Chapter Text
Robert was wrapped in a quilt while laying on another blanket on the floor of his apartment. He was curled around a pillow with no case, and only his eyes were visible from the blanket pile.
It was his first winter in his cruddy apartment, and just sleeping in a plastic chair wasn't cutting it. It wasn't extremely cold due to him being in L.A., but it was definitely colder than his liking. Besides, you couldn't argue with the man that it wasn't that cold out or that winter wasn't that horrible. He wouldn't believe you. Not only was his body feeling it, but his mind was too.
His phone, which was plugged in beside him, was vibrating and blaring music as his morning alarm sounded off. He groaned and stretched an arm out from the covers like a zombie escaping its coffin. With a short flick, the alarm was turned off. Then a button was pressed, and the screen returned to black. He crawled back into the blanket and let out a deep sigh as his eyes slid shut. He was drifting away but was jump-started to reality when a cold, wet nose was snuck into his eye and breathing hole. “Beef,” he complained, “Stop it.”
Beef did not listen and pushed further in, digging his way into the blanket and squirming around. Robert tried to catch him and shouted, “Beef!”
He sat up and yanked the beefy boy up, holding him in air jail with both his hands. The blanket fell to his waist and exposed that he was only in a long-sleeve shirt and boxers. “I get it! I get it!”
He sat Beef down on the floor and pulled the blanket up to his chin. He said, “I know. I need to get up. I just,” he sank into the blanket further, “I don't want to go to work today.”
He had been the Z-Team’s dispatcher for months, but it felt like a lifetime at that point. In the early days, he was constantly directing his team, planning who would be best for what mission, helping Malevola keep Sonar sober, attempting to wrangle Punch Up or Coupé whenever they insisted they had to pair up with each other, being on the receiving end of Prism’s sass or Flambae’s remarks, making sure Golem can participate in group activities, keeping an eye on Waterboy in general, hounding on Invisigal to keep up with her medication prescriptions, and ensuring Phenomaman actually attended therapy. He swore that watching the Z-Team was almost like he popped out ten kids by himself and had to parent them 24/7.
Despite all that, Robert had to admit that lately the team had been producing better results and seemed more consistent. They were bouncing off each other like bumpercars, and they were steadily rising on the leaderboard. He told them where to go, and he felt like he hardly had to do much else after that. It’s like they were growing up, spreading their wings and leaving the nest. Some days, he wondered what would happen if he left his station for a few hours and had them figure it out on their own. He bet they probably wouldn't have noticed he was even gone.
Beef barked and whined, and Robert sighed again. “Alright, fine.”
He begrudgingly got up and made his way to the kitchen. He found Beef’s kibble and placed a scoop in a metal dog bowl. Beef wagged his tail as he ate, but all Robert could say was, “Great, we're almost out of dog food."
Beef had begun pacing in a circle. Robert begged, “Please don't pee on the floor.”
He slipped on his shoes and pants, grabbed a pack of plastic dog poop bags, and snagged his phone before Beef followed him outside. They went out of the apartments to the side of the building with a patch of grass by a sidewalk that the other dog owners in the building used. There was already a trash can there for dumping the pets’ waste.
He leaned against the building while Beef sniffed around and pulled out his phone. With his alarm gone, he could see the video he was previously playing.
His interview as Mecha Man, the one where he was berated by some lowlife scumbag of a reporter who he ended up kicking the shit out of, was going viral again. Some comments were supportive, saying the reporter had it coming. Others, well, were the same as they were the day the video was released.
“It would have been better if he died than be a mecha coward.”
“Mecha Man? More like Mecha quitter!”
“Mecha Man is less of a man than I thought! I’m an 87 year old man, and I never went to war, but all my friends did. The only one who survived was missing all his limbs and half his face. This sissy only came out with a broken arm? Pathetic!”
“Bro didn’t finish the family tradition 💀😭🙏”
He let out a deep sigh. He scrolled and scrolled, skimming over comments but almost all of them looked the exact same.
He was forced to stop scrolling when he heard barking and peered up to Beef kicking his feet in the grass next to a pile of poop. He said sarcastically, “Thanks, bud.”
A bag of dog poop was tossed in the trash, and Robert and Beef made a quick trip to their apartment so Robert could wash his hands and also put on his SDN shirt. He grabbed his keys and his hoodie to wear for when he was going home, and they drove to work.
Robert walked into work as he always did. Beef obediently trailed behind him. He made a quick stop at the break room and got a mug of coffee, and they returned to his desk. Beef snuggled into his dog bed, and Robert savored the drink in his hands. He gently placed it on the desk and plucked his headphones. He slipped them on and announced, “Alright, Z Team. Good morning and welcome back. As you all know, this is your dispatcher Robert Robertson. Can I please get a quick roll call? Sonar?”
“Here.”
“Flambae?”
“Here, bitch.”
“Prism?”
“You better believe it.”
“Mal?”
“Here, love.”
“Coupé?”
“Present.”
“Golem?”
“Sup.”
“Visi?”
“Roger that!”
“Waterboy?”
“Pres-- uh, present, uh yeah, I'm here.”
“Punch Up?”
“Righty-O!”
“Phenomaman?”
“I am accounted for.”
“Alright, everyone. Let's have a good shift. First call coming in. We have someone setting up fireworks for a YouTube video. I want Flambae to go because he seems to be experienced in explosives. Waterboy, you're going too in case things go south.”
Flambae groaned and Waterboy replied, “Okay! Okay, yeah, I can do that.”
He told them the location and watched their blips move on the map. Next, he sent Sonar and Malevola to a drug bust, Sonar because he seemed a little too good at stopping them and Malevola to keep him sober. Punch Up and Coupé were sent to stop a jewelry store robbery. Invisigal and Golem had to stand in line at a concert. Prism helped direct traffic, and Phenomaman helped someone get their cat out of a tree. The rest of the shift went in a similar fashion.
At the end of the shift, Robert congratulated them, “Good job, team. We’ll reconvene at HQ and go over statistics.”
“Aw, can’t we do that tomorrow mornin’?” Punch Up complained.
Robert replied, “We could, but tomorrow’s the weekend, and I’d actually like to have a day off.”
“Amen to that,” he heard Chase say.
Sonar interrupted, “You heard the boss-man. I want my weekend off.”
Punch Up said, “Fine. Meet you guys there.”
“Right, well, I’ll see you guys in a minute. This is Robert, over and out.”
Robert slipped his headset off and placed it on the desk. He leaned back and gazed over the statistics.
Chase popped his head over the cubicle and asked, “How'd they do?”
He shrugged, “Not bad. Only one fail for the whole day. No one was sabotaging the others. It's gotta be hard to start fires when a guy who can throw up water is tailing you."
“At least Crybaby Boy is good for something,” Chase added and returned to his seat.
Robert stretched his back before leaning forward and petting Beef. He mumbled, “Maybe they do need me? Yeah? Don't you think so, boy? Do you think the team could handle themselves without me?”
Two pairs of footsteps sounded against the floor of the office, which was a bit odd given he and his team were usually some of the last people left in the building. They stopped at his desk. One said in a feminine tone, “Robert? Chase?”
Both men looked up, one from his chair and the other from over the cubicle. In front of them was Blonde Blazer and another woman with dark skin, a brown suit, glasses, black pumps, and her hair was a green, leafy afro with pink flowers sprouting from it. Robert addressed, “Miss Blazer. Miss Vinca from HR.”
Chase added, “To what do we owe the pleasure?”
Blonde Blazer’s mouth swapped between a straight line and an uncomfortable closed-mouth smile. Her eyes shine a shade of sympathy and regret. Miss Vinca kept her face perfectly still. Blonde Blazer began, “Hi. So, um, Robert. We would like you to see Miss Vinca in one of the conference rooms.” She gestured behind her to a conference room that had a direct line of sight to the cubicles. There were already five people sitting in it, and all of them were wearing dispatcher uniforms.
“I wondered what they were doin’,” Chase mumbled.
Both he and Chase stood, but Blonde Blazer said awkwardly, “Actually, Chase, we would like for you and me to wait in another conference room where we'll wait for the Z Team."
Robert frowned with uncertainty but did nothing as Blazer led Chase to a different room on the other side of the room near the elevator. Miss Vinca said in monotone, “Please follow me, Mr. Robertson.”
He gave a quick glance to Chase but followed her anyway. Ms. Vinca locked the door behind them.
Chase crossed his arms as he stood in front of Blonde Blazer. Neither of them took a seat, perhaps sensing or simply knowing something was off. He demanded, “What is it now? Those knuckleheads make another mess for Robert to fall on? Invisibitch make one too many jokes? The fire asshole burn one too many trash cans? Waterboy was keeping an eye on him almost the entire shift!”
“It’s nothing like that,” she promised, “The team’s been great. Robert’s been great. None of this is their fault.”
He leaned closer, “And then just what exactly is going on here?”
The door to the conference room slid open, and Sonar popped in his head, “Sup? I heard we're meeting in here?”
Blonde Blazer sighed, and Chased backed down slightly. She said, “Yes. Please, sit down.”
Sonar shrugged and filed in. Malevola came in soon after. Next was Prism and Golem. Coupé came in with a fuming Flambae, and Punch Up was followed by a nervous Waterboy who couldn't seem to stop wringing his hands together. Phenomaman flew in by himself. All of them, except Golem, took a seat. Blonde Blazer stood at the front of the table with Chase sitting closest to her. Next was Sonar, Malevola, Coupé, and Phenomaman. Golem stood on the other side from the table. Then, there was Flambae, Punch Up, Prism, Waterboy, and an empty seat. They sat in silence for a moment before Punch Up said, “So… Did we do good?”
Prism crossed her arms, “And where's Robert?”
Blazer responded, “Unfortunately, Robert won’t be joining this meeting.”
Some of the team members gave each other confused looks. Chase cursed, “And why the hell not?”
Blonde Blazer held her hands behind her back. Sonar could hear the fabric shift as she fidgeted with her gloves. “You're nervous,” he blurted.
Phenomaman insisted, “Nonsense! Blonde Blazer is never nervous!”
The door slid open once more, and Invisigal waltzed in. She said, “Guys, did you see that? Robert's in a meeting with HR down the hall! There were a couple other dispatchers in there too. I couldn't get in, but most of them looked pissed.”
“Even Robert?” Malevola asked.
“No,” she replied as she plopped herself in the last seat, “He looked kinda… defeated? Pathetic?”
Flambae pointed a finger, “Okay, Blondie, what's this all about?”
“Does this have something to do with the boss-man?” Sonar asked, worry slightly evident in his voice.
“Sis, just tell us,” Prism commented.
Blonde Blazer’s shoulders sagged. She said, “Alright. I suppose we can't avoid it now. To begin, I'd like to mention that you all did very well today. Only one mission failed, and no one was cheating or getting in the way. I would like to congratulate you.”
“Uh-huh,” Sonar replied, “Now, let's get to the good part.”
“What's got you so pent up, lass?” Punch Up asked.
She swallowed harshly and continued, “SDN has decided to downsize. As such, the board has come to the agreement that at least six of the dispatchers will be terminated. Most of their teams are to be merged with others, so those teams will now have about eighteen heroes for one dispatcher.”
They all collectively groaned. Invisigal complained, “Come on! Look, Robert might be a pretty good at his job—”
“The best we've had!” Sonar interrupted.
“But,” she continued, “We're not sharing him. This group is hard enough to get along with as it is.”
“He's ours!” Punch Up yelled, “So back off!”
Malevola shouted, “Yeah! He's done wonders for us! But let's face it, I don't think he could handle more.”
“He's added enough to the group as it is,” Coupé acknowledged, “He fought for me and Sonar to stay, and he chose to add Waterboy and Phenomaman. The Z Team is one of the largest teams in SDN. It would be unwise to merge us.”
Blonde Blazer blinked rapidly and dropped her hands to her sides. As much as she tried to hide it, her voice cracked when she said, “I know. No one on the board wanted to merge the Z Team. It's the one team that isn't merging. It wouldn't make sense for the Phoenix Program.”
Phenomaman asked, “And yet this change makes you sad?”
“I'm sorry,” she apologized and wiped a finger under her eye.
Everyone sat or stood up straight. Invisigal said, “So, this doesn't apply to us? This doesn't mean anything to us then, right?”
She sniffled. Chase asked, “Why are we here?”
“The,” her lip quivered, “The board determined who to cut first based on seniority, then their team's rankings, and then based on their superpowers. I- I guess that's to see how useful their superhero knowledge would be.”
A look of understanding splashed over Waterboy. He jumped to his feet and cried out, “They can't!”
Blonde Blazer said, “It's already done.”
Flambae shouted, “What!? What am I missing!?”
Blonde Blazer opened her mouth to speak, but she stopped short and turned her head to the conference room’s windows. The team turned too, and their hearts sank.
Walking by the windows, heading to the elevator, was Robert. He was wearing his hoodie, the hood pulled over his head, with a cardboard box in his hands. Beef stuck his head out of the box and seemed to be glancing confusingly around the office as if he wasn’t sure what was going on. Robert paused briefly by the Z Team’s conference room. He didn’t look in. He didn’t see the looks of surprise, sadness, fury, and mixes of all three on the team’s faces. He continued walking and managed to call for the elevator. They watched as he disappeared out of their lives.
Malevola spoke first, “But… But you just said we’re not merging.”
“You’re not!” Blonde Blazer promised, “But they want Chase to be your dispatcher since he’s the representative of the Phoenix Program.”
Nothing short of chaos erupted from the group as immediate protest from every member, including Chase, rang throughout the room.
“The fuck I am!”
“Hell no!”
“No way!”
“Da fuck you mean we’re replacing Robert with Chase!?”
“You want us to replace Rob-Bob!?”
Sonar was fuming and shaking, and Malevola was grasping his arm in hopes of keeping him grounded enough to not go beast mode.
Waterboy, still standing, yelled with anger and clarity at Blonde Blazer, “That’s not fair!”
Golem said, “Guys, Waterboy isn’t stuttering.”
Waterboy demanded, “Miss Blazer, they can’t fire Robert! For what!? What grounds do they have?”
She explained, “First, there was the seniority. Robert is the newest member of SDN, so he doesn’t have any. We don’t get new dispatchers very often. It usually takes a lot to force a hero into retirement. Next was the team rankings. Don’t get me wrong, you all have been doing so much better than you were. Your points have really gone up! Unfortunately, the team as a whole has mostly stayed in the bottom half of the leaderboard. Then, there are his superpowers or, well, his lack thereof.”
Prism argued, “So what if his powers aren’t that impressive! He’s still a hero.”
Waterboy’s face flushed a bright red, and Invisigal slammed her hands on the table. She stood too and said coldly, “They knew he didn’t have any powers when they hired him.”
Chase shouted, “They can’t hold that against him now!”
Flambae said, “Wait, Robert doesn’t have any superpowers?”
Blonde Blazer said, “The board didn’t believe he could effectively navigate superheroes and their powers long term since he wouldn’t have any experience in having his own. In the end, they decided that he had to be let go.”
“But- but-” Waterboy was quite literally steaming, “But he’s Mecha Man! He’s been helping the city for years! He’s risked his life as a normal human being!”
“Woah,” Punch Up breathed.
“Called it,” Prism said.
“Knew it,” Sonar ground through his teeth.
Flambae had to sit back for a moment.
Waterboy pressed on, “This time- this- this time last year. Do you know where he was? Go ahead, take a guess!”
Blazer said, “I know. He was in a coma—”
“That’s right!” he yelled, “In a coma! Me and all the other Mecha Man fans thought he was gonna die! But he didn’t! And he didn’t give up! He chose to help us!”
“I know!” she finally screamed back, “I know! I was the one who hired him! This wasn’t my decision! I begged the board to listen. They just wanted to cut him. They said they had to let him go."
Chase added, “How is he supposed to get back to being Mecha Man now? You know as well as I do that this job was the only chance he had in repairing the suit. Without this job, Royd can’t do shit.”
“I tried. I really tried,” she promised.
Chase stood. He said, “Fire me. Let Robert take my spot.”
Blonde Blazer gave him a pity smile, “That would only open the position for one of the five other dispatchers. Robert seems to be the last one they would want to hire back.”
Chase clenched his fists. Malevola said, “So, that’s it. Robert’s just… gone?”
“Yes,” Blonde Blazer said, “I’m so sorry.”
Flambae burst into flames. Sonar shifted and screeched. Waterboy projectile vomited water. Punch Up pounded the table, leaving a small crack. Prism, Phenamaman, Malevola, and Golem hung their heads. Chase mumbled something about it all being bullshit. Coupé smashed a window. Invisigal turned invisible. The door to the room slid open and slammed shut. Blonde Blazer simply stood still and let it happen as there was nothing she could do.
Meanwhile, Robert opened the door to his apartment. He gently placed the box of his belongings on the floor and closed the door behind him. He released a deep sigh and slid down the door and to the floor. Beef climbed out of the box and onto his lap. The man pet the dog with both hands. He said solemnly, “This is it, Beef. The end of the line. No more Mecha Man. No more Z Team. Just nothing.”
“What about my suit?” he had asked Ms. Vinca after the others left. She had just told them that they were all fired, “downsizing” as the company had called it. Chase was supposed to be taking his spot.
“It is currently being held as SDN property,” she responded, “You may file a discharge claim for it to Mr. Roy.”
“I suppose the deal’s off then. I’ll have to pay for repairs myself?”
“Yes, that is correct.”
“Fuck my life then.”
He wrapped his arms around Beef, and the other whined. Robert repeated into his fur, “What are we going to do? Oh, boy, what are we going to do?”