Chapter Text
Robert tensed anxiously, seeing the failed prompt ping, quickly clicking on the VANDlab’s mission bubble. “Coupe, Waterboy, Flambae? Wanna explain to me what the hell happened?” Robert hissed out at the screen.
“They-they got the vial.” Waterboy stammered.
Biting back his temper, Robert took a deep breath so he wouldn’t yell at Waterboy. “I know, but how?” Robert shook his head, “Never mind. Galen, get me what you can on that vial. We need to know exactly what we’re working with!”
Pinching the bridge of his nose, Robert turned towards another call. He’d have to put a pin in this for now; they had no choice but to wait. Not only was the serum lost, but it was unstable after Invisigal and Prism failed to help.
Fuck, this was one of those rare times he missed Sonar.
There was a sudden breeze behind him. Robert didn’t even bother to look back as he heard someone approaching. “You’re supposed to rest, then get back to work. Lots of Red Ring out there.” Robert explained.
“‘You’re supposed to rest’ ‘lots of red ring’ shut the fuck up, bitch.” Flambae scoffed, leaning forward to quickly kiss Robert’s cheek.
Robert groaned in response, grabbing his lover by the chin and shoving him back. “You have work to do, you- what the fuck are you covered in?” Robert groaned, rubbing something off his cheek, swiping it in his shirt, “Go take a shower, damnit.”
“You just want to watch.” Flambae was always trying to bait him at work, but Robert wasn’t falling for it. Kicking the taller man in the knees, Robert sent him bustling out.
After the disastrous failure at VANDlabs, Robert was waiting for the other shoe to drop. And finally, it did. Galen calling him to warn him of a gas leak in three different sections of Torrance, flooding the streets. With the stabilization of the serum being a failure, Robert knew they were at risk for chemical warfare. Splitting all his active heroes into three teams, he sent them to each location.
“Holy shit.” Malevora’s voice peaked over the comm, “Robert, you have to see this.”
Switching to a nearby camera, Robert’s eyes went wide, seeing the state of civilians caught in the gas releases. Many were struggling to breathe, many varying shades of pale, and most concerningly, those who were the ones vomiting blood. “Oh shit, Blazer!” Robert had yet to call their manager for assistance, but this was a dire situation. “The Red Ring is releasing chemicals all over Torrance, and it looks lethal.” Sending her the footage, he wasn’t shocked to see her storming into the bullpen.
A quarantine was enforced immediately in hopes of slowing the spread. The Z-team would focus on relief efforts while a more ‘specialized’ team focused on mitigating the spread and curing it. “Are they callin' us fuckin dumb?” Punch Up piped up.
“That is exactly what they’re calling us. You all heard Blazer first thing in the morning.” Robert said before turning off his comm.
Goddamnit, goddamnit! They almost had that, and now Shroud had the whole Torrance area in disarray.
Taking off his headset, Robert leaned down to pick up Beef. “Why not leave the pooch with Chase mm? No interruptions.” Robert started to regret accepting Flambae’s proposal to be a couple, because clearly, like everyone else in this building, he didn’t give a flying fuck about HR.
“Unlike you, I actually love Beef. So, he stays or I go.” Robert stated, cuddling Beef closer to prove a point.
Flambae shot his partner a glare, walking over to pick up Robert. “You are lucky I am not a villain anymore. Otherwise, I would have made you leave the pooch here.” Flambae stated, walking outside with him.
“Firstly, I can walk outside by myself. Secondly, if he pisses, you’re cleaning it. Not Waterboy.” Robert quickly retorted, trying not to be embarrassed by how easy it was for Flambae to carry him.
The flight to Flambae’s was a short one as always, Robert releasing Beef to be free as soon as they walked through the front door. There were some benefits that came with Robert dating Flambae; there was a nice apartment to visit and sleep over at. Already a massive upgrade considering he didn’t have anything remotely close to a bed and there was no decor aside from the cracks along his walls.
“I’m going to shower. Fuck today.” Flambae grumbled out, quickly kissing his partner before he made his way to the bathroom.
“Ew, goddamnit, I said wash before you did that again!” “You just said take a shower, never anything about me having to do it before I kissed you again.”
This man. Rolling his eyes, Robert made his way to Flambae’s room and began riffling through his drawers for clothes to steal. Similar to his talks with Roy, Robert was extremely blunt about his lack of funds. Everything went into being Mecha Man, furniture, clothes, hell, even food sometimes just had to wait. To which Flambae, Ajmal, at home, would immediately yell at him for wearing his fucking uniform in his fucking house. It wasn’t like he had any other clothes.
Finally settling on a sweater, why the hell did Flambae need sweaters and a pair of sweatpants, Robert crashed unceremoniously on the bed. He didn’t truly fall asleep until his heater of a boyfriend was on top of him, smothering him in his chest. It was the only way he could sleep, his doctor said so. Look it up, it’s a medical condition called being gay.
Robert awoke with a groan, his body screaming as he stretched. This felt akin to his aches after working out, which he hadn’t done recently with all the bullshit going on. Rubbing the back of his neck, Robert made his way into their shared bathroom to find Flambae already doing his hair.
“Your gel bill must be through the roof.” Robert teased, walking around his boyfriend to get his toothbrush. They hadn’t been an item long, but the other loved to tease about how he was basically already moved in. It wasn’t too hard when Robert didn’t own anything.
Brushing the nasty taste out of his mouth from sleeping, Robert suddenly jolted as there was a sharp pain in his mouth. Snatching his toothbrush out of his mouth, he spat a frothy mess of toothpaste and spit into the sink. “Maybe I’m giving you cavities, too much for you.” Flambae purred out, setting the hair dryer down as he tied up his hair.
“If you’re dick is giving me cavities, then we need to get you tested.” Robert quipped back, rubbing his jaw with a wince, “Must’ve brushed too hard and tugged my gums.”. Setting the toothbrush down, the two of them walked out of the bathroom at the same time. What the two didn’t notice as they walked out was the flecks of blood within the sink.
Breakfast was a quick and easy treat, as always, from Flambae, even if the fire wielder teased about how he could give Robert a better treat before work. Robert, of course, denied, not wanting to have a sloppy blowjob be on his mind all shift. Finishing up their breakfast, Flambae flew them over to the dispatch center. It was better than driving in this shithole of a town, even if it was embarrassing to have everyone see them.
“Don’t forget, I’m your best.” Flambae snuck him a quick kiss as he made his way to his station.
“You’re also my biggest pain in the ass,” Robert muttered, sitting at his desk. His jaw still ached, but he ignored it for now, focusing on powering up his monitor.
To his relief, the whole team was here today. No one is calling out last minute or walking out of frustration. They’d need a full team by the looks of it, and as if on cue, Blonde Blazer’s icon appeared. “Alright, team. It’s going to be a long day, I won’t deny that. But we need to stay on our A game. Overnight, we set up a quarantine around Torrance to prevent the spread. We don’t know much, but we got some information off the hospital’s handling of the on-site victims. It’s a highly contagious bioweapon that breaks down a person’s immune system and eats away at the body. So far… every case is proving to be fatal. People are dying faster than they can be cured. That’s why we need to stop it from spreading and help as needed. From what I’ve seen, metahumans, aliens, demons, constructs, anything not human is immune to the gas. That being said, Coupe, Punch Up, for your safety, I want you two to stay at the base.”
“What a crock of shite!” Punch Up shouted.
“And here are the symptoms I want you to keep an eye out for. Pale skin, muscle fatigue, vomiting, diarrhea, rashes, and fevers are early-stage symptoms.”
“Mm, sounds like my kinda party.”
“Visi. The hospital reports that later signs can include seizures, hallucinations, bloody vomit, hysteria… and eventually the body completely gives out. Death is indefinite as of now.” Blonde Blazer’s voice went soft, “As of now… we have no cure, that’s for the hospitals to solve. So do what you can to keep people safe and enforce this quarantine.”
There was a collective ‘yes’ from the group, Robert watching Coupe and Punch Up’s icons vanish. Guess he spoke too soon about the full roster. “Hey, we might be down two people, but we can do this. Let’s deal with a pandemic.”
“Nooo, not again.” Malevora wailed over the comm, “I miss 24 hour shit!”
“As long as I don’t have to social distance, I will be fine.” Flambae piped up.
“You’ll be fine doin' anything as long as your cookie is around.” Prism immediately responded, a burst of laughter echoing through the call.
“Real mature guys.” Robert rolled his eyes at the team, rubbing his jaw as he answered his first call of the shift.