Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Robert wasn’t a sentimental man. He never was to begin with, save for the picture of him and his dad and a few other rare occasions. Yet, the movie night he had with Invisigal probably made it up there on the small list of sentimental moments.

It was nice. It was simple.

Watching a movie, scarfing down on popcorn, Sour Patch Kids, and all other manner of junk food. No expectations, no…happy ending. Just two friends enjoying a cheesy romcom. It felt genuine, real. Unlike with Blonde Blazer. Call it paranoia, but he was already weary of her, especially with how strongly she came on the night they met, and how casual she was about her wardrobe malfunction.

Yes, he most likely was paranoid, but it’s worked out for him well over the past decade and a half, so he had no intention of toning it down now.

All of this went on in his mind as he brushed his teeth and got dressed. His face, unchanging and deadpan as ever, didn’t even twitch as he felt the slight sting of the still healing cuts from the shards of glass that got launched into his chest.

Welp, time to get back to work.

***

“Mornin’ fucker”, Chase started, immediately moving to pick up Beef, who seemed to be ever so happy about seeing the old man.

“Morning, fucker”, Robert replied, “Did I miss anything?”

“Day hasn’t even started, so no. Blazer did tell me to have you meet her when you get here. What’s the deal with that? You two, uh…got a thing or what?”

“No, no thing. Office?”

“Yup.”

“Right.”

He then walked over to Blazer’s office, an almost daily ritual at this point. He wondered if anyone else was this close and personal with their boss, but he didn’t dwell on it. Most bosses didn’t get tipsy during interviews.

When he entered, Blazer sat at her desk, staring at a file with a conflicting look in her eyes, something that immediately gave Robert pause. Another cut?

“Blazer”, Robert greeted, closing the door behind him, “Already calling in that rain check?”

She looked up.

“What? Oh, no. That’s way too soon. I’m saving that for a rainy day”, she replied, laughing a little.

“Good, ‘cause I rarely give those away. I have a busy schedule.”

Blazer raised an eyebrow, “Do you?”

“Yeah, didn’t you know, I’m a pretty important guy”, Robert deadpanned, making Blazer laugh a little.

“So, what’s up?” the skinny man asked, “We cutting someone else?”

“Oh, God no! That was…kinda tossed onto you last minute. I’m not about to do that to you again. This is…something else entirely. Nothing to do with the Z-Team.”

Robert’s interest was now piqued.

Blazer then pushed the file she had examined towards him.

“Remember that Thunderstruck guy?”

“You mean Thundercuck?” Robert quipped, smirking as he took the file, “Yeah, I remember him. Why?”

“Well, he’s a part of a gang called the Red Ring”, she said.

“Yeah, that-that tracks. Y’know, with the red rings and red eye. Really easy to miss.”

“Robert, this is serious. You’ve faced these guys before.”

Robert raised his own eyebrow.

“Yeah?”

“Yeah, when you last faced off against Shroud.”

Robert’s countenance darkened at this as very unpleasant feelings and memories flooded his mind.

“So…what about this Red Ring?”

“They belong to Shroud. They’re on the rise, and activity from them is also on the rise. I’m not sure what they’re after, but I thought this would be something you could…y’know, take on with Z-Team.”

“‘Take on’?”

“I know I said we’d love a miracle. This is it, this is that miracle. You get to take down Shroud and his gang, and the Phoenix Program finally gets on the map.”

“Uh huh, just at the cost of the lives of the Z-Team.”

“What?” Blazer asked incredulously.

“Yeah, I hate to break it to you, but those assholes don’t stand a chance in hell against Shroud and his lackeys”, Robert said in his usual deadpan, no-fucks-given tone, “I mean, did you see what happened over the course of a few days? The team easily devolved to petty squabbles the second they heard about the cut.”

“Okay, so? That’s pretty on par for them.”

“I told you, Blazer, the bar is not low for me. It’s high. Very high. Especially going up against a heavy hitter like Shroud. You want more evidence they’re unprepared? They can barely take care of small-time crime on their own without some kind of bullshit taking place. Flambae is a straight up fucking manchild, Punchup is already pretty pissy with me, and don’t even get me started on Waterboy. He just got into the superhero game and you already wanna throw him in the deep end? Not happening. Oh, and let’s not forget that it took Visi three tries to nab a, let’s be honest, low level member of the Red Ring.”

Blazer tilted her head.

“Visi?” she repeated.

Robert ignored it and kept the conversation on topic. This was not the time for jokes.

“Blazer, they are nowhere near ready for the big leagues. Hell, I wasn’t ready and I’ve been doing this for fifteen fucking years. I got off with a coma and a totalled mech suit that neither I nor Royd can get to fucking work!”

“Robert”, Blazer said with slight shock.

“No. You gave me this team, and you gave me the authority to run it as I see fit. I’m telling you, this is a bad idea. I’m not about to let you send them into shit they most likely won’t be able to crawl out of.”

“Robert!”

The man had his teeth clenched at this point, but sat back into his seat, calming down.

“Okay”, Blazer said, taking the file, “Alright, I won’t bring it up again, but…please, just at least think on it? This could be huge, not just for the Z-Team. If you want this guy behind bars, this may be your only opportunity.”

Robert scoffed at this, but nonetheless nodded.

He then took the following silence as his cue to leave, and leave he did.

As he closed the door, he sighed in frustration and exhaustion. He didn’t think he’d need a second cup of coffee this early in the morning, but it looked like that was going to be the case. Still he hoped not as he walked towards his desk. He then leaned on it, growling in frustration. Sending the Z-Team against Shroud? What was Blazer thinking?

He then felt his desk shift slightly, and he knew it wasn’t Chase.

“Good morning, Visi”, he drawled.

At that, the space next to him was instantly taken up by the abrasive woman in question.

“Morning, Mecha Dick”, Invisigal responded, assuming her usual posture of folding her arms and leaning on another part of the desk like she owned the thing.

“How much of that did you hear?” Robert asked, knowing damn well Visi had been eavesdropping.

“All of it”, she said casually, “This Shroud dude really has you pissing your pants, huh?”

Robert ignored the remark, something that had not gone unnoticed.

“Look I know he fucked up your suit, but are you really actually afraid of this guy?”

“You’re not?”

“Afraid of a dude with a trench coat and a glorified gimp mask?” Visi scoffed, “Please.”

“Well, then you’re gonna be the first to fucking die”, Robert growled, taking the woman off guard.

“Hey, what the fuck, dude? You good? I thought, you know, after last night we were…y’know, cool”, she pointed out, her face already tensing up, ready for a fight.

Robert sighed, closing his eyes. He then got up and faced Invisigal fully.

“No, we’re cool, Invisigal", he relented, “But can you say with total, one hundred percent confidence that a bunch wanna-be fuck ups can succeed where Mecha Man failed? That you can succeed where I failed?”

“Took down Thundercuck, didn’t I?” Visi smirked.

“Cool, yeah, good for you. Now imagine an entire army of him. With superpowers. Who are better than him in every way, shape and form. Sorry, but compared to Shroud and all the other guys in his payroll, that guy may as well not have even existed.”

Invisigal snorted in derision as she scowled, “Wow, some fucking faith you have. No wonder you got your shit kicked in so spectacularly.”

Robert’s already thin patience finally snapped.

“It’s called fucking realism! You wanna take on Shroud, you go right ahead, but you can go do it all by your goddamn lonesome! Oh, and when he either kills you or sends you running with your tail between your legs, I’ll be right fucking there to say ‘I told you so’! If two Mecha Men couldn’t fucking do it, I doubt the walking talking representation of daddy issues will do any better!”

This final push was enough to make Visi real angry, so much so that she looked about ready to deck him again, if the clenched fists and teeth were of any indication. He was even loud enough to attract the eyes of the entire office. However, Robert didn’t care. If this was what it took to dissuade Visi from entertaining this pipe dream, then so be it.

“Fine”, Visi finally growled, “Have it your way. I hope that dog chomps your tiny little fucking dick off!”

At that, Visi vanished.

Robert sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose.

This was going to be a very long day.

***

The day could have gone smoother, but it also could have been infinitely worse. Robert was just thankful Visi didn’t act out too much. Still, other than that, the day was going just as well as could be expected. Hell, he was actually starting to get used to Sonar’s screeching.

That, however, didn’t concern him. What did concern him was getting back into fighting shape. He stood in front of the punching bag, hands up and legs spread out as he maintained his fighting stance. He landed hit after hit, blow after blow. He then threw out a roundhouse kick, making sure to pivot his entire body.

He couldn’t get the name out of his head.

Shroud.

It ate at him the whole day, like a worm inside of an apple. Shroud, on the move again. For what reason? He got what he wanted. Mecha Man was all but gone, the Astral Pulse was his, and proving to be damn near impossible to reverse engineer. What did that traitorous, cowardly asshole want now?

Robert continued to grunt, only this time in anger rather than exertion.

Shroud. Fucking Shroud.

He imagined himself back in the steel mill. He imagined things playing out differently. Imagined him punting Toxic out of the building like a football, vaporizing the blob goon. He imagined standing over Shroud’s body as he hit him over and over again.

Robert yelled in rage now, push-kicking the bag in a final act. He panted, already feeling just how out of shape he was.

“You good, angry boy?”

This startled Robert so bad that he instinctively swung his fist in the general direction of the voice. Luckily, Visi had fast reflexes.

After dodging the blow, the woman looked visibly surprised.

“Yo, what the fuck?!” she exclaimed.

Robert frowned.

“Dammit, how many times are you gonna sneak up on me like that?”

“It’s funny, what can I say?” Invisigal shrugged.

“Well, it’s not funny to me”, Robert grunted as he unzipped his hoodie and lowered the hood.

“Dude, what the fuck is up with you?” Visi demanded, “You are way, way more dickish today than usual, and that’s coming from me.”

“Gee, I wonder why”, Robert drawled as he took a long swig of water after taking a seat on one of the gym benches.

“Fuckin’ Christ man, I thought we were friends! Don’t friends, y’know share shit with each other?”

“What, like our wet dreams?”

Visi huffed at this, exasperation clearly written on her face.

She then threw her arms up in surrender as she said, “Fine, fuck you too. I’m out.”

At that, she vanished.

Robert closed his eyes for a moment, frowning even deeper, this time with regret.

Finally…

“Visi, wait”, he relented.

Nothing, but he had a feeling she had at least stopped.

“I’m sorry, okay? We are friends, and…yeah, I have been more of an asshole than normal. You’re right. I’m sorry.”

Still nothing. Robert rubbed his forehead in frustration as he sighed.

“Wow”, he whispered, berating himself quietly, “Nice going, Mecha Dick.”

Visi then appeared next to him on the bench he sat on.

“Damn right, Dad Bod”, she said, holding out a towel for him.

Robert took it, wiping himself of sweat as Visi took a hit of her inhaler.

“Look, hot as our banter is”, the woman said, still trying to catch her breath, “No bullshit, what the hell is going on? This Shroud shit really got you this riled up?”

Robert put aside the towel as he took off his handwraps. Evidently, he had gone a little too hard a little too long if the blood on his knuckles was of any indication.

“Yeah”, he muttered, “Yeah I guess it does.”

Visi looked hesitant for a few moments.

“You…you must really hate this guy, huh?”

“Whatever gave you that idea?”

The question, while rhetorical, came out softer than usual, with less bite.

“Guess that means you really wanna put this guy behind bars, huh?”

Robert stood now.

“No, Visi”, he said, “I want him dead. Gone. Reduced to the fucking past tense.”

Visi raised an eyebrow at that.

“That doesn't sound like something a superhero should say.”

“Haven’t you heard? I’m not a superhero. Not anymore. I’m just Robert Robertson the Third.”

This made Visi begin to laugh at that.

“I’m sorry, the Third?” Visi repeated, “That should be a criminal offence.”

This made Robert chuckle, though only a little.

“So you’ve got a revenge boner for this guy. That's why you’ve been the tip of all dicks today?”

“Yeah…yeah, guess you could say that.”

“But…as a superhero”, Visi pressed, “Shouldn’t you be trying to turn this guy in to the police?”

“So he can escape from prison again?” Robert countered, “No, I won’t take that risk again. He’s the reason why I’m Mecha Man, why, for as little I saw of him, I’ll never see my dad again, why the Brave Brigade shattered like fucking glass!”

“He’s the reason why you’re no longer Mecha Man”, Visi finished, “Wasn’t enough to kill your dad, then he decided to raw dog your legacy. I get that right?”

Robert simply scoffed at the vulgar terminology, but nodded nonetheless.

Visi stood now at this point.

“Then sic us on these Red Cock Ring fucks”, she said, “This could finally put us on the good guy book, and you and I both know that Water-Vomit could use the experience.”

“Invisigal…”

“Lemme finish”, she interjected, “Sic us on just the Red Ring. Forget the emo dude. We’ll get familiar with these guys, work our way up to the big leagues. That’s why we’re here, isn’t it? To be superheroes?”

Robert looked at Visi, who gave an almost uncharacteristically reassuring smile. He wanted to say he was weirded out, but a part of him wasn’t. He had seen a softer side of the abrasive, vulgar, borderline irritating woman the night before, and if he was being honest, it was a side he wanted to keep between them. That being said, he was still suspicious. His paranoia was acting up again.

“Why are you so…adamant on helping me? We don’t exactly know each other well, so…what’s your angle exactly?”

Visi looked to the side in hesitation, grimacing slightly.

“Well, what’re friends for, right?”

Robert smirked slightly. He wasn’t fully convinced, but it was reassuring nonetheless.

“Also”, she continued, “I guess…I get it. You loved your dad. You want revenge. I get it.”

“There’s a story there”, Robert responded, “But…I won’t pry.”

This made Visi relieved.

She then glanced at the clock, seeing that it was pretty late.

“Well, I’ll uh…yeah, I’m just gonna go”, she said, but before she made her exit, she asked, “Hey, one more thing! Back in Blazer’s office this morning, did you mean what you said? About not wanting to send us into shit?”

“Yeah, I did”, the skinny man replied immediately, “Contrary to what your teammates believe, I do, in fact, give a shit about you all. I will not risk your lives for my own personal vendetta.”

He watched Visi, waiting for a response. Instead, he received a warm, if not slight, smile, making a warm smile of his own form on his lips.

“Thanks”, she said, “For, well, for giving a shit.”

“Don’t, uh…don’t mention it.”

Visi gently huffed as she walked away, not using her powers to do so for the first time since they met.

“Oh, and for what it’s worth, I don’t hope your dog chomps your dick off. See you around…Mecha Man.”

Finally, she made her exit.

Robert, now finally alone, smiled even warmer.

“See you around, Visi.”

Chapter Text

He stood in the conference room, with Z-Team all sitting in their respective chairs, well, all except for Waterboy. He had taken to standing in a bucket in the corner. Perhaps it shouldn’t have looked as sad as it did, as it served a practical purpose, but it nevertheless made Robert feel bad for the kid.

The team was, as usual, rowdy at first, complaining amongst themselves about the meeting, but they did all arrive. Even Visi and Melevola showed up on time.

“Alright everyone, settle down”, Robert said, making them all turn to acknowledge him.

So far, this was going significantly smoother than the last meeting, considering he hadn’t been hammered into the wall and everyone was behaving…reasonably well.

“We settled in? Cool.”

“Let’s get this done and over with, please”, Punchup said, “I’d rather not deal with ye this early in the morning.”

“Sooner you pipe down, sooner that happens”, Robert rebutted, making the small strongman shut up.

“Alright people, listen”, he began, “Blonde Blazer gave me an assignment. It’s…a little unusual, but she thought it was a good fit, so we’ll see.”

He then slid the file Blazer had yesterday on the table towards the back, so that everyone could get a look. Also to avoid starting off with Visi, who already knew the general gist.

“Remember Invisigal’s bust on Bangle Boy?” he asked.

“You mean Thundercuck?” Melevola quipped, smirking slightly. This made everyone chuckle at that, even Robert, if not internally.

“What, we gotta deal with him again?” Prism complained, “I thought we already dealt with this milk-toast fuck!”

“We did, but he’s…well, just the tip of the iceberg.”

This made everyone look at Robert with intrigue.

“So what--who-I-I mean, what-do you-what do you want-need us to do?” Waterboy finally got out.

“B-b-b-beh-b-buh”, Flambae began to mock, cackling after doing so along with the others, much to the kid’s chagrin.

“Hey, Whistle, unless you want another facefull of protein shake, shut the fuck up”, Robert said, making everyone let out an audible “oooooh” as Flambae glared at him, baring his teeth, missing gap and all.

“Now, to answer Waterboy’s question, I need you to investigate the gang this guy belongs to in your spare time.”

“New mission. Sick”, Golem said, giving a muddy thumbs up.

“Yup. So here’s the basics. Thunderstruck was a member of a group called the Red Ring. Supposedly, they’re getting bolder, causing a bunch more problems. You’ll likely be dispatched to crimes involving these guys anyway, so when you do, I expect thorough investigations on these crime scenes. You may be spread thin, admittedly, but Blazer’s working on a potential temporary fix to that. Our goal is to figure out what the Red Ring is up to, stop it, and dismantle the whole thing, eventually, potentially, working our way up to the leader.”

“And w-w-who would,-c-c-could, w-w-would that be?”

Robert then slid another file down the table, one that he himself put together with painstakingly vivid detail.

As they all opened it, there was some silence, except from Flambae, of course.

“Shroud?” he asked, “Are you fucking kidding me? We’ve gotta clean up after Mecha Dick’s mecha mess, now?”

“Yeah, I’m with Flambae on this one”, Prism said, “This sounds like Mecha Douche’s problem, not ours. Maybe if he, y’know nutted the fuck up, came outta retirement and dealt with his fucking bullshit, we’d be good, right?”

“Eh, It’d be cool, though”, Sonar interjected, “I mean, Shroud got his hands on the Astral Pulse. Bet if I got my hands on it, we could sell it back to Mecha Boy.”

“For, what, millions?” Malevola asked.

“Nah, billions”, the bat hybrid smirked, “He needs it to, y’know, do his mecha bullshit.”

“I like it, I like it”, Flambae added, “Been wanting to stick it up that little shit’s ass ever since he knocked my fucking tooth out.”

“Didn’t you do that yourself?” Visi asked, “Last I heard, you tripped on a fucking puddle of water. Sounds to me like that’s on you, Toothless.”

“Hey, fuck you, Invisibitch”, the man exclaimed, extending his middle finger.

“Hey, it’s okay, everyone’s at least a little bit of a masochist, at least we know what gets you wet”, the woman quipped, a devilish smirk on her lips.

“ENOUGH”, Robert yelled as he slammed his fist into the table, making everyone jump in surprise, even Golem, “Take the assignment, don’t take it, I don’t give a fuck! Doesn’t matter if…if Mecha Man fucked up, what matters is the result of that fuck up is right here right now!”

He then took a deep breath, trying to calm himself before continuing.

“So…you can either tell Blazer yourselves to shove this assignment up her ass, or you can take this for the opportunity it is. You wanna be superheroes, this is it, this is your chance. This is the big leagues here, your chance to…to succeed, where two Mecha Men failed. You guys really want to let an opportunity like that slip by?”

As he said that last part, he made direct eye contact with Flambae.

“So, what’ll it be, assholes? Yes or no?”

He then scanned the whole room, even Waterboy, who winced with nervousness. Robert gave the kid a reassuring smile, so as to boost his almost nonexistent confidence. It was only just then that he noticed that Sonar had taken a particular interest in the file on Shroud. If he had any human eyes, they would have been darting to and fro. The man-bat hybrid made a face of intrigue as he scanned the reasonably thick file. Nonetheless, he was silent.

He took the silence as affirmation.

“Good”, he said, “Thank you. All of you. You do this, and not only will you get bragging rights, you’ll finally get your tickets to the big leagues. Some real superhero shit. Now let’s get out there, and let’s have a good day.”

Robert had been about to dismiss them, but decided not to.

“One more thing, all of you.”

There was no bite in his voice, no projected authority. He needed them to understand, needed them to know he was being genuine.

“These people are dangerous, even for you guys. If shit starts to hit the fan, bail the fuck out of there, I don’t give a shit, and let me know. You guys are criminals, these guys are killers.”

Robert then leaned into the table, the bite and authority coming back with a vengeance.

“And if you see this as an opportunity to simply slack off and let people get hurt, powers or no, I will personally shove my boot so far up each and every one of your asses you’ll taste the cow the leather came from. Am I clear?”

The Z-Team all simply nodded wordlessly. Even Flambae and Prism looked properly cowed, having never seen this side of Robert before.

“Awesome. Now let’s have a good day. Dismissed.”

At that, the team, still wordless, filed out of the room.

Robert let out an exhausted sigh. Hopefully he got his point across.

***

“Holy shit”, Malevola said as they all walked away from the conference room, “I don’t think I’ve ever seen Roberto that pissed.”

“M-me neither”, Waterboy added.

“N-n-nobody asked you, Waterbitch”, Flambae exclaimed.

“Okay, seriously dude, that was funny at first, now it’s just annoying”, Malevola interjected.

“I’m with Mal on that. I’m kinda liking the lad”, Punchup said, “Don’t make me regret saying it, Waterboy.”

“T-thanks, Punchup”, Waterboy quietly responded.

“Welp, guess we have our fuckin’ orders”, Prism said, “Let’s just get this day over with.”

“Yo, mate”, Malevola said, addressing Sonar, “You find something interesting in the Shroud file?”

“Eh, kinda, I guess” Sonar replied, “It was just…that file was pretty detailed for a basic dossier.”

“Yeah, he’s a well known villain, of course it’d be detailed”, Visi said.

“No, this was really, really specific. I’ve seen corporate files before, and they’re detailed, but not this detailed. All that was missing from it really was what the dude’s favorite strip club was.”

“So? Maybe Blazer gave him the file. She’s got some pretty tight connections with different folks”, Prism said, dismissing Sonar altogether, “Let’s just get to it, I have no interest in doing work for that motherfucker we call our handler, so y’all better pick up the slack.”

At that, all of them dispersed to various areas of the facility. All except one. One simply stood near the conference room entrance, vanishing when the door opened for an already exhausted looking Robert, who made his way towards his desk.

Visi, for her part, was feeling genuinely worried for Robert, which was entirely unusual. She could honestly say that, under normal circumstances, she wouldn’t have given two shits about a guy like Robert. Yet these were far from normal circumstances. Even before properly meeting him, he didn’t seem like a pushover, if the numerous scars, calloused knuckles and palms, and the noticeable chunk missing from his ear were of any indication. The confirmation came from the last few days, from standing up to her yelling, to finally wrangling the team to some semblance of order, to even casually lobbing a chair into Golem and not even flinching or standing back after the construct glared at him. Though, if she was being honest, she wasn’t sure if that was an indication of bravery or suicidal tendencies. Given his general demeanor, emotionless, almost dead-inside face and tone, and how casually he took blows that would literally have him bleeding all over the floor, she had a small inclination to assume the latter.

Regardless, he had earned her respect.

He could have told on her when she decked him to the ground, and he would have been well within his rights to do so, yet he didn’t. When she asked him why once, he hit her with the same dead look as always and told her “Whatever beef we have between us is just that, between us. This isn’t a fucking playground.”

He could have simply let her quit on Monday, and would have had good reason, too. He did catch her committing two illegal acts on camera after all. But no, he just had to tell her to keep trying, he just had to give her that extra nudge to finally even the score with Thunderstruck. He had made it absolutely clear that he did not want to cut her from the team, which was why she knew with absolute certainty that the decision to let Coupe go was not one he made easily.

The thing that earned him brownie points the most, however, was how he treated her when she told him about her wet dream. He didn’t treat her any differently with that knowledge, even during their movie night. Most guys, especially in an office setting, would have been either stupidly awkward about it, or worse, would hit on her, thinking they had a chance. Yet, this guy treated her like a normal human being. Not even a super villain, just a normal person. She truly hadn’t decided that night if they were friends or not. Last she checked, friends didn’t dream about having the best oral sex of all time with each other, but after a relaxing, chill, and honestly pleasant night of watching a cheesy romcom, yeah, he was her friend.

Visi hadn’t joined the Z-Team to make friends, to be fair, and yet she didn’t regret making essentially her boss one such exception.

Which brought her back to the present. She knew enough about Robert to know that he didn’t make decisions based on emotion. He was the textbook definition of professionalism, minus his potty mouth and sarcastic demeanor to rival that of Chandler Bing. Still, she was genuinely taken aback by his sudden change in demeanor yesterday at the mention of Shroud, and his sudden threat in the conference room earlier today. She’d never seen him lash out like that before, even when he had good reason to, yet his rival had sent him into a pretty dark place. That is, if he wasn’t in one already.

Visi shook her head. It was time to focus on the present. Time to get to work.

“Invisigal”, she heard Robert say on her earpiece, “You’re up.”

***

Robert smiled as Waterboy returned from another successful dispatch. The kid was getting the hang of the superhero gig, and he couldn’t be more proud. Every success made him just slightly more confident, which in turn made him just that little bit less of a pushover. He even threatened to drench Flambae with water in his own timid way, but it was still enough to irritate the Afghani villain, if the small rant in Arabic was of any indication.

He was brought to the present by the lunch alarm.

“Alright team, lunch time. Get your food and meet me at the conference room. I want a status report on your dispatches concerning the Red Ring.”

“Dude, you fuckin’ kidding me? During lunch, really?” Sonar complained, “Lunch time is sacred, bro. You don’t mess with lunch time.”

“Which is why I’m asking you all to get your food and bring it in the conference room”, Robert countered, “Just do it.”

This was met with loud groans of protest from the entire team that could be heard even as he slid his headset off. He then got up from his desk, checking his wallet to make sure he had bills.

“Yo, Robert”, Chase said, peeking over his cubicle, “You really gonna have chocolate and fuckin’ Twinkies for lunch again?”

“Yup”, Robert replied, “Concerned about my eating habits now? Are you absolutely certain you’re not actually eighty years old?”

“Fine, go ruin your appetite, but do it away from me, so I don’t shove those Twinkies up your fuckin’ ass.”

“Will do, Unc.”

At that, Robert got up from his chair and made his way towards the break room. As usual, he grabbed himself a pack of Twinkies and a chocolate bar. It was all he needed, really. He then looked to the side, seeing that Waterboy had come in to quickly grab two containers with cut up fruit in them.

After the kid used the door, however, it seemed to stay open for a little longer than it should have, a detail that did not go unnoticed.

“You’re timing’s a little off, Vis”, he said, not even looking around as he walked to the drinks machine to pick up a soda.

“Dammit”, she said, appearing in front of the vending machine, “Hey, you got a dollar I can borrow?”

“Don’t you have cash on you?”

“Yeah, duh, but I don’t wanna use it. Just gimme one!”

“Why didn’t you just steal my wallet, Sticky Fingers?”

“I tried, fuck-ass, but you moved.”

Robert then grabbed his soda from the machine and turned towards Visi, who looked just as casual as ever. He then rolled his eyes as he dug out a spare dollar from his wallet and handed it to her.

“Thanks, Dad Bod, you’re the best”, she said before turning eagerly to insert the dollar into the vending machine and pressing the buttons needed to produce a small pack of Sour Patch Kids.

She did indeed fucking love Sour Patch Kids.

She then turned as she opened the pack greedily, popped one in her mouth and then examined Robert’s lunch.

“You’re kidding, right?” she asked, gesturing towards the junk food in his hands, “That’s your lunch?”

“Yeah. That a problem, Kettle?” Robert asked, glancing at the candy in her hand.

“I’m snacking, you’re…I don’t fuckin’ know. That’s not lunch.”

“Yeah, it is. Now c’mon, to the conference room.”

“Why, so we can fuck?”

“That’s where the meeting is being held. Remember?”

“Hey, I mean, to each their own, but I’m not really into the whole voyeurism thing.”

Robert frowned even deeper as he raised an eyebrow, indicating his patience was already reaching a breaking point. 

“Okay, okay, I’m going”, Visi relented, which was yet another uncharacteristic action coming from the woman. Usually she liked to press his buttons until he snapped. She did that to everyone, for that matter.

He decided not to dwell on it, and instead made his way with her to the conference room.

“Hey, B.T. dubs, I didn’t find anything in my runs so far today”, Visi said, “Y’know, just to save you some time.”

Robert clenched his teeth at this as he sighed and replied, “Right.”

He didn’t see it, but Visi made a face of quiet frustration, pursing her lips and looking down a little as she did. Moments later, she slammed the door open with her palm and made her way to a seat, leaning back and resting her feet on the table as she continued to snack on her Sour Patch Kids.

Everyone was eating their lunch on the table, and not one of them even bat an eye as Sonar gulped down a dead rat. Was that even allowed?

“Alright, people, let’s get this shit over with so we can eat in peace. What’d you find?”

“Huh, what? Oh, yeah. Nothing, nope. Jackshit”, Flambae quickly said offhandedly before going back to digging into his Chinese food.

“Anyone else?” Robert asked.

The only responses he got were silent, blank stares from each and every single member of the Z-Team. Save for Visi, of course.

“Seriously? Nothing?” Robert asked, his eyes narrowing and his teeth clenching again, “None of you have found a single fucking lead?”

Prism then spoke up, “I mean, we took on a couple of guys from the Red Ring, yeah, but leads? Nah.”

“For some reason, I just find that hard to believe.”

“W-w-we, t-they, we tried, Me-m-Robert. N-nothing”, Waterboy said, shrugging and smiling helplessly.

“Remind me again why we’re doin’ this?” Punchup asked.

“Because Blazer and I assigned this to you, that’s why”, Robert seethed, tossing his lunch on the table.

“Rrrrright”, Melevola said, observing Robert’s disposition with her own narrowed eyes, “Well, look, in our defense, some of the Red Ring guys we came across didn’t look all that, you know, powered up. No more threatening than the arsholes we deal with on the regular.”

Robert’s teeth clenched. This was going far worse than he anticipated. He knew that, with the Z-Team, it would be slow going, but there was absolutely zero progress being made whatsoever.

“Seriously, nothing?!” Robert repeated, his temper quickly flaring, “Not even from you, Sonar?”

“What do you even mean? It’s not like they left their fucking tax statements lying around for me to look at”, Sonar defended.

Robert rubbed his face in frustration.

“So, let me make sure I understand this, none of you have found a fucking thing? Were you being willfully negligent, or is this entire team comprised of fucking morons!”

“Soundin’ like a broken record there, Robbie Boy”, Prism quipped.

“Lay off, ye fuckin’ prick”, Punchup retorted, “Maybe if you hadn’t cut Coop, we wouldn’t be here.”

“Oh, not this again”, Robert growled.

“Yeah, this again, you five o’clock shadow-havin’ motherfucker”, Prism said, “She still had ties with the big time criminals. Maybe if you hadn’t booted her ass, we’d have more to give you!”

“Yeah, she’s not wrong”, Golem said.

“You just had to fuckin’ boot her, didn’t ye”, Punchup pressed, “Well, congratulations, you’ve now dragged us into shite.”

“You know what?” Robert finally responded, “If none of you have anything, then leave.”

Everyone looked at each other.

“I’m serious, get the fuck out, all of you. You had one simple task, and you failed even that, so fuck off.”

The people in the room slowly began to file out.

“Yeah, go, get out. Yeah, that includes the Little Legs that Couldn’t”, Robert muttered, directing his ire now at Punchup, “Leave, now.”

Robert hung his head in defeat, leaning on the large table. He didn’t have the energy or the patience to deal with the Z-Team’s complaining.

The room finally emptied, leaving Robert to finally be alone with his thoughts, which was honestly probably not a good idea. He fell into one of the office chairs, glad that the blinds of the room were drawn so he could brood without an audience.

“Yeah, this is the team that takes down Shroud once and for all”, he snorted aloud, “What a joke.”

At that, the sound of Visi materializing behind him made him jump.

“Goddamn it”, Robert muttered.

He then looked at the woman, still holding her Sour Patch Kids. She didn’t say anything, but simply stared at him, but not in the same…inquisitive manner of two days ago. 

“Look, Invisigal, I’m not in the mood right now, so just…don’t.”

“Okay”, she said, taking a seat next to him and leaning back on her chair, popping a piece of the candy in her mouth.

After this, the silence that was only momentarily broken returned, save for the crinkles of the plastic candy bag. Robert then felt a gentle tap on his shoulder, making him look to see that Visi was offering him some candy.

He breathed out slightly in amusement, barely smirking as he took a piece of the candy. Visi also smiled in turn, taking the bag back.

Robert then looked at his Twinkie for a moment, and decided to dig in.

They spent the rest of their lunch break in complete, encompassing, comforting silence.

Chapter Text

It was late into the day at this point, but the work never stopped.

Robert climbed into his prototype mech, pulling out the small Astral Pulse prototype from his pocket.

“Proto-Pulse test number fifteen, commencing now”, he said as he inserted the small reactor into its housing before slotting said housing into the ceiling of the hatch. He flipped the switches, pressed the buttons, and initiated the boot up sequence. At this point, it almost felt natural again. Two months in a coma and some time added to that out of his suit, he really had started to feel like a regular guy, not even a mech pilot.

The monitors in the hatch then lit up, displaying power, suit status and other various functions. Finally, the main monitor activated, displaying the outside view.

“You read, Mecha Man?” Royd asked from his observation room.

“Loud and clear”, he replied, “Hopefully this works this time.”

“Don’t worry, bruddah. I check measurements two times, should go excellent, yeah?”

“We’ll see”, Robert deadpanned, “Simple locomotion.”

He tweaked his controls, extending the mech’s arms, clenching the hands, walking around the small area where he could.

All systems green.

He then took a deep breath. This was usually where the suit failed.

“Complex locomotion.”

Robert put up his hands and began to shadow box.

“Got some real moves there, bro”, Royd observed, “Dad teach you?”

“No, taught myself”, Robert said, putting out a roundhouse kick. He then tensely checked his system readout again, almost wishing he wouldn’t. No system failures, no abnormal power fluctuations.

“Royd”, he said, daring to hope, even against his better instincts, “Tell me systems are all green on your end.”

“All systems nominal”, he said, “We did it, bruddah!”

“YEAH, BITCH”, Robert yelled in triumph, allowing himself to lose his cool willingly this one time, pumping his fist in the hatch, “Yes!”

He then decided to bounce the mech on its toes, like a fighter would. All systems normal, power fluctuations within norms.

He couldn’t help it.

Robert began to laugh. Not with derision, not even the way he would laugh at a joke. It was a full, genuine, hearty laugh.

They did it.

Mecha Man was back.

“Hoh”, he sighed, “Alright, powering down.”

The then started the shutdown sequence, this time without having to forcefully yank out the Proto-Pulse.

The mech finally powered down, letting him gently slot out the housing and take out said Proto-Pulse.

The hatch then opened, with Royd greeting him with a wide smile.

“Proto-Pulse test fifteen…success”, Robert said. It felt real good to say those words.

“Hell yeah”, Royde explained, “Wanna move to the big boom stuff?”

“Nah, let’s do that tomorrow. Don’t wanna jinx it, so we’re gonna run the same test again tomorrow.”

“Fair enough. Hey, you’re not gonna go back to dat shithole you call home, are you?”

Robert then got up and tossed the Proto-Pulse to Royd, who scrambled to catch it before berating him on how sensitive it was.

“See you tomorrow Royd”, was his only response as he went to grab his jacket and make his exit.

He took the elevator to the main office, being sure to avoid any lingering coworkers, what little there were this late at night, so as to also avoid any awkward conversations. He didn’t come to SDN to make friends, with the exception of Visi, Chase, Royd and maybe Blazer. He still wasn’t sure what the hell was going on there.

Finally, he made his way to his cubicle. The first thing he saw, as always, was Beef, who simply say on the floor in front of his desk. The little dog woke up, rolling to its feet in excitement as he waddled his way to Robert.

“Good to see you too, pal”, Robert said fondly as he gave the dog a scratch on its head. The dog enjoyed the attention for a moment before giving his hand a lick.

“Yeah, yeah, I know”, he said, “Let’s go home.”

He packed up all of his stuff, stuffing his small backpack before slinging it on his shoulder and grabbing the cardboard box with a pillow in it, where Beef happily sat. The walk home was relatively quiet. He could recall the stories his dad would tell him about the early days of Los Angeles, and how dangerous a simple night walk home could be.

Since the official introduction of superheroes to the U.S., if his dad was to be believed, the whole country became that much safer. Well, from the run of the mill petty criminal. Robert was experienced enough to know that, in a world of superheroes and super villains, you either had petty crime or some world domination mastermind bullshit, with no in-between.

Still, walking home at night in a big city like L.A. was pretty safe with it being one of the hubs for heroes all around the world. He finally made his way to his empty, bare apartment, save for a couple of boxes filled with books and the one plastic chair in the center that served as his bed.

He flicked on the light before setting the box of Beef down in a corner. The dog was fast asleep at that point, utterly dead to the world, making Robert smile. The then slung his backpack off his shoulders, tossing it to another corner as he walked towards what was supposed to be the kitchen. The space where a fridge would usually be seated had been used as his investigation board when he had first gone on his Shroud hunt. The board was bare now, but it still sat there, waiting to be used.

And again it would be used.

He then got to work, putting pictures and information papers on the wall, using the old string between papers method. It was old school, maybe even cheesy, but it was effective. It took a few minutes, but he finally stepped back to look at his work, a hard frown on his face.

He almost had a feeling of deja vu, but that was for good reason.

Back to the Shroud hunt again.

By himself.

He sighed in defeat as he remembered the old saying.

If you want something done right, you do it yourself.

And better him than the mass of fuckups that called themselves a team.

***

Sonar was a Harvard graduate. He was the smartest in the room, no matter what any of those assholes thought of him. That wasn’t an opinion, rather than an objective fact. Someone didn’t like it, they could argue with his Master’s in business and marketing.

At least, that is what he would say.

Malevola would say otherwise.

The man-bat was smart, she couldn’t deny that, but when it came to interacting with people other than her and the rest of Z-Team, he was utterly clueless. Unless, of course they were at his same level of business acumen.

She sometimes wondered why they even got along. It wasn’t like she was a Harvard graduate or a CEO. She was a demoness. Yet, somehow, someway, they were the best of friends. Perhaps it was because she could easily get him out of tough situations with her portals, perhaps it was their mutual interest in partaking in illegal narcotics and fun parties. 

Any outside observer would have guessed that either they slowly became friends or they were dating. They would be wrong.

The fact of the matter was that they met, hit it off, and instantly became friends. There was no buildup, no sexual tension. They weren’t even dating. They were just really good mates.

The Batboy Conman and the Devil from Down Under.

They were quite the pair, and she honestly couldn’t have asked for a better friend. She was even more than willing to be his sponsor when he expressed a desire to break his addiction to coke. Mind you, both she and Sonar decided to partake during a celebratory bender just before joining the Phoenix Program, but that was beside the point. Besides, the effects weren’t nearly as bad for her as they were for him. Melevola may have only been half demon, but that half was still enough to mitigate the aftereffects of such a ludicrous amount of drugs and alcohol.

As she walked around the halls of SDN, she got a fair amount of looks, most of which made her wish she wasn’t the daughter of an incubus. She hadn’t been kidding when she mentioned how she was fetishized by a good amount of people, and quite frankly it made no sense to her. Did none of them realize she was a literal demon? If even half of those idiots’ wet dreams came true, they would be cursed with eternal damnation.

Of course, with the amount of things she had seen across different parts of the world, about half of the world was already doomed for that altogether. It was the main reason she was an atheist. She doubted that, if God existed, he would allow this much bullshit to occur.

She then entered the break room, only to catch Sonar trying to sneak some more cocaine into his system. Case in point.

Just before he could snort the line, she smacked him upside his furry head and dumped some water from a random plastic cup on it.

“Oh, c’mon, Mal”, he exclaimed, “It was just one!”

“Sonar, you agreed to try to sober up. This is not you trying”, the demoness reprimanded, “Now go poor yourself some coffee, mate.”

Sonar groaned in protest, but Mal was not having any of it, folding her arms and narrowing her yellow eyes at him.

“Alright, fine”, he relented, walking towards the coffee machine with his head drooped.

“Thanks”, she said, “I’ll see you out in the deployment room.”

“Yeah, yeah”, Sonar replied dejectedly as he poured some black coffee in a mug.

Malevola smiled as she exited the breakroom, thinking about how glad she was that he made the cut. He may have been an idiot at times, but he was her idiot. Christ, now even she had to remind herself that they weren’t dating.

Though, if she was being completely honest, she wasn’t opposed to the idea. She’d have to see about that if and when he fully sobered up. For now, she was happily content with their easy friendship.

As she walked towards the deployment room, she took notice of her handler, Robert Robertson. He looked more tired than usual, more dead inside than usual, and she didn’t even think such a feat was possible.

She then noticed that he nearly tipped his coffee mug over when he went to grab it. Though it was only a minor blunder at best, she couldn’t help but snicker. Something that didn’t go unnoticed by him.

As he looked at her with narrowed eyes, she asked, “You good there, Bobby Boy?”

“Get back to work, Piss-Eyes”, he deadpanned.

Wow, okay, not even starting off with banter, going straight to the insults.

“Oi, you good?” Mal asked.

“Peachy, now please go away.”

Mal made a face as she muttered “fair enough” and walked away.

Well, he was more pissy than usual. Then again, he had been that way for almost the whole week now.

Whatever.

It’s Friday, she wasn’t about to let some sensitive human with zero superpowers whatsoever ruin her day.

It was only when she finally managed to get to the deployment room that her day finally began.

Her first shift went pretty smoothly, actually.

Robert was more tight lipped than normal, but he at least did his best to pair the team with people they actually worked well with, which meant working more with her friend. What was better was that Punchup was starting to get over the cutting of Coupe. He was getting along rather well with the new kid, showing him the ropes of their whole gig. Even she was taking a liking to Waterboy. He was nervous, and he did sometimes leave water in places that were most inconvenient, but he meant well. He did try to stay out of their way, and his success rate with calls that they would have failed spectacularly on was quite something. If their team had a PR person, Waterboy was definitely the guy. Sure, it was fun scaring children and breaking the hearts of cultists, but at the end of the day, the new kid did make life easier, if only by a little bit.

It was towards the end of her second shift that things took a turn for the interesting.

“Malevola, the Cult of Chad is back at it again”, Robert said in her earpiece.

“Ch’aad”, she corrected, “Again?”

“Yyyyyup. Sending the coordinates.”

“Why is it always me that’s gotta deal with these morons?”

“Gee, I wonder why. I’m racking my brain here”, Robert drawled.

Malevola frowned at this.

“I’m calling racial profiling”, she muttered.

“Feel free to complain to HR, just go”, her handler snapped.

“Yeah, yeah.”

Malevola then set out, taking her usual route to avoid cops and churches.

When she finally approached the coordinates, she stayed behind the corner of an alleyway, seeing some of the cult members. Though, surprisingly enough, it didn’t look like a typical cult meeting. Some of the cultists, whom she recognized, were clearly engaging in illicit dealings with some other group, but it didn’t look like that other group were prospective recruits. If anything, they acted like bosses.

“Yo, Robert”, she whispered, “Can you get eyes on this?”

Luckily, the massive earpiece that somehow fit in her ear doubled as a body cam, giving Robert a front row seat to whatever action was going on.

“Yeah, I’m on. What am I looking at here?”

“The cultists, they’re in a meeting, and it doesn’t look like they’re pimping out Ch’aad, either.”

“Gross, but I see where you’re going with that. Just break it up with your sword.”

“Say fuckin’ less, mate.”

At that, Malevola hoisted her sword, opening a portal directly on the wall behind the non-cultists. While they turned to see what the commotion was, the cultists, already recognizing the portal, already bolted. They were always cowards.

She swung her massive broadsword, almost cleaving the remaining people in two, but they dodged the blow with abnormal speed. Super speed, of course.

“The fuck?” she heard Robert say in her ear, “Block left!”

She did as advised, slamming her sword into the ground to her left, and it truly worked, surprising the small, lanky man. It was at this point that she realized that both the man’s eyes were red and his neck and arms had glowing red rings on them.

The other two people also had red rings on their arms and legs as well. Subtle they were not.

“Hey, Robby-UGH”, she started, being interrupted by one of the goons who apparently had some superstrength trying to hit her in the stomach, “I think I found some Red Ring arseholes.”

“Yeah, I see it just gimme a goddamn sec!”

“Oh, don’t worry about me, I have-AGH-all the time in the fuckin’ world!”

***

“Shit, shit, shit”, Robert cursed, typing furiously on his keyboard as he did, trying to find any local camera to give him a better view of the fight, but finding nothing.

“Fuck”, he yelled.

“Rob, what’s going on?” Chase exclaimed, peaking over the cubicle.

“Melevola is dealing with some Red Ring guys and I have no camera coverage of the area.”

Chase’s face immediately went from concern to angry determination in the blink of an eye.

“How many?”

“Three, one of them has superspeed.”

“How fast?”

“He’s not Track Star fast, but he’s fast enough.”

“Good”, Chase growled, “Put some slippery shit on the floor then, or something that’ll get in his way. Even if he’s slower than me, he won’t react in time. Speedster’s worst nightmare.”

Robert looked back onto his screen, seeing that the fight was too chaotic for him to see well. He hated bodycams for that reason.

An idea then popped into his head.

“Mal, I’m sending you some backup. Try to keep the speed freak occupied.”

“Yeah, whatever, just get them here fast”, the demoness yelled.

He then killed the feed, switching his comms link to the backup in question.

“Waterboy, listen, Malevola is in trouble and she needs help. I’m sending you her coordinates, get there as fast as you can and slip up the perps so she can get them.”

“M-Me? You cer-cert-, sure?”

“Waterboy, listen to me”, Robert insisted, “She needs your help. You’re a superhero, so go out there, and do some superhero shit. You can do this.”

“Y-you-”, Waterboy started, before then taking a deep breath, “Alright. L-let’s go.”

At that, Waterboy’s tracker indicated he was on the way.

“Attaboy”, Robert encouraged with a smirk on his face, “You’re dealing with three perps. One has super strength and the other superspeed, not sure about the third. You’re gonna try to slip up the speedster with some water.”

“W-will that work?”

“Trust me, you nearly slipped up Blazer, you can get some evil Track Star wannabe.”

“Fuckin’ A”, he heard Chase say.

“R-r-right. Alm-al-, nearly there.”

***

“Where’s that goddamn backup?!”

“Waterboy’s almost there”, Robert replied.

“Water-oh, you’ve gotta be fucking kidding me!”

“H-hey, Mel-Mol-Melevola”, she heard, but not over comms.

Melevola glanced to the side and, sure enough, the new kid was there, simply standing there.

“Fucking Christ, kid, MOVE”, she yelled, trying to push him out of the way of the speed freak.

“Waterboy, remember what I said, trip him up”, Robert yelled over the comms.

“Trip hi-”, Mal started, only realizing after the strongman punched her directly across the alleyway towards the entrance, where Waterboy still stood terrified, “No way, I’m wearing fuckin’ heels, cunt!”

“Just do it!”

At that, the speedster dashed towards Mal and Waterboy, but missed, stopping at a parked car. He seemed to pant for a moment. Waterboy seemed to notice this, and so did Malevola. She had seen plenty of footage of Track Star’s fights to know that he was losing steam. She could only hope Waterboy had, too. She couldn’t lug her sword fast enough.

“W-when I tell you, m-move”, the kid said. Oh yeah, he’d seen some footage too. She then looked at the other two goons, who looked like they were heading her way.

“Whatever you’re gonna do kid, do it fast.”

She glanced behind her, noticing that the speed freak was getting ready to go. And so was Waterboy.

“Now”, he gagged out. That was always unsettling.

Malevola moved, and just in the nick of time as a puddle of water formed between her and the young hero. A brief blur and movement later, and all of a sudden there was a large dust cloud where she heard a loud thump and crash just before. She tried to stand straight, but her decision to wear heels around Waterboy was becoming…a choice.

She leaned against the wall with one hand and held her sword in the other, waiting for the dust to clear. When it did, however, she was not expecting what she saw. The strongman and the speed freak were both against the wall of the alleyway, both unconscious, while the third Red Ring member was trying and failing to get on his feet.

The sight was something to behold. So much so that she couldn’t help her laugh.

Well, it was less laughing and more guffawing.

“HAHAHAHA! Holy shit, nice”, she yelled happily as she clapped the much shorter man’s shoulder. He nearly fell over from the force, but managed to regain his footing before rubbing the back of his drenched head and grinning nervously.

“T-th-thanks!”

“Oh, I’ve gotta take a picture of that, it’s too fuckin’ funny! AHAHAHAHA!”

As she went to take out her phone, she was interrupted by the sound of the third guy trying to make a run for it. Malevola wasn’t having it as she snagged the man by the neck with her tail.

As the man choked, she took a picture of the two incapacitated goons before putting her phone away and glaring at the one left.

However…

“Harder, mommy!”

“What?”

“What?”

Oh, wow, that was…Jesus Christ.

She then decided to let him go, then slam his head into the hilt of her embedded sword, knocking him out and tossing him with his comrades.

She then glanced at Waterboy, who looked just as surprised as she did. Clearly he wasn’t that naive.

“Wow”, was all he said.

“Yeah…wow. Never speak of it.”

“D-d-don’t gotta tell m-, y-you can s-say that-.”

“Hey”, Melevola interrupted, giving the nervous hero one of her rare reassuring smiles, “Good stuff. You don’t gotta respond.”

“Mal, Waterboy”, the comms sounded, indicating Robert’s voice was tinged with…was that worry? From Boberton?

“Malevola, Waterboy, status report”, he said, “Guys, answer the damn comms.”

“W-we’re here”, Waterboy stuttered.

“Oh, dammit, man”, Malevola protested, “I was savoring his pain!”

“I know you’re a demon, but fuck you”, Robert deadpanned, “Status report.”

“Perps are down, all of them”, she said, “Waterboy here took out two of them at the same time.”

“Tell me about it when you get back. Detain them and return to HQ.”

***

As the portal opened, Robert watched as Malevola tossed the three Red Ring thugs through.

“Golem, do me a favor and carry these guys to the cells. Punchup, help him out.”

“Actually, I got it”, Blazer said, who seemed to appear out of nowhere, “Wanna get out of my office anyway.”

“Thanks, Blazer”, Robert said, with a small but genuine smile.

“Don’t mention it, Robert. C’mon Golem, let’s go.”

At that, Malevola began to gather the other Z-Teamers around and showed them a picture of two of the perps knocked out cold, all thanks to Waterboy’s quick thinking. They all seemed to praise the nervous man, even Flambae, if only offhandedly. Still, the newbie superhero had netted himself a massive win. Robert couldn’t help but feel proud of him.

“Mal, Waterboy”, he called out, interrupting the celebrations. As he walked up to the group, the people he had addressed faced him. It was almost comical how much taller Malevola was compared to both him and Waterboy.

“It’s a Friday and the end of shift, so I’ll keep it short”, he said, “Excellent work, you two.”

Waterboy did everything he could not to beam with pride while Malevola simply raised an eyebrow. Still she gave her own smile.

“This finally mean you’ll get off our backs about these guys?” she asked.

“Don’t count on it”, Robert deadpanned, “But nevertheless, it’s a decent start. So thank you, and like I said, excellent work. Now go enjoy your weekend.”

“Bet your fuckin’ arse I will”, Mal, said.

“And Waterboy”, Robert called out, “Go home. I’d say you’ve earned it. Don’t worry about the cleaning.”

“A-alright”, he stuttered, “Thanks, Me-Robert. You’re…you’re cool.”

Robert simply gave the kid’s shoulder a squeeze before walking back to his cubicle, shaking his hand dry as he did.

“Don’t do that, Robert”, Chase said, “Give these assholes leeway. Give these motherfuckers an inch and they’ll take a mile.”

“They did a good job, Chase. May as well cut ‘em some slack.”

“What you should be doing is tightening the noose, but I guess you have a point.”

Robert then sat on his chair, rubbing his face in satisfactory exhaustion as he said, “You realize you sound like a cranky old man, right?”

“Fuck you”, Chase responded.

Robert laughed lightly as he looked at the Z-Team celebrating Malevola and Waterboy. Though he noticed that Invisigal was missing from this.

“I never liked parties”, he heard behind him just after the sound of Invisigal’s powers shutting down.

“I hardly think this qualifies as a party”, Robert deadpanned, "And seriously? You don't like parties? Please."

“Still, praise from these guys? Seen how far that gets you.”

“Only this time, no one’s getting cut.”

Invisigal walked up next to him, arms folded, still looking at the mass of celebration.

“Good point.”

“Not gonna go pat him on the back?” Robert asked, turning his chair towards Visi.

“Already did. Had to dry my hands after.”

She then glanced down at her boss/friend.

“You alright, dude?” she asked, “You, uhh, not gonna lie, you look like a bag of dicks, and not the good kind.”

“I’m sorry, is there a good-? You know what, never mind, don’t answer.”

“Seriously though, you good?” Invisigal asked, facing him fully.

“I’m fine, Visi”, Robert said, “Didn’t get a lot of sleep last night.”

“What, a call girl keep you up all night? She give you a good blow?”

“Only in your dreams, Vis”, Robert retorted, “No, I just…coudn’t sleep.”

“Which leads me to the question, again, are you good?”

“Yes, I am fine, Visi.”

Silence followed.

“Hey”, she said, “Meet me on the roof. Got a surprise for you.”

Robert then stood.

“Oh, what surprise would that be?”

“That’d kinda ruin the point of a surprise”, Visi responded, briefly getting close to his face as she added, “Wouldn’t you agree?”

At that, she vanished, leaving Robert to huff in amusement by himself. He wasn’t entirely certain if this was a sex thing, if she genuinely needed to talk, or if she just wanted to hang out. He quite frankly hoped for the latter. To be honest, it felt…nice to have friends. He still felt a little terrible for neglecting Chase for all those years, considering he was family. Working with him had been a pleasure, one that he would surely miss when he fully returned to his duties as Mecha Man.

Still, he’d savor this chance he got at being Robert.

And so, he packed his backpack, turned off his monitor, and picked up his dog.

“Alright, I’m off”, he told Chase, “See you next week.”

“Wait, kid”, he said, “Why don’t you give me Beef for the weekend? Heard you had some good development on your…side project, and based on how tonight went, you’ll need all the energy you can get to focus on it.”

“I think-”

“No, seriously, lemme have the Beef”, the old man said, “You focus on being a hero again.”

Robert looked at Chase, seeing that there was no budging from him.

He then sighed.

“Alright, fine”, he relented, before then kneeling down and giving Beef a scratch, “Stay safe, ya hear?”

“I’ll take good care of him, don’t you worry.”

Robert then got up.

“I’m off. Love ya, Unc.”

Chase then put his hand on Robert’s shoulder as he said, “Love ya too, kid.”

At that, Robert finally made to leave.

“Hey, Robert”, he heard Blazer call from behind him.

He turned to address the hero.

“Just wanted to say, good work”, she said, “We’ll hand these guys over to the police, then we’ll see what comes out of interrogation.”

“So it’s out of our hands, now?”

“Guess so, yeah. Look, I know how much this means to you, so…yeah, thanks for taking this on”, Blazer finished, giving his arm a reassuring squeeze, “Have a good weekend.”

“You too, Blaze” he replied, giving her his best warm smile.

As soon as she walked off to wherever she went, Robert’s smile almost fell as he walked to the roof. He then opened the door, being first greeted by the view of the sun setting. The second thing that greeted him was a single large napkin placed on the edge of the roof, where two Long John donuts sat.

“Finally”, Visi said behind him, locking the door to the roof, “Jeez, what took you so long, slow-ass?”

“Got held up downstairs”, Robert said, “What’s this?”

“Well”, the woman started, walking past him, but getting real close as she said, “I like me a dick donut, too.”

Robert looked down at Visi and kept looking as she walked to the edge of the roof, sat down and took a donut for herself.

As he went to sit next to her, the napkin in between them, and took his own, she added, “Plus, no cameras here, and a hella good view of the sunset.”

“No cameras”, he repeated, “Is this gonna be an HR violation?”

“Dude, I snuck into the men's bathroom to tell you I had a wet dream about you, not to mention that day with Blazer last week. I’d say we’re well past HR violations at this point.”

“Fair point”, Robert responded, taking a bit out of his donut, “But that doesn’t answer my question.”

“Just shut the fuck up and enjoy the sunset with me”, Visi said.

Robert shrugged and did just that.

Silently, they ate their donuts, watching as the sun set over Torrence. Compared to inner L.A., the place may as well have been a backwater village in his opinion, yet, even with the amount of calls he directed and received during his day job, it still looked quite peaceful and quaint. He was always a sunrise kind of guy, but he couldn’t deny how beautiful the sunset here was.

As the sky began to darken, and the orange and red sky became purple, he turned towards Visi.

“Seriously, Visi, why are we here?” he asked.

She looked at him, finishing off her donut.

As she took the napkin between them to wipe her fingers off she said, “Are you okay, Robert?”

He frowned.

“How many times are you gonna ask that question?”

“As many times as it takes for you to quit bullshitting me.”

 Robert sighed.

“I don’t know what to tell you”, he grumbled.

“I do”, Visi retorted, turning to stare at him with narrowed eyes, “Tell me what the hell is wrong. You weren’t exactly on your A game today. You were…a lot less quippy than usual.”

“Okay, and?”

“And that’s unusual. Usually, you give as good as you get, but today? Nope, nothing. Also, saw you talk to Mal this morning. Didn’t even bother to banter, you just went straight to the insults. Also, also, you somehow look even shittier than usual, which I didn’t think was possible until eight hours ago. So, I’m gonna ask one more time, what the fuck is wrong?”

Robert finished off his own donut, silently debating on whether or not to talk to her about this. He then remembered that Visi locked the door. Unless his mech’s autopilot function was somehow magically repaired, he wasn’t going anywhere whether he liked it or not.

“Look, I didn’t sleep well, okay?” he began diplomatically.

“Yeah, clearly, but why?” Visi insisted, “If you’re not gonna tell me, I’ll just head home right now.”

Robert sighed again, then decided to take out his phone and pull up his pictures. He then pulled up his evidence board and handed the device to Visi. She looked at it for a second, looking at the photo.

“Is that…one of those investigation board things you see in those pulpy noir murder movies?” she asked, “Why do you have a picture of it?”

“Because my name isn’t Sheldon Cooper”, he deadpanned, “Say what you will, but they work. Put it together last night after running a few more tests on the suit.”

As she handed the phone back, she asked, “How goes that?”

“Well, I can move the suit without it malfunctioning at least, but that’s about it.”

“Okay”, Visi said, handing him his phone back, “So, what about that board?”

“Figured after how well the Red Ring task went yesterday…well, yeah.”

“You thought the best idea was to go at it alone”, Visi finished, narrowing her eyes.

“You know what they say, want something done right, you do it yourself.”

“Yeah, and, uh, how’d that work out for you the last time?”

“Excuse me?”

“Oh, yeah, now I remember! Shroud butt fucked you”, Visi said, frowning, “Fuckin’ reemed you straight up the ass. Some classic BDSM type shit right there!”

“Okay, I get it”, Robert said, rolling his eyes and frowning even deeper as he looked off to the side.

“Do you? Because it’s lookin’ to me like you plan on making the same exact mistake.”

“Well, considering Z-Team didn’t seem to have any interest at the time, I thought I’d have to take matters into my own hands. Again.”

“You know what that’s called, Robbie? Insanity.”

Robert stood now, his emotions getting the best of him again.

“Well what the hell did you expect me to do, Visi?”, he exclaimed, “He ruined my life! He stole the thing that powered my suit and started a fucking gang, and I’m no closer to understanding what any of it was for! And Z-Team…”

Robert stopped talking. He made his point, and had already lamented the Z-Team’s readiness before. It didn’t need repeating.

Visi stood as well, her arms folded and eyes still narrowed.

“Do you think revenge is really worth it?” she asked.

Robert scoffed as he looked to the side.

“Thought I was the mentor”, he tried to joke.

“Yeah, well I’m the captain now, bitch, so answer the question”, Visi retorted, clearly not letting him try to diffuse the situation.

He looked at Visi, who remained unwavering. Even her posture seemed to demand an answer from him.

Unfortunately, he had none. He never even thought about that question.

Was revenge worth the price he now paid?

He had actively sought it out, if not directly, then indirectly by taking up the mantle of Mecha Man at an age younger than he had any right to. After that, it was one sacrifice after another. First he gave up his friends, what little he had, then his extended family after the Brave Brigade finally broke up, then his fortune, then any sort of comfort he may have had, and now his suit. 

He officially had nothing.

He knew he was at rock bottom, but as he thought about it, he realized why. He had thrown his entire life, and everything it entailed, on the pyre of vengeance, and now where was he?

Without a suit, without an actual home, without a life, without a legacy.

Sure, he was getting the suit back, but even after he got it up and running again, what then? Did he just go back to what he was doing before, just with SDN funding?

“Yo, Earth to Robbie”, Visi interrupted, waving her hand in front of his face, “You good?”

“Oh, uh, yeah”, Robert said as he was brought to the present, “Just realizing how rock fucking bottom I am now. Thanks for that.”

The deadpan voice in which he said that last sentence would have fooled anyone else, but not Visi, who seemed to smirk briefly.

“I can see why Blazer picked you”, she said, “Seems to me you’re just as big a loser as the rest of us.”

“A loser without superpowers. And a suit.”

“Didn’t you once tell me that the suit isn’t what made you Mecha Man?”

“And now you’re using my own words against me?”

“Best fuckin’ believe it, Robbie.”

“Robert”, he finally corrected.

“No, you’re Robbie to me.”

“Robert”, he insisted, his eyes narrowing.

Invisigal now got close to him, as she had done so many times before.

“Robbie”, she repeated.

He just frowned, staring at her, in almost the exact same manner in which they stood the day she cornered him in the bathroom.

Visi must have noticed it too as she said, “No Watershits to ruin it this time.”

Robert couldn’t help the smirk on his lips as he said, “Not this time, no.”

Visi blinked a little, but then smiled warmly as she then created some healthy distance between them.

“You’re not alone anymore, Robbie”, she said, “You believed in us, believed in me, when everyone else, including that asshole you call Unc, told you to give up. Now it’s my turn to believe in you. You’ll get this guy. We’ll get this guy. You’re Mecha Man, for fuck sake. So get out there, and do your fucking job.”

Robert laughed lightly at that as he looked back at the horizon, the sun long since setting, with only trace amounts of purple remaining.

“You realize you’re technically saying that to your boss, right?” he asked.

“Yeah, well, we’re not on the clock anymore, so kiss my ass”, Visi retorted, smiling now.

“Ohoho, we’re going there now?”

“Yeahaha, yeah we’re going there. Kiss my ass! Not on the left cheek, not on the right cheek, but right on the fuckin’ middle!”

They both laughed now.

“I guess I better get some sleep, huh?” Robert said.

“Yeah, you better. Want me to help?” she asked, cracking her knuckles.

“Yeah, I’ll pass.”

Visi laughed again at that before they both exited the roof and made their way down to the exit of the SDN building.

As soon as they got to the sidewalk, they turned to each other.

“Good night, Visi.”

“‘Night, Robbie.”

As Robert began his walk home, he smiled warmly. He regretted many things in his life, but meeting Visi? Being friends with her?

He doubted he would regret that any time soon.

Chapter Text

He hated hospitals. The incessant beeping of EKG’s, the sterile white rooms and hallways, the smell. He hated it all.

He looked up at Chase, laying there, old, decrepit. He looked even more withered than before. Yesterday he was in his mid 70’s. Now, early 90’s.

Robert’s heart rate quickened as his leg began bouncing, adrenaline surging all over again as he relived the past few hours. Relived the scene he had found before him last night. Visi, no, Courtney, struggling to breathe, even with her inhaler, as she cried, Chase, lying there, barely breathing, and visibly aging before his very eyes. It was an image that he would never be able to get out of his head, no matter how many times he was concussed.

The Z-Team had arrived in the hospital soon after. They had a feeling that the Red Ring would come for them, and so had taken to guarding them, with Blazer even giving them the next day off, and more if they needed it.

Throughout all of it, Robert could feel himself withering alongside Chase. Somewhere, deep inside his chest, he just knew this was karma. Life, giving him a swift reality check.

As if on cue, he heard a knock on the door. He groggily turned his head to see Malevola of all people enter, holding two paper cups.

“Hey, MM”, she said, “Got you some water.”

“Thanks”, Robert responded, taking a sip as Mal sat next to him, “How’s Courtney?”

“She’s…better”, the demoness said, hesitating, “Whatever Shroud gassed her with played hell with her asthma, but she’s able to breathe on her own again, so there’s that.”

“That’s not what I meant.”

Mal looked to the side, her demonic features morphing into sadness, “She…look, I gotta ask something.”

“Shoot.”

“You don’t…you don’t blame her for this right? Like, you know it’s not her fault?”

Robert looked at Mal for a second.

Did he blame Visi for this?

“No”, he answered, both to himself and Mal, “Of course not.”

She sighed in relief.

“Then you better tell her that. I’ve seen her down in the dumps, but this is…something else entirely. She really thinks it’s her fault.”

“It’s not”, Robert insisted, “It’s…It’s Shroud’s.”

He struggled to say the name, struggled not to spit it out.

“Again”, Mal said, putting her hand on his shoulder, “Better tell her that. Like, now.”

“But Chase...”

“I’ll keep an eye on him. You go comfort your girlfriend.”

Robert nodded in agreement as he got up from his chair and made his way to the door.

“Mal”, he said before leaving, “Thank you.”

She looked up at him, smiling warmly.

“You’re welcome, Robert.”

He then made his exit, needing to walk only a little ways to Visi’s room, where Golem stood guard.

“Hey, Bruno.”

“Whatup, Mecha Man.”

“Wanna talk to Visi.”

“Cool, I got you.”

The hulking construct then moved aside, making room for him to enter.

When he did, he half expected to see an empty hospital bed, but no, she lay there, sitting up and in a hospital gown, looking utterly awful, her makeup smearing down her cheeks. She then looked away from him, eyes darting to and fro, trying to look at anything other than him.

His already broken heart cracked a little more at this. Visi always had something to say, some quippy remark or demented sex joke. But now, she was silent. Uncomfortably silent. The kind of silent that always prefaced death. Still, suffocating.

Robert pulled up a chair and sat next to her, not saying a word. He needed her to speak, needed to hear her voice, her abrasive comments, her flirty remarks, her vulgar jokes, something, anything.

She continued to look away from him, continued to say nothing.

He couldn’t take it anymore.

He moved his hand, resting it on hers, yet still got no response. Her fingers twitched under his hand, as if wanting to hold it, but her hand remained still. Robert shifted her hand, clasping it in between both of his now. She finally looked at him.

His broken heart shattered into a million pieces.

The tears in her dark, endless eyes welled up again.

“Robert”, she finally said, “I…”

The tears started pouring out as she made eye contact.

“I’m sorry”, she wept.

The millions of pieces became billions.

He stood now, gently cupping her face in his hands, making her look at his face.

He said nothing, but stared at her, hoping, praying, begging for her to believe what he was trying to convey what words wouldn't.

It wasn’t her fault. She had nothing to be sorry for.

It wasn’t enough.

“Visi”, he finally said, fighting his own tears, “There’s nothing to forgive.”

She looked at him again, then the walls finally broke.

She began to sob uncontrollably, her head bending down as the tears smeared more makeup. Robert brought her closer, embracing her as she continued to cry. He moved his hand up and down her back, letting her dig her face into his shirt as he looked off in the distance. He could already feel the urge to default to his normal coping mechanism of trying to shut off his emotions like one would shut off a machine. Yet now, something prevented him from doing that, prevented him from shutting off.

No, someone prevented him from shutting off.

He held Courtney even tighter, refusing to let go.

After a few more moments of her breaking, she grew silent. At this Robert looked down at Courtney. She looked up at him.

“Stay”, she said, “Please.”

Robert nodded.

He held her again.

He wasn’t going anywhere.

***

Visi slowly opened her eyes, disoriented at first. As she regained consciousness, the memories of the last 24 hours hit her like a bad asthma attack. She grimaced, almost immediately wishing she could go back to sleep. She then immediately noticed that her movement was seriously constricted. Another more pleasant memory came back as she turned to the side, seeing Robert fast asleep in her hospital bed.

She shifted her body to face towards the man, noticing that, even when asleep, he had a resting bitch face. She laughed softly as she idly traced the lines of his face with her fingers. No way he didn’t blame her.

Yet…

She’d seen his angry side, his rageful side. There hadn’t been a single ounce of that a few hours ago. The face he had made was pleading, begging. He genuinely didn’t think it was her fault. It was a first for her.

She had come to expect bitter, often brutal, consequences and punishments for her screwups, and yet Robert, instead of blaming her, instead of loathing her, embraced her, comforted her.

“I don’t deserve you”, she whispered.

“I could’ve told you that”, Robert muttered back, smirking groggily as he opened his eyes, much to her subdued surprise.

“How long were you up?”

“Only a couple of minutes. Woke up when you touched me.”

“Don’t tell me you’re a light sleeper.”

“Always have been”, he said, reaching to touch her cheek.

His calloused, rough hand should have been unpleasant, but Visi didn’t think so as she closed her eyes and leaned into his touch, savoring every ounce of warmth that radiated from his hand.

“Robbie”, she said, “About last night.”

“Vis…”

“Just listen to me”, she croaked, shutting Robert up.

“What you said before…were you just lying to me? Trying to make me feel better? Or do you genuinely think it’s not my fault?”

“It’s not, Visi”, he insisted, “It’s not your fault. Chase…he knew what he was doing.”

“What even happened there? Why did he…?”

Robert then looked grim as memories of his own flooded his eyes.

“It was sudden. One moment, I’m watching Shroud kill you, the next, Beef is in my lap and he’s standing at the door. He just says ‘keep up’, and he’s gone.”

“Robbie, I’m…”

“Courtney, stop”, Robbie insisted, “I’ll only tell you this one more time: It’s. Not. Your. Fault. Neither of us could have stopped him even if we had time to try. You’re not to blame for him having to use his powers.”

Courtney looked at this man, this utterly sad, dickish, determined, brilliant asshole of a man. This man she fell head over heels for, this man who had lost just about everything, taking the time, energy, and effort to reassure her.

She didn’t deserve him, and yet here he was.

She couldn’t help herself.

She closed the distance between their faces, kissing him with all the energy she could muster, resting her hand on his chest. She poured everything into the kiss, her hopes, doubts, sorrow, fears. She wanted him to know just how much he meant to her, how much he had changed her for the better, how glad she was that he had barreled into her life.

She felt him return the kiss, felt his hand cup her jaw gently. For such a hardened, grizzled, jaded man, he seemed to treat her with the same softness and care as a man who had never had a bad day in his life.

Unfortunately, asthma was a bitch and a half.

She broke the kiss, breathing heavily, trying to reach for her inhaler. She stumbled a little, but she found it on the table on her side of the bed. As she took a hit, she glanced at Robert, who had the audacity to smile.

They stared at each other for a few moments before the silence was broken.

“So…” Robert said, “You believe me now?”

Visi huffed lightly.

“I’ll get there. Eventually, but for now…yeah. I believe you.”

“Good. I’m glad.”

“Thanks, Robbie”, she breathed out, “For sticking with me.”

“Always”, he said.

They then closed the distance again, only this time, touching foreheads, enjoying the close proximity.

However…

“I’m gonna barf.”

They both jumped, sitting up almost immediately. There sat Prism, imitating a gag reflex in her chair.

“Prism, what the fuck?” Visi exclaimed.

“How long were you sitting there?” Robert deadpanned.

“Long enough to witness your whole romance scene. It was nice and all, but Jesus fuckin’ Christ y’all, just fuck already!”

“I…don’t know how to respond to that”, the man said, looking utterly bewildered, “But I guess I should take that as encouragement.”

“Don’t do it now, Geek-Squad!”

“You sure, ‘cause I could go for a good fuck right now.”

Both Prism and Robert glanced at Visi for a good five seconds. They then all started to laugh. She was back. For the most part. She always forgot how musical Robert’s laugh was.

As Robert got up off the bed, he stretched the sleep off of his joints. He then got up to his feet, straightening his shirt and turning to face both Prism and Visi.

“Seriously though, what are you doing here?”

“Makin’ the rounds”, Prism responded, “Came here from Chase’s room.”

“Is he okay?” Visi asked.

“Doctors say he’s stabilized. He’s old as shit now, though, so, y’know, all the shit that comes with being an old ass, cranky ass motherfucker. By the way, what’s up with that?”

“He’s got superspeed, and…well, that comes with a cost”, Robert replied.

Prism, for her part, looked to the side in curiosity. 

“Superspeed, huh? Anyone I’d know?” she asked.

“Track Star.”

Fuck it, they already knew he was Mecha Man anyway.

“THE Track Star?” Visi asked in surprise, “Explains the fuck outta why you two get along so well. What, he babysit you as a kid or something?”

“Yes, actually”, Robert deadpanned, “But we’ll get to that later. You know if all of Z-Team is here?”

“Yup, we all here”, Prism said, “Even that tall ass hunk of man with the ink.”

“Let’s gather them all here. It’s high time we had a pow-wow.”

“A fuckin’ what, now?”

“Just…let’s gather everyone here.”

“Alright, alright, say less”, Prism relented, getting up and leaving.

As Robert made to leave as well, he was stopped by Visi grabbing his hand.

“Hey, uh…thanks. Again. I…”

Robert rubbed his thumb on her hand.

“It’s no problem, Courtney.”

With that, Robert took his leave.

She didn’t deserve him.

But she got him anyway, and he didn’t seem to have any complaints. Mostly. At that moment, she decided to earn her keep.

She was gonna do her damndest to earn Robert Robertson the Third.

Now, if Malevola could keep her goddamn tail off her man.

***

The entirety of Z-Team stood in Visi’s room, waiting for Robert to finally tell them what the hell was going on. Even Golem somehow fit into the room.

Finally, Robert spoke up.

“Alright, guys, listen up”, he began, getting everyone’s attention, “You’re all probably wondering why I gathered you all here.”

“K-kinda, yeah”, Waterboy said, “Wha-W-what’s up.”

“It have anything to do with last night?” Sonar asked.

“Yes, it does. So listen up.”

They all quieted, hearing Robert’s serious voice.

“As you all probably found out, Visi had an encounter with Shroud. He nearly killed her, and to make matters worse, he got his hands on the Astral Pulse.”

They all stood silent, waiting for Robert to get to the point.

“Look, I’m gonna level with you. None of you owe me a damn thing. Me being Mecha Man, my fuck up, it all put us on the Red Ring’s shit list. If you all want to walk away now and just forget about the Red Ring altogether, I’d completely understand. They’re dangerous, and Shoud even more so.”

“You’re fucking with us right, mate?” Mal asked.

“After the fuck shit they pulled on Visi, ain’t no way I’m forgettin’ this shit”, Prism said.

“I sure as fuck hope not. I have to shit in a diaper now”, a new voice chimed in.

They all looked at the doorway, seeing an old man in his 90’s hobble his way into the room, hunched over, using a walker just to get around.

“Chase”, Robert exclaimed, running over to hug him.

“Oh, settle down kid”, Chase exclaimed, grunting in exertion as he tried his best to hug him back, “I’m not as muscular as I used to be.”

Chase laughed, taking in Chase’s appearance. He had more spots on his skin than before, and the thick locks of white hair he used to have were now wisps.

“Chase?” Visi exclaimed, “I thought…I thought you were-...”

“Oh, please, I’m not dead yet”, Chase interrupted, looking directly at Visi, with a reassuring look on his face. She knew what he was saying. They were good.

Chase hobbled over to find somewhere to sit. Malevola instantly made room for him.

“Thanks, demon bitch”, Chase said.

Mal seemed to roll her eyes as she smirked and said, “Welcome back, Track Star.”

“Track Star?” he asked, then narrowed his eyes as he slowly sat down, “You told them, didn’t you, kid?”

“Kinda hard not to.”

“Eh, fair point. So, as Robert said, any of you dipshits feel like pussying out now?”

He was met with silence.

“Good. Proceed, Robert.”

“Alright, if there aren’t any objections…then let’s talk about Shroud.”

“You know this guy personally?” Golem asked.

“I should hope so. The dude killed his fuckin’ dad”, Sonar said before wincing from Malevola’s elbow to his ribs and saying, “Shit, right. Sorry, Robert.”

“It’s fine”, Robert said, “Yeah, as Victor here so sensitively pointed out, he did kill my dad. He also stole the Astral Pulse, which is the one thing that can power my suit. To what end, I don’t know.”

“Hold on, there’s still one thing I’m still stuck on”, Chase interjected, “Last I recall, you managed to reverse engineer the fuckin’ thing, so how do we go from that to ending up in the SDN E.R.?”

“Unstable core”, Royd answered, “Da Proto-Pulse just too all ova da place. We got lucky on test fifteen.”

“What about Shroud?” Punchup asked, “We gonna take the fight to the prick?”

“We are”, Robert answered, “But first, you need to know who he is.”

He then walked to the screen to Visi’s left and tapped on his phone a few times, pulling up two images side by side. One was his old evidence board, the other the new one.

“Shroud”, he began, pointing at the man’s maskless mugshot, “A.K.A. Eliot Connors. He was a former member of the Brave Brigade, but more than that, he was one of the Brigade’s top members and…and my dad’s friend.”

He looked at everyone in the room. They were paying close attention.

“Like me, he doesn’t have superpowers”, he continued, “But he makes up for that with a genius level intellect, which he enhanced with technology.”

“He’s the reason the last Mecha Man got his hands on the Astral Pulse in the first place”, Chase added, “Had a deal going on with some other tech companies or some shit like that. Apparently the Astral Pulse was one of the fruits of that deal.”

“On top of an enhanced genius level intellect, he’s a master tactician. As…Visi found out, any weakness you have, he’ll have already figured it out long before you’ve even fought him.”

“Fucker’s also got a sadistic side”, Visi said, “Asshole waited for me reach for my inhaler before kicking it away.”

“Did the same thing with my dad”, Robert said, “Waited for him to try to put up a fight again before shooting him.”

“Jaysus”, Punchup exclaimed, “And I thought Coupe could be a little much. At least she just killed folks and got it over with.”

“So, how does Shroud go from basic ass superhero to a sadistic supervillain leading the Red Ring?” Prims asked.

“I…I don’t know. It was sudden. One day, he was good friends with my dad, the next I’m at his funeral. There’s another thing. The red glowing shit on his lackies? They’re more than just edgy new fashion statements. They’re augmentors, which enhance superpowers.”

“Why do these bitches need enhancements? I know I don’t”, Flambae asked.

“You’ll have to ask them, man”, Robert answered.

“Okay, so what the hell do we do now?” Sonar asked, “Shroud’s got the Astral Pulse, the Yachties are pretty much wiped the fuck out, and we have no way to track it.”

“Dat’s where you wrong, bat bruddah”, Royd exclaimed.

“Damn straight. Royd, I need you keeping an eye out for any signs of the Astral Pulse’s energy signature, like how you did before. Sonar, how’s your relationship with Vanderstank?”

“Pretty fuckin’ awesome if I do say so myself”, Sonar said proudly, adjusting his tie.

“Awesome. Network with him and see if you can pull up any statements between Shroud and any big tech and energy companies from just before my dad’s death.”

Sonar tilted his bat head quizzically.

“Any tax statements and written deals from that long ago would be…pretty fuckin’ difficult to get your hands on”, he started, “If they still exist, it’ll take a while to even find them.”

“Think you can find them?”

“Fuck yeah”, Sonar simply responded, earning a nod of approval.

“Flambae, Mal, Visi, I need you guys to get in touch with some of your old criminal buddies, sniff around, figure out what the Red Ring’s up to now. Golem, you’ll run support for Visi.”

“Can do, babes”, Mal said, giving an exaggerated thumbs up in response, earning a sharp stare from Visi with the use of that word.

“Say less”, Golem responded.

“Hold on a fucking second”, Flambae interjected, “One thing.”

Everyone turned to look at Flambae.

“Why the fuck are we even doing this in the first place?”

“Flambae”, Robert exhaustedly started.

“Hear me out, bitch”, the pyromancer interrupted, “This seems more like your fuck up to fix. He killed your daddy after all. Shit, the only reason we got jumped by those assholes in the club is ‘cause you had beef with them in the first place. So, what’s the deal there?”

Robert sighed. Guess they were skipping to the end.

“That leads me to the end point”, he said, “If and when we find Shroud, I need to make one thing clear: He’s mine.”

This made them all look at each other with uncertainty before turning back to Robert.

“What do you mean by that, Robbie?” Visi asked.

“I mean when we corner him, I’m gonna finish what I started. I’m gonna kill him.”

There was a look of unease from the Z-Teamers, especially from Malevola. From Chase, however, there was a look of disapproval.

“You’re right, Flambae”, Robert continued, “Much as it pains me to say it, you’re right. It is my fuck up to fix. Fact of the matter is, without my suit, I’m pretty much fucked six ways till Sunday. You guys have powers, I don’t. I need your guys’ help. I won’t risk your lives any more than I can help it, but right now, I’m just a guy without his suit.”

He then glanced at Visi as he added, “A little bitch turtle without its shell.”

Flambae narrowed his eyes, seemingly snarling as he walked up to Robert, close enough to where their height differences could be noticed.

“Second time you’ve been honest this week”, he observed, before then extending his mutilated hand, “I still hate your fucking guts, but…I can work with this.”

Robert extended his own hand, and they shook.

As they parted, Flambae added, “Let’s burn these bitches.”

“Thank you. All of you, for doing this.”

“W-w-what about Blond Blaze-Ms. B-Blonde Blazer?” Waterboy finally piped up.

“I’ll deal with her, but we’re not taking any more dispatch calls. She’ll have to find a way to cover for that, but this is an all hands on deck situation.”

“Fair enough”, Chase said, “Alright, you heard the man, fuckers. Get to it.”

As the room seemed to empty, sans Visi of course, Punchup and Waterboy walked towards Robert.

“You seem to have forgotten us, Mecha Man”, Punchup said.

“I need you guys for something else, Colm.”

The Irishman folded his arms, ready for his assignment. Robert hoped he was ready, because he doubted he could do this without the carnival strongman.

“You still in touch with Coupe?”

Chapter Text

“Visi, get up!”

“Visi, listen to my voice, GET UP!”

“VISI! PLEASE GET UP!!!”

“Keep up.”

“NO!”

Robert’s eyes then snapped open as he breathed in sharply.

Fucking nightmares.

“Fuck me sideways”, he muttered.

He was then woken up even further by Beef licking him.

“Yeah, yeah, I’m up, man.”

He then sat up on his new couch, which now doubled as his bed. It wasn’t a world changing upgrade, but compared to a plastic lawn chair, it was a massive improvement.

He then looked towards his foot, where Beef now sat, staring at him expectantly. He rolled his eyes as he got up from the couch, going to the newly gifted food bowl and filling it with newly gifted dog food.

Beef happily gorged on the food.

As far as housewarming parties went, it was certainly one of the better ones. Minus Visi sucker punching Chase, though, at least in that regard, they both reconciled after everything that happened.

Visi.

She was out of the hospital, and had gone about the duty assigned to her, but after that day, she had become more…insistant. Being close to him whenever she could, touching him, giving Mal a stare that could cut diamonds. Robert wondered what the deal was with the demoness.

Between her tail touching him repeatedly and her, if he was being honest, attempt at sexual harassment on the night of the party, he had to wonder if Mal was toying with him and/or Visi, or if that was genuinely her way of flirting.

Whatever the case, he wasn’t interested. She may have fit the criteria for the ‘muscle mommy’ category, but unfortunately for her, she just wasn’t his type. Nevermind the fact that, half or not, she was a literal demon.

His borderline comedic thoughts were interrupted by the fading, yet still impactful, memories of his nightmare. He shook his head. It was just a bad memory, nothing more.

He had a busy schedule today, but he still had time to kill.

He looked around the room, where he saw boxes full of other stuff that the Z-Team brought him

He then put on his hoodie and sweats, and got to work unpacking all the gifts from the housewarming party. While most of them consisted of lamps, there were some gifts that were actually nice and interesting. Blazer even brought a full blown couch, which he spent the night on. It was honestly quite the smorgasbord of random things, but it was a vast improvement on bare, empty, aging concrete and darkness. Waterboy’s lava lamp gift also helped the mood of his place a ton.

He then opened a box, finding a box of magazines from Sonar, and of course, they were all crypto and business themed. On top of them was a note.

Should help you get out of this shithole you call home. Study up.

-Victor

Robert laughed.

“Thanks, Sonar”, he muttered, smiling.

He then set that box aside and examined another, this time filled with a couple of fake plants. More green in his room, he’d take it.

He set the two plastic plants on top of the small wall that divided his kitchen from his living room, making sure there was as minimal likelihood of them just dropping as possible before finally putting the empty cardboard box in the corner with the others.

He then sighed, looking out the window. It seemed to already be mid-day. How long had he slept, exactly?

There was a knock on the door.

He tilted his head. He hadn’t been expecting anyone.

He cautiously walked towards the door. He really needed to invest in getting a gun sometime, with the amount of people in his life that wanted him dead.

He opened it and, to his surprise, Flambae of all people stood in front of him.

“Chad”, was the first thing the man said, confusing Robert.

“The others, they told you their names. Only fair that I do the same. Chad.”

Robert smirked and rolled his eyes.

“Why am I not surprised?” he responded, “Okay, Chad. Good to meet you.”

Flambae looked at Robert, his eyes glinting with anger, but it was broken by a brief but friendly huff and smirk.

He then proceeded to just walk into his room.

“Yes, please, come in”, Robert drawled.

“Thank you, Mecha Bitch, I will.”

The shorter man closed the door and asked, “What’re you doing here, man?”

“The Red Ring fuckers”, Flambae answered, “They’re, oddly enough, pretty much retreating. Some guys are still out there, but, other than that…”

“Makes sense”, Robert replied, “Shroud got what he wanted, no point in putting more people at risk of getting arrested or killed if he can help it. Anything about the Astral Pulse?”

“Eh, so far, nothing. I wouldn’t hold out hope for that.”

“How encouraging.”

“Hey, you’re lucky I’m helping at all, Mecha Bitch. You should be fucking grateful.”

Robert huffed at that.

“Actually, that does bring up a question”, he said, “Why are you doing this?”

“Are you really asking me why I’m helping?”

“No, I’m asking why you are helping. You seem pretty eager to do so, given our…turbulent history.”

“Turbulent’s a fucking word for it. You still owe me for cutting off my fingers”, the pyromancer said, waving his mutilated right hand for reference.

“In my defense, you were trying to burn me alive at the time.”

Flambae went to push back on it, pointing an accusatory finger. He then looked to the side in thought.

He sighed and put his finger down as he said, “Fair point.”

Robert laughed at that.

“But to answer your question”, Chad continued, “Mostly so I can hold this over your head for the rest of your bitch life.”

Now Robert frowned.

“Now, I’ve got some questions for you. You still owe me at least that for the tooth…and the noodles.”

“The tooth I’ll take responsibility for, but the noodle incident? That one’s on you for being a big fuckin’ manbaby.”

“Ugh, fine, can I ask my fucking question already?”

“Proceed”, Robert relented. He just woke up, he didn’t want to start a fight with his old rival right now.

“Why do all of it?” He finally asked.

“All of what?”

“This”, Flambae gestured to the room, “Mecha Man, fighting crime, all that good shit. Why did you do it? No superpowers, no money, no family, no life. I would have given up a long ass time ago.”

“That’s the big difference between you and me. I don’t give up easy.”

“Clearly, but seriously though, why even try?”

“Because it was all I had left, Chad”, Robert replied, getting serious, “It was my family legacy, and so I did it, and guess what? I was fucking good at it.”

“Not good enough to stop Shroud”, Flambae pointed out.

“No…not good enough to stop him, no.”

Flambae then raised an eyebrow at the tone as he asked a follow up question.

“So, given you don’t have any powers, why didn’t the Courage Brigade or whatever the fuck they’re called get this guy, or at least try to save you? Minus Chase, of course.”

“Brave Brigade.”

“Whatever.”

Robert looked to the side at that.

That was…a rather excellent question, actually. Why didn’t any of the members of the Brave Brigade even lift a finger to help? As far as he knew, all five of the remaining members were still alive, he had seen them at his dad’s funeral, but after that, nothing. They didn’t even come out of whatever rock they were under when he began active service as Mecha Man.

Though, to be fair, Chase had his reasons, and Robert wasn’t exactly great at keeping in touch.

Still, he hadn’t thought about it until now. Were they actually afraid of Shroud, or was it something else?

He shook his head. Pure guess work was all he had to offer, and not even the educated kind.

“I don’t know, Chad. Chase, well both know why”, Robert started, to which Flambae nodded in agreement, “But the others? No clue. They pretty much disappeared after my dad’s funeral.”

“Pretty shitty superhero group, if you ask me.”

“What, saying you’d be there for my funeral?”

“Of course. I’d piss on your open casket.”

“Well, I’d be too dead to care, so.”

“Still, it’d feel good.”

“I’m sure it would.”

They both then shared a slight laugh. It was a little hard to believe he was getting along with Flambae of all people at the moment. Well, partly, at least. He’d still have to look forward to his monthly punch to the jaw.

“Welp, I’m out of here. The place is a shithole, but it looks a little less so than before, so good job”, Flambae said, giving Robert a not-at-all patronizing pat on the shoulder.

“Wait, did you…come here to check up on me?” Robert asked as the pyromancer walked to the door.

“What? No. Fuck you. No.”

Robert laughed out loud as Flambae opened the door.

“Hey, stop laughing, Mecha Bitch! Fucking bullshit”, he muttered, slamming the door behind him, leaving Robert to be alone.

Well, as far as his day went, it was an…interesting start.

His phone then buzzed.

Punchup/Colm: ‘We’re good to go.’

Robert’s frown almost immediately returned.

Time to get to work.

***

“You sure it was a good idea to bring the lad here?” Colm asked, “I mean, he is basically her replacement.”

Robert frowned. Damn it, he had a point. He didn’t know Coupe well, but given her propensity to threatening violence, especially when she got laid off, he got the feeling that she took things personally, despite her icy cold personality.

“Waterboy, head back to SDN”, Robert ordered, “We don’t need her drinking your blood or some shit like that.”

“Y-you s-s-sure?” the kid asked, “I-I could-...”

“Hermy boy, seriously, go lad, now”, Punchup said, “She will kill ya.”

“F-fair enough”, Waterboy said as he walked the opposite direction, having been properly incentivized. 

After a few moments of silence, Robert said, “For a criminal she’s pretty…”

“Yeah, never was one for subtlety”, Punhup said.

They both grunted as they looked at the apartment building they stood in front of. The place looked less like an apartment building, and more like a bougie hotel. A really, really, bougie hotel.

“Didn’t she work for the mob at some point?” Robert asked as he looked at the modern, expensive building.

“Yeah, she did. That’s how we met. Tried to kill me, but we uh…kinda got along in the end.”

“How so?” Robert asked.

Punchup grinned cheekily as he replied, “Let’s just say some parts of me didn’t shrink.”

“Aaaaand now I don’t wanna know.”

Colm laughed out loud at this momentarily before going back to his serious face.

They silently entered the building, where Punchup led him to the elevators and pressed the button to the topmost floor.

“A penthouse? Are you fucking kidding me?”

“Nope.”

“Well then what the fuck did she need the SDN job for?”

“They offered protection”, Punchup replied shortly, “Something you would have known had you asked that question prior to firing her.”

Robert winced at that. 

Yeah, that made a good amount of sense.

“She know we’re coming?”

“Hope so. Sent her a text, never responded.”

“Is that a good thing or a bad thing?”

“Depends on the day.”

The second the elevator doors opened, that was all the answer Robert needed.

The next thing he knew, he was against the wall of the elevator, a knife to his throat and his face filled with the seething visage of Coupe, her amber eyes somehow sharper than the knife to his throat.

“Robert”, she said, “Last words?”

Robert simply stared at her, silent, uncaring.

“I’ll take that as a no”, Coupe said, getting ready to slice his throat open.

“Coop, wait”, Punchup said, making her hesitate, but maintaining her icy glare at her old boss, “Just hear him out, at least. Please, you owe me that much.”

This made her level her gaze briefly down at her old companion. She then snarled, pressing her knife a little deeper into Robert’s throat, enough to draw blood. Robert winced a little, but otherwise maintained his stoic, dead gaze.

Coupe then huffed.

“Fine”, she said, removing the knife.

Robert then rubbed his neck, wiping some of the blood off.

“You got a napkin or something I can use?” he asked.

“Kitchen. Follow me.”

At that, they all exited the elevator. Well, he was alive for now. How long that would last remained to be seen. She stood in front of the two men, pointing at the kitchen, where a roll of paper towels stood proudly.

“Grab it. And don’t bleed all over my carpets.”

Robert pressed his hand on the cut as he went and grabbed a few sections of paper towel. He then pressed that on his neck, using the sink next to the roll to at least wash off the blood.

“I didn’t say you could use that.”

Robert raised an eyebrow at the woman. She wore the outfit she always had on back at SDN, minus her mask, and her hair wasn’t slicked back this time, with some of her shadowy black locks framing her face.

She then pointed at the rather extravagant couch in the center of the penthouse, which of course had a fireplace, with her knife.

“Sit.”

Robert and Punchup did as requested(well, ordered), and waited as Coupe sat in the armchair across from them. 

“Talk”, she said, sheathing her knife back into her wings.

“These guys you’re running from”, Robert started, “Who are they?”

“What do you care?” Coupe retorted.

“Punchup bailed mid shift to check up on you, and I got word that some of your old crew were after you. I care. Now, who were they?”

Coupe scoffed at this.

“Yeah, they’re my old crew”, she said, “A bunch of people from the mob, back when I did wetwork for them. Up until you fired me, they left me the hell alone. Didn’t wanna fuck with Blonde Blazer. Now I’m out, so now I’m free game.”

“Protection”, Robert said, looking at Punchup, “Is that why you joined Z-Team?”

“I’m sorry, are you here to write my biography or to beg for your life?”

“Neither. I’m here to ask for your help.”

Coupe laughed out loud.

“My help? You let me go, Robert! You fucking made it so I have a target on my back. You should have thought about that.”

“You’re right”, Robert interjected, “I don’t owe you shit.”

This piqued Coupe’s interest, if the tilted head and raised eyebrows were of any indication.

“Look, I’m gonna level with you, Coop”, he continued, “I didn’t want to fire you.”

“Then why did you?”

“It was a bottom line, corporate decision that was made for me. It was between you and Sonar, and that was just about the only choice I got.”

“So…if you could do it again, you would’ve fired Sonar?”

“I wouldn’t have fired anyone, that’s my point. I’d just met you, for fuck sake.”

Coupe looked to the side at this.

“Touching”, she said, “But that doesn’t change the fact that I’m gone.”

“What if you weren’t gone?” Punchup asked.

This, again, piqued Coupe’s interest.

“What do you mean?”

Robert leaned forward, checking his little scratch. It had stopped bleeding. He then tossed the bloodstained paper towel on the table between him and Coop as he spoke.

“I’m thinking I can give you a way back in”, Robert said.

“Isn’t that up to Blazer?”

“Yeah, but I’m pretty friendly with her, and I know the Phoenix Program is her baby.”

“How are you gonna get me back in?”

“By hiring you back on as a consultant”, Robert said, “I’m about to clear it with Blazer, but with you on as a consultant, you’re technically an employee of SDN, so…”

“I’d be back under their protection”, Coupe finished, “And the Z-Team?”

“Oh, they’ll welcome ye back with open arms. Even your replacement.”

Robert winced at that.

Coupe’s eyes widened a little as her snarl returned. Black umbral smoke began to radiate off her as she stood and growled, “You replaced me?”

“Yeah. I did. There was an open position, and it was between a newbie hero that pukes water and a recently broken hearted, depressed discount Omni-Man.”

Coupe’s face went from rageful to confused as her umbral aura dropped.

“Excuse me?”

“Long story, don’t ask”, Punchup said.

The assassin shook her head quizzically as she sat back down and said, “Blazer must have made you one hell of an offer for you to let yourself be put in such a…ridiculous position.”

“No shit”, the Irishman laughed.

“Look, Coupe”, Robert pressed on, “Fact of the matter is, you’re good. Very good, and you’ve got mob connections, which means you’re also useful.”

“And once my usefulness expires? What then?”

Robert sighed at that.

“If you want to be a hero, then you’ll find uses elsewhere. You’re more than just an assassin. You have to know that if you joined the Phoenix program willingly.”

Coupe looked to the side again.

“Look…I need your help. Like I said, you don’t owe me anything, but I’m willing to go to bat for you here. So what’s it gonna be?”

Her amber eyes then leveled themselves on Punchup.

“What do you think?” she asked him.

“Since when’ve you cared what I think, Coop?”

“Since now. Answer.”

“Well, he’s right about needing your help”, he said, “And…he’s a cool guy. I know I trust him.”

“Trust is overrated, Punchup.”

“Your old crew would agree”, Robert said.

Coupe narrowed her eyes back at her old boss.

“Is that why you came to me? You’ve found a use for me?”

“That’s not the only reason. Look, if you want back in, this is your opportunity. Take it or leave it.”

Coupe stood again, pacing back and forth, mulling over Robert’s offer.

He just hoped she would take it. He wasn’t exactly the best negotiator, especially concerning criminals. Normally, he would be taking them down, not dealing with them. Yet here he was.

“What do you need from me?” she asked.

Robert raised an eyebrow of interest at this, but answered nonetheless.

“Shroud. I need everything you know about him and the Red Ring. Connections, orders, everything.”

Coupe raised her own eyebrow.

“Shroud? Why…? Does this have something to do with that botched war down by the docks?”

“What do you know about it?”

“Not much. Yachties and Red Ring came barreling in, looking for something connected to Mecha Man. Heard even Invisigal was involved, but that’s just a rumor.”

“It ain’t a rumor”, Punchup said.

“What? What the hell was she doing there?” Coupe asked.

“She was looking for something. Found it, too. But…Shroud intercepted her.”

“Is she okay?” Coupe asked again, betraying her concern.

“She’s fine now, but…yeah.”

“Why are you after Shroud of all people? Far as I’m concerned, this is Mecha Man’s mess to clean up.”

Robert and Punchup looked at each other.

“What am I missing?” Coupe demanded.

Punhup nodded to Robert who then looked at the impatient woman.

“Better get comfortable.”

Coupe narrowed her eyes, then sat back and gestured for him to proceed.

And proceed he did.

Chapter Text

Visi was a creature of pride. Anyone that knew her knew that. She almost never admitted it when she was wrong. She was either right or a little less right. Either way, she was right, damn it!

Well, most of the time at least.

She was wrong about at least one thing. Or more specifically, Robert had been right about at least one thing.

Visi was far from ready to take on Shroud. Granted, he took her by surprise, but the way he threw her to the ground, the ease in which he incapacitated her. She had honestly only met him twice, the day she got her augment and the day she left. She supposed she shouldn’t have been surprised he knew her weakness. The trench coat wearing freak always did seem to have a freakish memory. Yet she never could predict just how sadistic he was. 

And the way he toyed with her. The way he prowled around her, stared at her, waited for her to grasp for her inhaler, just so he could kick it away and watch her choke to death. Her throat closed up just thinking about it. She could honestly say that, without Chase coming in to save the day, she would have definitely died.

Chase…

Everything about the second half of that night had been pretty much the worst time of her life. Chase almost dying, her suffocating, Robert’s voice in her ear begging for her to get up, to fight. Chase’s near sacrifice scared her, but that voice made her sick to her stomach. Visi couldn’t imagine what it had been like for him. Sitting behind a monitor, scared shitless, able to do nothing but sit there and watch. If nothing else, it made her understand his obsessive and protective tendencies. His frequent gym rat-esque behavior, his insistence from last week that Z-Team was nowhere near ready to take the masked freak on.

Even she had dismissed him as just a ‘dude in a trench coat with a glorified gimp mask’. Boy, how quickly she had been humbled. Robert’s fears had been absolutely justified and then some. Shroud wasn’t just smart, he was sadistic, and she had spent enough time around villains to know that that particular combination made for some very awful supervillains.

As for Robert, based on what she knew of the overworked, over-obsessed man, this would haunt him for a while, too. He struck her as the kind of man that hated sitting on the sidelines, and this most likely exacerbated that hatred so much that it turned into loathing.

Yet, through all of that, it never stopped him from being the most caring, no nonsense man she had ever met. He had checked in on her a fair number of times since then. He always started off all business-like, but then slowly morphed back into his inner softy. It made her feel extra terrible.

She had to tell him. She had to tell him about her past with the Red Ring.

But how would that even go?

‘Hey, so remember that gang that follows the sick fuck that killed your dad? I used to run with them! Crazy, right? Oh, and I planted the bomb that put you in a two month coma! Pretty funny, huh?’

Visi shook her head. She was overthinking this.

But still, considering Robert’s relationship with the gang, she doubted her lack of involvement would matter to him. At the end of the day, she still ran with the gang that played a part in totalling his suit, ruining what little life he had left, and taking away from him the one thing in his life that brought him purpose. Hell, she planted the goddamn bomb that totalled the fucking thing in the first place.

She felt she had most definitely played a role in robbing him of that life’s purpose. This feeling was made worse every time those jaded, dead eyes lit up ever so slightly whenever they looked at her, or the way the corners of his permanent frown would sometimes twitch briefly into a smile. Everything inside her wanted to make whatever she had with Robert last for as long as possible, as strongly as possible.

Yet, certain words Robert had once said always wormed their way into her mind.

‘The difference between this team getting by and this team being great is trust.’

Did she trust Robert?

Of course she did. There were very few people in her life she actually trusted, but Robert made his way up to the top of that list, and it seemed like the feeling was mutual.

No.

She can’t keep doing this. She can’t keep betraying the trust of this man, this hero. Her hero. She wasn’t sure she could tell him about her blowing up his suit, but, at the very least, he deserved to know who she used to run with.

As if on cue, Robert appeared in the office, wearing his sweat pants and hoodie, his hands wrapped with boxing wrap. He had gone straight to Blazer’s office, knocking courteously before entering. Looked like she wasn’t trying on a new dress this time.

Immediately, as if by pure instinct, Visi rushed over to the office, proceeding to use her invisibility. As long as she didn’t make any big movements, and the conversation was short enough, she’d be able to hold her breath for a reasonably long time, asthma be damned.

She barely made it past the door. He was getting better at doing that.

“So, what’s up, Robert?” Blazer asked, giving Robert those concerned girlfriend eyes. First her, now Malevola, how much competition did she have?!

“I wanted to talk to you about something”, Robert said, taking a seat in one of the tacky office chairs in front of his boss.

“You sound more serious than usual”, Blazer observed, “This about Shroud?”

“Kind of. I decided to enlist some…extra help on getting intel on the Red Ring.”

This made Blazer narrow her eyes and turn her head slightly, noting the conspiratorial voice he used on that word.

“Who exactly did you ask for help?”

“Coupe.”

So he really did it. Visi wondered what he had to promise to get Coupe of all people to help the guy that fired her.

Blazer had evidently thought about this as well.

“Robert, what exactly did you promise her?”

“A way back in.”

“Can you be more specific?”

“I offered to hire her back onto SDN as a consultant. It’ll be a good start for her gradual reentry into the Z-Team.”

Blazer did not like this one bit, if her twisting face was of any indication.

“You realize you don’t have the authority to do that, right? I do. You fired her for a reason, and we can’t just create a space in Z-Team.”

“Which leaves my consultant idea still up for discussion”, Robert deadpanned.

“I can’t believe I’m having to ask you this, but did you just hire a former employee back onto SDN behind my back?”

“We need her, Blazer, and this is how we get her on board.”

“She was an assassin, Robert! You said so yourself, she still felt a little evil. That was why you fired her in the first place! Going behind my back like this is seriously unprofessional!”

Visi scoffed internally at this. If that wasn’t the pot calling the kettle black…

“No offense, Blazer, but are you seriously gonna lecture me on unprofessionalism?”

“Okay, see, how am I not supposed to take offense to that?”

“Figure it out.”

This was evidently irritating the usually amicable and friendly superhero, who shook her head in confoundment.

“Robert, she’s the definition of a disgruntled employee”, she protested, “Are we just forgetting about the fact that she threatened you when she was let go?!”

“I’d say she had good reason to be pissed, especially since the SDN offered her protection in exchange for her service in Z-Team.”

“She knew what she agreed to”, Blazer pointed out.

“But I didn’t”, Robert countered, “When were you going to tell me she was offered protection from her old crew? Let me rephrase it, were you ever going to tell me?”

Blazer winced at that.

“Look, you’re right, I should have told you, but…her protection was strictly conditional. As long as she performed well, her location and current whereabouts would remain anonymous and she’d have some of our best available heroes on standby.”

“I get performance based incentives, but not when lives are at stake. You should’ve told me.”

“You’re right. I’m sorry”, Blazer said, “Look, I’ll see about getting her reinstated as a consultant, but as far as getting back into Z-Team goes…we’ll cross that bridge later.”

Robert then stood from the chair.

“Thank you, Blazer.”

The former hero made to leave, but was stopped.

“Why Coupe of all people?” Blazer asked.

Fuck! This was taking too long, and she could feel her asthma coming to kick her in the ass. What she wouldn’t do right now to get her old augments back up and running!

She darted towards a secluded, hidden corner of the room, where she could quietly release her breath and stealthily take hits from her inhaler. It took a while, but she mastered the art of having silent asthma attacks.

“If I’m being honest”, Robert answered, “I like her chances against Shroud better than the rest of the team.”

“Seriously?”

“Yeah. Connections to the mob, and she’s a good assassin. Good at stealth, good at killing.”

This gave Blazer a great amount of pause as she made an unfamiliar face, examining Robert’s face.

“Robert…we’re not trying to kill Shroud, you know that right?”

Right, Visi forgot, Robert hadn’t exactly told Blazer about his plans of retribution.

“Yeah, I know”, Robert replied, lying as easily as one would draw breath, “I’m just saying, in a pinch, Coop has a better chance than Z-Team.”

Blazer continued to examine Robert’s face, but seemed to accept that answer as she said, “Alright, just…making sure. If that’s everything, I guess I’ll get started on some paperwork! Guess you can tell the team the good news. Coupe is officially, technically, back on!”

Robert nodded his head as he made his way to the door. This was Visi’s chance.

As soon as he opened the door, Visi turned invisible and dashed for the door quietly.

“Blazer”, Robert said, leaving the door open thankfully, “Thank you. Really.”

“You’re welcome, Robert”, Blazer replied with a genuine smile, “But please don’t go behind my back like that again? Kinda makes things complicated.”

“I’ll try not to do that again. See ya around.”

Robert then closed the door.

He then looked around slightly, as if searching for something.

He then began walking away.

As soon as Robert was out of direct line of sight, she let out a breath.

She took a couple of hits from her inhaler, catching her breath in a secluded part of the office.

Wow, Robert really was dedicated to killing Shroud if he was lying to his boss about it.

Her phone then buzzed.

When she looked at the text she received, she couldn’t help the little laugh that escaped her.

Robbie: ‘When you’re done eavesdropping, meet me on the rooftop.’

Goddamn it. He was becoming well versed in her ways. It shouldn’t have surprised her. He’d been a hero long before her, and she imagined those scars taught him quite a few lessons.

God that was so hot.

What?

***

Robert stood on the edge of the rooftop, taking in the afternoon sun. Boy had his day been a long one, but it was worth it. Coupe was on board, both for the mission and the SDN. He was relieved.

He needed every advantage over Shroud he could get.

He heard the door to the roof open behind him, making him smile slightly.

“How the fuck did you even know I was in the room?” he heard Visi ask.

“Felt the air rush past me. Also, you may have put a little too much perfume on.”

“Perfume? I use deodorant”, Visi said, “Did…did you smell me?!”

“Yes.”

He didn’t see it, but Visi shook her head incredulously at his matter of fact answer.

“Well alright then.”

She then walked up next to him, taking in the same view. Visi then took a deep breath, then began to cough a little.

Robert’s head snapped towards her at the sound.

“Vis? You okay?”

She continued to cough slightly as she took out her inhaler.

“I’m-...khe khe, I’m fine, really”, she rasped out, taking some hits, “It’s just, uh, prolly the smoke from that night.”

Concern immediately permeated his mind, something that he evidently hadn’t hid very well.

“Don’t worry, Robert, I’m still pretty fuck ready, just can’t do anything that uses too much stamina”, she quipped.

“Vis”, Robert uttered disapprovingly.

“I’m fine, really”, she assured him, “Doctors said that whatever that…freak put in the smoke might linger for a little, but otherwise I’m good.”

“You’re sure?”

“Are you worried about me?”

Robert frowned even deeper at that as he looked back at the afternoon sky.

Yes. Of course he was worried. He could do nothing but watch as Shroud slowly killed one of the few people in his life he truly cared for. He could do nothing as the twisted fuck toyed with her, in much the same way he had toyed with his father the day he murdered him.

“Vi-”, he began, “Courtney. Are you sure you’re okay?”

He looked at Visi again, who looked taken aback by the question.

Why?

“I’m fine, Robbie”, she answered, her face mixed with a multitude of emotions that he couldn’t read.

The man nodded, accepting the answer. She was a big girl, he needed to stop worrying over her.

He knew this, yet he also knew that he just couldn’t do that.

“Actually, I’m glad you texted”, Visi said, “There’s, uh…something I wanted to talk to you about.”

That was her serious voice. She almost never used her serious voice.

He fully faced the woman, who looked hesitant, almost afraid.

That was bad, very bad.

“What’s up?” Robert asked, “You don’t look too excited to talk about…whatever it is you wanna talk about.”

“It’s, uh…fuck, just do it”, she muttered to himself, making Robert somehow both amused and concerned at the same time.

“You, uh…you remember when I told you I was…catching up with some old friends that night?”

Robert looked to the side, searching his memory.

“Vaguely. What, you know some of the Yachtie guys or something?”

“Something like that.”

“Visi, what’s with the wordplay? Just tell me.”

Robert’s impatience could have been curbed, perhaps, but that just wasn’t how he was wired. Perhaps that was what got him in this situation in the first place.

“Okay…here goes”, she muttered to herself.

What was the big deal? Was she gonna reveal herself to be Shroud or something?

“I…I used to run with the Red Ring.”

Okay…not quite a Shroud reveal, but it was within the same ballfield. Visi, a part of the Red Ring?

“How long?” he asked.

“Ran with them for a couple of years. They got me out of a tough spot, and they wanted me to join in exchange. I was…more than happy to join.”

This made Robert wonder something else.

“Did you ever receive Shroud’s augments?”

“I…no, never. I almost did, though.”

“And you’re not with those guys anymore?”

“No, haven’t been for a few months.”

“Good”, was all he said.

“What?” Visi responded, her eyes widening in surprise, then narrowing in suspicion, looking for the trap.

She would be sorely disappointed.

“Visi, the Red Ring’s a pretty big gang. It’s not really all that surprising.”

“So…you’re not mad at me? You’re not pissed? I ran with the gang led by your dad’s murderer.”

“Did you kill my dad?” Robert asked, his seriousness taking over.

“No, but-...”

“Then we’re good. Visi, you’re a former criminal. Emphasis on ‘former’. The Red Ring aren’t the people I have a past with, it’s Shroud. Besides, I doubt you’d have done what you did that night if you hadn’t severed ties with those douche canoes.”

Visi looked visibly flabbergasted, a look that usually prefaced her slugging him in the chest or something like that, so he tensed up, ready to go.

Yet, surprisingly enough, she seemed to be exercising restraint.

“R-Stop it”, she exclaimed, “Why are you being so chill about it?! You hate the Red Ring!”

“I hate Shroud, I’m annoyed by the Red Ring. Distinct difference.”

There was something more, something he felt he had to say, but he didn’t have to. Visi already knew what he was trying to say.

She then began to smile. It was toothy, wide, and genuine. She then began to laugh, which made him laugh as well. For him, he hadn’t laughed like this in so long. Until his housewarming party, he hadn’t felt joy in his dank, depressing home.

The two then moved closer to each other, with Robert holding her waist, and Visi resting her hands on his cheeks. All the while, they stared at each other, still smiling. At that point, Robert noticed that she was giving him the same look she had given during the party. She looked at him like he meant the world to her. It made Robert feel loved, valued, happy. Truly, madly, deeply happy. It somehow also made him somewhat sad. Fifteen long, lonely, empty years, and he had somehow completely forgotten what that feeling was like.

It also made him realize that he didn’t have nothing to lose anymore. He wasn’t just hunting Shroud for the sake of his legacy anymore, or to even protect innocent people. He was now fighting to protect his people, and Visi, Chase, Z-Team, whether they agreed or not, they were his people.

He already lost one family. He refused to lose another.

“Hey, Robbie. You okay?” Visi asked, “You look…I don’t know how you look.”

“Never better”, Robert replied, feeling life fill his once empty-feeling chest again, “You? Are you okay, Courtney?”

She grinned, that same devilish grin she had sported during his first day.

“Never better”, she repeated.

They huffed in amusement, letting their foreheads touch as they enjoyed each other’s warmth.

The moment they had enjoyed was going to have to be interrupted, however.

“Can I ask you something, Courtney?” he asked.

“You just did, dipshit”, she quipped, “But yeah, sure.”

“Wanna do something stupid with me?”

She raised an eyebrow as she mockingly thought about it.

“Is this the kind of stupid that involves sex?”

“No, this is the violent kind of stupid.”

“My favorite.”

Visi then traced her fingers from his jawline, down to his lower chest and back up to his mouth as she gave him the textbook definition of bedroom eyes.

“I would love to do something stupid with you”, she whispered.

Robert laughed a little, then moved away, grabbing her hand.

“Then follow me. Wanna show you something.”

Chapter Text

Robert adjusted the bracers of his armor.

“This was…way less loose than I remember”, Robert muttered.

“Don’t worry, Robbie, it’s more common than you’d think. Happens to every guy”, Visi quipped.

“Riiiight.”

It truly had been a long time since he had worn his Mecha Man armor, though it didn’t feel like a long time to him, and his jumpsuit seemed a tad bit more loose than he remembered. Of course, that tended to happen after a two month coma. 

Nevertheless, his armor, new and improved, fit him rather well. Royd may not have been able to revive his mech suit, but his armor was well within his expertise. The armor plating was made of some sort of lightweight metal composite, Robert honestly couldn’t remember. At a certain point, he just went crosseyed when it came to any kind of science that wasn’t computer related. That had always been his father’s realm of expertise. 

Yet still, the armor had been upgraded with various digital enhancements, including his old hacking module, an honest to god LED makeover, and an actual full face helmet that would fully hide his face, complete with a HUD. He looked at the helmet, where the small visor for his eyes was styled similarly to the two M’s on his chest, and the mask that would cover the bottom half of his face. It was styled similarly to a gas mask, but he wondered if it actually functioned as such.

Royd had considered giving his suit an enhanced strength upgrade, but Robert had advised against it. The fact of the matter was, he didn’t want to accidentally kill someone he wasn’t trying to kill.  It was all…a little much for him, but that was only because he hadn’t done the modifications. This was still technically a prototype. Well, looked like it was getting it’s first field test. Technically.

This, what he was preparing to do, this was his territory, what he excelled at. Classic information gathering, pure and simple. Only this time, he had help.

“You ready to try out the helmet?” Visi asked.

“Yeah, ready, just…this is pretty complex for me, to be honest.”

“What, did you only have your skin-tight and a helmet? Gotta admit, dude, that’s…an image.”

“Hilarious”, Robert drawled, “I had some armor, but nothing this…high tech. It was basic.”

“Well, then you better thank Royd for the upgrade. Y’know, after we explain to him why we stole it, of course.”

“I still kinda feel bad about that.”

“Yeah, well don’t. I would’ve been more worried if you decided to rock your fuckin’ Best Buy fight club drip.”

“We just gotta hope this armor isn’t as sensitive as most tech.”

“C’mon, Mr. Tech Wizard. Let’s get your cosplay gear on.”

Robert then made sure his shin guards were secure before then standing, taking the helmet handed to him. It looked almost disassembled, but it was just meant to give him room to put his head in it. He then put it over his head and placed it on. He pressed the button that was located just at the base of his skull, clamping the helmet down to his face. At that moment, the HUD in front of his visor lit up. It displayed pretty basic readouts, like his heart rate and basic vital readings. The armor instantly knew more about him than he even knew about himself, physically speaking. The HUD even had a motion detector displayed at the top left, but it only seemed to display general direction, rather than pinpoint accuracy.

Royd had outdone himself here. Robert was beyond impressed. He felt like he was in his mech again. Yet…he wasn’t.

“How do I look?” he asked.

Visi walked close to him, examining every inch of him almost like she had her wet dream again. She then got even closer, letting her hand touch the face of his helmet. He could hear the sound of her fingernails moving against the piece of armor.

“Like a badass motherfucker of a superhero”, she said, “Here.”

She gave him her phone, already having the camera app open and on selfie mode so he could look at himself. Indeed, he looked like a real superhero, like a high tech knight. He saw how the two M’s on his chest glowed a golden orange, as well as his visor, yet from his eyes, he saw everything in full color. If anyone else had been looking, no one would have seen a single inch of his face, not even his eyes. 

“Wow”, he quietly exclaimed, “I look…”

“Badass?”

“I was gonna say bright, but sure, let’s go with that.”

Visi snorted at that as she took her phone back.

“You sure about this? We won’t have backup”, Visi said.

“This goes well enough, we won’t need backup.”

“Is this how you usually went about gathering info? You just beat the answers outta them?”

“Not all the time, but…yeah.”

“What do you mean ‘not all the time’?”

“There was this villain working for Shroud, Toxic. I kinda hung him off a window until he gave me what I wanted.”

“What’d you do after?”

She couldn’t see it, but Robert gave Visi a deadpan look as he simply said, “I dropped him. Onto a mattress in a garbage dump below. Not that he knew that.”

Visi snorted at that again.

“Wow, that’s fucked up…and kinda hot.”

“We doing this?” 

“Yeah, yeah, keep your helmet on.”

They then turned the corner, seeing the small SDN station.

Apparently some recently captured Red Ring goons, some of which were returned escapees, had not taken to interrogation well, and had not talked. He had filled Visi in on his plan, and she had readily agreed to it. It was time to do some interrogation of their own.

As he and Visi walked to the station, he took the main entrance. If this plan worked, they wouldn’t need to take any other way. The station looked similar to the SDN Torrence office, but functioned more like a temporary prison rather than a dispatching station. The fact of the matter was that LAPD just didn’t have the resources to incarcerate super powered individuals long enough for it to matter, so they used buildings like this in place of the holding cells they normally used for non-superpowered criminals.

Robert was vaguely familiar with this particular building, having once escorted Flambae to it personally after their first meeting and fight.

After entering the building, they walked straight past the elevator, heading towards the room that said ‘Holding Cells’.

They came across some of the cops that sat outside the door, greeting them cordially as they passed him.

“Wait”, one of them said, “And who would you be?”

“Mecha Man”, he said, “This is Invisigal. Blonde Blazer sent me to take over the interrogation of some Red Ring guys in here.”

“What? I didn’t get any calls about that”, the second cop said.

“Well, then check in with her”, Robert deadpanned, “‘Cause we’ve got places to be after and I’d rather not spend the whole night arguing with you and doing my job.”

“Fine, go”, the first cop relented, “But you bet your ass we’ll call Blonde Blazer about this!”

“That’s what I told you to do”, Robert retorted, now entering the room.

“Damn, Robbie”, Visi whispered, “Kinda smooth, not gonna lie.”

Robert snorted at this.

After closing the door behind him, he was greeted by the suspects’ bodyguards.

“Yo, where're the Red Ring fuckers at?” Visi asked.

“I’m sorry, who the fuck’re you?” one bodyguard said.

“Dude, that’s Mecha Man”, the second bodyguard said, “See the M? He’s a superhero! Show ‘em!”

The first guard huffed in annoyance.

“Fine.”

He escorted them past mostly empty cells until they finally made their way to where they needed to be.

As Robert walked towards the three occupied cells, he examined each and every prisoner, maintaining his stoic, dead look, not that he needed to. They passed some of the cells until Robert saw a prisoner he recognized. It was the same, likely powerless goon, that Mal had captured a week ago, who sat on the bench, idly rubbing his hands together. He was wearing different clothes, indicating that he was one of the returned escapees.

“Well, if it ain’t Invisibitch. Fuck you want, traitor-ass whore?” he scowled.

“Open the cell door”, Robert said before Visi could utter some kind of retort.

“S-sir?” the guard asked.

“You heard me.”

The guard frowned, but did as requested nonetheless, unlocking the door and opening it.

“Thanks, we’ll take it from here.”

“I’m…I’m gonna have to report this to my superiors”, the guard pointed out.

“I’ll do you one better, call Blonde Blazer. Her orders”, Visi countered, “Told us to take over the interrogation.”

“A-Alright”, the guard hesitated, letting them go.

As Visi, twisting the Red Ring goon’s arm, pushed him around to get him to move, Robert opened the door for them. They then made it to the elevator, where Robert would then press the button to the topmost floor.

“Where, uh…heheh, where we goin’?” the goon asked.

“Trust me, you’re gonna love this”, Visi responded, smirking slightly.

The doors opened to an empty office floor. Perfect. They then found the stairwell, and forced the goon up the stairs.

Next moment he knew Robert and the others were on the roof, the setting sun shining as clear as day.

“W-what the hell is this?” the Red Ring goon asked.

“This”, Robert responded, “Is your chance to get out of this alive.”

“Didn’t see this in the SDN training manual”, Visi observed.

“Think this’ll be a problem, Visi?”

“Long as I don’t take the…fall”, Visi replied, grinning slightly.

Robert rolled his eyes at this, but smirked a little at the bad joke.

“Alrighty then. We good?”

“Door’s locked”, the woman said, grinning, “This is gonna be fun.”

“H-hey! What the hell is this?! Take me back! I wanna talk to the cops!”

Visi had let him go at this point, letting the man stumble away from Robert, who simply walked up to him casually.

“Where’s the Astral Pulse?” he asked.

“Wha-what?! Who-...I don’t-...”

“Where’s the Astral Pulse?”

“H-hey, woah, woah!”

At this point, the goon was now on the edge of the roof, struggling not to fall as he looked down.

“Hey, stop! I want my lawyer!”

“Too bad, phone’s dead”, Robert deadpanned, “What about you, Invisigal?”

“Same here”, she said, sporting a devilish smile.

“Now that’s just unlucky.”

As if on cue, his phone began to buzz. He checked it using his HUD, seeing that Blazer was calling him.

Ignoring it, pressed onward.

“One more time, where is the Astral Pulse?”

The man looked back at the ground far below, then back at him.

“F-Fuck you”, he yelled, trying to take a swing at him.

Robert lazily dodged it and headbutted him in the nose, splattering blood all over his faceplate.

As he clasped his hands over his bleeding nose, he screamed, “Oh, motherfucker!”

“Quiet.”

Robert then pushed the man to the edge, but still held him by his shirt collar, making sure as to not let him fall..

The man screamed in fear, begging for help.

“No one can hear you up here, bro”, Visi said, “Don’t waste your breath.”

“Feeling talkative now?” Robert asked.

“I DON’T KNOW WHERE THE THING IS, FUCK, I SWEAR!”

“You’re in Shroud’s gang, I doubt that.”

“NO, I SWEAR, I DON’T KNOW! HELL, I’VE NEVER EVEN SEEN SHROUD BEFORE! I JUST FOLLOW ORDERS!”

“And those orders, what are they?”

“I-I can’t…I’m dead if I tell you!”

“Really?” Robert drawled.

Blazer called him again. He answered this time.

“Robert, stand down this instant”, she yelled through his earpiece.

“You almost here?” he asked casually.

“I can goddamn see you, Robert! Stand the fuck down, that’s an order!”

“Head’s up.”

“ROBERT, DON’T YOU DARE!”

He hung up with the press of a button on his helmet. Thank God for Bluetooth.

“Hope you can fly”, he told the goon.

He then pushed him.

As the man continued to scream, Robert saw a blue and yellow blur swoop down to intercept him. Soon after, Blazer came flying up, holding the still screaming goon. She then dropped him on the roof.

“JESUS CHRIST” Blazer yelled after she landed, “WHAT ARE YOU-...”

“Hold on, Blazer”, Visi said, moving her arm in front of Blazer, who looked at her incredulously as Robert walked past them and towards the terrified goon.

“Your orders. WHAT. ARE.THEY.”

“WE WERE TOLD TO MOVE THE PULSE, JESUS CHRIST!”

He then squatted in front of the terrified goon as he asked, “What do you mean?”

“Once Shroud got the fuckin’ thing, he stashed it in some abandoned apartment building downtown, I don’t know where! Wanted to prepare it for something! After I escaped the first time, new orders came down, we were to move the Astral Pulse somewhere, I don’t know where, God knows why. That’s it, that’s all I know!”

“What’s Shroud prepping the Astral Pulse for, dickbag?” Visi demanded.

“I DON’T KNOW! It was compartmentalized, in case of shit like this! I don’t know anything else, PLEASE! Just leave me alone!”

“And that’s all you’re gonna give them”, Blazer interjected, “Visi, take this guy back to the cells and go home.”

“Blazer, it was my call. She was only following my orders”, Robert instantly said as he stood back up, “I told her and the cops you gave me the authority to do this.”

“Don’t bullshit me. The cops may not have known, but Invisigal damn well knew. Still, I won’t fire her. Yet”, Blazer retorted, “I’m serious, Visi. Get out of my sight before I change my mind. You, a word.”

No please, no soft courteousness. He didn’t think anything could make Blazer mad, or threatening, honestly. The most threatening he’s seen her was when he first met Visi, or perhaps the end of his housewarming party. Now she was wearing her hero face. Her angry hero face.

After Visi exited the roof to escort a properly soiled goon back down to the holding cells,  Blazer turned towards Robert with folded arms and a frown.

“What the hell were you doing?” she demanded.

“My job. We wanted intel on the Red Ring, we just got it.”

“Really? Or did he just tell you what you wanted to hear so you wouldn’t kill him?” 

“Don’t go there, Blazer, we both know that mindset is bullshit. Besides, you put me in charge of dismantling the Red Ring, remember? This is how it gets done.”

“And now I’m starting to regret it. I expected this from the other Z-Teamers, but you?! We are heroes, Mecha Man, not vigilantes. We don’t dangle people off rooftops and threaten to kill them. We do that, we are no better than the criminals we put behind bars.”

“In my defense, I didn’t actually intend to kill him. Like, at all”, Robert deadpans.

“I don’t give a shit! This is not how we do things here!”

“Christ, Blazer, you cannot be this naive!”

Blazer huffed, almost sounding offended, as she said, “Okay, enlighten me, then!”

Robert narrowed his eyes as he walked past her, standing before the edge of the rooftop.

“No offense, but if I have to give you a Ted-Talk about intricacies of organized crime, then I don’t know what that says about you.”

He then turned to Blazer.

“These guys aren’t loyal to a cause, they’re loyal to themselves, and if you put that in jeopardy, they’ll squeal.”

He now walked up to Blazer, conviction fueling him.

“This is what I do, Blazer, what I did. I’ve been doing this for fifteen years, and I’m good at it. If you knew that, you wouldn’t be acting like a newbie on their first day.”

He couldn’t read the look on her face, but before he could try, she closed her eyes and took a deep breath before responding.

“You aren’t a solo act anymore, Robert”, she responded, “You’re an SDN employee. A corporate superhero. That comes with expectations. More specifically, an expectation to maintain the image of SDN. If the public ever found out about this, which they most likely will, SDN’s integrity would plummet to the ground faster than your suit did.”

At that, Blazer winced, realizing what she said, and looked at him apologetically. He made it clear he didn’t take it personally. It was honestly a good joke.

“If the higher ups find out about it, the Torrence branch could be shut down, along with the Phoenix Program. The place is my baby, I can’t let that happen, Robert.”

“Then fire me, Blazer”, Robert snapped, “But good luck finding anyone that knows more about Shroud than me, and before you mention Chase, you know damn well why he can’t do it.”

“Robert…”

“Shroud…Shroud needs to go. He’s my fuck up, my reason for being on Z-Team. He’s my responsibility.”

“Why?” Blazer asked, “Because of what happened to Visi? To Chase? That’s not an excuse to go threatening other people!”

“The cops were getting nowhere and we can’t waste time, not with Shroud! I’m sorry it’s going like this, but if we want him out of the picture, this is how it needs to go.”

Blazer looked torn as to what to say or do.

“This is too personal for you, Robert”, she uttered.

“No shit? I wonder why.”

“Robert, I understand where you’re coming from, but-...”

“You weren’t there, Blazer”, Robert growled, “You weren’t forced to sit by and watch as Shroud…as he fucking toyed with Visi. You weren’t forced to sit on the sidelines while Chase nearly sacrificed everything to get her out of there.”

This made Blazer look even more torn.

“You’ve trusted me every step of the way, Blazer. I need you to keep trusting me. I need you to trust that I know what I’m doing, that I can handle Shroud.”

She took a deep breath. It looked like she was seriously considering pulling him off the Shroud case altogether.

“Fine. But this is the last straw, Robert. If you continue to go off the reservation like this…”

“I’ll be more careful.”

Blazer huffed disapprovingly, but relented nonetheless. She then looked at Robert up and down.

“New suit? Looks cool. Minus the blood”, she pointed out, now smiling a little.

“Agh, shit”, Robert muttered, unclasping the helmet and taking it off, turning it around to see the flecks of blood splattered all over the bottom faceplate. It was only now that he could feel the slight breeze hit his face. It felt calming, almost drug-like.

“Royd’s idea?”

“Yeah. I’m gonna have to return it to SDN, though. Don’t wanna explain why I stole his prototype.”

Blazer laughed a little.

“Robert, can I ask you something?”

“Shoot.”

“Why does Shroud want the Astral Pulse so badly?”

Robert frowned as he idly wiped some drying blood off the helmet.

“Honestly, not a clue”, he answered, “If I had to take a wild guess, he could sell the Pulse for a fuck-ton of money, but….”

“Money?” Blazer asked inquisitively, “Shroud doesn’t strike me as the kind of guy who’s only ambition is to be filthy rich.”

“He’s not. Knowing him, he would likely need the money for something else, but what it is, fuck if I know.”

“Robert”, Blazer started, putting her hand on his shoulder, “Are you sure you can’t-...?.”

“No”, Robert simply said, “I’m not letting this go. I’m never letting this go. If I do that, everything I sacrificed, everything Chase sacrificed will be for nothing. My suit, my legacy, my life. All of it will have been for nothing if I just let it go, and I may as well just agree with everything that asshole reporter said to me during that bullshit press conference.”

Blazer gave a pained look, grimacing and pursing her lips together.

“Besides”, the powerless hero added, “We’ve already ruffled the Red Ring’s feathers more than once. Any hope of just letting this slide is long gone. Like it or not, we’re in this for the long run.”

“Fuck, Robert”, she breathed out, “Never thought a villain could scare me. You make this guy sound like the boogie man.”

“Trust me, even with your powers, he’ll find a weakness and exploit it. It’s only a matter of time.”

Blazer idly rubbed the gem on her chest at that.

“Why?”

“I don’t know, and quite frankly I don’t care.””

He then turned to make his exit. He’s long since overstayed his welcome.

“See you tomorrow, Blazer.”

“Wait”, she called out, “Lemme fly you back to HQ. Save you some time.”

“You sure?”

“I’m sure. C’mon.”

Robert put the helmet back on, only then noticing that the HUD was glitching a little. He’d have to have Royd look into that.

As Blazer carried him and took flight, his HUD lit up with a text notification.

He then took out his phone.

“Better keep hold on that”, he heard Blazer say.

“No shit.”

He then looked at his phone.

Visi/Courtney: ‘Dinner at your place? Also, where u at?’

Robert smiled.

Me: ‘Sure. Blazer’s flying me back to SDN so I can return the suit. How u getting in?’

Visi/Courtney: ‘The fun way.’

Robert snorted. Breaking and entering, of course.

Me: ‘Just try not to let Beef out. I’ll pick up some dinner otw home. How u feel abt Chinese?’

Visi/Courtney: ‘Sign me the fck up. See you then.’

Robert stowed his phone, already feeling his already less shriveled heart fluttering.

A genuine date. With genuine dinner.

How in the hell did he get so lucky?

Chapter Text

Robert walked up the stairs, carrying two plastic bags and about 70 bucks worth of Chinese food.

He seriously hoped his already empty bank account wasn’t about to take a blow.

When he reached the door, he nearly went to rummage for his keys. He then laughed.

No keys necessary if Visi got here first.

Robert tested the doorknob. Sure enough, it was unlocked.

He continued to smile as he opened the door. Yet, the sight before him wasn’t smile inducing at all.

He looked in the room, fairly well lit and slightly more decorated than before, seeing Visi stop in the middle of pacing, and based on the look on her face and the fact that her jacket lay on the plastic chair in the far corner, she had been here a while.

“Robbie”, she breathed out, “You came.”

“Yyyyyyeah, of course I did”, Robert said, closing the door, “It’s my apartment.”

“Yeah, I know, I just…”

Her serious face. Again.

Something was bothering her.

“Visi”, Robert started, putting the bags on the kitchen counter and walking toward her, “What’s wrong?”

“Robbie…why are we here? Like…in a-...ugh, I don’t wanna say relationship because I’m not sure what we are right now, to be honest, but…fuck it, I’m just gonna go for it, why do you like me…if you like me?”

“Uhmmm…what, uh…what?” Robbie asked, completely bewildered by the random, almost comically so, question.

“Please answer the fuckin’ question.”

Robert slung his own jacket over to the chair as he paced a little.

“Well, I mean, if we’re being honest, yeah, you’re pretty fuckin’ abrasive, and a loose cannon, and prone to violence if you don’t get your way.”

“Really feeling the love right now”, Visi halfheartedly joked.

“BUT”, Robert added, “You’re also kind and energetic. You don’t bullshit, you cut straight to the point, and…you’re actually trying to be better. I admire that about you.”

Visi seemed slightly taken aback, but also…unsatisfied?

“That’s it?” she asked.

“What, does there have to be some big reason? We’re not in some romcom anime.”

“Look I-...wait, you’ve watched anime before?” Visi asked, looking unconvinced.

“Hey, I wasn’t depressed all the time, just most of the time.”

“That’s…more sad than you think.”

“Don’t need to tell me”, Robert responded, “Where’s this coming from?”

Visi was silent, her serious face now downgrading to sadness, regret. The same face he saw at the hospital the day Chase nearly died.

“I need to show you something”, she said as she began to take her shirt off.

“Okay, hey, wait a minute if this is some-...”

Robert was now silenced. He then saw it. The same red. Bloody, menacing, bright. Tubes of technology snaking in her ribcage, just under her breasts, protruding from her tan skin, a small mountain of flesh surrounding each and every exit, all meeting at a small piece of obsidian black tech on her lower sternum. A part of him wanted to make a joke about the fact that she apparently didn’t wear a bra, but that part was soundly quashed by one simple question, one that should have been asked internally, but came out vocally anyway.

“What did he do to you?” he breathed out.

“That’s…that’s the thing, Robert, I volunteered. This wasn’t forced.”

“Courtney, what are you…why…”

“I told you I ran with the Red Ring”, she responded, “But what I didn’t tell you was how I even got in, or how I…how I got out.”

“Visi, it doesn’t matter how you got out, what matters is that you’re out.”

Visi scoffed as she replied, “You say that, now…”

“What?”

“Robert…the fact of the matter is that my way out…it cost the life of someone very dear to me. Someone I care about so, so fuckin’ much it hurts.”

“Anyone I know?” Robert asked gently.

“Yeah”, she said, “You.”

Robert’s eyes widened in confusion.

He then stood there, simply dumbfounded as Visi began her tale. Of her induction in the Red Ring, her reasons for joining, her brief stint as a villain, and finally how she…she…what the fuck?

They sat down on the couch now as Visi finished her story.

Robert, for his part, simply stared silently out at nothing, yet, internally, it was far from silent.

In his mind, his logic and his emotions weren’t fighting each other, they were at war, bloody and brutal.

On the one hand, it made perfect sense as to why Visi even threw in with the Ring to begin with. Her asthma was kicking her ass, the smoking probably didn’t help, and Shroud had the solution, in exchange for services rendered. It was classic organized crime shit, squeezing every ounce of indentured servitude they could out of the indebted party until there was nothing left. He’d seen it plenty of times. Shroud even went with the ‘one more task and you’re done’ play. Except Visi was smart enough to actually leave while she still could.

And then there were his rampant, raging emotions, which were also fractured.

He should have been mad. No, scratch that, he should have been pissed. He should have simply told her that they were done, that she was off the team, off the program, something to get her back for ruining what little life he had left, anything. Yet he couldn’t. For all the anger he felt, for all the hate he held for Shroud and the whole situation, he just couldn’t bring himself to direct any of it at Visi. 

Yes, she lied about having received augments, yes she totalled his suit, but could he blame her? After all the encounters they had with the Ring, after declaring his murderous intent towards Shroud, after Chase? No way she would just simply come clean like it was nothing, it would have been more concerning if she had. As for her indentured servitude, he had seen this exact kind of situation numerous times during his active service as Mecha Man. What Shroud did was what all the others did. He saw someone desperate enough to make a deal with the devil, and he latched onto them like a bird of prey with a fresh kill.

His voice finally sounded the most prevailing thought. The one that, maybe even he was still trying to believe.

“Well”, he said, “I forgive you.”

This made Visi, who had sat there staring at him, waiting for his reaction, look more confused than anything else.

“Excuse me?”

“I forgive you”, he repeated, “You did villain shit as a villain, big fuckin’ whoop. You joined the Phoenix Program willingly, as did almost everyone else. They had their reasons, and so did you. I forgive you.”

“Y-you can’t just…you can’t just forgive me. I ruined your fucking life!”

“Well, too damn bad. I forgive you.”

At that, Robert moved closer to Courtney, bringing her in for a hug, one that was returned at first hesitantly, but now with strength.

He couldn’t be mad at her, he just…couldn’t. Not after everything that had happened, not after Visi risked her life to get the Astral Pulse. Besides, it may have also been his soft spot for her acting for him, but he didn’t care. All he cared about was the woman in his arms, the one that turned his life upside down, in more ways than one, both good and bad.

They silently moved apart to look at each other, with Visi giving him that look that just made his walls crumble, the look that just made him feel on top of the world.

“Robbie, I promise I will do everything in my power to put this right. You will be Mecha Man again”, she uttered, tightening her grip on his shirt collar.

“You’ve done more than enough, Courtney.”

It was a statement that, under different circumstances, would have sounded malicious or cruel, but here, now, it was a truthful, genuine statement.

Robert only just then noticed how close their faces were to each other. Visi must have noticed too with the way her eyes darted from his eyes to his mouth and back.

It wasn’t a question, it wasn’t a debate. They knew what they wanted to do. What they needed to do.

They then kissed, lips clashing together like fists. It was all desire, heat, and passion. Robert used his hands to cup Courtney’s face while she gripped the hair on the back of his head with one hand and pulled on his shirt with the other, pulling him even deeper into the kiss. He barely noticed, but Visi blinked in and out of sight, sometimes for but a moment, sometimes for more than a moment, but he still felt her. He felt all of her.

He felt her hands making sure he didn’t dare move away, felt her chest press against his, then finally felt his body being moved to a full on sitting position as she straddled him. Her breathing was heavy, a little raspy even, making him wonder something.

“Your…inhaler”, Robert breathed out.

“Poket”, she responded, producing it from her back pant pocket and taking a huff.

“You good?”

“Robbie…” she began, leaning forward and over him, resting her hands on his cheeks in a tenderness that he didn’t even think Courtney was capable of, “I am…so much fuckin’ better than good.”

For what felt like the first time in a long time, Robbie smiled, a full, toothy, genuine smile.

“I can get used to that”, Visi said, idly tracing the lines of his smile with her fingers, giving her own warm smile.

“And I can get used to that”, he replied, resting his own hands on her cheek.

“Y’know, as much as I’m loving this, and I really, really am, I think we should skip to the part where we fuck each other’s brains out.”

Robbie snorted at that.

Direct and to the point. Classic Courtney.

“Doesn’t dinner usually come before sex?” he asked.

“Food later, sex now”, Courtney countered demandingly.

“Fair enough.”

They then proceeded to kiss passionately again.

How did he get so goddamn lucky?

***

Courtney lay next to Robert, still catching her breath from the incredible sex they had. Talk about a dream come true. Turned out, despite his lack of experience, he was just as good at oral sex as she imagined him to be.

Well, to say he was lying next to Robbie was being generous. The couch that functioned as his bed was big, but not big enough, so she may as well have been laying on top of him, her leg draped over him and the cool air hitting both their naked bodies.

She idly used her fingers to trace the multitude of scars and fading bruises that decorated his entire upper body. They were to him what tattoos would be to some people: each one told a different story of a different part of his life. As she did this, Robert simply stared at the ceiling, with the most content look on his face she had ever seen.

However, one particular battle mark intrigued her most of all.

Her finger moved from his body to his left ear, tracing over the missing chunk.

“How’d this one happen?” she asked.

Robbie snorted softly as he answered, “Had that one since I was a kid. Was fucking around with the mech’s targeting system and accidently painted myself. Chase barely saved my ass and Dad deactivated the suit before it could smear me on the wall. Dad was, heh, pretty pissed. Yelled at me the whole drive to the hospital. Wasn’t allowed near the suit for a whole month.”

“No offense, but your dad sounds like an asshole”, Visi said, going back to tracing the marks on his chest and stomach, “How the hell were you supposed to know? You were a dumbass kid.”

Evidently, he had taken no offense to the comment as he laughed a little.

“I thought he was an asshole too back then, but…I think he was just worried sick.”

“Y’know that’s what all victims of abuse say, right?”

“He wasn’t abusive, that’s for sure. He was tough, but he loved me. Though, sometimes, he’d be off on mission for days on end. Chase would babysit me, but… back then, I did wonder if my dad actually loved me.”

Visi frowned as she recalled her childhood, how she was bounced around like a pinball between foster homes. She had been quite the hell raiser back in her youth. At least Robert grew up with a family. With a father that expected things from him.

Yet, from what she was learning, it sounded as if his father had only been around long enough to affect him, but not long enough for any of the perks of family to matter.

She mentally brought herself back to the present, still tracing his scars as he used his thumb to idly caress her deactivated lung augment, the red light glowing bright enough for the light to dimly hit the ceiling.

A couple of months ago, she had planted the bomb that put him in a coma, not even thinking about him in the slightest. Now she shared not only a bed with him, but her secrets, her passions, her affection. A part of her still thought that she didn’t deserve even a fraction of this kind of happiness, but that part was being thoroughly suppressed by Robert’s words, his declaration of forgiveness, his reassurances playing on repeat in her head.

Visi didn’t know exactly what happened in her life for her to end up in such a…comforting position in life, but at this point, she was going to do her damndest to prove worthy of more such moments like this, sharing warmth with someone she held dear to her, idly talking, eating a simple dinner.

Oh shit, dinner!

“Hey, Robbie”, she said, “You work up an appetite?”

“Oh, so now you’re hungry?” her lover quipped, “Pretty sure that Chinese food is cold as shit now.”

“That’s why God invented microwaves, jackass.”

“I mean, yeah, but…”

“You’re kidding”, Visi exclaimed, moving her head to look directly at Robert, “What the fuck is wrong with you? Everyone has a microwave.”

“Everyone not named Robert Robertson the Third.”

Visi laughed as she muttered, “Fuck sake, dude.”

He began to laugh as well.

“Well…can I interest you in some room temp Chinese food?” he asked.

“Fuck yeah”, she replied, giving him small kiss on the lips before getting up off him.

She had taken to putting her underwear back on, but borrowed his SDN shirt, buttoning it up only enough to prevent her from flashing people she didn’t want to flash outside his open window, while Robert had only put on his boxer briefs.

They both walked over to the kitchen counter, rummaging through the plastic bags to procure their meals. Robert made sure to grab two bottles of beer before they then both walked to the other side of the counter, being sure to avoid tripping on any wires leading to his computer. As they set the dinner on the counter to the left of the computer, Visi grabbed the lava lamp and plugged it into the empty outlet just under the computer plug, making it light up green. It wasn’t a candle, and she was never one for candle-lit dinners, but goddamn it she was going to make this as romantic as possible.

They then opened their food boxes, filled with noodles and orange chicken and dug in. It may have been only lukewarm, but it was still pretty tasty.

“So, how’s your cold Chinese food?” Robert asked.

Visi took a bite of chicken from her plastic fork before replying, “Fucking delicious.”

Robert snorted.

“Honestly, though, I’m just glad you’re eating something besides Twinkies and chocolate. Like, seriously, what the fuck?”

“I’m trying to bulk”, Robert deadpanned.

“Dude, you bulk with protein, y’know, steak, beef, shit like that, not fuckin’ Twinkies”, Visi countered, shaking her head quizzically as she did.

“How is that any different from grabbing Sour Patch Kids from the vending machine every time during lunch.”

“Okay, first of all, it’s not every time, second, I snack on the shit, you…shit, I still don’t know what you’re doing, but you’re sure as hell not bulking.”

“Well, if it makes you feel any better, I do actually work out”, Robert relented, slurping up some noodles before taking a swig of beer.

“Yeah, I could tell”, Visi said, smiling mischievously, “You got some stamina on you, strength too.”

Robert raised an eyebrow at that over his beer bottle. His face was as emotionless as ever, but his eyes? Oh, boy did his eyes reveal just how flustered he actually was, if only slightly.

“I was talking about the bar fight. Perv”, Visi teased.

“I’m the perv?” Robert muttered, “Jesus, that bar fight was…something else. I’m just surprised we didn’t bring Shroud onto us with all the Red Ring fuckers there.”

“Yeah, them frequenting the place was…surprising. Genuinely didn’t know that place was a hotspot. Gonna be real though, Robbie, that wasn’t the surprising part.”

“Then what was? Me taking your advice and telling them about Mecha Man or the part where a giant, coked-up bat monster trashed the joint while Prism hosted a goddamn concert?”

“Okay, yeah that was fucking hilarious”, Visi cackled, “But no, the surprising part was the fact that you held your own.”

“Why’s that the surprising part?”

“Dude, you’re kidding, right? I didn’t think a guy with zero superpowers could actually throw hands like that. The whole team noticed, too. Not to mention you tanked a hit from fucking Punchup.”

“Look, I just did what I had to do. Yeah, I was the only one with no powers. Us normies have to get creative.”

“Well your creativity’s got us trying to find a good nickname for you.”

“I thought Mecha Man was my nickname.”

“That’s a hero name, not a nickname. Big difference!”

Robert nodded his head in agreement.

“So what’s the verdict on that?”

“Leading name is Robert ‘Walk ‘em Down’ Robertson.”

“Walk ‘em Down?” Robert repeated, laughing a little, “The fuck does that even mean?”

“Means you can throw hands”, Visi laughed, “Which, I mean, seeing your scars, yeah, I can see it.”

“Doesn’t mean I enjoyed it.”

“So? You tore out that insect leg chick’s augment straight outta her head with your bare fuckin’ hands. That shit’s fuckin’ cool.”

“Alright, alright, fine. You’ve made your point.”

“Good. So? How you like it?”

“The name?”

“No, the sex, genius. Yes, the name.”

Robert then stuffed his mouth with chicken, his mouth full as he replied, “Might take some getting used to but…Robert ‘Walk ‘em Down’ Robertson. Rolls off the tongue well enough. Gotta admit, though, I’m way too used to being called Mecha Man, and not in a nice way.”

Visi smirked at this, but then frowned as she looked around the once barren apartment.

“Robbie, there is one thing I’ve been wondering for a while, now.”

“Ask away”, Robbie replied, giving her his full attention now. God, she loved when he did that.

“Why do all this? Mecha Man, Z-Team, the Phoenix Program, the hero shit, all of it. Why?”

Robert took a swig of his beer at that with an unrecognizable look on his face.

“You know”, he responded, “You’re the third person to ask me that.”

“I’m assuming Blazer is the first?” Visi asked, trying and failing to hide her jealousy. Yeah, she was the jealous type, so what?

“Yeah, actually, during the ‘interview’”, he responded, using air quotes on that last word, “Second person to ask me that was Flambae, weirdly enough.”

“So…you gonna answer me?”

Robert then set the bottle down as he again gave her his full utmost attention.

“It was my legacy”, he said, “It was all I had left of my dad. And, as it turns out, I was pretty damn good at the whole superhero shit, too, even if I was only sixteen at the time.”

Visi nearly spit out her beer.

“Sixteen?! What the fuck, Robbie!”

“Yup, started off pretty young. Dropped out of high school soon after Dad’s funeral, spent the next fifteen years as Mecha Man. Like I told Blazer, I spent almost everything I had, including the inheritance and life insurance money I got from my dad, so the last couple of years was just spit and glue.”

“Almost?” Visi repeated, utterly baffled at his liberal use of the word, “You sure about that word?”

Robert raised his eyebrow again. He always did that when he was hearing something he didn’t agree with.

“What do you mean?”

“Look around you, Robbie”, she exclaimed, gesturing around the whole room, “Before the party, this place was…empty. Barren. It was a fuckin’ derpession dungeon. I know how much Mecha Man means to you, but was it worth sacrificing everything? From where I’m standing, being Mecha Man cost you everything but your life.”

“Courtney…”

“Why are you so fuckin’, I dunno, eager to get right back into the shit? Is it really just for revenge?”

“Courtney, I don’t know what to tell you”, Robert finally responded, “Hero work’s always been a pretty thankless job.”

“You’re right, yeah, but there’s a difference between thankless and…this.”

She saw the look on his face morph into defiance, like he was being told not to do something he could, which was far from where she was going.

She rested her hand on his to get his attention.

“Robbie, I’m not saying you shouldn’t be Mecha Man, and I’m damn well not saying I won’t help you, I will. I owe you that much at least”, she said, frowning as she said the last part, “I just don’t want you to sacrifice everything again. You don’t deserve to live like that.”

Robert smiled a little as he moved his fingers to intertwine with hers. He looked as if what she had been saying was entirely new to him. Why? Did he genuinely not think he deserved a fucking life? Did he truly only think about himself as Mecha Man? It made her heart fall to the pit of her stomach. She knew Shroud had ruined his life, but she had no idea how complete his ruination was until she had seen how empty his home was. How utterly, completely devoid of life and warmth the place was. His family photo area wasn’t even that, but rather a wall of obsession. A testament to his singular focus on anything and everything else but himself. Hell, she was pretty sure that the only reason he had a dog like Beef in the first place was to prevent himself from actually committing suicide.

She truly hoped that now, with his room filled with ludicrous amounts of lamps and other stuff, he realized that he wasn’t a solo act anymore. Robert had done so much for her, and infinitely more for people he didn’t even know. The way she saw it, it was well past time that he got something in return for the years of service he gave, for the childhood, the life that was robbed from him. 

This man, this normal, jaded man that somehow fucking forgave her for giving him the final push into rock bottom deserved happiness, goddamn it!

And to think Shroud once wanted to make a spy of her.

Fuck that.

She quit the moment she planted that godforsaken bomb, and even after that, even after all the villainous shit she did, she was now in the hero corner and damn proud of it. She wasn’t about to betray one of the first people that actually believed in her.

“I’ll try not to this time”, Robert finally uttered, “Contrary to what some may believe, I actually do like Z-Team. I forgot what having…actual friends felt like until the housewarming party. I missed it.”

Visi smiled at that. Did this mean he was finally gonna get it through his possibly damaged skull that he just maybe deserved a little goddamn happiness? Well, she was one to talk, but she was getting there, too.

“Though, probably could’ve gone my whole life without getting groped by an Australian demon.”

“Oh Christ, don’t remind me”, Courtney grumbled, “I was about this close to fucking exorcising her.”

“Pretty sure that’s not how exorcism works”, Robert pointed out.

“Okay, Father Robertson”, she drawled. She then gave a devilish smirk as she glanced at Robert and said, “Wait, do you have a daddy kink?”

“Really? You instantly go there? And shouldn’t I be asking you that?”

“I mean, hey, if we’re gonna keep fucking, I should know what you’re into!”

“Two times isn’t enough to give you an idea of what I’m into?”

“Not entirely, but at least now I know you bottom like a pro.”

“Jesus Christ…”

They laughed at this as he idly rubbed his thumb on her hand.

“Look, I’ll take the power bottom compliment”, Robert said, “But pegging is out for me.”

Visi snorted, amused that he somehow remembered that joke back from their first date.

“Oh, come on, you don’t wanna try it? Not even a little?”

“Let’s reserve that conversation for sometime in the future, shall we?” 

Visi smiled even more at that as she lowered her head to his shoulder. Sometime in the future? Did that mean…?

Christ, she probably has been watching a little too much anime.

“I’ll hold you to that”, she whispered, lifting her head to look at Robert, her nose touching his with how close their faces were.

Their faces inched closer and closer, and her eyes closed as her hand moved to cup Robert’s jaw.

Then she heard a knock on the door.

“God…fucking damn it”, she growled, frowning now.

Robert chuckled quietly.

“Just get the fucking door before I murder whoever’s behind it.”

“Right on that”, Robert replied, getting up off his chair.

As he moved to the door, she, perhaps out of instinct more than anything else, turned invisible and walked over by the small pillar to peek around and find out just who interrupted her moment with her man.

Robert had pants on now, which was unfortunate for Visi, but hadn’t bothered to put on a shirt as he went to open the door.

When he did, much to both of their surprise, Coupe stood at the door. Visi had forgotten how menacing she looked and how unsettling her dull, emotionless amber eyes could be.

As she let out her breath, revealing herself still in her underwear and Robert’s shirt, Coupe finally spoke.

“Hope I wasn’t…interrupting something”, the assassin said, raising an eyebrow as she stared at Visi.

“How’d you know where I lived?” he asked.

“Followed you home after you fired me. Considered killing you right then and there, but, well, never killed anyone for free before, didn’t see why I should start.”

“I don’t know whether to respect your restraint or be concerned by how casually you outlined your urge to murder me”, Robert deadpanned.

Coupe then leveled her icy gaze at Robert, giving his scar covered body a once over.

“Be grateful”, she curtly said, “Because I’ve got info on your Astral Pulse. It’s gonna be moved later tomorrow.”

Robert’s face lit up as he asked, “Good, then we’ll go over the intel and the plan tomorrow at the SDN office.”

This made Coupe’s eyes widen slightly.

“So, our deal…?”

“You’re officially, technically, back”, Robert said, “Blazer’s own words. As far as officially coming back into the Z-Team, that’s…uncertain, but as of earlier this afternoon, Blazer began the paperwork to get you hired back on as a consultant. Took some convincing, but she saw reason in the end. So, you’re officially an SDN employee again.”

Coupe’s lips parted a little as she stared at Robert with surprise and…was that happiness? From Coop?!

“I…don’t know what to say”, Coupe responded, looking like she was genuinely having difficulty even emulating gratefulness.

“Probably best to not say anything then”, Robert reassured, “We’ll hash out the details of your employment tomorrow morning. I’m an early riser, so I’ll be there before most people.”

“I know”, Coop replied.

Christ that was unsettling. Did this bitch know how to not be creepy?!

“Well, then. I’ll see you tomorrow morning.”

Before Coop made her leave she was stopped.

“And Coop?” Robert finished, “Welcome back.”

Coupe pulled the same face as before, as if struggling to find a way to register her emotions.

“Thank you, Mecha Man.”

At that, Coupe gave a brief, stinted, but genuine smile as she then glanced back at Courtney.

“It’s…good to see you again, Invisigal.”

“Yeah...you too. See you tomorrow, Coop”, was all Visi could say. She was entirely unused to Coupe showing any kind emotion outside of anything related to her bloodlust.

As the door closed, Coupe began to walk away.

“Wow”, Visi said, “I think that’s the most emotion she’s ever shown to anyone.”

“That’s…somehow both endearing and concerning.”

“So…looks like we’re both going to work early tomorrow, huh?” Courtney asked.

“Did I say you could spend the night?”

“Are you gonna kick me out?”

“Do you like sleeping on a couch?”

“I’m gonna sleep on you, not the couch, big difference.”

“I’m not convincing you, am I?”

“Not even a little bit.”

Robert sighed, smirking slightly as he put his hands in his pockets.

“Alright, fine. But let’s finish our dinner first.”

“Deal.”

They then spent the rest of the night eating in content silence.

She had no clue what she had done to deserve someone like Robert in her life, but she was sure about one thing.

Robert was hers, and she had no intention of messing this up.

Chapter Text

Robert and Visi entered the SDN early, earlier than Visi normally got in, much to her annoyance. However, Robert was nothing if not considerate, and had decided to bring both her and Robert their morning coffee. It, of course, didn’t prevent Visi from trying to make mischief by ‘accidentally’ bumping into him while he had a mug of hot coffee, but he expected nothing less.

Coupe had already arrived at SDN, much to some of the other early risers’ surprise, if the looks of fear and apprehension were of any indication.

“Robert, Visi”, she curtly, but cordially addressed, “Nice to see you two with your clothes on this time.”

“Already making jokes”, Robert muttered, making Coupe smirk slightly. He couldn’t help his own smirk.

“C’mon, let’s head to the conference room.”

The three of them made their way to the conference room, whereupon they were finally debriefed.

***

With all the Z-Teamers gathered, Robert finally looked at Coop.

“Well, ready to be welcomed back?” he asked the taller woman.

“If there are tears, I’m going to skin them all alive.”

“Wonderful…”

Robert then walked in the conference room, with Coop in tow. This alone was enough to gain Z-Team’s full attention.

“Yeah, I’m gonna keep this first part short”, Robert said, “Coop is back on. She’s not an official member of the Z-Team yet, but she is back on the SDN payroll as a consultant.”

They weren’t even prompted, but Z-Team already began to cheer, which made Robert smile slightly. Boy was he glad everyone actually agreed to this. Coop for her part looked a little overwhelmed, her eyes darting everywhere and a small smile of her own twitching on her lips as she walked over to the conference room table.  

As she walked up to Waterboy, who took his normal spot in a bucket, she looked down at him, her sharp gaze analyzing every part of the kid, making him shift nervously as he did everything he could to avoid eye contact.

“So…this is who you replaced me with”, she said.

“Coop…” Robert started.

“He’s a good lad, Coop. New, but he’s good.”

“Is he now?”

She then glanced down at the plastic bucket he stood in, which was rapidly filling with water.

“That’s…”

“I c-can’t s-, w-w-on’t prevent-stop preventing-...”

“He can produce water but can only partially control his powers, hence the bucket”, Robert paraphrased, giving Herm a reassuring nod.

This made Coop raise an eyebrow.

“Well…this should be interesting. What do they call you?”

“W-W-Waterboy.”

Coop huffed before responding, “Makes sense.”

She then took a seat on the far end of the conference room table, next to Punchup.

“Okay”, Robert said, surprised at how well that interaction went, “We all settled in?”

“Looks like it”, Prism said, “So what’s the deal, Mr. Walk ‘em Down?”

As if on cue, Blazer and Chase walked in, with Chase hobbling in the room with a cane in one hand and Beef in the other. 

“I called us here this morning because, thanks to Coop, we know where the Astral Pulse is.”

“Please tell me it’s not in another fuckin’ warehouse”, Punchup protested.

“Yes and no”, Coupe said.

At that, a projector on the ceiling began to light up, displaying a map of Torrence and a giant red square outlining a seemingly random building.

“Yo, Bruno, sit over here”, Visi called out, moving her seat so the construct could sit on the floor.

She then moved next to Robert, folding her arms and assuming her usual, nonchalant position.

“The Pulse is being moved from a storage facility just at the outskirts of Torrence."

“A storage facility?” Malevola asked, “Why there?”

“Perfect place to hide something on the low”, Visi said, “Too many places to actually try to choose from, security doesn’t ask questions, and plenty of ways to fuck over any nosy and unwanted guests without drawing attention.”

“Not to mention if you decide to add your own security, the actual security personnel tend to go home and stay there”, Coupe added, “Don’t wanna see anything that could get them killed. Not that it helps any.”

“Which leads to the problem. Astral Pulse is there, we know that for sure, but what we don’t know is which storage unit it’s in or where it’s being moved.”

“Vic, you get a chance to look at the inventory files I sent over to you?” Robert asked.

“Why is Sonar always the one doing paperwork shit?” Prism asked.

“He’s one of the few people in this room that doesn’t get crosseyed when doing it.”

She then nodded her head in agreement, seeing the point being made.

“Yeah, I’m still kinda looking through the shit. I do have a few contenders on where the Pulse thingy is, but I can’t tell exactly which one.”

“Send me the list you have for now”, Robert replied, “It’ll have to do. Shroud’s too smart to make it obvious, so we’ll have to go with the best guess for now.”

“So, we gonna intercept it while it’s being moved?”

“No”, Visi said, “Shroud’ll definitely be expecting that. The best place to get the Pulse is while it’s stationary.”

“Shroud’s gonna have some kind of stupid fucking security on the transport, so we’ll hit him where they least expect it.”

Everyone looked at each other, then, interestingly enough, at Visi, all with looks of curiosity and slight animosity. Visi may have overstepped here.

“Okay, sure”, Mal said, “But that place is gonna have a fuck-ton of security. Besides, you warned us about how smart he was. Doesn’t hiding it there seem a bit…I dunno, not smart?”

“I shadowed the storage facility myself”, Coop said, “Place had fucking Red Ring all over the place, which supported some of the shit I heard from those assholes guarding the entrance. Trust me, it’s there.”

“We’ve got Royd downstairs confirming Coop’s intel as we speak, doing a deep dive.”

“Cool, but why the delay?” Blazer asked from behind, “I mean, he got the Pulse. Had it right in his hands. Why hand it off? Why wait to do…whatever the hell he wants to do with the pulse?”

“He might know about SDN’s attempts at recreating it. This facility in particular was hacked a week-ish ago, if I remember correctly”, Chase theorized.

“Bingo”, Robert said, snapping his fingers and pointing at Chase, “I managed to stop the hack before they got to any vital systems, but the hacker did manage to get their hands on some files. I don’t know which ones exactly, but it could likely be Royd’s documents on the Proto-Pulse that got taken, and now he potentially has the real thing. Probably won’t take any chances now.”

“Great, so they know we’re coming”, Flambae pointed out.

“Never stopped us before. Don’t see why it should now”, Robert countered, smirking, which in turn piqued the pyromancer’s interest.

“You have a plan, Bobert?” he asked.

“Instead of sending a small team or one person, you’re all going this time”, Blazer said.

“A-A-A, e-every-, all of us?” Waterboy asked incredulously.

“You’re kidding, right?” Punchup asked, looking at Waterboy with a devilish smile, “They couldn’t handle Mecha Man here drunk and on their own fuckin’ territory, they can’t handle us sober.”

Everyone chuckled at that.

“Yeah, but this time those fuckers are armed and dangerous”, Chase pointed out, “And this isn’t some fuckin’ bar fight, this is high profile target acquisition. Your lives will actually be on the line.”

“Yeah, we get it, Chase”, Robert calmly countered, “But we’ll be fine. We’re not taking on Shroud, we’re just getting the pulse and leaving.”

“But we can-...wait, ‘we’?” Golem asked, earning an inquisitive look from everyone.

“Yeah, we. I’m coming with.”

Everyone looked at Robert with narrowed eyes and worried looks, Visi included. She hadn’t been let in on that particular part of the plan.

“You’re joking right?” Flambae asked, “You and what suit?”

“No offense, MM, but I’m with him on this”, Golem added.

“We’ll be flying blind without someone covering cameras”, Coupe said, “We need you here.”

“I’ll be able to cover security cams with my armor, we’ll be fine.”

“Armor? What armor?” Mal asked.

“He’s got some new armor to wear, courtesy of Royd”, VIsi clarified.

“It look cool?” Prism asked.

“It looks badass as fuck, in my not-so-humble opinion.”

“Well, alright then! Bobby boy’s gonna join us for a mission, let’s fucking go!”

Blazer then stepped up.

“I feel the need to remind everyone that the armor, while nice looking, admittedly, is still a prototype”, she said, “And apparently Royd is not very happy with the fact that you stole it yesterday.”

“I did what I needed to do, Blazer.”

“Tell that to Royd, y’know, the guy that had to clean the blood off your face plate.”

“Blood? Really?” Mal asked.

“Don’t worry, wasn’t mine.”

“Fuck yeah, Mr. Walk ‘em Down” Prism quietly cheered, “What I’m fuckin’ talkin’ about. Let’s get him in on this!”

“Yeah, why not? Always wanted to see Mecha Man in action”, Sonar said.

“You know I won’t exactly be in full ‘action’, right?”

“Yeah, I know. Still, It’d be pretty cool…y’know…working with you.”

Robert huffed at this.

“Then who’s gonna cover you from here?” Blazer asked.

“I will”, Chase said, “I’m old, not crippled. Well, kinda crippled, but-...oh, fuck it, you know what I mean.”

“Are you sure…? This is-...”

“I’m sure. We get in, find the Astral Pulse, get it out of there, and mission accomplished.”

“It won’t be that simple, Robert. There are guards everywhere”, Coupe pointed out, “Maybe leave this to the people with superpowers.”

“I’m not sitting on the sidelines again”, Robert snapped.

There was complete silence after that. He could feel the fear that gripped his heart that horrible night gripping him again at the thought of just sitting behind a monitor like that again. He was not going to let others fight his battles for him again, not while Shroud still lived.

“Robert”, Flambae said, standing up and giving him the most serious, genuine look he had ever seen from the man, “Are you sure?”

“I’m sure, Chad”, Robert responded, “Like you said, it’s my fuck up, my responsibility. I’m not gonna have a repeat of the warehouse.”

Chad stared at Robert, then nodded in understanding.

“Then what do we do?” he asked.

“For now, we do the work we’re hired to do. Royd’s still studying the schematics. Vic, you think you’ll be able to keep at those inventory files in your spare time?”

“Honestly, I’ll need to put my full attention on that”, Sonar responded, “You kinda sent a lot.”

“Yeah, true”, Robert relented, “Alright then, you pour over that stuff. Coupe, how do you feel filling in for Sonar for this first shift.”

“Really?” Coupe asked, surprised, “I thought I…”

Robert looked at Blazer, who nodded in approval and smiled.

“Coop. You in or out?”

She looked at Robert, then at the Z-Team, then at Blazer, who all looked at her with reassuring smiles.

“Yeah…yeah, I can fill in for him.”

“Fuck yeah, Coop! Let’s get it, girl”, Prism cheered.

“Thank you”, Robert said, “We’ll do dispatch work for the first shift, but after that, it’s all hands on deck for this. Let’s have a good day, people!”

Robert then walked out of the conference room, giving Blazer and Chase a nod as he did.

He began to walk toward his cubicle when he was stopped by a voice.

“Yo, Robbie, wait!”

He turned around, seeing Visi jogging up to him.

“Hey, you okay?” she asked quietly as she closed the distance.

“I’m fine, why?”

“Your face…when you brought up that night, you looked pretty fuckin’ scared. You sure you’re okay?”

“Look, it-…you know why I can’t sit behind a monitor like that again, Courtney”, Robert said.

“I know, Robbie. I’m not gonna try to stop you if that’s what you’re worried about. Pretty sure I couldn’t if I tried. But, just know I’m gonna fuckin’ worry about you the whole time. Deal?”

Robert smiled a little. Yeah, if he was being honest, he would worry about her the whole time as well.

“Deal”, he said, holding her hand.

They then stared at each other for a little before sharing a short, yet tender and loving kiss.

“Be careful out there, Courtney.”

“Always, Robbie.”

She then rested her hands on his chest briefly before adding, “Now, let’s have a good day.”

Visi then vanished.

“Heh…what a morning.”

***

“Holy shit, did Shroud double the guard or something, what the fuck?” Visi asked.

“That’s…a rather excellent question, actually”, Coop said with a raised eyebrow.

Coupe, Visi and Robert all kneeled on the roof of a building near the storage complex, watching as Red Ring goons, all armed and dangerous, swarmed the entire area like cockroaches. The storm had passed over L.A. fast and hard, making rain fall in an almost torrential downpour. He couldn’t remember the last time he had seen it come down this hard. He could even hear it falling and hitting his helmet.

“Think it’s to prep the transport?” Robert asked.

“Possibly”, Visi said, “But…is that Toxic?”

Sure enough, sticking out like a sore thumb, the powered individual in question was there. He wasn’t in his powered up form, still wearing the same yellow shirt and jeans, not even caring about the rain hitting him.

“Well, well, Toxic, long time no see”, Robert muttered.

“You know him?” Coop asked.

“Yeah, he was there when my suit exploded.”

“Mecha Man”, Visi said, apprehension in her voice, “If he’s here, guaranteed Shroud’s at least nearby.”

“How do you know that?” Coop asked, her head tilted in curiosity.

“You’re right, we need to move fast”, Robert replied, trying to ignore Coupe’s inconveniently timed curiosity as he pinged the team’s comms, “Guys, bad news, one of Shroud’s heavy hitters is here, which either means Shroud is too or he’s nearby, we need to make this quick. Sonar, tell me you have something.”

“I might, actually yeah”, he responded, “The Roydster actually came in with this one. Looks like one particular storage unit needs a ridiculous amount of power. Like, way more than you’d actually need, even if you were living in these things.”

“Sonar, you goddamn genius you, which unit?”

“Unit…let’s see…unit 38.”

“Vic, I am buying you all the whiskey you want after this”, Robert praised, “Flambae, Prism, status report.”

“We’re ready, MM”, Prism replied, “Just tell us when to sing.”

“Yeay, let’s go, c’mon, I don’t have time for this shit, fuck.”

“Everyone else?”

“Yup”, Punchup said.

“Ready to go, mate”, Mal voiced.

“Alright”, Robert breathed out, pulling up his screen from his gauntlet. However, it began to glitch and stutter.

“Fucking prototype”, he muttered tapping the gauntlet repeatedly before deactivating it altogether, “Royd, I can’t pull up my hacking module.”

“Da gauntlet not complete yet, bruddah”, he heard Royd say, “You lucky you have a HUD.”

“God damn it”, Robert growled, “Chase?”

“Way ahead of you, kid. I’ve got the camera feeds. Who’s the fucker with the face tats?” Chase asked.

“Unimportant, is the way clear to unit 38?”

“Not even a little. Visi wouldn’t even be able to sneak past them fuckers.”

“Then we go to plan B. Flambae, Prism, give ‘em a show.”

“Way ahead of you, Boberton”, Flambae replied, “Yo, Alice. Wanna set the mood?”

“Say fuckin’ less, Chadster.”

It took but a few moments, but after those words, an explosion, followed by a large fireball and honest to God music.

“We got this, Mecha Dick. Get your Astral Butt Plug.”

“Christ”, Robert laughed, “How we lookin’ now, Chase?”

“Still some Red Ring douches there, but nothing you can’t handle.”

“Alright, let’s go.”

“Are we killing them all, or no?” Coupe asked.

“Incapacitate…but if they don’t give you a choice…”

“Fair enough.”

At that, Coupe, Inivisigal and Mecha Man made their way off the roof and to the ground.

They stuck together, relying on Chase’s words and each other's ability to be stealthy. Robert was just amazed he still had it after so long in a coma induced retirement. They all made their way to the storage unit eventually, where two guards stood, weapons at the ready.

“Alright, Visi you t-”, Coupe started.

She didn’t even get to finish her thought as Robert charged forward, jumping on the first man. When he collapsed, Robert rolled towards the second, kicking his legs out from under him and dropping a hammer fist right on his head when he hit the ground, knocking him out and possibly giving him a TBI, considering how his head also hit the pavement.

He then moved to the other guy, who began to get up. Fortunately, he had already been knocked out by Visi before he could do anything.

She glared at Robert, which likely meant he was going to hear the earful of the century from her after this.

Now wasn’t the time, however.

“I’ll see if I can get this fuckin’ door unlocked. Coop, you and John Wick over here keep an eye out.”

Visi then knelt down, but saw that it was an electrical lock.

“Fuck”, she groaned, “Chase?”

“Nah, Royd got you”, the big man said, “Gimme time.”

There was some silence after that, with Coop and Mecha Man keeping a look out only half the time. The other half they were just enjoying the sounds of Red Ring getting their asses kicked by the others while Prism was hosting yet another concert. She was probably livestreaming it right now.

“So…” Coop started, “Alice, Chad, Courtney? When did you all get that close?”

“A week ago”, Robert responded, “We went to the Sardine to get drinks, ended up getting into a war with the Ring, and…well, after that, I told them I was Mecha Man.”

“Can’t imagine Flambae took it well.”

“Nearly burnt my skinny ass to a crisp, yeah. Golem saved my ass though, and…well, then we all shared our names.”

“I…”, Coupe started, hesitating for a moment, “Strangely enough, I wish I had been there.”

Robert sighed, already seeing where this conversation was going.

“Look, I’m sorry, Coupe. I really am”, he said.

“I know”, the taller woman said, “I talked to Blazer today. She told me you actually hesitated on her decision. That she never told you about my deal with SDN.”

“Did you think I was lying?”

“Yes.”

“And now?”

“Now I’m starting to figure out that those assholes actually like me.”

“Yeah, they do. Y’know, Punchup actually got some revenge for me firing you. Loaded up so much porn on my work computer I’m surprised it didn’t explode.”

Coupe laughed a little at that.

“Yeah, that does sound like Colm”, she said, looking to the side with a fondness Robert didn’t think she was capable of.

“Shit, I’m surprised I didn’t get cut”, Visi said, “I was on the bottom of the leaderboard.”

“You snuck past me when you apprehended Thundercuck.”

Everyone chuckled at that. That name was never going to get old.

“Almost dere”, Royd notified.

“R-...Mecha Man”, Coupe said, “You should know something. Shroud came to me. After you fired me.”

This made both Visi and Robert look at each other before looking at Coupe.

“Offered me revenge and his augments. Told me all sorts of things about you…and Visi. I nearly took the offer, too.”

Robert frowned at this, not sure whether to feel relief, caution or apprehension. From the look of it, Visi looked about ready to brawl, but Robert rested his hand on hers, making her stand down.

“Why didn’t you?” he asked.

“You made me a better offer”, she responded, “And to be honest…I actually didn’t know how much I missed those fucksticks, especially Colm…until I saw him again.”

“Well, good to have you back, Coop.”

“It’s…good…to be back.”

“Unlocked, bruddah”, Royd said, “My typing no good, but dis fuckah no match for Royd.”

“Fuck yeah, nice”, Visi said, “Let’s get your pulse.”

They turned to open the unit garage door, and when they did they saw room filled with monitors and wires, all connected to the bright blue and glowing Astral Pulse, which sat in the center of the unit.

“Royd…you seeing what I’m seeing?”

“Yah, bruddah. Looks like Shroud was testing da Pulse. Tryna see if real or no.”

“Well…is it?”

“Oh, yeah…dis da real deal.”

“Hey, there’s the suitcase and everything”, Visi pointed out.

“Grab it and the Pulse”, Robert said, barely containing his excitement as he walked out to keep guard.

“Everyone, we’ve got the Pulse, we can leave right now-...”

“How convenient.”

That voice. Digital, unfeeling, almost nightmare inducing.

The figure that stood in front of him.

He shouldn’t have been surprised, but he felt a little nonetheless.

Shroud.

The man stood in front of him, with a small group of villains, Toxic included, surrounding them. Robert for his part, could physically feel the rage burning within him, hatred and loathing pouring through his blood as pure as fresh water.

“Okay Robbie, got the Pul-...”

“Hey, babe”, Toxic waved, “Long time no see!”

“Toxic”, she scowled.

“Oh, c’mon Courtney. Don’t even use my real name anymore? You’re one cold bitch, Invisibitch.”

“Fuck you.”

“You already took care of that.”

Shroud, calm and collected walked up to Robert.

“Hello…Mecha Man. Been a while, kid. Thought after Invisibitch planted that bomb on you, you would’ve done us all a favor and crawled under a rock. Like the new armor, by the way. Personalized HUD, state-of-the-art hacking module. ‘Course it doesn’t work, but…eh, prototypes, am I right?”

He then looked at Coupe with his unearthly, digital stare, his mask hiding whatever, if any, emotion was being expressed.

“Coupe”, he greeted, “I’d say I’m surprised to see you here, but…nothing surprises me anymore.”

Coupe huffed at this before reaching for her knives. However, before she could even begin to do so, Shroud already leveled his revolver at Coupe.

“Bullets are faster than knives, Coupe, even if they’re thrown by you.”

Robert growled, but there was very little else he could do.

“Oh, and don’t try to call your little band of turncoats. Or do. I could use the target practice. Chase can’t see you, either. We’re aaaal alone.”

Fuck. He knew Elliot was good, but he had forgotten how good. Well, how good his enhancements were.

“Elliot”, he said, “You hurt them, you answer to me.”

“Ooooh, how scary”, Toxic taunted.

“Shut the fuck up”, Shroud snapped, “Adults are talking.”

His bloody mask then turned to Robert.

“Give me my fucking Astral Pulse”, he said, “And I won’t have to hurt her. Oh, and give me Invisibitch while you’re at it. Given how she ruined your life, that shouldn’t be a problem, should it?”

Robert walked in front of where Visi was, holding his arms out protectively.

“She’s not going, Shroud.”

Shroud’s eyes seemed to glitch out for a second, and then went back to their menacing ‘eyes’, his body moving in surprise.

“She told you”, he said, “And you fucking forgave her? Hah! Guess I can still be surprised. Bravo to you, Robert, truly. Alright, no Invisibitch, just the Pulse. Got no use for her anyway, and revenge is…overrated.”

Robert then felt movement behind him, saw Visi trying to move past him, her face contorted in a form of regretful finality.

“Visi”, Robert breathed out, “What are you-...”

“Protecting the team, Mecha Man”, she said, looking at Robert with the saddest eyes he had only seen once before.

“How heroic. Give me. My FUCKING Pulse”, Shroud snapped, cocking the hammer back on his gun.

She then moved past Robert, briefcase in hand. Uncomfortable parallels were being drawn right before Robert’s eyes, and he hated every second of it.

Visi then gave Shroud the briefcase before walking back to Robert’s side, an action which, surprisingly enough, went unhindered.

“There. Wasn’t so hard, now was it?” Shroud asked.

His eyes glitched again briefly, then he stepped back a couple of feet, keeping his gun pointed at them but close to his person. A bright red portal then opened, and an angry Australian demoness came out swinging…right where Shroud had been.

“The fuck?!” Malevola yelled.

“A for effort”, Shroud praised, “But not quite.”

Malevola saw the situation before her, immediately trying to diffuse it by raising her hands.

“Mate, you don’t wanna do that. We got SDN backup on the way, and you are one trigger pull from pissing them off.”

Shroud paused for a moment.

Then…

“No. You don’t.”

He then, without warning, raised the gun and pulled the trigger. Robert half expected it to hit him, but when he looked down at his chest he saw nothing. He then looked horrifyingly to his left, and saw that Visi had a hole in her stomach. A rather large one.

“Huh”, Shroud muttered, “Hit a little low. I was going for her lungs, y’know for the symbolism of taking my augment back, but…oh well.”

Robert couldn’t think straight. Logically, he should have been attending Courtney, but logic had left the building.

He roared with guttural rage as he lunged at Shroud, who didn’t even flinch as Mal restrained him.

“Fight me”, Shroud stated calmly, as if giving life advice, “Or help your invisible girlfriend. Right now she’s got a 64% chance of survival, which goes down every second you don’t staunch the bleeding.”

The man began to walk away, the rain water streaming down the back of his trench coat.

“Huh, looks like she’s now up to 77%. Nice. Guess I was wrong. Revenge…is indeed sweet. I see why you want it so bad. See you around kid.”

He then walked off, taking his villainous posse in tow.

Robert couldn’t help himself.

“I’ll fucking kill you, you hear me?! I’LL FUCKING KILL YOU!”

“Robbie, he’s gone”, Mal yelled, “Robbie! She needs you!”

Shroud had indeed gone out of sight at this point.

“Fuck”, he yelled, his voice cracking as he rushed back over a wounded Visi. She lay on the ground, with Coupe hanging over her and applying pressure onto the wound with her hand.

Robert pressed his helmet release button and wrenched the piece of armor off of his head as he went to cradle Visi’s head with his hand.

“Courtney”, he yelled desperately, “Nonononono, hey! HEY! Keep your fucking eyes open, you hear me?! Courtney!”

He then looked up at Mal, any sense of decorum having been shoved to the side as he desperately looked at her.

“I…I can’t heal her like this”, she said, “I can only do minor injuries.”

“FUCK! What about the others?!”

“They’re holding off the Ring!”

“Portal over there and get them here NOW! Nearest hospital, we…nearest hospital."

“H-hey”, he heard from below.

He looked down, still cradling her head as she looked up at him, the most devious, devilish smirk on her face he had ever seen.

“Did…one…thing…right”, she got out, making him look towards her hand. Her hand then fell to the ground, where the Astral Pulse rolled, covered partly in blood. He then looked down at Courtney’s now ghostly pale face, her eyes closed and her devilish smirk still on her face.

“Courtney! Hey, don’t fucking close your eyes! Courtney please!”

The tears burned red hot in his eyes as another portal opened. The Z-Team began to either port or fly to them.

All the while, he shakily grabbed the Pulse, clutching it to his armored chest.

“Courtney…” he said pitifully, barely able to choke out her name.

Helplessness. Horror. Fear. It all ran through his mind, almost replacing the blood in his veins as he stared at Courtney, as he reached for her cold hands to press them to his face. He pleaded with her silently. He pleaded to God, Satan, the universe. He pleaded to anyone that would listen that she be alive.

“Courtney…please”, he choked out again.

It was all then replaced.

His entire body shook uncontrollably as his breathing quickened and his teeth ground against each other, the tears finally being fought off as he looked up. His blood, which once ran cold with fear, now ran white hot with hatred. Rage, on an almost mythical scale that drove one word out of him. A word that tore through his throat like fiberglass washed down with mouthwash as Courtney’s hand fell to her chest.

“SHROUD!!!!!!”

Chapter Text

Coupe didn’t do well with emotions.

It wasn’t that she couldn’t feel them, per se, it was more that she didn’t know how to deal with those emotions, especially empathy. Now that, she had difficulty feeling. She had been an assassin for a long time, almost as long as Robert had been Mecha Man, and given how she had killed roughly 68 people before meeting Colm, feelings like empathy just weren’t in the job description. To be fair, having sex with the mark wasn’t part of the job description either, so what did she know?

Even with her mildly sociopathic tendencies, she still could say without a doubt that the rage that radiated from Robert’s entire being just 24 hours ago was…something to behold. It made her question many things.

Not whether or not she picked the right side, because let’s face it, Shroud wasn’t the worst employer in the world, but taking his augments? There were strings attached, almost certainly, and she didn’t like having strings on her. No, the questions she had were of a more personal nature.

Why did she feel a shred of empathy now? Why did that shred hit so fucking hard? Why did the thought of something similar happening to Colm make her blood run cold? Why did the fact that it happened to Visi have a similar effect on her?

Was she…was she starting to turn into one of the good guys?

She shook her head as she stood in the hospital room, staring at Visi, who had an O2 mask on her and a hospital gown, her usually tan skin now unusually pale from the blood loss she suffered not just in the field but in surgery. 

The bullet hadn’t made a clean exit, hell she was lucky they could get it out at all, considering the bullet Shroud used. She had been around guns long enough to know that when criminals loaded them with hollow-point rounds, they weren’t looking to make death clean or quick. It was almost more…personal, for a lack of a better word. It was almost underwhelming to know that Shroud was no better than those criminals.

But, through a combination of luck and a hero surgeon with x-ray vision, Visi made it.

Given how extensive the surgery was, it came as no surprise that her lung augments were revealed to the entire team, and just like that, everyone put two and two together.

Coupe, for her part, didn’t find issue with her past. She used to be an assassin, for fuck sake, working for Shroud wasn’t exactly the worst past one could have, especially given the circumstances. Robert, still in a somewhat trancelike state, explained Visi’s situation after the doctors revealed the augment, and it made perfect logical sense why the thief was mixed up with the Red Ring.

Favors for a favor. A criminal organization’s bread and butter.

Visi, or Courtney, didn’t have a choice, even if she thought she did.

She had said as much to the others, but there was still hesitation from some of the Z-Teamers.

However, there was one thing that they all agreed on unanimously: They were staying at SDN, they were staying with Visi. If it wasn’t to make sure she was okay, it was because they all just knew, deep down, nonverbally, that Visi’s sleight of hand act had made them all targets, subjects of Shroud’s inevitable wrath. The reality was that SDN Torrence HQ was the safest place for them to be at right now. They had also wordlessly, but also unanimously, added a third reason to stay: To keep Robert contained and prevent him from doing something that could get him killed. 

Robert had long since disappeared somewhere within the bowels of the building. Many people had tried to get him to come in to visit Courtney, but to no avail.

Coupe never knew Robert to be a man that felt fear. From the day she met him, she already saw him for what he was: A man on borrowed time. If the mech suit explosion didn’t kill him, he’d do it himself, there was no doubt in her mind. Well, past tense. Since he had made his offer to bring her back, and since she had seen him and Visi looking…well, more intimate than she had last seen them, there was that stupid, sappy sense of purpose.

But after that mission, that purpose had long since gone, replaced with…she wasn’t even sure what replaced it.

Coupe looked to the side, seeing Golem sit in a corner, a look of sadness on his face over the state of his friend, while Prism sat in a chair by Visi, staring at her phone and twirling her vape in her hand, but not partaking, given the setting.

“What’s the status of Mecha Man?” Coupe asked over their comms, even though some of the members of the team were in the same room.

“Tried talking to him an hour ago”, Mal responded over comms, “He’s…not in a great place.”

“He was in the workshop for hours. Caught him trying to steal the Pulse while Royd wasn’t looking. Almost got it, too. He’s good, but he ain’t no Visi”, Sonar said.

“He tried to steal the Pulse?” Prism asked, a look of confusion on her face, then a look of realization as she said, “Oh, don’t tell me…”

“Yyyyyup”, Flambae interjected, “Dude nearly knocked another tooth out of me when I tried to restrain him. Never knew someone that couldn’t lift weights by himself could hit so fucking hard.”

“Where is he now?” Coupe asked.

“Gym”, the pyromancer answered, “Thought he could use some stress release. Chase’s keeping an eye on him.”

“Copy that”, the assassin answered as she made her way to the door.

“You gonna try?” Golem asked.

“Someone has to.”

She then made her exit, walking towards the gym. She wasn’t sure what she could say to placate Robert and was even less sure that she would even succeed, but she had to try. The man went the extra mile to get her back in the team. She owed him that much at least.

By the time she reached the gym, it looked to be empty, yet she knew a well used punching bag when she saw it, and one in particular looked very well used. She could see the bloodstains on it.

Otherwise, he wasn’t here anymore.

“Fuck, he’s not here, anyone got eyes on?” she asked over comms.

“Locker room”, Chase grumbled over comms, “But y’all can leave him the fuck alone. He don’t need to be coddled like a goddamn kid by some fuckin’ criminals, especially one that has a higher body count than an OnlyFans girl.”

“I was an assassin, not a prostitute, you wrinkly fuck”, Coupe deadpanned.

“My point still stands.”

“Well I’m on my way. Move him and I will impale you with your own cane.”

“Christ…”

She then walked with purpose over to where she knew the men’s locker room was. Lo and behold, Chase stood at the entrance, cane in hand and his completely bald head practically shining.

“Better to leave him be”, Chase insisted. She knew he and Robert were close, but this gave an idea of just how close.

Nonetheless, Coupe ignored him and proceeded past the door.

The first thing she noticed was how dark it was, making her umbral powers radiate and bloom. The second was the sound of glass shattering.

“FUCK.”

She rounded the corner into the main room, seeing that Robert had long since discarded his prototype armor and wore a hoodie and sweats. He stood in front of a mirror, a very broken, very bloody mirror and a singular light shone above it. The hand he clearly had used to punch a hole into his own reflection also bled, but the man didn’t seem to care all that much.

She continued to walk towards him, which didn’t go unnoticed to him, if the sound of her heels clicking on the ground making him turn was of any indication.

“Fuck off, Coop”, he growled, not even bothering to ask the obvious question.

She decided to indeed not fuck off as she walked up to the injured man.

“Hand”, she ordered.

“Fuck off.”

“Hand.”

He looked up at her, anger boiling in his brown eyes being met with her own dagger-sharp amber ones.

He relented, holding up his mangled fist, letting her examine the injury.

“You’ve got some glass in your knuckles. First-Aid?” she stated matter-of-factly.

Robert pointed at the First-Aid kit by the wall at the end of the line of sinks.

Coop floated towards the kit, coming back to hand it to him. He could pick out his own damn glass.

He opened the kit and produced a pair of tweezers almost instantly, like he was intimately familiar with this particular kit.

She stood next to him silently, her eyes almost glowing in the darkness as she stared at him, watching him wrench the pieces of broken mirror out of his hands.

“You’ve done this before”, she observed.

“Mhm”, he grunted, yanking another piece of glass from his finger.

His hand now bled a little more, dripping into the sink as he grabbed the bottle of disinfectant alcohol, he tried to open it as he normally would, but given how wounded his hand was, it began to slip from his fingers and dropped on the floor.

“Christ on a bike”, he muttered.

Coupe grabbed the still closed bottle from the floor.

“Good call”, she said, “But you should let Mal heal it. Minor injuries are her specialty.”

Robert huffed at this as he used his good hand to awkwardly open the alcohol bottle and haphazardly poured it on his bad hand.

He growled at the pain as he continued to add quiet expletives.

“You just gonna fuckin’ stand there?” he demanded, “Or are you gonna say something.”

“Go down and visit Invi-...Courtney. You owe her that much”, she ordered.

“Excuse me?” Robert demanded, looking up at the woman quizzically.

“You owe her. Shroud shot her to get to you.”

“Shroud”, he started, all rage and impulse at first, but regaining some control as he growled, “Shroud will get what’s coming to him.”

“Not now he won’t, so visit Courtney. Unless, of course, you don’t care for her as much as you seem to.”

This made Robert raise an eyebrow at her.

“Reverse psychology? I feel like that’s beneath you.”

“It’s not reverse psychology. I genuinely am wondering if you truly care for her”, Coop pressed, narrowing her eyes, “I know for a fact that if something similar happened to Colm, I’d be there with him, and I would expect him to do the same for me. If he didn’t, I would cut his eyes out.” 

“Touching”, Mecha Man drawled.

“I was joking”, she clarified, “I wouldn’t cut out his eyes, but what you’re doing right now is wasting valuable energy meaninglessly hurting and exerting yourself when that energy could be better spent making sure the woman you love is going to be alright and planning your revenge.”

“You have such a way with words.”

“Robert”, she snapped, “Spare me the sarcasm. We’re all targets now because we aided you in your ambition. So get your head out of your ass, cut the pitty party bullshit, and lock the fuck in.”

Robert narrowed his eyes at her, then looked at the shattered mirror, staring at his broken, bloodstained reflection.

He then looked at his still bleeding hand.

“Where’s Mal?”

“Workshop”, Coupe answered, “Trying to prevent you from stealing the Astral Pulse. Again. It would be a shame to lose a prize that cost so much to gain.”

“I’ll get patched up…then we’ll see.”

Coupe smiled.

“That’s all I ask.”

Robert grabbed a few sections of napkins from the dispenser and cradled his bloody hand in them to prevent tracking blood.

As he walked, Coupe moved her finger to her earpiece.

“Mal”, she said, “Robert’s coming your way. Could use a heal.”

“A heal? What’d he even do?”

“You’ll see.”

“Christ…”

As they moved past the doorway, Coupe realized that she had to fight the urge to identify Robert as ‘the V.I.P’. She had been on plenty of protection jobs before, and this felt pretty similar.

They walked past a concerned Chase, and made their way to the elevator.

“Been wondering something”, Robert said as they entered the elevator.

“Yes?”

“Why did you join the Phoenix Program?”

She looked at her old and returning boss, seemingly unnerving him.

“I was given a choice when I went to prison”, she said simply, “Remain there, or join the Phoenix Program. I chose the latter.”

She paused before adding.

“And…I saw that Punchup was here…I wanted to see him.”

Robert glanced at Coupe, the faintest of smirks on his otherwise glum face.

“You like him. Like I like Visi. You should ask him out.”

“We tried that once.”

“As villains. Try it as heroes now.”

”I don’t follow”, she deadpanned.

“Neither do I.”

There was silence now.

They briefly stopped by the workshop for Robert to get his hand fixed, which made Malevola all the more mad at him.

After this, they moved through the hallway and towards the infirmary. Robert hesitated at the door to the main waiting room, his face contorting briefly into a grimace before it shifted back into its normal, dead look.

He then pushed the doors open, each hesitant step followed by another.

“Room 8A”, Coop said.

He walked over past the empty help desk, and towards the room in question.

As soon as he walked in front of it, the automatic glass doors opened, making Prism and Golem look up.

“Well, look who finally decided to show”, Prism quietly exclaimed, standing up and offering her seat.

Robert nodded at her as he took the offered chair. He stared at her as if she was already dead, yet simultaneously, he also looked at her like she was his entire world. He reached up to clasp her hand between his own.

He then looked to the side and at Coupe.

“Thank you…Coop. For helping.”

Coupe smiled again slightly, and then she realized something.

“Janelle”, she said, making both him and Prism look at her.

“Janelle”, he croaked, his eyes morphing briefly from hardened, jaded sadness to something more friendly, “Thank you.”

“You are welcome, Robert.”

Robert turned back to look at Visi.

“C’mon, Bruno”, Alice said, “Let’s give ‘em some space.”

Bruno nodded and got up from the floor and trundled carefully out of the room.

As they left, Coop spared one more glance at the couple. Robert had already begun to quietly sob as buried his face into her hand.

As the sliding doors closed, she was immediately hounded by Alice.

“Janelle?” she asked, “What kind of pretentious fuck ass name is that?”

Coop rolled her eyes at this, but smirked nonetheless. Her mind then moved back to the scene of Robert and Visi, and the way he looked at the comatose woman.

She wondered if Colm ever looked at her like that.

She then began to understand what Robert had been trying to say.

Coupe didn’t do well with relationships and…feelings.

But maybe Janelle could do better.

Chapter Text

Visi’s vision was blurry for a few seconds, her eyes heavy with fatigue and medically induced sleep. Eventually however, she was able to get her eyes to open. She slowly looked around, trying to get her foggy mind to identify her surroundings.

She was in the SDN infirmary, that was clear from the get-go, but why-?

Oh. Right.

Fucking Shroud.

She could vaguely remember faintly hearing Robert trying to go for the kill shot after Shroud did so, and how Robert had begged for her to keep her eyes open in almost the exact same manner as when she went down in the warehouse.

Shit, Robert!

She groggily, but frantically looked around the room, as if that would change anything.

Yet it did.

When she looked to her right, she saw Robert, leaning back in his chair, his RBF stronger than ever as he simply hung there in the chair. Courtney couldn’t help the laugh that escaped her lips, which made a sharp but slight pain come up from her stomach.

This also made Robert stir from his slumber, his eyes fluttering open.

Fuck, she forgot he was a light sleeper.

“Hey, fucker”, Courtney croaked.

Robert now bolted awake.

“Courtney”, he exclaimed, “Wait, lemme get my earpiece!”

He then fumbled through his pockets, finding it, but dropping it on the floor from excitement.

“Fucking shit!”

He swooped to pick it up.

“Hey, wait a sec”, she tried to get out, her throat absolutely parched. However, Robert had heard her after he found his earpiece and waited.

“C’mere.”

She struggled to use her arms a little, but Robert was all too eager to help her get them up to his shoulders.

They were now touching noses, smiling at each other. Robert’s eyes lit up with a shine that made her completely forget about the hole in her stomach.

“Hey”, she whispered, running her fingers through his now course, slightly oily hair.

His face broke into a teary eyed smile.

“Hey”, he replied.

She pulled him down to her face. The kiss was soft, unlike the night she had spent with him, and it was sloppy and utterly imperfect from having just woken up, but she savored every single moment. It felt like it had been ages since she kissed this man, even though it really hadn’t been, but she didn’t care. Seeing him like this, being with him like this, was all the medicine she felt she needed.

They finally parted, for fear of aggravating Courtney’s asthma.

She kept him close, however.

“You look like hammered shit”, she said.

Robert laughed, fucking laughed. Courtney would never get over just how…magical it was to hear this man’s expression of happiness.

“You have…no idea how much I missed your insults”, he said in a low voice.

“Oh, so you’re a massochist. Filing that for later”, she quipped.

“Thought I was a power bottom”, he countered.

“You’re both, apparently.”

“Still not gonna let you peg me.”

“Fuck you”, she gently teased.

“You wish.”

“Kinda do, actually, yeah.”

They laughed at their banter, which made Courtney wince a little.

“Agh, yup, no laughing for me right now.”

This made Robert frown a little, his jaw setting and his eyes narrowing.

“Courtney…”, he started, his face looking so morose and sad that her heart sank to the hole in her stomach, “I’m…I’m so fucking sorry. For all of it. I should’ve just called the whole mission off. If-...”

“Robbie?” she interjected getting his whole attention now, “I like you. A lot. So, know that what I’m about to say comes from a place of love.”

He waited for her to say what she would say, still giving her his utmost attention. She would never get enough of that.

Then she spoke.

“Shut the fuck up”, she said, “I knew the risks. We all did. I made a choice, and I would make it all over again for the same reasons, Mecha Man. Do you understand?”

Robert looked like he wanted to say something, but then looked at her with misty eyes as he said, “Understood.”

“Good”, she said, tears of her own forming, “Now you can call everyone down here.”

Robert smiled as Courtney playfully pushed his face away. He went to slot the earpiece in, but frowned a little before he did.

“Uh, just one thing, Courtney. They know about your…previous job experience.”

Courtney frowned. Yeah, that was going to be a complicated conversation.

“How much do they know?”

“Just about everything. Minus our first meeting. The surgeon had to contend a little with your augment, so uh…yeah.”

Well fuck. This just got infinitely more complicated now, and the best part was that she was in a corner. She couldn’t run, couldn’t disappear, couldn’t even play dead. 

“Well then, let’s uh…let’s get this over with.”

“It’ll be fine, Courtney”, Robert reassured, gently squeezing her hand before slotting in his earpiece.

“Guys you read?” a pause, “She’s awake…yeah, I’m looking at her right now…uh, yeah sure, good point.”

He then took his earpiece out, wiping it off a little on his hoodie before handing it to her.

“They wanna talk to you. They’re out dispatching and quite frankly this room can’t fit all of us, especially if we include Golem.”

Fair enough.

She took the earpiece and slotted it in her own ear.

“Uhhh…hey”, was all she could say.

“Damn, girl! Took you fuckin’ long enough to wake up, shit!”

“You got some…lungs, of steel, lass!”

“Really, Colm?”

“Fuck off, Janelle! That was fucking hilarious, what’re you talking about”, Flambae defended.

“Good hear you guys”, Visi laughed.

“Shit, we were worried sick”, Mal said, “But not as bad as Robert.”

“What happened?” Visi asked, genuinely curious, but also looking for fresh ammo.

“Yeah, he fuckin’ lost it, Visi”, Golem said, “Tried to steal the Astral Pulse at one point.”

“Did he now?” Visi drawled, looking at Robert, who in turn narrowed his eyes.

“What are they telling you?”

“Oh, many things.”

“I fear…”

“H-hey, question Visi-, Invisi-, Courtney! Is it true?”

“That I fell from heaven?” Visi quipped.

“That you were Red Ring”, Sonar said, cutting to the point, “Doc mentioned tech connected to your lungs. Looked exactly like what those Red Douches’re rocking.”

Visi took a breath before continuing.

“Yeah, I was. Listen, it wasn’t-...”

“We know, Courtney”, Mal interjected, “Robbie explained it to us, but…we wanted to make sure you were giving it to us straight. We just wanna know something.”

“Are you out? Of the Ring, we mean”, Punchup asked, “Like, fully out?”

“Yeah, I’m out”, she said immediately, glancing at Robert as she added, “It cost a lot, maybe too much, but I’m out.”

“Good. All we needed to know”, Alice answered, “Now, onto the serious questions, wanted to ask after the mission, but…you and Robert bang the night before?”

There was a mixture of laughs and sounds of disgust, mostly from Chad, as Visi added her small laughter to the chorus.

“Like a fuckin’ screen door in a hurricane”, she replied, biting her lower lip a little as she looked at Robert again, who immediately knew what was going on.

“Okay, gimme that!”

“No fuckin’ way, Robbie! I’m trying to brag about the best fuck of my life!”

More laughter ensued as Robert tried to grab his earpiece back.

She removed it to give it back, but gave him a small but passionate peck on the lips before doing so.

“Wouldn’t believe you just woke up in a hospital”, Robbie muttered, smirking a little as he put the earpiece back in his own ear.

“Back…no, Chad, I don’t have a small dick…”

Well, he was a grower, not a shower, but when he grew…they didn’t need to know that, though.

“Fuck you sideways, you wet-ponytail having fuckwit”, he exclaimed before wincing a little for a few moments, before looking back at her.

“Chase”, he said, which was all the explanation Courtney needed.

“Courtney, I…thanks”, he said quietly, “For getting the Pulse.”

“I owed you”, she responded.

“I swear to God, if you got yourself shot just because you thought you owed me, I’m gonna get pissed. Real pissed. Don’t ever do that again”, Robert said, his face looking more scared than normal as he sank into the chair.

“Robert…I was joking. Well, half joking, but…”

Robert leaned back. Clearly he wasn’t amused.

“Robbie, what’s wrong? If it’s about me getting shot, then-...”

She stopped.

Yeah, she had gotten shot. By Shroud. In almost the same manner as his dad.

Oh fuck, the parallels were practically drawing themselves at that point.

“Robbie…c’mere.”

Robbie just looked at her, but acquiesced nonetheless, standing from the chair he just slumped onto and holding her hand.

“I’m fine, Robbie. I mean, yeah, I’ve got a hole in my stomach, but I’m fine. I’m alive, okay?”

He seemed a little uncertain, no, not uncertain, it was still fear.

She moved his hand to where her heart was, pressing it on her chest. As he felt her heart beating, his face morphed and shifted, then he almost instinctively moved his head to rest where her heart was, not caring how awkward it was for his body to lean over the hospital bed in such a manner.

Courtney simply let her hands move to Robbie’s head, weaving her fingers through his hair and planting small kisses into his head.

“I’m right here, Robbie. I’m not going anywhere.”

Fuck, he had been worried. Worried sick. About her.

That was something she would probably have felt proud of, seeing as how someone cared enough about her to be worried. Except, looking at Robbie, and reflecting on what she had heard of his reaction to the events of that mission, which she had a distinct feeling had been oversimplified, she wasn’t sure pride was the appropriate feeling.

He had tried to steal the Astral Pulse. To do what? Something stupid, she guessed. Something that would land him in the exact same spot that got his mech totalled in the first place. That alone should have disqualified her from any kind of worry that would occupy his mind, and yet it hadn’t.

She never thought she would think this, but she felt touched that someone would do something so monumentally stupid for her. And she felt horrible. Horrible for putting him through so much hell, horrible for adding to his already immensely long list of those worries. Of course, looking at him now, she knew he wouldn’t say anything of the sort.

If he was still in his hero mode, he would probably deadpan and say that getting hurt was part of the job description. Of course he would say that, considering how many scars he had across his body.

He wasn’t saying that now, though.

“Hey”, she prompted, making him look her in the eyes, “I’m sorry for making you worry.”

“Don’t…don’t be”, Robert said immediately, wiping the tears from his eyes, “It’s part of the hero deal.”

Fucking called it.

“Knew you’d say some shit like that.”

“‘Cause you know me so well?” Robert drawled.

“Definitely know you better than most. Shit, I’ve seen you naked.”

“You ever gonna not talk about that?”

“About the mindblowingly amazing sex I had and will have with you? Fuck no.”

“You are severely overselling my talents.”

“I’m not overselling shit.”

Robert laughed at that.

“Good to have you back, Courtney”, was all he could muster.

It felt good to be back.

“If you two are done verbally blowing each other, I need to grab him.”

God. Fucking. Damn it. How many times?!

They turned to see, surprisingly enough, Blonde Blazer standing at the doorway, smiling a little at the sight before her.

Blonde Blazer said that shit? Well goddamn.

As Robert straightened himself out, Courtney casually waved at her, like she hadn’t interrupted the painkiller-induced verbal foreplay.

“What do you need me for?” Robert asked, failing to disguise even his own annoyance.

“Royd sent me to get you. It’s time.”

“For…what, exactly?”

Blazer smiled even wider as she said, “For the man to be Mecha again.”

“What?” Courtney asked.

“Royd’s done with the new suit. The Astral Pulse is real and ready to go, and your prototype armor is now…well, no longer a prototype.”

“It’s…it’s ready? All of it? You’re sure?” Robert asked, looking like he didn’t dare hope. The dumbass. Hope, goddamn it!

“Yup. The suit waits for you in the SDN parking lot, which we cleared out”, Blazer said, “C’mon, you could use some good news and happiness today.”

“I could actually use some sleep”, Robert deadpanned.

“Robbie, shut the fuck up and get in that damn, suit”, Courtney chided, “You’ve been wanting this for how long, now?”

Robbie huffed at that, squeezing her hand at that.

“Oh, and Visi, since you’re awake, I’ve got an idea.”

Blazer then took out her phone.

“The team is gathering outside, and I have a feeling you don’t wanna miss this.”

She then pointed at the big TV screen on the wall in front of Visi.

Oh, seriously?

Robbie then looked towards Visi with uncertainty.

Nope, she wasn’t about to hear it.

“Robbie, go. I’ll see it from here. Seriously, go.”

“You’ve waited way too fuckin’ long for this, Robbie. Go. Show those asshole reporters what’s good.”

That was all the encouragement Robbie needed as he quickly gave her hand a kiss and jogged out.

God, that light in his eyes. That light that shone so bright, that pushed away all his darkest thoughts. Visi couldn’t help the smile on her face. She never thought she would get to see him like this, and if she got to see it more often, she would be sure to thank her lucky stars.

Blazer moved towards the TV screen, fiddling with it a little before then looking behind her and smirking.

“Shit, I think the Z-Team is rubbing off on me”, she muttered, “But fuck it. I have a better idea.”

As she heard the idea from the oh-so-well adjusted SDN darling, she smirked. Yeah, they were definitely rubbing off on her.

***

Robert walked up to the large mech under the early afternoon light, his armor fully on and his helmet tucked under his arm. He couldn’t help it. He had to take a moment and stare at this. It wasn’t his father’s suit, but his very own. The Robert suit.

He took in the way it practically glowed a bright, almost neon blue. It was somehow simultaneously darker and brighter than his dad’s suit. It was also much sleeker and more humanoid than the other one. Where his father’s suit looked like a walking tank on two legs, all power and no mobility, industrial and practical, his own suit looked like something out of a mecha anime.

It was taller, stood straighter and looked lighter. The head was the one piece that looked most similar to the original, but even that had been spruced up with wings coming up from either side of the head. The M emblazoned on the chest of the suit looked dark, but he had a feeling that it would glow blue, just like his old suit. The thrusters on the back looked sleeker as well.

The whole mech looked less like an industrial machine and more like it was meant to: a high-tech suit of armor.

Robert stood in awe at the sight before him. He was speechless.

Royd had truly outdone himself. He knew the big man wanted to upgrade his suit, but he didn’t think he was actually serious. He didn’t think he would go above and beyond, and he hadn’t even gotten to the additional weapons systems. Two energy wrist blades instead of one, an honest to God hilt for an honest to God energy broadsword, micro-missile racks in the shoulders, ion nets, armor made from lighter and more durable metals, with additional resistance to corrosion, and that wasn’t even the cherry on top. No, the cherry on top was, if Royd was to be believed, a fucking energy beam function.

“You gonna get inside this thing, or get inside this thing?”

His reverie was broken as he turned around.

He turned around to see the entirety of Z-Team, including Chase, Royd and…

“Courtney? What the fuck are you doing here?”

“Oh, relax, Lieutenant Dan, got my pain killers right here”, the woman in question said, still in her hospital bed, still connected to an IV drip, with Blazer standing right next to her.

“I…might’ve snuck her out”, the hero explained sheepishly.

“Wow. I expected that from these guys, but you? Damn”, Robert replied, laughing.

“Well? What’re you waiting for, Mr. Walk ‘em Down?” Prism asked, “Hop in!”

“Yeah, c’mon, let’s go, get in the shit”, Flambae said.

“Why are you excited?” Robert quizzed.

“Just happy not to be on the bad side of that fucking thing this time”, Chad muttered, his orange eyes glinting, “Just…don’t slice of my fingers please.”

Robert snorted.

“Deal.”

He then turned back to the mech suit,

“Yo, bruddah! Don’ forget dis”, Royd exclaimed, rushing over to Robert.

He then handed him the Astral Pulse.

“Show dat ass-fuck Shroud what up”, the man said.

“Ass-fuck”, Robert muttered, “That’s a new one.”

He then held out his fist, which was reciprocated with his own as they fist bumped. Robert then once again turned towards his mech.

He took a deep breath as he put on his helmet. The HUD instantly activated as he walked towards his suit.

The cockpit opened automatically. As he climbed in, he noticed that another Proto-Pulse was already slotted in the power-source containment unit. He switched it out for the Astral Pulse, putting the most likely bad prototype away. As he slotted in the real Pulse, he felt the suit power up.

Before closing the cockpit, he looked at the Z-Team. They all stared at him patiently, and with excitement. Prism, of course, had her phone out. She was probably streaming this.

“So what's the bet now?” he asked.

“Shit, we didn’t bet”, Mal exclaimed with disdain, “Fuck!”

“Too late now, assholes”, Robert called out as he closed the cockpit.

It was dark for a moment, then the interior suddenly lit up blinking lights and meters. Three holographic monitors, all a higher quality than his originals, lit up, giving him a view of the outside world. Of his team, his friends.

Fuck it, his family. Chase and Beef were in there, too.

He saw Courtney’s face, a look of awe and wonder on her face, making him almost beam with pride. The M on the mech’s chest and the eyes turned into a bright blue as he stood. He flexed his arms and hands as he looked at them, beholding them.

“Holy shit”, he exclaimed.

He then flexed his micro missiles, popping the hatch on his massive shoulder plates, but not firing them. He closed the hatches. He then tested his Pulse Blades, watching as they emitted from both wrists. They worked perfectly, then he reached for his back pulling out the hilt. He pressed a few buttons, then a sudden wave of bright energy emitted from the hilt. It really was a fucking sword.

“This is…”, he began, “This is the premium package. Royd, you fuckin’ genius, you! You outdid yourself with this one!”

“Da Man is Mecha again”, the big man exclaimed, pumping his fists, and everyone else gave a mix of cheers, laughs and ambivalent thumbs ups. Even Chad looked pretty stoked.

Royd was right. His thoughts now were of a familiar, similar start with the Proto-Pulse, but this was the Astral Pulse now.

It really was official now.

Mecha Man was back.

“Yo, hold up MM, gimme a pose with the sword, somethin’ badass”, Prism exclaimed.

“Want the sword up or down, like those knight poses?”

“Oooooh, knight pose! That shit’s fuckin’ badarse”, Mal piped up.

“Or not”, Blazer advised, “I’d rather there ot be a hole in the parking lot.”

“Fuckin’ buzzkill”, Visi growled, “But fine, fine.”

“Sword up it is”, Robert said, then held his sword by both hands as he angled the blade upwards and by the suit’s face, like he was doing a movie shoot.

“Aw, shit! That’s so fucking COOL”, Alice yelled as she got some shots.

“Alright, give it some juice, Mecha Man! Go crazy”, Royd prompted.

“This is extremely unwise”, Janelle said, “But extremely cool. Do it.”

At this he was egged on by almost everyone. However, he only cared about the approval of one woman.

He looked down at Courtney as he stowed his Astral Sword, who gave a thumbs up and mouthed the words.

“Do it.”

That’s all he needed.

Just as he was about to do…something, a message popped up on his HUD.

Play me!(Welcome back, brother!)

Oh, Royd.

His armor was linked to his suit, and so he used a couple of buttons to play the music.

Huh.

Synthy. Fast paced. And not his style, truth be told, but right now he couldn’t give two shits.

He clenched and unclenched his metal fists, then turned around. The parking lot was big enough…and empty.

He began to walk, feeling every part move. There weren’t any hydraulic hisses, but pure mechanical movement. Smooth, perfect. His walk became more brisk.

His walk then became a jog, then a sprint. He then activated the thrusters. Just like that he was flying in the air.

His eyes widened at the power of the thrust as his body tried to acclimate to the G-Forces, the widest grin on his face.

“Fuck yeah!”

He then turned his mechanical head, SDN Torrence gaining distance as he continued to fly away. He then stopped flying away and hovered in place, taking in the sight of the wide open city of Torrence.

He’s back. He’s well and truly back.

“I’M BACK, BITCHES!”

He couldn’t help it. He felt giddy, ecstatic, like a kid again. At that moment in time, the dark thoughts in his mind were so far away that they may as well have never existed in the first place.

He flew directly down back to the parking lot, landing and bouncing on his toes, shadow boxing right there, to the cheers of the whole time.

“YEAH, MR. WALK ‘EM DOWN, THROW THEM HANDS!”

“Get it, babes!”

“This motherfucker’s a showoff”, Chad muttered, but a grin on his face, “That shit looks badass as fuck.”

An idea then crossed his mind. It was stupid, risky, borderline suicidal. He didn’t care. Adrenaline and euphoria were doing the driving right now.

“I got an idea”, he said, opening the cockpit real quick.

“What are you thinking?” Courtney asked, suspicion creeping in her voice.

“He’s gonna do something stupid”, Chad pointed out, but a devilish smile on his face as he added, “I like it. What’re we doing, Bobert?”

“You’ll see”, he said, his voice nearly going rabid with the adrenaline spike. He couldn’t remember the last time he felt like this. He needed to savor every drop of this while he could.

“Robert”, Blazer said with dread.

“All flyers, with me”, he yelled as he closed the cockpit.

“Oh, this I gotta see”, Sonar said as he removed his tie and transformed.

“Victor, you get back here now”, Mal yelled, but it was no use.

As Robert took off again, Flambae, Sonar, Coop and Blazer followed him as best he could. Robert watched as his altimeter climbed. He barely even registered the numbers going up.

“What’s the plan here, Robert?” Blazer asked with uncertainty.

“Chad, you got your phone on you?”

“Hell yeah. Photos?”

“Video”, Robert said, his grin becoming uncontrollable.

“Uh…why does Robert sound like he’s about to cream?” Sonar asked.

Visi, who had gotten her own earpiece back, answered, “Considering that’s what he actually sounds like when that happens, that’s a good question.”

“TMI”, Coop deadpanned.

“Got you on video, Bobert. What’re you-?”

Robert didn’t think, didn’t second guess, didn’t wait.

He opened the cockpit, then angled the suit to face the sky..

“ROBERT?!” Blazer yelled.

“Stand by, Blazer!”

He then unbuckled his restraints. And then he jumped up, launching himself from his legs.

For what felt like an eternity, he simply floated there, his eyes taking in the view of the sky high above Torrence.

For what felt like an eternity, he had a wide, toothy grin on his face as he saw all the flying heroes’ faces, all of which had looks of shock.

For what felt like eternity, he wasn’t burdened by overwhelming legacies, criminals, Shroud, Visi’s injury, last night. None of it mattered, none of it even crossed his mind.

For what felt like an eternity, he was Mecha Man, and he was on top of the world.

He then felt himself begin to fall, but he knew what to do already. He angled his body so he fell headfirst, feeling the wind rush over him as he dove for his suit cockpit, which still sat open and angled towards him, courtesy of its center mass.

He inched closer and closer, ignoring the chatter on comms as he reached his hand out, eyes wide with manic adrenaline. Closer. Closer. Closer.

He grabbed a handhold of metal mech and pulled himself back into the cockpit, strapping himself in and closing the cockpit. As the lights came back on and he regained full control, he finally heard the comms.

“JESUS CHRIST, ROBERT”, Blazer screamed.

“HOLY FUCKING SHIT”, Flambae exclaimed.

“YOU’RE CRAZY, BOBBY”, Sonar yelled.

“Holy shit”, Coupe relatively quietly exclaimed.

Robert angled his metal body now to nosedive, ignoring the warning alarms everywhere as he maintained control.

As he did this, the flying heroes had all instinctually taken to flying around him, nosediving as well, and all laughing and smiling. Even Coop had a grin on her face. They continued to nosedive for two more seconds before Robert activated the thrusters and angled the mech to slow his fall. He then pushed a little, withstanding some G-Force before fully slowing down and flying around a little, with the flying heroes flying in a V formation. Even Sonar was able to keep up with his wings.

He then laughed.

No, he cackled. He couldn’t help it.

After 15 years of painful pursuit, after two months in a coma, after the last twelve hours, he finally felt nothing but sheer, unadulterated, unfiltered happiness.

He then knew exactly what he needed to do next.

He flew directly back to SDN, Z-Team in tow. As he landed in the parking lot, the others did so too.

“Holy shit, that was nuts”, Blazer exclaimed.

“This dude’s having a Mecha-gasm”, Sonar exclaimed, still in monster form, “You should’ve seen him!”

“He’s fucking insane! I got this shit on video”, Flambae cackled.

He then looked at Visi, still in her hospital bed, but sat up.

Immediately, he moved his hand just under the bed and the other to the IV drip.

“Yo, Robbie-!”

He flew them up the roof, carefully of course, making sure to land softly so as not to cave the building in. He held the bed and IV drip as he opened the cockpit, wrenching his helmet off and tossing it inside.

He still wore a grin, surprising Visi, if her shocked expression was of any indication.

As he used the arms to stand on, he got close to Visi, breathless and still coming down from his rush as he felt the wind hit his sweat-soaked hair.

“Courtney”, he quietly exclaimed, grabbing her face gently, “I’m back!”

He looked at her with every ounce of love, devotion and thankfulness he could muster. This was all her. Her quick thinking, her sleight of hand. It was because of her that he was back. He was back! He needed her to know that, needed her to understand just what she had given to him.

Courtney stared at him, utterly taken aback by this newfound personality he had gained.

She then saw his face, understood exactly what he was saying. Her eyes brightened as she rested her own hands on his face and grinned.

Robert then kissed her with a passion that rivaled most any feeling he had felt up until this point, a passion that was quickly returned by Courtney, who weaved her hands through his damp hair, clashing her lips with his with an energy that shouldn’t have been possible, considering the circumstances. But he didn’t care. 

He didn’t care what was possible, he didn’t care what should have been. All he cared about was this moment, this woman.

As they parted ways, Courtney looked at him with pride. She was proud. His happiness at that moment could have fueled the suit by itself.

Then, it somehow grew tenfold.

“Welcome back, Mecha Man”, Courtney whispered.

Chapter Text

Shroud stared at the monitor, his anger boiling. He stared as he saw the livestream from that stupid C-Lister Prism. He stared as he saw a vibrant blue mech suit.

Shroud then reached his hand out at the monitor.

“Mecha Man”, he growled.

So, he’s back huh? Let’s see how back he is.

“Get the teams ready”, he ordered to some random bumfuck goon, “We’re goin’ to war, people.”

As he heard footsteps leave the room, he seethed under his mask.

“No Invisibitch to save you this time, Robert.”

It was time. His Astral Pulse was coming back to him.

Tonight.

***

“Agh…fuck”, Malevola exclaimed, red energy blinking away and panting, “Sorry, Visi. You should be a little better, but…yeah, sorry.”

“It’s fine, Mal”, VIsi replied, rubbing the place where a hole in her stomach once was, “At least it doesn’t hurt like a bitch now.”

Mal had tried to heal Visi’s wound, but to no effect. Well, that wasn’t entirely true. Mal was able to at least accelerate the healing process but there was only so much her powers could do, and there was only so much Mal could take on.

“Sorry, I gotta…”, Malevola said, looking utterly exhausted.

“It’s alright, Mal”, Robert said, “You did your best. ‘S all you can do.”

Malevola gave a tired but thankful nod as she made her way out of the infirmary room.

“Oh, wait, one thing”, the demoness said before leaving, “Sorry about the whole…thing with the housewarming party.”

Robert and Visi looked at each other for a moment before they suddenly remembered.

“You mean you constantly putting your tail on my Robbie?” Visi asked accusatorily.

“And the blatant sexual harrassment?” Robert deadpanned, making Mal wince.

“Yeah…look, I just saw how cute you two were being. I was hoping to rile up Courtney into making a move.”

The two looked at each other, as if having a silent conversation.

“Yeah…yeah, that makes sense, yup”, Robert said.

“Just keep your tail, and your hands, off of him and we’re good. Otherwise, I’m exorcizing your demonic ass.”

Mal laughed.

“Fair enough. See you guys”, she said before finally leaving.

Robert and Courtney then looked at each other again, laughing.

“Well, that was something”, Robert said, before looking at Visi with softer eyes. No matter how healed up she was, he couldn’t shake the concern plaguing his mind.

“Courtney, are you sure you’re fine hanging out here?” he asked.

“I’m fine, Robbie, seriously. Go home, sleep”, Courtney responded, pausing a bit before adding, “And properly! No plastic chair fuck shit.”

“Now who’s the worried one?” Robert muttered, smiling before grabbing her hand and planting a kiss on it.

“Okay, go. Seriously, before I pull you in here to cop a feel”, Visi said.

“Alright, alright, I’m going. Goodnight, Trouble.”

“Goodnight, Lover.”

They laughed a little more before Robert made his own exit.

The day had been crazy. From airing out his worries and tears to Courtney to getting his suit back and having the most euphoric, adrenaline inducing moment of his life. He didn’t even think he had been capable of doing something that crazy, and yet he had done it. Maybe the team really was rubbing off on him more than he thought. He smirked at that as he got in the elevator.

However, when got out, he frowned. It was late at night, but the building was bustling with people, dispatchers and heroes alike running to and fro.

Seeing as he still had his earpiece on him, he slotted it in and made a general call.

“Uh, hey, anyone copy? SDN’s abuzz, what the fuck’s going on?” he asked.

“Robbie, get up the office now”, Mal said hurriedly, “It’s fuckin’ chaos out there, mate.”

He didn’t need any more encouragement as he then rushed up to the bullpen. She was right, it was chaos. Dispatchers at their desks, urgently talking, heroes running out of the office, even Blazer was more rushed than usual.

“Hey, Blazer”, he called out, “What happened?”

“Robert”, Blazer exclaimed with relief, rushing over to him, “Thank Christ you’re still here.”

“Blazer what the fu-?”

“It’s the Red RIng. They’re going on a rampage.”

“What?!”

“They’re everywhere, and not just in Torrence either, all of L.A. is on fire.”

Robert’s eyes widened as he then turned to his earpiece again.

“Team, status report?! Who’s here?”

“I’m here, obviously”, Mal said, “So’s Coop, Punchup, Golem and Prism. I can’t reach anyone else, though.”

“We better get paid fuckin’ overtime for this shit”, Prism exclaimed.

“Copy that, I’m gonna suit up, gimme five”, Robert said, already on his way to the workshop.

“Abso-fuckin’-lutely not”, he heard Visi say in his ear.

“She’s right, Robert”, Coupe said, “Shroud is looking for the Astral Pulse. The second you reveal yourself, he’ll drop everything he has on you.”

“You’re kidding right? I should be out there, I can’t just-!”

“You fuckin’ can and you will”, Punchup interjected.

“I did not get fuckin’ shot just for you to go and hand him the Pulse, Robbie!”

“I can handle myself!”

“Robbie, listen to us”, Mal insisted, “You’ll get your chance, but we need to take care of this first.”

“Robbie, please, just wait a little longer”, Visi pleaded.

“We got this, Mr. Walk ‘em Down. And we need a dispatcher, ‘cause I sure as shit ain’t looking to take orders from Chase.”

“Fuck off”, the old man grunted on comms.

“Robert, they’re right. You just got back. I’m not gonna watch as you lose that Pulse all over again”, Blazer said in front of him.

Robert seethed at this. No he can’t just sit behind a monitor again. He needed to be out there.

“Guys, for fuck sake-!”

“Robbie, go to your station and one on one me”, Visi ordered, “Now.”

Normally, there’d be a sex joke in there somewhere, but considering the situation, there was none.

He did as ordered, walking to his station, activating his monitor and putting his headset on and switching to one on one with Visi.

“Alright. Here.”

“Robbie, I know you wanna be back out there saving lives, but you can’t, not now.”

“Visi, I have my suit, I can do this!”

“Not yet, Robert!”

She used his proper name, she was being serious.

“Not. Yet”, she repeated, “I know you hate sitting on the sidelines and I know you hate sending others to do your dirty work, but trust me when I tell you you’ll be falling right into that sadistic fuck’s trap!”

Robert’s face fell a little.

“Courtney…”

“Robbie…you’ll do more good here. Please, just…please stay. Just for a while. He shot me to get to you, but he will kill you. I can’t let that happen.”

He heard her voice breaking. She really didn’t want him to do this. Every instinct in his body told him to ignore her and go back to doing what he did best. Yet hearing her voice, the way she begged him to stay, to not risk himself. No one told him to stop in all of his fifteen years, and now everyone told him to stop. Told him to sit back, and do something else.

He was good at dispatching, but he was better as Mecha Man.

However, the others had a point.

And so…

“Fine…fuckin’ fine. I’ll stay here.”

“Thank you, Robbie. I can’t lose you to him.”

“I know. I feel the same way about you.”

There was a pause for a moment, both just sharing a silence that wasn’t tense, but rather still.

“Give ‘em hell, Robbie. You’re the best of the best. You’ve got this.”

Robert let out a breath he didn’t know he was holding.

“Thanks…talk to you later, Trouble.”

“Keep me in the loop, Lover.”

At that he smiled slightly before switching to team comms.

“Alright, people. I’ll stay.”

“Good”, Coupe said, “Now, to work?”

He sat down in his seat, looking at Chase in his own cubicle. They shared a look. Neither of them could be in the field, but this? Here? They could do a lot from here.

“Yeah”, Robert said, “To work. Let’s save L.A., people!”

***

“Hello? Z-Team?!”

“I’m gettin’ nothing here. Fuck”, Chase yelled.

“Same here, bruddahs”, Royd called out.

“What about the backup generator?”

“Should’ve come on right about now.”

Robert looked around. The lights were still off. Emergency power may still be on, but that didn’t power much. This was not good, and he couldn’t raise anyone on comms, even from his earpiece.

He, Royd and Chase then all looked at each other, realizing something.

The infirmary.

They all nodded as Royd and Robert ran to the stairwell.

“Chase, evacuate with the others!”

The old 40 year old grunted in annoyance, but knew there was wisdom in that order.

As Robert and Royd rushed to the basement, he kept pinging his comms.

“Mal, Sonar, anyone come in! Visi? Courtney! Courtney, say something!”

Nothing.

“FUCK.”

“We’ll find her, bruddah! Just calm and keep going, yeah?”

He nodded, running through the halls of the basement. Royd went to check the other infirmary rooms for stragglers as Robert beelined right towards Visi’s room. When he made it, he peered inside. The bed was empty, and it didn’t look like she was just hiding on the bed invisible, seeing as there were no normal depressions on it.

“Visi?” he called out, but no response, nothing. She wasn’t there, which begged the question.

He then heard noise coming from reasonably far away.

“Fuck off me, you creepy bitch!”

Yup, that was Visi.

“Fuck off, Invisibitch!”

OH HELL NO.

He sprinted immediately to the source of the struggle. The workshop.

The second he turned the corner, he saw Visi, still in her hospital gown and trying to kick off one of the palest men he’d ever seen. Though that wasn’t his most prominent feature. No, the most noticeable thing about him was his long, knife-like thumbnails.

The man then got off of Visi, staring at him with beady red eyes as he walked toward him menacingly.

“Who the fuck’re you?!” he exclaimed.

He was interrupted by a kick to the head, which gave Robert his opening.

He rushed the Red Ring goon, striking him in the liver area twice before uppercutting him. He used the same uppercutting hand to grasp him by the throat and his other hand to sucker punch him square in the face.

“Agh! Motherfu-”

Robert grabbed the man’s head and slammed it into a table. When he showed signs of still being conscious, he slammed it again. The villain crumpled onto the ground.

“Fucker”, he breathed out.

He then immediately turned his attention elsewhere.

“Visi!”

He turned and rushed towards a now half-naked Visi, who clutched her stomach as she winced in pain.

“Courtney! Hey, what happened?”

“I’m-...agh, I’m fine, Robbie. Just…yeah, no high kicks for a little bit.”

“No shit”, Robbie snorted, “And that guy? Did he…!?”

“No, god no, he didn’t! Thumbstick’s creepy, but not that creepy.”

“Thumbstick?” he repeated, then looked at the bleeding villain, “Okay…yeah. Strangely enough, that’s actually pretty good.”

He glanced back at Thumbstick, who looked concussed, but was alive, if not unconscious.

“Fuck that guy”, he muttered.

“Agreed.”

“But seriously, Visi, what are you doing here? You need to get out of here.”

“I’ll be fine, Robbie. I’m not bleeding. I came here to keep this safe.”

She handed him the Astral Pulse, much to his surprise.

“Fucker was looking for it”, Visi breathed out, “I swear to Christ, you need to keep a closer eye on this fuckin’ thing.”

He clutched the Pulse in his hand as he looked at Visi with admiration.

“Holy shit, I love you”, he blurted out.

This earned an incredulous look from her.

“Woah, we just started dating, you’re already talking about love?” Visi asked.

Oh shit. That just came out of nowhere. He hadn’t even meant to say it.

“Okay, you may be-.”

He was silenced by Visi pulling him in for a kiss. It was brief, but passionate. As they disconnected their lips, she looked at him with those eyes that made him feel valued and loved again.

“I love you too.”

Robert breathed out with relief and amusement.

Until reality kicked in.

He heard the monitors blast sounds of battle, making him look up.

Royd was under attack.

“Shit”, he exclaimed, “I need to suit up. Can you raise anyone on comms?”

“No, I’m getting jack shit, which means they must’ve put jammers in place. We won’t be calling out for help anytime soon.”

“Fuck.”

Robert then looked at his armor and suit sitting dormant. Waiting, anticipating.

“Courtney…”

“Go, Mecha Man. And when you see Shroud, tell him I said he looks like a techno-gimp.”

He nodded as rushed into the lab itself, rushing to put on his armor, which didn’t take long at all.

He then looked up at his mech.

“Time for the field test”, he muttered.

He then climbed inside, already feeling at home.

It was time for Mecha Man to take the wheel for a little.

***

He was tossed up into the air, no, pushed into the air, away from the fight, he grunted with effort as his altimeter began to climb. He finally was able to reach to his chest and pull the villain off of him, using his thrusters to keep himself afloat.

Unfortunately, Toxic had also remained afloat.

“Finally”, he taunted, “All alone.”

“I’m gonna toss you over a roof and hope you snap your neck, Free Willy”, Robert growled.

“Free Willy? Running out of material? You that unoriginal?”