Work Text:
Blazer gives them the day off after they beat the shit out of Shroud and his Red Ring goons. The notice comes from her work email, sent mere minutes after they finish taking a celebratory group photo:
From: [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Sent at 4:43am
Subject: Great work team!!
Message:Hi everyone,
You did amazing! Take the day off tomorrow, and let med bay know if you need anything. I'm happy to say that everyone’s getting a bonus at the end of the quarter.
Also, I’ve asked HQ about funding a pizza party on Monday, more details TBA :)Best,
Blonde Blazer
Branch Manager | Torrance SDNCONFIDENTIALITY WARNING:
This e-mail, including any attachments, may contain confidential information and is intended only for the person(s) named above. Any other distribution, copying, or disclosure is strictly prohibited. If you have received this email in error, please notify the sender immediately and delete all copies, including any attachments, without reading or making a copy.
“Ms. Blazer, there’s no way you just emailed us from your corporate account after the night we had," Prism says. "And we’re right here next to you.”
“I just need it in writing so I can forward it to HR. Tracking hours and payroll and all that.”
“Thanks for the bonus, but we’re definitely past an office email chain now. I’m adding y’all to a group chat.”
Robert listens to the discussion absentmindedly as he dusts himself off after being thrown around (and unceremoniously dropped on his ass) by the team. A moment later, he feels his phone buzz in his pocket.
You’ve been added to a new group chat: Z TEAM FUCK YEAH BITCHES!!!
Prism: send us those pics @Blonde Blazer, im tryna change the gc photo
Phenomaman: How did you acquire our mobile phone numbers, Hero Prism?
Prism: hero prism? lol i could get used to that big p
Prism: and dwbi, a girl’s got her ways ;)
Prism set Phenomaman’s nickname to BIG P
BIG P: What is “dwbi”?
Robert huffs a soft snort through his nose and tucks his phone back into his pocket. He wraps an arm around Mandy (garnering a few eyebrow waggles), and after a few more minutes of talking to his team, bids them farewell. He was going to take a hot shower, give his girlfriend the make out session of her life, and then pass out for as many hours as his body would allow. In that order.
Unsurprisingly, they eventually end up at Mandy’s place because she actually owns a bed. (And furniture in general.)
When they’re both clean, cozy, and kissed out, Mandy falls asleep curled up against Robert’s side. He watches her peaceful expression with a wave of affection. It's almost like her serenity bleeds into him where they're pressed together, as his eyelids get heavy and his breathing slows down.
Before turning out the lights, he sees a thread of notifications on his phone that he had missed while in the shower.
Invisigal set their nickname and 11 other nicknames
best zteamer: since noone else said annythinf i get dibs on choosing the names :p
best zteamer: im a lil durnk tho ngl
brunette blazer sent 2 attachments: IMG_6332.jpeg, IMG…
batboy: some of these names are diabolical bro
horny: lol nice
horny: also cute pics. send us ones of robert naked next.
chopped unc: Yall know I’m actually 39 right?
geodude: using punctuation does not help ur case unc
fist bump conoisseur: heyy these names are sick, thx visi :)
butterknife bitch: That’s not even how you spell connoisseur.
butterknife bitch: Also, I strongly recommend that you redo my nickname, for your own good.
nicki mirage: me too bitch wtf
nicki mirage changed the group icon
chopped unc: WTF Coup’s punctuation is more proper than mine! Jump on that shit!
clean up crew: could i also get a new one maybe?
clean up crew: bc im not a janitor anymore
clean up crew: im pretty sure
nutcracker: what’s roberts?
nutcracker: @dad bod the third
nutcracker: LMFAO good one lass
brunette blazer: Can confirm… that the bod is not so dad
geodude: no way u just said that
nicki mirage: ok???? go white boy go
batboy: SHEESH BLAZER KEEP IT IN UR CAPE
best zteamer: damnnnn giirl u gotta ne more drunk than me or smth
chopped unc: I pray HR does not find this fuckass group chat.
fist bump conoisseur: we well past that bruh
BIG P: What is the meaning of “chopped unc”?
Robert promptly puts his phone face-down on the nightstand.
The next morning (or rather, later that same morning), Robert’s internal clock wakes him up at 7:30 a.m. even though there is no reason to be conscious. His body aches all over from the night before — in a we-almost-all-died-fighting-a-megavillain way, not a sexy way — but he basks in the glow of having earned a hard victory with his team and the feeling of soft sheets underneath him.
Wait… he’s in a bed…?
Robert’s eyes snap open to see an unfamiliar room. The walls were a warm coral colour, made warmer still by the sunrise streaming through the sheer curtains.
Momentary disorientation hits the panic button in him before everything from the night before rushes back.
He turns to his left and Mandy is gone, but there is a slight dip in the mattress where he remembers she was. He pats it as if to check that the bed under him is real. The dip is still warm.
She’s warm, his mind supplies. And soft. And she smells nice. And she tastes like-
“Robert?”
Mandy appears, leaning casually against the doorframe of her bedroom. Her dark hair is loose around her shoulders and she’s holding a mug of what smells like fresh coffee. She has on fuzzy cat slippers.
“You’re up early for someone who went to bed two hours ago,” he says, voice rumbly with the remnants of sleep.
She shrugs. “Force of habit. You too?”
He nods through a yawn and swings his legs off the edge of the bed, standing up to stretch his sides. His joints groan in protest.
“It’s been a while since I’ve woken up in a bed.”
“Yeah... You need to buy a new mattress. Sleeping in a lawn chair is insane.”
“So I've been told. I’ll get around to it.”
“Where else am I gonna sleep when I come over?”
She smirks up at him as he walks closer to give her a peck on the cheek.
“Wash up, Mecha Man. I’m making pancakes.”
It turns out that even on a day off, Robert is still a workaholic.
Mandy had to go into the office anyway to fulfill her role as the Torrance branch manager, a pile of paperwork and fires to put out no doubt already waiting for her, given the mass destruction that happened hours before. Robert figured he’d tag along to help clean up the aftermath of the battle.
To his surprise, the entirety of the Z-Team eventually files in too, each member in a varying state of physical exhaustion.
“Couldn’t stay home knowing my workshop was a mess, bruddah,” Royd says. “Didn’t want no one else tryna to clean it up and putting everything back wrong”.
Royd is soon called away to help lift fallen structural beams around the building, along with Phenomaman and Golem.
“Honestly, hanging out with you losers is what I’d do on a day off anyway,” Visi says.
“Awww, you do love us,” Punch Up teases, Coup following closely behind him as the growing group gravitates toward Robert’s cubicle. Robert is in the middle of brushing pieces of rubble off his desk when an provocative wolf-whistle signals Sonar's approach.
“Heard you and Blazer had some fun last night. Good man.”
Malevola shoots him a wink.
“Hey, mind out of the gutter. Nothing explicit happened. Also please never talk to me about this subject ever again.”
Chase peeks his head over the cubicle divider, where he was also putting his desk back together moments before.
“Yeah, sure. That's why you two lovebirds walked in here smiling like idiots. Remember to use protection, kid-”
It’s Waterboy who saves Robert from the increasingly awkward group conversation and impending headache. Graciously, he vomits more violently than he ever has before, intent on powerhosing some nearby debris with nothing but the strength of his lower abdominal muscles.
“That’s gross.”
“At least he’s doing something to help, Flambae. Maybe you wanna try it sometime?”
“Roberto Robertoson!”
Prism breezes through the door, glammed up and energetic as always, in contrast to the rest of the somewhat disheveled team. “You have Insta? Add me, honey, I've got hella reels to send you.”
“Instagram? You know I’m not on social media, Prism. That stuff will rot your brain.”
“Damn, that’s some Chase-level unc talk-”
“Fuck off!”
“-but I have a feeling you’ll want to see this.”
Prism comes closer with her phone out and the team circles her. She plays a video, which turns out to be shaky footage of the mech suit being moved off of the SDN office roof before first responders and field reporters got to the scene. Robert wasn’t yet sure how — or if — to tell the public about having the astral pulse again and SDN’s involvement in putting the suit back together. Thus, in the immediate chaos following Shroud’s defeat, the suit was moved back to Royd’s workshop in an effort to delay a hard decision. They didn’t think any civilians were close enough at that point to see anything.
The video is so zoomed-in that the quality is grainy, but the stylistic M emblazoned across the suit’s chest is unmistakable. A text caption comes up, narrated by an AI-generated voice:
“Is Mecha Man back and working with SDN?”
All eyes turn to Robert.
“Shit.”
In the span of an hour, every major news channel in California is reporting on the low-quality clip of the mech suit. According to Prism, tags like #MechaManReturns, #WeAreSoBack, and #GOMMBLUE were trending in the US, along with sizeable traction in Japan, of all places ("Okay, I see you, Mr.Worldwide!"). Other employees around the bullpen were excitedly chattering about the news, trying to figure out where the suit could be hidden and whether anyone has seen its pilot around the office.
Channel 7 got a statement from the person who posted the initial clip online in record time.
The bullpen TV screen showed an overly enthusiastic kid being interviewed on his high school schoolyard.
“I was in the McDonald’s when shit hit the fan — uh, sorry for swearing — and someone was getting us all to evacuate. I couldn’t really see in all the chaos, I just knew it was a flying hero ushering us out. I was running for my freaking life and just happened to look in that direction-”
Other kids in the vicinity were running around in the background, trying to squeeze in frame and get on TV. Some made lewd gestures that the reporter tried to block from the camera’s view with the papers in their hands.
“-and it looked so epic! Like the fire everywhere, Mecha Man standing there, the eyes glowing and everything! I saw them trying to move the suit and I had to get the vid. I thought he was dead! We all did! But I’m so glad he’s back, dude is a legend. Been a huge fan since I was a kid. I'm gonna get a tattoo when I turn eighteen! Go Mecha Man!"
The kid grabs the news station camera and shoves his face close to the lens, breath fogging up the glass. "We love you bro! Fuck Shroud! WOOOOOO!”
The camera wobbles and hastily veers away from him.
Cheering came from the other kids and someone in the background yells, “LET’S FUCKING GOOO-” before the anchor hurriedly says, “Back to you in the studio, James!”
Dumbfounded (and more than a bit gratified on Robert's part), the Z-Team stares up at the screen for a few seconds before Mandy appears and breaks the trance.
“Robert.”
He turns around to face her, momentarily taken aback by her new appearance in the office setting. Even without her supersuit, she looked confident and in-charge.
He resists the urge to kiss her in front of the whole bullpen.
“Do you want the public to know? I mean, you haven’t decided yet, right? And I bet the suit could use a couple more repairs first… We can definitely delay a definitive statement for a bit longer, but we just need to know how you want this to play out.”
“Wait, decide what?” Malevola demands. “You’re gonna go back to being Mecha Man?”
“We know you’ve got the astral pulse back, lad, but are you still going to be part of SDN?”
“Are they assigning Mecha Man to the Z-Team? That would fucking rule-”
“Nah, they’d for sure want a high-profile hero like Mecha Man at the downtown branch. Maybe take Big P back too, now that he’s functional again.”
“Good fucking riddance, honestly-”
“Shut the fuck up, Flambae-”
“Wait.” Visi gets up in Robert’s personal space. “You’re not going to be our dispatcher anymore?”
He takes a step back. The team looks at him, expectant.
Robert is at a loss for words. He hadn't thought this far ahead. He knew that the itch to jump back into the field would eat at him if he chose otherwise. He knew he didn’t want to sit on the sidelines. Shroud was in jail again now and the Red Ring was dismantled, but there was still the matter of the Mecha Man legacy — the work he spent a lifetime learning to be great at. He swore to his father that he’d protect the people of LA for as long as he possibly could.
“Robert can be an SDN hero. We’ll lobby the fuck outta having him on the Z-Team. Chase can be our primary dispatcher-”
“Chase is Starblazer now, he’s not gonna give it up-”
“It’s not even my choice, dumbasses. The amulet’s Blazer’s.”
Mandy’s eyes widen as it was her turn to be under group scrutiny, her hands coming up defensively against the onslaught.
“Whoa, there. I haven’t thought about it all the way through either. There’s a lot to figure out in the coming weeks. But for now, we need address this fast, Robert, one way or another. Before the story spins out of our control.”
Robert looks around his team. Their faces are tired but filled with determination.
He missed being Mecha Man like missing his own arm, but he also found training and mentoring heroes unexpectedly rewarding. For better or worse, things couldn’t go back to being exactly like they were before.
He thinks about the stupid number of lamps sitting around his apartment. He looks at the sparse but meaningful (and partially destroyed) decor he’d put up around his desk. He looks across the bullpen, drinking in the sight that had become his new normal. The sound of rustling papers and phones ringing, the faint smell of mediocre coffee and cleaning supplies — they wrapped around him like a blanket.
He catches Galen’s eye, who waves with his signature friendly nonchalance.
He can’t leave. Not now.
He’s not giving up on the Robertson legacy, and he’s not giving up on his new family either.
You make your own destiny.
Robert turns to Mandy.
“Tell them the rumours are right, that it was Mecha Man-”
A few faces drop, a few faces look hurt, someone sucks in a sharp breath.
“-and tell the higher-ups I want a chat. I think we need to discuss my part-time schedule.”
A pause to process.
Mandy’s face breaks into a blinding beam and his team starts whooping and cheering around him. Nearby officefolk going about their regular business turn to look at the commotion, but they had long grown used to unusual behaviour from the Z-Team.
Chase barely gets to plant a pat on his arm before they’re both dogpiled by an avalanche of heroes. Robert can only thank his lucky stars that Golem wasn’t here to make it literal.
Buried under his team, he can't help but laugh.
The statement hits the Internet like a nuclear bomb — it’s official: Mecha Man is back.
Robert has always stayed off of social media to the best of his ability, but being Prism’s friend means that one does not simply turn a blind eye to what’s trending.
The Z-Team group chat goes crazy throughout the day, people sending clips of Blonde Blazer’s interview (the amulet back around her neck for the purposes of this public appearance) stating that yes, SDN is working with Mecha Man, and yes, they are figuring out the exact arrangement, and yes, the pilot inside was in good hands.
Sonar kept sending fan-made memes he found on Reddit and plugging his own YouTube channel with a brand-new video titled The Mecha Man Situation is Crazy. He wouldn’t shut up about his subscriber count skyrocketing.
Malevola pointed out a Twitter account called @MechaManUpdatesOFFICIAL that was posting nearly once a minute, the contents of each tweet getting less update-y and more rabid fanboy-y at an alarming rate.
horny: damn, the internet really loves you robert
batboy: holy shit bobert, didn’t know your fanbase was this nuts
batboy: even vanderstenk cant pull these numbers
nicki mirage: no wonder ur off social media
nick mirage: there are some thirsty ass bitches out there
nicki mirage sent a link: tiktok.com/@mechamansbbg/video/42345344...
on fuego: I really did not need to see that
best zteamer: u prolly made that edit stfu
clean up crew: wow robert, you're flexible!nicki mirage sent a link: tiktok.com/@mechadaddy/video/09234851...
geodude: where do ppl even get this footage
butterknife bitch: I was not aware you had freckles before I watched this.
batboy: @dad bod the third yo can u send me a pic of ur abs rq? got a lot of ppl who would pay good $$$ for it
best zteamer: make sure u get all those sexy scars in the picfist bump conoisseur shared an embedded link: YouTube | Top 10 Badass Mecha Man Moments (2020-2025)
fist bump conoisseur: danggg bruh thats some slick flying
fist bump conoisseur: you play flight simulator or smth?
fist bump conoisseur: and i didn't know you could move like that outside the suit too
on fuego: yeah right
on fuego: i saved his weak ass from dying on the bench, i know robbo doesn't pack a punch
best zteamer: maybe watch the vid b4 u clown him dumbass
best zteamer:#9 is a clip of how u lost that tooth LMFAO
on fuego: WTF THAT'S ON THE INTERNET????????????
BIG P: Friend Robert,
A colleague has asked if you are able to come to his sister’s step-daughter’s friend’s birthday party. He said that they are a family of Mecha Man fanatics. He also says he can repay you for your time and made sure that I would relay there was a wink performed at the end of that statement. Please let me know. KYS.
- Phenomaman
nicki mirage: u dont gotta sign off on a text, big p
horny: also don’t tell the resident sad boi to kill himself???
BIG P: Noted. Thank you for the feedback, @nicki mirage.
BIG P: @horny At no point did I suggest suicide. I am confused.
chopped unc: KYS = Kill yourself, genius.
BIG P: I see. Apologies. I simply meant “keep yourself safe”. Friend Flambae often texts me this. :-)
BIG P: @dad bod the third Please do not kill yourself.
Big P: :-)
on fuego: @BIG P kys
“Robert? Can I see you in my office for a sec?”
Robert looks up from his phone as Mandy’s voice calls out from the other end of the office. He sees her door left open in invitation and gets up to accept the summons, closing the door behind him.
“Hey, Blonde Blazer,” he grins, noting her still-golden hair. “Long time no see. How are you?”
“Good,” she smiles back. “Anyone sweep you off your feet while I was gone?”
“About that… I met this incredible girl, shared a crazy-good kiss with her on the hood of a car, and I may have spent the night at her place… Sorry to break your heart like this. I just have a weak spot for brunettes.”
Blazer gets up from her desk and moves around it languidly to stand in front of him. She puts her arms around his neck, pulling him into a kiss. “Hmm… maybe I can learn to share with this mysterious brunette girl…”
Robert melts into the kiss, the newness of whatever they were doing making his head spin. He spares a thought to wonder if her door locks on its own as his hands instinctively move to hold her hips. He gently pushes Blazer back against the edge of her desk, leaning closer.
A moment later, she pulls away, cheeks flushed.
“As much as I’d like to carry on with this illicit workplace kiss, Robert, I actually called you in here because the public is demanding a Mecha Man press conference.”
He drops his hands, resigned, and plops down on the chair behind him.
“I don’t know if you remember, but the last one I did went pretty bad. Beat a guy up on live TV, and the only reason he didn’t sue me to hell and back was because he knew I was broke.”
“Hey, I remember that press conference ending in the room cheering you on," she tries.
He gives her an unimpressed look.
“I think you should consider just getting it over with. You know how the public is; they’ll only escalate things if they don’t hear from you directly. And everyone loves a superhero come-back story.”
He looks down at his shoes, not trusting his expression to hide the weird and intense feeling roiling in his chest.
Was he ready to go into the world as Mecha Man again? Was he ready to put the uniform back on? To show his face after such a public letdown?
Blazer leans forward to take one of his hands in hers.
“Robert. It’ll be okay. You’ll have me, and Chase, and the rest of the team. If this is what you want to do, then we will support it one hundred percent and SDN will back us up. There’s nothing to worry about.”
He smiles tentatively as he looks up at her. It makes him feel a tiny bit braver.
"Yeah. Okay."
Two days later, Robert glares into his bathroom mirror as he fusses over how the Mecha Man uniform looks on him. He’s got the full get-up today, dark blue skin-tight zip-up freshly pressed, sitting under the white armour shell that made him look wider in stature.
Royd had redesigned that too, updating the dimensions when Robert started going to gym again and adding a tiny “Z” etched into the collar.
(“Just so you don’t forget you have a team with you now, eh?” he had winked.)
The uniform always made him feel put-together and prepared to face peril, his identity and purpose crystal clear. When he was younger, the uniform had been a shield against the world — something to don and disappear behind, trading Robert for Mecha Man and all the heroic fearlessness that came along with it. Being "just Robert" at SDN had been the longest stretch of time he was out of the suit for ever since taking up the mantle fifteen years ago. He was just now getting good at being Robert again.
Nowadays, he felt out of practice being Mecha Man instead. In a few short months, the rhythm he had spent a lifetime building fell away and left him stumbling. Robert knew he could still pilot the suit with his eyes closed, that his reaction time was as sharp as ever, and that being Mecha Man was literally in his blood. But looking at his reflection over the sink, it felt like not all of him could fit into the uniform anymore. A new part of him had come to be, simultaneously existing outside of the suit's cockpit and away from his dispatcher's headset. Robert wasn't sure what to make of that yet.
Frustration bubbled in his chest at the uncomfortable ambiguity and his inability to resolve it.
His gaze fell to his hands, the last missing piece of the uniform being the gloves. Once he put them on, he would be sealed in. He would be Mecha Man again, fully and truly.
A buzz from his phone cuts through this noise in his head.
on fuego: u gonna be ready in time mecha dick?
best zteamer: yea, we’re almost there already
dad bod the third: Be there in 10.
chopped unc: Robert texts like an old person too, hello??
horny: yeah and his name is dad bod, unc
He leaves the group chat to their bantering and blasts off toward the press conference in autopilot mode, barely registering what he was doing on the control panel through the anxious thoughts.
Pausing just before touchdown, Robert takes in the sea of people gathered below, their heads the size of ants at this altitude. With a steadying breath, he descends.
The suit was freshly polished to a blinding shine, prepped to dazzle the press once he parked it outside the venue. He steps out and is instantly bombarded by reporters, all eager to get the first look at the newly-revived Mecha Man up close. Robert always hated the notoriety that came with being a legacy superhero. He just wasn't built for this aspect of it.
Just as Robert started to worry that the many hands reaching toward him would tear his uniform off before he could make his public statement, Blazer — her timing always perfect — floats over the masses. The golden glow around her distracts the crowd as she ushers him toward a heavily-guarded side entrance.
“Sorry, everyone. You’ll see him soon enough!”
They shuffle out of sight, bodyguards staring down anyone who made a move to follow. Robert waves somewhat apologetically as he’s herded away.
“Feeling okay?” Blazer asks once they're clear of the chaos.
“I feel... silly, to be honest. Like I was born for one job and I've forgotten how to do it.”
Blazer hears his tone, hears the impending spiral, and knows that he needs levity in this moment.
“Well, you look great. I get what all those fans online are on about,” she says, giving him an appreciative up-down.
“You look... Really heroic. Strong. Manly. A protector. A beacon of li-”
“Okay, okay,” he laughs, “I get it. Thank you.”
"Come on, there are important people waiting for you."
Backstage, Robert finds the entirety of the Z-Team roster sitting around and looking bored out of their minds.
“Sorry I’m late. For my own press conference...” he trails off.
Waterboy looks up first. He’s wearing the black tie Robert had tied for him on the day they first met.
“Rob-Mecha Man! Wow, hi! You- you’re gonna- it will be great! Break a- an arm- leg. Break a leg!”
It suddenly registers to Robert that everyone is dressed up, wearing something more formal than usual.
Flambae has on a maroon suit, the dress shirt underneath unbuttoned just as far down as his usual supersuit. “Try not to fuck up, Mecha Bitch.”
Visi’s wearing a smart black button-down with a purple pencil skirt, though she looks like she didn’t want to be. “I put on these stupid business clothes so Blazer would get off my case. You better make it worth it, dad bod.”
“Maybe you should wear these all the time. Might make you more professional on the job.”
She flips him off, but her expression softens a moment later. “Go get 'em, Robert.”
One by one, his teammates come to hype him up, humble him, or try to settle his nerves. Malevola cat-calls him (respectfully). Punch-Up offers to stress-test his armour in a very particular region. Phenomaman tells him that he looks taller in the uniform.
Robert, in turn, claps each of them on the shoulder, compliments their outfits (“Golem, where did you even find a suit that big? It’s amazing”), and thanks them wholeheartedly for coming.
“It’s what family does, kid,” Chase says, the last one in line to offer him encouragement. “Now go out there and let the world know that Mecha Man is back. If you get nervous, think of all those fuckers out there in their underwear. We’ll be in the back of the audience, promise.”
The team shuffles out, leaving Robert alone with Blazer backstage.
She says nothing, just holding his hands in hers. It’s nice.
Another minute goes by and someone with a headset and clipboard comes in to call Blazer out on stage for her part of the press conference. She was to make a statement representing SDN before Robert's appearance.
Robert gives her a reassuring nod and she disappears through the curtains. Her voice echoes from the front, but Robert is only half-listening. He looks at the cue cards someone had shoved into his hands, absorbing the main points, and ultimately deciding to just leave them backstage. He’s done this before. He knows what he wants to say.
All too soon, Blazer’s speech ends.
“Mecha Man, sir? You’re up.”
He looks at his phone one more time before getting up. There’s a new notification waiting for him.
horny has sent one attachment: IMG_8242.jpeg
It’s a selfie of his team. Everyone is crammed into frame, making a generous selection of silly faces and hand gestures. The flash was on in the picture since the audience section was so dark, and he sees other people caught in the background of the photo, disgruntled about the sudden brightness.
He chuckles and puts his phone away.
“I'm coming.”
The wall of heavy blue velvet behind Robert makes him feel trapped, caught like a deer in the headlights in front of a legion of cameras and hungry press. The spotlight overhead beams down like the desert sun and he starts to sweat in his uniform. The chattering crescendos as soon as he steps into sight.
Steeling himself, Mecha Man steps closer to podium and leans into the array of microphones. The room falls silent.
“Thank you for coming, everyone. Over the last couple of days, there has been a lot of talk about the future of Mecha Man. I am here to confirm that the suit has been repaired, pending some final upgrades, and that I am working with Superhero Dispatch Network to develop a plan for our collaboration. The details are to be decided, but I am optimistic.”
The room immediately erupts, and Robert blinks hard against the barrage of camera flashes.
“Go ahead,” he points to one of the reporters at random.
“Ashley Rhiness. San Pedro Daily. We’re glad to see you back, Mecha Man. Last we heard from you, you said that the suit was ‘damaged beyond your ability to repair’. Is SDN behind the suit being back in action?”
“Yes. SDN’s infrastructure and support was critical in repairing the suit. I’d like to specifically mention Roy Akamu, who is the lead engineer on the project. Without him, Mecha Man wouldn’t be here.” He warms at the sound of a faint cheer from the back of the room.
Another reporter hurries to get a word in.
“Chris Stratton. Torrance Tribune. What made you decide to partner with SDN? Mecha Man has historically run on his own terms. Now you’re at the mercy of a big corporation.”
“SDN has been nothing but supportive and professional.” He briefly thinks back to kissing his girlfriend — who was also technically his boss — on her desk at work, and mentally scraps the last part.
“That is to say, I’m not worried. SDN cares about protecting the community and that’s what I care about too, above all else. I’ve seen firsthand what this company stands for. They have several initiatives, including the Phoenix Program, which I can point to as evidence that our values align where it matters. I think we can help each other and do a lot of good."
The lights were really starting to overstimulate him. "Just one more, please.”
“Charles Kingsley. South Bay Signal.”
This motherfucker.
The crowd must remember the last encounter between Kingsley and Mecha Man too, as an anticipatory hush falls over the room. Robert just knows that Chase is cracking his knuckles in preparation somewhere in the back, and that Visi has her phone camera out in case Robert decides to deck this guy again.
Kingsley levels him with an unreadable look before speaking.
“So, did you at least get a couple good licks in on Shroud before they threw him back in his cell?”
Robert snorts, surprised.
“Yeah. I did.”
geodude: sick press conf @dad bod the third
nicki mirage: u gotta work on ur stage presence tho
nicki mirage: thot it was waterboy up there for a sec
clean up crew: hey! that’s offensive
clean up crew: to us both
clean up crew: i guess. sorry robert
horny: yeah why is waterboy catching strays lmao
nutcracker: it’s all in good fun, kid. don’t let it get u down!
nicki mirage: jkjk ur alright, waterboy
nicki mirage set clean up crew’s nickname to hermy <3
hermy <3: thanks :D
butterknife bitch: I didn’t know our real names were an option.
best zteamer: not 4 u
on fuego: this is a wetfartboy special privilege
batboy send an attachment: IMG_2344.jpeg
batboy: chat
batboy: tmz should hire me fr
It was a picture of Mandy and Robert kissing backstage after the press conference. Robert was still in his Mecha Man uniform and Mandy clutched his mask in one hand, the other in his hair. His arms snaked around her waist. They looked happy.
batboy: so yall need a 3rd or what? ;)
dad bod the third: In your dreams, Batboner.dad bod the third is typing…
dad bod the third: Love you guys.