Chapter Text
He’s finally back out in the field. Properly, this time. He got medically cleared and everything, unlike the first time he brought the suit out when Shroud attacked. Royd wasn’t even finished with his suit.
He’s been working as Mecha Man for a week now. He’s still a dispatcher, he honestly finds dispatching quite enjoyable, but he missed the field. He missed being Mecha Man. He doesn't feel like he has to be Mecha Man anymore. Now it’s something he wants to do. Robert has finally, finally got a halfway decent grasp on himself. He doesn't feel like Robert is the mask and Mecha Man is who he truly is. Now he’s Robert. He’s Mecha Man, too, he’s both. But he’s himself.
The Z-Team has a part time Dispatcher for when Robert’s out on the field. They’ve been a good fit. They banter, they’re just as weird, they’re also part of the phoenix program. Their criminal record is interesting. That's not the important part. The important part is, he can be a hero again. He’s been working with his team, his partners. He never thought he’d like being on a team so much.
It makes his heart warm that he does. It's good, he doesn't feel like he has to do everything himself. He can rely on people now. Although, he's still getting used to it. It's going to take time before he's fully comfortable with sometimes needing to rely on his team.
Robert is pulled from his thoughts by a ping on his Mech’s Map. “Big M! Coming in, we got a robbery on main. Suspected metahuman, but nothing you can't handle, so I’m sending you in alone. Don't know the powers, but it shouldn't be anything too dangerous. Already sent the call’s details, you should be all set.”
“Finally, some action.” He replies, reading the call details while he lets his Mech autopilot to the location. It's a jewelry store, notably not the one Visi stopped Thunder Cuck in, this one is bigger. “Thanks, Little M.”
“Have fun, don't die!” He laughs quietly, switching his comms so he can focus.
The mission brief gives him about the same information. Suspected metahuman, no known power, location of the crime, shouldn't be dangerous. He’ll have to take care of it out of the suit, jewelry stores and big Mechs don't go well together.
He lands the suit a couple buildings away, on a roof. He runs across the buildings, jumping between them until he reaches his destination.
It's a pretty big shop, multiple floors, three to be exact, and roof access, as seen by the door leading into the building, he hacks the cameras before going in.
Too many cameras to do this on his own. He holds down his comm button, “Can I get a tap in real quick? Too many cameras.”
“Yep! Give me a sec, Big M.” And he keeps looking through the cameras on the third floor. He doesn't see anybody, so.. fuck it, he heads in. It's quiet, there's no sound. No shattering glass, no jingling of the jewelry, no footsteps. He ducks behind shelves and displays. He’s on edge, strangely. He needs to be careful.“Oookay. Nothing on the third floor, I’m guessing? The first floor looks empty too. Lot of the cameras are motion activated, I can't move them on my side.”
“You probably could. I’ll teach you how, later.”
“I’ll kiss you on the mouth.” And he snorts. None of his team can show appreciation normally. “Ooh, movement on the second floor, hold on.”
“Is the perp even stealing anything? I’m not hearing any shattering or noise.” He starts checking out the second floor cameras, too.
“Weirdly enough, no… they're just kind of. Just kind of there, I guess?” They sound equally as confused. Great. So a break-in to a jewelry store but not a robbery. What the fuck is happening. “Perp is heading up to your floor. You got it from here, Mecha Man?”
“Yeah, I think I got it. Thanks, Morrigan.” And they drop from his line, back to the team’s. The door is directly behind him, so he moves fast, to the side, still hidden from the door’s line of sight.
The door cracks open, and the perp enters the room. They’re tall, strong, definitely a metahuman. Robert really hopes that the training he’s been through with Flambae has paid off, because if he can't take this guy down then he’s a little screwed.
So, he goes for the knees. The perp gets pulled to the ground, then there's a flash of light.
So, maybe getting sent alone wasn't the best idea. It would have been, had it not been for the fact that the perp had some fucking, gender swapping power. Not Morrigan’s fault, they didn't know what the power was. Honestly, he should have been able to handle it anyway.
Either way, he was screwed fighting on his own, he had to hit his distress button. And, apparently, Robert hitting the distress button was sign enough for Blonde Blazer to show up.
Good news, the perp was taken care of. The fight was quick and Robert didn't need to worry about anything. Bad news, Robert’s suit was ripped, Mandy had to get his chestplate off because it was making it hard to breathe with his sudden bodily changes.
And then that made his suit rip worse, and he didn't have a tank top or something under it, and-
Yeah. It’s been a nightmare, put simply.
Put un-simply, he’s accidentally flashed his boss and girlfriend, who has a body cam that he can't hack into. And he can't delete the footage. He prays to whatever god might be there that nobody manages to find that footage in the archives before he can find a way to destroy it. Luckily, Mandy is more keen on getting him covered up than anything, so her bodycam footage would likely have little view of his predicament.
There is about a minute of missing footage from the jewelry store’s security cameras, She wouldn't let him delete more of it. He was covered up by a coat now, thank god, and with the footage taken care of and demolished, never to be seen by anyone ever again, everything was okay. Sort of.
Mecha Man is officially temporarily out of commission again, just his luck, and now he’s sitting in Mandy’s office, waiting for her to come back with a uniform that will fit.
He made her promise she’d get him pants and not a skirt. She assured him she would have gotten pants anyway. He didn't have anything to worry about with her.
It's the others that he's worried about. Knowing his partners they're likely to be freaks the second they catch wind of what's happening.
There's a knock at the door, and then it creaks open. Mandy steps in, uniform in hand. “The shirt might be a little bit big.” She sounds apologetic about it.
“I’m used to that. Thank you, Mandy.” He tries not to cringe at the sound of his own voice. It’s still low, but it's undeniably feminine. He ignores the visceral feeling of wanting to tear out his own vocal chords.
She looks a little nervous. Which usually means his team is causing an uproar. He’d be surprised if they weren’t. “Z-Team wants to see you. All they know is that you hit your distress button, they don't know anything else.” Robert sighs, miserable. “So. Get dressed before Flambae burns this building down.”
It would be easier if she had just told them. Now he has to tell them. Or, show them, more accurately. He nods, standing and slipping the coat off his shoulders. Mandy scrambles, turning around as quickly as she can. The windows are already closed and covered, and the door is locked, so Robert isn't exactly worried. And there are conveniently no functioning cameras in Mandy's office.
He changes into the uniform, which is undeniably smaller. He tries not to cringe when he sees that Mandy had gotten him a bra, too. He normally would put it on himself, but… he feels justified in seeking a little revenge for the inevitable embarrassment this entire situation is about to cause him. It wasn’t her fault, but putting on a bra is embarrassing. He needs to talk to Flambae immediately.
“Mandy, would you help me with this?” He tries not to laugh at her visibly shriveling before turning around. And she does help, he tries to not think about how intimate of a situation this is. And when he’s fully dressed, he’s mentally preparing himself to be swarmed the second he steps out of the room. And he’s almost right, the second Mandy opens the door his team comes in, demanding answers.
And the room is rapidly silenced when they see him, in all his glory. It's so quiet Robert is worried it’ll draw more attention from the dispatchers and other heroes outside the room.
They stare, and he feels every gaze on him like its burning holes into his body. He feels himself withering on the inside, it's humiliating in a way he didn't know he could feel again. He's about to throw himself out of the window. Or maybe he's just about to throw up. A voice, Prism's no doubt, shouts, “You’re Asian!??”
And the chaos comes back, laughter and cheering that Robert isn't dead, and he feels less like dying. “My mom’s Korean-” he’s cut off by Malevola dragging him into the team by her tail, and he’s pulled back into a broad chest, and he’s being doted on, coffee and a pack of twinkies shoved into his hands.
“You scared the shit out of us, babes.” Her tail unwraps from his waist, flicking his nose.
“Bitch, you better not ever hit that button without telling us what's wrong again.” Prism demands, poking him in the forehead. “We thought you were dying!!”
“Only on the inside.” He takes a sip of his coffee, and Phenomaman’s arms wrap around him finally, much gentler than he was expecting. Something inside his chest shriveled, he doesn't want to be treated differently.
“Do you need to see the Doctor, Robert? I can fly you there, it would be very upsetting if you died on the inside.”
“Nope, I’m fine, Phen. I was joking.” He really doesn't want to see the doctor right now. She'd subject him to tests and force him to take a break from working again until his body adjusted. “Can we just.. go home? I’m exhausted.”
There's agreement from his team as everyone shuffles out of the room, outside of Robert and Mandy. And Courtney.
“What, Visi?” He asks, and the woman appears with a groan.
“How the hell do you do that?” She takes a puff of her inhaler. “Is the scar still there?”
“Yes. And if I tell you, you’ll stop doing it. Get out.” She bumps him with her hip on the way out. He doesn't think about the fact she looks relieved that the bullet wound scar is still there.
His is undeniably lighter than hers, it will likely fade with time, but she’s attached to it. It’s proof they survived. Proof she survived. He’s attached too.
“Ooh, I think Robert has a crush.” Mandy teases, and Robert blinks out of his stupor.
He laughs, swallowing his coffee as quickly as possible. “Yeah, she has that effect on people. Let’s get out of here.” She nods, hand on his shoulder, and holds the door open for him. She normally does. It just feels weird now.
“Who are you spending the night with tonight?” They walk towards the parking lot. The building is quiet, mostly empty, but it’s peaceful. The sun setting through the windows always manages to hit Mandy perfectly. Robert can almost forget that things are different now. They don’t have to be different.
He has to think for a second about whose weekend it is. “Should be Chad and Herman, I think.” He still wonders why his teams are so insistent about keeping him in their apartments over the weekends. He has his own place. He actually kind of has furniture now.
Mandy nods, and kisses him briefly, conveniently in a camera blind spot. “I’ll see you on Monday, then. See you, Robert.” He waves, and she launches off into the sky.
Robert starts walking off towards the honking Firebird, with his barking dog sticking his head out of the window, a waving Herman, and an impatient Chad.