I wanted to request a platonic oneshot with the z-team with a teen! Reader where the reader is basically just Mob from Mob Psycho 100.
Essentially, the reader is a powerful esper but pretty emotionally reserved and socially awkward so they don’t accidentally hurt anyone. The z-team is mentoring them and the reader’s personality endears all of them.
I’ve seen a similar concept be done but a reader with Mob’s personality has just been stuck in my head.
Thank you sm!!!
- 🍏 anon
first request is in and done!
Pretext:
Sorry this one took a while, had to do some research (aka I watched season 1 of Mob Psycho 100) and the course I'm taking right now doesn't do Christmas breaks, so writing this took a whiiile. Still, I wanted to try and fit as many interactions as I could with the team while still keeping it to a one-shot, so things might've gotten a bit out of hand but, hey, there's no word limit to these things, right? (that's a serious question i've never written one of these before)
Z-TEAM X GN!ESPER!READER PLATONIC
woohoo cool gifs!!!
Character list:
Robert Robertson III, Flambae, Sonar, Malevola, Punch Up, Prism, Golem, Chase and quick cameos or allusions to other members.
Word Count: Roughly 3k
If there was one word to describe Los Angeles, it was super. Whether it was in the billboards that followed you around every street, the daily calamities that ruined your morning commute, or the constant stream of idol zeitgeist from your peers; there was always someone or something super involved. And unfortunately, you held a part in it.
The drawbacks came early in your youth, a small temper tantrum strong enough to be measured on the Richter scale. Day in and out you had to smother your emotions, slowly molding that wallflower personality that kept you from trouble for so long. But your powers were strong, too strong to go unnoticed, and this unhealthy habit wouldn't hold forever. It might've been a freak accident after a particularly stressful day, or one grueling moment you couldn't bear to hold yourself back anymore, but whether you liked it or not, the "super" side of LA had finally took notice of you.
So there you sat, legs pressed together in that beat up lobby chair, sinking into the cushioned imprint from all those before you. It held more than enough room to sprawl out, but something weighed on your heart like an anchor. This was an opportunity -- a good one! Yet while your face didn't show the frantic beating in your chest, your surroundings did. The trashcan's contents slowly crawling out, the office chairs dragging to a circle, the near empty room seemed to draw closer and closer until a voice cut through.
"Hey. [Y/N], right?" You raised your head, the man who had just called your name scanning the now strewn lobby. "Not the worst state I've seen this place in." He held out a hand which you were quick to meet. "Robert. Robert Robertson - and before you start, yes, that's my actual name." You weren't sure what you were supposed to start. "Robert, thank you for having me here, I'm... wait, no, you already said my name." He held back the chuckle that nearly slipped, noting how you were still holding firm onto his hand. "Yeah, I did. Still, not a crime to say it twice. This hero business involves a lot of head trauma so, a reminder's always good." With that you had finally remembered to let his hand drop, following him through bleached corridors and a miasma of stale coffee. "First things first, it's best to get you introduced to the others."
"Alright, team, the reason you were all called in here today is because," "We're switching to child labour?" Some bat-headed businessman piped up with, earning a few chuckles and harder exhales from the conference room. "Yes. In fact, due to a piss poor performance they'll be taking your place as of now… Is what I would've had done if this was my call, but alas." The bat man scoffed and sunk into his chair as the team seemed to turn the humour on him. "Skipping all the corporate talk; from now on, [Y/N] here will be this team's protégé, learning under a mentorship that all of you will be leading." For the first time since you had stepped into this building there was silence.
"Thank you all for having me here. It looks like this came as a shock to, all of you, but I'm honored to be a part of this." You repeated the sentiment you had held in the lobby. Honored was a strong word, but with how their gazes were locked at you, a bit of flattery would surely ease the tension. "Is this a fuckin' joke?" ah.
They weren't happy, and the comments were coming out quick. "W-Why are… who, wanted us to take care of- mentor of, someone?" "Fuckin' 'ell, Robert, what's a wee sheit like them doin' in a place like this?" Not necessarily aimed at you. Just, the situation itself. "We're not babysitters, fuck are we supposed to do with a kid?" Well, some still aimed at you.
You felt a tug at your lip, eyes in the room darting between you and Robert as the complaints poured forward. You were close to melting into the wall until Robert took a step forward and planted his hands on the table. "Hey, hey! Do I gotta remind you all how we ended up here? Cause I know that none of us planned on going corporate." His gaze traveled over the team. "I was given this chance, alright? A second chance, and so were you. Some of you even got a third chance -- hell, a fourth! So instead of getting pissy over having to do your literal jobs, you can all give [Y/N] here the same chance that we got."
The team had been reduced to murmurs, searching amongst each other for whoever had the next word. "So, what can they do?"
Your powers were strong, too strong to go untested in the field. Your first week or so was to be spent around the office, helping wherever you could and training in the building's gym. Flambae hadn't been too keen on being a "babysitter" and his woes would strike true, taking Blonde Blazer's place today as your trainer. His powers apparently had the tendency to flare up alongside his emotions, a parallel that was quickly drawn to you.
"Look, I don't know what they were thinking bringing a kid to the office," "teenager" "Shut up. And I've already got enough to deal with from doing actual work so just, do your brain thing or whatever-the-fuck you call it" You looked between him and the punching bag, unsure where to really take the initiative. Raising your hand, that all too familiar wave was drawn from your core, traveling through bones and ligament and hurling itself from your palm, slamming the punching bag back and letting it sway.
You turned to him, expecting some sort of follow up. Instead he just stood there, arms crossed and his weight on one foot, giving a nod to continue. So you went on, sending a barrage into the bag guided by your fists. Flambae didn't seem to stop you just yet, watching as you flailed about with your psychokinesis doing most of the work. Despite trying your best to never rely on your powers, you had never put particular effort into building up your body either, not even a few seconds passing until you felt your lungs begin to heave, electing to stop.
"There," You spoke between labored breaths. "I'm sorry that I'm taking up your time with this." "What?" He raised a brow. "Your schedule. You said you already had enough to deal with, so I'm sorry for getting in your way with, this." He stared back at you, the annoyed demeanor now replaced with confusion, which eventually melted away into a look you couldn't quite describe, eyes that carried some form of sympathy as his domineering posture gave way. "No, no no that's, uhh… you, stand poorly. Any hit and you'll get swept with your knees locked like that. Here - hold on let me show you."
He took a step forward, suddenly caring enough to begin instructing your body, fixing your stance and giving you room to continue, a small smile as you both began to work through improving your repertoire. From that day on, it seemed like Flambae was covering more and more for Mandy every week.
"Yo, [Y/N], you been reading up on that homework?" Were the first words that met you in the break room. Sonar had been surprisingly open to helping you out, even supplying you with 'study material' as he called it. At first you were grateful -- though, a bit discouraged since you already had actual schoolwork to do. Then the horrid realization came, how the books were all under one author. Vanderstank. You hadn't really picked up on most of the things Sonar tried to teach you, but you recognized the terminology in these pages from his ramblings. 'Sigma male', 'Grindset', 'HODL', 'Crypto wallet'. It was more made up than any fairytale you'd heard.
Unfortunately, you didn't have the heart to tell him the full extent of your thoughts. He meant well, always talking about improving your confidence and "maximizing your profits". So your usually dormant face carried a forced smile with it. "Yeah, they've really helped me… extend my port-folio. Thank you." "See! Told you the kids gets it -- watch, two years from now? We'll have our own startup and everything."
Malevola, who was sitting right beside him, carried a smile alike your own; though hers was more empathetic to you specifically. "You're gonna rot their brain with that stuff, man." "Nah, that's just what quitters say, to hold back the alphas who're trying to make it." "Make it? You- We work in a glorified call center, where have we made it?" "Hey, I said they're holding back those who are trying to make it, not those who've already- oh, shoot, hold on." In a moment he had fished his phone out, pacing away to listen to whatever pyramid scheme he had roped someone into.
"Real sweet of ya to play along with him." "Play, along?" "Yeah, y'know, with the books." Her smile began to falter. "Wait. You didn't actually read them, did you?" "Oh no, I did. They were horrible."
That earned a quick laugh from her, slinging an arm around your shoulder and playfully butting a horn against your dome. "Ah, I like ya kid- you're cool."
Just as Sonar had gotten off the phone, Robert stuck his head into the lounge, giving a whistle. "Hey, we've got some molemen surfacing downtown, seems like they're making a comeback for, some reason. We need you out there, now." "And you didn't just say this over our pieces cause?" Sonar had to ask. "Because," Robert swung his hand and chucked something your way, you were quick to catch it and look down at the earbud in your palm. "I think it's about time [Y/N] here went on an actual call and not a coffee run."
Your powers were strong, too strong to become dependent on. So during his time between missions, Punch Up would drag you to the gym, having you train whatever lay beyond your powers. You tried to protest at first, but it seemed like nothing could cause that man to back down, eventually convincing you to tag along with it. He had already worked half a shift today and was still finding the energy to hold that punching bag for you.
"Come on, kid. Put yer fist through it!" He went on like clockwork, watching you dance around -- or more-so stumble around -- the rubber mat. Admittedly you had noticed some progress to your stamina and strength compared to how you were at the start of this mentorship. Though Colm had a nasty tendency to forget the fact that he was literally built different, barely having broken a sweat while you felt your knuckles already beginning to ache through the gloves.
"Don't you think this," You paused to dry your throat with saliva, was that the taste of iron or blood? "that this is a bit much? My arms are, so tired."
"'Yer not gonna make it far with whinin' like that. Now I know ya can do better than that wee ticklin', so come on!"
Another nasty tendency he had was his mouth and how he never knew when to close it. Even when trying to motivate he would accidentally slip a word in that ticked something off within you. So you heaved yourself forward, your whole torso turning with the punch, nailing it straight center mass into the bag. Unbeknownst to you, Colm had let his arms rest during this 'motivational talk', and before he could raise his hands again his vision was engulfed with the battered redness of a punching bag.
It took you a second to build the courage to peek across, gazing down at his now gushing nose. The weights littered around had already begun to float, the bag itself shaking with your fear. Before you could even get a word out, Colm let a bolstering laugh that shook the gym, clapping you on the back as you felt the color slowly rise back to your face.
"There we fuckin' go! Now that's a brutal dig!" Your words were faltering, stuttering incoherently as you pointed at the bloody mess that was seeping into his mustache. He finally took a finger up, dabbing at it and pulling away to look at the crimson shine. "Hah! What'd I tell ya? Knew ye could do better than that. Soon enough, ya won't even be needin' yer powers." You finally met his beaming laugh with a, albeit hesitant, smile of your own. The worry you felt had been overtaken by a strange warmth rising in your chest from the pride he wore on his bloodied face.
"MY FUCKING CAR!" A yell froze you up, spinning around to meet the source. An aging man with a comb-over that was certainly over, reeling beside what could only be described as a polygonal eye-sore with its windshield pierced by a piece of debris, the debris you had been chucking at the now pummeled monster. It was your first ever big mission, and you were already paying for it.
"I'm sorry, sir." You began with quickly, reciting the same commercial you had seen on loop in the lobby. "SDN doesn't cover any damages to property in the field. I-" "Sorry!? You better be sorry, you lil' shit - wipe that smug-fuck look ya got!" Your felt that almost nostalgic pressure crawl back into you, taking a step back as the spittle hit your temple, a frown forming as the rubble around you began to shake. "I oughta wipe that mug myself, you-"
"Hey. One more step, and we'll ruin more than that shitbox of yours." Before the man could even follow your step back, Flambae was standing right in front of you with a stare strong enough to burn a hole through your assailant. "This bitch giving you trouble?" Prism followed up with beside you, pushing her shades down to get a good look at the shrinking man.
"We all good?" The shadow that now loomed over you spoke, Golem dwarfing everyone in this confrontation. Whatever the man had wanted to say was stuck in his throat, his legs failing him next as he clambered back into the office he crawled out from.
You had expected further reprimand, shit talk, maybe even an early leave once you got back. Instead the trio was now fuzzing over you, Flambae crouching to your level as Prism wiped the dirt from your shoulders. "Hey, look at me, that out there -- the work you just did? Fucking amazing. Forget that bitch, alright?" It was like he could peer through your mask, the roaring in your chest slowly fizzling with a heavy exhale.
"Thanks- thank you for, saving me there. I'm sorry that-" "Don't you go apologizing for what that limpdick tried pining on you. These things happen, like, all the time." Prism was quick to cut you off with. "If anything we were saving him. You would've turned his ass inside out." She added, giving you a grin. It was usually a rare sight, but ever since you got your footing in this team, you seemed to crack a smile more every day.
Robert ripped the headset off, drawing a sigh for so long his lungs felt like collapsing. It had been a long shift -- no, a long day. His shift ended an hour ago, or was it two? That computer would not let him go. Self proclaimed nemeses returning, calamities tearing through the city left and right, people in the streets yelling about the end of the world. Just his luck that that kaiju had to come out right during the eclipse, something about the event having drawn out everyone and everything.
He pried himself from the office chair, each joint and ligament screaming at him for all his horrible life choices. As he was packing his things, his phone buzzed with a message from that all too familiar geriatric.
lounge. now.
Maybe it had been the horrid shift he just had getting to him, or the sleep deprivation, or both, but all the alarms went off in his head at once, rushing past the dormant cubicles, nearly slipping over the smoothened floor as he practically slid into the lounge, immediately hushed by Chase who only met Robert with a gesture towards the sofa. You were lying there with Beef pressed up against your stomach, Phenomaman's cape detached and draped over the both of you. Robert had been wondering where you went off to during the day, and why the rest of the Z team were so dismissive to answer him. Guess this was their idea of covering for you.
"Went around lookin' for Beef and found these lil' shits sleepin in." Chase spoke in a half whisper, pocketing his phone. "Don't know how long they've been here, but I can't bring myself to wake 'em." "And let me guess, you've already set this as your background?" "Damn. I am fuckin' old, huh?"
They both shared a suppressed laugh, Robert turning back to look at you. He hadn't admitted it yet and maybe he never will, but when he was first informed of the initiative, this mentorship, it terrified him to no end. Not only the idea of throwing someone so young into a group like the Z-Team, but letting you into the superhero world all together. Robert knew firsthand how it ruined people, how it had ruined him, how he was always gonna carry the scars from that upbringing. To walk in the footsteps of his father was the only path he had lived by for so long. What little youth he had left back then was crushed beneath the mecha-man suit, and what if you had to stand against that same pressure -- how would you stand?
But watching these past few months unfold, how your powers had grown alongside you, how you went from staying silent through an entire shift to laughing along in the break room, how the team went from seeing you as a detriment to treating you like you'd been there since the beginning, it gave him hope.
The Phoenix Program had been made to save those who were deemed unredeemable, and now long after its initial success, the unredeemable had managed to save you.
Afterword
That's that! A lot of scenes I had originally wanted in I had to cut for the sake of time and general flow, and there were still some characters featured i wish i could've given more attention (it's like, midnight at the time i'm finally posting and this request is almost a week old now im so sorry apple anon :skull:) there were definitely some characters I just couldn't fit into the post without making it twice as long soooo if y'all want a follow up with the other characters aswell or a headcanon list just holler. I'll def be trying to get these out faster now that i have a more firm understanding on how to write for other characters
ogge byebye