Okay, so, I'm not going to lie. This is going to be my first actual attempt at a full-length fic piece, but this movie. Damn it if it didn't bring out long-latent obsession in me. Anyway, a few notes. Most of the 'canon' from this story is from what a friend and I have used in roleplay, so it's extensive. It's also not exactly the norm. Original characters will be slowly appearing, but hopefully won't detract too much from the main players and will enhance the story as I intended them to. With all that being said, there's the standard disclaimer: as much as I wish otherwise, I own nothing Megamind-related, except any unrecognizable original characters/concepts/organizations that may pop up. Now, I'm going to just shut up and(hopefully) let you enjoy the story!
Falling asleep on the job - or more accurately, the planning stages that were an integral part of it - was so easy nowadays. Not getting enough sleep after crime-intensive nights made focusing on important repair projects and new designs all but impossible for Megamind. Sure, he'd been dealing with this kind of thing for nine months and should have been used to it, but there was no doubt about his hero gig being much harder than his villainy had ever been. There was all the worrying about petty crime on the streets and keeping that down, dealing with a new public life and obligations to look good and productive for the citizens, not to mention the lofty expectations of the mayor and the city council to live up to. It was of little wonder that Metro Man had got so tired of it all after a while. The blue alien certainly couldn't blame his rival for quitting now that he knew how difficult it all was, but neither did he regret one second of it. Putting his brilliant mind and ingenuity to truly good use after twenty years was so rewarding, more than he'd ever expected to be possible.
Still, it was all slowly starting to wear on him. Annoyance flooded through him when he found himself nodding off in the middle of finalizing the drawings for one of his latest ideas. Jerking himself to shake off the urge - actually, need - to sleep, the sudden motion made him smudge up some of the still-drying ink with his wrist. The result was an ugly smear, like a bug had got onto the paper and had been smashed there. Of course, it had to be right in the middle of the complex set of illustrations. The calculations and measurements were still intact, but the genius' attention to detail wouldn't let him keep the rest.
"Back to the beginning," he muttered unhappily to himself before tearing off the side of the sheet. Recalculating the numbers just because his design art was ruined would have been beyond stupid. Crumpling the rest, he tossed it over his shoulder where it landed in a pile of similarly discarded ideas.
They were far from the evil schemes that he'd come up with in the past, but were also a far cry from his best work. In reality, he was looking for new tools to design that really enhanced his own personal style of crime fighting, but nothing was coming to him like it used to. Not being able to work on a few lingering 'evil' ideas was also not making his mood any better. Really, they weren't that bad...but he'd said the same thing about the infuser gun. That certainly hadn't ended well for him.
Being a vulnerable hero following in the metaphoric footsteps of one that had been invulnerable was the hardest thing he'd done in his life. True, nothing that terrible had happened since he took up the mantle of the city's hero, but there was still the looming doubt in the back of his mind that he was going to go back to his past patterns of failure. Old habits of thinking were hard to break. If it hadn't been for his relationship with a certain ex-kidnappee and constant encouragement from Minion, he would have already considered throwing in the towel. Disappointing either of them now was out of the question, especially after everything they had gone through the year before.
If he would have been told how many changes were coming to his life back then, he would have just laughed himself senseless. The very idea of being anything more than the loathed foil to Metro City's beloved hero had been ridiculous once upon a time. Now, it was a part of reality, and was still something the alien was having a hard time coming to terms with. Going from downcast and rejected to respected, even loved...well, it was a lot like dealing with extreme whiplash, and came with a healthy dose of confusion and uncertainty about what was expected of him by those that weren't demanding he change the city overnight.
Confusion was not something Megamind liked to deal with, new outlook on life or not. Not realizing he was staring at a stack of unsorted notes until his eyes started to water a bit, he quickly snapped himself back to reality and blinked quickly. Rubbing irritably at his eyes with one hand, he belatedly realized that he'd been working without gloves and had smudged ink all over his hands. Looking around as if he expected his gloves to be close at hand, he noticed them across the room in the middle of the floor. Had he dropped them there after he got home the night before? Why was he even having trouble remembering whether he had or not?
"Sir, what happened to the back of your head?"
Oh, right. There had been that little incident with a couple pickpockets and a baseball bat. Reaching back and gingerly touching the edge of the dark bruise, he turned his swivel chair to face Minion. How his friend constantly managed to sneak up on him even in his noisy suit was rather annoying, especially in a situation like this. "That's nothing, Minion, just had a bit of a disagreement with a couple thieves last night," he hedged, even though he knew the lie was going to fall short.
Just as expected, Minion seemed to swell a bit, gold eyes narrowing as his teeth jutted out in that menacing expression he was so good at. "You really expect me to believe that? That bruise looks bad, and I know you didn't get that from some little 'disagreement'!"
"Really, it's not that serious," Megamind tried again. "One just snuck up on me while I was handling his friends. As soon as he hit me, I dehydrated him like the others. It's not like that mugging a month ago."
Minion gave a meaningful sigh, both over the attempted cover-up and the reminder of that incident. It had been the first time that the fish had been forced into stepping in on the game. Still learning the ins and outs of how to best handle certain situations, Megamind had got in over his head and got shot to keep a pair of teenagers from suffering the same fate. It hadn't been serious, even if the scar on the alien's chest was a rather nasty one - but the memory of it was still a very touchy one with both friends.
"Sir, you know that's not very encouraging, considering..." gold eyes met green, and Megamind had to look away quickly. Guilt twisted at his stomach painfully, and he swallowed hard.
"I know, but I'm serious. If it was something that bad, you know I would have told you. You were asleep when I got back, and I was just too tired to bother waking you up. I know you've been just as busy around here as I have out there."
"That doesn't change the fact that I need to know about these things," Minion pointed out quietly, but with a tone that said he was clearly on the verge of launching into one of his infamous mother hen fits. "This isn't like it was back when we had to be in action every day, no matter what. You need to let me know when you get hurt so I can help you keep an eye on things."
"Of course, mother," Megamind deadpanned, though a faint grin creased his face a few seconds later. "If you didn't harp on me about this stuff, I don't know what I'd do with myself."
"You'd have already lost your mind, Sir," the fish prompted with the barest hint of a smile, but it was gone quickly. "And stop trying to change the subject on me. You are going to let me look at your head, I hope."
"Yes, fine," the alien sighed in disappointment, knowing he wasn't going to win this particular argument. He never did, and it was best not to try and fight with Minion over it. So, he turned in the chair, and couldn't help but tense up a bit when his friend walked over. A metallic finger gently probed the area around the bruise, then the mark itself. Megamind couldn't help but wince, and bit his lip to hold in a hiss of pain. His skull was thick, thankfully enough, but that part of his head was rather sensitive, no less after taking a blow from a bat.
"Thank goodness that you have that hard head, it doesn't look that bad," Minion stated as he pulled his hand away, and he pushed on the arm of the chair to make it and his friend turn to face him. "But that doesn't mean I'm not going to keep an eye on it and you, Sir, just so you realize that. You could have got a concussion from something like that."
"I expect no less from you, Minion," Megamind grumbled quietly, now wishing that he'd heard Minion coming beforehand. Not only was his head bruised, but he got the impression that his recent lack of sleep was starting to show on his face. Dark bags under his eyes always gave him a look like a raccoon, and could never be passed off as anything else. "That's the only bruise I have this time. And I'm not dizzy or lightheaded or anything, so I don't think I have a concussion. Just for the record."
"That may be so, but I can tell you haven't been sleeping properly. You stayed up all night, didn't you?"
"Well, I just...I had things to get done when I got here!' Knowing that sounded more childish than he intended, the alien winced and wished he could take the words back. Not even the longed-after reset button could help him with that little issue. "There's the plans for the freeze gun, and the new brainbot patrol schedules. I'm not going to keep losing them to that neighborhood, Minion. And that's not including your back-up suits and-"
"And how long do you intend to go without getting your proper rest?" Minion interrupted what could easily become a tirade. "You know what that does to you when something big comes up."
"But nothing big has happened, that's the point!" Now he definitely was feeling like a child, one that should be stomping around and pouting. "Look, you know how my brain gets when I've got a lot on my mind, and I don't feel like fighting invisible enemies and yelling out in my sleep again."
"That may be so, but you need sleep. Keep this up and it's going to affect you when you're out on your patrols." Looking concerned as he so frequently did, Minion laid a mechanical hand on his friend's shoulder. "And besides, we don't want Miss Ritchi thinking that you're starting to get overwhelmed again. You know what that does to her."
Guilt crossed Megamind's features, and his face flushed faintly violet. Recalling what had happened the last time he'd pulled something like this, he had to make himself stay still and not squirm uncomfortably on the spot. He couldn't stand to see Roxanne worrying about him like that, much less when it was his own stupidity and determined nature that led to it. She had so much else to worry about with her own job. "Alright, fine...just let me finish this design and I'll worry about sleeping. Not like I have an actual shed-oul now."
"No, you're going to worry about that later, Sir. I'm sending Annie in here with your bruise cream while I finish your breakfast." Minion's tone was firm, and made it clear that the fish wasn't going to tolerate an argument.
"Fine, fine, whatever you say," going along with it just so he had a little time to himself, Megamind sat back in his chair and waited until Minion left to turn back to the desk.
He made a bit more progress with the finalized sketches before Annie came in and bowged to announce her presence. Turning to look over the only female brainbot, he stayed perfectly still while she did her work. Notably infamous for having a knack for more of the household chores and other less strenuous brainbot duties, she was surprisingly gentle and careful for something that had metallic arms. Murmuring his thanks, Megamind sent her off to help Minion, fully intending to finish up his secretive work before either bot or fish could come back.
Unfortunately for him, his body had other plans in store. He ended up asleep at the desk, with his head pillowed on his 'borrowed' white cape. It was far from the ideal place to sleep, but it wasn't the first time that he'd done so.
Megamind wasn't the only person lacking in sleep that day, either. Eyeing the nearby coffee pots while flipping through several pages of haphazardly typed notes, Roxanne was sorely tempted to go against her no caffiene pact. It would only be one cup, after all, and anything that could help her get through a trying afternoon of preparing reports was worth it. The only problem was the taste. There was no cream on hand, and the sugar bowl was probably empty. Such was the hazard of coming to the break room after the interns had raided it for the higher ups.
Deciding against trying to brave the harsh taste, she rubbed at the bridge of her nose and let out an uncharacteristically annoyed sigh. It wasn't uncommon for her to have to struggle with staying awake during the day now, what with how busy the station was keeping her. Her fame had skyrocketed since the events nine months previous, and while she was thrilled by this and it was nothing but good for her career prospects, it was still stressful to deal with.
The only thing worse than stresses both old and new was all the gossip going around. Roxanne had never been one to mix business and pleasure before, but now it was bordering on the impossible. If it wasn't her co-workers being nosy, it was the interns. Everyone seemed to think that her relationship with the city's hero was far more fascinating than the imagined one with Metro Man had ever been - especially the ones that thought she was certifiably crazy for dating her ex-kidnapper. Naturally, it was a far more interesting situation and something she could understand the curiosity over, but Roxanne didn't appreciate the prying. It should be her and Megamind's business alone about what they were - or were not - doing in their relationship.
If she had to tell one more gossipy woman looking for the next steamy story to swoon over to shut up and leave her alone, she doubted that it would be in a civil manner at all. Memory of the last such incident made her fingers tighten around the edges of the notes, and it took effort for her to let go before ripping anything and go about smoothing the paper out. "Breathe, Roxanne," she murmured to herself, quickly following her own advice and taking in a slow breath only to let it out even slower. The calming effect was short lived, but it kept her from having to go hunt down more copies of what she still needed to read and piece together logically. She only had so much time to get through with the legwork for this particular story as it was, and being unprepared was not part of any plan.
There just weren't enough hours in the day, that was all there was to it. Roxanne had a hard time remembering now if she'd had this much trouble getting things done in the past - namely back when she was a frequent kidnappee. Her day to day life had been on more of a schedule then than is ever were now, as predicting when the next scheme would take place had hardly required rocket science. The predictability of it all had been annoying, yes, but it was also just like any other routine. Routines were easy to follow, and that was one that she could actually admit to missing.
'Oh, would Megamind love to hear that,' she mused with a private sort of smile, picking the stack of papers up off the table. As much as she'd like to sit around and just try to unwind for a few minutes, she simply didn't have time for such things. The only upside to having no time for a break was that keeping herself busy did tend to make the day go by that much faster, and she was looking forward to that evening. A night in with Megamind and Minion was long overdue, and she wasn't going to miss it for the world.
Unfortunately, and almost predictably, the world did seem to have other plans in store. No sooner did she get back to her desk and start typing up the proper transcript of her report than an intrusion broke her focus - one in the form of her newest cameraman, Jason Gallagher. He was young, new to the job and rather handsome, with dark hair and brilliant blue eyes that made even some of the most uptight women in the office swoon behind his back. Luckily for Roxanne, he also was respectful of her and seemed to have no other interest in her outside of work. Making a mental note of the point she was trying to get across, she looked up from her computer and couldn't help but raise an eyebrow at the rather excited look on Jason's face. "Why do you look like you've got some big scoop that no one else knows about?"
"Because I kinda do," the young man said simply, pulling out a manila folder from where he'd been hiding it behind his back. "I know you're busy with that story on the impact of industrialization on the city's less-privileged neighborhoods, but I figured you might want something a little more...I hate to use this word, but interesting." Putting the folder down in front of her, he then leaned against the desk and folded his arms, seemingly trying to look casual with his stance.
Wondering what kind of goose chase she was going to be led on, Roxanne stifled a sigh and flipped open the folder. The first thing that greeted her on top of stacks of newspaper articles were several photographs, one of which drew her eyes instantly. Picking the polaroid up, she put it in her lap to be able to see it better - as well as keep anyone else from seeing it before she could make sense of it. It had obviously been taken in a hurry, with part of the photographer's hand covering up the shot. This didn't block out the view of what seemed to be a figure dressed in black, carrying an oddly glowing weapon that looked strange even in terms of a city that was now being defended by an alien ex-supervillain. "What in the world..."
"So, you haven't heard the rumors," Jason commented, dropping his voice to a lower pitch as if to avoid being overheard. "I'm not surprised with the way they've got you running around."
"Rumors?" she asked, looking up at him with a frown. This did nothing more than make her mind immediately race to several possible conclusions, each one crazier than the last. So much for keeping her mind on what she actually needed to get done on time.
"Before I say anything, I swear I'm not trying to intrude on your personal life or anything, but..." he sighed and paused, as if to gather his words. "There's a rumor going around on the street that there's someone out there trying to take over Megamind's supervillain mantle. There's been a couple murders, apparently by this same person that have been swept under the rug. I don't know if Megamind knows about any of this yet or not, but you might want to show him some of that information."
"How would anyone know that this is supposed to be some kind of supervillain wannabe?" Roxanne had to ask, looking down at the photo again. Aside from the weapon, nothing seemed that odd about the person - until she noticed that they looked unnaturally thin. Frown deepening, she turned her thoughts away and put the picture back in the folder, while spreading the others out to get a closer look at them. They were similar shots, and she wasn't inclined to study them much - not yet anyway.
"It's the style of the murders that makes me think there's something more to it," he said, reaching over to pull one of the newspaper clippings loose. "Here, take a look at this."
Never one to read more than she had to to get information, Roxanne scanned the article quickly and found the first sentence that caught her eye. '...the victim had no signs of physical trauma or visible injuries, and at first glance appeared to be sleeping. MCPD is investigating the situation further, and was not willing to discuss what they were planning for security reasons.' "That's...not normal," she said quietly, immediately thinking of one of the settings on Megamind's de-gun. It was a similar stun, but wouldn't kill its victim. If there was someone else out there with similar technology that could kill, they had a definite problem.
"That's not the only thing," Jason added, reached into the folder again to pull out another clipped article. "The bodies made it to the morgue, but they disappeared before the autopsies could take place."
"Really?" her eyes widened at the implications. "Then that would mean that-"
"It's an inside job of some kind," he finished for her, dropping his voice even lower. "I've been keeping up with this since it happened, and that's the only reason I thought you needed to know." Straightening up, he looked around warily to make sure they hadn't attracted too much attention with this conversation. "Anyway, I'll let you get back to what you need to do, just thought I'd mention my...concerns," he added, talking louder to make their conversation look more normal, then left.
Eyes going again to the photographs, Roxanne let out a quiet sigh and pushed them aside before looking over the newspaper articles underneath them. Not letting herself read more than she had to to get an idea of what was starting to add up to make a very strange murder mystery, she finally shut the folder and tried to go back to her day's work. Every time she let her mind wander, though, it went straight back to missing bodies and strange-looking killers. So much for life not being interesting now...