over the divider, shaking his head. Robert felt like throwing something, before Beef barked up at him. Robert gave his sweet dog a scratch behind the ear, before marching towards Blazer’s office. This wasn’t working, she may have hoped it would, but low and behold, it just made a fucking shit show. Blazer opened the door before he even knocked.
“Oh Robert. I saw you called an emergency mee–”
“Can we talk?” Robert interrupted. Robert knew he had to be respectful with his boss, but he had 20 minutes and he needed to get through to her. Blazer opened the door wide enough to let him in, and then swung it shut behind her (Mecha Man noticed that for a split second the door stopped mid swing, almost like someone had held it open a second longer so they could follow the two inside).
“Is this about the meeting? Do you need Chase and I in there with you–”
“I can’t cut someone off the damn team Blazer.”
She stared at him, surprised, before her expression turned serious.
“Robert, they were at each others throats all morning-”
“Because none of them want to get cut, Blazer. I told you, you can’t treat them like fully trained heroes. Hell, fully trained heroes might resort to the shit they’re doing now. Honestly goddamn SDN and its leaderboard shit, I’ve never understood it but the fact you’ve made it clear that the person at the bottom is going to get cut? They’re scared and want to stay out of jail, so they make sure no one else can get above them on the board.”
“Robert,” Blazer so calmly explained, as if he was the one that needed to see reason in this moment, “You said it yourself, we need to raise the bar to make this work”
“This is not what I meant, in fact it is so far from what I meant that I’m not even sure how we got here. This is the worst possible way you could have gone about raising the bar. This isn’t ever raising the bar, you are threatening to cut their safety and support system if they can’t make numbers go up. Does that not sound insane to you? Isn’t the whole point of the phoenix program that you’re trying to reform villains and make them into heroes? What does that say about the program if you cut one of the people you’re supposed to be trying to help?” Robert all but yelled at her. This wasn’t fair. They may be shitheads but they were here and trying, and that's more than what so many others could say. To be cut because you’re not doing well enough in a program meant to help you is absolute bullshit.
“They all have the potential to become heroes and you’re just going to leave someone behind without even giving them a chance, and I don’t mean what all those past dispatchers were doing cause that was not it, I mean a proper fucking chance.”
Dad held the astral pulse up in his hand, “Your father said this would get me onto the Brave Brigade… that was a long time ago.”
Robert tilted his head. “So why aren’t you a hero yet, Dad?”
“I’ve been asking the same thing, little bird,” Dad sighed. “Sometimes people make promises they don’t keep. Those people usually aren’t worth your time, alright Robert?”
“Ok,” Robert replied, eyes looking down. “...Pops usually keeps his promises right?”
Dad stared at him, his mouth tightening into a thin line.
Dad stared at him as he was handcuffed by the other Brave Brigade members. The look of horror and regret boring into Robert’s skull.
“Are you seriously going to do that?” Robert demanded. Where would they even go if they were cut? Back to prison? Back to crime? Robert wouldn’t let that happen. He was going to help them, he was going to help them become better people, heroes.
Blazer watched him closely, studying him. She was silent, thinking. “Make them prove they want this then. If everyone gets over the team's average by the end of the day, no one will be cut.”
Robert wasn’t letting anyone go, not now and not ever. Robert gave up his chance at life years ago when he stepped into the suit for the first time, but they had a chance and deserved it. Robert closed the screens and shook his head as turned towards Blazer. A drug addict needed rehab. A former assassin needed a new outlet. A lonely child deserved a home. “Deal.”
With that, Robert left Blazer's office—he had to lean all his weight to get her heavy door open, he thinks he bumped into something when he finally got it open wide enough to step through—and headed for the meeting room where the team must’ve been waiting for him. The building was loud, full of dispatchers giving orders, callers yelling into their phones, machines running, and a pair of footsteps rushing in front of Robert to who knows where.
He was late, he shouldn’t be late, Mecha Man is never late. He had to get in there already. Yet when he got to the door, Robert needed a minute to recalibrate his thoughts.
The screens of Robert’s mind lit up with each team member’s file before splitting apart into every member’s history, every detail Robert managed to find in two days and three nights. Flambae’s pictures online with his family, despite everything he’s trying to stay close to them. Malevola’s long history of messing with the large number of cults that were in LA. Punch Up’s history of bar fights after the circus he had been raised in shut down due to debt. Prism’s music career that she’s poured years of hard work into, still paying off even when she went to jail. Golem trying to find any information about the person who created him when he first got on the internet, but quickly giving up before going off on his own completely. Sonar’s records from NA meetings and his portfolio filled with stocks and grand business ideas. He couldn’t find anything about Coupé but she loved ballet and cheesy books, she deserved a chance to keep them. Invisigal, a foster kid who was thrown around before she ran away and ended up in the program with Blazer fostering her as part of her parole.
The team needed him, they needed a leader, Robert needed to step up. He couldn’t screw this up. They deserved a chance to be actual heroes, not be strung along and left to waste like… like…
The muffled shouting came from downstairs. Pops and Dad were arguing again. They argued a lot when Dad thought Robert was asleep (Pops didn’t really care if Robert could hear or not).
Dad was yelling. “Robbie you’ve known me for years, we’re fucking married for goodness sakes. You know I could help, I’ve been doing it for years so why won’t you just fucking-”
“Elliot. Robert will hear you.” Pop’s harsh voice cut in. “Do you think you need some time away from him for a bit? I’m sure Trackstar won’t mind.”
Dad was always left at the Brave Brigade building while the others were out being heroes. Sometimes, he smashed the tech around him while yelling, but smiled again when he realized Robert was watching. Pops would say that Dad was just muttering nonsense again, that the light in his head made him see too much so Robert shouldn’t bother thinking too deeply about whatever Dad said.
He laid in bed with the pulse tucked against his chest, closing his eyes as if he could pretend just hard enough that it was Dad’s heartbeat. That he was right there, next to Robert, just like how their family should have stayed.
Robert in the mech suit, being blown up by his own father. Any hope that the father he knew was still there behind the mask that was Shroud burnt away alongside Robert in the metal coffin.
Robert’s breathing was heavy. His leg throbbed as he stood. Mecha Man pushed to keep going, this wasn’t the time. He was running out of time, he needed to get the team on board. But how? They would think it was his idea to cut someone, or that he was going along with it. They were messy and it wasn’t as if they trusted Robert, he for sure has done nothing to get them to trust him. He didn’t plan this out, what was he even going to say. Robert needed a way to prove he wanted them to be better and stick together but he can’t have been the first dispatcher to say that, how would he prove that-
“..ole point of the phoenix program that you’re trying to reform villains and make them into heroes? What does that say about the program if you cut one of the people you’re supposed to be trying to hel—”
Robert froze as he heard his own voice, muffled by the walls, before he threw all his weight into getting the door open. The whole team was in the room, all looking to the front as Invisigal stood there playing something on her phone before she disappeared upon seeing him. Fuck, how long was he standing out there.
All eyes snapped towards Robert as he leaned against the door. Mecha Man could feel their eyes assessing him, trying to find the threat (Flambae’s eyes focused in on his leg, bright orange narrowing in thought). They were scanning him for his lies, as he scanned them for their potential.
They were villains. They were loud, brash, and violent. They’ve scared off dispatcher after dispatcher and they’re sitting at the bottom of the board. But they were still fighting to stay, even if they had a shit way of doing it.
Robert made his way towards the head of the table. He turned first towards the seat closest to him, and nudged it with the end of his crutch and watched as Invisigal flickered back into visibility. “So… now that we’re all here-“
“Do you really believe that shit?” Flambae demanded from his seat, “Or is your bitch-ass just fucking with us?”
“I believe every last word,” Robert responded. Prism scoffed.
“Ms Blazer doesn’t fucking believe it, thats for sure. How the fuck do you expect us to get above our average in half a day, huh? Most of us barely reach it on a good day, and this day’s been absolute bullshit.”
“Of course it’s been bullshit, you put laxatives in Punch Up’s coffee,” Coupé remarked as she was picking her nails with her knife.
“I did unspeakable things in that alley,” Punch Up’s voice peaked up beside her (was that what he was doing when he called Robert for help-).
“You deserved it bitch,” Flambae sneered, “you locked me in a fucking tank!”
“You coulda blasted your way out if you cared to think. I still can’t believe you got in”
“Shut the fuck up.”
“The only reason we even have that daily average is cause Flambae puts out his own fires,” Sonar comments, “so it’s kind of his fault we’re all struggling right now.”
“You jealous? It's not my fault I know where the fires are.”
“This is a waste of time. I just need 20 more points, which I would have gotten closer too if someone hadn't gotten in my way,” Malevola sneers at Invisigal
“Look at this show off, just needing 20 points,” Invisigal scoffs. “Besides, Lightningcuck steals pennies out of a donut shop register, he isn’t worth shit.”
“Atleast Mal’s actually working to stay on the team, what are you fucking doing you doxxing little shit?” Prism rolls her eyes. “What? Is your mommy gonna save your ass at the end of the day and then one of us has to pay for it?”
“You–”
“Fucking Christ, it’s like rounding up toddlers.” Robert massaged his temple as another headache began to form, he didn’t get much sleep last night and everything hurts but he still needed to get through this goddamnit. How the fuck was he going to do this, what the fuck was he thinking. He’s just throwing shit at the world and hoping it works. They were running out of time, and Robert wasn’t going to waste another fucking second even as their protests and complaints somehow became louder. “You all are shitheads. Flaming fucking shitheads. I don’t know how much of that you heard–”
“I snuck in the second you got into Blazer’s office.”
“–Thank you Invisigal, but I swear to you that I am not letting a single one of you get cut.” Robert took a breath before he stood up straighter and leaned more onto the table, he looked to each member of his team. He would help them all stay together on the team, and he wasn’t going to lose a single one of them. Not today, not ever.
“When people look at you, they only see a bunch of shitty villains who can’t be trusted and will never amount to anything good. And from what I’ve seen, you idiots also see the same damn thing, so you start acting like the shit people tell you they see. But you know what? Fuck them. You’re here and you’re going to show them that they’re all fucking wrong. But only if they try.”
“You didn’t answer my question. How do you expect to get us above our average?” Prism asks. “I’m like 50 points away and you keep sending me to do absolute bullshit.”
“Me and Sonar are tied near the bottom, we both need at least 100 to get up. Invisigal needs even more. To get us all up there would be a struggle” Coupé’s eyes scan him as she spins her knife a bit faster, hunting for a reaction. Invisigal’s fists clenched at the comment about her.
Neither of the women were wrong, Flambae and Malevola are at the top and would need 20 points to get over the average, which would mean two or three more calls. Everyone else however…
“The only way you’re going to climb up the board is by doing your fucking jobs. If you play your cards right and get every mission done then you all should be able to rake in enough points. But that means no more sabatoging bullshit and I need you to fucking listen to me,” he eyes Invisigal. “Sabatoge isn’t going to get you guys fucking anywhere, it’ll only end with one of you getting kicked off. You idiots need to work like an actual fucking team, and that doesn’t mean just working with each other, it also means working with me. I need you to fucking trust me on this ok?”
“I am not cutting fucking anyone and If someone does end up getting cut you can fucking beat me up and kill me or whatever, but right now I need you guys to try to work with me. Can you idiots do that, or are you all ready to lose your fucking jobs?”
Mecha observed as their eyes scanned Robert, hunting for any threat he may be towards them. Yet as they dug, they could not find any, and that is what terrified them more.
“What do you get out of this?” Flambae demanded, fire flickering across his arms. “Every other dispatcher, and now even Blonde Blazer, is ready cut us without a second thought. Why the fuck does your normie ass care?”
He could pretend that Dad was right there, next to Robert, just like how their family should have stayed.
His blade slicing through flesh and bone. A scream echoing through the burnt remains of the mall. Mecha Man took down another villain, Robert stared at the man he just mutilated… and hopes he’ll get the help he needs.
“Cause I think you all deserve a chance.” Robert said, “I see potential, and I see people who could make a mark on the world. I want to help you get up there. Is that so hard to believe?”
—
Robert marches back to his desk, he’s got only one shift left for the day and a bunch of points to rake up, but anything is worth it if that is what keeps this team together. He boots up his computer, and readies his keyboard.
The calls start coming in, and Mecha Man starts answering each as fast as he can. He can’t afford to miss a single one. He makes sure everyone is set to whatever suits them best, and never sends anyone alone. Sending people together not only heightens the chance of success, but also guarantees that both will earn points for the mission. Punch Up and Coupé winning a fight tournament. Flambae and Golem fighting against robbers. Prism at a concert. Malevola dealing with cultists. Sonar at a security job. Mecha Man prioritizes the higher level missions in order to secure more points and anything that can be solved with hacking he throws his entire focus into it.
The team is actually listening to him now. The sabotaging stops and they actually start working together. They listen to his suggestions and orders and are working together. They start acting like an actual team and do their best to succeed in every mission and are up and ready for the next one. They even agree to Robert’s suggestion to work through their break in order to get in more points.
Half-way through the shift, more of them manage to reach over the team average and worked on helping the others get up there as well.
Things were getting quiet so… Robert started stealing calls from other teams. It was too easy to just hack into the system and take whatever calls other dispatchers were just about to miss and assign them to his own team. The dispatchers would’ve mistaken it for them missing the call entirely. He’s doing those other teams a favor really. Coupé, Sonar, and Invisigal are left. All he needs is these three to make it, these three are fucking counting on him.
Invisigal… started going quiet as the shift went on.
A new call comes in. “Coupé. Sonar. One last push.”
“You got it Bob.”
“Child’s play.”
The two execute the mission perfectly. Sonar distracted the perps while Coupé took out the rest of their back-up, the two then rescued the hostages without any issues. No one is too badly harmed, all the hostages are safe, and Sonar and Coupé make it above the team average. Coupé doesn’t try to stab Sonar when he hugs her in relief as the perps are arrested, though Sonar does quickly realize who exactly he’s hugging and pulls away.
Robert sighs in relief. Beef looks up at him with sparkling wide eyes, and Robert happily picks up the round little thing and sits him in his lap. His troubles aren’t over yet though. Invisigal… still isn’t over the average. Fuck.
As Coupé and Sonar’s icons disappear, his screen lights up with a new message:
Hero out of coverage area.
“Invisigal?” Invisigal’s icon is at some sort of park. The shift is basically over. He hasn’t gotten her over the average. The kid’s going to get cut today. Fuck, it’s Robert’s fault. He gets into the cameras to see what she’s doing. “Are you smoking in a playground?”
“One last strike against me,” Invisigal says, blowing out smoke. “You’re going to have to cut somebody right? I’m making it easy for you.”
“You’re not making it easy for me kid, you’re making it easy for you.”
“I was never going to fucking make it. Some people are born to be heroes, I’m not one of them. They’ve been telling me that my whole fucking life. I mean, what do I have? Fucking invisibility. People stop trusting me the second they realize that. I got villain powers, I was made to rob banks and shit,” she lamented as she took another long drag of her cigarette. “Blazer should have given up a long time ago. It was my fate to be a villain, it’s in the fucking stars.”
“Kid, fate is fucking bullshit,” Robert said, “We live and then we die. We're a bunch of flesh blobs with depression on a floating rock.”
She was silent for a bit. “...Is this supposed to be comforting?”
“Yeah, cause you know what? Fate. Destiny. Powers. Not having powers. Seasonal depression. It’s bullshit.”
Invisigal scoffed, “You’re from a fucking hero legacy, you don't know shit about what I'm going through.”
Robert pinched the bridge of his nose, and went through his thoughts. It was his fate to die in that suit, it’s what Robert was born to do, and Robert couldn’t even do that. Fate used to tell him that he was going to be a great hero, that it was his duty until the day he died, but here he was now. At a desk job, missing a limb and a suit, and having to depend on a villain to try and keep his shit together. Some days Robert just wanted to give up and let Dad take him or whatever, but he just… couldn’t. Whatever remained of his sense wouldn’t let him.
This kid believed her fate was to be a villain, believing in what fate said never leads to anything good. She deserved to believe she deserved a good life, and that she could fight for it and it would mean something. She had the chance that Robert threw away 15 years ago, he didn’t deserve it then but she sure does.
“People called you a villain, at least it meant you were good at it,” Robert checks to make sure no one else can hear his words, it’s just him and Invisigal. “You know what they called me? A disappointment to my family legacy. I was younger then you are when I started you know? My pop's old co-workers didn't even care, knowing it was a kid in that suit... the only ones who did couldn't do anything about it. Why would they care? I was Astral's crybaby of a son... and the son of a criminal.”
“...criminal?”
“...yeah. My other dad… got into some shit right around Pop's death. He went to jail and… I spent 15 fucking years alone, fighting to stay alive, and to keep being a hero. My dog was probably the only reason I didn’t lose my mind.” Beef happily yips at the sound of his name. “Even after being blown up and told that I killed my family legacy, I'm still here trying to be a hero in any way I can. Fuck the stars, kid. It’s your choice what you do with your life. So, do you want to be a hero or let people think they were right for calling you a villain?”
Invisigal stays silent, her fingers tightening on the swingset, thinking. Then an alert shows up on screen. Burglary in progress. Robert’s eyes widened when he saw who it was on the cameras.
“Talk about fate, there's a robbery going on near you. It's your good pal Lightningstruck.”
“It’s useless. I told you, I’m out.”
“So, you’re gonna let this guy win? Come on, don’t you want to at least go out knowing you took this guy down with you? I’m sure Blazer would be happy you at least tried.”
She was silent as she thought over his words, but then she cracked a smile and stood up from the swing, “What’s the address, boss?”
After watching her give a cigarette to another kid (apparently he’s the one she bummed it from) Visi arrived at the scene. Lightningstruck was trying to steal a quarter million in jewels. With Robert’s careful guidance and instruction and an expensive pearl necklace as a weapon, Invisigal finally takes down Lightningstruck.
“I’m no hero—fuck, no, let me try that again,” she slams her boot down onto Lightningstruck’s chest again, “now you see me—no. No… uhh what about…”
“Lights out, Thundercuck.”
Robert couldn’t help the laugh that escaped him as Invisigal dragged the villain’s unconscious body up to handcuff him before giving the security camera Robert was watching her from a happy salute.
The dispatcher’s eyes slowly trailed from his monitor screen to the back of the bullpen, watching intently as the board updated its scores. Then there it was. Lightningstuck's latest attempt had made him worth the capture. Invisigal made it over the group’s average.
No one was going to get cut.
They did it. They all fought for their right to stay, and they did it.
They were going to stay together.
Robert was smiling as he got up, Beef following behind him, to greet Visi as she brought in her catch, but the Z-team got to him first. Apparently, they hadn’t seen the leaderboard update and thought Visi was still going to be cut so they were planning to riot and Robert was going to be dragged along as a…ally? They all stared at Robert in disbelief as he told them the good news.
“Goddamnit Robert! Fucking tell us before we plan a hostage situation,” Prism had yelled as she immediately went to deleting stuff off her phone.
Before Robert could ask what she meant by that, the little lady of the hour walked through the door with the villain in tow. He thought Visi would have been a sore winner, but she seemed taken aback by the fact the whole team was there and congratulating her. They were cheering for her the whole time as she threw Lightningstruck into the hold—Prism, Flambae, and Malevola even dragged her aside for some pictures.
“Robert!” Sonar clapped Robert on the shoulder, “You really saved my ass today man. If you ever need a little something, I’m your guy.”
A red tail came out of nowhere to smack the bat on the back of the head. Sonar yelped, “HEY! IT’S FOR ROB-BOB, NOT ME!”
“I am in your debt,” Coupé appeared out of seemingly nowhere and stared directly into his eyes as she pulled out a knife from her shoulder. “If you need anybody taken care of. I am ready.”
Well, that's… good to know. He shook his head as he smiled lightly at Coupé, “no need Coop, it was the right thing to do. You’re doing great though. I’m proud of you.”
Coupé’s fingers tightened around the knife before she looked away, eyes landing on Punch Up and she left to follow the strongman. The team started dragging Visi to the leaderboard for another photo. She was above Coupé and Sonar now, how much was a jewelry heist worth in SDN points. Robert watched from the side, never a big fan of pictures. Visi was still surprised that everyone was so excited for her, but she was happy. She made the right choice for her then.
Robert watched the scene in front of him, his hands twitching with the need to do something. Maybe he should give her something, like an extra prize. Robert didn’t have much, and he didn’t want to spend his money on anything unless he was dying. However…
Robert walked back to his desk, took a seat, and reached for the stack of sticky notes. He carefully peeled one off the top, and his fingers moved on autopilot. All the steps memorized ever since he was a kid bored out of his mind. Simple folds, only made a bit challenging by the fact the paper was small. One last move and there—a paper crane.
“It’s not much, little bird, but here,” Dad said, handing Robert a small paper crane. Robert was still wiping away his tears after Dad took care of the bruises, before he reached out and took the small bird. “You did a good job, no matter what your father says, alright? Heaven knows you shouldn’t be doing any of this shit in the first place….if only I could just–”
When he looked to his side, Visi was leaning against the side of his cubicle, watching in curiosity as to what he was doing. He held back a smile at seeing her eyes narrow in confusion when he handed the little bird to her. She examined the little thing in her hands, before turning to Robert with her eyebrows furrowed in confusion. He shrugged, “I don’t have any gold stars or anything but that should work.”
Visi laughed, “You gonna start treating me like a toddler, Lieutenant Dan?”
“I mean if you don’t want it-”
“No, I want it.” she said, pulling the paper bird closer to her chest.
The other members of the team had apparently followed behind Visi, now his cubicle was becoming a former villain hangout it seemed. They all eyed the bird Invisigal was holding. Then Prism leaned over the cubicle walls to look at Robert directly, “you playing favorites Mr Dispatcher?”
“It’s a paper bird,” Robert rolled his eyes, “You can make it yourself”
“You bothered making one for her,” Coupé remarked, eyeing the paper in Visi’s hand as she spun a knife between her fingers.
“Are you jealous because of an origami bird?” he couldn’t believe this. These people were adults.
“Come on Bob-bob”, Flambae snarked, “team equality and shit,”
“Seriously. Is this seriously about a piece of folded paper?”
Invisigal cackled as she held the paper bird over her head while walking a few steps into Robert’s cubicle. “Yeah! It’s my piece of folded paper bozos. Suck it!”
The team of employed grown-ups started voicing their complaints (whines), which got side eyes from other dispatchers as they left the bullpen. Robert sighed, fingers messaging his temple. He was dealing with children. “Visi- know what. Whoever does best next shift gets one. How about that?”
Malevola grinned at that, “so… whoever gets top of the team next time gets a crane?”
Robert closed his eyes, accepting whatever mess was going to be unleashed from this. “Sure. Why the hell not.”
They cheered at that, laughing with each other as they all made their way out of the SDN doors. They all had a new goal for tomorrow. He hopes that maybe something small like this could keep them going all the way to the top of the board.
Look at his group of idiots, they’re going to do great. He pulled Beef leash on and bid the team goodbye as he was ready to head home.
“Good work today,” Blazer says as she and Chase approach Robert. “I… I’m sorry for what happened this morning with the whole… cut situation.”
“Yeah…,” Robert replied, “Just. If you want to help them Blazer… you have to understand them better first. You know?”
Blazer stared at him for a bit, blue eyes trying to read into his brown. “Yeah, you got it. Thanks for helping Visi out there, if I’m going to be honest I probably wouldn’t have let you cut her.”
“If you are worried about letting the team get away with too much… you also can’t be letting Invisigal get away with too much. She’s a kid, she’s your kid. She needs the right support from you, Blazer.”
She took a breath before she straightened up, giving Robert’s arm a squeeze. “See you tomorrow, Robert. Take care of yourself.”
She steps back inside leaving Robert alone with Chase. Chase clears his throat, “I still would have cut her.”
“Chase–”
“Don’t give me that. She’s… she could be good but right now? She should be doing other fucking shit. ” Robert couldn’t help but snort, Chase leveled him with a glare.
“You started at 17.”
“And she’s been a villain for years before this. She’s reckless and can’t fucking listen and is going to get her ass in fucking danger that you can’t pull her out of and next thing you know you’re watching him almost die on the fucking news and trying to reach them and you fucking can’t cause the little shit is–” Chase closed his eyes, taking a breath. “Be careful with that one, kid… Have a good night.”
“...you too, unc.” Robert turned and headed home with Beef in tow. It was a surprisingly peaceful night. A short breeze and a nice quiet. No one else was out tonight. It used to make him feel anxious, walking alone late like this, but he’s learned that ever since he got out anyone who would even dare to try and target him would be taking the big sleep. He hopes every night that no one tries, for their sake. His grip tightens around Beef’s leash.
His house was 15 minutes away, this walk was the breather that Robert needed that day. Even if he hated the feeling of being watched.
There was a new pair of eyes on him tonight. There's one every night but he felt that it was… different this time. More focused. More sharp. Eyes cutting into every step that he takes, like a bird watching her prey.