Chapter Text
“I want a second opinion”
Sonar hadn't meant to hear it, honest. He had just been on his way to grab some ‘lady stuff’ from the infirmorys stash for Mal when he walked by one of the closed doors.
Normally he wouldn't bother to ease drop, at least not when he was busy but the familiar voice behind the door caught his attention. Deep, smooth and… broken?
Victor had no doubts that the voice belonged to there dispatcher, he wouldn't forget a voice that distinct after all, so why did it sound like that? Like his world had been shattered?
The man bat leaned casually against the wall as if he were waiting for something. No one seemed to take note of his presence.
“Mr Robertson-”
“I said I want another opinion! Another doctor entirely in fact! I didn't suffer through four months of PT after shroud for this!”
Victor flinched, he had never heard Robert sound so desperate and if his ears were right (and they always were) the nasally quality of his words indicated that he was crying. Robert Robertson did NOT cry easily.
There was a deep sigh followed by a long pause that was only accompanied by Roberts stuttering breaths.
“No doctor worth even a fraction of their degree of going to clear you for hero work,” there was a level of exhaustion to the doctors voice that suggested this wasn't the first time they had talked about this
Victor felt his breath catch at that. He had to have heard wrong right? There's no way Robert was hurt bad enough to have to retire! Right?
“The muscles in your leg haven't shown any improvement and your joints are deteriorating by the day. By my estimate you'll be lucky to stay standing at all by the end of the month”
Roberts breathing only got heavier, more frantic. The harsh clack of his cane following hurried footfalls grew closer to the door and finally a loud thump along side the clatter of metal.
Rubber soles squeeked on the hard floor in a panic.
“Mr Robertson!”
Unable to bare the sound of his leaders frustrated sobs Victor took off in the opposite direction, unsure what to do with the burden of his recently acquired knowledge. Maybe Mal would know?
Malevola was, understandably, a bit pissed that it had taken Victor nearly half an hour to retrieve a tampon, all that anger fizzled away when she heard the reason why.
“That can't be true” the demon whispered in disbelief “after everything that happened they just want him to give up!”
It just wasn't fair! Robert had built his entire life around being Mecha Man, around being a hero! Neither of them could even begin to imagine how he must feel right now
“The doctor said something about his joints and his leg. I dunno man, they were already pretty much done talking when I walked by.”
The pair sat in silence for the rest of their break.
When the coms finally did crackle to life it wasn't their dispater that greeted them but rather Mandy
“Hey guys” she started somewhat nervous “so uh, Roberts gonna be off for the rest of the day. He's taking a, um, personal day”
Victor felt his heart sink. If Robert wasn't coming to work then it must worse than he thought. The team must have had a similar line of thinking because it took them less than a second to start asking questions.
“The fuck you mean a personal day?”
“Bob Bob doesn't DO personal days”
“No fokin’ way he took off willingly”
Despite Mandy's best efforts the barrage of questions and disbelieving comments only came faster and louder. Things were quickly spiraling out of her control.
Victor looked to Malevola, concern and determination clear as day on his furry face.
“I'm going to check on him” then he was transforming and taking flight towards Roberts shitty apartment complex.
—
Robert knew long before the doctor told him, still hearing it just made it all the more real. He could feel his body getting weaker and weaker by the day. The pain having faded into a concerning numbness long ago. That numbness was only spreading too. He could barely stand most days, let alone walk or, God forbid, run. It was official, his days as Mecha Man were finally over, not in a burning blaze of glory or a last ditch plan gone wrong like everyone had expected but in a slow agonizing battle against his own body. A battle he had officially lost.
It wasn't just losing his hero title though, it was everything. The way he was slowing down, how he couldn't keep up with his physical therapy anymore, how he struggled to do even the most basic tasks. He was exhausted and humiliated in a way he never even knew was possible.
God, he was only thirty one too!
A sharp whine broke him from his spiral.
Robert glanced at the source from his futon, still the only real piece of furniture in his entire apartment. Beef was scratching at the door. He must need to go potty.
Staring down at his increasingly useless legs Robert steeled himself before grabbing his cane and using every ounce of muscle he had left to stand.
His right leg was almost completely numb by this point. It went first, having taken the most damage during the red ring take over all those months ago. Apparently being injured multiple times only a week after waking up from a six month coma could do some serious damage. Who knew?
His first step was shakey and uncoordinated. While his right leg barely responded his left was stiff and painful to stand on. He knew he should be using the wheelchair the doctor had given him but he just couldn't bring himself to. Not when each step he took, no matter how painful, could end up being his last. He wanted to power through, to stand on his own feet for as long as he could before he lost that too. Besides, the elevator was broken.
What was once a five minute walk to the tiny patch of grass outside now took Robert nearly twenty minutes of strain and struggle, and that was just the trip down. Now he would have to fight his way up three flights of stairs in order to get back to the blessed comfort of his lumpy futon.
Before he could begin the arduous trip back to his couch a gust of air nearly knocked the brunette off his feet.
“Robert!” Came a deep, rumbling voice and before he knew it Robert was standing face to snout his a giant Bat monster.
“Sonar? What are doing here?”
Robert tried to stand a little taller now that Victor was standing in front of him, he didn't want to seem weak in front of his team. Although he should have known one of them would show up on his door step when Mandy and the doctors forced him to go home early.
A guilty expression fell over sonars face as he spoke “ok so, don't be mad but I kind of, maybe overheard you talking to the doctor earlier and then Mandy said you were taking a personal day-”
“You were spying on me?!” God, why was he even surprised at this point.
“Not on purpose!” Sonar was quick to defend himself. He turned his gaze away however, at Roberts raised brow.
“Ok a LITTLE on purpose.”
Robert groaned, thoroughly drained by the situation as a whole. “Look I appreciate the concern but I'm fine”
It was Sonars turn to raise a brow now. “You don't exactly look fine Robbo. In fact you look like your about to fall over”
As if his words had some how challenged to universe itself a squirrel chose that exact moment to run directly in Beefs line of sight. The excitement of seeing another animal had beef rushing in the same direction as the rodent. Normally Beef tugging on his leash wasn't a problem, he was rather small after all, but the strain of three flights of stairs and a six foot walk to the grassy patch outside had left Roberts legs shakey and more unstable than usual. One sharp tug from Beef was all it took to send Robert hurtleing toward the pavement.
“Shit!”
If Sonar hadn't been there he would have certainly been eating shit right now, luckily the Hybrid had caught him with relative ease.
His hands? Claws? Wings? Wings. His wings were cool and leathery, it was actually very comfortable.
“Ok, your are definitely not ‘fine’”
Robert tried to stand. Really he did. He struggled and fought to stay upright on his own but all of his efforts were quickly proven futile. Sonar apparently took note of this too because next thing he knew Robert wasn't just being supported anymore. Sonar scooped his dispatcher up into his winged arm, cradeling him close. With his other hand he took Beefs leash and Roberts came before he started walking, not towards Roberts apartment, but away from it.
Sagging into his coworkers hold Robert finally gave up. He was tired and emotionaly rung out. Sonar could drop him into a woodchipper at this point and he wouldn't care as long as Beef wasn't going with him. It was over. The pain and the numbness finally won. Robert knew he wouldn't be standing up on his own again, no matter how hard he tried.
His father's words rang in his ears ‘get up’. God he wished he could. He would do anything just to be able to stand right now.
—
Victor didn't think Robert even knew he had started crying when he picked him up. Silent tears rolling down freckled cheeks, faster with each step he took.
Even now, with his feet off the ground, Roberts legs still shook violently. The tremors tore through his frail body like tiny earthquakes.
How had things gotten this bad? More importantly, how had none of them noticed?
Victors mind was a mess as he walked to his and Mals shared apartment. He did know one thing for sure though, he wasn't leaving Robert alone. Whatever this was they would get through it together.
He never did get a chance to properly thank the former hero for not kicking him off the team and subsequently ruining his last chance at redemption. Giving him some pain killers and letting him sleep in an actual bed seemed like a pretty good place to start.