Note: I haven’t written stuff in a long time and I’m doing this on my phone between work, so spare me.
It starts when Robert is called for jury duty
AKA he knows ahead of time that he’s going to not be in for about a week and helps to prepare
Blonde Blazer is too busy dealing with everything else so she has another dispatcher fill in for him
You
Robert’s met you a couple of times in the break room just in passing, but hasn’t had a full conversation with you before him and Chase gave you the rundown on the Z-Team
Man has no actual opinion of you other than ‘co-worker’ prior to this
But MAN do you study those files on the teams to make sure you get things right
Chase even gives you access to some of the shift recordings of Robert with the Z-team to see how he does things and generally the team
It shocks you how they speak to Robert, but you prepare to have fun
Robert gives the team a heads up on Friday that he’s gonna be gone Monday
Prism: “Oh what? Little bitch boy too good for us?”
“Guys I have jury duty”
Flambe: “What the fuck is that?”
…
Sonar: “So are they hot or..?”
Visi: “Perv”
Z-Team is fully prepared to be on their worst behavior
Until they actually have their first shift with you
“Hey guys, I’m gonna be your dispatcher this week while Robert’s gone”
Visi: “You’re the dispatcher for THIS shift”
Mal: “I’ll bet they lasts the day, too panicked to put in a resignation till the end of the day”
That is- until the shift actually starts and they get to see you in action
It begins to make sense why you were asked to fill in
Cuz holy shit
“Visi I’m sending you to the break in at the factory, but if you have issues Golem is around the corner finishing a smaller job and is ready to help out if needed”
“Coupe, I’m sending you over to the helicopter crashing, but if you’re gonna try to land it in the river then say something when you know so I can send Waterboy for support”
You be making backup plans and support on top of that
At first it was met with some apprehension-
Punch Up: “the fuck you mean I’m MAY BE being sent am I going or not?”
But once they see the reassurance and support in action, about half (Mal, Golem, Punch Up and Water Boy) are fully on board by the end of the first shift
Visi is SO against the difference in methods
You have a Z-Team intro meeting between the first two shifts where she very publicly says this talk
It kinda stuns her (and the rest of the team) that you understand where she’s coming from
Major difference in her not following your orders versus Robert’s
“I get it, my methods are different than yours or Robert’s. I’m not trying to adjust or change the good you have, I just want to make it better.”
What hits her is the
“I trust you guys, you have a better understanding of the situation on the field. But a priority of mine is also your safety. I only make the call to send someone else if you need it. A big of this is me trusting you and you being aware of your own capabilities.”
“It’s fine if you don’t want to do it this way. Just let me know and I won’t include you as a secondary if someone needs it, but that also means you won’t get help if you something happens halfway into a mission.”
By the second shift everyone is on board, except for Visi who opted out (but changed her mind on the second day)
Z-Team loves that you aren’t trying to flatter them or coddle them.
Giving them feedback on what they can do better but also letting they know that they are doing a good job (when they ACTUALLY do a good job)
By the third day (MINIMUM) they love you
Because even tho they love Robert, you’ve treated them just as people/superheroes from day 1!
And not looking at them as villains (and definitely not because you hop in on their teasing)
100% at least one member of the Z-team had a crush on you, whether you know it or not
They’re all INCREDIBLY disappointed when Robert comes back a day early
“Aw come on man!”
“What happened to the new guy huh?”
“BOOO!”
“Damn I thought you guys would be happy to have me back”
“Nah bitch we were having a great time”
This gives him a chance to actually talk to you
“What did you do to them?”
“Man I did nothing, I was just enjoying being your sub while you were away”
Z-team 100% invites you to future outings whenever they got them
You become permanent sub for Robert
((Blonde Blazer has to not tell the Z-Team that if Robert didn’t work out as a dispatcher they would have had you))
