Could You Use it in a Drabble, please?
Disclaimer: I own nothing.
1. Home n
A. Residence
He couldn't believe that such a large and structurally interesting building had been abandoned for so long. Sure it needed a lot of work to pass any health or safety inspection but the incredibly handsome criminal genius and master of all villainy was not terribly interested in a human's idea of health and especially not safety. A little work was all it needed to make it habitable. Minion did most of that while he decided where he wanted to put his machines, blinking dials and Tesla coils.
Once the last draft board and his favorite twirling chair with the high back that had to specially ordered was put into place he stood back with his fishy friend and admired their handiwork. He particularly liked the high ceilings and the ominous feeling his laughter took on as it bounced around the open spaces. "Well, what do you think, Minion? Lair, sweet lair."
Minion glanced around. "It'll certainly do the trick, sir. It's awfully big though. Much bigger than any other we've had."
"Awfully is an excellent adjective, my magnificent mackerel. I have many evil schemes in my impressive brain and such big ideas need big spaces." He took off to reexamine the fixtures and features, cackling joyfully. "Wait till Miss Ritchi sees this!"
B. Congenial environment
It wasn't like he enjoyed going back to prison. He didn't look forward to it and he didn't like the method he was brought back. However, it didn't bother him as the citizens or Metro Man believed it did. He could catch up with his uncles and impress any new inmates with his menacing brilliance.
Really, even one such as he needed time away from plotting and building objects of mass terror. He wouldn't admit it, not even to Minion, but it wasn't all that bad. Not being able to go where he wanted was annoying and the only thing to do in his modified cell was watch TV which bored him to tears but there was a calming aspect to the forced quiet. It helped him think, helped him focus.
Of course, messing with the warden was always a plus.
C. Place of origin or refuge
When he was younger he didn't often think of the planet he came from. He knew he was not human, even as a toddler, but he also knew that it was gone and there was no direction for him but forward.
That didn't mean he forgot about it. When things got hard in the prison he'd lie awake and think about how things could have been different. Later as he got into the habit of escaping he'd look to the skies and try to pinpoint where that star was lightyears away. After one particular loss against Metro Dude he watched the stars and whispered, "I want to go home, Minion."
After all the villainous failures and the heroic success he'd find himself resting at night with Roxanne at his side and Minion puttering in the kitchen. Brainbots hovered nearby, the lone pink one giving off a mechanical hum under Roxanne's hand. The city was safe and at peace. It was good to be home.
2. Quite adv.
A. Completely
Roxanne had her fair share of boyfriends in the past. Her first boyfriend was when she was twelve. His name was Bobby Quinton and they broke up when he found out she didn't like Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. In high school she dated Roger Vanderman and later Fred Simner. Roger was nice enough but they grew apart in the way only young teenagers can. She had a fine time dating Fred until they were about to graduate and he told her she didn't need to bother going to college since she was going to take care of the house.
All of her boyfriends that she ever had shared a common trait. There was always a large part of them that she couldn't reach. By the time she hit her early twenties she thought this was normal. There needed to be some sort of separation in a couple; it wasn't healthy to be completely dependent on one person. This was why it never occurred to her that the men she had previously dated were deliberately putting up an emotional barrier against her until she started dating a man that was not from their world.
Megamind was happy to spend time by himself or with Minion if she was occupied with work or friends of her own. He didn't complain that she wasn't spending enough time with him or spending too much time with him. He told her things not because she asked but because he wanted her to know. When they were together he was so happy just to see her, touch her, talk to her sometimes that was all he needed.
B. To a considerable extent
Music didn't so much bounce off the walls in the Lair as it slammed. The sound waves pounded against machines and random bits of metal before jerking back into another direction. Smaller inventions shook and chairs tended to move on their own, especially if they were on wheels.
Inventing time was usually early in the day, when the ideas were still fresh. Roxanne never actually seen this process firsthand though she was well used to the initial planning and grand reveal. When she got out of work early and decided to pay her blue suitor a surprise visit she got an even bigger surprise as she stepped in and was greeted by an onslaught of indecipherable words and guitar riffs.
She found him near the back. The closer she got the louder the music became. Halfway through she covered her ears. She stopped when she could see him across the room. He was bent over some sort of twisted metal and sparks were flying from his welding tool. Spotting the main stereo the human female with very human ears marched over and jerked the plug free from the socket. Despite the sudden silence she shouted to hear herself over the ringing in her ears. "How are you not deaf?"
His head came up and stared through his goggles. "What?"
3. Remunerative adj.: gainful
Although a part of him was well aware that the likelihood of winning against a impervious giant was slim to none, Megamind couldn't help but feel disappointed when his robot shark turned out to be a spectacularly wet failure. After catching a bit of the movie Jaws in prison he got the marvelous idea to have his own killer aquatic beast terrorizing the shores of Metro City. Unfortunately all he accomplished was his usual mild annoyance and in the end Metro Man hadn't even been needed to be called in.
Losing was never a great feeling, especially when it was as embarrassing as that. Still at least he could say he learned something as opposed to his muscle brained oaf of a rival.
Next time he was going to create waterproof circuits.
4. Disentangle vb.: free from entanglement
All of his life, as far as he could remember, Wayne Scott lived the way others thought he should. His parents said he should use his natural gifts to better the world. It never bothered him before. Other children were told the same thing, whether they were gifted with intelligence to become a doctor or compassion to become a counselor or bravery to become a cop. He had super strength and super speed and that was supposed to become a super hero.
The adoration was good, he wasn't going to deny that, but somewhere along the way he realized that the hero worship they felt had nothing to do with him really. Flying was as simple as walking. Lifting a building took as much effort for him as lifting a book took for them. He began to resent it but by then there was only one way out of it.
He made his choice in haste, but it was his.
5. Straight adj.
A. Having no bends, turns, or twists
Bernard was never particularly thrilled with anything in his life. He was a lot smarter than those around him and his interests were not considered the norm. He never known many people on Earth that he could tolerate for more than a few minutes. Some people (his mother) said he was antisocial and needed more tolerance and interaction. He didn't need it.
He got a job in the Metro Man museum. He had been told that it was cool to work with all the authentic hero gear and facts. He told them he preferred Megamind which usually ended the conversation nicely. Sure the blue alien was loud and over the top and always lost but he made no apologies. Metro Man was loud, over the top and thought his big muscles meant he could do no wrong.
Megamind knew who he was and he followed the path in front of him at all costs. Bernard knew who he was and saw no reason to change it.
B. Just, proper, or honest
As it turned out, being the hero was not as easy as it looked. Saving people and stopping wanna-be villains with no sense of presentation was simple enough. It was being in the public eye so much with their...hero expectations.
Heroes didn't wear spikes and platform shoes. Heroes didn't lie, about anything. Heroes didn't steal things. Heroes didn't make things that had potential to destroy at least half a city block. Heroes liked infants and children with their high pitched whining and sticky grabbing hands.
Megamind had to give the former Metro Man his due. Being the good guy was tough.
C. Neat and orderly
When Megamind was plotting he tended to get paper, scraps of metal and donut crumbs everywhere. The blue genius didn't even seem to notice or care. Minion cared and did his best to keep his ward's home clean and infestation free. The best time to keep the Lair tidy was when his boss was in prison. That wasn't to say that he enjoyed watching his charge being hauled off or that it was fun being by himself with just morose brain bots that missed their daddy. It didn't take him that long to tidy up but the place was so large and he still got lonely.
The alien fish thought those days were over once they became the good guys and Miss Ritchi began visiting more than one area of their warehouse of a home. That was not the case. As he looked at a particularly messy workstation he was reminded of when, not long after the Tighten incident, Megamind confessed to him that he secretly missed the old days. Minion sighed and put on his apron. He secretly missed them too.
6. Flesh n
A. Soft parts of an animal's body
He had been called many things during his career as Defender of Metro City. Most were nice. Hero. Justice. Keeper of the peace. Man whose heart was an ocean inside a bigger ocean (a phrase he still didn't understand). Pretty much everyone couldn't say enough good things about him. He did have some critics that said he was doing more harm than not. Unkind names were thrown his way but he did his best to ignore them as most of them came from his little buddy during battle. The one name that bothered him, though it was neither good or bad, was the term Man Of Iron.
Okay, so he was really strong and impervious to everything. That didn't mean he was a robot. He had skin that was more or less like everyone else. It flushed and could cool and was flexible. It didn't break but it felt things. He was Metro Man but he was Wayne and he was not made of iron.
B. Soft plant tissue (as fruit pulp)
Roxanne liked sweets, she really did. She had been known to indulge in post Halloween candy sales and she sometimes only ate half her dinner so she could get dessert. That didn't mean that was all she ate.
Whenever she was with Megamind lately all she saw him ingest was sweets. Granted it hadn't been long that she knew him in a non kidnapper-kidnapee kind of way but she had yet to see him eat anything that wasn't covered in sugar. He might need extra energy to fuel his extra sized brain but the amount of junk food he consumed was ridiculous. Minion was no help, in this case he was the worst enabler.
Time with the ex villain gave her an unexpected skill: scheming. She arrived at the Lair with a smirk and a large box. Inside it was her secret weapon to getting her boyfriend eating something healthy. Stalking her prey was easy; even when he was relaxing his presence was obvious. "Hey, cutie, I got you a surprise." His eyes lit up. "It's not a puppy. But it's still pretty good," she added when his face fell. The brunette walked towards the couch, waving the box in his general direction in her best tantalizing fashion.
"What is it?"
"Put that blueprint down and join me."
He obediently sat next to her and sniffed at the box. "Chocolate?"
"Special chocolate." She smiled as she lifted the lid. "Dipping chocolate." Along with the container of the sweet was several samples of fruit: orange slices, apple slices and strawberries. The proud sugar addict grinned at the chocolate but made a face at the fruit. Roxanne chose a strawberry and gave it a generous coating of chocolate. She held it up to his mouth.
He eyed it with mistrust. "Why would anyone dilute something so deliciously perfect with something so boring?"
"Just take a bite. You'll like it. I promise." He still didn't seem convinced. "Open up. Here comes the motorbike. Vroom, vroom." He laughed and finally complied. The chocolate covered tip was eased between his lips and his teeth came down. Bitten, he chewed his bit of sweet fruit and hummed in contemplation. "Well?" she asked.
"It's not completely terrible. Yes, I suppose it'll do." His tongue darted out to catch a bit of juice that had escaped. Roxanne hummed in contemplation herself.
"I like apples. Can I have one?"
"Of course. You brought them over; why couldn't you...Oh!" His girlfriend had raised her eyebrow and smiled in a way he understood but was still getting used to having directed at him. He picked up an apple slice and twirled it into the confection. Bringing it up she leaned forward and took it between her teeth. He gulped watching the red skin break allowing her access to the pulp beneath and finally closing her mouth around it. "Oh. Ugh."
"Would you like some more?"
"Yes please."
7. Peremptory adj.
A. Imperative
Metro Man usually stopped crime before it started by doing his rounds. There wasn't many serious criminals beside Megamind so it was usually quiet unless the mayor called him in.
Metro Man liked the mayor, he really did. He was cheerful and helpful and always concerned with the welfare of the city. He had big ideas that he sometimes needed help pulling off but he wasn't shy in sharing the credit when appropriate. All in all, the elected official of their fair city was satisfactorily competent.
That being said, the short human did have a tendency to overdramatize and panic. The muscular hero had been called into the mayor's office to deal with cats stuck in trees, clogged drains, a series of papercuts and a bad cold that the mayor insisted was a chemical attack from a certain supervillian. Metro Man took all these with the patience and grace a hero of his stature must.
Walking into City Hall after another harried summons he noted the employees were calm and some seemed surprised to see him. This did not seem like a good sign that the 'dire emergency' the mayor gasped about was all it cracked up to be. A shame, really, as he had been pulled away from a breakthrough in his new song. Nevertheless, he continued his search for his fellow Metro City-ite.
Past the office with the Metro Man seal on the floor and the bathroom with the Metro Man seal and the Metro Man painting (which the subject felt was kinda creepy) was the mayor's private study. It was there that he found the man who, despite the easy going reception in the rest of the building, did indeed look upset. "Oh Metro Man! Thank goodness you're here. I was so worried." This was just about the same thing he uttered whenever he called the local hero in.
Metro Man struck his standard pose: legs shoulder width apart with hands on hips and chin up. "What seems to be the problem, mayor?"
The mayor pointed to the top most shelf of his bookcase. "There's a book up there that I need. I have a presentation in the morning with a board of directors and I wanted to check some facts; I don't want to sound stupid. Oh please help, Metro Man. My secretary left early and I don't know where she keeps the step stool."
There is really nothing one can say to something like that. Struggling to keep his face neutral (after all, what kind of hero appears flabbergasted?), Metro Man walked over and, without bothering to float in the slightest, plucked the book. He then handed it to the grateful and completely helpless citizen.
B. Domineering
Franklin Stewart had twelve children from five previous marriages before his last child was born. The mother named him Halbert which was a pathetic name and he sometimes questioned himself why he let her name him before he remembered he didn't care at the time. It was just as well as the pudgy baby with a snub nose grew into a pudgy boy with freckles.
Frank gave himself credit for trying to teach the boy. No matter how hard he tried to set an example, telling or yelling at the child his last born refused to have anything to do with sports. Instead he spent all his time on comic books and video games. His father didn't even want to think of the embarrassment of the teenaged Halbert when it came to girls. He blamed the mother for coddling him.
When an adult Halbert became Tighten and attempted to take over the city the only disappointment Frank felt was that he lost.
8. Disingenuous adj.: lacking in candor
"Granted, you have talent."
Megamind told him this right after Roxanne said he was horrible. She could have meant that he was horrible for abandoning the city to pursue his music career but judging by her reaction to the blue alien's compliment Wayne didn't think so.
He knew he wasn't quite where he ought to be. It wasn't like he had a lot of time for practice before but that was in the past. He loved music and that was what mattered. He just didn't know if his little buddy meant what he said.
9. Subservience n: obsequious submission
His name was Minion which wasn't the most creative of names considering that was exactly what he was. To be fair, his master was practically still an infant when he gave it. Either way the name suited him.
The term minion got a bad reputation anyway. People said it was demeaning like a minion had no thoughts or rights of his own. Well, Minion didn't know about Earth minions but that couldn't be further from the truth in his case. Yes, he truly believed that his sole purpose in life was to take care of his boss and, okay, sometimes he went a little overboard and overprotective. He may have a habit of thinking of all the things that could go wrong in horrifying detail and sir had to remind him to calm down and let him do it, he knew how to drive for crying out loud.
He might have spoiled his charge, just a bit, by doing almost everything for him. He was only doing a proper job of it. He had seen many caregivers that let their young just wander wherever and do anything they pleased without keeping a decent eye on them. Honestly, that was how they became nasty little children that hurt other little children for looking different.
In any case, Minion had his hobbies and he liked his shows and the boss was more than happy to leave him to it. At the end of the day it gave him comfort that Megamind knew, no matter what, if his boss called for him his Minion would be right there.
10. Crave vb.: long for
The Scotts were so rich and had so much prestige in the community that they were referred to as Lord and Lady. They weren't really nobility but since everyone treated them that way they liked to think of themselves as such. They didn't hold it over the rest of the populace much. Lord Scott still worked very hard and Lady Scott did her best to make sure her home was the epitome of style and grace.
The Scotts had the best money could ever hope to buy. Whatever Lady Scott said she wanted Lord Scott got it for her. However the one thing she truly wanted was the one thing she couldn't bring herself to ask for. She wanted a baby of her own but she knew her husband wasn't terribly interested and for all he gave her she couldn't demand it. Her only hope was that a miracle was bestowed upon her and her empty empty nest.
On Christmas Eve she walked into her informal living area after chiding the downstairs maid for leaving the front door open and rug mussed. She said hello to her husband who was behind his newspaper. Before sitting down herself she noticed an extra present under the tree. She knew it hadn't been there before as she did all the shopping and she would most certainly remember a curious golden egg shaped gift.
Upon closer inspection it opened by itself. Inside was a smiling healthy baby boy.