Back at SDN, I was greeted by the team members, the guy I'd arrested slung over my shoulder, still unconscious, carried like a sack of potatoes.
[ Blonde Blazer's POV ]
Robert and I were watching the Z-Team from a short distance.
"You don't look happy. Isn't this what you wanted?" I asked Robert.
"Yeah… but this isn't how I pictured things." he said, casting a sideways glance at Invisigal, who was noticeably more withdrawn than the rest of the team.
'Something's going on between them.' I thought for a moment, then quickly moved on.
"I see. By the way, Robert, the blue button keeps comms one-on-one, the green one connects the whole team, and the red one… broadcasts to the entire branch." I pointed out.
"Fuck." he replied immediately, clearly understanding what I was warning him about.
"Yeah, but don't worry, you handled it well. Another Dispatcher once broadcast the details of his circumcision. HR nightmare." I said, trying to ease his mind, then I turned to him and added. "Did you mean all that? Do you really think she has a shot? All that destiny talk sounded good, but I don't know if you said it because she needed to hear it."
"I want this to work. Someone like Invisigal turning things around is what this program should be about. I'm rooting for her." he replied.
"So am I." I answered genuinely. "So I'm glad we're on the same page." I said before heading back to my office.
Robert followed me in and closed the door to my office.
"So, Invisigal is at the very bottom." I began, showing him her profile on my desk.
"I figured… sigh." he said as he sat down in the chair across from me. "I have to tell her she's being cut."
"Listen, I know I'm not supposed to play favorites, but maybe my decision to push things this way was too hasty. So I decided that no one is getting cut," I said.
"For real?" he asked, slightly surprised.
"Yes. And doing that after what you said earlier wouldn't line up with the program's intentions." I confirmed, then added, "Good job today."
He stood up to leave, turned back, smiled at me, and walked out.
[ Miguel's POV ]
After spending some time with the team, it was getting close to time to leave, so I stopped by the locker room to take a shower. After washing up and getting dressed, there was a certain demon waiting on the other side of the door.
"Were you waiting for me?" I asked Malevola.
"Yes. And you really took your time in the locker room." she replied.
"Why were you waiting?"
"Why, were you hoping I'd come in?" she shot back.
"Okay, I see what kind of conversation we've stepped into. You doing anything tonight?" I asked.
"No, nothing planned." We started walking side by side toward the exit. "Genuinely, dude, you were really good today."
"You did good too, aside from when you were all sabotaging each other at the start." I said with a crooked smile.
"I think the stress got to everyone. It's our second chance, after all." she replied with a slight smile, then continued. "Visi's going to get cut. It's a shame for her."
"You think so? I don't know, she didn't really give it her all." I said, being honest.
"You're being a bit harsh on her, I think… but let's change the subject. I don't want to kill the mood." she replied.
We were now in the parking lot. She followed me and got into my car as well. I started the engine and headed toward my place. We kept talking until we reached the parking garage of the building where my loft was.
"It's not that calling you Spider bothers me, but what's your name?" she asked, turning her head to look at me.
"Miguel. Miguel O'Hara. And you, what's your real name?" I replied.
"Malevola is my real first name. My last name is Gibb." she said as we got out of the car. A few minutes later, we were at my place.
"You've got good taste. It's spacious." she commented, walking around the loft.
"Thanks. Want something to drink?" I asked, heading toward my fridge.
"No thanks, Miguel. Come join me." she replied in a slightly sultry voice, and I heard her sit down in the living room. I poured myself a glass of juice, took a few sip, set it on the kitchen island, and went to join her. I was now standing in front of her as she sat on my couch.
"Alright… I'm going to give you what you really want." I said.
"And what do I want, Miguel?" she asked, looking straight into my eyes. The next instant, we were undressing, kissing each other, one on top of the other.
"Aah… yeah… Miguel, just like that." she whispered in my ear, her breath hitching, holding me close while I was moving back and forth.
Among other things, what was bound to happen, happened.
The next morning, I woke up with Malevola beside me, still asleep. I quietly got up and went to the bathroom to get ready, deciding to let her wake up at her own pace.
At some point, she got up and joined me after coming out of my bedroom wearing nothing but one of my T-shirts.
"Already up? You could've woken me." she said.
"I didn't want to bother you. I don't know if you're a morning person." I replied.
"Well, I really needed that." she said.
"I know first-hand." I answered, a bit cocky.
About an hour later, we headed to work. Once we arrived at SDN, I went to the locker room to put on my suit, then we joined the other members of the Z-Team in our conference room.
"No one got cut. Robert told me earlier." Punch Up said as we walked in. The others already in the room greeted us, then picked the conversation back up.
"It was probably just pressure to motivate us." Sonar said, and a few nodded in agreement.
"Good." Malevola said.
"But aside from that, who do you think Robert was as a superhero?" Prism asked. The others started wondering too.
"Robert is, was, Mechaman." I said without thinking, then immediately realized that if he was hiding his identity, there was a reason. "Nah, I'm kidding. I have no idea." I added casually.
"Nah, Mechaman seems more imposing." Prism said, and the guessing continued.
Then our shift began, and just like at the end of the previous day, the missions were completed smoothly, without any issues.
It was the afternoon, after our lunch break. We were back on missions when an announcement came through.
"Hey team, we appreciate what you've been doing lately, so we're going to give you a bit of help. More specifically… Phenomaman is here to assist." Blonde Blazer said over comms.
"I am here to help." he said in a monotone voice.
"This is a joke, right?" Malevola said.
"Seriously, this guy?" Flambae added.
"Yes, I know. Things have been rough for him lately, and Robert and I think he'll be a good addition to the team." Blonde Blazer said.
"Hard to believe since you dumped him." Invisigal added. A few laughs came through the channel, especially from Flambae.
"The mean child is correct. It has indeed been difficult since the end of my relationship with Blonde Blazer, but any opportunity to see her again will make every day easier." Phenomaman said.
"I think you got that backwards, bro." Golem said.
"Yeah, that's not how it works, trust me." Prism added.
"Should I ask Spider for advice? According to the demon woman, you are well-endowed and know a lot about matters of lovemaking." Phenomaman said.
"No way, this guy took our conversation from earlier." Prism said, laughing.
"No comment." Malevola said.
"I knew it, I could feel the sexu-"
"Alright, refocus on your missions." Robert cut in, stopping Invisigal mid-sentence. This exchange was a little awkward for me, just a little.
And we got back to work.
Once again, most of the missions weren't very serious, things like being hired as heroes for shows, fighting mascots, that kind of stuff. Phenomaman's depressive episodes during missions were the biggest difficulty we had to deal with that day. And just like that, another workday came to an end.
The next day was the same, we did our shifts, but this time the team decided to spend some time together at a villain bar called The Sardine.
"Come on, Robert, join us." Invisigal said.
"Yeah, loosen your ass a bit." Flambae added.
"Yeah, alright." he replied, and joined us a little later.
Inside the bar, I was sitting at a table listening to Phenomaman tell me about his life and his depressive episode. Malevola was at the bar with Prism and Punch Up. Flambae was singing on stage. Invisigal was talking with Robert. Sonar was playing pool, while Coupé was throwing up somewhere, I had no idea where, and Golem had stayed outside.
Everything was going fine… until a guy with tiny arms fitted with mechanical extensions slapped Robert and threw him across the room. After that, it turned into an all-out brawl.
"I'am thankful that our breakup has given me time to learn about myself, but unfortunetly what I learned is that I hate myself, you get how I feel, right?" Phenomaman said to me, just as I fired two webs, grabbing two enemies and smashing them into each other, their noses breaking on impact.
"Don't put yourself down like that, Phenomaman. You need to find something else you can be passionate about." I replied, dodging a punch from someone behind me while still sitting on my chair. I followed up by driving a fist into the guy's stomach; he collapsed instantly, unconscious, with a few broken ribs.
"A hit a little higher and he'd be dead, just like I am inside." Phenomaman said.
It went on like that for a few more minutes, but in the end, the Z-Team were the only ones still standing in the bar.
"All that gave me an appetite." Punch Up said, and a few minutes later we were all sitting on the terrace of a fast-food place specializing in Mexican food.
"I am happy to provide these inauthentic Mexican calories for the team to recharge after battle." Phenomaman said as he arrived with the orders and set them down on the table.
"Here." Malevola said, handing me what I'd ordered and sitting down next to me.
"Thanks." I said.
"I got three triple cheese tacos." Robert said, pressing his cold drink against a scrape on his head. Flambae tossed a taco at him. "That's not what I ordered."
"Yeah, we got it, but eat it. It's basically the same thing anyway." Invisigal said.
"He's only punching diiiiiicks!!" Prism's phone blared.
"You washed your hands at least?" Prism asked Punch Up. He didn't answer.
"Next time you want to start a fight, at least give a warning." Golem said.
"You're heroes now. Heroes don't start fights, they finish them." Robert said.
"Alright, I'm gonna say it, but we all know this guy, Robert, is a front, like who are you? really." inquired Punch up.
"A fresh start is a rare thing. A blank page you all know that. Wherever I went, my reputation followed me. But when I walked into SDN, suddenly I was just… me. So yeah, that guy, that front you're talking about, the one who sits at his desk, that's part of who I am. But there's also this other part of me that only wants one thing, to get back out there. And since I'm starting to like you all, I'll tell you the truth. That other part of me… is Mechaman." decides to announce Robert.
"No fucking way...can't be." said Punch up, standing up in surprise.
"Could be." said Malevola, taking a bite of my taco.
"Spider, you were right, that's like a real superhero." said Prism.
"It is you. You little shit."