#red ring dispatch

The Red Ring

How many bastard babies did this guy have running around! From orphanages to still living with their moms!

tbf Robert strikes me as someone who had safe-sex drilled into his head at a young age - mostly to prevent STIs and villainous illegitimate offspring (Robbie was very firm on the matter).

One of his gut responses to Invisigal telling him about her sex dream is "I hope I wore a condom." So he has safety in mind.

Depending on his "equipment", he could have a different means of protection in place.

However, he's still reckless at times.

In the "Toxic Baby au" for example; sleeping around with a certain Red Ring lieutenant equals a pregnant Robert.

Sleeping around with people as an AMAB person however?

He wrapped up like a sandwich. He ain't risking it!

Even if he assumes the Astral Pulse nuked his nuts, Robert knows all it takes is a fertility charm or a broody villain to end up with his own squad of Mordreds.

There would be ONE exception though...

Robert thought "ex-foe I put away" would be a good lead to finding info on Shroud, but the fire-wielding arsonist knew nothing. He was going straight ("But not like that.") into heroism - Phoenix Program you know?

Robert had effectively seduced the ex-villain enough that he went "ah, fuck it" and rolled into bed after him anyway.

There was one major speed bump though.

Fire powers + protection = broken rubber. Robert seriously weighs his options.

Flambae: "Look Bitch, you want melted latex in your pisshole? Cus I'm happy with either." Robert: "Alright, you made your point. No risks on your end?" Flambae: "My body nukes any invaders. Don't worry about it."

(*note: Flambae didn't realise he wasn't 100% pregnancy proof. He'd been told in past medical screenings that his higher body temp would kill off any sperm cells/embryos. So he though he was infertile.)

Leads to this sort of situation.

Robert awakes from his coma to see; a pissed-off fire hero holding an almost-newborn baby. Beef is nearby, clearly spoilt beyond measure.

Flambae: "Mashallah, it's a miracle. Your normie dick broke through my fiery defences."

Robert, so very confused, and on pain meds: "Oh word?"

Mecha Man reveal happens a Lot earlier in this situation.

The only reason Flambae doesn't torch Robert right there in the hospital room is One: he looks too pathetic rn, Two: waste of good dick, and Three: He makes adorable babies.

Awareness does not mean understanding, however, and he discovers that quickly. Pain remains at his side as any friend should, but it is content to keep from drifting back to sleep. It does not tell him where he is or why he is there. It is only a thick, unbreaking darkness that surrounds him on all sides. The only reason it does not overwhelmingly feel like a void is because there is a cold, hard floor beneath him and the vague impression of walls around him. 

It has not completely lost its connections to an abyss, though, which is why he feels a surge of panic darting through his body like a lightning bolt that will not fade into thunder. He throws his fists against the walls he knew would be there, ignoring how pain meets him at every turn. He has the instinct to flee this strange chamber, greater than even his desperation to know who he is and why he found himself here. 

He freezes when the muffled sound of him hitting the walls is overtaken by another noise. It is a low whirring, so machine-like that it cannot be mistaken for anything else. This noise rises upward. It centralizes around a point that suddenly illuminates in a red light, barely bringing the small room—the tomb—where he’s trapped into a low dimness. 

“Admit you are dead, and you may leave.” 

That voice is machine-like, too, neither woman nor man, neither young nor old, neither natural nor super. It is a twisting of the natural order made by human hands, an AI program or robot that speaks to the imprisoned human in low, apathetic tones. 

“W-what?” He repeats. His voice is hoarse and whispery. His dear old friend drags its claws through the flesh from his larynx to his tongue. 

“Admit you are dead, and you may leave.” 

There is no difference between the two times that statement was uttered. No annoyance at having to repeat itself, no special annunciation to make certain it is understood. It will repeat itself as many times as it needs to. 

“I’m not dead,” He hisses at the machine. The darkness and lack of memories might have made him think that, but the pain and this machine speaking to him give him just enough faith that he’s alive. 

That pain shoots right through his heart. He collapses forward, suddenly unable to breathe. His hands scramble across his chest. He cuts his skin on the sharp, warm edges of solid metal laid to rest in his flesh. He digs into it slightly, hurting himself twofold with how it cuts him and how he disturbs what feels like his heart by interfering with it. 

“Admit you are dead, and you may leave.” 

That first pain was obviously the machine’s doing. Though he’s only hurting himself further, he breathlessly, weakly, calls out, “I’m alive.” 

Immediately, he starts screaming with how much it hurts. 

“Admit you are dead, and you may leave.” 

The machine could not be more apathetic to his plights. 

“St-stop it!” 

“Admit you are dead, and you may leave.” 

He glares up at the red light. It resembles an eye staring down at him. He knows it is not true, but he cannot help but see disappointment laden within that mechanical gaze. 

“Admit you are dead, and you may leave.”

He no longer needs to speak to incur punishment. Though he thought it impossible, the machine cranks up the severity of the pain. It spreads from his chest to the rest of his body. His limbs spasm outward uncontrollably, and his head threatens to split itself apart. He does what he can to assist the process by slamming his head downward into the floor. 

“Admit you are dead, and you may leave.”

At least, he does so while he can still feel the floor. It does not take long for something to happen—either the machine or the pain—to make the floor beneath him and walls surrounding him disappear. He is floating in the void now, held tightly in the fist of misery and despair.

“Admit you are dead, and you may leave.”

Only the voice is clear. He knows every word as it enters through his ears. It carries no pain with it, yet he feels the sharpest blades stab into his psyche at the mere suggestion of it. He clings, foolishly, to the rejection of such claims, wallowing in the terrible pain as if his stubbornness will see him through to the end. 

“Admit you are dead, and you may leave.”

It carries him far. He knows time passes despite being unaware of how much. He knows that he holds on for as long as he can. But at a certain point, all the pain condenses together so oppressively that he is certain he has died. In this tomb, he has bled out, stripped of flesh, bones thrown into the pyres. His memories abandoned him from the start, and his soul follows down the path his eyes cannot see. 

“I-I…” He cannot hear his own voice. He does not know if any sound is coming out. He only knows that pain grates up his throat as he forces the admittance through his cracked, blood-dried lips. “I’m dead.” 

The pain shuts off completely, only lingering as aftereffects. The red light intensely brightens. The entire tomb is flooded with it. And then, the wall beneath it slides open. Pale gray light filters into the room. Figures stand on the other side, mere shadows wearing masks. They do not step into the room, but they hold their hands out to him to welcome him into the afterlife. He crawls toward them, if only because he cannot be in this tomb anymore. 

“You are dead,” The machine says new words, still as hollow as before yet he paints the words with hope. “Welcome to the Red Ring, Revenant.” 

---

@stormbringers-melody one does not simply call me out

Fire and smoke everywhere.

There was nothing but little left from the Brave Brigade headquarters,

Chase tried his best to carry Robbie to a safe place, but his broken leg and the smoke inhalation were a terrible foe.

Robbie used his own body to protect him from the explosion, how could he not noticed that before him? The pain got him and fell hard into the ground, Robbie groaned in pain and looked at him.

Robbie's body was covered in cuts and blood, missing his left arm and leg, the left side of his face was burned and scarred, somehow he was still conscious, was his willing to fight for his life or was he just too stubborn die? Who knows.

-Chase… k… kid…-He tried to speak.

Chase looked at him, tears running down his face nonstop.

-Take… care… of Robert…-His last breath as a single tear run down his only eye left, leaving this world and the pain on it.

He couldn't believe it, he almost couldn't breath, they were dead, they were ALL dead, his team, his friends, his family, he just spoke to Robbie 5 minutes ago, asking him about… What did he asked him? He can't remember, everything went to hell so fast. He could only think of getting them out of there.

Oh god… What will he tell Robert!? His dad was dead, the Brigade was gone, the mech suit nowhere to be found, his mind went a thousand miles per second, but his body could only release a single wail of pain and despair, he screamed till he couldn't scream anymore and fell on top of Robbie.

It felt like an eternity when he suddenly heard a voice… Robert!? what the hell was he doing in here!? Is he okay!? Is he hurt!? Is he…?!

-It worked!-Robert excitedly said, running towards him.

What?

-Chase, did you see me, someone tried to break in but my mini mech-bomb finally worked!- His excitement blinded him until he saw around him. There were burned debris anywhere he looked, the smoke was starting to make him feel sick.

-You… You… did this…?- Chase whispered in shock. -Why? Why did you do this?- He couldn't believe it. Little Robert caused this? All of this?

-I… I… I didn't… I just-just… just wanted… to save you guys…-Robert looked pass Chase and saw his dad's corpse, he took a step back and then he looked at his left, there was a hand with a blue glove, it was Vitalia's, only her hand… Where was… Where was the rest of…

-I only wanted to help…-He sobbed. What had he done?-I only wanted to help. I only wanted to help… I only wanted to help… I only wanted to help! I only wanted to help!! I ONLY WANTED TO HELP!!! I ONLY WANTED TO HELP!!!-He repeated almost madly, trying his best to convince himself that it wasn't his fault, that this was a dream he'll soon wake up from.

-I told you to stay… away…-Chase told him that he was too young, that his little experiments needed work, that it would be too dangerous. But he didn't listen, he didn't listen and now they're all dead. He almost saw red. All of this because he couldn't listen…

-I TOLD YOU! TO STAY! AWAY!!-Chase slapped him across his face furious, how could he do something so stupid!? This wasn't a simple mistake, this was a catastrophe!

-WHY DID YOU LEAVE ME?!-Robert wail in pain, he just wanted to help…

Chase grabbed him by the hair and angrily shouted:

-BECAUSE YOU!! ARE!! A CURSE!!! Do you hear me!!? YOU are a Jinx! -He didn't really meaned that but he couldn't help himself, he was just too mad to think straight.

-Chase, please!-A thin line of blood fall of the kid's nose. That snapped him out of his fury, he looked at his hand, there was blood on it, Robert´s blood, his hand started shaking and didn't stop, he breathed heavily and felt everything was numb. He didn't wanted to hurt him, he was just angry and… And… He still was, he looked at Robert's face and he still felt mad. He can't hurt him again, he had to leave, so he did.

Robert covered his face thinking Chase was going to hit him again, but a trail of light caught his eye, Chase was leaving him.

-CHASE! Chase come back!! Please come back!!-He desperately cried.-PLEASE!!!, i need you!! Please, Chase i need you please!!!-

He run. Chase run as fast as he ever did, he just couldn't face him right now, he needed to clear his mind, it ill be just a second, Robert will still be there, he will apologize, they would figure something out, but right now, he just needed to run.

-Chase….¡¡CHASE!! Please!!!…-The kid fell on his knees, sobbing uncontrollably, he didn't mean to do this. He just wanted to help… He just wanted to help… He just wanted to help…

Elliot appeared out of a wall with some of his men, he hired them to help him find the Mech and HIS Astral Pulse, he saw his honorary nephew on the ground, he was still alive.

-Robert… You're okay…-He slowly approached him.-Where is Chase?…-If he was still alive, it could be a problem.

Robert stop crying for a second, Uncle Elliot was alive, he looked up and saw him with some other people, they all had umbrellas and the same red light thingies Elliot has. But where was he? Why wasn't he here? Why did his dad died but he was alive? Why is he here now? Why did Chase had to leave him? Why…?

He was mad, he was sad, he was tired of everything and he wanted to hit something. He jumped at Elliot and hit him weakly with his fists, and keep hitting him until the stress and exhaustion made him stop, he hugged his uncle crying, everything was ruined and it was his fault.

The other henchmen looked at the scene, some unsure in what to do, others impressed of the kids audacity, others worried because… Is Elliot going to kill the kid?…

Elliot kept looking at the crying child in his chest, he calculated Robert's reaction and was prepared for it, but it still hit him a bit harder than expected.

-He left me…-Sobbed -He left me…-

Elliot looked at the remains of the headquarters, Robbie's dead body was there and he felt a bittersweet sensation, that lying bastard was dead and so were the other who were too scared to contradict him, but… He still can recall some good times with them, they used to be his friends after all.

He looked down again and raised his hand, it could be very easy to kill him, to end the Mecha Man bloodline once and for all, to get rid of any possible varieties in his plans…

Why couldn't he?…

He lowered his arms and hugged Robert, right now he was in an emotional train wreck, he would be very easy to manipulate, he would see him as everything he has left, as the only one who cared… And what better way to kill the Mecha Man legacy, but to keep it alive and tarnish it with a villain Mecha Man.

And right now, he couldn't help but see himself in this kid, throw away, alone, such a brilliant mind, a small feeling of guilt came over him.

Since it was him who altered the bomb.

-Its okay…-Elliot whispered-We'll show them… WE will show them all-He hold him tight.

Robert kept crying, but he frowned on Elliot's coat, he only wanted to help, now everyone was gone. Only uncle Elliot was here, not like Chase, he ran, he ran when he needed him most, he begged and scream but he just ran away from him.

He was NOT his brother anymore.

It always felt like BS to me, and the only narrative points that kind of corroborate it are 1 - armstrong attacking her at the bar saying “someone wants to talk to you” (it becomes obvious that someone is shroud), and 2 - at the final fight one of the red ring minions handing her the mask (wich seems to be the missing piece for her augments to work???)

and the general consensus on people who don’t buy the claim is that the minion fell for the bluff too.

HOWEVER

think about it from the red ring / shroud-the-gang-leader prespective. One prominent member of his gang, someone who he took a fair amount of effort to recruit, and who was the indispensible linch pin for his mecha man goes boom plan to work, up and left and joined the fenix program. If she succeeds in leaving, how does that look? The other members start getting ideas about an easy exist from the ring. That’s not how crime rings work, either you’re in or you’re dead.

Now i was already under the assumption, because of the bar fight scene, that after she joined SDN shroud tried to recruit/forcer her back in and become the spy he claims she was.

silly Red Ring May 😌 recreational goons

At the height of the heat, Robert begins to feel a touch delirious. His vision swims slightly. It is so bad that he misses the drop-off at the end of the stairs. While the distance isn’t that great, it does cause Robert to fall onto the ground. The noise he makes echoes down a long hallway with an unseen end somewhere in front of him. 

He receives a response in the form of laughter. Pink light crosses over the ground he’s staring at it for a split second. He tilts his head back to find Visi leaning her shoulder against the wall. She smiles at him, dark eyes glittering in the pale blue glow of his arm. She nods toward his current situation. “Stick your ass up a little.”

“Visi,” Robert murmurs. He glares at her, but tiredly. But half-seriously. Mostly, he’s happy to see her. He’s happy that she looks and sounds like the Visi he knows, not like all these other imposters who have only hurt him. Unfortunately, he can see that she isn’t soaked in sweat. She isn’t breathing heavily. She isn’t even a little flush. She doesn’t feel the heat that is blowing right through this underground circuit. She isn’t any more real than anything else is, so he feels comfortable asking, “Where are we?” 

“A five-star restaurant filled with rich bitches,” Visi jokes. She crosses her arms over her chest, narrowing her eyes at him. “Where the fuck do you think we are, Leuitenant Dan? You’re the one who came here.” 

“Why would an observatory have a basement open to the public?” Robert continues. 

Visi’s glare sharpens. “I don’t fucking know. I’m the one that runs this shithole, and I couldn’t care less who gets to enter their basement. Not like there are many places off-limits to me.” 

Why do the illusions have to go with realism now? Robert would very much like to talk to someone that actually knows what’s happening, or could give him a clue. He would even take it being mixed up in this philosophical bullshit everyone has been spouting at him like he understands this cosmic game he’s been put in the middle of. 

Robert pulls himself onto his feet. He leans heavily against the far wall. He takes deep breaths. Each step makes him feel even more off-balanced than before, but he perseveres by continually wiping his body down with his damp clothes. It isn’t making him feel much better. In fact, his vision remains in a constant state of flux, bringing the end of the hall closer and further away in rapid succession. 

Visi doesn’t help. “Just take the whole shirt off.” 

Robert glares at her from the corner of his eye. She rolls both of hers, disappearing from his sight. Her footsteps fade away from him. With a sigh, Robert just gets himself to the end of the hallway. 

It opens up into a large room. There is a desk with a single computer in the corner to his right. The majority of the room is clear until Robert realizes that what he thought was a complete wall was actually dozens upon dozens of boxes stacked together. They take up over half the room, stopping just before a metal vault door. 

Visi reappears, sitting on the desk beside the computer. Robert glances over at her. She has her feet propped up on a chair he didn’t see before her invisibility turned off. Without looking at him, Visi says, “You know, the Red Ring helped pay for this shithole.” 

Robert pauses. The information takes a moment to register with how scattered everything inside his head is. “What?” 

“Yeah, got the money docs right here,” Visi tells him. She lifts her hand to reveal a stack of papers. Robert takes them from her, and Visi lets him. As he’s looking through financial records and checkbooks, Visi adds,  “Wonder what they were trying to do.” 

Robert continues flipping through the papers. Through sheer force of will, he pulls his awareness together to focus on what they say. Or, more accurately, the story they are telling him. “It must be a base of some kind. Or a means of laundering money. Or…” 

Robert goes quiet. Visi leans forward. The chair’s four legs all drop to the ground. She gets real close to him, peering up directly into his eyes. “...or? Don’t leave me hanging. You know I’ve never looked good with a noose.” 

He frowns, though not because of her strange comment. He taps the papers against his fingers. He considers everything he’s been told so far. The other pieces of evidence from the other rooms. An image is starting to form in his mind despite how this heat wants to kill all his brain cells. “Shroud is the kind of person to have… contingencies. He would’ve known there was always a possibility of death. How does a man become immortal?” 

Visi smirks to herself. “He tells death to fuck off?” 

“Maybe…” 

“What? You think the stars had something to do with this shit? You are off your fucking rocker.” Visi leans back. She gives him an assessing look like that time in the bathroom. “It’s kind of hot in a… maybe for one night kinda way.” 

Robert puts the papers back on the desk. He frames his hands around them. He leans forward, letting his weight sink onto the surface. His sweat stains the paper like tears. “I don’t… I don’t know what he did. I just have this feeling that he did something and this observatory was part of it.” 

Visi shoves the chair aside with her feet. Robert jumps at the clattering sound. Visi drops onto her feet. She spins around the chair. When she stops, she hooks her thumb over her shoulder at the vault’s many locks. “Well, while you’re chasing a ghost, how about you figure out how to open the door?” 

“Open the door?” 

She nods. She turns her fingers toward the desk. “Yeah. Check the computer. It’ll help you.” 

Suddenly, she disappears. “Visi?” Robert steps forward, swinging his arms around with what limited energy he has left. “Visi!” She does not reappear. She does not make a noise. She is gone, and Robert is alone once more. “Ugh, dammit.” 

Not wanting to deal with any more bullshit, he turns his attention to the computer. The program it was running opens immediately, no sign-in or loading required. It’s because the only thing the computer can do is show him a security feed of the room. The angle is weird, though. It’s straight-down, showing the entire floorspace that isn’t covered in boxes. 

“What the hell does this have to do with anything?” Robert asks himself. The computer doesn’t give a straight answer. Nothing else in the room does, either, and Visi doesn’t seem to be giving out hints any time soon. Sighing, Robert drops down into the chair. He stares at the screen, letting his fingers mindlessly flip through the pages. 

With all the puzzles, there has been a through-line. Everything is connected. The computer, the boxes, the papers—they are his clues. Or his pieces. He just needs to figure out what they mean and how they connect. Easier said than done when it’s hot as hell and he’s frequently distracted by his inhuman appendages, but Robert isn’t going to quit. Or worse, die. 

Robert glances back at the papers. He goes over the statements, one after another, searching for… anything, really. What he finds are inconsistencies. At first, he thought the Red Ring simply sucked at finances, but there might be something more to it. Without any other leads, Robert begins investigating. 

Each inaccurate transaction is paired with an alphabetical assignment to distinguish it from all the others. Robert uses that to track down letters that could form a code. He does come up with a word. Or two. NOSAVIORS. No saviors. Robert doesn’t think about it further. 

Carrying the papers with him, Robert stumbles across the room to the vault door. Unfortunately, he can’t find any way to insert a code. He only finds an inscription telling him one is necessary. But how could that be if there isn’t a place to put them? And how does the computer and boxes fit into this solution? 

Robert goes to the center of the room. He tilts his head back. It’s too dark for him to see the ceiling or the camera that must be hanging from it. Robert sighs, turning his head. The computer screen appears in his peripheral vision. When he looks at it, he notices that there is a red box around what must be himself. Robert runs over to the screen, but the box is gone by the time he gets there. Needing a way to see what it said, Robert goes to the boxes. He only takes one, setting it in the center of the room. At the computer, the red box is still there, along with a little note above it. PASSWORD INCORRECT.

“You’ve got to be fucking kidding me.” 

No one tells him that he’s being fucked with, so Robert sighs. He sets the paper down on the desk. He goes to the boxes. He pulls them down one-by-one. He starts to spell out the code he found. What must be an hour later (if not an eternity given how he’s working in this hellish heat), Robert has the word spelled out. The computer screen shows a bright green box, and he imagines it’s paired with the words PASSWORD CORRECT.

The vault’s gears start spinning around. In the minute it’s going to take, Visi reappears beside him, sitting atop one of the boxes. She swings her legs, hunching forward to whisper into his ear. “Take my advice, Rob, and don’t play the hero. You’re only going to hurt yourself.” 

The vault door opens. Robert walks over to it. There is only darkness on the other side. Thankfully, he feels the trickling of a cold breeze. It reminds of Visi’s words. He glances over his shoulder at her as he steps through. She remains where she was sitting with Shroud’s mask over her face. Robert jerks back to question her, but the vault door slams shut, leaving him in darkness and silence and coldness.