Chapter Text
It was nearly eight PM and Mandy was packing up and clearing her desk as her shift came to an end. It had been a pretty quiet day in Torrance for her and SDN. Although, there was apparently a major bust from an independent hero going down nearby that had everyone on high alert, to the point she and Kanton-Ur had called off their date for the second time that week.
She had just finished up her final round of checks to make sure to she wasn’t forgetting anything when Chase barged into her office, forcing her to shift into hero mode. She had known the former hero for well over two years but she had never seen him like this before. His brows were even more furrowed than usual and he was walking like he had to consciously keeping himself from activating his powers.
“Chase, what’s —” Her question was cut off by Chase as he pulled something up on his phone frantically.
“Blazer — shit — no time, can you fly me to the Ocean Sunset apartments? I’ll buy you lunch tomorrow or somthin’,” he rushed out as he attempted to dial someone who wasn’t picking up.
She paused, thinking. It wouldn’t be against the rules, she could fly people off the clock thanks to her personal flight license, but she couldn’t help but think there was an easier solution to whatever his problem was.
“Sure, I guess? But wouldn’t it be easier to get Jerome to dispatch Malevola to portal you there?” It wouldn’t even be difficult; as an employee of SDN, Chase had access to a mid-tier subscription and he was off-the-clock at the moment.
He snorted derisively. “No way, I don’t want to deal with any of those fuckers right now.”
That was … fair. If Chase was this stressed, Mandy wouldn’t blame him for not wanting to see even one of the calmer members of Z-team when he didn’t get along with them on the best of days. Plus, it wasn’t like she had anything to do tonight with her date canceled.
“Fair enough,” she nodded back at her desk. “I’ll meet you outside.
Luckily, Mandy had been dispatched to the Ocean Sunrise apartment block before. So, when her passenger was focused on repeatedly dialing someone who wouldn’t pick up, she didn’t have to interrupt him for directions.
Unluckily, the reason she had been there before is that the apartment block wasn’t in the best neighborhood of Torrance and she and the other heroes of SDN had been called to the buildings and locality numerous times by Torrance PD when they felt overwhelmed. (Although, Mandy found that TPD wasn’t the most discerning when it came to what needed a super-powered response.)
Regardless, she knew the area decently well, and wasn’t as surprised as she could have been when Chase was able to get into one of the buildings without a key, even when a sign by the door clearly stated that one was required.
Mandy wasn’t entirely sure why Chase had needed to get out here so quickly and now that she was on her own, standing awkwardly in the middle of a parking lot, worry and nerves were starting to set in. Not that she thought that Chase was up to any nefarious — she knew that she could trust him even beyond his time as Trackstar. No, she was starting to get worried that something was deeply, seriously wrong.
That suspicion wasn’t helped by Chase storming back out of the door, yelling obscenities over his shoulder as one of the residents followed after him, shouting right back.
Seeing her confused glance, Chase waved her off, explaining, “All these shitty apartments look the same; I got the wrong door at first and then the idiot wouldn’t open the damn door.” He paused for a second. “Any chance you could fly me up to one of the balconies if I pointed it out?”
Mandy really, really hoped that the situation was as serious as she thought because right now Chase was reminding her way too much of Z-team’s antics and now she was wondering if the reason he couldn’t dispatch the former villains was because he was too much like them.
But, she did what he asked and they ended up standing on a bare concrete balcony, staring down a glass sliding door. Concerningly, Mandy could tell there were no lights on in the apartment even though all the apartment’s curtains were pulled shut, prompting the sudden thought that this still might not be the apartment Chase was looking for.
This thought sank even further as Chase suddenly started banging on the door, yelling, “Robert! Get your ass out here before I smash this fucking door and get sent to the fucking hospital!”
When no reply came, Chase actually began to raise his fist to follow through on the threat, and Mandy had to scramble in order to catch him before it struck the glass. Of course, much to her embarrassment, that was the moment the resident of the apartment slide open the door.
They were young — maybe 20 at the oldest based on how their shoulders weren’t fully filled out. Though, their scars and bloodshot eyes made it difficult for Mandy to get a good read on them.
“Jesus Christ, are you trying to get arrested?” they asked sarcastically. Their voice was raw and phlegmy, like they had been crying.
Chase took her pause as a chance to shake her off, rushing the resident to bring them into a tight hug, which seemed to throw the other off as they tensed before sagging into the older man’s embrace.
Suddenly feeling awkward, Mandy was saved from making excuses to leave when her phone started sounding an alarm — the one that meant SDN was calling an all-hands-on-deck emergency for their managerial heroes.
The two in front of stiffly broke apart, seeming to realize that they had an audience. While the younger of the two reached down to pick up a rotund dog that had walked up from behind them, Chase coughed and turned towards Mandy. “I think I know what that’s all about. You go ahead and fly off; I’ll be busy dragging this fucker back to my place anyway.”
Even as the unknown kid protested Chase’s assertion, Mandy took the dismissal for what it was and started to lift off, smiling slightly at the bickering that started between the two below.
Hopefully, whatever the emergency was, it wasn’t as bad as the feeling burbling in her gut thought it was.