Chapter Text
The day started off like any other. The team was mostly having a pretty chill day so far, just a few bar brawls, security back ups and a cat stuck in a tree. Overall, a pretty good day for the team. Ever since the main repairs were finally finished up at SDN and everyone was finally able to return to work, every day has been hectic. With the dissolving of the red ring, every villain was fighting for power and acting up all across the city. So, everyone needed a day like this, just something more relaxed and back to some semblance of normality.
As the night was finishing up, Robert was just waiting for their last call of the night to come through so he can finally get to the gym for the night. He gulped down the last few ounces of his coffee, watching as Prism and Flambae returned from security detail at a local press conference.
“Jesus, I don’t know much about journalism, but there’s no way any of those questions were actually useful.” Prism groaned.
“Yeah, I felt smarter just by being there.” Flambae joked, “like fuck, I feel like they should’ve been locked up just for asking those stupid ass questions.”
“I feel like the only class you have to take to become a journalist is how to ask the most anger inducing, mind numbing questions ever.” Punch up chimed in.
Robert rolled his eyes as he listened to the banter, playing with the handle of his coffee mug as he stared intently at the empty screen infront of him. He pulled on side of his headphones off and could hear Beefs soft snores from the cubical next to him where Chase was holding him hostage.
“I think Sonar went to those classes at Harvard.” Coupés voice had just the slightest hint of snark in it.
“I did not, but I actually did take a class in-“
An alert popped up on Robert’s screen, making Robert sigh in relief as he was able to interrupt Sonar. “Okay team, last call of the night.” Robert interrupted the man-bat, clicking on the notification and connecting to the call, “looks like a small abandoned building has caught on fire. Waterboy, do you think you can handle this one on your own?”
“Y-yes!” Waterboy piped up.
“Here, I can get him there in a sec.” Malevola replied, a little muffled as it sounded like she was mid snack.
Robert was able to pull up an easy to hack security camera from a nearby building. It was a good couple hundred feet away but he could see the small building set ablaze but it’ll do. “Good news, it doesn’t look near enough to anything that it’ll catch another building on fire but there is some dry grass around it that you’ll probably want to wet the soonest you get there.”
He watched as a rift appeared in front of the the building, the blurry image of a blue and yellow suit stepping out of it.
“Yo- thank you, m-ma’am.” Waterboy chuckled nervously.
“Waterboy, don’t-“ Malevola was interrupted by Waterboy shooting a jet of water around the dry grass around the building. She sighed and closed up the portal.
“G-Gra- the grass is wet, sir.” Waterboy said proudly.
“Okay, just put out the rest of the flames and we’re free to go for the night.” Robert leaned back in his chair, watching as Waterboy started putting out the flames that engulfed the building. He was in his element, which Robert was not surprised by. Waterboy has probably put out every single out of control fire in the city since Robert got him hired onto the Z-Team. The sounds of rushing water overloaded the mics, Waterboy clearly forgetting to mute his mic before he started spewing, but Robert was able to get him muted until he was done, still watching over him on the security camera.
“So, we up for drinks tonight?” Punch ups voice crackled to life as Waterboys sounds were finally muted.
“I’m down.” Prism chimed in.
“Can we go to that new hero’s bar?” Malevola suggested, “I keep seeing Visi at The Sardine and talking to her kind of bums me out right now.”
“Yeah, same.” Golems gravely voice barely come through. “She keeps finding me outside.”
The team went through the details of their, seemingly nightly, after work shenanigans. It made Robert wonder how they were able to show up to work completely fine everyday. He went to one bar night with them and never wanted to socialize again for the next two years. He definitely was a wallflower when it comes to gatherings and parties. He just liked to watch everyone enjoy themselves from afar, usually nursing a beer or a whisky. He never really got used to group socialization. Growing up he didn’t have many friends and only having Chase around to help take care of him and interact with him, a lot of his communication skills came from having to grow up real fast after his dad died. He just never got used to getting involved in group settings, unless it was a fight.
“Yo bob bob, you coming tonight?” Flambae piped up, snapping Robert from his trance. Robert opened his mouth to respond, but he noticed something. While the building on his screen still was still mostly engulfed in flames, Waterboy seemed to have stopped trying to put out the fire. Robert watched as he looked around nervously, a hand up to his ear. Finally his eyes locked onto the front door of the building and before Robert could comprehend what was happening-
He ran in.
Robert shot upright in his seat, his hand shooting to his mouse to unmute Waterboy. “Waterboy! What the fuck are you doing?!” He shouted, panicked, scaring about the office space.
“Jesus Christ!” Prism startled. “Rob? What’s going on?”
Robert couldn’t pay attention to anything other than trying to find a security camera that gave him a better shot to the inferno. Finally, he was able to get into a camera right across the street. Robert’s eyes scanned around the building, looking through the windows of the 3 story building to see if he can catch a glimpse of blue. The sounds of crackling flames and heavy breathing were the only sounds coming from Waterboys earpiece.
“Waterboy. Waterboy answer me.” Robert demanded, “what’s going on? Why are you in the building?”
“K-kid- I h-heard a- HEY!” The yell made Robert’s ears ring. “There’s a kid! There’s a kid in here!”
Not a single stutter in sight. Robert quickly pressed the emergency button on the side of the screen, requesting 911 to go to the location. “Okay guys! Anyone who’s still here, Water boy needs help, now!”
“Me and Flambae are on it!” Malevolas portal tore open in an instant, the two immediately arriving at the scene. “Waterboy, what level is the kid on?”
“Th-the- crap! Hey i-its okay! It’s okay!” Waterboys breathing quickened, Robert could tell he wasn’t talking to him. “W-what hurts? Your le- uh, f-foot?”
“We have emergency services on the way, Waterboy you need to get out of there. Where is your location.” Robert watched through the cameras as Flambae and Malevola entered the building. Thank god the two were naturally fire proof.
“H-He’s hurt. He can’t walk.” Waterboy sputtered, “we- three uh- we’re on the- th-third floor.”
Robert’s eyes scanned the top windows, and just as he heard a loud crack over the mic, he watched it on the camera, as a portion of the roof dropped slightly. Fuck. Fuck fuck fuck. “Waterboy you need to get out now! The roof is about to ca-“
And as almost as if it was a self fulfilling prophecy, the roof of the building caved in. A loud crash echoed through the headset. There were a few small gasps through the system. Chase even popped his head over to look at Robert’s screen.
“R-Ro…!! Rob… elp!!” Waterboys scream was broken up by crackling before going silence, his icon disconnecting and disappearing.
“Waterboy? Waterboy!” Robert called into the headset but there was no answer.
“Oh fuck- was he-“ before Chase could ask, Robert was standing up, ripping his headset off. He started off towards blonde blazers office, his pace quickened. Before he could open the door, it opened up. Mandy, still without her amulet while they try to figure out a permanent solution for Chase, stood at the door with a confused look on her face.
“Robert? Is everything okay? I saw that you sent emergency services out to a call.” She analyzed his face carefully, seeing the panic in his features.
“It’s Waterboy.” He explained, nudging his head in a motion for her to follow him, which she did as such. As they walked down the hall, they passed Chase, holding closely onto beef. “I sent him out on a call for a simple fire that erupted at an abandoned building and everything was going fine. But then he just suddenly ran in. Something about a kid? He went to go save him and they were on the third floor and the roof collapsed on them. He’s been completely disconnected.”
“What did he say as he was going in? Why didn’t he wait for you to tell him what to do?” Mandy reached into her pocket to grab out her car keys as they entered the elevator.
“I had him muted, he had forgotten to turn off his mic as he was spewing water and it was overwhelming the feed.” Robert shoved his hands in his pockets as the elevator descended, his heart pounding as he tapped his foot, “I didn’t hear anything until he just- fuck.”
Mandy froze, looking over at Robert with fear in her eyes. “Jesus Robert… that’s li- that’s really really against policy. A dispatcher cannot ever mute a hero when they’re on a call, ever.”
“It is?” Robert wanted to smash his head into a wall, his brain wracked with panic and guilt. “Fuck- blaz- Mandy. I obviously wouldn’t have if I had…. Fuck.”
“This will have to be a discussion for later.” The doors opened to the elevator and they exited out the front and towards the parking lot. “For now, we need to meet up with emergency services and make sure Waterboy is okay.”
Robert nodded, following her as they got into her car. The California sun was beginning its decent as they sped through the busy streets of crowded Torrance. The car was dead silent, the air thick with worry. As the approached, the smell of smoke and the reflection of red and blue lights are what greeted them. That and the entire Z team. Mandy pulled to the scene like a bar out of hell, Robert barely waiting for the car to come to a full stop to jump out and run to meet the rest of the team. Malevola was talking with an officer, looking over at Robert with surprise.
“Fuck, there you are, we’ve been trying to reach you through the coms.” She crossed her arms.
“Is Waterboy okay?” He huffed, slightly panting.
“I was able to find him and the kid upstairs.” Malevola sighed, “they were so luckily, they got trapped in a pocket, but the kid was pinned down. Water Boy… he was using his powers to spray a shield around him so the flames couldn’t reach him, but it left him vulnerable. By the time Flambae was able to get the kid out and I was able to get them both through a portal… fuck, Robert….”
Robert’s eyes drifted to the ambulance, seeing as they finished loading an unconscious Waterboy. The right side of his suit from his arm to the center of his chest was gone. Burnt. The skin that showed was red, blistered. His goggles were gone as they connected an oxygen mask to his nose and mouth. Just as they did, the doors were shut the ambulance peeled out of the road, lights and siren on as they drove away. It made Robert’s heart drop into his stomach.
“He saved that kid man, probably would’ve died if Waterboy didn’t do that for him.” Malevola sighed, rubbing her arm in a soothing motion.
“Is the kid okay?” Robert was startled by Mandy who appeared at his side, finally taking his eyes away from the ambulance as it sped away.
“Yes, he has a broken leg, a sprained ankle and some smoke inhalation but he should make a full recovery. That and he’s soaking wet.” The paramedic Malevola was originally talking to gestured to the other ambulance. A young boy, no older than 13 laid on a stretcher just outside of the ambulance, speaking with an officer as he wrote in a small notebook. “He was reported missing yesterday, he had ran away from home after a fight with his parents and apparently was staying at the abandoned building. He said he doesn’t know how the fire started, just that he woke up and the building was on fire.”
“He’s really lucky.” Robert mumbled, his eyes trained on the kid as he talked with the officer. A ball formed in his stomach, he just wanted to vomit. “What about Waterboy?”
“He’s lucky he’s alive.” The paramedic sighed, “he inhaled a lot of smoke. His powers completely depleted all the energy in his body and he was unconscious when we had gotten here. The plastic material on his suit melted to his skin and his right side is covered in deep second degree burns and one or two third degree burns. We were able to stabilize him but he needs immediate treatment.”
“Will he be okay?” Mandy could see the dead look behind Robert’s eyes, as he stared at the paramedic in front of him. But he wasn’t really looking at her, just towards her.
“I’m not at liberty to say. But, he’ll be out of hero work for a quite a while.”
“We wouldn’t- of course not.” Mandy shook her head, “SDN will cover all of the expenses.”
“Good.” The paramedic nodded. “I’ll send the officer over to get that information, stay here.”
As the paramedic walked over, the team was suddenly crowding around the two. Harassing Mandy with questions about Waterboy. What happened? Will everything be okay? The fire department eventually showed to finish off what was left of the fire. When all of the chaos eventually died down, Robert found himself staring at the burnt rubble, silent but his mind racing. He jumped when he felt a hand on his shoulder, Mandy giving him a small reassuring smile. It wasn’t a real one, he could tell. More of a pity smile more than anything.
“Do you need a ride home?” She asked softly. Robert stayed silent for a moment before shaking his head.
“I wanna walk… I just need to think for a moment. Process.” He sighed. Mandy pursed her lips, looking away for a second before sighing.
“Okay…” she placed a hand on his arm, giving it a gentle squeeze. “I know you Robert… don’t let this eat you up. It was a mistake. Plus, I don’t think you could’ve convinced him not to. You know Waterboy, he is willing to jump into everything.”
Robert let out a low chuckle, biting his lip as a tear threatened to fall. He knew that. Sure, Waterboy was a nervous wreck with some confidence issues but that was one thing he would never run away from. He was always trying to prove himself. And fuck, he could sometimes be braver than Robert. He didn’t care if he knew he was gonna fail or not, he always jumped at the chance of being a hero. “Still… I could’ve done so much more.”
“You did the most you could.” Mandy reassured once more, “I can’t promise that the next couple of days are gonna be…
Fun. But one thing I do know is, Waterboy wouldn’t want you to beat yourself up on this one.”
“Thank you, Mandy.” He mumbled. With a final sad look, she left Robert alone to his own thoughts.