Chapter Text
The last few days had been a weight on Robert.
Getting the dispatcher job in the first place was what seemed to have started it. All the crazy shit that he was subjected to just so that he could return to his work as a hero. Then having to cut one of the team so early on and then receiving Malevola’s ire after he had cut Sonar.
He didn’t want to do it, and he even liked Sonar, but in the paralysis that came with the choice, he picked up that file and handed it to Blonde Blazer.
Fuck, if he had an option he wouldn’t have cut anyone at all, and he felt a little guilty for not doing so.
And to end off the day, he was given the opportunity to go and see a movie. It was kind of nice seeing Invisigal so invested in the story of the shitty romcom they were watching, and the occasional bits of commentary she added on was enough to entertain Robert.
The walk home afterwards had been far less entertaining.
It was dark, the air was getting chilly despite the heat of the day, and he was pretty sure he could smell nothing but weed after passing a house party a few roads back.
He couldn’t wait to get home and collapse into his chair so he could get what was usual considered as a nice long rest.
It was mostly quiet, though the loud music from the party still echoed in the streets, creating an atmosphere that made the dark streets slightly less creepy than usual. All it needed was some party lights and maybe a few more six packs of beer.
Robert shook his head and snorted to himself at the thought of it, letting the sound of his footfalls soon drown out the music as he grew closer and closer to his apartment.
He felt a sudden feeling crawl up his spine as he stepped onto his road, pausing where he stood and holding his breath for a second.
Robert knew the feeling all too well, a sense that he had drilled into himself so that he couldn’t be caught off guard.
He was being watched.
It wasn't the innocent watchful gaze of one of his neighbours, it was the gaze of someone who had the intent of either hurting/killing him or getting something out of him. He wasn't to keen on either option.
He didn’t let whoever was watching him catch on to the fact that he knew. He simply took that next step and kept going. He walked right past the usual place he would turn to go up, and he could even see the glass doors of his apartment as he walked past.
Right now, he was in a barely populated and slightly sketchy part of the city, so he needed to get somewhere more populated as quickly as he could. He was willing to bet he’d be able to take down a pickpocket or a robber if one came at him, but he also wasn’t about to take any chances that could end with him in the hospital.
Turning down another road, Robert caught a glimpse of the shadow that was following him, currently ticking themselves in the mouth of an alley and out of sight. He pretended he didn’t know them and kept moving.
If he circled back around to that house party, he could probably blend in well enough to shake off whoever was following him, then he could return home for Beef and sleep.
The music was shaking in his feet as he turned down into an alley and picked up the pace, hardly wanting to be caught in a place like that. He sidestepped several trashcans and garbage bags, swatting away several flies as they tried flying into his face.
It was one of these times he began swatting that a hand grabbed his wrist.
He felt a small pull from the hand and didn’t think twice before he spun around and clocked the person square in the face. Robert took a step back as the hand released him, looking down the alley at the stumbling attacker. They were wearing dark colours, their face mostly hidden behind a mask.
Robert shook his hand off, “Y’know, it’s not smart to attack random people in alleyway—“ The person looked up, and Robert’s throat clenched up when he saw the red glow behind their eyes and beneath their skin.
”Shit.” He muttered as he considered his options before turning quickly on his heel and sprinting the opposite way down the alley.
If he was facing against one of Shroud’s goons, he’d rather have a weapon on hand than have nothing at all.
And now the idea of running towards the party made his head hurt. Even if this person didn’t have powers, they’d still be a danger to everyone in the house. Robert could hear the thundering sound of their footsteps at his heels, and he reached out and grabbed a rusted pipe leaning against one of the buildings, turning and swinging it like a baseball bat. It was promptly caught by his attacker and pushed down and away as a fist shot at his face.
Robert ducked down and away from the blow only for a knee to shoot up and collide with his jaw.
Robert stumbled back, tasting as blood began to pool in the back of his throat. Something swept his legs out from underneath him, his head hitting the ground violently as the world around him began to ring and shake. Beneath him, he could feel every bump and imperfection in the concrete as its cold seeped into his skin. No doubt he had some kind of concussion from the impact. He scolded himself at how rusty he had become since his last fight with Shroud.
He could see the outline of his attacker as they kneeled over him, the red glow permeating through his deteriorating vision.
A hand was cupping his cheek in an almost tender gesture- like a mother wiping dirt away from a child's cheek. A thumb swiped away something on his cheek, making him furrow his brow as he tried to sit up or punch the goon.
Something punctured through his skull, and just like that the world around him was agony. It shot through him like a cannon before he blissfully welcomed the darkness.
The call to SDN came from a house a few blocks away, loud music still playing in the background. Someone had heard a child screaming in what seemed like pain. Of course, something like that was immediately picked up and a hero was promptly sent to deal with the issue. What was found was a kidnapper holding a bloody and bruised child, ready to steal him off into the night. The hero heroically saved the boy.
That was the story currently being told on the news.
Blonde Blazer was standing beside the hospital bed of the boy, Chase on the other side.
"And you're sure its him?" She asked, looking down at the boy who was unconscious in the hospital bed, face and head bandaged with a few nasty scars peaking out of the white. Chase stared at the boy for a few more moments before scoffing with indignation.
"Course its him. I may look old but I still have my memory." Chase said as he sat in the chair beside his bed. The usual snappy tone was less passionate than usual, marked by the undertone of pain that Blonde Blazer knew well enough.
"How old would you say he is here?" She then asked.
Chase stared at the face for a few moments before sighing, "He's got the ear thing, so its after nine." Chase observed, "Like i said, started dodging me like I owed him money after his dad died." He huffed, but his eyes didn't leave him.
Blonde Blazer sighed as she rubbed the bridge of her nose, trying to beg the tiredness to leave her in peace. She usually expected late night calls thanks to her job, what she wasn't expecting was a call that she needed to come to the hospital with Chase to identify if a child saved during a kidnapping case was Robert.
Even worse was that it was confirmed to be Robert.
"The doctor said he'd be back in a few minutes with a more thorough explanation on what is going on with him." Blonde Blazer said as she gestured at Robert.
"Shroud's got something to do with this." Blonde Blazer's eyebrow furrowed as she looked towards Chase to encourage further explanation. Chase kept his gaze downturned for a moment before he let out a long-suffering sigh, running a hand over his face before he looked back up at Blonde Blazer.
"The perp had Shroud's augments..." Chase began, and when Blonde Blazer gave him an unconvinced look. Chase glared at her for a moment before beckoning her to lean in closer to listen to what he had to say.
"Look, this is something that can't get out." Chase began in a hushed tone, glancing around to make sure that no one else could hear them, "Robbie and Shroud had a thing going on, and they broke it off a few months before Shroud killed him." Blonde Blazer couldn't help but gasp, and she quickly clacked her jaws shut as she looked around, thankful that no one had heard it.
"So, Shroud was his other parent?" She asked, grimacing when Chase nodded. That made a lot of things so much more complicated.
The headache she had woken up with seemed to be getting worse with every new bit of information.
"Shroud will try to come get him then."
"No doubt."
"So we put him into protective custody." Blonde Blazer reasoned, and at his raised eyebrow, she began to elaborate, "Keep him in SDN and under constant watch until whatever this is wears off." She explained.
"And who's gonna watch him, cause if Shroud comes I won't be much against him." Chase said. Blonde Blazer tilted her head at him slightly before she shook it and bit the inside of her cheek.
She crossed her arms over her chest, "I can try and get the Z-team on it."
"Those wackos? You'd trust them with him?" Chase protested.
"They've gotten better with him these past few days, and most of them at least kinda respect him now." Blonde Blazer explained, "Plus some of them are good enough with kids to make it work."
"There weren't enough certainties in there." Chase scoffed as he leaned back in his chair, arms cross over his chest as he glared at Blonde Blazer through his bushy eyebrows.
She frowned, "But it may be our best option. We'll stick with them to make sure nothing goes wrong."
Chase continued to frown for a few minutes, staring down at Robert before grunting, "Fine, fine. But if anything goes wrong I'm dragging those sorry motherfuckers assess right back to the cell they came from."
"I would expect no less." Blonde Blazer chuckled before clearing her throat and looking at the clock mounted on the wall, "Shift starts soon. You can stay here, I'll tell the team and manage them for today."
Chase nodded as Blonde Blazer left. The machines in the room kept going, but everything else was silent.
Chase was focused on Robert, staring at the boy before him. Maybe the shock hadn't worn off yet, but he still couldn't process what was right in front of him. Last time he had seen a Robert like this, it was at Robbie's funeral. The boy had seemed so small, shoulders hunched up in a suit that was just a little too big for him, blending into a crowd of civilians but standing out thanks to the grey cloud that was following him through the entire day. Losing his dad was tough enough, but it being because of his other dad? That was rough.
There was a part of Chase that wished he had been more persistent in finding Robert after the last time they met when Robert was 14, already trying to grow into the suit that his father had made. If his powers hadn't caught up to him, Chase would've kept trying to track down wherever he lived.
Curse him and the sentimentality he was gaining in his old age.
He grunted as he stood up, feeling the ache that always settled in his joints these days. He walked around the bed a few times, trying to ease both the pain in his joints and the weight on his mind. There's no way Shroud would go through the trouble of doing all this to just sit around and twiddle his thumbs. Every waking moment was going to have to be looking over their shoulders until it wore off.
Even when it wore off, there was no certainty that it wouldn't happen again.
Thinking about it was enough to make his head hurt.
"Uh, sir? Are you the guardian of this boy?" Chase looked to the doctor that stood in the doorway. He sat back down in his chair, "You know damn well what's up here." Chase pointed out.
The doctor grimaced as she flipped through the papers on her clipboard, "We have an idea of what the properties of the magic were." The doctor began as she stood on the other side of the bed, "We don't know how long it'll last, but we confirmed that unless maintained by whoever inflicted it, it'll eventually wear off." She explained as she handed that page to Chase. Chase quickly flipped on his glasses as he began reading through all the medical mumbo jumbo.
"We're pretty sure he's about eleven, which brings up something else of concern." The doctor explained, "We had a magic specialist come in to figure out the specifics of what the terms were, and we found that a specification was that the victim would be aged to the last time they felt safe."
Chase's expression hardened as he stared at Robert.
"You may understand why we find this concerning. If what you told us about his age is true, he hasn't felt safe in fifteen years." The doctor said softly, "Do you know anything else about this?"
Chase felt his fingers twitch as he sighed, "So not since his dad passed." Chase said offhandedly.
"Understood." The doctor scribbled something on the paper, "We also believe that whatever spell was used was incomplete, and that it can still be finished. This would likely make it a permanent change." She explained.
Chase set the papers in his hand aside, "More trouble than you outta be, kid." He huffed.
"Which brings us to our final problem." The doctor said, "Since he is now a minor, is there any family that can care for him?" She asked, though from her look, she didn't seem hopeful.
"Nope." Chase said with a small bit more force than necessary, "Dad's dead, grandparents dead, no siblings, aunts, or uncles, and his other parent isn't in the picture." Chase listed it all off as the doctor looked on with dwindling hope before she sighed and rubbed at her temple.
"Anyone that can claim guardianship over him?"
"Me." Chase said outright, "I've known him since he was in diapers and I was a good friend of his Dad's." The doctor let out a relieved sigh as she set the clipboard on the bedside table.
"Good. It'll be a bit of paperwork, but considering the unique situation, it won't be nearly as difficult as it normally would." The doctor nodded at him before she left the room again, leaving him in silence once more.
Chase slowly turned to look at Robert, "Since eleven? You're gonna be the death of me you little prick." Chase murmured to himself.
Everything was far too fucking complicated these days.