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“I can’t believe I’m on shift with Mecha Man. You’re my biggest fan- I mean-” Waterboy stammered over the call.
With Robert back on the field, Blonde (Brunette?) Blazer decided to fill in as a dispatcher. Seemed after that embarrassment of a shift after Robert got blown up, she wanted to prove that she could still do it. It wasn’t a permanent switch, just here and there whenever the team could use the extra assistant. Blazer was out of the field until they found a more permanent solution for Chase’s situation.
That led to Mecha Man, Flambae, and Sonar flying after a plane filled to the brim with leftover augments from the Red Ring. “Alright, you know the drill. Land that bird before it reaches its buyer. Just because Shroud is dead doesn’t mean that his tech can’t be used for harm.” Blonde Blazer explained, watching the three fly after the plane.
“Land that bird? What are you? 80.” Invisigal teased.
Mecha Man flew after the jet, checking his screen for the blueprints on the jet. “Flambae, we’re going to take out the wings and guide it into a low decline. Sonar, keep them busy up front, last thing we need is them shooting us out of the sky midair.” Mecha Man explained, watching the bat beast fly ahead.
“Think you can keep up with old man?” Flambae teased.
“You’re older than-” He didn’t even finish his sentence as Flambae’s whole body combusted into flames, blasting off towards the plane. God, he was so lucky that he was cute.
With Sonar successfully attacking the front of the plane to distract the pilots, the two other heroes flew around each side of the plane. Flambae wasted no time blasting the first wing while Mecha Man flew around the other side to shoot it with sticky bombs. At the same time, both wings began to fold and snap. “Hah, let’s land this!” Flambae cheered, both he, Mecha Man, and Sonar flying underneath the plane to control the descent.
Between the three of them, they were able to land the plane in a vacant parking lot on the edge of the city. Mecha Man grunted as he helped set the plane down, following after Sonar as he tore the door of its hinges to get inside. “Wow, will you look at this. You can actually drive after all.” Mecha Man said, getting a flaming middle finger from his partner.
The two turned just in time to watch the door fly off its hinges, neither having a chance to react before Sonar was thrown back. He crashed back into an abandoned car, completely smashing it. “Hey, bastards!” Flambae yelled, ready to lunge at them when he got shot back by something as well. Flambae crashed into the ground with a startled cry, his flames sputtering out just as Sonar changed back into his hybrid form.
“Like the new digs? I’m surprised Shroud didn’t use this shit on any of you super freaks sooner.” The large goon chackled, Mecha Man looking over to see red devices latched onto both of the other men, “Completely inhibits your powers, making you as useless as a newborn.”
“Good thing I don’t need powers to kick your ass.” Mecha Man summoned his plasma blade, running at the goon and others who followed after him.
Flambae hissed in pain as his muscles contracted, failing to control his limbs enough to tear off the device. Not too far away from his Sonar was the same, tensing repeatedly as he tried to force his limbs to it off.
Not too far from them, Mecha Man fought against the group of augmented villains on his own. One had a cannon similar to Lightningstruck, another brandishing red light whips, and the third was duplicating to charge him. A strained yell let Mecha Man keep the group back with his variety of tools.
“What’s going on? Hello? Anyone?!” Blonde Blazer’s frantic cries came over the comm, “What happened?! Someone please answer me!”
Alright, new motivation to break free. Tear off this fucking device so he could turn off his comms before Blonde Blazer made his ears bleed. Fighting against the shocks, Flambae managed to prop himself up on an elbow, grunting as he tried to will his arm into working.
The massive mech was sent flying back into the plane, denting it from its weight. “Blazer, these guys have AMPs that can hinder powers! Flambae and Sonar are down!” He shouted, using his boosters to plough through the clones.
“Alright, I have Prism and Coupe available. They-”
“No, it’s not safe for them! They’ll be taken down, too. I got this.” Mecha Man retorted, returning his focus to the fight.
Sonar struggled to roll himself over, trying to reach onto his own device to no avail. Mecha Man flew past them, smashing the larger thug down. His suit was tanking hits for now, but he knew it wouldn’t hold. With a yell, he struck down the final goon, making each of the clones crash into each other.
Deep breathing left the pilot as he looked around, his body still trying to reacclimate to the high stress and tension of being in the mech. He had the obvious break after his coma and the suit breaking, then another forced break with his suspension for killing Shroud. Catching his breath, Mecha Man made the mech jog over to the two fallen heroes. “Hang on, I got you.” He soothed, careful with the mech hand as he pried the device off of Sonar.
A sharp gasp left the bat hybrid, his shakes easing slightly, just enough for him to cover his privates after the surprising change back.
Mecha Man made his way over to Flambae, ready to help his partner up, when he heard a rapid beeping noise behind him. “Just hold on a second, I’ll be right back.” Mecha Man quickly said to Flambae, heading towards the noise despite how the man cursed behind him.
Moving through the wreckage, he approached the unconscious goons, and his eyes went wide. Grasped in one of their hands, he could distinctly see a timer ticking down. A bomb, holy fuck, a bomb out here?! His eyes flicked back towards the plane, packed to the brim with all sorts of tech. If that bomb had gone off here, who knows what sort of feedback this would have? A blast of that kind would level this block and possibly more.
Looking back, he saw Flambae still struggling with the device and Sonar coming out of the shocks. The timer was down to less than a minute; no way he could destroy it or throw it anywhere. Nowhere he looked would be a safe location to dispose of it. All that surrounded them were dozens of abandoned cars, the landed plane, and buildings just down the block. As he searched for a solution with the timer ticking down, his vision went from down to the water to up. And then it hit him…
It’s our duty to protect the people; it’s our legacy. Our greatest sacrifice for their lives.
Picking up the bomb, Mecha Man tucked it against his chest plate before taking off towards the sky.
Sonar let out a startled noise, seeing him take off, stumbling to his feet. “Hey, Bobert?! Where the fuck are you going?!” Sonar coughed out, staggering as he tried to keep an eye on the rapidly rising mech.
“Mecha Man, dispose of that bomb now! There’s going-”
“There isn’t anywhere for miles. I checked, and I already thought it out. This is the only option.” Through his screen, he could see the city getting further and further as he flew the mech higher, “This is the only way. It’s always been the only way. It’s always been Mecha Man’s fate.” Sparing a glance from his screen, he saw the Z-team photo that he had tacked up within the suit. The victory photo after taking out Shroud. With a small smile, he slipped off the mask, taking a deep breath. If he was dying, he wanted to go out as Robert at least, not Mecha Man. One last piece of himself for everyone.
“Thanks for making life worth living again.”
The sky shook as an explosion went off, the Z-team watching in horror from all across Torrance. Prism had her mouth over her hands. Invisigal had gone invisible, running as fast as she could towards the blast. Mal was screaming at Waterboy and Punch-Up to jump into her portal. There were screams of anguish and horror, but none quite like Flambae’s.
Despite how the spasms continued and his muscles screamed, he wrenched the device off his chest hard enough that its little pinchers drew blood from his chest. Standing nearly sent him back to his knees, but he didn’t care, his body bursting into flames as he took off. Judging by the shriek behind him, Sonar wasn’t too far.
Flying up as fast as he could, Flambae could see the mech dropping back down through the air. “I can’t get a response from Robert. I think he’s unconscious!” Blonde Blazer shouted in a panic.
“No shit, he just blew up again!” Flambae shouted back up, finally reaching the mech. With a strained yell, he tried catching it, only to be pulled down as well by the shift in weight. Sonar flew after him, hitting the mech on first impact instead of grabbing it due to his body trying to recover from the shocks. Reorienting himself, Sonar quickly flew back down to latch his feet onto the mech to try and slow it down. Even with their combined strength, they were hardly doing anything to slow the descent.
Back on the ground, a portal formed, and most of the Z-team rushed out to see the chaos. “Fast- too fast! They won’t survive that fall!” Waterboy exclaimed.
“Malevola, can’t you use a portal like the plane?!” Invisigal pleaded, reappearing behind the team.
“He’s too high up and falling too fast, the crash’ll still kill him!” Malevola immediately retorted, watching anxiously.
Without even asking, Coupe took off towards the skies, flying towards the three who were free-falling. “I have Royd coming to help us now. For now, do whatever you can to slow that descent!” Blonde Blazer ordered.
Looking around, Waterboy got an idea, quickly pulling Golem over. Between both of their powers, he hoped to make a muddy pool to help stifle the fall. They just needed him to slow down; a fall that high could make water act like cement.
Coupe grunted as she caught up with the three, swiftly driving her blade into the mech's hull to keep herself from flying off. “It’s too heavy!” Sonar shouted, straining to slow the mech’s descent. Sure, he was able to tackle him pretty easily while fighting him back then, but this was a massive mech free-falling. It was just like someone going rag doll on you, no subconscious control to hold back.
“Robert, god damnit, wake up!” Flambae screamed, pushing his flames harder to try and get more strength, but the device had still weakened his strength.
Royd rushed through the bullpen, joining Blonde Blazer at her station as the two watched the screen in horror. “Shit, I made this buggah sturdy for a reason.” Royd hissed, cursing his own craftsmanship. It kept Robert safe in a fight, but in turn, it made it hard to get out. “Try to wedge open the chest plate! It’s how he gets in and out!”
Crawling further up the mech, Coupe yelled as she jammed her blade between the spot where the plates met. “Urgh, I can’t open it! It’s wedged tight from the blast!” She screamed, her voice hardly audible over the wind.
“Guys, you’re getting way too close way too fast!” Prism shouted, using clones of herself and Waterboy to clear the streets as a precaution.
Looking around them, Malevola suddenly got an idea, smirking as she swung open a portal. “Hey, Golem! Think fast!” She shouted, pointing at Punch-Up. The construct looked at the open portal that led to the sky, a sly grin growing on his face as he reeled his footback. Before the strongman could react, he was punted through the portal.
A startled cry left Punch Up, flying into the portal and nearly flying past them if Flambae hadn’t caught him. “Cut back on the weight, you fucking bowling ball!” Flambae hissed, hoisting Punch Up onto the mech.
Now properly situated on the mech, Punch Up immediately got to work pounding the dagger into the slot. So what if one nicked him on the way? Certainly, Robert would prefer a few cuts as opposed to dying in a crash. Smashing his fists down, the gasp began to pry open just as the ground was coming closer and closer into view. “Hurry up!” Invisigal screamed in panic.
With a hearty scream, the chest plate finally snapped free. Flambae wasted no time burning the harnesses off Robert, both he and Coupe pulling him out. Sonar snatched Punch Up with his feet, using the speed of the winds to make him glide back from the falling mech. Pulling Robert full against him, Flambae leaned off the mech, falling back as he saw the shimmer of a pink portal beneath him.
Even with the portal, the landing wasn’t the most pleasant. Keeping himself curled around Robert, Flambae yelled as they tumbled hard across the pavement, rolling several times before stopping. Sonar landed down with Punch Up, while Coupe gracefully flew through the portal, with the mech crashing and landing not too far from the group. No one cared through, the team immediately rushing over to Flambae and Robert.
A pained grunt left Flambae, awkwardly shimmying up the best he could with Robert against him. That landing had broken his arm, no doubt, but he didn’t care. A set of hands that he recognised as Prism’s helped him, Invisigal and Waterboy being the first to reach them of the team. “Holy fuck, that looks bad. Is he still breathing?” Invisigal asked, unable to find any witty comments to mask her concern.
“Breathing, but it’s laboured. Most likely fractured ribs.” Coupe was suddenly by his side, two fingers pressed against Robert’s throat.
Even with his Mecha Man suit on again, he looked so frail. So broken, so human. So still that he could be mistaken for a dead person. Flambae held him tight as he could with his unbroken arm, almost afraid to let go out of fear he’d stop breathing. Wild orange eyes met burning yellow ones, a desperate noise leaving him. “Malevola, please. Please, he needs immediate attention.” Flambae pleaded, unable to mask his fears of Robert dying in his arms.
A grimace formed on the she-demon’s face, taking in the extent of his injuries. “I can try, but I don’t have much left I can take, mate. I’m overcharged.” Malevola said, still reaching out despite this.
Sonar quickly slapped her hand back, shaking his head, “No, no! It’ll take you out, then we’re all screwed without your portals. He probably won’t survive the flight there even if Phenomaman got to him.”
“And without her taking any of those injuries, I doubt he’ll last the portal ride. He got fuckin blown up, AGAIN!” Punch Up stated.
The group was going into a panic, arguing about what to do. “Mal… can you transfer those injuries to someone else instead of you?” Everyone went quiet, turning to see that Visi was the one who had spoken up. She stared down at Robert with a grimace, “You can’t take it, so why not me?”
Malevola stared at her for a moment before turning his attention to Robert, “It’ll knock you flat on your ass.”
“Just give me enough to keep him alive.” She quickly responded. She was the reason he had been hurt the first time; she had fucked his life up once already. This was how she’d fix it this time.
Placing a hand on Robert’s arm and the other on Invisigal, the two women let out a sharp cry as the energy surged through them. Some of Robert’s injuries magically sutured themselves back up, new scrapes and cuts forming on Invisigal in turn. “Holy fuck!” The shorter woman gasped, her knees nearly buckling if Golem hadn’t caught her, a hand quickly clamping around her side in pain.
Almost instantly, Robert’s breathing became regular again, no longer raspy like it had been before. “Good, alright, pass him over to someone else. You’ll drop him with that busted arm of yours!” Punch Up shouted.
Flambae immediately shot the man a withering glare, not wanting to let go of Robert. He couldn’t let go of him, an inkling of fear rippling through his mind of what would happen if he did. “Come on.” Coupe was standing before him, her arm outstretched. Despite her cold exterior, Coupe had developed quite a soft spot for their dispatcher, for keeping her during the cut. Staring up at her for a moment, he finally relented, allowing the assassin to take Robert. A pained grunt left Flambae as Prism helped him up to his feet, the two watching as a portal materialised behind them.
“We'd better get the rest of the shift off,” Sonar grumbled, Invisigal having tossed him her jacket to cover his junk as they made their way back into the dispatch centre.
Waiting for them were Blonde Blazer, Chase, and Royd, worried about what they’d see when the team came through. Coupe was the first through the portal, immediately walking into the prepped infirmary with Robert in her arms. Following behind her was Flambae, who leaned on Prism for support and Sonar, whose fur was still puffed up from the shocks the device gave them.
Aside from Invisigal taking a chunk of Robert’s injuries, the rest of the team was okay. Coupe laid Robert down, backing away for the medics to take over and two more hurried over to the others. “Three explosions in half a year, Robert, god damnit, kid.” Chase grimaced, watching the staff get right to work.
“Think he’ll be okay?” Prism whispered.
“Th-that looked pretty bad…” Waterboy grimaced, biting his nails only to remember the gloves prevented him from doing that.
Flambae sat down as one of the staff members began fussing over his arm, his eyes never leaving Robert as the medics cut away at his suit to tend to him.
“This is the only way. It’s always been the only way. It’s always been Mecha Man’s fate.” “Thanks for making life worth living again.”
The arsonist’s hand trembled as he watched, his entire body silently shaking. He had never wanted to fight a dead man more in his life than this very moment.
The sound of beeping confused Robert, groaning as he slowly opened his eyes. There was pressure on his legs, making him crane his neck to see Beef fast asleep on his lap. Blinking slowly, Robert recognised the room he was in. The infirmary, again, because he got blown up… again.
Craning his neck, he was surprised to find not only Royd and Chase in the room like last time, but the entirety of the Z-team, some looking worse than others. “Holy fuck, he’s awake!” Punch Up’s accent was unmistakable. Robert blinked, and in a second, all of them were crowded around his bed.
“How do you feel?” Golem asked, making a conscious effort to keep his voice low.
“No different than normal, bruised ribs and all.” Robert sighed, leaning back, “Don’t worry. Give me a few minutes, and I’ll be back behind the desk in no time.”
The team went eerily silent when he said this, all looking uncomfortable. “Come on, you guys, this is nothing new-”
“Do you ever shut the fuck up?!” Flambae suddenly snapped, stomping forward for the first time so that Robert could see him through the crowd. His eyes widened seeing the cast on Flambae, ready to ask when the man continued speaking, “We had to break you out of that mech during the free fall! We barely got you out in time before it crashed. Your body can’t take hits like that, and yet you keep tempting fate. It’s like you don’t give a shit about what the rest of us think!”
“What? Of course I care! All I care about is the team and helping people. That was the whole point of what I did. A true hero knows when to make the necessary sacrifices.” Robert immediately retorted, glaring at his partner.
Some of the team choose to step back, not wanting to be caught between the argument. “And yet you did not consider what your death would do to us all! You have changed us all to be better; none of us would be where we are without you.” Flambae stated.
“I’ve done my job as your dispatcher; you're all the heroes you deserve to be. I did what I was taught to do. The one for the many.” Robert explained.
“Yes, yes, your family's bullshit legacy to die a hero. It’s bullshit, all of it. And if you are so insistent on throwing your life away, throwing away everything, then I’m done with this. I’m done with us.” Flambae hissed out, making Robert go tense.
Was he seriously threatening a break-up over his heroic duty?
Judging by the looks on everyone’s faces, the others seemed to feel the same. “We need you, boss…” Waterboy whispered, looking at the ground.
“Most of us would be back in jail or prison without you… I had to make it up, for everything.” Invisigal stepped up, covered in bandages of her own. The fall… he wasn’t okay as he thought he was. It clicked then that he only felt ‘okay’ in his standards because Invisigal took his injuries.
“When you were falling, none of us knew if you’d live. We all played our part in saving you.” Coupe’s voice kept its neutral tone, but the look in the woman’s eyes betrayed her. Worry, fear…
“You can be a hero without dying for the cause. Cause who are you fuckin helpin dead, am I right?” Punch Up softly asked.
Robert looked at the team conflicted, the worry they all showed made him feel guilty. Weak… not good enough. “I’m sorry. I’m sorry, I’m such a broken fuck up.” He whispered, unable to look at any of them as tears threatened to spill. He couldn’t cry in front of them, not like this. “Being Mecha Man was the only way I ever meant a damn… dying a hero was the only thing I was supposed to do. I don’t… I don’t know how to just be Robert…”
A hand rested on his knee, making him hesitantly look over to find Prism and Waterboy standing by him. “Then let’s fi-figure it out… together.” Waterboy softly spoke.
“Agreed, I like Bobert more anyway.” Sonar chipped in, stepping over, “The guy who likes Twinks and makes fun of me getting swooned by women.”
“The guy who bites a man's fingers off in a fuckin bar fight. Speaking of, did you ever get tested for that?” Malevola asked, and the others all slowly joined.
Flambae hovered by the end of the bed, looking at Robert the same way he had in the meeting to determine Invisigal’s fate on the team. “I prefer the man I fell for… Not the man burdened by his family legacy. Just Robert Robertson.” He purposely left out the third part, walking over to the front of his bed.
Robert looked at his team surrounding him, a hoarse noise leaving him as he was forced to bask in their care, their support. For once in his life, people wanted him to be Robert, not Mecha Man. And despite how hard it would be… maybe Robert wanted to live now. Because… he had a pretty great team here for him.