Chapter Text
“-and with that inaugural mission, Incredalee’s daughter officially takes on the mantle of her late mother. I'm sure she is going to make her so proud.”
“I actually had the joy of meeting Incredalee when I was a teenager. Her daughter is the spitting image of her.”
“I can't help but wonder, how heavy that's gotta be?”
“What do you mean?”
“Legacy heroes. I wonder if they ever feel trapped, obviously society expects them to carry on where their parents leave off, so long as they've.. y'know, inherited powers in some capacity? I mean, what if you want to be a teacher instead or something?”
“They aren't forced to do it.”
“Not by law, but like.. think of MechaMan? After Astral died, there were entire murals, speeches, gatherings begging for another pilot to take his place. Could you just walk past that?”
“Yo, Roberto!” Alice motions to the speaker. “Could you walk past a group of people praying for your ass and just.. y'know, keep walking.”
“As compared to what?” He deadpans from the sofa. “You want me to push my way to the center, raise my hands and proclaim myself, like some sort of robo-jesus? I literally picked up the title didn't I? What even is the question?”
“You're a doe eyed little twink.” Chad supplies by the stove. “You could have just been like.. an accountant or something. You could have volunteered at a soup kitchen to get your fill of heroism.”
“And Torrence would have one less mall complex to shop from. Cheers to that.”
“Fuck you.”
“Fuck me yourself, coward.” Robert took another sip of his beer, leaning his head back on the sofa. “Why are we even listening to this?”
“We are trying to boost these guys' numbers. If they are popular enough, maybe the Bone Zone gets cancelled. Would serve those fuckers right!”
“Wh… huh.. okay.” Is Roberts answer. Vic and Courtney look up at him suspiciously. “Just.. what a..” he waves his beer around. “Healthy… normal way to attack that studio. Proud of you.”
“As compared to?”
“Are you giving me permission to burn the station down, BobBob? Because if you are… gladly.”
“Nah, you'd go back to prison. Don't do that to your sister. I meant like.. no, wait.. nevermind. I don't want to give you fuckers ideas. Stop asking me questions. I'm drunk.. ish” He was about to say there's tons of ways to sabotage the Bone Zone without punishment. Mal and Visi could pair up and portal pranks right into the building. Hell, they could just try and bribe Robert to hack the station. He could probably nuke their station one handed.... he.. ugh he'd drink coffee with his other hand. Even in his own head that sounded stupid.
“God, you're a lightweight. It's just a few beers” Courtney sighs as she drops down next to him on the couch. “Though I suppose.. it's a few beers on a stomach that only has coffee and maybe 2 twinkies in it.” Actually, the vending machine was out of Twinkies. He hasn't eaten today.. and is NOT going to tell them that.
“This bitch also barely sleeps.” He does. He had like.. 4 hours last night. uninterrupted, even.
“-he’s definitely in my top 5 favorite heroes.”
“Alright. Top 5, list them now. I'm calling it now, it's all thirst. I know it.”
“Ugh.. I'm going to regret this. Blonde Blazer is my number one. She's amazing, and has the Torrence hometown advantage.”
“Hell yea!” Courtney cheers.
“Second is… Wonder Woman. She's just.. strong AND hot.”
“Totally fair.” Mal nods. “Her arms look as toned as Colm's. It's crazy.” Colm nods enthusiastically.
“Third place is… ugh look, I can't choose! 3 and 4 are tied. MechaMan Blue and Nightwing.”
Robert blinks and tilts his head at the stereo. “She ranks me just below Wonderwoman? Really?” Thousands of heroes in the world.. and he makes this ladies top three? Err. Top 5?
“Tied with a hero named Nightwing. Never heard of them.” Bruno remarks with a shrug.
"Names familiar.. I think they've been in the news.." Alice frowns, typing on her phone.
“They just.. they have similar energy. They are like.. THE Prodigal Sons, y'know?” The prodigal sons? “They are both legacy heroes, whose fathers are basically impossible to live up to. Both of them are vocally opposed to corrupt politics and government.”
The host continues “They both have developed their own specialties that set them apart from their father's, and formed their own reputations, saving lives, stopping criminals. And neither one of them have super powers!” oh? Another.. non-powered hero?
“AND they are hot?” the co-host laughs.
“Well.. Nightwing is top tier hot. Sex. Symbol. Guinness World Record should reward that ass. I can't say for sure about MechaMan, only because he's like a cryptid the way he avoids getting caught on cameras. But his voice is hot. So I'm sure the rest of him is too.”
“That poor woman thinks you're hot. How sad.” Chad chuckles as he deposits a bowl of something that smells heavenly into Robert's hands, stealing his beer in the process. “I hope one day she meets you and discovers just how boring and pathetic you are.”
Robert completely ignores the insults, instead digging into his bowl. Because the man may be a raging asshole, but by God, Chad can cook.
“Even some blogs dedicated to them.. y'know?”
Robert pulls out his phone, and snaps a photo of the bowl and sends it to Chase. “You wish you were here.” He may hate Z-team, but that doesn't stop Chase from being jealous of this food. Ha.
“-it was NOT PG. Very.. explicit.”
For all the insults the man makes, he sure does go out of his way to customize Robert's food, he thinks fondly. Robert likes the taste of spicy food, but his stomach rarely agrees with strong spices. The.. general consensus is that it's probably because Robert is mildly malnourished, and doesn't eat enough. Whatever.. People are always saying your not supposed to eat unless your hungry. And he seldom is.
“-just Blue on Blue action.”
Blue on Blue? That's not.. really a thorough description, half the hero community has blue in their costumes. Whose fighting who? Anyways. Chad always makes Robert's dishes more mild and easier on his stomach. If he put even half the effort he does on his food into his communication, maybe he’d make a move on whoever Alice keeps loudly saying he's pining for.
“ert?” He focuses back on a…. Weirdly quiet living room. “I asked.. were you listening?” Why is Sonar so puffed up? Was there an argument?
“Uhh.. no. Sorry.” Courtney looks conflicted for a minute. “I was.. thinking about today's missions. That unknown crime movement on the docks? I was thinking maybe I should go in for the next sighting. I can do better detective work in the field than through the camera.”
She laughs, shaking her head at him in disbelief. Alice snorts into her bowl. “So.. you didn't hear them…. Nevermind. What kind of suits do you think are best?” He blinks. “Like.. hero suits? Outfits? Costumes? What kind do you think is the best?”
Robert thinks for a moment. “Uhh.. well there's been a serious uptick in electricity based powers in the region, so I'd suggest something that repels electric shock.” Then he crosses his arms. “It's got to still be able to buffer gunfire.. so ideally you want at least ballistic padding over your vitals. Regenerative abilities only handle so much.” Vic's shoulders are trembling. Mal is covering her mouth fondly… “why.. are you laughing?”
“Never change babe.” She giggles.
“Ugh!” Courtney throws her hands up, bowl tilting precariously in her lap. “I meant what kind of suit do you think is HOT, you idiot.” Oh..
“Well, be more specific next time. I thought you were finally moving on from Hot Topic.” He taps the edge of the bowl thoughtfully. Thinking over the different hook ups and crushes he's had through his life. It's not really.. there's no harm in answering...is there? “I guess.. … the skin tight suits? A pain to pull off in the heat of the moment.. but leaves nothing to the imagination.”
“Yo, Boy! Roberto thinks your suit is hot!” Robert sighs dramatically.
“Of course he does. I'm attractive as fuck!”
“Also, there's no way in hell I would let YOU design my suit Robert. Your suit sucks.” Courtney shakes her head in mock disgust.
“I wasn't offering.”
“Hey, Blue! There's some sort of scuffle happening out at the waterfront. It sounds suspiciously like the same group Sonar ran into last week.” Visi alerts over comms before assigning Robert to the call.
“On my way. How's the shift going so far?”
“It's fine. Not sure how I feel about getting demoted to dispatcher, but I don't think I suck too bad at it so far.”
“You're not being demoted.” Robert reiterates. “This surgery could give your lungs a whole new lease on life.”
“Could.” She retorts. After a moment, she clicks back in. “You're right. I just. I'm stressed, that's all. I never thought I'd ever be in a position to have a surgery like this. It's scary. And the… fucking MONTHS of recovery time are going to fucking suck.”
“Which is why you're learning to dispatch. So you aren't trapped at home, clawing at the walls like an angry cat.”
“Funny. Give me the headcount before you engage. These fuckers really roughed up Sonar and Waterboy last week.” She orders him, keyboard clacking in the background. “I’m going to reroute Sonar and Flambae to be your back up as soon as they return from their current call.”
“Wow. Very profesh. Where did you learn to dispatch?” he jokes as he lands his mech on a nearby building.
“This asshole I almost killed once has been putting me through dispatch boot camp. It's killing me. Send help.”
“Rip.”
“Never say that again.”
“LFG”
“I'm muting you.”
“I'm enjoying the role reversal..very much.” He chuckles as he activates the thermal cameras. “There's.. 8.. 10.. 11 confirmed suspects in the warehouse. Thermal scans aren't showing heat inside the crates, so I think we can cross trafficking off the list. I'm going to sabotage the boat first, then prioritize the containers. Keep me posted on my back up.”
“Any supers?”
“Unsure. They are all dressed like a Spirit Halloween's discount costume rack. Didn't know ninjas were so in style.” Robert moves into position and shoots a reinforced net into the rudders.
“Seriously? Ninjas? Did they wander off a movie set?”
“I'll ask them. One guy looks older than Chase, and dressed like a toxic Dracula. Lime green, with the popped collar. I'm sensing a monologue in my near future.” On that note, Robert slams through the roof, landing in-between the crates and the goon squad. “Sooo, which movie set did you B-extras wander off from? My boss is betting on a cheap horror movie… but me? I'm putting money on some BDSM porno hidden under all those robes.”
The older man sneers, raising an eyebrow as he turns to face him. “Seriously, I have 10 whole bucks riding on those clothes having Velcro openings down the sides.”
Before the man can retort, a laugh breaks out in the rafters above Robert, and a moment later, someone lands gracefully on the pavement next to him. “Oooh, that's good. But trust me, you don't want to watch any porno featuring this guy. His tastes run a little on the younger side.”
“I wish that surprised me.” Robert does a quick scan of the person next to him. Average height male, curly black hair. Skintight spandex suit with deep blue accents across his chest and down his arms. He isn't part of any LA team, Robert has that list memorized. “Are we on the same side here? Just checking before we start throwing people around this warehouse.” The top half of the man's face is masked, but he tilts his head and grins.
“Nightwing.” The older man speaks darkly. “Why must the dirtiest rat in your family continue to nip at my heels? Was there no one else more tolerable to confront me?” Sharp eyes drift across Robert. “And somehow, you've multiplied, for there's yet another vexatious hero with a penchant for jokes here.”
“Imagine being 700 years old and still not knowing how to take a joke” Nightwing waves his hand flippantly.
“I mean.. he handles seeing his reflection every day in the mirror, so he's not completely without humor.” Robert scoffs, even as he preps the shield and powers up his blade. If this old man is really 700 years old as Nightwing proclaims, then he's probably got powers. And Robert is starting his week out getting involved in some sort of cult bullshit. Peachy.
“You weren't worth the big guns Ra’s. B and RR are stone-walling you right now. Therapists number one suggestion for dealing with homicidal narcissistic men with delusions of godhood.” Nightwing pulls out.. escrimas? Hmm.. actually.. there IS something about the black and blue and escrimas itching in the back of Robert's head.
His sensors alert to an attack, and Robert turns and kicks the first ninja. Hard. Despite the force of the suit's kick, something that would usually break multiple bones, the ninja recovers mid air and lands on his feet, twin daggers drawn and ready.
After that, the fight fully kicks off. These ninjas are.. something. Super level endurance, potential healing factor. They are NOT going down. He grabs one by the leg and throws them into another. Tries to use a net to take them down, but those blades are not for show.
He does manage to take two out, simply by throwing them as hard as he can out into the bay. Combat skill doesn't equate to super swim speed.
Nightwing on the other hand, is clearly used to his combatants. His fighting style is based on acrobatics and flexibility. He dodges attacks so narrowly they look like they should hit. His movements are like a dance across the battlefield, taking out enemies with his electrified escrimas sticks.
Roberts considered electrified nets before. But electricity is fickle, and harder to control once it's not in his hands anymore. He'd never forgive himself if he had stopped someone's heart unintentionally in the heat of combat. In a handheld weapon like an escrima, you have complete control over how much current and for how long.
“Hey! Go long!” Nightwing shouts, and he shoots some sort of grapple into the rafters and swing kicks a ninja right at Robert, who grabs them mid air and overhand whips them through the window. “Come on Ra’s. Your boat is dead in the water. Your sidekicks are taking a swim. Let's call this a day, before you take a second ass-kicking this month.”
The man growls, barely containing his rage in his face. “You think you've bested me here? Always the optimist, aren't you? Or is it your naivety, I can never tell.”
“See? My jokes ARE rubbing off on you.” Instead of replying, the man drops some sort of grenade that explodes into a dark green cloud, and when Robert clears it with his jets, Ra’s is gone.
A scan reveals all the enemies have dispersed. Even the unconscious ones are gone. Damn. Nightwing turns and moves towards the crates. Robert powers down the suit, hops out and joins him. “Fairly decent tech. Possibly booby trapped to destroy whatever's inside.” Robert concludes after a quick scan. Nightwing reaches up and taps a comm in his ear.
“So. Not to step on toes or anything.” Nightwing turns to him. “But this is strongly suspected to be stolen alien tech, and gonna be handled by the JL. No offense to the SDN, but we got the planetary politics situation to deal with.” Robert blinks, then shrugs, backing up with a ‘go on’ motion. Robert isn't anywhere near brown-noser enough to care if SDN gets these boxes. As long as they don't hurt innocent people, he's happy.
“Hey Oracle. Got the boxes. Want to crack into them for me before the backup takes them?” …. “Because you're the best? But if you don't want to, I can always have MECHAMAN do it.” Robert raises an eyebrow and looks at him. “Right here. We fought Ra’s together. Yup. Don't tell them until later, or they will try and send me on a mission in Siberia or something so they can come to LA.”
Sonar and Flambae have finally arrived, too late to actually take part in the fight. They approach with no small amount of suspicion.
“You a fan?” Robert asks hesitantly. Nightwing isn't really doing the ‘hero-worship’ thing. He isn't giving off rabid fan vibes either. Surprisingly, Robert trusts him. He just has that kind of approachable demeanor.
“Hey, game knows game! Takes a certain kinda grit for us to stick our necks out and battle people with superpowers. Me with dramatic flips, and you with your badass robot that I'm definitely not totally jealous of.”
No powers… eskrimas… B and RR… Oracle…
Wait…. WAIT
Oh… god
“There's no fucking way this is the same Nightwing that that bitch was talking about on the radio! No fucking way!” Prism is screaming over comms. “Get him gone!”
“Fuck.” Visi chimes in. “Are you fuckers seeing this shit? That suit is more modest, yet somehow WAY sexier than yours. She was right about that ass. Damn.” Flambae's eyebrow twitches in annoyance… because fuck. It's true.
That suit hugs every curve to perfection. And it's a real fucking shame Flambae has to kill this guy, because that might just be the best ass he's ever laid eyes on. Fuck.
And he HAS to kill him. Because Robert is staring at the guy with the same starstruck eyes he makes when Royd gifts him a new toy or stupid mech suit upgrade. An expression Z-team hasn't quite figured out how to trigger yet. No fucking way this fucking.. Spandex Andy gets to just waltz in with his sexy skin tight suit and big ass and get that look! He hasn't earned it dammit!
“You're a BAT?!” Robert gapes at the man, eyes sparkling as if this fucker gave him an astral pulse. How a man with such a deadened expression can also look so happy with just his fucking eyes, fuck he doesn't know?!
“Uhh… no.. I'M a bat…” Sonar announces awkwardly, motioning at himself.
“No.. no, he's a.. a bat! Like.. like Batman!” Sonar slowly looks himself up and down. “No!” Why would Robert be excited about a different winged rat? He has one right here?
“Batman? Only part-time.” Nightwing supplies happily, completely ignoring the looks Roberts TEAM are giving him. “Honestly, all of us are big fans. You're lucky it wasn't RR following this particular trail, he's the.. tech enthusiast out of us. And the worst stalker.”
Nope. Nope. An attractive black haired hero is already accounted for. A stalker is accounted for. Fuck, the BAT is accounted for!
“Well it's been…. Nice to mee-” Flambae raises his hand to grab Robert.
“What would I have to say or do to look at the schematics for your grappling gun?” Robert speaks right over him, sidestepping out of his reach.
Nightwing blinks in mild surprise, before smiling and leaning forward coyly. “We could discuss it over dinner?” This FUCKING-
“Kill him!”
“Oi! Is he making a move on OUR man?!”
“That's just not cool bro.”
“He… he can't! He can't.. have him!”
“Okay!” Robert answers instantly. “When? Where? Tonight?” What the fuck BobBob? Is this normie bitch really going to drop to his knees for a grappling gun? He doesn't need it, his fucking suit fucking flies! And Flambae can fly him somewhere. So can multiple other teammates…
Royd could make him a grapple. What the fuck?
“Va! Mandi kushti !” What the fuck is that accent?! He can't be a sexy, skin tight suit, black haired hero and also have a fucking sexy accent. That isn't.. those are Flambae's things! Those are fucking Flambae signature things! Trademark pending.
Sonar begins to inch away from Flambae, as the steam begins to turn to whisps of smoke and sparks. “Uhh… so like.. are we.. getting rid of this guy?” He asks as softly as he can in the comms. “Because Flambae is heating up.. fast.. I'm in, obviously. But like.. we should decide soon.”
“Perhaps we should wait, and make it look like an….accident. We've surpassed the L-team in points, and I don't want to lose that. They annoy me.”
Fuck. She's right. He's at an all-time high on the scoreboard, and he's already boasted about it to his sister. He can already picture her disappointed face if he has to admit to turning someone to ashes. She will ask why, and he isn't good at lying to his sister.. fuck!
“I'm not from around here.” Nightwing smiles brightly, completely unaware of his impending doom. “Maybe you could choose the place! Give me the full L.A. experience.”
“I.. yes. Sure. I'll pick a place. Say.. 7?”
Nightwing nods, then motions past them all. “Sure! Might want to nab that guy. He's going for the boat.” What? Sure enough, there's a … ninja crawling out of the water into the boat. Sonar immediately transforms and leaps over, grabbing the guy with a roar.
“Ha. Too eas- what the fuck?!” Robert blinks and turns back… to an empty warehouse. There was no sound of footsteps, or metal. Nightwing has just vanished into this fucking air. What the fuck? “BobBob. What the fuck was that?” He turns and blinks, his stupid doe eyes clear with confusion. “Didn't know you were the type to drop to your fucking knees for the first random guy that blinks a certain way at you.”
“Huh?” After a moment, Robert just shakes his head with a huff, clicking his comm. “Hey. The situation on the docks is under control. But can you get the boss on the line?”
“I'm already here, MechaMan.” Mandy's voice cuts in. “What's going on?”
“Apparently this was a Justice League situation. They are going to be involved regarding whatever's in these crates.”
“Ah.. Shoot.” Flambae could hear her sigh, the scratchy sound of her running her hands through her hair. “Okay. Don't touch anything. I'll let the higher ups know. SDN and the.. League don't work together well on the best of days. Let's let them hash that out. I'll send some people out to cordon off the area.”
“So what IS the beef between SDN and the JL anyways? Miss Blazer's mood crashed when you brought them up.” Prism asks a while later, after they've all returned to work.
“Do they suck or something?” Mal joins. “Robert. You're the knowledge guy. Enlighten us.”
“People like Blazer will call it ‘complex’.” He answers. “Personally, I call it fucking stupid.”
“Excellent. That's why we are asking you.”
“My basic understanding is, some people hate SDN because it's a for-profit hero organization, where the JL isn't. Others, mostly government people, hate the JL because it's an interplanetary organization, and therefore, doesn't have to bend to any government, and works outside the strict laws that the SDN must abide by.”
“So people judge heroes that work with SDN because we get paid for it?” Golem asks.
“Basically, yea. Which is fucking stupid. Justice League heroes get paid as well. The difference is.. well. The subscription service, really.” They can hear Robert roll his eyes. “SDN is a business. The subscription service pays our wages. So the downside is we also have to handle the bullshit calls. Like the coffee orders, the grocery runs.”
“I still can't believe that bitch ordered coffee while the city was burning.” several groans and swears chime in response.
“The Justice League is funded privately. And internationally. It doesn't need to waste its time fulfilling garbage requests from customers. At least as far as we know. I do imagine that the donors could request assistance, but it's probably more of the ‘my daughter has been abducted by an alien cult, please save her!’, not ‘find a pink Gucci purse for me to buy.’
“And Nightwing is part of the Justice League?” Sonar cuts in this time. “He told us we couldn't touch that stuff, because the JL was going to handle it. Also, why'd you call him a bat? I’M a bat, Bobert!”
“Not.. physically.” Robert chuckles on comms. It's a deep, breathy sound. Flambae KNOWS he's not the only one affected by it. “Batman is one of the leaders of the Justice League. His team are referred to as Bats. Or bats and birds. Depends who you ask.” Oh.
“And why did that have you as excited as my niece on her birthday?”
“The Bats are….” Robert trailed off for a moment. “Batman is famous. He basically runs the Justice League. He is a strategist that has stopped multiple planetary invasions. And for a long time, he protected his city, Gotham, entirely solo. The single, only fucking hero… and he doesn't have powers.”
“Wait.. the leader of the fucking Justice League is a fucking normie?”
“Completely. People say he's basically the epitome of peak human physique.. Justice League dropouts have said in interviews that his training regiment would probably kill the average person. But that Batman is entirely human, no regenerative abilities. No endurance. Just someone who has dedicated his life to fighting evil with everything he's got.”
“Like you.” Waterboy states quietly.
“I.. well sorta. He's a lot more successful than me. I could only dream of being even half the hero Batman is.” There is a pause, but before anyone could find the words to argue, Robert continues.
“Honestly, I don't know much about Nightwing. I know he's a Bat. I know he works with the Justice League. I know he left Gotham and moved into a city called BlueHaven, and had been singlehandedly trying to reduce the crime rates in it. But beyond that, uhh.. he wasn't really.. my favorite?”
“Hahahahahahaha, damn! That fucking sucks for him” Flambae gloats. “You rank the Birds and Bats BobBob, and this Nightwing wasn't up there?”
“Look, that's not a judgement against the guy. But.. I have more in common with Batman and Red Robin. They are tech geniuses. I read that Red Robin once gridlocked and took down an entire prison escape singlehandedly, from a hospital bed. Using electric wires and drones.”
“Well, those two aren't here. And Nightwing fucking ditched you in that warehouse without giving you a name or number, so I think that dinner probably isn't happening.” Visi sounds almost as smug as Flambae feels. Hopefully this asshole noticed his flames and wisely skipped town. Trying to flirt with THEIR MechaMan. Fuck that guy.
“Hmm.” Was the reply they received.