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Robert knows he’s lonely.
It’s probably why he’s out there, fighting every day with no regard for his life. It’s because he knows no one will miss him if he does end up dead. The thought of finishing the Mecha Man legacy, after having such a rough run, is pretty appealing. As long as he isn’t alive to bear the consequences, that is.
There’s the former Brave Brigade members, but they each have their own teams now. Their own family to take care of. People like Sybil, who had their own connections before the Brave Brigade, probably forgot about him by now. Last he heard, she officially retired, her daughter now carries on her legacy, going by ‘Oracle’.
Fuck, he misses Track Star.
He was the only one who kept trying to get in contact with him, but Robert couldn’t do more than leave an email that basically said ‘I am fine. Thank you.’ He regrets not reaching out when he could. But after ghosting what was essentially his older brother for a decade, Robert doesn’t know if Track Star even wants to talk with him again.
Maybe that’s why he accepted the stupid gala invite. Robert hates PR and hates even more the heroes that puff their chests and preen under the cameras. They’re letting anyone be a hero nowadays. Put on a spandex suit and a cape, and voila, you’ve got yourself the trendiest hero in all of California. Robert doubts any of these people even fought before.
The gala is probably the last one he’ll ever attend. So many people approach him, trying to spark up conversations that end up with a selfie. Or, god forbid, a contract. Robert may be broke, but he will never sell himself to some billionaire as a ‘body guard’ or ‘face of corporation’.
They let him take leftovers, so that was nice.
He didn’t go with the suit, obviously. It’d be too big and just cause chaos, and Robert doesn’t know if he’ll be able to control himself if one of the guests ‘try it out for themselves’. It’s happened before. And will never happen again, that’s for sure.
So Robert is walking back to his apartment, a food container tucked under his arm, as he curses himself out for not bringing a jacket. He’s passing through what might be the sketchiest alley of Los Angeles. Ripped posters, crammed pathway. He’ll be shocked if he isn’t getting mugged by the end of this walk.
That’s what he’s expecting when he hears shuffling behind him. Robert sighs, rolls his shoulders, and turns around to face whoever is behind him. He’s hoping that the person will see the mask and get scared off, and not take it as a challenge to try and beat the shit out of him.
The noise continues, but when Robert turns around there’s no shadow enveloping his vision. In fact, there’s no one in this alleyway at all. The sound of something ripping follows, and Robert snaps his head in the direction of its origin. Behind a dumpster, there’s something moving. Curiosity peaked, Robert silently makes his way there. He is hunching slightly, trying to see what was causing the noise without scaring it off. It was probably a raccoon, they tend to get pretty nasty around these parts. Or maybe a rat? But it would’ve scurried off by now.
He sees that a bag is moving on its own accord. Crouching down, Robert carefully touches it. The movements seize immediately. The top of the bag is tied neatly. It’s only then that Robert realises the movement isn’t coming from outside the bag, but inside.
Immediately placing down the container, Robert fumbles with the knot before giving up and just ripping the whole thing in one go. It’s still dark, the only thing that emits some sort of light is the street lamp that doesn’t even reach the entire alley. And the parts it does reach are shadowed at best.
He doesn’t really understand what he’s seeing until the small animal sniffs at his fingers. Its’ whole body is shaking, head bigger than its entire skinny back. Robert hesitantly pets it. The small thing is a dog, and it immediately leans in Robert’s touch. It starts making some sort of whining noises as it tries and fails to leave its plastic cage.
“Hey buddy.” Robert coos, ”Who the hell put you in here?”
Robert picks it up easily, placing it in his lap as he caresses it with his palm. Its movements are sluggish, and it immediately closes its eyes when it lays its head on Robert’s thigh. For a single second, he thinks the dog just died. But the pup makes some sort of noise and Robert immediately goes into motion. He’ll take it to a shelter in the morning, but he needs to keep it safe until then.
Finally arriving at home feels like a victory. Robert glances around his apartment, trying to see what he could use to bring some life into this puppy. He takes a bowl from his cupboard and fills it with water, putting it down on the floor, he places the animal next to it. Hoping it would drink its fill.
The dog just lies there, it doesn’t seem like it notices the water in front of it. Robert finds himself at a loss. If this puppy died on his watch, Robert would not take it very well. So, he puts the dog back in his lap, and dips just one finger in the bowl, bringing it to the dog’s snout. It sniffs something and licks his finger, suddenly animated as it tries to get as much water as possible. Robert does the same thing a few more times until he guides the pup to the bowl and it drinks on his own.
“Yeah, I bet you’re thirsty.” Robert drags a hand down the dog’s back. “How long were you in that thing anyway?”
The dog obviously doesn’t respond. It takes a few more gulps– or licks? – of water and looks up at Robert again. Which makes him pause, does he have anything he could feed to a puppy?
The dog answers his unspoken question by sniffing around a bit before it goes straight to the container Robert didn’t bother to place in the fridge. Its small tail is wagging fast as it tries to open the plastic box on its own.
“You probably smell something really good in there.” He genuinely forgot what he even packed, but he picks it up and opens it. Inside there’s a few cuts of steak. Along with some roasted potatoes and tomatoes. That’s… probably safe for a dog to eat, right? Dogs love meat. He doesn’t know about potatoes though...
Robert places the opened container back on the ground, he doubts he’s going to eat it anyway. And watches as the puppy throws itself at it and immediately starts chewing. A quick glance down reveals that the pup is actually a boy. Or… male. Whatever.
“You like it?” Robert asks his most obvious question in a while. But the dog actually yips before it goes right back to eating. He doesn’t even realise he’s smiling until he catches his reflection in the glass of the oven. Which he also forgot he had. This kitchen really needs to be used once in a while…
While Robert adhocs what he needs to do for a dog, the animal in question finishes eating in record time. And when he glances down, he realises it ate everything. Potatoes and all. It– or, he– sits down and looks at Robert with – you guessed it– puppy eyes.
“You want more?” Robert chuckles. The dog’s tail is wagging so fast he’s surprised it didn’t take off. “I’ll take that as a yes.”
His fridge is barren. Logically, he knows the puppy doesn’t know this. But Robert is still embarrassed. “Uh… We have eggs.” He looks at the puppy. It doesn’t show any reaction to that. “We also have…” A quick glance, “Carrots?” The pup still doesn’t do anything.
Now Robert is actually digging around, what he has is mostly some beer and old vegetables. There’s microwaveable meals in the refrigerator. But he doubts the dog would like frozen pizza. But before he can actually consider going to the store at 2am to buy kibble, he catches a glimpse of something.
“There’s beef jerky.” It’s stale and old as fuck. But maybe the dog doesn’t care. Robert brings it out and shows it off, the packet is ripped in the middle and there’s a few pitiful slices barely holding on from falling to the ground. But the dog goes wild, it starts barking and does a few spins as it watches Robert place the packet on the counter.
“Yeah? You want beef?” A bark. “You want beef?” He asks again in a baby voice. The dog barks again and scratches at Robert’s socks. “Yeah you do. Catch!” And throws a piece on the floor. The puppy doesn’t catch it, but it immediately swallows it down. When Robert throws a bigger one, it starts chewing on it and growls playfully. At least, Robert hopes it’s playful.
Once that packet is finished, Robert decides that maybe the animal has had enough to eat. And also, he really wants to piss, so he pats the dog one more time before walking to the bathroom.
The door is closed for ten seconds max before the dog begins whining. Robert fumbles with his pants and rushes to wash his hands before the puppy wakes his neighbours up. When the noises reach a new octave, Robert throws the door open and the small puppy squeezes through before it is even opened fully. So now the two of them are just standing in the tight little bathroom together. No goal in sight.
“I don’t know why you even came in here.” Robert admits, watching as the dog keeps sniffing around. It’s under the bright light that he finally notices the little dark stains the animal has on his fur. “I mean… Unless you want a bath?”
Unsurprisingly, it is kind of awkward showering together with a pet. Robert just turns the faucet and lets water flow out of the showerhead. Leaning his entire weight against the tiles while the dog keeps biting the water. He washes his hair while thinking of dog names. Since there’s no way he’s putting this dog into a shelter now. He’s attached now. Sue him.
“Oreo?” He sounds it out. The dog sneezes. “Yeah I don’t really like it either.” Maybe something less generic. “Raphael? Hm, a bit long.” And a bit too human like for his taste. He thinks it over as he washes out the shampoo in his hair.
“No offense, but you seem like a simple guy. You should have a simple name to suit you.” He informs the dog as he crouches down and tries his best to get the dirt out of his fur without any soap. Should he buy dog friendly shampoo?
“Okay how about I say a bunch of names and you tell me which one you like best?” The dog starts licking the drain. “Great. So, Max, Scout, Cooper uhh… Rex, Jack, Jake.” The dog shows no reaction. “Coco, Oreo, wait fuck I already said we’re not naming you that. How about we just name you after food?”
The dog starts shaking even though it is still actively getting drenched. “Okay, Cupcake, Cobbler, Nugget, Beef–” The dog immediately perks up at that, tongue lolled out as he starts sniffing. “No I meant as in name not as in I have beef with me right now–”
The dog is only getting more active whenever he hears that word. Robert just sighs, “Okay then, let’s go with Beef.” Beef starts biting his ankles, “Ow! I told you I don’t have any–!”
Coming home to a dog is surprisingly nice. Robert hadn’t even realised what he was missing out on when he didn’t have Beef with him. He comes home at abysmal times in the night, but Beef is always up to greet him. There have only been a few months with the dog, but Robert has already developed some sort of routine.
In the morning, they go on a jog. Well, Robert jogs while Beef tries his best to follow. That is if the pup doesn’t get distracted midway by something and then Robert is forced to retrace his steps to make sure the dog didn’t wander too far off. In the afternoon, he plans out his schedule for the night, and if there are any immediate emergencies he gets into the suit right away. But on normal days, he just sits with his laptop on his lap and Beef sleeping on his side.
In the evening, Robert walks Beef one last time before he gets into the Mecha Suit. Making sure to leave a bit more food in case he comes back late and off he goes. If the night is going well, he would be back at around three in the morning, with Beef dead to the world in a crook on Robert’s bed.
But, on nights like these ones, Robert can expect to not get home until dawn.
The villain of the week is causing chaos. Powers that have something to do with seismic power. And that leads to a bunch of earthquakes and crumbling buildings. Thankfully, there have been no casualties. But that is only due to his and the other heroes’ efforts. He is shielding a family from any falling debris and carefully leads them to the safe zones. The little kid in his mother’s arms looks up and waves as Mecha Man takes a few steps away to launch himself up again. But he makes sure to wave back. It’s a small gesture, but the kid has the biggest smile on his face.
Mecha Man makes his way back to the ruins. He’s on civilian duty tonight, while some other heroes are going offensive and fighting the villain. Mecha Man is pretty sure he’s called Doctor Magma or something like that. What kind of shitty– Okay that doesn’t matter. What matters is that he is currently using infra red vision to make sure he didn’t miss anyone.
“This section is clear.” A hero calls out from his right. Mecha Man turns the camera, and the head, to look at them. A green skinned and buff woman walks over. “We’re thinking of moving closer to the main action, in case there are any other citizens that haven’t managed to evacuate yet.”
Mecha Man thinks it over, “You’re right. Let’s go.” He moves to take off before he pauses. Seeing no vehicle or flying hero in sight. “Do you want me to carry you?”
The hero blinks at him, and Robert cringes. “I mean… If you don’t mind.” The hero shrugs.
Mecha Man kneels and opens his palms, the green woman looks at them cautiously before jumping on them. Flying right now would be risky, with a passenger as well as with everything going on in the air right now. Mecha Man saw about three different heroes getting thrown around up there. He doesn’t want to risk colliding with them.
So, setting the suit to Turbo mode, Mecha Man immediately starts sprinting. The woman yelps, but holds on. While the suit is on Auto, Robert keeps checking the cameras to make sure he isn’t missing or accidentally stepping on someone.
There’s silence for a bit, only the sound of metal thudding against concrete as they make their way over. But the hero in his hands clears her throat. “Uh. I’m Brickhouse.”
“Nice to meet you, Brickhouse. I’m Mecha Man.”
Brickhouse chuckles awkwardly, “Everyone knows who you are. I just– Well, it’s a real honour to work with you.”
Robert checks the map, two minutes until they reach the location. “Have you been a hero for long?”
“I mean, not really? I’ve been helping around ever since I’ve got my powers. But I only got my license a year ago.” Brickhouse shifts slightly.
“It’s always good to have more people on deck.” Mecha Man says, “You join any group yet?”
Brickhouse shrugs. “I did join SDN, and they’ve put me with this up and coming team they’ve been cooking up.”
“Are any of them here right now?” Robert wants to familiarise himself with the local hero scene more. With all the older ones retired, a new wave of heroes have come. From what he’s seen, they’ve been pretty good.
“Some of them. There’s this new guy, calls himself Phenomaman. He’s an alien from another planet.” Brickhouse shares. “He’s crazy strong, but…”
Ah, socially awkward aliens from another planet. Robert knows the type. “He’s weird?”
Brickhouse snorts, “Hey, you said it not me.”
An explosion interrupts their talk, and suddenly, there’s a guy in a cape who is thrown right into Mecha Man’s face. Or, what counts as a face on the suit. Mecha Man immediately spreads out his palms so that he can catch the hero.
The hero just drops in his palms, seemingly ragdolling. Mecha Man is actually worried for a minute before Brickhouse speaks up: “Hey, Phenomaman.”
Ah, that’s the alien.
Phenomaman immediately perks up, looking up at Brickhouse. “It is you! My fellow team mate! I was just talking to Bookbrain about locating you!”
“Her name’s Brainbook, not Bookbrain.” Brickhouse sighs.
Both names suck. Mecha Man doesn’t say.
“You’re Phenomaman, right? Nice to meet you.” Mecha Man greets. Phenomaman looks up at him in wonder.
“Fascinating. Are your family also of similar build?”
Is he… implying that Mecha Man is the Suit? And that he thinks Mecha Man is a robot who… Was born to robots?
“No, I’m actually just human.” Robert responds after a full ten seconds.
Phenomaman only seems more confused. But that’s when Brickhouse steps in. “The robot you’re seeing right now is just a suit. The guy who controls it is inside it.”
“I see now.” Phenomaman nods curtly.
‘Do you?’ Mecha Man also doesn’t say.
Thankfully, they’ve arrived. And Mecha Man finally sees who they’re dealing with. Well, not really, there’s a bunch of motion and people getting thrown around in the air. But he can kind of see a middle aged man wearing a lab coat, throwing a bunch of stones. So that should be Doctor Magma.
Brickhouse presses a hand to her ear and speaks softly, before she turns around and looks at the two of them. “Me and Mecha Man will be damage control, Phenomaman, you go and subdue Doctor Magma. Without destroying anything in the process, got it?”
“I understand.” Phenomaman narrows his eyes and stands up straight, puffing his chest and looking like he’s ready for flight.
“Do you want me to throw you so you can reach him faster?” Mecha Man offers, he knows from experience that throwing flying heroes around is actually very practical. Despite how weird it looks.
“You can do that?” Phenomaman seems more curious than anything else. Mecha Man shrugs, but there’s no movement for that in the suit. So, he places Brickhouse on the ground, takes one small step back, and launches Phenomaman in the air like he’s a baseball.
…And Phenomaman promptly aims straight for Doctor Magma, and like an actual baseball, makes the Doctor double over and fall straight down.
“That’s a strike.” Brickhouse says. And Mecha Man is actually surprised to hear himself laugh at that.
After that, Doctor Magma is immediately subdued and taken into custody. Other people show up for clean up, and Mecha Man talks with the responders at the scene to give a brief report of what happened.
While doing that, Phenomaman slowly descends down. He is looking up at Mecha Man and smiling. Seeing that, Mecha Man pauses and turns to see what the alien wants.
“That was a very good throw you made. I have now experienced what the average human sport ball feels on a daily basis.” Phenomaman dusts himself off and beams at Robert.
“Well, I hope that’s a good thing.”
“A very good thing. Thank you.”
Robert glances at the time and silently curses, it’s almost 5am. Beef usually gets up at 7, he needs to get back immediately if he doesn’t want Beef to wake up alone.
“I need to go. But it was very nice meeting you, Phenomaman.” Robert extends a hand. “Nice work out there.”
It seems Phenomaman is familiar with the concept of a ‘high five’ as he smiles again and hits the suit’s robotic palm. It’s all very wholesome, except for the fact that Robert just heard something break. Slowly, he lifts the hand up to his visor and notices the hand shaped dent in it.
“Oh.” Phenomaman looks at the dented palm and then at Mecha Man again, a guilty shine in his eyes that is not quite unsimilar to Beef’s own stare when he breaks something. Phenomaman actually frowns and hunches slightly. “I… Deeply apologize. I still haven’t learnt to control my strength yet.”
“It’s fine.” Robert would worry about that later, now he needs to get back home to his dog before it dies of loneliness. That can happen. He read that somewhere on the internet. “Well. Regardless. I’ll see you later, take care everyone!” He calls out to everyone in the vicinity. Which are mostly firefighters and heroes, they all yell something back and then Mecha Man is gone.
When he gets back home, the first thing he does is throw himself on his bed. His sleep lasts a good five minutes before Beef is sniffing his face and then promptly sitting on it.He gets a mouthful of fur, but as Beef settles down on his neck, Robert relaxes for the first time that night.