Okay, so this is my first shot at a fic on here – be gentle. I have to admit right at the start that this story belongs to both myself and Hunger4Righteousness – she gave me this idea (or rather, infected me with the plot bunny) and I just ran with it. She also was my super fantastic, wonderful and kind beta, whom I am indebted to. Though, any mistakes you see here are mine and mine alone, as I messed a little bit with it after she edited – blame the author for getting fidgety fingers and worrying too much over it. :/
Disclaimer: : I do *not* own the following things, nor do I have any rights to them, nor am I making money off of using their names and likenesses here – I am merely borrowing them for the sake of maybe making someone chuckle a bit:
Megamind and all associated characters – Dreamworks, National Hockey League, Detroit Red Wings, Budweiser – Molson Brewing Company, Coors Light – Coors Brewing Company, Coca-Cola products, Alan Parsons Project
Pre-Game Excitement
"I have no idea why I am here, Megs," Roxanne moaned in protest. "I know almost nothing about hockey! I don't even watch it on TV!"
The attendant let them into their booth at the Metro City Arena, situated just slightly to the left of centre ice. It was an elegant but simple room with a full bathroom to the immediate right upon entering. A little further down a short hall, the room itself was situated. On the right there was a small kitchen of sorts, with a microwave, a small television broadcasting the game, a mini-fridge, a sink, countertop, and cupboards both above the counter and below it containing glasses, napkins, and cutlery.
Just past the kitchenette there was a couch and a chair, with a coffee table in front of them and various snacks set out on the table. At the far end of the booth, there was bar seating, with very comfortable and elegant bar stools arranged in front of it. The whole room was perhaps no bigger than a standard apartment size living room, but elegantly done in shades of dark blue and grey, the team's colours. The bar stools were a rich wood, and had been elegantly carved with the logo of the team on the backs. The seats were soft and inviting, definitely made to have the guests seated very comfortably for the duration of the game. The walls were decorated with autographed pictures of teammates past and present. The attendants were never far way, situated just outside the doors for any drink or food orders that the occupants should request throughout the game. All in all, for such a small room, it was elegantly done with comfort and convenience in mind.
Megamind had long been a fan of hockey, and it used to be easy for him to attend games with the help of his disguise generator. However, now that he was a hero and no longer really had a need to hide, he chose to leave the watches at home and go to the game as himself. Minion pointed out that those watches could be handy still if they chose to sit in the crowd, but Megamind thought that it would be fun to be themselves for once, and Roxanne really didn't like the idea of using them. It brought back memories she really didn't want to revisit. Besides, with the crowd focused on the game, little was about to happen as long as they were safe in the confines of the booth.
Megamind turned to Roxanne and stated, "It doesn't matter that you don't watch it, it's the experience of being here, feeling the energy of the crowd, the intensity of the moment, the thrill of VICTORY!" he exclaimed, jumping around the booth.
Roxanne sighed. This is going to be a long night, she thought. It was not that she didn't like hockey, but she had grown up around it so much that it got, well, boring. Her father was an ardent, religious hockey fan and watched every game that was broadcast. Of course, it was either watch that or watch nothing in her house when the game was on. So, partially, she began to resent it, mostly as it stole from her shows she might have wanted to watch. However, now it didn't really bother her that much – she knew the general gist of the game, but she was very unfamiliar with the specific rules of play and thought she might be more of a nuisance to her friends, constantly asking questions. Megamind assured her it would be well worth it, and she decided to follow along.
"This is a very nice booth, Wayne, thank you for having us," Roxanne stated, turning to Wayne who was bent over the mini-fridge, rummaging for his first beer of the night.
"Hey, no problem, Roxy," Wayne said as he closed the fridge, twisting the cap off the beer. "It's nice in the booths here. There is no glass wall partitioning it off from the crowd, so you really get to feel the game," he said, taking a large gulp from the bottle.
"Precisely!" Megamind exclaimed, turning from the view of the ice below to face his friends inside. "That is the thrill of the game – the cheering, the yelling, the cat calling…"
"The you getting too cross with our goalie and dehydrating that poor man," Minion stated from the bar stool he had claimed for himself at the edge of the booth, frowning. "You really have to watch your temper tonight, Sir. We cannot risk getting banned from all the games entirely."
Megamind's face and ears turned several shades of purple, and he froze in place giving Minion what he hoped was his most cautionary glare.
"What's that supposed to mean, Minion?" Roxanne asked, noting the shades of embarrassment colouring her boyfriend's face.
Wayne laughed, taking a bar stool for himself at the opposite end of Minion's. "Well, Roxy," Wayne started, "it seems my little buddy here got a bit too emotionally involved at the last game he came to." Wayne took another large gulp of his beer, almost draining it.
"You see, it was game 7 of the last series. The referees were calling a tight game, and it seemed like they were calling absolutely everything. No matter what we did, it always seemed we were getting called and put in the box."
"The penalty box, you mean?" Roxanne asked. Wayne nodded. "So we were always playing shorthanded," she stated, not being at a complete loss for the rules of the game.
"Yep. It was really starting to wear down our goalie. He was getting shot at over and over. Well, it was just a matter of time before he got tired, and the puck just started going in," Wayne recounted.
"He shouldn't have beentired!" Megamind pleaded. "He's a pro-fesh-ional goalie. You don't see ME getting tired and just letting criminals walk all over me!"
"Well, Sir, there have been a few times…" Minion started.
"Minion." Megamind warned, throwing out another glare in his side-kick's direction.
"Enough, you two," Roxanne warned Megamind. "Everyone gets tired, honey. It's natural, especially when you are not getting a break, and with all the positions the goalies have to quickly get into to stop that puck, it's a wonder they can last as long as they do," Roxanne commented, walking over to take her boyfriend's hand and give it a squeeze. Megamind's eyes softened, and he smiled lovingly at Roxanne.
"Yes, I suppose," he sighed. "Sorry, Minion," he said, looking at his friend.
"It's okay, Sir," Minion smiled.
Wayne coughed, and continued. "Sooooooo," he started.
Roxanne, whom Megamind was hoping would have forgotten what they were talking about, abruptly broke her gaze with Megamind and turned to Wayne. "Yes, please continue, Wayne."
"Well, one goal went in, then another, then another. Next thing you know, it went from us being up 2-0, to us being down 7-2," he recounted.
"Ouch," Roxanne grimaced.
"The crowd was going nuts," Wayne continued, "and my little buddy here," he gestured to Megamind, who was presently trying to get over to the opposite side of the room from Roxanne, "he threw a fit worthy of an Oscar."
Minion snickered. "Sir got really animated, jumping up and down, yelling how he could have played better and he couldn't even skate…it was really quite entertaining."
"Yeah, until he pulled his de-gun, aimed it at our goalie, and dehydrated the guy," Wayne stated, rolling his eyes.
Roxanne gasped, turning to Megamind. "You didn't!" she exclaimed.
"I got carried away!" Megamind offered, holding his hands out in front of him, pleading his case.
Roxanne turned on Wayne, "Why didn't you stop him?"
Wayne blushed bright red and squirmed uncomfortably, "Well, it was kind of funny to see the goalie reduced to a blue cube, and I gotta say, Roxy, he played bang on the next night."
"I imagine he would, Wayne. The poor man was probably terrified!" Roxanne stated, rolling her eyes dramatically.
"So, the NHL couldn't really let that one slide, and they fined the blue dude a couple thousand bucks and told him if he did it again, he wouldn't be coming back…period," Wayne finished.
Megamind had all but melted into the wall of the booth by this point. He knew Roxanne was going to chew him out for this, and yes, he deserved it, he knew. Thankfully though, just as Roxanne was turning to him with her eyes narrowed, the lights in the booth dimmed.
Thank goodness, Megamind thought, as Roxanne turned to face the ice. That was a close one. Megamind straightened up and cautiously walked over to the bar seating claiming his seat for the night between Wayne and Roxanne, with Minion on the far left end.
The crowd below jumped to its feet, and the cheering started. The whole rink was almost pitch black, and the speakers started up, the energizing notes of Sirius, by the Alan Parsons Project, blaring through the arena, spotlights streaming and illuminating the rink and the stands.
"Ladies and gentlemen, make it loud to welcome YOUR Metro City STORM!"
The music was all but blasting at an ear splitting level by this point. However, it was no match for the crowd. Upon entering the arena, everyone had been presented with a free white towel with the Metro City Storm's logo on it. Roxanne had been wondering what that was all about, and she was seeing why now – every single person, it seemed, was waving this towel madly in the air, including her friends in the booth. Shrugging her shoulders and deciding to just have fun with this tonight, Roxanne raised hers and let out a couple of cheers for good measure. Megamind's eyes opened in surprise and delight seeing this. He nudged her softly in the side. She turned her head and gave him a soft smile, which he returned.
The home team skated out, followed very shortly by the opposing team, Metro City's sworn rivals, the Detroit Red Wings.
Upon seeing the red and white jerseys skate out, the crowd let out a deafening roar of "boos" that rivaled anything dished out to Megamind back in the past. Roxanne laughed and joined in the booing sensation.
The lights slowly came back on, and the announcer had everyone stand for the singing of the National Anthem. After that, the crowd settled in, waiting for the puck to drop.
While waiting for the referees to get into position and the teams to finish their pre-skate, Wayne had gotten up to go to the mini-fridge yet again. "Hey, who wants a cold one?" he asked, opening the door.
"Not me, thank you," Minion replied, smiling at Wayne. "But thank you for offering, Mr. Scott."
Wayne returned the smile and looked at Megamind and Roxanne in turn. "Roxy?" Wayne asked.
"I'll have a Coke, if you have one, thank you," Roxanne replied, gracefully catching the lightly tossed can in her direction from Wayne.
"Hm. What do you have in that little miniature refrigerator?" Megamind asked, raising his eyebrows.
"Uhhh…let's see. There's non-alcoholic drinks: Coke, Coke Zero and Sprite. I also have beers: Coors Light and Budweiser," he stated, looking toward Megamind. "Maybe you should stick to the non-alcoholic kind tonight, little buddy. We all know you can't handle it like I can," Wayne smirked.
Megamind groaned, levelling a glare at his former rival. He knew he had a lower tolerance to alcohol due to his body weight and size, and since he had not imbibed on as many occasions as some, his body was just not as good at processing it. He rolled his eyes, holding out his hand and arching an eyebrow.
"Hand it over," he said. "I only usually partake in one or two, at the most. I don't see how that is going to do much damage."
Wayne looked at him, smirking still, shrugged and lightly tossed him the bottle, selecting one for himself as well.
"Hurry up, you two, the puck's about to drop," Minion exclaimed.
Wayne hurried across to his seat alongside Megamind, bringing a few extra bottles of beer along with him.
"Let the game begin!" Megamind stated excitedly, as the puck dropped.
/
Again, all mistakes are mine. Many thanks to H4R – I owe this whole story to you, and my eternal thanks for being a great friend.
Up next – the game, Megamind style. You think it may only involve hockey, but I have some surprises for you, including what some like to call the Great Churro Incident of 2011. Legendary. I will let you imagine just who starts that one…