I Know Him So Well

by Mistical52

Summary:

“Hey, fire guy!” someone called.

Shit, was he actually on fire? Chad checked his shoulders and forearms. There were wisps of smoke but no fire. He hadn’t done anything wrong. A deep scowl formed, and Chad turned to direct it at whoever called.

It was a hero who looked vaguely familiar, running towards him. He wore a dark blue suit with yellow stripes and a yellow ‘M’ on white armour.

“You’re a hero, right?” he called as he continued to close the distance. He was almost at Chad now.

“Uh,” started Chad.

“I need your help, let’s go!” the hero’s tone was confident and authoritative as he ran right past Chad, waving for him to follow.

 

Or

 

Some time travel to spice things up.

Chapter 1

It was late afternoon at the mall. However, it was still relatively busy despite the time, since it was open late today. Chad was grateful for that. He didn’t want to miss a day of work for this stupid ass mall.

He was walking towards where he thought the security guard station was, dressed in his suit with pants over the top. It made his suit look more like an extravagant shirt rather than a super suit. He looked more casual and got fewer strange looks. Which was the idea.

He would have worn a shirt, too, if he didn’t have a feeling that the conversation with the security guards might get heated. He wasn’t sacrificing any of his good shirts for some bitch ass mall cops. Burn holes really weren’t in fashion, and Chad’s temper was already frayed. He hoped for their sakes that the security guards had a good reason for this bullshit. Otherwise, a smoking shirt would be the least of their worries. He’d hear them out on why they didn’t deal with the guy stalking his niece and her friends around the mall two days ago.

When he picked her up and took her home, she was physically shaking. His ten year old niece shouldn’t have had to experience that. Shouldn’t have had to run around the mall waiting for security to do fuck all. For her to have to wait, scared while Chad drove as fast as he, somewhat, legally could to get to the mall.

Echos of a scream and a shout rang down the mall, distant but clear. Chad ignored them and continued to practically stomp his way to his destination, all while trying to calm down enough so he wouldn’t be literally smoking.

He heard the distant sound of people running. Likely some kids.

One set stopped, but the other got closer.

Not his kids, not his problem.

               “Hey, fire guy!” someone called.

Shit, was he actually on fire? Chad checked his shoulders and forearms. There were wisps of smoke but no fire. He hadn’t done anything wrong. A deep scowl formed, and Chad turned to direct it at whoever called.

It was a hero who looked vaguely familiar, running towards him. He wore a dark blue suit with yellow stripes and a yellow ‘M’ on white armour.

               “You’re a hero, right?” he called as he continued to close the distance. He was almost at Chad now.

               “Uh,” started Chad.

               “I need your help, let’s go!” the hero’s tone was confident and authoritative as he ran right past Chad, waving for him to follow.

Chad’s expression changed to one of confusion even as he started to jog to match the hero’s speed, but he had to pick up the pace.

This hero was fast. Normie fast, but still fast.

               “Who the fuck are you?” asked Chad as he dodged shoppers with the hero.

               “Mecha Man. What’s your name?”

Shit. No wonder he looked familiar. He was shorter than he thought he'd be. Not that Chad had seen many pictures of him outside the suit.

               “Flambae.”

               “Great. Now that introductions are out of the way, are you fast?”

               “Very,” said Chad, puffing up proudly.

               “Good. We’re going to need that. Left here,” said Mecha Man, abruptly turning left, almost cutting Chad off.

He had to awkwardly dodge and dance around the shorter man, who almost knocked him over since the bitch gave him fuck all warming.

               “Where’s your mech?”

Mecha Man skidded and sharply turned into an ‘Employees Only’ doorway. He barreled through it with enough force that the doors cracked against the walls before they swung back. Chad had plenty of time to run in after him before the doors swung shut.

               “Outside. I can’t bring it in here. Someone will get hurt,” replied Mecha Man, his voice echoing down the cement block hall.

               “Why do you need help?”

Chad was very aware of who the hero in front of him was. He wasn’t a sub-rate hero. Everyone knew who Mecha Man was.

               “Kidnapping. A guy snatched up a five year old girl. I was trying to chase him but lost him,” he said. It was all matter of factly, as if this was just a regular Friday night.

Chad rarely felt cold, but as soon as he registered Mecha Man’s words, he felt a chilling cold run through him.

Mecha Man stopped in front of a circuit board. He pulled a cord from his wrist and plugged it into the board. Mecha man rapidly typed on the panel on his forearm.

               “This is the guy,” he said, turning the screen to Chad.

It showed grainy security footage of a man wearing a mask, a baseball cap, a brown jacket, and a black duffel bag over his shoulder.

               “He knocked out the kid and put her in that bag.”

Flames burned through the cold, and Chad could feel flames licking at his shoulders.

               “Well, what are we doing here? We need to find that bitch!” Flambae hissed.

               “I’m searching for him on the security cameras, then I’m going to direct you towards him. Do you have a comm?”

               “No.”

               “A phone or something?”

               “I have a phone.”

               “Can I grab your number?”

Chad could see now that Mecha Man was flicking through cameras almost faster than he could process. So he didn’t hesitate to give the hero his number.

               “I’ll get security to help you-”

               “No,” snapped Chad, “Security is fucking useless here.”

Mecha Man turned to look at him with an eyebrow raised before he turned back to the feed he was scanning through.

               “Ok,” he dragged out, “I feel like there’s a story there. I’ll get you to tell me another time.”

Chad grunted in response. He wasn’t sure if he really wanted to tell Mecha Man the ‘story’.

Mecha Man’s eyes narrowed, “There you are, you rotten shit,” he said in a low voice. Chad could feel the threat dance down his spine.

               “Flambae, you’re up. Stay on the line,” Mecha Man ordered.

Flambae was off like a meteor, shooting down the hallway they came through with a trail of fire in his wake. His phone only rang once before he answered.

               “Go left when you exit the employee section, then left when you get onto the main hall. Can you grab people without hurting them?”

Flambae scoffed, “What do you take me for, an amateur?”

Flambae had tucked his phone away and had the call directed to an earphone as he flew down the main strip.

               “Grab the bag with the kid, and the guy, and pick them up. I don’t think this guy has powers,” instructed Mecha Man.

Flambae could hear deliberately even breaths from the other end. Mecha Man sounded like he was running.

It struck Chad how good Mecha Man was at providing direction. This was a real hero at work. It seemed especially so, as this one had clearly recognised his own limitations. Mecha Man really did need someone like him to help. He was helping an actual hero. What the fuck? Never did he think his day would take this turn.

               “Down two levels.”

Flambae immediately followed the order and dived, ignoring the screams and cries of fright. They’d probably let him off with a slap on the wrist for illegally flying since he was under instructions from Mecha Man himself while trying to save a child.

               “You’re looking for a man in a white shirt with a cowboy hat and a black duffel.”

Flambae frowned, “Wasn’t he wearing a baseball cap?”

              “Yes. He swapped his hat and ditched his jacket and mask. That’s how he gave me the slip before.”

So Mecha Man wasn’t incompetent in situations like this. The kidnapper was just terrifyingly competent.

His niece, shaking in his arms, came to the forefront of his mind. This wasn’t the same guy who had been following his niece. Chad would know. She’d shown him a photo she’d discreetly taken.

People jumped and scrambled to get away from Flambae. Some people stopped to take photos or videos. Flambae wasn’t surprised. He looked like human shaped flames at this point.

               “He’s on your right,” Mecha Man called over the line.

The kidnapper was easy enough to spot after that. He was heading for the large glass doors that made up the main entrance.

Flambae raced forward, aiming straight for the kidnapper. His flames rolled back, leaving his upper body safe to touch.

People’s startled cries had the kidnapper turning around. Flambae saw his eyes widen and the flames reflected in them.

The kidnapper lurched to the side as Flambae reached out. He got his hand on the bag, but the kidnapper slipped out of his reach, willingly letting the bag go.

               “Fuck!” Flambae shouted as his momentum continued forward and he shot past the man.

               “You ok?” the sound of someone travelling a zipline could be heard with the words.

               “Fine. Fucking missed the kidnapper. I got the bag, though,” replied Flambae, and he twisted in the air, one hand holding the straps of the bag and the other supporting it.

               “Is the kid there?”

Flambae didn’t even have to open the bag to know. It felt like there was a child in the bag. He’d held his niece in his arms enough to know what a child felt like, and this was definitely it. He zipped open the bag anyway and saw the face of a small sleeping girl.

               “Yes. I have her,” Flambae was sure Mecha Man could hear the relief in his voice.

               “Good. She’s the priority. Keep her safe.”

Flambae looked down at the kidnapper, who gave Flambae one last look before bolting towards the doors.

               “He’s going for the exit!”

Flambae shifted his hold on the child and prepared to launch himself at the man when he heard a soft, “Oh no, you don’t,” over the call.

Not even a second later, the front of the building shook. The glass vibrated, and despite being in the air, Flambae could almost feel the foundation of the building rattle. The sound was loud as something heavy impacted just outside the main doors, kicking up a cloud of dust.

The kidnapper had skidded to a stop and had fallen onto his back. He looked up as the dust cleared. A large blue mech stood up straight in front of the doors. The kidnapper started to slowly crawl backwards, away from the doors and the imposing mech that stood beyond.

               “You shouldn’t have run,” called Mecha Man’s voice. It came clear through the earphone and echoed throughout the mall.

Mecha Man was walking towards them with calm confidence that spoke of his many years of experience. The crowd parted for him, many openly staring as he walked past. Only Chad could likely tell any different. He could hear Mecha Man’s hard breathing over the line from sprinting here. But the armour hid his chest, and any giveaway that this was anything other than an unwavering hero.

The kidnapper scrambled to a stand, his gaze flicking between the unmoving mech and the hero still walking towards him.

               “Flambae, emergency services are on their way. The kids’ mothers are also on their way,” he spoke at a low volume, so only Flambae could hear.

Flambaa lowered himself down till his boots touched the ground. He looked down and tisked. His pants had burnt away, and he was left just in his suit. Annoying. But he had come in expecting them not to survive. He looked down at the girl, then gently took her out of the bag, holding her to his chest. She was breathing. It was steady, slow, sleeping breaths.

The kidnapper moved abruptly. Mecha Man tensed, and Flambae pulled the child closer, tilting her away from the kidnapper.

               “Call it off and let me walk!” shouted the kidnapper as he held out a pistol.

People screamed, some ducked, and others ran.

               “Get the civilians out now,” Mecha Man hissed over the call.

Mecha Man raised his hands, taking a step forward, “You don’t want to do this.”

Flambae started to back away, gesturing for the people behind him to back up. He froze when the gun shifted to point at him.

Mecha Man stepped between them. He didn’t even hesitate.

Flambae looked at the hero between them and blinked. Not even a second thought seemed to go through his head about bodily putting himself between danger and someone else.

               “Whoa, you really want to shoot him? Over me? I’m the one who’s stopping you from leaving,” he said, tilting his hand towards the looming machine.

The gun was pointed properly back at Mecha Man.

               “Flambae, move,” Mecha Man hissed into the mic.

Flambae didn’t need to be told twice.

               “Let me go, or I’ll shoot.”

               “I wouldn’t advise doing that,” said Mecha Man.

Flambae could still hear him clearly through his earphone. Even as he started walking backwards. He was pretty sure Mecha Man did something that let Flambae hear the whole conversation rather than just Mecha Man’s side. He ushered people into the nearby shops and followed them in, holding the child as he looked over the stand displaying women’s clothing.

               “I don’t give a shit about what you ‘advise’. I advise you to move your bucket of bolts out of my way!” said the kidnapper, his tone was harsh.

               “Pass me your phone,” Flambae said to the man next to him, holding out his hand.

The man looked at him like a deer in headlights.

               “Easy, I’m here to talk. You don’t need to shoot anyone,” Mecha Man's voice was soothing and calm.

               “Now,” Flambae hissed.

The man frantically patted his pockets and passed it over.

               “I will if you don’t move that thing!” snapped the kidnapper.

Flambae muted his voice on the Mecha Man call and dialled the emergency line.

               “This is the emergency line. What’s your emergency?” answered the woman on the other end.

               “Do you really want to add a murder charge to your list?-” started Mecha man.

Flambae responded immediately, “Hello. You have people on the way to the Del Amo mall, yes?”

               “-We already have you on kidnapping a child, and brandishing a firearm.-”

There was typing for a couple of seconds, “Yes, we do.”

               “-You shoot, and you’ll go down for at least attempted murder, and at most first degree murder.”

               “It’s gotten fucking worse. The kidnapper has pulled out a gun. People are hiding in the shops. Mecha Man is trying to deal with it.”

               “Shut. Up,” the kidnapper gritted out.

               “I’ve alerted the authorities. I’ll work on sending out another hero to your location. Does the kidnapper have any hostages?” asked the emergency dispatcher.

               “Adding that to your sentence wouldn’t be good.-” said Mecha Man.

               “No. The child is safe. I have her with me. The only person in danger is Mecha Man. And he’s not in his mech.”

               “-You know what happened to the last person who killed a Mecha Man, right?-”

               “Understood. I’ve alerted the police and notified the local heroes. Please stay on the line.”

               "-he’s still in prison. If you shoot me, you might need to ask for a cell next to him.”

               “I’m passing you over to someone else. I need to talk to Mecha Man. I think that bitch is about to do something stupid,” replied Flambae as he gave the phone back to the man who he took it from, “Keep them updated if anything changes,” he said as he pointed a stern finger at the man.

The man just nodded.

Flambae unmuted himself and chimed in.

               “Bitch, are you antagonising the man with a gun?” Flambae hissed.

               “Sort of,” he replied quietly.

               “What the fuck, Mecha Bitch?!”

The kidnapper spoke again, “I won’t need to ask for a cell, because you’ll be letting me walk out of here.”

               “I hate to break it to you, but your face is all over the CCTV footage. If you leave, you won’t get far. So we can take you in with what crimes you have, or you can make it worse.”

Did this hero have a fucking suicide mission?!

               “Last I checked, Mecha Man didn’t have any powers, so if your stupid ass gets shot, then you fucking die!” exclaimed Flambae.

Flambae peaked over the stand again, and he could see the kidnapper. His brows were furrowed.

Mecha Man was standing tall, but with his right side facing slightly away from the kidnapper. His hands were still outstretched, but lower down than before, levelled with his mid chest and not too far out from the body.

               “Trust me, I’m well aware of that,” replied Mecha Man, “It’s how my father died.”

Flambae’s thoughts suddenly all stopped, “Shit. Fuck. Sorry.”

               “Get me a drink after this, and we’ll call it even.”

Whatever the kidnapper had been mulling over, he seemed to have come to a conclusion. His eyes locked on Mecha Man, and his grip on the gun adjusted.

Flambae had time to push the kid further down. He started to duck for cover, too, and as he did, he saw it all play out.

Mecha Man dived to the side as he pulled out the stun gun strapped to his thigh that Flambae didn’t even notice. As the kidnapper was adjusting his aim, Mecha Man shot. The exact second he did, a gunshot deafened the mall.

The kidnapper dropped and convulsed twice, Mecha Man’s shot striking true.

Mecha Man staggered to his feet after flinging himself to the side. He winced and put a hand to his right side.

               “Fuck,” it was said so quietly that the mic only just caught it.

Worry struck Flambae as he stood up.

               “Are you ok?”

               “Fucker got me,” he said as he looked down at the kidnapper, who hadn’t moved.

Mecha Man pulled his hand away from his side, and Flambae could see the red staining his white gloves.

Before he knew it, he’d dashed out of the shop and was halfway to Mecha Man.

He heard Mecha Man sigh and saw him put his hand against his side again. He turned to look at Flambae as he approached.

               “Everyone ok?”

Flambae could hear him through his earphone, and the two voices overlapped with a slight delay. It was tripping him out, so he pulled his earphone out and shoved it in his suit pocket,

               “Except you.”

               “It’s just a scratch.”

Flambae stepped closer, “Show me.”

Mecha Man sighed again and took his hand away. The side of his suit was torn around his midsection. There was too much blood to get a good look. But it did look closer to a scratch rather than a full on bullet hole.

When Flambae leant back from his inspection, Mecha Man applied pressure again.

               “You need better armour,” commented Flambae.

The place he was shot was one of the places where Mecha Man had no armour. His chest may have been protected, but his whole stomach and thighs were exposed. That seemed like a poor choice for a glorified normie.

               “I have better armour,” retorted Mecha Man, nodding his head to the mech, not having moved an inch since it landed.

               “Then wear it, bitch.”

Mecha Man huffed out a laugh and quickly stopped with a wince, “Ow, no. No laughing till this is stitched up.”

               “Fucking idiot,” muttered Flambae as he rolled his eyes.

Even as he said that, he couldn’t stop thinking of how the hero stepped between the gun and Flambae. Sure, he was holding the child, but he still didn’t need to do that. Lesser heroes wouldn't have done it.

Notes:

The name of this fic is from the song ‘I Know Him So Well’ by Whitney Houston.

I’m not immune to the Flambert/Mechbae propaganda. Here we goooooo.

There’s so few Dispatch Time Travel fanfics, and that needs to change. So here I am being the change I want to see. I had a few ideas before I ended up settling on this one. The other one I had was the Z-Team meeting the Brave Brigade. But I couldn’t think of a way to keep it canon compliant. Not that this one is lol. But if you like the sound of that, I recommend ‘A Guide to Burning Your Bridges’ by Insert_Urso. Because if I did something, it’d likely end up as an alternative universe travelling thing like they did.

Otherwise, if you want actual time travel, I’d recommend ‘Die clawing on your coffin's lid’ by KillingJoke98. If anyone has any other suggestions, I’m so down to read them. They don’t have to be on Ao3, I’m down for tumblr, ff.net, and if I must, wattpad. I’m willing to go to lengths to read Dispatch time travel.

I have a total of three chapters completed for this thing, and after that, we’ll be writing as we go. I do have an idea for this fic and where it’s going. I promise! I’ll try to update once a week while I have the chapters ready, but since it’s holiday season, I make no promises.

I’m tagging as I go, so please keep an eye on the tags. I’ll let you guys know when I add new ones. If you think I missed some, please let me know.

A thanks to sparkstarthetrashcan! Who helped me with how to format the call conversations. If you like Miles Morales from Spider Verse I strongly recommend her fics!!

As always, if there are spelling mistakes, feel free to let me know. Unlike Robert, I don’t bite.

 

Kudos help mourn Flambae’s pants, and comments help Robert walk it off.

Chapter 2

Security finally got off their asses and did something. And by something, Chad meant showing up to the scene when Mecha Man had already zip-tied the kidnapper and started trying to throw their weight around.

               “We’ll take it from here,” said a middle aged mall cop with a badly styled moustache. He had a badge that said ‘Chief of Security’ on his chest.

Mecha Man, who was obviously still bleeding, just levelled the man with a flat look.

               “Check on the rest of the civilians. The stray shot didn’t hit anyone,” he said, gesturing to the impact hole in the previously well tiled pillar, “But some might have gotten hurt hiding or running.

The Chief’s eye twitched, but he turned and spoke into his earpiece.

               “I can take her,” said another security guard. His outstretched arms came into Chad’s peripheral vision.

Chad went to look at the man who spoke, but the girl in his arms gave a sleepy snuffle into his chest. He looked down and adjusted the child in his arms. After the child was settled, he looked up.

He had it on the tip of his tongue to politely deny the security guard in front of him when he recognised the man. Chad took a step back and held the girl tighter in his arms, twisting himself to shield the girl.

               “I’m not passing you the child, you stalking piece of shit!” Flambae shouted.

He could feel his temperature rising and did his best to force it down. He didn’t want to hurt the girl in his arms.

Something like fear flashed in the security guard’s eyes.

               “What the hell are you going on about?!” the guard yelled back. His expression changed to one of anger.

               “Pass him the kid, asshole,” said the Chief as he came over, standing close to Flambae, trying to loom over him.

The man was tall but not as tall as Flambae.

Flambae sneered at the head mall cop, “No fucking way,” he said, using his own height to look down at the Chief. He could feel steam curling out of his mouth.

               “Is there a problem?” the tired voice of Mecha Man was becoming increasingly familiar.

The slimy security guard opened his mouth, but Flambae spoke first.

               “This bitch was stalking my niece on Wednesday. There is no fucking way I’m handing him a child,” he said as he looked at the guard with all the fury and disgust he felt.

Flambae spun and jabbed a too hot finger into the chest of the chief of these pathetic bitches, “You knew! That’s why you did fuck all when they reported it!”

Mecha Man stepped between them and pushed Flambae back. He let him, but didn’t drop his glare. Flambae let out a hot, smoky breath, using it to dissipate some of the heat and help cool his temperature. As he did this, his eyes snapped back to the slimy stalking piece of shit. His gaze was firm and unwavering.

               “Is this true? Did you stalk a girl on Wednesday?” Mecha Man asked the guard.

               “Girls,” Chad added, “My ten year old niece and her two friends.”

Their eyes met before Mecha Man looked back towards the stalker.

               “Girls,” he amended.

Recognition came across the stalker’s face. He knew the exact second Mecha Man saw it, too. His shoulders tightened, and the hand on his chest, guiding Flambae to stay in place, twitched. Like it wanted to curl into a fist.

               “I-”

               “Rogers doesn't need to answer to you-” started the Chief, but his words died in his throat.

The look that Mecha Man sent his way was cold enough to freeze the sun.

No one spoke. The Chief cleared his throat and stepped back half a step. Mecha Man was the shortest out of the four of them, but he was also an experienced and incredibly successful hero. Chad wouldn’t want to be on the receiving end of that look either. It was one promising bloody violence or murder.

Chad was still seething, but Mecha Man backing him up helped. It was clear that the hero saw what Chad did.

               “Hope!” called out a voice.

They all turned to see a couple of women running towards them, closely followed by a young security guard.

Mecha Man pointed to both of the men with his bloody hand, “I’ll deal with you two later,” he said in a low tone.

He then turned and waved to the women with his relatively clean hand, “These are the moms,” he said to Chad.

The shorter, stockier woman reached them first, and Chad handed over the child as soon as she was within reach. Both of the mothers embraced their child, looking relieved.

               “Is she sleeping? She’s not responding,” said the tall woman with a slimmer build and long, loose hair.

               “She was drugged. I recommend getting her checked over. The paramedics should be on their way. They can tell you what needs to be done from there. But she’s likely to be just fine.”

The taller woman lunged forward and wrapped Mecha Man up in a hug. The man grunted at being abruptly shifted, but otherwise didn’t say anything.

               “Thank you so much for saving our daughter, Mecha Man!”

               “No problem,” came his muffled voice.

The woman was taller than Mecha Man, so his head was being smooshed into her collarbone. He looked like he’d accepted his fate. Chad was just about to pull the woman away from the injured hero when she let go and flung her arms around Chad

               “Thank you too! I can’t thank both of you enough!”

Chad gave her a pat on the back. It was hesitant, but he wasn’t used to being hugged by strangers. Chad looked up and saw Mecha Man with a soft, amused smile. Chad must have been making a face.

He looked into Mech Man’s warm brown eyes and felt something warm inside his chest.

The tall woman let him go and took a step back.

               “If either of you ever need anything, let me know.”

               “Just make sure your kid is ok. And maybe get her some therapy. Getting kidnapped as an adult is terrifying enough. Kids are pretty resilient, but it doesn’t hurt to be safe,” said Mecha Man.

               “We will. Thank you.”

She went back to her partner and child, holding them both tightly.

Mecha Man watched them with that soft look again. If Chad looked, he could see some differences in this one compared to the one before. The other one might have had fondness in it? While this one clearly held relief.

Chad realised he was staring and leant closer to Mecha Man.

               “You’ve been kidnapped?” asked Chad quietly with a raised eyebrow.

Mecha Man gave a half shrug, “A few times.”

               “Why have I never heard of it?”

               “Because they were shit at it. Most couldn’t keep me for more than twenty minutes.”

Both of Chad’s eyebrows went up, he might have been smiling a little, “Oh, that’s definitely embarrassing. They couldn’t keep hold of a hero without powers. No wonder no one talks about it.”

               “How would you know about it?” asked Mecha Man, looking over Chad like he was analysing him.

The faint sound of sirens reached his ears. Chad had to hold himself still to stop himself from tensing. He was one of the good guys. They weren’t here for him.

It was Chad’s turn to shrug, “I have my sources.”

That got Mecha Man to let out a surprised laugh. He winced and clutched his side tighter, “Ok, Flambae, whatever you say,” his tone was teasing.

Flambae let out a mock gasp and put a hand to his chest. He didn’t miss how Mecha Man followed the movement, “Are you doubting my sources, Mecha Man?”

               “Not at all,” he was definitely smiling now. Slowly, his smile fell as his gaze slid to the side. His eyes darkened, and his mouth was set into a hard line, “Do you have any sources for these dipshits?”

Chad followed his gaze and saw the two security guards from before standing off to the side, quietly talking. They looked up to see both Mecha Man and Flambae staring back at them, and they paused what they were doing.

               “No. I’ve only heard what my niece told me. She took a photo of the stalker.”

Mecha Man looked at him, and there was a look in his eye, “Does the photo have a time stamp?”

               “Yes?”

               “I’ll text you. Send the photo to me, and I’ll see what I can do,” Mecha Man raised his bloody hand with the panel on its wrist and went to type.

They were interrupted by the doors to the mall being forced open and police and paramedics rushing in.

Mecha Man locked eyes with a paramedic and looked away.

               “Shit.”

               “What?” asked Chad as he looked between the two.

The paramedic raised an eyebrow, and Mecha Man waved them over.

               “Jannet,” he greeted.

               “Mecha Man. What is it this time?” asked the paramedic. She was an average sized woman with tied back red hair. As she got closer, Chad could see that what he originally thought were freckles were actually turquoise coloured scales.

               “Bullet graze.”

               “Let’s get that looked at,” she said, reaching over to try and guide Mecha Man to the stretcher she and her coworker pushed through.

Mecha Man shook his head, “The kid first.”

Jannet looked where he gestured, “What happened?”

               “She was kidnapped and drugged. I don’t know what he gave her, but it knocked her out fast. He held a rag over her face, and she dropped.”

Jannet let out a low hum, as her mouth pressed together, “Has she had any trouble breathing? Has she moved at all?”

               “She moved before, not much. Her breathing didn’t change while I held her,” informed Chad.

Jannet turned to Mecha Man.

               “Flambae’s been keeping a hold of Hope most of the time,” added Mecha Man.

               “Hope is her name?”

               “Yes.”

               “The parents?”

               “Don’t know.”

Jannet nodded, “We’ll get her down to the hospital. You riding with us?”

Mecha Man shook his head, “No, I need to talk to the police. I’ll drop by later.”

               “You’d better,” Jannet said pointedly, looking down at his wound, “I will hear about it if you don’t.”

The paramedic walked over to the family, “Hi, I’m Jannet, I’m here to look at Hope.”

               “Thank god,” said the shorter mother.

               “I’m just going to take some vitals, then we can get her down to the hospital,” said Jannet as she started pulling some equipment out of her medical bag.

Chad turned away from the conversation when Mecha Man walked over to the cops standing around the kidnapper. They were speaking to the chief security guard, and the stalker was nearby but not interacting with them. The other paramedic was crouched down, checking over the kidnapper. The two of them approached, and the police saw them first, then the paramedic. The police nodded and continued their talk with the Chief of Security.

               "Haven't seen you use the stun gun in a while,” said the paramedic.

               “Nice to see you too, Aaron,” replied Mecha Man, his voice flat.

Aaron laughed, “It is actually good to see you when you’re talking to us. That thing scares me,” he said, nodding his head towards the mech that was standing like a silent guard next to the door.

Mecha Man had moved the giant robot to the side of the doors as soon as he had the kidnapper secured in zip ties.

               “Better not get on my bad side,” joked Mecha Man.

               “Sir, yes, sir,” responded Aaron with a smile as he started to pack away his kit.

The hero nodded to the kidnapper, “How is he?”

               “His vitals are normal. These guys are good to take him straight to a cell.”

               “You heard him, take him away,” ordered the head officer, as they thumbed towards their vehicles haphazardly parked outside.

Two of the other three officers picked the kidnapper up under his arms and hauled him out.

Aaron stood up after he finished packing, “You coming with us?” he asked, looking directly at Mecha Man.

The hero waved him off, “Got stuff to do here.”

               “But we’re going to see you at the hospital later, yeah?”

Mecha Man rolled his eyes, “Yes. Let Jannet know that I’ll go as soon as things are sorted here.”

Aaron chuckled, “I’m sure she’d find you and drag you there herself.”

A deep sigh came out of Mecha Man, “Go help your partner, Aaron.”

The paramedic left with a smile and a wave. As soon as he left, the head officer spoke up. The Chief of Security started to walk over to the rest of the civilians and called out orders for the other two security guards in earshot.

“The callout for another hero was cancelled as soon as you dealt with the problem. So you don’t need to worry about another hero rocking up,” they stated.

The officer was shorter than Mecha Man but muscular.

               “Another hero was coming?”

The head officer looked confused, their head had a slight tilt to it.

               “Yes. We got the report that the situation escalated. Another couple of ambulances are on their way to check the rest of the civilians. A hero wasn’t found by the time you’d resolved the problem, so the call was cancelled.”

Mecha Man turned a raised eyebrow to Chad.

               “He was waving a gun. Did you think I wasn’t going to let people know that shit had hit the fan?” answered Chad.

               “I’d thought you’d try to rush in,” said Mecha Man, looking mildly surprised.

               “Not holding a child, I wouldn’t,” Chad replied, a little offended at the statement. He’d been told to protect the girl. So he did. He would have done it with or without being instructed to do so.

Mecha Man smiled, “Good.”

His brows furrowed, “Not good. You got shot.”

Mecha Man waved him off, “I’ll be fine.”

               “You are literally still bleeding!”

               “The sooner this gets done, the sooner I can get stitches.”

               “What did this guy do? Other than shoot you,” asked the head officer.

               “Kidnapped a child, brandishing a firearm, and then he shot me trying to escape,” replied Mecha Man, ticking each of them off on his fingers, “You should be able to get a lot of witness statements. There should also be security footage,” he pointed in a vague circle at the ceiling.

The officer nodded, “We’ll look over it.”

               “Thanks.”

               “Are you coming to the station to fill out the forms?”

               “Have they made them digital yet?” asked Mecha Man.

The head officer smiled sadly, “Afraid not.”

               “Damn. I’ll come down, but not before going to the hospital. I’m afraid Jannet will kill me herself,” Mecha Man grimaced at the thought.

               “I’ll get the forms ready for you. Just ask for Officer Faisal,” they held out their hand, “It’s an honour to meet you, Mecha Man.”

               “Good to meet you, too, Officer Faisal,” Mecha Man said as he grasped the officer’s hand in a firm handshake.

With that, Officer Faisal and the other officer who had been silently standing by left to talk to the people who witnessed the crime.

Chad saw Hope being wheeled out by Jannet and Aaron with her parents by her side. He watched her get loaded up into the ambulance and saw it drive off.

His phone buzzing brought his attention back to the mall around him. When he pulled out his phone, he saw a text from an unknown number.

‘🤖 (:RobotEmoji:) - MM’

Was all it said. Chad looked up at Mecha Man, who was lowering the hand with the wrist panel on and putting it back over his wound.

               “Send through the photo. I’ll work on a few things while getting this sorted,” he said, glancing down at his side.

               “You’d better, before we have to mop you off the floor,” commended Chad.

Somehow, there wasn’t any blood on the floor. His suit might not have been the best protection, but it was at least good at absorbing the blood.

               “Do you need a lift?” Chad had driven here, but he might be able to get away with flying Mecha Man to the hospital.

               “Thanks, but I can fly myself,” the hero said, looking at the stationary mech.

Chad turned around and took a not so discrete photo of the slimy stalker and the Chief, who were once again talking. The stalker noticed, and Chad sent him a winning smile, with a little too many teeth.

               “I’ll join you. Better than staying and burning this whole place to the ground,” said Chad with an easy shrug. If he didn’t leave, it was likely that he wouldn’t be able to keep his temper in check. Committing arson in front of Mecha Man, who had promised to help him, would be a bad choice.

He turned to start walking out and saw Mecha Man’s wide eyes and pale face. Chad found that he didn't like it. With a quick movement, Chad slung an arm around Mecha Man’s shoulders and started to guide him out of the mall.

               “It was a joke, Mecha Bitch,” lied Chad.

Mecha Man looked at him like he knew that wasn’t true. It felt like the hero was looking past the act that was Flambae and Chad. Like he was seeing deeper. Like the man before him actually knew him.

Chad looked away, unable to keep Mecha Man’s gaze. He pushed them through the doors to stand in front of the mech. It was a large, intimidating thing. Chad has seen it a couple of times before, only ever from a distance. There was something to be said for standing right in front of an icon of LA heroes. Truth is, Chad didn’t actually think he’d be standing in front of it. On opposite sides in a fight, yes, probably. But just standing in front of it? No, definitely not.

The mech lowered itself, and the thick metal of the chest slid open to reveal the cockpit. Mecha Man slid out of Chad’s grip and into the pilot seat effortlessly.

               “If we get pulled over, you’ll vouch for me, right? I did help you out,” said Chad, only half joking.

               “What?” Mecha man looked down at Chad between flicking switches.

               “I don’t have a flight licence.”

               “You don’t- of course you don’t,” the last part was muttered, but Chas still caught it.

               “It’s fine if you’re flying with someone who does. You'd better apply for your own one soon.”

Chad hummed, “Yeah, sure.”

He’d need to actually be a hero to apply for one. Flambae was many things, but a hero wasn’t one of them.

The mech closed, and the eyes flickered to life, glowing a soft blue.

               “Let’s go,” said Mecha Man through the speakers. It added a robotic echo to his voice, which Chad wasn’t used to.

Thrusters opened up, and the mech started to ascend. Slowly at first, but it quickly picked up speed as it climbed higher. Flambae followed, easily matching pace with the mech. They changed direction, heading for the nearest hospital.

Chad flew close and knocked on Mecha Man’s armoured head. When it turned to face him, Char spoke, yelling to be heard over the wind, “Where are you going to land this thing?”

               “I have a spot,” replied Mecha Man. His robotic voice having the unfair advantage of being easily heard.

Looking at Mecha Man, Chad felt his eyebrows furrow, even as he continued to follow the hero.

They got there quickly, and Mecha Man lined up with a car park near the emergency entrance and easily dropped his mech into it.

Eyebrows rose as Chad read the words painted on the park. ‘Hero parking. Keep clear.’

               “When you said you had a spot, I didn’t think you meant literally,” said Chad when Mecha Man had climbed out.

The hero chuckled as he held his side. It looked like he had a clean cloth pressed to it.

               “It’s not uncommon for heroes to get hurt or to be rushing someone here. It comes in handy to have a space where we can park. But you need to have permission to use them.”

               “And you have permission?”

Mecha man grinned back at him, “What do you take me for, an amateur?”

               “A little bitch is more like it,” said Chad under his breath as he recognised his own words.

               “What was that?”

               “Nothing. Now get your bitch ass inside before you make yourself a red carpet,” said Chad, ushering the hero inside the emergency room.

It was absolutely packed with people, but Mecha Man didn’t even slow down at the sight. He just walked right up to the front desk. A woman waved him forward.

               “Mecha Man, we were told to expect you. What do you need help with today?”

               “Bullet graze.”

The receptionist nodded her head as she typed so fast Chad was surprised her keyboard wasn’t on fire, “Have you already seen anyone about it?”

               “No.”

               “Do you know if any part of the bullet is still inside?”

               “I don’t know, but I don’t think so.”

               “Any other issues?”

               “No.”

               “Any other medical history we should be aware of?”

               “Not for this. I’m not allergic to anything either.”

The receptionist nodded again and typed one final thing before snatching a piece of paper the printer spat out.

               “Here are your forms. Please fill these out. We’ll be with you as soon as we can,” she said as she slid the paper attached to a clipboard and a pen through the hole in the plexiglass.

               “Thanks,” said Mecha Man as he turned and quickly found the only two vacant seats next to each other way at the back.

People were staring. Openly. Usually, Chad didn’t mind stares. But that was when he wanted the attention. He didn’t want the attention now. He couldn’t tell for sure, but he thought that Mecha Man didn’t want it either. Though he gave no outward indication that he cared, he just walked through the crowd of people like they weren’t there and sat down. Flambae sat down next to him, an ankle crossed over his knee, practically lounging in the chair. Beside him, Mecha Man began to fill out his paperwork. People kept looking. Every time Flambae caught them, he turned a sharp glare on them, which got them to quickly look away or fuss with whatever had brought them in.

It quickly became boring sitting in the waiting room, so he pulled out his phone and sent a snap to his sister.

‘Today didn’t go as planned,’ he captioned the photo of himself in the chair, with some of the ceiling and signage in view.

He went looking through social media and was almost mindlessly scrolling through his feed. Now and then, he’d glance up to make sure everyone was minding their own business. He had to give a few more pointed looks. One man, who looked about Chad’s age, didn’t seem to get it from the look. So Flambae let out a steaming hot breath as he glared daggers at the man. He seemed to get the picture then, and his head snapped to the side almost quick enough to cause whiplash.

               “Are you ok?” asked Mecha Man quietly, looking at him with concern.

It was almost cute.

               “Yes,” he responded, still looking at the ogling man to make sure he got the message. The man glanced back, but his eyes quickly darted away when he saw Flambae watching him, “Everything’s fine.”

Mecha Man looked at him for a long moment.

               “Well, if everything is fine, can you send the picture?”

Chad turned back to Mecha Man, with a small smile, “Sure.”

He looked down at his phone to see that his sister had sent a snap back. He sent the photo from his niece to Mecha Man first, then he looked at his sister’s snap. It had a close up shot of her eyes, like she was looking closely at her phone. The caption read, ‘ARE YOU IN THE ER???!!!’ then, ‘What HAPPENED???’

She must have been on her phone. Usually, his sister didn’t respond that fast. Chad took a photo, angling it so he was the main focus and part of Mecha Man could be seen in the background, filling out his forms. His face wasn’t in frame, and none of the information on the forms could be seen, ‘Mecha Man got shot.’

The response was almost immediate. It was a blurry shot of his sister. ‘MECHA MAN??!!’

Then another right after, also blurry, but he could see her hand running through her hair. ‘Since when do you know Mecha Man???’

Chad sent one back, of just his face. ‘Since tonight.’

‘Did you fuck him?’ his sister’s face was serious.

‘No. We saved a kidnapped girl together.’ replied Chad with a light scowl, looking adequately offended.

He lifted his eyes from his phone and looked over the hero next to him. He finally had a good chance to actually look the man over now that people weren’t in distress, and Mecha Man wasn’t needed for the aftercare that went into heroing.

Chad sent another snap with a raised eyebrow and him looking over at Mecha Man, ‘But I would if he asked.’

The photo he got back was of his sister with her head in her hand. No words, just that.

Chad snickered at it.

A confused hum came from Mecha Man, who was looking at him with those warm brown eyes.

               “It’s just my sister,” Chad said, tilting his phone so Mecha Man could see. There wasn’t enough of her face on view to give away who she was, and the walls of her home office were pretty generic. He’d been trying to get her to change that.

Another hum came from Mecha Man. He went back to typing on his wrist panel, “You have a sister?”

               “Yes. I love her dearly. She also thinks were’re fucking,” he said, smirking at the last part as he leant closer to Mecha Man to whisper it.

Mecha Man’s eyebrows lifted, but his eyes remained the same neutral, almost bored expression, “There won’t be any of that for me for a while. Not till this is healed,” he said, gesturing to his wound.

               “That’s a shame.”

               “What, are you offering?” Mecha Man’s tone was light, with a hint of a smile. It was a nice expression.

Chad hummed and shrugged.

               “Wait, you’re serious?” surprise coloured Mecha Man’s face.

Chad rolled his eyes, “Obviously. I owe you a drink, don’t I? When you’re all better, we can go out and get one. If you want something to happen after then it can, and if not, then it’s just a drink.”

The hero looked up at Chad with a bewildered expression, “I- Yes. Thanks. That would be nice. I’m not sure about after yet, but a drink would be nice.”

Mecha Man looked very kissable with that face. It was such a soft, earnest look. Chad wanted to grab his cheeks and give him a tender kiss.

               “Good. It’s settled. You have my number, text me when you’re better.”

               “Thanks, Flambae,” and there was that stupid soft fond look that he gave Chad earlier.

He wasn’t sure what he did to earn that look, but he wanted to see it more often.

Notes:

Oh my god, I had to figure out how to code for the font change. That took me about an hour to crack. But here we are! And now I know how to do it in the future!! This fic looks like it's going to have a decent amount of text exchanges. Which is so wild for me. I hardly ever have that in my fics. Which I thought was strange till I realised I mainly write The Walking Dead and Castlevania. Ain't no texting in those.
I am also powering through chapters, and I have five total chapters now, yay! Four and five have no editing done, yay!
As always, if you see any spelling errors, please, please let me know (I was so embarrassed last week, my god. But I'm glad it was pointed out).

I've read all of your comments, and I'm slowly getting to them all. Thank you so much for the love on the first chapter!! I hope you're all having a good week! Thanks for tuning in again :)

I have another time travel rec for you all this week!
'Time Past Me By (And It Was Not Kind)' by sagelectric. It's a great fic with a time travelling Robbie.

Forgot to mention last time, but I have a Discord if anyone's interested.
https://discord.gg/gS9z78nNN9

 

Kudos help Robert destroy the mall cops, and comments give Flambae's sister a pat on the back.