Sonar stared that the two who had been hurt in the hallway, remembering very little before he'd heard the call asking for everyone to get back as soon as they could, most likely because he'd transformed and the sound of Bob Bob's voice pitched with panic and concern as he asked everyone who could to come back had him switching back.
Now normally, the beast side of him had to be satisfied before the man side was allowed back control. And while Victor had gotten better at changing into the beast form on command, the changing back part was still a work in progress. But both sides could choose to switch if needed. And the beast form wasn't stupid, it understood when he needed to be smart or smooth and would let him back in control when needed.
The memory thing was also still a work in progress. He always shared his stuff with the beast, and the beast got better with showing him the cool shit they did when they were in control... and showing him some of the things he ate to explain any stomach issues later.
But at the sound of their boss's voice, the beast side stepped aside, as if knowing that they needed brains right then. To get back, to figure out what was needed, to understand how to help best. And if it was decided that force was needed, it would gladly handle it fro there.
And boy, did Sonar need force when he saw his injured teammates in that hall. He thrashed that weird slime thing along with Golem and Phenomaman! ...Although, he wished he could get the taste of it out of his mouth...
Who knew something so colorful could taste like dirt, shit and chemicals? And not even the fun chemicals! It tasted like what he imagined the floor of a really dirty gas station bathroom probably tasted like.
Hopefully the food they were ordering would help with that... And if not, well, he knew where a den of mice were not too far from the office. He doubted anyone would have a problem with it if he snuck out for a snack. It wasn't like he was sneaking out for a drug deal.
Prism was taking everyone's order and entering it in on her phone while Flambae told them all about how he stopped a douche with ice powers from ruining these two sweet old ladies' wedding, the others commenting and asking questions.
Sonar ignored him and instead looked at the large crystal that had apparently been in Void's leg. Water Boy had gotten a trash can and had him hold it while he'd barfed up some water on it to help clean it up a bit once they got in the room, but there was still some drying blood in some places despite Water Boy's thoughtfulness.
But he didn't say a word about it.
This crystal would be a reminder for him. A reminder to look out for his friends. A reminder of how much it sucked seeing people he cared about hurt like that.
... And, okay, this would look SICK on his night stand.
"You okay, Batguy?" Malevola asked him, "You've been starin' at that crystal for a whoile... Don't tell me that slime thing got you hoigh..."
He rolled his eyes, "I wish. It would make the aftertaste worth it." He told her.
"Then what's up?" she asked.
"Just... Thinking." He said before looking at her, "You know when I said 'I will eat someone if Water Boy is dead' that I meant that, right?"
She stared at him, then stroked his head before scratching the spot that he could never reach, "He's safe, Victor. Void is too."
"But they were hurt." He said softly, "Water Boy is a good kid... seeing him like that felt wrong..."
"Yeah, it did." She agreed, then poked at the crystal, "Where are you thinkin' of puttin' this?"
"Night stand." He said simply, "Maybe I'll get one of those color changing lights to put under it."
"Yeah." He then looked at her, "Speaking of crystals, what are you gonna spend yours on?"
She tapped at her chin, "Ya know, I've been thinkin' about it, 'n I can't really decide. I know I want to spend it on somethin' I can enjoy for more than a noight. But I don't know what yet."
"... I think I might buy some stocks and that light and-" Cocaine... He shook his head. No. He was not going to use the money his friends nearly died from on that shit. "I dunno. Maybe some Twinks and feeder mice from that fancy pet shop? The ones who they give organic food to and shit?” He looked at the crystal and saw Prism on the other side, remembering the bones she had made from light. That had been cool. Maybe he could get something similar? "Hey Mal, what do you think would be cooler, a 3D printer or a projector to watch movies on or do karaoke with?"
"They both sound cool, but I think I'd prefer the projector." Mal said, looking a bit excited at the idea, "You wanna check out Best Bits on the way home?"
"Yeah! I want to see all the options available for the coolest set up!" He declared, feeling a little excited about the idea the more he thought about it.
"You think we can do that music saber thing we see at arcades at home?" Mal asked.
"That would be AWESOME!" He exclaimed, "Especially if we can rig it to work with your sword!"
"What are you two talking about?" Robert asked.
"What we're thinking of buying with the gem money." He told him, then asked, "What would you buy, Bob Bob?"
He seemed to consider it for a second before saying, "Stuff for Beef probably."
"Seriously?" Mal asked, "You don't even have a bed 'n you'd spend it all on Beef?"
He shrugged, "Can you blame me?"
Mal and Sonar exchanged a look before they both shook their heads. They honestly couldn't. As much as they'd want him to buy a bed, new clothes, more food, a couch, a table, etc. They both also had a soft spot for their boss's chunky dog.
Beef was just such a good boy.
"I think I'll use mine to buy some new knives made by artisans." Coupe said, "As well as some tickets to some shows."
"I'll probably use mine to pimp out a costume for a show." Prism said, "I have money, but I can always use more bling."
“I have been looking at this fancy stove top pressure cooker.” Flambae told them, “And my rice cooker just died. And maybe some fun cookie cutters so my niece has more variety when she comes over to bake.”
“Y-You bake with your niece?” Water Boy asked.
"You have a problem with that?" He challenged.
"N-No! I bake with m-my grandma a lot. I w-was going to a-ask if you w-wanted to swap recipes..."
Flambae considered this before he said, "You have any cinnamon bun recipes?"
"M-my grandma has a c-cinnamon bun cookie r-recipe we like." He offered.
"... Bring it a copy tomorrow, I'll bring you a recipe for Roht to try."
"S-sounds good!" Water Boy replied cheerfully before pulling his phone out of his pocket and began typing, most likely to his grandma.
"Ya know, a bakin' day could be fun team activity." Void suggested.
"I have never baked anything before, would that be an issue to having this 'baking day'?" Phenomaman asked.
"Nah, it would just be for fun, and you can learn a new recipe or two." Void said.
"... I only know how to make fairy bread." Malevola said shamefully.
"Fairy bread?" Punch Up asked, "Ain't that just buttered toast with sprinkles?"
"Yeah." Sonar's best friend confirmed, a bit embarrassed.
"I used ta eat that all the toime as a kid." Void said wistfully, "It's so gooooodddd..."
"I know, roight?" The demon gushed, delighted that someone else understood the supposed deliciousness of fairy bread.
"How is that good? Flambae asked, "It sounds like you just are being lazy."
"It's salty, it's sweet and it's gotta nice crunch to it!" Void argued.
"The perfect snack for a kid to make while waiting for your parents to get home..." Mal said, clearly nostalgic.
"My brothah 'n I would use the buttah ta make faces with the sprinkles!" Void laughed.
"I did that too!" Mal said excitedly, "then I'd make monster noises when I ate them!"
"Same! My brothah 'n I would take turns bein' the screamin' victims!" Void said as she bounced in her seat.
Sonar couldn't help but smile as the group commented about their childhood snack choices and how they ate them... until he felt a chill in the air.
That was weird. It wasn't too hot today, so there was no reason for the sudden chill. It wasn't the air conditioner either, he would've heard that.
So why was that chill continuing? And why was it getting even colder?
He shivered and the fur on his face puffed up, trying to trap heat in as he rubbed at his shoulders. This wasn't good. Too much cold and he'd start going into torpor and would be useless for a while.
"You okay, Sonar?" Invisigal asked, "Your face got... fluffier?"
"Does anyone else feel cold all of a sudden?" He asked as the temperature continued to drop and his ears picked up the sound of sharp heels clicking down the tiled hallway floors.
But it was just one person, and the sound was different from when Blazer would walk around... So who was it?
"Now that you mention it..." Robert said, rubbing his own arms.
Heels were higher than most people around here that he'd heard before, so they didn't work here.
"Did someone fuck around with the thermostat?" Prism asked, her arms wrapped around her chest.
Click Clack Click Clack Click Clack, the sounds were getting closer.
"I don't feel anything." Golem said, but then muttered a 'Huh?' as he noticed the windows of the room had fogged up.
Did Prism already order? Was that their food?
"I do think I do feel a change in the temperature, but it doesn't really effect me the same way it effects humans." Phenomaman said thoughtfully as he stared at the windows with Golem as frost began to form in the corners, "But it is strange how cold it is in here while it seems like a sunny and warm day outside..."
No, she hadn't taken half of their orders yet, so it couldn't be their food... Now that he thought about it, the people at the front desk often had delivery people drop off orders with them and then you had to go to them to pick it up.
Invisigal began huffing hot air into her palms as Malevola quickly walked closer to Sonar, who was starting to shiver and wrapped her arms around him, trying to use her own natural warmth to help him from having health issues. He started making his own sounds, trying to see if he could tell how far the heels were from the door, barely registering the concern on his teammates faces as he did so.
"Is it getting colder?" Coupe commented as she rubbed at one of her arms, starting to shiver.
Dammit, Sonar was having trouble now, it was so cold and so hard to focus on the sound...
"Yeah..." Punch Up replied with a scowl as he hugged himself, "And I don't like it."
Sonar not only agreed with Punch Up, but he'd even kick it up a notch. He hated this. He opened his mouth to speak, but could only manage a yawn.
Prism quickly moved closer to Flambae, whose hands lit up with flames without her having to ask.
The heat from Malevola and Flambae helped for a second, allowing him to focus for a second before the cold snuffed it out again.
"S-s-so c-c-c-old..." Water Boy managed through chattering teeth as he curled into a ball.
Water Boy was basically reading out his thoughts at this point as he started looking towards the ceiling, the beast in him telling him to find a place high and safe. The human in him understood that heat rose and scientifically, it was the smart option.
But that would require him having energy and he could feel and hear his heart beat slowing in preparation for torpor and knew he was doomed to exhaustion.
"H-hang on, I have a h-heater at my place, if someone can turn off the loight-" Void began, only for her to notice that she could see her own breath, "what the fuck?"
Wait, no, go back to getting that heater...
"T-this isn't n-normal." Robert said, his voice a razor's edge despite the chattering teeth and how tired Sonar was starting to feel. This wasn't good, this kinda thing was supposed to be more gradual. If he survived this, he was going to be fucked up for a while.
"Uh, guys." Golem's voice called, the low tone full of concern, "I think Water Boy is starting to freeze."
"Okay, that's it." Flambae growled as flames engulfed his upper half, "Everyone stay close until we figure out what the fuck is going on."
No one needed to be told twice, although Sonar and Water Boy were given the spots closest to Flambae. And once Sonar was closer to Water Boy, and was able to open his eyes normally again, he saw what looked like snow or ice on his body in patches.
Ah, right his body created water constantly, so the sudden cold was bad for him too.
"S-should I s-still grab the h-heater?" Void asked.
"I-I'm f-f-f-f, I'm o-okay." Water Boy insisted and Sonar could swear he could see the leftover blood freezing on his crystal out of the corner of his blurring vision.
Oh hell no, he and Water Boy were not freezing to death today.
"N-no. You're not." He found himself saying, "A-and n-neither am I." He then looked to Void, "G-get t-the h-heater. S-someone is c-coming a-and I n-need to t-think."
She nodded before slipping under the table, and after a couple of slow blinks and the sounds of someone, probably Prism, asking 'The fuck you mean 'someone is coming'? You can't just say creepy shit like that and then get all quiet!' Void then crawled out from under the table with a portable heater and some blankets, making someone, (probably Prism) jump and yelp, before she went to the nearest outlet and plugged it in, tapping a few buttons as she cussed and bitched about how cold it was as she tossed two of the blankets to Malevola to help him and draped the other two over Water Boy's shivering body, the young man looking as tired and cold as he felt as he gripped the edges of the blankets, stammering out apologies for the fact that her offerings were going to be soaked when this was over.
As if they didn't have other, bigger, more pressing problems...
But still, it was Water Boy, it wouldn't be him if he didn't apologize for some minor inconvenience he caused without meaning to... Sonar suddenly felt a bit guilty for giving him shit about it before. The kid literally could not help it and he and the others complained about him helping them when they were short handed. He wasn't getting paid for risking his life at the time, just cleaning up the messes they left at the office.
And considering some things he heard, Water Boy probably hadn't been paid enough for that shit.
Thankfully the combined efforts of the heater, blankets, Flambae's growing flames and Malevola's body heat helped Victor stay awake in the freezing room as he struggled to stare at the door, the sound of the heels clicking so loud, he was pretty sure they could all hear them now.
Then he heard three loud knocks, "I'm coming in." A woman's voice called before the door opened to a calm looking woman with steely blue eyes behind red glasses, red hair, and who was wearing an icy blue business suit, the cold radiating off of her like heat radiated from Flambae.
Well well well, the cold temperature came from a ice cold baddie. God, if it wasn't so cold, he would definitely be enjoying the view right now...
The woman's eyes narrowed at Void, clearly irritated, before she seemed to start to scan the room, only to stop as her eyes widened and her jaw dropped, "H-Hermie?" she murmured.
Hermie? Who the fuck-... Oh shit! that was Water Boy's real name! How did she-?
"H-h-hi M-M-Mom." Water boy managed with a smile of chattering teeth.
"MOM/MUM?!" Everyone but Water Boy, Robert, Sonar and Phenomaman shouted, stunned. Sonar winced from the sound, but he wouldn't lie, the abrupt change in volume did help him wake up a bit more... along with the news that Water Boy had a mom and she was HOT! What the fuck? Water Boy looked like a pathetic wet noodle (not that any of them would let anyone else call him that. They were his team, only they could bust his balls about looking like a pathetic wet noodle) but his Mom was this Ice Queen with fiery red hair and eyes that could make a man...
Ya know, maybe he should stop that line of thought before this became more awkward than it already was...
Or at least before it became awkward for him, he doubted the awkwardness would end here for poor Water Boy...
"Really?" Phenomaman asked, clearly delighted by this information as he turned to Water Boy, "This explains so much about your dedication to help others! Your mother does the same thing as a Branch Leader!" He then looked at the woman who Water Boy just called 'Mom', "However, based on the pictures in your office, Frostbite, I thought your child was thirteen or fourteen at oldest. I had no idea it was Water Boy, although I suppose he does look very similar. Minus the metal on his teeth, painful looking face lumps and death metal band t-shirt."
Water Boy's body might be shaking from cold, but he still managed to have a small blush on his cheeks from the description their friend from outer space just gave before saying, "And you both use water decks when we play Magic the Gathering! You both use similar strategies too! I don't know how I didn't see it sooner! My apologies to both of you!"
"I-It's o-okay." Water Boy managed, looking like he might ask Void to take him somewhere far away through the shadows under the tab- wait a fucking second, why didn't they ask her to let him and Water Boy stay there while the rest of them handled Water Boy's Mom?
"Oh, Hermie, I am so sorry, let me..." Frostbite said before the room warmed up again.
Sonar and Water Boy both breathed sighs of relief as the room was quickly going back to the temperature it had been before. Sure Sonar was still tired, but hopefully he'd wake up as the two of them soon shedded the blankets and the others quickly address to the heater and Flambae turned off the flames.
"Sorry about that," Frostbite said as she took a seat at the far side of the table, "My powers tend to flair up when I'm not trying to when I'm angry." She then looked to Void, "And when I find out that one of the criminals who broke into my office years ago is not only a new member of the company, but that two heroes from my office came down here and attacked her and another hero from the same team..."
"And it turned out the other hero turned out to be your son." Robert supplied.
"... I'm sorry, what was that?" Frostbite said, her smile cold and her eyes dark as the room's temperature dropped again.
"M-MOM!" Water Boy cried, making her snap out of whatever was happening in her head and she made a face and held up her hands, taking some deep breaths before saying, "Sorry, sorry..." The temperature rose again, "I did NOT know my son was also attacked..."
The group looked at one another, silently agreeing that telling her Water Boy's shoulder was smashed right here and right now was not a good idea if they didn't want to freeze again...
Victor mentally rubbed his palms with an evil grin as he considered sending them an anonymous email blackmailing them for their crimes against their boss's son later... then ask Bob Bob to give Frostbite the news later after their demands were fulfilled.
He'd ask Blonde Blazer, but she's too much of a goody goody to understand the beauty of revenge. TV shows always had it that the people who got their well deserved revenge on bastards always end up losing no matter what because they just create new people who want revenge on the person who got revenge and it just never ends... but then again, Water Boy and Void got hurt because those heroes wanted revenge on Void for something...
Hmm, this was quite the conundrum. Get revenge and continue the cycle, or let it go by just emailing Frostbite about what happened to her child later with a request for her to send them her reaction and how the so-called heroes were punished...
He'd talk to the team later about it in the team chat they had without Robert.... which reminded him, he needed to tell Prism to add Void to that chat.
"Anyways, Void, I apologize for my heroes actions against you. Even if you didn't work for SDN, you were a child back when you were a criminal and you don't deserve to be attacked for wanting to help others with your abilities." She said, her eyes going dark, "I will make sure that once the investigation is done and their actions are confirmed, that they are properly punished for their actions and that they pay for damages and medical bills."
"'N what about what they did ta Water Boy?" Void asked, "Them attackin' me? Predictable, seeing as they were in the area. Them attackin' him? Unacceptable."
Frostbite smiled a smile that sent chills up Sonar's spine without the temperature dropping, "On that, we agree. I'll have them apologize to him once they're patched up. Blonde Blazer is getting the footage and is taking into account the amount of gems fired at you two for the report." She then looked around the room with a knowing smile, "Although I have a feeling that the amount left in the hall is far less than how much she actually fired."
The ones with jewels in their pockets tried to cover their bulging pockets without looking too obvious (Sonar had it easy as he was sitting down and that he had lots of pockets) as she then looked at the crystal Void had given Sonar, "I would like to take a picture of that with a ruler, and see if there is any blood to confirm further injuries."
Void looked to Sonar, who nodded. Frostbite then tapped on her phone, "One of our people is on their way with the equipment to measure, count and test the evidence. If you could also let them count the amount of gems in your pockets, that will be helpful."
The group grumbled as they took places around the table and began pulling blue crystals out of their pockets.
"I'm surprised you didn't take any, Void." She said lightly, "I recall Quartz Cutter mentioning that he used to misfire on purpose so you and your brother could eat and have a roof over your heads."
"... I was gonna take whatevah wasn't used for repairs 'n new equipment 'n medical shit 'n spend it on snacks 'n booze ta apologize once it got dark." she admitted bashfully.
"How sweet." she chuckled, the sound making Sonar's fur puff up for an entirely different reason.
Easy there, Victor, that is your friend's mother and a Branch Leader. You and your team already are on HR's shit list, you do not need someone from a different branch and corporate HR coming down on you for wanting to...
Actually, don't finish that thought. Think of gross things... Uh, naked old people? The cold? The taste of that slime?
Yeah, he should just focus on getting the gems out of his pocket for counting and just try not to think too hard or stare too much...
Later he was gonna tease Water Boy about his mom being a MILF.
"Now then..." She said, getting up from her seat and carefully picking at her clothes to avoid wrinkles before walking over to Robert, her hand out, "Thank you for looking out for my son, Mechaman. It's good to know he's in experienced hands." Robert took her hand and shook, "It's nice to know where Water Boy get his heroic nature from."
Water Boy blushed from the praise and opened his mouth, most likely to downplay it, only for Sonar to stop him with a hand on his shoulder.
Frostbite gave a warm smile that Sonar would now swear up and down he'd seen on Water Boy's face before she then said, "Thank you. And thank you for personally coming to make sure he and Void were okay. I do hope you are that dedicated to your own well being as well, you were in a coma for six months right before you started here and I did hear about the fight you all had against the Red Ring.."
HOLY SHIT, SHE KNEW?! HOW THE FUCK DID SHE KNOW BOB BOB WAS MECHAMAN?!
AND WAIT, DID SHE JUST SAY ROBERT HAD BEEN IN A COMA FOR SIX MONTHS BEFORE HE STARTED HERE!?!
Sonar felt his brain immediately shake off any remaining drowsiness as he recalled Punch Up telling them on Robert's first day that Mechaman had beaten up Flambae the night before. He also remembered Visi punching him in the face for telling her off.
And FUCK, the bar fight! He might have been in beast form for a good portion of it, but the Beast was happy to share what was going on and kept track of who was fighting/doing what.
Bob Bob smashed a mirror in someone's face. Ripped someone's ear off with his bare hands. Tanked a punch to the dick from Punch Up. Bit off a finger tip. AND helped break someone's arms! AGAINST PEOPLE WITH POWERS AND MECHANICAL ENHANCEMENTS!!
This guy did all this after six months of being in a coma?!
Okay, Sonar was calling horseshit on Robert not having powers, motherfucker had to have some sort of powers to do that after being down for so long!
Either that or just was using the suit as a nerf this whole time! Holy shit...
"Worry not," Phenomaman assured Frostbite, "We are here to assist in reminding Robert to take care of himself."
"And step in when he doesn't!" Invisigal chimed in.
She nodded, then shook Phenomaman's hand as well, "It's good to see you Katon-Ur. I do hope we can have a rematch before I have to return to the East Coast."
He beamed, "I look forward to it!" He said excitedly, "Water Boy has been a phenomenal opponent, so I plan to come out the victor this time!"
She smiled widely, "I look forward to it." she laughed.
She walked over to Water Boy and gave him a kiss on the cheek, the lucky...
"I'll be staying with you and your grandmother for a few days to clear this up. Can you let her know I'll be coming?"
"Yeah, can do, Mom." He said softly, then said, "We were about to order tacos, can you join us?"
Frostbite gave him a sad smile, "I'm afraid Blonde Blazer and I will be dealing with this all day, but thank you for the invitation."
"Oh, o-okay." He said, clearly trying to hide the disappointment.
"However, as heroes from my branch caused your team trouble, perhaps I can treat you all to dinner as an apology before I leave?" she offered.
Water Boy brightened and Robert said, "Thank you, we look forward to it."
The group all nodded eagerly, except for Void, who looked a bit nervous at the invitation.
Frostbite gave Water Boy a big hug that he happily returned, his mother not caring as the water from his body soaked into her suit. When they let go they smiled at each other before she made her way out the door and left with a wave.
It was quiet for about a minute before Water Boy turned to them and, without a hint of a stutter, growled "If anyone makes inappropriate comments about my Mom, I WILL punch them. I have been dealing with people saying gross things about my Mom my whole life and I am NOT letting it slide."
Sonar was a little intimidated, very proud and very quick to decide to not comment about his mom being a MILF in front of him. When he was at home with Mal was probably fine though.
"That's fair." Golem conceded with a nod.
"Why would anyone say 'gross' things about your mother?" Phenomaman asked, genuinely confused. "She is a well respected, well liked and powerful hero who does a phenomenal job. There is nothing 'gross' about her." He said firmly.
Robert called him over and whispered into his ear, the alien's eyes widening before he scowled, "That is terrible." he said plainly. Their boss nodded.
"We won't talk like that about yer mother," Punch Up assured him, "But we are probably gonna ask questions, Lad, considering her powers and yours."
Water Boy sucked in a breath and nodded, "That's fair." He agreed.
"So, is yer Grandma her Mum or yer Dad's?" Mal asked.
"Dad's. Dad didn't have powers. He was a meteorologist who never saw snow before he met my Mom. When he did, it was snow she'd made with her powers and he told her that her snow was the prettiest thing he'd ever seen and asked if they could be friends and it started from there." Water Boy explained.
"Awww, that's adorable..." Malevola said dreamily, "I want somethin' loike that..."
Flambae nodded, "That does sound kinda nice..."
Void quietly asked Coupe for directions to the nearest bathroom, which she gave in an an equally quiet tone before the newest member of the team slipped to the door without anyone saying a word about it, as most of the team's attention was either on Water Boy answering questions about his family or Prism asking anyone who hadn't already put in their orders about what they wanted. Sonar caught Coupe's eye and she gave him a small nod.
He quietly moved his chair closer to the door, with only Coupe and Mal noticing as he listened.
"Uh, Excuse me." Void's voice called, getting a curious hum in reply.
"I, uh...I'm really sorry about breaking inta your office all those years ago." Void said sincerely, "I know now that it was wrong, but at the toime, we just needed to be sure..."
"Sure of what?" Frostbite asked.
"... Doiamondback had just been sentenced, Sapphire 'n Slurry were still angry 'n just taken jobs with SDN. We were concerned, I mean, they were separated from him, but we weren't sure... I mean, we didn't know much about SDN or how it worked or anything, so we were worried-"
"That someone worse would manipulate and use them like Diamondback did." Frostbite finished, understanding. "Diamondback had a good reputation once. People trusted him and believed in him and you didn't know anything about SND or me or anything else and worried that history would repeat itself with them."
"Yeah... It was still wrong though to think of you loike that." Void said softly, "So, I'm sorry... Although, I am curious about how you knew it was us."
"The sticky note you used to cover my son's baby picture." She said, "Your fingerprints are in the system."
"Wait, seriously?" She asked.
"Yes. Although I am curious why you covered it up." Frostbite said, then said in a voice that made him immediately picture her pouting, "It was such a cute baby picture too..."
"Saw the picture of him as a 13/14 year old on your desk and figured he wouldn't want the strangers who broke in ta see his bare baby butt picture." She explained, "Nevah knew I'd end up workin' with him some day, so, glad I did it."
"I suppose it does make things less awkward for you two." Frostbite conceded.
"And I'm also sorry I got your son mixed up in my old problems." Void said, "I nevah meant to put him in any danger."
"... Apology accepted. As for my son getting mixed up in your old problems, that wasn't your fault. And you know that." Frostbite stated.
"... Still feel bad." She said simply, "He's a noice guy 'n doesn't blame me at all either."
Frostbite chuckled, "My Hermie has always been a very kind child." Then there was a pause before she asked, "Is there something else?"
"... I have two more things ta say, one thing will have ta be said outsoide, the otheah one here 'n now, okay?"
"... Okay?" Frostbite said, confused.
"You can't foire Sapphire 'n Slurry." Void said softly, "If you foire them, they will become villains so fast 'n guess who they'll target first?"
"... Okay, I mean you're roight, but who else?" she asked.
There was a pause, then a gasp before Void spoke again, "Doesn't mattah if they foind out that he's your son or not, Water Boy WILL become their target. Either because he was with me today or because he's your kid 'n it'll hurt you. Because, let's be honest, they can't beat you."
Sonar slipped his hands under the table and clenched them, furious. She was right, it didn't matter which way they sliced it, either to get payback against their old boss or to get back at one of the reasons they were fired, Water Boy would become a target.
Fuck! He'd need to chat with the others about this later...
"... I can't guarantee that they can keep their jobs." Frostbite told her, "But maybe I can figure something else out while the investigation is ongoing... What is the other thing?"
"... Fair warning; it'll piss you off." Void warned.
"... Maybe you should type it in my phone and I'll read it in the parking lot." Frostbite suggested.
"Yeah, good call." Void said.
Sonar then heard some tapping before Frostbite thanked her for telling her the truth before he heard the click of heels again going in one direction and the sound of Void's steps coming back and watched as she opened the door.
Void stared at him, surprised to see him on the other side of the room than he was before after he'd been so cold and tired.
"Hey Void." He replied putting his arms behind his head, "Get turned around on the way to the bathroom?"
"Yeah, I really need that tour once we have lunch..." Void replied, "You moind goin' with me so I don't end up somewhere I don't know?"
He considered it, then nodded, "Sure." He said before getting up and joining her in the doorway, making sure to make eye contact with Malevola before leaving.
Once the door was closed and they'd walked a few feet away, Void asked, "You heard everything?"
"You gonna tell the othahs what I just did?" she asked.
"Nah, but I am wondering what was so bad about the baby picture that you needed to cover it." He said with a smile.
"I wouldn't know, covered it." She said plainly, then looked at him. "Anyways, can I ask an unrelated question?"
"Sure." He replied, curious.
"When the FUCK were you all going to tell me our boss is MECHAMAN?" she blurted.
Sonar stared, soaking in the question before he started to laugh.
Oh shit, he totally forgot that she didn't know that Bob Bob was Mechaman! In all the chaos, it had completely slipped his mind!
Not that he had any plans to tell her, if anything, they probably would've put bets on how long it would take before she figured it out or someone told her.
But guess that wasn't going to happen now.
"Stop laughing, this is serious! It's Mechaman! He's a third generation hero 'n he's got so much experience actually helpin' people 'n I just..." she clenched her fists as she kept her eyes on the ground, "I wasn't even out in the field 'n I got someone hurt on my first day. I'd be on thin oice with a normal dispatcher for that, roight? What's an experienced hero loike Mechaman gonna feel about havin' someone loike me on his team?"
Sonar stared at her, all laughter gone now. "Void, we don't listen to him because he's Mechaman. We listen to him because he's Robert."
She looked at him, an unspoken request for him to elaborate hanging in the air between them.
So Sonar decided to oblige; "When he joined, he didn't just let us do whatever we wanted like the other dispatchers did, he took charge and told us what we needed to do to improve. He argued with his boss when she wanted to cut one of us because we weren't doing as well as the other teams. He pushed us to look at our failings and grow from them. He encourages us to work together and support each other instead of pointing fingers at each other when things go wrong..." He listed off his fingers, then stopped to look at the young woman with him, "He's not going to give up on you because someone else made a mistake. He's not going to give up on you when you do make a mistake. Robert gives a shit about us. That's why we trust him. We wouldn't tolerate him if he was the kind of guy who'd cut you for getting ambushed."
"... Thanks Sonar." she said with a smile.
Then they both felt the ground rumble, the temperature drop and a shout of "SAAASSSSHHHAAA!!!!!!"
The two looked at each other, impish smiles growing on their faces as Sonar snickered, "Someone's in troubbbleeeeee."
"Yeah, Sapphire's gonna get ittt." Void giggled.
The two cackled deviously as they made their way down the hall, Sonar feeling a lot better than he had when they entered the meeting room.