Just Drowning In The Fandom Im Into Right Now

Flambae/Chad; who's been told since puberty that his powers make it impossible to sire/bare a child - meeting the Z-Team's nervous-asf single + expectant dispatcher.

He's furious in more ways than one.

Jealous that a "normie" man who barely takes care of himself enough to function has been blessed with something he could never have. Flambae quickly begins "bullying" Robert into eating the homemade meals the fire-hero brings from home, seasoned with endless excuses.

("I made too much, so eat it, bitch." "Your dog is fatter than you." "I added too much cumin." "Shut the fuck up. I know your flat ass is eating nothing but snack cakes!")

Infuriated that the new dispatcher is able to match and challenge his attitude, and even reprimand him for lapses of anger. Robert will shout at Flambae for flagrantly setting something on fire until he's blue, in the same breathe he praises him for how he handled a child-focused call that day.

And finally, Frustrated that Bob Bob doesn't seem to be oblivious or deliberately ignoring Chad's obvious interest in him. Not that Chad himself will admit it first ofc (tsundere).

Prism quietly orders a "Dad who Stepped Up" t-shirt in Flambae's size. All else fails, she'll gift to too-big shirt it to Robert as a harmless joke. (He ends up stealing it anyway)

Also wouldn’t it be cute if Flambae took care of the little one for a whole afternoon while Robert got some rest?

My man needs sleep after staying awake for possibly days at a time working/making sure his son or daughter isn’t killed in the middle of the night.

Chad holding Robert's baby, talking through his personal issues like they're a tiny therapist. The baby gurgles and grabs a loose lock of Chad's hair, fascinated with this new chatty person.

Chad nearly starts crying.

He demands more babysitting time - "But like, only because otherwise our dispatcher will be too tired to be useful to us."

Robert senses the half-truth, but cautiously agrees.

Flambae has never killed anyone but for once he feels the urge to do so

Mecha Man going to public conventions and panels for the first time in forever, at the behest of Mandy, to drum up support for SDN in other regions.

This is where he discovers that the Powered-to-Unpowered ratio in a lot of places is more lopsided. Japan for example; has only a quarter of their population be without powers or mutation - and that's heavily leaning towards the older population.

SDN is asked to send representatives to a special Q&A panel at Musutafu Hero Con. Apparently the event planner believes that showing a more community-focused approach to superheroism will help steer people away from the oversaturated agency market.

Blazer agrees wholeheartedly - offering to send the Z-Team and other SDN employees on a fully-paid trip to Japan while the Torrance branch is being rebuilt.

The Z-Team don't even try fighting the offer - a vacation "just" to speak for a few hours at a convention? Sign them up!

(Depending on how strict air travel is in this universe - the planes are fitted with power-dampeners to prevent... incidents.)

Robert is asked to appear as Mecha Man - as non-powered supers are exceedingly rare in Japan, even in the modern day. Robert agrees, as long as he can bring the Mech Suit + doesn't have to attend the dispatcher's panel.

Robert underestimates how big a deal Mecha Man is in Japan.

When Mecha Man Blue hops on stage at a con and is introduced as THE Quirkless Super Hero!?! The crowd goes nuts. There's a massive crowd of fans wearing Mecha Man merchandise from across different eras, licensed and fan-made. There's older people waving Mecha Man Prime banners, and families dressed as different generations of Mecha Men.

Robert is honestly a little overwhelmed?

When it finally comes to the Q&A portion Mecha Man is asked;

How was he trained? - "Home school and a lot of self-teaching."

Is the Mech Suit the same one as Astral's? - "Not entirely. Since my dad's suit was damaged in an explosion almost a year ago, a fantastic technician helped to design the new suit while using materials from the older model."

Were you born Quirkless, or was your Quirk taken away? - "Still getting used to the Quirk terminology, but I was born without powers of any kind... And I'm pretty sure I never picked one up along the way."

Who is your toughest foe? - "Besides Shroud? I'd say a certain arsonist I now work with." ("You flatter me, Mecha Dick.")

It's the final question, asked by a nervous little boy wearing an All-Might hoodie, that gives the hero pause.

Izuku: "Can I still become a hero? Even if I don't have a Quirk?"

Robert looks at the question asker carefully. The kid has restrained hopeful look as if he's preparing himself for disappointment.

Robert looks over the crowd of fans once more.

Back in the States - Mecha Man was "just" a legacy hero. Grandpa Bobby was the first of his kind, and many more followed.

The people here have yet to have their own Quirkless hero rise up.

Robert: "Yes. But only if you work hard at it. Not having powers will put you a great disadvantage yes, but you're foes will never know what next trick is up your sleeve. I'm at a slightly unfair advantage as the third in the line of Mecha Men - but I know how it feels when you think you're powerless. So yes, you can become a hero without a Quirk." (*awed silence fails over the crowd. the little boy's eyes well with happy tears.*) Robert: "And if anyone says otherwise, I will personally kick their ass."

His closing statement makes the room erupt into laughter and cheers.

The little boy is blubbering thank yous as the mic operator has him step back into the crowd.

Robert spends the rest of the convention signing autographs and meeting people who've always admired Mecha Man - in any form.

It's the kids that really get him though.

The little boy with the All-Might hoodie will later ask Mecha Man to sign so many posters and toys (Robert didnt even know they made plushies), and introduce himself as Izuku Midoriya aka Deku.

Robert: "Deku? Oh! Like the cool shrub guys from Legend of Zelda! I'll make sure to keep an ear out if I ever hear that name on the airwaves!"

The boy faints from joy, much to Robert's surprise.

Mecha Man isn't the only hero with his own fanclub.

Sonar and Golem are nearly mobbed by people with obvious mutations and hybrid traits. A little boy with a covered face and membraned arms tells Sonar that he's his hero. Sonar is so proud that he turns Megabat.

A boy with a rocky face asks Golem in a whisper if he likes animals. Golem smiles wide and tells him of the time he babysat a tiger.

Malevola is taking a selfie with a little girl with pink skin and horns. A girl crowned with thorns asks her religious questions, and is puzzled when the demoness says she's Atheist.

Coupe is showing a pair of children (one physical, the other confined to shadows) how her wings work. A little girl with sharp teeth and a wild expression asks her if she needs blood to fuel her power - Coupe answers calmly "Infrequently. Mostly I enjoy the taste."

Punch Up is showing off his strength to a number of people born with height deformities.

Flambae nearly gets in trouble for telling an explosive child to "Don't talk about people like that, you little shit!" - after the kid said a derogatory term for Quirkless people.

Waterboy meets a froggy little girl that compliments his wetsuit. And a swarm of children with life-altering Quirks say he inspired them to become a heroes. He's so flustered that he can barely speak.

Prism records a mini music video with the daughter of musicians. She tells her that they can collaborate whenever she wants. A little blonde boy shows off his Prism-inspired hero outfit, with her approval.

Invisigal nearly collides with her first super-fan - a little girl who's body turned permanently invisible when she was very young, and wishes she could control it like her. Visi wheezes with pride.

Many of Phenomaman's fans are people who feel "alien" in some way, not just physically.

Bakugou: fucking Deku won’t do shit! He’s Quirkless!

Flambae: normies are wild kid, push them too hard and they will snap. Look at my own hand!

Robert: flambae I’m keeping this kid

Mecha Man going to public conventions and panels for the first time in forever, at the behest of Mandy, to drum up support for SDN in other regions.

This is where he discovers that the Powered-to-Unpowered ratio in a lot of places is more lopsided. Japan for example; has only a quarter of their population be without powers or mutation - and that's heavily leaning towards the older population.

SDN is asked to send representatives to a special Q&A panel at Musutafu Hero Con. Apparently the event planner believes that showing a more community-focused approach to superheroism will help steer people away from the oversaturated agency market.

Blazer agrees wholeheartedly - offering to send the Z-Team and other SDN employees on a fully-paid trip to Japan while the Torrance branch is being rebuilt.

The Z-Team don't even try fighting the offer - a vacation "just" to speak for a few hours at a convention? Sign them up!

(Depending on how strict air travel is in this universe - the planes are fitted with power-dampeners to prevent... incidents.)

Robert is asked to appear as Mecha Man - as non-powered supers are exceedingly rare in Japan, even in the modern day. Robert agrees, as long as he can bring the Mech Suit + doesn't have to attend the dispatcher's panel.

Robert underestimates how big a deal Mecha Man is in Japan.

When Mecha Man Blue hops on stage at a con and is introduced as THE Quirkless Super Hero!?! The crowd goes nuts. There's a massive crowd of fans wearing Mecha Man merchandise from across different eras, licensed and fan-made. There's older people waving Mecha Man Prime banners, and families dressed as different generations of Mecha Men.

Robert is honestly a little overwhelmed?

When it finally comes to the Q&A portion Mecha Man is asked;

How was he trained? - "Home school and a lot of self-teaching."

Is the Mech Suit the same one as Astral's? - "Not entirely. Since my dad's suit was damaged in an explosion almost a year ago, a fantastic technician helped to design the new suit while using materials from the older model."

Were you born Quirkless, or was your Quirk taken away? - "Still getting used to the Quirk terminology, but I was born without powers of any kind... And I'm pretty sure I never picked one up along the way."

Who is your toughest foe? - "Besides Shroud? I'd say a certain arsonist I now work with." ("You flatter me, Mecha Dick.")

It's the final question, asked by a nervous little boy wearing an All-Might hoodie, that gives the hero pause.

Izuku: "Can I still become a hero? Even if I don't have a Quirk?"

Robert looks at the question asker carefully. The kid has restrained hopeful look as if he's preparing himself for disappointment.

Robert looks over the crowd of fans once more.

Back in the States - Mecha Man was "just" a legacy hero. Grandpa Bobby was the first of his kind, and many more followed.

The people here have yet to have their own Quirkless hero rise up.

Robert: "Yes. But only if you work hard at it. Not having powers will put you a great disadvantage yes, but you're foes will never know what next trick is up your sleeve. I'm at a slightly unfair advantage as the third in the line of Mecha Men - but I know how it feels when you think you're powerless. So yes, you can become a hero without a Quirk." (*awed silence fails over the crowd. the little boy's eyes well with happy tears.*) Robert: "And if anyone says otherwise, I will personally kick their ass."

His closing statement makes the room erupt into laughter and cheers.

The little boy is blubbering thank yous as the mic operator has him step back into the crowd.

Robert spends the rest of the convention signing autographs and meeting people who've always admired Mecha Man - in any form.

It's the kids that really get him though.

The little boy with the All-Might hoodie will later ask Mecha Man to sign so many posters and toys (Robert didnt even know they made plushies), and introduce himself as Izuku Midoriya aka Deku.

Robert: "Deku? Oh! Like the cool shrub guys from Legend of Zelda! I'll make sure to keep an ear out if I ever hear that name on the airwaves!"

The boy faints from joy, much to Robert's surprise.

Mecha Man isn't the only hero with his own fanclub.

Sonar and Golem are nearly mobbed by people with obvious mutations and hybrid traits. A little boy with a covered face and membraned arms tells Sonar that he's his hero. Sonar is so proud that he turns Megabat.

A boy with a rocky face asks Golem in a whisper if he likes animals. Golem smiles wide and tells him of the time he babysat a tiger.

Malevola is taking a selfie with a little girl with pink skin and horns. A girl crowned with thorns asks her religious questions, and is puzzled when the demoness says she's Atheist.

Coupe is showing a pair of children (one physical, the other confined to shadows) how her wings work. A little girl with sharp teeth and a wild expression asks her if she needs blood to fuel her power - Coupe answers calmly "Infrequently. Mostly I enjoy the taste."

Punch Up is showing off his strength to a number of people born with height deformities.

Flambae nearly gets in trouble for telling an explosive child to "Don't talk about people like that, you little shit!" - after the kid said a derogatory term for Quirkless people.

Waterboy meets a froggy little girl that compliments his wetsuit. And a swarm of children with life-altering Quirks say he inspired them to become a heroes. He's so flustered that he can barely speak.

Prism records a mini music video with the daughter of musicians. She tells her that they can collaborate whenever she wants. A little blonde boy shows off his Prism-inspired hero outfit, with her approval.

Invisigal nearly collides with her first super-fan - a little girl who's body turned permanently invisible when she was very young, and wishes she could control it like her. Visi wheezes with pride.

Many of Phenomaman's fans are people who feel "alien" in some way, not just physically.

Bakugou: fucking Deku won’t do shit! He’s Quirkless!

Flambae: normies are wild kid, push them too hard and they will snap. Look at my own hand!

Robert: flambae I’m keeping this kid

Mecha Man going to public conventions and panels for the first time in forever, at the behest of Mandy, to drum up support for SDN in other regions.

This is where he discovers that the Powered-to-Unpowered ratio in a lot of places is more lopsided. Japan for example; has only a quarter of their population be without powers or mutation - and that's heavily leaning towards the older population.

SDN is asked to send representatives to a special Q&A panel at Musutafu Hero Con. Apparently the event planner believes that showing a more community-focused approach to superheroism will help steer people away from the oversaturated agency market.

Blazer agrees wholeheartedly - offering to send the Z-Team and other SDN employees on a fully-paid trip to Japan while the Torrance branch is being rebuilt.

The Z-Team don't even try fighting the offer - a vacation "just" to speak for a few hours at a convention? Sign them up!

(Depending on how strict air travel is in this universe - the planes are fitted with power-dampeners to prevent... incidents.)

Robert is asked to appear as Mecha Man - as non-powered supers are exceedingly rare in Japan, even in the modern day. Robert agrees, as long as he can bring the Mech Suit + doesn't have to attend the dispatcher's panel.

Robert underestimates how big a deal Mecha Man is in Japan.

When Mecha Man Blue hops on stage at a con and is introduced as THE Quirkless Super Hero!?! The crowd goes nuts. There's a massive crowd of fans wearing Mecha Man merchandise from across different eras, licensed and fan-made. There's older people waving Mecha Man Prime banners, and families dressed as different generations of Mecha Men.

Robert is honestly a little overwhelmed?

When it finally comes to the Q&A portion Mecha Man is asked;

How was he trained? - "Home school and a lot of self-teaching."

Is the Mech Suit the same one as Astral's? - "Not entirely. Since my dad's suit was damaged in an explosion almost a year ago, a fantastic technician helped to design the new suit while using materials from the older model."

Were you born Quirkless, or was your Quirk taken away? - "Still getting used to the Quirk terminology, but I was born without powers of any kind... And I'm pretty sure I never picked one up along the way."

Who is your toughest foe? - "Besides Shroud? I'd say a certain arsonist I now work with." ("You flatter me, Mecha Dick.")

It's the final question, asked by a nervous little boy wearing an All-Might hoodie, that gives the hero pause.

Izuku: "Can I still become a hero? Even if I don't have a Quirk?"

Robert looks at the question asker carefully. The kid has restrained hopeful look as if he's preparing himself for disappointment.

Robert looks over the crowd of fans once more.

Back in the States - Mecha Man was "just" a legacy hero. Grandpa Bobby was the first of his kind, and many more followed.

The people here have yet to have their own Quirkless hero rise up.

Robert: "Yes. But only if you work hard at it. Not having powers will put you a great disadvantage yes, but you're foes will never know what next trick is up your sleeve. I'm at a slightly unfair advantage as the third in the line of Mecha Men - but I know how it feels when you think you're powerless. So yes, you can become a hero without a Quirk." (*awed silence fails over the crowd. the little boy's eyes well with happy tears.*) Robert: "And if anyone says otherwise, I will personally kick their ass."

His closing statement makes the room erupt into laughter and cheers.

The little boy is blubbering thank yous as the mic operator has him step back into the crowd.

Robert spends the rest of the convention signing autographs and meeting people who've always admired Mecha Man - in any form.

It's the kids that really get him though.

The little boy with the All-Might hoodie will later ask Mecha Man to sign so many posters and toys (Robert didnt even know they made plushies), and introduce himself as Izuku Midoriya aka Deku.

Robert: "Deku? Oh! Like the cool shrub guys from Legend of Zelda! I'll make sure to keep an ear out if I ever hear that name on the airwaves!"

The boy faints from joy, much to Robert's surprise.

Mecha Man isn't the only hero with his own fanclub.

Sonar and Golem are nearly mobbed by people with obvious mutations and hybrid traits. A little boy with a covered face and membraned arms tells Sonar that he's his hero. Sonar is so proud that he turns Megabat.

A boy with a rocky face asks Golem in a whisper if he likes animals. Golem smiles wide and tells him of the time he babysat a tiger.

Malevola is taking a selfie with a little girl with pink skin and horns. A girl crowned with thorns asks her religious questions, and is puzzled when the demoness says she's Atheist.

Coupe is showing a pair of children (one physical, the other confined to shadows) how her wings work. A little girl with sharp teeth and a wild expression asks her if she needs blood to fuel her power - Coupe answers calmly "Infrequently. Mostly I enjoy the taste."

Punch Up is showing off his strength to a number of people born with height deformities.

Flambae nearly gets in trouble for telling an explosive child to "Don't talk about people like that, you little shit!" - after the kid said a derogatory term for Quirkless people.

Waterboy meets a froggy little girl that compliments his wetsuit. And a swarm of children with life-altering Quirks say he inspired them to become a heroes. He's so flustered that he can barely speak.

Prism records a mini music video with the daughter of musicians. She tells her that they can collaborate whenever she wants. A little blonde boy shows off his Prism-inspired hero outfit, with her approval.

Invisigal nearly collides with her first super-fan - a little girl who's body turned permanently invisible when she was very young, and wishes she could control it like her. Visi wheezes with pride.

Many of Phenomaman's fans are people who feel "alien" in some way, not just physically.

Robert gets knocked up before his coma, but he didn't know. He maybe suspected something was wrong, but was too busy/too broke to really investigate, so he ignored it. He still doesn't know about it when he wakes up, but only because he left the hospital before they had the chance to tell him.

Robert just, never figures it out. He assumes the weight gain (Visi's dad bod comments are very true) and nausea is a coma thing, blames his mood swings on brain damage, and everything happens like in canon.

Then a few weeks into dispatching, Robert wakes up just feeling like something's wrong, but he can't figure out what. All he knows is that he's feeling random cramps and a lot of weird pressure. It gets so bad by the time he gets home that he decides to just sleep off what he assumes is the worst stomach ache of his life, then boom! Surprise baby.

Robert just assuming every symptom is a side-effect of his recent coma + mid-air explosion is very on-brand for him.

There is actually a number of conditions that can make detecting a pregnancy difficult. Ex: PCOS/PMOS, hormonal imbalances, If a person is born with an inverted uterus, if the placenta presents anterior (towards the front), incompetent doctors, etc...

Years of medical issues, scattered HRT, injuries, and exposure to dangerous materials; left Robert (and doctors) just assuming he couldn't become pregnant without fertility assistance.

+Robert, AFAB or a cursed/magically-affected AMAB person, also likely had a little mental block of denial.

So when Robert wakes up with bloating, nausea, brain fog, and difficulty timing bathroom breaks - he blames the coma.

Robert expects the "dad bod" comments. Since his crash his muscles have atrophied, replaced with soft fat derived from his love of cream-filled sweets.

Hilarity ensues if the birth occurs during a very tense portion of the story.

Like say... Post-Episode 5.

Robert is in a bad place mentally and physically.

Sharing his secret identity with the Z-Team brought them closer together - all except the one he had the most history with. He's pretty sure Flambae would have scorched him if Golem and Waterboy didn't intervene. What's more is that the hothead's best friend, Prism aka Alice, hasn't been able to get in contact with him since that fateful night.

Then came the failed Proto Pulse test.

He doesn't blame Royd for what happened. If anything, Robert should have used a dummy instead of himself.

It would have saved him fourteen hours.

The medical staff wanted to keep Robert under observation, but all he wanted to do was get back to work.

The bottle of scotch acts as decent pain relief when the contractions start.

Robert strips down into his birthday suit, hoping that a lukewarm bath will soothe the aches and pains.

The pain keeps coming, increasing with intensity in waves.

Robert thinks he probably should have stayed in medical after all.

The final straw is when he feels a gushing sensation and a trickle of blood starts to paint the water.

Grasping blindly, he grabs his phone from his discarded pants and calls Chase.

Robert, seething through a wave of pain: "Ch- Chase?" Chase, instantly worried: "Robert? You okay, kid?" Robert, taking breaks to breathe: "I'm not... feeling so good. Think I should have... fuck!" Chase, serious: "Robert, where are you right now?" Robert: "My place. Bathroom." Chase: "Hang tight, I can get a ride asap. Stay on the line with me." Robert: "No, Chase... I need to talk to him first."' Chase: "Talk to who first? Robert who-" Robert: (*hangs up, scrolling through the Z-Team's work contacts*)

The phone rings for a solid minute before the recipient decides to answer.

Flambae: "What the fuck Robert?! You can't be trying to apologise before I come over, I didn't plan for that!" Robert: "Why would you...? Never mind. I just really want to say that I'm... sorry for taking your fingers. Sorry for putting you in jail and shit. But I'm not sorry for stopping you from destroying yourself." Flambae, analysing his voice: "...How drunk are you?" Robert: "About most of a bottle of Bourbon Whiskey." Flambae: "A-allah... takes you over five years and a high blood alcohol content for you to say anything about it." Robert: "Also I think I might be dying right now..." Flambae: "WHAT!?" Robert, getting light-headed: "I took a bath and now there's blood... I called Chase... he's picking me up." Flambae: "Call an ambulance, you idiot!" Robert: "Can't afford an ambulance." Flambae: "Then you can't afford a funeral either, bitch! Where's your apartment - I'm getting there first!"

Robert mumbles his address and unit number as another wave of pain causes him to cry out loud enough to echo off the cheap tiled walls.

Flambae is ultimately the first to arrive - melting the lock off the balcony door so he can burst in to his foe's aid.

Upon assessing Robert's condition, the ex-villain's face turns from furious worry to utter confusion.

Flambae: "Heyyy, Bob-Bob? Any chance you could be pregnant?" Robert: "Not to my knowledge, why?" Flambae: "Because you're dilated as shit, bro. I think all the bloody stuff is like, amniotic fluid." Robert, half-delirious from pain and drunkenness: "Wha...?"

By the time a very worried Chase (nearlt breaks his "no more running" rule) + Z-Team burst into the apartment; Flambae is standing in Robert's bathroom holding a newborn baby with a first aid kid scattered across the floor. Robert himself naked and mildly drunk in the bathtub.

Sheer confusion all around.

Robert: "Oh hey. When did you get here?" Flambae: "They literally showed up just now." Robert: "Nah, I meant her." (*boops baby's nose*) Fourth Gen Robertson: (*also looking very confused*)

It becomes a very eventful housewarming-turned-hospital trip.

Flambae not-so-subtly suggests he should get naming rights to the baby so "It can all be a bridge underwater." Robert agrees, despite the mangled metaphor.

Oh god Visi wanting to go get the astral pulse is even more because Robert had to be pregnant when she blew him up which made her guilt even worse

It takes Robert all of a quick nap to become an overly-attentive parent towards his surprise daughter. He starts reading and watching a bunch of parenting content to try and "catch up" for the time he didn't know he was pregnant.

Chase and Chad are the only ones able to convince Robert to hand over the baby for a few hours and take some rest.

Visi spirals.

Robert *had* to have been pregnant when she planted the bomb. Almost dying in that suit and in a hospital bed with a hitchhiker.

She almost killed him and his baby girl.

It doesn't take much for Visi to narrow down where the Pulse would most likely be. Her and Royd compared the energy readings of the Proto Pulse test to similar explosions across the city.

A warehouse by the docks, owned by the Yachties.

Despite telling no one, Robert catches her off-route signal.

He's still in hospital. Laptop on the overbed desk, and Zarmina in her adoptive grand-Chase's arms.

Even on strong postpartum painkillers, Robert is sharp enough to get Visi into the captain's quarters and find the Pulse.

Shroud is there. No doubt he'd made the connection just as they had. The villain mocks Invisigal as he fills the room with poisonous gas.

Robert yells for her to "Get Up!".

The weight of his daughter in his arms snaps Robert from his mantra.

"Keep Up."

Robert can barely shout after him, before Chase runs to Visi's aid.

In the same night that he learns his daughter even existed, Robert may have just lost his older brother.

also protect visi because me thinks that the Zteam are going to go after her after upsetting Robert

Especially the flame user

Robert gets knocked up before his coma, but he didn't know. He maybe suspected something was wrong, but was too busy/too broke to really investigate, so he ignored it. He still doesn't know about it when he wakes up, but only because he left the hospital before they had the chance to tell him.

Robert just, never figures it out. He assumes the weight gain (Visi's dad bod comments are very true) and nausea is a coma thing, blames his mood swings on brain damage, and everything happens like in canon.

Then a few weeks into dispatching, Robert wakes up just feeling like something's wrong, but he can't figure out what. All he knows is that he's feeling random cramps and a lot of weird pressure. It gets so bad by the time he gets home that he decides to just sleep off what he assumes is the worst stomach ache of his life, then boom! Surprise baby.

Robert just assuming every symptom is a side-effect of his recent coma + mid-air explosion is very on-brand for him.

There is actually a number of conditions that can make detecting a pregnancy difficult. Ex: PCOS/PMOS, hormonal imbalances, If a person is born with an inverted uterus, if the placenta presents anterior (towards the front), incompetent doctors, etc...

Years of medical issues, scattered HRT, injuries, and exposure to dangerous materials; left Robert (and doctors) just assuming he couldn't become pregnant without fertility assistance.

+Robert, AFAB or a cursed/magically-affected AMAB person, also likely had a little mental block of denial.

So when Robert wakes up with bloating, nausea, brain fog, and difficulty timing bathroom breaks - he blames the coma.

Robert expects the "dad bod" comments. Since his crash his muscles have atrophied, replaced with soft fat derived from his love of cream-filled sweets.

Hilarity ensues if the birth occurs during a very tense portion of the story.

Like say... Post-Episode 5.

Robert is in a bad place mentally and physically.

Sharing his secret identity with the Z-Team brought them closer together - all except the one he had the most history with. He's pretty sure Flambae would have scorched him if Golem and Waterboy didn't intervene. What's more is that the hothead's best friend, Prism aka Alice, hasn't been able to get in contact with him since that fateful night.

Then came the failed Proto Pulse test.

He doesn't blame Royd for what happened. If anything, Robert should have used a dummy instead of himself.

It would have saved him fourteen hours.

The medical staff wanted to keep Robert under observation, but all he wanted to do was get back to work.

The bottle of scotch acts as decent pain relief when the contractions start.

Robert strips down into his birthday suit, hoping that a lukewarm bath will soothe the aches and pains.

The pain keeps coming, increasing with intensity in waves.

Robert thinks he probably should have stayed in medical after all.

The final straw is when he feels a gushing sensation and a trickle of blood starts to paint the water.

Grasping blindly, he grabs his phone from his discarded pants and calls Chase.

Robert, seething through a wave of pain: "Ch- Chase?" Chase, instantly worried: "Robert? You okay, kid?" Robert, taking breaks to breathe: "I'm not... feeling so good. Think I should have... fuck!" Chase, serious: "Robert, where are you right now?" Robert: "My place. Bathroom." Chase: "Hang tight, I can get a ride asap. Stay on the line with me." Robert: "No, Chase... I need to talk to him first."' Chase: "Talk to who first? Robert who-" Robert: (*hangs up, scrolling through the Z-Team's work contacts*)

The phone rings for a solid minute before the recipient decides to answer.

Flambae: "What the fuck Robert?! You can't be trying to apologise before I come over, I didn't plan for that!" Robert: "Why would you...? Never mind. I just really want to say that I'm... sorry for taking your fingers. Sorry for putting you in jail and shit. But I'm not sorry for stopping you from destroying yourself." Flambae, analysing his voice: "...How drunk are you?" Robert: "About most of a bottle of Bourbon Whiskey." Flambae: "A-allah... takes you over five years and a high blood alcohol content for you to say anything about it." Robert: "Also I think I might be dying right now..." Flambae: "WHAT!?" Robert, getting light-headed: "I took a bath and now there's blood... I called Chase... he's picking me up." Flambae: "Call an ambulance, you idiot!" Robert: "Can't afford an ambulance." Flambae: "Then you can't afford a funeral either, bitch! Where's your apartment - I'm getting there first!"

Robert mumbles his address and unit number as another wave of pain causes him to cry out loud enough to echo off the cheap tiled walls.

Flambae is ultimately the first to arrive - melting the lock off the balcony door so he can burst in to his foe's aid.

Upon assessing Robert's condition, the ex-villain's face turns from furious worry to utter confusion.

Flambae: "Heyyy, Bob-Bob? Any chance you could be pregnant?" Robert: "Not to my knowledge, why?" Flambae: "Because you're dilated as shit, bro. I think all the bloody stuff is like, amniotic fluid." Robert, half-delirious from pain and drunkenness: "Wha...?"

By the time a very worried Chase (nearlt breaks his "no more running" rule) + Z-Team burst into the apartment; Flambae is standing in Robert's bathroom holding a newborn baby with a first aid kid scattered across the floor. Robert himself naked and mildly drunk in the bathtub.

Sheer confusion all around.

Robert: "Oh hey. When did you get here?" Flambae: "They literally showed up just now." Robert: "Nah, I meant her." (*boops baby's nose*) Fourth Gen Robertson: (*also looking very confused*)

It becomes a very eventful housewarming-turned-hospital trip.

Flambae not-so-subtly suggests he should get naming rights to the baby so "It can all be a bridge underwater." Robert agrees, despite the mangled metaphor.

Oh god Visi wanting to go get the astral pulse is even more because Robert had to be pregnant when she blew him up which made her guilt even worse

Tenna art by @9Aaaalt29 on twt

One was more plot heavy, the other was just perfectly angsty, but they kinda start out the same, which is why I'm throwing them both onto here.

Idea 1 I think I mentioned before? But I don't know if I ever got in depth about it. But basically, it was majorly pre-canon, where Robert got with someone sometime before the Phoenix Program was formed and they were in a committed enough relationship that they planned to get married and have kids and all that stuff. But then something happens and they break up after Robert gets pregnant, and Robert ends up getting back in contact with Chase because of it.

Chase gets him his job at SDN, and Robert's actually the one to help Blazer get the Phoenix Program running at their branch. He even hand picks a few of the applicants, and although Chase is majorly against it, Robert ends up as their first (and pretty much only) dispatcher.

It'll end up being a Z-Team polycule I feel, sorta like my one fic I'm working on where they all drag pregnant Robert into their relationship.

The other idea starts out mostly the same, just closer to canon stuff, where Robert was in a committed relationship with someone, and their relationship was going pretty strong. Robert gets pregnant, and things are going well, but then when Robert has the kid, his partner doesn't show up at the hospital, blocked Robert's number, and when he leaves the hospital, changed their locks and dumped all of Robert's things on the curb.

Like, Toxic doesn't like heroes and pretty much anyone who tries to tell him what to do. But when he discovers that his ex-booty call/honeypot mission is *preganant* with a ticking time bomb, he figures he should at least share some medical history.

Just shows up at Robert's apartment without warning with a care package of ginger ale and medical documents.

Robert, severe morning sickness: "What the hell?!"

Toxic: "Hey, this could have all been avoided if we'd stuck to pegging."

So yeah. Robert's "weird boyfriend" just sorta... shows up some times at work, teasing the heck out of his pregnant partner, while also appeasing him with whatever weird as hell craving he desires.

Visi seems to weirdly know the guy too, which is interesting...

Robert warns Royd not to let Toxic (civilian name pending - enjoy Kyle or Sidney) know about the mech suit or the astral pulse research - which Royd assumes is a secret identity thing.

Things get very... spicy when Toxic's identity as the Red Ring lieutenant comes to light.

Toxic: Babes you know your dad wouldn’t want you to…

Robert: do not bring my father into this! He has no say after blowing me up!