On Independence Day, Roxanne danced with a man from beyond the stars... and there were fireworks.
It wasn't that she wanted to go to the gala, because she absolutely did not. Standing around in pinchy shoes, smiling politely, and making small talk until her head, face, and arches were sore was not her idea of a fun night. Wayne, however, had asked her to be his plus one and she knew that he would feel awkward without someone to keep away the mass of fan-girls who followed him around as though they thought he might hold an impromptu audition for a new shadow.
She had covered the yearly event before but she had never been an invited guest. She always tried to maintain a professional distance from the city's resident superhero outside of rescue situations. She did not need the rumor mill to start chugging along about "Hero Worship" and "Savior Syndrome". The fan-girls would not like that one bit.
She was honestly surprised that there hadn't already been a larger public reaction to her constant exclusive kidnappings and subsequent rescues. The publicity had done wonders for her career which, to be fair, had already been on the rise due to the fact that she was damn good at her job thank you very much! But she privately wondered how long it would be before people began to stop taking the abductions at face value and started exploring alternative theories about her relationship with the defender. If there was one thing she had learned from being a reporter, it was that people were seldom satisfied with mere facts for very long.
She picked her outfit, all too aware of the many extremely fashionable (and extremely rich) people who would be mentally picking it apart all night, deciding on a bright red dress that she seldom wore. From her past experience with the Scott family gala, the place could use a little more color. Make no mistake, this was a celebration of the birth of their nation and the colors of the American flag would be on display. Some colors, however, would be less prominent than others and some specific shades would, of course, be excluded altogether.
Carlos buzzed her that the limo Wayne had promised to send was here. She checked her lipstick in the mirror on her way out the door and adjusted her skirt, which was just a few inches too short for her taste. The lady at the boutique where she purchased it had assured her that it was the height of fashion at the moment and Roxanne couldn't be bothered to care about such things. At least I don't have to worry about dangling over anything tonight she chuckled to herself as the driver helped her into the car.
Megamind may love to theme his plots around holidays but he never did much on the 4th of July. A few pranks or small acts of vandalism here and there, but never anything really destructive. Roxanne had asked him about that last year. He had answered that anything too dastardly would disrupt the patriotic occasion.
"I would think you didn't really approve of the current system of government," She had countered, smirking at the look on his face as he realized he had fallen into her trap. "Seeing as you plan to overthrow it. After your defeat of Metro Man of course."
He had sputtered for a moment, his eyes whipping back and forth quickly as he searched for a way out of the hole he had helped dig. She saw the moment he found the answer and his panicked look gave way to one of maddening superiority. "Well Miss Ritchie, obviously it doesn't matter what the mindless drones are patriotic about, simply that they are. This holiday, and others like it, provide great practice for the fealty they will be required to show everyday once I become Overlord of Metrocity!"
She smiled to herself at the remembrance. Great practice for fealty huh? She had a cousin who might agree with him on a point or two. Even so, she was pretty sure a big reason for his summer ceasefire was so that he wouldn't have to miss the fireworks.
When the limo stopped she reached for the door handle and had to pull her hand back when the driver opened it and offered his assistance. She stood for a moment taking in the site of the Scott mansion which never ceased to amaze her with it's size. Hard to believe only two people live there she mused. Speaking of which, she heard a familiar voice call out "Roxanne!" and the youngest member of the Scott family glided down the steps to offer her his arm. She glanced over his shoulder and, sure enough, there were three young women looking much less excited about her arrival.
"Thanks for coming tonight, I really hate going to these things alone." He bent his head down to whisper conspiratorially "They always move in packs.. like lions." She had an extremely vivid mental image of a gigantic white gazelle wearing a cape and Wayne's signature hairstyle and her whole body contracted with held-in laughter.
Wayne cranked up that megawatt smile and looked her over. Not in a creepy way, just appraisingly. "That's a nice dress, you are certainly going to stand out." He said it in a way that suggested he didn't see anything wrong with that and she smiled back at him, glad he wasn't going to be too embarrassed to be seen with her.
"Not like you," She said gesturing sweepingly over his apparel, "You are going to fit right in. I don't know if anyone will even be able to pick you out of the crowd." Wayne was wearing the same thing he wore every year, a white tuxedo with a gold tie, vest, and pocket square. She knew that his mother was behind that, like everything else about this gala. Oh well, anything is better than that costume of his. The man has grommets outlining his abs for goodness sake! She chuckled to herself again and he gave her a confused little look. She shook her head. "Nothing… shall we?" She took his arm and they walked up the stairs and into the mansion, the lionesses following close behind.
She glanced around the ballroom and sighed quietly. Everything was beautiful. Crisp white tablecloths, a delicate cut-crystal vase on each table containing a single red rose, and gold plates and cutlery mimicking the chandeliers depending from the ceiling twelve feet above. Waiters in black pants, bow ties, and white suit jackets held gleaming golden platters of hors d'oeuvres aloft.
The people around the tables and standing in small clusters around the gigantic marble dance floor were just as impeccable. The men wore three piece suits. (Black, of course, no one would think of upstaging Wayne Scott) The women were tastefully elegant in their dresses, all of fashionably similar cuts and styles. Oh, and the colors! Ebony and raven and midnight and onyx!
Then there was the Widow Scott herself in her ivory suit-skirt, her snowy hair piled artfully, her golden heels clicking softly as she floated between guests. Lady Scott's eyes strayed to Roxanne and then away again, flawlessly bereft of any indication of distaste, and yet Roxanne still managed to feel as though she had been found insufficient in some crucial way. She glanced up at Wayne and he offered her a shrug and a small chagrined smile. He did tell me I was going to stand out.
As they approached the head table, set up several feet away from the others as though to remind everyone that there were important people sitting there, she squinted at the vase with it's single rose. I bet it isn't there this year, not like anyone even notices it, bound to just do away with the charade sooner or later...
But there it was as always, tied onto the stem of the flower, partially hidden by the dark green leaves. A ribbon, a dark denim color, more grey than anything, a token nod to the misbegotten hue so often snubbed in this town. She sighed again softly. It was all so perfect… and so cold.
Dinner had been lovely and delicious, she had, however, marveled at how small the portions were. She would definitely need to hit her favorite taco cart on the way home. Ooh, or maybe that sushi place on 9th that does late night takeout.
Wayne had waltzed with her a few times and he turned out to be an one of the better dance partners of her life. Undoubtedly he had taken lessons in his younger years. They got a few sidelong glances but his hands stayed right where they were supposed to and he didn't step on her toes. Of course, when you don't have to technically touch the ground she supposed it was easier to be graceful.
At nine, Lady Scott waved her immaculately manicured hand and the band quieted.
"Thank you all so much for joining us. If you would like to retire to the terrace, we have arranged a charming display of fireworks to celebrate this great nation." She spoke all of this in a tone of sugary detachment that seemed to subvert the sentiment behind her words, but Roxanne seemed to be the only one who noticed given the polite round of applause as people headed for the doors.
Wayne escorted her out and Roxanne, who had honestly forgotten what exactly they were supposed to be celebrating tonight, felt a surge of bittersweet excitement at the prospect of the night's entertainment. As the inaugural shot rang out and the streak of fire raced into the starry night she mentally clamped down on her racing heart. Reminding herself as that first shower of bright golden stars rained down above her head that these were not the kind of fireworks she was used to.
They were, like everything else here, exquisitely clinical. She had seen this show before and it was always the same. The white and gold sparks and runners, the slow build, culminating in a giant M. Metroman's logo slung across the night sky as a gratuitous reminder that, no matter the occasion, Metro Man was what they were really celebrating. The foreknown ostentatious display left her yearning for the bright rainbow of home, where this night was celebrated with a myriad of colors so varied that it left you dizzy. She felt her eyes grow wet with the memory of cheering herself hoarse in appreciation, even as the practiced oohs and ahhs chorused around her.
She blinked back the tears and glanced at Wayne from the corner of her eye. He looked bored. A volley of three shots brought her attention back to the sky just in time to notice that they seemed to have just a little too much copper chloride in them. She squinted at the next blast. Is it just my imagination or was that a little bit… She looked at Wayne again but he didn't seem to have noticed. Oh, stop it Roxanne. Lady Scott would never allow it. There! She watched with growing exhilaration as the eruptions became steadily more cerulean. A shot or two of cornflower, lapis, a shower of cobalt, and an indigo group of sparks that hung in midair for a moment before spiralling away from each other. (Those were her personal favorite. Usually called hornets or something but she had maintained since childhood that they looked more like scurrying mice.)
The other watchers were becoming restless now, soft chatter starting up as those assembled tried to determine how to respond to the obvious mistake. She chanced another glance and found that Wayne looked interested for the first time tonight. He was staring at the show as though he couldn't wait to see what happened next. Roxanne caught a glimpse of Lady Scott whispering fiercely to what must have been a staff member. She can't do anything about it though. Sure enough she straightened and stood resolutely, gazing grimly up at the presentation unfolding against her will.
The bursts were reaching a fever pitch now, leading up to the grand finale, and she could practically feel the relief coming off the crowd. Soon the familiar symbol of their beloved hero would grace the sky and they could put all of this unpleasantness behind them. Roxanne waited, straining forward on her tiptoes, a look of wonder on her face. She could feel Wayne beside her doing the same. An artillery of shots split the wary silence of the onlookers and as the pinpoints of light rocketed higher than all the previous bursts, Roxanne found herself holding her breath.
The finale didn't bang... it detonated. An explosion of light splashed across the darkness as all the shells exploded at once, branding the heavens. It was an M alright, but it wasn't Metro Man's. The giant letter was sharply angular, flanked with curving bolts of jagged lightning, and a brilliant electric blue. YES! Roxanne threw her hand over her mouth to hold back the cry as she rocked back onto her heels.
The silence stretched as the image slowly dissolved from the sky and faded from the inside of the audience's eyelids. Then… "AWESOME!" Wayne flew up a few feet and turned a flip in midair. "Way to go!" He looked from side to side, waiting, apparently, for Megamind to appear. When a minute went by with no explosion or disembodied rock music forthcoming, he floated back to the ground looking confused and slightly disappointed.
"I guess we aren't doing the whole… thing tonight?" he petitioned her and she shrugged. "I guess not." But you can guarantee he sat back and watched all of that. Suddenly Roxanne wished she were somewhere else, watching all of this happen and laughing her head off like she was sure Megamind was right now, even if she had to be tied to a chair.
Wayne finally dared to look at his mother and then immediately at the floor. Lady Scott was none too thrilled with his outburst. Roxanne could see the secretive smile still on his face though and had a strange thought. Maybe Wayne was bored too, in this quiet, clean, white and gold world. He certainly seemed to enjoy Megamind's prank. Maybe part of him saw the pageantry of Metro Man for the spectacle it was, a needed spectacle perhaps but no less ridiculous in its necessity.
"Uh oh, looks like someone's in trouble," she giggled, elbowing him in the ribs gently (so as not to break her arm) "How long do you think you'll be grounded for?"
"Very funny Roxie." He grinned at her and she wrinkled her nose in distaste at the nickname, assuring his near exclusive use of it from now on. "That was pretty cool though."
"Yeah... yeah it was." She answered looking back up at the sky with a smile.
Later that night, after she had eaten her fill of unagi and spicy tuna and right before she crawled into bed, she reflected on the best Fourth of July she could remember since leaving home. She smiled to herself and pulled out her new phone. Pressing her finger to the little black M icon, which she had moved to the very center of the screen, she opened the text box and typed a single sentence. She waited a few moments after sending it in case of a reply, and when one didn't come she turned off the screen and snuggled into her pillow. He's probably already sleeping she mused as she dropped off.
Lying in his darkened bedroom, Megamind stared down at his wrist for a long time, watching the letters crawl repeatedly across his communication device, which was definitely not a watch. A single sentence… "Happy Fourth of July Megamind"... and he smiled.
A/N - I know this took me forever to post and it isn't the Fourth anymore but I have several excuses ready.
1. I read Stephen King's It every year on the 4th and the two stories just don't really go together well.
2. There is a lot less Megamind in this chapter and I knew it was going to be this way so it was hard to get motivated to write it. I needed to fix the Roxanne and Wayne relationship to the point of at least friendship to stay in character and I needed to establish the timeline of this story once and for all since I have been avoiding that. More on that below.
3. I was procrastinating.
A note on the timeline: This is before the events of the movie, I don't know if I am going to even go into those events because that would require writing Hal (eww) and going into the whole thing with Music Man, the dreaded rain scene, Bernard (who I just can't see the appeal of at all!), and somehow coming to terms with the fact that Megamind had to at least be a little bit more evil than I am comfortable with to be so happy about straight up murdering a dude. (either that or he doesn't really understand death as a concept)If I go into those events it will need to be in a far enough away future to enable Roxanne to become properly bored and jaded and Wayne to realize his boredom. There, just so you know how my brain works.
Also, I decided that Mr. Scott is dead, it is just easier since he isn't much of a character anyway.
Thanks so much to everyone that reviewed, I really love that some of you are doing so on every chapter. I have gotten so many reviews from the authors of my favorite stories and honestly I squealed like a twelve year old girl every time. You are all wonderful. I hope you enjoy and I will try to get the next one out faster although as of yet I have no idea what to do with this story anymore. Suggestions welcome.