Chapter Text
Robert
The view is stunning. The skyscrapers are painted in lights from below. The windows we pass over reflect my floating image in dimmer shades through tinted mirrors. Normally my Thursday nights would end with a bandage or two. Then if he was home, a lecture from Chase about recklessness and safety. Finally, like every other night, I would find myself lying awake in bed thinking of Elliot Connors, Mandy, or anything else on my endless list of anxieties.
But not tonight. Tonight I get to fly without the suit. Because Blonde Blazer of all people, the greatest teen hero of all time, is here to offer me a job. She carries me like I weigh nothing to her by my waist. I probably look like shit, but she shows no sign of wear nor tear as she concentrates on her destination.
The feeling of weightlessness, along with my spirit, lowers as we begin to descend. In front of us is the big Hollywood sign. But instead we're landing onto a billboard on the side of a quiet street. The view is still incredible. Blazer lets go of me and takes a seat at the edge of the billboard. I join her, leaning forward onto my knees and letting my shoulders sag after the effort all of today took.
"I actually thought you were going to take us to sit on it." I find my mouth unable to contain my thoughts.
"Hmm?" She looks over to me before tracking my gaze over to the sign. "Oh, yeah that would've been cool... but no yeah, this is better. Because you can see it. And it... looks like there's another couple there already so..."
Did she just call us a couple? Technically we are, don't read into it.
I let out a tired sigh. "Thanks for, you know, helping me with that Toxic guy. I haven't needed help from another hero in a while... and it was getting out of my control, so thanks. For helping me out, I guess. Aaand I'm still talking, aren't I?"
Blazer giggles a bit. My head goes into a weird space of deja vu.
She clears he throat. "So... about the offer I talked about earlier?"
"Yeah, why woud SDN send you to recruit me? aren't you like seventeen years old or something?"
Blazer's face goes a little red. "Well they thought it would help if a hero of similar age came to offer it. Also, I kind of volunteered." She throws in the last part as consolation. "I'm trying to show initative."
"Right, so what's the whole deal with SDN? My dad used to work for them, but I guess I never really understood what it was like."
She brightens up a little like this is a question she's rehearsed the answer to. "It stands for Superhero Defense Network. Teams employed by SDN are positioned around the county and paid to provide service to anyone in need of 'super-assistance.'"
"So like, superhero 911?"
"Well... no. More like suphero insurance." She points a finger gun at me when she finds the word. "Instead of calling SDN has access to alarms around the businesses they contract with. The city hires them too so they can respond to natural disasters and the like."
She leaves the air empty for more questions, but I just nod to let her continue. "SDN wants to hire Mecha Man to lead their Torrance team. In my opinion it's strange to hire the biggest hero in LA for such a small project, but apparently one of your father's former teammates recommended you for the position."
LA's biggest hero? Yeah right. If anything I'm LA's biggest let down.
"Why me? I haven't even been Mecha Man for three years."
She looks sort of confused. "I don't know who recommended you, but I can tell you it pays pretty well. And not trying to overstep, but even Mecha Man needs help sometimes. Especially one who's only fifteen."
I give her a half-lidded glare. "I'm seventeen, thank you."
"Oh! Sorry." Her face turns beet red and I let a small laugh escape me.
"It's okay."
"So uh... what do you say?" She raises a hopeful eyebrow.
"What if I say no?"
She puts a gloved hand on my shoulder and my head gets that deja vu feeling again. "Then I'll hate you forever. And I'll push you off this billboard."
"Wow."
"Yep."
"And no one would suspect a thing."
"Not a one."
Is it just me or are her eyes incredibly blue? Cool it, Robert.
"If it helps sweeten the deal, SDN's willing to hire an engineer for the Torrance team to help with your suit while you learn to manage it yourself," She says.
My mind drifts back to the mention of pay. Dad's inheritance had helped me pay for most repairs in the last two years, but an unexperienced fifteen year old in the pilot seat had already burned a hole into the pile of money. Having some money coming in would certainly help around the house. If anything Chase would definitely appreciate me putting in some effort to keep up with expenses.
I clear my throat. "So what team would I be leading?"
"SDN calls them the Z-Team. But publicly the team is called The Phoenixes. They're made up of younger heroes like you and me."
"Are they an indie pop band or something?"
Blazer giggles again, and I almost miss what she says next trying to pin the feeling it gives me. "They're named after the Phoenix Program, where SDN takes former villains and turns them into heroes."
And there's the twist.
"So you have the infamous Mecha Man leading a team of ex-villains. I see where this is going."
"Can I take your enthusiasm as a yes?" Her hand moves from my shoulder to the floor.
"I guess so, yeah."
Blazer lifts off of the billboard, hovering in front of me. She pulls out a DIY business card with an address written on it.
Very corny
"I'll see you at SDN Torrance tomorrow at 4 p.m. Don't be late." She flies away into the sky. It takes me a second before I realize she just left me alone up here.
"Uh, is there a ladder, or..."