Chapter Text
It had been a quiet night.
That should have worried Robert- no, Mecha Man- quite a bit. He was still in his hero costume; he wasn’t yet “safe” within the walls of his home. He couldn’t let his guard down.
The hero sighed, his fingers moving across the dashboard in an automatic motion, typing the route home. Well, at least Beef would eat on time that evening.
After… "parking" his mech suit in the garage, Mecha Man quietly made his way up the stairs to his apartment. He knew no one was around at that hour of the night in the building; after all, that was one of the reasons he’d chosen it. No one could imagine that the great, incredible Mecha Man lived in a run-down building in the poorest part of town.
He still had to maintain that illusion in the public eye, mainly for one simple reason: his secret identity. I mean, who could ever imagine that Mecha Man was poor? No one.
As soon as he opened the door, Beef ran to greet him, his round little body wagging happily. That brought a smile to Robert’s face, and he immediately picked him up.
“Did you miss me?” the man asked as he kicked the door shut behind him. It was a rhetorical question; it was obvious that his favorite Chihuahua had missed him. The little guy had already started licking his face, happy to see his owner.
“Good boy.” Robert set Beef down on the floor and petted his head. “Who wants some food?”
The little guy immediately started wagging his tail, even standing up despite his plump frame. There it was, the only joy in the hero’s life: his perfect dog. Without him, Robert was sure he wouldn’t have the strength to get up every morning.
The man opened the cupboard and took out Beef’s food, pouring it into the dog’s bowl. Immediately, the chubby Chihuahua dove into the food, barely giving Robert time to set it down on the floor.
With a gentle smile, Robert began to change. He quickly slipped on a sweatshirt and sweatpants (two of the few pieces of clothing he owned) and opened the balcony door. The autumn air felt cool on his skin, and despite the strong stench from the dumpster a few floors below him, he could smell the scent of wet iron. Oh, right, it had rained a couple of hours ago. Maybe that was also why there had been so few crimes; after all, even villains were human beings (some of them).
That’s why Robert loved rainy days. Or at least one of the many reasons.
With a yawn, Robert sat down on the mattress he had in the corner of the room. He didn’t have enough money to buy a bed frame, so he usually slept like that. With another yawn, he started looking for something to watch on YouTube, not wanting to eat just yet.
…as if he had a full fridge, anyway. Maybe he had some cereal left-
A loud thud made him jump, followed by a massive figure tumbling across the floor. His heroic instincts kicked in before Robert even realized what was happening; he sprang to his feet and grabbed Beef with one arm. In a fighting stance, the man stared at… whatever had entered his apartment.
The first thing that came to Robert’s mind was a single word: fur. The creature was covered in it, so… was it perhaps a hybrid? Or a mindless monster? Or-
Robert blinked. Wait… was that blood? Yeah, damn it, it was. A large pool of blood was forming beneath the creature, staining its dark fur as well. Was it… damn it, was it even breathing?
The man grabbed a broom, using the handle to poke at it. For a second, he felt like one of those kids trying to figure out whether a run-over animal was still alive or not.
As soon as the rounded tip of the broom handle touched the creature, it reacted. It raised its head, which was adorned with enormous ears that twitched nervously, and growled a warning, its red eyes fixed on him.
Robert stared at it impassively. From the shape of its snout, its wings, and its ears, it was obvious that it was a bat. A huge, giant bat.
Maybe it had been mutated in a lab and had escaped? Despite its enormous size (how the hell it had managed to get in through the balcony? Desperation, perhaps?), it seemed… not harmless, but still frightened. And it was wounded, too…!
Beef sniffed the air, panting with a contented expression, his tongue hanging out, oblivious to the danger. The man dropped the broom, his arms wrapped protectively around the dog.
Yes, in some twisted way, the creature reminded him of… Beef. The first time he’d seen him, the little guy had been injured too, whimpering inside a trash bag. Yet, as soon as Robert had found and picked him up, despite the pain, Beef had begun to weakly shower him with affection.
He’d stolen his heart right away.
“Okay, can you… uh… can you understand me?” Robert tried to communicate with the creature. The giant bat’s ears turned toward him, but other than that, it was still growling. Okay, it didn’t understand him. At least it didn’t seem to…?
“I won’t hurt you,” Robert murmured softly, trying to reassure it. He set Beef down on the mattress, but the little one climbed down to go back to eating. In that case, it was for the best.
“Are you… uh… hungry?”
The bat looked at him, but stopped growling. It tried to stand up, but whimpered and crawled into a corner of the room, leaving a trail of blood behind it. Hmm, so it was hungry. Damn, he didn’t have anything in the house, though.
Very slowly, and avoiding sudden movements, Robert began looking for something to eat. After a few minutes, he noticed a basket with five apples inside a sideboard. They weren’t rotten, but he couldn’t remember when he’d bought- oh wait, he’d picked them up two days earlier. An old habit, one of many that made him delude himself into thinking he wasn’t leading an unhealthy lifestyle.
…better than nothing…?
Robert rolled an apple toward the bat. The bat, which was licking a wound on its chest (how long was that fucking tongue!?), snapped its head toward the fruit. It took a deep breath, grabbed the apple, and sniffed it. After a couple of seconds, it opened its mouth and bit into it whole, chewing it.
…damn, its teeth were really sharp. One bite and it could have torn his arm off.
And yet, for some damn reason, Robert… wasn’t afraid? In a way, he was more worried than anything else.
After rolling three more apples, the man turned to pick up the last one. As soon as he turned his head, however, the creature moved.
The bat watched him, his expression unreadable as Robert turned around. Now that he was standing (more or less; he was bent over to look at him), the hero couldn’t help but notice how the bat towered over him. He was perhaps around nine feet tall, maybe taller (in his mind, the man decided he was male. Why? Instinct). So, yes, he could eat him in a matter of seconds if he wanted to. Robert remained impassive for a couple of seconds, as if he himself weren’t just five-foot-nine.
“If you’re going to eat me, at least leave Beef alone.”
The bat didn’t move, but tilted his head and let out a soft whimper. His enormous hand reached toward the man, but only to take the apple from his grasp. He ate it right in front of him, his eyes fixed on Robert’s.
The hero noticed the bat's chest had a nasty wound, and there was one on his shoulder as well, likely preventing him from flying. Did that mean…?
The creature leaned forward, sniffing Robert’s hair before resting his head on it, as if he’d made up his mind on something.
Great, he had a bat now.