Chapter Text
“You sure this is safe?”
Robert sighed, trying to hold his focus as he leaned in to screw some delicate wiring into nodes of Visi’s implant. “Well, Royd’s the one who put this all together, so that would probably be a better question for him.”
At the other end of the wires sat the Astral Pulse, glowing dutifully behind a dome of blast glass.
It was a setup that had taken the better part of the last few weeks, once the idea had crossed Royd’s mind. A way to reactivate Visi’s implant without Red Ring tech. It just needed more power; a way to be self-sustaining. Robert had been the one to suggest the pulse. Redirect enough of its power to get the implant going, and in theory, it should run fine on its own. No Shroud required.
“Right,” Visi drawled, crossing her legs. “And that’s the same Royd who made the shitty proto-pulse that blew you up? In this exact room, by the way. In case you don’t already see the parallel.”
“Well, this,” Robert said, gesturing to the glass dome, “isn’t the proto-pulse. It’s the real deal.”
“Ah, so when this one blows, you can’t be Mecha Man anymore, either.”
Robert rolled his eyes, putting down the screwdriver. “Will you quit moving around? I’m trying to not shock you to death.”
“Fine, mom.” She leaned her head back, frowning. “I feel stupid hanging around down here with my tits out.”
“And that’s why I’m the one doing this, and not Royd.” He took a deep breath, leaning back in to adjust the wiring. “It’ll only be a little longer.”
“Yeah. Fine.” She began to tap a foot impatiently. “So, if the pulse blows, it’ll be in that shield, but if my implant goes…”
“Then we’ll both be dead. And then you won’t have to worry about your tits being out, because they’ll probably be across the room.”
Visi snickered. “Hot.”
“Tremendously.”
Robert took a measured breath.
Yeah, sure. So, she was nervous. So was he. But it helped a little to talk over it. Especially since their lives were literally in his hands.
Robert squinted, tightening the last screw. “There. That’s the last of the wires.”
Visi popped her head back up to look down at them sticking out of her chest, squinting. “Jesus. Looks like some kind of creepy Frankenstein experiment.”
“Yeah, basically.” Robert wheeled his chair back to grab a bottle of water, twisting the lid off for a few chugs. “Now, all that’s left to do is to flip the switch.”
“And get blown up?”
“Preferably without that part.” Robert took a deep breath, wheeling back over to her. “Look, I’m sure Royd built a half dozen failsafes into this thing. You’ll be fine.”
“Sure.” She threw a lackadaisical hand into the air. “Beam me up, then, Scotty.”
“That… makes no sense.” But his hand hovered over the switch anyway, nestled at the base of the glass dome. “You ready?”
“Yeah. But, just, before we die, or whatever…” She looked up to meet his gaze. “Thanks.”
“Sure.”
Then he flipped the switch.
The resulting whirring sound nearly made Robert’s heart jump into his throat. Jesus. No. It shouldn’t be doing that, should it? It couldn’t—
But the energy traveled through anyway, to her, and—
“Oh my God,” she breathed.
And as they watched, the lights on her implant began to flicker, slowly turning from red to a light blue.
“I… I think it worked.”
Robert could only stare, stunned as the machine slowly whirred to a stop. “You can breathe okay? No pain or anything?”
She took a deep breath, which quickly broke into laughter. “Oh my God. Robert.”
He blinked. “This… is a good thing, righ—mmph!”
He was cut off as she threw her arms around his neck, pulling him in for a kiss.
Sure, he thought, as he returned it, his hands moving to her waist. That seemed like a good thing.
“Right, happy soon-to-be-holidays, everyone,” Robert said as he sat down at his desk and pulled on his headset. “Just a reminder, our team party is next Friday. Blazer wants to organize a white elephant, so make sure you bring something.” He paused, considering. “And not all the same thing. Please.”
“You’re late,” Flambae snipped over the comms.
“Yeah, Robbie, did you forget about us?” Sonar asked.
“I didn’t forget. I was just caught up with something during lunch.”
Prism snickered. “Or someone, you know what I mean? Don’t think we don’t notice who you showed up to call with.”
“Guys—“
“Yeah, we were fucking in the basement,” Visi cut in. “And before you ask, he’s not really all that good.”
Robert sighed. “Thank you, Courtney,” he said, raising his voice over the giggles. “Could we stay on task, please?”
“Yeah, yeah,” Malevola said. “We know the drill.”
“Good. Then let’s get things going.”
It didn’t take long into the shift for Robert to start having a mental vendetta for the tenured heroes. A good handful were already off taking one vacation or another, leaving what was the rest of the SDN team spread thin. Which meant, of course, their team. Z-Team.
“Damn it, okay, just— just try your best, alright? I know we’re covering more ground than usual. But that doesn’t mean we drop the ball.”
“I don’t think we have enough hands for your ball, lad,” Punch Up said with a grunt. “I mean, Jesus, how many petty crimes are meant to happen in a day?”
“If I get sent on another coffee run or pet rescue, I am leaving a knife inside the client…”
Really? “Coupé…”
“…’s front door.”
“Ugh. Okay. Everyone hang tight for a second. Let me just see what I can do.” Robert pulled off his headset, setting it down on his desk. Fine. They’d run out of heroes. They didn’t have anyone on reserve, but they needed another pair of hands. And he could only think of one way to do that. Right. Better move quick.
He ran down to the basement, footsteps echoing down the hall.
“Royd!” Robert yelled as he burst into the room. “Tell me you can transfer the dispatching software to my Mecha Man suit.”
He looked up from his work, startled. “You want to do what now, bruddah?”
“I’m thinking I can dispatch while on the go. Give the team an extra body.”
“Uh huh. And you tell Blazer about this?”
“I’ll… fill her in afterward.”
Royd sighed, shrugging. “Give me ten minutes.”
“Ah, great. You’re the best.”
“What the hell is taking him so long?” Visi grumbled, lighting a cigarette. “And why the fuck would he send me to move this guy’s furniture alone? I don’t have super strength. How am I supposed to get this damn couch up two flights of stairs?”
“Need a hand?” Golem said over the comms. “I can probably get myself over there in a few.”
“You’re not supposed to send yourself places if Mecha Bitch doesn’t say you should,” answered Flambae. “You know, if he ever gets his butt back in that chair. Like, what the fuck is he even doing? Mid-shift yoga?”
“Ooh, I could go for some yoga,” Prism chimed in. “After all this running around, I need a good stretch.”
“And this yoga…” Phenomaman mused, “it is beneficial for the human form? How does it work?”
“Ahem,” Robert cut in, the hum of his suit’s thrusters filling the comms as he descended. “I heard someone was looking for a couch-mover?”
Visi squinted up at him as he landed, holding a hand above her eyes for shade.
“You’re kidding. Don’t tell me you left Blazer back at your desk. That was enough of a disaster last time.”
“Nope. I’m still running the show. Got everything set up right here. Speaking of… Waterboy, I need you over on Eighth Street. Someone needs a pool filled.”
“On it— um, right away!”
“Phenomaman, there’s a broken-down car off the shoulder of the freeway that needs to be taken to a mechanic. Punch Up, go with Prism for a holiday PR appearance. And Flambae?”
“Yeah?”
“How good is your Santa impression?”
“Oh, fuck you, Robert.”
He called out a few more commands before taking a deep breath. “And that’s everyone.”
Visi scoffed, smirking as she scanned over the Mecha Man suit. “I’d love to see how you plan on getting that mech into the building. Unless you’ve secretly been an expert on shoving large objects into tight spaces.”
“I am not, actually.” Robert popped out the Astral Pulse and tucked it into a pocket before opening the cockpit.
It took about half a second after he jumped out for her to burst into laughter. “Did you seriously just put a mask on over your work uniform?”
Robert looked down at his outfit, sighing. “I didn’t have time for the whole get-up, alright? And, plus, it’s… appropriate.”
“Appropriate?” She snuffed out her cigarette, tossing it into the client’s outdoor trash bin. “You look like an SDN-themed mugger. The headset does not help.”
“Mugger? This is my actual hero mask.”
Visi rolled her eyes, stepping back. “Okay, ‘actual hero’, let’s move this damn couch.”
“Hey, I heard those air quotes.” But he moved to the other side of the couch anyway, squatting down with a grunt.
They got it about halfway up the first flight of stairs before needing to take a break, both of them leaning against the wall.
“You couldn’t send like… anyone stronger to help with this?”
Robert sighed. “I wanted to check on you. See how that implant’s holding up.”
“It would probably have been better with—“
“Someone stronger. Yeah. I get it.”
Visi laughed. “But it’s been good. Better than it’s ever been, even. I took out a whole team of goons earlier and didn’t even have to stop to catch my breath.” She paused, blinking. “Honestly, it makes me feel like… like kind of a hero.”
“Hey. You are a hero.”
“We’re moving a fucking couch.”
Robert chuckled. “That’s what heroes do. Sometimes, anyway. I helped plenty of old ladies across the street when I was Mecha Man.”
Visi elbowed him. “You are Mecha Man. Dressed like a dork or not.”
“Hm.” Robert crossed his arms. “I will choose to take that as a compliment.” Then he gestured his head, pushing himself off the wall. “Now let’s get this couch upstairs before some dumbass teens decide to try and spray graffiti on my suit.”
“Alright,” Robert said as he landed the mech outside the SDN office. “Great shift, everyone.”
He took a deep breath, hanging his headset around his neck and pulling his mask off before climbing out. Only to find the team right outside, going toward the building.
Huh. Robert couldn’t help but smile as he filed in behind them.
It was strange to be walking into the building with everyone else, hearing them laughing and chatting. Strange, but nice. He hadn’t felt like this since they’d taken down Shroud together those months back.
“Did you see Robert punch that kaiju over by the beach?”
“Yeah, right in the fucking face!”
“Our dispatcher got mad hands, for sure.”
“Positively fortuitous!”
“Y—yeah!”
Yeah. He was proud of how far they’d come as a team. They’d become quite the group of—
“Hey,” Visi said, suddenly appearing next to him.
Robert flinched. “Jesus Christ.”
“I’m playing duos with Golem tonight, but you wanna come over to mine after? Say around… ten or so?”
“Sure. Yeah.” Robert shook his head. “For the record, you do not have to scare me to give that information.”
She smirked, reaching up to run a thumb over his cheek. “More fun this way.”
“Right.” He laughed. “Don’t make me regret fixing that augment.”
Visi frowned. “Okay, well, fuck you, then. I’m gonna steal the Pulse and give it back to Shroud.”
“What, and slip it through the bars of his prison cell?”
“I could do it.” She leaned in closer. “After all, I could be anywhere.”
Robert put his hands in his pockets, undeterred. “Well, I hope you’re at your apartment tonight. I was really looking forward to that.”
She looked away, sighing in defeat. “Damn it. Yeah. I’m… looking forward to it too.”
“Great.” He leaned in to plant a kiss on her cheek, watching her face redden for just a second before she disappeared.
Robert was still smiling when he got back to his desk, setting his headset down as he sat. Yeah. That had gone pretty well. Mobile dispatching was a lot to keep track of, but now they knew they had the option. Though he still needed to bring the idea up with—
“Robert. Hi. I was hoping to find you.”
Damn it. What was with the jump scares today?
“Yeah,” he said, looking up after recomposing himself. “Blazer. Hey.”
She paused, blinking. “Sorry, is this a bad time?”
“No, not at all. Just a little, uh… startled.”
“Right.” She nodded. “Well, I was hoping to get your opinion on the decorations for the party, but, um… you weren’t at your desk.”
Robert rubbed the back of his neck. “Yeah, I, uh… decided to get some hands-on experience today. Give the team an extra pair of hands.”
“As Mecha Man?”
“As Mecha Man.” Robert got up, pushing his desk chair in. “Hopefully that’s… okay?”
Blazer crossed her arms, an amused smile on her face. “Let me guess, you decided it would be easier to ask for forgiveness than permission?”
“Something like that.”
“Well, I should probably reprimand you, but… the results kind of speak for themselves. The team’s happy, the clients are happy…”
“You’re happy?” Robert suggested.
“Yeah. I guess I am.” She leaned against his cubicle, smile widening. “So. Do you think tinsel is too tacky? I was also thinking about a tree, but wasn’t sure if a real one would be too much effort. It does smell nicer than a plastic one, but we’d be able to re-use the latter.”
Robert shrugged. “Why not? Let’s go all out. Get the real one. And, uh, no. I don’t think tinsel is too tacky. But you gotta balance it out with lights, you know?”
“And… lights,” Blazer repeated, typing it into her phone. “Great. Thanks for the input, Robert.”
“Yeah. For sure.”
“So, is the mobile dispatching thing going to be permanent, or..?”
“Not sure yet. But probably not. Just when we’re short-handed.”
“Like this week?”
“Yeah. Like this week. And probably the one after that.” Robert sighed, stretching out his back. “It’s not gonna be easy.”
Blazer offered a sympathetic smile. “Well, I really appreciate all the work you’ve been putting in. If you’re not busy, we could grab dinner? My treat.”
“Sure. Visi asked me to spend the night, but that’s not until later. I should have a few hours free.”
“Right. That’s, um…” She sighed. “Sorry. I just remembered that I still have to tell HR about your relationship.”
Robert raised a surprised eyebrow. “You haven’t told them? It’s been months.”
“I know, I know. I just…” She tucked a lock of hair behind her ear. “Well, honestly, I don’t want them to disapprove. Visi’s been a lot happier since she started dating you, and… I think you’ve been, too.”
Robert smiled. “I have, yeah.”
“Plus, the Z-Team’s been getting along so well. Both on and off the field. I’d hate to put a wrench in that.”
“…Maybe they’ll see reason?”
“God, I hope so.” Blazer shook her head. “Anyway, yeah. How about Indian? I heard there was a new curry place just down the street. Named after a dog or something.”
“Sure. But, uh, speaking of dogs, just let me get home first and check on Beef.”
“Chase still looking after him?”
“Yeah.” Robert nodded, picking up his work bag and slinging a strap over his right shoulder. “He’s still recovering, so I figured it would be good to give him something to do before he can be back in the office.”
“Well, Beef does make everything better.”
“He does.” He paused, thinking. “Yeah, you’re right, I’m sure they’re fine. I’ll just text Chase that I won’t be back for the night, then we can go.”
“You doing okay?”
“…What do you mean?”
“You’ve been silent for an unusual amount of time.”
“What, are you calling me loud?” Then Visi sighed, laying her head down on his chest. “I dunno. I’m probably overthinking it.”
“I’m… not sure what you’re getting at.”
It was late, now. The lights were off, Visi’s roommate having long gone to bed. They were together in the dark, in a warm cocoon of blankets where the other person was the only thing that existed.
“I’m just not convinced that I’m not fucking up your life,” she sighed. “That it’ll only be good for so long before I ruin something or you realize that you never really liked me. Like there’s some ugly rock hiding inside that you haven’t turned over yet.”
“Courtney…”
“Yeah. I know it’s stupid.”
“That’s not what I was gonna say.”
“Then what? That it’s not true? How can you know? How can anyone fucking know?”
“Because this isn’t about anyone. It’s about you and me. And I’m not going anywhere.”
She didn’t answer, a hand tightening around his shoulder.
“And, plus,” Robert continued, “my life was already pretty fucked before I met you. You’re not the reason I threw my mattress out the window. But you are the reason I get to spend the night on a bed now.”
Visi sighed. “Fuck, you’re right. You still need to get a real bed.”
Robert chuckled. “I’d say an air mattress is a… marked improvement from what I had before.”
She’d left the box at his door one day, unannounced, a donut neatly wrapped on top of it. Which he had taken as the clear message it was. ‘Stop sleeping on a plastic lawn chair’.
“Not as good as this, though, is it?”
“No,” he agreed, running a hand through her hair, “but there’s more than one reason for that.”
She made a huffing noise that was close enough to a laugh, lifting her head as Robert found her lips in the dark.
“Hey, um— Robert?”
“Come in, Waterboy. What’s going on?”
Robert grunted as he used the mech suit to push away a fallen tree that had downed a power line. The weather had been pretty bad since the evening, with whistling winds that had rattled Visi’s windows all night. Even now, the sky was covered with thick clouds, making the afternoon look more like a dreary morning.
“W—well, it’s um, it’s a kind of—a type of rip?”
Robert sighed. “If it’s your suit, head back to HQ and I can swap you out with someone else until you get it fixed.”
“No, it’s not—not my suit, it’s—“
“I think he’s talking about the sky, Robbie,” Sonar chimed in.
The… sky?
Robert craned his head up, where some kind of rift had started to form. A thin, bright crack in the sky, visible through the gray storm clouds that covered the city.
“What the hell..?” he murmured. Then, to the entire team, “Hey! Anyone got a read on this?”
“It… kind of reminds me of my portals?” Malevola suggested.
“Magic, for sure,” Punch Up said. “Can smell it even from down here.”
“It’s—um,” Waterboy sputtered. “I think it’s near—close—closest to me.”
“Should I fly up to it for a closer examination?” asked Phenomaman.
“No. I mean— ugh. Fuck. Everyone gather up, but do not approach the crack. I’m on my way.”
“Heh,” Sonar chuckled to himself. “Crack.”
“Dude,” Malevola said, “I thought you were cutting back on the stuff.”
“I am, I am. Can’t a guy be reminded of his favorite thing? His favorite, untouchable thing?”
Robert ignored them, taking a deep breath as he shoved the tree out of the way and started his suit’s thrusters.
Time to see what all this was about.