I'm sorry that it's both late, and short, but I've had exams and all sorts of nasty things that I've had to work on. I hope you enjoy anyway! Thank you all for your kind reviews, and to the anonymous Elisabeth as well.
...
"I don't quite understand you, why is it a hazard?"
"Have you any awareness of the supers who came before you? The ones who were strangled and maimed by their own capes?" She raised an eyebrow at him, everything about her screaming of challenge.
"…Oh! Oh! I see, I see, you think that it merely hangs there! I was really quite confused for a moment there, here, I'll show you!" He reached into his pocket, pulling out a blue cube and narrowing his eyes slightly before throwing it in the air, his gun coming out and re-hydrating it as it fell to the ground. The cape nearly exploded out, drifting down, Edna's eyes lighting up at the sight of it. Megamind placed Minion on the floor before holding the cape for her to see, reaching under and near the right side of the collar, and pressed something. "Try and grab it."
Edna raised an eyebrow, before walking forward and reaching out, only to have the cape twist away from her hand. Her eyes widened slightly and she reattempted, faster this time, only to miss once again.
"Intriguing solution… I take it the cape is able to sense movement?"
"Yes, there are mechanical devices laired into the underside, here," he flipped part of the cape over, after pushing the button again, letting her see the spiderweb like metal and wiring that coated the underside of it. "The cape is able to sense movement, any attempts to step on it for instance, and move itself out of the way. I was aware of the dangers of the thing so I sought to counter them, like you said, I have a large brain. Choking to death on my own cape? Not a nice way to go." He laughed lightly, coughing at her unimpressed look.
"Darling, this is simply…" She paused then, her look one of slight contempt that suddenly changed to absolute delight as she continued on, "marvelous! Absolutely marvelous, are you quite certain that you wish for me to be repairing it? Such a masterpiece should be kept secret from the rest of the world, you would not wish for your ideas to be stolen. I have always found your designs to be a mixture of stylish and simply garish, the consistent theme of high collars boggles the mind. Yet, I cannot deny the effect that it has… Follow me, all of you, we shall have tea, and I shall see about fixing your wonderful cape."
"Thank you!"
"Think nothing of it, darling, anything this large of an order must be savored, must be grasped with both hands and pulled in close in order to better understand it's majesty!" She illustrated each point with her hands wildly.
Megamind lifted Minion from the ground again, holding him tightly as the woman walked forward, de-hydrating the cape for her so she could carry it easily. "Just drip some water on it when you want it to return to normal!" Megamind called after her retreating form.
They were left in a wide open room, almost minimalist in its design and flair, yet the details that went into everything were immediately amazing and eye-catching. Megamind waited until she was out of sight and out of earshot before falling back onto one of the red and black chairs with a sound like a moan.
"That was awful! Not even the Warden's interrogations were like that, I mean…yikes!"
"That's E for ya. She's an eccentric woman, but she comes up with brilliance."
"Now that I can understand, I mean…look at all this." He stood up, waving around the area, examining the large fountain with the Greek styled statue standing there, his eyes running along it, the intricate detail of the mosaic-like wall studied. "This is all high-quality craftsmanship; absolutely nothing is out of place. If one thing can be said, she certainly has style…"
"You interested in this sort of thing?"
"Oh, it's wonderful stuff to steal." Megamind realized his slip a moment later and winced. "I mean, when I actually did steal, I enjoyed these things, the security surrounding it was amazing and the rush… It was fun."
He recognized that they were all staring at him, slight smirks on their faces and their arms crossed. He cleared his throat. "Well, it was fun, besides, I have a rather high appreciation for the arts, I can't help it."
"Nothing wrong with that."
"No?"
"Nope. Not a thing."
"Oh good." He sank back into his seat, sighing lightly. He cleared his throat slightly, looking at the family sitting in front of him and looking back down, Minion rolling forward across the floor to him. Megamind smiled, reaching down and picking the sphere of water containing his fishy friend up to place him on his lap. He leaned back against the chair, relaxing more than seemed particularly necessary, but they knew the kind of reaction Edna could invoke in a person.
"How long do you think it will take?"
"It depends. She might even improve it a bit for you."
"In what way…"
"Not the design, but I'm thinking, maybe the fabric…she's got this wonderful talent for fabric."
"Really, well…I suppose that's okay…"
"You'll see, it'll be good."
"I…I hope so."
"So, Minion, what else do you do? I know you sew…" Helen prompted, looking at the fish in curiosity.
"Oh, I also cook, I organize…the brain bots take care of most of the chores, dusting and the like…um…I mainly just help the boss." He flared his fins in what looked like a shrug. Their conversation swirling and ebbing across what they could do, where Megamind would fix his robot, when he would return to Metro City, all important questions. They sipped at the tea that Edna had left them with, not quite sure what to think.
"So…what exactly does she do with these costumes?" His green eyes widened then and he looked at them in something bordering panic. "She's not going to get rid of the spikes or anything, is she?"
"No! No, no, no…" Helen was quick to assure him, smiling slightly. "I think she likes the design enough to stick to it. She might add a few tweaks here and there, but she will stay with your pattern if nothing else."
"Oh, okay, good." Megamind relaxed into his chair, the tea in the delicate china cup examined critically.
"You've never had tea either?"
"What? Oh, no, yes I have had it, but I merely don't like it…"
"I'll take it!"
"No, Dash, the caffeine isn't good for you." Helen took a sip of her own tea, looking at her son from over the rim.
"You never let me drink anything cool…"
Syx raised an eyebrow, looking over to the small boy and gave him a slight grin. "You wouldn't like it, trust me."
Dash sighed, shrugging as he poked at one of the many random decorations on the glass table.
"What do you think she'll do with it?" Minion asked, his slight protectiveness of the design flaring.
"Well, I suppose we shall find out."
"I guess…"
Silence enveloped them, fingers tapping on various surfaces as they waited. Minion listened to the quiet in something bordering sleepiness, slowly beginning to drowse. What seemed like hours later Edna burst into the room, her loud cry of "It is complete!" echoing into the emptiness and causing them to jump, tea spilling on laps, Megamind's full cup splashing onto his chest and face. The cries of pain made the small yet peppery fashion designer cross her arms and give the rest of them a nonplussed glance.
"Honestly darlings, you would think that our supers are ill prepared." Edna raised an eyebrow, amusement pouring off of her in waves, the rest of them sighing.
"Well…well…"
Edna waved the protests off, "Come on, darlings, we have too much to do to sit here talking. Come, come, let us go into the midst of design perfection." With that she was off, the rest of them following, burns and cooling clothing held away from skin.
"I told you tea was nasty," Megamind hissed to the boy walking next to him.
Dash looked up at him quietly a smirk on his face as he watched the alien peel at his shirt and grimace.
"So, has there been any particular change to the design at all?"
"You shall see, darling, you shall see."
Megamind really didn't like the gleam in her eye. Minion rolled faster, until he was picked up by Violet, a quietly whispered: "You don't mind, do you?" treated to a very simple shake of the 'head' and a smile. She returned it and kept up with her family. She had only been to Edna's once and she was still reeling, Violet had a feeling that the blue alien was probably in a worse state than she had ever been. The thought greatly amused her.
Megamind jumped at the sudden appearance of what counted for security as Edna went through her usual clearance request. The guns and other things were something he found himself admiring, unable to resist leaning a little closer in order to examine it properly, only to have it retract itself back into the ceiling as Edna continued, "And guests."
The pout on his face received something of a smile. They entered Edna's workshop quietly, looking around at the wide open area as various machines and tools went into standby position, their destination a wide glass window at the far end and the two chairs that were positioned in front of the glass.
"Take a seat, darling." Megamind sat hesitantly, Minion given to him by an amused looking Violet. The chairs rotated to face the glass and Edna began a quiet narration. "Your costume was made of a material that cannot be repaired. You did not give me any limit to what I could do, but I decided to go with the usual design." The cape and costume came out of the side doors, Megamind's eyes widening at the sight of it, only to narrow again, slightly confused at the complete…sameness for lack of a better word. There was no change. No difference that he could see, but then Edna continued talking. "But I could change everything else. Your capes ability to detect movement and react in turn gave me an idea, the problem was to create a fabric with the ability."
"But…"
"Hush." She smiled then, her glasses glinting dangerously, Megamind caught in her gaze and finally gulping nervously. "I finally managed to create it. I give you the Black Mamba Mark III."
Megamind jolted at the sudden explosion of fire and death that attacked the costume behind the protective glass, his eyes widening as the cape swirled up into a protective barrier, the flames doing nothing to the fabric. "The cape is fireproof and can withstand the force of a bomb." The inferno died down, the cape returning to a rest position, not even singed. A moment later rocks and weapons were thrown towards it, the cape acting like a pair of arms, catching them before they got close and breaking them before tossing them away. "It acts as a second shield, catching what you cannot." Various guns rained their fire into it, bullets ricocheting and lasers absorbed before being channeled out again. "It is also bullet and laserproof. And the vast majority of its functions was provided by your own microbe and wire inspired rigging." The costume finished the path through the glass chamber and Edna spun her chair to face him.
"So darling, what do you think?"
