Very very evil emotion-wracking idea for my series of getting Robert Robertson pregnant in one way or a another:
Tw for Pregnancy, Miscarriage, Depression, and Cryptic Pregnancy/Childbirth.
Robert falls pregnant prior to the main events of Dispatch.
It was an accident - either a missed pill, a broken rubber, or sheer recklessness.
But Robert was determined to do right by his baby. He cleared out his cluttered apartment of any sharp tools or gadgets - isolating the mech to one of many garage storage units beneath the apartment complex.
He was half-way into constructing a crib when the news broke of Shroud's escape from prison.
Robert's heart grew cold.
He couldn't let history repeat itself.
As long as Shroud lives, his and his unborn child's fate is left uncertain.
He falls into the trap laid before him at the Steel Mill. Had the hero been less clouded by rage and protectiveness, he might have recognised Shroud's lure.
Robert vowed that once he touched down, he would go into hero witness protection. It wasn't his style to run and hide, but it wasn't just him anymore.
In his relief of escaping the Red Ring's web, Robert noticed the foreign object on the Mech's back far too late.
Mecha Man explodes over the Southland.
When he finally awakens months on, Robert's heart sinks down into his flat stomach.
He lost the baby about a week into his medically-induced coma. The crash, combined with the multiple complications that occured under the knife, were just too much for the bundle of cells to endure.
Robert cries and doesn't stop for hours. He doesn't even register his other symptoms or lingering injuries.
He lost his child in his goal to protect them from the man that ruined his life.
Robert stops responding to the medical team. He stops eating, and cleaning himself. He stares off into space for hours on end.
Chase is called after the third day of catatonia.
Robert swears that the speeding hero broke the sound barrier making to the hospital - but he's shocked to find his adoptive brother aged beyond his years by a power he used so flagrantly.
("It's just like you, Robert. You made him run all the time. You were killing your family long before the crash." The voice in his brain screams.)
Chase is warned of what happened by tje doctors. That Robert was in the explosion, and had lost his pregnancy due to complications. The doctor in charge of Robert's long-term care believes it would be best if the injured hero wasn't alone for a while.
Chase takes Robert and Beef home with him. Even with the overjoyed chunky dog licking his face, Robert can barely muster a smile.
Days pass before the meds start kicking in, and Robert feels alive enough to start talking about what happened.
He cries in his big brother's arms like he's a little kid again.
Chase silently vows to kill Elliot himself if he gets his hands on him. Or at least whomever planted the bomb on the mech suit.
Weeks pass, and Robert starts rebuilding his life piece by piece. Starting with the Mech.
The authorities had been so kind as to detain the crashed "aircraft" for investigation purposes, but clearly some parts had been plucked by human vultures.
The Astral Pulse was missing.
Robert's revenge will take much long without his suit's power source.
The press conference goes as planned - save for Meach Man beating Charles Kingsley for five straight minutes as tears ran down the hero's face.
Robert isn't sure if he agrees with the sentinment that Mecha Man would be better off a dead martyr than a surviving has-been.
Blonde Blazer throws him a lifeline.
A steady job managing a team of supers. Benefits include; a salary, health insurance, and access to SDN's tech division.
With time, Robert could become Mecha Man again.
And soon Mecha Man will have his pound of flesh.
But something lingers in Robert's body. Something left undetected before he was discharged from the hospital. Something that hid behind it's dying twin as the parent fought for their life.
Another reason for Robert to reconsider his revenge.
Its barely into new job when Robert feels the familar nausea that plagued him before his coma.
He panics, puzzled. He hasn't...?
A sniff, followed by a echoing screech from one of his ex-villains reaches him before he can finish his thoughts.
The manbat Sonar looks equally surprised, smiling light-heartedly.
"Oooof! That explains it! Tiny second heartbeat! Thought I was hearing things."
Robert drops the twinkie he was holding, and promptly throws up from shock. (It hits an hidden, now grossed-out Invisigal.)
The OB called in explains it simply; Robert had been pregnant with multiples. The baby that was lost after the explosion was what they call a "Vanishing Twin" - a weakened embryo that simply passes to ensure the health of it's sibiling. The surviving baby was settled in an awkward but sheltered position behind it's twin.
Tears run down Robert's face for entirely new reasons.
He has someone to fight for again.
Someone he vows to protect with his life.
Shroud will die begging before he ever learns of this miracle.
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