Chapter Text
The first time Mandy notices it, she doesn’t process it until hours later.
It happens in the early dregs of the morning. Specifically, that time in the morning when most people do their gym training, and while leaving enough time to shower before heading to work.
Like Mandy just finished doing.
Even though she isn’t doing any hero work at the moment, due to Chase borrowing her amulet for an undisclosed amount of time, she still likes working out. Yeah, technically, she didn’t need to work out when she had the amulet, but it still felt nice to get something done as Mandy rather than Blonde Blazer.
Anyway.
She’s on her way to the breakroom when she hears it.
‘Click!’ ‘Crack!’ ‘SMASH!’
“Oh god fucking damn it!”
Mandy picks up her pace as she hears Chase shout and curse at whatever broke. When she rounds the corner, an explosion of coffee and glass shards enters her vision. Chase drops the handle of a very broken coffee pot.
“Jesus, Chase,” Mandy runs over to Chase. Luckily, the coffee seems to be an old brew, and it’ll take a lot more than glass to harm an amulet holder. “Are you okay?” Mandy’s hero training makes her instinctively ask anyway.
“Fan-fucking- tasic.” Chase takes off his visor and wipes it down. “Nothing like getting covered in room temperature coffee in the fucking morning, god damn.”
The amulets' powers are… particular. It takes a lot for the user to get drenched. The coffee seems to drip off of Chase’s suit, pooling at his feet. He lifts himself off the ground a little, so as not to stand in it.
“That should dry off quickly.” Mandy comments.
The look Chase gives Mandy practically screams. ‘No shit, Mandy.’
Fair.
“The other coffee pots should be in the top cabinet,” Mandy says instead. “I’ll get the broom and the glass bag disposal bag.”
“Good luck making me touch that fucking thing again.” Chase glares at the machine. “This thing is older than I look. Well, admittedly, I look a bit younger now, but still!”
Mandy laughs, but continues to make her way to the janitor's closet.
No way it should happen again, right?
= = = = = = = = = = = = = =
Mandy should have known better than to think that, because she totally jinxed it.
It’s lunch time when it happens again. Mandy is about to turn the corner of the break room when she hears some shouts of warning, then the explosion.
‘Click!’ ‘Crack!’ ‘SMASH!’
“Oh god fucking damn it.” Robert hisses out.
Mandy once again rushes into the break room. The scene is oddly familiar to the one this morning, except more people this time. Malevola and Sonar awkwardly hover around Robert while he looks down at himself in defeat. Coffee drenches the poor guy's uniform in a way that Mandy knows for a fact will completely stain it.
“Holy shit, that's twice today.” Mandy goes to unplug the coffee machine. “Are you okay?”
“Fan-fucking-tasic.” Robert replies dryly. “Nothing like getting covered in room temperature coffee halfway through your shift.”
Something… itches at Mandy’s brain at the sentence; however, she waves it away while she checks Robert for any injuries. His arm has some scratches, but it seems like that took the brunt of the glass, ultimately protecting his face. His shirt protected the rest, though Mandy notices there are some tears in it. Mandy picks up his arm to inspect more. She can see hints of glass poking out.
“That’ll probably have to get checked out by med,” Mandy notes. She holds her hand out to interrupt Robert’s rejection. “It’s bleeding too much for my liking, plus I see glass in it, meaning Malevola can’t heal it right now.”
Malevola hands Mandy some paper towels. Robert’s grumbles turn into hisses when Mandy places the paper towel over the open wounds.
“God, first Cremation getting away, now this?” Robert sighs. “This day has really gone to shit.”
Mandy cringes. She overheard Robert guiding Flambae and Prism through the failed call. The guy has been on SDN’s radar for the past week now, but this is the first time anyone from SDN has actually interacted with the guy. Mandy faintly remembers the call ending with Flambae with a few broken bones and Prism with some serious-looking burns.
“I’ll…” Mandy breaths out. “Get you a new shirt. And replace your coffee, too. A new mom-and-pop shop opened a few blocks down. Is that okay?”
“If you are offering, sure.” Robert sighs.
Mandy glances over at Malevola and Sonar. “Could you two bring him down to medbay?” The ‘don’t let him worm his way out of a check-up’ went unsaid. “I’ll get you guys something too.”
“Never one to turn down a free drink.” Sonar agrees easily. He hooks his arm around Robert, leading him away.
Malevola pats Mandy’s shoulder. “I’ll send you our order.”
Mandy watches the trio leave, then turns to glare at the exploding coffee death machine. How could it have exploded twice, especially since both coffees seem very cold? Mandy shakes her head, but goes to turn around to get yet another glass disposal bag. Waterboy may not be the janitor anymore, but he may know if other bags are lying around.
Instead of Waterboy being the first person she sees, it’s StarBlazar. He floats in the doorway, staring incredulously at the mess.
“The fuck happened in here?”
“Coffee pot exploded again,” Mandy sighs. “It got Robert. You just missed him. I sent him down with Mal and Sonar to the medbay.”
“No shit, really?” Star Blazar looks between the mess and the hall. “Is the kid alright?”
“The coffee was cold, and the wounds seemed superficial,” Mandy replies. “However, we both know him; he would have brushed it off.”
StarBlazar scoffs. “Yeah, he would. Dumbass.” He says the last word like it's a pet name, rather than an insult. He shakes his head. “Let me help you with this shit, then we’ll talk about the death weapon that is our coffee machine.”
(Needless to say, the coffee pot was replaced, SDN paid, the next day, after a strongly worded email from StarBlazer (heavily edited by Blonde Blazer) came their way.)