Hi, it's me, the Phenomaman AU guy here and thank you so much for letting me share it. I might share more in the future but I hope you enjoy it.
This AU is called DLTA shenanigans or DLTA-S for short. Basically, how I imagined Phenomaman's time with the DLTA team before coming to the Z-team. The idea is that because the DLTA branch are the highest ranking superheroes in California, they must have dealt with some crazy, life threatening/world ending stuff since they're considered the best of the best. With that comes trauma and despite the fact that they're real sweethearts, they cope in unique ways that involve explosives, booby traps, sneak attacks, training and more. They don't do anything with malicious intent and they do have breaks where they can relax but sometimes people can see Brainbook disarming an active radioactive bomb, Pom Pom dodging through missiles in the hallway, Sweetalker doing paperwork in a freezing cold room, Brickhouse and Phenomaman tanking traps set by Equilibrium, getting grenades randomly tossed into their break rooms, etc. This is so that they can keep vigilant, not slack off and be prepared for anything. There's always a safe switch if it gets too much but rarely is it ever used.
Some time during his time with the Z-team, Phenomaman comments about something he went through that made everyone stop and stare at him in horror. Maybe he was reminded of the stuff he gets up to with the DLTA team and that's how Robert and the Z-team realise that DLTA are insane and Phenomaman is considered tame compared to them.
Ps: This may be wishful thinking and I apologise if it's not canon but I like to think that DLTA cares for Katon-Ur. They unfortunately had to give him space after he was dropped but were able to contact him after a while.
Love these.
Downtown Los Angeles is legit like the New York of the west coast, everything goes. Torrence is a relatively small city in comparsion despite having it's own wacky supers.
If there's ever a situation where the Z Team have to collaborate for missions or training purposes, they're gonna be shocked at how unhinged the main DTLA are together.
One DTLA member is chill. More than one, and you got them wrestling like rowdy siblings. Their idea of a good natured prank is tossing a boulder at one another.
I also agree that the DTLA team cares about Phenomaman, but they recognised that he needed a break from work after his break up. They certainly didn't expect him to start haunting Blazer's place of work and becoming a member of the Z-Team.
We see in the final dispatch shift that the DTLA branch are actively helping defend Torrence, and I like to think it's partially out of worry for their fave sad alien man.
