#vitalia dispatch

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.

☆ She's Chinese American.

☆ Her family moved to the US before she was born, so she's only ever visited China, and she's never felt like she was truly apart of the country and its culture.

☆ For the reason stated above, she grew up slightly jealous of her older sister, Meilin, who remembers life in China and has a much better grasp on the language and the culture Xuli feels she was denied from.

☆ Born on March 8th, 1979

☆ Her powers are wind manipulation, which first manifested around the age 5 or 6. While she's not the first in her family with powers, she is the one with the most chaotic powers. At the very least, she certainly used them for the most chaotic means as a child.

☆ When she got older, she put a lot of her worth on mastering her powers. She was not the most clever child in school, so she knew her powers were the best way to make her family proud.

☆ She also placed a lot of worth on her appearance. She's attractive and she knows it, and it makes her feel good to hear people acknowledge it.

☆ The two things stated above manifested into self esteem issues that are at their worst during the peak of her hero career.

☆ Her powers lower her body temperature, so she's colder than the average person, and the cold doesn't affect her as much. She's also much sturdier in the wind, and there's rarely, if ever, a gust of wind strong enough to bother her. It does mean that dry, hot weather with no wind bothers her a lot, her body seemingly entering in a panic when the air is too still. She's a lover of handheld fans in those moments (you know the ones).

☆ She joined the Brave Brigade in 1997 at the age of 18. Her official show to the public as a proper member came in the summer right after she graduated high school.

☆ Before Chase/Track Star joined the team, Xuli had the highest synergy with Crina/Vitalia. Even after the fact, the two remain close friends beyond the existence of the Brave Brigade.

☆ Once Chase did join in 1999, the two almost immediately developed a very strong synergy together. Their powers of wind and speed worked well together, and their personalities and humour fit each other well. It also helps that they're the two youngest members of the team, and often feel left out in conversations with their older teammates.

☆ Due to her generally outgoing personality, Xuli meshes well with most of the Brigade with little trouble. The only one she's a little off around is Elliot.

☆ Personally, she's not the biggest fan of Elliot. Even with his cool and helpful technology, she finds him a bit weird. She does try to tolerate him and be nice to him though, since he is kind of a member of the team, and she can admit the technological stuff could be very useful in the future. And if nothing else, she knows Crina kind of likes him, so she deals with him for her sake.

☆ She knows that Elliot and Robbie are at odds with each other more than they show, but she doesn't look deeper beyond that. She figures it doesn't really involve her, and trying to shove her opinion in will only make it worse. Besides, she respects Robbie and his opinion as an older, more experienced hero, in a similar way to how she respects her parents, so she trusts he knows what's right.

☆ When Elliot/Shroud kills Robbie/Astral, Xuli is beyond furious at the betrayal, but the anger doesn't last for as long as she'd like. Once Elliot is behind bars, the fight leaves her completely, making space for seemingly unending sadness instead.

☆ After 2008, Xuli tries desperately to cling onto hero work, even as the Brave Brigade starts to fall apart and go their separate ways. When Chase leaves for good in 2014 and it's only her and Crina left behind is when she's finally able to let go of the ghost and accept she can't stick to being just a hero anymore.

☆ She starts to put together a normal life for herself. She decides to become a lifeguard, using her childhood skills gained from competitive swimming in middle and high school to get her through training.

☆ A year or so into her new life, she runs into a man called Gregory, Rory for short, who also works as a lifeguard, although his stay is only temporary until he manages to find a more stable job. She ends up recognising him as an ex-Brigader, Khione, who had gone and left LA not long after Robbie's death. They weren't close before, but now they're both happy to find another person who gets it; the struggle of trying to adapt to normal life without hero work.

☆ The two start talking more and they hit it off well, hanging out outside of work just because they enjoy each other's company. After several months of being friends, they develop romantic feelings for each other, and eventually agree to start dating each other to see if it works out.

☆ In 2017, they end up accidently having a baby, a daughter they call Mei, for Xuli's older sister. After having her daughter, Rory encourages her to start therapy to work through some issues that stem from her past hero work, and she's finally convinced, especially after she starts struggling a lot post-partum.

☆ When they accidently have a second daughter they call Esther (Essie for short) two years later, they officially decide to get married.

☆ She stays in close touch with Crina, coming to visit her often. Sometimes she also brings the girls along, who consider Crina to be one of their aunties.

☆ During the Red Ring attack, she comes out and uses her powers to help as many civilians as she can. She doesn't fight anyone unless absolutely necessary. When she finds out Shroud is gone (dead or alive), she doesn't feel much of anything. She's thankful, at the least, to see the fucker gone and unable to hurt anyone anymore.

☆ She never expected the therapy to do much, but it actually helps her a lot with working through struggles she hadn't even realised she had. She tries to convince Crina and Rory to also give it a try, but they both refuse it.

Firstly, I can't imagine how Robert was terrified when he found out th second part of the curse. Well, you know, there are only the worst ways of possibilities. On the one side, Robert will die, and his child becomes orphan, but on the other side, the child can die while childbirth, and he will be alone with void inside.

Secondly, how would society react when Mecha Man has just disappeared? Would people panic? Will all this public outcry be the reason for Robert's thoughts about return to be a hero?

Thirdly, let's talk about the sword of Damocles. Hhm-hhm. I mean Shroud. Of course, he will try to find Robert because of Astral Pulse. I hope that when Robert has bought the house, he covered his name for some reason. Chase probably said that he was paranoid. For sure, Zteam will be asking why Shroud is interested in Robert. Poor Robert, life can't give him a break

So, have a good day. Bye!

re: magic, baby! au (tag)

@b26-xs -- oh my god thank you so much for this ask! and i was more than happy to answer the other ask, i really love getting to talk about my au's, so i definitely encourage folks to send me messages about them! and thank you so much to both you and anyone else who sends them in! i hope you have a wonderful day! this is such a great ask too, there is a lot to chew on and somethings i definitely don't have full answers for just yet. but lets get into it!

cw: mpreg, pregnancy, pregnancy-related situations, menstrual cycles, mention of potential pregnancy/birth complications (nothing happens dw), body changes/transformation (via magic) --- nothing of the previously listed topics is overly graphic or detailed, just mentioned and/or implied cw: mention of near death experiences

going to touch your third topic first, actually. because it truly is something i don't have full answers for yet... if anything this is the subject that is really holding me up from diving into fully writing this.

he does indeed change his name, he actually takes chase's surname! i like to think it was actually chase's suggestion; not necessarily to take his last name, but change his name. then it's robert who asks if he can use chase's. he's the closest thing to family he has and... he likes how it sounds. chase is very emotional about it, though in his classic chase way. it's primarily for safety, first and foremost. remove himself from mecha man as much as possible. which also has the bonus, but unintended benefit, of helping him heal a little. no longer bearing the weight of being the third robert robertson to exist and the legacy.

i don't entirely know yet if i want to keep this story pretty much just light hearted; with yes some tension here or there but like no big dramatics. or do i go full drama? do i translate the canon story or something along those lines into it? if so what does shroud do?

i typically give shroud at least an uncle-like relationship to robert, if not outright a father-figure. do i do that in this au too? it would certainly change how shroud reacts, that's for sure. and like, if he is after the astral pulse still... robert doesn't have the benefit of the prototype: he only has the original astral pulse. and he doesn't want to give it to shroud, but if shroud did threaten phoebe--- he would give up the pulse in a heart beat. he just has to hope and have faith in the heroes of LA (the z team and others if needed) to deal with shroud.

but i don't know if i wanna go that route yet. ideally, i think i'd like to strike a nice balance between the two extremes. but how i do that, i don't really know yet.

regardless of what route i go, if i decide to give and uncle or father vibe for eli to robert (previously) i think he would be.. enamoured with phoebe? he'd be, at least in spirit, a grunkle or grandfather. but will robert give him that, and allow it?

so yeah, that's my big dilemma right now.

anyways, onwards!

re: the spell put on robert that caused the pregnancy

yeah! robert definitely was terrified, more than he's ever been before. he was used to being in danger, knowing full well the risks that come with hero work -- especially as a normie. he was ~10 years into being mecha man when this happened, he's had plenty of near death experiences. he was also used to having others lives in his hands, when his work had him saving lives directly.

but this was definitely a new kind of terror for him. robert is used to the fight and even flight fear responses. he can really only remember one other time when he went to the freeze response: the incident that gave him the notch in his ear... yet there he was, frozen.

it would not be a mistake to say that chase, vitalia, and whatever witch he got to help him that helped see him through the panic. the near experiences in the past had, for robert, been shoved aside-- the fear that bubbled up he pushed down and shoved aside like it was just some other day. the most he gave himself a day, or was forced to because of injury... but this wasn't something he could do that with, it wasn't something that just shook him up for a day or two: this was like two-three works of robert being haunted. if anything was a sword of Damocles, it was this.

but thankfully he had his tiny support group in chase and vitalia and a witch working to make sure he and the baby made it through.

the greater LA area got the benefit of mecha man slowing down, tapering off in his work. but still, that happened sometimes. they knew he was a normie, maybe he was just injured? but he always came back! and even if Blue can't continue, surely another will take up being mecha man... but that didn't happen. there was, on record, the last day anyone saw mecha man.

there was panic, confusion... which eventually turned to soured feelings, claims of cowardice... which eventually tapered off. eventually. mecha man still has his devoted fans, who even if they never see him again (blue or otherwise) will love the work he did. he still has his detractors too, of course. and people who just feel... confused, betrayed.

robert did consider going back to hero work. how could he not? it's been the only thing he's known, even in his own childhood. it was his family legacy. the people wanted him back. and he wanted to keep his child safe... even before he knew he was keeping the child, robert wanted to know he was helping keeping his child safe.

There's a long list of people Robert was expecting to be on the other side of his front door. Mandy was at the very bottom, but alas, she's the one that's still throwing her fist forward even after he's swung the door open. He blinks blearily at her. Part of him thinks he must be hallucinating. The other part of him feels are shoulder bump rather harshly into his as she just strides straight into his apartment without so much as a greeting.

Robert closes the door instead of kicking her out. He steps back into his living room to watch her drop a cardboard box onto the couch. Beef sniffs at her heels and ankles. She squats down to pet Beef's head. It's a moment of sanity, Robert realizes, when he flicks the lights on to find that Mandy is not doing great at the moment.

Overworked and exhausted blue eyes stare up at Robert. She opens her mouth. Closes it. She's shaking subtly. She gives Beef one last pet before rising onto her feet. She tears open the box with one hand. The other one reaches toward him, but it doesn't make any decipherable gesture. Robert doesn't know what she wants from him until Mandy is pushing a journal against his chest with a hardened expression.

He should tell her that it's too early for this. He should, but he doesn't. Instead, he sits down on the edge of his couch. He rubs Beef's head with one hand while the other one pulls the journal open. He knows where to go only because there's a light blue ribbon being used as a book mark.

It's a handwritten journal. Robert vaguely recognizes the handwriting, but it isn't Mandy's. It's someone else. A woman writing about the days of her pregnancy. It's followed by a few short passages over the course of weeks instead of days that seem both sad and disjointed. The entries become more consistent again. Robert realizes now that this journal must belong to Mandy's mother since the woman talks about her daughter, but then it clicks that the way Mandy is being described implies she's older. The baby (if they were born because Robert gets the feeling something happened) wouldn't have been as old as Mandy is described to be.

And then there's mentions of a son nicknamed B. The woman writes about longing and distance. Some paragraphs are inked with pure regret while others are her trying to convince herself that she made the right choice.

It's at this point that Robert looks up. "I'm sorry. What am I looking for?"

Mandy nods rather violently. She reaches into the box. She digs around and pulls out a thick, thick folder filled with tons of papers crammed together. Mandy sets it in Robert's lap. She opens it, showing him... Golem's file?

Mandy points to his age and then the date on the journal. Though they coincide, Robert doesn't realize what Mandy is implying until she starts pointing at different dates on Golem's crime sheet that are cross-referenced with the woman talking about her son's 'mistakes.'

Robert continues checking dates while Mandy returns to the box. She pulls a single paper out this time. She sinks into a squat, leaning partially against Robert's knees as she shakily puts the paper over the journal and folder. It's a letter of recommendation. Someone pulled a lot of strings in order to get Golem into the Phoenix Program.

And this handwriting? Robert finally recognizes it. Vitalia, a member of the Brave Brigade.

Mandy leans further into Robert. He lifts his eyes to her. She looks equally close to crying as she does screaming, but only a whisper leaves her lips, "Tell me I'm crazy."

Robert opens his mouth. Nothing comes out. Mandy looks more desperate than before. "Tell me I'm reading into this. Please. Tell me that it's too far-fetched. Tell me I'll never know for certain so I shouldn't even entertain it."

Robert lifts the letter. He folds the journal with the folder still inside. Robert sets all of it back in the box, not bothering to see what else Mandy brought. Instead, he looks back to her. He grabs her hands, squeezing reassuringly, "What do you remember?"

Mandy obviously didn't want him to say that, but when she looks away, she answers his question. "Mom wasn't around much when I was younger. She tried to be. Except there was this one time when her powers were... malfunctioning. She had to stay away. I had to stay with my grandfather. It was for almost a year. And when Mom got me back, she was really sad and scared. She seemed to stay that way. But we never talked about this. No one told me I was going to have a younger sibling. Is that because it didn't happen? Or because they knew something could go wrong? And as for why they didn't tell me..."

"You think it's because your mom put your little brother's soul in a construct and didn't want you looking for him?"

Mandy laughs, a tad manically and definitely with a sob trapped beneath. "See? It sounds stupid. It is stupid. What the hell am I thinking? I don't know who B is or why my mom cared so much about him, but it can't be Bruno. That's so fucking stupid."

"...but you believe it?"

Mandy looks at him like she would rather die than answer. "I do."

Robert nods slowly. Mandy's forehead lands on the edge of his knee and she collapses onto the floor. Beef immediately climbs into her lap. He is singlehandedly keeping her from breaking down, Robert thinks, as he tries processing all the rather damning evidence.

"And we can't ask your mom or grandfather?"

"He's dead. And she's... We can't ask her."

"Then, we'll have to find Bruno's old master. They might know who gave them the baby construct."

Mandy looks up. "We?"

Robert smiles at her. "Yeah, we. You came to me with this, so we're going to figure this out together. Whether it's our Bruno or someone else, we'll find your brother."

Mandy sniffles but smiles back. "Thank you."